#chinese listening progress

[rigelmejo]

So many thoughts on using audiobooks lol. Going through the HP audiobooks, if I relisten to an audiobook it becomes Obvious how much improvement is happening. I hear so many new details, very specific details, on a relisten.

But also I know the "listening difficulty" is increasing each book, because I do not notice the improvement as much when just going from one book to the next. Increasing difficulty is good though, if it's anything like how reading skill improves, then pushing up the difficulty of material I can handle ends up lifting the floor of "what feels easy" over time to higher level reading material.

I see very gradual improvement in comprehension from one audiobook to the next. For example HP1 I could follow the main plot on the first listen, HP2 I got lost sometimes about which scenes I was listening to - probably due to the increase in vocabulary/material complexity. I relistened to HP2 and understood both the main plot and a decent chunk of details, which was more than I understood HP1 (which was only the main idea and occassionally details). I get to HP3 and I understood both the main plot and a decent chunk of details on the first listen. So the first listen of HP3 felt as easy as the 2nd listen to HP2. I'm relistening to HP3 now, and understanding another decent chunk of details... so if before I was understanding 50% of the details, now I'm understanding 80% of the details or something. It feels like significantly more.

I am clearly getting benefit from the initial listen to an audiobook, even if my comprehension only feels like "all of main plot" (HP1) or "most of the main plot but not all" (first listen to HP2). Once I can understand "all of main plot and some details" it causes improvement to later be able to grasp More details of something at the same difficulty level. Interesting. So if I already know some context in advance, such as the plot from reading it in english, then just understanding "the main plot" of the audiobook eventually will result in improvement in understanding a lot more. That's the floor of what materials are useful.

I imagine, once I start using audiobooks I have no familiarity with, the floor of wha's useful will be things where I can follow at least "some of the main plot but not all." And ideally, where I can follow "all of the main plot" but not necessarily details.

For anyone emulating what I'm doing: I already had decent reading skills (someone who could read webnovels with Readibu or Pleco word-translation tools, and some simpler written webnovels extensively with no tools), and I am partially listening. As in, I listen while browsing the internet, working on spreadsheets and emails, doing grinding in video games, walking, doing chores, driving. I am not 100% focusing. I find, frustratingly, that 100% focusing I understand more individual words but I am translating in my head and I end up missing what's said right after any word/phrase I have to inner translate - which results in it feeling more exhausting and harder to grasp sentences as whole units of meaning. When I partially listen, what I manage to understand feels just as easy as listening to an english audiobook - I am not thinking super hard, I'm understanding quickly and not mentally slowing down, I can picture the scenes I hear. So on the one hand: if you did a lot of reading and translating words, listening at natural speed with partial focus could let you practice improving listening as a skill and not inner translate so much. On the other hand, my progress is proof partial focusing on audio can work for some people to improve listening skills.*

*Provided they have some knowledge of vocabulary like I did, from reading or anki or textbooks etc, even if it's not listening recognition of that vocabulary. I have no idea how well partial listening would work if you truly had no mental familiarity with a few thousand vocabulary already. Provided they could listen to something in their native language while doing other things - if you can't follow an audiobook or youtube essay in your native language when playing video games, doing chores, doing spreadsheets? Then it won't be doable in a language you're learning either. I often listen to some audio when driving, walking, doing chores, gaming, so I know how much I normally understand if I do it in my native language. I know when, in my native language, I'd tune out what I'm listening to and need to relisten - if I'm composing emails at work or spreadsheets with math, or trying to rewrite something then I can't focus on what I'm listening to, and don't try to listen at those times (or pause what I'm listening to).

Note: I do think similar activities, partial listening during activities when you know you could follow the main idea, with materials you can understand most/all of the main ideas (but not necessarily details) of, would work if you only knew 1000 words. Or even only 500 words, again provided you are listening to things you understand the main idea of (so perhaps learner podcasts or textbook audios). I think this activity has been helping a TON with listening skills, and I wish I'd done it sooner and more often.

Another note: if a listening material is too hard to understand the main idea of, you can look up words you hear that sound important to meaning. This will allow you to understand the main idea, if you look up enough words. Just like with reading, if you encounter a few key words a page that seem critical to understanding the main idea of what's going on. For myself, I try to limit myself to 5-10 word lookups or less per chapter or 4k words, per 20 minutes of listening. Just because if I start looking up more than 1 word every few minutes, I get burned out easily and no longer find it fun. Looking some words up though, if you don't quite understand enough of the main idea to learn from it, will give you enough information you need TO follow the main idea and then learn some stuff from the context of that main idea.

Relistening: I watched a video ages ago by a person learning korean about the value of relistening, of a LOT of relistening. They were right, honestly. I did not listen, let alone relisten, as much as the person. Any time I do relisten, I am reminded how absolutely useful it is. The more you relisten, the more prior context you have (from the last listen) of what's going on, so the more new details you understand and the more words you practice hearing. And practice hearing words is a skill that must be practiced! A lot! Relistening is one of the easiest ways to practice hearing and recognizing words faster. Since it's the same words, relistening to something you can predict more and more of, each relisten the words getting clearer and it getting easier to parse and recognize. I think the polymathy channel's video on using the nature method books first got me considering the use of relistening, but it was a different youtuber that really insisted on relistening 5-20 times to things.

(I wonder how much rewatching stuff as children helped some of us, I remember watching some movies 100-300 times, rewatching again daily, until the tape broke and I needed a new one. I must've practically had those movies memorized, even with my awful memory that ultimately forgot again lol, but I can imagine even at age 4-6 once I watched the movie SO much I understood most of every line. I rewatched movies every night as a little kid, just rewatching the same movie for months straight while I was into it).

All this said... if you do not know enough words to understand most of the main idea, and refuse to look up enough key words to understand most of the main idea, use audio-visual materials to practice listening. Especially audio-visual materials where you can follow the main idea based on the visuals. Like with comprehensible input lessons, cartoons for young children, some* shows you've seen before and know the story well enough that you can follow the main idea with the combo of visuals/prior knowledge/words you do know. For learning brand new words, I am finding audio-visual materials are much faster for learning words I didn't know before, and it's much more obvious what the words mean because I see visuals. Compared to when listening to audio only, and I can kind of guess the meaning of some new words... but if you read or listen to say "monsoon" for the first time you may guess it means something related to rain based on the surrounding sentences, if you see a monsoon visually while someone says "monsoon" then you have a clear meaning visually to attach to the word.

[coquelicoq]

watching cdramas with french subtitles is the best idea i ever had. if the show is in a language i don't speak i'm already going to have to be closely reading the subtitles, so why not also use it as language practice? the subs go by so fast i don't have time to translate them internally into english, i just have to absorb the meaning without doing that (which is how it's supposed to work but i've never been fully able to do that before). AND the best part is that when i'm going about my day i'm finding that some of my internal monologue is just in french now?? i think it's because subs are almost entirely dialogue...i'm getting hours of dialogue practice without actually having to converse. it's also fun with cdramas specifically because i have by now picked up some chinese vocabulary from watching tv and i get to see how that vocabulary is translated into french. idk man i'm just having a great time.

[princealberich]

HOW DO I COMPLAIN TO HOYOVERSE?

It's easy, and there are MULTIPLE things you can do! I recommend doing each item on this list.

1. SIGN & SHARE THE PETITION

The petition will be delivered to the appropriate cultural reps, in order to complain to the CCP about the negative impression this is leaving on Chinese companies. Genshin Impact is highly favoured by the government for the positive press it gives the country, and putting pressure on the 'big daddy' is FAR more likely to make Hoyoverse buckle.

As of right now, the petition has nearly 38k signatures.

2. EMAIL HOYOVERSE

Email them directly at genshin_cs@hoyoverse.com to state how this has affected your desire to continue playing their games.

3. USE THE IN-GAME SURVEY OR FEEDBACK

Genshin Impact has frequent update surveys, and there is a permanent option to give feedback at any time. You can find it in the Paimon Menu.

4. REVIEW BOMB

Rate Hoyoverse's games, particularly Genshin, with one star on the app store. This has already proven in the past to have an effect, when this caused the team to review the anniversary rewards.

Here is a guide on how to do this!

5. POST IN OFFICIAL HOYOVERSE ACCOUNTS' COMMENTS

Do not be silent! Speak up about your displeasure. It's important that these comments outweigh the rest! Show that we are the MAJORITY.

6. SPEAK UP

Use the tags!

#BoycottHYV #WhyAreTheyWhiteHoyo #GenshinImpact #FixNatlan

Be relentless.

FURTHER DETAILS UNDER THE CUT!

WHAT SHOULD I NOT DO?

The following actions should NOT be taken:

DO NOT spend money on Hoyoverse games.

DO NOT sent threats, to voice actors OR customer service staff.

DO NOT engage with trolls or racists. Block and report.

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?

It's easy to dismiss this in the face of 'more important' issues in the world at the moment, but Genshin Impact (And by extension, Hoyoverse) is a very influential game and company. It is extremely popular, and directly influences MANY other games and players through this popularity.

This isn't an issue of 'just stop playing'- This is not anger for a game's decisions, it's anger for a precedent. It's a demand that not only should Hoyoverse care about representation, but other, smaller, companies too. If Hoyoverse can get away with it, so can others- But if Hoyoverse is held accountable for their exploitation of culture, then it sets the precedent that other companies have no chance of doing the same.

Like it or not, Hoyoverse has a lot of influence, and the CCP itself values the company for giving China a positive image in other countries. This is bigger than just being mad at character design.

EDIT: It was also pointed out to me that if POC were to simply stop engaging with hostile content, they would have nothing left. 'Just stop playing' isn't fair, plain and simple. POC deserve to play the things that they enjoy WITHOUT being ostracized.

DOES HOYOVERSE LISTEN?

They listen if there's no money lining their pockets, they listen if their reputation is damaged, and they listen if the CCP gets involved. We have direct evidence of this.

Review bombing alone caused Hoyoverse to reconsider the first anniversary rewards.

The CCP forced Hoyoverse to reskin various characters to comply with their laws, which HYV did. (This isn't necessarily a good thing, however, it is still evidence that CCP has influence over them.)

This is by far the largest outcry the company has seen so far, and MANY of HYV's voice actors have spoken out in support for the movement as well. This is not just playerbase complaints, but staff, too.

I recommend following AvenOfStrats on X/Twitter for further updates on the petition's progress, and on other ways to contribute. They also share plenty of resources on why this is important, and guides on how to complain.

[softtdaisy]

congrats again on 2k!!! you deserve it so much <33 ur events so cool too :DD how abouttttt... kaleidoscope by chappell roan + reid maybe :P

summary. you always knew spencer was your best friend, your soulmate. but one day you realized that your feelings might be bigger than that.

words count. 2 232

song. kaleidoscope by chappell roan

a/n. oh robin thank you for being such a sweetheart and a great supporter all the time, ily so much I swear!! and this song is so pretty I wanted to write so many different stories, I hope you will love this one 🫶

PARTICIPATE IN MY 2K CELEBRATION

criminal minds masterlist | F1 masterlist | general masterlist | request

Spencer Reid had been your best friend ever since you could remember. 

It was like the life before him didn’t exist. Like your days could only make sense with him in it.

And lucky for you, Spencer loved to remind you he was a part of your life every single day.

You moved into his building, the apartment right in front of his, on a random Tuesday.

“Do you need help?” he finally asked you after holding the corridor’s door open for you for the second time in a row. Spencer noticed that you were the only one running back and forth with boxes. 

You stopped in your movement to consider his offer. And had a little laugh looking at him. “Listen, beautiful, I would love to, but you look like you’re going somewhere.” You replied, pointing to his book bag and his clearly going-out outfit. “But I appreciate your offer. And you can make up for it later.” 

You saw Spencer blush before walking to your apartment to put the box down. If you were convinced he would be gone when you returned, you were kindly surprised to see he was still here holding the door. 

“Can I offer you your first dinner here?” he proposed, this time following you outside. You accepted, with the feeling that it might just be a nice offer and he didn’t really mean it.

But when he came back from the BAU that night, Spencer directly went to your place and landed down with bags from the Chinese restaurant in the street.

That was how your friendship started. With a Chinese dinner on your rug because your sofa hadn’t arrived yet. But a night full of laughs and good talks. You learned about the boy from Vegas working for the FBI. He learned about you, your home, and your family.

It gave you the feeling that you had met your soulmate.

“You’re my favorite person, Spencer Reid,” you told him the night he accepted to sleep at your place. The storm outside caused a blackout in town, and you didn’t feel safe being alone. This was childish, maybe, in a way. And you knew people that would have laughed at you for this. 

But not Spencer. He stayed and spent hours telling you about his favorite subjects. And he didn’t hesitate to accept your offer to let him sleep in your bed with you. Feeling comfortable enough to do it.

The smile he gave to you when he heard you was so precious you wished you could picture it and frame it to keep it forever with you. “I think you’re mine too,” he replied, surprised himself by how true this was.

From all the people he had met and the friends he had made in the team, you ended up being his favorite person. Because everything was easy.

And things stayed easy for a long time. 

You couldn’t actually point out the moment things had changed. Was it so progressive that you couldn’t notice the evolution until it had settled permanently in your life? Or was it so sudden that you couldn’t see it coming and just accepted the consequences? You had no idea. Not then, not now.

All you knew was that one day, Spencer’s hand on your thigh didn’t feel the same. Sure, you still felt the security of his long fingers on your skin, giving you the impression that nothing bad could happen as long as he was here. But it was accompanied by new thoughts, a voice in your head telling you how good it felt to be touched by him. Or how easily his fingers could slip inside your tights. 

Soon his hugs started to last longer. Just like the phone calls he would give you when he was away. Or like the brief moments spent in the corridor, a few minutes stolen in each other’s days when you couldn’t do more than that. Maybe it was your imagination, but you got the feeling that Spencer wanted to stay. Or maybe it was really just your imagination, and you were the only one begging every day for another minute with him.

And some of your moments together became more intimate, something you didn’t notice until after they happened.

The weekly date that started to look like a real date. 

The way Spencer would start to talk about you with others, on the phone or in front of you if you met someone he knew on the street.

Or, the weirdest of them all, how you and Spencer shared a bed more and more occasionally. Everything was a good excuse to stay together. Like you didn’t have a few steps to cross to go back home.

And then, the evening happened. 

After being away for days because of a case, Spencer went directly to your place to make up for the missing time. A habit that grew over the past years and that you both cherished. There was something so precious in the way he didn’t even go to his place, to the place on the other side of the corridor, to put down his bag and jacket. He went to you first.

You couldn’t ignore the feeling when you saw him at your front door. Looking exhausted, sure, but so delighted to be here too. And the way his arms immediately went up to greet you and hug you tightly made you feel so loved. But was it the love you wanted?

“You know I have met like three people with your name this week?” he told you once he let you go. 

Of course this was the type of information Spencer needed to share first and foremost. “I hope I’m still your favorite.”

Spencer turned around to face you, looking amused and falsely confused. “The opposite wasn’t an option.” To add to it, he walked to kiss your forehead. And this felt good. So good.

And the rest of the evening was a glimpse of what a couple was supposed to have. Something you already had, somehow. Without being a thing. You weren’t a thing. 

Eating en tête-à-tête, sharing about your day. Watching a movie on your sofa, with one of Spencer's arms lying around your shoulder. Every now and then, he would caress your skin slowly, almost unconsciously, like it was the most natural thing to do.

Maybe it didn’t help that you ended up watching a romcom.

Or maybe it did, eventually. You weren’t so sure how to feel about it.

You stayed a few seconds looking at Spencer’s face. How his pupils were following the images on the screen. How he was biting his lip, probably without noticing it. How one strand of hair was falling on his forehead, some hair even caressing his eyelashes. How his nose was adding the cutest shadow on his face. 

“I think I love you,” you whispered. 

You watched as his brow furrowed almost in slow motion. And how his head started moving before his eyes. And then his eyes landed on you. “I…I love you too, you know.” This wasn’t a simple thing to say for him. The word love had become a synonym of leave for him.

And so he didn’t tell you much. But you didn’t need to hear it, most of the time. Because you knew he did. Of course Spencer loved you. He proved it to you multiple times in the past already. You weren’t going to contradict him on it. And you didn’t.

You just waited until the weight of your words hit him. And when it did, the surprise grew on his face. “Oh,” he simply said.

Oh.

Oh.

That was all you got from Spencer. No answer. Not even a word. A letter, at best.

He turned his head away and focused on the screen again. His arm and hand stayed on you, but the touch was like a feather now. He stayed silent until the end of the movie. Something unusual for him. But you didn’t question it. 

Too focused on collecting the pieces of your broken heart. 

“I should go.” Spencer said the moment the credits started rolling. But he said it in a low voice, so low that you wondered if he wasn’t talking to himself. Consider the best solution to get out of here, out of this situation. And well, leaving was indeed the best one. And avoiding what happened seemed like a good addition.

One thing that was always permanent between you was the kiss Spencer would leave on your forehead before leaving you. He would never miss it. Even when he left while you were asleep, you could feel it in your dream. And tonight was another proof.

Right when you thought he would go straight to your door, Spencer leaned to put his lips on your forehead. You closed your eyes to appreciate it. Fearing this might be the last time you experienced it. You got the feeling it lasted longer. Maybe this was something else you imagined to interpret it as you wished. Or maybe it was Spencer’s way to say goodbye.

It haunted you the whole night. It was your first thought when you woke up, wondering if last night was the last time. 

And so you were quite surprised to see Spencer in the middle of your living room. Two coffees in hand. Ones that he bought at your favorite place, you recognized the packaging immediately. 

Both because he knew you loved this one particularly, for the taste and the memory of having it with Spencer. He also bought it because he knew he wasn’t great at making coffee perfectly. 

You opened your mouth to speak, to ask him… too many things. But you were cut off. “You meant it?” he asked.

You recognized that tone in his voice. The one he used when he talked about things that hadn’t been said about him and he didn’t know how to deal with them. Bad ones, like his dad criticizing him, being interrupted by a mean officer, or different reasons why someone decided to end things with him. But also the nice ones, those he had a hard time believing. 

There was something about the way Spencer had a hard time believing he was someone outside of his own world, someone people had thoughts and opinions on and how to deal with them.

“Do you…do you truly love me? Like, love me?” 

Spencer had been thinking about this all night too. About how this made total sense but was absolute nonsense at the same time. 

You’ve been his anchor. You were there; you’ve always been there. And it was reassuring to him to know that no matter what happened in his life, you would always be next door. 

But he never considered that this might be the logical next step in your relationship.

You took a step towards him. You feared he might run away, but he didn’t move. Not a single movement. “I do. I’m sorry,” you grimaced. “I couldn’t keep it to myself; it wouldn’t have been fair to hide it.”

You kept moving. And Spencer never stopped watching you. When you were close enough to put a hand on his arm, you felt like you entered his bubble. He wasn’t pushing you away. Not yet, at least.

“You don’t have to say it back; you don’t have to feel it back, Spence, ok? I’ll respect your choice and your feelings.” You grabbed your coffee, the one in his right hand, only to put it on the closest piece of furniture. You wanted to hold hishand. To have contact, you both needed to feel each other.

You took a breath, trying to sound more confident than you truly were. Because deep down, you were scared. Scared of losing him. Scared of losing what you had because your heart chose to see him as more than a friend.

“And if you see me just as a friend, I'll accept it.” You whispered, like it was a secret between the two of you. A promise. “Because I'd rather have you as my best friend than not have you at all.” 

You could read on his face all the emotions he was going through. Trying to accept, to come to terms with all you said. And what hit him was that you loved him so much that you were ready to put away your feelings, to fight back against them, only to keep him.  And what hit him was that he was ready to do the same for you.

“Ok,” he replied with a short smile. “I think I need some time, but…ok,” and you nodded at his answer.

Your eyes followed him as he went to sit on your sofa with his coffee in hands. And soon, he started to talk about a book he wanted to buy.

And for a second, you just appreciated it. The view of Spencer Reid, in your place, the sun making his hair look brighter, shining on him like the angel he was in your life. No matter your feelings or his, the ending was the same. Spencer was the most important person in your life and the one you loved the most.

Being each other's soulmate could have a lot of different meanings. And as long as Spencer was here, you were happy about it.

Tag List: @kiwriteswords @monzabee @raysmayhem-72 (if you want to be in it, ask me and I'll be happy to add you x)

[bee-the-loser-recs]

.✩✮✩ My Junhui One-shot Fic Recs ✩✮✩.

★ Lucky By @leewonkyeom SMAU, college au, meet cutes, fluff, trying to find a guy again, romance

★ What's my age again? By @milfgyuu 8.9k, co-workers au, friends to lovers, dorky Jun, bisexual reader, crack, fluff, smut, humour, so adorable

★ And then some By @sluttynetwork 2.2k, best friends to lovers, jealousy, interrupting a date, fluff, smut, mutual feelings, pining

★ Despite everything, it's still you By @viastro 3.8k, best friends to lovers, long term pining, watching the one you love with others, slight angst, fluff

★ Jealous!Jun By @hannieehaee 1.9k, best friends to lovers, pining, can't hold back feelings no longer, fluff, smut, little bit of possessiveness

★ Setting the record By @suhnshinehaos SMAU, Idol Jun x actor reader, dating allegations with other Svt members, jealous Jun, revealing relationships, so fluffy and adorable

★ When we're not acting By @heartsfromia 4.1k, university au, acting majors, enemies to lovers, leading costars, brother's best friend trope, Minghao is reader's brother, fluff

★ Charcoal stained hands By @rubyreduji 3.1k, college au, artist reader, dancer Jun, falling in love at first site, cute, using Jun as a muse, fluffy

★ Late night talking By @hazz-a-bear Idol au, established relationship, fluff, talking before bed, sharing gossip, cute relationship

★ Neighbourly love By @emocheol Neighbours au, cat mother reader, cute family dynamics, cat plays cupid basically, fluff, cute

★ Read you like a book By @berriesandjunnie 4.8k, Chinese teacher Jun, assistant teacher reader, fluff, students ship them together, Svt as teachers, cute

★ Ballet in the city By @bro-atz 2k, ballet dancer Jun, talent agent scouting, reader falls in love at first site, meet cutes, setting up a date, fluff

★ Sounds of the seasoned & Match of the season By @junkissed 1.7k & 7.3k, college au, radio host Jun, listener reader, charity match event, crushing, fluff, meet cutes, relationship progress, smut

★ Werewolf Jun au By @sluttywoozi Werewolf au, werewolf Jun, florist reader, meet-cutes, dating, fluff, smut, figuring out new experiences

★ Wen Junhui's guide to taking breaks By @cheolism 4.5k, established relationship, cute pet names, reader trying to work, fluff, smut, trying to gain attention

★ Swept off his feet By @seungkwansphd 3.8k, non-idol au, bouncer Jun, friends to lovers, fluff, slight angst (cheating ex), smut, established feelings

★ Edward Scissorhands By @seungkwansphd 3.6k, non-idol au, assumed college au, best friends to lovers, fluff, pining, everyone sees it, smut

★ Kinkuary 14 By @kwanisms 3.8k, idol au, established relationship, valentines day, stressed reader, pampering, cute relationship, smut, some fluff

★ Love has no language By @renaiswriting Platonic Jun x reader x Minghao, college au, exchange student reader, learning Korean, exam stress, supportive behaviour

★ Airplane + Wen Junhui By @uriurijihoonie 2.1k, non-idol au, flight attendant reader, pilot Jun, fluff, proposal, cheesy pick-up lines, adorable relationship, literally so cute

★ Let me have a bite By @bootyful-seventeen Supernatural au, vampire Jun, mentions of werewolf Mingyu, smut, flirty relationship, some fluff

★ Hello By @horangboosadan SMAU, crack au, reader is terrified of ducks, strangers to lovers, Jun is her "knight in shining armour", fluff

★ Shut up By @onlymingyus 35.9k, mob boss au, boss Jun, assistant reader, second hand Minghao, smut, angst, some fluff, dark themes, trauma, sexual assault, drugs

★ A little too much By @hazz-a-bear Non-idol au, fwb!Jun, strangers to friends, unwanted pregnancy, home abortions, mentions of blood, angst

[bambisafe]

Love your bookworm s/o headcanons. If it's alright, can I request part 2 with Ada, Ashley and Luis(and whoever you like)? Thank you for blessing us with your writings. 💜

re characters with a bookworm s/o pt. 2 (plus what they’d read)

pairings : ada wong / gn!reader | ashley graham / gn!reader | luis serra / gn!reader

word count : 936

warnings : established relationships, kissing, hugging, crying, comforting, some angst in ada’s section, crying in ashley’s section, ashley’s a college student, luis feels emotions very deeply, all of them are down bad for you, tooth-rotting fluff, reader reads an assortment of different genres (japanese classics, chinese classics, romance, slow burn thrillers).

author’s note : thank you for blessing me with this ask, anon ㅤ♡ this feels more like character reading headcanons than bookish!reader headcanons, sorry about that. thank you for leaving a request though, do drop by again if you wish to. this is my first time writing for luis, might do more in the future.

she is not a reader.

at one point in her life, before she became ada wong she definitely was.

but now? she’s left that concept behind.

it makes her lose a sense of control: it makes her feel something.

even when she lets herself feel with you, reading touches on her emotions in ways she’s not ready to confront.

so she tends to avoid reading for that reason.

knows you love it though, she figured that out pretty early on.

first time she allowed you to come over to her apartment she found you reading on her couch.

“kokoro,” she reads the title aloud, chocolate eyes scanning the cover.

“yeah,” you acknowledge, angling the book to look at the cover yourself. “big fan of japanese literature.”

she sits next to you, void of her usual striking red attire. your knees touch.

“you like to read,” she says this as a statement.

her assumption brings a tender smile to your face and warmth flares in her chest. unfamiliar but welcoming.

“love it,” you confirm. “wanna join?”

she has no work to do, not even house chores so she supposes she’ll stay with you on the sofa.

loves that she’s spending every second with you on the couch but won’t admit it.

she will only read if you hand her a book, tell her it reminds you of her.

she’ll read it in private during her free time. pretends she hates it but secretly loves it.

one night when you’re fast asleep next to her, she picks up lust, caution and finds that she relates to wang chia-chih more than she thought.

she finishes the short read in one sitting, the contents of the story sticking with her until morning.

when you have a lavish breakfast at 7am, she’ll start up a conversation on your progress in kokoro. anything to get her mind off that other book.

she listens to you ramble, her eyes intensely locked onto yours. she doesn’t look away once.

she doesn’t express it often, but you know this is her form of love.

reader through and through.

modern day ashley enjoys anything that’s popular on tiktok.

likes closed-door romances, typically anything young adult.

anything past that has her cheeks burning in embarrassment.

when you come over to her dorm and crack open the song of achilles while lying on her mattress, she gets curious.

“what’s it about?” she tilts her head like a confused puppy, flopping down beside you.

you go on to explain the plot, everything from the roles and relationships between the gods as well as the premise of the story.

“it’s really sad,” you warn her, an unmistakably melancholic expression on your face. “the queer love stories always hurt the most.”

this intrigues her so she gives this song of achilles a chance.

you lend her your copy, occasionally reading over her shoulder.

“wow,” she sighs, flipping the page to chapter two. “the writing is gorgeous.”

she plows through the book in two days, and by the end she’s a mess.

you find her crying, crumpled tissues around her in a white halo.

“ash,” your quick to kneel by her side, afraid something might be wrong.

she picks up the copy of your book you lent her, shaking it in her grasp. “i can’t believe you let me read this!” she wails.

you give her a guilty a smile, then comfort her until her tears cease.

“how about something lighthearted this time?” you suggest, rubbing her back.

she nods in agreement, wiping away the tear tracks on her cheeks. “i want that new emily henry book.”

and she gets that new emily henry book.

definitely a reader.

reads noir detective fiction.

he loves anything dark, flirty, and dangerous; just like him.

kicks back in a cracked leather chair, aged rum in one hand, a book in the other.

burns a sandalwood candle to add atmosphere.

the type to sit and read for hours as long as he’s got a good book in his hands.

dabbles in philosophy too. has camus on his shelf.

secretly though, he reads poetry.

a big fan of federico garcía lorca.

would read lush, moving poetry to you. make eye contact while doing so.

he shuts a thin book collection of poetry with a snap, brown eyes meeting yours.

“that’s writing, cariño.”

doesn’t really read anything modern.

except for thrillers.

not short, fast-paced thrillers.

he prefers slow burns, a book with a story that slowly unravels.

bonus if it has rich writing.

would find you reading the secret history, read a bit of henry’s dialogue and immediately be intrigued.

“they killed their friend? because of greed?”

you shrug. “something like that.”

you don’t tell him there’s more to the story than that. not yet.

he joins you on the couch, reads along with you after you catch him up on the plot.

would understand the book and its message instantly.

he’s smart, sharp, and loves dense reads so this was right up his alley.

might dabble in romance books.

he’s a hopeless romantic and wants something that’ll tap into that side every once in a while.

would enjoy stories that resonate, with gritty characters.

adores tia williams’ books.

would let you annotate any of the books on his shelf. he wants to hear your thoughts on his favorite literature.

he’ll read in bed with you, reclined side-by-side against pillows until both of your eyelids get heavy.

at the end of the night, luis’ll bookmark his spot, share a few kisses, and cuddle with you face-to-face until you both fall asleep. he loves the intimacy.

[bloomzone]

how did you get into studying chinese?? also any tips for beginners?

How I Got Into Studying Chinese + A Beginner's Guide!

So, a lot of you have asked me about how I started studying Chinese and tips for beginners. I thought I’d share my story and a little guide for anyone wanting to dive into this (Piàoliang ! 漂亮 - beautiful ) language! +++ I will put a link of a PDF document and free webs that will help uuu at the end !

First things first, why Chinese? For me, it’s because I’ve always been drawn to the culture—everything from the festivals, history, and even Chinese dramas. But most importantly, my dream is to get into a good college in China! 🏫Just thinking about living there, speaking the language fluently, and experiencing everything firsthand keeps me motivated.

Starting Out:

When I first started, I was overwhelmed (it’s Chinese, after all!). But once I broke it into smaller steps, things became manageable and even fun! Here’s what helped me:

Step 1: Master the Basics

Learn Pinyin: Pinyin is the Romanized system for pronouncing Chinese words. It’s like the training wheels for speaking Chinese. Apps like HelloChinese, or Duolingo (for pinyin .. it HELP TRUST ME) !

Practice Tones Daily: Chinese is a tonal language, meaning the tone you use changes the meaning of the word. Start with the four basic tones and practice them with simple words like 妈 (mā - mom), 马 (mǎ - horse), or 吗 (ma - question particle). Don’t stress if it feels awkward at first—it gets easier!

Step 2: Build Vocabulary Slowly

Focus on high-frequency words like numbers, greetings, or common verbs. Think of words you’d use every day.

Try flashcards! Apps like Anki or Quizlet are amazing for memorizing characters and words.

Step 3: Start Learning Characters

Characters might seem scary at first, but they’re not impossible! I recommend starting with basic ones like 人 (rén, person) or 好 (hǎo, good).

Practice writing them—it helps you remember better. Plus, it’s oddly relaxing!

Step 4: Immerse Yourself

Watch Chinese shows or movies (C-dramas are SO good). Even if you don’t understand, you’ll start picking up tones and common phrases.

Listen to Chinese music or podcasts. [My playlist here!] while reading lyrics to learn new words.

Step 5: Practice Speaking

Speak out loud as much as possible, even if you’re just talking to yourself.

My Top Tips for Beginners:

1. Set small goals. Start with something achievable, like learning 5 words a day.

2. Be consistent. Even just 15 minutes a day is better than cramming once a week.

3. Get a notebook. Writing down characters and vocab feels more fun

4. Celebrate your wins. Did you recognize a word while watching a show? Did you finally pronounce something right? That’s progress!

5. Don’t compare yourself to others. Everyone learns at their own pace.

PDF DOCUMENTS + SITE WEB (FOR MANDARIN LEARNING)

document n¹ if the link didn't work write down on Google ( nihao textbook 1 pdf)

document n² if the link didn't work write down on Google ( Chinese text a pdf )

site num ¹

site num²

Why You Should Keep Going:

I know learning Chinese can feel overwhelming, but trust me, every step you take gets you closer to your goal. For me, imagining myself walking around a college campus in China, speaking fluently, and making friends there keeps me inspired. If you have a big dream like mine, hold onto it—it’ll carry you through the tough days!

Remember: 加油 (jiā yóu - "keep going"). You've got this!

@bloomzone ✒️

[smogfromkortalmombat1]

Lin Kuei trio (Childhood fanfic drabble)

Kuai Liang and Bi-Han attempt to build a birdhouse (because why not), Tomas is there too just being himself. The three having a little bonding session, basically.

Mostly just straight up humour/brotherly bonding. Might end up as something more (aka in my AO3 childhood Lin Kuei series), might not- enjoy regardless! Tons of fun to write.

//

“You’re doing that wrong.”

Bi-Han huffed, rolling his eyes. “Shut up.”

“I’m just saying,” Kuai Liang shrugged, the instructions held close to his face as he squinted at the fine print. His finger dragged dramatically along each word, “You skipped step six.” He tapped the paper for exaggeration, “Very important step, you know.”

“I don’t care,”

Kuai scoffed. “Rude.”

Wispy, grey curls appeared in Bi-Han’s peripheral vision, a small, pale face peering around his shoulder, curiously gauging the mess around him. “What doing?”

“Hey Tomas. We’re making a birdhouse,” Kuai Liang chuckled, glancing up from the paper, “Or at least, we’re trying to.”

“I’m trying to.” Bi-Han corrected, “You’re just holding the instructions.”

“That’s a form of helping, if you weren’t aware.”

Tomas tilted his head, listening to his brothers bicker intently. He was still getting used to Chinese, and every word seemed to take extra effort as his little mind worked to translate them to and from Czech, his native tongue. “Can I… uhm…” His brows knitted in concentration, his little face scrunching up as he searched for the right words. “Can I watch?”

Kuai Liang’s face softened with a warm smile, and he patted the spot next to him on the floor. “Very good, Tomas.” He encouraged, “Yes, you can watch.”

Tomas beamed at the praise, his small chest puffing up with obvious pride. His socked feet shuffled quickly over as he plopped down next to Kuai, his big eyes fixed on the project. The birdhouse pieces were scattered across the floor in various stages of assembly- some nailed together, while others still lay semi assembled or straight up abandoned, still waiting for their turn to even be looked at. It was utter chaos.

“Hand me the hammer, someone,” Bi-Han said, his gaze entirely focused on choosing the right nail from a small box resting on his thigh. His free hand reached out blindly, waiting. “Please.”

“Ham-mer,” Tomas repeated, testing the new word on his tongue. “Hammer. What hammer?”

Kuai Liang nudged him gently with his elbow, nodding toward the tool resting near Tomas’ side. “That’s a hammer.”

“Oh.” Tomas reached for the tool, the hammer looking comically oversized in his small hands as he heaved it up by the handle. “Kladivo,” he said, handing it over to Bi-Han with both hands. “Here you go,” he added, each word carefully pronounced.

“Kleu-deevo.” Kuai Liang repeated, furrowing his brow in concentration as he tried to mimic the word. “Kle-Kleu.. Kla…? Devo. Divou?”

“Thank you, Tomas,” Bi-Han said, taking the hammer from the boy with ease. A faint, rare smile tugged at his lips. “Your Chinese is coming along very well,” he added, curling an amused brow at Kuai Liang, who was still struggling with the pronunciation of the fairly simple (in his mind, at least) Czech word. “Unlike Kuai Liang’s Czech, apparently.”

Tomas giggled at the comment, patting Kuai Liang’s knee in sympathy, offering an encouraging smile up at his big brother. “Really close! You can do it!”

Bi-Han snorted, amused by the scene, which only made Kuai shoot him a glare that, if it could, would definitely burn holes right through him. His brother’s chocolate-brown eyes narrowed, then suddenly dropped to Bi-Han’s lap, attention back to the birdhouse in progress. Then, a slow, smug grin spread across his face as he noticed something. 

“You put that piece upside-down,” Kuai pointed out with a triumphant grin, turning the instructions around so Bi-Han could clearly see how the pieces were supposed to fit together, the little images massive and painfully obvious. “It’s supposed to be the other way around. See?”

“Dammit-” Bi-Han muttered under his breath, reaching for the hammer once more- this time, the clawed side. He’d already nailed the damn pieces together- Kuai just had to wait until the end to tell him, didn’t he? Sly bastard.

Tomas, still watching the whole exchange, broke into another fit of high-pitched giggles. “Hloupý Bi.” He drummed his fingers on his leg in quick thought, “Silly.” He translated for them, “Silly Bi.”

Kuai chuckled, ruffling Tomas’ hair, “Ha-loopy indeed.”

Bi-Han just found himself rolling his eyes yet again.

[alatismeni-theitsa]

https://x.com/CorenLaVolpe/status/1787971755027612092

As much as a Greek enjoyed the Hades game having people literally taking for granted the designs of the gods as legit is problematic.

No Hermes isn't Asian coded. He's Greek like every God. Literally what does the word Greek next to Greek gods mean to them? An accessory? Give me a break

I got a few asks like this, so I will try to answer them here. This is the post the asks are referring to, and this is the post that started the whole discussion afaik:

This is a whole phenomenon that has lasted for decades in the US, first with USians presenting the gods as North Europeans and now as "everything but" North Europeans to combat the previous racist trend. However, they are still completely tone-deaf, self-absorbed, and privileged because while they do this "correction" they're ignoring actual Greeks, and Greek depictions (and depictions of Greek gods in various areas in the past). Westerners might not be aware of this, because they don't know how badly the Greeks have been treated by powerful countries in the past (including their US, thank you for the Junta and our recent fighters' deaths, honey) but the protests about the gods' design are anti-colonialist.

I want you to imagine this trend with whatever pantheon you want from Africa, Asia, South America etc. Imagine that for centuries they are presented as super White North Europeans by certain powerful nations. Now the same nation who did this racist shit in the past comes around and does more racist shit, by NOT presenting these ancient gods as their people view/viewed them but they present them as everything BUT the appearance they had in all their depictions by the locals. All the while NEVER listening to what the people of this culture tell them, all the while comparing the locals to these gods and finding them uglier and savage. Why would this be acceptable? And why are people so comfortable to forget their cultural sensitivities when it comes to Greece?

(I am aware the US racism also expanded to other pantheons but it didn't happen in this exact way so all I'm asking is to walk in our shoes for a bit, to experience a different flavour of colonialism)

This blog stands for absolute equality and it's heavily anti-racist and anti-fascist, with various resources and support links for minorities in Greece. Everyone is welcome here. This blog believes that if you are of Chinese, Pakistani, Nigerian, Roma descent in Greece you must have the same rights as everybody else and the way you look is not "lesser" than anybody else. I just ask people to consider - especially if you are an immigrant - how you, your parents, your grandparents would feel when seeing your important cultural figures treated like this by the US.

As you have understood by now, changing the depiction is not suddenly okay when the Greek gods now have the palest skin with blue eyes and blond hair. No, that's still racist, and Greeks have been repeatedly told that they are lesser for not looking like the beauty ideals these northern countries projected onto our gods.

Asking for accurate god depictions is a matter of wanting your culture to be treated like.... not a prop, for once. Everyone is free to interact and relate with the Greek culture but when you take the Greek culture and its depictions out of the equation, then the whole thing becomes "playing with dolls", and a fandom (as is the case already for the US).

The Greek gods have been used by Westerners in the past to promote White supremacy, and today they are used by Westerners to combat it; but it still happens in the most divorced sense from the Greek culture. USians are still sooo hesitant to REALLY look at another culture that they'd rather lose common sense (aka, depict gods as the locals see them for millennia) than not white-knight for their fellow Westerners. It's actually infuriating that progressives in the US still miss the mark when it comes to combating US neo-colonialism, and whatever elements left in their culture from colonizing European countries.

And how can we tell the Greek gods are used as props in this US political climate? Simple. They themselves will tell you "It's okay to depict those gods however you like because 1. They can transform 2. They have been worshipped by people of different appearances 3. Greeks can have more than one appearance 4. They are not real. " Then, you tell them "Then why don't you depict Chinese, Indian, Nigerian pantheons whoever you like today? These pantheons all have the above four conditions apply. (No. 4 depending on your beliefs)" And when you strip those first layers, they tell you the actual root cause: "But Chinese, Indian and Nigerian people are still oppressed. Plus, non-white people need to see themselves in media, so here is the chance!"

So, they admit that their only guide for how disrespectful they will be to one's heritage figures is actually the oppression status of that minority (just!) in the US. (Which shows they still don't give a shit about Greeks, cause otherwise they'd still know that Greeks still face bigotry in the US for how they look, how their names are, their customs) . To POC in the US: The moment your oppressors believe your oppression is gone, expect your pop culture to forget (again) all respect for your ancient gods and treat them like cool "new" products for their capitalist game.

And the above discussion paints the Greek culture and Greek figures as a culture-less empty slate, that can be made to represent every person in the whole world. It's US culture, even! But Greek culture is hideous actually, and the Greeks are racist brutes who get in our hair the whole time. Fuck the Greek people and their ancestors' depictions. Greek mythology is a product of no culture, actually, and we can treat the gods like self-inserts in our favorite fanfic. And this is totally not a colonialist mindset! Greeks are not robbed and genocided anymore, and we gave them "white" status in our country a few decades ago (but these ethnic hairy people are still not the same as us, obviously!), and the strings we pull to control Greece are not visible anymore to our own people, so we're good 😊

And, just to be clear: Greek gods are ethnically Greek, as every other [insert cultural descriptor] gods are from that certain culture. The Greek people consider themselves literal progeny of those gods. The first Greeks were born of the gods. Even today we call ourselves Hellenes because one of the first Greeks, the man Hellen, who was born of the gods. If the Greek gods don't express Greek cultural norms, and POVs, and ways of thinking about the world, and are not part of Greek history, what the hell are part of?? Cantonese culture? Do they represent Scandinavian ancient values perhaps....? Do they follow the philosophy of a First Nations tribe?? (This is more a matter of culture, not appearance since various people can be part of a culture. However, it needs to be said, because Westerners are willfully blind to common sense at this point.)

See this video from a Greek Canadian on Greek gods being ethnically Greek

To address one last thing: One person said "why didn't you say anything about how the gods were designed in the first game?" Well, I had made a post about it but some told me "noo they didn't change their race, they just have different colors like green, blue, pink, dark brown, and grey for an artistic touch". I was like "whatever, nobody knows, I have a life to live" so I deleted that post and didn't dwell too much on it. But the anti-colonialist message was the same as in this post, so that's another chance to highlight it.

[l0verei]

CLEAN START AU

“ Perhaps things can be better this time . Right ? “

clean start updates(?) here

I’m honestly not to positive on the AU name but it was a work on progress, I was listening to HONGRYEON by Ahn Ye Eun and the music inspired me to finally start drawing!!

And as for the outfit I got ideas ( not FULLY inspired obv I changed it ) from Chinese opera attires! If I need to fix or correct anything please inform me! I would be happy to learn and understand if there’s any mistakes or errors since this isn’t an officially defined of an AU, something I just worked up together.

If anyone wants to send any fanart just @ me or you can add it in my asks, and go ahead and ask any questions !! ^^

[ Fun fact this is my first au I’m ever sharing… So I hope it goes well.. ]

[rigelmejo]

Something fun about working on listening skills, compared to reading skills (at least if you read intensively a lot like I did), is how listening skills just 'get better' the more I do.

With reading, yes reading skills just 'got better' sometimes. But also whenever I intensively read I was looking up lots of words, seeing myself gradually learn those words and stop having to look them up, gradually seeing myself look up less words as I'd get through a novel. Then starting a new novel, and looking more words up again etc. Or extensively reading, I'd see words I'd have to guess, and then over time less and less words I'd have to guess...

With listening skills for me, and this could be because I did a lot of the work on learning words in reading, I just listen more hours and... more becomes understandable.

It's wild to me. It's like I'm just leaving it to my brain to work out without me being involved conciously.

I barely looked up words in the last 50 hours of chinese listening, and even when I did look up words the first 150 hours I would look up 5 words every hour most of the time... no where close to the 60+ an hour I'd look up in intensive reading. A lot of this chinese listening improvement is just... listen more... and then a few hours later more becomes understandable to me. Bit by bit.

I wish I'd done so much listening years ago lol.

French is actually where I notice this 'listening just improves without conscious effort' more though.

Maybe it's because I'm not trying to work on it or improve it, and so any improvements shock me more. So back in December I listened to a couple episodes of Inner French podcast on youtube, understood the main idea but not all details so I gave a couple lessons 3 relistens, trying to get more details, only understanding a few more details per listen. I tried to listen to HP1 in French, only heard names, literally understood nothing else. (I also tried to listen to HP1 in Spanish and followed MUCH more like locations, uncle's job, names, some objects - despite me knowing barely any fucking Spanish, I think I could just parse how Spanish sounds better so I recognized more cognates).

March 2025 I try to listen to Inner French again, the same episodes as before, realize I understand almost all details of the same podcast episode I tried in December. I try finding a Dracula audiobook and instead find some guy's literary analysis of the novel, and understand the main ideas of what he's saying. I try to listen to Frankenstein audiobook in French, and I'm not quite getting it... but I'm noticing a lot of isolated words and phrases, locations, objects, I know based on how my Chinese listening improvement went that 20-50 more hours of listening and I might start clearly understanding some full sentences, some main ideas. I know, since I can read French, and based on how chinese listening has improved (which I could also read to a degree), that if I just keep listening to French I'll be able to understand the audiobook! I try to listen to a slow french news video for learners, it's easy to understand.

This is such a big deal because I BARELY interact with French. I've done like 4 hours listening total to French in the last 12 months. And just 4 hours of listening, my French listening comprehension is already WAY better than it was last year.

French reading was sort of similar... once I was like B1 at reading, at a point I could understand the main idea but not necessarily details of many things, I'd just pick up French books every few months and try to read. Eventually I understood many more details. Eventually I understood enough to be satisfied with my French reading. It was over like a 2 year period. I got to starting to read within 6 months, then stopped looking up words when reading in French after 1 year, then years 2 and 3 I just picked up random French books and websites and read stuff when I wanted to. I did not read much. I read for a few hours maybe, every few months. Eventually I could read my goal novels at home and just... stopped doing any intentional study. I did 2 cram study sessions, one in year 2 where I read Le Francais Par Le Methode Nature and a grammar website for French in French, and one in year 3 where I went through the Le Francais Par Le Methode audio files on youtube made by Ayan Academy. But even those were probably not more than 20 hours each, max. My reading skills just... kind of got better, without me paying much attention, as I kept reading every once in a while.

I do have my Google account in french, so my sites using Google's language are in french. so my search results are in french, wikipedia is in french, and Linkedin which I rarely use is in french. So I do have some tiny daily exposure to... I guess not forget how to read. I definitely think I would have lost my French reading ability if I didn't have that small amount of regular exposure. And I still need 2 ish hours of reading in French when I start a novel to 'get back' my rusty memory. But I am not doing a lot to study French.

It's wild to me my French listening skills are improving at all. Especially with so little listening practice. I find it fascinating and odd.

I do wonder if somehow working on improving listening skills in one language, improves your listening skills in another?

At the end of year 2 of studying French, I studied Spanish pronunciation for a summer so I could mentally read the words differently when reading Spanish versus French, since I'd get the languages confused a lot when reading. I also listened to a little Coffee Break French podcast at that time, to clarify the different sounds of the different languages to myself. All that study on Spanish pronunciation did improve my French listening comprehension a little...

[benkyoutobentou]

2025 First Quarter Goals

This year, I'm switching up the way I make my goals for one very large reason: I'm moving to Japan! Instead of thinking about time in terms of 2024 moving over to 2025, I've been thinking about it more in terms of pre-Japan and in-Japan. However, this works out great since I'll be moving a quarter of the way into the year. Therefore, instead of making goals for the entire year, I have some goals that I want to accomplish before I move to Japan, or first quarter goals for 2025.

Read three Japanese novels. I had a goal last ear to read a Japanese novel each month which I completely bombed. I especially fell off when I started working towards moving abroad, because I wanted to get my physical tbr down fast, which meant I was neglecting my Japanese books even more than usual. I really want to make sure my Japanese is in tip top shape for moving there, which means buckling down and actually reading a novel a month this time.

Complete three TV series in Japanese. This is essentially the same goal as before, but with listening as my focus. Listening has always been my weakest skill and, although it's certainly improved recently, I'd really like to have to expend less effort on listening when I get to Japan. This is also one of the main reasons why I'm attending a language school instead of jumping directly into the senmongakkou that I want to go to afterwards. I also want to focus on series set in the Kansai region, since that's where I'll be.

Complete three levels on my kanji app. No I don't use WaniKani, yes it's because I'm too cheap. Right now, this is the easiest way for me to practice vocabulary and I don't want to let that go to the wayside.

Keep going to my local Japanese language meetup. I think this will be an easy goal to keep, as I haven't been able to go with the holidays recently and I'm missing speaking Japanese! These meetups will be my main way to practice speaking before I get to Japan, and as a mini goal, I'd like to speak more Japanese in these meetings instead of falling back on English.

Keep up with my Chinese. Although this is a significantly less tangible goal than my others, one thing that I found online was that there are a lot of Chinese language/culture meetups in the area of where I'll be in Japan and I'd really like to go to one while I'm there! So, I want to keep chugging away, even if it's a little more slow going than my Japanese progress.

And just because our lives can't revolve around one thing all the time, Finish three crochet projects. It's important to keep up other hobbies and I've been loving crochet recently! Next year, just to make sure I'm still crocheting, I'd like to finish at least one project each month, regardless of how big or small it is. One white whale crochet project I have an idea for is a shogi board blanket. I probably will not get to it this year.

皆さん、明けましておめでとうございます！As we all think about what we accomplished this year and what we want to accomplish next year, remember not to overextend yourself. Humans need variety, so don't beat yourself up if you find yourself attracted to other hobbies and interests- lean into it! Interests ebb and flow and it will come back if it is meant to be.

[srbachchan]

DAY 5919

StWork, Mumbai May 2, 2024 Thu 12:49 PM

Birthday - EF - Elena Iankova Friday, 3 May .. and all our wishes for a happy birthday

🌹

Yo !

here before time for a very big change .. haha ..

but at work and got a bit of time and BOOM !

got to say the travel from Juhu home to work Marine Drive in 30 mins .. amazing Coastal Road and the Tunnel emerging on Marine Drive , just before its flyover and simply amazing .. !

Super constructed roads, tunnel, neat clean construct .. no traffic jams .. and done ..

Ok just to change the topic .. here is something to know :

Know what is a "mondegreen?'

MONDEGREENS

If you’ve been listening to rock music, you know it’s often hard to make out the lyrics. They sing it their way and we hear it our way.

Jimi Hendrix famously sang the phrase “While I kiss the sky” which was heard by thousands as “While I kissed this guy.”

CCR’s popular song originally said, “There’s a bad moon on the rise.” Many heard it as “There’s a bathroom on the right.”

Deep Purple’s still-popular chorus (known for its timeless guitar riff) “Smoke on the water/Fire in the sky” was misheard as “Smoke on the water/Fire engine guy.”

Nirvana’s anthem “Smells like Teen Spirit” had the lines, “Here we are now/Entertain us.” They were misheard as, “Here we are now/In containers.”

When Elvis Presley sang, “Everybody in the whole cell block”, many heard it as” Everybody in a wholesale frock”

There’s actually a word for misheard lyrics like these.

Mondegreen.

Some mondegreens became so famous that even artistes like Hendrix and CCR sang the misheard versions in their live concerts in a spirit of fun and tease.

It’s not just in pop songs that mondegreens occur. The US national anthem begins with the lofty words, “Oh say, can you see, by the dawn’s early light.’ Some heard them as “José, can you see…”

Occasionally, mondegreens had an interesting side-effect. Joe Cocker sang of a ‘lovely planet’ which was misheard as ‘lonely planet.’ The latter became the name of a well-known travel guide series of books.

No one knows why we hear the wrong thing although there are theories. It’s akin to the game of Chinese Whispers where the original line gets progressively distorted into some hilarious garbage by the time it reaches the last guy.

Mondegreens are not restricted to English alone. South Indians, with limited knowledge of Hindi, were taught patriotic songs in Hindi by zealous teachers. A popular one had the repeating phrase, “Bara tamata.” School students sang it with great gusto. Years later, some of them realized the actual words were “Bharat Mata.”

A popular line from Qurbani song, “Aap jaisa koi meri/zindagee mein aaye/ toh baat bun jaaye” was understood as “Aap jaisa koi…toh baap bun jaaye.” The defective version made sense to many who saw Zeenat Aman gyrating on those lyrics while gaping at Feroz Khan.

Many who weren’t familiar with the hill station between Bombay and Pune heard the Gulaami song as “Haathi ka andaa la” until they realized it was “Aati kya Khandala”.

I have a friend, her name is Geeta. Her family called her Gitu. Throughout her childhood and youth, she thought Rajesh Khanna was singing for her, when he said, ”Mere sapnon ki raani kab aaye Gitu”.

'Mondegreen' sounds French but isn't. In 1954, a writer at Harper’s Magazine remembered how as a little girl she misheard an old English ballad. The actual words, saluting a dead war hero, were:

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘢𝘳𝘭 𝘰' 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯.

She heard them as:

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘢𝘳𝘭 𝘰' 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘓𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯.

And thus was born the word ‘mondegreen’ to signify all misheard lyrics from that moment on.

Turns out, mondegreen itself started life as a mondegreen.

sent to me by a friend .. 🤣🤣

More perhaps later .. or perhaps not ..

Amitabh Bachchan

and some more .. a very pertinent article in TOI ..

[ktdragonborn]

Another Spencer. (Chapter 3)

Carlton Lassiter X Female Reader (Shawn's Sister)

Summary: You finally moved back to California after almost 15 years away. When your mom and dad separated, your dad got Shawn and your mom took you. (Don't ask me why it's just what they agreed on). But now you're back! And you never expected to meet such a dashing Detective that would sweep you off your feet.

Characters: You, Carlton, Shawn and Gus, Juilet, Henry Spencer (dad), Madeleine Spencer (mom), Chief Karan Vick, mention of many other characters.

Warnings: None as of now! There will be smut and other graphic scenes as the story progresses.

~This story follows the show Psych. Plots from episodes are mentioned and some chapters will have you added to them. I do not own any characters from the TV Psych, just a big fan of the show and a bigger fan of our boy Lassie. I couldn't ever find something that hit my craving for Lassiter so here I am. This will also be a very long story. Very long. I'm starting it towards the end of Season 2 and plan on writing it throughout the whole show, skipping some episodes but in the end, it'll be very long.~

Please let me know what you think in the comments! Let me know if you wanna be added to the tag list too!

Chapter 2.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You walked into the Psych office and saw Gus sitting at his computer. He looked up at you with a frown. “(Y/n)? What are you doing here?” You let out an exasperated sigh. 

“Shawn called me and said you were in trouble. I came over as fast as I could.”

“I’m fine, thank you for checking though.”

“Where’s Shawn? I need to yell at him. I met a very nice man and we were basically on a date!”

“I don’t know where he is. I’m running some numbers for Psych. Trying to figure out where to make budget cuts so we stay afloat.”

“I was curious about how much you guys actually made, not that I doubt you guys but there’s only so many cases the SBPB can need you guys for.”

“Luckily, my job pays me so well I can use some of what I earn to put into Psych,” Gus sighed and lowered his eyebrows. “Hence, why I’m here on a Friday night.”

“Ah! (Y/n)! You got here much quicker than I thought,” Shawn announced as he walked into the office with Chinese takeout in his left hand. 

“Shawn, you told me Gus was in trouble, of course I got here quick! I left a very nice man at a bar because of you!”

“Well one, you’re welcome, he probably wasn’t good enough for you anyway,” Shawn said as he placed the food on his desk, the big brother in him coming out. “Second, Gus is in trouble!”

“What do you mean I’m in trouble?!” Gus exclaimed. 

“You!” Shawn pointed at Gus and sat down in his chair, “did not ask (Y/n) to dinner tonight like I told you to!” 

“That’s what this is about?” Gus sighed and looked at you. “Shawn did want to have dinner tonight, all three of us. I guess it slipped my mind.”

“No biggie honestly. If it was scheduled for this time I probably would’ve said no anyway,” you looked at your watch and read 8:20 PM.

“Besides Shawn, (Y/n) was basically on a date, I think she’s doing fine without us intermingling.”

“Whatever, I would need to meet this guy before I can give him the a-okay,” Shawn defended. You rolled your eyes at your brother and sat down on the couch. You knew they would know Carlton. As soon as he told you he was the head detective you knew Shawn and Gus would never approve and you really debated telling them about him but you know that wouldn’t go over well. You’ve heard the way these two talk about Carlton and know that you would have an ear full to listen to. 

“Well, what’s for dinner? The smell is making me hungry,” you said and Shawn smirked at you before bringing his chair over to you and placing the food on the coffee table. 

“The classic from our local takeout place!”

“The Chinese from the little shop up the road is really good,” Gus defended. 

“Okay, fine,” you sighed and sat down. The boys started talking about their latest endeavours and all you could think about was Carlton. You overheard Shawn mention something about a job he got- not as a psychic but as a stalker essentially.

“So you have to follow this guy?”

“Yeah,” Shawn added, looking at you. At this point, you had started paying attention. “Someone wants his dirty secrets exposed. I can’t tell you who, but I was given a good sum of money to dig up some dirt on him.”

“Who is this guy?”

“A good friend of the mayor, he’s the runner-up for some top position within the city.”

“Be careful then, he may have some bodyguards or something.”

“This isn’t the Vice President, (Y/n),” Shawn snickered and looked at Gus as he forked some food into his mouth. Gus and Shawn both started doing their fake chuckles and you rolled your eyes at them. You took another bite of food when suddenly your phone started ringing. 

“Who is it?” Gus asked, curious as to who could be calling you this late.

“Is it a client?” Shawn asked and tried to peep at the number. You stared at it, not recognizing the numbers on the screen. 

“Could be, I suppose. I haven’t opened up after hours calling though, I always tell my clients to call 911. Excuse me,” you said and stood up, walking into the lobby of Psych and sitting on the desk. “Hello?”

“(Y/n)? This is Carlton,” the man's voice echoed in your ears and you felt yourself smile. You spun around to see if Shawn and Gus were looking at you- they weren’t- too engrossed in their own conversation. 

“Hi, Carlton!” You tried not to sound too excited but the squeak in your voice gave it away. 

“Sorry to call so soon, I wanted to give you time to find out if your friend was okay, how is he?” you mentally slapped Shawn, adoring how caring and worried Carlton sounded. 

“Oh yeah, he’s ok! My brother, ever the drama queen, told me his friend was hurt so I would come over right away. Now they’re both in trouble because they interrupted our evening.”

“Is it too much to hope that we can continue tonight?” you blushed and looked down at the time. Only 30 minutes had passed since you got to Psych. It was almost nine… but it was a Friday night too.

“Are you still at the bar?”

“No.”

“Are you home?”

“No…I’m actually at the police department.”

“Well… I don’t see why we couldn’t meet up again,” You said, the heat rising to your face from your belly. Butterflies overtook your senses- and your brain, “Especially at such a romantic location.”

“We could meet somewhere else,” Carlton offered. You could hear others in the police department working and walking around.

“I’d love that, but if you’re working you should probably stay there. Why’d you go there anyway?”

“I didn’t want to go home yet, and I have a lot of paperwork to get done regarding the Wyles death.”

“I’ve seen that in the papers, very big case you’ve got there Detective.”

“Oh, you've seen it?” Carlton’s voice perked up. You could tell he was prideful about his cases, he wanted to show off his skills. 

“I have, it’s wrapping up soon isn’t it?”

“I’m finishing some aspects of the case now. But we’ll see.”

“Well, Detective,” you started and looked back at your brother and Gus. “As much as I would like to see you again, I don’t want to get in the way of your work. How about tomorrow morning? Want to get breakfast?”

“I’d like that.”

“Perfect,” you smiled and took a deep breath. “I haven’t lived here in a while but one of my favorite breakfast places is here, it was amazing as a child, I hope it's still good, if you’d like to meet there?”

“Absolutely, send me the address?”

“Right away, tomorrow at 8?”

“See you then,” Carlton said and hung up before you could say anything else. You jumped up from the desk, a big smile on your face. You held your phone tight to your chest and spun around to observe Shawn and Gus in the same spots you left them in. You took a deep breath and calmed down, returning to the room and sitting back down. 

“Everything good?” Shawn asked. 

“More than good,” you smiled and started to eat your dinner again. “I have a date tomorrow morning.”

~Embrace the deception~

You sat at the wire table that was outside of the cafe you grew up with. You and your mom came to this cafe all the time before you moved to Colorado. You looked at the time, 8:05. You weren’t worried- but for a Detective to not be on time? That was concerning. You had ordered two glasses of water and then ordered your go-to drink as you waited for Carlton to show up. You had picked up a copy of the Mirror, Santa Barbara’s main news source, for reliable information and you were reading through it. You frowned slightly when you saw that Carlton wasn’t in the paper at all. You flipped through the rest of the paper and reached the comic section. You sipped on your drink and smiled lightly at some of the comics. You checked the time again, 10 minutes had passed. You sighed and grabbed your phone, seeing if you had any missed calls. Shawn had texted you at 5:00 AM, something about a mummy escaping a museum, and was asking if you wanted to help him and Gus if you had the time. Flipping your phone open, you texted Shawn back, letting him know you could swing by the office later. You switched over to your texts with Carlton to make sure you sent the right address. Everything looked correct in your texts and you felt defeated. “Need a refill, ma’am?” the server came over to you and offered a small smile. You smiled back and nodded. 

“Yes please, I’ll hold out hope for a little longer.”

~Learn how to bend~

Carlton panicked when he saw the time. Everything had gotten away from him after he got called to the museum this morning. And then having to see Spencer so early- it was just one thing after another. He had noticed the time after Karen had informed himself and O’hara that she would be stepping down as Chief. He grabbed his keys and left the precinct, rushing to his car to get to your breakfast place. He was relieved when your breakfast place was close to the precinct, maybe you two could get more breakfast here- if he didn’t mess anything up with this date. He may or may not have broken some speed laws to get to you. He threw his car in park and jumped out, locking it quickly behind him. He looked down at his watch, 8:20. How had he been so careless? He hoped that you would still be there, although in his heart he knew you wouldn’t be. He rounded the corner and saw you. He slowed down a little bit, walking a normal pace as he took you in. You were stunning, he didn’t expect you to become more beautiful when he saw you in daylight. He noted the sad expression your face held. You looked at your watch and then looked around you, trying to find Carlton. He felt himself stumble when you finally saw him. The light in your eyes was bright and the smile you had on your face made his heart skip a beat. 

This was bad for Carlton, not because you were bad or anything, he just felt himself falling harder and harder for you, it wasn’t going to take long until you consumed his every thought. You stood up as Carlton walked into the cafe’s patio area and walked over to you. You embraced him in a tight hug and Carlton’s heart sped up more than he thought possible. “Thought you stood me up for a second there,” you laughed lightly and ended the hug, quickly sitting back down in your chair. 

“I was shocked to see you here still,” Carlton admitted, feeling terrible about being late. 

“Well, even if you didn’t show up, I couldn’t pass up my favorite breakfast,” you joked and smiled at him. “I read the paper today, but didn’t see anything about the case you’ve been working on.”

“I noticed that too,” he glanced over at your open paper, seeing the comic section. He smiled at that and looked back at you. “I’m sorry about being late. We got called out at 4 AM for an emergency case. I was still at the office, working on the reports for the Wyles case.”

“Explains why you look the same from last night,” you teased and the waitress came over. She had a smile on her face, seemingly happy that Carlton didn’t stand you up. Carlton ordered a coffee and you both ordered breakfast, you knew what you wanted and Carlton knew he wanted something simple. 

“Yeah, today has been something of a headache. The assistant curator believes that this ancient mummy got out of its case and left the museum. She was set on the fact that it was ‘supernatural’. She insisted we bring in the resident idiot of the PD Shawn Spencer,” Carlton explained and he thought he saw you almost choke on your drink.

“Resident idiot?”

“Yeah, claims he’s a psychic but I don’t buy it. However, we had to call him and of course, he had to agree with the assistant curator.”

“So the psychic believes the mummy came back to life?”

“Unfortunately yes. Luckily, I still have to focus on the Wyles case, so while we wait for DNA results, I can focus on the true detective work, while he wastes his time,” Carlton took a sip of his coffee and noticed your smile. You hadn’t stopped looking at him or smiling since he got there, and all he’s done is complain. 

“Well, at least you won’t have to see him much. Hopefully at least. What else happened this morning?”

“Actually…” Carlton started, unsure if he should tell you or not. “My Chief, Chief Vick, told me and my partner today that on Friday she would be stepping down at Chief.”

“That’s interesting. Did she say why exactly?”

“Only that when she became interim chief she made a deal with the mayor that she wouldn’t always have the ‘interim’ title.”

“Oh I see, I didn’t realize she was in a temporary position.”

“It was supposed to become her full position, but it was taking too long for her liking, so she essentially gave the mayor an ultimatum and he never responded, so she’s stepping down.”

“Is the position open then?”

“It's a very political position unfortunately, so from what I understand the mayor already has someone else picked out,” Carlton sighed, and right when he was done talking, your server came over with your food. You both thanked her and started to eat your food. 

“How do you feel about that?”

“I was a little disappointed. I mean Karen is a great Chief, I’m sad to be losing her. But it's also frustrating that there’s no chance of anyone in the Santa Barbra Police Department who would be able to apply.” You hummed in response and took a bite of your food. 

“You would apply?”

“I think I would,” Carlton agreed and looked at you while you thought and ate. He couldn’t get over how beautiful you were. Your eyes were some of the prettiest he’d ever seen. He could get lost in your conversations so easily. 

“That changed from last night,” Carlton felt called out by you and he just smiled. “I never expected the opportunity to present itself so soon.”

“It may not mean much, but I do support you in wanting Chief,” Carlton heard the honesty in your voice and felt himself get lightheaded. Yeah. He was in trouble. He swallowed hard and quickly drank some coffee to hide his face before it got red. 

“How was your work week?” Carlton asked, quickly changing the subject off of him.

“It was good,” you smiled and continued to eat your food. “Nothing too crazy, it’s kind of hard right now since I’m still gaining clients, but I believe this upcoming week I’ve got three or four new clients.”

“How many would you have in Colorado?”

“It depended on the day, but typically my days would be full. Seven to eight clients a day.”

“Was it ever overwhelming?”

“Sometimes, sure. But most times it was manageable. Of course, there would be the few with a lot of trauma that would leave me feeling drained, especially any first responders that came to me.”

“Do you have any first responders here?”

“None yet, but you know how it is. There’s a stigma with this stuff and especially with first responders there's the fear that therapy will make you look weak. I saw it all the time with my mom and dad.”

“I heard we’re having a psychiatrist come in and perform evals on some officers. Not sure who is going to have to participate yet. Do you know who’s coming?” Carlton asked. He hoped it was you. He wanted to show you around the police department and introduce you to O’Hara and Karen. If you had worked with first responders before, you could possibly work in the department full-time.

“I’m not. There are so many different psychiatrists in this one area, and if the department is getting someone from out of state, then I don’t know,” you answered and leaned back in your chair. You looked at Carlton and when you made eye contact with him you smiled. Carlton smiled back and took a deep breath. He wasn’t sure exactly what he was gonna say but then his phone started ringing. 

“Sorry,” he muttered and grabbed it to see it was O’Hara.

“We’re gonna have to start muting our phones when we’re together,” you joked and he smiled at you before answering the phone. His voice went deeper as he spoke to his partner. 

“Lassiter,” he answered and his eyes darted away from your face to look down at the ground. O’Hara gave Carlton some run-down information about the Wyles case and the case that Spencer was working on. “You need me now?” he asked, slightly dreading the answer. He frowned when O’Hara said yes. He hung up the phone after mumbling “I’ll be right there”. He looked at you. You were still smiling but he could see the sadness in your face. Carlton opened his mouth to speak. 

“It’s okay, it's what I get for seeing a cop,” you laughed and stood up. He stood up too and you gave him another hug. “Go arrest some bad guys already, you gotta keep me interested somehow.” Carlton wrapped his arms around you and held you tight. 

“I wanna take you to dinner,” he blurted out and you could feel the rumble of his voice in his chest. 

“I can’t promise what the next work week entails. How’s next Saturday sound?” you offered and he nodded against your head.

“I can work with that.”

“If it works, maybe we can do an impromptu breakfast or lunch again,” you pulled away from the hug and looked into his blue eyes. He smiled and nodded. Carlton wanted so desperately to kiss you, but he knew he needed to wait. 

“We’ll keep in touch,” he stated and pulled away. He went to grab his wallet to pay for breakfast but you stopped him.

“Get going already,” you laughed and stepped away from him. “I’ve got this covered, you just plan on taking care of dinner.” Carlton smiled and started to walk away. 

“Bye, (Y/n).”

“Bye, Carlton.”

Chapter 4.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Taglist:

@capitanostella:)

[the-falconer]

So because language learning is an eternal struggle, here's some of my progress from this month and the things I've learned during the past 8 months

1. 70% listening, 30% vocab/grammar/writing

Studying a language is 70% listening practice and the other 30% is memorization. I picked up my Japanese studies this year after having watched anime for years, and I noticed that it's so much easier to make progress. I've internalized around 500-1 000 words and some basic grammar, so getting through N5/N4 was a breeze - in 2 weeks I achieved the same level that took me 3 months in Chinese. I can watch anime without subtitles and easily understand what they're saying (when did this happen? No idea!) because I understand the expressions and slang, all which would not be possible if I hadn't spent so much time with media.

I often have a hard time focusing on watching shows etc. because of how much of a critic I am, but it's the most important thing. Immerse yourself.

2. Reset your learning schedule if it gets too overwhelming

This is something I only learned this week, as I'd been stubbornly holding onto those 900+ word reviews waiting for me back in Ninchanese.

I've been at a standstill for the past 2-3 months after studying the radicals because of some personal responsibilities, and I never got around to learning any new vocab, I was just too busy trying to keep up with what I had learned previously.

But now I've reset my schedule, and I FINALLY feel like I'm making progress again. Sure, my memory might be hazy for the latter parts of HSK 4, but you know what to do about that? You immerse yourself with listening practice so that they will stick with you when you hear them be used IRL :)

[satoshi-mochida]

Natsume’s Book of Friends: Hazuki no Shirushi launches June 5, 2025 in Japan for Switch, PC - Gematsu

Adventure game Natsume’s Book of Friends: Hazuki no Shirushi will launch for Switch and PC via Steam on June 5, 2025 in Japan, publisher Bushiroad Games and developer Toydium announced. It will support Japanese, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese language options.

The Switch version will be priced at 7,480 yen for the standard physical or digital edition, and 12,980 yen for the first-print limited edition. The latter includes a special box, an A3-size original clear poster, a Nyanko-Sensei original pencil case, four Nyanko-Sensei original badges, a Natsume‘s Book of Friends postcard book, a Shuuichi Natori bromide, and a promotional card.

Here is an overview of the game, via its official website:

About

Spend your summer vacation in the world of Natsume’s Book of Friends in this new adventure game! As Takashi Natsume, you can hang out with your classmates, help out your family, listen to the troubles of youkai, and freely enjoy your summer vacation.

Spend Your Summer Vacation in the World of Natsume’s Book of Friends

Become Takashi Natsume and move freely through the world of Natsume’s Book of Friends. The season is summer, and school is already out for vacation. Hang out with Nishimura, Kitamoto, and Tanuma, help out Touko, give advice to the youkai of The Dog’s Circle… and of course, do not forget your summer assignments. Enjoy summer to your heart’s content with Nyanko-Sensei and your friends.

Beautiful and Nostalgic Scenery

The background art is handled by Ishigaki Production, which also worked on the anime. In addition to memorable scenes from the anime, there is plenty of background art that you will only see in the game. Players can freely explore a lovely town and interact with the characters from Natsume’s Book of Friends.

An Original Story that Weaves Various Characters

A story of family, a story of friends, a story of youkai… In this game, you can enjoy a story that weaves together the various characters from Natsume’s Book of Friends. Who will you spend your time with in your limited span of one month…? That choice is yours to make. Please enjoy a wonderful summer vacation all your own.

Fond and Nostalgic Memories

Each episode of Natsume’s Book of Friends tells a story that touches someone’s heart. As you progress through the scenario, events from seasons one to seven of the anime may be recalled. Look back on the journey so far through the lens of Takashi Natsume.

Watch the announcement teaser trailer and commercial below. View the first screenshots at the gallery.

Announce Teaser Trailer

Announce Commercial