#Not Our Parent's Children

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 337

Hear me out: Danny & Co in Gotham, but instead of getting found or adopted by the Bats, the Goonion is the one to find them. 

It’s not the first time any of them have stumbled across feral street children, but they’re getting flashbacks to a lot of their rogue bosses if they were like, mini. And a lot of them are just workin to survive, or for their families to survive. 

It should be easy enough to pspsp feral kids over right? Batman’s done it before and he’s terrifying so it should be- wait no, come back they’re trying to help-

[bixels]

The idea that uni protesters are "elitist ivy-league rich kids larping as revolutionaries" on Twitter and Reddit and even here is so fucking funny to me if you actually know anything about the student bodies at these unis. Take it from someone who's going to one of the biggest private unis in the US, 80% of the peers I know are either from the suburbs or an apartment somewhere in America, children of immigrants, or here on a student visa. I've heard about one-percenter students, but I've never met one in person. Like, don't get me wrong, the institution as a whole is still very privileged and white. I've talked with friends and classmates about feeling weird or dissonant being here and coming from such a different background. But in my art program, I see BIPOC, disabled, queer, lower-income students and faculty trying to deconstruct and tear that down and make space every day. So to take a cursory glance at a crowd of student protesters in coalitions that are led by BIPOC & 1st/2nd-gen immigrant students and HQ'd in ethnic housings and student organizations and say, "ah. children of the elite." Get real.

[mishy-mashy]

Toga: Someone who wanted to be happy

Uraraka: Someone who wanted to make others happy

And also,

Toga: Someone who wanted the world to be easier to live in

Uraraka: Someone who wanted to make the world easier to live in for others

[mr-shimurka]

He's just his father's son

[utilitycaster]

"D&D automatically makes you sympathetic to oppressive hierarchical structures" is "Video games make you violent" for terminally online people who think that the way to be a Good Person is to like the Right Characters in Morally Correct Shows

[furiousgoldfish]

When you grow up with only abusers around you, it can be hard to find an environment in which you can learn morals, basic values and integrity that most children have access to, if they're surrounded with healthy, just, moral adults. Even as children, we often understand viscerally that we don't want to be like our parents, even if we think they love us or whatever, we firmly see that something is wrong, this person is doing damage, we don't want to turn out like this.

Our experiences in school (if we attend it) can give us a little insight into how a person is expected to behave in an everyday setting, but it is still an environment of constantly being controlled, having to do as we're told, only getting to socialize in little breaks and often struggling to socialize because you have not been offered a proper socialization. At young age you can only mimic what you saw in others, and for you this can mean extreme behaviour, erratic behaviour, isolation, complete apathy, switching from one extreme to the other. It can make you blacklisted in your group of peers, because nobody can understand you or predict your behaviour; you can get called a freak. Your new environment can label you problematic and make you feel like you don't belong there, either. And you don't even know what you've done wrong.

In times like this, we often turn to media to learn what's normal, what ethics we should follow, what values we should integrate in our lives, and this is something that can't cut us out, or call us 'not good enough'. It's a little refuge where we get the chance to learn without being punished for screwing up, or even anyone knowing you screwed up, because you're learning by observing characters who don't observe you.

I remember as a child vividly feeling enlightened, and almost consumed by media that promoted messages of friendship, found family, people sticking together, caring about each other, saving each other. Not only it felt incredibly real, but the morals and messages they promoted, got engraved deep into my heart. I wanted nothing else but to live a life like that, if only I found the right people, or found myself in the right situation. It felt profound, important, life-saving.

When people you're surrounded with are manipulative, self-serving, guilt and shame inflicting and utterly cruel individuals, the depth and emotion you get from media feels powerful. The fact that you can feel and yearn for something that is more pure than you have in your surroundings, that you can reach for higher and deeper and more honest human experience, it can set you apart from the abusers you're surrounded with. It can feel more real than reality, more right and true than what you have in your life.

And the thing is, morals and positive messages from children's media, or even other types of media, aren't made to be adapted by people in real life. They're made for this other, fantastical reality and they don't exactly work in the real world. But for us, they're a step that we take in order to wrench ourselves free from the horrifying and bleak picture we have in our everyday reality - nobody caring about anyone, people exploiting every little bit of free will, being told that your life doesn't matter - we need something fantastical and powerful to combat that shit. We need to believe there's something better out there, and we need a chance to learn how to conduct ourselves when the time is right, what values we should have, what behaviours we should learn.

It's not a perfect help, but it is often the only help we get. Sometimes we can end up a little wonky, with our priorities and dreams slightly unrealistic, because of the mix that we've been brought up in. But it isn't for no reason. We have to believe that there's a fantastic heaven for us somewhere, because we're currently in hell, and we need to know that surviving it is worth it. That there's a different reality waiting for us outside. Place where we belong to.

[soulless-bex]

talia secretly adopts all of bruce’s kids behind his back. dick? she got to know him shortly after he became nightwing and supported him through his debut. jason? she had more than enough time to adopt a parental role for him while he was still staying in nanda parbat. tim? she’s been corresponding with him since forever. she was so proud when he committed his first war crime too. steph saw her visiting one of the boys, recognized her and befriended her to spite bruce. duke sort of just assumed she was bruce’s wife after seeing the way the other kids act around her and never questioned it. she’s too scary for him to dare do that, and anyway, she’s pretty chill so he won’t complain. cass sees the whole thing unfold, and while i don’t think she’s talia’s biggest fan, i think she would find the whole thing funny anyway.

bruce never noticed. not until all of his kids had already fallen into the habit of calling her mom

[bumblingbabooshka]

I think Sarek and Amanda Grayson both lowkey seeing their children as little experiments in different ways is undeniably bad parenting BUT .... I mean you talk about matching each other's freak .... Like imagine for a second Sarek is like "I am going to show that Humans are just as good as Vulcans by molding this Human child and my half Human son into the perfect Vulcans - This will show that despite what society thinks of as their genetic inferiority, they're just as good as any Vulcan." and Amanda's response to that is to think "Sarek is wrong...Michael's humanity MUST be preserved...so that I can show her all the love and affection I can't show Spock and maybe through their sibling bond all my unspoken and unexpressed love can trickle down to him through her." What are you both DOOOOING!?? You guys are NUTS like PLEASE just TALK to each other and compromise about how you're going to raise your children!! [Love the drama though] So I'm imagining in my head that Sarek is severely pressuring both Spock and Michael to act as perfect Vulcans their entire lives with him or else they're failures not only in his eyes but in all of society's (because he's an ambassador and raising these children is tied irrevocably with his work as such) WHILE Amanda is secretly trying to funnel her humanity and love for Spock through Michael and as such failure to receive, express, or internalize that love is failing not only your mother but also the entire Human race. Damned if you do damned if you don't! Who do you want to disappoint more, kids?

In 'Point of Light' Amanda says that she gave Michael all of the love, joy, and affection which she wasn't "permitted" (we must question the use of the word - what stopped her from directly giving Spock this love? I'm not saying there wasn't pressure for her not to, I'm saying the word 'permitted' absolves her of any personal choice or failing in a way that's interesting to me) to give Spock and though this is on the surface level sweet and probably meant to be interpreted that way, I submit that it must be kind of fucked up to hear that your foster mother was maybe only so kind and caring to you because she felt she wasn't allowed to act that way towards her "real" son. Michael Burnham as a tool for both her parents, however unintentional, is very interesting and I'm not sure it's something canon considers (haven't watched the show, I just like imagining things). The feeling that you have to be grateful to these people for not only being your parents but being YOUR parents. For taking you in and giving you a beautiful life - you have to pay them back, you have to make them especially proud of YOU. Because they didn't HAVE to, did they? Because you're not their "real" child. In the end, it's always Spock - isn't it? The love your mother gives you is Spock's love and if only one child can enter the Vulcan Science Academy then it has to be Spock. You're the appetizer your father serves before the REAL main course and your mother's stuffed doll which represents the thing she REALLY wants to hold and you know they genuinely care about you. That's the worst part. Because you know they care and they didn't mean to hurt you and the voice in the back of your head keeps telling you that any hurt they've dealt you pales in comparison to the debt you owe them and they love you, they love you, they love you, they love you, they love you [repeat as often as need be: remember the debt]

[theflowerofthecommonwealth]

Jasmine: (Does a ghostly call around a campfire) “¡Ayyyy miiiissss hijooooos! ¿Dónde están mis hijoooooosss?”

MacCready: (Puts his hands over his ears) “StOoOoOoOp!”

Jasmine: (Has her hands out in front of her as she moves around) “¡Quiero mis hijooooos! ¿Dónde están mis hijos?”

Piper: “I have NO idea what you’re saying, kid- but it’s freaking me out!!!”

Danse: (Is as white as a ghost at his spot by the campfire)

X6: (Says nothing while shuffling on his own two feet, hands in his pockets)

MacCready: “Can’t you just… Tone it down a notch or two?”

Jasmine: (Throws up her hands) “It’s Halloween!!! It’s suppose to freak you out!!! That’s the point!!!”

Piper: “After all the spooky scares we pulled on each other during the prank war- we all are a bit tender!!! So give us a break! Now we have to worry about some vengeance filled Mexican lady coming after us!”

Jasmine: (Rolls her eyes) “¡Cobardes! Y’all are a bunch of sissies! I’ve been hearing this story since I was born and so had most of the kids my age in my neighborhood.”

MacCready: “And I’m pretty sure you kids were living off a gallon of coffee and three hours of sleep all the time!”

Deacon: (Comes out from behind a bush dressed in a white nightgown and a long dark wig) “OoOoOoOoOoOo!!!” (Slowly moves towards the campfire, the smoke machine he set up earlier adding extra dramatic flare)

Jasmine: (Points and gasps) “¡La Llorona!”

MacCready, Danse, and Piper: (Scream bloody murder in sync)

X6: (Stands there stock still as his soul silently leaves his body)

Nick: (Comes running over) “WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!?”

Everyone: (Dives behind RoboDad for protection)

Jasmine: (Runs up and puts her arms around his waist, staring up at him innocently) “Papi- La Llorona wants to take me away and drown me! So you hafta protect me!”

Nick: (Heavy sigh as he picks the teen girl up) “Not the vengeance ghost lady again- haven’t you told enough of those scary stories?”

Jasmine: (Huffs) “No- I haven’t told everyone about El Cucuy yet.”

Nick: (Glances behind him at the trembling adults) “Maybe hold off the scary stories until after Christmas…”

Deacon: (Waves his hands around some more) “OoOoOoOoOo!”

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 117

Bruce does not enjoy magic. In fact he’s absolutely horrible at it, to the point it’s better that he avoids it in general. Getting thrown into some sort of summoning circle bullshit was not helping him feel any better about it either. 

At least he isn’t dead… probably. He might be surrounded by green and there might be a massive entity sitting on a throne, but he isn’t dead yet. Even if the cult had been rambling about sacrificing ‘the dark knight to the dark king’. 

… His kids are definitely going to kill him, but there are small children peeking out at him from within the being’s cape. Who seem happy enough, while the… king looks exhausted in a familiar way. Well. Maybe it’s his own parental exhaustion talking, but they can’t be too bad if their kids are happy to be there. 

[not-so-superheroine]

Jesus is my older brother, not my dad.

other christians don't seem to feel the same?

am i missing something where he insists on such a thing except perhaps with actual little children?

[agalychnisspranneusroseus]

Thinking about Raised in Amphibia AU and how the girls get married when they're still teenagers, and I get that it might be controversial but I actually really like the fantasy vibes that comes with characters getting married so young, it helps to make the world feel more old timesey and medieval and culturally alien, like, marrying at 16 sounds insane to most people nowadays but in fantasy frog land Sprig and Maddie were engaged by their guardians at age 10 so I think it not only makes perfect sense for Marcy and Sasha to get engaged for political reasons at 14 and then get married at 16 - dragging Anne along with them - but also... something something kids forced to grow up to fast, something something fantasy politics, and these three characters having such a different way of seeing love and relationships than we do in the real world, that when Anne goes back to Earth and meets her biological parents for the first time, she has no idea how to tell them that, at age 23, she's been married for 7 years and has two wives.

[batcavescolony]

Batman: Under The Red Hood

I think this is a moment that reminds you that Alfred Pennyworth raised Bruce. Thomas Wayne was Bruce's father for so few years, he was young when they died, he probably doesn't remember much about him. The person that raised him the most was Alfred. So for better of worse Alfred is part of the creation of Batman.

[megamindsupremacy]

i know you have stan figure out ford is his estranged twin whom he lost memories of but the ‘just doesn’t realise he has a twin despite working to open the portal’ angle is so funny to me . alternate au path 🙏

guy doesnt call home or anything for thirty years, never meets the twins at birth & their parents are still like… messy divorce or super estranged great uncle who wont answer our calls. … great uncle it is. divorce leads children to the worst places.. (gravity falls)

dipper: are you even our grunkle?!?

stan, ‘knowing’ full well he just stole someone else’s identity that is probably their ‘actual grunkle’: well. you see.

. also him looking @ the twins being twins & going why do i have such deep-seated sadness & anger at this fact. at the very concept of twin siblings… WELL! guess i will never know!

oh okay okay wait what if. parent's are like "messy divorce or living with their grandpa for a summer" but shermie is like. hey wow i'm so sorry but actually i [insert reasonable and inflexible excuse here] so I cannot take care of the kids for the summer. however i have this brother he's a scientist and has an insane amount of PhDs and he lives in this lovely little town in Oregon and I'm sure he would love to host the kids for the summer 🥰 (this is shermie's master plan to get Stan to actually fucking talk to the family again it's been so long man cmon). And pines parents are like Okay We Trust You Let's Go Ship Our Children Off To Oregon and bada bing bada boom Stan has two kids now

even funnier is if shermie is just as insane as his brothers even though he doesn't act like it so he just. didn't tell stan the twins were coming. he assures the parents that he's been in contact w stan this whole time and has worked everything out but no he's just going to let stan get some surprise grand-niblings for the summer.

also. stan, looking at dipper and mabel's deep Twin Bond: this creates no strong emotions in me and I don't have any particular feelings about the concept of being a twin. anyways back to this portal i've been frantically trying to repair for three decades for some deep-seated-yet-unknown reason. surely these things have no relation!

[thepersonalwords]

Luxury is the enemy of growth. This is the one thing that I learnt from my father, and I approve of it fully. Abundance is neither good nor healthy for the growth of a child’s mind.

Abhijit Naskar, Human Making is Our Mission: A Treatise on Parenting

[rabbits-of-negative-euphoria]

you are pitting Jesus and Santa Claus against each other. I am acknowledging Santa as both a mythic symbol of Christ and a cultural legend based upon a real man whose faithfulness to Christ was used by God to grant common grace not just to the people of Myra but throughout the entire world. we are not the same.