#a 3 year old child isn't safe in school

[just2bubbly]

A 3 year old got raped in a school today, 3 year olds!? in a school?! DO NOT ASK WHAT THEY WERE WEARING, OR WHERE THEY WERE GOING, OR HOW LATE IT WAS BECAUSE THEY WERE KIDS IN A SCHOOL WEARING UNIFORM

and the man that raped them joined the school on 1st August, not even 2 weeks into his job and he RAPES kids, not to mention how we don't know the kids he might have touched before.

AND THE WORST THING IS THE GOVERNMENT CHOOSE TO NOT DO ANYTHING- THE POLICE KEPT THE GIRL'S PARENT WAITING FOR 11 HOURS BEFORE FILING AN CASE

[dollypopup]

I truly cannot overstate just how much I adore Colin Bridgerton as a male love lead, and how important his story is, in particular in a current, modern reading. We live in a time of alpha male machismo that in many ways mirrors the sexism of the historical time period Colin is in, and we have a hero who explicitly rejects it. More than that, we have a hero who first tries on the persona, first tries to fit in, and then determines, with no outside influence and all on his own, that it's wrong. That he doesn't want to be like the men of his society, that he doesn't like the expectation of sex without love and commitment and connection, that he doesn't want to be 'one of the boys', even if it comes at their derision.

Because when Violet says he has always been her most sensitive child, when he has always considered others before himself, when he has always offered a joke or a moment of levity- for so long, he felt he had to. That there was no other choice.

Colin Bridgerton, The Great Pretender, is finally coming into the light.

Take my hand. Come walk with me.

Colin's arc is incredibly clear, and incredibly dear to me. We can track his progress throughout the seasons he has been in, but if we consider his backstory, it comes even more in clarity.

Piecing together a timeline with some influence from the books and loose historical accuracy, Colin loses his father at 12 and then is sent off to Eton. And he is a tiny thing when his father passes, shorter even than his 9 year old sister, Eloise.

(Yes, I checked!! He's half a head shorter than Eloise, and an entire head shorter than Daphne. This boy is SMALL)

So it makes a lot of sense to me that this is the start of his fake-it-to-make-it personality. He cannot grieve with his family in these circumstances, he's been sent off to school with other boys who are bigger and stronger than him, and he must realize relatively quickly that weakness in their eyes will never be tolerated. In fact, Eton was well known for corporal punishment and bullying during this time. Older boys were well known to mistreat the younger once, and considering just how small and soft-hearted Colin is, and just how vulnerable he is having lost his father-

Of course Colin would become a target of such.

And despite that, we meet him in Season 1 with an endearing earnestness and hopefulness in the world. Something inside him, something sweet and gentle and warm, thrives to live. And fights against grief to do so. How easy it would have been for him to lose his father and be bitter. How easy for him to see his father die from the steps of Aubrey Hall, to be sent to a boarding school away, and withdraw in on himself.

And yet, he doesn't.

At least, not in the way one would suspect. Instead, Colin becomes a chronic people pleaser. If the people around him are happy, then he will be safe. Will not be hurt. And they have no space for his own hurt, regardless. There's hardly even any space for his mirth, as most people didn't even reply to his letters on his travels the previous season.

In Colin's confession in Season 3, he says 'I have spent so long trying to feel less', and this numbing begins early in his life. He's a consummate gentleman in Season 1. He does everything by the book, everything as he should. He wants to be accepted in his society, wants to be taken seriously, wants to belong. So he sees a pretty woman, and he gets along with her well enough, and he courts her. Openly, honestly, in full view. It isn't a heart-stopping love, but he has numbed himself for years at this point, so affection will do, and if proper men of his society are married, well, maybe he'd finally be taken seriously.

And yet, no one notices him, even still. No one except Penelope. His own mother doesn't recognize his behavior, and worries for him after she does. How long has it been since she's actually seen him? We know from the show that he's incredibly close to his mother, and loves her dearly, but we also know that after Edmund's passing, Violet was mired in grief and post-partum depression. Colin misses much of this as a firsthand witness since he's at school, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't be able to tell, wouldn't be affected by losing his mother and father in one fell swoop. In fact, Colin loses his connection to the majority of his family in being sent to school so soon after the tragedy. So of course he comes back and he tries not to make waves. Tries to do things correctly.

His friction with Anthony proves time and time again that nothing he does is entirely ever able to fully please him, and this causes contention in their brotherly bond. Of all the siblings, Anthony is arguably the most harsh with Colin. And he is also the model for who a man should be in the family, as the head of the family.

So when Anthony sees Colin earnestly try to marry, he scoffs him off. Accuses Colin of only wanting to marry to have sex, and then claiming "It is my fault. I should have taken you to brothels." This is the first on-screen shaming of Colin looking for connection before sex, and Colin doubles down. He wants to marry for love.

But he doesn't actually love Marina. Neither of them truly know each other, and so when it all blows up, and he is humiliated to the entirety of his community, Colin gets his first taste of romantic failure. He tried to do it right, and it ended more wrong than he could have ever imagined. So, maybe Anthony was right. Maybe he is just a foolish, green boy, who has no idea how to go about things. The fallout of his failed engagement echoes in the persona he puts on in Season 3, and the choices he undergoes during them. Is it any wonder he ends up going to brothels to have unfulfilling sex if even his own BROTHER, the head of his family, tells him to do so?

It doesn't happen right away, though. Despite the fact that no one truly checks on him or sees how this breakup effects him (Eloise dismisses the hurt he must feel in light of such events with an honestly rather accurate wave-away "Men are always less affected", and that is true), it is evident that he is NOT okay.

We leave Colin in Season 1 putting on a mask, a happy face to his family, a 'you inspired me' to Penelope, and then spends his travels sad. Depressed. Taking drugs to try to ease his mind, occupying himself with writing to Penelope. In Season 2, he spends the entirety of it trying to be useful. And he does this with Penelope. He feels deeply for her, he cares so much for her, and he even says it to her aloud 'You are special to me' and 'I will always look after you' and how he could never give her up. Season 2 is a season of healing for Colin- he closes his chapter with Marina with a relationship post-mortum conversation after he does a wellness check to make sure she's alive (let's be real here, no one else was going to reach out to her. She made it clear to him that even her own father didn't want her), makes amends with Will, proves himself useful to Penelope, and departs on a high: he thinks he threaded the needle. He thinks he was successful sending Jack off, that he made Penelope happy, and that he's in with The Boys.

But whilst the person he is around Penelope is genuine, the person he is around these men are not. We know from Season 3 that they don't actually like him. They make snide, underhanded comments toward him, and laugh at him. I stand by the idea that end of season 2 is Fife and Co. laughing at Penelope AND laughing at Colin. They don't care about their friendship, they're teasing him for caring about her so openly, and Colin is protective of the relationship he has with Penelope. So he makes a comment for the boys, and puts on his mask. 'I would never court Penelope Featherington' (look, I'm just like you. I walk like you, talk like you, speak like you) 'Not in your wildest fantasies, Fife' (I am one of you one of you one of you- so why does it feel so hollow?)

He gets, now, his first taste of acceptance from them. They come to him to Mondrich's bar, he repays his slight against him, and he feels he is one of them. (Does he truly *want* to be one of them?) And so when we open Season 3, it's a smooth progression.

Colin is walking the walk and talking the talk, and yet his heart isn't in it. He's not one of these smarmy men, but he mimics them. Their behavior. In part, at least. Whilst Fife is out preying on 18 year old women in coat closets, Colin is telling gaggles of girls how pretty they are and how with such nice dresses, they're sure to find a husband. He makes it clear he's not an option, but that he doesn't mind being a fantasy. And Luke Newton does an amazing job making that clear: there are three sides of Colin. The Colin portrayed to his society in the light in good company (1) and the Colin portrayed to his society in the dark, in. . .less savory circles (aka: The Lads)(2), his 'armor' as his mum calls it. And finally, the most important but the one kept closest to the chest: the Colin of truth. The Colin who cries alone in his room after a breakup, the Colin who doesn't burden others with his feelings, the Colin who writes to Penelope, the Colin who loves deeply and feels deeply.

But his society has no use for a man like the real Colin, they do not *want* a man like real Colin, so he puts it under lock and key. And so much of this is centered around his feelings about sex, so here comes my 'Colin is Queer' soapbox. Colin does not experience sexual attraction like the rest of the men of the ton. He is expected to find it casual and be cavalier about it. To just want to fuck for the sake of fucking. But Colin needs love and romance and connection to actually enjoy sexual interactions. Nowadays, we recognize this as being on the asexual spectrum, of being demisexual, but he didn't have words for that in the time period he's in, so he has to forge ahead to figure himself out without a community identity to find solidarity with. That's what makes the brothel scenes so interesting as a narrative device: in the first, he's masking even in the midst of it, and in the second, he can't. After kissing Penelope, he finally, for the first time in his life, has a sexual interaction that means something to him.

It's the first one he truly enjoys, and the first one that feels right to him. It clicks for him that oh, that's what it's meant to be like. And the strain of that realization whilst still having to be what his society expects of him puts immense stress on his shoulders. You see how he grows more and more uncomfortable about the conversations, until finally he rejects it outright.

Even when it's very much not encouraged for him to do so. He's even told "You are much more fun this season." That's why he hides himself. From near everyone, even his family, even his brothers. It's telling how Anthony's positive interaction with Colin is when they're at the club, and Anthony praises him for his most recent attention. Have we seen much of Anthony being proud of Colin, otherwise? Not really. So he's reinforced in his persona. Doesn't boast of his travels because it didn't have anyone liking him for it, before. Doesn't even say how many cities he's gone to. Except with Penelope.

In the books, there's a line about their kiss, referencing how his world will never be the same. And it won't be. Because when Colin says that she helps him see the world in new ways, it's in a multitude of meanings.

Penelope refuses to let him wear the mask, because in truth, Penelope is the only one who doesn't like it. Not only does she see the real Colin, but she enjoys the real Colin. Whilst everyone else is simpering over Colin's new look and attitude, rejects who he is in reality, Penelope dismisses it, wants the person she knows him to be instead. It's only when he strips down the facades that Penelope allows him into her life again. And her Whistledown article was harsh, but it was also true. He *is* masking. He *is* putting on a persona and a role. But she was wrong when she asked if Colin even knows which is real: Colin knows very well which is real. And he also knows the realities of him haven't been accepted.

When Colin tells Penelope charm can be taught, he speaks from experience. When he says 'living for the expectations of others is a trap' it is because he has already fallen into it, and if he can't dig himself out, maybe he can keep her from it. Colin tells her 'you do not need lessons' and that she is fine exactly as she is, because just as she sees the real him and loves him, he sees the real her, and loves her, too. But they both live in the constraints of their society, and so they both put on the masquerade. Even sometimes to hide from each other.

The current climax of his arc is when he's out with the lads, after they all go off to the brothel again, and he disassociates from the experience. Playing cards and insisting on sharing sexual exploits, to which he does not want to take part, and makes a lighthearted dig at them. 'There is no gentleman at this table'. He includes himself in that, and then clarifies. He speaks aloud for the first time to them the truth of his heart- 'Do you not ever tire of the expectation to remain cavalier about the one thing in life that holds genuine meaning? Do you not find it lonely?' Can it really only just be him?

And it is. Or, maybe it isn't, but the rest of them aren't brave enough to admit it, so they're okay in making him feel like it is, in outcasting him for being a romantic, for caring about a woman beyond what she can provide for him sexually. Colin professes he doesn't like who he's become, doesn't like the expectations for him to behave the way he has, and they laugh at him. Again. He is made fun of, again.

He goes home and he falls in his bed and he feels like he lost it all. Lost Penelope to his own advice, and lost his newfound shine in his community. But when he's faced with which one matters more to him, he chooses Penelope. Unhesitatingly.

Colin chooses to be sensitive. He chooses to be a warm-hearted, gentle man in a society that prefers sexist machismo. Act one way in the light and another in the shadows. Colin wants to live authentically, as a man he doesn't really have a role model for. He is brave and he is tender, he sees the sexism of his society and he rejects it. He sees the importance Penelope has in his life, the way she makes him feel, and he embraces her wholeheartedly. He wants love and romance, he wants connection and meaning.

Colin, The Great Pretender, sick of pretending. Colin, walking into that ballroom and giving Fife the cut direct when he invites him out. Colin, cutting into a dance in the middle of a ball between Penelope and a man the entire city knows is about to propose. Colin staring deeply into her eyes with such unfiltered longing even *Cressida* can't help but notice what's going on. Colin running off after Penelope in full view of his society, outrunning a *carriage* to see her. Begging her to let him in. Colin on his knees, all but flaying his chest open for Penelope to see his heart. Colin made a choice when that candle flickered out, and his choice was Penelope. His choice was himself. And his choice was to flip off societal expectation and to live for love, damn the consequences.

I think our own world would be a better place if modern men took his example, too. Colin Bridgerton as male love lead in Bridgerton, a global show, is such a refreshing, wonderful example. A man who tried to be like what the world wanted, and who decided to go against the gender norms of his time. A man who prioritizes the woman he loves, who risks ridicule in doing so and comes to realize that he doesn't care. He doesn't care anymore about being one of the boys, one of the lads, one of the guys. Fuck his society if his society can't recognize the beauty of what he feels with Pen. He cares about being the best self he can be. And that best self is around Penelope, inspired by Penelope.

Because how he is with Penelope? God, I could swoon. At every turn, he prioritizes her comfort and personhood. He validates her, he sees her in beautiful, positive light and he helps her see herself that way, too. He encourages her to be brave because he already feels she is, he refuses to let her call herself stupid or a laughingstock, he apologizes without excuses, he checks in on her every step of the way. He's so passionate in that carriage, he's burning for her, he's yearning, but he doesn't do anything until she agrees for him to. He confesses his feelings and when she says they're friends, he backs off. He listens, he cares. He apologizes for overstepping her boundaries, and then when she gives him her consent, the only thing on his mind is showing how much he wants and appreciates her by providing her pleasure. Colin, the people pleaser, dedicated only to pleasing two people in that moment: Penelope, and himself. Because he wants to do that, to give her an orgasm that exists just for her. He's a witness to it, and that's pleasure for him, too. He waits for her nod of consent, he revels in seeing her enjoying herself. And the aftercare- I could cry.

Colin is a man who had every single reason not to be a kind, sensitive soul, and still he chose it. Chose to share it because the headline, even a wallflower can bloom, that's not just for Penelope.

It's for Colin, too.

[pocketramblr]

I don't know if you're still doing it, but an AU where Gran Torino raises Kotaro.

1- as Shih put it, Sorahiko's an all-or-nothing guy. Nana tells him that Kotaro isn't safe anywhere near her, that she can't handle losing her son to AfO. Sorahiko nods, and asks if he should hide the boy, or go with him. Nana asks him to stay with Kotaro, and cries a lot. Sorahiko holds her, and then goes inside to tell Kotaro that he's going with him, and needs to pack up, and tell his mother goodbye.

2- Kotaro Yamada is raised in a strange way. Sorahiko can't cook any better than his mother could, but he doesn't try anymore. He knows Sorahiko used to be a hero, like his mother, but when he asks all the man tells him is he got his license because he just wanted to use his quirk, and now he keeps it in case whoever is after his mother comes for the boy. And oh, is Kotaro conflicted about his mother- he certainly can't say a bad word about her in Sorahiko's earshot. He knows she loves him, and is likely going to die trying to protect him from something. But he doesn't like it. *Yamada is just a common name, since Sorahiko is sure that AfO would know to look out for any Shimuras or Torinos.

3- When Kotaro is twelve years old, Sorahiko gets a call from a phone number he hasn't in years. He answers it, and there's a young voice on the other side, rough from tears, saying that Shimura-sensei told him to call the number after she died. Sorahiko knows this means Nana needs something else from him- the last thing she needs from him. But he has to help the first way too. So, he sneaks to UA during the day, and trains Toshinori while Kotaro is at school- Toshinori is excused for personal training, for "meetings with the school counselor after losing his teacher", and makes up classwork in the evenings after Sorahiko leaves. Toshinori stays in an altered apartment in one of the fake cities on UA grounds, alone when he isn't training. When Toshinori once tells Sorahiko that Nana was like his mother, Sorahiko asks quietly if Nana ever told him about her son. Toshinori just says she lost him, a bit of sadness in her heart no matter how she smiled or spoke of romantic dreams. Sorahiko tells him (Toshinori) that it's his (Sorahiko's) fault Nana never saw her son again, and that he's going to train Toshinori to make sure he can kill AfO, not the other way around. Which means he needs to leave the country. The last training session the day before graduation is the last time Sorahiko speaks to Toshinori for decades. And it will not be Toshinori reaching out.

4- Kotaro goes to high school, then university. He becomes an architect. He falls in love. He's surprised when Sorahiko is happy to hear this- weren't they both hurt so much by Nana? Isn't that why Sorahiko closed himself off from anyone but Kotaro? But he's encouraged. He marries Nao, builds a house for her and her parents and him and his. Eventually, they have a little girl, Hana. She looks so much like Nana. Sorahiko and Kotaro never say this fact outloud.

5- Eventually, AfO finds Kotaro. Hana is eight, too old for him to spark a quirk awakening in her without suspicion. But with enough eavesdropping quirks he hears that Kotaro and Nao are considering another child, so he starts setting up coincidences to nudge them along the line. When Tenko is born, four years later than in canon btw, AfO moves. Hana sits down at the dinner table, and when she touches her mother's arm, the woman turns to dust. Everyone starts screaming- except Sorahiko, who moves. He grabs Hana and breaks the window to the backyard, leaves Hana floating above the grass in terror, her jacket falling to dust as she hugs herself. Then he goes back, and grabs baby Tenko. He looks up to see Kotaro, covered in Nao's blood, looking to the front door, that also fell apart. A tall man stands behind it, reaching out a hand to the wall. Kotaro looks back at Sorahiko and tells him to go with the kids, now. Sorahiko breaks into Might Tower about half an hour later, with a child and a baby, and tells All Might these are Nana's grandkids, and he needs All Might to arrange tickets to I-island for the three of them, as quickly as he can while keeping it secret. He leaves a report in a file behind them. Toshinori only tells David to protect them, and Dave does. The baby's a year younger than Melissa, he has to help. Over a decade later, he finds that Hana's headaches seem to be from stress for her two quirks, the sort of opposite problem with Toshinori's decreasing power. But maybe he can build something to help- Melissa the engineer and Tenko the programmer are eager to help too, anyway they can. Sorahiko, feeling as useless as he always has, thanks them.

[jpmarvel90]

Don't let me down - Part 4

Masterlist Scarlett Masterlist

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Relationship: MamaScarlett x 16 yr old Reader

Summary: Officially fostered by Scarlett and Colin, Y/n now faces meeting her siblings.

Word count: 5134

Y/n's POV:

I've been living with Scarlett and Colin for 6 days now. It's been ok. I think the weirdest thing is getting used to someone actually caring where I am and what I'm doing. They haven't been smothering me, but they like me to check in if I've gone out without them. When I get home, there's always a fuss made. I'm not sure if that's normal in most families, but my adoptive parents couldn't have cared less if I made it home or not.

I'm still trying to get used to this new life, but I think I'm settling ok. I like my room, although it's a little bare, it's my safe space. Both Scarlett and Colin are really respectful to that. They understand sometimes that I get overwhelmed and need space. Scarlett has promised me a shopping trip so I can decorate my room and buy some more clothes. I will actually be grateful for some new clothes. I don't have many and they're a little tatty.

Having settled in, I head back to school on Monday and I'm excited to get back into soccer practice and seeing Laura daily. But before then, I have one last thing to deal with. Meeting my siblings.

Rose and Cosmo have had an extended stay with Melanie, our grandmother. Scarlett had told me that she wanted me to be able to settle in properly first before the mayhem of having a 7 year old and an almost 1 year old, hit. I'm really nervous about meeting them. Cosmo not so much as he's just a baby and has no concept of what's going on. Rose on the other hand, terrifies me. Not that I'm scared of a 7 year old. But what if she doesn't want me to be living with them or is unhappy with this whole situation. Scarlett will pick her over me and then what will that mean? Will I be moved to another home?

I try and shake those feelings off as I hear Scarlett calling up to me to let me know that they are home. I take a deep breath and head downstairs to see Colin cooing over Cosmo, who I must admit is the cutest little baby. Scarlett is helping Rose take her shoes off and I can't believe how much of a mini me Rose is to Scarlett.

When I reach the bottom of the stairs Scarlett's eyes find my nervous ones. "Hi Sweetheart." She greets me whilst the wriggling 7 year old suddenly stops at the addition of a new person in the room. "Who's that?" Rose asks pointing at me. "How about we go in the living room, and we'll explain everything." Scarlett suggests.

I follow in behind them and suddenly become very aware of all the photos of them as a family around the place. I take a seat on the chair away from them as they make themselves comfortable on the sofa opposite. Colin holds Cosmo as he rests his head on his shoulder, clearly content in his father's arms. "Rose, I'd like you to meet Y/n." Scarlett introduces us.

I give Rose a little wave, never feeling more nervous under a child's gaze before. "Y/n is my daughter. When I gave birth to her, I made a bad decision and thought that it would be best that she lived with someone else that could care for her." She explains to the young girl, whose eyes don't leave me. Scarlett explains a bit more about the situation, obviously missing out the parts of the abuse.

"She's my sister?" Rose asks after Scarlett finishes explaining. "Yes, she is." Scarlett replies with a smile. "Is she living with us now?" Rose questions further. "Yes. Her room is opposite yours." Scarlett replies once again. "But that's the guest room." Rose points out. "Well, it's Y/n's room now. We have other guest rooms for when people visit." Scarlett clarifies, making Rose's face scrunch up a little.

I can see a hint of tension in Scarlett. I think she's as nervous as I am that Rose isn't going to like me. That would certainly put her in a difficult position if one daughter doesn't like the other!

"How old are you?" She asks me directly. "I'm 16." I respond and she nods. "That's old to be a sister. I'm only 6 years older than Cosmo. You're a lot older than me." She replies, clearly not too happy about this situation. "Honey, that's because I had Y/n when I was much younger." Scarlett replies for me. "Hmm. Ok." She responds, clearly accepting the situation, but not too happy about it. "You can't steal my toys." She tells me firmly. "Rose, we share in this house." Scarlett scolds her. "It's ok Rose. Your toys are safe." I jump in, getting a triumphant smile from the kid.

"Can I go play now?" Rose asks, clearly bored of this situation. "After you've done your homework yes." Scarlett tells her and she rushes off to grab her school bag. "Now the first introduction is over, this little one here is Cosmo." Colin introduces me to the baby in his arms. He indicates for me to hold out my arms and passes me Cosmo.

I hold him cautiously, scared that I'm going to hurt him. He instantly looks at me and giggles, which is infectious, making me smile widely. "Wow." Scarlett says in awe. I look up briefly to her to see them both sat shocked. "He's never taken to a stranger like that before." Scarlett points out. I try not to let the word stranger hurt, but there's a sting to it. But that is what I am to them all. I'm a stranger to this family.

"He must be able to sense that you are someone that means a lot to him." Colin smiles at us, grabbing his phone and taking a photo of the two of us. "Oh, this is so going to be my new lock screen." He coos over the picture, showing it to Scarlett.

My attention remains on the baby in my arms. He is pretty cute and clearly happier that I'm here than his sister. "Mommy!" Rose calls out to Scarlett before rushing into the living room. "Can you help me with my homework?" She asks, holding up the workbook in her hand. "Of course, sweetie. Take it to the table and I'll go through it with you." She responds happily.

I watch as the two of them head off and get to work. I look down at Cosmo and he's pulling a face. "I think he might be hungry." I point out and Colin takes a look and smiles at me. "You're right. I'll take him and get a bottle for him." He says, taking Cosmo from my arms.

From my seat, I can see Colin bouncing Cosmo in his arms pulling faces and singing silly songs to him, drawing out the cutest giggles. Scarlett's eyes often drift over to the father/son due, a content smile on her face. When I look to her and Rose, she is helping her through some maths homework. Giving her encouragement when she gets something right and showing her how to work things out when she's unsure.

I get a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, like I don't fit in here. I'm seeing a life that I could have had, but Scarlett decided she didn't want with me. What is it about Rose that made her want to keep her. What does she have that I didn't. I can't believe that I'm sat here jealous of a 7 year old but I am, and I can't stop it.

I can't stop seeing the life that I could have had but didn't get. I didn't have anyone to help me work out my homework or to sing songs to me. God, forbid I sang too loudly in the house, or I'd be hit. I learnt to keep quiet after a while.

The tears start to build behind my eyes and I don't want them to see me vulnerable like this. I quickly stand up and grab my phone. "I'm going for a walk. I'll be back later." I rush out, hoping my voice doesn't crack as I talk. I feel like the walls are closing in on me here and I need to get out.

I barely hear Scarlett or Colin call after me as I quickly make my way out of the front door and towards the closest park that I can get to. When I reach the small lake, I stand next to it, my hands running through my hair. I take a few deep breaths to help calm me down and sit down in the grass. I pull my legs up to my chest and rest my chin on them as I look out over the water and let the tears fall.

I consider calling Laura, but I've been bothering her so much recently, she can go a day without having to deal with my shit. I'll end up driving her away if all I ever bring along with me is drama. This makes my feelings become overwhelming. Do I belong anywhere? How is it I'm in the safest place I've ever been, but I've never been more unsure of my life.

Scarlett's POV:

Having Y/n living with us and knowing that she has chosen to stay with us has been amazing. Each day I feel like our relationship is growing and that I'm getting closer to having a more positive relationship with her. She's still quite closed off, but I don't want to push her to talk with me until she's ready.

I plan to do everything that I can to show Y/n that she belongs in this family and is loved. Hopefully, she'll be able to see the truth in it and eventually allow me to adopt her so I can legally be her mother again. I mean, I definitely see her as my daughter and that I'm her mother regardless of the legality of it all. But I know it'll take a little longer for Y/n to be in that same space.

I was nervous to have all my kids meet each other. Excited, but nervous. Mainly for how Rose would react. I never told Rose about Y/n, worried that she wouldn't understand the situation. But when we sat down all together, I couldn't help the happiness that grew within me at knowing I had all three of my kids together with me again. All living together under one roof.

Rose definitely seems a little sceptical. She's only just gotten used to having Cosmo around and taking up a lot of our attention. Now Y/n is here, I'm sure she's worried that she might miss out on more attention through that.

I can't lie that I feel a little disappointed that Rose wasn't more excited to meet Y/n. But she didn't outright throw a tantrum that she was now living with us and a big part of our lives. So, it's a start. I'm sure once they spend time together, they'll love each other.

I couldn't help the way my heart melted when Y/n held Cosmo and he melted into her touch. Normally, he struggles with people that aren't Colin or me. It took a long time for mom to be able to calm him down. But with Y/n he was instantly content, like he knew this was his big sister and she would protect him.

Y/n had a genuine smile on her face the whole time she was looking at him. She was a natural in the way that she held him, and I would never tire of this scene. I'm even a little jealous when Colin snaps the cutest picture of them. I will definitely be making him send that to me later.

When Rose asked for help with her homework, I thought this would be a good opportunity to lead to a conversation with her about Y/n afterwards. It'll be good to discuss it further and help her understand why we need to be welcoming to Y/n and help her feel like this is her home too.

But I don't get the chance to get to that conversation when I hear Y/n call out that she's going to the park. By the time I'm out of my seat, she's rushing to get her shoes on at the door. "Honey, is everything ok?" I ask after her, the crack in her voice was evident as she talked, and it worried me. She didn't answer my question, instead promising to be back later.

Before I know it, she's out of the door and gone. What happened? Everything seemed ok just a few minutes ago. Did she get a text or something? I go to follow after her through the door, but Colin stops me, gently grabbing my arm to gain my attention. "Give her some time." He tells me, tugging me slightly into the kitchen.

"She's just rushed out to God knows where in a place she doesn't really know Colin. I'm not just going to leave her when she's clearly distressed." I defend a little loudly, disturbing the baby in his arms. He shushes Cosmo and walks him over to his playmat before returning to me.

"I understand that. But you need to trust her. She's just met her siblings. The two children that you decided to keep. That's going to take a bit to process." He tells me. I feel a little annoyed at the way her worded it, but I understand, and I know he's right. "We both kind of naturally fell into our routine with Rose and Cosmo as she was sat in the living room. She was probably watching on and thinking about the life she could have had." He guesses. God, how can I be so stupid to not see that.

I let out a sigh, frustrated in myself for once again making her feel like she doesn't belong. "I just feel like I'm doing this all wrong. I want her to know that she fits in here and that she's wanted." I express, fighting back tears. "There isn't exactly a manual on how to integrate your daughter into your family after 16 years." Colin chuckles, trying to lighten the situation, but it doesn't really help.

"Maybe what we're doing wrong is wanting her to 'fit in' here. She shouldn't need to change for us. Now we have Rose and Cosmo back with us, we need to make the effort that Y/n is included and also the priority at times. I know that's going to be difficult with a baby and a demanding 7 year old. But we can do this. It's not going to be easy or quick, but we just want what is best for Y/n. She'll see that." Colin speaks so wisely that it makes me smile. "I'm so lucky to have you." I tell him, pulling him into me and nuzzling my head into his neck.

"You're still not going to listen to me and leave her be, are you?" He asks me and I shake my head. "Not a chance. But I'll give her 15 minutes." I respond, earning a chuckle from him. Instead of rushing out the door after Y/n like I so desperately want to, I make my way back into the dining room where Rose is finishing her homework.

I take a seat next to her and she smiles when she sees I've returned. "How do you feel about Y/n living with us sweetie?" I ask her, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She shrugs her shoulders and focuses on the task of putting her pens away. "Y/n could really do with a younger sister that wants to play with her and spend time with her." I say, hoping that she might open up. "But she's old." Rose replies. "She's not that old and I'm sure she will enjoy spending time with you if you give her a chance." I persist.

Rose thinks for a moment before looking at me. "She seems sad." She points out. Rose has always been very empathetic. She can read people's emotions as well as an adult sometimes. "That's because she's been through a lot of not very nice things. On top of that, she's having to get used to living with a whole new group of people. Could you imagine having to go and live with someone else?" I try and get her to think of herself in that position. "No. I would miss you all too much and wouldn't know if the other people love me." She replies.

"Exactly. But in this case, we love Y/n very much. Just because she hasn't been in our lives, doesn't mean that we don't love her and want her to be with us." I explain and she nods slowly. "She must be feeling lonely not really knowing us." Rose thinks aloud. "Then maybe we can make sure she gets to know us, and we get to know her. We can find out things she likes and do them with her. Like soccer. She loves soccer." I suggest causing Rose's face lights up.

"I love soccer too! Do you think she'll play with me?" She excitedly asks. "I'm sure she would. She could help teach you. She plays for her school team." I tell her and she gets even more excited by that. "Oh! Please can we go and watch her play? We can cheer her on. That will make her happy!" Rose asks and I love that idea. "Definitely, I'll ask her when her next game is, and we'll go." I respond and suddenly Rose is running off to her colouring box. "I'm going to draw her a picture of us playing soccer together!" She tells me excitedly, grabbing out the pens that she's going to need.

Happy that Rose is understanding the situation better, I make my way to the closet to grab my shoes. "I'm going to try and find her." I tell Colin, who's finishing feeding Cosmo. "Ok. Call if you need anything." He tells me, placing a kiss to my head. "Will do. Wish me luck!" I say, heading out through the front door.

I'm not exactly sure where to start. She's not overly familiar with the area here. But she has been to the park nearby. I'd imagine she's probably gone there and called Laura to talk. That'll be my first stop.

The park is a short walk away and I'm grateful it's a warm day as Y/n left without a jacket. I start to look around the park, my hope dwindling when I don't see her sat at any of the benches. But my eyes suddenly land on a small figure by the water. I see Y/n sat with her chin resting on her knees. Her eyes red from crying. It breaks my heart to see her like that and it hurts even more to know that it's all because of me.

I slowly walk over to her and take a seat next to her on the grass. She doesn't move or acknowledge my presence. "You know, when I found out I was pregnant with Rose, I had a complete breakdown. Not because I didn't want to be pregnant. Romain and I had been trying. But because it was a reminder of the fact that I didn't have you in my life. Throughout my pregnancy, I struggled to enjoy it. I felt like I didn't deserve to be happy after giving you up. It was similar with when I had Cosmo. They both became constant reminders of the biggest mistake I had ever made." I start talking, knowing that she certainly wouldn't.

"When I first held Rose, I thought about how much she looked like you. She has the same button nose as you. It became my favourite thing about her because if was a reminder of you. I had memorised every inch of your face in the short time I had you when you were born. I will never forget it. I would try and picture what you would look like at different ages." I continue to share my thoughts with her.

"With Cosmo, you have the same eyes. Piercing blue ones. I know that isn't what you got from me. But it made me happy. I thought that if I was ever lucky enough to have you in my life that you would have something to link you to Colin. He would always talk like you were his own daughter even though he had never met you." This seemed to catch her attention a little and she turned her head, so her cheek is resting on her knee and those blue eyes are looking up at me.

I give her a smile, grateful that she seems to be engaging. "I can't take back that I put you up for adoption. I tried many times. But I want to try to make it up to you now. I'm sure that when you look at Rose and Cosmo, you see the kids I decided to keep. I don't blame you for that. But know that I see them as the children that showed me what I was missing and so desperately wanted in my life." I try to convey how much she truly means to me. "You may have only known me for a little over a week. But I have loved you with every fibre of my being for 16 years." I choke out, the emotion taking over me.

Y/n's own eyes gloss over at my admission, and she wipes her cheek against her knee. "I'll never forgive myself for not keeping you. Giving you the life that you deserve. That's even harder to accept when I know the hell that you have been made to go through. I hope that now you're with us, that you have the best life possible. I will do everything in my power to make sure that you get what you want in life. It's going to take some adjustment from all of us, but I promise that you, my beautiful daughter, belong in our family." I tell her firmly as the tears slowly fall.

I wipe at my face and watch her intently as she takes in everything that I said. She slowly sits back so her body isn't so enclosed and looks back over the lake. "My parents weren't always horrible." She speaks and I'm shocked at the subject she's leading with. But I'm happy that she's talking. "I remember when I was small, we used to go to the park a lot and they would play games with me. I don't know what changed but when I was about 5 or 6, they started to treat me differently. Something must have happened, but I'll never know what. I just became used to being a burden." She admits and it breaks my heart.

"When did they start hurting you?" I take a risk in asking her the question. I won't push her to answer, but I hope that she feels comfortable in talking with me. "The first time I remember was when I was 8. I was playing with a ball, and it cracked a window. Mom ran outside screaming at me and the next thing I knew my cheek was stinging. She didn't seem apologetic at all that she had just slapped me." She replies and my breath hitches at the fact that she has spent 8 years being abused.

"Its just got worse over time. Any time I annoyed them, it was met with a slap, a punch, or a kick. When they started drinking it just became worse. I would try my best to just be quiet in my room to not annoy them. But sometimes my mere presence was enough to set them off." I can't hide the tears as she shares the abuse that she went through. How can anyone hurt a child like that.

"Is it bad that I felt relief when they died?" She turns to ask me, almost ashamed of the thought. "No, my sweet girl. It's not at all. It's a completely understandable feeling to have." I reassure her. I don't admit to her that I hoped it was painful as I think that would just be disrespectful, but they got away with hurting my daughter for years.

"Was Mr Woodstock abusive straightaway?" I ask cautiously. "No actually he wasn't. He hadn't long been a foster carer when he opened his home. I was his 4th kid. He kind of just left us to it. There was food in the fridge and chores we had to do but otherwise we could do as we pleased. It was then I joined soccer and started to make friends at school. It was nice." She smiles sadly, as she remembers the small amount of respite, she had from being hurt.

"My social worker would bring more kids to him and suddenly there were 14 of us and his four bed house wasn't big enough. He drank more and got angry with us more easily. I was grateful for soccer and Laura as it meant I could minimise the time I was at the home and at risk of being on the end of his anger." She continues to shine a light on the life she has experienced.

"How badly he hurt you last week, was that often?" I question, praying that it wasn't. Her bruises are starting to fade, and her black eye is now yellow. But it's a constant remind of what she went through. "No, that was because I made him look bad in front of lawyer. Normally he just kept to a punch here or there." She responds as if that's completely normal.

I tentatively reach out and take her hand. "None of what you went through was ok. I know that it's going to take time for you to come to terms with everything. But you have me and Colin with you through it all." I make sure she can see that I mean every word that I'm saying.

She sighs a little and looks to me once more. "I guess that I'm hypervigilant all of the time at the moment. Although it was horrible in the home, I knew the dangers. Now I feel like I'm suddenly in a spiral with no idea what could hurt me." She sniffles as she let's her emotions flow.

I scootch over to her and cautiously wrap my arm around her shoulder. She leans into me, and it makes my heart melt. "I will never hurt you. I will protect you as will Colin and the rest of the family." I speak with a firm tone. I mean it. I will do whatever it takes to make sure that she is safe.

There's a silence for a moment whilst she allows me to comfort her. "Speaking of the rest of the family. I guess I still have some more people to meet." She says with a small smile, wiping at her eyes. "Yeah, mom is desperate to see you, as are my siblings." I chuckle in response. "Maybe we could do a dinner next weekend with them all and we can do it all in one go." I suggest. She thinks for a moment and then nods. "That'll be nice." She returns. "Perfect. They're going to love you." I tell her, nudging her shoulder.

"Are you ok to head home, or would you like to stay out for a bit longer?" I ask her, not wanting her to feel like she has to do as I say in this moment. "We can go back." She responds, standing and holding her hand out to me, helping me to my feet. We start walking back towards the house and another question pops in my head. "How come you didn't call Laura?" I ask her and I see her tense slightly.

"Uh. Well, she's had to put up with a lot of my shit recently. I thought she deserved a day off." She chuckles awkwardly. I stop moving and turn to her. "Firstly, language." I tell her and she rolls her eyes. Wow, ok that was like looking in a mirror. "Secondly, it's not your shit. You've been through a lot. And thirdly, from the little I know about Laura, I think she would be upset that you didn't feel like you could talk to her." I finish summarising. She hums a little and grabs out her phone to see lots of missed calls and texts from Laura. I chuckle to myself when I read the latest text of Y/n's shoulder

Laura ♥ I'm hoping you're not replying because it's going really well, and I don't need to kick someone's ass. Call me when you can. I want to hear all about it.

"See, I told you." I smirk, nudging her shoulder as she goes to text back. When we get home, Colin is already making dinner with Cosmo in his highchair. "Hi you two." He greets us both. Coming straight over to engulf me in a hug, one that I fall into. "Sorry for running out earlier Colin." Y/n apologises, rubbing at the back of her neck as she speaks. "Nothing to apologise for kiddo. Are you ok? That's all that matters." He reassures her. "I think I will be." She smiles in return.

The calmness doesn't last long before Rose rushes in. "Sissy! Can we play soccer? Look I drew you a picture of us playing!" She asks, excitedly handing over the piece of paper that has two figures playing soccer. And with that, I'm pretty sure that my heart just burst with happiness at hearing her call Y/n that. Y/n looks just as shocked as her eyes gloss over. "Wow what a great picture Rose. I'd love to play with you." Y/n responds after gathering herself. "Come on then!" Rose shouts, taking Y/n's hand and dragging her out to the back yard.

I watch the two of them playing through the kitchen window. Colin wraps his arms around me and rests his chin to watch the two of them playing too. It's a moment I never thought I would get to see, and it brings more tears to my eyes. In this moment, I'm watching Y/n be so carefree and taking the time to show Rose what she needs to do. I want to remember this moment and feeling forever. "I think things are going to be ok." He tells me and I for the first time in over a week. I actually believe him.

Part 5

[sonobeunitsarecool]

Why Sakurai Haruka makes So Much Sense, really.

Right, sorry it took so long, but I think this is it? Anyways. Here I'm just putting much of Haruka's behaviour in the context of "past of admissions to a psych ward", linking it all together in a way that may not be so immediately obvious to some. Interrogation answers: T1 Q.12 - Tell us your hobby - "Talking with the other prisoners" What else is there to do? Yuno answers with something about shopping, and drama club, something she can do outside of Milgram, but Haruka wants to talk, and he's getting better at it. It's something he's wanted to do for a while, talk to others, so he probably gets a good deal of enjoyment or satisfaction doing so. You could say it's a bit odd, to be a hobby, but it's an activity he knows he has consistent access to, unlike something like drawing which would require a request. Q.14 - What's an event that stuck in your memory? - "Fireworks" Fireworks, or some kind of crayon rendering of them, seem to feature prominently in Weakness. Something bright, colourful, loud, and pretty full sensory immersion, plus it seems to have been a fond memory of sorts. Besides, what else could stand out, as a childhood memory? Anything in recent years would just be... the dull droning on of the days. Q.20 - What's the most expensive thing you've ever bought? - "Candy floss" Okay. Candy floss isn't very expensive. What likely happened, is that he didn't handle money except for when he was once given some at a fair of sorts, and allowed to buy something for himself. As a teen, he's had no need to buy anything, and if there was something he wanted or needed to buy, then it'd be provided by whomever was looking after him at the time. (Not necessarily something about not trusting Haruka, but he wouldn't have had any way of getting a job, being in-and-out of mental health care) Now, something a little interesting would be that this, alongside some other small things, loosely implies that Haruka was a spoiled or otherwise coddled child from his birth, growing more distant from his family as he got older. Japanese children are given quite a lot of autonomy, just go watch "Hajimete no otsukai", or "Old enough", an entire television programme where kids go out and do errands. Most Japanese kids would have bought things like groceries, or train tickets, or whatever, even before leaving primary school. Sending them on the train alone at age 8 is common. It's unusual for the most expensive thing that Haruka ever bought to be candy floss, surely he'd have been asked to go out and buy something, at some point? If not, why not? Q.22 - What do you think of the prison outfits? - "They're kind of relaxing" Kind of already went over this. Haruka is accustomed to wearing the same kind of thing every day, and everyone else is also wearing something similar, so he's part of the group. Not distinct in clothes. It's probably a small comfort. Q.23 - Is there anything you want (item requests)? - "Not really" He's got everything, for the most part. In a psych ward, you're unlikely to get anything just by asking, and whatever you can bring onto the ward is restricted. Of course Haruka's got lots of crayon drawing in Weakness. Crayons are pretty much the safe art medium. Cheap, easily replaced, logistically an obvious choice to use. What else could he have used? Pencils? Those would require a pencil sharpener, and that's a weapon. Q.24 - What's your dream for the future? - "I want to live normally" ...It's not normal to spend so much time on a psych ward. It's a restrictive lifestyle, even if it's his comfort zone. This is pretty much the obvious thing to wish for, to live a "normal" life where he's not just a patient, someone who's "broken". Besides, Haruka can't afford high standards like Yuno's "It'd be nice if I can find a job I can really lose myself in", because he doesn't have many avaliable job prospects at the moment. He's set back in education by at least 3 years. Q.25 - When you get out of here, where do you want to go? - "I can't think of anywhere"

Based on what can be guessed about Haruka's story, home is an unlikely prospect. And he's not had much opportunity to think about or find a place to go, unlike Yuno's answer of "Karaoke, maybe", something she's done in the past and enjoys. There are either no places that stand out to him, or too many places he's not had the chance to go to. ...auto-save isn't working anymore. I'm just going to say that this is long enough and continue another day. Moving onto T2 int. questions, then onto his voice lines, his profile, his VDs, probably even more of the MVs as a part of all that... is this even a theory? The next time I say I'm going to post something "small", I'm probably lying to myself.

[louloulover]

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷Teen Wolf Script✮⋆˙

𝓦𝓮𝓵𝓬𝓸𝓶𝓮 𝓽𝓸 𝓑𝓮𝓪𝓬𝓸𝓷 𝓗𝓲𝓵𝓵𝓼 ♡

(this is my first ever script on here, I'm still trying to figure tumblr out)

Beacon Hills high school will be shut down for awhile, places in the school are broken and they feel it isn't safe for the students. So they will be placed into Beacon Hills private high school.

(am i going for a fancy rich school, yes. I want to have a relaxing experience if I'm going back to high school.)

𝓑𝓮𝓪𝓬𝓸𝓷 𝓗𝓲𝓵𝓵𝓼 𝓟𝓻𝓲𝓿𝓪𝓽𝓮 𝓗𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓼𝓬𝓱𝓸𝓸𝓵

(it's giving mean girls, high school musical, 2000s experience)

This school is big and supported by lots of the student's parents. They have a bunch of extracurricular activities you normally don't get. My favorites is Yoga, Tennis, Jewelry making, and more if I feel like it. This school is very clean, and always is. (bathrooms are spotless) Before other student's you would have to buy a LOT of money to get in, that's why they have a small amount of students.

Of course they have strict rules about certain things:

-You are not allowed to smoke anything on campus, you can even get kicked out of school for it.

-if your racist, homophobic, etc. you can get kicked out.

and more, just if you do rude stuff your out of the school. no clothing rules because I would hate that.

I have a cute locker I decorated, pink of course. Stiles locker is right next to mine.

My parents are one of the biggest donators for the school, which gets me a pass in every class with good grades so I don't even have to be in the class lowkey. (so we can skip school at times, also i don't have to be in tests)

I have my own credit card from my parents, so I'm pretty much the 'provider' for the group. lmaoooo. Just pay for the gas, food out, etc.

𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒𝓘𝓷𝓯𝓸 𝓪𝓫𝓸𝓾𝓽 𝓶𝓮

Age: 18, October 13th (same as here)

Supernatural: My family are witches, but we keep it personal. My parents are centuries years old, I am a only child. Yes I am a witch but.

My parents did a ritual when I was a child, because they never wanted to lose me/protect me. So they gave me "power"

(honestly I don't wanna fight and somehow get hurt yk. Who doesn't wanna be overpowered??? pfft)

Like black eyes, sharp teeth, like come on? who doesn't wanna control that. Witch + Dark. So hot.

જ⁀➴𝓢𝓽𝓸𝓻𝔂

here we go.. I'm still trying to figure it out, I'm so open to suggestions.

start: 3 part 2 (Void Stiles <3) + season 5 (I'm removing 4)

We all start off in Senior year, we meet Liam this year as well. (although Liam doesn't get changed until later in the year. Also Theo doesn't come to our school until halfway through. so i don't beat him up right away. lol)

protect Stiles at all cost. I'm probably gonna edit later or whatever. But I just wanted to post so I can talk with other people tbh. Im so open for messages!!!

[butchlesbianmike]

Tower Tarot System Headcanons (Mike & his system)

Under the cut are my detailed headcanons for mike, his backstory, and details about his alters. Note that i've changed some 'canon' stuff and added a few new alters.

TW: There will be mentions of Parental Abuse such as neglect and implied physical and emotional violence. There will be mentions of Sexual Abuse relating to Mike & Vito.

Keeper

• System Aware • One of the main Gatekeepers. More of a state of consciousness than an alter. Not sure how to explain it even as a system myself but basically more of a concept and a fragment? It is not really an alter that another alter could just come up to or interact with. • Was created by the horrid neglect and abuse endured at the end of the system's mother which from a young age made clear they would not be able to function without amnesic barriers separating states of consciousness/ego states.

Lucia:

• 5 - she/her - System Unaware, became dormant until Mike went to therapy. She then became system aware. • Alter i created for their system. Sarah is a child alter and technically the first host the system had but quickly became a rarely fronting part due to varying traumatic events between the ages of 3 and 5. Her age got frozen around 5 years old. She also stopped being host at that age after a harshly traumatic event. • System is unsure if there are other parts younger than her, she is the youngest identifiable host.

Chester:

• 56 - He/Him - System Aware - One of the gatekeepers • Split off around 4. • Introject of their grandpa on their mom side. Very important to Sarah and was very kind and took good care of the system.Their mom was incredibly neglectful and their grandpa is basically who raised them. Their mom cut contact with their grandpa after a fight between them. • Losing their grandpa alongside the constant abuse now worsening from being around their mother more did lead to a split. • Chester appears very grumpy because they found it funny whenever he would go on rambles and complain about silly things to them but also because they were hardly ever allowed to express negative emotions or frustration around their mother and so Chester became a part that held a lot of those negative emotions they didnt feel safe expressing.

Svetlana (Went by Lucia) :

• She/They - Ages with body - not quite system aware, notices things but very much normalizes them. Becomes system aware once Mike gets a girlfriend and also starts exploring gender. • Split off around 7 when their mom started signing them up for competitive gymnastics. (They were already doing gymnastics before, but competitive only started at 7). • Main cohost for a long time. Helped Sarah and Lola with learning gymnastics and handled competitions due to their mother being incredibly abusive during tournaments and competitions. • She wasnt really aware she was cohost, she felt like this was her life but she kinda saw it as like.. "oh i just feel more like myself in my element! Gymnastics is just really important to me and its where i thrive everybody say they have masks depending on if theyre at school or at home or with friends!! I guess my mask just comes off when im doing gymnastics :D". • She thought that the Russian accent was just a bit she was very dedicated to and what helped her 'get in character' for competitions. That it was just her trying hard to be like those russian gymnasts they really like on TV to feel more confident. • She always felt uncomfortable with being infantilized and felt much older, but everyone around them would say they have an old soul so she assumed that must by why. • She discovers she's a lesbian around when the body's age is 14. • She is one of the alters alongside Vito who causes Mike to realize something isn't adding up and reach out to try and get therapy. • Did not like Mike's girlfriend and actually really disliked being referred to as a guy. This was actually a main source of conflict between her and Mike and another reason Mike started feeling something was wrong because he realized that the dysphoria he got seeming more masculine or being perceived as more masculine didn't feel like it was Actually Him. • She often would be very distant and even cold to their girlfriend because she realized that they were a system and that she wasn't Mike and that actually his girlfriend was hurting them. • After therapy and system work and being acknowledged as her own alter, her relationship with Mike got a lot better and they agreed on keeping some feminine stuff for her to wear whenever she's front. • Actually really likes Zoey and tries really hard to hint that she also likes her. She and Zoey actually start dating too.

Lola (Went by Lucia):

• She/her - 10 - system unaware until she stopped being host. She became system aware when the body was 12 and that she got yonked and became more of an internal alter and very very rarely ever fronted again. She was under the care of Manitoba and Chester in the headspace. • Another system kid and previous host, she handled life from 6 to 12. • She and Svetlana were really fronting together almost all the time and switching between eachother frequently, although rarely experiencing blackouts more than greyouts. • While she was a host from ages 6 to 12, she stopped aging in the headspace at 10. • A huge part of this was due to how rocky elementary school was. They were changing schools left and right and it was really hard to keep up with all the constant changes. Around 10 she lost one of the only friends she had managed to make and due to their already fragile state, this was distressing enough to halt her development as an alter in itself. Svetlana mostly started being the main host from 10 to 12 although Lola was still there and at least cofront a majority of the time. • Starts fronting a bit more after Mike starts doing system work (Body age around 17).

Mike:

• He/They - Ages with body - First Host to become system aware. • Split off around 12 due to stress bcuz the system moved in with their dad because their mom no longer wanted to be responsible for them nor pay for their highschool necessities. • He became host because he didnt carry much of the traumatic memories related to their mom, didn't have system awareness, and was fairly functional with school and with their dad. • At first he had it a lot better than previous hosts and was one of the most stable host for a short while which made it that switching didn't frequently occur except here and there or when triggered due to x y z. • That changed about 8 months after him being host. A month before turning 13 he started figuring out that he had a crush on a girl and might be a lesbian. • Not only that but also started getting a lot of gender dysphoria, even feeling uncomfortable with a lot of his clothes and even pictures of him in his gymnastic outfits and competitions. • Nothing much came out of the crush except heartbreak which did kind of shake things up for the system. Mike felt things very profoundly and the heartbreaks of feeling like he would never find love because he likes girls destabilized the system a bit which led to more frequent switches- especially at school to continue functioning with the classmate mike had a crush on. • Around 14 Mike finds out more about things identity wise and starts thinking he might be a transmasculine butch lesbian, but isn't sure of himself because he feels his identity is very shaky and constantly changing so he settles on being genderfluid. (This confusion is mostly caused by Svetlana who also is discovering she's a lesbian btw). • At 15 is when the big bad happens for Mike. He gets his first girlfriend who happens to be older and more experienced than him. She sees him as a trans guy, even though he tries to explain he isn't. She is very forward and sexual to him, which freaks him out. She is constantly trying to see his chest and fetishize him especially when he's binding. • At 17 after a long time seeing a therapist due to the previous events, he found out he was a system and has been doing system work with his therapist for a year now. This is the same year he signs up for total drama.

Manitoba 'Jones':

• He/Him - 21 - System Aware • Split off around 13. • Introject of Henry 'Indiana' Jones from specifically 'The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles'. • Chose the name Manitoba to distance himself from his source, although he finds high comfort in it. • System Historian / Internal Helper. He also frequently takes care of the syskids and takes them on adventures in the headspace. • Very rare for him to fully front but he likes to come sit around front whenever anyone watches action movies. • Is actually the one that handled breaking up with Mike & Vito's girlfriend because neither of them felt like they could and when he figured out what was going on he got very protective.

Vito:

• He/Him but later on uses any - 18 - System Aware • Split off around 15 because of Mike's girlfriend of the time. • Split off as a sexual protector and hypersexuality symptoms holder. • Sexualizes himself a lot because it makes him feel in control and desired. Feels like because 'hes a guy' it means he has to like and enjoy it bcuz thats what a real man would feel. • Gets triggered front everytime anyone in the system loses their shirt because of it creating dysphoria and PTSD. • Was actually the most heartbroken when they broke up with their shitty ex girlfriend. He loved her a lot and saw himself as her boyfriend more than Mike did, even if he knew deep down she wasn't good to them. • Is the alter that, alongside Svetlana, made Mike realize something wasn't adding up and start talking to a psychologist and getting therapy. • Started unpacking a lot of his relationship but still holds a lot of the system's hypersexuality symptoms and has a weird relationship to gender as he feels like his 'gender' as a 'guy' is affirmed through having withstood their ex' abuse and 'enjoying' it. • He is actually nonbinary but it takes him a while to figure that out and only really figures it out AFTER total drama.

Mal:

• He/She/It - Ages With Body - System Aware • Persecutor/Misguided Protector. Split off during total drama all stars. • Mal split off with the belief that to win the game you have to be selfish and self preserving and manipulative. • He feels that Mike is "Too soft" and "Too kind" to survive let alone win the game. So he decides to play it by 'their rules'. A rule that Mal perceives to be the only way to make it through. • Due to splitting off with the belief of needing to replace Mike, she actually looks very similar to him in the headspace and while she doesn't like it she finds it very easy to imitate him and sees it as a way to protect the system by imitating Mike to win the show and get everyone away. • She thinks Mike is too 'naive' and 'trusting' and Mal sees that as a weakness others in the show will exploit and abuse so he decides to distrust everyone including the people who the rest of the system feel are safe like Zoey and Cameron. • It doesn't come from a serious place of malice more than a maladaptive coping strategy where Mal is in constant survival mode and unwilling to let his guard down in case the system gets hurt and he KNOWS that its bound to happen being part of total drama. • This is reinforced by the fact that Mal split off with memories concerning their ex girlfriend and knows how deceiving people can be, especially seeing how some of the people on the show have tons of red flags that reminds her of Mike & Vito's ex. • He tries to protect the system by constantly trying to force herself front and by betraying people and playing 'the villain' so that no one will hurt them and that they have more chances to win if they're the one to strike first and he lashes out and gets angry when the system calls him out for it because he doesn't understand why they dont see what he sees. • After a lot of therapy and help from the system and Zoey and Cameron, Mal unpacks and unlearns a lot of the harmful ideas she split off with and also starts exploring herself outside of 'Total Drama'. A lot of her identity is tied as 'Mike's only hope to survive total drama' and its a lot for her to work through. • She gets on much better terms with Zoey later on, but it does take a very long time to build up that trust between them even if Zoey understands where Mal was coming from.

[smhalltheurlsaretaken]

What would you say to people who think padawans are child soldiers trained for war ?

What other blogs (and I) have already said a bunch of times - that based on Lucas' canon (6 movies + TCW):

1) Jedi training was more focused on diplomacy and such before the war than it was on combat prowess, and you can see evidence of that in Ahsoka's ability to teach a course on politics to a bunch of Mandalorian kids who are her age or older and who are receiving what looks like top education (the Duchess' nephew/adopted son is one of them so it's clearly a good school) or in Obi-Wan's duties with Qui-Gon. Sure, they're ready to pull out the lightsabers at the drop of a hat, but they're both ambassadors, and they spend a lot of the movie trying to impress on people that they're really not meant to be soldiers. What they really do is protect Padmé and give her leverage with their involvement, but she's the one who has to ultimately confront the Trade Federation and force them to comply. There hadn't been a galactic-wide war in like a thousand year, ergo Jedi training was not tailored for war for about a thousand year. If anything, Geonosis showed the Padawans and the Knights and the Masters were absolutely not trained for war.

2) That even during the war, the grown-up Jedi are evidently doing their absolute best to take care of the Padawans. They pull Ahsoka from the front when she makes bad decisions (the Lightsaber Lost episode) and it's not like all the Masters we know about wouldn't immediately jump in front of a blaster bolt for their Padawans (which is what Depa or Jaro DO end up doing for their apprentices, btw). It's not like they could just leave all the teens at home (they likely would have all sneaked out to go fight along with the other Jedi anyway lmao) when there aren't enough Masters or Knights around in the Temple to protect them there either. It's not like they could just leave the Padawans in untrained limbo for the duration of the war - when training in the Force is crucial at formative ages. (Also, we actually do see younglings who are old enough to be Padawans but aren't fighting: the kids who got kidnapped and hunted for sport by Trandoshans. Meaning that a) the Padawans going to war really isn't a matter of the Jedi being happy to throw their kids at the enemy, or they'd have sent O-mer, Jinx and Kalifa too - it's a matter of students accompanying their teachers, because really what else are they gonna do? and b) that Force-sensitive kids are never safe from the perils of the war even if they don't fight in it - so again, might as well keep them within sight)

3) That if you make the argument that the Jedi use child soldiers, then Naboo and Alderaan are on the exact same level. But it's a really bad faith argument to pretend that Padmé's position in TPM was the movie wanting us to see the Naboo government as a messed up child soldier situation, or that Bail and Breha were irresponsible for allowing Leia to join the Rebellion at age 15. And if people agree to be consistent on that one (again, as silly as it is to condemn either the Organas or the Naberries) then the Jedi are by far the more responsible and healthy system. Padawans have the supernatural abilities to outsmart, outrun or outfight a lot of potential threats, including trained warriors or droids. They are not like kids from the rest of the Galaxy, nevermind like kids from the real world.

4) That Padawans fighting in the war wasn't really something we saw in the movies (except on Geonosis, but again they're woefully unprepared for it and they didn't expect that level of aggression on Dooku and the Seps' part). It was the product of the out-of-universe reasoning that if you're going to animate and produce shows for kids, they're going to wanna see kids. My younger brothers and cousins's favorite episodes are probably the younglings eps, because duh.

Ultimately, it all comes down to whether or not people are criticizing the worldbuilding (they can dismiss my first three arguments as not good enough and continue to think the Padawans' situation is messed up, it's totally fair) or are saying that the story itself was condemning the Jedi for 'using child soldiers', in which case I think it's completely unsupported by anything in the movies, shows, or behind-the-scene comments.

[t0talbra1nd3ath]

OMG OMG ISRA AND HAWK LORE PLEASE?? and thank you <3

Thank you for the ask!!! This is going to be a post for Isra, I'll post Hawk separately.

Hope you enjoy!

Isra Lore + Fun Facts

(May contain spoilers for Death by Mixer)

Ok to begin with, let's talk about Isra's family.

His family is anything but average. Isra's full name is Isra Rausin. His father is an oil magnate that comes from old money, his mother was a rising star runway model, but had to quit once she got pregnant with their first child. Isra has an older sister. They have about a 9 year gap between them.

She wants nothing to do with their father, running off to go to film school in California when she was 19. She is now a successful director, using the stage name "Dallas Heaven", and only visits her family to see Isra.

Dallas is quite affectionate towards her younger brother, but Isra approaches her with contempt, seeing her as a traitor to the family.

Now that we got the surface level information on the Rausin family out of the way, let's talk about the less public side.

Although officially the Rausins deal in oil that isn't the full extent of their business. They also have heavy ties with illegal practices such as drug and human trafficking.

That is the main reason Dallas tried to distance herself, but she still ended up being hooked back into the business once she became a director. Isra, on the other hand, never even thought about disobeying his father.

Now it's time to talk about Isra's childhood.

It's safe to say that it wasn't easy. His mother hung herself when Isra was a toddler, barely able to speak, because she could not stomach her husband cheating on her with every single housemaid they employed.

Despite that Isra was a lively, happy kid, at least up until his sister ran off to pursue a life among stars. That incident was the boiling point for their already cruel father. From that point on the head maid of the house was ordered to punish Isra for any minor fault with whipping.

The old head maid was used to dishing out cruel punishments to children as the father of the house often ordered her to punish Dallas by depriving her of food and water.

She continued to carry out Isra's punishments and he quietly endured them until his thirteenth birthday. That day when he was once again dragged off for a whipping he snapped and killed the old maid by crushing her wrinkly neck with his bear hands.

Despite what you might expect, Isra wasn't punished for this, in fact, he was rewarded. The day he first killed was the day when his father first saw Isra as his son.

After that Isra was sent off to Sweden for school while Rausin Senior dealt with covering up the murder. Isra quickly became popular in his new boarding school. He has a silver tongue and a certain aloof charm about him. He graduated a year early and entered university, soon earning a bachelors degree in finance and returning to his family home to learn the ins and outs of the family business.

He still visits Sweden a few times a year to retreat to his very own luxurious cottage in the Alps. Such a quiet place away from prying eyes is perfect for all kinds of fun...

Ok now it's time for fun-fact-rapid-fire-round-up!

Isra is not a natural blonde, he gets his hair done every month.

He showers + washes his hair twice a day always finishing the shower off by wiping himself down with rubbing alcohol and moisturising.

He wears make-up. A little bit of lightweight foundation, tinted eyebrow gel, mascara and a tinted lip balm.

He washes (or if he can't - disinfects) his hands every hour.

He loves alcohol, his favourite drink is whiskey aged at least 15 years.

If he is going out to eat or drink to a place he is not familiar with he will bring his own silverware.

His philosophy is that the body and mind can only either be born pure or be truly purified through pain.

He is incredibly classist, he sees anyone poorer than he is as filthy.

I love all my children equally but good god do I hate Isra.

[meerealsssss]

intro !!

reading is recommended so you know what you're getting yourself into :3

last edit*: 9/22/24**

*latest update in the likes/dislikes category

**month/day/year

Hi! I'm mee. (weird ass name.)

[or call me 'm', mee might be confusing]

she/her

pet names/nicknames are allowed! :3

side blogs are @m-writingphase (writing blog) and @sambroadlysbignaturals (fanfic of my own book)

matching pfp with @moonysfavoritetoast and @amg2

EST

likes :3 :

pjo (all series, but i only finished the main series)

bsc (im only to book 45)

dogman!

captain underpants

gravity falls ⁉️⁉️

music (abba, weird al, whoever writes gravity falls songs)

writing

drawing (barely)

rain/thunder

warm weather

reading (books listed above)

sleeping

musicals/theatre

emojis/emoticons

dislikes >:( :

ads

math

a certain 'parental' figure

umbrellas 😖

extra

child of Apollo

capricorn (born dec. 25🎄‼️)

i play the flute (terribly)

im not religious (but i will respect you if you are)

i will love you forever if you send anon love /p

tags!

my rambling - #mee's silly silly

answered asks - #asks 😍😍‼️

band class tag - #band class is wild

my book - #brokenly beloved

my art tag - #mee's silly sketches

my writing tag - #mee's writing :3

school posts - #sckahool !!

theater/theatre posts - #theater shenanigans

random one word posts - #mee's one word shitpost

posts formatted like a letter to someone - #mee sending non existent notes again

dreams i have - #mee dreams shit

small (mainly vent) posts that come out of nowhere - #ignore my rambling

big long vent posts - #mee's public diary

random 'chapter' names based on experiences - #life chapters

pjo tag - #percy jackass

may add more over time

DNI

racists, pedophiles, z00philes, porn blogs

if you hate on therians/furries, LGBTQ+, other religions, and don't respect them then this isn't a place for you

this is meant to be a safe place

names of people i talk about!

evan - @moonysfavoritetoast

ace/mercury - @amg2/@dmg10

alex to the power of r (attpor) - irl alex from school (he/him)

apollo - usually my dad

dragon/🐉 - my stepmom

mr mystery - my soc studies/web teacher

ms kopykat - last year's ela teacher

mrs dodds - last year's math teacher (very fitting)

mr skeleton - last year's science teacher

mr margarine/margarita - last year's soc. studies teacher

mr sharpie - my second band teacher

mama - my sixth grade teacher

kitty kat/katlynn/kat - main book character from a book i wrote

peyton - a former-friend of kat

alex to the power of b - alex from my book

sam/sammy baby - another friend of kat

jazon - zombie from my book

haley - a more childer child from my book

where else am i?

my youtube

my tiktok*

*tiktok is mee.realsssss it wont let me put link

pintrest (almost never active)

old intro here

[knowledge-paradox]

MY AMREV CHARACTERS MASTER POST!!

there has been an issue with links, I'm sorry if some posts aren't visible but I'm working on it!! most of the stuff has been recovered

this is not the most clean thing, I've published some lore already and I'll try to order it up + adding some stuff I never posted

[DISCLAIMER: most of this comes directly from my google documents and It might be a little confusing in some ways as I did some minor changes(such as dates), feel free to ask if you're confused!!]

Last update: 11 Oct.

FIRST OF ALL

the Tusco family tree that isn't an actual family tree + most recent design (younger ver)

Giovanni Tusco lore

soldier poet king

Matteo Giovanni Tusco

[fights in the war]

30th January 1754

Italian

Languages: English, Italian , French

fun facts: He is ambidextrous and used to write with his left land; Not that good at English at first ; better at close combat than with guns (can't see too well)

Born in Italy and firstborn, Matteo is son of the lawyer Giovanni Tusco and an unknown mother who dies from illness when he's 3. In the same year his father remarries to a German woman named Benedetta ‘Keller’ Tusco and the family moves to America when the boy is four and in 1758 Matteo's half sister Marinella is born.

Matteo grows up educated by his father, frequenting public school until he's 14 where he's introduced to private teaching. The boy grows distant from the female part of his family, never forming a bond with his sister or his dad's spouse, instead focusing only on his studies — he wouldn't have an option anyway —.

When he turns 18, in 1772, he finally gains some freedom, his father gives him the opportunity to study literature in Venice — city where Giovanni was born and raised as well as Matteo— and the boy takes it immediately.

There he meets Dante, a one year younger boy raised without an actual family and no proper surname. The two bond during their stays and eventually fall head over heels for each other. They buy a house near the college together and live undisturbed for a while. In 1773 Matteo receives the news from his sister that their father has died, the boy doesn't bother to leave and instead keeps on with his studies until March 1774, when he and Dante are reported by neighbors for suspicion of sodomy. Matteo takes the safe route and runs back to America, meanwhile Dante decides to stay and face the accusations.

Matteo arrives back in New York in April, and although with disapproval from his still 15 year old sister, he is welcomed back into the family. He starts working at a pub with Marinella — the pub being a ‘inherited gift’ from their aunt Lucia De Salvo — and the two, plus Marinella's mother, live in a really poor state for the next two years. In February 1776, right after Matteo's birthday, the man leaves for the army without warning except a very short letter.

In March of 1777 he gets shot in the arm and finds out about his sister's job as a nurse in camp.

In winter of 1778 he gets lost and injured during a snowstorm and found by the redcoats ( specifically Freddie ) and finds himself in the enemy's camp for a short period of time to recover just to run back to the continental army right after.

In the battle of Yorktown in 1781, he is caught in an explosion, his left leg ends up getting amputated and he leaves the army right after this incident.

Matteo related posts:

character sheet

pre war Italy years

small brainrot + family relationship(kind of)

glass closet???

reminder of his mother

more trauma 🥰

like father (almost)like son

MORE CHILDHOOD TRAUMA

(unhealthy) coping mechanism🔥🔥🔥

Marinella Rosa Tusco

[fights in the war]

3rd October 1758

Italian

Languages: English , Italian and a little of German (taught by her mother)

Fun facts: Never learned to write or read properly (her father never allowed her); can sew pretty decently

Born in America and second child of the family. Marinella is daughter of Giovanni Tusco and Benedetta Tusco.

The girl is mainly raised by the last, the German mother educating her as much as she can. Marinella never learned how to write or read, that was a job her father should have taken but he was too busy with Marinella's older brother Matteo.

The girl is mostly in the house, she has more liberty to leave than her brother but still refuses to go anywhere by herself.

Marinella learns how to sew at 10, making her own dresses — nothing particularly elegant or at the level of their social status but she has to work with what she has — and dreams to become a tailor.

She takes care of the house when Matteo is in Italy, as her mother is getting sicker and her father has to work. When her father dies of sickness in 1773 she showed to the funeral for both her and Matteo — who didn't care to come back or reply to her letter —

In 1774 Matteo comes back from Italy and Marinella swallows the hatred for the man, both work at the bar until Matteo leaves to join the continental army in 1776. Marinella stays home to take care of her sick mother and works by herself.

After Benedetta's funeral in 1777, Marinella leaves and joins the continental army as a nurse in June where she reunites with Matteo, which doesn't take her presence nicely.

The girl makes herself useful in the army as much as she can, mainly working as a nurse and sewing soldiers’ uniforms.

After her brother's disappearance in January 1778, Marinella finds herself getting sick and lacking sleep. The girl keeps working until February where she almost dies.

Marinella leaves the army soon after Matteo does.

More related posts:

character sheet

clothes ramble

character development questions

the war

health

replacement brother

Luca De Salvo

[fights in the war]

5th March 1752

Italian

Languages: Spanish, a little of French, English

fun facts: his right leg limps slightly, but he's really good at hiding it; has a birthmark in his back

The boy grows up in London, he studies in private schools and after graduating he works as a writer. In 1771 he meets a woman named Abigail Clasby at a ball, and after he grows a hatred for her — and the usual misogynistic ideals he was raised mixed together don't make it better — he finds out he will be arranged into marriage with her, which happens in August 1772.

He leaves for the British army immediately after he finds out Abigail is pregnant.

During his time he meets David ( @laurenshamiltonjr ) which he develops ‘unwanted’ feelings for and has an affair with.

He breaks his leg in November 1778 after he loses control of his horse and he's unable to fight for a month.

In the battle of Yorktown, he gets shot in the neck by Matteo, leading to his death.

character sheet

overall personality

Luca's downfall

Last goodbyes + letter (and analysis)

letters to Abigail [1] - [2]

gay awakening

Dante Da Genova

[doesn't fight in the war]

19th February 1755

Italian

Languages: Italian, French and English

fun fact: he has a curved back from his constant study and work, despite that he has a wonderful eyesight; has hyperphantasia

Sent in Italy when he was a baby and raised by an 'adoptive' family.

The boy is taught by his mentor, an old french man who was paid to take care of the boy.

Dante lives his life in Genoa until he's 17, when his mentor decided he might as well study literature in one of the best schools in Venice and sends him to college.

The boy meets Matteo during his first year and the two bond very quickly and fall for each other, they start to live together and everything goes well until the couple is suspected of sodomy. To the news Matteo leaves for America meanwhile Dante insists on staying, he gets arrested but he's soon saved by his mentor, which manages to get him out and forces him to go back and study in Genoa.

He sends letters to Matteo until 1778, when his mentor finally recognizes the boy's talent in art and decides to move back to France, giving the boy an opportunity.

After his mentor dies in 1780, Dante finds letters from his — presumably — biological mother, and when he finds out that Matteo came out from the army injured in 1781 he immediately packs everything and visits him to America.

He also visits Scotland to meet the presumable family he is related to in 1783, where he meets his half brother that goes by Frederick Kenneth ( @lil-gae-disaster )

character sheet

A little bit more about his relationship with his family + post war refs

Dante's last letter to Matteo

More post war stuff

Visit in 1786

Visit in 1795

Tusco-Maiella Siblings

Daniele Tusco

[fights in the war]

August 29th 1751, son of Andrea Tusco.

Speaks: English and Italian

He's the oldest of the siblings and the one who decided to follow his father's steps, but instead of joining the red coats undercovered he directly joins the continental army, involving his siblings into his plan.

Nicolas Maiella

[fights in the war]

June 24th 1754, son of Bartolomeo Maiella.

Speaks: English, French and some Italian

He's the middle child of the family, the considered second golden child of his family as Daniele refused to fall into his parents’ beliefs.

Nico follows his parents ideals until a certain point, he then discovers the world of theater and changes his vision of the world. His parents refuse to support his career but he doesn't care. He joins Daniele undercovered as a red coat to help the continental army while working as an officer in York City.

Philip Andrew Maiella

[doesn't fight in the war]

December 1st 1756, son of Bartolomeo Maiella.

Speaks: English and French

He's the youngest of the family, only hope of his parents to follow a good career, he gets educated in complete isolation from his brothers until he's 17, then he decides to move away from his family in London, instead finding a job in New York with the local newspaper.

He gets involved into Daniele's plan, not wanting to feel the possible consequences he decides to work as an inside spy, doing his best to erase any trace that could lead to him. He doesn't really care about the war, he's mostly moved by his own morals.

character sheet

Nicolas ramble

Philomena Owen Conaire

[fights in the war]

8th May 1757.

Irish

Languages: English n Irish

fun facts: he doesn't know how to write or read; was born intersex.

He was quickly taken away from his other twin when he was a newborn and raised by his father Kenan Conaire. The man, being the son of a family of hunters, came back to his roots as one.

When Owen is old enough (around 12) the father starts to bring the boy with him during hunts, teaching him the essentials and to hide from danger.

In 1773 his father was arrested by British cops for illegal trafficking and poaching. The boy, who managed to hide from the red coats, has lost himself in the woods and ran away.

Owen learns to live in the woods for a long time, he doesn't know how to insert himself into society so he stays away from it yet still trading what he can whenever he finds a city.

He gets found by red coats in 1777 as he accidentally stomps into a camp. He's basically forced to join said camp as a soldier and food gatherer, he doesn't hide his unhappiness of this though.

He runs away from said camp in 1779.

Around that time he meets Daniele Tusco, who convinces the boy to join the continental army and avenge his (dead? who knows) father.

character sheet

[I'll add more stuff eventually]

[ironychan]

Scary Monsters

@dysphoria-sweatshirt @30spiders @sweatersexual @angrylittlesliceofpizza @writer652

Part 1/? - Rocco’s Closet

Part 2/? - School for Monsters

Part 3/? - The Waternoose Family

Part 4/? - The Terrifying Humans

Part 5/? - Hiding Places

Part 6/? - Nobody’s Fault

Part 7/? - Edge of Disaster

Part 8/? - Caged Monsters

Part 9/? - The Journey Home

Part 10/? - Portorosso

Part 11/? - A New Family

Faustina Visconti was in her early forties, with a tower of bottle-blonde hair and a fondness for bright-coloured dresses and deep red lipstick that made many of the more conservative types in Portorosso look askance at her. Giulia had always found her polite but rather condescending, as if she believed Giulia to be only six or seven years old.

Today was no different, as the woman opened the door and smiled down at her guest. “Why, thank you, Giulia,” she said, taking the box of fish from her. “Have they found your little monster friends yet?”

“Yes, Signora Visconti,” Giulia replied. “They're just fine.” Hopefully, she could finish this interaction quickly, before Harry had time to do anything.

“Oh, that's a relief,” said Signora Visconti.

“Yes, it is,” Giulia nodded. “But I've got lots to do today so I can't really stay and chat. I'll...”

It was too late, however. Harry had heard the woman's voice, and abandoned Ercole to his Vespa. He scuttled up next to Giulia and looked at Faustina hopefully.

“Are you Ercole's mom?” he asked.

Giulia held her breath. How would Signora Visconti react? Would she scream, like several others had done? What would Harry do if she did? Would he finally realize he didn't belong here and needed to go home, like Luca and Alberto said?

“Oh, my goodness!” Faustina exclaimed. “What kind of monster are you?”

She was clearly startled, but she did not use the word monster in a pejorative way. As when she'd referred to Luca and Alberto a moment ago, she seemed to use it the way sea monsters used land monster as an alternative word for human, as a way of describing something that was clearly a person but not like themselves.

“This is Harry Waternoose,” said Giulia, trying not to sigh. “He's the kind of monster that hides in little kids' closets.”

“He is?” asked Faustina with a frown. “When Ercole was little he thought he had a monster in his closet, but he grew out of that.”

“I never had a closet,” said Giulia. “Although one of my friends at school used to think he had a monster under his bed. Are there monsters under beds, too?” she asked Harry.

“Of course not,” he replied, “don't be silly.” Harry directed a sharp-toothed smile at Faustina. “I came here with Luca and Alberto. Alberto told me his dad was terrible, so he found a human to be his new dad. My Dad said he'll never be proud of me, so I decided I also needed new parents. Do you want another son?”

“We... we never considered it,” Faustina admitted. “How old are you, Harry?”

“Eleven,” the little monster replied. “I'm in the sixth grade.”

Faustina nodded. “What do you eat?” she asked.

“Candy,” Harry said immediately.

“He seems to eat whatever we eat,” Giulia said, not about to let Harry get away with that.

Ercole had made sure his Vespa was safe, and now came up the path to see what was going on.

“Giulia said you're the people in town with the most money,” Harry said, “so I figure you can afford to take in another child.” He did his best to look adorable. Giulia was not convinced.

“Oh... I don't know,” said Faustina. “I'd have to talk to Aristide.”

Giulia's mouth fell open. She wasn't actually considering it, was she?

“Could you please?” asked Harry. “I've been staying with Signor Marcovaldo, but they don't have much room and I don't like to be in the way.”

“I will,” Faustina promised. “Ercole, what would you think of having a little brother?”

“You can't be serious, Mamma!” Ercole protested.

“I always did want a big family, but life has a way of intervening,” Faustina said. “He's a rather cute little fellow, isn't he?”

Harry beamed.

“He's not cute,” said Ercole, disgusted. “He's just a bug.”

“Well, bugs need mothers, too,” said Faustina. “Thank you again, Giulia, and Harry, so nice to have met you! Perhaps you could join us for supper tonight, and we can get to know you.”

“I'd love to!” Harry chirped.

Giulia couldn't believe what she was hearing. “Aren't you having guests?” she asked, pointed to the fish she'd just delivered.

“We've got some people coming in from Milano tomorrow,” Faustina told her, “these are lunch with them. Harry is welcome to come tonight.”

Giulia knew she should just be polite, but she couldn't resist poking at the situation like a loose tooth. “I thought you didn't like sea monsters,” she said. Ercole himself certainly didn't, and his parents had always seemed like they considered sea monsters to be sort of less people than they were... although they did tend to treat everybody else in town the same way.

“They're our neighbours, we're supposed to be polite to them now,” Faustina said firmly. “Anyway, this little fellow isn't quite so... fishy... as the rest. Not so slimy.”

Sea monsters were not slimy. Giulia bristled, but Harry beamed.

“You must be joking!” Ercole protested. “Mamma, look at him, we cannot have him at our table! He looks like an entree! Can you even sit in a chair?” he asked Harry, looking dubiously at his many legs.

“We'll find him some cushions or something,” Faustina decided.

Giulia shook her head. “Come on, Harry, we'll let them argue,” she said. “Let's go see if the boys have gotten anything done.”

Harry fell into step beside her, looking smug. “I was starting to think it was gonna be hard to find a new family. What with everybody here being scared of me, including you.”

“Ercole's not scared of you,” Giulia pointed out. “He just doesn't like you.”

“I think his Mom likes me better than him already,” said Harry.

“That's not hard. Even I like you better than him.”

On their way back over the hill, Giulia counted up the extra money she'd made. It was less than she'd hoped – quite a few people had been in too much of a hurry to escape Harry and hadn't given her a tip. She was pondering how she might earn some more when they spotted Luca and Alberto.

The boys were sitting on the porch of the house belonging to the two old sea monster women, Pinuccia and Concetta Aragosta. They were not working. They were drinking lemonade and eating cookies, and Alberto was stroking one of the women's pet cats.

“Working hard, huh, ragazzi?” Giulia called out to them.

“Hey! We're taking a break!” Alberto informed her.

“They said we should have some lunch, and then we can finish weeding the garden,” Luca explained.

“We'll be able to work even harder after we've had a rest,” Alberto agreed.

Concetta Aragosta opened the door and waved to Giulia. “Won't you join us, dear?”

Giulia hopped the low stone wall and headed in. Harry scurried after her, and she wondered if the women would cry out. Scares weren't supposed to be good for older people were they? What if one of them had a heart attack? Fortunately, however, they didn't seem startled at all.

“This must be your friend from that other world,” Concetta observed. “Enrico, wasn't it?”

“Call me Harry,” the monster boy said. Concetta offered her plate of treats, and Harry stuffed a pizzocato in his mouth. “Guess who's going to have dinner with the Visconti family tonight?” he said as he chewed.

“What?” asked Alberto, spitting crumbs – his mouth, too, was full. “Really?”

“Ercole's Mom thinks he's cute,” said Giulia. She took a cooking for herself.

“Lemonade?” asked Concetta.

Giulia nodded, and made a point of swallowing before she spoke aloud. “Si, grazie.”

“Me, too!” said Harry.

Alberto swallowed his mouthful. “What does Ercole think of this? Or has he met him yet?”

“They've met,” said Giulia.

“He's no problem,” said Harry firmly. He found a padded basket that had been set out for the cats, tipped a sleeping animal out of it, and settled down inside. The orange cat made a startled noise and looked around, not sure what had just happened to it. It turned in a circle, then seemed to forget the whole thing and sat down to wash its face.

“You must not have met him for very long,” said Luca dubiously.

“I can handle him.” Harry was confident.

-

Back at the Pescheria that evening, the kids counted up the money they'd earned. It was enough for two children's tickets, or one adult. If all three were going, they would need more,

“You really want to go on the train, Mom?” Luca tried. “I thought you didn't like things that moved.”

Daniela had never been on a train. She'd ridden in a car exactly once and had felt ill the whole time, but apparently she could not be budged. “I've talked it over with Helena,” she said, “and we've both agreed that you're not going back there without a grownup. She has things to do, so I have volunteered.”

Luca nodded glumly. “Then we're gonna need more money.”

“Maybe we need to check out some of the shipwrecks,” Alberto suggested. “There might be something down there we could still sell.” Most possible salvage had been cleaned out by him and his father over the past ten years, but they couldn't have found everything.

“Or we just need to do another day of work,” sighed Giulia.

Luca shook his head. “The longer it takes, the more likely something awful happens to Louise and the others.”

A clattering on the stairs made them raise their heads. Harry was not built for human-sized stairs, and the ones in the house above the Pescheria were particular steep. He'd nearly slipped, and had finally settled on descending them backwards. The kids watched as he made his way down step by step, and then strutted up to them. Helen had put his sailor suit through the laundry, so it was now clean and white and newly-pressed.

“I'm off to dinner with the Visconti family!” he said cheerfully.

“Good luck with that,” said Alberto.

“Thank you,” Harry replied, smug. He headed out. “I'll be back later, unless they decide to keep me.”

The door closed behind him.

“He's really serious about this,” Daniela observed.

“He is,” agreed Luca, grimacing. “What if they do keep him?”

“They won't,” said Alberto.

“They might,” Giulia warned. “I told you, Ercole's mom thought he was cute, and he was very polite to her. He might pull it off.”

Alberto shrugged. “Then let them have him. He and Ercole deserve each other.”

“That's a really bad idea,” said Luca. “He's not gonna be so cute anymore when he gets older. What if he grows up to be huge and venomous like his dad? He won't fit through doors.”

“I told him about Ercole's reign of terror and he didn't sound like he was worried about it at all,” Giulia said. “He kept saying he would have this town in the palm of hand.”

The boys considered that. Ercole had been bad enough. The idea of somebody taking up a similar type of bullying, while that someone also had sharp teeth and many legs and might grow to be seven or eight feet tall... that didn't bear thinking about.

“There's no way,” Alberto decided. “Once they actually get to know him, they'll realize he's kind of a jerk, and after the way Ercole turned out they won't want another one of those.”

“And he won't want anybody else adopting him because he thinks we're all peasants,” said Giulia with a scowl.

Luca could only hope they were right.

Daniela had other concerns. “How are you going to get into this museum?” she asked, and nodded across the table at Giulia's mother. “Helena said it wasn't open.”

“Not to the public,” said Helena, “but they're doing restoration work, so people are going in and out all the time. The security guards know me,” she added. “Like I said, I've been in there working on the frescoes before. They'd probably let me in.”

“What about the rest of us?” asked Luca.

“Daniela can come with me if I say she's my assistant, but I don't know about you.” Helena pursed her lips, thinking about it. “They won't want children running around.”

“Unless we're there for school!” Luca suggested. “What if we tell them we're doing a school project on the history of the building?”

“It's summer,” Giulia protested.

“But we go back in a couple of months,” said Luca. “I heard some of the older kids get assigned summer projects. Maybe they'll believe we did, too!”

“That might work, but not if it's a surprise,” Helena decided. “I'd have to give them some warning. And now are we going to get Harry in? They probably won't let me take the pram.”

“Do you have something you bring supplies in?” Giulia asked. “Maybe we can hide him in a cart or something.”

“Then there's the question of staying in,” Helena went on. “You'll need to be there at night, because you said when it's night here it's daytime in the monster world. They like to get everybody out by sunset, and they patrol the place at night so they won't have squatters.”

“We'll have to be very careful,” said Luca.

As well as insisting that she accompany the kids, Daniela was also firm about Luca coming back to the house in the bay to have dinner with his family. He grudgingly did so, but afterwards hurried right up onto the land again to talk to his friends. He looked very worried when he did.

“Mom keeps trying to talk me out of it,” he said miserably, sitting in the treehouse between Alberto and Giulia. “She keeps saying that what happened to Louise and Curtis and Sullivan isn't our responsibility, and it's Louise's fault for dragging us out of Rocco's closet in the first place.” He leaned on his knees, face in his hands. “And maybe she's right, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try to help! They wouldn't be in all this trouble if Harry hadn't slammed the door on them!”

“We could just sneak away without her,” Alberto suggested.

“No way. She'd be so mad,” said Luca. “She'd send me to the Deep, or at least never let me go back to school again.” He sighed heavily. “Where's Harry? Is he still at Ercole's?”

“I guess so,” said Giulia with a shrug. He was taking an awfully long time about it, wasn't he?

“I wonder how dinner went.” Alberto snickered as he pictured it. “Him and Ercole probably fought the whole time. They're too much the same to get along.”

That was when the door in the yard below them opened, and Massimo leaned out of it to look up at them. “Bambini,” he said, “Signora Marsigliese says you have a telephone call.”

“What? All of us?” asked Albert, startled. The only time anyone ever asked for him on the telephone was when Luca and Giulia called from school.

“Yes,” said Massimo.

The kids exchanged some confused looks, then climbed down the ladder to meet Signora Marsigliese, who was at the front door. “It's your friend the crab,” she told them. “He wants to speak to you.”

Confused, the kids trooped across the piazza to the grocery shop, where the nearest telephone was. All sorts of possibilities were running through Luca's mind. Maybe Harry was hurt or in some other trouble and needed them to come rescue him. Maybe Ercole or even his father had tried to harm him. Whatever it was, Luca was pretty sure it would make this situation worse.

Signora Marsigliese handed him the phone receiver, and he put it to his ear and said, “hello?”

“Hi!” said Harry. “I'm calling to tell you they're keeping me. I told you they would! Ercole and his Dad are a little scared of me, but that's okay because it means I'll get my way.”

“Really?” asked Luca. That was better than Harry being lost or hurt, but still made for an awful feeling in the pit of Luca's stomach. They couldn't just let this happen... could they?

“Yep! Mrs. Visconti says I'm a nice young man, and Mr. Visconti says he can't deny her anything and it's not the weirdest pet he's seen!” Harry sounded very proud of himself. “And Ercole complained a lot, but it's not his house!”

“What about your own Mom and Dad?” Luca tried. “I mean... you're really never gonna see them again?”

“Nope!” said Harry. “Tell them I've found better parents in the human world – and make sure you tell my Dad that they're gonna be proud of me!”

Luca had his doubts about that. “Uh... okay,” he said. “If you change your mind, let us know. It's gonna take another day for us to earn enough money for that train trip, so if you...”

“I won't,” said Harry, and then his voie became muffled and Luca heard him call, “hey! New Mom! They need some money for the train – can we give them some?”

They couldn't hear Faustina Visconti's reply, but a moment later Harry spoke again.

“Yeah, my new Mom will hire you to pick some grapes tomorrow morning,” Harry said.

That made Luca stop and think for a moment. He knew that Alberto had done chores for the Visconti family before, and they paid very well because they wanted to continue being thought of as 'the rich people' even if that wasn't strictly true. Surely picking grapes for Signora Visconti would get them enough money plus a little extra.

“What's going on?” asked Alberto.

“Harry says Signora Visconti will pay us to pick grapes,” said Luca.

“Oh,” said Alberto, weighing up the pros and cons. The Viscontis did pay well, but then, Ercole was always around to be a pain. “Is it worth it, though?”

“Yes,” Luca insisted. “We need to rescue Louise and Curtis!”

Alberto made a terrible face, and looked at Giulia for a third opinion.

“We have to do it,” she said. “Harry doesn't belong here. We need to get him to go back to his world and we're not going to convince him over the phone. We'll have to go see him anyway, so we might as well earn some money.”

Alberto groaned.

Luca uncovered the mouthpiece of the telephone. “Okay,” he said, “we'll be there first thing tomorrow morning.”

“I'll tell my new Mom!” said Harry cheerfully. “Good night! Or... how do you say it here? Bwana naughty!”

“Good night, Harry,” sighed Luca.

-

The next morning, bright and early, Luca headed back to land. He and his friends put on work clothes, then headed over the hill to the Visconti vineyards. None of them were very enthusiastic about it. Alberto grumbled to himself the whole way, and Giulia knocked on the back door of the big house, where she'd delivered her fish yesterday, as if expecting bad news. They were worried it would be Harry himself who answered, but instead it was Faustina, with a smile on her face.

“Oh, Harry's little friends!” she said brightly. “He told me you'd stop by today. I'm going to have you bring in some of the Bosco that have ripened early. You'll want to be careful not to bruise them.”

“Yes, Signora Visconti,” Giulia replied, polite. Luca nodded. Alberto just grunted.

“Follow me!” said Faustina.

She led them up to the section of the vineyard where they'd be working, on an east-facing hillside to catch the rising sun, and provided them with baskets and clippers. All three kids had picked grapes before, and knew the proper way to do it – cut down the whole bunch and lay them carefully in the basket so as not to damage the delicate flesh. Alberto had once tried to eat a few, but had found them so sickly sweet he'd had to spit them out. When she'd finished laughing at him, Giulia had explained that wine grapes had much more sugar than food grapes, to help the juice ferment.

Faustina left them to their work, and for a little while it was quite pleasant. The shadows cast by the vines on the trellises kept them cool, as did the nice morning breeze, and they were far enough from the house that neither Ercole nor Harry could watch them. Of course, that would not keep.

Harry was the first to arrive. He was carrying a big pillow and a glass of lemonade, and wearing a pair of sunglasses that he was having trouble keeping in place because he had neither a nose nor ears. Without any sort of greeting, he shook his pillow a bit to fluff it up, then sat down on it and sipped his lemonade through a straw.

The kids continued to work, waiting for Harry to say something, but he remained silent except for the slurping sounds as he drank. He seemed content to watch and know that they were working and he was not, which in his mind was apparently how the world was supposed to be.

“You're not gonna make your new parents proud by just sitting there,” Alberto said eventually.

“I'm supervising,” said Harry. “I'm making sure you're not slacking off. I wouldn't want my new Mom to pay you for doing nothing.”

“What happens when you get bored?” asked Giulia.

“I have a magazine.” Harry held it up.

“Can you even read it?” asked Alberto. He still found reading difficult, although he'd gotten much better at it with the incentive of understanding Luca's letters from school.

“Of course I can,” said Harry. He opened it and pretended to examine the pages, perhaps unaware that it was upside-down.

Giulia rolled her eyes and moved closer to the boys. “How are we gonna convince him?” she whispered.

“I have an idea,” said Alberto. He stopped and stretched before resuming his grape-picking. “Man,” he said, “now I wish I'd taken one of those eyeball pops! I guess if you're staying here, I'll never get another chance.”

“You're right,” Luca joined in. “They had some really strange food in the other world, Giulia, like the three-eyed fish.”

“He mentioned the three-eyed fish,” Giulia said, nodding.

“Some of them have four or five eyes,” said Harry. “The four-eyed ones are always the most delicious.”

“There aren't any four-eyed fish here,” Luca said, “only the two-eyed ones.”

“What a shame,” said Alberto.

They glanced over at Harry. He was watching them over the top of his magazine.

“You really want to live here where you'll never have a four-eyed fish for dinner again?” Alberto asked.

Harry pushed his sunglasses back into place. “You just want to get rid of me,” he accused.

Giulia decided to try honesty. “You don't belong here, Harry. There are no other people like you in this world. Sooner or later you're going to want to go back.”

“They don't,” said Harry, pointing to the boys.

“We are back, though,” said Luca. “I live with my family underwater during the summer, remember? And even if Alberto lives most of the time with humans, there are still lots of sea monsters around here so if he has a problem the humans can't help him with, there's somebody nearby who does. What if you get hurt or sick, and the doctor doesn't know what to do about it?”

“I'll be fine,” Harry insisted. “I'd rather have a Dad who'll be proud of me.”

“Has Signor Visconti said he'll be proud of you?” asked Alberto. He'd only met Aristide Visconti a couple of times, and he'd always seemed to be arguing with Ercole, not proud of him.

“He bragged about how his other son won the Portorosso Cup race five times,” said Harry. “I can do that, no problem.”

“He only won because he cheated!” Alberto protested.

“And you'd need a team to do that, because you can't ride a bike,” Giulia said, bristling.

“I'll figure it out,” Harry vowed.

The conversation was cut off then, as Faustina Visconti arrived with a picnic basket. “How's everybody doing?” she asked. “Oh, looks like you've made wonderful progress! And you're so gentle with them, that's lovely.”

“I've been supervising,” said Harry. “I'm making sure they do it right.”

The other kids glared at him.

Faustina set down her basket and began unfolding a blanket. “I've made you some lunch. Why don't we all take a bit of a break? Ercole!” she called over her shoulder.

“I'm coming, Mamma!” came Ercole's voice.

He arrived a moment later with a second basket, and helped his mother to lay out a torta di verde with stuffed artichokes, fresh bread, and fruit from the garden. Luca, Alberto, and Giulia came and sat down while Faustina passed out food and offered each child a very small glass of wine.

“This is what we make from the grapes you're picking,” she said proudly. “Our Bosco.”

Alberto and Luca sipped it carefully, to be polite. Neither of the boys particularly liked wine, finding it tasted quite sharp even when the humans promised it would be sweet. Giulia tried it and smiled. Harry and Ercole both swirled and sniffed it in the way they'd seen adults do, trying to appear refined. Giulia was about to say something to tease Harry about this, but Harry himself spoke first.

“Are we billing them for this?” he asked.

“Billing them?” Faustina echoed, confused.

“Yes. At the factory, if employees don't bring their own lunch, they have to get it from the cafeteria,” Harry explained. “We take it off their paycheques.”

“Don't be silly,” said Faustina. “We want them to come back and work for us again sometime, don't we? We're going to be welcoming. It's not as if we can't afford it. Would you children like some soda pop?”

“Yes, please!” said Luca and Alberto eagerly. They liked that much better than wine.

Faustina pulled out the bottles and opened them, while Harry sat there, looking surprised but thoughtful.

They finished up with tangerines for dessert, and then Faustina directed Harry and Ercole to help her bring the grapes already picked back to the house. Harry, with his low-slung, wide-set body, was able to heft one and carry it along mere inches above the ground, which Faustina told him was very good. He grinned toothily at the other kids before scuttling away.

“Ercole, try to be very careful, could you?” she asked. She took one basket in each arm, balancing them on her hips, and followed Harry.

Ercole was in the middle of lifting one, but he didn't straighten up. Instead, he waited until his mother and new adoptive brother had vanished between the vines before putting the basket down and gesturing for Luca, Alberto, and Giulia to come closer.

“You have to get rid of him,” he ordered them.

“Why should we?” asked Alberto, who had strong feelings about Harry returning to his own world, but possibly even stronger ones about Ercole suffering inconvenience.

“Because Mamma treats him like one of her precious Bologneses!” said Ercole, referring to the two small dogs Faustina doted upon. “It makes me sick. And they let him sleep in my room. I woke up in the middle of last night and he was three centimetres from my face! I screamed, and he laughed at me!”

Giulia snickered.

Ercole glared at her. “Besides, he's already planning to enter the race this year, and neither of us need more competition.”

“You don't have to worry about it, because you're too old to enter,” Giulia pointed out.

“We agree he needs to go back,” Luca put in, before an argument could develop. “He's going to grow up to be really big and he'll probably bully everybody, but what are we supposed to do? We already tried to talk him out of it, but he doesn't want to go back.”

“Then you have to make him,” Ercole insisted. “How do you get back to that monster world?”

“We've got a plan,” said Alberto.

“We're going back to Genova tonight, we hope,” said Luca. “We can do it from there.”

“Good,” said Ercole. “The last train leaves late, like nine o'clock, right? So after we go to bed, I will let you into the house, and you can grab him and take him with you.”

“Like... kidnap him?” Giulia was startled.

“Yes,” said Ercole. “But you'll have to gag him first or he'll yell, like he did when one of the employee's children put a spider down his back.” He snorted. “I don't know why he shoudl be afraid of spiders. He's more likely to be mistaken for one. Mamma scolded the other child terribly.” He scowled. “She used to do that when people were nasty to me.”

“Ohhh,” said Giulia. She grinned. “You want to be the baby again.”

“I am not a baby!” huffed Ercole.

“Yeah, but you're your Mom's baby!” Alberto said.

Ercole pouted. “She used to say I always would be. Then she got the dogs. And now this.”

Giulia nodded – although she couldn't help but wonder what Ercole had done to try to get rid of the dogs when they'd first arrived. There must have been something. “Okay, ragazzi,” she said to her friends. “We'll come back after dark with the pram, and tie him up and put him in that.”

“We should probably trap him in a net,” said Alberto. “That way it'll tangle up all his legs and we won't have to do them one by one.” He knew from unpleasant experience that escaping from a fishing net was harder than it looked.

“We've got lots of nets,” said Giulia. “All right – we'll come get him tonight after bedtime.” She offered Ercole a hand.

He took it as if it were a dead fish, and gave it one quick shake. “I hate having to make a deal with you,” he said, “but I must think about my own future.”

“Don't worry, we don't like making a deal with you either,” said Alberto.

“But we've got a lot of people to think about,” Luca agreed.

[absquatulatexyaryan]

︵‿୨♡ Ｈｉｇａｎｂａｎａ ♡୧‿︵

Paring: Hyuga Norisha x OC

Genre: Fluff, Romance, Friendship, Action, Tragedy, Slice of Life, Light Mature(mention of blood, fight scenes and swearing) {P.S No Smut}

.........................................................................

Chapter 3 (Part 2):

"I'll wire you some pocket money. Eat delicious meal with your friends, okay and you better drink moderately or else I'll wack you up." Seira gestured with her closed fist as if she was about to smack him, causing Chiharu to close his eyes and shrink, but instead, he felt his Nee-chan tenderly patting his cheek fondly. Chiharu leaned in to feel her tender touch while holding her hand. She was well aware that her Chi had grown up, but she couldn't resist but codle him. She just couldn't stop pampering her youngest and only cousin. Chiharu, on the other hand, felt like he was back as the four-year-old who used to cling to his Nee-chan, and he was loving every minute of it. Seira's icy hand caused him to look at her with concern. But he recalled Seira's hand being cold even in the summer when they were younger, so he brushed it off. "I'll stop by the house tomorrow. You better take care of your health or I am telling on you to Kiyato-nii and Damien-san!" Chiharu said playful yet sternly making Seira chuckle. "Fine, I will. Drop by tomorrow and I'll cook you a delicious meal. Go back home safely. Drive safely I know you have been driving a motorcycle lately. Text me when you reach home okay." Seira remarked, ruffling his hair and making him whine. "Wait a second. How did you know I drive a motorbike?" Chiharu asked confused as he set his messy hair back in his place. "Shin and Kian told me." Seira said with a smile. "Shin and Kian!?? So that means they have been working for you?" Chiharu exclaimed, surprised. The rest were taken aback by the revelation.

"Yes.They are staying with me and are working for me. The boys have told me a lot about you all, haha." Seira told them with a smile. "What a small world! Shin and Kian are Chiharu's good friends, so they frequently visit the diner. But then they stopped coming. We all became concerned, but one day they came by my garage on a bike and told me that they had gotten a wonderful job, that it paid well, and that they had a house to live in. In fact, they said that their boss is like their Nee-san. So they were referring to you!" Yamato exclaimed joining dot and dot. "Haha, yes. The two are staying with me." Seira said confirming what Yamato said. "You mean that motorbike is yours!??" Dan asked, moving closer to Seira. "It was my Grandpa's but now I'll drive it or sometimes my car." Seira said with a gentle smile. "Can I ride it sometime?" Dan asked as if he were a child eager to get his favourite candy. Tetsu had the same look in his eyes as well. Chiharu and Seira exchanged glances before bursting out laughing. "I'll gladly let you." Seira said kindly as Dan and Tetsu gave each other a hearty high-five. " Thank you for looking out for Shin and Kian. I heard they start school at Oya High next week, isn't it? If it's too hard on you let us know we will work something out." Cobra said politely, hands in his pocket. "There's nothing to be thankful for. I'm confident I won't need any help, especially with those two kids." Seira remarked as she smiled at him and the others.

"Ah! Before leaving can I click a picture of you all with the painting?" Seira questioned, a beautiful smile on her face. "Sure!" Naomi said as they all posed as Seira clicked their picture. "That is an extremely expensive vintage camera! Where did you get it!" Tetsu exclaimed as he approached Seira, peering excitedly at the camera. "This camera belonged to my mother. Before we moved away, my Grandpa gave it to her. Then, when I was in high school, my mother gave me the camera." Seira explained with a warm smile. Before Tetsu could say anything else, Dan grabbed him by the collar and hit him in the back of the head, asking him to apologise for going too close to her. "Please come over to my house for dinner. I would be delighted to treat you all. Chi make sure you bring them over sometime." Seira stated as Chiharu nodded joyfully, while the others grinned and said they'd stop by. After saying their goodbyes she sees them off. Looking at Chiharu and his friend leave, Seira noticed how radiant Chiharu was, something she hadn't seen or heard in him in years, and she felt a tightening in her chest. "How am I supposed to tell him I don't have much time on my hands." Seira said barely audible, her voice broken with sadness, as she wiped the tears that finally fell quickly as she gazed at the picture in her hand and then headed inside.

Makio, who saw them come out, handed them the pamphlet."Met your Nee-chan?"Makio asked Chiharu, who gave her a big smile and nodded. "Good! All of you do come and visit her shop. You all will love it. The opening is in two days." Makio said to everyone before turning to face her old friend. "Of course, We'll come for the opening." Naomi exclaimed, then looked at Yamato, who nodded and smiled at his lover. As they leave the stall, they all begin to make their way towards the food stalls. "Chiharu! How old is your sister?" Tettsu asked as he walked backwards, hands in his pocket. "Nee-chan will turn 26 in two months. She and I have a three-year gap and with Kiyato-nii it's an eight-year gap." Chiharu replied with a smile, looking at Tetsu, who nodded happily. "Is she by chance married to that Damien person?" Dan asked curiously. " No! Nee-chan isn't married. Damien-san is our brother-in-law. He is married to Kiyato-nii, Nee-chan's older brother who's also my eldest cousin." Chiharu explained as they continued to walk. "Ziven is their son and our nephew. He's five years old." Chiharu smiled as he showed them a family portrait of Seira, Kiyato, Damien, and Ziven. "This Damien guy looks so intimating, doesn't he Cobra?" Dan asked zooming at Damien's face. Cobra silently observed. Damien did appear menacing, and the aura itself ruled out a significant aura from the picture itself. "I'd say Damien-san is intimidating and gives off a dangerous vibe, but Kiyato-nii is equally so. Kiyato-nii has had extensive Kenjutsu training and is a licenced arm user. He owns one of Singapore's largest law firms. I've heard that Kiyato-nii's firm has a worldwide reputation. While Damien-san is a successful tycoon. He is not only well-known but also considered one of the world's most powerful and respected tycoons." Chiharu exclaimed proudly. "And what about your Nee-chan?" Tetsu asked, "She has professional training in not only Kenjutsu, but also aikido, judo, karate, boxing, and gymnastics. She had to drop out from continuing her dream because she suffered a major injury in one of the competitions. Had she not been injured, she would have participated in international tournaments." Chiharu explained. They all gazed at Chiharu, who had a bittersweet smile on his face.

"Ahem, so what does she do now?" Painting?" Yamato questioned slightly brushing his nose. " As far as I remember, she did attend art school in New York. But Nee-chan never revealed what she does for a living. I did often hear from Kiyato-nii that Nee-chan would be out travelling. I've heard she's been almost everywhere in the world." Chiharu said with a smile. "Is there anything specific she likes? It would be helpful to bring her something when we go for her shop's opening." Naomi said smiling. " Hmm, anything Nee-chan likes? Ah! Yes, she loves flowers and has a sweet tooth just like Cobra-san!" Chiharu exclaimed making Cobra give him a deadpan look as the rest exchanged glances then bursting into fits of laughter. Everyone in the Sannoh Squad knew how much Cobra enjoyed eating cupcakes and how obsessed he was with them.

Shaking his head in annoyance, Cobra walked ahead of them, making Tetsu, Dan, and Chiharu giggle as they caught up to him. Yamato looked at them smiling, shaking his head at their antics, and then at Naomi, who appeared to be thinking deeply. "What are you thinking about?" Yamato asked, affectionately gazing at his girlfriend while holding her free hand and interlocking their fingers. "Her hands were too cold. It worries me." Naomi said, her expression filled with concern as she looked at Yamato. "Perhaps she has cold hands. Some people naturally have it. You're worrying too much, my love." Yamato said as he brought their intertwined hands close to his lips and placed a loving kiss on her knuckles making Naomi giggle. "I want to get close to her. She seems to be a genuinely nice person." Naomi said with a smile. "Indeed she does and when we go to the shop's opening you can get to know her more." Yamato said with an infectious smile as the two walked hand in hand.

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{A.N: Whole Chapter 3 is finally out!! I hope you all enjoyed reading it! Please support this fanfiction a lot!Notes, Comments and Reblogs are appreciated! I'll see you in the next chapter. Until then stay healthy and happy!}

Copyright: All Rights Reserved @𝚊𝚋𝚜𝚚𝚞𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚡𝚢𝚊𝚛𝚢𝚊𝚗

[ NOTE: The plot, picture edits and the original characters in this fanfiction belong to me. All the credit for the high and low characters and other reference pictures goes to the original owner.]

{ P.S: Thank you for Notes, Reblogs and Follow P.S.S: If you'd like to be tagged under the post for the update of the new chapter. Kindly comment below this post and I'll tag you in further chapters.}

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[klaineccfanficlibrary]

I was so close to a full bingo.

1. Express Yourself by esperantoauthor​

2. Lost Boy by myownpatronus my-own-patronus

3. Miles To Go by hundredindecisions thnxforknowingme​

4. A “Safe” Choice by izwordsoup special-bc-ur-part-of-it​

5. Wild Child by dreamcatcher klainedreams34​

6. TBA

7. Scenes from December by spaceorphan spaceorphan18​

8. My Heart, It Pounds, Yeah You Got Me by nineofhearts nineofhearts4​

9. Plucking Daisy Petals by hundredindecisions thnxforknowingme​, although I am not sure if it counts, since it isn’t a Klaine fic but it is Klaine-adjacent? But uh, it is Blaine/Quinn, hence the whole “Genre/Trope I don’t normally read”. If it doesn’t count, that’s fine and y’all don’t have to add it to the collection.

Klaine Bingo 2023 - last day of bingo cards! Thank you for this Anon. ~Jen

1. Debut fic: Express Yourself by @esperantoauthor

When he was 4, he didn’t notice it. When he was 6, he hoped he could outgrow it. When he was 14 he thought he could ignore it. When he was 16, he tried hide it.

When Blaine is attacked for being different, he transfers to a new school where he meets a cadre of misfits called The New Directions, who seem very impressed with his singing and very curious about his past. Blaine just wanted to fit in but maybe he will find something better: his voice.

[A canon-divergent story in which Blaine transferred to McKinley rather than Dalton after being attacked at his old school.]

2. Page turner fic: Lost Boy by myownpatronus

On September 20, 1999, Pam and James Anderson's world was shattered when their youngest son, Blaine, was abducted from a local park. Twelve years later, after pain, healing, and tireless searching, the family is reunited in a most unexpected way. But the boy who comes home to them isn't the same one they lost so long ago. Each member of the Anderson family has to learn to change and grow together as a lost boy is found once more.

3.Fanfic that made you reach for a box of tissues: Miles To Go by hundredindecisions @thnxforknowingme

In the wake of Finn’s death, Kurt struggles to keep up with schoolwork at NYADA or engage with his life in general. He finally finds purpose again when he decides to spend the summer venturing west, to scatter Finn’s ashes in the Pacific Ocean. The road trip is long and lonely and challenging, but Kurt’s luck starts to turn around when he meets a handsome man named Blaine, who’s heading to California for his own reasons. After crossing paths in Colorado, they decide to travel together. As they get closer to the west coast they start to let down their walls, learning more about each other and revealing what they’re really seeking on this trip.

4. Fanfic where on has an unusual occupation: A “Safe” Choice by izwordsoup @special-bc-ur-part-of-it

This one is already in our list under this category!!

5. Fanfic - wild card/your choice: Wild Child by dreamcatcher @klainedreams34

Tired of his son rebelling against him, Burt Hummel sends Kurt off to boarding school in England, hoping it will straighten him out. There, Kurt makes friends, gets involved in shenanigans, and just maybe finds the boy of his dreams! Heavily based on the movie of the same name!

6. Summer story: TBA

7. Written for a challenge: Scenes from December by @spaceorphan18

An exploration of Kurt's life throughout various Decembers. The story of family and how the definition of family changes over time.

Written for Klaine Advent 2022.

8. Fic that made you laugh out loud: My Heart, It Pounds, Yeah You Got Me by @nineofhearts4​

This one is already in our list under this category!!

9. Genre/trope you wouldn't normally read: Plucking Daisy Petals by hundredindecisions @thnxforknowingme

Blaine Anderson and Quinn Fabray meet during their first year at Yale, and quickly bond over shared experiences. They become best friends, then roommates, and eventually start dating. Blaine cares for Quinn so much, and everyone else thinks they belong together - so it has to be right, doesn't it?

Inspired by Ljubim te by maanorchidee.

This fic is entirely thanks to maanorchidee and her fic Ljubim te, in which Blaine and Quinn are dating before Blaine meets Kurt while in Slovenia. I was super fascinated by the idea of Blaine and Quinn falling into a romantic relationship during college, because they're both so desperate for affection and sort of don't know any better. So Yuè very kindly gave me permission to write a quasi-prequel (and also gave me the idea for the title!). That being said - I created this independently, so it may not entirely line up with the canon of Ljubim te. It's meant to compliment Yuè's story, but her fictional universe is her own, so there may be inconsistencies.

[windalchemist001]

So I don't know if I talked about it yet if the twisted cast meet the next generation but when most don't have trama so like when their tiny little ones 3, 4 and 5 for the first, second and third years

Diasomnia

Since it's just Brigitte she would most likely be riding on the back of a deer or something that takes her to silver while she clings to her stuff animal that her dad gave her. I feel ilia would just cool at her and malleus would be touched that she calls him uncle and she just clings to silver and doesn't seem to be scared of sebek and she just seems rather chill. And so they don't have to worry to much

Ignihyde

Since it's again just meri she might just be found in the green house with a tablet and giggling and playing with flora fairy (boy) and she's giggling ans smiling and showing how she hacked the school system to go on the wolds version of YouTube she was found because she did in fact trip a few things because she is four and ortho is the one who finds her and drags her to her dad because she still has the shroud hair so kind of clear what her blood line is. She just chill and sort of gives spoilers that her parents meet at a con and that they love each ver much but its more ortho dealing with her and idia is just freaking out the whole time.

Pomefiore

Henry is found just sitting in a chair staring blanking at the wall glmices of him be a child Is there but over all just like porcelain doll. It is rather concerning he does respond and interact but only rook and vil seem to notice that the child isn't fully there all the other pomefiore don't notice what so ever and epel doesn't know what is up but know something is up with the boy, over all it is okish

Scarabia

So this one is where we get a older kid watching the babies though not much older since Farah is only nine and she's watching over a five (rotem) and four (chaim) year old. And she is actual very weary of her father and trust Jamil more since he's clearly a viper and thus she knows they are meant to serve her family and while she doesn't remember all her uncles and aunts but it wouldn't be the first time they tried to hurt her or her brother. But over all she doesn't fully trust either of them. And when she gets a chance she does ask Jamil how much does his loyalty cost, for she longs to know how trust worthy he is. Farah holds herself like she believes her mother would and is trying her best to make sure her brother and rotem stay safe since one is her baby brother and the other feels like family. The over all thing would be very tension filled mostly due to Farah and the boys seem alright but when she figures out that kailm is her father she will make sure to ask her father to be kind and playful in the future because for once her baby brother feels loved by their dad and it hurts her to see how happy he is and know that it won't be the same when they get back that it hurts her heart.

Octavinelle

The sad thing is Mona doesn't realize that azul isn't his older self since she mostly sees him via old photos so she sees him and goes to hug azul and refuses to let go. Because it has been a while since she's seen him and she refuses to let go the mini twins are glaring at azul the whole time when their not wobbly on their feet or messing with their uncle and father. Mona is actually very good when it comes to walking and honestly is able to run cicles around the twins and does tease them every once in a while when they try to catch her (when jade or floyd peel her off and before she re attaches to her dad.) She does also tell her dad about all the things she's does and what not but hopes her dad is proud of her. So over the thing is a bit bothersome but over ok

Savanaclaw

Has the oldest of the next generation what with sefu being fifteen, imani is five and her little brother Baraka is two. Also Rama is also five. Since their beast men they would be the small children would figure it out who their dad is so Rama would go to his dad and try to play with him. Sefu would be like "cool dad isn't old... well not an geezer I'm going to go prove how cool I am to him" and than proceed to some how end up on his face after rolling a few times from falling down. Thus waddle to two year old and five year old said five year old going though a backpack to give her eldest brother a bandaid and do her little best to scold him before trying to give him his meds when an alarm goes off and when ruggie starts laughing she goes to scold him for being mean. So imani does her best to keep an eye on both her brothers and after much trouble she does end up napping near Leona. So the whole this is a bit crazy but over all ok

Heartslabyul

Mina being ten is hold Samantha's (three) hand while also holding David who is (months old) followed by Lewis who seems to want to know whats going on. Lewis causes a bunch of trouble to both of his fathers. And mina just talks with her dad and tend to her siblings over all it is 50/50 because mina takes care of her siblings and is pretty good while ace and riddle are tried after running after Lewis

[wine-sluts]

fun fact: i saw the dazai/sushi , chuuya/aku, and dazai/aku tags during my soukoku fic binge and i was initially like what the hell why are they being shipped with CHILDREN and then. and then. a fic happened to mention their ages and

Aku is 2-3 years younger than soukoku.

Sskk have a 2 year age gap. Sushi is 4-5 younger than them.

They're ALL the right age to be in college at the same time. (Soukoku might need to have a year gap or a longer course, but they can.)

The reason why age gaps are frowned upon is because of minors dating adults and maturity levels. For example, a 13 year old dating a 17 year old is weird. Because you've got somebody in elementary school and somebody who's gonna graduate soon, who can drive and understands the world a lot more. Clearly the 17 year old is taking advantage of the 13 year old's innocence. However people judging age gaps in ships has become so rigid that it's ridiculous. I once saw somebody on tik tok dunking on a 20 year old for dating an 18 year old, or a 19 year old dating a 17 year old. It's genuinely insane how people take such small age gaps or a relationship between two consenting adults and dunk on it. When people are grown it's entirely different. Just because Atsushi is naive and kind doesn't change the fact that he's 18, a whole ass adult, and Dazai is only 4 years older than him. Now don't get me wrong, Dazatsu isn't my personal cup of tea as I see them more as mentor/student, but I'm not gonna shit on somebody else's ship when there's nothing wrong with it. If they were in highschool it would be different, but they're literally all adults. People forget that just because the characters may act childish/naive at times, it doesn't change the fact that they're grown. For example in Beast, Dazai is described as boyish and at first glance I thought he was a teenager but nope he's a whole ass 22 year old. Honestly a huge issue in so many fandoms are calling ships that are completely safe if not a little weird 'proships' when there's actually nothing wrong with them. An example of a proship would be Atsushi, 18, dating Kyouka, a minor who's only 14. Or the amount of people I've seen shipping teenage Dazai or even child Dazai with Mori (Yes I have seen that and it fucking disgusts me). But honestly I say have at her when it comes to ships between the young Soukoku generations, cause like you said, they could all be in college at the same time. Honestly I think the college senior/freshmen is a cute trope so I can totally see the appeal.