Tumgik
#listening to random audiobooks i can find on youtube
construction-ahead · 3 months
Text
I'm such a hater of straight romances in fiction. but now I found out that I can actually be convinced of a couple if the woman saves the man. like damsel in distress but its the guy. it's so compelling! like damn you gotta get him outa there and he loves you! hashtag save him
0 notes
zensations35 · 4 months
Text
Intro Post
Hi! I'm Zensations/Zenarios from YouTube and this is my kink blog! Where you can get insight to my chaotic mind as well as more content than YT allows.
You can message me and chat but please be civil and respectful. I love making friends, but strangers opening chat, starting off with questions about my allergies/etc sets the wrong tone for friendship.
I love making content for others, but personally listening to wavs is a very private thing for me so I would ask yall to not send me those unprompted. Thanks!
About me:
I'm in a relationship with my spouse currently. We are poly so, I will occasionally talk about other SOs. I am panromantic and demisexual. I am part of the whump community as well as snz, and my fics reflect that sometimes. I am disabled and have a lot of mental illnesses and some of my posts will reference those but I will tag them with tw or cw.
MINORS DO NOT INTERACT!!
Things I do: writing, audio, scenarios, snz audiobooks, clips of my perfect chaos boy (my cat), maybe more one day.
Main Fandoms: Marvel, Hazbin Hotel, Arcane, Detroit Become Human, Death Note, Legend of Zelda (18+)
Things I do not do and do not plan to do: video with my face. Phone calls/kik/snapchat/etc. Basically any other social media platform is off limits.
I do take commissions! See my updates for when they're open :)
Masterlists:
Audio: Masterlist In Progress (or see "zen audio" tag)
OC Writing:
LSSR Masterlist (or see LSSR tag) - a foursome polycule does shenanigans and 2 characters are fet because I have no self control. Warning: these fics have some triggers. See tags.
Beckett Masterlist: A Groundskeeper with a ghost allergy has very sneezy shenanigans. (or see oc beckett tag).
Richard and Kuga Masterlist: Werewolf/Vampire fluff based on a mixture of White Wolf RPG and Anita Blake because I made these ocs when I was a dumb teenager.
Fanfiction Writing:
Marvel Masterlist
Hazbin Hotel Masterlist
Detroit Become Human Fic
LoZ BoTW fic and SS fic (and that one time I wrote a sarcastic scientist...), some greek mythology stuff. (or see zenfic/zenfanfic tags)
Other random things: see zen fanfic tag. I can't find them all 😅
And ofc, if you want to see my void son, look for the tag "Zens cat"
33 notes · View notes
schadenfreudich · 24 days
Note
Hi!! I come to you since you're my dearest German mutual, and I've been learning German since 2020 and well, I can learn grammar and vocabulary but I wanna find more german (real german, not just textbook german yk) content to listen to and become more fluid!! I'm guessing you might know stuff like music and youtube channels and maybe podcasts and that sort of stuff-? It'd be very helpful! Thanks in advance :3
This is so much, especially music. We just listen to a lot of german music a wide variety. Sorry or you're welcome
Youtubers:
coldmirror: one of the longest existing youtubers, comedy
Spacefrogs: mostly political humor
Iblali: hasn't really been active on that channel but at least was funny
Hand of Blood: comedy and gaming, and weird costumes
Zeo: comedy, mostly speaks in understable german, mostly (Chill deine Basics has a character who speaks in a thick Bavarian accent)
der Heider: haven't actually watched him in a while, also thick Bavarian accent sometines
Klengan: talks about stuff happening on youtube, mostly, last video I remember was about Jeremy Fragrance
Tommy Toalingling: gay, as in he makes a lot of videos about queer topics, also he's gay (this could be helpful if you want to know more about queer terms in german)
Kegy: comedy and also I keep referencing him and no one gets it, also hasn't uploaded in 4 years
Malternativ: in case you want to listen to a german man scream about annoying things (he's funny, I promise)
MiiMii: really hard to describe, weird drawings
Rob Bubble: politic humor, Anti-Webvideopreis (for the worst video of the year)
Podcasts:
Brainpain (by Heider and Klengan)
einer von den Guten (having actually listened to that one, but Zeo is one of them. so it can't be bad)
nicht mehr ganz Twitter (also includes Zeo and the guy who did Iblali)
Lästerschwestern (by Rob Bubble)
I really don't listen to a lot of podcasts, but those exist and the people aren't awful in other media)
Not a podcast, but an audiobook:
Känguru-Chroniken: have you ever wanted to listen to a story about a communist kangaroo and an anarchist artist? Because this is that. It's really funny.
Music:
Comedian Harmonists: you should definitely listen to "mein kleiner grüner Kaktus" at least once. They're old and made what wikipedia calls "volkstümliche Musik"
Cro: rap/pop kinda music, I recommend "Einmal um die Welt" and "Bye Bye"
die Ärzte: punk band, have themes such as death, kink, random gay lines and anti-fascism. I recommend "Junge" and "M&F", just because they're like the most popular songs. But if you want to listen to a weirder song, I'd suggest "meine Ex(plodierte Freundin)", way too happy for the fact that he's talking about his girlfriend exploding.
Die Prinzen: A cappella, "alles nur geklaut" is very popular and the funniest song to get cover
Die toten Hosen: punk band, our syskids really like "Walkampf", maybe a little too much. "Tage wie diese" and "Altes Fieber" are quite popular. Also "zehn kleine Jägermeister", just be aware the source of "zehn kleine [word]" is racist, if you choose to look that up, not this song, just the original one.
EAV (Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung): they were an Austrian punk band, so if some words are confusing, that might just be because they're Austrian. Also "Ba-Ba Banküberfall", because it's really funny.
Falco: also Austrian, Neue Deutsche Welle, you should listen to "Rock me, Amadeus", "Egoist", "Dance Mephisto" and actually basically every song. We just really like Falco.
Glasperlenspiel: electro-pop, "geiles Leben" and "Echt" are really great, also "Traumtänzer" and "Legoschloss"
Haggefugg: medieval rock, "Daheim" and "Märchenwald"
Heldmaschine: industrial metal, sound similar to Rammstein (they have a song about that)
Herbert Grönemeyer: rock(?) singer, I recommend "Männer" and "Kinder an die Macht", also "etwas warmes" (that one's gay)
LaBrassBanda: So Bavarian they were Lederhosen in every picture, but they have an entire album they recorded in a cow barn, so I had to mention them
Mark Forster: pop, very popular, "Au Revoir" (and on that note, Sido, I guess) and "Chöre" are great
Max Giesinger: pop, "Wenn sie tanzt" is very nice
Megaherz: Neue Deutsche Härte, they have a cover of "Rock me Amadeus", and also "Schwarz = Religion" is great
Musica Immortalis: medieval music, I saw them in person, they only have 60 monthly listeners on spotify but they are so so good. Like, "Kraken" and "der Sturm", wonderful.
OOMPH!: one of the first bands under Neue Deutsche Härte, there is so much, so I'll recommend albums this time. "Des Wahnsinns Fette Beute", multiple queer songs, crossdressing, being scared of your own homosexuality and public gay sex with a sailor. Also one song about suicide. "Ritual", a lot of pain and suffering, also a song titled "TRRR - FCKN - HTLR", which does include the line "terror, ficken, Hitler" being shouted multiple times.
Reis Against The Spülmaschine: parodies, also only three songs but they're incredibly funny
Schattenmann: Neue Deutsche Härte, some quite explicitly sexual songs, but they're good. Like "Choleriker", which isn't about sex but is about violence and anger issues
Tanzwut: Neue Deutsche Härte but also medieval
The toten Crackhuren im Kofferraum: punk, all women, great, wonderful, I recommend "ich und mein Pony" and "Punkrock hat mir das Herz gebrochen"
Voxxclub: also very Bavarian, it's great 👍
Nena: Neue Deutsche Welle, especially "99 Luftballons" and "Irgendwie, Irgendwo, Irgendwann"
And this is more so specific songs that were a very formative experience when we were 12-15:
"ne Leiche" by SDP, Sido (yes, it's about a corpse)
"Willst du" by Alligatoah (sounds like a love song, but it's about drugs)
"Über den Wolken" by Reinhard Mey (this one is just nice)
"Monsta" by Culcha Candela (we call it the german monsterfucker song, because that woman is a literal monster and he's like "even better!")
"Major Tom (... völlig losgelöst)" by Peter Schilling (this one's sad)
"Die Da!?" by die Fantastischen Vier
"Nur ein Wort" by Wir sind Helden (just a love song)
"Stadt" by Cassandra Steen, Adel Tawil
"Perfekte Welle" by Juli
"Vom selben Stern" by Ich + Ich
"Skandal im Sperrbezirk" by Spider Murphy Gang (be aware it's about prostitues and the language is a little outdated, but the song is good)
I don't think I have to tell you about Rammstein, but also "Mann gegen Mann" is gay
4 notes · View notes
sweatandwoe · 10 months
Note
Apologies for the looooong questions.
3,4, 31, and 68.
Hope you have a good day!
3. Describe the creative process of writing a chapter/fi
sit down
turn on computer
open outline document (if a one-shot fic skip to point 5)
look over current chapter section
open writing doc
stare at the blank document
weep
smash fingers on keyboard
don't look at the words
once done do not look at it (this is hard and sometimes I break it)
come back later and use read aloud to help me edit it by listening for anything funky
send chapter to friends to read
gnaw my keyboard
post chapter after approval
stare at notifications/email for internet readers approval for serotonin/dopamine hit
repeat process until I feel normal
Also random tip that helps me write the actual chapter is; writing sprints, there's a discord bot that really helps with this or you can set a timer. And also listening to an audiobook while I write I find helps inspire me to write better and just to write more. I think it's like urge to write a fic after reading a really good fic but instead, I'm listening to Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White and all the body horror/gore in that while I tiptap some fluff. I also have a youtube list of free audiobooks, and I'll post them if you guys want.
putting the rest under a readmore so this post doesn't get too long <3
4. Where do you find inspiration for new ideas?
Literally anywhere.
Tumblr media
Anywhere.
It strikes when it strikes (unfortunately)
31. Do you start with the characters or the plot when writing?
Most of the time, Plot. Plot is usually a big motivator to get me to write fic.
I find that good plots are sort of versatile. Like I could very easily take a similar plot of SI and put it towards Ghost. Baker!Reader gets employed at the ministry. Papa and her start getting close, and closed-off man eventually opens up to sweet lady.
Also while I'll know the Love interest for who I'm writing, cause I mainly write x Reader fic, the Reader is something I don't really consider. I try to be careful not to describe red cheeks, or hair texture in fics for example (though I have done it still), though sometimes it does slip through, cause I want you to imagine an idealized version of yourself. It's like a meme now that like when Y/N says this we go "I'd never say that" but maybe you would in Runeterra. Cringe is dead, make your idealized self in a self-insert or in Reader fics, because that's self-love baby. You are deserving of love and you should always recognize that.
I was always really happy in SI when it got fanart to see all the different versions of reader, with darker skin, or blonde hair before I finalized my own version with @designfailure56 in Ros, though anyone can draw SI Reader however they want. I still really prefer the blank slate approach where I have no idea how they look like, all I know is how they sort of feel and think.
68. What, if anything, do you do for inspiration?
Slide into friends DMs, or look for prompt lists on tumblr. Sometimes I just need to start writing a little request fic or going over headcanons with friends before I can go on to write the larger fic. It helps me get into the zone for it.
Get to Know Your Fic Writer Asks
10 notes · View notes
sayitaliano · 1 year
Note
Buongiorno!! I have been trying to learn a little Italian for the past six months or so, and have been doing so on Duolingo. It’s okay, but I’d really like to improve my vocabulary and read more in Italian. So, do you have recommendations for easy books? I thought about looking up translations of English language children’s books, but I thought I’d ask you if you have any childhood favorites or ideas for what I might read to improve my language. Grazie!
Ciao! For as much as I see Duolingo a way to keep yourself engaged in your learning, please be aware it holds many grammar mistakes here and there. So I suggest you to check your infos also on somewhere else.
To answer you, on my other tumblr (@sayitalianohome)'s first post, you can find: -a link to the grammar masterpost with all my posts about grammar rules (and some reblogged ones); ->a link the to resources masterpost where you will find books of different levels (not sure the links are all working cause there are old ones and are too many and I haven't checked them recently), apps, websites, videos, youtubers, articles, stories, audiobooks and children (short) stories too (even international ones with the English text near the Italian text, which could be of help); -loads of vocabularies lists' and words uses' posts (these have their own masterposts on that same tumblr). -you can also take a look at my youtube channel (search for sayitaliano; btw the link is somewhere in the homepage here) cause I think I had uploaded a few videos of me reading Italian Christmas stories last year (with the text) and you can find the translation on this blog too (I think the link is in the description box of each video). I put all the links on @sayitalianohome to make it easier for you to navigate this blog as it seems from the app you cannot navigate on @sayitaliano (but from the computer you can actually: just check the top bar in the homapage)
Sorry if I don't add all the links here but right now I can't, and there are just a few posts on my other blog so I think you'll be able to find all you need by yourself. If not, feel free to ask me again for the links or anything else!
Maybe listening and repeating can be an even more useful job for you, both for improving your pronunciation and your reading skills (some words may hide a tricky pronunciation: maybe a random accent that is not written or another rule. I'd suggest you to listen to Italians speaking too, if you aren't yet) Ciao! :)
22 notes · View notes
thefloatingstone · 2 years
Note
hello cpuff, how are you?
i have an adhd related question and need your advise
i would like to try a medical treatment for my adhd again but im very traumatised by my first time. it was apparently a small dosage and the side effects were horrible (i do believe my therapist was only for children too)
how did you find out what treatment was right? do you need a treatment to get by in everyday life?
im going to university soon and i dont want to fuck it up.. :')
thanks in advance!
Hey Toast!
I'm in a unique position in that despite being born in the late 80s and growing up in the early 90s, my dad is a doctor and my mom was heavily involved in his medical practice. So I was very lucky to be diagnosed with "Type 2 ADD" from the age of 4 or 5. My mom did have me on Ritalin as a small child but I wasn't on the medication long although she can't remember why she discontinued it. But something wasn't working for me.
As an adult, my ADHD is a type that is high functioning for most things, thankfully. I still have big struggles, and as a result I developed the fun little splinter skill called "Anxiety disorder" to counteract the forgetfulness, procrastination, avoidance and general executive dysfunction. It works for a lot of things... but it's still an anxiety disorder which has its OWN symptoms and detriments.
As a result, I'm not on any ADHD specific medication. Although most of them are illegal here anyway due to them being an amphetamine. The medication I am on is for the anxiety disorder which became necessary after some extremely traumatic events in 2018 when I hit my limit.
When I was in matric, I self medicated with vasts amount of diet coke (it was the caffeine which helped focus). I still have an extremely difficult time with studying if it's a subject I don't find interesting as my brain will heavily resist the study period itself and will "dump" any information I learn during studying because it doesn't produce dopamine and so the brain function considers it "useless information." (this isn't me trying to be cute. This is a gross simplification of what actually happens cognitively).
At the moment I am trying to study for the ILETS exam and I admit it's very difficult and I am avoiding it a lot.
I am using a star sticker reward system which has worked for me in the past. (it doesn't seem as effective these days but it used to work very well). And I try and limit how much I study to extremely short sessions more frequently than doing long study periods. I also do a lot more cramming the day before as a result of how my brain treats "undesired information".
The flip side is I remember random trivia and knowledge in subjects I enjoy for literally decades...
Anyway I'm rambling.
I don't know if it would be beneficial to you and your ADHD make-up, but I find that behavioural therapy, reward systems and structure work better for me in lieu of medication. (outside of the anxiety meds to manage anxiety symptoms. The medication does not take away the functional anxiety that counter-acts the ADHD luckily). The only downside here is that BECAUSE of my ADHD I struggle to do a lot of the therapy practice specifically designed to help manage my symptoms. (but I am not in a place where I can find ADHD specific therapy to help me with how my brain functions). But I DO find repetitive practice, structure, and breaking things down into the tiniest most basic tasks does help a TINY bit.
That, and doing more than one thing at once. THAT one is a winner for me. Cooking supper? Put on a video to listen to as I do so. Driving? podcast time. Working? youtube tutorial time. reading? music time. (just no lyrics). Jogging? More podcasts/audiobooks.
As well as different methods of processing information. If you can, try to find places that present the material you want to learn in a unique manner. I'm currently 1/4 through the first Dune novel because a DJ made a 23 hour video putting the audiobook to his own lo-fi mixes and trippy visuals. Which resulted in me very quickly memorising a LOT of names and world building which I'm normally terrible at. I tend to internalise information best through video than reading. But when I do read a physical book, audio input is a big must as my brain gets bored otherwise and I lose focus.
My friends with ADHD have great success with journalling in bullet point although it doesn't work for me. (I start, it works great, then I stop doing it and forget it was a working method.) They found breaking things down into bullet points helps them bring order to their thoughts. Same with calendars.
Use multi coloured pens. This is a BIG help. Just writing every paragraph in a new colour helps so much for re-reading notes and stops you skimming a huge text wall.
Speak to your lecturer and make them aware that you will doodle in class while they lecture, and that you are doing so because it stops you from getting visually distracted while they lecture and helps you process audio better. Maybe they won't care but it's best just to let them know "I'm not ignoring you so don't call me out."
I hope some of this can be helpful in SOME way... I still struggle a lot so I don't have a lot of answers because I mostly feel like I don't function well at all. And what I do function with I only function with out of dumb luck.
I know I have adult mutuals who also have ADHD so maybe some of them can help chime in with more tips. (I won't tag them because I don't want to call them out without permission)
9 notes · View notes
bagofbonesmp3 · 3 years
Text
how i (personally) pirate things. this is by no means a great extensive perfect guide, ill just give you the process of how i go about it. and if you’re in a country where they monitor your internet usage, consider getting a good vpn! always helps. also if anyone wants to add their personal resources, PLEASE DO!!! you’re encouraged to do so!!!
not much to do with the pirating itself, but i download most of the stuff i watch/read/listen. sometimes websites get deleted and links go bad, but files are forever! consider getting a usb/external disk for your stuff. it was one of my first investments as an adult. got a 1 TB disk 5 years ago and im not even halfway through filling it. so most of the sites listed here are for downloads. sorry if you prefer streaming stuff.
in the same subject, get VLC media player. it’s a great media player that works with a bunch of file formats AND you can add subtitle/cc files for the stuff you watch. more on that later.
and for the love of fucking god GET MOZILLA. i swear to God, if you only use chrome it will change your browsing experience. it's just a better experience, no tracking, uses less space, has a bunch of useful add ons to help with browsing security. for a search engine i use startpage. it's just Google without blocking pages and tracking. life-changing
to the actual pirating. first step if you want to WATCH stuff:
AND also, keep in mind that if you can’t find something here, i suggest you go to a non-google browser, and simply type out what you want + “watch/download free”. of course you should get an ad block (i recommend ublock) and learn how to recognized fake links, but that’s just practise. most of the time you’ll find a random website that has what you’re looking for.
torrent:
- for movies, i usually turn to yts/yify movies. this is the latinamerican site but im sure it’s available almost everywhere. quite good catalogue, not that complete, but yknow. its good. any time you download a torrent file, make sure the file is .torrent, and that the thing you’re downloading is in the right format (mp4, mp3, mkv, etc. don’t open.exe files from places that aren’t trustworthy lol)
- torrent is IN MY OPINION one of the best ways to download media in general. i use it mostly for movies, tv shows and games. my go to torrent client is deluge because it doesn’t use much space and it’s fairly easy to use. here’s a tutorial, for you to learn how to use it. not difficult at all
- for subtitles /ccs, i go to yts-subs. bunch of subtitles in all languages. or simply check out opensubtitles, my oldest friend
- for tv shows it gets tricky, because i had a website i used before but its gone now :( so i turned to limetorrents. you can find it if you search for it. has a bunch of other stuff but i only use it when i have nowhere to turn to lmao. but upadates quite quickly, so. just make sure the uploader seems constant and trustworthy, which you can check in their profile.
non torrent stuff:
- for pc games: igggames hasn’t failed me yet. they update their links quite often
- for books: z-library (latine link, but just look it up! should show up). and my recent ally, vk. you should all love vk. vk is my fucking best friend. just look up [book name] + vk and it should show up.
- for audiobooks: vk! my good friend. i’d suggest you make an account and then check out this profile. or simply google [book] +  audiobook + vk. something will pop up. audio files can only be streamed on the website, but fear not, there is also mobilism, which also has some other content, though i use it mostly for audiobooks. you’ll have to make an account but thats fine. you can download the files in there.
- for anime: i don’t watch a lot of anime tbh, but you can find subtitled anime here
- for premium apps: here’s my trusty spotify premium link. but mobilism has links for android and ios  apps as well! i have a friend who uses it and says the links check out, so!
- for music: how old are you? just download stuff from youtube with a youtube to mp3 converted. jeez.
im surely missing a website, so maybe i’ll add something later, but this is pretty much it! thanks for watching.
3K notes · View notes
Note
Hello! Recently I have noticed that everything in my writing aside from dialogue tends to be very lackluster. Most of the time when I’m writing dialogue I end up pretty happy with it, but pretty much everything else most of the time just ends up feeling like a bland play-by-play of what’s going on. Do you have any tips for how to get past this and begin improving my skills beyond just dialogue? I know that part of it is that I haven’t been writing for a long time, but I am looking for ways to strengthen that part of my skillset as a writer. Thank you in advance for any help, I really appreciate your blog.
Improving Writing Skills, Part II
I recently did a post with resources to help improve writing, which you can read here.
Writing is a craft and the elements that make for good writing are broad and varied. It's difficult to provide a comprehensive list of ways you can improve your writing beyond what I did above. The number one thing you can do to improve your writing is to read. A lot. (Or, at least listen to audiobooks and story-based podcasts.) That is honestly the best way to learn how to tell a story... how to string words together in a pleasing way... how stories should be structured.
You can keep following writing blogs like this one to get a daily dose of random advice that you can apply to your own writing. You can also find lots and lots of books about writing in bookstores and at your local library. If you want to improve your grammar, get yourself some books related to grammar and improving grammar. If you want to improve your story structure, get yourself some books related to improving structure. You can also look on YouTube for free videos that will explain everything from story structure and world building to structuring sentences, adding detail to your stories, and working themes and symbolism into your stories. Literally, anything you'd want to improve in your writing, there's a video for it on YouTube.
Beyond that, you just have to write bad stuff for a while so that it can slowly get better. Because, if you decided today that you wanted to learn how to knit, you could read every knitting book under the sun, watch videos about knitting, read advice blogs about knitting... and when you go to apply those skills, you're still not going to knit a designer quality sweater on your first try, or your third try, or probably even your fifth try. You're going to knit imperfect sweaters for a while, and that's okay. Because the more imperfect sweaters you knit, the better you get and the smaller those imperfections become, until pretty soon you're knitting pretty flawless sweaters. Writing works the same way. You have to focus on quantity first, not quality. (Which reminds me, I have a post about that, too: Concentrate on Quantity at First, Not Quality)
Be patient... it takes time and effort, but you'll get there! :)
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!
Visit my FAQ
See my Master List of Top Posts
Go to ko-fi.com/wqa to buy me coffee or see my commissions!
62 notes · View notes
eldricheyess · 3 years
Text
List of 100 distractions.
I wrote all of these for myself, but steal them if you want.
Find a new series to binge on YouTube or Netflix
Make a new playlist
Listen to loud music
Use stim toys
Sleep
Tidy your room
Go on a walk
Draw
Clear out your wardrobe
Paint on your walls
Try new makeup looks
Scroll on tktok
Play minecraft
Make more patches for your clothes
Add things to your amazon wishlist
Play/cuddle with your pets
Make/modify your clothes
Meet with a friend
Write poems
Put together new outfits
Make your bed/change the bed sheets
Take a really hot or cold shower/bath
Arrange your candles, incense and oils
Go on a bike ride
Sort your Pinterest boards into sections
Go on a drive
Read a book/listen to an audiobook
Make a list of places nearby that you want to visit
Learn a new instrument (mine are bass, ukulele, piano, guitar)
Get in the shower or bath fully clothed
Watch things from your childhood
Make a Pinterest board with outfits you want
Paint you nails
Bleach and dye your hair
Draw on your hands, arms and legs
Burn things
Do photography
Write a book (fanfic if you prefer)
Hold ice cubes on your stomach and thighs for as long as you can stand
Check in on fandoms you used to be in. See what’s happening and how things have changed
Listen to music you haven’t listened to in a while
Find pictures to print and put them on your walls
Buy new art supplies
Add new movies to your watchlist
Find someone new to talk to, maybe make a new friend
Get in contact with an old friend
Clean your tattoos/piercings
Look for more tattoo designs
Play The Sims
Sort through and throw out old art supplies
Rearrange your room
Vacuume the house
Polish everything
Smell things that make you happy (lavender, mango hand cream)
Write a letter about things you want to tell someone. Now burn it
Make your own alphabet and learn it until you’re fluent
Talk to your stuffed animals about your feelings
Curl or straighten your hair
Listen to a new band or genre/style of music
Watch bootleg musicals on YouTube
Find something new to hyperfixate on
Take online quizzes
Make an aesthetically pleasing video
Romanticise your life in writing
Draw the tattoos you want on yourself
Make characters on picrew
Drink tea/coffee/hot chocolate
Go skating
Masturbate
Watch Beetlejuice
Continue your book of shadows
Buy new jewellery
Cry. It sucks but sometimes you just gotta cry. That’s okay <3
Watch Jimmy Carr
Start a new journal
Decorate the front of your sketchbook
Declutter your phone
Smoke or vape. Whatever you choose
Learn about occult and witchcraft
Make a bullet journal
Sit on your windowsill with headphones on. It’s very calming
Meditate
Declutter your house/bedroom
Mess with people Omegle
Paint
Message/call/FaceTime a friend
Play among us
Make your room feel pretty and aesthetically pleasing
Rewatch your comfort shows
Write down everything you’re thinking, no matter how interesting
Go and buy yourself a new blanket
Take aesthetic pictures of yourself
Play the switch
Start naming random objects in your room
Reorganise you drawers/desk
Look at the most expensive houses in your area on rightmove (or some other housing website)
Go shopping for clothes (irl or online)
Make a bracelet
Bake/cook something
Clear out your social medias.
1K notes · View notes
rigelmejo · 3 years
Text
Some September 1st Updates
the READING SPEED difference of a novel at my level! I read the first chapter of 撒野 yesterday and this author is at exactly my reading level right now. I hit 0-2 new words each pleco page, which is usually the sweet spot to either guess the word or if I look it up I can pretty quickly adapt to recognizing it in context. Its also the sweet spot where if I only rely on guessing for new word meanings, on a second pass through I can fairly well guess the meaning quickly. 
It was a 32 page chapter in pleco and I read it in 20 minutes. Compared to the 20 pleco page per chapter pingxie fic i just finished (like 124k characters! WOW I read and FINISHED that much!), which was taking 30-40 minutes per chapter (mainly because of number of new vocabulary per chapter being a bit higher). If I’d wanted to speed read saye I could have, I’d have missed some small details but I could have tried if I wanted.
Then I did a second pass later in the day with the audiobook just following along with the text. Realized 1. I knew most words in the audiobook and did not follow as well as i thought - but those first listen throughs without having seen the chapter I did manage to figure out the main character just broke up, just travelled somewhere, ran into a girl and somehow the girls brother showed and the two guys interacted a little and someone was being somewhat helpful, then the main guy met his father trying to ‘pick him up.’ Which is a true but very rough summary of what happens in the first chapter. By reading I could confirm the words I thought were names AS names, figured out WHY the girl was interacting with the main guy and that there were actually two girls in chapter 1, and figure out who helped who and who was the girl’s brother. Also somehow before I looked at the chapter text I never caught that the audiobook mentions a motorcycle despite me knowing that word and it SOUNDING like mota-che/motorche! it sounds like the word and i knew it and didn’t hear it! Then later following the audiobook with the text I realized another issue I had, is I’m not used to listening to soft voices with such faint pronunciations of the final sounds. I’m much more used to deeper crisper pronunciations and being able to rely clearly on initials and finals AS much as tones to recognize the words, whereas this particular audiobook i needed to mainly rely on tones and initials to figure out what word was what - that probably threw me off a bit. It’s probably good for me to get practice listening to such a different voice to what I’m used to. I have definitely learned the deeper the voice, the more I have a far easier time figuring out what’s being said. Also standard accent more like beijing but without a huge amount of ‘er’s just some, and taiwan accent are the easiest for me to hear when i’m not pa
For anyone curious, here is the audiobook for SaYe I’m listening to: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2w27tfjeeaySbMK272NpXwUtsBc-e3YN
Also here’s a chinese audiobook youtube I found: https://www.youtube.com/c/%E6%9C%89%E5%A3%B0%E5%B0%8F%E8%AF%B4%E5%90%AC%E4%B9%A6%E4%B8%96%E7%95%8Cyoushengxiaoshuo/playlists
Which includes The King’s Avatar: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTJaWZoVPdT1ZhIQIKxVci7fVEHr-oX6k
And ErHa: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsxEOGKlBMaFa6CS6Hf5ndy6qTtUL0Au_
Anyway, its a great book right now for reading practice. It’s very much around my level. I will probably stick with this author for a little while and solidify what I know/my base reading level. 
-
IN OTHER NEWS:
I am apparently living proof listening-reading, heavy emphasis on re-listening a TON in the background as you work or type or walk/drive whatever, works for learning new words. 
I re-listened to guardian chapter 1 audiobook at least 20-30 times by now, just a tremendous amount. Chapters 1-10 I’ve listened to at least 5 times by now random chapters at random days, and some probably also 20 times. 
I have listened to these chapters enough, that I can officially follow so much that I know nearly every freaking word I hear, I know it immediately on hearing in at least 3 different audiobooks, and the few ‘less familiar’ words I recognize a second after hearing (like hearing ‘audacious’ or ‘glum’ in english it just takes me a second to re-remember), and the very few still forgotten words/specific details I learn From those words I can actually pick up from the context of listening.
 I hear ‘powei’ and somehow forgot it AGAIN? Oh it means ‘rather’ in this context. ‘anli’ well i always hear ‘anlishuo’ as in ‘people say/generally speaking’ so ‘anli’ in this context must mean ‘generally/generally speaking.’ chuanghu? can’t remember it because i was just typing this JUST now and only hearing a few words from the audiobook in the background - well in context its obviously window, but out of context my brain said window and i just couldn’t remember if it was window or curtain but felt curtain had something more complex than ‘hu’ as the second half - just looked it up and my guess was right, even with no context which i’d have had if i’d been listening better and it had been clear it’s window, it still made me think ‘window’ immediately just hearing the sound. ‘xiang yi ge ren’ sounds like ‘looks like a person’ which is the next phrase i just randomly heard. ‘hua le yao ming’ shouted for their life/in awful terror? or that would be ‘huo’, so maybe ‘streaking toward him to take his life’? would make sense in context of a horror scene - i just looked it up and 划了要命 would be the second one. even IF i heard the wrong line, both of those are pretty close to a good guess in context and hua is the only unknown because without context i can’t place if it was hua or huo. i still confuse the words wu and wo for hold etc, but in context i can tell which one it is (wo is hold a hand, hold a face, etc). 
I’m genuinely at a point where I can just completely follow the plot through at least the first 20 chapters from listening. And for most scenes, follow every detail too including stuff like guo changcheng spending half a year not working at home after he graduated, being so afraid of the phone, da qing being fawning to shen wei when they meet and rubbing against his leg, the specific conversation details when da qing runs across zhao yunlan’s car in chapter 2, what zhao yunlan’s room exactly looks like, etc. Its super cool to be able to follow the audiobook so well I can follow the story and details even when I don’t have time to read! It’s so fun! And it was not very hard!
It took 40 minutes of upfront study where you set time aside to focus: 20 minutes to have a program read the chapter aloud while you either see unknown word definitions pop up (like in Pleco) or look them up with some click dictionary as you listen. 20 minutes to go through and listen to the audiobook as you follow along with the text. Then after that, just play the audiobook chapters you’ve done this with whenever you want, either paying attention like when going to bed soon or walking, or in the background like when cleaning or doing busy work or driving. Since background listening can be done easily whenever all you have to do is remember to click play when you want something to listen to. 
I’m honestly blown away by how much 3 months of studying mainly like this (which is quite fun and only requires me to carve out a small amount of actual study focused time) has improved my listening skills. I can now also listen to the 2ha audiobook okay and follow along (provided its a chapter I’ve read before so I have at least some prior context to help me out) - at least so far as that’s what I’m listening to right now. Basically, I can tell Guardian has both upped my vocabulary significantly and also improved my automatic recognition of many words I half-knew and learned since. 
I recently found a new Guardian audiobook read by a deep voice and its lovely (and utilizes music and echo for effects, its lovely to listen to) I hope the poster keeps updating: https://fm.qq.com/show/rd002ED4aN0mYz2L__
I’ve been listening to it lately.
---
Also! Directions for using Pleco Android for screen reader:
1. To get any page bookmarked online: 
Open a page in your mobile web browser you want to read. Click the menu, click share, click Pleco Reader (or ‘more’ or ‘...’ then Pleco Reader).
Go to Clipboard Reader. Now when you click text, dictate text megaphone will be an option.
*Since Clipboard Reader is free, you can do this to read in Pleco and have things spoken aloud with no money spent. (Though I find the Reader tool worth the money and add ons).
2. To have any text ‘dictated aloud’:
Go to Pleco’s menu, Settings, Audio, click ‘use TTS if no recording,’ then for Sentence Audio section area System TTS Setting click Speech Services by Google (you can also experiment by clicking other options I am just stating what worked for me, it didn’t work at first I had to make that my default TTS in my Accessibility-Talkback Settings menu on my main phone first and restart my phone before all this). 
Then click the area right below to mess with speed and sound of the TTS voice. 
(Note, to test if TTS is working you can go to any dictionary entry sentence, click the speaker next to the sentence and see if it plays audio. If it does not, you will get an error message and directions on what to change in your phone settings. That is what initially happened to me: I had to go to phone Settings, Accessibility, Talkback, TTS Engine, TTS Engine voice and settings. Pleco recommended I choose Speech Services by Google, and uninstall then reinstall the Chinese voice. Then restart the phone. That worked for me. An additional note: I have Talkback setting on ‘on’ and just have it in my toolbar to use if desired but am not actively using it. If you turn Talkback setting ‘off’ in the actual Settings area of Accessibility, I am not sure if it will affect Pleco’s ability to dictate). 
3. How to put it together: 
Now go to Clipboard Reader and read the page from the internet you wanted or text you pasted, or go to Document Reader and open the document you wish to read. 
Click a word as a place to start. Now you should see both the loudspeaker (for pronouncing the single word) and the Megaphone next to it to start dictating all text. (If your phone is weird like me, you may need to press the megaphone a couple times before the audio works).
If you wish to change dictation reading speed, simply hold down the megaphone and select the speed desired. 
Now that I’ve figured this out I really want to take pictures of my print book, make a pdf, and listen to all the changes.
(Now I just have to fix my weird dictionary in Idiom app and I’m all set on the new phone!)
---
All I’ve been doing the past august study wise is just reading pingxie fic and finishing, and listening to audiobooks. It’s been a busy time for me ToT
I do think it proved you can be lazy and still make some improvements though: 
1. Reading in Pleco (or click-dictionary tool of your choice): pick something and read a chapter a day (that’s what I did, obviously the easier this is the less time you’ll need, but aim for around 30 minutes a day and reading material closer to your level if you don’t want to read too long)
2. Listening-Reading Method something above your reading level that you enjoy. Should take 40 minutes a couple times a week to several times a week to hours a week, depending on how intense you want to get with it and how much you’re going to alternate/include the reading portion. I did like 1-2 chapters a week so I was only spending 40 minutes to 1.5 hours a week doing this, or 3 hours one week no time another week. This is definitely something where you can do 6-12 hours one month then coast on it for another month just repeating older material’s audio/re-reading sections (which is what I did with guardian, doing 22 chapters then switching to just listening to audio a lot). 
Once you’ve done a little L-R steps 2 and 3 (in either order, whatever works for you - and doing step 1 if you want more context prior to steps 2 and 3), then just make time during your days to play the audiobook chapters you’ve studied. You don’t need to be focusing every single time (although focusing on actually trying to follow the audio the first time you listen without text to aid you will probably speed up your comprehension a lot by giving you a lot of basic-context to help you comprehend more later). Aim to listen whenever you’ve got down time! Or time where you’d play music or some background youtube video or podcast - walks, exercise, drives, when cleaning, when browsing the web goofing off, when working if you have times when you’d listen to music with lyrics or a podcast in the background without issues, times when you don’t need to focus 100% on listening just putting it on to hear in the background). 
That’s all I’ve done for study since May. It takes me about 30 minutes 5 days a week, plus 1-2 hours listening-reading actively a week. So 2.5 hours plus 2 = 4 hours of active study a week. Sometimes more like 8-10 if I got really into reading something or Listening-reading to several chapters. Then after that (very easy to fit into my life 4-10 hours per week of study) I just play the audiobook whenever I have downtime at work (that’s usually 0.5-4 hours where I just let it play because I forget its on while working on spreadsheets, updates, emails, etc, or play the audiobook while messing around on the internet in my free time at home, sometimes I put on music instead), while walking so 15-30 minutes maybe 3 days a week, while driving far so maybe 20 minutes - 2 hours per week. maybe lets say 2 hours*4 days a week (I don’t remember to listen every day) so 8 hours random listening+1.5 hours walking+1 hour driving per week. That’s 11.5 hours listening in the background or paying attention plus lets say 4 hours of active study a week. So 15.5 ‘study’ hours for chinese per week - an average overall of ~2.21 hours of chinese ‘study’ per day. This isn’t counting when I get into weibo and goof off, get into some chinese show with no english subs and just start watching it (I watched 16 episodes of Humans cdrama in August which is ~10.66 hours for a total of at least (15.5*4 weeks = 62 hours + 10.66 hours -> ~72.66 hours spent ‘with chinese’ in August at minimum. 4 weeks*7 days = 28, so over around 28 days or most of august I did 72.66 total hours/28 days -> or ~2.595 hours of chinese per day as an average. So... my guess that I spend at least 1-2 hours on chinese per day as the average was a decent guess. Looks like I’m usually 2 hours to 2.5 hours daily as an overall average. It’s not that hard to get in that much without a ton of time in the day once you get some listening skills built up ToT Deciding to build up my listening skills has been one of the funnest goals in chinese so far.
Notes on Listening Reading Actively - it also doubles as increasing your exposure to listening to your target language, and the more hours the better even if its passive in the background, just more hours adding up toward your mind getting a better ability to parse the sounds of the language is going to help your overall listening comprehension in general. So even if you don’t pay attention much and can’t follow the whole plot and only catch certain scenes, you will be improving at least comprehension of: hearing words you know, hearing colocations and common phrases and recognizing more automatically which will help with speaking/writing indirectly and reading recognition of those things, overall ability to hear things correctly in different combinations and getting used to the common combinations. 
You will be surprised how much more you can pick up of plot and details the 3rd listen compared to the first, the 5th listen, the 10th listen. It’s wild. Like... I’m listening to the 2ha audiobook and even having never read it in chinese, just knowing basic context, the 2nd read through I caught so much more of the plot throughout just because I had forewarning of when scenes change a lot, what audio plays during some parts I recognized in previous listens, and so I have more focus for figuring out the new details I missed. Whereas the first listen, I didn’t always know WHAT the scene context was until I heard a familiar line or description I remembered from the english version of the scene, but on a second listen I now have a better guess at the scene the lines are probably taking place in before and after those lines I recognized in the first listen. And this continues etc each time you re-listen to something. (So yes, that initial context of knowing what you’re listening to with a previous read of its translation or target language transcript will definitely speed up comprehension pick up - but if you just wanna test what your basic listening comprehension to new content is then it works fine just going into new audio with no prior context its just more difficult at first lol until you build an idea of the context from listening).
The original Listening-Reading Method person did like 40+ hours a week, 8 hours most days, no wonder they made fast progress! They often included reading in some form (hence the name) and later translation, so they also were constantly working on listening AND some reading skills AND eventually often some speaking/writing skills. Doing it my way results in mostly listening comprehension of stuff you could already read to a degree, more automaticity in recognition, and for picking up new vocabulary both in listening and reading. I do extra reading on the side with other stuff to get more reading practice in an isolated way (since I’m trying to push my reading speed up above speaking speed). I always try to do it the way the creator originally intended, but I am not able to focus on things for more than 20 minutes at a time, 40 to a couple hours if I take a break every 20 minutes. So doing it 8 hours just doesn’t work out. 
---
I’m fairly happy!
I am on plan for my main goals that started this style study plan: 
1. Improving my reading level to get to start being able to extensively read actual danmei novels - we got there! I am at a reading level appropriate for SaYe at 98% comprehension when I checked, and at a bit above 95% comprehension for Guardian! I’m now continuing with that goal while adding on increasing reading Speed in general.
2. Improving listening skills so I have better automatic recognition of partly-known words from reading (working super well so far - I can tell because ability to watch cdramas in only chinese has improved noticeably and gotten much easier), and so I can start following the main plot and key details of audiobooks of things I’ve read before (working great for guardian, starting to work with other audiobooks provided I listen to the chapters a few times or several times if its brand new material I have no context for, however reading level matters and while things I have prior familiarity with are going very well - brand new materials are still quite challenging in that they require multiple listens for the full plot and several listens before I start picking up most non-plot-critical details). 
35 notes · View notes
music-of-physics · 4 years
Text
Self check-in list during study sessions
This is by far one of the best, unusual advice I've seen and I wanted to elaborate on that. (Check post by @undasrego). Since I often lose a track of time this list helps me concentrate on my daily wellbeing.
When was the last time I ate something? What did I eat? Am I hungry now?
This may sounds funny - how could you not know you're hungry? I just don't, since I remember, and I'm sure that many people while being engaged in work also tend to forget about eating. So remember, eat at least 4 meals everyday:
• make sure to eat a proper breakfast - that's the most important meal, it gives you strength for the start of the day!
• second breakfast - usually a fruit or yogurt or sandwich with veggies. Make sure to eat a lot of fruits and vegetables!
• lunch - very important, can't skip!!! If you don't feel like cooking, order something. And if you're cooking, you can listen to some podcast or audiobooks to fill the time (or music if you need to relax)
• snack - something sweet, what gets me energised
• dinner - don't go to sleep hungry. I tend to forget about that part the most, but I decided that it's better to eat a small sandwich around midnight than go to sleep without eating anything for the last 6 hours. (But I'm skinny, so do what is the best for your health).
When was the last time I drank water?
To avoid asking this question just keep your water bottle at your study space. Make yourself a tea or coffee. Get a glass of juice. Stay hydrated! If you forget about drinking water, there are apps that send you reminder (I used Water Drink Reninder, it's really easy and user-friendly).
When was the last time I used a toilet?
My advice - if you don't remember, just go. And if you really don't feel a need to pee, maybe you drink too less water?
Does my legs hurt? Does my back hurt? My head?
Take a break for stretching. Go for a walk. Open a window to get some fresh air. Go around a house - even small trip from your room to a kitchen to make some tea is enough. If you spend too much time in front of computer screen make sure to take breaks once every... I don't know, often. Exercise your eyes' muscles and eye accommodation - focus on far and near objects etc.
Am I stressed?
Take a quick break. Close your eyes. Breathe. In... and out... count. Go to your happy place. And think - you can do this!!! You really can, I believe in you and you should believe in yourself. World doesn't end. If you have a possibility, go get a hug from your family or friends. They also support you and believe in you!
Am I sad?
Working all day long for weeks isn't good for your mental health. Find a hobby that interests you, makes you happy or just lets you relax a bit. Talk with friends or family. Do something spontaneously, something you really wanted to do for a long time. Eat something sweet or just something you enjoy. Watch funny videos on YouTube - but set a timer not to lose a track of time! Or you can message some blogs here and talk to random people about your life. Studyblr community is very supportive, we got your back!
This is what I use and this works for me. If you feel like adding on something, message me, comment, let people know what is the best for you!
I hope this helps you survive online classes! Stay safe!
216 notes · View notes
vegetalass · 4 years
Note
What about the RDR2 boys on a road trip?
Thank you so much for this fun request! As you can see.... I went a little crazy❤️✨😩
General 
They fight about what snacks they should bring and end up forgetting them all
They all fart in the car and blame each other for it. 
Literally ends up being the stinkiest ride ever and everyone wants to Die 
The fighting about what’s played on the stereo is endless and someone is always unhappy about it
If they have to take two separate cars, Hosea switches up the groups so that no one is stuck with the same people for too long
If one car seats seven, Hosea and Dutch will take the other for themselves (smh)
I’m not gonna lie… literally all of them would pee in a bottle… how they feel about it is pretty different, though 
Arthur 
Can drive one-handed
Drives in silence, not because he likes silence but because everyone else is Too Loud and he needs a break
Tries to talk about the scenery but that’s boring and he gets ignored
Also gets ignored when he points out cool cars.. and cows… and license plates… 
Even Charles can’t be bothered to respond
Backseat driver
Gets yelled at constantly for this but doesn’t stop 
John gets it the worst
He doesn’t have road rage, just thinks that everyone is a bad driver 
His favorite thing is to roll down all of the windows in the car 
Rarely gets to do this because of how many complaint’s he’d get
Stops at every farm stand on the side of the road that he sees 
After a while he doesn’t even need anything and just does it because he feels bad if he drives past them
The only thing he’ll eat while driving is chips
His clothes and seat get covered in crumbs
Wears his hat, jacket and boots in the car even though it’s hot and doesn’t make sense
Also probably buys one of those dangly pine trees to hang on his rearview mirror
Can’t read in the car because he gets carsick :(
Would he pee in a bottle? - Yes, but he doesn’t want to talk about it
John 
If he’s not driving, he’s probably asleep 
And if he’s not asleep, he’s “resting” 
Honestly, he just doesn’t want to talk to anyone in that environment
The grumpiest one of them
He’s just mad (sad) because Abigail wouldn’t let him go with Ms. Grimshaw and the girls
Probably ends up spilling something and tries to blame it on whoever is sitting next to him 
Spends most of his radio time just browsing through stations
When he finds anything he likes, it immediately goes to ads and the process starts all over again
Takes all his rest stops at 7/11 just so he can get a slushee and a hotdog 
He’s okay with stopping at gas stations too but they’re just not the same
Takes off his shoes in the car and just wears his socks the whole ride 
He probably drives like that, too 
This is why Abigail didn’t let him go with them 
Would he pee in a bottle? - Yes, but he’d be mad about it and would try to bring it up a lot
Charles 
Plans out where and when he’s going to make stops
Probably does a few stretches and some jumping jacks when he gets out of the car
He will let the gang stop at McDonalds but only if he thinks they deserve it
The only thing he orders for himself is an ice cream cone 
The safest driver out of everyone
So safe, in fact, that he’s always made to drive at night
He doesn’t mind much because everyone is pretty quiet when it’s late and that means less complaining
Makes a long playlist full of music like Sufjan Stevens and Mumford & Sons (and The Black Eyed Peas) 
Everyone tries to clown him for it but he’s the King of brushing it off 
“When it’s your turn, you can play what you want” or “I didn’t complain when you were playing 100gecs” 
First of all: drag them… 
Second of all: okay, Dad. 
Talented because he can read in the car without getting carsick
Apologizes for everyone’s behavior when they go anywhere
Makes everyone use hand sanitizer after doing literally anything
They have to pass it around the car like little kids
It’s probably Bath and Body Works
Would he pee in a bottle? - Yes, but pretends that he wouldn’t 
Micah
If he’s driving, he gets control of the radio. Doesn’t matter if it’s his turn or not, he gets Full Control. 
If anyone even suggests changing what he’s playing, he snaps at them
Dummy probably smokes in the car
Dummy also probably eats while he drives
Holds his food while steering 
Everything gets greasy
His rest stops are incredibly short
So short that they practically don’t exist
Threatens to drive off without people 
The only time Dutch intervenes with his behavior is when he tries to pick up a hitchhiker
He’s like, “Look Arthur, it’s your long lost brother!” 
He also probably tries to stop at a gentlemen’s club in the middle of nowhere at some point, too 
“I could crash this car right now if I wanted to” 
He only says this once though because it causes a riot
Backseat driver but only to Arthur 
Sean swerving and Hosea speeding: I sleep 
Arthur accidentally cutting someone off: REAL SHIT?
The only other one who gets to use the charging cord (because he’s mean and demands to)
Would he pee in a bottle? - He’s almost happy to
Hosea 
Is never allowed to drive because he doesn’t like to make stops. He 100% will drive past every single rest stop and every single McDonalds they see
Everyone could be screaming at him to pull over and he’d just ignore them
Drives way too fast. Catch him going 90 MPH saying “I’m just going with the traffic!” 
Everyone else: terrified
When it’s his turn for the radio, he chooses to play an audiobook
If you complain about being bored to him, he’ll try to get everyone to sing campfire songs 
Everyone gets to about ninety-five bottles of beer on the wall before giving up and start fighting
He’s also the one to suggest playing “I Spy”
The gang will play but it’s all like 
“I Spy something gross” 
“Is it Micah’s butt crack?” 
“Yes” 
Has one of those mini electric fans that sprays water at you when you press a button 
Doesn’t share it
Always has his phone plugged into the charger to the point where no one else can use it 
Keeps a box of bubbly water under his seat 
It’s lukewarm
He’s the only one who drinks it but he offers it to everyone 24/7 
Would he pee in a bottle? - Yes, but only because he makes the other boys do it and he feels guilty
Dutch 
Acts like everyone should be grateful he’s driving even though they’re all taking turns 
Pulls the “You’re lucky I drove, I’m not a chauffeur!” card when someone is mean to him about anything
Music of choice is just Elvis Presley with a few random smooth jazz songs mixed in 
“What do you boys know about this?”
Everyone: … 
Complains about everything
If he’s not complaining about someone being irritating, he’s complaining about how hot it is, and if not that, there’s something else
Always thirsty and needs to have a drink with him at all time
Will only share it with Hosea or Arthur and lowkey neither of them want what he’s drinking 
When he’s driving, makes everyone stop at a drive-through cafe where he orders the most expensive iced drink on the menu 
Like Arthur, gets mad at people for “not enjoying the view” 
“You boys are so lucky you get to experience the…” Blah, blah, blah 
Ends up falling asleep but only because he wears a sleep mask and ear plugs
Probably listens to music on a walkman lmao
*Dutch in sunglasses and headphones* “Sorry I didn’t see you right there, I was too busy, mmm, blocking out the haters” 
Would he pee in a bottle? - Yes, because he thinks it’s efficient 
Kieran 
Slowest driver of the bunch 
And out of all of them, takes the most stops 
Probably packs his own bag of snacks and it’s all fucking jellybeans and gummy bears 
Says that they’re the easiest to eat while driving 
Technically, that isn’t even a lie (Micah, please take notes)
He will stop anywhere anyone asks… Why is he so nice?
His favorite stop is Dunkin’ Donuts, though
The music he plays is either great or awful and no one can agree on which is which
Every other song is 2000s dance techno
That or Taylor Swift (and that’s when people start yelling at him to change it)  
Spends the whole trip in slides and no one wants to sit next to him because of his exposed feet
He can (and will) drive in them, though 
When he’s not driving, he’s probably watching a movie or playing games on a big ass tablet
Gets made fun of for using huge headphones
People are just jealous he’s able to find a wifi signal
Would he pee in a bottle? - He’s done grosser things for less, so yes 
Javier 
Brings himself a sandwich to eat and ends up sitting on it 
Backseat driver energy but he’s better at restraining his comments than Arthur 
That being said, if your driving is shitty, he will send you Vibes 
Doesn’t bother much with searching for music and just ends up playing a few hour long YouTube mixes when it’s his turn for the radio 
It’s either that, or Mexican radio for 2 hours (and he will sing along)
The only people who don’t complain about this are Charles and Arthur
Probably the only one out of all of them to make the gang go to an actual restaurant during his rest stop
It’s the first real meal any of them have had in like, three days, and suddenly they all feel better
They refuse to admit it, though
Clips his nails out the window at some point
Ties a bandana around his eyes and uses it as a sleep mask 
*insert that picture of the guy with his face mask over his eyes on an airplane* 
Also probably uses the bandana to block out the smell of farts when it gets especially stinky 
Would he pee in a bottle? - He doesn’t want to, but his logic is that if everyone is doing it, why shouldn’t he? 
Sean 
His driving speed is normal but his driving skills are… Bad
He just isn’t paying attention honestly
Too busy talking
Probably tries to text and drive
Arthur takes away his phone after that
Also, did someone say road rage? 
When it’s his turn for music, only plays nasty pop and rap  
It’s fine at first, but the fourth time he plays “I Cry” by Flo Rida or “New Body” by Kanye and Nicki Minaj, everyone gets mad 
Only takes rest stops at gas stations
And takes literally the longest stops out of all them 
Probably spends the whole time telling the gas station cashier about how annoying everyone is 
Everyone is like “kasjdfkhd” because they think he’s the annoying one and they’ve been waiting to leave for like ten minutes
Don’t sit next to him because he will sweat on you 
If you share your drink with him, 50% chance he’ll backwash in it 
When he’s not driving, he’s watching Tik Toks without headphones (if Arthur has given his phone back, that is) 
Would he pee in a bottle? - Without hesitation
Bonus: 
While the boys are all off fighting, Ms. Grimshaw packed the girls a picnic that they get to enjoy at a nice, camping rest stop 
Molly speeds like the devil 
She’s like Hosea, if not worse 
Tilly made everyone a different playlist and they all take turns listening to them 
Karen isn’t allowed to drive because she spiked her water bottle before leaving
Also isn’t allowed the aux cord because she will play inappropriate music or meme songs 
Sadie pumps the gas and chooses all of the snacks for everyone 
It’s a mixture of healthy treats and candy 
Jack is the Squidward wearing sunglasses while sunbathing meme when John asks if he wants to ride “with the boys”
204 notes · View notes
tamblr · 3 years
Text
Language Profile #2 (தமிழ்)
Tamil (தமிழ்)
Check out part 1 before reading this!
For basics of script check out the introduction and letter combinations
Grammar 
Divided into 4 categories: classical, contemporary, colloquial and literary 
Start with the pronouns
Add suffixes for everything! 
Nouns are inflected based on number and case 
Verbs indicate number, tense, gender, person, mood and voice (I know it’s a lot lol)
3 types of sentences: command and request, statement, question 
Suffixes are added through coupling transformations 
Parts of the statement verb: root (action) + middle (tense) + terminal (person, gender, number) 
If there is a suffix followed by a hard consonant do not forget to add the consonant with the dot on top at the end of the previous word (according to the book I’m reading scholars will be really mad!) 
There are 8 cases 
Prepositions becomes postpositions i.e suffixes!! 
The above rules apply for all 4 categories 
BUT the suffixes and pronunciation changes between formal and informal language 
Sentence structure is usually SOV but OSV is also common
Tamil is a null-subject language. Not all Tamil sentences have subjects, verbs and objects. It is possible to construct valid sentences that have only a verb, such as muṭintuviṭṭatu (முடிந்துவிட்டது, "It is completed"), or only a subject and object, such as atu eṉ vīṭu (அது என் வீடு, "That is my house")
Colloquial refers to spoken language and can change/ omit many of the grammar rules applied to written language
Based on the socioeconomic group you’ll find Sanskrit, Telugu, Urdu and English words combined to form hybrid words (there are probably more languages as well)
Not even going to try and touch literary  
Dialects 
Colloquial language changes depending on socioeconomic groups and place 
Tanglish = English + tamil and can be written with both latin and native script and is popular in social media platforms 
There are around 14 dialects 
For explanations for the popular dialects see the links below:
Standard tamil
India-chennai 
Sri Lankan 
Malaysian tamil 
Brahmin tamil 
Source of dialect posts: @currylangs
The other dialects are usually similar to the Indian dialect
Random tips
If you want to study the language formally then start from the written (classical and contemporary) and listen to audiobooks before trying to read 
Once you understand written language it will be easier to understand how suffixes are omitted etc when it is spoken
To understand spoken language you can watch movies and listen to the latest songs (older songs contain literary grammar i.e the forbidden zone for now) 
Also it helps to understand a more detailed history: Tamil: A Biography by David Dean Shulman is definitely a delight to read and you’ll find links to more research in the bibliography 
If you want short stories, check out animated vids like Vikramaditya and Panchatantra (animals will offer life advice) tales on YouTube 
Check out this audiobook podcast: https://kadhaiosai.com 
For a book to start with(once the foundations are covered and are ambitious ) you should pick up Ponniyin Selvan, it has the original Tamil book, an English translation, a simplified explanation of the story on YouTube and an audiobook plus the story is a historical fiction which has incredible diversity of characters and it’s long so by the time you finish it you’ll probably be able to pick up the language both formal and informal (speaking from personal experience y’all) 
these are all based on personal experience and because this can be a pretty tough language to learn so feel free to add more tips and resources!
18 notes · View notes
patrick-hockstutter · 4 years
Text
Modern!Bowers Gang:
Patrick:
Really into cinematography and photography of the unsettling
Never captions his Instagram posts
Goes live on Instagram a lot, even though people really wished he wouldn’t
Makes art out of dead animals or animal bones he finds
Think Banksy, but with roadkill
He’ll take some (somehow) tasteful photos of them, post them, then leave the scene there for some unexpecting bystander to find
Has a nosering (fight me)
Never uses incognito mode
If someone happens to stumble upon his search history, he’s not paying their therapy bill
He likes reading smut more than he likes watching porn
A ps4 guy
Loves spooky games like Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Until Dawn and Death Stranding
He’s not really into school, but he surprisingly reads a lot when he’s alone in his room
Only about things he likes though
Abnormal psych, criminal psych, and sometimes some zoology (u kno y)
Watches serial killer documentaries like he’s paid to
Listens to grunge, nu metal, and 80s alt
Won’t admit it, but sometimes listens to Joji
He’s not super into emo music, but he’s the only one who will listen to it with Victor (he fckn vibes to Brand New)
Ironically uses a Zune
Has an Android but lowkey wishes he had an iPhone
Doesn’t have a computer, just jailbreaks/hacks the school issued laptop
Has a black line tattooed around some of his fingers, one of his wrists, and the shell of his ear
Has a foot tattoo
Has a fucking Juul
Watches LeafyIsHere on YouTube (tell me I’m wrong)
Spends too much time on Reddit
Wears flannels, skinny jeans, and Vans (a beanie if he’s cold)
Mostly cycles through the same three or four outfits
Wears the same pair of Vans every single day
Victor:
Big into aromatherapy
He uses lavender soaps and has an essential oil diffuser in his room
Uses incognito mode to watch Vampire Diaries
A Nintendo ass b i t c h
He has the gray Switch Lite
He brings his Switch with him everywhere (yes he’s that guy)
But what else are you gonna do when you wanna ignore Patrick?
Watches conspiracy theories about ghosts, cryptids, and aliens
Also big into podcasts (mostly true crime and conspiracy ones)
He listens to them on his headphones while he takes walks or draws
Posts his drawings on Tumblr
Does art streams on Twitch when he gets really bored
Has an eyebrow piercing (but it’s a small stud one, not a ring)
Has little tattoos on his hands
Wears bomber jackets, skinny jeans, joggers, army jackets, converse, and combat boots
The boy has style okay
Had an emo phase but still listens to the music (especially Tiny Moving Parts)
The emo phase was pretty short because Henry made fun of him so much
He just fucking liked MCR and Taking Back Sunday a lot, okay?
And Pierce The Veil and Sleeping With Sirens, but he doesn’t readily admit that
Now mostly listens to new wave, synth pop, and lofi hiphop
His favorite bands are Drab Majesty and Choir Boy (look up their new album btw)
Has a black iPhone and a space gray MacBook Pro
Uses Apple Music
Vapes, but only fruity flavors
Watches BoJack Horseman
Doesn’t really eat fast food but never passes up an M&M McFlurry
Paints his (and Patrick’s) nails black
One time Patrick caught him doing a facemask, so Patrick put one on and started chasing him around screaming as a joke
Cue: hmm… this feels kinda good tho
So now Victor and Patrick have secret mini spa days
Drives a Subaru
Belch:
Makes Spotify playlists like he’s paid to
He’s just really good at putting songs together
He tried to get into music theory, but he wasn’t one for actually making his own songs
Really into metal (obvi) but also likes some classic rock and punk stuff
Has records hung up side by side all around his room where the wall meets the ceiling
Still buys CDs
His Instagram feed is full of vintage cars and custom import cars
Fast and Furious is his favorite movie series
His favorite shows are Sons of Anarchy and The Walking Dead
But he also loves early 2000s comedies
Has a mini projector to watch movies on his room wall
Wears band tees, flannels, jean jackets, Carhartt stuff, d a d  h a t s
Really wants a tattoo but always gets nervous
Uses incognito mode to watch porn and buy some of his band tees from Hot Topic
Only one in the gang that uses Facebook (Mama Huggins made him so he could keep in contact with family)
Follows a few meme pages but also some cooking ones so he can send his mom any cool recipes he finds
Victor lowkey makes fun of him for actually using the Facebook page
Invests money in really good headphones and car speakers
Has a black iPhone
It’s always at 20% battery cause it’s always connected to his headphones, Bluetooth speaker, or car stereo
Him and Victor FaceTime when they’re bored
Sometimes they won’t even say much, they just like the over the phone company
Doesn’t smoke, but sometimes hits Vic’s vape
A social vaper if you will
Watches Idubbbz and Filthy Frank on YouTube
His favorite fast food place is Wendy’s
Not really into video games but fucking slays at Guitar Hero
And when Rock Band came out nobody saw him for like two weeks
Has a black Hydroflask with band stickers on it
Henry:
He plays a lot of Xbox
Mostly Halo, COD, Destiny, any first-person shooter really
Baits people on Xbox Live cause he thinks it’s hilarious
He’s also a fucking cyberbully but we all expected that
Has Victor’s old iPhone
Never fucking charges it
He’ll text you back in 3-5 business days (if at all)
And if you try to call him he’ll block your number
Plays iMessage games like cup pong and 8 ball with Belch
The only social media he uses is Snapchat and Tinder to look at girls
In one of his Tinder photos he’s holding a fish (srrynotsrry)
Doesn’t really listen to too much music
He doesn’t dislike music, just usually prefers to do things in silence
His mind is chaotic enough, he doesn’t need background noise
But he will listen to Cigarettes After Sex and TV Girl on a really low volume when he goes to sleep
Uses incognito mode to pick and choose random soft or angsty songs that he likes to put into a bedtime playlist
Otherwise just listens to whatever Belch listens to
Has a tattoo on his wrist
Takes a lot of drives into the countryside/national forests/mountains with Belch
Takes a lot of scenery photos, but never posts them anywhere or shows anyone except Victor
Still smokes cigarettes (he thinks vaping is douchey)
Watches South Park and American Dad
If he’s willing to spend money to go see a movie, he’s going to an IMAX theater
Sometimes he likes 3D, but most of the time it just hurts his eyes after a while
Longboards everywhere
Needs prescription glasses but refuses to wear them
They’re mostly for reading, which he doesn’t do anyway
But he does listen to audiobooks sometimes
Likes Frappuccinos but will kill you before you find out
He orders them through Uber Eats under a fake name so nobody will find out
BONUS: all four!
Victor still has his childhood GameCube that they play Mario Party, Mario Kart, and Melee on
Henry is banned from playing Mario Party after breaking a controller while beating Patrick with it
Patrick only ever picks Waluigi in Mario Kart and everyone is sick of it
When they play Rock Band Patrick is on bass, Henry plays guitar, Belch absolutely slays the drums, and Vicky boy sings his lil heart out
One night a week they order a shit ton of Dominos and make a drinking game out of watching Vine compilations
Victor does everyone’s birth charts
They collectively made a fake Tinder account on Patrick’s phone and catfish guys with it
They all try to one up each other doing vape tricks yikes
They buy bags of chips and candy from Costco and lounge around eating them on weekends
They’re banned from the city metro busses because Belch’s car was in the shop for a week and that week was hell for every bus driver in the city
264 notes · View notes
jananee-v · 3 years
Text
design preferences & prejudices - inventory
architecture - i love symmetry in any form, ancient or modern. Circular symmetry interests me particularly because i find it fascinating and more complex to work with to bring a wholesome piece together. i am also a huge fan of structures that use elements as they are - stone, wood or metal; let lots of light in, high ceilings and basically anything that strikes a balance between magnificence and simplicity in art. one of my all time favourite is the George Nakashima House in Pennsylvania.
music - when it comes to music, i don’t have a particular genre as long as it fits my mood at the moment (which is End of the Road by Boys II Men). although, i like music that has layers; i love finding new parts of a song that i never would have noticed before. it makes the experience new with every listen. current go-to in that regard is Home by BTS. lyrics are super important to me but i can listen to instrumentals to as long as i can connect with it. 
books - i am that person who can never replace my books with a Kindle or audiobook app. reading on a screen makes me sleepy and audiobooks make it feel like i’m in another person’s head since it’s not my own voice reading it. i like a good fantasy novel but also love psychology non-fics. 
films & visual media - genres don’t matter to me as long as the content is engaging but i have a soft corner for Korean dramas and Pixar films. i love intense works that are thought-provoking but can also watch fun ones from time to time. and political films are a favourite too. i haven’t really indulged in the youtube vlogger/influencers side of visual content and don’t plan on it anytime in the near future. although, i love watching music videos; its fun to breakdown the concept and production of those. 
style & fashion - fashionable/trendy or not, i like wearing clothes that are comfortable, speak my personality and resonate with my vibe for the day. i am into dark academia fashion as well so i can’t wait for fall season to try out all the dark color sweaters and trench coats i’ve been eyeing (this is my first non-tropical fall/winter experience so i’m pretty excited!). 
colors - my taste and preferences in colors goes from dark and light earthy tones and a lot of grey/black to very soft pastel colors depending on the day. i can do without bright colors with a random exception here and there but i totally stay away from neon colors. i just don’t think neon colors belong anywhere other than the runway.
3 notes · View notes
unclepolyglot · 4 years
Note
Hey, kind of a stupid question, but what’s the difference between studying a language and living it? In the sense of learning a language, that is. I saw you give that answer to one of your questions awhile ago. Follow up, and tips to “live” the language instead of just memorizing it?
woah idk how long this has been in my inbox. i haven’t been on in forever! sorry for the wait!
(a note before i answer your very good question: there are no stupid questions!! ever!! you want to know something, and so you are pursuing knowledge. that’s never smth to be ashamed of! kudos to you for being brave and asking!)
What i mean about “living” the language is basically do what you do in your native language, just in your target language.
So if you like watching makeup tutorials in your spare time, watch them in your TL.
Listen to audiobooks as you commute? Find ones in your TL. Even if you don’t understand what they’re saying yet, having exposure to the sounds of the language is CRUCIAL.
Studying a language, like memorizing vocab with flashcards, or filling out workbooks, etc is good. You need to have at least some of that as your foundation. You did that for your own native language for a bit, I’d bet. But alongside that, you need to put what you learn into practice.
Think of it this way: When you were first learning your native language, way back when you were a baby, you listened to the people around you, you watched them, and then you babbled, trying to copy the adults.
And as you grew a little bit older, you would name the things around you, proudly pointing out to your loved ones all the new words you learned. Your water was cold? “Cold, cold!” You found a leaf? “It’s a leaf!!” You wanted to describe a giraffe? “The horsie has a long neck and big dots!”
That’s what you want to do with your TL. Live it, just as you lived and learned your native language. Listen, watch, babble, name things, talk to yourself!
Here’s a way of breaking up “living a language”:
1) Speak it when you can, even just to yourself. Get your mouth used to pronouncing unfamiliar sounds. (ACTION: sing songs, repeat lines from movies, talk to a language buddy, say the name of random stuff around your house, talk to yourself, etc)
2) Listen to it when you can. Get your ear used to identifying intonation, pronunciation, stress/tones, word boundaries, sentence boundaries, etc, and don’t even worry about understanding anything if you’re just a beginner. (ACTION: listen to music, podcasts, audiobooks, youtube videos, record yourself and listen, etc)
3) Read in it when you can. Get your eyes used to decoding the letters/characters into what sounds they stand for. (ACTION: read children’s books, news articles, subtitles in your TL, etc)
4) Write in it when you can. Get your hand used to drawing the letters/characters and thinking of spelling and stroke order. (ACTION: mess around with handwriting styles, turn doodles into letters/characters and vice versa, write down what you hear in a movie, copy out quotes you like, text your language buddy, take homework notes, etc)
Again, this is basically doing everything that you would do in your native language, just in your TL instead.
It’s getting late here so i won’t write anymore, but i hope this helped, anon! happy learning (and living) your language!
16 notes · View notes