#then starts to get larger depending on how many places they have to pass through before they reach gotham

[chewingbatmanlikeasqueakytoy]

Literally me ^ ^ ^ FR a convoy to Jazz would be so dope though?? Like if they're meeting the bats bc their patrols crossed paths I take it Danny is patrolling not in search of ghosts but bc he's looking for Jazz and other survivors.

Jazz I think would definitely count as contaminated enough to be warding off zombies so I propose they can have either: A very sweet reunion where Danny is grateful to the bats for helping him find his sister bc she was in the 'safe zone' the bats had established, having absorbed the band of survivours Jazz had been keeping safe

Jazzs band of survivours has not been absorbed yet but when the bats observe the zombies avoiding the parkers they spread out, hopeful at the fact they might meet yet more survivours from their city

Jazz has a Cult. (Danny always gets cults so now it's Jazz's turn.) This can either be hilarious or angsty. Lets go with hilarious for now, and assume it comes at the end of a long tense search with the bats to find this very unexpected compound. The Cult is worshipping Jazz as some sort of holy figure because her presence keeps the zombies away. She is using this position to get people to practise mindfulness and healthy coping mechanisms, and doing her level best to listen to all these people bc she may or may not be the only one around with any kind of psychological training.

Realistically how long would it take for Sam and Tucker to get bored of Danny being overprotective? Like there's probably not going to be many zombies on the long stretches of roads between cities (Which they will point out. Repeatedly.) So I can imagine Sam, the moment they stop in Gotham or its outskirts, leaping out of the side door of the vehicle (I'm imagining at least a van, probably Mad Max style so they can break through any obstacles if the Fentons didn't outright give them the GAV) and literally latching onto the first zombie she sees, either piggy backing it or slapping it across the face, only for it to run away bc That's Not Food

Cue Danny panicking while one of the bats, patrolling for supplies, watches on in absolute bemusement from a roof top at What That Was

DPxDC idea: zombie apocalypse.

It's pretty common in zombie apocalypse stories for zombies to not attack each other, they somehow can tell themselves from the delicious delicious living beings. So I think it'd be interesting if anyone who's died died also does NOT ring the zombie dinner bell.

Example: Jason obviously smells so unappetizing to zombies, they don't even bother trying to bite him. Jason is weirded out by this, he stops jokingly calling himself a zombie. (Honestly depending on how far back in canon you wanna go about half the bats/birds are undead.)

And obviously Danny, Vlad, Dani/Ellie, and Dan (if you wanna include him) are some form of undead. It could be fun to play with the fact that zombies and ghosts are the apples and oranges of undead. Yeah, they're both fruit/undead, but they're also basically opposites. How would Danny's frenemies react to zombies invading the living realm?

And that's not even getting into liminality. Are humans that have been exposed to ectoplasm and/or the Laz pits just generally less appetizing to zombies? Like it confuses their senses? Just imagine you're in the middle of trying to survive the zombie apocalypse and then in bursts Batman and friends in their normal costumes with no fear because zombies just don't want them. The bats are acting like it's business as usual, that'd be so bizarre after the hell you've been through. And then they take you to this middle of nowhere town called Amity Park where people are living like it's pre-apocalypse because zombies get close and just turn away before crossing into town.

[gardenialver]

Of Eagles and Hummingbirds

synopsis - just some headcanons while dating Ushijima but being like 35 cm shorter

pairings - Wakatoshi Ushijima

content - f!reader, reader does have a few outlined features mainly height, fluff

The first time Ushijima saw you in high school he thought you were a first year but then he saw you at a university junction while in his second year of post secondary and went through a moment of confusion

The two of you got closer through Ushijima's simple mindedness. since you were more academically inclined, or at least more academically inclined than him since you actually passed all your classes at Shiratorizawa

Before he realized it Ushijima suddenly became someone you were heavily dependent on, despite his nonchalant behaviour he always checked in on you when you would go out drinking, letting your head rest against him until you regained composure

His habit of lowering his entire body to hear people better came from being around you and moments where you were more soft spoken

After you started dating Ushijima began to take into consideration how much smaller you were than him, small things (pun) how your hands were tiny, he was used to towering over people in general as someone over 190 cm, but with you, you were shorter than the average person especially since he was used to being around volleyball players

You were so small he just wanted to protect you, he wanted to keep you in his grasp at all times, when you'd go to watch his games he was scared when you'd come down to meet him that his teammates would suddenly start tripping over you

Your biggest concern was that sometimes when you'd go out with him and people saw the two of you, they'd gush over the fact that Wakatoshi was taking care of his baby cousin or baby sister, it was true in your eyes your boyfriend would be much more suited with someone who was tall, the contrast between you two raised too many eyebrows, of course your concerns would always be deflected in the moment when he'd suddenly grip your hand as if it was his lifeline, thrust you in front of him and boldly claim on the street "This is my lady"

Of course you'd feel embarrassed and speechless but still a part of you enjoyed it, that he'd so shamelessly declare to everyone that you were the one he loved

On a cuter note when the two of you hugged it brought you comfort that you could hear his heartbeat so gently and how he tried to immerse himself into you, holding you close to him, putting his face into your hair, placing light soft kisses on your head

Sometimes when the two of you hugged he'd start to carry you, just up to his eye level but still with that your legs would hang in the air, it was childish but you enjoyed it, he'd spin you around while you giggled

Other times you'd jump onto his back and he'd sort of play with you there, whenever he carried you it looked like a koala stuck to a eucalyptus tree but the two of you enjoyed it so what else was there to care about

When you would steal his clothes it would obviously be way too big, the sleeves would hang awkwardly around your arms and you'd look like you were wearing a dress or that you didn't have any pants on but you could care less, his clothes were comfy and they smelled like him, it was all the comfort you needed when he'd be on work trips

He also really adored the way you looked in his clothes and sometimes would leave them around so you'd purposely put them on

Sometimes when getting stuff from higher shelves that you'd struggle with, Wakatoshi would full on hold you like a cat and carry you up to what you needed to get which was sweet at home but in public it did make you feel a bit more shy

One more thing, Wakatoshi thought your tiny hands were one of the most adorable things in the world, they were soft and small in comparison to his larger rough and calloused ones, he thought they encompassed you nicely and vowed to protect them from even the smallest of things, cuts and burns from just cooking or paper, for your cute little hands he'd do anything

[vodika-vibes]

His Angel

Summary: You eagerly wait for Dogma to come home from his deployment.

Pairing: Dogma x Reader

Word Count: 1413

Warnings: Fluff, spicy implications at the end

Songs: None

A/N: I actually have time to write today, which means you get two stories in one day. Maybe even three. It depends.

Divider by Saradika

You like order and you like rules. Rules means that you know how people are going to act in a given situation, and order means that everything that you need is exactly where it's supposed to be when you need it.

It makes life easy for you. And easy is good.

As per the norm for you, you wake before your alarm. You roll to the side and quietly turn off the clock, and then you coo as your kitten crawls up onto your chest for her morning cuddles.

You indulge her for a moment, until she starts whining for her breakfast, and only then do you kick your comforter off and roll to your feet. Your kitten dances between your feet as you walk from your bedroom to the kitchen to make her breakfast.

And only once she’s happily chowing down on her breakfast are you allowed to tend to your own needs. You turn to pour your caf, and your gaze drifts from the mug over to the calendar that covers your wall.

Each day is crossed out as it passes, and today is circled in red. And, written in a delicate hand, are three words that make your heart jump. Dogma comes home.

Dogma has been gone, deployed, for months. And while you managed to talk to him almost every day, it’s not quite the same as being able to talk to him in person. And it’s definitely not nearly as enjoyable as being in his arms. Your fingers brush against your lips for a moment, a small, fond, smile crossing your face as you imagine the feel of his lips, warm, soft, welcoming, against your own.

You take a deep breath and drop your hand from your face.

You have no idea when, exactly, Dogma will be home. That’s fine, it gives you time to make sure that everything in the house is sorted. And it gives you time to make sure that you have a frame for the flower that Dogma is undoubtedly going to bring you.

He always does, after all.

You finish your caf, and check on the kitten, who’s now passed out in a patch of sunlight, and then you turn back to the bedroom. You pause in the hallway, your fingers ghosting against one of the many frames lining the halls.

Each picture frame was filled with a single pressed flower. Gifts Dogma brought you on every single date. Starting with your first date, when he panicked and ordered you flowers from Dantooine.

The flowers had been beautiful. Beautiful enough that you pressed all of them, and saved them all. Though only one bloom was framed, the rest are sitting in a much larger frame in your personal storage unit. Eventually that frame will be filled, and you’ll bring it out to show Dogma, but until then-

You shake your head. You’re distracting yourself. You smile one last time at the picture, and carefully straighten it. And then you turn towards your bedroom. 

You dress, and grab your notebook, and then return to the kitchen. You place the notebook on the kitchen counter, and flip it open to a blank page, and then, slowly, start going through the kitchen. 

You’re about halfway through your shopping list when you hear your door slide open. Your pen pauses halfway to the paper, and you straighten when you hear familiar footsteps, and then the sound of a heavy bag hitting the ground.

And a grin crosses your face as you hear the even more familiar sound of armor being removed and stacked on the shelf that you bought for that exact reason.

You move out of the kitchen and poke your head into the hallway. You lean against the wall and fold your arms and you just watch Dogma for a moment.

“You’re staring, angel,” He says with a small laugh, he lifts his head and regards you with the soft smile that’s saved for you and you alone.

“I wasn’t expecting to see you so early,” You reply warmly, “If I knew, I would have gone shopping yesterday and made breakfast for you.”

He pulls off his boots, and stacks them with the rest of his armor, and then he stands and walks over to you, “Give me enough time to shower and unpack, and we can go shopping together, how’s that sound?”

You unfold your arms and slide them around his waist, leaning heavily against him. “Mm, very domestic.”

Dogma settles his hands on your hips, and then slowly drags his hands up your sides, ghosts them up your spine, and lightly cups your face. He tilts your head back and presses the lightest kiss against your lips, “I like domestic with you.” He murmurs, he kisses you again, still very gently, and your heart melts.

You know what this is. Dogma is not a violent man. Dangerous, yes, but not violent. And when he comes back from deployment, he has to be so gentle with you, to prove to himself that he’s more than what his job forces him to be.

He won’t kiss you properly until he’s had a proper shower. Until he can wash away the memory of his deployment with hot water, and the ridiculously expensive body wash you buy him.

You trail your fingers, feather light, up his sides, and gently cup his face. “Would you like me to run you a shower, Dogma?” You smile so gently at him, “I bought some new shower melts, they smell like lavender.”

His gaze is almost molten as he presses a kiss to your forehead, “Yes please, angel. That would be wonderful.”

You don’t move until he slowly releases you, and you quickly press a kiss to the palm of both of his hands, before you slip out of his grasp and back towards the bedroom. 

You start the ridiculously hot shower, and break off a small piece of the shower melt and toss it into the corner. You make sure that his towels are draped over the towel warmer, and you also make sure that his favorite body wash and shampoo are in the shower.

And then you step out of the fresher, as he steps into the bedroom and sets his massive bag on the bed. You sit on the bed next to the bag, and he kisses the top of your head before he slips into the fresher.

As soon as the door is shut, you turn and open his bag. Clothes go in the laundry to be dealt with later. His datapad and com go on their respective chargers on his side of the bed. Books get stacked on his side table, so he can sort them at a later point in time.

And as soon as the bag is empty, you pick it up and put it in the closet, where it will remain until the next time he gets deployed.

As soon as you shut the closet door, the fresher door opens, and Dogma steps into the bedroom proper. He’s much less tense, and he shoots you a grateful look. “What would I do without you, angel?” He asks.

“Have to unpack your own stuff,” You tease gently, as you move closer to him and allow him to pull you flush against him, “Welcome home, Dogma.” You whisper as you slide your hands across his bare chest.

He rumbles out a hum of pleasure, and ducks his head to kiss you properly, his lips and tongue leaving you breathless and leaning against him. “Missed you,” Dogma murmurs against your lips, “So much.”

“Missed you too. Talking to you over com isn’t the same,” You reply softly.

There’s something hot and needy in his gaze, and you grin up at him. Dogma’s grip is tight around your hips, “How much food is there in the house?” He asks.

“Enough for us to not have to go grocery shopping until tomorrow,” You reply lightly.

And he grins. His gaze flickers to the bed for a moment, and then he scoops you into his arms, walks a few feet over to the bed, and drops you on the center of the bed. “I really hope you don’t have any plans for today, angel.”

“Only spending the day with you,” You reply as you sit up just in time to see him toss his towel to the side.

“Good.” He replies with a sharp grin as he crawls over you.

[randomwriteronline]

The port was bustling with beings of all sorts. If the noise hadn't already been enough to make him as sick as a De-Matoran exposed to the faintest buzzing of a far away Rama, the bodies shoving him around like an empty sack and squashing him between them would have gotten the job done.

If somebody apostrophed him he either did not notice or did not aknowledge it; frankly, in a place like this, it was better that way.

Masks, teeth and snouts melted in his vision as he passed through them, struggling to breathe as the tremors that had started rattling him half to death hours ago still refused to give him any respite. Within the swirling typhoon of his own thoughts he realized numbly he had nothing on himself - no currency of any kind, no object to trade, no means to survive beside his own tool.

Then, like a dream, an unusual Kanohi flew past him.

His yellow eyes fixed on it.

He managed to move only as it was disappearing off towards the docks, devoured within the shifting mound of bodies: he bolted off after it with newfound energy as he shoved his way through the much larger beings blocking his path.

"Whexie!" he cried out: "Whexie!"

The white-armored Toa stopped in his tracks and looked around, a puzzled expression beneath his mask.

Relief swept over him as he recognized the Calyx.

"Whexie!"

The Toa's gaze fell onto the golden Hau, and lit up.

"Lhi!" Whexie shouted back at him, arms raised and already hurrying over to him: "Lhi! Brother of mine!"

They joined fists in a quick salute before Lhikan was pulled into a tight hug: "Great Spirit," he wheezed as he grabbed onto the cold armor like his life depended on it, "It's been so long."

"It has! Ah, it really has - how many years? A thousand, two, three?"

"What are- you," the Ta-Toa struggled to speak "What, what are you doing here?"

His friend pointed to a ship docked not too far away, all abuzz with Toa of Ice: "Just stopped to restock - we're off to get some brothers and sisters for a team or two. What about you?" a laugh snaked into his voice: "Don't tell me they're still sending you off on errands!"

Lhikan would have laughed about it too, because he'd always hated running errands, and maybe he would have groaned before confirming his punishment, or playfully shoved him off for assuming he was still being treated like a freshly turned novice after all these centuries of hard training.

But the Toa of Fire only managed the momentary ghost of a chuckle, and though he tried, and tried, and tried, his words failed him.

His grip onto Whexie tightened, shivers wrecking him once more; his brother's smile dropped quickly as his friend's condition visibly worsened in the span of only a few seconds.

Before he could press on, Lhikan spat out a single word: "Frostelus..."

The Ko-Toa stiffened: "An attack?"

"The," Lhikan stuttered, "The fortress..."

Whexie's hold on his arms turned steadier, his eyes resolute - they'd known each other for so little, all things considered, back when he'd come along to a visit to his cold brother's own fortress, but his readiness to action was the first thing that had stuck out to him and that he had so terribly envied even after the two had become fast friends: "How far is it from here?" he asked quickly. "If it's close enough it'll take us nothing to--"

But Lhikan shook his head, and his voice sputtered out of him like dirty water from a faulty faucet: "N- n- Whe- Whexie, no, it's - gone, it's gone, it's gone, the for- fortress is, it's... It's..."

He stopped only as kind arms wrapped around him again.

"Oh, Lhikan," he heard breathed into his audio receptor. He clung again to the white armor while a hand pressed comfortingly on his back. "How many of you escaped?"

The tremors turned harsher. "Me," the Ta-Toa started as if making a list; but no names followed his.

The hug enveloping him squeezed him a little tighter.

A kind chill seeping into his muscles offered a welcome respite.

The hold on him shifted suddenly, slipping around his shoulders to press him against his friend and sustain him, as though he was going to fall to the ground at any moment.

In all fairness, with how hard he'd started shaking again, it wasn't that silly of an assumption.

"Come," Whexie said with such a tone that it almost sounded like an order while beginning to drag him away from the spot he'd seemed to root himself in: "Come, brother of mine, come with us. We'll take care of you."

Lhikan struggled to stand his ground, to halfheartedly pull away from the kind grip: "No, no - Whexie, there's- I'll, I won't--"

"It is no good to walk alone in a universe as vast as this, even with masks as powerful as yours and mine," the Toa of Ice cut him off. His frigid tone melted a little as he tugged his poor brother closer, so much that their heartlights could have been mistaken for a single one from a distance: "You'll always be welcome among my kin. And I told you, didn't I? We're setting off to assemble a team or two. I know there is no one beside whom I'd want to fight more than you."

The lone Fire Toa's yellow eyes wavered briefly.

His head laid hard against Whexie; stiff shoulders at last sinking with a long sigh which was equal parts grateful, relieved, and still so awfully guilty, he allowed himself to be taken to the ship without offering any more resistance.

"Mata Nui sent you here, brother," he whispered before one of the more seasoned Toa could stop his work to holler down at them, demanding to know who he was.

He felt a cold hand squeeze him comfortingly: "I'm glad he did."

[millepara]

bye for now...

I DIDN'T cry in the arcade, I swear I didn't, depending on what your definition of crying is. lmao. I knew my eyes were less dry than usual but no one else would have.

I'm surprised, shocked even, that all three cabinets were still working. as mentioned here and there, I haven't been able to play for various reasons for a long time, so I have no idea how many people are still playing here. all I knew is from Luna posting about her trip where she encountered various defunct cabinets. I assumed that the ones at my home arcade would be the same. I guess that's the difference between tokyo and osaka at work... admittedly my arcade is hardly the top pretty series arcade in osaka, though. it's closest to the station so it's frequented by a lot of tourists etc passing through to spectate, which means it gets loud/a little unpleasant sometimes, which probably drives away most of the serious (?) primagi players (and those of other games too). but I can handle that if it means I'm not having to pack up all my cards and eject my usb and move after every single game.

anyway, none of that matters because I'm moving out of osaka and primagi is moving out of existence. the whole 3ish? hours I played today not a single other person came to play primagi until I was packing up to go. I was able to play and record everything I wanted to without being rushed or distracted or whatever. I almost didn't go at all because I'm moving next tuesday and it feels really irresponsible to go to the city and play at the arcade for hours this close, but... while packing I found a lithium ion battery that had swelled up into a mouse-sized pillow and the only place in the goddamn prefecture that will dispose of sick batteries happens to be a 20-minute walk away from my arcade. so I had no choice but to go!

luckily I set aside some coords & MAGIC☆VITAMIN's ids just in case back when I packed my pretty series box, so I already had that ready in my bag! kind of wish I'd gone over all of my coords a little better or picked coords that matched each other better, but I was focused on packing quickly at the time, and I didn't even use one of the coords I brought, so that doesn't even qualify as a regret. a little closer to a regret is how my larger usb did that thing where it gets too excited and stops recording in the middle of my game, so I spent the the last half of my arcade time muttering please please please PLEASE keep recording dont freak out you can do it come on come on--but it always does this so in a way, it was just like old times. back in the arcade with my wretched usb at my side. I got everything I wanted to record in one piece, at least, though it took a couple tries sometimes.

I was planning on only getting friend cards because I love looking at them and I don't need to start collecting coords on my final day of playing the game lmao, but!! I forgot or didn't know there are pretty rhythm coords in primagi!! I knew about the pripara and prichan ones, but other than Mirai's they were mostly stuff I don't care abt seeing on my idols... but the pretty rhythm ones!! they added so many details and definition to update the coords for primagi, and I love looking at that sort of thing!! I only did extra shopping one time when pure premium wedding and rainbow 7th coord showed up in the same game, and then with the random cards you get at the end of the game I managed to finish both, as you can see at the beginning of this post :)

I ended up playing an extra game with Milk because I wanted to see her in the wedding dress, and I was planning on playing one final game with Biscuit, but then... well, I'm totally unaware of the new songs aside from Miruki's Puzzle Buzz one, so I just chose the Himeme/Mychara Girls duet because I wanted to see a Milk/Biscuit pretty rhythm duo, and.... oh my god. it was the cutest song in the world, even (impossibly!) cuter than Buzzle. my idols got engaged......... in pretty rhythm wedding dresses..... . it seemed like too perfect a place to finish my primagi career (and I had to record it twice bc of my usb) (and I didn't particularly have any coord/song in mind to use for Biscuit after that) (and right after hearing morning and gift in the arcade after so long it was a direct hit to my idol emotions) so I finished up and went home.

I'm really glad I got to play one last time. I had already resigned myself to the fact that I just wouldn't get to, that's how it had to be and it sucks that I'm moving at the same time, and I figured it would be fine because I haven't been able to play regularly. but I feel so relieved since I went! I'm going to the middle of nowhere so I won't be able to play aipri verse regularly even if I want to (tbd), so I think this nice long farewell concert helped me feel ok about primagi ending and moving away and whatever aipri is going to be instead of just like... it's inevitable, so oh well.

I haven't had time to check the vids yet. fingers crossed that they turned out fine...

[yourtoradorasextendedwarranty]

This is kind of what I'm talking about. Tolerance and love are fine for a world where people can get along. This person? They are saying they take accountability for their actions. Except, how does one be accountable for actions taken when they don't even UNDERSTAND what they are doing?

And that will always be my point. EVEN JUST ONE detransitioner is too many. Many people when they start to transition, they give up so much while having NO IDEA what they are giving up. The ability to have kids. The ability to have functioning man hood. The ability do get taller. The ability for proper brain development. Even the ability to become more masculine or feminine depending on how far down the line of transitioning you get.

Big Pharma, and the larger Medical apparatus of cosmetic surgeons.....you are nothing but more money in their pockets. And what's worse is even if you can't pay them, the government will. THEY HAVE ZERO reason to tell you that you are not trans. Why? Because once you start on that route they have a customer for life. Though often they don't because most people that transition are not trans. They are depressed and don't know what to do.

They don't feel like themselves. And often during puberty YOU DON'T FEEL like yourself. Because you are still becoming who you are going to be. Contrary to the narrative pushed, a lot of "trans" people don't commit suicide because the world isn't accepting enough. They do it because the are depressed and in need of help. And rather than get help, they get told that the root of their depression is because of "gender". SO, not only are they not getting mental health help, they are being rushed onto blockers, CSHs, and sex change operations.

The reason I know this is because I know trans people in my own life. Ones who've been like that as long as I've known them. And they've done the proper thing in their lives which is social transitioning, but only after 2-3 years of psychological evaluations to be sure that is what it is. Then between the ages of 19-21 that's around the time doctors suggest surgery.

Doctors now? No they just want the extra money. And why risk activists protesting outside of their hospital or practice. When they can just be like, "Yep, you're my patient for life now, and if I make the responsible decision and say no, not only am I not getting more money, but I'm also going to end up with bricks through my place of business. Let's just cut parts off kids, remove their ability to procreate at all, and destroy their ability to have normal lives if/when they realize that this is not what they wanted......BUT I GUESS more money for me."

My take on this is actually a sane one. If your take on this is let KIDS take drugs to halt development, or to give them life altering surgeries before the age of 17-18 you are the lunatic. It's not transphobic to want people to be safe. And that video above? People like him will go on to pass actual legislation that will fuck trans people. And they will do it out of spite. You keep saying it's not happening. AND IT KEEPS FUCKING HAPPENING! Feels like there is a dozen new cases every single day. And all for what? So potentially 2% of the global population can be lifelong benefactors of Big Medical and Big Pharma?

If that's what you want you do it. But stop pretending that no one is being pressured into it. We see you. We KNOW you do it. We've seen the lives it's destroyed. And you don't seem to care. Actually, I know you don't care. Because I've seen detransitioners be called transphobes for actually going through the process of walking back everything they can, when often it's not enough because it was done early as possible so they never could go back.

If anything, I'd say you get pleasure from it. Watching and looking at all the lives that will be decimated by the bullshit you push.

AND FUCK! Look how long this post is. One of MY FRIENDS almost got her breasts removed because of you stupid, narcissistic, fucks convinced her she was trans. When she never has been and never will be. Now she's had to get laser hair removal on her arms and cheeks. So I take this personally. Because she almost killed herself.

And lastly. Stop pretending your "science" is settled. It's not. Not when all the studies are coming out of for profit orgs and activist groups. As well as hospitals that have a LOT to gain from lying to you. And you will pay for the rest of your life with all the medical procedures you go through, and all the chemicals you take. Because it WILL be for the rest of your life. And stop pretending that blockers are reversible. They are not. Your body is made to go through puberty at a certain rate. When you suppress it outright? It doesn't just "Make up for lost time". Any puberty you miss is gone. And what does puberty do exactly?

Well let's see:

Develops bone density

Helps with brain development

Helps in immune health development

Growth of sex organs

Helps with hair growth

Helps with weight gain or weight loss depending on your size

Develops your height

Develops you ability to have kids

Develops your ability or non ability to grow body hair *which is needed for your hygienic health in some instances.

Basically, things your body needs to go through for you to reach adult hood. A metric that will not change even on CSH's after adolescents. Your changes will be drastic, but you will never be the opposite sex. Your body was not meant to be the opposite sex. As such, it makes sense that there will also be accompanying medial issues that can come up. And often do.

Listen to me and understand this. Trans activists are not your friend. You are a pawn to them. And if the day ever comes that you decide it is not for you, they will either shame you into continuing, or they will drop you like a sack of bricks and proclaim to all their activist buddies that you are a transphobe. Because it's not about peoples health. It's about power. And power often over KIDS.

Hell, on of the Orgs most involved in all of this is led by a man that's in a group who get off to the genital mutilation of little boys. Eunuchs and others that want to see it done or do it themselves. If you take anything from this, please realize this. You will be lied to by these people. They WILL tell you that it is a simple process, that it's very basic, and that things will be 100% ok because you totally are old enough to realize what the risks are. But if that is really the thought process ask this. Why are you not old enough to vote? Why are you not old enough to consent? Why are you not old enough to Drink or smoke? If you can't do any of that, so why are you allowed to make a choice that will alter your entire life, and make you a bitch to medical companies for the rest of your life, and also take away your ability to have your own family?

We can't even get transplants right every single time and you want shit added to you or cut off fully? What's even funnier, (not haha funny) is the fact that you will not enjoy sex the way you would if you had developed properly. So just consider that too. There is a reason we let parents decide on medical procedures for their kids. Too bad that it's also leading to parents being scared to push back on these delusions most of the time. And even more scared that if they DON'T affirm the delusions that their kid will do what the one in the video did. Run away, and have the state do it for them, using MY tax dollars, and then burning the bridges to their own parents.

And why? Because predators want you away from your parents. They will say things like, "Your parents will never understand you", "You need this, if they say no just call CPS", "I care about you, even if they start hating you, you should trust me", "I can't wait to see how you look once you start blockers", "I promise I get you, no one else does they are just bigots".

THOSE LINES, if coming from adults, to minors online, should be red flags that you need to pay attention to. You are being groomed. You are just too ignorant to realize it. You might be smart for a younger person but you are uneducated, impulsive, and know little compared to someone much older than you are. If adults are trying to convince you to do medical procedures to yourself, or find off the counter drugs, please understand that you are the prey to a predator. And if you and your friends are on TikTok? Same thing. It's just that rather than grooming you 1 on 1, they do it in mass to 1000's of you a day.

And it's the new norm. It's the new trend. After all, being cis is boring and bad right? Being trans is actually good and brave.

If you believe this bullshit I'm sorry but good luck with your life. Transitions are life altering processes, that when done correctly address your mental health first and foremost. It will be a process in which you face pushback from a certified mental health doctor. If the doctor doesn't push back, and affirms you, find a new doctor. Pushback is a needed method to understand how you fight the pushback, as well as understand where the pushback is coming from. Then after 2-3 years of proper therapy, if the doctor and you are both on the same page, and they believe that the best thing for you is to transition, they will write you a note so that you can start the process. But they will likely start by having you live your life as the opposite sex, and document your progress, as well as how you fit in with others during this process. After 1-3 years of this, they will start you on blockers, long enough to put you on CSH's. It is at this point where you will start having changes in your body that will (again if the doctor deems it needed) decide if you indeed need to surgically transition. And they will be there for you through the whole thing. Mostly to keep tabs on your mental health during the whole process. And they will make sure you stay checked in with them multiple times a year, mostly to be sure that this WAS the right call.

If this process is not followed almost to the T you are being played and used. I've been called Transphobic before for stuff like this but unlike most of you that call me that I actually care about Trans people. Much more than you. I care about people in general. But I'm not going to indulge in delusion. I'm not going to indulge in the idea that kids can just have stuff cut off, and their ability to have kids REMOVED before they are even old enough to even have consenting sex. Before they are even old enough to understand what a man or a woman even is. And you can only learn it by experiencing it for yourself. No movie can tell you what it is. No actor or media pundit can tell you what it is. No youtuber or TikTok star can tell you what it is. You have to learn that on your own.

Please be safe. And please understand, if you are young, you probably think you know everything in the world and you know better than everyone else. I know because I felt the same at that age. And I promise you are wrong. Don't ruin your life before it starts. Take your time and learn. Realize that what you see as "masculine" or "feminine" is not universal. And it doesn't have to be.

Boys, if you don't feel masculine enough that's fine. It doesn't mean that you are secretly a girl. It probably just means you don't hold the same metric of masculinity as your peers. And that's ok. Are you a little "girly" or feminine? Ok, maybe you are just gender non conforming. Maybe you are Gay. Which is more than fine. If you are gay then just be gay. Maybe you are a feminine gay power bottom. That's perfectly fine.

Girls, listen. Instagram is not the metric for what is "pretty" or "sexy" or "feminine". You can set that standard on your own. Do you want to wear shorts and an oversized Tee shirt? Fucking do it. If people complain you are not girly enough tell them you are feminine in your own way. And just like the boys, you can be gender non conforming. There is zero wrong with that. Maybe you want to be a pretty little princess. OR maybe you want to put on a suit of armor and charge down the depths of Baulders Gate. Maybe you are a Lesbian. Maybe, just maybe you are a butch lesbian that takes a more, "masculine" role in the relationship. You can still be a girl and do that. Maybe you are just shy and don't like super "pretty" things. That's fine.

All I'm saying is. It's ok to be you. And you don't have to take drugs, and go though surgery to be what you are. Some people may have to. And for those of you that do, go through the proper channels. Go through the full process. Do the best you can for you and no one else. And make sure no shrinks, or doctors are taking you for a ride. If you promise them free money, they will take it. And they will not care about the end result. People are self centered and greedy. Just remember that.

[purplesurveys]

1705

This time last year, what was happening in your life? Life was a little uneventful at the time. But if anything, I had a completely different set of clients – a more stressful roster at that, so in hindsight I’m glad that part of my life is over. It had also only been a month from Kimi’s passing so my mental health had been more tumultous; it was also the time I was coming to terms with the fact that I might be experiencing another bout of depression, so I would go out every weekend and have some quiet time to myself at coffee shops or at my favorite comfort places, like my university.

Did you/will you have coffee or some other form of caffeine today? I already have a mug of coffee next to me.

Who did you last have a text conversation with and what was it about? Just quick exchanges for work.

Are there regular trains in and out of your town/city? Yes.

Do you bathe your pets regularly? Just once every few months.

Do you have a mailbox or do you collect your mail from the post office? We have mail and packages sent directly to our house, but we don’t have a mailbox - not really common here. Instead, envelopes are squeezed into our door; then for larger packages, riders would directly ring the doorbell so we can receive them.

What was the last animal you saw, and was it a pet? Our two dogs. Yes, pets.

Have you ever had an ear infection? Kind of? It didn’t happen inside my ear, but on my earlobe. I got a nasty infection from my piercing (which I never took off since getting pierced as a baby) and the only way around it was to stop wearing earrings altogether. To this day I haven’t worn earrings since and stick with clip-ons.

If you could watch any TV series right now, what would it be? I’d love to get started on Ted Lasso. And get my ass back on Better Call Saul.

Would you have any clue when your best friend last got their hair cut? No idea...must be a few months ago.

Someone messages you just as you’re about to go to sleep. Do you reply? Depends on the person and the nature of their message. The only person I’d make an exception for is probably Angela, or my dad.

Do you grind your teeth, and if so, why do you do it? I don’t do it in my sleep if this is what you mean. My sister does and very aggressively, so to be honest I try not to fall asleep in the same room as her. The sound is very...it drives me mad, lol.

Have you ever been hospitalized due to dehydration? I haven’t been hospitalized but I’ve definitely fainted from it.

Is there anything you need to remember to do before the day ends? I technically have more work to do beyond the shit I already did yesterday, but I’m on the fence about doing it or just leaving it off for tomorrow. I already worked on a Saturday...the thought of working on a Sunday too is just raising my stress level through the roof lol. I WANT TO HAVE A WEEKEND TOO.

When you listen to music with headphones, do you keep the volume low enough to hear surrounding noise faintly, or do you blast it? Well, it depends where I am and how quiet it is. The sound seeps out-ish from my headphones if the volume is too loud, so I’ll only have it on max volume if I’m somewhere the sound can be drowned out, like in the office or at a busy coffee shop. But if I’m in a Grab where it’s just me and the driver, I’d tone it down.

What’s your favorite online radio site? Idk if it counts but I’ll occasionally use Stationhead to help boost song streams.

Do your parents have any authority over who you date? As much as possible, I wouldn’t let them. At the end of the day it’s my decision and even if I turned out wrong and stupid, it shouldn’t be their problem to fix because the only way it should be is a lesson for me to learn from.

How many different shades of nail polish do you have? Zero. I never apply nail polish because 100% I’ll have the urge to chip it off.

What did you have for breakfast this morning? I had a scrambled egg sandwich.

Are you lucky enough to have an ice maker in your refrigerator door? We don’t have one, but I don’t feel unlucky about it either lmao.

Are you the type to wake up before the sun has even risen? Not at all. As someone who works a 9-6, I value my sleep and would hate to be up earlier than the sun. 

Have you ever watched an anime series, start to finish? Nah. I’m not into anime.

Do you feel the need to rant about anything right now? If so, go for it. I’m desperate for 4-day work weeks to be a thing. I’ll experience it occasionally due to public holidays, and it’s truly fascinating to feel the difference between a 4-day work week and 5-day work week (even if they differ by only a day!). I tend to feel incredibly recharged with the former, while the latter brutally exhausts me beyond words. Anyway, it’s Sunday evening now and I’m dreading to start the cycle all over again, and I just can’t wait to reach Friday.

Do you have a favorite towel? What color is it? I don’t have a favorite towel. They all do the same thing.

Have you seen any films with Judy Garland in them?: I actually haven’t. Most of her well-known films are musicals which I’m not really into, so that’s a big reason why I haven’t checked her works out.

How did you feel when you woke up today? Why? Rattled. I woke up at around 9:20 AM today when we usually leave at around 9:45 to attend mass, so I had to prepare at 2x speed haha.

Who was the last person you messaged on Facebook? My group chat with Angela and Reena.

When was the last time you saw them? A month ago when we landed back from Bangkok.

Do you have a friend named Nick? What’s his favourite food? No, I don’t have a friend named Nick.

What are you listening to? I have a BTS vlog playing in the background. I usually have a string of these playing on Sunday nights; it helps calm my nerves before the week starts.

What year are you/did you graduate? I graduated high school in 2016, then college in 2020.

Are you obsessed with anything? BTS.

Do you prefer waffles or pancakes? Waffles.

Do you prefer non-diet or diet soda? No soda.

Do you like seafood? It’s the best thing in the world.

Are you craving anything right now? I’d love a cheeseburger from McDonald’s, but I’ll live.

Do you dress appropriately for your age? Uh, I guess. What exactly constitutes an appropriate outfit when you’re 25 years old anyway? Hahaha.

If McDonald’s sold hot dogs, would you buy them? No.

How long is your hair? It’s a bit past my shoulders, but not long enough that it reaches my waist.

Do you like your neighbors? They’re fine and don’t make a fuss and aren’t Karens. That’s all I’d ask for.

What’s your school motto? Honor and excellence.

Has a bird ever flown into your window? Nope.

Which word did you say first, mama or dada? No idea what my first word was and I don’t think my parents monitored it too.

How old were you when you learned to walk? I also have no clue. Thanks for the idea, I’ll go ahead and ask my parents this when I can :)

What was your first pet’s name? Goldy...because I had a goldfish...very creative...

How many kids were in your class in kindergarten? We were around 15 in Kinder 1. By the time I got to Kinder 2 and Prep, the classes grew to 30.

Who was your best friend in elementary? Angela.

Who was the best athlete in your freshman class? I won’t say their name anymore but it was someone from the basketball team. She wasn’t only good at the sport but was exceptionally tall too, so she definitely stood out.

What teacher did all the high school boys/girls have a crush on? I don’t think there was anyone we’d consider THE school crush. We had several male teachers and I observed that the students would just have little crushes depending on their own type.

Where do you see yourself in a year? I have no idea. I keep saying ‘maybe in a new job’ but it never fucking happens so I don’t wanna keep guessing anymore haha.

If you were able to change one thing about yourself, what would it be? I wish I was less uptight. Especially with work. Bea usually talks me down because I freak out over the smallest things that can be resolved easily if I just calm the fuck down and not see them as the end of the world.

Are you content just blending in with the crowd? For the most part, but I want to make some sort of impact too. I wouldn’t be okay with just going with the flow for the rest of my life.

[divinejhonson]

Comparing Wooden Spice Box Prices Across Pakistan: Where to Find the Best Deals

Introduction 

In Pakistan, where culinary traditions are deeply rooted in culture and history, the kitchen is often considered the heart of the home. It is a space where flavors, aromas, and spices come together to create mouthwatering dishes that are cherished by families. For those who take their cooking seriously, having the right tools and storage solutions is essential. One such must-have item for any Pakistani kitchen is the Wooden Spice Box Price In Pakistan, a traditional yet functional piece that not only organizes spices but also adds a touch of elegance to the kitchen decor.

As more people seek to elevate their culinary experiences, the demand for beautifully crafted wooden spice boxes has risen. These boxes, which are a staple in many households, come in various designs, sizes, and prices. But with so many options available, how do you determine where to find the best deals on wooden spice boxes in Pakistan? In this article, we’ll compare prices across the country, explore what influences these costs, and offer tips on making the best purchase.

The Allure of Pakistani Handicrafts

Before diving into price comparisons, it’s essential to understand the significance of wooden spice boxes within the context of Pakistani Handicrafts. Pakistan has a rich tradition of crafting exquisite items by hand, including wooden furniture, decor, and kitchenware. The craftsmanship involved in making these items is passed down through generations, resulting in products that are not only functional but also works of art.

Wooden spice boxes are no exception. They are often intricately designed, with carvings and patterns that reflect the cultural heritage of the region. These boxes serve as more than just storage solutions; they are a testament to the skill and creativity of Pakistani artisans. When you purchase a wooden spice box, you’re not just buying a kitchen accessory—you’re investing in a piece of art that carries the legacy of Pakistani craftsmanship.

Factors Influencing Wooden Spice Box Prices in Pakistan

When comparing Wooden Spice Box Prices in Pakistan, it’s important to consider several factors that can influence the cost:

Material Quality: The type of wood used to craft the spice box plays a significant role in determining its price. High-quality woods like Sheesham (Indian Rosewood) or teak are more durable and offer a premium finish, but they also come at a higher cost compared to other types of wood.

Craftsmanship: The level of detail and intricacy in the design of the spice box affects its price. Hand-carved boxes with elaborate patterns are generally more expensive due to the time and skill required to produce them.

Size and Compartments: The size of the spice box and the number of compartments it has can also impact the price. Larger boxes with more compartments for storing different spices will typically cost more.

Brand and Seller: Prices can vary depending on whether you’re buying from a well-known brand, a local artisan, or an online marketplace. Established brands may charge a premium for their products, while local artisans might offer more competitive pricing.

Customization: If you’re looking for a customized spice box with specific designs or features, expect to pay more. Customization often requires additional labor and materials, which can drive up the cost.

Where to Find the Best Deals

Finding the best deal on a wooden spice box in Pakistan requires a bit of research and comparison shopping. Here are some tips to help you get the most value for your money:

Visit Local Markets: If you’re looking for a bargain, local markets in cities like Karachi, Lahore, and Peshawar are great places to start. These markets often have a wide variety of options at competitive prices.

Check Online Stores: Online platforms like Crafts Emporium offer a vast selection of wooden spice boxes with the convenience of home delivery. Keep an eye out for discounts and seasonal sales to get the best deals.

Consider Customization: If you have a specific design in mind, consider reaching out to local artisans who can create a custom spice box for you. While this option may be more expensive, it allows you to get exactly what you want.

Compare Prices: Don’t settle for the first price you see. Take the time to compare prices across different stores and online platforms to ensure you’re getting the best deal.

Look for Sales: Many stores, both physical and online, offer sales and discounts during holidays or at the end of the year. Plan your purchase around these times to save money.

Conclusion

Wooden spice boxes are more than just practical kitchen accessories; they are a reflection of Pakistan’s rich cultural heritage and craftsmanship. Whether you’re looking for a simple, functional box or an intricately designed piece of art, there are plenty of options available across Pakistan. By considering factors like material quality, craftsmanship, and size, and by comparing prices across different cities and online platforms, you can find the perfect spice box that fits both your needs and your budget.

Remember, when you purchase a wooden spice box, you’re not just buying a product—you’re supporting the tradition of Pakistani Handicrafts and the artisans who keep this craft alive. So take the time to explore your options, compare prices, and find a deal that brings both beauty and functionality to your kitchen.

[yumitsukiyoru]

The Joy of Spring Gardening: A Nostalgic Look at Homegrown Food

Exploring the Tradition and Benefits of Home Gardening

Spring has arrived early this year, thanks to Punxsutawney Phil, and for many of us, that means getting a head start on garden planning. The Pennsylvania State Extension agents recommend planting your garden between April 15 and May 15, depending on your location and the crops you want to grow. As we prepare to dig into the soil and nurture our plants, it's worth taking a moment to reflect on the deep-rooted traditions and joys of home gardening.

From heirloom varieties to the satisfaction of growing your own food, let's explore the timeless allure of tending to a garden.

The Power of Tradition in Home Gardening

Home gardening has a rich history in Pennsylvania, with individual communities passing down gardening traditions through generations. These traditions encompassed planting specific vegetable types or varieties, harvest festivals, and the sharing of seeds, seedlings, and plants. One such tradition that holds a special place in many hearts is the story of the Big Joe Bean, a lima bean variety named after a neighbor and relative, Joe Hutzel.

The Big Joe Bean, a large lima bean with exceptional taste, became a beloved staple in the community, enjoyed both fresh and cooked in various dishes. These traditions not only connected communities but also fostered a sense of pride and shared heritage.

Early Planting and the Joy of Fresh Harvests

In the early days of gardening, Pennsylvanians would start their gardens in mid- to late-March, sowing a variety of crops such as greens, spring onions, peas, potatoes, turnips, carrots, cabbage, and beets. The availability of straw mulch provided protection against adverse weather conditions. The careful placement of crops ensured a continuous supply of fresh produce throughout the growing season, with early crops making way for warmer weather varieties.

Creamed new potatoes and peas, wilted greens, and other garden-fresh delights were cherished and savored, showcasing the true essence of farm-to-table dining.

Native American Influence on Gardening Practices

While gardening traditions in Pennsylvania are often associated with European immigrants, it's important to recognize the historical contributions of Native American communities. Records and archaeological expeditions reveal the intelligent approach to food cultivation by local tribes, including soil preparation techniques, preservation methods, and cooking practices. The Lenape tribes, for example, had a complex vocabulary detailing forest clearing and the cultivation of corn, squash, and beans, known as the three sisters.

Native Americans also cultivated tobacco and pitseed goosefoot, a crop similar to modern-day quinoa. Their knowledge of crop rotation and sustainable farming practices laid the foundation for future generations.

From Kitchen Gardens to Genetically Modified Varieties

Home gardens in the past were not limited to just growing vegetables for sustenance. Alongside the kitchen garden, Pennsylvanians maintained medicinal herb gardens, ornamental gardens, orchards, and vineyards. Beekeeping was also a common practice, highlighting the interconnectedness of nature and agriculture.

Today, the topic of genetically modified food sparks debates, but little attention is given to how it relates to modern-day vegetable gardening. A quick glance at seed catalogs reveals a decline in heirloom tomato varieties, as crossbreeding has led to larger, disease-resistant, and easier-to-process tomatoes. While these hybrid varieties have their merits, many gardening enthusiasts still prefer the unique flavors of heirloom tomatoes like Cherokee Purple and Brandywine.

Embracing Gardening in the Modern World

Fortunately, there are numerous opportunities for individuals to engage in gardening, regardless of their available space. Container gardens, raised beds, and small greenhouses offer options for those with limited areas. The satisfaction of nurturing plants from seed to harvest is a joy that transcends time.

For those who have yet to experience the rewards of growing their own food, now is the perfect time to give it a try. And for seasoned gardeners, let this column serve as a reminder of the childhood memories and pure delight that comes from that first taste of a homegrown harvest.

As spring brings forth new life and vibrant blooms, it also presents an opportunity for us to reconnect with the timeless tradition of home gardening. From the cherished heirloom varieties to the lessons passed down through generations, gardening offers a sense of pride, connection, and self-sufficiency. Whether you have acres of land or a small balcony, the joy of growing your own food is within reach.

So, grab your gardening tools, prepare the soil, and let the seeds of possibility take root. Until next time, happy gardening!

[handykitchen]

Benefits of Shopping for Kitchen Appliances Online in USA

When it comes to shopping for kitchen appliances, going online has become the preferred option Online stores provide a convenient and cost-effective way of purchasing essential equipment for your kitchen From small items such as bottle openers and canning jars, to large appliances like refrigerators or ovens, there is something available to meet every need online Here are five benefits of buying kitchen supplies online.

First, shoppers can find exactly what they need in one place — rather than having to visit multiple stores or hunt through the store shelves looking for an item they want You can access thousands of products from major brands and compare prices with ease while still ensuring that you get quality products at competitive rates.

Second, ordering Online Kitchen Appliances in USA gives customers more control over the selection process It’s easy to read customer reviews, compare features and select only those products that fit best into their needs — without being pressured by sales staff in physical stores who may have limited product knowledge. 

Thirdly, when shopping for Kitchen Appliances Online in USA on the internet buyers will also benefit from discounted prices due the potential savings offered by no overhead costs associated with traditional retail stores as well as reduced transport costs incurred by shipping companies due to heavy demand across multiple locations simultaneously taking advantage of lower shipping rates This means better prices are passed onto consumers when shopping for appliances online resulting in significant cost savings compared to buying offline.

Fourthly, most websites offering kitchen accessories come equipped with additional services including installation advice and free delivery depending on order values - additional perks which would likely not be available if buying items from physical retailers only  Similarly some e-commerce sites offer extended warranty periods on certain purchases helping ensure peace of mind along with safety protocols reviewed regularly both before purchase.

Finally , customers also have access to a wider range & variety of products – many times leading them towards discovering new combinations  or specials not typically seen within brick & mortar establishments offering far greater choice then ever before alongside helpful advice columns developed mainly around increasing customer satisfaction  With all these advantages it's hard not too why so many people now prefer doing their home appliance shopping via their computers instead !

Making sure you purchase the right kitchen appliances can be a daunting and time-consuming process, but with online shopping it’s easier than ever In this blog post, we’ll take you through every step of the way when buying kitchen equipment online – from researching to ordering and delivery With our comprehensive guide on how to find perfect kitchen appliances online, you can make sure that your purchases meet all your expectations and fit perfectly in your space.

First things first Research! It’s easy to get caught up in looking at beautiful pictures of fancy gadgets or appliances without taking any objective measures into consideration Before you make an impulse decision based solely off looks, take some time to research what makes a good quality product for each one that catches your eye This is where reviews come in handy—check out consumer reviews online so you know exactly which models people have found successful or problematic before purchasing them yourself.

Once you have narrowed down your selection by taking various factors into account, it’s time to start comparing prices from different retailers selling products within the same market segment When possible try out samples offered by local stores since they often offer competitive discounts compared to larger retailers if there aren't any other offers available; however, if choosing between similar products always go for those with extended warranties as long as their price is reasonable - plus ordered parts (or even labor may sometimes be covered as well!   The next important step is making sure that what you are intending on buying actually fits where it needs too - whether its size restrictions (both height & width, power requirements or budget constraints; ensure measurements are taken beforehand so no surprises occur after clicking ‘purchase now' If unsure about anything speak with somebody in store who could advise further otherwise google searches should serve well enough when finding out more about technical specifications such as wattage/amps needed etc Once confident move forward onto payment page & finalize order details! Don't forget about delivery times either - having an idea of how soon something will arrive could help drastically during decision-making processes since not everyone has access instantly replace defective items purchased elsewhere due lead-times associated with extra orders being placed late on.

[20dollarlolita]

I'm going to rant about ball point pins for a second.

Maybe longer than a second. I never know how long these things will be when I start out.

So, what is a ball point needle?

In terms of modern sewing, we don't really use ball point needles anymore. The ball point needle has largely been replaced by the universal needle and the stretch needle.

See, back in the days, needles were either sharp or ball point. You'd use a sharp needle (modern needles are either denim/jeans or microtex, depending on the size) for woven fabric, and a ball point needle for knit fabrics.

You use a sharp needle for woven fabric to avoid snags. This is when you're sewing a woven and the needle hits a thread. If the needle is dull, instead of breaking the thread, it will push the thread forward, yanking it out of place. Since woven fabrics are many individual threads interlinked, that thread will pull out and making a loose thread on your project. Woven fabrics don't stretch so it's incredibly hard to put it back in place. You use a sharp needle on a woven so that if it hits a thread in the fabric, it will break, leaving no snag.

You would use a ball-point needle to avoid runs. This is when you're sewing a knit and your needle hits a thread. If the needle is sharp, it will break the thread in half. Because knit fabrics are more one continuous thread instead of multiple interlinked threads, breaking a thread in a knit fabric can cause it to make a run, the same way you often find runs in your favorite tights. If you use a dull needle, it will push the thread out of the way, but not break it. Since knits are stretchy, that snag can then be stretched back into place.

Modern needles are often sold as "universal." This has absolutely nothing to do with how many different kinds of machines the needle fits in, since the 15x1 shape was the standard sewing machine needle long before the invention of the universal point needle. The universal needle tries to hit that sweet spot. It's sharp enough to break a thread on a woven and avoid a snag, but dull enough to not break a thread on a knit. Universal needles are often marketed as "sews both wovens and knits".

A stretch needle is not the same as a ball point needle. A stretch needle has a different kind of scarf on the needle. The scarf is a groove that guides the thread in. All sewing machine needles have scarves on the front of the needle. Much like an ELx705 overlock needle, a stretch needle has an extra scarf on the back, which reduces skipped stitches by better controlling how far away from the needle the thread loops can get. Stretch needles also have a dull/ball point, but not all ball point needles are stretch needles.

Did you know that ball point needles didn't really exist until the invention of the sewing machine? People would own needles that they knew were sharper or more dull, and would prioritize the sharper ones for certain subjects, and intentionally dull needles like tapestry or yarn needles existed. But the idea of "you must use a ball point needle for knits" didn't exist until sewing machines were a thing.

Why? Because hands are smart and sewing machines are big dumb. When you sew by hand, you use a pretty small piece of wire and you guide it through your fabric with pressure from your hands. When you use a sewing machine, you have a much larger diameter of a wire being repeatedly stabbed by a large machine. Your fingers can feel when you're about to hit a thread, and you can very easily and quickly change the direction or pressure of your hand so that you pass the needle around the thread, instead of through it.

The sewing machine does not think or feel. It only knows stab. This means that you select a hand sewing needle knowing that you can make it avoid hitting the threads of the fabric, and you select a sewing machine needle knowing that it absolutely will hit the threads of the fabric at some point. Sewing machine needle point is about choosing what will do the least amount of damage when a thread collision happens, because not having a thread collision isn't an option.

So every once in a while I see people talk about ball point pins. I think ball point pins are among the least necessary sewing tools out there. Unless you're using some kind of mechanical setup to use springs to force wires through fabric (like if you use your stapler for pinning), your hands are not going to insert a pin into a fabric hard enough to break a thread on 99% of fabrics (The Joann Fabrics "jet set" knit is an exception and will run if you look at it for too long, and should not be counted). You use pins in a similar way to hand sewing needles. You're inserting your pin with your hands, which are relatively weak and are also full of nerves. If you're going to hit a thread, you feel resistance, and your hands will automatically try to correct this by trying a slightly different kind of pressure on the pin and moving it out of the way of the pin. You are a human and do not make the mistakes that a machine does, and you don't even need to think about doing it. The thing that is so hard for a machine that we have to completely reshape part of it to accommodate its inability to do it, is also something that is so easy for a human that you don't even realize you're doing it! Isn't that the coolest thing???

Anyway, that's not to go the other direction and say silk pins are useless. Silk pins are extra sharp and extra fine, because they need to leave as small of a hole as possible. The extra sharp tip is actually there so that they can more easily find the hole between the threads, not to break a thread. This is because silk is really unforgiving and whatever hole you put in it will be there forever, so you want to do the smallest hole you possibly can.

[phoenixyfriend]

Auntie Soka and Little Leia (and Rex)

Read on AO3

This was originally posted on tumblr. At that time, it was about 24k words. This version is almost 50k. There are two chapters that are entirely new (first and fifth) and a whole lot of new scenes. Have fun!

----------------

Ahsoka dies in one moment, quick and mostly painless.

A quick death was the only kindness the man who had once been her master had left in him.

(In another world, perhaps, she’d have been saved by Ezra.)

(Perhaps, in another world, she’d have been able to save Anakin.)

(In this world, she is not.)

Ahsoka floats in death. She is not possessed of a sense of self, nor any true intent. She is not like the Force Ghosts she remembers crèche tales about. Ahsoka is the loosest collection of thought and memory that could be called a being.

If that.

The Force carries the entity she now is, limp and finished with life and personhood, having passed on her duties to what remains of her people.

Ahsoka lets herself start to come apart to join the spread of existence.

And then she doesn’t.

--

Duracrete is never fun to wake up on. Wet, smelly duracrete in a dark alley under the rain is worse.

Ahsoka’s montrals ring like she’s been hit. The sound is muffled and strange. The lights glitter like stars, though they aren’t.

This isn’t Malachor.

She leverages herself up from prone on her back to propped on her elbows, head spinning. Her clothes hang poorly, straps tugging in places they shouldn’t, loose and off-center. Blearily, she notes the beskar-and-plastoid tassets currently getting speckled in water on her thighs.

Her armor looks… bigger.

The fabric on her legs is getting soaked through, but her mind is still faintly buzzing, ugly with the press of too many minds. She shouldn’t be here, wherever it is. There are too many people.

Her hand goes to her hip. She has her sabers. They are warm to the touch, but oddly large, just like her clothes and armor.

Focus. Process. Body trauma check. Should have done it before sitting up.

Fingers responsive, nothing broken. Forearms, upper arms, shoulders. Toes, ankles, legs, hips. Torso. Neck.

She realizes by the time she gets to her shoulders that her lekku are too short, and reaches up to check her montrals after she confirms her neck is fine. They too are shorter and less defined than they should be.

It’s no wonder her hearing feels wrong. It’s not even worse, just… different. The rain isn’t helping.

“Soka?”

She rolls to the sides and up into a crouch, eyes wide. Stupid stupid stupid. Not even checking her surroundings.

A child. Fett clone. Blonde.

Familiar in the Force.

“You got shrunk more than I did,” she says. She stands, and tries not to swallow too visibly. “Hey, Rex.”

He unfreezes and barrels into her, unable to reach her head for a Keldabe kiss and thus settling in to hug her like his life depends on it.

“Okay, then,” Ahsoka mumbles. Something twinges at the base of her skull, a dirty little warning of a headache to come. “Rexter, you know where we are?”

“You’ve been dead for six years,” he snaps to her. The effect is somewhat lessened by how his face stays buried in the stiff leather of her cuirass.

Six years.

Rex had to live with her death for six years.

“I’m sorry,” she says, because there’s nothing else to be said. “I couldn’t leave him.”

“Ezra said.”

Of course he did.

Rex feels so small under her hands, and it’s a dizzying thing, really. If this were both of them getting turned back the same amount, she shouldn’t be quite so much larger than him. He’d been physically twenty… six? Eight? He’d been nearing thirty when she was in her late teens, which is what she’s estimating herself at now.

Even if his body were to go to the chronological age to match her, he’d be a bit older than this, wouldn’t he?

Or perhaps Fett had looked a little younger than he was, and none of the clones ever noticed due to their aging being so karked up already.

She pulls away from him, looks him up and down and clicks her tongue. His clothes hang on him worse than hers do, baggy like a child playing dress-up in daddy’s closet. He’s swimming in his uppers like a dress.

“You got pants?” she asks. “Armor?”

“Nothing that fits,” he says. He looks over her own armor, eyes catching on the straps that don’t quite fit. “Emotions later.”

“We need to get out,” she agrees. They know how to compartmentalize. They can cry on each other after they’re safely out of the rain and have an idea of what the hell is going on.

Ahsoka closes her eyes and tries to feel out a direction. There are too many lives, too many thoughts, too many—

There’s a bright spot.

It’s familiar.

Ahsoka turns and jogs, because it’s close and angry but not quite in distress, and Rex follows her. He curses as he does, loud clomps sounding off just how unpleasantly large his shoes are for him right now, but follow he does. Ahsoka rounds the corner, trusting him to follow, and sees a very small human girl in a white dress uniform that swallows her more than Rex’s does.

Familiar. Not immediately so. Ahsoka’s met this one, but doesn’t know her as intimately as she does Rex.

(He’s her other half. He always has been. She imagines he always will be, until one or both of them are dead.)

(…that already happened.)

(She should… shelve that thought for later.)

“Hello?” Ahsoka calls, slowing down as she nears the little one. She crouches down, balancing on her toes to keep from ending up even more drenched in the filthy street water than she already is. “Hey, hey, look at me.”

The little girl looks up from where she’s struggling with a belt, and blinks. Recognition, hesitant and doubting, lights her face. “Fulcrum?”

“Uh-huh,” Ahsoka encourages. “I’m afraid I don’t know you. If you got shrunk like I did, then I probably only recognize older you.”

“Leia.”

“Princess? Okay. Okay, right. You should… not be this age, if I’m back to being a teenager. Whatever time did, it hit us all differently.” She hesitates, and then holds out her hands in offer. “Let me carry you until we can get somewhere dry, and then we can figure out the clothes situation.”

Leia hesitates, but nods. They don’t have much of a choice, right now.

Ahsoka scoops her up, and then looks over her shoulder to Rex. “Eopie back?”

He isn’t happy about it, but he’s not going to run around barefoot, and he sure as hell isn’t going to be making time in the shoes he has. He climbs on and clings.

“Right,” Ahsoka says, shelving all horrible feelings into a little box for later. “Let’s get out of here.”

--

Neither Rex nor Leia seem to be particularly perturbed by Ahsoka using the Force to slip quietly into a hotel room she absolutely is not paying for. They’ve both lived their adult lives in the same outmatched war as she has, and they know that they can’t be picky. Snagging a hotel room for free doesn’t quite match up to the number of bombs they’ve planted, the number of corporate secrets they’ve smuggled, the lives they’ve stolen.

It's a very depressing line of thought. Ahsoka shoves it away in favor of hopping into the shower, fabric layers shoved into the attached laundro-sonic. Rex and Leia both insisted on waiting their turn. Ahsoka’s body-shyness is approximately in the negatives, and she’s shared exhausted cleanup with Rex before. Leia might be a bit less used to a soldier’s showers, though, and Rex definitely wants to keep an eye on her.

Ahsoka doesn’t know what happened after she died. She has the vaguest sense of a few things—she knows there was a massive loss of life at one point, something on the scale of billions in a moment—but nothing concrete. She doesn’t know what Rex’s life was like after she was gone. She has no idea what path Leia has followed from junior senator.

She ignores the scars she does not recognize. She finishes her shower. She exits. Rex darts in and starts up his own run in the sonic, and she has a feeling his clothes are going to spend more time getting cleaned than he is. Leia’s tiny form is wrapped in her uniform jacket like a dress, still wet and mussed and dirtied up by the way they all woke up. She pouts like a champion, and shivers.

“Let’s get you out of that.”

“I’m not a child,” Leia snaps. “I’m twenty-two.”

“…and I’m thirty-two,” Ahsoka says, trying not to wince at the reminder that she’s missed years of this girl’s life. “I’m also looking at someone too stubborn to get out of wet clothes.”

Leia glares at her, but starts undoing the various closures. Her fingers shake, both from the cold and from sudden lack of size. Ahsoka goes to one knee and brushes Leia’s hands out of the way, quickly undoing the zipper on the jacket, pulling off the jumpsuit and two or three layers under it, and getting Leia down to just the undershirt she’d been in when it all went down.

Rex comes out of the shower while Ahsoka is finger-combing through Leia’s hair, finally out of the braid she’d admitted it had spent the last six weeks in.

(“It’s not like we could take water showers on Hoth, you know, and sonics are murder on the hair.”)

(“I wouldn’t know.”)

(“What?”)

(“I’m togruta. I don’t have hair, Princess.”)

“Okay, get,” Ahsoka orders. “Let us know if you need help.”

“I’m not—”

“You might be too short to reach things, though,” Ahsoka reminds her, before they can get into another argument about her being Not A Child. “Go.”

Leia huffs and stalks off, dirty clothes in her arms for the fresher, and Ahsoka shakes her head.

“Plans?” Rex prompts, sitting down next to her.

She looks over at him, considers the actual knot he’s had to tie to keep his pants on, and says, “do you think you could fit into her adult clothes?”

“Not what I meant,” Rex mutters, but he obliges and puts some thought into it. “Organa’s tiny as an adult. It might not fit, but I don’t think it’ll be falling off the way mine are. Just cuff it a bunch and toss on a belt; we’ll be good to go.”

“That’s one problem solved,” Ahsoka says. She looks to the pile of dinged trooper armor and old shirt. She considers.

“I know that look,” Rex says, and it’s so odd to hear someone that knows her better than all the galaxy sound like a ten-year-old. “It’s a Kenobi look.”

“I don’t have a Kenobi look.”

“You do,” he says, utterly unconcerned. “It says ‘I just had an idea that the people under my lead are going to hate, but they can’t stop me because it will work and also because I’m in charge,’ just like he did.”

She shoves his shoulder. “Jerk.”

“He was smug about it, but not the same way General Skywalker was,” Rex continues. Her heart clenches. “Kenobi expected different kinds of arguments.”

“He did,” Ahsoka says, and then can’t keep going.

Rex waits. His hand—so damn small, though it already has plenty of blaster callouses—finds hers. “Soka?”

“Let’s not talk about Anakin,” she says. “I’m… not in a place to do that.”

Rex gives it a moment, and then says, “I know what he… I mean… I guessed… if you were worried about how to break it to me. I’ll leave the subject there.”

His pain radiates. She can’t bear it.

She closes her eyes and leans to the side, resting her shoulder to his. “Okay.”

“Okay.”

(Continue on AO3)

[kedreeva]

What kind of housing do you recommend for mice? How do you find male vs female mice compare as pets?

If you're keeping them for pets, wire caging with solid bases/platforms work great, especially if you can hang hammocks etc. There should be room for at least 2 hides, at least one of which should be chewable. A LOT of people just modify storage tubs, which is pretty easy and cheap!

You do have to find/buy the wire and have some tools to drill holes etc to attach the wire (you can use zip ties or bolts/washers). The other downside is that the mice sometimes chew these, so you need to keep an eye on the edges of the plastic and keep up with repairs. But they're super customizable, and the generally more-opaque sides are more comforting to the mice than clear caging.

You can use an old aquarium, often you can find those cheap on craigslist or similar, but the biggest problem with those is ventilation; a deep glass cage like that will not have much ventilation and so 2 things are likely. The first is that the bedding will not dry out, and so it will be stinkier and it will be susceptible to mold if not cleaned more often. The second is that the mice themselves may get respiratory infections easier from ammonia sitting in the bottom. You also have to find a lid for aquariums, where as most totes come with lids already. I would also say that you should consider building levels in these, to give them more "floor" space.

The other thing to be aware of is that wooden stuff is great for them to chew, but also they may chew it (they'll chew plastic stuff too), and it WILL get stained, and it WILL get soaked with urine, so any wooden or otherwise porous, non-plastic, non-ceramic gear should be considered temporary equipment and be replaced. You can extend the life of some things by running them through the dishwasher without soap.

Breeders tend to use lab equipment, since they need a lot of it and for it to be easily sanitized and easy to exchange parts as they wear out. They're generally shallow, with a wire top and places to put food and water in the wide lid, to keep it clean and prevent the mice from making a mess on the floor with it. These types of cages are meant to have all of their bedding replaced and the entire thing cleaned often, as opposed to larger caging which many people will only spot clean and then do major cleans less often. This generally means they smell a little less, as well, an advantage again when you're keeping large numbers.

While mice will explore if given space, open space stresses them, so in the case of mice, larger isn't necessarily better; a larger cage means you need to fill in the open space with enough stuff to make them feel more enclosed and safe. Lab caging generally has enough space to meet their needs, while not having enough open space to stress them. Still, if you're not keeping large quantities of mice, I'd go with a nice tote and lots of Stuff for them instead.

The other thing I will note is that you do not need to have a ton of fancy equipment out the gate. Make the bin, and acquire the bedding and water bottle, but you can use any bowl or just put block chow on the floor to start with. For hides you can make them out of food boxes (like cracker boxes, cereal boxes) or other cardboard. Then you can toss them as they get soiled, and purchase more permanent or longer-term stuff as you go. You can also acquire sticks from mouse-safe trees, and bake them low and slow to sterilize them, and then make your own equipment!

As for bucks vs does, the answer is.... it depends. I think the bucks (at least mine) seem more personable toward humans, but the biggest downside for them is that you can't keep a running rotation of them. You may be able to buy a group of littermates that were raised together and will get along through their lives, but it's extremely unlikely that you could ever add more bucks to the mischief without them getting hurt. With does, you can add younger does as your older does pass on, so that you never have a solo mouse (they are very social creatures). Does are also less likely to try to urine mark in general, so their caging may be less stinky (but that's not a guarantee).

You're also going to find a HUGE difference in mouse temperament between store bought and breeder-bred, and fancy mice and show type mice. Breeders SHOULD be selecting for temperament (it's actually part of the show standards, having a friendly temperament, so that breeders cannot ignore it in favor of looks alone), but you can always ask to interact with the animals before you buy, to make sure, or to have the breeder make you a video to show you how they handle. They should be able to be picked up not by the tail without flipping out, they shouldn't jump off of a flat palm, and they should not bite. I made a similar video to show someone that wanted to purchase some blues from me, to show how their temperament was. Any breeder unwilling to let you see the actual animals before purchase should be avoided (it doesn't have to be in person, health and safety of the animals means breeders may not let you come to their enclosures in person to avoid bringing in disease, but they should be willing to make videos of their actual animals).

[ktinastrikesback]

Alright, here it is: The meta post about Eddie Diaz and mother figures and how it all leads to Buddie (I think). Thanks to @yramesoruniverse for your help with this, and @kitkatpancakestack and @evanbucklies for inspiring it! I really have been thinking about this nonstop and had to get it all down. This got quite long, so I'll include a cut in order to spare everyone who doesn't want to continue reading!

We first get an idea of Eddie's complicated thoughts surrounding mother figures throughout his whole storyline with Shannon in season 2 when he romantically reconnects with her for Christopher's benefit. I do want to keep the focus here trained on Eddie in season 4, but I want to point out a season 2 line that is pretty fitting. As much as I don't want to use a Shannon quote as a starting point for a meta, I think this one is actually pretty useful: "...Eddie always knows what's best for everyone...God forbid you stop for a second and actually ask them what they need." While it's harsh and spoken out of spite, Shannon does make a point here which becomes relevant at the end of season 4.

We don't know a whole lot about season 4 Eddie (thanks writers) aside from the fact that he's working on being a single father (he tells Marjan in the crossover that he's "doing the whole single dad thing") and being a support system for Buck and the rest of the 118. Eddie's "arc" this season is moving on from Shannon and beginning to date again (a very small and limited arc, which hopefully season 5 will remedy). Of course, because it's Eddie, the core of this arc is him wanting what is best for Christopher. And it seems pretty clear that what Eddie thinks Chris needs is a complete family with a mother figure (note how he asks Bobby if he's "happy now, with Athena and the kids" and just assumes that Bobby is talking about Ana Flores), but the universe pushes against this idea throughout the whole season. There are a lot of examples in season 4 of unreliable mother figures (for example, the alcoholic mother who causes the wreck in Blindsided), but in order to save some space here, I'll list and discuss those in another post. The main thing I want to point out is that we've seen that mother figures aren't always perfect, and they aren't the end all be all that Eddie thinks. And canonically, the show suggests several times throughout the season that the partner that Eddie needs/wants and who is best for Chris is actually Buck.

In Breaking Point, while Eddie is on his date, it's Buck who is at home taking care of Christopher and getting him through his nighttime routine (which establishes that he knows the routine and has gotten Chris ready for bed before, hence the reference to his "cautionary tale"). On the date, when Ana says that no one has been in his life since Shannon passed away, Eddie noticeably looks uncomfortable (the will reveal makes this scene and that particular comment and Eddie's subsequent reaction so rich. Eddie knows that what Ana is saying is completely untrue, because the person he trusts most with his son is with him at that exact moment). Later, when Eddie tells Christopher about his new 'friend', he says "it's a woman." And...to be honest, what the hell was that? He could have said, "I'm dating someone" or "I have a girlfriend." But he says it like this? And it's weird...right? Christopher is the one who has to say "girlfriend." Also his tone of voice when he says it...it's suspicious to me. Anyways...Eddie talks with Ana about Christopher's reaction and her first instinct is to take a break and wait for Christopher to warm up to the idea so as to not cause him more pain. Meanwhile, Chris is out the door, in an Uber, and on his way to Buck, the person who actually gets Chris to talk about his feelings and who fixes the whole mess. So while Eddie is talking with Ana, Buck is playing a parental role AND promising Chris he isn't going anywhere, completely juxtaposing everything Ana has said and done in this episode (throwback to Fools, anyone?). Just like we see in 4x14, the perfect partner that Eddie is looking for is already putting in the work, no questions asked (and this is all before Buck knows about the will!). Yet Eddie is still trying to force it with Ana.

We see this again very briefly in Parenthood. Eddie and Buck are seen agreeing on parenting ideals on a call, similar to how we saw them work together in Future Tense to talk Chris out of playing video games. At the end of the episode however, when Chris asks to join the movie, Ana just jumps ahead and lets him in, not consulting with Eddie. Of course, this isn't a serious issue and Eddie is happy to have Chris join them, but it still carries on with juxtaposing Ana with Buck. It's also a bit interesting that Chris sits between them, parallel to the video game scene from season 3. But again, it's a very brief scene, so I don't know how much value it has overall.

We see all of this come to a head in 4x13 when Eddie becomes invested in the single mother and her son from the balcony call. Interestingly, this call happens after Eddie's conversation with Carla ("make sure you're following your heart"). On the call, Eddie flirts with the mom. This is interesting because we've seen many times in the past that Eddie...doesn't like flirting, especially on the job. Eddie openly flirting with the mom here may be his way of fighting against what his instincts are telling him Carla's comment was about (him liking Buck/a man). Eddie quickly becomes invested in Charlie (the son) and takes a liking to his mother because he relates to her. You can kind of see the gears working in Eddie's head when he's at their apartment...he's admiring her and perhaps maybe fantasizing about having a partner who gets it. And he sees a mother taking care of her son...reinforcing his love for the mother figure. But of course, we all learn by the end of the episode that this mother figure is extremely warped and not at all what her child needs.

The best part about this plot is the way it plays into the shooting scene at the end of the episode. Just before he gets shot, we see Eddie in an interesting framing choice (I am genuinely serious when I say that I want to sit down with Brenna Malloy and ask her about her directing choices for this whole scene):

The mother and son are placed into separate ambulances, and Eddie stands between the two vehicles. Visually, Eddie is literally placed between the mother figure and the son, and Buck is standing in front of him (at a slight distance). As (thank you to @kitkatpancakestack for pointing this out!) the ambulance with the mother drives away, Eddie says "shoulda gotten here sooner" to Buck (who replies, "That kid is just lucky he met you." He knows how to reassure Eddie and recognizes what is good for the child). Then of course, Eddie gets shot. But let's focus instead on why this framing before the shooting is important: the universe does scream, and it sure as hell was screaming at Eddie this whole episode. Carla calls him out for not following his heart, he idolizes this mother only for her to end up being horrid, then he gets shot with his partner standing right in front of him (you know, the same person who takes care of his son for the entirety of the next episode).

This can be read so plainly: Eddie has been fighting hard for what he thinks is best for his son, and he's stuck in this relationship with Ana because he thinks she is what will make Christopher happy. Meanwhile, Buck is in front of him and has been there the entire time putting in the work with Chris and making him feel heard, loved, and important. This ties right back to that Shannon line: if Eddie had simply asked Christopher what he needs/wants, it's very possible that his answer would be "Buck." Eddie doesn't need to be stuck in the middle of this relationship he doesn't care about because Chris' happiness is not dependent on having a mother figure.

Of course, we didn't see very much of Eddie in 4x14 so we don't really know what is going through his head regarding the shooting or Carla's comment just yet, but I'm hoping we see a lot of him working through all of the events that took place in 4x13/14 throughout next season. Because of the way the mother/son storyline ended up and the way they framed Eddie in the shooting scene, I'm willing to bet that he's going to be reevaluating just what Christopher needs and what he already has (with his Buck).

(Also side note--the welcome home party scene...when Buck is watching Eddie greet Christopher, notice the framing there too. The photo of Chris and Shannon is on the right side of the frame, Eddie and Chris in the middle, and Buck to the left. You already know what I'm going to say, so I'll leave it at that...)

Anyways. Edmundo Diaz is confused about what he and Christopher need, and it's actually a brilliant way to dive into a storyline about his sexuality and his feelings for Buck. Remember that post-finale interview with Tim where he said Eddie is always concerned with what's best for Christopher? That there will be a lot to explore with Eddie? I take everything Tim says with a grain of salt, but looking at all of this, there's quite a bit here pointing in the direction of pining Eddie. It's not wishful thinking, it's in the text.

I'm literally just applying basic film analysis to these scenes...and everything is adding up to a larger picture. I'm really excited to see what Eddie's arc in season 5 will be because there's so much set in place for it to be really great.

[ariadne-does-her-best]

Love in G Major

Dick Grayson x Reader One-Shot; Soulmate!Au

Word Count: 2,500+

Warnings: Kidnapping but nothing graphic happens

Author’s Note: Hey guys! This is my first time posting a fic so characters may be a little OOC. Please let me know if you guys liked this and if you want to, feel free to send a request! Also, I might make a series of Soulmate! Aus since I have a good idea for Jasons thought out. xo, Ariadne

Summary: In a world where everyone has a soulmate, you’re one of the lucky ones to receive a physical sign of your soulmate in the form of a timer counting down to when you’ll meet. But after being kidnapped by the Riddler, hours before you’re supposed to meet them, you can only pray that the Riddler of all people isn’t your soulmate.

Five hours.

You swayed to the rich sound of your cello, eyes closed, as you shifted your hand down into fourth position. You rested for a beat before going down bow, still doing vibrato even after the piece was done. The audience waited for a sign that you were done with the piece, be it that your hand stopped moving or you physically stood up and told them to clap. Instead, you opened your eyes and smiled as the diners took their cue to start clapping before inclining your head in thanks as you waited for the applause to die down.

It was a normal Saturday at the small but expensive Italian restaurant you performed at. You weren’t supposed to be there since you had requested to take today off but the owner had still put you down to play during half of the two-hour live performance time slot. At the end of the day, money was money and who were you to ever say no to the thousands you always received in tips. After all, you could only think about the new bow you could buy with the money. Which would lead to you sounding better, getting more gigs, and making more money. The process was like a cycle, really.

After the applause stopped and those who were up putting money in your jar had sat down in their seats, you sat back down and started playing Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1, Prelude. You could hear the pianist who was supposed to take over for the rest of the night setting up, his hands flipping through his many copies of sheet music.

Aside from the sounds of cutlery and the wisps of conversation, there was not much noise other than the smooth sound of your cello. But even if there were no noises, something still bothered you.

At first, it wasn’t that bad. You could feel someone staring at you, which was normal since you were performing on a stage with your whole being on display, but it was longer and more intense than normal. Letting your eyes wander around the crowded restaurant, your eyes locked onto a pair of green eyes. You smiled slightly at the young girl before wincing as the slight burning of your wrist got worse. You continued playing, closing your eyes as you tried to ignore the burning of your timer. Your soulmate timer.

You were one of the lucky individuals who had a visible connection to their soulmate. Instead of feeling a spark whenever you touch your soulmate, like your neighbors do, or being able to finally see color when you touch your soulmate, like your parents, you were one of the few lucky ones who could count down to the precise moment when you would meet your soulmate. And that was exactly what you did. When you were thirteen and your parents had explained your soulmate mark to you, the first thing you did was calculate when you would meet your soulmate according to your timer and write it down in your diary.

It was impossible for you to ignore the burning on your wrist, impossible for you to not grin as you played. But your grin was wiped off when you heard glass shatter and a scream.

Four hours.

You had no idea where you were but judging by the smell of the place and the fact that two men wearing green suits with question marks were staring at you, you were not at the restaurant.

‘At least I still have my cello,’ you thought as you pulled against the ropes that tied you against a pillar. The henchmen were talking between themselves as they approached the pillar where you were tied. They started untying you from the pillar and you took this opportunity to suddenly stand up and run.

You heard one of the henchmen curse but you ran in random zigzag lines towards where the door was. It was weird that the henchmen didn’t shoot at you or even attempt to stop you. But you ignored the niggling in the back of your mind. Wrenching the door open, you looked back at where your cello lay and turned back around to walk towards your freedom.

Except it wasn’t your freedom, it was the Riddler in his forest green suit and bowler combo. A rather tacky-looking combo in your opinion but hey, you weren’t going to be the one to break the news to a murderous criminal. He looked up at your sudden entrance and smiled.

“Here she is,” he said, yanking you into the room where the guests of the restaurant were tied onto the seats of an auditorium. You shivered as the cold air hit you and you looked around the room, taking in the TV production set up and the large stage that covered up more than half of the room there.

The Riddler dragged you up onto the stage, and you couldn’t help but wince as the harsh lights burned your eyes.

“What am I doing on stage,” you asked the Riddler as you covered your eyes with your hands. The Riddler’s smile became somehow larger, looking rather comical for a second before becoming more uncomfortable to look at. “Riddle me this,” the Riddler started as he pushed you down onto a chair, “what is it that cannot open any locks and yet has 24 keys?”

Your eyes furrowed in confusion as you rubbed at your wrist, the burning sensation somehow getting worse.

“I don’t know,” you mumbled as a minute passed.

“Well, if you don’t know, why don’t we give you a little motivation to figure out the right answer?”

And with that, the Riddler drew out a gun and pointed it at the closest person seated at the stage, the pianist. At this point, you could hear the sobs wracking through his body and you thought about his elderly parents who depended on him to pay for their surgeries. You don’t know how you could live with his blood on your hands.

“Wait, I have the answer,” you cried out, reaching out to grab the Riddler’s elbow but stopping. Something told you that that wouldn’t be a good idea and he might take that opportunity to shoot you.

“Well, do go on.”

“It’s music,” you said, staring at the deranged man’s face. He broke into peals of laughter, clapping his hands, as he tried to settle himself. It was unnerving how he could flip the switch easily from being a man ready to kill another to laughing as if you were the funniest person on Earth.

“That’s correct. And with that, let us start the games.”

Three hours.

After asking you his initial riddle, the Riddler had quickly set up a broadcast to be shown to all of Gotham, using the footage that one of his henchmen had taken of him questioning you as the intro.

“Batman, I have two riddles for you,” he said, addressing the camera. If you weren’t stuck on stage with two guns pointed at you as you tuned a somewhat cheap cello, you would have sighed. Why couldn’t he also include picture puzzles or something else for once? But you were stuck on stage so you just carefully tuned the instrument, hoping that none of the guards took your movement as you tuned as a sign of your sad attempt at running away.

“There are as many constellations in the sky as there are keys in a piano. What number am I? There you will find the answer to, ‘What is it that makes songs but you will never hear it sing?’ You have an hour to find them before I start playing my little game.”

As if that's your cue, one of the gunmen poked your back and you tensed, surprised by how cold the metal was through your sweater. You quickly quit your tuning and started playing the op. 88, hoping that maybe Batman or Robin would recognize it. It would probably be difficult for them to recognize since they probably weren’t as necessarily as interested in music as you were. And if they were, it’d probably be a little difficult to hear and piece together the piece since you were playing more stiffly than your usual languid movements.

You just hoped that they could understand the Riddler’s riddle and show up to save the night.

Two hours.

An hour has passed of you sitting in your seat playing your cello. Your butt was stiff from the hard chair, your back hurt from your stiff posture, and your wrist was burning pretty badly. At the thought of your wrist, your mind recoiled slightly. What if your soulmate was one of the Riddler’s henchmen? Or the Riddler himself? The thought of it made you want to puke.

“Well Gotham,” the Riddler said, standing in front of the mic as he paused to look dramatically at the camera. “Batman still hasn’t arrived yet so I will be starting my game. And today we have a very special guest that will be playing with me.”

At this, the goons started applauding and you heard a child in the audience cry even louder.

“Our special guest is the one and only (Y/N) (L/N) who has been playing such lovely music for us during our broadcast.”

You sat in your chair, music forgotten as another stage light shone on you.

“Now come on (Y/N), don’t be shy. I know that I’m somewhat of a local celebrity but I don’t bite.”

You shivered under the Riddler’s gaze and got up, trying your best not to stumble as you walked towards him. Your breathing was labored now and the closer you got to the Riddler, the more you felt like you were going to faint.

“(Y/N) here is going to play a simple game. She’s going to play a song that shows up in the cards,” he held up a large stack of index cards and fanned them out on the podium. The crying from the audience became even louder, with ‘Please, no’s mixed in. You turned to watch the small girl from the restaurant being dragged onto the stage, the bright lights highlighting the tears running down her face.

“And if (Y/N) here cannot play the song or if she plays even a single note or rhythm incorrectly, little Bella here will be dunked into this vat of water. For each mistake, she will be kept there for thirty seconds longer.”

You watched in horror as the girl was dragged towards what looked like a giant hole in the ground filled with water. She struggled against her restraints as she cried, her bleary eyes focused on something over your shoulder. You looked over in the corner of your eye and saw the familiar red and yellow of Robin.

As you turned around to shake the Riddler’s hand in acceptance of the rules, you curled your hand in a fist.

“Let the game begin,” he shouted, smiling at the camera before he went to choose a card.

“I’m sorry but we’re going to have to change the rules,” you said before pulling back your fist and punching him in the jaw.

One hour.

You were hiding in the corner of the stage, hidden by the curtains as you tried to untie Bella. The poor girl was trying to hold her sobs in but some still escaped, sounding misplaced in the sounds of Batman and Robin beating the Riddler & co. into oblivion.

You shushed her and tried to twist the rope and push it through the knot when a birdarang flew through the gap of the curtains and sliced your cheek along with the stray strands of hair nearby before hitting the wood paneling behind you. You ignored the blood that was slowly dripping down your face before grabbing the birdarang. You probably grabbed it wrong since it cut the palm of your hand, making you curse under your breath as you started sawing through the multiple knots in the ropes around Bella’s hands and feet.

Once she was free, the little girl tried to get up and run but you grabbed her, putting a finger up to your mouth and cupping a hand behind your ear, whispering “listen.”

You both sat there, listening to the sounds of Robin giggling as he punched someone. You furrowed your brow at that, wondering who exactly was the boy crazy enough to dress up as a traffic signal and fight crime with an equally weird man dressed as a bat.

You slowly started standing up once the sounds of Robin’s laughter had receded before holding a hand out to Bella. The young girl grabbed your hand and you both started edging your way off of the stage area where the fighting was taking place and towards her parents. Batman and Robin were tying people up when you finally found Bella’s father, the sound of the GCPD’s sirens in the background becoming louder and louder as they came closer.

As you and the other hostages made your way out, making sure to jump across the dock to the other side so you don’t fall into the disgusting water down below, you felt someone grab your wrist. You turned and smiled at Bella’s father.

“Why don’t you go and seek some medical assistance?”

“I will sir,” you replied before making your way to the paramedics, letting them fuss over your cuts. You could see Batman speaking to Commissioner Gordon but you couldn’t see Robin near them.

“I think you have something of mine,” Robin said with a grin as he held his hand towards you. You were surprised to see him in front of you but you smiled at him confused.

“I don’t know what you’re…,” you trailed off when you looked down to where he was pointing to see that you were still holding his birdarang.

“Oh. Well, I don’t know… maybe I should keep it. Something to remind me of this day,” you teased as you held up the birdarang so it was eye-level.

“Alright, you can keep it. Just don’t tell Batsie,” he said with a wink, causing you to giggle. “I’m sorry for cutting you.”

“It’s fine,” you said, wincing as the burning on your wrist became worse. Robin also gave out a hiss of pain at the same time as you, causing you to both stare at each other. You reached your hand out towards him slowly, letting your hands ghost over his cheekbones slightly when you felt the telltale cooling sensation of your wrist.

“Let’s go talk somewhere else,” he said, and you nodded, following behind him to an empty alleyway.

“Let me introduce myself again,” he started taking off his mask, “I’m Dick Grayson.”

You were met with the most beautiful pair of lilac-blue eyes, causing you to catch your breath in the back of your throat.

“And I’m (Y/N).”

“Why don’t we get out of here and get to know each other better, princess?”

“I would like that, love bird.”

[maldiaaym]

Why do I think Lily Evans (Potter) was not a good friend?

Until recently, the general opinion of the fandom was that Lily Potter was a good girl, deified and the representation of purity and goodness. But, doing a more exhaustive study of the character, we can get to see how Lily evans maybe was not so holy and made mistakes due to her education and, possibly, depending on the stage of her life where she found herself when she made those mistakes.

In relation to Severus Snape, I think she was not a good friend. Regardless of his age, which we all understand that we do not see friendship in childhood, adolescence or adulthood, she also had defects that compared to other characters in the saga, they were not a role model.

Starting from the little we know about her through the worst memory and Snape's memories, we are going to take some situations into account to assess her defects:

She blamed Snape for the letter Petunia sent to Dumbledore.

She got mad at Snape for dropping a branch on Petunia, even though he did so unconsciously and Petunia was rude to him.

The discussion with Snape about what happened with Remus (werewolf accident), his distrust of who was her friend and believing others before, not caring about Snape.

The lake scene, where she never addressed Snape once, as if he didn't know him and was just another boy to help.

The same lake scene, where she taunted Snape after he called her "Mudblood".

Now, let's talk about the problems at different levels (social, emotional, mental, physical and cultural):

Social: Snape comes from a lower social class than Lily and, although at first the girl Lily did not see the difference, I suppose that as time passed she realized that it did not look good for Snape to wear second hand clothes (surely ), he had serious problems in the family sphere, Snape's own unsociable nature that did not allow him to have a larger group of friends. In childhood we do not usually take into account the social variable when making friends with other children (pre-Hogwarts), but as she became related to the peer group at Hogwarts, she surely could not help feeling somewhat ashamed of the friendship with Snape . Let me explain, in Snape's adulthood it seems that no one knew about Lily and Snape's friendship, so it would be a secret friendship (and we all know that shame towards the other is what leads to secret friendships and relationships).

Emotional: Lily quickly connected with Snape because there was something she needed from him, and it was the knowledge and the desire to be accepted in a place like Hogwarts. Hogwarts was a new world that she did not know and Snape could offer her the security of knowing that world ... But, when she knew what she had to know, Snape had nothing more to offer her, but a clandestine and unrewarding friendship for her. It is not a mistake to think this, but it does show that she deliberately used Snape and that their friendship deteriorated over time. I think she might have felt friendship for Snape in a pure way, but when she began to be friends with the marauders, her emotional level turned towards these guys and she began to move away from Snape. I think the dark arts were an excuse to end the friendship, wanting to get away from him in an interested way ... it's easy to think that, when you really feel empathy for someone, you try to make the effort to understand that person, to know why him he likes the dark arts. However, she Lily was not able to understand him, understand his fears, his insecurities and the need to flee from the hell where he was stuck.Referring to the lake scene, I think Lily had a complete dissociation from Snape by now, she didn't defend being his friend, she didn't speak to him directly even once, and when he made a mistake due to the situation, she scoffed of him and "flirted" with James.

Mental: I think Lily never understood the true meaning of friendship, not at least as she later taught us Harry by understanding Ron and Hermione and accepting his flaws, even when this child was only 11 years old. I think that Lily, as soon as she could, got rid of Snape because she no longer wanted to have an uncomfortable friend, a friend who surely helped her for years in her studies at Hogwarts (I mean surely potions). Snape was like a teacher for Lily in her access to the magical world, he helped her in the study and knowledge of the magical world and I think that Lily stopped seeing usefulness when she already found in Gryffindor and the marauders the way to go her way . I mean, I think she coldly weighed whether or not she was interested in staying friends with Snape and she conveniently cut off the friendship when she got the chance. Lily showed herself to be a cold person who did not understand what Snape was in her whole and who did not appreciate all that he had done for her.I know that calling her "Mudbloods" was not right, but instead of trying to understand the shame and harassment that Snape felt at that time, she broke off the friendship and remained friends with the stalker, the one who emotionally blackmailed her and who continued to be a bully. No one can convince me otherwise.

Physical: here we will talk about the implications of a person who is not really physically attractive. There are studies that determine that people who do not fit the standards of beauty tend to have fewer opportunities in social relationships, love relationships or even find a job. With all this I mean that, when we are children, we do not care about anyone's physical appearance, but when we reach adolescence, our group of equals teach us the canons of beauty, which is considered handsome or what not. In this case, I think Lily was superficial. That is to say, Snape was not physically attractive, surely he did not look comfortable being with him because she was a popular, pretty girl, and he was attracted to a boy who was much more attractive than Snape (even though James was, in my opinion, uglier emotionally and disrespectful to others, adding being a bully). Lily preferred to go for the handsome boy rather than choose a loyal friend who was unattractive.

Cultural: At this level many factors enter, but here I will choose to talk about the differences of ideologies and different culture between Slytherin and Gryffindor. As we know, both houses were enemies, they were the contrast between good and evil in the Harry Potter saga. Slytherin represented everything bad and Gryffindor everything good. Here we also talk about the peer group (that is, a group of people that we consider our equals and from whom we learn cultural, social, emotional and behavioral factors), where Lily in the end ended up choosing to choose Gryffindor and be immersed in ideas prefabs that already existed about Slytherin even though, surely, many ideas were not true. Some of these ideas were hatred towards the "dirty bloods", defending the purity of blood, ambition as a negative element and cunning as if it were something bad that always leads to cheating.Where I see these preconceptions most clearly is in the scene where Lily argues with Snape for defending Mulciber, etc ... in this scene it seems that Lily puts the marauders before (she is supposed to talk about them) because they are from her house and believes that what Mulciber does is worse because he is in Slytherin. Being in Gryffindor, she is believed to have the moral superiority and the right to claim Snape to choose a position, when obviously Snape, like Lily, will choose their peer group. The point here is that Lily prefers to believe the marauders and put Snape in the guilty position, without even asking if his friend is okay or asking him what he saw ... Lily is not interested in knowing what happened because surely he was content with James's version and would always doubt any version Snape could give it.

Up to here, I did my study. It is a bit lazy, I wrote it on the fly and remembering some of the knowledge I acquired when I was studying Pedagogy. But, in essence, I hope you have understood. In the end, Lily opted for what she considered to be okay based on ideas and beliefs that she ended up having with her peer group. She put her friendship with the marauders first and decided to coldly and selfishly eliminate her friendship with Snape. In the end, we have all had friends from whom we have moved away because they no longer shared things with us (although I can presume that I never alienated anyone for thinking differently or liking things that I did not like), but also friends that we have from all our lives, with those of us who do not like things about them, but accept them and try to understand them, where the company of that person is valued more and we do not care what they tell us. It is true that the "peer group" exerts a lot of influence on us, despising those who consider strange people or have unusual habits for the majority of the population. But Snape and Lily met in childhood, this factor should not have been decisive for their estrangement and, I am afraid, that in the almost of Lily, he ended up accepting the conditions of his peer group to the detriment of maintaining a friendship that so much contributed. I don't hate Lily, I have no problem with her, for me she really is a flat character, too overrated and that only has a few three lines in the entire Harry Potter saga. It is impossible to empathize with her as we would with other characters and she hardly has any development of her. The most remarkable thing about her is that she gave her life for her son, otherwise she showed us a girl who had a strange friendship with Snape and who married the popular boy of her time.