#young carer

[animefeminist]

Aiba Kyoko at Otakon 2024: Reverse Villainess Isekai, Social Issues, and the Manga-Making Process

Aiba Kyoko has been working as a manga artist since the 2000s, developing a signature style that spotlights familiar tropes and turns them on their head. While best known for her BL work (especially, in English, the stunning Derail), Aiba’s most recent series targets a different genre: the wish-fulfillment isekai.

“In a typical isekai, you become a pretty woman, or a cool guy. It’s always these positive transformations, and I just didn’t like that. So I decided to do something the exact opposite,” Aiba explained during our interview, comparing the experience of an isekai protagonist to her own convention visit. “Me traveling to America is already this much of an ordeal, so how can someone going to an unknown land have such a great experience?”

That “opposite,” upside down and reversed isekai is Oji Tensei: The Villainess’s Days of Aging Gracefully, the story of a haughty villainess who awakens from execution to find she’s been reborn in modern Japan…as a middle-aged man. Originally a one-shot, the title was greenlit for serialization after it broke its platform’s record for most comments on a one-short work. It’s now a monthly series with five chapters available at time of writing.

While the premise of the series involves playing with gender, Aiba noted that her impulse in creating the series was more about that upending of expectations than telling a trans narrative. The chapters of Oji Tensei so far focus more on villainess Chloe learning life skills she was ignorant of in her former life and coming to terms with living in an aging, unglamorous body. Aging gracefully, in other words.

That isn’t to say that Aiba is uninterested in social issues—in fact, she emphasized the subject in her Otakon biography. The story that prompted her changing interest was Young Carer: Invisible Me, which she wrote last year. “I t actually started with a conversation with my editor when we got to talking about what my background is like [as a former young carer], and we thought it was an interesting topic so I was asked to write it. It was happenstance. It became a more socially conscious piece, but I didn’t think I would do that when I was working on it.”

Read it at Anime Feminist!

[pidgwin]

i have been forced to be independent and indestructible since i was 8 and became a young carer. now i live alone, survive alone, provide for myself, don't rely on a partner for anything - i worry i will become even more entrenched. so set in my independence, i will find it impossible to be loved, impossible to let people help me, impossible to rely on anyone but myself. life is just leading me further and further into my own patterns and i don't know how i will ever escape them.

[cult-of-the-eye]

I care for my younger sibling and it's difficult, there's a lot of emotional time and effort put into it alongside the chores (and my own mental health issues and general life stuff) but honestly when it all feels too much I just imagine I'm the cool single parent from all those early 2000s movies who has absolutely nothing together but in a respectable way. I'm "hey kiddo"-ing my way out of a mental breakdown.

[thetimebeforethelasttime]

shout out to all my fellow young carers.

shout out to the young carers that have to take on managing the house and/or finances themselves.

shout out to the young carers that can’t go for long without worrying about who they care for and so never have mental rest.

shout out to the young carers that are failing school to care.

shout out to the young carers that are juggling school, caring and a job.

shout out to the young carers constantly turmoiling between loving who they care for but hating the position they are in.

shout out to the young carers caring for people with invisible disabilities.

shout out to the young carers who have to manage their own health too.

shout out to the young carers taking care of neurodivergent people that have accidentally adopted neurodivergent traits as a result (this might be me specific but im curious here).

shout out to the young carers facing violence and abuse at the hands of who they care for.

shout out to the young carers who have never been identified or given any support.

shout out to the young carers who don’t even know they’re carers.

you are not alone, you are so incredible and strong <3

[puppyhasthoughts]

Mum: could I have the vacuum cleaner downstairs when it's convenient pls?

Me: I’m intentionally holding it hostage (in my room) so that you don’t start cleaning. I’m aware all the floors need done and I’ll try and fit them in tonight but you ain’t doing them <3

Trying to keep my mother resting when she’s sick is hilarious because I have to resort to weird tactics like these ones.

[pages-turn-writes]

Help with a research study!

This isn't what I usually post, but I'm looking to recruit participants for a study of young carers and young adult carers (you're eligible if you're under 25!) for an undergrad project. The survey should take around 5 minutes and it would be a massive help if you could fill it in (or pass it on to someone who could). As one of our group members is a young carer herself, we believe in the importance of this research as there is a lack of existing studies on this topic.

I guarantee that all of your responses will be kept confidential and anonymous. Your privacy is really important to us, and your input will only be used for academic purposes.

Thank you so much for your help!!

To access the survey, please click the link below:

Qualtrics Survey | Qualtrics Experience Management

[blogkennethratcliffeposts]

When you're Granddaughter asks what Epilepsy is

My wife and I are blessed with a five year old granddaughter, and yesterday we were looking after her after nursery. The time came when it was time to go home, so she was put into her car seat, then proceeded to ask her nan several questions such as “Can you sit in the back with me and grandpa drive?” To which the reply was,” Because Mr policeman won’t let him” granddaughter naturally asks.…

[lizallanosborn]

Both in general (and from the point of view of my spider man au) I see Harry as a young carer. In case anyone doesn't know, you can be a carer for those with physical conditions, mental illnesses and addictions etc. And Harry's behaviours and such, especially in the early years really remind me of someone who is a care giver for their own parent.

From Harry having to calm Norman down and handle his outbursts on multiple occasions, to when Norman is dealing with amnesia and is confused/effecting his behaviour to the moment that especially invokes my feelings of Harry taking up a young carer position is Harry putting his own wellbeing aside and wanting to help Norman after Harry is recovering from an overdose. Despite Harry having very poor health, mentally and physically in the moment, he still wants to look after/care for Norman when he becomes distressed.

[duns-writes]

*banging pots and pans together*

Hey Jancy nation! Jonathan Byers appreciation club! Come get y'alls fic!

Tagging @beef-a-ronie, @jonathanssweatercollection @jancys-blue-bayou in case you're interested. If anyone wants to be tagged or untagged, let me know!

----

Music and laughter, and we're young and alive

CW/TW: Very Temporary Character Death, blood, injury, pain, hospitals, mentions of child abuse in later chapters

In which Jonathan gets hurt, and the people who love him realise just how much he's taken on.

Chapter 1: Take Me Out Tonight

Jonathan dies on a Tuesday.

They're in the back of a van. Speeding towards the only clinical space that's still functioning, the FEMA field hospital just outside of town. (Argyle is doing a surprisingly good job of driving both double the speed limit and safely.)

She'd watched and waited in the final showdown, building the strategy so that all they had to do (ha!) was get to Vecna and strike him down. The demodogs and bats had been neutralised, radio communication turned off, and Jonathan (against everybody's wishes) had volunteered as the distraction. ("Will and El are going to need you two, and Mike and Holly need their big sister.")

Time had stretched and warped like taffy, but they could still recognise it was taking too long. Something wasn't right, but what? She and Joyce had stood close to one another, the chief peering out into the ash and smoke, until-

Will had stumbled through the gate bloodied under his nose, tripping on the rubble. "Vecna's gone, but Jonathan's hurt! I can't pick him up on my own, I tried, but El's too drained to help!"

All three had thrown caution to the wind (nothing new there). They'd gone carefully through the gate itself, but dashed after him toward the ruins of the Creel house. Jane was knelt over a prone body, and-

Her knees wobbled.

Jonathan. His shirt-front slick with blood, stretched out like a pieta. Gazing up at El, breathing something as she gripped him, her tears making trails in the grime on his cheek.

Of course. Of course he would try to comfort her.

"*Gasp*-you're gonna be al-*gasp*-right. 'S all gone. You an' Will are-*rasp*-be okay. Find-hnngh-find out what makes you hap-happy. M'kay?"

His breath gurgled in his throat.

El had managed to pull together a watery smile, then glanced up, seeing their rescue party. "Look! They will help us get you out. You will be okay too. You-you just have to stay awake a little longer!"

He'd visibly shaken himself awake, corners of his mouth turning up as his brother had laid his hand on his shoulder. Reassuring someone else again.

Moving him had broken the spell.

"We have to stop the bleeding from these cuts, we need bandages." (Joyce had pressed the shredded remains of her shirt into the chief's hands, a few knotted together into a skein. She'd had to do something with her hands while they waited.)

"This is gonna hurt, kid. And you don't hold it in. Making noise is a way of dealin' with pain.'

They'd met gazes briefly, before Will was lifting Jon's shoulders and Hopper was winding the bandage around his torso. A tiny nod, then the chief pulled it taut, and a wail of agony ripped itself from the boy's chest. Jonathan was insensible for a few seconds, fighting against their hands like a rabbit in a snare, only stilling when Will's fingers began to soothe through his hair. He whimpered, tears rolling into his hairline.

"Shh, it's okay Jon. You're gonna be okay, just let us help you..."

He'd made a guttural noise when they arranged him across their laps, El curled up and watching from one of the jumpseats. Hopper knelt beside him, keeping pressure on as many wounds as his hands could stretch to. Argyle was grim in the driver's seat, following Joyce's directions.

They were almost at the gates when Jonathan's hand had gone limp on top of Will's. The tips of his fingers, dipped, gracefully, to the floor.

A tiny gust of breath had escaped his lips, and those warm brown eyes fixed themselves on a spot far into the distance, and then-

There's a low moan of "God no, not again, please-" and the teary young-man's-voice of Will urging him to "Breathe, Jonathan. Come on-".

Jane is stone-silent and still.

Nancy shuts it out. She shuts it out, because she has to. Has to move, has to fight, has to win, has to survive. To compartmentalise means to live. Maybe it even means he gets to live.

(Her own talent for detachment scares her sometimes. Jonathan is the only one who can break her out of her Frozen-Charlotte state because Barb is-)

Don't think about it don't think about it don'tthinkaboutit-

She seals her mouth over Jonathan's between Hopper's rhythmic pounding on his chest. Watches while the open-and-shut of his ribcage flares and sinks. All the while, she consciously blurs the sound around her. His soft, slightly chapped lips are all she can feel.

The world comes back in a rush, like breaking a swimming pool surface. Her heart gets hauled out of her hands, whisked away on a gurney.

The running mass of people turns the corner, and he's gone.

[but-the-library-of-alexandria]

related to a post I can't currently reblog bc moots are listening to tma for the first time and it has major spoilers lol, but on the subject of the misconception of jon being the pragmatist and martin being the romantic when it's actually pretty explicitly the other way around

I think for the most part this stems from a combination of a) associating optimism with romanticism and pessimism with pragmatism when in reality positivity is way more pragmatic than wallowing in despair, b) falling into the trap of believing the outer personas they both portray in earlier seasons, and possibly c) simply believing that a poet and an academic must be that way around lol

But also (and this is kind of silly and a stretch lol) I wonder if it's a slight cultural difference in what Tea represents in American vs British culture

If you're a brit and you've ever been in a rough situation with a group of people, you will discover who the pragmatist of the group is, and that's the person making the tea. any time there's bad news, the most down to earth person in the room is making tea while everyone grieves

and I'm not saying Americans don't consider tea to be a good thing to give to upset people, but I do think there's a certain association with tea (as opposed to coffee) as a bit more of a... hippy drink? a kind of herbal concoction given to you by a woman in a boho kimono who believes in manifestation, or your grandma who doesn't like technology - its kind of a romantic drink in a way, made of petals and leaves and supposed to have a calming effect

whereas in the UK it's not an exaggeration to say it's a staple - it's ubiquitous and kind of considered a necessity rather than a treat. it's a part of the usual daily routine. the person making the tea is the person keeping everyone fed and keeping up the normal flow of daily tasks. the fact that people will need tea, and that that's a need you can take care of, is sort of similar to being the friend who always has water and painkillers in your bag for when other people need it. it's a way of being there for people and coping in a crisis that's deeply practical and (in some people's cases, myself included lol) kind of a way of coping that deliberately AVOIDS the drama and philosophy of it all. despite being the guy who always wants everyone to talk about their feelings, it is also pointed out several times that one of martin's flaws in the early seasons is that he just tries to get on with things and hopes everything will get back to normal again, instead of rightfully raging against the institute machine (and how is that expressed? by people - and himself - complaining that all he does is make tea!)

honestly there's parallels to be drawn between him and basira, who we all accept is knuckling down and leaning into pragmatism while the others (including jon) are wallowing in the whys and what-ifs of it all. in fact the relationship between daisy and basira is a good comparison - daisy is often arguing that she's the pragmatist and basira is the bleeding heart bc she's more willing to kill, but daisy's killing is more and more clearly a matter of philosophy and beliefs while basira's gentler approach makes more practical sense

This turned into a way longer ramble than I thought it would lol but anyway something something orestes and pylades rotten work

[fynneatsstars]

Teachers should understand or at least consider the idea that a child may be acting up because of other factors I understand that it's not an excuse, but it can help people understand. You don't know what's going on in that kids life, there may be things that they don't want to tell anyone about it can't tell anyone about (i.e being a young carer, abuse, severe anxiety about certain things around shool). The idea that most don't is fucking sickening, especially when there are teachers that'll openly make fun of students who are definitely uncomfortable because of it and don't find it 'funny'. If school is a system that is made FOR children then it should consider the children's needs and accommodations. There are definitely some teachers that shouldn't be teachers.

SCHOOLS NEED TO LISTEN TO STUDENTS

[lunarflare64]

Took a covid (+rsv +flu) test since PEM can look like (and be triggered by) colds, just to be sure yknow? AND GUESS WHO DOESNT HAVE THE PLAGUE ~

[i-never-grew-up]

✨The flashbacks are getting bad again✨

✨All because an alter in headspace mimicked an ambulance siren✨

[arsenenicholas]

https://goodlawproject.org/crowdfunder/nhs-cyp-guidance/?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaadkVMoRUHpcFptnjlifnc1xJ0i7YGVi78tfv2vEXVaVIQDPTEp1-ozNcY_aem_AfqNP9xEERFn6GRCZCIP7B2RriLi8ZN7pVAFzmNwdvqIXW0nmc1mTe5Hq0UV3xC6VPWdYe1x64wHk7O6-HPOhIdf

Please share, tag someone who could bring this to a lot of people, and post to other platforms. Not originally mine, idk who is the source of the screenshots.

Image ID under cut

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In thick white text on black background-> NHS ENGLAND ARE PLANNING A HONEYPOT WHERE THEY SEND ALL KIDS ON GIDS WAITLIST TO CAHMS TO HAVE THEM BE ASKED IF THEY ARE TAKING BLOCKERS/HRT VIA PRIVATE OR DIY ROUTES

Text is broken and in the middle is an excerpt from a leaked nhs document-> a) For medication sourced directly (e.g via the internet), explain the increased risks of harm due to the unregulated nature of these medicines/products. These may include the use of counterfeit chemicals, unsafe/unknown ancilliary ingredients or variability of potency etc. More information can be found here (link to nhs website). // b) Do not initiate or continue prescribing puberty surpressing hormones or gender affirming hormones. The General Medical Council's guidance to medical professionals on 'bridging prescriptions (a course of endocrine intervention managed by a healthcare professional outside of the specialised gender service while an individual is waiting to be seen) does not apply to care offered to young people under 18 years of age. // c) If the child/young person or their carer disregards your advice and you consider that this puts the child/young person at increased risk, then a safeguarding referral might also be appropriate in line with standard safeguarding approaches. Discuss with your line manager and your organization's safeguarding team.

Thick white text on black background continues-> ANY WHO SAYS YES AND DO NOT DESIST FROM DOING SO WILL BE THREATENED WITH SAFEGUARDING REFERRAL (TAKEN INTO STATE CARE)

Next image ID:

In black text on white background, from the news article linked above-> It seems to us - and to those inside the NHS who have leaked the document to us - that what purports to be an "assessment" in fact an exercise in bringing very significant pressure to bear on trans youth and their families to cease private treatment, backed up with a threat of a safeguarding referral to social services if they do not. // We are concerned about what appears to be a misleading exercise in gathering data on which trans youth are obtaining private treatment from abroad, for the purposes of seeking to cause or compel them to stop treatment.

In the same thick white text on black background as previous image-> So an internal NHS document has been leaked basically asking trans kids on excruciatingly ling waiting lists to come to a 'mental health assessment' where the NHS will harvest their personal information & threaten their families with a social services referral if they're found to be on private blockers/hormones & refuse to come off them. // This country is for dogs i swear.

[thehappyvet]

Just a reminder if you decide to illegally take a wild animal from the wild for yourself, even if you have the best interests at heart, you could be killing it.

If you feed it the wrong diet you can cause it's bones to break or other diseases associated with mineral imbalances. If you feed it too much you could cause issues associated with obesity including excessive fat stores.

If you aren't a trained wildlife rehabilitator you won't understand the importance of preventing imprinting or humanising. So you'll cuddle it, play with it, and let your pets play with it. So it will think it can only get food from humans, and that humans and domestic pets are part of its family.

If you take it while it's still young it won't learn the necessary foraging and social skills from its parents to survive in the wild. You might joke you don't even need a cage for it, but it isn't able to go anywhere because you've made it dependant on you.

If you aren't a wildlife carer or in the animal health industry you might not realise it's injured and needs treatment. This could lead to broken bones setting in ways that the animal can't perform normal functions and suffering from a life of chronic pain. Or it could lead to it suffering a slow and agonising death.

You might also not be aware that wildlife can contain diseases that can make you sick or even kill you. You could put yourself and your loved ones at risk of serious zoonotic diseases by bringing it home.

And, if you are found to be illegally holding a wild animal without the intention of rehabilitating and releasing it, the authorities are stuck. They can't release the animal because it thinks humans and domestic pets are friends. It can't forage for itself. It can't socialise with its own kind. It could have injuries or diet associated diseases that mean it can't perform normal functions, or is suffering from chronic pain. If they released it, it would die.

Is it fair for that animal that your choices have led to it not being able to experience its life in the wild as it should?

If you take something from the wild and intend to keep it, I hope this makes you think twice.

These kinds of stories are all over social media now, but none of them tell this side. They normalise putting a wild animal though an incredibly stressful experience purely for likes and engagement.

If you want to be a hero, get accredited to be a wildlife rehabilitator. Join an amazing network of compassionate humans just like you who understand that wild things should be wild, and do everything they can to get them back there.

If you find a wild animal and you're not sure what to do, call your local veterinary clinic or wildlife rehabilitation group. Trust that we have the knowledge to make the best choices for that animal. And if you want to make those choices, join us.

[ash-is-kool]

Not posted in a while...um heyyyyyy guess who gets to go to Alton Towers for free with their young carers group...

IT'S ME SILLY