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newtonsheffield · 3 years

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Hello again!!!! I'm the Spanish girl back in here!

Firstly, I'd like to send you my best wishes for this tough week of work, and I bet we're going to miss you around here this week. But duty calls! And, look, how many people can say they've got a whole week for relaxing after a week of work? 😌 (Perhaps I've misunderstood the whole thing; I've read your posts quite quick and I've understood sth different to what you wanted to say lol)

Well, what can I say with one of the last prompts you have gifted to us...? Kate, Anthony (and his Spanish!!!!!!) and Spain; you got me there. 😂 I even cried the famous "Ole!" when I read all of it (curious note: not all Spaniards use the expression "ole" in daily contexts; it is more like a regional expression that became worldwide famous bc of several reasons that are too long to post here, lol) and I think it's needless to say I loved it... isn't it?

And, I LOVED a lot Edwina's POV and story (well, I've loved everything you have posted and gifted to us, but Eddie has a special place in my heart)! I don't know, but sometimes I get the impression that, in romantic literature, relationships between sisters are not addressed at all and kinda force them to be friends (if they're not rivals... which I find stupid, tbh), not really deepening in the bond between them. Like, they're sisters and they behave more like "my next door neighbour and friend to whom sometimes I'm distant bc life happens" instead of "this person and I share much more than many people can imagine that's beyond friendship and she's more important than anybody else" -idk if this makes sense anymore... I rewrote it a couple of times bc I got the impression I can't express my idea very well 😂-. And that's something I think both of you, JQ and yourself, have achieved and gifted to all of us! We see Edwina and Kate as sisters: they fight, they tease the other, they can't stand each other sometimes, but always, ALWAYS, they care for and love the other just as sisters do. Because of this, I think TVWLM is one of my favourite books in this genre: they give us a two fantastic love stories, not only between a -heterosexual- couple but also between sisters; which is as important as any other kind of relationship.

After my TED Talk (sorry if it's been too much... 😅), I cannot help but imagine an escapade between Anthony and Kate (sans children) and Matthew and Edwina (oh, Matthew... I love you) to Spain just for Anthony, in his stupid one-side battle against Matthew (I love this, tbh; it's sooooo fun 😂), demonstrate Matthew he can speak fluently another language... Just for Matthew be oblivious to this and enjoy a little escapade to Spain with his girlfriend and her family. 😂

Anyways; I hope you're alright and, again, I wish you all the best for this week.

Besos!!! 🥰 (Spanish equivalent for the "Love!" farewell expression; it means "kisses")

Hola! You’re back again! And I’m so glad!

I do have a week off once I finish work tomorrow (Saturday)!! Very Exciting! I have a scarf to knit, and lots of writing to do so that’s very exciting.

Oh Anthony on a Spanish beach in tiny little flamingo shorts? Ole! indeed! That is a curious note, I literally love learning things about other cultures and languages so if anyone wants to share a curious note about their culture, hit me up! I will in turn tell you about the curious culture of The Land Down under, and our propensity to butcher the English language!

I agree, Sister relationships are a very curious thing in media. I’m not a huge fan of very contentious relationships between sisters, I’m not saying they don’t exist in real life, they definitely do, I just think having them as constant rivals is exhausting. And Yes! I Love the relationship between Edwina and Kate very much because I see it as a mirror of my relationship with my own sister. My sister drives me more insane than any other person on this planet. We fight, we bicker, I get absolutely enraged when she steals the last property I need for a set in Monopoly, and yet, She is my favourite person. She can say whatever she wants about me, but were anyone else to? It’s fight on sight. I’ll be honest, that all I’m doing is basing their relationship in these fics on my own with my sister. Nothing special!

Okay! Here we go! Anthony and Kate + Goose and Edwina +Spain

Kate Bridgerton was many, many things, but she liked to think an idiot, was not one of them. And so, when Anthony had said, in a tone she was sure he thought was casual. “I think we deserve a holiday, you’ve been working very hard to grow the little broad bean after all and your sister and her little gander should celebrate their engagement.” She had known exactly what he was up to. And she wasn’t really sure why she played along along with it. Perhaps something in her thrived on the chaos she knew Anthony would would create, perhaps part of her just really wanted a decent paella. Surely it didn’t matter, the result was the same: Kate fixed an innocent expression on her face and said “Where did you have in mind?”

And so, surprise, surprise, here she was: back on a beach in Spain. She had to admit, eyeing Anthony appreciatively as he paddled demonstratively in the shallow water, his plan had its merits. though thus far his attempts had been... unsuccessful at best. Matthew Bagwell seemed absolutely thrilled to be in Spain, on holiday with his fiancée, giving them helpful facts he knew about the architecture as they walked through the city, a wide smile on his face, Anthony practically purple when he corrected a fact Anthony himself had said. “Do you speak Spanish, Goose?” Anthony had said dryly in the hotel lobby shortly after they’d arrived. And Kate had rolled her eyes at Anthony, though Matthew was not paying attention. He had his arms wrapped tightly around Edwina’s waist, whispering something in her ear that made her nose crinkle in delight, the sapphire of her engagement ring glinting in the sunlight. And the beautiful picture they made gave Kate’s heart a little stutter. Anthony tutted. “Matt!” He said sharply, getting the man’s attention, Matthew’s glasses slipping down his nose as his head shot upwards in surprise. “Do you speak Spanish?” Edwina was rolling her eyes now. And Matthew, for his part was completely unbothered “oh, no. Sorry Mate, might have to lean on your pretty heavily this week.” He said, and Kate caught the smug smile on Anthony’s face and bit back a groan Damnit Matthew. “I’m pretty fluent in French, German and Mandarin though!” Matthew said smiling happily, turning back towards Edwina, completely oblivious to the scowl Anthony tossing his way. “Of course you fucking are.” He muttered, fixing Kate with an irritated glare as a laugh escaped her!

The water surely must be a little cool in early October but Anthony showed no signs of it, Beckoning Kate into the water. She groaned and made her way towards him, laughing happily as he tugged her in, his hand resting on her stomach, still no sign of her pregnancy. “Is he watching?” Anthony whispered in her ear as he wrapped his arms around her waist, spinning her through the water So she had a brief image of her sister smiling brightly at her fiancée who appeared to be... bless him building a sandcastle.

“No. He’s not.” Kate said batting her husband’s hands away irritatedly as he scowled. “Are you really trying to look more in love than they are?” Kate scoffed, disbelief at her husband’s idiocy rising with in her. Anthony looked indignant. “No! A man can’t take an interest in his wife now? Very poor show Mrs. Bridgerton.” He said, but his eyes, darted towards the shore at the last second. “Oh I cannot believe you! You’re absolutely manic!” She replied as Anthony attempted to pull her back towards him, Kate putting up very little fight as she tumbled against. him, his voice hot in her ear. “Insufferable I hear.” Kate scoffed. “Ugh! If Anyone’s insufferable it’s him!”

Kate turned to follow Anthony’s gaze to find Matthew waving at them, grinning broadly, completely unbothered. And Kate couldn’t keep from laughing as Anthony went on another muttered tirade.

Besos!

#bridgerton and sons au #kathony #anthony x kate #edwina x Bagwell #edwina x matthew #matthew goose bagwell #anthony bridgerton #kate sheffield #kate sharma #edwina sheffield #edwina sharma #goose is a cutie #the ridiculous rivalry between anthony and goose #molly’s asks and answers

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peraltiago-stylez · 6 years

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11 questions!

Thank you to the lovely @whiteshipnightjar for tagging me! <3

a situation for you: you can only watch one tv show or two films for 10 years. what show / films do you choose?

One show. Brooklyn Nine-Nine. And that’s kinda already what I do, so... I’m ok with that :’)

favorite flower?

Actually, it’s the carnation. Basically, I feel like it deserves more love. Everyone always writes it off as the ‘cheap’ flower, but it’s so pretty and inexpensive enough to buy a massive bouquet of for any occasion. Plus you can get them in all sorts of colours!

another situation for you: it’s your birthday. what 5 famous or notable people do you invite to your birthday dinner (they can be dead or alive and from any professional field)? (it’s your birthday bc then these people in this hypothetical situation are your friends and they will bring you some presents. and that’s really nice, right? so, imagine that.)

This is a very happy thought <3 okay, so I’m gonna completely cheat the system, and say everyone can bring a plus one. So first, I’d invite Andy or Joanna, who in turn would bring Joanna or Andy, so bam, there’s 2 people I really want there, but only one invite needed. Then I’d probably invite Roberta Bondar, because she’s someone I really admire. Ah, ok, this is hard, cause I really want to invite the whole B99 cast and also all of TLI, but only three invites left... alright, well, let’s say I invite Jorma, but Marielle is out of town so he brings Akiva. And... how about Melissa, and she can make a ladies’ night out of it and invite Stephanie. Then, to mix it up, I’d invite Lin-Manuel Miranda, and let’s say Jonathan Groff is his plus one. Ok, there are so many more people I’d invite and I totally cheated the system, but hey, it’s hypothetical :)

choose a question to answer and answer it: favorite book growing up? or favorite author? (not necessarily growing up. maybe you’ve already grown up. who knows?)

Ahh, I love reading- my favourite author was Rick Riordan, and he’s still a favourite. I’ve met him, and he’s very nice, which makes it all the better.

if you could speak any language what would it be?

Likely Mandarin, because I don’t think I’d have the wherewithal to be able to learn it on my own, and so many people speak it!

oh look. another situation for you: you can be a part of any band / musician for their tour. what band / musician are you a part of and what do you do (i.e. do you play some instrument or maybe design the lighting or work with sound. you can do anything.)?

I'd loveeee to costume design for Joanna Newsom! She’s got such an amazing sense of style, and I think it’d be fun.

can you tell a joke?

Alright, I love this one, but it’s super cheesy.

What do you call a fish with no eyes?

A fsh.

what is the weirdest / funniest expression / phrase / slang you know (in any language)?

In Saskatchewan, they call a hoodie a bunny hug and I think that’s quite entertaining and adorable.

another choose a question to answer and answer it: chicken or egg? or if you have one, who is your favorite artist? (these are paired bc every artist probably asks herself/himself this question sometimes. and who doesn’t tbh?)

I have no answer to the chicken or the egg so... my favourite artist is Tom Thomson.

what historical time period would you like to live in the most?

See, here’s the thing. I’d immediately think 1890s, because it’s really the dawn of all the wonderful science and technology we have today. I think it’d be so cool to watch it evolve. But, at the same time, I wouldn’t have the right to vote, I definitely wouldn’t be able to be a scientist or doctor or engineer, and so many people would be even more marginalized than they are today. So I think I’m happy right here, right now.

tell a random fact.

There was such as thing as the Giant Ground Sloth. Check it out, it’ll make your day, guaranteed.

Bonus answer: I am having a lovely day, thank you, and I hope you are as well! <3

Alrighty, now here are 11 questions for the next round of people to answer:

1) Thoughts on the sweet potato? (It’s a polarizing food.)

2) If you could spend a day with any B99 character, who would you choose?

3) What animal, living or extinct, would you want to have on a pet? Assume you have all of its necessities readily available.

4) What’s a misconception that people have that you wish would be corrected?

5) If you could become any inanimate object for a day, which would you choose, and why?

6) What’s something that you’d like to be able to experience at some point in your life?

7) You get to gain any new talent that you want, but you have to give up one of your existing talents. What would you gain, and what would you give up?

8) What’s your favourite method of communication?

9) Do you have a favourite poem, short story, or myth? What is it?

10) Do you have a good luck charm? What is it?

11) What’s your favourite song at the moment?

I tag @sadtiagos , @roscoesantangelo , @peraltiago4eva , @lonelyislandboys , @hearteyes-peralta, @unapologeticaroace and anybody else who’d like to do it! Enjoy <3 (and don’t feel obligated to do it if you don’t want to!)

#Kat answers stuff #sorry for the long post!

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liu-anhuaming · 7 years

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Do you have any tips for studying a large amount in a short period of time? Because I have been learning chinese for 2 1/2 years, but i really haven't gotten far and this August 29 (50 days!!) I'm leaving for a 10 month exchange to ZhengZhou!

i’m gonna start out by saying there’s really no fun way to cram a bunch of knowledge into your brain in a short amount of time (i know this really well bc i was a shit student in high school and i still a shit student now, even though i have improved slightly)

but here are my suggestions:

make some kind of schedule. if you do this you don’t need to have a super regimented study plan but just have an idea of what you need to study and make a basic timeline. you leave in 50 days, so that’s about 7 weeks. while you don’t necessarily need to know what you’re going to study every single day, maybe have a general idea about what you want to cover each week so that you can have a general idea of what your goal is

if scheduling isn’t your thing (cuz it sure as hell isn’t mine), form a list of what you want to accomplish in these 50 days. gather up the resources you’re gonna use (i’ll put some suggestions for that below) and figure out what you want to accomplish with them. this list can be as general or specific as you think it needs to be.

whether you make a schedule or a list is really up to you and how you prefer to study and stay motivated, but it’s important to remember to take a few days off (at least once a week). 50 days of straight studying is not an easy thing and if you don’t rest in between you’ll eventually burn out. so yeah, take some days off. but if you still want to get some mandarin practice in, listen to music in the background. here’s some links to music master posts, as well as my mandarin music tag (my personal suggestions for music are, naturally, 苏运莹，张震岳（AKA A－Yue，Waa Wei, Hello Nico, Haya 乐团, Frandé/法蘭黛, and 宇宙人). also take a look at the blogs @chinese-lyrics and @fyeahcindie. they have a bunch of great music that you can look through

so now that you know what you’re gonna be doing, here are some suggestions for how to drill vocab and grammar:

the first is memrise. there are a bunch of memrise courses for mandarin that cover useful vocab from every level of the HSK among other things. since it uses spaced repetition it’s a great resource to help beat vocab into your brain. it is, however, not the best for grammar (imo)

if you need to, take sticky notes and label everything in your house. and make it really visible. when i did this, i didn’t write the pinyin on the sticky notes, just the tone marks but if you feel that you need to write the pinyin, then go ahead and do it. when you do this, you are forced to see the vocab every day and will learn it after having seen it so many times

it is my opinion that the best way to learn vocab (and their corresponding characters) is to write. when i study mandarin i always try to write out my vocab lists and then use this method to practice the characters. depending on how long your vocab list is, this can be an incredibly time consuming method (i’ve had lists that have taken me an hour and a half to finish drilling using this method) but it really pays off

for grammar i’d use websites like this one or this one bc they give examples of the grammar in use. also, the first one (allset learning) has their grammar organized up to B2 (HSK 4) so it’s easy to find grammar by HSK levels. the second one is also organized by level, but they don’t have as many articles yet. if you want to practice by making your own sentences but are afraid of messing up, just hop on over to HiNative. you can ask native speakers of mandarin if something you wrote in mandarin sounds natural or correct, as well as ask for help with translating difficult words or sentences and more.

more than anything, i recommend you find some resources created by native speakers to help you learn

slow chinese 慢速中文 is a podcast series written by native speakers for people learning mandarin. they are a few minutes long each and are spoken at a slightly slower speed than normal, and they cover a variety of topics including chinese culture and food. you can download the podcasts on iTunes, but you can also find them online along with the transcripts. it’s an amazing resource

快乐汉语 (this playlist only goes to episode 75): this is a video series created by CCTV for mandarin learners. it’s basically about an american girl who runs away from home to stay with her family friends in beijing. the acting is super cheesy and the plots are downright weird at times, but it’s an excellent resource because the videos are subbed in both mandarin and english. since susan (the main character) is american, there are a bunch of episodes where the family explains chinese culture to her so it’s pretty cool. warning: a lot of the characters have thick beijing accents, so just watch out for that. they also have a couple of short breaks in each episode to explain certain grammar or vocab that was used in the episode

what i’d do with these and any other native resources you find (song lyrics, blog posts, books, etc.) is break them down sentence by sentence and study the vocab and grammar. once you get that vocab, drill it like you do with all of the other vocab. what my teacher would have us do with 快乐汉语 was listen once nonstop, then go scene by scene and write down what the characters were saying using what we could hear and the chinese subtitles. we’d then go over the scene and find any vocab and grammar patterns that were new to us and make notes on them. once we’d finish with that, we’d listen to the scene once more.

after we’d done that for every scene, we’d watch the whole video again and again to get the hang not only of the new vocab but also of the way the characters said each sentence. when learning a new language, a lot of what makes someone sound unnatural is not only accent, but also rhythm. so my teacher would have us listen to the video over and over and then make us perform certain scenes. she did this so we could practice listening not only for pronunciation but also for the rhythm of each sentence. so i highly recommend you try this (sans the performing). you can just pick a scene or two and listen a bunch and eventually try to repeat after each character until you feel you’ve got the rhythm down.

so that’s really all i can say for now. cramming requires a lot of work so what you’ve got to do is find a way to apply the methods that work best for you and keep plugging away at them until the very end. i hope this helps you in some way, and i hope you enjoy your time in china! 加油!!!

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