#if you just tell your kid you love them but you don't demonstrate affection and interest and patience and warmth and etcetera

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

christ sometimes I just wanna. steal a time machine & go back & sit down next to my 9-year-old self and just like. let them pull out their pokemon card binder & gush about their holographic gyarados or whatever. I'd just smile & ask questions about motherfukcing bulbasaur & tell my kid self that I thought they were a neat person, & someday they'd find other people who thought so too.

like i'm a grown adult who honestly finds most kids stuff boring, but. damn if i could go back & hang out with my baby self & listen to them ramble...just so they knew someone was listening. i would in a heartbeat. thinking about u kid

[gatitties]

Hey so I saw your Tanjiro!reader fic and wanted to aak if you could do another one but this time with misturi!reader instead. Cuz isint mitsuri like the perfect girl in sanji's eyes?

Oh and can you do this with straw hat,heart and kidd pirates please?

thank you !

─Strawhats, Heart Pirates & Kid Pirates x Mitsuri!reader

─Summary: Your heart feels like it's going to explode at how adorable everyone around you seems, painting your vision with rose-colored glasses.

─Warnings: none

─ They look at you so confused when you blush madly at random, leading them to compare you to Sanji when he sees pretty girls.

─ They discover that it doesn't just happen to you when you see people who are attractive to you, but rather because of the love stories you see around you, even if it's not even something romantic, you are passionate about seeing people being affectionate.

─ They really don't pay much attention to your amorous personality, they have it quite normalized because of the cook.

─ No doubt you'll fantasize with Sanji about girls, of course, if he's being a little gross you'll hit him and explain to him why love can't just be about falling in love with someone at first sight and that it's something much deeper.

─ Zoro gives you so many blank looks because of your attitude… however, he finds your fighting style and your curious sword endearing, he admires that about you.

─ You help Usopp write letters to Kaya from time to time, you help him express his feelings about her and you love seeing her responses, you love this couple!

─ You have the habit of hugging Chopper like a stuffed animal when a romantic or sentimental scene is happening before you, you will also drag him with you when you want to rant about some gossip with Nami and Robin.

─ Franky will join in from time to time to gossip, although it may not seem like it, he is another romantic like you, he just doesn't let that side of him come out as much.

─ Brook will only make you more sentimental by playing some music in the background, you thank him for dramatizing the scene and making your heart explode with happiness.

─ Jinbe is a little skeptical about your passionate and loving personality, however he doesn't bother you about that, he was also young and in love at some point.

─ Luffy doesn't understand, no matter how many times you explain to him the feelings that come with certain actions, the devotion of love and feelings, Luffy will only say that if someone likes each other, then they should kiss and that's it.

─ Law is a little irritated by your 'fangirl' side when it comes out at the least opportune moments, can you fantasize about a couple of enemies after the mission and not when you don't have to be discovered? No, you can't.

─ You're in the same boat as Ikkaku, although you show it much more than her, Ikkaku loves seeing how people relate and the love affairs that develop over time.

─ Bepo cheers up when you tell him that you have new gossip and you usually occupy your free hours talking non-stop about it.

─ You spend the day sighing fondly when you see an action of affection, everyone gets used to your blushes and eyes full of feeling quite quickly.

─ You joke a lot about the 'bromance' relationship that Shachi and Penguin have, at least, to them you make it look like a joke but in your mind they are dating.

─ You have certain comical moments that make the tension on the ship disperse, everyone has laughed more than once because you crashed into a wall because you were distracted looking at a couple.

─ They're fighting if someone messes with your appearance, they know you have some problems with that because of your past, Ikkaku is throwing her fists first for you.

─ This will only make your heart warm and accelerate as you see how everyone, in a certain way, demonstrates their attachment to you, feeling that your feelings were reciprocated since you also took charge of defending them.

─ This crew is not that sentimental, not to say that they are not, or they have affection buried deep in their hearts.

─ Perhaps Wire and Heat are more open to talking to you about romance and emotions than Kid and Killer, their mouths are sealed when it comes to those topics.

─ However, they don't care much about you blushing or muttering when you see something cute happen, which you do quite often considering how infrequent affectionate actions are among this testosterone-filled crew.

─ They appreciate and find the way you swing your sword quite intriguing, you may be at your most sensitive after having observed the most adorable thing in the world before your eyes and being slaughtering someone who interrupted the moment.

─ They definitely don't interrupt you when you're creating fantasies in your head, if you're distracted enough you could accidentally impale someone with your sword.

─ You join their conversations about hot people to give your spiel about love, even though they only listen to the part where you say that person is hot, they are simple guys.

─ Although, if any of them are really into something or want to start romanticizing their life, they will come to you without a second thought, who better to guide them on the path of love?

─ They find your calmer personality quite relaxing compared to everyone else's, if they are looking for some peace or rest they will also come to you, they don't mind you talking to yourself about your feelings when silence is created.

[attackfish]

So everybody here knows that I'm notorious for being a massive defender of Ursa, and that I have no patience for the "Ursa was a bad mother, she favored Zuko, and was abusive to Azula and abandoned her kids, and made Ozai abuse Zuko," narrative. That narrative is vile, victim blaming, and deeply stupid on a number of levels.

With that out of the way, I want to talk about some really really bad parenting we see Ursa do during the series. And it is to be clear really really bad.

In the Book Two episode, "Bitter Work", Zuko and Iroh have a conversation:

ZUKO: So Uncle, I've been thinking. It's only a matter of time before I run into Azula again. I'm going to need to know more advanced firebending if I want to stand a chance against her. I know what you're going to say, she's my sister and I should be trying to get along with her-

IROH: No, she's crazy, and she needs to go down.

This scene is a favorite of a certain type of Azula fan who wants to paint Iroh as a big meanie who didn't wave his magic redemption wand over Azula the way he clearly did over Zuko. See? See? He's writing her off here and calling her crazy.

This of course misses the context of that scene, which is that Zuko is taking care of a severely injured Iroh, who was injured by Azula, in what looked a heck of a lot like a murder attempt. Earlier in Book Two, in the episode, "The Avatar State", Azula unambiguously attempts to murder her brother after failing to capture him, and he is only saved by Iroh's quick reflexes.

But let's leave that argument aside for today because what interests me about this scene in the context of Ursa's parenting, is the line Zuko says right before Iroh's infamous declaration: "I know what you're going to say, she's my sister and I should be trying to get along with her."

Because in the context of Zuko and Iroh's situation, where Azula has recently attempted to kill Zuko, and just put Iroh into a coma that Zuko had to take care of him during, in which he has only just woken up from, this line from Zuko actually demonstrates some really warped thinking. It is not a healthy response to the situation at all. And his assumption is that a good caring parent figure like Iroh is going to respond to this situation by telling him that Zuko needs to get along with his sister, who is actively trying to hunt him down and capture or kill him.

So why does Zuko think that? What adult reacted that way to Azula's violence toward her brother in the past? It wasn't Ozai. Ozai is not going to use the language of getting along with one's siblings, when he is so bent on setting them against each other. So who was it?

The show answers this a few episodes before this scene, in the Book Two episode, "Zuko Alone." The answer is clear and heartbreaking: It was Ursa.

The scene in which this becomes plain, starts with Zuko and Ursa walking together. Mai spots them and smiles and blushes. Azula notices, and then turns to Ty Lee, and whispers, "Watch this!"

AZULA: Mom, can you make Zuko play with us? We need equal teams to play a game!

ZUKO: I am not cart-wheeling.

AZULA: You won't have to. Cart-wheeling's not a game, dum-dum.

ZUKO: I don't care. I don't want to play with you!

AZULA: We are brother and sister. It's important for us to spend time together. Don't you think so, Mom?

URSA: Yes, darling, I think it's a good idea to play with your sister. Go on now, just for a little while.

And then Ursa leaves Zuko alone with Azula and her friends.

There is a lot here that I want to talk about. I have in fact talked about this scene before, and what it tells us about Ursa's eagerness to reinforce Azula's seemingly kind and loving behavior: [Link], and even touched on why this is in fact an example of bad parenting from Ursa: [Link], but I think this deserves its own post, where we examine exactly what went on here, what this tells us about Ursa's parenting, and how this affected Zuko, and to a lesser extent, Azula.

In those previously linked posts, I talk about how this is clearly a pattern, that Azula has learned to predict and manipulate, and because we know it's a pattern, we know that this behavior on Ursa's part is repeated, and something her children have come to expect from her. Zuko and Azula know their mother wants her children to get along with each other, and love each other and have a good sibling relationship with each other so much that if Azula she plays into that, Ursa will force Zuko to spend time with his sister, and worse, that time will be unsupervised.

So, to be clear here, what Ursa is doing is giving Azula unsupervised access to her brother, against his will, as a reward for Azula momentarily acting nice. Or in other words, Ursa forces Zuko to spend time with his abuser against his will because she wants them to get along.

I think we can all see how that is some grade A terrible parenting.

And it does have negative effects on Azula. I think that we can see her learning how to manipulate people, learning how to lie and get what she wants from people, and that Ursa by giving her what she wants here, is showing her that this is a thing she can do to get what she wants. That is not a great lesson to teach your kid. I think it also feeds into Azula's possessiveness of her brother, and sense of entitlement towards him. She has learned that even the people who love and care about her brother, won't protect him from her. And she has learned that no matter what she does to him, he is supposed to try to get along with her.

These are some really terrible lessons, and we see some of the effects of them throughout the course of the show, so why is it that the "Ursa is a terrible mother" crowd never bring this up? I mean of course we know why, it doesn't fit their narrative. Their premise is not simply that Ursa is a bad mother, or even that her bad parenting explains Azula's behavior.

In fact frequently it isn't even about finding someone to blame for Azula's behavior, so that the responsibility isn't Azula's. (Which, to be clear is not how it would work anyway, because even if Ursa were exactly the type of horrible mother they said she was, Azula was still making the choices to do Very Bad Things, in the same way that just because Ozai is an abusive father, this doesn't mean Azula stopped being responsible for her own actions). It's more about proving that she has suffered enough that she deserves all the sympathy, and is allowed to be awful to other people, including Zuko, you know, as a treat.

The narrative that the "Ursa is a terrible mother" crowd are pushing is that Ursa didn't love her daughter, and thought she was a monster, Azula suffered so much, and it's so sad, and this is why she deserves to do very nasty things to everybody else, and no one should ever hold her accountable. Frequently there is some flavor of, "Zuko had a mother who loved him, you guys, unlike Azula, so he doesn't deserve sympathy, not like poor baby Azula!" Which is a deeply warped thought process on many many levels, but we're not going to go into that here.

The point is, that this type of bad parenting that I am pointing out here, doesn't fit this narrative, because this is not the kind of parenting mistake that a mother who doesn't love one of her children, and thinks that child is a monster, is going to make. This is the kind of mistake that a mother who loves her children very much, and wants them to have a good relationship, and doesn't recognize the threat that one of her children poses to the other, is going to make. In fact, the fact that she does it, proves that Ursa does in fact love her daughter and does not think she's a monster. So it does not fit the narrative these people are spinning, so they will never bring it up as an example of how Ursa was a bad mom.

Of course the other reason the "Ursa is a terrible mother" crowd aren't going to bring this part up is because it would mean acknowledging that Zuko deserved to be protected from Azula, and needed to be protected from Azula, when they were both children, which would go against the whole "she's a poor innocent child" thing they like to spin, and also because Azula is getting what she wants here, and Zuko is the one suffering, which is not going to get Azula any sympathy points.

And for the most part, Ursa was an excellent mother, who did the best job she could in horrible circumstances that she had very little control over, but she wasn't perfect, and she did make mistakes, which makes all of this a wonderful example of how even very good parents can make very bad choices that hurt their children and cause serious long-term damage.

I've talked some about the long term damage that Azula faces from this, learning about manipulation, and developing some really nasty entitlement issues with regards to her brother, but Zuko's long-term damage is if anything worse.

When we put this together with Zuko's line from "Bitter Work" quoted earlier, we can see that Zuko learns what Azula learns from the other angle, which is to say that he will not be protected from Azula by anyone, and not only will he not be protected, but he does not deserve to protect himself. Not only can he not defend himself, but he can't even protect himself by avoiding her. That's not allowed either. And in the face of her cruelty and violence towards him, it is still on him to make their relationship work, and to be clear, he should absolutely be making their relationship work. And the adults who love him are going to tell him this, no matter what Azula does to him.

I for one am really glad that Iroh is there to say no, that's a terrible idea, and you do not need to keep trying to get along with your sister who is trying to kill you. And it's significant that throughout Book Two, Iroh consistently protects Zuko from Azula, and teaches him what he needs to fight back.

[isa-ghost]

q!phil headcanons for love languages?

OHOHOHOHO YES.

I've said before that qPhil's love languages are gift giving and quality time, BUT, I should also mention acts of service. He IS always saying how he prefers being a support. Doing what he can to help is definitely one of his go-to displays of affection.

I took a test and answered based off what I think qPhil would prefer from what we know about his characterization and the habits of ccPhil (like his allergy to taking compliments /lh). From most to least, his love languages were Gift Giving, Acts of Service, Quality Time, Physical Touch, Words of Affirmation. Which is almost exactly what I was thinking.

Let's see how many actual hcs I can get out of this rather than just writing a character analysis. :]

qPhil headcanons masterlist

Obligatory restate that crow brain must obtain shiny things to gift to his loved ones.

Fr though nothing says "I love you" like cool trinkets he gifts because it made him think of the person, or gifts he KNOWS the person has been wanting. Literally look at half his alone time on QSMP and tell me his default activity besides looting isn't obtaining things he knows his friends need, like that one wood type for Cellbit or zinc for BBH.

And inversely, the sentiment that something someone gifts to him made them think of him will earn them the sweetest "aw m8 🥺" because this idiot bird never expects to be on someone's mind. Bonus points if they gift him something he needed so he doesn't have to go on a long and tedious ass trip to resource gather.

Yeah no, words of affirmation mean very little to him. It's not that they don't matter or mean SOMETHING, he gets incredibly soft hearing someone like Missa say "I love you" and all that. It's just that he has an extremely hard time just accepting compliments and praise point blank. And he doesn't need to hear he's loved and appreciated, he knows it through a person's actions and desire to be around him. How they demonstrate their love and care says more than their vocal chords ever could.

The funny thing is, he's so uno reverse about some of his love languages. He'll hype the shit out of his loved ones verbally and he feels guilty sometimes when people do acts of service for him.

Doing acts of service WITH him though. Like teamwork? Chores around the house type shit? He's down for that. It doubles as quality time. As long as he feels like he's pulling his weight and not letting things fall on his partner's shoulders, he's content.

Aka his partner has to force his stupid ass to let them spoil him, he'll just feel bad unless they insist they WANT to do things for him.

OR: Turn it into bonus quality time and go resource gathering TOGETHER. 🤯

Physical touch he's pretty indifferent about. He LOVES hugs and kisses and the occasional cuddle. He's more than happy to hold hands. I've said before, this wack ass polycule fucks. But he can go without physical touch too, he's chill either way. But the fact that it's somewhat infrequent makes it even more special and melts his heart. :)

Quality time though. That's his SHIT. He fucking LOVES just existing with his partner. I am shaking Chapter 3 of AMFMN violently. The long walk with Missa. The picnic. Literally just enjoying some time with him. It's basically his default with the polycule, and his friends too. Gift giving may be his biggest love language, but quality time is the most accessible one, I guess you could say.

On that note, I also point to doing dungeons with Etoiles, misc adventuring with Fit, and building with the kids. Doing fun shit with your loved ones is >>>>>>> to him.

He loves gift giving BUT not at the expense of someone giving him something they need or something he knows they treasure. Don't give him the clothes off your back or something that matters to you. (Hypocritically, he will do the reverse though)

When he's very stressed, his appreciation for physical touch increases. Hugs really do make him feel better :')

He definitely uses certain love languages more often than others with certain people or types of bonds (partners, friends, etc)

Basically, he give gift. He love get gift. He love doing things for people. He love doing things With people. Physical touch special. Words don't matter much to him. As with many things (and in Kristin's words) Phil is "low maintenance."

[biteurhip]

This Is How I Disappear and The Sharpest Lives are sister-songs, they’re about the same character of The Black Parade as they go from being obsessed with a loved one and succumb to addiction.

Disappear is about them being left by someone they love possibly because of their addiction and they beg for their lover’s forgiveness before giving in fully to their addiction. The first verse

“To un-explain the unforgivable

Drain all the blood and give the kids a show

By streetlight this dark night

A séance down below

There're things that I have done

You never should ever know”

implies they’re a musician or a performer in some way, and partake in things they aren’t proud of and try to hide. They have to “drain all the blood and give the kids a show,” a metaphor for believing they are only able to give a performance worth anything when intoxicated, mirroring Gerard’s life pre-sobriety.

The second verse

“Who walks among the famous living dead

Drowns all the boys and girls inside your bed

And if you could talk to me

Tell me if it's so

That all the good girls go to heaven

Well, heaven knows”

is them mourning their relationship and themself as their addiction take more and more of a hold on them. In this low they’re at, they sleep around (the boys and girls inside your bed line), and they’re aware they’re losing more and more control over themself and could be close to killing themself (“tell me if it’s so that all the good girls go to heaven?”)

The chorus

“And without you is how I disappear

And live my life alone forever now

And without you is how I disappear

And live my life alone forever now”

is them begging their lover to stay, demonstrating their obsession and beg them to stay with them, almost guilt-tripping them.

In the bridge/third verse (?)

“Can you hear me cry out to you?

Words I thought I'd choke on figure out

I'm really not so with you anymore

I'm just a ghost

So I can't hurt you anymore

So I can't hurt you anymore

And now, you wanna see how far down I can sink?

Let me go, fuck

So, you can, well now so, you can

I'm so far away from you

Well now so, you can”

they beg for their lover to stay and forgive them (“can you hear me…”) and recognizing they’re not who they used to be (“Im really not so with you anymore”), only to flip on them and go from one extreme to another, breaking down and leaving their lover (“so I can’t hurt you anymore,” “you wanna see how far down I can sink? Fuck!”)

The chorus after this reflects this as well, repeating over and over in a much darker tone (musically and vocally) “And without you is how I disappear, and without you is how I disappear.” The last chorus omits the “and live my life alone” because they can’t guilt-trip their lover anymore since they’ve pushed their lover away completely, and can no longer keep their addiction at bay.

In The Sharpest Lives, they fall deeper and deeper into their addiction, which is what caused them to join The Black Parade.

In the first part

“Well it rains and it pours when you're out on your own

If I crash on the couch, can I sleep in my clothes

'Cause I spent the night dancing, I'm drunk I suppose

If it looks like I'm laughing

I'm really just asking to leave this alone

You're in time for the show

You're the one that I need

I'm the one that you loathe

You can watch me corrode

Like a beast in repose

'Cause I love all the poison away with the boys in the band

I've really been on a bender and it shows

So why don't you blow me

A kiss before she goes”

it’s demonstrated how their self control is slipping away, as they spend their time out and self destructing (they literally say they’re on a bender.) They beg for any affection they can (“you’re the one that I need, I’m the one that you loathe,”) and use sex to get their “poison” (using the word poison to reference drugs reminds me of the alcoholism metaphor in Vampires), and disregard everything else.

The chorus

“Give me a shot to remember

And you can take all the pain away from me

Your kiss and I will surrender

The sharpest lives are the deadliest to lead

A light to burn all the empires

So bright the sun is ashamed to rise and be

In love with all of these vampires

So you can leave like the sane, abandon me”

furthers the point of the narrator being left and abandoned/having pushed away everyone who loves them to delve deeper and deeper into their addiction. It also has another connection to Vampires Will Never Hurt You with the narrator falling “in love with all of these vampires” or people who are helping fuel and enable their addiction.

“There's a place in the dark where the animals go

You can take off your skin in the cannibal glow

Juliet loves the beat and the lust it commands

Drop the dagger and lather the blood on your hands, Romeo”

This part illustrates how deep and how much their addiction has progressed and affects them, becoming almost animalistic. The Romeo and Juliet part shows how corrupted their sense of love has become, going back to them using their body and sex to further their own corruption.

The song ends with the chorus repeating, ultimately ending with the words “abandon me,” concluding their story with their addiction controlling their life to the point of welcoming their loneliness if it means they can remain intoxicated. Musically, the song also ends with the guitar progressively slowing down, much like a heart beat slows as you die, implying that the narrator overdoses and dies alone or “abandoned.”

[sofoulandfairaday]

I don't know if you'll even receive this because of the godforsaken shadowban, but what do you think of Bella's relationship with her parents? I know it's unpopular but I've always seen her as a mama's girl personally. I think Andy was Cygnus's favourite and for Narcissa I can't decide between her being nobody's favourite and everyone's favourite but in a more subtle way lol.

This is honestly such a good question - and something I wanted to talk about for ages.

I appreciate your takes a lot, even if I somewhat disagree. You were the first person in this wretched fandom who made me see the light about Bella's relationship with her family. Not in the sense that it's necessarily wrong to headcanon her as being abused, but you were the first person that made me see that there could be other interpretations: no one, both in the English and Italian fandoms, seemed to think that Druella might have not been a stuck-up bitch.

With this being said, I think Druella was a stuck-up bitch. Nah, kidding. Kind of. Long post under the cut, but this is one of my favourite pieces of meta I've ever written.

I think Bella has a very bad case of Older Daughter Syndrome. I believe that both her parents had wished for at least one son because that is unfortunately what was common in noble families in the 1950s (and pureblood society seems to be stuck much further than that). I actually hc that Druella had one or more miscarriages (all boys) before and after having her daughters. When C&D were told that they couldn't have more children, both by her own volition and by being unconsciously pushed by her parents, became desperate to prove herself. Of course, it was useless. Not because her parents were cartoon villains ("I wish you were a boy" bullshit, only said in Disney movies), but just because they would never see as they would have seen a son.

Bellatrix confronted herself with impossible expectations throughout her life, as very often happens to the oldest children (daughters most of all). I'm sure she was brilliant, magically talented, possibly good at most things she tried - it was never enough. Not that her parents weren't proud of her, they were, but there was always one grade that could have been better, one hour more she could have spent practising, one sentence she could have said better at a social gathering, etc. Whenever something wasn't up to par, as it was bound to be, there would be corrections. Always too many corrections and never enough compliments. Parents often fall into this trap: it's not enough to be proud of your child if you never tell them you are.

I'm also sure she was immensely spoilt. You can imagine how that goes: Cygnus and Druella were probably very cold people, bad at demonstrating affection, and tried to show their immense love for their daughters by showering them with gifts and material things. They always told their daughters how good and special they were, how they were destined for the best. Personally speaking, this is not enough. It's not enough to point at all the money you spent on family holidays and private schools - "look at what your mother and I have done for you; is this how you repay us?" - if you've never taken interest in your daughter's interests. If you've never asked her opinion on the world, what she wants to be when she grows up. If you've always taken for granted that she would follow in your own footsteps - no doubt, the best possible life choice. It's not enough to tell your daughter she is destined for greatness because she is a Black. She should be destined for greatness because she is great.

Also, I'm sure she was put in charge of her younger siblings from a very early age. Again: oldest daughter. Simultaneously loving them more than anything in the world and resenting them immensely because they were probably held to lower standards than she was. Parents often go softer on the second child, especially if less successful, or less gifted (I'm sure that both Andy and Cissy were bright and talented witches, just not as good as Bella overall).

She would be the bossy one, and the comforting one. She would be the one teaching them right from wrong, the one to go to when they had problems (she would act high and mighty about it, and maybe tease them, but heaven help anyone who dared do anything to Bella's sisters - and they knew it). She would go out of her way to help them.

She would feel extreme amounts of pressure on her shoulders, she would be more solitary, more reserved than her siblings, less likely to share except for the times when it all came gushing out - imagine everyone's shock when they found out about her interest in Dark Magic. Andromeda would be appalled, "I thought I knew my sister". But did you, did you really?

So: reserved, more academically skilled, both proud and resentful of her younger siblings, who were probably considered more charismatic (Andromeda was meeker and kinder and Cissy was probably a social butterfly, the popular pretty girl with tons of friends), who don't realise that they could only be that way because someone else before them had taken up the burden of the family's expectations upon herself. Of course, Andy&Cissy probably saw big sister Bella as the best, most successful, most intelligent, confident girl in the world - probably had inferiority complexes - but she never knew that. (keep in mind: the Blacks, a British upper-class family in the 1950s, probably had all of the generational trauma that we see in shows like The Crown. They were NOT the type to talk about their feelings at the dinner table).

Bellatrix was also probably very controlling of her younger sisters, and a bit of a perfectionist. She probably never apologised (a sign of weakness) and never admitted when she was wrong. She gets it from her parents. You can see how this is a recipe for disaster for the things to come.

And what happens then? She graduates from Hogwarts with whatever number of NEWTS and exceptional grades in all of them for her parents to say: "Oh, good, you did your duty. ANYWAY, no pressure, but we kinda really need you to pick a good pureblood boy and marry him. A trip around the world (to explore dark magic in faraway lands) as a graduation present? Don't be ridiculous, dear. We'll throw you a big party".

OH. OH. I would go insane. I would seethe. I would combust with rage. And I think Bella probably did. That was her breaking point, her "let it go" moment where she said: you know what? I've tried so hard to be proper, and good, and fit into """"patriarchal""" standards and it's never fucking enough. No more. Everyone is talking about this new dark wizard, Lord Voldemort, and I've been following his work. Of course, you people, my family, don't know because you've never asked me about myself beyond how I was doing in school, but my view on the world is that Mudbloods are infiltrating our society and we need to fight for survival (ironically, a view absorbed from her parents). I choose Rodolphus Lestrange, who is more than willing to let me pursue a military career and we'll happily practice Unforgivables on random Muggles that live too close to our house. Suck it.

Andromeda (who is secretly dating Ted behind her sister's back because she's afraid of her disapproval) is appalled. Narcissa is too young still (and being the youngest, possibly the most immature). Her parents go "Ehm, we don't really think you should blow up buildings- how about silently influencing politics?" But nope. Bellatrix marries Rodolphus to appease them and then she happily follows Voldemort from one Muggle village to the next, blowing up houses and getting railed by the Dark Lord next to her victims' corpses - he is the only one who sees her for what she is: dark, talented, hungry.

Andromeda runs away, and Bellatrix takes it the hardest. She sees it as a personal failure. The sister she helped raise. You can hear the hurt even thirty years after it happened.

As for her parents: Cissy was without a doubt Druella's favourite, as the daughter who looked most like her and lived the life closest to hers. Andromeda was probably nobody's fave (Middle Child Syndrome, a whole other post), but likely both her sisters' fave.

Bella... Bella was the child Cygnus understood most and was probably proudest of. She was also the hardest to love: I think that the few instances of physical affection he showed his daughters were for Andy (a naturally kind and bubbly child, who would not relent in her pursuit of affection even when told to go away) and Cissy (who was always slight, non-threatening, delicate, etc). Bella was prickly, maybe easily hurt (by her parents, seeing how attuned she was to their reactions). She strikes me as the sort to push away any display of sweetness saying she didn't want it, as a preventive measure. The kind of child who hides so that people will go looking for them, to see if they care. She was the same with Rodolphus, probably (but the man is a saint and at a certain point must have been like "it's not just that enjoy fucking you, i do like to hold you, i do like to kiss you, you are not a duty to me, i don't care if you're stubborn. i love you") and the Dark Lord (who is so scarce with his affections, she must have brainwashed herself in saying "it's fine, i don't really need it. i only need to be held in high esteem by him").

Anyways, Bella is the child Cygnus (and secretly Druella) are proudest of. Yes, Cissy made conventional choices, but imagine having Lord Voldemort, your old classmate-turned-Dark-Lord, over for tea and he keeps going on about how he didn't expect to find such an apt pupil in Bellatrix and that she is wonderfully skilled with a wand (pun intended, and Tom knows it, the little shit). I'm getting carried away, but you get the gist. [Although, while I hc Cygnus as a Voldemort fanboy, albeit not a Death Eater, I always liked the idea that Vold and Druella didn't like each other much]

Also. Bella: Daddy Issues, yes or no? Yes. Obviously. She hides them (with more or less success, after Azkaban) because she is a Black, but it's pretty clear from her entanglement with Voldemort that having a male figure her father's age, giving her validation does things for her. Happens to the best of us.

Did Bellatrix and Druella hate each other? No. No, I think that blood is too important for someone like Bellatrix. But I think that Druella's lack of understanding of her feelings and her life choices (and also the fact that Druella, to me, is the sort of mother who always plays the victim "oh, what did I do to deserve this?") definitely didn't help their relationship. I think that Bella was a dutiful daughter, the kind that would take care of her mother in her old age and stuff like that, but they would fight a lot.

Oh, look, another ginormous post. Anyways, I hope I painted a good picture. I could talk about this for hours.

[stargazer-sims]

You know how you have an idea and your brain just gets stuck on it until you share it or otherwise do something about it? Or are you normal?

Yes, this is about my OCs. In fact, it's probably everything you (n)ever wanted to know about Nikolai Pavlenko.

It's gonna be long. Apologies.

Seriously, you get all the 🍪 and ⭐️ if you make it through this Chaotic Info Post™

Anyway, I was just thinking about how some of my best and/or favourite OCs were only meant to be secondary characters, but somehow became so interesting to me (either on their own or in relation to other characters) that I absolutely had to develop them. Nikolai was one of those, and now, so are his potential love interests, Ginger and Mishka.

I already had skeletal backstories for both Ginger and Mishka (Ginger's was a bit more in-depth, to be fair, but still...) Now, suddenly they're both telling me all kinds of things about themselves to the point where I can't even decide which one of them Nikolai is meant to be with. I mean, let's face it; he's definitely not meant to be with Anya again, and he's too loving and sweet to be alone.

Nikolai can credit all his former coaches and his figure skating friends, and his students to some degree, for shaping who he is as a person. He loves his parents and has a good relationship with them, but his father in particular is not the sort of person to show much emotion or demonstrate affection and his mother is a bold, no-nonsense woman who can come off as brusque and rude to people who don't know her. Nikolai is not like that. He's gentle and patient and he likes to show others how he feels and loves to give and receive affection. It was his coaches, Stanislav and Beth-Anne, who brought out the best in him, and in reality they often parented him just as much or more than his parents did. As an adult, and since becoming a coach himself, he's also learned a lot about how to have good relationships with people and also a lot about himself.

As a teenager, Nikolai's closest friends were all figure skaters, like him. He started skating at the age of five, when his family lived in another town. At his old skating club, he didn't manage to make a lot of friends and would have been desperately lonely if it weren't for his sister Natascha.

He was sixteen when his family moved, and he flourished at his new rink with his new coach, Stan, who taught him just as much about life and love and the challenges of growing up as he did about figure skating. It was there that he met the people who would become his core group of friends; Anya, Ginger, Hunter, Juliet and Christian.

Vivienne "Ginger" Holmes moved to town during the same summer Nikolai did, so they already had that in common when they met. She was only 14 and had come all the way to Canada from the UK specifically to train with Stan. She was living with a host family, but was essentially on her own, according to her. She and Nikolai bonded instantly, not just over being the new kids at school and the rink, but also over their shared love of dance, bike racing, comic books and spicy food. Ginger never acted stereotypically "girly" and Nikolai appreciated that. It was easy to think of her as a buddy and a confidante, without the complication of adolescent infatuation.

Anya, on the other hand, was a totally different story. She was also 14 when Nikolai met her. Like him, she was the child of an immigrant family, but unlike him, she was well-integrated, attractive and popular. Nikolai tried to avoid her at first, thinking that she was probably mean and shallow like most of the other pretty, popular girls he'd met at his old school. It was actually Anya who approached him. She was learning photography from her grandfather, and wanted to take pictures of Nikolai on the ice. He refused at first, but after Anya kept pestering him, he finally agreed one day. After practice that day, he agreed to go with Anya to get food, and they naturally started talking. Slowly but surely, they got to know each other, and he learned to trust her. As they both approached adulthood, he realized that somewhere along the way, he'd fallen in love with her.

Nikolai and Anya married when he was 24 and she was 22.They were both actively competing and were at the peak of their skating careers. The year they got married, Nikolai won his first World Championship gold medal, and Anya came away with bronze, her second World Championship medal in three years.

Unfortunately, their marriage was not meant to last. Neither of them were ready for the responsibility of a marriage. They were juggling their training and competition schedules, their finances, managing their shared home, and dealing with growing pressure from both their families to start a family of their own. Even though they didn't realize it at the time, neither of them had been ready for a marriage. They hadn't been mature or stable enough, and Anya in particular hadn't been ready to settle down.

The final blow to their marriage that they hadn't been able to overcome was the injury that abruptly ended Nikolai's competitive skating career. He was 27, and competing in the Four Continents Cup, when he injured his knee in a spectacularly bad fall. Even before the doctors and physical therapists assessed his injury, he somehow knew that his career was over, and that he'd never be in another competition.

The eventual prognosis was that he would recover enough to be able to walk and run normally, and even to be able to skate again one day if he did everything the medical professionals told him to. But, they said, he would never be able to compete again. His damaged knee would not tolerate the amount and intensity of training required for it.

Nikolai wasn't ready to accept that reality. He couldn't decide if he was more angry or sad about it, and he became increasingly depressed. Anya couldn't handle the burden of taking care of him while he recovered, with his irritability and mood swings and seemingly random bouts of crying or angry outbursts making things even worse. She decided to leave, and packed her things to go move in with her grandfather.

As if Nikolai wasn't already broken enough, Anya's departure absolutely shattered him. He felt like he was losing everything. He actually contemplated taking his own life, and he might very well have done if not for his coach at the time, Beth-Anne.

Beth-Anne received a phone call in the middle of the night, and on the other end of the line was Nikolai, sobbing inconsolably and telling her that he was scared. Beth-Anne didn't ask questions. She told him to go and unlock the door and not to do anything else, and that she'd be there in ten minutes. She threw on some clothes, grabbed her car keys and sped all the way there. When she got there, she found Nikolai sitting on the floor in the entryway, still crying and looking absolutely exhausted. He hadn't even made it back to the sofa or his bed or wherever he'd been when he phoned her. He literally had unlocked the front door and done nothing else until she arrived.

Beth-Anne gathered him up and took him to the ER. She knew he needed help, at least to settle him down. Anything else he needed after that, she could handle herself. She lost patience with the doctors who were going on about anti-depressants and therapy, once they'd heard the full story, and she vetoed the idea of them admitting him for a psychological evaluation. She verbally exploded on the doctor with, "He doesn't need his head examined and he doesn't need fucking drugs! He needs a sense of purpose and someone who actually gives a shit!" That got the tiniest smile out of Nikolai, and Beth-Anne was silently and secretly pleased.

In the end, she and Nikolai did acquiesce to a painkiller for his leg and some medication to help him sleep, and agreed that he should stay in the hospital overnight for observation. Beth-Anne bullied the doctor into letting her stay with Nikolai all night, and she didn't leave his side for more than a few minutes. In the morning, she called Nikolai's parents and informed them that he'd be staying with her for a while, and then with the consent of the doctor, she took a still-drowsy Nikolai home to her place and tucked him into bed in the guest room.

For the first couple of days, Beth-Anne cancelled all her students' practices and stayed home with Nikolai. She made him stay in bed or on the sofa, and practically waited on him. On the third day, however, she bundled him up and took him to the rink with her, telling him that he needed to watch her and observe her students, because she'd be asking him for commentary and critique later. That was his first glimpse into the skating world from the other side of the gate.

As the weeks progressed, Nikolai began to feel better. Every day, he went to the rink with Beth-Anne to be a second set of eyes for her, spotting different things each of the skaters did exceptionally well and things they still needed work on. At home, Beth-Anne helped him work on his physical therapy exercises, taught him how to cook, introduced him to yoga, and happily expounded upon the joys and pains of being a figure skating coach. She answered all his questions about coaching, and encouraged him to join her as an assistant when he was ready.

Eventually he did join her as a coaching assistant. After a few months, he was able to skate again for short periods of time, and then it wasn't long before he'd taken over one of Beth-Anne's beginner groups, teaching his five little skaters mostly on his own, with minimal guidance from Beth-Anne. He was happy to realize she'd been right. The thing he'd needed most was someone who cared about him and something to bring a sense of purpose to his life.

Meanwhile, Anya was deeply regretting her decision to leave Nikolai. She still loved him and wanted to come back, but he wasn't ready for that. He was still hurt, and he didn't think he could put himself through another ride on the emotional roller coaster that had been life with Anya. He filed for divorce, and she didn't contest it.

They were able to repair their friendship, but Nikolai wasn't interested in renewing their romantic relationship at that point. Eventually, he would be, but he needed time. He had to admit that he still loved Anya too, but he realized things would never be good between them until they both changed.

At some point, they settled into a "friends with benefits" arrangement, where they agreed that they weren't going to commit to each other and that they'd be free to see other people.

During that period of time, Nikolai went out with his good friend Ginger several times, but they never once slept together and never liked to say their outings were dates. Nikolai dated other people as well, but nothing ever developed with anyone.

It was on the night that he, Beth-Anne, Ginger, Juliet and Hunter were out at a club, celebrating his thirtieth birthday that he met the person whom he'd have his next serious relationship with, Mikhail Vasiliev (a.k.a. Mishka). Nikolai and Hunter were up at the bar, getting drinks for themselves and the ladies when they noticed a man around their age apparently struggling to explain something to one fo the bartenders. The man was enormous, with bulging muscles clearly visible through his snug-fitting shirt, and Nikolai guessed that if they were standing side-by-side, the top of his head would only come up to the man's shoulder. Despite that, however, the man had an oddly childlike quality about him. His sweet face was crumpled with frustration and he looked like he might cry at any moment if he couldn't make himself understood.

Nikolai's second observation was that he recognized the language the man was speaking in between snatches of halting, broken English.

"He's speaking Russian," Nikolai told Hunter. "I'm going to help him."

As it turned out, Mishka was lost and had come into the club for directions. After not having succeeded in getting help at a convenience store down the street, he'd wandered into the only other establishment that was open at that hour. He explained to Nikolai that he was a professional hockey player, and that he'd been part of a mid-season trade from his old team to the one in Brindleton Bay. He'd only arrived a few days ago, and was staying at a hotel until he found a suitable place to live. This particular evening, he'd had dinner by himself at a restaurant, and then on a whim, decided to take a late evening stroll around town. But then, he'd gotten confused and couldn't find his way back to the hotel.

Nikolai and Hunter invited him to come and join Nikolai's little birthday party, and then Nikolai would take him back to the hotel afterwards. Mishka agreed, mostly because he was a little desperate, but he would later say it was the best choice he'd made in a while.

Nikolai and Mishka spent a lot of time just getting to know each other after that, and soon realized this was not going to be just a friendship. Everyone agreed that Mishka was good for Nikolai, and his family and most of his friends liked him. As for Mishka, he was very happy to find himself surrounded by so many people who cared about him, and to be falling in love with somebody who treated him gently and took care of him the way Nikolai did.

For all his strong, tough appearance, Mishka is a meek and quiet person. The thing he appreciated most about Nikolai is that he recognized Mishka's vulnerability and never judged him for it. He was always there to support him and look after him. For Nikolai, Mishka inspired the same kind of nurturing and protectiveness as his young protégé Eden Seong and all his other students, and the relationship offered him that all-important sense of purpose.

His relationship with Mishka was quiet and steady, with none of the chaos and emotional turbulence that his relationship with Anya had. There were fewer risky adventures, far less wild sex, very little personal drama, and no all-out screaming arguments. They often disagreed, but they rarely fought, and they would always try to make up before going to sleep if they did fight.

To Nikolai, their love was all the sweeter, knowing that they were able to successfully navigate through the aftermath of an argument and still want to curl up together in bed when all was said and done. That always made him feel safe, when they felt satisfied enough with the outcome to finally let themselves go to bed, and he was wrapped in Mishka’s huge, gentle arms. Sometimes Mishka would sing to him; the most unexpectedly angelic voice coming from this massive man who looked like he’d be more at home yelling commands to workers at the dockyard than chanting in a choir.

(Mishka had been in an all-boys choir as a child and young teen)

Mishka is cuddly and affectionate, just like Nikolai, and they both fulfilled each other’s need for physical touch. They also had no qualms about being affectionate in public, and it wasn’t at all a rare sight to see them holding hands while out for a walk or to catch Mishka hugging Nikolai from behind and shyly kissing his cheek while they waited in line for coffee.

Mishka shared Nikolai’s love of cycling, and the two of them liked to go on bike rides together. Their favourite thing to do together was to bike somewhere and go exploring. In the summertime, they’d take several small trips where they’d bike for a while, then hike into to the woods and find a nice spot to put up their tent, and camp in the forest for a night or two. Sometimes they’d find a place to fish, sometimes they’d sit in the sun and read, and sometimes they’d wander around and look at the flowers, mushrooms and trees and simply enjoy the quiet. Mishka often got stressed about getting lost, but Nikolai is good with a compass and so they never did.

Other things they enjoyed together were swimming, dancing, playing video games and of course skating. Sometimes the skating was more about Nikolai showing off while Mishka admired him, but mostly they’d skate laps together until Nikolai’s knee dictated a halt. Then, they’d go home, and Mishka would ice and massage his leg until he felt better.

One of the big challenges in their relationship was Mishka’s travelling. The team was constantly on the go throughout the regular season, and even longer if they made the playoffs. Nikolai didn’t like how often Mishka was away from him, and even though there was a set schedule for the team’s away games and home games, the whole thing still felt unstable and uncertain to him. Psychologically, it was difficult for him, and although he tried not to show how upset and stressed he was every time Mishka had to leave, Mishka always knew. He hated that Nikolai was upset, but there wasn’t much he could do in that situation, which naturally upset him too.

Perhaps the biggest hurdle for them was Anya. Nikolai and Anya’s on-again, off-again friends with benefits situation was in a definite “off again” phase when Nikolai and Mishka decided they were in an official relationship, but that didn’t stop Anya from coming around and trying to make herself at home. She’d show up ostensibly to cook for them, help them with their laundry or bring them something she’d knitted. The whole thing made Mishka feel extremely uncomfortable, and he said so on multiple occasions.

Regardless of the fact that Nikolai told Anya several times he wasn’t interested at all, Anya still tried to flirt with him (and with Mishka, much to Mishka’s distress). Mishka was never worried about Nikolai being unfaithful, but he neither liked nor trusted Anya.

One of the worst things for Nikolai during all this was that he didn’t even have his buddy Ginger around to talk to about it. Not long after Nikolai and Mishka had gotten together, Ginger had returned to the UK to begin her own journey as a figure skating coach and, as it happened, a wife. She and Nikolai did their best to keep in touch, but with their schedules, time zones, and Ginger’s new husband Liam not liking her to talk to other men, it was a challenge.

Inevitably, Nikolai and Mishka reached the conclusion that as much as they loved and cared for each other, this was not the right time or the right circumstances for them to stay together. They mutually decided to part ways and remain friends, and they promised that if their situations ever changed, they'd look each other up and hopefully try again. They did their best to keep in touch after that, but just like his contact with Ginger, Nikolai's contact with Mishka was semi-regular, but they still managed not to lose track of each other. He never forgot what they'd promised and neither did Mishka.

Fast-forward a few years, and Nikolai receives a message from Ginger, telling him that she and Liam are divorcing, and she's moving to Japan to continue to train her star student, Sebastian Fujikawa, a Japanese citizen who'd previously been training in the UK while he attended school there. The teenager was ready to go home to Japan, though, and he'd practically begged Ginger to come with him. She told Nikolai she was ready for a change, and that she'd gladly agreed.

Meanwhile, Nikolai was busy with Eden, his own young champion in the making, as well as his other students. Eden and Sebastian were the same age, Nikolai discovered, and soon they'd be competing in the senior division, where they — and their coaches — would undoubtedly meet at international competitions. It was easier for Nikolai and Ginger to keep in touch, now that she didn’t have Liam breathing down her neck, and their contact became less sporadic. Nikolai always looked forward to the chances when they'd encounter each other in person at a competition or training camp. Seeing Ginger again always made him happy.

Fast-forward another handful of years, and Nikolai finds himself in the unlikely scenario of being begged to come to Japan by his own student. Eden had decided to follow his brother Charlie to Japan, where Charlie was going to pursue his career as a professional aesthetitian, hoping to become the proverbial beautician of the stars in the J-pop music industry.

Initially, Eden asked Nikolai to come with him, and Nikolai said no. For one thing, he was terrified to uproot himself from his family, students and familiar surroundings. He was never good with instability, and he didn't think he could cope with that drastic a change in his life. His other reason was that he thought Eden might need to assert his own independence a bit. He didn't want Eden to leave, but knew that it'd be wrong to hold him back.

Eden found a new coach to train with, but the whole thing went terribly wrong after only a few months. Coincidentally, he was skating out of the same rink in a small town in Japan where Ginger was coaching her student, Sebastian. Nikolai heard more of the story from Ginger than he did from Eden at first, as Eden didn't want to upset him with all the horrible details, nor did he want Nikolai to think he was trying to guilt him into coming to Japan.

Finally, Eden did confess the whole truth, and Nikolai was heartbroken to realize that he'd made a huge mistake in not going to Japan with Eden in the first place. He'd all but made up his mind to go, and it really took very little extra persuasion on the part of Ginger and Charlie to fully convince him.

He was overjoyed to be reunited with Eden. Three months had felt like forever to him. He's struggling to adapt to life in Japan, and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't scared, but having Eden, Charlie and Ginger close by helps him. Anya, a professional sports and entertainment photographer, has been there to visit him, while she was travelling in Asia for work. As much as he wants to deny it, he was glad to see her too and try as he might, he can't deny that he's looking forward to her coming back again.

But, other than training with Eden again, the real highlight has been his reunion with Ginger. It's brought him much more joy than he'd expected, and he's really not certain how to explain his feelings about it. He and Ginger spend as much time together as they can, and it didn't take much for them to slip back into their old friendship. They still don't want to say they're dating, and neither one of them really sees their relationship as a romance, but they're nevertheless very happy together. Nikolai can honestly say he loves Ginger, and he sees nothing wrong with that.

It's all good until he receives a long email from Mishka. Now 35 years old, Mishka has decided that too many injuries and stamina that's fading with age have finally made him uncompetitive as a pro hockey player, and it's time to retire. Nikolai could read the excitement in Mishka's written message, and he easily could picture Mishka's sweet face glowing with a smile at the sentence, "I never forgot you. I'm coming to Japan to find you, my love."

Nikolai is excited too, until he thinks about Ginger. And Anya.

He's still figuring out his feelings for Ginger, who is already right there in town, and Anya will be back soon on another business trip. How's he supposed to handle Mishka too, in the midst of that?

He has a problem, and not the sort of problem most people have. Some people have trouble finding one love interest. Nikolai's problem is that he may have far too many...

[delurkr]

Hey sorry for sending in another ask so soon but I was wondering what your headcanons for the Clarke Family where Personality wise?

And what ages do you think the kids were adopted?

I'm getting vibes that Anthony and Megan were adopted old enough to remember being adopted but that Tanya and Dennis were too young to remember when they were, if that makes sense.

No problem with another ask! If I ever need to let them sit and marinate for a while I will 😄

So ok about their personalities, some of these opinions might be less obvious than others but I try to base this kind of thing on all the doubles in each set (this will not be brief lol).

Now to get this out of the way, James was drunk in his scenes and that's not a great determiner of someone's true personality. That said all the J's are pretty angry in general so he certainly has a temper. We know he's social, spending time with "the guys" and apparently being "well loved at work" like the game says, and he has a ton of anxiety, very much a worrier. Definitely extroverted as well as expressive (whatever he's feeling, good or bad, everyone else will hear about it). Relatedly I feel like he can be pretty demonstrative with his affection for family and friends when he isn't coming unglued from stress. Protective (read also: possessive), impatient, and intense, literally not a shred of chill whatsoever.

Anne is tired ya'll 😅 She can be nosy and critical quite like Angela can and has no time for mushy stuff but clearly it stems from a lot of concern for her family. She cared enough to appeal to Rev Carson for help in handling Megan, but unless she's desperate I definitely see her as the self-sufficient, suck-it-up-and-don't-air-our-dirty-laundry type (she's totally down to hear about other people's dirty laundry tho). Also very exacting, self-assured, and tells it to you straight (without being asked) and expects you to do the same; she's fully convinced that she can fix the entire world if everyone would just do what she says (tbf she's usually right). Probably too stressed out to be seen as much fun these days but she can be super funny when she wants to (her wit isn't always at the expense of other people).

Somehow I don't have a ton to say about Tanya atm but there's a lot to go on based on her scenes and the other T's. She has her flirty ways and a lot of the time likes to keep things lighthearted and casual, and, like Taylor, canonically makes jokes to lighten the mood when things are intense (but only when she isn't the one causing the drama). Unlike Taylor though, she keeps her insubordination on the down low in public, so older people who aren't her parents love her (not that her parents don't love her 😂). Hardworking and cooler than like, everybody; popular and effortlessly good at whatever she cares to do. Also secretive to the point of being deceptive but she keeps secrets to keep things easy, she doesn't purposely cause harm but she's too sensitive to bare her soul often.

Dennis be angy and suspicious 😁 He isn't likely to go looking for a fight but he defends his territory like a bulldog when it's threatened (his territory could be anything from the bathroom at 9 o'clock on Saturday mornings to a box of cheerios on top of the fridge but he'll usually let you know what's his as soon as he claims it). Routined and doesn't like new things unless it was his idea. Tries very hard to be cool. Literally though he'd go to the ends of the earth for people he loves (and he'd do it like, on a unicycle and wearing a clown nose if Megan requested it). 1000% a mama's boy too, you cannot change my mind. Anne will swear up and down that she doesn't play favorites but there was only one kid who got to lick the cake batter spoons without having to ask and his name did not start with T, A, or M. Picked her flowers all the time when he was little too (he's in between stages now but he'll be back around to giving her flowers in a few years or so).

Anthony is just so utterly inoffensive lol, and he manages to be that way even while being his snarky little self. Tends to be oblivious to what's going on, like sure he'll notice changes in people's attitudes or in his environment if you point it out but he won't understand what it means until it doesn't matter anymore (or, thinking of the situation with Megan, sometimes not until it's too late). I say it's partly where his anxiety comes from, the awareness that things can crack and fall apart before he's caught up on there even being a problem. Daddy's boy for sure, he and James are almost exact opposites and, like Abraham with Joseph and Andrew with John, they just click. Introverted, clearly very compassionate but doesn't trust his own instincts with so many more dominant personalities around. Definitely the mediator in dumb sibling squabbles (it's a coin toss whether or not they listen to him) but on the rare occasions he musters the courage to insert himself into any more consequential situations he just might surprise folks into taking him seriously. Chronic baby brother, having to snip at people's heels or wear them down with his big eyes like a puppy to get them to pay attention. A little bitter about it too lol but he does what he has to.

Now I already had a post about the M's personality lurking in my drafts and it gets the job done, so time for a little copy paste:

~

Mary and Megan speak quite assertively in a lot of their scenes, I'm thinking for example Mary's "Liar!" line to some of the most powerful and well-respected adults in her community and the way Megan gets down to brass tacks in confronting Anne about her parent's conversation or the way she boldly tries to get Dennis's attention, even though I'm sure it's nothing new for her to get brushed off most of the time. I'll point out that M has fearful and withdrawn moments too but it's almost always triggered by Carver/Carson, with the contemporary little girl being the exception: she is entirely that way after all that happened to the other M's (I know she's more of a device than a character but the little girl's shyness is a big contrast to how outgoing Mary was to Andrew and Angela in the first flashback). So yeah I love the assertiveness we're shown and I wanted to point it out, because I see her boldness and outspokenness as more her real, healthy self and I very much appreciate that side of her because there isn't just one type of person that gets manipulated or whose needs get disregarded.

And another thing, unfortunate as it is, is that it reinforces the response the other characters (and the player) have to the M's acting out, just like we see in the game. They don't see her behavior as something new that signals a problem since they can fall back on "she's always been a troublemaker but she's even worse now." (For the most part. Joseph has his moment of "nah Mary wouldn't do that" and Tabitha and maybe David can't wrap their heads around her intentionally accusing them, but it's important that even while Abraham and Anthony try to keep her from harsh punishment they of all people don't put it past her to have done whatever she's accused of.) Also it makes me even madder at Carson and Carver because I can see her being such a delightfully spunky little force of nature if they could just, you know, not exist to torture her.

~

I don't think it all got my point across very well, but on to the adoption thing. There's different ideas in the fandom that I like but this post I wrote forever ago is kind of my baseline and my reasoning hasn't changed.

Um, the end 😅 Round of applause if you got this far 👏👏👏

[haveihitanerve]

Since some of y'all asked, i decided to write a lil something :)

Bruce didn't know what to do. Damian had been with them a month now and he still wasn't fitting. Bruce hadn't expected the change to be perfect, or to go smoothly, but he hadn't expected Damian to be so afraid. So unwilling to fit into their family. So unsure. So quick to assume the worst of them, that they don't truly love him. It hurt him every time Damian straightened when he walked into the room, every time one of his kids went out of their way to demonstrate the things they were going to do, whether hug or just mess with his hair to make sure he wouldn't freak. Stephanie's nose was still in a brace since the last time she had attempted to hug him, but it didn't stop her. Damian had looked so afraid when he had hit her, but Steph had taken it in stride, wiping the blood away with the back of her hand and apologizing before asking if he'd like to accompany her on a trip to the zoo. Damian had hesitated, but eventually agreed and had come back looking marginally better. He even allowed some gentle contact from Steph now, though he still tensed. Bruce had conferred with his children, with Alfred, with a therapist, and they had all decided to show Damian something of their world, show him he belonged. So Dick picked out their classic favorite movie and Bruce bought way too many snacks, and they sat Damian on the couch in front of the TV. But when Bruce looked over at his son, the boy had pulled out a sketch pad and was drawing, fighting very hard not to look at the screen, his gaze unnecessarily focused. It broke Bruce's heart. But there was nothing he could do. He tried for his son, he offered him praise and affection and stopped talking to Jason because he was afraid of how Damian might react. But nothing worked.

"I don't know what to do Alf." Bruce whispered miserably. "Perhaps, my dear boy, it is time you draw your focus from him for a while. It cannot help him that you are all hovering constantly." Bruce nodded, sighing. "yeah. Okay Alf." "and," Alfred added and Bruce had to grin because he just knew there would be another reason. "perhaps it is time you spend some time with your other children." Bruce heard the reprimand in his butlers voice and grimaced. "I know Alf. I've- just been so worried and focused and- its not an excuse." He sighed. Alfred's voice softened. "Perhaps a good example will help as well. Show him how you interact with the others, and offer him the same interactions. I am not saying you should let Master Jason come home guns blaring, but speak to him, at least." Bruce nodded again, standing. "i will. Thanks Alf." "but of course my dear boy." Bruce headed down to the cave, tugging out his phone and scrolling through his pinned contacts for his sons number. Jason picked up on the last ring. "yeah?" His voice was guarded, careful. Hurt. Bruce cringed. "hey Jaylad. Listen, I know I've been... distant and I'm sorry. There's just... a lot going on at the manor right now. Would you want to come over and eat dinner with me? Talk?" Bruce bit his lips, waiting anxiously. When Jason answered his voice was noticeably more hopeful. "Yeah. Yeah sure. Tonight?" Bruce let out a breath of relief. "yeah Bud. If you can. I'll have Alfred make your favorite." He could feel Jason's smile through the phone. "Sounds good. See you then." Bruce hurried back to the kitchen to tell Alfred, and the butler smiled at him in pride. "I shall begin preparing right away Master Bruce. Do set the table won't you?" Bruce dipped his head and headed to the far dining room, one they rarely used but was still cozy, and set the table for two. Jason texted about ten minutes after Bruce had finished setting up, and he rushed to the door to greet his son. "Jay!" Bruce wrapped his arms around him in a hug. "I'm so happy to see you." Jason smiled awkwardly, hugging him back a little hesitantly. "Uh, good to see you to." "come on, let's head to the table, Alfred should bring food around in a bit." Jason frowned, but followed him down the hall to the dining room. "um B? Why are we eating here?" Bruce sighed, opening his mouth to finally tell his son everything, when Alfred bustled into the room, giving Jason a firm hug before serving dinner, and heading back out again. Jason chose food over conversation, and for a while they merely ate in silence. Finally, Jason cleared his throat. "So?" Bruce nodded, setting his fork down. "You have a right to know, and I'm sorry for not telling you. But recently I got a visit from an old... friend of mine." Jason arched a brow. "friend?" Bruce sighed. "Talia." Jason's eyes widened. "She, she has a son and he's mine. I'm sorry I didn't tell you but it has been a new experience for him here and I did not want you to... scare him." Jason opened his mouth to respond to that when the door creaked open. Bruce felt horror seep into his veins as Damian poked his head inside, opening the door. Jason's spoon clattered to the floor. Bruce's legs tensed, readying himself to stand and explain, but before he could even move Damian was sprinting across the room and flung himself at Jason's neck and Jason's chair shattered against the wall with the force of his standing up and suddenly Damian was clutched against Jason's chest, head buried in his neck, arms wrapped tightly around him. Bruce stared at them, jaw dropped, before it all clicked. "of course." he breathed. "Jay- Damian- I am so sorry." The ruckus had drawn attention and soon everyone was there, staring with wide eyes at their little brother Damian, who recently stole a kitchen knife and hugged it like a teddy bear while sleeping, cuddled up in Jason's arms. "well." Alfred said primly. "How bout that." Dick breathed, looking only slightly put out that the katanna wielding murder child had picked the other murder child for his first hug and not him.

The new relationship was... different. But Bruce couldn't say he didn't prefer it. He invited Jason to stay in the manor for a while, for as long as he wanted, for forever and Jason had agreed, and they had planned another movie night, all watching Damian, curled up in Jason's lap, more than they had watched the movie. And the next time Tim affectionately ribbed Damian, the boy had tackled him in a hug instead of stabbing him. Tim had looked shocked, and then promptly wrapped his own arms around the little boy. Bruce was able to tousle his hair, Cass and Steph invited him to braid theirs, and Dick took him to art classes, pining each of his drawings to the fridge. Damian blushed with every word of praise they threw at him, but Bruce noticed he stood taller, was more sure of himself. Was more sure of his place in the family. Bruce wouldn't lie, it wasn't perfect. But it was better. It was okay. And for him, for his little family, that was more than perfect.

@katy816 @lettheworldburnxx @puppiesandnightlock @justsomebadythatisntme @tooomanyspirits @kassadeen @rt-nique @fureliselost @skylathescholarly

you guys who asked and made me blush 💗💗💗

No but okay guys i want you to imagine Damian Al Ghul. 

Little damian who is only ten years old. Who doesn't understand the concept of affection. 

Who colors instead of watching a family favorite movie because he believes it is a sacred family tradition and he is not truly a part of the family, even though they picked this movie specifically so that he could watch it

Who watches Bruce laugh with Dick and Tim and feels resentment because he has never been looked at that way, even though Bruce tries

Who sees Duke and Cass look at him in concern when he gets injured on patrol and thinks its because they think hes weak, not because they care

Who has never once felt any ounce of love from his Grandfather for just existing

Who jumps when Dick tries to hug him

Who almost stabs Tim for grabbing him from behind for a little sibling cuddle

Who does end up punching Steph in the nose after she tousles his hair

Who tries so hard to fit in to this new environment he was unceremoniously dumped into by his mother and grandfather but who does not understand because these people are kind and laugh and seem to like him????

And Damian is confused and scared and on guard because everything comes at a price and it breaks Bruce’s heart every time he sees Damian straighten when he walks in the room, when he eyes Duke and Tim with suspicion, when he tries to hide injuries because he does not want to be seen as weak. 

Just a Damian who is trying so hard and his family is too but hes still so scared and they don't know what to do….

Until Jason shows up. Bruce has been careful to keep the Red Hood away from Damian, to not shock the kid, not freak him out. And Jason is more than happy to stay away, even though it hurts him a little that Bruce just randomly cut off contact. But Bruce misses his son so he invites him for dinner, just the two of them at the manor, in one of the lesser eaten at dining rooms, and its good and easy and almost like old times…

When the door creaks open.

And Damian walks in.

And promptly freezes when he spots Bruce.

And then stares like a deer in headlights at Jason.

And Jason's spoon clatters to the floor. 

And before Bruce can react Damian is sprinting across the room and Jason has thrown his chair back with the force of his standing up and suddenly his youngest his cradled in his second oldest sons arms, legs wrapped around his waist, head buried deeply in his neck. And it all clicks and Bruce scolds himself because how could he have been so stupid??? But its okay because jason is there now and Damian is no longer shaking and when Tim gives him an affectionate punch in the shoulder there is not murder in his eyes but an unfamiliar gleam and suddenly Tim is tackled in a hug and he stands there in shock for a second before relaxing, his arms wrapping around the kid and they rewatch the movie and hang up Damian's drawings and tousle his hair and its okay. Its not perfect, but its okay. And for the Batfamily, that is more than perfect.

[cynicalemi]

My very late longass analysis about last chapter :

The translation i used here were provided by @alexc1ting ^^

/!\ DISCLAIMER/!\

I will do a lot of assumptions here so bear with me lol.

/!\ DISCLAIMER PART II /!\

A lot of people already talked about some thing i'll mention here. But i don't know who anymore x')

/!\ DISCLAIMER PART II's PART II /!\

English is not my first language, i hope what i say makes sense lol.

Here we go.

First of all, i really did not expect that. In one chapter we had : a consented backhug, Mo opening up, He Tian crying, and a tianshan kiss. Knowing how subtle OX usually keep things, i was trully dumbfounded.

Now, i'm a psychopath so i kept starring at those images the two last hours before my brain reconnected and here are some details that might stay unnoticed but that i just LOVE.

We have a zoom on HT's facial expression. And his eyes are filling up with unshead tears. I thought this was so interesting. HT has a rather choleric temperament, i think everyone noticed lol. Last time when Mo was almost hurt by the Coke She Li threw from upstairs, we had a clear demonstration. HT went BERSERK. ''From now on i'll be your lackey, if anyone bothers you, i'll beat them up''. This describes well HT's way of showing concern usually. He easily become violent to solve problems and when facing something that affects him, his primary emotion is anger. HT tearing up to me is him feeling like he can't do anything and that fricking hurts.

Mo's expression is like... Boy... The last person he expected to see in front of his house was HT. They fought the same day. Mo distanced himself from every major distraction or thought so. Usually he would get mad and tell HT to scram but that kid is exhausted. He almost died. He've been stressing about everything recently. School, job, family, harassers, future, and so on.

He asks HT why he's here. At that moment he gets flashbacks from his recent fight and start coughing like he still feels the burning metal chains strangling him.

HT hugs his waist from behind.

In this pannel we have Mo voicing what he's been thinking for a while. The fact that he's hiding his face and his global posture gives the impression he wants to disappear.

On the last image, we see HT's hand now hugging Mo's chest. Like he wants to pull him closer. We don't see his face but if you ask me, that's when he starts crying.

Later Mo tries to go again but HT clings, even if it's just his shirt, he can't do anything but he can't let go.

I almost cried when Mo said that he would solve his problems alone. That's how he has always done. Even when it obviously doesn't work he feels like he doen't have the choice. Feeling like nobody *can* help you is something that really gets to me. Mo knows his mother loves him obviously, but he also know how she overworks herself for his sake, how poor they still are eventhough she works so much, how the bills are pilling up, how she doesn't have his father anymore. And all that makes him unable to lean on her when he's hurting. Our Mo has always been a caring soul.

And now HT. He says he wants to help. HT forces him to have fun (at the end of the day he's a goddamn child supposed to have fun or fall in love at his age). But how can he have fun when it means loosing his job and becoming a burden rather than helping right ?

This. Many already mentionned that at first Mo wasn't crying before seeing HT himself cry.

''Would you believe in me/trust me''. Feels like ''would you believe in me eventhough i've always been such a failure ? Would believe i can get through this ?"

But if one doesn't have the courage to change they don't deserve to dream right ?

And well, it has already been mentionned as well but Mo seems to be leaning into HT's touch. Like his shoulders are in the same position but his face is slightly turned to HT's hand side.

There are already been a lot said about the kiss so i've nothing big to add. I really like that the wasn't on the lips. Don't get me wrong. It's the dream of all the tianshan fandom and mine as well but not like this. We are not in a romantic context. Neither of them need that right now. Mo asked if HT would believe in him ? I feel like this kiss is the answer. "I would''. ''I believe in you''. At the same time : ''I'm sorry''. ''I'm here''.

[lott-the-otter]

Benimaru NSFW headcanons

Aka how I imagine Benimaru

Warning: nsfw, minors please dni, slight spoilers (due to my comments), my grammar

He is a dom if you are just a fuck buddy but he is a switch leaning dom if he loves you

He is rough no matter what, hard trusts but the tempo can fluctuate. If he is in a loving mood, it would be slow and hard trusts but if he is riled up, you're in for a wild ride.

He got big breeder balls but I don't think he is very sensitive (my dude survived a training of hell, he must not feel much anymore lmao)

100% finishes inside of you. May it be conscious or unconsciously but he got that strong breeding kink instinct. He want a family something he didn't have until he got adopted and at least one biological kid. Though, he wouldn't mind adopt the other ones.

While he is very confident about his strength and his ability to protect Asakusa, in term of love, he doesn't think he is worthy childhood traumas, I choose you, so he would be into praises and grand displays of affection (inside a room)

He is possessive. Baby beni didn't have much until he got Asakusa (and then he got too much lmao). So he would mark you and live for your embarrassment when you realise people are starring at his marks. He could be jealous but like only of his fellow fire soldiers. As long as he thinks of them worthier than him and you have a very good relationship with them, he would be worried (and demonstrate that worry by destroying you and your hole)

He doesn't mind going down on you but he prefers the other way around.

He is a taker more then a giver

He doesn't have the patience for complicated bondage but he likes to see you all tied up. He would probably do some simple knots and calls it good.

But he has enough patience to tease and edge you.

He is into overstimulation, something about your tears and your fucked out expression got him hard.

Benimaru is smaller than Obi (but still fairly big) and meaner.

He wouldn't degrade you per say but he would mock you. A bit like Sukuna (from jjk) with the ~ganbare gandare~

He would tell you to do all the works before suddenly flipping you and have you his way (in a way, it's how he shows you mercy because when he goes out, he really goes all out).

Beni likes chaos, so he would enjoy messy sex with scented oil.

He would love taking you from behind. He has a thing for backs and necks (and a good ass) and would plant hickeys here.

He would hate, however, to clean the mess after.

I refuse to believe he is a king of aftercare but he will help you clean. He just won't go backward if you ask. The king is Obi, I don't take criticism. And that's because he enjoys seeing you stumble around like a baby fawn, the result of him going all out (he will help you after a few stumbles, just let him bask in his smugness)

And I think that's enough for today. You can always ask for more if you want.

See you & take care, fellow sinners

[adhd-head-empty-no-thoughts]

We moved around a lot, so we would attend different churches. The ones I remember most vividly were nondenominational, but each had very different approaches.

The first one I can't find the denomination since it apparently closed down years ago, but I remember I was baptized there at a young age, I mostly remember being in the children's church being taught the story of Job (this messed me up a lot as a kid, and still affects me today), and one of the few times I was in the "grown up church" they watched Jim Carrey's The Mask. This was apparently something they'd do once a year or so, pick a movie and discuss how we can relate it to the Bible?

My grandma's church, when I was a kid, was two different experiences.

The children's church was very club like? Loud music, party lighting, air hocky, and foosball tables. They had these "kids bucks" you'd get for, like having your Bible (even though you never actually needed it for service) and answering questions. These you could train for toys. As far as the acti service content? I mostly remember they had puppets and a projection screen, and once they used a rainbow gummy tongue to demonstrate speaking in tongues (I remember them being against it).

When i was old enough to go to the adult service, it was very big on fire and brimstone. The pastor preached that your spouse was more important than your children. Women shouldn't be allowed to teach, have to be subservient to their husband, and shouldn't be in possitions of power. Divorce was a terrible sin. Lot of Old Testament angry vengeful God type sermons. The focus on Jesus' sacrifice seemed not on his and God's love for us, but how terrible Jesus's death was. They were big on Passion Plays, the one I remember seeing one of the people that helped off stage told my grandma I was too young for it, and when my grandma insisted it was okay, she stayed at our table to tell me when to close my eyes (and cover my ears I think?). We went a second time and she wasn't there, luckily I was able to go "I didn't see this I should close my eyes" but not before seeing Pontius Pilate washing his hands only to his horror seeing them covered in blood.

After he retired, the children's church pastor took over. He brought the loud music and the concert lights. He had the pews, pulpit, and everything "church like" removed and replaced it with a consert stage. As far as his services, the one I attended included, "Some people claim to be Christians, but they believe certain things (LGBTQ+ rights, being pro abortion rights). You can't believe those things and be Christians. If you think you can, you're mentally ill!" Not actually preaching, just shouting "amen" and "hallelujah" and like quoting John 3:16 during the guitar solos of the music, pushing their new mobile app as well as donations, and then making fun of a pregnant member of the congregation for being fat when he thought nobody was looking. (I'm sorry for ranting. This just made me so angry and have very few people I can vent about this too lol)

Finally, we get to the church I currently attend. The pastor is very nice. She's also a woman (scandalous, lol). She preaches love for everyone regardless of if they're part of the church. We are all children of God, and so we should always be there for each other. We recite the Lord's Prayer and take communion every Sunday. Pentecost is celebrated, the first church I've attended that I recall doing so, and during Christmas, they light the menorah to commemorate our Jewish routes. We do have altar kids' light candles for special occasions. She mentions baptism, but I don't know when they do them. It's usually coming up at the end of the service for a dedication of faith.

Some other miscellaneous information, I grew up being told by my family (my mom excluded) that Baptists and Catholics are not real Christians, my family are young earth creationists, and part of my family believes alcohol is a sin. I grew up with the understanding that Witchcraft was evil (one of my aunts banned Harry Potter for having "real witchcraft" in it), also our family is big evangelizing to others, not marrying outside the religion, and marrying and having kids as soon as possible. (Most of these takes I never understood) My brother was an atheist before becoming a sort of agnostic desim (I specify this because I would listen to him talk about his thoughts on religion a lot). I also grew up with two aunts that were into what I didn't know until later was witchcraft, which affected my beliefs quite a bit, I think.

I don't have a hard time with visualization, but I do fear "putting words in God's mouth," so to speak. I don't want to mistakenly put my own thoughts or feelings onto him. Like, I've been given the advice of imagining Jesus being physically with you and having a conversation with him, but while I can easily imagine how that, I feel I shouldn't do that in regards to religious figures. Sure, I can imagine a conversation with Jesus, but what if that's not what he'd say or feel, ya know? I also struggle with a lot with some of the figurative parts of religion. I remember literally asking God into my heart and being confused when I didn't feel any different. I understand now they don't mean he's literally in some God shaped whole in my heart, but I don't quite understand how I'm supposed to understand it, or what it means if practice if that makes sense.

I'm sorry this was so long, I tried to organize my thoughts as best as I could.

I've noticed that it seems like most Christian Witches either are Catholic or at least follow a lot of Catholic practices?

Coming from a Protestant family, I've yet to find any Christian Witches that have a Protestant background.

I'm curious: What about Catholicism more easily lends itself to Christian Witchcraft vs. Protestantism (that doesn't seem to lend itself to it at all)?

Also, if you're a Christian Witch that comes from a Protestant background, I would very much love to discuss it with you!

[reinbouxsworld]

About the character headcanons asks

Please 💕 and 🎻 for all your OCs! I want to ship everyone and make a playlist for them!

YUNO YAMINE

💕ˀˀ. . . ₎ Hopeless romantic, but she tries not to. Yuno is a very delicate balance between constantly daydreaming and being aware that life is not a Disney movie, but nothing sounds better than that little scenario in her head about hugging her crush before falling asleep that just 😔🤌.  She's by far the most open about her feelings in general, so it is pretty obvious when she likes someone too. Her main way to show affection is physical touch, so even if she plays cool and not bothered at all while being afraid of being clingy, you can see her staring at your hand like 👁👄👁. 

🎻ˀˀ. . . ₎ A loud bad singer. Grim hates it, but can’t bring it to tell her to shut up because she only sings out loud when she's really happy or really sad, the poor thing. Also, her upbringing made her really into classical music, like Tchaikovsky and Vivaldi and she listens to it almost everyday, but overall pretty eclectic out of it.

 Yuno is into a lot of indie and kpop on a daily basis too. Also the type of person that always listens to people's recommendations, or learns her friends' favorites to vibe with them. 

FACILE DRAKE

💕ˀˀ. . . ₎ His love language is words of affirmation, so it would be nothing weird to him to come and "you know I love you" or very soft whisper out a "my evening star". Even in platonic, it is not weird for him to say out of nowhere a "bro, you're my favorite person”. but Facile doesn't have any priority in romantic love at all. He's seventeen, it isn't like he's going to meet the love of his life just now, right? right?

🎻ˀˀ. . . ₎ He tried to play piano like Sam when he was younger but what really made him passionate was saxophone. He plays on the afternoons in the Pomefiore lounge for Vil, or after his shift in Mr.S Shop, when he can. He’s also a fan of Jazz and Blues, mostly because of Sam and their homeland. 

AGONIA TARTARUS

💕ˀˀ. . . ₎ Against what people tend to think about them, they’re not a fuckboy or anything like it, for sure, Agonia is sure into some mutual flirt and rarely get involvelved, but once they do, they love deeply. They're main languages are through acts of service and physical touch, so they like to demonstrate that yes, they are into you. No, they don't do it for anybody. They don't mind making a point out of it. If they chooses you, then it's you.

🎻ˀˀ. . . ₎ Unlike his brother and Idia that are always with headphones, Agonia only listens to music in their room, usually some heavy metal or punk rock, but anything that makes some success on Ignihyde walls is a go to for them. Also a really good singer, but they don't bother to show it since they like to poke Pannik nerves telling he's the gifted kid from their family.

PANNIKOLAUS  "PANNIK" TARTARUS

💕ˀˀ. . . ₎ He's born to friends to lovers trope. Pannik is too shy for any kind of relationship that he doesn't know deeply. His main way to show affection is through words of affirmation but in his own way: with music; you can expect a ton shit of Playlist made for or thinking about you on his phone, and for sure he will be writing songs about you too, but you will have to take it from his dead cold hands 😊

🎻ˀˀ. . . ₎ Pannik loves music more than himself, but he can easily follow the sad boy aesthetic with the amounts of indie and grunge he listens to. Believe it or not he's pretty much into everything (please listen to his recommendations).

Pannik is always with his headphones for when he needs to calm down, if he loses or it breaks things get really bad.

CHARACTER HEADCANON ASKS

Sorry for taking so long but THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR ASK!!! PLS SEND ME THE PLAYLIST LINKS PLS PLS PLS <3333

[faelicy]

Miss Faelicy I would love to get your opinion on Bingqiu.

I see people posting things like how they are "problematic" and how they don't really love each other and SQQ only feels sympathy etc. Obviously there were struggles between them as there should be (considering all that happened) and just because sqq wasn't very open and super obvious about his feelings doesn't mean they are not there..this is how I interpreted it. I would love to know your opinion

Hello! This also covers part 2 of the previous ask.

First, massive spoilers for the end of the novel. Second, a disclaimer: I despise shipwars, which I think are behind most of those comments. I hate them because it's usually all in bad faith: everyone's already committed to their interpretation of the ships, and any discussion is just a guise for justifying their preferences.

So to any readers: I don't want anything here to be used as shipwar fuel. This post is about Bingqiu's canon arc and themes. Basically, I don't know or care if Bingqiu is a good ship, but I do think it's a well-written one.

I'll start by saying directly: for most of the novel, Bingqiu is neither healthy nor romantic. And that this is not bad writing, but on purpose.

A relationship that drives one party to mental breakdown isn't healthy. A relationship where that party says it's okay to hurt or kill them can't possibly be healthy. That happened because there was something deeply wrong with their relationship, something that can't be reduced to Xin Mo, miscommunication, or LBH throwing a tropey yandere fit.

And out of all three MXTX novels, only SV lacks a love confession from the MC to the ML. Again, I don't think it's an oversight, or just because SQQ's face is too thin. There are plenty of ways MXTX could have worked a subtle one in if she really wanted to.

In my opinion, Bingqiu's narrative can be split up into four arcs: Qing Jing Peak (ch 1-27), Jin Lan City (28-43), Post-revival (29-55), and Reconciliation (56-81). Other than the first arc, where their relationship is pretty straightforward, Bingqiu spend most of the rest in direct conflict.

I'll give an overview of the arcs here, but what I truly want to say about Bingqiu starts in arc 4, so if you're impatient you can scroll down. But the overview might help add context.

Jin Lan City arc is about LBH's anger at being brutally betrayed by the one person he thought he could trust. Here he tries to force answers out of SQQ, who he believes both hates him and is a hypocrite. He's driven by a desire to return to the past, but his rage and love makes his actions contradictory: on one hand he tries to win SQQ's approval constructively, by climbing to the top of Huan Hua Palace and performing good deeds, on the other hand his belief that SQQ doesn't care about him so it's all futile anyway (reinforced by SQQ's own actions) causes him to lash out destructively, going as far as to hurt and imprison SQQ.

LBH's bitterness is portrayed very negatively, because all it does is instill despair into SQQ, until SQQ ends up believing that he's only been a blight on LBH's life, and that he must make up for it by killing himself. Whereupon LBH breaks down, regressing into a childlike state. Some might ask, why does LBH never bring up the Abyss again afterwards? It's because he gives up here. This entire arc is about getting LBH to let go of past wrongs and to stop seeking answers, whether the reader believes it's fair to him or not. Because SQQ's life is more important.

Post-revival arc then is about SQQ trying to come to terms with a blackened LBH who also loves him. Interestingly, despite SQQ's horror at realizing LBH was romantically interested in him all along, SQQ actually has a very subtle but telling secondary reaction. To explain, let's back up to the first arc.

Starting around ch 9, probably as a sign of his growing affection, SQQ begins addressing LBH as 这孩子, or "this child," in his internal monologue, instead of LBH's name. He does it once each in ch 9, 12, 17, 21, 25. However, once Jin Lan City arc starts, SQQ drops the address entirely. LBH and "child" are never brought up together except for one snarky comment on LBH's tantrum being disgracefully childish in ch 38.

At first glance this doesn't look noteworthy because LBH by this point is no longer a kid. But when LBH kisses him in ch 49, SQQ changes again: right away he returns to using "child" on LBH, and the "this child" address starts popping up at a much higher frequency. By the end of SV SQQ has referred to LBH as a child in some manner at least 35 times (yes I went and counted), with the vast majority after ch 49, and he continues to do so right into the last extra.

Why was SQQ unwilling to use this address of affection for over 20 chapters? Perhaps because he too thought LBH hated him, and couldn't bear to think about him so intimately knowing that. So SQQ immediately falling back into it the moment he learns LBH loves him is a sign of his relief. He's still dismayed at the romantic part, but though SQQ likes to deflect from his real emotions (this is the guy who focused on bad naming sense after being fatally poisoned, who cavalierly commented only after it was all over that he'd expected to die), the fact that LBH loves and doesn't hate him, means a lot.

Here SQQ's feelings towards LBH are at their most complicated. He still assumes the worst of him like in Jin Lan City, but now because of the above, also sees a lonely child whenever LBH is unhappy and lost. It's like he has two filters actively interfering with each other, "crazed criminal" and "pitiful child," and so he flip-flops between pushing LBH away and comforting him. But when LBH drags CQMS into it, and even seemingly takes advantage of SQQ's love for him, SQQ's negative image and frustration with him only grows, until he finally snaps and tells LBH to never come near him again.

At this point SQQ still believes that LBH is the same black-hearted, invincible, devil incarnate that og!LBH was portrayed to be. The Reconciliation arc starts by chipping away at this filter that's been plaguing SQQ for so long. First the revelation that TLJ/ZZL was behind the sowers, thus clearing LBH's name at Jin Lan City. Then we see how unloved he is by his own father; we see him injured and helpless and unconscious. Meng Mo yells at SQQ, reinforcing that image of a vulnerable, terrified child. So by ch 62 SQQ has thrown away the "crazed criminal" filter completely, and in that same chapter they cling to each other and finally make up. Because while it's true that the current LBH is misanthropic, antisocial, and mercurial, SQQ has also finally accepted that he's still the same LBH he'd raised and doted on, back on Qing Jing Peak.

Now I'm going to talk about what I see as the most important part of Bingqiu. Yes, despite the wall of text already.

A common sentiment of Bingqiu shippers about their issues seems to be, "SQQ is dumb and oblivious; he can't figure out what LBH needs even though he loves him because he sees LBH as a novel character," but I think the problem is far more complicated and insidious than that. If that was everything, why give SQQ the epiphany that he misunderstood LBH so early? Why have him think in ch 66 that "truthfully, he'd never really trusted Luo Binghe, and that's why he kept accidentally hurting him?" If he's already realized that he shouldn't treat LBH like og!LBH (he even meets og!LBH in ch 71 to rub it in further), why do we go another 13 chapters believing their relationship is good and well, even giving us a sweet, happy moment in ch 75, only to show LBH having the worst breakdown of the novel just 4 chapters later? Was it all just padding to demonstrate the danger of Xin Mo?

Or is there something else beneath the surface?

In ch 66, the same chapter where SQQ implies he doesn't want to accidentally hurt LBH anymore, he says something telling. When LQG is skeptical that LBH can be trusted, SQQ thinks, 家里孩子不懂事，大人不容易做, or "when your child doesn't know any better, as the adult you don't have it easy." The child here of course refers to LBH, and the adult is SQQ, who's complaining about smoothing over LBH's messes. But what is SQQ implying here?

Doesn't know any better? That's what you say about a toddler who can't think for themselves, not a grown man. LBH is 25 and SQQ thinks he doesn't know better. Doesn't know better about what? LBH's wants, his needs? His feelings? Or even what's good for him?

And then you realize that's exactly how SQQ's always treated him, like a helpless child who can't make his own choices.

It's SQQ who chooses to throw LBH down into the Abyss without trying to talk to him. It's SQQ who decides that keeping silent is the best choice. It's SQQ who believes self-destructing in front of LBH will help, who thinks that breaking off their relationship is for the better. And it's SQQ who scolds LBH into tolerating CQMS, even though they hate each other and CQMS is hostile towards him. Who forces him to leave first at Zhao Hua Temple despite LBH's pleas otherwise, who shoos him out the window when CQMS walks in on them.

Every single one of these decisions, SQQ made believing it was for the best (repair LBH's relationship with his family, help him avoid arrest, not wanting to make excuses, wanting LBH to be free of his hatred), and every single one of them only damaged LBH further. Because SQQ's never listened to him, even once. Never consulted him or considered his feelings.

(And LBH did try to bring up his feelings on one of the matters in ch 75. He insinuates to SQQ that he doesn't like LQG calling him "little beast" or "ingrate." And SQQ's response is to dismiss them entirely, saying that LQG's "not wrong.")

SQQ has always loved LBH, but he's never once respected LBH's agency or personhood. Because LBH doesn't know better and SQQ does, so SQQ must make all his decisions for him.

And this, amplified by Xin Mo, is what finally drives LBH mad in ch 79.

To LBH, the important part isn't whether SQQ loves him, which I think he knew after ch 43 (it's why he can be so daring and pushy with SQQ's boundaries). What's important is that the moment SQQ believes abandoning LBH is justified for whatever reason again, SQQ absolutely will.

Ch 80's two-way noncon (since LBH was basically unconscious and couldn't consent) tends to draw most of the attention, but I actually think that what happens afterwards is one of the most important scenes for Bingqiu. There SQQ tries to sacrifice himself a second time for LBH, drawing Xin Mo's demonic qi into his body. Yet the novel claims that SQQ's actions here are completely different than in ch 43. SQQ himself says that this time he's doing it for LBH, while last time he was doing it for himself. But can the reader see a functional difference?

There is one, in fact: it's SQQ's response to LBH's choice afterwards. LBH decides to follow SQQ in death, even though this would void the point of SQQ's sacrifice. But instead of insisting otherwise, SQQ just accepts it. Because he finally understands that whether LBH's life is worth living, whether LBH will be better off, is for LBH and only LBH to decide.

It's the first time he respects LBH's agency. And this is the only reason why he and LBH can finally begin building a healthy relationship on the mess they've had up to now.

So that's what I see as the true beauty behind Bingqiu. It's about communication and mistaken assumptions, yes, but it's also about the nature of love between parent and child. The romantic developments were left to the extras, I believe, because this was the main story MXTX wanted to tell with them. Their relationship as lovers only starts afterwards, hence why SV ends with, "the story between you and I, has only just begun." It was never meant to be a whirlwind romance where they fall in love cleanly. It might not to be to everyone's tastes, but an incredible amount of thought was put into the narrative, and that's what amazed me when I first finished this novel.

(This post went on way too long and I ended up cutting off a huge chunk of tangential stuff and how SQQ came to his realization in ch 79: he didn't do it alone. It took him seeing the LBH in TLJ and the himself in YQY for him to understand. In fact, YQY and og!SQQ's relationship has a similar parent-and-child dynamic. I've touched on it before on twitter; if there's interest I might try writing that up here too.)

[giorno-plays-piano]

Cry Little Sister

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader

Warnings: yandere, obsession, verbal threats, gaslighting, both reader and Peter are high school students, kinda slight incestuous undertones (the characters aren't related, though).

Words: 2214.

Summary: Your adopted older brother is not as nice as he seems, but no one is willing to believe you.

P.S. And yep, I used one of my favourite citations from Grishaverse in the end of this story. Hope you enjoy!

__________

"Peter, sweetheart, I knew you'd make it!" Your mother had clasped her hands together while your father patted Peter's shoulder. "The best test results in the whole class! My goodness, we need to celebrate it!"

You smiled at them tiredly, seeing the faces of your parents practically glowing. True, Peter was a damn smart guy. You had never achieved such high results despite all those nights you spent studying, while he didn't care much about it at all, it seemed. You hadn't seen him with a book yet.

"I'm gonna bake an apple pie for you." A smile of your mother made you feel bitter, and you averted your eyes, missing an odd look your older adopted brother sent you.

Half a year ago he finally came to live with your family once your parents finished gathering all the papers and waited for almost a year to receive "the call". You remembered how you had jumped happily in the living room along with your mom, believing it was finally over. Well, maybe it was over for Peter, but for you it was only a beginning. You could hardly imagine the sweet skinny guy who you considered very shy and bashful would change so drastically.

It started very subtle. First, Peter was trying to be helpful, assisting you when you did the housework - he was actually way better at cooking and cleaning than you and easily got praised by your mom. You were truly thankful to him for his help, especially since it was easier to get to know him while working together. It was then when you first spotted the odd looks he was sending you when he thought you didn't see. There was something... uneasy lingering in his gaze. You couldn't quite put your finger on it, but sometimes Peter made you shiver with the way he spoke or touched you discreetly. It was strange. Of course, the boy didn't do or tell you something that would make you worried, but you just couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. You blamed it on the fact you couldn't get accustomed to a new life with an adopted brother yet. Surely, it wasn't supposed to be easy?

But the more you spent time together, the stronger that feeling got. Despite Peter becoming a part of your family as easily as if he had always been your parents' son, you were wary of his sudden urges to touch you and always keep you in his sight. At first you thought he was just touch starved and needed human warmth. Maybe for Peter it was just easier to come to you rather than your parents since you were almost the same age as him.  But then... one day you saw him going through your things and taking one of your lipsticks from your makeup bag. You suddenly remembered losing a lip gloss two weeks ago.

Trying to voice your concerns, you talked to your mom who was so insensitive she went to speak with Peter right away. Of course, he said it wasn't true and you had probably misunderstood him since he only wanted to borrow a pen. He even showed his table and wardrobe to demonstrate he didn't hide anything.

From that time Peter had changed. He didn't hide his unhealthy behavior from you anymore, and he was scaring you with the things he had done, keeping an eye on you when you were around and stalking you if you were not, never staying far away aside from the time he had to be in class.

Of course, he sensed that you were becoming resteless, less and less eager to spend time with him, blaming it on lots of homework or sudden meetings with friends. You weren't blind to his frightening affection - if you could call his feelings like that. Why was he doing it? Despite spending only several months living with you, your parents loved him dearly, paying him twice more attention than you. You had never protested against it, knowing a poor soul like him who didn't have his own family needed all the help he could get now. But this... this wasn't alright. This wasn't a feeling siblings should have for each other. Did Peter consider you one? Did you truly consider him your older brother? You weren't sure. Nevertheless, it still didn't feel right.

Carefully, you attempted to talk to your father about it, vagualy wording your concerns and giving him little details - sure, you didn't like how Peter was behaving, but he didn't deserve to be banished from your family and sent back. You still believed something could be done to set everything right. Maybe the boy just didn't realize things were not supposed to work this way in a family. However, your father laughed it all off. He said little girls like you were thinking too much of themselves lately, claiming the whole world was obsessed with them. Peter simply tried to be a good brother and look out for you.

You had never felt more humiliated in your entire life.

Dropping all attempts to bring Peter's unhealthy behaviour to your parents' attention, you decided there was just one thing to do - separate yourself from him completely.

No more doing the housework together, no more chats in the kitchen in the morning, no more having lunch together at school, no more cuddles in the evening. You kept yourself as busy as you could - in the morning you did jogging, at school you spent time with your friends, in the evening you were taking your books and doing your homework in the park, at your friend's place or anywhere convenient. Even though Peter tried following you, you had started to change places all of a sudden to keep him away from you.

This was when he had enough of you distancing yourself.

Suddenly, Peter fighted for affection of your parents with such ferocity as if you tried to strip him of their love. His gradea were suddenly way better than yours - he claimed he had finally felt safe in his new home and could spent his energy elsewhere. The way he behaved was even more sweet than before. On the other hand, strange things started happening to you: once your mother found your expensive satin blouse torn and blamed it on you and your carelessness; the other time the chicken you cooked was so salty it ended in a trash bin; your friend received threats coming from your phone number, though you had never ever sent anything like that to her.

It was easy to guess who was doing this to you, but Peter never admitted it out loud. Talking to your parents was worthless, too, as in their eyes the boy was a pure blessing. How could you blame him for things you did to catch their attention?

Shit. You knew something was wrong with Peter, but you could hardly imagine to what extent he could go to have his way. It was unbelievable a boy like him could manipulate people so easily, wrapping them around his finger. Why was he doing it? Everyone already loved him. Everyone but you.

"Y/N!" Your mother's sharp voice broke the silence, and you hurried downstares, finding your mom near the washing machine with a wet black sock in her hands. "Are you out of your mind?! Did you put your black socks in there when I said to bring your WHITE clothes?!"

"But I didn't!" You gawked at her, knowing perfectly you only brought her what she asked you to. "I swear I didn't!"

"Oh yes, of course, it's Peter who went through your dirty clothes to incriminate you, dear." She sneered at you. "You have to come up with a new excuse, this is getting old. Look what you've done, my white jeans are ruined!"

"Please, mom, I-"

"Go to your room. I don't want to see or hear you." She snapped, tossing the sock to the floor as you stared at her in horror. She had never been so irritated like in the past month when your "slip-ups" were happening more and more often.

Racing upstairs, you pressed your hand to your mouth, trying not to cry. Why was he still doing it to you? Why did Peter want everything to be like he wished? Why did your parents never believe you? It was you who was their true daugther, for God's sake!

Locking the door, you fell down on your bed, burying your head in your soft pillow. It started to become unbearable. Why was this all happening? Despite your growing hate towards Peter, you couldn't say that he was ugly and unpleasant. He was easy on the eyes and could be really nice to people around him, and it made Peter quite popular among the girls at school. Why on Earth didn't he set his eyes on anyone other than you? There were plenty of girls who'd be willing to date him and give him as much attention as he wanted.

You wiped away your angry tears with your pillow, biting on your lower lip. It was unfair, and you weren't going to give in to him just because Peter wanted to play with you like a spoiled child. You'd find a way to prove you weren't guilty of all those things he wanted to pin on you, you just needed to gather yourself and think properly.

Suddenly, you heard someone knocking on your window and rushed to it immediately: your room was on the third floor. Seeing Peter sitting on the bench of a tree, you gasped in shock. You opened the window right away, praying for him to stay still.

"Are you out of your mind?" You whispered in horror, holding out your hand to him. "What are you doing there?!"

He smiled at you like nothing was happening, taking your arm and crawling towards your window. In the next moment he was already inside your room, grinning like a kid and shutting the window behind himself. You furrowed your brows, your heart racing. Peter was insane!

"What if you slipped?" You asked him furiously. "Are you mad? Do you want to die?!"

"No, but you wouldn't let me in your room unless I came in the window." He admitted carelessly and smiled, reaching out to you and enveloping you in a hug. "I'm glad you don't want me to fall."

"You're out of your mind, brother." You grunted, trying to push him away, but his grip was only becoming stronger. "What are you doing? Let me go, please."

"But I want a hug from you. Is it so bad?"

You clenched your teeth, watching him angrily. "You just made my mom scream at me for that stupid sock. You think you deserve a hug?"

"I only did it because you're stubborn. It's your fault I had come to this, Y/N." His sickly sweet smile made you nauseated as you put your hands on his chest in attempt to keep him away. "Come on, why have you been acting so cold? I just want to be a part of your family."

"Are you serious?"

Your eyes could burn a hole in his face as you stared at him, getting more and more angry with his behaviour and trying to blame you for his own actions.

"This isn't like it should be in a family, Peter. We're siblings now. Siblings don't do it... l-like that." You felt your face growing hot as you became deeply embarrassed, knowing how your words could be interpreted.

"But we're not siblings, are we?" He tilted his head to the side, narrowing his dark eyes at you and smiling widely.

You growled in irritation, still unable to get rid of him holding you like a doll in his hands.

"If you don't want me to be your sister, what family are you talking about, then?"

"We'll, it's not the only family I can have with you, right?"

You stilled, unsure you understood what Peter meant as he chuckled with content, watching you getting more and more confused while he gently caressed your back. What other family he could possibly mean?

It took you a few seconds to realize he was talking about marriage between you two.

Your eyes popped out of its sockets. Was he fucking serious? That kind of family? No, he should have been out of his mind completely. He definitely had to see a psychiatrist or something!

"You're joking, aren't you?" You muttered, shocked. "You can't be serious!"

"But I am, sister." Peter's sweet smile was slowly turning sinister as he leaned closer to you, dropping a kiss to your temple as you shivered against him, wanting nothing but get away. "And you better stop with that silly attitude of yours if you don't want me to get real angry."

"And what are you going to do if I don't? What if I will tell everyone about this?"

He smirked, touching your forehead with his and closing his eyes for a second.

"I see you still don't understand." Peter whispered to you, watching you getting more and more nervous. “I will strip away all that you know, all that you love, until you have no one but me.”

___________

Tags: @finleyjayne @alexakeyloveloki   ​@helenaeisenhower @villanellevi @hurricanerin ​@void-hoechlin @abyssaint @heeeyitskay @chris-evans-indian-fanfic @rosalynshields @brattycherubwrites @sllooney @angrythingstarlight

[akiiyamashun]

❝ Tell Hana you're spoken for this weekend, ❞ Okamura had advised her husband quietly with a kiss to his cheek and glance of fingertips over the phoenix against his chest. It was no secret that Father's Day was this Sunday, but the heiress wouldn't give up any additional details. It was on Saturday morning that the Akiyamas' pack of teenagers greeted their father in the living room. They lingered near each other : Made perched neatly on a chair ; Emma standing with a hand on her hip ; and Niran leisurely slouched over an arm of the sofa. At the first sight of Akiyama emerging for the day, they popped to attention. Okamura appeared behind her husband and placed a hand on his back. Emma swept her braids over a shoulder, spread her arms, and grinned. ❝ Surprise! ❞ she yelled exuberantly. ❝ You're stuck with us! ❞ Niran rolled his eyes fondly. ❝ What she means is. ❞ ❝ We know we're always busy, ❞ Made continued, picking up where her siblings had left off. ❝ School, clubs, personal projects ― we're never home. Let alone together. We . . . wanted to change that, so we made some rules for Father's Day this year. No work, nothing graded, no social media today or tomorrow. JUST US AND YOU. ❞ ❝ Whatever you want to do, Dad, ❞ Niran added. ❝ It's your pick all weekend. The only thing you don't get a choice in is us. ❞ ❝ ― and presents. ❞ Emma pointed to the makeshift pile of cards and packages nearby. The different wrappings were evidence of each child's unique style, but it was clear they had tried. From Niran was a custom mag that read KICKASS DAD ( puns intended ) ; from Made a carefully - compiled album of candid photographs of her parents together that she had taken over the years with a heart on the cover ; and from Emma a rough draft of her official first album on a drive ― featuring a heartfelt, private track about her father. ❝ Mom is in on it, too, ❞ Emma said triumphantly, which Okamura confirmed with a nod of her head. ❝ WE LOVE YOU, DAD. So much. ❞

unscripted asks . always accepting

Dismissing any work for the weekend had been easy - Akiyama knew better than jeopardize any plans made by his wife, and besides it wasn’t as if they needed to actually open outside of regular weekdays. But then again... Sky Finance was hardly a normal business in terms of hours and methodology; perhaps officially notifying Hana that they would be closed during 48h like any other office place would not be amiss.

And yet - the reason for that sudden request had completely eluded Akiyama until his kids rounded him on Saturday morning; the look of surprise on the moneylender’s face had been sincere, and his brown eyes took a moment to absorb the sight of all three of their children brought together for... Him. That display of affection and love was something the loan shark had long thought would never be a part of his life.

Firstly, as a kid - celebrations at his childhood home had been respectful and polite; expensive gifts given in anticipation of high profile outings and very little customization or human affection involved. For the young Shun, giving his father a mug such as the one Niran had gotten him had been unimaginable; or even such a beautiful scrapbook filled with so many happy memories, or the enthusiastic music created by one of his youngest. 

For the man he had been raised to be - these were not acceptable presents; the chaotic and sweet cacophony of voices overlapping and embraces that followed would be criticized and berated as improper behavior. And yet - just a single look at the loan shark’s face clearly demonstrated how moved he was, and how grateful he felt for his children and wife around him. Father’s Day had been an occasion he had ignored for years - to the point he never thought it would once again make a presence on any of his calendars.

And yet, as he hugged the twins to kiss them affectionately and then ruffled the locks of his oldest son before kissing Okamura sweetly on her lips, he was pretty sure it was one of the best days of his life. There were a couple of treacherous tears that threatened to fall from his chocolate-colored eyes, but his smile and trademark laugh soon managed to redirect the focus of his family. Akiyama was happy - impossibly so. 

To think the fates had reserved such horrible, dark years to him if only to show the loan shark just how much brighter, better and wonderful his existence would be years later. The fact he had gone through so much helped Akiyama recognize and appreciate each one of their small gestures; the trust, the lovely bonds they had created as a family - they shared no blood and yet they were just as close, if not more. Their union was not one of chance - it had been entirely by choice.

And Akiyama wouldn’t trade any of it for the world.

“So I can’t ditch any of you? Damn, son - just what I had in mind this morning,” he replied to Niran’s teasing with a grin of his own, but it was short-lived; his laughter echoed again shortly thereafter, and the loan shark inhaled sharply, steadying his nerves and discreetly wiping a tear or two that had been successful in falling from his eyes earlier.

“Guess I have no choice but take you guys everywhere and try to shake you all off my tail. I say we begin with opening these gifts, then go to Odaiba for a picnic and stay there until evening for dinner on one of these floating restaurants. Then tomorrow I’m taking everyone to the Disney parks - I’ll ride with each and every single one of you to see who’s the bravest. I’m tougher than I look, you guys have been warned.”

At the shared laughter of the Akiyama children, the loan shark leaned over to press another kiss to his wife’s temple. This - this was heaven. It wasn’t about the expensive gifts or the polite distance; the moneylender cared only about having fun with his kids, and enjoying their presence in his life to the fullest - regardless if it meant using a Stitch cap for an entire Sunday. He had turned to be quite fond of the that movie, in the end.

'Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten.'