#with the goal of creating native speakers of the babies

[cowboyclassical]

This blog is my secret diary and i dont want to tell this to anyone else lest i seem self aggrandizing but i just got to use my stupid un-rewarding retail job christmas sales incentive check to put some money toward a cause that I did some research about and care about and that's really cool

I really hated working Christmas under new management in my dead end job but doing so gave me a new gratitude for it. Like yeah my job sucks but it gives me resources and those resources allowed me to create further goodness

Isnt that what its all about

[bigbooksbygeorge]

7 Tips for Parents Teaching Kids to Read in Spanish

Oh, the sweet, musical cadence of the Spanish language. Whether it’s your native tongue or a second language you’ve embraced, teaching your kids to read in Spanish is a journey filled with adventure, discovery, and plenty of big books. The beauty of literature and the joy of immersing your child in another language can provide countless memories and benefits. 

But let’s face it, even for the most seasoned of parents, it can be a daunting task. Fear not, dear reader, for we have compiled a list of tips that will make the process smoother, enjoyable, and filled with triumphant moments. Let’s dive in, shall we?

1. Begin With Basics: Start Simple and Gradual

The joy of starting a journey is in taking that first, exhilarating step. Imagine the excitement of a baby taking their first step; it’s shaky, uncertain, but oh so monumental. This is how your child’s reading journey in Spanish begins: with the foundational ABCs.

The Spanish alphabet, though similar to English, has its unique characters and sounds. Create a colorful chart or pin-up board, and make a game out of recognizing each letter. Remember those fond memories of singing the alphabet song? Now, imagine doing it with a Spanish twist. From ‘A’ for ‘avión’ (airplane) to ‘Z’ for ‘zorro’ (fox), turn each letter into a fun story or character.

Introducing syllables early on can make the journey smoother. Start with simple combinations. Words like “me”, “we”, and “si” are not just sounds but stepping stones. Making funny sentences or rhymes with these can be a delightful learning experience.

Remember, the goal is to make this initial phase so engaging that your child looks forward to each lesson. Each letter they recognize, every syllable they pronounce, is a tiny victory in this beautiful journey.

2. Big Books in Spanish: Make Them Your Ally

Picture this: a rainy afternoon, the sound of raindrops against the window, a cozy blanket, and an oversized colorful book waiting to be explored. That’s the charm of big books in Spanish. These aren’t just regular books; they’re gateways to magical lands filled with vibrant tales and unforgettable characters.

What makes these big books so special? Their size! The large text makes it easier for budding readers to follow along, reducing strain and increasing confidence. The detailed illustrations are more than just visuals; they’re context clues, helping your child understand the narrative better.

One great activity is to let your child narrate the story based on pictures before reading the text. It boosts creativity and gives you insight into their perspective. Later, as you read, you can compare their version with the original. A simple game of ‘spot the difference’ in tales.

Furthermore, having a dedicated reading nook or corner can make the process enticing. A little space adorned with fairy lights, cushions, and a stack of “big books in Spanish” is sure to beckon any young reader.

3. Embrace Technology: Utilize Apps and Online Resources

Living in the 21st century has its perks, and technology is one of them. If you’ve ever seen a toddler swipe on a tablet, you know they’re natural techies. So, why not use this to our advantage?

There’s a plethora of apps designed to make learning Spanish a delightful digital adventure. Animated characters guide them through tales, interactive games test their vocabulary, and quizzes reward them for their progress.

Take a virtual tour of Spanish-speaking countries through videos or virtual storybooks. It’s like giving them a mini vacation from the comfort of your home! These digital resources often incorporate native speakers, allowing your child to hear accurate pronunciations and intonations.

While digital tools are a fantastic aid, it’s crucial to strike a balance. For every digital story, make it a point to read a physical book, ensuring that the charm of turning real pages remains alive. Combine the classic with the contemporary for the best results.

4. Listen to the Melody: Incorporate Music and Audio Books

Music is a universal language, connecting hearts and souls across borders. Spanish, with its rhythmic charm, is especially beautiful when sung. Remember the last time a catchy tune got stuck in your head for days? That’s the power of music.

Introducing your child to Spanish songs not only boosts their vocabulary but also familiarizes them with the musical undertone of the language. From lively beats of flamenco to the soothing tunes of lullabies, each song tells a story. Dancing along to these tunes can make the experience even more memorable. Create a playlist, name it ‘Spanish Fiesta’, and let the musical journey begin with BBBG.

As for audiobooks, imagine the tales of Don Quixote or the adventures in the Amazon jungle being narrated by a warm, expressive voice. Audiobooks can transport children into the heart of these stories, making them vivid and alive. It’s like having a personal storyteller, anytime, anywhere.

5. Dive Into the Culture: Make It a Holistic Experience

Language isn’t just about words and sentences; it’s a window into a world rich with history, traditions, and celebrations. When teaching Spanish, you’re not just teaching a language; you’re opening doors to a diverse tapestry of cultures.

Why not cook a Spanish dish together? The joy of making ‘churros’ and then dipping them in chocolate will surely be an experience they won’t forget. Or how about crafting a traditional ‘piñata’ for a birthday party? These hands-on activities make the language tangible and relatable.

Celebrate Spanish festivals, even if you’re miles away from Spain or Latin America. The colorful celebration of ‘Cinco de Mayo’ or the beautiful ‘Dia de los Muertos’ can offer valuable insights into traditions and beliefs, making the language more than just words on a page.

6. Engage in Conversation: Practice Makes Perfect

Communication is the essence of any language. Think back to your childhood; weren’t the most cherished memories the conversations, the stories shared, the laughter?

Set aside dedicated ‘Spanish Talk Time’ at home. It could be during dinner or a special afternoon break. Discuss simple topics: the weather, a favorite toy, or plans for the weekend. The idea is to get them comfortable using Spanish in regular conversations.

Correct them gently when they make errors, and always applaud their efforts. Their confidence will soar with every word they utter correctly. Organize mini ‘debates’ or ‘storytelling sessions’ in Spanish. It might begin with a few words, but soon, they’ll be weaving tales effortlessly.

7. Join a Group: Build a Spanish Reading Community

There’s strength in numbers, and learning in a group amplifies the fun and the results. Consider the charm of a book club but tailored for young, eager Spanish learners. Sharing stories, discussing characters, and exploring new “big books in Spanish” becomes an adventure when done together.

Local libraries or community centers might have Spanish reading groups for kids. If not, why not start one? It could begin as a small gathering at your home, eventually growing into a close-knit community. Group activities like ‘Spanish Word Bingo’ or ‘Drama Days’ where kids enact stories can make learning interactive and memorable.

Additionally, connecting with other parents can provide you with fresh perspectives, resources, and support. After all, it’s not just the kids who are on this journey, but you as well.

In Conclusion

Teaching your child to read in Spanish is an enriching endeavor, one that requires patience, creativity, and consistency. But remember, the goal is not just fluency; it’s cultivating a love for the language and the joy of reading. Every time they turn a page, especially in those big books in Spanish, they embark on a new adventure, discover a new world, and inch closer to becoming a confident Spanish readers. ¡Buena suerte! (Good luck!)

Read More:Teaching Your Child to Read in Spanish

The Ultimate Guide to Teaching Your Kids to Read in Spanish

[tradraine]

Self-Care Ideas for Young Tradfems! ♡

In a modern age that believes in teaching young girls to be ‘girl bosses’ and ‘sexuality liberated’, it can become easy to be disillusioned/depressed and want to give up on your dream of finding your beloved husband. But, it’s very important to remember that before a girl can care for a family and spouse, she has to care for herself. As a young tradfem, here are some of the things I do to keep out of my disillusionment and to feel happy and feminine! ♡

((Also I apologize for poor English I’m not a native speaker))

Write down baby names, go to stores and look at all the adorable baby clothes and accessories

This had helped me keep my eyes on my goal of motherhood so much! It’s really nice to imagine the details of the wonderful godly family in your future.

Clean your bedroom daily and decorate it with your own feminine, aesthetic dream

This one is great for preparation to become a wife one day. Organizing up your personal space and decorating it to your liking not only shows you are ready to take care of a household, but that you have a feminine creativity.

Pray/take part in your religion

It can be anything from a rosary or a prayer before bed to volunteering at your Church. Absolutely any activity that brings you closer to God is an activity with meaning.

Bake sweets for the special people in your life

I’ve had so much fun with this one! As a tradfem, one of my duties one day will be to cook for my household, so knowing your way around the kitchen is an important skill for a woman to have! Besides, I love seeing the happy faces of my friends and family when I give them cookies or a cherry pie.

Babysit/take care of younger family members

This one is essential for a young lady wanting to become a housewife. I’m not at all an advocate for woman making money ((quite the opposite, actually)) but this is one way to make some extra money while staying true to your god-given purpose.

Take a bath or a shower at least once a day, brush your teeth, and wear deodorant/light body spray

This one may seem obvious, but it’s very important. Smelling and looking clean not only makes you more palatable to Christian men but gives your hair and skin a gentle, feminine glow.

Buy yourself one nice ((but still modest and traditional)) thing

This one can we tricky. You shouldn’t buy your self too much lest your life is filled with the sin of greed, but buying yourself a singular new necklace or that cozy sweater you’ve been wanting can make you feel really good.

Read some classic/conservative philosophy books

While I love listening to my favourite conservative podcasts and news programs, reading is a great way to relax and exercise your brain while learning about faith and tradition.

Take a walk/hike in a forest, beach, or other natural space

Not only is hiking good exercise for your body and brain, but seeing the wonderful world god created for us helps to feel closer to him.

Make a Pinterest board of your future home/dream wedding

This one is great for keeping your spirits up! It’s a great reminder of how lovely traditional aesthetics are and how a wonderful life is just around the corner.

Stop eating fast food/eat healthy/focus on weight loss

Being trim is a crucial part of being a future traditional wife. But eating healthy to stay thin, it not only shows that you have dedication to keep yourself looking well, it will help you fit into cuter clothes.

‘Honour thy mother and father’

Your parents are a gift from God; they carry the traditions and values that have shaped who you are. Honour them by cooking a meal for them, cleaning the house so they don’t have to, ect.

Make sure your wardrobe is modest and fits you well/prepare your clothes for the upcoming week

Every girl looks beautiful in a long skirt/dress. Go through your wardrobe, discard any immodest clothing and have fun making outfits for the days ahead.

Put on some light makeup

I should emphasize that you should only put on LIGHT makeup. God and your husband will love you for your natural beauty, so there’s no point in covering in up. I personally only use mascara, light eyeliner, colour-tinted chapstick and concealer, but I believe added a light blush or some naturally coloured lipstick is an ok addition.

Watch a movie that reinforces conservative values

Movies can awful when they push a radical feminist agenda, but not all movies are the same! There are still plenty of traditional tales about a princess getting swept off her feet by a traditional masculine man or someone on the wrong path who learns the importance of obeying Christ.

Knit something/sew something/croquet something/ modify your dresses using needle and thread

Not only is this hobby perfect for a traditional young lady, but it gives you a chance to show off your creativity and make wonderful gifts for the people you love or something lovely for yourself.

Make a cute rag-doll or teddy bear for a sweet little girl in your life

So many dolls in the modern day are overly sexualized, wearing tons of makeup and skimpy outfits, or look like men. Make a little girl in your life happy with a modest toy that’s a positive roll model.

Shave your legs, arms, and underarms

Modern feminism has pushed the message that body hair is ‘beautiful’, but this is blatantly untrue. No man would prefer a hairy, mannish pig over a well-groomed traditional lady, and most women feel more desirable ((because they are)) shaven.

Be early to bed, and early to rise

Getting enough rest is important for looking traditionally beautiful and healthy. Not only will you have more defined eyes, clearer skin, and a smaller waist line, but you will be left with enough energy to clean your room six times over.

Embrace your nations traditions

Research where your bloodline descends from and it’s traditions to practice. It’s our job as traditionalists to keep the bright minds and beliefs of our ancestors alive; they would be so proud of you for following in the path God designed! ♡

Make sure your nails are well-groomed and not too garish

Men aren’t attracted to fire truck-red monster claws, or stubby, bitten dirt coated nails; it’s a sign you don’t care enough for yourself. If your hands look pleasant, then their ready to bake bread, change diapers, and wear that wedding ring.

Always trust in God, even when it’s difficult or seems pointless

As a young woman without a husband yet, it may seem like God is against you, but that’s not true at all! God has chosen the perfect man for you, now all you have to do is have faith and stay submissive and pure for your future beloved! ♡

[fairycosmos]

any tips on self-taught spanish? ive been using duolingo for two weeks already and just know some words

hi sorry it took me a moment to get back to this!! ive got a few general tips here. i hope you find at least one of them helpful! btw duolingo is a great place to start - you’re doing amazing 💖

1. try to study daily. this can be REALLY hard sometimes, so by study i literally just mean even getting in five minutes of listening practice or word memorisation every day. if you miss a few days or even weeks, that’s ok too, as long as it doesn’t become an extreme habit. the language is always there for you to come back to. also, look for beginner lessons online as part of your studying. there’s tons on youtube.

2. create a loose study plan. try to alternate through different aspects of the language - like maybe tuesday is your speaking practice day, and friday is your writing practice day etc etc. listen to anything you can in spanish as much as you want, even outside of set study time.

3. talk to yourself in spanish - it’s hard to find ppl to converse with so just talk out loud to yourself as much as you can. name objects in spanish as you use them, stuff like that.

4. consume spanish speaking media as much as possible - music, tv shows, youtube, movies, articles, books, poems. whatever you can get your hands on. it’s obviously completely normal to need subtitles, but it helps you learn the vocabulary, the speaking patterns and the sentence structure subconsciously. i watch a lot of true crime youtubers in spanish lol so find an interest and then pursue it in spanish :)

5. know that total fluency doesn’t have to be the goal. it’s natural to want to succeed and frustration is v common when learning a language - and conversational fluency is absolutely achievable - but it doesn’t have to be the whole point of learning it. ive pretty much accepted that whenever i choose to learn a new language, i will be learning it for the rest of my life. but that doesn’t mean i can’t develop my own understanding of spanish or that i can’t communicate in it, which is really the whole point. rather than sounding like a native speaker, you know?

6. accept making mistakes, not knowing things, and having a hard time pronouncing/ remembering stuff at times. it’s not embarrassing. it’s the only genuine way to learn. spanish is quite different from english and your brain is basically a baby learning how to think and speak all over again. fucking up is more than ok.

7. take a break if you feel start feeling burnt out.

youtube channels that teach spanish and are good for beginners: butterfly spanish, why not spanish, easy spanish.

[studyzhui]

things to do in your target language for studying

write down sentences/words & make sure you say them out loud

make flashcards (digital flashcards to be more sustainable!)

start a journal to write down new vocabulary that you learn

watch a show and repeat what you hear out loud

listen to music and translate parts of the lyrics

narrate your actions out loud

find a friend to practice speaking or texting with

try to incorporate new vocabulary as much as you can in your sentences

write journal entries everyday (this especially helps if you’re struggling with immersing yourself)

while watching shows, actively write down new words that you find interesting

learn vocab of objects, places, emotions, people, etc. around you (aka vocab that you will use the most often in daily life)

learn synonyms of words that you already know

create a small, achievable goal to complete everyday (ex. learn one new word, write 3-5 sentences, read lyrics or a small paragraph out loud)

change one of your app’s language settings; don’t change your whole phone’s language, it’ll stress you out even more (coming from experience). baby steps!

follow influencers on social media that are native speakers (captions in their posts are good for learning new vocab)

be confident! it’s okay to struggle, you’re still learning :)

[simeerasim]

I created a new challenge!

Sims 4 challenge

Hey guys I have created a new challenge for the Sims 4 and I think I'm going to name it "If the pancakes had a family generation" challenge

Cause it's full of drama y’all or maybe I will name it simply “The generation challenge by Simeera”

I only created 5 generations as of now.

Disclaimer

I’m not a native English speaker and I tried explaining this challenge in English as clear as possible

I created this challenge because I wanted to play with the challenge which has more gameplay, more lore and story progressions. Do not claim this challenge as your own and upload anywhere in the social media.

If you are playing with this challenge, please let me know through any of my social media's ( or use #simeerachallenge ) and please give credits where credit is due. Speaking of credits, part of the first Generation of the challenge is inspired by one of the videos of "Petey plays it" from YouTube, and I’d like to give Petey credits

* Read fully to understand properly*

Generation one- The wanderer

Traits- adventurous/good, outgoing, loves outdoor

Aspiration– The curator

Career-No career but you can stream your travel vlogs through drone and earn money

Goal – You have to be a sim who gets others pregnant, do not get to home lot /get married until the day before you age up to Elder

Generation two- The Florist

Traits–maker/art lover, vegetarian, family oriented

Aspiration – Freelance Botanist

Career- No career you can earn money by being a florist

Goal – Marry a gardener and have two babies should have minimum relationship with first born and maximum relationship with second Born

Generation Three - The star

Traits – self-absorbed, jealous, materialistic

Aspiration-Master actress

Career- Acting career

Goal –Become a five-star celebrity, marry a proper celebrity and adopt a baby; do not give birth to a baby

Generation four- The drop out

Traits - Mean, slob, erratic

Aspiration - Party animal

Career – Fast Food employee/ can do odd jobs

Goal –Be a party animal, get wasted, skip school, Get knocked up by a random Sim, dropout of university

Have a baby, fall in love with a good, family-oriented Writer and raise the Toddler together

Generation Five- The soulmate

Traits- Romantic, Music Lover, genius

Aspiration- soulmate

Career- Degree in Fine-Arts, entertainer

Goal -Ace in academics have a crush on a sim who is Unflirty and non-committal,

Fall in love with them, pursue them and marry them

In-depth explanation of the gameplay to understand the challenge better:

· Create a new save file

· you can set the lifespan or normal or even long depends on your liking

For Generation one you need to fill all your empty lots in the world with amazing Builds from the gallery some generic lots like Eiffel Tower, fairy world, crystal world, haunted mansion, beach, arcade, art museum, etc

Gen one is a traveller,

Buy an empty lot and start with zero simoleons complete whims often and buy the “always welcome” trait using satisfaction points and you have to travel place to place. You can sleep in other Sims houses or even take a vacation and live-in rented house You can have multiple relationship or only one relationship but you have to get your partner sim pregnant and that will be your Gen Two (he/she/they cannot be playable until you get married and move with the family) you have to be involved with your baby’s life. For living you have to buy a drone and start vlogging your travel and you can upload it to make money. You should not have a career and you should not go to your home lot/ get married until the day before you turn elder so once you reach you the day before you turn elder you get married to the same who you got pregnant and you move in with him/her/them into your home lot and build a house and that's it, the second gen is playable.

For Gen Two you are independent since one of your parents is always travelling and that parent always brings you peculiar and unique flowers as souvenir from various parts of the sim world that makes be fascinated by nature. you're wanted to be a florist and bond with nature and you start earning the for money for a living. you marry a gardener and give birth to a baby While you have no time to take care of your firstborn because you're too busy providing necessities for the family but accidentally there’s another one on the way. The day the second baby was born you win the lottery of 100,000 simoleons so you think the second born is your lucky charm you give all the love and attention to your second baby but you have minimal relationship with your first one. you give all the time, care, love and money for your second baby wherein the first born is always left behind it’s not that you don't love your first baby so you should not have a negative relationship rather have a very minimum relationship with your first one

Gen Three starts while your parents don't give you enough attention, growing up you always hated your sibling and you’re very jealous of your sibling. you always longed for attention. Growing up you were never noticed you are like non-existent to everyone you wanted to be the centre of attraction so you decided you become an actress You tell your parents about your passion but they don’t take you seriously so frustrated you will run-away as a Teen. After a couple of Failures, you get a gig and you work your way up in your acting career you become a five-star celebrity and you marry a proper celebrity who was way older than you and adopt a baby because you think that having a baby would ruin your beauty and that would not give you fame. You shower the baby with lots of things that she needs you always make her get away because you don’t want to be like your parents

Gen Four Growing up you always got your way with your parent because you are adopted so your parents never said NO to you, they also fear that you might run away like them too. You always skipped school, never did your homework. You were a mischievous growing up. Signed up for university but never attended classes, partied hard, became an alcoholic

You were fooling around with so many sims in your university and you got knocked up by God knows who,

When you told your Parents that you are pregnant your parents were really mad that you ruined your life and you broke their trust so further, they don’t trust you with anything and they kicked you out of the house. you end up in a dingy apartment and get a job as a fast-food employee and you have the baby. Once the baby ages up to a toddler You meet a cute writer in the park writing kids book, both of you fall in love and you get married and raise the baby together

As for Gen Five you are a charmer you love your parents, they are your role model. You Ace in academics and you want to be a self-made person like your parents and you do love some music and you want to do a degree in Fine-Arts where you meet a charmer just live you who loves music but an Unflirty non-committal sim and you have a huge crush on that sim

You become close with them and fall in love and somehow (No cheating) make them fall in love with you and you get married to the sim once you get married to the sim, the challenge will be over.

And that's it for the challenge guys you can play this with mods or even without mods you can change the traits/career if you don't own specific packs. Happy Simming!

[angrycupcakellama]

Hi! I’m pretty new on tumblr so I’m sorry if formatting looks weird. I’m also not native speaker so don’t slander me ples.

I created this challenge for myself because I reinstalled TS4 and I have been overwhelmed with amount of content I have in my game. I also got to the point that I just bored if I “wing it” with my families. Therefore I wrote down all careers I’m somewhat interested in and built this challenge. If you find it interesting feel free to use my notes.

Unfortunately you most likely would need most if not all expansion packs to properly play this challenge. This challenge is inspired by most popular ones in community.

Your family value dynasty a lot, so to treasure and value it, you and your descendants sworn to keep photograph of each heir of your main lineage. No matter what your family will get into, you must protect your heritage.

Basic rules and generations description are under read more.

General Rules:

Cheats are allowed, but do be aware that they take fun out of the challenge;

You have to complete career, aspiration, goals and skills, unless it specified not to;

You may move lots;

Life span may vary as well, but do try to do it on normal;

You may change goals for yourself if you wish;

You must take photograph of your heir (your sim can use any device);

You can also collect family pictures if you want;

This challenge wasn’t tested so be aware that some goals might be unachievable and you are free to ignore them.

For more fun you can follow one color/gender/name throughout generations.  I also included only one supernatural generation, since I personally don’t like playing with them, but, of course, you are free to make witch/alien/vampire/mermaid/etc legacy.

Suggestions are unnecessary to follow and only serve as additional ideas.

1. The Selfish One

Story: You moved in new town and hungry for money. It doesn’t matter how you will get it, you will use all your ways.

Career: Lawyer (Attorney branch)

Aspiration: Fabulously Wealthy

Traits:

Kleptomaniac

Materialistic

Self-Absorbed

Goals:

Steal 50 objects in lifetime;

Earn money only via career/dates/robbing people;

Be a lover of rich person/people and cheat yourself 500$ every time you visit them/go on date with them;

Break up with them as soon as you get pregnant/they get pregnant (you get a child in any case);

Be neglectful of your heir;

Never marry, but you can see other sims (preferably rich);

You can have other children, but I wouldn’t recommend, as later generations are rich with kids;

Skills:

Charisma

Fitness

Debate

Logic

Suggestions for more fun:

Have your sim have awful reputation and get spouses, of people you are seeing, be your enemies;

Get your child taken away, so you got to have another baby.

2. The Kind One

Story: Your parent was an awful person and you feel responsible for their actions. You are not as smart as them but you want to try to make this place better.

Career: Conservationist (Environmentalist branch)

Aspiration: Super Parent/Bestselling Author (you choose one or complete both)

Traits:

Kind

Clumsy

Vegetarian

Goals:

Complete cleaning up Sulani;

Do weekly charity parties starting in adulthood (party type doesn’t matter, cheat whatever sum of money you want out afterwards);

Visit spas/do a lot of self-care actions;

Write book with every emotional boost (there are 4);

Write biography;

Marry your best friend (bonus points if they are your childhood sweetheart);

Have twins;

Have at least 3 children if you are aiming for Super Parent aspiration’s completion;

Follow eco-friendly lifestyle;

Collect all postcards;

Skills:

Parenting

Wellness

Writing

Logic

Charisma

Suggestions for more fun:

Make your sim make videos about self-care all the time;

Have 3 sets of twins;

Have your parent live with you and have tense atmosphere in house;

3. The Complicated One

Story: Your parent had good intentions but they were pretty naive. You have more realistic outlook on life as you first hand saw that no amount of love can fix person who doesn’t want to change. Your twin is criminal.

Career*: Detective

Aspiration: Computer Whiz (Do not complete)

Traits:

Loner

Gloomy

Non-flirty

Goals:

Move out from family house as soon as possible;

Try to not have friends outside work;

Play videogames as your sole entertainment;

Make your sim win videogame tourney;

Don’t cook, live on delivery or on food from stands (your spouse may cook);

Be enemies with your twin or at least have relationship in red;

Marry your colleague in adulthood;

Have one child (if you want more you can only adopt);

Have your twin move in the moment you have heir;

Die unnaturally before reaching elderly stage and have your twin raise your child (ideally child should be in toddler stage);*

Skills*:

Fitness

Logic

Videogames

Suggestions for more fun:

Last goal implies that your twin killed you. so you can get creative with scenario, get you sim killed in Strangerville or use mods;

Try to make your sim as socially awkward as you can, fail dates and wedding, birthdays and parties;

*A/n: From my other legacy challenge it’s not impossible to complete most of the goals by this stage but if your sim is getting close to aging you might ignore rules. Still try to complete most of it, start developing skills from teenage years.

4. The Sheltered One

Story: You never knew your parent and felt distanced from them. You turn to friendly society of women who claim to practice magic as they give you what you are seeking for - a family. But are things as simple?*

Career: Freelancer

Aspiration: Freelance Botanist

Traits:

Family oriented

Loves outdoors

Crazy

Goals:

Run away as teen

Create a witch cult and join it (it’s quite challenging, I recommend making Forgotten Hollow the cult town, it’s small and already has gloomy atmosphere);

Limit interactions with people outside cult;

Become a witch and be potion oriented;*

Fall in love with outsider and run away, do not practice magic afterwards (ideally outsider should be person who you absolutely have to interact, such as schoolmate or stands salesman);

Earn your money by any creative skill;

Have 3 children and encourage free spirit in them (ignore responsible trait, make them skip school to spend time with you);

Have garden (may have money from it as well);

Get full frog collection;

Skills:

Herbalism

Gardening

Cooking

Baking

One creative skill of choice (painting, music, writing)

Suggestions for more fun:

Explore Selvadorada ;

Make your sim as weird as you can, mismatch clothes (crazy trait will help you)

*A/n: If you don’t want to deal with witch side you may ignore the whole thing and just create cult.

5. The Lazy One

Story: Your parent always viewed life as something you have fun with. Sure you are not responsible whatsoever but life is too short to waste it on career building.

Career: Florist (don’t have to complete it)

Aspiration: Chief of Mischief (don’t have to complete it)

Traits:

Creative

Slob

Non-committal

Goals:

Don’t make any efforts to move up career ladder, skip days and don’t do daily tasks;

Live on off grid lot until adulthood;

Make money from your career and creative skill your parent had (they can teach you it);

Do pranks at least once a week (do not do them in your house, if you live alone);

If you get fired change careers to part-time, you can even not get job at all if you don’t need money;

Have on and off relationship with your romantic interest;

Eventually propose to your love interest but leave them at the altar;

Do have child with them;

Have other 4 children with 4 different sim;

Have small house so everyone have to be in each other space 24/7, have your eldest take care of smaller children (you might want to download double bunk bed for children);

Skills (ideally do not master any):

Flower arranging

Mischief

Creative skill of choice

Suggestions for more fun:

This is pretty chill generation, so I suggest just mess around with love interest and children;

6. The Perfect One

Story: Your parent was messy in everything so of course you won’t become the same and find better usage of your talents.

Career: Stylist

Aspiration: Successful Lineage

Traits:

Perfectionist

Ambitious

Art Lover

Goals:

Start with 100$ and build yourself up;

Open boutique and get it to 5 stars;

Visit art galleries once a week;

Marry sim who also has Perfectionist trait;

Have butler;

Try to make your house luxurious;

Have two children;

Be extremely strict with them (have a curfew and forbid romantic relationship until young adult stage, their grades have to be A+, all their traits in positive);

Skills:

Charisma

Painting

Writing

Violin

Piano

Fitness

Suggestions for more fun:

Master Photography Skill;

Have your children actually date others sims but in secret;

Live off your paintings in elderly age;

Dress everyone prudishly;

7. The Baby

Story: Your parent was so strict with you, so of course you got to prove that stable career and being perfect is not how life should be.

Career*: Actor

Aspiration*: Master Actor/Master Actress

Traits:

Childish

Squeamish

Jealous

Goals:

Have multiple lovers;

Be mean to people without any reason;

Live in mansion with butler and nannies;

Make videos in free time;

Win award;

Get involved with fan and get your career ruined (you choose how);

Get into red reputation, stop earning money and move out from your mansion to cheap apartment;

Meet with future spouse with kind trait;

Marry and have one child;

Have rocky relationship, divorce eventually;

Earn money from videos only;

Skills:

Acting

Charisma

Comedy

Mischief

Video making

Suggestions for more fun:

It’s dramatic generation, so go full drama;

Earn 1.000.000$;

Have thing with butler;

If you want even more ruined life, you may have child with this fan and hate your child;

*A/n: I don’t know whether it’s possible to complete career and aspiration by the time you have to ruin your career because I believe it has to happen in adulthood so you still have time to finish other goals. You may ignore them.

8. The Right One

Story: Your parent had difficult life but you can’t help but be enamored with idea of how easy is to ruin lives.

Career: Critic (Art Critic branch)

Aspiration: Leader of the Pack

Traits:

Evil

Genius

Hates Children

Goals:

Never have a good friend unless they are from criminal background;

Marry into rich family and divorce immediately;

Have accident child and basically forget about them;

Have nannies and butler to deal with child;

Try to eat in restaurants (I know it’s pain so try to do it on off days);

Kidnap a child/teen and make them your slave;

Have big social media following, at least a million;

Have a club of either high class people or criminals and do shady stuff as well;

Skills:

Writing

Charisma

Piano

Painting

Suggestions for more fun:

Sorry I’m kind of out ideas but I imagine this sim as very uptight and manipulative, so play accordingly. It would be funny if your sim somehow got in jail by the end of their life, maybe there is mod for that.

9. The Broken One

Story: Your parent never loved you, why should you be kind to others? The only friend you can trust is your bottle.

Career: Education

Aspiration: Friend of the Animals

Traits:

Cat Lover

Mean

Paranoid

Goals:

Have 5 cats through your lifetime (but only when you moved out from your family house, also the limit of household is 8 sims so keep it in mind);

Name cats with pun names;

Marry a vet and have poor relationship with them, but never divorce;

Have as many children as you want, but have poor relationship with all of them;

Go to alien bar night and fight with them;

Overall visit bars often, be a juicegolic;

Cheat on your spouse with alien in disguise, then discover they are alien and fight them as well;

Have a lot of photos of your cats all over place (for next gen, you may consider making your heir do them);

Skills:

Logic

Wellness

Mixology

Debate

Charisma

Suggestions for more fun:

If you didn’t already, go solve Strangerville mystery (bonus points if your sim will drink all the time and it would seem as if they did whilst drunk);

I based this sim on Wine Mom stereotype so gossip a lot and get in petty fights as much as your soul wishes;

10. The Last One

Career: Engineer (either branch)

Aspiration: Friend of the World

Traits:

Bookworm

Cheerful

Dance Machine

Goals:

Go to University;

Be popular, have 20 good friends during your lifetime;

Have romance with rival University;

Never get into fights;

Make photography your hobby;

Date your servobot (may ignore this rule if you want to continue lineage);

Only adopt children (may ignore this rule if you want to continue lineage);

Collect Microscope Prints;

Go to parties all the time;

Have wall of all your ancestors;

Skills:

Photography

Robotics

Logic

This is last generation so you can pretty much do everything you want at this point.

Please reply or send ask to me if you have questions or find unachievable goal, also you can tag me if you will play this challenge.

Thank you for reading!

[escapetoluna]

Learning a Language - Reading

Reading is probably one of the most effective ways of building vocabulary knowledge. But it can be difficult to navigate and to know where to start. This post has a few tips and tricks for reading in a foreign language but keep in mind that learning is not a one size fits all situation. 

Just try and find what works best for you as an individual. There’s no right or wrong way to study and learn.

Why is reading important?

It expands your vocabulary.

Much of the language a learner knows has been acquired through exposure rather than formally taught.

Stages of reading:

Try and figure out what level you are, this is important as it will influence the resources you use. 

This article discusses the stages of reading development in bilingual children but it gives some good insight about the different levels, what to expect at each level and how to develop further. - https://bilingualkidspot.com/2019/01/16/stages-of-reading-development-kids/

Reading resources:

Children’s Books:

Start with books that have shorter content, basic vocabulary and use simple sentence structures.

The category that meets all these requirements is children’s books. 

Starting off with the easiest reading material is very crucial to your progress. All the other books assume you have the basics down. 

Reading a children’s book can give you a multi-sensory experience which may allow you to relate any new words you learned to a specific illustration or situation. 

Children’s books fall in line with a very simple set of vocabulary, oftentimes words are repeated; sentences are short and lack advanced grammar making it an achievable goal for a beginner, and therefore a rewarding experience.

With a basic understanding of the sounds and alphabet of a language, you can begin to slowly sound out words on a page. With a children’s book that may only have 10-20 words on a whole page, it can be very satisfying to have sounded out a few complete pages of a book. Simply sounding words out one at a time, even without knowing what’s going on in the story can be very useful practice to a beginner to establish familiarity. 

Cons of reading children’s books and ways to deal with them:

The vocabulary may not be high frequency.

The grammar might not be simple.

The content might be boring.

Try to find books that are relevant to your language aims. For example, you’re learning vocabulary about animals,  then try to find a book in your target language about animals. As a beginner there is nothing wrong with finding a resource that is simply a book with lots of pictures and few words, it’ll help with association.

Children’s books come under lots of different categories. It is a really broad section of literature.  For example, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is a children’s book, but so is Biff, Chip and Kipper. Another example would be The Hobbit, it’s classed as a children’s fantasy, but on the other hand The Hungry Caterpillar is a children’s book too.

The point being - try to find resources that suit your level of language. 

"Nearly ten years had passed since the Dursleys had woken up to find their nephew on the front step, but Privet Drive had hardly changed at all. The sun rose on the same tidy front gardens and lit up the brass number four on the Dursleys' front door; it crept into their living room, which was almost exactly the same as it had been on the night when Mr. Dursley had seen that fateful news report about the owls. Only the photographs on the mantelpiece really showed how much time had passed. Ten years ago, there had been lots of pictures of what looked like a large pink beach ball wearing different-coloured bonnets - but Dudley Dursley was no longer a baby, and now the photographs showed a large blond boy riding his first bicycle, on a carousel at the fair, playing a computer game with his father, being hugged and kissed by his mother. The room held no sign at all that another boy lived in the house, too. "

Compared to

“Biff has a quiz.

I am big. I have a long, thin neck with long legs and thick lips.”

Parallel Texts:

You find it helpful to read books that are written in dual language, where the translations are written immediately below the sentence you’re reading. (Some dual books are formatted so the left hand page is in the target language and the English is on the right hand page.)

This one-to-one sentence / page correspondence will save you from reaching for the nearest dictionary to locate the meaning of a word. As a result, you’ll have a smoother reading experience.

You’ll also be able to notice how the grammar rules of your target language compare with your own thanks to this layout. You’ll be able to take advantage of the similarities and be aware of the differences.

Cons of dual books and how to overcome them:

You may find difficulty finding suitable resources for your level that are also free.

Sometimes language doesn’t directly translate. Culture-specific terms can be translated, but they usually require multiple-word explanations. Also, different cultural norms may cause a translation to be perceived as insensitive in one of the languages. 

Do some research to find online pdf copies or free copies online of a suitable book. 

If you can’t find a dual book you could try reading two books side by side. For example, you might have the english copy of a book that you already know and love, try searching for a copy of it online in your target language and read them side by side.

This page has some good resources - https://www.fluentu.com/blog/dual-language-books/

Audio books:

Read books with their accompanying audio books. Reading a book while listening to the accompanying audio will improve your “ear training”. It will also help you to learn the pronunciation of words.

For language learners who want to hear all of the rhythms, intonations and flow of a language, audio books are a brilliant choice.

Here is a great link explaining how audio books are helpful and it has some good links and resources too - https://www.fluentu.com/blog/language-audio-books-2/

Graded Books:

Famous books adapted for language learners mean you can dip into great literature while developing your language skills. They are divided into levels – from elementary to advanced. This means that even if you already are an intermediate reader, you can benefit. 

The greatest benefit that you get is that the book has been written with the purpose of teaching the language. Many of them have comprehension, grammar, and vocabulary exercises.

A second positive point is the possibility of reading with audio, as the vast majority of these books come with a CD. 

Here’s another link discussing graded readers, it also has resources at the bottom for 9 languages- https://www.fluentu.com/blog/graded-readers/

Authentic texts:

To put it simply authentic texts are pieces that weren’t originally meant for language learners.

For example, newspapers, magazines, songs, web pages, radio & TV broadcasts, films, leaflets, flyers, posters, basically anything written in the target language.

Authentic texts can be useful because they’re easier to find, they’re up to date and topical, there’s a lot of choice, you can pick texts that you find relevant and interesting.

They represent the target language in its normal form. As a result, authentic materials create more of an immersive experience.

Helpful article with examples and resources for various languages included -   https://www.fluentu.com/blog/educator/using-authentic-materials-in-the-classroom/

Cons and how to overcome them:

The biggest disadvantage of using authentic materials is that they contain more unfamiliar language that learners can possibly cope with. Often, they are too long, dense and/or complex.

Overwhelming yourself with authentic materials can be easily avoided by choosing materials that are appropriate to your level. So for absolute beginners, for example, you can bring in materials targeted at children who are native speakers, such as children’s stories and children’s TV shows. That way the difficulty level is manageable, but still challenging enough to give an idea of how the language is really used.

Check your understanding:

Make sure you understand what you’re reading. 

Use a dictionary to look up words that you don’t understand.

Keep a log of the words you struggle with / don’t know. This will help with remembering them. It could also be useful to track your progress.

When you read a piece of text or a story, try to summarise it in your own words. (Talk about what you’re reading. Talk about what is happening in a picture, what the characters might be thinking, or what might happen next.)

Think back to when you learnt how to read in your first language and apply those techniques to now. 

[csuclass]

FMA Guest Speaker Series

And Diverse Voices Screenwriting Competition

After George Floyd's death in May 2020, the staff and faculty of CSU's School of Film & Media Arts (FMA) asked themselves what they could do in response to help their students, many of whom experience systemic racism daily.

Many film students will be entering an industry historically fraught with racism and sexism. Spearheaded by the FMA Student Engagement Committee, in collaboration with Director Frederic Lahey, the FMA Guest Speaker Series was created to allow CSU students to connect with underrepresented voices in the film industry through illuminating conversations and spirited discussions.

Through the Zoom platform, the virtual series was kicked off in October 2020 with Venezuelan-American filmmaker Elan Bogarin, director of the feature documentary 306 HOLLYWOOD (opening night film of the 2018 Sundance Film Festival). Then, in November, the series featured Sean J.S. Jourdan, a Latino screenwriter who took the top screenwriting prize at the 2020 Austin Film Festival. In the spring semester, Joe "Jody" Williams, Cleveland-native and cinematographer for the TV series Empire, and the new Eddie Murphy feature film Coming 2 America, was brought in. On Wednesday, February 24, the School hosted a body-positive activist and actress Jen Ponton, star of the AMC series Dietland, and featured on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Orange is the New Black, and The Good Wife.

An unexpected off-shoot of this series was the creation of the inaugural FMA Diverse Voices Screenwriting Competition. Seeking to support underrepresented writers at the School of Film & Media Arts, former FMA Guest Speaker Sean J.S. Jourdan generously donated his speaker fee to establish this competition. Students were asked to submit an unproduced screenplay (maximum ten pages), which could take the form of a short script or an excerpt from a longer piece (such as a television pilot or feature).

Following first-round judging conducted by a committee of FMA faculty and staff, Jourdan reviewed the top five submissions. Senior BFA Writing and Directing student Madison M. Woods was selected as the recipient of the $200 First Place Prize for Circleville, an excerpt from an original television pilot she is currently revising for her thesis project. Sophomore BFA Writing and Directing student Katarina Partika was also recognized with an Honorable Mention for her short script, The Baby Doll Dance.

On winning the top prize of the competition, which will be held annually, Woods said, "As a graduating senior, winning this competition has been nothing but dream affirming and confidence-boosting. Even more so because it is the result of only a small piece of my thesis pilot script. But, the most gratifying part about this is that it's a story about a queer woman in a world made for men. Part of the reason I want to continue succeeding as a writer is because growing up, at a time when I needed it most (and even still do, as an ever-growing, realized adult), I experienced a severe lack of good queer and inherently flawed but marvelously strong women content. My goal is to continue to write these stories for women and queer folks as a means to satisfy, inspire, embolden and give hope to the little kids like me who longed to see themselves fully and authentically realized on screen."

[ferie-anon]

Hi!😍How are you? Can i get a ship with Ateez? I'm capricorn sun, venus and mercury, gemini moon, sagittarius rising and pisces mars. Thank you so much 🙏🤩

I’m good! You’re a capricorn sun with a gemini moon, these two placements make an intellectual power source. The intellect and capability of utilizing your brain and details is impeccable, and with cap sun when you put it to work, there will be success with the effort/hardwork you attempt. Capricorn mercury, you keep it real. Rather than a brutal honest way to your communication, you are more stating things matter of factly in a honest way, but kinda chill yknow. If virgo mercuries were more of a fact and organzied direct speaker, you would be similar to that but in a more chill way like you’re only being realistic, not critical. Capricorn venus seem to rather show off their love to their partner theough hardwork and presenting the notion that they are responsible and trustworthy in that aspect. They care a great deal about their close ones/loved ones, but not usually in an affectionate physical displaying mannerism. Lastly, your pisces mars indicates you may easily be sensitive at times, and can be more on the whimsical outlook towards your goals. However with your other earthy placements, you are not too wishy-washy. Sag rising prompts others to view you at first to be optimistic or an exuberant vibe. Sagittarius is ruled by jupiter, the planet that is ruler of prosperity, expansion, good fortune (luck). These aspects may be projected to your outer appearance, so you may seem more youthful or healthy, and you view the world in an openminded positive way sometimes.

In Ateez... your match is Seonghwa!

Momhwa here has a motherly side and a strict honest side. I think the dynamics between you two are similar yet balanced in a way where you both share different perspectives that can benefit each other~ Seonghwa’s sun is in aries, and these individuals are determined, honest, and morally inclined. You can definitely see his passion when he dances or his facial expression during performances, and despite his soft disposition at times, he can be quite the savage person if needed. His moon is in cancer and I will elaborate further in the next paragraph, but since his moon sign is in this placement, that is why he is sensitive yet very compassionate or able to understand others (in a motherly way as seen to Ateez). These two placements create a a nice parallel to each other. Similarly, you seem to have two parallels within you, you can be quite the dilligent, responsible person when you need to, the student that does well when they do their work, but with your gemini moon you could be prone to many new thoughts occurring that may cause you to be flighty in your duties at times: hence the student that may be smart but not exactly labeled as the teacher’s pet. You don’t wanna bore yourself of only study and academics, you still retain fun within while enjoying your intellect. Seonghwa thought you were interesting, how you could show such a sunny disposition (child-like expressions) of the world yet retain a serious practical side when you decided to do so, a side that heavily appealed to the natural caretaker and responsible one of Ateez, Seonghwa.

Now to the elaboration of his cancer moon. Cancer moons are quite the baby of the water sign family in the moon aspect, as the moon is the ruler of cancer the zodiac sign, thus this aspect naturally is more powerful or at home within this position. Seonghwa is empathetic, has a lot of emotions (inherently sensitive), and has a lot to give to others emotionally (as a supportive pillar). These traits make Seonghwa more of a little compassionate fluffball despite his other contrasting personality traits (cough cough Seonghwa is duality, Duality is Seonghwa). Your gemini moon on the other hand is less emotionally inclined, I would say you may not display your emotions or discuss deep topics on how you feel, but it doesn’t mean you are insensitive. You deal with your emotions and feel them in a different way, you may feel easily overwhelmed or change how you feel right after experiencing a new resolve. Seonghwa loves your new fresh perspective, how you come up with new ideas or brightly display your thoughts of knowledge of your favorite interests. Seeing that beaming smile just makes Seonghwa go heart eyes ya know~ I think with Seonghwa, you feel like you can be more comfortable in confiding your emotions as Seonghwa would not judge you and he would listen to your little worries or temporary thoughts of complaints on a bad day. It is something balancing that you both would feel soothed and healing within.

Seonghwa’s mercury is in aries! These natives are honest and not keen on hiding the truth, they desire the truth back to them as well. As you can see, Seonghwa is pretty strict such as cleaning or nagging the members to clean, puck up stuff, and to take care of stuff. Aries mercury inherently are just very true to themselves and if there’s something they want to say, they will say it but it’s not purposely directed to tear down or hurt others. With your capricorn mercury, you are similar in the fact you wanna keep it real as well, hence you both have similar values in communication-wise. Seonghwa will find himself agreeing and working well with your unfiltered communication, as you both aren’t afraid to say or give your opinion towards others and each other.

Next, Seonghwa’s venus is in aquarius. With your capricorn venus, these two will seem like an odd match of love styles but complements each other well. Capricorn venus like to show they are capable and not too dependent, similarly venus aquarius like to show how different they are from others, a rebel at heart, charming others with their cool detachment. However, you both value your privacy or are not usually very expressive in physical affection, however you both have a mutual understanding of reasoning and thinking. Seonghwa may appreciate your independency and admire ur outward approaches, likewise you may appreciate Seonghwa’s logicality or problem solving attitude in a situation. These placements give me two badass anime characters who fell in love with each other, and are each others partner in crime and lover.

Lastly, his mars is in aries! Direct, pursuing, and passionate about the things he love, goals and aspirations, it is also evident in his love style. He is direct in how he wants to approach you, and rlly has heart eyes a lot and with prominent aries energy he may initiate more physical contact but ofc nothing that crosses the boundary if you dislike it. Your mars pisces is someone who wants someone to guide them or despite your earth signs not very vocal about intimacy, you crave for some emotional bond and affection still. Which Seonghwa can give :3

Overall, you two are the ones that are independent and internally strong but are really just little soft marshmallows that wanna cuddle with each other, but you two maintain a cool face while you do so. You two have an underlying softness in your compassion and love for other and each other, yet you don’t lose your reasoning/logical sense of self from it. You two are balanced very well and I k I said that too much lol 😂 You two radiate -> 🍓🌹💌📝💕🌿☘️🌓🍟

[nordic-language-love]

Norwegian

Read 2x articles

Read 7x chapters Ptolemaios’ Port

Watched 2x Kveldsnytt broadcasts

Watched 2x episodes Nytt På Nytt

Watched 2x episodes Side Om Side

Watched 1x Norsklære Karense video

Written task: wrote about sugar tax in Norway

Wrote 3x journal entries

Speaking practice: talked to myself about quarantine, brownies, cats and dialects

Listened to the radio (~6 hours)

Created garden vocab list (not posted)

Spanish

Practised for + took oral exam

Finnish

Made notes on illative & elative cases

3x FinnishPod101 lessons

Icelandic

Drops: practised skills Weather and Food

I’ve been having a good Norwegian week. I seem to go through ups and downs - some weeks I feel like I can barely understand anything and maybe I’m only B1, some weeks I feel like I understand almost everything and I’m definitely B2. This week was more like the latter, which is really nice because I’ve been feeling like the former for a little while. That’s just how learning any skill is though. For a while I fluctuated between feeling like I was maybe B1, but maybe only A2, and I’d never reach intermediate level properly. Which gives me hope that someday I’ll be sat here talking about B2/C1 or C1/C2 in the same way (although honestly, I never expect to reach C2 without actually moving to Norway, but C1 is the dream).

Of course, my writing and my speaking skills still need work, but I’m on it with the writing. I need to do something about the speaking though. Thank you so much to all the native speakers who’ve offered to chat with me - I promise at some point I will stop being a big baby and actually take you up on it. Idk if I’m just nervous because I know my spoken Norwegian is shit, or whether I feel guilty, like I’m just using you for my own selfish reasons, or I’m scared you’ll talk to me for five minutes then realise I’m a boring and awful person and never want to talk to me again, but something’s holding me back big time :(

I’ve already talked about my Spanish exam and how rubbish that was. I’m still hoping to scrape a 2:1, but we’ll see what happens. I only have my writing exam left now, which I’ll have 24 hours to do and all the resources I can possibly access, so I’m not worried about that. That’s happening on the 30th.

Productivity grid:

Some goals for this week:

Norwegian - speaking practice! I might make a vlog or something (idk if I can be arsed to do that but we’ll see), finish Ptolemaios’ Port (might be a bit ambitious, but we’ll see how we go), at least one written task, Mysteriet Av Nils or maybe some Norwegian Tutor exercises (we’ll see)

Spanish - written exam

Finnish - start keeping a journal, at least 2 FinnishPod101 lessons

Icelandic - continue using Drops (try making it more of a habit), recap basic verb conjugation and noun declension

Have a good week everyone!

[uthseikoashx-inflamedme]

(a senseless, compulsive and without any objectivity post really, and there's a lot of mistakes)

I just rewatched FB1 and 2 this evening and:

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

I forgot how awesome were Newt, Tina, Queenie and Jacob in FB1

I forgot how FB1 had a so well-written plot and how satisfying was this movie

I looked after Graves/Grindelwald and watching the scenes where he appears is a hilarious experience, I was delighted to analyse everything he said and did with his true identity in mind (and when MACUSA employees talk about Grindelwald with him- I'm a simple girl, I smirk)

(Also, he is very smart, the way he manipulates everyone when he discovers about Newt's Obscurus is something I liked to watch)

(How nobody found out he was not Percival Graves - he was doing power wandless and informulated magic constantly, it's the sign of marvellous skills - and Grindelwald almost didn't hide it, his colleagues were a bit oblivious, weren't they? I mean, they knew the true Graves, they never figured out?)

I was so invested in FB1 and its characters it was amazing

Also, Credence is definitely not human, he seems more... etheral? Is it because he's originally an Obscurus or something like that?

(Also something can be sure, even if both Ariana and Credence are Obscurus, they can't belong to the same nature - if Credence was initially a human like Ari was, he would have died after the MACUSA employees casted their spells - Ari just died and his corpse was lying on the floor, she didn't transform herself like Credence did)

Also, Grindelwald is odious, detestable towards Credence, I didn't want to punch someone in the face like this since a quite long time

Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald

About FB2, it was sometimes strangely... unsatisfying (or not strangely, because there are flaws which were not in FB1 to my opinion)

I'm happy because I understood this time how Jacob kept his memories and already knew Credence survived thanks the end of FB1

But unfortunately, even if I know the story, it seems to be so rushed - to many characters to be really empathetic for me

Also I had the feeling there's a lot of them who actually didn't do so much, who are just parts of the plot and not real personalities? Maybe I was less focused - I was - but still

In fact, I think my real problem with the film is: it shows glimpses of a larger story and the main story doesn't deserve alone a film

To me, the main plot is about Credence, the second one is about Newt and his team

To be honest, even if I do love Newt's team, specially Queenie arc who's a very lovely character (and damn interesting (but she didn't do good things in FB2 sniff)) (but Tina and Jacob and Newt were so sweet hell) the real story was about Credence - in fact, showing how Credence ended up with Grindelwald was probably the aim of the film

And besides, the movie wanted to show good guys arc (so Newt who wants to reconcile with Tina, Tina who wants to find Credence, Jacob who wants to find Queenie, Queenie who's confused and hopeless), a bit of context about Dumbledore's and Grindelwald's origin story, the rising influence of Grindelwald back in 1927, how the two most powerful wizards of their age organised their own team of allies, and I didn't mention Leta's backstory with Newt and with Corvus, Yusuf's own backstory, Theseus, Grindelwald's acolytes Rosier and Abernathy, Grimmson role, I forgot Travers also, and Flammel, and also Nagini- hell in fact the movie is saying a lot - I swear I didn't wanted to write a that long list but well it might explain why I am a bit confused about that movie

And again I don't understand why it didn't work for me because I love lore, to see the web between the data, the events and the persons and that exactly what the movie does

(Entirely irrelevant here, but I'm personally betrayed by Grindelwald who's a huge bastard, a real monster, and everytime I see him as an adult I'm sad because if he had done the good choices and - for example - didn’t take pleasure to kill people and actually fought for a genuine "Greater Good" both Albus and Gellert could have been happy pfff)

(Again irrelevant, but I couldn't help but laugh at the end with the parallel between Grindelwald and Dumbledore, I saw them as two ex who are still resentful against the other - but here, their fight takes mondial proportions, and they found a new ally to piss off the other, and I know I shouldn't seeing that but bloody hell I'm tired of this film I'm sorry I will stop)

It feels like a necessary exposition to prepare FB3 but not like a real, intimate film? In my opinion again, I can understand if you actually liked FB2

It's beautiful nonetheless, the clothes, the ambiance, the decor and the attention on the details, it's fairly amazing

The music, the realisation and the editing were great too, to my opinion - sometimes the editing is brilliant in fact, it draws parallels

Having a lot of lore and a lot of characters to theorise and write is awesome too, even if I believe it was not exactly the goal the movie wanted to achieve

(The way Dumbledore tried to manipulate Newt, also so interesting, the only difference between he and his former lover here is the gentle music (and the not-so-gentle smile of Grindelwald facing Queenie))

ALSO, everytime Credence sees his baby Phoenix Grindelwald is around, a point which support the theory of Credence-not-actually-a-Dumbledore with a Phoenix summoned, by a way or by another, by Grindelwald himself

(True question, why didn't Gellert kill Newt (and Theseus) in Père-Lachaise after the meeting - because no-fuckin-body is going to convince me he wasn't able to do it and he loathes Newt (because because of him Grindelwald had been arrested by MACUSA and Newt is Dumbledore's protégé))

(Or maybe Leta cast a protection like Lily did??? Actually why not??? (I hope not it will ruined a bit the sense of it if it is a so common protection))

(Or maybe Gellert knows he will need at least one of them in the future? Because he's a Seer, etc)

To sum up, the movie is great to theorise and will take sense in the future when the next movies will be released, but as a film itself, I was a bit let down

(I don't want to just yell at the film, I will never be able to create something like that and I'm probably too young and inexperienced concerning movie's creation but pfff I wanted to express what I was thinking about it so here I am)

Sorry about the multiple mistakes, again I'm not a native speaker and it's a bit a shitpost so I guess it's not so serious, but sorry anyway!

[r-ultrazul]

From BF to YASHA, Yoshida never changed.

[This article contains heavy spoilers of YASHA and Banana Fish]

[There're two bonuses at the end of the article. Please jump straight to the end if you only want to know some interesting facts (also with spoilers).]

[As I’m not a native English speaker, sorry to make you tolerate possible language problems.]

===========================

After reading YASHA, I realized how it inherits part of BF’s theme. Basically, it picks out the “mirrored” relationship between Ash and Yut-Lung, then elaborates it with the story of a new pair of characters: Sei and Rin. They are artificial genius twins (genetically modified) raised in very different conditions, which results in their different characteristics, like the two faces of the god Yasha. Other settings are very similar, such as conspiracy involving Japanese and US government, Chinese underworld forces, secret experiments, and beautiful but dangerous prodigies…

Here I try to explain the inner connections between the two series, and how YASHA further elaborates some of Yoshida’s main interests while creating stories and characters. It also talks a little bit about Eve’s Slumber, YASHA’s sequel. (There’s no full English translation of Eve yet so I haven’t read the full story.)

1  The objectified children

Many of YASHA’s core concepts can be found in one of BF’s extra stories, “The Private Opinion” (thanks for the translation here) which tells how Blanca met Ash for the first time and became his tutor. Published in 1996 (YASHA started in 1996), it serves as a bridge between BF and YASHA.

1.1 The objectification of a child. In the short story, the primary job of Blanca was not taking care of young Ash. It was a "project evaluation," to see if Ash was worth working on. If Ash failed Blanca's evaluation, Dino would send him back to his ill fate without hesitation. Here we understand that Dino didn’t train and educate Ash because of love (which was not clearly explained in the original story). It was out of utility as if he was treating a product.

It's also how Amamiya Kyoichiro treated Rin in YASHA as his adoptive father, who raised and Rin as a tool instead of a son.

1.2 The artificial genius The short story reveals some of Blanca’s past. He was chosen as a child prodigy when he was young. After 15 years, only 18 out of 300 children survived, Blanca being one of them. Thus he tells Dino: “To artificially create an elite – that’s a saying of utter nonsense in the first place. Mankind isn’t strong to such an extent.”

However, YASHA is precisely a story about the “artificial elites” and the problems they bring about. Sadly Blanca never appeared in the story, so we don’t get the chance to see his reactions about the matter…

2 The unqualified fathers

Although Yut-Lung and Rin are portrayed as opponents in the stories, they are not the real antagonists or villains. The “delinquent” fathers are the real villains in both stories.

Yoshida has a strong tendency to portray negative fatherhood. Even in her early work, “Kawa Yori mo Nagaku Yuruyaka ni (Longer and Softer Than River)” the absent father is the one who ruined the protagonist’s family and got him to where he is. In BF, we see at least 3 characters that claim to be the “father” of Ash: his biological father, Papa Dino and Max Lobo, and two of them are not doing a proper job. Eiji also comes from a family that the father is not functional (in "Fly Boy, in the Sky," his father has been sick for a long time so young Eiji was under a lot of stress, and Ibe was the one who helped him to get through.

In YASHA, things become even more apparent. We are presented with several unqualified fathers.

Amamiya Kyoichiro, the adoptive father of Rin, is basically a milder version of Dino. He is not a pervert, but a “control freak” who treated Rin as a good product. He isolated Rin from all others since childhood to prevent him from “wasting his talent” and uses him for his own goals. Once he found out that Sei was “better”, he would dump Rin without hesitation, which left Rin in utter desperation.

However, what makes the character even more interesting is his cowardice, not his power and wealth. Kyoichiro suffered from the violence of his own father - a tyrannical patriarch - for many years. The bravest thing he ever did was trying to get married with Hisako (Sei’s adoptive mother) without his father’s permission. For him, such “rebellion” or “sacrifice” gave him the right to control Hisako as if she owed him a debt, making the woman run away and steal baby Sei from the laboratory. Later, when Rin was abused by his father, Kyoichiro didn't dare to intervene. Because of his cowardice, Kyoichiro turned from a victim to a perpetrator, causing Hisako’s death and Rin’s twisted personality.

But, being the initiator of many tragedies, Kyoichiro kept doing what he believes to mean love. He tried to clone Hisako because she was “the perfect woman”. He was willing to offer Sei anything only if the kid went with his plan. And, like Dino, he finally gave his life to protect Sei (Rin), making him another complicated, mixed character. Love or possessiveness, who knows.

The fathers of the main supporting characters are no good either.

The father of Takeru (Rin’s partner) impregnated his mistress as his wife was infertile. Then he brought little Takeru back and let his wife raise him, causing the break-down of two women and the abused childhood of Takeru.

Ken’s stepfather was responsible for the suicide of his little sister.

The father of Raymond Goldberg was a violent pedophilia, and Raymond grew up to be exactly like him.

……

Among them, Takeru’s father was the only one who realized that they must stop passing on the tragedy to the next generation, which somehow helped Takeru escape from destruction.

Personally, I feel that all these things make the ending of YASHA even harsher than BF. When Ash fell in the eternal dreams in the library, his soul was saved and filled with happiness. But Rin was staring at something that never belonged to him till the very last moment of his life, paying for somebody else’s mistake that had twisted his fate even before he was born.

3  The unconditional love

Love is another theme that Yoshida portrays in both BF and YASHA. What she keeps emphasizing is that the highest love is always “unconditional”. It’s something very close to “godly love”. It’s the way Eiji loves Ash, and the way Hisako loves Sei. Sei’s uncle Dr. Arisue, and his childhood friend Toshi also love him that way. “Love you whatever you do.” “Trust you under any circumstances.” – It’s a bit different from romantic love. In my personal opinion, that’s perhaps why Yoshida tends to deny the category of “BL” for BF, even stressed that Ash and Eiji’s relationship was “non-sexual” in “The Garden of Light”.

What would happen if people can’t love unconditionally? Perhaps the answer lies in Takeru’s question: “Why do people so easily become demons?”

They just shouldn’t ask for anything in return.

===========================

Bonus 1:

It’s definitely not a good idea to be the protagonists in Yoshida’s works. Because they leave us, somehow, in some way, even in the next story.

As a main supporting character, Sing Soo-Ling is the luckiest guy. He lives through all three stories and even has a son (named Lie, with Ibe Akira).

Bonus 2:

According to the interview in the Official Guidebook of Banana Fish, Yoshida said that Blanca was initially designed to be a woman. She wanted to draw an affair between female Blanca and Ash, but the idea was stopped by the editor. (Thanks for the translation here.)

This is her illustration of female Blanca (photo by me):

In YASHA, she finally got things done. What a persistent author… And that scene between Sei and Ru-Mei leads to the story of another sequel, “Eve’s Slumber” .

Fin.

R 2019-2

[thefreshfinds]

JOHNNY QUEST THE REBEL:

Johnny The Quest’s rhymes are beyond any listener’s wildest dreams. While others use their music to speak on artificial topics like sex, drugs & their drip, Johnny Quest the Rebel uses his natural skill to not only put the hating n-ggas to sleep, but he also conveys an influential message. If it isn’t through clever punchlines & entendres, then he gets personal — telling his own story for others to relate to. However Johnny Quest the Rebel is one who believes that one should F.R.Y.D  (F.ollow R.each Y.our D.reams) because he knows what it’s like to feel lost & unsure of how you are. Wholeheartedly he defines as one who’s empathic, truthful & real. The “Rebel” side comes from a daily challenge of having an active role in life. “I believe that one of our purposes is to unravel the world.” he goes on to say. On the whole Johnny Quest the Rebel is the voice who demands the world to give up the answers because often we are left wondering “why?”

Starting his musical journey in two different points of his life — Johnny Quest the Rebel first got his big break in 2000/2001. He recalls the first time he freestyled with his older brother & cousins in his Grandma’s basement, saying that they all grew up pretty humble. So Johnny figured if he could be a kid star like Bow Wow then they would never have to worry about money. As he grew up & did a couple of group projects, it wasn’t until he hit rock bottom in 2012 when he started to use music as a therapeutic process to help battle with anxiety & depression. “Music, amongst a few other things, helped me re-instill my confidence & got me out of my low.” Johnny Quest the Rebel adds “It always has, even as a listener, but I just owned that I wanted my music to do for others as it had for me.” After hearing responses from his music, Johnny decided to take music seriously. He was going to live his dream & wake up the people! Till this day he’s thanking his lucky stars. To define Johnny Quest the Rebel’s sound, would be more of a renaissance style. It has all the main components of our golden era of hip hop: storytelling, being the voice for those who are afraid to speak & genre defying — testing all sounds solely to reach different audiences. DREAM gives you a snippet of Johnny Quest the Rebel’s versatility and star power. “You will hear me express how it feels to have a dream even that moment when you realize you can really make it happen.” he adds. “Find your dream & pursue it with 1000% effort, 10x the amount you personally thought you could give.” All in all DREAM sheds some light on Johnny Quest the Rebel’s journey & gives people who have dreams some inspiration to keep going. Like the famous writer Marsha Norman says, “Dreams are illustrations from the book your soul is writing about you.”

The Break Down:

1. Dream: Stomping into your circadian rhythm, Johnny the Quest keeps one alert in the first song “Dream”. Before the beat drop, an high pitched voice echoes out “Dream” over the white noise. Then the beat fuses in beside the familiar voice with sprialing hi-hats, an 808, reverse & futuristic sound effect. However once Johnny booms in saying “all I had was a dream” that’s when things go in full effect. As the beat continues on, Sunnie sings the chorus with effortless passion & sensuality, “If I close my eyes a little longer, baby everything will be ok *insert vocal run to “ok”*/In fact that don’t kill me, it only made me stronger/Well I say turn a dream into tomorrow/And turn tomorrow into today. Johnny Quest the Rebel then uses smooth yet minimal auto-tune for the cut-throat bars he’s about to spit. Ultimately, Johnny Quest The Rebel leads by example that anything is possible if you work hard for it & advices others to do the same. Sometimes we wait for opportunities to come but we should go and find them instead. An example can be seen from this very line from Johnny: “All about the timing, not the diamonds or the risk/But a young Rebel said I need to shine too/Hunting down dreams cause they won’t find you/.../If it glitter & it golden let it blind you.”

2. Truth or Dare: “Truth or Dare” levels up as the second track with a finely tuned violin chord & 808’s that are guaranteed to stick with you from the very beginning to the end. Ultimately the wise MC speaks on his undying hunger to accomplish his goal to make it. “Young Pixar, for my dreams I will risk all. Only way is up when you’re coming from a pitfall.” Even when he’s lived in a nightmare, he still rose with the sun & made things happen. Not only for himself, but for his people as well. Johnny Quest the Rebel also feels highly blessed & favored to be living his dream. Fading out is a voice that says “Don’t wake me up.” & then the famous phrase (and album title) “Dream.”

3. Projects 2 Mansions: “Projects 2 Mansions” breaks the rims off the speaker with it’s stormy base (& yes! It really does sound like it could come off an 90’s sitcom). As the base goes ham, the background leaves some space for the twinkle effect & hi-hats to work it’s magic. The reverb here is the “oooh” & “yeah” that’s highly pitched but also mesmerizing. As Johnny Quest the Rebel questions the listener “Is this everything that you’ve dreamed of? The most hated on I dream love.” he also uses punchlines & metaphors to speak on his luxurious life, living his best life with the homies & gives the haters something to think about. “Hustle like Russell, back when I had to bag a Kimora.” Johnny Quest the Rebel also spreads the word on how it happened (& if you do this too, who’s to say that it won’t happen as soon as tomorrow!?) “Cause I done paid my dues, I swear they cost a lot/.../Only reason that I’m here, somebody paid for me/Don’t get caught up in these streets & be somebodies prey homie. Instead of a 9 to 5, he’s doing what he loves. But to get there is pretty simple: Dream first, hustle second.

4. In My Zone: “Channel surfing on electric waves,” Johnny Quest the Rebel gives us some insight on what pushes him on a daily to achieve his dreams. “Catch Johnny on the star track/..All white but I’m all black/90’s baby so I’m all that/Searching for my bag of chips on different continents. Trying condiments. Even when the going gets rough, Johnny Quest the Rebel advices all in the song to just stay in your zone because eventually it will all pay off. Believe it or not, he’s been through the drafts. Still, he can never be taken out. In unison a feminine voice says in the back “In My Zone.” during certain parts (& the vocals even resemble the singer, The Weeknd’s range). The beat also has a chill-wave feel to it & just cruises into your cerebral cortex.

5. JOHNNY TSUNAMI (SKIT): This short excerpt sounds as if it comes from the greater times when technology was on the rise. At first the interviewer explains who Johnny Quest is & ask then goes on to ask him the question, “Why this quest for the perfect wave?”. Gracefully, he stays composed & gives the best answers to this one which are followed by a couple more.

6. Top of The World: As he takes a hit & answers how to catch the perfect wave — Johnny Quest the Rebel, the beat goes ham with laser beams & hi-hats. While on a “surf board with a dream catcher,” the MC goes to say that this first verse was a favorite because he left some gems that most people won't understand on the first listen. “I love when people listen them come back weeks or months later & are like, “Oh that’s what you meant”. This song also falls in as his favorite one off the project as well, “It came together so smoothly & it’s a dope song.” he adds “I wanted a record that I was able to stay true but that could be listened to in different spaces that everybody could get on they wave.” For me, I interpreted this song’s message as a P.S.A for those who are afraid to break out of their comfort zone. Don’t say you’re going to do something. Just do it. Even if you fall, brush yourself off. Try again. After all, you create your destiny. An example can be seen in these lines: “Life’s a b*tch & I treat it like a model..Now they’re calling me the Native Sun/Waves speaking in my native tongue/Talk back with a body language/English probably is a second language.”

7. www.(420 Reprise): Paying contribute to his right hand Mary Jane, the beat takes a sultry approach( which could be contributed thanks to the fumes or the lighter that sparks up in every song off of Dream) & finds a way to our “Blaze it Up” playlist. As the guitar strings make an appeasing tune, Johnny Quest The Rebel speaks about his daily ritual: to smoke & drink water. Yet he also lets us in a little & speaks on the best piece of advice he’s received from his lady “She tell me not to worry ‘bout what they say/Master your high, grasshopper till you feel like Sensei/And then you treat the world like it’s your dojo/ You gotta give back where nobody can steal your mojo.” At the end, the guitar goes into solo & nails what a guitar riff should sound like.

8. 20/20 Vision: In midst of the snaps, snares & twinkle sound effect — Johnny Quest the Rebel sings in auto-tune “I see in 20/20 my vision, so clear, so clear.” According to the MC the profound message is that any/everyone who has a dream is going to see their vision before anyone will support it or believe it is possible. “Shit this record might make someone quit they day job.” Johnny adds. As long as you keep your focus & work ethic intact then the sky is the limit.

By: Natalee Gilbert

LINK(S):

1. DREAM: https://soundcloud.com/jquesttherebel/sets/dream

2. Instagram: @jquesttherebel

[stastacyana]

Reflective Journaling

Description: Plan and experiment

Time always goes very fast, so far we have completed half of this semester. BCT is a very attractive major, because everyone is really involved in the projects, and everyone has their different or interesting ideas. Not only does it make our projects more exciting, but also allows me to learn from everyone how to make my ideas more intriguing. What impressed me the most was the Studio project that we are doing now, the data objects. Our project is about the usage of the Maori language and the changes in the number of the Maori population, since ancient times to the present. This idea came up with our team member Shel who is a Maori person. Through the research, we found that this usage rate has dropped dramatically, although people have realized this in these years and started to learn Maori language, it is still not enough. We want to educate our audience to realize the importance and to encourage future use of the native language.

Before we began our project, Shel showed us the research that he did, the data he wanted to use and the prototype he made, the prototype he presented to us is basically a relatively complete one, he drew a graph which is about the number of people speak Maori in New Zealand, then use the iron wire to shape the New Zealand flag and twisted into the graph trend, and put it on a cardboard shelf that is cut into the graph shape. Everybody is satisfied with this, so we began to make it more meaningful and refined on this basis. However, our products have been questioned by the tutors, they advised us to “kill the baby”.

Analyse and Observe: The failed and improve

The last project we made is a card game, so every time we finished or improved, we will find different people to test our game, in order to understand the shortcomings of our game more clearly. But the one we are making now is quite different, we cannot find people to test, we only can explain the meaning of each part (Therefore, ask the tutor for help is a wise choice). When the tutors suggested that we’d better kill the baby, they also gave us the reasons and some helpful suggestions. They advised us to use more everyday items, and we need to take full advantage of the object that we choose to represent the data, rather than clearly writing the data on it. Then we realised that we thought this project too simple and did not make it meaningful.

After the discussion with the tutors, we also had a group discussion. We still agree that we need to use something related to the Maori culture, only in that way can we better reflect our data. Finally, we choose the poi as our data set. We learned from the last experience, we use the ball part to represent the Maori population, the length of the strings to represent the number of the Maori speaker and use red, black and white these three Maori traditional colour to plait the strings, also each colour represents a race of people.

Reflection: Learn and reflect

What impressed me the most is the prototype, it is like the steps. According to Goyale(2017), “With prototyping, you can collect reviews at every stage of developing the product — whether adding new features or redesigning parts of the product.” Therefore, every step that we make is meaningful, they not only the way we go to the next place, but also the important evidence that we test ourselves.

Also, we have written about everyone’s views on the paradigm before. As Shuttleworth and Wilson states(2008), “A scientific paradigm is �� containing all the commonly accepted views about a subject, conventions about what direction research should take and how it should be performed.” For me, the paradigm is the best way to explain a thing, it is also the best solution when you have a thing without ideas, it can help you accurately grasp the core of the matter. But now it seems like each prototype that we made is a paradigm for the next one that we improved. Thus, through “kill the baby”, learn from the last experience to continuously improve our project.

Conclusion: the further improve for the next one

Write here, I also gradually understand the importance of “kill the baby”. When the project cannot go on anymore, throw it away, just think of it as a paradigm, this is not cruel to the things that we have worked hard to create, they just become the ladder of our progress. Although we know to abandon the “baby” when necessary, we still need to be well prepared before each project. So I think we did very well this time because the everyone in our group wrote a statement before we start to make the prototype. Everyone wrote their own opinion for the key concept, core purpose, statement of intent and a further question that relative to our topic, then we put this information together become our outline. Although this is just an outline, it is like a standard answer in our mind, it guarantees that we will change our prototype no matter how our initial goal is unchanged( the important criteria for us to check our project). Especially the further question, it is not a display, it comes from everyone’s question about this project. For example, we have a question called “ how can we bring awareness to the historic and future trends of Te Reo Maori.” It will let us think about how to solve this problem when designing our prototype, and in the process of thinking, we gradually become more meaningful to our products.

“Kill the baby” is a cruel thing, but we have to look at it correctly. It takes away not only our efforts but more of our mistakes. Every project is like a loop, we continue to learn from the previous prototypes through this loop and then continue to test and check to improve our project, it is also these processes that make our last great product.

References

Goyale, R. (2017). Why is prototyping important? Retrieved from  https://blog.zipboard.co/why-is-prototyping-important-13150d76abc4

Shuttleworth, M. and Wilson, L. (2008). What Is A Paradigm? Retrieved from  https://explorable.com/what-is-a-paradigm      

[future-rp]

lovecraft’s lead vocal & lead dance diana

dingbat group; dance, variety 18 vocal / 02 rap / 20 dance

I.

born in London to first generation british-koreans, her parents really wanted their child to fit in with the kids, so they chose a western name for the baby girl: Diana. fitting in, though, did not prove to be an easy task. for many years, Diana was the only eastern-asian on a class practically packed of white children.

at six years old she already knew she wanted a future above the stage, Diana enjoyed every form of performing: singing, acting, playing music, but dancing was her favourite. her parents saw the potential almost inmediatly and, while not basking in money, they decided to invest on Diana in hopes of creating a big star. she started taking dance lessons, beginning with ballet and continuing with hip-hop and modern dance. her schedules were packed, discipline strict and the margin for error narrow. but she loved it so much, she didn’t realize back then how her parents were pushing their child into an ideal of perfection she would never be able to grasp.

II.

at twelve, a job opportunity propelled her family to move back to Korea. and, while Diana spoke some korean, her level wasn’t as fluent as a native speaker and she found herself feeling quite isolated at the beginning, like a foreigner of her own culture. she continued her dancing lessons, though, and enrolled an arts high school with the support of her family. that make it easy for her to fit in.

she was sixteen when she found courage to go to an audition. she didn’t succeed at her first try, but she tried again and again until dingbat group found her. it was a long audition, Diana started with a dance cover but that didn’t seem enough. she continued with a song, first in English, then in Korean, and still it wasn’t enough. finally she showed them her dancing while singing, already with the idea that she had failed again, but destiny proved her wrong: she got accepted.

her family wasn’t as happy as Diana. her parents didn’t see with good eyes the idol scene, considering it a minor form of music, and they had invested many money on Diana to see it waste that way. at the end, they accepted her decision, but that moment changed the dynamic of the family forever.

III.

time being a trainee wasn’t as harsh and difficult for Diana as for others. it’s not that she didn’t have a strict training, it’s simply that she already knew that kind of life and, for her, it was normal. she, somehow, enjoyed it. pushing herself and working hard had always been things she was prone to and this time she could see a goal (debuting) at the end of the race, so she run and run towards it. she was also far away from home, from the silent scolds of her parents and the subtle way they had to show her how much she had disappointed them.

still, debuting was her biggest treat. how could it not be? finally her dream came true. many things happened at the same time that year: promotions, shows, shootings,… she shined on variety shows, always eager to participate in challenges and games, her bright and daring personality charmed the hosts. and so, it didn’t come as a surprise that one of them asked her to return as a guest.  the following years continued with the same pattern: more shootings, more promotions, more shows and a more tv appearances, she was no-longer only a filler guest on  a flink and you’ll miss section but started being given some spotlight at the variety shows she appeared. hosts and audience enjoying her fresh and exuberant personality.

this made her dare to take another step, and with the support of the managers, she started her very own streaming series on LOVECRAFT’s vlive channel: Dancing Diana Revolution, aka DDR. nothing as big and fancy as it might sound, though, and actually something that began quite spontaniously. diana was simply posting live videos just like all the other girls did with the only difference that she was quite regular and content-focused, until it reached a point fans assumed it was a series and, thus, she decided to aknowledge that.

IV.

Diana was busy, stressed, overworked, but happy, so much happy.

at least, that’s was what she recognized to other people. on the inside, she wasn’t that sure. she had always been so confident about herself and about her skills, now she wasn’t that much. she started fearing failure, not being good enough, not doing as well as the others. was she a good singer? didn’t she need to do more for her dancing? she wanted to deliver and so she pushed herself, more and more. Diana didn’t realize she was slowly falling into a well of anxiety until she was deep inside it.