#one day they'll stop unintentionally mirroring each other

[xaeneron]

Happy Halloween, friends <3

One last questionable phone photo for this year, and Ive loves Halloween. I know Ive dressed up as Ilex last year as a joke, now we're just going all in and letting Ilex get in on it too. Ilex is, in fact, taller than Ive, but...that doesn't say much when Ive is tiny.

[kyouka-supremacy]

One of the reasons I love sskk is that you get the best of both worlds. One day I will analyse the way they are both mirrored versions of each other and the same and the next day I will clown them to hell and back because both are dumbasses (affectionate)

(Sorry if I'm sending you too many asks. I don't have anyone in my life that has read BSD, so this gives me a chance to talk about it [and my sons]. Love your blog ^-^)

THAT IS SO TRUE. They are a full 360° ship where you just can't go wrong. They'll be unpacking their deepest fears and bringing out the darkest sides of their minds and hitting and hitting and hitting because they hate themselves so much that they can't help but wanting the person that is most similar to them dead and then right after they'd be like “this riding experience is terrible” and “want to get some tea or something” and “you don't shop normally in normal places!” and whatever delightful thing their inexperienced attempts at plotting in chapter 85 was. They're profound and silly at the same time and it's so amusing and it basically forces you to want to pinch and pull at them untill you've seen all the forms their interactions can take.

Random babbling incoming but like. Their apparent stupidity and simplicity is exactly as important as the narrative symbolism and depth of their connection, because that's what makes them human, and relatable. We CAN'T all be supergenius, and sskk are so so ///so/// flawed, and it's so beautiful in its own way!!! Because humans are flawed, and it makes them feel all the more realistic and easy to sympathize with. And - crazy enough, listen to me carefully here - this duality of depth and simplicity is itself yet another side to the way the two mirror each other. Where Atsushi is always dwelling on his past and overthinking his actions, Akutagawa holds a way more simple, straightforward mindset: he's the “what a foolish question” and he's the “I don't need words, only actions”. I think they really work perfectly together, because Akutagawa often comes as someone who can help ground Atsushi from the ghosts that surround him, make him understand that the past is gone and what matters is here and now (see chapter 35 “The words of your past are fundamentally unrelated to who you are now”). Relating such concept, it's now been more than a month but I haven't been able to stop thinking about this reply from a fic author- quoting it directly because I wouldn't be able to explain it any better. (Please, make sure to read their works if you have the chance, they're incredible)

one of my favorite parts of bsd is how it addresses that 1. your emotional realities are valid and should be lived out and 2. sometimes mental blocks are solved not by indulging in them but by a reality check. sometimes when a person says “it feels like i’m drowning in my emotions”, “learn to swim” is a correct response. it’s silly and funny, but it’s also true. akutagawa engages with a lot of atsushi’s emotional realities by directly telling him: you have to move on. not in a “get over it” dismissive way, but in a “that’s just what you have to do” way. it’s a reminder that things are not hopeless, and they could never be, and indulging such a notion is mighty silly.

That's exactly it. I've particularly been reflecting over the “learn to swim” figure because it's. so silly and at the same time so serious and important in the way it perfectly‚ flawlessly exemplifies this aspect of the sskk relationship and in what Atsushi and Akutagawa are so different. The way they can actually, realistically help each other overcome their insecurity and fears, the way they unintentionally yet perfectly push each other to be better people every day makes me insane.

[snapdragon-mina]

Enchanted Pt. 3

Kuroo x GN!Reader

A/N: The final installment of this series ✨✨

Warnings: No beta we die like men, swearing, implied death, poisoning, attempted murder, etc Crack treated seriously.

Word Count: 1.3k

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3]

The chime was heard and they let out a sob, a panicked look gracing their face. Unintentionally letting out a string of "no". Tetsurou's face fell as he stared up at them. " No? I don't- I don't understand? What's wrong? Is it.. Is it my uncle's politics? Your family? Those things aren't important, (y/n)." His voice was soft as he stood and put his arms on their shoulders. "What's important is our love for each other. With this, we can conquer anything."

Tears continued to stream down their face as he talked, the dagger shaking in their hands behind them. "I do love you, Tetsu."

He kissed them softly and hugged them, resting his face in the crook of their neck as the hand with the dagger shakily raised towards his upper back. As they watched, unable to stop their own body, all of their memories of the curse flooded in. Their stepbrothers manipulating them, the accidental incidents, and every other traumatic memory that came with this god forsaken curse. Their hand continued to shake, harder than before as they sobbed, the dagger getting closer.

"I will no longer be obedient..." They mumbled before yelling it out. "YOU WILL NO LONGER BE OBEDIENT." And in one fell swoop, they let go of the dagger right as Tetsu saw it with wide eyes. A loud clatter sounded as it hit the stone. They collapsed in complete relief as Tetsurou continued to stare in disbelief. He took a step back, and then several more.

"I'm free... I did it... I'm finally free..."

"You... You tried to kill me."

Right on que, Kei walked in, followed by Tadashi. "Guards! Take them away."

"No. Wait, no, Tetsu. Tetsu please, I didn't-" They continued to beg as they were picked up and forcefully removed from the Hall of mirrors before being thrown into a dungeon.

----⭐----

"You realize that they'll be sentenced to death immediately, yes?" Kei asked Tetsurou.

"I don't understand... Maybe I should talk to them." He spoke in a quiet voice, going to walk out of the room.

"No!" The blonde cleared his throat. "No, you're not allowed down there."

Tadashi spoke up. "Your Highnesss, Your uncle didn't want to sscare you but the ssecret police informed us of a posssible... uprissing. Thosse... ogress in the foresst, were after you."

"They were obviously part of the scheme," Kei continued. "The ogres never planned to hurt them. They were just toying with your emotions, Tetsu. They wanted to get close to you so they could commit the crime themselves."

"I don't believe it."

"Well, it does seem pretty unbelievable, but it is undeniably the truth. Let me worry about this, yes? Just worry about your coronation tomorrow." Kei pet his shoulder and left.

----❌----

"Sso, yknow how I've been working with the red guard? Why not call it in now and take over their entire kingdom asss planned?" Tadashi hums.

"We need to get rid of the prince first, Tadashi. Though... I might have an idea for that matter." They looked at each other, a sick sense of glee filled their voices as the laughed.

----🍀----

Shoyo spoke to a group of elves and two giants as they planned to infiltrate the castle, only to hear a familiar voice. Searching, He found Ryuunosuke in a trash can. He managed to let Shoyo know about the trouble (y/n) was in before being interrupted by ogres. Luckily for them, the ogres joined their cause. The group searched the dungeons after taking out the only guard that was on duty.

(Y/n) heard voices. One voice stuck out so much that they decided to push their luck. "Shoyo???"

"(Y/n)!" They found each other and Shoyo helped (y/n) out of their cell. (Y/n) caught everyone up and together they discovered that Kei had poisoned the crown that Tetsurou was set to wear during his coronation.

--------

The coronation began and Kei proudly spoke. "People of Lamia, today is a very special day in the kingdom. Today, you're here to witness the crowning of a king."

Tetsu walked out looking just as miserable as he did the previous night, somehow managing to tune out the piercing screams of his fanclub.

From a door Shoyo could be seen poking his head out, followed by (y/n), and then an ogre. They scouted the guards before looking to the ogre for help.

Back during the ceremony, Kei ordered for the crown to be brought in and a child brought it in on a pillow. As Tetsu was in the process of being crowned, Kei and Tadashi waited in anticipation only for the entire ceremony to be disturbed by none other than (Y/n). They forced the doors open and walked into the room with all of elves, giants, and ogres backing them up.

"DROP THE CROWN."

The crowd gasped and turned to stare at the intruder in shock.

Tetsu whispers their name in shock at the same time Kei demanded that they be caught. All hell broke loose. Ogres were bashing in knights's Armor, Giants were swatting away guards, and at some point Tadashi even pushed a button that made the red guards appear. The moment they did, They were given orders to kill the intruders and anyone that got in their way.

Tetsu tossed (Y/n) a sword and swung via rope towards them. "I can't believe I'm saving you after you tried to kill me."

"I didn't try to kill you!" They defended.

A guard appeared and Tetsu immediately stood in front of them, point the sword and demanding they stay out of it. Another guard appeared and both Tetsurou and (Y/n) fought them off side by side.

"What so the dagger that was about to go in my back was an early wedding present?" He asked, still fighting the guard.

"Okay, maybe I did try to kill you. But it wasn't me!" They both flipped the two guards on their backs.

"What?"

"Okay, maybe it was me, but it wasn't my fault!" They ducked as another guard ran at them.

As their fight went on, Kiyoko continuously tried to turn Ryuu back into a human. She failed more than once, but eventually, she did it.

(Y/n) explained their curse and then Kei's plan to murder him.

"...Kei's trying to kill me?"

"Yes, One moment-" They paused to beat the shit out of one of the guards due to pure unadulterated frustration. When they calmed back down they led Tetsu away. "There's one more thing. He killed your father."

"What? That's not....no.... That can't be right."

"No shit it's not true. Who are you going to believe, Tetsu? This lying little fling of yours or the man who raised you?" Kei said with a false softness in his voice. As this happened, a snake could be seen, fully preparing to bite. It wasn't successful, as (Y/n) stomped on it's body the moment they noticed it and kicked them away.

A moment of silence before "He tried to kill Tetsu!" Was cried out and suddenly Tadashi had a mob of very pissy fangirls on his ass.

Tetsurou turned towards Kei with the most unamused look. "Well that answers that question."

"You vile child." Kei hissed at (y/n). "I should've gotten rid of you when I had the chance."

"You almost destroyed the kingdom! You killed my Dad, your own BROTHER! How could you??" Tetsu stared at Kei, expecting answers.

"I wanted something and he was in my way. So I got rid of him," By this point, they had a crowd watching them. "He wasn't fit to wear the crown and neither are you." He seethed before placing the poisoned crown on his head. He immediately regretted the decision as he forced out a single "Fuck." before collapsing.

"You saved my life." Tetsu grinned at them.

"And now we're even." They grinned back at him.

A shout was heard from none other that Tooru himself as he and Tobio ran up. "(Y/n) Stop! I'm commanding you to stop!!"

(Y/n) turned at looked at Tooru, walked over to him and snatched their mother's necklace back. "Wanna bet?"

Tooru had the nerve to look offended.

"Marry me?" Tetsu asked them for the second time.

"That, I can do." They smiled and kissed him softly.

[briannamcintire]

2-year-olds aren’t terrible—they’re just learning how to be human

When looked at with fresh eyes, these misbehaviors can make sense, even to us. Then you will be able to guide your child through it to a more socialized way of being.

Ask any parent what he or she wants most for their children and the majority will say, “I want my child to be happy."

Yes, parents also want their kids to be safe and resilient, knowing the world can be an adversarial place and that in order to truly succeed in life—in whatever they aspire to do and be—they need to develop certain emotional skills and become well-adjusted.

They will also say they want their children to be “kind," “caring," “respectful," and often “successful" and “smart." These are all values that most of us share. Who wouldn't want a child to grow up to be kind, caring, successful, and happy?

But can we really make our children happy? Can we force them to be genuinely kind?

No. We really can't make our kids do anything. We can kiss them, love them, hug them and indulge them. We can sign them up for myriad activities, plan playdates and vacations, give them music lessons, Mandarin classes, gymnastics, soccer, and ballet, and do our utmost to get them into the best schools.

And just as we shift our expectations of our no-longer babies, all hell seems to break loose. A switch is flicked and our sweet little ones turn into demanding, irrational, often defiant toddlers. We worry that if we don't clamp down on their “bad" behaviors now, they will have these behaviors forever.

It may surprise you to know that parents often—unwittingly, unintentionally—get in the way of their toddlers growing into the well-adjusted, empathetic, resilient, happy older children and adults they envision them to be.

Parents often think they are doing what is best for their children, when in fact, all they are doing is blocking the needs that are at the core of who that child is. And when we suffocate those needs, or even simply overlook them, when we, unwittingly or not, try to mold our children, and shape their behavior according to some preconceived expectations of who they are and who we think they ought to be, we stamp out and smother them. We deny them the crucial foundation necessary for every child to grow up well.

By getting in their way, we can inadvertently sabotage our children's development in, we take away their ability to understand themselves, to explore the world in a way that makes sense to them and encourages their curiosity. We truncate their motivation to learn. We take away their confidence to forge relationships, and most crucial of all, we interrupt their ability to develop the emotional skills necessary for them to succeed in school and in life.

I don't mean succeed in the way we tend to think of success these days: that they will become straight-A students, awesome athletes, accomplished artists, or the next great business innovators—though all of that might happen, too.

What I mean by success is this: a person who feels confident to explore the world around him with excitement and curiosity, who is not afraid to make mistakes, who feels secure enough to begin to make friends, and who feels well-adjusted enough to bounce back when she is disappointed. A person who can handle life is motivated to learn, stands up for herself, and cares about others. Sound too good to be true?

Not at all.

Toddlers do or say many things that from an adult point of view appear to be irrational, unsocialized, or even absurd. Indeed, many of our toddlers' seemingly illogical choices make us parents very nervous. We can get embarrassed.

Our response?

We tend to overcorrect them, or criticize them, or simply stop them. As adults, we see our toddlers' erratic behavior as needing to be controlled because they seem so out of control, which, from an adult view, they might be. This is when we tend to fall back on generalizations about the classic “terrible twos"—or threes or fours.

We see kids this age as misbehaving or rude or not listening or losing it or throwing temper tantrums over nothing. But when looked at with fresh eyes, these misbehaviors can make sense, even to us. Then you will be able to guide your child through it to a more socialized way of being. Eventually.

So what can parents do? There are six key ways parents can interact with their toddler. Parents can:

1. Mirror back a sense of safety and relative order

2. Listen to children instead of always talking at and directing them

3. Give children freedom to play and explore on their own

4. Allow children the space and opportunity to struggle and fail

5. Work to understand who each individual child is and what he needs at a given age

6. Provide children with limits, boundaries, and guidance

7. These simple actions give any child a strong foundation to grow during a time when they are just beginning to test and understand themselves in relation to others and respond to and manage their complicated feelings.

And guess what happens when we interact with our kids in this way? We suddenly become disentangled from the battles; calm and clear enough to respond to what our child is really needing at any given moment (rather than starting with what the adult needs at that moment); and flexible enough to give our kids choices while at the same time providing support and boundaries.

Helping your 2-year-old learn to communicate and develop the social skills they'll need as adults is no easy task. Here are some of our favorite products that can help.