#it’s very funny to me that I quickly learned and memorized the solution

[nebuegg]

I really like how one of the solutions to a technological issue you’re faced with during obduction is to essentially press every single button that you can. go full Elf the movie on that funky interface

#problem solved. Big Number #it’s very funny to me that I quickly learned and memorized the solution #way before I sat down and worked out how the numbering system actually functioned #(the solution itself achieved thru continually inputting numbers in the register till I got errors) #nebu.txt #obduction #IM SO FOND OF THIS GAMEE #finished it a few days ago but keep thinking abt it

[ladyherenya]

My favourite thing this year has been the Korean drama Crash Landing on You (2019-20).

It has something of a ridiculous title (I’ve ended up calling it Crash Landing or sometimes just Crash). But, to be fair, North and South was already taken.

“I can go to Africa and even Antarctica but not here. It’s a shame that you live here.” “It’s a shame that you live there.” -- episode three

To my great amusement, every month or so, Netflix has sent me an email that’s said: “Don’t forget to finish Crash Landing on You” or “Remember this? Watch it again: Crash Landing on You” or “Rewatch your favourite moments - Watch it again: Crash Landing on You…”

And I’m like: NETFLIX! Seriously, WHAT do you THINK I’M DOING?

I have now watched Crash Landing on You five times.

There are several reasons for this:

I successfully dragged other family members down this particular rabbit hole, and in a pandemic season, when things have been unpredictable (or cancelled), rewatching Crash Landing has been an appealing and comfortably-familiar distraction, as well as the source of many, many long, analytical fandom-y conversations, which has been fun.

I needed to watch it more than once to straighten out all the pieces of the story in my head. With 16 episodes, each over an hour long, it’s one of the longest stories I’ve ever watched. I’ve seen other TV series with more episodes, but nearly all have been much more episodic, rather than telling one continuous story.  

I kept noticing details that I’d previously missed because I’d been focused on the subtitles or that I hadn’t properly understood some cultural nuance. And some things are ambiguous in translation -- in a good way, a fodder-for-discussion way.

I have ALWAYS rewatched (or reread) my favourite stories. And Crash Landing fits right in with those. Someone in my family described it as: “Like Lord of the Rings on steroids!” However, I think it actually has far more in common -- visually and thematically, and also in terms of my willingness to discuss the characters as if they were real people -- with my favourite historical dramas.

In terms of story, Crash Landing is easy enough to summarise: A South Korean businesswoman is paragliding when a freak storm blows her across the border; she’s discovered by a North Korean captain, who hides her and helps her get home.

But I’m going to need more words to explain why I fell in love with it.

It is fascinating and, first time round, tense and unpredictable. It’s funny and very meta -- very aware of the tropes it’s playing with and of parallels and contrasts within the story. It’s visually and aesthetically pleasing, and the soundtrack grew on me.

There are a number of coincidences and a few ridiculous fight scenes, but the emotions are intensely real and so are the consequences. It has camaraderie and found-family and thoughtfully-complicated family relationships. There are characters I love, and characters who surprised me, and so much time given to character development!  It’s romantic. There’s a fake engagement (a favourite trope of mine) and while I’m not a fan of love triangles, I liked how this quadrangle-tangle is handled. And the obstacles to the romance are satisfyingly realistic; characters have sensible reasons for the choices they make.

I love how the story uses flashbacks, particularly the post-credit scenes.

The final episode isn’t perfect, but given that a perfectly happy ending would, realistically,  require the reunification of north and south, I thought it came very close.

Let me elaborate.

Cut for sheer verbosity, rather than spoilers. (I’m not allowing myself to list spoiler-ish examples or dive into analysing my favourite scenes, because then I wouldn’t just be here all night, I’d be here all week).

⬦ Fascinating, tense, unpredictable: I knew almost nothing about life in North Korea, so that was fascinating and made the story harder to predict, as I couldn’t anticipate what options the characters had or what obstacles might arise. And that isn’t the only reason I found it tense -- at different times, different characters are greatly at risk if discovered; there are occasions when characters are in danger of physical violence or are injured; and they have a couple of dilemmas to which there are just not easy solutions (See also: Obstacles for romance).

While I’m on the subject of the setting, although I cannot judge how accurate this portrayal of the north was, it’s portrayal of people as people was incredibly convincing. It’s a society where people have differences in personality and in circumstances. There are orphans begging in the market, people who can afford to stay in fancy hotels -- and a lot of people somewhere in between. In the military village, people have varying attitudes, tastes in clothes, privileges, standards of living, etc. Their lifestyle differs from that in Pyongyang, and also in other parts of the country. Amongst the military, some men are compassionate, some are corrupt and some are not obviously one or the other.

Moreover, it’s clear that corruption and villainy isn’t just in the north. In the south, as in the north, we see a range of humanity -- selfishness, good friends, complicated families, happy marriages, criminal behaviour, and so on.

I’ve read an article or two suggesting that the least realistic aspect is Ri Jeong Hyeok being such a sympathetic and honourable officer. I think it’s interesting that he clearly isn’t a typical captain -- he wanted a different career, he’s spent time studying overseas (in a democratic country), and, perhaps most importantly, his father’s position gives him protection from pressures many others face. He has the privilege of being able to afford to act with integrity, and of encouraging such behaviour in the men he leads.

⬦ Humour and meta: I’ve included these two together, because so much of the story’s self-awareness and intertextuality is humorous. I am very amused by so many things -- the village women’s interactions, Se-ri’s wit and banter, Jeong Hyeok’s facial expressions, the duckling's reactions, the way Ju Meok keeps comparing things to South Korean dramas:

Ju Meok: “I haven’t seen any drama characters that don’t fall in love in that situation. That’s how they all fall in love.”

(Because my knowledge of Korean drama is limited, there are a few cameos and references which I suspect would be amusing if one was in the know. The exception is the taxi driver singing, who was funny even without recognising the actor.)

I love the commentary that comes from all the moments when other characters witness the unfolding romance. Others’ reactions are often memorably hilarious -- some of my favouritest scenes fall into this category. (The customs officer! Jeong Hyeok’s dad!) They introduce humour and self-awareness into these moments, allowing the story to acknowledge “Yeah, we know these two are being ridiculous/sappy/emotional”. These moments reveal people’s attitudes towards displays of affection, particularly in the north, and their different attitudes towards Se-ri and Jeong Hyeok’s relationship.  

And as their relationship changes, Se-ri and Jeong Hyeok’s awareness of being watched and commented upon changes, too.

Which leads me to…

⬦ Contrasts and parallels: So many scenes which echo/parallel earlier scenes. Most obviously, this allows the story to compare and contrast the north and south, but it also shows changes in time, differences between characters, and differences in relationships too. Sometimes all at once!

 It means some plot developments weren’t totally unexpected -- it was Oh, of COURSE, we’re going to now see that character in this situation! or OBVIOUSLY we now have to see what this is like in the south!

But I thought it was really effective storytelling and I so much enjoyed spotting and analysing these moments.

⬦ Yoon Se-ri and Ri Jeong Hyeok: These two are the heart of the story and there are so many things I love about them. Like how, even though Se-ri is dependent upon Jeong Hyeok to hide and help her -- even though they’re initially hesitant about a romantic relationship -- they quickly become very protective of each other. Often to the point of willingly risking their own safety. Often to the point of exasperating the other. It’s great.

 That’s not the only thing they discover they have in common. They share some interests. They’re both highly intelligent, driven, successful leaders (he’s a captain, she’s a CEO) who are very private, lonely people carrying around grief about their family and their past. Neither of them likes to reveal their emotions -- he tries to conceal his by suppressing his facial expressions and avoiding answering questions, while Se-ri hides behind play-acting.  

I like watching Se-ri trying to get to know Jeong Hyeok. She isn’t deterred by his silences (unlike someone else) and she keeps the conversation going even when he doesn’t respond. She watches him closely, and says or does things to provoke a reaction. Poke, poke, poke.

And the time they spend together is really revealing. They share meals, they share a house. They see how the other responds under pressure, but also in various social and domestic situations. They see each other in a range of moods: calm, happy, grumpy, scared, tired, upset, unwell. Crash Landing takes advantage of spending sixteen episodes with these characters. Going through so many different experiences together, they learn a lot about each other -- about each other’s values, tastes and temperament -- and this means the audience gets a deeper, more nuanced understanding of who they are, too.  

Se-ri and Jeong Hyeok are also well-matched in how they show they appreciate each other -- she delights in giving presents, and he is quick to notice things Se-ri might need or like.

And it’s very satisfying when they open up, or when they cry in front of each other, because you know that they don’t do this lightly or easily.

⬦ Obstacles for romance, love triangle quadrangle-tangle: I appreciate that the obstacles in this story are not contrived or fueled by needless misunderstandings.  Se-ri and Jeong Hyeok have really solid, sensible reasons to be hesitant to first recognise, then admit to, and then act upon, a romantic attraction. Even once they realise that getting Se-ri home is going to take longer than they’d hoped and she’s pretending to be Jeong Hyeok’s fiancée, romance between them is still a road that leads nowhere. She isn’t safe staying in the north and he would endanger his family if he defected to the south, and they both accept that. And they’re reticent about sharing vulnerable feelings, and Jeong Hyeok is actually engaged to someone else.

But once they really open up to each other, the narrative conflict revolves around their circumstances, rather than doubts or misunderstandings they have about each other. Because the situations they face are dangerous and difficult, with no obvious or straightforward path to a happy ending, there’s quite enough tension to drive the story forward. They still have a couple of misunderstandings, but I like how they handle those, and I like that they don’t have more of them.

As for the love triangle, it doesn’t have the angst of someone torn between, or even attracted to, two people. Jeong Hyeok’s engagement has been arranged. Having feelings for someone else doesn’t change the foundation of that engagement, nor the pressure to please his family. He doesn’t love or know his fiancée -- not well enough to risk revealing Se-ri’s true identity to her. He’s honest with Se-ri and he makes an effort with Dan.  

(I have a theory that, if he had been in love before, he might be quicker to recognise how some of his behaviour towards Se-ri fosters intimacy and sends her messages he doesn’t intend, but this is all new for him.)

He tries not to mislead or hurt Dan, but she’s hurt nonetheless, and I like that Crash Landing doesn’t gloss over that. It explores why she’s hurt, why she’s so reluctant to let him go and why their relationship never really worked. (Neither of them are good at communicating with each other, and I think she takes some of the things he does for her for granted, rather than recognising them as overtures and as opportunities to get to know him better.)

Dan is not just a romantic rival, nor a narrative complication, but a person whose concerns and desire are taken seriously, and who is given space to grow.

Which leads me to...

⬦ Surprising characters, thoughtfully-complicated family relationships: As mentioned, Crash Landing takes advantage of the amount of character development 16 episodes allows, and not just for its lead couple. I was surprised by how much my opinion of certain characters changed, as I came to understand them better.

The character I was most surprised by was Gu Seung-jun.

Each time I’ve watched this, I’ve liked Dan more. I have a lot of sympathy for her now. I also like her mother, even though she’s embarrassingly over the top, because she cares fiercely about her daughter and about advocating for her.

Se-ri’s dysfunctional family are more nuanced than I expected, too. In particular, I love the attention the story gives to Se-ri’s relationship with her step-mother. I was expecting Se-ri’s father to play a larger role, perhaps because he’s nominally the one with the power and influence, and at first Se-ri’s mother seems so passive. But it was really interesting to understand where she’s coming from, why her relationship with Se-ri is broken and sad. The steps the two of them take towards rebuilding their relationship are believable.

(On a related thought, I appreciate a lot of the choices this makes in addressing these women’s mental health struggles. One or two moments arguably could have been handled better, but on the whole it’s realistically optimistic, with enough detail so that we understand the seriousness -- the impact it’s had on these women’s lives.)

⬦ Camaraderie, found family and the ducklings: Se-ri doesn’t spend as much time with the village women as she does with Jeong Hyeok and his soldiers, and when she does, she’s play-acting, in order to keep her identity a secret. But I like how they nevertheless support her, and how meeting her sparks change their dynamic with each other. They grow closer and become much better at supporting each other. It’s really heartwarming.

We gave many of the characters codenames, so we could discuss them when we were still learning their names. (I was surprised by how long it took me to learn some of the characters’ names.  Because so many were unfamiliar to me, they were harder to remember; I wasn’t always sure, from just reading the subtitles, how all of them were pronounced, and sometimes it was hard to separate the sound of the names from surrounding sentences, especially when, due to honorifics and titles and so on, subtitles don’t always match exactly what is being said.) Jeong Hyeok’s men are “the ducklings”, inspired by something I saw on Tumblr: Gwang Beom is “Handsome Duckling”, Ju Meok is “Drama Duckling” and Chi Su is just the sergeant.) I love how they function as a found-family, especially in contrast to Se-ri’s real family. They’re funny, loyal and caring, and in spite of their different personalities, work well together as a team. I enjoyed seeing the different relationships they have with each other, with Jeong Hyeok and Se-ri, and how some of those relationships change. And they’re so protective they are of Eun Dong!

Man Bok has an interesting arc -- I could have mentioned him under Surprising characters. I really like how he fits into this story, how he’s connected to the mystery Jeong Hyeok is investigating, how he becomes involved with the rest of the characters and has these moments when he plays a significant role. Or gets to be funny. I like the contrast and parallels too -- he’s in a different place in his life to the ducklings, and he gets opportunities to revisit past choices he regrets.

And I’m trying not to write essays about all the characters, and it’s ahhh, I have too many thoughts and feelings about them all!

⬦ Satisfyingly realistic: I like how -- one or two ridiculous fight scenes and an unrealistic paragliding scene aside -- things which happen have believable consequences. Particularly emotionally. We see men cry! A lot! And it always feels like a genuine expression of emotion, not gratuitous or overwrought. (Well, okay, there’s a very minor character who’s a bit over the top but he’s very minor.)

When one of the characters is gravely ill, she looks it, I found it oddly satisfying that she doesn’t have to be pretty all the time.

And I wasn’t sure if this belonged here or under “Visual details” but I love the attention given to Se-ri’s clothes. She cares a lot about fashion and in the north her clothing choices indicate that she cares a lot about her appearance, while making do with a limited wardrobe and still dressing for warmth.  (I’m happy to handwave that she seems to have more clothes than would realistically fit in those shopping bags.) I appreciated the practical streak, and, as winter wore on here, became envious of one of her outfits.

I don’t personally like the style of Se-ri chooses for work, but it’s different it is from what she wore in the north and from what she wears at home -- her power-dressing is like a uniform or a statement of persona she projects in her working life, and not necessarily a reflection of her personal tastes.

⬦ Visual details: I love so many of the visuals. Gorgeous scenery, interesting settings and clever framing for significant scenes. The sky, a place without borders, often becomes a focus and there’s a thematically-relevant flight motif -- paragliders, birds and kites.

I did not start noticing the   product placement until a rewatch, when I stopped to think about how often they went to Subway. The first time, it just seemed like a commentary on south-versus-north, and then I was just baffled-yet-amused by it all. (That sort of thing does not make me want to eat fried chicken...)

⬦ Soundtrack: The first time round, I liked the instrumental score and the presence of piano music actually in the story. As I kept rewatching, the rest of the soundtrack slowly but steadily grew on me, and I found myself liking the songs more and more.  

Now I not only recognise them by name, I can recall most of them well enough to hum them and know which scenes they’re associated with. Which is a lot harder when the lyrics are in a language I don’t speak and so I can’t use them as a prompt for memory.

⬦ Flashbacks: Instead of “previously-on” segments, Crash Landing employs lots of flashbacks whenever it wants to remind the audience of something.

Sometimes, instead of just repeating part of an earlier scene, it takes the opportunity to show the same moment from different angles or from a different character’s perspective,  or to juxtapose it with a different scene or to introduce new information. This was really effective. And when flashbacks were a simple repeat, I was usually happy to revisit important moments in the story (and sometimes, having a different person translating the subtitles meant there was a slightly different perspective on the dialogue).

Then there are the post-credit flashbacks, quite a few of which take places years earlier. I love how they’re puzzle pieces about the characters’ pasts and the connections between them.

⬦ The end:  The first time round, after watching the penultimate episode I was so engrossed in the story and so invested in the characters that I had trouble sleeping and I went around the next day with this tight, anxious feeling, unable to get the story out of my head.

The final episode is an emotional rollercoaster. SO. MANY. FEELINGS. There’s one particular scene which packs a powerful punch -- it’s exceptionally emotional and beautifully filmed. I love it, but I’m  glad we get the aftermath too.

It isn’t a perfect ending, but as I said, I don’t think there was a perfect ending was possible, not one that was both realistic and satisfying. But this comes very close. In the very final scenes, not everything is resolved or explained, and I like how that ambiguity is open to interpretation -- I like that there are some gaps for the viewer to fill in for oneself, however one prefers to imagine the characters’ lives going forward.

I know I could easily write another four thousand words about this story -- there are aspects I haven’t really discussed but this seems like a good place to stop. For now. I really like this story. I expect I’ll watch it all again soon.

#Herenya recommends things #Crash Landing on You #thoughts I have them #Yet another CLOY rewatch

[evalinkatrineberg]

Questions

A/N: This is the product of challenge 3 side RPs done with @hugo-stanton and @arin-schreave . I feel compelled to mention that Evalin has definitely NEVER read 50 Shades of Grey before. With that, I’ll leave you to it!

I really didn’t have much of a clue as to what was going on. The note, once again, had arrived while I was out of the room - probably when I had been in the library studying, or perhaps when I had been out running, or talking to Idalia, or doing other tasks that demanded my attention. Regardless, all I knew was that my maids were now getting me ready for someone to take photos of me this afternoon at the beach. I couldn’t help but wonder why photos were only being taken now, so far into the Selection already, but perhaps it really wasn’t my place to question this. There must be a good reason, anyway.

The other question I had was how appropriate my appearance was for the setting of these photographs. Grace had insisted that I needed to wear heels to this photography session, but I was having trouble discerning a logical explanation for her assertion. The photos were to be taken on a beach, after all. Grace must have never tried to walk in a pair of heels in the sand, because it was near impossible to do. I had managed to take all of three steps before stopping dead in my tracks and leaning down, undoing the thin straps of the heels and deciding to just walk barefoot with them in my hand until I found this photographer.

The other issue with my appearance at the moment was the fact that my hair was completely down, loose and unbound, the wind tossing it every which way, specifically right in my face. A few strands kept finding their way to my lips, which led me to believe that my makeup was probably wonderfully smudged already. The whole look was rather impractical. That was fine, though. I supposed I just had to get this over with.

Shielding my eyes from the sun, I caught sight of someone - a man - crouching by a log, holding a camera up to his face. Deciding that he must be the photographer, I dropped my hand, tucking the same loose strands of hair behind my ears for the umpteenth time and looking down at the sand as I walked, intent on avoiding stepping on anything sharp. I really didn’t need to bleed in front of another man while I was here. Once was more than enough. I didn’t need to make that a habit.

“Hello,” I called as I approached, offering the photographer a small wave as my eyes flitted between the sand beneath my feet and his face. Something about him was unsettlingly familiar, but I couldn’t quite place what it was.

It’s probably nothing.

The photographer lowered his camera, looking up at me and rising to his feet with a smile on his face. “Hi, Evalin,” he began, extending his hand towards me. “I’m Hugo.”

So he knew my name, then. Funny how some people were good with that sort of information, whereas others had only learned my name after a few weeks of us living under the same roof. Hugo probably met a lot of people in his line of work, though, I figured, so he had probably had to get good at memorizing names.

“It’s nice to meet you, Hugo.” I shook his hand, offering him another smile before pulling my hand back and leaning down to put on my shoes, not dropping his eye contact as I did. My fingers fumbled with the straps. Damn them for being so tiny. “Sorry about this - sand and heels don’t mix, apparently!”

Hugo simply shook his head and waved his hand dismissively at my shoes. “Oh, you can leave them off if you like. I imagine they’re not very comfortable.”

“Oh.” I had to laugh at that. He was right, of course, but his answer still surprised me a little nonetheless. I wasn’t about to argue with him, though, so I placed my shoes in the sand, quickly making a mental note of what they were near. There was the log, and a small grouping of rocks. It shouldn’t be too hard to find this spot again. “Okay, yeah, that’s a lot easier for me, thank you!” Looking at him once more, I clasped my hands together in front of me. “So, is there something in particular you want me to do right now? I don’t really know how this works.”

I didn’t even know what I was doing here, to be honest. Was this something I had signed up for? I had no memory of doing so, but maybe I had signed some paper or another without even thinking about it, distracted by the million and one other things I had to do. The policy proposal was demanding most of my mental focus at the moment. I didn’t feel like it was as far reaching enough as it could be, or far reaching enough to make much of an impact at all,  but I couldn’t come up with a solution that would rectify that before the damned thing was due. I could only hope that what I had come up with was satisfactory enough to keep me around here for at least a little while longer.

Long enough to receive another kiss from Arin, maybe.

God, I was the hopeless one, wasn’t I?

I snapped back out of my thoughts as Hugo nodded, smiling at me. “Why don’t you sit down on the log and we’ll take it from there?”

I was pretty confident in my ability to do that. “Sure.” I smiled back at him, brushing the wrinkles out of my dress once I had taken a seat on the log. It wasn’t exactly a comfortable chair, but it wasn’t too unbearable. I could handle it. Still, chatter might be a welcome way to distract myself, and it seemed like Hugo might be a better conversationalist than some of the other people I had been talking to recently. It was worth a shot. “So, what got you into photography, if you don’t mind my asking?”

Hugo took a few steps backwards before taking a seat on the sand, crossing his legs like a pretzel. He began to fiddle with his camera, instantly drawing my attention to the device. It looked nice, though I didn’t know the first thing about photography, so I could have been very incorrect about that. I was willing to bet that he was adjusting the settings, though, to account for the lighting of the beach. “My aunt used to be in the film industry,” he finally answered, “so that’s where it came from, I think.”

“That’s so cool!” I responded with a smile. Had his aunt worked as a camerawoman, then? I was close to recommending that he talk to Indie, since that seemed right up her alley, but something had me biting my tongue, keeping my advice at bay. “You’ve been doing this for quite a while, then?” I asked instead.

“A few years,” he replied with a shrug, lifting his head to look at me once more.

“Oh.” I inclined my head slightly to the right, narrowing my eyes at him ever so slightly, as if I could pull the answers I sought out of him with my vision alone. Most of the Fives I had met had begun pursuing their craft at a younger age, in their early teens, mostly, in order to perfect it by the time they were young adults. My own mother had done just that, based on the stories of her childhood that she’d shared with my siblings and I. How had he made a living before finding photography? He looked young enough, sure, but definitely a good few years older than me. Maybe he just looked older than he actually was, though.

My curiosity got the better of me. “Did you have another job before this, then?”

Hugo shook his head, looking at me with an expression that showed me that I had just caught him red-handed. So, he hadn’t, then. Interesting, indeed! “Does being a student count as a job?”

I was only growing more confused with each answer he gave me. He had had enough money to go to school for photography, or at least that was what I assumed he had studied, and yet he hadn’t held a job before then? That was practically unheard of for a Five. I could only imagine the reaction my mother would have when I shared this story with her.

I laughed a little at his response, then, pushing my own prying questions aside in the interest of being polite. “I’d argue yes, but as a student myself, I think I’m a bit biased.”

His camera was already up, the shutter flashing, as he captured his desired image. Still, he continued the conversation nonetheless. “What are you in school for?”

“Biology, actually.” Maybe I can use this as a segue into my own questions. “What about you - what did you study?” Perhaps he was simply an insanely wealthy Two or Three - a lawyer, or an engineer, perhaps - who had discovered he had a passion for photography, and had picked it up as a hobby. I was interested in why the palace would hire him, then, as opposed to a Five who did this sort of work to make a living, especially since Princess Mélanie seemed so sympathetic to the plight of the lower castes, from what I had seen and heard of her work.

“Arts,” Hugo answered, snapping another photo before continuing, “but some strings had to be pulled to make that happen, so I’m not sure how fair it is I had the opportunity.”

“Well,” I began, unsure of how to respond to that. All I knew was that I could not allow myself to frown, even if it was only in consternation. That would not look pleasing in a picture. I shifted my position a bit, doing my best to keep my face down and hidden as I considered my next words. “If that’s your passion, I don’t see why you shouldn’t be able to pursue it.”

I wholeheartedly believed that statement. It was actually somewhat related to the policy proposal I had saved in my drafts on my computer, though different enough that his experience couldn’t be used as an example of how my proposed policy could be beneficial to Illéa as a whole.

Once again, Hugo shrugged. “I’m happy enough,” he reassured me, smiling as he pulled the camera away from his face.

“That’s good.” I nodded back at him, my smile falling a bit and my eyes narrowing as I considered his words. Happy enough, but not happy. What was holding him back from that last bit of contentment, then? Did he really feel so guilty about studying the arts in university that it kept him from being completely happy?

The sound of waves crashing against the short pulled my attention away from him then, and I turned to watch them roll in, and then flow back out, pulled by a force none of us could see. As if in response, some strands of my hair flew out from behind my ears, blowing in the direction of the waves. I smiled a bit as I pushed them back where I wanted them to be, though it was starting to get on my nerves. Despite that, I could hear the shutter of Hugo’s camera, and decided it was best to keep my negative emotions at bay for the time being. Maybe I needed more sleep, or maybe just more time to relax, but either way, I shouldn’t take it out on Hugo, or the photos. He had been nothing but kind, no matter how confused his tales of his life left me.

I heard him standing up, and before I could fully drag my attention away from the waves, he had already made his way over to me, his hand held out towards me, palm upwards. “Why don’t we go down by the water?”

I placed my hand in his, feeling a faint blush form on my face at the touch. His hands were smooth - practically uncalloused. This man hadn’t done a day of hard labor in his life, and he definitely had never played a string instrument, that much I was almost one-hundred percent certain of. Who was he?

I pushed that aside yet again, instead offering him a, “Thank you,” as I rose to my feet, shaking my head as I looked back at the water. “That’d be nice. It’s been so long since I’ve actually been to the beach. I don’t know why I haven’t come down here sooner.”

“It’s pretty nice down here,” he agreed, looking out at the water himself now. He pointed a finger off towards the expanse of beach that lay to my right. “If you go down that way maybe ten to fifteen minutes, there’s a little lagoon.”

I followed his finger, squinting as if that would somehow magically bring the lagoon into view. It was definitely too far for me to see. It was foolish to even try. Still, maybe I could incorporate it into some of my morning runs, if I could find it. It’d be nice to shake up my route a little bit, anyway, and dipping my feet in the water would probably feel really good after running in the dry, Angeles heat. “I’ll have to keep that in mind, thank you!” Turning to him then, I smiled, and asked, “Are there any razor clams around there? Those things used to scare me like nothing else whenever I went to the beach as a kid.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at the memory. Maybe scared wasn’t the right word - startled was more like it. As a child, I had somehow managed to convince myself that being hit by the water those stupid little clams squirted into the air whenever somebody got too close would hurt like a bee sting, or being hit by a water balloon. I had often clung to my father’s arm whenever one of my brothers called out that they had found some razor clams, doing whatever it took to circumnavigate my way to the ocean, just to avoid being hit by the clams’ water. It was so silly of me, but I had been a rather skittish kid.

Hugo sucked in a breath before answering. “Gosh, I don’t know. I’m not the right person to ask. That’s more Arin’s thing.”

Arin had a thing for marine ecology? I raised an eyebrow, remembering the questions Reggie had asked me in the library all those weeks ago. Was that somehow related to this new revelation about Arin’s interest? Hell, the fact that he had actual interests outside of running the country was news to me. I chucked a bit as I stepped into the water. “Really? Interesting! I’ll have to keep that in mind then.”

Wait a minute. How does Hugo know that?

I narrowed my eyes at the photographer, furrowing my brows. “How do you know him?” If he had only been a photographer for a few years, he couldn’t be the one responsible for most of the royal photographs I had seen prior to coming here. He shouldn’t have had enough time to build up such a casual rapport with Arin - comfortable enough to call him by only his first name, with no title or honorific.

Who the hell was this guy?

He shot me an expression that was somewhere between sheepish and guilty as he admitted, “We’re cousins.”

Oh, maybe that’s why his face looks kind of familiar, then.

My eyes went a little wide, and I covered my mouth with my hand for a moment, trying my best to hide the shock that was undoubtedly still evident on my face. Once I had taken a second to compose myself again, I pulled my hand away from my face. “Oh my gosh, I am so sorry! I had no clue!”

“Why are you sorry?” His confusion was written all over his face. Unlike his cousin, he wore his emotions openly, it seemed. “If I ran into one of your cousins, I wouldn’t know who they were unless they told me.”

I looked around for a moment, attempting to come up with a response. “Yeah, but…” I trailed off. My family isn’t famous, or royalty, and I don’t have any cousins. I couldn’t blurt that out without thinking. I had to learn to stem the flow of my words before they seriously got me in trouble one of these days. So I looked at him again, offering a small smile and waving my hand through the air. “Never mind,” I decided, turning to look down at the water as it lapped at my feet. It was a lot colder than I had expected it would be.

Hugo didn’t respond, instead taking a few steps backwards and fiddling with his camera again, which now hung around his neck. I looked back over my shoulder at him. Maybe I should try a new topic of conversation, then. “Have you lived in Angeles your whole life?”

He shook his head, his body going still as he lined up his next shot. “No, I was born in France, actually. Have you lived in your province your whole life?”

For someone who had supposedly grown up abroad, he didn’t have much of a discernible accent, at least not to me. Then again, maybe I was just used to my grandfather’s thick Northern Swendish accent. There were times that I could barely understand what he was trying to say when he endeavored to speak English. Hugo didn’t seem to have that difficulty, though. He must have had a great education, then.

I nodded in response to his question. “During the school year, yes. When we were younger, though, my parents would send my siblings and I to Swendway with our grandparents for the summer. They still have this little cabin near Tromsø, but they don't like to live there year round because of how cold it gets. It’s fun in the summer, though, because the sun never sets.”

I could feel my smile growing as I spoke, the memories of my childhood summers flooding back all at once. My grandfather loved to take my siblings and I out on a little sailboat he had docked at the local marina. We’d all do our best to distract him so he didn’t realize how late it was getting, and then whenever he did realize, we’d inform him that we couldn’t possibly go to bed yet, because the sun was still up. He’d always chuckled at our mischief, but I was sure he must have gotten tired of it after a while. Yet, neither he nor my grandmother had ever reprimanded any of us. I missed those summers. It had been ages since any of us had been back, thanks to the ongoing conflict with Swendway. It wasn’t exactly the safest place for an Illéan to travel at the moment, much to my own disappointment.

A new light shone in Hugo’s eyes once I had finished regaling him with the tales of my summers past. “That must be beautiful. I only ever visited Swendway once before…” he trailed off, leaving his sentence unfinished.

What had happened when he had gone to Swendway?

I tilted my head a bit to the right, keeping my smile in tact as I asked, “When?”

“I was a teenager,” he answered, his own smile reappearing now. It wasn’t much of an answer, seeing as I didn’t know how old he was, but I assumed that that had to mean it was before the relations between Illéa and Swendway had taken a turn for the worse.

“Me too,” I replied, laughing a little, “though I guess that’s not saying much in terms of how long ago it was. We stopped going once my older siblings started heading off to college. Timing got too complicated, and all that. So it’s been a few years.” Or so that was the reason my parents had fed me when I was fourteen. It felt like a safer explanation to give him, somehow. “Where in Swendway did you go?”

“Geirangerfjord,” he answered smoothly. A hint of hesitation crept over his face then, and in a more tense tone of voice, he added, “and Stockholm, of course.”

“Naturally,” I replied, nodding. It only made sense that he had been to the capital of Swendway. My own father had grown up there, mostly, thanks to my grandfather’s job. It was a lovely city, based on what I had been told by both my father and his parents, with cobbled streets and some buildings over hundreds of years old. Now, though, I could understand why visiting there could be a point of contention. I’d better change the subject again. “Sounds like you’ve had the chance to travel a lot!”

He smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I have, and I’d love to go back.”

“Me too, one day,” I agreed, looking up at the sky and gesturing around a bit with my right hand. “I’ve got other things to do first, though.” I looked back at him then, laughing a bit, though it felt more forced than it had before. There was so much to do at this point in my life. Weren’t you supposed to gain more freedom as you grew up? It certainly didn’t feel that way to me.

Hugo laughed along. “I think we all have a lot we want to do.”

“Of course,” I replied smoothly, flashing him a joking smile as I turned to face him more, gently kicking a little of the water in the process. “We just need a time machine to do it all.”

“A time machine?” He cocked his head to the side, his eyes narrowing the slightest bit as he looked at me.

“I mean, there’s just so much to do, and so little time to try and do it all,” I attempted to explain. It was an age-old problem, I had supposed, but maybe it wasn’t as relatable as I had thought. I cleared my throat, looking up at the sky, holding my left hand over my eyes to shield them from the sun. My hair tickled the bare skin of my neck as the wind blew it backwards this time, out of my face. That wasn’t my main concern as I took in the rapidly darkening sky, though. “Are those storm clouds?”

He looked up as well then, nodding once as he took in the sky. “Looks like it. That blew in quickly, didn’t it?”

“Yeah.” I frowned as I made my way back out of the water. In Carolina, it wasn’t uncommon for storms to pop up and then dissipate within the span of a couple of hours, especially during the summer, but I hadn’t seen that happen here, yet. I had a feeling we were in for a long afternoon and evening of much needed precipitation. “I think this will actually be the first time it’s rained since I’ve been here.”

Hugo glanced down at his camera, a frown forming on his face. “Maybe we should head back.”

“Yeah, that seems like the best idea,” I agreed, already making my way up the beach towards my shoes. “Your camera looks very nice, and I’d hate for it to get damaged.”

“It’s just a thing, but I’d love it if it didn’t get wet,” he called after me, following me up the beach. So, he wasn’t incredibly materialistic, then. Each word that came out of his mouth was like another piece of a puzzle, but instead of the pieces coming together to form a clear picture of Hugo, none of them seemed to quite fit together.

I glanced at him over my shoulder. “Entirely understandable.”

“Well,” he began, his pace speeding up as he attempted to close the distance between us, “if we’re quick, it won’t be an issue.”

A bit ironic that that’s coming from the guy who’s trying to catch up with me, isn’t it?

“Good thing I like to run, then!” I replied with a laugh.

Hugo just made a face at that. “I don’t run. Speed walking is the most you’ll get from me.”

At this point, I had kind of figured that out, but I laughed anyway as I looked at him over my shoulder once again. “Ah, but you’re tall.” It was true. He couldn’t have been more than an inch shorter than Arin. “That makes up for the speed difference.”

“I’m pretty sure multiple people would disagree with you,” he replied with a small laugh.

I raised an eyebrow, my chest still rising and falling with silent laughter. I hadn’t met his entire family yet, but they didn’t seem like giants compared to him. “What, are you a stop and smell the roses kind of guy?”

He waited a few seconds before responding, and then settled on, “I’ve never had anyone say that about me, but I guess I am.” With that, he began to hum thoughtfully, his mind no doubt embarking on a small journey of self-reflection over a sentence I hadn’t even thought about as it had flown out of my mouth.

I offered him a reassuring smile. “Nothing wrong with appreciating the small wonders of life! Sometimes it’s nice to just be able to take your time and really enjoy something.” That was quite possibly the most hypocritical thing to ever come out of my mouth. “Though, it doesn’t seem like many of us get to do that anymore.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” he agreed, glancing over his shoulder to check on the clouds, which were blotting out more of the sky now. We really needed to get a move on to save his camera. Yet, he turned back to me, and asked, “What do you take your time on?”

I pursed my lips, mulling it over. What did I take my time to enjoy, anymore? Sure, I enjoyed my studies, and could easily lose myself in the details of them, but it was still something I did in part out of necessity, and not entirely for fun. “I used to like watching ballets,” I admitted, attempting to remember what it had felt like to watch one, years ago when I had in high school, “and taking time to enjoy every detail that went into making the production as a whole so breathtaking, but I’m afraid it’s been a while since I’ve done that.” I too turned to look up at the clouds now, rubbing my right forearm with my left hand. I didn’t know why admitting that one detail about myself had left me feeling so exposed - vulnerable, even - yet I found myself half tempted to find an excuse to run away from the conversation.

“Angeles has a pretty fantastic ballet company, if you ever have the time to go.” The corners of his lips tugged upwards into a grin, something sparking in his eyes as he spoke. “You could have Arin take you sometime.”

Bold of you to assume that I “could,” have Arin do anything he doesn’t explicitly want to do himself.

Despite the fact that I was beginning to wonder if Hugo and I were in fact referring to the same person when we said, “Arin,” I found myself smiling at the idea. “I would quite like that, if he ever has the chance. He seems pretty busy, usually, though.” When he’s not drinking, or kissing girls. “Not that I can blame him! It’s just difficult to get to know someone when you’ve only accidentally bumped into them twice, and been on one date that was more a series of unfortunate incidents than it was a date.”

God, why was I telling him this?

He raised an eyebrow at me. “I don’t catch what you mean, sorry.”

That was probably for the better. I waved my hand through the air as best I could while still holding my shoes. They bounced against each other, the sound of them knocking together hollower than I had thought it would be. “Don’t worry about it! The ballet sounds lovely, and I really hope I get the chance to go at some point.”

“Just ask him,” he reiterated, flashing me a reassuring smile, “it can’t hurt.”

“Fair enough,” I said with a nervous laugh. Maybe he was right. Was it worth the risk, though, was the question holding me back.

Something wet landed on my arm then, prompting me to stop where I stood, only a few meters away from the palace doors. Rain. When was the last time I had felt the rain on my skin? May, maybe? Definitely sometime before I had come to Angeles. That felt like so much longer than only a little over a month ago.

Beside me, Hugo had stopped as well, looking up at the sky as a few drops landed on his face. A stop and smell the roses kind of guy, indeed. That much was painfully obvious now. I looked away, revelling in the feeling of the rain on my own face. Without even thinking, I wandered a little further away from the doors, walking in a small circle as I looked upwards at the clouds. I had never noticed how much I had taken something as simple as the rain for granted.

“As much as I’d love to stay out here in the rain, my camera wouldn’t.”

I spun around to look back at him, my skirt swirling around me as I did, only to find him staring right back at me, a small smile on his face. “Right, of course.” I felt myself begin to blush again, though I was doing my best to convince myself that the blood wasn’t rushing to my face simply at the thought of him watching me as I was lost in thought. I walked over towards the doors, intent on getting the door for him, since he was holding something valuable, and I only had my shoes in my hands, which I should probably put back on now, anyways. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen the rain, and I got a little distracted.”

“You can stay, if you like,” he offered, shrugging and then laughing a little. “I wouldn’t want to ruin your chance to see the rain.”

I shook my head as I reached for the door handle. As much as I would have liked to stay in the rain, I knew it would be a poor decision to do so. “I appreciate it, but I shouldn’t. I’m afraid there’s other things I should be doing instead.” A certain policy proposal was still sitting on my laptop, having undergone only one round of edits thus far. I really wanted it to be as good as I could possibly make it, if only to make a lasting impression on whoever was judging our proposals. Maybe they’d put in a good word for me. That’d be nice.

“Well, then hopefully it rains again sometime when you don’t have things to do.”

I looked down, attempting to hide my frown at his words as I opened the door and stepped inside, holding it open with one hand for him to grab. What did he mean by that? Did I really seem that obsessed with the rain? It was probably nothing. I was probably overthinking it. “One of these days, maybe.”

I let go of the door once I felt that he had grabbed it. “Thank you,” he said from behind me. I turned to face him then, watching him shake his head like a dog in an effort to dislodge some of the raindrops that lingered in his hair as the door closed shut behind him.

I brushed my fingers through my own hair, smiling a bit as I watched him. What an odd man. Still, he was rather nice, and that was very much appreciated. “Well, I know that didn’t go exactly as planned, but thank you.”

“No, thank you,” he responded, smiling as well. “I really appreciate how willing you were to help out.”

I felt my smile widen a bit, even as I slowly began to back down the hallway, clasping my hands in front of me. “Right, well, I should probably get going, but thank you again!”

“Have a good rest of your day, Evalin.” He turned to head down the hallway in another direction, looking over his shoulder at the last moment to add, “I'll see you around.”

“You too!” I turned away then, intent on making it up to my room and changing out of my slightly damp dress as quickly as possible. My thoughts kept flitting from Hugo’s words, to the advice he had given me about asking Arin to take me to the ballet, and then back to the work I should undoubtedly be doing instead of thinking of all this. Maybe I could multitask, though - write Arin a letter, and then get some work done as I waited for his reply. Yes, that seemed reasonable.

As soon as I was changed into a dry, more casual dress, and no longer wearing heels, I began drafting my letter to Arin. A letter seemed like the way to go - it was more polite than just barging into his office unannounced, that was for sure. Plus, it gave Julia the time to braid my hair as I wrote, which was probably for the better, since my hair had gotten more unruly than usual, after getting wet. I smiled down at my letter after finishing, looking it over briefly for any spelling errors.

Your Highness,

You never did get around to giving me your book recommendations. We should rectify that quickly, I think.

Sincerely,

Lady Evalin

PS - I have some questions about local marine life, if you have a moment or two to entertain them.

Hugo’s comments about Arin being knowledgeable about marine life had stuck with me. It would be kind of nice to see Arin speak passionately about something other than his woes or his own moral dilemmas. Seeing him so enthralled by my notes in the library had been fun, for sure, but that had been more of my passion than his. I couldn’t help but wonder if there was a topic that got him talking like my work got me talking.

Satisfied with my letter, I smiled at Christina, beckoning her closer with a hand gesture. As she approached, I folded the letter in half, smiling at her again before handing the letter to her. “Could you please take this to the prince?”

Christina raised an eyebrow back at me, a mischievous grin tugging at her lips. “The prince? Why, of course, Evalin! It would be my pleasure.”

I laughed a little, drumming my fingers along the top of my computer and saying a quick, “Thank you! I knew I could count on you,” as she departed.

Julia had just finished with my hair, and I had barely even gotten my computer booted up when Christina scurried back in, stopping beside me and placing a small, folded square of paper on my keyboard. Her grin was infectious, and I found myself chuckling as I unfolded the letter.

Evalin,

What kind of book are you looking for?

P.S. I’m not an expert on marine life but if you’d like to ask me I’ll do my best to answer.

-Arin

I had to snort a little at his formatting. What fool put the post-script before signing his name? Still, it was nice of him to offer to answer. Pulling out another sheet of paper from my desk drawer, I quickly scrawled a reply, before folding it and handing it to Christina to repeat the process again.

Arin,

I believe you said you could recommend some books on history?

The marine life part came up in a recent conversation where I asked somebody about whether or not there are razor clams on the beaches here, and I was advised to ask you.

Thank you in advance,

Evalin

Mentioning Hugo by name felt wrong, somehow, as if admitting I had spoken with Arin’s cousin would somehow put Arin on edge. I knew it was ridiculous to think that, but I still couldn’t help but feel like I should be careful about dropping names.

Christina returned with Arin’s reply in a matter of minutes. It appeared I wasn’t going to get much editing done on my proposal, at this rate.

Evalin,

“2024: Wallis’ War” might be an interesting place to start. It gives you a peek into what life was before Illéa.

As for razor clams, no. The furthest south you can find them is about 20 miles north of the Angeles and Sonage border.

-Arin

I quickly wrote the name of the book down on a post-it note, and then pulled out another paper to write a reply.

Arin,

I’m assuming I’d be able to find this book in the library? It sounds quite interesting! Might I send some light reading your way while I’m there - only if you’re interested, of course!

Ah, sad about the clams!

Thank you for your reply,

Evalin

I truly wasn’t sure where I had even planned on going with the line of questioning about the razor clams. Was I going to drag him out to the beach with me, to watch me laugh as they squirted up water? How ridiculous! It was probably for the better that they weren’t native to this area.

Evalin,

Yes.

-Arin

I assumed that his reply was to both of my questions. It looked like I was going to the library, then. With a small sigh, I closed my laptop, rubbing my hands on dress once before picking the post-it note with the book title off my desk. Life before Illéa. It was such a strange concept to me. Obviously, I knew Illéa hadn’t been a country since the dawn of time, but 2024 didn’t sound like it was that long ago, if I was being honest. It was only six years before my father was born. Had he been alive before the creation of Illéa? I frowned, wrinkling my nose as I realized that I’d never thought about that before.

It didn’t take me long to find the book once I got to the library. Despite the gargantuan size of the palace library, it was still organized using the same system as every other library I had been to during my lifetime. The book itself seemed decent in size - not huge, but thick enough to keep me busy for a couple of days, for sure. Once the book was safely tucked under my arm, I made my way over to where I expected the scientific journals to be. Arin had seemed somewhat interested in my notes, the last time we had spoken. Maybe he’d enjoy some of my the work I had helped publish under Proctor.

I knelt down, immediately finding the first two articles I had contributed to. Those were the two I had expected to find. Both of them - one with a red cover, and the other with a blue cover - contained the results of experiments that Proctor had come up with. I had merely helped her with the analysis and by proofreading her findings, once she had written them up. I was almost surprised to find the third, though. It’s black cover caught my eye just as I was about to turn around and stand again. That journal contained the results of an experiment that I had come up with, that I had practically begged Proctor to let me run in her lab, under her guidance, of course. It hadn’t been a success by any big, discernable margins, but having her say yes to my proposed experiment had still been one of my proudest moments to date. I quickly snagged that journal off the shelf too, stacking the three journals on top of the book Arin had recommended me.

I debated just heading back to my room, and having Christina just run the journals down to Arin’s office along with another note. It wasn’t like they were particularly heavy - they were rather flimsy, as a matter of fact. Yet, I still felt a pang of guilt about making her run what would likely turn into yet another chain of messages between Arin and I. It was probably just easier for me to bring him the journals myself.

I stopped outside the door of his office, taking a deep breath. He had seemed so adamant about not wanting me in his office the night we had drank bourbon together in the hallway. Maybe this was a bad idea. It was too late to turn back now, though. I knocked three times, staring at the door as I waited to see if it would open.

“Come in!”

It seemed he wasn’t going to come get the door, then. With a small frown, I juggled the books in my hands, shifting them so they were held up by my left hip and arm, opening the door with my right hand. Arin was sitting at his desk, his head down, pen in hand.

Oh, crap. I just hoped whatever he was working on wasn’t classified, or super important.

I kept my voice soft as I spoke, taking care to close the door as quietly as possible. “Hi,” I began, tossing a timid smile in his direction, even though he wasn’t looking at me. “Didn’t mean to interrupt, but I came by to drop off the reading I mentioned to you earlier. There’s three different articles in these journals that I contributed to, and since you seemed interested in my notes and textbook the last time I saw you, I thought you might be interested in these, too.”

At the sound of my voice, he looked up, his eyes going wide for the briefest moment as he shot to his feet so quickly I thought he might knock over his chair. “Evalin,” was all he said, brushing his hands on his pants.

I felt my own eyes go wide as I laughed a little at the speed with which he had risen to his feet. It was rather entertaining how startled he always seemed to be by my presence. First in the library, now this. A small part of me hoped it would become a consistent pattern.

“I’ll be sure to be clearer about when I’m coming by next time, I suppose.” Taking a moment to shuffle the books I was holding, I tucked the book he had recommended me under my arm again, and then held the three academic journals out towards him.

He seemed a bit fidgety as he made his way around his desk, coming to a stop in front of me and taking the journals from my hand. What had he been working on before this? What had I interrupted? I was more curious now, seeing his reaction, than I had been before.

“I hope I didn’t interrupt you in the middle of something too important!” I was being genuine, in the sense that I had had no intention of disrupting work that required his utmost attention, but I also kind of hoped that by saying something, I might be able to get him to explain his nervousness, a bit. I had to wonder why he was acting so on edge as it was. He had been the one to tell me to come in, after all. Regardless, it was still fun to see him caught off guard yet again. “I could just go, if you’d like! I just wanted to drop these off for you!”

He looked down at the books that were now in his hands. “Um, thank you.”

“No problem!” I laughed a little again, more nervous this time, but then shook my head. He hadn’t asked or told me to leave, after all. I looked over his shoulder towards his desk, narrowing my eyes at the papers that sat atop it, as if I would somehow be able to make out what was written on them from this distance. “What were you working on, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Oh,” he began, glancing over his shoulder at his desk before turning to face me again. “Nothing interesting.”

Fine, then. I supposed he was entitled to his secrets.

“Ah okay, just curious! Wanted to make sure I hadn’t interrupted anything important!” I’d already said that, hadn’t I? Shoot! I must have looked like a total fool, desperate for attention.

“Nothing that can’t be done later,” he reassured me, nodding at the journals I had given him. “Besides, this is much more interesting, I’m sure.”

“Ah, it may be!” I offered him a sheepish smile, hoping I hadn’t completely misread his interest in my notes in the library that day. Was he actually genuinely interested in my work, in what I was studying, or had he just been looking for an excuse to kiss me? Perhaps I was a bigger fool than I had thought. Still, the hole I had dug myself was too deep for me to climb out of now. “I only assisted in the articles my professor published in the first two, but I actually came up with the experiment in the third one - the journal with the black cover. I practically had to beg her to let me run it! I bought her coffee, did her busywork, ran her scantrons - anything to get her to say yes!” A small laugh escaped my mouth as I reminisced about those few weeks. Proctor had to have known what I was doing. I was terrible at deceit. I wore my true intentions all over my face every time I interacted with someone, I was afraid. She had still given me the go-ahead in the end, though, so I supposed that all’s well that ends well, and all that.

“That’s dedication,” Arin acknowledged, raising his eyebrows. He then turned away for a moment, setting the journals on his desk in a neat pile, aligning them just-so, similar to how he had carefully placed his book on the library table all those days ago. I was so fascinated by his near obsessive precision that I almost didn’t hear him add, “I’m not sure I’d have the same level of persistence.”

The corners of my lips tugged further upwards at the compliment. He was really feeding my ego today, it seemed. “I was really passionate about that experiment. I thought it’d be the greatest thing since sliced bread, I swear.” I chuckled a little at my own joke. I had come damn close to letting that experiment consume me, if I was being honest, practically living in Proctor’s lab for a couple of months. I would likely never do that again, I realized, my smile falling as I let the thought sink in, even as I continued rambling. “We didn’t think it all the way through, though - like how hard it would be to apply what we did in the lab in an actual human body - so there’s still a lot of future research to be done.” Future research that I likely won’t be allowed to assist in, despite coming up with the original idea. I’d brought that upon myself though, ultimately.

“What’s it on?” He asked, leaning back against his desk.

“Cancer research,” I answered without thinking, my eyes darting between him and the journal for a moment. Was it worth attempting to explain it to him? Looking back at him again, I decided to go for it. “The theory behind it was that maybe if we removed the gene in cancer cells that codes for their rapid reproduction, and inserted the gene that codes for apoptosis - spontaneous cell death - maybe we could stop or slow the spread of the cancer.”

He blinked. That alone told me that there was no way he had completely understood what I had said, but he nodded along regardless. “You think it could work?”

“In theory, yes. In actuality, probably not,” I admitted, shaking my head. “It would be extremely difficult to target individual cells within a person’s body. One solution I proposed to my professor was that maybe we could introduce some virus cells that would only target the cancer cells - like HIV targets immune cells only, kind of - and see if that would kill off the cancer cells. I’d bet actual money that she’s working to put her name to that idea right now.” Even though, once again, I was the one who came up with it. I laughed a little wryly, wondering how I had put up with Proctor’s behavior for as long as I had as I gazed at the journals.

Arin simply nodded. “Well, that’s a shame, then. It could so a lot of people good.”

“Yeah,” I replied, looking back at him then, “that was my hope.” With a shake of my head, decided to change the subject, flashing him a closed-lipped half smile. “But back to your previous point, about persistence - you mean to tell me that there has never been anything you felt like you would do whatever it took to achieve?” The concept of someone not feeling that passionate about anything seemed impossible.

“Anything I want to do will always be on the back burner,” he replied with a shrug. Right, I hadn’t considered that. Maybe that’s why he was so insistent on finding a wife, after all - he needed someone to relieve him of some of his workload, so he could pursue something he actually enjoyed, for once. That would likely be good for him, if I was being honest. He continued, oblivious to the thoughts churning in my mind. “At least for now. So, I find it's not efficient to focus on it too much.”

I offered him a sympathetic smile, close to offering him my help so he might be able to explore his own interests. Something held me back, though. That might be too much too fast. He was a hard nut to crack, and I didn’t feel like ruining what little progress I had made in getting to know him. “That makes sense. I tend to get the same way with work.” I gestured towards the journals I had given him, a single laugh escaping my lips before I added, “I think I saw my professor more than I saw my parents when we were running those experiments. Though in my case, I still definitely wanted to do them.”

“Well, you should try being employed by your parents. It’s interesting, to say the least.”

Ah, right, that. I hadn’t considered that, and yet, now that he mentioned it, I couldn’t help but wonder if we had more in common than we thought. I angled my head slightly away from him before admitting, “In a sense, I am. My professor and my father are co-heads of the biology department at my university, and both of them have to sign off on any students working in the labs, and place them in a position that corresponds to their interests. I just got lucky that my father and I aren’t interested in the same subfield.” I shook my head, looking down for a moment. Okay, maybe I had been wrong. Maybe we weren’t as similar as I thought. I met his gaze again, adding, “I can’t imagine how it must be for you, though.”

He shrugged. “I can’t imagine how it would be otherwise.”

I frowned, narrowing my eyes at him with curiosity as I inclined my head a bit to the right. “I take it you’re not someone that deals in hypotheticals, then.”

“Hypothetically, if anything was different then I wouldn't be me.”

A simple enough answer, and one that I could get behind, I realized as I shook my head. “No, that’s fair. I feel the same way.” I should say something more, to show him that I understand. The only example that was coming to mind, however, was the conversation I had had with Proctor the day before I had left for Angeles. Was it worth the risk to mention it? I bit my lip, attempting to come up with a way to word it that wouldn’t sound incriminating. I may not like Proctor at this point in time, but I didn’t want her ideas on the caste system to get us both in trouble, somehow. I would not let that woman take me down with her. “My professor asked me once what I would want to do with my life if I could choose absolutely any path, regardless of how realistic it was, and I swear it was like my mind just shut down. I just can’t really imagine being anything other than myself, you know?” I shook my head again. He must have thought that I was insane.

“I’m sure I could imagine it if I really tried,” he admitted, “but there’s no point in wasting time on impossible things.”

“Agreed,” I said simply, nodding once before biting the inside of my cheek. “But in a sense, everything is theoretically impossible, until it’s done. I mean, that’s how most technological advances are made, but that’s different, I suppose.” I shrugged, glancing back up at Arin. I was rambling again. I needed to figure out how to stop myself from doing that. It was getting out of hand. Exhaling through my nose, I decided to continue regardless. “It’s a shame that the world exists in nuanced shades of grey instead of clear-cut black and white. It’d make some things so much easier.”

“Grey is a perfectly wonderful color,” he replied with a soft smile.

I mirrored his expression, turning his words over and over again in my mind. “I suppose I’ll have to search for more pleasing shades of grey, then.”

For whatever reason, Hugo’s advice popped back into my mind at that moment, maybe because Hugo seemed like the kind of person who could see the hidden beauty in anything. I could hear his voice clearly, urging me that it couldn’t hurt to at least ask Arin if he would take me to the ballet. Was it worth the risk - to get my hopes up, only to have him potentially shoot them back down? Or maybe Hugo knew something about Arin that I didn’t. He was Arin’s cousin, after all.

It couldn’t hurt to try.

I looked back up at Arin, my head still inclined slightly to the right. “There was something else I wanted to ask you as well.”

He blinked once, a look of surprise flashing across his face. “What?”

Here goes nothing.

“Okay, well, I’m kind of spitballing here, but,” I stopped mid-sentence to take a deep breath, attempting to pull myself together, “theoretically, if I asked you to take me to the Angeles ballet - if you had the time, of course - would you say yes?”

I really was terrible at hiding my intentions, I realized yet again, as I smiled up at him with a glimmer of hope that he might say yes. My nerves got the best of me as I watched him tense up, and then let out a sigh.

Oh, no. It had not been worth it. Why had I thought it was a good idea to take Hugo’s advice? I had thought it was ridiculous the first time I had heard it! I should’ve trusted my instincts.

“Evalin,” Arin began. I felt my heart drop in my chest. “That’s not really my sort of thing.”

I knew my face had fallen, and I scrambled to cover it up before he noticed, in a vain attempt to save any shred of my pride I had left. What had I been thinking? I nodded once, my mind reaching for words that felt completely foreign at the moment. “Understood. Just thought I’d throw it out there, but, uh, forget it, I guess!”

“Sorry,” was all he said in reply, dropping my gaze.

Oh, God, what had I done? The little progress we had made towards getting closer was all falling to shreds right in front of me. I was such a fool.

I shook my head, offering him the best impression of a reassuring smile I could muster up at the moment. “No, no need to apologize! It was a silly idea to begin with,” I lied, shaking my head and rolling my eyes at my own stupidity. I never should have gotten my hopes up. Arin wasn’t someone I could count on to not let me down. I should’ve known as much by now.

“Maybe you could see if Safiya would want to go with you,” he offered, glancing back at me. “That’s up her alley.”

I was pretty sure Safiya was away for the week on some trip or another, if I remembered correctly, and the thought of asking her was borderline mortifying, considering we weren’t very close, but I offered Arin a small smile regardless. “I’ll keep that in mind.” Pointing over my shoulder at the door with my thumb, I added, “Anyways, I should probably get going. I’ve still got some work to finish.”

Arin nodded, pushing himself off his desk, to his feet. “Oh, yeah, of course. I shouldn’t keep you.”

We had really reversed our roles over the course of this conversation, it appeared.

“Right.” I slowly began to back towards the door, sliding the book he had recommended me out from under my arm and into my hands, holding it in front of me as I took another step. “Sorry again for interrupting. I’ll see you around, then.”

“It’s fine, really,” he reiterated, quickly walking towards the door himself. I stopped dead in my tracks, watching him as he made his way closer to me, brushing past me as he closed in on the door and opened it. “Don’t worry about it.”

I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding, offering him one last smile and a nod as I walked towards the door. “Thank you.”

“Of course.” He opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something else, but then clamped it shut. So this was it, then. What a rocky conversation this had been. I just smiled at him one last time before quickly making my way down the hallway, not waiting to hear the door close behind me. I just needed to get back to my room. I just needed to lose myself in this proposal that was due soon. That was the best use of my time. The least I could do was make sure I sounded more intelligent on paper than I did in person.

The proposal couldn’t be any worse than that conversation had been, at the very least. I had that much going for me. Now I just had to hope my idea for the policy wasn’t as silly or fantastical as the ideas I had had during that conversation.

#selectionoc #((to quote swendie/my own typo...NUGO))

[crayolacrayonhalloweenpacks]

I Think We Have Chemistry

Summary: In which Logan is an indirect matchmaker and Roman uses some truly awful puns to flirt with his lab partner.

Words: 2904

Notes: This was Logince before it was Prinxiety, but eventually I realized how much I love writing platonic bantering Logince, so here we are. This is purely self-indulgent. I know only the basics of chem, so please don't murder me, although if you want to make any corrections that's cool by me.If you want some cool music to jam to after reading this try Dissolve by Absofacto. Thanks for reading!

Read on: Archive of Our Own

Roman loved lab days. If he were someone else, he would probably continue by saying that it was the last class of his day before he was allowed to return home and relax, finally freed from academic burdens. But he was him. So even though he loved science in general, the special thing about lab was it allowed him to actually do something. He enjoyed reading and studying as much as the next guy, but after a while, that could only do so much. Even though it only happened once a week, being able to physically perform an experiment, to work out conclusions for himself and see first-hand how the world worked...well, nothing could compare.

He also looked forward to lab because of his partner. Virgil was a “measure-ten-times-cut-once” kind of guy, and usually that kind of excessive paranoia would irritate Roman, but in this case, he found it almost endearing. Without his researching and proofreading skills, their lab reports wouldn’t be anywhere near the level of accuracy and thoroughness that they were. Something that could be annoying, however, was his lack of reaction to Roman’s attempts at flirting. Case in point: their current conversation.

“...and after that, I learned to always bring a change of clothes for combustion labs,” he finished with a triumphant grin. In the eighth grade, he’d damaged one of his favorite shirts, which read “NEVER TRUST AN ATOM: THEY MAKE UP EVERYTHING”, due to his lack of expertise in using lab equipment. It had been embarrassing at the time, but now it was one of his favorite stories to tell: he, a foolhardy yet earnest student, the victim of an overzealous, malignant Bunsen burner. It usually drew out a hearty guffaw from any crowd, but earned only an alarmed grimace from his lab partner. Jeez. This guy was impossible to impress! He slouched back in his chair, trying to maintain a facade of casualness. “Anyway,” he continued, “what were you saying?”

He felt his brother give him a pointed look from across the room. Roman could hear him already. Don’t waste class time, Roman! Pursue non-academic interests outside of school, Roman! He ignored him. Logan had always been a killjoy. He’d make up lost points on the final.

Virgil peered at the clock and cursed under his breath. “Well, I guess Google exists for a reason,” he quipped, dumping the remains of their half-completed lab down the sink.

Roman laughed, perhaps a little more boisterously than was necessary, and started scrubbing the beaker Virgil handed him. “Yeah, totally.”

The bell rang over the intercom just as they finished cleaning up. “I guess I’ll text you later to work on the report.”

“Sure thing!”

Virgil gave him a quick salute and walked out of the classroom, bookbag draped carefree over one shoulder, gait elegantly loose. His hair was growing out. Chestnut roots emerged in stark contrast to the dye, and one aubergine lock curled like a question mark at the nape of his neck. He watched him disappear into the hallway, eventually becoming indistinguishable from the rest of the sea of students.

He hated thinking that--that Virgil was indistinguishable. Virgil was very distinct. Despite not fitting the classic cool guy mold, he was undeniably cool. Maybe not popular, or athletic, or social, or--okay, he was getting off-track now. Virgil was quiet, but never standoffish. He was true to his word and always held up his end of the work, never slacking off or making excuses. He was precise and grounded and paid attention to the little details. Paired with Roman’s knowledgeability, they were a laboratory dream team. Possibly a dream team outside of lab work as well.

“That’s my chair.” A sharp voice crashed into Roman’s daydreams.

He jerked up, face flaming. Right--the AP chemistry class. “Hello! So it is! Well, I will get out of your way, then!” He scrambled for his books and shoved them into his bookbag. He winced when, in his haste, his lab worksheet crumpled under his textbook, but slung it on his back anyway and pulled out the chair with a flourish. “Sorry about that. Have a pleasant day!” he called to his teacher. Some of the students laughed good-naturedly as he strode out, including the teacher, who turned back to his lesson with a grin on his face. As annoyed as they had been, they still liked him, or at least thought he was decent. Was he not charming, funny, all the things a potential romantic interest ought to be? What was he not getting?

~

“I know you like him, but this is not helping your chemistry grade,” Logan said as soon as Roman got home.

“Were you just standing at the door this whole time?”

“I arrived only a few minutes ago.”

“We take the same route!”

“I walk faster.”

“At least give me an opportunity to sit,” he grouched, but launched into a vent as soon as he dropped his bookbag on the floor, ending the soliloquy with “I’ve tried everything--everything!--and he’s still so…” He sighed, pushing hair away from his face.

“Unresponsive?”

"Yes, exactly! He just nods and goes right back to the class!”

“Perhaps that’s because it’s a class.”

“I know, I know, participation, pay attention, bla bla bla. Jeez, Mom.”

“I’m your brother.”

“Don’t be so literal. My point is, you’d think he’d at least laugh just a little bit. Is that not so much to ask? I told him about the Bunsen burner incident, and he just looked at me like--”

“I’m sorry, the what incident?”

Roman snapped and pointed at Logan. “Exactly like that! Just like I was an--an idiot!” He groaned, draping one arm over his forehead and fanning himself with the other. “What am I doing wrong?”

“Hm.” Logan furrowed his brow thoughtfully, trailing off into silence.

“Don’t just sit there, it’s making me nervous,” he said half-jokingly.

“Well, have you considered that he doesn’t understand?”

“Pardon?”

“I’m saying it’s very much possible that he hasn’t noticed your advances. You may need to stop beating around the bush and be more direct.”

“This is as direct as it gets!”

He raised an eyebrow. “You’ve been making normal conversation. Like how you talk to me--”

“Ew--”

“--so are you certain?”

“Quite--” he started, affronted, then stopped. “Wait.” The inkling of an idea that had just occurred to him started to solidify. Of course! He prided himself on his charisma. Why hadn’t he thought of that before? A little miffed that his ironically aromantic brother had just suggested such an obvious solution, he proclaimed, “Logan, you’re a genius!” and grabbed his bookbag.

“What are you doing?”

“Just a little research, so to speak. Nothing too excessive, but!” He paused for dramatic effect. “Prepare to have your mind blown.”

Logan still looked surprised, but quickly settled into satisfaction. “Fantastic. I’m glad to see your spirits are raised.”

“Talk later, Pocket Bro-tector!” His mind already racing with daydreams, Roman sprinted back to his room, plopped in front of his desk, and flipped his laptop open. He could feel the electricity coursing through it when his fingers hovered over the keyboard, or maybe that was just the adrenaline. Either way, it was thrilling. He typed in a quick search and opened a new Word document to record. This was perfect. What could be more direct than a pickup line?

~

Roman waltzed into lab the next week and snapped up two worksheets from his teacher’s desk. He’d debated putting the plan into action through text over the weekend, but eventually decided it would be more effective in person. So here he was, in person, with a fountain of chemistry puns ready to fall from his mouth at the drop of a hat. There was no way Virgil wouldn’t notice now. Roman seated himself, fingers drumming in anticipation. He was golden.

Virgil walked in a few minutes later, placing last week’s lab report on their teacher’s desk. “What’s up?” he asked.

“Oh, you know. Same soup reheated.” On the other side of the lab, Logan was giving him a questioning look. He grinned back before passing Virgil a worksheet. Their fingers brushed, barely. He swooned.

Virgil’s eyes flew back and forth at lightning speed, scanning the paper. “I’ll grab the equipment if you can get the reactants.”

“Ooh, what are they this time?”

“Copper...some other stuff.”

"Ah! Speaking of copper, are you made of it and tellurium? Because you’re C-U-T-E.”

Across the room, Logan facepalmed.

“O...kay?” he said unsurely. “I’ll just. Get that stuff now.”

Roman turned his back, partially to get the samples, partially to recover. He chewed his lip. Okay. Focus, Roman! You got this! He patted his pocket to reassure himself. He’d printed the compilation of pick-up lines at the library earlier, and it was there if he needed it. Which he wouldn’t, obviously! His natural charm would prevail.

And also, he had the entire thing memorized. He supposed there was that as well.

Roman returned with five Ziploc bags of metal samples. The scale squealed on the tabletop when Virgil slid it over. “Is this everything?” Virgil picked up the manual again.

“Indeed! Let us begin.”

Virgil read over the first page again and frowned. “Hey, you know the periodic table pretty well, right? Which one is eleven?”

See? It’s all working out! “You, because you’re sodium--”

“U?” he frowned. “Isn’t uranium, like, ninety or something?”

“Yes--well, yes, but you see--I, uh--” he stuttered before going abruptly silent.

“What?”

Roman ducked his head, hoping his hair would hide his burning cheeks. “Nothing. Never mind.”

“Uh, sure.” He scratched the back of his neck before holding out a hand. “Hand me the copper?”

~

The bell sounded over the intercom, signifying the end of the period. They had managed to get through the procedure on time, mainly because Roman was too preoccupied with worrying to continue with the pick-up lines. If he wasn’t being as straightforward as possible before, he was now. How was it possible for someone to be so oblivious?

“Same time next week,” Virgil deadpanned, getting up to leave.

Come on, Roman, he scolded himself. The period was ending. This might be the only chance he could get. “Wait!”

“Yeah?” He looked at him expectantly.

Roman cursed the stars. His mind had gone completely blank--so much for memorization--and it wasn’t like he could just pull out the reference sheet right now. “Um.” Very eloquent. Come on, something! “If there was no gravity on Earth, I’d still fall for you,” he blurted.

Virgil stared at him blankly, and without another word, left.

What was that? How had things gotten so bad that he’d resorted to physics? He hadn't even researched that! He was paralyzed. He wanted to dissolve like salt in water, until he was part of the air. He wanted to evaporate and catapult himself out of the troposphere. He snatched up his bookbag and stalked outside to head home.

Logan appeared at his shoulder not long after. “What was that?” he hissed.

He scoffed. “I did what you said. Hypocrite much?”

“When did I say to do--” He performed a series of elaborate, meaningless gestures. “--that?”

“You said to be more direct!”

“I didn’t mean like that!”

“Then what did you mean?”

“I meant a heart-to-heart talk or something!”

“So for me to just--profess my love or something? Are you crazy?”

“Oh, so I’m the crazy one? Copper and tellurium aren’t even particularly reactive!”

“It was a creative liberty!”

“There are no creative liberties in science!”

“There are in the science of seduction!”

Logan huffed. “I’m not even going to validate that with a response.”

“Fine! I didn’t need you to rub it in anyway!”

They were so busy arguing they hadn’t even realized they were already home. Logan’s face softened. “I apologize, Roman. I shouldn’t have behaved so harshly. That was...inconsiderate of me.”

“Jeez, don’t say that. Now I have to apologize, too.”

"Did it really go so badly?”

"At least give me a chance to sit down,” he said, but didn’t even wait this time. “I think he hates me. He didn’t even say anything! Just--left.”

“I doubt that. The worse case is you made things very uncomfortable.”

“Thanks.”

“But even if that’s what happened, you should be able to patch things up and act in a professional manner. If things really aren’t working, you could always request to switch partners, but the school year will be ending soon anyway--” He cut himself off. “I’m not helping, are I.”

“Not in the slightest.”

Logan shuffled his feet. “As a gesture of goodwill and comfort,” he started. “Would you enjoy a hug?”

“Whoa, what? Human contact? From Logan Browne?”

“Well, scientifically speaking, it does release dopamine--”

“C’mere,” he said, throwing his arms around his brother’s shoulders before realizing he had no idea how to hug him. The material of his button-down shirt scratched his neck unpleasantly. He patted Logan on the back stiffly before peeling away.

Logan wrinkled his nose. “That was rather awkward.”

“Only if you make it.”

“Do you feel better?”

Roman paused. “You know what? I think I do.”

“Satisfactory.”

“I’m just glad I won’t have to see him for another week.”

"You can’t avoid him forever,” Logan warned.

“I know,” he muttered.

“Well, when you do have to confront him...I’m more than happy to act as moral support.”

Roman laughed. “That may be the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me, Isaac Nerd-ton.”

He squinted. “How am I more of a nerd than you?”

“The glasses.”

“You have glasses, too--”

“Not anymore!” he declared, pointing to the corner of one eye. “Contacts now. And my eyes have always been better than yours.”

“We have the same prescription!”

“We do not!” he countered, before both of them collapsed in a fit of giggles.

~

“And that’s a wrap, folks! Great job!” Roman’s teacher clapped his hands. “You’re dismissed.”

Thank the stars. Roman had been filled with dread the entirety of lab and the preceding twenty or so hours. It had both relieved and heightened his anxiety when Virgil barely spoke or made eye contact, flushing red and looking away whenever Roman caught his eye. On one hand, he didn’t have to talk about the previous week’s antics, but on the other, the air felt too tense to so much as look at him. Glad that the period was over, he grabbed his bookbag and started towards the door.

He glanced over his shoulder to see where Logan was--he wanted intensely to beat him home for once--only to see Virgil talking to a taller boy who had a wide grin on his face. Roman recognized him as a Patton something-or-other who’d been in his class in eighth grade. They didn’t talk much, but he seemed nice enough. He hadn’t known he and Virgil were friends.

The two of them looked directly at him, Virgil swallowing nervously. Roman wheeled back around, more intent on leaving this time, as Patton laughed brightly. Apparently, he wasn’t so kind. Humiliation boiled in his gut. FIne. Let them laugh at him. He didn’t care. Or, at least, he could pretend he didn’t.

Logan sidled over to him. “He’s coming this way,” he muttered.

“What?”

“He’s walking over,” he repeated.

“I heard you the first time,” he said between gritted teeth, “but what?”

“I don’t know, I just-- Oh, hello. Virgil, is it?” he said coolly.

Roman’s head snapped up. He immediately wished he’d kept looking down.

Virgil stiffened. “Hey.” Behind him, Roman could see Patton giving a thumbs-up so enthusiastic he feared for his hand bones. What was going on?

“How may I help you?” Logan said.

“I, uh. Wanted to talk to Roman, actually.”

“Go ahead.”

“Uh.”

“Whatever you can say in front of Roman, you can say in front of me.”

Virgil scratched the back of his neck, sighed, and faced Roman. “Look, we have lab together, right?”

“Well, yes. We’re here right now.”

“So…” He groaned, burying his face in one hand and muttering something incomprehensible.

Roman frowned. “Pardon?”

“So,” he said, voice still slightly muffled, “I think we…” He sighed. “We have chemistry.”

Roman blinked. His stomach swooped. Was this a joke?

Virgil groaned again. “Sorry, that was just--absolutely terrible. I’m going to--” He pointed at the door.

“No, wait!” Roman grabbed his elbow before he could turn away. “That was.” He searched his brain for a word. “Uh. Thank you,” he finished lamely.

“Oh,” Virgil said. He stood up a little straighter. As if anything about that was remotely straight, Roman thought to himself with a snort. “Uh. I guess I’ll, uh.” He did a quick finger-guns motion.

“Yeah.”

“Cool.” He saluted him and started walking past them.

“Cool,” Roman echoed.

Virgil turned back and gave a hesitant smile. If it weren’t for Logan standing behind to catch him, he would have face-planted on the floor.

Logan waved a hand in front of his face. “Well?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you all set?”

Roman felt dizzy and a little lightheaded, like someone had filled him with helium and released him into an infinite expanse of blue, blue sky. A slow smile spread across his face. “Yeah. I think so.”

~

Virgil did text him, a few hours later.

Virgil (Science) After next lab? Maybe the park or smth

Me See you then

Roman loved lab days.

#sanders sides #prinxiety #platonic logince #roman sanders #logan sanders #virgil sanders #aromantic logan #sanders sides au #ts creativity #ts logic #ts anxiety #tsfic #fanfiction #my post #my fic

[mysterylover123]

BNHA Rewatch: Episode 27 “Bizarre! Gran Torino Appears!”

mysterylover123

The Internship arc starts off with a bang! Let’s see that Full Cowl, Deku! 

SORA NI UTAEBA! While the song in this intro is kinda meh to me, the visuals are amazing. I love the symbolism for all the events of the ep - tho not gonna lie, this core’s ED is better than the OP. Anyway tho, go punch that wall Deku!

We start with Gran Torino pretending to be crazy. I’ll admit, I’m kinda eh on this bit, though I love  Gran. It’s probably because I found it annoying when Yoda did it, so I find it annoying here as well. (It’s really just my inner fangirl talking. Nobody makes Deku unhappy except Kacchan. Who can get away with it.)

But actually, this sets up an interesting difference between Deku and Luke, though admittedly situation isn’t the same because Deku knows Gran is Gran. But Deku’s response to this is to call All Might to tell him Gran’s gone senile. He’s so empathetic Deku why aren’t you real? (no shade at Luke there,e I love him too. Just not as much).

“I don’t have time to mess around.” Deku did not come to play.

New costume! It’s incredible how much better it is than the old one. Like, not even funny how much better. Day-um, Deku. 

Pfh Gran knows exactly how to piss off Deku: Insult All Might. You clever little scoundrel.

So onto Deku’s character flaws: 1. He’s overly analytical. Deku doesn’t know how to act quickly, partially due to circumstance, but partially that’s just how he is. Hesitant. Over-cautious, over-thinks things. He needs to learn how to take action - and in this arc, he does indeed do so without hesitation, and saves Iida’s life by so-doing. Box 1 checked off.

2. Deku admires All Might too much. Like every MC in BNHA, his Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Tragedy (insert me telling you to read that essay again). It’s a problem because he doesn’t believe in himself. So he needs to learn not to imitate All Might and be his own hero. That one doesn’t really sink in until the PLE arc. But check.

3. Deku is insecure. He has a massive inferiority complex (which fits nicely into his foil’s inf-sup complex,  wouldn’t-cha-know) and doesn’t believe in himself. So he needs to learn to be more confident. (Is it wrong that I want this to end with him breaking through Instrumentality to a chorus of his friends saying ‘Congratulations’?)

Gran is my favorite Teacher, as a teacher, in BNHA. I’m a teaching-major, and I kinda aspire to his techniques. What I love the most is helping students figure it out themselves. Just telling someone the answer doesn’t help them. It’s so satisfying seeing a student make that breakthrough thanks to your guidance.

Now we’re cutting away to Iida’s internship to remind you Iida Wants Revenge. This is a little exposition-y, let’s cut somewhere else.

OK good, the villains! Right off the bat, we’ve got some great Parallels with the Heroes, as Tomura decides to basically Intern with a Pro-Villain. He even calls Stain a pro. Tho Tomura really needs to work on his recruitment strategy. “Stain join us. Cause.” “Bakugou. Join us. Cause”.

I want Deku and Tomura to build a grand Hero-Villain rivalry. Tomura basically hates him for no real reason right now, and I want there to be a good reason. Other than “He’s All Might’s successor”. I want them to be the Joker and Batman of BNHA with a real complex hero-villain rivalry, where one reflects the other. They’re getting there but I want more.

“Bloodlust without conviction is meaningless.” Ooh I love me some Stain. He really elevated this series’ philosophical side with his ramblings on heroism and villainy.

OK am I creeped out by the fact that All for One just said the same thing I did about learning? A little.

Deku is so brilliant and such a fast learner tho. It doesn’t take him long to put it all together. And Gran actually really admires him for that - I enjoy their mentor dynamic a lot, since Gran has some real respect for Midoriya in a different way from All Might.

Bakugou with Best Jeanist! OMG the comedy gold of this. Though I just want to take a sec to gripe about a change from the manga to the anime: Manga! Bakugou does not charge at Best Jeanist and yell at him. He’s not dumb enough to try that on the #4 Pro Hero and his teacher. He sits still and listens to Jeanist’s lecture. The only Bakugo line here that’s from the manga is “Didn’t you make an offer for me?” This completely changes the way we perceive Bakugo in this scene, and in general. Bad change.

 But in Good Storytelling-ville, I like the continuing parallels between the Wonder duo this creates: Izuku interns in a rundown neighborhood with an unlisted hero, Bakugo in Tokyo with a top pro. Izuku needs to learn to control his power and believe in himself. Katsuki needs to learn to be kinder and more humble. Izuku learns his lesson her, Katsuki doesn’t. Parallels!

Kirishima and Tetsutetsu again! 4th kind is ok. He’s probably the least memorable of the internship pros, since his gimmick is simple and his design kinda dull.

Uraraka and Gunhead! I love how well they get along. He’s kawaii and she’s a hardcore badass. Don’t you forget it!

Now for more of Momo’s arc. The Uwabami internship is usually dismissed by fans as Just Fanservice, but think about it in context, and it becomes really interesting. One, the Hero Killer arc is about Stain protesting the commercialization of heroism, so we do need to have a Pro-Hero demonstrate the problematic nature of that commercialism. Uwabami does just that. Two, we need to have Momo’s internship be unfulfilling to her, to complete her downward trajectory (before the Final Exam arc can bring her back up), so it’s useful for further embarrassing and developing her character. 3, it sets up Momo and Kendo’s future rivalry.

I’ll take more about it in future eps where it appears.

Izuku practicing and constantly hitting his face on the wall is one of those things that makes me wonder if either a) he has a secret endurance quirk or b) OFA just naturally ups your durability. How does he still have a face after that.

Here’s a hot take: Izuku with his face smashed up from spending a night with no sleep training in garbage all night is still prettier than any other guy in this series.

One of the reviewers I follow made the comparison between All Might vs Deku’s using of OFA and Korra vs Aang’s role as the Avatar. You know, All Might and Korra, both master the power pretty quickly so they get to be strong fast but lose out on the spiritual connection a bit, while Deku and Aang take their time learning ofa/the four elements, but get as a tradeoff more of the spirit-y side...(ATLA & BNHA. My 2 favorite shows, alongside FMA. I swear these are like, three sides of the same show).

While I’m watching in the Sub this time around, i wanted to note a dub-ism in this scene: it’s localized to ‘hot pastries’ instead of taiyaki. There’s a lot of bits like that, where they take Japanese food and translate it for us dumb Americans. But well, maybe that made sense in the 90s, when there maybe wasn’t as much cultural crossover, but...even I knew what mochi were before watching BNHA (Uraraka’s fave, and the dub always localizes it to ‘sweets’) and everyone has google if they’re confused so why not just say ‘Taiyaki?’ Ah well, it’s a stupid nitpick but still.

Gran’s metaphor here is so great. As a teacher I aspire to learn from this man. Teach me your teaching ways.

“THIS TAIYAKI IS ME!!!!!” Another dub-ism has him say “I’m not really a dessert” I saw a reactor once comment on this ‘Yeah, but you are a snacc, Deku.’ I wholeheartedly agree.

FULL COWLLLLLLL!!!!!!! FYEAH!!!!!

OK so there are a lot of reasons I love Full Cowl. it’s one of the series’ finest moments, emblematic of what makes it cool. And what makes Deku cool. He’s smart, and has to work his way around problems, and this solution was just...it was there, for us and Izuku the whole time, to finally sit up and take notice of. It’s about applying power in a different way. About taking what you can do and doing the best you can with what you’ve got. A big central theme for the series.  

Also dayum that slow pan up Deku’s entire body as he activates it...he just looks good in this arc. Actually, post-cavalry battle Deku in the sports festival arc always looks weird and odd (because he’s beat up and in pain, duh) and prior to that he was mainly just adorable...this arc, however, is his official transition into Best Boy for Reals. He’s just...swoony. and also really cool, smart, and all sorts of great fangirl-y things. 

We end on a confident Deku smile and Daiki’s adorable ‘hai.’ Basically, i really enjoy this episode. A little slow at the beginning, maybe. But that conclusion is amazing and so worth the payoff. It’s even got this amazing rhyme and rhythm to it, cutting back and forth between the different students and teachers and just having themes echo between each other like poetry. It love it.

To close off: ED4, AKA BEST ED EVER!!!! This is seriously, no sarcasm, best ED. So for those of you who don’t know, the story behind ED4 Datte Atashi no Hero is, 1: The Fantasy AU theme comes from the second popularity poll, which came out around Chapter 120/Episode 61 (yes, THAT one) and for which Horikoshi drew the top 10 in fantasy garb. 2: The Song was written by LiSa and was explicitly stated by her to be effectively about Izuku’s feelings towards Kacchan. I wrote a post analyzing it. It is, basically, the anthem for...

BKDK CORNER

“Loose…” Guess who the first person Deku thinks of to create Full Cowling is? If you sad Kacchan, ding-ding-ding!

On an analytical note, I think it’s very, very significant that the first real breakthrough Deku makes in handling his power comes by observing Kacchan and imitating him. This is one of my Top 20 Favorite BKDK moments, even though it’s completely indirect, because of how important that is in the long-run. But what about the Imitation theme? Why is it OK for Izuku to imitate Katsuki, but not All Might? Well, first of all, he does use Gran Torino’s moves as well, but mainly, I think the series is saying with this distinction that it’s OK to imitate someone if you see their flaws and acknowledge them, but if you hero-worship them and see them as perfect, you’re only going to screw yourself over.  This is why Iida imitating Ingenium, Shoto imitating his mom, Deku and Kacchan imitating All Might, and yes, Uraraka imitating Deku, are all so bad for them. If you see someone as perfect, and want to imitate them, you’ll never achieve that in your mind, because you already view yourself as imperfect. So Deku can imitate Katsuki because he thinks he’s a jerk, but also an amazing fighter, and Gran because he thinks he’s weird, but tough.

Also Deku just automatically thinking of Kacchan first is so damn shippy.

BEST GIRL OF THE EPISODE: Uwabami!

RANKER: Ranking the Internship Pros, least helpful to most.

10. Uwabami

9. Mt. Lady

8. 4th Kind

7. Endeavor

6. Death Arms

5. Manual

4. Selkie and Sirius (anime only)

3. Gunhead

2. Best Jeanist

1. Gran Torino! (Deku lucked out)

#my hero academia #episode 27 #season 2 episode 14 #bizarre gran torino appears #midoriya izuku #gran torino #katsuki bakugou #momo yaoyorozu #katsudeku #bakudeku #be prepared for lots of gushing #my deku bias is strong with this one #everyone has their fave #i'm glad mine's the mc #sometimes anyway #come s5 he's gonna be like #barely around for a whole damn season #anyway so glad to be at the Hero Killer arc #let's go!

[digikate813]

My Little Pony Re-Watch: Episode 45 Putting Your Hoof Down

*Oh goody. At last we’ve gotten to my least favorite episode of the season. And starring my favorite character. Who could ask for anything more?

*Sometimes i feel like I’m too hard on Angel Bunny. But I have noticed that how much you like Angel depends on how you feel about Fluttershy. The more you like her, the less you tolerate his attitude. But I think even big fans of Angel have trouble defending this appearance. He’s such a little brat and causes Fluttershy such unnecessary grief in the process. He slaps Flutters for crying out loud! Is that supposed to be funny? Because it’s not. It’s mean. And it would take many seasons for Angel to get back in my good graces after this incident.

*But something that is kind of cute is the architecture in Fluttershy’s cottage. This might be a weird time to bring it up but you see here that there’s little holes and staircases all over the place. Even in really high places. Specifically so the animals Fluttershy takes care of can get where they need to. I always love that unique design choice to help make it feel like a specific character’s home.

*You want an episode where Fluttershy learns to stand up for herself? Fine, I get it. And i understand you need a couple of inciting incidents to get her to realize this is something she needs to work on. But y’know, you can illustrate that point without making everypony around her an unreasonable jerk.It might have even gotten across the point better if they were just casually dismissive, which they manage to present once or twice here. But most of the time, it’s ponies being absolutely awful! And it makes this whole section of the episode just uncomfortable to watch.

*Especially the cherry guy. Worst shop pony EVER!!!

*Pinkie’s Looney Tunes antics continue. I personally prefer the elaborate chases, but this is still pretty funny and well performed by the voice actors.

*I also noticed that this is the first episode without Twilight in it since Sisterhooves Social. I always thought having all of the Mane Six write letters to Princess Celestia was done so she wouldn’t have to be in all the episodes. Maybe i was wrong. Because this is the only other episode in the season she’s not in, and you could have easily found a place for her in both of them.

*Our first Minotaur holds his seminar in a hedge maze. Love it! Not sure if the goat henchman are connected to the mythology as well, or if it’s just weird. Probably the latter.

*Iron Will’s not the most charismatic or memorable antagonist in the series, but he’s not bad or anything. He definitely get some good lines and most certainly presents the wrong way to be assertive. This guy’s not assertive. He’s a bully!

*Yeah Fluttershy. Those are usually my idea of options when someone’s blocking my way too.

*So after one seminar, and jsut trying Iron Will’s methods, FLuttershy takes the leap from assertive to aggressive, with little to no sense of concern befoe she gives in and thinks it works? I think that’s my problem with this leap in he character. I’m not going to say it’s out of character, because that’s kind of the point, but the transition from “old Fluttershy” to “new Fluttershy” is kind of jarring. It takes no time at all for her to start taking this too far. The first thing she does with Iron Will’s methods is spray a garden pony in the face with his own hose. And she kind of gets a thrill from that. Never questioning. Never contemplating if this really works. Maybe if there was a moment of reflection where she makes the conscious choice that this is working, I might be able to buy this a bit more. As it stands, it feels almost like whiplash.

*Why Fluttershy didn’t just fly over those carts is anypony’s guess.

*I understand that Fluttershy taking already not great advice too far is kind of the point, but it doesn’t make it any less difficult to watch. I’m sorry but I don’t find Fluttershy beating up a pony to get a cab entertaining in any way. 

*Or Fluttershy straight up insulting her friends life choices and passions. This isn’t her taking bad advice too far. This isn’t her being “too assertive”. This is, I don’t know what this is. This is the most comment complaint against this episode, and i have to agree. Saying that your best friends are throwing their lives away is horrible. Especially in a show called “Friendship is MAGIC”. It’s a really tough moment to watch, and not in a good way. I’m glad Fluttershy came to her senses after this, but I don’t think she had to go that far to realize that.

*Even with that said, I do feel bad for Fluttershy when she locks herself away like the Hulk. Determined never to hurt anyone ever again. But her house looks really abandoned. How long has it been again?

*And i do like how Pinkie and Rarity try ot comfort her. This is what happens when you try to change something this big about someone too quickly. Especially when their head is filled with such awful advice. One good argue they are being way too gracious after what she said to them, but what are friends for? I guess?

*I also like that they try to keep Iron Will away from Fluttershy. Good friends help protect you form unhealthy influences like this jerk.

*Okay there’s a lot about this episode that makes me annoyed and uncomfortable, but it could have all been worth it if the message came across clearly and presented well. And guess what? It’s not. At least I don’t think so. Watching this again, the way Fluttershy deals with Iron Will by standing her ground in a calm and cool way is perfectly fine. Buuuuut we don’t really see how Fluttershy reached this point. And that may have worked in this situation, but who’s to say it will again? For an episode that spends most of it’s time showing the wrong ways for a pony like Fluttershy to stand up for herself, we get 30 seconds of Fluttershy standing up for herself without becoming a monster. Like so many other things in this episode, it just seems like a leap without much to back it up.

As someone who has similar social anxieties to Fluttershy, I didn’t think this episode presented any kind of solution to this problem I personally had. Watching it again after improving on those issues a bit, I can see what they’re going for, but I still don’t think it’s presented well. If the point is to show how to stand up for yourself, even when it’s hard, without going too far, why is the eventual solution given so little time? After 20 minutes of unpleasantness? I may see what they were trying to do, but I still don’t think this episode presents it’s very important middle ground very well.People may hate Mare-Do-Well, but this is still my least favorite episode of the season.Maybe I’m being too harsh, but this should have been an episode someone like me could really learn form, but I took nothing but an uncomfortable vibe away from it. Next Time: It’s About Time!

#My Little Pony #MLP Rewatch Marathon #putting your hoof down #My Little Pony Friendship is Magic Review #analysis #MLP:FIM

[supervillainny]

Writing meme :D

Tagged by @atthelamppost​ thank you thank you yay 

What is your total word count on AO3?

418,079.

I had to physically fight the urge to write ‘of useless words’ there. That’s not my opinion of fanfiction, obviously, have you met me, I just could probably write ‘which I regard as a personal flaw’ at the end of every answer here and it would still not adequately demonstrate my writerly self-loathing. So. I’m going to make an effort not to do that, aside from this brief disclaimer. 

Look, I made words! A lot of them were good ones! 

How often do you write?

I aim to write daily, and that has happened a lot more often since I started @winterhawkkisses​, and a lot less since I ran out of antidepressants. I don’t always manage more than 150 words in a day, and I almost never manage more than 1500 words in a day. It’s all practice, though, even when the words that day aren’t particularly memorable ones. 

Do you have a routine for writing?

Not at all, because it’s too easy to make that an excuse for not writing. My brain finds it very easy to become compulsive about things, and very easy to convince itself out of doing things, so if I had a particular place/routine/pen for writing nothing would ever get done. 

What’s your favourite kinks/tropes/pairing?

I don’t really have favourite kinks; I mostly like what kinks say about a pairing and the individuals involved, rather than having a thing for the kinks themselves. 

If we’re talking writing, my favourite tropes are probably... hurt/comfort (emphasis on the comfort), canon AUs, AUs, and punchline ficlets where I have literally written something to justify something funny I thought of. My most egregious example of that is:

Five Times Bartons Were Assholes (And the Only Logical Solution)

Pairings... I mean, do I even need to say Winterhawk at this point? There’re a bunch of other perennials, like McShep and Aziraphale/Crowley and Fraser/Kowalski and Danny/Casey and bundles more, but it’s been a while since I’ve been so thoroughly into one pairing. 

Do you have a favourite fic of yours?

No, but I do like and am proud of A Promise Made of Smoke because of the world building and occasional poetical devices. 

And Atlantis, Mon Remora has a crossover joke that is legitimately the funniest thing I have ever written in two words. I still laugh thinking about it. 

And it was really blinkin’ nice looking for the link for it, too, because the majority of the fic I scrolled past I was proud of, y’know? :D

Your fic with the most kudos?

Hell Hath No Fury, a Sterek fic with 957 kudos. Not my favourite, definitely, but it’s a huge fandom. 

Anything you don’t like about your writing?

But I was doing so well! :(

I don’t like that I’m so succinct and get to the point so quickly. I don’t like that I cannot write plotty things. I don’t like that I have no stamina and leave things unfinished due to self-loathing. I don’t like that I don’t really understand people’s motivations in real life, and that that is reflected in my nonsensical emotional arcs in fic. I don’t like that I’m inconsistent and have no self-discipline. I don’t like that I pin my self-worth on how I’m writing on any particular day. I don’t like how bloody short everything is. I don’t like how I don’t feel like I’m improving. I don’t like how much it feels like there is to learn and how little I’m capable of deciding where to start. 

I don’t like how terrifying I find it. :/

Now something you do like?

Character voice; needlessly poetical descriptions. 

I tag, if you would like to, @pantstomatch, @lissadiane, @flawedamythyst, @flightonbrokenwings, @theragnarokd and anyone else who fancies it.

#my writing

[vitmelbourne]

10 Rules For Achieving English Fluency, The Best Spoken English Courses Melbourne

Use Synonyms Exchanges , The Power of Simplicity - English Courses Melbourne

I'm sure you know what the synonyms are. If you do not, a synonym is simply a word that has the same meaning or almost the same meaning as another word. For example, "funny" is a synonym for "humorous". This rule concerns the use of synonyms to broaden our vocabulary and make us much more fluid.

We all use a few words too often in English Courses Melbourne. Even native speakers do it. It may seem like you are repeating yourself.

For example, I often hear students repeat the same words over and over, such as "This picture is beautiful", "Your daughter is beautiful", "London is a very beautiful city", "You have beautiful eyes", etc.

Often, students become familiar with a few words to the point of not being able to enrich their vocabulary. I tried and tried to find a solution to this problem when he suddenly hit me: just use a synonym!

 To apply this rule: Use a thesaurus to find a synonym for a word used too often. Then replace the word with an interesting synonym.

Let's try the sentences above: "This picture is beautiful", "Your daughter is beautiful", "London is a breathtaking city", "You have incredibly charming eyes".

Can you see how powerful it is ?

This rule does a lot for your English Courses Melbourne: you will think about the words you use too often and the words you have to change. this will expand your vocabulary without having to learn new definitions; and that sounds a lot smoother and more interesting.

You can implement this rule right away:

• Think of a word you use too often and in what situations you use it.

• Write down a few sentences that you might say using the word (like I did above with 'beautiful').

• Find a suitable synonym and rewrite the sentences with the new word.

• Review these sentences every day for a few minutes, reading them aloud.

• Keep this word in mind and use it instead of the old one in your speaking and writing.

You may need to make an effort to remind yourself to use the new word for a while, but if you use it two or three times, it will look natural and be part of your new vocabulary.

Start by changing one or two words a week, then increase them if you know this rule.

Listen, listen, listen.  Why listening is king - English Courses Melbourne

I can not emphasize this rule too much. You need to hear as much English as possible, whether it's music, movies, podcasts, speeches, debates or audio books. Do not stop listening!

All the top performers I taught had an MP3 player that they took everywhere. On the MP3 player, they had a library of English audio that they heard again and again.

They heard on the bus, in the car, running, running, in the gym, doing the dishes, pulling the train. You have the idea! Listening is basically the way we learn each language. How do babies learn their mother tongue? During the first year of their life, they simply listen. They get to know the sound patterns, intonation, sentences and vocabulary of their language. As they listen, they become fluent and naturally in the language.

As adults, we can of course greatly speed up this process.

Follow this rule today: Search for interesting audio sources that interest you. There are so many free resources on the Internet to choose from. If you do not know where to start, I suggest you search for free audio books. Transfer the files to your MP3 player and bring them everywhere.

MP3 players are perhaps the most powerful tool for learning English.

Read with pleasure - English Courses Melbourne

For many English students, they only read English. However, I propose to do another way of reading: Read for pleasure.

Reading for pleasure is simply choosing a text that interests you and reading it without worrying about grammar, English vocabulary, etc.

When you are relaxed, your brain can absorb a lot more and you learn it without trying. All my students who have a good command of English read books, magazines, blogs and newspapers.

Even if you feel that you can not read a newspaper or magazine because there are many unknown words, there are books and blogs that are suitable for all levels of language.

So why not start today? Search for a blog in a topic that interests you. There are millions of blogs on almost every subject imaginable.

Use Movies and Dramas, Study These Great Resources - English Courses Melbourne

Who does not like movies or dramas? You are one of the best resources to learn English if you know how to use it.

I understood the power of this idea from a student I taught once. She used the movies to reach a very high level in English. She downloaded the scripts from the Internet, printed them and used them to learn English.

She read the script little by little, learning vocabulary and sentences. She watched the movie several times and listened every time, and every time she watched and listened, her English improved a little.

In the end, she learned a lot of vocabulary, phrases, pronunciation, intonation and grammar. All this while you like the movie!

The reason why this technique is so powerful is that you can learn everything in a real and interesting context. They also hear true natural English, like native people.

After learning something about this technique, I let all my other students use it too. The results were incredible! Their English quickly improved and they quickly became very natural with the use of vocabulary, phrases and pronunciation.

You can watch a movie until you understand all the vocabulary and phrases, or change the movie frequently. The important thing is to make sure you learn something from each film and dissuade a better anglophone.

You do not have to watch the whole movie at once. You can see the sections you have studied in the script for 10 or 20 minutes each. This way you can manage your time efficiently and not have to sit for hours every time.

Once you have watched the entire movie, go back to the beginning and deepen your knowledge. Repeat this process and you will see amazing results in your English skills.

Consistency - Consistency is key - English Courses Melbourne

If you are constantly dealing with English day after day, you will be fluent in English. But you must strive to be consistent.

And do not forget that you do not have to worry about English with boring grammar books or memorizing vocabulary lists. It can mean listening to MP3s, watching movies and reading for fun.

My definition of a compliant show is to read or hear English one hour a day. If you can do more, it's great! But an hour a day does not seem to be that long and is easy for everyone to do.

Many student business owners, families and other important responsibilities simply do not have a lot of time. However, they could all find an hour each day, and as soon as they started this stable exposure, their English quickly improved.

Start at least an hour a day today (more is good!).

Stay motivated - What are the benefits of studying English Courses Melbourne?

It is important that you stay motivated when you learn English. We all think that it is difficult to find the time to study. How can we stay motivated and really learn English?

The answer is to study the benefits of learning English. Why do you learn English? There must be a reason (or more).

If you are studying for one reason, consider the other benefits of learning English. For example, if you are studying for a better job, what are the other benefits? More money? A nice car? A bigger house? Traveling more? Eat more?

Look at the bigger picture. It will inspire you and you want to improve your English, and learning is even more fun!

Try this today to keep really motivated to study English Courses Melbourne:

• Write the title "What do I get if I speak English fluently?"

• Use pictures under your phrases to really motivate and motivate you. For example, if English can    

  make more money, add a picture of a big pile of money (use Google images to find pictures).

• Read these benefits early every morning to learn English.

The reason is that we always do things in life that bring us benefits. When you learn English, it's easy to forget the benefits that come with it and this rule reminds you to stay inspired.

I recommend to all my students to do this and they all think that English is not boring but an exciting challenge that can bring them all these benefits. Can you see the incredible feeling that brings?

Try it today. Think of all the benefits you can get and write!

Use Free Resources - A Paradise for English Learners - English Courses Melbourne

Today, English learners have so many free resources that it's amazing to think about it. Only the Internet contains thousands of articles and worksheets that can help you improve. There are also videos, audio files, forums, translation tools, dictionaries, etc.

English learners do not need to sit in a classroom or go to the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada or Australia to learn English. You can go on the Internet looking for powerful tools and resources for quick improvement.

Learn the grammar rule, then listen - make sure the grammar stays true - English Courses Melbourne

It's something I let all my students do and it works so well that I'm surprised to see that few English students are following this process.

The key to learning English grammar is not sitting for hours, reading the ruler, writing it again and again, trying to remember it. This technique can work, but many people find it boring and ineffective.

Here's what you should do to learn grammar and record it:

• Read the grammar rule briefly and get a rough idea of ​​how it works. First, do not try to understand  

   the rule 100%.

• Then record a few sentences containing the grammar rule. Sample sentences can be found in

   grammar books or on the Internet. You can record the phrases yourself or have a native speaker

   save them for you.

• Then listen to the example sentences A LOT of times. What you do here is to isolate the

   grammatical structure for intensive learning.

• Sometimes return to the written rule and reread it to understand it more deeply. Once this has

   become clearer, return to listening.

• You can then switch to the next grammar rule and repeat the technique.

  Once you have heard and seen these grammar rules, you recognize them immediately and you  

  understand what has been said and its meaning.

 With my rule, instead of studying the structure and waiting several times to hear in natural language, you can focus on the structure and hear it 50, 60 or more than 100 times! This is extremely effective at making natural grammar without having to study it for hours every day.

Remember that you can listen en route as shown in rule 2. Listen to these structures on the bus, during training, while driving, etc.

This technique will affect the grammatical structure of your brain. After a few moments, you will freely use the grammatical structure in your speech.

Increase Your Word Power - Vocabulary Extension

So now we have one of the most important rules: how to develop your vocabulary by learning new words. We have already explored how to expand your vocabulary with synonyms, but how to learn new meanings?

It takes time to read words in a dictionary, and we rarely remember that word the first time. The key to remembering vocabulary is to see and hear the word in context again and again.

For getting more information visit here VIT - Victorian Institute of Technology

14/123 Queen St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia

1300 17 17 55 (or) [email protected]

#English courses in Melbourne #English courses in Australia #english courses and training in melbourne

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Best Chinese Language Learning Software 2020 (UPDATED)

https://www.chinesescholarshipcouncil.com/?p=49072&wpwautoposter=1592649932 Are you looking for Best Chinese Language Learning Software? you are at the right place. we will briefly discuss about Best Chinese Language Learning Software. Why learn Mandarin? China is a fast-growing economy, already the second largest in the world. Being able to speak Chinese can give you the upper edge in your career and open up wealth opportunities (both business and professional) now, and in the future. The Chinese Language Learning Software is broken up into many regional dialects, however, the official dialect that is taught in all schools is Mandarin. The second most spoken dialect is Cantonese. If you are interested in learning Chinese, Mandarin is your best bet, as it is the most spoken dialect in China. Challenges to learning Mandarin– Why software helps Mandarin can be difficult to learn, however in some aspects it is actually easier to learn than English. Let’s take a look at why this is: Why is Mandarin Difficult? Tones: Chinese languages are tonal (unlike Korean and Japanese). This means that the way you inflect the pitch of your voice can change the entire meaning of a word. This can be particularly troublesome for English speakers who are not adapted to hearing these tones. Fortunately, there are only 5 tones in Mandarin, and with practice, you can easily identify them. Writing: The Chinese language does not really have an alphabet like English, French, Spanish, etc. Instead, the Chinese language is written entirely using characters. This can be an issue since you cannot really sound out a word phonetically from simply looking at a Chinese character. Why is Mandarin Easy? Grammar: Chinese grammar is remarkably simple compared to that of English or French. There are very few rule exceptions and verbs and nouns require very little conjugation. Tenses in Chinese are very easy to implement as well. Whereas a Romance language such as Spanish or French (or even German), may be studied on your own from books, the radically different nature of Mandarin requires some extra attention. Pronunciation and tonal accuracy is very important, so you need something more than just a book. Best Chinese Language Learning Software represents a great solution to the difficulties that you can encounter when trying to learn Mandarin. But which software is the best for learning Mandarin? Chinese Reading Apps Du Chinese Du Chinese is a revolutionary app will help you to improve your Chinese reading skills. I am impressed by the clean design and user interface. It is easy to use and loading material takes only seconds. You can read by yourself or listen to an audio recording and read along. The characters and pinyin layout look very comfortable. You can easily turn the pinyin on and off and switch Chinese characters between Simplified and Traditional. It supports English translations for single words and sentences. All sentences have been carefully translated and they stay as true as possible to the original Mandarin. The reading material topics are quite interesting, covering daily conversations, Chinese culture, current events，the latest trends, funny stories, and regular life in China. They are marked by difficulty, ranging from newbie to master. Each session is also labelled from HSK level 1 ~ 6+. It is easy to find material for your level. Chinese Characters Apps Zizzle If you have trouble memorizing Chinese characters, then Zizzle will definitely help you. This app breaks down characters into their component parts. Then, they use images and a short story to help you remember these components. Most of the stories are ridiculous or funny enough to be memorable. Each tone is represented by a certain animal which helps you remember the character. It also teaches characters that build up from smaller to more complex characters in a logical way. I am in love with this app, and its method taught me characters that I have tried and failed to learn in the classroom. It presents an effective, novel, and fun way to learn and memorize Chinese characters. If you are total beginner, I can safely say you will know hundreds of characters in few days and be able to read them confidently. Use the promo code “DIGMANDARIN10” to save 10% on all three-month and annual subscriptions, as well as packs. Chinese Dictionary Apps Pleco The dictionary app will probably be one of the most useful and frequently used ones for people learning Mandarin; Pleco may be the app most frequently recommended for this function. It allows you to quickly look up a Chinese word or character wherever you are. Pleco Key features: Chinese handwriting recognition: the option to hand write instead of typing in pinyin is very useful when searching for characters you don’t know. OCR: it allows you to look up unknown Chinese words ‘live’ using your device’s camera, or tap-lookup words in a still image. Stroke order guides: to help you find out how to write the Chinese characters in the proper order. Flashcard system: insanely powerful/customizable system, making it extremely easy to add new flashcards from dictionary entries or to import pre-made vocabulary lists. Online Chinese Degree Chinese Listening Apps Chineseclass101 No doubt that Chineseclass101 is one of the most well-structured podcast Mandarin courses available today. With language instruction podcasts, you can improve your pronunciation and boost your listening comprehension skills. ChineseClass101 has an extensive collection of audio materials covering all levels. By having access to different levels, you can choose the best one for you. Each lesson has notes that include the key grammar point broken down clearly along with Chinese cultural insights. The lesson dialogue will help you understand real-life conversations in China and will definitely help you improve your listening skills. It also offers an interactive voice recorder tool, which lets you record your pronunciation and compare it to that of a native speaker. Chinesepod Chinesepod is another example of a podcast Mandarin app. The quantity of lessons is pretty big. It even has more interactive exercises for learning new words and phrases. In ChinesePod, the amount of Mandarin speech in each lesson is increased step-by-step. Even lessons for Upper-Intermediate students have  English explanations which are quite helpful! Advanced students may enjoy Mandarin-only podcast lessons. Gamification Apps Hello Chinese Hello, Chinese is a powerful learning tool that can help you overcome the fear of learning Chinese. This app focuses on daily life topics. It starts from basic pinyin so that even if you are a total beginner or have absolutely no background in Chinese, you can still learn with it. What is special is that this app allows you to listen and record your own voice, and to help you check automatically if your pronunciation is correct. It`s a comparatively easy way to measure your pronunciation. The studying process is not boring. Learners are not overwhelmed with information. Lessons are taught in a very precise and careful manner. What`s more, there are many exercises and quizzes to help you consolidate all that you have learned. Chinese Speaking Apps Hello Talk Have you been learning a new language for a while, and feel like it’s time to start practicing and using it? That’s where Hello Talk can help. It is a language exchange app that has over one million users. It’s easy to find natives from China willing to help you practice Chinese. Hello Talk Key features: Voice and Text chat Moments, like the group chatroom Translation and Transliteration: Translation allows you to read in English what someone typed in Chinese in case you didn’t understand it. You can use the transliteration option when a native speaker writes Chinese to you, to instantly see the pinyin. Voice recognition system: You can simply speak and the system will attempt to convert that to text to send to your language partner. These are my top Chinese language learning apps. I bet you also have your own picks. What would you recommend to fellow Chinese learners? What apps do you think are worth the time and the money? Just comment below and let us know your favorites. Maybe your picks will make this list one day!

[huffeldooduffle]

Hi, beautiful people! 🙂 Honestly, there are times when I feel like I have no right to write, that my words don’t matter to the universe. That these frail sentences won’t matter to anyone but myself, as a way of letting go of the feelings that pent up inside my heart or as a way to express the things I can’t control or put in order. Yet, I promised someone important that I will write more regularly. So, dear reader, despite the doubt, I will do just that. Starting with… a recap of January!

A.

School has been pulling me in like the tides of the sea that draw in sand–eroding the land ever so slightly until one day there’s no land left. But don’t worry, I won’t drown! Once I told you about the subjects I’m taking, right? Well, I forgot to mention how I changed a lot of things. The subjects I’ll permanently take over these two years are Biology HL, Economics HL, English A Literature HL, ESS (Environmental Systems and Societies), Math SL, and Chinese ab initio. HL  means higher level, meaning there are more class hours dedicated for it, hence it’s more rigorous. IB is… demanding. It feels like a never-ending stack of homework or that pile of laundry that you keep putting off. It’s manageable though, don’t worry. And as much as people talk about how little they sleep or how stressed they are, I believe that if you can discipline yourself you’ll do fine…kinda. Hehe.

Anyway, in Biology, I’ve already learned most things we’re learning right now, since I was in jurusan IPA (science major). However, it’s still challenging, because I always have to study and memorize things before a test, otherwise I’ll probably fail. Reviewing and taking notes everyday is crucial, otherwise you’ll get left behind… unless you’re a genius that is.

All my life, Economics has been my weak spot. I never could understand when I read something in the news about it, or when someone started discussing it. So I thought that if I actually wanted to learn something new I’d better take it. It was the best decision ever. Economics is my favorite subject right now, maybe because I have an amazing teacher, or maybe because I it’s so relevant and important to understanding the world. After all, “you can’t always get what you want”–no one can–and it’s that allocation of resources that we study. During the holidays I read Poor Economics, which I recommend everyone to read, because it taught me so much about effective and non-effective ways of helping the poor. It’s quite easy to understand the concepts of Economics, and satisfying as well.

Literature… gahhh!!! This is the class that worries me the most. I took it thinking I’ll be okay, ready to face the risk of challenge, or whatever. How disenchanted I was upon the realization of it being the epitome of technical difficulty! It’s true that I love reading. That is not an issue. I read all the books and understood them easily. I loved the class discussions about the characters, plot, themes, similes, metaphors, backgrounds, and so on. However, believe me when I say that analyzing literature is not fun. Especially when you have to do it in a certain structure, at a certain depth, with an abstract and subjective marking scheme to judge your work upon. I hate how my grade hinges on how well I write the analytical essays. I dislike how the IB turned something I love into a seemingly insurmountable burden. I just pray that it’ll be worth it in the end…that there will come something out of it. However, dear reader, if you don’t want to torture yourself, it’s better to take English A Language and Literature, which is relatively easier. It doesn’t dive so much into one area but instead skims a broader range of texts, such as advertisements, news, novels, and so on.

ESS was the other subject that brought my grades quite low. In comparison to the others, it’s almost the easiest. It has a lot of overlap with both Biology and Geography. So, if you come from any of the two majors (science or social sciences), you’ll do fine in this class…kinda. 😀 However, I don’t really understand how we’re to be graded because I try the best I can with this class, the way I do with all the others, yet the teacher says I’m not thinking critically enough or that I’m not engaged enough. He actually gave me a 1 out of 4 for thinking skill on my report card. LOL. So my solution was to stop asking or asserting stupid things, in other words, to filter my words more–and to show 10 times the engagement and enthusiasm as I did in the first semester. Wish me luck!

Math SL is absolutely incredible. It’s easier than ESS for me, because I already took two years of high school math as a science student back home, and we were already beginning calculus at the point that I left. During first semester I barely studied but this semester we’re getting into trigonometry, so I think I’d better change that habit quickly. 😛

Last but not least… Chinese. Although I’m taking this at the most amateur stage, it’s another favorite subject. The teacher is funny and wholesome and he makes us enjoy learning the language. It’s taxing, but I believe it’ll be worth it in the end. My goal is to be able to speak with Chinese locals by the end of two years. 😉

Besides regular subjects, we’re being introduced for the first time ever to Extended Essay and Internal Assessment. My topic for EE is how socioeconomic factors affect the prevalence of dengue fever in a region of Tangerang Selatan, Indonesia. But please…let’s have no more talk of academics! :”)

B.

This month, on the 22nd of January, was my birthday. It was the most heartwarming thing anyone’d ever done for me. My best friend, Karol, planned most of it. I swear, it’s times like these that I feel Allah has blessed me with more than I deserve.

I don’t think you’ll be very interested in the story, so I’ll try to make it as short as possible. I was sitting there, trying to study Economics, but failing to concentrate because I was 97% sure that my friends were going to do something. Then Eesaa from Bangladesh came in and asked me to come outside. I forgot what he said because at that moment I was already grinning ear to ear and unfocused. The moment I stepped outside Kiki from China blindfolded me and put me in a chair. Then, she, Eesaa, and Amjed from Yemen pushed me to the playground, where a sweet drawing awaited upon a swing. After taking it, they blindfolded and pushed me again to the glasshouse. Along the way there a handsome tall stranger or something constantly talked about his presence, and how he’d replaced Eesaa, haha. ^_^ At the glasshouse, Karol opened my blindfold and there were about 12 or more people there, gathered in a circle around me. It was a clock. Each person said something nice about me or their favorite memory, and some brought a gift. My heart died. Karol also cooked Indomie for us all. They’d bought me a small fruity cake which was delicious. Fairy lights gave a warm ambiance to the room. I hugged everyone who came, because I truly appreciate them all. And Karol, if you’re reading this, I just wanted to remind you that you’re one of the best humans I’ve ever met. I’m not even exaggerating.

What’s interesting is that two times in a row during my birthday I’ve been reminded of time. Someone said the moral of the surprise was to cherish each second, and on my 17th birthday my parents gave me a watch so I’d inget waktu (remember time). It makes me think strange things, haha. Like how my life might end soon…? You never know.

C.

CCE stands for Chinese Cultural Evening. In this part, I’ll let the pictures and video do the talking.

Here is the video of the performances!

Anyways… besides that some other things that happened so far was:

Kak Rafa’s visit. She’s an alumni of UWCCSC who’s now attending the University of St. Olaf

Joining Creative Writing Zhixing and Choir Zhixing. This is the blog for Creative Writing Zhixing.

Trying to run for College Assembly, with the help of my good friend Eesaa, but failing because on stage my voice shakes and any trace of charisma is lost

Organizing Bravery Buddies with Abigail, which is a project that partners people up from campus to motivate each other to complete something you’re scared of doing

Trying to get to the bottom of what happens to trash and food waste at UWCCSC

Organizing a World Hijab Day (which is on February 1st) workshop with the two other hijabis, or as Karol calls it, swagijabis, on campus–Neha and Coumba. B) I’ll add pics of this later.

That’s all, folks. Have an amazing day!! ❤

Starting with ABC (Academics, Birthday, CCE 2019) Hi, beautiful people! 🙂 Honestly, there are times when I feel like I have no right to write, that my words don't matter to the universe.

#birthday #friendship #hijab #idealism #international school #school #school life #United World College #UWC #UWC Changshu China #UWCCSC #world hijab day

[dorishull]

How to Write the Perfect LinkedIn Headline

When people see you in the search results or land on your LinkedIn profile, are they clicking through to learn more about you? Are they then sending you a connection request?

If you answered No or I don’t know, then there is a good chance that you need to turn your LinkedIn headline from boring to memorable and really stand out. The goal of your LinkedIn headline is to get your ideal clients attention and make them want to learn more about you.

Your LinkedIn headline is the MOST critical part of your profile because, along with your name and profile photo, it is the first thing anyone will see when they find you in the search results or land on your profile page.

Your headline will determine whether they will take the time to click on your profile to learn more or click away. A well-written and client-focused LinkedIn profile makes the difference in gaining a connection (possible lead or client) or being ignored.

You only have seven seconds to impress a potential client or connection before they click away. 7 seconds to impress!

Before You Start Editing Your LinkedIn Headline

Before you begin making changes to your LinkedIn headline, it is a good idea to turn off your Notifications if you don’t want your network to be notified for one reason or another.

You do this by going to the Settings & Privacy page and selecting Privacy. In the section How other’s see your LinkedIn activity, click on Sharing profile edits. If this setting is set to Yes, click on it to set it to No. It will auto-save.

LinkedIn Headline Tips: Go From Boring to Memorable

1. Include the Keywords You Want to Be Found For In Your LinkedIn Headline

There really isn’t much sense in creating a LinkedIn profile that will impress your ideal clients, if it doesn’t get found in the search results. Including keywords within your headline factors can increase the chances that your profile will show up higher in the search results.

There will be times when someone is searching for a person who offers what you offer. If potential leads are looking on LinkedIn for the products or services you provide and you’re not showing up in their search, that’s a lost opportunity.

Now, you are already familiar with how people search on Google.

How they search on LinkedIn, however, is a little different. Often on Google people will search for information, whereas on LinkedIn they are searching for a person.

For example, if someone is looking on Google for information on how to create an excellent LinkedIn profile, the person might search using the keyword phrase, how to write a good LinkedIn profile.

On LinkedIn, they’ll be searching for someone to teach them, or someone to write their LinkedIn profile for them. In this case, the person might search using keywords such as LinkedIn expert, LinkedIn consultant or LinkedIn profile writer.

People will often look for title-based keywords on LinkedIn, so it is essential that these are the kinds of keywords that you include in your headline.

One big mistake I see people make is trying to be creative (or funny) with the language they use in their headline. They write their LinkedIn headline from their perspective, rather than speaking the language of their ideal prospects and clients or what they may be searching for.

Be aware of the words and the phrases commonly used by your ideal clients because this is the exact language that you want to include in your profile.

So, do your homework and speak the language your ideal clients speak. Doing so will make it easier for them to find you in their search and will ensure your headline and profile resonates with them. Your goal is to help them understand and that you are someone who could help them, when they land on your profile.  

2. Determine the LinkedIn Headline Style That Is Right For You

If you really want people to check out your profile, then you need to grab their attention.

I have three styles of LinkedIn headlines that I teach people to choose from based on what most appropriate for their expertise, industry and target market. These three headline styles include:

Keyword Focused

Client-Focused

Credibility Focused

Keyword Focused LinkedIn Headlines

If you choose to use a keyword focused headline, you can select two or three keyword phrases you want to be found for. In most cases, it’s not effective just to pack your headline full of keywords. Your headline also needs to generate the interest of your ideal clients, so they want to learn more about you.

Here are a couple examples of a keyword focused headline. Notice in the first one, you’ll see the keywords LinkedIn Trainer and Social Selling Expert, which are terms I want to be found for.

In the second example, I want to be found for Social Selling Speaker and LinkedIn Expert.

LinkedIn Headline Examples:

#1 Bestselling Author, LinkedIn Unlocked | LinkedIn Trainer / Social Selling Expert Showing B2B Companies How to Turn Cold Connections into Clients

International #1 Bestselling Author of LinkedIn Unlocked | Social Selling Speaker | LinkedIn Expert

Client-Focused LinkedIn Headlines

When writing a client-focused headline, you want to address what you offer and to whom. The power of the client-focused headline is that you are able to share with your ideal clients that you are someone who can solve their problem.

I have several target markets that I work with, the primary one is B2B companies with sales teams. The first LinkedIn headline example below would speak to B2B companies with sales teams.

The next example is also very client focused as it speaks to a niche that I serve in the Public Sector, which is Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs). These Government agencies are tasked with attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) to their region. I provide FDI LinkedIn training to help them connect with decision makers via LinkedIn.

LinkedIn Headline Examples:

Ditch cold calls for warm calls by leveraging LinkedIn and social selling to fill your sales pipeline.

I help Investment Promotion Agencies and Professionals attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) using LinkedIn.

Credibility Focused LinkedIn Headlines

A well written LinkedIn headline that showcases your credibility is very powerful.

A credibility based headline is where you can start to build your authority and establish a level of trust.

While the credibility headline might not capture your ideal clients’ attention in quite the same way as a client-focused headline, it can actually make the connection process easier. This type of headline is more likely to set your potential connections at ease, and they will be more likely to accept your request because there are impressed by your accomplishments and not likely concerned that you are going to try to sell them something.

Here are a couple of examples of credibility focused LinkedIn headlines. You will notice that in both examples their accomplishments and awards are highlighted. These accomplishments are very effective in quickly building and showcasing credibility.

LinkedIn Headline Examples:

Helped build one of Canada’s high-tech success stories | Inc. Fastest Growing 50 | Canada Award for Business Excellence

Recipient of 2017 Forty Under 40 | 2018 Fastest Growing Companies (3963% Growth) | Inc. 5000

3. Make Use of Your 120 Character Limit

You only have 120 characters to use for your LinkedIn headline, so it is vital to maximize them.

You might be able to create a headline with fewer characters, but by not making use of as many of the characters as you can, you may be losing out on the opportunity to be found for another keyword or simply further establish your credibility.

And you do not need to choose one LinkedIn headline style, you could incorporate two styles into your 120 characters.

For example, you could use aspects of both a keyword and credibility focused headline.

Here’s an example, I include Int’l #1 Bestselling Author (credibility), and then I also add my keywords such as LinkedIn & Social Selling Keynote Speaker (keywords).

The key is that your LinkedIn headline is compelling enough that people are going to click on your profile or accept your connection request.

Watch this YouTube video I made on How to Write a Captivating LinkedIn Headline.

4. Ensure That Your LinkedIn Headline Stand Outs

When a lead, prospect or connection is scrolling through the search results, will your LinkedIn headline stand out?

It’s not enough to just show up in the search results as many different profiles, including competitors, will be listed in the results. Your headline needs to capture your prospects attention and make them want to click on your profile to learn more.

Including a compelling statement that will capture their attention and intrigue them is a great way to get them to want to click.

Three LinkedIn headline tips to make you stand out:

Can your ideal clients quickly identify that you offer what they’re looking for?

Use LinkedIn Advanced Search with your chosen keywords and see how you come up in comparison to your competitors.

Track how many views your profile has had in the last few days or weeks, then tweak your LinkedIn headline and watch for any change in the number of profile views.

The Best LinkedIn Headlines Speak Directly To Your Ideal Clients

The golden rule in writing a captivating LinkedIn headline (or profile) is always to aim to speak directly to your ideal clients. Whether it’s your headline, summary section or otherwise, you should still hit the points that highlight the specific benefits you offer your target market.

Everyone is in a hurry, and they just want to find that right person to help provide the solution they’re looking for. The more succinctly you get this across in your LinkedIn headline, the more viewers and prospects will be drawn to your profile and encouraged to take ACTION, by reaching out to you.

What did you think about the LinkedIn headline tips in this post? Tweet me, or drop me a note in the comments. If you have any friends or colleagues that should read this too, please share it with them.

The post How to Write the Perfect LinkedIn Headline appeared first on Top Dog Social Media.

How to Write the Perfect LinkedIn Headline syndicated from https://likesandfollowersclub.wordpress.com/

[doodlenomics]

Remember British author Roald Dahl’s 1964 children’s novel ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’? Of course you do. And surely the most memorable character, Willy Wonka; the innovative chocolate visionary and his scrumdiddlyumptious creations come to mind. For a moment, would you now imagine what Willy Wonka would whip up in an Indian rasoi? Welcome to the kitchen of Chef Vineet Bhatia. 

Blueberry and black cardamom kulfi

Blue cheese naan

Cumin-infused chocolate

Goat’s cheese and coriander khichdi

These curious compositions of ingredients with volatile textures and consistencies are distinctive of Vineet’s kitchen (and these recipes are included in his book ‘Rasoi: New Indian Kitchen’ for you to try at home). Earlier this year, during a short trip to Mumbai, I had visited Ziya at The Oberoi (food sketch below) where even the walls taste of pecan nuts and chocolate. Just kidding. Actually, it was almonds.

Bursts of color pop on brilliant white plates and after a while, your brain tells you to stop trying to guess flavors. Yes, you will be wrong most of the time. How am I to identify a pecan nut kheer, a black sesame panna cotta or even a coconut-caramel drizzle on top? Take a look at Chef Bhatia’s Instagram page to really appreciate the originality of his creations- turmeric caviar, khandvi with a twist (literally) and mini explosions of color and texture on plates!

Here’s a book excerpt from ‘Rasoi: New Indian Kitchen’ where you learn of Vineet Bhatia’s journey from a little boy who wanted to be a pilot to the young man who revolutionized Indian cuisine:

I did not set out to be a chef. My first love was planes, and as a child I wanted to be a pilot and fly high above the clouds. My alarm clock was the sound of the Gulf Air DC10 flying over our flat in Bombay at 6 o’ clock every morning. My brother and I would cycle through the Juhu Aerodrome on our way to school and I would look with awe at the Cessnas and Bell helicopters stationed in their hangars, so close to me yet so distant. How I longed to fly in one of them! On the journey home from school, the guards would allow us inside to get some ice-cold water from the drinking fountains. I would stand in those huge hangars as a little boy of eight, dreaming of flying. When I was 17, however, my application to join the Indian Air Force was rejected. Now I advise British Airways on their menus and fly almost every month, and moreover was fortunate enough to marry a pilot’s daughter, so fate has its funny little ways.

After the air force turned me down, I was so disillusioned and frustrated that I had no idea what to do next. I was sure of one thing, though- much to the dismay of my lawyer mother and accountant father, I wasn’t cut out to follow in their footsteps. After I had eliminated all the’respectable’ career choices, the only avenue left to me was catering and hospitality. For the first time since I failed to enroll as a pilot, I found myself intrigued. It fascinated me that something like eating out, which we take almost entirely for granted, had so much thought and labour behind it. Eventually I was accepted at an undistinguished catering college in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The last to join the course, I was the shortest and smallest, but I had what most of them didn’t: ambition and a determination to prove myself. When my father dropped me off at the hostel, he told me, ‘You go through this rough patch and you will shine.’ I promised him I would, and after doing well in my exams I was transferred to the prestigious catering college in Dadar, Bombay. This is where my career really began, and after two years’ hard work I was selected for the prestigious Oberoi School, where trainees were expected to learn both French and Indian cuisine.

It was like living a dream. At the end of each grueling day’s training, I would spend hours in the Indian kitchen watching the khan sahibs, or master chefs, preparing delicacies. Occasionally I was allowed to help, chopping vegetables here and there, handing out utensils or spices. Gradually, as I gained their trust, I was even allowed to prepare these dishes myself. I had finally found my calling. The cream of the class was usually absorbed into the French kitchen but, much to the horror of my teachers, I elected to stay in the Indian one.

In 1990 I was appointed to the Indian kitchen at the Oberoi Mumbai. I learned a huge amount there but, while my French counterparts were being applauded for developing an innovative and exciting cuisine, there was no opportunity in the traditionally rigid Indian kitchen for me to do the same. Frustrated, I realised it was time to move on. Faced with a choice of Dubai, Bangkok, Tokyo and London, I opted for the latter, assuming that with all its connections with the Raj, a good standard of Indian food would be guaranteed. How wrong I was!

My first job was as head chef at the Star of India on the Old Brompton Road. To my horror, I quickly discovered that Indian food in the UK was aggressively macho, illogically hot and spicy, and usually washed down with a pint. Fortunately, the restaurant’s owners were supportive of my desire to offer authentic Indian cuisine. When some members of staff rebelled and a fair few of the regulars took their custom elsewhere, however, I was forced to question whether I was doing the right thing. My answer came from Fay Maschler, who reviewed the restaurant in 1993, writing, ‘Bhatia has lifted the cooking into a new league, providing convincing proof that Indian food is capable of evolving.’ It was exactly what I needed to hear, and over the next five years the Star of India won a clutch of awards.

In 1999, I opened my own restaurant, ‘Vineet Bhatia’, in Hammersmith, in partnership with a traditional curry house owner. Money was tight, so my wife, Rashima, a trained pharmacist with no experience of catering, pitched in to help me. We painted the restaurant ourselves, turning up at 7 o’ clock every morning with our baby son, Varaul, and after a very quiet opening were desperately concerned for our survival. Salvation came once again in the form of a positive review from Fay Maschler, followed by one from AA Gill, who wrote, ‘It is shaming to point out, but if Bhatia cooked in the French or Italian vernacular, or came from New York, he would be hailed as a superchef.’ This statement affected me immensely. It felt like a powerful vindication of my decision to focus on refining Indian cuisine. The impact of these reviews on the restaurant was instantaneous. The phone started to ring constantly, and there was now a waiting list for tables.

Despite the restaurant’s success, we never found the financial stability we hoped for. I quickly formed another business partnership and opened a new restaurant, Zaika, in April 1999. My goal was simple: to cook to the very best of my ability and to settle my family (our second son, Ronit, was on the way). It was good to get behind the stove and not worry about anything except creating dishes that exceeded expectations. It was here that I devised the ‘Indian gourmand experience’, an entirely new approach to Indian cooking that offered five courses spanning the length and breadth of the subcontinent. In January 2001 I was awarded a Michelin star, the first Indian chef-patron to receive this honour in the Guide’s hundred-year history. Obviously we were thrilled. We had neither planned for nor expected a star, but it could not have been more welcome. At the same time, it is almost frightening how powerful the Guide is. All of a sudden the spotlight is switched on and directed at you. The pressure is intense. Journalists suddenly became interested in us, and there was a proliferation of articles about the restaurant.

Almost five years after we opened, Zaika was forced to relocate to larger premises on Kensington High Street, which meant we had to start all over again in terms of Michelin stars- the star is awarded to a restaurant at a particular site and does not move to other premises even if the restaurant does. Moreover, I was not receiving the money I was due from the partnership, despite all my commitment and hard work. Rashima and I decided that the only solution was to do it alone. In 2004 we took out a large bank loan with our house as collateral and opened our most cherished jewel, Rasoi.

  It was the culmination of an immense amount of hard work. Rasoi is set in a small Chelsea townhouse, with just 13 tables in the two reception rooms on the ground floor, two private rooms upstairs and a small kitchen to match. Rashima did the whole place up herself, and we hoped to create a feeling of coming to dine at our home. Guests have to ring a doorbell to get in, which serves to heighten that impression.

We had a lot at stake, with many people confident that we would soon be back on the job market. Housed in a residential street with no passing trade, a closed-door policy, a no-smoking rule (in the days before the outright ban on smoking) and no music for ambience, the restaurant appeared to check all the boxes for downright failure. While setting up, we experienced every emotion from elation to satisfaction, despair, anger and also quiet anticipation. We knew we were doing the right things and we had to make a success of it.

We have cherished every moment at Rasoi and feel very fortunate that we are able to live our dream, with the support of the most amazing people working for us. While I run the kitchen, Rashima runs the service- something I can never do and will never understand! The food I cook here is straight from my heart. The purists might not always approve but at least we are comfortable in our surroundings, following our instincts and generally being driven by our passion.

Rasoi received much critical acclaim and in January 2006 it was awarded its own Michelin star. How could we forget that day? We had finally arrived!

I think it is appropriate for me to end this narrative by saying that a genuine compliment from a satisfied guest is more than enough to make one forget all the difficulties involved in running a restaurant. Such compliments warm our hearts, giving both Rashima and myself renewed energy to pursue our passion. There are evenings when the restaurant is full of friends, loyal guests and happy diners, and on those nights there is a buzz, an excitement, that no other experience can match. It is visible amongst diners and staff alike, and it makes me a very, very happy man.

Vineet Bhatia

London, August 2009

Chef Vineet Bhatia and his uber- talented wife Rashima (Image: http://www.greavesindia.com)

  Rasoi: New Indian Kitchen is available in stores and is a 272 page treasure of unique recipes (and a lot of very useful information too) divided in ten categories (spices, invisible work, chutneys, dips, relishes and raitas, pre-starters, soups and salads, starters, main courses, accompaniments, pre-desserts,  desserts and petits fours). The recipes are written with much clarity and are easy-to-follow. Definitely get your hands on this one!

If you loved what you read, please like and share this. Also, you can get yourself a copy of Rasoi: New Indian Kitchen by clicking on the image below:

How a man who wanted to become a pilot, revolutionized Indian Cooking. Meet this Chef Inventor Remember British author Roald Dahl's 1964 children's novel 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'? Of course you do.

#AA Gill #art #Chef #Comic #cook book #culinary #Dadar #Dubai #Fay Maschler #food #Food critic #Food Illustration #food sketch #indian cuisine #Khan sahibs #London #Michelin #Michelin Guide #Michelin Star #motivation #Mumbai #Oberoi school #Rashima Bhatia #Rasoi #recipe book #Restaurant #Star of India #story #super chef #Vineet Bhatia

[yeslabyrinth]

SIMPLE SOLUTIONS TO THE SCENES WE'RE TOLD TO AVOID

I want to dive into the three most common scenes we're told to avoid. Stranger scenes, transaction scenes, and teaching scenes. They all have similar pitfalls, but with some good recognition of where they can go wrong, we can learn how to make them work.  

 STRANGER SCENES

 What are they? They are just like they sound. Any scene where you put yourself in a place where you don't know each other. Two strangers waiting for a bus, or in the waiting room of a doctor's office, etc.

 Why do they fail? The main pitfall with these scenes is the lack of stakes, or a relationship. Since we don't know each other in the scene, we treat the scene like we treat strangers in real life(which is a good instinct, but it fails us). We ask a bunch of questions of them, we find bland topics like the weather to talk about just to make small chat, but we never get to anything in the improv scene. Remember, all good improv scenes are the day SOMETHING happens. These scenes can easily become just another day, and can fall flat on their face.

 How can we fix this? The simplest solution, is to avoid them all together. Be cautious of when you start a scene with, "Nice to meet you.", or "Is this your first time here at _____?"  Again, it's one of those things where our instincts to be decent human beings can get in the way of being decent improvisers. If someone addresses you as a stranger, it’s not cheating to go, “Oh, I think we went to high school together?”, or, “You don’t know me, but I know you. I see your commercials on tv all the time”, or anything to give you a connection and history.

 If you find yourself stuck in one of these scenes, remember today is not any other day in life. For some reason we are watching this scene, so something special has to happen. Don't force it, but at some point we need to have this be the day something happens.

 The other big thing in stranger scenes, is you have to have stakes with your scene partner. If they are the unusual character at the bus stop, choose to want to know more about them. Choose to have a connection with them. Even though you are strangers, lines like, "you remind me of myself a little", or, "I know I don't know you, but I worry about you", can get us past that barrier the audience feels of, "why does this person even care? Why don't they just leave the bus stop? Where is this going?"

 TRANSACTION SCENES

 What are they? Transaction scenes are, again, just what they sound like. Checking out at a grocery store, buying something at a pawn shop, a garage sale, etc.

 Why do they fail? Transaction scenes are the most consistently terrible scenes you will see. Even with veteran improvisers, they have a high mortality rate. This is because we can  get into arguments about how much something costs, characters can quickly become angry with each other over objects in the scene, and on top of all that, most transaction scenes are also stranger scenes, so you have two big booby traps to avoid. (Yeah. I said big boobys. Grow up.)

 How can we fix this? I have an acronym for the first step to fix transaction scenes, and it is A.H.E.M. Always Have Enough Money! That lamp you want to buy? You got the money for it! They only take check? You got a checkbook! They prefer Bitcoin? Wire them the money! The biggest trap in these scenes is that we want to squabble over the price of something, or the person selling it decides they don't want to sell it to the other person, or we go back and forth talking about the object instead of each other. The improviser may think they are adding stakes to a scene, but NOTHING here is unusual. There is no game. Go to a Wal-Mart returns department, and all it is is people complaining about items, and pricing. It's almost impossible to find much fuel for a scene from something so normal, and honestly, something so boring as arguing over the price of something. The audience may laugh for a second when you raise your voice, but seeing two people who don't know or care about each other, arguing over an imaginary made up item, and it's price, is going to run of steam very quickly.

 So, you have enough money, and your strangers, what now? Like the other stranger scenes, someone has to make an unusual choice. If you're at a grocery store check-out, you have to find something unusual as either the customer of the cashier. I've literally done this scene 20 times, and here are some fun choices I remember being made. The bag boy was shocked no one bought condoms, the person checking out obviously was buying things to murder someone, the cashier pocketed the coupons they were given, the bag boy was turned on when someone used paper instead of plastic. These are just some choices I remember. As long as we find something that makes this trip to the grocery store memorable, and different than a normal trip, we have some legs to run on. Choose to either make a choice like this, or notice when someone else in the scene does something unusual. That scene where someone pocketed the coupons was an honest mistake an improviser made, but their scene partner noticed it, called it out, and we then had a game to play.

 TEACHING SCENES

 What are they? Again, very appropriately named. Any scene where one improviser is teaching the other person something. A yoga instructor, a dance instructor, professor, etc.

 Why do they fail? These scenes fail because they can easily turn into a scene where one person is showing the other person how to do something, and the other person either does it, or doesn't do it right. Like the transaction scenes, this fails because it's not unusual at all. If someone is teaching another person yoga, and criticizing them for not doing it right, that's kind of normal, right? And if they end up doing the yoga perfectly, then we still have NOTHING unusual. It's just a scene of a person following instructions. No comedy to mine from that.

 The other thing to be weary of is the person who is the teacher in these scenes tends to want to be very judgmental of their scene partner's character, and wants to control the whole scene because they are high status. Contrary, the person who is being taught, just goes along with everything blindly, and doesn't add details.

 How can we fix this? This scene is NOT about the teaching. Although it may be a teaching scene, the humor again has to come from something outside of that. Usually, some solid straight manning as the student can find the game. Keep your ears open for things that don't fit what is expected in these scenes. It can often be subtle. A yoga instructor who isn't very flexible, or a guitar teacher who expects WAY too much out of a first time student. If you see it in a scene, say it! This will usually lead us to where we need to be. This is a guitar teaching scene but through the specific lens of, "teacher expects too much from student." We can continue the lesson, and just know that we have this game to focus in on. We can go about doing the next steps of a guitar lesson, and know that the instructor demands too much. Maybe you need to use the restroom, and they demand some insane amount of talent in your urinal skills. Or you go to google a song you want to learn, and they expect you to be able to use HTML or code it, or something.Just keep the scene moving forward, but know the lens we’re looking through.

 Now, using the yoga instructor who isn’t flexible example leads me to another point. Be weary of the teacher being inept. This is a game that quickly runs out of fuel because it deludes into just playing an idiot, or dumb person, which in and of itself, isn't rare or necessarily funny. There are lots of people who are bad at their jobs. It's not a very specific thing. So, you can be a yoga instructor who knows all the poses of yoga, but just can't pull them off. This is a super specific game to play. We could tag out and change the specifics, but still play "instructor who can teach but not do", and cut to someone being poetic about how to paint, but then they just paint stick figures, or a bowling instructor who knows exactly how to create spin on a ball, but can't physically pick one up. Specificity is always our friend, and that goes doubly for teaching scenes since one of the struggles with them is a lack of details.  That’s it for today! As always, feel free to message me any questions you have about improv, any counterpoints to this or other articles of mine. I love discussing improv, and all it’s little facets. 

#improv #ucb #longform #kcic #kansascity #comedy

[amantdc2017-blog]

Final Thoughts - Tour de Cure Australia 2017 Signature Tour:

Apologies it’s taken me longer than expected to send out this message. I’ve had a lot to think about and poor signal whilst exploring Tasmania added another challenge. Anyway, here we go…

Firstly I would like to say thank you to everybody who has supported me over the past few months as I’ve been preparing for Tour de Cure Australia’s 2017 Signature Tour. It has been a time full of ups and downs and without your support this journey would have been much tougher for sure.

I’d especially like to thank a number of groups and individuals for helping me… firstly my coach Dani Andres from Pulse Performance. Dani, you helped me get my fitness up and coached me on technique and nutrition too. It’s certain that without your support my fitness would not have gotten to where it is so quickly and you always believed in me. And boy did you put me through my paces! Out of my Sydney Cycling Club (SCC) riding and training buddies there are many names I could mention to say thanks to next. However, if I could just choose one person, it’d have to be Steven, as looking back, I remember those early days I was struggling on my bike and you hung with me. That time I burned out on the La Perouse ride and I couldn’t keep up but you waited for me and supported me along the way. And now I use that same ride as my regular recovery ride. It’s funny how things change so quickly.

The training was tough and it had me up most mornings at 5am (sometimes 4am) before work and on weekends with typically one rest day per week. At times it was tough getting up so early, especially when I was fatigued but I never once regretting getting out on my bike, even on those days I trained in torrential rain. There were many times where I had doubts over the challenge ahead, but I knew I had to keep at it as eventually there would be a tipping point, but also if I had given up then I’d be letting so many people down and I wasn’t going to allow this to happen. It took a couple of months to stop puffing and panting on training rides but as soon as that went away I noticed the strength I had gained. Of course, then the training got harder and the process repeated itself many times over - it was a never ending loop but looking back this was so good.

On top of this, my Physiotherapist Felicity MacArthur from Sydney Physio Solutions helped get me in order focusing on building inner core strength and flexibility. Matt from Parkside Physiotheraphy made sure I had a great bike fit using the Retul bike fit technology (which I highly recommend). Nat from Woolys Wheels helped ensure my bike was in order and serviced it before the main event. My employer Adobe (and my amazing colleagues) supported my fundraising and provided additional encouragement. Adrian from Bondi Rumba (as well as Wes, Whitney, John Wells, Brendan Jones) helped me out massively on my first fundraising event, as well as the local businesses who donated prizes.

My friends and family also played a vital role, including my biggest supporter, Emmy. You were with me during the times I was sick, felt fatigued and always uplifted my spirits when I was doubtful. I cannot thank you enough for your patience and support. That means so much to me.

Anyone reading this may be thinking why I chose to do this. The reasons are simple. I wanted to support a worthwhile cause and help those that needed it more than I did. But I also wanted to challenge myself and prove to myself I can do it in hope it may inspire just one or two others to be fitter, healthier and happier. Over the years I have learned of so many people who have been impacted by cancer. This is a horrible disease which ruins lives, and doesn’t discriminate. I wanted to do something about that, or at least try to and Tour de Cure was a perfect way for me to do this, whilst re-establishing my passion for cycling.

I’m very grateful towards Tour de Cure Australia as it was a real privilege to be part of this tour - what an amazing 9 days of riding and so many memorable experiences. I’m also honoured that I got to meet so many wonderful people, some of whom had (or are currently having) their own battles with cancer, yet continue to fight, and continue to ride - now that’s inspiring!

In reality, I managed to complete the ride fairly unscathed and I’m very thankful of this. Additionally, I have been incredibly humbled and touched by those of you who have sent messages of support and encouragement, but also those who have shared stories about either yourselves or those you know of who have been affected by cancer. This has made me truly appreciate the real reason why it’s important to keep supporting these amazing causes, because the funding of research gives us all hope of a better, cancer free future.

Now I ask myself, what will be next. The truth is that time will tell, but for now, let’s be fit, be healthy, be happy, and let’s keep pushing for the cures we need.

If anyone likes data, here are some overall ride stats from the 9 day tour:

Distance ridden: 1,260 km Elevation gained: 11,850 m Riding time: 47.72 hrs Estimated calories burned: 25,177 cals Mechanicals: 0 (…very lucky!)

[learnspanishfans]

Portuguese in 3 Months Mission: 2 Month Update

This is an update to Holly’s Portuguese in 3 Months mission.

In my last update, I filled you in on the first month of my Portuguese in 3 months mission. During that month, I discovered quite a few listening resources, had several talks with native speakers, and adjusted some of my personal expectations along the way.

In this update, I’ll discuss my second month, how it differed from month one, and how I overcame some of the challenges I was faced with.

I’ll also share the my two-month video.

Let’s get started!

New Portuguese Study Resources

A LOT of my time throughout my mission was spent researching and trying out different Portuguese resources. I don’t know if I’m just picky, but quite a few resources just didn’t work for me, so I abandoned them and tried again.

PortuguesePod101 was my top go-to course for most of my mission. However, I actually took a two-week break from it this month because I started to get sick of the repetitiveness after binging on so many lessons in such a short time (In my first five weeks, I burned through all the lessons in lower beginner and upper beginner seasons 1 and 2). This isn’t a knock against the product; it’s just a side-effect of depending too much on a single resource.

The Portuguese Language Resources I Used in Month 2

So I branched out more this month to find other ways to improve my Portuguese:

Practice Portuguese

Practice Portuguese is a free European Portuguese podcast for upper-beginner and intermediate students.

I fell in love with the format after listening to a few episodes. It’s presented in 100% Portuguese, so there’s no time wasted listening to English (though I discovered later that some of their most recent episodes do feature some English, to help lower-beginner Portuguese students).

There are different types of episodes: “artigo” (article), “atualidade” (news), “diálogo” (dialogue) and more. The host speaks very slowly and clearly, which is especially useful if you’re not familiar with the European Portuguese accent. The “artigo” episodes are my favourite, because they’re always read twice: once slowly, and once quickly. I also like that there are no vocab lists dictated, and no grammar drills in any of the episodes. You just get to listen to natural spoken Portuguese for a small chunk of time – not too much to be overwhelming.

Semantica Portuguese

Semantica Portuguese is a video course in Brazilian Portuguese.

It has 25 free episodes on iTunes. They’re meant to be watched in order because they follow a storyline, the way a TV series does. This keeps you coming back because you’ll want to know what happens next. I could definitely see the potential of this course, but ultimately I decided not to go forward with a subscription.

Most of my Portuguese studying has been done away from a screen (such as through audio lessons, podcasts and Portuguese music), and I wanted to keep it that way. But if you prefer a visual approach from time to time, definitely give this course a try.

The Conta-me Tudo (“Tell Me Everything”) Podcast

I wanted the Conta-me Tudo (“Tell Me Everything”) podcast to work out for me, I really did.

The premise is fascinating: in each episode, an ordinary person gives a talk to a live audience about an incredible, funny, scary, or life-changing story that happened to them. The topics are extremely varied, from improbable love stories to travel disasters.

Every episode summary looked so interesting that I wanted to listen to it just for the story, never mind improving my Portuguese! But I listened to five episodes, and try as I might, I couldn’t pick out enough words to get the gist of any of the stories. But this podcast was super motivational to me. My new long-term goal in the language is to reach a good-enough level to be able to understand this podcast. Once I do, I’m coming straight back to listen to every episode!

More TV Shows

I watched several episodes of Got Talent Brazil, but I kept coming back to Got Talent Portugal, probably because I know that show better and am used to the judges. I also found an episode of the kids’ show Caillou in Portuguese!

Audio Flashcards

I’ll share a little more on these in a moment.

How Editing My Portuguese Mission Videos Helped My Language Learning

Editing and adding subtitles to my videos was a surprisingly big help.

As I played and replayed sections of my month-one video to hear the dialogue, I noticed many of my mistakes for the first time. For example, I pronounced the word “frequently” as “frequemente” instead of “frequentemente” several times. (I blame my French knowledge for this mistake – in French, the word is “fréquemment”, NOT “fréquentement”.) I wasn’t aware I was doing it until I listened to myself speaking Portuguese.

After hearing that and my other mistakes from the video – over and over in painfully clear slow motion as I typed out the subtitles – I can assure you I never made those mistakes again!

I highly recommend to anyone studying a foreign language to watch yourself speaking the language on video.

When you’re speaking in the moment, you don’t notice all of your mistakes, but you’ll easily catch them when you listen to yourself on tape. It’s a very useful exercise. Don’t worry, you’ll get over the cringe factor pretty quickly.

Was it a Mistake to Avoid Reading and Writing?

A key part of my Portuguese mission is learning through listening and speaking. As far as possible, I’ve avoided resources that involve reading and writing.

When I found good Portuguese audio or video resources to study, it was very motivating. But searching for good resources sometimes took so long that it became frustrating.

Hunting for fun and motivating things to listen to wasn’t easy. Sometimes it was a big waste of time. Especially with music.

I listened to hours of music by Legião Urbana, Mariza, Titãs and more, trying to find songs that I liked enough to memorize. That’s where my motivation slipped the most, because none of the music really clicked with me. However, I did eventually find a few fun songs this month. I memorized one of them: “Balada do Desajeitado” (Ballad of clumsiness/awkwardness/ungainliness…the word doesn’t translate very well) by D.A.M.A.:

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcfSEeovjcE

Memorizing this song was hard! It goes fast, and a lot of syllables are eaten up for the sake of rhythm. But I feel that learning this song improved my speaking skills quite a bit. I started to feel comfortable “glossing over” certain words and pronouncing them more naturally, much like an English language student might learn to say “gonna” instead of “going to”.

My Feelings at the Halfway Point of My Portuguese Mission

Around the six-week mark of my mission, I sat down to reflect on my progress so far. Certainly, I was very happy with my progress to date.

Here are some of my thoughts:

Does No-Reading-or-Writing Really Work?

Honestly, when I first started this mission, I had no idea if a no-reading-or-writing approach would work at all!

It was a big experiment for me. But I was happy to see that I was making more progress than I had in all of my other language attempts in the previous 15 years. For the first time, I wasn’t treating listening comprehension as an afterthought – and it was working.

I Did Have One Achilles Heel…

There was one area that I could tell I was weak in. It’s yet another area that I’ve always had trouble with in every language I’ve studied: vocabulary. See, I’m kind of a grammar nerd, and grammar rules tend to come naturally to me. Vocabulary has always been a bigger struggle. And my listening-only approach to learning Portuguese didn’t offer any new solutions to this problem. TV shows and podcasts exposed me to vast amounts of new vocabulary, but didn’t do much to reinforce the words so I could reproduce them later.

Knowing French was definitely a big help when it came to guessing new words in Portuguese conversation, but that would only take me so far. I realized that if I wanted to memorize new words, and not just French cognates, I’d better put some more effort into vocabulary. But how to do this without making long vocab lists to read and drill until I memorized them?

That’s when I discovered audio flashcards…

Audio Flashcards – My New Superpower!

I’d considered creating audio flashcards at the beginning of my mission, but I hadn’t yet gotten around to it. It seemed like too much work!

But now that I could see that vocabulary was a sticking point in my progress, I was finally motivated to do it.

Here’s what I did:

A good flashcard app will let you record sound to go with your text flashcards. Anki is a great app for this purpose if you use Android or a personal computer for your flashcards. For iOS, Anki is a little pricey for some people, so Flashcards Deluxe is a good substitute.

There are some online guides for how to load mp3 files into your Anki decks. With this method, you can take clips of words and phrases spoken by a native speaker or an audio dictionary so you’ll be sure they’re pronounced correctly. I took the simpler route of using the app’s built-in record button to record my own voice speaking the English, Brazilian Portuguese and European Portuguese translations for each card (yes, you can make three-sided cards in both Anki and Flashcards Deluxe!). This proved to be the quickest and easiest way for me – I was up and using my first set of audio flashcards within half an hour.

To keep with my no-reading-or-writing goal, I didn’t want to have any Portuguese or English writing in my flashcard deck. I didn’t want to associate the audio with any visual reference in my mind.

I know from experience that long after I become fluent in a foreign language, I still find myself imagining words written down before I say them, and having to picture the words that native speakers say before they “click” for me in conversation. I didn’t want to have this obstacle in Portuguese. So instead of a standard three-sided flashcard, which might look, for example, like this:

Side 1: “Did you like it?”

Side 2: “Tu gostaste?”

Side 3: “Você gostou?”

My flashcards all looked exactly the same:

Side 1: “English”

Side 2: “European Portuguese”

Side 3: “Brazilian Portuguese”

To know what was on each card, I would have to press Play to hear the audio. I couldn’t “cheat” and see the written words. I had no choice but to rely on my ears only. This worked wonderfully for me.

In fact, there was only one drawback to the way I created my flashcards, though really it was more of an advantage. Before pressing record for each phrase I wanted to learn, I practised the line several times so I would say it right (I did read the written Portuguese for this part, to be sure I was saying it correctly). Well, after all that work of practising each line and recording it, I sat down to use my flashcards and found I had already memorized about two thirds of the deck! Oops, I guess? So the next day I made a new deck and recorded longer, harder phrases to learn.

No matter which type of flashcards you make – audio, written, or even image-based – when you’re studying, always say the target words and phrases out loud before flipping over the card to see/hear the answer.

Portuguese in 3 Months: My Two-Month Update Video

Finally, here’s the video that I made with my Portuguese teacher, Tatiana, at the end of month 2 (click CC to see the English subtitles):

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPzLAzAiNdo

Tatiana asked me the previous week to think of a movie to discuss during our chat. Naturally, I picked Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which is the best movie I’ve seen in the past year.

I found a European Portuguese podcast all about movies, called Arena dos filmes. They had one episode from early 2016 devoted entirely to the latest Star Wars movie. I listened to it three times in preparation for our chat.

I didn’t feel as good about this conversation as I did about my month 1 update video. I wanted the conversation to be completely spontaneous, so I didn’t prepare any specific material, or even study any vocabulary. I just listened to the podcast and tried to absorb Star Wars-related Portuguese that way. I did remember a couple key phrases, such as “o lado negro da força” (“the dark side of The Force” – no discussion of Star Wars is complete without this!), but not enough to easily describe the plot.

This is where I feel that my natural, somewhat unstructured approach to Portuguese faltered the most. Specialised vocabulary sometimes just has to be memorised, “brute force” style.

In hindsight, I should have created some audio flashcards containing the main ideas of the movie plot and studied those instead of listening to the podcast that third time.

On the plus side, the video does give a pretty good picture of how my Portuguese sounds when I’m truly on the spot. Tatiana mentioned afterwards that she would’ve liked to have helped me a bit more with plot points and vocab, but she had never seen any Star Wars films before (!) so it was up to me to explain the storyline. I’m hoping to find a Portuguese-dubbed version of The Empire Strikes Back so I can watch it and tell her about the best Star Wars movie of all .

One Month to Go in My Portuguese Mission!

Thanks for following along! Stay tuned for the final update of my Portuguese in 3 Months mission.

The post Portuguese in 3 Months Mission: 2 Month Update appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.

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Best Chinese Language Learning Software 2020 (UPDATED)

https://www.chinesescholarshipcouncil.com/?p=49072&wpwautoposter=1592547943 Are you looking for Best Chinese Language Learning Software? you are at the right place. we will briefly discuss about Best Chinese Language Learning Software. Why learn Mandarin? China is a fast-growing economy, already the second largest in the world. Being able to speak Chinese can give you the upper edge in your career and open up wealth opportunities (both business and professional) now, and in the future. The Chinese Language Learning Software is broken up into many regional dialects, however, the official dialect that is taught in all schools is Mandarin. The second most spoken dialect is Cantonese. If you are interested in learning Chinese, Mandarin is your best bet, as it is the most spoken dialect in China. Challenges to learning Mandarin– Why software helps Mandarin can be difficult to learn, however in some aspects it is actually easier to learn than English. Let’s take a look at why this is: Why is Mandarin Difficult? Tones: Chinese languages are tonal (unlike Korean and Japanese). This means that the way you inflect the pitch of your voice can change the entire meaning of a word. This can be particularly troublesome for English speakers who are not adapted to hearing these tones. Fortunately, there are only 5 tones in Mandarin, and with practice, you can easily identify them. Writing: The Chinese language does not really have an alphabet like English, French, Spanish, etc. Instead, the Chinese language is written entirely using characters. This can be an issue since you cannot really sound out a word phonetically from simply looking at a Chinese character. Why is Mandarin Easy? Grammar: Chinese grammar is remarkably simple compared to that of English or French. There are very few rule exceptions and verbs and nouns require very little conjugation. Tenses in Chinese are very easy to implement as well. Whereas a Romance language such as Spanish or French (or even German), may be studied on your own from books, the radically different nature of Mandarin requires some extra attention. Pronunciation and tonal accuracy is very important, so you need something more than just a book. Best Chinese Language Learning Software represents a great solution to the difficulties that you can encounter when trying to learn Mandarin. But which software is the best for learning Mandarin? Chinese Reading Apps Du Chinese Du Chinese is a revolutionary app will help you to improve your Chinese reading skills. I am impressed by the clean design and user interface. It is easy to use and loading material takes only seconds. You can read by yourself or listen to an audio recording and read along. The characters and pinyin layout look very comfortable. You can easily turn the pinyin on and off and switch Chinese characters between Simplified and Traditional. It supports English translations for single words and sentences. All sentences have been carefully translated and they stay as true as possible to the original Mandarin. The reading material topics are quite interesting, covering daily conversations, Chinese culture, current events，the latest trends, funny stories, and regular life in China. They are marked by difficulty, ranging from newbie to master. Each session is also labelled from HSK level 1 ~ 6+. It is easy to find material for your level. Chinese Characters Apps Zizzle If you have trouble memorizing Chinese characters, then Zizzle will definitely help you. This app breaks down characters into their component parts. Then, they use images and a short story to help you remember these components. Most of the stories are ridiculous or funny enough to be memorable. Each tone is represented by a certain animal which helps you remember the character. It also teaches characters that build up from smaller to more complex characters in a logical way. I am in love with this app, and its method taught me characters that I have tried and failed to learn in the classroom. It presents an effective, novel, and fun way to learn and memorize Chinese characters. If you are total beginner, I can safely say you will know hundreds of characters in few days and be able to read them confidently. Use the promo code “DIGMANDARIN10” to save 10% on all three-month and annual subscriptions, as well as packs. Chinese Dictionary Apps Pleco The dictionary app will probably be one of the most useful and frequently used ones for people learning Mandarin; Pleco may be the app most frequently recommended for this function. It allows you to quickly look up a Chinese word or character wherever you are. Pleco Key features: Chinese handwriting recognition: the option to hand write instead of typing in pinyin is very useful when searching for characters you don’t know. OCR: it allows you to look up unknown Chinese words ‘live’ using your device’s camera, or tap-lookup words in a still image. Stroke order guides: to help you find out how to write the Chinese characters in the proper order. Flashcard system: insanely powerful/customizable system, making it extremely easy to add new flashcards from dictionary entries or to import pre-made vocabulary lists. Online Chinese Degree Chinese Listening Apps Chineseclass101 No doubt that Chineseclass101 is one of the most well-structured podcast Mandarin courses available today. With language instruction podcasts, you can improve your pronunciation and boost your listening comprehension skills. ChineseClass101 has an extensive collection of audio materials covering all levels. By having access to different levels, you can choose the best one for you. Each lesson has notes that include the key grammar point broken down clearly along with Chinese cultural insights. The lesson dialogue will help you understand real-life conversations in China and will definitely help you improve your listening skills. It also offers an interactive voice recorder tool, which lets you record your pronunciation and compare it to that of a native speaker. Chinesepod Chinesepod is another example of a podcast Mandarin app. The quantity of lessons is pretty big. It even has more interactive exercises for learning new words and phrases. In ChinesePod, the amount of Mandarin speech in each lesson is increased step-by-step. Even lessons for Upper-Intermediate students have  English explanations which are quite helpful! Advanced students may enjoy Mandarin-only podcast lessons. Gamification Apps Hello Chinese Hello, Chinese is a powerful learning tool that can help you overcome the fear of learning Chinese. This app focuses on daily life topics. It starts from basic pinyin so that even if you are a total beginner or have absolutely no background in Chinese, you can still learn with it. What is special is that this app allows you to listen and record your own voice, and to help you check automatically if your pronunciation is correct. It`s a comparatively easy way to measure your pronunciation. The studying process is not boring. Learners are not overwhelmed with information. Lessons are taught in a very precise and careful manner. What`s more, there are many exercises and quizzes to help you consolidate all that you have learned. Chinese Speaking Apps Hello Talk Have you been learning a new language for a while, and feel like it’s time to start practicing and using it? That’s where Hello Talk can help. It is a language exchange app that has over one million users. It’s easy to find natives from China willing to help you practice Chinese. Hello Talk Key features: Voice and Text chat Moments, like the group chatroom Translation and Transliteration: Translation allows you to read in English what someone typed in Chinese in case you didn’t understand it. You can use the transliteration option when a native speaker writes Chinese to you, to instantly see the pinyin. Voice recognition system: You can simply speak and the system will attempt to convert that to text to send to your language partner. These are my top Chinese language learning apps. I bet you also have your own picks. What would you recommend to fellow Chinese learners? What apps do you think are worth the time and the money? Just comment below and let us know your favorites. Maybe your picks will make this list one day!