#typical older sibling behaviour

[br1ghtestlight]

louise is lucky that her older siblings are like the kindest most understanding pacifist people ever bcuz if she had any other older sibling she'd be getting her ass handed to her DAILY. she has not experienced the true horrors of older sibling rivalry

[bestboyignis]

"A king must never stand still. He must keep moving forward, whatever the cost. However, even a king can feel worried and lost. When that time comes, I want you to be by Noctis' side, as his friend—and as his older brother."

I first played FFXV in English, and so missed this very subtle detail when I was an early fan. I'm not kidding when I say that the first time I played in Japanese and heard this speech, my eyes went 👀 because suddenly everything that Ignis did in Episode Ignis made so much more sense.

The difference is this: In the EN version, Regis asks Ignis to stay by Noctis' side, "as his friend—and as his brother." In the JP version, Regis asks Ignis to be Noctis' 兄 / "ani" / "older brother".

For me, this is a big difference. A "brother" is an equal, a companion, someone you can trust and share good times and bad times with. An older brother is many of these things, too, except an older brother is not an equal.

FFXV is still culturally a Japanese/Asian game. Many Asian languages have a specific name for an older—especially the eldest—sibling. To be the eldest is to be responsible for the younger ones. It's not uncommon for the eldest to shoulder more of the chores, be responsible for the actions of the younger siblings (yes, to the point of getting in trouble for them as well), to be expected to discipline them, and generally be accountable for whatever happens to one's younger siblings. This does usually provide the eldest sibling more authority, but it also comes with expectations of sacrifice. The eldest is expected to be more patient, to give things away they want for themselves, and generally make sure the younger siblings are provided for before considering one's self.

For me, who culturally also has this concept albeit not being Japanese, that Ignis was tasked to be Noct's "ani" makes their relationship make so much more sense. Ignis' strictness with Noct, the exasperation, the perseverance, the nagging, and conversely Noct's cheekiness, stubbornness, whining and complaining, laziness (no I swear this is typical youngest son behaviour!) and just the general banter that goes on between them is very much older brother/younger brother dynamic. I don't know why I didn't make this connection in the EN version, but that's language for you. 🥲

Ignis' actions in Episode Ignis were not extreme. I have known eldest children who give up more of themselves and for longer. This is not to belittle Ignis' sacrifice, only to say that his actions made sense given his role in Noctis' life.

[localcatmutt]

A Discussion On "Factkin"

Before reading any of this post, please be aware that I will be using the psychological terms correctly. For example, when i describe delusional behaviour it is NOT an insult, it is used correctly in the way a psychiatrist or doctor would. Nothing in this post it attacking any one individual, nor is it meant to bully. I am ONLY educating. <3

First and foremost, what IS factkin?

Factkin is a term that means an individual who identifies as a non-fictional, real human being. These “identities” are rooted in real-life individuals who exist in the shared reality, whether this person is currently alive or deceased. The people they claim to identify as are typically historical or famous in nature.

Factkin has been a known term in the community for as long as I have been in it. Most older generations like myself have come across the label at least once in our time here, and it is commonly known to come from individuals who mocked the alterhuman community (aka trolls or haters).

Why would someone be factkin?

As children develop into the adults they will one day become, their environment has a big impact on their personality. Their brains will unconsciously pick up traits from the people they grow up with, like their parents, friends, siblings and other family members, even the individuals they see on television! There will be many phases in their lives that will be influenced by all these different people. This can impact their behaviour, interests, beliefs, styles, speech patterns (like dialect or accent), and so much more. The majority of those traits they pick up though will fade away with time.

The traits that DO stay, may eventually become part of their base identity once they reach the end of their mental development. But even then they can still pick up more traits from those around them in adulthood.

So where am i going with this? Well, some kids may confuse this type of development for identifying as the other person.

I will use celebrities for example, since that is the typical source for a “factkin identity”.

We are all exposed to many famous celebrities, either from our favourite movies, television shows, or the music we listen to. They are all over the media we see around us. And people, especially minors who are in their developmental stages and are experimenting with their identities, will see all these amazing and influential people everywhere. They may want to be like them, or want to actually BE them. Then, whether it is consciously or unconsciously done, they will pick up traits from that celebrity.

Someone who isn't endlessly exposed to social media wouldn't think much of it, but if you're uneducated and come across the term “factkin”, they might think that’s what they are, rather than someone who idolizes another human being.

Other reasons may have to do with unhealthy coping strategies or psychotic/delusional symptoms that are left unchecked. Trauma and mental health can have a big impact on someone’s identity development. Underlying issues can cause confusion between a real mental illness and the belief that one is someone entirely different than who they really are.

It may also be an obsession with a figure that has gone a tad bit too far, and has some behavioural issues tied to it similar to addiction. In the sense that someone is so unhealthily dependent on the famous person, that they cannot tell that they are NOT the person they are obsessed with.

To put it simply, someone will never actually be factkin, it is just normal or abnormal developmental stages in life that has been confused with the term factkin, a delusional/psychotic disorder/experience, unhealthy coping mechanisms, an unchecked obsession, or confusion with one’s identity.

Idols

Having an idol is fairly common. The majority of us have had one in our lives. Sometimes our idol happens to be our mother or father. Sometimes its a singer, an actor or some other famous individual. An idol, by definition, is a person that is greatly admired, loved and revered. Idols are often figures that individuals hope to one day become. Although not in the literal sense like factkin claim to be. Rather, people want to become similar to their idol. That itself is healthy and doesn't normally have any negative impact, as long as the person still understands individuality (that nobody is perfectly like one another, and that they still have to be themselves.)

This is another possible factor in the confusion that self-claimed factkin may have with their own identity.

Past Lives

A past life is a fairly common concept for alterhumans. Many believe their identity to be caused by a past life they had as said being/animal they still currently identify as. Factkin have also been known to claim that they have a past life as some famous or historical figure. That alone isn't too harmful, as long as they don’t go around expecting people to treat them like that figure.

If you have a past life as a human being, can you still identify as that individual? Well, yes I guess. But does it make you factkin? No. As i stated above, factkin doesn't fit in the alterhuman community. It doesnt warrant its own term.

People who claim the factkin label have more commonly identified as currently living people anyhow, so there is no excuse for such a thing.

Grandiose Delusion

There are many different kinds of delusional disorders that I have studied, and when it comes to factkin, the one that especially comes to mind is the Grandiose delusion, or delusion of grandeur. This delusion is characterized by an individual who believes that they are someone other than who they are, such as a supernatural figure (like a god), or a famous individual (historical or currently alive). Does that sound familiar?

I came across this type of delusion during my studies years ago, and most cases of Grandiose Delusion that I have read about, have similarities to factkin and the people who identify as religious gods (like loki, anubis, jesus, etc).

The thing with delusions is that the people who experience this psychological symptom or disorder cant control it, nor are they always aware of it. So it poses many issues when trying to explain the truth to them. Telling them that they are not beyonce or justin bieber, and that they are actually John Doe who lives in Ohio, wont always go through to them.

Again, factkin is NOT a thing, but grandiose delusion is. Doesn't mean they can spread misinformation, that behaviour cant be enabled. But they also shouldn't be outright attacked, as again, they cant control their delusional behaviour. The best way we can approach someone with this psychological issue is by educating and encouraging them to seek professional help, and then educating the community without mentioning the individuals with the delusion.

Why is factkin problematic?

Unlike Otherkin or Therians who identify as species, factkin identify as specific individuals (living or deceased). Identifying as a species poses no harm to anyone. But there are lots of issues that come up when you identify as a specific person who exists. You are claiming to be this person, which surpass so many boundaries. This action is a violation of their privacy and their sense of self. It is okay to get inspiration from someone, but to claim to BE them is a whole other ordeal. Even going as far as mimicking/copying their personality is inappropriate on many levels. Nobody consents to such outrageous claims and behaviours.

Famous people get it a lot, I have seen it time and time again. Some even get surgeries to look like some celebrities they so strongly admire. I have even read some articles of young famous actors and singers whose mental health suffered when they heard of obsessed fans trying to become them. It crosses a line.

In addition, when it comes to celebrities, what you see on social media is rarely the whole truth, if it is even true at all. How could you even claim to be them when what you know is very likely just another facade they put on for the world to see? It’s unrealistic, truly. Both in a spiritual AND a psychological sense.

Impersonation, Identity Theft, Catfishing & Factkin

When debating the term factkin, the argument that is often brought up is identity theft. So let’s start with the definition for this: Identity theft (or fraud) is what happens when someone takes someone else’s name and personal information, and uses it without your permission to do whatever they like with it. This here is illegal, and you can be arrested or fined.

With this in mind, are “factkin” committing identity theft? Nope. Identity theft is a bit more than simply identifying as someone other than yourself.

What about catfishing?

Catfishing is the act of luring or pursuing someone into a relationship while pretending to be someone you arnt. Does this fit factkin? Well, no, BUT it can easily be something someone who is “factkin” can commit if they claim to be someone else other than theirselves.

What about impersonation?

Impersonation refers to the act of pretending to be someone you arnt. It can be assuming the identity of someone online, someone’s family member or imitating a public figure. Regardless of who is being impersonated, this act can have SERIOUS consequences for individuals and society as a whole. Impersonation doesnt always include criminal acts like identity theft or catfishing, but it can still have devastating affects on everyone involved, especially the person they are impersonating or identifying as.

I think this one fits the bill.

While someone who claims to be factkin may not confess to impersonation, claiming to identify as someone else still follows the same narrative. Someone who identifies as another person is claiming to be that person. Identity isn't cosplay, it is YOU. WHO YOU ARE. Therefore if you identify as Queen Elizabeth or Harry Styles, you are telling us that YOU are those people.

That very much sounds like impersonation to me.

NOTE – The major difference between Grandiose Delusion (or DMS) and impersonation is that impersonation is deliberate and intentional and conscious. The latter is an illness one does not choose to have.

My experience with having my identity taken

Many years ago I had my first experience with having my identity taken. Someone I didnt know (but knew my friends) took my name, my photos, whatever personal information they knew of me and my life, and they started identifying as me. I wasnt aware of it for months, until my friends found out about it. Then I was made aware of how far they had gone with this action. Not only did they pose as me, but they catfished other people using MY information and photos. One of the people they catfished was in love with me, and it absolutely shattered them. It was a whole messy situation that I wont get into here. But it had long lasting consequences on ME, my friends, and that girl who was manipulated.

The next time it happened was pretty similar, but it was a stranger that time.

On top of that I had people who were taking my very dear and personal experiences as their own, which isn't the same, but after what i dealt with, it definitely didnt make me feel any safer. I went off instagram from a while afterwards.

How it negatively impacts the identified person

The people who get used as someone else’s identity tend to get the worst of the negative impact. We feel incredibly unsafe, violated, and paranoid that other people out there will turn up and identify as us. They will steal our face and our name and our lives, and claim it as theirs. Read that again, see how crazy that sounds.

This isn't a laughing matter, its not a game. That is why I take factkin seriously. It is NOT appropriate. And it causes so much harm when you try to normalize this immoral behaviour. Using someone as your identity is NOT OKAY. It never will be.

Celebrities and historical figures are no different. Dead or alive, they deserve the same respect. To treat them any different would be to dehumanize them. Just because someone is famous, is a public figure or has a large following, doesnt mean you can identify AS them. Their privacy is already taken advantage of as it is, and they deal with enough impersonation already. Just look at some well known people in our own community! They have people create false accounts with their names, their faces, their posts, their information.

It breaks our trust in the world. It leaves us feeling like we have to watch our backs. It makes us uncomfortable. (US as in the people whose identities have been used and taken).

It’s ridiculous to want to normalize this toxic and disgusting behaviour.

How to deal with factkin?

Depending on the situation, there are different ways to deal with factkin. Firstly, attacking an individual using the label will never solve the situation. If you want to confront them, the best you can do is ask questions and encourage them to understand what they are doing by using that label. Educate them. If they confess to delusional thinking, encourage them to seek professional help. If they become defensive, I recommend leaving and blocking them, its not YOUR problem. Next, you can spread proper information about factkin and why it isn't an acceptable term.

Some kids may confuse factkin and connection. It’s okay to relate to other people, we all do it. But it doesnt have anything to do with factkin or the definition of the term. Sometimes all they need is someone to help them understand that. Not every person is well informed on terminology and education in the community. They might be unaware and need a hand to guide them. Dont always assume the worst of them.

To put it simply, don't attack, ask questions/don't assume, educate, encourage them to get help (if delusional), move on.

Conclusion

This post is already as long as it needs to be, I hope i was able to cover all the bases. If you have anything to add, let me know, I can make another part to this discussion. If you have questions, I will gladly answer them.

I hope that the message is delivered well. My intention is not to judge or hurt anybody, I am a lot more open-minded than some people may assume of me. I genuinely care about everyone, but not everything should be normalized or accepted in society or in this community.

I GET that they believe the “identity” is involuntary the same way otherkin/therian identities are, but it is still an innappropriate identity (same as god identities and those of cultural or religious beings.) My biggest issue isn't what they believe, but the fact they think its okay to normalize something like it and to inform people on it like its an innocent and harmless behaviour. The goal of this post is especially to spread the message that its NOT acceptable nor should it be normalized in the alterhuman community.

If you think this post is about anyone in particular, I assure you it isn't. Dont comment names or accounts of people who use the term “factkin” either (ill delete them). Especially if they are minors. This wont benefit anybody. I just want to educate. It has been something I’ve been meaning to discuss for a while, since the term factkin has existed longer than I have been in the community. Its nothing new.

Thank you for reading and I wish everyone a good day, sincerely.

- From your Local Tomcat, Ryuuko.

[nagislemontea]

BEING REI AND RITSU’S LITTLE SISTER.

— Headcanons.

Having the hereditary condition your brothers do as well, you got sent to the same school as them so that they could keep an eye on you. 

Congrats you’re the favourite sibling— Ritsu doesn’t dislike you, in fact, he approaches you often to either sleep on your lap, or invite you to the Tea Club. Rei equally adores both you and Ritsu, but since you don’t ignore him, you’re typically the one experiencing his doting behaviour. 

Rei‘s usual absence during his second year and before affected you as well. You had guessed his intentions, but that didn’t stop the overwhelming loneliness you’d feel at times. You and Ritsu grew even closer in that period of time, being each other’s pillars of support. 

Ritsu would confide in you, as you do with him. He does little things, such as patting your head in approval; take you to a shaded area if the sun got too much; letting you borrow his sleeping masks; taking you to see his unitmates, so that you can have more older siblings to look after you. 

With that, you’d hung around the Knights quite a lot, growing close with the members, especially Arashi, who seems adamant on acting as an elder sister for you. There are times where she’d take you shopping for new clothes (During a cold, sunset evening preferably). You guys would drag Ritsu with you if given the chance too as well. 

You had grown close with Koga during Rei’s absence as well, you’d eventually found out that Rei had personally asked him to take care of you during his leaves. You’d confided in Koga at some point about Rei, now he teaches you plenty of card games to beat Rei in as a form of revenge. 

Now, when Rei came back, you didn’t ignore him, but you did tell him how you felt. He dotes on you more in his own way as a result; letting you beat him in those card games; taking you on walks in the gardens to chat with him; letting you use his coffin with the air conditioner; hugging you everytime he sees you, and a lot more. He’s doing his best to make up for what you’ve missed out on for the past year. 

You act as a bridge to connect your two brothers, no matter how awkward it may be. You know Ritsu doesn’t truly loathe Rei, but more so has lost trust in him from his promise to care for them yet left abroad majority of the time. You also understand that’s part of the reason Rei had become more doting than ever. So, with the free time you have, you often try to arrange sibling bonding times to help them out a bit. 

There had been a time that you three were on a train on the way home; you fell asleep on Ritsu’s shoulder; Rei fell asleep on yours; Ritsu surprisingly stayed awake to watch over you two. Though nothing was said at that moment, both Rei and Ritsu were incredibly thankful that you, their youngest sibling, cared for them as much as they cared for you. 

[cupids-chamber]

NOT ANOTHER CINDERELLA STORY, where y/n gets caught up with a unknown red-eyed fae, that leads them into the arms of the prince himself.

GENDER NEUTRAL READER

CONTENT TAGS: 2.1k words, Fluff, too much fluff for my taste, Sebek being overdramatic, Reader convinced that Lilia is a creep, Silver getting chased by bachelors (Totally not me), Reader has an actual good sibling relationship, Good step-mother, Reader kisses a man on the first meeting but it's Malleus so it's fine.

It was unexpected, for your mother to die so early on.. And then your father followed her path soon afterwards. To be quite honest you hadn’t expected anything from the death of your father, he had barely an inch of his time to spare for you. So of course you only relied on your mother at the very end of the day. 

Sadly she was gone, and to your surprise within the short period of time when your father was alive, he wasted no time getting remarried to another. Your step mother was someone distant, cold, and quite closed off, but you paid no heed to her behaviourisms. To your sheer luck, she was nothing like those abusive step mothers you’ve read about in stories, it looked as if she pitied you more than anything else. 

She didn’t bother filling in the role of your mother, however she didn’t fail in the aspect of a caretaker either. Things remained the same even after your fathers death. However, around this time she had brought back her two daughters from her previous marriage. 

You didn’t mind them as long as they didn’t bother you, then you wouldn’t either. The pair of sisters would tease you as older siblings do, they warmed up to you rather quickly, they treated you well without fault, oftentimes you found yourself seeking out the pair. 

As they warmed up to you, so did their mother.. Sure she never accepted you as her own, but she didn’t raise you carelessly either, you had received the same treatment as her very own children, she raised you in a careful manner, ‘raising you to be the noble you were born as’.. 

Your eldest sister, with shaky hands, poured you a cup of earl gray “How many sugarcubes would you like?” she asked in a sweet tone, it seemed as if she’s been practicing her etiquette as of recent. You softly mumbled out an amount, as she excitedly dropped the sugar cubes with her utensils. 

Your other sister was busy getting dressed up and fit, she was sick the time the two of you went. So as of current times, the two of you were left alone… well that's if you excuse all the servants lurking within the manor, making sure the two of you were out of trouble. 

Your other sister, the youngest of the pair arrived in a grandiose manner as usual, despite her rather annoying habit of flaunting, she was kind, and sweet.. She considered the best for the two of you, and always brought back candy or some sort of trinket for you two. This time around she brought home three bracelets, they were matching.. yet differing in color. She stated with a huge smile, that these matching bracelets represent friendships and a close bond, just like the three of us share. 

The three of you got along, you were the youngest of the pair and they treated you no differently than a cherished younger sibling.. Sometimes you’d forget that the three of you were not related by blood, as you cherished this family beyond anything else. They were more of a family to you, then the one you previously had. 

Years flew by and you couldn’t help but cherish your family even more, they filled the crooked gaps and holes that your father and mother had left with their rather unreasonable neglect. Overtime, your step-mother grew close to you as well.. You were allowed to address her as your own mother, even in private. It was no longer a front, this was your family and you cherished it. 

The letter arrived on one of your typical days, the letter that would change your humble yet noble lifestyle forever. The royal prince of Briar Valley was looking for a partner, and the palace would be throwing a lively ball.. It was a place filled to the brim in suiters, and would be an area where many young noble children would be making their debut.. And your mother had all the more plans to send all three of you there. 

Before you knew it, the three of you were getting fitted, dressed, and prepared for this ball. Your mother took it seriously. Way too seriously, there was a slim chance that the prince would actually be interested in any of you, even with your rather glamorous origins. 

The three of you finally caught a break. As your mother was discussing with a business partner of sorts, the three of you ran off to the edge of your garden, in a rather hidden spot where the bushes overgrown and covered the three of you. It was well hidden to the eye, you’d have to really look to find such an area. 

You recalled the incident as to how you three found the area, Daisy, your second eldest sister, was showing off a dance she had learnt and accidentally tripped crashing into the bush and forming a small hole passage into the hideout area, you let out a soft chuckle at the passing memory.

A loud sigh disrupted your thoughts, as you faced Eveleign, your eldest sister, she seemed stressed, “Why are we going to such a place anyways” she spoke her thoughts, your eldest sister had never been a closed off individual like her mother, “Well we have to make our debut somehow.. We can’t help mother if we have no connections” Daisy replied in an instant, ‘sadly she was right, if a debut wasn’t for marriage it was to form social connections, and sure mother had been doing extremely well in maintaining the great lineage of the household and even father’s many business chains, but if were unable to great more bonds then when mother grows older we’d fall into some serious trouble.’ 

The hour passed as Eveleign continued voicing her frustration and Daisy replying in a manner that did nothing but anger her more, you tried to ease the pair but things only worsened. Eveleigh even went as far as to claim that she never wanted to marry the prince anyway, her reasons were justifiable, but you could tell if mother heard of this, it would take 20 years out of her lifetime. 

However, on the big day your mother had prepared so hard for, everything seemed to have gone wrong, the main carriage had broken down and your outfit for the day came out much poorer in quality then you had expected, not to mention Daisy’s main centerpiece, a beautiful studded necklace was messing. 

Needless to say, the house was in pure shambles. Something that led you to running out the backdoor and into the depths of the guardian, you were annoyed and upset. You hadn’t expected much from today, however the most of its toll fell on you. Your outfit was entirely ruined, you couldn’t wear something like this unless you wanted to be shamed, and God forbid you wore the same outfits from previous banquets, that would bring more dishonor to your family.. Not to mention the scrutiny your mother would have to face publicly. 

Somewhere along the lines you had slipped into a deep slumber, and when you opened your eyes there was a floaty.. person? He had black hair with streaks of bright pink, not to mention piercing red eyes… He also had fangs.. Was he a fae? I mean that should be a given but you were too tired and mentally hazy to process the minor details and important questions that you normally would have done. 

“Hello!” he stated in a bubbly manner, “need some help? I heard your family’s in quite the position on this fine day.. aren't you planning on going to the prince's banquet?” he asked in a knowing tone, as if he knew what was going on at home. You laughed, ‘this must be a dream right?’ there was absolutely no way a random man would appear and offer you help, unless he was some weird creep, who had been stalking you. 

Yet for some reason despite finding this entire situation laughable, you still accepted the man's offer, though in your own way. It was rather obvious you didn’t believe his words, and even then he had given you his word. 

Then suddenly you woke up, and you realized you were actually dreaming.. Thank god, it would’ve been more creepy if you weren’t dreaming and a random man actually helped you, what could he have wanted in return, you would never know! 

However, to your utter surprise, that mysterious man seemed to have kept his word, as your mother explained how everything was solved, apparently a carriage was sent to your household, and a man with striking silver hair had been waiting outside to pick you up.. As for your clothes.. By some miracle everything had been fixed and well… better than ever! 

Your mother hurriedly urged you to get ready, and in a blur you were in the carriage on your way to the castle, everything was so confusing that you could barely comprehend what had happened all in the past one or two hours, you really hoped this was some weird dream that was playing with your mind and not something real, since if it was real, it would raise so many red flags and questions that would most definitely need answers.

By the time your thoughts had cooled off you were at the banquet hall, and all your worries were now replaced with a rush of anxiety, you hoped nothing would go wrong, you’d be under watchful eyes by many who desire to scorn someone slightly off track, so their flaws don’t blossom in the eyes of others. Sure it wasn’t a pleasant thing, but then again you’d have to do the same thing in this area, at least to garner more attention and respect from the crowd.. To be quite honest, Daisy excelled in this field the most, Eveleign hated going out and preferred being closed off, for no reason, other than the fact that she just didn’t want to.. As for Daisy, she would attend any sort of meeting she could and could, it’s not that she enjoyed the unpleasant glances from older men or the snarky remarks and comments you’d have to make to save face in this area, she simply enjoyed having the upper hand when conversing. 

It didn’t take long for the three of you to grow apart and separate amidst the crowd, you backed up trying to find an empty corner, that’s when you heard a loud thump, turning around you saw the face of the person you knocked into. He had beautiful green eyes, like a gemstone of sorts and long vibrant black hair, that had a certain glow underneath the bright lights. 

You apologized for knocking into him, you should’ve really paid attention to your surroundings. The tall man chuckled in response, “Well if you're sorry, how about you repay me with a dance?” he offered you a hand, and for some reason, despite wanting to rest you agreed to his offer. 

The two of you waltzed around the ballroom, for some reason you found comfort in the arms of the black haired man, he was sweet and quite frankly forgiving and caring. The two of you had gone to the garden hand in hand, you weren’t quite sure if you were allowed in such a secluded area in the imperial gardens, but he seemed to ease your worries. 

The two of you chatted about many things, he even brought up your siblings, you didn’t bother questioning how he knew you had sisters, as you rambled on and on about your siblings and how great they were to you, it wasn’t always that somebody other than your siblings themselves, cared for simple conversations like this. Nobles were snobby; they tried digging into you, and clawing the worst part of you so they could put it out for display. 

Lilia tilted his binoculars slightly as Silver struggled holding Sebek down, it seemed as if he was about to burst out yelling Malleus’s name any moment from now, he obviously disliked the presence of an unknown person with his master. “Calm down Sebek” Silver mused, growing tired he had to run the grasps of the eligible ladies earlier, who seemed to have been smitten for his looks, if he recalled there was also a man voicing his love for the sleeping beauty, and now, after all that, he had to deal with an angry green haired half-fae. 

“I didn’t get the chance to ask this before but.. "What's your name?” you asked the man, who you presumably spent the entire night with, “Tsunotarou.. My name is tsunotarou”  he replied with ease, a smile embracing his features as he leaned down, and the two of your foreheads touched as he whispered something to you that you couldn’t yet comprehend, before leaning down for a kiss. And before you could enjoy the moment, you heard a distant scream coming from the balcony further away… You opted to ignore the psycho green haired madman screaming his lungs out. 

© cupids-chamber, do not repost, plagiarize, translate, or adapt my work without prior permission and or confirmation.

[miracles-and-butterflies]

Do you think the Encanto has a school or would the kids be home schooled?

They definitely would have a school. However, it would be entirely optional. Parents could decided themselves whether they wanted to send their children to school or not, even within siblings; one could go to school and the other could stay at home.

School would be open for ages five/six until about fifteen/sixteen, depending when your birthday falls. You would start at five or six but again, with it being optional, you could finish education at any age after that. Most who went to school would stop once they became a teenager.

Historically schools would run throughout the week for most of the year - the only exception being religious holidays or work days (typically over the summer, when extra hands were need to help with animals, harvesting, etc). Typically started at nine and ended anywhere between 3-5 in the afternoon, so kids would return home around the same time parents finished work. They would be given a lunch break at noon.

Though there were teachers, schools were mostly taught or associated with the local church.

Boys and girls would be separated, to prevent any distraction or “wayward behaviour” (flirtations, relationships and so on). Boys typically got more of an education and were more likely to have trained teachers/men of higher education teaching them. Girls may have gotten a teacher on occasion but were more often than not taught by nuns.

They would be taught how to read and write; some mathematics and arithmetic; they would learn how to read/plot a map and basic geography; they would learn about their own history - in this case, Latin American (more broadly) and Colombia (specially), but they might have briefly touched on/mentioned stuff beyond that if relevant (particularly that of Spain). Religion was also a really big thing. Given the time and place, it’s fair to say it would have definitely Catholicism. They wouldn’t have had official music classes, but they would definitely learn hymns and sing.

Beyond that, they also would have learnt practical skills that would have prepared them for life after school. This again, differs a lot based on gender.

Girls were taught to run households and ‘wifely/motherly’ skills, so they would be good matriarchs. They learnt how to sew (to be able to repair things, not as an art form); cook meals; manners and etiquette; wash, polish and whatever else needed to keep a home clean and tidy. They would have been familiar with basic childcare. On occasion, they would have been given dance lessons - that would be their form of physical education - and even learn how to play musical instruments, most likely some kind of string or woodwind instrument. They were encouraged to be pious but not prudish. They should serve their husband dutifully and please him, they should be able to be a good mother to their children.

Boys, on the other hand, were set up for work. Most typically went into their father’s or family’s trade, but some pursued their own. They would learn how to build and taught woodwork, sometimes even metalwork; they would get more physical education compared to girls, and would get to enjoy themselves in a few different sports; though not always, boys could be taught to be familiar with weaponry; and they would be taught finance, alongside more in-depth maths, religion and even some science. Anything that could prepare them for a job. On occasion, older classes of boys would have been invited to help in labor - building, mining, farming, fishing, etc - as they were young and fit, and it was good practice for when they were older.

Both genders would be familiar with some amount of agriculture and animal handling - while men could work in those areas, women would often be left to tend to their own garden/plants and/or animals at home. They wouldn’t have had art, but they would probably do some pottery and sketching (as part of making maps) as well.

…In saying all of that, gender norms aren’t exactly strict in Encanto by the time of the film. Luisa is seen doing heavy lifting and construction which was men’s work and Camilo is shown to be babysitting/caring for children which was a more womanly thing.

Once school ended, girls were expected to either help out at home or they could pursue work. Though, this pretty much ended once they married and had children. But many women could still work and even pursue more masculine jobs even once married - many did start their own small, unofficial businesses (selling baked goods, sweets, clothes, pots, art, etc).

It is a small village and everyone would be expected to do their part to help out and keeping things running for the next generation. So seeing Luisa (and other townswomen helping out during building montages throughout the film) isn’t unheard of. Frankly, Camilo, a male, helping with children is the more unusual scenario. But nobody would have flipped out or tried to stop them by any means - there definitely would be a few odd looks and whispering*.

*Though I’m sure Dolores and Alma would have dealt with them.

As I said, it’s a small village. They don’t have a huge population and would be grateful someone was doing the job, regardless of their gender.

As for what this means in terms of education… boys and girls would still be separated (for the most part that has nothing to do with gender norms), but I can see that education would become more balanced over the years. Particularly Antonio’s generation and everything that comes after. I imagine change was slowly happening in education as soon as Luisa got her gift and started working, but it was probably too slow and therefore not very noticeable to the likes of Camilo and Mirabel. I can also see that they would drop the separating boys and girls with time, but that would take a lot longer.

A school building would be small and cramped. I cannot emphasise that enough. It wouldn’t be unheard of for two kids to share a single desk and chair, especially in younger years as they were more crowded. Somewhat separated from the bustle of town but it wouldn’t essentially be fenced off with a gate or wall like most are nowadays.

For the triplets, their school was probably just a single building with one giant classroom and possibly a small room for storage and supplies. Girls and boys would be taught on opposite sides of the classroom.

By the time Isabela and Dolores were in school, the building would be expanded to account for the growing number of children in the community. Boys and girls would have separate classrooms and more of a designated space outside for play or outdoor lessons (in the case of plants and animals).

A few more rooms may be added to further separate classes, depending on age. They would have been separated in groups previously, but this would make it easier to focus and teach. Unlike how most school have a class for every year/age group, these would be more combined. They wouldn’t necessarily be based on age, it was more skill, knowledge and behaviour. If you weren’t able to handle the work, you wouldn’t move up - regardless of how old you were.

Classrooms would have been plain. Typical wooden desks and chairs or stools for both teacher and students, with a large blackboard at the front of the room. There may have been a crucifix, flag, map or prayers stuck on the walls but that would have been it. Schools may also have had a furnace to keep heat, bookcase(s) and cabinets for equipment: chalk, miniature blackboards or slate, charcoals and/or pencils, paper, etc. Classrooms for girls would have included equipment for sewing, cooking and cleaning as well.

An old classroom with desks, chairs, blackboards, a furnace/stove and a sewing machine. This would have been a classroom for girls.

Throughout school there would have been small tests, so they could judge how you were progressing. Nothing overly serious or worth fretting about, similar to like a weekly spelling test. And while there wouldn’t have been much homework, children would be encouraged to practice what they had learnt and put it into effect in their daily life where possible.

There was no official qualifications or anything, but there would be an exam for those who stayed in school until the end. This would have been on reading, writing, maths, history and geography, alongside a few theory questions of domestic/practical skills; essentially most of what was taught at school. It didn’t guarantee you a job (as most people didn’t stay at school long enough to take and were still getting work) but it would give you more potential to be hired. If you wanted a more academic job that required school and even further study (for example: doctor), you would have to stay on for the exam and pass it.

It is unlikely that any of the gifted Madrigals stayed long enough for the exam. It isn’t hugely important to their community and they already had pre-established jobs because of their gift - speaking of, because of all their work in their community their attendance probably wasn’t great. And they wouldn’t have had much time to spend studying, practicing, doing the homework or furthering the teaching.

Mirabel, on the other hand, not having a gift or work or a family trade, is probably the only one that did. She had infinitely more time than everyone else and it’s confirmed she isn’t working, we also know she is still in school by the time of the film. She would have had the most time, motive and energy to put into her schoolwork, and if only for that, would have the “best grades” of the family*.

*Not that schools really had or went by grades as such, it was pretty much just pass/fail.

**But nobody is really a huge academic (as people seem to be interpreting), given the education is more skill based. And being someone who enjoys needlework, hugely helps around the house and is shown to be creative, Mirabel is already at a huge advantage.

Luisa certainly would have picked work over school and I can imagine a lot of the other gifted Madrigals were the same. Possibly Dolores might be the exception to this, as her gift isn’t useful in the same way the others are and wouldn’t be required to work or make public appearances as often.

Schools would have had an outhouse, possibly a communal one - meaning it would have a couple holes/toilets in it and could be used by multiple people at once. A separate one for male and female, possibly also a separate one for teachers.

I don’t think there is anything else for me to say. I hope this answers your question! :)

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

Trimax Thoughts Vol. 5 Pt. 2

I want to talk about Knives for a sec. Up to where I've read in the manga so far, we really don't have much of an understanding of him yet. I think I may have a slight advantage in having watched one of the shows before starting (I've watched Tristamp) because otherwise I don't know if I would quite get what to make of him so far.

I won't say anything about Tristamp here since I'm not going to assume everyone in book club has seen it, but I did draw a conclusion from it that, after reading volume 5, I am almost positive applies to the manga version of Knives too.

Knives treats Vash as if he were an extension of himself.

[ID: A panel from Trigun Maximum volume 5. Knives stands casually, holding a cup and smiling as he greets his brother in Vash and Hoppered's shared flashback to July. Hoppered thinks "It's him..." as Knives says "Hey Vash." End ID.]

Ok so first off I need to establish something because it's important. Listen. I have no doubt that Knives loves his brother. I do not doubt that. But his behaviour towards Vash is actively and deeply cruel. Knives is friendly up until Vash disagrees with him, and then his mood suddenly changes for the worse - he has gone so far as to specifically target people Vash loves just to break the ideology he disagrees with, shifted culpability from himself to solely on Vash several times, violated his autonomy, and has on a few occasions physically restrained him. <- That's. Really bad. I would argue that these behaviours are in keeping with uh... pretty textbook manipulative/abusive behaviours.

However, here’s the thing: these kinds of behaviours are typically perpetrated because the person wants power over the victim. I think it's easy to read that into it, but I honestly don't think that's Knives' intention at all. He wants Vash with him. If anything his little "Watch it!" when Vash shoves him away just after the colony ships fall reads as genuine confusion. He's incredulous every time Vash points his gun at him. After all, as Knives puts it: they're brothers. They only have each other.

If Knives wants power over anything, I'd argue it's power over Rem, not Vash. He sees Vash's suffering and believes it was her who "made him like this", disregarding his own accountability in both Vash's continued pain... and her death. I do have to wonder if his attempts to break Vash's pacifism is also an attempt to make Rem's ghost leave them both for good, because there is no way Millions "I thought I'd spare her but now I see she was just as flawed" Knives felt no sadness or remorse over her death.

[ID: A screenshot from Trigun Volume 2. Knives sits in the escape ship with most of his face shadowed. He is hunched slightly, with a difficult to read, rather blank expression. End ID.]

^He is totally not bothered by this, definitely a-ok with her death. /j

But here's the thing: I really do think Knives believes that without Rem's influence, his brother will think and act exactly like him; that she has "corrupted" him somehow. This plays out in the way he's almost eager to show Vash their Plant abilities, apparently completely ignoring that Vash is confused and terrified - there's a serious dissonance to their interactions, where Knives seems less uncaring then oblivious to Vash's obvious distress. A good first indicator is directly before Fifth Moon, where Knives realizes that Vash has blocked out the memory of July, and is more intrigued than alarmed by this. Idk man if that was my brother I would be. Concerned.

See, if you read Knives as wanting power over Vash, then it's kind of reminiscent of the older sibling who thinks they know what's best for the younger. Indeed, that is the role Knives seems to take on at times.

But Knives is not actually older. They're twins.

Zazie also has an intriguing line after seeing the lengths Vash will go to in order to protect those he cares for: "It definitely isn't in Knives' nature to fight for anyone." <- This is an odd conclusion to come to for someone who is supposedly doing everything for a new world that's safe for all Plants, including Vash. I'm choosing to take Zazie at their word since I don't think they would have any real reason to lie or really see the point in lying.

So, what this implies is exactly what I stated earlier - Knives makes little, if any distinction between him and Vash. The world is divided into "same" and "different", "family" and "threat". It unfortunately allows Knives to continuously undermine Vash's autonomy - it's fine to forcibly activate Vash's angel arm because it's "our" power. It's fine for the doctor to poke and prod at Vash's arm to get readings because Knives is supervising it. Vash will stick with him because they're brothers, right? Of course he will. And if he doesn't... well that can't possibly be Vash. It's Rem's corrupting influence. And that makes him violently angry as he attempts to destroy any last trace of her that persists in his brother. Because surely, without her, Vash would be just like him, right?

One last note I'd like to make is the way Knives keeps obscuring Vash's face when he forcibly activates Vash's angel arm.

[ID: Two screenshots from Trigun and Trigun Maximum. The first image shows Knives grabbing Vash's face as he forces him to activate his angel arm during the Fifth Moon incident. The second image is of the same during the July flashback. End ID.]

The thing is, you can't argue this is necessary to activate the ability. In the July flashback, Knives actually has his hand placed rather gently on the side of Vash's head... up until Vash tries to resist. That's when Knives slams his hand down over his face instead and shoves him onto the floor.

In the context of Knives seeing Vash as an extension of himself, it could take on a few different meanings. If he muffles Vash's screaming and crying, perhaps he doesn't have to see the clear distress on his brother's face. Maybe it's representative of stripping Vash of his personal choice in these scenes. Maybe because this is the truth of the matter - Knives does not want to see the person Vash is if that person is so wildly different from himself, to ruin the illusion of twin as extension instead of a separate person.

Meanwhile, Vash is trying so hard to be everything Knives isn't. Knives' face is shadowed in flashbacks to create distance between them until July reveals the destruction they both caused and Vash can no longer deny the harm he too is capable of causing. The twins cause me emotional damage man.

[haunted-xander]

Hsr age headcanons except I also explain my reasonings bc I read everyones lore to get it more accurate.

(Also, a few things to note that will be relevant to my explainations: Some of these I'm not 100% certain of the age groups I put them in here, so some might not be as specific. Blade will be considered his age prior to being mara-struck for the sake of this post. Imbibitor Lunae is a stand in for Dan Feng.)

Let's begin, shall we?

Child (6-12)

Hook: I believe she's around 7-8. She's very obviously a kid, but I don't think she's like, a toddler or anything. She's smart enought to pull the clever little tricks she does, and has enough awareness to understand some harder topics (like Fersman's declining health and the reality of her birth parent's deaths).

Clara: I originally figured she was around 14 or so, but since one of her stories claim she's of similar age to Hook, and one of Hook's stories has her note Clara is a few years older than her, I think I'd put her around 11-12. Maaaaaybe 10, but that feels a bit too young for her.

Early to mid teens (13-17)

Arlan: Probably around 17 or so. We know he's younger than Asta, who met him when he was a kid and offered him a job for her family, and she also mentions that she took him in during her companion mission. Herta also says in her voice line about him that he's probably one of the "exceptionally gifted" kids Asta gave money to.

Lynx: She's much younger than Gepard and Serval, obviously, but she's also probably around the same age as Pela (who is confirmed to be 16) given how close they are and how they interact. Her companion mission also largely revolves around her trying to escape her older siblings protectiveness, which I feel is relatable to a lot of teens lol.

Late teen (18-19)

Silver Wolf: Tbh I don't have any solid justification for this, mostly just vibes. She's definitely younger than Kafka, but other than that I don't really have much to go off of. Probably 19, but I could see her maybe being early 20s too.

Guinaifen: I'm not completely sure about this one tbh. She's definitely a teenager, she says she's close to but not yet an adult to Bailu after we chase her and the Heliobus possessing her. She's also very close friends with Sushang, (who is confirmed to be around 16-17) so it makes sense for Gui to be a similar age too. The thing that's tripping me up is that one of her stories says she spent all her teenage years on the planet she lived on prior to coming to the Luofu, which would make her 19 at minimum. It could also just be exaggerating, or not counting 18 & 19 as teen years (that one seems unlikely though).

Young adult (20+)

Trailblazer: Well, obviously, Trailblazer is actually like a few months old at most seeing as we start the game by being "born" but, ya know. They're treated as an adult by everyone around them, not to mention they're clearly meant to be around the same age as March and Dan Heng, who are also depicted as adults (Dan Heng has been seen drinking in official art, for example). I think maybe like, around 20-22 would fit.

March: There's what I mentioned previously of course (being close in age to Trailblazer and Dan Heng), but the whole "girls like me/my age all like this and this" thing is a very typical mindset of late teens & very young adults. The way she talks about taking pictures of food in one of her stories also sound very much like how a young adult would explain it lolol. Like Trailblazer, probably around 20-22. Tbh I'm not sure how to explain my reasoning when basing it off of her behaviour without it sounding like I'm saying all girls her age do this, I'm not 😅 but it is common enough I feel like it adds to her feeling that age, ya know?

Asta: As mentioned with Arlan, we know she's notably older than him. I would say her position on the space station means she has a decent amount of life experience for her to do it so well, but this is Hoyoverse and anyone can do anything regardless of age, so that doesn't really work lol. That said, she clearly has had the position for a long time, so even if she wasn't an adult when she started, she definitely should be now. Probably around 23-24.

Bronya: She's been in the Silvermane Guards for long enough to be well-known and trusted for her skills, and with how easily she took up the position of Supreme Guardian, she has a lot of public faith and trust as well. She needs to have been serving for a good amount of years, to get all that. That said, I do think she started young, so I'd put her at around early-to-mid 20s. probably around 23-24 like Asta.

Seele: Canonicly around the same age as Bronya, so probably about 23-24 again.

Luka: Not much concrete to go off of, but he's probably around the same age as Seele given their interactions. He's also obviously an adult, or Hook would've dropped the 'honourary' part and just make him a proper Mole lolol. Around 23-24 again.

Topaz: In her voice line about Bronya she says they're around the same age. March also notes that she's pretty young for an executive, and her character stories explain that she started working for the IPC at a VERY young age. Probably around 23-24 yet again.

Adult (30+)

Sampo: He's a notorious scammer who's being doing his work in Belobog for a long enough time to become notorious, so him being in his 30s seems likely. I don't have any other reasoning besides that, really. probably around mid 30s, like 35-36 or something.

Himeko: She had already finished college when she found the express, so she was already an adult then. It's been many years since then, so she's definitely not some young 20-something year old lolol. probably mid-to-late 30s, like 37-38 or the like.

Gepard: Mid-to-late 30s. He's younger than Serval, so he's below 40 (not that I really thought he was middle-aged anyway) and he's probably older than Bronya, as in one of her stories he comforts her after the first death to happen under her leadership, clearly having already gotten used to it. Also, apparently he has a bachelor's degree? (According to the fandom wiki's trivia section). Anyway. Around 37-38 probably.

Luocha: I couldn't really find anything that indicates anything in particular, so I'm just gonna say he's mid 30s based off of vibes alone. Like 35-36 or something.

Kafka: Her age is only ever stated as "unknown" and, like Luocha, I couldn't find anything that indicates anything in particular. So I'm just gonna say she's mid-to-late 30s like Himeko and call it a day. 37-38.

Argenti: His character stories show a variety of different scenes throughout his journey as a Kmight of Beauty, so he has experienced a great deal. Mid 30s, probably. Like 35-36. I don't have much else to go off of.

Middle aged and beyond (40+)

Herta: We know she's like, really old. Like really really old. I don't know exactly HOW old, but old. I think she's still within a human lifespan though, so maybe like 70-80 or something. Physically speaking though, she herself states that her current puppet body looks "70% like I did as a child" so. Yeah. Baby grandma.

Natasha: She raised Seele and was the main caretaker at the orphanage she grew up in, so she ain't exactly young (despite what hyvs aversion to portraying older people properly will tell you). Probably late 40s to early 50s. 49-50 maybe.

Serval: Canonicaly the same age as Cocolia, who raised Bronya for most of her life. Bronya also recognizes Serval as Cocolia's old friend from when she was a child. Mid-to-late 40 probably. 45-46 maybe.

Blade: Yingxing is refered to as 'middle-aged' in-game at around the time it all went down, and he's shown with visible aging and with grayed hair (that is, assuming Blade's current black hair is his natural haircolor?). Probably late 40s, like 48-49 or something.

Canon age

Pela: 16, as stated by Lynx in her & Lynx's companion mission. People have pointed out that this is a plot hole due to other information we have about Pela, but 1) the only thing that goes against this is the claim she was a founding member of Serval's band, which I can 100% believe is either a mistranslation or a case of a writer not cross-referencing properly. (also, I don't remember where this is ever claimed in-game, so if anyone can point me to it I'd appreciate it.) And 2) her being a teen makes more sense with how she's written, imo, so I don't really care if it's actually a plot hole.

Sushang: One of her stories says she's "around 16 to 17 years old". Obviously, this isn't her REAL age since she's a Xianzhou native, but it is the age she is equivalent to for a short-life species.

Welt: 80+. He arrived in the hsr universe at the time of APHO, which takes place in 2025. Since Welt was born in 1947, this would make him 78. While we don't know exactly how long he's been here, he seems to have been here a quite a while, so, 80+ it is.

Long-life species

(equivalent to) Child (6-12)

Bailu: She's been described as a child many, many times, including by herself (multiple times). Although she's probably older than she looks, as both she and several others remark that she has trouble growing bigger for some unknown reason. I'd say maybe around 10-11.

(equivalent to) Early to mid teen (13-17)

Qingque: She reads to me like a 14 year old being forced to take up a summer job by her parents because 'you need to get experience so you can get a job easier when you're older!'. Actually I think that's literally what's going on except summer jobs don't exist on the Luofu so now she has a full-time job at 14 years old. Yeah I don't actually have anything else to go off of other than the level of control her parents have over her life.

Yanqing: His character stories say he is 1) not yet of age (so below 18) and 2) a teenager. Very simple. Not sure why people are arguing about his age so much when it literally says right there in the game that he is a teenage boy. Probably 15.

Huohuo: Honestly not much to go off of. Probably around 14, based solely on vibes.

(equivalent to) Young adult (20+)

Dan Heng: Depicted as a young adult of similar age to Trailblazer and March, as mentioned previously. Pretty simple. That said, I do want to note that one of Blade's stories describe him as a teen. But, based on the way it's written, this seems to be Blade's first encounter with him, so it's probably not accurate to Dan Heng's current age.

Tingyun: Her stories describe her as pretty young, but the way she carried herself and the sort of businesses she did makes me think she was at least 20. Like 20-21 probably.

Fu Xuan: Once again, not much concrete to go off of. Her stories give me the impression she joined the divination comission rather young, and I think she's been the master diviner for quite a while now. Maybe early 20s, like 22-23 or something.

(equivalent to) Adult (30+)

Dan Feng: We don't really know how old Dan Feng was when everything went down other than that he was older than Dan Heng is currently. I'd put him in mid 30s, solely on vibes. I mean, he got engaged and quite literally made a child, so I'd say 30 fits. Ignoring the fact neither of those things have much to do with his age at all. 34-35 maybe.

Hanya: Honestly I have no clue and her stories just confused me. She has the vibes of a 30-something year old so I put her here. My view on her age will probably change once Xueyi is out if only bc I might be able to figure Xueyi's age out better and Hanya would then be somewhere under that.

(equivalent to) Middle aged and beyond (40+)

Jing Yuan: Listen. He's seen shit. He has lived a long ass time. And it's canon he basically raised Yanqing, he's a dad ya'll. probably early-to-mid 40s, like 44-45 maybe. I don't know.

Yukong: She's old. Like actually old. Technically much younger than Jing Yuan, but since foxians lifespans are shorter than other long-life species, she's equivalent to a lot older than he is. She's 249 and foxians live up to 300. She's OLD. I'd say she's like 70 or something.

Jingliu: Also old. She's like, 2000 years old or something, she's a grandma. Probably equivalent to up to 80-something. Except she looks 30 bc Mara. And also long-life species don't actually age past a certain point, so she physically is not capable of looking above 30.

[amethystfairy1]

For TT, can we have a bit more info about mer culture and where Scott is coming from before he ended up on the old continent? I absolutely love the way you write hybrids, and how much effort you put into the world building of their background and cultures and behaviours. Oooh also, while I'm asking questions, do the hybrids in TT have courtship the way they do in TTSBC? Because that one is somewhat relevant for a few of them.

Oooooooo ok sure!

Let's break down Mer Culture in Traveling Thieves yayyyy!

First of all, the Mer Kingdom and Mer culture is matriarchal! Scott is the son of the Queen of the Mer and one of her concubines/performers. The Queen and other powerful women of noble standing typically have multiple husbands and also there is a very strong courtly culture of performance, and the role of the concubine is very influential in this society. However, this is where the sort of stigma against Siren Spells comes from! Scott inherited his abilities for water magic from his Mom, the magic of the royal bloodline is very powerful which is why Scott is also very powerful and natural with water magic! He inherited his ability to use Siren Spells from his Dad, but Siren Spells are seen as something only used by concubines/performers...it's not something befitting of a royal child, even an illegitimate one like Scott.

Speaking of! If we're talking about Scott and his upbringing, I want to get rid of any notions I'm sure people are assuming that because he was an illegitimate child he was treated poorly, he wasn't! He had a lot of half-siblings and all of them got along decently well, and his parents also had a reasonably healthy and cooperative relationship! Scott was still excluded sometimes, for example he wasn't allowed to show his face at courtly proceedings or performances, but some of his older siblings would occasionally help him hide in the curtains or something so he could watch his Dad perform!

Scott wasn't allowed to practice Siren Spells, because his Mom raised him, as she did all of her male children, to eventually be married off or take up political posts, and both of Scott's parents agreed it would be better for his prospects if no one ever knew that he was capable of using Siren Spells. That doesn't stop him from sneaking off to practice them in secluded areas, but he never received any official training so that's why he's pretty bad with them.

Also also! I wanna describe the Mer Kingdom a bit! Because while I do plan to do some flashbacks from Scott's POV I'm not entirely sure if we'll ever actually go there within the timeline of Traveling Thieves.

Basically think Lizzie's Empires S1 base 😆

AND BEFORE YOU ASK NO LIZZIE IS NOT THE OCEAN QUEEN IN THIS SHE IS NOT SCOTTS MOM NO WE AREN'T DOING THAT 😭

It's just that her base inspires how I think of the Mer Kingdom, like a bunch of towers that emerge from the water but are constructed both above and below water. Also it is within a series of atolls and coral reefs so lots of small islands are all around too. While the Mer can breathe underwater all of their homes and such are watertight and so while they swim place to place when they're inside it's dry and they breathe air, so it's not like Atlantis-style or anything. A lot of buildings are also on top of the islands or build from the shallower ocean shelf and then rising up out of the water. With the Royal Palace being right in the middle of the largest atoll of course!

Scott, as you might've been able to guess, perhaps, from what he said when Jimmy said he was in love with him, was running away from an arranged marriage. And the sad part was it wasn't even technically a marriage. Again, Scott is an illegitimate child, he's the son of the Queen, yes, but he's not a prince. He was raised like one, educated like one, and more or less treated like one with a few exceptions (like how he couldn't attend court) but he is not a prince.

That means by Mer societal convention he can't marry high-class nobility. So the noblewoman he's arranged with, he's technically meant to go be one of her concubines, similar to how his own Father is to his Mother. That doesn't necessarily mean anything sexual by default, but it does basically relegate him to being passed around for his pretty face and his bloodline. It would be a pretty luxurious life, all things considered, and he was also raised fairly spoiled all his life, but even still...Scott's not the type who would just pliantly go along with being a pawn for his Mother to use politically. Plus it really pisses him off because after all these years of being told to hide the fact he could use Siren Spells like his Father and not being allowed to practice them, or learn how to perform like his Father does, all of a sudden his Mother decides to give him away as a concubine instead of marrying him to someone within the mid-tier of courtly society whom Scott would actually be allowed to wed. Scott in this AU really looks up to his Dad, and he also looks very very similar to him, much more so than his Mother, which is also why he's desired for his beauty even amongst Mer. His Dad is the Queen's favorite performer, so you can imagine he's gorgeous as well, and yet after living his whole life being told he had to distance himself from being seen as similar to his Father, all of a sudden he's expected to become a concubine just like him? Without any of the training or practice or skills that his Father has? That's ridiculous! So yeah, Scott was furious and he and his mother had it out in a terrible fight.

Last thing on this! I wanna make it clear that this doesn't mean Scott hates his mother or even has a bad relationship with her! He was actually on very good terms with her, which made the news that he was going to be given away as a concubine all the more shocking. So he took off in the middle of the night after this fight with nothing but the clothes on his back...he wasn't necessarily planning on running away for good, he was just upset and trying to get away and get some space to collect this thoughts, but he went a little too close to the mainland shore, to close to the waters where humans trawl, and...well, we know what happened to him from there.

As for courting ritual, they don't have them in Traveling Thieves the way that they do in TTSBC! It's more that they have certain things that require a level of intimacy, not necessarily romantic obviously, so if a hybrid lets you do it, it's a strong sign that they trust you and believe you care about them. Examples of this being: Preening Avians wings or brushing a dog hybrids hair!

Hope this was fun for ya! Sorry for the long turn-around on this ask, I wanted to really think about it and make sure I gave ya a good response that was lined up with the AU! 💖

[funkytownwinchester]

"Just sayin, you're gettin a little rusty there, kiddo" sam says to his full grown older brother. typical sibling behaviour right there

[oneshotfutureau-askblog]

To Cedric

Hey, I was just curious, does Rue still treat you like a kid sometimes? Like her "little brother"?

(You know typical older sibling behaviour-)

[loz-furbies]

Nayru

Design

Nayru has a perfectly serviceable look for a friendly songstress. Good repeating elements through the outfit with the frills. Maybe a little too monochrome for my tastes, but the teal top at least prevents it from being completely blue. I like the single hair tuft on the top of her head, it gives the design more personality.

Unlike the early Zelda sprites, the Oracle sprites look perfectly representative (for the time) of the character. It really isn't that difficult!

Character

Nayru doesn't have a particularly interesting personality, she's just the typical nice-and-friendly girl, singing in the woods to audience of animals like a Disney Princess. Which is not to say that a calm and polite character is inherently worse, but in situations like this where there's not much room for characterisation, it really loses the character a lot of opportunities to show their personality if all their lines are delivered in a neutral tone and about the plot. Nayru works a little better when contrasted to the spunkier Din, but they don't get a lot of screen time together so sadly in the end there's just not much to her.

Role in the story

Nayru had a much better role than I expected for the token damsel in distress of the game. Which to be fair still wasn't much but let's find joy where we can.

As is usual Nayru gets damseled right after she is introduced when the villain who is after her plot critical magical powers takes over her body. After that she is still sort of present in the story, when the villain-as-her starts causing trouble. She is also kept reasonably well in the player's mind since you are instructed to go to her house to see a vision of her and get the Harp of Ages, the game's main item, and you regularly run into an NPC who is also determined to save her.

She is then surprisingly saved in the middle of the story, when the player manages to drive the villain out of her body and who then moves to possess a different target. Unfortunately this doesn't mean much for Nayru since she doesn't really get to do anything interesting with her new freedom other than teleport everyone to safety and teach the player a new song for the harp. When the male characters set out to save the world she even says that there's nothing she can do and just goes home. But I guess it's sort of a win that at least the final objective of the game is something else than "save the girl" this time. Then finally at the end of a linked game she gets to do some cutscene magic to help save the day.

It's cute how the three oracles appear in the Minish Cap; they don't really do anything special (they're looking to move to Hyrule so each has a side quest where the player finds a house for them, after which they give you consumable temporary buff items) but I'm still happy to see them since I like all the Oracles and their GBA sprites are cute.

Relationships

Nayru is lucky to have at least one notable relationship and that is her childhood friend and "protector" Ralph. Ralph is pretty defensive about Nayru and his behaviour reminds me a bit of a possessive boyfriend, though I don't think they are dating even if it seems Ralph would like to. Nayru is pretty chill about this and just apologises to Link for Ralph's dismissive behaviour towards the Hyrulean representatives.

When I played the game I thought Nayru and Ralph were about the same age and in a sort of will-they-or-won't-they dating situation, but the end credits show that he's almost a head shorter. Which immediately changed my perception of their relationship from equal friends to a little boy who has a crush on an older girl who humours him in a sibling like way. But I dunno, maybe he's just short.

There's nothing interesting about Nayru's relationship towards Link, she's just the usual nice girl who also give some exposition. And she doesn't get anything worth mentioning about the two other oracles either.

[opalvatter]

We know that Skarra has a niece (btw, a complete badass, mind you) which means that he has siblings. And family. And had a life before soccer.

Now, I can't even imagine him having a good family, because that wouldn't have enough angst, soo...

Skarra's Family Headcannons

His family comes from a long line of Business related jobs.

His father was an Administrator and his mother was a Banker, so he grew up in a typical, conservative, middle-class family. However, both of them dreamed to open a business and crave lavish lives, which meant they weren't around most of the time and were quite neglectful.

He has an older sister by 8 years( Who I'm gonna call Nina for now), who took up their family values and became the perfect child, who got perfect grades and did everything that was expected of her, repressing her own emotions, a classic case of older sister syndrome (yes, yes, she is a representation of me i could help myself)

However, during their younger years, their parents favored Skarra over his sister, thus straining their relationship.

When he was younger, he wasn't allowed to play most sports, instead being forced to study and get perfect grades.

He and Shakes met at the community center, where Skarra went for extra classes. Skarra's family didn't like Shakes and tried to separate them when they were younger. The first time he saw Shakes's family, Skarra almost started crying.

By the time he was 13, his rebellious face started to kick in, and with Shakes coaxing him, he started to sneak out anytime he could. That was when he discovered football and started to fall in love with it.

He secretly joined their town football team at 15, all while keeping up a studious appearance to his family. This was also around the time he discovered he was gay.

Eventually, he got tired of keeping up the double act and had a big fight with his parents, coming clean. Appaled at their son's behaviour, they kicked him out.

His sister, Nina, became the favorite (depressed) child, majored in Buisness and got unhapily married to a CEO, having a single child with him.

Skarra tried to remain hopeful, but when he wasn't even invited to his sister's wedding, his last straw broke and he became fully dedicated to football, wanting to prove them all wrong.

many years passed, and Skarra became a famous soccer star.

One day he got a phone call from his sister, asking if she could come see him. He reluctantly agreed, kinda sorta hoping that she changed.

Turns out, after their parents died in a car crash, she divorced her husband and put their child in a boarding school, finally living her life the way she wanted to.

Skarra was happy for her, until she started talking about her daughter. She was very clearly neglecting her child, and Skarra got mad, blowing up on her.

She too, got angry and revealed that the only reason she wanted to meet him was so that she could convince him to take in her child whenever the boarding school was on break.

Skarra agreed, only to save his niece from the same treatment he had to go through.

His 7 year old niece, dee (everyone on this hellsite call her that so lets go with it) is much too similar to Skarra, that he almost cried when he saw her the first time.

He may be an asshole, but he still has an heart. He tries to take care of her, to the best of her abilities, and shield her from most of the trauma he had.

I couldn't think of anything else for now, but I might add something later on. If any of you have any different ideas, comment them, i want to see :)

[tom-is-online]

firstly hi, im the toya side story person. i do hate the fact that akito punched toya. i dont think anything really justifies violence. but enas is implied to be much more frequent! And sibling fights are whatever.

but u cant ignore the fact that some people may just not like ena because of this repeated pattern. i understand that the person in the tags was trying to explain enas behavior, not justify it. but unless its been retconned in a way i forgot, pale color says shinei only really started telling ena that she couldnt be an artist w/o talent when ena was looking at highschools, so its not like ena was fresh into middle school when her father rejected her dreams. akito when faced with insecurity didnt physically lash out at ena as far as im aware of. saying that she lashed out at him just bc he was nearby and improving in his own field doesnt really change a lot imo. just because siblings use each other as an outlet for stress doesnt mean everyone has to be comfy with it. plus, when akito describes the scratching, he mentions dodging the thrown objects and the scratches being hard to avoid if shes near, which leads me to believe that akito was trying to avoid a fight instead of a sibling brawl

im not calling this abuse, by any means, nor am i suggesting that ena shld have magically spawned healthy coping mechanisms. Im just trying to suggest a possibility that ena scratching akito may not have made her likable with some people, given the repetition and akitos lack of involvement in enas insecurity. everyone has different boundaries on what they think is okay. anyways i am happy to continue discussing this tho, i really liked hearing a diff perspective :) and if i missed anything from the stories, i really am sorry

original post

I understand what you're getting at, but I wanna just clear up some stuff with it

Akito and Toya became friends about two years before the main story (both 14), which means Ena was in the last year of Middle School when they met. Ena would have been looking at High Schools at the time, so the timelines with that add up with her emotional state due to her father. And since then, Ena has clearly stopped doing this to Akito

I understand the "it was a repetitive occurrence" argument but she was clearly not in the right headspace to be rational and considerate whilst having breakdowns, she was 15 and mentally unwell, and she's not gonna act in a rational way

Even if it was hypothetically before her last year of middle school.

SHE WOULD HAVE BEEN NO OLDER THAN 15 have you met a pair of siblings 14 and younger? esp with personalities like the Shinonomes

Akito likely wouldn't have fought back against Ena in the same way because he's clearly always been very athletic meaning to me if he tried to fight her back. He would probably just win and he doesn't want to just kick her when she's already down.

Anon (and other people who make this argument) I am just so curious if you're an only child and if not what your siblings are like. I don't have a sister but I have a brother one year younger than me and we fought all of the time until we were like 15-16, me and my brother are both very hot-headed people esp at that age. Siblings just do that, so being so uncomfortable with the concept of siblings fighting that you hate Ena just feels so much like you don't understand typical sibling behaviour

If you're uncomfortable with the fact a 15-year-old had fights with her brother whilst she was likely mentally unwell or below the age of 15 and continue to hold this to them until they are 17-18 when they no longer do this

whilst also excusing Akito for what he did in the main story because it was a "one-off"

idk, man.

the argument is about liking Akito and not Ena. If you can hate Ena for being ~15 and mentally unwell whilst scratching Akito but not hate Akito for punching Toya at 16 and that being a MAJOR PLOT POINT whilst Ena's isn't.

it just feels like you can't understand the nuance behind someone doing something negative when they have bad mental health or you don't have siblings and don't understand how siblings like the Shinonomes would act in a situation such as theirs.

Or someone just gives the male characters way more leniency than the female characters

anyway. i do understand people have diff boundaries. but giving Akito leniency on violent behaviour and not ena for actions she did years ago. you can understand how this is a red flag

idk if i have anything else to say about the matter without going in circles

anyway. theyre great i love them

[starzzmissthesun]

For marauders fandom:

Ships- Xeno/James, Evan/Lily, Sirius/Evan

Characters: Xeno (Lovegood), sybill (trelawney), and Emmeline (Vance)

Hmmmm.... These are like RARE PAIRS if I've ever seen em. (Also btw I'm not big on multi shipping purely cause I get real set on things😭, so this is DEF. biased) (also sorry because I do dis all of these ships😭but i DID say honest) (also please don't take this too seriously 🙏these are just to me, I don't care what other people ship)

so for xeno/James...i honestly don't even know how that dynamic would work. To me, they would just be in VERY different worlds. James is in the typical(and I hate to say the marauders are this) "class clown", overly loud, " popular ", very likeable and conventional group, and xeno is in with the outcast people, almost opposite. I see how that could be fun, but I personally think xeno would want someone who has similar thinking and eccentricity(‼️) as him, while James is more arrogant and would scoff towards it. Not to say he'd be rude to them, just finding it weird and talking about it with his friends. I also just think that's not the kind of group or person James would find interesting to start with. The only way I even see them meeting is because Peter (to me) is friends with Sybill and she's friends with xeno. Overall I'd rate it a 2/10, it's not BAD or anything, its not against the characters morals or completely unlikely, its just a VERY far reach for me, out of sight.

Evan/lily: I DO think the Evan(s) is really funny I have to admit😭 BUT I think the main aesthetic I've seen of them (and bartylily) is always very booktok-y of like, bad boy with angst falls for smart-snarky girl who also has angst, and I just can't get behind it. ESPECIALLY in canon because I think Evan was a pretty die hard DE and lily was muggleborn and fought so hard against it. And not in canon, I picture lily to want the typical home-y life, she wants to get a beautiful house, befriend the neighbors, have a classic wedding, have kids, get a nice job she loves, and with her highs and lows her life is beautiful. Meanwhile Evan is peak FREAK behaviour, will never live that kind of life lily would want. The thing I DO think they would have in common would be their curiosity and experiments. lily loved potions and was great at it, she wanted to undo things and see how they work to create something new. Evan likes to undo and figure things out for the destruction, he enjoys the process a million times more than the result unless the result is decay, unending destruction. Overall a 3.5/10, I see it, I get WHY people would like it, just doesn't work for me and my ideas of these characters.

Sirius/Evan:um...i don't even really see anything there for them? I suppose the rosiers and blacks grew up with eachother, but I can't see why Sirius would ever be interested in any of regulus' little friends. As an older sibling myself (and it's probably different for some) I could only ever see my sibling's friends as an extension of my sibling. I also think (especially in canon) Sirius would see Evan as someone SO adjacent to the rest of the Blacks and the Rosiers, and in my idea of Sirius, he would completely stray from and genuinely not have any interest in someone like that. And I think Evan would be bored of him, I think he would figure Sirius out real quick when they were kids and crave an enigmatic aspect to his partner. This one's a 1/10, I genuinely don't think they would even LIKE each other that much.

(Once again, take that with a grain of salt🙏)

Xeno... Xeno, xeno, xeno.... Being honest I love him sm. (Someone who has REALLY good xeno thoughts is @florsial , so if you want more constructed thoughts go there) He's very odd, not just weird airheaded way, but just Is. Like they are just. The peculiarness is not taught or learned or developed, he just popped out with a different way of being, his thoughts will forever be a mystery of how they appear. I really like the HC that they're Lucius' younger brother. Such a fancy family, his brother immediately fitting into the socialite he's meant to be, meanwhile xeno is outcasted. He just. Cant. Understand these people and what the whole purpose is. He carries this huge imagination that he looses himself in, dreams become prophesies, "what ifs?" become reality, anything they want will be true. And they back it up, too. He is prime example of conformation bias.

Sybill Trelawny! Shes very very sensitive, very sweet. But!!! She is judgey, very gossipy, especially when it comes to her practice, if you don't believe her get outta here!! She knows what she sees, she doesn't doubt herself after a past of ignoring her visions. Ultimately frazzled and anxious, constantly running back and forth from door to door, something's lost? She doesn't know! Shes very very smart and logical, just not in the typical way, she applies it to her interests only, not any of the other stuff since it would be just useless to her. Shes trained herself to be very very good at connecting the dots and figuring things out (whether they have substance or not).

And Emmeline Vance.. I gonna be honest I don't know much about her because I don't see much about her, just her name is mentioned. From what I gather, shes very smart and preppy, in the "popular" group. Her relationship with the Valkyries varies in different accounts, but I personally think between 1st-4th year her group and theirs did not like each other and were almost catty (typical middle school drama), but she eventually got closer with them, and they with her. I think her ship with Mary is really cute from what I've seen!

Anyways! Thanks for the ask!!!!!(despite my first half being VERY opinionated)

[iobsessoverfictionalmen]

Hi, can you make headcanons about yandere elijah mikaelson x fem human reader

Thank you for the ask! I can absolutely do that; headcanon requests for the characters I write for are always open! I hope you enjoy these headcanons. AN: This ask and my response to it deals with yandere content, canon typical violence, and behaviours. This means it will have dark elements. I do not condone yandere behaviours in real life. 

First off, I headcanon Elijah as being a worshipful, protective yandere. He would never hurt or compel his darling.

The first Mikaelson you meet is Klaus.

You met him when he saved you from a rogue vampire. You weren't sure why he saved you. Was it because he felt merciful? Or did he just want to destroy the rogue vampire and you happened to be there?

Either way, you thanked him and to your surprise, he froze. Because of his history of manipulating and being manipulated, he had no idea how to respond to genuine emotions.

The next day, you made a quiet inquiry (read: you bugged Marcel) and found out that Klaus loves to paint but that he was running low on a particular colour.

Elijhah's obsession with you begins when he sees you standing on the other side of the front door with your thank-you gift for Klaus.

After learning the story of how you two met from his brother, Elijah finds ways to 'accidentally' run into you when you are in New Orleans.

The third time this happens, he invites you to the Mikaelson's home. It takes some time but you eventually agree to visit him. Elijah controls his expression, giving no hint of the happiness he is feeling inside as it wouldn't be proper to act this way now he reminds himself and he departs after placing a gentle kiss on your hand. He is a gentleman after all.

When Elijah returns home, you're all he can talk about.

Rebekah grows tired of Elijah talking about you the fifth time and leaves.

Consumed by jealousy and wondering what makes you so special she decides to track you down. She reassures herself that she's simply doing this to protect her older brother.

When she does track you down, she demands that you explain what happened the night that you met Klaus. You do so (more than a little scared - there's an Original vampire standing opposite you) and Rebekah feels herself calming down. Like Klaus, she can smell no dishonesty or deception.

From that point on, she and Klaus do absolutely everything they can to keep you and Elijah together. It's been eons since they've seen their brother remotely happy and now he is happy. They don't care that you're human.

When you visit the siblings, you have a fantastic time but you are curious and a little concerned as to how they know so much about your passions and about you in general.

Between Elijah, Klaus, and Rebekah you are the most protected and spoilt being in New Orleans. You don't even have to say that you want or need something. If your eyes linger on anything for more than half a second, it's yours. Thanks to Elijah and Rebekah, your wardrobe is filled with stylish clothing and accessories that suit you perfectly.

Being Elijah's darling does come with quite a few risks and you have had the conversation many times about being turned into a vampire.

Elijah wants you to spend eternity by his side and it would be an added bonus if you had more tools at your disposal when it came to protecting yourself.

Elijah destroys any vampire or supernatural being that has the slightest connection to his father. With some persuasion, he teaches you some self-defence moves.

Despite his best efforts (and they are considerable), Mikael finds out about you. He journeys to New Orleans in an attempt to use you as bait to draw Elijah out. The first vampire is astounded when he sees his three children united, standing shoulder to shoulder to protect you from him.

But you're not unobservant. You've heard the whispers about Mikael and how he's relentlessly pursued his children across centuries and continents.

And so, you do a bit of tracking of your own. You find a coven of witches and convince them to cast a protection spell. The spell activates when Mikael is processing the fact that his children are working together and protecting a human. The spell casts him out of New Orleans.

That night, Elijah cradles you close. He murmurs words of praise about your bravery and determination. Immediately after, he warns you of the dangers of magic. How it always demands payment and how the balance must be maintained at all costs.

He tells you the story of how and why he, his siblings, and his father became the Original vampires.