#and i even managed to guess the pronunciation correctly!

[nordic-language-love]

Saw a new word today and even though it's new I can work what it means because I recognise all the kanji!

[of-a-chaotic-mind]

9-1-1 Headcanons/Crack

A/N: I found this hiding in my drafts and giggled to myself way too much to not post it lmao.

- Athena kills the spiders. Bobby nopes the fuck away from them as soon as he sees them.

- The team prefers Buck stay away from large amounts of caffeine. Now it's bc they're terrified his heart will give out but before the lightning it was bc the adorable little shit would be bouncing off the walls after one RedBull. (Oh how I miss the days when caffeine gave me that kind of boost)

- Cat People: Buck, Hen, and Bobby

- Dog People: Eddie, Athena, Maddie

- Maddie & Buck take pinky promises VERY seriously. To them they're as serious as signing a legally binding contract or even selling your soul.

- Buck has a tiny adorable sneeze and it's never just one, always a minimum of three. Eddie & Bobby both scream sneeze but usually only once.

- God forbid Buck gets the hiccups. Bc not only do they last forever but he acts like they're gonna kill him.

- The one time the team managed to have a horror movie night the entire living room was covered in popcorn by the end of it bc Buck & Eddie hate horror movies and every time they got jump scared they flung their popcorn. And holy shit Buck screams like a girl. One of the scares made him scream so loud that he scared Eddie who was sitting right beside him who then launched his popcorn over his head and everyone behind them got showered in popcorn before the bowl landed on Bobby's head upside down like a hat.

- Nobody will even mention a haunted house because one Halloween, Hen snuck up behind Buck and whispered boo. The poor goof started flinging his arms around and accidentally smacked the shit out of Hen.

- Saw a meme with Buck thats said something about whats the word for when your hands are bisexual. Here's my take. Buck was trying to explain that he is ambidextrous one day but couldn't remember the word. "Damn it, what the hell is the word for when you can- for when- bisexual hands?!" Hen laughed so hard she nearly pissed herself before answering him "Ambidextrous, Buck."

- Saw someone headcanon that Hen and Buck bought Eddie a fake plant and convinced him was real as a prank. I think pranks are a common occurrence around the 118 but that prank specifically is the longest running and is stil going despite the fact that Buck nearly bursts into a fit of giggles every time he sees Eddie water the damn thing. Eddie actually knows its fake but his friends get a kick out of it so he plays along.

- The word's hippopotamus and Worcestershire are running jokes/challenges for the 118 team. For hippopotamus the challenge is to fit as many ps in there as possible. For Worcestershire it's just seeing who can pronounce it the most incorrect way.

- Buck loves to research shit right? He also enjoys reading. However, just because he can read big words doesn't mean he pronounces them correctly. The team is often lovingly correcting him on his pronunciation. Or sometimes he'll straight up spit out a word and hope they can play auto correct for him and figure it out.

- Hen can smell a budding romance from a mile away. She's also the queen of bets. So far, she holds the record for most bets won amongst the 118.

- Somehow various slang has made its way into 118's vocabulary. No one will ever forget the night Buck made dinner and Bobby took a bite before proceeding to claim it was "bussin'". Or the way Eddie always tells people "don't be so salty."

- The best people at sensing when Buck is about to be Buck are Maddie, Bobby, and Athena.

- Occasionally, someone will host a grill out and yep you guessed it, Bobby and Chimney man the grill (mostly Bobby) in full dad attire. When asked why, their response had the same vibes as "for shits and giggles".

- Buck has taken a liking to the phrase "Fuck it we ball," which terrifies everyone.

- That one tiktok audio but make it Eddie & Buck: Eddie: *lots of angry spanish* Buck: Someone tell me what he's saying! Wtf is he saying?! Dude, I don't speak Taco Bell! Buck can somewhat keep up with and understand it when Eddie is speaking slowly due to his time in Peru but damnit his brain doesn't process fast enough to translate the angry Spanish.

- Everyone has a habit of leaving their LAFD hoodies laying around and Buck has a habit of picking them up and pulling them on when he's cold without paying attention to what name is on the back. He once wandered up to dinner with Diaz written across his back. No one batted an eye except Eddie who pointed it out. Buck's only response was, "I knew this didn't smell right." Buck has also been caught wearing Bobby's hoodie a few times.

- Wait a damn minute. Let's talk scents. Buck wears a cologne that smells like cinnamon and fire. Eddie has a sandalwood or pine vibe. Chimney wears a citrusy scent. Bobby has an herby scent like maybe rosemary or just mint. Hen has a warm and cozy scent vibe to me so maybe vanilla and leather.

Masterlist

[rigelmejo]

Some ideas of possible beginner study activity/goals:

Beginner?

Study the alphabet of the language you are learning for a week, then for the rest of the month practice reading words in the alphabet (or practice trying to read then having an audio tool like an audio example or a dictionary-translate tool with audio-pronunciation and hear the real pronunciation after you try to read). The goal here is to get a basic grasp of the alphabet in a month. Example: Read through an explanation article, or textbook guide, or pronunciation webpage, on the Cyrillic alphabet and write down (or screenshot) a copy of the alphabet to practice reading. Then after the first week, practice reading words written in Cyrillic and use something like Google Translate to Text-To-Speech pronounce the words. (Or if you can find it, use some site with Cyrillic words already provided with audio, or some community anki deck with text and audio, or some youtube video lessons and mute them then listen to the audio after).

Find a pronunciation guide online, and go through it for a week (or find one in a textbook with audio files, or on youtube in lessons). For the rest of the month, practice by listening to audio and seeing if you can write down the words (or if they're words you know in text - see if you can recognize them only by hearing them). The goal here is to get a basic grasp of recognizing pronunciation of the language, so you can look up words easier, and speak in a way that is at least marginally understandable. Example: Go through a pronunciation guide for Chinese pinyin (I went through dongchinese's Pinyin Guide), then afterward practice a tone-pair quiz and single-tone quiz online to see if you can recognize which tone and syllable you're hearing. You can also practice by watching a chinese show (with English subs etc is fine) and practice typing the chinese words you hear in pinyin into a translator app (like Google Translate or Pleco), to see if you're hearing the word correctly. Bonus: if the show is showing Chinese subtitles (hanzi), then you can see if the pinyin you typed into a dictionary-translate app is suggesting the correct hanzi. You may have to write the hanzi you see in subtitles, into an app, to find it's pinyin and compare. Note: dictionary-translate apps may not recognize the pinyin word you type in, even if correct, if it's not the most commonly used word with that pinyin. So writing in hanzi and looking up the pinyin, to compare to what you guessed the pinyin was, may be the way you must search some less common words you hear. Study vocabulary for a week, then practice reading and remembering that vocabulary for the rest of the month. You can practice reading with show subtitles in the language, youtube subtitles in the language, comics, shows, graded readers, webnovels, novels, and news or other articles. Any kind of reading material you find manageable to try reading. If you're an absolute beginner, this reading may just be you watching a show with the language's subtitles (or dual subtitles) and trying to RECOGNIZE when you see a word you've studied, and trying to remember what it meant. This activity can alternatively be done with a focus on listening recognition of new words, just focus on listening to the show you watch to hear words you know, or if you can manage an audio drama or audiobook (even with an english/your native language transcript) then listening for the new words you studied and trying to recognize what they mean. If a word you studied comes up in listening/reading but you can't quite remember what it means, look the meaning up again for a moment. Then carry on. This is a very flexible study activity. You can choose to study 20 words from a wordlist (like a textbook, or graded reader vocabulary list), from a flashcard app (anki, pleco, a million SRS apps that exist with pre-made word decks), from a class, from new words you looked up recently while watching shows or reading. You can study 10-20 words, or 50, or 100, 300, 500, 1000. You can cram study all the new vocabulary in 1 week, or study some new words each week for the month. The main thing is you are focusing on increasing your vocabulary, so ensure you study a decent number of NEW words. As a beginner, common words in the language (such as a frequency list) or words you see often in the language based on what you engage in (such as watching a lot of crime cdramas and seeing 死 a lot, so you pick that word to learn early) are going to cause you to understand more of the language you see QUICKER. If you're reading graded readers already, picking words you don't know in the graded reader may be useful words for you to learn. As you learn more words, picking these new words from frequent words in novels you read and encounter may be a good choice.

This activity can be tailored to whatever study material you're already using and like: a textbook, a podcast, a show you're watching while looking up words, a graded reader, a novel, conversations you're regularly having with people. This is a fairly solid way to increase your passive vocabulary (words you understand the meaning of) by dozens to hundreds of words each month. The main idea is to make sure you pick some new words to learn, and then once you've studied them (even if only a little such as reading their translation you looked up once, or in a word list with translations once or a few times), then practice recognizing them. The practice recognizing them will help you improve your skills of comprehending quickly the words you've studied during real times you're trying to understand them, and remembering the words better.

[moonsinkfoxgirl]

the number AFTER every prime number

3. a specific color that gives you the ick?

let me start up gimp for a sec see if I can find one...

#b6c54a looks nasty on a pc screen by itself (though I have managed better in the past)

still could look good in a nice drawing with some other greens though

4. mythical creature you think/believe is real?

megophias megophias

6. do you use a watch?

got a new one as a present from my parents recently^^

8. do you change into specific clothes for the house when you get home?

I take off my jeans and put on sweatpants or sthg instead

12. brand of haircare/bodycare/skincare that you trust 100%?

I just get the cheap store brand stuff. it works just as well as any other

14. do you think you’re dehydrated?

nope, but I shall take a sip I suppose^^

18. your boba/tea order?

never got boba tea..., usually just get green tea at cafes

20. favorite disney princess movie?

Frozen (2013) may be the most overrated movie I have ever liked but I did in fact like it the best out of the disney princess movies I've seen. Not as good as something like The Last Unicorn (1982) though.

24. which do you find yourself using, american or british english?

the texas man who believes I am Australian said I sound american so I guess I shall trust his expertise. I was originally taught british english, but youtube has eroded most of those elements alas. Probably also partially why I almost failed my British English pronunciation class in uni twice. Main reason I failed it the first time was that I have trouble pronouncing /r/-sounds correctly because my tongue used to be attached too closely to the bottom of my mouth (they even had to cut it when I was a kid because it was ruining my teeth)

30. ask me anything !

no custom ask provided tztztz.... uhh do I have something random to say...

a lot of people seem to think Bionicle slowly went downhill either after the Toa Metru came out or specifically because of the Toa Metru, but I think even the Toa Nuva were already a significant downgrade to the original Toa, those standardized pearl grey armor parts while not terrible were the first sign of worse design to come, the Toa Metru were just taking that same method to its ultimate terrible extreme.

[dgiacomo]

#Munday: Hello! I was wondering... you write those comics in English, of course, because everyone understands, but Paldea would be the equivalent of Spain. When you imagine Giacomo and the other guys talking to Anon or the various fans, do you imagine them speaking in Spanish or English?

Another question: "Giacomo" is a typical Italian name and it is difficult to find someone outside of Italy who pronounces it correctly. (And I know... because I speak Italian.) Do you think I could ask Giacomo how he lives with his name probably often mispronounced in Paldea? Because it is a detail and maybe it is not an aspect that you have deepened, therefore I would not like... "to bother" you.

Thank you!

[I write them in English because I'm from the UK and it's my first language, haha! XD And I played the games in English, of course...

And I have thought about it before... would they be speaking English? Would they be speaking Spanish/Portuguese? Is Giacomo actually Italian going by his name and was he studying abroad to be at the academy? Can you actually confirm he'd be Pokémon equivalent of Italian since Giacomo is only his English language name and his original Japanese name is Piña? Hmmm! Lots to consider!

I personally like the idea that he's from Poké-Italy (whatever that may end up being) and he was studying abroad and now he just lives in Paldea because that's where his friends are... it also matches his olive tone skin, right? And the fact he likes to gesticulate with his arm when he's talking about something he's passionate about. But that's speculation alone, haha!

I guess, because it's been over a decade since I spoke any Spanish, I imagine them all speaking English with fitting accents?

Regarding his name... for anybody wondering, it's pronounced "JACK-oh-mo" with a kind of swing... or thereabouts XD You can look up pronunciations on youtube by Italian speakers to get the proper intonation and emphasis (which I do find hard to say, so he's "Jackomo" to me)... that's right, right, Chiarachill? Correct me if I'm wrong!

You can totally ask Giacomo whatever you like though. =) Honestly. Even if you think it might be something I haven't thought about or maybe it might be rude... it's fine, send it over anyway. XD It's not a bother!

Receiving asks is part of the joy of an ask blog for me, it lets me know you guys are interested and engaged! And when the asks stop, the blog stops, you know? So ask to your heart's content!

As a side note, I notice a lot of people who interact with this blog DON'T have English as their first language... thank-you for enjoying my blog and engaging with it even though it's in a language that isn't your first. =) I'm tickled by how many of you there are, it's awesome that Pokémon and Scarlet and Violet has managed to bring people together internationally!]

[kimberellaroo]

I used to work a library customer service desk, and had to deal with a lot of mixed cultural names. But one that stood out was a guy who rang up about his account, I said "ok, what's your name, I'll bring up your details" and he just spelled out his first name as "Kaidhn" without saying the name. And as I brought up his account I just sort of said "so is that pronounced 'ky-den', or is it Gaelic or something, and I've got that totally wrong?" And he said "you know, you're the first person who has ever managed to guess it the first time just from the spelling, most people don't even try" and I had to admit to him that I thought I was probably wrong to be honest, but was just curious about how it's pronounced because I'd never seen it before.

My own name is a relatively common English one with a slightly unusual spelling (with an -ea instead the more common -ey on the end, same pronunciation), and I think most people will accept that you might need to check pronunciation and spelling the first time, especially if you don't know if there's a language or cultural background to the name that might help identify the phonetics of the letters. And maybe people you rarely interact with might forget. But you should be able to expect that people you work with and interact with regularly will actually take an interest and take the time enough to learn your name and remember it.

When I had a coworker higher up in the organisation consistently spell my name wrong in emails despite my name being included correctly in my email signature and address, one day I was so sick of it I deliberately misspelled hers (changing Tracey to Tracy) in my reply, just to see what happened - she didn't say anything about it, but suddenly her reply back had my name correct, so it couldn't have been that hard to do all this time!

“you can say supercalifragilisticexpialidocious but you can’t say jaquan”

[magicrowiswritingstuff]

“What Do You Call Me?” - Din Djarin x female!reader

Summary: You try to note down and learn all the words Din speaks in Mando’a but there are a few whose meanings you just can’t figure out on your own. So, you have no other option than to ask him what the names he is calling you actually mean.

Warning: Din speaks some Mando’a (yep, still a warning), … I don’t think there is anything I should warn you about tho, it’s only a short fluffy oneshot... happy Valentine’s Day! 💜

Category: fluff

Words: 2.500

Notes: There is no use of (Y/N) in this one! Note 2: I finished this piece two hours before it was posted (I scheduled it and immediatly went to bed afterwards) because I really wanted to have something for Valentine’s Day… so it’s not beta-read at all. I normally read through my writing at least twice but that didn’t happen here.... it’s late, I’m tired… hopefully Din isn’t too OOC and I don’t cringe too hard tomorrow morning when I re-read it and delete it because I’m embarrassed. Fingers crossed! Note 3: I must add that it was rather relaxing to finally write something under 8.000 words…

_________________________________    

“What Do You Call Me?” – Din Djarin x fem!reader

It's no secret that Din's really smart. He's very knowledgeable and you really admired all his knowledge about different cultures and languages. You were especially fascinating by whatever language sometimes slipped over his lips, often when it was just the kid, him and you. After a while you figured that it was most likely Mando'a, the language of the Mandalorians. And the more it happened, the more often the words slipped from his mouth, the more curious you got and you began to wonder what exactly all those words meant. So, you had started to note them down on your datapad, or at least their pronunciation because you had no idea how to actually spell the words. You could write down their pronunciation fairly well but with what you really struggled was with their translations. Only a few were fairly easy.

When yet another cable went lose somewhere in the walls of the Razor Crest and Din yelled "HAR-chak" after noticing the problem you knew it had to be a swear word or something along the lines. Maybe "shit" or "damn it" but you never were too sure about it. Languages were tricky. Sometimes there just wasn't a translation for a specific word, and you could only note down a rough association. But you made it your mission to at least try. To try noting them all down, give them a translation or context in which you heard Din use them and learn them. It was hard, especially when you just couldn't figure a consistent meaning out. And you couldn't ask Din. Well, you could, but you didn't want to. Din didn't know about your little mission and you wanted to keep it that way for now. You wanted to surprise him with your effort, you wanted to be able to from at least one sentence before bringing it up because for now you were a bit too embarrassed and unsure. You wanted to impress him. You huffed and glanced up at the streaks of silver and blue that were swirling around the Razor Crest while in hyperspace. You were sitting on one of the co-pilot seats, legs perched up and pressed to your chest. Biting your lip in concentration you pushed your hair back with your free hand, the other one was holding your datapad, as you sighed deeply. You were frustrated, there was no other way to describe it. All the letters you wrote down seemed to laugh at you whenever you glared at them in anger when you weren't able to decipher their meaning. With a groan you put the datapad down on the floor beside you. You just couldn't look at it anymore, and stretched all your limbs away from your body, melting into the seat. You tried to focus on your breathing, to calm down your frustrated thoughts. Your goal of forming at least one sentence seemed even further away now than when you started your little mission. There were just too many inconsistencies. Sometimes you thought you finally figured out what the nickname he called the kid by meant only for him to call you by the same name. You were sure that Din wasn't calling you by a name that would translate to "child". You furrowed your brows. At least you hoped so for his sake. But one word that left you especially baffled was "REE-yay". You couldn't quite pinpoint when he started to call you that but it must have been very early on. And you could never figure out a consistent usage or meaning. At first you thought that it maybe just meant girl or woman? But you weren't so sure about that anymore. It somehow didn't feel right. The word felt too … intimate to only mean girl or woman. You huffed and scratched your neck in an attempt to soothe the aching and to sort your thoughts. You just wanted to figure out what he was calling you at that point. You didn't even care anymore if you had to ask Din to finally figure it out. You just wanted some clarity. "What are you worrying about?" You leaned your head back to look at Din who was standing behind you, his hands on the back of the seat to either side of your head. For a moment you just stared at him, in awe of how the flickering lights of hyperspace reflected on his armor in such a stark contrast to the void of his black visor. Something so typically Din in a way. You quickly shook your head and lowered your gaze when you felt heat rise to your cheeks. "I'm not worrying, just thinking" you mumbled and crossed your arms before your chest. Din chuckled lowly behind you and then sat down in the pilot seat beside you. "What is my verd'ika thinking about then?" Your body tensed, not only because of the new nickname but primarily because of the "my" he had put before it. What did he mean by that? What was he calling you? My friend? My buddy? My ... woman? You almost yelped at that thought but managed to force your jaw to stay shut. With your eyes wide and round you stared at the Mandalorian. His gaze was lowered and focused on the switches and buttons before him but not in an embarrassed manner or in an attempt to hide from your gaze. He seemed carefree and relaxed. He wouldn't just call you "his woman" and not react, right? You faintly nodded at yourself. No, this nickname meant something else. It had to because you weren't sure if your heart could take anything else. You blinked and noticed that Din was now facing you, his head tilted to one side in question. With heat rising to your face once again you noticed that you hadn't answered him yet. "Ehm, nothing really. Nothing important, don't worry." You bit your lip and cursed silently at yourself. This could have been your chance to ask him. To ask him what all those names meant. But you didn't. _______________ "Can you hold this, ner ka'ra?" Din asked and handed you a tool without turning to look at you. "O-of course" you stumbled and took the tool from him, so he had a free hand to grab the cable that had come loose yet again. You gulped and pushed your hair back while you glanced at Din's back as he continued to work. The nickname he had called you was already well known by you. He had started to call you that and that other word "REE-yay" more frequently ever since one week or two. Almost no other nickname or word in Mando'a left his lips anymore, which made it rather difficult to achieve your goal of learning one sentence in that language. And you still had no idea what the nicknames meant either. You figured that "nair" translated to "my" but that only made your face heat up even more than before. "Riye?" Your eyes snapped back to his dark visor that was now turned to you. Embarrassed you realized that you had spaced out and probably missed something he had said to you. "What?" you asked, your eyes wide and unblinkingly staring at his helmet hiding his eyes from you. Din let out a sigh and completely turned around to face you. You gulped and redirected your gaze upwards. "Something is on your mind. What is bothering you?" "Always so direct" you joked and laughed nervously, fumbling with the tool in your hand. "Riye" he addressed you carefully but with a slight warning in his tone. He was serious. You bit your lip and stared down at the ground, not able to hold his gaze. But you stayed quiet. With your mind racing circles in your mind, you couldn't decide if you wanted to finally ask him or not. When you felt hands on your shoulders your head shot up and met with the void of Din's visor again. You gulped, your eyes flickering from the visor then to the wall and back to his visor repeatedly. Then you let out a long sigh. Without a word you put the tool in your pocket and instead grabbed your datapad and quickly pushed it against his chest before you could retrack again. Perplexed Din lowered his head to stare at your hands before he slowly took the datapad from you. Silently he read through all the words you had typed down. "I tried to note down all the words you speak in Mando'a and translate them" you began to explain, fiddling with your hands while your eyes were directed to the floor once again. "But I only managed to figure out their rough pronunciation and write down some notes, I... I really struggle with their meaning" you continued to ramble. When Din didn't react after a few long heartbeats, you cautiously glanced up at the silent Mandalorian. He was unmovingly staring down at your datapad, his body completely tense. Then suddenly his head snapped up to meet your gaze. "When did you start doing that?" Confused you blinked for a few seconds, trying to sort your thoughts. "Ehm, a few weeks? Maybe two months or more?" you guessed and shrugged your shoulders. "I didn't tell you because I wanted to at least learn one full sentence to surprise you with it but..." you didn't finish and just gestured to your chaotic notes that mostly consisted of furious question marks. Din looked back down at the datapad. "Why?" You furrowed your brows. "Why?" you asked to make sure you heard him correctly. The Mandalorian nodded, his helmet still lowered but you weren't sure if he wasn't maybe looking at you. Out of reflex you pointed at him. "Because..." you cleared your throat. "Because of you." Your clasped your hands before your chest after that, your eyes darting around again in nervousness. Din slowly lifted his head and you felt his gaze burning on your skin form behind the visor. Both of you stood there, frozen and not daring to breathe for what felt like an eternity. You bit your lip and began to fumble with your hands again. "I-" Din started. "I don't know what to say." You couldn't hold back your laugh, the nervous giggles that finally spilled over your lips as you shook your head. "Sorry" you said breathlessly, the laughter still very noticeable in your voice, though. "I don't know why I'm laughing." That made Din laugh, too. He handed you back your datapad when you had calmed down. "I'm impressed" he stated and pointed at the device. "Most of the pronunciations are correct. But the translations..." He chuckled lowly and stemmed his hands against his hips. You crossed your arms before your chest and raise done eyebrow at him. "What do you call me then?" "What?" Din asked perplex, the laughter suddenly vanished from his voice. He almost sounded... flustered? Or at least surprised. "You said the translations of the words were wrong so teach me what they really mean" you proposed with your chin slightly raised in a challenging manner. You grabbed your datapad again and looked through the words as you continued. "Most of the words I wrote down are nicknames, so what are you calling me?" Din froze, you couldn't even see his chest rise and fall anymore. Now you were pretty sure that he was flustered and embarrassed. Or maybe even scared that you would figure out the meaning of his nicknames for you? Your body vibrated in anticipation, eager to finally get to know what all those nicknames mean. "Din?" you asked, eyebrows furrowed. "What does "REE-yay" mean?" For a few more moments he stayed still before he cleared his throat and tilted his helmet away from you, staring at the wall behind you. "What does... riye mean?" he questioned, his voice uncharacteristically high and trembling. You hummed and nodded. "Ehm, it means..." he started and directed his head back to face you. "It means favor, benefit or good turn." You furrowed your brows. "Good turn? Benefit?" you asked confused. "What does that have to do with me?" "When used as a term of endearment it means that this person, upon meeting, changed live for the better" he explained quickly. "Just like how you change my life for the better." Your eyes grew wide. "Wha-what?" Din slowly reached for you without another word and placed his gloved hand on your cheek that was already burning again in embarrassment. "You made my life better, riye. You and ad'ika, the kid." Your breath hitched in your throat as your eyes stared into the void of his visor, selfishly longing to peek behind it to see if his eyes were equally as wide as yours. "I-" you began but you had no idea what you even wanted to say. Your eyes darted around again as you tried to find the words, any words. But Din's hand on your face, his thumb drawing slow circles on your cheek, made you shiver and gasp for air. You had expected a lot but nothing like that. You hadn't been prepared for that confession. You had no idea what to say, so instead you just let your datapad fall to the ground and placed your hands to either side of his helmet. Din tensed but when he realized you weren't about to move any further, he let his hand wander from your cheek to your eyes, covering them completely, leaving you in the dark. Then he placed his free hand over one of yours. The touch sent shivers down your spine and you felt your heart beat repeatedly against your ribs in anticipation. Then he slowly guided your hand up, lifting his helmet in the process. It didn't move up much, just enough for him to place his lips on yours. Your heart skipped a beat when his lips melted over yours, dancing against them, tugging at your bottom lip ever so slightly. You gasped and stepped closer, pressing your chest against his. Even with his hand covering them you shut your eyes tight, as you soaked in the feeling of his lips, rough and soft at the same time. The heat spread from your cheeks to your neck and further down until it settled in your stomach. The flames in your belly hungrily fluttered and stretched towards Din, craving his touch and more. Your fingers began to tremble against his helmet, unable to hold onto anything. You let out a short whine at that and pressed even further into him. The coldness of his beskar, however, did nothing to soothe the fire in your veins. Slowly Din pulled away, his lips still hovering over yours, touching ever so slightly. "You changed my life for the better, too" you whispered into the dark, a small smile adorning your face now. And before you knew it Din's lips were back on yours.

_________________________________

Taglists:

Permanent Simps: @buckysalefty

Din Djarin Simps: @theflightytemptressadventure / @sarahjkl82-blog / @remmysbounty / @cali-beaches-wakes-and-boards / @idekah / @freeshavocadoooo / @dindaddy / @wonderless-screwup​

If you want to be added/removed/switched to another taglist at any point just let me know!

The crossed out names I couldn’t tag normally (I had to do some coding for it to work) so PLEASE check if “Allow this blog to appear in search results” or anything similar regarding tagging in your settings is turned ON for your blog! I hope that works so I can tag you more easily the next time, BUT if your name is still crossed out the next time shoot me a message to let me know you turned it on but it still isn’t work, please. I’ll try to find another solution for it then.Thank you! 💜

[hxhhasmysoul]

if a shonen manga doesn’t traumatise you then what’s the point

why i love jyujyutsu kaisen

1. itadori yuuji* - he exists, that’s it. you should read jjk to experience yuuji being the best boy for chapters on end. is yuuji a typical plucky shonen protag? aren’t they all? like it’s a meme because it’s true. but the devil is in the details. jjk has amazing character writing. very good character moments. but also i like the type so i’m biased - there’s just something that hits just right when the character has this kind of positive energy and that’s being picked apart and torn into.

2. gege akutami is a little cursed cat and they will make it other people’s problem by creating a cursed story like jjk. it’s traumatising, it’s cruel and it has good character writing so you will care when it hurts you. jjk is brutally honest about what it is from the start, it’s violent and gory and you will get this false sense of security that you’ve adjusted to it. and then it will get super cursed. 

3. it has a bs complex power system with a ton of rules and gimmicks. i’m sorry, i just enjoy that. go off you little cursed cat and give your characters powers based on making plushies or working a 9 to 5 job.

4. there are so many factions in this and characters who just have their own agendas. i just like that kind of writing. also re factions. gojou satoru creates his faction exploiting the found family trope and it’s delightfully cruel and sad. like i guess people can argue that it’s not on purpose that he just finds them like that but imho it’s on purpose because i see him being cunning like that. he has his very clear agenda and all the strays he’s gathered and fostered are exceptional, loyal to him and deeply emotionally entangled as a group.

5. women are actual characters in this with personalities and agendas, omg that means so much for a shonen. a queer character has been introduced once so far unless we take that one statement of nobara’s seriously**. anyway when a queer character appears there’s no joke about it, like their queerness isn’t the butt of the joke, omg that means so much. also there is no pervert character, omg that means so much.

6. characters have canon theme songs, it’s basically a high school au fic at its core***.

issues with jjk that can make you not want to read it

1. mahito

2. it suffers a bit from ‘so many characters’ but it introduces its characters gradually so imo it’s manageable.

3. it’s very violent and sometimes gross.

4. it’s a battle shonen true to its genre.

5. the techniques are convoluted and require focus when reading ad some have long explanations

6. FUCKING MAHITO!

____________

* for whatever reason the english-speaking fandom doesn’t use the correct transcription of the japanese words. don’t you people have the diacritics on your phones if the extra ‘u’ or ‘o’ offends you? the drop of ‘y’ is just upsetting. anyway, the point is that since you don’t transcribe it correctly you pronounce it all wrong and it’s super annoying, the length of vowels matters. also my absolute pet peeve is when i hear people pronounce ‘sukuna’ wrong, i want to murder someone when i hear it - why? the correct pronunciation should be easier for english speakers.

** this isn’t a hxh type shonen so all the shipping, if you want to engage in it, happens based on “that one line of dialogue” or “that one panel/chapter”. i don’t think anyone in the manga even is in a relationship, like even off screen with an unnamed character. if someone was about to say okkotsu, know that i’m going to kill you. i guess that cursed cat gege just isn’t interested in those sort of stories or they don’t think they can write them well. still  that being said: nobamaki forever, the first otp of the story. itajun is the only yuuji ship i accept and gege you cowardly cursed cat! they shared these looks and moments and not one kiss. itajun is otp. an amazing artist brought me to inukko and when they draw it i can see it. 

*** no, it’s not. but wouldn’t that be fun and healing.

[blackrose343]

Something Different

Warnings: None

Devil May Cry - Vergil x GN! Reader

Fanfic Summary: Everyday has been feeling the same. So you decided to do something different tonight: play Scrabble.

1,387 words

I started to play Scrabble recently with my boyfriend and family. While playing, I thought this would be a cute date night idea with Vergil.

Note: If I remember correctly, I think today’s Scrabble game comes in a red box. The Scrabble game in this fanfic is based on the one I have. It’s an old deluxe version with a lazy Susan built into it. (That came in a blue box.)

Barely audible classical music greeted you from your hard day at work. As always you found Vergil on the couch reading his book. Without looking up, Vergil motioned for you to join him. Eagerly, you made your way to the couch. Vergil lifted his arm so you could cuddle with him. You plopped on the couch, gave him a kiss, then rested your head on his shoulder. Once you were settled, Vergil read to you.

Vergil’s calming voice was always welcomed but you wished he would read something else once in a while. He read this book so many times, he could recite the whole thing from memory. You never said anything because you understood the importance of the book. It was just that it was becoming a bit too...boring? No, you always enjoyed listening to poems by William Blake. You just wanted to listen to something different once in a while.

Now that you were thinking about it, you started to realize your life was currently on repeat. Wake up, go to work, spend the evening with Vergil, and go to bed. Each evening with Vergil was the same: dinner, then cuddle on the couch. There were occasional date nights here and there. Just not often enough for your liking. Maybe you needed more of those. Or just something different to do.

What else is there to do that both of you would enjoy? TV? No, Vergil wasn't too fond of it. Take a walk? Not now, it was pouring. Play a game? Maybe...Does Vergil know how to play any? You had an inkling Vergil might not be too familiar with videogames. He was still getting used to technology with Nero's and Nico's help. The only other option was board games or playing cards.

You tapped Vergil indicating you needed to get up. You headed straight for your junk drawer in the kitchen. Your search for playing cards interfered with the music playing and Vergil’s reading. You tried your best to be as quiet as possible. The rustling of items ruined your attempt to do so. After taking your arm out empty handed, you darted to the bedroom. Vergil looked at you quizzically, wondering what you were up to.

After searching your nightstand, you gave up looking for the playing cards. You opened your closet, eyeing all your board games. Most games you had would be fun with 3 or more people. Some you weren't sure if Vergil would be interested in (or understand).

You rearranged your games to get a better view of the ones in the back. Little dust clouds attacked your face. You waved your hand back and forth during a coughing fit. Near the end, Vergil entered the room to see if you were okay. “Dear, are you-”

"THERE IT IS!" You handed Vergil the dark blue box. You used your sleeve to wipe the light layer of dust off. You took the box from Vergil, then headed to the dining table. Vergil’s curiosity led him to follow you without thinking.

"Scrabble" being revealed brought a nostalgic smile to your face. You used to play this with your grandparents during your teens. Your intention was to improve your spelling. Although you soon figured out some interesting words that you would have never guessed existed. Some of the words were challenged. If the challenged word was in the Scrabble dictionary, all of you would laugh at some of the definitions.

You haven’t played for quite some time. You rarely had time. Work dominated your life. Most of the free time you had, you wanted to lie down and relax. When you did find time to play, not many people you knew wanted to. (Or weren’t much of an opponent.)

"Want to play Scrabble?" Your nostalgic smile turned into a sheepish one. You silently hoped Vergil would at least be willing to play one round. You believed he would be a challenge and enjoy the game.

A tiny smile crept across Vergil. He gave you a light peck on the forehead, then took a seat. "Of course."

"Do you know how to play?" Vergil nodded while taking the board out of the box. You were a bit shocked yet should have known he would know how to play. What you didn't know was that he has been playing this game on the smartphone Nero got him. Vergil would never brag but he wouldn't deny he was pretty good at Scrabble.

You shook the bag before taking a lettered tile out of the bag. You showed Vergil your letter, then placed the bag in front of him. "I got 'E'. You pick one."

"J." Both of you placed your tiles back into the bag. You shook it once more then both of you got 7 tiles each. Vergil turned the board to you as you rearranged your letters to come up with a word. You lightly chewed your cheek. You didn't have the worst letter combination. But it could be better. You could come up with something but it wasn't going to get you many points. Eh, nothing to worry about too much right now since it was the first turn. You placed your word on the board then let Vergil take his turn.

Vergil proved to be a bigger challenge than you anticipated. (Or maybe your skills for this game declined.) Throughout the game you attempted to get control of the board. You meticulously placed your tiles to prevent Vergil from using multiple point spaces. While at the same time trying to keep them open for yourself.

Somehow Vergil was able to get points from words you would never have thought of playing. Some of the words you challenged but they were in the Scrabble dictionary. To mess with him a bit, you asked him to pronounce some of the words. Of course his pronunciation was perfect. Your attempts made Vergil laugh. You threw some potato chips at him in retaliation.

Laughter soon changed to stubborn silence. Both of you became determined to beat the other. Vergil tried to claim the triple word space, along with all the additional letter points. You knew you wouldn't get all of them so you continued to prevent him from doing so. You managed to prevent him from using the triple word on the left side of the board by playing "jeer". The "J" was placed on the triple letter score, making the word's total 33 points.

Vergil's brow furrowed when he watched you play "jeer". You didn’t make the board any better for him. He drew the ‘Q’ after his last turn. He didn't have a "U" and there were no free ones on the board. To top it, he suspected “jeer” put you further into the lead. Vergil’s situation was not looking too good. Especially since the game was at its end.

Vergil couldn't trade letters because you just took the last of them. He knew you wouldn’t trade any with him. Skipping his turn was not an option. You only had 2 tiles left. He was not going to let you run out of tiles before him. Vergil leaned back into his chair as he continued thinking of what to do.

Knowing Vergil was struggling with the "Q" brought a smile to your face. You believed Vergil was trying his best to hide his frustration. Too bad it was obvious.

Vergil's eyes narrowed when he heard you chuckle with amusement. Instantly you covered your mouth since you couldn't stop yourself. Vergil's eyes softened when he saw you were enjoying yourself.

You saw an open "I" on the board. Vergil could play "Qi" for 11 points. You wondered why he didn’t do it. Maybe he didn’t think it was a word? "Take your time. I know you're trying to get rid of the 'Q'."

“Hmm…” It felt like minutes since it became Vergil’s turn. He was at his wits end. To not keep you waiting any longer, he settled for playing “tap”.

"You sure? You know after my turn, I win?"

"I do." After you played your last word, Vergil totaled the scores. A victorious smile spread across your face when you saw the scores. You beat Vergil by 5 points. You excitedly kissed Vergil from across the table. “Next time, I will win.”

[ratsoh-writes]

Remember the Unus Annus thing where Ethan couldn't say skillet? If not, it's on YouTube. Skellymen with an SO who does that. Just m i n u t e s of struggle lol

I’ve never watched Unus Annus but I do understand not pronouncing things right on a spiritual level

I’ve just recently discovered that lingerie is pronounced as lawn-jer-ey and not ling-er-eee

I am a 22 year old woman

Sans: he makes it worse by just repeating the word to SO but even more wrong each time.

Skillat.......skiller... kill it.......skill.....ski.....skile-

Papyrus: he’s doing his best to help SO pronounce the word but ends up getting mixed up with them and pronounce it the same wrong way they are

Star: star may be a helpful and loving boyfriend, but even he has limits. After several agonizing minutes of no progress, he’ll have to leave the room so he can scream into a pillow

Honey: saint honey to the rescue! He’s completely calm and collected the entire time as he helps his SO puzzle out the pronunciation of skillet. Together they overcome this obstacle!

Red: his bully is showing. Red is totally going to make fun of SO for this. The more they struggle the more giggly he gets 

Edge: same answer as papyrus in that he gets mixed up, but edge refuses to admit that he’s wrong so he insists that that is the correct way to pronounce skillet. This man can and will die on that hill

Mal: he’ll calmly sip his tea and enjoy watching his SO mentally implode. This is way better than reality tv

Cash: each time SO tries and fails to pronounce skillet, cash will repeat it back to them in a completely different voice and accent:

“Skillet”

*southern twang Bruce lee voice* “no it’s skillet”

“SkILLet”

*russian Marylyn Monroe voice* “nO, SkilLeT”

“SKILLET”

*screaming in mal’s voice* “NO ITS SKILLET G*DDAMMIT”

Oak: same as sans, he’s giving you worse and worse suggestions, but oak is only half-playing. There’s a small part of him that wonders if what he thinks is the correct pronunciation is actually incorrect 

Willow: he doesn’t second guess himself and will manage to keep saying it correctly for SO. Unfortunately willow thinks this is getting ridiculous and leaves SO to it lol

[mimiatmidnight]

Predictions on Baby Girl Sussex?

I’m FREEEEEEEE from finals and ready to chat with you all once again! Thank you all for being so patient, I’m so excited to dive into all your questions and give them the novel-length responses they deserve 😉

I’m assuming you mean name predictions haha, cause the only other thing I can think of to predict would be her birthday (for the record, I’ll go ahead and put my sister’s birthday, June 10th, for no reason other than I predicted my own birthday, April 26th, for Archie!). But I love talking about baby names (as you can see by the length of this post 😅), so let’s get into it.

So I fully expect to be completely taken aback by their pick. Like not even on the same planet as my predictions. Cause that’s just how those two roll lmao. But IF they’re staying in the same theme as Archie’s name, I’m expecting something that’s also short, possibly nickname-y, kind of dusty and vintage, but with a whimsical charm, just like Archie’s. I am still operating with the assumption that she will one day be Princess (whether or not that actually happens, of course, remains to be seen), so I’m trying to keep that title in mind. And also, given that name meanings appear to hold significance to them, I tried to at least somewhat keep meanings in mind. So, in no particular order:

Eloise

“Healthy; wide”

French, English

I am SO charmed by this name. If I hadn’t already decided on Elliott for my future son’s name, this name would be right at the top of my future daughter’s list. I just thinks it’s so delightfully playful yet still timeless and classic. It gives easy and pretty nicknames with Ellie and Ella, or even Lizzy (possibly to honor her great-grandmother?). “Archie and Eloise” sounds so perfect and natural to me, without sounding kitschy or too over the top with the matching. “Princess Eloise” is so deliciously perfect, it just fits together like a puzzle piece.

Eleanor

Unknown meaning

English, French

Eleanor hits almost all the same beats I mentioned above for Eloise, even down to the lovely Ellie/Ella nicknames. It’s even more royal than Eloise, with such heady associations as the legendary Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine (not to mention the American Queen, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt!). Eloise is closer to my heart, but I’d be thrilled with Eleanor as well.

Greta

“Pearl”; diminutive of Margaret

German

This one’s quite old-fashioned, but I think it’s so charming and would make an adorable name on a little girl. And fun fact, the name Meghan comes from a nickname for Margaret, which is why both those names as well as Greta all mean “Pearl.” So this would be a perfect way to honor little girl’s mama in a more subtle way.

Poppy

“Red flower”

Latin, English

Spunky yet sweet. Pays tribute to her mother’s homeland of California, while also sounding very at home in her father’s homeland of the UK. A flower name in honor of her mama’s own mama. This scarlet name would be even more perfect if the Ginger Avenger manages to make himself another little Gingette. And as I said to one of my anons the other day, “Princess Poppy” is so screeching cute I might actually combust if I think about it too much, so let’s move on.

Lea

“Meadow; weary”

English

To be totally honest, this one is mostly just because I’ve been addicted to listening to “Lea” by TOTO on repeat lately. Although “Princess Lea” might be a bit too . . . you know. Stor Wors. Even though the sci-fi princess pronounces her name differently, I think they’ll probably still want to avoid that association. Still, that song is heavenly and the name goes with all my criteria so I’m putting it in anyways.

Hazel

“Hazelnut tree”

English

Another nature name, one that I’m sure our favorite Earth Mama will enjoy ;) It’s newly popular, but in my opinion still retains that distinctive and whimsical uniqueness of a name that’s much further on the fringe than Hazel actually is. I can just picture a little hazel-eyed princess running barefoot around her gorgeous backyard, wild hair all spread out as she lays underneath a hazelnut tree. Ugh, so cute.

Etta

“Estate ruler”; feminine diminutive of Henry

English, Scottish

I suppose in response to Archie’s middle name Harrison, I’ve seen some Squaddies predict Henrietta for his little sister. And um . . . that is not a favorite of mine 😅 But if Harry wants to add his brand to his second little munchkin as well, why not Henrietta’s much more sleek and dynamic offshoot, Etta? It's got that old school feel, with also a spark of liveliness. I also love that it ties to their Black ancestry through one of the most legendary Queens of American Soul Music, Etta James.

Maeve

“She who intoxicates”

Irish

Incredibly endearing with a rich history. For my own personal use, this safer option might actually be called upon for my future daughter if I never manage to work up the courage to use my actual long-time Irish favorite, Saoirse. But for Harry and Meghan, I can’t really see them using this one. Still, I felt like I needed an M name to cover all my bases, and this is one of the few that I like. Some other honorable “M”entions (get it?) include Maisie, Melody, and Madeleine (thank you to my lovely anon for this one!).

Francesca

“From France; free man”; variation of Frances

Italian

I haven’t really mentioned middle names here, mostly because this post is long enough already and middle name combos just add a whole other level of crazy. But given the enormous legacy of her grandmother, I am extremely torn on whether Baby Girl will be getting a name in her honor. If her parents so choose, Diana’s middle name Frances, or even it’s more ornately feminine variation, Francesca, would be lovely honors for the little princess to carry. If they do end up honoring Diana, I’d expect it to be in Baby Girl’s middle name.

Violet

“Purple”

Latin, English

One last flower name for Earth Mama Meghan. Violet was my top pick for Archie when he was still the mysterious Baby Sussex, but though it has since fallen from my top spot, it still is a lovely, classic name of inarguable feminine grace, yet with an underlying core of strength and fortitude. I feel like Violet is a woman who ties her hair back with a soft velvet bow, but then hitches up her skirts, draws her sword, and shows the battlefield who’s boss. I just love the duality of this name, and I think it would be a lovely gift for a little girl.

Alice

“Noble”

German

Vintage, classic, girly, and solidly royal, this name calls to mind white rabbits and looking glasses. Once again, on a personal note, this might be an option for my future daughter if I chicken out on trying to get everyone to pronounce Alicia correctly. I love that name in the Spanish pronunciation, “Ah-lee-see-ah,” but I find the Anglicized “Ah-lee-sha” to be dreadful and I wouldn’t want to burden my girl with a lifetime of corrections. Anyways, Alice is just as elegant, if not quite as ornate, and in any case is much more likely for our British-American princess. Plus, what a stunning pair of name meanings to gift these two siblings: “Brave” Archie and “Noble” Alice. They sound straight out of an Arthurian legend. (Plus, how cute would “Archie and Alice” sound!)

Honorable Mentions Cause I Need To Wrap This Shit Up:

Evie/Edie (both follow all the E names I wrote about above, and Edie in particular is a modern name full of moxie that would be a great nickname for the older, traditional Edith)

Lily (yet another flower name, and I just like the sound of this one)

Spencer (another possible route to honoring Granny Diana, yet maintaining a much more modern and spunky taste than Frances, while also being less direct)

Clara (of Nutcracker fame, adding here mostly because I think I’d melt if I heard this in Harry’s voice and accent)

Lucy (same vibes as Alice and Clara)

Ivy (cute, simple, girly nature name, but unfortunately already in use by the daughter of Meghan’s close friend Jessica Mulroney)

Zoe (I have absolutely no personal connection to this name, but for some reason it just now randomly popped into my head as something they might choose, so here ya go)

So yeah! Sorry this was so long, but it was super fun! Thank you for sending in this great question. I’d love to hear all your guys’ name predictions, dream picks, and wild card guesses!

[theuniversitychallengereview]

UC 51.02 - UCL vs St Hilda’s, Oxford

So, here in the UK it is Freedom Day, the day on which all of the Covid restrictions that have been in place to varying degrees since March of last year were nominally lifted. I say nominally because some of them are still in effect, and some are still in effect in some situations and not others, but most importantly we can all go to nightclubs and grind up against sweaty strangers again, and even more importantly for the governing Tory party, we are all distracted from the fact that cases are in the tens of thousands again and more than half a million people have been told to self-isolate by the suddenly semi-omnipotent Test and Trace App (which is still forgetting to do a lot of the actual tracing). 

And yes, I understand that the vaccine rollout has been very successful, and that hospitalisations are not rising at the same rate as the cases, but they are still rising, and with no barriers in place to stop them from rising they will just, continue to rise...? And then, having promised that today is the magnificently wonderful Freedom Day (on which the Prime Minister himself is self-isolating, ironically, after U-turning on the invention of a loophole which would have made him exempt from the vagaries of the App), will Boris have the stones to turn around and admit that all of his bluster was, once again, just that.

I don’t really know the answer to that question. All I do know is that it was so hot today that no one went outside anyway, making the very first Freedom Day a bit of a damp (though rapidly evaporating) squib. And with that off my chest, lets answer a different sort of question as UCL take on St Hilda’s College, Oxford in the second match of the 2021/22 series of University Challenge.

This is St Hilda’s fifth appearance in the Paxman Era of the Challenge, and their first since 2006, with their best ever result a quarter-final loss to Manchester in 2005. Manchester went on to lose to tonight’s opponents UCL in the semi-finals that year, and UCL would go on to lose to Corpus Christi in the final. They have been beaten finalists once more in the intervening years, falling to Manchester in 2013.

But that’s enough waffle, and I’ll not bother with the rules, so here’s your first starter for ten...

I was watching Love Island yesterday, and based on the one episode I saw I am confident enough to say that UCL’s Traeger has a hair style that wouldn’t be out of place in the Villa. Aside from this, I’m fairly sure there will be no crossover between the two shows (and this isn’t a comment on the relative low-brow or high-brow nature of the two shows, it is purely being done as the set up to the joke which follows, so prepare yourselves for that) unless University Challenge introduces a surprise segment in which the contestants have to dress up as cats and mice and snog each other while scantily clad (though it is Freedom Day, so anything could happen).

St Hilda’s take the first starter of the night through their captain Dionisio, and take a few from the first bonus set, though they do not know that Thomas the Tank Engine was set in Sodor, which Paxman pronounces (to my ear) oddly. UCL hit back with the next two starters and go thirty points clear. 

The first picture round is translations of the titles of Shakespeare plays, a topic I always find to be a terrible waste of the picture category. I understand there is still a problem solving element to it, but there are so many other types of question which utilise the format better. And there are enough questions about Shakespeare anyway.

St Hilda’s Bennett guesses an Agatha Christie novel for the next starter and gets ten points for his trouble, but he can only manage one bonus on football clubs who have won all four English leagues. Someone negs and we are even at fifty five points apiece, before Bennett takes his second of the evening to give St Hilda’s the lead again.

Kiso recognises Rachmaninoff’s second piano concerto after about two seconds of the music round, and is very pleased with himself (as well he should be). They only get one bonus but close to within five points. Pal gets Markov for the next starter (I’d initially typed the name out as Markoff and had an extensive riff on the fact that it might have been the first set of consecutive starters to have answers which ended with off, but obviously that’s redundant now so I can’t use any of it...).

Aided perhaps by their unicorn mascot (which I have just at this moment noticed), St Hilda’s go on a run which puts them sixty points clear going in to the second picture round. The picture starter is an actual picture this time, and goes to UCL’s Traeger, though Paxman is needlessly bitchy about his pronunciation of Ratched (as in Nurse Ratched). If the Londoners can go on a run now they might have a chance.

Fleming gives Yorkshire for the next starter, then corrects to West Yorkshire when prompted, and UCL close back to within fifteen points! A neg from Bennett cuts this to ten, and a correct answer from Maka eliminates it entirely. The scores are tied at 120 with a few minutes left. A distinct lack of knowledge on Pakistani geography leaves the score exactly the same after the bonus questions.

Making up for his premature buzz last time out, Bennett correctly identifies the oystercatcher from Paxman’s description, and St Hilda’s are once more in control. Two bonuses put them twenty clear. 

An early buzz from Kiso, in which he frantically corrects Chinese to Mandarin Chinese gives UCL a chance. They maintain this urgency into the bonuses, with Kiso again interrupting Paxman to nominate Traeger, who is right, Five points in it. As the gong sounds they give answer, but they are wrong. Who knows whether it would have counted had they been right...

Final Score: UCL 135 - 140 St Hilda’s

Not that high-scoring a match, but more so than last week’s and even closer! This was great fun, and the two teams looked like they were enjoying themselves. There is a chance UCL come back as a high-scoring loser, but it is by no means guaranteed. See you next week for another first round match

[neon-junkie]

HIIIIII UR NEW WILLSCUELLA FIC WAS SO CUTE I WISH THERE WAS MORE WILLSCUELLA CONTENT *CRIES* THANK U THOSE BOYS ARE ALL THATS KEEPING ME GOING. ID LOVE IT IF U WROTE ABOUT THEM MORE!!

THANK YOU <3  when I managed to glitch into the rdr2 Mexico map the other week, I went up onto that big cliff north of Diez Corona and just gormed at my TV cause the view up there is so pretty ;-; so here’s a lil RDR1 Willscuella fic based off that sight I saw the other week

"Nue.. new... neuo..." Bill continues to grumble, attempting to pronounce a non-English word. Javier knows by now that Bill's never going to get it, even if he broke the word down and took his time with it, but Bill continues to 'attempt' his pronunciation. "Bill... come on," Javier sighs, slowing his mount down slightly so Bill can catch up to him. They'd been riding inline whilst passing north of Diez Corona, traveling down the somewhat busy roads as they headed further south, trying to get as far from New Austin (and John) as they can. Javier had paddled across the river, sneaking into the state to pick Bill up and save his ass, and the two had only just returned. Bill was adamant about paddling the canoe on the way back, saying it's the least he could do since Javier had agreed to bail him out, so Javier relaxed and enjoyed the sight of Bill struggling to paddle them to the other side. Bill's still got his eyes forward, his brain ticking away as he continues trying to figure out how to pronounce the name of the state they're in. Javier had told him off for just calling it Mexico, and said that if he was going to stay here a while, then the least he could do was learn a little bit of the language. "Let's try it again, huh? Say it with me, Bill. Nue-vo Par-ai-so," Javier says slowly. "New... Neuo... Shit!" Bill grumbles again, exhaling heavily. Javier sighs, rolling his eyes dramatically as he steers off the road, finding his own trail amongst the dirt. "Aye, I give up with you, Bill," Javier tuts, peering over at Bill. He knows that Bill's probably never going to get it; he's known Bill for well over a decade, a very long decade, and even after things had gone south and they'd split off, Javier still ended up helping the larger man out when he needed it. "I don't blame you. I would, if I were you," Bill agrees, staring at the dirt rather than where they were heading, letting his mount lead the way. 

"We'll hitch the horses here. I want some lunch," Javier says as he comes to a halt, hitching his horse on what's left of a tree and taking some food from his saddlebags. Bill does the same, almost standing on another cactus in the process. That's not the first time he's gotten close to hurting himself, though he's managed a few times since they'd arrived. Bill pulls some food from his own saddlebags then peers his head around, realizing that Javier has wandered from his sight. He notices Javiers pointy sombrero and follows it, realizing that Javier had continued forward a few paces, heading down onto a small ledge. Bill takes a seat next to Javier, using the small ledge as shade as they lean back against it. He finally lifts his head up to notice where they were and the sight below them. They'd been traveling along a cliff, overlooking the vast Mexican landscape. There's an array of buttes below, surrounded by the dry desert and an odd sprinkle of plants. The heat can be seen radiating from the earth, small waves rising from the sand, making Bill rub his eyes just to ensure he's seeing things correctly. Javier notices the way Bill's looking at the landscape. He thought Bill had seen it all before with the dryness of New Austin, but Bill had never seen a butte before, nor how the earth was a vibrant gold shade rather than the dirty sand shade of New Austin. "You like what you see?" Javier asks, his mouth half-full with his food. His manners had gone out the window a long time ago, though Bill never bothered much with his. "Yeah, s'pretty," Bill tells him, finally dipping his head down to open the packaging to his food. "It's different to what I'm used to, I ain't seen stuff like that before," Bill comments as he points to the buttes, the large rock formations dotted about the landscape. "Yeah, Mexico's a beautiful country. I've told you that many times before, but now you get to see it for yourself," Javier says with a soft laugh, his mind flashing back to all those years ago where Javier would tell stories about his homeland around the campfire, enjoying the way his former gang members faces lit up as he described the landscape. "Finally," Bill nods, his gaze fixated on his food, but Javier snaps his head across to give Bill a confused look. "Finally?" Javier repeats. "Well, yeah. You has always said how pretty it is, 'n' now I get to see it for myself," Bill says with a shrug. "I never thought you cared for those stories? You never really said anything when I told them." "I didn't really know what to say, plus the others would always jump in with their questions 'n' stuff," Bill shrugs again. Javier pauses for a moment, going over all those events in his head. Bill seems unphased, focused on eating, whilst Javiers mouth remains empty as he thinks about his flashback. Javier eventually decides to remain silent, unsure of what to say, unsure if he should ask the many things that have been on his mind since they went their separate ways. Javier finally picks up once he's finished his meal, leaning back against the rock, his eyes gazing out at his mother country. "Bill?" he asks. "Mhm?" Bill replies, finishing off his food. "Did you ever think you'd end up here? As in, did you ever think you'd visit Mexico?" Javier questions. "Not really..." Bill answers. He opens his mouth again but quickly shuts it, his facial expression becoming focused as he runs through a few other answers in his head. "I thought... well, maybe..." Bill trails off, unsure of the right words. "You mean, you thought you would, but not like this?" Javier asks. "Yeah, not on these terms. Not on Marstons terms," Bill agrees, his brows furrowing slightly at the thought of John. "Yeah, I understand..." Javier sighs. He pauses for a moment, coming to terms with what he knows is going to happen. "You know, John isn't going to stop until he's got us." "Not unless we get him first," Bill says with a confident laugh. "You might be able to do that, but I can't..." Bill looks over at Javier, questioning why he won't stand up for himself. "Why?" he asks. "He's family, you know," Javier shrugs. "He ain't much family if he's tryna kill you." "I guess you're right." Javier and Bill remain in silence, enjoying the shade whilst it lasts, gazing out at the landscape and watching the clouds pass by. They both want to talk about the elephant in the room, about the way they split up all those years ago. Bill's eager to question why Javier even decided to help him in the first place, and Javier wants to ask why Bill contacted him, though he already knows it's because Bill has nobody left. Though Javier doesn't know that Bill's attempted to contact him before, he's written letter after letter but ended up scrunching up the paper and tossing it into the fire, never able to find the right things to say. "You wanna get going?" Javier finally speaks up, breaking the silence. "Sure," Bill nods in agreement. Javier's about to get up but Bill speaks again. "Can we... like... we know we is gonna die here. So, could we just.. you know..." Bill asks with a shrug. He keeps his gaze away from Javiers, not wanting Javier to see his flustered and unconfident face, nor wanting to see how Javier will react. Maybe Javier will push him off this cliff for asking such a thing, but Javier surprises him instead. "I know what you're asking," Javier tells him, his eyes wide. He doesn't bother hiding the smile on his face, nor the soft laugh he lets out. "Yeah, we can, Bill," Javier agrees. They both know their ends are near, but if they can enjoy their final moments together, then at least they'll die happy. They look at each other, a pair of old, tired men, gazing into each other's eyes like a bunch of lovestruck children. Javier removes him sombrero, setting it on his lap as he shuffles a little closer to Bill. He knows by now that Bill never removes his hat, he's always been so self-conscious of his balding. A pair of slightly chapped lips meet Javiers, and the two almost freeze up in the moment. It's been so many years since they'd last seen each other, even more since they'd kissed. Though they fall into sync, remembering just how they both like it; the right angles, the specific tilt so their noses don't bump, the soft biting to Bill's bottom lip that always drives him crazy. Bill reaches up to run his fingers into Javier's hair, short jagged locks that he's definitely cut himself. He remembers the way Javier would swat his hand away whenever he used to try that, not wanting to mess up his ponytail. The two stay connected for some time, attempting to catch up on some of the years they've missed, though they've got a long way to go to make up for it. Javier eventually breaks the kiss, knowing Bill could sit here for hours with his lips locked with the younger man. "Come on, old man," Javier says with a laugh. "Old man? You can't talk," Bill replies, his voice grumbly as always. "I haven't got any grey hairs yet, unlike you," Javier teases, stroking his thumb over the grey patch to Bill's moustache. Bill lets out a frustrated whimper but lets Javier have the last laugh, knowing he's in the right. Javier puts his sombrero back on and stands up, leading the way as they head back to the horses. The pair mount up, Javier leading the way as they continue on their travels. Their eyes catch each others every so often; Javier always smirks, making Bill's cheeks flush red, just like how they used to flirt across camp all those years ago. Javier can't help but smile every time he overhears Bill still trying to pronounce Nuevo Paraiso under his breath. He'll get it eventually.

[silverlightqueen]

Mischief Managed: Riddikulus

Across the United Kingdom, millions of children attend school every day, studying Maths, English and Science, but deep in the Scottish Highlands, a lucky thousand schoolkids get to study Potions, Charms and Defence Against the Dark Arts. Whilst the rest of us learn names like Shakespeare, Avogadro and Fibonacci, they learn names like Goshawk, Bagshot and Scamander. Whilst we learn how to do algebra, how to analyse poems and how photosynthesis works, they learn how correctly use a Conjuring Spell, how to brew a Draught of Living Death and how to fly a Nimbus 2000. And naturally, school children will always find a way to misbehave, to get up to no good, to make mischief, but when you add spells, potions and magic into the mix? Let’s just say... they get up to more than just mischief. Welcome to Hogwarts.

hogwarts!au, ot7 x y/n - comedy

Rating: PG15 (brief mention of sex and genitalia, profanity)

Word Count: 3k+

a/n: check the masterlist before you read!! here is the first instalment of my new hogwarts drabble series called Mischief Managed! I really hope y’all enjoy this, lmk what you think and hmu if you wanna be on the taglist! x

silverlightqueen masterlist

Riddikulus (Boggart Banishing Spell)

Type: Charm

Pronunciation: rih-dih-KUL-lus

Description: A spell used when fighting a Boggart, "Riddikulus" forces the Boggart to take the appearance of an object the caster is focusing on. Best results can be achieved if the caster is focusing on something humorous, with the desire that laughter will weaken the Boggart

Etymology: Latin word ridiculus, "laughable" (but perhaps "absurd" or "silly" in this context)

Notes: The effect of the spell seems to rely primarily on the state of mind of the caster. It doesn't actually change the shape of a boggart into something humorous, but rather whatever the caster is concentrating on at the moment of the casting, as when Neville was thinking of his grandmother's dress. Presumably, Mrs Weasley couldn't take her mind off of her fears for her family, so the Boggart was changed into other members of the family rather than something humorous

‘Good morning, students,’ Professor Lupin’s clear and calm voice echoes through the classroom, cutting all conversation short as we look up at the newest teacher to take on the ill-fated role of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. ‘Good morning, Professor,’ we chorus back, watching as he walks down the steps, his dark brown robes billowing out behind him.

The second his foot touches the floor, the wardrobe in the centre of the room shakes, all of us jumping at the sudden noise. We watch as it continues shaking sporadically, its short wooden legs colliding with the worn floor, the noise echoing around the room.

‘Intriguing, isn’t it?’ Professor Lupin asks into the silence, all of us still and watching, waiting for the wardrobe to move again. ‘Would anybody like to venture a guess… as to what is inside?’ Lupin drawls, his words met with a few moments of silence before Kim Namjoon raises a hand. ‘Is it a boggart, Sir?’ he asks, a smile breaking across Lupin’s tired face. ‘Very good, Mr Kim. Can anybody tell me what a boggart looks like?’ ‘No one knows. Boggarts are shapeshifters. They take the shape of whatever a person fears most. That’s what makes them so…’ Jeon Jungkook trails off, face serious as he looks to Professor Lupin who nods and finishes the sentence for him; ‘so terrifying, yes, Mr Jeon.’

I feel a pair of hands land heavily on my shoulders, making me jump in shock, and I turn to give Park Jimin a dirty look for taking advantage of the tension in the air, the boy giving me a mischievous grin in return. ‘Luckily, a very simple charm exists to repel a boggart. Let’s practice it now – without wands, please,’ Lupin says, everyone freezing with their hands halfway into their robes, hands falling back to our sides. ‘After me. Riddikulus!’ he says with his chin jutted out, enunciation clear and loud. Everybody repeats after him, a loud chorus of ‘Riddikulus’ ringing out into the air, but I feel a little stupid to do so, and so do the other Slytherins around me, it seems – there is silence from our corner of the group.

‘Very good. A little louder and clearer this time, please, and can we have our dear Slytherins joining in too?’ Lupin says with an amused glance over at us, the rest of the class turning to look too, and promptly looking away when Min Yoongi pushes himself away from the wall, daring them to say something. ‘Listen. Riddikulus!’ Lupin says, and I push down my pride to join the others in repeating after him, ‘Riddikulus!’ ‘This class is ridiculous,’ I hear Jimin muttering behind me, our friendship group stifling our laughs with the sleeves of our robes.

‘Very good. So much for the easy part. You see, the incantation alone is not enough. What really finishes a boggart is laughter. You need to force it to assume a shape you find truly amusing,’ Lupin explains, and despite myself, I’m intrigued to see one of these boggarts in action. ‘Let me show you an example. Hoseok, would you join me, please?’ he says, turning his kind smile to one of my (only) friends in Hufflepuff house. The Hufflepuffs generally aren’t that bad, definitely more bearable than the know-it-all Ravenclaws, though even they’re easy to deal with than the Gryffindors, with their stupid bravery and lack of self-preservation.

Jung Hoseok looks like he might wet himself, his usual sunny persona disappearing and replaced by a pale face and scared wide eyes. ‘Come on, don’t be shy,’ Lupin prompts, and Hoseok’s friends push him forward, the boy stumbling towards the wardrobe. ‘Now, don’t tell us aloud, but just have a think about some of the things that frighten you the most, so you can prepare yourself for the boggart,’ Lupin says kindly, Hoseok nodding nervously as another Hufflepuff, Kim Taehyung, whispers, ‘we’ll be stood here all day; he’s scared of everything.’ Giggles ripple around the room as Lupin leaves Hoseok to think over his fears and comes to stand in front of us.

‘The thing you must remember about boggarts is that they will transform into your worst fear. Some of you may not even know what that is – we’re all scared of bugs and heights and things like that, but what about the things we don’t think about or encounter regularly? There is no way of knowing what your boggart will turn into, because we all have more than one fear, so make sure you are thoroughly prepared to use the incantation as soon as you face the boggart. Understood?’ Lupin says seriously, a shiver running through me as we all nod – no one’s laughing anymore.

‘Right, Hoseok. Are you ready? Have you had a think?’ Lupin calls to the Hufflepuff boy, who nods reluctantly, gulping. ‘Here we go then, wand at the ready. One… two… three!’ Lupin says, waving his wand at the wardrobe, which creaks opens slowly. We all crane our necks to see what’s in there, but it’s dark and there’s nothing to be seen. Hoseok looks like he might faint, the hand holding his wand shaking. And then we hear it; a little hiss.

Before anyone can register it, a snake is slithering out of the darkness of the wardrobe, thick, green and black, leaving a trail of slime behind it as it glides across the floor towards Hoseok, who’s frozen in terror, watching its forked tongue poke out from its mouth, letting out loud and threatening hisses. ‘Think, Hoseok, think,’ Lupin prompts, and the boy seems to wake up, nodding as he lets out a meek, ‘Riddikulus!’ It works, though, and suddenly the snake is transforming into a balloon, the kind that entertainers make at children’s parties, Lupin swiftly grabbing onto the string it’s attached to before it can float up to the ceiling.

‘Are you trying to send us a message, Hobi?’ Yoongi calls to the Hufflepuff, the boy looking considerably less scared as he turns to us with a smile. ‘Yeah. Anyone’d think you’re just as scared of us,’ I grin, the boy laughing. ‘You guys aren’t anywhere near as scary as real snakes.’ ‘Yeah? I’ll show you scary,’ Jimin says threateningly, a small smile on his face, and Hobi rolls his eyes amusedly, grinning as Lupin watches our exchange with interest.

‘Wonderful, Hoseok, fantastic job. Now, can we form a line?’ he says, our classmates sprinting to the front of the line before he can even finish speaking, and I roll my eyes at their eagerness. ‘Come on,’ Jimin says, hooking his arms through mine and Yoongi’s, dragging us towards the middle of the line. Our classmates move out of the way for us, and I thank them with a smile, Yoongi and Jimin exchanging an amused glance; they always tease me for being nice to people, saying it’s unlike a Slytherin, but I beg to differ – I’d say it’s very Slytherin to be nice to people, knowing that being nice gets people to like you, do things for you. The typical Slytherin way is to get people to fear you, but I’d prefer them to love me – it’s better to have people willing to do things for you, though I guess a little bit of fear doesn’t hurt every now and then. I think I’ve found a good balance between the two.

‘You Slytherins. Think too much of yourselves to rush into the queue, and then push in front of everyone else,’ Kim Seokjin says from where he’s stood in front of us with Hobi and Namjoon, the three of them turning to us with big grins. ‘Shut it, Kim,’ Yoongi says with a grin, holding out a fist for the three of them to bump theirs’ against. Jin’s a Gryffindor, one of the very few of them that I can stand to be around for longer than ten seconds, and Jungkook is another, simply because I’ve never laughed more at anyone than I have at those two when they’re together. They’re like a slapstick comedy duo, and I guess they can be nice, sometimes. Considering we’re in different houses, we actually spend a fair bit of time together – maybe too much time. We share nearly all our classes, and Jungkook’s on Gryffindor’s Quidditch team so I see him at practices and at matches, and we all sit together in the Great Hall from time to time, with Hoseok, Taehyung and Namjoon too.

Namjoon’s a Ravenclaw, and it shows in lessons. Outside of lessons, though? It’s a wonder he's still alive, if I’m being completely honest. The boy is clumsier than anyone I’ve ever met. But he’s kind, and you can actually have an intellectual conversation with him – intellect is something they have in common with us Slytherins. The school’s all about ‘interhouse relationships’ and ‘Hogwarts unity’, and they’re always pushing that stupid agenda onto us, so we’ve got a few friends from other houses – not many though. We Slytherins are an exclusive people.

‘God, Taehyung must have run to get to the front,’ Jimin says, all of us turning to look where he stands in front of Professor Lupin, wand at the ready, face determined. Lupin releases the balloon, the room falling silent as we all watch with interest, wondering what Taehyung’s worst fear is going to be. The boggart turns and spins in the air, a big blur before him, and we all wait with bated breath. And then it turns into Taehyung. ‘He’s scared of himself?’ Hobi asks, all of us looking at each other in confusion. Before we notice that the boggart Taehyung is… morphing before our eyes. His back becomes hunched, his skin sagging and taking on a leathery texture, his healthy dark curls greying and thinning, strands of it actually falling to the floor, his broad and strong body becoming shrivelled and small, and when he smiles, his sparkling perfect white teeth yellow completely and some of them fall out, leaving atrocious gaps. He’s aging.

‘Oh, my God,’ Taehyung whispers, face covered with horror, and we all burst out laughing. His worst fear is aging. As though he can’t bear to look at himself like that again, he calls out the incantation, waving his wand, and the old (ugly) boggart Taehyung becomes a younger, more handsome Taehyung, not like the one we know now – more like a Taehyung in his mid-20s. He’s so handsome I feel myself swooning a little, Yoongi side-eyeing me amusedly as I rub at my nose, trying to cover how much my face has heated up. All of the girls and some of the boys are just as flustered as me, and now Taehyung looks pretty impressed with the effect that handsome boggart Taehyung is having on us all.

He makes his way over to us with a grin, and I instantly shake off my flustered state, rolling my eyes at his smug face. ‘D’you see how handsome he was? I’m betting I’ll look like that in ten years’ time,’ he says proudly, the boys all exchanging amused glances. ‘y/n’ll happy then,’ Jin says with a grin to me, and I nudge him with a scowl, Tae raising an eyebrow at me. ‘Don’t, Tae, I swear, I’ll hex you,’ I say warningly, brandishing my wand at him, and he just holds his hands up, grinning smugly. ‘You’re scared of aging?’ Namjoon asks the question we’re all wondering, and Tae sighs with a roll of his eyes. ‘I’m scared of aging badly. I want to still be handsome and… use my body properly when I’m old,’ he says with a smirk, the double entendre plain, and I can’t help but scowl at him when he turns his amused eyes to me. ‘Please never talk about wanting to still be able to have sex when you’re old. I don’t want to ever picture old you with your dick out,’ I say bitingly, everyone laughing, including Tae, as we picture the boggart we just saw attempting to have sex. I shudder, shaking away the thought.

‘Look, look, it’s Jeon’s turn,’ Namjoon says, our attention turning to the front where Jungkook’s stood in front of Lupin, who holds Jennie’s boggart in his hands – it was a load of bugs before, but she turned them into dumplings. ‘Ready, Jungkook?’ Lupin asks, the boy nodding, before Professor Lupin throws the dumplings up in the air, and they stay up there, slowly transforming into Jungkook’s boggart. It drops to the floor once it’s transformed, and I crane my neck to see what it is, only able to see flashes of metal here and there, my peers all in the way. ‘What the fuck is that?’ Jimin demands, and when I catch sight of it, I burst out laughing, Tae, Jimin and Hobi not understanding why me, Jin, Namjoon and Yoongi are practically wetting ourselves with laughter.

‘What is it?’ Tae demands, but none of us are in any state to answer him, Jin rolling on the floor as Namjoon clutches at his stomach, Yoongi’s shoulders shaking as tears run down my face, our laughter echoing around the room. By the time I’ve managed to compose myself, Jungkook’s turned his boggart into a small bonfire, which Professor Lupin is attempting to contain so that it doesn’t set fire to the entire classroom, which is all made out of wood, by the way (I know the school’s old, but it really wouldn’t kill them to do a little refurbishment).

Jungkook makes his way over to us, looking sheepish when he sees the way we’re laughing at him. ‘Don’t laugh – I’m genuinely terrified of them,’ he says embarrassedly, setting us off again, and the three purebloods in our friendship group don’t look too impressed at being left out of the joke. ‘What was it?’ Hobi asks, and Jungkook sighs. ‘A microwave,’ he says quietly, the four of us being hit with another wave of laughter. ‘Why… the fuck… are you scared… of microwaves?’ Jin demands between laughs, and Jungkook looks at his feet, face red. ‘I always have been. They could just blow up at any moment,’ he says in a small voice, and as much as I do feel for him, I cannot stop laughing.

‘Sorry, hold on, I hate to interrupt you muggles and your little inside joke, but what the fuck is a… microwave?’ Jimin demands, and we all shoot him dirty looks. ‘We’re not muggles, Jimin, don’t say that again. We’re just as much wizards as you are,’ I say coldly, and he holds his hands up apologetically. ‘I know, sorry, you know I don’t mean it,’ he says honestly, and I nod, biting back my annoyance. Jimin was raised in a pureblood household, as were Tae and Hobi, but neither of them had quite the upbringing that Jimin did. Slytherin pureblood families are… maybe the worst you can ever encounter – they’re proud, rich, privileged and thrive off their supposed ‘supremacy’. Jimin was always taught that purebloods were the only wizards that deserved to be wizards, that half-bloods were dirty half-breeds and that muggle-borns were an abomination to the wizarding race. Joining Hogwarts, he was exposed to more ‘dirty half-breeds’ and ‘abominations to the wizarding race’ than ever before, and he even became best friends with two half-bloods – myself, and Yoongi. He’s trying to eradicate the views that were instilled in him all his life, and I understand that he can’t help it sometimes, that the words come out before he can correct himself, but that doesn’t stop the way I get annoyed with him. The others control their anger better, and it surprises me sometimes, considering Jin and Namjoon are both muggle-born – I would think they’d get more annoyed than anyone, but they handle Jimin’s stupid comments well.

‘A microwave is an electronic kitchen appliance,’ Jungkook says, the three purebloods looking at him blankly, and he sighs. ‘It’s a machine that cooks food,’ he says simply, the four of us stifling our laughter. ‘So you’re not scared of… I don’t know, getting injured in a Quidditch match, or dementors, or even You-Know-Who, but you are scared of… a machine that cooks food?’ Tae asks, and Jungkook lets out an irritated noise. ‘They can blow up at any moment!’ he repeats, all seven of us bursting into laughter now, and Jungkook sulks for a few moments, his scowl quickly becoming a grin as he joins in with our laughter.

‘Right, students, I’m sorry but that is all we have time for today! Class dismissed! Lupin calls out amongst complaints and grumbles, but I’m secretly relieved; I’d rather not have everyone find out my deepest, darkest fear. We all head towards the door, Professor Lupin bidding us goodbye as we leave. ‘I wanted to find out your guys’ fears too,’ Jungkook says as we step into the corridor. ‘Why? Wondering one of us might be scared of an electrical appliance too? Maybe a fridge? Or an oven?’ Jin teases, the boy shoving him. ‘You’re all teasing me, but Tae’s scared of getting old!’ ‘That’s nowhere near as bad as being scared of microwaves. What is scary about microwaves?’ ‘They can blow up at any moment!’

[rigelmejo]

How much effort does the mass immersion approach require?

(one of my many lol) final thoughts on the mass immersion method:

*information on the mass immersion method can be found at massimmersionapproach.com and on various language study youtuber’s videos.

so, contrary to what it looks like from an outsider’s perspective, it appears to be plenty of hard work and study. from an outside glance, it looks a bit ridiculous, in the sense that the method looks like “just watch/read target language content and you will magically learn it over time like a child!” 

that is not the actual method.

the actual method, (to my understanding) boils down to:

Immerse often. Start on day 1. Immerse all in the target language (no language-you-already-comprehend subtitles or anything as a crutch). Immerse in anything you can manage to - shows, radio, podcasts, reading if you can bear it, etc. Look up new words every few to several minutes, when desired.

**Use mnemonics, repetition, SRS flashcards/review methods, or whatever you want to learn the kana (and romaji pronunciations) if studying Japanese. Or use these methods to at least get somewhat familiar with the radicals, if studying Chinese. (My personal additional suggestion: if studying chinese, use whatever methods to read through, listen, and become somewhat familiar with the pinyin system, tones, and radicals. You do not need to have these memorized, as immersion activities and vocab study will keep reinforcing these things, so just get a quick overview of what these things are.) Do this in the first few weeks/first month.  

**Use mnemonics, SRS flashcards/review methods, and possibly a reference book, to learn the 1000 most common characters if the language is Chinese or Japanese. Do this in the first few months, to first several months. 

LEARN the first 1000 most common words in a language. Do this in the first few months, to first several months. (My understanding is mia suggests doing this after the 1000 characters.)

READ through a grammar guide, early on. Do this in the first few to first several months. (mia suggests doing this while learning the 1000 most common words, if desired).

Once done with the two steps above, switch to learning more words are you run into them with sentence mining. Preferably, sentences where there is only one new concept or word you’re learning in the sentences. Preferably, make SRS flashcards for those sentences you’re studying.

While doing the step above, start using your immersion activities as the basis for your sentence mining. The words you have are looking up in immersion activities will be a source of your sentence mining. If desired, you can also look up word-frequency lists to get ideas for what to add to your sentence mining. If desired, you can utilize pre-made sentence mining decks like 10k core Anki deck for Japanese (although mia highly encourages making your own decks). My personal suggestions: Clozemaster app for sentence mining, using example sentences from Pleco as your sentences (when looking up new words in pleco), sentence examples from Baidu Translate app or Tatoeba, sentences from shows/novels you’re consuming. 

At any point, but definitely if you have learned 3,000ish words, start immersion using long texts - articles, novels, stories, etc. (In comparison to only using target-language-subtitles as your reading immersion.) Read regularly, read a lot. Look up new words every once in a while. Continue sentence mining as desired, as long as its helping you. 

** = steps which are specific to certain languages. Some languages will require similar steps to those. Other languages will not need anything like that done. 

There it is, the method. So, is it as easy as “immersing and magically learning a language effortlessly”? NO. NO IT SURE ISN’T.

Let’s go over how it’s definitely got its share of difficulty. Even though it’s not a standard textbook and structured course approach, that doesn’t mean it’s any easier. It still is going to take hard work, dedication, consistency, and effort. 

I would guess, the main reason this method looks “easy” from an outsider’s perspective - is because it tries to focus on primarily engaging the learner’s interests, and in building up comprehension skills as quickly as possible (so the learner can enjoy engaging in their interests). The immersion means a learner is regularly engaging in content in the language they specifically care about and want to understand - compared to standard textbook study that may include various topics some learners care nothing about. The immersion focus also means learners study how to comprehend more than they study how to produce the language themselves in a way with minimal-errors. So learners are more quickly rewarded with being able to listen to speakers, watch shows, read. Learners also will ultimately be able to communicate, although (and this is only my guess) their communication may have more errors earlier on. Communication is possible even with imperfect production. So a learner, once producing, can comprehend well enough to at least recognize their errors and comprehend when others tell them of errors they’re making. At this point, I am guessing, is when studying of more accurate production happens and errors are worked on. For learners who simply wish to communicate for enjoyment and engagement with others, this is fine and much quicker than many traditional classroom based courses. 

The downside being, traditional textbook/classroom study is going to more specifically be helping students learn what they need to pass tests of fluency level (such as job/school required exams, JLPT, HSK, CEFR, etc). Mass Immersion Approach learners may not be developing those same ‘perfecting production’ skills of certain levels, at the same time as traditional textbook/classroom learners. Since traditional classroom/textbook learners are studying in the same order as often widely used tests, they’ll be prepared according to those test levels to do the ‘expected things’ each test level requires. Whereas a mass immersion approach learner, may end up with some gaps that the traditional course would have covered, and so the mia learner will have to fill in those gaps later if planning to take a test. This is probably an issue that stems from mia learners getting to immerse in content they desire which will be specialized to THEM, versus traditional textbook/classroom learners being forced to study ALL topics considered relevant by commonly used tests of language proficiency level. Now... many mass immersion approach learners claim, that after a certain amount of time, their grammar/word use is MORE NATURAL/correct then many people who studied traditionally from a textbook/classroom. Perhaps they are right, and they do ‘naturally’ pick this up over time. But I would still guess there are differences in WHEN mia learners versus traditional learners can utilize certain words/structures to a sufficient level to pass exams they need to pass to get jobs/get into schools etc. These differences could matter, depending on the specific needs of the learner. I would imagine that if an mia learner say, needed to pass HSK 5 in a year for a job - they could use their mia approach, and also HSK 5 prep-materials as desired to help them fill in gaps/practice points they MUST do correctly within a year on that test. 

In summary - the mass immersion approach appears easy at a glance, not because it is easy, but because it has the learner always engaging in specialized content they ENJOY and always USING what they’re learning (either for comprehension, or eventually for producing with the goal of communication over perfection). Encouraging a learner’s passion to keep studying, will make them feel motivated and make them feel the subject is not unbearable. While still difficult, it is often going to be enjoyable at least.

So, how does the mass immersion approach require effort? Why is it difficult? Well, it’s not exactly “learning how children do” and it’s also not easy just because some of it is a little bit LIKE “learning how children do.” The learning like children angle, refers to how the learner should be picking up a lot of new words/grammar concepts in the context of real use of the language - real dialogues in shows/books, real writing instead of textbook examples, sentences mined from that content, and mass amounts of exposure so learners have a LOT of context to help them comprehend all these words/grammar concepts. In mia approach, learners are not learning from textbook examples that may or may not be natural, and may be limited in how many are even contained in a given book. Learners are learning from massive amounts of input, massive amounts of examples they’ll see and hear. In this way, yes, it is picking up a lot of things the way a child does.

But mia approach also involves learning these things much faster than a child would, by doing specific activities to maximize how to speed up the process. This part is why mass immersion approach is a lot more hard work than just “turn on shows and watch and you’ll magically learn.”

Lets go through the steps of the approach again, in regard to effort:

Immerse often - you are using none of a language you already understand to rely on. So no, watching anime with english subs doesn’t count. Immersing in totally target language content is exhausting! The less you comprehend, the more exhausting it is! So it is very difficult for beginners starting out on day 1, month 1, etc! Immersion also generally means the learners should be trying to comprehend whatever they can manage to comprehend, and that requires attention and focus for the duration of immersion. Which is also exhausting, and the MOST exhausting at the beginning stages. Does that sound easy? This is one of many reasons it is vital a learner picks immersion material they are interested in. Because they need to be paying attention to it, and enjoying it enough to keep immersing. They’ll fail the whole approach if they give up immersion because they can’t tolerate the ambiguity and focus required at the beginning stages! (As a personal note, this is likely why my personal study approach is not as similar to the mia approach as it could have been - I had low tolerance for ambiguity and the exhaustion of trying to comprehend anything as a beginner, so I only immersed once every couple weeks for short periods. Whereas a mia learner would need to be doing it every day, or every other day!) Try to immerse in target language only content, in any language you don’t know yet or have just begun studying. Tell me it’s easy... I really don’t think it is.

**Learning romaji/kana if studying Japanese, or pinyin/radicals if studying Chinese. This step is pretty much exactly the same as a traditional textbook/classroom approach. It’s the same amount of effort. So mia learners still have to put in that initial effort, that includes reading and listening to an explanation of these things, repetition (either drilling or SRS). It may even be more effort for mia learners, if they had no textbook or resources suggested to them - then this step is also when they have to look up those things on their own, and find ones they like, to study these things from.

**Learning the 1000 most common characters. WOW IS THIS ONE AN INTENSE AMOUNT OF EFFORT! This is a step that many traditional textbook/course methods stretch out over months or YEARS, and usually teach alongside vocabulary and grammar so learners can integrate the characters into things they already know and use the characters they’re learning right away. mia learners do not get the luxury of having these characters integrated into a web of thing they already know. mia learners have their immersion, so they at least get regular exposure to start SEEING the characters they’re learning. But the sheer effort it takes to grind through learning 1000 characters is immense. It takes a lot of people years. Even with diligent learners, it takes several months. With the most dedicated learners, with the most intense amounts of time they can spare, it takes them a few months. This step is where, I imagine a lot of learners attempting the mass immersion approach will just give up. So I guess, if you’re studying a language without this particular hurdle, congratulations you may have an easier time getting yourself to keep studying consistently using the mass immersion approach! (In my own personal studies, I could not bear to do this with japanese or chinese - so I have always delved into learning maybe 200-500 characters this way, then immediately moving on to learning common vocabulary at the same time. I personally prefer to have a web of connected information in my head, so knowing vocabulary that uses characters, helps me learn characters better than studying characters in isolation. I just learn my first 500ish characters first so that I have a rough idea in my head of some really common characters, so I’m used to seeing the radicals in different ways, and so I’m used to making mnemonics. I have NEVER been able to get myself to purposely work through the 1000 most common characters before studying other things too. My method has its own benefits and drawbacks. The biggest benefit for me was it allowed me to keep studying consistently instead of giving up, since giving up would have been the worst thing. The biggest drawback - it took me 10 months to learn around 1000 characters. Whereas dedicated mia learners may have achieved that in 3-6 months). So, yeah, this step is a MASSIVE AMOUNT OF EFFORT. Arguably a lot more frontloaded work than traditional textbook/classroom learners. The benefit of doing this is that, later down the road, mia learners will comprehend reading more easily with less effort, and have less of a struggle learning new words compared to traditional learners. And a lot of this just has to do with when the different approaches learn this bulk of characters. A mia learner will either give up at this stage (so then they wouldn’t improve in the language reading-wise to any degree), or they’ll get through it and then have the tools learned to be able to keep improving their reading skills and vocabulary indefinitely without too much struggle. In comparison, a traditional learner may find limited gains in reading ability with each course they work through - maybe first they can read short informational signs, then menus and shopping tags, then short emails and texts, then news articles, then simple stories, etc. But they will also find if they quit, they may struggle to be able to improve their reading level because they have a limited base of characters they know, so they struggle to learn more words/characters unless they purposely pick up active studying again. This would be most noticable if they took classes that start off with pinyin only, or take courses that only end up teaching say 800 characters after 2 semesters, etc. If this learner quits too early, having less characters under their belt may require more effort for them in the future. mia learners put in most of this effort upfront, in the first several months. It is... a slog. 

Learn the first 1000 most common words. First off, it will pay off immensely in improving your comprehension. This is a great thing to do no matter what language you’re learning, and no matter how you do it (whether you study like a maniac and learn them in 2 weeks or a month, or whether you take your time and learn them in a year). Now, if you’re an mia learner - it is a slog. In the mass immersion approach you are trying to learn them relatively quickly so that they’ll improve your comprehension for immersion. Whereas in a traditional learning approach you’re probably just learning them as they pop up slowly over time in your textbook/course over a year. An mia learner will benefit more in their other study activities, if they prioritize learning these 1000 words at a relatively quick pace. This is why mia learners are probably encouraged to use SRS flashcards for study, because its fast and efficient. They’re also encouraged to use mnemonics and associate the words with context to help the new vocabulary more easily stick in their memory. Alternatively, one could probably also learn these words through rote memorization, golden lists, exposure (probably the slowest way?). Now, learning new words is hard. We know its hard. There’s choices - mnemonics and memory tricks are faster, but require a learner to figure out how to do them and then dedicate time to doing them for each new word (versus traditional learners that in a class might skate by memorizing for tests by just looking at a word list then forgetting). SRS flashcards mean purposely dedicating study time to review, on a regular basis (also making the cards yourself if you can’t find/don’t like any pre-made resources). Some learners prefer physical flashcards and spaced repetition review of them - that means making the cards yourself. And, if you hate flashcards as ardently as I do, it means hell. (My personal study method involved picking up some of 1000 most common words from - reading word lists and reviewing them on occassion, since I think that’s less draining then flashcards; reading through some pages of high frequency dictionaries; reading the vocab lists in my textbooks and character reference books; looking up common words during immersion; and finally going through an SRS flashcard deck of the 1000 most common words to fill in the gaps and also to REVIEW in an efficient way so that they’d stick in my long term memory. I do think SRS review is a very efficient way to remember things long term, and I do recommend it if you’re trying to be efficient. If you are like me though, and hate flashcards - its up to you how much you want to use other approaches as an alternative or in addition). Learning these words is again, putting the bulk of the effort required on the beginner stage learner. A traditional learner may learn these words over a year, or years. A mia learner will probably want to learn these within the first year, hopefully within the first several months. Like the previous point about characters - there’s benefits and drawbacks to each approach. An mia learner is going to have more to study upfront, regularly, so they might want to give up from the workload. But the payoff is that the words they study will pop up regularly in their immersion, and they’ll be rewarded with greater comprehension for each word they study. This reward will happen a lot faster than for a less-intense paced traditional study plan. So more effort, more reward. The traditional learner, if their course isn’t too intensely-paced, will probably learn these words over a greater length of time - and so won’t get to read them or listen to them and comprehend as fast. But they’ll be less likely to give up because of intense effort required and burnout. In contrast, a traditional learner may be more apt to give up because its taking them longer to get to the level of comprehension they want. 

Read through a grammar guide early on. This is easier than traditional learning, in that an mia learner doesn’t have to do ANY grammar exercises or read to the point of memorizing/internalizing any grammar points. It is harder... because a learner needs to read over ALL of the main grammar points, in a matter of weeks or months. Many traditional learning courses will cover that material over a period of years, spending a week on one or a few points at a time. Reading through a grammar guide requires an mia learner to read one or a few points a day, and to read MANY grammar points in the few weeks-months that the learner spends going through the guide. While completing exercises is not required of mia learners, instead they are required to read through material in a short amount of time that is complex and requires attention and focus. Material that traditional learners are exposed to much slower and with more support as they get a plethora of examples on how it works and in depth details on the topic if they want/need it. Traditional learners also often get to skip reading a formal grammar guide at all, if they have teachers who through example teach them, or if they have textbooks that have a plethora of examples if they don’t want to read ‘why’ to do things in a formal way. An mia learner must read through this grammar guide knowing they’re not going to have any of it memorized, knowing its all basically a ‘summary overview’ for them. Knowing they’re going to be re-looking these points up in the coming months as they keep seeing them in context of immersion and struggling to comprehend them because they look familiar but the learner can’t remember the specifics of the grammar point. Also just... have you ever read technically informational texts like a grammar guide? They’re draining to read through. It takes effort and dedication to start reading a grammar guide (when you aren’t motivated by needing to pass a test in class), and consistency to complete it. (My personal studying experience: YES, YES, YES, I recommend doing this. It’s a slog but if you’re dedicated it will take 1 week to 1 month tops, and can be done alongside any other study activities you’re doing. I can’t emphasize enough how immensely reading a grammar guide in the first few months helped my own progress down the road for any language I’ve ever studied. It helps so much, because after you read through one, everything you run into that is ‘confusing’ you already have a summary in your mind for to build connections and more understanding to. And you can start noticing all grammar points at work immediately, and recognize their examples and proper use. Compared to a traditional study method, where you may only be aware of a few grammar points even Existing when you’re a beginner. YES, I highly encourage you no matter how you are studying a language, to do this sometime in the first year. You don’t have to memorize anything, just read through a grammar guide and try to treat it like a curious interest-read you’re doing. Try to understand the explanations you can, and try to just get some exposure to those explanations that don’t click yet then move on. It will pay off so much later on.)

Sentence mining. In my opinion, this is almost like making your own note-version of your own textbook. Writing your own study book is a lot of effort! Making all the sentence mining flashcards it will require as you keep studying and improving will eventually add up, and take a lot of time and effort to make. Then, as usual, also means dedication to regularly studying and reviewing. Studying and reviewing material is something you’re doing regardless of if it’s the mass immersion approach, or a traditional textbook/course approach. The big difference again, is mainly that mia learners are learning based on their specific interests/needs based on what they’re immersing with, and mia learners are making their own study materials instead of relying on a pre-made textbook. Making your own sentence mining materials is a huge undertaking over a long span of time, it’s not ‘easy’ (unless you are the very opposite of me, and absolutely LOVE flashcards and think they’re the funnest thing in existence - in which case, yay, the mass immersion approach is at least 50% your dream study method!). As someone who does hate flashcards, this sounds so horrible! Although the method itself makes a ton of sense - its studying vocabulary and grammar in the context of examples. So, if you learn better from examples instead of explanations, this method is very well suited to you. And if you need explanations - you just go find that grammar guide again and reread a section on the topic you want further explanation for. Alternatively, a traditional learner’s equivalent studies may be: continuing to work through a grammar book with examples, reading graded readers in progressing difficulty so they’re also basically exposed to sentences that introduce new vocab/grammar over time based on their level, eventually branching out into reading/watching native material at or just above their comprehension level - and possibly writing some sentences down for study or flashcards, on occassion. Sentence mining, in essence, is not easy unless you think flashcards and all the efforts that go into making your own study material, are so fun and delightful you happen to not notice the effort you have to put in. 

Immersion using long texts (also just immersion, generally, as your comprehension increases). This is learning by doing. See the very first thing I wrote in this list, about immersion the first time - immersion where you are aiming to comprehend without anything to rely on but your target language takes attention, focus, and effort. It will only get easier over time, if you keep practicing consistently. It only gets easier by doing it more. Every other step in the mass immersion approach, just seems to be ways of helping make THIS step more bearable and easier. The alternative would have been... to only do this step, immersion. Can you imagine doing that? Just consuming native content and looking up new words either intensively (every single time you ran into a new one), or occasionally (every few minutes)? Some people in this world must have learned a language this way. It certainly does not sound easy. Even harder... would be to truly learn it like a child, where you would do only the immersion step and barely look things up until you comprehend enough to understand a monolingual dictionary. That would be a mega-slog. Which pretty clearly shows why the mass immersion approach is not exactly the same as “learning language exactly how a child does.” The mass immersion approach relies on immersion to learn from context, but it also includes several other study activities to help a learner build a basis of vocabulary and grammar early on in that language (the character, grammar guide reading, and vocab grind in the first several months). Then activities for the learner to keep studying grammar and vocabulary based on their interests and what they’re immersing in, by doing sentence mining - which is like textbook study with examples catered to the specific learner. Only after that, once a learner should be comprehending at least the GIST of material, is the learner expected to be learning a big chunk of things from context of the immersion material - and even then, everything made into sentence mining sentences is getting the added support of srs flashcards that can be regularly reviewed to help speed up learning. Immersion, once a learner can comprehend the basic gist of things, is the act of practicing a skill to improve. Practicing, as with anything you aren’t good at, is difficult until it gets easier. A mia learner may find it less draining at this stage, because they have so many tools that allowed basic comprehension to be managable - so their attention and effort it hopefully only being used on a few new confusing parts of material per immersion content. Whereas a traditional learner, especially if they weren’t doing any listening/reading immersion throughout, is going to have to suddenly start doing this when they’re ready to ‘consume target language content.’ The traditional learner is going to find it brutal, because they haven’t been practicing this skill from day 1. So this... may be why it seems like sometimes mia learners seem to ‘learn’ faster. I can’t say for sure if they lag in other areas of learning a language - but in the area of basic comprehension of the gist of content, to the point where consuming immersion content is bearable, they win. Every study activity they do helps to make this task easier for them as quickly as possible. A traditional learner, depending on their own study methods and how their class/textbook taught, may not have developed these skills and may not have had as many study activities that specifically focused on building THESE skills. Being able to basically comprehend, is when people can start to do things with the language - watch, listen, read, and communicate (comprehensibly, if not perfectly). Maybe an mia learner, depending on how they studied, cannot do buisness emails or talk about college majors in chinese - but maybe an mia learner CAN read an article in chinese ABOUT business emails, about college majors, and quickly look up the unknown words that involved the details they don’t understand. Maybe they’d still have to practice to learn to do such things. But maybe the mia learner’s goal was being able to discuss video games instead, so they know a whole bunch of topics specifically in their area of interest (because of the sentence mining). Whereas the traditional learner maybe never practiced reading novels so is still slogging through, where a different learner practiced that from day 1 and is much better at doing it. In the end... at this level of language proficiency, I think either learner who used any study methods, at this point will have difficulty/ease depending on what practice they personally did and what vocab/grammar they personally studied up to this point. And also at this point, practice for anyone will generally be showing where their knowledge lags and needs to be improved. So... this part is hard, no matter how you studied a language. And this part is years, maybe your entire life.

Does the mass immersion approach take effort? Yes.

It is one of probably a plethora of independent study approaches that will work for learning a language. (Probably the most important thing, I think, is just whatever methods keep you studying consistently, since consistency over time is what will ensure improvement eventually no matter what else you’re doing.) The mass immersion approach seems to be very ‘front-loaded.’ As in, the bulk of the ‘hard work’ is in the first several months to first year.

It seems very make-or-break. Learners are expected to study and review a broad overview of the language within the first year (most common words, overview of all grammar, overview of writing system), and also expected to practice comprehending target language material from day 1 (which for any learner, is a process that starts out difficult and only gets easier with lots of practice, and as you learn the language). So learners will either give up during that initial year of studying tons of words, *characters, grammar points, while also constantly regularly immersing and attempting to practice comprehending what they can while their comprehension is at it’s absolute lowest beginner-levels. When trying to comprehend anything in immersion content is likely to be the most draining, intensive, that it is ever going to be. 

Then, if the learners get past that initial front-load of constantly studying and immersing, things ease up a little. They’ve made themselves go through all the ‘hardest’ parts of studying. Comprehension of immersion material becomes more bearable, now their study material will largely be words/sentences/grammar they choose to pick based on their own goals (so study material is creative and self directed). All new words/grammar will be surrounded by a lot of context the learner already understands. Any new grammar that a learner runs into, will be something a learner already has at least some other grammar basis to compare it to and build it from. The immersion portion of study will be incredibly enjoyable and rewarding. The new word/concept initial study will be relatively rewarding too - it will be based on content the learner cares about, and will be surrounded by context the learner understands and so easily can digest. The only real ‘slog’ will be reviewing new concepts/words every so often (like srs flashcards). Which is not too hard of a task, it’s just flashcards to jog your memory until you don’t need them. And beyond the structured sentence mining, any immersion will now be word/concept study review for you for any material you can comprehend. And you will eventually be able to learn some new words only from context in the immersion content and repeated exposure, so not everything will require any structured study at all. At the point when that becomes a relatively normal occurrence, SRS flashcards won’t even be necessary - they will just be an option to use if you want that particularly efficient review method. 

Now, this second part - any language learner will eventually get to this part. I and the level of difficulty at this part I think will probably be mostly the same. Any learner is going to have to get through the initial hurdle of understanding-almost-nothing and struggling to comprehend anything. mia learners go through it throughout those first few months. Traditional learners either will go through it from day 1 (if they start immersion immediately) until whenever their textbooks/courses give them the basis needed to reach the immersion-while-comprehending-the-gist stage (or until they self-study to learn those things early). Traditional learners who wait to do this until after all their courses/textbooks, will hit that initial difficulty - and may find it a bit more bearable since they likely will have way more stuff they comprehend than an mia learner did on day 1. And then that difficulty will soon wane until they’re also at immersion-while-comprehending-the-gist stage. 

Mass immersion approach seems like a good study method to consider looking into if you are a self-study learner, or if you’re learning from a textbook/course and are considering some other study activities to add onto what you’re already doing. Mass immersion approach seems geared on getting the learner to comprehend the basic gist of immersion content as quickly as possible, so that they can learn from the context within immersion material as quickly as possible. That means a lot of intense study in the beginning. That means that although there isn’t a lot of focus on doing exercises. But there’s still a lot of focus on studying/reviewing basic common vocabulary, getting an overview of all the grammar, and on ‘practicing’ the language in other ways such as attempting to comprehend immersion material every day from the very start. 

[jane-fucking-seymour]

And the Nominees Are...

In honor of Lexi McIntosh being the announcer for the Oliviers nomination ceremony!!! Big ups Lexi you were fantastic

Katherine was staring at the front door of the flat, curled up in a ball on the couch, looking very, very concerned. The newest episode of Love Island has been paused for the past five minutes, but the center of Kat’s attention is at the door that Anna walked through to answer a phone call. It’s weird for Anna to not take a call in front of the other queens, and it’s weirder still that she hasn’t returned.

“Anyone have any idea who Anna is talking to?” she asks, never letting her gaze leave the door. “She doesn’t usually just walk away from our telly time, regardless of what the call is, so it has to be important.”

Anne, across from her on another couch, continued to look at her phone. “No idea, but I’m sure it’s nothing.”

“She left really quickly,” Kat immediately remarks. “It’s got to be something.”

“Bessie’s upstairs with the other ladies,” Catherine says, working on some needlework. “So it can’t be her.”

“Maybe it’s a dog at the shelter?” Cathy suggests, tilting her head as she looks between Kat and the door and back at Kat.

Jane, who had been reading next to Anne, just sighs. “We’ll know as soon as she comes back, love, I doubt it’s anything bad-”

She’s interrupted, however, by the door opening.

Kat immediately scrambles forward, opening the door, where Anne is standing. “Are you alright?” Kat asks, clearly concerned.

Anna chuckles and nods, gently pulling the girl close.

“Queens, I’ve got an announcement to make,” Anna says confidently. The Ladies, having heard commotion, are waiting on the stairs for said announcement.

The others watch carefully as Anna suddenly grins:

“I’m going to be announcing the nominations for an awards show!”

At first, there’s silence.

But then, the entire room bursts into excitement.

“Oh really?!?”

“That’s incredible, Anna.”

“Congrats, babes!”

“That’s really cool!”

“Hell yeah!”

The girls talk over each other, excitedly congratulating Anna and giving her hugs and the like. Eventually, when the excitement dies down a little bit, Katherine is the first to speak.

“Is that who you were on the phone with?” Kat asks, tilting her head.

“Yes,” Anna nods. “I’ll know who the nominations are, I’ll need to practice their pronunciation and the like, and it’ll be streamed online.”

“Oh! Do you need to practice in front of a live studio audience?” Catherine asks, smirking as the rest of the women chuckle.

“No, no, I actually can’t really practice here at all,” Anna says. “They made me sign a NDA so I don’t reveal who is nominated.”

“Rude,” Jane says, “but fair. When’s the announcement?”

“In a week,” Anna replies. “I’ll be jumping from shows to the rehearsals to make sure I get this right.”

“Well, we’re all very proud of you, Anna,” Cathy says, “and if there’s anything we can do to help, let us know, yeah?”

Anna nods with a grin. “Thank you. All of you.”

The week is a blur for the rest of the queens, who rarely see Anna. She’s often got a list that she’s pouring over, mouthing words to herself to make sure she understands the pronunciations. The other queens keep to themselves mostly, and before they know it, it’s the day before the event.

Katherine and Cathy wander on into the living room, unexpectedly interrupting a mini rehearsal session that Anna was doing.

When Anna spots them, she instantly scrambles to hide the papers she has, making Cathy chuckle.

“You know you’re going to do fine, right?” Cathy asks.

“More than fine,” Katherine says, “she’ll be brilliant!”

Anna gives a small smile. “I know, I just... I don’t want to get this wrong, you know?” she looks down at the papers; they’ve got the actual spelling, but also a phonetic spelling that Anna’s written in herself. “English isn’t my first language, and I’m always afraid I’ll mispronounce something. I don’t want to be wrong, you know? There will be a lot of people watching - apparently it could be thousands of people.”

Katherine frowns, instantly moving to hug Anna. “I’m sorry we’re not allowed to go with you, otherwise we would absolutely be there to give you support-”

“No, no, I get it, and it’s not your fault they aren’t allowing me a plus one,” Anna says, gently booping Kat’s nose. “Otherwise, I know you’d be there. I guess I’m just a bit nervous because it’s not something I’ve ever really done before...” 

Cathy tilts her head. “But you do it every night, you know? And you sing, too. In heels. This doesn’t require any dancing, right?”

Anna chuckles. “No, but that’d be really funny. Could you imagine, doing Ex-Wives but with nominations?”

Cathy smiles a bit at that. “See? You’ve done more hectic things before, you’ll be alright.”

“And they’re not even requiring you to wear heels, right?” Kat asks, and Anna nods. “It’ll be easy!”

“I guess the lack of audience is nice, too,” Anna says, “but there’s a big camera and lights...” Anna sighs. “Sorry. It’s just... different than usual.”

Katherine hugs Anna tighter. “You’re gonna be alright. I promise you, Anna. You’re the best of us, you’ll ace it for sure.”

Cathy nods. “With how much you’ve been preparing, I’ve no doubt that you’ll be the best announcer there.”

“Well, there’s only two of us-” Anna starts, but Cathy rolls her eyes with a smile.

“You know what I mean, missy.”

Anna nods, a grin growing on her face. “Thank you, loves. I mean it.” She lets Kat hold her for a moment more before she gently pulls away. “Now go on then, I need to practice and you can’t be here.”

Katherine pouts. “Just a little spoiler? Please?”

Anna laughs. “Not a chance, Kit. Go on, go with Cathy upstairs, I’ll see you lot tomorrow. It’s past your bedtime.”

Katherine groans, but she moves with Cathy upstairs. Cathy gives Anna a final nod - which Anna returns - before Cathy retires for the evening, Kat in tow. Anna looks down at the lists, smiles, and goes back to rehearsing.

The next morning, Anna wakes up relatively early. Grabbing her folders and her outfit, she gets changed into something comfortable before heading downstairs.

She smiles when she finds that her breakfast has already been made, a heart-shaped pancake and various fruits.

There’s also a card right next to the breakfast, with everyone’s well wishes. The girls were already off to the morning matinee, but they left Anna a good luck meal to help calm her nerves.

Anna chuckles; what did she do to deserve them?

She gets herself ready, heading out to the limo that the awards show arranged to pick her up, and is whisked away to the studio.

When she gets there, her co-announcer, Henry, smiles brightly at her.

“Good morning!” he says as Anna hugs him hello. “Are you ready?”

“I think so,” Anna says with a nod. “Been practicing the names all week.”

“You’re going to do splendid, Anna,” he says. He’s not from the country either, and they bonded a bit over having to learn English as a second language. “We’ll be the best announcers the show’s ever seen.”

Anna nods, liking the confidence he has, and they move inside. Anna’s dressing room is a door down from his, and it’s bigger than the one for the show. It’s decked out in flowers and goodie bags and other lavish items, and Anna smiles at the small ring of red roses that is clearly from a few fans.

As she gets dressed into her dark red suit, she can’t help but start to feel nervous. She tries to combat the intruding thoughts with logic: if she messes up, she just says it correctly. If she stumbles to the podium, she just recovers. If she says the wrong name, she apologizes and corrects herself. She knows what she has to do and how she can recover if things go wrong, but she can’t help but worry.

She takes a deep breath and moves to the makeup department, which gets her outfit covered before they start with the makeup process. The women working there help calm her down a bit.

“Just a bit worried that I’ll mess things up,” Anna admits softly, eyes closed as eyeshadow is applied.

“I’ve seen your show, you know,” the makeup artist says, “and you’ve killed it each time. You’re going to do just fine, Anna.”

Anna nods, looking down at her notes when she has the chance, a deep breath as she continues to pour over the more intricate names on the cards.

It’s ten minutes to showtime and both she and Henry are waiting for the stream to go live. Just as she’s about to turn off her phone, she gets a barrage of texts from the Queen and Ladies in Waiting group chat: they’re all supportive, they love her, and they cannot wait to see her shine. Her tweeting out the link also brought about many a good wish and excitement. 

People are excited to see her and are excited to watch her do this.

It’s a comforting thought.

“We’re live in two minutes!” says the stage manager, and with a final “love you all and thank you” to the queens and ladies, Anna turns off her phone.

“One minute!”

Anna straightens out her bowtie, taking a deep breath.

“Thirty seconds!”

She and Henry nod at each other, smile, and look forward.

“Ten!”

She straightens up.

“Five!”

She looks straight at the prompter.

“Four, three, two-”

The light above the camera goes red. They’re live.

“Hello, and welcome to the nominations ceremony,” Henry says. “I’m Henry.”

“And I’m Anna,” Anna says confidently.

“And we’re here,” Henry continues. “to announce this year’s nominees.” He looks over at Anna. “You know, Anna, I’m honored to be here with you tonight to show off the best talent of the year.”

“I must say,” Anna replies, smiling back. “that you’re the best Henry I’ve ever had the pleasure of having company with.”

They laugh - it’s still a funny joke, even to them - and Henry and Anna turn back to the camera.

“I’m glad to hear it,” Henry says. “And on that note, let’s get to it then, shall we?”

The announcements go well - they go back and forth with the categories, rattling off the names and their productions, wait a moment, and rinse and repeat. There’s no audience, and the studio itself is actually fairly small, so after a few categories Anna feels like it’s just her, Henry, the stage manager and that’s it. The quiet of the room is a comfort, really, and Anna is thankful for it.

It takes about twenty minutes to rattle off all the categories. Once they’re done, Anna has the privledge of signing off the broadcast.

“That concludes our nominations ceremony,” Anna says with a smile. “I’m Anna,”

“And I’m Henry,” Henry says.

“And we thank you for watching. Have a good night and once again, congratulations to all nominees.”

The red light slowly fades out, and Anna and Henry are left standing there smiling at the camera.

“And... we’re out!” the stage manager says. “Nice job, you two, that went really well.”

Anna let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding and instantly laughs, hugging Henry when he offers. 

“Brilliant job, Anna!” Henry says.

“You as well,” Anna replies with a grin. “That was a lot of fun, actually. I’m glad it went well.”

They chat for a bit more, taking a selfie or two together to post on social media, before Anna is brought back to her dressing room. She takes off as much makeup as she can, goes back into her more comfortable clothes, then gets into the limo waiting to take her back home.

It’s then that she turns on her phone... and is delighted to see that people both loved the ceremony but also her outfit. A lot of “#goals” are on tweets and insta posts, and she has to laugh at the very positive reactions. Most of all, however, people loved her and Henry together (something she never thought she’d hear again, to be honest) and everyone seemed to be really impressed with her.

As soon as she gets out of the limo and opens the door to the flat, she puts her things down fast and braces herself. Her instincts are well founded: she’s instantly tackled by a blur of pink-tipped hair, who hugs her as tightly as possible.

“That was brilliant, Anna!” Kat says, followed shortly by Bessie, who hugs her queen tightly. The rest of the group is just behind, excitedly congratulating Anna on a job well done. There’s even a cake to commemorate the event.

When everyone’s calmed down a few hours later, Katherine is asleep in Anna’s lap as Catherine and Anna watch television.

“You really did well today, Anna,” Catherine says with a grin. 

“I really liked doing it, to be honest,” Anna said. “I wasn’t sure how people were going to react to it just being me, but... I really liked it.”

“Of course they loved you, you’re incredible,” Catherine assures.

“I know that,” Anna quips, “but I was afraid...” she frowns, looking down at Katherine, who is fast asleep. “Well, honestly, I was afraid that people wouldn’t want to tune in because it was just me.”

Catherine frowns at that. “Anna-”

“I know what you’re going to say, Catherine, but the truth is... I’m not the most popular out there. I know that.” Anna sighs. “I’ve seen the bad messages, the people being rude, the trolls, I just... was afraid that they were going to overwhelm this.”

“There’s no way-” Catherine continues, but Anna cuts her off.

“Logically, I know that,” Anna replies. “But I couldn’t help but worry. And then, if I got something wrong, or if I mispronounced a name, I thought I’d be done for.” Anna shrugs. “That’s why I was practicing so much. I didn’t want to let anyone down, and I didn’t want to give the trolls an opening.”

Catherine moves to Anna then, and Anna puts her head on Catherine’s shoulder. She’s still gently rubbing up and down Kat’s arm soothingly, keeping the girl asleep, as Catherine continues.

“I’m sorry they’re so bad, babes. I wish you would have told us before this,” Catherine says quietly. “But you were brilliant, and everyone loved you. You’re one of the best public speakers I know, honestly, and I think you did better than Henry.”

Anna smiles at that, so Catherine continues.

“You were incredible, babes. Don’t sell yourself short. You really knocked it out of the park.”

Anna sighs, relaxing a bit into Catherine, and keeps her close.

“Thank you.”

“I didn’t do anything, you know,” Catherine quips. “This was all you. You’re the reason you killed it. I’m proud of you.”

Anna wrapped an arm around Catherine’s shoulders, and she gently kissed the girl’s cheek.

“Dunno what I’d do without you lot,” Anna mumbles. “But I’m glad you’re all here.”

Catherine smiles.

“Always.”