#they've been teaching the nugget

[akanemnon]

Careful, Susie... You might hurt yourself by asking all these questions

FIRST - PREVIOUS - NEXT

MASTERPOST (for the full series / FAQ / reference sheets)

[daintyduck99]

when they compliment something that they've been insecure about and it just breaks them for Rulie pretty pretty please?

Julie's miserably stirring her mashed potatoes when a playful nudge returns her to the real world. 

"What's the matter, Jules? Don't tell me I need to fish your favorite bracelet out of the vent in Mr. Salter's room again." 

"That was one time," she defends, pointing her fork at Reggie, who just grins. 

Oh, he's close. Their knees and elbows graze like this, and it unleashes a swarm of butterflies in her chest. She bites her lip. 

He shrugs, and she feels it when he does, burning all along her arm. His eyes shine.

"I mean, I'm not gonna stop teasing you about it, but I'd do it again." 

Luke chimes in from across the table, giving her the perfect excuse to look away.

"Really, though. Why the long face?" 

"I wasn't making a face!" 

"You were," Alex says apologetically. 

Luke and Reggie nod along, with Reggie adding, "Yeah, it was like—" 

They all make exaggerated frowny faces, and she huffs a laugh, shaking her head. 

"Okay, okay! Cut it out, or I won't tell you." 

That's when Flynn reappears. She takes her place on Julie's right. "Tell them what?" 

"What else?" Julie sighs, spearing a nugget. "My latest dance class disaster."

"Okay, well, maybe I can help," Alex offers.

"Not unless you can square dance. Nick, surprise surprise, cannot." 

Reggie hums. "I thought you liked Nick." 

"I do!" 

She flushes as Reggie turns to her more fully, keeping her eyes glued to her food. 

"Not—I like him well enough. He's nice. But he's a horrible dance partner, and sometimes it's like. He's not really present? It makes it hard to have a real conversation with him, or a connection." 

Reggie knocks their shoulders together. 

"Luckily for you, you do know someone who'd be a suitable partner. As in, they can square dance and hold a real conversation. Just saying." 

Julie abandons her lunch completely. 

"You?" she breathes. "You could help me?"

He lifts his chin with a smirk. 

"I didn't go to public school in Georgia for several years for nothing. I've got you." 

"Oh—" She throws her arms around his neck. "Thank you thank you thank you!"

"Don't thank me yet," he says, suddenly sheepish, but he returns her fierce hug. 

With Reggie's help, she's able to master most of the basic calls. She still can't quite get the promenade right, though, and the whole thing gets difficult when other people are meant to enter the mix. 

Not to mention she has to turn around and teach everything to Nick, and the week swings wildly between fun and frustrating. 

Reggie finally suggests that they go to an actual square dance so she can get more practice with the right amount of people, given that she has another week left to go before the unit exam. She eventually agrees, which is worth it for the giddy way he lifts her off of the ground alone. 

Her nerves come flooding right back once they're standing in the square, though. She wobbles to the record like a newborn deer, even on the steps she knows. 

Reggie does his best to keep her steady, guiding her gently when he wraps his arm around her waist for the first promenade. 

"You've got this," he murmurs in her ear, which has the opposite of the intended effect; she instantly stumbles over his foot.

The next call is one that splits them in separate directions, and she do-si-dos around the next guy with a nervous smile. She stays on the beat, at the very least. 

Until she glimpses the redhead who's leading Reggie through the next promenade, anyway. 

Her hair shines in copper braids, and she keeps stealing smitten looks at him through her equally bright lashes. A coy little smile plays around her mouth. 

Not to mention that her hand curls over his in a way that makes Julie want to crush all of the fingers of her current, unwitting partner. She seethes, stomping a little harder than necessary on the next beat. 

Okay, near the next beat. She mumbles an awkward apology to the unfortunate blond that's been saddled with her. 

It's ironic, she knows. 

Reggie twirls the redheaded girl out of the promenade with a grin, a flourish that Julie's never even seen. She's storming out of the square before anyone can stop her, blinking stupid tears from her eyes. 

"Julie!" 

She shakes her head and keeps going, only to squeak when strong arms wrap around her waist, catching her before she can plunge into the misty evening rain. 

"Let go," she says in a small voice. 

"Will you stay if I do?" 

This is met with sullen silence. 

Reggie sighs. "Julie, what's the matter?" 

"It doesn't matter!" 

The words burst out of her, echoing in the entryway. She takes a shuddering breath and wills the small voice to come back. 

She'd rather sound fragile than cruel. 

"It doesn't, so just let me go. You can keep dancing with—with that other girl. I'll scrape by on my exam, okay? Clearly, I'm just—holding you back!"

"That's what this is about?" Reggie says incredulously. He spins her around, clutching her shoulders. "I don't care that you're a beginner. I love dancing with you. Any way, always. You're my favorite partner. I'd love to work up to the fancy stuff with you, if you wanna stick with it."

She swallows, searching his eyes. 

"Really? And that's why—you've never spun me like that?" 

"Really! I didn't want to throw you off. Especially when you've gotta get past that test, and reteach everything to Nick, and honestly, I—" 

He ducks his head, but it doesn't hide his flushed cheeks. 

"I didn't want to teach you that move just so you could do it with him. You're amazing, Julie, you're such a quick study. And you could do so much better. You'll surpass all of us, someday. Okay?" 

Her breath catches. 

She lifts his chin with trembling fingers. 

Her mind is a jumbled mess, unraveling every implication and twisting it in a million directions. Her heart isn't any better, galloping away at a speed that leaves her dizzy, so she simply follows her instincts. 

She follows his lead, the pull of his eyes. 

Their lips meet tenderly, and the rest goes quiet as her eyes flutter shut. The world narrows down to the slope of his jaw and the soft press of his lips, the whisper of his hands as they slide into her hair. 

Kissing Reggie is easy, a coordinated dance of silent cues. She vastly prefers it over the square dance calls. It's delightful, and she doesn't mind the dizziness, the way she'll surely wobble like a fawn again.

She knows he'll be there to steady her. 

"Don't ever tell me," she says breathlessly, "that I deserve better than you. You're the one that I want. Okay?" 

A beautiful smile spreads across his face.

"Like—as a partner, or a dance partner, or—" 

She huffs a laugh, cutting him off with another kiss. "Yes, Reggie." 

"We'd better get back in there, then. Are you ready to knock everyone's socks off?"

Her laughter echoes through the entryway, this time. She finds that she means it when she laces their fingers together and says—

"Yeah. I am." 

[prettyboy-like-you]

🅃🅆🄾 🅆🄾🅁🄻🄳🅂 🄲🄾🄻🄻🄸🄳🄴🄳

It's 1992 in San Francisco, CA., and Billy and Steve, they're out there on the coast livin' the dream.

Billy's working construction in the daytime and taking evening classes at the university—studying for his degree in English Literature—and it's a lot, yeah, but honestly? He's never been happier. He wants to become a Professor of the Arts, eventually.

Steve is undergoing vocational training to become a certified youth worker, to maybe one day work with kids who've suffered trauma. He's also working part-time with twenty-five little nuggets in a kindergarten called Kool Kidz and, man, he is absolutely loving every single second of it.

They've a tiny apartment they share, with an even tinier balcony on 25th, off Sloat Blvd, where they huddle together in the evenings under a peachy-pink sunset sky and smoke the five star dope they buy from Eddie, who sometimes comes to stay—as do the rest of the Hawkins crew, when they can. Max, who's at college in Seattle, comes every other weekend. She loves skating the promenade.

They've just become the proud owners of a rust-coloured mongrel pup and called her Maddy, short for Madmax (because Bills really misses his kid sister when she's not around), who their neighbour from the floor below, Mrs Cherrytree, helps out with. They also co-parent a small cactus named Dusty, ha.

They buy old records from this decrepit little store downtown run by a decrepit little guy, and cook together when they can. Billy's teaching Steve to surf in their spare time.

Oh yeah, and they're so, so, so, in love ♥️

.

YOU CAN LISTEN TO THE TRACK THE LYRICS ABOVE ARE TAKEN FROM (NEVER TEAR US APART, BY INXS) ON MY 80s HARRINGROVE SPOTIFY PLAYLIST BY CLICKING HERE: 🍒CHERRY BOMB🍒

[hiilybemyfriendpls]

Reiji Sakamaki CG hc's that are way too self-indulgent for their own good

Under the cut bc there's a lot

( DNI if nsfw )

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- Before anything else, this man makes the absolute best little snacks <3. Sliced carrots with homemade dressing, fruit salad made just the Right Way (™), and INCREDIBLY gourmet chicken nuggets he buys whole and fresh, then grinds and bakes himself. He's even seasoned the breading, and it all has so much flavor you don't need any dipping sauce, and he gets offended if you ask for it.

- Sitting in front of the TV and doing absolutely nothing is an absolutely horrendous waste of time in his eyes, even when you're regressed. You must be learning something, or at the very least, not dumbing down your mind.

- This man LOVES teaching you things. Usually, he finds it annoying to have to explain simple concepts over and over again (even if his version of simple is different than a human's), but when you're regressed it's different. He just finds it so cute to sit down and teach you basic things you either already know but haven't gone over in a while, or things so below your grade level you can pick it up pretty quickly.

- Eventually, once he finds out that your regression is a continuous thing and not just one time, he starts going full Homeschool mom and sets you up a whole ass curriculum. "If you find yourself regressed while in this household, you must come to me and I will help you with your assigned studies."

- He makes it fun though, way too fun for homeworks sake. Half the time it doesn't feel like you're doing any work at all. He's surprisingly good at making games out of educational lessons. Even with the science/chemistry, where you're a bit ahead (since that's what he deems "most important" to learn, lol) he's just so passionate about the subject and knows it so thoroughly inside and out, it's really easy to understand (he somehow always knows the best way to explain things, and if that doesn't work, he has five other ways of saying the same thing. Inevitably, one of them makes sense).

- You actually find he's more willing to teach you about your experiments in ways you can understand than when you're not regressed. He'll sit you on his lap and flip through his book, and explain in concepts he knows he's already taught you.

- Chores chores chores! This man loves his chores. You're probably already doing tasks for him all the time if you're with him, but that doesn't end if you regress. Instead, he gives you things that are easier to do, like wiping things down, or sweeping.

- You guys 1000% keep a chore chart together, and it is the brightest, messiest, most nonsensical thing, but it makes sense to the both of you, and it has lots of gold stars on it, so it doesn't matter. It was created that way because Reiji assigned you the task of making it, and he said "make sure it is understandable" just a little bit too harshly. So you made it the least understandable chart ever. Once he saw that, he claimed he would punish you. In a dramatic show that he was in charge, he stormed into your little space room, dramatically pulled out a box you kept your coloring books in, and took out your least favorite one. For a full 24 hours! How dare he!

- Then he brought out a plate of lettuce leaves and you snacked on them while you explained the backwards logic of the chart.

- Your regression room!! You have a room in the Sakamaki household just for being regressed. It is the only space you don't have to have 100% organized and color coded and dust free, although you can't leave food in there if you're not eating it. It's filled to the brim with activity books, stuffed animals of the highest quality (they've all been put through the dryer with a very nice smelling softening sheet), and all of your homeschool stuff <3

- The nicknames he has for you are: Princess, sweetheart, rabbit, and most commonly, Belle, because she's your favorite princess. You and him watched Beauty and the Beast on a special occasion (you double convinced him by saying it reminded you of you and him) and he had a lot of very nitpicky things to say. But that just meant he was paying close attention, because he knew it was your favorite, and he called you Belle from then on, and even got you a pretty yellow nightgown.

- He calls you "child" if you're in trouble lol

- You call him "Mister Reiji," or "Professor" if you're in class. He finds both to be adorable.

- He's more playful with you when you're regressed, so you play a lot of imagination games. You somehow, by your improvisation or his, always end up being some kind of princess. It becomes an inside joke between you two, and you both will rue the day you don't magically become one.

- Also he brushes your hair really soft and nice and it's just super calming <3

[vanderlindemangofarm]

,,,I have,,,,a need for papa HCs,,,,,,how do you think the guys (or just your favorites if it's too many!) in the gang would be as papas? Do you think any would leave that life for the sake of their family or do you think they've been in it for too long?

Would leave the outlaw life: Arthur, Charles, Lenny, Kieran, John (technically he kinda did), Pearson, Strauss, Swanson, Trelawny (technically he already has, at least partially). 

Unable to leave, but would want to: Hosea, Sean, maybe Bill?

Unwilling to leave: Dutch, Micah, Javier 

The Gang as Dads - general HC’s

Arthur gives the best piggy-back rides to his children. He’ll always pretend to be grumpy about it, but the grin on his face when he charges along with them screaming on his shoulders betrays everything. 

We all know that John has had his share of hardships when it comes to being a father to Jack. He doubts himself constantly, but eventually, he lets himself be vulnerable. He loves helping his children learn to ride, or to build things. He may not always be the best with words, but he tries to let his actions make up for it. 

Dutch’s child is his pride and joy, his little mini-me. He adores reading to them, cradled in his lap, occasionally draping his bandanna over their eyes to make them laugh. If he had a daughter, he’d name her Faith. Just sayin’. 

Hosea would be incredibly doting, to the point of him spoiling his little one. He’d also be the wisest father, always keeping his little nuggets of advice for when they were needed most. 

Charles would be the outdoorsy dad, constantly helping his kids to learn how to climb trees or swim or fish. He’d craft all of their toys himself, fashioning bits of wood into animal shapes. 

Micah would find fatherhood incredibly challenging. He’d have no patience for crying at first, but as they got older he’d find them more interesting. Don’t think he wouldn’t be teaching them how to play with weapons from an early age - he wants them to be self-sufficient as soon as possible.

Javier, like Micah, would find the concept of having a child intimidating and not that appealing at first. He’d convince himself he wasn’t built for parenthood. But, instinctively, he’d find himself singing lullabies to his baby on their first night in this world, and that would be the end of that misconception. 

Bill would be the most protective father, using his size to his advantage to scoop up his child and carry them about, to avoid any harm coming to them. When they were a baby, he’d accidentally make them bawl by forgetting to lower his voice. 

Sean is still a big kid, let’s be honest. He loves that he has an excuse to be his goofiest self, always charging around with his little ones, making up the most outrageous games. Also, his baby would be born with a mane of ginger hair. It’s unavoidable. 

Kieran would take his child out fishing with him as soon as he was allowed. He’d carry them out to the water’s edge, letting them take in the way the sunlight reflected itself on the surface. He realises how much more he appreciates the beauty of the world, now his life has changed forever. 

Lenny would love nothing better than making his child laugh. He pulls the best faces, cracking up as he hears the tiny little giggles. When they finally get old enough, he might explain why Uncle Arthur keeps calling him Ynnel. Might.  

Strauss would surprise everyone, himself included, by turning into the world’s softest father. Every day he’d come back from his errands bearing sweet treats, trinkets and toys. Anything his child desired, he would find a way to get it for them. 

Pearson has a lot on his plate already (no pun intended), so he’d be teaching his kid how to help him in the kitchen from an early age. This is how they would bond - peeling carrots, learning how to crack eggs without leaving the shell fragments in the yolk, mixing up batter for cakes. Pearson would also, without fail, bake the most elaborate birthday meals for his children.

Swanson, oh, dear Swanson. Although it may seem like an impossible feat, the distant destination of fatherhood is what shocks him into pulling himself together. The drink is kicked immediately, but not without a struggle. However, the worst thing he can imagine is his child taking after him at his lowest. When the baby arrives, he spends almost all of his time cradling them, admiring every detail, wondering how on Earth he helped create something this beautiful. 

Trelawny, international man of mystery, is every bit the elaborate father you’d imagine him to be. Gifts and trinkets are aplenty in his home, his warm and doting nature is unmatched. He takes enormous joy in putting on obscure magic shows for his children, delighting in how their eyes light up with each trick. 

[sirro85-blog]

Dark Horses 6

So, what are the Xhost? Now, so long after they have left the stars it's a question that can be asked.

The Xhost were an idea that became a cult, if humans are more durable and Rhul are faster and Biviladi are more adaptable to environmental changes what if instead of celebrating the diversity we examined the discrepancies and found a common ground?

A noble thought, corrupted, corrupted into the Xhost where races were genetically modified to be a bit of everything, differences were no longer celebrated as part of a more fantastic whole but instead were vilified as non-conforming.

To the Xhost purity was required, variation was the enemy.

Kovac sat against the wall looking at his friends, Wolf shook his head and turned to Dorman for support.

"No," said Kovac, " you both have opinions and you're both entitled to them, but you're wrong.

It's as simple as this. Iron man is the greatest superhero, all those with superpowers built in can fuck right off, if your solution to a problem is punching harder then you're not a solution. Iron man's super power is thinking better than all of the others, he figures stuff out, after that his inventions win fights. All the other smart guys either have powers or their limited, I mean Batman isn't a one man army. Reed Richards works stuff out then relies on being Mr Fantastic to solve the problem.

Also Tony fights butt naked and the rest don't."

Kovac looked at his friends and smiled at their faces, "look it's this simple, your mind, the human mind is the greatest weapon in the galaxy. Now the second lesson I have to teach you is this simple, no matter what your taste in music one song needs special attention."

"We Will Rick You, by Queen will be remembered as a Pride song but it shouldn't be. What really matters is the solo or fade out; that piece of guitar play by May...everything else is just delivery for that.

Finally, if you're not happy, watching bad television at 0400 with you're partner then you're relationship won't last, if their presence doesn't bring you joy then move on.

Right that's about it, that's my life time knowledge, guess we should see this out then." Kovac stood.

Outside the Xhost forces had swept across the continent.

"Major, you know that the General will mobilise to defend us, even with the bones of a brigade. Major General Michaela Jones will be here," Wolf said.

"I know Wolf, the question has always been how do we drive the Xhost back? They control more sectors than the Rhul and the Flet together, they control more planet's than the Korlax."

"They've never defeated the Galactic Council forces though." Dorman countered.

"Well that's not strictly true, they've never won a war against the GCDF but they've always required mobilising core divisions and I hate to say it but that means human troops, we're the backbone of the GCDF without our presence the Xhost have seen success."

"You really don't think we can save the Towoli? Or the EDC?" Wolf asked morose.

"With a squadron of combat engineers? No." The Major was terse in his response.

Captain Becca looked out at the gathering darkness, "three days to capture the Towoli and secure the cities, so on the fourth day they turn around and hit the EDC, they're dug in now, so they last, maybe another four days and then it us. In this position we can last, maybe three days. That gives the Major-general two weeks, to raise at least a brigade and to get to us..." the question hung in the air unasked.

Kovac puffed out his cheeks, and rubbed his right forearm. "Remember in the 88th there became this belief that I'd pull it out of the fire, everytime it looked impossible odds you'd hear the men, "trust in kovac" I have that faith in Michaela Jones. Our only job right now is to keep open this beach head so she can land the troops. Now I've shared my life's wisdom with you, who has any other nuggets to share?"

Sergeant Major Panther had her own meeting with her sergeants, the needs of various troops and sections were discussed and the talk turned to how long they could hold out, "Captain says three at a push, but knowing the Major, if say closer to five."

"It'll take them a week to roll the Towoli and the EDC so by the end of the second week it'll be all over," said Sergeant Webb.

"No, you're forgetting Webb, we've got Kovac, 'keep calm and trust in Kovac' I've been saying that for over ten years now and I'll keep saying as long as he keeps earning my damn faith." Knickers glared at her fellow sergeants, "what was it he always said? It's us, it's us the 88th, well now it's us the Dark Horses but it's still us, we're still the real first in last out and we're still fighting fit and fucking ugly, Kovac will know what to do and when he asks us to do the impossible we'll deliver."

Panther grinned, "Exactly, so get out there and tell that to the men, wipe their little faces, help them blow their noses and smack the heads that need smacking, we are the Dark Horses and we will do what is needed."

"Except the Major is sitting there saying the same about the General," Webb said, "you all know I love the man, he's personally saved my life four times that I can count, if anyone can save us he can...but he isn't trying to. He's not even mentioned trying to save the Towoli and the EDC, he's said we use them as cannon fodder. Our hope is that we get rescued by the woman we walked away from to follow Kovac."

The sergeant-major stared at her sergeants, she seemed at a loss for what to say.

"I'll keep my faith thank you Webb. You're not wrong, yet, but I'll put my trust in Kovac."

Corporal Grey was growing weary of banging heads, the men were despondent and grumbling. The leader they trusted beyond all others was finally cornered and they could all see it. He watched as Captain Dorman walked away from the Major looking down-trodden, after a few steps the officer managed to organise himself and he straightened his shoulders and put his head up...keeping up appearances.

"I hear you're out of ideas and we're all fucked," said a coarse voice behind Kovac.

"Hello RQ," said Kovac without turning round, "and do you believe it?"

"Of course not, you need extra arms for all the tricks up your sleeves," scoffed the Quartemaster, "but they do, the rank, which I'm guessing is the point."

"They're good people, good people don't become monsters without falling down first, I need them to be monsters, they have to lose hope so when I throw them a cobra for a life line they grab it."

"What's the plan troop?"

"The secret to Xhost success is that the Xhost have their own supply of fuel, took us a while to realise what it was, now they use a variety of tricks but the basic component is Phosphene gas, toxic and smells like rotten fish half the time. So the finest galactic scientists looked at how they could inhibit their engines, how they could stop the Xhost fuelling their war machine, they failed. Then a human looked at it, her solution was deemed too heinous, the very suggestion caused humanity some problems, as we were suddenly seen as viscious and evil."

"What was her solution?"

"Chemistry, it's beyond me but...have you ever heard of White Phosphorus?"

The Qm blanched, "really!? That's your solution?"

"Turn their fuel into chemical weapons, I just need men desperate enough to agree to it."

"Kovac..."

Kovac turned to look at the Qm, "first time you've ever called me that, look, we can sit here and let the Xhost slaughter the Towoli and the EDC or we can act, to save innocent lives, maybe we need to be less innocent."

The Qm was quiet a moment and then sighed, "you think we have to?"

"I do."

"Alright then," she touched his arm and left him.

Kovac stared into the gathering gloom, "Clausewitz never finished and Ludendorff was a bastard who lost," he seemed to mutter to himself.

Later Kovac would say it was almost sad how quickly his men agreed to his plan, but they did. So within 6 hours his troops were prepared and moving out.

Before dawn the Dark Horses had returned to their fortifications, none of the normal a activities were on display, showing pride in a job we'll done. Instead the attitude was grim, an unpleasant job but one needing done.

Outside in the skies and on the ground, the Xhost burned, White Phosphorus burns on contact with air and it can burn even human flesh to the bone. Steel melts at half the temperature of burning white phosphorus.

I've seen artists renderings of the human construct of hell, the day the Xhost burned was brighter, hotter and there was more smoke. The issue of demons I'll leave to other scholars.

Ten days later Major General Michaela Jones landed with the 3rd army of the Galactic Defence Force to discover a smoking planet and the Towoli and EDC talking about burning skies and enemies vaporized in a wall of heat.

The Dark Horses, grim of face and closed in demeanour said nothing, they simply boarded and left with the advance ships into Xhost territory.

There is a phrase amongst those who study human kind, it's taken from their own old language, a term itself bastardised from an even older tale, "humans are space-orcs"

To humans it's funny, "the human can withstand the loss of a limb and is capable of feats of strength near impossible to other races, they fix metal into their mouths and inject their skins for aesthetic purposes...ha ha, fuck yeah we're space-orcs"

But to those of us who study, it means something different, orcs are the monsters of human fiction, rewritten and redefined they are brutal, barbarous and backwards. Their savagery and their lack of humanity is common in all their iterations. Orcs are the monsters humans see in themselves.

We space going species forget that humans may be like us in their hunt for answers but they got to this technology not through global cooperation but through war-driven advances and international tensions and competition.

They have only recently become the advanced global society we know, just under the surface lies the monster. Humans are Space Orcs.

○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●

So I know the Chemistry is a bit hinky here according to a chemist friend of mine what I've said is possible but not easily but...hey It's sci-fi.

Anyway this one ends in a dark place but it's where it went and I can't really pretend I know what I'm doing.

As always feedback is appreciated.

[breesays]

Terrific Twos

Hello to the new moms, the childless, the old hats, the young'ns who digest my posts as an uncle or an aunt because you are SO far off from having a kid of your own. Hi to the grandmas, the great-adjacent grandmas and the great aunts

I know now, from the drudgery of curating my Twitter feed (I joined that platform in '07!) that all of this is mostly for me. It's my personal history. It's my record keeping. But thank you for reading. I hope you get something from it.

My son is 2 years and 2 months old - 26 months. He goes to preschool 5 days a week, from 8:30AM until 4:30PM. He is not potty trained yet. He is a wonderfully adventurous eater. He speaks in full sentences but didn't have a vocab of more than 10ish words before he turned 20 months old.

This past week he invented "running snuggles" and we had a blast until he crashed into my shoulder. He tries to talk to Google. He's been really good about brushing his teeth since we introduced the BABY SHARK toothbrush. I also want to note that I have a really high tolerance for BABY SHARK. Pro tip for parents: Try to find the "Super Simple Songs" version of all the nursery rhymes that grate on you. I promise they are somehow more palatable in this format, with these voice over actors.

I just wanted to let you know there is no obvious payoff in the infant stage. Maybe that's a given. Maybe everyone already knew that. But as person who wasn't sure they'd procreate, as a mama who had an unexpected c-section, as a mother who tried in earnest to breastfeed for 6 weeks before going back on Wellbutrin - I'm now reporting from the other side. Parenting a toddler is FUN. I said it and I meant it: I LOVE TWO.

Let me be clear: He is in pre-school full time and has been for 2 weeks now. So maybe I'm just flying high on the fumes of solo quiet time. Of time spent NOT worrying. Of time spent knowing he is having fun and making friends and someone else is teaching him letters and numbers and Spanish. Probably. We had our pandemic parenting phase. My husband was a stay at home Dad out of necessity and if you think I could work without always having one ear to the living room and attuned to the specific cries and whines of my child, you would be wrong.

But other than that, man, two is fantastic trip. It's when you realize they've been paying attention to everything you've said/done/ate since they were a wiggly nugget who couldn't even keep themself upright at brunch (literally, the first time we put him in a high chair at Fred62 he folded in half. I still feel bad about that.) He sits how I sit, wants to wear the same color shoes I wear. There are still some things he can't express, but there are way more solves than there used to be. He is trying his hand at humor and voices. He has friends he cares about, he shares (sometimes pre-chewed food, but hey), he's helpful. He knows some yoga poses - down dog, three-legged dog, cat-cow, malasana.

True that he has often ruined my outfit before 8am. True that "no" is prevalent in his vocabulary lately. I'm still a frequent victim to his drool (STILL? WHEN DO KIDS STOP DROOLING YO), snot, sticky hands, petrified snacks when I clean out his car seat. I have to be prepared to be fully drenched during his nightly bath. It's not ALL rainbows and sunshine but it's a high, high percentage.

Mama said

Fulfill the prophecy

Be something greater

Go make a legacy

Manifest destiny

Back in the days

We wanted everything, wanted everything

Mama said

Burn your biographies

Rewrite your history

Light up your wildest dreams

Museum victories, everyday

We wanted everything, wanted everything

[existentialstatesofmind]

Jealousy is an ugly thing

Clare: still thought it was a weird situation but she was embarrassed that she'd asked Dakota those insensitive questions in the first place. "Well at least you knew he was around." She said finally, not knowing what else to say. She just couldn't understand a father not wanting to spend time with his kids. Why had they had so many if he was too busy with his job to be bothered? Maybe Clare was a little spoiled. She was the baby of the family and if there had been anything wrong with their family all along, her parents and big sister had hidden it from her well. Now all of a sudden people at church were gossiping about her 'perfect' family falling apart. Clare had found that out because Jesus Club was praying for them and Clare hadn't even asked them to. She didn't want everyone else at school to find out so why was she telling some boy she wasn't even sure she could trust? Clare sighed. "Thanks. You're right, my dad wouldn't just abandon me. He's been acting really weird but it's fine. They probably won't even get a divorce. It's against our religion. I'm probably worrying over nothing." Of course if she really believed that, Clare's stomach wouldn't be churning over the idea of one of her parents moving out. Of having to go back and forth between two houses until that arrangement stopped working. Then she'd have to pick one of her parents over the other or more likely, they'd decide for her. Clare did know kids with divorced parents, and according to them, shared custody never worked out. "They've been married for twenty years." Clare said making it clear that her parents waited a couple of years before they'd had Darcy and they hadn't been teenagers either. Maybe her parents were secretly hypocrites, she wasn't sure yet, but not about that. At least she didn't think so. "Well maybe your sister will be able to adopt kids but being 24 probably makes the situation a lot harder to swallow." Clare listened to Dakota talk more about Emi. "Wow, is she fluent in English too?" Clare asked curiously. "Impressive." She laughed. It was actually kind of amazing that Dakota and his family were turning their lives upside down to accommodate Emi and make her feel at home. "So do they cook meat differently like chicken? Or do they mainly eat vegetarian dishes in addition to noddles and rice, and of course sushi. I like tea, it would be interesting to try some different flavors. I believe it about the grease." Clare chuckled. "Honey bread sounds good." She was puzzled when a different teacher, the one Dakota called Sensi, came in the room to talk to their teacher about seeing Dakota less than five minutes ago. Dakota had been talking to her for longer than that and Clare had been with him the whole time before they'd gone to class. Her blue eyes widened when a boy who looked a lot like Dakota was dragged into the classroom. Clare's eyes darted back and forth between the two. They were obviously brothers judging by their conversation and she could see how Emi would get confused. They were nearly identical. She smiled when Dakota said the other boy was his twin. When his twin jumped out the window and Dakota went out after him, Clare gasped and shook her head in disbelief. She turned away and looked up at the board. She'd almost forgotten she was supposed to be taking notes. Clare finished writing them down and read back over them because she really hadn't been paying much attention. She looked at Dakota when he came back and listened to him explain to the teachers that he and his brother took stunt classes. She couldn't imagine being part of a big crazy family like Dakota's. "What are you going to do with those skills, get a job as a stunt performer?" Clare asked Dakota when he sat back down. She grinned picturing seeing him in some action movie jumping out of a burning building or something.

Kota: listened to Clare talk about her family and smiled at her. "See there's that positive thinking." he rubbed her back and chuckled a bit. "Keep thinking positive and things will be ok." he assured and looked at her. "Plus if something goes bad, you're more than welcome to come over my house, though it's a bit insane." he admitted. "Kota, how are your siblings?" Monica asked. "Eh, Dom and Ash like confusing mom and unintentionally Emi. She gets frustrated when they do that, but she's been holding her own. She calls them 'things' now. Dom is Thing One and Ash is Thing Two. Even when they tell her 'I'm Thing Two not One.' she tells them she doesn't care and if they wanted her to address them with the appropriate name, they'd stop matching." he stated honestly. "I think it's been pissing her off more though." he shrugged and looked at Clare. "Well, she kind of has to be. Her mom doesn't know Japanese too well and as she grew up her dad would speak to her in Japanese while her mom would speak to her in English so it wasn't really hard for us. She still prays before dinner by saying 'itadakimasu' which is a one word prayer asking for the food to be blessed, much like when people say Grace.' he explained. "She's also teaching us the customs. She had us all get a pair of Zori shoes since she's learning how to walk in them, I fell twice. We're lucky she let us wear them in the house." he chuckled a bit. "They're wooden and look like they're on blocks. She even made us buy yukatas for a firework festival she found out about. She said I have to wear sandals with them and I hate them." he explained. "But I did buy some sneakers and my sister got a few pairs of high heels." he stated honestly and nodded when she mentioned the food. "Yea, they cook meat differently. We had Dimsum which is made with chicken and vegetables. They're rolled very much like dumplings and steamed. They have chicken nuggets like we do, but other than that all their meat is cooked differently. They don't have Turkey though, no pork-chops like we have they only have boneless, bacon is expensive there so she's never eaten it, and the chicken as well as pork is all stir fried with noodles and soy sauce or something. It's rather healthy since there's no grease. They also eat skewers a lot. There's hardly any fat on the meats that they eat." he explained. "Even when you make the pork chops which are called Yakisoba, they're boneless and buy them with the fat cut off. Emi was shocked when she first seen they had fat on them and asked what it was. Um, they have steak too." he explained and thought for a moment. "Just don't ask me about the teas. They have about 100 different flavors it seems and it's all so hard to remember." he said honestly. "They have canned tea, hot tea, coffee, soda, non carbonated sodas which I need Miso Soup." he sighed. After dealing with his twin he looked at Clare. "No we were both bullied in Middle school so we took the stunts class to get away from bullies as well as Martial Arts. I'm a black belt now so I mainly help teach it." he explained. "I don't really know what I want to do when I graduate yet and I don't know if I'll still have Emi. If I do have her when I graduate, I'm going to get a part-time job, move into our own house and just let my aunt know." he said honestly. "It's been a week and we don't have anything from her. No messages, no calls, nothing." he explained. "Luckily Emi came with instructions such as her telling me what she likes when she's sick." he added.