#DIFFERENT types of multilingualism

[pathsofoak]

Gonna preface this by saying I'm a BA (undergrad) student specializing in linguistics, specifically language acquisition, so I'm not like a specialist or anything, but I think I can still offer some valuable thoughts.

Adding a second bit saying that whether or not you consider something your first, second, or third language (or even a language that you speak to begin with), is entirely up to you. I'm just

I'd say they're both your first language, and, I would argue (personally!) that even if you weren't equally comfortable in both languages, they would probably still be.

In studies of multilingual children, it's actually pretty important that when a child learns both languages simultaneously, they're both recognized as a first language, mostly because otherwise, it would be very hard to set up a system to decide which language is the "true first language" or something like that because there's no real metric for that. You could say "whichever you're better at" but if, for example, one language was spoken inside the house and the other inside and outside, you heard one more than the other and would have been slightly better at it, statistically speaking. Whichever language is most dominant in your environment wins out in that case, but that doesn't mean you weren't acquiring both at the same time.

As a child, the way you learned your languages would have been different from monolingual children as well. In general, the more speech a child hears, the better and faster they learn a language. But, if you're raised bilingually, then that speech is split over two languages. This means that you acquire both languages slightly more slowly (this actually is a big issue in language disorder diagnoses because not all tests are properly designed to account for this, so multilingual children get over-diagnosed with DLD, but multilingual children catch up, whereas children with DLD do not). At the same time, there are specific aspects of language you might have learned faster (such as that one thing can be referred to with more than one word).

Also, fun little fact if you learned both these languages from birth or early infanthood, then, as a baby, you learned not one, but two sets of sounds! One English, one Hindi. Children can learn to differentiate sounds before they even learn to speak. Sounds are very difficult to master (it's why pronunciation in any foreign language is hard to learn), but you were likely learning both while your brain was still developing your ability to tell one sound from another and recognize them as different. It's a bit like learning two scripts at the same time, but like, sound.

When you learn a language (or more) as a child, and then much later in life learn an additional language, you have to learn all those new sounds with it, including even hearing the difference. For example, English has the vowels in bad and bed, but Dutch doesn't have the vowel in bad, so Dutch speakers don't often hear the difference, and pronounce both words as bed (because we hear it that way too). But children who acquire both languages simultaneously don't have this issue between those two languages, because they're learning to separate those sounds at the same time.

If you were a participant in a language acquisition study as a kid, I would have jotted both down as your first language, since both are relevant (very general and non-specific example). But your life isn't a linguistic experiment, words are arbitrary, and labels are always going to be somewhat constrained and complicated.

So your personal feelings here definitely matter more. In my community, a local language (Nethersaxon) is losing speakers, mostly because while many older people speak it and raised their children with it, classism being what it is, especially women were encouraged to speak "proper Dutch" (Nethersaxon was considered a dialect at the time, not a language), so even though they heard it from birth, they rarely spoke it at a later age, and cannot properly and comfortably speak it anymore today because they stopped using it for so long. They were all multilingual kids, in fact they likely heard more Nethersaxon than Dutch as infants, but even if they still speak some of the language, I don't think I've heard a lot of people consider themselves bilinguals, even though technically, both Nethersaxon and Dutch are their first language.

Similarly, there are people who learn a language much later in childhood or even early adulthood who feel a stronger connection with it than with the language they were raised with (I can imagine there are people re-learning dying languages or heritage languages might feel like this, especially because such processes are often related to specific political and cultural contexts).

I could go on a longer rant or go more in depth on the science part (I left a lot out about how things work and put some things down slightly more simplified) but I'd have to pull up studies and everything and it's late, so:

TLDR: scientifically, they're usually both considered your first language because you acquired them at the same time, which also had specific effects on your process of language acquisition as a whole, which makes it very different from learning one language and then learning another after that, but it's up to you whether you consider both languages your first language, as in the end, your personal relationship with your languages and your personal history are of much greater importance.

hi! i've recently gotten interested in linguistics (i watched a vsauce video and got sucked into a rabbit hole lmao) and i had a question about bilingualism- if you know 2+ languages, can you only call one language your mother tongue?

e.g. i grew up speaking both english and hindi at home, and am equally comfortable with both but whenever someone asks me what my first language is, i blank.

i'm very much not an expert on this, either academically or experientially, but there's no reason you should have to designate only one as a "first language" or "mother tongue" (outside of paperwork, i guess).

this is a complicated topic and very politically driven because of the role of language in colonialism! a "first language" seems very straightforward. it's the first language you learned, right? but that gets squirrelly in cases like yours, where you learn multiple languages simultaneously.

it's even more complex when you get to the concept of "mother tongue." that could just be your first language(s), but many people who learn their heritage languages later in life—especially languages that have been intentionally repressed—feel that it is more important to claim that cultural connection than to be strictly accurate about learning order. speakers of mayan languages in guatemala, for example, may claim one of those as their "mother tongue" even if they had to learn spanish as a first language for reasons of political violence.

it can get really messy really fast depending on the context of the question. in the end, though, how you label your languages comes down to personal choice, so you're perfectly allowed to call both english and hindi your first language!

[astrobymarwa]

Little things i notice about the moon signs:

(Again, other placements will affect your moon. This is just my opinion and what I've noticed. Feedback is welcome ofc)

Aries moon can be a bit impulsive. They process emotions in a simple, almot innocent way. They feel strongly about things.

Taurus moon shows their feelings in practical ways. They're usually not upfront about it, but if they like you, you'll know. They like to do little things for people they like without the person knowing.

Gemini moon can be good public speakers and be multilinguals. However, they might express different sentiments than what they feel inside.

Cancer moon (if developed) are the most emotionally intelligent of them all. They understand how their feelings completely.

Leo moon (if developed) are very generous, they'd give everything to those they love. They're confident and know their worth.

Virgo moon can get caught up in their own world. They think about certain things so much that they can get detached from reality

Libra moon (i'm sorry) but they can be people pleasers. They try to be kind to everyone that they can get fucked over by people.

Scorpio moon can sense when they're being taken advantage of fast. They're observant and notice things earlier than most other people. They also don't really forgive people that have wronged them

Sagittarius moon usually can't sit still, especially if they're worked up. They hate feeling restricted (in a physical and an emotional way)

Capricorn moon the least expressive moon sign. The type to express themselves in action rather than words. They can be really sweet if they want to. They'll always defend what they believe in and the people they love.

Aquarius moon's feelings are all over the place. They have unique views on things and say things that make everyone go ??

Pisces moon are usually quiet. They daydream a lot and are soft-spoken. They're also usually artistic (even if they're not artists themselves they'd still consume and appreciate art a lot)

[martian-astro10]

D9/ Navamsa chart observations - Part 6

Moon in 10th gives you a sassy (in a good way) father in law. Also, your spouse can be the best in their field. After marriage, you can be closer to your partner's family than your own. If you don't have a good relationship with your parents, then your partner's family will fill that void. (I know a gay guy with this placement and his husband was disowned by his family when he came out but my friend's family treat him as their own son. They have a really sweet relationship. I love this placement)

Rahu will either take away everything or give the best results related to the things of the house it's in. It really depends on it's dispositor. For ex- if rahu is in 5th, it can either give you a partner who is intelligent, creative, energetic, has a lot of hobbies, or it can give you a partner who drinks a lot, parties a lot, sleeps around, etc. it can also either give you a lot of kids or none at all.

Mercury in 9th gives you an intelligent spouse, they can also be a multilingual person. If you're a woman then your partner can have a little, teeny tiny tendency to mansplain, it's honestly like, they're so proud of their knowledge that they just wanna show how much they know, it can be a little annoying sometimes but nothing too serious. (I know a guy with this and his wife is so cute, she looks like a child every time she talks about her interests, you can tell how much she enjoys sharing her experiences and knowledge, it's kinda cute actually)

Venus in 7th is that placement that completely changes you after marriage, especially your fashion sense. it's because it aspects your 1st house, so definitely a huge change in personality, you can also get a glow up after marriage. Also, it can give a rich partner, kinda like a crazy rich Asians type situation. (I know a girl with this placement and she was so innocent before marriage, she wouldn't even wear revealing clothes and stuff but then after marriage, her mother in law basically threw out all her old clothes and got her new ones, I met her recently and BRO, she looked so different, so beautiful and she was wearing clothes that actually suit her body type and skin color. Also her mother in law is COOL AS FUCK, every time I look at her, I'm like, yeah, this is who I aspire to be like in the future) last point, you'll have a very loving marriage

Jupiter in 2nd is THAT placement. so many celebrities who are married to rich business men have this. I feel like this is one of the placements that just makes you very materialistic, like money is very important for you all, so you should marry someone who is just as materialistic. (I know people with this placement who don't get lonely or offended even when their spouses are workaholics, both you and your spouse think that money should take priority over any other matter) I'll be honest, your married life can be a little dry, but not if Jupiter is in a good sign

Sun in 9th is OFC another good placement. I haven't really seen this mentioned anywhere but this is like THE foreign spouse placement. all the people I know who have this, married someone who was not from their country. You'll also travel a lot after marriage. It gives you a really charming partner, like they can charm the pants off you. Also, the sexual tension is HIGH, Especially if sun is in Aries. There's also a high chance that you're an introvert but your spouse is not, so they can help you get out of your comfort zone

Saturn in 3rd can be such a calm and mature placement, it's like, you know how many men don't talk about the problems they face in a relationship, and then they start acting shitty and wait for the woman to break up. With this placement you get a responsible partner, someone who is willing to talk and meet halfway but you have got to match their energy yk. if you have a weak Mercury in d1, then this placement is not nice, cuz your communication skills are shit and they are TOO mature, so the moment you play games with them, they'll leave you. So work on yourself, is what I would say.

For ketu also, if the dispositor is well placed then you achieve balance in that area, but if not, then you feel detached. ( I know 2 people with ketu in 7th, one is so against marriage and she has extremely high standards, which tbh, are not even practical but the other one has high achievable standards. The funny thing is that the first one has always dated guys who were not good to her and the other has had zero dating experience cuz she's waiting for the right guy. So the detachment sometimes refers to "wrong attachment".

You all are not gonna like this but Jupiter in 7th is one of the STRONGEST indicators of getting married a lot of times. Jupiter in 1st as well, it's not that strong but chances are high. (Halley berrey, Jennifer Lopez, angelina jolie and Scarlett Johansson have it)

To end it on a good note, if you have mars in 5th, just know I'm jealous of you, cuz if there's one thing that you're not gonna lack in your marriage, it's sex. You guys will be those parents who kiss each other even you've been married for 35 years, you do that and then your kids go "ewww, you guys are so cringy" and run away. (Just make sure that mars is not conjunct or aspected by Saturn or rahu, Saturn gives no sex, rahu gives painful sex)

© martian-astro All rights reserved, 2024

[mariacallous]

Margaret Mitchell is a pioneer when it comes to testing generative AI tools for bias. She founded the Ethical AI team at Google, alongside another well-known researcher, Timnit Gebru, before they were later both fired from the company. She now works as the AI ethics leader at Hugging Face, a software startup focused on open source tools.

We spoke about a new dataset she helped create to test how AI models continue perpetuating stereotypes. Unlike most bias-mitigation efforts that prioritize English, this dataset is malleable, with human translations for testing a wider breadth of languages and cultures. You probably already know that AI often presents a flattened view of humans, but you might not realize how these issues can be made even more extreme when the outputs are no longer generated in English.

My conversation with Mitchell has been edited for length and clarity.

Reece Rogers: What is this new dataset, called SHADES, designed to do, and how did it come together?

Margaret Mitchell: It's designed to help with evaluation and analysis, coming about from the BigScience project. About four years ago, there was this massive international effort, where researchers all over the world came together to train the first open large language model. By fully open, I mean the training data is open as well as the model.

Hugging Face played a key role in keeping it moving forward and providing things like compute. Institutions all over the world were paying people as well while they worked on parts of this project. The model we put out was called Bloom, and it really was the dawn of this idea of “open science.”

We had a bunch of working groups to focus on different aspects, and one of the working groups that I was tangentially involved with was looking at evaluation. It turned out that doing societal impact evaluations well was massively complicated—more complicated than training the model.

We had this idea of an evaluation dataset called SHADES, inspired by Gender Shades, where you could have things that are exactly comparable, except for the change in some characteristic. Gender Shades was looking at gender and skin tone. Our work looks at different kinds of bias types and swapping amongst some identity characteristics, like different genders or nations.

There are a lot of resources in English and evaluations for English. While there are some multilingual resources relevant to bias, they're often based on machine translation as opposed to actual translations from people who speak the language, who are embedded in the culture, and who can understand the kind of biases at play. They can put together the most relevant translations for what we're trying to do.

So much of the work around mitigating AI bias focuses just on English and stereotypes found in a few select cultures. Why is broadening this perspective to more languages and cultures important?

These models are being deployed across languages and cultures, so mitigating English biases—even translated English biases—doesn't correspond to mitigating the biases that are relevant in the different cultures where these are being deployed. This means that you risk deploying a model that propagates really problematic stereotypes within a given region, because they are trained on these different languages.

So, there's the training data. Then, there's the fine-tuning and evaluation. The training data might contain all kinds of really problematic stereotypes across countries, but then the bias mitigation techniques may only look at English. In particular, it tends to be North American– and US-centric. While you might reduce bias in some way for English users in the US, you've not done it throughout the world. You still risk amplifying really harmful views globally because you've only focused on English.

Is generative AI introducing new stereotypes to different languages and cultures?

That is part of what we're finding. The idea of blondes being stupid is not something that's found all over the world, but is found in a lot of the languages that we looked at.

When you have all of the data in one shared latent space, then semantic concepts can get transferred across languages. You're risking propagating harmful stereotypes that other people hadn't even thought of.

Is it true that AI models will sometimes justify stereotypes in their outputs by just making shit up?

That was something that came out in our discussions of what we were finding. We were all sort of weirded out that some of the stereotypes were being justified by references to scientific literature that didn't exist.

Outputs saying that, for example, science has shown genetic differences where it hasn't been shown, which is a basis of scientific racism. The AI outputs were putting forward these pseudo-scientific views, and then also using language that suggested academic writing or having academic support. It spoke about these things as if they're facts, when they're not factual at all.

What were some of the biggest challenges when working on the SHADES dataset?

One of the biggest challenges was around the linguistic differences. A really common approach for bias evaluation is to use English and make a sentence with a slot like: “People from [nation] are untrustworthy.” Then, you flip in different nations.

When you start putting in gender, now the rest of the sentence starts having to agree grammatically on gender. That's really been a limitation for bias evaluation, because if you want to do these contrastive swaps in other languages—which is super useful for measuring bias—you have to have the rest of the sentence changed. You need different translations where the whole sentence changes.

How do you make templates where the whole sentence needs to agree in gender, in number, in plurality, and all these different kinds of things with the target of the stereotype? We had to come up with our own linguistic annotation in order to account for this. Luckily, there were a few people involved who were linguistic nerds.

So, now you can do these contrastive statements across all of these languages, even the ones with the really hard agreement rules, because we've developed this novel, template-based approach for bias evaluation that’s syntactically sensitive.

Generative AI has been known to amplify stereotypes for a while now. With so much progress being made in other aspects of AI research, why are these kinds of extreme biases still prevalent? It’s an issue that seems under-addressed.

That's a pretty big question. There are a few different kinds of answers. One is cultural. I think within a lot of tech companies it's believed that it's not really that big of a problem. Or, if it is, it's a pretty simple fix. What will be prioritized, if anything is prioritized, are these simple approaches that can go wrong.

We'll get superficial fixes for very basic things. If you say girls like pink, it recognizes that as a stereotype, because it's just the kind of thing that if you're thinking of prototypical stereotypes pops out at you, right? These very basic cases will be handled. It's a very simple, superficial approach where these more deeply embedded beliefs don't get addressed.

It ends up being both a cultural issue and a technical issue of finding how to get at deeply ingrained biases that aren't expressing themselves in very clear language.

[teaboot]

Different actors and artists I mistakenly thought were the same person for a really long time:

Adam Sandler and Ben Stiller (? Tall face dad man? Comedy. Brown hair blue eyes. Early 2000's Blockbuster Video regulars.)

Kiera Knightly and Natalie Portman (Scary and pretty like an android that would eject me from the space shuttle)

Kiera Knightly and Kristen Stewart (K-names, queer kid kryptonite, pretty)

Justin Timberlake and Orlando Bloom (Pretty face white man, teens love him)

Ryan Reynolds and Paul Rudd (Thin face brown hair white guy? Comedy? Superhero with red suit. Immature dad vibes. "Pull my finger" type energy)

Celine Dion and Shakira (Pretty and tall multilingual blonde singers?)

Michelle Pfeifer and Uma Thurman (Odd name? Blonde? 2010 era songs about them)

Gene Wilder and Mike Myers (Cannot explain)

Individual actors I always thought were two different actors:

Lucy Liu in "Kill Bill" and Lucy Liu in everything else (I keep thinking Kill Bill came out in the early 70's and Lucy Liu does NOT look older than my mom)

Natalie Dormer (Though she was a bunch of different blonde women who looked alike but it's just her)

Actors and artists who I cannot recall ever seeing in my life, whose appearances I make up in my head whenever people talk about them:

Uma Thurman (Blonde? Very pretty. Red lipstick. Like Marilyn Monroe but a sharper chin.)

Stevie Wonder (A handsome Black gentleman in his late forties. Always in a tuxedo.)

Gilbert Godfrey (Peewee Herman??)

Celebrities I can picture in my mind with absolute photographic clarity:

Mike Tyson

Doug Jones

Miss Piggy

Public figures whose names I've heard of through pop culture osmosis but retained zero information about:

Roger Whittaker

Grace Earl Jones

Casey Anthony (??? A person??)

Akon

Greta Herwig (I think that's a person)

Tony Montana (Fictional???)

[brynnterpretations]

THE BOYS’ TYPES ☻

Annie January

GIF Source: @kylos ★ (link)

Someone kind, gentle, sensitive, and a bit nerdy. She is a Certified Yapper Lover™, and loves to hear her partners talk about things they're interested in, so passion is key for her; bonus points if it's about something she hasn't really heard of before (Hughie really got her hooked with a discombobulated Star Wars rant). As we all know, Annie has an extremely firm sense of right and wrong, so a potential partner's values are a make-or-break scenario for Annie. Admittedly, she finds nervousness and rambling very cute, and it's the first thing that typically draws her to a person. She's a fan of that anxious, neurotic energy — sorry-not-sorry. Additionally, for men and women alike, if you have curly or otherwise textured hair? She wants you.

Billy Butcher

GIF Source: @amazingmaeve ★ (link)

Since Becca, Billy's type has fluctuated a lot. Before and during Becca, he deeply appreciated someone level-headed, calm, caring, and intelligent; however, after her death, it's been hard finding someone of that personality that didn't just remind him of her. For short-term relationships, Billy is very attracted to firecracker types, and for long-term, appreciates someone sensible and a little snarky, yet able to be sensitive in the right moments, even if he may push him away. A hard rule for Billy, though, is that the person is able to stand their own. He greatly values conviction, and even if that person may have differing opinions, them being able to stand up for their own beliefs is something extremely important to him in a relationship.

Frenchie

GIF Source: @vcugifs ★ (link)

Someone quiet, driven, loyal, and with a secret soft side. Got walls? Frenchie loves them and wants to break them down (lovingly, of course). Considering his past, he wants someone understanding and with a "history" of their own, too — he's naturally drawn to people who have that aura and "roughness", for lack of a better term, to them. Being bilingual, or multilingual, even if it's not French, is a big plus for him, too; as a communicative person and someone interested in linguistics in general, he becomes a lot more interested in someone if he hears them speaking or writing another language.

Hughie Campbell

GIF Source: @olympain ★ (link)

Someone strong, independent, and passionate. As a pretty nervous guy, Hughie greatly admires people who can "stand their own", and is drawn to them in relationships. That doesn't mean it's all take, though — Hughie really likes someone who, even if strong, he can comfort, care for, and support, so if you're in need of any of that? Hughie's your guy. He also is pretty attracted to anyone who stands his rambles and doesn't give him crap for them — and, better, is actively engaged — and will fall for you pretty quickly if you're that type. So, in another words: if you'll tell McDonald's they put mustard when he asked for no mustard, he'll fall for you.

Kimiko Miyashiro

GIF Source: @amazingmaeve ★ (link)

Someone understanding, empathetic, and optimistic. It's suffice to say that Kimiko has been through a lot, and, like Frenchie, wants someone who she can relate to and move forward to better futures with. People who have a positive attitude in spite of their hardships are people she's greatly attracted to. Being chatty and willing to communicate with her often is also something she loves; she has a lot on her mind and likes to share it with the people she loves and see their thoughts on it. Similarly to that, she loves expressive people —  not just because it makes them easier to read, but she finds it really, really cute. A bit random, but if you have a loud laugh, too, she'll fall in love pretty quick.

Marvin T. Milk (M.M.)

GIF Source: @vergeltvng ★ (link)

Someone loyal, resilient, hardworking, and honest — to the point of bluntness. M.M. is a no-bullshit guy and not someone to appreciate a "cheerleader" figure, so he greatly appreciates someone he can always trust to tell the truth, even when it's not pretty. Realism and practicality is also important to him too. Like Annie, morals are also a make-or-break for M.M., and having someone who cares about integrity, family, and justice like him is the most important aspect in relationships to him. Additionally, someone who's A) good with kids and B) good with his past wife. While he wouldn't hold any feelings for Monique while in or pursuing a relationship, his former family is extremely important to him. His potential partner having the maturity to recognize this situation, as well as holding a love for children (even if they don't want any themself), is very important to him.

[criminalmindsgonewrong]

how I percieve Hotchniss:

as requested by @em-prentiss

emily:

tropes: action girl, blue blood, lady in a powersuit, back from the dead, brainy brunette, dark and troubled past, honour before reason, sarcasm personified, reckless and sexy

she/her

libra sun, scorpio moon, leo rising

bisexual 

born 12th october 1970

chaotic neutral

ENFJ personality type

cat person

only child - and very much gives only child energy

red is her favourite colour

body count: "private, thank you very much!"

her favourite movie of all time is 'Carrie' - but she can't resist a good old mystery novel

has some secret skills she doesn't really talk about or use until she needs them; plays the piano, did ballet until she was 15, can horseback ride.

her favourite book of all time is 'Jane Eyre'

dog ears her books to save her pages - either that or uses literally anything as a bookmark. argues that it makes her books look 'loved'

her favourite meal is a good cheeseburger (although she'll tell you its some kind of fancy pasta)

chews her nails when she's stressed

grew up in multiple embassies across the world including: UK, Iraq, Russia, Italy, France, Greece, Spain, and Egypt.

mommy issues galore although she'd never admit it

daddy issues, too, while we're at it.

absentee father who was 'working' all the time - only 'working' meant having affairs and avoiding their home as much as possible

her parents only put on the show of a functional, happy marriage for elizabeth's career, a charade emily was also expected to play a part in. she did so until she went away to college

her dad died when she was 23

nomadic lifestyle all her life due to her mom's job - finds it hard to settle down as a result

has a little box of mementos from each of the places she's lived, trinkets that would be of no value to anyone else but mean a lot to her

has a few small, discreet tattoos

multi-lingual but not a show off about it - sometimes dreams in italian

is also multilingual in sarcasm and often uses it to diffuse tense situations.

had an abortion when she was 15 - doesn't regret it but has always wondered. marks the day each year, even if it's just with a prayer. it's the only time she prays

✨️ religious trauma ✨️ 

rebelled against her mother as a teenager and their relationship has never really recovered

spoilt, privileged lifestyle 

likes her luxuries as a result and doesn't shy away from them 

never had too many close friends growing up - due to the moving around a lot

bit of a wild girl at college, there's not really a sexual position or an illegal substance she hasn't tried at least once (except the ones you inject, she's not insane)

still sneaks the occasional cigarette

cannot abide by any rule she considers arbitrary

loves a good horror movie, the gorier the better but the supernatural ones freak her out

has a secret passion for classical music when she’s stressed - particularly beethoven and bach

emily has a love for fine wine and is something of an amateur connoisseur, able to tell the difference between a good vintage and a cheap bottle. she and rossi bond over this.

her passion for coffee, however, is much more lax and she can drink even the roughest of instant crap. 

can also whip up a mean martini

she’s a cat person but never had a pet growing up due to all the moving around.

emily’s guilty pleasure is reality TV—she finds it oddly comforting and a way to unwind from the seriousness of her day-to-day life.

often doodles when she's on the phone—her notebooks are full of random sketches.

loves an indoor plant but finds it incredibly difficult to keep them alive

fucking loves technology and is slightly addicted to TikTok. has to limit her own screen time.

speaking of TikTok, she's totally on BookTok and loved the ACOTAR series.

loves spicy foods - often challenges herself to try the hottest dish on the menu.

bit of an adrenaline junkie, whether in her home or professional life. overly impulsive sometimes as a result

what she wears:

aaron:

tropes: badass in a nice suit, stoic leader, chronic hero syndrome, highest kill count, death glare, grumpy to her sunshine, deadpan snarker

he/him

scorpio sun, taurus moon, virgo rising

heterosexual

born 2nd november 1965

lawful good

ISTJ personality type

dog person

bodycount: 2

favourite colour is navy blue

eldest son, his brother, sean, is 11 years younger than him

his favourite book is 'one hundred years of solitude'

prioritizes his fitness and likes to take on fitness challenges to keep himself healthy

lonely childhood even though he had a little brother

abusive, drunk for a father

emotionally absent mother who was trying to deal with her own trauma

his mom died when he was 25

his dad is still alive out there somewhere but they're not in contact, and aaron has no intention of being

had to be the strong one for his little brother

comes from a pretty poor background, has built himself up to be and have everything he is and has 

always felt like more of a father than a brother to Sean because of their age gap, and the fact that he practically raised him

loves to go camping and be in the wilderness

a morning person - likes to get up and out of the house as early as possible

a very neat person - you'd be forgiven for thinking he was in the military (he never was) by the way he makes his bed and stacks his clothes

collected coins as a kid, something he never grew out of. has a very well organised collection he values greatly

keeps his books neat and tidy - always uses a bookmark

loves an old western, likes an action movie, horrors make him uncomfy and he's a secret sucker for a rom-com

reluctant green thumb and often ends up taking care of the plants that emily brings home and gives up on or gets distracted from

has a soft spot for old-school jazz and sometimes listens to it when he needs to decompress.

he's a surprisingly good cook, which is a skill he honed while having to take care of his brother, although the recipes were a lot more basic back then

still has his parents wedding rings, a fact about himself that he wrestles with since he doubts they were ever in love

prefers handwritten notes to digital reminders, is a very tactile person. never really fell in love with his phone.

hums softly when he's concentrating, a habit he's more often than not completely unaware of, and emily finds it adorable

keeps a stash of chocolate in his drawer in the office - stocks it with emily's favourites

wears his grandfather's class ring. it's the only family heirloom he has, and sometimes he feels guilty for not giving it to sean

has a collection of old vinyls from the 70s

visits the same diner every saturday for breakfast. after getting together with emily, the visits become less frequent but they still go now and then. aaron says they have the best eggs. emily thinks they're just ok, but she likes to see him happy

aaron isn't a big drinker; he'll have a few beers on a night out, or a whiskey after work occasionally, but he very rarely engages in any binge drinking. emily's only seen him really drunk a handful of times throughout their relationship.

he is, however, partial to the occasional cigar and although emily sneaks her own cigarette now and then, she can't stand the smell of them.

what he wears:

Hotchniss:

the only time hotch is not a morning person is when emily is in his bed, then he never wants to leave the comfort of the covers and the warmth of her body

hotch will watch a horror movie with emily with a straight face, but hate it the whole way through. emily will pretend to be into his action movies, and doesn't let him know she's actually bored out of her mind. their middle ground is a good western or a rom-com.

their first big fight is over a clash between their idea of 'tidy' - emily is laid back, doesn't mind a bit of clutter. aaron is...borderline ocd. they fall out over her having left a towel on the floor...again.

they are very well matched at chess, and often their games can go on for weeks in between cases and life. currently emily is winning by two games.

aaron would rather to repairs around the house himself, where as emily is used to throwing money at a problem and making it go away. they try to compromise but they're away so often for work that more often than not, emily wins because aaron just doesn't have the time, but when he does take on a project he loves the manual labour, and emily loves to sit back and watch x

it was his dream to restore a classical care so emily bought him one for his 50th birthday and its his pride and joy. he painted it red just for her

emily reads before bed and aaron does the crossword, with his glasses perched on the end of his nose and emily thinks it's the cutest thing.

emily's love of spicy foods means that more often than not aaron has to resign himself to buying her two meals when the spiciest dish on the menu is just 'a little too spicy' - he doesn't mind, really

they're both incredibly competitive. emily gets sweary and loud when she's in competition, aaron gets smug and smirky and that drives emily up the wall. their second biggest fight, ever, was over a game of monopoly. it's been banned in their household ever since.

emily takes aaron to a ranch for one of his birthdays - to celebrate his love for an old western, and because she thinks he'll love it! turns out aaron hotchner is terrified of horses. emily spent the first day riding and trying to convince him to do the same, and after that they just enjoyed the views and each other's company, and the horses, but from afar.

emily often teases hotch about his love for organization and can’t resist occasionally hiding a few items just to see his reaction. he pretends to be frustrated but secretly finds her antics adorable.

surprisingly, when they go on vacation, it's emily who wants their days planned down to the moment so that they don't miss anything, and aaron who just - finally- wants to relax and 'go with the flow'. emily finds this version of her husband disconcerting.

emily loves to surprise hotch with impromptu weekend getaways. he pretends to grumble about the lack of planning and the expense of it all but secretly enjoys the surprises and the thought she puts into them.

financially, aaron and emily grew up in two very different places. aaron watched his mother scrimp and save every penny to try and provide for him and sean, when she was lucid. when she wasn't, he had to figure it out himself. he's worked since the age of 14. emily had everything in life given to her on a silver platter and, even now, occasionally spends out of her trust fund. aaron gets frustrated by spending that he sees as frivolous and emily has to remind him that they're well off - she still has her trust fund, even if neither of them were working. it's infrequently a source of contention between them, though.

they dated before emily's 'death', before paris. he visited her in paris, where their flame sparked again but when she came back to the team nothing happened. then beth happened. then emily left again.

they stayed in contact while she was in london and eventually realised they were miserable without each other. emily moves back to the states, returns to the BAU and they get back together.

they marry that same year. it's a really small ceremony, attended only by the team, jack and sean. neither of their surviving parents are invited.

they started a two-person book club where they choose a book to read each month and discuss it over dinner. they always donate one copy - whether to charity or a friend. sometimes both if they agree that the book sucked.

they create the 'hotchner cup' which is a trophy that they play for every family game night. it's an old, tarnished badge of hotch's with 'Hotchner' written across it super-glued to an old ballet trophy of emily's. it's currently in emily's possession...due to the chess situation.

emily's a cat person and hotch loves dogs. as a compromise, they have one of each.

when emily has their kids, they share the position of Unit Chief at the BAU and alternate shifts, so someone's always at home with the kids. it's their one rule; the kids never get left alone.

they have three kids together, ava, livvy and alex. jack is aaron's son from his previous marriage to haley, and emily loves him like her own.

they share a home office and walking into it is hysterical; there are two desks and it's immediately obvious whose is whose because aaron's is meticulously organised and emily's is a mess.

aaron always dreads his weeks 'on' at work, because he knows he's going into his desk being an absolute mess. emily is the same because she says whenever he cleans up, he puts her stuff away and she can't find anything. she prefers her 'organised chaos'.

even though emily is a luxury resort kind of girl, aaron forces the family to take an annual camping trip. every year, emily complains about it; alex and ava follow her suit. jack and livvy love the camping trip like their father. even though emily and the kids complain, they also secretly love it.

they take an annual family photo during every camping trip

every year they all celebrate haley's birthday together with a special meal; homemade lasagne followed by apple pie and ice cream, both favourites of haley.

when it comes to parenting, there's no doubt who's the strict parent. emily definitely takes a more relaxed approach than her husband.

however, when it comes to bullying or the kids being in danger, emily has to be kept in check. more than once she's threatened to pull her badge on a kid - or parent - at school. more than once, she's had to be talked down by her husband, and sometimes the kids.

when aaron eventually retires early, he takes up teaching at the academy. they still have lunch together most days.

after aaron retires, emily takes on the role of unit chief by herself and eventually progresses to section chief, which is more of a bureaucratic role than she ever imagined for herself, but it means she gets home to her family every night.

Hotchniss tropes:

grumpy x sunshine rich girl x poor boy he's her boss mutual pining will they/won't they jealousy trope friends to lovers 'touch her and you die'

Photos Aaron takes of Emily:

Photos Emily takes of Aaron:

Joint camera roll:

How Hotchniss text:

Hotchniss playlist:

[sundayeleith]

It's time I post my opinion on the other changes of the demo ! I'll try and make it sort since I want to make another post about Leander's route in particular >:)

Tldr : I liked it and I can't wait to see how everything will go plot wise in the full game 👀

/!\ Spoilers for TS demo update ! /!\

So let's adress the tiny bits first : the origin change, and the minor dialogue/scenario changes. Love it. Yes I like the new origin I think the idea is cool, what I didn't like was the change itself (but that's not the topic). Firstly, it gives us a big info : there IS several languages in the world of TS ! WOOO let's go if that's not a win for bilingual/multilingual MCs idk what it is

The minor changes I notices are mainly a few differences in Kuras and Ais' segments which are very welcome, and more depth added to Mhin's and Vere's segment. First of all thank RSS for shutting up dense people by stating why MC wears bandages rather than gloves. I mean, most of us figured it out a while back by rubbing two braincells together, but it's nice to see it mentionned ! It was seemlessly added to Kuras' segment too, really nice. Then expending the Iris segment was good (also confirmed the NPC telling us abut Ais is Iris, or well, what's left of her anyways)

The new sprites and expression are all super good. Special mention for Vere's smile, truly the highlisht of that category. That and Leander's puppy eyes expression-

Onto Vere and Mhin, I really appreciated being able to explore more choices. Mhin is so cute and what a nerd I LOVE THEM. Also Vere... I know what you are and you have a type 🫵 (he is a freak /pos)

Now let's talk about the bigger changes and also the man of the hour (who's also my wife /j) LEANDER YEEEEEEAH BABYYYYYY. So other's have already pointed out the changes and explained very well the symbolism behind it. They got rid of the dog imagery to get a snake one, which is very clever. Also on the addertsone, a magic item also associated with snakes (or adders) and poison ? Wonderful. Leander in terms of theme and design is already sourrounded by a lot of poison symbolism (notably his color palette, he is dripping in green and has a shade or green that once was made with arsenic) so the changes ties perfectly with it. One thing that was removed which I think should have stayed is the green cloaks on Leander's followers. Not only it would reinforce the cult-ish vibe but go very-well with the snake imagery of the Adders and would even elevate it. That said, maybe it'll be added later or will be noticeable on future NPC sprites. The green cloaks aside if they don't keep it, I hope the Adders will all have a sign of distinction no matter what that could be (bonus if it's very subtle or hidden)

Then for the rest of the changes, they not only changed the Bloodhound into the Adderstone but changed Leader's characterisation. As a Leander simp, to be fair the change isn't drastic, only the presentation is. If anything, they didn't change Leander's character and take another path, but cranked it up to eleven. And I absolutely loved it. He is more charismatic, more assertive, and is very obviously more manipulative and calculated. He isn't outwardly hostile to MC, far from it, but let's me tell you something. After the tavern segment, if you chose Leander's route. When he closes the door and locks it, with his front facing sprite. I was terrifed (/pos) the dev's nailed it and they know what they are doing with him and leaned into that aspect of him more and honestly thank you RSS for catering to us freaks rather than the "but I want Leander to be a normal guy" crowd (I will forever judge them it's a gothic horror game for the love of god). I need him more than before. Oh my god. My only complain tho is I thought Leander would go full scary creeping and stab MC in their room and it didn't happen so I was a bit disappointed BUT. I smell like it's because they are keeping the sauce for the full game. That was a mere sample, a teaser of Leander depravity and my body is READY for it.

I will revisit my Leander analysis doc I never posted and expend on it and make an updated version to match the Demo 2.0 update, but you can be sure I'll post it once I have time to put it together sihfoqhf

Be prepared I have a theory about what's his deal and I can't believe I've never thought about it while it was so obvious 🫵

[staravyz]

︖﹖ㅤㅤRandom Oddly Specific HCs

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ❕️ㅤclick 4rules—4masterlist

ㅤㅤ🔭ㅤㅤ—ㅤ(dr. stone) ishigami senkuu x reader

ㅤ﹑tags ... x reader/headcanons/super ranom/odd/lowk procrastinating everything else so pls take this/platonic or romantic/may make a continuation... maybe/short

ㅤ౨ৎㅤ—ㅤa/n﹕where did everyone in the dr stone fandom go.... it's so quiet and lonely and i feel embarrassed being like one of the only x reader writers left........😰😰😣😣😣

dates are usually never planned, senku just coincidentally accidentally surprisingly leads you to the arcade or a restaurant while you're on a walk together

study dates feel like a tutoring lesson except the tutor (senku) is a college level professor

OR he's rambling and info dumping while you sit and look pretty 👅

he's actually allergic to verbally apologizing yeah

type of person to bring you apology fruit if he knows he actually messed up

if not, he's gonna be stubborn and dismiss the situation entirely so he isn't distracted by something irrelevant

went through a multilingualism phase and randomly knows how to speak decently in foreign languages because he studied how some of them work (if you're multilingual, he definitely studied yours (also this is self projection because i'm a linguistics nerd))

probably dreams about numbers idk

walked around the playground when he was a kid memorizing his times tables up to 24 instead of socializing (me too)

has complex math techniques he made up that actually work

has 16 different emails

always has gum in his backpack

abacus warrior

made his own cypher for fun one time

watches scientists do experiments on youtube or minecraft while he eats

would be one of those build a boat engineers on roblox

a fan of thrill and the feeling of adrenaline

will go on amusement park rides with you and joke about loose screws and the probability of dying (he's lying)

i think it's canon he's a freak.

over a hundred items in his amazon wishlist

"is it legal to ____" several times in his search history

has a poster of the periodic table on his wall

pulls up with a thick winter coat on the first day of autumn i'm joking

enjoys sunsets

probably really wants a 3d printer or he already has one

not financially aware at all

clarifies with you that if he ever upsets you, just tell him straight up, it's troublesome to keep quiet about your problems

his brain multitasks. that's canon from how he counted the seconds for 3700 years. meaning, he probably listened to gossip all the time in school

"and after i literally told her about our whole argument, she hooked up with him the next day."

*gasp* "no way..."

"yeah, and she had the AUDACITY to keep calling and texting me acting like she didn't just seduce my now-ex-boyfriend." from a conversation two girls were having across the classroom.

you poked senku and whispered, "senku, senku! did you hear tha—?"

"shhh—shut up, they might notice us."

remembers every little thing about you and pretends not to

likes to play dumb around you because you make him comfortable. will shrug at "senku, what's 7 times 9?"

and because you make him laugh

lowk cannot lock in on school because of his side projects and scientific hustles

boxes of books under his bed and in his closet

cereal, then milk like a normal person

likes to travel but then takes like 3 good pictures (foreshadowing for a fic i'm working on)

takes random part-time jobs

partly because byakuya gets mad at him for spending too much money sometimes

partly because he wants the experience

#overachiever

heavily hc that he wrote a few books of important information in the stone world, like making a stone world library of alexandria

was saliva conscious in the old world

yeah idk what else to add i'll get back to writing my actual projects and requests.....😣

©️ staravyzㅤ(¬_¬") do not steal, translate, or repost.

[lee-laurent]

Scheiße - Luke Hughes

Summary: In which Luke falls for Nico's friend despite the language barrier. Or in which Sofia dates an American boy even though she barely understands him... at first.

Content: fluff, a tiny bit of angst (sort of), implied sex but no smut, making out

also this fic is formatted a bit different! it's kinda like a timeline of Luke and Sofia's relationship!

notes: everything in italics is in swiss german. easier than having to translate everything!! this one is for all my other multilingual queens/kings :) i tried my best to represent the struggle that i felt trying to learn english, but obviously everyone's experience is going to be different. the squirrel scene is very much taken from an actual experience i had haha

Meeting

"Stop picking at your nails, Sof. Everyone is going to love you," Nico attempted to calm his best friend.

"You don't know that. They could hate me," she argued, continuing to pick at her cuticles.

"Well... I'm their captain. So, if they do anything that makes you upset..."

"Don't threaten your team for me, Neeks."

"Just trying to reassure you, love."

The Devils were having a little pre-season get together with all the players and their significant others. Nico's best friend, Sofia, had recently made the move to America in hopes to improve her English; so, naturally he had decided to bring her along to help her make some friends in New Jersey.

Nervously, she followed behind Nico as they walked onto the roof of Nicole and Jesper's building. He placed a comforting hand on her back, leading her towards a group of WAGs.

"Nico! Hi!" Nicole smiled, "And you must be Sofia! Nico talks about you all the time."

"Hi," Sofia smiled sheepishly, playing with the hem of her skirt.

"Would you like a drink?" the blonde asked.

"Oh, sure. Thank you."

"I'll be with the boys. Let me know if you need anything," Nico smiled, walking off towards a group of hollering men.

Sofia fell into a steady flow of conversation with the Devils' significant others. Well, as steady as it could be with her limited knowledge of English.

"How long have you been seeing Nico?" one of the girls asked, taking a sip from her cocktail.

Sofia choked on her drink, giggling at the idea of being with Nico. "He is my best friend. We are not toether."

"Omg! I'm so sorry," the other girl blushed.

"It is fine! No stress," Sof smiled proudly at the use of the expression that Nico had recently taught her.

"So, anyone special back in Switzerland?" Nicole questioned.

"Oh, um, no. I... too focused on work. No time," she explained.

"Omg! We could set you up with one of the single guys on the team!"

"Oh... it's okay," Sofia giggled, taking a long sip of her drink.

"Let us know if you change your mind," Nicole winked, before starting a story about something that had happened at work earlier in the week.

"Sofia! Come here!" Nico beckoned her over to where he stood with a few players.

"Coming! It was nice meeting you all," she smiled politely at the girls.

"Wait! Give me your number! I'll add you to our group chat," Simon's girlfriend exclaimed. Sofia was giddy as she typed her number into her newly found friend's phone.

"Guys, meet Sofia," Nico smiled, placing his hand on her back once again. "Sof, meet Luke, Jack, Timo, and Dawson."

"Hi," Jack smiled widely.

"Nico always talks of you guys. Nice to meet you," the girl smiled, scooting closer into Nico's side. She was not a fan of all the eyes on her at the moment.

"Nice to see you again," Timo grinned. They'd met over the summer when Nico was training.

Luke could see her shoulders untense at the sound of her native language.

"You as well. It's crazy to meet everyone Nico talks about all the time. Like, sometimes I was convinced they were all in his head," she giggled, earning a glare from her best friend.

Luke, Jack, and Dawson chuckled awkwardly, completely unaware of what the conversation in front of them was about. They could be shit talking for all they knew.

"So... what do you do for work?" Dawson asked.

"Oh, fashion photography!"

"Ever tried sports photography?"

"I'm not as good at it," she nodded.

"She's being humble. She just prefers fashion," Nico laughed. While Nico talked to the boys, Sofia couldn't help but notice that the tallest boy in the group had yet to speak to her. Did he not like her? She was trying her best. She caught his eyes for a moment, but he quickly looked down at the beer in his hands. She was upset that one of Nico's close friends didn't like her, but she couldn't win them all.

Crushing

It was the third or fourth time that Sofia had hungout with the WAGs. This time she'd invited them to have their wine night at her and Nico's apartment. The girls were sat in the living room, chatting animatedly about the upcoming season.

"I know that Simon is so excited for his rookie season! He told me that Luke is feeling the same way," Simon's girlfriend smiled.

"I- I don't think Luke likes me," Sofia spoke up, swishing her wine around in the glass.

"What?!" Nicole exclaimed, "Why do you think that?"

"He never talks to me. And when I go to stand with Neeks, he walks away."

"That's funny because Curtis told me something completely different," Reanne smiled cheekily.

"What did he say?" Sofia asked, chugging the rest of her wine, before pouring herself some more.

"That Luke has a biiiiiig crush on a certain someone."

"Ooo! Sofia!" the girls cheered.

"But... he doesn't talk to me."

"Luke has no play, girl. He's probably just wayyy too nervous to talk you cause you're so stunning."

"He thinks I'm cute?" Sofia blushed.

"Duh! Who wouldn't? Do you think he's cute?" Nicole pressed.

Sofia pressed her lips together in an attempt to hide her growing smile, "He is like... how do I say it? My..."

"Type?"

"Yes! He's my type."

"Can I tell Curtis? Maybe he can talk some sense into Luke."

"We should let them come together naturally, Reanne," Nicole giggled.

"Okay, well... next game you're talking to him. Sound good?"

Sofia nodded happily. She couldn't believe that Luke had a crush on her! She felt like a high schooler writing in her diary about the cute boy in her class.

First Date

Sofia stood in the bathroom mirror, fixing her hair for the 15th time. She hadn't gone on a date in over a year and she was shitting herself. Luke had asked her out after their most recent win against the Rangers. She hadn't exactly told Nico who were date was with, but he knew she was going on one.

"You look beautiful, Sof," Nico smiled as she walked into the kitchen.

"It's not too much?" she asked, pulling at the bottom of her top.

"Are you going to wear a jacket?"

"Yeah, my jean one."

"I think that's perfect. Where are you guys going?"

"Some pizza place. Then we're going on a walk, I think."

"Cute. How'd you meet?"

"Oh, at the Rangers game. He came up to me when I was waiting for you."

"He wasn't a Rangers fan... was he?"

"No," she giggled, "He was wearing a Devils' jersery."

"Good. Have fun! You'll be back tonight?"

"Yes, Neeks. I'm not going to his on the first date," she giggled, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

"Stay safe! I love you!"

"Love you too," she grabbed her purse, blowing him one last kiss before disappearing out the door.

"Hi," Luke smiled, "I like your outfit."

"Thank you, Luke. You look nice too," she admired the way his chest looked in the blue polo shirt he was wearing.

"Pizza?"

"Pizza."

The walk to the pizza place was full of laughter. Sofia wasn't sure she'd ever felt so confident in her English as when she was around Luke. He wasn't condescending at all, helping her when she asked and waiting when she didn't.

"Have you ever played hockey?" Luke asked, cutting himself a slice of pizza.

"No. That is not really... my thing?"

Luke nodded in understanding.

"But I love watching. You are very good."

"Thanks, Sofia. I have seen the outfits you've helped Nico make. Do you think you could help me?"

"You always wear same two suits," she giggled, covering her mouth.

"Don't bully me!"

"Sorry. I would love to help you, Luke."

"I, uh, wanted to apologize for ignoring you when we first met. I was under the impression that you were with Nico, so I was trying to push my attraction away."

"Nico is like a brother. I never think of him other ways. Promise."

"It's fine, Sof. No worries. I just being dumb."

"Maybe you are always dumb, Lukey."

Luke cackled, reaching out and holding her hand across the table.

"I'll just pretend that was your lack of English and not you bullying my again."

"I would never bully you," she smirked.

First Kiss

Sofia was cuddled up into Luke's side on the sofa, his hand holding tightly onto the dip of her waist.

"I can put the German captions on," Luke offered, as he watched Sofia's face scrunch up for umpteenth time.

"But maybe that would distract you."

"It won't, babe. I'll turn them on."

Sofia blushed at the pet name. Luke grabbed the remote, clicking on the German caption option on the film they were watching.

"What the hell is Eichhörnchen?" Luke asked, butchering the pronunciation.

"Eichhörnchen?" she giggled, correcting him, "It's squirrel."

"Say that again?"

"Squirrel."

"You say it so funny. I'm sorry."

"The 'skw' sound... that is not in German. Stop hating."

"Sorry, love," Luke giggled, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

Sofia looked up at him as he pulled away. She placed a gentle hand on the side of his face, leading him back down.

"What're you doing?" he whispered.

"Can we kiss?"

"Wha- what?"

"Can we kiss?" she asked just as confidently as before.

Luke nodded, running his tongue over his bottom lip. He leaned forward, capturing her top lip between his. He smiled into the kiss, ultimately breaking it. Sofia pouted, pulling him back in for more.

Wearing His Jersey/Becoming His Girlfriend

"Do a spin for me?" Luke smiled from his spot on his bed. Sofia was dressed in her panties and a jersey with 'Hughes 43' plastered on the back. She spun around giggling as he got off the bed, picking her up.

"You. Are. So. Fucking. Beautiful," he said between kisses, hands sneaking under the jersey to give her exposed ass a small squeeze. She gasped, smacking his chest.

"Jack will be home soon, I should go."

"Do you have to?" he whined, sitting down and pulling her onto his lap.

"Yes, Lukey. I'll be at the game, wearing my new jersey," she giggled, pulling him into a passionate kiss. He attempted to lay down and bring her with him, but she was quick to stand up. She walked over to the side of the bed, hopping into her jeans. The vintage bell bottoms looked amazing on her and Luke made sure to let her know, letting out a low whistle as she walked out the door.

"A Hughes' jersey?" Nico questioned after the game, pulling her into a hug.

"Thought I'd switch it up. Can't always be repping the Hischier one."

"Where'd you get it?"

"Luke let me borrow it."

"I'm glad you two have become friends. I was worrying you weren't going to befriend any of the guys."

"We're the same age. It just made sense," she shrugged.

"You never told me how that date you went on was."

"Oh, didn't really work out. He just wanted to use me to get free tickets," she lied.

"Sounds about right. You'll find someone, Sof. Don't worry."

"And if I don't?"

"You've got me," he winked, making her laugh. "Need a ride home?"

"Yes! Let me say thanks to Luke again."

"I'll meet you at the car," he smiled, kissing her cheek as he headed out.

"Look at you," Luke whispered as he pulled her into a 'friendly' hug. "Look so good in my jersey."

"Stop being so horny," she giggled, pulling away from him.

"Can't help it when my girlfriend looks sooooo fine."

"Girlfriend?"

"Sorry, I- uh, I just assumed because we spend all this time together. But if you don't want to be my girlfriend, I understand. I shouldn't have-"

"Luke."

"Yeah?"

"I'd love to be your girlfriend."

"Oh."

She pulled him into one more quick hug, before skipping off to meet Nico.

Nico Finding Out

Luke hummed as Sofia straddled his lap, running her hands through his hair. He pressed a kiss to her jaw, another on her neck, then one on her collarbone before connecting their lips again.

"I missed you," he mumbled.

"Missed you too."

The boys had been on a week long roadie, and now Sofia and Luke couldn't keep their hands off each other.

"Mmm, I love this perfume. Is it new?" he asked, kissing her neck again.

"Yeah," her voice was shaky, gasping when he nipped at her jaw.

"God, Sofia. You're perfect."

"Luke."

"Hm?"

"Kiss me."

His hands gripped her waist as their lips met in another passionate kiss. They laid down on the couch, Luke holding himself up as his girlfriend giggled below him.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing. I just missed this."

"Me too, babe."

Sofia's hands moved under his top, feeling the smooth skin of his chest. Just as Luke was going to ask if he could do the same, a new voice echoed through the apartment.

"Sofia? Who's here?"

"What?"

"Who's here? There's some white sneakers at the door. Not mine."

"Oh, Luke's here! We're watching TV."

The couple scrambled to sit up and fix their dishevled looks.

"Hey, Luke! How's it going, man?" Nico entered the living room, dapping up his teammate.

"Good, good. How're you?"

"Good. You didn't tell me he was coming over," Nico turned to his roommate.

"Yeah... spur of the moment."

"Is that a hickey?" Nico asked in German, as not to embarass Sofia.

"What? No."

"It totally is! Who gave you a hickey?"

"It's not a hickey, Nico."

"Was it him?!" Nico gasped.

"What?! No!"

"It was! You're such a shit liar! How long?"

"Beginning of the season," she sighed, finally giving in.

"This is so funny! Why didn't you tell me?!"

"I'm not a shit liar, for the record. You had no idea until now."

"Was that date with him?!"

"Nico!"

"I'm right here... if you're talking about me," Luke scratched the back of his neck.

"One second, Luke," Sofia smiled. "It was, yeah. I... I was nervous to tell you. Was worried you'd think I was using you to get with him."

"That's funny, Sof. I couldn't care less. As long as you're happy."

Sofia stood up, pulling her best friend into a tight hug.

"I'm watching you though, Rusty. Hurt her and I'll hurt you," Nico threatened, heading to his bedroom.

"He knows?!" Luke gasped.

Guess Sofia had some explaining to do.

[alittlebitofwonk]

Etho is familiar with the weird rules that come with being a server admin. He’s known Xisuma long enough to know that being an admin comes with perks, but also sometimes just… weird shit. He doesn’t pretend to get all of it, but he knows enough.

So, when the admin of a completely different server suddenly drops into spawn, fighting with his com and cursing up a storm, Etho isn’t really that surprised.

What does surprise him is that the admin is… handsome. Really handsome. And also vaguely familiar, though Etho really only knows him through association. When you create one of the largest multinational, multilingual servers of all time, you gain a reputation.

“You alright?” Etho asks as Quackity (he’s pretty sure that’s his name) picks himself up, still muttering profanities as he dusts himself off.

“Yeah, just fine and dandy, if it weren’t for the fucking Hypixal transport fucking sending me to the wrong server again,” Quackity mutters, before pausing and sighing. “I’m… sorry. It’s been a long day.”

“Getting tossed into the wrong server must be jarring,” Etho says, sympathetic. It’s mostly admins that get that particular shaft, but it’s happened to him once, and it was… very confusing. “You’re an admin for the QSMP, right?”

Quackity looks up from his com, clearly trying to figure out where he is, and nods, smirking slightly. “I’m THE admin for the QSMP. The server has my name on it, after all.”

“I thought you were Quackity,” Etho mutters, watching as Quackity types a quick message, probably to Xisuma, before slipping the com away.

Quackity grins at him, leaning forward so he’s on the balls of his feet, honeyed wings keeping his balance, “Well, since you know me it would be a shame not to get myself acquainted with such a handsome man.”

It startles a laugh out of Etho, especially considering he was just thinking about how attractive the avian was. “Etho,” he says, awkwardly sticking out his hand, “Welcome to Hermitcraft!”

Quackity visibly relaxes as he shakes Etho’s hand. “Thank God this is Hermitcraft. I could’ve ended up somewhere so much worse.”

“You’re thinking 2b2t, I’m guessing.”

“Or any other anarchy server, they eat admins for breakfast,” Quackity says, repressing a shudder, and for the first time, Etho realizes his wings are clipped. Which is really odd, given that he’s, y’know, an admin. Maybe he clips them himself?

“Well, you’re in safe hands here,” Etho promises, and Quackity raises his eyebrow and smirks. “That’s not what I—“

“I mean, I’d hold your hand if you want,” Quackity says, and then laughs when Etho turns about five different shades of red in two seconds.

It's only then that Etho notices that it's beginning to get dark, the sun inching towards the horizon, and they're still at spawn. He gets the feeling that Quackity isn't going to be finding his way back anytime soon, so he turns to the admin and asks, "do you want to come back to my base with me?" Just as Quackity begins to snicker, something witty already on the tip of his tongue, Etho adds, "before it gets dark! To, uh, get away from the mobs. I have a spare bed."

"Damn, and here I was thinking I might bet to slip into yours," Quackity says, and damn he's smooth. Etho feels like an idiot with all his stammering and blushing, but Quackity doesn't seem to mind in the slightest. "Lead the way."

[thesecretsofthedivine]

Pick a Pile Reading | Who’s Coming Into Your Life Soon? 🌠 🌸

Business Carrd 🍶🧺

Paid Services 🍇⭐️

Tip Jar 🍾🎱

*Disclaimer: This is a collective reading — take what resonates and leave the rest. If this resonates with you, please show support by reposting (with credit), tipping, or booking with me! :)

*Exchanges with other intuitives/readers are available via dm’s

PILE 1 COLLECTIVE

This is a person who is a lover of the arts! You may meet them in an artistic environment (think art class, concert, museum, etc.) or they’ll just enjoy visiting those places and have a knack for creative talents. They also seem to be a people person who is a smooth talker and has a very strong aura. They like to entertain and make people feel relaxed, which could inspire them to host a lot of parties or be an active member of their community. For some, the person coming into your life will be a part of the LGBTQ+ community or advocate for such causes. This person will have a romantic purpose for most of you, but some may choose to keep this connection as a lighthearted friendship or FWB. You may feel slightly reluctant to take them seriously because of how carefree and popular they are. They will be comforting, but some of you could feel like you’re just another person under their spell and may become resistant to these romantic feelings as a result. It’s important to mention this person‘s energy feels very sincere. They want to cater to you and can often struggle with people pleasing tendencies.

~ miscellaneous: blueberries. the color blue. a coquette aesthetic. whicker baskets. white snocks + sneakers. aries, capricorn, taurus placements (tons of cardinal energy). piercings. hair parted to the side. ripped jeans. a laugh that sounds like a scoff/sarcastic humor.

PILE 2 COLLECTIVE

For most of pile 2, the person coming into your life soon is a platonic feminine around your age. Their personality is very peppy, organized, empathetic, hardworking, and sensual. You will meet this person through school, work, mutuals, or shared goals. They seem to be a lover of animals as well so they may have pets or easily connect with them. The two of you will bond over music and the type of people you aspire to become in the future. They’ll make you feel lighthearted and bring out a more extroverted side to you. You may have moments where you let them put stickers or makeup on you just to have something silly to do together. For the people who have a feminine energy coming in, they may also be skilled in things like speech & debate, reading long/foreign novels (especially russian), playing chess — something traditional and academic. This person is an avid lover of film, especially vintage or historical ones. They could be multilingual or come from a different culture than your own. It’s clear that the two of you will never run out of things to talk about, making it seem like you finally found your perfect mental match!

~ miscellaneous: blonde hair. teal/blue crystals or blue eyes. the letters c, e, i, s, n, a, l, and p. scarves. whimsigoth/hippie/70s aesthetic. winter time. romeo & juliet. film major. coffee hangouts. mercury or 3h synastry.

PILE 3 COLLECTIVE

Pile 3 has an entire friend group coming into your life (multiple individuals)! Psychically, there’s a lot of overlapping conversations I’m tuning into 😅 so the people coming into your life will be a big part of your life/daily schedule. You’ll stay quite busy because of their presence in your life and may notice yourself becoming more talkative or that you all can be quite loud and rambunctious together. Parties, social events, clubs, concerts, and any other crowded environment can be relevant to how you meet these people or where you’ll spend time with them. You may notice that the group’s energy becomes more alive at night so a lot of these people could be night owls and extroverts. It’s the kind of thing where you’ll always have thousands of notifications blowing up your phone or will always have something fun to do. There’s a huge blend of masculine and feminine energies here so some people may encounter a friend group of 2-4 people whereas others will find themselves with 6-8 new people in their lives. Some of the masculine energies in the group could like to wrestle so be wary of breakables/fragile furniture that’s in their vicinity 💀. I feel that these people coming into your life will all enjoy sharing food, secrets, tips, and so on. There’s a very open and excitable vibe here so some of them may even be slightly younger than you.

~ miscellaneous: matching tattoos. karaoke. late night escapades. musicians. fire sign placements. the book everything i know about love — dolly alderton. bars. pinterest boards/pinterest aesthetics (especially for those who use it to manifest). gaming/dart boards. bets/dares.

PILE 4 COLLECTIVE

A family member will either become a bigger part of your life or start a new relationship with you entirely. For some, this will relate to a grandmother figure and/or deceased relatives watching over you/being around your energy. For others, it’s more of a mentor vibe. Older, feminines with a lot of advice and maturity to offer you. At this stage in your life, you could be feeling anxious or uncertain about your future/career. This person coming in is meant to be a support system for you during this specific transition period. They will help you to broaden your horizons, believe in your dreams/capabilities, and strengthen your willingness to take risks. If your mental health has been low, you feel like you’ve stepped out of alignment with your desires, or you’ve just been processing some heavier topics lately, this person will come in to soften those experiences while helping you to work through them. They will teach you how to validate your emotions without feeling disempowered by the weight of them. “Your depth is beauty” and they will make you into a stronger person by honoring this part of yourself.

~ miscellaneous: the barbie movie scene where she meets her creator (ruth handler). what was i made for - billie eilish. holding hands. traditional baking. words of wisdom/words of affirmation. bridges. feeling at the end of your rope when they come in. disco music. the 60s - 70s as their birth year. gardening hats. flowers.

[c-m-li-s-fanfic-corner]

But the Fall wasn't Fatal Like it was for Me

(AO3 LINK)

Chapters: 1/1

Fandom: DCU (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Nightwing (Comics)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Rape/Non-Con

Relationships: Tim Drake & Dick Grayson, Dick Grayson & Jason Todd, Dick Grayson & Damian Wayne, Cassandra Cain & Dick Grayson, Stephanie Brown & Dick Grayson, Stephanie Brown & Cassandra Cain & Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd & Damian Wayne, Dick Grayson & Original Female Character(s)

Characters: Dick Grayson, Tim Drake (DCU), Stephanie Brown, Jason Todd, Damian Wayne, Cassandra Cain, Original Female Character(s)

Additional Tags: Dick Grayson-centric, Post-Spyral (DCU), Domestic Violence, Past Domestic Violence, Past Child Abuse, Dick Grayson is Nightwing, Bad Parent Bruce Wayne, Abusive Bruce Wayne, Jason Todd is Red Hood, Tim Drake is Red Robin (DCU), Damian Wayne is Robin, Stephanie Brown is Spoiler, Cassandra Cain is Black Bat, Good Sibling Tim Drake (DCU), Good Sibling Jason Todd, Good Sibling Damian Wayne, Good Sibling Stephanie Brown, Good Sibling Cassandra Cain, Dick Grayson Needs a Hug, Dick Grayson Gets a Hug, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Past Rape/Non-con, Warning: Catalina Flores, Nightwing Volume 2 Issue 093, Bad Friend Barbara Gordon, Dick Grayson has a Medusa Tattoo, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Dick Grayson is Damian Wayne's Parent, Romani Dick Grayson, Multilingual Dick Grayson, Same Story Different Font, Protective Siblings, Judicious use of bird metaphors, Past Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Post-Lazarus Pit Jason Todd, Grief/Mourning

Summary:

Dick Grayson's life has been a litany of trials and errors. Mistakes and miscommunications, body blows and fatal falls, but he always got back up and he took each insult and injury as a lesson on how to better protect others, how to better shield his family from the heartache that he had already faced.

But then a single punch that he can't hide blows everything wide open and his family shows that his efforts hadn't gone unnoticed.

See below for my casting choices:

[shikariiin]

HIII HELLO I would like to apologize for disappearing a-lot for this past few weeks??? I had some issues going on and momentarily fell into depression where I went to the hospital for a while??? But uh urm yeah I'm okay now!!!

Going off number because in order to upload Henry's I need to explain the classes and how they work, but for the sake of continuity I decide to release James! With a new concept art format and him being a biological class, RAMBLES BELOW!

I made James as an imported engine from indonesia set to work for Sodor, It's more of my bias and I kinda see him with the ethnicity where I am from, his story might be close to home for me.

James is a vain, arrogant, petty and an absolute pissbaby cringefail of a man.

He's A biological class, meaning he is made like how humans are made (yes I will feature his baby photos in the future), he's only 2-3 younger than Henry and Gordon. This also means he have a family back at his country, a (late) father, a mother, and 2 Younger brothers, both of which have one year difference to each other.

He's the primary cook in Tidmouth's shed, his Top-notch culinary skills can be thanked by his father used to teach him cooking when he was little, after his father died he treated cooking as something personal to him, I think James would be the type of person to when they have something they like, they would grow personal to said things.

Batik is also one of those hobby he have, making new patterns for future projects or just something he does to bide time, during this he would be out of character-ly quiet. Though Keeping all of his original personality I would just add that when he likes someone he tends to be more gentle to them, and more caring (difficult with his high standard).

Never touch his coat. <- this is important

Old uniform! Yes I based it on indonesia's most common uniform leave me alone HAHA

When he first arrived he was getting used to new surroundings, also funfact, he's multilingual!

Language he have learned :

Indonesian, English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, and Spanish !

He used to be a-lot slimmer, used to be a twink if you may, but now he's Sodor's most famous Himbo, why he bulk up is, by his own admission, to withstand whatever shenanigans he would get into, basically becoming his own human shield to any dumbfuckery he put himself in.

Also to my indonesian followers, yes I laughed my ass off when giving his last name, thank you for asking.

Lmao okay bye 🤭🏃‍♀️

[mariacallous]

A pro-Russia disinformation campaign is leveraging consumer artificial intelligence tools to fuel a “content explosion” focused on exacerbating existing tensions around global elections, Ukraine, and immigration, among other controversial issues, according to new research published last week.

The campaign, known by many names including Operation Overload and Matryoshka (other researchers have also tied it to Storm-1679), has been operating since 2023 and has been aligned with the Russian government by multiple groups, including Microsoft and the Institute for Strategic Dialogue. The campaign disseminates false narratives by impersonating media outlets with the apparent aim of sowing division in democratic countries. While the campaign targets audiences around the world, including in the US, its main target has been Ukraine. Hundreds of AI-manipulated videos from the campaign have tried to fuel pro-Russian narratives.

The report outlines how, between September 2024 and May 2025, the amount of content being produced by those running the campaign has increased dramatically and is receiving millions of views around the world.

In their report, the researchers identified 230 unique pieces of content promoted by the campaign between July 2023 and June 2024, including pictures, videos, QR codes, and fake websites. Over the last eight months, however, Operation Overload churned out a total of 587 unique pieces of content, with the majority of them being created with the help of AI tools, researchers said.

The researchers said the spike in content was driven by consumer-grade AI tools that are available for free online. This easy access helped fuel the campaign’s tactic of “content amalgamation,” where those running the operation were able to produce multiple pieces of content pushing the same story thanks to AI tools.

“This marks a shift toward more scalable, multilingual, and increasingly sophisticated propaganda tactics,” researchers from Reset Tech, a London-based nonprofit that tracks disinformation campaigns, and Check First, a Finnish software company, wrote in the report. “The campaign has substantially amped up the production of new content in the past eight months, signalling a shift toward faster, more scalable content creation methods.”

Researchers were also stunned by the variety of tools and types of content the campaign was pursuing. "What came as a surprise to me was the diversity of the content, the different types of content that they started using,” Aleksandra Atanasova, lead open-source intelligence researcher at Reset Tech, tells WIRED. “It's like they have diversified their palette to catch as many like different angles of those stories. They're layering up different types of content, one after another.”

Atanasova added that the campaign did not appear to be using any custom AI tools to achieve their goals, but were using AI-powered voice and image generators that are accessible to everyone.

While it was difficult to identify all the tools the campaign operatives were using, the researchers were able to narrow down to one tool in particular: Flux AI.

Flux AI is a text-to-image generator developed by Black Forest Labs, a German-based company founded by former employees of Stability AI. Using the SightEngine image analysis tool, the researchers found a 99 percent likelihood that a number of the fake images shared by the Overload campaign—some of which claimed to show Muslim migrants rioting and setting fires in Berlin and Paris—were created using image generation from Flux AI.

The researchers were then able to generate images that closely replicate the aesthetic of the published images using prompts that included discriminatory language—such as “angry Muslim men.”

This highlights “how AI text-to-image models can be abused to promote racism and fuel anti-Muslim stereotypes,” the researchers wrote, adding that it raises “ethical concerns on how prompts work across different AI generation models.”

“We build in multiple layers of safeguards to help prevent unlawful misuse, including provenance metadata that enables platforms to identify AI generated content, and we support partners in implementing additional moderation and provenance tools,” a spokesperson for Black Forest Labs wrote in an email to WIRED. “Preventing misuse will depend on layers of mitigation as well as collaboration between developers, social media platforms, and authorities, and we remain committed to supporting these efforts.”

Atansova tells WIRED the images she and her colleagues reviewed did not contain any metadata.

Operation Overload’s use of AI also uses AI-voice cloning technology to manipulate videos to make it appear as if prominent figures are saying things they never did. The number of videos produced by the campaign jumped from 150 between June 2023 and July 2024 to 367 between September 2024 and May 2025. The researchers said the majority of the videos in the last eight months used AI technology to trick those who saw them.

In one instance, for example, the campaign published a video in February on X that featured Isabelle Bourdon, a senior lecturer and researcher at France’s University of Montpellier, seemingly encouraging German citizens to engage in mass riots and vote for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in federal elections. This was fake: The footage was taken from a video on the school’s official YouTube channel where Bourdon discusses a recent social science prize she won. But in the manipulated video, AI-voice cloning technology made it seem as if she was discussing the German elections instead.

The AI-generated content produced by Operation Overload is shared on over 600 Telegram channels, as well as by bot accounts on social media platforms like X and Bluesky. In recent weeks, the content has also been shared on TikTok for the first time. This was first spotted in May, and while the number of accounts was small—just 13— the videos posted were seen 3 million times before the platform demoted the accounts.

"We are highly vigilant against actors who try to manipulate our platform and have already removed the accounts in this report,” Anna Sopel, a TikTok spokesperson, tells WIRED. ”We detect, disrupt and work to stay ahead of covert influence operations on an ongoing basis and report our progress transparently every month.”

The researchers pointed out that while Bluesky had suspended 65 percent of the fake accounts, “X has taken minimal action despite numerous reports on the operation and growing evidence for coordination.” X and Bluesky did not respond to requests for comment.

Once the fake and AI generated content is created by Operation Overload, the campaign does something unusual: They send emails to hundreds of media and fact-checking organizations across the globe, with examples of their fake content on various platforms, along with requests for the fact-checkers to investigate if it is real or not.

While it may seem counterintuitive for a disinformation campaign to alert those trying to tackle disinformation about their efforts, for the pro-Russia operatives, getting their content posted online by a real news outlet—even if it is covered with the word “FAKE”—is the ultimate aim.

According to the researchers, up to 170,000 such emails were sent to more than 240 recipients since September 2024. The messages typically contained multiple links to the AI-generated content, but the email text was not generated using AI, the researchers said.

Pro-Russia disinformation groups have long been experimenting with using AI tools to supercharge their output. Last year a group dubbed CopyCop, likely linked to the Russian government, was shown to be using large language models, or LLMs, to create fake websites designed to look like legitimate media outlets. While these attempts don’t typically get much traffic, the accompanying social media promotion can attract attention and in some cases the fake information can end up on the top of Google search results.

A recent report from the American Sunlight Project estimated that Russian disinformation networks were producing at least 3 million AI-generated articles each year, and that this content was poisoning the output of AI-powered chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini.

Researchers have repeatedly shown how disinformation operatives are embracing AI tools, and as it becomes increasingly difficult for people to tell real from AI-generated content, experts predict the surge in AI content fuelling disinformation campaigns will continue.

“They already have the recipe that works,” Atanasova says. “They know what they're doing.”

[shotanzz]

Sohee ideal type when

right now

SOHEES IDEAL TYPE ~ based on astrology

reminder this is based off of my opinions from observing his chart and my own knowledge and is not exact fact unless I knew him myself and im not a professional astrologer

Appearance: Someone with a balance of cuteness and being cool. Fashion icon type of beat, has a style that isn't outdated. Someone with a nice body line/silhouette but is more on the slender and "fit" side. Has looks that can suit multiple different beauty standards or someone who looks "worldly". Has specific features (unique eyes, lips,..etc). Is presentable no matter the state they're in. Knows what looks good on them and is authentic with their style (so a person that knows what aesthetics and looks suit them the most and doesnt try things that -dont- suit them. A cohesive look,,makeup, clothes and accessories go together within their outfits. Healthy looking skin. Dresses cute but doesn't infantilize themselves or doesnt look "childish". Has a trendy style taste and can "match his fly". Kinda artsy look to them.

Personality: A very large and outgoing personality. Someone with high charisma. On the more chaotic and free end of the spectrum but can collect themselves and settle down whenever. A person that enjoys giving and is able to be selfless. Enjoys physical forms of affection or has physical touch as one of their love languages. Isn't overly worrisome and can try new things. Similar to Seunghan he'd like someone that has a work hard play hard mentality that can balance hard work with partying/drinking. Someone respectful and very well liked amongst others. Is more optimistic and doesn't complain too much about hardships. Someone who can be very supportive and even fan like for the people they love. Can compliment and praise others (including him ofc). Has their own mind/thoughts but knows how to compromise despite them. Talented and very interesting, refuses monotony.

Morals/Values: Understands hard work and a bright attitude can lead to success and constant complaining doesn't lead anywhere. A good samaritan, believes in committing acts of kindness. Yolo philosophy. Has more modern ideals and viewpoints. Understands to give everyone + themselves freedom.

Extras: Might like someone who is multilingual/can speak more than one language. Could find it cute if someone has nice legs or can run fast. Talented like him (probably would like someone who also sings). Someone open minded and doesn't have overly set opinions.