oracularmayhem | Reading

sakana17

During their most recent《你好种地少年3》series, the farmboys played charades where they had to guess chengyu and, when that proved too easy, some bits of 古诗 (classical poetry). They had all learned the poems as kids in school.

成语 (chengyu):
狼狈为奸 - láng bèi wéi jiān
守株待兔 - shǒu zhū dài tù
呆若木鸡 - dāi ruò mù jī
肝肠寸断 - gān cháng cùn duàn
蜻蜓点水 - qīng tíng diǎn shuǐ

古诗 (poetry):
Note: I transcribed these from the show, and some of the poems are snippets only. I've linked to sources that have the original lines and English translation.
1) 《静夜思》【唐】李白
床前明月光
疑是地上霜
举头望明月
低头思故乡

2) 《咏鹅》【唐】骆宾王
鹅，鹅，鹅，
曲项向天歌。
白毛浮绿水，
红掌拨清波。

3) 《憫农》【唐】李绅
锄禾日当午，
汗滴禾下土。
谁知盘中餐，
粒粒皆辛苦。

4) 《望庐山瀑布》【唐】李白
飞流直下三千尺，
疑是银河落九天。

5) 《早发白帝城》【唐】李白
两岸猿声啼不住
轻舟已过万重山

6) 《春晓》【唐】孟浩然
春眠不觉晓，
处处闻啼鸟。
夜来风雨声，
花落知多少。

7) 《绝句》【唐】杜甫
两个黄鹂呜翠柳，
一行白鹭上青天。

8) 《游山西村》【南宋】陆游
山重水夏疑无路
柳暗花明又一村

9) 《清明》【唐】杜牧
借问酒家何处有
牧童遥指杏花村

10) 《游园不值》【南宋】叶绍翁
春色满园关不住
一枝红杏出墙来

If you're curious what the charades were like, it's on YouTube with Chinese hardsubs and poor quality English MTL subs. (The link is cued to beginning of the game, and it continues in the next part, from the video's start to 7:52.) It was really interesting (and fun) to see how they acted out homonyms.

sakana17

Seems it's been a minute since I last posted, as they say...

* Currently watching: 逐玉 | Pursuit of Jade (2026). It's 40 episodes and I'm on ep. 33. Overall I really like it. The leads are great. I'll probably finish it this week.

* Finished watching: 长安二十四计 | Vendetta of An (2025). 28 episodes, starring Cheng Yi, who is, I suppose, an acquired taste but he is a taste I have acquired. Sorry, he's beautiful in this.

Spoilerish:

And honestly, his beauty was kind of required to explain why his character, Xie Huai'an, acquires so many boyfriends during his vengeance quest. :D

So... I unironically loved this! At 28 episodes, it goes at a break-neck speed and perhaps the plot doesn't completely make sense, but I just fastened my seat belt and went along for the ride. It's got secret identities, wall-to-wall betrayals, a lot of violence (fairly brutal/bloody), and good fight scenes. Great cast. It's the 2nd thing I've watched with Zhou Qi in it, and I'm quickly becoming a fan. He's really good. The actor I will always think of as Marquis Yan is in it and looks HOT, no joke. A lot (or all?) of it was filmed on the same city set that was built for Longest Day in Chang'an, which is a spectacular set, and it looks amazing. In addition to Xie Huai'an's boyfriends, there are a couple of good female characters with plot importance. They don't get much focus, but I liked them. Anyway, I was in a bloodthirsty mood and this show fit the bill.

Content warnings: The aforementioned violence, ethnic outsiderism (depicted as infiltration by non-Han people as sleeper agents), children in peril, death of a female character as a plot point. Also, don't expect a happy ending. And the ending itself is abrupt.

* The other thing I've watched with Zhou Qi is 藏海传 | Legend of Zang Hai (2025), which one of the Discord watch groups is getting through. Man, this show. It started off so strong and smart, making good use of Xiao Zhan in the leading role. There was an interesting, strong female love interest, and a great undercover-and-revenge plot. Then the show unraveled in multiple ways, the least of which is the hokey DMBJ part of the story. A small set of us are gritting it out to the end of 40 episodes (we have 5 eps left) but the disappointment is greater because it began so promisingly! That said, Zhou Qi was great in it as the smarter-than-expected second son of Zang Hai's Enemy No. 1.

* Zhou Qi also has a main role in 大理寺少卿游 | White Cat Legend (2024), and I've watched a few episodes. It's a bit OTT and I wasn't strongly engaged, so I don't know if I'll go back to it.

* Non-Cdrama watching: On Netflix I came across シンデレラクロゼット | Cinderella Closet (2025), a Japanese comedy-drama-romance about a woman and a cross-dressing man. It was fun, with an appealing cast, and I thought it handled the subject pretty well for something so short (12 episodes @ 20 minutes each). I enjoyed it.

* We watched Elio, last year's Pixar movie, and I thought it was really good. The world-building and aliens were imaginative. Every time I think, "this is the Pixar movie that won't make me cry," they get me in the next scene, I swear.

* The farmboys are filming their next season and have spent an intriguing amount of time in Xinjiang and have done a few livestreams to promote local goods. Most of them also have solo projects as performers, good for them. While waiting for the new season, I thought I'd run out of farmboy content to watch but no! Bilibili is the endless rabbit hole of extra scenes (mostly season 1) I'd never seen before, plus all of their vlogs and livestreams. It's become clear to me that when they weren't farming, they were vlogging/livestreaming practically every minute of their lives in season 1. And maybe in season 2, but I haven't gotten there yet because, y'all, there is so much content. (This is not a complaint.)

( Farmboys (small picspam) )

denise posting in

dw_maintenance

I keep forgetting to post about this: we've been troubleshooting the "missing notifications" problem for the past few days. (Well, I say "we", really I mean Mark and Robby; I'm just the amanuensis.) It's been one of those annoying loops of "find a logical explanation for what could be causing the problem, fix that thing, observe that the problem gets better for some people but doesn't go away completely, go back to step one and start again", sigh.

Mark is hauling out the heavy debugging ordinance to try to find the root cause. Once he's done building all the extra logging tools he needs, he'll comment to this entry. After he does, if you find a comment that should have gone to your inbox and sent an email notification but didn't, leave him a link to the comment that should have sent the notification, as long as the comment itself was made after Mark says he's collecting them. (I'd wait and post this after he gets the debug code in but I need to go to sleep and he's not sure how long it will take!)

We're sorry about the hassle! Irregular/sporadic issues like this are really hard to troubleshoot because it's impossible to know if they're fixed or if they're just not happening while you're looking. With luck, this will give us enough information to figure out the root cause for real this time.

goss

The online memorial for

minoanmiss (Ny/Rubynye) will take place tomorrow - Sunday, April 12, 1:00PM EDT (GMT -4).

Zoom link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83615091699?pwd=Goa5p0EbNbbl2Msd2GAQscu5uyWttd.1
Meeting ID: 836 1509 1699
Passcode: MinoanNy

You can sign up at the link below to indicate if you'll be attending:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0448A8A62BA6FBC34-63233152-nys/195490464#/

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, we're back in business! 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 13. On to the second half!

Episode 13, from 21:44:

Summary: Chu Shuzhi has (needlessly) rescued Guo Changcheng from the Snake Tribe. Ying Chun tells Shen Wei that there's a Yashou traitor in play. Shen Wei enters the sonic lab to find Zhao Yunlan there instead of Tan Xiao. Zhao Yunlan confronts him about his secrets, but they're interrupted by Zhu Jiu, who takes Zhao Yunlan hostage. Shen Wei transforms into the Envoy and offers to take his place, but no dice. Ying Chun goes after Ya Qing, and they have a fraught confrontation. Zhu Jiu decides Zhao Yunlan to get into the SID for Tan Xiao, so Zheng Yi will give him the Hallows. Lin Jing and Da Qing are searching for Zheng Yi. Chu Shuzhi finds Zhu Jiu's lair, but no Zhu Jiu, and Shen Wei runs into him there.

Overhead shot of Zhao Yunlan, Zhu Jiu and Zheng Yi entering the SID

At the SID, Zhao Yunlan enters with Zhu Jiu and Zheng Yi, and shoots Zhu Hong. Tan Xiao and Zheng Yi are reunited. Shen Wei arrives, confronts a hypnotised Zhao Yunlan, and is seemingly shot - but it's a fake-out because he realised Zhao Yunlan has been faking it. Zhao Yunlan shoots Zhu Jiu and reveals that he's been wearing anti-hypnosis earplugs.

Quote:

Shen Wei: "Were you pretending from the start?"

Zhao Yunlan: "Yep! How else would I have got you to disclose your identity?"

♥ ♥ ♥

Detail:

This is a half-episode with a lot of fabulous things going on in it, but my absolute favourite detail has always been the way Shen Wei, having realised that Zhao Yunlan isn't actually under the influence, easily and smoothly lets Zhao Yunlan know that he knows, without giving anything away to Zhu Jiu. All he says is, "You actually killed Zhu Hong," and Zhao Yunlan, who knows he did no such thing, knows. :D

Questions:

What is your favourite moment in this episode? Your favourite line? What do you think about Ya Qing's introduction? How gorgeous is her outfit? Do you ship her and Ying Chun? What does Chu Shuzhi think when Professor Shen turns up at Zhu Jiu's lair? How great is the Envoy reveal? Do you also go :D :D :D every time you watch that moment when Shen Wei rises and he and Zhao Yunlan turn towards the camera/Zhu Jiu? 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!

trobadora posting in

sid_guardian

If you signed up for this year's 520 Day Reverse Exchange, you should now have received your assignment email. (If not, check your spam folder!)

What to do next:

Reply to your assignment email now, so we know you've received it. Please don't change the subject line.

If you have any concerns about your assignment, let us know ASAP by replying to the email. (Again, please don't change the subject line!)

Create a fanwork for your assignment. Make sure it fits your recipient's requested canon(s), media, pairing(s) or character(s), and rating(s), and doesn't include anything they've said they don't want. Remember that specific scenarios and prompts are optional. Have fun!

Post your completed fanwork to the AO3 collection by 11:59PM UTC Wednesday 13th May! (What time is that for me?).
- On the AO3 collection page, click "Post to Collection" at the top of the page.
- Enter your recipient's AO3 name under "Gift this work to".
- Please keep any creator's notes or other commentary positive.
Keep your assignment secret! If you need to host fanart or podfic on a different site, make sure it's not visible/searchable on that site before reveals on 20th May.

To make edits to your work after posting, you can access it via your AO3 Statistics page.

If something comes up that means you can't complete your assignment by the deadline, please contact us ASAP so we can discuss an extension or, if necessary, find a pinch-hitter.

All entries will go live on Wednesday 20th May (520 Day). Please keep your assignment a secret until then!

General info, schedule and minimum requirements

We hope you enjoy creating for your assignment, and we can't wait to see what you come up with! *\o/*

trobadora posting in

sid_guardian

You may have noticed that we've taken a break from the rewatch for a bit longer than originally planned, but we're ready to get back in the saddle!

The Slo-Mo Rewatch will continue next week with the second half of episode 13. Upcoming:

Ying Chun and Ya Qing!
"I thought we were friends."
ENVOY REVEAL :D

Which means now is the perfect time for all of us to catch up, especially on the first half of the episode with THE WEDDING SCENE and the "I just work out a lot"!

(I'm so looking forward to revisiting this episode! :D)

Here is our updated schedule - please consider hosting a post if you can:

Weekend of 10 April - episode 13 from 21:43
Weekend of 17 April - episode 14 up to 21:05
Weekend of 24 April - episode 14 from 21:05
Weekend of 1 May - episode 15 up to 23:56
Weekend of 8 May - episode 15 from 23:56

shadaras

today I have been a lump due to WEATHER but since I haven't gotten to responding to comments on my last post about work bullshit, have an update re: work bullshit!

Tuesday they say "hey, we're going on short weeks!" and are like "I guess you can take a layoff if you don't wanna do that" and people are mostly just like "UH!!!"

Wednesday I am informed that I'll be going with one of the journeymen to another job starting probably next Wednesday. (Also one of the journeymen is like "yeah, I called [company I worked for before this] and they said they'd take me back") (Also we learn that a select few people would be staying on full weeks anyway!)

Today we are all informed, not even by the bosses, that they will not be doing short weeks after all. So. You know. Super cool of them, definitely didn't shoot themselves in the feet re crew morale and general good-will.

It's all very, "you're doing a shit job of communicating and are gonna lose people because of this", because I don't think the journeyman I'll be going to that job with wants to come back. I don't blame him; we're at the stage of the job where a lot of the work is "figure out what got missed/didn't happen because we didn't have the necessary pieces at the time", which means a lot of working around shit that's now in our way, etc etc. Plus this whole debacle about work hours.

awanderingcoyote posting in

sid_guardian

This is the fanworks round-up post for March! Please link in the comments to any Guardian (or related fandoms) fanworks you created or enjoyed last month.

all kinds of fanworks are welcome – fic, art, vids, picspams, etc. - including those made for exchanges and events
new chapters of WIPs count
meta or discussion posts, too
whether or not you've already linked these in a post of their own, we still want them here!

If you're linking to fanworks you didn't create yourself, please clearly mark these "REC", so there's no confusion about authorship/creatorship.

(And please still do link your fanworks, meta, etc. separately, in their own post, at any time!)

So ... what Guardian and related fandoms works did you create or enjoy in March?

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Oracle aka Melusine of Anjou

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Oracle aka Melusine of Anjou

Reading

Westie's Basic Ass Exchange Letter

Some chengyu and poetry (古诗)

It's April already

The case of the missing notifications

Online gathering for MM tomorrow

Slo-Mo Rewatch: Guardian episode 13, part 2

520 Day Reverse Exchange 2026 assignments are out!

Slo-Mo Rewatch: schedule update

(no subject)

March Fanworks Round-Up Post!

Profile

April 2026

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