#adult-child interactions in general honestly

[queen-schadenfreude]

now that I've finished datv.. i have some first pass thoughts

spolers below

first of all why is this game trying so hard to rehabilitate in-universe controversial aspects? I mean like. Slavery in Tevinter. It's swept under the rug with a few lukewarm platitudes and codices about how it's being addressed off-screen. Previous games have established how horrific it is, but the tevinter we see in veilguard doesn't reflect that at all. it feels dismissive of a lot of major setting and character development. Same with the antivan crows! they were described as a brutal, cruel organization but now they're the underdog protectors? Sure, there was family drama and a few mentions of how cut-throat things HAD been before, but we don't get to *see* any of that. illario was weak as an example of this bc he was the only thing to be shown as bad. There's no tangible impact.

it seems like a feeble attempt to make sure the players understand that the writers do not condone the unsavory aspects of the setting and characters, while making everything a Teachable Moment. honestly half of the game felt like a psa on extremely basic ethics, like surface-level shit children already know.

on top of that, idk why the game is trying so hard to therapize the player via companions' emotional journeys. The extremely basic and direct "your feelings matter and it's okay to feel your feelings! " scenarios were so repetitive and cringe. Sesame street level bullshit. am i crazy for expecting a more mature and nuanced approach to emotional struggle??? I swear previous games were better at this

also fuck all of southern thedas, it's cooked. hope yall didn't care!

Anyway.

ive only played through Neve's romance and i chose her bc she talks and acts like an adult and not a flustered teenager like harding, or a quirky mpdg like bellara. I liked it, it was fine. no strong feelings about it tho.

I didnt consider Taash as a romance option bc they act like a petulant child most of the time and that's just not fun for me.. and I don't love that Taash seems more like a prop for Gender Ideology 101 rather than being a fully complex character who is working through a gender identity crisis. I am not trans and cannot fully speak to this but as someone who knows more than the absolute basics of gender ideology, their story felt patronizing.

the boys are... fine, I guess. I wrecked treviso so I think i got locked out of some Lucanis stuff but his possession just isn't as compelling as previous characters who have been possessed. Davrin is fine, inoffensive. Emmerich is funny I do like him, Manfred is delightful.

I played as an elf bc I hoped it'd be extra relevant to the story, what with the Big Bad(s) being evanuris. it didn't matter at all. the crossroads doesn't even look different for an elf character like it did in Trespasser.

I expected everything to drive torward making Solas out to being a Good Guy Actually, and it kind of did. but super aggravating for have phantom varric to say that after being actually murdered by him like damn!! you are just gonna let that guy walk all over you bc yall were friends for a short while a decade ago. Where was that sympathy for Anders??

varric being a figment of rook's imagination the whole time was a fun reveal, tho.

siiigghhh. but listen. there were things I liked about the game, too. the gameplay is fun. the environments are GORGEOUS. the characters look good, i think the art style is fine actually. the character creator is great (except those qunari fiveheads RIP)

a lot of the banter and jokes did genuinely make me laugh, and i did like exploring maps and interacting with the new companions generally.

I havent given a lot of thought to it but I think a lot of the plot-related issues i have could've been solved by just setting the game like, 100 years in the future. All of the questionable and unsavory aspects of the cultures the game tries SO hard to diminish and write off would've had time to be organically rectified in-universe. I guess.

well. whatever.

[geometricfractal]

I helped at a cookie decorating table for kids today. It was a Halloween party. There were pumpkin-shaped cookies. And the whole time, I couldn't stop thinking about that poem I've seen, the one about the little boy who would draw the wildest things, and then he went to school and he was taught to draw the red flower with the green stem. Remember that poem? Yeah.

The adults were obsessed with how these kids were decorating their pumpkin cookies. Constant questions. "You want me to get you the green icing for the stem?" "Oh, don't you want to give it a green stem?" "Here, let me give you a hand with that." Parents looking at their child's orange pumpkin with a green stem and saying "oh, I like the stem!"

No one complimented the ones that were different, the ones that were brown and orange and green frosting mashed together, with sprinkles scattered haphazardly on top. They weren't rude about them, no. But there was very little praise for the artistry of those chaotic cookies. An "oh, look at that, you made an icing pile, you want to eat it?" perhaps. An encouraging voice. But no compliments.

I made a cookie for myself at one point. A brown pumpkin, with an orange stem. I wanted the brown icing, it was chocolate. And the stem...at that point I had heard too many people pushing for the green stem. Maybe I had to prove to myself that I still had my creativity. Maybe I was trying to prove to the kids that they could do it too. They could paint outside the lines. Their cookie didn't have to look like all the others.

Their flower didn't have to be red with a green stem.

[neganium]

augh I tried to draw earlier but wasn't really feeling it? now suddenly after I've already closed the program so that I could maybe play a game for a bit the urge to draw is back. I might even want to do some studies, however that works; what the actual hell??

[sweetadonisbutbetter]

hiii, could i request general blitzø x reader content?? honestly anything, i’m begging for crumbs at this point, there’s like no content for him 😭

OMG YES UGHHHH BLITZø MY BELOVED AUSB i have a few other prompts of him (that aren't ask) and he is jushfgshg i love him reader is implied to be an imp but can be read as any type of hellborn

He makes me laugh | Blitzø x GN!Reader

Relationship: Romantic Warnings: Mentions of NSFW but nothing too serious

Blitzø couldn’t understand how he got so lucky. His tail flicked behind him as he watched you interact with his daughter. Loona, who normally snarled at people to back away, was engaging in a conversation with you about a shared interest. Shockingly she was the main one talking, as you listened. That was possibly his favorite thing about you, that you lent an ear to those who believed that they didn’t have a voice. 

You were his most healthy relationship, by a long shot. Being patient with him, picking up the shattered pieces of his shell,  and helping him back together, no matter how many cuts you received. If he could compare his relationship to anyone, it would be M&M, which was a just compliment in his mind. You looked at him from the corner of your eyes, before smiling at him. 

Blitzø swears that if he was capable, he would have exploded. He let out a soft purr as his tail flicked harder. He was so caught up in staring at your perfectly hand-crafted face, that he didn’t notice that a client had walked in, standing in front of him while waving their hands. It took Loona yelling his name for him to snap out of his thoughts. With a slightly embarrassed look, he took the client into his office. Loona huffed and turned to you.

“Seriously, what do you even see in him?” She asked, propping her paws on the table. She began to scroll on her phone as you plopped right onto the table and looked at the office door, trying to think of a way to answer her question. The real answer was what he didn’t see in him. 

You had met him through horse riding lessons, being the teacher. Though you normally dealt with kids, be it their parents who paid for the lessons or a school trip, there was always the odd adult who wanted to say they rode a horse once in their life. Though Bliztø was far from the regular adults, his excitement reached that of a child. Throughout his lesson, you both talked and it led to him walking away after his lesson, overjoyed to have ridden a horse and your number in his hand. 

Though it took him a couple of days, he did get back to you, inviting you to hang out with him. You agreed, thinking ‘What the hell,’ and gave it a shot. Safe to say, you woke up the next morning sore, and your clothes were everywhere. 

It didn’t take long after that for you to start falling for the imp; however, through the late-night talks you had with him anytime you two either slept with one another or you had a casual sleepover, a relationship was the last thing that he needed. So instead of rushing into one and possibly blowing the thing up, you decided to be his rock, what kept him grounded. By being there for him, you could ensure that he was able to have someone to lean on. While you had no way of knowing if you were truly helping, you could for sure count on his actions to tell you.

It started small, with Blitzø holding your hand when you went you both went out. Then it slowly escalated to small kisses, first being played off as platonic, nights in which you two would just enjoy each other's company and ended with Blitzø asking you out. While your first date with him wasn’t fancy, it was the fact that you and Blitzø had spent the night with each other, cooking and watching movies. Of course, that night there was a serious, yet open and honest conversation about your relationship moving forward. You both had put on the table that you wanted a relationship, however, Blitzø wasn’t entirely sure about the idea of it, given his track record. You were the one to propose an open relationship, which could work with the proper boundaries. Explain it as a way for him to test the waters without necessarily being tied down. He agreed to it, though he was slightly reluctant that he would do something to screw it up.

It had been a couple of years since that conversation, and you both met more people. Blitzø took you to the adoption of Loona, you were the one to break out Blitzø and Moxxie, and you were there when the I.M.P opened for business. Of course, Blitzø had his off days, where he would shut the world off and retreat into himself, but you stayed. You couldn’t leave the very demon that brought you joy and leave the little found family that was started all by him. With your answer, you look back to Loona who was scrolling on her phone. You smiled softly and said,

“He makes me laugh.”

sigh...i love u blitz...wanted to include stolas in this but i have plans for him...

[cheeseanonioncrisps]

So, fun detail I just noticed about Megamind:

Famously, throughout the film Megamind mispronounces certain words, most notably: "hello" ("olo"), "Metro City" ("Metrocity") and "school" ("shool").

Like many fans, I'd attributed this and other oddities— like not knowing what a window is— to his unconventional upbringing and general social isolation. His speech sounds a lot like the way people pronounce words that they've only seen written down, so maybe he just hasn't had enough practice talking to other people out loud.

Lovely theory, very angsty, makes sense that this would be what the film-makers intended.

Except…

You know who doesn't seem to have this problem with pronunciation? And who in fact attempts to correct Megamind's pronunciation of various words more than any other character?

Fucking Minion.

Minion was there for literally every step of Megamind's childhood. They were raised on Earth together and went through seemingly the exact same experiences. Yet somehow Minion came out the other end knowing how to answer the phone and what a window is and why people use codes, while Megamind didn't.

And I am just so fascinated as to why.

Top three theories:

1. Megamind isn't actually mispronouncing words due to lack of practice, but rather for some other reason.

Maybe there's something up with his ability to hear certain sounds, or his alien anatomy makes it harder to pronounce them. Maybe he's neurodivergent (I mean, he definitely is, but maybe that fact is affecting his speech).

2. Megamind is mispronouncing things due to lack of practice, but there's something about Minion that makes him need less practice to pick up new languages.

Possibly as part of their protective role, his species has advanced language acquisition programmed in so they can act as translators. Else, while Minion and Megamind landed on Earth together, it's not 100% clear whether they were actually at the same age/developmental stage when that happened. If Minion was an adult (or older child) when he became fluent in English, he might have consciously focused more on accurate pronunciation than Megamind did.

3. Megamind is mispronouncing things due to lack of practice, but Minion is getting more practice than him.

This is… honestly the theory with the most evidence behind it. Like, we know that Minion isn't in jail at the start of the film, so he's clearly mot spending the same amount of time in solitary confinement that Megamind is.

He also appears to be in charge of providing Megamind with the resources needed to carry out his plans, which would presumably require him to communicate with scrap merchants, crocodile breeders and Romanian outlet store owners (among others) on the regular.

And like… if he's not getting thrown in jail whenever Megamind does, and Megamind is spending a fair amount of time on the inside, then Minion has to be doing something to pass the time. He's clearly a bit of an extrovert, and seems to take more pleasure in interacting with people than Megamind does.

It seems unlikely that he'd spend all his time sitting in the Evil Lair waiting for Megamind contact him or escape. So what does he do?

I find it both sweet and hilarious to imagine that Minion actually does have his own social circle outside of Megamind.

Minion goes to DnD on the second Tuesday of every month.

Minion gets advice on making costumes for Megamind from his weekly sewing circle.

Minion has been going to university online for the past eight years and is currently working towards his PhD in Marine Biology.

Minion is a semi-regular at Metrocity Night Clubs.

Minion does volunteer work sometimes with kids at the Metrocity hospital.

Megamind has barely any idea about any of this. Like, he knows Minion goes places at various times.

He knows that when he's rampaging through the streets Minion will sometimes stop to wave hello to various people that Megamind has never met. He's seen the half-orc paladin costume that Minion made for DnD.

But he's never really asked about it, and Minion has never seen the need to tell him. So long as Minion's happy, Megamind's happy, and so long as Megamind's happy, Minion is happy.

Meanwhile Roxanna, post-movie, has to grapple with the fact that sometimes she'll go to visit her boyfriend only for him to ask if they can go out for dinner instead because Minion's book club is meeting in the Evil Lair, and he's been gently encouraged not to come back after what he said to Helen about her (wrong) opinions on To Kill A Mockingbird.

[kiryoutann]

𝐄𝐗! 𝐀𝐔 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬 (𝟏) ::: 𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐀

GENSHIN IMPACT MASTERLIST.

MINORS do NOT interact. Warning(s): implied cheating, MANIPULATIVE BEHAVIOR, abuse of power, GASLIGHTING, alcohol consumption, TOXIC RELATIONSHIP (pls don't settle with someone like this ver of childe in real life!!!!!!), childe sabotaging everything to keep y/n with him, mention of the word "suicide" but no actions, just a description for y/n's frustration.

You know your friends have been talking to you about Ajax for a long time – about how he's a bad man, "he's the exact guy people talk about on Tiktok, baby! the one you should stay away from. Sure, he buys you expensive bags, takes you to nice places, free vacations and five-star hotels, even paying for your college, but that's his way of manipulating you!"

At first, you shrug them off, thinking your girls are just worried, and a little jealous because you're dating THE Ajax.

The crazy, stupid rich Ajax, who is so up there that the casual question he asks some stranger is "Do you ski?" before proceeding to talk about his favorite ski holiday spot and how his family has an estate there in case anyone ever thought about going (and he's gonna give the key for free???).

Around four most expensive and tallest buildings in this city belonged to him, the rest either belonged to his family or one of their assets to run their money with.

He definitely has that laugh that is only limited to the filthy rich.

Ajax is the MOST eligible bachelor of all time, honestly. He has good control over whatever business his family has owned for generations, and he looks good doing it.

Not to mention, he is always well-dressed, quiet-luxury from head to toe. Has a row of cars worth a country, but he's not rubbing it in anyone's face. Humble, down-to-earth guy.

You met him at a socialite party that you and your girls snuck into. Good god, what a contrast—your "nightclub" dress (exactly what you typed on the website) and a sea of people clad in clothes from designer brands whose names you can't even pronounce.

You remember about four or five women scanning you up and down before whispering to their friends "who let these girls in?!?!"

But, then again, perhaps that's what caught Ajax's attention on you.

And while your first meeting and how you ended up dating him is a story for another time, this one isn't.

Despite his "perfection" (money and crazy handsome face), you and Ajax were nominated as the most INSUFFERABLE couple by your friends. On-and-off relationships; one day in the honeymoon phase, the next like adults in crisis threatening to break up.

And the reasons? Because Ajax and his lack of boundaries when it comes to other women always finds a way to make you jealous.

There were many times, but this one—this one was the final.

Your sanity is gradually vanishing, in danger of running out completely. Every second, your breath grows scorching hot—the flames of insanity inching closer. The searing sensation that conquers your chest stands in contrast to your cold stare as your eyes meet those of the ginger-haired man standing in front of you. As if blind, he continues to stand with his lips curled into a stupid smile (or his pretty face is compensation for having little to no empathy).

Ajax, your boyfriend, looks at you mockingly, and you're still unhappy because you saw him being so touchy with an employee. Your gaze flits across his ring-studded digits—the exact same fucking fingers that caressed the dumb bitch's hips.

You're in love, not dumb; at least, not anymore. Ajax can never stand it when a man stands too close to you, always ending with him approaching the poor guy with a smile that reflects anything but friendly—the kind you would see on the cover of a true crime documentary. He should have known you wouldn't like it when you walked into his office and saw the woman hanging to him like a monkey – lips curving shyly, and Ajax doing nothing but smiling back at her as if he was enjoying it (or maybe he DID).

"I told you; she almost fell and I caught her. No need to be so jealous, doll.”

There it is. When you interpret his words as more of a mockery than an explanation (and if it were, it was a very much half-assed one), you know you're not hallucinating.

"Stop trying to gaslight me. I'm not fucking blind, Ajax! You'd fuck her right there if I hadn't walked in!" To hell with self-control; it’s impossible to maintain when another chuckle escapes him. "Oh, you think this is funny?”

Ajax shook his head, still unapologetic. "Sorry, you look adorable."

The audacity of this man????????

Right now, you're unsure of whether to be furious, sad, or strike a knife at his stunning neck. That's THE problem. Ajax takes joy in your suffering—his lips stretch and laughter sprouts in a voice no better than fingernails against a wall. One of these days, you're going to blame yourself; perhaps the reason he acts this way is that you often show the wounds he inflicted as if it's a trophy rather than a disgrace. It is a constant reminder of the power he has over you to watch you burn with jealousy.

But not anymore cause as you shout: “Fuck you, Ajax! We’re done!”

The smile on his handsome face disappeared. A taste of his own medicine. About fucking time.

You walked towards your shared bedroom, He was yelling your name in desperation, but you ignored him. The door swings open. You snatched up a suitcase in a flash and packed it with his stuff. You won't be leaving; Ajax will. He should, at a minimum, vacate the residence and vow to never interact with you again.

“Babe!”

Ajax shouted when you placed his final item of clothing into the luggage. That burgundy shirt feels like fire on your skin. You zipped the luggage before dragging it out of the room. It hit the marble floor with a loud "thud!" sound.

“Babe! You can't be serious!”

“Oh, I’m dead serious.” Your eyes glared at him, both threatening and challenging. "Get your ass out and leave the fuck here!" was yelled.

Before Ajax could reach you, you quickly closed the bedroom door and locked it. He’s banging on it, and you wouldn't mind if he continued doing that all night though. It will be the best-case scenario if Ajax leaves the apartment, swollen on both hands.

Honestly, you thought it would all end there.

Because there's no way Ajax will risk his ego and continue to beg as if he would be homeless if you kicked him out, when he has four other condos in the city that he can stay in before going somewhere looking for new prey, right?

Wrong.

Imagine the shock on your face when you wake up and come out of your room, to find Ex bf! Ajax standing in the kitchen.

And him opening his mouth saying, “Morning, princess. Feeling better now?”

The devil himself was in his usual apron, a white buttoned shirt underneath, sleeves rolled up. He presents a sickening smile that instantly spurs your frustration levels to the absolute apex of your cranium, fury growing at an alarmingly fast pace.

Unfortunately, he lacks the concern to be worried about the expression on your face. His veiny hands flip the pancakes deftly—his morning routine—he remembers you like your pancakes perfectly done, with butter, and lots of syrup.

Your brain is debating whether to commit suicide or homicide right now.

this ended up being a fanfic but in bullet points LMFAO. might be a part 2 soon(???) and i know i said that im gonna put "ex-problem" on ko-fi but since i'm not able to finish it (probably), im just gonna put this here for u guys to enjoy<33 if anyone wants to give me tip for my writing, you know my ko-fi!!

SUPPORT ME THROUGH KO-FI! CHECK MY WRITING COMMISSION.

[fandomforg]

So, Your Child is Force Sensitive:

it’s a book written during the prequel era by some mommy blogger on a random planet. she’s got a set of force sensitive twin boys and she compiled her blog posts into a book all about raising force sensitives and choosing not to give them to the jedi temple.

the book is not super well known, it only ever sold maybe a few hundred copies, but it’s honestly really detailed. this lady did her research, but still is able to give her outside perspectives as a force null. she talks all about being pregnant with force sensitives, the babies special needs as empaths, the choice to raise them herself, interactions between force sensitives being raised together, the developmental checkpoints that are different from force nulls, and even how to deal with your moody and powerful force sensitive teens.

the book also talks a bit about jedi ideology and family structures (to help parents make the decision of whether to give the kid to the jedi or not) (it took her so long and so many space emails to the jedi to do that research)

the jedi themselves, however, are not too big of fans of this book because they think it’s probably for the best for force sensitive kids to be raised in the temple (and in some ways it is), but this mommy blogger advocates that with the right, caring parents and the right knowledge, force sensitive kids can do just fine being raised at home (and she’s also kinda right)

anyway, the book stays unpopular all the way up until order 66. then the book gets super-duper banned with all the rest of the reputable information on force sensitive people and the jedi. the mommy blogger stops posting. her and her now adult children drop off the map. her small (but devoted) following has no idea if they’re ok or even alive, but they go to great lengths to erase all of her personal information off the holonet if they can.

the galaxy keeps turning, and the mommy blogger stays missing, but sometimes her book (the few copies not destroyed) will end up in the hands of people who need it. people like bail and breha organa, owen and beru lars, kanan jarrus and hera syndulla, and even eventually din djarin.

even luke skywalker gets himself a copy when he’s suddenly responsible for having his own little force school. (at one point, din is reading the chapter on letting go of your kids when they leave the nest, while luke is simultaneously reading the chapter on how to calm an inconsolable youngling)

a lot of the research into how the jedi work and their ideologies are actually way more accurate, relevant, and recent than any of luke’s other ancient jedi texts, so that’s how luke’s jedi order rebuilding efforts become mostly built on one chapter of a book written by a middle-aged, force null, mother of two.

this mommy blogger may have started her blog just to document her journey in raising her twins, but she ended up writing a book that would help raise a generation of force sensitive children who had no jedi temple to turn to. her honest care spread farther than she could have imagined.

still, nobody could find out where she and her twins went, even after the fall of the empire when it was safe.

[inbarfink]

Ever since we saw Finn and Simon’s little failed camping trip

I’ve been thinking a lot about this scene in ‘Prisoners of Love’, the very first Ice King episode in the whole show.

Because like… even this early on, long before Finn even heard the name ‘Simon Petrikov’, he already recognized that Ice King probably needs some serious help. But being a young child and a ‘simple dude’, he can’t give Ice King the help he needs - and he knows it. He just kicks his ass and rescues the princesses basically because he’s painfully aware of the limits of his emotional maturity.��

And now, Finn and Simon are genuine friends and he’s actually the first person Simon really confides with about the fact that he still needs help

And while his child self was sure he couldn’t help Ice King, he’s now honestly believes (or at least wants to believe) that he can help Simon

And he tries so earnestly to help, from the bottom of his heart, and he still fails miserably and he doesn't even realize it!

On some level because he’s still that ‘simple dude’, but he actually had a better understanding of his limitations as a child than as an adult. And on some level because he has grown more complex, but in the sense that he now has a fuck-ton of his own trauma and grief that he has no idea how to handle.

And it just says so much about how far these two have come, and how much Finn grew and matured since the start of Adventure Time and how much things changed - and also how much they’ve stayed the same. And like, even about the nature of ‘maturity’ in general. Y’know, what does it mean when Child Finn at his very childish knew his limitations so vividly - while as an adult he denies them?

But I’m also thinking about the last part of Finn’s ‘Prisoners of Love’ dialogue - the part where he suggests that the Ice King could talk to Jake. Especially when everything about Finn and Simon’s F&C interactions happens very obviously under the shadow of Jake’s death.

Now, I was never really quite sure that ‘Prisoners of Love’ Finn was right about Ice King needing to talk to Jake. I think that was more of Finn idolizing how wise and mature his big bro was. Because, like, Jake kinda alternates between genuinely giving a lot of good advice and between just saying whatever makes excuses for his many personal vices. Plus, he always had less patience and sympathy towards the Ice King compared to Finn.

Including that very scene! That’s literally shown in the next line of dialogue!

But, maybe if it was Finn and Jake together - the combination of Finn’s sympathy and genuine drive to help and Jake’s wisdom and good advice could've helped a lot more. And also... it is literally Finn’s grief over Jake that indirectly led to Finn’s attempt to help Simon to fail so spectacularly. So you can at least say that if Jake was around - as in if he was still alive, maybe this wouldn't have turned out so badly.

And also.......

It feels pretty notable to me that by the end of the Series, the person who did get Simon to the root of all of his Issues, possibly the most important singular conversation Simon had

was with Beth the Pup Princess. The Jake of the +1000 Era. Quite possibly Jake's literal reincarnation.

[the-final-sif]

Okay, so XD now has a Small Child (tm), c!Dream is a little 4 year old who has just been take from his family and forced to wear a strange mask that fundamentally changes his body to a human form. He's not a fan of this, but he's taking it well. Probably.

Now, something that helps is that in Ender Dragon hybrid society, kids split off from their parents relatively young. Not at 4 years old normally, but it'd be shocking for a 10 year old to still be in their parent's nest. The average is about 7-8 for moving to a new nest, but some go as young as 6.

This is partially because Ender Dragons hybrids tend to be quite independent and want their own space, but also because much of Ender Dragon society is highly communal. A kid moves into their own nest (or sometimes a sibling/friend nest), but they aren't really on their own nor are they considered full adults. Most stay nearby their parents (or another set of trusted adults, grandparents, a mentor, cool older sibling, etc) and still get a lot of help from the adults around them.

Every adult is generally considered to be responsible for ensuring the well being of any older child based on their ability rather than genetic relation or adoption.

Some of this culture is historic, but some of it has also come around in "recent" years with Ender Dragon Hybrids being entirely isolated from other societies, cultures, and most outside threats aside from a very strange curse that claims the lives of marked children once each generation. The relative safety of this situation helps enable this sort of culture.

As a result, Dream wasn't necessarily super freaked out by a strange being abducting him. He generally trusts just about every adult he interacts with, and this adult is clearly of the End. The mask was quite shocking, but after XD explained that it was to help protect him, Dream understood. He was sad about leaving behind the people he knew, but also quite excited for this new adventure.

Also XD let him have ice cream, something he'd never had before and that tasted amazing. Clearly this man has secrets.

Great! The child has accepted whatever the fuck is going on here. XD was honestly excepting that to be harder than it was.

Uh.

Okay.

Now, admittedly, XD has been working on this plan for at least 300 years. It's the only chance he'll have at this. He had all the details nailed out, he'd picked the kills, found his excuses, figured out how to try to hide the child, all of it was planned for.

Except he kinda sorta forgot that he did need to actually raise the kid during this part.

In his defense, he no longer really remembers most of his human life. He forgot they like, need things.

Right.

Okay.

So XD realizes he needs to take of this now-human child. What do children need? What do humans need? Dream appeared to enjoy the ice cream. Do humans need ice cream?

He doesn't really want to ask for instructions from the child because that would make him look dumb, so instead XD just... tries to replicate some of what he remembers being around the village that Dream was taken from.

Building Dream a new nest is the first challenge, the child is delighted at the idea and has his own ideas for how it should look. But things have to change a bit, Dream no longer has his wings and a lot of his instincts have changed. He struggles to scrabble up cliff faces without his claws, and he keeps falling over because his balance has changed without his tail.

XD sees this and decides that rather than building a nest in a cliff, a treehouse will need to work instead. It lets Dream stay up higher without looking like an Ender Dragon's home. The trees are also much easier for the child to climb.

Getting a treehouse set up with basic supplies isn't that hard. XD ensures that there's food, sets up a potion brewing area with plenty of supplies, remembers that humans need beds and water for various things, and before too long there's a nice little setup.

Of course, there's plenty of arguing and little Dream isn't entirely happy with everything, but he does like that XD lets him use the potion stand. Before he was told he was too young. But look at him now! He can brew whatever he likes!

Obviously, XD also gives Dream some proper armor and weaponry. He even enchants it so it'll grow as Dream does!

And then, having handed this small child enchanted netherite murder equipment, XD leaves.

Not like! Without warning! He checked that Dream was doing alright and that he knew to stay safe and hidden from any gods, and then... went about his day.

XD is a god! He has things to do! Probably.

More importantly, it's not safe for him to spend too much time around Dream. Not only could it attract attention from the other gods, but it could also seriously harm Dream.

See, humans tend to be negatively impacted by too much exposure to gods. Their bodies aren't made to handle it.

Ender dragon hybrids were famously capable of spending lots of time around gods, and godlings are generally immune to these effects.

But Dream is no longer an ender dragon hybrid or a godling. The mask makes him almost entirely human. Which makes him vulnerable to the effects of being exposed to a god.

So XD leaves the child alone in a treehouse, assuming this will be fine and normal, and promises to come back to check in.

And he does!

A week later

Dream was getting worried about his strange guardian not coming back, but he'd been making do. He'd already found a small local river and started fishing so he could put food away for the winter.

XD was quite proud to see his progress! He also remembered at this point that humans can't just morph their appearances at will, and require clothing external to them. So he produced several extra outfits for Dream.

Dream when XD got him was wearing a lime green shirt and white shorts, and so XD assumes that's what he should look like all the time.

He creates an array of different weather outfits based on that color scheme, makes about 20 copies of each outfit and they find space for them in the house.

XD assumes this should last Dream for a month or so, and then he can replace whatever Dream actually used.

Speaking of used clothing, XD realizes that Dream clearly needs a place to get rid of them once they're used. So he creates a little void linked trash can for Dream to use.

Just drop the clothing in once you're done with them and they're gone!

XD is very smart and has prepared for every situation.

It will be another 10 years before Dream finds out about washing clothing.

With all that settled, XD takes a little bit of time to do some basic training. He hasn't quite told Dream that he's going to need to murder two gods in the future. He will, eventually. But for now XD just tells Dream he'll have a big task in the future, and he needs to be ready.

Dream accepts this without question and when XD leaves again, he starts dedicating himself to figuring out his new body and to his training.

He's also working on reading some of the books that XD left for him on combat tactics.

Admittedly, that one is a bit harder. His reading skills aren't quite there yet. But he is working at it! He makes mental notes to ask XD about what some of the words mean. Hopefully his guardian won't be upset that he can't quite make his way through these books.

He is 4. An older 4 year old, sure, but he's still 4. I think this is important to remember.

XD thankfully isn't upset, and spends some time reading the words out loud to him to help him out. The two of them settle into mostly regular weekly visits.

As Dream settles into the area, he starts to explore more, traveling further and further out.

He's curious about the world. His former home was very cut off. People couldn't go that far. But there seems to be so much space here! The world just keeps going!

One day, he hears something quite strange. The noises seem familiar but aren't quite something he understands. Dream finds himself moving close to the noise, trying to understand it.

As he approaches the source of the noise, he hears a familiar word and suddenly it hits him

It's another person talking.

Oh.

Someone else is here too.

[bookwormbynight]

the take that lawlight and other ships involving Light and an older character are not problematic because “Light Yagami is incapable of being groomed” is doing rounds on dntwt again and holy shit it drives me insane every time i see it because

(“you” below refers to people with this take, not you)

1. what the hell is this victim-blaming logic when you’re literally talking about it as something applicable to the real world. no one is immune to being groomed.

2. to speak of the idea in-universe, I’m pretty sure that is just factually untrue. Light can definitely be groomed and has many traits that make him susceptible

3. no one is immune to being groomed. Light being manipulative, “evil”, intelligent or ““mature for his age”” (oh boy) does not prevent him from grooming in any capacity. in fact those traits combined with his arrogance make him a easy target as long as the perpetrator knows what to say

4. if you’re uncomfortable with the idea that lawlight is grooming, you can just think and say that you do not view lawlight’s dynamic as grooming. that would be reasonable, at least in comparison to fucking “light is immune to being groomed”

5. (pardon my language but) why in the fuck would you phrase it like “I’m sorry but if you can *insert a bunch of things that don’t prevent anyone from being groomed* then I’m NOT gonna believe you got groomed” like do you know how you sound right now????

6. have I mentioned that no one is immune to being groomed.

frankly, as someone who doesn’t usually prefer to view lawlight as full-on “adult grooming child” (I do think the existing age gap is a very intriguing factor but generally it is not my top preference to take it to the extreme in my own conception of it; it is very interesting to see as an alternative though, I respect it), I feel MUCH safer around everyone in this dn tumblr circle than people who say that shit. respect and salute to you all 🫡

Oh, ick!! Thank you for sharing!

Dude I am so afraid of dntwt I refuse. Of course the drawback to that is Tumblr doesn't allow the kind of images that Twitter does so I miss out on that but with the combination of Elon Musk and the nazis and whatever nutcase discourse that regularly happens over there, I'm not touching that shit with a ten foot pole even for the sake of porn 😭

Yeah no the solution to something that makes you uncomfortable is never ever to blame the victim. (Honestly, and I'm psychoanalyzing again, I think part of what makes this circle so safe is that we treat this shit with the gravity it deserves, even when we're sexualizing it. Because what we're sexualizing IS the horror. The horror is what's hot about it, but the horror reaction implies that it's something terrible and serious. It's not normal or okay or impossible.)

I'd like to explore the mention of discomfort with the topic. That shit is normal and human. Not everyone likes sexualizing horror, not everyone understands everything you need for it to feel safe, AND, and this is a wildly different but still important factor in fandom interaction, not everyone DOES think it's plausible for the universe. You can think things don't match your headcanon for how you interpreted the work! I made a post yesterday along those lines about a fanfic I was reading! The thing is, don't attack real people (if you think someone's handling a subject in fiction in a way that does real harm, like E.L. James for my example, you don't send hate mail, you tell people why it's harmful and boycott the work); be aware that canon is subjective even if you have some textual evidence to back your view up - feel free to present said evidence, but nobody has to take it to heart and you can't make them; and above all, if it's pertaining to these types of topics, DO NOT USE THE VICTIM TO CONTRADICT IT. USE THE SUPPOSED PERPETRATOR. If you don't think L is a groomer, say so, if you don't think lawlight involves grooming, go for it, but Light Yagami better not fucking be a pillar of your argument because victims are never the reason something happened to them, which means they are also never the reason something didn't happen. People astound me.

Be kind everybody ❤️

[iamnmbr3]

honestly why did jkr choose DUMBLEDORE as arbitrary gay 'rep'. Besides the not even there stuff he is an awful person.

(And you could pretty easily read him as that sort of Creep. Like I know that's not the sort of grooming people mean but that's always what I think :( )

I know. She really went 'diversity win! the serial liar and manipulator of children who is weirdly fixated on the attractiveness of an 11 year old is gay!'

Now I am absolutely NOT saying that a gay character cannot be flawed or even downright evil. Being gay doesn't make someone inherently bad - or inherently good. Gay people are humans - and just like any other group of humans are capable of the full range of human complexity. However, when the ONLY gay character is like this it feels like their negative personality traits are tied to their gayness. (Just like if Dumbledore was the only straight character it might feel like the author was was casting aspersions on the morality of straight people - even if that wasn't her intent).

Also it's so weird because there were so many other characters that are very frequently read as queer - including Tonks, Lupin, Draco, and Sirius. Not to mention HARRY POTTER himself. But nope. JKR was extremely resistant to anyone even suggesting these characters might not be straight (lol joke's on her - she might not have meant to write these characters as not straight but she did. be mad about it jkr). Only the character who had one queer romance which was extremely destructive and then swore himself to a life of celibacy where he spends all his time manipulated children is allowed to be gay apparently. smh.

And yeah. As for Dumbledore coming across kinda creepy, I definitely think it wasn't JKR's intention but it is a very valid reading based on what she wrote. I mean Dumbledore literally is out there saying 'oh yeah one of the only reasons adults liked this 11 year old child was because he was hot' without any awareness of how incredibly messed up a thing that is to say.

Like if that's something he's comfortable admitting publicly what thoughts doesn't he admit to? This is just an incredibly bizarre thing to say and really says a lot about how he perceives the world.

Why does he assume that all adult teachers pay attention to how attractive the children they are responsible for are? Why does he assume that teachers' treatment of their UNDERAGE STUDENTS is affected by attractive they find each child? That is not how an adult should ever be relating to or thinking about a child.

And it's specifically attractiveness he highlights - not cuteness or charm or literally anything even slightly more appropriate to favor a child for (even though it would still be wrong to favor a student). No. It's the same way he talks about Tom later. He suggests that Tom used his looks in some sort of evil seductor routine to victimize Hepzibah Smith - even though what we actually see is HER creeping on Tom, so it comes across very much as a "he was asking for it" and "he was to blame because he was being a temptation simply by existing" type perspective which is absolutely repellent. And seemingly Dumbledore was thinking about Tom in that way right from the beginning.

In addition, I will say it's notable that in the Hepzibah Smith memory Dumbledore seems to sympathize with the person who is acting as a predator. (I mean she literally touches Tom without his consent and tries to hit on him multiple times while he tries to change the subject and seems super uncomfortable; she is the aggressor in that interaction).

It's also notable that Dumbledore seems to take Tom rejection of him at their first meeting very personally which is odd. Tom's reaction to Dumbledore is not that surprising but Albus seems to take great offense at the fact that Tom does not trust or look up to or like him and does not want to spend time with him or accept his friendship. It's a rather unusual way for an adult to react.

And more generally he doesn't treat children as children. He talks about child!Tom the same as he does adult!Tom and doesn't seem to view him as ever having been fundamentally different. He happily sends Harry and his friends into danger.

He also has a nasty habit of reading people's minds without their consent. I don't think it's a coincidence that nothing about the topic of Occlumency is taught at Hogwarts. It seems that he's been frequently reading the minds of the Golden Trio (and probably other students) for years - probably since book 1; and the mind is a very intimate and scared part of a person that shouldn't just be violated. Characters having a blank or closed look is often used as a descriptor to suggest that that character is employing Occlumency. We know Tom's mind powers were quite developed and I think he successfully blocked Dumbledore from his mind during their first encounter (after Dumbledore read his mind to find out about the things he stole) as right after that scene he is described in similar ways to scenes where characters use Occlumency. And this denial and rejection may been part of what particularly irritated Dumbledore.

His interactions with kids - and especially his fixation on Tom - are very weird. And you could definitely read it as him having some sort of repressed (or not repressed) attraction/fixation that he's probably in denial about (or does mental gymnastics to justify). 100 percent not JKR's intent. But yeah. The way she wrote him is kinda off.

[frnkiebby]

so i know posts like these are already circulating and i know this one is a fucking novel, but i want you guys to hear it from me too.

for a lot of us, we’re in that worst case scenario. it feels like the end of the world or the beginning of the end.

but that’s only true if we let it be.

that’s only true if we just give up and shut up.

maybe taking a stand, in whatever way that is for you, feels like beating against a brick wall and that you don’t matter anymore. That’s not true. don’t let yourself believe that. don’t let them take you out before the fight begins.

more so don’t let them take you out when fighting is becoming even more important than before. because the fight never stopped. unfortunately a lot of us aren’t ever going to be in a position where we aren’t fighting.

i want you all to remember a few things:

—there’s strength in numbers, not safety necessarily, but strength.

—your voice can be your greatest weapon. don’t ever give that up if you can absolutely help it. even if it’s taken away.

—your only true job in this world and life is to stay alive. at the very core and base level, you are the most important person in your life.

—if staying alive means going incognito then you fucking go incognito.

—you fight in whatever way you can physically, emotionally, mentally until you can’t anymore. and if that happens then you fight to stay alive even if that means fighting against your own brain.

—you can’t help anyone if you’re dead. you can’t help yourself if you’re dead.

i’m going to post a list of whatever resources i can find within the next few days and i want to remind everyone that regardless of if you’re a follower or mutual of mine, new here, or have never interacted with me before, i’m here. you can dm me, you can send me asks or anons, whatever— i’m here.

my general rule is that i don’t dm with minors because i’m an adult and there’s honestly no reason for me to, but i’m suspending that because i feel like it’s my duty as an adult and human being to provide support to anyone in need of it despite their age and if I’m the only safe adult someone can talk to, then I’m going to fucking be that safe adult. i’ve promised myself to be the kind of person that i desperately needed when i was a teenager and child and i’ll be damned if i don’t do everything in my power to make sure no one has to go through anything similar to what i had to.

i love you guys, internet stranger or not, and you’re not alone.

remember that if nothing else.~🎃

[cephalog0d]

Okay, but like. There's the whole joke about Bruce recruiting children to be his sidekicks, but honestly there's only really one that fits that.

And it's Jason. And the whole story there is, frankly, unhinged. Aaaaand then he died.

(I'm specifically talking about "first post-crisis origin stories" here because Jason and Dick, in particular, have both had multiple major retcons and revisions over the years, and some of them dramatically change how things happened.)

Like okay. Going backwards, you've got Duke who joined/led a whole Robin-based gang at a time when Bruce wasn't even Batman. You've got Damian and Cass, who were both literally born into the world of masks and capes and heroes and villains, so they weren't ever really not going to be part of it. Steph might have taken inspiration from previous heroes but she made her own identity and repeatedly refused to stop involving herself in the vigilante lifestyle. Tim, obviously, basically strong-armed Batman into letting him be Robin, despite Batman's protests.

Dick's a little more complicated just because there's so many versions, because that's what 80 years of comics and multiple universe reboots will do, and there's kind of a general trend that earlier pre-crisis versions were more of Batman being like "hello, child, would you like to be my sidekick" and later versions have leaned harder and harder into the idea that Dick was absolutely going to do this anyway, regardless of what Batman had to say about it. But even in the first post-crisis version, the flashback in Batman Year 3, Dick says he wants to find a way to keep people like that from hurting others again. When Alfred questions Bruce's offer to train him, Bruce says that Dick should learn to do things the right way if he's going to do it. It's not hard to extrapolate that, much like later versions of the origin story, Dick was going to get himself into this one way or another. (Batman (1940) #437)

And then there's Jason. Whose backstory has also had a lot of (sometimes major) revisions over the years (remember when his adoption was, like, some kind of Joker-originated long con? Fucken Nu52, man). But the original post-crisis version is pretty straightforward. Steals Batman's tires, gets caught and sent to Ma Gunn's Secret Criminal School, intervenes when Batman goes to investigate, immediately gets offered the chance to be Robin based entirely on that.

Which is itself kind of unhinged. That Bruce saw this kid who was living on his own stealing tires and went "Hey you would make a good Robin" as his very first instinct.

But if you've never read Jason's post-crisis origin, or it's been a while, it's honestly even more unhinged than that because that arc starts with Dick getting "fired" as Robin specifically for the reason that he got shot by Joker and Bruce freaked out about how the Robin identity has too many enemies and therefore Dick, a legal adult with approximately a decade of training and experience, should not use the identity anymore.

(And it's specifically about the Robin identity, in this version, because when Dick says he's not going to stop the crime fighting thing Bruce's response is basically "I know and I didn't expect you to". Honestly I could also say a lot about this version of the Robin/Nightwing transition vs. later ones and how this one definitely feels like the Heavy Hand of DC Editorial in the fact that they had no contact for so long afterwards, because the interaction really doesn't feel like it warrants that in this case compared to some later versions, but that's a whole other too-long ramble.) (Batman (1940) #408)

And then a few weeks later Bruce turns around and picks up a random kid, a literal child, and goes "Hey you would make a good Robin!"

And I think a lot about how fucking wild that is. And it's not like the people writing just didn't notice. Dick's big argument with Bruce when he finally comes back to Gotham and meets Jason isn't about the fact that Bruce took in another kid, or even necessarily about Dick feeling proprietary over the Robin identity, the thing he's angry about is that Bruce said it was too dangerous for him, an adult, someone who has trained with Batman for a decade and was already highly physically trained before that for his whole life, to be Robin, and now Bruce has turned around and painted that target onto some random new kid. He pushes, repeatedly, trying to get Bruce to justify himself and this absolutely irresponsible decision, and Bruce gives a lot of answers about how Jason was on a bad path and needed this outlet and eventually just admits that he missed having a partner. (Batman (1940) #416)

And like. Dick's right, is the thing. He is 1000% in the right in this argument. If he can't be Robin anymore because of the danger, how in the hell is it anything like a good idea to hand it over to someone way younger, way less trained, way less experienced, and expect that that wouldn't end in tragedy?

And then it did.

And yeah, Bruce, it is kinda a lot of your fault.

[atalienart]

As a woman, honestly I am way more invested in MMC's because their stories are usually more varied and interesting; female-lead stories are almost always one of two things when you boil it down - romance or revolution (sometimes both if it's a dystopia/romantasy). Either the point of the story is to give the reader something to ship, or it's a very obvious message about one or several of the injustices of the world. And nothing is wrong with either of that, don't get me wrong, but I personally don't read because I want steam or to be preached at/reminded of real life problems. I just want a good goddamn story. And I can name WAY more books and book series I've read that actually gave me that where the main lead was male rather than female.

One of the few exceptions to this general rule is when the lead is a child, like Alice in Wonderland, Coraline, or The Wee Free Men, because in those cases the MC is too young for either romance or social justice; their goals are usually much simpler and, to me, more relatable (wanting adventure, wanting to go home, wanting to find a lost family member, etc). Unfortunately most books with young leads are also written for young readers, which, again, nothing wrong with that, but it would be nice to have YA or even adult books with child leads where the plot is allowed to be a bit more mature and dark.

Granted, most of what I've said is based on my experiences with middle grade and YA books, so take it with a grain of salt. But to me it says something (about my personal tastes at least) that out of my top ten favorite book series ever, six were written by female authors with male MC's, three by male authors with male MC's, and one by a male author with a female MC (but the name of the series is that of the MMC).

That's true, usually the MMC's stories are more personal, the FMC often fights for the greater good. I honestly can't stand the "fight the government" plot and whenever I hear "for fans of The Hunger Games" I run in the opposite direction. As for the romance, I love it, but it's usually written in a way I don't find appealing.

And yeah, I mean, real life problems can be shown in unobtrusive way but it's easier to just show a problem and say "look, this is really bad". What authors forget about is problems come from something, they have a source and have layers and nuances. Also behind the "wanting adventure, wanting to go home, wanting to find a lost family member" needs to be hiding something else too, otherwise the story would be really shallow in my opinion idk. But I agree that often characters don't have personal goals. What do they actually want? Throwing off the government always seems like an afterthought, just because it supposed to be the right thing to do. And romances are also pretty weird, the aim is just to get laid and have a baby. Also as much as I like romance plots, I also love when the characters have some other interactions.

You like YA but I wish to read more books about grown-up people. And dark themes are great but I need some hope at the end too. I'm really tired of choosing between YA and grimdark. I'd like something without the grimy roughness of male fantasy filled with worldbuilding and dry history but also something without black and white morality and always right MC who fights for everyone that's common in female fantasy.

Also, I'm super interested in you favourite books!

[geminid]

some thoughts about things related to leo and takumi. before that tho i got a new drawing tablet but need a new desk chair so ive been forcefully removed from drawing for the time being.

I don't know why, but I've been thinking about this a lot recently, and I wanted to put it somewhere because of. some reason. To get it off my chest maybe. But anyway, if you've gone through the contents of my blog you might have noticed that I just don't draw Leo and Takumi with their sons. And for some reason the irrational part of me thinks that people will really hate me over this so I hope you can read the rest with an open mind.

Generally I draw them while they're young adults, and either before they have a relationship or still at the beginning of their relationship. I think this is the most fun period to draw about. I also don't really consider the baby realms as part of my headcanon, because honestly, theyre ridiculous.

But there's actually more to it than that. I don't really like talking about myself so it pains me to do this. I have a very fraught relationship with my parents and a lot of my struggles stem from that. This may be typical of an artist who draws anime guys on tumblr dot com. I think for others they might find it cathartic to explore fiction where there is a loving parent child relationship, but I'm the kind of extreme who just doesn't really enjoy parent child stories in general. Usually it doesn't really matter because my ships don't have canon kids but fates is a special situation so it makes me feel bad.

I actually just. Can't do it. When I try to think about Leo and Takumi as parents there's just a big block that forms in my mind. If I try to force past that block I feel nauseous and want to throw up. You might think this is dramatic and that's because it is but unfortunately it is what happens.

I do like Forrest and Kisaragi as characters, don't get me wrong. I love the fates cast and they both have really fun interactions with other characters. I also am able to S support Leo and Takumi off to whatever female character in game and pick up their kids from baby realm daycare. The issue really only pops up when it involves more than that, my headcanons or my fanwork, stuff that is more personal to me. Please do not take any of this as a dislike of either of them or a disdain towards the idea of leo/takumi as parents, because it's a personal problem I have and nothing to do with anyone else.

I guess I'm sorry that I have to leave out such important things. I am a person so I'm bound to change and heal and grow and maybe I'll get past this but I can't rush it and don't know if that will happen before I move on to other things. I will say that I already enjoy what I do now and I think what I make is worth it for me regardless.

[whentherewerebicycles]

nothing gives you insight into what parenting styles produce what types of kids like college essay coaching!! I feel like within 30 min of talking to a kid you can tell exactly what their parents chose to value/center in raising them… and you can also tell whether they’re going to have a rocky or reasonably smooth transition to adulthood as a result. if you were wondering the kids who are happiest and most secure in themselves tend to have parents who:

are warmly interested in their kid’s interests and engaged in their lives but give them LOTS of space/autonomy to explore those interests on their own and are in no hurry to rush in to “fix” things for their kid

communicate respect for their child and trust in their child’s ability to make good decisions and handle their own shit responsibly. it’s kinda wild how much pride kids take in their parents trusting them!! maybe you the parent don’t always get to see that (I assume that even teenagers who have good relationships with their parents are still teenagers lol) but as an outside person working with your kid, it is so so obvious that kids know when their parents trust them and derive a lot of self-esteem from being worthy of that trust. it is also painfully obvious when the parent can’t let go or trust their kid, so the kid internalizes a strong sense of “they expect me to fail/fuck up and they are just waiting for it to happen.”

encourage kids to try lots of different things and to derive fulfillment from the experience of doing things instead of external awards

treat and speak about others with empathy and respect. the kindest kids are the most secure kids and the most secure kids are the kindest. let your kids see you consistently interact lovingly and generously with others!! if they hear you constantly critiquing, tearing down, nitpicking, complaining, etc they seem to internalize an uneasy, insecure sense that this is how others must perceive them and they become soooo much more closed-off, guarded, risk-averse, unsure of themselves, and vulnerable to shaming or being shamed

set high standards for their kids in terms of doing well in school and committing to their activities, but make it very clear that these things are not a “means to an end” (get good grades to get into a good college) but are about learning how to work hard, persevere through difficulties, honor the commitments you’ve made to others, and develop a strong, grounded sense of self-esteem. honestly the kindest thing you can do for your teenager is to make it super clear that it does not matter where they go to college because you are so warmly confident in their ability to thrive wherever they end up

model having warm, loving relationships as an adult with friends and extended family. just in general the happiest kids are the kids who are surrounded by people who love them, listen to them, and are invested in their well-being!! the kids who, when you ask them to tell you about their closest relationships, spontaneously talk about people who aren’t just their immediate family but also their aunts and uncles, grandparents, family friends, beloved teachers or coaches, etc