#robotics kits for schools

[handlinepic]

1988 collaborative artbook Kow Yokoyama and Makoto Kobayashi

[cosmosjourney1]

🧪 Science Toys 2025: Fun Experiments Every Age Group Loves

🔬 Why Science Toys Are Everywhere in 2025 In 2025, science toys are not just for science fairs. From toddlers to seniors, everyone is enjoying hands-on experiments that mix fun with learning. Parents prefer toys that teach real-world concepts. Schools, hobby clubs, and even retirement homes are using science kits for engagement and education. Benefits of science toys: Build curiosity and…

[respirelearning]

Benefits of Experiential Learning for Teaching STEM to Children

Introduction

Teaching STEM to children is essential for fostering a love for learning and curiosity about the world. Experiential STEM learning, a method where students learn through hands-on experiences, is increasingly being integrated into STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education. This approach makes learning more engaging and equips students with the skills they need for the future. At Respire Learning, we aim to transform children's education through experiential learning. Our STEM Kits provide hands-on activities that introduce children to science, technology, engineering, and math concepts engagingly and interactively. With Robotics Kits, students can dive into programming and automation, learning to build and control their robots. Our DIY Models foster creativity and problem-solving by allowing students to assemble projects independently. These Experiential Learning Kits are designed to ignite curiosity, promote critical thinking, and inspire the next generation of innovators.

What is Experiential Learning?

Experiential learning involves learning through direct experience and reflection. Unlike traditional methods that rely heavily on lectures and rote memorization, experiential learning emphasizes active participation and practical application. This method allows students to explore, experiment, and learn from their successes and mistakes.

Respire’s agenda to focus on STEM Education

STEM education focuses on teaching students in an integrated manner, combining science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It's designed to prepare students for the complexities of the modern world. Experiential learning fits seamlessly into STEM education, as both prioritize critical thinking, problem-solving, and real-world application.

Advantages of Experiential Learning

Enhances Understanding and Retention Experiential learning helps students understand and remember concepts better by involving them in activities that require active engagement. Students participating in experiments or projects are more likely to retain the information.

Encourages Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Hands-on activities require students to think critically and solve problems. This approach fosters a deeper understanding of scientific principles and enhances students' ability to apply knowledge in various situations. Promotes Engagement and Motivation Experiential learning makes STEM fun and interesting. Students are more motivated to learn when they can see the relevance of their studies and actively participate in the learning process. Develops Practical Skills Through experiential learning, students develop practical skills essential in the real world. These skills include teamwork, communication, and technical abilities crucial for future success. Respire’s Experiential Learning Kits Experiential learning kits are tools designed to provide hands-on learning experiences. These kits include materials and instructions for conducting experiments and activities. They are tailored to different age groups and educational levels, making STEM accessible and enjoyable for all students. Examples of Popular Kits for Teaching STEM

STEM Kits: These kits cover various subjects like electronics, engineering, chemistry, and physics, providing comprehensive learning experiences.

DIY Kits: These kits allow students to conduct experiments at home, fostering a love for learning outside the classroom.

Robotics Kits: These robotics kits teach students about advanced-level engineering and technology through building and programming robots.

Implementing STEM Labs in the Classroom

Teachers can integrate experiential learning into their classrooms using kits and hands-on activities. Here are some strategies:

Strategies for Teachers

Incorporate Experiments: Regularly include experiments and practical activities in lesson plans.

Use Learning Kits: Utilize available experiential learning kits to make science lessons more interactive.

Encourage Group Work: Promote teamwork by having students work in groups on projects and experiments.

Integrating Kits and Hands-On Activities

Integrating kits into the curriculum can be seamless. Teachers can start with simple kits and gradually introduce more complex ones as students become more comfortable with hands-on learning.

Traditional Learning & Learning in STEM Lab

Common Obstacles in Experiential Learning

Limited Resources: Schools may need more resources for experiential learning.

Time Constraints: Hands-on activities can be time-consuming.

Teacher Training: Not all teachers are trained in experiential learning methods.

Benefits of STEM Lab

Experiential STEM Kits: students have a variety of kits in STEM with which they can do hands-on experiments with the teacher's guidance.

Look and Feel of the lab: Our Innovation lab is a specially curated space for children with a Montessori color combination that can promote learning in the gated space.  

Children's safe Equipment and kits: All the kits representing various subjects and their theories are perfectly safe for students to use from pre-primary to higher secondary education. 

Teacher Training: Teachers are specially trained to use high-functioning equipment easily, they also teach the importance of storytelling which can help students to make boring theories interesting.

Experiential Learning Beyond the Classroom

Learning continues beyond the classroom door. Parents and guardians can support experiential learning at home by providing resources and engaging in educational activities with their children.

Importance of Learning at Home and in the Community

Home Activities: Simple experiments and DIY kits can make learning STEM fun at home.

Community Resources: Local museums, science centers, and libraries often offer hands-on learning opportunities.

Future of Experiential Learning in STEM

The future of experiential learning in STEM education looks promising. With technological advancements and an increasing focus on hands-on learning, we can expect more innovative and effective methods to emerge.

Trends and Innovations

Virtual Reality (VR): VR can provide immersive learning experiences.

Online Platforms: Online resources and platforms can offer interactive science activities.

Predictions for the Future

As experiential learning continues to evolve and Indian government is implementing experiential learning by putting STEM education in the National Education Policy 2020 and evolving as time passes by. it will likely become a staple in education, preparing students for future challenges and making them tech-savvy.

Conclusion

Experiential learning offers numerous benefits for teaching STEM to children. Engaging students in hands-on activities can enhance their understanding, foster critical thinking, and develop practical skills. As we look to the future, it's clear that experiential learning will play a crucial role in STEM education in the Indian Education System.

FAQs

What is the main benefit of experiential learning in STEM education?

The main advantage is that it enhances understanding and retention by involving students in hands-on activities.

How can parents support experiential learning at home?

Parents can support experiential learning by providing DIY STEM kits and engaging in simple experiments with their children.

Are there any specific experiential learning kits for different age groups?

Yes, kits are designed for various age groups, from preschoolers to high school students, ensuring age-appropriate learning experiences.

What are some challenges teachers might face with experiential learning?

Teachers face challenges such as limited resources, time constraints, and the need for specialized training.

How does experiential learning prepare children for future careers?

Experiential learning develops practical skills, critical thinking, and problem-solving abilities, essential for future jobs.

[miunachan]

Ultimate List of Business Ideas ♥ [UPDATED]

Hi ❀ʕ·ᴥ·ʔ

Today, after hours of brainstorming and collecting impressions, I proudly present to you the ultimate list of business ideas for the newly released Businesses & Hobbies pack ✧. ✲ﾟ･｡✧･ﾟ

I've categorized the business ideas to provide a more structured overview, because there are so many  (๑❛ʚ❛๑). They are sorted into the following categories: 📌 Service-based small businesses 🍽️ Restaurants & entertainment venues 🛍️ Retail & creative shops 🛠️ Craft & manufacturing businesses 🎭 Fantasy & unconventional businesses.

Also for some of these ideas, I recommend using CC or mods to deepen the immersion, but that's completely up to you — sometimes using your own imagination does the trick too~ The recommended or sometimes necessary packs are included behind the business idea as well as CC/mod recommendation markers ❀✿❀

If you feel like something's missing, please comment your idea(s) and I will happily add them to the list so that the compendium can continue to grow (◕ω◕✿)

My other story ideas ✧. ✲ﾟ･｡✧･ﾟ ✿ Soft & Cozy Story Ideas ✿ Very Dramatic Story Ideas

Please take a look at my Patreon for more cute Sims 4 stuff~ You can find the original post here.

As always, happy simming! - MiunaChan ♥

📌 Service-Based Small Businesses

💉 Tattoo Studio (Hobbies & Businesses) 💆 Wellness Studio/Spa (Spa Day) 💅 Nail Salon (Spa Day) 💇 Hair Salon/Barbershop (CC/mods recommended) 💆‍♂️ Massage Center (Spa Day) 🧖 Sauna / Onsen Retreat (Spa Day, Snowy Escape) 🏋️ Gym & Personal Training (Fitness Stuff, Spa Day) 🧘 Yoga Studio (Spa Day) 🏔️ Rock Climbing Tours (Snowy Escape) ⛸️ Ice Skating Rink (Seasons) 🎢 Roller Skating Rink (Seasons) 🏊 Pool (Seasons) 📖 Library

👶 Daycare for Infants & Toddlers (Seasons, Parenthood) 🤓 Preschool (Parenthood, High School Years) 🐱 Pet Daycare (Cats & Dogs) 🐕 Pet Training & Agility Classes (Cats & Dogs)

🏨 Hotel/Motel (Get to Work) 🧺 Laundrette (Laundry Day Stuff) 🎉 Event Planning Agency (My Wedding Stories) 🏥 Cosmetic Surgery Clinic (CC/mods recommended) 🗣️ Public Relations Agency

🏕️ Campground & Outdoor Retreat (Outdoor Retreat) 🏞️ Private Garden Maze & Fishing Lake (Cottage Living) 🏫 Lecture Hall & Public Speaking Center 🤖 Robotics Workshop (Discover University) 🎭 Improv Theater & Acting School (Get Famous, Get to Work) 📖 Creative Writing & Journalism Workshops 👗 Etiquette & Manners School (My Wedding Stories) 💻 Coding Bootcamp & IT Training 🎮 E-Sports & Gaming Coaching

🍽️ Restaurants & Entertainment Venues

💻 Internet Café 🐾 Pet Café (Cats & Dogs) 🎲 Tabletop & Board Game Café 🧋 Bubble Tea Shop (High School Years)

🍔 Fast-Food Restaurant (Dine Out) 🥐 Bistro (Cozy Bistro Kit, Dine Out) ☕ Traditional Tea House (Snowy Escape) 🥦 Vegan Specialty Store (Cottage Living) 🥘 Food Market & Culinary Stalls (Cottage Living, City Living)

🎤 Bar/Lounge/Nightclub/Karaoke Club (City Living, Get Together) 🎸 Live Music & Jazz Club 😂 Comedy Club 🎥 Cinema (Movie Hangout Stuff) 🎳 Bowling Alley (Bowling Night Stuff)

🍦 Ice Cream Parlor (Seasons) 🎂 Bakery/Pastry Shop (Dine Out) 🚚 Food Truck (Snowy Escape, Cottage Living) 🧑‍🍳 Cooking Classes & Culinary School (Dine Out, Cottage Living)

🍇 Vineyard & Wine Tasting (Cottage Living) 🍸 Barista & Mixology Courses 🏰 Medieval Tavern (Get Together, Seasons) 🎭 Movie Studio Tour (Get Famous) 🏦 Museum & Science Exhibition (Discover University)

🛍️ Retail & Creative Shops

🌸 Flower Shop (Seasons) 💐 Flower Arranging School (Seasons) 🕯️ Candle Shop (Eco Lifestyle) 🏺 Pottery Studio (Hobbies & Businesses)

🖼️ Art Gallery (Get to Work) 🎨 Artist’s Studio & Creative Workshops (City Living) 📚 Bookstore (Get to Work) 📖 Comic Book & Nerd Store (City Living, Journey to Batuu) 🖌️ Art Studio & Painting Classes (City Living, Get to Work)

🧸 Toy Store 🛎️ Souvenir Shop (Island Living, Snowy Escape, Journey to Batuu) 🔮 Crystal & Occult Store (Realm of Magic, Crystal Creations Kit) 💎 Crystal Workshop (Crystal Creations Kit) 🏺 Antique Shop (Eco Lifestyle) 🔥 Fireworks Shop (Seasons) 🎵 Record & Music Instrument Store (City Living) 🎸 Music School (City Living)

📷 Photography Studio & Workshops (Get to Work, City Living) 🧥 Thrift Store (High School Years, Eco Lifestyle) 👘 Costume & Formal Wear Rental (CC/mods recommended)

🛠️ Craft & Manufacturing Businesses

🪑 Furniture Workshop (Eco Lifestyle) 💍 Jewelry Design Studio (Crystal Creations Kit) 👗 Bridal Boutique (My Wedding Stories) 💡 Lamp & Lighting Workshop 🎸 Musical Instrument Crafting (City Living) 👠 Shoe Workshop (CC/mods recommended) 👜 Handbag & Leather Goods Studio (CC/mods recommended) 👕 Tailoring & Fashion Design (CC/mods recommended)

🏡 Tiny House Design & Sales (Tiny Houses, Eco Lifestyle) 🌱 Gardening & Herbalism Workshops (Cottage Living, Realm of Magic) 🔧 DIY & Handicraft Workshops (Eco Lifestyle)

🎭 Fantasy & Unconventional Businesses (CC/Mods Recommended)

🕵️ Private Detective Agency (Get to Work) 💘 Dating Agency 🧹 Cleaning Service 🧠 Psychological Counseling & Therapy 🏚️ Second-Hand Furniture Store (Eco Lifestyle)

🎨 Black Market for Stolen Art (Get to Work, Jungle Adventure) 🧑‍🔬 Secret Alchemy Lab (Realm of Magic) 🎲 Backyard Poker Club 🎰 Gambling Den or Casino (Get to Work) 💻 Cybercriminal Hacker Hideout (Get to Work) 🏚️ Brothel 💋 Woohoo Playrooms 🔮 Medium/Psychic Business (Realm of Magic) 🧪 Potion Bar (Realm of Magic) 🕍 Cemetery & Tombstone Sales (Live and Death, Realm of Magic) 🦇 Secret Occult Society (Vampires, Werewolves, Realm of Magic) 🏕️ Nudist Colony 🕹️ Arcade & Retro Gaming Lounge (High School Years, City Living) 💭 Bubble Blower Lounge (City Living) ⛪ Church

[er-osion]

Stumble In(to my life)

pairing: Jason Todd x gn!Reader

summary: You tend to Red Hood after he’s mildly injured on patrol, he then sticks around a little.

word count: 2.6k

warnings: none, fluff

author’s note: you can find part 2 here

∾∾∘⋅∗⋄⋆⋄∗⋅∘∾∾

You looked up from your books to the soft thump outside your window. A normal person wouldn’t have heard the noise at all, but your ears had become accustomed to listening for it. It was late, far later than you should be up, but tonight was a night filled with studying and anxiety, so sleep evaded you. You put a bookmark in your textbook and closed it, being careful of your notes, and got up from your couch. You just reached the window as a large armored figure clamored through. Backing up, you gave the beast of a man space to gracefully tumble through your window and into your apartment. The sound of sirens off in the distance became muffled once again when the man closed the window tightly behind him.

Red Hood never said much. A man of few words you supposed, at least when he was injured —which was the only time you saw him. You couldn’t recall when this little arrangement between the two of you began, maybe around a year ago. The Red Hood crashed and stumbled into your life one fateful night, and had been doing so ever since. But only when he needed a patch job, and he never took off his helmet. Even when you could tell he had a head injury that needed tending, he wouldn’t remove the red helmet. You knew he trusted you, clearly a lot more than he trusted others, but a part of you was still a little hurt. You'd known him for so long and still yet to see his real face or hear his real voice unmodulated. Oddly enough, you’d call Hood a friend. Even if you didn’t know his real name along with many other things about him, and even if he knew very little about you other than the basics, you’d consider him a good friend. And deep down you’re sure he thinks the same.

Hood slumps down on the couch, but you notice he’s careful to avoid being anywhere near your textbooks and notes. You silently appreciate the move, since last time he got blood on your papers and you had to come up with a believable story for your professor explaining why there were blood splatters on your homework.

“Rough night?” You ask jokingly as you get out the first aid kit. Hood gives a ‘Hmpf’ in response and rests his head against the back of the couch. You move your school stuff off the coffee table and set out the supplies from the first aid kit. You let your eyes roam his figure to try and find the injuries you’d be taking care of tonight. You slyly take in Hood’s toned muscles as you look for wounds, taking the action as a less obvious chance to check him out. However secretive he may be, you can’t deny the man looks good. Actually, “looks good” is an understatement, his abs could cut diamonds.

“How many bruises are you gonna have in the morning?” You ask as you help him take off his leather jacket which is crusted with dried blood here and there.

“Too many.” He’s short with his words but by now you can hear the underlying exhaustion in them. His voice sounds robotic from the mask, but it still brings you a wave of comfort to hear.

“Anything I can’t see?” This phrase has become your way of asking where his most concerning injuries are, and whether or not he’s comfortable with you dealing with them.

“No, tonight’s just the obvious stuff.”

“Not any less painful I presume.”

“And as usual, you’re right, angel.” Your lips quirk up in the ghost of a smile at the nickname. You’ve started cleaning the gashes on his arms and wrapping them with gauze and bandages. Hood relaxes a bit more into the couch, tensing only when you start cleaning wounds with the cold water and saline solution.

As you’re working your mind drifts into thinking about the nature of your relationship with this vigilante. Part of you is proud, honored even, that the elusive Red Hood trusts you enough to seek you out for medical care. But another part of you, the part you don’t really want to acknowledge, is angry he only ever visits when he needs fixing. He doesn’t tell you anything about himself, not even ice-breaker facts, and he doesn’t really ask about you. He doesn’t drop by anytime he’s not injured and he never tells you when he’s coming, he just shows up at your window injured without warning. Your heart stings when you think that you might be dead last on Red Hood’s priority list, especially considering he’s first on yours. Does he really only think of you as a patch job? Someone who will treat him without asking any questions? Does he even have any interest in your life at all? Does he ever think about you when he’s not around, like you think of him? By now, you’ve lost yourself in the spiral of your thoughts and are blankly working out of muscle memory. You don’t even notice, but Red Hood does.

Jason watches you work through the eyes of his helmet. He can see the distance in your eyes and can tell you’re thinking hard about something else. But even as your mind wanders, your hands do not. You work efficiently and effectively on cleaning and wrapping his wounds. You take care to check for broken bones and remove any debris you find in his skin. He appreciates you. He’s certain he appreciates you more than you’ll ever know. He didn’t realize how lucky he was when he stumbled through your window all those nights ago. He didn’t realize that night that he’d gain a safe haven. He’s never felt more secure than when he’s with you in your apartment. Jason’s never felt more comfortable than when in your presence. He thinks it’s a little odd. You don’t know what his face looks like, hell, you don’t even know his real name, but his trust in you is an ever flowing river. Jason trusts you more than he trusts himself sometimes. Jason blinks out of a trance he didn’t realize he was in and focuses back on you. The lamps in your apartment provide the only measly light for you to work with, but right now they aren’t crummy. No, the lamps have painted your figure in a warm glow that has Jason’s heart stuttering in an unusual way. The homey furniture melts into the dim background and you're the only thing in focus in Jason’s vision. It’s moments like these when Jason is hit with a flurry of emotions he doesn’t understand. You finish wrapping his last bandage and look up at him with the most gentle but curious eyes he’s ever seen and Red Hood suddenly feels like he’s about to choke. His chest swirls with feelings and he can’t even begin to grasp what they are or what they mean. He wants to say “thank you, thank you for always looking after me even when I don’t deserve it,” but the words get caught in his throat. There’s a tranquil silence that follows where you just look at each other, of course, you can’t tell exactly what Red Hood is looking at but you can feel his gaze on you. When a minute passes you get up slowly and start to put the first aid kit away. Jason watches you from behind the safety of his helmet and moves to help you package everything back up.

Hood’s gloved hand picks up a roll of gauze and brings it over to the kit, but you quickly —albeit gently— put your hand over his to stop him and take the gauze yourself. “You don’t have to do that. You’re injured, rest.” You say with quiet authority and go back to cleaning up the table. Hood doesn’t say anything but leans back into the couch and doesn’t continue to help, though deep down he wants to. He feels he owes you, he knows he owes you. He wants to do something, anything to pay back the kindness you’ve shown him but he can never think of the right thing to do.

“You’re welcome to sit here for a bit, regain some energy before you head to wherever it is you hide during the day. I’ve just got some notes to finish for class.” You provide as you sit down in the chair next to your sofa, repositioning all your textbooks and papers. Hood just nods in reply. “Oh, and you can turn on the tv if you’d like, I don’t mind.” There’s a pause before you see the vigilante move to grab the remote and turn on your tv. You smile a bit at your papers, finding a small happiness in the fact he’s able to settle into your home so well. You secretly wish he’d come and watch tv with you just for fun, not because he needs to recover from a stab wound.

Every once in a while, Jason’s eyes drift from the tv screen to where you’re seated taking notes for your class. Jason does his best to memorize this moment and neatly pack it away in a safe little box in his brain. He wants to remember this quiet moment of togetherness forever. He wants to say something, he wants your beautiful eyes back on him but he also doesn’t want to disrupt the pleasant quiet that swirls around your living room.

Red Hood clears his throat and shimmies into a straighter posture. “Thanks by the way.” You look up at the vigilante and tilt your head in confusion at his remark.

“For what?” You let out a small chuckle, the confusion is evident in your voice. Jason’s lips quirk up in a small smile under his helmet at your confusion at his thanks.

“For all this to start,” Hood motions to himself “and also just for letting me in here. For letting me into your home without fair warning. Your patience with my bullshit seems to know no bounds, you deserve an award merely for that. So… thanks.” Thank you for letting me into your life and making me feel cared for, Jason wants to add on, but that seems a little too open about his feelings for the moment. He hopes you’re able to pick up on the subtext of his words, he hopes you can put together the puzzle pieces of his words that form the colorful picture of his appreciation for you.

You smile lightly, “Of course, Hood. Believe it or not, I actually enjoy having your giant smartass around.” You took a deep breath and let loose a shot in the dark. “I just wish you’d stumble in here when you weren’t injured sometimes, just to hang around.” You awkwardly divert your eyes to the floor and take a major interest in the small stains in the wood. Hood is quiet and unmoving and you can’t tell if that’s good or bad, you can’t tell if you crossed an unspoken line. Jason’s mind is reeling, trying to catch up with the implications of your words. Do you mean you want him around more? Do you mean you want a deeper friendship with him? Do you mean you truly enjoy his presence so much you want more of it in your life? You risk a look back up at Red Hood and when Jason sees the genuine look in your eyes he hopes the modulator in his helmet doesn’t give away the deep breath he had to intake to try and calm his heart.

“Well, maybe I’ll have to drop by more often then, angel.” Hood tries to play off the deepness of the moment with suave teasing, he has to retain at least a little dignity in front of you.

You smirk at his clearly playful comeback, “Just make sure you show up with takeout or some groceries. I can’t be providing everything for you all of the time.” Hood huffs out a laugh.

“I think I can manage that.”

“Good.” You smile warmly at him and Jason mirrors you beneath his helmet. There’s a soft silence that follows where the two of you just look at each other. Then you go back to finishing your notes with the smile still plastered on your face. Jason is already planning out his schedule so he can drop in just for fun as soon as possible without seeming desperate to hang out.

“My cuts are pretty sore by the way and I’m quite fatigued so I might have to stay for a bit longer.”

“Hm, well if that’s what you need to do then I can’t deny you. I’m not going to kick Gotham's hero out of my apartment while he’s down.” You know he’s not really that sore or fatigued. You can tell by his body language or his tone of voice when he is. You know he’s just saying that to ask if it’s okay if he stays a bit longer than usual. Of course, you’d never say no. You’d offer him to stay the night but you don’t want him to get uncomfortable, though deep down, you’re desperate for his prolonged presence.

“Tch, that’s a relief. However, I’m afraid I might also need some moral support, as you can see, your poor hero of Gotham has had a rough night.”

You smirk and raise an eyebrow but don’t deny him. You get up from your seat and move to sit next to him on the couch. Your finished notes are left forgotten on your previous chair and you dial into the show Hood was watching on the tv. “Well then, I guess it’s a good thing my hero of Gotham and I have a similar taste in tv —it makes giving moral support easier.” You feel Hood’s quiet chuckle through the vibrations of the couch, a feeling you want again and again. Jason tries not to think too hard on your use of the word ‘my’ or how it’s echoing in his head like a tantalizing mantra.

“A good thing indeed.”

“I didn’t realize vigilantes had time to pick favorite tv shows.”

“How else do you think we pass the time waiting for a store to be robbed during patrol?”

“I figured you just brooded the entire time, seeing as you costumed weirdos can never get over anything in your entire lives.”

“How rude, us weirdos do get over things, like buildings or cars when chasing down our enemies.”

“Hardy har har, I bet you think you’re clever for that one.”

“Sweetheart, I don’t think, I know I’m clever for that one.”

“So arrogant.”

“Not arrogant, confident.”

“If that’s what you want to call it, sure.” The lighthearted banter between the two of you fills the room with the warmth of familiarity. Neither of you seemed to notice how close you’d gotten to each other on instinct. Your shoulders are just brushing his and you can feel his body heat seeping into your skin. You’re fighting the urge to press closer and unbeknownst to you, Jason is doing the same. Your body and heart is begging you to rest your head against Hood’s leather-clad shoulder but you push the thoughts down in fear of making things awkward or scaring him off. Jason’s mind is running rampant with internal pleas for you to rest against him, he wants nothing more right now than to feel the comfortable weight of you against his side. But Jason doesn’t act or speak any of these thoughts into reality, worried he’ll cross a line or make you uncomfortable. So the two of you sit there on your couch for who knows how long. Mingling on the side of cuddling but not quite reaching the threshold. Both of you sit contented with the closeness and security of spending what had been a rough evening together, but silently desperate for more. But more is for a different evening, another night when Red Hood stumbles through your window.

[hawkatana]

So, given everything that's happened in recent hours, I thought I might give people who don't know about Gundam some stuff to learn about. Hopefully I can give a balanced and not-racist take like some people.

What is Gundam?

Created by Yoshiyuki Tomino with help by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko and animated by the studio Sunrise (currently Bandai Namco Animation, though I refuse to call them that), the original Mobile Suit Gundam released in 1979 to initially-limited success, though would gain popularity through a combination of fujoshis shipping the characters, the sale of plastic model kits referred to as "Gunpla" and a recut of the series into three compilation movies throughout the early 80's. And as of 2024 is the 66th highest-grossing media franchise of all time, beating out Scooby Doo, Minecraft and the Simpsons.

Also, I'm pretty sure it's what sparked Japanese sci-fi's obsession with O'Neill Cylinders.

The original anime takes place in the year 0079 of the Universal Century, where the Principality of Zeon: a nation composed of orbital space colonies declares a war of independence against the Earth Federation. This "One Year War" has already claimed half the human population by series start and is waged through the use of "Mobile Suits": bipedal mecha powered by a fusion reactor capable of effectively fighting out in the reaches of space.

Main character Amuro Ray is the son of a Federation engineer who lives in an out-of-the-way space colony, though soon finds his home under attack by a Zeon infiltration. After finding the secret Mobile Suit project his father was working on: the RX-78-2 Gundam, he fights off the Zeon invaders, though finds himself and a bunch of other kids conscripted by the Federation to fight the forces of Zeon aboard the ship the White Base. Throughout his journey, Amuro and the Gundam fight many battles against Zeon, including against their mysterious masked ace pilot Char Aznable.

The series was responsible for the codification (but not creation, people get this wrong all the time) of the "Real Robot" subgenre of mecha, where the robots were relatively more realistic and used as weapons of war as opposed to the more fantastical "Super Robot" subgenre pioneered by Mazinger Z and Getter Robo.

A major theme of the show, and the franchise as a whole is "War is bad", as demonstrated through this meme:

Yes, this is the original version of this meme format.

Anyway, Tomino, a renowned pacifist who grew up in the shadow of Japan's involvement in WW2 tried to use his platform as an anime director to try and tell a story that would get people to realise war's futility and brutality.

So I hear you asking, "That's nice and all, but what about the space lesbians who beat Destiel on their home turf?" Well, let's get into that.

What is the Witch From Mercury?

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury, or "G-Witch" for short is one of the more recent entries in the Gundam Franchise and a (very) loose adaptation of William Shakespeare's The Tempest. Set in the year 122 Ad Stella, the solar system is under the de facto control of the Benerit Group: a megacorporation with borderline-medieval internal politics that maintains a system of capitalism that benefits Spacians at the expense of those who live on Earth.

Main heroine Suletta Mercury enrolls at Asticassia School of Technology owned by the Benrit Group at the behest of her mother: CEO Prospera Mercury of the Mercury-based Shin Sei Development Corporation, and wins a Mobile Suit duel against a bully in her own MS: the Gundam Aerial. This however means she has now won the hand in marriage of daughter of the Benerit Group CEO: Miorine Rembran, beginning a series of consequences that shape the very political landscape of the solar system.

G-Witch was a massive hit, both critically and commercially. The first episode: the Witch and the Bride attracting record numbers for the studio and the Gunpla kit for the Aerial is currently the best-selling Gunpla kit ever.

Contrary to popular belief, G-Witch is not the first piece of Gundam media to feature a female protagonist. That honour would go to the 2002 Japan-only manga École du Ciel, nor would it have the first queer main character, which goes to 1999's Turn-A Gundam (and if you were to ask any fan of the series, they'd so it goes back to the very beginning). But it became notable for its lesbian representation in anime (in spite of Sunrise's attempts to downplay it, to the anger of the director, writer, producer, artists, animators, cast, fans and even their own parent company Bandai Namco who forced them to back off).

One thing I need to clarify: You don't need to have watched the original series to enjoy G-Witch. They're not even in the same continuity.

So if you're interested in the series and you've only watched G-Witch, I'll give out three recommendations for you all to enjoy:

Mobile Suit Gundam 00

Gundam 00 takes place in the year 2307 (the only series to use our own calendar), where the world is divided between three global superpowers: The Union of Free & Solar Nations (The Americas, Australia, New Zealand and Japan), the Human Reform League (China, South, East, Southeast and Central Asia) and the Advanced European Union (all of Europe, including all of Russia west of the Urals) who each control a space elevator near the equator and wage proxy-wars in Africa and the Middle-East over Earth's dwindling resources. This eventually culminates in the emergence of Celestial Being: a terrorist group consisting of Setsuna F. Seiei, Lockon Stratos, Allelujah Haptism and Tierria Erde, all of whom use powerful "Gundam" Mobile Suits and try to forcefully impose global peace on the Earth.

00 is pretty slow-paced and is more about the world than the individual characters, but said characters are really well-written, especially the characters from the three power blocs who are the de facto protagonists as they try to stop what are in their eyes a bunch of crazed terrorists preaching a hypocritical and incoherent ideology of "peace through force".

And to address the elephant in the room, this series is VERY post-9/11. Constant talks about terrorism, proxy-conflicts in the global south (especially the Middle-East), religious extremism, dwindling resources and the wars fought over them. While the franchise has always been political and of-its-time, you can just tell 00 was made in the mid-2000's. Again, it's good. But just something to keep in mind.

Turn-A Gundam

Turn-A Gundam is one of the weirder elements of the franchise for a myriad of reasons. Not the least of which being its unique setting taking inspiration from the famous sci-fi novel War of the Worlds.

In the Year 2345 of the Correct Century, human civilisation is at a level of technology reminiscent of the late-19th/early 20th centuries, save for the Moonrace on... well, the moon. As part of their queen Diana Soreil's plan to reintegrate both Lunar and Terran societies, several scouts are sent to the planet to set up their return to the planet. One such scout: Loran Cehack integrates into Terran society as a driver for the wealthy Heim family, though at a coming of age ceremony for the family's second daughter, a member of the Moonrace attacks the technologically-inferior Terrans. However, a mysterious mustached statue breaks apart to reveal a "White Doll": the Turn-A Gundam, allowing Loran to fend off the invaders. rest of the series becomes more of a mystery to how the supposedly-peace loving Moonrace could allow of such brutality.

The setting of the Correct Century timeline alone is one of the draws of Turn-A, though its excellent characters and compelling mystery also help a lot.

I do however have two warnings for people interested in watching it. The first is that this series was never dubbed. While it did receive an official sub in 2015, there still isn't a dub for the series. So if that bothers you, there's your warning.

The other is that there's a pretty big twist in the latter part of the series that while I will not spoil it here, it's such a big deal that I can't not mention it. It doesn't make any sense, and it actively detracts from not just the series, but the whole franchise. You'll know it when you see it. It doesn't ruin my enjoyment, but a lot of people don't like Turn-A for that alone.

Mobile Fighter G Gundam

Favourite entry. Don't care. It's peak.

In the Year 60 of the Future Century, war has been abandoned by the nations of humanity in favour of the Gundam fight: a quad-annual fighting tournament between Gundams representative of the countries of the world where the winner rules space until the next Gundam fight, all while leaving the Earth ecologically devastated in the fighting. Neo-Japan's Gundam Fighter: Domon Kasshu arrives on Earth seeking information on his older brother Kyoji, who killed their mother and led to their father's arrest before stealing the experimental Devil Gundam to Earth, beating up every Gundam Fighter in his way. However, he eventually learns of far more dangerous revelations about the incident.

G Gundam is to put it bluntly: bat-shit insane. And I love it. It basically took a look at the then-stagnating franchise in the wake of the wet fart that was Victory Gundam and said "I know what can save this franchise, Bruce Lee movies!" And it somehow worked.

Word of advice: watch it dubbed. Mark Gatha absolutely kills it as Domon every time, and puts just the right amount of ham into every line.

So yeah, that's some stuff on Gundam. This was a long post to write out. I'm gonna take a break now.

[in1-nutshell]

Being Noah's twin and knowing the Autobot's before him

SFW, Platonic, Familial, Human reader

ROTB

Buddy is Noah’s younger twin.

It all happened a couple years ago while Buddy was still in high school.

Noah had been going on and on about the army engineering program and the places he would go.

Buddy was close to shoving their hot dog in his mouth.

They knew with him leaving, things at home weren’t going to be the same and with no Noah at home…

It didn’t seem right at all.

They don’t know why they did it, but that night they snuck out of the small apartment and walked out.

Maybe they needed to get their head straight and accept that Noah was leaving.

Buddy didn’t know how long they were walking for, but soon enough they reached the docks.

It wasn’t too far from home, but far enough to warrant them to turn back and go home.

That was until they heard a whirling sound that sounded suspiciously like whining.

They tried to go back but the whirling sound grew a bit louder and more pitiful.

Despite their better judgement, they went to the noise.

Buddy couldn’t believe their eyes…

Maybe they finally snapped from the stress of finals.

A yellow robot clutching his ‘knee’ was making the whirling sound while two other robots were around him.

They looked concerned and tried to help Yellow.

Buddy took a step backwards and stepped on some loud bubble wrap.

Pink and Blue take out their weapons and point in the direction of the sound,

“Show yourself!”--Blue

Buddy shakingly steps out of their hiding place with their hands raised above their head.

All four of them stared at each other.

“…Hi?...”--Buddy

Buddy internally screaming at that response.

“Great, a human. Prime’s not going to like this…”--Pink

“I heard someone in pain and came to see…”--Buddy

“Yeah we’re fine—”--Blue

Yellow whirls in pain as some sparks come out of his knee.

Buddy looks at Yellow sympathetically.

“I’ve got a tool kit with me. I can try and see what’s wrong with your friend. I promise I won’t do anything funny!”--Buddy

Pink looks like she wants to retaliate, but Blue puts a hand out to stop Pink.

“Maybe squishy over here can see something we can’t. It doesn’t hurt to try.”—Blue

Pink finally steps aside with Blue.

“…Fine.”—Pink

Buddy slowly walked over to the bot’s sparking knee and took out their mini tool kit.

They used a flashlight and began their look.

A long twig stuck between some of the joints, that must have been the problem.

With a swift yank Buddy got the twig out of the joint.

They nearly cracked their skull but pink and blue both break their fall.

Buddy held up the twig in victory as yellow moved its knee much easier and without sparks.

“Ha! Got it!”--Buddy

“You did?”--Pink

Yellow beeps happily and gently pat Buddy’s head.

“Thank you darling—the pain—hurting like a—”--Yellow

“Got it! You’re welcome… umm do you guys have names?”--Buddy

“My--name is—Bumblebee.”--Bumblebee

Buddy smiles at the yellow bot.

“The names Mirage squishy.”--Mirage

“I am Arcee.”--Arcee

Buddy smiles.

“I’m Buddy. If you don’t mind, but what are you guys?”--Buddy

“Umm… I think its better to take you to the boss bot for that.”--Mirage

“Boss?”--Buddy

“Don’t worry we ain’t gonna eat ya or anything. We’re kinda like E.T!”--Mirage

Buddy deadpans.

Bee transforms into his alt mode.

“… E.T. never did this…”--Buddy

Optimus was not exactly happy to have been discovered by humans… but this one did help Bumblebee…

He decided to give this one the benefit of the doubt.

Over the next couple of years Buddy would start sneaking out and showing the bots Earth and the city while they shared their mission and their ways as well.

Buddy and Arcee, after the brief tension, were often seen driving around the backways on her alt mode talking about the city and its history.

Buddy and Arcee driving by a section of the docks.

“What about this place?”--Arcee

“Don’t know too much about this part, except the time me and Kris found 10 bucks and a pizza rat.”--Buddy

“What’s a rat.”--Arcee

Buddy and Mirage enjoy the little speedy joyrides around the city and a good game of ‘which hologram is mirage’ in the more secluded hiding places.

Buddy looks at the four holograms of Mirage.

“Eenie meanie minie…gotcha!”--Buddy

Buddy tries to tackle ‘Mirages’ pede but passes through.

“Ha! Try again Buddy!”--Mirage

Mirage picks up Buddy from the back of their shirt and stands them up.

“Best out of 25?”—Mirage

Buddy smiles as they brush off some dust from their clothes.

“You’re on!”--Buddy

Buddy and Bumblebee like to go out to the drive-in movie theaters, joyrides and stories from their lives before they knew each other.

“So, you came to earth before everyone? Even Boss bot?”--Buddy

“Yes!”--Bumblebee

“And this Charlie girl? She’s your friend?”--Buddy

“She was—my first—friend.”--Bumblebee

“You gotta take me to this Charlie so I can thank her for taking care of you.”--Buddy

Bee whirls happily.

“Ooh! The movies about to start!”--Buddy

In starts the ‘Terminator’ movie.

Optimus reminded Buddy a lot of Noah.

Older brother’s trying to protect their families, while also being the most stubborn beings in existence.

That must have been a reason why Buddy understood how Prime worked and got along with him so well.

Priem isn’t attached to a human.

No, he is not…

So, what he drove a couple miles to pick them up from a party when their brother couldn’t.

So, what if they let him rant about the war and they would rant about school and their family.

He isn’t attached or anything…

Buddy hurriedly climbs into Prime cab sniffling.

“Buddy? Buddy what happened?”--Optimus

Buddy curls up in their seat making themselves as small as possible.

“…Buddy? Are you all right?”--Optimus

Buddy sniffs.

“Noah… Noah and I had a fight and—and—I just need a moment Optimus…”--Buddy

Optimus wraps the seatbelt around Buddy loosely, the best way he could give a hug them.

“Take your time Buddy, I’m here.”—Optimus

Optimus plays Buddy’s favorite radio station.

“I’m here…”--Optimus

The day that Noah comes in Buddy was with Optimus and nearly begged him to not transform as their secret would be let out.

It was let out regardless.

Noah is just stunned that Buddy knew about the aliens for years!?

He wants an explanation.

“HOW!?”--Noah

“Listen, I can explain!”--Buddy

“You better!”--Noah

“Calm down, Noah it’s all fine.”--Mirage

“You don’t get to talk, you kidnapped me!”--Noah

“And you were trying to steal me.”--Mirage

“I’m sorry you were trying to steal him?!”--Buddy

[illubean]

Valorant Protocol as Highschool Stereotypes

Characters: Chamber, Gekko, Iso, Jett, Killjoy, Neon, Phoenix, Raze, Sage, Skye, Viper, Yoru Type: Headcanons

HAHA help me valorant brainrot >.< also this is based off of my hs experience soooo yeah

Warnings: none

Chamber

your typical pretty boy

all the girls love him all the boys hate him

well...most of the girls love him

they follow him around to classes or offer him gifts or ask to sit with him at lunch etc.

and he eats up the attention every time

he's lab partners with Viper in Environmental Sciences and he likes trying to flirt with her

she actually hates him btw

Gekko

canonically he skateboards

but honestly? I can see him being on the dance team

he's so high energy, he needs some sort of outlet

he never misses an opportunity to show off his dance moves

homecoming? prom? he is the center of the dance circle

like Raze, he doesn't know how popular he is

he's just happy to have so many good friends that it doesn't even actually occur to him that he's considered "popular"

Iso

he's an ap art kid

like he walks around with a big ass sketchbook every day

always talking about his portfolio

Iso baby ily but please shut the fuck up about oil paints <3

he probably volunteered part of his summer break to come in and paint a mural for the school

I think he'd also take a piano class as like a schedule filler but he actually gets crazy good at it

Jett

pe tryhard

if you end up on the opposite team as her while playing dodge ball good luck 😓

she's always picked as team captain because literally no one else is excited as she is

she's sorta like Hairo from Saiki K 💀

she gets a lil mad when her teammates don't try

Killjoy

she's in robotics club

she's not very popular but that doesn't bother her at all

she heads straight to and from every class and spends her lunch period in the workshop unless Raze drags her off somewhere

not a lot of people actually know who she is, and if they do they just know her as 'Raze's Friend'

i think she'd remind the teacher about the homework and hit you with the "erm actually 🤓" tbh

Neon

she's on track and field/cross country

after every meet you can find her laying on the floor somewhere ready to puke bc she tries so hard to win 😭

she always ends up top 5 tho

she complains about practice but joins the team every year anyways

she carries her bag around all the time and if you open it there's like 10 water bottles in there

#hydratedqueen

Phoenix

theater kid DUHH

he's probably drama club president or sumn

bro will NOT let go of a specific song from a musical he was in his freshman year and it wasn't even his song 💀

he's been in every show every year and somehow he manages to land every role he wants

he's insanely good at the game 'bang' (mostly because he's louder than everyone else...)

he probably plans/hosts the cast parties too

Raze

she doesn't care much about her grades

she does the bare minimum and gets straight Cs

she's just here to have fun

everyone likes her because of her approachable personality

she doesn't think she's popular but she is

Sage

she's in the medical assistant class

she takes it very seriously, as she plans on going to medical school

even before taking the class she carries a first aid kit and other essentials everywhere she goes

you need a bandaid? ibuprofen? a pad or tampon? she has it all

she's also ASB president

school events literally would not be able to run without her

lets just say her college applications/resume will look REALLY good...

Skye

she also took medical assistant but was less crazy about it than Sage

she just follows her friend's lead

she thinks the skills are useful but she doesn't see herself making it her career

but also I think she would play volleyball

she's a well rounded player but specializes most in defense

still, don't underestimate her bc this girl can SPIKE

Viper

she took every ap science class offered without taking the general ones first

she complains about getting any grade below an A...

"What are you talking about? That test was easy"

sorry not everyone is as smart as you Sabine 😑

she spends all her free time at chem tutoring (even though she doesn't need it)

Yoru

he thinks he looks cool and mysterious when he walks down the halls but he doesn't

everyone just thinks his mad all the time and stay out of his way 😭

randos try to pick fights with him bc he "looked at them wrong" (Yoru wins every time)

he's not exactly a 'quiet kid' but he does lay low when it comes to the social part of school

despite his 'bad boy' look, he has pretty good grades

he's also probably one of those guys that a handful of girls have a crush on but he has no idea

[britcision]

So it’s weird to come back a couple years after you leave a place and see how it’s changed, right?

In my first year of college, a group of friends and I were the first iteration of our college’s Makers Club. The tech teachers helped us get set up, taught us to apply for funding, got us a room for meetings

And, y’know, for most of the year what we in the club had access to was the room, a projector, and the xbox one of the members brought in for our weekly Smash Bros tournament

(Before the xbox came in the Makers Club did vitally important and scientific activities like taping a member to a chair with painter’s tape to see how easily he could break out)

And as we did the budget request, we all made jokes about stupid things we could buy, because we needed to have an itinerary of everything we wanted to submit with the budget, and the teachers advised us to ask at least double what we actually wanted

(So, 10’ diamond coated charger cables, better tape, a 3D printer to print a trophy for the winner of the tournament each week, etc.)

It was basically a lunch club, almost entirely of people from our software development classes, where we all hung out and dicked around

I graduated a couple years later, and the year after that snuck back to the Maker’s Club because we’d finally gotten a 3D printer the year I graduated and I wanted to get a sneaky print cuz we charged for the filament and not much else

And gang

I saw this club when we had A Room

We didn’t even claim it full time for two years there were still other classes in it

I saw it when we had one printer, when the coolest thing we could buy was a programmable robot kit for one of those cute lil guys you can program to move his cube around and we all had to share one

The goddamn budget request must have gone through as we all fucking left, because the next year they had not just the room permanently set aside, but the closet next door set up with TWO 3D printers and a laser cutter

I booped in and out over the next year too, mostly for curiosity (and to use the printers cuz the people now running the club were members when I’d been a founder and so long as none of us admitted I wasn’t paying tuition anymore it was fair game)

The last time I saw it, they had FOUR 3D printers, two laser cutters, three more craft machines I didn’t recognize, a working fume hood, and one guy had used club resources to build a working robot hand and was teaching it to pick locks

It was. It was amazing. It was a proper, actual piece of school infrastructure, providing benefits to the whole student body

And I was there when we just played Smash and helped each other with our homework

[royal-chandler]

Got my writing mojo back after four years and just thought I'd share some WIPs to keep the spirit from sagging. *throws some kidfic into the void*

--

“Daddy, Daddy, Daddy,” Bianca grumps, stomping into Henry’s office with her high ponytail of curls swinging behind her. 

“Bianca, Bianca, Bianca,” Henry says back, his own arpeggio.

“I’m so bored.” And with that statement, she collapses onto the loveseat that sits against the wall adjacent to his desk, flinging her arms out with all the exasperation a six year old can muster. Which is plenty. She laments, “And it won’t stop raining! I can’t even go outside now.”

Henry turns fully to her, putting aside his manuscript and the neon orange highlighter he’d be using for edits. “I’m sorry, kit. Is there anything else you’d like to do?”

“I wanted to play with Arturo but Papi said I’m not allowed to wake him up from his nap because he’ll be fussy and then Papi would get in trouble with you. Summer’s just a drag,” Bianca says, out of school for all of two and a half days. She stretches her words out like taffy, in perfect imitation of Alex. Despite his daughter’s pressing predicament, it smuggles a smile onto Henry’s face. He hides most of it behind his hand, leaning on his elbow as he considers her.

“Well, a fussy Arturo wouldn't be much fun, yeah?”

“I guess.”

Bianca continues to pout and truthfully it’s hardly a crisis, this case of the Mondays, but she plucks at Henry’s heartstrings even so. Then and there, he decides that he’ll be devoting his mid-morning to her. 

“I’m sure that we can think of something.”

“Like what?”

“A board game?” A headshake. “We could watch that new robot movie.” Another headshake. “Or we could paint with the new brushes that your gigi got for you?” After some internal debate, Bianca ultimately shakes her head in the negative.

She’s set to start day camp in a couple of weeks but Henry sees no harm in borrowing from the activities that had been listed on the calendar sent to the parents. The first thing he remembers is, “A scavenger hunt?”

This suggestion lights up Bianca’s face, her dark eyes going wide as she pops up in her seat. “To find hidden stuff?”

“Sort of,” Henry answers because he’s hidden nothing but he’s sure can figure out a creative workaround. “I’ll make a list of things to check off—”

“Chores?” Bianca wrinkles her freckled nose. 

“No chores,” Henry tells her solemnly. “I promise.”

“Pinky promise?” She asks. 

He holds his finger out for her and she hugs it with her own. 

“Perfect! We should start now, Daddy.”

So, Henry jots down items for her to complete, switching between highlighter colors and different pens to ornate the sheet of paper while Bianca, distractedly browsing the library and knickknacks, recounts her dream from the night before in which she had been bowling with pineapples. For pins, bowling balls, or friends, Henry doesn’t find out for another five or so winding and twisting minutes.

--

“A silly face? What does that even mean?” Bianca asks, baffled, looking down at her tasks and then up at Henry. “Where are we going to find that?”

“Well, darling, you have to use your imagination.”

“Hmm, a silly face, a silly face,” Bianca says, tapping at her chin. She walks around her room where they’ve come to retrieve her turquoise polaroid camera to take pictures as they go and scans their surroundings with investigative eyes. A range of teddy bears, her penguin, her unicorn, and Doc McStuffins don’t make the cut. Instead, curiously, she pauses at her vanity, making a noise of triumph. “I’ve got it.”

Henry expects her to make a goofy face in the mirror but instead she pushes away some of her scrunchies and headbands, picking up a mini plastic square with various glittering pink hues from her makeup set, also a gift from Ellen.

“Daddy, no moving, please,” Bianca chides him, the two of them perched on the edge of her bed. At his side, her knees dig into his lap and her tongue peaks out as she uses a brush on his cheek and and then on half of his nose. A small dust cloud of purple powder emerges from her flourishes. “I’m almost done. These polka dots are going to look really, really cool with the silver eyeshadow.”

“I’m sure you’re doing a fabulous job,” Henry says. 

“Definitely,” Bianca nods. “You’ll see soon. You have the silliest face ever.”

“Well thank you, Bianca.”

“You’re welcome!”

Bianca reaches for her camera when she’s finished, instructing him to smile and Henry contorts his expression into something ridiculous just to hear her windchime laugh. She grabs the photo the second it prints out and says, “We have to wait a minute.”

The grey of the polaroid vanishes slowly and the photo fills with colour. In it, Henry sees himself presented as somewhat of an art project. Where there aren’t purple circles, are soft triangles in the rosy pink tint that Bianca had dipped an applicator into. Heavy metallic silver covers his eyelids all the way up to the line of his brow and a messy bolt of hot pink glitter bisects his face from crown to chin, paints his lips.

“Do you like it?” Bianca asks, watching him closely.

“It’s absolutely brilliant, love,” Henry praises, pressing a careful kiss to the top of her head. He still manages to get a swatch of colour on her skin that he has to lightly rub off.

“We should go show Papi,” Bianca suggests, beaming with excitement and a tooth missing from the front. “He’s gonna lose it.”

Henry heaves a great sigh but she’s so bloody adorable he has little choice but to oblige. 

--

Henry gently reminds Bianca to knock on the closed door of Alex’s office and wait for his okay before they enter.

From the inside, Alex calls out, “What’s the secret password?”

Bianca answers back, “Kookaburra!”

“When did the password change?” Henry asks, cracking open the door. 

“Yesterday,” Bianca informs him before barreling in. 

“Hey, Binks,” Alex greets happily, behind his desk and computer. With a shit-eating grin, he adjusts his glasses and sing-songs—because some things never change, “Henry.”

“It’d be useless to tell you to ignore my new look?”

“Oh, you know it, hubby. What’s going on here?”

“We’re on a scavenger hunt,” Bianca says, making her way over to Alex and slipping under her father’s arm when he raises it, nestling into his side.

Laughing, Alex lightly tugs on a wayward curl of Bianca’s hair. “And you had to find a man with psychedelic measles?”

“Uh-uh, I had to find a silly face. What’s psychedelic?” Bianca wonders, always inquisitive. “And what are measles?”

[thetomorrowshow]

Whumptober Day 15 - Childhood Trauma

title: should i then presume?

fandom: hermitcraft smp

~

Cub has always worked quietly. Even as a kid—he’d always been the sort to hide in his room and work for hours, tinkering away at a redstone kit or reading or building with Legos. He found that in that quiet, he could get all sorts of things done.

He’s never liked being loud. It was always his parents that were loud, growing up. When he was loud, he was in trouble.

So he stays quiet. He stays quiet and works on his projects, and he ducks away from praise and just works.

It’s . . . when Scar decides to be his friend, it’s weird.

Cub’s had friends. Here and there in school, people who invited him to sit with them at lunch, robotics club members who told him about their weekends. Not much in the way of friends at college. Then, after joining Hermitcraft, he began to think of the Hermits as friends. Technically, Scar had been his friend before he decided to, just by nature of being a Hermit.

Scar doesn’t leave him when the work for the day is over, though, like most friends. He wants to spend extra time with Cub, he has questions and stories, he invites him places and seems to enjoy hanging out.

Cub can’t figure out why. He doesn’t look a gift horse in the mouth, though.

Nobody has ever sought out his company. He thinks, at first, that Scar must be a loner like him, but when they hang out with other Hermits, Scar’s the life of the party. He gets along with every other Hermit, full of jokes and laughing, loud and attention-attracting.

It makes Cub nervous. He doesn’t say that to Scar, of course—he’d always been jealous of the people who felt comfortable enough to express themselves like that, and he would never want to make Scar feel less so. Just because being loud scares Cub doesn’t mean he needs to demand that everyone else conforms to that.

It still catches him off-guard, of course, but he can get used to it. Doc has sung far too many overly loud drinking songs for him to jump at someone shouting.

Which is good, because Scar shouts all the time. When he’s surprised, or scared, or excited, or trying to talk over someone, or all the moments in between. It takes some getting used to. So when Scar bursts into loud speech, one day, staring at Cub’s simple machine, Cub carefully doesn’t jump.

“Cub, how do you come up with these things?”

Cub’s shoulders shoot up to his ears. Usually when he’s asked that kind of question, it’s with exasperation. It isn’t even anything that unique or odd, all he’s built is a redstone counter, so there’s no reason for Scar to be upset.

“I could never!” Scar continues, and Cub forces himself to relax. It’s just Scar laying the charm on overly thick. “I can’t even think straight when it comes to redstone! But you make it look so easy!”

Oh.

“Well, yeah,” Cub says awkwardly. He isn’t sure how to respond.

Scar turns a smile toward him, excited and bright. “Really, it’s incredible! Cub, we make an excellent partnership.”

Cub shrugs off the compliment, turning away. “Yeah.”

But he doesn’t forget it.

He carries that little compliment with him; he remembers that Scar is generous with compliments. The next time he constructs something of redstone, he makes sure to show Scar, shoulders tense and body bracing for the derision that doesn’t come. Scar compliments him again, even more extravagantly, and Cub almost drowns in the intense feeling of being recognized.

It becomes a pattern. Accidentally. Cub doesn’t even notice that he’s doing it until pretty far along—he’s even started creating with a little bit of anxiety, hoping that this next machine will be up to Scar’s standards.

The praise feels good (because of course, Scar always praises him). But Cub does miss how it used to be—how he used to just make things for himself, and himself only. He misses knowing that there wouldn’t be any response. The feeling of empty satisfaction had sustained him for years, and it was so much easier to deal with than the overly-warm stress he experiences now.

When he was really little, he would try to show his parents his work all the time—only for them to pick it apart and point out all the ways it wasn’t perfect. He’d stopped, eventually. When it became too painful. He’d stopped, and he’d kept it to himself.

The only person to see and judge his work. If something wasn’t exactly the way he wanted it to be, that was fine. He could try again a different day, no harm done. There was no pressure to perform.

Now though, every time he shows Scar something, he can feel his own eyes scanning the project, seeing all its imperfections and the countless ways it could be better.

“Yeah, but it doesn’t work that well,” Cub says, deflecting whatever nice thing Scar had said.

“Eh, it isn’t pretty.”

“It could be better, though.”

“I should’ve upped the tick.”

“I should’ve added more hoppers.”

“I’m not a builder, it isn’t good.”

“It isn’t easy enough.”

“It isn’t good enough yet.”

Scar never says anything to these comments, and Cub grows certain that it’s because he silently agrees. He’s just too polite to say anything.

He still shows them to Scar. Every time. Waiting, just waiting for Scar to tell him exactly what he can fix. Begging for criticism without making a noise, wincing at the compliments and dreading the moment that Scar becomes harsh, pointing out every measure of Cub’s inadequacy.

Scar never says anything bad. In fact, he says nicer and nicer things, and Cub feels his heart close off more and more.

He needs to go back to his room. His tiny bedroom in his childhood home, where he could build with Legos on the threadbare carpet and ignore the yelling of his parents downstairs. The time when he could build whatever he wanted and know that it was just for him, and he could destroy it and build something else if he didn’t like it without any expectations.

He wishes Scar would just tell him the truth. If he would do that, then Cub could feel justified in never showing him a thing again. Never showing anyone anything.

It never happens, and then they don’t work together in Season Seven, and Cub goes back to being alone.

Like he wanted.

Right?

But. . . .

Now that he’s finally free of it, there’s a hole in his heart that used to be over-full with Scar’s compliments. It was so warm, too warm and he couldn’t stand it, but now that it isn’t there, he just feels cold.

He’s felt that way his whole life, but it’s different now, because he’s had the warmth and he wants it back, in some odd way. The coldness aches in his chest, the frost burning worse than the warmth ever had, which doesn’t make sense because he knows the cold. He always has.

It would be easier if he could make up his mind about what he wants.

It would be easier if Scar would just let him down.

That doesn’t happen, because Scar doesn’t visit his pyramid base. Nobody really does; Cub implies that he’s busy and that he’d rather not let anyone see what he’s working on, so nobody comes by to visit.

He tinkers away, day after day, creating game after game and design after design, his alone time where he makes imperfections and sets them next to the last one.

He isn’t lonely.

This is how it’s always been.

He just misses having Scar at his side, sometimes. They’d spent two seasons inseparable, so it’s weird to be here by himself with Scar out working on other not-Cub-related projects. Cub doesn’t mind. It makes things easier, because it means that Scar will never have to say anything bad about Cub’s flawed games and redstone mechanisms, about his boring pyramids, about anything, and he can destroy them like he always has.

Until Scar shows up one day.

He wants a tour, because of course he wants a tour, so Cub shows him around his base and then his arcade, dusty and untouched by anyone but the creator.

He alternates between pointing Scar toward his greatest works and his most-flawed. He can’t decide which he wants destroyed the most.

Scar, of course, has nothing bad to say. He spends the tour in awe, his monocle repeatedly falling out by how wide his eyes go. He looks all around himself and whistles and says “Cub, how have you not shown anyone all this? It’s incredible!”

He shows Scar the ugliest parts of his redstone and Scar doesn’t even comment on the mismatched materials. He shows the parts closest to his heart, more vulnerable than tearing out his own soul, and Scar gasps and tells Cub that it’s all wonderful and that he’s a top-notch builder and even takes notes. He takes notes on building, as if he, Scar, needs them, and that might be what pushes tears to Cub’s eyes.

“It’s not perfect,” Cub says almost desperately. “It’s not that good, even.”

Scar waves him off. “Nothing’s perfect, that’s just life! But it’s really impressive—can I try playing the games?”

Cub swallows around the lump in his throat. “Nobody’s played them before,” he warns, clicking on one of the arcade games. “Just me.”

Scar tilts his head, confusion painting his features. “Why? They look fun—is it okay if I play?”

The breath feels like it vanishes from his chest, but Cub nods. “Y-yeah. You can play. They’re just not very good. That’s . . . that’s why nobody’s played them.”

Scar sighs, and Cub cringes away, pretending to focus on the redstone of the game.

“Cub, you know I won’t care.”

“Yeah, but why?” Cub bursts out before he can stop himself. It’s too loud, he’s never raised his voice like that—immediately, he stands up straight, panic flooding his veins. “Sorry, forget it. Just—just, you can play it.”

Scar stares at him. Something flits across his face; what, Cub doesn’t know.

“Do you want a hug?” Scar says softly, uncertainly, and he half-raises his arms.

Scar hugs are an experience. Scar has the odd talent of creating the most comfortable-yet-uncomfortable hug, a combination of pure love and bony arms, cozy warmth and Scar’s chin digging into Cub’s shoulder.

Cub’s never minded, though, and he hasn’t had a hug from anyone in a while, so he acquiesces, leaning into the invitation, into the warmth.

Scar’s breath against Cub’s neck makes him shudder, but his hands are rubbing soothing circles on Cub’s back and—

And one of those tears slips free.

Scar makes a small noise of concern when Cub sniffs, trying to force the tears back into his eyes. “Oh, Cub. It’s okay. What happened?”

Cub doesn’t know how to explain that nothing happened. Nothing happened, but the stress of waiting for someone to notice everything wrong with him and pick it apart under a microscope has started to get to him.

“Just—just be honest,” he says, because it’s all he can stand. “Do you—my things suck.” “Hey, now—”

“Why won’t you tell me that they suck?”

Scar sounds confused. “Because . . . they don’t suck?”

That would have been everything that he wanted to hear in the past, back when Cub believed that Scar might have been telling the truth, but now he’s just tired and too high-strung to keep up the act.

“Be honest,” he chides.

“Do you want me to tell you that they’re bad?”

“Yes,” Cub says, not quite sure why he’s admitting it. “Just say it. I know you’re thinking it, just say it.”

The hum that Scar makes in his throat vibrates unpleasantly against Cub’s shoulder. “I’m not thinking it. Cub, I love the things you do!”

“But they aren’t—” Cub lets out a deep breath, squeezes Scar a little tighter. “I’m not Etho. My redstone is nothing compared to him, or Doc. I can’t build like you and Grian. I keep trying, but I—I can’t. It isn’t good enough.” “It is good enough. You aren’t Etho, or Doc, or Grian. You’re Cub.” Scar punctuates his name with a tap on his back, then continues rubbing circles. “You’re Cub, and that’s why what you do is good. Because you made it. That’s all that matters.”

“No, it isn’t.”

Scar sighs again. “It should be,” he says determinedly. “I don’t know who told you otherwise, but I love what you do because you’re my friend, and you made it, and that makes me happy. Okay?”

It isn’t.

It isn’t okay.

But Cub’s too tired to get into that right now.

Instead, he nods, lets out a breath.

Scar doesn’t let go for a long time, and Cub doesn’t try to pull away.

[pianokantzart]

Hi!! I absolutely love your Mr. L comic!! Also, I love that piece of Mario Movie concept art that shows the bros' room (the one with Mario sitting on the bed playing video games) because each side of the room gives so much insight into their personalities/interests! Luigi's side has a microscope and also a bunch of model robots and racecars, which would suggest a science/engineering interest. Mario's side has a football helmet and a baseball, which implies that he was in multiple sports in high school. There's a Beastie Boys poster right in the middle of the room, which to me suggests that both of them like that band and probably jam out to it together. Headcanon central over here

Thank you!

Yes, I love their room design so much!! I wish I had a chance to get a better look at it in the movie, but thankfully we have concept art.

Unfortunately, The Beastie Boys poster got replaced with that VWA wrestling poster in the final product (probably for copyright reasons), but that makes me wonder if... 1. VWA is an actual real life wrestling competition in this universe 2. Wrestling is on the long long list of sports Mario's interested in (he did referee boxing in the game universe after all)

Given the look of his wall it seems like Mario dabbled in literally every sport he could growing up, though I headcanon that for financial reasons he only keeps up tennis and baseball to this day (which is still a lot for a guy with a full time job.)

On Luigi's headboard there's a box for a Star Fox model kit, which pretty much confirms that he was the one who made the Arwing hanging over the television, and given the camera he was 100% the one who took all the photos hanging on the cork board and on the wall. I like the implication he's more inclined to hobbies that are slow and quiet and require a lot of patience.

Also! On Mario's side of the room there's sports trophies while on Luigi's side of the room there's little ribbons on the wall, like what one would earn at a science fair or an art contest...

... Or a robotics competition, because I am perfectly normal about the idea of Luigi being a skilled mechanic who builds/fixes things and that one day becoming an established part of Movie Verse canon.

[bethanydelleman]

do you have any book recommendations beyond classic lit + Jane Austen? Love your blog by the way!

Thanks! I read/have read a ton of books. My favourite genre as a child was fantasy, but I read almost everything except true crime*, thrillers, murder mysteries, self-help, and biography. But I do sometimes read those, my favourite thriller is Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney. I'm going to start with children's books because honestly, I find so much imagination in that genre.

Children's/YA Books: Gail Carson Levine, specifically The Princess Tales 1 & 2, and Ella Enchanted, among others Jean Little/Kit Pearson - these authors have the same vibe to me. Willow and Twig is a favourite from the first one, The Guests of War trilogy and Awake and Dreaming from the other. They both write coming of age novels for girls, both Canadian. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs - I loved the whole trilogy (haven't watched the movie). The story being based around real antique trick photos is my favourite part The Echorium Sequence by Katherine Roberts - a trilogy of books about magical singers with blue hair and their interactions with half-human magical creatures Margaret Peterson Haddix, specifically Running Out of Time, the Shadow Children series, and Double Identity. Margaret Buffie, who writes stories about teenage girls and ghosts. Also Canadian, which I guess isn't that surprising. The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins. Re-read it last summer and it's as good as I remembered. Roald Dahl, I really loved Matilda as a child, it's been fun to read some of these novels with my kids. Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar - and it's sequels. Amazingly quirky and funny stories about a class of students in a weird school

Fantasy: Mercedes Lackey, specifically the Five Hundred Kingdoms series and The Obsidian universe. I also loved the Elvenbane series, but due to the death of Andre Norton it may never be finished. I would advise caution if sexual assault is triggering for you, the ones I like are mostly free of it but that can come up in her other works. Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien - obviously. Also loved The Hobbit, have not read further The Broken Earth trilogy by N.K. Jemisin - the book opens with the triggering of an apocalypse. The world contains people who can control earthquakes A Baroque Fable by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro - this book is so hilarious but I don't know if anyone has heard about it Once Upon a Winter's Night by Dennis L. McKiernan - and it's sequels. This is a romance retold fairy tale series

Science Fiction: Michael Crichton - who spans a bunch of genres but I'll put him here. I've read everything he's written and I recommend most of it. State of Fear has not aged well. His books are very fast-paced and Timeline has one of the best enemies to lovers. Orson Scott Card - I am aware, but Ender's Game is a masterpiece. He also has this single novel called Magic Street that is a sequel to A Midsummer Night's Dream. I also loved Memories of Earth but it's been a while since I read it. I, Robot by Issac Asimov - short stories about artificial intelligence and how it might go weird

Graphic novels: Astro City by Kurt Busiek - superhero, but more focused on how living in that world would affect normal people Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra - every male on earth dies, except for one, and his monkey Fables by Bill Willlingham - after being attacked by an army of wooden soldiers, fairy tale characters and creatures seek refuge in a non-magical world (ours) Nimona by ND Stevenson - a villain gains a shape-shifting sidekick, but she is not what she seems Scurry by Mac Smith - post-apocalyptic earth, the main characters are all surviving mice. Best artwork I've ever seen in a graphic novel American Vampire by Scott Snyder- vampires have different traits depending on their home country, this is about the new, American species. Asterix and Obelix by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo - a small group of powerful Gauls defend themselves against the Romans using a magical potion

Non Fiction: Stephan Pinker, I've read both of his trilogies on language and the brain. Trying to get through his huge book about violence The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks - writen by a neurologist, fascinating book Doing Harm: The Truth About How Bad Medicine and Lazy Science Leave Women Dismissed, Misdiagnosed, and Sick by Maya Dusenbery - what it says on the tin

Toddler/Young Child Books: The Monster at the End of This Book by Jon Stone - I give you a 100% guarantee that if you read this book aloud, the kids will be fascinated. It is literally always a hit Robert Munsch - most of his books are amazing, but if you don't want to cry, DO NOT read the backstory of Love You Forever. The Paper Bag Princess was one of my favourites as a child. Little Critter - only the older ones, the new ones are religious for some reason. Just for You and I Was So Mad were favourites for my kids. Early lesson in unreliable narrators. Phoebe Gilman - Something From Nothing, the Jillian Jiggs series, The Balloon Tree... so many good ones! Really good illustrations too Little Pea by Amy Krouse Rosenthal - a book about a pea who hates eating candy. This book is fun to read and my kids loved it (I have the box set) The Book with No Pictures by B.J. Novak - kids love when adults have to do weird things I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen - perfect opportunity to do a lot of funny voices The Mitten by Jan Brett - a whole bunch of animals squeeze into a mitten. That's the whole thing. It's great. The Very Cranky Bear by Nick Bland - and the rest of the series. These are fun to read because they rhyme. Jonathan Stutzman - my kids LOVE Tiny T. Rex and the Llama series. We haven't read the others An Elephant & Piggie by Mo Willems - we have this entire series, they are a delight. An elephant and pig are very silly friends. Good drawings Dr. Seuss - be careful with him though, his books are quite long and can be hard to read, so I recommend waiting until your kids are a bit older. But The Lorax slaps and my personal favourite as a kid was The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins

Other: Still Alice by Lisa Genova - or any of her books really. She is a neuroscientist and her books are really interesting explorations of different disorders. Book is better than the movie Warm Bodies by Issac Marion - zombie Romeo and Juliet Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder - a novel that is also an intro to philosophy course Calvin and Hobbes - I own all of them, so excited for when my kids can understand them. I also love The Far Side, Zits, and the earlier Dilbert comics The Women in Black by Madeleine St. John - this book is absolutely charming. I saw the Netflix movie and then bought it right away.

*I avoid true crime because I have heard that the genre causes harassment to victim's families

General Note: I am aware that some of these authors are now considered controversial, some for more serious reasons than others. Sometimes flawed people make really good art. I mean, flawed people make all art because nobody on earth is perfect.

[zip-toonz]

@lordlukisdoodledump asked me to share the headcanons so here I go

Under cut to avoid text walls

Most of these were developed in and inspired by convos with my friend @craftpunktabby !

Templeton:

If SHH had a robotics team or class he would excell in it.

Into model kits (of any kind) and those electircal science kits for kids

Really into scifi especially alien media (would probably like Invader Zim)

Has schizophrenia (this is meant in good faith. He reminds me a lot of my mom (a diagnosed schizophrenic))

Becky:

Hates being called Rebecca. Makes her feel like shes being scolded.

Following Squidgy, Becky got really into gardeneing. Keeps a potted plant in her room

Volunteers at animal shelters. Has to resist the urge to adopt every stray she comes across

Undiagnosed Anxiety. Thinks its normal for people to get worried to the point of stomach aches or hot spells about little things

Mitchell:

Guinely didn't cause his former school to catch fire.

Would probably like reading if the school would stop making him read the classics for school work. Would lean towards works with illustrations or graphic novels

Wants to pursue a career in music

Bishop

Has no idea how to actually fight if things came down to it

Rough home life. Doesn't talk about it and his personality is a buffer

Actually really softhearted under his persona

Mr. Creeper

Sleeps in the greenhouse

Act like he doesnt have emotions. Does infact has basic ones and has been developing more complex ones as he spends more time around humans.

Does still consider Becky family.