#...and if your parental rights RELIES on being able to treat your kid like an animal that's actually a BAD thing

[uncanny-tranny]

The thing I hate most about "parental rights" is how it's used to actually mean "if I lose even one ounce of absolute control over my child, regardless of what they want or what's good for them, my rights are being violated!"

[quixtrix]

let's talk BL manga lore; on grooming, identity, and racism

spoilers for the official captain laserhawk bl manga ofc, plus brief discussion of grooming I've refrained from speaking about it because of spoilers, but it's been well over a month and I believe that it's time to openly discuss it. if you would still like to read the manga before reading this discussion, here's the link to buy a physical copy and you can search up 'Captain Laserhawk: Crushing Love' in your digital book store for it. okay time to talk about two, basically three subjects; racism, identity, and grooming. i'm starting with the grooming first, because that's the main focus of this manga. i would have to preface this by saying i've already discussed this topic in an earlier post (albeit it is a prediction, but it is a spot on prediction.) i'll briefly elaborate on it right now with what we know.

dolph's very first day with alex was carefully calculated to where dolph would be exposed to the world, but heavily rely on alex. he is shown around to alex's friends and is able to buy his own clothes, but it is under the heavy scrutiny of alex. alex ultimately decides what dolph wears, alex decides how the day goes, alex leads dolph. even when they have a beach day, take note of how alex holds dolph, dragging him around.

even the romance and the events leading up to when alex takes dolph's virginity are calculated. note how alex grasps dolph's hand, grabbing on tight enough to almost press down on his knuckles, loosening his hand, making dolph relinquish control. the context for the fight page is that after their sweet lil beach day, alex takes dolph down an alley where alex knows that he'll come across people who aren't the fondest of him. this event was calculated, alex knew it was going to happen, and he used it to test out his new lil boytoy.

also, alex taking dolph out to fight isn't just so he can get in the pants of a barely 18 year old. while holloway notes during this flashback that adrenaline is the greatest aphrodisiac, this is a test to see how good the new weapon he picked up is. how the new boy works, to see how eden's boy robot can benefit his group, not just him. its literally in the morning panels we get where alex talks with that woman, anna. they're talking about how loaded he is with tech, and while alex does consider that, he still actively thirsts over dolph.

also im jus saying if i personally was talking with one of my greatest confidants and they refer to someone i'm thirsting over as KID, i would personally be icked out. i would have a conscious and not do some weird shit, like literally refer to dolph in passing as kid in the next page. dolph aint even the first one who alex has done this shit to, as evident by this line by one of his friends, grace.

alex is a groomer and groomed dolph, case closed.

anyways! time to get on with what i really wanted to talk about, how racism and loss of idenity ties into dolph's character!

in this manga, during pillow talk between dolph and alex, we get dolph's backstory. dolph literally has only known this man for a day and he's giving him lore because alex treats him more normal than eden did. god. ANYWAYS ENOUGH DWELLING ON DOLPH BEING A VICTIM IN ALL WAYS INCLUDING BEING ONE OF THE OXFORD STUDY, we get to know about his brief life before eden took him in.

now let me turn for a moment to the show, and how we were told about dolph's backstory. this is VASTLY different than what we got in the show, with it being implied that dolph's parents were a white prostitute and a darkskinned immigrant man. this adds onto the idea that this supposedly impoverished, crack addicted boy came into this world not as an act of love, but as a mistake. not just a mistake though, his parents are supposedly the epitome of immoral, a prostitute and a criminal. not to mention that this also ties into the idea of the uncultured brown man and pure white woman, basically a racist idea that the scary immigrants who aren't like us good white christian americans (and honestly jus any homogenous group in general, though in america its ofc more applicable to white people), are corrupting our mother marys, our women. eden takes on this perspective in order to subconsciously frame in the minds of post american viewers the idea of this man as an other that they are helping and didn't at all snatch up from his mother for child experimentation. the concept of other is something that finds it's origins in fascism, and in order to mask the presence of said fascism, someone who is seen as apart of the other is given a seat at the table with the collective us, (as in the majority, or the ones that are supposedly superior), and will ultimately serve as an example of why the other are labelled as such. i go into this more with my rayman analysis. I brought up the specific portrayal of dolph's backstory from eden's documentary to showcase how eden has manipulated the view people have of this man. eden has not only manipulated the view of the in universe audience, but eden has manipulated our view.

in the propaganda documentary, we are shown photos of this man being a captain, someone of relatively high rank in the military. you can't even normally earn that through having an education, you'd have to have years of experience. he's portrayed as older than he is.

another thing, dolph fans, let's be honest with ourselves; before the manga, it was not uncommon to headcanon that man as a FREAK. with both the supposed images of dolph at a nightclub and the flashback of alex and dolph meeting outside a club, it wasn't too hard to think that the hottest man alive in that show who was fully born human was a freak. a sexual deviant. someone that a christian mother would be horrified enough by that she faints. the manga however, shows us that dolph really isn't any of that. hell, he didn't even get to go to a club before he met alex. in reality, he's around 18 years and his only sexual experience is his groomer.

say that again with me, he's around 18. he's just around 18, he's a young adult, and the environment he's grown up in has stunted him by treating him as a subject, a thing, cutting him off from anything that would humanise this child by not allowing him to see his mother. hell, even his childhood best friend serves eden by being the one in his ear, having him at her beck and call all in the name of eden.

we get none of dolph's true backstory in the show for any number of reasons. maybe it's on purpose, maybe it's a result of having to possibly cut down episodes, who knows? what matters though is that this adds a layer to the core problem defining dolph's life; the perspective others have on him warping who he is.

back to the pages with dolph's memories of his mother, we see dolph as he was when he was just a boy. he's his mama's boy, her son, a child. even when eden takes him in, he stubbornly clings to that bit of him that's pure, untainted by the idea of him being an experiment, a tool. this bit of him, this hint towards who he is supposed to be as a person, is something he clings to desperately. it leads him to follow eden's orders again because they promise that they've found his mother.

and yknow what happened with who dolph was told was supposedly his mother?

she was just a random ass indian woman.

wasn't even the right woman. they just used his identity issues because he's indian, and she was indian and in a cult that eden needed to take care of.

this, while admittedly is kind of funny, (like the confusion is funny in the moment look at ts) is actually fucked up crazy racism. they literally said that this random ass woman who happened to be indian was his mother like HELL!?!??!?!?

this insane fr. lucy didn't even double check LIKE GIRL THAT'S SUPPOSED TO BE YOUR FRIEND'S MOTHER WHO HE HASNT SEEN SINCE HE WAS LIKE 6 AND YOU DIDNT EVEN DOUBLE CHECK IF SHE'S THE RIGHT PERSON?!?!?!?

moving on from that, this actually brings up a deeper layer of dolph's identity issues; the lack of cultural identity.

i want to preface this by saying that i am not entirely sure if this is the right term for this identity issue nor am i claiming to be an expert on the type of identity crisis that i am about to discuss. that being said, this specific disconnect of cultural identity that dolph has is actually reminiscent of those adopted from other countries, or transnational adoptees. there seems to be a need within these adoptees to find out more about their own heritage or their own mothers and families that they now struggle to find. while dolph does not actively go out to reconnect with his heritage, he does exhibit desires to find his birth mother. this type of identity issue seems to ask the question of 'what could I have been if...?,' and it tends to mess with the idea of the self. adoptees that struggle with this question hold a desire to go back, to almost reclaim what would have been. yes, dolph is not adopted into a family, but he is still a child under the care of eden, which became like his family, which is why i believe that this kind of identity issue could reasonably be applied to dolph. it explains why he does what he does in the manga, and how it's ultimately wrapped up by him losing this desire and moving forward. albeit he moves forward by alex instead becoming his main purpose, but this serves as the first chain of the past that he leaves behind. with this, he severs a tie that would have made him continue to be stuck under eden's control, and possibly find himself. he answers the question of what could have been with 'it doesn't matter anymore.'

but actually, he doesn't answer that question. he leaves it be.

i am reading way too into this tho lol. i would say that he doesn't explicitly say it, and that we do see a lack of dolph's past being used against him in that way because dolph has freed himself from that part, but in reality, it's because eden can't pull the same trick twice. im aware that the manga focuses HARD on dolph's grooming, but i feel like they really could have properly wrapped up dolph's identity arc with his mother if it was acknowledged at the end, but i fear we are left unsatisfied. that's one of my gripes with the manga. it gives us things that tie up loose ends, but some of these ties have entirely missed the holes they were supposed to secure. but what is done is what's done, and here we are.

tl;dr, dolph was groomed by alex. dolph's identity has also been warped by eden heavily, by how they dehumanised him as a child to be a weapon internally, to how he's shown to the public to be a case that they've saved, and yet he still becomes something that is "disgraceful." textbook example of this poor boy that we have saved that is actually jus like all the others that we know. dolph also suffers under similar identity issues as adopted children do, and this specific issue of his is let go in order to allow him to begin moving on and finding himself.

as always, im open to discussion and critique! my askbox is open as well if you want me to yap abt smth else in the show :P

[dittomander]

What are your thoughts on Isabel becoming Royal Inventor? I know inventing is Isabel’s hobby, but when somebody is titled as “Royal” then that implies that they work for the Royal family. But Isabel is not only part of the royal family, but she is heir presumptive. If Elena dies or abdicates without children, then the throne will pass to Isabel. Isabel’s arc was about learning to become a ruler like Elena. So why make her Royal Inventor, if she could potentially become ruler of Avalor one day?

Narratively speaking, I think it actually makes perfect sense. For starters, while there are certainly themes of leadership in some of Isabel's episodes, I'd argue that her arc is less about becoming a "ruler like Elena" and more about her becoming a leader unlike Elena.

(True to form, long-winded essay below the cut.)

Isabel starts the show as a clingy little kid - from her perspective, she just lost her parents, and she doesn't understand that her sister's new responsibilities mean that she can't spend as much time with her as she used to. A lot of her episodes involve her learning to act independently of Elena. She must develop and defend her own identity, even as she reckons with the limitations of her age.

She goes to school for the first time in "Crystal in the Rough" and struggles to make friends her own age, so she smothers her own identity and tries to just fit in instead. She has to learn to be herself and rely on her own strengths - her skills with math, science, and invention. This episode also gives Isabel her own friend group, independent from Elena and the other amigos. Later, in "Science Unfair", she has to learn to rely on those friends for help. Her sister gives her some advice, but ultimately, she and her new friends finish their project themselves.

Later still in "Class Act", Isabel has to learn to recover from her own mistakes and work with even more people outside of her family, to the point where she's able to teach Elena a lesson about working with difficult personalities in "Norberg Peace Prize". By "Shooting Stars", she's totally confident in her role as a scientist and her ability to give directions related to that role. And in Isa's final focus episode, "Heart of the Jaguar", Elena is literally taken from her, and she must learn to stand up for herself and solve her problems entirely alone.

But even as she learns to become a more independent and confident leader in her own right, she has to deal with the fact that she is still fundamentally Different from her sister. At first, this is largely framed as a function of her age. In "Blockheads" and "Three Jaquins and Princess", she is ignored and doubted because of her youth, though it's her knowledge and ingenuity that solve the problems of the day.

Still, she tries to be one of the "big kids", and in "Sister of Invention", she makes her plea again to be treated as an adult and seen as part of the team. She's ultimately allowed to join the amigos, but it's not because they see her as being like them. In fact, they explicitly say that Isabel can't do what they do... but that they can't do what she does, either. She's allowed to work with them because of her inventions and mathematical skills - that is, because of her differences.

(Arguably, "Science Unfair" has a similar conclusion. Isabel is invited to go to college - that is, invited to join a group of adults - specifically because of her skills with science. Beyond just being her hobby, those skills are at the core of her identity, and they are what tie her to being recognized as a grown-up.)

The point is hammered in further in "Team Isa", where Cristina outright tells her that "you're not Elena and you never will be." Isabel was trying to be a "leader like Elena" and failed, only succeeding when she utilized her and her friends' own unique skills instead of trying to just be like her sister. Isabel and Elena have distinct skill sets, and episodes like "A Gecko's Tale" and "The Family Treasure" emphasize this. Their differing skills allow them to complement each other and give them opportunities to learn, but throughout the show, it's made clear that they are not each other and cannot fully fill each other's roles.

Because again, it's not just that Isa can't do exactly what Elena does. It's also that Elena can't do what Isa does. She tries to handle invention plans in "Sugar Rush", but it only adds to her anxieties, and at the end of the episode, she hands the responsibility off to Isabel, the expert. Elena has to learn to delegate what she can't handle herself.

That's what the Royal Inventor title means. It's respect for Isabel's unique skills. It's an acknowledgement that she's a part of the team. And it's not an act of subordination, but rather a delegation of authority.

So the narrative comes together there. Isabel has gone from a clingy little kid that would hide her interests to fit in to a confident young lady that knows where her skills lie and can be trusted with the responsibility to use them for the kingdom's benefit.

The promotion scene at the end of "Coronation Day" exists primarily for these narrative reasons rather than for making perfect logical sense in-universe. It's meant to showcase how the character arcs have developed - most of them fall apart if you put them under the slightest bit of realistic scrutiny - but if we do want to look at them through that logical, in-universe lens, then frankly, Isabel's promotion probably makes the most sense.

There is a precedent of members of the royal family still working for the royal family. Esteban was chancellor for most of the show and both he and the abuelos were on the Grand Council. None of those three may have had a claim to the throne like Isabel could, but even her claim is pretty meaningless at this point in the timeline.

The only reason Elena had any governing authority as Crown Princess was because there was Literally No Other Ruler at the time. Current heir or not, Isabel won't actually be expected to lead the kingdom unless something happens to Elena, and if Elena ever has kids, then Isa's practically off the roster entirely. So... what's a princess to do in the meantime? Being named Royal Inventor gives her a degree of authority within Elena's court that she may never have otherwise and gives her something to do for the kingdom other than wait around until Elena dies. It's even a job that's in her wheelhouse.

Besides, if Elena does die or abdicate, it's not like being Royal Inventor now somehow cancels out Isa's ability to rule later. Presumably, she'd just ditch the title when she took the throne.

[eternalwritingstudent]

Character Profile Tag

I was tagged by @illarian-rambling. Thank you!

I'll do this for the usual suspect, Freedom from On Shadow's Edge.

Name:

Freedom

Nickname:

Shadow (is more a work alias than nickname)

Kind of being:

Rime Elf, a species of elves that have snowy white skin with blue undertones, like an artic swath of snow with that ancient clear blue ice under it.

Age:

89

Gender:

Female

Appearance:

Freedom is six foot tall with hip length black hair. Her eyes are a unnatural green, like chrome diopside stones, which glow faintly in the dark. She's slim, and usually wears all black both due to her profession and help block the sun from her skin

Occupation:

Thief and assassin

Family members:

Freedom no longer considers herself to have family. But technically she has her parents, Lord and Lady Aladaria, and her deceased brother Isthan.

Pets:

Officially none, but she has her very strange horse Midnight.

Describe their room:

Whatever inn or tavern she can get a place at. Currently, she's staying at the Crimson Rose Inn. Her room is small, but comfy with a bed, table, and dresser. There is a window over the bed for easy escape if it's needed, but the shutters are closed tight to keep the sun out.

Way of speaking:

Very blunt, often rude, and crude. She doesn't apologize for the way she talks either. Though, she can be more refined and polite when it serves her purpose.

Physical characteristics (posture, gestures, attitudes):

She doesn't have much in the way of physical things. She does usually have her hood up on her jacket to hide her face. Freedom's not big on touching or hugging, except for select people.

Hobbies:

Drinking? It's her favorite thing to do. Other than that, she enjoys studying history and battles.

Favorite sports:

Sword fighting, archery, parkour type things (If it's not too high)

Abilities/talents/powers:

Freedom is a shadow mage, meaning when fully trained she can manipulate, control, shape, and move through shadows.

Relationships (interaction with others):

Valric - MMC - Is mildly annoyed by the naive kid, but overall likes him alright. Enjoys taunting him and poking at him.

Inva - FMC - Likes and respects her, but doesn't like being preached at or mothered by her. Finds the young woman to be very smart and kind. Something she isn't used to dealing with.

Amon - MMC - It's complicated? He's handsome, annoying, and a death sentence for her if his bosses have their way. She hates him. Despises him. Has pondered killing him a few times.

Master Mage Stefyan Kadlor - MMC (antagonist) - Freedom is terrified of this man. After the run ins she's had with him, she has ever right to be. She'd love to see him dead, but she's not the person to accomplish it. It's way above her pay grade.

Fears:

Freedom is terrified of heights and spiders. She can push herself through some heights, like a house roof she can deal with if she doesn't look down and treats the roof like the ground. Spiders, there's no dealing with spiders. They die. Violently if necessary.

Faults:

Freedom is suspicious, an alcoholic, secretive, and stubborn enough that its put her in danger more than once. Her determination to rely on no one but herself and keep everyone else at arms length has been a problem for her more than once in her life.

Good points:

Freedom is loyal. Even if she won't admit that someone matters to her or she cares, if she does she'll always be there for you and have your back if she can. She's got a big heart even if she tries to hide it under layers of sarcasm. It might be more of a flaw than a positive, but she will go into danger to keep others out of it. She'll insist that people abandon her in bad situations, just to keep them safe.

What they want more than anything else:

To not be hunted and to be able to settle in one place to have a life. Not moving every few months or few years depending on her situation. She wants to have friends and loved ones, not constantly looking over her shoulder from here until the hells freeze over.

I'll tag @pheita @noveldivergence @cain-e-brookman

[newtthetranswriter]

I’m thinking I need some Dabi…maybe reader is the kid of a fellow villain the League is working with or even a former target, but they form a bond and he sneaks into their room from time to time to visit and label their relationship;)

Paring: Dabi x Reader

Word count: 1764

Warnings: Mentions of childhood trauma, spoilers for Dabi’s past if you haven’t seen that bit yet, talk of killing endeavor.

A/n: One, thank you for requesting. Two, I love you. Three, I hope you like it. I went for a more reader is also the kid of dick prohero and became a villain. 

Being the child of a hero wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. Having the constant pressure of being better than your parents and proving that you’re also great at saving people sucks. I spent my entire childhood trying to prove myself and when I failed to get into U.A my life just got worse. I was kicked out because how could I not get into the best hero school with my quirk.

    My quirk let me draw energy from the moon and stars and turn it into powerful attacks. I was also able to heal minor wounds with my quirk but nothing substantial enough to go into a medical field. Having a quirk that relied on the moon meant that taking the entrance exam in the middle of the day was extremely difficult, this resulted in me not scoring enough points to get in. This pissed off my parents who called me a disappointment for not being able to use my quirk during the day, not my fault but ok, they said they couldn’t bear to deal with a child that couldn’t be a hero so they kicked me out.

     That was eight years ago. I’ve spent that time living on the street and doing some not so legal things to survive. Being able to use my quirk at night made it fairly easy to steal from shops and people wandering the wrong parts of town late at night. I quickly earned the villain name of Moon Spirit. Now don’t get me wrong I wasn’t a villain in the sense of hurting people just to hurt people. I only did it to survive, if someone got hurt maybe they shouldn’t have been in my way.

     My ability to unleash powerful attacks at night is what led the League of Villains to recruit me. They were planning an attack on U.A’s current Class 1-A. This attack was to happen at night up in the woods, and they figured having my powers there would be valuable. They weren’t wrong, I was able to help keep the Pro-heroes distracted while the rest of the group went after a kid named Bakugo. After the attack and nearly being caught by All Might I officially joined the league. It just made sense, working in a group would offer more protection not to mention our goal was to overthrow this corrupt hero loving society, which was down to help with.

     I hated heroes after what my parents did and that hate only grew stronger as I got closer to a certain fire user who trusted me with the truth of his past. After finding out that Dabi was Endeavor’s oldest kid and hearing how the flaming ass treated his kids, I knew I would help Dabi take out the overgrown birthday candle. He also became aware of my past and agreed to help me take out my parents as well. 

     All of this happened in one of our secret late night meetings. Every night one of us would sneak into the other’s room and we would just relax. SOmetimes it would be playing some video game I managed to steal from Shigaraki, other nights we just layed down and vented about our trash parents. Right now it was a more relaxing night, I had Kurogiri warp me to a convenience store nearby where I snagged a bunch of candy and sodas, and now we are just watching random shows trying to forget the trauma of our life and enjoy each other's presence. 

      The comfortable silence that overcame the room as the current program ended on the tv was broken by Dabi. “What are we doing? I know what the League's plan is, that’s not what I’m talking about.” He asked and then began clarifying what he ment. “I mean what are me and you doing? We both know this probably isn’t going to end well, one of us is going to get captured or hurt. We shouldn’t be doing this, hanging out late at night sharing secrets and trauma bonding.” He stated sitting up and moving away from me.

      I was in complete shock. I know he’s right but I thought we were doing more than trauma bonding and I had to voice that. “I don’t think we are just trauma bonding, if that was the case you would have told me about your past long before these late night hang outs. You’re right that one of us is probably going to end up hurt or in jail but why can’t we enjoy our time together.” I said trying to get him to see that even if shit goes south in the future we can enjoy right now. “If you feel that sneaking out to talk in the middle of the night is pointless then just say the word, and I will go back to my room and act like nothing ever happened. But if you do that now you can’t change your mind. If there is any doubt in your mind that you still want to have these late night meet ups, then be quiet and play the next show.” I didn’t want to leave but if Dabi wanted to end it then so be it. I would walk away and lock these feelings away and pretend nothing ever happened.

      Dabi stayed silent for a moment. “I don’t want to stop doing this, but if we keep doing it I won’t be able to go through with my plan. I’ve grown too attached to you, I need to let you go before I change my mind on other plans.” He said not fully explaining himself.

      “What does that even mean? You grew too attached to me? Like you caught feelings, cause if that’s the case news flash so have I but that doesn’t mean you have to change any plans for that. I accepted that we may lose each other but I want us to spend whatever time we have left together. Don’t make us stop being together because you think you’re going to die, you should instead make more time for us to enjoy each other’s company.” I expressed my feelings, not noticing that he was staring at me wide-eyed not having expected this reaction. “I love you, Toya. And I’m tired of hiding it. If you really think you can’t go through with killing your dad because of your feelings for me then don’t do it. Hurt him in a different way, make him wish he was dead. But don’t cut me off.” I now had tears running down my face, not realizing what I had called him.

      To say Dabi was stunned would be an understatement. He never expected that suggesting our hangouts stop would lead to me saying I loved him, and definitely not me calling him his real name for the first time. “I-i love you too. But I wouldn’t even know where to start. The only way I can think to hurt him in such a way is hurting my brothers and sister, and I can’t do that. The best way to get revenge is to kill him and the only way for me to do that is to sacrifice myself.” He was letting his thoughts flow with no filter. It was the first time he admitted that he couldn’t hurt his siblings. “I know I said in the past I could hurt Shoto but I don’t think I can. I have to kill Endeavor . That's the only way to make him pay for everything he has done to us.” He had blood leaking from the staples near his eyes at this point. It would have scared me if I didn’t know that was because of how damaged his tear ducts are.

      I reached over and rested my hands under his eyes, letting the small amount of energy I gathered on my trip to store relieve some of the pain near his eyes. “It’s good to know that your feelings about hurting your siblings have changed, all they have done is be hurt by your father. I can see why you think killing him is the best option, but what if we did something a little less violent for once? I have a few ideas and it would hurt both of our parents.” I said trying to find a solution so that maybe he doesn’t have to die to get revenge. He looked at me confused for a second but nodded for me to continue. “We make videos. And before you ask, let me explain. We make videos telling the world all horrible things our parents have done. You tell the world how Enji Todoroki is an abusive ass who views his children as weapons to take down All Might, and when they don’t meet his standards he casts them aside like trash. Show them who you are. Let the world know that the new number one hero’s kid is alive and fighting against him. I’ll do the same explaining how my parents kicked me out because I couldn't be a hero. And to add salt to the wound we tell the world that we can’t be stopped as long as we have each other.” I told him. 

     He just looked at me for a second, before he responded. “I will agree to do that but only if you agree to never call me Toya again. As well as if he doesn’t completely break from being exposed as a horrible father you help me kill him, you have to help me end him so we both live.” He said resting his own hand on my check.

     I blushed as I realized I had in fact called him Toya earlier when my emotions had gotten the best of me. I just smiled and nodded. “If he somehow manages to overcome being outed as a dick, I will help you end him. And I apologize for calling you that. Let me rephrase, I love you Dabi.” I said with a smile. “Now if we are done with this mushy shit, I would like to watch some more movies with my boyfriend if that's okay with you.” I smirked at him as a slight blush over took his own face, well at least the parts not covered with deep purple scars.

     “Yeah, whatever.” he responded and moved so we were back to laying against each other to see the tv. The only difference was instead of crossing his arms behind his head he had one draped over my shoulders pulling me closer.

[mommalosthermind]

Hey Book Mom, saw your post about kids. What's your thoughts on a parent who refuses to let their child close their bedroom door?

Haaaaaa, okay. Potential warnings for self-harm, and abuse in general, I guess.

Refusing the allow a door to be shut is about the same as removing the door entirely at the arbitrary whim of the supposed adult in the house: that’s abuse.

I will, however, readily admit there are instances where privacy in the form of a door is something that’s actually not great for the kid. I kicked down my sister’s door more than once during our teen years, because I knew she’d locked herself in there to hurt herself. There’s no right answer in that case: she was going to hurt herself regardless of where she was—but our mother taking away her door in a half-brained attempt to make her ‘just stop already’ made her worse.

Because it took away the little bit of “just for me” that she needed in a household that was. Not fucking great.

But that’s, as I’ve discovered, an extreme case and not like, a run of the mill experience.

The entire point of parenting is to help the brand new person you forced into existence learn how to be a decent, self-sufficient and an as well-adjusted as you can manage given your circumstances. Step fucking one is to treat them like real, living, complicated human beings with thoughts and emotions and needs rather than weird wind-up dolls that refuse to obey. Which is a really, really long way of saying your child should feel safe with you in the house. Your child should be able to trust you.

By refusing to allow a child the ability to shut a door—or to have a door—you are making that child feel unsafe. You’ve fucked up like, most of that list all in one go. The child can’t trust you, can’t relax, can’t decompress, can’t begin to work through their own mental mess, because they’re hyper aware of being treated akin to an animal in a zoo with the supposed adult being the tittering judgemental gawker ambling by 50x a day. You’ve ensured that kid is going to get better at hiding things, and they’re going to start doing it in less and less safe ways than their goddamn room, which is no longer a place to Be.

Especially since people who pull this stunt are also the people who stand in the doorway and just. Devalue or belittle everything in the kid’s space. “Why isn’t it clean, why do you have x y z over there, why are you reading that, why are you doing this, are you ever coming out of there, you don’t get to be angry about this get over it, stop sulking, lulz you still hold a teddy?—“ that’s why teens tend to hibernate, y’all. Let them fucking exist without your commentary. You’re not being cute, you’re making them feel small, and teaching them to hide even the littlest of joys.

Now you’ve got a kid who’s feeling trapped, impotent, so angry they’re shaking type of betrayed, and again: unsafe.

And they know you don’t trust them at all. They know you don’t even see them as a person, because you wouldn’t treat anyone else the way you treat them. They know they’re alone, and you’re the enemy. They don’t have anything they can rely on, anything that’s away, not even their own bed.

I know adults think that taking the door is somehow going to magically help, and it’s usually people who’ve never lived in that situation. Like. Honestly. They’ve invented some strange world where being hash and cruel is the only way people learn, but all that teaches anyone is to hide. To withdraw. To develop even worse ways of handling whatever’s wrong because the better option was removed.

And I’m going to say it again: if your friend was a dick, would you treat them like that? Would you treat your co-worker like that if they were rude, or hiding things, or whatever it is that made the adult go full power-trip? No.

If you’ve got a concern with your kid, talk to them. Be open about shit. Keep an eye on them as needed. But for the love of fuck, do not take away one of the few things they’ve got in their life that’s supposed to be theirs.

I am no saint. I’ve got miles of issues I’ll be working through till I’m dead. I wish I was a better parent, because my kids deserve it. I fuck up, I apologize. I have concerns, I talk to them. They fuck up, we talk about it. They choose to fuck up repeatedly, there are consequences—and a consequence is not a fucking punishment. I’m not a prison guard. Equivalent consequences was a huge thing when they were tiny, and now that they’re older and the problems are more ‘the 11yr old was watching YouTube at fucking midnight and lied about it’ those repercussions are things like ‘no screens at all for several days’ style of shit. Talking rude and being shitty when they’re angry? They’re giving me back to me, and I know getting meaner ain’t gonna do anything but make them double down. I walk off. They go to their room to breathe. We come back and talk about when we’re less mad.

I’ve taken things away from them, yeah. Toys, screens, the ability to roam the neighborhood.

I’m never going to take the fucking door away. They deserve better. They Need That. They need to know I love them, even when we’re upset. I trust them, I respect them, I see them as people, no matter what.

Hell, I’m doing the opposite, and trying to build a room in the basement so my sons get their *own* doors, because they need and deserve space from each other.

Anyway. A huge amount of typical American parenting is straight up abuse and I’m very over it.

[emotionaldepravity]

Can you please do

yandere platonic marth x kid reader

yandere platonic male corrin x kid reader

yandere platonic male robin x kid reader

Sure! Platonic yandere is certainly something I haven't done much of.

Marth

-Marth very much regrets not being able to fully protect Tiki so he plans on making sure its different this time.

-You'd never be allowed to train in combat in any way. No matter how physically capable or magically inclined you seem to be, your growth will never be allowed. He is focused on keeping you away from battle.

-He and Caeda would forcibly adopt you so you can live in the palace. Though she would most likely be open to it, she doesn't know you still have a family to go back to. The way that he treats you better than their children bothers her slightly. She'd never tell him her real feelings.

M!Corrin

-Corrin is immediately adopting you to be a part of his family as soon as he sees you.

-He is rather strong so he can protect you, but he encourages his siblings to do the same. However, if they seem reluctant to love you as much as he does, then he might cut them out of his live.

-He treats you better than Sakura or Elise, playing with you and spoiling you. If he has kids then he treats you better than them.

-He gets really happy when you call him "big brother" or "dad". Corrin would let you chose whichever you are more comfortable with saying.

-If you have parents, no you don't. Not anymore.

M!Robin

-Robin sees you being lost and alone and wants to be sure that you are put on the right path just like how his friendship with Chrom put him on the right path.

-He doesn't really trust others to take care of you. ESPECIALLY, if your family is still around. He doesn't have any good memories of his family (thanks to being an amnesiac and his dad being Validar) so he doesn't put much stock into those sort of bonds.

-He teaches you everything he knows. Robin believes in being able to rely on yourslef and others, and without strength he can't rely on you when you grow up.

-If he has children, he expects you to be extremely good friends with them. He wants you to be as close with them as he is with Chrom.

[puppypeter]

(Omega!Roy / Alpha!Jamie anon)

You absolute legend, you've done it again. It's like you have an access point to my brain and can literally transcribe my thoughts!!! EVERY. LAST. TAKE. IS ABSOLUTE PERFECTION‼️‼️‼️💯💯💯💯

My brain is going a hundred miles a minute so buckle up, because this is possibly gonna be the longest ask you'll ever receive:

YES to youth sports culture being WEIRD AF for having an incredibly invasive control over kids' bodily autonomies, ESPECIALLY within an ABO second gender essentialism type way!!

And OOOOHHH Omega Grandpa is absolutely PERFECT!!!! It would set up such a jarring culture shift for Roy when he arrives at Sunderland, to go from a home lead by an Omega patriarch, only to come to a place where Alpha dominance is treated not just as a logical course of action, but as a biological TRUTH.

In my mind, Roy's parents are both emotionally distant but ultimately well meaning betas. Roy's family was implied to be quite poor, so in my mind they both worked, leaving Roy's Grandpa to do the emotional labour of raising Roy, even if Roy's parents were ultimately working to provide for him too. They probably saw Sunderland as Roy's best opportunity: housing, three square meals, access to training that could lead him to an extremely profitable career that they wouldn't be able to provide for him otherwise? It was probably the most practical decision for Roy's future interests, even if it had huge emotional consequences.

This would make it even sadder when Roys grandpa dies, because since both his parents are betas, he had no one to turn to that could understand what he was going through after he presented or show him another path other than the one Sunderland forced him on. And how could he be so ungrateful and go whine to his parents about Sunderland, anyway, when all either of them have ever done is work tirelessly to provide for him and his baby sister?? Thus begins Roy's emotional repression.

I ADORE your take on Roy's time in Sunderland, and I think his presentation would have been even more distressing because every one just ASSUMED that Roy would be an Alpha - since he's such an indisputable prodigy - and when he presented omega, it completely blindsided everyone, a total 'inconvenience', because they had to supply Roy with expensive meds, sort out the even more expensive legal work so the 'big secret' didn't get out, etc. This obviously sets up Roy's internalised idea that his omega needs are a chore and an inconvenience that needs to be catered for.

I also LOVEEEEED your takes on Roy's adult personality, ESPECIALLY about him being touch-starved. SOOO TRUEEEE, that man hasn't had a heat partner in his ENTIRE LIFE!!!! Go through the humiliation of having to rely on someone else??? Roy would literally rather die.

On that note, I think Roy would be both resentful of his own presentation, seeing it as his 'one weakness', but also kind of,,, ashamed? That he so clearly does not fit the typical omega archetype, making him both sneeringly judgemental of 'softer', more stereotypical male omegas and almost,,, jealous of them, of their obvious ease with their instincts and their bodies that Roy has spent an entire LIFETIME battling against.

I think this resentment towards other omegas would, as you say, make him not initially be an advocate for omegas in sports, which is why it'll be SO impactful for Roy personally when he DOES actually step out of the closet and advocate for Omega rights, because it'll be the most obvious sign of how far he's come!!

I also think Phoebe would play a big role in Roy unlearning his instinctive resistance towards his 'omega instincts', because how could loving and caring for and wanting to protect Phoebe ever be a BAD thing, how could it ever make Roy WEAK?

And OMGGGGGG are you a psychic?????? Because Jamie's backstory is absolutely PERFECT!!!! NO NOTES!!!!!! GEORGIES ROLE AND JAMES' INFLUENCE, ITS SO SO BRILLIANTLY EXPLAINED!!!!! 💓💓💓

And speaking of Jamie, an extension of Roy's omegaphobia has TOTALLY gotta be Roy struggling with his attraction to Jamie, at least in the physical sense. And this underlying attraction for one another is DEFINITELY driving up the tension in the hormone addled locker room as you said, lol, and will allllll come to a head when Roy accidentally goes into heat. (The idea of it being kick-started because of all the different medications Roy is on is absolutely BRILLIANT!!)

And OMGGG i didnt even THINK about subliminally bonded RoyJamie!!! That could also be why Roy would latch onto Jamie as a heat partner!!!! YOUR MIIIIINDDD!!!💖💖💖

I also fricking LOVE how this au so perfectly sets up Roy and Jamie as mirrors of each other!!! Because while Jamie struggles with feeling shame over his gentler/softer/more attentive side that is seen as 'not Alpha-like:, ROY struggles with the inverse problem, that his personality is too bossy/dominant/cold to be 'Omega-like'. And OMGGGG could you IMAGINE how cathartic it would be for both of them to realise that they complement each other's internalised issues soo well?? Roy needing a gentler, more submissive Alpha to feel in control and safe, and Jamie needing a more demanding, controlling Omega whose instructions he can follow to feed his attentive instincts and feel like he's providing for them.

Further ABO background: Roy's suppressant heats are short, a day at most, and on a regulated schedule, but they are EXCRUCIATING, cramps and fever and exhaustion and chills and delirium. Basically all the worst parts of a heat with none of the good. So can you IMAGINE how life altering a natural heat with Jamie would be?? Jamie, who would be soo attentive to Roy's pleasure, literally single-mindedly focused on making the experience as good as physically possible for Roy. It would literally blow Roy's MIND, and would most likely be extremely emotional. The idea that his heats can be purely about his PLEASURE? HIS wants, HIS needs? How could he NOT grow attached to Jamie after that???

I think this fic would be fast-burn in terms of Royjamies physical intimacy (because of Roy's heat), but the slow burn comes in with the EMOTIONAL intimacy. Sloooowly coming to terms with the fact that: no, I don't feel this pull towards this person because of simple base instincts like physical desire, it's because I actually LIKE them for who they are as a person, for how they make me laugh, for how they take care of me, for how they understand me more than i ever thought anyone ever could and uh oh im in love.

Thank you thank you THANK YOU for sharing your brilliant thoughts on this au, the effort you put in to responding to all my rambling asks is SO greatly appreciated!! 💖💖💖💖💖✨✨✨✨

I saw your ask earlier and it made me so happy even during this long long crappy day at work!! 🥰🥰🥰 Sorry for only getting to it now, putting it below the cut for the sake of everyone' scrolling but I love long asks!! 💙💙💙

I love how you expanded on the omega grandad thing, like that alone with baby roy could be its own stand alone fic of a series. Like that part of roy being brought up by an omega and two betas is so perfect. I feel like his grandpa would also have been the kind that is clear on what is expected of an omega but also very informed on omega rights, progress and would stand his ground against omega mistreatments by alphas etc which is what makes his grandad driving him to Sunderland even worse!! But maybe they had some connection to there and he initially got placed with a nice older omega lady since he was just a 9 year old, much younger than the other kids and it was expected he be around someone that could "mummy" him.

Maybe there was a change in the club ownership/management in the few years after or maybe when he came back from home at christmas post-grandad's death he was very much acting up, they placed him somewhere else, maybe a host family with other kids? And he was kind of labelled as being angry and mean (he was just grieving the only person who ever cared about him!) and problematic and they constantly reminded him what opportunity they were giving him etc and kind of brainwashed him about how he should be grateful to them and the team, since no one would be taking care of him otherwise.

And it only gets worse once he presents as omega of course. I have many times thought of possible storylines for roy's past and Sunderland as a place that laters gets outed for abuse is definitely on that list (regardless of omega/alpha stuff).

I do like your idea of both beta "well meaning" parents - there's a hell of a lot of emotional neglect that can come from that.

And what you mentioned about him feeling like an inconvenience goes so well with it. Because he would have ended up being super-independant, learning to avoid relying on other people which then applies to Jamie too (but on a slightly different note.. the shame/embarrassment of not really knowing what to do? His grandad would have given him the talk when he presented but he passed too early!!)

He definitely would have very complex feelings around being an omega. For starters, he does not fit the omega beauty standards. He might be leaner than other footballers, but he's not "delicate" or "pretty" (lie!! he's so pretty!!) and his body has also gone through changes due to the medication, like being very hairy (jamie is so horny for it)! And god knows he has not learnt how to take care of himself as a omega either, because he was trying to distance himself to not be found out so he does not know how to make himself pretty for his alpha, dress nicely, etc

I feel like him coming out and advocating for omega rights could be linked to reconnecting to his grandad in some way. Think post-Amsterdam bike ride for example, but perhaps he finds his grandad diaries? or someone finds him while doing a research paper/book on his grandfather contribution to some important policy change 30+ years ago (I'm looking at you Trent Crimm!!)

Something that would bring it full circle, make him realise that his grandad did not really abandon him in some way as he had done anything to ensure better rights for him even when he didn't know he'd be an omega (but grandad knew, he always knew... something something noted in his journal about the way a very very young roy cared for all living creatures, especially the small ones that couldn't defend themselves) >>> present day roy advocating for omega rights in sports, but in particular for the treatment of kids in academies as they are the ones who can't defend themselves. And yes, totally linked to Phoebe too and feeling that need to protect her. Something around meeting Georgie in Manchester and seeing an omega mother be so fiercely protective of her alpha son, making that almost aggressive protection be something to be proud of, something that doesn't make him a bad omega for speaking up and being loud and 'aggressive' towards abusers.

(I won't expand on jamie & georgie simply because he's a mummy's boy in every version ever for me and she's a baddie!!)

"Because while Jamie struggles with feeling shame over his gentler/softer/more attentive side that is seen as 'not Alpha-like:, ROY struggles with the inverse problem, that his personality is too bossy/dominant/cold to be 'Omega-like'." >>> you described it so well!!

I do think Jamie wants to do a very good job for his omega, he wants to dote over him and ensure he has everything he needs and is fed and warm and loved (some stepfather Simon influence there too perhaps)

I love your added angst of roy's suppressant heats being extremely painful (we love giving roy chronic conditions over here so). I do wonder if maybe there's some of this first, before they end up together, that jamie does witness him being in so much pain (lord i love the angst of a character witnessing the other going through hell and unable to do much). Maybe jamie knew already what it was or maybe not, maybe it was before they got closer and roy comes across as very mean and angry when he's just in pain. Maybe the first time they are together roy is so worried because if he normally hurts this much = he thinks the pain he goes through is what a normal heat is meant to feel like, imagine how much worse it will be if he has to put that thing in him (lolz) or have an alpha touch him all over when his entire body hurts.

But I also like the idea of them jumping straight into it physically vs taking their time emotionally! Always love a good slow burn (and hey, that could be part three of the series eheh)

[sonataforsybelle]

Lengthy rambling about Sybelle’s learned helplessness, dependance and character arc

Very specific to my writing and my muse and not to canon so personals don’t reblog pls !

Partly brought on by her being absolutely unsufferable in that thread with Daniel @guacamolloy thank you for your service Daniel (I’m sorry)

Just rambling — but consider Sybelle’s emotional development has already been lagging behind by the time her parents die ; ie being developmentally disabled (autism) and being a child prodigy often treated like a mini adult does that. Plus, y know, the isolation of having a career by the time you’re 12. And when they die, she stops. So by the time she’s in the Blood she very much has the emotions of a teenager.

Now add to it that socially, she never really had meaningful relationships with her peers and was homeschooled by the time of 12. Her first friend was Benji, a kid who’s forced to take care of her who’s in no way a healthy dynamics and as aware as she is of that (and she does carry a lot of guilt for it), I’m starting to think she kind of expects this dynamic because it’s safe ? (Yeah I know I’m the writer but sometimes i don’t know what i’m doing)

She’s never had a hint of independance. When she was doing fairly okay it was her family controlling her, not without love but they still didn’t notice she didn’t care about her piano career and there was a sense of greediness in it. Then the crash, her mental health crashes too and it’s Fox controlling her and Benji being her caretaker — which to me tells me that being loved equals being cared for, for her.

Enters Armand, and then Louis, Marius… Which is when she does stop relying on Benji to allow him a childhood. The problem is she relies on them instead. She is healing so she is obviously able to take care of herself way better than during her time with Fox but emotionally she’s leaning on them a lot. And I think because of that she is… not trying very hard to stand on her own ? She has a lot of growing up to do, and it’s going to take a lot of gentle pushes in the right direction because she relies on others to take decisions for her and to do some emotional regulation (besides the piano. Fair enough the piano is her ONLY self relied coping mechanism). Add to that the need for routine and anxiety over changes and doing anything on her own… All in all she has a tendency to think she’s the center of the world, black and white thinking, and inability to take rejection all of which blew up on Daniel (rip).

That does not mean she is selfish and doesn’t take care of others. She’s proven many times she’s deeply empathic and eager to help, and takes great care in comforting anyone she loves being in deep anguish, even if it’s just with a hug. In fact, subconsciously I think part of the reason why she won’t move on from the role of « child » is also because she feels it’s healing for specifically Louis and Armand. It’s complex because she also has people pleasing tendencies if that makes sense 😭

It’s only when she’s driven by her emotions she sorts of loses the plot and acts like a kid. Mature in many things but very emotionally immature. And specifically about that thread with Daniel, she’ll realize how bad she acted and feel like shit about it. But mind me, this is GOOD. This can be just the push she needs.

Plus she does feel like a child and has been having a hard time with it in recent threads, she just doesn’t know how to move on from that. I think also she’s heard so much about being dependant as a disabled adult she doesn’t quite believe she’s able to be better than that. BUT needing help from time to time doesn’t mean she cannot grow emotionally and take little steps towards independance. The first one might be allowing herself to fuck up, in fact because she’s going to act this is the end of the world 😭

This is going nowhere now but I needed to gather my thoughts feel free to add some or to plot around this because I want this to be an character arc ;

[twilightmalachite]

PORTRAIT - Ah, still delay—thou art so ■■■ 13

Author: Akira

Characters: Akiomi, Izumi

Translator: Mika Enstars

"I-I’m a model, not a hero, alright?! Ask RYUSEITAI’s Sagami Jin for that instead, please!"

[Read on my blog for the best viewing experience with Oi~ssu ♪]

Season: Winter

Location: Department Store's Furniture Area

???: ……

Izumi: What? Wha? What? What is thaaaat!?

Akiomi: D-Don’t speak, Sena-kun! You’ll bite your tongue!

Izumi: Carry me more gently then, idiot! You’re shaking and shaking me and it’s scary, scary, scary!

Akiomi: Be grateful, instead! You’re shockingly slow, Sena-kun, it didn’t look like you’d be able to get away, so I picked you into my arms!

I could have easily just left someone as hateful and un-cute as you behind to die and run away on my own, you know!

Izumi: Haah? Who’s un-cute? I’ll kill you!

Akiomi: If you want me to protect you, don’t tell me you’ll kill me!

Izumi: It’s not like I asked you to, did IIII?!

???: ……

Izumi: Eek!? That monster! I-It threw something! It threw something sharp!

Akiomi: Whoa, I guess they’re throwing equipment and stuff that’s lying around the place, huh… It’ll be really bad if something like your head gets hit, so try to avoid them, please!

Izumi: H-How am I supposed to avoid them? It’s dark, I can barely see a thing! You risk your life to protect me! Isn't that your responsibility?!

Akiomi: Well, it’s not like I’m your guardian or anything like that…?

???: ……

Izumi: Eeek!? It keeps throwing more things! Hurry and do something, idiot! Beat it, just like those guys in weird clothes do on TV!

Akiomi: I-I’m a model, not a hero, alright?! Ask RYUSEITAI’s Sagami Jin for that instead, please!

Izumi: Haah? What’s Ryusaytai? Sagamey Jin?

Akiomi: Oh, you never heard of that guy, even though he’s famous? Apparently Sagami Jin belongs to a unit by that name over at Yumenosaki Academy—

Izumi: Never heard of him. I don’t care about anyone other than Yuu-kun and I.

Akiomi: What a lonely life you live.

Izumi: Shut up! Shut up, shut up, don’t you pity me!

Akiomi: Ow ow ow!? Please don’t claw at my face!

Ahh, enough! Forget a wolf at the front gate and a tiger at the back—There’s a suspicious person at the front gate and a shitty brat at the back![1]

Izumi: What does that mean? I know you just said something mean about me! I’ll kill you!

Akiomi: (Aghh!? Why on earth am I doing this…!?)

(Ahh, I want to go back to my peaceful everyday life where I’m bored out of my mind! How come it’s instead turning out like a horror movie, where I’m being attacked by a monster in a department store in the middle of the night?!)

(Who am I to complain? Would I not have had to go through this if I had just kept away from these troublesome kids?)

(If I had just left them to fend for themselves in their harsh lives, even though they’re only just tiny boys…?)

(If I had pretended I saw nothing and treated it as none of my business?)

(…Doing so would make me no different than any other, despicable adult.)

(Those at the agency, those at the photography studio, and those parents who think they love these children…)

(Not one of them took what these children had to say seriously.)

(And so that’s why these children had no choice but to hold each other’s hands and rely on each other’s support instead.)

(If I give up on these children here, who else will stand for them?)

(For these poor, innocent children—)

Izumi: Kunugi! Kunugi-senpai!

Akiomi: What is it now!?

Izumi: There’s something vibrating under your pants!

Akiomi: My underpants? Why would it do that? Wait, you mean in my pants—Huh, is my mobile ringing?

Izumi: Moble?

Akiomi: I guess they’re not called that anymore, are they… Umm, who on earth could be calling me so late at night?

Akiomi: (Hm? Narukami-kun? It’s that kid that’s calling me, right?)

(But I already took them home, didn’t I…? Or, maybe it’s to apologize for all the trouble they caused me today?)

(You’re very civil when it comes to things like that, Narukami-kun. You try their hardest to gauge other’s feelings and act as accordingly as possible.)

(You’re giving it your all to be liked, admirably and desperately.)

(But it’s the opposite of what one would consider child-like, so adults might not think of you as cute, but…)

(I think you’re cute, that aspect included.)

Izumi: Hey. That’s a phone, isn’t it? Don’t you gotta answer it?

Akiomi: W-We need to get away from that costume and find somewhere safe, first!

Izumi: Costume? By that, do you mean that monster?

Akiomi: Correct! It might look like a real monster in the dark light, but monsters aren’t real—Meaning that must be someone inside a costume!

Meaning, we are currently being chased not by a monster, but by a creep in a costume! Either way, it’s a dangerous, or even a very serious situation, though!

Izumi: Hmm… Does that mean it’s human?

If it’s a human, that means it’ll get hurt if you hit it, and if you kill it, it’ll die, right?

Akiomi: You’re not wrong, but listen to me, I can’t do anything like fight it, okay?! I’ve lived my entire life honestly!

And yet, this is what I get…! God, please have mercy on me!

I’ve been making an honest effort to be a good boy, can’t I get rewarded just a little?!

Izumi: Hmph… You’re not the only one here doing their honest best.

Well, whatever. If you can’t answer the phone, Kunugi-senpai, then I will. I have the time since I’m being carried around.

Akiomi: Do you really have the time?!

Izumi: It doesn’t look like that costume can see well and is moving slowly. And everything they’re throwing is missing. It’s not all that scary if you keep your cool.

Izumi: Umm. You press this to pick up, I think? Hello?

…Hm? Who are you?

Akiomi: Hey, don’t answer people’s phones without their permission! Seriously, what are your parents teaching you?!

Izumi: You can say all the bad things you want about Papa and Mama, but I won’t let you.

Akiomi: Ow ow ow!? Please don’t pinch my cheek! Aiming for a model’s face is off-limits!

Izumi: Papa and Mama just suck at a lot of things. So they do a lot of things wrong. But still, they’re honestly doing the best they can—

So it's annoying when someone other than me says bad things about Papa and Mama.

[ ☆ ]

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The saying “tiger at the front gate, wolf at the back gate” refers to when you think you've escaped a danger, only to encounter a second one.

[sunshine-overload]

[BSTS] Main Story S5Ch5 ‘Dark Flare’ - Part 2

Part 1

Chapter 3

-street, night time-

saki: Thank you for escorting me to the station, Mizuki.

mizuki: No need to thank me, so what did you think of tonight's show? Heath really turned it up didn't he, he was like a firework goin' off!

saki: Yes, it was great. Everyone else did really well too.

mizuki: Seeing him in a good mood allows me to go all out too, it feels like we're saying 'this is B'! As I thought, we have no need for an understudy. And especially no need for any extra weirdos joining. What the hell was Kouichi thinking bringing that guy along?

saki: Are you talking about Hinata-san?

mizuki: ? Something stinks...

saki: Hm...?

mizuki: We're being tailed, oi Saki, come this way.

-alleyway-

suspicious man 1: Hey there, we're not letting you get away.

mizuki: The fuck you want?

suspicious man 1: I ain't talking to you, brat. Leave that woman with us and get lost.

saki: U-um, Mizuki-san...

mizuki: Stay behind me.

suspicious man 1: Oi oi playing prince charming are we? Don't cry to me when I mess you up-

-mizuki punches him-

suspicious man 1: Ugh...!?

mizuki: Quit talking so much, bitch.

suspicious man 1: Y-you bastard...!

-hinata runs up-

hinata: Mizuki behind you! There's more of them!

mizuki: Huh? The fuck are you doing here!?

suspicious man 1: Now! Get her now!

mizuki: Shit, so there really were more of them?

suspicious man 2: Take this!

hinata: Stop it!!

-hinata gets hit-

hinata: Guh...!

-hinata falls to the ground-

suspicious man 2: Don't interfere! Stupid kid!

mizuki: Don't get cocky you assholes!

-mizuki punches him-

suspicious man 2: S-shit...

suspicious man 1: We'll remember this, ya hear!

-the men run off-

mizuki: Tch, as if I'd bother remembering you. Also, you. Don't go sticking your neck in if you're so weak.

hinata: Uu, uu... it hurts so much...

mizuki: That's what you get for interfering.

hinata: But if... something were to happen to you whilst B's show is running it wouldn't be good...

mizuki: Well yeah, I guess... Anyways how long are you gonna sit there, get up already.

saki: Are you ok...?

hinata: I-I can't... I can't stand up...

—end

~

Chapter 3 extra

-alleyway, night time-

mizuki: What do you mean you can't stand? Oi did you get messed up that bad?

saki: W-what should we do...

hinata: M-my stomach...

mizuki: You didn't even get hit in the stomach.

hinata: My stomach hurts... I'm so hungry...

-stomach growls-

mizuki: You little... Don't say something so easy to misunderstand!

saki: I'm glad he wasn't gravely injured though.

hinata: I haven't been able to eat dinner yet. 

mizuki: You should make sure ya eat properly!

hinata: But I barely have any money on me.

mizuki: Huh?

hinata: Lately Iwa-san has been the one feeding me but... I can't just keep relying on him right? I need to become independent so I held back from begging him for help. Sigh~ It costs a lot of money to live doesn't it? I feel like I'm trying my very best just to be able to eat.

mizuki: What about your parents?

hinata: (deadpan) Oh them? No idea~ Before I knew it I was living like this.

mizuki: .......

mizuki: Hey, why do you want to join B so bad?

hinata: Do I need any other reason than because I think you guys are cool? Listening to hip hop has given me hope and courage you see. And amongst the artists I like, B's shows were special. The moment I saw you guys I knew you were the real deal. I found hip hop and then discovered you guys, and you’ve allowed me to believe that the future will be a bright one.

mizuki: ...I see. Well, get up already. We're walking Saki to the station and then we’re going to get some food in you.

hinata: Huh? But I don't have enough money.

mizuki: I'll treat ya. A reward for helping Saki out. 

hinata: For reals!? Woohoo!

saki: (Mizuki-san looks like he's enjoying himself...)

—end

~

Chapter 3 SideA

-starless break room-

lico: ...Hey, have you seen Mizuki anywhere? 

ran: He went home! He escorted Nee-chan out.

kongou: Did you need to discuss something with him?

lico: Seriously, are you guys not bothered by it? About Hinata I mean.

ran: Oh that... Of course I'm bothered by it!

heath: I wonder what Mizuki is thinking of doing about it.

lico: Like, do we really need two understudies? What the heck are we supposed to tell Akira in that situation?

ran: "This is our new cast member! He's our understudy!" Somethin’ like that... it wouldn't make much sense to Akira would it.

lico: Why is it that we need to listen to what Iwami-san says in the first place? Can't we just tell him it's none of his business.

ran: Yeah~ But if it's what Mizuki decides as our leader then I'll accept it.

kongou: Agreed, I'll approve of him joining as an understudy.

ran: If we as a team ain't opposed to it isn't that what's most important?

lico: How carefree of you. What about you Heath? Tell me how you honestly feel about this.

heath: I... have no intentions to hand the microphone over to anyone else. That's all there is to it. Don't you all feel the same?

lico: Without a doubt.

heath: Then, that's all that matters.

—end

~

Chapter 3 SideA extra

-starless restaurant area-

sotetsu: I happened to overhear something interesting... is that rumour really true?

yoshino: Which rumour?

sotetsu: What, you haven't heard it yet?

yoshino: What are you talking about?

sotetsu: The rumour that Team B might be having a new cast member join them. If I remember correctly his name was Hinata. Seems like he's still just a kid.

yoshino: This is the first I'm hearing of it... Ginsei, Gui, did you two know?

ginsei: Not at all.

gui: I didn't know either.

kei: It has still not been decided that he will join.

sotetsu: Meaning the possibility isn't zero right? I heard that he was apparently brought here by Iwami too.

ginsei: By Iwami-san?

sotetsu: Seeing as he's neither been accepted or kicked out, do you intend to have him swim around for a bit to find his identity?

kei: Whichever outcome is fine.

sotetsu: Well, I guess the main question is whether or not he can stand on the stage.

yoshino: Iwami-san went out of his way to bring him here, so he must at least have some amount of talent...

ginsei: We won't know until we see him in action.

yoshino: I don't think B are likely to welcome him with open arms though. Mizuki is always obsessing over the fact that the original members are what defines B.

gui: Did Mizuki refuse?

ginsei: I mean the probability is pretty high...

sotetsu: If that happens then what on earth are we gonna do with the new guy.

kei: Either way, the time to make a decision will arrive.

sotetsu: So it's up to Mizuki then huh. Sounds like yet another commotion is imminent.

—end

~

Chapter 3 SideB

-starless hallway-

hinata: Haah~ They were simply the best today as well-! Team B's shows really are so hype aren't they?

saki: Fufu, yes.

hinata: I wanna hurry up and get on that stage as well~

saki: (...So he really is serious about joining B.)

-mokuren walks up-

mokuren: Found you. Are you the new person aiming to be a cast member? ...Hmm.

hinata: Uh excuse me...? Could you stop looking me up and down so intently?

saki: Good work today, Mokuren-san.

mokuren: Hello princess. Sorry but I need to talk to this guy here.

hinata: Hinata. My name's Hinata not 'this guy'.

mokuren: I'm Mokuren, Team C's leader. I'll get to the point. You should join Team C.

hinata: What?

saki: Mokuren-san...?

mokuren: I don't mean immediately of course. First start with some muscle training and the basics to do something about that feeble looking figure of yours. Devote yourself to training right away, if you need a crash course then Hari can—

-mizuki walks up-

mizuki: Oi, what the hell are you doing!

mokuren: As you can see, I'm recruiting him.

mizuki: Don't just take what's not yours.

mokuren: Take? But I'd heard he hadn't joined B yet.

mizuki: He said he wants to join B, so we get first dibs.

mokuren: Have you come to your conclusion then?

mizuki: ...I'm still thinking about it.

mokuren: Indecisive aren't you. Ditch this guy and come join C.

hinata: Whaat~ Even if you say that I dunno...

mizuki: You wanna join B don't you? Then just refuse 'em straight up.

hinata: Will you let me into B then?

mizuki: That's not what I meant!

mokuren: What a self-centred way of handling it.

mizuki: Huh? Aren't you the one being self-centred here?

mokuren: Anyways I'll be taking Hinata with me for now.

mizuki: Fuck off!

mokuren: If it’s taking you that long to come to a decision then it probably means you don't need him right? Well my case is different.

mizuki: I'm gonna decide soon enough! Don't go doing anything unnecessary! You too, Hinata!

hinata: Ok!

-mizuki leaves-

mokuren: ...Hmph, he's hopeless.

hinata: Seems like Starless is way crazier of a place then I thought it was huh?

saki: Ahaha...

—end

~

Chapter 3 SideB extra

-street, night time-

mokuren: Sorry about earlier, princess. I didn't mean to get you caught up in our pointless quarrel.

saki: No it's alright.

mokuren: Seriously though, Mizuki's selfishness knows no bounds. If he's needed then he's needed, if he's not then he's not, it should be an easy decision to make.

saki: ...How come you went and recruited Hinata-san?

mokuren: Team C is in need of an understudy too you see. Once I heard the rumours I thought this would be a good opportunity to get one. Qu, Kasumi and Zakuro, one by one I've watched them go through a slump, so I've considered this carefully. It's inexcusable for one person's drop in performance to affect the overall quality of everyone else. I want to put a system in place for the sake of the stage. To put it simply I want someone who can immediately be effective in fixing this.

saki: I see...

mokuren: What kind of person do think would be a good fit for C's understudy, princess?

saki: I'm not so sure... Who do you think would be suitable, Mokuren-san?

mokuren: Someone who can keep up with me I guess.

saki: (That might be a bit of a high bar...)

mokuren: Also, someone who doesn't cause trouble, somone who doesn't miss practice and doesn't have any complaints. Someone like that I suppose.

saki: Are you not at all concerned about whether or not they suit C's style?

mokuren: I don't think it's worth fussing over that. I'm not saying I plan to throw away what makes us C of course. Just that I'd like to obtain a different feeling to what C has portrayed up until now. A monotonous dance isn't interesting after all. The same applies to our team's stage.

saki: Mokuren-san...

mokuren: In the selection of demo songs for our next show, something caught my attention you see.

saki: Is that so?

mokuren: I was filled with inspiration when I listened to the song Zakuro brought. However what was coming to mind was different from the direction of C so far, so...  If we want to aim for the best stage that we can achieve, I came to the conclusion that our direction needs to be able to change too. Whether that's seen as a variation or an evolution would depend on who you ask.

saki: No matter which direction you choose I think that C will always be C.

mokuren: Exactly. No matter the play I dance, the fact I am me will not change. Thank you, princess. I can move forward whilst believing in myself now.

—end

Chapter 4 

-outside starless, early morning-

hinata: Oh, it's Mizuki-! What are you doing out here? Could it be you were waiting for me?

mizuki: Yeah. About that talk we had yesterday... I've made up my mind.

hinata: Oh? By that could you mean...

lico: What're you two doing out here? You're blocking the entrance.

mizuki: Good timing, you come with us too.

-starless office-

mizuki: Oi Unei, I need to talk to you.

unei: What's the matter? Do you have some kind of issue...?

mizuki: Add Hinata in as B's understudy.

taiga: What...?

hinata: Happy to be working with you all!

lico: ...What? Like no seriously, what are you talking about? I don't get your reasoning at all. Akira is already our understudy... Isn't this absurd?

mizuki: You never said we can only have one understudy.

lico: That's not the problem here!

mizuki: If we need to have an understudy then I want it to at least be someone that I chose myself. Like me Hinata is... If it's this guy it's fine if he joins B. That's the conclusion I came to.

lico: No but... Why the hell didn't you discuss any of this with me first? Seriously, give me a break here.

mizuki: I just discussed it with you now, didn't I? What's the problem?

lico: Letting me know after everything is said and done isn't the definition of a discussion.

unei: Umm, so if I'm understanding the situation correctly, this is Hinata-san who was hoping to join Team B?

hinata: Yeah! I wanna join B and stand on stage with them one day!

yakou: I understand that an understudy is necessary for you. From a management perspective too it's better that you have one. But... To put it bluntly, we still don't actually know anything about Hinata.

mizuki: Who cares about that, didn't Kouichi vouch for him?

hinata: Could it be that you guys hate me? Am I really that unwanted?

lico: ...No. This isn't about whether I like you or not.

takami: You'll be required to work as a staff member too, have you been informed of that?

taiga: We were already told he's old enough to work right? Even though he looks so young.

hinata: Of course! I've been working up until now too.

takami: In that case, how about we have you help out in a trial period first before making anything concrete. The fact we do not have enough staff right now is the reality.

mizuki: So you're saying he's fine to join once he’s been recognised? Lico, you're fine with that too right?

lico: ...Whether he joins now or in the end makes no difference.

unei: U-understood. Then I'll have a staff uniform prepared for him as soon as possible.

mizuki: Don't go bitching about this to Kei either. If he has any complaints about this from here on out I don't wanna hear it.

takami: Sure, I'll pass the message on for you.

hinata: I'll make sure you all recognise my efforts. For the sake of my future too I'll do my best!

—end

~

Chapter 4 extra

-starless office-

takami: So in short, Hinata will be joining us as a trial member for the time being.

kei: Just as Iwami desired then huh. I wanted to avoid continuing to accept people without properly knowing their backgrounds but...

yakou: Yes. But it's also true that we need to solve the understaffing issue quickly.

takami: That's why we've accepted him for this 'trial period' is it not?

kei: Of course. That way we can determine a proper conclusion.

unei: But, this is great isn't it? With more staff the workload on everyone will lessen and you'll have more freedom to appear in performances... Well, that would be nice at least. It's not as simple as that though is it, haha...

yakou: No, you're not too far off the mark. Of course it won't be that easy, but if he does well familiarising himself with everything then it might be a benefit for B too.

takami: If you think about it from an objective perspective, this is by no means a bad thing considering the way Starless currently is.

kei: Disregarding Iwami's involvement, that is. It's not perfect but I would say it's still a reasonable decision.

takami: Either way, we're the ones that get the final say here. Isn't that worth something? Besides, isn't hiring people without knowing their true motives how Starless has always been?

kei: .....

yakou: If any problems come up we may be able to review once Haseyama has returned. We're increasing the staff without his permission after all. Actually now that I think about it he'll definitely have a problem with this...

takami: When that time comes we'll just have to persuade him with the fact it was all agreed on by the temp management team.

kei: In any case, in order to keep his complaints to a minimum we simply need to continue to improve our management until he returns.

—end

~

Chapter 4 SideA 

-rehearsal room-

mizuki: So, basically, Hinata has joined us.

heath: I see. So that was the conclusion you came to then, Mizuki.

ran: Woah really? How bold.

lico: He's still just a trial member, remember that.

hinata: I'll help out a whole bunch in order for you all to recognise my skills! So, I'll be in your care!

ran: Sure, nice to meet ya.

kongou: Welcome, I'm—

hinata: Kongou, yeah? I've been following you guys since forever so I know you already. Heath, Ran and Lico too of course.

ran: Oh right, ya did say ya were a fan.

hinata: Yeah! I've loved you guys since the very first video I saw. Heath especially, I admire him the most. That's why it became my dream to hear Heath perform in person! 

heath: What...?

hinata: I actually made a song myself too y'know. This is the lyrics card~ And he's the demo track! I didn't get to show it to you guys the day I danced, so I wanted to get your opinions on it today~ ♪

heath: ........ 

lico: And what do you expect us to say after hearing it?

mizuki: It's fine aint it? We just have to listen to it. This guy seems to be serious about how much he respects Heath.

heath: ...Ok then.

hinata: Oh my god yay! I'll play it now!

-they listen-

hinata: So? So? How was it?

heath: ...It's not awful, but I don't like it either.

hinata: What...?

-heath leaves-

hinata: He left... Was my song really that bad...?

ran: Mm~ It's not bad on a technical level, it just doesn't sound like a B song!

kongou: Yeah, I get what you mean... In the lyrics too, there's a lot of talk about 'love' and 'the future'... Lots of words that Heath never uses.

mizuki: Well that's cause Heath's the only one that can make songs like his own.

lico: ...Say, are you sure you actually want to join B? 

hinata: I-I'll make it sound more like B! If I hang around you guys I'm sure I'll be able to understand B better!

—end

~

Chapter 4 SideA extra

-outside behind starless-

hinata (on phone): Yep yep that's right! He decided to let me in! Oh but they told me I'm still just a 'trial' member. Of course of course, I'll definitely get them to accept me. But still that was a bit of a shock... I thought it was a great song, I don't get what's wrong with it... Even though I love B so much. ...I know right! Next time I'll make sure to make a song that Heath likes. Oh, do you mean that snobby looking person? Fi~ne. Ok I'm hanging up now.

-phone beeps-

hinata: Guess I should go find him for now... Introductions are such a pain.

-time pass, starless hallway-

hinata: Ah, there you are-! Hey, you're Kei right?

kei: ...Hm? Oh, I take it you're the one known as Hinata.

hinata: Yep! Nice to meet you. You'd been working overseas a lot hadn't you, Kei? I've heard you're someone super famous over there.

kei: Did Iwami tell you that?

hinata: We might have to battle on stage one day but I'll be looking forward to working with you, you're my senior after all ♪

kei: If such an opportunity ever presents itself to you that is, sure.

hinata: Are you trying to say that I won't ever get to stand on the stage? That's rude of you~

kei: With the current lack of awareness you have you might end up leaving the store early. You've been on 'trial' the moment you set foot in here. If you cut any corners, or conduct even the slightest of suspicious behaviour you will lose your place here. Make sure you understand that well.

-kei leaves-

hinata: He's exactly as Iwa-san said he'd be…

—end

~

Chapter 4 SideB

-outside starless, evening-

???: So this is Starless? I suppose I'll go and ask someone first...

-behind starless-

mokuren: Hm...?

???: Excuse me, would you happen to work at Starless?

mokuren: Yes. Who the hell are you?

???: I heard that you're looking to hire a costume designer. If you could introduce me to whoever is in charge I'd be...

mokuren: Are you looking to get the job as a designer?

???: Yes, I made sure to prepare my portfolio as well.

mokuren: These are....

???: I'd appreciate just being able to talk to someone about the job first.

mokuren: Wait here a moment.

???: Understood.

-time pass-

mokuren: Thanks for waiting. 

???: No problem. But um...?

mokuren: Take this with you.

???: A CD...?

mokuren: I'd like you to try coming up with a costume design for the song on that CD.

???: I see. Is this a recruitment test of sorts? Understood, I accept.

mokuren: How long will you need to work on it? If there's any other information you need tell me.

???: Right. Well, there's a few things I'd like to confirm...

—end

~

Chapter 4 SideB extra

-rehearsal room-

mokuren: Everyone, look at this.

kasumi: A notebook? No... This is someone's portfolio isn't it? Why do you have this?

mokuren: I want to know what you think of it first.

qu: Costume designs are they? Wow... They have a good sense for style. This one here especially, I'd love to wear it.

zakuro: My my, they're impressive enough for the most sophisticated of Team C to say such a thing.

hari: It is true that they're very refined designs.

mokuren: I see, I got it.

qu: Where did you get these? Surely you're not about to say they're Unei-kun's new masterpieces.

mokuren: I met a man who is looking to work here as a designer.  I received this portfolio from him.

kasumi: So that's what happened~ I didn't know you had an acquaintance like that.

mokuren: I don't, I have no idea who he is.

kasumi: Wait what?

mokuren: I ran into him behind the store last night. And so I requested for him to try and make some designs for our new song.

kasumi: So um... Did you get any sort of permission from the temp management team beforehand or...?

mokuren: Did I need to?

qu: Did you not at least go and tell them that a man who hopes to work as a designer showed up?

mokuren: No, what's the problem?

kasumi: You should really tell us these things~!

mokuren: We haven't actually agreed to use his designs yet so what's it matter?

qu: Putting our team matters aside, that's not how hiring a designer works in the first place.

hari: I agree. Matters regarding the cost and such are not things that we can decide flippantly. Even more so if that person had been hoping to have a job interview.

zakuro: My oh my, Mokuren being the one getting scolded is quite the rare spectacle.

mokuren: Tch, how bothersome.

qu: If you continue doing everything on your own accord I think things will become even more bothersome than they are now.

kasumi: For sure.

mokuren: ...I'll go and tell them. However, I reserve the right to decide whether we'll use his design or not.

—end

To Part 3

[walkawaytall]

Look, this post relies heavily on the idea that Anakin Skywalker shows signs of having borderline personality disorder. Do with that what you will.

When I see people romanticize the idea of Anakin Skywalker as a dad — as if the only thing standing between him and being a loving, protective father was the knowledge that his children were alive — I legitimately want to ask them if they know anyone who was raised by a father with untreated borderline personality disorder. Because, babes, lemme tell you, that obsessive love he allegedly has for Padme? In real life, that doesn’t translate to the kids. In real life, all that affection (and a lot of ire) is focused solely on their significant other (well, or whoever is deemed the “favorite person”. For us, it was a pretty classic story of my mother being the Best/Worst Person in the Universe depending on the hour and us kids being…physically present in the house, I guess).

I grew up with a father who demonstrably only cared about my mom. This isn’t the same as a dad considering his wife to be the most important person to him or his favorite person or whatever; that’s pretty normal and healthy. What I mean is that literally the only person that matters to my father is my mother and it is neither cute nor romantic.

What I’m saying is that, when I was 10 and my siblings were 8 and 3, my dad got a job in a different state and he moved to start work a few months before we did. The entire time he was gone, he’d call home to talk to my mom and never once asked to talk to any of us. My mom would have to prompt him. What I’m saying is, when my parents divorced seven years ago (all of us kids were grown), my mother made a condition of their reconciliation that he at least try to develop individual relationships with us, and that absolutely never happened. What I’m saying is, to this day, he mines my mother for information about me and my life and counts that as knowing me.

What I’m saying is, he seriously thinks that he’s only been MIA for the past six or seven years, but in reality, I’m in my mid-thirties, I lived in the same house as him for roughly twenty (20) years, and I have two (2) memories of him spending meaningful, individual time with me on purpose (and I’m being generous with the “on purpose” part — because one of them only happened because I got grounded last minute from going to the movies, so my mom took the other kids and he had to stay at home with me).

What I’m saying is, three years ago, I had to come to terms with the fact that the only way I won’t want want to scream or sob after every interaction with him is by having absolutely no expectations of him in regard to his relationship with me. This isn’t “the bar is on the ground”; this is “there is no bar”. Whatever happens is what he’s able to do in that moment, and I cannot treat this relationship like I would one with someone I can trust and expect certain behavior or care from. Every positive interaction is viewed as a pleasant surprise, not an indication of turning over a new leaf or evidence that I can trust that most of our interactions in the future will be positive. Because I can’t trust that. I’ve been given zero reason to trust that.

I’m super aware that the emotional reactions that Anakin Skywalker drags out of me are projection. I should probably talk to my therapist about it. I was floored on a rewatch of Return of the Jedi recently when I really processed how awful his final message to Leia is. (In case your memory’s fuzzy, the man’s dying words are “You were right about me. Tell your sister you were right.” Which I translate to: “Apologize? Why do that when I can instead just communicate that I always had good buried deep down without actually acknowledging the harm I’ve caused those allegedly important to me?”) And I know the only reason I had a strong reaction is because I identify with Leia as a character and that is exactly the sort of nonsense that I expect from my father. So, like, yeah, my baggage is showing. But also, uh…Anakin Skywalker would suck as a father if he didn’t sign up for Space Therapy at some point.

(Also, look, I know that people with BPD have experienced super crappy things — BPD develops as a result of trauma. And I also know that they can live totally functional lives and be good parents and that the condition is unfairly stigmatized. And I also know that claiming that any fictional character has any particular mental illness is a fraught topic at best. Buuut, I also have been the unfortunate recipient of the consequences of having an untreated/treatment-resistant father with BPD and whether Anakin is BPD-coded or not, some of his actions and attitudes are still super in line with my personal experience. You know, minus the genocide and stuff. And I’m just saying that the obsessively loving your spouse thing common with many males with BPD has a singular focus. It doesn’t translate to being a good dad.)

[slasherhaven]

✨Hi✨Can you write a headcanon for slashers' toxic treats in a relationship? (It may their insecurities, being too jealous/overprotective ect..) thank you so much and i love your blog 💖🦄

You mean other than the murder and sadism???? Sure! 😂 (Not all of these are ‘toxic traits’, some are just problems that you might have in the relationship. Not including the whole murder thing...)

The Slashers and their toxic traits:

Thomas Hewitt 

His insecurities. He beats himself up so much about everything and it occasionally gets in the way of your relationship. For the most part you are able to reassure him and he comes around, missing being with you. However, he can start to hide down on the basement and start avoiding you, causing a divide between you both. He’ll comes around or you will march down there and confront him, lovingly, and he’ll feel better for a while. It’s a slow process building Tommy’s self worth but you’re a huge help!

His family? I mean...we all know Hoyt isn’t exactly friendly. Once you’re a part of the family, he expects you to have some sort of part in their chores. He also has a habit of teasing you and Thomas, and not in a very playful way, normally worsening Thomas’ insecurities. Luda May isn’t completely innocent either, though. She does love you but is pretty tough in the early stages of your relationship, like she doesn’t trust you. Once you’re officially a member of the family, she eases up on you though. 

Michael Myers 

Can be very cold. This shouldn’t be surprising. He’s a very stoic, cold man who is mostly unaffectionate. It takes so long to start building physical affection with him that most people would just give up before they get there. Of course, it’s worth it for when he finally starts to open up to it, but it can be draining on you.

Likes to get his way. He’s stubborn and independent. The thought of having somebody rely on him or to rely on somebody else makes him very uncomfortable, he isn’t used to it at all. And yet, here you both are. So, he doesn’t ask before doing most things, he just kind of...does. He doesn’t understand why you explain that you would like for him to mention it in the future. An example of this is just leaving the house without telling you, leaving you looking for him before realising he left for the night. He’ll gradually come around to improving on it, starting small, but that means a whole lot coming from Michael.

Jason Voorhees 

His insecurities. Jason doesn’t pull away from you because of it but the more understanding and patient you are, the better it will be. It takes a long time for him to remove the mask and, naturally, that can cause some tension. He’s too worried about scaring you away while you’re worrying that he doesn’t trust you as much as he claims too. This is something that can be dealt with eventually. Once he’s removed the mask and you make him feel loved, this issue slowly fades away.

Isolation? It’s not really his fault. He lives out in a cabin in the middle of the woods near an old run down summer camp and now you live with him. He’s not purposely keeping you away from other people but it’s something that can’t be helped. Of course he’s not going to stop you from taking trips to visit family or friends even if he would miss you, it’s just now always very easy to do so.

Brahms Heelshire 

Selfish. Brahms has a major case of only child syndrome. He can’t accept ‘no’ as an answer, he demands everything he wants, he only really things about himself, mostly because that’s what he’s used too. Thank his parents. Deep down, he really is a sweetheart but you have to chisel away all that nastiness. It’s hard work and you play more of a caretaker role before a romantic partner.

Get’s extremely jealous. He hates the grocery boy’s guts with a vengeance, all because he flirted with you that one time. But he gets jealous over stupid things as well, just when he decides that you aren’t giving him enough attention, which he wants a lot of.

Uses guilt trips. This one you need to stop as soon as possible. It’s how he got his way with his parents, and now he will try to use it against you. As you try to reign in his selfishness, you have to for the same for his guilt trips.

Bo Sinclair

Can’t take responsibility. It takes so much to get him to sincerely apologise. He really needs to see that he’s done something wrong and has really upset you in order to actually apologise. Otherwise he’ll just brush it off and move on, refusing to admit that he did anything wrong.

Manipulative. It’s almost like being manipulative is Bo’s second nature. He does it all the time with people who come into the town but he doesn’t really mean to do it to you. But when he wants something or he’s irritated, he just slips up and it happens. Big fan of saying things like “you’re overreacting”.

Vincent Sinclair 

His insecurities. Vincent can become very withdrawn from you due to his own insecurities. It can really get in the way of your relationship. Of course you’re understanding and compassionate but it does start to wear you down, making you a little irritated. You never let on to those feelings though, always trying to comfort him. Vincent will come around eventually after some reassurance but it can be a tough time.

His relationship with Bo. This is probably a bigger problem than his insecurities. Bo has a lot of power over Vincent and you don’t like it at all, even if you have developed a fondness for the other twin as well. Most of the times it isn’t a problem but when Bo is in a bad mood, he mostly takes it out on Vincent. It can feel like Vincent puts Bo above you, even when Bo is being awful. You understand it, you really do. Bo is the toxic one, not Vincent. But that doesn’t always make things easier.

Lester Sinclair

His relationship with his brothers. Lester isn’t a very toxic person but any relationship with somebody who has a life like his could become a little toxic. You are incredibly important to him but...so are his brothers. It’s highly unlikely that he would leave Ambrose to live a more honest life, or at least try to. He’s more likely to do so than either of the twins but it’s still very unlikely to happen. Sometimes it can make you question his priorities, but he really really does love you more than anything.

Bubba Sawyer

His family. His family is extremely toxic, this shouldn’t be much of a shock. Bubba is probably the least toxic out of all of them, this man just wants to love somebody and be loved in return. By family, I mostly mean Drayton.

Isolation. Like with Jason, this isn’t really his fault but it’s something to consider. If you have family or friends, you likely won’t be able to see them much at all. You could still call and message but you live with the Sawyers now that Drayton doesn’t like the idea of you coming and going. This probably links back to the toxic family dynamics.

Billy Lenz

Jealous/possessive. He’s pretty much a shut in, he doesn’t like leaving the house even though he probably could. He doesn’t have a problem with you having friends but gets a little pouty if you go out with them for a long time, and when you get back home, he is extra clingy. He won’t stop you but you’re well aware that he would rather you just stay with him. He probably feels more lonely than anything.

Asa Emory (The Collector)

Manipulative. Asa knows what he wants and when he wants something, he will get it. He does genuinely try to not purposely manipulate you since he cares about you. However, manipulation usually comes so easily to him that he might not even realise he’s doing it.

His need for control. Asa likes being in control and he loves when you’re submissive to him. This means that he can find it a little difficult to give up some control in the relationship or around the house. It can be infuriating but can be adjusted slowly but it’s not going to be easy.

Jesse Cromeans (Chromeskull) 

Overprotective/possessive. As soon as another man is talking to you, he will be right by your side, his intimidating figure usually being enough to scare them off. If he had it his way, he’d have you with him at all time, only for him to touch or even look at. However, he won’t resort to that unless it’s something you want...still, it’s obvious and it can become overbearing if nothing else.

Depending on your feelings towards his ‘job’, he can be gone for long periods of times. Unless you are completely okay with what he does and go on the ‘business’ trips with him, you are going to be left home alone for long periods of time. Of course, you might be completely okay with that and if that’s the case, there’s no problem. If you need him around some more...well, you might start to feel a little lonely. He always makes it up to you when he gets home though!

Otis Driftwood 

Very focused on himself. He’s just used to only thinking about himself, ever since he was a kid. Of course he does genuinely care about the family and about you (and he doesn’t express that to you better than he does the family) but he’s nowhere near perfect with it. He also has a tendency of pulling away from you when this gets bad. When he realises that it’s bothered you, he doesn’t really apologise either, but he’ll still offer you some comfort.

Anger issues. This man has a temper. He would never turn you but oh boy is it hard work. Most of the time it’s just ranting and shouting about whatever pissed him off. While it doesn’t turn physical or is ever directed at you, it can be a little draining.

Baby Firefly 

Doesn’t take much seriously. Baby tends to treat everything like a joke or just doesn’t realise how serious the situation is to you. It’s not an constant thing, if you’re upset, she’ll notice and take it seriously as she comforts you. But she still sometimes brushes off your concerns (as well as everyone else’s) because she’s practically bouncing with energy.

Yautja (Predator) 

He. Is. An. Alien. I wouldn’t really call this a toxic trait but it definitely causes some complications. The traditions of his race can be...startling. You find far too many skulls in your home when you start courting. You are also likely the thing to introduce him to monogamy, but he adapts to that very fast because you’re so precious to him.

Pretty possessive. He isn’t the jealous type, just very possessive. You are his mate, his little human, and he wants everyone (especially other Yautjas) to know that. At times it might become a little suffocating.

(Look...I’m bias here okay!)

[writingwithcolor]

Rebellion in Ojibwe Society: Considerations for Pre-Contact Indigenous Peoples

@raconteuse3​ asked:

Hi! I'm writing a fantasy story with an Ojibwe-like culture, and I'm wondering what rebellion/counter culture would look like in a tribal culture pre-contact? One of my characters has a rebellious spirit, but I keep writing her in a very ... American-teenage-rebellion way, which I know isn't a phase of life in all cultures. To rephrase in snarky terms, "what were Ojibwe punks up to 500 years ago?" I haven't been able to find any helpful information, so I thought I'd ask here! Thank you!

Traditional disclaimer: not raised under traditional parenting techniques, not from that nation, this is primarily pointing out structural differences in Indigenous society vs Western from a reconnecting person.

Teenagerhood as we know it is modern

When it comes to the concept of rebellion, there is one very important thing to keep in mind: how recent and privileged the concept of “teenagerhood is a sheltered time you figure yourself out” is. In a lot of traditional societies, you started helping doing the adult work in childhood alongside your parents. By teenage years you were a pretty valued member of the community, and were beginning to work on adult honours, were looking to get married, etc.

Pre-contact parenting traditions exists in modern day, too. You can absolutely look at very modern, very connected Indigenous societies and notice the way they structure work and parenting is different. Parenting traditions are going under a huge revival as communities heal from residential schools, and these traditional techniques are being preserved.

So what is she even rebelling against? She’d be in a world where she’d be granted a lot of autonomy, be able to do basically everything an adult could by this point, and would have been guided by people working alongside her. The traditional avenues of rebellion like “you don’t know what it’s like to grow up now” and “I’m not a kid stop treating me like one” are harder to rely on.

It’s really primarily an industrialization invention to have teen years be the “in between” years we know them as today. In modern times, teenage years are considered the years you focus on your education to eventually get started as an adult in your 20s, once you have a job that is in a separate institution to your family.

In non-industrial societies where the primary work available is what keeps the community running, and extra time is spent creating beauty (art, stories, music), or advancing our understanding of the world (medicine, scientific experiments). There is far less need for a period of being sheltered where all you do is educate yourself in order to be an adult; I’d assume the primary structures of teenage years would be based around helping teach emotional regulation.

A note: the average hunter-gatherer, according to anthropologists, only “does work” (to survive) about 20 hours a week. There would be plenty of time to do fun things in society. 

And I’m sure somebody in the notes will mention it: yes, the fact that the average age was closer to 60-70 instead of 80-90 like we have in industrial society is part of it. But elders could and did live into their 80s pre-contact, so the point is less salient than you’d think.

Environmental controls didn’t exist

The other important thing to keep in mind is: there was only so much rebellion you could do before you ended up dead from the natural world.

Elders were those who had survived and whose wisdom you could use to help everyone’s survival. Counsel and collective leadership were often prized, along with young experience. Humility was often taught as a virtue because pride went out and got you killed, and greed would render the land uninhabitable.

So really, the likelihood of having her be rebellious in any way we’d recognize is slim to none. Traditional Indigenous parenting techniques are worlds different than American parenting techniques, and anthropologist after anthropologist has noted that kids in Indigenous societies—when those societies don’t have massive traumas that come from, say, residential schools and parents never being able to learn Indigenous practices—are way more well adjusted than Western teenagers.

If you’re dead set on having her be rebellious in some way: my biggest suggestion would be to read ethnographies of the Ojibwe that described their cultural practices and see if there were any social norms discussed around teenage rebellion; you could get lucky and find a gem of rebellion actively described, or you might have to read through a bunch and piece together a cultural context from them. 

But you need to do this research anyway, so look for particularly thick and comprehensive tomes. As I said, this can be found in modern day, so you’re not super limited by time period. If you really want to focus on “as it was”, you’ll be looking for writings between 1850 and 1930.

(I’ve read one ethnography that mentioned an avenue of rebellion among the Omaha, written in 1911. It described how arranged marriages for teenage girls were common, but if the girl could get her chosen husband’s family to treat her as his wife, then the father couldn’t force her to marry the guy he chose. But that relies on a patriarchal society, even if the idea of a patriarchal society would have looked different at the time)

Look for things published by universities; those will have the best academic rigour. I’m not super well versed in the modern anthropology programs because my education stopped right before I got to that point, but an edu with a heavy involvement in the tribe will be the best.

Historically your best sources, or at least a place to look for sources, are those who had close connections with the tribe and lived there for extended periods of time, or even better had tribal co-writers. An example of the former would be Margaret Mead, who wrote Coming of Age in American Samoa, and she kind of single handedly brought breastfeeding back to American society. Her work is highly debated, but the Samoans she worked with loved her; she lived with them for most of her life, from her 20s to retirement. An example of the latter is Alice Fletcher, who co-wrote The Omaha Tribe with Francis La Flesche.

Ojibwe, please comment: What does “rebellion” look like to you?

~ Mod Lesya

[amane-by-together]

Umbrella for the Autumn Rain || Teru Minamoto

genre: ???

pairing: teru minamoto x female! reader

summary: teru and [name] used to be close as children until years go by [name]'s inferiority complex got the best of her making her avoid teru. will she finally face head-on to her childhood friend?

Unforgivable.

[Name] watched from afar while Teru slains the supernatural so flawlessly, he moves his katana as if it was a part of him. Teru is an expert when it comes to exorcising evil spirits which envied her since she cannot do the same as him. He can even produce black lightning that seemed almost impossible to do.

Teru was her childhood friend. Both of their families knew each other due to being exorcists. The two of them had worked together, exorcising countless supernaturals until the present time. Practically, they grew up together yet how come Teru was better than her?

As [Name] notices his excellency throughout the years, she decides to distance herself from Teru to improve her skills as an exorcist by herself and hoping to surpass him one day. Teru and [Name] often work late at night, depending on which type of disturbance they were tasked to vanish. No matter how many days she trained to master her skills, Teru was always one step ahead of her.

“[Name], I need a hand.” Teru called.

“Got it.” She replied, running towards him to see what he needed help with. “Do you want me to freeze him for a while?”

“That’ll be great, thanks!”

[Name] unsheathed her katana and stabbed the supernatural as it slowly freezes till it cannot move anymore. Teru sliced the supernatural with full force before it disappeared in black smoke. He sighed happily when the job was done for the night. “I’m kinda hungry,” Teru mentions, putting his sword back to its scabbard. “Do you wanna grab something to eat before going home?”

“No.”

Teru chuckled. “Cold as ever, [Name].”

“Was that a pun?” [Name] asked, not amused by the joke he made.

“It wasn’t intended.” Teru wiped his jaw using his knuckles. [Name] shakes her head, she has no time for eating with her childhood friend and she needs to train for their next exorcism together. [Name] despised her parents for making them work together all the time, especially when they compare how good Teru is as an exorcist.

[Name] remembered when she and Teru went to the Star Festival together a few months ago. She can still recall what she wrote on her tag before hanging it to a tree. She wished that her relationship with Teru could go back to its normal state instead of what they currently have. Ever since the festival happened, both of their bonds are slowly regressing to their state when they were children.

“I have to go now Teru.” [Name] picked up her katana and sheathed it back to the scabbard. “Make sure to walk home safely.”

“[Name], sweetie.” Her mom placed their dinner on the table. “You and Teru-kun seem to be kind of off lately, is everything alright between you two?”

“Everything’s fine, I guess…” [Name] answered. She couldn’t tell her mom that she was evading Teru since then. The time she will be approaching him head on once she feels like she can surpass him. During her train of thoughts, a certain wonder came across her head.

How does Teru feel about her? Did Teru ever notice their relationship changing? They used to be so close but now they hardly have anything to talk about. And it’s all because of [Name]’s inferiority complex towards Teru.

The next day after that, [Name] usually avoids Teru in school but she does talk to him when he asks something about academics. Even at school, he’s always better than her and it's frustrating her even more. “[Name]!” The female turned around and saw Teru walking towards her, waving his hand. “I was wondering if you’re free later at night since I needed help in defeating this supernatural.”

“...I’m not going to join later.” [Name] crosses her arms, looking in the other direction.

“Huh? But you usually don’t miss it, right?” Teru questions, getting confused at her unexpected reply.

“Teru… I said I’m not.”

“[Name]-”

[Name] clenched her fist and slammed it against the wall in disheartenment, causing Teru to flinch at the impact. “I’m not going to go later!” she shouted. Good thing they’re alone in the classroom or else some student might interfere. “I don’t want to!”

Teru was shocked, this isn’t the first time [Name] got mad at something. [Name] retracted back, holding her arm in dismay and looking at Teru one last time. “S-Sorry, I don’t feel like talking right now… I need to be alone…” [Name]’s voice slightly cracked, then hurriedly ran away from Teru.

“[Name]... What’s wrong?”

You’re being a burden, [Name].

Why can’t you be like Teru more?

Are you scared of what he might do when he realizes you’re avoiding him?

Running away from Teru is the one preventing her from changing. A measly little wish from the tag won’t work if you don’t do something about it. If [Name] is going to distance herself from Teru a little longer, she won’t be able to make things right ever again.

[Name] does not fear supernaturals, even the sickening looking ones and the ones who brought the biggest of curses. But facing Teru head on, is her biggest fear. Just thinking about talking to Teru made her stomach sink.

“I wish Teru and I were more honest and closer with each other.”

That’s what she wrote from her tag from the Star Festival. [Name] knows she’s the only one who can make it come true. “I made my decision. I’m going to talk to Teru.”

The rain started to pour heavily, grey clouds enveloping the once blue sky. [Name] quickly placed her bag above her head and ran to a nearby shed. A lump formed inside her throat, then tears started to run down to her cheeks. She squatted down to the ground and continued crying, hating herself for not changing and hating herself for avoiding Teru.

“I didn’t think you’d be here.”

[Name] looked up and saw Teru, standing there and putting an umbrella above her head. “Teru? Why… why?” She asked in a soft whisper. If only Teru knew that she reminded him of the sun after the rain but she was too prideful to say it out loud. Her face was full of regret at that very moment. How dare he treat her with kindness even though she treated him like he doesn’t exist?

“[Name], come on.” Teru gently takes her hand and helps her stand up. Looks like the students weren’t wrong when they said that he looks like a prince. “Let’s get you home, it’s raining.”

No matter how many times [Name] has pushed Teru away, or even avoided him to an extent, he’s always by her side. Teru was trying so hard to get their closeness back, and yet [Name] was being stubborn of not letting him. [Name] started to tear up once again. “[Name]? Are you okay… did I make you mad again..?”

“...Teru I’m sorry…” [Name] cried. “I’m so sorry…”

Teru smiled slightly at her. “I know…”

Teru decided that [Name] should stay at his house until the rain stops. Her mom brought the key with her so [Name] couldn’t go inside her house. It’s been a while since she went to their house so some furniture arrangements had changed from what she remembered.

Both teens sat there in silence, mentally asking who's going to break the awkwardness. “... I apologize for what happened recently Teru.” [Name] spoke, remembering that she shouted at Teru that she didn’t want to go exorcising with him. “It’s time for me to look you in the eye and be honest.”

“I’m sorry… what?” Teru questioned, his tone was a bit dreadful which surprised [Name]. He’s always been so fearless, at least that’s what she thought by looking at him. “What do you mean?”

“I’ve developed an inferiority complex because of you.” [Name] started to speak, trying to let her feelings from her chest go. “You were always better than me whether it was about academics and exorcism. I didn’t want to be compared to you, I just don't want them to rub it in that you’re better than me…”

“I started to distance myself so that I can improve myself. Then one day I’ll be able to surpass my parent’s expectations, then you as well. No matter how hard I try, I see no effort in my improvement because you’re still better than me.”

“[Name], that’s not-” Teru blurts in.

“I have to…” [Name] raises her hand to prevent Teru from talking further. “If I don’t tell you this I won’t be able to change and let this stupid thing go.”

“I watched you fight countless times. There are times I would look away when you do your job because my thoughts will taunt me by saying that I’m a burden and then my hate for you would go stronger.”

[Name] painfully smiled at Teru, her eyes were puffy from crying. She sighed and kept on talking. “I made a wish from the tag that one day we could be more open and closer like when we were kids. I tried to get along with you, and started to fight supernaturals alongside you. I believed that there’s no point in relying on the stars to make my wish come true so I did it on my own.”

“I just… can’t take this anymore…”

“I’m disgusted by myself, avoiding you at all costs just so that I won’t be able to see you being the best at everything. To the point that I don’t want to do exorcism at all—”

“[Name]... you… You lied to me!” Teru shouted out, his voice slightly breaking. Everyone knows that he’s always laid-back and reserved, and seeing this side of him was out of character. “You said that we’ll always work together no matter what happens. We both sacrificed our childhood for fighting off supernaturals and you dare to leave me alone just because you thought I’m better than you?!”

“How could you?” Teru felt betrayed knowing that [Name] has always been distancing from him from the start. He thought he was just a change of attitude, he wanted to think it was a change. “I don’t think of you as a burden! Your skills are graceful as it is and I saw your fighting improving everytime we fought together.”

“I didn’t realize that I was hurting you…” Teru tried his best to hold back his tears, sniffling at the process. “I’m sorry [Name], you can hate me all you want but please don’t leave me alone in this hellhole…”

“I wanted to be close like we were back then and I guess it won’t be happening…”

[Name] sees that Teru was looking down on the ground, contemplating on what he did in the past few years to hurt her. The truth is that [Name] was actually hurting him. She took his hand, wrapping with hers. “Despite the fact… that you surpass me… you actually stopped and waited for me to improve.”

“How could I not?” Teru laughed lightly, placing his hand on top of hers. “I can’t leave my dearest friend like that, you know?”

“Even though I was sometimes strict towards you, you were kind enough to hold the umbrella to protect me from the rain.” [Name] said, squeezing his hand softly with a gentle smile curling up from her lips for the first time. “And of course, I’ll continue to fight alongside you. I’m not leaving you that easily, Teru.”

“You know, you were better than me in other things.” Teru sheepishly rubs the back of his blonde hair. “I can’t do household chores and I can’t cook.”

[Name] chuckled. She finally had closure with Teru, had blurted out their feelings and now she was able to walk by his side because she wanted to. “Teru, promise me you’ll wait for me.”

Teru pulled out his pinkie finger. “I promise.”

Then they both linked their pinkies together, sealing their promise. [Name] started to feel funny in her stomach when Teru’s face started to get closer, somehow he radiated warmth. Before they did something, the door suddenly opened.

“I’m home, Teru-nii!” Kou announced with a big smile on his face with sparkles all over along with his little sister, Tiara coming in. [Name] and Teru scooted away from each other and whistled innocently. “Ah! Nee-chan is here too!”

“Kou-kun, long time no see.” [Name] walked over to ruffle his hair, then she bent down to the little sister. “Oh my, Tiara-chan is all grown up.”

Teru and Kou watched [Name] carry Tiara in their arms. “Nee-chan seems to be in a good mood, did something happen to her?” Kou whispered to his big brother.

But Teru can only smile as a reply.

a/n: even though i red the umbrella event story of sayo and hina many times it never failed me cry ;-;

[roscgcld]

GOJOTWINS!AU || greatest gift

request: I have a request for the twin-sided-with-Geto AU if you're up for it (as angsty or as fluffy as you like)? As a last request, Y/N twin asks Satoru to look after his niece/nephew. A child that looks just like Geto but with his sister's eyes.

note: hmmm....I was more concerned between if I want to make it angsty or make it fluffy, since this idea was definitely interesting for me to explore. However! This definitely gave me some creative juices! The entire ‘jjk men as parents’ trope is honestly so cute >< I wish Gege showed more scenes of Geto with his two ‘daughters’ - domestic!Geto sounds so fucking hot 😣😣 but writing this also makes me want to write something like ‘the adventures of uncle gojo and his niece’

warning: spoilers for anime-only fans! proceed with caution

pronouns: she/her

gojotwins!au masterlist

“You need to finish your veggies, Rei-chan. You know the rules.”

The young girl that sat before Gojo pouts softly, crossing her tiny arms over her chest as she turns her puppy eyes up at the older man. Gojo looks down at the pouting girl, his own oceanic blue eyes were shining behind the darkly tinted sunglasses as the young girl - Rei, as she was named - tried to use her puppy eyes to get out form eating all the ‘tiny trees’ that sat on her bear themed child plate. 

From the outside you would assume that Gojo was probably just babysitting the toddler; the man is wearing an odd uniform in Japanese norms, but it is still certain that he is in school. And from the looks of things, he is definitely a young adult - no older than a college student, despite how good looking he was. And they were right to some extend; the young girl, besides the eyes, does not look like Gojo Satoru at all. 

But Gojo and Rei definitely shared a unique relationship than your average ‘babysitter and child’ one. “Come on, bunny - you gotta eat all the greens if you wanna grow big and strong like your daddy.”

At the mention of her father, Rei perked up immediately; yet immediately deflated at the sight of the broccoli that was held out to her by Gojo once more. Rei lets out a soft whine and a huff, yet she reluctantly leaned forward before she ate the broccoli; making a face at the taste of it on her tongue. “Not a fan, huh?”

“The tiny tree taste bad..,” Rei mumbles quietly as she finishes chewing her mouthful of broccoli, pulling another face that has Gojo chuckling quietly as he grabbed a napkin from the napkin dispenser to clean Rei’s chubby cheeks. “I know they do, bunny. But you gotta eat them to make sure you grow strong, right? You wanna be a sorcerer like me one day, don’t you?”

Geto Rei was not your average child; born with Gojo blood flowing through her veins, she is the ‘love child’ of Gojo Y/N and Geto Suguru; Gojo Satoru’s twin sister and her boyfriend. When Geto first went ‘rogue’ and kill the village he was sent to, Y/N had found out that she was pregnant with his child. She was sure it was his, since Y/N and him have been dating for about a year up to this point. There was no denying who the father was. And that terrified her; she was worried that the elders will do something bad to the child that was growing inside of her. 

Even if she is one of the strongest sorcerers of the century, she is still a woman first - and women who are to have kids outside of marriage, and with someone who isn’t approved by the elders of the clan, are just asking for trouble. And whilst she was sure she can take on whatever the elders will put her through, the thought of her unborn child having to deal with the leftover anger from her parents’ actions, to be brought up in a world where others would shun the little bean, was too much to bear. 

So, even with Gojo’s pleas for her to stay, Y/N had packed up and left without a trace for others to find her. Yet Gojo was certain she had upped and left so she can spend her ‘future’ with her boyfriend, even if she knows that their love story will only end in tragedy. So you couldn’t believe Gojo’s shock when he opened the door of his apartment one random night, having been roused from his slumber in the early mornings; only to find a baby sleeping peacefully in blankets placed at his doorstep. 

Pinned to the front of the baby’s blanket was a simple letter addressed to him, and immediately Gojo knew what the content of it was. There was no denying who the young baby, who Gojo found out was a baby girl, was either. Because in the morning, when the little youngster finally opened her eyes, were a pair of his very own Six Eyes staring up at him curiously as a thick and fluffy head of black hair surrounding her.

“Dear God...wait until ma and pa find out about this...”

That is how Gojo found himself today; third year college student quietly coaxing the young toddler to eat her veggies as they waited at a café for another two kids he had ‘adopted’ to get off from preschool. He was honestly questioning everything he is doing with his life right now. “Since you’ve been a good girl...maybe later, when ‘Gumi-nee and ‘Miki-nii come over, we order some ice cream~”

Just the mention of the frozen treat had the little girl perking up in excitement, causing Gojo to laugh as he gently rests a hand on her head; already being able to sense the waves of excitement that is coming from Rei. “But in exchange, you have to finish your veggies,” Gojo continues as he gestures towards the child plate before Rei; which held a few pieces of veggies from the small salad that came with her meal.

So that was how the Fushiguros found the two in the café, having grabbed some lunch whilst they waited for the two to get off from school. Rei, who looked over when the café doors were pushed open, perked up at the sight of the familiar duo walking towards them. Gojo just grinned and picked her out of her babychair before he sets her down on the ground, watching in amusement as Rei ran towards Megumi and Tsumiki on her chubby little feet.

Megumi, who was her target today, paused before he bends down to catch her as she stumbled into him; scowling over at the smirking Gojo who was still seated at the table. “Don’t worry Megumi-kun. I was 100% sure that you were going to catch her~,” Gojo called back teasingly, his grin only widening at Megumi’s annoyance as the young shikigami user made his way towards the table where Gojo was seated at once more. “Turn that frown upside down, Megumi-kun - try to be like Tsumiki-chan more, she’s super cute.”

Megumi just rolled his eyes as he settles down in a free seat, letting Rei cuddle up into the younger male whilst Tsumiki giggles at Gojo; who had reached over to playfully tug at her cheek. Soon though Gojo gestures for the two kids to order what they want for lunch before they go home; a habit of theirs now since Gojo cannot for the life of him cook. 

The one time he tried cooking...well...lets just say the kids have since begged for him to never attempt cooking ever again. 

Hence why, after a brief lunch and a brief visit to the grocery store, the four of them made their way back towards Gojo’s home. He had long since moved out from the apartment that he rented in the beginning, understanding how important it is for Megumi and Tsumiki to have their own private spaces to retire to after a long they. Because after all that they’ve been through and are going to be going through in the future as people touched by the jujutsu world, they are still growing kids first. So Gojo had invested in a nice home close that is close to the college, yet not too far away from the city where the kids might feel cut off from their friends on the outside. 

“Alright, time to get you into the shower,” Gojo grins at a giggling Rei, who he had set in her baby seat as he puts away the groceries; Tsumiki had offered to make some katsudon for everyone for dinner tonight. Hence the brief stop at the grocery store. Since it was still little early into the afternoon, the two Fushiguro children retired in their rooms to unwind and catch up with homework before preparing for diner. So for now, Gojo and Rei were alone once more. “Gotta make sure you’re cleaned up before your nap~”

Rei just giggles and smiles over at the older man, reaching her arms up so the man can carefully picked her up as he made his way towards his bedroom. It was a normal routine for him to give Rei a shower after coming home from the outside, worried that she was going to be carrying dirt and germs into her bed before she is laid down for her nap. So Gojo carefully filled the baby tub he set out inside his shower stall before he carefully filled it with warm water and bubbles; making sure the water was warm enough before he carefully strips Rei and sets her in the warm bath. 

Many people have questioned him before as to why he was taking care of her like she was his own child. Even though she is her niece, her parents are Curse Users; they defected from the jujutsu world in order to live in a life of crime. Or more so Y/N leaving behind her family and friends for something as feeble as her ‘love’ for Geto Suguru. Many people call her delusional, stupid, naïve - no one can picture just what was it that made her choose between the life on the run with Geto, for the luxurious life that the Gojo estate has, and still would, provide to her. Even after Rei was born.

However, to Gojo, he just knew she saw it differently. 

If there was one person who he can rely on completely, without having to fear of judgement, it was definitely Y/N. She was his twin sister, someone who ‘cursed’ with the same power as he was, and knows all the struggles and stress that comes with being ‘the strongest’. When she had found out she was pregnant, she was terrified - running into his room in the middle of the night with the positive pregnancy test in hand. She was scared shitless with the entire idea that she was going to be a teen mum alone.

And no matter how much Gojo had tried to reassure her that if Geto was here, he would be ecstatic with the idea that he was going to be a father, Y/N was inconsolable. She was terrified at the idea that not only would the baby will not have a father, they might even have to suffer through the stigma of having a parent that was a murderer in their world. Y/N was also going through it as well; it was clear as day that Geto was the last thing that was truly keeping Y/N sane. Although Gojo and her had a special bond, it was like Geto was that extra support that made sure both of the Gojo siblings were still staying strong. 

Maybe it was the stress of the idea that she was going to be called out by the elders of the clan, or her parents might be disappointed in her, or maybe the idea that she was going to be a teen parent itself officially cracked her. Gojo, to this day, isn’t 100% sure as to why Y/N chose to do what she did; chose to stay with Geto even though she knows that it will bring more stigma onto her daughter after she was born. 

At one point even Gojo had admitted to himself that she was naïve and selfish for choosing what she did instead of facing the brief music that will come from the adults in her life.

But as he playfully makes animal noises at a giggling Rei, Gojo hopes that Y/N rest easy knowing how many people loves Rei. How Shoko, Mei Mei, and even Utahime had essentially dubbed themselves as Rei’s godmothers and spoil her even more than he does; and that is saying a lot. Sure, the elders were not as welcoming to Rei, even more so because she was not carry the Gojo name on top of the fact that her parents were not married when they had her, were definitely not helping her case.

However, Rei was special. She was born her with her mother and uncle’s Six Eyes; and it was because of this that the elders have yet to officially cut Rei off from her surviving biological family. 

Whilst he was thinking back about everything, Gojo’s body went on autopilot as he bathe, dried, and dressed Rei like usual. He kept her occupied to the best of his abilities, but from the trip they had earlier today plus the grocery store trip, Rei was already nodding off when Gojo was blow drying her soft black hair. This caused him to smile as he carefully gathered the little girl in his arms, letting her curl up against his chest as he made his way towards his messy study desk. 

Even if he is a sorcerer and taking care of 3 young kids, he still needs to do mundane things like homework before he can fully graduate from Jujutsu Tech. And as much as he wants to just cuddle Rei and sleep as well - he’s been putting off this essay for about 3 days now. And its due date is tomorrow; so he has to get cracking on this essay if he wants to be eligible for the final exam this year.

“I wish I can live as carefree as you do, Rei-chan,” Gojo mumbles quietly to the young girl in his arms, glancing down at her sleeping features as she rests her ear above his heart. It was quite jarring honestly, since the little girl looked like one of his best friends, Geto Suguru. A man who he sometimes wish late into the night that he had made a better effort into reaching out to when they are at their lowest.

Gojo knew that the death of Riko had effected all of them in their own ways; and although Gojo had asked Geto a few times if he was alright, he just wished he tried harder. Maybe if he wasn’t so full of himself, that he tried to spot more of the chances in Geto’s behaviour - just maybe, he might still be here right now. He would be the one who witnessed Rei saying her first words (it was ‘dog’ because of Megumi’s Divine Dogs that he lets out at home), to her standing up on her own for the first time, to her first steps. 

Gojo felt guilty for being the one to witness all of her firsts when her parents should be the one to do that.

“I hope you know just how much your parents love you, bunny,” Gojo mumbles quietly to the sleeping toddler in his arms as he cuddles her closer, his somber eyes watching her tiny back as it rose and fell with each one of her deep breaths. “I know you don’t really understand things now, but I hope you do not grow up resenting your parents for giving you away before you even have a chance to know them. Your mother is a brave woman; she knew what she had to do in order to ensure that you’d get to live a fair and comfortable life.”

Only silence greeted Gojo after his soft admission, yet all that did was make Gojo let out a brief chuckle through his nose. “She may call me a dumbass, but she trusted me enough to know that there was no way I am going to let you fend for yourself in this cruel world,” He hums as he reaches up to stroke her chubby cheek ever so slightly, a soft and fond smile tugging against the corner of his lips at how Rei just cuddled closer to him in her sleep. 

“Because at the end of the day, you’re the greatest gift that has ever been gifted to all of us.”

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