astridv

I just finished meeting with my new Japanese tandem partner and I’m exhausted. She as well. That must mean we did it right. ;) We studied for three hours straight. It was really fun and productive but wow, I'm so wiped. She's only been learning German since October or so, but it's amazing how much she already knows. Shame she’s only gonna stay for a couple more months. Gotta make the best of it.

Next week we're making　okonomiyaki. :o)

Rec of the Day is taking a break today because I just came back from Duesseldorf, where I and a friend took the JLPT. Finally! I am SO glad it's done with. In the end there I was getting really sick of studying. It may have paid off though... I mean, it's not easy to tell whether I got the 60% I need, but it definitely went better than I expected. Time was very tight but I managed to fill out all the answers I knew (and wildly guessed the rest). We were told, like, four times that we're not allowed to talk about the test in specifics on the internet... fat chance, as if I'd even remember the actual questions. My brain, it is mush.

All in all, with the train ride and the obligatory speeches and the actual test and then the train ride back, I was out of town for 12 hours. I'm totally beat. But I'm not complaining; some people came from as far as Spain. I hadn't been aware that Duesseldorf is the only city in Western Europe where you can take the summer test. So, yay for convenience. (Heh, at one point the lady in charge asked into the room: "Spricht hier irgendjemand kein Deutsch?" (Anybody here who doesn't speak German?)... in German, mind. That was a nice little tension relief.)

Urgh. Three weeks ago our Japanese teacher sent us all an email, saying that with all the free time during the easter holidays it's a great idea for us to do some homework. (Usually our 'homework' consists of writing two sentences, if that.) The task: watch a Japanese movie, write about the plot and what we think about it. Basically write some rudimentary meta in Japanese.

I decided to cheat a little and write about Princess Tutu, because while that's not strictly speaking a movie, at least I've already seen it not too long ago. And the assignment is due, ah, tomorrow. I gotta finish this baby today. I gotta start this baby today. I had plenty of time during these last three weeks, most free time I ever had in a row. Why didn't I start soooner? *

So, eh, I'm looking for posts on Princess Tutu (... just to refresh my memory and get some inspiration, not to copy!) I think I saw some on my friends list but I don't remember where so if anyone got a link, that'd be great.

*In my defense, at least I've been learning vocab and kanji every day. Thanks to xparrot for linking me to renshuu.org, because that site rocks. It's got self-tests for every level and really works as a study tool, I highly recommend it.

Only one more day to go on Project-where-the-deadline-was-last-week. Today I carried a little table into our front yard and worked outside in the sun all day. It was great. I got four pages colored and I even got to squeeze in a bit of rollerblading and watched the latest ep of FMA with the roommate. (My housemates are into the show. Can't say I saw that coming. One of them has even learned the first OP, to sing to the guitar. In Japanese.:)

I imagine the only thing that's saved my flist from a "here's why you should totally watch Brotherhood" post - complete with screencaps and embedded vids - has been my lack of time combined with the gorgeous spring weather. (You totally should, though.)
related: useful link for those learning the language: Japanese colloquial contractions. A lot of things make more sense to me now.

---

Okay, fic recs! I wanted to rec these stories the moment I read them:
Another Military Party by bookelfe (FMA)
gen with Roy/Riza subtext; characters: Mustang, Hawkeye, Olivier Armstrong, King Bradley and family; 6,302 words
Warning: major spoilers through ch83/ep45
Summary: Shockingly, certain traitorous conspirators are finding this year's Central Officer's Ball a little tense.

Roy and Riza, and the dance of political intrigue: this fic is everything I love about the show and the characters. The characterization is amazing all around, and moments of humor are balanced with tension and drama. (And seeing Roy Mustang dance the Drachmenne with Major General Armstrong... I mean, that alone would be worth the price of admission. :)

Somewhere I Have Never Travelled by bravenewcentury (FMA)
Roy/Hawkeye; PG; spoilers through recent manga chapters; 3,614 words
Summary: Five journeys Roy made with Hawkeye.

Snapshots of Roy and Riza through the years. This story really does their relationship justice; it's beautifully written, and the pacing is just perfect.

Soon as I finished this one I started re-reading.

Never Work with Children or Animals by argosy (SGA)
Rodney/Teyla and Torren; PG; humor; ~4,400
Summary: Rodney should have known better than to accompany Torren to a coming-of-age ritual.

Rodney and Torren doing the father-son (sort of) bonding thing is both hilarious and adorable.

"Torren and I always speak frankly in the lab."
"Is that so?" Sheppard sounded amused.
"Yes," Torren said. "It's a rule. Science demands absolute integrity."

Women's Revolutionary Law by merisunshine36 (ST)
gen; G; characters: Gaila & OFC; Rating: G
Summary: When Gaila was four, she and her clan sister escaped to freedom in the Federation. But freedom, like everything else, comes with a cost. This is their story.

---

Thanks to yvi I learned that DW now has a feature for sticky posts, which is both simpler and more elegant than the crutch one has to use on LJ. How do I make an entry sticky, so it's always at the top of my journal? (Basically you just write a standard post and then click a "make it sticky" option.)

---

linkage: Ryan Doyle 2009 - I like to Spin (Parkour/Freerunning)

I signed up for another month of humor recs at stargateficrec, because I got way more than one set and I want to spread 'em out a bit. I still have a whole second category this month I haven't started reccing.
ficrecs:
busaikko wrote a terrific Sheppard/Keller/McKay story: Dulce Domum
G; 2668 words
Summary: Jennifer would be the first to admit that she'd never planned on a life that looked like this, but it worked.

A Sheppard/Keller/McKay fic without Keller bashing... thank you, Santa!
Seriously, this fic is a really wonderful depiction of an unconventional marriage, and I love the character dynamics. It's not just that the life those three chose for themselves works, it's that this is *better*, for every one of them. That they're content.

It really made me think, too... about how fanfic, be it slash or het, so often defaults to the very traditional "and then A and B lived happily ever after" and... thing is, that's not how I live, and it's not something I want for myself. There are other ways of living and some days I count my blessings that we live in a time where we have at least options. But I digress. Just, this story scratched an itch I didn't know I had.

---

Here's one for the Fullmetal Alchemist fans out there:
Intermission by bob_fish (FMA)
gen with Roy/Riza in a subtexty, really h/c way; spoilers for ch.39/ep.19; PG-13; 2032 words
Summary: It had been something of a long night.

Alright, so I was looking for post-eps for the amazing awesomeness that was ep 19 - I mean, what self-respecting fandom doesn't crank out 300 episode tags after an ep in which the hero [spoiler], [spoiler] and then [spoiler]? But indeed, they're not that easy to find, so I was all the happier when I discovered this wonderful, well-written Riza-POV set right after the episode. It feels totally in character, and has just the right amount of subtexty concern and caring to push my UST-shipper buttons. I really enjoyed reading it.

---

Hehe. Our teacher in Japanese class suggested that each of us should talk freely for a few minutes to start each lesson, which is a supremely good idea because we talk way too much German there. So, I was volunteered to go first and I'm seriously considering talking about Fullmetal Alchemist. *G* Was first kind of worried about going on about stuff like philosopher's stones and taboos and human transmutation, any of which I didn't know the words for myself a few weeks ago... but I figured I could write the relevant words on the board first, and I could also provide links to the raws and the scanlations, and ask for anime recs from the others. Actually sounds like fun. I mean... I just don't want to talk about the tourist attractions in Münster. ;) I could talk about Stargate Atlantis or fanfic, but manga/anime seems somewhat more target group oriented.

---

I bought me a new pair of Rollerblades yesterday. Tried them out right after breakfast today. I love them so much, the only thing that stopped me from taking a frikking photo and drawing lots of hearts on it and posting it here is that my camera was out of juice. They are so fast. And comfy right from the start. And did I say fast! Feel twice as fast as my old ones, which were ten years old and so far gone that even brand-new rolls didn't help any more... it was like rolling with the brakes engaged.