#age: ❝ the wasted years. the wasted youth. ❞ [ teen ]

[stellewriites]

fuck me.. work tonight was so draining like i suddenly remember why i moved into admin a few years ago now. let me never complain about my job again

[cinnablu3]

In my final moments, I love you.

Meeting Gojo during his youth was a memory you held on so dearly. How much of playful tactics and his flirting were only aimed at you so when the day came when he shyly popped the question to start dating, You happily accepted being his lover at the young age of 16. Being with one another was a blessing so you thought.

That all changed when he brought you to an apartment complex meeting a small boy and a little girl, and later finding out their names are Megumi and Tsumiki. You showed them love, immediately accepting them in your care and loving every single moment with them. To this day you still express the same love all those years ago to your husband and to the teen you thought of as your own.

So why are you thinking back at your youth? "Don't leave us." A whimper escaped Megumi's lips catching your attention wincing at the throbbing pain in your stomach. Ah, no wonder you thought back to your past. You're dying. Megumi putting pressure on the wound while Nobara is bandaging you up.

"Megumi, don't.. your wasting all this on me" Taking a deep breath he going to blame himself, "This isn't your fault, I knew the danger of jumping in front of you." She cuffs his cheek as he leans into your touch feeling the wetness on your hands.

"I don't want you to die, I know that idiot wouldn't want you to die." He hiccups, forcing whatever strength you had left to caress his face.

Smiling at his words, "Take care of him for me okay Gumi." He shakes his head in disbelief.

"You're not dying, don't YOU dare give up on living." You frown, wishing you could still see another day but life isn't fair. Any moment now you are leaving this world, feeling lucky you can still even move. You feel a little selfish that you still want to see your husband. Footsteps are fast approaching.

"Y/n.." The familiar voice you love dearly, your husband in disbelief to see you clinging to bare life. Immediately going to your side taking in your appearance, how pale your skin is, the bandages soaking up the blood. It's no use, You're dying. His lip twitches at the thought instinctively clenches his fist. How cruel is life going to be again to take someone else he loved so dearly? He couldn't do it, he never wanted to see you in this state nor see Megumi on the other side clinging to your hand holding back tears.

"Toru... Smile for me one more time." His attention focusing on you, immediately giving in your request with a small smile. He couldn't deny your final wishes. He takes hold of your hand and feeling the weak pulse. He frowns knowing any minute you're gone.

"I love you Toru." You smile painfully before turning to Megumi, "I love you Megumi, take care of each other." At that, you close your eyes as your body goes limp.

Before either can say it back, just like that you're gone. Both were in disbelief that neither one couldn't even return the love, you had shared in your final moments.

Gojo lifts your body off the ground, bridal style holding you close. He looks back at Megumi and his students. "Let's go back home." He had to be strong, he had show face to his students. After all he's the strongest, having that responsibility is to be strong in your weakest moments. Moments like these wishes he wasn't.

[akutasoda]

hello, jing yuan, aventurine, sunday and boothill with a teen!assasin reader who was ordered by their master to kill them but couldnt and [character] took them in due to their young age and frankly them being pitiful

Reader was practically forced onto assasination, is hardened and doesnt show much emotion due to their past

youthful assassinations

synopsis - they meet you through some awkward encounters after a failed assassination and yet they take pity on you and try to help

includes - jing yuan, aventurine, sunday, boothill

warnings - gn!teen!reader, fluff, slight angst, maybe ooc, mentions of killing etc, wc - 1.3k

jing yuan ★↷

↪ being the arbiter general of the luofu meant that he would have a great deal of enemies or people out to get him. but out of all the people he would expect to be sent after him, the last in that list would be a teenager. admittedly a rather skilled one.

↪although, no amount of training for you could defeat someone who had many, many years more experience than you. normally, anyone who made an attempt on his life would be sent rather promptly to the shackling prison with a hefty sentence. but fortunately for you, jing yuan took pity.

↪he could take a wild guess that you didn't choose to do this, there was something about the fact that you were so young that made him decide that you had no free will - which he would be correct about.

↪admittedly, the main reason he decided not to take action against you was because he took pity - but another reason was because he admired the skill you had, he just thought it was wasted under your current work. he could tell that your current skill could be used much more effectively, and morally better, under his guidance.

↪naturally, you were incredibly cautious and adamant about giving up your job to be taken in by the one you were ordered to kill. but ultimately you decided to go along with it, it was a much better outcome than going to the shackling prison or simply returning to those that sent you out on the mission - you had a feeling they wouldn't be so kind to you after failing.

↪it was extremely awkward between the two of you at first. jing yuan was very persistent however, he wanted to help you and he was sure you'd come around to him in no time. although he did find it rather difficult to figure out what you were feeling because he truly couldn't tell with you.

↪jing yuan tried his hardest to help. he knew it was a difficult task but he was determined to make sure that your life got set on the right track. slowly but surely he would build up your trust - very slowly because you weren't so eager to give up anything about yourself.

↪your skill was certainly impressive for your age and jing yuan definitely thought it was much better used in the cloud knights, or even another retainer, than some unlawful assassin work. and eventually, he felt like he had another child to look after.

aventurine ★↷

↪the IPC wasn't exactly the most liked company in the galaxy, far from it. so naturally being a higher level member of the IPC meant that some people would be hunting you down. so having someone go after a stoneheart wasn't all that uncommon. although a teenager skilled in assanation was definitely a surprise to see.

↪unfortunately, you were practically set on an impossible mission. trying to kill someone who was luck blessed upon them wasn't exactly going to end well for you. fortunately however, you were lucky enough for aventurine to take pity on you.

↪he knew what it was like to be forced into something as a child, although it was quite the different experience between the two of you. but he still felt bad, you clearly hadn't had the choice to begin with and he wanted to help someway.

↪getting you to join the IPC wouldn't exactly be the greatest upgrade for you, if anything from his own personal experience it would only make it seem better but would be worse. however aventurine knew that your ‘employer’ wouldn't take your failure well.

↪so unfortunately, aventurine managed to land you a job at the IPC. except you were to work directly under him as a fork of bodyguard, that way the IPC’s grasp wasn't as bad as it normally would be to a regular employee.

↪aventurine understood why you didn't show much emotion, he couldn't blame you. all he could do was hope that eventually you'd start trusting him, he knew it could take ages but he never had someone genuine in his corner back then, so he'd be someone in yours.

sunday ★↷

↪head of the oak family. a title that carried a lot of responsibility and consequently, a lot of risks. some risks did include some people choosing to hunt him down, some people such as your ‘employer'. sunday never expected for a teenager of all people to be the next to go after him.

↪no amount of skill you possess could actually prove a threat to him, and it took him no time at all to discover who your ‘employer' was and the intent of them sending you after him - thanks to a certain gift from a certain aeon.

↪which is also how he knew immediately that you were practically forced into this job and the whole assanation thing as a whole from a young age. admittedly, this did stir a tad bit of sympathy from sunday and so he took pity on you.

↪your skills were impressive for someone of your age and so sunday thought that you'd be better suited to working alongside the bloodhounds or some faction in penacony, not the lousy people that you worked for before. although he did also think that you deserved to have time away from the whole ‘assassination’ business.

↪sunday knew that you would be rather closed off and emotionless, he didn't care all that much though. he understood that you had quite the past and so he expected that from you. he would just have to try his hardest to help you break out of that shell to at least him.

boothill ★↷

↪boothill had many, many people either chasing down his own bounty or simply hunting him down. although, you were certainly the first teenager that had been sent after him - and no matter how skilled you were, he certainly wouldn't let himself get caught by you of all people.

↪boothill was initially quite impressed by the skills that you held at such a young age, you kind of reminded him of his old self at a young age. he reckoned that you could definitely hone your skills even more as you grew up but clearly not under whoever at that moment.

↪galaxy rangers often worked alone, and boothill adhered to that. however, he could clearly tell that you had been forced into assassination and knew that if you continued on with however, it wouldn't end up so well off later down the line.

↪and so boothill offered you the choice to travel with him. he definitely thought that he could help you more than those lazy scoundrels that sent you after him could - you could even help him with bounty-hunting but that could come later.

↪he knew that you weren't so open with him and he respected that. naturally you wouldn't be close to someone you just met, especially considering your past, but the fact that you took his offer showed that you had some kind of trust or faith in him.

↪the person that became boothill had a daughter, he never got to see her grow up. you could never be her but he wasn't asking you to be. boothill saw you the same way his adoptive parents saw him, a child, or teenager even, in need of help. in need of a parental figure. and that's exactly what he aimed to be for you.

taglist - @little-miss-chaoss, @frankiesteinn

[gators-aid]

decode (pt. 2) - toji f. x reader

previously titled: leave us

masterlist.

part one. | part three.

you and toji fushiguro have been in an on-again-off-again relationship all throughout high school. over the summer break after graduation, you find out you're pregnant. too bad toji has already skipped town after your last breakup.

tags: fem!reader, gun violence, harassment, physical violence, mention of domestic abuse (not between toji & reader), teen pregnancy (reader and toji are both 18-19 range), mentions of abortion, mentioned that toji sold drugs, americanized setting, non sorcerer universe, 00's setting, reader is megumi's mom, toji initially denies megumi is his, i aged up gojo, geto, and shoko so you can have some frens, exes to lovers (eventually), their relationship is toxic rn, not beta read we die like toji :(

wc: 2.7k

4 years later..

You pull Megumi’s hat over his ears to protect them from the cold and squeeze his body closer in your arms. “My mom can’t watch him today, she’s got a doctor's appointment. Shoko and Geto are working right now, too! I promise he won’t cause any trouble. He can sit in a booth while I’m working. Pleeeease, Nanami! You know he’s a good kid!” You beg your boss. He looks down at you and your son, contemplating which rules this would violate. 

It’s Gojo who comes to your defense.

“Come on Nanamiiii, I can help her keep an eye on him! You won’t have any problems, my Megumi is the sweetest little thing, aren’t you baby? Aren’t you?” He leans over to squeeze Megumi’s cheek until Megumi turns his head into your chest to escape Gojo’s teasing. 

Gojo had taken up working at the diner with you after he dropped out of college on account of, “My family has enough money for me to never have to work again. Why would I waste it in college when I can spend my youth working a minimum wage job for fun?”

You and Shoko had punched him in the face for that one. 

“Any disruptions to the customers and you’ll have to figure something else out, Y/N. This is a one time thing. Gojo, don’t let the kid be a distraction to you. You need to stop forgetting you have tables all the time.” You smile and give Gojo a victory high five. “Are you excited to spend the day with mama, Megumi?”

Megumi had turned four a couple of weeks ago. You two now lived in your own modest apartment. It was close to your mother’s house and your job. Usually your mother would keep Megumi for you during work hours, and when that wasn’t available Gojo, Geto, or Shoko would help you out. With all four contenders busy, there was no choice but for you to bring Megumi with you to work. Babysitters and daycare were out of the question on your salary of shitty tips. You could barely afford the apartment. The only way you could get furniture into it was on a loan from Gojo (which he refused to let you pay back). 

You, Nanami and Gojo walk into the back of the building through the kitchen to punch in. “Our little Megumi’s gonna be joining us today!” Gojo announces to the kitchen staff, mainly comprised of high school students and Hakari. You hear various coos as you walk Megumi through the kitchen. “Can you say ‘hi,’ baby?” You whisper to Megumi through his knitted hat. 

He pulls his face from the interior of your sweater and meekly waves to the staff, who all burst into bright smiles. There had been a few times your mother had brought Gumi to the diner to see you during hours, meaning the staff had not only heard of, but had seen Megumi around quite a bit. 

Megumi, unlike his father, was incredibly shy and quiet even for his young age. He was one of the best babies you could ever ask for. He cried of course, even had a nasty case of colic when he was little, but on average he cried far less than a normal kid. For a while you were concerned, bringing him to every doctor your insurance would allow to get second opinion after second opinion. Their conclusion? It’s just his personality. 

"It seems like he cried all his tears out during his first couple of weeks!" One doctor had joked. Yeah, so had you.

Every time you looked at Megumi, you saw Toji. Their resemblance was undeniable. Sometimes it felt as if he hadn’t inherited a single genetic trait from you. Some days, it made you more sad than others. You hadn’t seen any baby pictures of Toji, didn’t think his family even owned any, but if you had to guess, Megumi had to be the spitting image. You’d see old classmates you hadn’t talked to in years only for them to comment on how much they resembled each other. Not knowing about you and Toji's dramatic breakup.

You and Gojo punch in and take off your coats to hang them up on the rack. Yuki, one of your newer coworkers, bursts through the door with a few empty water glasses. “Agh, thank god you two are here!” She exclaims, setting them down by the sink. “I’ve got this table of guys that are driving me batshit. The kitchen guys don’t get it. I need a freakin’ break.” 

You giggle at her and take off Megumi’s hat from where you’re holding him on your hip. “I can take the next one!” You hang up Megumi’s hat next to your coat. “Just let me get him situated.” Yuki gasps and runs over to you. “Hi Megumi! I’ve heard so much about you! It’s nice to meet you, I’m Yuki! Oh my god, Y/N he’s so freakin’ cute!” She exclaims. 

Gojo and Yuki get to talking shit about her table while you walk out onto the floor to choose a booth for Megumi to sit. You choose the one furthest from the door and closest to the kitchen and set him down on a side where you’ll be able to see him clearly for the majority of your shift. “Okay Gumi, I’m gonna be working but I’m gonna come over and check on you a lot too, okay?” You set your bag next to him and pull out a few toys and a coloring book. “I’ll get the kitchen guys to sneak you some food, okay?” He nods and grabs a blue crayon from his half empty box. “Okay, mama.” He replies in the sweetest voice you've ever heard.

You give him a kiss on his forehead and move a piece of his hair behind his ear before moving to the other side of the booth and adjusting your waist apron. “Y/N, you got table three.” Yuki announced. You looked behind you to see Gojo and Yuki approaching Megumi’s table. “Megumiiiii! What are you coloring?” Gojo slid into the seat next to Megumi and his toys. 

“How many?” You asked Yuki. “Just two.” She responded, “The one guy’s hot, maybe you could get laid tonight.” You scoffed. “First of all, don’t say shit like that on the floor when we have customers who may hear you.” You give her a pointed look, “secondly, you’re too young to be talking about intercourse. You’re like twelve.” You smile at her and turn around to go greet your table. 

“I’m literally 18!” Yuki exclaims as you walk away.

“Exactly the point!” Gojo responds for you.

You pull out your server book as you approach your table and click your pen. “Hi, I’m Y/N, welcome to-” when you look up, you freeze. 

First, you see Jinichi, Toji’s brother. When your eyes move over to the other side of the booth, you see him in the flesh for the first time in five years. 

He’s looking down at the table, so you can’t see his face, but from his build alone you can see he’s almost doubled in muscle mass since you last saw him. His hair is longer, bangs falling over his eyes, and he sports a black muscle tee to show off how much he has bulked up over the years. He's intentionally avoiding your gaze.

All the feelings you’ve felt over these five years, anger, rage, resentment, loss, pain, sadness. They all come rushing back at once. Five years of wondering what he was up to while you stayed up with Megumi as a newborn when he had colic and wouldn’t stop crying for almost a month straight. As you operated on auto pilot and almost cried when you saw him smile again. As you cared for him through his first flu, which you had eventually caught too. Rushing him to the hospital for a slight rise in temperature as your mother convinced you over the phone that everything would be okay and you sobbed hysterically. When Megumi took his first steps, when he said his first word. You always thought of Toji. 

How would he have reacted? You may not have trusted him, but you don’t think he’d be a particularly bad father if he were to put in the effort. Every time Megumi smiles, every time he frowns, it looks like Toji has walked right back into your life. When you two talked about kids, it was never very serious. You always talked about the idyllic. How many you’d have, what their names would be, if you’d move out to the countryside so they’d have space to play. You never discussed how you wanted to raise them, how you two would afford it, if Toji would stop dealing.

“Well, well, fucking well!” Jinichi starts. “This is just fucking hilarious!” You can see Toji tense up where his elbows rest on the table. Jinichi leaned back in his seat looking back and forth between you and Toji. “High school fucking sweethearts! Look at this shit, Toji, that's your girl right there! Hey Y/N-” Before Jinichi can finish his sentence, Toji bangs his hands on the table, making the condiment bottles rattle loudly, and bringing the entire restaurant's attention towards the three of you. Toji mumbles something under his breath that you can’t pick up. You’re still physically frozen in place.

Jinichi had always been an asshole. Toji didn’t like you to go over to his house for multiple reasons relating to his family, but one of the major ones was because of his brother. Jinichi always had a smart mouth. Liked to put dumb ideas in Toji’s head, one of which was the one that eventually got him shot and bleeding out on your bedsheets.

“Ahh, come on little brother. You’re so intense nowadays. We’re here for a good ol-”

“We’re here for fucking business, Jinichi. Shut the fuck up. We don’t want nothin’.” Toji says, finally addressing you without even looking your way. You feel someone grab onto your shoulder and quickly turn to see Gojo. He gently pulls you away from the table. 

“I- I didn’t-” you begin, before Gojo can even get you five feet from the table, Jinichi is back at it. “Hey, what the hell, don’t take my waitress! I ain’t ordered nothin’ yet! Hey Y/N, you look good by the way! Usually girls get ugly after they have babies!” 

It’s so sudden and quick that if you weren’t five steps away, you wouldn’t have seen it at all. Toji leans over the table, somehow calmly and aggressively at the same time, to grab his brother by the collar of his shirt. “That’s enough. Don’t make me fucking tell you again.” He says, his tone quiet and deadly. 

All you can think about is Megumi, where the fuck is Megumi? He’s your priority right now. Your head whips toward Megumi’s table, where you see Yuki with her hand on Megumi’s shoulder as he watches you intensely. 

“Fuck. Gumi.” You whisper to yourself. 

You pull away from Gojo’s grasp to race toward your son. “Mama..” he whispers as you reach him and pull him tightly into a hug. “It’s okay honey. Don’t worry about it.” You firmly grasp the back of his neck to ground yourself. This is exactly why you had said all those things you said to Toji all those years ago. You didn’t want your child growing up in an unstable environment. You didn’t want Toji’s issues to be a cause of stress for yourself or for Megumi. It'd be slightly different if these were two random guys in the diner. Sure, you'd shield Megumi if it got intense, but the fact that one was his father made the hair on the back of your neck stand up at the slightest movement.

“You look sad mama. Did the big men hurt you?” You laugh at his innocence. “No, baby. They didn’t hurt me.” They did hurt you. In a deep emotional way that you didn’t feel like explaining to a four year old right now. “Let's go honey, little kids shouldn’t see this.” 

“I’m a little kid, right?” He asks. “Yes, you are.”

“What the hell is going on?” You hear a booming voice come from the kitchen door and see Nanami walking towards Toji’s table. “Nothings going on!” Jinichi yells. “You know how the little brothers are, always got a goddamned inferiority complex goin’ on or somethin’!” Toji still has a grasp on his shirt as Jinichi is yelling at Nanami. 

“I’m going to have to ask you two to leave.” Nanami says calmly. “I ain’t fucking leaving. I came here for some fuckin’ service from my brother’s old-” Suddenly, Jinichi’s head is being slammed onto the table, and a collective gasp is aroused from the restauraunt. 

“Come, Gumi.” You pick him up in your arms. “Yuki, can you pack his stuff up for me please?” You ask as you contemplate your next move. “Of course, of course.” You can’t head to the front or kitchen door without Gumi potentially seeing more violence. You would have to rush past in the hopes that nothing else happens while you’re moving by. The kitchen door is closer from here, less potential for Megumi to see anything. 

“Ok, Gumi. Can you close your eyes for me real quick, baby?” You ask, rubbing his back. “Ok, mama.” You move Megumi so that his face is pressed to your chest and book it toward the kitchen door. You hear more commotion as you pass by, but will yourself not to turn around and check. Gojo and Yuki follow you in from behind with your bag. When you’re in the kitchen, you’re quick to set Megumi on the ground to grab his hat and secure it on his head. 

“I’m so sorry, Y/N, I never would’ve given you that table if I knew.” She apologizes as she hands you your bag. You laugh. “It’s not your fault Yuki. By the way, remember what I said about no intercourse? You wanna implement that policy because of fuckers like him-” “Mama!” Megumi chastises. “Sorry, bad word.” Yuki lets out a relieved sigh.

“I didn’t even see them walk in, Y/N-” Gojo starts. “Oh my gosh guys, it's not a big deal! Seriously, I’m just worried about Gumi seeing anything.” Even as you say this, your hands shake as you attempt to zip up Megumi’s coat. Gojo gives you a knowing look and grabs your own coat off the rack for you. 

“I just, um, need a little break. I can’t afford to lose out on the money tonight.” You say, grabbing your coat from him and sliding it on. “I’ll cover you-” Gojo starts, but you interrupt. “I’m not taking money from your family, Gojo!” You pick up Megumi and hold him on your hip. “I’m not saying that. I’ll split the tips from tonight with you. My apology for not seeing them before.” 

“No, Gojo.”

Nanami walks in the kitchen door. “Take the day off,” he says to you before walking back to his office. “No, Nanami I’m ok I’ll just take him to my mom’s really quick-” 

“You’re too shaken up to do anything else today. I’ll schedule you more next week to make up for it.” Nanami supplies. “Thank you.” You say, silently relieved. Was your distress seriously that obvious? You would have to tone it down in front of Gumi.

“Wooow Nanami you’re such a good manager-” 

“Can it Gojo, you’re gonna have to pick up the slack tonight.”

You’re already making your way out the back of the building when Gojo responds with a whine.

“Hey what the hells going on out there?” Hakari asks as you walk by. “Some bullshit.” You respond. “Mama!”

You weren’t even in the building for thirty minutes today, but it feels thirty degrees cooler when you walk out. The trek to the bus stop is gonna suck. 

It's a ten minute walk from the diner to the bus stop. You cling onto Megumi for warmth, making sure he's buried not only in his own coat, but in yours. When you get to the bus stop, you realize it’s gonna be another fifteen minutes before the bus comes. Megumi isn’t one to complain, but you can feel him shivering under you. “Just a little longer baby.” You soothe him, rapidly rubbing his back and arms in an attempt to warm him. 

It must be some sick joke for an old pickup truck to pull right in front of the bus stop and roll its window down. 

“Do you need a ride?” Toji asks.

You've gotta be fucking kidding.

part two is up! thanks so much for all the love on the first on! 70 notes is crazy!

pls send requests or questions to me! and also let me know if i missed anything in the tags!

thank you guys !!!

(i'll make a masterlist maybe when pt 3 goes up but im too lazy rnnnnnn)

[pseudowho]

I’m 19 turning 20 soon, any advice for these roaring twenties? Almost everyone I know said it was the worst years of their life… so I’m kinda hoping for some other input, lol. And also advice on how to not feel like I wasted my teen years and I missed out on being young and stress free 🥲 thank you thank you, adore your work, mwah

In your twenties, you should seek to know yourself, down to the very nitty gritty of you. You should embrace both your strengths and your flaws, and being able to talk about them. You should be able to recognise them in action, and route the waters accordingly. You should, first and foremost, try to make the good stuff great, and manage the bad stuff so it's a small enough part of you to fit into the post-script. It's there; but it comes up from time to time. It's there; but it's not the main part of you.

You didn't waste your teen years. You were growing up, baby. Modern media hyperfetishises extreme youth; it has been strictly targeted at making sure you feel old by the time you're 25. They're dirty fucking liars; they benefit from your anxiety and insecurity. Don't be conned: you're better than that. A word to the wise: if you peaked at 20, that's desperately sad. You should rise, instead, like a firework; never to fall, simply to go up and up and up, and BANG! in a burst of fire and fantasticals in your final moment. In other words? You're peaking on your deathbed, baby. You're going to rise.

Learn to apologise. No, listen: learn to apologise. Learn to reflect on your failings. Learn to swallow the shame and the guilt and crawl through treacle to own up to it. Learn to look back on your worst moments, and be sincere in your remorse, and look on how to make yourself better after. How many grown adults do you know who really, truly apologise? And how many do you know who deny, or accuse, or begrudge? 'nuff said.

Grow. Take every and any opportunity for growth. Like the firework, yes? Rise!

Change is good. Embrace it. Learn to be able to say "I used to think XYZ, but now I know better."

Research a bunch of non-biased news apps from around the world; also news apps which align strictly against your own worldview. Do not shield yourself from 'spin', or alternative opinions, or straight up disinformation. For example, I identify as an Anarcho-Socialist/Left-wing Libertarian. Do I also have extremely Right Wing news sources on my phone? You fucking bet I do. It is incredible how much you can glean from national and world events, all on how different news sources have spun the same event.

Stay up to date with global and national news. You will find yourself altogether worldlier, far less naive and far less likely to be mugged off by people, news and politics.

Kindness is almost always the correct first response.

Empathy does not mean 'putting yourself in someone else's shoes'. Empathy is a far, far deeper beast than this.

Plenty of people don't have your best interests at heart; become wiser. Learn to know when to distance yourself from those who seek to break you.

And from @mrhaitch, who has effortlessly sounded like Nanami Kento once again...

Don't assume that where you are now, is where you will always be. You may leave some paths behind for others; this does not mean that you've failed on the first path. It means that the path isn't right for you now, and in this moment. Embrace those opportunities for change and variation.

And...

...enjoy yourself. I am far, far happier aged 31 than I was aged 21.

All my love, baby,

And remember:

Love,

-- Haitch xxx

[beneathsilverstars]

Siffrin is like. 26 at the YOUNGEST to me. Most of them are in their mid to late 20s (early 30s maybe) besides odile who *I* think is mid to late 40s

I did hear the word of god descriptions before considering their ages, so my hcs are compliant with them, but the word of god does all seem right to me. Except ironically the one canon age range (preteen Bonnie) is the only one that seems off; if they weren’t called a preteen I’d assume them to be like 8. (As opposed to, I define preteen as 11 or 12, mayybe 10. aka the ages that would also be called “teen” if not for linguistics.)

But yeah Siffrin is soo 28 to me, definitely within 26-31. Old enough that they’re quite settled into their sense of self and the patterns of their adult life, but not so old as to be totally set in it (or desperately trying to change it). They’re sort of still just muddling along, but they’re very good at it by now! At the very least, they’re used to it, used to pretending it’s fine, but not yet quite so sick of it that they can’t pretend anymore. Not quite.

Mirabelle and Isabeau do have more youthful insecurity imo. I put Mirabelle at 22 because to me that’s the age where it feels like everybody you grew up with is graduating right now and getting job offers in their chosen field, but not you, because you’re a failure. Any younger and you’re all still in college together (or if not, then working 30-40 hours a week is almost more grown up of you than being in school). Any older and everyone’s doing different things anyway. But at exactly 22, being even just one semester behind feels like a huge difference, like nothing you’ve done matters in the face of the one thing you haven’t. (ofc, Vaugarde doesn’t have the same schooling system as irl modern USA, but it’s about the vibes okay.)

And then Isabeau’s 24 because that’s when everyone is doing different things anyway. You’ve realized that the social structure of school, the cliques, the competition, isn’t really how it works as an adult. You are out there in the world on your own and it’s time to figure out what makes you happy instead of your friends or teachers. And, a couple years into working, you might be realizing that the career path you were so sure of really doesn’t suit you at all! And it’s scary to change, and waste all that hard work you’ve done. But, at 24, it hasn’t been that long since you graduated high school, and less since you graduated college (or if not college, you still may have tried a couple different towns or a couple different groups of roommates). You’ve upended your entire life at least once if not several times in recent memory, so even though it’s scary, doing it once more doesn’t feel as impossible as it would for someone who’s been doing the same thing for the last twenty years straight.

Speaking of which, Odile! Admittedly half the reason I made her 43 was self-indulgent ship reasons. But! I also think it makes sense. She’s been out of school just as long as she’s been in it. She had been doing approximately the same thing for the last 15+ years, so leaving is a huge upheaval. But she’s young enough to still have the energy for travel — she sure feels old next to Mirabelle, and she is slower and achier, but she’s also still perfectly able to fight, hike, and camp. (ofc, many older people can still do these things, but I feel like once you get past 50 it starts being mostly just the people who have been consistently doing these things all along.) Also, 40 is just The mid-life crisis age, y’know? So at 40 she starts wanting a change, and then time goes so fast once you’re settled into adult life plus going to the other side of the world is a huge undertaking, so it takes a couple years. But by 43 she’s done it, she’s made the change!

Then I made Bonnie 12 because according to purely my own intuition, I think 4 is maybe the oldest age Bonnie could’ve been when running away that wouldn’t leave them with some solid memory of their parents, and even then it would probably take close to 8 years to have forgotten them to such an extent and grown to be relatively well-adjusted. And I went for the max running away age because oh my god Nille. And I put Nille at the top of her word of god age range - 21 - because oh my god Nille. Babies taking care of babies. At least this way she was a full teen and they were a preschooler!!

[mariacallous]

Who are the lovely dictators? You might find yourself wondering if generation Z has access to a historical cache of great guys who just didn’t want to waste their people’s ever-enriched time with stuff like democracy. The results of a study commissioned by Channel 4 this week found that 52% of gen Z, who are aged between 13 and 27, thought “the UK would be a better place if a strong leader was in charge who does not have to bother with parliament and elections”.

That feels … not great. And, of course, the reflexive tendency for many older generations is to resort immediately to ridicule of gen Z. You know the sort of thing. Oh, I guess they got bored halfway through the video summary of whichever dictator’s life, and just scrolled to the next thing. Or: this is why they have to put those captions on clips saying, “What happens at the end will blow your mind!!!!!” Short shrift would no doubt also be given to the finding that 33% of gen Z think the UK would be better off “if the army was in charge”. Ooh, the army’s going to need a lot more soldiers, then. Wait till these kids find out the age of the conscripts. You like the army? That’s great – you’re going to be the army!

The study, carried out by the polling company Craft, was based on a sample of 3,000 adults of all ages, which many people will feel is much too small. But the question on the “strong leader” seems to have been near identical to the one asked in 2022 by JL Partners, for UK Onward, in a poll of more than 8,000 adults. That latter poll found that 61% of 18- to 34-year-olds supported running the UK with “a strong leader who doesn’t have to bother with parliament/elections”.

Anyway, now we’ve got the sneering and nitpicking out of the way, perhaps it’s time to park the great British talent for deflection, particularly given today’s children’s commissioner’s report into why children became involved in last summer’s riots. At least 147 children were arrested and 84 charged, with sentences handed down to those as young as 12. Almost all were boys.

Rachel de Souza’s findings make for fairly despairing reading. None of the children she’d spoken to said they were motivated by anti-immigration or far-right beliefs – in fact, some actively disdained those. They did, however, deeply dislike and distrust the police, and felt they had few or no opportunities in life. De Souza’s research suggested they were “impulsive” and searching for a thrill. As she puts it, this raises “some really serious questions about childhood in England and why our children feel so disaffected and disempowered”.

If only we’d consider those questions with the same urgency that the authorities prosecuted and sentenced children after the riots, despite concerned parties including the NSPCC and the Youth Justice Board urging that children only be criminalised for their involvement as a last resort. Yet many children were arrested under what De Souza highlights as “unusually severe and swift charges”, despite most of them not having been in trouble with the law before.

Children might sometimes do very bad and stupid things, but they are not so stupid that they can’t see they live in a country where the gulf in opportunities is quite staggering. It’s droll to think that two months after the riots, we’d be listening to Keir Starmer’s blithe defence of his decision to take up the freebie loan of an £18m penthouse so his son could study for his GCSEs in peace and quiet. “Any parent would have made the same decision,” explained the prime minister. Any parent, if you please. I do wonder what on earth the parents of the rioting youngsters were doing making the choices they did. I would simply have let my teens spend the afternoon in an £18m penthouse instead. Anyway, speaking of guillotine-beckoning comments, perhaps it isn’t the most enormous surprise that the Channel 4 study found 47% of gen Z agreeing that “the entire way our society is organised must be radically changed through revolution”.

Again, it’s easy to dismiss, but if they believe these things, surely it’s on those of our generations who failed to make the status quo seem remotely appealing? Many of the behaviours of today’s teens and young adults are not simply thick / snowflakey / lazy, but rational responses to a world created by their elders, if not always betters. The childhood experience has deteriorated completely in the past 15 years or so. We have addicted children to – and depressed them with – smartphones, and done next to nothing about this no matter how much evidence of the most toxic harms mounts up. Children in the US are expected to tidy their rooms by generations who also expect them to rehearse active-shooter drills. We require young people to show gratitude for living in an iteration of capitalism in which they have not only no stake, but no obvious hope of getting a stake. It seems to them that there have been better times to be alive.

If overly “woke” politics was hurtled into statute, it was done by people much older than those now being harried for investing too heavily in it all. By the time today’s teens reach an age at which they might hold public office, politicians will be mere front-of-house figures to the real powers: the Silicon Valley titans. Parliaments will be self-driving. We will all be watched over by machines of loving grace.

There’s a good couplet in The Mission, a movie from the mid-cretaceous period (1986) that no one in gen Z will have watched. “Such is the world,” deflects one character. “No,” counters another. “Such have we made it.” The answer to the question “will no one think of the children?” is usually: no, not for a second. We should, though, and urgently. The future quite literally depends on it.

[hyunpic]

list of songs hyunjin has played on his lives/recommended:

note: im probably missing some & i couldn’t put links to all of them cause apparently tumblr has a link limit 🤨

lauv: julia, lonely eyes, invisible things, paris in the rain, never not, im so tired, the story never ends, i like me better

offonff: photograph, cigarette (ft. miso & tablo), dance, bath

beyoncé: crazy in love (remix)

billie eilish: i love you, &burn, idontwannabeyouanymore, ocean eyes, before i go, tv

honne: day1, la la la that’s how it goes

christina perri: a thousand years

shawn mendes: mercy, treat you better, in my blood

dvwn: phobia

dpr live: jam & butterfly

jehwi: dear moon

leehi: rose

bts: dna, waste it on me, make it right

colde: where love begins, string (ft. sunwoojunga), the museum, wa-r-r, your dog loves you (ft. crush), control me, a song nobody knows, im in love

got7: miracle, hard carry

justin bieber: lonely

josef salvat: call on me

taemin: criminal

night off: sleep

sam kim: make up (ft. crush), like a fool, sunny days summer nights

niki: lowkey

iu: the visitor, lullaby, knees, love poem, give you my heart, my sea

cha ni: starlight

sia: snowman

akmu: happening

sunwoojunga: run with me

the black skirts: everything

korea cracker: ocean (ft. hoyeon kim)

cosmic boy: can i love?

penomeco: no.5 (ft. crush)

yerin baek: blooming memories, limit

10cm: so…., however

day6: i’ll try, love me or leave me, when you love someone, you were beautiful, congratulations, zombie, days gone by, afraid

dean: d (half moon), instagram, what 2 do, bonnie & clyde

exo: first snow, the eve, love shot

sam fischer: this city

jukjae: do you want to walk with me?, lullaby

ph-1: nerdy love (ft. yerin baek), as i told you

baekhyun: love again, un village

amine: blackjack

young k: come as you are, guard you

flume: say it (ft. tove lo)

twice: dance the night away, fancy

ariana grande: thank u, next

hajin: we all lie

about: it has to be you

caroline says: winter is cold

h.e.r: u, wait for it

bol4: to my youth

monday kiz: winter is as i wished

paul kim: the road, additional

sweden laundry: the winter

jung seung hwan: in that winter

chungha: gotta go

zion.t: no make up, snow

airman: gloomy star, i’ll be your spring (ft. j_ust)

motte: dont run away

seventeen: a-teen, super

khalid: location

lukas graham: 7 years

imagine dragons: believer

bo kyung kim: dont think you are alone

jung ilhoon: spoiler (ft. babylon)

davichi: falling in love, 이 사랑

coldplay: everglow, viva la vida

lyn: my destiny

jus2: focus on me, long black, senses (jpn version)

crush: beautiful, you and i

ed sheeran: lego house, perfect, photograph, beautiful people

croosh: why

20 years of age: x

tori kelly: paper hearts

seulgi: always

luna: do you love me? (ft. george)

wisue: someone’s shining

epik high: eternal sunshine

jp saxe: if the world was ending

seori: fairy tale

bruno mars: marry you

the weeknd: earned it, die for you

jung seunghwan: its raining, an ordinary day, dear

sam tinnesz: play with fire

post malone: motley crew

jihyo: stardust love song

kim feel: your voice

sung sikyung: solar system, heejae

younha: stardust

wonpil: a journey

taeyeon: invu, some nights, toddler, drawing our moments

nct dream: boom

ha hyunsang: 3108

huhgak: memory of your scent

se so neon: nan chun, a long dream, midnight train, stranger

umi: remember me

tvxq!: mirotic

johnny balik: honey

red velvet: psycho

new jeans: hype boy

christian kuria: losing you

cigarettes after sex: k. , each time you fall in love, sunsetz, apocalypse

dpr ian: nerves, no blueberries, 1 shot

samm henshaw: broke

woodz: drowning

kelly clarkson: underneath the tree

kimmuseum: to you who cant sleep

taylor swift: betty

lana del rey: young and beautiful

harry styles: watermelon sugar, she

pink sweat$: honesty

masego: tadow

olivia rodrigo: vampire

troye sivan: youth, for him

kai: mmmh

2pm: my house

oasis: wonderwall, hey now

mac miller: that’s on me, everybody

nothing but thieves: amsterdam

bren joy: sweet

back number: i love you

mac ayres: next to you, roses

daniel caesar: blessed, ocho rios, get you (ft. kali uchis), take me away (ft. syd), do you like me?, disillusioned

green day: dilemma

puma blue: already falling

bruno major: nothing, easily, places we won’t walk, the most beautiful thing, old soul

[suisen-shira]

My middle aged neighbour stays in the Philippines for most of the year. He casually mentioned the epidemic of musty retiree men from the West shacking up with late teen/early 20s Filipinas who are nearly always from impoverished backgrounds. He described it as a 'win-win', old man gets to ravish her youth plus lifelong nurse to change his diapers, she finds a way out of her poverty or at least a better quality of life.

I told him it's a hooker punter arrangement and that these men don't dare return to the West with their 'wives' in tow because their main leverage over her comes from her desperation. I noted how women from my country (industrialised) do not have to resort to such arrangements as frequently and the trend in Ph stems from penury. They could just NOT be rapacious and hire her as a nurse but why would they when they can get bang-maid benefits rolled in?

He proceeds to call me opinionated and says women from my country (say, the US) are too ugly to galvanise the mass exodus of geriatrics for companionship purposes. He then smugly explains to me that prostitution is, for the most part, not exploitative, attractive women would anyday prefer to be paid 1000s for being a pillow princess than work at Subway (nevermind the frequently supermodel tier women working in retail and hospitality). How, while 's__king disgusting men's d___s for a living' would certainly be no fun, the (Filipina) women he knows that do it are chirpy, wholesome, pretty college girls looking to earn a few extra bucks. That it is a personal liberty and I am projecting my biases on to them by suggesting such encounters may be degrading and traumatic for them.

It's all just a naughty adventure, you see. A luxury available only to beautiful women in their wild days of youth. A mandatory 304 phase, if you will. Why not get paid while you're at it? Imagine being so desirable men pay lavishly to have you. Happy hookers ftw. Because sexuality is divorced from privacy and self respect when it comes to beautiful women. The highest bidder wins.

These girls will go on to marry wealthy men and have kids (thereby scaling the pinnacle of womanhood), he explained. As if making oneself into a sex object is a rite of passage for attractive women, a pitstop before hallowed wifedom where the lewd husband continues to consume 🌽 and prostitutes while telling wifey he wouldn't dream of disrespecting her the way he does THOSE women, she is The Wife, the social position is the reward.

His talking points boiled down to 'attractive women are in possession of a goldmine, wouldn't it be a criminal waste for them to not monetise their bodies in the most invasive manner possible?' He earnestly believes beautiful young girls are available on tap if you are a wealthy men*.

*He is a wealthy man.

He, like so many other leches populating the corridors of corporate power, has made bank. Otherwise unremarkable, he is not a looker and although this post does otherwise, the less said about his nauseating personality, the better. I suspect it is his dirty old man fantasy, an assembly line of stunning, young women ever-eager to f___ him, his general unsavouriness notwithstanding.

Throughout his tirade he wouldn't let me get a word in. He absolutely would not entertain the notion that passport bro bs and sex for money is inherently misanthropic. When I pointed out that it is a combination of low self-esteem, insecurity and economic instability that impels women who claim to 'voluntarily' sell themselves, his response was: 🤷🏻‍♀️ at least they are making something out of a gnarly situation instead of acting like professional victims. The specious 'emancipation' argument. He will do anything but admit that all of it, from bubbly 'college girls' su___ing 🍆 for cash to the long-suffering, self effacing wife grateful for scraps of 'love' is an outcome of the self-serving male psyche; the unbridled lust and entitlement to women it breeds.

As though an exclusive, loving heterosexual partnership founded on mutual support and regard is a pipe dream. By signing up for it, women accept the fineprint - his roving eye and insatiable sexual appetite, the unrelenting assaults on her soul.

Going by my neighbour's assertions, objectifying women, the pursuit of no strings attached/hedonistic sex is a compulsive behaviour for human males, an inalienable part of male sexuality that is also divorced from their capacity to love. Women are either Madonnas or Wh__es. The former should be thankful men elevated her to the latter, her superior status implies he adores her even if his actions show anything but. He is simultaneously free to covet the latter, she gets his attention and admiration - a 'win-win'. Both exist to satisfy different facets of the male psyche.

I'm sad to report that even this odious man has a devoted long term girlfriend whom he frequently derides. She is always in damage control mode putting out the fires he starts with his unconsidered words. She can do better but she stays because 'the known devil etc'. Being single is inconceivable for some reason.

He is one of those men that takes pride in being obnoxious, like it is a reflection of his importance, his ability to hurt others evidence of his emotional intelligence. People tolerating his unkindness are tacitly declaring their allegiance to him. Of course that is not the case, like so many men, he has an ill formed Theory of Mind. Most people just pinch their noses and want to be done with the unpleasantness asap, confrontation (I found out the hard way) only prolongs the suffering - and all for naught. He is too daft to know better.

[gx-gameon]

Does Jaden ever feel guilty about Yugi 'giving up' his early adult years for him? I can picture Jaden in high school now finally realizing just how young Yugi was when he adopted him and maybe hearing a comment from the other students (not about him specifically maybe just some high school drama) that being a teenage parent is like throwing your life away.

Like he knows his Dad loves him and doesn't regret but he can't help but let his mind wonder to what Yugi's life could have been like with out him.

Oh yes.

Obviously he doesn’t get it when he’s small but when he goes away to school he starts to understand.

He can hear people talking about teen parents and the ‘waste of potential.’ He can hear his friends talking about their much older parents ‘who established themselves in their careers before having kids.’

His parents/family is young. Closer to older siblings than adult family members. But they did a great job being his dad/Oto-san/Uncles/Aunts. They went above and beyond for him. But they also sacrificed a lot.

He’s always seen the rumors in the media or at school. ‘Yugi Muto secret teen dad?” “Yugi Muto hides child for four years!” “Is Seto Kaiba ready for a family?” “Can the CEO have it all?” He grew up with the gossip rags and the social media speculation. His family shielded him when they could but they couldn’t always do that.

He’s know for a while that their family ain’t normal but it isn’t until Duel Academy that he starts to get over whelmed by guilt.

His friends are hanging out and some one brings up Yugi and his early career. And someone makes the comment that “Man I wish I could have seen where Yugi could have done if he wasn’t held back by his kid.” Yugi Muto is still the king of games and undefeated. But he doesn’t go to every tournament. (Jaden knows this is impart to work schedual and the fact that his Dad and Soto-San don’t trust all everyone who runs the tournaments. Zigfried for one. But people commonly blame the kings absences on his son. It’s rarely Jaden’s fault but the public opinion was already set against him.) Jaden can’t even defend himself without giving away his identity so he has to sit there and listen to his friends debate whether or not his adoption ruined his Dad’s life.

It happens several times.

People will even bring Seto into it. A delay happens of something gets put back. ‘I bet his son got in the way again.’ A different Deul Academy gets more funding or a unique opportunity. ‘He’s showing favoritism cause his kid goes there.’

But the guilt really doesn’t hit until Jaden is 18. He’s saved the world a dozen times (just like his Dad) but unlike his dad he’s traveling the world and finding himself. He has so much freedom and family supports him so much. But he’s also the same age Yugi was when he adopted him.

And he has to wonder. How much of the world did his dad get to experience before taking Jaden in? How much freedom did his Dad give up to give him stability? Jaden feels awful, he stole his Dad’s youth. He stole the whole DM cast 20s instead of being young and finding themselves and parting they were taking care of him.

And it kills him. He’s not worth it. He ruined their lives

Note the DM cast does not think this at all.

Jaden has been a blessing to them all. They all adore him and think he’s one of the greatest things that ever happened to them.

He brought Atem back (accidentally)

He reunited the friend group. They were all starting to drift towards their careers but Yugi needed help with Jaden gave them a concrete reason to still all hang out.

Friend group drift after high school. Unless they put in the effort to stay together. The DM cast loved each other and would always be close. But Jaden was a reason to get together regularly.

(Jaden’s first Christmas. Jaden’s birthday. They wanted to give him the best childhood and that meant being around when they could and calling when they couldn’t. Téa might have been in America and Mai might have been traveling but they are still Auntie Téa and Auntie Mai because they are there for Jaden.

Yes it was hard work. And they couldn’t do things normal people in their 20s can. But they also gained a lot with Jaden. If they wanted to do a friend trip Gramps could watch Jaden so they could be young and crazy or they took the kid and had a blast introducing Jaden to different things and experiences.

They all love this kid. He was worth it to them.

Jaden’s just is a real dark place already and being hit with the guilt of ‘forcing’ his family to give up their youths is hitting him at an awful time. Couple with the trauma from the dark world and wooooo.

Someone needs to sit the kid down and remind him how much they love him.

[hao-and-yoh]

For @matamunes-little-paws

It is definitely much nicer in this AU Ivy!

Fluffy / Comfort

Shaman King | Hao and Brocken | Hao and Yoh

This fanfic is not Canon in “Fourth Times The Charm” AU

Read “Fourth Times The Charm” by IvyCorp here!

“Shamans in Disguise”

Short on cash and sanity, neither in great supply to begin with, Asakura Hao found himself – yet again – shopping for ludicrous objectives. Except this time his Patch descendant would be relieved that his “partner in crime” was his adopted father figure, who had offered to assist with Hao’s latest strange indulgence, “How do I appear more like a teenager?” “Sorry?” replied Brocken – his shrouded features obscured the amused smile on his face paired with the quizzical look in his eye. “I’m supposed to be fourteen, so – what do fourteen-year-olds do?” Brocken chuckled at the funny question, though a cold snap chill washed over his miniature frame when he saw the serious look now in his leader’s eyes. “Uh…” he began hesitantly, “Well, I suppose that depends?” “On what?” huffed Hao, raising an eye brow at his small father. “On what they like? What their interests are?” listed Brocken. Likes and interests? What on earth in this day and age do kids even enjoy? Seeing that his adopted son was struggling with the concept of the modern times, Brocken Meyer made the bold suggestion they retcon the town in search of answers from the locals – observe the behaviours of the community, perhaps even peruse the shopping districts. The small in stature shaman was surprised and overjoyed when Hao immediately agreed to the idea – insisting they act immediately. Though, it would be some time before they actually left camp for their spontaneous father and son outing – as Hao spent a ridiculously long time picking out the perfect outfit for the occasion. Settling on a blue baseball cap, a pair of mirrored sunshades, a bright orange and white striped jersey, white sneakers and black shorts.

“Is this fourteen-year-old enough?” asked the mighty and all powerful Asakura Hao – turning slowly on the spot as he pulled his long hair through the back of the cap.

Stifling a laugh once more, Brocken nodded in response.

The funny looking duo turned the occasional head as they made their way down the busy high street. Hao searched the faces of the humans for other youths and searched their minds for answers to his questions. Though it became apparent very quickly this method was a waste of time – as the teenagers he observed were too busy thinking about what others thought about them instead of thinking about the things they loved.

“How about in here?” hopefully asked Brocken as they passed a toy store. Hao sighed when he saw the window display. Obviously his adopted father wanted to go in this store. When Brocken saw the irked expression flicker across the masquerading teen’s face, he went on, “I – I mean, kids like toys – don’t they?”

“I suppose.” mumbled Hao, humouring the toy-fan shaman. He pretended not to sense Brocken’s outpouring of delight as the pair made their way inside.

The shorter one of the two soon disappeared from Hao’s side and down the LEGO aisle, and Hao rolled his eyes behind his reflective shades as he began to search the shelves for ideas.

Perhaps this new venture of his had already gotten away from him when he realised he didn’t have the slightest clue what any of the mostly pre-packaged plastic land-fill was actually for, nor did he understand how or why any of it would bring joy to the targeted age group he had in mind. Until suddenly, something caught his eye.

He picked up the brightly coloured HASBRO box containing a bright red and blue robot. He gently maneuvered the exposed figurine with his free hand and delighted in its ability to change its form into a vehicle. His eyes drifted to the other figures on the shelf beside it as a child-like excitement suddenly awakened within him to explore what delights the others could do, too.

“Ah, Transformers, Generation 1.” came the voice of his father figure. “Released 1984, a very popular franchise in Japan and around the world. Children of all ages - even adults - enjoy them, Hao-sama.”

“Hm. I see.” muttered Hao, fixating his gaze on the range in front of him. He momentarily looked down to his right to exchange a glance with the toy-expert in his company, though he let out a chuckle when he saw the stack of LEGO boxes in Brocken’s grasp.

Yes, that’ll do just nicely.

**** “Do you like Transformers?”

“What?”

Odd. He was certain that the question he had asked was clear enough. Had an actual fourteen-year-old teen never even heard of them? Brocken had reassured him the toy range was popular for all age groups?

“Transformers?” repeated Hao, offering a bright yellow robot to the boy.

“Ha!” he laughed, accepting the figurine immediately and attempting to change its form. “I haven’t seen one of these in years!”

“Oh.” muttered Hao, wincing slightly as a wave of embarrassment came over him. “Are – are they too juvenile for you?”

“Not at all!” delighted the teen, smiling broadly at the one who had given him the toy.

Hao smiled to himself, pleased that his research had paid off. But then, the delighted face in front of him moulded into something else.  

“It’s just…”

Yoh gazed at the toy with reminiscent eyes as he observed the black and yellow robot intensely in his hands. Hao began to notice the distinct hint of sadness emanating in the air around them both.

This was definitely not going the way he had imagined. The offering was supposed to strengthen his demise, further push his agenda he was just like all the others in Yoh’s circle, the same age, the same level of threat, perhaps even harmless. Though he could see the toy had inflicted some kind of harm on the one in front of him, though not the physical kind.

“Is something wrong with it?” questioned the strange looking one of the two, who still adorned his large mirrored frames despite the darkening skyline.

“No, no – it’s not that. It just kinda reminds me of when I was a kid.” sighed Yoh. He lifted his gaze and smiled kindly at the strange shaman, whose odd mannerisms he was becoming all too familiar with. “I collected a few of these guys, they were awesome! I even read some of the comic books, too.”

Hao hesitated as he searched his mind for the right thing to say.

“Who was your favourite?” he muttered, feigning interest and knowledge of the franchise he had only learned about hours before.

“Megatron!” laughed Yoh, excitedly. “I love villains. They’re so much fun! And his toy was the best one too! It could transform into a pistol and had a fusion cannon!”

Hao suddenly felt like he was on the back foot – Yoh’s overly excitable behaviour threw him off guard – he didn’t anticipate he would get this so perfect that he wouldn’t even know how to steer the conversation in the direction he needed it to go.

“That’s so cool. I like Megatron too.” he chuckled in reply. His eyes drifted to the yellow robot in the teen’s hand. He quickly realised that he had made a grossly false assumption.

“Really? Neat! We have that in common!” delightfully laughed Yoh. “I bet we would have been good friends if we had known each other as kids!”

Taken aback by Yoh’s overzealous child-like innocence, Hao swallowed nervously at his words. Despite his covered eyes, Yoh noticed the subtle change in the other’s expression.

“Ah, sorry. I get a bit carried away sometimes. That’s… probably why I didn’t have anyone to play Transformers with, eh?” sheepishly said the teen as he offered the robot toy back to the one who had given it to him.

“Keep it.” said Hao with a soft smile. “Call it a trade, for the headphones.”

“No – no, I can’t. I bet your little sis likes playing with it, right?”

“She’s not as big of a fan as you are,” reassured Hao, “Take it.”

“Really?” breathed Yoh, his eyes widening with delight. “That’s so nice of you! Thanks!”

Before Hao could make his escape from the somewhat awkward scenario, he found himself getting more than he bargained for as the happy, thankful and clearly rather lonely young boy threw his arms around him in a grateful embrace.

Stunned, Asakura Hao froze in the other’s arms, his own arms becoming rigid by his sides. The hold likely only lasted moments, but each second seemed to stretch out in his mind and the world around them seemed to have stood still. In those brief few seconds, he noticed how Yoh’s touch felt almost nuclear to him, like there was an electrical spark charged between them creating a strange internal gravitational pull. Unbeknown to him, the other recognised the same thing – only his observation was reasoned in a different way. Yoh wondered if, perhaps – they were meant to have crossed paths one day. Why did Yoh feel this pull towards this strange boy? And why did he enjoy being around him so much?

Yoh pulled back and cleared his throat, worried once more he may have crossed a boundary and potentially scared his new friend away. Picking up on this anxiety, Hao found himself uncharacteristically searching for words of reassurance,

“I think we would have been good friends, too.”

Read “Fourth Times The Charm” by IvyCorp on AO3 here.

[marzipanandminutiae]

You posted about getting married young, and I just wanna say thank you? I got really lucky and met THE woman when we were 17, and engagement is in the horizon for us at 22, 23. Sometimes it gets to me when people say we're wasting our youth, it's nice having someone batting for us

Also love the pfp, carmilla fans are still alive and well and if you've got any fanfic recs lmk

Congrats! I hope it works out for you. (I would say "girl" at 17, not "woman," but I assume it's just a random word choice since it sounds like you're the same age, so not a big deal.)

While I of course don't advocate for child marriage- ie marriage below age 18, and really I think 20+ is wiser -the whole "date around or you're Wasting Your Youth!!!" narrative pisses me off, like I said. I grew up with that shoved down my throat to the point where I believed my own desires to just meet the right girl and stay with her forever were just youthful romanticism; that I'd "mature" and want to date more people instead of wanting to settle down. (And for some people that is the trajectory! And that's fine! Just...not everyone.)

When your mother got so lost in the Swinging Sixties sauce during her own teen years that she goes too far the opposite way of most parents, I guess?

Yeah, someone might regret a young marriage. But they might regret ANY marriage- that's just a risk you take when you get married. Trusting people to know their own minds in relationships that present no actual red flags is important, even for teenagers. Teaching young people not to trust their own (harmless) emotions and desires for their lives because it doesn't match what you'd have them do seems horribly backwards to me. It's a dangerous precedent to set for them.

When I was 16, I thought I'd be perfectly happy if I married a girl I met at that age- when we were older, of course. Now I'm 30, and guess what? I still think that. I would have been satisfied. Hell, I wish that had happened. It's not right for everybody, but it would have been right for me.

I hope things work out for you two!

[schizodiaries]

I’m really glad I never fell into the trap of thinking that your teens are your prime and once you hit 25 it all goes downhill from there. That mindset never made sense to me because my teenage years were downright depressing, my early twenties were awkward and confusing, and I hit my lowest point mentally at 25. I’m only just now starting to feel like I have a decent grasp on my life and I’m almost 29. And it still feels like my life has barely just begun. Some people would find that sad. They would say I’ve wasted my time, or that I’m behind in life. But I choose not to feel that way. I just feel lucky to still be alive.

I think it’s ok to miss some aspects of your youth, or to wish things would have been different. But time moves forward, you can’t stop time and you can’t stop aging. Personally, i’m always looking forward to what the coming years can teach me, and what that means for my own personal growth. I hope I live long enough to see 30, 40, 50 and so on. I’m not done here yet, I have so many more decades to experience.

[xxxg0ryygurlll13xxx]

i really don’t feel like a teenager ever

like i feel more like a 50 year old woman than a 16 year old girl. i don’t really talk w my friends abt anything but schoolwork mostly cause that’s the only thing my one school friend talks abt besides her bf and one hobby. i don’t talk abt current shows i gossip some but i find myself not really talking to ppl at all, i don’t go to the movies, i usually only go to the mall alone, when i go over to my bfs house sure we do teen stuff like kiss and cuddle but we don’t talk much mostly just touch, idk i just feel like i wasted all my youth and i feel like an old woman now like my life has been so much longer than it has been. i worry abt all kinds of adult things and i’ve never even really felt like a kid when i was a kid. idk i just see ppl my age having so much fun w their friends and such going places doing things and i just do most things by myself and my life mostly revolves around school rather than the few friends i have. i just feel kinda lonely but not really in a way that more friends would fix it i don’t want a huge friend group. what i miss was the feeling of friendship i had w my middle/elementary school friends it was mostly just the 4 of us and i’ve never had a connection like that since it’s just got me feeling weird abt myself. idk idek if this makes any sense to y’all. i made this acc and started blogging in it the summer before high school cause i felt lonely i lost 3 of my bestest friends and didn’t know what to do and here i am feeling such a similar way and i have been for awhile idk i feeel like isolating myself but i still crave that feeling of not being lonely. idk i’m hoping i can find that in college but i fear i’ll be too old to do all the fun high school things. everyone’s always busy and no one really texts or calls me anymore just my bf and we mostly text and then i ask if he can call. i just feel a bit casted to the side in ppls lives. y’all are really my new best friends cause i just tell y’all everything since i have no one else to tell no one else cares to know. i used to be so happy and idk what happened. i feel like i’m too young to be this sad and depressed these r supposed to be the best years of my life but i’m just angry sad and depressed 90% of the time. snapping at ppl and wanting to run away and go missing or smthn. just to see who comes out of the woodwork (if anyone) to help. i don’t feel like myself anymore i can’t even draw well anymore. like someone took my brain out and replaced it w a diff one. a worse one. i miss that excitement i had the fun other ppl seem to have all the time going out on weekends, going to games w friends, hanging out gossiping and chatting reading magazines. i feel stuck in this limbo of angst and sadness. there must be something wrong w me (more than there already is). i know i had to grow up fast cause of my parents who cause they were always working and my ma in chronic pain couldn’t take care of the house so i’d always spend all of my time cleaning and doing their work for them. i went away for 2 days once when i was like 10 and i came home and rhe house looked like a tornado went thru a frat house. i walking the door there were pizza boxes on the table cans a bottles on the floor garbage everywhere. idk i just feel like i’m too young to already be so tired w life.

[newhologram]

Some say that everyone is "mentally 3 years younger" because of all the time we "lost" during the pandemic (which is still not actually over). I don't disagree; that can be a lot of arrested development for people who were teens in 2020 and adults now. I think of my nephew, who started kindergarten online. But also: millions of spoonies "lost" years way before covid, all around you. In isolation. While families, friends, and society abandoned them. While I do feel stunted in many ways because of "losing" 10 years to the intense onset of a higher level of disability (while already badly traumatized and mentally ill), I think maybe a redefinition of all of this is needed. Just because a spoonie's experience isn't the norm and they had a very different way of "growing up" doesn't mean there was only a loss. I feel disconnected to most (non-disabled, neurotypical) people I meet who are my age. We've had very different life paths and live so differently as adults. I often form close bonds with people who turn out to be near the age I was when my hourglass froze. I don't know, it's hard to be concise and precise when describing how I feel about it. I think I'll feel like I'm in my 20's forever, because I mostly spent it surviving some really bad stuff. Chronic illness, disability, grief, abuse, isolation almost killed me so many times. I feel like a living ghost, like I'm in the wrong timeline. Do I feel like I "lost" a decade? Do I still grieve, because I never got to have a "normal" life? Yes. Do I also feel grateful for what I gained and how I learned to survive? Do I also wonder fearfully who I would be today if I hadn't gone through this? Yes. It's the anger at having my youth taken from me competing with the gratitude that I was able to survive to become this version of me, who I actually like. Not perfect or pure, but also okay with not being so. Even though I still have a lot of health issues wearing me down, I feel a weird sense of like "okay, NOW I get to experience my 20's" but what does that even mean? If I break the hourglass, it's meaningless anyway. The sand just falls all over the place, there's no "gap" in time that was "lost" by being sick. It's all filled up with the same sand. I want to stick my hands in it even if the glass cuts me. I don't think it'll make me feel like an adult or even a person. But the sand is there. It wasn't wasted. My youth wasn't wasted just because I had to spend it surviving. My life isn't a waste just because I spend it mostly at home, taking care of my body. It's not wasted if I never get to see my dreams come to life. It's not wasted if I'm only able to carve out a simple kind of fulfillment. Sometimes it feels impossible to find the richness in that sand, when I can't access medical care, when I'm really sick, when I'm frustrated by trying to coordinate hang outs with able-bodied people who need constant reminders of my limitations. Other times the sand is warm and comforting. I feel like as long as I stay wrapped up, I'll be okay.

[peacelykerockets]

Out of Touch Millennials or Boomer Minded Millennials

When I was younger I made a promise to myself to not become like old people who go on and on about "kids these days", it has become a thing that I stay conscious of until this day and I try hard to not become the old man yelling at the clouds. As steeped as my mind was in youth culture in my teens to mid 20s one thing I always hated to hear is how my generation's music, the media we consumed, and our attitudes were all bad or didn't measure up to older generations. As a millennial who could probably be considered a prototype for a lot of what's considered stereotypical Gen Z behavior (weird music, "terminally online", socially awkward behavior, leftist ideals) I was not the common millennial, at the time in my late teens and early 20s I thought I was, but I was probably further from what would be considered an NPC/Normie millennial as possible, and so were a lot of people on Tumblr in the early 2010s. Being on this site back then shaped me in a lot of ways.

What I hate to see though is now a bunch of miserable millennials constantly waxing nostalgic and stuck in the past ready to pass the buck to a new generation for all the problems, scapegoating. As said I remember when boomers and Gen X wouldn't pass up the chance to tell us the music we listened to wasn't real music or paled in comparison to what they grew up with, or how video games were a waste of time despite the fact that these same people were glued to some TV for multiple hours of a day. That were soft, entitled, and had no future, sound familiar? It saddens me that some millennials have decided to pick up that baton and run with it and now we have to constantly hear about how Gen Z's music sucks, how video games these days are worse than the ones we grew up with, how these kids dress weirdly, how it's bad to be on TikTok all day.

What also gets me is just how out of touch some millennials are to a point where it sounds like a lot of us have stepped out of cryosleep from the 2000s like the 2010s never happened. They sound straight up like boomers, sometimes more boomer than boomers. I hear and read so much dumb stuff that I want to roll my eyes back so hard until the damn stalks break. Trash like "MTV DOESN'T PLAY MUSIC VIDEOS ANYMORE!!!" Like we haven't heard that repeated over and over again. What's even the use of MTV playing music videos when we've had YouTube since 2005? And even if MTV started playing music videos again it would be all that Gen Z music that certain millennials love to sit around a complain about. Dumb stuff like bring back TRL (which already happened and flopped in 2017) when if a kid wanted to watch a music video it interact with their favorite artists these days they have YouTube and social media. Yes let's roll the clock back for a self centered nostalgia of a generation that can't give up the ghost.

What's also weird to me is how many of us millennials think we're still the youth, the kids these days despite the fact that older millennials are in their early 40s and the youngest of us in our early 30s or just about to be. I don't see anyone starting new in the music industry now who is my age (35), the most relevant artists are in their 20s, and this is something that seems to be the thing for every generation. Just using the music industry as an example but I don't think the industry is trying to sell to some near middle aged people. Sorry if as a millennial you blew your 20s or something and now living in a world that's on it's way to moving past us ass "the youth".

I read an article that explained that the Kendrick vs Drake thing as the last breath of millennial culture before we end up where Gen X was in the 2000s. I feel like that's true, like grasping at whatever vestiges of relevancy with who are arguably the two biggest most relevant rappers born in the years and are millennials. Try to co-opt Gen Z slang ironically and cheekily and trying to laugh it at the same time.

It's time to let it go, it's time to leave the kids alone and let them take the wheel because it's look like we're hitting the guard rails. I'm not saying you can't still have fun, I'm not saying go have kids settle down and be an adult, I'm not saying you can't still enjoy things from your youth and be youthful, but god damn stuff talking down on these as if the things we enjoyed and did out youth weren't also talked down by older generations. Please get with the times.

DON'T BECOME BOOMERS!