#Conscious Parent

[bixels]

Learning that fans hated Applejack and called her "boring" is crazyyy to me because I genuinely, unironically believe AJ's the most complex character in the main six.

Backstory-wise, she was born into a family of famers/blue collar workers who helped found the town she lives in. She grew up a habitual liar until she had the bad habit traumatized outta her. She lost both her parents and was orphaned at a young age, having to step up as her baby sister's mother figure. She's the only person in the main gang who's experienced this level of loss and grief (A Royal Problem reveals that AJ dreams about memories of being held by her parents as a baby). She moved to Manhattan to live with her wealthy family members, only to realize she'll never fit in or be accepted, even amongst her own family. The earlier seasons imply she and her family had money problems too (In The Ticket Master, AJ wants to go to the gala to earn money to buy new farm equipment and afford hip surgery for her grandma).

Personality-wise, she's a total people-pleaser/steamroller (with an occasional savior complex) who places her self worth on her independence and usefulness for other people, causing her to become a complete workaholic. In Applebuck Season, AJ stops taking care of herself because of her obsessive responsibilities for others and becomes completely dysfunctional. In Apple Family Reunion, AJ has a tearful breakdown because in she thinks she dishonored her family and tarnished her reputation as a potential leader –– an expectation and anxiety that's directly tied to her deceased parents, as shown in the episode's ending scene. In The Last Roundup, AJ abandons her family and friends out of shame because believes she failed them by not earning 1st place in a rodeo competition. She completely spirals emotionally when she isn't able to fulfill her duties toward others. Her need to be the best manifests in intense pride and competitiveness when others challenge her. And when her pride's broken, she cowers and physically hides herself.

Moreover, it's strongly implied that AJ has a deep-seated anger. The comics explore her ranting outbursts more. EQG also obviously has AJ yelling at and insulting Rarity in a jealous fit just to hurt her feelings (with a line that I could write a whole dissection on). And I'm certain I read in a post somewhere that in a Gameloft event, AJ's negative traits are listed as anger.

Subtextually, a lot of these flaws and anxieties can be (retroactively) linked to her parents' death, forcing her to grow up too quickly to become the adult/caregiver of the family (especially after her big brother becomes semiverbal). Notice how throughout the series, she's constantly acting as the "mom friend" of the group (despite everything, she manages to be the most emotionally mature of the bunch). Notice how AJ'll switch to a quieter, calmer tone when her friends are panicking and use soothing prompts and questions to talk them through their emotions/problems; something she'd definitely pick up while raising a child. Same with her stoicism and reluctance at crying or releasing emotions (something Pinkie explicitly points out). She also had a childhood relationship with Rara (which, if you were to give a queer reading, could easy be interpreted as her first 'aha' crush), who eventually left her life. (Interestingly enough, AJ also has an angry outburst with Rara for the same exact reasons as with EQG Rarity; jealous, upset that someone else is using and changing her). It's not hard to imagine an AJ with separation anxiety stemming from her mother and childhood friend/crush leaving. I'm also not above reading into AJ's relationship with her little sister (Y'all ever think about how AB never got to know her parents, even though she shares her father's colors and her mother's curly hair?).

AJ's stubbornness is a symptom of growing up too quickly as well. Who else to play with your baby sister when your brother goes nonverbal (not to discount Big Mac's role in raising AB)? Who else to wake up in the middle of the night to care for your crying baby sister when your grandma needs her rest? When you need to be 100% all the time for your family, you tend to become hard-stuck with a sense of moral superiority. You know what's best because you have to be your best because if you're aren't your best, then everything'll inevitably fall apart and it'll be your fault. And if you don't know what's best –– if you've been wrong the whole time –– that means you haven't been your best, which means you've failed the people who rely on you, which means you can't fulfill your role in the family/society, which makes you worthless . We've seen time and time again how this compulsive need to be right for the sake of others becomes self-destructive (Apple Family Reunion, Sound of Silence, all competitions against RD). We've seen in The Last Roundup how, when no longer at her best, AJ would rather remove herself from her community than confront them because she no longer feels of use to them.

But I guess it is kinda weird that AJ has "masculine" traits and isn't interested in men at all. It's totally justified that an aggressively straight, misogynistic male fandom would characterize her as a "boring background character." /s

At the time of writing this, it's 4:46AM.

[michellesanches]

Book Summary - "The Conscious Parent" by Dr. Shefali Tsabary

“The Conscious Parent: Transforming Ourselves, Empowering Our Children” by Dr. Shefali Tsabary is a ground-breaking book that redefines the way we approach parenting. Released in 2010, this thought-provoking work challenges traditional parenting paradigms and advocates for a new approach that prioritises self-awareness, mindfulness and conscious interaction between parents and children. Dr.…

[elodieunderglass]

I know an adult skunk would be too big, but in my heart this fluffy ball of anger and fear is Bee:

[ID: a picture of a baby skunk in defensive posture with erect and puffed tail. end ID]

[ID: a baby skunk adorably sleeping curled up in a little ball in a person's hand. end ID]

Safely tucked in Chil's neck warmer

(In reference to the Dungeon Meshi daemon-AU fanfiction in which one guy has simply decided to be secretive about his daemon to the point of it being deeply weird)

Thank you so much!! that is the perfect creature and a really, really clever choice and I love her so much.

I really regret that we do actually have to physically meet Bee at some point because it is so much funnier not to.

I also have to say, I don’t know why people who sell their writing get so mad when people guess their plots! Like when you hear about the Game of Thrones/ Star Wars etc guys changing their plots because people were guessing plots and having theories based on the FORESHADOWING THEY PUT IN.

I am completely surprised and excited by how people’s guesses for Bee have gotten closer and closer and how many have landed on the mark. Genuinely very exciting and satisfying and not what I was expecting. The feeling is very good, and it feels collaborative and motivational.

I don’t know what the point I’m trying to make here is, but I think it’s that foreshadowing is fun to set up and also fun to pay off, and that I like it when people guess what’s going on! We are all playing a game involving lying with words and it is collaborative! I think paid media would be more fun if people had more fun making it!

[swinging-stars-from-satellites]

wait hang on I have a poll now

because I was the kind of kid who never asked for things I wanted because I was irrationally afraid of getting in trouble for wanting them and/or the discomfort of anyone knowing my interests and so I assumed I was strictly not allowed to listen to anything but Christian music until I offhand mentioned in my teens that I only ever listened to secular music when someone else put it on and my parents looked at me funny and went "wait really why?" because apparently they had assumed I knew I was allowed to listen to secular music (within reason) meanwhile I had assumed I WASN'T. and we laugh about it to this day

[penofwildfire]

We all know that Arin seeing his parents during the S1 finale majorly fucked him up but imagine with me for a second how his PARENTS must feel.

They were swept up in a storm, torn from their son and trapped in some weird space between realms. There's probably not much going on, nothing to indicate the passage of time. That alone is gonna drive a person a little crazy.

Then, for a just a moment, a rift opens, and they get a brief glimpse at the outside world. And there's a kid staring back at them, locking eyes with them, and it's not until the rift closes and the moment has passed that it fully registers that's Arin. That's their little boy. He's not so little anymore. They knew it'd been a while, but from the looks of him it's been far longer than they thought. It's been years. Their son is growing up without them. They can only hope he's okay. They can only pray they'll be reunited.

[brain-rot-hour]

90's kids

[waywardsunlight]

I was thinking about Philip's religiousity about Caleb and how Luz mirrors Caleb, especially in the scene where she's finally wearing her witch hat and staring him down as he's on the ground in front of her. And the intentional choice that we saw Caleb in a witch hat too. Kind of about... how gods or echoes are created through obsession, how Philip created the concept of Caleb and made him a god completely against what Caleb wanted, and how Caleb appears as an omen of his death with Philip's other murder victims before he sees Luz with the same expression as the rain begins to fall.

It's interesting to me that Philip argues with Caleb and tells him that it's "all his fault". He's trying to put the blame on this outside figure that acts of it's own accord rather than facing that Caleb's been dead for centuries and while Philip has used Caleb and Luz and Hunter and Evelyn and Darius and Lilith and Eda- to justify himself, in the end the decisions that put him there are not from any outside force but rather by his own hand.

[rabbits-of-negative-euphoria]

you are pitting Jesus and Santa Claus against each other. I am acknowledging Santa as both a mythic symbol of Christ and a cultural legend based upon a real man whose faithfulness to Christ was used by God to grant common grace not just to the people of Myra but throughout the entire world. we are not the same.

[phosphophylight-of-my-life]

oshi no ko aqua is such a fun character bc by most counts he's a more than decent guy.

in his first life he regularly visited hospital inpatients who had no visitors. he was genuinely happy and excited to help Ai deliver her babies, because he wants her to be happy on her own terms. he saves Akane simply because he can, and gets angry at the staff on her behalf. he doesn't stop at saving her life and spends sleepless nights turning around her public image. at that point there was nothing in it for him to keep akane around, she was just a person he was able to help and wanted to help.

by most counts he's a pretty decent guy who steps up when people need him most, except. except he's also a guy who really wants to kill his dad and that makes him manipulate people somewhat often and this is somehow not entirely at odds with his instinct to help others

[headfullof-ideas]

I have more headcanons. These ones are of the Nektons, and the kids relationships with each parent

Ant

- He taught himself sign language, and proceeded to not tell anyone for four and a half years straight

- He doesn’t eat fish and most other seafood because of Jeffrey

- He’s allergic to bee stings and pollen

- Ant was born two months early in International Waters, which is why he’s so small for his age

- Ants wants some sort of reptile pet beyond Jeffrey, like a lizard or snake, but is worried about it getting thrown around on the Aronnax during the families many adventures

Fontaine

- Fontaine had an emo undercut when she was twelve. She burns any photo of it she can find, embarrassed

- She likes playing around with clothing styles

- Her favorite instruments to play are guitar and piano

- Fontaine is really good at cutting her own hair, but can’t be trusted to cut someone else’s at all

- Cannot stand pickles in the slightest, but weirdly enough loves cucumbers

Kaiko

- Knows martial arts, and teaches her children

- Was a lot like Ant as a kid, but mellowed out as she got older

- Kaiko loves sci-fi movies and stories, and has a personal collection of comics from her childhood

- She snores nearly as loud as Will

- Kaiko can pilot more than marine vehicles. She can also fly most planes, including helicopters

Will

- Burns water. He’s the worst cook in the family

- Watches the Olympics to laugh at the competitors he competed against and didn’t like. It’s his soccer

- Has a traditional Māori (I think that’s what ethnicity he is, I’m not sure) tattoo across his back, representing his family

- Carries several pictures of his kids and wife in his wallet, and shows them off to anyone who stands too close and too still long enough

- Is weirdly pretentious about tea despite living on nothing but coffee

Ant, Fontaine, and Kaiko

- Ant wants to be a Marine Biologist like his mum when he grows up, and Fontaine wants to be an Ecologist with a Music Degree on the side. Kaiko tells them that she’ll support whatever they decide so long as they finish their homework

- Ant is insecure of how few traits he gets from Kaiko’s side of the family in comparison to Fontaine, and Kaiko likes to kiss his freckles and say that it’s there in the small traits he gets from her

- Fontaine and Ant both inherited Kaiko’s recklessness and stubbornness, and Kaiko calls to apologize to her parents every time she suffers from it

- Fontaine likes to have girls days with her mom, doing make up and talking about how dumb the boys in their family can be. Kaiko enjoys the time she spends with her daughter

- Ant and Fontaine both went to great lengths to try and convince Kaiko to let them keep the sea snake they found when they were kids. Kaiko had to pull up every ounce of patience and self-control she had to resist the puppy eyes

Ant, Fontaine and Will

- Will teaches Ant and Fontaine the traditional Hakka, and can’t tell if he should be proud or terrified for their lives when Ant starts doing it to the Monumentials and Fontaine to Hammerhead

- Ant and Fontaine both had a game growing up where they’d throw themselves at Will to see if he could catch and carry them both. They continue to do it well into their late teens, and sometimes still as adults

- Will was adamant he be the one to teach Ant and Fontaine how to swim. He’s a very proud papa when they get into the odd swimming competition and dominate

- Fontaine and Will have inside jokes about how they’re both banned for life from the kitchen. Will calls Fontaine a traitor when she’s allowed in to bake

- Ant can’t help but compare himself to pictures of his dad at his age, lamenting about how he’s not as tall or big. When he confides about this to Will, he tells him about how self conscious he was about how much taller and bigger than everybody else he was at Ants age

[phatcatphergus]

Do you think that when tubbo came back and saw how much fun Sunny had with Fit, he immediately thought about how he could never be the father she deserves

[har-har-harvey]

clark kent can’t ever take his shirt off because kryptonians have more abs than humans in an extremely noticeable way and that’s why he’s able to lift insane shit. not because he has super strength but because he literally has more muscles. the rest of it is super stuff, like the flying and invulnerability. but the strength? nope, just more abs

[sallymew4]

bwena nojez

[bonebabbles]

Im doing some back-reading for an essay I'm writing and jesus christ, the amount of microaggressions Wind Runner experiences is just insane.

[ypipie]

*looking at stuff I did six months ago* aha that was so embarrassing I have to (remembers I shouldn't make suicide jokes) change for the better

[smalltall]

This will most likely not be explored in Beyond the Spider-verse but Margo and Gwen have such interesting similarities. Both are smart, tough, emotionally guarded young girls, who abandoned their families (though Margo is still physically present with hers) because living at home became unbearable and no grownup in their respective universes could help.

Spider HQ was an easy escape both from that mess and from the terror of being a kid dealing with heavy shit by yourself; they were too relieved at first to really question Miguel's motives or methods. (Hobie is just a few years older but has been on his own for a lot longer; he learned the necessary self-reliance to be wary of any institute offering easy solutions in exchange for autonomy.) Now Gwen and Margo have lost that escape and can only rely on the other members of their little outlaw group.

They could have a neat dynamic wherein Miles, still angry at Gwen, starts connecting more with Margo, particularly over their shared use of electricity; Gwen's jealous of course but knows she has no leg to stand on. Eventually the girls start talking, find things in common, bond over their affection for Miles and being two of the only girls on Team Spider-Outlaw; there are so many possibilities for how their friendship could grow. Perhaps they go to an electrical dead zone where Margo's Spider-Byte avatar can't function so she goes in person, and suddenly feels extremely vulnerable being there as "just Margo"--but Gwen, having an opportunity to gloat, instead reminds her that "just Margo" created a digital self that can cross dimensions, so she's pretty fabulous even without all the bells and whistles. When Margo regains her powers later she in turn can save Gwen by making Miguel's suit glitch, or creating a hologram of a dimension-hopping portal to trick the Spot.