#Is it based on shock value? yeah

[la-pheacienne]

Y'all. Probably the most UNIVERSALLY ACCEPTED criticism against grrm is the abundance of gratuitous extreme sexual violence against women in asoiaf. GoT doubled down on that and is endlessly criticized for that. On the ONE (1) INSTANCE where sexual violence was NOT part of a female character's arc in grrm's work, HotD decided to introduce it as a means of giving "nuance" to a story and making a character more sympathetic. And now not only is this not considered a sexist narrative but on top of that you call this an inspired twist ffs I'm gonna eat my hair

[theres-whump-in-that-nebula]

There’s a real paranormal attraction near me open at night!!! :D

…but everything is done in such a tourist-attracting way that the whole business appears to hinge upon sensationalized exploitation of the mentally ill >:(

[ldrfanatic]

Italian Theodore Nott Headcanons

So... by popular request (I think like literally one person commented on a post from ages ago) and also because I'm still working on my most recent part to the '13' Series (linked here) here's some Italian Theo headcanons to keep you sated.

sorry if this is inaccurate it's based off of my own knowledge of italians and what I think Theo would be like

slytherin boys masterlist works

So, unlike most, I don't think that Italian Theo would be a whore. Let me explain:

Sure Italian men like to flirt, (although Theo doesn't), but they do it because it comes so natural to them and because more than anything, they value their partner.

They're well dressed and take pride in their appearance (something Theo does do) but they don't always entertain the people of the heads that they turn

They also have a natural air of confidence that Theo has and doesn't even have to use

However, just because Theo isn't a whore doesn't mean that he doesn't have his own little clique of fangirls.

In general:

As a person, Theo is incredibly quiet. His English is not the best as he grew up in the Italian countryside and spends his breaks there. He spends most of his time observing, and the rest of his time, mentally translating sentences from English to Italian and vice versa (and yes that's exhausting).

He does however take food incredibly seriously (as most Italians do I feel). His favorite kind of pasta is Paccheri and he will die on the hill that the Italians were the first to make Pizza (who else could make bread, sauce, and cheese taste so good?). He was also incredibly shocked when he found out the drinking age in England was 18. Theo had a glass of wine with dinner every night since the age of ten.

Another thing he doesn't quite understand about England is the frequency through which they drink tea throughout the day. At most, he has a cup a day while some of his English friends have four to five cups a day and usually, one cup with every meal.

Theo also had a very strong connection to his mother. Now that she's gone, he spends a lot of time in his head with his memories of her. It's not all that shocking to anyone really that he doesn't quite have the time or the patience for girls.

Platonically:

As a friend, Theo is a little more open but not much. His two closest friends in the group are you and Lorenzo who's also Italian. He'll talk to either of you and open up a little, but only if no one else is around. He's a bit impartial to Mattheo although he does think the boy is a loose cannon and he actually secretly despises Draco and his blood purity nonsense as it reminds him too much of his father (whom he also hates). So yeah, he spends the majority of his time with Lorenzo and Blaise.

In regards to your friendship with Theo, he's a complete gentleman. He never sits too close in fear of startling or offending you. He opens all of the doors the pair of you walk through and carries your books to class when you have the same class.

In fact, despite being significantly more well mannered than any other boy in your year, the only thing that hinted to you that Theo felt anything towards you other than indifference were small smiles and shared secrets.

Romantically:

Before you even became friends you'd caught Theo's eye. The first time he'd noticed you, you were comforting a crying first year muggle-born that Draco had bullied to tears. You spoke so kindly and softly to the boy. Theo knew then that you weren't like everyone else in Hogwarts. Most people were too afraid to stand up to Draco but the next day, you punched him square in the jaw and told him to stop being such a prick.

The first person to find out about Theo's crush on you was Lorenzo of course. He didn't tease him for which Theo was grateful. Now as stated, Theo is an incredibly quiet person so it's not clear to you that Theo has crush on you.

Also, once Theo has decided that he likes you, other girls don't even approach him anymore. Not after the Ravenclaw incident. A Ravenclaw from your guys' year approached him and asked him out. He didn't even acknowledge her. Just stood up and left.

He does however, make an attempt to spend more time with you whenever her can. He sits with you at meals and during lessons, he asks you for help in charms (even though he's already receiving high marks, but you don't know that). He brings you soup when your sick.

The way that you find out Theo has a crush on you is actually really surprising for you.

Lorenzo came running up to you after Potions one day, completely out of breath. "Y/n! Come quick." He didn't give you any room to disagree as he grasped your wrist firmly and began dragging you down the corridor towards the courtyard. When you got out there, your stomach dropped.

For the first time since meeting him, you saw Theo fight. He had Addrian Pucey on the ground and was currently pummeling the poor boy. The scariest part was that he remained completely calm, cold. Mattheo and Draco were standing on the sidelines egging him on while Theo ruthlessly delivered blow after blow in dead silence. He didn't even wince as his knuckles began to split open and bleed.

Blaise was desperately trying to pull Theo away but he wouldn't budge. Finally, you snapped out of your stupor and approached the boy. As he was throwing punches with his right arm, you approached him from the left and placed a hand on his left shoulder apprehensively. "Theo."

At the sound of your voice, Theo stopped immediately. He didn't look at you immediately. Instead, he stood and kicked Adrian who was on the ground rolling in pain. "Stay away from her." The crowd dispersed as the fight ended. When Theo turned to look at you, his eyes were blazing. For the first time since you'd known him, Theo was burning with rage.

"Theo come on." He let you lead him away in complete silence. Worse than what Adrian had said to you, Theo was ashamed. He couldn't believe that he'd let his emotions take over like that. Now he may have lost you for good. When you finally stopped in a secluded corridor, Theo turned away from you.

"Theo?" He was silent and your concern grew. It wasn't Theo's usual kind of silence, it was a silence that made your heart feel heavy. "Theodore."

"Don't."

"What?"

Finally Theo turns to you and his eyes are glossy. It was startling almost, to see the normally calm and collected boy tearing up. "Don't do that tesoro. Yell, push me, hit me if you need to, but I'm not Theodore. Not to you."

"What happened?" He sighed.

"I overheard Adrian say something completely vile about... you. I couldn't let him talk about you like that. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me cuore. You are the only light in my dark life."

You reached out and grabbed Theo's hands in your own. "That's incredibly sweet of you Theo. But why would you do that for me?"

"Isn't it obvious! I am entirely and irreversibly in love with you. I cannot live without you and I will not allow anyone to say such things about you."

After that, Theo took you out on a date. Thanks to his Pureblood lineage, Theo's family was quite wealthy. And his father had always taken to making sure he was well cared for financially, perhaps out of guilt from his emotional abuse.

For your first date, Theo took you to a London shopping district with his Black Card. At first you refused to spend any of his money. That is until Theo became resigned to buy you everything that your eyes lingered on for more than five seconds despite all your protests.

To end the date, he treated you to a nice dinner and then brought the pair of you back to Hogwarts.

As your boyfriend:

As your boyfriend, Theo's go-to nickname for you is either tesoro (treasure). He spends a lot of time staring at you which Mattheo teases him endlessly for of course.

He wishes you could meet his mother, but he adamantly refuses for you to meet his father. Instead, he introduces you to his grandmother. She teaches you how to make pasta from scratch and you and Theo often sneak into the kitchens at Hogwarts to try and make it there.

He makes it pretty clear that you're the only girl for him. He even tells you one night how his mother's dying wish was for him to find someone that he loved wholeheartedly and who loved him as much. Theo knows that this person is you, and he has no shyness in telling you.

He hates to see you cry, but if for any reason you're feeling sad, he recites Italian poetry to you in a soft and devoted tone.

Questo nostro amore, vita mia

lo prospetti felice

destinato a durare per sempre.

Dei del cielo, fate voi che lei dica il vero,

che lo prometta sincera e dal cuore,

che si possa per tutta la vita

mantener questo patto inviolabile

(This love of ours my life; I predict will be happy; destined to last forever.; Gods of the sky, do what you deem to be true; that promises to be sincere and from the heart,; which can be for a lifetime,; keep this inviolable covenant.)

When Theo speaks his native tongue it makes you a little weak in the knees. The way that his lips curve around the words and his tongue effortlessly forms each syllable makes your heart swell.

Overall:

Italian Theo is a complete cutie with impeccable manners and expresses more romance in ten minutes with you than most men express in their entire lives. He sees you as a light that brightens his life that he will do anything to protect.

----

help this is so bad

[bex-xa-2026]

Highlights of the Viv podcast episode

50 episodes, hell yeah we aren’t even half way done

We will get Stella’s perspective, it won’t make her a better person but we will understand her character more, she noticed we picked up on how Stella is a victim of the arranged marriage as well

She wants a crossover between HB and HH, preferably as a movie at the end of both

Wants Lucifer in HB, but he’s owned by Amazon so it could be tricky

Says she isn’t afraid to kill off a character, but would never do it for no reason like shock value. Stolas isn’t gonna die, at least not “any time soon” 👀 I don’t think he’s gonna die at all because she also said she thinks it would ruin the story

Season 3 part B isn’t done being written yet

The entire series is mapped out

She didn’t mean she actually wanted Hazbin to last forever, just the story/world. Like she would be open to branching off into side stories and shit

Season 2 of hazbin is done recording

Season 3 of HB is in recording and it’s the first season where they get to bring people into a studio to record

Confirmation that Brandon doesn’t like horses

Brandon is the reason the show went into a more character driven story with blitz and Stolas

We will also get more Goetia backstory

They tweak as they go sometimes

Hard not to change based on fan opinion, but she knows that she can’t do that because it would unravel the story and it’s expensive to redo it all

Everything we are noticing about the plot that hasn’t been addressed, will be. Just BE PATIENT

[austinsastrology8991]

Uranus and why your life is a ShiT ShoW > URANUS IN Yer HOUSe <

Uranus in the FIrst - You are the most unpredictable little fuck-head that everyone loves. They always change > there clothes, there direction in life > their hair colour. they thrive in change unless you try to change them, they are the ones changing and dont you dare change them, thats all they have left ;( Uranus in the Second. - Crazy self esteem issues. these people think they are the greatest then the worst person, also same applies to their income because they dont think they are worth much, until they invest into bitcoin and think they will be the next warren buffet. honestly the only thing stable about you is the perception of your value changing. But they love change, something to look forward to i guess Uranus in the Third your brain and communication skills are kinda fucky you know that dont you. you always know how to say something shocking, and extremely good at changing the subject of a conversation, like you dont have to say much, but what you do say just made everyone go huh what the fuck you say? its amusing tho we appreciate you Uranus in the F4urth - Emotionally avoidant, dependent, and attached personalities. They cant make their mind up on how they feel, so they experiemnt with every feeling to see if they vibe with that. mum was probably very unpredictable, and they wanna be like her. they just trying their best to forgive her <3 Uranus in the Fifth - Okay this one is the genius. This one people actually think your onto something when your showing off because you break free of every social convention, and archetype, but in the most perfect way. everyone believes your special, and you can change the vibe of a room like dat Uranus in the Sixth - what a fkn mess your life is. I had this one friend who would have 10 different drinks in his room and he would drink each one sparingly (they were all warm too). he had some serious health issues, and lets not get into his mental health okay. but yall have crazy lives and you make it that way Uranus in the Seventh - Im not a player i just fuck a lot. they choose their partners based off how interesting they are, if you can satiate their curiosity you got em. but if your boring or not worth figuring out yeah g-bye. also they just come off strange so everyone is extremely curious. they get projected on a lot but they dont mind its a good way to find out something interesting lol Uranus in the Eighth - Freaks who will do anything.... and im not just talking about sex, if they want something they'll find any way to get it. masters of attainment, even if its probably not healthy for them, they don't care if they want it they get it. then the object of their fixation changes as soon as they do get it. they are like obsessed with 'progress' but its hard to call it that sometimes Uranus in the Ninth - Clever minds who are always skipping segments of a speech, or a video to find the juicy parts. They have very quick minds that are so easily bored, but if you talk to them, they'll never not have something interesting to talk about. also when change does occur its a LOt Uranus in the Tenth - why are yalll like this. just baffling people like they know how to make an entrance and when everyone starts loooking at them, they decide to make fun of everyone by doing something a lil bit too shocking, almosst making fun of you for looking at them. gets off on shocking ya Uranus in the Eleventh - They wanna change the world, but not in a way that is practical. until it is. They have a million friends because they have a knack for understanding people, but when you ask what they want or what scares them. it just makes you rethink why your even friends with them in the first place. 12 - your crazy. and its endearing but everyone is this close to calling the cops on you or locking you up in a psyche ward. maybe tone down your retardation. we all got something going on but you take it to a whole new level.

[itsclydebitches]

Love how Will's "I met the most lovely couple and they invited me for a threesome!" is played for the shock-value laugh, with a secondary layer of confirming a queer side-character in an episode already highlighting Trent and Colin's queer experiences.

But the third layer is that he says this to his mom. Like yes, that adds to the humor, but in a show largely about absent and abusive fathers - as well as complicated mothers like Rebecca's - it made me all warm and fuzzy to see that kind of relationship casually dropped into the end of an already intimate episode. Will is apparently so close to his mom that he doesn't just update her on the after-game Jazz club adventure, but throws out a threesome offer without a hint of fear or judgement or hesitation. Sorry, mom, where was I? Oh yeah, threesome! Based on that line alone, we can infer that Will knows his mom has his back, is completely accepting of his identity, and they have a bond where, I imagine, very little is kept secret between them.

It's such a great bit of characterization and a wonderfully wholesome detail to throw into an already wholesome episode.

[local-hellhound-steals-spaghetti]

This is an embarassingly bad paper based on the use of two aversive based dog trainers who are clearly incompetant in the use of +R - yet the e collar training community is taking a victory lap.

The fact that this got past an animal ethics review is honestly appalling and the university should be ashamed.

Let's go over the main huge flaws with this study:

The positive reinforcement protocol they are using to compare to e collars is laughably incompetant - with no management or use of distance, desensitisation. Just use a leash? Maybe?

Use of aversives to stop chasing is, unsurprisingly, effective. Because, yes, painful consequences tend to work to suppress behaviour. That isn't the problem that people have with e collars.

The author seems to think that use of e collars is justified because it "gets results" in a short amount of time to stop dogs chasing - again, apparently we haven't heard of a leash.

"Aside from presumably pain-induced yelps in the dogs with e-collars when they received shocks, none of the dogs in any groups showed any signs of stress or distress." So we're saying a pain vocalisation isn't a sign of distress? That's your welfare parameter? Jfc.

Love how they didn't even try to get fecal cortisol baselines and just collected samples from a few dogs but not all of them. You tried, I guess?

The fact that the trainers for the study is "Ivan and Ivan's Student" is ridiculously biased. Acting as if both these trainers know how to apply +R effectively as opposed to their heavy aversive tool use is laughable.

"We designed our study’s methods around current trainer practices as well as the recommendations of our senior trainer while attempting to keep continencies as simple as possible." - yeeeah that's a conflict of interest. Especially when your "senior trainer" has an axe to grind with R+ people using scientific papers to support their training methods.

You're chucking treats in a bowl after a few sessions and you think that's going to stop a dog chasing a lure? Oh yeah, you got us. We just throw kibble in a bowl to stop dogs running into traffic. I am genuinely floored that that's how they think a +R protocol for chasing works. They have no business comparing the two when they can't even do one properly.

"We also did not test whether the food rewards we deployed were highly valued." Okay so the majority of my client dogs will go nuts for my meaty high value treats because they've only had store bought dry treats and the client is shocked at how food motivated their dog suddenly is..... So this study was relying on whatever the guardian of the dog brought with them lmao rookie mistake.

"Dogs that chase livestock may be shot or otherwise euthanized, and dogs that chase cars may be killed in traffic." Put. Them. On. A. Leash.

"The practical applicability of either the LIMA or LIFE models is likely limited, at least in the United States where dog trainers are not required to be licensed or certified. In a sample of highly rated dog trainers, more than half did not document any relevant education." Does that include your "senior trainer"? It does. Because he doesn't have any formal education in canine behaviour, welfare and science. You know this. You chose him to be your trainer for your study.

"The speed and effectiveness with which the e-collar inhibited the dogs in this study from chasing may justify the limited number of painful stimulations the dogs experienced if the object the dogs were chasing had been something that could directly or indirectly cause them serious injury or death." Or..... OR.... you could not use electric shocks on your dog and potential cause long term damage, fear responses ect.... And use a leash.

Just baffled by this whole study. My high prey drive whippet will go feral for a lure but only when she knows the context for when she's being allowed to chase. She can be at a lure coursing trial for the whole day not worrying about the lure because 1) I keep her at a distance where the stimulus isn't saliant enough and 2) she gets reinforcement for calmly watching from a distance.

I'm honestly getting second hand embarassment reading this study. It's just such bad science should never have gotten past an ethics board.

[apollos-boyfriend]

this is like. all fully speculation. but i was rewatching some of jaiden’s nuzlocke videos, and them combined with a recent clip of hers i saw talking about how she’s not even sure why quackity chose her for the qsmp made me connect why he might’ve picked her. because like. i think nearly everyone was a bit shocked, if not confused, to see her on the lineup. despite having been in the scene for a while—her first public animations were for ihascupquake, after all—jaiden isn’t your first thought when you think of minecraft youtubers. as far as i’m aware, she was on one smp before the qsmp—epicsmp, and we all know how that ended.

no, jaiden isn’t who you’d think of when you think minecraft youtuber. but she is who you’d think of when you think storyteller. which, yeah, is kind of obvious. there’s a whole subcategory of youtube for animated storytellers, and jaiden’s been one of the front runners for years now. but the thing about jaiden specifically is that she doesn’t just tell stories. she shapes them. you can really see that the most with her animated nuzlockes. she’s given scenarios and events that are largely random and arbitrary, fully just game coding and out of her control, and she turns them into her story. her platinum nuzlocke specifically highlights this with the giratina, two jaidens storyline she creates to explain her resetting the run and attempting the elite four again.

live mcrp HEAVILY relies on having to go with the flow of the game, and learning to work around in-game mechanics and limitations to create a storyline out of. things that are story-important, like pets or npcs, are fragile and can be taken away at any moment, be it by a mob, glitch, or player error. you have to be able to think on your feet to not only work around it, but create a narrative to explain that decision fitting into the canon and story instead of just taking it at face-value. and that’s exactly what jaiden’s been doing for years now with a lot of her gaming-based content. quackity would need people accustomed versatile storytelling as much as he’d need people accustomed to survival minecraft itself, and jaiden is nothing short of an expert at her craft

[zcinderone]

An ironically conspicuous yet never exploited(except by me as far as I can see) dot that connects everything which could be the ultimate layer of secret to unravel the true identity of Arei's murderer...

It's Levi and this is where the final piece of puzzle comes to make sense of itself: the Monotv recruiting Teruko do CAULKING scene!!!

This is such a detailed and prominant plot that so far made 0 sense as to its connection to the case. Monotv must have enlisted a helper to clean up the mess left in the gym. Since he can't even do caulking, it is 100% valid for the narrative that there are something in this mess he can't handle. This helper would have abundance of time to figure out the mechanism and took the tape. (whereas both Ace and Eden only had cursory glances at the scene also in a rather shocking and intense scenario to figure out how Nico's mystrious setup worked)

(Monotv specifically mentioning he needs help to do certain chores)

Apart from the 4 involved in Ace's case, the only one awake/available late at night was Levi(and we never know for what purpose the story writer specifically left only him awake and readily came out to check the commotion either). This connects everything.

Think about it rationally. It makes absolutely no sense for those involved in the previous case to make an imitation of their own. On paper, only 4 people knew what happened, and Nico ran off leaving the only necessary tool(tape) to replicate this. Should any of the 3 try to imitate a crime only they knew and able to replicate, they are basically yelling they're the only targets from the get-go (and isn't this what's happening right now?)which is beyond absurd. However, if a third party does exist, it changes everything, they would have everything to gain from pulling an imitation since the premise would exclude their possibility permanently.

Based on the aforementioned points, I will make a tentative prediction about one event we are likely gonna see in ep 15（or 16 depending on pacing）: A scrum debate will happen soon, concerning whether or not Ace&Eden really is the only option scope for imitation crime, for they will most certainly discuss the very reason why they imitate and promptly realized the absurdity thereof. The narrative would seem really off if they don't dabble on why, accepting imitation for the sake of imitation. Some will take the stance that such attempt would be illogical for a rational conspirator in the first place, others will insist on the lack of direct evidence of a third party.

(I just realized the dev could've intentionally let Ace kick the tape out of sight because they have much greater incentive to do so but it's very close to premiere so I won't elaborate since either way my theory itself is the same)I am basing this theory on the assumption that the tape went missing under the dialogue box cg is dev's mistake, because the tape on the ground scene always includes Ace on the ground and the moment he stood it changed which feels too abrupt and dev might just forgot to add that, and there is not a single scene that showed the tape missing without such blockade.

More importantly, there were some clues to back my assumption in the "i'm not fxxing dead!" scene. The tape is placed rather near in front of Ace, a little to our right. Yet, when he stood up he knocked Eden out to our left. It would seem shaky if we take this alone by face value as it could just be a dramatic effect, but what happened afterward is the camera itself clearly turned left to film Eden gradually standing, and turned right to focus on Ace and then turned further right to focus on Teruko, which clearly suggested the actual positioning is: Eden Ace (tape?) Teruko (tape ?) . Problem is, the tape still exitsted right before, and went missing right after Ace stood up under the Teruko "yeah i figured" dialogue box, few secs before Eden stood up, therefore her positioning would exclude her possibility of getting it. And Ace couldn't get it either since four eyes were, and the camera was mostly on him, even depicting him reaching his wound with two hands.

I think If the dev did had such meticulous intent for this hidden scene to be the key to locking the culprit, they would most likely be equally meticulous about either the tape's positioning or Ace's act to make unequivocal sense that one of them would have a clear window to obtain it, which in turn suggests they probably never had such intention to begin with.

Also, we got to consider factoring in complementary details like the starched clothes ball(Levi was the only one who mentioned being in the laundry room some time at night in ep10),Eden mentioning "someone's been following her" (I'm 100% sure this is what the dev planted to make sense of why a 3rd party could overhear Eden&Arturo&Arei event), Arei's missing glove(both Eden and Ace wears glove, Levi doesn't), enough strength to throw the rope near the ceiling(they emphasized early in one scene how high the ceiling is and eden is the smallest girl) Whit trying to make an argument about another motive Levi could have for killing Arei yet got cut off, and trying to redirect the crew's attention back to Levi's secret itself for some reason and got cut off again in ep13 11:22 12:44 (this i think is super super important and it seems only I was mentioning this). These solid details are all adding to the likelihood of Levi, and I really can't find as many other details to back Eden or Ace.

I also had a secondary theory back when ep13 dropped might worth mentioning: could the fish simply be symbolic? Sleep with the fish(godfather thingy)? Levi's background story suggests he is very likely involved in mafia conficts. J even asked him if he was "in" the mafia to which he prompt answered No. But very interestingly the dev specifically gives him a pondering "..." scene immediately after his respond to show he seemed to be thinking about the definition of his involement, then J pushed him to elaborate and he digressed.(starting from ep13 1:28) And Levi did have Italian surname.

I don't have that much confidence in this intepretation alone to begin with as I thought it is a bit old school. But since my major theory makes sense, this one doesn't seem so far-fetched anymore.

[i-starcreamed]

hey love! could you do hc’s for tfp! Optimus, Ratchet, and Smokescreen celebrating their human partner graduating highschool? <3

[human!reader post includes: TFP Optimus, Ratchet, and Smokescreen]

arghh hopefully these are good, struggled a bit with these but this was a nice prompt. Finally getting back into writing :3

Optimus Prime

Optimus is literally the sweetest. At first, he doesn't understand what graduation really means but as soon as you explain it he is beyond proud

Doesn't exactly get the cultural significance of graduation on Earth, but congratulates you for your achievements with a lil smile

Primes don't party but for you...yeah maybe he's willing to. Just a little

If no one does it first, he suggests having a little get-together at the base to celebrate (which shocks everyone) It's really important to him that you get recognition for your hard work

balloons and a poster labeled "Happy Graduation (insert year)" with little pictures drawn by the other Autobots

you know what he probably gives you an inspirational speech

After the celebrations, he offered to give you a drive in his alt-mode. The two of you cruised around late afternoon or night, either chatting or enjoying the calm silence. He was curious about what humans do for this event and asked you questions about it, as well as whether or not what he planned was good enough. If you asked, he'd be more than happy to tell stories about his own experiences; it reminded him of the academies back on Cybertron.

In private, he will not stop gushing about how well you did. Very soft very soft

Ratchet

Another one where you kinda have to explain what it means. He's honestly impressed and congratulates you. Recalls when you would come back from your studies exhausted and relieved you no longer have to deal with highschool

Of course brags to the rest of the team. Look at his partner, look at their accomplishments, now!!

Not a fan of big parties either and suggests a small celebration, possibly between the two of you since he's one to value privacy.

He gives you the choice to choose how you'd like to spend your day. He's happy with taking you for a drive, or just settling down somewhere scenic for a bit of relaxation for the rest of the day

wants to surprise you with a small simple gift, asks the trio for advice very discretely (they are going to tease him for the rest of their lives)

He actually cares so much about you and is genuinely proud, good job y/n thumbs up

Smokescreen

ooh this mech is so hyped, immediately wants a big party at the base and will drive you to and from your graduation

if you agree to it, you're definitely having a grand entrance btw. He wants to SHOW YOU OFF!!

He so badly wanted to go up there and just hug you to his chassis, but watching from his alt-mode would suffice. His engine would rev whenever it was your turn and you couldn't help the small smile

The type of person mech that wants fucking,, fireworks, party, music, etc

if that's not your thing, that's fine. Insists on taking you on a drive too and really show off the fact that he's a sports car (do not drive on populated roads, you will get a ticket) You two soon find yourself screaming with laughter as the wind blows through your hair

if you do agree to a party he's going all out, so so so proud

Brings you up to his faceplate with infinite praises

[gothamite-rambler]

Catwoman meets the Second Robin (Batfamily Chronicles Flash Fiction)

*Based of my headcanons where yes Jason was an energetic new Robin, but he did also grow up in the tougher parts of New York before being adopted so I imagine he'd be a tad more brash at times compared to Dick Grayson, but at the end of the day this is me writing these for fun.*

Catwoman examined a sparkling diamond ring under the dim light of the boutique she broke into, contemplating its worth.

Catwoman (looking over the diamond ring): I should take this, but they have the worst resale value.

Just as she mulled it over, the sound of crashing glass echoed through the store. She turned, a smile on her face, ready for her favorite hero. But her smile faded seeing the new Robin.

Catwoman (shocked): That is a DIFFERENT child!

Batman sighed heavily as he brushed off shards of glass.

Batman: God damnit.

Robin!Jason (arms crossed, defensively): Why do people keep questioning this?

Batman: They’re weird, not us.

Robin!Jason (smirking): It's strange for her to judge us when she’s a jewelry thief.

Catwoman (offended, putting her hands on her hips): Excuse me?

Robin!Jason: You’re excused.

Catwoman (pouting): Batman, I don’t like this one. He’s rude!

Batman: Must be you—he’s usually easygoing with people. Robin, finish what you meant to say.

Robin!Jason: I will, thanks. I’m just saying you can't judge us. How is that suit even good for robbing places?

Robin tilted his head, waiting for an answer.

Catwoman (hand on her chest, with a touch of pride): I made it myself!

Robin!Jason (sneering): Out of what? Cheap fake leather?

Catwoman: Okay, I don’t talk about that first suit!

Robin!Jason: This is the second one?! Did the first one have go-go boots? What’s the point of the heels? That’s just impractical.

Catwoman (pointing): Oh yeah? Well, you’re wearing underwear!

Robin!Jason (grinning): I make this work! You look like an exotic dancer.

Catwoman (challenging): You wanna go, kid?!

Batman (hiding his amusement): Okay, okay, Robin, stop. You’re hurting her feeling.

Robin!Jason (shrugging nonchalantly): She left the house looking like that. I’m just making an observation.

Catwoman, fed up, tossed her bag of jewels over her shoulder and headed for the exit.

Catwoman: That’s it! I’m leaving! I miss the cuter Robin. He was nice to me!

With that, she attempted to leave, but Robin isn’t done yet.

Robin!Jason: I got this, Batman. This won't even take me a minute.

Batman: I'm timing you.

Robin dashed after Catwoman. After a brief scuffle, he cleverly tripped her, causing her to stumble to the ground and it took him less than a minute.

Robin!Jason (smirking victoriously): Told you those heels were impractical!

Catwoman (frustrated): Come on, no fair!

Batman, trying to maintain his authoritative demeanor, watched with a smirk.

Batman: (chuckling softly) I’m proud of him. Let me get the jewels.

Robin grinned triumphantly, holding onto the fallen Catwoman's leg, as the unlikely due continued their playful banter under the flickering neon lights of the city ahead.

[learnastrowallura]

💙The Fourth House in Astrology💙

The source if this information is The Astrology Podcast (Chris Brennan) on Youtube and from the book The Twelve Houses: Exploring the Houses of the Horoscope by Howard Sasportas and I will add a personal example as well

4th house: home, family, soul, origin, roots, ancestry, lineage, genes, inner self, heritage, inherited trauma and/or wisdom/values, comfort, the mother, the womb, parents, nurture, private life, conditioning, foundation, support or lack of support, shelter, childhood, early environment, the past, emotion, angular

Relationship with parental figures or those responsible for the individual early on, values instilled in the home, lessons passed down from parental figures to the child, themes most present during childhood, leniency or sterness in matters related to discipline, traits of the child, interets/favorite topics early on or that bring a feeling of home and comfort in the present, how one would be/act as a parent (replicating parenting style or breaking the cycle if needed)

Personal example: Aquarius in the 4th house and Uranus in Pisces 4th house

I believe I already mentioned how I didn't know I had siblings until I was 13 in my last post? 😅 I would say that is very Uranus energy and there were a lot of instances like this where shocking things would be revealed to me in the most casual ways with underwhelming energy

Very turbulent environment you really would not know what to expect and my Aries moon kind of added a danger element to it

Uranus is square my sun and this manifested for me in... the approach taken in raising me totally contradicting everything I stand for including the values that were instilled in me since they were not very ideal to be fair

Uranus is also trine both my Venus and Mars and I definitely see this as my past, as "annoying" as it was, kind of pushed me to take action to establish my own independance as well as prioritize my own comfort and appreciate myself as well so it does not justify in any way what happened but for me PERSONALLY it did play a huge role in shaping who I am as a person and my resilience as well which is a very Scorpionic thing and especially not being afraid of facing it all head on (for reference I have Venus and Mars in Scorpio in the 12th house)

My Uranus is also opposite my MC and sextile my north node however I will not analyze those right now

As for favorite topics I love kpop and astrology and these two interests definitely make me seem like an eccentric person to others (Aquarius) since I have been raised and do still currently live in a religious country

I think I would have a very progressive approach to parenting and handling matters of the home and again for me this is relative to my childhood environment so instead of me for example taking on a certain role since I am a woman I would handle things based on my strengths and weaknesses as well as my future partner's strong and weak points as well

I hope this was not too heavy 😅 I usually do personal examples for these so I wanted to stay consistent but I tried to not go into detail but yeah you get the idea

Comment down below your 4th house sign, planets and aspects

Thank you for reading <3

Masterlist

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[tarothouselattier]

I’m doing good, I’m on some new shit Been saying «YES» instead of «NO» - - the 1 by Taylor Swift

What you need to say "YES" to,

instead of the usual "NO"

all the images are from pinterest

This reading turned out to be not what I was expecting, but I feel like this is even better. There are some heartfelt moving messages and also some harsh necessary truths that will ultimately benefit you. I just hope you enjoy this one, like I did!

PLS feel free to share your thoughts and impressions with me in my ask box or message me. There is nothing I value more in this blog than human connection!!

If you're not sure how to choose a pile, what I like to do is observe image, close my eyes and while taking a few deep breaths I repeat the question in my mind and ask spirit to guide me to my pile. After I open my eyes observe the piles again and one or more usually stands out to me. It just buzzes with energy. | just can't tear my gaze away.

No matter what, I come back to that pile.

If this is not your way of doing things, I asked my spirit guides to help me choose a photo that correlates specifically with you and your energy. Even the text "Pile" I chose for you based on your energy. So, feel free to just choose what you like.

PILE 1 🫸🫷

SAY “YES” to:

choosing yourself as you are rn and crowning yourself as a Queen

moving yourself and your world forward

taking the sword in your own hands

you are my lady in waiting. Which is weird because you’re actually the Queen of swords, all of the Queens in tarot are bad bitches and they’re the leaders of their own life, but it’s like you are waiting for someone to give you your sword. You need to realise that that sword is your life and all your life energy it comes from you not out. You just really remind me of the Timothée Chalamet quote “you need to realise that the life comes from you and not at/to you” yeah, something similar he said.

honestly pile 1 am flabbergasted with you. Can you imagine, IMAGINE the Queen of swords. LITERAL Queen of swords, like an actual real-life figure and she’s waiting for someone to give her a sword. Is she really THE Queen of swords if she’s waiting for someone to give her her own sword.

YOU NEED TO MOVE. It’s like if your leg was cranking up and making you uncomfortable you still wouldn’t move it. Nobody’s gonna do it for you.

You need to say YES to yourself, to your potential, to your actuality, to your abundance, to the money that you want and you know I don’t know why but like fame and recognition are coming through strongly. Create your own World. Collect all your Ls and be like okay, okay goodbye I’m taking this and I’m going away. And at least, AT LEAST .I’m moving .

Yeah, you may be down, really really down but you still got you you still can move, and that’s truly all you need to say yes to. MOVING. Because it’s like you you’re making it seem like you were stuck, I don’t even know, up with ivy and you’re just cornered into a wall and you were glued.

Obstacles and your past are not the things that are stopping you from your abundance and you living your best life and being the most incredible version of you. Yeah you may have made mistakes but your mistakes aren’t holding you back, you are holding onto your own mistakes. You are stuck in the labyrinth of your own mind. You need to move. forget about the past I just need to move. You thoughts don’t make your life. YOU make your life. It’s OK to grow and change. What is not OK is thinking you can’t!

Pile 2 ☀️ You are my sweetie honey-pumpkin pie. Here's a hug and a celebratory hurray for what's ahead of you!

you need to say YES to:

start getting dressed more fancy, the way you like.

say yes to your graceful elegant side.

Also you need to say yes to being more gentle with yourself. It’s okay to not rush with your feelings if you still feel hurt and shocked.

"Start looking forward and stop looking back" - What's the use of feeling Blue? Song from Steven Universe. My personal favourite quote for situations llike this. (You won't believe it but I once channeled it from Jinx oddly enough. She gave me great advice)

getting excited about your own life!

It’s like you feel that you missed your chance on something, or something in your life did not turn out the way it was supposed to it’s over and you just can’t accept that it’s over.

I can't make this shit up. The card that flew out next was the 2 of cups.

Did you go through a breakup recently?

If so, then I am with you. To be honest, I’ve noticed that people are literally collectively going through breakups right now. Doesn’t matter if it’s a relationship that lasted for years or several months. EVERYONE is breaking up right now. I swear to you. Me included. I’m with you, honey🥹❤️❤️

Okay, I fully understand now what I need to say to you.

I know how much it hurts. Trust me, I’ve gone through the same thing a week ago. It was a 4 year relationship. But it was dying. There is no saving the wilted flowers. They blessed your life with their beaty, served their time and left space for the next amazing thing to come in their place. Say yes to letting it go! Say "yes"! Understand, this was for the best! And you need to start thinking about yourself. What is over is already over and done with. You cannot get it back, you cannot change it. You need to understand, this break up, this thing, it happened. "There is happiness after you, but there was happiness because of you" I PROMISE YOU you need to get excited honestly say yes to getting excited. This is a new chapter in your life and let me tell you, I feel like you’re gonna be, man.. if I like you were in the dark, this whole whole freaking time and you’re kind of amazed how it’s over, but somehow there’s a glimmer of hope and you might actually feel better than you thought you would. And I keep hearing "bedazzled". You need to be out there at the frontlines of your life. You need to let your spark shine, don’t feel guilty. Feel sad, but also understand that the person may not have been your future but they did turn out to be your past instead. And they were there and it’s amazing, and now is the start of your next chapter and let me tell you, it’s gonna be exciting!! You need to like, you need to get excited about this, truly. Move don’t be pushed around by the paast that you own. Don’t stay stuck in the same place. Don’t let these thoughts and whatever there is overcome you. There is no need, you’re the Queen! The boss of your own life! Think about the fancy stuff that you want to buy for yourself, the concert tickets that you want.. I might be projecting, but truly this is a collective thing right now so I feel like I’m speaking to you as a friend, but also this is literally what the cards are saying. Your life will literally glimmer and shine as the Sun and the stars. Take control of your life. Be the leader of change. All of the things that you want to do. It’s time! it’s time to make plans and make them come to life because this is the going forward. It's the only thing that will make you feel better, not dwelling on the past. It’s over. It’s okay to relax into your bright future. HELL, into your bright present. Notice how you feel lighter. It's like you finally cleaned out your old closet. Like you felt heavy and stressed all this time without knowing why. And when you broke up you realised that the person that you so loved was the last thing holding you back. And you finally feel fresh. Finally feel like you have your whole life ahead of you. Breath and breathe out. The only one you need to love you is YOU!

But still, I love you! ❤️❤️☀️

Songs you might enjoy at this particular time(besides:

Bejeweled - Taylor Swift

Happiness- Taylor Swift

Midnight shy - Miley Cyrus

Truth hurts - Lizzo

Break free - Ariana Grande

Clean - Taylor Swift

Thank u, next - Ariana Grande

Honestly, the Renaissance album is the vibe rn, but skip the love songs, if you’re still uncomfy.

Additional picture-messages for you that I channeled

Pile 3 My dragons🐲

I strongly feel you were given a precious gift in this life, a divine gift, truly.

YOU MUST SAY YES TO THIS OR ELSE!!!:

YOUR WILDEST DREAMS AND PLANS

SEEING YOUR VISION THROUGH TILL THE END NO MATTER THE COST

MAKE YOUR PROJECT/DREAM/DESIRE A REALITY RN OR I'LL BITE YOUR EAR OFF(affectionate)

RAGE AND SEE YOUR OWN WORTH

“YOU'VE NEVER GIVEN UP ON ANYTHING IN YOUR LIFE. SO DON'T YOU DARE START NOW”

When I was channeling your pile:

What I meant to say: “my caterpillars, turning into butterflies”.

What I actually said: “ah, my butterflies, turning into caterpillars”. 💀

Crying rn.

Believe in yourself, no matter your doubts. You’re actually turning into a butterfly. You not believing in yourself is the only thing stopping you from seeing it. Believe and speed up the transformation.

I then heard “my dragons” ssoooo.

It’s you. You are my dragons.

I feel so strongly for you pile 3!!!!!! DON'T YOU DARE be careless with your gift, whatever it may be. Weather it refers to your inner power, or maybe an idea that you want to bring to life. Don’t you dare miss this opportunity because of your fears or your disbelief in yourself. You are this powerful for a reason don’t you dare give it up!!!!!!!! Don’t you dare be careless.

This is as much of a warning as it is advice and I advise you, I demand of you strongly! Don’t you dare pass up this opportunitybecause you think you are incompetent or not good enough, any of that crap. You doubt yourself for literally no reason, don’t let it cloud your judgement or stop you from taking action. You might believe what you believe but still do it anyway. You have a brain, you have hands. You may not think the best of yourself rn, but at least rage and be like: "like hell I'm about to let it go with the wind!!! NEVER." Because I feel like you’re extremely gifted psychically, or you have something to offer that only you and no one else can. it’s like you have a spark in you, it’s amazing. YOU are the one who is meant to bring it to life. I am just, wow. This is so incredible that I am kind of speechless and all I can do is be like "don’t you dare be careless with that, don’t you dare be lazy, don’t you dare doubt yourself"

You need to be worried about giving up, so don’t you dare give up!!! See it through whatever idea that you have. I don’t care, no matter what, put your blood sweat and tears into it and all of your burning passion and desire and your life force and see it through. BRING THIS SHIT TO COMPLETION. You will receive something MAJOR. the divine is on your side. Don’t you dare lose this halfway. Don’t lose yourself. This is crucial right now.

I keep hearing this part of a song, and the words “like I believe in you” . I was thinking whether it’s like a Disney song but I believe this is a Steven universe song and I love my animation, It's an incredible song. the song is called "Who we are". it goes "and I believe in them, and I believe in yOuuuuu". The whole song is a bomb that you need rn. Listen to the song or catch these hands.

like oh my God say yes yes say yes all "t baby can you bring me all the way" from a Beyonce song on the Renaissance album. Now it is not time to give up. Now it’s not time to suddenly be like "oh well, guess I’m not good enough, guess it’s not bringing me anything" SAY NO TO BETRAYING YOUR VALUES. SAY NO TO BETRAYING YOUR OWN SELF". I know this reading is supposed to be about what you should say YES to, but in order to lit a fire under your ass I need to be counterproductive like you seem to be right now. Don’t give up cause you fucking doubt yourself, okay!? I’m mad right now because I believe in you so passionately and whloeheartedly. I would literally, I don’t know, fight you and shake you by the shoulders with how much I believe in you and how much I want to see you shine it’s crazy. I swear like DM me or put an ask in my ask box and tell me what it is that you want to do in this world because oh my God, oh my God, I’ll be your listener, your viewer...not your buyer at this moment because I don’t have money right now, but I will definitely be your supporter!!!! I want you to win, baby, so win!

The universe wants you to win, most of all you are the 1. You have to be the one who wants you to win the most!!! There’s nobody stronger than you. Forget even "higher power" Only pay attantion to yourself. You are the force!!!! so bring it on!!! Also, by the way, I’m a pile three girly as well, like strongly. You are my spirit friend, spiritual siblings, so I also have some dreams. So if you like, feel free to message me or put an ask in my box.

I love you and I am moved by your extremely powerful energy. I was like welling up with inspiration and drive. I feel like Nicki Minaj right now with this particular quote: “barbz, don’t you dare be lazy. Stay in school”

Additional picture-messages for you that I channeled

[saintsenara]

Weird question but do you think the centaurs SAd umbridge in ootp? It kinda feels like it’s written that way and it’s pretty disturbing tbh

thank you very much for the ask, anon!

the spoiler alert is that i don't - i think the series' approach to sexual violence leaves a great deal to be desired, but i don't think this is one of those cases - but obviously this discussion does come with a trigger warning for rape and is under the cut.

i know where this interpretation comes from - since a huge amount of the classical greek mythology surrounding centaurs is based in the idea that they rape human women - and i also know that the series' general view that any violence which happens to someone who "deserves" it is fine means that readers consider it plausible that jkr would have thought it acceptable for umbridge to be subjected to such a "punishment"...

and the text certainly can be read as showing the aftermath of a sexual assault:

All six of them looked around. Professor Umbridge was lying in a bed opposite them, gazing up at the ceiling. Dumbledore had strode alone into the forest to rescue her from the centaurs. How he had done it - how he had emerged from the trees supporting Professor Umbridge without so much as a scratch on him - nobody knew, and Umbridge was certainly not telling. Since she had returned to the castle she had not, as far as any of them knew, uttered a single word. Nobody really knew what was wrong with her either. Her usually neat mousy hair was very untidy and there were bits of twig and leaf in it, but otherwise she seemed to be quite unscathed. “Madam Pomfrey says she’s just in shock,” whispered Hermione. “Sulking, more like,” said Ginny. “Yeah, she shows signs of life if you do this,” said Ron, and with his tongue he made soft clip-clopping noises. Umbridge sat bolt upright, looking wildly around. “Anything wrong, Professor?” called Madam Pomfrey, poking her head around her office door. “No... no...” said Umbridge, sinking back into her pillows, “no, I must have been dreaming...” Hermione and Ginny muffled their laughter in the bedclothes.

but i think its actual intention is for us to take ginny's reading of the situation as the correct one.

the series likes to punish its bad characters for their bad deeds with a punishment connected to their defining flaw. lockhart - the epitome of grasping narcissism - is felled when he believes that he'll be able to perfectly cast a memory charm, too convinced of his own brilliance to notice that ron's wand is broken and the spell will backfire. fudge - a coward who's obsessed with his own public image - is forced from office when his year-long burying his head in the sand is revealed and the public turn on him. marietta edgecombe - a traitor, and a character jkr is on the record as loathing - is punished for wanting to remove the risk of negative attention falling on her and her family by having her crimes, quite literally, written on her face.

bellatrix is taken out by her arrogance, wormtail is taken out by his moral insubstantiality, and - of course - voldemort is taken out by his attempts to outrun both love and death.

what the series hates about umbridge is that she is the encapsulation of bureaucratic bigotry - she's someone who is obsessed with maintaining control and order by subjecting everything in her life to elaborate rules, she values the rigidity of social convention, and she is completely intolerant of anything which contradicts this rule-system. her ruthless discrimination against "half-breeds" is because she wants to confine things she fears or doesn't understand into rigid boxes - she doesn't want to risk discovering that a colleague she likes is a werewolf, because that would undermine the belief system she upholds, and so she removes that threat to herself by passing legislation which prevents werewolves from working alongside her.

her punishment for these crimes - in the series' world-view - must therefore directly relate to her prejudices, and - specifically - to her prejudices being wrong. it wouldn't do for her to be raped by creatures she considers subhuman, because this would justify her belief that centaurs [and werewolves, mermaids, goblins etc.] are savage beasts who will violate wizarding norms at every opportunity, and who, therefore, need to be subjected to violent wizarding control.

it makes more sense to suppose that she is subjected to something she would find it impossible to deny was "civilised" - i imagine, for example, that centaurs have their own legal system, and that she is dragged off to stand before the assembled community and have something which she can meaningfully recognise as a trial - and that her shock and disorientation is because her conviction that she'd be brutally attacked by a group she considers incapable of restraining or governing themselves did not turn out to be true.

and she is also, i think, supposed to be read as affected by the fact that dumbledore - whose authority she has been trying to eradicate from the school - is the person who rescues her, and who achieves through his commitment to [ostensibly] respecting centaur autonomy far more authority over them than the ministry does.

her humiliation, then, comes - in the text's eyes - from the fact that her hypocrisy has been utterly exposed. and so ginny is right to say that she's "sulking" as a way of trying to save face.

[theamityelf]

For my last ask I think it would be funny if it was all the different soulmate ways so makoto is going through a bunch of stuff and is also maybe trying to hide it and if you include Izuru it could be something he finds interesting about makoto as maybe no else has had so many soulmates

(previous post re:Makoto and his class)

(original Makoto soulmates post)

Oh my gosh, then I definitely think Makoto would be shy about showing skin.

He walks into Hope's Peak discreetly checking the timer on the back of his hand, which is now down to less than three hours until he meets one of his soulmates. On the back of the opposite arm, there's a sentence he's had memorized for years now: "So, we arrived at the same time!" It's hidden by his sleeve. He has the image of a microphone on the back of his neck, hidden by his hood. The image of a Yoshi (or Galaga sprite) on his bicep, hidden by his sleeve. The image of a half-peeled orange right beneath his collarbone– or maybe there used to be a half-peeled orange there, but now it's just an oddly-shaped scar. That change happened within the last year.

He can't see colors (and he's been told his shoes don't match his hoodie?). Last night, he had a dream that he was a girl named Kyoko, meeting her dad for the first time. This morning, he saw through Junko's eyes while she was getting dressed, and he's barely stopped blushing about it.

He's trying to live in the moment and appreciate the amazing place and all the amazing people, but in truth, he's pretty stressed about how he's going to explain his situation to anyone. Based on his timer and the glimpses he's seen of Junko's letter, he's going to meet at least two of his soulmates here. He's never heard of anyone having as many soulmates as he apparently has. When someone turns out to have two or three soulmates, it's considered unusual and potentially problematic, but usually they meet at different points in life. One in youth, one in old age. Something like that. But two at the same school?

"So, we arrived at the same time!"

Three?!

Makoto turns to see the person who just reached the gymnasium door at the same time as him.

"Nice to see someone else who appreciates the value of punctuality," the tidy young man commends.

Makoto clears his throat. "Uh, yeah. I guess I was just...worried about being late."

And the young man's expression changes to one of astonishment, because as expected, he has Makoto's first words to him on his arm, too. The timer on his other wrist still says a little over two hours, and he can suddenly feel Junko looking through his eyes.

Makoto levels with his new...friend. "Listen, I'm really glad to meet you, and we should definitely have a conversation about this, but maybe not...right now? Can we talk at lunch, maybe?"

The guy remains astonished for a second before he recovers with an affirming, "Of course! School comes first. If we're in the same class, might it be prudent to introduce ourselves?"

And Makoto smiles. "Yeah. I'd like that."

His first in-person soulmate is Kiyotaka Ishimaru. Taka.

As more of their classmates start arriving, Makoto feels more and more of a complicated mix of excitement and anxiety. He introduces himself to a well-dressed, bespectacled guy named Byakuya, and the second they make eye contact, Makoto can suddenly see in color. Byakuya's expression of snobby disinterest drops into one of ill-disguised shock, and Makoto hasn't explained the situation to Taka yet, his timer says he has like an hour and a half until he meets another soulmate, Junko isn't even here yet, and now he has to get used to colors!

And wow, his shoes really don't match his hoodie.

He definitely needs to explain things to Taka and Byakuya before Junko gets here, because despite never having met her in person, he knows that she's a lot. And he'd hate for anyone to learn that he has multiple soulmates from anyone but him.

"Well?" Byakuya says, having returned to snobby disinterest. "Tell me your name already so we can be done with these ridiculous introductions."

Okay, rude. But that's fine. "I'm Makoto Naegi. I'm the Ultimate Lucky Student, and...I hate to tell you this bluntly, but I think I kind of need to hurry, so..." He draws in a breath. "I have multiple soulmates...here. Kind of...a few...here."

Byakuya loses his facade of indifference, looking at Makoto again with narrowed eyes. "Excuse me?"

"I know, we should definitely discuss this, but I need to tell Taka, too, before he finds out in a worse way."

And Makoto runs off and explains the situation to Taka (WHOA! Taka's eye color! He is going to have to get used to eye colors.), who is surprised and maybe (almost definitely) disappointed, but he's very polite about it. Makoto promises that they'll talk again at lunch.

He checks his timer again. An hour and twenty minutes.

"Hey."

He pulls his sleeve down to cover the timer, looking up to see who's addressed him, and Oh, you've got to be kidding me. Kyoko?! From his dreams?!

"Makoto, right?"

"Y-Yeah. Kyoko?"

She doesn't say yes or nod or anything. "How many?"

"Huh?"

"How many do you have? I saw the timer on your wrist, and your reaction to Togami. Ishimaru keeps glancing at you. How many do you have?" At least she doesn't seem upset. Though she has completely busted him.

"I don't...know, for sure. I have a few soulmate marks, I just saw color for the first time, I share dreams with you and see through someone else's eyes occasionally, Taka's first words to me are on my arm..."

"Is that your talent? Are you some kind of soulmate anomaly?"

"Oh, no. I'm here as the Ultimate Lucky Student."

"I don't know that I would consider your situation here a lucky one. If breaking things to Togami and Ishimaru has you this nervous–"

He sees a flash of the school from outside and knows that Junko is here.

"I'm sure it'll be fine," he says, with forced optimism. "I mean, once I explain the situation to everyone, I'm sure we can all get past how weird this is. I'm glad to finally meet you, Kyoko."

"Hm. Don't worry; I'm not here to socialize anyway."

She slips away before he can say anything else, and then he hears the door open, and Junko's here!

[theriddlettesblog]

Home Runner, a Team Fortress 2 fanfiction

Chapter 1

Scout sits in the Teufort base’s resupply room, on one of the benches, thinking to himself about the choices he’s made that led up to where he is now.

“Hey, Scout,” Engie begins, walking up to the resting Jeremy who is now looking up at the genius and no longer at his shoes. “Yer soda’s in the fridge if ya need any.” He says gesturing over to the minifridge.

A week prior, Dell had noticed that Scout was out of Bonk again and added it to the shopping list. Demo picked up a case of the carbonated punch, albeit small, when he went to the store. The Scottsman only bought six cans of the soft drink because he wanted to use the majority of his strength and paycheck to bring back the most alcohol he could. The rest of his purchase consisted of three crates of beer for him and Dell to share, three bottles of whiskey for himself, and one bottle of vodka for Heavy which the Russian man drinks much to Medic’s protest with the giant’s health in mind. If Tavish had more arms, he would have gotten more booze, not pop.

“Thanks, Engie.” Scout replies to the builder.

“No problem. Round’s ‘bout to start, so git caffeinated and ready to cap the intel.” The mechanist tells Jeremy, grabbing his wrench and shotgun then leaving the safety of the base.

Jeremy breathes a big sigh then proceeds to gear up, grabbing his favorite hat-headphones combo, scattergun, and swiftly downs one of the half-a-dozen cans of Bonk in the fridge before walking out of the room. Stepping out of the resupply, he straightens the collar of his polo and adjusts his untinted Value of Teamwork prescription Graybanns. The man goes on to cock his scattergun, ejecting an empty shell out of the chamber all while closely observing its descent to the floor. Through his specs, Scout’s gaze is locked on the shell resting on the ground.

“Empty.” The young man says to himself, still staring. A loud gunshot followed by an explosion breaks him out of his trance and he walks onto the ledge Mick often uses as a sniper’s nest. As one would guess, the New Zealand native is indeed there, scoped in and carefully searching for a head to liquidate.

“Joinin’ the fight now, Scout? ‘Bout time, we need a fast recovery, heh heh.” Sniper says, taking a moment to unscope to ask and chuckle at his own jab.

“You got it, Mick.” Scout responds, unenthusiastically and without looking at the other assassin. The runner jumps down off the ledge, trying his best to keep his balance after landing. Before he gets a chance to look up at the other side of Teufort, his Bottle Cap’s headset starts buzzing.

“Scout?” Pauling asks, gaining the speedster’s attention, “Before you say anything, or if you are saying anything, stop, I’ve got a contract for you.”

“Sure.” Jeremy answers, without any shock from the fact that this is the first time Miss Pauling has said anything to him in months.

A moment of silence goes by before Pauling breaks it. “Are you not going to say anything else?” the woman asks, confused that Scout is not shamelessly embarrassing himself nor reciting a used pick up line that won’t work on her, or anyone, for that matter.

“No?” Jeremy asks back, not understanding her confusion with his lack of idiocy.

“Oh, okay, uh, I just need you to kill a few Pyros and you’ll get a new weapon skin, well, new to you, not actually new, Minimal Wear at best.”

“Yeah, thanks.” Scout quickly replies before hanging up without another word between them. He sighs again and jumps into the water between the two bases, heading into the BLU team’s sewers.

As he makes his way through the water, he begins thinking to himself again, about something that’s been tugging at the back of his mind for the past few weeks. For those past few weeks, Scout hasn’t been able to shake an odd feeling, a feeling that was unusual and unfamiliar to him. It was a feeling that bogged down his cockiness and made him more tame as well as fade into the background. It prevented him from being the loud showy kid from Boston, but rather, made him quiet which everyone on his team noticed, but no one batted any eyes toward. Not even Jeremy himself noticed he was acting a little out of the ordinary, he just went about flanking every Soldier and Heavy that was unfortunate enough to not notice the skinny guy with the shotgun coming up behind them.

Why he’s been feeling this way for this long was unknown to him, usually, it takes three cans of the atomic punch to lift his spirits and he’s right back to being the most annoying shotgunner on the field. But for some reason, no matter how much pop he chugs, he can’t get out of this fog. Jeremy almost has half a mind to ask Medic about his atypical string of emotions, but he rationalizes the thought by realizing that the mad Doktor will either write it off as nothing or perform some kind of procedure that wouldn’t change anything except his number of exotic hamster kidneys. Scout is brought back to reality when he hears the Administrator exclaim that his team’s intelligence has been taken.

“Scout!” Engie calls out to Jeremy on his headset. “A Spy’s taken the intel! He’s goin’ through the sewers! Meet ‘im halfway and blast ‘im to hell!”

“On it.” Scout replies, once again, unenthused while rolling his eyes. He heads out the few feet he made it into the BLU base and swims across to the sewers of his own. He stands guard at the entrance out of the sewer system, waiting for someone, RED or BLU to enter his sight. Several moments pass by with absolutely nothing coming into his view.

“Crap, he’s probably invisible.” Scout says to himself, trying to listen for sloshes in the water. Several more moments pass by without a single break in the silence.

Scout gets tired of waiting so he presses the button on his headset, “Engie? Did that Spy leave the base?”

“Not with the intel, he dropped it and vanished. But we got theirs.” As soon as the Texan finishes that proud statement, The Administrator’s voice comes over the intercom and congratulates the REDs for capturing BLU’s intel.

“Come on back,” Dell begins again, “we got three cases ‘a beer so one fer everyone who’s not an alcoholic bomb maker.”

“Sweet.” Scout breathes out without cracking a smile, keeping the same face as when he first called. Before moving his feet, Jeremy lets his arms fall to his sides and then slowly makes his way into the main part of his team’s base.

When Scout re-enters the resupply room, he sees all of his teammates celebrating with beers in hand, save for Tavish, he has three in each. Before anyone could realize Jeremy was there, he grabs the tiny case of soda out of the fridge and heads home for the night.

Home, for Scout, is a small rundown apartment complex just outside of downtown Teufort which he would be more than overjoyed to move out of and find a nicer place, but seeing how the Administrator docs and suspends his pay for mouthing off to her, what he does make barely covers the costs of his ammunition. The building is curated by an elderly blind man named Talor who rocks a tricked out wheelchair, is shockingly modest, but most importantly, is kind to Scout. Jeremy is Talor’s only tenant but he keeps the power and water running for him as the speedster has nowhere else to go. Scout makes a silent entrance into his room, trying his best to not let anyone know he returned home; though Talor is very warmhearted, Scout doesn’t need anything to further complicate his day.

The light-footed sprinter tosses his cap and glasses onto his dinner (coffee) table before finishing off the last five cans of Bonk he took from work. He throws off his shoes, pants, and shirt and nearly collapses into the pullout couch he uses as a bed. After three hours of dreamless sleep, buzzing comes from his resting headset. This awakens Scout and in a half-asleep daze, gets up and brings the single headphone to his ear after laying back down on the throw pillow he uses as a regular one.

“Yeah?” Scout asks, mildly annoyed, but too tired to care, that someone is calling him in the dead of night.

“Scout? It’s Pauling.” the purple-shirted secretary answers the speedster.

“Miss Pauling? Look, it’s late, I gotta be up at six tomorrow, I don’t got time for another contract.” Scout tells her with only one eye open, locked on one of his many mold-ridden walls.

“No. Scout, this isn’t about a contract, though, you didn’t complete my last one so either way it wouldn’t be. Uh, anyway, I was just calling to ask why you left work early. You usually never pass up an opportunity to show off your weird dance moves.” Pauling inquires, trying to piece together the answer to this mystery.

“I just wasn’t feelin’ it today.” Scout answers, scratching his head which is still laying on his pillow.

“Engie says you haven’t been feeling it at all.” Jeremy’s half-shut gaze squints even further. The young woman continues, “I’m just a little concerned is all. I know we haven’t been talking a lot lately, and people’s lives tend to move on whether or not they keep in touch.” Pauling says, trying not to let her voice crack under the weight of her words. Jeremy sits up in his cot, looking down at his half-blanketed body.

Without anything else to say, he simply replies, “I’m still doin’ okay. Thanks for the call, Miss Pauling, goodnight.” and with that, Jeremy hangs up, allowing the mountain of guilt resting on his back to force a breath out of his lungs. He then slips back into sleep.

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