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251219 - The Friday Five

2025-12-20T03:23:39Z

1. What is one thing about you that you hate?
Activation energy required is exponentially higher than available energy, which often also runs out mid-reaction anyway. i.e. Lazy af with ridiculous executive dysfunction & social anxiety issues, while being also more easily distracted than your average kitty.

2. What is one thing about you that you love?
I am easily contented and can find joy in doing many things!

3. If you had to change one thing about you what would it be and why?
See answer to question 1. I would love to be less avoidant for everything. It's a problem.

4. What is one word that you would use to define yourself?
Mild.

5. Imagine what you would look like in a perfect world...what do you look like?

Like the beauty in my profile pic.

(Here's a secret: I'm actually a cat reborn as a human this life, and am finding it pretty okay... but honestly, I prefer life as a cat. It has been quite an uphill task learning to live as a human and to live with other humans.)

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251010 - The Friday Five

2025-10-11T14:08:36Z

Name five…

1. ... things you can't live without.

Water, stories, air conditioning, the internet, my phone. In that order!

2. ... of the best moments in your life.

(1) That day in P1 when I was staying back for after school activities - they had just ended and I was sitting on the blue bench before the standalone wall with the school name on it, looking out across the carpark and the clouded sky. The wall separated me from the cafeteria, and there were other pupils there, but their noise had nothing to do with me. I don't know how long I was sitting there for, but it felt like a lovely moment of peace... until my form teacher walked by and asked if I was okay (LOL). There were many moments like this one throughout my life, but this was the first that I remember clearly.

(2) Not a single best moment, but a collection of them: In primary and secondary school after I figured out the meta of buying takeaway in the morning (like a pancake, begedil, a packet of meji biscuits, seaweed or other snacks) inhaling it as soon as the bell rang, and then spending the rest of recess in the library.

(3) One of the last days of my first internship, and a group of us (all the interns in my department) and couple of our bosses went out for a farewell lunch. The interns and I decided to walk back to office because it wasn't far away, but the skies were already grey and it started RAINING while we were at a traffic light. We took shelter at the entrance of another company and had to call this other boss with a car to rescue us. Within that ten to twenty minutes of sitting there, chatting and waiting to be rescued, there was a moment when they were all talking and I was mushrooming in the middle, just watching them and thinking: I'll remember this forever.

(4) The time I spent reading Langya List for the first time, finishing it at 4am and spending the rest of the night staring at the ceiling. It was a bit of a struggle to start and I was skipping maybe 5-10% of the words and/or guessing their meaning from context, but it completely rewired my expectations of cnovels in a few ways: [1] You can have a period setting, plot driven story without a romance line and still fill it with love. [2] You can have characters that don't appear on the page but are present throughout the story anyway. [3] Your sincerity and love is given of your own free will, it would be wonderful if it were reciprocated, but if not there is nothing to feel bitter over and nothing to regret. [4] The main character may die and it can still feel like a triumph.

(5) That whole day I set aside during the Apr 2025 Japan trip with friends for a solo trip to the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum. Early start, lazy Mcdonalds hotcakes breakfast, the whole morning and afternoon spent there and two hours of starbucks reading with a strawberry tea to end off the day. But my FAVOURITE moment that day was sitting in The House of the Tenmyo Family, with the scenery framed in the windows and sitting on the tatami floor in the corner of the room with a cool wind blowing in. It felt so much like being a part of the world but apart from it at the same time. Hmmm this is the latest example of the same feeling in (1).

(Readers of No. 1 Pretty Boy of the Immortal Path can probably tell why I love it so much at this point xD)

3. ... celebrities you can't stand.

Esther Yu in her faked baby voice era (no it isn't natural 🤣 there are vids of her in variety shows from an earlier period in her career proving it xD).
Chen Xiao for a while because every (literally every) drama I'd watched him in, he was acting as a character I *hated*; his face got blacklisted by association. But recently I briefly saw him in The Ingenious One, and he was fine in there!

4. ... books you enjoy(ed) reading.

Recently? Relatively recently anyway (within 2024 and 2025), I enjoyed The Murderbot Diaries, the Imperial Radch trilogy, Manifest in Words, Written on Paper: Producing and Circulating Poetry in Tang Dynasty China, 直播写纯爱文的我在虫族封神 | I Became GOAT in the Zerg World Writing BL Novels on Livestream and 唐代基层文官 | Low-Level Civil Officials in the Tang Dynasty

5. ... items in your purse/backpack/on your desk.

Outing bag: Water bottle, umbrella, eReader, lip balm, fan (and loop earplugs!).
Desk: Glass water cup with straw, tea set, wireless mouse and keyboard set, digital clock, supervising stuffed toy.

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Nirvana in Fire Exchange Prompt Lists Through The Years

2025-10-11T04:53:36Z

Since this is an annual event, I thought it would be good to have them compiled in one place for easy reference.

2016 (Nirvana in Fire Fest)
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024

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250912 - The Friday Five

2025-09-14T01:30:44Z

1. What is your favourite fruit?
Apples for sure! The best tasting (texture and sweetness) for me are fuji apples with a certain distinct stripped skin patterning. My dad and I only choose those when picking them out of the box at supermarkets. I also love banana, but only when its mashed and blended into my oats.

2. What is the last book you read?

I am in the midst of reading a Chinese serialised (and in progress) webnovel called 伪装燃命后成神了！[无限] by 夏唯一 | Unlimited Flow: After faking Lifeforce Overdrive I became GOAT! by Summer's Only. It's about a cunning compulsive liar in an unlimited flow game with a silver tongue, a deceptively fragile appearance - and actually fragile body due to debuff from his powers, an excellent grasp of psychology, and internal POV narration that portrays (and really believes) himself as cold, pragmatic and self-serving... but the characters he interacts with and us, the readers, can tell he has a heart deep down. It's very hilarious to watch his split second decisions to sow seeds - just in case - string everyone along and watch those seeds later bloom into immensely useful chances. He'd impress and amuse Consort Jing. She's on another level of course, but this is the highest praise I can give.

3. Do you like any of your school photos?
No lol. But I kept every single photo, selfie, yearbook and coffee table book because I am a nostalgic creature who hates saying goodbye. Getting rid of these would be like saying goodbye to the people we were before :'(

4. Do you ever blowdry your armpits to get the deodorant to dry quicker?
... no? I didn't know that was a thing. Question asker, did you throw out a bunch of random questions to hide the true query you need an answer to here? If so, it isn't very well hidden; this one is EXTREMELY out of place.

5. What was the last film you watched?

My last full length film watched in the cinema would be 哪吒之魔童闹海 | Nezha 2, which was very delightful in some aspects and a little disappointing in others (but oh well! you can't have everything!). On streaming platform(s), that place goes to Kpop Demon Hunters which wasn't quite tight enough in places I'd like them to be, but packed in so many industry and cultural references while telling a charming - romance free - story that they're forgiven.

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250905 - The Friday Five

2025-09-06T02:33:49Z

1. When did you "lose your innocence"?
Too early! I read very hungrily as a child, and between the misery memoirs, spy fiction, war novels and encyclopedias I had unsupervised access to - ever since I was old enough to go to the library on my own... yeah. HEH. Among them, the misery memoir type was my favourite for quite a long time.

2. Would you say you have an accent?
Oh, of course! Everyone has an accent to someone not from their region. I had an overseas friend who particularly liked having me use local slang over our calls because she found it cute.

3. Do you hope to be married (married again if divorced)?
I think marriage would not suit me as a contrary, lazy, and messy cat who keeps odd hours and needs over twelve hours of personal space and time daily, always. Talking to humans drains me SO fast.

4. If you could take one technology to a desert island (the obvious satellite phone excluded), what would it be?
An e-reader with my library of 500 books that runs on solar power and never breaks down.

5. What is the last activity you bought a ticket for?
A candlelight concert ticket off a friend impromptu for some of Joe Hisaishi's famous Studio Ghibli works + one famous one that wasn't his xD They very kindly allowed us to video record the last two performances which was a delightful bonus to end off the night.

Here they are!
Merry Go Round of Life https://youtu.be/dBxsjnTSdz4
Always With Me (the one composed by Youmi Kimura) https://youtu.be/D_7WZjY75as

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250719 - The Friday Five

2025-07-19T13:32:33Z

5, 4, 3, 2, 1 . . .

5. Name five favorite movies.
- 倩女幽魂 A Chinese Ghost Story (1987)
- 黃飛鴻之二男兒當自強 Once Upon a Time in China II (1992)
- Lion King (1994)
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)
- かぐや姫の物語 The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013)

The above are in the order of when I remember watching them. Little Women (2019), 妖猫传 Legend of the Demon Cat (2017) and 罗小黑战记大电影 The Legend of Hei (2019) would be on that list too if there were three more spaces xD

4. Name four areas of interest you became interested in after you were done with your formal education.
- Chinese poetry
- Chinese history
- Writing fic
- Making spreadsheets

3. Name three things you would change about this world.
- Banish all cockroaches from urban spaces!
- Reverse global warming. (And if that's not possible, for humans to believe in it andwant to do something about it, the way they did with the ozone hole!) - Technically I just want this so that we can get the full effects of the next mini ice age please 🥺
- Reverse plastic pollution from every inch of earth and water!!!! No alternatives.

2. Name two of your favorite childhood toys.
- Marble Run, a build your own obstacle course for marbles, with short plastic tunnels, spinny plates, a marble wheel and hidy holes.
- Wooden house set with trees that can be fitted together, red interlocking roof planks, animals and wooden blocks of various shapes and lengths.

1. Name one person you could be handcuffed to for a full day.
- No one 🤣 I think they'd go mad first, being made to wake at 3 in the morthing. But I would be a very unhappy kitty by the fourth hour anyway, when the sun has risen and I'm still prevented from doing my stretches and morning reading.

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250530 - The Friday Five

2025-05-30T18:05:10Z

1. What sets you apart from your friends?

A constant, ever present feeling of disconnect. Otherwise, I suppose it's the reading addiction! A need for stories greater then I need air xD

2. What sets you apart from your family?

The mess I leave everywhere LOL I'm a cat and also a pig.

3. What sets you apart from your coworkers/fellow students?

An unfortunate inability to respect deadlines and maintain awareness of passing time without external help. (Yes, it's executive function problems xD but still pretty exceptional and stubborn...I am nothing if not an opinionated bag of cats!) Hmmm... besides that, maybe my usual organically optimized sleeping schedule from 21:30 to 03:30? ^^; As long as I fall asleep approximately within this time, I won't feel tired and napping happens by choice and for leisure.

Been using this for years in school and at work, and everyone else sleeps when I wake up (which is the whole point of doing it).

4. What is the one thing about you that is most unique?
I would say it is rare but not unique? My absurd need to know why, dig new rabbit holes and then share them when it comes to my translation projects.

5. What is your most interesting quality?

I think I'm pretty unexciting and a very ordinary type of ordinary xD

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250321 - The Friday Five

2025-03-22T02:49:44Z

1. If you were a crayon, which color would you want to be?
Ultramarine for sure! It's my favourite colour and makes me feel so at peace (even if it is not at all peaceful looking xD).

2. Which color do you think you would be regardless of what you wanted?
Um. Honestly probably some shade of that's only suitable for a very, very small range of things and not very useful at all.
Maybe yellow ochre or green grey (sorry, colours xD).

3. Would you rather be used and get blunt, broken and lose your wrapper, or not be used and stay pristine?
I would rather be used of course. Put my beautiful blue colour into all your most memorable works of art! (I hope we will be admired together)

4. Would you rather be in a small set of crayons or a large set?
A large set facilitates more versatile and complicated compositions. But a small set would be convenient for travel. I guess I have no preference.

5. Would you rather be Crayola, or a different brand?
Pentel has been the crayon brand I've used since I was 7. So... Pentel.

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Yuletide: Chinese History RPF and Classic Literature

2025-02-01T08:21:06Z

Yuletide Chinese Historical RPF

2010

The Tale of Young Iron Fist from Kun Lun by snowynight for Muccamukk

Fandoms: Tang Chao | Tang Dynasty RPF, Immortal Iron Fist

Teen

https://archiveofourown.org/collections/yuletide2010/works/141270

2012

this place where I linger by Quillori for snowynight

Fandoms: Dà Táng Hóng Yán Fù | Tang Dynasty Girl Poem (Music Video), Tang Dynasty RPF, Inspired by Music - Fandom

https://archiveofourown.org/collections/yuletide2012/works/597690

2016

A Change of Season by lnhammer for sophiahelix

Fandoms: Tang Chao | Tang Dynasty RPF

https://archiveofourown.org/collections/yuletide2016/works/8879356

2017

go out the door by karanguni for Quillori

Fandoms: Tang Chao | Tang Dynasty RPF

https://archiveofourown.org/collections/yuletide2017/works/13075563

2018

The Way by karanguni for lnhammer

Fandoms: Tang Chao | Tang Dynasty RPF

https://archiveofourown.org/collections/yuletide2018/works/17127155

ascension (there is no 'i' in coup d'état) by whilst for athersgeo

Fandoms:Chinese History RPF, Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China - Jung Chang

https://archiveofourown.org/collections/yuletide2018/works/17047265

2019

Fandoms: Three Kingdoms History & Adaptations - All Media Types, San Guo Yan Yi | Romance of the Three Kingdoms - All Media Types, Chinese History RPF, Chinese Mythology Games Played by the Gods by Wei (wei_jiangling) for Reshiel

https://archiveofourown.org/collections/yuletidemadness2019/works/21355147

2020

The Bamboo Spinner by Franzeska for Quillori (Restricted)

Fandoms: Tang Chao | Tang Dynasty RPF

https://archiveofourown.org/collections/yuletide2020/works/28146294

2021

5 Ways To Rewrite Zhuangzi by karanguni for js_thrill

Fandoms: 莊子 - 莊周 | Zhuāngzǐ - Zhuāng Zhōu

https://archiveofourown.org/collections/yuletide2021/works/35777350

swiftly runs the rabbit by venerates for selstarry

Fandom: Chinese History RPF (For characters from Hand Dynasty/Chu-Han Contention RPF)

https://archiveofourown.org/collections/yuletide2021/works/35763565

Bamboo Ambitions by karanguni for venerates

Fandoms: Chu-Han Contention RPF, Chinese History RPF

https://archiveofourown.org/collections/yuletide2021/works/35517598

2022

A black crow in a mulberry by whYJayteesee for linyilings (Restricted)

Fandoms: 3rd Century BCE Chinese RPF

https://archiveofourown.org/collections/yuletide2022/works/43686226

Go Home by karanguni for Quillori

Fandoms:唐朝历史 | Tang Dynasty RPF

https://archiveofourown.org/collections/yuletide2022/works/42974085

2023

A Trip Down Memory Lane by linyilings for whYJayteesee

Fandoms: 三国历史 | Three Kingdoms History RPF, 三国演义 - 罗贯中 | Romance of the Three Kingdoms - Luo Guanzhong

https://archiveofourown.org/collections/yuletide2023/works/52341172

Neither moths nor the silverfish by whYJayteesee for Quillori (Restricted)

Fandoms: 唐朝历史 | Tang Dynasty RPF

https://archiveofourown.org/works/52274104/chapters/132232675

spring dreams don't have drumbeat by aninfiniteweirdo for linyilings

Fandoms: Spring and Autumn Period RPF

https://archiveofourown.org/collections/yuletide2023/works/52317817

2024

Each a different Spring by whYJayteesee for snowynight (Restricted)

Fandoms: 唐朝历史 | Tang Dynasty RPF, Tang Dynasty Poets RPF

https://archiveofourown.org/works/61423855/chapters/157011760

Chinese Classical Poetry and Literature Inspired

2013

A Roll of the Dice by lnhammer for Quillori

Fandoms: Liao Zhai Zhi Yi | Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio - Pu Songling

https://archiveofourown.org/works/1111934

2016

Living Out The Remainder Of Their Lives by Biscuit Lion (cookiethelion) for lnhammer

Fandoms: 长恨歌 | Changhen ge | Song of Everlasting Sorrow - Bái Jūyì, Chinese Mythology, Chinese History RPF

https://archiveofourown.org/collections/yuletide2016/works/8884810

2017

The Scholar's Wife by FlyingQuetzal for Quillori (Restricted)

Fandoms: Liao Zhai Zhi Yi | Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio - Pu Songling

https://archiveofourown.org/collections/yuletide2017/works/13124298

Cut-and-Dried Sleeve by lnhammer for Quillori

Fandoms: Chinese Mythology & Folklore - Fandom, Liao Zhai Zhi Yi | Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio - Pu Songling

https://archiveofourown.org/collections/yuletide2017/works/13047243

FoxGhost by Anonymous for Quillori

Fandoms: Liao Zhai Zhi Yi | Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio - Pu Songling

General

https://archiveofourown.org/collections/yuletidemadness2017/works/13137825

2018

The Quest for Immortality by athersgeo for Kaydel

Fandoms: Liao Zhai Zhi Yi | Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio - Pu Songling

https://archiveofourown.org/collections/yuletide2018/works/17085056

2021

知音难觅 | Birds of a Feather by stickmarionette for iberiandoctor (jehane)

Fandoms: Chì Bì | Red Cliff (2008), San Guo Yan Yi | Romance of the Three Kingdoms - All Media Types

https://archiveofourown.org/collections/yuletide2021/works/35760253

2022

Paper Beats Duke by ribbons for lnhammer

Fandoms:掷裴武公诗 | A Poem Thrown at Martial Duke Pei - 介胄鬼 | An Armored Ghost, Unspecified Fandom

https://archiveofourown.org/collections/yuletide2022/works/43507891

Shovels Stranded on a Riverbank by ribbons for lnhammer

https://archiveofourown.org/collections/yuletidemadness2022/works/43508122

2023

cloud-hair by the window by RuanChunXian for lnhammer

Fandoms: 木蘭辭 | Mùlán Shī | Ballad of Mulan

https://archiveofourown.org/collections/yuletide2023/works/51202759

a matter of flowers by myhaus_spaeter

Fandoms: 木蘭辭 | Mùlán Shī | Ballad of Mulan

https://archiveofourown.org/collections/yuletidemadness2023/works/52496818

The Burden of the Sword by zorilleerrant for lnhammer

Fandoms: 木蘭辭 | Mùlán Shī | Ballad of Mulan

https://archiveofourown.org/collections/yuletidemadness2023/works/52489561

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2025 Vision

2025-01-22T04:52:39Z

Let's not talk about specifics because goalsetting is CURSED xD

Driving! I got my driver's license last November, so this year I'd like to try driving out on short errands, lunch/dinner etc. and make sure my skills don't get too rusty.

Language learning! I made a post about a plan to learn Chinese in early 2023, and I've been slowly chipping away at it from various directions. 2025 is the year for 诗经 and 楚辞 at last \o/ The schedule is on a tentative trial run for the next two weeks, with adjustments to be made after. Wish I had more time to allocate to this one, but I do have a completely unrelated day job to keep up with LOL.

I am *CONSIDERING* moving progression for language of the dragon (kind of hiatused since mid 2024) to the later half of the year or even next year. But that depends on the above ☝️...

Translations! We're starting up again and I am excited about the lineup. But also have to learn to get myself to stop rabbit holing in detail, because good gods, my gdrive looks like the cover of that book Holes they made us buy for English class 🤣 Learning to relax again is important, because it was starting to stress me when I didn't have the time or energy to for digging properly. And that's not cool! This is my favourite hobby! To that end, I got a book by a local prof who annotated songs he wrote himself (revealing easter eggs!). Maybe we'll learn a thing or two from how he does it?

The Shangguan Wan'er project is firmly on hold until I have a better grasp on classical chinese, Tang history, general knowledge and epitaph writing xD It isn't fun to do it mostly blind...

Reading! Still on my diversifying agenda xD There are a bunch of Tang Dynasty related nonfiction including that CN series on Tang Dynasty low, mid and high ranking officials, the one on Textual Practices of Literary Training (my Christmas present) and a really cute one about common knowledge in ancient times. Aside from that, I learnt last year that Baihe sickliness does not quite catch me like Danmei's does and will need to do a deeper investigation into why with more comparable samples xD But speaking of Danmei, basically all the authors I enjoy (一丛音, 一十四州, 严颂颂, 清韵小尸) are in the midst of updating books now and I'm keeping tabs on all of them to swoop in when they're complete!!! /We're not going to do that 6 WIPs at once madness again.

(It looks like 芷衣's next up is a sickly mc one and I am SCRACTCHING AT THE WINDOW TO BE LET IN)

A couple more books on Japan, Tokyo and buddhist temples are lined up because of Spring trip!!!! I may start them in March and speed through xD

Note to Self: No more of getting tempted into fandom events this year 😆

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My Historical Kdrama To Watch and Rewatch List as of 2025

2025-01-18T02:54:15Z

Some of them have been on here for over 10 years, mostly because I missed them when they came out, couldn't find subs online :( and then never found the time to track them down after.

To Watch

조선여형사 [다모] Damo (2003) - Noblewoman turned fighter and servant-class undercover detective
바람의 화원 Painter of the Wind (2008) - Based on a novel; renowned Korean court painter with a crossdressing and investigative spin.
뿌리깊은 나무 Deep Rooted Tree (2011) - About King Sejong (1397 to 1450) and the creation of Hangul
불의 여신 정이 Goddess of Fire (2013) - Joseon's top potter and porcelain artist in the 16th century who was taken to Japan.
사임당, 빛의 일기 Saimdang, Memoir of Colors (2017) - Reincarnation concept Joseon-era artist and calligrapher & her modern self.
옷소매 붉은 끝동 The Red Sleeve (2021) - King Jeongjo (1752 to 1800) for Uibin Seong (1753 to 1786).
슈룹 Under the Queen's Umbrella (2022) - Queen Mother and the education of princes!

Rewatch

황진이 Hwang Jini (2006) - About a gisaeng's love and devotion to her art.
동이 Dong Yi (2010) - ❤︎❤︎❤︎ Set during King Sukjong's (1661 to 1720) reign based on the life of Choe Suk-bin. Extraordinary girl sets out to restore justice to her family.
장옥정, 사랑에 살다 Jang Ok-jung, Living by Love (2013) - Jang Hui-bin's life before becoming concubine as a fashion designer and cosmetic maker

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2025 Media Journal - JAN [1/2]

2025-01-13T20:53:12Z

Just wanted to start a simple biweekly update for my currently reading and watching, as inspired by @alterkrmn who has started keeping track on their journal.

Reading
Current
无限副本唯一指定清道夫
漂亮小瞎子也要被炮灰吗
Material Culture and the Dao: Textiles, Boats, and Zithers in the Poetry of Yu Xuanji (844–868) / for paper club
Taoism: The Enduring Tradition / the salt soaked preface was too good to miss

Finished
这剧情不对!

Listening
Current
值此今生 / Snow Sword Stride ending song on a loop!
远舟的少年 / Fangs of Fortune character song

Watching
Current
山花浪漫时 | She and Her Girls
红楼梦 (1987)

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Feeling chatty about my Han Yu fic...

2025-01-09T11:37:55Z

Each a different Spring

is my Yuletide 2024 Tang poet RPF fic about the very early beginnings of 韩愈 | Han Yu’s legendary friendship with 孟郊 | Meng Jiao. This title comes from my delight at a little poem he wrote about the scenery in late spring (with the original text and my sort-of translation below). It’s a lively little anthropomorphic sketch of the flora and how they’re looking at this time of the season, but I thought it also seemed an apt depiction of the young men and not-so-young men presenting the fruits of their many years of ~~study~~ labour in the capital, networking, making friends and being alive.

草树知春不久归，百般红紫斗芳菲

Grass and tree - knowing the returning Spring will not stay its steps for long - flaunt their fragrances and tussle in all their red-purple vibrant glory.

杨花榆荚无才思，惟解漫天作雪飞。

The willows with their fluff and elms with their pods, neither nearly as gifted nor so full of thought, earnestly fill the air with flurrying snow.

Everyone cherishing the limited time (opportunity), each contributing to the cheerful sight that is Spring in their own way even if they may not even realize it. It feels so positive, so youthful, so adorable with this framing, but a little lonely too—stepping out of the moment to capture a snapshot.

Mid-Tang’s Spring season imperial exam results (according to my casual research) are released in the second month of spring. So I pretended in my head that it was late in the tail end of the second month in the year (also the second month in the three months of spring) so we can stretch to call it late spring xD

A capture of them at an imagined first ‘meeting’ in 792 Chang’an’s Spring, through the beauty of their written word. Different styles, different attitudes, but living through the same season of life.

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2024 Yuletide Recs

2025-01-01T15:42:41Z

In no particular order except for the first, which is the gift lovely xmarksthespotwhereistand wrote for me.

General Recs

(Some familiarity with canon is recommended)

Fandom: 琅琊榜 - 海宴 | Nirvana In Fire - Hǎi Yàn
Title: In the past and ahead
W | Rating | Warnings
Characters: Xiao Jingyu | Prince Qi, Nie Zhen, Xiao Xuan | Emperor of Liang, Concubine Jing, Consort Chen, Xiao Jingyan | Prince Jing, Lin Xie | Marshall Lin, Lin Shu | Mei Changsu | Su Zhe
Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/61433170
What I liked about it: Xiao Jingyu was the tragic, once beloved Crown Prince of Liang. He died with his name in the mud, accused of treason and bestowed with poison wine for a ‘dignified’ exit. He may not have appeared in the flesh for a single page of the novel, but his shadow and absence linger throughout the story. But before all that, once he was loved, he was crown prince, he was a brother, he was a son. I wanted to know him as all of those things before he became a memory.
This gift did it <3 AND tossed in references to classical texts and ritual besides.

Fandom: 成化十四年 | The Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty (TV)
Title: 低头思故乡 (surrender myself to thoughts of home)
1.27k | Gen | No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Wang Zhi (The Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty)
Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/61419703
What I liked about it: A really great character study of Wang Zhi and his thoughts on friendship and navigating relationships, with a charming epistolary element. On point character voice!

Fandom: 星汉灿烂 | Love Like the Galaxy (TV)
Title: Old Sames
1.5k | Multi | No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Emperor Wen/Yue Heng, implied Yue Heng/Xuan Shen’an
Characters: Yue Heng, Xuan Shen'an, Emperor Wen (Love Like the Galaxy)
Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/61466773
What I liked about it: There are few cdramas out there where an Empress and Noble Consort get along, much less ones where a pair call each other sister and mean it. This is a lovely in-character exploration of how they got from the usual trope of ‘Emperor marrying a woman who is not his true love for the sake of the state’ to their refreshing relationship in the drama.

Fandom Blind Reads

(As in, I read them fandom blind and it may work for you too!)

Fandom: Thunderbolt Fantasy 東離劍遊紀 (TV)
Title: Four Character Idioms
1.96k | Gen | No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Rou Fu You | Làng Wū Yáo, Ryouga | Líng Yá, Mutsu Ten Mei | Mù Tiān Mìng, Sho Fu Kan | Shāng Bù Huàn
Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/60921622
What I liked about it: Lovely, warm character sketches in four vignettes with a charming framing device (four characters in four four-character idioms).

Fandom: Virtual Angel - ARTMS (Music Video)
Title: Accurate
11.1k | Gen | Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Characters: Camcorder Girl (Virtual Angel - ARTMS)
Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/61054399
Summary: After the tragic group suicide of five college students, all eyes turn to their remaining friend. With a camera as good as glued to her fist, what Yi Ok-Jin saw matters very little: what the public wants to know is what she filmed.
(Protip: Watch this music video first if you’re okay with flashing images → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqUP26j4XWU)
What I liked about it: I don’t want to say anything because it would give the surprise away, but just HOLY MOLY. And ofc, heed the warnings!

Fandom: 致命游戏 | The Spirealm (TV)
Title: The Ones Who Remain
7.59k | M/M | No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Wú Qǐ, Chen Fei
Relationship: Ling Jiushi/Ruan Lanzhu
Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/61601284
What I liked about it: All the characters feel so natural and alive! As an avid reader of cnovels, this fic captures the modern scifi vibe while still having it make sense to the average reader (I think). Which is very cool. The remixed mythology aspect was also well done!

Fandom: Mycenaean History RPF, Mesopotamian RPF
Title: Copper, Clay and Correspondence
W | F/M, M/M | No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationship: Ea-Nasir (Mesopotamian)/Brithawon (Mycenaean)
Characters: Ea-Nasir (Mesopotamian), Brithawon (Mycenaean), Enkhelyawon of MycenaeKarpathia (Mycenaean), Kessandra (Mycenaean), Wordieya (Mycenaean), Original Characters
Link: https://archiveofourown.org/chapters/156915673
What I liked about it: A mashup of the famed Ea-Nasir of Mesopotamia with his tablets and the procrastinating servant Karpathia of. Hysterically funny peek into the most dramatic communication breakdown epistolary style.
(If you liked the fic and want to have a poke around the irl origin story for Ea-Nasir, try this link: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kristinakillgrove/2018/05/11/meet-the-worst-businessman-of-the-18th-century/#4b80caff2d5d. The author also leaves references from their research in the fic end notes.)

Illness and Injury

Fandom: 一念关山 | A Journey to Love (TV)
Title: unto the gallant flower on the peak, call me both sworn vassal and dear friend
3.9k | Rating | Warnings
Characters: Yu Shisan, Yang Ying (A Journey to Love), Li Tongguang
Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/61395673
What I liked about it: I read this canon blind. Wonderful process of injury and injury recovery! This is the highest praise I can give ^^
(Sickliness rating: 2.1 - if you know, you know)

Fandom: 天涯客 | Faraway Wanderers - priest
Title: My Grieved Heart Is Helpless
1.2k | M/M | Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationship: Wen Kexing/Zhou Zishu
Characters: Wen Kexing, Zhou Zishu
Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/60001834
Summary: His mind was a murky swamp on the best of days, creatures with sharp teeth hidden in the depths. Today they rose to the surface, filling him with what-if’s and regrets. This was what it meant to be human: the vulnerability of his own heart gouged from his chest and gifted to the care of his beloved beside him.
-
Zhou Zishu gets injured. Wen Kexing is normal about it.
What I liked about it: Not from the POV of the fragile one (for a given value of fragile xD) but from his lover after a mild injury from a fight. The resulting reaction is tender, affectionate and definitely veering on the edge of sanity. Just the way I like my Wen Kexing :P
(Sickliness rating: 1.1)

Fandom: The Secret Garden (1993)
Title: Waiting at the Gate
5.46k | Gen | No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Mary Lennox (The Secret Garden), Colin Craven, Dickon Sowerby
Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/60129757
What I liked about it: Vivid descriptions and beautifully atmospheric, it felt like I was transported straight into the house experiencing the Winter cold with them. Charming depictions of Mary and Colin’s friendship (perfectly in character!), and their concern for poor, poor Dickens!
(Sickliness rating: 1.1)

/cough I should get around to editing some of these commentary into suitable comments to leave on these fics >.<

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random lyb thoughts

2024-11-09T07:42:05Z

Rereading LYB for book club and I'm revisiting the same thought paths as before. I've seen lots of discussion about the 'crimes' of Chiyan with regards to the Hua, but never have I seen anyone question the need to completely decimate the 200k strong army of Da Yu! They put so much effort into doing that that when Xie Yu and his borrowed, transferred army from the North came, Chiyan couldn't have put up a stronger resistance even if they wanted to. You see, they did have to pay back for doing all that in a way. Everyone does, in this story.

(But they never deserved to die reviled as traitors, and so their name was restored in the end.)

Anyway, This was the thought that inspired me for the LYB ghost story with a cultivation background - instead of wuxia... adding in the little detail of a unorthodox ghost cultivation practitioner detecting an egnormous amount of deaths (slaughter of Da Yu's main army) and correctly deducing it was from a battlefield. Then when he headed over to scavenge what he can, he instead arrived just in time to steal the souls of the massacred Chiyan dead to harvest Yin energy in his array. What a lucky find! xD

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折扇 - The Folding Fan (by Winky诗)

2024-10-10T14:51:12Z

~~I love~~ ~~this song~~ ~~so so so much, I'll probably never dare to make a lyric video with it xD~~

~~Still want to share it though, so here we go!~~

Actually went ahead and translated + did that with the help of @halfcactus ^^

It was a bright and pristine length of Silk,

its white stolen from the Palace Upon the Cold Moon;

and only because It fell in love with the Bamboo Forest Immortal

did Silk and Bamboo elope to the realm of the mortals.

Passing through the bones [1], intertwining, they became a folding fan,

taking paintings of great rivers and mountains, flowers and birds,

displaying each and every one thoroughly.

Come with me as we dive into this wonderful world,

passing on what flowed from his and her brush tips;

who knows which line will be recited and sung through the ages, forevermore?

They’ve seen untold verses from Tang, Song, Yuan and Ming on ardent love and emotion.

They’ve heard untold words of a thousand autumns, heartfelt and gut wrenching.

They’ve been to impoverished places of learning.

They’ve explored palaces of carved jade and gilding.

They’ve dreamt of strong winds and faraway sails, and met guard dogs at closed doors.

They’re lively and elegant in the palm of a hand,

living a borrowed adventure from her on the stage [2].

but passing through this place where the lights are dimming,

they fall for this world all over again. [3]

It takes experiencing joys and sorrows several times over to remember: ‘We're only a fan!’

Taking in the ephemeral events of the past, time like a surging river,

they’re visitors intently observing.

Come with me as we dive into this wonderful world,

passing on what flowed from his and her brush tips;

who knows which line will be recited and sung through the ages, forevermore?

They’ve seen untold verses from Tang, Song, Yuan and Ming on ardent love and emotion.

They’ve heard untold words of a thousand autumns, heartfelt and gut wrenching.

They’ve been to prisons, desolate and chilling.

They’ve explored gardens with spring flowers blooming.

They’ve dreamt of concerns, worries and yearning, and also met with trifles.

Come with me, let us look into this wonderful world,

through the years when he and she were still living.

Who knows how much change has pervaded and what is now different?

They’ve overheard many frivolous words of passion and revelry.

They’ve seen many moving poems spilling emotions the page cannot contain.

They’ve opened and closed a million times in their existence.

They’ve become mottled, a body seal-marked [4] by lifetimes of experiences.

They’ve only been a plaything in idle hands, and yet they know the world, truly.

[1] The sticks of wood in a fan are 骨 bone in Mandarin. When silk is mounted onto these ribs, what is used to fix it in place may be needle and thread, and hence the use of 缠绵 entwined. But also the choice of words 骨 bone and 穿 though, to me, references https://fwoopersongs.tumblr.com/post/669764276208173056

[2] A 青衫 ;it. black/green/blue robe refers to a main woman character's role in Chinese opera. In this line, I imagine an actor on stage with our fan as part of his performance. (This line is a tie-in with another song from the same album which is about growing up, growing old, and being grateful to all the people you were before, in a trench coat of life in an opera troupe.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDD3AnPmU7o

[3] The verse that lives rent free in my head, always. ‘Sometimes in the light and glamor, it feels like acting out the lines in a play, unreal. Yet in a dark and lonely place, I found my love for the world again.' Of course, a reference for a poem I enjoyed a lot: https://fwoopersongs.tumblr.com/post/708706191294021632

[4] From an traditional Chinese ink painting ancient art exhibition I went to a few years back, I noticed collectors and/or owners of the piece liked to stamp their seal in the blank space (just like tumblr reblogs!). So it isn't that much of a stretch to imagine past owners of the fan in our story doing the same...

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240927 - The Friday Five

2024-09-30T09:44:48Z

1. Most everyone will recommend a book or two to read, but are there any you would tell people to avoid? I will complain at length and in detail about all that annoyed, inconvinenced or tired me about a book. But if I were to warn people about this book, I'd probably not tell them to avoid it and instead, frame it like, 'If you hate X, you might want to approach novel A with caution because it features quite a bit of X. I also dislike it because X, Y and Z etc.'

2. If you take a book on vacation, are you more likely to take something you haven't read yet or an old favorite? A mix of both! I'd bring my e-reader and have something new while I'm in transit, and then something comforting but well read so I don't get tempted to stay up late reading.

3. Do you read any genres by the season? Like horror around Halloween? Cozy Mysteries in the Winter? Romance in the Summer? I do not! I tend to plan my non-fiction reading three months ahead, and my fiction is a natural result of genre spirals around one fixed requirement.

4. If you read a lot of Fiction do you prefer an author that has a series with the same character(s), or do you prefer stand-alone stories? I like both. Sometimes you trust the author enough to want them to take you on random adventures. sometimes, you love a character enough to follow them through hell.

5. Is there a book that you wish you could read again, but experience it like it was the first time? It's got to be 道子 with its scecret identity nonsense and every unexpected but delightful turn for sure. On English Novels side, I'd like it to be Queen of Attolia and that one scene with the wine that has stayed rent free in my head for 10 years.

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:D

2024-09-18T22:30:08Z

Hi! o/ I'm yjtc with various usernames across the internet. If you've spotted a yjtc somewhere out in the internet wilds, it's probably me (whatever it is, I can explain - !!!) xD

2024 marks the 10th year in my cnovels spiral, and 6th year in - nearly exclusively - the somewhat niche trope of consumptive main characters of delicate health. I translate Chinese songs and Classical Chinese poetry when the mood strikes, and am not in any fandom at the moment because novel reading and translation* is taking up all my free time xD (never was all that active anyway).

*Current pet project is a pilot thingy I'm working on for a certain Tang Dynasty poet.

Links
Personal tumblr: llonkrebboj
Translation tumblr: fwoopersongs
youtube: fwoopersongs
goodreads: yjtc
ao3: whyjayteesee
twitter: @YJTHECAT
bluesky: yjtc

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240329 - The Friday Five

2024-04-06T07:57:39Z

1. Rice or potatoes?

I can't live without rice! But it has to be plain white and half the portion size of my vegetables. It's very much a side dish to me. Rice contaminated by gravy makes me sad. No thanks to plain potatoes...I like them mashed with salted butter and splash of milk and pepper, but between this and white rice, rice still wins.

2. Fish or red meat?

Between codfish and duck, I'll take the cod. Otherwise it's always duck.

3. Salad or cooked vegetables?

COOKED VEGETABLES!!!! (FRESH, BOILED AND PLAIN Thanks. People who hate this probably ate overboiled and unfresh ones - those suck.)

4. Cake or ice cream?

Lychee cake over vanilla ice cream. Otherwise, vanilla ice cream over mint chocolate.But mint chocolate ice cream over all other cakes.

5. Water, soft drink, wine, beer, or hard alcohol?

Water. I like it warm ~ 1/3 hot and 2/3 cold from the dispenser.

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Anticipation for Wandering Earth 2

2023-02-04T03:59:04Z

I’m going to watch Wandering Earth 2 today and I’m dragging both mom and dad along.

This is surprising to me, because I first watched about 20 - 30 minutes of Wandering Earth on TV in 2020 or 2021 and noped right out of there. Even back then I said the concept of fleeing with home is romantic, but the suspension of disbelief required to ignore the science was faaaaaaaaaaaaaaar too much. Very beautiful movie, but I could not watch on.

And I thought that would be the end… but as usual, something started with a song. I stumbled across it while scrolling youtube last Friday at lunch:

人是_ | What is Human by Zhou Shen, the theme song for Wandering Earth 2 and the promo MV.

AND OH MY GOODNESS DID I FALL HARD FOR IT.

( Read more... )

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on fwoopersongs and translating

2023-01-23T01:53:39Z

I started out wanting to understand a song in a fanmade music video that I really appreciated and enjoyed. It was the melody, the accompaniment and the vocals that attracted me at first. And for songs that I like, it’d been a habit since childhood to copy them on a sheet of foolscap to memorize the lyrics. Prior to this one, the songs that got this treatment were almost all Japanese - I still can sing most of My Will, Kokoro and Colors from memory, though probably with awful pronunciation!

While writing down a Chinese song was novel, it was a nice feeling, being able to write the actual characters and recognizing some of them. But then, recognizing the words but not understanding how they fit together (or why), or outright being strangers with each other, really brought out the tired sigh at how much there would be to look up.

The endeavor took far more effort than I could have anticipated. Baidu back then in 2014 was almost impossible to understand. The fault laid with my reading level, rather than the language of the contributors, so I have a lot of sympathy for anyone who struggles now xD After I’d finished writing the pronunciation of the words at the side, digesting their meaning and scribbling notes in English at the margins to explain to myself, it was so satisfying to listen to the song over and over again while integrating all the new things along the way, until they became mine.

The result was a much deeper love for that song. It felt like it would spill over, but I had nowhere and no one to spill it to because the words and their meaning were in my head. How to share? After almost a year, I tried to capture how it felt to me in English as closely as possible, and tossed it out into the void that is tumblr. And that was my first translated Chinese song!

I recall an enthusiastic response to it from another fan which made me feel like a whale that had found a friend. We were ships passing in the night, but I liked that feeling.

About four months later, Fwoopersongs came to be.

The first two songs on this blog were also related to the first. Actually, nearly every song in this blog is one that I loved first. Mostly without knowing what they’re about. Digging into them was like a little journey of rediscovery every time, and a delightful new way to enjoy them.

Expressing what Chinese lyrics meant to me in English was enough at first. In the first year or so, I even made a little game with myself out of how fast I could finish each one. But that wasn’t really enough after a while. There are whole worlds within words, and that was also an aspect I came to appreciate about Chinese. The references and rich history, culture and literature that songwriters draw on when they write. And though I was very afraid (and lazy to approach) of poetry at first, the more I was exposed to it through songs, the more I grew to like it too. It’s easy to fall in love with something that others created with love.

I don’t know if people think of things this way when they read translations, but for me, it’s less about the meaning of the original work and more about the translator showing me how they see it. Before a person even begins thinking of how to translate a poem or a song, they have to know in full, what the work means to them, the shape and feeling of each line and how they fit together, because lack of conviction shows in translation (though it’s very cute as well). But in the process of doing that, the person they are and the language they speak becomes a lens that tints, and sometimes, colours over the original. Not necessarily a bad thing. That’s why I always welcome, even encourage, multiple translations of the same thing. It’s a privilege to see a thing through many viewpoints.

Everything I punt into the void is for sharing, and I don’t mind how or where it’s used. As long as people don’t claim credit, there’s even no need to tell me xD The world is larger and older then I can imagine, but I just want to show off the fun little bits of it that I see without thinking about anything else.

The most precious thing about songs and poetry to me is how they allow me to 共情, be in tune with different feelings and emotional journeys. It’s amazing to experience this and I am ever so grateful that I can.

^..^

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tea of the day: on danmei sparked by the Reencarnación incident

2023-01-16T20:42:47Z

I am especially chatty today because I had my socialization energy drained to zero by team dinner, but apparently not my incredulity at this latest drama. Begging your pardon for rambles.

//

( Read more... )

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Osmanthus Konjac Jelly

2023-01-15T15:10:01Z

Equipment:

Stove
Bowl(s)
Pot (≥ 2L)
Strainer
Chopsticks (you could use a spoon, but chopsticks makes life easier)
Container or jelly mould

Ingredients:

Konjac jelly powder packet (I use Jim Willie)
3 1/2 cups or approximately 1150ml of water
110g rock sugar
2 tablespoons of dried osmanthus flowers
30 goji berries
5 dried red dates
5 pandan leaves cut into thirds

Instructions:

Rinse the osmanthus, goji berries, red dates and pandan; flowers with the sieve, the rest in the bowl
Boil the osmanthus, goji berries and red dates on medium heat until rolling boil
Simmer the above for 5 - 10 minutes
Strain to get a clear liquid in the pot and throw the red dates back in
Add in the rock sugar and stir until fully dissolved
Add pandan leaves to the liquid & red dates and simmer for 15 - 20 minutes
Remove red dates and pandan leaves
Stir in konjac jelly powder vigorously, a little at a time with the liquid still on a low boil, ensuring it is fully dissolved each time
Pour into container or jelly mould of choice
Wait for jelly to completely cool and set, then put it in the fridge
Once chilled, it is ready to serve!

- The stove part is doable within an hour!

- If the liquid jelly mixture clings to the side of the pot during the stirring, use a chopstick to scrape it off and return it to the boiling mixture.
- Halved the amount of sugar that the konjac jelly packaging advises because the goji berries and red dates are already sweet.
- Used about 150ml more of water to make up for what will be lost with all the boiling and simmering going on before the actual addition of the jelly powder.

I ate the osmanthus flowers and goji berries with half a teaspoon brown sugar dissolved in four teaspoons of tea :D

It was deeeeeeelicious.

And the jelly too :P

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learning to read Chinese

2023-01-14T13:04:54Z

So I’ve been thinking about learning to read Chinese for a while. Never actually got started xD

This year, my only new year’s resolution is Being Systematic & Setting Measurable Goals.

(BIG for a lazy scatterbrain like yj! I know!)

I’m writing my intentions and game plan at the start of the year for this previously very nebulous idea. It’s been 4 years and counting since the thought first settled into a corner of my brain, and I… have a large collection of half/unread books to show for it? Oops!

This will also help to achieve my non-fiction Chinese reading goal for the year + making this my first fannish 50 post xD

( Read more... )

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yjtc's 2023 Goals

2023-01-03T09:14:02Z

Let's see how many of these I've managed not to meet by the end of it!

Reading

Non Fiction (CN): 诗经, 四书五经, one on history, one on poetry
Fiction (CN): Maximum 3 books a month (logged)
Non Fiction (EN): Something on cell therapy, reliability and poetry
Fiction (EN): Murderbot, Paradise Lost, Mistborn

Translation

Songs & Poetry: Minimum of 2 a month
Novels: LMAO pick one and stick to it till its done
Specific Project tangentially related to LYB
The other one ▲ less tangentially related

Others

Driving License within the year
Notion project up to Phase 2, proof of concept for 3
Kalimba scores for 山鬼, Always With Me, Leaving Hogwarts
Either NIFEX2023 or Yuletide 2023 ONLY

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