I love some green veg at lunch. Commercial frozen green veg are hard as rocks and nastily overcooked. Here’s how I bulk prep fresh swiss chard for my lunches

( Read more... )

Every Thursday, we have a community post, just like this one, where you can drop a rec or five in the comments.

This works great if you only have one rec and don't want to make a whole post for it, or if you don't have a DW account, or if you're shy. ;)

(But don't forget: you can deffo make posts of your own seven days a week. ;D!)

So what cool fancrafts/fanvids/other kinds of fanworks/fics/fanart/podfics have we discovered this week? Drop it in the comments below. Anon comment is enabled.

BTW, AI fanworks are not eligible for reccing at recthething. If you aware that a fanwork is AI-generated, please do not rec it here.

Theme Prompt: #290 – Princess
Title: Princess For A Day
Fandom: Torchwood
Rating/Warnings: G
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 1000
Summary: Meriel gets exactly the birthday party she wants, and Jack gets to dress up too.

I've decided to stand down as mod for Unconventional Courtship. Founder and comm owner aralias has said another user can take over as mod if they want. If so please contact me, liadt, by either replying or PM-ing me.

In the mean time, the UC generator is still available for inspiration here (credit to john_amend_all).

Cross-posted from vampiremonday.

So, I never watched Death Note in 2007. I saw, like, scattered clips with no context, and I wrote it off based on a very incomplete impression and somehow managed to live an entire life with 0 context about it. Like... to the point of big gaps in my understanding of certain cultural cues, both in nerdy US circles and here in Japan. (Example: a few months ago I found a weird Ryuk with an apple charm on the floor at the school where I work and asked, 'Is this anyone's... ugly... little guy?' and asked a Japanese adult coworker when the kids didn't know who said, 'Death Note???')

Anyway, I started watching it at a friend's suggestion and mild insistence.

In a way, I feel like it's good that I didn't watch it when it was new and I was still a teenager. It feels like it strikes a chord in me that is very... aesthetically coherent with who I am as a person in a way that I did not realize at the time that it was popular and new.

It is so resonant with me, here as a 35 year old watching it for the first time, that it is actually making me think about how it might have affected my interests, desires, and choices, had I chosen to watch it when it was making its first rounds in America. I know that sounds silly, but I almost do feel that it would've been a butterfly wing in me making different life choices somehow, even if I have absolutely no idea how it would've panned out.

I'm to a point now where I love the people I still have in my life enough that I wouldn't want to risk not knowing and loving them, even though there are a handful of moments in my mid teens and early 20s that I sometimes wish I could test-run to see how things went if I had done things differently, but it's just a fun and eerie little feeling to experience.

Sure, a lot of my fandoms seem to sort of... click into place like "oh, I am glad I found you," but this one feels... weird. Like a chunk of missing time.

Anyway, I am watching Death Note and really into it and I know I'm 19 years late, but I might write these creatures in some situations later.

Last week, scytale commented in passing about how clingy these four are, which honestly is just a factual statement at this point, yet the universe immediately beamed a ficlet into my brain just based on that because this is what I am now.

---

Clingy | K-9 | Ren/Oboro/Fujimaru/Kagari | <850 words | rated M

Summary: This was all Fujimaru's fault. And Kagari's too. Maybe a little bit Yuushirou's, but he wasn't admitting to anything. Ren-san was perfect as always.

Yuushirou gets a boner during movie night.

Read it on Dreamwidth or AO3.

What are you thankful for this week?
· Photos are optional but encouraged.
· Check-ins remain open until the following week's post is shared.
· Do feel free to comment on others' check-ins but don't harsh anyone else's squee.

Two more little guys from K-9 are really capturing my imagination at the moment. Look at 'em:


You can't just show me two characters that comfortably handsy with each other and not expect me to go "Oh 👀"?! For anyone familiar with Wind Breaker, their vibes are massively similar to Togame and Chouji, especially early on. They're scratching my "murderous protectiveness" itch in just the right way.

Yuu, the blond chibi, can transform into a cute sort of hybrid leopard and loves to fight.


Meanwhile Satsuki can create and control huge branches. He may appear calmer and more reasonable, but that mostly means his expression won't change as he threatens to crush you between branches or tear your limbs apart. That kinda guy.


Obviously, I love them. For many reasons, too. But also aren't their abilities kind of ridiculous?! This is a world in which only criminals get a superpower, one related to the crime they committed!! What kind of crime do you commit that you can transform into a leopard?!

And thus, having thought about it way too much, I'm writing what will apparently become my first K-9 multi-chapter fic. With zero members of my beloved OT4 showing up XD This series is just ridiculous. I love it. The author is clearly having a ton of fun, and I love that for them.

Community Thursday challenge: every Thursday, try to make an effort to engage with a community on Dreamwidth, whether that's posting, commenting, promoting, etc.

---

Over the last week...

Posted and commented on bnha_fans.

Commented on booknook.

Commented on getyourwordsout.

Signal boosts:

• For anyone who missed my previous post about it, if you're stuck about what to post about now that snowflake_challenge is over, have a look at the Stuff I Love: Top Ten Edition squee challenge for February that dreamersdare dreamt up ;D

Creator: sweetsorcery
Title: Sweeter than Honey and Bitter as Gall
Fandom: Aces High (1976)
Rating: T (for themes)
Word Count/size/length: 2,169
Characters/Pairings: Captain Sinclair/2nd Lt Stephen Croft
Notes/Warnings: WWI, RFC, Mutual Pining, Secret Wedding, First Kiss, Angst and Feels, Bittersweet

'If this were a different world, and we were free to do as we wished, I would ask you to marry me. Right here, in this lovely little church.' Captain Sinclair laughed softly; a warm, rumbling laugh. 'Aren't I silly?'

Stephen gave a sob of happiness. 'No, you're not! Why don't we pretend it's a different world? That everything is just as we want it to be. Ask me. Oh please, do ask.'

Link: Read on AO3.

Hey! :) So, I've been working on making English subs for a historical Cdrama (set in the mid 1700s/early Qianlong era), Take Care, Your Highness (it's an old Hong Kong series from the 80s, and tbh I don't particularly recommend it unless you're already into old TVB shows XD but I decided to make a project of subtitling it while watching it last summer). I've got all 20 episodes done now, except for a few places where I either still can't understand the Chinese or am not sure how best to translate a historical term. So, some questions! I'd be grateful if anyone can help. :)

(I've included the Mandarin subtitles for most of my questions below, so there's no need to know Cantonese. And I've also converted everything to simplified characters — but you can scroll down and click the spoiler cut at the bottom to see the same post with traditional characters.)

( General translation questions )
( Historical terms and titles )
( Literary stuff )
( A couple of Cantonese questions )

And, since I can't really read simplified and can't guarantee that everything got converted correctly above:

Click here for the same questions, but with traditional characters instead of simplified.

Some general translation questions:


1. What does "你真是吃了大蒜了" mean? In context, it seems like the speaker is saying something like "you've really lost your mind," but I've tried googling and can't find any reference for the meaning of "eating a garlic." (The Cantonese is the same, "你真係食大蒜喇.")
   
   
2. "你把我的頭都給問大了" – Is this like "You're making my head spin [with all these questions]"?
   
   
3. Speaking about a scroll on a table, someone says "我有一次不小心掀了一下." Does this mean he casually/carelessly picked it up? Or opened it? (The Cantonese sounds like "我有一次唔覺意[挈?]咗一下.")
   
   
4. The context for this one is that Character A is being hired as the nursemaid of a (kidnapped) baby, and wants to know if she'll be living in the same room with the baby. She asks"我是不是跟他住一間房？" and is told (by the guy who hired her, who is also trying to sleep with her) "不一定。有時候也許會換到其他房子。" My question is, is there any way to know whether the answer means "sometimes the baby might be put in another room" or "sometimes you might be moved to another room"?
   
   
5. For this question I'm mostly wondering how the grammar works in the last part of this sentence: "朝中文武百官，人人得而誅之." Google Translate says this means "All civil and military officials in the court have the right to execute him," which makes sense in context (so I assume it's correct), but I don't understand how 得而誅之 translates to "have the right to execute [him]." Does this follow some kind of idiomatic/literary grammar construction?
   
   
6. Context for this one is the Emperor saying he's already taken precautions against an enemy; he says he's arranged everything, and as soon as his enemy makes any move, "朕就可以仁至義盡." I'm not sure how to understand 仁至義盡 here, as it seems to mean showing kindness/benevolence? Is the phrase being used sarcastically?
   
   
   Some questions about historical terms or phrases:
   
   
7. Is there an established/common way to translate 國丈 (a term for the Emperor's father-in-law/the father of the Empress)?
   
   
8. Similar question: how should I translate 總管 as a title, e.g. when people address 王總管? "Steward Wang"?
   
   
9. And another: how should I translate 嫡妃 (meaning the legitimate/primary/first wife)? In context, the Crown Prince is offering to marry a woman and make her his 嫡妃, so my guess would be "Crown Princess"?
   
   
10. Two terms with第 that I'm not sure how to translate: 太史第 and 上書第. It seems 太史 can mean Court Astronomer, Imperial Historian , or Grand Scribe, so is 太史第 like "The Grand Scribe's Residence" or maybe "The Grand Scribe's Office"?? And is 上書第, like... "The Memorial Scribe's Manor"? "The Memorials Office"??
    
    
11. I think I've got this, but I just want to check my translation: "戶部侍郎兼軍機處行走" → "Vice-Minister of Revenue and a member of the Grand Council" (I can't find any dictionary references for 行走 meaning "member," but Google Translate gives this meaning, and it seems to make sense in context).
    
    
12. Can I translate "三條胡同" as "Third Street"? Context is someone saying they're not sure where a certain house is located ("不知是在三條胡同那兒").
    
    
13. In one scene, the Emperor orders for his son to be taken back to "溫寢宮." This term seems to refer to the residence/quarters of the Emperor, so since it's the Emperor himself speaking, can I translate it as something like "take him back to my palace"?
    
    
14. Does "紫玉樓" refer to a specific place and/or is it some kind of metaphor? It's mentioned in two different scenes. From context, my best guess is that it refers to the residence of the Prince Consort (駙馬爺), but I can't find any confirmation of this. In one scene, the Princess (the Prince Consort's wife) is visiting her father-in-law's villa, and he says "請把這兒當作紫玉樓一樣" (Cantonese: "請當呢度係紫玉樓一樣"), and his sentiment seems likely to be "make yourself at home." In another scene, the same Princess is offered a villa to live in, but declines, asking"住在這兒和住在紫玉樓有什麼分別呢？" i.e. "what's the difference between living here and living in 紫玉樓?" But I can't tell if 紫玉樓 refers to her actual home or if it has some broader/metaphorical meaning.
    
    
15. Is there (or historically was there) a river called 多羅大河? A general says "我軍已經進入多羅大河," but I can't seem to find any reference for a "Duoluo River." Am I missing something, or is this a fictional river name the writers invented?
    
    
16. I suspect the writers just screwed this up, but it baffles me so I've got to ask about it. In one scene, Qianlong has a map that was drawn by the Kangxi Emperor. On the map is written "康熙甲子手御筆" (which, as far as I can tell, should mean the map was drawn in 1684, the only Jiazi year that happened in Kangxi's lifetime). After reading these words aloud, Qianlong comments, "這是皇阿爺十幾歲時劃的" (Cantonese: "係皇阿爺十幾歲嗰陣時劃嘅"), which should mean Kangxi (Qianlong's grandfather) drew the map when he was in his teens... but this makes no sense? Kangxi would have been 30 in 1684. A few minutes later, Qianlong comments that it's been sixty-some years since the map was drawn, which should mean the map was drawn sometime between 1665-1675 (because the present-day setting has to be 1735, as Qianlong is about to take the throne). Is there some possible way "康熙甲子" could refer to a year between 1665-1675? Or did the writers just throw "康熙甲子" into the script because it sounded cool/historical, with no regard for what year it actually referred to??
    
    
    Literary questions
    
    
17. There's a scene where one of the characters (an irreverent teenager who is abusing his tutor by writing poetry on him with a brush) quotes from the poem 愛蓮說, but changes the lines slightly. The original poem says "牡丹之愛，宜乎眾矣," but he changes the words to "牡丹之愛宜『平稟』矣"). I can't understand the meaning of the changed line. Any help on how to translate this??
    
    
18. A woman sends her lover a breakup letter, and also returns to him a broken jade pendant that was his gift to her. Her letter opens with the line "玉碎珠還." This doesn't seem to be a common phrase in itself, but there seem to be several similar common phrases (玉碎珠沉, 珠沉玉碎, 玉碎珠沒), and per Google they usually refer to something beautiful irreparably lost, especially a woman who has died. What I don't understand is how to interpret 還 in this version. "The jade is broken, the pearls are returned"? Or does 還 have some other meaning I'm missing?
    
    
    A couple of questions specifically about Cantonese terms
    
    
19. The context here is a guy who is being invited to share a meal with some people he holds a grudge against; he declines and says what sounds like "費事食完之後背脊骨落" or maybe "費事食完老子有背脊骨落." The Mandarin subs say "免得吃了以後反胃," which is quite different, but I have no idea what "背脊骨落" means...
    
    
20. I don't even know how to transcribe this one. XD A girl (who has just gone out shopping at some street stalls with the Emperor) tells her husband "我同皇上去咗[騎騎嘰?]" — I'm pretty sure the first two syllables are ke4 ke4 (probably 騎騎?), the third could be gi/git/ki/kit? Seems like a high or mid tone? The girl's husband seems confused by the term, but she doesn't really explain what it means when he asks. (The Mandarin subs just say "我跟皇上去逛街".)

Today was a better day than yesterday for various and sundry reasons. ( Read more... )

***

I finished the Angelica Huston Memoir - "Watch Me" - which isn't that memorable, outside of a bittersweet ending, wherein she makes the point that of everything she's done, it's her connections with family, friends, and others that meant the most. ( Read more... )

Currently listening to Twelve Months by Jim Butcher - narrated by James Marsters. Not Marsters best voice work but still rather good.
And still reading The Botanist's Assistant by Peggy Townsend- which is basically a mystery with an autistic sleuth, whose six foot tall, and middle-aged. It's okay - I got it as a Xmas present. But it's slow moving.
[Note to self- stop picking up books rec'd by Smart Bitches. This one was - looked great and I asked for it for Xmas.]

***

Buffy S7 Rewatch - Get it Done, Ep. 15

Doug Petrie, God Bless Him, is not a good script writer. His dialogue, ugh. Cringe. Yes, I know he was credited for writing both Beneath Me and Fool for Love, but I also know both those episodes were heavily edited and rewritten by the show-runners and executive producers (Marti Noxon and Joss Whedon). Whedon and Noxon wrote all of the Spike and Buffy scenes in Fool for Love, taking turns. While Petrie wrote the Riley scenes. (He states this in the commentary for the episode, that's how I know. Petrie told us.) Whedon also rewrote and refilmed, and directed himself the second half of Beneath Me. Petrie's script was so awful, Whedon rewrote it, and directed it, and brought everyone back to film it over the weekend. And you can tell the difference. The dialogue in the first half of Beneath Me is cringe inducing in places.

Petrie wrote As You Were and Get it Done, and they have the same problems. He doesn't know how to write for Spike, Willow, Anya, or Dawn. Buffy is okay for the most part. Also he sucks at plotting, there are plot holes in this episode that you can drive a truck through. You can tell they didn't plan it out.

The other difficulty with Get it Done is...the writers want to be color blind? ( Read more... )

I get what they are trying to do and the power metaphors are interesting on a certain level. And Buffy's refusal of the power at whatever cost - is interesting as well, and direct demonstration of how she is different from the First's take on her or Caleb. But, the execution is clumsy at best, and it doesn't totally make sense? ( Read more... )

**

This is more about S7 as a whole, not just this episode - when Buffy moved over to UPN, UPN let the show-runners and producers know that they had to fulfill a diversity quota. ( Read more... )

Get It Done - unfortunately didn't have a strong enough writer to handle the world building, the cultural stuff, and the large cast. That said, there's a few isolated moments in there that work however. Spike's fight with the demon does. I spent some time trying to figure out why soulful Spike would have issues fighting demons or taking a demon life? ( Read more... )

I also wondered why he needed to get the coat to be able to do it? And realized finally that it's clarified in Sleeper or the song, Pavlov's Bell - "trading coats and ringing Pavlov's Bell is how I nearly fell" - that's what Spike has been doing all along. ( Read more... )

Overall - an interesting but deeply flawed episode. S7 like all the seasons has some clunky episodes in the middle. This is one of them.

Make of that what you will...just my own mutterings for my own amusement.

Off to bed.

So since I moved here my living room tv, not a big one, and all the cable paraphernalia have been on the floor. I don't watch much in there and I didn't want to spend anything to get a table. It was far down on the list of things to buy. But I was eyeing a coffee table at the Fred Meyer's (grocery and department store in one) and there was a floor model very marked down.

The other day I said, if it's still there I'll get it. Original price about $150, bought for $42. That said, it's a wee bit too big for the space but the room has a less 'first apartment' vibe.

But the story (fascinating as it is) is even more interesting, because the same day I bought it I got a check in the mail for $53. A result of signing up for a class lawsuit suing somebody for something. A day of profit and a new table.

Title: Never Taken for Granted

Summary: Zael has some thoughts about the life he's lucky to have fallen into.
Timeline: Before the start of the game.
Challenge: #487: Stars

Never Taken for Granted

Hi common_nature, stonpicnicking_okapi shared their love of this comm as part of February Love Fest and inspired me to join. :)

I have been experiencing nature up close and personal thanks to some frogs. At the end of November, following a rain storm, my Partner and I could hear a frog in our tiny, ornamental garden pond/water feature. We're always so thrilled when this happens!

The next morning when I walked past the pond I saw a pile of bubbles and thought that was cool. The male frog has been making a bubble nest, like a betta fish, pining for a female to come join him (spoiler: I don't know much about frogs).

The next day I went to clean the pond (a bi-weekly feat during summer) and noticed that only only had the bubbles persisted, but some of them had developed little black dots. Oh my god, they're not bubbles they're eggs!
( Life, uh, finds a way )

I haven't forgotten you, Dreamwidth, but I am very stressed right now and writing posts/replying to comments thoughtfully takes so much energy :(

Title: shooting range
Rating: Gen
Category: F/M
Fandom: X-Men (Comicverse)
Author: shroomy(y)star
Ship/Characters: Logan | Wolverine/Ororo Munroe
Warnings/Notes: claremont era canon
Word Count: 100
Summary: After training, Logan takes Ororo to the gun range.

ao3 | dreamwidth


Title: workout
Rating: Gen
Category: F/F
Fandom: Avengers Academy (Marvel Comics)
Author: shroomy(y)star
Ship/Characters: Jeanne Foucault/Laura Kinney
Warnings/Notes: none apply
Word Count: 100
Summary: Laura grunts; her arms flex; the weight lifts.

ao3 | dreamwidth