#But that's absolutely nothing to do with my problem solving ability and everything to do with my natural paranoia and distrust

[mariana-oconnor]

The Naval Treaty pt 3

Yes, we apparently have got to the point where I'm memeing myself.

Right, last time, after Percy, Watson's old 'pal' from school failed magnificently at understanding how to protect confidential data, he followed an old woman into the night and the stress gave him a brain fever. Meanwhile, I'm still certain that Joseph Harrison, who has not been implicated in any way, is involved because I am a well-balanced and entirely reasonable person.

Mr. Joseph Harrison drove us down to the station

See! He's trying to get rid of you! 🤣🤣😂

“It's a very cheery thing to come into London by any of these lines which run high, and allow you to look down upon the houses like this.”

Last time we had Holmes looking out a train window: Ugh, look how terrible the countryside is! I can't bear it.

The contrast is palpable.

“The board-schools.” “Light-houses, my boy! Beacons of the future! Capsules with hundreds of bright little seeds in each, out of which will spring the wise, better England of the future. I suppose that man Phelps does not drink?”

Board schools are not the same as boarding schools, the internet tells me, but the first state run schools with no religious affiliation. I was about to be cynical about Holmes' view of children and Victorian educational standards, but I can't. He's right, those schools were important and really did pave the way for a brighter future.

And then a bit of mental whiplash as he snaps back to the case at hand, because he's Holmes.

In answer to the question, I can't say whether Percy drinks alcohol, but he definitely has a caffeine addiction that he should work on. If not for that, he wouldn't be in this mess.

Also, it was unreasonable of his uncle to expect him to copy so much text in a foreign language in one night. But even so, Percy needs to work harder on curbing his need for coffee.

"Then came the smash, and she stayed on to nurse her lover, while brother Joseph, finding himself pretty snug, stayed on too."

Oh, so he's just hanging around leeching off people, huh? Exactly as I suspected! This is just the beginning. Clearly, he's been a wrong'un all along and I will be vindicated.

"But to-day must be a day of inquiries.” “My practice—” I began. “Oh, if you find your own cases more interesting than mine—” said Holmes, with some asperity.

First of all, Watson does have a job, Holmes. I get that you want to play with him, but he does have responsibilities. You really shouldn't be bitchy about that.

Second, if Watson actually cares enough about his patients to ditch you, that would be the first time ever.

“I was going to say that my practice could get along very well for a day or two, since it is the slackest time in the year.”

See. No problem at all. Why would Watson ever do his actual job when he could be running around with Holmes? What a preposterous idea!

"...there is Lord Holdhurst.” “Lord Holdhurst!” “Well, it is just conceivable that a statesman might find himself in a position where he was not sorry to have such a document accidentally destroyed.” “Not a statesman with the honorable record of Lord Holdhurst?”

Oh Watson, my sweet summer child. Out there believing in unicorns and fairies and honourable politicians.

I discounted him because honestly, a political plot involving the politician uncle and corruption seemed too spy thriller. Also, the time frame of everything being nine weeks ago, I think discounts a political motive because if there were spy games going on, it would be far too late to do anything about it. Of course, it might be the case. These stories have surprised me a few times so far.

“£10 reward. The number of the cab which dropped a fare at or about the door of the Foreign Office in Charles Street at quarter to ten in the evening of May 23d. Apply 221b, Baker Street.”

The Bank of England inflation calculator tells me that's equivalent to approximately £1000 today, which is a pretty impressive reward for a little bit of information. Honestly, I'd expect people to be climbing out of the woodwork to say they saw Queen Victoria herself driving the cab and dropping off Jack the Ripper.

"Why yes, Mr Holmes, I saw a man with a long white beard and carrying a large sack. No, it was right odd, y'see: he didn't go in through the door. He climbed up on' roof and went down the chimney, that he did."

"And then, of course, there is the bell—which is the most distinctive feature of the case. Why should the bell ring?"

This is what I'm most interested in. What is up with that bell?

He sank back into the state of intense and silent thought from which he had emerged; but it seemed to me, accustomed as I was to his every mood, that some new possibility had dawned suddenly upon him.

Tell me! Tell me! I need to know. The bell is plaguing me.

a small, foxy man with a sharp but by no means amiable expression.

So Lestrade is a ferret and Forbes is a fox. Must all police officers be described as animals? This appears to be a pattern.

“You are ready enough to use all the information that the police can lay at your disposal, and then you try to finish the case yourself and bring discredit on them.” “On the contrary,” said Holmes, “out of my last fifty-three cases my name has only appeared in four, and the police have had all the credit in forty-nine. I don't blame you for not knowing this, for you are young and inexperienced, but if you wish to get on in your new duties you will work with me and not against me.” “I'd be very glad of a hint or two,” said the detective, changing his manner.

Forbes changes his tune pretty quickly here, so he seems open minded enough. Although it does seem a bit like he doesn't understand the purpose of Holmes. Yes, he's supposed to take all the evidence the police give him and try to solve the case. That's kind of how being a detective works. I get the emphasis here is on 'yourself', but still.

I like this exchange, because we've already seen in the stories that Holmes really doesn't care about the notoriety or the accolades - though he's more than willing to display gifts he's given in his own home - it's entirely the case and helping the people involved that he cares about.

Not sure he really needed to say that 'you are young and inexperienced' bit, though. Seems a tad direct.

“We have set one of our women on to her. Mrs. Tangey drinks, and our woman has been with her twice when she was well on, but she could get nothing out of her.”

OK, I thought it sounded unlikely that there were female police officers in the late 1800s, and it seems like the first female police officer in London was in 1919. But it definitely appears from this that they have women working for them - unless one of them has set his wife on a suspect, which... fair. Fascinating either way.

Also, Mrs Tangey has an alcohol problem, that could be an angle.

“What explanation did she give of having answered the bell when Mr. Phelps rang for the coffee?” “She said that he husband was very tired and she wished to relieve him.”

Alright, so it either was her, or she's involved in some way. Which I think we already suspected, but this clarifies that no one impersonated her without her knowledge, at least.

“Did you point out to her that you and Mr. Phelps, who started at least twenty minutes after he, got home before her?” “She explains that by the difference between a 'bus and a hansom.”

That's fair. Not everyone can afford their own taxi. Check your privilege, Holmes.

Standing on the rug between us, with his slight, tall figure, his sharp features, thoughtful face, and curling hair prematurely tinged with gray, he seemed to represent that not too common type, a nobleman who is in truth noble.

I may have rolled my eyes at this bit. Watson sometimes needs to back off on his earnest belief in the glory of England and its political and social systems. He's so classist it's actually painful at some points. Even if he's saying the type is 'not too common' it just makes me wrinkle my nose.

I also don't like Lord Holdhurst, but that's mainly because I believe hereditary nobility is immoral and also because he is a tory politician. There was never any hope of me liking him. I don't think he murders puppies, but I bet he'd pass legislation saying that murdering puppies is okay in certain circumstances if his old chum wanted to start a puppy murdering business and was a generous donor.

"I fear that the incident must have a very prejudicial effect upon his career.”

Yeah, that I do agree with.

“But if the document is found?” “Ah, that, of course, would be different.”

This, I do not agree with. Not after nine weeks, anyway. If it had been a couple of hours and the document was found to have fallen down the gap between the desk and the wall then he could probably just be given extra training and not allowed to touch confidential documentation without supervision for a few years. But it's been nine weeks. That treaty is lost. Even if it's returned, he still lost it for nine weeks.

“Did you ever mention to any one that it was your intention to give any one the treaty to be copied?” “Never.” “You are certain of that?” “Absolutely.”

OK. That cuts off that line of thinking, as Watson's insistence on him looking 'noble' clearly means we're supposed to believe him. But we already knew it wasn't him.

Because it's Joseph Harrison.

“If the treaty had reached, let us say, the French or Russian Foreign Office, you would expect to hear of it?” “I should,” said Lord Holdhurst, with a wry face.

Like I say, any political motivations would have been thoroughly completed by now, before Holmes was even called upon, so that's not likely.

“Of course, it is a possible supposition that the thief has had a sudden illness—” “An attack of brain-fever, for example?”

Given he called Holmes in, I sincerely doubt Percy's involved. Again, if this weren't a Sherlock Holmes story, there's a slim possibility it could be that his brain fever cause amnesia meaning that he doesn't remember taking the treaty and causing the whole problem, but that doesn't seem like a likely plot here.

“But he has a struggle to keep up his position. He is far from rich and has many calls. You noticed, of course, that his boots had been re-soled?"

OK so now we give him a motive, when you've all just gone on about how he's a 'fine fellow'? Are Lord Holdsworth's money problems going to be relevant to the plot? Maybe. We've heard nothing of Percy having any cousins, so as it stands he might be his uncle's heir. Not sure how that would lead to the treaty being stolen, but we'll bear it in mind.

Ah, and then Watson is racist again. Native Americans this time. These stories are really trying to spread the racism around, aren't they. This whole section is strange though, because it's about how Watson can't read Holmes' face, when multiple times (in this very story) he's said how he knows Holmes so well that he can instantly tell from his face what Holmes is thinking.

“God bless you for saying that!” cried Miss Harrison. “If we keep our courage and our patience the truth must come out.”

She and Watson should get together and have optimist meetings.

Although, it's definitely your brother, Miss Harrison. I don't know how, but it is. It's got to be. We're running out of suspects. Mrs Tangey seems like she might be involved, but I doubt she's the mastermind behind events.

Maybe Joseph just bribed her into trying to discredit Percy, she saw the paper and thought 'well this looks important' and took it not really knowing what it was.

But that doesn't explain the bell. Unless it's because she was drunk and she stumbled and grabbed it. Or she didn't really want to be doing it, so she pulled it in a weird attempt to get caught. Or she let Harrison in and then saw him stealing something and pulled the bell, only to be threatened if she said anything.

“Yes, we have had an adventure during the night, and one which might have proved to be a serious one.” His expression grew very grave as he spoke, and a look of something akin to fear sprang up in his eyes. “Do you know,” said he, “that I begin to believe that I am the unconscious centre of some monstrous conspiracy, and that my life is aimed at as well as my honor?”

He's probably right to be worried - maybe not for his life, but I'm pretty sure this entirely thing is aimed at him, not the treaty. But at the same time, this does not sound like the thinking of a mentally healthy person.

"A man was crouching at the window."

No. No, you see it could be him. Of course you're going to want to make it seem like it was someone from outside forcing their way in. To keep the suspicion off the people who live in the house. It has to be him. Has to be.

Did he have a knife, or was it just something that looked like a knife... like...

uh...

The thing he used to unlock the window?

"As it was, I rang the bell and roused the house. It took me some little time, for the bell rings in the kitchen and the servants all sleep upstairs. I shouted, however, and that brought Joseph down, and he roused the others."

Oh oh... convenient, being the first person on the scene, huh? Was that because you weren't in bed asleep at all? Mr Joseph Harrison?

(If I am by some miracle right about this, it will be entirely undeserved as literally the only reason I decided it was him is because he seemed too happy and his sister is getting married)

"There's a place, however, on the wooden fence which skirts the road which shows signs, they tell me, as if some one had got over, and had snapped the top of the rail in doing so."

Okay... well... well... that doesn't really fit with my theory at all, but maybe it's a coincidence. People climb over fences all the time. Maybe it happened ages ago. I bet they don't check the fences every day. Totally not a sign I'm wrong.

“Oh, yes, I should like a little sunshine. Joseph will come, too.”

Why?

No, seriously. Why? Percy says Joseph will come, but not his fiancee? That's weird. Is it because Joseph is stronger if Percy needs to be carried back?

"I should have thought those larger windows of the drawing-room and dining-room would have had more attractions for him.” “They are more visible from the road,” suggested Mr. Joseph Harrison.

And right here we have the classic Columbo moment. I know Sherlock Holmes came first, no need to send me angry messages. But this is something that happens in Every. Single. Columbo. It's part of his method, it's kind of his whole method. He makes a comment about 'I wonder why the murderer didn't do x' to the person he (and the audience) knows is the murderer and the villain, in an attempt to cover their own tracks, immediately presents an explanation.

“Do you think that was done last night? It looks rather old, does it not?” “Well, possibly so.”

Aw shucks, is Holmes not falling for your clever ruse? What a pity!

“Miss Harrison,” said Holmes, speaking with the utmost intensity of manner, “you must stay where you are all day. Let nothing prevent you from staying where you are all day. It is of the utmost importance.” “Certainly, if you wish it, Mr. Holmes,” said the girl in astonishment.

Not the weirdest thing Holmes has ever asked a person to do - still remember Watson pretzeling himself behind the headboard that one time - but still kinda weird. I hope she has some sort of enrichment in her enclosure. Tell me she has a bookcase at least.

“Why do you sit moping there, Annie?” cried her brother. “Come out into the sunshine!”

Look! LOOK! He's trying to get her out of the room. He hid the treaty in the room and now he's trying to get it back but he can't! All aboard the Joseph Harrison train, next stop: Vindication.

Got to assume that even though Joseph wasn't present when Holmes was speaking to Anne, or when he was speaking to Percy, he will be aware that Percy is not in the house. But he'll only be able to break into the room by the window again, so I guess that is the plan. To catch him red-handed.

[buckynats]

.

[scary-grace]

hands-off, hands-on - a shigaraki x f!reader fic

This was inspired by this art and a comment left on it about the risks of trying to jerk off with a quirk like Decay. It was also inspired by @obsessedtomone and @scarlettcryptid, who encouraged me to write it and then to post it. The pun in the title was my idea and not their fault.

Shigaraki's quirk makes life difficult in a lot of ways, but there's only one he can't find a way around, and since you joined the League of Villains, it's gotten even worse. When the truth comes out at last, he's expecting it to be a disaster and nothing else. He definitely isn't expecting you to offer to help. (cross-posted to Ao3) Canonverse, one-shot, smut.

Shigaraki Tomura’s quirk is everything to him. It’s how he found himself alone in the world as a five-year-old, even if he can’t remember the details. It’s why Sensei took an interest in him, why Sensei took him in, why Sensei chose him to carry on his work. It’s the perfect tool for someone like Shigaraki, who hates everything, who wants nothing more than to destroy everything he doesn’t like. Decay is the best thing that’s ever happened to Shigaraki. And at the same time, it absolutely, categorically sucks.

Shigaraki might hate everything, but he doesn’t hate it all the time, and the times when he doesn’t hate it are times when he’d love to be able to just have whatever it is without being one wrong move away from ruining it. Name a thing he likes, and his quirk is ready and waiting to fuck it up – gaming, eating, sleeping, even reading the fucking newspaper. He can do all those things four-fingered, if he stays focused. It’s the stuff he can’t stay focused on that’s impossible.

He can’t stay focused when he’s horny, at least not enough to keep from potentially Decaying his dick off. Shigaraki doesn’t actually know if his quirk works on himself, and he’s not interested in finding out. And that means that no matter how horny Shigaraki gets or how many poorly timed boners he pops, jerking off is permanently off the table.

That’s not to say Shigaraki’s never finished. He has. He’s spent so much time humping pillows that he had to learn to do his own laundry. But there’s something really pathetic about being twenty years old with two working hands and still be stuck grinding on a pillow to make himself come, and it always takes so stupidly long. Now that Shigaraki’s got the League of Villains, now that he’s got plans to make and Sensei’s legacy to fulfill, he doesn’t have that kind of time. When he wakes up with the world’s worst morning wood after a dream he doesn’t remember clearly, there’s nothing he can do but wait for it to go away.

It fades – enough – but the feeling doesn’t, and eventually Shigaraki doesn’t have a choice but to drag himself out of bed. He slinks from his room to the bar, hoping it’ll be empty, with the rest of the League out and about preparing for the mission and Kurogiri somewhere nearby if Shigaraki needs him but not actually right there to ask him what’s bothering him. Shigaraki can pour his own drinks. Maybe he can get out of this if he gives himself whiskey dick on purpose. Kurogiri’s not in the bar, just like he was hoping, but it’s not empty, either. You’re there, sprawled out over the bar with a sweating glass of water on a coaster in front of you.

Shigaraki’s jaw clenches at the sight. “What are you doing here?” he demands, and you look up. “Don’t you have something to do?”

“I did it already.” You yawn. “Using my quirk tires me out.”

“Really?” Shigaraki can’t keep the irritation out of his voice. “Making people stupid is that exhausting?”

Your quirk is a weird one. It lets you increase or decrease a target’s ability to plan, reason, problem-solve, remember things, and learn – in other words, their intelligence. “From this distance, for as many people as you need me to hit?” You yawn again and drop your head back down to the bar. “Yeah. Remember, I have to keep them all being stupid the same way, right up until it’s too late. Or your plan won’t work.”

Shigaraki had the pieces of the plan before he made you use your quirk on him, but once you used the quirk on him, he did some fine-tuning on the strategy, and he came up with the idea of using your quirk the opposite way, too. While the rest of the League is planning to make the attack on UA’s summer training camp a success, you’re using your quirk every day on the heroes in charge of planning the camp itself. Shigaraki’s not actually going to know if it works until after the attack, and that pisses him off. “Go nap somewhere else, then.”

“I’m not going to bother you,” you say. “Where else am I supposed to go, anyway? Your room?”

Shigaraki’s this close to saying yes, just to get you to leave, before he remembers what his room looks like – and remembers that he spent a while trying to see if grinding one out would work this time. He can’t kick you out of the hideout. You look like shit, and you’ll attract a lot of attention. “Fine. Shut up.”

“Yep.” You fold your arms on the bar and rest your head on them, shutting your eyes.

Even when you aren’t looking at him or talking, your presence bothers Shigaraki. It’s bothered him since the beginning – as much as he’s bothered by the others, in a different way than he’s bothered by the others. While the others can at least manage to avoid pissing Shigaraki off, there’s nothing you do that doesn’t cause some kind of problem. If you’re talking to him too much, he’s annoyed because he doesn’t know why you’re talking to him. If you’re not talking to him, he’s pissed about that, too. If you’re not around, he’s mad that you’re avoiding him, and if you are around, he wishes you weren’t. The fact that you’re here was a big problem for him even before he started having the dreams.

Shigaraki can’t remember the details of last night’s dream, but he knows you were in it. He pours himself a drink, takes the bottle with him, and sits down at the far end of the bar from you. You don’t look up again, and Shigaraki finishes his first drink, then half of his second, with no improvement on the situation. He shifts on the barstool, trying to get more comfortable. He needs to find something else to do. Something that will distract him from how stupidly horny he is.

You’re right there, and being irritated with you for doing anything at all is as good a distraction as anything else. “If all you’re doing is making a couple of heroes slightly dumber, you’re not really pulling your weight, are you?”

You don’t stir, but Shigaraki sees your shoulders stiffen. “What else should I be doing?”

“More,” Shigaraki says. You lift your head to look at him dead on, and Shigaraki hates that so much that he loses his train of thought for a second. “I don’t want them slightly dumber. I want them so stupid they can’t walk in a straight line. You have to get closer to them for that? So get closer. Get out of here and –”

“If I make them that stupid, the heroes will know that something’s wrong,” you interrupt. “My quirk’s in the government databases. If I do anything too obvious, they’ll know I’m working with you, and they’ll change their plans. Or they’ll change who they’re using to execute those plans. For my quirk to work on someone, I need to know who they are.”

Shigaraki knows how your quirk works. He’s not stupid. “I could do what you want me to do, but it would ruin your plans,” you say. “I don’t want to do that.”

“Then what do you want?”

“I wanted to take a nap,” you say. You sit up straight on your stool, get to your feet and start towards Shigaraki. “Now I want to know what I did to piss you off.”

You’re coming closer. Shigaraki feels a surge of panic. “Get away from me.”

“No.” You sit down one barstool away from Shigaraki, but still way too close for comfort. Shigaraki’s skin feels hot, and in spite of the fact that he left his room wearing sweatpants, they’re getting tight. “You let me join the League, but ever since I got here, I can’t do anything right. You’re mad at me all the time, and today you’re even madder than usual.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Yes, you are,” you say. You keep staring. Shigaraki looks away, and you say the first thing he’s ever heard you say that makes you sound like a villain. “Either you can tell me the truth, or I’ll use my quirk on myself and figure it out.”

Shigaraki’s stomach lurches. “I thought you were too tired to use your quirk.”

“Not on myself,” you say. Shigaraki glances back at you. You’re almost smiling. He’s seen you smile before, talking to Toga or Magne, but not like that. “You can tell me, or I’ll find out on my own. Your choice.”

You’re not screwing around. Shigaraki thinks fast. He could Decay you, but – Shigaraki writes off the thought before he can even complete it. He has to tell you something, and it has to be convincing. But he doesn’t have to tell you everything to keep you from using your quirk. It’s going to be humiliating, but nowhere close to as humiliating as the whole truth, and he opens his mouth and spits it out. “I’m horny.”

You blink. “So jerk off.”

“I can’t.” Shigaraki sees your eyebrows lift, skeptical as hell, and loses patience, even as his face heats up. “My quirk. Anything I touch with five fingers –”

“And you can’t jerk off without –” You break off mid-question, looking just as uncomfortable as Shigaraki feels. “So you’ve never –”

“No, I have, I just –” This is way more information than you need to know. Shigaraki grits his teeth. “You wanted an answer. There’s your answer. Leave me alone.”

You don’t leave Shigaraki alone. You actually move over onto the stool next to his. “So you’re just going to be a dick to me any time you’re horny.”

It’s your fault Shigaraki’s horny. Before you showed up, he could deal with things on his own, but now instead of videos and games to fixate on he has fantasies – because he can imagine about what you’d look like under him, what you’d sound like, what you’d feel like. All of which are the worst possible things for Shigaraki to be thinking about right now. He’s completely hard, again. Maybe you can tell, or maybe you’re using your quirk on him after all, because you’re making a really weird face. “If you’re going to be a dick any time you’re horny –”

You break off. Shigaraki thinks, fleetingly, about Decaying you. At this point he’d rather Decay himself, because if even he kills you, he’ll still have to remember that this happened. You take a deep breath, let it go. “Do you want help?”

Shigaraki’s mind blue-screens for a second. “What?”

“If this is why you’re like this, then it’s easy to fix,” you repeat. Your hands are clenched into fists on your thighs, and you slowly uncurl them. “Do you want me to help?”

“Help with what?”

“Jerking off,” you say. You make an awkward gesture, and every muscle in Shigaraki’s body goes tense as he imagines your hands around his cock. You have to be messing with him. There’s no way you’re actually offering – that. “Yes or no?”

“Yes.” Shigaraki finishes his drink and stands up before he can think any more about it. He grimaces as his cock strains against the fabric of his pants, and feels a surge of embarrassment when he realizes you’re looking at it – but it’ll be over soon. In the face of getting some, and getting it from you, nothing else matters. “Let’s go.”

Shigaraki’s nerves kick in on the walk back to his room. Not enough to make the hard-on he’s coping with fade even slightly, but enough to remind him that this is probably a bad idea. But you’re following him, and you haven’t changed your mind. Shigaraki’s not chickening out first. The nerves get worse when he opens the door to his room and realizes what a mess it is. “Uh –”

“Where do you usually sit?” You don’t look impressed – or disgusted, now that Shigaraki thinks about it. “On the bed?”

Shigaraki sits down on the bed – which he didn’t make, because he never makes it – and you sit down next to him. You don’t do anything. “I thought you were going to help me.”

“Show me what you do,” you say. Shigaraki stares at you. His heart is racing, his pulse hammering so hard that he feels it everywhere. “Go as far as you can, and then I’ll keep doing what you do.”

That makes sense, probably. Shigaraki’s mind is startling to scramble. He decides to think about it later and catches the hem of his shirt, hiking it up and out of the way. He knows from experience that it’ll slide back, so he pins it between his teeth and reaches down to his waistband, shoving at it until his pants are down around his thighs and his cock is free.

His hard-on looks like it feels. Uncomfortable, leaking, hot to the touch when he wraps three fingers and his thumb around his shaft. Shigaraki tries a few of the same insufficient strokes as always and feels the muscles in his abdomen and thighs clench. It’s not enough. It’s never enough. A frustrated sound edges out around the fabric in Shigaraki’s mouth. Aren’t you supposed to help him? He looks at you. You’re looking away.

“Hey,” Shigaraki says, the hem of the shirt falling from his mouth, and you look at him. “You wanted to help. Pay attention.”

Your face is flushed. You nod, and you reach out – but only so you can grasp the hem of Shigaraki’s shirt and pull it out of the way again, your knuckles brushing over his abdomen in a way that makes him twitch. You’re sitting closer to him now than you were before, close enough that he can almost feel the heat of your body, and imagine how it would feel to have you pressed against him. One of your hands is holding his shirt up. The other comes to rest on his lower abdomen, fingertips brushing through his hair, centimeters away from the base of his cock.

Shigaraki squirms involuntarily, trying to move your hand lower and jeopardizing his own strokes at the same time. Even when he lifts his hips to meet his own hand, he can’t lose control the way he wants to, can’t chase the feeling he needs. He needs it. He needs it and he’s never come even close to having it, until now. Shigaraki tries to focus. You’re only going to help once he’s gone as far as he can, so he’d better get there as fast as possible.

He shouldn’t have told you to pay attention. Now you’re watching everything, your face still flushed and your eyes glued to Shigaraki’s every move, taking everything in. Do you like this? Do you like watching Shigaraki’s pathetic attempts to get himself off? Whether you like it or not, you’re still touching him when you don’t have to. Shigaraki’s fingers tighten involuntarily around his cock, his fourth finger almost coming down, and he loosens up in a hurry. But that’s no good, either. He tries again.

It’s the same as always. Shigaraki makes it one or two strokes before it gets dangerous, enough to show him what he could have and not enough to get him there. He’s sweaty and his heart is beating too hard and the same frustrated tears as always are stinging his eyes. He curses, lets go – and a warm hand slides between his legs to replace his.

Shigaraki almost comes on the spot. It takes every ounce of willpower he has, and he almost blows it again as he watches you adjust your hold on him, shaping your hand more closely around his cock. You’re slow about it, but you sure as hell aren’t hesitant. Shigaraki can’t look for longer than a few strokes. It’s too humiliating to see the intensity of his own reaction, precum oozing from the tip of his cock and his hips jerking upwards into your hand. He clenches his jaw and shuts his eyes.

“Hey. Pay attention.” Are you making fun of him? Shigaraki opens his eyes and finds you looking at him. “I need to know if I’m doing it right.”

“What do you think?” Shigaraki forces the words out through gritted teeth. “Do you need me to tell you you’re doing a good job or something?”

“That might be nice,” you muse. Your hold on him loosens slightly – not enough to complain about, more than enough to read as a threat. “Since I can’t do anything else right around here, I at least want to be good at getting you off.”

Your grip tightens again, and you run your thumb lightly over the tip of Shigaraki’s cock at the end of the next stroke. Shigaraki couldn’t pull a move like that if his fucking life depended on it, which it would. He was going to tell you not to ask stupid questions, like if you’re good at getting him off when he’s two seconds away from blowing his load all over himself, but instead he moans, so loudly that people can probably hear it two streets away. You replay the same stroke, slower this time, pulling Shigaraki’s back into an arch to match the upward motion of your hand, and then you spend a few seconds just toying with his tip, barely touching him at all.

Are you trying to make him squirm? Shigaraki hates that it’s working, hates that you won’t just give him what he needs – but then you’re back to stroking his cock again, and Shigaraki relaxes, as much as it’s possible to relax. It feels good, even better than he thought it would. And even better than that, because he doesn’t have to do anything. All he has to do is sit back and enjoy it.

“Hold your shirt up,” you say, and Shigaraki grabs it clumsily. Your now-free hand traces quickly down Shigaraki’s chest, along his stomach, skidding sideways over his hip before sliding between his legs. There’s not room for both of your hands. Shigaraki spreads his legs without thinking twice.

You make a weird sound – maybe a gasp. “Stop that,” you say, but now you’re cradling his balls in addition to stroking his cock, so Shigaraki’s not interested in stopping much of anything. “It’s working.”

No shit it’s working. Shigaraki’s entire body is wound tight, so much that he can’t even twitch or thrust or squirm – all he can do is strain, agonizingly tense, every atom of his body focused on the motion of your hands. Shigaraki squeezes his eyes shut. His shirt crumbles away as he claws at it, the sheets on his bed going the same way a second later as he fights to ground himself. He needs more. Shigaraki needs to come right now, before he grabs onto something he can’t replace.

The word struggles out of his mouth sideways, twisted and strained just like the rest of him. “Please –”

You don’t answer him, but Shigaraki feels you shift closer to him. He opens his eyes and you’re right there, close enough that he can feel your breath against his skin. You’re watching him, head tilted, lips parted, so close. Shigaraki’s so close, and he needs more from you. He seizes the front of your shirt to pull you down to him, only for it to Decay when you’re halfway there. But Shigaraki gets lucky. You lean in the rest of the way and press your lips against his.

It’s not because of that. Shigaraki’s coming hard enough to see stars, hard enough that he blacks out for a second, but it’s not because you’re kissing him. His cum spills everywhere, onto his sweatpants and his stomach and over your fingers, and you keep stroking him with slick hands. You don’t pull away until Shigaraki’s whining against your mouth and you’ve drawn out every drop of cum he has to give.

And then you sit back, and let go, and look away. “I need a new shirt.”

You’re sitting next to him, on his bed, in just your bra. The sight would get Shigaraki hard again in an instant if you hadn’t just made him come hard enough to disconnect his spine. He raises a shaky hand and points to his hoodie, slung over the back of his computer chair, but you don’t go for it. Instead you get up and head to the bathroom to wash your hands.

Shigaraki needs to wash everything. His sweatpants, himself – the stupid mattress, since he was dumb enough to Decay the sheets off it right before he blew what feels like the biggest load in history. What else was he supposed to do, though? No way was he going to be able to control himself while you worked him over. No way is he going to be able to think about anything else the next time he sees you do anything with your hands. Or with your mouth.

It occurs to Shigaraki vaguely that while he’s solved the initial problem of being too horny to function, he’s set himself up for something even worse – more dreams, made all the more vivid because he’s got experience to back them up. He might be good to go for now. Probably for the rest of the day, since it’ll be a miracle if he can do anything other than clean up and take a nap. But he’ll be right back where he started the next time he wakes up from another dream about you.

The water from the sink shuts off, and a moment later you come back out, snagging Shigaraki’s hoodie off the chair and pulling it on over your bra. Shigaraki feels a faint twinge of foreboding at the sight, but it fades fast. Sure, he could wake up tomorrow morning with the boner from hell and it’ll be all your fault. But now he’s got a way out of it, and the way out of it is so good that what it takes to get there barely even matters. And he’s in a good enough mood to admit to himself that you do things right a lot more than you do things wrong.

Which reminds him – “Hey,” Shigaraki says, still humiliatingly breathless, and you pause in the act of pulling the hood up. “You did a good job.”

He might still be out of breath, but your face is still flushed. “Good,” you say, and you turn to leave. Shigaraki doesn’t hear you speak again until you’re already out the door. “Next time I’ll do better.”

Better might kill him. Next time. Shigaraki pulls up his sweatpants so his dick isn’t hanging out, makes no other effort at cleaning up, and falls asleep with something that feels like a smile on his face.

[thegirlwhorideslikeasamurai]

This scene makes me SO proud of Yuuri as this moment is such an important step in his journey.

Being anxious and having no confidence like Yuuri, naturally puts you in an isolated position. You feel like you're fighting alone and your peers are rivals to you. I'm not talking about the friendly kind of rivalry that motivates and inspires you, but the kind of rivals that feel like live or death competition, a serious threat. It's a lot like "I'm on no one's side because no one is on my side".

Until this point in ep. 5, Yuuri is afraid to mess up at the Regionals because it's his first competition since the disastrous premature end of his last season, and he considers it as a test whether he's in shape for the upcoming Grand Prix Series (he also needs a good result to be eligible to compete at Nationals and have a chance to be assigned to Worlds or 4CC, but that's another story). Being nervous isn't unreasonable, but due to his anxiety and lack of confidence, Yuuri IS unreasonably nervous. As the oldest and most experienced skater competing in the men's event, Yuuri has absolutely no reason to fear failure and a part of him might be aware of that fact, but due to his anxiety, it doesn't register with him. Pretending the other skaters don't exist is less distressing than paying attention to them and interacting with them because Yuuri is in a position where everything they say and do unsettles him: Minami's (apparently totally unreasonable) admiration, being reminded that Minami beat him at the last Nationals, overhearing the other skaters discussing that they want to attempt quads in their free programmes etc. etc.

The standings after the short programme prove how unreasonable Yuuri's anxiety is:

After the SP, Yuuri leads by a 26 point margin. Despite the lowered difficulty Viktor suggested for the FS and the other skaters all attempting one quad, not finishing in first place is EXTREMELY unlikely for a skater with Yuuri's skill and experience even if he messes up in the free skating. Mathematically, it's absolutely possible though and that's what the anxiety brain fixates on.

Here's the thing: when you suffer from anxiety, your brain's ability to form logically sound conclusions can be considerably limited. Yes, you can pretend a threat doesn't exist, but it will keep bothering you from a corner of your mind and continue feeding your anxiety. By ignoring the other skaters, Yuuri can minimise this imagined threat, but it doesn't solve the initial problem: that he sees a threat in these skaters in the first place.

Without Viktor, Yuuri would have kept ignoring the other skaters, which would do nothing to overcome his issues, but in Viktor, Yuuri has someone who believes in him and who mercilessly drags Yuuri out of his comfort zone if needed. After all, just one episode ago, he promised Yuuri to not let him off easily and that's why he doesn't let Yuuri get away with his avoidance strategy. Personally, I believe that Yuuri is blissfully unaware what cheering Minami on might accomplish. He only notices that Viktor is displeased about how Yuuri treats the younger skater who burst into tears because Yuuri keeps ignoring him. Only when Viktor openly voices his dismay, Yuuri has an important realisation:

Minami sees an idol in Yuuri just like Yuuri once saw an idol in Viktor. If Viktor had treated Yuuri the way Yuuri treats Minami, Yuuri would have been devastated (and knowing that Viktor is the sole reason for Yuuri pursuing his goal to become one of the world's best skaters, he might have ended his career). This realisation enables Yuuri to empathise with Minami. But there's so much more going on below the surface. Cheering Minami initiates a change in Yuuri that makes him realise that these younger skaters don't pose a threat to him. It's a first tentative step towards becoming a part of the community of figure skaters, which in fact is quite a friendly place.

This step out of his comfort zone, seems small but it's a turning point in Yuuri's journey. It requires courage, which positively informs his self-worth, and enables Yuuri to see his peers with new eyes. They're still rivals but they've stopped being a threat

and turned into co-competitors Yuuri can relate to and who inspire him to do his best—quite different from the unhealthy mindset of being unsettled and desperate to win Yuuri was in before, right?

Through this small gesture (and the interactions that follow), Yuuri learns that interacting with his co-competitors is actually an empowering experience (and a lot of fun).

Of course, that's only a first tentative step. Becoming confident and learning to interact with your peers is not a linear process. And in every new setting, you must make the effort again, even more so when you're not very sociable by nature. But even though the "threats" at the Grand Prix Series are larger and the stakes are higher, Yuuri is more relaxed there. That is unless he has to deal with additional challenges and we all know what the creators threw into his path *cough*

[camiepuff]

ANY GIRL WANTS TO DATE MY LOSER, CHAOTIC AND KIND FRIEND?

Name: Omni (not his real name, he just likes this nickname because of omnipotence and how he is interested in supernatural and god-like abilities)

Age: 18

Gender: male

Race: Singaporean Indian

Timezone: GMT+8

Pronouns: he/him

Hobbies/Interests: working out, listening and making subliminals, witchcraft, supernatural stuff, reading, writing, daydreaming 25/7, finding his soulmate, studying, playing Roblox

Likes: Good luck (not like he has much of it), kindness (he will absolutely love you if you show it to him), wholesomeness and chaos, healthy food, jojo bizarre adventure (he won't stop yapping about it), being complimented, being protected and safe, peace and quiet, perfection, music (he is Star Lord when it comes to music), soulmates, making a utopia, daydreaming

Dislikes: Bad luck, rude and toxic people, being weak, arguments, being manipulated, being lonely, his abusive dad, abuse, being stuck, the world not being saved, one word answers, normal mates (I think they are lesser than soulmates?)

Personality: Omni is a reserved guy when he is with acquientances or people he is not close with. But, he is a completely different person when he is with close friends (like us) and family, he is very chaotic, goofy and random, he just speaks whatever that is on his mind. He is basically like H20 Delirious (ahh, childhood). He is also quite ambitious as he always talks about "WE NEED TO SAVE THE WORLD" or "WE NEED TO SAVE THE FUTURE CHILDREN" (even though we are literally just doing a project, so i don't know what kid will be saved lmao, but we all adore him) He is quite noble since he does seem like he really wants to change the world in the future.

It makes sense too, since Omni has an abusive father. So, growing up, he was not given much love. He grew to be extremely clingy, affectionate and wanting attention. He also became sensitive to what people think as he just wants people to like him. So, if you said a harsh joke, he would be hurt, but if it is just light and fun teasing, he absolutely loves that and would play along. He is a hopeless romantic who wants to find true love someday, and change the world (kinda like you and him against the world). The cinnamon roll just wants to feel love and not be hurt again, and have someone to put up with everything in the world for.

Omni is also extremely hard working and intelligent (he might be one of the few people who might get close to a full GPA by the end of the semester 🙀). He often studies whenever he is lonely and has nothing to do. He just wants to get good grades, since he is a huge perfectionist, and always loves being perfect. He does push himself too much sometimes and he is stubborn to take a break, so try to take care of him like we do, yeah?

He acts like an anime protagonist whenever he is with us. Also having a dream in mind of defeating his abusive dad and finding a soulmate he can be happy with, and there is something admirable about it. He has spent years, trying to find his soulmate, and everyone of them ended up growing bored. So, he does have some trust issues so it is best that you don't pressure him too much and get to know him slowly.

As a hopeless romantic, he believes in soulmates. He absolutely gushes about the concept of soulmates and twin flames, and uses subliminals to try and attract them as well. (Maybe you might be the one?) He believes that soulmates don't help solve problems, but they inspire the strength to solve the problems. He likes mutual love, helping each other out. (such a poet)

He really does like to yap and ramble on about subliminals, his interests or how his day went. He really likes to have his closed or loved ones listen to his vents or days, as he grow closer and closer to you. He is also a great listener and listens to your problems always. If he does have a girlfriend, he will also gush about how amazing you are (if you have been kind to him, that is), and treat you like a princess. It's like underated boyfriend material.

He does feel insecure about his appearance, as he thinks that he is ugly. But I think that he just has met the right kind of people yet. He is in a rough spot, but he always tries to work hard and work on himself, but he feels like having a good appearance is the only way to feel loved. I really think that Omni deserves the best girl ever, because he really helped us all, with studying and just teaching us to have a purpose greater than your own. He told us that he is lonely and just wants a soulmate to feel happy with, so we are helping the best we can! This goofy goober deserves it.

The type of girl that Omni wants: Omni wants a kind, clingy, supportive, goofy, chaotic and soulmate wholesome girl. He likes pretty girls (I mean, who doesn't). He does not like to waste time. He wants to find a girl who will not get bored of him, or leave him after a long time. He also does not want a girl who gives one words answers (without exclaimation mark) as it shows no interest at all. So, basically, if you are a girl who is "best girl" supportive, kind, choatic, clingy and loves him for who he is, Omni will basically love you forever, make you his wife, and rule the world with you? (A utopia world for getting this man a girl? Yes please!). Also if you play Roblox, do play Roblox with him!

If you are interested in dating our friend and getting to know him better, add him on Discord! I'm just trying to help my friend find a date 😁 Oh, and if you know any girl who is looking for a boyfriend, share this post with them too ^^ feel free to reblog it to help the post gain more attention too

"wanna be part of my utopia?"

Discord: omnizomni

[youremyheaven]

Hello~ I'm here for the mood board 😌. I'll write a general (platonic?) one (no matter how much I want to write a romantic one). Love for me is such a profound emotion to feel and experience. In this generation where the word “Love” gets thrown around for the purpose of patronizing subjects, is honestly such a sad thing to see. There's a general opinion that states that you have to accept the people that you love the way they are no matter how horrible or toxic they may be, because people have the ability to change, therefore you can certainly change them with love because love wins all (as long as you love your neighbors they said) which people collectively agree on because it is what was promoted to us painting this rose colored painting that nothing can not be solved as long as we love them. In my opinion just because we love them does not mean that we always have to be there for them all the time and constantly coddle to them just because they want it. While I do agree with the statement above in some ways, I just think that accepting their behavior and coddling them up would do no good. To me, love is where you DO accept them, however you do not validate their wrongful behaviors; whether this is weponized incompetence (because personally, I absolutely despise lazy people), toxic behaviors such as manipulation and gaslighting, and throwing themselves a pity party. I'm order for them to grow and mature, you have to hold them accountable for their behavior. If you truly love someone, you would help them grow. For me, I absolutely love the idea of myself growing into a better person than I am today, to be more competent and independent and make peace with myself throughout my imperfections and mistakes, and failures. I absolutely loath people who make excuses and try to validate their mistakes by throwing out every insignificant and trivial reasons just so they can continue to whine about their problems without even doing anything significant to help themselves despite saying they've done everything they can without even identifying where exactly they went wrong. You know those people you know who continuously cry and rant about how they want to get better at their studies because they're failing and thus causing strain to their relationship with their parents, saying they've done everything they can, so you decide to help them giving them solutions to their every problem and lending them an ear and they'd be saying that those solutions are too tedious (even whey the littlest solutions can make such a huge progress) and that they're too lazy for that but then they'd be there posting 24/7 random, useless sexual topics, memes and rants, and playing games for HOURS. Love for me is where you help and guide the people you love to change their behaviors (that they constantly complain about) and grow and mature for once. Just because you love someone, you shouldn't be complied to show that love with physical affection, gifts, words of affection and compliance. Sometimes, love can be received and show by helping people improve their lives, and I think this goes unrecognized because people want to be shown love straight on and be said, done directly, but it genuinely doesn't have to be that way. I think this is also the reason why most people go unrecognized for their love because if it does not go along with what the receiver wants to receive, it would be left unrecognized and be considered annoying (much less irritating). This can be observed from how our parents quite literally provide us with everything and yet most of the time, their children don't see that and consider every guidance as an annoyance and hindrance to THEIR happiness, thinking of what they want and not what they actually NEED. Love is where you motivate the people you love to do better in their lives and not waste away their youth with things they're going to regret later on. That's all ☺️

its giving Lunar, Revati (and broadly Mercurial), UBP, Deva gana nak vibes 🤔

[bishie-haven]

After-party, Day 2!

Day 3’s contents are here! This one is gonna be a bit different compared to showing off merch or ranking cards…it’s gonna get a little personal.

I’ve been wrapped up in this Obey Me! rabbit hole since January 2020. 2 months after the game released and now over 4 years of my life have been taken over. I’ve went back and forth from trying to tier in events, dumping Surprise Guest items at characters to care about intimacy levels, and have even been in the VIP sphere on both games. However, there’s one thing that’s stayed the same in those 4 years, and I bet you can guess what.

My #1 since the game began has been, and continues to be, a certain pink-hued fifth-born.

And I know, everyone has favorite characters in whatever media they consume, who cares? Well, this one’s a bit different. I may sound absolutely insane when I say this, but being practically obsessed with this lust demon has actually improved my life for the better. 

I think I can sum the process up in three words: adoration, consolation, and motivation. 

Adoration

Each of these stages started at different times, but in a way they eventually all melded in the end to create the love I have today. When I first started playing, the word of the day definitely WAS adoration. I remember laying on the couch in January, starting up the first chapter, and Asmo’s energy practically radiated through the screen of my tablet. I think my first statement about it was “Ooooh, you…I like you~ Keep talking!” the second he showed up on screen. 

Through the first few months turned to a year, I loved everything I found out about him and wanted to know more. I liked that he wasn’t afraid to like what he liked, even making trends through RAD in the process. I found it interesting how he was the only brother at the time with a legitimate power at his disposal that wasn’t just a big blast, and that it actually served a purpose. I loved how in the early chapters of the game he truly had flaws out in the open, ripe for development later on (I mean, not giving a damn about LITERALLY starting a war? DUUUUUUDE-). I adored that, outside of certain lines we don’t talk about, he showed bits of his drive and his loyalty that are key parts of his underlying personality today. I honestly couldn’t get enough! While some loved their sadistic ice kings like Lucifer and others liked their bad boy tsunderes like Mammon, I had my self-centered fashionista.

And somehow…self-centeredness ended up being a comfort for me.

Consolation 

We all know what happened in 2020 and bled into the following couple of years. Well, I found out something through all of that time, whether I was in my house or up at college: my mental health was a wreck. Being cooped up and isolated only exacerbated those feelings.

In other words, me in 2020-22:

My self-confidence was at an all-time low. I was anxious about everything, and even trying a new place to have lunch or go study sent me sweating lots of the time. It was hard to talk to people, and there was a point where I was holing myself up in my dorm room and only leaving if I had nothing to eat or if I had a mandatory lecture or lab.

And while it didn’t solve my problems entirely (that’s what counseling helped do), this stupid little mobile game and that strawberry blonde was definitely a help when it came to calming my brain down. It actually comforted me to see, even if it was a fictional supernatural creature at the end of the day, someone who could put themselves out there without any worry and be happy out in the open with others. Especially when we were ripe in the time of social distancing, even if I didn’t necessarily want to be in a crowded club, seeing someone have the ability to just put a smile on my face. 

And soon, as the regulations loosened and daily life seemed to go back to a relative normal, something else came from this passion and comfort.

Motivation

Now while I would absolutely kiss this demon on the lips if I ever got the chance to in real life, I know that isn’t going to be the case. I must go through the struggles of life alone…in the corporeal sense, at least. 

By that, I mean that in many facets of my life, I see Asmo as a role model of sorts. Not in the sense of being egotistical and putting myself first at the unneeded expense of others, no, but rather putting myself first in a healthy way. I’ve developed a skincare routine because of this guy. I’ve started eating better and have gone to the gym regularly for over a year now in order to care for my body more. I’ve used multiple quotes and scenarios from him in order to pull myself out of self-loathing states and be able to walk into situations with more confidence than I ever had before. I think I even started caring more about my personal fashion style!

I know that this was a bit more low-key, and even a bit deep, in terms of what I have been posting here for these little celebration things. But, I wanted to use this post to show a bit of reasoning as to why I love this character so much, why I care about and do these things in the first place, and…honestly…to let anyone who is worried about “liking a fictional character too much” know this: there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. As long as you are able to distinguish the lines between fiction and reality at the end of the day and you aren’t hurting yourself or others in the process, love them as much as you want, show that love as much as you want! At the end of it all, your loves and adorations make you who you are. And if there’s anything I’ve learned from a certain fifth-born, it’s this: almost anything you do can make you unique, adorable, and absolutely amazing.

Thank you for listening to me ramble about my experience with how my troubled mind processes this horny boy. Day 4's content is coming, and features a special guest you might recognize~

[iwaxsquirrically]

I'm physically and mentally ill. I refuse to divide my days into good and bad based on my productivity because not being productive does not mean I'm inherently bad.

Instead, I've started thinking of my days as A-days, B-days and C-days.

A-days are when I get up in the morning and finish work at a previously determined time. These are great because there is a clear line between work and free time.

B-days are when I have a little less energy or my ability to focus is somewhat impaired, so I have to pace myself. I'll work in chunks throughout the whole day and get at least 2/3 of my daily work done. These are a bit tricky because I'm extremely prone to spending the whole day in "gotta work" mode but getting next to nothing done, just procrastinating by doing stuff I don't really wanna do (scrolling, watching yt shorts) and then still feeling exhausted and like I've wasted the whole day because I didn't work or do anything I actually enjoy. So I have to constantly remind myself to check in with myself and go do something enjoyable (or just rest) if I'm unable to work.

C-days are when I cannot focus for the life of me and leave most of my work for another day. These are days where I accept early on that it's just not gonna be a productive day work wise and go do stuff that I enjoy that makes me feel rested and relaxed.

It's absolutely key that I pay attention to how I'm feeling, and try to determine in the first hour of working what kind of day it's gonna be. That way I can make a good balance between work and fun stuff and self care.

Now, I will do everything I can to ensure that I don't have more than two C-days a week, because girl still has to earn a living. That means keeping a consistent sleep schedule as best I can, taking my pills regularly, meditating, exercising, eathing healthy, drinking plenty of water or other non sugary drinks, and not stuffing my schedule with too many social activities (because, fun as they are, they are NOT restful to me). So if it looks like it's gonna be a second C-day in a row, or third in a week, I'll reevaluate, try to find the problem and do my best to solve it.

This is to help me ensure that I maintain a healthy work-life balance.

[r-we-taire-yet]

Hatchetfield Regency

@soggedboytroutanti mentioned a few days ago that a 'Peter wearing his ghost outfit but for real' au was interesting so I thought I'd give a little overview of my regency romance story idea. I won't start it for real until I've finished Teeth That Turn, but if it seems intriguing I may write some bits to share ahead of that. Here's the basic summary of the story:

Solomon Lauter is the most politically powerful man in town, but his position is precarious. If he doesn't get elected again, his 'new wealth' status will get him thrown out of the places and events that his role as mayor has allowed him into. His only real option to solve this problem is to marry his daughter to one of the good families in town. Unfortunately, after his wife died, he basically ignored his daughter until she was old enough to bring into society. That has resulted in a rebellious, improper girl he can not push to do anything. Her refusal to do as she is told is the biggest hurdle between Solomon and his goals.

The most eligible bachelor in town is Max Jägerman. He is old money, he is wealthy, he is handsome, and he is an absolute dick. Despite her detest for Max, Stephanie is pushed by her father to try and woo him to secure her future. All she wanted to do at events was hang out in the corner with Peter Spankoffski and make snarky comments about the ugly dresses of Mrs. Monroe, but Peter isn't an acceptable match according to her father, so she has to focus on Max instead.

Stephanie isn't the only girl who wanted to woo Max. Most of the eligible girls in town want to have a chance at gaining his love, but none more so than Grace Chasity. Grace wants the best possible match, the best possible husband, and she is GOING to get it. The fact that her best friend Stephanie is also attempting to gain her future husband's favor is an utter betrayal, and something needed to be done about it. She isn't attracted to Max, obviously, but the best thing a good Christian woman of her status could do was find an appropriate husband and have many children. Did she think about touching his hair and his chest and his- no! Obviously not! She is simply trying to do what was correct: find a suitable husband and do her duty to the lord.

Peter Spankoffski, however, is not actually looking for a match. The Spankoffski family is old money, but their father squandered it all prior to Peter's birth. Not only that, but he seduced a married woman, creating his brother Ted, and then married her after her husband died. At least Peter is legitimate due to that, he had that going for him, but nothing else. His father's reputation follows him everywhere he goes, and they don't have the money to bring him out into society properly. Despite the hand-me-down clothes and terrible family name, Peter has a good head on his shoulders and has aspirations to bring back his family's social standing and fortune. If Stephanie could wait a few years for him to get on his feet, if her father would give him the time... but no. He won't, and Peter will never gain her father's approval. The best thing he can do is support her in her search for a better husband.

At least he has his friend Ruth and Richie to comfort him. Richie works for the Spankoffski family as a footman and Ruth works as a maid for the Chasity family. They get a good view of the drama unfolding and decide to... help... to the best of their ability. Whether they can actually help solve this or if they will make things worse is yet to be determined, but they are definitely trying. They have no real interest in romance for themselves, but if that happens while they're busy being meddling matchmakers, that's just a bonus.

Who will end up getting Max's hand? Will Peter be able 'redeem' his family and convince Mr. Lauter of his worth? Will Ruth and Richie succeed in their attempts to influence the matches of the town, or will they make everything worse? All things yet to be determined.

I might add more characters and romances because I think about this sort of thing way too much. Some other little bits include

Paul works as an accountant for the Perkins family and has been in love with the younger daughter of the family for years but hasn't said a word due to the difference in status

Ted also works for the Perkins family because his family is flat broke, and he needs the money regardless of the embarrassment it causes

Richie is Paul's nephew, I might make Trevor his brother but I'm not sure yet

The Perkins family is one of the wealthy families in town, they own a paper mill that works with the lumber mill in town. Jane died about a year ago, their parents died recently. Emma never left town, she was engaged to Gary Goldstein for a time, but she broke it off when he cheated on her and she hasn't dated since

Emma and Jane's parents did not support Jane's marriage to Tom because he is a carpenter and they left Jane nothing when they died. Emma now has a family fortune and no idea what to do with it, hence hiring a team of accountants in the hopes of not fucking things up

Tom genuinely wants none of the Perkins money, he hated Jane's parents and hates everything that goes with it. Emma was firmly in their grip until their death and started reaching out afterwards to try and build a relationship but it's been tough.

Roman Murray owns a shipping company and could easily live somewhere else but instead stays in Hatchetfield because he can rule it financially. He and Solomon are absolute rivals in town.

Linda hates living in Hatchetfield and wants to be in a bigger city with more high society, but she and Gerald love her dad's money and he will take it away if they leave. Gerald is a wealthy doctor, but not that kind of wealth.

Grace's dad is still in real estate, but more as a wealthy landlord. They are slightly new money but it's a generation back further than Steph.

Max's family owns the lumber mill.

Peter's family was old money, aka inherited wealth from ancestors doing well in business. Their dad was a younger son so he didn't actually inherit everything, but he squandered what he did have. Peter's uncle hasn't been in contact with them for ages and lives in Chicago.

Solomon is a self made man, no wealthy background, no family to help. He is a social climber, and an excellent politician which has gotten him this far, but it can't get him over the hurdle of being new on the scene.

If anyone has any other questions about this concept feel free to ask. I think too much.

[terriyakiblack]

List 5 things that make you happy, then put this in the askbox for the last 10 people who reblogged something from you! 🧡🧡

boy you know what DOESN’T make me happy? Coming home to a dead PC. Shit on a stick that was a pain in the ass to fix. augh my poor fingiesss

1) So funnily enough, I can list problem solving / working on my PC as one thing. I was furious when I got home, it’s been a day, but holy shit it was a good feeling to get that new power box in and see it finally start up. Chef’s kiss.

2) Making stuff. Not necessarily being artistic, depending on how you look at it, but I’ve been working on a video project for a while now, almost done with it, and it just… feels good to make something. No real details ‘cause I like to keep certain personalities a little separate, but watching that timeline in my video editor go from nothing but a green bar of script I recorded to tons of cut and spliced footage just feels real good way deep inside, like around your pancreas or something, y’know?

3) I could just say Sea of Thieves and leave it at that but I’ll do you one better: sitting down with a Pepsi and snack, getting online — be it planned or not — grabbing the guys and going out on the seas is a fuckin vibe. It’s just nice, but if you add onto that some successful hunting or going out and coming back with a new story to tell, there’s nothing like it. I wouldn’t trade my mates for anything because they’re everything to me.

4) I’m absolutely awful about music and listen to damn near anything and it depends on how I’m feeling that particular day, but when I read my own mood right, find the right music and it sounds good, it hits right it is a damned good time.

5) I feel like I’m cheating a little bit here by saying this after already listing ‘making stuff’ but the Do You Think Sharks Have Feelings? project is deeply important to me. I note my official start time of it as September of 2020, but I know I had some brainstorming going on in the months leading up to that, but that means it’s been at my side through some pretty rough shit. By early April of 2021 I had written about five parts to it, IIRC, or it was four and then I split one part. I manged to write what I felt was an impressive amount of material then, and I kept going. Slowly, very slowly, but surely. Actually, it was a pitiful amount I got done over the next year, but I had the ideas in my head. When I was finally diagnosed with stuff and given medication, my ability to write took the fuck off. … things… in the house settled as well as I realistically should have hoped for, but it became bearable. Every first draft written, edited, and marked complete gave me a feeling like no other. Writing this dumb thing puts me in a great mood, even when I’ve taken a small break. Ever since April of 2022, I’ve been writing constantly. An annoying amount, even, sometimes, writing as we sail between islands or wanting to work on it instead of playing something, stuff like that. But the point is that no matter if I’m stumped on the part I’m working on or if I’m blitzing down an entire chapter in one day (done that twice now oops), I love this stupid thing.

[berrylover0571]

This is going to be a long vent post.

I'm so very very tired. I have been carrying a burden with me and I cannot fucking shake for the entire duration of my life and I'm so fucking tired of it. I am so tired of being somebody else's goddamn therapist, fixing somebody else's problems while nobody wants to fix mine because it's too hard for them too. It's too hard for them to confront it it's too hard for them to face it, it's too hard for them to deal with the shit I have to deal with, but I can deal with everybody else's shit. I can deal with everything they're dealing with, they can make me shoulder all of their burdens but they cannot shoulder mine. I don't need help. I don't need some therapy speak bullshit to help me through things. I don't need to build better habits, I don't need somebody to tell me a diagnosis, as vindicating as that is, I just need somebody to do to me what I do to everybody else, to listen, to help, to tell me I loved and that I'm cared about and that I am worthwhile.

Because, I don't feel like that. I'm not asking for obsessive I love yous and like morning messages and a bunch of bullshit like that, I'm just basically asking for somebody to tell me they like me in that way and be transparent and actually mean it. Because I feel more alone than pretty much I can take.

And I have spent the last week and a half being the middle person for a bunch of people's problems and basically giving people advice that they should have gotten from their parents or just from learning from their fuck ups, because people for some reason cannot fucking do that. It is exhausting. It is exhausting when out of seven people you are one of the two competent people, and the only one whom everyone is willing to talk to and be cordial with. I'm getting very tired of learned helplessness and cold shoulder bullshit and complete aloofness.

I'm getting tired of that compounding with the fact that everyone seems to like each other except me. And when they like me, they like me in the wrong way.

And the worst part is I'm not doing bad. I'm having a great time in a lot of other regards, I just find it absolutely annoying and deeply painful that I am only just now feeling this way and I don't have the ability to share it with anybody. Or when I do it's platonically, which makes me so deeply frustrated. It makes me so frustrated. It makes me so frustrated

Because it compounds with every other painful frustration I have. I am alone in a lot of frustrating capacities, I am alone in a lot of The Kinks I have in my kinky group of IRL people, I am alone in my faith, which makes me so fucking mad you have no idea, I am in terms of relationships, very much isolated and alone feeling because my only partner is in Florida and we only talk occasionally now, and every other person I want to get with is either taken, fucking far away, or some other bullshit thing. It's getting depressing.

The worst part is I'm not doing that bad with that either, but it seems like every time I get to a point where I'm flirting and it's being reciprocated and it's doing fine, it ends abruptly and I'm just left kind of high and dry and I feel like shit.

And I feel like I did something wrong. Like I said something wrong or did something wrong or annoyed somebody and I'm tired of that. I'm really tired of it. I'm really tired of just feeling like there is no hope. That I'm just going to constantly have missed connections and I've got nothing. Because I feel like I do have nothing, I feel like I'm a burden, I'm a pest, I'm an annoyance, and object, a fucking diary, a decoration, I feel like a fucking dog. And I'm tired of feeling like a fucking dog, I'm tired of feeling like a shitty person who doesn't fucking matter and that people can just sort of dump all their shit on to and then when fucking like I need shit, all they do is use stupid fucking therapy speech to try and solve my problem as if it's going to fucking help me to hear the diagnosable issues I have wrong, or the symptoms I have listed out in front of me and the coping skills necessary to fix them. I know what a diagnosis is, I know what it means to have something, and let me tell you it makes it worse.

In some ways I envy people who can turn off their emotions and be awful individuals. In some ways I envy those who can do so much to make themselves so happy.

[camiepuff]

ANY GIRL WANTS TO DATE MY LOSER, CHAOTIC AND KIND FRIEND?

Name: Omni (not his real name, he just likes this nickname because of omnipotence and how he is interested in supernatural and god-like abilities)

Age: 18

Gender: male

Race: Singaporean Indian

Timezone: GMT+8

Pronouns: he/him

Hobbies/Interests: working out, listening and making subliminals, witchcraft, supernatural stuff, reading, writing, daydreaming 25/7, finding his soulmate, studying, playing Roblox

Likes: Good luck (not like he has much of it), kindness (he will absolutely love you if you show it to him), wholesomeness and chaos, healthy food, jojo bizarre adventure (he won't stop yapping about it), being complimented, being protected and safe, peace and quiet, perfection, music (he is Star Lord when it comes to music), soulmates, making a utopia, daydreaming

Dislikes: Bad luck, rude and toxic people, being weak, arguments, being manipulated, being lonely, his abusive dad, abuse, being stuck, the world not being saved, one word answers, normal mates (I think they are lesser than soulmates?)

Personality: Omni is a reserved guy when he is with acquientances or people he is not close with. But, he is a completely different person when he is with close friends (like us) and family, he is very chaotic, goofy and random, he just speaks whatever that is on his mind. He is basically like H20 Delirious (ahh, childhood). He is also quite ambitious as he always talks about "WE NEED TO SAVE THE WORLD" or "WE NEED TO SAVE THE FUTURE CHILDREN" (even though we are literally just doing a project, so i don't know what kid will be saved lmao, but we all adore him) He is quite noble since he does seem like he really wants to change the world in the future.

It makes sense too, since Omni has an abusive father. So, growing up, he was not given much love. He grew to be extremely clingy, affectionate and wanting attention. He also became sensitive to what people think as he just wants people to like him. So, if you said a harsh joke, he would be hurt, but if it is just light and fun teasing, he absolutely loves that and would play along. He is a hopeless romantic who wants to find true love someday, and change the world (kinda like you and him against the world). The cinnamon roll just wants to feel love and not be hurt again, and have someone to put up with everything in the world for.

Omni is also extremely hard working and intelligent (he might be one of the few people who might get close to a full GPA by the end of the semester 🙀). He often studies whenever he is lonely and has nothing to do. He just wants to get good grades, since he is a huge perfectionist, and always loves being perfect. He does push himself too much sometimes and he is stubborn to take a break, so try to take care of him like we do, yeah?

He acts like an anime protagonist whenever he is with us. Also having a dream in mind of defeating his abusive dad and finding a soulmate he can be happy with, and there is something admirable about it. He has spent years, trying to find his soulmate, and everyone of them ended up growing bored. So, he does have some trust issues so it is best that you don't pressure him too much and get to know him slowly.

As a hopeless romantic, he believes in soulmates. He absolutely gushes about the concept of soulmates and twin flames, and uses subliminals to try and attract them as well. (Maybe you might be the one?) He believes that soulmates don't help solve problems, but they inspire the strength to solve the problems. He likes mutual love, helping each other out. (such a poet)

He really does like to yap and ramble on about subliminals, his interests or how his day went. He really likes to have his closed or loved ones listen to his vents or days, as he grow closer and closer to you. He is also a great listener and listens to your problems always. If he does have a girlfriend, he will also gush about how amazing you are (if you have been kind to him, that is), and treat you like a princess. It's like underated boyfriend material.

He does feel insecure about his appearance, as he thinks that he is ugly. But I think that he just has met the right kind of people yet. He is in a rough spot, but he always tries to work hard and work on himself, but he feels like having a good appearance is the only way to feel loved. I really think that Omni deserves the best girl ever, because he really helped us all, with studying and just teaching us to have a purpose greater than your own. He told us that he is lonely and just wants a soulmate to feel happy with, so we are helping the best we can! This goofy goober deserves it.

The type of girl that Omni wants: Omni wants a kind, clingy, supportive, goofy, chaotic and soulmate wholesome girl. He likes pretty girls (I mean, who doesn't). He does not like to waste time. He wants to find a girl who will not get bored of him, or leave him after a long time. He also does not want a girl who gives one words answers (without exclaimation mark) as it shows no interest at all. So, basically, if you are a girl who is "best girl" supportive, kind, choatic, clingy and loves him for who he is, Omni will basically love you forever, make you his wife, and rule the world with you? (A utopia world for getting this man a girl? Yes please!). Also if you play Roblox, do play Roblox with him! His Timezone is GMT+8

If you are interested in dating our friend and getting to know him better, add him on Discord! I'm just trying to help my friend find a date 😁 Oh, and if you know any girl who is looking for a boyfriend, share this post with them too ^^ feel free to reblog it to help the post gain more attention too

"wanna be part of my utopia?"

Discord: omnizomni

[howboutadancebonnie]

Gettin’ Married

Yikes it's been three years lol okay absolutely wild to think it has been so long since I have updated. 

Big news: Getting married in August! August 25th, 2023. To Patrick Lindros (in case that wasn't clear) Life is really freakin good. Working for the Park still, last year we did Skyrim for adventure camp, it rocked. This year I am planning Lord of the Rings! Very excited about props and costumes for this one.Life at the park is unstable, new boss Serge is freaking weird. Susanne and Dave still have their dick measuring contests. I am just floating along. Always hoping for a promotion.

Wedding planning is pretty much complete. Just have to figure out centerpieces, shoes, and a cake. We are also honeymooning in Ireland for 2 weeks following the wedding! Excited beyond belief to marry Pat. He is the most wonderful partner I could imagine. the growth i have seen in him in just 4 1/2 years is insane. He was becoming more open-minded through college but since I have met him it’s skyrocketed. I love his passion toward everything in life, there's never a problem he can't solve. His love language is solving my problems I think lol He is patient with me, far more than other other person in my life. He listens to understand never to just respond. And best of all he is truly my best friend. there's nothing on this planet I could do that wouldn't be improved with his company. He makes me a better person everyday I am with him. We have gone through hard times, when we aren't on the same page of understanding but nothing so far has proven too hard to work out, and I have faith that nothing will. We have been discussing a lot lately in preparation for our life together. What our values are, opinions on how to raise our children, how to navigate our families and holidays, how to navigate emotional relationships with others. Bringing me to my next point:

I feel a surge in personal growth this past year unlike any time in my life. I feel like my mind has expanded to new ideas and possibilities. Something has clicked with how short life is and wasting time worrying about insignificant things. Also questioning societal norms more and dissecting what is personally important and what I truly do not care about. I've had a war with the people pleasing side of my all my life,  and lately I feel I have gained much more ammo. A stronger will and idea of who I am and what I stand for. Also maintaining the line of consideration and kindness but not letting people bully me into their opinions therefore changing the way I act and feel. Honestly I have a clear vision of who I want to be, my goal, and I feel I am finally on the right track. My anxiety is under control mostly, I have started taking care of myself mentally as well as physically. I garden, I grow, I work out, I keep an open mind and a level head. Those are the things I am focusing on most.

Social life is flourishing, through the larp (oh yeah I larp now) I have made some terrific connections and wonderful new friends. Notably Matt, Jimmy and Harrison who we now have a DnD campaign going with. Matt is our DM, Jimmy is an old cowboy bard, Dave is a young roguish warlock, Harrison is a dwarf tinkerer, and I'm a sorcerer princess centaur. It has been an absolute blast, my first campaign, with such theatrical nerdy people. And the larps themselves have been a terrific chance to spread my wings, work on social skills, and just escape for a weekend. As close as I am to Pat it is great to have that ability to separate from him (distance makes the heart stronger) and do something that is totally mine, an interest we don't share. Dave, Dylan, Patrick and I started larping on Hallowtide in November of 2021, I wasn't sure about it at first. It definitely tested my confidence, but really since I clicked with Matt it has been so rewarding.I talk yo Lili and Jess everyday through an app called Cappucino where we record daily beans. thats been great as a way to stay involved in each others lives on our own time.I don't see much of Gab and Grace, since were so busy working but when I do it's a blast. My bachelorette party is next weekend WOOOO, I cant wait to see all my best friends in one place. 

Family life is unstable, putting it nicely. Jesse and Melissa unfortunately are going through a divorce. A messy one. Arya is 6 and Ozzy is 3. It's been hard on everyone involved. I wish I could do more to help, especially with Arya. But its hard with them living 45 minutes away. Arya did come to one of my nature eaglet classes and she was adorable, she had such a good time. I'm excited for her to come to my camp this summer! Just trying to be a stable influence in her life, I know shes little but I always want her to know I am in her corner. No matter what life throws at her.

And that's pretty much all for now? Hope I don't wait this long to post again. My life is always eventful.

5/16/2023

[fabiansociety]

you know, one thing i didn't really consider in this response in y0 majima's effect on kiryu. which i guess is sort of how i read their relationship in general for at least the pre-okinawa yakuza games, that kiryu is the pursued and majima the pursuer. that's particularly so in the majima everywhere system (my beloved), where the player goes from worrying about majima unexpectedly wrecking shop to actively seeking him out to get stronger but where majima is just *always* looking to push you into reacting. but does kiryu change that much because of majima's efforts? he gets stronger, sure, mechanically and narratively, but he doesn't really adopt more of majima's philosophy as a result of it

the difference in how they interact with their mr. libidos in y0 is a possible parallel: majima's mr. libido pushes him to acknowledge that he enjoys masturbating and thinking about women and that he doesn't need to be ashamed of that and can bond with other men by talking about it, and by the end of the questline majima has come around to that way of thinking, if he still isn't anywhere near as horny as mr. libido. kiryu's mr. libido, on the other hand, has a problem with burnout that kiryu solves by introducing him to the mama-san of the okama bar and broadening his sexuality. the storyline ends with kiryu exactly where he was in his sexuality, but with a slightly quizzical wonder at the scope of humanity. kiryu's not passive in the relationship, but he provokes change without changing himself.

but so let's tease out how meeting majima might have changed kiryu. would majima have wanted to change kiryu in that moment? majima is a lot smarter than kiryu, with a much better understanding of when and how he's being manipulated, so i suppose it's possible that majima might have spotted more of kazama's plans, but i just don't think he would have… cared? particularly? kiryu definitely wouldn't have; several of the clan leaders that kiryu fights over the course of the game flat out tell him that he's being used and it doesn't matter at all; kiryu is loyal to kazama regardless of everything, and if finding out that the man murdered his birth parents didn't shake his affection, nothing majima was going to do would. the one skill that majima has that kiryu might have benefited from learning was the ability to suppress his own opinions when necessary, but that's just so hard to imagine. kiryu really only learned that from mirei park, and my god was that just absolutely the wrong time to learn that lesson.

ultimately i think the issue is that kiryu has never lacked for friends the way majima has, so there's less opportunity for one earlier friend to change him that much. the things majima might have offered as a friend kiryu was already getting from nishikiyama. really, if there's any character who would have been dramatically changed by making friends with majima, it's nishiki. that dude really could have used a mad dog persona to save his soul

I find myself thinking a lot about Yakuza 0 and how thinks would have played out different over the series if Kiryu and majims had actually met and gotten on. My first intro to the series was Y0 and I kept expecting them to meet because of the close parallels. Do you have any thoughts on it?

I had a very similar experience my first time through the game, it wasn’t until playing the whole series and looping back around that I think I understood what the game was and was trying to do. Chronologically, y0 was released after y5. it’s much more of a flashback story commenting on kiryu’s emotional state at the end of *y5* than it is an origin point for the rest of the series. As part of that, Majima serves as a surrogate for y5 Kiryu: exiled from his family, saddled with intense guilt for “betraying” his loved ones, stuck in a strange city he doesn’t really like. The game isn’t about their relationship, except thematically, so it doesn’t have any interest in having them meet.

I don’t necessarily agree with those choices — it’s a bizarre decision to have Majima show up at the end in full kiryu-chaaaaaaan mode without ever having met the guy onscreen — but there’s at least some method to that particular madness. But I think it would have been a stronger story if they *had* approached the game more as an entry point to the series and established a bit more; the lack of any role for Yumi is a particular sore spot for me, but I don’t think it would have hurt the story if Majima and Kiryu had met in Kamurocho and we actually got to play through that first meeting.

But you asked about how meeting earlier would have changed their dynamic, and honestly I don’t think it would have changed all that much. Majima is such a doomed character by the time Yakuza 0 starts, and I don’t think Kiryu could have saved him from that—his need to get back into the clan for Saejima is so overpowering, and the game does do a good job of showing that becoming the mad dog of shimano was really the only way he could stay sane and alive. y0 Kiryu wouldn’t even have much to push back on there, since he’s doing the same thing in a much shallower way for Kazama’s sake. Meeting sorrowful, long-haired Majima and bonding with him would have given some additional nuance for the strange respect they have for each other in kiwami, but I think that’s about it. Y0 is a tragedy, and the thing about tragedies is that by the time the story has started, it is already too late

[unicminds-codingforkids]

Coding for Kids - Is it required?

Coding for kids, tweens, and students is an absolute essential today. And, I am not saying that because we teach coding! Let’s understand why it is an absolute essential in a more detailed way.

Coding Classes for 6 year olds to 15 year olds are all over the town these days, and there is a backlash from some corner for developers saying – hey, this is too much! Kids don’t need to learn coding and you are only overwhelming these kids with all the unnecessary stuff. After all they’re all not going to become software developers and quality analysts, and who knows maybe ChatGPT will make coding and a large number of software engineers a redundant aspect of life. 

The flagbearer of this criticism is conducted by a person named Joe Morgan here. His main idea(s) are:

Parents think that – if everything is getting automated, then probably the safest job in town is the one who is doing the automation. And, hence parents want their kids to learn coding.

While teaching coding to kids, institutes or schools focus to teach the syntax of the programming language whereas it has to be focused on problem-solving

Coding is an iterative process of building something, finding out what is going wrong, debugging for where it is going wrong and then fixing it. So, it is a mix of both creativity and determination

Well, let’s start with why should kids and students really learn coding. What happens if they don’t learn it?

Let’s take an example: I am a software engineer who worked as a developer for about 5 years and I then moved on to the Marketing side of life by doing an MBA. Over the last many years, my jobs have been in Marketing and they had nothing to do with writing code. But, the fact that I learnt software engineering means that I know how technologies are built. So, when various people from the technology or product management teams discuss with me, I am not a newbie and it enables me to understand what they are talking and even manage what they’re trying to tell me. I can get my own data by making and running queries by myself and I can take any cut of data that I need for my analysis. I am not overwhelmed when we see our payment applications having bugs or any other issues – I know it is a part of life and we will have to fix them fast. The underlying idea is that when you learn coding and when you learn software, you learn about how stuff works and that gives you a good advantage over other people who don’t have that similar knowledge. The fact that I know coding decently well empowers me and makes me feel good about myself and doesn’t put me in a disadvantageous position. Again, for example, I’ve faced multiple situations on the internet where my background helped me to be careful w.r.t computer security and password security. Whereas I’ve seen cousins, friends, and close family not having that awareness about security and how they could be vulnerable on the internet unknowingly.

We don’t teach science to kids to make them scientists, we don’t teach math to kids to make them theoretical mathematicians, and we don’t teach about the planetary system to kids so that they’ll be prepared to go to these planets. We teach this stuff to understand how things around us work at a certain level – everybody should have that knowledge and understanding. For example, when you see the stars moving in the sky, you should know the connection of that movement with the earth’s spin and its relative movement. Similarly, kids must learn coding (no two ways about that now anymore) in order to develop problem-solving abilities, understand how software is really built, and logical skills. There are many benefits in kids learning coding. But the one major benefit is that – most kids when they learn mathematics, they don’t have enough theory to apply the math they learn in real-life scenarios. Learning coding helps kids to approach problems in a structured way, use their imagination and logical thinking abilities to solve those problems, develop the patience and an iterative approach to solving stuff that is broken, and appreciate all technologies around with an internal knowledge of how things work. Imagine you’re driving a car and you have to call the mechanic to unlock your steering. You need to know the basic stuff of the world around you. And the world around us right now is largely software technology and kids should know how these tools that are so prevalent are built and are used. Else, these kids will be handicapped and the children who know this will have an edge. Therefore, scientists, academicians, and leaders around the world have said that it is time to include coding in kids curriculum as a mandate all across the world. Because, fortunately or unfortunately, the world has changed and it is never going to be the same again.

Also, when we’re saying we are teaching kids coding, we’re largely talking about enabling them to learn the structured way of problem-solving using some syntax. Yes, we all agree that syntax doesn’t matter. It is like choosing a knife to cut stuff in the kitchen, you will choose the right knife that you think is suitable for the task. But, the main skill is in the hands of the person. And, that’s what the focus is on – no body is teaching kids a lot of syntax to mug up or no one is really burdening kids to go out and solve the memory leaks by analyzing these core dumps from the files. So, it is all positioned well in the right spirit and with the right direction.

Typically, the students will start with one approach and they will make some mistakes or they’ll forget certain aspects such as coding for the gravity or missing the exit in a recursive loop. Then when they run the program, they learn that there has been some mistake. They’ll think about what could’ve been wrong and then try to fix that problem. This is it! This is all that we want to teach young kids – problem-solving in an iterative manner!

Benefits in teaching coding to kids:

To use Mathematics and logic in real-life problems

To learn to create things and to solve difficult problems

To persist, iterate and improve

Algorithmic thinking

Critical thinking

Attention to detail and debugging the problem to find a solution

Creativity and Expression

In the process, children learn a lot of mathematics and other subjects in an applicative and visual manner. They also learn algorithmic-thinking, imaginative-skills, designing-skills, mathematical-aptitude, debugging skills, and algorithmic thinking, Not to forget a ton of soft factors such as they build patience in problem-solving, they don’t get bogged down by first-time failures, building the essence that success comes from multiple attempts, and that problem-solving is deep and requires multiple hours of work. These are extremely valuable behavioral and attitudinal tenets for children to develop in their overall development.

Teaching coding to kids is a progressive shift in society to build future humanity, which is more informed and comfortable around how things work. We live in an age where technology plays a role in everything that we do, and the future is going to be more of it. Therefore, all countries are teaching coding to kids across the globe, and it is deemed an absolutely essential course for kids now everywhere.

Hope this is useful, thank you.

You may want to read the below posts which are very related:

What’s the right age for kids to learn coding?

How does a child’s perception of machine-intelligence change after learning coding?

Should kids learn coding if they don’t plan for careers in Tech?

How are kids learning coding which was only done by grownups?

[steveezekiel]

HOW TO BE PERSISTENT IN PRAYER 1

"PRAYING ALWAYS WITH ALL PRAYER AND SUPPLICATION IN THE SPIRIT, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints."

Ephesians 6:18 (NKJV)

"You will keep him in perfect peace, WHOSE MIND IS STAYED ON YOU, BECAUSE HE TRUSTS IN YOU."

Isaiah 26:3 (NKJV)

• If God has promised to do a thing, it will surely come to pass because He is a faithful God.

HOWEVER there is God-ward side, and the man-ward side, that is, the aspect of God and that of the person concerned, in whatever God has promised to do.

- God may have made the promise truly, but the person or people who are concerned have their own PART to play in bringing whatever He has said to the fulfilment.

WHATEVER the promise, the appropriation of it depends largely on the person or people concerned.

THE promises of God are appropriated through the prayer of the saints, particularly the person or people concerned.

- Nothing worthwhile would happen without persistent prayer of the person or people whom God has made the promise: "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

EVERY promise of God will come to the fulfilment through persistency in prayer.

- You receive, bring to the fulfilment, all the promises of God through persistent prayers, and also sustain your blessings, the miracles you have received, through persistent prayers.

YOU need prayers to sustain, keep, and preserve whatever God has given you.

- If you cultivated the habit of praying without fainting or ceasing; It means you have made God your source—you are telling Him you have no other power or source except Him.

- Your level of trust in God is known through your prayer Life, and that is revealed In your attitudes to prayer—how serious and fervent you are in prayer.

- Those who have other source do not persist in prayer because their trust in Him is not absolute—total.

AND those who's minds stayed on Him and trust in Him are the ones He keeps in perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3).

- There are some Believers Who pray when they have challenges which they could not solve with THEIR physical abilities, such people usually have fire brigade's approach to challenges of LIFE;

THEY would not pray except they are under intense challenges Or problems.

IF you are a Believer like that It means you use God to get whatever you want and dump Him when you think you do not need Him, which shows you do not love and trust Him enough to commit everything about your LIFE to His hands.

- You build intimacy with God through persistent prayer.

YOUR PRAYERS are the proofs of your trust in Him.

WHEN you prayed, it shows your heart stays on Him, and He would keep you in perfect peace! (Isaiah 26:3).

• Those who looked onto God and put their trust in Him would not be put to shame: "THEY LOOKED TO HIM AND WERE RADIANT, AND THEIR FACES WERE NOT ASHAMED" (Psalm 34:5).

- God wants the heart of every Believer stays on Him (Isaiah 26:3).

TRUST in someone, looking onto any other person, or any other thing, leads to shame, discredit, and reproach.

"LOOKING UNTO JESUS, THE AUTHOR AND FINISHER OF OUR FAITH, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

Hebrews 12:2 (NKJV)

1 "I WILL LIFT UP MY EYES TO THE HILLS—From whence comes my help?

2 MY HELP COMES FROM THE LORD,

Who made heaven and earth."

Psalm 121:1,2 (NKJV)

- The evidence or proof that you put your trust in God is when you persistently pray, commiting everything to Him prayers.

YOU pray as If everything depends on God and the prayers you PRAY to Him—and It is!

- It is those who live under God's covenant and put their trust in Him that would survive the darkness which The devil is bringing in the WORLD (Isaiah 60:2).

IF you are a covenant child, a Believer Who put his or her Trust in God, you would survive whatever the devil might bring over the world: "For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,

And deep darkness the people;

BUT THE LORD WILL ARISE OVER YOU, AND HIS GLORY WILL BE SEEN UPON YOU" (Isaiah 60:2).

• When God promises to bless His people, a believer in particular, the devil also would want to rise against what God has promised to do.

- However there is nothing according to God's plans, which He had promised that would not come to fulfilment when the believer who is concerned persistently prays.

- The widow in the parable of the Lord Jesus Christ who persisted got the answer she wanted because of her persistency.

1. THEN HE [Jesus] SPOKE A PARABLE TO THEM, THAT MEN ALWAYS OUGHT TO PRAY AND NOT LOSE HEART,

2. saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man.

3. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’

4. And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man,

5. yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, LEST BY HER CONTINUAL COMING SHE WEARY ME.’ ”

6. Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said.

7. AND SHALL GOD NOT AVENGE HIS OWN ELECT WHO CRY OUT DAY AND NIGHT TO HIM, though He bears long with them?

8. I TELL YOU THAT HE WILL AVENGE THEM SPEEDILY. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”

Luke 18:1-8 (NKJV)

• You will not fail in Jesus' name.

Peace!

TO BE CONTINUED