#for sending me the chinese dictionary app

[sillyxaly]

Soooooooooooo since the Quanyin Bingo is coming to an end I have finished up a collab with @bored-knight and wrote this fic! Meet the twins not only through word but also through a quiet adorable artpiece done by them! I JUST WANNA SQUEEZE THOSE TWO

[weilaverdui]

could you teach me how to use baidu cloud? I've been trying to download some books off of it but it wont let me for somereason

Ok. I actually consider making a post about this adventure of mine. So: the approach is through this page: https://login.bce.baidu.com/?lang=en Where you need to use “sign me in with sms code” option. If you are lucky, they are sending sms to your country, but even if they do, it does not always work. Also, for some reason, I finally got my messages through Whatsup. No idea why or how. They tell you there is no account with this number, register now? You answer yes, fill the capcha, get the code, you are in. Took me the longest. I do not remember if I got to set up the username here. It probably did. As soon as you managed to get in for the first time, you want to go to the user centre here: https://passport.baidu.com/v6/ucenter . Here you can set up your email. On the left, there are multiple lines that you can click to set up various stuff. You are looking for one that has 邮箱 in it, you can set up the email there. Hopefully another text will come through for confirmation. Be careful, they do not accept gmail, but they do accept, for example, outlook or yahoo (first worked better for me). Get an email set up, it will send you a confirmation code there. Next you need a password. Setting it is above setting email and has 密码 in it. Set the password. Now you should be good to go. Next. Baidu has an app through which you download stuff. I do it on desktop, it is here https://pan.baidu.com/download#pan Then you can login through it, and then the app will handle the download link properly. You can just click a button with download button. I mostly navigated the site with my limited chinese knowledge and Zhongwen add-on for pop-up dictionary, if you know the language, would be easier. For some reason I can’t copy words from interface, so to use a translator, one with OCR would be good. I do not know where you are on your journey, but hopefully it will be useful for you and others. If you have any further questions - feel free to ask.

[er-nah]

我抽煙的時候你能看看他嗎？⬇️

23歲 | 🇹🇼 🇳🇱 🇺🇸

im big and mentally ill and queer and trans

关于我 / About Me

我是混血（台灣、中國、荷蘭、美國）。我住在美國，那我母語是英語。當我是孩子的時候，我每年夏天去台灣看我家。我聽得懂還可以，可是我要學說話、看、寫。

I'm mixed race (Taiwanese/Chinese, Dutch, and American.) I live in the US, and my native language is English. When I was a kid, I went to Taiwan every summer to see my family. I can understand Chinese pretty well, but I'm still learning how to speak, read, and write better.

我喜歡音樂製片、 oldweb、復古視聽設備、恐怖電影、電玩游戲、觀賞魚。我也很喜語言學！我是酷兒跨性別男生。

My main interests are music production, oldweb, retro audiovisual hardware, horror movies, video games, and aquarium fish. I also love linguistics! I'm a queer trans guy.

我現在的學習方法 / Current Study Methods

課本 / Textbook: 《時代華語 2》 by Tamkung University Chinese Language Center

Pleco Dictionary/Flashcards App

Chinese Grammar Wiki

每週和我婆婆（奶奶）學中文 / Weekly Chinese lessons with my grandma

Interacting With Me

欢迎随时联系我！eng/esp/中文 OK!

I’m very queer and would love to know more about queer (especially trans) Taiwanese culture! It’s super hard to get info about it because my reading skills are lacking + my main window into Taiwan is my grandma lmao

Please send movie and music recs! I cannot focus enough for tv shows, but send those too if you want

Do not send asks about China/Taiwan relations

Be normal about Taiwan with me or taste my blade

Misc.

I mainly study traditional characters 繁體字 and focus on Taiwanese vernacular and culture. Hoping to go back to Taiwan soon!

I also learned Spanish, though haven’t kept up with it as much. Still pretty good at understanding/reading/writing, but my speaking is awful lol

Next goal language: Japanese

Most likely will be moving to a neocities page at some point!

[zakuwatorka]

Do you want to learn Chinese but you don’t know how to start? That’s the post for you! 

Many times I got messages from people who want to learn Chinese Mandarin, but they do not know how to start, what to buy, which website is good or which APP they should download. So I’ve decided to prepare a post where I try to explain as much as I can! Basics about Chinese language, textbooks, useful  APPs and websites. 

Pinyin 拼音  (pīn yīn) Chinese romanization system

The most important thing is to get familiar with sounds and romanization system of Chinese characters.

I recommend you to watch these two videos below:

initials 

finals.

Get familiar with tones too! In Chinese there are 4 tones: 

first tone  ( ˉ ) called flat or high-level tone  妈 mā

second tone ( ˊ ) called rising or high-rising tone 麻 má

third tone ( ˇ ) called falling-rising or low tone 马 mǎ

fourth tone ( ˋ ) called falling or high-falling tone 骂 mà 

plus neutral tone!  吗 ma

If you want to practice your tones and listen to it, I can recommend you this website: Introduction to Tones. 🗣  say initials and finals at loud, 🗣  say at loud every word you learn - multiple times!  🗣  try to record yourself and listen to your audio, 🗣  if you have Chinese friends - send them your audio or try to speak with them, and ask for corrections!  🗣  if you don’t have Chinese friends - you can always send audio to apps like HiNative, HelloTalk or Tandem and see how natives are reacting on your Chinese! 🗣  if you want - you can get Chinese classes - for beginners, it’s a smart move, in my humble opinion (or get a teacher on iTalki).

Characters 汉字 (Hàn zì)

Chinese is a special language because it has characters - not letters. Each character has its own reading and meaning! 

For better understanding them, I would like to recommend you to think about them as small pictures!  There are two types of writing Chinese characters:

traditional  媽 麻 馬 罵 嗎

simplified  妈 麻 马 骂 吗

The traditional one is used in Taiwan and Hongkong and simplified one is used in Mainland China. You can see that the traditional one are more complicated and have more lines!  In the beginning, I’d recommend you to learn 100 most common Chinese Characters. Try to write characters as many as you can - at the very beginning, it’s very important to get used to a new way of writing! 

When you are already more advanced and you easily remembered 100 characters, you can read about Radicals - they will help you to understand more advanced characters and how they are constructed. 

📖  You can definitely check the book by James Heisig “Remembering the Hanzi”. He had a cool idea of how in an easy way people from outside China (or Japan/Korea) can understand and learn characters!

📝  write, write, write hanzi every day! 📝  try to post pictures of your characters on IG/tumblr or send it to someone who knows how to write them, so they can check it for you and tell you how to improve! 📝  at the beginning every character looks crappy - it’s normal! 

HSK exam 

You are at the beginning of the journey with Chinese, so I will not talk a lot about the Chinese Proficiency Test (汉语水平考试). The basic thing you should know, there are 6 levels (at the moment there are 6, but they are planning to add 3 more levels for more advanced learners). Each level has a list of characters, words and grammar points you have to know.  Don’t bother yourself with HSK exams if you don’t need at the very beginning. I haven’t touch HSK 1, 2 and 3 - I was just studying with my textbooks and I ended up at HSK 5 somehow! :D

Textbooks

At the very beginning, I can recommend you to invest in a textbook. I know a lot of people want to learn for “free” and not to spend a single $... You can always check if your local/academical library has any textbooks! I am a textbook-person, I need at the beginning of any language some books to make myself “into” the language, to feel it and understand basics.  Two series of textbooks to Chinese I know and tried are: 

New Practical Chinese Reader

Boya Chinese.

Personally, I am a fan of New Practical Chinese Reader. I used NPChR tom 1, 2, 3 and now I’m working with 4th tom!   If you already know that you want/need to prepare to HSK exam, then I highly recommend series:

HSK Standard Course! 

HSK Vocabulary Book (mini-series). 

APPs

Below I’ve mentioned few of apps that I recommend and they are perfect for the start! 

📱 Memrise - this app was with me at the very beginning and I still use it! The perfect tool to remember new vocabulary/sentences! There are plenty of official courses created by Memrise app, but also courses made by other users. Official courses have short videos with native speakers, which is a really nice bonus because you can hear REAL people :] 

📱 SuperChinese - a very solid app which is going to introduce you to the Chinese language world! They have real-life conversations, teach how to write characters, a function of speech recognition (so you can practice your pronunciation and tones) and many many more functions. Download it and you will not regret it!  📱 Pleco - Chinese-English, English-Chinese dictionary and life-saver. I don’t know any Chinese learner who doesn’t use this dictionary, seriously!  

📱 HelloTalk, HiNative, Tandem - all these three apps are good to meet natives! You can find folks from China and talk with them! Personally, I used them a lot at the very beginning. I wanted to see how natives are texting and make some new friends! 

📱 APPs (beside Memrise) that help you to learn vocabulary: Anki, Quizlet. 

Websites

Excellent websites for beginners are:

Little Fox Chinese

BBC Learn Chinese

Chairman Bao

Yellow Bridge

Chinese Tools

Courses on edX

Courses on Coursera 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  If you find this post useful: like, repost and follow me. And stay tuned for more info! You can also follow my instagram, where I post my everyday struggle with Chinese! 

[plague-of-insomnia]

Hey! I am curious about learning Japanese language in adult age. When did you start learning it? Am thinking of taking it on the side but with the characters and different writing systems (kanji, etc.) it will be demanding. What do you think? Thanks.

@seekers-who-are-lovers, It’s definitely possible to learn a new language as an adult, including Japanese. Despite how daunting it can be, you can learn on your own (independently without formal classes), but ofc it takes dedication and perseverance.

When did I start learning Japanese? I guess I started learning it around 2014? I’m not sure. Back then I decided I wanted to learn both ASL and Japanese, but could only take classes for one, so I picked ASL since that’s harder to learn on your own.

I had a Japanese friend who had taught me a few phrases and that motivated me to want to learn, so I taught myself the phonetic writing systems, hiragana (ひらがな) and katakana (カタカナ) and picked them up pretty easily (I’m a very visual person).

But I became very busy with my ASL and interpreting stuff so while I did continue to learn on my own to some extent (I played a game with Japanese speakers and that enabled me to get some exposure to the language both for reading and writing), I didn’t study hardcore. I did learn some kanji during this time, though only the meanings and not the readings* (with a few exceptions).

*Because kanji originated from Chinese, each has an “original” Chinese pronunciation and a “native” Japanese one, sometimes several, and these can be tied to different meanings.

I guess the closest thing to this would be something like the word “minute” in English—say it one way and it means 60 seconds, but another and it means “small.”

But then in 2015 my chronic headache started, and I was forced to stop interpreting (😞) and reading was out of the question, so I completely gave up on Japanese for several years.

Around 2017 (I’m not sure exactly) I ended up getting into manga because I found that it was much easier for me to read (less text and images to help tell the story) than a big block of text. I was able to enjoy reading and consuming stories again, and this renewed my interest in studying Japanese.

While my disease is currently not well controlled (stupid insurance 😭), I’ve been trying my best to study as much as I can, when I can. Ofc it’s not ideal because to learn a language (especially on your own), you should study for at least a few minutes every single day, but I do what I can with my limitations.

I was pleased to find I had retained almost everything that I had learned previously (though some apps to drill via writing helped cement things).

Then about a year ago I got into Tamagotchi again (virtual pets) hardcore, and having ones all in Japanese really renewed my interest and helped my reading skills enormously.

So it can absolutely be done, and if you don’t have a chronic illness or some kind of executive dysfunction that makes learning more challenging, it’s even more doable.

There’s so many resources out there—websites, books, apps, etc—it can be a bit daunting. (Not to mention all those kanji...!) But if you enjoy the language and figure out how you learn best, then it can actually be pretty fun.

For example, I’ve found that I do better diving into things (listening to spoken Japanese, playing games all in Japanese, or translating written Japanese, looking up every single word or phrase I don’t know and sorting it in lists) than just working from a textbook.

By copying out the words into my notes, I find I retain them much better. Even if I don’t completely learn a new kanji right away, I am better able to recognize it as familiar. Working this way, I’ve also become more capable of seeing the parts of kanji, so even if I don’t know it, I can more easily find it in a dictionary.

Since I’m a visual learner, I learn better if I have visual mnemonics than word-based ones. And I also think working from manga helps because I see a picture associated with the words/phrases (to a certain extent).

If you’re serious about learning, I can definitely give some recommendations for apps, books, flashcards, websites, etc. Japanese is both extremely simple (in some ways) and complex, but I find the depth of meanings you can get with kanji to be a fascinating element of the language. (Plus there’s so many things I want to read that will never make it into English.)

I hope that answers your question! Feel free to send more asks or message me if you want more info or this didn’t address what you wanted 😅.

頑張って！🎉

[xuexichinese]

咖啡 · COFFEE                     KĀFĒI 

浓缩咖啡     espresso                     nóngsuōkāfēi

拿铁     caffe latte, latte                           nátiê

浓郁咖啡拿铁     doppio, double espresso                        nóngyù kāfēi nátiê

卡布其诺/卡布奇诺*     cappuccino                       kâbùqínuò

美式咖啡      Americano                       mêishì kāfēi

摩卡      mocha                       mókâ

低因咖啡      decaf                       dīyīnkāfēi

工具 · TOOLS                          GŌNGJÙ

手冲      pour-over, drip                      shôu chòng

法压壶      French Press                      fâyāhú

咖啡机     Automatic coffee maker                     kāfēijī

咖啡壶     Coffee pot, coffee maker, moca pod                     kāfēihú

不合咖啡 · NON-COFFEE                     BÙHÉ KĀFĒI

绿茶     green tea                     lüchá

红茶     black tea                     hóngchá

乌龙茶      oolong tea                     wūlóngchá

红茶菌      kombucha                                                                                                hóngchájūn

普洱茶     pu’er tea                      pû’êr chá

奶茶     milk tea                       nâi chá

滇红     Yunnan specialty black tea                     diānhóng

水果 · FRUIT                     SHUÎGUÔ

芒果     mango                        mángguô

西番莲      passionfruit                     xīfānlián

桃子     peach                     táozi

柚子     pomelo                       yòuzi

红莓     red berry                     hóngméi

黑加仑     blackcurrant                      hēijiālún

柠檬     lemon                      níngméng

桂圆     longan                      guìyuán

红枣     red date                     hóngzâo

荔枝     lychee                      lìzhī

风味 · FLAVORINGS                    FĒNGWÈI

香草     vanilla                      xiāngcâo

榛果     hazelnut                      zhēnguô

焦糖     caramel                      jiāotáng

可可     cocoa                      kêkê

蜂蜜     honey                      fēngmì

花草     herbal                     huācâo

奶类 · MILK TYPE                     NÂI LÈI

全脂     whole milk                      quánzhī

脱脂     skim milk                     tuōzhī

豆奶     soy milk                     dòunâi

别的词 · OTHERS                      BIÉDE CÍ

摇     to shake, shaken                      yáo

调制     craft a mixture, follow a recipe                      tiáozhì

加热     to heat up                      jiā rè

手工     handcrafted, handmade                      shôugōng

浓郁     extra strong, rich                      nóngyù

冰     ice, iced                      bīng

热     hot                      rè

经典     signature                      jīngdiân

极品     top quality                      jípîn

碎片     splinter, fragment                       suìpiàn

巧克力     chocolate                      qiâokèlì

小粒     grinds                        xiâo lì

咖啡馆/咖啡厅*      café, coffeehouse                        kāfēiguân

有助的短语 · HELPFUL PHRASES                          YÔU ZHÙ DE DUÂNYÛ

手工调制浓缩咖啡     Hand-mixed espresso drinks                     shôugōng tiáozhì nóngsuōkāfēi

以上饮品可选热饮或冰饮     The above drinks are available hot or iced                     yîshàng yînpîn kêxuân rèyîn huò bīng yîn

风味糖浆     Typically a sweetening syrup put in beverages                     fēngwèi tángjiāng

不合咖啡     Not suited for coffee, no coffee                     bùhé kāfēi

一共。。。元     Altogether, that’s … yuan                     yīgòng…yuán

。。。小粒     (geographic location) grinds                     …xiâo lì

NOTES & SOURCES

*Both forms or words are acceptable, but the starred one is more common, in my experience

Also note that because I’m lazy and it was an easy button on my keyboard, the pinyin third tone is represented by ^ as opposed to the traditional inverse (ie, â = a third tone, ê = e third tone, etc)

Pleco Inc. and its licensors (2020). Pleco (3.2.48) [Mobile App IOS]. App Store. https://apps.apple.com/kr/app/pleco-chinese-dictionary/id341922306?l=en.

Words and phrases selected from actual cafe menus in Beijing, Beijing, and Lijiang, Yunnan, China. Copyrighted beverage names were not used. 

If anyone has any corrections or additions, feel free to comment or send me a pm!

Finally, here’s the quizlet list, and my work-in-progress online dictionary.

[yourdailyqueer]

Tag masterlist

Because at the moment Tumblr tags are messed up, please check out these tags and REBLOG any posts you like. I have two and half years of work on this blog and i’m not giving up just because Tumblr has done a bad update.

List may be incomplete/has errors so apologies. It is mostly copied from navigation page. If there are errors let me know so it can be fixed.

Also feel free to Buy me a coffee.

Last updated: 2nd July 2020

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[tearsofthemis]

Tears of Themis : Chapter 1 “Social Snobbery” Part 17 [End of Chapter 1]

[Previous Part] | [Masterlist] | [Next Chapter]

▌ Location- Zuo Ran’s Office

(Soon after I handed over all the evidence to the prosecutors, the criminal court began to oversee Lu HaiYang’s poisoning case. Thanks to the conclusive evidence they had on the incident, Lu HaiYang was convicted of the crime and incarcerated to start serving his sentence. Fang Yuan’s QingPing Restaurant, was deemed not at fault, and the settlement was excused. Instead, the compensation will become Lu HaiYang’s liability. It was said that during Lu HaiYang’s trial, he exposed many of the illegal business practices at MeiWeiKa, especially employing scare tactics and intimidation toward restaurant owners, and now, MeiWeiKa is under investigation. With that, the launch of the platform’s app was indefinitely delayed, dragging all their investors with it.)

Zuo Ran: “What are you thinking about?”

MC: “...”

(I thought about the case we had just closed, and Fang Yuan’s pained expression would always come to mind. I zoned out hard, and after a long while, I finally noticed that Zuo Ran was trying to get my attention.)

Zuo Ran: “Ahem...”

MC: “Ah, sorry! Lawyer Zuo, were you calling me?”

Zuo Ran: “During the trial, why did you hand over the hidden security footage directly? It’s not your style.”

MC: “Because I know that’s what Mr. Fang would have really wanted me to do. It doesn’t keep  Lu HaiYang out of trouble, but this way, it'll really help him reform. If I omitted the footage, Lu HaiYan would have escaped his crimes and never learned. He would only continue to walk down the wrong path, and MeiWeiKa’s wrongdoings wouldn’t have been exposed either.”

Zuo Ran: “Very good, you’re growing up.”

MC: “Are you complimenting me, Lawyer Zuo!”

Zuo Ran: “Don’t get ahead of yourself.”

(Zuo Ran huffed, turned around, and picked up a blue package from his desk.)

Zuo Ran: “Hai O’Sen supplements, were they connected to the case? You said Fang Yuan consumed these?”

MC: “They’re Fang Yuan’s, although they’re not related to the case. It must have been packed with the other evidence.”

(The day we went over to the restaurant, Xia Yan had helped me organize the evidence bags. He must have slipped these in without thinking.)

MC: “I didn’t need to bring these up during the trial, so I dropped them in the case files and haven’t had a chance to tidy it up.”

Zuo Ran: “How are Fang Yuan’s energy levels recently?”

MC: “You… suspect there’s a connection? Xue XinRan said that the doctor’s initial diagnosis was depression. It checks out, after seeing how much Lu HaiYang harassed Fang Yuan. Although, now that the case is resolved, he should have time to recuperate.”

Zuo Ran: “I see…”

(Zuo Ran dwelled on the subject, but then quickly changed topics.)

Zuo Ran: “I have a file that I need to send to a psychologist named Mo Yi. I can’t leave the office for the moment, will you do me a favor and run this over to him? The address is on the box.”

MC: “Mr. Mo Yi…”

(Mo Yi, I’ve heard of his name before. He’s an expert in the psychology field from abroad. It’s said that he specializes in criminal psychology, and has published many papers in the last two years. There’s so many famous universities who would love to have him as a guest lecturer, but no one knows the reason as to why he rejected them all and came to reside permanently in Stellis City.)

MC: “I’ve always wanted to meet Mr. Mo Yi.”

Zuo Ran: “Mo Yi and I are acquainted because of work, not because we’re friends. When speaking with him, watch your actions.”

MC: “I will treat Mr. Mo Yi as I would any other client, rest assured Lawyer Zuo.”

Zuo Ran: “Alright, then I’ll leave it to you. Be careful on the road.”

~~~

▌ Location- PAX Headquarters, CEO’s Office

(At the same time, the PAX office was dense with nervous energy.)

???: “Go on, you were so vocal while making investment decisions, so why are you scared to speak now?”

PAX’s Capital Manager: “Mr. Lu, we weren’t aware that MeiWeiKa’s profits came at the expense of harassing merchants… They kept their operations very secretive. Just because we suspect wrongdoings doesn’t mean we’re able to secure evidence…”

???: “You mean to tell me, the data center PAX invests in is just an ornament - something that I spend billions of dollars a year maintaining? Is it an unworthy marvel of machine learning, or would you dare suggest that it’s an over glorified dictionary?”

PAX’s Capital Manager: “No, no no, that’s not what I mean…”

???: “Haha, not being able to procure evidence… It’s not like I’m forcing you to testify in court. I think you never paid enough attention to the investigation, and neglected taking care of our corporate image. And for social accountability! Even if there didn’t exist illegal business practices, or oppression of their clients, PAX and I will hold them accountable for fabricating negative reviews! So remember this clearly, as long as PAX Group is still owned by the Lu’s, we’ll never stoop to their level!”

PAX’s Capital Manager: “Y-yes sir, I’ll remember it. I’ll go right away and deal with the external affairs manager.”

???: “External affairs manager? No need, just worry about yourself. The PAX Group was passed down to me by my mother, and you have a hand in the way the atmosphere stinks right now. So I’ve heard, MeiWeiKa’s CEO is your relative.”

PAX’s Capital Manager: “Er, t-that, CEO Lu, I-”

???: “Seeing that you’ve been at the company for most of your years, I’ll spare you this once and won’t sue you. You can leave now. Don’t appear in front of PAX or anywhere that I might see you, ever again.”

-------

[Previous Part] | [Masterlist] | [Next Chapter]

——-

《CREDIT》 Translator: @humi-and-co​​ Editor: @hallowsivy​ 《未定事件簿》Tears of Themis is a 2020 Chinese otome game by 米哈游Mihoyo. All original credits go to 米哈游Mihoyo.

《 VOICE ACTORS 》 Zuo Ran | Zhao Lu: https://weibo.com/mzhaolu

——-

Ivy: That’s it! We’ve reached the end of Chapter 1~ It took a couple weeks, but it’s done °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°  I hope everyone’s enjoying the story so far~ Either of the boys interest you yet? I personally think Chapter 2 and later are even better (mainly cuz the cases are way more interesting - homicides and the such - but also because the main story starts to pick up !! We also get to see the other two boys) so stick around :D

Due to school starting up, I’m getting busy, so updates may be sporadic & I hope you guys can bear with that (˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )  To be fair, the burden’s on me though haha - Humi’s done translating up to like Chapter 4 _(:3」∠)_ But I try to edit to the best of my ability (if you gotta do something, do it right, amirite) & that means fixing Humi’s 3AM English and sometimes re-translating if it’s truly unbearable. 

If anyone wants to help edit, you’re welcome to slide into our DMs though !!! It’d be helpful if you have access to the game (to help take screenshots), but it’s not necessary - just being able to edit Humi’s 3AM English is good enough.

P.S. We’ll be posting bonus content this week for chapter end~! Hope you guys enjoy it ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

Humi: It's all uphill from here

[twoidiotwriters1]

Starcrossed Losers XIV (Josh Wheeler xReader)

A/N: This is officially the largest thing I’ve ever written on tumblr and I’m proud of it. Pardon my use of PUBLIC, the playlist demanded it (not really but I make the rules) I hope you like this chapter!

Words: 8,639

Warnings: Fights, cursing and blood.

Previous chapter // Next chapter

So now that I embrace my new title, things seem easier. Fuck it, I save lives (not really but you know what I mean), I’m creative, people come to me when they have problems normal solutions can’t fix. I’m awesome.

After I help to clean the store, I look for KJ since I’m already running late. I find her... talking with Josh. I analyze the scene, my friend is holding a book and he goes frantically through the pages as he talks to her. Next to me, I hear some ruffling and I see a small figure peaking through the garbage.

“Hello,” I lean over the pile of trash, I hear a yelp, “what are you doing dressed like a piñata?”

“Watching their interaction,” Replies Angelica, “since you’re going with Alex at least Josh seems to finally make up his mind”

“And that’s a victory cause..?”

“He needs the rebound sex!” I can picture her rolling her eyes, “I get it if you’re virgin and don’t want to lose it with Josh-”

“Hey, my thing has nothing to do-”

“He needs a distraction, if KJ can do that for him then I have to kindly ask you to not get involved!”

“What is he holding?” I cross my arms, now just as invested as my friend on the scene unfolding before us.

“A Chinese-English dictionary, he’s trying to speak in her language”

“That’s so dedicated,” I'm touched by his actions, “he doesn’t need to...”

“Let him be a gentleman!”

“That’s not why I said it!” I poke her head, “Anyway, I think you’re wrong. He’s not asking her out.”

“Why do you think that?”

“A hunch,” I shrug.

“Or jealousy?” She says in a suggestive tone.

“You’ll see I’m right,” I start to walk over to where they are, ignoring Angelica’s hurried whispers.

“Hey!” I put one arm around his shoulders, it’s hard since I can barely reach them, “What’s up?”

I see KJ’s eyes widened for a moment, maybe thinking that I’m about to uncover her secret. I wink at her in complicity.

“Hey,” Josh smiles at me, lifting the book so I can see it, “I was asking KJ about her headphones, I think we could use something like that for the noise problem”

“You don’t say,” I pretend to be surprised, KJ snorts but she manages to change it into a sneeze, “Bless you! So uh, tell you what then, you bring as many headphones as you find and I’ll tell KJ about what we’re trying to do. Give me...”

I gently take the book from him and start rummaging through the pages, pretending to look for some words.

“You sure?” He asks, starting to walk away, “You’re the best Y/N! See you in a minute!”

He runs off excitedly, KJ and I start laughing.

“I have to admit, his effort is kind of endearing,” She smiles.

“Just when I think he can’t get cuter, he does this,” I point to the book and leave it on top of the beauty stand.

Ah, fuck. Why I never think before I talk?

“Cuter?” She smirks, “Are you crushing on Josh Wheeler?”

“Are you?” I ask out of pure panic.

“Hmmm, not really,” KJ shrugs, “but... I can’t say that I haven’t thought about it”

“Hah,” Her words sting in my chest, I try to play it off as casual as possible, “the headphones, then. Let’s go over to the stage and see if we can make it work”

“Cool”

Josh comes back with a bag full of headphones and wireless earphones, looking different than the first time we were standing here today.

“You told her?” He asks, carefully leaving the bag on the DJ’s table.

“She’s in,” I smile innocently, “should we start?”

“Yeah,” He nods excitedly, grabbing three sets and handing us one to KJ and me.

“What’s your plan for this super-amazing-legendary Homecoming do-over?” I ask while breaking the package of my earphones.

“Well, now that you mention it...”

Alex passes by and calls out my name, I look up to see what he wants.

“Should I wear a tie or a bow-tie?” He inquires.

“Whatever you prefer Al,” I grin.

“Alright, don’t say I didn’t ask!” He walks away, raising his hands in defeat.

“He’s taking the dance too seriously”

“I think he’s just making sure everything goes according to plan, maybe he’s worried about our matching outfits not really matching or something...”

“Match?” He frowns, “Why would he... oh”

“Oh?” I frown, “What?”

“You’re going with Alex?”

I really wish this question didn’t make me feel so awkward.

“Uh, yes. He asked me today after I went to the pharmacy... it’s his way of fixing things”

“No, I understand,” He scratches the back of his neck, “you... you wanted that, right?”

“I don’t know if I wanted... it feels nice, getting my best friend back like old times”

“Old times...” He nods, now somehow quieter, “I’m happy for you, Y/N”

“Thanks?” I abandon my earphones on the table, “Is everything okay?”

“Huh?” He looks back at me, “I... I was thinking about the last dance I ever assisted to back in Canada”

“Was it fun?”

“Fuck no,” He chuckles, “I never asked any girl so I always went alone. I had this coach that made us dance with a mop to get the extra credits”

“You went with a mop to your last normal dance?” I ask in disbelief.

“Don’t laugh.”

“I wasn’t going to,” I reply, laughing.

“Stop!” He whines, focusing on his headphones, “I’m aware of how shitty that sounds, no need to rub it on my face. I bet you have this really cutesy story of your last dance”

“I went with my group of friends. We refused to ask someone so we all just went together. It was fun.”

“You always did that?”

“I never thought it was a big deal”

“I did,” He shrugs, “I had a plan for this Homecoming... I asked Sam”

“She said yes?”

“She did,” Josh puts the headphones away, “can we not talk about that right now?”

“Totally,” I reply, picking up my earphones.

KJ speaks up (in Chinese) and points to the DJ’s dashboard, then to our headphones.

“I think she’s saying it’s ready for testing,” Josh says.

“Put them on...” I put on mine and Josh follows my lead.

KJ gets closer to me and whispers.

“Connect your phone to the dashboard and pick a song, it should work.”

“Thanks,” I do what she says.

Since I’m still in the mood for PUBLIC, I grab the phone from my back pocket and open the music app, searching.

“Ready?” I ask, both give me a nod of approval.

“Sweet,” I mumble, pressing play.

And the music starts playing, but this time, only for us to hear.

I’m thinking about what Josh said to me. He asked Sam to the Homecoming dance, How tragic could things get before they stop? I’m starting to rethink my decisions, maybe getting too close is too dangerous. Staying is going to get me killed in more than one way. 

Although how could I leave, when that means abandoning a newfound family.

“I’m a playin' it safe? I've been here for too long Haven't made a mistake There's a reason to stay - 'Cause I feel so alone”

Josh’s face lights up when he starts hearing the music, nudging KJ’s arm and nodding. The girl smiles and waves, her way of saying “Welp, my work here is done!” As she takes off the headphones and gets off the stage.

However, Josh and I stay to listen to the music, I see him mouth a “Well done!” and I answer with a “Same to you!”

“Make up reasons to wait Run so nothing goes wrong But everything that she said, I'm overthinkin' while I'm drivin' back home”

I start to follow the rhythm with my foot, sort of awkwardly dancing to it. 

I won’t overthink what Josh said, there’s no point. Like I said to Angelica, he’s here and he’s staying and so am I. 

Why would I be afraid? He’s told me before he’s not leaving me behind. I’ve said the same thing, I got his back.

“'Cause she said, 

"Call me up when you're all alone 'cause I'm down for hangin' out

We'll stay up all night and I'll just crash on your couch.”

Josh starts dancing as well, we’re goofing around and not really showing our best moves, kinda like the hand-holding thing a few hours ago.

I’ve noticed how I do silly things with him often just for the sake of it, ever since he told me about his fight with Sam we have that sort of dynamic, we can act stupid and the other won’t judge.

“...Maybe that's her, that's the girl I'm just terrified And maybe that's her...”

Does this count as the soundtrack of my life? I mean we attached this song to a memory permanently. Who cares if it’s another PUBLIC song? Their songs are good, don’t underestimate them!

“How will I know if I never try? Maybe that's her, that's the girl, that's the girl I've been waitin' for”

He extends his hand and I take it, dancing in unison. I gotta say, we look pretty stupid. But it’s that spark in his eyes that makes me throw all the embarrassment out the window so I can get an extra minute with this side of him. 

We’re laughing, loud. I know it even if I can’t hear us. I know it for the way his shoulders move and how it gets harder to breathe.

We have our own party going on, I accidentally trip on some wires so of course, I fall forward and Josh catches me.

Am I clumsy or is my body just sabotaging my plan to not flirt with Josh until I think the time is right? 

Or is this just happening for the reader’s entertainment? We will never know.

The thing is that it happened and now Josh’s arms are on my waist and he’s chuckling and saying something that I can’t hear, he lifts me up so I’m standing on my own again. The music has gotten to the part where it’s a bit slower, and suddenly the choir seems to be ten times clearer than before.

“Am I playin' it safe? I don't know anymore Do I keep pushin' away 'Cause I'm just too afraid that someone's gonna get hurt”

Oh, fuck off, PUBLIC. I don’t need you spreading my thoughts out there like I’m desperate to send a message. 

Though I did pick the song myself, maybe I did do it expecting Josh would understand that I’m scared of what I’m feeling. Maybe I’m hoping he’ll understand without me having to say anything and then he can kindly reject me and I can move on with my life.

Please, please just listen to the song, Josh.

For a moment I think he does, his stare suddenly gets all serious and he opens his mouth like he’s about to say something. He steps back so he’s no longer holding my waist and takes off his headphones, I take off one of my earphones and look at him, my hands are shaking.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, trying to sound calm and mildly confused.

“I...” He looks down at his headphones and lets out a short laugh, “I didn’t know you like this band”

“They’re not bad!” I complain.

“Yeah, I know. I like them,” He smiles, “I mean I’m not a huge fan or anything but... you know how I said I had this song in mind apart from Mastermind?”

“I do,” I give him a small smile, “you refused to tell me which song was...”

“It was a PUBLIC song” He grins, “a recent one. I can’t remember the name, that’s the reason why I didn’t choose it but the music video had this cool story where they’re in like a movie set? The singer has a crush on the actress..?”

“I know which song it is! It’s-”

“You guys fixed the problem?” Angelica climbs over to the stage, “wireless headphones? Nice!”

“Thanks,” I reply, “it was Josh’s idea. He asked KJ how did she set up hers so we could do the same with these”

I give her a pointed look and she just scoffs, then she looks to a side and nudges my ribs.

“Look at that...”

I look at the main entrance of the mall and I see Maya heading out.

“Where is she going?” Josh asks.

“Y/N kicked her out”

“You- What?” He says with wide eyes.

“It’s a long story,” I shrug it off.

“It was really badass,” Angelica adds.

“Later,” I insist, “we have a decoration to finish”

“C'mon Y/N, I wanna hear!” Josh insists.

“Basically Maya was throwing a tantrum cause she couldn’t find her knife-”

“Actually it was because I discovered the real reason why she isn’t with the Cheeramazons. It’s cause they kicked her out, but go on...”

“No way!” The boy exclaims, mouth agape.

“Let me finish!” Replies Angelica, “So anyway, she was running around Y/N’s pharmacy and when she walked in I hear Maya screaming at her and I was ready to set her on fire when I heard she was looking for her stupid knife. I took it cause I was helping with some decorations and we needed to cut papers and stuff”

“Maya lost her shit when she saw An holding it and then started to scream louder, then took the knife and cut her”

“My finger,” Angelica proudly shows her bandaid, “and then Y/N lost it.”

“What do you mean?” 

“She told Maya that she needed to leave, cause her job as Healer was to make sure everyone was alright and since she hurt me she couldn’t stay”

“We need to surround ourselves with people that have some limits,” I try to explain so I sound less like an asshole, “Maya had none, she always expects to be the leader or the star of the group, this is how she reacts when she can’t have it. Besides, no one gets to touch Angelica on my watch. No one.”

“I’m not judging you,” He raises his hands, “if anything, I’m proud.”

“You... What? Why?”

“You found your thing,” He adds in a teasing voice, “Healer.”

“Ah,” I roll my eyes, smiling, “I figured that since you keep calling me that against my will might as well own it, right? I got an assistant and all! Alex is great on his job and calls me boss,” I grin.

“You do a pretty decent job,” Angelica shrugs, “just don’t fuck up”

“It’s getting late,” I see Angelica’s watch and realize the night is getting closer, “we get ready for the dance”

“Right!” Angelica perks up, “Eli is looking for you. He said he wanted to talk and that you could meet him back in the salon”

“Okay?” I frown, “I better go then...”

“Have fun!” She smiles, walking off the stage.

“I should go get dressed too,” Josh mumbles, leaving the headphones on the table next to him.

“I should do that after I talk to Eli as well”

“See you... Y/N?”

“Hmmm?”

“Bow-tie or tie?” He asks with a smile.

I let out a laugh, thinking about it for a second.

“Bow-tie. I think it suits you.”

“Bow-tie it is,” He gets off the stage as well.

The store is crowded, I’m starting to think maybe Eli is no longer here when I hear him calling my name from the back.

“Your campaign failed? Are you going to kill me with scissors?”

“What? Nah. I decided to not run for the crown.”

“Why?” I frown, getting closer to where he is, “Wasn’t that your goal?”

“I have a bigger goal now, which is not die,” I’m about to ask what the hell is he talking about when he speaks up again, “I’m giving you a makeover”

“How about no?” I backtrack, trying to be as far as possible from his grasp.

“Don’t be shitty, you know I used to work with my aunt!”

“I don’t need or want a makeover”

“You don’t wanna feel pretty for one night? Do a Cinderella entrance when they see you come down the stairs and all that shit? Do you even know what you’re gonna wear?”

“I was thinking black jeans..?”

“Good fucking- Sit on the chair, Y/N.”

“But-”

“You need a break. You’ve been curing all the kids since you came back and you have a sprained wrist. When was the last time you slept properly like, on a bed?”

“Not that much,” I huff, “like... a week?”

“It shows,” He gets closer and pushes me towards one of the chairs, “sit and relax, princess. I got this shit. When I’m done with you, you’ll look like real-life Barbie”

“How exciting,” I snort, “including the outfit?”

“That’s all on you. I trust you’ll pick something better than jeans. Ask Wesley, he’ll know how to capture your vibe”

“I think I can do it alone”

“Uh...”

“I used to dress up on my own before this whole thing happened,” I say, “the reason why I didn’t want to be all fancy this time it’s cause I just don’t see the point, it’s a made-up dance.”

“So were the ones back at school,” He retorts, already putting some sort of oil in my hair “the difference is that you didn’t plan those. This thing is to help us forget the bullshit, just play along”

I never thought I’d say this but maybe I should follow Eli’s advice. We’ve been through a lot of shit and this thing helps us cope, mend our inner wounds as a true healer would say.

He doesn’t let me look at my reflection until it’s done. He turns around my chair and sets me in front of the mirror. I don’t know how to react to what I’m seeing.

“So?” He inquires, raising a brow, “Will you let me handle those curls without doubting my abilities next time?”

“I...” How did he do that? My hair looks so soft and... clean. Hydrated as well, I have no split ends and it’s just so... in place, I look amazing. 

And my makeup? Yes, he did that too. And I don’t know how did he manage but I don’t regret it at all.

“Eli,” I gasp, “you’re my favorite boy right now”

“I tend to have that effect on the ladies,” He smirks.

“I love you,” I say mesmerized, softly passing a hand through my hair, “don’t take it the wrong way, I don’t wanna date you”

“You don’t need to specify,” Eli scoffs, “I know that you only have puppy eyes for dumbass Josh”

“Oh, come on,” I groan, “you too?”

“Princess if you wanna keep it casual then don’t drool all over the floor,” He replies, “even Crumble can notice”

“Shut up,” I complain, standing up and brushing little hairs from my overall, “I’m gonna go get changed. You better start to get ready as well.”

“Bold of you to assume I don’t have my suit ready. I might have quitted the throne, but I’m still ruling hearts”

“Sure,” I stifle a laugh, “get them all, tiger”

I spend the next two hours searching for something my size and not claimed by the other kids. One hour trying to find them in a color that could match in a killer outfit. In the end, my look is not devastatingly perfect but it’s enough and it makes me feel good, I can’t complain.

Alex finds me when I’m walking out of the store, fully dressed and ready to dance.

“Holy shit, I feel like a proud father right now!” Alex takes my hands and makes do a quick twirl so he can see the result, “I wish I had a camera with me”

“Wait! I have a phone”

“Didn’t you lose your phone when... you know”

“I got one after I left the jocks,” I pull the phone out of my pocket and open the camera app, “you take it, I’m terrible taking selfies”

“Happy Homecoming do-over!” Alex presses the icon on the screen until he feels satisfied, we check to see if we like the pictures and then he gives me the phone back so I put it back in my pocket, “Ready to dance all night?”

“As long as my wrist allows” I lift my hand, still covered in bandages, “I’m ready to have fun”

We walk in and I freeze, amazed by the final result of all our efforts these past days. It looks great, I even start to consider that maybe this wasn’t a waste of time.

“Neat, right?” Wesley walks up to me, giving Alex and I two sets of earphones so we can listen to the music, “I made it work, which means you lost.”

“Not now,” I whisper once that Alex puts on the earphones, “let’s wait until tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? Na-ah,” He frowns, not even in a playful way, he looks genuinely upset “tonight’s the perfect romantic setting and you’re thinking about wasting it? You’re thinking about wasting your shot when you’re looking like that? Not on my watch, sister.”

“Wesley...” Alex looks at us slightly confused and I shake my head, “listen, I’m here to have a fun night with Alex and it’d be rude to leave him only to go and flirt with some other dude”

“I’ll only say this once, but you’re losing precious time Y/N,” Wesley warns me, I get the feeling that he’s hidding something from me but I can’t think of anything in particular, “just like you lost your chance to add a song to the soundtrack of our lives. You never told me your choice!”

Shit, after what happened with Maya I totally forgot I was supposed to tell Wesley which song I wanted. Still, I don’t worry too much about it, my mind lands immediately on a song.

“Am I still allowed to tell you?”

“Depends. Which one is it?” I lean closer and whisper the title to him, along with the name of the artist, “I don’t know who that is.”

“Just type it like that, it should appear right away,” I insist.

“Is it good?”

“Hey! You told me I could pick any song, so just add it to the list!” I push him towards the stage, all the way Wesley curses under his breath.

“You need to calm down!” He backs up, “Don’t ruin the suit!”

“You gonna play the song?”

“Yes, now leave the DJ alone.”

“Fine,” I go to find Alex again, he’s waiting for me next to the food and quickly takes off one of the earphones so he can talk to me.

“You want a drink?”

“Does the punch have alcohol?” I say as I put on only one of the earphones, keeping the other in my pocket.

“I don’t know?” He frowns, leaning closer to the bowl.

“I don’t wanna get wasted,” I shake my head, “can’t risk another injury so soon”

“I’ll get you coke”

“I’ll go with you”

We move around the mass of bodies until we reach the other table. There, we see Josh dancing with... a mop?

“Josh?” He’s wearing earpods, so I have to poke his arms to get his attention, when he turns and sees me, he immediately takes one off, “What are you doing with that mop?”

“Hi-woah! You look... so...” Josh looks at me and then at Alex, maybe hoping to get some help from my friend but Al stays silent, waiting for him to end the sentence himself, “you... Hi.”

“Hello,” I chuckle, “I see you’re wearing a bow-tie”

“I see you kept the aesthetic and just changed the overall for a... more fancy overall”

“It’s called a romper,” I clarify, “yes, it’s a fancier version but just as comfortable as the original. I’m also wearing heeled boots so you can’t say I’m not trying.”

“No, I wasn’t going to,” He corrects, “I think you look great. Both of you. Hi, Alex.”

Crap, I forgot I was with Alex. I’m a terrible friend.

“Hi Josh, your date seems pretty shy... Are you going to introduce us?”

“Yeah,” Josh smiles, “Y/N, Alex. Meet Mop-Sam. She’s here to represent real Sam now that she can’t be here”

“Hi Mop-Sam,” I tilt my head, “is this some kind of regression? Are you going back to when you were thirteen and your coach made you dance with a mop as a coping mechanism?”

“No. I just want Sam to have one last good night”

“Fair, but you could’ve used a mannequin,” I agree, “Why a mop?”

I stay quiet as I see the realization hit Josh, he stares at the mop with a new found resentment for his lack of brain.

“I didn’t think of that,” He whispers.

I pat his back.

“You should’ve asked me first, buddy,” I shake my head, “enjoy your night with mop-Sam though, she looks nice.”

He glares at me as I giggle, walking away with Alex beside me, casually holding me by the waist.

“Josh is really weird,” He says while handing me a soda, “yet, he’s got good intentions. I get why you like him.”

I choke with my drink. I don’t even try to deny it, apparently there’s no use to it since everyone has a radar to identify my crush from miles away.

“I just think he’s really fun to be around,” I shrug, “it’s thanks to him that I found you so I’m thankful that he found me”

“I can tell he’s glad that you found him,” Alex raises a brow, “why didn’t you come to the dance with him?”

“Because you asked me first.”

“You could’ve said no. If you wanted to come with Josh I would’ve understood. Don’t use me as an excuse you had all the time in the world to ask him and you didn’t, you don’t want to admit that you chickened out on the last second.”

“What if I did?” I reply sternly, “Is not like he wants to be with me, I’ll get hurt if I try”

“Dude, didn’t you see the way his brain short-circuited when he saw you? I could practically see the hearts floating around his head”

“But Sam-”

“Sam’s gone. If he can accept that, Why can’t you?”

That’s a good question. Why can’t I? 

Josh and I could be everything I always wanted, why am I so against it? It isn’t Alex. Josh wasn’t dating one of my friends, he’d broken up with Sam way before I had even returned to his life and we’re both so fitting for each other, why can’t I let myself enjoy life in the apocalypse? Why do I always have to feel sorry for myself?

“I think I’m still not over it,” I say, voice hoarse, “part of me doesn’t think I deserve something good happening to me after what I did to Katie.”

“That’s bullshit,” He frowns, “you spent most of your life looking after me whenever my parents weren’t home, made sure I always had food and slept well. You make sure all these kids are safe and clean their wounds when they need it, even with a sprained wrist. Shit, Y/N you’ve grown to be strong and you’ll be bigger than what you expect but please cut you some slack, let yourself be happy.”

“I think...” 

The music is loud on my left ear, barely leaving me room to think. What Alex wants me to do is to follow my heart, that I can hear loud and clear even with all the noise surrounding us tonight.

“I want a break. I wanna have all the little, ridiculous nice things that used to make me go all giggly inside”

“That means?”

“How about we dance until I can’t feel my feet?”

“And after that?”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Seems appropiate”

Time flies when you’re having fun, specially when it’s during the night. I only realize it’s been three hours when Eli walks up to us and asks if we voted for a homecoming gender-neutral royalty since it’s about to close so they can start to count the votes and tell us who won before midnight.

Alex and I step to the voting box and when we’re done he lets me know that he has to go to the restroom so I’m left alone. 

I decide to use my free time wisely. I walk towards the stage and after a mute conversation Wesley agrees to put the song I asked for, I make my way towards Josh, who’s still cheerfully dancing around the mop.

I poke his back again and he turns around, smiling brightly when he sees me. He’s about to take off the earpods but I stop him, signaling him to listen to the next song.

I promise, dear reader, that this is the last time I’ll use PUBLIC as the soundtrack of my life. You can agree with me when I say this one demanded a place on the list. After all, it was Josh’s song but it also means something to me, the lyrics now more than ever, say everything I can’t dare to say directly at his face.

So now I’m asking you and Josh, to dance along to the beat of my love declaration.

“Oh, here we go again, on this ride Incapable of just being friends Always on my mind...”

He lifts his head up as soon as he hears the first few seconds of the song, smiling. I can read his lips saying “You found it!” and I nod, just as happy as him. I extend my hand and ask him quietly if he wants to dance this one with me and he takes my hand with no hesitation.

I know I’ve only known Josh for like, eight days. Without counting the time in highschool cause we didn’t know each other that well. 

I know that’s not enough time to say I love him, or that he’s the love of my life. Yet, is enough to know I like him and that I would love to know him better. I want to be with Josh as close as possible, all the time. Maybe the feeling will fade away, maybe he’s not the love of my life. 

I rather be with him until it fades away than letting the feeling die without trying.

“Waiting for something A message late at night Are you gonna say what you wanna say? Are we gonna do this right?”

At first, we dance awkwardly, slowly from one side to the other cause we don’t know how to dance like this: So officially. This is not a random day when we’re fooling around and dancing like stupid people. This is the homecoming do-over and we’re supposed to do it right.

Then we share one look of panic where both of us are like “oh my god, what the hell are we supposed to do with our arms?” and instantly relax cause we remember: “Hey, this is us, why are we trying so hard?”

“But I'm hesitating when I'm around you I can't escape that look in your eyes It's getting late and we're just talkin' My feels locked inside”

He takes my hands and makes me twirl and slide, we get stuck in some movements but none of us gets stressed about it. Meh, whatever, we’re having fun.

We aren’t talking, yet I feel like I’m having a whole conversation with just our eyes, he laughs when I accidentally step on his foot and I do it when he trips on his own feet. I’m not capable to look away, it’s just us here.

You know, maybe I’m imagining this, maybe I’m exaggerating what’s going on between us during this song. Does it matter? Life would be so dull if we saw our reality only in one way. Isn’t it better to think you’re the only person left in the world and witness as time stops for you to remember every single little, ridiculous detail that makes your life worth it?

This right here, is what makes my new life worth it: The people in it, the feelings I have whenever I’m around them.

Josh.

How everything is possible when I’m with him.

“'Cause you're the one that I want 'Cause you're the one that I need I just wanna fall in your arms So I'm begging down here on my knees”

He pulls me closer and I put my arms around his neck. I’m nervous at first, I’ve never been this close to him, besides the times when I crashed into him or that time back at the factory where I lost my cool and hugged him in front of everyone... okay fair, I’ve fallen into his arms plenty of times before.

This hits different because of the pretty lightning, the music that we both like, we’re wearing fancy clothing which is always a nice plus, the ambient feels so... normal. Finally, I got to have a little piece of my old life back.

I imagine that this is the actual Homecoming, Alex is somewhere with Stuart and somehow Josh and I kept talking after our school project, one thing led to another, then we came to the school dance together.

Think of all that could’ve been, if only I had decided to let go of my feelings for Alex sooner, to give this a chance. I could tell Josh was something special even if I didn’t like him that way, he always caught my eye one way or another.

Maybe if I’d talked to him one day back in Highschool to say more than just ‘Hi’, if I had invited him over to the movies with the rest of my friends, things would be different. I don’t know exactly how different, but perhaps, better.

The solo comes in and Josh uses the opportunity to take off one of his earpods and asks me to do the same. 

“This is the song you chose for the soundtrack?”

“You like it?” I grin.

“I can’t believe you used your only chance on a song that I wanted, that’s not cool!”

“Hey, who said I did it for you?” I tease, “I love that song, it’s a banger”

“You don’t think it was too much?”

“Why would it be too much?” I frown, “it’s good, not as corny as you make it sound”

“It wasn’t the song what I thought it was too corny,” He rolls his eyes, “I was planning on dedicating the song to someone”

“Oh,” I feel my blood run cold, and burn my chest at the same time, “to who?”

“Not important,” He shrugs it off, “she’s not available”

That’s it. That’s how the spell wears off. Josh has a crush on someone else.

Wait.

How can Josh be crushing on one of the other girls? For all I know, he barely knows like five people out of everyone here. The only girls he talks to are Angelica, KJ, Crumble and I. Angelica is a child, KJ has no dance partner, Crumble is like ten years older...

Is he talking about me?

“I wanna know, wanna go to the deep end Tired of all this actin' shy I wanna know, wanna go to the deep end”

He puts his earpod back on and I do the same. My mind is running wild to search for the next step after the song ends.

Should I tell him everything? How crazy will I sound if I tell him, ‘Hey, guess what? This was supposed to be my love declaration and it’s my way of saying I’m crushing on you, my friend.’

No, this is nuts. I can’t do it.

Oh my god, I can’t tell Josh.

I’m a coward. I’m such a gigantic coward but fuck, I can’t.

I feel his hand pressing lightly on my waist and I look up, his eyes are blue but they’re so clear that they reflect all the lights in the room, two little kaleidoscopes. I can’t stop looking, I’ve never been able to look away.

He asks me if I’m okay and I silently reply that he has nothing to worry about.

It’s true, he doesn’t have to worry, I will keep my mouth shut forever.

‘Y/N, what if he does have feelings for you?’ You're back with the nosy questions. Well, if he does, it’ll pass. Love isn’t constant.

It’s better this way, right? No strings attached means no one gets hurt and we stay together as a whole tribe.

Right?

“'Cause you're the one that I need That I need”

The song ends and we stay close to each other. Josh has this cute, tiny smile while he stares at me, I probably look like I’m worried sick. 

Shit, I need some time to think.

I take off both my earphones and step back.

“Thank you for allowing me one song with you,” I mumble, too nervous to speak like a normal human being.

“That’s cool, Mop-Sam was getting tired of me kicking her bucket anyway” I laugh, it’s a tense grin, barely cheerful. Josh notices right away, “It’s something wrong?”

“Alex must be looking for me,” I change the subject, playing with the straps of my romper, “I should go find him” 

“Alex,” Josh’s demeanor changes, now acting distant, “he’s probably worried.”

“It was nice,” I add, slowly backing up, “we should make this more often”

“Sure...”

I find Alex in no time and I decide to tell him everything, he’s completely understanding and I’m so relieved to have him back.

It’s like I’m so much lighter ever since... Ever since Josh found me.

“You need space to think,” Alex agrees, walking me towards a set of stairs, “go to the second floor, no one’s there right now. Clear your head, make a decisión, come back when you know what you’ll do and then we’ll enjoy the rest of the night without you overthinking every little detail” 

“Okay...”

“Promise?”

“Don’t get so pushy, Alex,” I complain, “I’ll try, okay? I can’t promise I’ll fix it tonight.”

“Fair,” He huffs, “now get your shit together, I’ll dance with Angelica in the meantime, I like her”

“Have fun...”

I do as Alex told me to, leaning over the rail so I can watch my former classmates dancing to a song I only hear on one ear, keeping the other earpod inside my pocket so I can listen if someone looks for me.

Should I accept my stupid fate? Give in and be like, ‘welp whatever God wants for me I’ll have it’ cause I’m honestly getting tired.

I’m an orphan with a bunch of kids I have to look after and a crush that is not over his dead girlfriend. I’m dumb. I need a good night of sleep and something besides pre-packaged food or I’ll die before I turn twenty of heart disease.

“There you are,” I turn around to see Josh, he already fucked his bow-tie, “I was starting to worry”

“Why?”

“I saw Alex dancing with Angelica, don’t take me wrong, that’s cute and all but... did you guys fight?”

“No?” I frown, “I needed a moment to clear my head. I’ve been stressed lately.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Josh stands beside me, “do you remember Sam’s video here?”

“The compliments video?” I smile, “It was sweet”

“You’re in it,” He grins.

“No, I’m not?”

“You are,” He pulls out his phone out of his pocket and unlocks it, “I was watching it this afternoon while I was getting Mop-Sam ready and I saw you... There!”

He gives me his phone, the video is paused where Sam is holding the camera and Josh is the one facing it. Behind him, a bit far but still able to recognize our faces I see Alex and me, walking out of a shop.

“That’s me!” I exclaim, “I’d never noticed before...”

“Sam and I never saw you there,” He adds, “where were you?”

“Oh, we left early that day,” I reply, nervously avoiding any further explanation, “We had an argument, sort of, so I left”

“That’s too bad,” Josh frowns, “I’m sure Sam would’ve chosen you guys for the compliments”

“Maybe,” I sigh, “I wasn’t hunting for compliments that day”

“Or ever,” He jokes, “always running from compliments...”

“Hey! I can take a compliment,” I lightly slap his shoulder.

“Really?” My friend smirks, “okay then, let’s see...”

He takes the phone and steps back, pointing the camera to my face.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m about to make a compliment video”

“Please don’t.”

“You said you can take a compliment, I’m only checking if that’s true”

“Josh...” I whine, turning away from the phone.

“Y/N,” He speaks up, grinning, “Y/N! I wanna let you know that I think you’re cool and that your weapon is actually more badass than my katana. You looked really scary the first time I saw you hit a Ghoulie with that thing. Also, you have a terrible taste in colors but you’re clothes are always fun and you’re not afraid to wear them. You are fucking impressive, I’m impressed. All the time.”

“What?” I look over at him, still a bit camera-shy, “Josh, stop!”

“And your healer abilities rule. I think you should learn to use a skateboard, just cause it would look badass on your resume,” He laughs, “you make the best instant chicken noodle soup I’ve ever eaten and that’s important, I usually hate fast food.”

“I think that’s enough,” I chuckle, walking over to him and trying to put down the phone. Josh is taller so he easily avoids my hand, “c’mon!”

“You’re hilarious most of the time, the best sense of humor I’ve seen in years,” He continues, holding his phone above me and smiling like an idiot, “By the way, I was too blown away a few hours ago when I first saw you to say it, but you look beautiful tonight. You look good all the time. I like how you look all the time but I mean-”

“You’re rambling!”

“I... yeah I am,” Josh grins, “sorry. What I’m trying to say is... you’re so, so nice.”

I laugh loud enough to feel like I need to cover my mouth since everyone is silent downstairs, Josh and laughs with me, finally putting the phone away.

“You’re better now?”

“After that whole pro speech?” I joke, “Obviously, I’m ready to keep on dancing”

“Great,” He throws a fist in the air, guiding me towards the stairs, “It’s almost time to know the gender-neutral royalty”

“Where’s Mop-Sam?” I ask while we go downstairs.

“She got a bit jealous after we danced, I’m giving her space,” He whispers like is serious business.

“Oh, damn,” I put a hand in my mouth, faking surprise, “should I go over to apologize?”

“Nah, she’ll be fine,” Josh shrugs, “how about we get drinks instead?”

“I’d like that,” I nod, “before I go back and steal Alex from Angelica”

“Ha, yeah,” Josh passes a hand through his hair, “Oh! Do you mind if I put back both airpods? This is the song I asked for the soundtrack of our lives!”

“Not at all,” I smile, “How about you enjoy the song and I bring the drinks?”

“Thanks,” He says, putting the airpods back on.

I walk towards the table and see Wesley making his way over to Josh, I glance at them for a second and I notice how nervous Wesley looks. I stay still, listening. 

“I need to tell you... everything”

I put the cups downs and I listen as Wesley rambles about him and Turbo, I want to stop him cause I know Josh isn’t listening but I’m not sure Josh needs to listen to all this tonight. Why is he telling him this tonight?

“...You’re going to die because my ex-boyfriend can’t stand that you and I are friends”

Oh. Okay, that’s why.

Josh takes off one of the airpods.

“You put my song on the soundtrack of our lives,” He says, deeply touched, “Deltron 3030? Thanks for making me feel so cool, man”

“Did you hear what I said?” Wesley asks in disbelief.

“I thought you were just singing along,” Josh shrugs.

“I heard,” I get to Josh’s side, “all of it”

Now I understand why he insisted so much on me making a move tonight. he didn’t want to kill Josh before I could confess.

Wesley’s eyes widened and he starts to speak, the buzzer sets off and cuts his speech. It’s time for the gender-neutral royalty. Everyone applauds and cheers, I step closer to him and I whisper.

“What the fuck did you do?”

He gives me one desperate look before his name is mentioned and he has to go over to the stage, along with Mop-Sam. I look around and I lock eyes with Eli, who has a panicky expression, I immediately know he’s also in this. I walk over to him and I give him a pointed look.

“You’re planning on killing Josh?!”

“How the fuck did you find out?” 

“How the-? Oh my god, you were going to do it. I can’t believe it,” I hiss, “Was... was the whole makeover a distraction? It was, wasn’t it? Eli I... I trusted you”

“That’s exactly why I’m doing this,” He shakes his head, “I’m trying to protect all these kids, that’s what you want, right?”

“I want us to be a good tribe, a loyal one! Not a fucking Game of Thrones rip-off!” I exclaim.

“Is not important anyway!” Eli exclaims, “He was supposed to die with the crown but Wesley won, he’s gonna die instead!”

“He what?” I turn to see Wesley walking up the stairs, deadly silent, “Oh, you fucking stupid martyr”

I run over to the stage, the kids don’t let me get any closer. I scream his name, but so are the rest of the children. 

I’m not gonna make it, Wesley will die. 

They get closer to put the crown on top of his head and...

“STOP!” He slaps the hand away, the crown flying to the floor, “No one touch that crown!”

“Thank god,” I clean my forehead from the sweat and whisper: “man, you are stressful!”

“Turbo told me that he’s gonna come and kill you all. But I have a plan.”

“Oh, so you did have a better plan?” I frown, speaking loudly this time.

“I know how we can fight back,” He replies, then looks back a Josh, “you have to trust me”

Josh shakes his head clearly pissed, then looks down at where I’m standing.

“We don’t have time,” I cross my arms, “let him talk”

Wesley talks and we set up the mannequins, we wait.

Turbo gets here in no time, breaks the door’s chains and throws punches in the dark like a madman, he stops until every mannequin is on the ground, realizing his mistake. We walk out of our hiding spots, I had to go over to the pharmacy to get my hammer, I feel more than ready to break some bones if I have to.

“You’re not supposed to fight,” Josh whispers beside me, “your wrist is not okay”

“I’ll manage,” I reply dryly.

The fight begins. I don’t break any skulls or knees but I do manage to break bows and swords, I feel like I’m kicking serious ass when someone throws me on the ground, I fall on my face.

“Are you protecting all your children, Y/N?” Maya sneers above me, putting a foot on top of my head, “I bet you’re having fun-”

I hear her grunt and suddenly her body falls next to mine, someone grabs me by the arms and lifts me up. 

It’s Alex.

“You can eat shit, Maya,” Alex replies, handing me my hammer, “your wrist is swelling again, you have to stop”

“I’ll stop with the hammer,” I kick a Jock in the crotch, “I’ll start with my legs”

“Good enough,” Alex nods.

Suddenly a loud scream echoes in the room.

“Turbo’s hurt! Retreat!”

It’s almost like the room is on fire, the Jocks run away picking up their weapons and lifting up their friends from the ground. I don’t see Maya, yet I know she’s with them. I don’t see Turbo either.

We’re left a mess, all our things are on the ground and the floor is slippery, mixed with blood and soda. Alex was right, my wrist feels awful as well.

Josh waits until everything is deadly quiet and looks over to Wesley.

“I have to lock you up”

As soon as he says it, a bunch of kids surround Wes and drag him to the nearest store, I see Eli quietly chuckling and I speak up.

“Eli helped him,” I point over to him, “he has to go too”

“I was only trying to help!”

“You hid important information to the group, we can’t trust you as long as you keep playing to your convenience,” I reply.

Another group of kids take him, pulling the heavy metal curtain so they stay in their place.

“Y/N?” Angelica speaks next to me, “you need something for your wrist”

“I’ll ask you this one time,” I say, ignoring her comment, “Did you know what they were doing?”

“No!” She responds in honest outrage, I believe her.

“Then you’ll keep an eye on them while I go and take something for my wrist”

“I already have it here,” Alex throws a small container with pills that I catch with my good hand.

“Thanks,” I look over to Angelica, “you think you can do it?”

“I’ll be more than happy,” She replies, already sitting on the ground, facing the store.

“I’ll stay with her,” Alex says, “I think you should check on Josh... he just got a death threat and immediately after had to fight for his life. He might need to talk to someone”

“I’ll be right back,” My mind is a bit too fuzzy after the fight, but I think I can have a small conversation with Josh, “I’ll do that...”

I walk around asking if anyone has seen Josh, one tells me they saw him walk out to lock the mall’s doors again.

I find Josh in the middle of the parking lot, he’s standing there quietly.

“Josh?” I inch closer.

I get no answer, I can only see his back.

“How are you feeling?” I’m merely five feet away from him.

“Did you know?” He inquires coldly.

“What?”

“What Wesley and Eli were planning,” Josh explains, “Did you know?” 

“No,” I say, “I had no idea. I heard though, when Wesley was talking to you moments before the crowning”

Josh turns around, tearing up.

“You didn’t help them?” He steps closer to me, his breathing faltering, “You swear you’re not lying?”

“No!” I repeat, this time exasperated, “Josh, I would never hurt you. I promised, remember? I’m with you.”

He looks at me with the same odd expression he makes every time I say something he’s not expecting to hear. 

My wrist is hurting but there’s also a warmth that spreads through it thanks to the ointment and the pills. I stand there, with nothing else to say. 

I don’t know what to ask. Josh doesn’t want to talk, I can see it on the way he keeps his mouth tightly shut.

Instead, he kisses me.

“And they all fall down...”

Taglist.

@letsbloodmagic @slythermyg  

[freestudyworld]

How I Learn Languages

As an aspiring polyglot, it’s important that I have a bunch of resources at my disposal for language learning. I use a variety of resources for my learning, such as books, websites, apps, T.V. shows, movies, etc. These are some of my resources!

-Websites-

1. Omniglot

This website is more for finding information about languages and finding languages to learn. It has a very comprehensive list of languages and you can find plenty of secondary resources for learning the language. You can find tutors for that language, and even songs in your target language. I can just about guarantee you that no matter what language you’re looking for, it will be documented here. It is absolutely amazing, and it is a FANTASTIC resource for the dedicated linguist.

http://www.omniglot.com/

2. Duolingo

This is both a website AND an app, however, I tend to use the website more frequently, mainly because I’m always on my laptop anyway. The learning system that this website uses makes out very easy to stay motivated, and the lessons are organized amazingly. Currently, the website offers about 27 different language courses for English speakers, and various language courses for speakers of languages other than English. You can set goals for yourself, take multiple courses, be involved in discussions, and even do translating activities. Beware though, it gets VERY addicting.

https://www.duolingo.com

3. Memrise

Also a website AND an app, this is my all time favorite resource for learning languages. It has SO many languages to choose from, and it even offers subjects other than languages, although foreign language learning is its primary appeal factor. 

http://www.memrise.com/home/

4. BBC Languages

Although this sector of BBC has been archived and is no longer updated, it still contains some valuable information. It includes some useful phrases, alphabet guides, and jokes in many languages. You’re bound to learn something new there, so check it out!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/

5. Foreign Service Institute (FSI)

This website offers language courses constructed by the U.S. government, and relies heavily on audio-based learning. However, many of the language courses include lessons in the form of pdf. There is a very large selection of languages to choose from, so this resource is very good for getting an excellent introduction to your target language.

https://fsi-languages.yojik.eu/

6. Live Lingua Project

Claiming to be the internet’s largest collection of free public domain language learning materials, this website is a MUST for language learners. It contains the FSI courses, Peace Corps language learning materials, and the DLI (military) language courses. It also offers Skype sessions for language learners in several different languages! The main appeal of this website, however, is the Peace Corps language material archive. There are SO many different languages to choose from, and there are many ebooks and audio files to take advantage of here.

https://www.livelingua.com/#project

7. Languages On the Web

This website offers texts that translate English texts into 55 other languages. It is not a translator, it merely provides reading material in foreign languages to learners. It is a very useful website, especially for analyzing how sentences are formed in other languages.

http://www.lonweb.org/

8. Learn 101

This website is really helpful for explaining grammatical concepts and for learning general stuff about languages, such as verbs, vocabulary, nouns, adjectives, basic phrases, foods, etc. There are quite alot of languages offered on this website, so it’s a great resource!

http://learn101.org/

9. Clozemaster

This website is great for learning languages through a sentence based, contextual experience. It’s a bit like Duolingo in that sense, and it requires you to fill in missing words from sentences. In my opinion, it’s better for people with a background in their target language, and they offer many different options for languages. It’s also good for speakers of a native language other than English!

https://www.clozemaster.com/

10. Lexicity

This is a great website for ancient language learners, and it provides resources for Egyptian, Mayan, Hittite, Latin, Old English, Etruscan, Gaulish, and several others. I have found the majority of resources that I have looked through helpful to my learning efforts. They have dictionaries, grammars, charts, and texts, and it is a very comprehensive resource.

http://lexicity.com/

11. Book2

This is a good resource for learners looking for audio files to help them practice their listening. I haven’t used it all too much, but there are many language options, so you’re bound to find a language that you find interesting on here.

http://www.goethe-verlag.com/book2/

12. Lang-8

This is a great resource for getting feedback on your writing in your target language. You can post things in your target language, and native speakers of that language will correct it, and you can do the same for other people! It’s very helpful, and is a great resource if you have to write in your target language often.

http://lang-8.com/

13. Bilinguis

This website offers a few books to read in different languages and is good for comparing different languages of the same book. This makes for good practice for reading in your target language. 

http://bilinguis.com/

14. Udemy

There are quite a few languages courses on this website, although several of them cost money. However, there are quite a few courses that are free, and are good for introducing you to your language of choice.

https://www.udemy.com/courses/

-Apps-

1. Memrise

As mentioned above in the websites section, this app is so amazing for on-the-go language learning, as well as for subjects other than languages! It helps users memorize concepts with “meme” which are pictures that will remind you of what the word or concept means, and it’s such a unique and fun learning experience! It has the feel of using flashcards, but I just love using this app so much.

2. Duolingo

Also mentioned in the websites section, this app is great for both learning new words and reviewing words that you have either memorized or have just been exposed to. There are grammar lessons available, translation activities, groups that you can join, and Duolingo makes it fun to learn a language with it’s reward system.

3. HelloTalk

This is my absolute FAVORITE app to talk to native speakers of my target language(s). You can become language partners with people, help others with translations, video/voice call, send voice messages, and have as many partners as you want! It’s an absolutely amazing app, and I highly recommend it to everyone! Warning- If you’re a native English speaker looking for a native Chinese speaker, you will get HUNDREDS of requests. It might overwhelm you for a second.

4. TuneIn Radio

This is really great for finding stations in your target language, and it helps with practicing both comprehension of spoken language as well as introduces you to awesome music in your target language!

5. Tigercards

This app presents words in the form of lists, and gives you vocab so that you can review it. Not the best presentation of words and it doesn’t really offer a memorization technique like Memrise, but it’s still helpful!

6. Busuu

This app is a bit like Duolingo, and it offers German, Spanish, Portuguese, French, English, Italian, Russian, Polish, Turkish, Japanese, and Chinese!

7. uTalk

This app offers so many different languages, it’s pretty incredible. There are games that you can play, phrasebooks, and several other features. The interface is also really awesome and simple, so it makes learning easier than usual. Definitely a must have.

8. Innovative Language

I haven’t used this app much, but I have heard that the lessons on this app are very good, and you can download the lessons so that you can view them offline.

9. FlashSticks

This has been super helpful to me, in addition to the games and flashcards that it offers, it also provides an object scanner, which uses your camera to scan objects and then tells you what it’s called in your target language! 

10. Mondly

This has been an awesome resource for me since it’s a bit like Duolingo, only with more unique language options. I’m currently using it to learn Hindi, however, there are tons of other language options. The interface is awesome, and I love using it.

11. MindSnacks

This company makes several different language apps, and currently I’m using the Mandarin, Japanese, and French ones. So far, I’ve really enjoyed these apps!

12. Spotify

Through Spotify’s “Word” category, there are many different playlists dedicated to language learning, such as for Arabic, Mandarin, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Russian, Portuguese, and Swedish!

13. Quizlet

This is more of a diy language learning resource. It is not an inherent language learning resource, however, if you learn best through lists and/or flashcards, then this app allows you to make cards and review vocab that way! I use it all the time for exams!

14. FluentU

This is an awesome app for watching videos in your target language, and is really good for learning new words.

-Books-

1. Teach Yourself

This series offers an astounding number of languages, and I have found them to be pretty effective in helping me learn languages. I have used the Russian, Arabic, Mandarin, and Irish ones.

2. Barron’s Grammar and Verb books

I really like the way Barron’s does language books, so far I have used their Japanese grammar book and their Russian verbs book, and I really like the layout of them, especially the grammar book!

3. Dk Visual Bilingual Dictionaries

These are so helpful for me, I’ve been using the Mandarin and Japanese dictionaries for a long time, and they are so comprehensive and awesome!

4. Ethnologue

These aren’t language “learning” materials, but rather they help me find new languages to learn. These are more for the linguistic lovers, since they catalog almost every living language in the world in every country, and provide language maps and statistics. There’s really fascinating stuff in those books, so I highly recommend purchasing them. 

5. The “Dirty” books

So far, I have only used the Japanese version, however, I really like what the book includes, and it’s great for learning slang in your target language, and things that traditional textbooks wouldn’t teach you.

6. Living Language

I LOVE these books so much, I’ve used the Russian, Mandarin, and French ones and I’ve found them very helpful! The layout of these are very nice, and they’re pretty comprehensive.

7. Tuttle books

Tuttle offers several different language books, and they all are very good in my opinion. I have used their books for Arabic, Korean, Mandarin, Japanese, and Hindi.

That’s all that I have right now, but if you all would like more resources than I will definitely make a second one!

[rigelmejo]

Review of Lingq and Reader Language Apps

My tentative review of lingq: Literally seems to serve the same function for me as the Pleco Reader. The positive benefit of using lingq - it highlights words you don’t know in blue, words you’ve started learning in yellow, and words you already know are left unhighlighted. This is motivating because the progress you make is clear, and the words you already know you don’t try to over-study or re-memorize (because my perfectionist tendencies LOVE to get hung up studying things I already know before progressing). Lingq also counts the words you’ve marked as known. That is the primary reason I’m trying the app - I wanted to gauge how many chinese words I actually can read and am familiar with.

However, the core negatives to lingq: their dictionary/lookup function for words is clunky and inconvienient. It only shows the most common translation at a quick click pop up and that isn’t necessarily nuanced or correct. The pop up is hard to get rid of because you have to expand it then exit out of it, which is inconvenient and slows down reading (I wish I could just click the pop-up again or click the word again to remove the translation pop up). It has options to search more in-depth definitions on sites like baidu, but all the steps that takes makes doing so just as time consuming as opening the internet browser or baidu app and searching it that way. So the dictionary option I find is lacking and inconvienient, and that affects ease of reading/ease of use. The dictionary feature IS better than the Idiom reader app, but Idiom reader app also has the ability to look up more in-depth definitions which takes just as much time as lingq/a web browser. 

Basically - Pleco Reader is eons better than both of them. Pleco Reader’s only draw back in definitions, is it provides so many that the less familiar you are with chinese, the more its a puzzle of which definition applies (but usually the top ones are the most common, so it’s rarely an issue) - but a reader can’t be expected to know which meaning of 15 possible a writer may have intended, if that meaning’s one of the least common. So it’s just nice that pleco provides the less common ones so it’s easy to look up when those situations arise. In addition, Pleco Reader is very convenient to flip from dictionary explanations back to reader, not slowing the reading experience. Lingq ALSO has very few chinese materials in varying levels. It seems to rely on users uploading their own materials. So a lot of it seems to be ripped from a textbook, or web article, or native book. Pleco Reader in comparison has several graded readers available to purchase, which are great for picking materials at your actual reading level, with relatively high frequency words to learn, and with grammar that should be comprehensible. Also, pleco lets me import any of my own pdf, ebook, and txt documents, along with any website. So I can read webnovels on there, my own graded readers I’ve got from other places, etc. Pleco Reader is MUCH more convenient for reading virtually whatever you want, and it’s definitions are both easier to access (including most idioms you’re likely to encounter) and more likely to have most helpful definition. 

Probably the biggest difference - Lingq is 12.99 a MONTH. Pleco Reader has a one time cost of 10-20 dollars (depending on the package you buy). Then Pleco sends you a code so if you ever lose your app/get a new phone/something goes wrong, you can enter the code and get back all your purchases. A one time cost is eons more affordable, and really kind of them. I especially like that they put in the effort to give you the ability to recover your purchase if you have any issues. I bought the 20 dollar package I think - so I could get the expanded dictionary, with pretty much any word or idiom I’d ever see, natural speech audio, and the Reader. It has been well worth it. I’ve been using pleco for like 4 months, so the longer I use it the more that cost seems minimal (it’d be like the equivalent of 5$ a month before, free now. Or the equivalent of the cost of Lingq for less than 2 months).

Lingq’s cost PER month I’m not sure I could feel justified in spending. The ONLY added benefit I see of using Lingq over Pleco, is lingq has color coded the words you know/don’t know/are learning, and lingq counts how many words you know. Those two features are motivating. But they’re just motivational benefits. 

Other then that, Lingq has the following features: audio (Pleco Reader has this too), flashcards (using anki or memrise for free appear to be equally good or better than lingq’s feature, especially because you can simply export from lingq), cloze-like questions (again, memrise, anki, Quizlet, and even in some ways clozemaster are free alternatives). I personally hate flashcard type study, so I use memrise when necessary but generally would never use such features - so lingq’s flashcard features aren’t worthwhile for me. If they’re something you’re interested in - again, there seem to be free options available that are as good as or better than lingq. 

So, at least for my own personal learning preferences, lingq does not seem to be worth it. Everything it provides is available somewhere else for cheaper, for a one time cost, or free. Pleco Reader I think offers the most benefits and convenience out of every Language-Reader app I’ve tried. Compared to: Lingq, idiom, using Baidu itself on a webpage, etc - closest comparison is the free ZhongWen chrome extension on chinese sites, I think that’s nearly as convienient as Pleco Reader and obviously the alternative for when you’re on a computer. Idiom is actually a really nice app considering it’s free, and it does serve the basic purpose (Pleco Reader is a one time purchase cost) - idiom has sometimes incorrect translations/audio, but over all if you read enough content then that’s just a few words a paragraph or page that you won’t be able to study.  Those words can be looked up separately in a free dictionary app (like free Pleco’s dictionary, or google translate, or baidu) if they keep confusing you or keep seeming to be wrong. 

Lingq just... does not seem worth 12.99 a month, for only the added benefit of making it obvious which words you know/don’t know/are studying. Other than that single ability, there are comparable tools out there that already does what Lingq does or better, for cheaper or free. 

Overall, readers I would recommend:

Pleco Reader (10 dollars, or a bit more if you buy it in a package, single time purchase) - benefits include the only dictionary you’ll need, audio (per word or for entire text), flashcard making ability, option to import any ebook/txt/website, option to one-time purchase graded readers. Although paid, I appreciate that all purchases are one time only. On a phone, this is the app I overwhelmingly rely on - it has everything I need in one area. I personally like to open up mtlnovels.com and read the novels with dual chinese/english, so I can look at the english sentences afterward - and use Pleco Reader as I get through the chinese chunks to make sure I can look up words I don’t know. If I were going to start translating, I’d probably use this method so I could get a gist of the meaning in english, then go through each line and fix errors and improve the translation for idioms and less straightforward meanings. For reading for Ease, that method’s the best for me to get through the novels I want to read. For reading intensively, I just open up a novel I want to read in all chinese and chug through it using pleco to look up words I stumble on. 

Free alternative: Zhongwen chrome extension. Equally extensive dictionary, links to grammar points, audio (per word), can read anything online or opened in a chrome browser (so you could open your txt documents in it) - sometimes works on subtitles on videos too. Subtitles on viki, on netflix, seem to be readable by zhongwen. It may work on some pdfs opened in chrome. Only available on computers. It’s really fantastic. If you’re on a computer I’d just recommend using this one overall. 

Free Alternative: Idiom - app. dictionary is decent, but some errors or limitations mean occasionally looking up words in another free dictionary app (Google Translate, Baidu Translate, Pleco Dictionary). Machine audio (per word), also sometimes has errors. Can read anything on a website. There are some other readers that serve the same function as idiom, I’ve seen one for webnovels... but I think at idiom overall is as good as or better than the other options out there. Idiom does not auto-link you to novel websites, but if you can find them then you can put any url in. Idiom also works for MANY languages - so you can also use it for french/spanish/japanese/etc. Idiom is the app I use for french, since obviously Pleco Reader is just for chinese. For free readers, and readers in other languages, I think idiom’s the best bet. Lingq might have more appeal for language learners of other languages - since it IS a little better than idiom with providing the correct translations, but lingq’s translations are still off sometimes TOO. So, if you’re learning a language that isn’t chinese, I’d recommend trying Idiom for free and seeing if it’s useful to you before shelving out money for anything paid. 

Not a reader, but there are two netflix dual subtitle chrome extensions that work really well for reading with a dictionary too, I’ll list them later when I look them up. These are ALSO available to use in many languages, so that’s nice. for both of the free dual subtitle extensions, Zhongwen also seems to work for them (if you ever want to look up a secondary definition).

Dictionary Apps:

Google Translate - good for drawing the characters, at least for me it has the easiest time recognizing what I’m trying to look up (I’m left handed and draw characters with my right on my phone so). When I’m watching tv its easy to open google and draw an unknown character in the app when I don’t know the pinyin. It usually only offers the most frequent/common definition, so it has limitations - but for a quick lookup of one word its usually convenient. For a quick gist of bigger chunks of text, google translate is also a quick way to do it although at least some words and phrases WILL probably be incorrect. 

Pleco Dictionary - this part of the pleco app is free. The definitions are the most thorough I’ve seen, and the easiest to get a meaningful definition if google translate is inadequate. Pleco’s definitions hands down seem to be the best. You have to pay for one of the packages to access the ability to draw characters to look them up, to access idiom translations, natural voice pronunciations, and a much more massive dictionary. I just bought it - and now I rarely have to use google translate. Only negative - have to look up things word by word, or by idiom/phrase. Other then that, it’s the best one probably.

Baidu Translate - also free. Biggest benefit is the ability to put a url in and have it machine translate the entire page. Like google, it’s very useful to get a quick gist of bigger chunks of text, and a handful of those words or phrases may be translated wrong. It’s fun to use it to translate english pages to chinese (again, some errors will crop up). It’s sometimes better than Google translate for looking up individual words, and phrases - but also has its limitations. 

Overall I use Baidu and Google for chunks of translations, and then Pleco or Zhongwen for specific words or phrases. It’s why I like using dual chinese/english mtlnovels.com in Pleco Reader - because then the big-chunk machine translated english is already provided (and the only thing Pleco Reader can’t do), and so I can just use pleco to go by word and phrase to get specific pieces of translation that are more accurate. 

I use Google translate or Pleco Dictionary for looking up words by drawing characters - but this is only a free feature in Google translate (and honestly I think Google translate recognizes my handwriting better - so I usually use Google, then if the definition isn’t helpful I copy paste the text version of the word into pleco dictionary). 

[jazzinseoul]

Storytime: My Awkward Almost-Romance with My Language Partner

I’m currently on an Amtrak train from NYC -DC, and looking out the window has me feeling angsty and nostalgic.  Plus, being that I have 3.5 hours to kill, now seemed like the perfect time to recount the awkward almost-romance I had with my former Korean language partner. It’s been almost 4 years since this series of unfortunate events happened, and yet it still feels like just yesterday I was making a fool of myself.

PSA WARNING: LONG AND CRINGEY TOWARDS THE END

…

BACKGROUND INFO

It was the fall of my sophomore year of college.  Around mid-September, my Korean professor announced to the class that a coordinator from the Korea WEST program had contacted her about wanting to connect program scholars with our class to do language exchange. At first, not a single person in the class raised their hand. We were all still beginners and could barely communicate anything past basic phrases like “Where is the bathroom?” But eventually, a few of us were guilt-tripped into agreement.

My soon-to-be language partner contacted me via email a few days later, and we agreed to meet at a coffee shop near my university. Before then, we began texting over Kakao Talk. Back then, my Korean skills were even worse than they are now. He would literally send a two-sentence message and it would take me 10 minutes to respond because I was having to look up every other word in my Korean dictionary app. (God Bless You, Naver). Luckily, we were able to converse fairly easy in English when we actually met in person.

To be honest, my first impression of him was pretty neutral. He seemed kind of nerdy but kind. I think we talked for maybe an hour, mostly about my vast knowledge of Korean media and pop culture which seemed to both surprise him and entertain him. Regardless, I was just glad we had something to talk about. Especially since in our previous email this boy had been  wanting to discuss the history of Chinese-Korean relations (what?)

Anyways, it was casual and fun even though quite awkward at times. Afterwards, we agreed to meet every Friday once I’d finished classes. And that’s when things kinda began to take off…I guess.

SURPRISE: I CAUGHT FEELINGS

Being a cancer means that I’m constantly in my feelings, and unfortunately, it doesn’t take much to trigger said feelings. I think it was around the second or third meeting that said feelings were caught. We had met at a coffee shop, per usual. But this time he offered to walk me back to my apartment which wasn’t far from where we had been talking. The sidewalks in the neighborhood were tiny and riddled with signs about parking violations and traffic rules. That being said, it was difficult for us to both stay walking next to each other and I had to keep walking around the signs that stood annoyingly in the middle of the sidewalk. For some reason, he noticed and suggested that we switch sides so that I was no longer inconvenienced. He also used his arm to shield me from oncoming traffic as we crossed the street.

Now any normal person would think that this is just a person with basic human decency and manners. My sensitive ass, on the other hand, was ready to get married right then and there…lol. From that day on, he was in my head 24/7. Friday became my favorite day of the week. I constantly looked at my phone for messages from him. Each time I heard that squeaky Kakao notification, my heart began beating wildly. In other words, I was sick y’all.  Also, each time we met, he insisted on paying for my coffee. I was so shook each time he offered, and it made me like him even more (silly…I know).

It didn’t help that our conversations had gone from lasting one hour to three-four hours at a time. His English was already pretty good (he’d studied abroad in England before) so our time together was mostly to help my Korean.  So I’d bring my Korean books, which he’d help me with for awhile before our conversations somehow got onto some more interesting topic. We would literally just sit at a coffee shop and talk about everything.

In October, I changed my profile picture on Kakao  (I had just got box braids and was feeling myself.) He sent me a message saying that  he noticed that I changed my pic and that I looked pretty. When I tell you a bitch was on the floor. Oh my god. But having never dated in my entire nineteen years of existence, I didn’t know how to respond and quickly changed the topic even though I was screaming on the inside.

SUDDEN DEPARTURE/ A PRECIOUS BITCH

By November, pretty much my entire Korean class had all stopped talking to their language partners except for me. But I knew our time together was coming to an end. Korea WEST scholars were only in the city for six months to attend a language school. In December they were all supposed to move to NY and participate in an internship related to their college major.

But a little before Thanksgiving, I suddenly received a message from him one night after we had met. It read something along the lines off:

“I have bad news. My internship has been moved up and I’m leaving for New York in like a week. We were having so much fun at the coffee shop that I didn’t have the heart to tell you then…etc.”

When I tell you I was heartbroken, y’all. Now to be clear, we had never crossed any lines. We hadn’t done anything that could really be interpreted as romantic. But we had spent a lot of time together and developed a very special friendship.  So, we agreed to meet one last time before he left.

Many things were said, but the highlights were:

“To me, our relationship is very precious.” (His words not mine.)

“In Buddhism, it talks about how people are tied together by ropes. And I feel like the rope between us is very strong.” (Shut the front door.)

“Will you come to NY to visit me?” (BIIIIIITTTTCCHHH)

He walked me back to my apartment and we hugged. After that I didn’t see him for around three months. And that’s when I fucked up.

MEETING (AGAIN) AND DUMBASS DECISIONS

Distance does what it always does and we talked infrequently. I never went to see him in NY, mostly because I was broke and could barely afford paying to my laundry, let alone a bus ticket. He had talked about wanting to come into town for the annual cherry blossom festival. He finally set a date to come down, and in the weeks leading to his arrival we began talking often again.

Honestly, back then I don’t remember much of what was said because he was talking in Korean more and I didn’t understand many of the things that were said—especially when they were ambiguous in nature. Plus, my Korean wasn’t good enough to understand the nuances of the language. So anytime he said something that I thought could be flirty I doubted my interpretation. My self image back then was terrible and I just couldn’t believe that a Korean man could be interested in a chubby, black girl like myself. I was the polar opposite of the Korean standard beauty. Plus, I had a history of one-sided crushes. And felt that this wasn’t going to be any different.

Anyways, he came back into town and we met, spending basically the entire day together. First we went to a coffee shop. Then we went to an art museum. Next we went to the cherry blossom festival. The weather was fantastic so we stopped on a bench and ate chocolate he had brought me; plus, fed some random squirrel that had taken a liking to us. Afterwards we walked for about 20-30 minutes back in the direction of my campus. We grabbed dinner at a random spot, and that’s when things began to get awkward. I’m not sure exactly why. By then, we had spent at least 6 hours together and conversation had been flowing easily. But suddenly we were each saying nothing and both began scrolling on our phones.

Afterwards, we continued walking unintentionally in the direction of my apartment which is near a movie theater. He began to hint at wanting to see a movie, but I was so overwhelmed by nerves and butterflies and awkwardness that I just pretended I didn’t hear him and began speed-walking to my apartment. And then, suddenly, I was at my front door. (GAWD)

He waved bye to me and quickly walked away.

And that was the end. Well…kind of until we met again 6 months later in Seoul.

Moral of the story is…I’m dumb. If you agree, please like, comment, and subscribe.

[studytist]

Hey, everyone! I’ve been planning this post for a while since I’m an app addict and wanted to share mine with you guys! I divided things in two: the first part of each section is the overall info on the app and then my personal review of it. Without further ado, here are my favorite apps. Hope you enjoy it~

FORTUNE CITY (Free with in-app purchases) Expense Tracker Available for iOS/Android Fortune City is my absolute favorite expense tracker. It’s from the same developer as Plant Nanny! In the app you’re the mayor of your very own city, each expense you insert create a specific type of building depending on what kind it is (shopping, food, transport, medical etc.). You can level up buildings by merging them and also merge parks (that are built automatically from time to time). It has the option to track card expenses differently and also a balance. By upgrading (monthly $3,99 subscription) you also have a few more options such as setting a budget etc. Besides being extremely useful and fun to play, Fortune City is beautifully designed, bonus points!

VANTAGE (Free with in-app purchases) Calendar and to-do list Available for iOS Here’s something you need to know about me: in order for me to like and actually use an app, I need to like how it looks. I’ve been searching for a nice free calendar/to-do list app for the longest time, but either it was too simple or too crowded or simply not for me (a.k.a “ugly”). Or at least until I found Vantage. Vantage is gorgeously designed and brings a totally innovative way to look at your calendar. In it’s free version, you can add events and use your calendar in general, with the upgraded version (a one-time $9.99 purchase) you can use the to-do list section which is divided by notebooks (reminds me of Paper 53), add tags, change the background, use schedules and much more. What I love the most about Vantage is how its super customizable and minimalistic yet equipped with a variety of options that’ll surely support all tastes, besides all that, it’s very nice to see an app with a one-time purchase (totally worth the price btw) instead of monthly memberships (yikes).

ANY.DO (Free with in-app purchases) Calendar and to-do list Available for iOS/Android/Web Any do is a great, simpler option for calendar/to-do apps that also has a web version so you can keep track of your day anywhere! Any.do is very user-friendly and has a very minimalistic interface that focuses more on to-dos. There are many subscription plans with different options (not that worth it in my personal opinion). I used it for a long time and it suited me just fine, the option sync it with other calendars is also very useful. A great option for those who want an easy application to get them through the day.

YOUPER (Free) Mood tracker and anxiety reliever Available for iOS/Android I have anxiety and depression so tracking my mood is kind of a big deal for me. Youper changes the whole experience tho, instead of a simple chart with moods or anything like that, Youper is an AI that is designed to help you track your mood more efficiently and, in case you’re feeling down, it helps you relax with breathing techniques and other little activities. It also has an anxiety/depression tracker you take every 15 days to help you get an overall idea of your progress! It also has various articles and videos on different mental illnesses to help you understand them better! It’s definitely one of my favorite apps for mental illness and has helped me keep track of myself without making it seem like a burden. !!NOTE!! No mood tracker or app designed for the mentally ill replace the help of professional medical assistance. If you’re feeling unusually down or showing signs of any mental illness, please reach out for a psychologist and never medicate yourself before that. It’ll be okay.

WYSA (Free) Mood tracker and anxiety reliever Available for iOS/Android Wysa is very similar to Youper, but it’s a bit more talkative and friendly, it also has a variety of activities depending on your mood (anxious, sad etc.) that’ll help you get focused, relaxed, create to-do lists and etc. Wysa also has the option to contact a professional coach for $29.99, I have never tried it tho. It’s surely a great application full of cute gifs and a very relaxing interface. !!NOTE!! No mood tracker or app designed for the mentally ill replace the help of professional medical assistance. If you’re feeling unusually down or showing signs of any mental illness, please reach out for a psychologist and never medicate yourself before that. It’ll be okay.

COGNI (Free with in-app purchases) Mood tracker Available for iOS/Android Cogni was an app indicated by my personal psychologist and also my psychiatrist, both of them said the report chart used in this mood tracker is very similar to the one used, for example, to recognize bipolar disorders and you’re able to share your chart with your therapist. It’s very simple and easy to use. Personally not my favorite since it bugs in my phone and always log out and it’s not that aesthetically pleasing either, although it’s full of options such as thoughts and what situation triggered your mood. It has a free version and a few other subscription plans with some other options such as a full chart of all the moods and some sharing options for your therapist as well. !!NOTE!! No mood tracker or app designed for the mentally ill replace the help of professional medical assistance. If you’re feeling unusually down or showing signs of any mental illness, please reach out for a psychologist and never medicate yourself before that. It’ll be okay.

TAYASUI SKETCHES PRO ($5.99 with in-app purchases) Drawing Available for iOS/Android Tayasui is an app very similar to Paper by 53, but with more customizable tools and options. I personally like to use it for my comic journal. The textures from the brushes are very realistic and nice and the option to creates notebooks is very great. A simple yet complete app.

QUIP (Free) Documents Available for iOS/Android/Web Quip is my favorite writing and document storage app. You can create folders and many different types of documents. It has a very clean design and user-friendly interface as well as many business tools such as synching between different accounts and layouts to choose from that’ll surely be helpful. It also syncs automatically between mobile/web and has an in-built chat. Definitely recommend it.

TIDE (Free with in-app purchases) Focus & sleep Available for iOS/Android Tide is a Pomodoro app with many included ambiance sounds (rain, library, cafe etc.), it also has the option to track your sleep or quick naps. It’s very beautifully designed and easy to use. Its free version is pretty complete but you can also purchase subscriptions and more sounds. A cool bonus thing is that it also has a daily quote (and they’re usually very nice and inspiring).

MERRIAM WEBSTER (Free with in-app purchases) Dictionary Available for iOS/Android/Web I doubt anyone doesn’t know about Merriam Webster but I decided to include it anyways. Merriam Webster is one of the most complete English dictionaries out there and now it also has some games and quizzes. You can purchase the 1-year ads-free version for $1.99. 

PAPAGO (Free) Translator Available for iOS/Android/Web (extension) I’m crazy about learning languages and the last one I’ve been trying to learn is Korean and because of that, I was looking for a good translator. Google Translate kinda sucks, we all know it by now, Papago, on the other hand, seems to be one of the best Asian languages (and a few others) translators I’ve ever seen. It can translate up to 11 languages (English, French, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Thai, Traditional Chinese and Vietnamese) and it’s very user-friendly. Its speech recognition is also pretty good and it has a built-in phrasebook for Korean, Simplified Chinese, and Japanese! There’s also a kids version for young learners out there. 

CLUE (Free with in-app purchases) Period tracker Available for iOS/Android Clue is, in my opinion, the best period tracker out there. I love that you can input other data besides the flow of your period, such as pain (cramps, headaches, tender breasts etc.) or your energy (energized, exhausted etc.) and many other things as well as create your own tags! It also gives you a prevision of when your next period is going to be and, for me at least, it’s pretty accurate. It also gives you plenty of info on the period overall and specific aspects. The free version is pretty complete but you can purchase some subscription plans if you want some more tools. 

MEDISAFE (Free with in-app purchases) Med reminder Available for iOS/Android Another thing you need to know about me: I forget absolutely everything all the time. Hence, if I have no one (or anything) reminding me of taking my meds, you bet I’ll forget about it. I went on the search for some med reminder apps and MediSafe was the best find in my opinion. It’s super complete and fairly easy to use, it also has many customization settings and you can even set a reminder to refill your meds! You can add reminders for medicine you need to take periodically or just meds in general, just input a dose whenever you take it. Depending on the medication, it also gives you some info (and sometimes even a video of a doctor) explaining a little bit of it. You can also add a friend or doctor so, in case you forget to take your meds, it sends them a notification. Its free version works wonders on its own, but you can also purchase subscription plans to change the design of your pillbox or even have Obama’s voice remind you to take your meds among other things! Amazing, right?

GOOGLE PHOTOS (Free) Photo/video storage Available for iOS/Android/Web If you’re anything like me and have trouble deleting your pics (a.k.a memes) because “I might need this sometime!”, Google Photos will be your holy grail. You can store an unlimited amount of photos and videos in the app and delete them from your phone. They’ll be safe and sound and you can see them again anytime you log in anywhere! Pretty neat right? It also organizes the photos based off who’s in it, date etc. You can also create a shared folder, send them to anyone and even search for specific places and dates. A must-have for any photo junkie out there.

So those were some of the apps I use the most! Hope you could find something useful in this list. Feel free to add other apps you use and think people should know about or your own reviews on these. Sharing is caring!

[campusjust]

Pinyin helper

PINYIN HELPER SOFTWARE

PINYIN HELPER FREE

to send charcoal in snowy weather (idiom) fig. I live in Montreal and a book of that nature is impossible to find. to support with the hand to help sb up to support oneself by holding onto something to help. Additionally, it has exceptionally good audio to listen to each word and thus understand and learn the pronunciation, not only the meaning. The app will easily translate any phrase or sentence you desire to be translated. The problem is that she doesn’t know of any, or where to get them. Pinyin Helper captivates instantly with its sleek design, speed and intuitiveness. Something equivalent to reading a regular Chinese book so that I can get practice pronouncing both simple and complicated words. She suggested that I buy a book, any book (as long as it’s not filled with technical terms or something), that is written completely in pinyin so that I can practice reading it for pronunciation purposes. To use it, simply copy passages from the web into the text box, and they will be annotated with hàny pnyn or zhùyn pronunciation symbols. I’ve just started to learn Mandarin (I’ve completed my first 3 hrs of lessons!) and was lucky enough to find a Native speaking Chinese tutor to help me learn the language. This is a simple tool designed to help students of Mandarin Chinese learn the thousands of characters (hànzì) of the Chinese writing system. The pronunciation comes in the form of hanyu pinyin. Native speakers of English will decode pinyin spellings to fairly close approximations of Mandarin except in the case of certain speech sounds that are not ordinarily produced by most native speakers of English: j / t /, q /t/, x / /, z / ts /, c /ts/, zh / /, ch //, h / x / and r / / exhibit the greatest discrepancies.

PINYIN HELPER SOFTWARE

With respect to Python development, P圜harm definitely stands out with features like remote debugging, code quality checks, and integrations with third-party software like Docker and Kubernetes. It makes any sentence come alive, allowing you to listen again and again so that you can catch both the real flow and pronunciation at once What’s new in version 1.3.7 Updated on Version 1.3. This is the text of the e-mail I received: How can the app help you You search the pronunciation by character, and vice versa. P圜harm has tons of advantages when compared to text editors in terms of supported functionality. Pinyin Helper, with its clean layout and clear speech function, can help you learn Chinese. I haven’t been a beginner for several years now, so I don’t know much about this kind of thing. Summarized the main knowledge points in Pinyin learning, carried out inspections to fill in the vacancies, and strengthened the mastery, A good helper for elementary school students to learn Chinese pinyin Remove the complexity and keep it simple, grasp the key points, and improve the efficiency of Pinyin learning. If more than nine Chinese characters are represented by the same pinyin string, use PageDown and PageUp to scroll through the list. Read more About Us, Use BST on your site, and view our Online Bible Sitemap.I recently received an e-mail asking me to make a textbook recommendation. Type each pinyin syllable or word (without tone numbers) then select the wanted Chinese character from the displayed list of suggestions by typing the digit shown by that character. Pinyin Helper captivates instantly with its sleek design, speed and intuitiveness. Search over 200 topical verses to meet your need, or sign up for our daily bible to receive a verse by email to start your day. Our most popular content, Bible verses by topic, provides Biblical encouragement and wisdom for all of lives situations and events. Our library of resources also includes Bible reading plans, Parallel Bible, and many other additional Christian resources including dictionaries and encyclopedias.įor a more in-depth study of Scripture, our website offers Greek and Hebrew Interlinear for the New and Old Testament, lexicons for original Greek and Hebrew reading of Scripture, as well as popular Church history books. Our rich online library includes well known and trusted commentaries including the popular Matthew Henry Commentary, concordances like Strong's Exhaustive Concordance and Naves Topical Concordance, Bible dictionaries, Biblical encyclopedias and historical Christian and church books including Fox's Book of Martyrs. Search verses using the translation and version you like with over 29 to choose from including King James (KJV), New International (NIV), New American Standard (NASB), The Message, New Living (NLT), Holman Christian Standard (HCSB), English Standard (ESV), and many more versions of the Holy Bible.

PINYIN HELPER FREE

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[daevalur]

So I'm using the Speaky app to find Chinese language exchange partners. That's spelled out in my profile: I speak English, I'm studying Chinese, and my "about me" is a little blurb in Chinese.

My profile picture is actually a photo of me. It's a bit gender ambiguous as it's taken from behind and doesn't show my face, but that shouldn't matter, should it, because I've filled out the "gender" field in my profile accurately and truthfully.

The result is, though I've had some success in practising Chinese, most of the messages I get are from Arabic-speaking men. I suspect most of them didn't read the gender field in my profile. I hasten to add, they're not sending inappropriate messages, it's just that they're using Speaky perhaps not in the way that was intended.

I decided to see this as an opportunity, and started learning Arabic on Duolingo. When I receive a "hi", I respond with an "أهلا", and the conversation gets going from there. I look up unknown words in a dictionary, and save the interesting ones in an Anki deck. So far my conversations are a bit limited, as I haven't gotten to the lessons about verb conjugation in the Duolingo course yet.

Perhaps this will to some small extent reduce the number of unwanted messages that women receive on Speaky, since those messages are being sent to me instead 🤔

(An unrelated issue: did you know that even though the app displays users' ages in full years, under the hood their full birth dates are sent, and can be retrieved through a small amount of technical skill? After learning that I decided not to put my actual birth date there.)

[foxlanguages]

hellooo. so i️ have been wanting to learn more languages for a while now and i️ was wondering if you had any suggestions for sites or apps that are cheap and are good for language learning. thanks ❤️

Hi~ sorry for the late reply, i was rounding up all the sites :)

You didn’t specify a language so I’m going to make it more general, if you want suggestions for any special language, send me a message!

Apps

Duolingo: this one is my favorite personal since it is completely free and they keep adding languages every so often (not that often). I would recommend it if you want to know the basics of a language but not if you truly want to go in deep since the grammar is almost nonexistent in most lessons. If you want offline lessons and no ads you have to pay a monthly fee. languages: English, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, German, Japanese, +more.

Memrise: great app for vocabulary in general, very varied and it reinforces already learned vocabulary. It doesn’t have that much grammar. The interface is kind of like a game (but which language app isn’t). If you want all lessons, you have to pay for a membership. languages: English, Norwegian, Arabic, Russian, Spanish, +more

Busuu: this one offers great lessons in some languages, but to have access to most features there’s a monthly fee. Despite the fee, it includes nice lessons in vocabulary and grammar. Languages: French, Portuguese, Spanish, Polish, Japanese, +7 more.

Rosseta Stone: this is also one of my personal favorites since there’s segmented lessons for each of the languages they offer. Sadly you have to pay for the complete course in each language, but there’s vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation and writing lessons. Languages: Greek, Dutch, Russian, Vietnamese, Tagalog, +more.

Babbel: a nice app for learning grammar and expand your vocabulary. What i like the most is that they give explanations about the grammar rules and how to apply them yourself. There’s a monthly fee to access all lessons in each course. languages: German, Italian, Spanish, French, +more.

Mindsnacks: this is an app for iOS which offers courses in certain languages, each in a separated app. What it’s interesting about this app is that it is completely like a game, maybe even a child could use it. For the complete lessons you have to pay a fee. Languages: Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese and German.

Clozemaster: this one is a great app if you want to increase your vocabulary. It doesn’t teach any grammar but you can pick up some from the sentences that are part of the app. If you want offline lessons and to save favorite sentences you can pay a fee, although the app is completely free. It offers different stages for each course. Languages: Afrikaans, Catalan, Danish, Esperanto, Norwegian, Romanian, +more.

Beelinguaapp: this is a platform with many stories which include a dual setting if you want to read in your target language along your native one or another target one. It includes stories for different language learners (beginner, intermediate, advanced) If you want to access all stories, you have to pay a fee, but many stories are for free.

Wordreference: they have a website but also an app. This is a dictionary which includes many languages, some even not only translations but also meanings and even synonyms.

Linguee: like wordreference but a lot better. This is one of the best translating dictionaries out there for language learners, as it includes other examples with sentences where the word you’re searching for is used.

Quizlet: many people use this app for making their own flashcards with vocabulary or other stuff. You can also search for many stacks other people have created and study from there.

Tinycards: this app was created by the people at Duolingo. They feature many flashcards about languages (they also include the complete vocabulary from their courses here). But you can also find other stacks about different topics if you’d like to check them out.

If you’ll like to look at this little post that @lovelybluepanda has created, that’d be awesome.

I don’t use many websites since I don’t usually use my computer and always have my phone in hand. But maybe my followers can suggest some? Hope that helps you and have fun learning languages~~

p.s.: recently I saw a website for learning vocabulary, it’s called BaBaDum, it’s really cute if you’d like to check it out. Also, many langblrs have posts where they share many grammar books, i don’t have any… yet! I might do a masterposts by the end of the year.