#chinese quizz

[story-weavr]

Deity Persona

Have you ever wondered which mythological god or goddess you or your loved ones would be?

What concept personified that truly embodies or resonates with you?

Ask these open-ended questions to find out what qualities you have!

Then look through different pantheons (even those outside of your own culture) to find the best match!

I recommend though that you:

A) really dig into the history of each deity ie Bast v Bastet

B) avoid those mortals who were elevated to godhood by their respective culture. Remember: Deities are born from concepts

Deity Questionaire

1) What is the most fundamental thing you want in life?

2) How would you describe your fundamental personality?

3) What are your natural talents?

4) What do you resonate with?

5) Which animal best represents you, literally or figuratively?

If you’d like, comment down below who your Deity Persona is!

#personality quiz #quiz #quizzes #mythology and folklore #pantheon #introspective #introspection #story ideas #story prompt #my work #greek mythology #norse mythology #hindu mythology #egyptian mythology #roman mythology #chinese mythology #irish mythology #celtic mythology #classical mythology #deity #deities

[theleechyskrunkly]

Literal proof so yk I'm dumb 🤓☝️ academically smart no common sense

#Suck to be you teehee #I finally passed one of my Chinese quizzes today 😍 #And failed a physics one 🥰 #twinky minty 💍 #my stinky twinky <3

[youkaigakkou-tl]

I have this lovely image in my head of an older Akisame teaching, the teacher trio still being there and being asked by his own students who his homeroom teacher was and Haruaki just pops up like 'me!' and they all get surprised a d ahhh my facking gahd it makes.me so happy I want to see it drawn, even if it's just a one off image.

in my head tamao becoming a teacher has the same vibe as mp100 "tome can take over the business from reigen when he retires (only 14 years age difference)" except this is only 9 years difference its so so funny to think about. teacher trio would only be in their 30s. the fact that they would be coworkers is so funny is this how mouse sensei feels all the time oh my god

#asks #shit it shouldnt be this funny the 4am deliriousness is getting to me #the other day the chinese gc im in was talking about how haruaki can write a teaching manual for tamao #and someone was like “my brother in christ theyd be 30. they would be coworkers” #and then it clicked that ohhh this is the same as the tome reigen situation #a concept: haruaki making tamao's lesson plans for him because he asked nicely #a concept: tamao in his kitty form grading quizzes #he'll never escape the life of staying up late in front of papers

[therearenoowls]

I've been attending a weekly pub quiz for over a year now, but last night I actually hosted it for the first time! It involves an ice-breaker round of 50/50 style questions (ie sit down if you get it wrong, stay standing if you get it right), and I am having sooo much fun making up obscure questions about all my favourite interests for next week 😂

#obscure for the regular folks at quiz anyway #these guys aren't going to know what's hit them #... 'which Catholic heresy was the Albigensian Crusade designed to eliminate? was it the Fraticelli heresy or the Cathar heresy?' #I'll have to wait until my parents sit down before I start asking questions about figure skating... #maybe I should bust out some Latin or Putonghua #... 'what is the literal translation of the Chinese cheer phrase 加油? is it “add oil!” or “fight!”?' #Beatles questions are ubiquitous in pub quizzes but I think this one will still be difficult: #'which song was the b-side to the Beatles' 1963 single Please Please Me? was it P.S. I Love You or Ask Me Why?' #does anyone have some of their own obscure/nerdy questions I could use? #nerdery #and my ultimate weakness: figure skating nerdery

[allherfaeriesmeetinjuly]

but i’m really good at abacus though…

#like mental math #??? #i learned it in a chinese abacus school #very funnn #i love the tests #i was like the best in my class at multiplying numbers #like those 60 second quizzes?? i did it 20 ☺️☺️ #cosette core #sette & math

[diagonal-queen]

No worries HHH I'm the one who requested 😭😭 the Sibling one,,maybe Dazai's sibling with Fyodor and Chuuya??

hi! of course i can do this for you <3

They find out you're Dazai's sibling

♡ pairing: Chuuya Nakahara, Fyodor Dostoyevsky x Dazai's sibling!gn!Reader

♡ synopsis: How do Dazai's (arguably) biggest homoerotic enemies react when they find out that their S/O is his sibling?

♡ cw: Mentions of violence, Fyodor is a lil toxic.

note: Imagine reader seeing their brother and Fyodor in prison talking in code and they're like...you can speak Chinese Osamui?? Apologies for errors, hope you enjoy x

Chuuya:

So...he's...not okay for a while. He speedruns the five stages of grief in like two hours and then immediately begins quizzing you lmao

He's mostly just shocked because he would never have anticipated it. If he'd known he'd have already began treating you differently /j

Chuuya is probably constantly mentally comparing you two, like 'oh my god Dazai's so much more insufferable than them' and wondering how you two have such different energy

Also constantly asking you questions about how you deal with him (assuming you're on good terms/see each other often) and makes a lot of sarcastic remarks about it probably

You two like to spend designated times planning ways to break it to Dazai that you're together, but unfortunately this never gets anywhere because he's gonna burst a blood vessel no matter how you tell him lol

You both have semi-regular Dazai-related complaining sessions and they can literally sometimes go on for hours

Sometimes you tell him stories of when you and Dazai were younger and he actually finds them really endearing and funny

Even though Chuuya can't stand Dazai he would never discourage you from maintaining a good relationship with him if that's what you want. In fact he might even try to be civil with Dazai sometimes, just for your sake though <3

Fyodor:

So he mostly just wants to know all of Dazai's secrets. Jokes on you Dostoy- reader doesn't know any of them either!

He's also rather surprised he hadn't figured it out sooner either. He asks you why you didn't tell him and you're like...'babe 😐'

Fyodor still loves you. He gets that you don't choose family, but at the same time he's a tiiiiiiiiiny bit concerned that you might betray him so he doesn't tell you any super important DOA stuff (though if you're dating Fyodor you and Dazai probably aren't that close anyway)

You both agree to just not let Dazai know about this arrangement no questions asked (at least for the time being). He'll probably figure it out on his own but at least you didn't have to break the news yourself!

If Dazai ever did find out and get upset, Fyodor might even reverse uno the trope of 'big brother who threatens sibling's partner' and threaten Dazai himself lmao

If you manage to persuade him (or nag him enough), Fyodor MIGHT just be a teensy bit less sadistic towards Dazai. MAYBE.

That being said he isn't lenient like Chuuya and would prefer if you actively chose him over Dazai

Can he get over it? Ultimately yes he can, but is he secretly very highly disturbed by such information? Yes. Wait for it to hit him that if you two get married then he and Dazai are brothers-in-law...

#bsd #bungo stray dogs #bungou stray dogs #bsd x reader #x reader #bungo stray dogs x reader #bungou stray dogs x reader #fanfic #fanfiction #bsd fanfic #bsd fanfiction #bungo stray dogs fanfiction #bsd chuuya #chuuya nakahara #chuuya x reader #bsd fyodor #fyodor dostoyevsky #fyodor x reader #headcanons #bsd headcanons

[3rdsleeper]

r/s fics rec list!

(simplified by highly specific tropes)

remus does not want sirius paying his rent and sirius is having a normal one

inflations, invitations and flirtations by mblematic

summary: The Li-Lo at Lupin's. In which plenty of people crash on Remus' air mattress after Hogwarts, and Sirius isn't jealous at all. complete - 9k

practical oddities by lurikko

summary: Regulus needs a place to stay, Remus needs to get over Sirius. It’s August 1979 and things are getting out of hands. complete - 47k (ok this one technically they do live together, but its not necessarily remus' first choice iykyk please read it)

how remus got his groove back by RealityShowJunkie

summary: Remus Lupin becomes king of the cockroaches, Fabian Prewett writes a book, Gilderoy Lockhart is a catfish, and Sirius Black realizes he's a fucking idiot. complete - 42k

the son and heir of nothing in particular by aeridionis

summary: Remus is nineteen and tired, now. And he knows that if he and Sirius were ever going to become anything—if Sirius loved Remus the way Remus loves, and will probably always love, him—it already would’ve happened. complete - 23k

frog and toad aren't friends anymore by swordfishtrombones

summary: “Some people just aren’t good flatmates. I wasn’t trying to say I liked Adrian and Mary better than you, or whatever you’re thinking.” Sirius runs a hand through his hair and squints at the streetlight, twisting his mouth like Remus is truly hopeless. “It hurt,” says Sirius, “my feelings.” complete - 10k

an episode of skam (in the sense that remus is avoidant dismissive /j /j)

the lord of desperate longing by reyghost

summary: Sirius has a lot of feelings, Remus has his own issues too, and James is a very good best friend complete - 13k

and only felt good while moving by aeridionis

summary: The summer before university, Sirius falls in love and throws a punch and then he makes a friend. complete - 17k

SHAME by wiltedtddaisy (taotu)

summary: Sirius has some figuring-things-out to do. He’s not sure if Remus helps or makes things worse. complete - 82k

angle of doubt by mblematic

summary: The Map had been going missing. Or—not missing, exactly. Sirius always knew where it was; Remus had been spiriting it away. Which, it should be said, was fine. Really. complete - 9k

a bird at your door by moongnome

summary: Of pub quizzes, old films, Chinese takeaways, broken arms, and impassioned discussions of literature: Remus is confusing, and Sirius is just trying to figure him out. complete - 31k

if you're the bassist, and i'm the lead singer, then who’s flying this plane?

the cadence of part-time poets by motswolo

summary: After losing his mother at age eleven, Remus has spent the better part of the last four years bouncing from school to school or else running around London and pretending as though he wasn't the kind of well-bred boy his father brought him up to be. Now, with his chances all run out, Remus is sent to Hawkings Independent School as a last-ditch effort to clean up his act. There he meets the very people who will set up the rest of his life, and is forced to confront the pieces of himself he'd long thought had been lost. complete - 979k

dress up in you by MsKingBean89

summary: Sirius attends a charity rock gig organised by his best friend's girlfriend, and the tall, quiet bassist catches his eye... complete - 88k (ok sirius is not in a band in this one but please just go with it)

sirius black & the six by BellaBabe

summary: Remus shrugged. “Not much for the spotlight.” “Right,” Sirius drawled. “I bet you’re also not much for the rock ‘n roll perks.” Remus tensed, sparing Sirius a scathing glance. “I’m sober now.” Sirius quirked a brow in disbelief. complete - 79k

saturday nights and sunday mornings by SoupyGeorge

summary: A story about music and family, the price of fame and finding love somewhere completely unexpected. (its an arctic monkeys au) complete - 121k

sirius black learns the meaning of true love. remus lupin does too but in a much more put together and chill way

a series of sketches done in black ink by musntgetmy

summary: Sirius had always imagined the aftermath of falling in love would mean lightness, and an escape from all the horrors of his childhood. But the past never leaves, and even love can't stop bad memories from resurfacing. complete - 57k

dissonance by renaissance

summary: Remus searches for solace in all the likely places, but somehow he keeps coming back to Sirius Black. Featuring sad acoustic indie, spearmint gum, and irresponsible usage of social media. complete - 4k

the time when you were mine by renaissance

summary: the walk from Grimmauld Place to Parliament Hill is just under an hour, but it's easier going at four in the morning complete - 9k

as red as hearts and autumn by Rosie_Rues

summary: it's the autumn of sixth year, theres a flu epidemic at Hogwarts, and the Blacks want their heir back. complete - 43k

#fic recs #do people still make these? wtv #wolfstar fic rec #wolfstar #remus lupin #sirius black #hp fic rec #marauders

[slavic-roots-western-mind]

Life in China: Observations

I've been living here for a while and decided to share some things that I thought were pretty interesting!

Cheese is not really a thing here Unless you go to an international store like Aldi or Walmart (which are pretty much non-existent in smaller cities ), trying to find cheese is pretty difficult.

Class attendance Attendance is really strict. It doesn't matter how ill you are, you still need to go to hospital or a clinic to get a doctors note. Even then you get only half a day excused rather than the entire day.

Studying Maybe you could have gotten away with not doing your reading back at home, but the studying stereotype is true. In my home uni we'd learn around 20 characters per week plus the usual grammar and homework. Here? Try 70-90 characters plus the usual self-studying and quizzes, and I'm not even in the advanced or intensive class!

Classroom vs Real life chinese Obviously the language spoken in real life is different than the one in the textbook, but it can be drastically different, especially the dialects which are pretty interesting, but at times diffult to understand.

Pacing yourself with the food Not to say that you shouldn't enjoy yourself, but the food will take some adjusting to for many people. Not even in terms of spice, just the type of meals and the commonly used ingredients require time to get used to them, especially if you don't have these types of meals regularly.

English isn't widely spoken (duh) Despite the whole "big cities are very international, you'll have no problems" shtick, outside of international communities English isn't that widely used so knowing some basic Chinese is necessary.

Phone is my new appendage From paying at the grocery store to sending your teacher your homework and paying your phone bill, wechat is the multi-functional daily necessity that you can't go without. In short, you will probably be superglued to your phone whether you like it or not as it turns out.

Public transport is the way In the larger cities at least, the metro is really well-developed and air-conditioned! A life-saver during the summer, as crowds of people crammed together like sardines during the hot and humid months of summer and early autumn would be unbearable with the a/c.

#mandarin langblr #chinese langblr #chinese language #travel blog #studyblr #college life #student life #student #study blog #study motivation #travel #aesthetic #college #slavic roots western mind #autumn #happy halloween #china #study in china #china college life

[wolfstarhaven]

Hi! Could you rec some fics where at the beginning remus is in a relationship with somone else? Sorry if you've already answered something similar to this 😅

Hi anon🌸 Thank you for this lovely request! I just wanna clarify: Remus might not be in a relationship in the beginning of each of these fics — but at some point he’s dating someone else. Sirius is not happy.

Happy birthday, you.,by WrappedUp (66k)

Sirius Black is about to turn thirty. But, like, it’s not a whole thing. It’s fine. And he’s absolutely not going to have a meltdown, fall in love with his oldest friend, and sabotage his own happiness.

He’s absolutely not.

General themes: muggle!au; slow burn; oblivious!sirius; jealous sirius; pining; hurt/comfort; happy ending; Remus/OC.

lover, you should've come over, by dykesiriusblack (105k)

Sirius Black is a mess.

Remus Lupin is new.

It's all quite complicated.

or

The story of Remus and Sirius meeting at age 20, falling in love without meaning to, and not knowing how the fuck to deal with it for far too long.

General themes: muggle!au; ANGST!!!; themes of depression and anxiety (read the tags carefully!); slow burn; friends with benefits; happy ending; beautiful prose; Remus/OC.

a sawn off shotgun, by dykesiriusblack (14k)

But the stage lights blur out the crowd and Sirius gets to his knees in front of Remus with their guitar and bass between them, and he does it again in their hotel room, has been doing it since their first tour, has been wanting to do it since he first learned about wanting, the kind that ruins you.

a band, a tour, and the kind of undefined relationship that drives you insane.

General themes: band!au; friends with benefits; jealous!sirius; beautiful prose; Remus/OC (it’s a fake relationship tho)

Befriending A Ravenclaw, by kreestar (55k)

Sirius has made a point to never learn the names of anyone in other Houses. There was no need to, in his astute opinion. Everyone who was not in Gryffindor must lack some intrinsic qualities which would therefore make them utterly intolerable as companions. And the Marauders - all three of them - did not need any intolerable fourths, thank you very much.

i.e, Remus is a Ravenclaw Prefect and Sirius is finding it harder and harder to admit he isn't obsessed with him.

General themes: Hogwarts era; canon divergence; Ravenclaw!Remus; oblivious!Sirius; jealous!Sirius; Remus/OC.

A Bird At Your Door, by moongoblin (32k)

Of pub quizzes, old films, Chinese takeaways, broken arms, and impassioned discussions of literature: Remus is confusing, and Sirius is just trying to figure him out.

General themes: muggle!su; uni!au; slow burn; pining; jealous!sirius; light angst; happy ending; Remus/Gilderoy Lockhart (briefly).

Paper Walls, by Kember (66k)

Have you ever lived with a person you just can’t stand? Everything about them rubs you the wrong way, and yet, you can’t help thinking what it would be like to kiss them… Yeah, welcome to the life of Remus Lupin. He just wants to keep his head down, crack on with his studies, and maybe graduate at some point in the future. But his juvenile crush on his arrogant, impulsive, reckless housemate, Sirius Black, is going to be a major bump in that perfect road.

General themes: muggle!au; university!au; flatmates; light enemies to lovers; Remus/Mary (only temporarily ofc).

Enjoy! (Also, hi! I haven’t disappeared I promise)

xx Elliot

#wolfstar #r/s #remus lupin #sirius black #wolfstar rec #jealousy #jealous!sirius #remus lupin/OC

[crookedkryptonitebeliever]

If Yves's darling wanted to know more about say his family or childhood or something how would it go? Honestly just an excuse to hear some of his backstory since he's basically an enigma, not even for just to solve the mystery, but because some would love to know about their significant other, no? Hope this makes sense

Yves will go around in circles, seemingly teasing you with little bits of lore but never truly divulging anything. He's vague and the information he gives out is that you already deduced. If you pay attention carefully, there's always something distracting you from hearing about his past. Be it an advert for your favorite TV or animated series, you suddenly got so bored, a friend or family member called for you, being paged for work, and so on.

It's not that he has something nefarious to hide. Yves just didn't see the need for you to know.

And... dear god, does he hate being reminded that he is old. Bless his ancestors for letting him win the jackpot of genetics, but it still does change the fact that he is ancient. He knows, logically, there isn't anything wrong with it. Wisdom comes with maturation and Yves is still privileged enough to have the peak physique of a man in his mid-twenties.

You think he is around your age. Definitely a couple years older with his mannerisms and attitude toward life. But you are sorely mistaken, whatever age you thought he was, he is much older. Much, much older. And it is something he doesn't like people knowing. Don't you know it's rude to ask a gentleman his age?

You thought you had him when you saw his identity card. 34. He is still the sexiest, most desired man you ever met in your life. 34 doesn't seem like anything out of the blue. He is financially stable, he has a strong sense of self, he knows way more than you can imagine and he has a sharp, rapid-spin mind. You quizzed him about it, what Yves did was snatch his card away from you and give you a light scolding for going through his personal items when he claimed to never have gone through yours.

Maybe you felt guilty, maybe you didn't. But both of you agreed to not rummage through each other's private belongings. So this is a boundary broken.

He really doesn't have a last name. His identity card simply displayed Yves. He walked away before you could grill him about it, refusing to talk to you because of this perceived disrespect.

You tried to do some more sleuthing. Hours and hours of work and you came up with... nothing. There is nothing on this man you can find or confirm. The only Yves you can find is the Luxury fashion brand or its etymology.

You gave up. It's not like he is mistreating you or putting your life in danger. Yves feels like someone a bit too good to be true, but what can you gain from departing from bliss? You thought he probably had a dark past he was trying to amend. Maybe it is just too painful for him to reiterate his major life events, maybe it's best to not press further.

Sighing, it's time to apologize to him. And so, you did, shamefully hanging your head low and muttering apologies to your boyfriend. You found him in his office reading a binder full of papers in a language you cannot understand. Be it French, Chinese, Hindi etcetera, you're not at all fluent in that.

He forgave you. Removing his reading glasses before setting them down on his Mahogany desk, smiling and inviting you into a hug. You don't really care at this point, he feels nice and warm, protecting you against the suddenly chilly air biting your skin.

It's such a shame that you're too illiterate to read his literal autobiography, his own detailed research dossier, right under your nose. You can't see it, but Yves is staring at his records from the corner of his eyes while rubbing your back up and down.

It must be aging. He's getting sloppier. You shouldn't be in the same room as that binder. Yet, here you are. Mere inches away.

Once you had enough of cuddling for the time being, you excused yourself and left him in his office to do his thing. Yves heaved a sigh before shutting his classified documents. Something peaked out from between pages. Something hard, flat, and rectangular. Like a certain government-issued card.

He pulled it out to see what it was. Immediately after, he pushed it back in. Yves silently picked the heap up and tidied after himself.

If only you had moved a little more erratically, if only you had been more 'excited' to see him that you would flail your arms around, you would have knocked it out of there and into the open.

You would have then discovered that he was also 34 on his 1st birthday.

#yandere #yandere x reader #yandere oc #yandere male #yandere concept #yandere x you #tw yandere #yandere oc x reader #male yandere oc x reader #oc yves

[perhaps-in-anotherdream]

[CN] Victor’s Carbon Pen and Glass Bead Event (Day 1)

⌚ This post contains detailed spoilers for content yet to be released on the global server! ⌚

✦ thursday || friday || saturday || sunday || monday || tuesday || wednesday

【High School Affiliated to Loveland University Second Year (Section 1) Semester Schedule - Thursday】

✄┈┈┈┈┈┈

[Tidbits]: To not break the flow, gonna put the note first– in the first dialogue, Victor’s classmates address him as “老李” (Lao Li)~ the way I hate English vocabulary at times like this LMAO the term “老” here is used as a teasing remark by his classmates to express their respect/ honor for him sarcastically given that not only he’s ahead of the crowd but he acts far too mature beyond his years as well~😂

—

[MATH]:

“Sir Vic, what answer did you get for the second-to-last question?”

“Square root of 2.”

“OK! Now, what option did you choose for the tenth question?”

“I chose option C, but I’m not sure.”

“It should be option A… P is the symmetric point with respect to the straight line x-y=0…”

For the math teacher who loves giving impromptu quizzes, getting the students to engage in discussions during the ten-minute break is also one of their “conspiracies.”

—

[BIOLOGY]:

Looking at the textbook he’s already highlighted with the key points long ago, Victor takes out a collection of competition-grade questions that are carefully sorted to align with the relevant exam topics. As he listens, he begins contemplating the problems.

—

[CHINESE]:

Everyone is on their “best behavior” during the homeroom teacher’s class. The beaming woman is speaking eloquently on the stage, while Victor looks down at a reading comprehension analysis. He finds that he understands it even better than the original writer.

There are so many incomprehensible things in this world.

—

[CHEMISTRY]:

There are less than ten minutes to go until the end of the class. Glancing from afar, Victor notices that Zheng Xi, who is seated near the front door, already seems to be in a stance ready to bolt at any moment. Victor can’t help but feel hungry as he feels himself being infected by the sight.

—

[PHYSICS]:

Is it really possible for anyone to stay alert and not feel sleepy in the first class of the afternoon?

Yes, Victor doesn’t feel sleepy in the slightest.

—

[MUSIC]:

“Aside from focusing on studies, I hope that everyone can enhance their perception of various forms of “aesthetics.” This semester in music class, the teacher aims to create a platform for self-expression, where each student can showcase their talents through musical instrument performances, singing, or dancing. Last week, several students performed exceptionally well. Now, we’ll continue with the presentations in order of student numbers. Up next is student number 23.”

“Does the vice class monitor know how to play the piano?”

“I’m not sure, I’ve never seen him playing it.”

“...”

“...”

“...”

“...Thank you, Victor, for your performance. Music is a form of self-expression. But, next time, perhaps you can also consider singing a song?”

—

[ENGLISH]:

Led by the arrangement of the passionate young teacher, the class is divided into multiple small groups, each assigned to perform different roles based on the textbook content. However––

With a sense of resignation, Victor touches the curly wig on his head and remains silent for a moment. Despite so, he still earnestly delivers the lines of the judge.

“I’m already a mature high school student,” he thinks to himself, feeling at a loss for words.

—

[ENGLISH]:

One of the biggest benefits of the campus activities on Thursday is that Victor can seamlessly participate in the Model United Nations (MUN) right after his English class.

Even if one practices their lines in advance, no one will raise an eyebrow. The school administration teacher is really nice.

──────

✧ next stop: Friday

─────────

#uhh in case it confuses you - second year of senior high school is equivalent to Grade 11 in the US~ #Chinese education system consists of 6 yrs of elementary- 3 yrs of junior high and 3 yrs of senior high school. and then you go onto uni~ #*weeps* his mum wasn’t around enough to teach him how to play the piano... ༎ຶ⁠‿⁠༎ຶ #this whole event fleshes him out as a character so much more- and someone a little within reach. #it really just sings how he grew up to be such an extraordinary human despite all setbacks and everything else that went down ❤️ #mlqc victor #mlqc li zeyan #mlqc #mr love victor #mr love queen's choice #李泽言 #恋与制作人 #love and producer #mlqc cn #mlqc spoilers #mlqc translations

[zzzzzestforlife]

day 22 of 30 // there's way too much to do 😵‍💫

난 다시 피곤해, 여러분, 근데 그라도 할게. 계속 가세요! 좋은날 합시다!

(I'm tired again, guys, but still, I'll do it. Keep going! Let's have a good day!)

today's accomplishments 💯

🙊 useful Korean expressions video

🙊 CYZJ

🧠 aced psych quizzes (2x)

🥰 physiotherapy exercises (morning set)

🥰 arm workout (~3m song)

🙊 Japanese lesson (2x)

🙊 Exclusive Fairytale clip

🙊 Chinese lesson

🙊 Korean lesson

🥰 rowing (~4m song)

🧠 Cognitive Psych lab + assignment

🧠 read for Cognitive Psych

📚 read The Housekeepers (focus time: 30m)

🥰 physiotherapy exercises (evening set)

❤️ 금일일기 (today's diary) under the cut if you're interested ☺️ have a lovely day 🌷

한국어로 쓰다 ✍️

new words/forgotten(?) words/new usage

어제 밤에, 난 조금 실픔 왜냐면 가까은 사람이 항상 내 한국 음악 선택 반대해. 이 음악은 내 동기 와 행벅입니다 근데 그는 항상 말해 반대해. 그라도, 난 내 기뻐은 음악은 들어요. 막아은 사람들 없어요! 🎶🎵

(Last night, I felt a little sad because someone close to me is always against my choices of Korean music. This music is my motivation and happiness, but they are always vocalizing their negative opinion [ok, i might have gotten a bit creative with that translation, but bear with me]. Still, I listen to my happy music. No one will stop me! 🎶🎵)

오늘 와 매일, 난 내 가족은 진짜 너무 감사합니다, 특히 내 부모님. 그들은 나에게 다것 주세요. 그들이 없다면, 난 것은 없어. 난 그들은 잘 더 부탁해 싶어요.

(Today and everyday, I'm really very thankful to my family, especially my parents. They give me everything. Without them, I don't have anything. I want to take care of them more.)

#studyblr #seventeen #astudentslifebuoy #jeonghan #30 days of productivity #100 days of productivity #that girl #it girl #study aesthetic #study motivation #studyspo #study inspiration #light academia #student life #university #langblr #psychblr #korean langblr #chinese langblr #japanese langblr #zesty's life #wonyoungism #academia #chaotic academia #chaotic academic aesthetic #productivity #100 days of studying #100 days of self discipline #self improvement #self empowerment

[linghxr]

Do you have any advice on how to memorize characters and stay motivated with learning? I find it very difficult :(

Thanks for your ask, anon!

Memorizing characters

Honestly I don't have a hack for this. I learned them via rote memorization. When I started learning Chinese, it was in a classroom environment. The teachers gave us 田字格 (character practice sheets), and part of our homework was to write each character 10 times. Even after they stopped requiring this, I kept it up because we frequently had handwritten vocab quizzes. I often only had 2-3 days to learn all the new characters! But when you get to an high-intermediate or low-advanced level, you won't really need to do this anymore.

Staying motivated

In my experience, the best way to stay motivated is to find something in Chinese (usually some form of media) that you really enjoy. For me, this was music and TV shows. At first I mostly relied on English subtitles/translations, but because I really enjoyed the content, I felt motivated to keep studying so I could eventually drop the translations.

I won't lie, finding this media is challenging. You probably already know your tastes, so you need to look for something in Chinese that's similar to what you already like. But it can't be too similar because then you'll be tempted to just consume non-Chinese media instead. For me, the perfect middle ground was Chinese idol survival shows. I used to watch the Voice (US version), so the idol survival format felt familiar but was different enough from any English-language shows that it felt novel and exciting. But luckily, once you find a few things you like, it will get a lot easier!

#my learning

[lily-blue]

13 reasons why | reason no.11: the baristas can speak numerous languages

☆ characters: barista!junhui & foreigner!you (Zhixiao - ‘98 liner) ☆ genre: coffee shop au, humour, angst ☆ summary: you like that Junhui always speaks his mind around you when he thinks you don’t understand the words he’s saying because those times he makes it obvious that your feelings are reciprocated; however, what starts out as an innocent lie - a harmless albeit intentional omission of truth - almost ruins your chance for a happy ending ☆ words: 8,7k ☆ taglist: @dat-town​,@soobin-chois​

➼ chapter index

Even though you liked your personal space and had no problem having fun on your own, you were a great friend. An amazing, attentive friend, really. Someone who might have called her loved ones out on their ridiculous behaviour, but supported them nonetheless, because at the end of the day, you were a firm believer that even a seemingly horrible idea could have put people on the right path - on the path that led them exactly where they were supposed to be.

Thus, for those who knew you, it came as no surprise that you had willingly relocated your study sessions with your best friend from the uni library to a downtown coffee shop just because her new boyfriend worked there as a manager. With how extremely busy Yuri could get due to her teacher assistant and substitute high school literature teacher duties and her two majors out of which one required a well-written thesis paper by the end of the year, you understood her need to at least see Wonwoo while you were working on your assignments and quizzing each other for upcoming tests. Especially because they weren’t one of those cringe couples who couldn’t keep the PDA at the bare minimum around their single friends. In fact! If you had had time to give it a serious thought, you would have realised that you had never seen them sharing anything more than the chastest, softest, shortest kisses when you were around.

They were definitely more subtle with their stolen glances, too, than you, who were openly ogling at Junhui whenever his shifts aligned with your weekly study sessions. It was both surprising and unsurprising that he hadn’t noticed your interest in him yet, but you supposed that his obliviousness was somewhat charming, and you were also too busy for a serious relationship. As much as you hated Yuri’s asshole ex-boyfriend for dumping her in public, you knew you wouldn’t have been able to settle for those baby steps they were taking with Wonwoo. Hence, at the start of your university career, you had promised yourself that you wouldn’t have committed until after graduation, and you were adamant to keep yourself to your word.

Still, as you were witnessing another female customer chuckling by the counter at something that the Chinese barista told her, you couldn’t have helped but wish that he would have been still single when the right time finally came. Otherwise, he would be your one that had gotten away.

‘Have you finished your research analysis? Mine is getting way too long,’ Yuri’s question pulled you out of your head, forcing you to tear your gaze away from the customer who took way too long in the line, making the people behind her visibly fidgety.

‘My analysis?’ You asked, holding onto those pieces of information your brain had actually managed to register, although you didn’t stress over whether your best friend had caught you red-handed or was unaware of your growing dislike towards the giggly girl.

With furrowed eyebrows, Yuri nodded.

‘I still have two entire aspects to explain in detail, but I’m almost there. They shouldn’t take up more than three, three and a half pages,’ you said, quickly checking your notes and the progress you had made in the last two hours. Admittedly, you had always had a problem with word and page count requirements despite your major - you were a zealous journalist-to-be in the making -, but somehow working on your thesis paper came easily. Maybe, because for the first time since you had become a student, your options were plenty: you had been allowed to choose your own topic, your own consultant, your own research methods. Unlike many, you loved every second of the journey.

‘But are you within the required number of pages? I think I need to get back to a few points and delete a few sentences,’ the girl frowned, tapping on her keyboard and clicking with her mouse vehemently. ‘Or entire paragraphs.’

Well that… that made you jut out your bottom lip a little. You made grabby hands at her over the table that you shared under the coffee bean sticker.

‘Come on! Give me that laptop. I’m sure it’s not half as bad as you make it to be,’ you reassured her and took the device from her when she lifted it over your empty plates.

First, with an easy keyboard combination, you checked how close she was to the maximum number of pages, then skimmed through the paragraphs, paying more attention to those that looked massive at first glance. Fortunately, she didn’t have many of them. You managed to get rid of almost an entire page of word vomit in half an hour without damaging the core value of the paper.

Unruly locks falling into your face, you were chewing on your cheeks from the inside when a soft thud made you look up from the screen.

‘I’m sorry,’ Junhui said before he quickly repeated his apology in Chinese, so that you could understand as he was still under the impression that you didn’t speak the local language. In his defence, you had never bothered correcting his assumption, but that was because some things were simply too entertaining to purposely put an end to them. ‘Your cup was empty for a while now and you work so hard,’ he rambled before he pointed at the freshly made mocha next to your notes that you had never ordered.

His thoughtfulness made you feel warm.

‘Thank you, I haven’t even noticed it honestly. It’s really nice of you,’ you offered a smile that turned into an amused chuckle when not even ten seconds later, Wonwoo walked up to your table with a glass of iced coffee on a metal tray. You wondered who had stolen the idea from whom.

‘I…’ Junhui started, unconsciously giving in to his nervous habit when he cracked his knuckles one by one methodically. You wished you could have put your hand on his to stop him from further damaging his joints.

‘Would you like some pastries, too, girls? A sandwich?’ Surprisingly, it was the always quiet Wonwoo who broke the silence, his question attentive albeit business-like. He sounded more like the manager of the place than your best friend’s boyfriend, although it was true that the former would have taken your money for the snacks, while one look at the boy’s rose-tinted cheeks and shy smile was enough for you to know he meant them as freebies.

Your eyes met Yuri’s and you wiggled your eyebrows a few times before your gaze slid to the Chinese barista, then to her boyfriend. You prodded your best friend in the shin with your foot to make sure she understood your silent request.

‘Do you still have one of your chicken-avocado sandwiches, Wonwoo-yah? She’d really love to try it,’ she assisted you, so that you could live with the opportunity even though you could have afforded your own food. It was nice to get special treatment every once in a while even if you knew it was all thanks to Yuri who - unlike you - politely declined the offer. ‘I’m still full from those donut balls with lemon custard, but thank you. Tell Mingyu, they were delicious. I really enjoyed them.’ She smiled at the boy, then helped him collect your empty plates while you were busy observing the small changes in Junhui’s facial expressions.

The barista seemed more lost than flustered by the time Wonwoo left and your best friend took her laptop back from you.

‘Can I help you with something?’ You inquired with your chin resting on the back of your hand, completely disregarding Wonwoo’s confused look when you addressed his friend in his native language instead of Korean.

You wondered whether you had noticed his reaction because he was standing in your line of sight or his emotions were oozing out of him for everyone to see. However, Junhui made no sign of acknowledging Wonwoo’s bewilderment, hence you guessed it was all in your head. That, or the boy was the most oblivious person you had ever had the pleasure or misfortune to encounter. One day, you would definitely need to sit down with him and talk to him about his total lack of situational awareness and its dangers in today’s society.

‘With something?’ He asked, scratching his nape and you suck in your lower lip to keep your urge to laugh aloud at bay. You didn’t intend to embarrass him more than how awkward he must have already felt. ‘No. No, thank you. I… I think I should, yeah. Go back, you know?’ He rambled and you nodded along his every word, endeared.

‘Yeah, it’s a busy afternoon, isn’t it? I’m sure Yeseo would appreciate the help at the counter,’ you agreed without checking how many people were standing in the line to get their order from the girl. It didn’t matter. Agreeing with Junhui and soothing his nerves at the same time didn’t hurt anyone even if you had already seen afternoons much busier with only one barista standing behind the coffee machine.

‘Good luck with your assignment,’ he lifted his fists for a “hwaiting” before he slowly turned his back to you and rushed back to work.

‘You should tell him you speak Korean. You clearly make him nervous,’ your best friend said with a disapproving shake of her head that you ignored on purpose. It wasn’t like you were straight out lying into the boy’s face or hurting him intentionally. Not to mention that it hadn’t been you who had addressed him in Chinese first. It was all on him that he had never asked you whether you were speaking the local language to any extent in which case you would have come clean right away.

‘You think he’s nervous to speak in his native language?’ You raised a brow in amusement, her boyfriend’s temporary absence not registering in your mind until Wonwoo came back to your table with a chicken-avocado sandwich on a porcelain plate.

You thanked him for the food with a small bob of your head and a bright smile.

‘He’ll feel stupid when he realises,’ Yuri frowned, her argument quiet, but impactful. It made you frown, too, so you bit into your sandwich and used it as an excuse to prolong the silence. You knew that your best friend was only trying to look out for you and Wonwoo’s friend, and you were also aware that she hated confrontations. These were your main reasons for not letting your hurt get the best of you and saying something you might have instantly regretted in the next second.

‘How are the kids in your class? Any crazy stories these days?’ You asked between two bites, diverting the topic as soon as you swallowed down the first one. Considering how tired your friend’s sigh sounded, you supposed she wasn’t too happy about your choice, but she played along nevertheless for which you were grateful.

You would talk about Junhui another day.

Rationally speaking, you were well aware that pulling two all-nighters in a row because of your upcoming exams, piled-up assignments and the last-minute editing of your thesis made you more sensitive to a lot of things including noises and lights, but you still thought that you were being followed. The fact that the street lights made every stranger, who was taller than you, look sharper and more dangerous didn’t help at all. Your heart was hammering in your throat.

You were on your way home from a long study session with a few of your classmates for a group project, mentally cursing yourself for leaving your powerbank in your other backpack, when you became aware of the rhythmic sound of a pair of sneakers coming from behind you. It was super unnerving because usually the streets in downtown were loud enough to shut out individual noises, but this time it was as if your entire being was hyper fixated on the loud thud, thud, thud that resembled your own speeding up steps. Could it have been all in your head?

You were too freaked out to look over your shoulder and check it.

If you had been studying in the university library, you would have taken the metro to get back to your apartment, as you lived three minutes from the closest station, but since one of the guys had wanted to be able to eat snacks during your brainstorming session, you had opted for a quieter bubble tea and coffee shop where you knew the owner wouldn’t have sent you away to make more space for new customers. When your nervous eyes landed on the lit up windows of Coffee Carat, you had never been happier that Freefall was so close to Wonwoo’s workplace or that you had to walk in that direction to get home.

Resisting your fight or flight response and the growing urge to just hold onto your tote bag and run for your life, you did your best to stay as calm on the outside as possible. You didn’t want the person who was very likely following you to know you were onto them. Who knew what kind of reaction that would have triggered in them.

Your hand was trembling like a damned leaf in the autumnal wind when you finally reached the familiar double door and instead of walking past it, you pushed it open urgently. Your legs almost gave out when it closed shut behind your back, shielding you from the outside world.

You didn’t know how long you had been blocking the entrance before someone walked up to you, but you flinched without meaning to when the person touched your upper arm ever so gently.

‘Hey. Is everything alright?’ Wonwoo’s voice reached your ears from under heavy layers of water, and you nodded, forcing yourself to look him in the eyes.

‘I’m just…’ you started. Admittedly, you weren’t sure whether it would have been a good idea to tell him what had chased you into their shop so late. Not because you were afraid of his opinion of you in case you were seeing things due to sleep deprivation, but because you would have bet your life on it that it would have gotten back to Yuri, and you didn’t want to worry her. ‘I’ve just had a group meeting nearby and still have some school stuff to work on at home, so I came by for a cup of coffee. To re-energize,’ you said.

‘Okay,’ Wonwoo replied with a curt nod; however, it was clear as day that he didn’t believe you. It didn’t matter. At least he was considerate enough not to push for details. ‘Coffee to go? Or would you like to finish it here? Rest a little before going?’ He asked and you gulped, pushing down the urge to look outside the window to check whether the person who had been following you was still lingering nearby.

‘Yeah, a break sounds nice. Thanks,’ you agreed easily and you both walked up to the counter without engaging into a more meaningful conversation.

Even though Wonwoo made it clear that he would prepare your order out of turn, you insisted that you could wait for yours just like any other customer, then stood in line with a faux smile on your face. Having three people in front of you meant more justified minutes to stay in the building. It meant more time for your hypothetical follower to get bored and leave.

Deep in your thoughts, you didn’t pay much attention to your surroundings until it was your turn to order, but looking up from your sneakers, you lifted your head just in time to see as Junhui pushed Minghao aside, so he could take your order instead. In his defence, the action would have been pretty subtle if it hadn’t been for him saying:

‘Go away! We’ve already talked about this. I’ll take her order!’

You bit into your cheek from the inside to swallow down a chuckle. He was so dumb, but so adorable.

‘Man. You’re embarrassing yourself,’ Minghao retorted with a deadpan expression and rolled his eyes for good measure right before his girlfriend pulled him towards the sink where they hand-washed the dirty plates, cups, glasses and mugs.

Junhui sent a bright albeit awkward smile in your direction.

‘What can I get for you?’ He asked in Chinese and you chose a random item from their menu with one of the desserts that was sold for half of its original price due to how close they were to closing the place. The strawberry daifuku looked too good to let it go to waste even if you knew from Yuri that the owner always gave the leftovers to his employees and friends.

Once you put your hands on the sweets and your extra large salted caramel macchiato, you chose an empty table close to the windows and took a sip from the drink. A rational part of you, that was aware that you should have caught up on some sleep that night, doubted it did you any good, but hell, it tasted delicious.

The less daifuku remained on your plate, the more content you felt, but it wasn’t the same as if you had been suddenly freed from the anxiety. You still kept looking outside the window, following every pedestrian with your eyes and focusing on the darker areas of the park that separated Coffee Carat from Freefall. It was ridiculous because you didn’t actually need to go near the trees to get home, but still. The greenery you liked so much in this neighbourhood made you feel nervous for the first time in your life.

Maybe, you should have asked for something without caffeine or less sugar.

‘Hey… are you like, uhm, waiting for someone?’ Junhui’s question came from beside you and you almost dropped your mug because of how unaware you were of your own surroundings. It was almost comical, how the roles had gotten reversed for a second.

‘What do you mean?’ You asked, genuinely confused by his assumption. With whom would you have met at a coffee shop after 9PM? For late-night dates, you much preferred diners and underrated restaurants where you could learn about the other person’s taste, too, not just their personality, which could be faked more easily.

‘It’s just that you keep staring outside and I was thinking. I didn’t mean to be rude, maybe it’s not my business, I mean, it’s definitely not my business. But we’re closing in ten minutes,’ he informed you and you looked down at your watch with eyes wide like saucers. You hadn’t realised it was already 9:50PM.

9:51PM.

‘I’m sorry. I’ll speed up and leave. Thanks for the reminder,’ you said with a smile, another one that felt more genuine that it should have been considering the whirlpool of emotions in your belly. Or were those butterflies? This thought only turned your grin wider.

Junhui nodded and turned his back to you just to turn back around again, not even a heartbeat later.

‘No, but… are you okay? Can I help you with something?’ He asked, a bit unsure yet clearly determined to get the truth out of you. You contemplated how pathetic it would have sounded if you had admitted that you were suddenly afraid of the dark; that you were unsure whether there was a monster waiting for you outside or it was only in your head because you didn’t take good care of yourself these days.

On most days, you didn’t give a damn about other people’s opinion of you. You liked to think that you had thick skin that allowed you to live a carefree, unapologetic life at least in this aspect. However, sitting by the window, sipping on your salted caramel macchiato, you felt unusually vulnerable. Still, instead of annoying, the question felt nice when it came from Junhui. Obviously, you had nothing against Wonwoo, either, he was a sweetheart, but he wasn’t your person.

You looked around in the customer area, acknowledging that there were only three other girls in the shop and that most of the empty tables were already cleaned.

‘Do you have some time to sit with me?’ You asked and he nodded immediately, jumping on the opportunity like an excited puppy despite trying his best to remain collected. At moments like this, you had a hard time believing that he wasn’t off the market already, that Junhui was seriously single when he was a green flag on two legs.

‘Of course, I have,’ the barista claimed before whispering under his nose in Korean: ‘I always have time for you.’ 

You decided to file that piece of information away for another time and took a sip from your macchiato before you started your story time. You told him about the straining workload at uni, your poor time management and messed up sleep schedule. You also mentioned the new group project professor Lee had dumped onto you last-minute and those long hours you had spent at Freefall. Then, you took a momentary break - drank another gulp from your drink - and went into details about the footsteps you had heard from behind your back and how eerie it had been that they had hit the concrete for the same rhythm yours had done so.

‘Maybe it’s all in my head. Dunno, it’s not like there aren’t CCTVs everywhere in Seoul,’ you tried to downplay it, but Junhui had none of it. He shook his head vehemently and went as far as to put his hands on his hips with a straight back, his posture almost unnatural.

‘Maybe, but what if you’re right and this person is real?’ He asked, his tone firm enough for you to know he wasn’t stalling because he was waiting for an answer. Thus, you pressed your lips together and remained silent. ‘Are you in a hurry? If not, you should stay until we finish up and I’ll walk you home,’ the suggestion left his mouth easily, the flames of determination in his eyes rendering you speechless.

If you wanted to be honest, you didn’t hate the idea of waiting for Junhui. Mostly because his presence made you feel safe - a sensation you were lacking that night - and because it was him offering and not you begging for his company. Not that you had ever had to fight for his attention, not really, but he was an objectively handsome young man, which meant he wasn’t short of young girls and women fanning over him. He could have spent his time with anyone, yet he chose to walk you home because you might or might not have been followed.

‘I’m not in a hurry,’ you said at the end, not exactly shy about the sudden turn of events, but lowkey blushing when Minghao walked up to your table and shoved a mop into his friend’s hands without further explanation.

While the other customers left the building, you were allowed to stay by your table and eat some of the leftover pastries for free while the guys closed the cash register and cleaned the place. In a weak moment, you offered to help them with the easiest tasks, such as mopping the floor after Junhui put every chair on the tables in the customer area; however, Wonwoo reassured you that Seungcheol paid his employees handsomely. They could manage the short list of things to do easily.

Time flew quickly in good company; it was a universal truth. Hence, as you were watching the guys joke around and annoy each other while they were simultaneously doing their job and joining the radio whenever there was a song they knew by heart, it came as no surprise that they finished everything before you realised a whole hour had passed. Standing in front of the double door with one hand on the handle, you had to make a conscious effort to not laugh or smile when Seokmin called Junhui out on his eagerness to leave with you. He was funny, but you weren’t supposed to get the joke. You hadn’t told Junhui yet that you spoke Korean and it didn’t feel like the right time or place. His friends would have never let him live it down.

So your smile was more on the polite side until you left; until it was only the two of you and the boy coaxed the first laughs out of you with his silly stories and ridiculous jokes. He was so bad at telling them, jumping from one key point to the other, sometimes leaving out the most important pieces of information, that your belly hurt by the time you reached your apartment building.

If you had been the main leads of a romantic comedy - or one of those Chinese dramas that were worth binge watching in your scarce freetime -, Junhui would have lingered before he eventually said goodbye to you, but in reality, he seemed pretty okay with leaving as soon as you pointed at your windows, so you needed to take matters into your own hands before he walked away.

‘We will celebrate the end of our - hopefully - last exam period next weekend with a few of our classmates. It’s more like an early graduation celebration party, you know, without the family and all the hassle. Would you like to come? Wonwoo will be there, too,’ you asked in one breath, trying to sound as casual as you could despite your obvious ramble.

Since when was “you” and “rambling” in one sentence a thing? God.

‘I… sure, someone has to make sure Wonwoo doesn’t become a party pooper after all,’ he shot a smile in your way, that bright and genuine smile that always awoke the butterflies in your tummy. ‘And make sure you get home in one piece,’ Junhui mumbled under his nose in Korean, his voice barely above a whisper yet impactful enough to paint your cheeks a faint shade of pink - a colour you could hide in the dimly lit street.

You bit into your cheek from the inside to contain your giddiness.

‘Someone has to,’ you agreed with both statements without his knowledge and promised him that you would tell him more about the details once they were set in stone before he walked away for real.

You couldn’t have believed you had let such a great opportunity go to waste when later that night you realised that you could have asked for Junhui’s number if only you had told him that you would send him the fixed date and location via kakao. Such an amateur, school girl mistake.

You were so busy with finishing up the school year and so excited about the party with your chillest classmates and friends that at one point of the night, after like two or three glasses of somaek, you completely forgot that only a handful of your Korean friends spoke Chinese and that they all talked to you in their native language, which you couldn’t have pretended not to understand when they had already known your Korean was close to fluent. How else could you have gotten yourself a partial scholarship to a Korean program at one of the best unis in the country? It wasn’t like you had written your assignments in Chinese or your lectures had had magical subtitles only you could have seen.

If you had the brain capacity, you might have wondered if anyone had ever set themselves up for failure as wonderfully as you had done when you had invited Junhui for the party, but you were sleep-deprived and tipsy, so you simply greeted him with one of your sweet smiles when he finally arrived.

‘You’re late!’ You complained, your lips taking on a naturally pouty shape as you looked him in the eyes. He looked so good with his adorable mole above his upper lip and the one on his cheek that lately made you want to pinch it. Or kiss it. Maybe something in-between. Or both. Yeah, you could have definitely pinched his cheek and kissed him as an apology. Or should you have kissed him first and pinched him afterwards just to tease him? You liked teasing him a lot.

‘I’m sorry. There was an emergency at the shop,’ he apologised before he tilted his head to the left and pointed at Wonwoo who had also arrived only a couple of seconds ago. You followed his line of sight and sighed when you saw Yuri hugging her boyfriend so openly albeit a bit shyly. You wanted to do the same, just not with Wonwoo.

‘Hey guys! Grab a shot and come to the table! It’s time for the classic, the cliche, the legend!’ One of your classmates shouted, hyping up your slowly growing group, although you knew what was coming was the most basic drinking game of all time: ‘Truth or dare!’

You shook your head with a smile and tugged on Junhui’s sleeve.

‘You heard her. Let’s go!’ You exclaimed, completely oblivious to the fact that you shouldn’t have been able to understand the girl or that you had just blown on your imaginary house of cards as though it had always meant to be destroyed so carelessly.

You didn’t stutter, you didn’t waver and you clearly weren’t aware of the reason why Junhui was giving you such a terrified look. Your tipsy brain assumed it was because of the game and how juicy it could have gotten when one was playing it with the right gang.

With so many people around, it took for a while until you could actively participate in the game, but you genuinely enjoyed yourself while you were watching your classmates and friends embarrass themselves in public. Then, you dared Yuri to sit into Wonwoo’s lap and the crowd went wild. You hadn’t felt so light and carefree in months.

‘Your turn. Truth or dare?’ Wonwoo’s question was directed at you three or four rounds later, his eyes shining with unexpected mischief as he raised one of his brows. He was challenging you and you were a coward, so you chose:

‘Truth.’

Obviously, you would have been stupid to willingly embarrass yourself in front of Junhui. He was already way too quiet for your liking. Now that you thought about it, he hadn’t said a word since you two had joined your friends by the table.

You turned towards him, worried. And you were still looking at him when your best friend’s boyfriend’s question reached your ears, dread morphing your features as the seriousness of the situation hit you in the face. Oh. Why hadn’t you thought of the possibility that Wonwoo might have asked you why you were pretending not to understand Korean around Junhui? It was such a predictable question in hindsight, especially after the sneaky dare you had given Yuri. 

‘I…’ you started, but the words stuck in your throat and you had to take a deep breath before you tried again, this time, with more confidence. It was as good of a time to come clean as any even if the circumstances weren’t ideal. So far, you could have soothed your conscience with the reminder that you had never lied in Junhui’s face. You didn’t want to start it now.

So you turned your whole body towards the boy and made sure he heard you when you told him the truth.

‘I like knowing those things he isn’t brave enough to admit aloud,’ you said, giving him one of your sweetest smiles in hope of his forgiveness.

Yet, he averted his eyes, and when you gave in the urge to touch his face and make him look at you, he cleared his throat and excused himself like it wasn’t painfully obvious that he didn’t need to use the toilet. He needed more distance between the two of you. 

You bit into your cheeks from the inside hard enough to draw blood before you, too, left the table, using the weak excuse that you needed some fresh air. In reality, you just couldn’t bear to see the pitiful look everyone was giving you or hear the apology that fell from your best friend’s lips as though it was her or Wonwoo’s fault.

Even tipsy, you knew it was all on you.

The first thing that popped up in your mind when you left the diner and sat down on one of the plastic chairs outside was that maybe you were wrong and you did need some fresh air. Because hell it felt amazing when the cold, wintry air hit your face and caressed your warm cheeks like a mother would - or a best friend. A person you could confide in. God, you had screwed up big time, hadn’t you?

Frowning, it didn’t even occur to you that sitting outside in December, wearing nothing but a thin long-sleeved shirt and denim jeans was a bad idea. You didn’t question why there were only three other dudes chatting on the terrace, smoking cigarettes. You were just relieved to be alone while you were mourning a relationship you had never even had. You really liked Junhui.

It was the sudden weight of a jacket on your shoulders that pulled you out of your thoughts, your head snapping towards your intruder fast enough to hurt. However, as soon as your eyes met Junhui’s you swallowed down the groan.

‘What…’ you started, but didn’t know how to finish the question, so you pressed your lips together and said nothing. Did you even have the right to ask him what he was doing outside when you had made him so uncomfortable, he had to distance himself from you? Did you even want to hear the answer?

As much as you didn’t mind being rejected - you were an advocate for the basic human right of saying no -, at that moment, you would have rather not be called an awful person by the first person who had piqued your interest in years. You had already felt pathetic, your self-esteem could only take so much one night.

Junhui took the chair next to you.

‘Were you having fun?’ He broke the silence when he realised you wouldn’t, his gaze fixated on something in front of him instead of on you as though he was just as afraid of the look on your face as you were of the emotions in his eyes. You didn’t want him to resent you, though, you might have deserved it. ‘Or do you really like me?’

It wasn’t the first time you heard the boy speak Korean, clearly, but there was something new and almost odd about hearing Junhui dedicating a question to you in the local language. You allowed yourself another quick glance at him, and even in your tipsy state it was ridiculously easy to tell that he was much drunker than the last time you had sat this close. It took one to know one.

You let out a defeated sigh.

‘I like you. I really do, Junhui,’ you admitted as you wondered whether your confession was too plain and about the chances that he would believe you. Weren’t you a notorious liar in his eyes?

Your lips parted in disbelief when instead of an answer or a well-deserved accusation, you felt a light weight on your right shoulder; the side Junhui was sitting on. Slowly, to not ruin the moment, you turned your head in that direction, surprised to see the boy’s head resting on you. Too stunned to comprehend the situation, you lifted your left hand to touch his soft hair and simultaneously check whether he was asleep.

Based on the lack of reaction, he was. He fell asleep on your shoulder. On the very same person’s shoulder who had unintentionally made him feel like a fool. You didn’t have to be a genius to know you didn’t deserve the immense amount of trust something like this required from a person; he was so vulnerable, completely unconscious beside you, and so adorable as he was snoring lightly that you swore you would protect him from all harm. If only he had given you a second chance.

If you wanted to be honest, you had no idea how long you stayed outside or whether you had also managed to fall asleep at one point. However, it was fairly obvious that the party hadn’t been over yet when Yuri and her boyfriend walked up to you and informed you that they had already called a cab.

‘Do you need help with him? We can take a small detour to both of your apartments if you’re okay to leave in ten,’ Wonwoo offered and you sneaked a glance at Junhui before you made up your mind. Sure, you would have gladly stayed for a little longer, making up for all those university parties you had deliberately missed out on due to your workload, but making sure the boy got home in one piece was higher on your priority list.

‘Thanks. That would be nice,’ you accepted the help and let Wonwoo pull his friend into a bent albeit standing position when the driver finally arrived.

Since Yuri volunteered to take the passenger’s seat and out of the three remaining passengers you were the tiniest, you stuck between the boys in the backseat with Junhui’s head once again on your shoulder. Way less tipsier than an hour prior, it was impossible not to notice the effect his closeness had on your body: his warm breath fanning over your skin under your ear sent a pleasant shiver down your spine and whenever his nose touched your neck, you felt new goosebumps forming on your lower arm. He was so, so close and so damn out of it, you were sure he would have felt embarrassed that he was particularly cuddling you in front of his friend if he had been conscious.

God, even your cheeks were burning and you were sitting so upright, one would have thought someone had shoved a stick up your ass.

‘We’re here,’ Wonwoo nudged you when the cab parked in front of Junhui’s building and you acknowledged with a surprised hum that his place was in the opposite direction from the café than yours. Suddenly, his offer to walk you home after your mild panic attack meant so much more to you.

You looked down at the sleeping boy and brushed a stray strand of hair out of his face.

Although you did shake Junhui awake, dragging him up to the third floor was an adventure on its own, not to mention the mess he made as soon as his front door closed behind your back. He might not have thrown up on your shoes, but he crashed into several furniture and walls, which resulted in two broken porcelain decorations and a rose-coloured bump on his head.

‘It’s okay. You can rest now,’ you told him once he was under the blankets, still in his clothes but with his shoes and socks off. It wasn’t below you to put a drunk person in their pyjamas; however, with Junhui, you didn’t want to risk crossing that line without his explicit consent. Especially not after the unplanned twists and turns of the night.

Placing a hastily written note in front of the glass of water and painkillers that Wonwoo had put on his bedside table before he had given the two of you some space, you only hoped he wouldn’t feel too uncomfortable during the rest of the night in his jeans and shirt.

You were thinking about this and the way Junhui’s warm breath felt against your skin in the backseat until your body (and mind) gave in to exhaustion in your own bedroom.

You weren’t avoiding Junhui. But with Christmas coming up, then your thesis defence and your scheduled family trip back to China a week before Chinese New Year, you told yourself that you were too busy to spent so much time in a coffee shop, pathetically hoping that the boy you liked would not only show willingness to talk to you, but have some time to do so as well. You didn’t know his schedule and he had never texted you despite the note you had left behind before you had walked out of his bedroom after the disastrous end of semester party.

Rationally speaking, you knew you had other options. You could have asked Yuri’s boyfriend to send you Junhui’s schedule. You could have also cashed in a favour from Wonwoo and asked him to give the barista a short break when there weren’t too many customers at the shop, so that you could have talked. You could have texted Junhui first or simply shown up at the shop close to closing time. However, a selfish part of you wanted him to take the initiative, because you felt like that would have been a clear sign that he didn’t hate you, that you might still have had a chance.

So why you were at Coffee Carat two days before your flight to Beijing was beyond you. You guessed this was what it meant to be a supportive best friend: you showed up even when it was the last thing you wanted to do at that moment, even when you knew you were being set up as there was no way Yuri would have seriously needed a cup of coffee delivered to her flat in the middle of the day when she had her own coffee machine at home and her boyfriend worked at the same coffee shop.

With a resigned sigh, once it was your turn in front of the counter, you asked for her usual iced coffee.

‘And here I was thinking, he was overdramatic. You do look like you would rather eat glass than be here,’ Minghao said as he started the coffee machine, then filled an empty plastic cup with ice cubes. He was as grumpy as ever, but you wouldn’t have had him any other way. It also did good to your guilt that his first words to you weren’t overly nice. If you wanted to be a hundred percent honest, you deserved the roasting.

‘It’s always so nice to see you, Minghao. Thank you for asking, I’m doing pretty okay these days. No more assignments, no more all-nighters,’ you remarked with more amusement than malice as you fished your wallet out of your bag and linked your arms in front of your chest. Eyeing the glass display, you were contemplating whether you should have bought yourself a cupcake or a cinnamon roll. They both looked delicious. 

‘Amazing,’ he mused. He put the plastic lid on Yuri’s drink, then followed your line of sight and put a freshly baked cinnamon roll with walnut pieces on top in a paper bag. You licked your lower lip unconsciously; you could feel the yearning in the pit of your tummy. ‘Though, it’s not exactly what a best friend would want to hear from the girl who is messing with their friend’s head,’ he added when you exchanged money, deliberately disregarding the whine that escaped your mouth.

It was a low blow, but you couldn’t deny that there was some truth to what he said. Even if you had never messed with Junhui’s head on purpose. Because despite the implication, you had never played with him. Your interest had been pure and genuine. It still was.

The unmistakable sound of broken glass pulled you back to reality and also forced Minghao to tear his judging gaze away from you. The scream stuck in your throat the moment your eyes landed on a panicking Junhui in the middle of a latte pond. Was that strawberry jam on his lower arm? Was he bleeding?

‘Are you okay?’ The question fell from your lips without thinking, the fact that you were speaking in Chinese not registering in you until Minghao gave you a nasty side eye. Oh. You quickly cleared your throat and repeated the question in Korean. ‘I’m sorry. Are you okay?’

‘I’m…’ Junhui started, awkwardly shifting from one foot to the other in a crouching position. His cheeks, neck and ears were rose-coloured, but for the first time you were too worried about him to find his bashfulness adorable. 

You were seconds from rushing behind the counter, so that you could examine his body for possible injuries.

‘I’m fine,’ Junhui shot a tight-lipped smile in your direction, which might have been meant to be reassuring, but did nothing to soothe your nerves.

If you had only given a single thought to your actions, you would have realised that running behind the counter as a customer was a horrible idea for numerous reasons. For instance, it  went against basic hygiene regulations, therefore it could have gotten the place in big trouble if anyone had taken a picture of you sitting on your knees beside Junhui without an apron and a proper uniform. In the era of social media and cancel culture, there were no such things as small or innocent mistakes.

However, you clearly weren’t thinking - not about the negative consequences of your actions nor anyone else but the flustered boy in front of you.

‘Stop fidgeting. Don’t touch that!’ You scolded him so naturally it felt like the two of you had never stopped talking and pulled him up from the floor with ease, taking full advantage of his confusion as you dragged him to the closest empty chair.

After checking every inch of his lower arms two times, lips pressed into a thin line because of how nervous you felt, you acknowledged with a relieved sigh that Junhui was fine. He had one minor cut on his left index finger, that you dressed in a plaster dutifully.

‘Here. As good as new,’ you teased, not because you found the possibility of Junhui getting hurt funny, but because the worry you had just felt had been overwhelming and you needed to lighten the mood - for the sake of your sanity.

And maybe to dilute the lingering awkwardness around you when the silence settled.

It was the first time you saw him in weeks. Unsurprisingly, he looked the same, but somehow things still felt different. You wondered whether it was because you weren’t talking in your native language anymore. You missed the familiar warmth that always embraced you when he addressed you in Chinese. For the first time since you had moved countries, you swore you were experiencing homesickness, which was as ridiculous as true.

‘You know…’ Your body jerked when you heard Minghao’s girlfriend’s voice from behind your back. You snapped your head in her direction only to see her staring at the two of you with a broom and a plastic dustpan. ‘For people who can converse in at least two languages, you two are pretty shitty at communication,’ she said with a frown, her tone not judgemental per se, but still a bit reprimanding.

You bit into your cheek from the inside, swallowing back a scoff. Your communication skills were exceptional. You hadn’t had any problem talking to Junhui before… before that stupid truth or dare. Just the thought of it soured your mood.

‘Sooryeon-ah…’

‘We’re doing just fine,’ you remarked at the same time Junhui let out a pitiful whine. You looked back at the boy who was sitting beside you and closed your eyes for theatrics. Maybe, you weren’t doing fine at all. However, saying it out loud, admitting it in front of his friend’s girlfriend, felt so bad. As though you had failed before you could have even tried.

‘Oh? You’re doing fine, you say?’ Sooryeon’s interest was clearly piqued at the sudden turn of events, the smirk audible in her voice. ‘So he’s finally asked you out on a date?’

The speed your head turned in the barista girl’s direction wasn’t even funny. You could feel your neck crack and you cursed your instincts for betraying you so badly. Still, as giddiness slowly blended into your confusion, you couldn’t help but smile. Was it naive of you to hope that she was also up-to-date with the happenings between the two of you? Shouldn’t you have at least prepared yourself for the disappointment in case it had only been true before… before that stupid truth or dare.

‘Lim Sooryeon!’ Junhui’s raised voice took you completely off guard, pushing you from one surprise to another as the twists of the day pulled the rug from under your feet. You had never heard him so frustrated - angry? - in your life and you had known him for over a year by then. You had seen him surrounded by girls who didn’t know what no meant; you had seen him handle entitled Karens on a weekly basis with utmost patience; you had seen him being teased for hours to no end by his friends.

‘Moon J—’

‘He did. We’ll have street food tonight. Go, watch a movie,’ you cut the barista girl off before their banter could have drawn too much unwanted attention. A few of the customers were already giving you curious glances and you knew, deep down you just knew, that the only reason Minghao didn’t come up to you to scold Junhui was because of the growing line in front of the counter.

The silence that followed your statement was deafening and for a second you contemplated whether you should have apologised and told Sooryeon the truth - if you should have stopped altering reality so shamelessly whenever you seemed fit even though you never meant any harm when it happened -, but then Junhui asked:

‘We will?’ With so much enthusiasm that it threw your life off its axis.

He sounded so happy as though he wasn’t aware that he had, in fact, hadn’t asked you out on a date. How could you have said yes to a question that he had never asked? He was so silly but so adorable.

A grumpy voice in your head, suspiciously akin to Minghao’s, attempted to convince you that lying was not the solution, but one look at Junhui’s shy smile made it impossible for you to do the morally acceptable thing. What was so good about doing the “right thing” when that would have only dampened his mood? And it wasn’t that you were about to straight out lie in his face. You had every intention to have street food with him after his shift in case he was up for it.

You would have been stupid to turn down this miraculously obtained second chance.

‘We will,’ you confirmed with a soft smile, mustering up the courage to lean a little forwards, so you would have been close enough to him to cup his cheeks with your hands, squeezing them with a cooing sound.

‘Junhui! If your injuries aren’t deadly, come back behind the counter. You’re not off the clock yet,’ Minghao’s command cut through the air and you reluctantly let Junhui’s face go, so that he could pull away and go back to work.

That day, you decided that Yuri needed to wait a couple of hours for her iced coffee - the first cup became lukewarm by the time you put yourself together, therefore you used it as an excuse to stay until lunch break and finished it with your dessert. In the meantime, whenever the crowd was manageable, you exchanged a few words with Junhui: you apologised for last time and he apologised for never contacting you. You made him blush, teasing him about how delighted your grandparents would be when they found out he’s Chinese and he tried his best to repay the favour with the cheesiest compliments you ever heard (and a slice of orange cheesecake that finally did the trick and painted your cheeks red). It was as easy as you had remembered, talking to Junhui again, but you also knew Sooryeon had been right. The two of you had a long way to go when it came to communication, but that was okay. You were only at the beginning of the journey.

You had years to perfect your skills. A lifetime if you were lucky.

➼ next reason

#seventeen scenarios #caratwritersclub #junhui x reader #jun x reader #junhui x you #jun x you #moon junhui #wen junhui #ssbyme #seventeen series #coffee shop au

[study-with-aura]

Friday, February 16, 2024

Happy Friday! Celenia and Aidy say hello. I sometimes love Fridays, especially when they are easy Fridays. I say easy because I was finished with my school work quickly due to mostly having reviews, quizzes, and my presentation. KA was assigned for Geometry already, and we are still at the causes of World War I, so I do not want to jump too far ahead in CLEP or on KA as I use those to help fill in the picture better from my broad survey coursework.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! As always, I will try to post per usual, but if there are no updates, then know that I will be back on Monday.

Tasks Completed:

Geometry - Learned how to apply volumes of solids + practice + learned to apply surface areas of solids + practice + learned about area and volume density + practice

Lit and Comp II - Unit 18 vocabulary test (100%) + read chapter 22 of Emma by Jane Austen + edited and proofread my newspaper writing assignment (due Monday)

Spanish 2 - Reviewed possessive adjectives and daily routines + quiz (100%) + reviewed vocabulary

Bible I - Read Joshua 9

World History - Read timeline for days 5-8 out of 37 days prior to the start of WWI

Biology with Lab - Presented endangered species project to my dad (50/50) + population ecology quiz (100%)

PE/Health I - Read health article about music and the brain

Foundations - Read more on persuasiveness + creativity practice + learned about ambiguity, gambler's, and composition/division fallacies

Piano - Practiced for two hours in one hour split sessions

Khan Academy - Completed High School Geometry Unit 9: Lesson 3 part 5 (assigned)

CLEP - Completed Module 10.1 lecture video

Duolingo - Completed at least one lesson each in Spanish, French, and Chinese

Reading - Read pages 323-352 of Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley

Chores - Dusted my bedroom, my bathroom, and the study + laundered my bedding

Activities of the Day:

Ballet

Pointe

Journal/Mindfulness

-

What I’m Grateful for Today:

I am grateful to have my friends over again tonight for a sleepover!

Quote of the Day:

I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life's a bitch. You've got to go out and kick ass.

-Maya Angelou

🎧The Easy Winners - Scott Joplin

#study community #study blog #study inspiration #study motivation #studyblr #studyblr community #study-with-aura

[fluffykitty149]

GUYS GALS AND NON-BINARY PALS I WELCOME YOU TO ‘WHAT I HEADCANON TALIA WOULD WEAR AT HER WEDDING TO BRUCE’!

Disclaimer I am neither Chinese nor Jewish so if there are any Chinese/Jewish fans who want me to change something or correct me on anything feel free to do so! (Ngl gonna make some of it kinda vague since I’m hopping between websites on my phone)

This started as just what Talia would wear to the wedding since as per tradition for those who can afford it Arab brides can have three dresses. But after a bit I got frusterated when she should wear what and ultimately decided to do a chronological order of the wedding. (Not including the engagement party, dinner party, or anything else. Just the night before and forward.)

shoutout to @daminette-56 for being the reason I planned this and to @immortaldino for being the reason I remembered to do this!

The night before is universally a bath night for the bride and groom. Both go to a Hammam (bath house) to get cleaned up and scrubbed down making sure to use pomelo leaves along side their respective choices of scents.

They then get into red and gold pajamas and slippers and at the right hour, the hair ceremony can begin. They sit in front of a window as a relative of good fortune combs their hair four times with blessings. They struggled to find a relative of good fortune but thankfully Talia was able to reach out to relatives on her mom’s side to help out. They were confused at first but realizing her and her fiancé’s bad record with parents decided to help out. (Had to keep a tight lip about the league). Once the ceremony is done and the red yarn and leaves are tied on the bride, the separate families eat and while waiting for the candles and joss sticks to die out the henna ceremony can begin.

After the candle has burned out and they wrap their henna to go to sleep they go to bed and the groom keeps his ribbon and leaves in his pocket for good fortune.

It’s the morning of the day and Talia wakes up early af to get ready. Meanwhile Bruce wakes up and has to take on ‘groom challenges’ trials set for him such as quizzing on Talia (he nails it) food tolerance challenges (just barely passes the spicy test) and finally giving packets of money to Talia’s bridesmaids so he can enter the room where Talia is to find her shoes. Ras made this challenge especially hard since he wasn’t allowed to go all out on the challenges but Bruce being the world’s greatest detective figures it out which brings us to Talia’s first outfit.

And ofc the shoes

After the shoes are found and placed on Talia Bruce carries her over to the tea ceremony. A red tea set with a Double Happiness symbol is used for the tea ceremony, where black tea is sweetened with dried longans, lotus seeds, and red dates. The tea is poured and distributed to paternal parents first, then paternal relatives, then maternal parents to maternal relatives. Afterwards Ras and Alfred give red envelopes of either money or gold.

Bruce: Alfred I couldn’t possibly-

Alfred: Consider it as a future investment for the property damage your future child will inflict Master Bruce.

Bruce: Fair enough.

After the tea ceremony Talia changes and they head to the next area of the wedding. Here Talia dons a white dress and a traditional Arab wedding cloak.

Its here that the Ketubah is read and signed in front of a small audience afterwards Bruce takes off Talia’s cloak and replaces it with a veil for Bedeken. (Apologies if I used the term incorrectly 😅)

Then Bruce walks down the isle towards the chuppa with Alfred, his groomsmen including Clark, Kate, Dr. Elliot (prior to Hush), some relatives and coworkers, and oddly enough both two face and Harley Quinn with Dick as the begrudged flower boy. Then, Talia follows suite with Ras and her bridesmaids. Nyssa, Amla, her closets friends from studying in Cairo and her ballet years, Lois because of Clark, and oddly Selina. They had a mutual agreement that if Selina stole anything her hand would get chopped off and Selina wouldn’t so long as she was in the wedding. Talia figured she could use the extra security and had her as a bridesmaid. Ivy is also a bridesmaid since she and the Al Ghuls tend to plot to save the earth together. (Hence Harley wanting to join)

They exchange vows, have Talia circle Bruce three times, exchange rings, have the seven blessings performed, and then Talia pulls back the veil and Bruce breaks the glass with people cheering.

After that it’s Yichud around lunchtime. Talia and Bruce have a moment to themselves and share a meal in calming silence. They talk for a bit and cry at the fact that their mom/parents couldn’t see this ceremony. They then get their parents (AKA Alfred and Ras) so they can legalize the marriage.

After freshening up it’s time for the reception. Aka, PARTY TIME!!! And Talia’s outfit.

outfit

Shoes

Makeup

Zaffee is their offical entrance as husband and wife with a drummer group following them and you can hear the ladies zaghrouta. The party is officially in full swing and the dancing begins. Naturally Talia leads the dabke but Bruce is no slacker and has no trouble keeping up. How does his wife dance in heels he doesn’t know but deeply admires. It’s a fun night of celebration and dinner is a huge feast of a buffet with different foods from all over the world. At the end of the night (basically 1-3 am) Talia is back in her white dress they dance and it’s the final dance called Hora where Talia and Bruce are lifted in their chairs while holding a kerchief. Afterwards, they’re cutting the cake with a sword (as per Arab tradition). Talia puts back on the cape, and the Newlyweds say goodbye to guests as they drive away in a car wrapped with flowers and a procession follows them honking horns and playing music. They make it to the airport and say goodbye to close family and go off on their honeymoon where a marriage bed made by the fortunate relative is there waiting for them.

They crash and fall asleep immediately.

I’m tired have fun and good night.

here’s Talia’s wedding ring btw. Comes in two for practical reasons idk.

Here is Bruce’s btw

#brutalia #talia al ghul #bruce wayne #brutalia wedding #arab talia al ghul #chinese talia al ghul #jewish bruce wayne #sorry for mistakes #im tired #arab #arab weddings #ras al ghul