#datings hard when you’re not in an environment where you can be sure that people are in your age range (uni) and you’re very bad at guessing

[starkidlabs]

I need to get out more and maybe start trying to date again. I keep crushing on any boy that’s nice to me and seems fun which is probably not a good thing.

[zzencat]

How To Energetically Get The Most Out Of Your School/Work Life - ⏳

Since we’re getting into the groove of things…let’s gaur!!!! For entertainment purposes.

From left to right. Breathe and choose the one(s) you can't keep your eyes off of.

TO ENHANCE ACCURACY BEFORE CHOOSING: Clear your mind. Time is now patient and still. Close your eyes, inhale deeply, fill your chest up to the fullest, feel the soft air brush up against the ridges of your nose. Breathe out.

Pile 1 | boomer mentality?

• change your ways. Bad habits, weak ways of thinking- sure, it’s uncomfortable. Growth is uncomfortable. Success is uncomfortable (I’m pretty sure someone super famous said that once maybe someone should remind me- 🤔) . You’ll find that if you look at things from a new perspective, a new angle, it’ll be beneficial for you in the long run. Just like looking at stress in a good way- there are studies on it that show that if you look at stress in a more positive way and use it to your advantage, you could really stretch out your life and live longer than those who were pessimistic about it (lol fun fact for you)

if you let go of the old, your luck will change. embrace these new changes, beliefs, environments, and people.

don’t keep your time and resources to yourself. allow for self reflection and transformations to happen!

big focus: don’t let history repeat itself. it’s time for a change! let go and let in.

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Pile 2 | feeling stuck or stagnant

• pile 2, you tend to overthink everything. You let your mind run its course. That ain’t good news. It prevents you from reaching new heights- prevents you from even starting on something, just because of fear or even roots of perfectionism. There’s a huge lack of motivation, confidence, and trust in yourself- so much that even when I was pulling your cards they were hesitant to come out. it feels like russian roulette but it’s firing on its own. some people here might tend to overreact/throw a tantrum as well or be immature in situations that need sensibility (in this case, ya gotta take this time to mature.)

• I feel this group has trouble with balance in general. Nothing wrong with that on occasion but if that’s your default setting and you’re stuck in your mind all day, wondering about this and that—just a crazy clash of thoughts and ideas—ruminating and running around in a vicious cycle full of mental bullshit then it’s gonna stop you. It’s gonna stop you from growth, from achieving things, from getting started, from living life normally. That’s the bare minimum, isn’t it? All we gotta do is breathe and when life makes it hard, the brain works harder. The mind is truly the most dangerous thing and you have to embrace it, marinate in it, and pick at it. find out where the balance is between intuition, logic, and emotion.

you might feel restricted and the need to break free, but what you also need is a breather to calm down and assess yourself before making decisions. rmr, deep breaths.

•Do your own research, form your own opinions, figure out who you are, how you operate, and what you want in life. That’s how you begin to build character. That’s how you can move forward, even if it’s little by little. (A more stable foundation comes outta that too.)

big focus: practice self control. when they say “lead with your head,” they really mean the control center of logic, intuition, and emotion…but who’s doing more of the controlling here, you or your mind?

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Pile 3 | “how could I miss that?”

• What you need to focus on is slowing down. it’s easy to miss things when we’re busy or taking on a lot of responsibilities. give yourself some love and care—tend to those inner callings. It’s good for your mental health as well. Remember: mental becomes physical.

• put yourself first for once. Connect with yourself and loved ones- go on one of them self dates- Yessir those exist 😳

• pile 3, you are easily the most efficient and speedy group- cards were legit being shuffled like they were being handled like a pro- but you know the con of that? You miss all the moments you could’ve had with friends, lovers, family. Yourself. You get to miss all the details because things are going too fast pow pow pow one after the other until it piles up and then you end up beating yourself up for small and simple mistakes…calm down and adjust yourself. You will be okay.

• I’m telling you fam- TAKE BREAKS. Give yourself moments to relax and rejuvenate before you push yourself!! You put too much pressure on yourself as it is

• connect with your inner feminine energy when you have the time—you gotta MAKE that time for yourself

• don’t be so neglectful in your relationships btw! Romantic, platonic, familial, wtv- learn how to manage your time so that you can separate work and assignments with social relations. Keep that communication up!! This includes your inner and outer voice. Reflect and acknowledge how you feel.

big focus: be more open minded to making new connections! spend more time with others. you’ll find emotional happiness and fulfillment in it :)

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Ending Teddy note:

Hello hollywood people 😎 it has been a long minute! thank you for taking the time to read through this—YOU ARE AWESOME!!! Always remember to take what resonates and leave what doesn’t! I’ll cya fam ciao :)

[bunnyteetharry]

Full Throttle

summary: Harry get’s into a bad crash during a race which leads to the exposure of your secret relationship

warnings: none-ish

pairing: formula1driver!arry x bossesdaughter! reader

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The sound of people chattering and cars zooming loudly filled your ears

You were sat in the box with he other race engineers, all eyes glued to the big screens that were mounted onto the wall, you fixed the position of you headset you don’t know how many times already, your leg was bouncy up and down like crazy

Growing up surrounded by this environment you would think you would be use to this already but of course that changed when it was someone you cared about on that race track

Your Dad was The Managing Director for Ferrari, since you can remember, you and your sisters would always tag along and watch the races sometimes out in the stands with your Mom or by the technical team, watching them fix up the cars quickly in the box and getting overly excited when they rushed back into the race which blew a huge gust of wind your way and brushed your hair all over your faces

You met Harry when he was freshly up incoming for Mercedes at 21 years old, whenever you come around during the summer and help your dad, while learning some things about the different roles when it comes to the sport, he would roam around till he found you in the snack room and you started talking since

Well mostly him bugging you any chance he could, when he won in The Australian Grand Prix, he hopped off the car and ran straight towards you “I think a congratulations kiss is in order” his smirk was spread wide across his face, you rolled your eyes, arms crossed against your chest “Beat it before my dad see’s you over here Styles” he smiled and ran back to his team, jumping on them to give them a hug, resulting in almost crashing all of them into the ground

Four years later he joined Ferrari at 25 years old, you were currently finished with being an intern and joined race engineers, imagine the look on your face when you walked into the schedule meeting and see the sly smirking British man sitting there next to your dad

“Where’s my welcome to the team kiss?” He was leaned again the wall of the snack room, right where it all began “Can’t push me away now since we’re teammates” you rolled your eyes “Are you here just to annoy me even more? Cause this is a huge step that may resolve in a restraining order” he shrugged and picked up a water from the mini fridge “Who knows but I see this as a win win situation” before he was about to leave the room he turned back around and leaned down to your ear whispering “No getting rid of me now sweetheart” he pecked your cheek, smiling wildly out the room leaving you stun in your spot

Throughout his time with Ferrari, there was an odd thing going on between you and Harry, everyone noticed it, but you tried to ignore it as best as you could, sure you couldn’t help the sigh of relief you let out each time he finished a race in mint condition or the small smiles you would send each other across the rooms

At one point you finally admitted to yourselves that you had attraction towards each other and went on a few dates, at night of course as you didn’t want to bring an up roar in the morning with the press if you were seen with one of Ferrari’s top driver, especially with eh position your dad is in, you just knew the headlines would be wild

Even with secretly dating for a year now, it’s hard to do anything, let alone hold hands, it’s a good thing you’re families okay with it or else this would make your relationship ever harder then it already is

“He’s going to be okay love” your dad squeezed your hand tenderly, you tried your best to hide your worries into your smile “I know, it’s just you know how nervous I get sometimes” he nodded and smiled “He’s the best of the best, nothing can go wrong even with his track record” he said before heading back to his spot next to the track

The beep of the starter lights began to sound off

All three of you scooted to the end of your seated and breath hitched once the lights turned green

Half an hour in and the charts were looking good, Harry was close to second place coming behind his teammate Leclerc, right when he’s about to hit that mark Lewis Hamilton looses control of his breaks and crashes into Harry’s rear right tire, sending both of them tumbling toward the edge of the track

“Fuck” you mumbled quickly standing up from your seat, “Harry, you alright mate?” Roger the technical manager called out from the headset, it was quite for a minute but it felt like years before Harry answered “Yeah I’m good” he coughed, from the corner of the screen you could see the Marshalls already on the scene to make sure Harry and Lewis were safe from the impact

Minutes later Harry was back in the box, his face covered with debris and scratches

Everyone came up to him to congratulate on a good job he did so far before the crash happen, after the crowd settled down you dropped your headset onto the counter and ran towards him

He immediately reacted and wrapped his arm tightly around you, the other clutching your head, “I’m okay baby” he whispered pecking your forehead, every stood and starred at you both, a look of shock scattered on their faces

Letting go you cupped his face, looking for anymore injuries he may have “Hey, hey I’m fine love” he smiled softly bringing your hands down and wiping off the tears on your cheek

“Don’t ever scare me like that again” you lightly punched his chest “No promises” he smiled down at you

a/n: sorry for the long wait (and the quick ending), I was so busy with college I lost track of time but I’m trying to get as much writing as I can done, hope you enjoyed this one! <3

[leth-writes]

Twilight wolves x reader who has to leave for college? :>

I love this idea!

Sam

The two of you have known each other for years at this point. You were there when he first shifted, and when he imprinted, you felt like the entire world was right, at least for that moment. Sam shifted in his senior year of high school, so your relationship has been going strong for at least a year at this point.

Sam had never been academically focused; he was always more of a handyman, so he had planned to go to trade school, maybe in Port Angeles. Shifting had really destroyed that dream, as he had to stay near the reservation to lead the pack and make sure any of the new wolves were able to handle themselves. His entire world revolved around the pack, around the reservation, and around you, but he just didn’t have any time to study. His grades dropped, and he barely went to class. Especially when more and more teens are shifting, he’s needed elsewhere to keep the peace.

You’ve always had higher ambitions. You wanted to leave the dreary environment of Forks for a big city, dreaming of the sparkling lights and opportunities. You wanted the sun and the soft turquoise waves of somewhere warm and pleasant, not the constant rain of Forks.

Sam wants you to go to college. He wants you to get an education and achieve your dreams. It would be hell for him, but he’d do anything for you. Luckily, when you met him, your priorities shifted. Suddenly, with the long walks in the woods with him shifted, the runs and the soft cuddles, you began to appreciate the luscious, vibrant green around you. You began to see the beauty in the soft, muted colors of La Push, the dark, deep swirling waves, the gravel crunching under your feet. You couldn’t picture leaving his side any more than he could picture leaving yours.

Sam doesn’t want you to give up on your dreams. He wants you to get out there, to experience life to the fullest. He begs you not to give up, and to apply for university, to get the education you’ve been working for your whole life.

So, you apply to various Universities and Colleges in Seattle. It’s a four hour drive from campus, where you’re staying, to Forks.

The two of you alternate; one weekend he drives up to see you and spends the night at your dorm, the next weekend you drive down to stay at the reservation and meet up with the pack and your lifelong friends.

It’s hard, not being able to see you, but he knows you’re living life to the fullest, and he’s so proud of you.

Every time the two of you meet, he sweeps you into an all-encompassing hug. It’s like the world is right again.

Constant calls and messages. You two talk for hours every night, making sure to regale each-other with the intricacies of your day even when nothing exciting happened.

He brags to everyone and anyone about how smart you are, how proud he is.

Paul

Paul is more protective. He doesn’t want you moving where he can’t follow. While he’d love to move with you, he can’t; he needs to stay close to the others, to patrol and to protect the town and the people he loves. But even the thought of you being so far away is killing him. He has no clue what to do.

When you first mention moving away for University or College, I’m not going to lie, the two of you get into a massive argument. Paul is convinced you’re leaving him, that you’re going to go date someone normal, that you can’t handle the ‘freak of nature’ anymore. Please reassure him this isn’t true, he can’t handle thinking you hate him.

Really, it all stems from the same source of protectiveness that fuels his every action toward you.

Once you convince him that no, you aren’t moving so you can date a non-shifter and yes, you do love him, his anger eases up a bit and exposes that underlying anxiety driving his behavior, that fear of not being heard that forces him to be extra loud and in everyones’ faces.

Understanding his behavior is key. You need to know he isn’t acting out, he isn’t angry, because he can be, he’s angry because it’s the only way he knows how to express his anxiety. Paul has spent his entire life being written off for who he is, and only that anger and that passion ensures he’s heard.

Tell him you understand his position, but that you can’t budge on seeking an education. Tell him how important it is, how it feels like you’re trapped in Forks, how you need an opportunity to see the world before settling down.

He’ll understand. Hell, he’s in Leah’s head, he’s felt the same sense of being trapped and the longing to experience everything she’s felt for her whole life.

Still, the thought of being too far away kills you, so you set your heart on Seattle. He gets a job working as a mechanic and starts really saving. Every penny goes toward his master plan.

You’re living in the dorms and he’s driving you down to Forks as often as he can. He doesn’t really love the city, but he’ll put up with it for you

That first year is rough. Paul is naturally quite passionate, so not being able to wrap you up in a hug, not being able to fall asleep to your foreheads pressed together, to sleepy kisses with your eyes closed and your soft snoring, it’s hell for him.

So, a year into your degree, he rents an apartment for the two of you to stay in together. It’s just temporary, after you finish your education he fully plans on moving back in to his old house and working at the shared garage the pack manages, but it’s the easiest way to be close to you. On the weekends you two drive down together to see the pack and to be close by, especially so he can patrol, but Sam understands how hard it is for Paul to be apart from you. Besides, the anxiety was driving him crazy, and subsequently driving the whole pack crazy through their bonds.

The apartment is small, and kinda dingy, but it’s perfect for the two of you. He once again gets a job as a mechanic in Seattle, working to make sure you can enjoy your education, and the two of you are inseparable. He loves driving you to campus and goes to every party and every event with you.

Jacob

Jacob encourages you to go to college right away. Just because he never got the chance doesn’t mean he doesn’t want that for you. Besides, he’d do anything for you, including putting up with a bit of distance and a long drive.

Unlike the others, Jacob always drives up to see you, never the other way around. He isn’t as connected to the pack as the others.

Jacob wished he could’ve gotten the opportunity to go to trade school, but finances and the shifting and then everything with vampires made life too complicated and he couldn’t go.

He’s living vicariously through you.

Loves going to parties with you on campus, though can definitely get into a fight if another guy comes too close and definitely ends up punching someone who thought groping you was appropriate

Jacob isn’t as clingy as the others, preferring to give you a bit of space. This is leftover from his time spent resisting the bond. A bit of him feels guilty he put the both of you in such pain, so he’s definitely a bit more willing to put in so much effort.

Loves when you send him pictures right before class; he gets to see how adorable you look with your hair mussed and your comfy clothes. Especially loves it if you wear glasses, you look so cozy.

A part of Jacob still feels insecure; it’s part of why he’s so willing to put some distance between the two of you. He’s avoiding those massive emotions that come along with the bond, repressing them deep down.

Somewhere along your third year he just… breaks. It’s hard for him to deal with the wave after wave after wave of longing, but he manages. Please convince him how much you care about him, he can be deeply insecure.

Overall supportive, but please help him figure out how he feels before he snaps himself in half over his suppressed emotions 🙁

Let me know if anyone wants more!

[rawbin-hsr]

Hi! Could i request Feixiao, Boothill, and Argenti with a s/o who has panic disorder (or panic attacks in general). Just generally how they react and such :)

@dragon-anon

A/N: Surprisingly I found this a little difficult IUESJhief I have a lot of experience with. having anxiety when I was younger. I think I was even diagnosed with it at some point ? Which is weird because I’m not diagnosed any longer and I no longer really get anxiety attacks so idk what the fuck that was erm. Anyways that’s beside the point. I really struggled to make Feixiao and Argenti different because I think they would handle it similarly (hence why Argenti’s part ended up so much shorter than the other two, cause I didn’t want to just. Repeat Feixiao’s whole part.) and I’m a little worried Boothill is ooc because I haven’t done the new quest and it seems like it showed a lot of his backstory so forgive me if I’m not up to date on that. Sorry about rambling I’ll get on with it now help

Reader has an anxiety disorder

Characters: Feixiao, Boothill, Argenti

Cw: anxiety/panic attacks (descriptions kept brief, not very detailed), slight mention of self-harm inflicting behaviours in Argenti's part (only reader unintentionally scratching themself, not necessarily done out of a desire to harm oneself).

Lmk if there's anything else I should add !

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╭──────────.★..─╮ Feixiao ╰─..★.──────────╯

Oh she’s great 

Amazing at picking up your signals, amazing at assessing what course of action would help you most, amazing at following through with it

She can tell what sets you off, even without you telling her, and she has a lot of firsthand experience with handling other people’s anxiety (both from more intimate relationships and from soldiers she doesn’t exactly know on any personal level). It’s not hard for her to figure out what calms you down most quickly. 

Your episodes have never been shorter than they are with her around 🙏🙏

I’m not sure exactly how I imagine her handling it, because I think it switches a lot depending on what she knows about you. If she knows you find physical touch comforting, she’ll hold you and gently talk you down. If you’re the type who doesn’t need much reassurance, she’ll firmly remind you of where you are, that she’s with you, that you’re safe, etc, etc. She’ll find whatever solution works best for you. 

Apart from being great with damage control if you do have a panic attack, she’s also pretty good at preventing them from happening in the first place. 

If she recognises you’re stepping into an environment you’re likely to have an attack in, she’ll either steer you out of it if she can or she’ll make sure you’re in there for as little time as possible. Like, for example, if you’re bad with large crowds, she’ll usually just find a less packed road to take around the mass of people.

Obviously it’s unavoidable sometimes, and she won’t always be able to adhere to you completely because she does have a very important job that she can’t really put on hold for your sake, but like I said, she’s great at handling it then too. 

If something needs to be done but you can’t do it, she’ll do it for you (after gently trying to encourage you to face your fears and do it yourself — but she does quickly relent if she notices you really, really don’t want to)

10/10 would recommend she’s amazing

╭──────────.★..─╮ Boothill ╰─..★.──────────╯

I feel like Boothill would be absolutely dogwater at preventing any anxiety attacks from happening, but he’d be great at stopping them once they do happen

Like obviously he won’t trigger you on purpose but he won’t tiptoe around the things that put you off either. Both because he doesn’t usually have much choice in the matter considering his line of work, and because he believes in exposure therapy. And because he maybe sort of kind of forgets. 😭

But he’d be great while you’re in the middle of an anxiety attack ! So that counts for something !!!!

He always manages to snap you out of it pretty quickly. Takes you out of the situation once he recognises the signs that the attack is coming, then gets you present in the current moment again. How ? That’s very simple. He confuses the fuck out of you

You know that tip about making someone having an anxiety attack bite into a lemon ? Yeah

(If you haven’t heard about it: a way to snap someone out of a panic/anxiety attack can be to make them lick a really sour lemon without any warning. The sensory input is really overwhelming and the person having the episode might be so shocked by it they kind of just snap out of it because who the fuck makes you taste a lemon when you’re at your lowest like that ???)

You’re curled up in a ball, hyperventilating because there are too many people, too many sounds, too many what-have-you ? Not anymore, now you’re too busy being confused and lowkey angry at him for shoving an ice cube down your throat. Like wtf are you doing my guy

Usually his little stunts do the trick to get you out of that headspace, and then he can just verbally talk you down so you’re nice and calm again. Will let you cool off while he solves whatever issue it was that led to your anxiety attack. Don’t worry about it anymore, he’s got this. 

If he can’t confuse you out of it, though, he’ll just do whatever you’ve instructed him to do while lucid. If it’s hugging you and talking gently until you’re calm, he can do that. If it’s to just take you into a quiet space and let you ride it out, no problem. If it’s to just continue on and let you just stand next to him, sure. 

Only thing he won’t do is to avoid your triggers altogether. He can give you a heads-up when possible, he can let you sit it out if you really need to, but he won’t (in his words) “baby you”. In his opinion, you’ll never get over it if you just avoid it forever. 

He says it in a kind of harsh way, but there’s genuine care in his tone and his expression, so you know he doesn’t mean it like that. 

All in all I think Boothill is really great if you’re the resilient type and you have the kind of anxiety that can actually get better through treatment, but if you’re sensitive and need someone who actively helps you avoid your triggers I definitely wouldn’t recommend him 😭

╭──────────.★..─╮ Argenti ╰─..★.──────────╯

Obviously amazing at handling it is there anything he’s not good at ? 🙄 (/j)

He immediately becomes very serious when he realises your control is slipping, falls silent and looks at you worriedly. He recognises surprisingly quickly what’s happening, and steps into your field of view and crouches down, makes sure you can see his face. Takes both of your hands in his, wishes he didn’t have armour so he could let you feel his heartbeat.

He calmly talks you out of it. He sounds so sure of everything he does, to a point where you’ll question afterwards if he has firsthand experience with this. 

(He does. He used to experience a lot of anxiety and panic attacks as a child, it is only natural when you grow up surrounded by war; you’d never guess just looking at him now, though.)

He’ll obviously switch how he handles your panic attacks if you ask him to, but his default is to hold your hands (both to prevent you from accidentally scratching yourself, and to remind you he’s there) and to softly reassure you

I think he becomes sort of hyper aware of what triggers you, and does as much as he can to avoid it. Lowkey starts to baby you a little, but just a little, and even if it’s annoying it’s done with love, done out of a desire for you to be happy. It does put him in some tough spots though, considering it means he sometimes tells you to sit an adventure out, but the plan was for it to have the both of you and it’s harder to handle a lot of things alone 😭

Overall super good though I love him <3

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My inbox is open, feel free to send in asks or requests, I'd love to ramble about things <3

[pearlprincess02]

taylor swift and joe alwyn composite chart houses

7th house: the composite 7th house governs how you are as a couple, how much you’re focused on the relationship, how you move together as one, and the other people that you interact with together.

taurus 7th house : with the composite 7th house in taurus, you may be a pairing that interacts with others with great calm, or the people in your life may seem like calming forces. while the external face of the relationship may be intense, there can be an ease with commitment, and this can help buoy the partnership. if may be difficult for you to see together when you’re being stubborn and stuck, yet you may encounter others who are that way with the two of you.

7th house ruler in 3rd house: circumstance: meeting them through social media, dating apps, online. meeting through one of your hobbies. meeting them when you’re gaining a new skill: learning something/ taking a class. meeting them when you’re in a really busy time of your life. a time when you’re socializing a lot. meeting on a trip or something to do with driving. person: someone who is talkative, childish, playful, witty, intelligent, or humorous. someone that has many different skills or hobbies. the kind of person to be communicative and opinionated. someone who can be sort of “gemini-like” union: a relationship that is like a friendship. a dynamic where you’re competitive together. can feel like a “sibling” dynamic. a union where you communicate together, exchange ideas and learn from each other. being on social media together.

moon in 7th: with the composite moon in the 7th house, this is the house of relationships, so this can be a good placement for virtually any relationship, personal or professional. you each can focus on the relationship a great deal, feeling more secure and confident when you feel the relationship is solid and strong. you can work extra hard to make sure you’re each putting in your fair share of work to maintain the relationship, but you also need to make sure the relationship doesn’t become an emotional crutch for either of you.

8th house: the composite 8th house shows how we use what we have together and share with one another. this house also governs intimacy and sex, so it can also show how we connect on a physical level in romantic partnerships (in a way that may be different from individually in the natal chart).

gemini 8th house: with the composite 8th house in gemini, you may come up with plenty of ideas for what you should do with the resources you have together, and you may be a little scattered as a result. information and knowledge can be powerful, so you can do your homework first before making decisions to avoid being impulsive and scattered. in a romantic relationship, physical intimacy may need to come after a mental connection is built.

8th house ruler in 3rd house: you often desire a certain level of unpredictability and instability once a commitment is made. to some degree you’re unstable and that can transverse as non-committal in the house of “commitment” which may cause the surrounding environment to wane and fluctuate in an unhealthy manner. the real issue here is that you secretly have a complex about the perfect romance and often times the more mundane and predictable sides of being committed secretly bore you. you want excitement of not really knowing whether or not your lover will be there the next day which often can be sad due to the fact that their are often two faces present here! the one that wants excitement and the one that actually wants to be committed to someone. the odd thing here is that often for these natives once the committed twin wins over they often can place a high value on communication and open emotional expression despite their logical approach to settling down. all this taken into account once they kill off the fickle twin they don’t just commit to their lovers...they submit to them fully. your lover could shy away during this phase though as they’ll feel like it’s either they keep up or get out..but once they survive that part they’ll adore the committed and often completely sympathetic backing. once commitment is established you can frolic like a child in a field across your lovers body! you become experimental but also a bit of a bi-polar off and on type-you’ll often initiate sex in multiple ways.

jupiter in 8th: with composite jupiter in the 8th house, you can find it easier to deal with the serious aspects of the relationship, and deal with serious matters together. the darker side to this house can be somewhat muted with jupiter here, and you can be less prone to struggling over power and control. you can help to transform one another and deal with deeply-held issues that you’d normally keep buried.

chiron in 8th: you help each other heal from wounds related to loss, sexuality and power. you may be instrumental in helping each other reclaim your sexual power or overcoming wounds related to manipulation. you can help each other create understanding and perspective surrounding losses, crisis and personal tragedies. it’s easy for you to both hold space for each other’s grief and fears. you may have to struggle to help each other find transformation but once you begin to turn pain and fears into empowering change, you’ll both be able to shift from seeing yourselves as victims to seeing yourselves as powerful healers and leaders.

pholus in 8th: you can help each other face dramatic transformation and work through major turning points together. through this relationship you both find empowerment and perspective. you help each other release past fears and insecurities. your intuition helps you both pick up on small details that have dramatic ramifications. you can both become obsessed with shared wealth, security and resources, especially during times of dramatic change. small changes you both make can lead to cataclysmic changes. you are called to help each other embrace transformation. you may also help each other navigate major changes and turning points that help you both to unleash your sexual power and find greater clarity on what you desire. your relationship to each other can bring courage and focus in the midst of dramatic shifts and upsetting changes.

pallas in 8th: you are both easily able to do your best problem-solving work when it comes to dealing with matters of the subconscious and secret desires. you are both able to blend your intellectual and intuitive gifts to advocate for others’ rights to sexual freedom and you may be strategic about helping others to share power in relationships. this relationship can be a source of intense inspiration and you may both be motivated and determined to help each other succeed in accomplishing your goals of helping others navigate through change and transformation. you may also both have a psychic sense about strategies for problem solving that bring empowerment and new focus to others.

9th house: the composite 9th house can show how we expand, explore, and experience life together. The composite 9th house can show how we share our wisdom as a pairing with the world, and how we find meaning.

cancer 9th house: with the composite 9th house in cancer, you may feel at home with expansion and exploration together, and find some degree of emotional comfort in it. if you live together or are family, you may give each other a lot of space, and demand more freedom. travel, expansion, and new experiences may bring emotional security to the relationship. there may also be a focus to explore more at home.

9th house ruler in the 7th house: financial luck and fortune from marriage, gains and profits after marriage unless afflicted, spouse could prove lucky and is likely a foreigner or someone you meet while traveling, likely to travel a lot after marriage with spouse, due to career, due to social work, spouse or business partners may teach you a lot, can be someone you look up to, you can worship your spouse or platonic partners, luck and profits in business and career, gains in career after marriage, higher education in law, communication, management, business, economics, aesthetic/design industry, fashion, spouse may be someone you meet through friends, introduced by someone influential and in public eye, known through elder sibling, luck in legal battles and court cases, great sense of justice and self righteousness, if unafflicted shows a lucky life in second half of life especially, can marry friend's sibling, absolutely loyal and against infidelity of any kind, religious and spiritual beliefs can be influenced by spouse or business partners, can spread their wisdom and teachings to a big audience, can be a teacher, foreign education, morals and ethics may impact business and negotiations, self righteousness can affect partnerships, can be a spiritual or religious preacher or a life guide helping others through life with advice and teachings, spouse may live in a foreign land and be of same culture, looks for soulmate or spiritual connection with spouse, father may be famous, is a teacher, interacts with many people, could bring you your spouse, may be your business partner, constantly improving yourself in relationships unless malefics are associated, spouse provides happiness and prosperity if unafflicted, spouse is ethical and moral, you are a knowledge seeker, loves traveling, is self righteous, enjoys learning and history, open minded and spiritual,relationship with religion and spirituality may be affected after marriage, spouse can make you more pious, great placement for people in public eye,father may live away, you prove lucky for your partner

mars in 9th: with composite mars in the 9th house, you can feel driven to expand your lives and have new experiences together, and this can be a good placement for traveling or learning together. you can debate over beliefs and outlooks, and you try to keep things light, but you may fight over your beliefs at times, so you have to remain open. if you have the same beliefs, this can be a strong link between you.

ceres in 9th: you can nurture each other’s philosophies and beliefs. with each other’s encouragement you can both find greater inspiration and expand your point of view. you may also help each other create abundance through encouraging each other to expand on your plans and ideas. you may stand out as a couple that nurtures others’ higher ideals and help each other to maintain hope in the midst of challenging times. you both understand that each other needs to enjoy changes of scenery, taking classes and writing or traveling abroad as a means of nurturing your own inner strengths.

10th house: the composite 10th house can show how you present yourselves as a pair, how you step out into the world together (your public life), and what you work toward together.

virgo 10th house: here we have a somewhat reserved couple with others, but extremely cheerful and expressive with each other. people see that they are serious about the relationship, that they see themselves being with each other for a long time, they see a future together and people trust that they are the right person for this. both stand out for being very hardworking and devoted in the relationship, people can highlight the effort, mutual support and attention they give each other. they see the relationship as something that came to put more order in both their lives and their feelings, they think that they both do well and push themselves to be the best version of themselves. people realize that you both accept each other's flaws and all, and are likely to see a quality of relief and rest in one or both of you when you're together. they give the impression of being able to count unconditionally on the other regardless of the circumstances.

10th house ruler in 3rd house: the activities of the 10th house serve the agenda of the 3rd house. building a reputation, gaining recognition for achievements and finding a vocation serve communication, information gathering and everyday interactions. the need to be seen as an authority influences the way you communicate. you communicate like an authority figure. you communicate like a professional. you communicate like a parent. your profession is always on your mind. you write a blog for professionals. you keep a professional diary. you’d like your vocation to provide opportunities for making connections around town. you’d like to become known locally for the work that you do. you’d like to be a local celebrity. your vocation involves writing. your vocation involves conferencing, skypeing, phone calls, IM, facebook, twitter, email and other short correspondence. you get speaking engagements because of your professional status. your authoritative stance makes you stand out in the local community. you act like a parent to your siblings. you act like the parent of your neighborhood. you take your professional experience to the local level. you teach people how to do what you do. you teach at a vocational school. you pass on information about career placement. you are a school guidance counselor. you pass on your professional experience through teaching and writing. you become an authority on your local area. you become an authority on the written word. you become an authority on language.

11th house: the composite 11th house can show how we come together as friends in a relationship, the groups we interact with and causes you push for together. with the 11th house also ruling change and the future, it can show how change is approached and what future we envision.

libra 11th house: with the composite 11th house in libra, you can be the compromising, pleasant pair in your friendships or groups you participate in, and can be easy to get along with together. you may want friends or groups that you feel are pleasant and won’t throw any drama into your lives together. you may spend time with many couples/partnerships. you can focus on change when balance is achieved.

11th house ruler in 3rd house: being versatile is something that characterizes these natives; they can fit in with any group, however they like to hang out with individuals who share their interests. astrology, drawing, digital art, having a blog, photography, traveling and playing video games are some of the hobbies that the native may have. they enjoy activities that challenge them somehow. some of them may encounter (and get along pretty well) either many people with gemini placements/3rd house placements/dominant mercuries in the course of their life. something that i have noticed in many of these natives is that they tend to be quite intelligent, and despite this, they do not study a lot or participate in class. they tend to like to learn on their own and hate wasting time studying, even feeling overwhelmed by the idea of ​​studying, unless they are studying on their own. these natives feel a very deep connection with their friends, coming to consider them family, to be more specific, they usually see them as brothers. they tend to interact in a friendly and witty way when wanting to forge new friendships. they tend to keep their friends from school regardless of the passage of time, however, remembering that astrology is ambiguous, i have also noticed the other side of the coin, and that is that it may have been difficult for them to make friends at school or feel that they fit in. with their classmates. their relationship with their siblings is usually somewhat complex and changing. the relationship can be a bit extreme, oscillating between getting along very well with each other and sometimes not wanting to see each other. siblings of the natives can have strong aquarius, saturn, uranus or 11th House energy or placements. something that perfectly describes them is their curiosity, being people who seek to find a deeper meaning to everything that is mundane or part of their day to day. they often have a huge desire to travel to know and explore or to have a job that allows them to travel. they are people willing and open to change. (if the ruler is badly aspected, their dedication to achieving their goals can give them a lonely life and perhaps fewer social contacts than they would like). do you want to get their attention? don't be afraid of being judged. something that they find admirable is people who are able to express their thoughts in a direct and unique way. abstract, complex and interesting minds will definitely catch their eye. these people are hardly understood by people, especially when others try to read what they write. i have noticed that the writing of these natives changes a lot and that they tend to write very fast. they speak and write with a unique, clever, entertaining, and easygoing style. they are quite social and have a remarkable ability to make new and helpful connections very quickly.

12th house: the composite 12th house can show what may be hidden in the relationship, what may play out subconsciously in the relationship, the karma of the relationship, and what needs to be let go of.

libra 12th house: with the composite 12th house in libra, it may be difficult at times for you to find some pleasant compromise in the relationship, and restore balance and peace together. everything can smooth out in times of crisis so you operate in a calmer way, but this may cause a subconscious desire for more chaos. there may be karmic issues with lack of respect or commitment issues that need to be addressed, and some indecision may need to be let go of.

12th house ruler in 3rd house: shows intense passion towards certain skills or just lack in happiness if you feel dispassion or unhappy doing your skill, many people with this often are artistic and singers, they maybe into music, they are creative, and inherently talented, but also too obsessed that they can forget about real life, you may have felt detachment from family, neighbors, siblings, cousins, or just the immediate family, could be due to experiences or you felt you belonged somewhere else or with other crowd, you may have had sexual relations or possibly marry someone you know from school or they could be a friend first or introduced through cousin, sibling etc, you may be wise regarding education, learning, experienced in some skill, speech, social issues etc, could have hidden animosity from siblings, cousins, school peers, teachers, friends or neighbors, animosity could be due to talent, knowledge, brave and talk back bold personality, this only for malefic planets, or jealousy due to school matters, like going to a better school than others you know, could be due to grades, you can spend a lot on art, education, on friends, learning, if afflicted this could cause debt for you, you may manifest knowledge or skills or acceptance, can be intuitive or intuitively connected to friends, siblings, may live or did early education in a foreign land or with foreign people, may have felt imprisoned or claustrophobic in young age, with peers, in surroundings, may not be able to sleep when young, could have sleep disorders when young, you maybe troubled about your learning and education or not being able to learn a skill or not being able to speak, your speech mein reflect your subconscious, for people that hide stuff or are not able to express, your speech may be reflective of subconscious issues, restrictions in speaking, expressing or pursuing things of interest may put mind at distress, shows restrictions from mother or subconscious fear or animosity towards mother, lack of freedom of expression if afflicted, may have had difficult or life changing, teaching moments earlier in life, for some, there is lazy attitude towards things if interest, and lack of passion,you are subconsciously someone witty and a thinker, you enjoy learning and doing things with your hands, may enjoy traveling

pluto in 12th: with composite pluto in the 12th house, you may struggle over power and control in ways that aren’t obvious. it can be in a subconscious way, and you subconsciously want to have all of the power and control. this position can show one person makes all of the sacrifices and the other person takes everything selfishly, so you need to make sure you’re both giving and taking equally. you can transform in profound ways together if you can steer clear of secrets, lies, and cruelty.

celeb's masterlist / moodboard / 1H - 6H

crd:

7h + 7h ruler

8h + 8h ruler + composite chiron in house + composite pholus in houses + composite pallas in houses

9h + 9h ruler + composite ceres in houses

10h + 10h ruler

11h + 11h ruler

12h + 12h ruler

[live-from-flaturn]

From that prompt list: #41. But can I add to it? Not just overhearing the other person talk about their feelings, but these people know they like each other already (possibly already dating). But the one doesn't usually communicate those types of feelings to the other (not their love language) and the other overhears and is just rush of butterflies, glowing skin, heart flips and isnt mad because the one shows their affection in other ways. I hope this makes sense.

Oooooh this was a really fun idea to play with. I hope you enjoy this sappy character study that might be partially based on a true story about my stepmom asking my dad (her husband) where her husband had gone after surgery.

tw: medical environment, side effects of anesthesia

wordcount: approx. 750

Title: "Goodnight Kiss"

Chay’s leg won’t quit bouncing no matter how hard he tries, but he can’t help himself.

The sight of Kim in a hospital bed never fails to make his heart race. Even if the operation was successful and his boyfriend’s burst appendix has been entirely removed, Chay can’t seem to calm down. He knows that Kim is safe. He understands perfectly well that Kim is alive and breathing. His heartbeat forms a steady beep beep beep through the machine that almost soothes Chay’s frazzled nerves. Almost.

He won’t be truly calm until–

“Hnnn.”

Chay’s full attention snaps to Kim’s face. His perfectly manicured eyebrows have scrunched together at the center of his forehead and his mouth is pulled into a pale, thin line. The pattern of beeps coming from his heart-rate monitor speeds up by an increment only noticeable to Chay’s finely tuned ears. 

“Kim?” Chay barely holds back a grin as he leans closer. “Are you awake?”

Kim grumbles something unintelligible and his frown grows thunderous. Worry dives headfirst into the rushing current of Chay’s thoughts. 

“Are you alright, P’Kim?”

“Didn’t you hear me?” he slurs. Still half-asleep and doped on painkillers, Kim’s tongue struggles to form each angry syllable. “Go away. I want my boyfriend.”

Chay bites the inside of his cheek and takes a moment to ponder whether he should call Tankhun for moral support. Drugged Kim is already a handful (Chay still giggles fondly at his memories of The Great Halloween Tranq Dart Incident), but he also can’t be sure if Kim is asking for him or someone from before. 

Before that fateful open house. Before their guitar lessons. Before they’d started dating. Before–

“Ugh, where the hell is Chay?!” 

“Oh, uh. Babe, I’m right here.”

Kim either doesn’t understand or doesn’t hear him. The morphine has his boyfriend in its clutches and is not letting go.

“How does he expect me to feel better when I can’t see his beautiful smile, huh?” Kim is immediately belligerent. “How am I supposed to heal without Chay singing me to sleep and playing with my hair? He’s so good at it, too. Hey, do you like head scratches?”

 Chay startles at the accusing finger pointed toward his chest. He nods hesitantly, “Yeah…”

“Then you should meet my boyfriend ‘cause he’s awesome at them.” Kim smirks triumphantly and then jerks as if he’s been electrocuted. His glazed eyes narrow into threatening slits, “Actually, forget I said that. I’m taking back my offer and shredding it for good measure. You should stay far away from my sweet, vicious angel. He’s mine and nobody else can ever have him or I’ll…” 

Kim tears up so fast he’s barely able to rasp out the final part of his statement: 

“I’ll make sure they never find the bodies.”

Well that’s… nice?

“You’re very sweet, P’Kim.” Chay stands and pushes his patient’s shoulders back against the bed. “But I think you need a bit more rest before you wake up properly.”

“I can’t sleep without a goodnight kiss,” Kim pouts. “And I only accept goodnight kisses from my boyfriend, so don’t even try.”

Chay thinks back on all the times he’s taken care of Porsche after anesthesia and puts on his most serious Medical Professional Face. “One moment, Khun Kim. I’ll go and fetch Khun Chay for you.”

“Hmph. Thank you.”

Chay walks to the door, slips outside, spins around for the hell of it (and to amuse the single evening nurse behind her station) and walks back inside. “P’Kim, the nurse told me you woke up?”

“There you are! Where have you been?!”

“I needed to use the restroom.”

“Oh…” Kim’s confusion is adorable. Especially when his bottom lip sticks out like it is. “I guess that’s okay, then.”

“Thank you. What can I do to make you more comfortable?”

“Give me a goodnight kiss,” Kim demands, ever the little prince. “And… And play with my hair so I can sleep?”

“Alright, P’Kim,” Chay smiles warmly. His heart damn near explodes at the unrestrained grin Kim sends back, too loopy to hide a single drop of his obvious joy. “I’m happy to do that. Would you like a sip of water first?”

“Yeah, my mouth is gross.”

“I bet.”

Chay gently presses his lips against Kim’s warm forehead and thanks every star in the universe for second chances. 

[atsoraasayoma]

Hi! I just found your page, and as a Takari shipper, I really appreciate what you do!

I bring you a topic to analyze! Recently I've been thinking about something that I haven't seen discussed anywhere, and that is that if you look at the children of the chosen ones in the epilogue, the oldest ones are Yolei's and Ken's, and then Hikari's (???).

Taking into account that the epilogue takes place in 2027 and her daughter (or son?) looks about 10 years old maybe, then let's say she only has about 5 years left between '02 The Beginning' and the birth of her child to meet someone, fall in love, date and perhaps get married (I mean, it's not necessary to get married to have a child). That's a long time I know, and she could still meet someone between that time, date and then get married in a space of 3 years or so, but it sounds a bit accelerated. Could it be that by the time of the last movie, she's already meeting someone, going out to bars and fooling around? See where I'm going?

I would like to know what you think about it? :)

Hi there! Thanks for consulting with me about this topic friend. For one, I don’t really see Hikari going to bars by herself. She is very cautious unless going through emotional distress, but if one of her friends were there specifically Takeru or Miyako I think she would allow herself to get a little buzzed but not full on wasted and make those kinds of decisions.

To be perfectly honest I have a hard time seeing Hikari dating anyone because it takes a long time for her to feel comfortable. She’s great with children of course, but when it comes to romance I think that would prove to be difficult. She has to learn to confide in people. So if she has close friends and went to a mixer or something, maybe but she would have to have the approval of her friends first. She may be timid at times, but she is smart. With Takeru’s training I’m sure she could talk her way out of trouble what with how she seemed to learn how to tease from him.

Due to her past I think she’s better than before about making personal choices but this is usually in a group setting when it comes to decisions. I am sure she has learned from both Takeru and Miyako and the hearts of the kidnapped children in zero two. Oh, and Tailmon as well.

A part of me strongly believes that she would end up with Takeru and we are being played until the end of this. I spent quite sometime trying to analyze eye colors and heritage and how their kids could have blue eyes and the other has brown eyes which was disheartening…

…but then I remembered, hey this is anime. Does everything absolutely have to be in alignment for it to work? I don’t think so with a hint of salt.

We have to be realistic, but omission is neither evidence nor falsehood.

I try to look at trends, yet since we don’t know the names of most of the Digidestined spouses or seen them we’re not getting the full picture. So, we need to focus on what we can see.

That was just the introduction. So here are my thoughts.

Whoever Hikari dates would need some kind of approval from her brother. He’s still protective of her. He would also need to be approved by her other friends -especially Miyako who is her confidante. She would also like to know Takeru’s reaction since they were childhood friends.

So she would control her environment before she takes any hasty emotional decisions.

I think you’re right timing wise as far as the canonicity of the children being born.

Yet, even after considering what is highly likely I want to give proper credence to omission in the Takari case.

What’s fascinating about this pairing is what we can draw from their constantly being around each other. They grow, they support each other, they start to have feelings in Tri, and by the time we get to Kizuna they are in sync literally lockstep (from the limited time we see them.)

All of this is hammered down even further when we get to the 2nd dialogue script in 02 to the Beginning Movie where they literally are making up stories together on the spot with their Digimon and just literally leading Ken on with their wild stories.

(This also got me thinking maybe Hikari gave Takeru idea to write about for future novels)

Then in that same movie Hikari seems to have front passenger seat privileges, is extremely calm about Takeru’s erractic driving which tells me she is used to it, and lastly, and this is the most important point:

They are still extremely close. Even more so than their DNA digivolving partners. I can’t say the same for Ken and Daisuke.

If we take a step back and look at this from Digimon Adventure all the way through this new movie we can see a steady progression in the building of their relationship.

In the next movie then, I believe, so close to the ordained time of meeting their spouses, one of two things will happen.

They will be in good communication of course. But, what I can see is either Takeru will meet someone, introduce them to the group and Hikari will be supportive but heartbroken and then move on.

Or two, and this is my hope, that, they will finally cross that line to actually become lovers. It would have to be a truly desperate moment for them to see each other that way. They are both terrific at hiding their own feelings.

If we approach this canon wise the first option seems more likely.

But I have approached their relationship differently because so much of their relationship is based off those little details of expression, emotion, and proximity.

This is the last scene I have seen of them from the new movie that I remember. They still seem quite close.

In my opinion after such an emotional travail from the previous conflict it seems that each Digidestined ended up playing with the ones they are closest to.

Hikari could have chosen Miyako.Takeru could have not prepared himself and taken a hit from Iori but he was ready to take it from her.

In response to the last part of your question, I think, should Hikari have been dating Takeru would have made some reaction or comment about it. The same with Takeru. Like in Tri?

But, they didn’t. It wasn’t even brought up. And even if it was possible do you think another girl or guy would like their girl/boyfriend hanging out with their childhood friend in their car alone or at a restaurant?

Maybe it’s a cultural thing but you have to admit that can prompt all kind of misunderstandings.

So in summary I agree they could meet someone else by the time the last movie comes out and dash the hopes of the Takari faithful.

However, like in one of my previous posts I submit this picture as a reservation for Takari to be canon much as the vacant spot conspicuously behind Tentomon in front that seemed reserved for someone:

Mirrored Daisuke appears to have mirrored the missing spot between Sora and Yamato. Yet Takeru seems to have stepped forward as if he was meant to have been in that hidden spot besides Hikari in the first picture.

My hopes for Takaridom are banked on such observations. There is a constant ‘why’ when it comes to these two and their relationship.

One of my biggest ones is why that gap? And as this final movie comes across our path hopefully in the next five years we’ll get some kind of final answer just how far their relationship goes.

I just know that if they are still that close which I believe they will be one or the other will somehow have the other in the back of their minds when it comes to any romance. Which, is a most curious thing, isn’t it?

Would that not lead to, ‘If I’m always considering you/confiding in you does that mean we are the best of friends or could we be more than that?

…

And I am eagerly waiting for those emerging of emotions to manifest that both of them will realize.

(For further understanding of how Takari can be canon I recommend to read my fanfiction series The Digital Record Series on fanfiction.net or archiveofourown.com under Atsoraasayoma.)

I know this has been quite the long response but to me I can’t give a short answer or even a medium one. Much like their relationship you might need to take my opinion with a grain of salt or go back through the series and read between the lines.)

[prettyrealm]

ateez san as a boyfriend reading

this reading is a paid commission, thank you so much for trusting in me! <3

overall:

definitely the type to try and make sure his partner is free from all worries and concerns, whether it be emotional or material. he isn’t the type to believe you can buy love and doesn’t approach relationships from that angle (he’s giving and wants you to have everything your heart desires, but he knows money can’t solve problems nor can it make someone actually like you), he likes a lot of hand holding and just touching/being close to his partner. he doesn’t have to think too hard and relationships seem to flow freely for him. he’s definitely the type to take his partner on trips or travel the world with them and have them celebrate his successes with him. he knows how to be very harmonious with his partner in a sense that he can be very intuitive and know the right things to say, the right times to reach out and how to go about things in general. i really do think he puts in the effort to make it feel like the relationship is destined to be (he may even be the type to say this a lot), or as if him and his partner lucked up in an unimaginable way. i do get the feeling though he may like or just attract a lot of “crazy” types and date people others wouldn’t expect him to.

strengths:

very motivational boyfriend - he will push you and encourage you to reach your goals, well off - he has a lot of financial freedom and isn’t stingy when it comes to this, he loves spending on his lover & spoiling them with gifts (“my money is yours”), doesn’t try to rush into things to quickly and is fine with taking it slow, doesn’t care what others think or let their opinions sway his perception of the people he dates - he likes who he likes, very fun to attend parties & social gatherings with, knows how to make his partners feel very comfortable and relaxed when with him, & he’s good at keeping the connection exciting and enjoyable.

weaknesses:

he can be too delusional about romantic connections & think things are going better than they actually are, i think he’s devoted to ideals or principles that may dictate his life & cause problems in his relationships (trying to make his partner conform to these ideals or just being overbearing about it in general), he thinks he can do no wrong & that he’s always pushing the relationship in the correct direction, dependent, loses interest quickly (one day you’re the hottest person he ever met and he’s completely mesmerized, then all of a sudden your spark is gone and he doesn’t exactly know why), may only date people he sees on the same level as him (elitist), and may judge harshly and put the women he dates in boxes like good girl/bad girl.

what type of relationship is he looking for?

right now, he wants a relationship with a connection so strong that it motivates him to want to create and be his best artistically. he wants a relationship he won’t ever get bored or tired of or ever grow out of (like a permanent honeymoon phase, he never wants them to lose their spark and that seems to be a reoccurring problem he’s had in the past. i think he’s the type to end it quickly if he’s not feeling it anymore), he may like the idea of ending up with a childhood friend or just someone who gets how he grew up/was raised in a similar manner or environment, he wants a connection where they both can go through different transitional phases of life and learn with eachother, a relationship where they both can successfully prioritize goals and make difficult decisions together, an honest and responsible connection where his partner genuinely needs and appreciates him & a connection where he takes the lead.

[luveline]

hi jade! i think your concerns about the way people are treating you are completely valid!! you are allowed to speak up and say actually people aren’t being that nice to me and it isn’t victim mentality, the people we’re surrounded by have serious effects on us as humans because we’re social creatures and have always depended on one another so when the people around us make us feel bad and like there’s something wrong with us your brain convinces you that there must be!!! but there isn’t, you’re just not with the right people! but don’t worry they’ll come; you have to trust the universe she will always provide for you.

i think life’s stressful at the minute, i’m feeling it too! the job market in the UK is so so difficult and being unemployed is a real kick in the teeth, being at the age where all your friends are off dating but you’re not and you’re not even sure you want to is really isolating because you know your friends don’t want to see you as much because there’s someone else for them now, they get to go home to someone and you don’t, i’ve been following you for a while because i like your work but also because you make me feel less alone, a lot of the problems you face i also face, you post complaints and worry they’re annoying but i read them and know the world isn’t as small or as dark as my room, that i’m not completely alone even in my isolation- and i want you to know that the way people treat you isn’t fair! you deserve the kindness and joy you put out, you deserve it ten fold! you’ll get it one day i promise, i think continuing in an environment that’s hard for you is a very brave thing to do, yoy just have to remember it’s not forever 🫶🏻

I think I’m like, always looking at myself through someone else’s eyes, if that makes sense?

So instead of being able to just say people haven’t been that good to me lately, I read it in someone else’s head and think oh look Jade’s on another ego trip she thinks she deserves more than she has because she’s delusional but honestly, right now, I think so many people have disappointed me, not like they’ve hurt me or that a persons job is to be perfect, and not that we should expect people to be perfect and never disappoint us because I really don’t think that and don’t think we should expect people to read our minds and always be their perfect selves, but oh my god! Oh my god I am so tired of people acting like there’s nothing wrong with me when I am constantly telling people I am not okay. Obvi this doesn’t apply to everyone in my life because some people of course don’t even know how I feel and that’s my choice because like I’m vaguely private as a person (you wouldn’t think so on luveline.tumblr) so I’m not saying every person in my life is letting me down, but a surprising selection of friends and family have really hurt me lately. It’s so complicated! I hope you’re getting a sense of what I’m saying cos I am not doing a good job. I sent a friend a message recently about how I’d felt like hurting myself (they’ve told me in the past it’s okay to bring up btw I promise I’m not just randomly saying such heavy things to friends) and they didn’t acknowledge it, and I know we can’t expect people to be at our beck and call or to always have the capacity for our hurts and pains, but I felt so ashamed of myself for opening up and just wished they’d said hey I don’t have the space for that right now, or anything. Maybe that’s silly. I don’t hold it against them because that’s a big thing to tell someone, but I really can’t help feeling hurt that it was ignored. I don’t want to be that person who imposed on friends and doesn’t seem to realise what a burden they are, but I also just don’t know what to do with myself now, because i can’t keep writing the same thing in my diary every day. my head hurts allll the time and I’m barely eating and some days I spend the whole day in bed, and I know that that’s making me bitter, I know that when you get super depressed we can start to hate everything, but I really can’t help thinking that I’m being let down for real

I don’t want you to think that I’m ungrateful for the people in my life though I’m blessed to have a family and to live in a home with no shouting, I’m lucky to have friends who go out and people who want me to be safe and happy, I just feel so lonely lately. Usually I’m pretty good at getting over it, but I can’t kick this. I know exactly what’s hurting me and I’m too afraid to say what it is in case people think I’m childish, or selfish, or ridiculous 😭

I’m sorry you’re having a hard time like you said everything is so hard, but I’m glad you don’t feel so alone, at least my mindless deluge of thoughts (and idiocy) can have a positive! Thank you for listening to me lovely

[oatmealcrisp-freak]

Little preview of the next Single chapter cus uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh idk when the rest is gonna happen SO HERE

“Big brother,” Yuuta said with complete seriousness. “Why do you have a baby.”

Kusuo debated. It took him about three seconds.

He said, “Why shouldn’t I have a baby?”

Yuuta squinted. It was hilarious to watch the kid’s face work as he mulled over the riddle Kumi presented, one which Kusuo had decided not to answer so easily because this was all Yuuta’s fault, really, at the end of the day. It was his little bit of fanfiction slash creative writing project that’d gone viral and meant people were leaving Kusuo prayers at the hokora after all. Why he’d even posted it on his blog to begin with Kusuo wasn’t sure, certainly it wasn’t poorly written but what it was was embarrassing.

He ignored the flash of intuition that said to look at the hokora. Not for the first time today, either. He was tired, damnit, and still dealing with the other o-

Yuuta said, “Did you kidnap a baby?”

Kusuo’s jaw dropped in offense. “What? No! Why would you even say such a thing?”

Kumi’s presence in his home was entirely legal, thank you very much.

“Well you’re not married and last I checked, you’re still more interested in dating coffee jelly over people,” Yuuta said, grinning ear to ear but there was a tick in his eyebrow that told Kusuo he was, for some reason, not as happy as the rest of his face told. “So it’s not like you could conceive naturally. She doesn’t look like a clone, or like an experiment your older brother cooked up, so that only leaves one option.”

Yuuta ducked closer to the phone and raised his hand to hide his mouth from the side, pretending to a slyness he really didn’t actually have. “Do you need help burying the bodies?”

Kusuo stared.

Sometimes Yuuta’s imagination was a little frightening. He could only guess what the kid must be thinking for him to ask something like that.

As if Kusuo would ever need help disposing of remains. Tch. But anyways.

He sighed as Yuuta cracked up into laughter, no doubt his so called ‘little brother’ was enjoying teasing him. Fine. He’d let the kid get the one up over him this time.

Even though calling Yuuta a kid was a bit of a misnomer by now. He was in college after all. Just about done, too.

“The only body around here worth burying is yours, kid.” Kusuo said, looking down at his little girl. 

She looked confused, insomuch as an infant could look confused, and he could feel her developing mind cranking hard in an attempt to figure out where the brand new voice was coming from.

“What?! Mine?” Yuuta squawked.

Successfully distracted from his daughter’s cute little face, Kusuo looked into his phone. He even arched an eyebrow, for the benefit of appearing arch. 

“Yours. You’ll never guess,” Kusuo lifted Kumi a touch. “What I found at a certain hokora, in the rain, with a cup of coffee jelly.”

His intuition pinged again. He ignored it. Again. It was easy, because Yuuta’s face was falling into a very entertaining cringe that told Kusuo yes, he understood. He understood very well.

“Ah.” Yuuta said.

“Ah.” Kusuo agreed.

“But that’s insane,” Yuuta said a handful of minutes later. “Why on earth would a person leave a baby in a hokora?”

Kusuo shrugged as he poured himself a cup of coffee, one eye on Kumi’s nearly sleeping face, the other on the coffee pot. The phone levitated to his left, keeping Yuuta’s face in view.

“As far as I can tell they may not even be from earth. Our earth, anyway.” Kusuo said, setting down the coffee pot and starting on doctoring it to his preferences. “Her mother has uncontrollable psychic powers that tear her around dimension after dimension. I’m not altogether unfamiliar with it, it’s a bit of a pain. Not a suitable environment for raising a baby in, at all.”

His intuition again. Uhg, it was so itchy today. Leave him alone.

“So she left it in the rain? No, I still don’t buy it, not when she knew enough about our world to get you a coffee jelly,” Yuuta, lover of sci-fi anime and flexible punch-roller-wither, said. “If she knows about coffee jelly then certainly she knows about police, why not leave the baby there?”

There was an undercurrent to Yuuta’s voice that made Kusuo’s other sense of intuition perk up to nag at him, his more earthly sense, the one that had known instinctively that punks were trying to hassle him when he’d been oh so temporarily powerless all the way back in high school. It made him look up into the camera after he finished preparing his coffee. It made him look at Yuuta’s face. The boy was a man now, tanned from the outdoors, his green hair cut short but still long enough to flip out from under the edges of his beanie. His jaw was stronger, and his shoulders wider, but those big green eyes were looking, somehow, someway, very five years old.

“Yuuta,” Kusuo said. “What’s the matter?”

Yuuta appeared taken aback. He puffed himself up.

“Well. It’s just not right, leaving a baby like tha-”

“That’s not what I’m talking about Yuuta, and you know it.” Kusuo said around a sip of his coffee, his unblinking eyes now fully focused on the young man before him.

Yuuta blinked. He looked down, then, avoiding his eyes, and Kusuo knew immediately that something was definitely up. Yuuta only ever avoided his eyes like that when he’d been caught out at something.

Some things really never changed.

Yuuta blew out a sigh. He smiled. He looked a bit embarrassed. “It’s nothing.” He said.

“Then it’s nothing to talk about it,” Kusuo said, getting a bit irritated because uhg, if this was nothing if just not him, prying at people’s problems like he wanted more of them. 

But this was Yuuta. If there was anyone Kusuo should be allowed to prod and pry at, he decided, it was Yuuta. Payback, fair and square and such, right? Right.

Yuuta scratched his cheek with a short laugh. “Well. When you put it like that. Uh.”

He sighed and dropped the pretence of a smile, his shoulders slouching.

“I’m just. Being silly, I think. Really, it’s-it’s nothing. I’m. Just.”

Yuuta forced another short laugh. “I mean, I called you up for help on my homework cus you’re always good for that, but.”

He looked down, probably at his feet if Kusuo had to guess.

“It’s not like you can just drop everything to come help me anymore.”

Ah.

Hm.

So this was a bit awkward.

“You’re jealous of Kumi,” Kusuo surmised, perhaps a little too abrupt to be gentle but, well, he’d never been the gentle sort and Yuuta knew that. Still, it hurt to see the kid drop a short flinch, but then Yuuta was flushing hot around the ears and Kusuo knew that even without the aid of his telepathy for all this distance, he was right.

“It’s silly, right? I mean. She’s a baby. And I’m definitely not that anymore. But.” Yuuta’s shoulders rode in a onesided shrug. “I guess in some ways I must still be a kid, to be jealous of your kid like this. I mean, we’re not even related, like at all, and it’s not like you’re my dad, it’s just.”

Then Yuuta sighed, a long and tragic affair indeed, and looked up at Kusuo with eyes that made him want to flinch because it was those very eyes that’d sucker punched him how many years ago now, when Yuuta had been barely five years old and whimpering up at the sky after his lost balloon. Good grief, he was such a sucker.

“You’re still my big brother, right?” 

Ah… Ah hell. 

What else could he say to that, what else could he do? 

But bear the uncomfortable brunt of reassuring another person.

Kusuo smiled. 

He said, 

“Of course.”

Yuuta blinked, looking a little flummoxed, but then shortly relieved and he coughed into his fist, itching at a bottom eyelid and pretending he wasn’t a little teary eyed. Kusuo’s smile quirked to the left and he shook his head.

“I might not be able to teleport to be there in an instant anymore, Yuuta, you’re right about that. But that doesn’t mean I can’t still help you with your homework. We just have to do things the, uh, normal way.”

“I guess you’re right about that.” Yuuta sighed then the background behind him stopped moving, signifying that he’d stopped walking, and Kusuo got to recognize the buildings behind him as their old stomping grounds. Even like this, his old neighbourhood was nostalgic to look at for some reason. “That’s still too bad though.”

Kusuo blinked. “How come?”

Yuuta lifted a plastic bag and looked at it with an atrocious pout. “What am I going to do with all this coffee jelly? You know I can’t stand the stuff.”

Kusuo’s jaw dropped, but he shortly picked it up again, but he also didn’t know what to say, and he was sure he looked very consternated right now indeed because Yuuta was cracking up, the brat.

[autism-resources]

Do you have any tips for making friends as an autistic adult?

Thank you so much for sending this in after I deleted the first ask, it’s really awesome of you and I really appreciate it! 😁 I looked online for articles and guides to making friendships. Here are the autistic adult-specific resources I found:

This is a guide that I found quite helpful:

https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/family-life-and-relationships/making-friends/autistic-adults

This one has some interesting tips, though they might not all apply to you because they’re based on someone’s experiences. It’s a linear guide which I appreciated:

https://themighty.com/topic/autism-spectrum-disorder/how-to-make-friends-autism

This one is technically for teens, but I found it quite helpful, especially if social cues are hard for you:

https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/making-friends.html

This is not necessarily going to have good info in the article because I just skimmed it so I’m not sure. I included it because it has a lot of links and resources which might be helpful. Asan is listed in it and I don’t support asan because of their racist actions:

https://autismandhealth.org/?a=pt&p=detail&t=pt_aut&s=aut_meet&theme=dk&

This article has many different strategies for making social connections as an autistic person. Also if you find images helpful it has very cool illustrations, but they are completely not required to understand if that doesn’t work for you. This is my favourite of all the resources I found:

https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Friends-if-You%27re-Autistic?amp=1

I also researched beyond the category of autism to making friends as a disabled adult and found some cool stuff. Also if you’re multiply disabled this stuff might address other things you encounter:

This is an article about making friends from a disabled adult’s perspective:

https://disabilityhorizons.com/2019/04/how-to-make-new-friends-when-you-have-a-disability/

This is an article which guides you through 8 ways to make friends that are accessible to disabled adults:

https://www.endeavour.com.au/media-news/blog/8-ways-to-make-friends-when-you-have-a-disability

Here are a few places I found for virtual connection:

The Hiki app is a friendship and dating app for autistic people over the age of 17. I’ve never used it but a quick search showed me mostly positive reviews.

This is support and social groups for autistic adults for free. It appears to be current but I’m not 100% sure. TW it uses the term aspergers:

https://www.aane.org/resources/adults/support-groups/

There’s also meetup.com which I have no experience with but is recommended in a few things I read:

https://www.meetup.com/topics/autistic-adults/

My perspective

For advice I have, find environments where the social structure is comfortable for you. My example is that I like sports and can feel comfortable in athletic settings if I’m not triggered. Primarily though, don’t de-value yourself as a person people want to be around.

Autistic people often face a lot of messaging that affects self image and esteem in regards to friendships and relationships in general. Give yourself respect and grace, that stuff is really hard when it’s internalized so remember to call yourself on it. 💗

Also @through-thick-and-quinn you and I have had a lot of exchanges on here and you’re genuinely one of the kindest people I’ve ever met, I’d like to talk whenever, and consider you a friend.

[dogaquarium]

Hey Laika, I saw your post about nightmares and I hope you’re doing alright :( that sounds really hard and on top of all the other stressors must be rough.

I’ve been curious about your thoughts on alien 9 recently, and was wondering your thoughts on it! If thats too much to think about right now how about some of your favorite foods or items?

Hope this helps a little 🫶 <:D

Hi star thank you so very much for the ask <3 I'm feeling a little better now, just takes a little bit of wind out of me whenever I wake up from something like that. Let me focus on answering your questions now though....

Asking me my thoughts on alien 9 in such a vague sense is a recipe for disaster, lol. I have so many thoughts and opinions on so many different elements of it. So feel free to ask for specifics later if you'd like, but I suppose I'll do a quick overview on as many things as I possibly can! Also going to try to make this as relatively spoiler free as possible since I'm pretty sure neither you nor a few other people following this blog have seen it yet, and I'm not sure if you're interested in attending movie night or not whenever I have time to plan a date for that.

Boy, where do I even start..... alien 9 is something so special to me. The entire franchise definitely does have its issues, and I do wish some moments were expanded upon or changed slightly. The pacing can be a little strange in the OVA, and even stranger in the manga (which is one reason I enjoy the anime a lot more; the manga sometimes feels almost detatched entirely). But it's something really valuable as it is regardless. It's such a foundational media for me that I came away from differently. Something I've found a lot of comfort and security in! The characters are all extremely charming, the story itself tackles such serious taboo topics in a proper sense, such a large part of it corresponds to the young queer experience, it doesn't poke fun at childhood mental illness, the core concept of the universe it exists within is endlessly compelling, the list goes on..... plus, kumi's character themes of identity (which I've already mentioned in precious posts) is something you can dig into forever. It's all so interesting. And it resonates a lot with me!

Episode 3 is one I'm especially excited for everyone to experience when I stream it. It's my personal favorite episode for a lot of reasons that I think we're masterfully tackled. It's a beach/vacation episode! Which sounds, admittedly, very frivolous and unimportant in the grand scheme of things. And to some degree it is!!! But what I personally find so compelling about episode 3 is the fact that it serves as a medium through which we can see how the main three girls function outside of a traumatic environment. It provides a baseline for us. It allows the audience to see them just be kids. I truly do not think it'd be as impactful of a series for me without that.

And now, since you can't have a general dump of my thoughts on alien 9 without mentioning the spinoffs.. prepare yourself......

I firmly believe that hitoshi tomizawa should have not been allowed to expand on this franchise any further after the original story had been wrapped up because after seeing what he's done with it you're bound to get a headache. There's two spinoffs from the original three classic volumes: namely alien 9-emulators and alien 9-next. I will not dwell on emulators (at least in this ask) because my rant on it will likely be even longer than this response, but know that with the way it handles the original subject material, it's not only incredibly insensitive, but I'd go as far as saying actively harmful. Tomizawa is a fuckin pedophile which SHINES in his later works in particular, and is very ironic considering so much of the point of the original classic series concerns the harm done by csa and how cyclical it can become (most blatantly in relation to kasumi's character). That's all I'll get into it for now because if I talk any more on it I'll get even more pissed. Idk where to even begin with Next, though.... such a strange expansion of the universe...... this spinoff takes place after the girls have all grown up and are on some kind of outer space mission.. idk how to even explain it to you and it's been far too long since I've read it but it's utter horseshit, such an anomalous entry in the series. Also the art style changed to be 3D models for no reason and it's ugly as sin.

Besides all the....... obviously glaring problems with both next and emulators..... there are also some simpler things that don't work for me in them. Namely kumi and yuri's relationship! In the classic volumes, such a major plot point is the evolution of their relationship from one that is tense, angry, and unhealthy to one that is mutually supportive and uplifting. There's a lot to be said about this change in relation to both parties- be it relaring to kumi's home life/preconceived expectations of her to yuri's mental illnesses/the way others treat her due to that. They act the way they do for a reason, is what I mean. And so when the audience finally gets the relief of them forming a genuine bond together, you expect that to be that, it's a plot point wrapped up and done with. And does stay wrapped up..... in the classic volumes, at least. In the spinoffs, kumi suddenly reverts back into someone aggressive and untrusting. Yuri reverts back into someone who has made no advances in her bravery and independence. All because fuckin tomizawa had no idea how to craft a story with meaning after he finished the first three volumes.

^ so cutes.. awwee......

I suppose this turned more into a response of why I dislike all the spinoffs rather than why I like the originals.. oh well..... easier to avoid spoilers in that way I suppose. Maybe you still found this interesting enough? Don't hesitate to ask more if I didn't answer how you'd expected!

[spencer-sarmiento]

“ When the conversation starts you can’t remember the question “

Welcome to Aurora Bay, [SPENCER SARMIENTO]! I couldn’t help but notice you look an awful lot like [BRANDON PEREA]. You must be the [TWENTY-FIVE] year old [PRO SKATEBOARDER]. Word is you’re [GREGARIOUS] but can also be a bit ABSENTMINDED] and your favorite song is [THE SEX HAS MADE ME STUPID BY ROBOTS IN DISGUISE ]. I also heard you’ll be staying in [AUORA BAY TOWERS]. I’m sure you’ll love it!

TW: Parental Abuse, Alcoholism

Family

UTP NPC- Step Mom

Iñigo Sarmiento- Dad

Tyler “Ty” Sarmiento- Half Brother

UTP - Step Sister

Charlotte Sanchez- Mother

Connections

Best Friend

Ex Girlfriend

Friend from back home

Gym buddies/boxing buddies

Drinking Buddies

Rival

History

Born originally in Visilia, California to parents who were still teenagers. Spencer had a somewhat tumultuous early childhood. His parents had tried to make the situation work between them but it was becomming clear that the longer they spent together the less compatible they were. Iñigo wanted to have sole custody of Spencer but his current financial and living situation wasn’t the best environment for him and so his father took a step back in order to go back to school and give his son the life he deserved while Spencer’s primary home had been with his mom.

It proved to be a toxic upbringing though as the years went on, while Charlotte had acted like she wanted sole custody of her son, it was clear she was not the mothering type at all. It started out as little comments here and there but over time Spencer was being told he’d become a mistake and a burden to his mother who was slowly descending into alcoholism and further abusive behavior. For a while he was the kind of kid who never wanted to go home and would often put himself in extracurriculars to be able to stay at school as long as he could. Most of them were physical activities.

However as soon as he was removed from the environment and sent to love with his fathers parents, Spencer began to flourish. He was always a very active kid, but when put in a new and nurturing living situation he began to excel. He was into sports, running, hiking, surfing and most importantly skateboarding. It was as if the moment a board was out in his hand he knew exactly what he wanted to do the rest of his life. He wasn’t the most academic of people but a lot of his previous problems were starting to be replaced with a stable environment and the love of a good family.

By the time he was fifteen, his father had returned to his life in a more permanent way by taking primary custody of the teen. Spencer had always stayed in contact with his father and the pair had a good relationship for years. His father had been the one to reach out to his parents to fight for custody of his son until Iñigo was able to get custody of his son.

From that point on, Spencer moved with his father to Aurora Bay, where the beach vibes and small town energy brought out the absolute best in Spencer. His father had a good job as a doctor and was dating again while Spencer was focusing on skateboarding and the occasional boxing match at the gym to stay active. He was the happiest he’d ever been and when his father remarried and he was given a step sister and a new baby brother, it was like all of the early years of his life had been a faint memory.

It would be somewhat surprising to even realize what had happened in his life due to the fact that Spencer often approaches everything with a smile on his face. He is often seen as being charismatic, social, and all around pretty cheerful; which he is but he never forgot where he had come from. He just chooses to love every day like it’s a new adventure. The past doesn’t dictate who we are in the present and Spencer would never disrespect his grandparents or his father by turning into someone cynical when they worked so hard to provide his a safe and good homelife. He’s forever a glass half full kind of a guy.

That being said, Spencer is a little absentminded, he’s got big Golden Retriever energy and can be a little forgetful or just really on a whole other planet. The only times he seems focused on is his work. He always treats it seriously and tries to do his best no matter what. It’s the only time you will see him with a serious expression on his face.

In recent years, Spencer had been able to make a living skateboarding, while also surfing and boxing in his free time as hobbies. He made the shortlist for the 2024 Olympics but didn’t qualify in the end which is only making him want to train even harder for the next games.

@aurorabayaesthetic

[nagisasstunningpersonality]

Korosuu Translation - Chapter Five

More parts here

Shopping District Time

At any rate, why the shopping district? It wasn’t a bad place to target Korosensei. Korosensei’s five senses were all terrifyingly sharp, but his sense of sight and smell were especially outstanding. Inside, his sense of sight was largely obscured thanks to the crowds of people, and with regards to his sense of smell, he would likely be dazzled by the scent of food that flooded the shopping district in the evening.

There were many obstacles in the narrow shopping arcade, so it was the ideal environment to make use of ricochets.

When they rushed out of breath into the shopping district, they saw an unusually large crowd. Many vans with food stalls were parked in the already narrow pedestrian zone, and the scent of crepes and coffee filled the air.

“Hey, what’s that strong smell?” Hayami muttered like a groan whilst pinching her nose. An intense stench was wafting from somewhere.

“Pork belly ramen. It’s said the authentic ones are simmered, so it can be tough if you don’t get used to it.” Chiba answered with a frown. “I guess there’s a stall somewhere. It’s the first time I’ve smelled something like this in the shopping street.”

Chiba surveyed their surroundings. And, at the same time, he heard a familiar voice.

“Oh, how exciting!”

Hearing that slimy mucus-filed voice, the two reflexively hid themselves in a nearby alleyway.

Just a few metres away, Korosensei was standing in disguise. The product exhibition was booming, and a small line near the entrance was being formed. Korosensei was lined up at the very back.

“Certainly, I never thought I’d be able to enjoy these manju buns right here in Kunugigaoka. They’re good no matter how many I eat!” There was a two metre radius left around the suspicious person who stood two heads taller than the other customers and didn’t even attempt to hide the grin on his face as he narrated to himself. “…I’m grateful for the pork belly ramen. They definitely would have found me without that stench.”

The two students quickly left their hiding place and started to walk down the street pretending to be shopping.

So that they could assassinate Korosensei anywhere, the students of 3E had secretly researched the areas surrounding the school. The shops are naturally also one of them, and so checks of buildings that have been vacant for a long time and general floor plans had been converted digitally with the help of Ritsu.

Chiba and Hayami pulled up the blueprints on his smartphone and compared it with their surroundings. They’d kept the data up to date, but it wasn’t perfect. Since the events within the shopping district change day by day, in such cases, they were unable to do an advance check.

“Hey, where’s that sniper? He’s already lurking somewhere.”

“Probably. Karasuma Sensei said that, so I’m sure the preparations are already complete. But, maybe it’s still okay.”

Hayami tilted her head at Chiba’s words. “How come?”

“If you’re aiming at Korosensei, the best time is right now he’s standing in line, right? Yet, nothing has happened yet.”

“I see.”

“Is this a place even the legendary sniper can’t aim at, or maybe there’s some other reason…? Either way, we still need time to prepare. Let’s hurry.”

Right then, Chiba noticed the wall of the old wooden building slightly ahead of them had a dreamy sheen.

“What’s this?”

When he tried touching it, the surface was hard and flat. It seemed like an acrylic board, but rather than affixing something like that, it stuck firmly to the wall more like it was smeared with some sort of liquid substance that solidified. They found these walls all around the building. This kind of measure had been routinely applied to the uneven walls and areas that seemed weak.

“Come to think of it, there are less billboards, right?” Hayami murmured whilst comparing the phone with their surroundings.

Many of the billboards and small decorations attached to the walls and streetlamps were missing from the area. There were not even screw holes left from where the billboard was originally attached, and it looked like the surface had been smoothed and repainted.

“It looks like they’re trying to make the wall as flat as possible. They’re certainly here, close by.”

That evidence was concentrated in the centre of the arcade street. In other words, the legendary sniper had chosen the place for his assassination.

“If that’s the case, it’s definitely difficult to aim for Korosensei in his current position. The Korosensei BB bullets are light, so they won’t reach very far.”

The line for the exhibition was more than 30 metres away from the ricochet location. It would be sufficient if shooting normally, but it was better to think of the distance as being more than double that if you wanted a ricochet shot to reach it.

[illustration] Kunugigaoka shopping street in the evening. Even though it’s a weekday, there are many people and many stalls are open.

“But with such meticulous preparation, why would they choose a place where Korosensei’s so far away?”

Chiba replied after thinking for a moment. “They didn’t expect the monster who exploded the moon into a cresent to be waiting in line at an exhibition?” After he said it, Chiba’s mind turned back to what Karasuma had said during the lunch break. “Is it highly unlikely that someone who doesn’t know Korosensei well enough would be able to assassinate him?”

Hayami nodded. “Right.”

Not long after, the two of them took up their positions on the second floor of the ruined dining hall. The building was facing across from where the legendary sniper had chosen for their assassination. Korosensei couldn’t be shot from there as he lined up for the exhibition. They could see him, but it was too far away.

Despite that, the two of them chose that place because there was no building that could be used for sniping within range of Korosensei, and they based it on their judgment that the place set up for ricocheting was more reliable. It still wasn’t an easy task to fire bullets as they desired downtown. Unlike in the classroom, there were an overwhelming amount of walls that would cause the bullet to bounce against their calculations in the wind.  The legendary sniper who had many successes in these conditions was certainly not a normal person.

As soon as Chiba entered the room facing the street, he spread his graph paper out on the table and made a sketch using his drafting tools. It was supposed to be a very precise drawing, but Chiba finished it in a few minutes, including the mirrored copy.

[Illustration] The store across from the abandoned dining hall where Chiba and Hayami are. There are several walls with different depths like this in the store. In reality, it’s necessary to use an elevated floorplan which actually fits the depths of the walls.

[Ground view] A view of the building from above. Multiple lines indicate the depth of each wall. Although it is actually more detailed, irregularities such as window frames are ignored.

[Elevated view] A view of the building from the side. Similar to the floor plan, multiple lines are drawn according to the depth of the wall.

In the meantime, Hayami got the air rifle she’d brought into position, and installed the rangefinder to measure the position of the target.

[Illustration] Using the floor plan of the building and actually aiming. In this way, the position of the limit of the reflection changes depending on which wall is used, so it is necessary to draw multiple target positions.

“What about Korosensei?”

Hayami, who was peering into the rangefinder, looked back at Chiba who had finished drawing. “Right now, he’s coming out of the exhibition. But it doesn’t look like he’s coming straight this way.”

When Chiba took the place of Hayami and looked into the scope, Korosensei was staggering down the street, and he couldn’t determine his direction.

“Nyuyaa… I want to eat that, and that too, but there’s not enough in my wallet… I have to choose carefully… No, but I can’t leave it out…”

Apparently the smells coming from the food stalls lining the street had drawn him in, and he’d lost control of his direction.

“The legendary sniper must be pretty irritated,” Chiba muttered with a wry smile.

Bang.

Sensing a strong impact nearby, Chiba jumped up.

“What?” Hayami, who was away from the window, called out.

“There was a shot… I think.”

At Chiba’s words, Hayami handed over a small mirror meant for makeup. Chiba took it and looked out of the window whilst hiding his body. He could see a thin layer of smoke around the window frame. It was probably a live bullet that was shot.

 At the same time, Chiba’s phone started to vibrate. The display showed ‘withheld number incoming’.

When he answered, a monotonous voice reverberated. “I told the person in charge that I should not be disturbed. Didn’t he tell you?”

Chiba pulled the phone away from his ear and turned the speaker on.

Hayami signalled a nod.

“I had no intention of interfering with you at all, so it’s no problem for you to shoot first. However, it’s normal for us in class 3E to aim whenever there’s a chance.”

“Okay.” There was a clear hint of frustration in his voice when he answered. “Get out of there and go straight home. You students are just a hinderance. Harming children isn’t a hobby, but excuse the warning if you stay here."

The call hung up.

[adamwatchesmovies]

Winter's Bone (2010)

Winter’s Bone is technically a coming-of-age story, which makes it the most nerve-frying example of the genre I can think of. This tale of a teenage girl burdened by gigantic responsibilities lives below the search for a man who will leave her with even fewer prospects than she currently has. With danger around every corner and the few trustworthy people being about as friendly as rattlesnakes, there are no chances to rest. Bolstered by an incredible performance by Jennifer Lawrence, this film is hard to shake.

In the middle of nowhere, Missouri, seventeen-year-old Ree Dolly (Lawrence) is barely managing to care for her mentally ill mother (Valerie Richards), twelve-year-old brother Sonny (Isaiah Stone) and six-year-old sister Ashlee (Ashlee Thompson) when she gets a visit from the local Sheriff. After his arrest, Ree's father put the Dolly home up as part of his bond. If he doesn’t show up for his court date in three days, the county will take possession of their home.

Finding a deadbeat dad who was caught manufacturing meth and is now running away from a 10+ year sentence? You might as well ask Ree to find a needle in a haystack. The looming deadline and high stakes mean there isn’t even time for her to get angry. All she can do is look and ask people, which puts her at risk of violence - or worse. When you think “crime boss”, the picture in your mind has some kind of “class”. Fat cigars, fancy cars, that kind of thing. Thump Milton (Ronnie Hall) is far more terrifying than any gangster you could imagine because he lives in a dump and his wife (Dale Dickey) looks like she’s been crudely carved out of rock. He might be at the top of this food chain but it’s an environment where there isn’t enough food for everyone so all the animals are perpetually starving and eager to jump on each other. Being a minor and a girl provides Ree with the slightest bit of protection as part of an unspoken code of honour… but she’ll burn through that quickly with all her questions. Unfortuantely, she has no choice but to persevere. At least her meth-addicted uncle Teardrop and his girlfriend Victoria (Cinnamon Schultz) MIGHT have mercy on her. You know the sheriff’s office won’t hesitate to take away the house.

The film is set in modern day but it might as well be in a post-apocalyptic wasteland or the wild west. Even if Ree finds her father, what’s she going to do? Convince him to show up in court? It would be better to find his corpse. Then she could keep the house and he'd be out of her life permanently. The law’s not going to help and you can practically see the vultures starting to circle. Even when someone does lend a helping hand, you’re suspicious. Either there are strings attached or that exchange of information will rub someone the wrong way. You don’t even want to think about what would happen to the family if they lose the house.

The script and superb direction from Debra Granik (who co-wrote the screenplay with Anne Rosellini) makes everyone feel like real people. Dangerous, desperate and unpredictable people. One wrong word could mean sudden violence. It could also trigger the last remnants of sympathy. This is a bleak film but it’s somehow hopeful as well. It’s not a nice movie and just about everyone you meet is rotten but young Sonny and Ashlee are in better hands now than they would’ve been if their father had stuck around. Yes, this is a rough patch; maybe the roughest the family has ever faced but if they can get through this, Ree will have proved her mettle. Combined with the smarts to know to stay away from the “family business”, it could be enough to get the Dolly children not necessarily out of the muck of poverty, but in the direction of a happy ending. Assuming this is that kind of movie. You get a strong feeling this will all end in a bloodbath…

There’s a single dream sequence with black-and-white imagery I’m not sure was necessary. Otherwise, this film is just about flawless. It's certainly memorable. Winter's Bone is so scary and dark you’re amazed that it nonetheless manages to make Ree - and you - more determined to go on rather than give up. (On DVD, August 30, 2021)