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thefinalcinderella · 10 months

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Tsurune Book 3 Chapter 3 - The Song of Naru (Part 1)

Things that happened in this chapter

- Yotube drama

- Mustaches

Watch Ooku guys!

Glossary here

Full list of translations here

Translation Notes

1. Nakiryuu means “crying dragon” and it’s a common motif in Buddhist temples

2. I don’t know what this means. I think it’s some kind of Japanese wordplay that flew over my head

3. Oogiri is “a form of comedy that focuses on improvisation by providing a funny answer on the spot for a question or thematic topic”

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Haneina High School’s Asahina was eating an onigiri.

He had spread out a picnic blanket in the courtyard during the bright afternoon and was eating lunch. Next to him, Eddie was stuffing his cheeks with triangular onigiris. Before studying abroad, he had learned of the existence of onigiri after watching a Japanese historical drama, and now he was captivated by them. Every day he thought about what to use for the filling, and today’s filling was kiwi fruit.

When Asahina was on a school trip in elementary school, he saw that only his onigiris were cylindrical while everyone else’s were triangle-shaped and thought, Huh? Why am I the only one who’s different? He asked his mother about it after he returned home, and she told him that she was from Kansai and that onigiri had always been made like this back home. Apparently, it was easier to pack in a lunch box.

There was an unpleasant scraping sound, and Asahina stopped eating.

“Ow, I bit the inside of my mouth.”

“If you bite the inside of your mouth, that is your body’s way of informing you that you are eating too much and it doesn’t wish to eat anymore.”

“Really?”

A quick internet search revealed that when the body was in poor condition, such as fatigue or poor physical condition, it was difficult to control jaw movement well. It said to get plenty of rest and get in shape. It had a point. Last night, he had been too focused on video editing and didn’t get enough sleep. Eating too much—he did have second helpings of Wan-Nyan cheese curry at the place he visited yesterday.

The Haneina second-year Asahina You and American exchange student Eddie Fox were Yotubers who ran the channel “Yumihiki Douji” together, and they were well-received. The standard orange kyudo uniform was Haneina’s color. They also had customized orange bows and arrows, all of which were uniquely theirs.

Anyways, it was “aesthetic.” Rather than kyudo that emphasizes spirituality, they aimed for kyudo that people could enjoy watching.

On today’s practice, Asahina wore a pongee kimono as he drew his bow. When he learned that the kyudo wear he usually wore was training wear and that people wore kimono in formal occasions, he started to collect kimonos. It was said that patterns weren’t allowed and solid colors were OK, but finding those were difficult. Kimonos were expensive, so most of them were recycled items, and washable polyester materials were tried as well.

Their videos were almost completely ignored as soon as they were uploaded, and after a while they were filled with comments like “their shooting form is terrible,” “they’re so bad,” “that hairstyle is so ugly,” and “you’re disrespecting kyudo.” But since it was for class, they updated every week, and positive comments like “I look forward to it every week” and “Same same. I learned so much from them.” As they took in the opinions and feedback of the viewers, their archery skills also improved. Recently, their collaboration project with a channel about Japan became trending.

One day, someone wrote in the comment section, “I started kyudo because I admired Zen in the Art of Archery. Can everyone in Japan do what Awa-sensei did?” It was a request from a foreign viewer.

Shooting a target in the dark.

Two arrows were shot in the dark. The first one pierced the center of the target, and the second one split the first one down the middle, the shaft halved in order to reach the center. This was a superhuman feat. Asahina had also heard this story from his grandfather when he was young, and it remained somewhere in the back of his mind. He would love to attempt it. Even if he didn’t hit the center, he would probably hit the target at least.

The results were terrible. He couldn’t see the target at all after turning off the lights in the target area. They tried lighting mosquito repelling incense, but they only produced faint white trails of smoke and he couldn’t find his aim. When they went to pick up the arrows, they found that the arrows had avoided the targets and pierced the azuchi at an angle, or landed right in front of them. It looked like a battlefield. Now he knew how much he usually relied on his eyesight.

He had considered trying again during daytime, but it was no use in the first place. If you could aim and hit, then you’d already hit. The shape of the bow, which had existed since the beginning of time, had changed, and despite the difference in materials, it had reached a point where it couldn’t be changed anymore. And now it had reached the present. The Japanese bow, which had been imbued with the lives of generations of bow makers, was a tool that even the wisdom of mankind couldn’t yet control.

That was why the bow chose the wielder. What should one do to be chosen?

Asahina gave a big stretch.

“Haa, ‘don’t do today what you can do tomorrow.’ Tomorrow is fine, so let’s think about it tomorrow.”

“’Tis a Turkish proverb. This humble one takes it to mean, ‘Do it today because you may not be able to do it tomorrow,’” Eddie said.

“Really?”

Can’t be helped. They were going to stay at the kyudojo until nighttime today as well.

He heard the gathering bell. He listened to the nostalgic sound that tinted the sky an azure color.

He heard the gathering bell. He listened to the nostalgic sound that tinted the sky an azure color.

On that day, Asahina and Eddie were at the temple gate.

The two walked along the cobblestone path to the main hall. Two dragons were painted on the ceiling of this temple, and when they clapped their hands in prayer right below them, there was an echo like the roaring of dragons. They were called nakiryuu. (1) In fact, the two of them met in this nakiryuu room, and moreover, it was in a dream. Their conversation went something like, “It’s been a while. When was it, a few hundred years ago?” “Well then, shall we go all out?” When they actually met each other at school, they were both silent, wondering if this was a continuation of the dream.

There was a fellow second-year of the Haneina kyudo club standing in the temple.

“You guys really like the nakiryuu room, don’t you,” the fierce-looking Matsuda said.

“I guess so,” Asahina answered.

“I don’t really know what the dragon’s expression is like, but the resonating sound when you clap your hands together feels good.”

Matsuda was poor-sighted. He couldn’t see the outlines of things very well, but he had a great ability to sense the presence and feelings of people. He could tell that Asahina and Eddie had an unusual relationship, but he thought that it was something that must not be mentioned. He liked watching their red and gold hair sway, so he quietly stayed by their side. The three of them chatted with each other a lot, and right now Matsuda was putting his hand on Eddie’s shoulder. He felt an unfounded sense of security that these two sun-colored people would never treat him like a freak or exclude him.

On the other hand, the fourth member of Haneina’s kyudo club, Kanuma, was a man who went at his own pace and didn’t care about anything. He was obsessed with haikus, and when he started thinking about them, he often got lost in his own world and froze in the middle of conversations. Incidentally, his haiku skills were mediocre.

Even right now, he was muttering to the temple wall.

“Maybe a line about dragons? It’s even more difficult if the motif is mundane.”

“Kanuma, have you composed a poem? I’d like to collaborate with you on a haiku and kyudo project for the next Yumihiki Douji video,” Asahina asked. “Yeah,” Kanuma answered.

“Kanuma, I want to ride the dragon on the ceiling. Can you help me?” Matsuda asked, and was answered with “Yeah.” No matter what was said to him, he only answered, “Yeah.” Eddie threw in the towel. “This is hopeless.”

There was another person glued to the wall. More precisely, a boy was staring at the patterns on the wall.

Igarashi had a nickname: the Gardening Prince. He grew various plants, took precious care of them, and drew them. His bows and arrows were decorated with a profusion of flower drawings, and at competitions, the people of other schools let out gasps of admiration when they saw his bow and arrows.

After imprinting the pattern on the wall into his eyes, he looked at Asahina.

“I saw the last Yumihiki Douji. There was another comment from ‘that guy.’ Is everything alright?”

“Oh, you’re talking about ‘Tetsi’ right?”

“They write complaints in other people’s comment section every time. Isn’t that like going into other people’s houses and renting a room?”

As their views increased, someone calling themselves “Seigi no Tetsui” would write things like, “Kyudo is a traditional Japanese martial art” and “What kind of kyudoka would have red or blond hair? If you’re Japanese, dye your hair black like a Japanese.”

Eddie waved his own blond ponytail at Matsuda.

“My blond hair is my natural hair, and I am not Japanese, but American, so how about that?”

“It’s an old trick to throw in mistakes on purpose to get people to bite, isn’t it? Don’t get lured in.”

“As you say. I shall ignore it.”

Kanuma, who they thought wasn’t listening, turned around, gave a thumbs-up and grinned.

The Yotube channel “Yumihiki Douji” was Asahina and Eddie’s channel, but it was actually run by the six of them: Matsuda, Kanuma, Igarashi, and Coach Tsuchiya.

When the five exited the temple gate, they heard the laughter of elementary schoolers on their way home from school.

It happened at the end of the holidays.

A protest was posted on several channels set up by Haneina students with the title “Attention Haneina High School.” The writer was Tetsi, or “Seigi no Tetsui.”

Your school is making students selfish and egotistical in the name of freedom. Since children are immature beings, adults should firmly admonish them to follow the rules of the world. Someone who isn’t disciplined in that way would commit foolish acts later in life. The behavior of the kyudo club is especially unbearable to watch. Kyudo uniforms are white. This should be stopped immediately. They are a disgrace to kyudoka—.

Because the school was named, a staff meeting was held.

The principal said, “Our school’s educational philosophy is to ‘cultivate people with reading comprehension and communication skills.’ Listen carefully, think for yourself, and share your opinions. Communicate calmly with people who have different opinions. Videos are the place to practice these things. First, Tsuchiya-sensei will show the students an example. I shall take responsibility. Do it to the best of your ability.”

The next day, Coach Tsuchiya stood in front of a camera.

“To everyone who watches this channel, thank you for your continued support. My name is Tsuchiya Ena, a teacher at Haneina High School, as well as the coach for the kyudo club. Recently, we received the following comment. As a faculty member, I sincerely apologize for my poor choice of words. From now on, I would like to choose my words more carefully. Regarding kyudo uniforms, in accordance with competition rules, we wear white during tournaments and only colored clothing during practice. We appreciate your understanding.”

The next day, a new video channel was opened. The owner was Tetsi. There was a black sheet covering their entire body, and they were wearing a Noh mask. Their voice was also modified.

“It’s one thing if you’re university students, but it’s deplorable for high school students to wear orange. It’s a lax mindset. There’s something you should do before worrying about your clothes. You should study harder. Are you going to destroy the traditions that kyudoka have cultivated over centuries?”

After this, Yumihiki Douji and Tetsi continued to post responses to each other’s videos.

――There is no basis for claiming that the students in our club aren’t diligent in their studies. The school will not publish data that only extracts the grades of some students. That is your delusion. Also, there is no reason why this is acceptable for university students but not for high school students. The white kyudo wear we wear for competitions is practice wear, and kimono is worn on formal occasions. By wearing kimono on a daily basis, the students are trained to avoid careless blunders in formal situations.

――Who does this young woman think she is? What kind of university did you go to? Don’t tell me you’re from an F-ranked school. A school that would hire such a bottom-of-the-barrel girl is clearly not worth anything. What a stupid school. There’s no point in talking to you. Get me the principal.

――The university you graduated from has nothing to do with your kyudo ability. In the past, there apparently used to be a section on the examination form where you must fill in your last place of education, but this has already been eliminated. The precept of our school is “learning from the past.” We visit the old to learn the new. You can’t break the mold if you don’t know it. We respect the teachings of our predecessors.

――Where’s the respect? You should respect your elders. I’m senior to you.

――I said the old, but predecessors aren’t necessarily older people, and just because someone is older does not mean they are superior. It’s just a way to honor a person’s achievements.

The videos were clipped and spread widely, and a controversy arose as to what color kyudo gi should be.

“It should be white.” “No, green should be OK as well.” “White, black, and navy blue are fine, but fluorescents are going too far, aren’t they? It’s too bright for the eyes.” “What color should I buy if it’s not white? Can I dye it lavender or something?” “Who’s this Tsucchi? Can the coach be my girlfriend?” “At my school, if you buy a different color, you’ll have to buy a new one, but I don’t have the money.” “I’m in the table tennis club, but I get more motivated when I chose a gi that stood out.” “The length of the sleeves is just right for kyudo gi, aren’t they?” “Tsucchi and Tetsi together make Tsutecchi.” “My dad’s Chicchi.” “The bow’s micchi is kewacchi.” (2)

It was a flood of words that was pretty much just an oogiri. (3)

Asahina raised his hands.

“Hey, Tsucchi, let’s stop responding to Tetsi, okay? This is taking over the channel. Our channel name is Yumihiki Douji, right? The adults are butting in too much.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I just got so mad when my adorable students got criticized.”

One day, Tetsi’s disguise got peeled off.

They wrote, “You guys should just shoot your bows quietly.”

Their comment section became a huge mess.

“It’s not ‘shooting a bow,’ it’s ‘drawing a bow.’ Saying you’re shooting a bow means you’re making a bow. If you’re an archer, that should have been the first thing they taught you.” “You’ve never referred to their shooting forms at all, have you? Maybe you don’t know the Eight Stages of Shooting at all? You’re not an archer at all, are you, Tetsi?”

The identification people showed up and very easily found Tetsi’s identity. Tetsi was a female office worker, a classmate of Tsucchi’s from the same university, and had zero kyudo experience. An hour later, all her videos were deleted, and Tetsi’s account was gone.

She was just an outsider who was stirring things up by using words she heard somewhere to provoke them. The flood that had been blocked by the dam continued to flow, and all the talk about what the color of kyudo gi should be got lost somewhere in the middle. Just what was all that fuss about?

The pair returned to normal operations.

“Hello, this is Asahina of ‘Yumihiki Douji.’”

“This humble one is called Eddie.”

“She, or rather, Coach Tsuchiya is working hard as a teacher, her main job. It’s encouraging, so if you like, please give her a high rating.”

The Kazemai High School kyudo club was continuing to work hard at practice today.

After the training camp, when everyone put on their hakama, there was a feeling of “this is what an archer is,” and they felt somewhat proud.

Tommy-sensei was holding a box. He pulled out small kasumi-mato from within. They were handmade by him, and the frame was made from the cores of duct tape.

“Now then, everyone, let’s use these mini targets today. For those who hit the target, I will give them a present along with this mini target.”

Tommy-sensei pointed to Masa-san, who was wearing a silver mustache. He was holding five “fake mustaches” in different colors.

Masa-san stroked the ends of his outward-curling mustache.

“If you put this on, you’ll become an archer like Tommy-sensei.”

Hanazawa, Shiragiku, and Seo clasped their fingers in a prayer-like pose.

“I would just love to have the pink mustache. I shall do my best.”

“I guess I’d go for the light blue.”

“Black is classic. No, white might be fine too.”

The girls were excited for some reason and were choosing the color of their mustaches.

The mini targets really did look small once they were placed on the azuchi and the archers stood at the shooting line. They were smaller than the kinmato used for celebrations.

The first-years were standing in front of the targets. Nanao quickly put on his headband and was ready to go.

“I have to give it a try, don’t I? I’ll shoot through your heart!”

Several girls fainted in the stands.

While they were waiting for their turn, Keyaki and Kanbayashi were chatting. It was about the recent video incident.

“I’m glad that Asahina and Eddie from ‘Yumihiki Douji’ have recovered from this. I was thinking of unsubscribing if it became a channel for watching Tsucchi,” Keyaki said.

“If someone asked me what color I want my gi to be next time, I’ll go with white if possible. White is safe and effortless,” Kanbayashi said.

“I heard that most of the girls in the Kirisaki kyudo club were navy blue hakama in the summer. I thought that they were required to wear navy blue gi, but I was told that they run on a merit system and have no specific rules on what to wear.”

“I don’t think people who want to stand out in the first place would choose kyudo as their club activity. Archers gravitate towards the world of wabi-sabi and mania than dazzling luxury… It’s more that we prefer the austere and understated.”

While they were talking, arrows were being shot one after another, but without success. They were allowed to shoot the mini targets as many times as they wanted to within the time they were given, so everyone was going through their arrows.

In the fourth round, a beginner first-year successfully hit the target. Cheers erupted, and when the round was finished, everyone rushed forwards. They took back the mini target with the arrow in it and handed it to the person who shot it. They were moved to tears.

Time was up when each person had finished shooting up to four arrows.

In the end, only the first-year, Ryouhei, and Shiragiku were able to successfully hit the mini targets, while all the others were disappointed.

Kaito silently pulled out his arrows. His two arrows had pierced the azuchi around the mini target, as though avoiding it.

“If it had been the usual target, I would have landed all my arrows. To think I didn’t land a single hit…my training’s not enough.”

After returning from retrieving his arrows, Nanao took off his headband.

“Even when everyone didn’t hit the mini target, they’re closer to the center than usual. It’s strange.”

“So does that mean it’s possible to hit an arrow in the center if you’re conscious of it?”

Next to him, Seiya smiled daringly.

“But you’ll never become a master if you keep aiming and hitting at the target. You haven’t trained enough, have you.”

“Gaah, this is just full of contradictions.”

Minato was looking at the upper right, as though he was thinking about something.

“It’s like you’re looking, but you aren’t looking, and it’s like you’re not looking, but you are in fact looking. In kyudo and zazen, you don’t stare at a single point, but vaguely look with half-open eyes.”

Hearing that, Ryouhei approached Minato and Seiya from behind.

“I learned that in kendo. If you don’t focus on a single point and vaguely look at the whole body, you can quickly sense your opponent’s movements before anyone else. Basically, they’re telling you to not get caught up in the information coming in through your eyes.”

Masa-san was standing behind all of them.

“You guys noticed something important. Kendo and kyudo are both martial arts, so they have a lot in common. Takuan Osho left behind the phrase ‘kenzen ichinyo,’ where ichinyo means the state of being one. In English, it’s explained as ‘The sword and zen are one.’”

Keyakia and Kanbayashi had both stopped cleaning and were leaning forward to listening. Himuro was of course unmoving.

“First of all, you have to get used to it. As you gain experience, you accumulate data, and your body learns trends and countermoves. The ultimate goal is to be able to draw a bow in the same way no matter when, where, or under what circumstances. Well, I also had a tough time getting there as well.”

Keyaki became at a loss upon hearing that.

“If even Masa-san says it’s difficult, I wonder when I’ll be able to do it.”

“Don’t rush, don’t rush. Miyamoto Musashi also wrote in the Book of Five Rings, ‘See to it that you temper yourself with one thousand days of practice, and refine yourself with ten thousand days of training.’ Have you learned the essence of ‘No-Look Shooting’ of the Kazemai-ryuu? Now, take these as a souvenir.”

Tommy-sensei prepared slightly smaller mustaches as participation prizes. They were handed out when practice was over, and everyone wore them on the way home.

The next day, people started calling the kyudo club, the “Mustache Club.”

Tsucchi, a.k.a. Haneina High School faculty member Tsuchiya Ena, was being followed by a suspicious person.

The suspicious person was dressed in baggy clothing, and wearing a mask and a hat pulled deeply over their face. She had been followed by people in the past, but this one seemed particularly persistent. They followed her to work and back home every day.

“Tsucchi, shouldn’t you tell the police about this soon?” Asahina said.

“It is as Asahina said,” Eddie said.

“Mm, thank you. But some people get mad when you involve the police, so I’ll observe the situation for a few more days. Maybe they’ll get tired of it soon.”

“We understand, but if anything should happen, please notify us immediately.”

It happened on her day off.

When she finished shopping and passed through the crowd, she sensed someone following her. When she increased her speed, they got even closer and she could hear their heavy breathing behind her. It made her feel so sick that she finally couldn’t stand it any longer.

“Hey, who are you? Are you Tetsi? Stop this. If you have something to say, show your face!”

Suddenly, the suspicious person attacked her. She quickly got onto the defensive and dodged, but since she was wearing heels that day, her feet got caught on the unevenness of the ground, causing her to stumble.

Crap, she thought, covering her face, but no impact came. When she slowly opened one eye, she saw a man catching the fist of her attacker.

The tall man spoke.

“I know you’re following this person. I’m willing to go to the police with this.”

The wrist he grabbed was thin—the suspicious person was a young woman.

The woman threw out her back and prostrated herself on the ground.

She was screaming.

“I’ve cancelled my phone, but I’ve still been getting a lot of phone calls at work, and the girls I used to be friendly with won’t even talk to me anymore, so there’s no place for me anymore! My life is all messed up because of that woman!”

“This is called reaping what you sow, and in Buddhism, it’s called karmic justice. However, the reaction to a single karma is only once, and it isn’t a chain reaction.”

Tetsi slammed her hat and mask to the ground. She looked just like an ordinary woman, so she didn’t look like the type to write such coarse words. Her hands tore at her hair.

“But, isn’t it unfair!? In university, I tried to talk to Tsucchi, but I got ignored, you know!? She was active in kyudo, everyone makes a fuss over her on Yotube for being a beautiful woman, and she can say whatever she wants to say! Even though we’re the same age, she’s the only one who ever got help, and I got left alone because I’m not cute! After rewriting it over and over and sending it to the planning committee, they rejected it, saying that it was ‘a proposal that was too womanly. Do it again.’ Does that mean I can’t be trusted without a title!?”

She started talking to herself.

Aah, this is such a pain. I don’t remember being approached by her. I worked hard at kyudo, and I have nothing to do with her not doing well at work. Either get back at your boss or quit. Just as Tsucchi was thinking that, the man bent down.

“I don’t know about other men, but all women look beautiful to me. Please raise your head.”

Tetsi looked up as instructed. The man continued.

“You don’t need to change your appearance or title. Just stop belittling yourself. You don’t have to beat anyone to live.”

“…Are you a Buddhist priest? Your head isn’t shaved, so maybe you’re wearing a wig? Ah, I’m so sorry!”

“…How about using that imagination to change jobs to become a screenwriter?”

What’s with this skit?

Don’t tell me that this is some kind of hidden camera prank?

While Tsucchi was thinking this, the man picked up the fallen bag and hat and handed them to Tetsi. He looked as though he was about withdraw at any moment.

“Please wait! Just who are you?”

The man turned around. “I’m just a Shinto priest passing by. You’re Ena-senpai, huh. It’s a good name. I’m rooting for you.”

That was all he said before he quickly left.

Tetsi also said “I’m sorry” and left, leaving Tsucchi all alone.

Oi oi, isn’t he too much of a smooth talker?

Not a Buddhist priest, but Shinto? How incredibly shady.

She could still understand where Tetsi was coming from. That was because Tsucchi also had similar experiences, such as being made fun of because “she’s just a woman,” being sexually harassed and groped on the train. She had the appearance of a woman but was a middle-aged man on the inside, so she just beat them all up. In addition, she was called “Ena-senpai.” Not many people called her that.

She searched her past memories and came across a person with a similar face.

When she was a third year in high school, the start of the awards ceremony was delayed. It was said that the name of the archer who won the kyudo boys’ competition, the one who hit with all his arrows, was different. Because he had used his old name when he entered, so he took part in the tournament under that name. It was dealt with without issue, although it appeared to have been pointed out from within.

She remembered that remarkable ochi. In another tournament, when Tsucchi was about to have her arm grabbed by her male junior, the taller boy made a loud sound that scared off the younger boy.

After that, she thought that the reason why she couldn’t find his name in the student tournaments was because his last name had changed, but she never saw his face at the venues. The remarkable ochi had disappeared.

If she remembered correctly, his name was difficult to read.

His name was—.

As Tsucchi picked up her phone, thunder sounded in the distance.

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#tsurune #tsurune translation

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salt-baby · 10 months

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What EDS treatments are effective?

you all responded really well to a previous medical education post I did, so I wanted to try something new: a series on research papers!

today I’m looking at “Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome: An Analysis of the Current Treatment Options”(2019) by Song et al

tldr:

when researchers (well, doctors) looked at the medical records of 98 patients with EDS of any subtype, from their physical medicine and rehabilitation (PMR) clinic, to find out which medications improved, did nothing to, and worsened symptoms, they found:

- complimentary and alternative medicine and opioids were most common for patients to try, with NSAIDS, physical therapy, and bracing/splinting close behind.

- the following improved symptoms in at least 60% of patients: massage, bracing/splints/orthotics, ibuprofen, a nerve block, platelet-rich plasma, prolotherapy, taking a combo of hydrocodone and acetaminophen, steroid injections, oral steroids, baclofen and botox.

- physical therapy improved symptoms in 43% of patients and heat in 58%.

- surgery, going to a chiropractor, acetaminophen alone, and drugs for nerve pain (ie duloxetine, gabapentin, tri-cyclic antidepressants) tended to have low efficacy (less than 30% of patients had an improvement in symptoms).

Note that there may have been a bit of bias in terms of who participated in the study, that it’s not certain how reliable the medical records are, and that there’s a bit of ambiguity in the results because they included multiple subtypes of EDS.

if you want me to walk you through the whole paper, and learn some skills for interpreting papers on your own, keep reading!

I chose this paper for a couple reasons: its open access, easy to read, and has very clearly reported and well defined results. it also has very simple statistics (which is great, because thats my least favorite part).

the introduction provides some good background information on EDS, although a few things are of note. One is that they refer to a phenomenon called pain sensitization or central pain in paragraph three, which they don’t go into too much detail on. This topic is a candidate for another post in this series, since it’s surprisingly little known. in short, this has to do with the body adapting to being constantly in pain, and as a result, an abnormal pain response develops (3). I don’t want to go into it too much here, but if this part was confusing to you, that’s what it’s referring to.

additionally, they mention the so-called three stages of hEDS, which I traced back to this paper (4). While this researcher has a lot of publications in heds, I find it hard to believe that a sample size of only 21 (very different!) patients is enough to firmly define three stages that all patients go through. Plus, their ages are never reported, and “stiffness” is defined as just “not hypermobile anymore”. IMO, not very strong evidence.

Looking at the methods, most of it is as I said above. This type of paper is a retrospective review, meaning they looked at data that already existed, did analysis on it, and drew conclusions on it. Reviews in general can be really useful when you’re first starting out on a specific topic, and I recommend people start there.

Another thing about methods is they used a Mann-Whitney U test, which, fair warning statistics isn’t my strong point, but I’ll do my best. For more resources, look here and here (5) (sidenote, this whole college-level statistics textbook is open access and very practical, and the author is clearly very passionate about teaching.). For the purposes of this paper, just note that the P value in the last column of their results table indicates significance, ie whether the data they got was any better than random chance. Significance in research is usually defined as a P value less than 0.05. The lower the P value, the more likely the results weren’t just random chance. Any P value over 0.05 is generally considered just random chance.

That’s really important for interpreting these really beautiful results tables. Make sure you pay attention to the little “Significant? Y/N” column. If there’s an N, there’s not enough evidence to prove anything about that treatment one way or another.

Note that when you’re interpreting the results, just because it didn’t work for most people in this study doesn’t mean it won’t work for you. I really like diclofenac gel for joint pain, but only 24% of these participants had the same experience, and that result had a P value of <0.0001!

There��s not much to say about what the authors wrote as their interpretation of the results, which I think was sound.

Regarding limitations of the study, I think there’s a few. Overall, my opinion is that the paper is decently strong evidence of how effective certain treatments are, especially when combined with other, more specific papers. But for limitations, the sample size is a bit small, but for EDS, pretty good.

There’s the issue of almost all participants being women, but that’s a product of EDS affecting female people more strongly than male people (1). To be specific, both afab and amab people have an equal chance of inheriting EDS, because although the exact gene hasn’t been discovered, the way it’s inherited has been (an autosomal dominant gene) (1). It’s possible that sociological factors are at play, but the author’s conclusion (and my own) is that it’s likely one of many biological factors that makes EDS worse in female people than male people(1). I’m using female/male instead of afab/amab because anecdotally, some ftm trans people with eds have found their symptoms improved with testosterone (which one person in this treatment efficacy study also found).

This study also mixed all the subtypes together, with only 76 of the 98 participants having diagnosed heds. 2 had other subtypes (ceds and cveds), and 20 were unspecified EDS. That muddies the results a bit, because although the subtypes have some things in common, they can also be pretty distinct. For that reason, I would’ve liked to know what happened when they separated by subtype and ran their significance tests, but it’s not the biggest deal to me that they didn’t.

Then there’s the issue of the sample itself, which was taken from a PMR clinic. Who goes to a PMR clinic? people who live within a reasonable distance and have the money to both get the referral and pay for the specialist. Additionally, people may be hesitant to tell their joint doc about EVERY treatment they tried, and that doc may not have written everything down. Plus, this study only includes those diagnosed with eds (which again requires money), and therefore may not represent EVERYONE with eds, diagnosed or not. In research, these things can be really difficult to control for, and in my opinion, there’s not much the researchers could’ve done to fix this without massively changing the study.

Additionally, all these medical records would’ve been made by the same few doctors at this clinic, who may have had biases or writing quirks that impacted the data. Plus, the doctors who wrote the paper also probably wrote some of those medical records. That’s not unusual, but definitely not ideal.

I did notice cannabis was missing from the list of treatments (although cbd was not), likely reflecting it’s illegality and controversy. patients don’t want to tell their doctors that they did illegal drugs, and researchers don’t want to publish about illegal drugs either. Still, it’s worth pointing out that cannabis has promising efficacy for eds pain (2).

In conclusion, I do really like this paper, and I think it’s a great intro to both research and EDS treatments. From here, there’s plenty of more specific papers about specific treatments, and its a great way to get started.

This series will be navigable by the tag “salt baby reads”, and I really do mean to encourage learning and questions with this. If you don’t understand, or (respectfully) disagree, please feel free to send me an ask. I want to start discussions about this, because I really do think its important for people to be educated about the conditions they have, so they can make the medical decisions that are right for them. Let me know if you liked this!

Sources:

1. “Ehlers–Danlos syndrome hypermobility type and the excess of affected females: Possible mechanisms and perspectives” (2010) Castori et al.

2. “Use of complementary and alternative medicine by patients with hypermobile Ehlers–Danlos Syndrome: A qualitative study” (2022) Doyle et al.

3. “Pain in the Ehlers–Danlos syndromes: Mechanisms, models, and challenges” (2021) Malfait et al.

4. “Natural history and manifestations of the hypermobility type Ehlers–Danlos syndrome: A pilot study on 21 patients” (2010) Castori et al.

5. “Handbook of Biological Statistics” (2014) John H. McDonald

#salt baby reads #looking over this i realize i may have overwhelmed with info #and that isnt even getting into other factors affecting treatment efficacy #ie diclofenac gel takes around a week of 3x daily application to kick in #which can make people think it doesnt work since it doesnt work within a few hours #and theres also no mention of which treatments were effective but intolerable to a patient #ie an opioid that helped the pain but made someone terribly nauseous #so much to examine! so few words!#anyway #hypermobile ehlers danlos syndrome #ehlers danlos syndrome #research #eds #heds #connective tissue disorder #disability

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kezia-kawaii · 6 months

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i need people to realise that talent doesn't exist

there is no such thing as being born able to play guitar like steve vai

there's no being born and playing drums like gene hoglan with no practice

sure, there are people who pick certain things up faster

but to become a master of any skill requires hard work and effort

if you want to be a pro level musician, you need to practice every single day

even if you don't want to shred... if you want to just sing well, or play bass really solidly, you need to do it for hours every day

talent is kind of this convenient lie that people tell themselves to explain why people are better than they are

this is not to slam anyone. not everyone has the time to dedicate to becoming a fantastic musician. not everyone has time to write 600 songs in a year, or sing and critically analyze their performance for 4 hours a day

but it isn't natural talent that makes someone good at any skill because 90% of skills are not innate

i have a disposition towards music production and composition. the first things i wrote were terrible. there are people who have a disposition towards social engineering or understanding trends. i can bet their first attempts at influencing went really badly and left them with egg on their face. they then spent years honing their craft

you will not be world class after your first attempt. you won't be after your 100th attempt. maybe after your 1000th. but every time you do the thing you want to do, you will improve. there realy is nothing to it but to practice and do

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cinnamon-sticks-and-coffee-cups · 1 year

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hello darling people! it’s me again! recently i was doing a little bit of translation practice by translating a few of my favourite french songs and books into English, so i thought why not present a couple tips for beginners trying to translate? i hope you enjoy <3

⁎⁺˳✧༚ unknown words

if you come across a word you don’t know, I bet your first instinct is to search up the translation, right? that’s totally fine, but what i wish I’d started doing earlier is looking for the french definition of the word along with all its synonyms and see if i can figure it out from that. this is super useful because it encourages more interaction with my target language (yay!!) and exposes me to some potentially new words which is always a bonus. i love expanding my vocabulary, in all languages! i also find i can recall the word better later when i do this.

⁎⁺˳✧༚ word flow

the aim of translation is to make it sound as natural as possible - as if it was written in your native language all along. one thing that has helped me with getting my texts to read easily and naturally is by saying them out loud. yes i might feel like a little bit of a dork, sat at my desk in an empty room talking to no one, but it helps to catch places where i might need to reconsider my word choice. even just one word can be translated in many different ways, and depending on context and personal taste there might be one that sounds more smooth.

⁎⁺˳✧༚ freedom

respecting and staying true to a piece of writing doesn’t always mean translating it perfectly word for word. there is a freedom that can exist when you write - don’t deny it it’s value! think about the many different factors that affect the translation and then understand that these mean that trying to translate so literally is a lost cause. in order to properly communicate the message, some rearranging might be in order.

⁎⁺˳✧༚ others’ work

a big tip when it comes to translating is read the works of other translators! compare them, analyse them, see what you can take from them. what do you think influenced them to make these choices? are there specific people whose work you really like? why those people? what makes them different? can you try to incorporate those aspects into your own work?

i hope this hasn’t made translation seem too scary!! and please let me know if you want me to do another post less focused on the more professional translation and more on improving your reading skills in your target language. lots of love from my little corner of the internet - let’s meet again soon! ♡

•

p.s i’m not a professional translator - just an aspiring one! take this with a little pinch of salt :) i’d love to see if there are any proper translators who can verify or expand on what I’ve said!

#this looked quite a bit longer in my drafts but ah well #i hope it’s helpful!#cinnamon’s french posts #français #french #frenchblr #langblr #language learning #french vocab #vocabulaire français #polygot #studyblr #apprendre le français #translation

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thebandcampdiaries · 9 months

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An interview with Ayric: an artist with a one-of-a-kind background.

-Thanks for your time Ayric! Can you tell us about your musical journey and how you developed your passion for music, eventually becoming a musician, singer, and songwriter?

Music, for me, is a window to a different and endless world.

In this world, I can make a music that originates from my feelings and the lyrics that come to my mind, with the combination of melody and harmony ،this song is a part of me.

With my music, I relieve my sadness, I relax, I get happy, I get motivated and I continue on my way.

Along with enjoying music, it requires a lot of effort and dedication to continue and improve continuously

Special attention should be paid to each section

And for a musician this is a lifestyle

- You graduated from the Tehran Music Conservatory in composition. How has your formal education in music influenced your artistic style and approach to composing and arranging songs?

University education in the field of composition has given me a deeper and broader perspective in this field.

But ultimately, in today's music, sometimes a single chord is much more effective than a complex harmony.

In a music that emphasizes singing, the melody of the voice is the most important, and during this study, I had the opportunity to learn, practice and improve my singing skill with professional teachers in the field of classical singing.

And I am currently using this singing ability to present the desired feeling in the song.

- Moving from Iran to Italy must have been a significant transition for you. Ayric, how has your cultural background influenced your music, and how do you navigate blending different musical influences in your compositions?

Basically, this forced migration happened because of the existence of a dictatorship in my country, Iran, and forced me to pay a lot of money and lose a lot of time.

But anyway, this has given me a better perspective of the future

Most of the songs that have been released were created before the migration. After moving, I have composed other songs, which will be released soon.

I use elements of Persian pop music in my work and always will; but for diversity and creating new works, I use elements from different genres of music, so that it is in the format defined for me.

- “Life is Beautiful" seems to carry a powerful message about finding hope and beauty in the face of life's challenges. What inspired you to write this song, and how do you hope it resonates with your audience?

The message of this song is clear, “Life is beautiful, open your eyes”.

The text of this song is from the famous Iranian poet “Rumi”.

This song is about wisdom, and like hundreds of other artists, I share my experiences with the audience in the form of songs. We, as humans, face many challenges, and it can be like a long marathon, and the thing that saves us is having hope and looking at the beauty of life. This song has a sentence: “I have seen the cure after throwing away the pain.” This means that we must see beyond the problems, difficulties, and pains to be able to overcome the challenges and continue our life's path.

We should not just be alive, we should live and enjoy it.

We Persians have a proverb that says: whatever comes from the heart will be placed on another's heart, and the audience who has a similar experience will connect with this song.

- Your collaboration with artists from different backgrounds, like the song "Incontrare te," demonstrates a willingness to explore diverse musical ideas and styles. How do you approach collaborations, and what do you believe they bring to your creative process?

Yeah, this collaboration was a wonderful experience and I have a long relationship with these artist friends

And when we came to the conclusion that we are offended by racial discrimination and the lack of equality and peace in different countries, and as artists, we felt it was our duty to do something to protest this situation, and finally, the song “Incontrare te” was made.

I am very interested in communicating with other artists, and I will continue these collaborations in different ways in the future.

In general, meeting different cultures is very attractive and will also lead to more knowledge, more learning and richer music.

- As an artist who has experienced different stages and platforms, from performing on stages in Rome to being featured on Italian TV, how do you feel your music has evolved, and what are your aspirations for the future in terms of your musical career?

I really enjoy performing on stage; seeing the emotional impact that my singing has on the audience is very interesting to me.

I am very happy that I can make and perform music that makes the audience feel good.

Performances definitely bring experiences and help to further progress.

In the future, I plan to release the songs and videos that I am working on and communicate with more audiences and also engage in music activities on a wider level.

Find out more about Ayric's music!

#Spotify

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be-events · 9 months

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shortly before the news is broken publicly, trainees and staff from all three companies had received an announcement regarding the merger and creation of the new AXIS LABELS parent company with strict instructions not to leak the information outside of the building. the trainees in particular were informed about the new facility and the expectation that they will spend some of their time at the new building, working with other coaches and trainees to build their skills while still upholding the individual company's values and identity. that said, it's a few days longer before the shuttles that they were promised show up, let alone the training facility's doors open.

on saturday, july 15th, all trainees are instructed to attend the grand opening of the new training facility with shuttles provided for the first time. no one is permitted to stay behind this time and it's whispered that there's some big announcement like the other times trainees have been gathered together like this. they're not far from the truth.

as the trainees file into the new facility, groups of ten or so are met by the new axis labels staff to give them a quick tour of the new building and provide them with new cards that will allow them into the facility should the receptionist not be around to buzz them in. they make sure that each trainee is acquainted with the space and answer as many questions as they can before taking a break for lunch, leading all trainees into the new, massive cafeteria. more than one person notes that the food here is incredible.

following their lunch break, the trainees are instructed to follow signs pointing them to a large, open practice room with enough space for each trainee to find a seat on the floor. a few familiar faces to all trainees appear among the coaches, the most respected of the LIME ENTERTAINMENT, SR MEDIA, and STUDIO DELTA staff chatting amongst some unfamiliar faces while the trainees get settled in. finally, they seem satisfied with the crowd in front of them, and the coaches break away from the pack to allow one particular stranger room to speak.

"hello," she introduces herself to the trainees as they quiet and listen for further instruction, "my name is kim jaekyung and i am the new director of operations for axis labels. it's my job to make sure that we are running an efficient, cost-effective operation in this new joint venture. in particular, i am assessing the personnel of your new sister companies and your own company. from the ceo and executives all the way down to the newest trainee, i want to make sure that we're making a worthwhile investment in everyone here."

murmurs of unease spread through the crowd. even the coaches seem a bit anxious.

"this is not just a test of you, the trainees we've acquired as part of this merger, but also of the staff who are supposed to be teaching you. should we find room for improvement in the existing systems, we will address it. your coaches have also expressed a desire to test your adaptability and teamwork skills with this evaluation. now, everyone up on your feet. we're going to be splitting you up into small groups."

upon prompting from jaekyung, the coaches start interacting with the trainees, each calling a handful of names over to them and dividing up the crowd into small groups. all of the groups have a mix of members from all three companies.

when things settle down again, jaekyung continues her announcement. "if you don't know your teammates, now is the time to introduce yourselves. your task for the next few weeks is to use your open practice time to create a performance with the help of your training staff. inspired by studio delta's method, we're giving you all creative freedom regarding what in particular you'd like to perform. it can be a cover of a senior group or an original song. all we ask is that you show us both dancing and singing or rapping, whichever it is you're stronger at. the staff are at your disposal to help you perfect your performances. at the end of the preparation period, myself and the CEOs will be reviewing your performance and making any necessary decisions at that point."

her eyes seem to linger on some of the staff, a small, critical frown on her lips as she surveys the crowd before her. "please do not let one another down," she finishes before her part of the announcements are done.

OOC:

this event is for trainees only and will run until august 23 at 11:59pm. any threads or solos posted after the deadline will not count toward points. please send in your points submission before this deadline.

please use the hashtag #BE:ICEBREAKER for all posts relating to this event.

the groups for the evaluation are assigned by the coaches and are as follows:

GROUP A

lee chaerin

lee nayoung

han saem

GROUP B

lee noel

moon saea

min hyejin

song chaeyeon

GROUP C

lee seojun

shin eunae

park dohyun

yeom sarang

GROUP D

seo junho

shin yuji

zhou renyi

FOR +3 POINTS IN ANY PERFORMANCE SKILL (SING, DANCE, RAP) & +2 TRAINEE POINTS please write a 4-post thread with another trainee about your muses preparing for the evaluation. *this may be collected up to 2 times FOR +2 TRAINEE POINTS TO DISTRIBUTE POINTS, please write a 300+ word solo about your muse' performing at the festival's performance with their team. BONUS: FOR +5 SKILLS OR ANCILLARY POINTS, please write a 4-post thread with another trainee OR a 200+ word solo about their first impressions of the new training facility or reaction to the news of the merger.

when you’ve completed all options that you’d like to participate in, please sent the following form to our points submission blog:

SUBMISSION TITLE: MUSE NAME - COMPANY - ICEBREAKER EVALUATION

preparation 1: +3 points to distribute to any performance skills, +2 trainee points to distribute to any trainee skill(s) [ link to thread ]

preparation 2: +3 points to distribute to any performance skills, +2 trainee points to distribute to any trainee skill(s) [ link to thread ]

performance: +2 trainee points to distribute [ link to solo ]

bonus: +5 points to distribute to any skill [ link to solo/thread ]

#BE:EVENT #BE:ICEBREAKER

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lgcmanager · 1 year

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DEBUT BOOTCAMP PART 2

SCHEDULE TYPE: TRIMESTER ( PART 2 OUT OF 2 ) SCHEDULE RESTRICTIONS: Cannot be paired with another trimester schedule, unless stated otherwise. Only muses who have completed part 1 of the debut bootcamp can participate

( important note: make sure to read the previous post before this one )

"the first part of the bootcamp is now behind us" SEO YOUNGJAE continues. "and so begins the second part. for the next 6 WEEKS, the boys and the girls will be preparing for two different events." as he speaks, the coaches distribute to the trainees folders containing lyrics sheets and various information pertaining to the second part of the bootcamp.

THIS AINT FANTASY

"first, the boys will be preparing for a PUBLIC TRAINEE SHOWCASE, named 'THIS AIN'T FANTASY', to be held on SATURDAY, JANUARY 7. each of you, except KANG HAJOON, will be in a total of four songs; two groups songs and two unit songs. HAJOON, you will instead be in one unit instead of two as you will be in charge of HOSTING the showcase.

KANG MAXIMILIAN, as your audition was in HONEY's top 3 for the boys, you are named LEADER of the debut bootcamp's male trainees."

FUTURE DREAMS 6

"as for the girls... you will begin preparations for FUTURE DREAMS 6. this season's goal will be to debut a NEW PERMANENT GIRLGROUP. all of you, except BANG JINAH*, currently stand a chance to make it in. for the next 6 weeks, you will be learning two new songs that will be used as theme songs for this season; the opening called "POP? POP!" and the closing called "ROLEX". the participants of the show will be recording performance videos on JANUARY 8 and 9. as you've noticed, i used the word "participants”, because those not interested do not have to participate in Future Dreams 6, however you'll still have to attend the lessons until the end of the bootcamp.

LEE HAYUN, as your audition was in HONEY's top 3 for the girls, you are named LEADER of the debut bootcamp's female trainees."

* ooc note: Jinah isn't currently debut ready. since the mistake is on our side, she is still in the debut bootcamp, but to be able to participate in future dreams 6, she will need to reach a minimum of 50 of dancing before the show begins filming !

SELF PRACTICE

"during time allotted to the four backdancers to prepare for HONEY's comeback, the rest of you will be given SELF PRACTICE TIME. which means that no coach will give lessons, but they will be available for 30 minutes consultations each. what you wish to practice during that time is up to you, but do NOT slack off just because you are offered some freedom."

all pertinent information can be viewed HERE ( this includes participants, dorms, calendar, schedule, showcase setlist and original songs ) ! lyrics distribution for the boys will be uploaded on DECEMBER 4.

LGC CAFÉ PERFORMANCES

for this trimester ( Q4 2022 ), due to their busy schedules, the trainees taking part in this bootcamp will not be eligible to participate in the LGC CAFÉ PERFORMANCES.

REQUIREMENTS

BOOTCAMP PART 2: write a 4 replies (minimum 8 lines) with another trainee hapenning during practices, reharsals or the showcase **EXCEPTIONALLY, continuing an existing thread from part 1 will be accepted. the 4 additional replies must be made between now and the deadline** for +7 SKILL POINTS and +2 NOTORIETY !

SELF STUDY TRAINEES: write a 300+ words solo about being interviewed by the coaches about your progress and hurdles in this bootcamp (example: which skill have you felt have improved the most? which skill do you think you need to work on? what do you think you're lacking to debut) for +10 SKILL POINTS !

JUST A DANCER TRAINEES: write a 300+ words solo about your experience as backdancer (either in rehearsal or on the filming set) for +4 DANCING +4 PERFORMANCE +3 NOTORIETY !

** please do NOT write about FD6's performance recordings; these will be part of requirements specific to FD6 **

make sure to use the hashtag lgc:debutbootcamp001 on your threads and solos ! to validate your skill points and collect your notoriety points, please submit the following form ONCE on the points blog before JANUARY 7, 2023 11:59 EST.

MUSE NAME ∙ DEBUT BOOTCAMP 001 PART 2 - BOOTCAMP PART 2: +7 SKILL POINTS DISTRIBUTION + 2 notoriety [ LINK ] - SELF STUDY: +10 SKILL POINTS DISTRIBUTION [ LINK ] - JUST A DANCER: +4 dancing +4 performance +3 notoriety [ LINK ]

#lgc:debutbootcamp001 #lgc:q42022

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gongjunsimon · 1 year

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210317 Gong Jun interview with Nanfang Daily

To Gong Jun, the popularity of WOH is unexpected. But also expected, he did think that it'll be liked by people. Because from the filming to the set design, back & front of the camera, every single aspect, the crew put lots of attention into it.

After he was casted, Gong Jun pre-read and researched the script, immersing himself into it, and having a deeper understanding. He also had martial arts and physical training, to become more similar to the character's disposition and aura.

His sincerity in creating this character can be seen. To become familiar with the fan-spinning, he tied a rubber-band to his hand and practiced it repeatedly.

Even now, many months after filming has wrapped, he fan-spinning skills are still good. It is at a standard where it can demonstrate it at a live event.

There are rumours that WOH has two different kinds of endings. Gong Jun thinks that no matter if its WOH, scripts he chooses himself, or when he is an audience, a "happy reunion" type of ending isn't a must for him.

Gong Jun says "I'm alright with either a happy ending or a bad ending, a good/bad ending caters to the whole storyline, so every kind of ending exists for a reason."

Gong Jun about portraying Wen Kexing:

"He is someone who is very emotional, in one scene he could have many emotion changes, one second he's happy, the next second he's angry. The interchanging of emotions is really difficult."

To portray such a complex character well, Gong Jun tried many different methods, adjusting his expressions, as well as discussing it with the directors, screenwriters and other cast members in the scene. Finding inadequacies in the takes, and improving them.

Gong Jun: "I worked hard to turn myself into Wen Kexing, thinking that in the moment I am Wen Kexing, if this is me, what would I do when facing these situations?"

Face expressions and emotional control of several important WKX scenes are the result of Gong Jun's hard work.

Besides the important Wen Kexing scenes,Wen Kexing's entire way of thinking. motives and behavior, are also the results of Gong Jun's hard work. This includes the differences in Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu's knowledge/perception.

Gong Jun: "Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu two people with completely different personalities, they save each other and complement each other."

Gong Jun: "I have a preference towards the process, the process itself is a form of enjoyment. All the efforts given isn't completely for the purpose of achieving a good result. But definitely, to have a good result is the best thing."

At this moment, Gong Jun thinks that the greatest benefit is being able to choose a script that he wants. He says: “Following this, I definitely have to put a heavy focus on acting, I am an actor after all, I hope to act in some suspense-themed works.”

Q&A

Besides acting, are there any things you want to try?

Gong Jun: I want to sing, hahaha don't laugh, release my own song, fulfil my dream of having a small-sized concert hahaha.

Looking at your weibo, you are a loyal fan of gaming, which squad do you like?

Gong Jun: Hahaha, I am indeed a fan of gaming, I like all (the squads), I support them all.

Are there any special words you want to say to your fans?

Gong Jun: Thank you for supporting and liking me, I will carry your liking with me and continue to work hard, I hope we'll be prosperous together, be happy everyday.

- END -

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rswitz · 1 year

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Now that my 2.5-year art journey has come to a close, I thought I’d share the lessons I’ve learned to hopefully help fellow beginners:

Art is a conversation.

I took piano lessons for several years during my adolescence and became fairly good at reading sheet music of songs composed by other people and playing them. However, I have yet to compose an original piece, which had me under the impression that I had no creativity, which I also thought was an unchangeable aspect of myself. But someone I talked to postulated an alternative conclusion; art is a “conversation” - it involves taking influence from others and putting your own spin on it. In a sense, “creativity” isn’t something you’re “born with” as much as it is something you develop over the course of practice.

There will always be someone better.

Now, this doesn’t mean there’s no point in improving at all. It’s a reason to never stop improving. Also, “better” is subjective - someone might excel in some aspects but still fall behind you in others.

You likely won't live up to your idols. And that's okay.

This is one I still have trouble with. I was comparing myself to my inspirations, saying things like "[artist] didn't start when they were already 18. Therefore, it’s too late for me. [artist] didn't need the internet to learn how to draw. Therefore, I shouldn't rely on the internet either." You aren't your idols - you are you. And who knows - you could be an “idol” to someone else yourself one day. That doesn’t mean they’ll have to emulate every step of your journey.

It isn't "too late".

This is another behavior I'm still guilty of and am trying to stop; whenever I see art online, I immediately take to the artist's profile to make sure they're older than me, and if they aren't, I become depressed and discouraged - I feel like I’ve wasted time. However, I try my best to remind myself that just because I’ve been alive longer than someone else doesn’t mean I’ve been drawing as long as they have (I started at 18 years old), and even then the amount of time one has been drawing still doesn’t necessarily equate with skill. There will always be young prodigies in every creative discipline, but just because they’re the majority of the ones you see “retweeted” or “liked”, doesn’t mean that represents their proportion to the general public; for every artist half your age on Instagram with thousands of followers there are dozens of people twice your age who don’t draw at all. Your own path is incomparable to others. Again, I’m still struggling with this myself - I remember freaking out a couple of years ago when I found out an online artist I looked up to was the same age as me. I felt like I didn’t want to become good in the future - I only wanted to have already become good in the past while I was still young, and I remember thinking “why didn’t I start earlier while I was still young?” (the reason being that it had simply never crossed my mind). It’s tough, but I try to remind myself that I can only affect what I can do right now.

In a sense, there are no "original" ideas.

Continued from the 1st point, art (in all senses of the word, not just visual) evolves throughout the human civilization's lifespan by being communicated from person to person in the exact same way language does; at one point in history the first word in “modern” English was spoken, but it didn’t come from nothing; it came from “Middle” English, which itself had influences from “Old” English and Norman French. Some people coin entirely new phrases, but most are derived from pre-existing words and go through so many generational changes that the original template is unrecognizable, giving off the false illusion that it is completely original and that it required no outside influence.

Depression doesn't necessarily spark creativity.

I say this because used to be under the impression that since one of my favorite artists wrote and recorded my favorite album of his while suicidal and on cocaine, that would mean if I was depressed for long enough, I would have a "creative spark awaken in me". This actually isn't as common as you'd think, and when it does happen it happens to people who have already built up the skills anyway (that album wasn't the artist's first album, for example).

References are your friend - the only way to "cheat" is to pass off someone else's work as your own.

Most artists don't advertise what resources they use the same way a magician never reveals their secrets, but this fact used to have me under the impression that I had to draw everything from memory if I wanted to get good. There was a long time when I thought I wasn’t creative enough to be an artist since I couldn’t draw anything from memory. Obviously, that is not true. Now, you shouldn’t post work that’s been traced faithfully to the point that someone who saw the original work would easily recognize it without crediting who you traced, and you especially shouldn’t post someone else’s unaltered work on the internet and pass it off as your own, or say things like “IDK the artist, I found this on Pinterest”.

Take advantage of as many resources as you can.

Despite what I used to think, it isn't "disrespectful to artists who lived before the internet" to learn via online learning resources - it's not like Van Gogh limited himself to painting on cave walls. If you lack the time and/or attention span to watch educational videos as I do (which is why I could never learn from YouTube tutorials or anything like that), there are always books. I personally recommend Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards, Keys to Drawing by Bert Dodson, and Figure Drawing for all its Worth by Andrew Loomis.

Practice as often as you can.

Not much to elaborate on. Just common sense, really. If you can never think of what to draw, simply look around you. Try drawing the trash can to your left, your computer monitor, or even the pencil you're drawing with. A lot of these practice drawings will, to be blunt, suck ass, but even though artists rarely post these early pieces of theirs doesn’t mean they don’t exist. That’s why I’ve posted some of my early bad pieces on the internet in the past ([1] [2]) so that there will be at least one piece of evidence that every artist goes through this.

Practice a variety of different aspects. Just drawing repeatedly isn't enough on its own.

For the two years I was drawing, I only ever copied pictures of cartoon and anime characters, so naturally, those became the only things I could draw. I also used to scoff when I heard people say “Anyone can get good if they practice”; my go-to response was “Practice what? I can’t practice what I don’t know.”, because my skills were completely static for the couple years I drew, as I hadn't learned any fundamentals and was only "practicing" while still unskilled. This is where classes and/or learning resources come in. Try to spread yourself out and become versatile. Personally, I think that those motivational comics that say "Just draw/practice!" [Exhibit A] [Exhibit B] should also say "also learn some fundamentals as well because just practicing without them won't get you anywhere".

There's nothing wrong with needing some help.

I used to think being able to call myself "self-taught" as some badge of honor was more important than improving, due to all the online artists who brag by putting "self-taught" in their profile descriptions. My stubbornness in this aspect once got to the point where I refused to use external resources, as I thought I had to only rely on myself in order to be worthy of being considered a true artist. Some people learn best from researching on their own time, and others learn best from being taught by someone else, myself being part of the latter. Despite what some may say, neither is necessarily better than the other.

Be humble, but don't sell yourself short either.

Try to adopt a neutral and objective view of your work - rid your mind of thoughts like “I’m the worst, so what’s the point of improving?” or “I’m the best, so I don’t need to improve.” I’m still struggling with this myself, particularly the former.

Try to learn to take criticism.

This is yet another one I'm still trying to work on, seeing as I'm pretty thin-skinned. However, it's necessary for improvement. The best kind of criticism is specific and detailed. Try to ignore criticism that’s vague, as that critic does not have your improvement in mind.

You don't need a "good reason" to start drawing.

I personally started because I saw a character in a story who also happened to be an artist that resonated with me, and I kept doing it because I wanted to be good at something for once, even though I didn’t enjoy the process itself.

If you feel like putting yourself and/or your work down in front of others …

… Just keep in mind there’s a possibility someone less skilled than you who admires your work as something to emulate could be listening, and that you are now insulting them as well. Sincerely, spoken as someone who very often sees artists leagues better than them putting down their own work and thinks “If that’s considered “bad”, then what does that make my art?”.

"OP, these are 'Captain Obvious' points; everyone already knows these things."

Maybe. Maybe not. Several months ago, when I myself was a young and naïve artist just starting out (as I still am now…), I would've definitely needed to listen to these pieces of advice.

#art advice #artist help

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tokyonymph · 2 years

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zodiac aesthetics + playlists: virgo, the maiden (6/12)

born from august 23rd to september 22nd. featuring folk, indie rock, and downtempo music.

"virgo is an earth sign historically represented by the goddess of wheat and agriculture, an association that speaks to virgo’s deep-rooted presence in the material world. virgos are logical, practical, and systematic in their approach to life. this earth sign is a perfectionist at heart and isn’t afraid to improve skills through diligent and consistent practice. though virgos long to be meticulous in all pursuits, they must remember that constantly chasing after the ideal can be destructive when applied to self or others. beauty exists within our imperfections and it’s important for virgos to learn that flaws are not defects. above all else, virgos want to help. they are kind, gently, and supportive friends and lovers who use their incredible intellect and resourcefulness to problem-solve." - adapted from allure.

[listen on spotify]

tracklist:

work song – hozier ○ all i wanted – daughter ○ ill wind – radiohead ○ under the weather – kt tunstall ○ idontwannabeyouanymore – billie eilish ○ don’t delete the kisses – wolf alice ○ hypochondriac – fenne lily ○ are you satisfied? – marina ○ cough syrup – young the giant ○ a mistake – fiona apple ○ your best american girl – mitski ○ only if for a night – florence + the machine ○ fantasy – ms mr ○ churchyard – aurora ○ liability – lorde

#my posts #moodboard #playlist #zodiac aesthetic #zodiac playlist #zodiac #astrology #virgo #spotify

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flourish9867 · 2 months

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Mastering the guitar is accessible and helpful for beginners.

Structured Learning Path: The 4-Week Guitar Technique Challenge likely provides a structured and organized learning path. Follow the provided curriculum to ensure a systematic progression in your guitar technique.

Focused Practice Sessions: The challenge may include specific exercises designed to target different aspects of guitar technique. Engaging in focused practice sessions helps you concentrate on improving individual skills.

Consistent Routine: Participating in a challenge often involves committing to a consistent practice routine. Regular and disciplined practice is crucial for building muscle memory and refining your playing abilities.

Diverse Techniques Covered: A well-designed challenge is likely to cover a variety of guitar techniques. This can include fingerpicking, strumming patterns, fretting exercises, and more. Exposure to diverse techniques broadens your skill set.

Progress Tracking: Challenges often include tools for tracking your progress. Monitoring your improvement over the four weeks provides motivation and a clear indication of the areas where you've grown as a guitarist.

Community Engagement: If the challenge involves an online community or forums, participate actively. Sharing experiences, asking questions, and receiving feedback from others can enhance your learning journey.

Motivational Boost: Challenges typically come with milestones and goals. Successfully completing these milestones provides a sense of accomplishment and serves as a motivational boost to continue your guitar learning journey.

Technique Tips and Insights: Take advantage of any technique-specific tips or insights provided during the challenge. Understanding the mechanics behind different techniques enhances your overall understanding of the instrument.

Incorporation into Repertoire: Techniques learned during the challenge can be integrated into your existing repertoire or applied to new songs. This practical application helps solidify your learning and makes it more enjoyable.

Post-Challenge Practice Plan: Plan to continue practicing the techniques you've learned even after the challenge concludes. Develop a post-challenge practice plan to maintain and further enhance your newfound skills.

Remember to adapt these tips based on the specific features and requirements of the "4-Week Guitar Technique Challenge". If the challenge is well-structured, it can significantly contribute to your guitar learning journey. click on HERE if interested in buying.

#guitar #instrumental #musical instruments #learn to play the guitar #basic guitar learning

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polyglotsguide · 3 months

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Language Learning: In 12 New Ways

Embarking on a language-learning journey is an exhilarating endeavor that opens doors to new cultures, perspectives, and connections. While traditional methods have their merits, injecting a dose of innovation into your language-learning repertoire can spice up the process and make it more engaging. Let's explore 12 fresh and inventive ways to dive into the world of language acquisition.

1. Language Through Gaming: Level Up Your Fluency

Gamify your language-learning experience by incorporating language-based games. From language learning apps with interactive challenges to board games designed for vocabulary building, gamification adds an element of fun and competition to your linguistic pursuits.

2. Culinary Language Learning: Cook and Communicate

Fuse language learning with your culinary adventures. Follow recipes in the target language, watch cooking shows in that language, and engage in conversations about food. This multisensory approach enhances vocabulary while tantalizing your taste buds.

3. Language Tandems: Virtual Global Connections

Explore language tandems, where you connect with native speakers for mutual language exchange. Platforms like Tandem and HelloTalk facilitate these exchanges, allowing you to practice your target language with native speakers who, in turn, want to practice your native language. - Language And Culture 101 - Searchsynonym

4. Podcast Power: Learn on the Go

Incorporate language-learning podcasts into your daily routine. Whether you're commuting, exercising, or doing household chores, listening to podcasts provides a convenient way to immerse yourself in the language. Opt for podcasts with varying difficulty levels to match your proficiency.

5. Language Meetup Groups: Community Connection

Join language meetup groups in your area or online. These gatherings offer a supportive environment for language learners to practice together, share resources, and form connections with fellow enthusiasts. Websites like Meetup.com can help you find local language exchange events.

6. Interactive Storytelling: Language Tales

Create or participate in interactive storytelling sessions. This can be done through writing or verbally sharing stories in the target language. Encourage others to contribute, creating a collaborative narrative that enhances vocabulary and fosters creativity.

7. Language Karaoke: Sing Your Way to Fluency

Turn language learning into a musical affair by singing along to songs in the target language. Karaoke apps often provide lyrics, helping you improve pronunciation, vocabulary, and rhythm while enjoying the melodies of diverse cultures.

8. Escape Room Challenges: Linguistic Puzzles

Challenge yourself with language-focused escape room games. These brain-teasing adventures often incorporate language puzzles and riddles, making the learning process both mentally stimulating and entertaining.

9. Language Challenges on Social Media: Hashtag Fluency

Create language challenges on social media platforms or join existing ones. Use dedicated hashtags to share your progress, exchange tips, and connect with a global community of language learners. The visibility and accountability can boost motivation.

10. Virtual Reality Language Immersion: A 3D Language Odyssey

Explore language learning in virtual reality (VR) environments. VR language apps and platforms offer immersive experiences, allowing you to interact with virtual surroundings and practice language skills in a lifelike context.

11. Drama and Improv Classes: Theatrical Fluency

Enroll in drama or improv classes conducted in the target language. Acting out scenes, improvising dialogues, and participating in theatrical exercises provide a dynamic and entertaining way to enhance language proficiency.

12. Flashcard Experiences: Visual Vocabulary Boost

Leverage flashcards with a twist. Instead of static images, use augmented reality (AR) flashcards that come to life through your device's camera. This visual and interactive approach enhances memory retention and makes vocabulary acquisition more engaging.

Conclusion: A Language Learning Beyond Boundaries

Embark on your language-learning odyssey with a blend of tradition and innovation. By infusing creativity and diversity into your methods, you transform language acquisition into a thrilling adventure that transcends borders. Experiment with these 12 new ways, tailor them to your preferences, and watch as your linguistic skills soar to new heights. As you navigate this dynamic language journey, savor the joy of discovery and the rich tapestry of cultures woven through each word and expression. Happy learning! See More Articles How Do Languages Evolve Over Time? Languages evolve through various processes, such as linguistic drift, borrowing from other languages, and generational changes in vocabulary and grammar. Can we predict how languages will evolve in the future? What Is the Role of Dialects in Language Learning? Dialects often evolve within a language due to geographic and social factors. How do dialects influence the overall development of a language, and can they eventually become distinct languages? How Does Language Reflect Culture? Languages often contain words, expressions, and concepts unique to a specific culture. How does language shape and reflect cultural norms, values, and worldviews? What Causes Language Endangerment and Extinction? Many languages are endangered or have become extinct. What factors contribute to language endangerment, and how can efforts be made to preserve endangered languages? How Does Bilingualism Affect Cognitive Abilities? Bilingual individuals often demonstrate cognitive advantages. What cognitive benefits does bilingualism offer, and does it influence the brain's structure and function? How Do Sign Languages Compare to Spoken Languages? Sign languages are full-fledged languages used by Deaf communities worldwide. How do sign languages compare to spoken languages in terms of structure, grammar, and acquisition? What Role Does Language Play in Identity? Language can be closely tied to individual and group identity. How does language influence personal and cultural identities, and how do linguistic choices reflect these identities? How Does Language Influence Perception? The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis suggests that language shapes our perception of the world. How does the language we speak influence the way we perceive and categorize our experiences? How Do Slang and Neologisms Emerge? Slang and neologisms (newly coined words) continually emerge in languages. What drives the creation and adoption of slang, and how does it reflect cultural shifts?