#bjt

Whilst studying different aspects of Japanese (kanji, proverbs, etc.) I have discovered that there are a myriad of tests you can take (whether you are Japanese or a foreigner) to display your prowess in Japanese.

Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT)

日本語能力試験

Wikipedia

JLPT Website

5 level exams (N5 lowest to N1 highest)

Offered twice a year in Japan (July, December), once a year in other countries (December)

Pass/Fail

Business Japanese Proficiency Test (BJT)

ビジネス日本語能力テスト

Wikipedia

BJT Website

1 exam, 5 levels depending on score (J5 lowest to J1 highest)

Offered any day a seat is open at a testing center

Numerical score gives you a rank (J5 to J1)

Japan Kanji Aptitude Test (Kanken)

日本漢字能力検定 or 漢字検定 or 漢検

Wikipedia

Kanken Website (JP)

12 levels (10級 lowest to 1級 highest, including 準1級 & 準2級)

Offered three times a year (February, June, October)

Pass/Fail

Japan Proverb Test (Kotoken)

ことわざ検定 or こと検

Kotoken Website (JP)

10 levels (10級 lowest to 1級 highest)

Offered four times a year (February, May, August, November)

Pass/Fail

Written Composition and Reading Comprehension Test (Bunshoken)

文章読解・作成能力試験 or 文章検

Bunshoken Website (JP)

4 levels (4級, 3級, 準2級, and 2級)

Offered 10-12 times a year, depending on level

31 tuổi, chỉ mong anh của em vẫn giữ trái tim nguyên lành như cậu trai năm đó trên chuyến xe buýt về nhà của năm 17 tuổi.

Ánh trăng dịu dàng anh nhỉ? Lúc anh đứng cạnh hồ và chụp lại bức ảnh này, em nghĩ anh cũng cảm thấy như thế. Ánh trăng rọi xuống mặt hồ yên tình, ánh sáng ấm áp bao trùm lấy chàng trai đang bước quá tuổi mới. Anh nhìn xem, đến thiên nhiên cũng yêu anh nhiều như vậy, thì có gì khiến mình phải bận tâm về những xấu xí ngoài kia?

Em cũng sắp bước sang tuổi mới, có những quyết định mới chợt lóe lên trong đầu. Em có chút sợ hãi anh ạ, nhưng rồi em nghĩ đến anh của em. Em thầm nghĩ cậu trai năm ấy cuối tuần ngồi trên chiếc xe buýt số 916 về Hoài Nhu chắc hẳn đã mang rất nhiều ước vọng. Cậu trai đó cũng chắc đã sợ hãi nhiều lắm, sợ việc liệu mình có thật sự làm được hay không. Nhưng rồi chuyến xe 916 vẫn đều đặn chở cậu về nhà, và rồi với Hoài Nhu cậu thực sự đã trở thành Vương Tử.

Em thích một người tuyệt vời như vậy, em từng bảo giấc mông Hoài Nhu không thể mãi chỉ là giấc mộng. Vậy cớ sao em còn mãi sợ hãi đắn đo?

Anh ơi tuổi mới vui vẻ, muốn viết một tí chúc mừng sinh nhật muộn của anh mà em cứ than thở chuyện của em hoài.

Anh ơi, mong anh của em mãi vững chãi như ngọn núi, dù mưa to gió bão vẫn sừng sững ở đấy khiến người khác phải ngước mắt ngắm nhìn.

Anh ơi, bình an mạnh khỏe.

me when jared harris does his crooked little smile: :)

me when jared harris has facial hair: :)

It has been a very long time since I read the books myself, but looking back the very rigid rules that define the genders. I don't mean the very formal Protocol they use in their society, I mean how the BJT characters' culture defines and views the genders.

That women are nurturing caretakers, while men are aggressive beast. That's true of both sides of the conflict. Daemon and Janaelle have a conversation in the third book when they're looking at a statue of a monster protecting a woman where they flat out say that those are the purposes of the sexes. That women care for and nurture while men protect and fight.

I vehemently disagree with that rigid 2-lane view of sex and gender.

Also, not a big fan of how the men of the inner circle infantilize the women any time one of them gets a minor injury, or even just starts her period, and suddenly they all swarm around her and act like she needs to be hospitalized.

When I was a teenager in high school, that sounded so romantic.

If I recall, it's a breakdown of how the two novels try and hit the same vibe via different power fantasies (and how that does and doesn't work), plus a breakdown of why the shades of sexy-bdsm in ACOWAR and its two sequels don't do what I think they were intended to do. There were other notions I was going to scribble out, but I wandered off and now I don't remember any of the points I was going to tackle.

THERE'S GONNA BE ANOTHER BLACK JEWELS NOVEL Y'ALL

The Queen's Bargain coming March 2020

After a youthful mistake, Lord Dillon’s reputation is in tatters, leaving him vulnerable to aristo girls looking for a bit of fun. To restore his reputation and honor, he needs a handfast—a one-year contract of marriage. He sets his sights on Jillian, a young Eyrien witch from Ebon Rih, who he believes has only a flimsy connection to the noble society that spurned him. Unfortunately for Dillon, he is unaware of Jillian’s true connections until he finds himself facing Lucivar Yaslana, the volatile Warlord Prince of Ebon Rih.

Meanwhile, Surreal SaDiablo’s marriage is crumbling. Daemon Sadi, the Warlord Prince of Dhemlan, recognizes there is something wrong between him and Surreal, but he doesn’t realize that his attempt to suppress his own nature in order to spare his wife is causing his mind to splinter. To save Daemon, and the Realm of Kaeleer if he breaks, help must be sought from someone who no longer exists in any of the Realms—the only Queen powerful enough to control Daemon Sadi. The Queen known as Witch.

Yesterday was a visit to the nearby Sanctuary; today is a working breakfast. He has to review the Queen and court’s obligations for the coming week in order to set their schedules, and he’d rather do that in the quiet hours alongside dawn, while there are fewer distractions.

Working through a small stack of correspondence and notes, referring to the large calendar on his wall, and flipping often through the clipboard recording the First and Second Circle’s currently running activities and events, he begins to merge the data into a workable outline for the week. Later this morning, he’ll meet with the household staff to sign off on any purchases they need to make to keep the Queen’s residence and public spaces hospitable. Then he’ll walk out to the Master of the Guard’s usual position observing the practice ring and have a similar conversation with him regarding equipment and supplies. Lunch will be a semiformal visit to the District Queen’s table, escorting his Queen and another lady of the court. The afternoon, then, will be a period to answer correspondence and formalize the schedules for the remainder of the week. On which days will they receive guests; on which days will they pay visits? Where can he find an hour for his Queen to visit the city courthouse, as is her wont, and when will she be able to meet with the two young Queens apprenticing in her Fifth Circle? The local theatre troupe wishes to perform at the fair next month -- will the Queen afford them her patronage? Will she attend? How will her decision be conveyed? The Steward sets these questions aside with the ease of long practice. A dark-Jeweled Prince, he has been in court service since less than a year after he made the Offering to the Darkness; such shuffling of priorities is near second nature by now.