#they're so good and i see their parents in them

[venus111]

Astrology observations

👾 most of the air moon natives I’ve met have dimples

👾 Aquarius moons are good at acting,several famous celebrities have this placement

👾 people born on the 5th,14th,23rd are very beautiful and popular. I had a classmate who was born on September 5th all the boys were in love with her they used to come to class just to see her

👾 Taurus risings love listening to music all the time

👾 Scorpios tend to be attracted to Leos this pair may be good parents to their children since they seldom lose faith in their marriage

👾 Uranus/aquarius in the 6th house/degree can get electrocuted be careful

👾 mutable signs are naturally good at manifesting

👾 I’ve seen many Taurus placements women have pimples/rashes on their chest

👾 Lilith in 2H/degree/taurus natives can cook very well

👾 Sagittarius/pisces placements are either lucky or extremely unlucky things won’t work out for them

👾 The country italy has a Gemini rising. Italians are known to use their hands so much when they talk

👾 Libra and Pisces placements attract narcissists and abusers

👾 Aries placements tend to view love as a cat-and-mouse chase

👾 Scorpio women don’t have female friends If they don't get the right feeling about someone straight away, they're not interested in building a friendship.

👾 Mars in the 12th,7th,10th,and 11th house indicates bullying from other people

👾Scorpio,Pisces and cancer in the 3rd house daydream even when they’re driving

👾 I always wondered why the Somali people have big foreheads and are great entrepreneurs. The country Somalia has Aries Rising (Capricorn MC)

[luna-has-some-thoughts]

Pt2Danny Accidentally becomes the Ghost king, the president and the biggest threat to Bruce's social status.

Pt 1 link:

Part 2 Danny becomes the president.

Amity Parkers are the most adaptable people in the world. They're barely fazed by anything.

If you throw them into a situation that they are very unfamiliar with, it'll only take them five minutes to adjust before they start planning on how to live with this situation.

The Amity Parker mindset is: "Oh, I guess this is happening now."

So when the ghosts start attacking? The Amity Parkers immediately look for ways to avoid and protect themselves from the ghosts, not even questioning why ghosts are real. The only thing they think about is, "Damn, there's a ghost. I hope it doesn't attack the theater; I really want to see that movie."

When Phantom had his debut as a hero? The Amity Parkers started looking for ways to help, ways to keep out of his way (some to try and keep him away). The thought running through their minds was, "So this one is trying to protect us? Guess we have a hero now."

Amity Parkers don't spend their time getting mad at the sudden change of routine, the sudden loss of normalcy, or the broken buildings. Amity Parkers don't ask why and how ghosts are real, don't question if all ghosts are evil or if there are some good ghosts, and don't even think of how to get rid of them completely (they're part of the community now). They only look for ways to keep themselves from getting overshadowed. They definitely don't spend time thinking if the ghosts could bring more danger in the future or looking for more information for possible contingency plans. They aren't Batman; they believe that if the present is good, then the future will be better.

Point is, Amity Parkers are resilient and adaptable. They will take everything in stride and focus on the present. So what if some ghosts attack and block the street? They need to get to work, so they'll just drive around it.

After the whole Pariah Dark thing, they become liminal, gaining some form of super strength and glowing eyes (symptoms vary based on how strong the radiation on a person is). A normal human would think, "OH MY GOD, I'M DYING!" The Amity Parkers went, "Oh, cool, this is cool, but now I'm having a problem with opening doors without breaking the knob. Maybe the Fentons could do something about it, make stronger knobs or something."

When some babies started gaining some inhuman features? Some start floating? (Sharper ears, fangs. Babies adapt to things faster, so they get more ecto radiation.) The Amity parents went, "Is there a way to keep my child on the ground without leashing them like a dog?" Then proceeded to make a help blog for other Amity parents dealing with the same things.

So when the ghosts start becoming more of the community rather than enemies, the Amity Parkers just shrugged and asked for a book of ghost customs so they don't accidentally offend them.

When the Fentons started making ghost and human-safe items, no one even questioned why Danny had so much money and was funding his parents' research.

When Danny's name was almost (if not) in everything and he seemed to own most of the town, no one questioned it.

But everything changed when the GIW came again. Even the Amity Parkers weren't expecting this change.

The GIW waltzed in, claiming the liminal town was theirs to play with and started attacking everyone, including the Amity Parkers. The Amity Parkers went full defense mode, protecting the ghosts that were now their friends/neighbors/lovers, making sure that nothing would harm them.

They learned that it was Vlad who called on the GIW. He was pissed and petty that the crown was taken from him and decided to report his liminal town, pretending to be a "concerned mayor" who "wants his people to be healed."

The Amity Parkers were mad... they were furious.

And in the moment they saw Phantom fall to the ground, unconscious, and watched him de-transform from the hero King Phantom to the kid that owns and funds the most helpful companies in town, something changed. Something in the Amity Parkers changed.

Keep in mind that Amity Parkers don't change; they remain the same as they adapt to whatever change the world throws at them.

NEVER ONCE HAD THE AMITY PARKERS DECIDED TO MAKE A CHANGE THEMSELVES.

The first thing they changed? Their mentality. NEVER AGAIN WERE THEY GOING TO LET OUTSIDE FACTORS CHANGE THEIR LIVES. THIS IS THEIR TOWN AND IT WILL STAY THAT WAY.

God help the GIW for being their first victims.

An angry town of liminals, ghosts, and borderline gods, who have access to the Fentons' very destructive and effective technology.

Vs.

The regular GIW humans with anti-ghost tech they stole from the Fentons and nothing against liminals.

The battle was a swift victory, destroying not only the GIW in town but also all of its branches (and Vlad) with almost no traces of them even existing in the first place.

The change didn't stop there, however.

The Amity Parkers banded together with Team Phantom and the Fentons (minus Danny, as he is healing and shouldn't know about their plans; the hero should rest) and took out some of that ghost king money that Danny's trying to get rid of. They crashed the UN meeting while kidnapping the president of America.

The Amity Parkers have decided that Amity Park is theirs; it belongs to the people and its heroes. But how is it supposed to be truly theirs if they have to follow the rules of the country that funded the GIW?

A couple of death threats, bribing, more death threats and more money bribing to make sure the anti ecto acts are gone and the League of Bitches (Phantom called the JL that, and the Amity Parkers decided it was true) doesn't know about it, and a couple of hours in the nightmare realm (courtesy of Fright Knight, who happily participated when he found out what happened), and Amity Park was now its own independent country.

They decided that Tucker was to be a main part of security, letting him put up another firewall like the GIW did to make sure no one knows about their country. They don't want the League of Bitches or any outsider in the King's Haunt. It's theirs now; it belongs to the Ghost King of Amity Park, outsiders be gone.

And when it came to deciding who would be leader? There was no hesitation as they wrote down:

Daniel "Danny Phantom" Fenton, King of the Infinite Realms, King and President of Amity Park.

___________________

A couple of years later, Batman, finding hints of a "Lazarus pit" in Illinois, send Flash to look around for anything suspicious. Flash, hyper focused on following his gps, hits a wall, literally faceplants into it.He double checks his map, the wall wasn't supposed to be there. He goes around it, there no way in, no way out. He goes back to batman and reports.

Pt3 soon.

Tags as requested

@nana-mizu-shiki

@talia-scar123

[evilminji]

I got distracted, BUT I REMEMBERED!

The Dr.'s Fenton? Would ABSOLUTELY fight a child.

Specifically, Hatsume Mei. Future CEO of Hatsume Industries! And ENGINEERING RIVAL of their's! They may be new to this whole "support industy" business, but they are SEASONED weaponry makers! And that brilliant little upstart is good! Audacious! A THREAT!!!

COME GET SOME!!! D:<

See, they needed to Move. Things were getting a bit... spicy. They may have made so unfortunate choices, back before they knew the truth about their Son and Ghosts in general.

Ignorance, bigotry, and academic bias are curses in their house for a REASON, after all. They never thought... after all the DECADES of facing it themselves...

Well...

Needless to say, they were, are, and will always BE horrified by how they acted. There may have be a whole host of reasons behind WHY they acted that way. But those WHYs aren't good enough. They should have been better. Done better. They don't offer any excuses, but but they can give an explanation, if it's wanted.

And, together, as a family, they got through Maddie n Jack's horrifying mistakes.

God they don't deserve those kids. Love them to pieces. The things they don't warn ya about parenthood, you know? The mistakes you might make. You think you're ready. Think everything's alright. Then your life's work KILLS your son and brings him back.

And you don't notice.

......what sort of parents DONT NOTICE?

They still have nightmares. Feel sick. God, if they were working in ANY other field. With ANY other materials! If it wasn't SPECIFICALLY ectoplasm? He... he wouldn't have come back. Oh god.

........

So.... so, yeah.

They're working on some things! As a family! Seeing a therapist from the Zone. Lovely... Them? They're a tree person. Neither Jack or Maddie is quite certain what gender pronouns, if ANY, they are supposed to use. They've been defaulting to They/Them just to be safe. Still! Alien therapist! Neat!

But, of COURSE. The BABIES in White throw a FIT. "Wah, wah, wah you've been compromised blah blah blah" oh PLEASE! Just because they've had a little personal growth! And stopped shooting at Phantom in public! And in general! You shoot ONE little Goverment agent for trying to shoot your baby and suddenly YOUR the bad guy!

He didn't even die!

So, yeah, BIT spicy.

Honestly? Feels like a long time coming. They were never very popular. This ultimately just feels like the ends of a road that began in college. Them, the two "crazies" with their backs to the wall, as the government closes in, trying to tear them down for knowing the TRUTH and refusing to shut up about it. Their reputations so deep in the mud, they're tasting bedrock.

At least they are together.

And thank god they've had years to plan for the inevitable.

So? They have the kids grab their go bags and head off too stay with Danny's new celebrity friend from another dimension, Mr Wayne. Nice man, little dim, but since he's willing to open his home to the kids in case of emergency? Perfect. And frankly, as long as Mr. Pennyworth is there, everything will be fine.

Besides! Lil Damian is a very respectful and responsible young man. Tim and Danny may get up to mischief, but they can trust the youngest to put his foot down.

THEM on the other hand?

Not so lucky. THEY have to stay with the house. It's not exactky like they can move the portal after all, it's built in. And this is where the kids grew up! Where Jack and her scrimped and saved, lived out of cars and off nickle noodles, to afford! This is their HOME! And no jack booted THUG is going to take that.

So the kids go first. They go to the command center. Jack takes pot shots while she fires up... THAT machine. The one they wired into the house itself, right along with the Ectoplasmic Shielding. It was all theoretical, once. But not anymore.

Now they have The Zone.

It's been collecting energy runoff from the open gate ever since it opened. Siphoning them into the sub-basment mega batteries. Enough to run two-thirds the planet for the next half a millennia. If only the damn patent office would LET THEM PATENT THEIR WORK-!

But that doesn't matter anymore. No, what matters is checking how full the battery banks are. Decently. It HAS been a while since they've done a controlled drain. Good, that means they have more then enough.

So, with no kids to witness things getting nasty? She pulls out her keys and unlocks the parental commands, flips the the shields to "strobe-kill". Let's see you crowd us NOW fuckers. With Jack freed up to help aim the house? They set to work.

It's... not EXACTLY an exact science, as much as they'd prefer it to be. More of a controlled jump. Set preferences, power jump, hop sideways an unknown distance. Land. Look around.

Is it what you want?

Habitable?

A zombie apocalypse?

Jump again. And again. And again. Until the battery runs out. Then sit... or float...or drift, there, until the batteries refill. You have to be mindful, of course, that you don't lose Shield coverage. Because it keeps the House air tight and together. If you jump and immediately lose power to the shields because you misjudged the energy left in the batteries?

Better HOPE you land somewhere with a breathable atmosphere and no zombies!

And Fentons don't rely on HOPE! They rely on good ol firepower and hutzpa!

Also advanced ectoplasmic scientific engineering! But that was a given.

It... takes a while. They run out of canned peaches. Have to stop TWICE to help cure a zombie plague, since they are the only ones with a still working lab. They were actually sort of joking with the kids about the zombies. Oof. Good thing Ectoplasm eats EVERYTHING. One specialized ecto shot and that disease is TOAST.

Granted, the surviors are all limnal now. But they don't seem to care in the slightest.

Then there was the whole "oop! Planet's gone." Couple of worlds. The one with the crabs. The ocean one. The ice age. The robots. The cartoon horses. The inappropriately dressed high-schoolers with weapons fighting God. The boring one. The one with ninjas...

I mean, they are just NOT having any LUCK!

Okay, next moderately stable world, they are doing a groceries run! A Man can not live off freeze dried meals forever! Well, you CAN. But it's making Jack sad, and frankly that's a war crime. Plus she's run out of tea! AND coffee! A life of no caffeine? She can't endure that.

She's started to eye her son's God awful energy abominations in a can, for God sake! Desperate time's and all that...

Zyeyooom!

Thunk!

Which? Is how? The ENTIRE class of 1-H? Turns to stare in ABSOLUTE HORROR at the cackling, head thrown back, hands clawed, mad scientist "it's alive! It's aliiiiiiive" type insanity that is Hatsume Mei and her "this green goo I found from some guys Quirk" powered teleport anchor.

It MADE A HOUSE.

On SCHOOL FUCKING GROUNDS. An ENTIRE house! Is... is that a blimp? That's English right? What's it say?! What the FUCK is that sh- OH MY GOD ARE THOSE PEOPLE!? MEI!!!!!

So begins... the Fentons Beef With A Child™.

Because! Mei will forever more claim! That SHE brought them to this universe with HER magnificent machine! But Maddie and Jack? At first, trying to be nice about it, helpfully point out, actually? No. THEIR house can and does reality jump. THEY brought themselves.

Mei ignores them.

Crows about her magnificent machine. Scoffs about them thinks they haspd anything to do with it.

Oh... oh it is ON, you tiny pink haired little shit!

Does the Japanese Government want to take control of the situation? Of course they do. They want these scientists and they want that house. Local Nedzu's say? "It's nice to want things" :) *sips tea mockingly*

They landed on HIS school's grounds. Finders keepers!

You may say "threat to national security" but HE says "free support gear for the students and security for the school"! Not to MENTION all this delightful FREE clean energy! They are a delightful couple. With a portal to the fabric between realities in their basement!

Not found of the laboratory, but that's a personal issue. The ZONE however? Oooohohohohoho~☆

It? Would DRIVE THE HPSC and Japanese government BATSHIT INSANE that they can't get at the portal? That threats and stealth Heros and every other method? Just... hits a brick wall. A big ol "lol nope!" Meanwhile Nedzu and occasionally random teachers or students are popping in and out of this house they can get into?

Nedzu especially standing just on the other side of the shields going >:3 neener~ neener~ neener~ Ha ha! I could be mature about this but am CHOOSING NOT TO BE!

@legitimatesatanspawn @mutable-manifestation @hdgnj @hypewinter @babbling-babull

[mochinomnoms]

What do you think would happen if Floyd were to meet Riddle's mother?! Cuz I just read your Mama/Papa leech Headcanons about meeting their sons crush. But what if it’s reversed? Riddle's mother Meeting Floyd? (I would also say Yuu's parents meeting Jade, but unfortunately, that won't be happening)

“Wow, I thought Lil Goldfishie was a stick in the mud, his mama has a whole branch up her—” *gets kicked in the groin*

I have very mixed feelings about Riddle's mother, in that with the context we have right now she's a bitch and if I ever see her it's on motherfucking sight. But she must love her son still, right? Is she harsh because he wants to set Riddle up for success, but only knows the way she was raised? Is she scared of her kid getting hurt or failing, and so she tries to shield him from all possible harm? Is she so hyperaware of all the dangers in society that she feels the need to keep him in a little bubble, knowing in the back of her mind that making mistakes and getting hurt is part of growing up? A good mother would never want to see their child ever get hurt if it were up to them. I mean, she must care for him in some way, but how? In the manga or novel (not sure which) they mention that she fought back against the school to keep him in, but was that because she wanted him to have the prestige of NRC in his background or because she wants what's best for him? She homeschooled him herself to the point that he's an immensely powerful mage already as a teen, so she could've hypothetically kept doing the same thing, right? Is she a mother that truly cares for her son but suffered the same childhood, but she “turned out fine” so it must be fine? Or is she just a bitch, lol. Either way, she is emotionally and affectionately neglectful and doesn't realize it at best, and emotionally and psychologically abusive at worst.

I have a lot to say on the topic of Mrs. Rosehearts, about her parenting, the cultural differences of child-rearing that EN players and JP players might have. This post talks about it in depth, but I can say more on the topic later.

In regards to Floyd meeting Mrs. Rosehearts, probably against Riddle's wishes or while he's distracted, the poor guy is set up for disappointment. While it's implied that Mama Leech is overprotective and that she calls very often, if not daily, to check in on her sons, they still had enough freedom growing up to get into shenanigans and hijinks. I mean, they beat up a sturgeon and took some of its scales to fashion into earrings like a trophy. And they both speak very fondly of her, so Floyd is going into meeting Mrs. Rosehearts with the expectation that she might be a bit stuffy. But, she raised Riddle, his crush and favorite human! He's strict and mean at times, but he cares a lot for his dorm and is super diligent, she must be like that too!

But she's so…critical. She looks at him unamused, very standoffish, but is polite. He guesses. He can see where Riddle got his strictness from.

“Hello. Who might you be?” She probably didn't expect to have some random student, not even from her son's dorm, come up to her. He was...tall. Towered over her, and based on the color of his hair and sharp teeth, most likely wasn't human.

“Huh, you're not as red as my Lil Goldfishie is.”

She blinked and frowned, resisting the urge to chastise the strange fellow for his informal tone and rube behavior. Not her son, not her problem.

“Pardon? Do you often speak to your elders like this?” she asked, eyeing him as she turned away to watch her son give orders to his dorm as they managed an informational booth.

“Yeah, why not? They're just people. Not like I'm being rude or anything” She would strongly disagree. “You're kinda prickly, like a lionfish.”

“W-what?” She changed her mind, someone needs to put him in her place. “Now listen here, young man, it's quite rude to call people anything other than their na—”

“They're real mean, ya know. Venomous, a nuisance, can't even mess with it cause it has a bunch of spines—oh! Imma call you Mama Lionfish.” The young man snapped his left fingers like he made a revelation.

Mrs. Rosehearts had learned to control her temper, but she still had her moments, Her face been bright red, her lips thinned, and she opened her mouth to start berating the young man.

“Floyd Leech! What did I tell you about calling people names?” A tall, slender women came up to them, pale skin and hair hue similar to the man in front of her. She wore a cream-colored dress and matching blazer, adorned with gold and pearls, and a matching wide brimmed hat. She was followed by Riddle, who looked a mix of anger and concern.

“Never do it in front of people, yeah, yeah.” The man named Floyd pouted, but brightened at the sight of Riddle. “Oh hey Lil Goldfishie! What's uuuup?”

Floyd jogged over to Riddle, halting him midstep as Mrs. Rosehearts noticed Riddle almost bristle, trying to sidestep and get around Floyd. He was failing.

“I apologize, you know how boys can be!” The woman in front of her also towered over her, though not nearly as much as her son did. “My Floyd doesn't mean anything by it, he just a silly boy.”

The blue haired woman laughed, then abruptly stopped, narrowing her golden gaze as she thinly smiled.

“You're the man's mother, I assume.” Mrs. Rosehearts replied, smoothing out her skirt and clutching her hands together. “He's very...spirited. He's from the Leech family? Is it safe to assume that your the Leech family matriarch?”

The other woman's sharp toothed smile grew as she nodded. “Yes. It's not often that I come to the surface. But it's wonderful to know that I'm as—oh—well-known, on the surface, as under the sea.”

Mrs. Rosehearts wouldn't use the word 'well-known' as much as she would infamous.

“Yes, well. I would just remind your son to not so blatantly call people names to their faces.” she said, clenching and unclenching her fist in an attempt to sooth herself. “I'm not sure what your customs are under the sea, but up here he would be considered a riffraff.”

For all her talk about politeness, Mrs. Rosehearts forgot herself at time and let things slip out of her mouth faster than she processed. She knew she pressed a button when Mrs. Leech's smile disappeared.

It was only for a moment, but with the blank face and the way her gold eyes bore into her, it felt like her body and soul were being grasped by something dark and violent.

Then that feeling was gone as Mrs. Leech smiled again and closed her eyes, tilting her head.

“He'll be fine, I'm sure he'll find his people. After all, it seems he's already found someone in your son.”

Both women moved their gazes to the pair, now bickering. Well, Riddle was, the one called Floyd, was just swaying on his heels as he grinned and make a comment here and there. Each one after the other seemed to fluster her son further, his cheeks growing in color as they spoke. Most people who knew her son would assume that the red was attributed to his rage, and it mostly was. But (fortunately or unfortunately, she couldn't decide) her son was much like her. It wasn't rage that made his eyes dart away each time their eyes met for too long. It wasn't rage that made him scuff his foot every so often. And it most certainly wasn't rage in his eyes.

Mrs. Rosehearts cleared her throat, turning away from Mrs. Leech and walking to her son.

“I don't know what you're implying, but I must be going now. My son and I still need to tour his dorm.”

Mrs. Leech watched the other woman walk away, sighing.

“Oh, what a disdainful woman. And her son is so lovely too…she really is like a lionfish.”

“Yeah, it's a good nickname for her, right Mama?” Floyd came bounding over, stretching his arms. “Is' too bad she's a stuck-up, gonna real annoying if she's my mother-in-law.”

“Hm, I'll just have to overcompensate then and be the best Mama for you and the little Riddle!” Mama Leech clapped her hands excitedly, sighing in bliss at the thought.

“Oh, it will be so wonderful to see the family grow big...oh! By the way, Floyd.” Mama Leech walked away, Floyd following after diligently. “I might have mentioned a little 'something' to him about your cute rambles about him. He was so cute, all red and flushed when I said you're positively infatuated, calling him cute and—”

“Aw what! Mama!”

[soracities]

Hi, how do you manage to see children as good? I would like to, but I only see them as inconsiderate and terrifing in a way a military robot would be terrifing. Not evil, because they are wired that way and it's just who they are, but everyone would be better off avoiding them. I've been to therapy because I was bullied, but I didn't change my mind. I kinda feel like it's an elephant in the room and I am right. I'd like to hear the good stories as often as possible tho, maybe sth will change

I'm not coming for you, but with all due respect it's not "just who they are".

Children aren't military robots because they aren't lifeless hunks of machinery incapable of thought or feelings; they are human beings (like you were at that age) who are trying to make sense of the world around them (like you did at that age), and who want to be a part of that world and feel welcome in it (like you did at that age). They are not coded to do the same thing over and over with no input from anyone else, they are not machines singly wired for carnage: they watch, learn, adapt, respond and interact with things around them because these are smaller, younger versions of you and me learning what it means to exist on this planet in the first place with barely any filters, impulse control and absolutely no guidance on how to do this except what the environment around them (parents, friends, family, teachers) tell them is and isn't okay.

I don't believe this is a matter of inherent goodness or lack thereof--I don't believe anyone is inherently good or bad: what I believe is that we are all inherently social creatures who desperately want to be part of our communities and involved with other people. Children are no different. They want to learn, they want to help, they want to figure out where they belong in their little social units and they look to you to tell them where that is because they don't know yet. And if they are in an environment where bullying is okay (either because they were treated horribly and no one did anything or they see and hear others being treated horribly and no one did anything or they treated someone else horribly and no one did anything) than that is what they'll accept.

If you follow your logic that everyone is "better off "avoiding children--what then? How do you expect them to learn right from wrong if no one is volunteering to teach them? How do you expect bullying to stop if no one is taking the time to instill it in them that bullying is not okay? How do you expect them to ever learn to be kind and considerate when everyone around them makes it clear they're not wanted? How do you expect them to learn what any kind of care and responsibility looks like if everyone is avoiding them to begin with? How do you expect them to think for themselves and reach their own conclusions if you treat them all like a monolith? Every single adult is an ex-baby, an ex-child, an ex-teenager--how do you expect decent adults to come into this world if you avoid teaching all three of those?

I'm not saying any of this to dismiss what you went through or undermine the horror and the impact of it, and I genuinely am sorry you were put through so much. But the best way I can answer your question is with full honesty: and I think it is going to be difficult for you to find those "good stories" and be open to them if you are already convinced that you are right because of what happened to you, that children are automatically feral terrors and that everyone else is just pretending otherwise or ignoring the reality. I believe what I believe because I've spent years around kids and seen all sides of them. I know they can say horrible things. But I also know they learnt those horrible things from a careless adult, or another child exposed to a careless adult. Children can be terrifying--but they are terrifying to other children. And that terror is coming from a reactive and limited understanding of the world where so much of what happens to you often feels like it's coming from large, hidden, horrible forces you can't wrap your head around (because you can't, because your head is 8 years old). But the fact is adults are also terrifying to children. And which of those are you now?

I can't speculate on what you went through or how you processed it, but I think it's worth considering that you may still be looking at children through the eyes of the child you once were and the horrible experiences you had. Again, I'm not dismissing that pain--it's real and it happened to you, and I can absolutely understand your feelings and conclusions--but that doesn't mean they equate to objective conclusions or generalization about all children, especially since you were a child: would you look at yourself like something similar to a military robot? Would you want to have felt the adults around you thought it better to stay away from you? And what about the people in your life that you care about most? Can you imagine them when they were children, like you were? Would you think the same thing about them?

If you want to change your mind, you need to put yourself in situations where that opportunity arises without expecting that your belief is the default. If you can, ask teachers what their fondest memories are of teaching--what's the funniest thing they've heard, what's the kindest thing they've seen, what's surprised them most about kids? What have they learnt from kids (because you do learn--you learn all the time). Ask people who love children why they love children, or simply see if you can find discussions on forums where people share those stories. As I said, I've heard and seen kids do some awful things--but those are tiny compared to everything I've seen that is the opposite (boys giggling face to face on a hill, a tiny toddler waving at me on a bus, a child naming a slug that crept in through his window, a 9 year old boy trying to teach me morse code after having known me for 2 minutes despite how long it took me to understand). It might also help if you give yourself the opportunity to learn a little about child psychology--if people's experiences aren't enough for you, then maybe getting insights into how children's actual brains and minds work might. If you're curious, there's a documentary series from 2015 or so that follows 4, 5, and 6 years olds as they play and engage with each other here to try and understand what their world looks like.

Sincerely, I don't mean for any of this to sound harsh and I really hope it doesn't--but at the end of the day there isn't a secret, pure anecodte that will magically make you change your mind. Change isn't passive; it's something you decide to do and actively work on and that includes challenging your own beliefs by providing them with new and wider information. I'm not saying you have to become a kindergarten teacher to do this, or start spending all your time around children. But if we are going to survive in this world and forge any kind of lasting connections we have to be able to offer some amount of grace and understanding to each other and the people in our lives--and that goes doubly for the people who have barely even begun learning to be people at all.

[jolys-cane]

TOUR THOUGHTS

Saw the Les Miserables Tour at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto on May 21 2024; here are my thoughts (Long read, sorry I have a lot of feelings)

Prologue/Look Down/Valjean's Soliloquy

We got like, holographic waves crashing and the men are rowing a boat LIKE THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE it's awesome

Oh my god the pipes on the background actors were so good. THE SUN IS STRONG ITS HOT AS HEEELLL BELOW

I miss Javert's stupid guard hat. Was bareheaded as he gave Valjean his yellow ticket

PETIT GERVAIS?????????? Valjean steals a little boy's coin when he's roaming the countryside 😭

Randy Jeter as the Bishop blew me away. Not just his voice but his acting was FANTASTIC every single movement was like. I am an old bishop. This is how an old bishop moves. Idk idk it was really good

Nick Cartell did a great job w Valjean overall, but I totally loved him as pre-MsurM Valjean the most. He acts like a feral animal, grabbing the wine out of the nun's hands and the bread from the priest all hunched over and practically snarling - very very cool and awesome

At the End of the Day

Not a negative but when we went to At the End of the Day there was very minimal lighting and my first thought was Oh no the lighting broke hope they fix it and we don't have to have a brief intermission but then when they went 'At the end of the day there's another day dawning' the lights went up and I was like OHHHHHHHHHHHH so that's just me not understanding lighting direction

Foreman killed it, so did all of the factory workers I love all the interactions and ad-libbing in the background it makes me so happy to see

Every time I saw a tall graceful ensemble member I was like '"That's Kyle Adams" and 8/10 times I was right. Otherwise it was Daniel Gerard Bittner

I Dreamed A Dream

OKKKK VOCALS???? Haley Dortch has such a beautiful, clear, emotional sound and she left not a dry eye in the house. Literally the second intermission hit my parents and myself were like. Holy shit dude what about that Fantine

I got her autograph after the show and she was so so sweet 🥺 She accidentally messed up her signature and had to redo it and was apologising to me and I was like GIRL you brought the house down you could stab me right now and I'd be like 'Thanks have a good one'

Lovely Ladies / Fantine's Arrest

Bamatabois (David Andino) was a standout performance, really chewed the scenery and I adored every second he was on stage (Plus his costume was fantastic)

The other girls defending Fantine 🥺

I like that after the police show up and they basically arrest all of the ladies and pimps, regular well-off citizens come out to witness Valjean defending Fantine from Javert. Thought it was a nice touch

Fantine's Death

My first and only cry of the evening, Haley Dortch no one does it like you

The Confrontation

If you've heard me talk about the confrontation you'll know that I absolutely hate the new chain choreography, HOWEVER. I really really liked it this time. Preston in particular gave it a lot of physicality that I enjoyed

Nick Cartell is a little guy and I don't really believe that his Valjean managed to knock out Preston's Javert

For some reason the percussion was really loud and I could barely hear the vocals so I don't have many thoughts on them

Master of the House / Waltz of Treachery

MATT CROWLE YOU WILL ALWAYS BE FAMOUS

Both Thenardiers were fantastic, not a crazy amount of ad-libbing but when they did they made it count ("BYE, BAGUETTE")

Madame in particular was hilarious

Master of the House is very busy in a good way, everywhere you look interesting things are happening. Another number where the ensemble shines and you can tell everyone is having a blast

The Bargain was funny as hell, Thenardier tells Cosette to die in his arms and she goes limp when he's saying she's 'often been ill'

Valjean gives Cosette Catherine!

Look Down / The Robbery

Gavroche was super charismatic and confident, really great child actor (Milo Maharlika)

Eponine tosses Marius' book across the stage and he goes "I like the way you always ... tease 😐" They're such cute friends together

After Enjolras and the boys are done their preaching Enjolras gets stopped by a policeman and is told off 😭

During the robbery Montparnasse keeps Marius away by brandishing his little knife at him which I thought was cute

Also! Montparnasse is the only member of Thenardier's gang to escape during the Robbery!!! Which is a nice Brick reference

After Thenardier's 'In the absense of a victim' spiel he does this exact pose

Gavroche's little 'Clear the streets' 🫡moment is so cute

Stars

God I love Preston Truman Boyd

His Javert is so stalwart and reserved and dedicated, he's kind of robocop and it really really works, and you get to see just a smidge of vulnerability peek out in this song

ABC Cafe / Red and Black

I DON'T REMEMBER A LOT bare with me

Grantaire was absolutely the standout. Slapped Marius' butt with his coat. Stuck his wine bottle dick in Enjolras' face. Offered Combeferre a sip of his wine (who reluctantly accepted). Blew a kiss at Enjolras

Kyle Adams physicality is probably my favourite aspect of his Grantaire - he moves very assuredly, like a cat, in a way that is like okay he's drunk but he's so used to being drunk that his stumbling is more like dancing. I remember reading a fic that described Grantaire's movements in a similar way and I wonder if that was one of the fics Kyle took inspiration from?

OOH they did the wine bottle keep-away thing with Grantaire and Marius which I didn't know they still did so that was exciting

J.T Wood is such a cute Joly I love his voice

In Do You Hear the People Sing Grantaire grabs a gun and holds it at arms-length like it has cooties before handing it off to another student

Combeferre waves the flag both times (Here and in One Day More) and I'm not sure if it's always Combeferre who does that or if it's because Andrew Marks Maughan is clearly the most physically strong of the Barricade Boys

In My Life / A Heart Full of Love

Delaney Guyer is a really good Cosette in that she has a gorgeous voice and also has a lot of personality and actually reacts to things going on around her

Marius (who was played by Christopher James Tamayo for this performance) is such a cute little nerd. You can see him try to figure out what he's going to do, then he throws a rock at Cosette's window and kind of cringes at the noise - he's so unsure of himself and awkward

Cosette is very excited that he's here and closes the window right away, which prompts Marius' 'I'm doing everything all wrong!' until she reappears downstairs and they get to be cute dorks in love

Attack on Rue Plumet

I don't remember a lot but I DO remember that Eponine was really good here

When Valjean is like 'Tomorrow we'll away' Cosette goes 'WHAT? NO!'

David Andino is so good as Babet he is a chronic scene stealer at this point

One Day More

If you know Another thing about me you know I hate the One Day More box-step but it actually did not bug me this time. They put Grantaire next to Enjolras for the marching portion which is cute

On My Own

Holy shit Mya Rena Hunter delivered the most heartbreaking and powerful rendition of this I've ever heard

The Barricade

Loved Feuilly in his little part

Javert is a good spy. If I didn't know the plot of Les Mis I would've been like Holy shit that's Javert? Crazy. I love him drawing the 'plans' he'd overheard into the ground with a stick

Gavroche flipping Javert off >>>>>

Buff Combeferre is one of the two to drag Javert away to be tied up lol

A Little Fall of Rain

The only version of ALFoR that actually made me feel something

Marius and Eponine get a lot of time to be cute together before the barricade actually notices that she's dying - and Gavroche is the first to notice and gets a front row seat to her death which is heartbreaking

The First Attack

Grantaire's "AND SO THE WAR WAS WON!" was sooo scathingly sarcastic

Javert waited, like, 30 seconds to leave after Valjean freed him, with his back almost against the barrel of Valjean's gun as if he were hoping to be shot

When the gun went off the entire barricade abruptly snapped their heads to look at Valjean and the audience laughed 😭

Telling Valjean 'Well done' for shooting a tied up hostage is a strange choice

Drink With Me

I still hate 'For certain as the eagle flies' I think it's the dumbest line in the entire musical

Grantaire's part was very grand - His voice has like noticeably changed at this point in the musical to give it a sort of hoarse hopeless quality to it which absolutely hits you in the feels

Enjolras comforted him and I swear Grantaire let his hand linger on his cheek for a few seconds longer than normal before pushing him away

Gavroche hugged Grantaire from behind and Grantaire couldn't even turn around at first because he was so distraught and kind of blindly reached for him 😭

Chris Tamayo's Marius is such a poor little meow meow

Bring Him Home

Absolutely jaw-dropping performance from Nick Cartell

He sings Bring Him Home like it's a lullaby - which it's supposed to be

I don't exaggerate when I say that the applause went on for about a minute straight, and was the loudest of the night by far

Death of Gavroche / The Final Battle

Oh poor thang

Grantaire near the end of Gavroche's singing was turned away facing the audience like he knew Gav was going to die and couldn't bear to watch 🥺

Later on in the final battle Grantaire spends most of the time next to Gavroche's body in like a catatonic state

The SPOTLIGHTS representing BULLETS as Les Amis died almost made me lose it

Grantaire dies last, I'm sure he said something before he started climbing the barricade but I couldn't hear it 😭He and Enjolras still have their moment over Marius' body

The Sewer

Javert comes across Enjolras' cart-carried body (Still hate the cart but I can learn to appreciate it) and looks a bit uncomfortable

Then he stumbles upon Gavroche's corpse, kneels, and does the sign of the cross over him

Almost made me cry ngl

DOG EATS DOG WAS SO GOOD I LOVED IT

Javert looked like he wanted to shoot Valjean as he walked away with Marius

Javert's Suicide

HOOOOOOLYYYY SHIIIIITTTTT

It was so good

Preston Truman Boyd you will always be famous I fully believe that Javert had completely lost his mind at this point in the play

I don't have many thoughts on the rest but I loved Marius and Cosette reading Valjean's confession as he walked away with Fantine - and the Bishop hugging him as he arrives in heaven

Also Kyle Adams as Major Domo mincing about the stage in The Wedding was an absolute delight

Am very sleepy now but overall 10/10 I love this cast so much

[just-late-roman-republic-things]

ive been thinking a lot on the differences in how we view adulthood now vs back in roman times. on one hand yeah people came of age at a significantly younger age than they do now, legally speaking. but being an adult didn't mean the same thing to 1cenBC romans as it does to us. an adult was usually still under the power of a paterfamilias. idk ive been thinking about it bc as a teenager i was incredibly frustrated with my lack of agency and rights, esp cuz it seemed ridiculous in the historical perspective because usually people historically came of age in their mid teens. but now that im older and know more on how Rome functioned, its not as cut and dry as that. i was wondering if u had any thoughts on how the romans viewed adulthood?

What is adulthood, anyway?

Is it the right to make legal decisions for yourself? The 25-35% of Rome's population who were enslaved didn't have that. And as you pointed out, folks under the authority of a paterfamilias may have had limited or no legal independence. (They might have more independence in practice, though, as they got older, moved out or got married.)

Is an adult someone who works and provides for their family? Most Roman children worked, especially enslaved children. You watched and copied whatever your parents did, so you learned adult responsibilities fairly quickly. A 14-year-old Roman bride was expected to manage her husband's household, slaves, and often his finances and business - especially while he was off at war or trading. If needed, she would probably lean on her mother-in-law and other female relatives for guidance.

Is an adult someone who can legally and mentally consent to sex? Although many Romans thought sex with pre-adolescents was bad taste, the legal issue wasn't "Is this person old enough?" but "Has the body of a citizen, or a paterfamilias' dependent, been violated?" If you were a slave, or a girl married to a creep, you were out of luck.

Many cultures, including the ancient Romans, don't really consider "teenagers" a distinct age group. They're more likely to see teenagers as young adults, who might be more naive or irresponsible or in need of guidance due to inexperience, but functionally adults.

For Roman aristocratic men around 15-30 there's this odd tension, where they might be dismissed as overgrown boys or expected to act like mature men, depending on the speaker's perspective. In the Pro Caelio, Cicero asks us to give Caelius the benefit of the doubt for being only ~26 or so, as a father might indulge his son. But 20-year-old Julius Caesar had been entrusted with negotiating with a king, as ambassador to Bithynia. Nicolaus of Damascus tells us that well after being legally recognized as an adult, traipsing through a warzone, and becoming one of Caesar's staff, Octavian was still treated like a kid at home.

It may also be useful to scale our age range up: that 14-year-old girl was likely to outlive her husband, and probably had much more say in choosing her second and third marriages than her first. And as Roman marriages shifted from cum manu to sine manu, women became sui iuris (legally independent) at younger ages than before, because they only had to wait till their fathers died instead of their husbands. They could then own their own property, with some limits on how it was supposed to be used - unlike Victorian wives, whose property became their husbands'. So, when would we call a Roman woman an adult, and what do we mean by that?

You make a good point about modern teens being denied their rights, too. I think that's a more individualistic way of framing it than the Romans would have used - they put more emphasis on your duty to your family - but it is a real problem. "Protecting kids" usually translates into restricting what young people can do, but not teaching them how to stay safe, make good judgments, or get support. When they do ask for help, they're usually dismissed as whiny or lazy.

I'd love to see more mixed-age spaces where adults and teens can talk about their shared interests, or work on cool projects like volunteering together. I think that will help break down adults' stereotypes of teens and fears about "kids these days," and teens will probably feel a lot less overwhelmed by the future with older friends they could ask for advice. Plus, it would provide an escape for teens with abusive families. The animal shelter where my mother volunteers is like that, and it's been really neat to see her learning new things, and the younger folks coming out of their shells.

[matan4il]

911 ep 709 first watch reactions

The way this ep starts with giving us a clear shot focused on the front, solely on Buck sitting between the man he's dating and the man he's been married to for the past six years, and only on them. XD I'm here for it.

Oh, Bobby. :( Feeling unworthy of his medal, and remembering his dad, and how everything went wrong after he got it. </3

Aaaah. Man, IDK. The openly and explicitly homophobic and racist captain cartoon just feels like an easy target now. Prejudice doesn't seem like it mostly gets expressed that way anymore, and when we only teach people to reject that kind, we not only fail to teach them to recognize subtler forms, we may be misleading them to think those more nuanced ones don't count.

Love Athena trying to "save" Bobby by contacting Amir. I'm always a sucker for a couple where they both save each other.

I enjoyed the little play with "Mother Hen," and I know it's not specifically about Buddie, but it is damn funny that when she's told she's raising more kids, they're the ones the camera focuses on. lol Raising a kid together for 6 years, still a couple of morons in desperate need of parenting from their colleagues. Even when Bobby's "wordless goodbye" moment with Buck is letting him cook for the 118, Eddie's by his side and they're doing it together. I swear, 911 said, "Take note, this is what a marriage looks like" and then just kept hammering the point for 6 seasons now.

Okay, I am pretty sure that, while Bobby's acceptance of Buck's first relationship with a guy, is really lovely, "Because we haven't had to talk about it" is not an actual good criterion for discerning whether someone is good for their partner or not. People whose spouses are abusive don't talk about it, either. :/ I am NOT saying that's Buck and Tommy, because it obviously isn't, it just feels like a line thrown in there to be cutesy, but which isn't actually helpful to people, who might take it too seriously.

I AM GONNA LOL FOREVER. So, just like Buck's bi awakening was all about Eddie, now Eddie's messed up whatever he has with Kim is gonna involve Buck, too? Gotcha. Battlefield boyfriends being off-battlefield boyfriends once more.

So... Buck was going to see Tommy, in an ep where TPTB have already paid for Lou in the role, so might as well use him as much as possible, but instead a non-emergency run in with Eddie's current whatever-Kim-is makes Buck ditch Tommy, and run straight over to Eddie's to help him? Look, I'm obviously a One True Pairing kind of shipper, so Buddie are it for me, as much as I can enjoy and see the value of Buck and Tommy as a stepping stone, and nothing will make me stop shipping Buddie (especially not after the tsunami eps), but 911 is feeding me way too well with how it frames these scenes and stories, I don't think the show's trying to get me to stop.

Man, if anyone's ever had a doubt that Eddie is the world champion at denial, this kitchen scene will def cure that.

"I'm worried about you." "Yeah, I'm worried about me, too." And then Buck, the one person who can ALWAYS penetrate through Eddie's denial wall, no matter how thick it is.

Eh, IDK how much the part where they try to re-define Shannon as the love of Eddie's life works, or how much it just serves to show he's still in denial, just a different kind than before, when Buck got through to him that he can't go on like this with Kim. For one thing, in his little retelling of their dysfunctional r/s, Eddie doesn't mention that Shannon was leaving him a second time, even before she died. Literal denial and repression.

So I'm gonna choose to believe Hen and Karen will get Mara back, because I can't deal with that particular storyline otherwise.

Kim's reaction is too deranged for me. Who does something like that, even if we assume the kindest of intentions? And then Marisol and Christopher's timing... I didn't sign on to watch a soap opera, but I guess I'm getting one free of charge?

"Now you gotta save yourself." If that ain't a painful summary of what growing up means, IDK what is. the conversation with Bobby's dad in his sleep was a good, painful scene, built right, leading to him hopefully getting his closure through saving his wife from a fire, and leaving us with just the right amount of suspension for next week and the season finale, where we'll see if he can let go of his past mistakes without a doppelganger dressing up like his dead wife...

Thank you for reading! If you’re looking for more, you can find my s7 reactions tag here, and more of my Buddie meta and content in my pinned post. xoxox

[scintillyyy]

as we all know i LOVE rite of passage (detective comics #618-#621) and to the father i never knew (batman #480). i have analyzed them so much & i will continue to analyze them so much more in the future. they are so, so dear to me. i look at them with heart eyes.

at the same time, i blame them for fanon drakes.

because listen--the concepts that fanon drakes largely came out of are from these particular potrayals of them & particular panels from them--rite of passage is famous for the postcard letter, which fandom warped to mean they don't call tim (along with the drakes as selfish ceos) and the way thay they're portrayed as ostentatiously wealthy with the million dollar jet (leading to tim & the idea that he grew up ostentatiously weathly in the vein of bruce wayne wealth with his empty mansion and completely unaware what a banana costs or what normal people are like). the idea that they had tim as a business baby does have roots in jack saying that tim is going to take over the company one day (and tim not wanting to take over the company one day) in the father i never knew. now fanon has warped & exaggerated these traits immersely, but the initial concepts honestly stem mainly from alan grant's work on them (because it's the only time we see them *so* ostentatiously wealthy, on everyone else/the vast majority of the time they drakes are upper class but also jack and dana make tim do chores and he has normal sized rooms and boarding schools).

and i just wanna talk a little bit about how and why those traits came to be under him & why they ended up working in interesting ways in canon but end up falling flat in fanon. because those traits were put there for very specific reasons & when you lose or alter the context of them, it takes away what's interesting about them existing to begin with.

because let's give the main context for them: the drakes were this way under alan grant. and when alan grant is writing, alan grant is gonna put his agenda in there. and i say that in an entirely neutral way. and in the 80s, alan grant was an anarchist--notably creating the character of lonnie machin aka anarky. which brings us to our second main context: though he was never even a contender for it, alan grant had created lonnie with the thought that he could maybe make lonnie the third robin (unbeknownst to grant, wolfman and o'neil had already decided on and were creating tim drake specifically for the role--there were no other real contenders at the time).

so when you read through grant's issues on batman and on how he wrote the drakes you do have to take into consideration the following: that grant had a statement to make & thay he had a clear interest in foiling the robin that was created with that of the one he tried to. he wanted to explore a story of capitalistic greed and exploitation and its negatives. so when he writes the drakes as greedy, as ostentatious, as bitter people who argue over a beleaguered secretary's head in rite of passage it's because he has to *set the stage for how this greed will lead to their downfall*. and it does! it gets them kidnapped, it gets their secretary killed. it is a *lesson*, cautioning against greed--does he not have them also lament while they were kidnapped thay had they known what life had coming, they would have chosen to not waste any of the good things (their son)-- the things that *really* matter, not their greed or that which came of it. it is why that as they're reaping the consequences of their greed, tim is simultaneously in his own battle with anarky--so that he can be foiled against him, and making tim's parents stand for everything anarky fights against is *part of tim's foiling against lonnie*, part of his ideological fight with him--as tim is winning, his parents are losing. as tim walks away from lonnie, proud to be able to tell bruce that he tracked him down all by himself, proud to have won, tim is about to receive the worst news--that bruce was unable to save his mom and his dad is comatose, who paid the ultimate price for their greed. the exaggerated awful traits of the drakes work here *because* it fits into the bigger story as a whole--they need to be that awful to make a statement on how capitalism and greed kills and ruins you. and even then grant is not without sympathy for this--tim, as the person who loses so much as a result of everything, is treated very sympathetically despite being a foil for lonnie. tim may have won the battle against lonnie, but he lost so much more. even jack and janet are allowed their moment of realization that they made the wrong decisions before being punished for them. it works to service the inherent political statements embedded within. the exaggerated awful traits work as social commentary.

even in to the father i never knew, the themes of greed & what greed will cost are there (though there are also lots of other delicious themes as well). in here, tim and his lack of greed is played against the greed of his father and phil marin--his father wants him to take over the company, but tim wants to take care of the city--and meanwhile jack's company is being embezzled from by a man he trusts who *tim* ultimately stops. jack's greed and refusal to know his son almost loses him everything and he is unaware of it all. tim knows everything but can't tell him anything. again, jack's exaggerated awful traits work here as *social commentary*.

and when you take away this social commentary aspect of their traits when you exaggerate them and just make them awful to tim, you do start to lose what made these traits *work* in the comics. because then you just get awful for the sake of being awful. irredeemable with no remorse. a rich kid needing to be saved by a rich man. you lose the meat of what their exaggerated negative traits wete supposed to stand for when you lose the interplay of class and social commentary.

[ideasarestuckinmyhead]

Ok hear me out, what if the yv listeners were single parents? Man, can you image the drama and more fluffy family time!!🥺

Holy shit thats a kid-

Bc there's so many listeners I'm doing Sugarboo, Casper, and Sunflower. If you want a pt2 just ask!

100% made Seth think Alphonse moved on quickly bc he got someone pregnant.

Sugarboo

When Seth first showed up he didn't know and it hurt even more. But when him and Boo met up at the woods they cleared it up.

"I'm going to tell you this once. Alphonse loves you, but I have a kid to protect and ill fuck you up if you do something."

Seth nodded along didn't really know what to say since yeah what parent wouldn't want to protect their kid?

Alphonse is the fun parent to the kid. But will make sure they brush their teeth! After giving them a couple of treats from the shop first tho!

The kid who ima nickname Bun is a really loving kid. Like they saw Seth and was like your cool! And asked a thousand questions at once.

The breakfast was more awkward, bc Bun never say Al yell before and it kinda made then sad. Bc everyone else was getting sad then started crying.

This made Boo snap at Al, Seth too bc he didn't want the kid to listen to all this. So after making up Alphonse apologized to Boo and Bun.

When Seth came back Bun cried seeing him hurt and lied next to him. They dragged him everywhere when he was getting use to being with Boo and Al.

The pillow fort ep was even more sweet bc Bun showed the trio a lil drawing they made. Seth damn near cried.

But oh loorrd the one where Jessie's hair was gifted to Seth? That made it thousands times worse bc the note even hinted at Bun. Seth felt even more ashamed of himself bc he put a kid in danger.

The want of Boo staying in town was even more now bc of Bun. But Boo knew they needed to be there and was stubborn about it.

We can say that Bun stayed in town with some old lady Boo trusted but...who would want their kid away from them?

The car ride there was even more tense when everyone said they're in it. Bun hugged the trio to try and make everyone feel better.

Bun and Boo stayed in the car with Bun being hidden well so if something happens Boo can hide them. Charlie saw the end of the barrel when looking at Boo.

When meeting Jessie Bun tried eating a cookie and did a lil kid cough. Then whined about not getting anything to eat, so Boo whipped something up rq.

Bun was there hugging Seth when he cried. People forget kids are emotionally intelligent sometimes so when Bun figured out Jessie made Bun's favorite uncle/dad figure? They sticker their young out and blew a raspberry.

Charlie being in the room to talk to them was more tense bc Boo was ready to grab him. Even standing in front of the bed glaring hard at him.

Boo's decision going with Derek was even more drastically more needed. Bc he said something about "such a cute lil kid ya got there. Sugar." Boo almost shot him right there.

Everyone was desperate and distraught when Boo left. Bun was crying and Alphonse was trying to calm them. Bun stayed with Jessie and the boys left.

Boo pointing the gun was leaning a bit more twords a parent needing to protect their kids. Also when Al sees Finn he tells the blonde he better make everything right bc he has a kid to protect.

I can see so many cute thing sharpening with Bun and the boys. Seth and Alphonse spoil them so Boo gotta be the bad cop between them all.

Seth shows Bun how to hike and make things he learned when younger. Even telling him stories too!

Alphonse loves having his lil candy taste tester around. He also helps sneak some baked goods to them if Boo let's Al have some.

Casper

Them having a kid would actually break Charlie. Bc he lost his chance of course they found someone that loved them and gave them a kid.

But blah blah other parent gone so when Charlie does meet the lil ghoul their eyes sparkle asking about his skateboard and his hat.

Charlie kinda has a hard time connecting with he kid. Since he did sell shit to kids when younger.

"Charlie, it's okay. I trust you with ghoul. Your my friend stupid."

Charlie smiled at the words and did try to connect with the kid. He actually really connected with them bc he's a kid at heart.

The sleepover ep was different when Casper slashed Charlie's tires bc ghoul cheered when they did.

Also with truth and dare they played a kiddy version with ghoul before they knocked out. Then the confession happened.

The mall date was cute bc everyone thought they were a small family and ghoul just said how his parents were cool bc they rode skateboards.

With dancing at the abandon school ghoul had a babysitter at the house. Casper and ghoul tried to convince Chalrie to stay but he left </3 but then returned with another child! A fur baby :o

Ghoul loves lil guy and helps take care of them. They are basically siblings even fighting over a pizza slice once. Since the eye was hurt on lil guy ghoul gave them one of their pirate eye patches.

Sweet Pete loves the kid and makes sure to give them a pizza when they come over. Off of Charlie's pay check of course.

Going to the skate part is a MUST with this lil family. Ghoul learns trucks that Casper and Charlie did when younger. It's so cute when they got so excited when they landed their first kick flip!

If Charlie ever does introduce the kid and Casper (again) to his parents they love the two. His mom spoils the kid and his dad bonds a but with them.

Charlie really wants to better himself even more with Casper and ghoul bc he wants to be someone their gonna be proud of.

Sunflower

When first going into Talk Floral Finn was suprised seeing the lil hands of seed touching the counter showing off some change to get a lil rose for their parent.

Seed loves Finn's rambling and saw him staring at their parent and giggled.

When coming back again Seed asks if they can learn more from him. Which gives Sunflower the opportunity to ask as well.

So Seed and Sunflower get to have classes and stuff. Finn really connects with the kid even calling them seedling jokenly. But it really stuck with them.

When they went to the cafe and the drink spilled Sunflower made sure nothing got on Seed. Finn was panicking and almost cried but got embarrassed like in the og bc he was wiping too close to Sunflowers personal space.

Sadly Seed wasn't there when Sunflower asked him out but demanded to be om the date.

But we know Finn got distracted and such so Seed gave him a glare when coming in. But apologized when Sunflower noticed it and scolded them.

With the Yule ep all three made lists of snow angels and snowmen! Seed was cozy in a big thick coat while being on their parents lap listening to Finn. They even fell asleep first.

Seed prefers to be om their parents back when sleeping so during the cuddling ep Seed agreed with Finn saying that their parent should stay. They fell asleep again and when they woke up they were babysat by Finn.

Seed goes to parks a lot so they get flowers to Finn. Like those ones you see all the time and says it's to add to his collection. Finn keeps them all, even pressing them so he can put them on a bookmark.

Finn is clumsy but makes sure the kid is safe at all times. Like he tried to carry them once and fell but made sure to lean as hard as he can to protect them.

Finn is the best at calming Seed down and getting them to say what they want. It's okay use your big words Seedling. And Seed tells him what they need or what happened.

Finn also kinda feels like he's not the best example for a kid but Sunflower shuts that down saying how he handles Seed perfectly bc even Sunflower had to admit that their a hand full sometimes.

[blooming-violets]

Peter's reaction to bumping into an ex 10 years later who now Has a family of her own ?

Hold on, I raise you this, her husband has passed away so she's raising her children as a single mother.

Because now I'm thinking about future step father Peter Parker. I don't think I've ever pictured him in a stepdad role before, raising another guy's children, but now I kind of love it??

He would be such a good stepdad! Probably at this point, he's thinking kids will never happen for him. He's getting older, he's struggled in the dating world, he's feeling like that part of his life was passed by.

So when he stumbles upon her one evening and they end up going out for coffee, suddenly sparks begin to fly. They reconnect like they haven't been apart a single day. Except that he's very aware of the ring on her finger.

And, let's be real, this Peter at this age isn't afraid of getting into an affair with a married woman if she desires it. He's horny and enjoys sex. BUT she hits him with the dead husband line.

And he knows better than anyone what it feels like to lose someone you were so in love with.

They're little lunch dates ends in emotional tears and heart felt conversations and he walks away feel like he really connected with her again.

It's a slow romance.

It's been over five years since her husband passed but she still isn't sure how to do this whole dating thing again. She has needs, too, but her heart is torn. So they start with just sex.

"No feeling attached. Just sex."

Fucking for the sake of fucking. Just two people who have needs that need to be met.

But we all know that won't be where it ends.

Feelings will always come into play. Especially since they were old lovers. Years of passing time need to be caught up on. They aren't the same people they were years before.

Peter falls first. Obviously. He has less to lose with his feelings.

Her feelings are highly complicated. She has a seven and five year old daughter. She was pregnant with her youngest when her husband died.

She's careful about introducing him to the girls at first. She's not someone who drags over any random man she's sleeping with to her kids.

When they've been dating more concretely long enough, he's finally able to properly meet them. The youngest warms to him immediately. She never knew her father and is just happy to have a man in the house to roughhouse with. The seven year old is a little more wary of him. She's overly protective of her mom, watches Peter with a scowl most of the time, stays quiet and reserved like she's constantly trying to size him up.

Peter, of course, doesn't mind. He lost his parents too. He gets it.

He finds out she's really into Pokémon and that's when they first truly bond. He pulls up his Pokémon Go app and they go out hunting for Pokémon around the neighborhood. After that ice breaking, she can't get enough of him.

Within the first year, he's really made a home for himself amongst their family. He loves his girl, adores the kids, and feels a sense of peace and belonging he hasn't in a long time.

After they get married, I could see him adopting the girls officially. But before hand, he visits their father's grave and talks to him, letting him know that he is so thankful to have found his family and that he promises to be the best man to them that he possibly can be. That he can trust Peter to take care of them. That he won't let them down.

And that he loves them more than anything.

[hart269]

Slithering Hearts

Chapter 8

Pairing : Regulus Black x Fem! reader

Synopsis : You begin an unlikely friendship with the little Black. And soon your whole life seems to have become a tumultuous pathway. The catch, James Potter is your brother.

A/N : The Altair and Vega lore deepens.

Masterlist / Series Masterlist

The chill that ran down your spine stopped once you entered the owlery, nose crinkling as the musty smell of birds attacked you. You silently waved your wand to a cleaning spell. Clutching the letters you searched among the rows of owls for your beloved Altair. A frown perched upon your face not finding him in his designated place. You didn't remember sending anything. You wondered if James used your owl.

You gave out a call, "Altair". Hearing a loud hoot from the east corner, you turned to see your beloved with his beloved, Vega. You gently picked him up, nuzzling his chin, "Shoul'dve known, you can't live without your girlfriend can you?". The owl hooted in response. Handing him the letters, you chuckled. That's when your eye caught something strange.

You moved cautiosly, remembering the symptoms from the 'Fantastic Beasts and where to find them' and general owl behaviour. As Vega moved towards you, your thoughts were only confirmed the more you stared. Well, that was unexpected.

Returning back, you plopped down on the sofa, "Hey Reg, how do feel about kids"

Barty snickered, "As he feels about his mother"

Regulus rolled his eyes, "They're fine as long as they don't annoy me".

You hummed, raising your brows.

"Wait, you're not adopting another cat are you"

Barty looked confused, "Don't you have like two already?"

You let out an offended gasp hitting his shoulder "Hey, you're just jealous cats love me"

Regulus smirked, "Sure they do". You scoffed, "Atleast beetlejuice does"

His voice was laced with confusion, "You named it Beetlejuice?"

"It is a mighty fine name, it took a long time to figure it out" you were going on about the names, before realising that it was going off track. "The point is you are gonna be a parent and I am ready to pay child support"

Barty almost whiplashed turning between you two, "When did that happen?"

"What, did you.... did you hit your head?" he speculated, turning your head after pushing Barty off the sofa.

You shook it out of his grasp, "Noo, Vega is gonna lay eggs"

"What?" he asked, processing the unexpected news.

"Yes" you admitted, "Altair is the father"

He drawled, "So, like who's gonna keep the kid"

Your brow furrowed, "Shouldn't the mother keep it?"

"She should" He nodded, he knew so but he was rightfully worried about taking it back to Black manor. Raising another owl there, he'd have to careful with that.

"I'll help you for sure, I mean it was my Altair because of which...this happened, but you shall not worry, it'll be a nice owlette" your rambling halted, noticing the melting gaze on you.

"Then if I'll have if you with me, I guess we raise a damn good owlette" His hand laid on top of yours, you squeezed it gleefully. "But I am not letting you name it"

You pouted, "I'll give it a good name". He rolled his eyes, "We'll see about that". He suddenly stood up, closing his books.

You looked up, "Where are you going?". He lend out his hand, you grabbed on it as he pulled you up. "To the owlery, to check on Vega"

"It's cold and I just came back" you groaned. He smirked, "You said you will take responsibilty right?". He chuckled at your unenthusiastic nod, dragging you with him.

Barty just went grumbling to Rosier, "They always disappear together, don't they."

Regulus checked Vega while you watched from the side. He turned to meet your gaze, "She really has been for some time". He would have noticed sooner, if sending or receiving letters to family had been a regular thing.

You seemed to realize the same time as him of your closed proximity. His nose was tinged red, cheeks flushed, eyes shining as his did when he looked at the stars. You wanted to stay frozen in this moment, until you were over the exhilaration though you doubted any amount of moments would be enough.

But you needed to move, it was not a right thing. To look at him that way, to feel that way about him, but you couldn't force your legs to move. You subconsciously moved foward, you think he did too because your breath mingled.

"Do you know why I named my owl Vega?"

"Why?" you asked, wondering why he chose to bring that up now.

"Vega was the godess of the sky who fell in love with Altair, a mortal. She promised to bring him to heaven, but it angered her father. Though he granted her wish, he separated them by the Celestial River. Yet each year, a bridge of magpies forms across the river. And then they meet." he paused, taking a breath, "So that day when I heard you had named your owl Altair, I could think of nothing but Vega, I hadn't even named her at that time but then no other name seemed perfect."

"It is perfect Reg" you muttered, grinning from ears to ears. You moved a strand of stray curl from his cheek, you were so full of the things you wanted to say to him, it was on the verge of overflowing. "Reg, I-".

"It's cold isn't it, we should return" he interrupted your chain of words.

Your face warmed up and you nodded, stepping back. "Yes, of course".

The walk back to the castle was awfully silent, yet you didn't wish to fill it. It remained such so for quite a while. Neither of you brought it up, and you assumed there was nothing up to bring. You were the one with terribly high hopes, and it had been wrong of you to assume he had felt the same. Still you couldn't shake the image of him up so close, but you guessed you could live with this thing inside of you rather than live without him.

The black and white motion picture across the page of The Daily Prophet led to quiet murmurs of distress and apprehension. A skull of shadows loomed pver the sky, a shadow snake protuding out of its mouth. The article "TERROR RISES AS THE DARK LORD DOES", showed another story of muggles and wizards being attacked. Houses set ablazed in flames, while humans, and animals eiyher ran or lay dead on the ground.

You teared the article trimming its edges, sticking it into your collection. With the whisperings of the upcoming war, you saved all of whatever information you could find of him. Voldemort as called by his lovely death deaters and those who feared him simply referred to him as He who must not be named.

His morphed face either raised deep terror in the hearts of the people or resentment or in some both. You however resented him, just for the sake of power, he had killed innumerable innocents. The thing you didn't get was the amount of lust he had for power. He was already probably midway through his life, what will he do with such power. He had no heirs either. Though you had heard some claims, all turned out to be false. But then his mannerisms were similar to Grindelwald, however Voldy did have a penchance for show off.

You were determined, to find out what you could about the supposed lord. Though you knew if you were to fight in the war, you not only had to defend yourself against the dark arts but learn them too. You glanced at the hidden copy of "Magick Moste Evil" on your nightstand that you had "borrowed" for a while. It was time to begin studying. It was better to think about this rather than what happened at the owlery.

To say Regulus didn't regret moving away would be an understatement. He did, but he thought he would have regretted giving in more, you were already in the deep mess as it goes, to pull you in deeper in the trenches of his life, he doubted he would be able to forgive himself. He knew, he knew for sure you would never side with his family, you hated them with a passion, he did too. Yet, he was a part of it. The house he was forced to call home was the place he could return to, and he had to, not like he had a choice.

It was way past midnight a small black cat could be seen slithering in the shadows of the darkened hallway, heading towards the doors of the library. There it slid past the books to the back of the library, sliding past the robes it reached the section it needed to be, the forbidden section.

It then transformed into a human, its dark curls merging with the shadows. A whisper of lumos, then a hand skimmed delicately through the titles of the books, before stopping and picking up one.

Taglist : @shycreationdreamland @mp-littlebit @girlbooklover555 @godofstory @misacc08 @starchaser-lily @moonywastakenn @lovemelikecrazyiloveyoucrazy @skepvids @venomsvl @hecateschildren

[deadmomjokes]

Do you have any adventures of bean to share before you sign off for a bit? good luck with the move!

I wish I had more specific ones, but life is all blurring together at this point so I must settle for Tidbits: Moving Edition

She loves to pack stuff. I have no idea where it's coming from, but holy cow this kid. She's going to be the only reason we're completely packed and ready to go on time. Every morning, she hops in my bed and goes "Can we pack another box?" And any time we're not actively doing something, "Should we pack more boxes?" Her dad whispered to me earlier, understandably dumbfounded, "What is with the packing thing? Why is she so into this?" And she somehow heard it from the next room and merrily hopped in holding the roll of packing tape and said "I dunno, I just really like packing things." So... yeah. She's keeping us on task.

She has Plans for the drive. -First, we need to eat at Subway (she was very excited to learn she can, in fact, have Subway in moderation). -Second, we need to stay at one of the number hotels-- those being National 9, Super 8, and Motel 6. (She is bummed there's no 7 hotel.) -Third, if we successfully get a number hotel for one night, we also need to do a Red Roof Inn some other night. -Fourth, she wants to go inside a gas station and look at the maps. (She means the visitors guides and brochures that truck stops have when they're near-ish to state lines and/or tourist destinations.) -Finally, she wants to borrow my phone to take pictures. Unbeknownst to her, we are getting an old digital camera tuned up and outfitted with a child-proof case so she can have her own camera, because when she starts taking pictures it's an hours-long affair, and I kinda need my phone for GPS purposes. We're presenting her with said camera next weekend when we get the trailer, so hopefully she'll stay occupied while we do the part of packing she can't actually help with. But yeah, she knows how to set realistic, attainable goals, and I honestly think we can make these things happen for her.

She's been obsessively watching that Bluey special every day, and it Concerns me. See, she's generally quite media literate, and knows how to separate fiction from reality, and we had our big group cry about leaving our friends the first time we watched it. But. I am deeply worried that she's under the impression that we'll get all packed and ready to go and then do what Bluey's family did and decide to stay. I desperately hope not, but hoo boy, if that is the case, that's gonna be one heck of a 4-day drive. We've tried bringing it up and talking about it, but we still can't tell what's going on in that little noggin.

She is really, really sad about leaving her friends. I know that's not fun to hear, but honestly, I'm really impressed and proud of the way she's been handling it. She's come up with some great coping mechanisms all on her own: asking if we can get everyone's parents' Facebooks so we can do video calls, asking if we can do a party before she leaves so she can play with her school friends again (both yes, of course), and the one that truly floored me-- she asked if we can find "a new therapy place" when we get to where we're going. My four year old asked if she can go back to therapy, y'all. She's been 'graduated' since before Christmas, but she remembered that it helped when she was feeling anxious all the time and wants to do that again after we move. I just... Holy moly! I am so, SO proud of her for how she's so in tune with herself and her needs.

Her requests for our next housing situation have been few, but very specific. It has to let her get a pet, either a rabbit (maybe two so they can be friends), or a ball python, or both. It needs stairs so she can bumslide down them. It needs a pantry with a shelf she can reach for her snacks. And she'd really prefer if it had hard floors so we can get a fuzzy rug. We don't have it on lock yet (fingers crossed!), but the place that looks most likely meets all of these criteria.

That's all I've got for right now, because I need to go pre-plan what tomorrow morning's packing adventure is going to be so I don't have to think about it two minutes after opening my eyes.

[dkskposts]

for this week's episode i don't have a lot to say, but let's fucking go:

toey and q need to talk, actually talk; and toey should respect q's time, give the man a break jesus!!! not just bc he took the initiative to ask you to eat with him means everything is fine...

i hat show the only feeling toey though that q could possibly have is anger, bc he can't be hurt about what happened, he can't feel betrayed about it, right?

they made my boy matt pay for six (or seven?) drinks, and they didn't even take a sip of it, that pissed me off

i liked how fang described liking someone, how and why he likes tan (this was to shut up those who were criticizing my and tan's man last week, a bunch of idiots);

oh phum need to use words, he's making everything to read and act on his little crush on peem, but he need to use words... while he's has this ability to read people and show how he feels through acts (taking pictures of peen because he's looks adorable, he is so loser omg), peem seems like he needs a verbal affirmation to finally act how his own feelings (he asking to phum repeat what he said)

OH!!! phum goes to his house, where are their father??? since last week i can't stop thinking about heir father, where is he? their mother died? where is she? have a behind photo that maybe is phumpeem eating with phum's parents but i could be wrong, could be peem's parents too

the photo in question 👆

i want more chainpun! i so want to see more of their story!!

pun is so beautiful my baby boy who could never do any wrong (yeah he signed up his friends to a camp without their consent but look at his face, he can do whatever he wants)

THEY'RE ALREADY MARRIED LOOK AT THEM 🥺

are you jealous sir?

i love my boys and will defend them of everything!! i literally cried with this entire scene like what do you mean they're all just good friend 🥺

i particularly think the best scenes are the ones where they are all together being happy!! also the way peek talked about how he feels when he's with his friends oh god i couldn't read the subtitles because i was crying 🥺🥺

a visual representation of me watching (most of) this week's episode

i will not talk about kluen bc i don't want to and i still want to see what my boy have going on (besides falling in love at first sight with the boy you smacked in the head thinking it was your friend and him making you pay for his drink of course)

i'm going to end this post by saying that: pun is so beautiful! like look at him he's my beautiful beautiful baby

[isa-ghost]

OKAY UM MORE HC WITH THE EGGS IF U GOT ANY (ANY OF THE EGGS)

I'm gonna do Richas because he's my favorite after Chayanne and Lullah :D

qPhil headcanons masterlist

Richas scares Phil a little bc he's a brand of wildchild he's never encountered before. And his parents?? For the most part are just fine with that?? Survivalist man is screaming.

If the Cellbit and Baghera rescue mission had actually happened, Phil would've seen a whole new side of Richas and it'd change his perspective a bit. Still an unhinged gremlin, but also fearless, determined, full of endless love and loyalty. He knows what he's doing and he does it well, he just needs adults to trust that he can do it.

This goes for Pac too, but any jokes Richas makes with his prosthetic leg make Phil lose it, they always take him by surprise and they're always the right amount of out of pocket to make Phil reel. It's even better if Richas removes the prosthetic and does some wild ass shit with it. He's made Phil screech before. It was a mistake on Phil's part, now he tries to make him scream on purpose.

A lot of "peak qsmp era" horrors felt centered around the Brazilians and goddamn does Phil think Richas is so unbelievably resilient bc of it. That kid is so happy go lucky and comes off so carefree despite everything that's happened to him or his myriad of parents and Phil just cannot fathom it bc he would've broken by now.

Which btw Phil thinks it's rlly fucking funny that Richas was collecting parents like Pokémon and every now and then he'd try to come up with a funny convoluted way to Also become Richas's parent purely for the bit. Never came up with one good enough though, being previously FWB with Fit didn't feel like a good enough pipeline. Richas totally would've accepted that reason though.

Be it through his usual brand of unhinged fuckery or genuine persuasion, I think Richas could've gotten Phil to try any Brazilian food or snack, even if Phil was like "there's no way I'll like that." I'm truthing Richas would get him addicted to smth besides Guaraná.

GOD Richas would've loved to spar with Phil. Phil would be far too nervous to go all out on the kid but Richas would absolutely love it.

Richas's tiny arms never fail to make Phil laugh. He just can't. All Richas has to do is Orange Justice and it's all over, Phil's dying until he gets the hiccups.

Richas would be the motherfucker constantly badgering Phil to go fishing if he was able to go back to the Hardcore World with him.

He's, like many others, is in the Phil Take Me Flying When Your Wings Work club.

Tbfh more accurately I think Richas is impatient to hatch in the hopes he'll have wings so he can be taught to fly himself. (And the heart attacks he'd give Phil then.... MAN)

I don't know where in the deep recesses of my brain this came from but I need them in a laser tag fight on the same team because Richas would THRIVE watching Pro Halo Sniper Tío Philza Minecraft absolutely obliterate motherfuckers.

Phil feels a teeny bit bad about it but he's genuinely surprised Richas didn't perma-die with how reckless he could be.

Phil 100% noticed a change in Richas post-Purgatory and isn't sure if it was because of that or because of a death he had around then. Whatever it was, he picked up on Richas seeming a lot more Fuck It We Ball but in a kinda,, maybe needs to at least talk about it to someone way. Not his kid so he didn't want to butt in or overstep, but he still felt worried about it.

100% thinks Richas is overall underestimated though. Or maybe Richas intentionally fools people into thinking such. But Mr. Angel of Death can see it, that kid's TNT in a shell.

[rainba]

Since we have kairos meeting darlings parents

How about Ace and Luka meeting darlings parents???? ^_^

🎹Anon

To be honest, for Luka... I feel like it would be easy for him to win over almost anyone's parents? I mean...?? (*^^*)

Luka has a respectable, stable, well-paying job. He also doesn't seem like a bad person- in fact, he seems like a very calm and sensible man. Obviously, he loves you and wishes to spoil you, too, so...

What more could a parent want for their kid?? (〃￣ω￣〃ゞ

And Luka would be highly confident in himself the entire time; he feels no need to worry.

The most off-putting thing about Luka is probably the fact that he's a pink fox hybrid... Because, uh.... How often does anyone see that?

Meanwhile, with Ace... It really, really depends on your parent(s) and their views... ^^;;;;;; You gotta tell him everything beforehand!

If they don't like people who pursue anything artistic, or just don't like people with an unstable/unpredictable living situation, Ace will find it very difficult to impress them. (-_-;)・・・

But, hey, at least Ace is a sweetheart!

And while he does come off as very kind, he'd also come off as a little... Dense? He wears his heart on his sleeve, and he's not afraid to say his opinions- even if they're a little bit weird. ┐(‘～` )┌ Sometimes his mouth works faster than his brain...

Deep down, though, Ace isn't actually stupid. ..・ヾ(。＞＜)シ

If the only thing his darling's parent(s) care about is him treating you good, then that's awesome! But if they expect him to be stable and provide a (predictable) future for you... They're going to be in for disappointment.

But, uh... Ace is trying his best!! ☆⌒(>。<) He wouldn't be exactly nervous- but he wouldn't be very confident either. ^^;;;;

He'll put on some nicer clothes, will style his hair and wash himself up, then he'll do what he does best: be himself. (｡T ω T｡)