#it's just the complexity of hating your parents but understanding why they are the way they are and how could you fault them when this is

[kaisollisto]

“Are you here?" Ava barely breathes it, there's a tension in the air that she can't recognize, an energy that squashes her. Her throat feels scratchy and she can feel the Halo slotted between her shoulders. Ava's flat on her back head turned to look over at Beatrice. She feels wimpy like a stomped flower, her left arm dangles dangerously close to Beatrice-territory. She wants to reach out, to touch Beatrice to confirm that she's here but something stops her. She feels so silly, she could easily shift over to touch Beatrice, shake her gently and - 

Beatrice slides over, a firm sleepy sister warrior knife wielding badass with frumpy hair poofing from what remains of her low bun. She moves towards Ava, inches away from her but moves to answer her. It’s rare for Ava to see her like this. Beatrice is clearly fighting sleep, rubbing her eyes and doing her best to move in hopes that it’ll shake the sleepy spell. 

She’s dressed in one of Ava’s ugly loose white shirts, a huge bass clashing with faded big blocky lettering that just reads “FISH”. Beatrice had looked at her weirdly when Ava had dug it out of the bins at a thrift store disheveled and ecstatic. 

Ava had spent hours coaxing her into it doing her damn best to hide Beatrice’s laundry when she wasn’t looking. It fills a warm feeling in her chest and Ava wants to burrow further into it. It was a fool proof plan. 

Ava found her shortness made it exhausting to reach up towards the Beatrice-level-cabinets. The halo pulls at her pinching and knotting up the muscles in her back after a long day of training. She feels it alive within her, an uncomfortable reminder sealed inside her back. 

At the end of the day Ava settled on hinging at the waist. She had slowly started integrating Beatrice’s sleep shirts in cabinets that Beatrice had to bend down to reach. Ava always tried to situate herself at the scene of the crime doing her best to seem inconspicuous while she leaned over hungry for Beatrice’s reaction. Ava thumbed her findings down in the recess of her mind, her finger tracing over it in a hurried desperation. The time would pass and she did not want to forget. 

(It helped, the imagery of Bea’s furrow when she would find her sleepwear underneath the sink when Ava would have to tuck her spine into the halo as she placed the shirt somewhere clean.) 

Thanks to her genius planning Beatrice had finally caved and worn Ava’s huge “FISH” t-shirt after weeks of her persistence. She looked adorable, she was drowning in it and constantly tugging at it. She had found Beatrice loved to tuck it into the band of her sleep shorts creating puffy funny creases distorting the text even further to say “FSH”. It looked so ugly and old and endearing. 

She looked out of her depth and it made Ava’s heart thump funny. Beatrice with her weird posh mannerisms combined with the peaceful unguarded look when she slumbered made her feel hot all over. 

It was the prospect of the future, a glimpse into her life with Beatrice, of when they would grow old together. It shakes her, the idea that Beatrice will get wrinkles with her. She takes it seriously, a study that she isn’t well versed in but preparing for. It is a long hard internal debate flipping between what wrinkles will show first. Ava selfishly hopes it’s smile lines, that Beatrice will smile at her as much as she does in secret. She’s happy to be wrong, Beatrice’s forehead crinkles have always been cute. She hopes that Beatrice never stops looking at her, thinking of her. She wants to spend a long time being the source of her wrinkles. And just for right now she can handle the role of being just her friend. 

Beatrice blinks one eye open, the other pressed against the pillow as she stifles a yawn. Her hand blocks her mouth in a delicate way and Ava can see her nails are short and uneven in places. Ava wishes she could touch them, study them in a way no one has done before. She wants to press against Beatrice hard enough to watch her skin fold around hers. Some sort of truth that she was here, that she is here. 

Beatrice scoots over slowly, her elbow tucked under the pillow. She stops inches away from Ava, a frown set in her jaw. Ava mirrors her position albeit more awkwardly and more wiggling than Beatrice’s but she finds a place where the Halo won’t bite her back. 

“I’m here,” Beatrice murmurs it, a quiet thing between them. 

Ava closes her eyes hoping Beatrice won’t notice her shakiness. She blinks a few times before she presses closer, the arm she’s laying on moving to support her head underneath the pillow. 

There’s so much to tell her, anything and nothing at all and Ava doesn’t know where to start. It constricts her throat, the constant stream of consciousness from inside of her heart. It’s horrible and she can’t stop it as the feeling balloons inside of her lungs. Ava wants help, she so desperately wants to feel okay again, to feel anything other than the stupid fucking halo. It grates on her nerves and muscles, a burning hot metal ring poking and prodding at the entirety of her upper torso. It leaves her reeling, a sort of anger that beckons for her to hurt (hurt something, hurt someone, hurt), disregarding the aftermath of tears and shame. 

Ava is sure she’s shaking, a layer of sweat gathers between the space of her shoulder blades as the Halo lights up with her inner turmoil. It’s a faint pitiful thing that Ava would be ashamed of if not for the bone aching tiredness. 

She wants to say she’s sorry the words clawing their way up her throat and it feels wrong to feel anything but that. There’s a sort of unspoken shame that haunts her with the Halo. It’s a thing she’s known long before any of this. 

Beatrice drags her out of her turmoil with her hand hovering near Ava’s pinky. She has a gracefulness to it, like she has practiced it a hundred times over. It’s weird, to be in a bed, a soft and lumpy bed looking at Beatrice. Beatrice with such plain features and subtle cheekbones that Ava can’t stop looking. It pays off, watching Beatrice, Ava knows it when Bea smiles a grin too wide for polite acknowledgement and Ava can see her dimples pronounced. 

“Can I?” Beatrice’s finger lingers near her hand, a hovering itch that Ava needs scratched. It’s so wholeheartedly Beatrice that Ava can do nothing but nod. Something inside of Ava aches harder than the rest of the organs inside of her. It’s the unwavering crushing thumping feeling that squeezes around her heart. The sincerity of Beatrice. 

She places her hand over Ava’s and squeezes her gently. Beatrice’s hands are firm and soft. She can feel the callouses on her palms prodding at the back of her hand and wonders if Beatrice has ever had them fade away. If she’s had the pleasure of unscathed palms. Her hands are warm but not sweaty, not like Ava’s.

Ava can’t feel Beatrice’s pulse but she tries her best to match it. She imagines it would be a slow melody playing a duet with a classical track. Some sort of tune that spurs comfort or a feeling of nostalgia. She briefly wonders if Beatrice listens to music, if she seeks out music that has spoken to her. If there was a song that shook her to her core so deeply she had to sit down and digest it. There’s so much she still needs to know and so little time. 

“I admit I’m not sure what you need from me.” Beatrice whispers it quietly, she’s hunched awkwardly, hovering close in Ava’s space but too far away for her own comfort. 

Ava clamps her mouth shut, sure that “come closer” will betray her. That she will reach too far into Beatrice and take far too much. 

Beatrice pays no mind to Ava’s silence and slowly caresses her hand, it’s a small little gesture that seems to have no set course. Ava briefly wonders if it’s the start of a massage or if Beatrice is looking for her joints underneath her skin and touching her tendons in apology. 

It should be awkward, Beatrice and Ava orbiting each other in a lopsided manner. A rotational tilt that is unfamiliar to both of them and yet feels intimate. An unknown dance with their eyes closed and their breaths mingling. (It’s easy to follow Beatrice’s lead, Ava knows love.) 

There’s nothing Ava can say to her, she chokes up at the prospect and they both blink at each other. She’s not sure what she needs, only that it’s nice having someone here. 

Beatrice drowsily blinks rapidly and slowly at the same time as Ava watches swallowing the bits of her smile. Her hand has slowed its pathing, opting to curl on the inside of Ava’s fingers. It’s endearing watching one of her favorite bad ass sister warriors lose against sleep. It softens the edges of Beatrice who is always carrying some unseen obligation. (Here it is only the two of them free of their past and future burdens, just two girls sprawled thinly on hopes and dreams). 

She can feel Beatrice’s grip loosen, she’s going to fall back asleep any minute now but Ava doesn’t have the heart to keep her up. Beatrice is no doubt tired, powered by her own sleeping and eating habits unlike Ava who has the artifact to juice her up. 

She isn’t quite unwound but she feels manageable now. It’s weird to be within reach of Beatrice, someone who cares about her. To be in proximity of someone who will look for her, be in step with her, maybe it’s duty but Ava holds it close to her heart regardless. (It’s all the same to her, devotion, loyalty, love). 

She clings to Beatrice afraid to let the moment go, she had called and someone had answered, Bea had answered. Ava can feel her eyes watering, it almost feels like a distant dream. She tucks her chin closer to chest and thinks, how awful to be loved. 

She can feel her throat closing up and she squeezes Bea’s hand just a tiny bit harder. (She answers in the twitch of her hand, clearly on the cusp of sleep). The Halo still thunders in her back throbbing some fatal fate but here in the hush of night grounded by the touch of Beatrice she has some reprieve.  (Part 1)

[fangsandfeels]

I gained the next level of appreciation for how well Dragon Age 2 understood trauma, the ugly side of it.

I don't blame Fenris. I understand why after enduring years and years of abuse, humiliation, having your autonomy, your memories, everything that constituted you including your own name stripped away from you, you have no empathy for anyone reminiscent of your abusers - especially if nobody came to save you in the end and you are the only one fighting for your life and freedom. I understand why upon hearing how someone (who reminds you of your abusers) suffers unfairly, the only thing you can say is "Good" - and lash out at anyone trying to tell you off for it. Where all these fucking preachers were when you were suffering? Why even in the land that is supposed to be different from your own hellhole, your word and your experience still don't matter?

I don't blame Anders. I understand why after being betrayed by your own parent, after the decades of listening how you must suffer for the sin of being born, being confined to isolation, being treated like a monster while being a child, being denied the simplest of comforts, you fiercely defend people who share your abilities - because nobody else would ever look out for you and them. Of course you would clash even with someone who has legitimate reasons to be negative towards people like you because your own wounds sting more than their pain. You have dealt with the Chantry's vile propaganda for so long, you no longer take things at face value. Of course, Chantry would say that the foreign land where mages rule is foul, and corrupt, and full of blood magic and demons! So many times rumors, lies, and twisted religious depictions have been used to abuse, lobotomize, and enslave you, you're no longer letting it happen - and you only believe what you see and hear. And all you see around is injustice and indifference. And you're only the one screaming into the void, raging against the horrors everybody else is willingly blind to.

I don't blame them both for losing their mind in their own ways while the rest of the group silently wondered why they couldn't just be normal.

Personally, I don't think there was any chance for them to become friends or make peace during the events of the game. The "I suffered so I don't want anyone to suffer like I did" or "I'm a bigger person" are pretty lies and half-truths at worst. At best, they are mindsets only possible after someone who suffered finally feels safe and can be out of their survival mode. Which is not really true for Fenris and Anders, even during the final act of the story.

Even on high friendship or romance, Anders is still self-destructive, ready to die at Hawke's hands after launching his plan in motion. Even with a friend/lover at his side, he is alone in his head, in his vision of the world, in his pain.

Even with proper support and help, it takes Fenris three years to accept a relationship, but it doesn't change his perspective and if you don't have enough of his trust, you lose him to his trauma-based response.

I may be overthinking it, but I am truly thankful to the game for not toning down the complex, hard and uncomfortable aspects of trauma. People have always been in love with the concept of the perfect victim (who hates only "the right" bad guys and suddenly knows when to be tolerant, nice and accepting and doesn't say any rancid and hateful shit ever), but it became particularly aggravating lately.

[dufferpuffer]

Can you talk a little about Remus’ intelligence? Recently I’ve felt it’s been severely downplayed in fandom as a response to fanon depicting Sirius as “the dumb one” and Remus as “the smart one” in a wolfstar context. While obviously Sirius is extremely intelligent that doesn’t mean Remus has to be dumb in contrast? I also think they just have different types of intelligence, and I strongly believe that basing their intellect off of their achievements in school is limiting (also people don’t take into account that Remus was sick every month for at least 3 days, even if he was matched perfectly in intelligence with Sirius he’d still be doing worse in school). What’s your take on this my balanced remus lover friend?

I don't think Remus is a 'genius', like James and Sirius might be. But he's a bloody capable wizard - hard-earned, not talent.

The one flashback we get of him as a kid, we see him focusing hard on his OWL's, despite an upcoming Full Moon. He has his own methods for revision - when he asks Sirius if he would help him study, Sirius can't fathom why he should bother. Sirius doesn't need to revise or study - but Remus is good at it.

You're damn right that doesn't mean he is stupid compared to Sirius. There's nothing stupid about forming methods to help himself learn. Sirius and James are natural talents - Remus is a nerd.

By adulthood his work ethic has paid off: He has effortless confidence in his charms and conjuring - doing most of it without incantation. He's kind of a badass: He conjured fire and a non-corporeal Patronus without incantation - while exhausted and in the presence of a dementor. He could duel Lucius Malfoy, battled death eaters in the astronomy tower, dueled while flying and supporting an injured man on his broom - and disarmed multiple people in a row with enough accuracy to catch their wands. (tbf they were children)

Remus is a natural at teaching. First day on the job: he handles a room full of kids like he's been at it for years, even those with difficulties who need extra care and encouragement. He is patient with Harry learning to cast a Patronus, explaining things clearly to him - changing his explanation as Harry's needs change. This shows a deep understanding of both the material he is teaching... and what it is like to learn. Knowing how to struggle, how to adapt, how to learn, the validity of different perspectives - that's good wisdom.

His greatest strength is his Social Intelligence. Witty, astute, cunning, sly, persuasive… Sirius isn't socially inept but he is so honest and blunt he can come across as kicking the door down - rather than Remus' picking the lock and making it seem like a natural innocent behaviour. Does that make sense...? It was the entirety of his role in PoA: A murderer on the loose after Harry's blood - and yet through all the mysterious absences, sketchy evasiveness, superficial closeness with Harry, slightly slap-dash teaching methods and blatant distrust from Snape (who had been proven trustworthy - Harry just thought he was an arse)… Remus Lupin manages to charm his students, getting to know them without any of them knowing anything about him. He has Harry hanging off his every word, despite obvious apprehension to engage with him about his parents or needs. He effortlessly keeps Harry's trust even when he blatantly, skillfully lies in-front of him - and TO him! For his own gain!!! The scene of the Marauders Map is a brazen display of how quickly he can manipulate his way out of a complex situation. Even when he is with a murderer and they all know he will turn into a werewolf soon - he commands emotional focus. Ron is injured, a Murderer is present, they are supposed to be investigating a rat with haste... yet most of the time they are discussing HIM and why HE is 'not so scary, please don't hate me' in a long-winded fashion.

Only Snape seems immune. So he bullies him to shut him up. Without SEEMING like a bully. The kids think he is great, the way he can control the uncontrollable - Snape and Peeves.

Remus slips in and everyone is so taken with him they never notice the lock being picked. Their perception of him is on a tight leash. A magician’s sleight of hand and a silver tongue. Lockheart WISHES he could do this.

Remus is practical and practiced. He has the grit of someone who has fought for his life with both his wand and his tongue. He has lived a life of misdirection, gaslighting and manipulation - always subtle, always present. He reads others better than himself and moves through society with quiet ease, slipping in unnoticed and slipping out just as easily. No wonder he works as a spy.

He’s a top-class wizard - held back only by circumstance. Balancing his core needs, his interests and his health with no support network and poverty…? yeesh. In another life he may have been able to focus his efforts on a passion, rather than on topics that aid his survival in a harsh world.

As he is, though: he’s a formidable duelist and skilled charmer (magically and socially) - a survivalist, both in the wild and within society. An outcast who never seems like one. A wolf in sheep's clothing.

That's my take, as 'balanced remus lover friend' :^) Thanks - I needed to sit down and yap about Remus for a bit, had a shitty month

[olderthannetfic]

I mean, I do feel like if someone was traumatized by their religious upbringing, helping them to recognize that as a bad thing and helping them to be free of it is arguably the right move? Yeah just telling them “god isn’t real, get over it” is most likely insensitive but arguably freeing them of their self hating beliefs is the ideal outcome?

--

Man... I was raised to despise religion, but a steady diet of nerdy youtube and really weirdly anti-intellectual takes on tumblr has forced me into repeatedly defending religion. I did not ask for this, but here we are.

Personally, I find most religion kind of dumb, but it is a key part of a great portion of humanity's search for meaning. It's the backbone of so many cultures in so many places and times. Knowing about it is useful for everything from being more politically informed to making up better fantasy world building in fiction.

When a person has religious trauma because they were told that their religion, in this context probably Christianity, hates them, telling them to ditch religion is like telling them they're not allowed to ever have a birthday party again because their abusive parents did something awful at their past ones. Ah yes, cut yourself off from major celebrations and cultural experiences, not to mention community. That's sure to fix things!

It would be far more effective at 1. making them feel better and 2. making them stop adhering to a shitty religion if we introduced them to better religion.

The history of Christianity is one of the most studied subjects on the fucking planet. There are a multitude of progressive scholars who have explored things like how the early church very possibly had major female figures that later asswipes tried to downplay and cover up. I think Religion for Breakfast has some interesting videos that at least touch on this.

There's a whole complex conversation to be had both about how the early church actually handled same-sex relationships and about why a given prescription is even in there from an anthropological perspective. Take the pork thing: it's probably about taxes. Some of the others are about differentiation from nearby groups at the time. Understanding the historical cultural context helps dismantle the idea that this or that specific prescription is a vital core part of the religion that must remain unchanging thousands of years later.

"A true Christian wouldn't have abused their gay kid" is a far better message than "Give up everything you know", and it has plenty of support from scholars who are deeply religious but not dumbass textual literalists who can't grasp that even if a holy text were the word of god, English language edition such-and-such is subject to human interference in the form of All Your Base-level translators.

If Christianity or whatever religion is the issue is a no go due to the traumatized person's past experiences, plenty of people would still be happier finding a different religion than going without.

I really, really cannot emphasize this enough: Religion is a key part of many people's lives the same way, say, sex is.

A lot of people around here seem to fundamentally not get this in the same way that you see people who haven't realized how ace they are going "But whyyyyy?" over the central role that horny plays in somebody else's life. You don't gotta get it, my dudes. Doesn't mean it's going away.

Even just understanding the parameters of what counts as religion and all the different flavors that exist out there will help put the trauma into context for many people. Your asshole parents are in a cult not because all religion is lies but because this Christianity has been perverted into a vehicle for abuse. Other religious people like the scientific method, research, logic, and evidence. It's just your church that's atrocious.

Shitty religion leads to self hate.

You can pick another religion.

[professional-rat-eater]

I need people in the IWTV fanbase to realise that you can appreciate a character in all their complexities and enjoy their precense in a story and still wish they had a slow, painful death scene. For non-book readers, I hope to be able to clarify a few things about why a certain character is so hated.

Keep reading for more nuanced Marius de Romanus slander:

I feel like I post at least once a day something about hitting Marius with a car or something and I do it mainly because it’s funny but it’s also because there is a very valid reason he is where a lot of people draw the line, despite the scale of morality in gothic literature being utterly different from that of pretty much any other literature, and drastically different from real life.

I love him for what he brings to the story. He is fascinating and I am excited to see him in season 3. He’s a brilliant character and I want to put him under a microscope and study him like a bug. He is still absolutely vile even for Anne Rice, something she even hints at here and there in her work.

I could go on and on for days about him, but to keep it short (edit: I lied), he met Pandora when she was ten years old and he was twenty five. What makes him particularly sick is nothing to do with vampiric morality, which we’ve seen is completely different, within the world of the books and show, from human morality. We get onboard with Lestat because we get to know him as a human and then watch how he changes as he gets used to being a vampire. Lestat was not a monster when he was human. Marius was.

If you disagree with that, you can think so if you wish as I do not currently possess the ability to control other people’s thoughts (but as soon as I do, I’m coming for you!) but please do not try and make excuses for him on that topic. Most people will not be open to that sort of debate. I know I’m not. Pandora was a baby. He should not have felt anything towards her other than a desire to protect her as a parent might. Yes, yes, gothic morality. But you need to understand that that is just too much for most people.

And you know who else was a baby, especially in comparison to Marius? Armand. Armand, who grew up to do awful things because of how he was treated. He was already being taken advantage of (to put it lightly) before he met Marius. If Marius had cared selflessly for Armand, he would have taken him from that brothel and tried to help him heal from the trauma. That is what real love would have been. You should not look at broken children and think to make them your lovers. All he was was yet another grown adult taking advantage of a boy whose spirit had been utterly shattered by what he’d endured.

(I’m not suggesting that should have happened or it would have been better, but I dislike the insinuation that Marius’s love for Armand was anything other than exploitative. It can be sincere, and still exploitative. I believe he meant it. I also believe he fucked Armand up more than he already had been.)

Murder in a fictional setting can be justified and overlooked, but as soon as anything involves children, you have to accept that you will lose a lot of people, even in gothic literature. That sort of relationship may have been more normalised thousands of years ago, but there were always people who objected to the concept. Even within the narrative of Anne Rice’s books, Marius’s actions are called out here and there (usually subtly) so even there, they are questioned. Compare him to someone like Lestat (I only mention him because for whatever reason, people like to group them together as irredeemable characters???).

Lestat’s actions are deeply toxic but people still like him because we understand why his behaviour is the way it is. As dreadful as what he does is, we are endeared to him because of his suffering and follow his journey as a vampire. He is twisted, but he is behaving according to what his trauma has turned him into. Armand is another example of this. Vile behaviour that is a believable response to trauma. There comes in the gothic morality again. We love them and know they are awful at the same time.

It is not that you cannot like Marius or characters like him. I do like him very much as a character, but you have to get on board with the idea that most people never will. The lines he crosses are unlike many of the others crossed by different characters. No one looks at Madeleine and Claudia and thinks it’s weird because Claudia is not actually a child. Armand was. Pandora was.

I could honestly make a separate post about book!Louis too and why I think the changes from the book were necessary to make people actually care about him, but it is similar. Harming/exploiting children and anything to do with slavery is a hard line a lot of people draw. Marius is still a multifaceted, interesting, complex, humanised character, as all Anne Rice vampires are, but he is deeply disliked for a very good reason. People cannot switch off how they feel about what he did, even if they are invested in the story.

(But also let’s be thoughtful about this type of discourse. Do not look at anyone whose favourite character is Marius and assume they are a bad person. He is a great character, he is just not to many people’s tastes. They likely just find him deeply interesting which he is.)

Anyway, after he gets his screen time and we reach the end of the show and he has gotten his chance to chance screen time, I vote we tie him up and treat him like a piñata.

[journalsfromjupiter]

𝖧𝗈𝗈𝗄𝖾𝖽 𝗈𝗇 𝖵𝗂𝗀𝗂𝗅𝖺𝗇𝗍𝖾!𝖲𝖺𝗍𝗈𝗋𝗎….🤤

•☽─────────────────✧˖°˖☆˖°˖✧───────────────☾•

Satoru Gojo had never been one to blend in.

Standing out was practically in his blood—the hair, the eyes, the arrogance laced with that effortless charm. Being different was easy. 

But, no matter how sharp his smirk or how fast his mouth ran, no one ever seemed to take him seriously.

Why would they? He was born in silk sheets, the heir to a name that built half the damn skyline.

A silver spoon was lodged so deep in his mouth, it gleamed every time he talked back.

Born into one of the wealthiest families in the city, everything about Satoru screamed privilege. Old money. Old power. Expectations that dated back to when kings still sat on thrones and legacy was carved in stone. His parents were relentless—pushing him to be sharper, smarter, stronger. To uphold the Gojo name.

He rejected it all.

Their traditions, their boardroom blood feuds, their obsession with appearances. He laughed in the face of their carefully curated empire and chose chaos instead—lounging through life with one hand in his pocket and the other flipping off destiny.

Until the night the sky turned to fire.

A gas leak in the penthouse, they’d said. An accident. A tragedy.

But there was nothing accidental about the message the police tried to bury—etched deep into the scorched glass of the penthouse, looming over the blackened skeletons of the city’s most powerful family:

"Not your kingdom anymore."

Satoru wasn’t in the building that night. That might’ve been the real tragedy.

Everything he hated about his family had gone up in smoke. And yet still, he grieved them. Maybe not the people they were, but the parts of them he never got to understand. The version of them that had tried, in their own twisted way, to make him into something greater.

He spiraled. Disappeared. Let the world think he was off partying on a yacht in Monaco while he drowned himself in silence and blame. But grief has a funny way of burning through apathy. And one day, when the numbness began to fade, he looked around and saw the city for what it was:

A stage full of liars. A chessboard of corruption. A paradise for the cruel.

And for once in his life... he wanted to do something about it.

He had the money. The influence. The resources. He'd always been told he was meant for something bigger—maybe it was time to find out what that meant on his own terms.

So, he put on the suit.

It was god-awful at first. Tight in the wrong places. Cheap fabric. Ijichi - his loyal butler - had stitched it together overnight using some scrap Kevlar and duct tape. It looked like a rejected prototype from a high school cosplay contest.

But it worked—for a night.

The next morning, the city was buzzing. Headlines screamed about a “masked maniac,” a “rogue hero,” a “reckless idiot with a hero complex.” The press hadn’t settled on a name yet, but one seemed to stick:

Specter.

(He hated it at first. Thought it had absolutely nothing to do with his whole…schmick. But, it started to grow on him.)

The bruises came with the job—purple blooming across his ribs, scrapes stinging along his arms—but his smile had never been brighter.

A week turned into a month.

The petty thieves gave way to smarter criminals. Then came the syndicates. The smugglers. The ones who ran the underbelly of the city with bloodstained ledgers and hands that never touched a gun—but called all the shots.

And that’s when the real work began.

Stakeouts. Recon. Untangling the web of backroom deals and black-market trades.

He started piecing it together: who pulled the strings, who moved the money, who bowed to the people who ordered the hit that destroyed his family.

And that’s when he met you.

At first, he thought you were innocent.

Another victim, maybe—someone coerced into a life you didn’t ask for, just trying to survive under someone else's boot.

That illusion was shattered the second you landed a roundhouse kick square to his chest.

It hurt. More than he’d admit.

But what really stung was how fast you vanished after. No name. No trace. Just a smirk and a threat he couldn’t stop replaying in his head.

You kept showing up after that—each time more infuriating, more unpredictable.

Classy. Efficient. Dangerous.

You fought like someone with something to protect. You knew the players, the streets, the stakes. And slowly, he started to realize you weren’t a pawn in this world.

You were a contender.

He tried to figure you out.

But, you kept your distance. Kept your secrets. Until, one night, you didn’t.

A sliver of information here. A warning there.

Not trust exactly—but something close enough.

Maybe...it was the way he never treated you like a monster.

Maybe...it was the way he smiled at you, even when you had a blade to his throat.

Maybe...it was just the fact that, beneath the mask, you both saw something familiar in each other:

A broken heir to a broken system, trying to change the world the only way they knew how.

•☽─────────────────✧˖°˖☆˖°˖✧───────────────☾•

This may or may not be inspired by one of my favorite movie trilogies ever: The Dark Knight Trilogy.

PLEASE WATCH IT IF YOU HAVEN'T - i beg

[mimikyuno]

things about ave mujica that are making me lose my mind

making a post to gather my thoughts after ep6 bc uhm. ��

first off, WHERE IS UIKA!!! not only did she not appear ONCE in episode 6, but her angsty narration (which we usually hear throughout each episode) was also missing from episode 6!!! what!!! and the last time we saw her she was hugging saki’s pillow breathing in it and letting 2 mugs of coffee go cold in saki’s room. yearning and pining unstable style. im gonna lose my mind. UIKA COME BACK I NEED TO SEE YOU CRASH OUT SO BAD I NEED TO PICK YOUR BRAIN

I NEED SAKIKO TO BE OKAY ASAP. her situation is giving me palpitations i literally feel sick thinking about the position she is in rn. she lost EVERYTHING - her mom, her dad, her old life, crychic, her freedom, ave mujica, and mutsumi. she is living with a manipulative, controlling grandpa who robbed her of her freedom and treated her creative project she tried to use and get out of poverty and support herself and her dad as just a silly kid’s game that ended up as a mess he fixed for her. she found out her best friend has DID and her alter told her “YOU broke her and made her go dormant. i hate you. she might never be back”. and rn she’s deeply avoidant and dissociated and she feels she cannot/doesnt want to share what happened with her dad or her family so where to fucking start opening up??? and she’s alone and has to go through it alone anyway, so what’s the point? why would she ask for help? so she dissociates and avoids and rejects tomori’s kindness. and now soyo is pissed at her and no one understands what she’s going through and she’s all alone and putting up walls is the only way she’s not falling apart but everyone sees her as a villain with her walls up. im feeling sick im feeling sick im crying on the bus

CAN WE PLEASE ADDRESS HOW NYAMU GOT AN INFERIORITY COMPLEX ABOUT ACTING BC OF MUTSUMI’S “PERFORMANCE”?? WHEN MUTSUMI JUST HAD A MENTAL BREAKDOWN ON STAGE? like this is insane. GIRL SHE WASNT ACTING 😭 pls take up the acting job you wanted!! i feel bad for her she’s so deeply insecure she also needs help. someone help her

fr is umiri on T? her voice keeps getting lower every episode 😭 she’s trying to achieve butch levels never seen before in girls band anime, next episode she’s coming in with short hair and a carabiner ⛓️. jokes aside i need her to stop with the “im too cool to care” act and admit she cares about the members of avemuji and pls help them bc ngl i feel like she’s the most mentally stable of the bunch. tho looking at the opening i might be wrong tbh lmao

makes me insane how mortis is the protector but also she’s clearly a little - an alter who is still a child. i love her so much. but also like mortis and mutsumi need another fucking alter to mediate between them bc they’re giving me anxiety!! ALSO HELLO?? THEY FELL DOWN A FLIGHT OF STAIRS? had a public breakdown that got filmed by people as soyo shielded them??? they were locked in their room for like what, 2 months?? soyo spent 3 days and nights with mortis and mutusmi’s parents did not appear once bro. we saw one maid lead soyo to the room which was a WRECK and soyo was the one who helped tidy up. mutsumi’s family has completely given up on her and mortis, hid them like a dirty secret in their bedroom. it makes me sick i hate them i hate them

raana. that’s it. she makes me insane. aura farming like it’s a full time job

i need these girls to get help rn. please someone get them a group therapist im so fr

[runecatwrites]

Hello! Your LU analyses are delightful to read, thanks for sharing them! I had a fun question for consideration, if that's okay! Previously, we've examined and gushed over the Links' bonds with each other and who gets along best with who. We know that each of them are brothers and would die for each other. But I was curious: What's your take on which Links get along the *least*? E.g. If you were to list out each of the nine, which Links don't tend to click as well with each, and why? (At least at this point we're at in the comics.) Love to hear your insights about that if you're up for it! :D

Oooooh! Thank you for the ask, this is a really fun thing to think about! Here are my takes…

Sky: Time

Four: Wild

Time: Legend

Legend: Sky

Hyrule: Wild

Wind: Wild

Twilight: Warriors

Warriors: Wild

Wild: Warriors

Explanations under the cut!

Disclaimer: I do not hate Wild! In fact, he’s probably my favorite Link. Wild is a compelling character and I love him very much. Read the whole post for elaboration on him.

Second disclaimer: I truly don’t think that any of the members of the chain strongly dislike any other members (even though they may have spats from time to time). Just because one person might not get along with another as well as they do with everyone else, that doesn’t mean they hate that person.

And now for the explanations!

Sky: this guy is so sweet that it’s hard to see him not getting along with someone. The obvious answer here would be Legend, but as we’ve seen, Sky doesn’t seem to mind Lege’s “bullying” at all and actually seems to think it’s kind of endearing. I bet he’s used to that kind of behavior from Groose and therefore easily looks past it. No, as weird as it may sound on the surface, I think the person Sky would have the most trouble getting along with would actually be Time. I don’t think he’d have a hard time getting along with him in a professional sense (they work and fight well together) but rather in a personal sense. Sky and Time have very different histories with the Master Sword and with the whole “call of the hero” experience. Whereas Sky has a very close and positive relationship with Fi and willingly went on his adventure to save his beloved, Time got thrown into his first adventure, yanked around, and aged up pretty much without his consent. Lacking the perspective to understand this, I think Sky might be offended by Time’s complicated feelings towards Fi.

Four: this guy holds practically everyone in the group at arm’s length, so this one’s difficult too. But based on what we’ve seen in LU, I’m going with Wild. These two have clashed several times, most notably over Wild’s supposed impulsiveness. I think the underlying cause is that their brains work so differently at a fundamental level. Wild is a black-and-white thinker, while Four has a much more colorful (heh) mindscape. He views the world around him as a complex one that should be met with open-mindedness, and strives to understand it using his critical thinking skills. Even while merged, his colors probably play into this way of thinking. Wild, on the other hand, has a very narrow worldview and becomes distressed - sometimes even angry - when something doesn’t fit into it. Four sometimes seems to get frustrated by that rigid thinking of Wild’s.

Time: now this is an interesting one. Time is the oldest of the group and regarded as one of the most if not the most mature. Legend on the other hand, while not the youngest, is still an immature kid. Now there’s some nuance there and there are a lot of factors that feed into that immaturity (like the fact that he’s dealt with a lot of trauma and hasn’t had a parental figure since he was like 10) but the point still stands. In recent updates especially, we see that Time appears to have a short temper when it comes to Legend’s behavior. Why? Well if you look past the obvious reasoning of the group being in a dangerous situation and Legend’s antics being ill-suited for that, personally I think that Legend is a lot like Time was in his younger days. You know how sometimes parents say “my kid got their attitude from me and now I’ve gotta argue with a younger version of myself every day!” That’s exactly what’s going on here. Time was an absolute menace as a kid and teenager, and now he’s being faced with the exact same energy and has a hard time dealing with it.

Legend: as explained above, Legend has a bit of a reputation for immaturity and an attitude to go with it. Sky, on the other hand, is the one of the most easygoing, self-assured, approachable people you’ll ever meet. Legend is used to eliciting strong and/or definitive reactions by his behavior. People get angry with him (Time), match his energy (Warriors), or redirect him/calm him down (Hyrule). But Sky? Sky just… doesn’t seem to have much of a reaction at all. He might respond with some light teasing or a halfhearted protest, but nothing beyond that. That confuses Legend, and that confusion leads to anger. No matter what he does, he can’t get a good read on Sky, and that’s very frustrating for Legend.

Hyrule: I think this is going to surprise a lot of people, because Hyrule and Wild are often depicted as twin chaos gremlins by the fandom. But if you actually go through the LU canon (both main story and bonus material), you’ll see that these two actually rarely interact with each other, and on one of those rare occasions, they argue to the point of blows and have to be broken up. Much later, Wild describes Hyrule as “stubborn”, albeit in a positive way. Now, this is where I think the fandom seeing these two as twin chaos gremlins does bear some merit: the two are so alike in many aspects of their personality, notably their stubbornness, that they struggle to get along. A similar situation as with Time and Legend, but in this situation, they’re about the same age and with the same level of maturity. Hyrule and Wild even think the same way, too. During the battle with the Iron Knuckle, Hyrule wanted to rush right in and attack the big guy head on too, but was held back by Legend. Among his companions, though, Hyrule is reputably non-confrontational, which makes the fact that he got in a fight with Wild surprising. Wild is more used to getting into disagreements, so I think that fight would have affected Hyrule emotionally a lot more than Wild.

Wind: I had the hardest time with this little guy. Despite being the youngest, he’s surprisingly emotionally stable and mature, and he gets along with everyone! Literally the only reason I chose Wild is because Wind has snapped at him a few times, examples being for treating him like a kid and for not following his advice for how to take on the Iron Knuckle. That’s literally it. Wind is a perfect ray of sunshine.

Twilight: our rancher is gregarious and gets along with everyone pretty well, but he’s not shy about calling out things that tick him off about others. He rebukes Legend for his immaturity, challenges Time on his overbearing nature, and tries his darnedest to instill some self-restraint in Wild. He’s also very protective, though, especially of Wild. He’s well aware that Wild often has difficulties getting along with others (more on that later), but since he knows Wild better than all the others, he understands why Wild has those difficulties. And right now especially, he very obviously thinks that Warriors is being way too hard on Wild. This is a tricky situation. These Links are all notoriously bad at communication, and with extremely different backgrounds, Twilight and Warriors have even more of a disadvantage. Twilight doesn’t understand Wars’ motives in this situation and thinks he’s being unfair, when in reality Wars is just trying really hard to understand Wild better (explained in my analyses). Despite that, Twi and Wars are still good friends; they were just rubbing shoulders and bantering at each other a few parts ago after all. Twilight just isn’t afraid to openly disagree with one of his friends.

Warriors: yeah, if you’re familiar with my analyses (here and here) you know it’s Wild! I won’t rehash it in this post since I’ve pretty much said everything I can think of on Wars’ point of view in the situation lol

Wild: and conversely, Wild is having a really hard time with Wars specifically right now. That situation is outlined in my previous analyses too. But for this post, I wanted to elaborate more on Wild. Although all of his fellow Links obviously love and accept him, the poor guy has drawn the ire of practically every member of the chain at some point in time. In fact, personally I think that if not for his close bond with Twilight, Wild would have an extremely hard time getting along with the group as a whole. That doesn’t mean he’s a bad person. No, he’s a character with a very unique and compelling past, and that past makes it very difficult for him to successfully engage in teamwork. He’s also dealing with amnesia, imposter syndrome, and an inferiority complex, all of which take a huge toll on his mental health. When your mental health isn’t so great, you often have a short fuse and it can also be hard to maintain healthy relationships. Trust me, I know - I’ve been on medication for depression for 15 years. It’s a real struggle. In spite of this, we have seen significant character growth from Wild recently. He’s begun acknowledging his difficulties and owning up to his transgressions, which shows that he really does want to make things work with everyone. He feels bad for clashing with people and wants to do better, but unfortunately he appears to have very low confidence in himself. His current mindset seems to be “I’m trying really hard not to mess things up, but I’m probably just going to mess it all up anyway.” The thing that matters, though, is that he is trying. Ah, I love Wild so much. My precious blorbo. If he can rid himself of that crippling self-doubt, he can make even bigger strides in improving his relationship with everyone!

[ghostgirl-22]

Not necessarily sexual, but what if Art takes care of Patrick for once?

Patrick is upset over something cruel his father told him and wakes Art up with his sniffling. Patrick never cries so Art is immediately alarmed and tries to get him to open up. Patrick tries to mask his feelings at first, but eventually breaks down and cries into Art’s chest. They fall asleep with Patrick being the little spoon for once, wrapped in Art’s arms.

I chopped this up a lot but I think I got to the core of your ask nonnie <3 Idk why in my head I could see Patrick just being the whacky charming youngest and favorite of his parents. Forgive my typos… happy Valentine’s Day maybe I’m gonna write a valentines fic tomorrow when Valentine’s Day is over. Anyway love y’all.

TW: period typical homophobia, use of a slur, internalized homophobia, otherwise SFW.

——

Patrick does this thing where he acts like nothing gets to him. Like nothing can hurt him. For a while Art was envious because he believed the act. Now he knows better. He sees it now… the way Patrick will smile even more when his eyes are sad. The way he’ll shrug and then fidget, fingertips tapping a fragile rhythm like the physical act of it can divert the pain away. The way he goes quiet. 

Still he never saw Patrick cry before this summer. It’s their last summer break before senior year. They’ve been spending at least a few weeks together every summer since they were 12, going back and forth between each other's houses. Patrick’s summer house in Connecticut, Art’s family home in Massachusetts. It was easy. Patrick had the bigger house of course, the bigger bedroom, all the latest game systems, a tennis court. So many places on his family's estate to hang out and explore. 

Patrick’s family is a little more complex than Arts though. 

It’s no secret Patrick doesn’t get along with his older brother, Levi. Art actually doesn’t like him either. He’s ten years older then them and he’s everything that Patrick isn’t, more smarmy than charming, flashy and pretentious, lording his daddy’s money around and reminding Patrick that it’s his birth right. He’s a lawyer now and already works for their dad’s company. But all it takes is five minutes talking to their tennis loving dad to understand why Levi hates Patrick. 

“Tennis is such a beautiful game. I played for years but never came close to what you and Patrick can do on that court.” Patrick’s dad says wistfully. He would often stand courtside to watch them play in the summers.

Levi is no athlete. He doesn’t even like sports and there’s Patrick, the apple of their fathers eye because he can hit a ball with a racket. 

If Levi were less of an asshole, Art might actually relate to him. But he’s a total dick. He loves to make it known that Patrick was a ’mistake’. “Mom and dad were perfectly happy with the three of us,” he says of himself and Patrick’s older sisters one Friday night in July. 

That clearly bothered Patrick at one point but he’s used to it now. “Yeah and imagine how boring that would’ve been. One lame ass son.” Patrick mutters and Art grins. They’re eating ice cream in the oversized kitchen while Levi lingers at the wine cooler, pouring himself a glass. He watches as Patrick takes some of Art’s ice cream, his gaze cool. 

“I’d be careful if I were you Art, you know he’s a fag right?”

Art raises his eyebrows. 

“Shut the fuck up,” Patrick snaps. 

“Oh, he doesn’t know?” Levi’s eyes light up, gleefully. “Sarah caught him last weekend kissing the pool boy, the help of all people, moaning like a freak.” 

“I said shut up,” Patrick says, his voice cold. Art has never seen his cheeks turn so red before.    

Levi lets out a cruel little giggle. “Wait till dad finds out you're the fruity one. I’d sleep with one eye open if I were you, Art. You never know, you seem like his type. He might try something.” 

“I’ll fucking kill you if you say another word, fucking asshole,” Patrick shouts. 

“Don’t worry little brother, I’m sure they love butt boys in pro tennis,” Levi smirks, self satisfied in Art’s direction and takes his glass of wine back to the office where he’s been working. 

Art is tongue tied, barely able to make his brain connect to his mouth. He’s feeling all kinds of things, not even sure what half of the things he’s feeling even mean but he knows he’s furious on Patrick’s behalf. He glances at Patrick and that’s all it takes for Art to know what Levi said was true. He’s still red faced, fists clenched, staring angrily at the bowl of ice cream like it was the one who said those horrible things to him. And then he gets up and leaves the kitchen abruptly.  

“Wait Patrick,” Art says but he doesn’t stop. Art sighs and gets up following him to the bedroom. He’s several paces behind and when he gets inside Patrick has fallen to the bedroom floor, actually sobbing. Head in his hands. Art can’t believe his eyes. In all the years he’s known him, he’s never seen more than the slight sparkle when his eyes well up tears. If he didn’t before, he really fucking hates Levi now.

He gets down on his knees next to Patrick. 

“Art can you go, I need to be alone,” he mutters, chest heaving. 

“No,” Art says, he’s not sure how to do this but he wants to be there for Patrick. “He’s a fucking loser. Do you want me to beat his dweeby ass?”

Patrick sniffles a laugh and shakes his head. 

“He’s just pissed because…” Art rubs Patrick’s shoulder, a gentle pattern. “Fuck him okay I mean…” He doesn’t know what to say… or why he keeps thinking about the pool boy, Armando, tall, athletic, brown eyes, and long dark blonde hair. He looks and sounds like a surfer, but not from California but whatever beach they have in Spain. Art can’t get him out of his head for some reason. 

“It’s true,” Patrick mutters after a while looking up at him. “I think I… I do like boys.” 

Art presses his lips together, nodding. “That’s um— that’s okay, man. Uh… remember um… Calvin from the team… Calvin said he uh he kissed a guy before.” He takes a breath. He has to do better than this, but he’s starting to fixate on the color of Patrick’s eyes. He never realized how colorful they were. Now that they’re wet it’s like they sparkle. 

”I dont… I would never do anything to you… like… like what my brother was saying okay?” Patrick sniffles. 

Art swallows. God now he’s fixating on Patrick’s lips. God damn it. He needs to be fucking normal. Patrick is his best friend for crying out loud. Art wraps his arms around Patrick and closes his eyes. “Fuck him, man. He’s a homophobic asshole. If you’re gay then—”

”I’m not gay…” Patrick says softly. Art can practically feel his voice vibrating in his ear. There’s a strange familiar feeling at the base of his stomach, his instinct is to pull away but he holds on. 

“You’re not?” He doesn’t mean to sound relieved, fuck. 

“I’m bisexual,” Patrick murmurs. He pulls out of the hug and gets to his feet, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his palms. “I’m just…” he laughs. “I’m a fucking mess. He’s hot and the way he was looking at me in the pool. I brought him to my room and well we just started exploring… I should’ve known we wouldn’t get any privacy here. Sarah just barged into my room and she can’t keep her fucking mouth shut. My dad is… well… I don’t fucking care.” He flops down onto his bed and takes a deep breath. 

Art crawls over on his knees. “Does he know?” 

“Not yet,” Patrick says, “but he’ll know as soon as he gets back from his business trip. Levi will make sure of that.” 

“Well,” Art crawls onto the bed and lies down next to him. “Not if we kill him first.” 

Patrick looks at him and then laughs. Art grins, happy to make him smile. He feels warm all of a sudden.  

Patrick sighs. “You want to play Mario kart?” 

“Yeah.”  

They lay down for an hour, only really chatting about the game. Patrick starts to get sleepy, it’s clear he’s still upset. He puts his controller down. Art turns off the game and settles next to him in the dark. His mind has been racing the whole time. Patrick’s never cried in front of him before so it feels like something has shifted.

“My dad isn’t gonna look at me the same,” he laughs but there’s a bitterness in it.

“You don’t… you don’t know that.” Art says gently.

“You think it’s weird, don’t you?” he rolls over to face Art.

“No,” Art says quickly. His parents had always taught him to be accepting of people’s differences. They always supported gay rights. But there was this part of Art that knew that their tolerance was only meant for other people. Unlike Patrick he was the only boy, he was expected to be traditional. 

“You’re a bad liar,” Patrick sighs. 

“I mean I think I’m just trying to process it. I had no idea and now it’s just…” Art takes a deep breath. 

“You really had no idea?”

“Well it’s not like you told me, and you…we always talk about girls.”

Patrick gazes at him. “Fair enough.”

“What’s it like?” The question just spills out of him, he can’t stop himself. 

”Hm?” 

Now it’s his turn to feel his skin heat up. Why is he so fixated on the stupid kiss? “Sorry it’s not important…never mind. I guess I just figured it’d be different then… uh never mind.”

”It’s a little different but the same in all the ways that matter,” Patrick says. He’s sniffling again. Art licks his lips and scoots closer to him. Patrick looks down, following the movement. 

“I could uh… I could show you.” 

Art thinks he’s joking and smiles, Patrick holds his gaze a little longer and Art swallows, something all too familiar suddenly thrumming through his body. But it makes no fucking sense. He can’t really be turned on by this. “You’re um… you’re serious?” 

Patrick laughs, “God,” he says, shaking his head. 

“What?” Art says. 

“Nothing, I’m a fucking mess. Can you…hold me until I fall asleep?” It’s Patrick using Art’s own words. Spoken a number of times when they were kids and he’d asked Patrick to do it in his grandmother's place when he was having trouble adjusting to boarding school.  

Patrick never told anyone about it, never even made fun of him which was surprising, considering he ribs Art about almost everything. Art isn’t sure what he’s feeling but he nods, “of course,” and lets Patrick settle into his arms. They lie in bed, Art keeping Patrick safe from the world for just a little bit. Inseparable, like two colors bleeding into each other, until they both fall asleep.  

[gilberttheguy]

There's a lotta reasons why lestat and claudia resented and hated each other but I was thinking about how lestat and gabrielle's relationship likely played into that as well. He turned Gabrielle and then fell madly (and weirdly) in love with her, and developed a fucked up framework to understand vampire family dynamics, so when Claudia came along, he could probably see himself in her. Just took his own Oedipus complex and said 'actually, YOU have an Electra complex, and it's nothing to do with me! No siree, i have a NORMAL understanding of parent-child relationships. '

He said 'I hate you because you're trying to steal my husband (your father), the way I once stole my mother from her husband (MY father)' and he did not pause to consider that maybe he shouldn't have been making out with his mum in the first place

Gabrielle de lioncourt, I hope you're somewhere in the rainforest doing the work to better yourself. Lestat...should maybe just spend some time in the rainforest.

[delulu4anime]

Maniac

Ch 6 ➧A Missed Call

Parings ➧ᴇɴᴇᴍʏ ᴛᴏ ʟᴏᴠᴇʀ!ꜱᴀᴛᴏʀᴜ ɢᴏᴊᴏ x ᴄʜᴜʙʙʏ!ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

Summary ➧ᴀꜰᴛᴇʀ ᴛᴇɴ ʏᴇᴀʀꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴛʀʏɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ᴀᴠᴏɪᴅ ʜɪᴍ ᴏɴᴇ ᴍᴏᴍᴇɴᴛ ᴍᴀᴋᴇꜱ ɪᴛ ᴜɴᴀᴠᴏɪᴅᴀʙʟᴇ. ʜᴇ'ꜱ ᴀ ᴍᴀɴɪᴀᴄ ɪꜰ ʜᴇ ᴛʜɪɴᴋꜱ ʏᴏᴜ'ʟʟ ᴇᴠᴇʀ ꜰᴀʟʟ ꜰᴏʀ ʜɪᴍ ᴀɢᴀɪɴ.

Trigger Warnings ➧ᴘʟᴇᴀꜱᴇ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢꜱ ʜᴇʀᴇ ʙᴇꜰᴏʀᴇ ᴇᴀᴄʜ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴇᴠᴇɴ ɪꜰ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ɪꜱ ɴᴏ ꜱᴍᴜᴛ.

Word Count ➧2.6ᴋ+

Taglist ➧@lady-of-blossoms @dekusdante @fortunatelyfurrygiver @birbwithhat @whippedbyikemen @sleepykittyenergy @i-love-ateez @choppersworlds-blog @emochosoluvr @linaaeatsfamilies (ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ᴛᴀɢɢᴇᴅ ᴊᴜꜱᴛ ʟᴍᴋ❣︎)

After trying to keep your impending break down at bay you finish your breakfast with Kento and Emi in a rush; you apologized for having to leave in a rush but you had a few things you needed to get done. Emi asked you to call her once you got home and you nodded your head as you closed the door behind you. Your drive back to your house was unusually quiet compared to every other time where you jammed out to all the songs you were currently obsessed with. Now the only thing that filled the silence was the traffic around you and the unsteady breaths you were taking. You soon arrived to your apartment complex and you quickly got out of your car and practically ran to your apartment with tears running down your face.

"Shit." You mumbled to yourself as you struggled to get your key to function but soon were able to make your way inside. You slammed the door close and slide down your door till you were sitting down on the floor.

The tears flowing nonstop now that you were alone to be able to fully process what you had gotten yourself into. You had tried for a decade to talk yourself out of those feelings especially after everything that happened; you think back to that time ten years ago, the memory so vivid, as if it happened yesterday. You knew Hina and Satoru had been having relationship problems like they always seemed to but you never thought he'd actually dump her. Half the boys at the school had a crush on her and you could understand why if it was just based on solely her looks. She had long black hair that seemed to imitate silk that fell to the middle of her back; her make up was always done every day flawlessly and her nails were always manicured.

Although we had uniforms she showed off her parents had money in different ways. From the shoes she wore to the bags she carried her school supplies in; it all seemed to be designer name brand things. She was a second year that seemed to be on the honor roll, participated in clubs that helped out with the community, and at one point was vice class president. By all accounts she was the dream girl any parent would want their son to date. However, because she sat behind you for a whole year you knew that she could be really nasty when no one was paying attention and soon you'd get your own taste.

"Can you believe he dumped me?" You heard Hina say to her friend one afternoon in an extra curricular class you needed to make sure your transcript looked good for college.

They always sat behind you and you never paid them much attention until they talked about Satoru. You hated yourself for becoming that nosy but what she revealed about him to her friend was just too hard to pass up on. Before the break up she talked about all kinds of things like what he liked to even the more intimate details of their relationship.

"What happened?" Her friend asked and she huffed.

"He said I don't treat him like a person. That he's just arm candy to me. Which is total bullshit you know?" Hina said as she filed her nail. "I mean do you know how many times I pretended to like kikufuku because he loves it so much. Or that one time I admitted to kissing his best friend Geto at a party but I was totally drunk." She said and her friend agreed.

"I remember that! He asked me about it too and I totally had your back though. I mean you were drunk and it was dark." Her friend said.

"Exactly. I feel like if he was just arm candy then I would have lied to him but I didn't. Why? Because I love him but of course he doesn't believe me." Hina whined.

"I'm sure you guys will be back together by next week. You both were practically made for each other." Her friend said and both girls giggled as they turned to work on their class work.

After hearing the news that they were broken up straight from the main source and on top of that under the allegations of cheating you tried talking yourself into saying something to Satoru. You knew Kento had known him for as long as you could remember but every time he talked about Satoru it was about how much of a nuisance he was. You tried to sound casually, you really did, that fateful day during lunch to see if Satoru had mentioned the break up. You were hopeful in spite of the display in front of you. He seemed to be talking and joking around with not only Hina but Geto as well as if he didn't find out his best friend and his girlfriend had gone behind his back.

Your heart sank when Kento couldn't confirm the status of their relationship but you didn't miss the way Hina slide her hand along Satoru's thigh to get his attention. He leaned down so she could whisper something in his ear as she stared in your direction and you knew you were fucked as soon as you saw his blue eyes land on you as well. When you averted your gaze and tried making small talk with Kento you never thought Satoru would've made his way over to you and over hear what you had been talking about nonetheless. But listening to him utter the question for you to meet him after school shocked both you and Kento. Not that Kento didn't think you could get someone like Satoru's attention, far from it, but that you'd give someone like him the time of day.

Soon the end of the day came and you eagerly waited by the koi pond like he instructed as you watch students pour out of the school as they headed home, hung out with their friends, or to their after school jobs. You sat on a stone bench as you kicked your legs back and forth; you hummed a tune that had been stuck in your head when you looked to see Hina and her friends making their way towards you. You shrank under their judgmental glares as they walked passed by you but not without you being able to catch certain words like fat, ugly, and bitch.

"Enjoy your date." You heard someone call out and you looked up to see Hina smiling at you condescending as she spun around to catch up with her friend.

The butterflies that fluttered from excitement in your stomach quickly turned into hornets that brought nothing but dread in their wake as they stomped on all the butterflies in sight. She's just jealous you tried to tell yourself. She made choices that caused her to get dumped and she hated to be losing to the competition. You slowly were able to bring yourself down from the anxious journey you were trying not to embark on. However, after an hour passed by then another and another those hornets of dread started their reign of terror again.

The sun was starting to set and there was still no sign of Satoru showing up. You chewed on your lip nervously as you tried coming up with a reason, any reason, for why he'd be late. You remembered that Kento mentioned that he did tutor a few students after school so that could be a reason he could be running late. Yeah but he only does that every other Wednesday and it's Friday. The voice of doubt rang out through your head and you shook your head. Stay positive.

Maybe he had to reschedule last minute and was unable to let you know. Yeah, that's it. You decided it wouldn't hurt to a wait another thirty minutes and if he still didn't show who would know? You could go home and cry yourself to sleep after being stood up. If anyone asked you could lie and say you didn't know if he showed up or not because you had a emergency at home.

If he showed up then you were sure he'd apologize and there was still just enough daylight left that you could spend a little time at the bakery with enough time to walk home together. You looked down at your phone to see you had gotten a message from your mom and Kento; both were asking how things were going with Satoru. You hovered over the keys to figure out what to tell them because you still hadn't made up your mind on what you wanted to do. Suddenly there was a bright flash. Then another and another and soon it felt like it was nonstop.

There was laughter that roared out and you lifted your hand to hide behind the flashes to see what was going on. That's when you felt your entire body run cold at the display in front of you. Hina and her friends had come back to see you still waiting obediently by the koi pond just like the Satoru had asked you to do.

"Oh my god! She's still here!" Hina squealed.

"Ew, how desperate can she be?" One of her friends mocked as she looked at you through her phone screen.

"Who would wait this long for someone that isn't coming?" Another friend said and you started to feel tears stream down your face.

You don't remember when you had gotten up and ran past the girls or what your mom had said to you when she found you crying on your bed once she got home from work but you knew one thing you'd never forget. No matter what you'd never let him hurt you like that again. You knew you couldn't promise yourself to let the feelings you had for him fade if they ever would but you could keep the promise to never to tell and never let him back in. You opened your eyes and you were back to the present except nothing seemed to change. You didn't know if you were crying because he knew that you never stopped having feelings for him or if you couldn't handle getting rejected again by him.

You felt your phone buzz in your pocket and you frantically tried to get to it to see who was calling you; part of you hoping it was Satoru so you could apologize profusely. But you were met with disappointment when Emi's name and contact picture popped up. You took a couple deep breaths to try and calm yourself because if she knew you had been crying she'd rush over and crying in her company was the last thing you wanted. You felt selfish letting this effect you this way especially when you and Satoru were in her wedding. A day that was suppose to be special for them and not about your mixed feelings for the best man.

"Hey." You said as you stood up and made your way to your counter to see all the invitations to said wedding that you offered to put in envelopes, stamp, and send off for Emi.

"Are you okay? Don't you fucking lie to me either." She sternly said and you sighed.

"I'm sorry Emi. I shouldn't have just left like that." You say.

"You think? Look Kento and I care about you. We don't want to make things anymore complicated then they already are so we've decided to tell Satoru he isn't invited to the wedding anymore." Emi said and you looked up abruptly.

"What? No. No, no, no. Please don't do that. This is suppose to be a special day for both of you and if making your day perfect means having Satoru be apart of the celebration then that needs to happen." You say.

The thought of your best friends having to decide not to invite someone who was suppose to be in the wedding because you can't keep your promises to yourself is more embarrassing than Satoru finding out you still feel the same way about him after all these years.

"If it came down between you or Satoru with no hesitation we both picked you. Satoru hurt you then and its clear it still hurts you now." Emi said and you wanted to cry again because you didn't feel like you deserved Kento or Emi in your life but here they were always being there when you needed them.

"I love you both so much," You say not being able to the tears falling once again. "But I promise you I will be fine. I want him to go and I want things to go according to the plan. I'm putting this all behind me and I'm determined to out dance you and Kento at the wedding with Satoru watching." You teased which caused Emi to giggle into the receiver and you were glad to hear it.

"In your dreams! I dance laps around you and Ken any day." She says but then you can hear shuffling and Kento say something you couldn't quite make out. "Hey, I gotta go but please let us know if you change your mind. Love you." She says.

You both say goodbye and hang up the phone; you look at the wedding invitations and it hits you that there is one thing you need to take care of. You take a deep breath and type in Satoru's name into your phone. You had talked yourself into finally saving his number but unlike everyone else in your contacts you skipped on putting an emoji beside his name. In your mind it helped you signify that you weren't really saving his number if there wasn't an emoji beside his name. You hesitated for a moment then your thumbs danced across the keys as you texted out your message.

You:

Hey, I'm sorry to bother you. Kento ended up telling me what happened. Please don't be upset at him if it was suppose to be private I bugged it out of him.

You:

Anyways, the reason I'm texting you is to let you know I don't want things to be awkward between us so I'll be going to the wedding alone so the next girl in line can have a turn.

You:

Yikes that came out worse than I intended. Again I'm sorry.

You sent the message and set your phone down as you rubbed your hands together as you looked at the nearly two hundred invitations you needed to work on. You decided to hook your phone up to your speaker, put your playlist on shuffle, and let the music take you to another place while you worked. After a few hours of steady work and a few glasses of water after licking so many envelopes you only had twenty more invitations to get done. You decided to take a break and order take out while you watch your favorite tv show to unwind before finishing. Soon you found yourself feeling better that you had gotten what you need off your chest and you knew with time that you would be able to be around Satoru long enough to make their dream wedding happen.

You got up after the end of an episode as the credits rolled and you took your dirty dishes over to the sink before the next episode started. You looked over to your phone that lit up with a notification and your heart stopped at what you saw. You had a few missed calls from Satoru followed by a text message.

Satoru:

Are you free tomorrow after work? I've got a few things to do tomorrow and I was wondering if you wanted to go with me.

You:

I'll be off around five tomorrow. I'll meet you at the cafe.

©ᴅᴇʟᴜʟᴜ4ᴀɴɪᴍᴇ 2025 ᴀʟʟ ʀɪɢʜᴛꜱ ʀᴇꜱᴇʀᴠᴇᴅ

ʀᴇᴛᴜʀɴ ᴛᴏ ᴍᴀɴɪᴀᴄ ᴍᴀꜱᴛᴇʀʟɪꜱᴛ

ʀᴇᴛᴜʀɴ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴜꜱʜʀᴏᴏᴍ ᴊᴇʟʟʏꜰɪꜱʜ ᴇxʜɪʙɪᴛ

[christelightlavo]

Fandom hot takes, because I fear we are entering the apocalypse :

Comic books as a medium have been here before most of us, like they are as old as our grandparents. Dick Grayson HAS absolutely cheated on Kori, Barbara and a lot of his female partners and has absolutely been a piece of shit to them verbally. So if someone writes him like that, they are being faithful to his character. That being said, Him being the loyal golden retriever who is a goody two shoes and makes puns is ALSO a valid take because, Different writers write him differently and he is 80 years old as a character.

"For a Hokage, the whole village is family" is actually a pretty huge thing to say to a 12 year old and Boruto had a valid reason to feel the way he did in the beginning of the series. Was he being a brat? Absolutely. Does he deserve the hate? Nope. Because it was a valid crash out. If my dad told me he felt like every one of his students was like his own child, I would be cranky about it. Because I love my dad and so does Boruto. That's why he wanted Naruto to be around. Not only for him but for his sister and mother too.

Dazai is NOT the most complex character in Bsd, everyone is as complex as him, heck some are even more but they just don't get enough attention. RANPO is absolutely more complex than Dazai and is shown to be smarter too.

Draco Malfoy is not misunderstood. He was a bully throughout multiple books and has done ABSOLUTELY bad stuff. Yes it's because of his upbringing but the malfoys do love Draco. He was a spoiled brat, a bully, a bad guy. But that's what made his redemption (by the end) work. Cursed child showed that he worked on himself for his son and that works.

Who made me a princess treated Athanasia and Jennette like they were Claude's love interests.

Shouto Todoroki deserves better.

Alison's mood and personality changes makes sense to me. She was a teenager, that had shit going around her and she acted on it.

Akutagawa is not a women beater. He beats everyone. Literally.

Jennette just wanted a family and everyone in the fandom hated her for it and I hate them. (Heck Athy would have hated you guys for hating on Jennette)

Rashta and Navier, both are valid in their feelings and both don't deserve to be inside this misogynist manhwa, which disguises itself as a feminist power story.

on the same note, Diana from "for my derelict favourite" is what Navier would be like if the story was from Rashta's POV, with Rashta as the Fmc.

People who are against Jon kent Superman and Jon Kent being Bisexual need to understand that Comics are Comics and Wacky shit will always happen. Grow up.

On the same note, Tim Drake has two hands. Bernard is baby, stop trying to make Tim cheat on him with Conner. Poly relationships are a thing. And Bernard is totally Conner's type.

Chuuya is only 2 years older than Akutagawa and 4 years older than Atsushi. He is no parental figure, if he is in your fic. That is a personal head cannon and please keep it that way. He is no mother. Same actually goes for him being portrayed as a brother figure, if that's in your fic it's great but it's not canon. It's not. Stop forcing your head canon's down other people's throats

DekuOcha makes more sense than Bakudeku. Bakudeku is a good ship but it works for me more as a brotp.

Sarasumi is the ultimate ship, you guys are just blind.

I might update this later. Idk. Feel free to give your hot takes.

[scruncheduppaper]

Thank you for the response to my previous question about Noelle's character arc! It was really interesting to see your thoughts. I'd hate to make to type out another essay, but...

Thoughts on Kris' side of all this? Most portrayals I've seen seem to make them relatively static--in that they spend their whole time just trying to resist the player and gain freedom. Either that, or the player control is sidestepped and it's just about addressing their core issues outside of us. What do you see as, if not the resolution, the progression in their arc given both their previous problems but also the whole evil-puppet-master-is-making-me-manipulate-my-friends thing.

Idk, maybe that *would* just make someone flatly more angry instead of anything super complex.

Again, thanks for the ask! I’d like to preface my answer by saying that much of my interpretation of these characters is based on my own personal life experiences and my emotions, and I often like to project onto kriselle because of that. That doesn’t mean I don’t pay attention to canon (far from it) but just don’t take everything I say as 1 to 1 analysis or prediction.

While I definitely do see Kris as being angry at the player, I personally like to explore more of Kris’ self anger and hatred, as well as despair over their situation. I find that people often like to portray Kris and the player as rivals, where I don’t necessarily see them that way — in most situations I believe the player is motivated by either strong curiosity and love for the game/characters, as it is in real life. If Kris comes to understand this, the anger becomes less directed towards the player and more towards themselves.

I think this way because there is evidence of Kris’ self hatred and self harming tendencies within the game itself. This video sums it up pretty well:

Even before Dess’ disappearance, I think Kris always had a feeling of being an outsider, even to do with their personality — and then afterwards, after whatever happened with Dess and their parents divorce, I suspect that they often blame themselves for what happened, and connected with the idea they don’t belong, it causes them to shrink further and further into themselves, and away from people like Noelle.

I personally view Kris giving up their soul (since I like the theory that they traded it to Gaster) as an act of essentially suicide, which is why I made my last piece. However, especially in the Snowgrave route, this makes things a LOT worse for their sense of self-worth; I like to imagine that they feel immense guilt and pain over Noelle, which haunts them constantly, but now they’re unable to reach out, as they had neglected to beforehand while Noelle was helpless and suffering (it’s kind of like Mouthwashing, in a way).

I have little prediction for the actual story, as we know very little about Kris and what happened to them. Most of what I said here has been based on fan theories and discussions I’ve had.

However, my version of Kris will probably end up killing themselves for real — to spare Noelle from the player and to end their own suffering/guilt. Thus, this would be a final act of love towards Noelle, to show that they truly Have cared for her this whole time (or, in that case, to allow Noelle to kill them — both to satisfy her repressed anger and their own self hatred). I have no opinions about the normal route in this case, but I wish to see Kris have a good ending there, at least, where they are able to be truly free and happy.

[serfergs]

I have to give a shout out to The Only One episode 8 for (well a lot of things), but what specifically stood out to me. I’ve seen some posts about how BL has recently really botched child/parent relationship and characterization. I feel like these kinds of relationship dynamics are so nuanced and very difficult to portray realistically. I really liked that we got to see the conversations each of the boys had with their respective parent. They were both mature, respectful, fairly honest but still kept their parents at an arms length. Both their approaches were also consistent with Tian and Weng’s characters. Weng initiated the conversation with his dad and was focused and direct, but still sympathetic to his dad’s decisions around marrying Tian’s mom. Tian followed suit but was much more hesitant to speak to his mother and said just enough to reassure her.

Then I realize that both conversations revolved around reassuring and comforting their parents. As someone who has recently been forced to confront my parents for the emotional neglect and trauma of my childhood I related to this so much. Tian and Weng don’t hate their parents, but they still have to reckon with the consequences of their parents’ actions. Tian always keeping his bag packed and choosing to self isolate out of self preservation. Weng desperately seeking out intimacy. These are things they are forced to deal with and it sucks that instead of feeling safe enough to have a vulnerable conversation about the ways their parents decisions fucked them up they had to defend their decision to move to the school dorms while reassuring their parents that it had nothing to do with them as parents. This show understands the nuanced and complex feelings that exist between strained child/parent relationships. This show understands that for the child sometimes you have to placate your parent because it’s not worth the breath to explain no I don’t hate you, but I wish you’d acknowledge your role in my trauma and my need to set boundaries because of it. You love your parents but you’ve been taught that you can’t completely trust them and therefore they can never truly be home.

Which highlights why the ending of the episode was so beautiful. This slow burn show has paced itself in such a way to build an incredibly solid and realistic portrayal of the foundation of intimacy that I don’t think I’ve seen in other BL. Yes I swooned and giggled at the initial enemies to lovers trope but it’s truly become so much more than that. I believe in not just their attraction, not just their hidden or not yet fully realized crush, but their deep, hopefully, life long companionship.

[ladyinthebluebox]

One of my favorite things about Taash is specifically how emotionally immature and raw they are, how their general approach to life is the direct clobbering of issues, and how anything more complex than that is internalized and projected in a very overt, almost teenage way. Even the way they immediately zero in on Solas "not making things right" with Mythal and that being something that twists you up. Same with Emmrich's practice, same with Neve's femininity,

And then, crucially, despite that rigidity in processing trauma and emotions, the game goes out of its way to say that they STILL get to receive grace in their struggle of arriving at the complicated truths about themselves, that they still deserve and are worth of a full, happy, self-actualized existence. That interrogating and finding identity isn't some vapid, high-brow crusade of intellectualism, but something that is essential and critical to every single living soul.

This, in a nutshell, is why I love Taash and what they did with them.

thank you for sending me this message. it means a lot to hear a postive take and actual words of affirmation on Taash.

it's been a horribly frustraiting, disheartening time trying to filter out and avoid all the outright hate & misconceptions the vast majority of this fandom seems to be harbouring for them. & for the stupidest of reasons too.

to me they are an incredibly touching character. they clearly have a lot of heart, though they aren't always able to express it properly. and i feel like majority of the people don't even try to understand them. which is just. sad. they are missing out on trully experiencing such a wonderful story of growing into "your" true self, reconciling with a troubled relationship with a parent (which touched me personally so, so deeply) and what a supportive, open-minded circle of people can do for a person...

trully Taash deserves all the love. & dragons to fight. & shiny things ofc.

[theyhavetakenovermylife]

Please write some hsc for tmnt bayverse (all of them) when during an argument a child tells them that he hates/doesn't love them

Thanks you

They Have An Argument With Your Child

Bayverse!Turtles x reader

A/N: Time to bring Romeo, Joan, Gali and Sunny back! And with that, say hello to some of their siblings; Marcello, Dorothy and Luis💙❤️💜🧡

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Warnings: Family fights.

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Leonardo:

Leonardo would be shaken to say the least. One thing was arguing with his own brothers, finding it hard to understand how or why they wouldn’t follow his orders, but fighting with his own children was different, and absolutely horrible.

Marcello, you and Leo’s second oldest, a teenager with a fiery spirit that mirrored his father's, had clashed with Leo over what seemed like an age-old disagreement – the issue of independence and the perceived favoritism toward his older brother, Romeo. Romeo, who was just shy of reaching his adulthood, had finally been allowed to go to the surface, without any kind of supervision. Marcello had not taken too kindly to that, believing that his father had started to favor his older brother.

An argument followed soon after, where Marcello's frustration boiled over. Harsh words were exchanged, and in a moment of anger. But all of that came to a climax, when Marcello shouted at his father, as loud as he possibly could.

"I hate you!", he yelled before storming off, leaving Leo alone in the middle of the lair.

Leo stood there, the weight of Marcello's words sinking deep into his heart. Parenting had never been easy, and juggling the safety of his family with the desire for independence his children inevitably felt was a delicate balance. The sharp sting of his son's declaration left him feeling vulnerable, questioning his decisions and even his capabilities as a father.

Unable to shake the hurt from Marcello's outburst, Leonardo retreated, seeking solace in the comforting presence of the person he felt the safest with - you.

Without a word, you sensed the turmoil in Leo's eyes and opened your arms, welcoming him into an embrace. The silence spoke volumes, and Leo, allowing himself a rare vulnerability, leaned into the warmth of your embrace, his worries momentarily eased by the love and understanding that emanated from you.

As Leonardo rested his head against your shoulder, he began to recount the events leading up to the argument with Marcello. You listened with unwavering patience, offering a sympathetic ear to his concerns. The complexities of parenting in a world filled with danger and uncertainties were not lost on you, and you knew that misunderstandings were an inevitable part of the process. Your gentle words of reassurance became a lifeline for Leo, reminding him that parenting was an ongoing journey filled with challenges. Together, you explored ways to bridge the gap between father and son, recognizing that communication and compromise were the foundations of any healthy relationship.

The next day, as Romeo headed out once more, Leo took intentional steps to mend the strained relationship with Marcello. It was time for Leo to communicate and spend time with his son, in ways that went beyond training in the dojo.

Raphael:

Raphael would get mad. He would feel anger towards his child, but in reality, it was all about him. He would get angry at himself, blaming the whole argument on how he handled it, and how he failed to calm his child down.

Your daughter Joan, now 18, had recently taken a significant step into adulthood by entering into a relationship with a human guy. But the news didn’t settle well with Raph. He found it hard to reconcile with the fact that his little girl was growing up and venturing into the complexities of human relationships. So the evening when Joan told you and your husband about her new boyfriend, the two of them quickly found themselves locked in a heated argument.

Raph, with a furrowed brow and a heart weighed down by the realization that he was losing his grip on his little girl, confronted Joan about her newfound connection with a human. His protective instincts flared, clouding his ability to see Joan as an independent and capable adult. Joan, however, had grown tired of being treated like a child, and in the heat of the argument, she raised her voice, declaring that Raph was stifling her growth and that her boyfriend, who saw her as an equal, understood her better than her own father. The words hung heavily in the air, leaving a bitter taste of regret and sorrow.

Raph's anger was palpable, his eyes narrowing as he struggled to comprehend the fact that his own daughter felt unloved by him. The realization hit him like a punch to the gut, and the weight of his own shortcomings as a father bore down on his broad shoulders.

Fuming and hurt, Raph stormed away from the confrontation, retreating to a secluded part of the lair. It was there that you found him, grappling with the storm of emotions that threatened to consume him. Your presence served as a balm to his wounded heart, and in the quiet sanctuary you shared, he laid bare his fears and frustrations. Your gentle words, woven with understanding and love, reminded Raph that parenthood was a constant journey of letting go. You encouraged him to see Joan not as a child who needed protection, but as a young woman capable of making her own choices and learning from her own mistakes.

In the days that followed, you played the role of mediator, facilitating a conversation between Raph and Joan. As emotions cooled, they began to see each other's perspectives more clearly. Raph, in a rare display of vulnerability, admitted his fears of losing his little girl, while Joan, in turn, acknowledged her father's love and concern.

The healing process was gradual, marked by moments of shared laughter and understanding. Raph began to see the strength and resilience that defined his daughter, while Joan appreciated the depth of her father's love, even if it was expressed in a way that clashed with her newfound independence.

Not long after that, Joan brought her boyfriend down to the lair, in order for him and Raph to meet each other. And much to both you and Joan’s relief, the two men got along great. Talking and a few times joking with each other, as they slowly got used to each other’s presence. But as Joan and her boyfriend left for his home, Raph started tearing up. His little girl was an adult now.

Donatello:

The lair was unusually tense as the echoes of a recent argument lingered in the air. Donatello found himself feeling stressed and frustrated, caught in a storm of emotions after an altercation with his pre-teen son, Gali.

The source of the tension was a disciplinary moment involving Gali and his younger sister, Dorothy. Gali, in a fit of teasing, had pushed Dorothy to the point of tears. Donnie, in his role as both father and protector, had grounded Gali as a consequence for his actions, while you took care of Dorothy, comforting her in the other room. But little did Donnie anticipate the storm that would follow.

As the lair's tunnels settled into an uneasy quiet, Gali, his face contorted with a mixture of anger and frustration, confronted his father. The exchange escalated quickly, with harsh words exchanged and Gali, in a moment of youthful defiance, started shouting.

"I hate you, Dad!", he yelled, before storming off to the room Donnie had told him to go to - his room.

Donatello stood there, the weight of his son's words sinking deep into his heart. The shock of hearing such words from his own child resonated, leaving him momentarily paralyzed. However, his love and commitment to being a good father quickly kicked in, prompting him to follow his son into his room.

Upon entering Gali's space, Donnie saw his son, red-eyed and visibly upset, sitting on the bed and staring at the floor. Taking a deep breath, Donnie approached Gali with a mix of determination and concern.

"Gali", he began, his voice steady. "We need to talk".

Gali, still seething with frustration, avoided eye contact but nodded begrudgingly, letting Donnie take a seat next to him. As they sat in the dimly lit room, Donnie began talking once more.

"I know you're upset, and so am I. I care about you and Dorothy deeply, and it hurts me to see you two at odds".

Gali, feeling a mix of guilt and stubbornness, finally spoke. "I just don't get it, Dad. Why do I get grounded when she's the one crying all the time? It's not fair!"

Donnie sighed, acknowledging the complexity of parenting. "Life isn't always fair, Gali. But my job is to teach you right from wrong and help you grow into a good person. Teasing your sister to the point of tears isn't okay. It's about learning to treat each other with respect".

Gali's frustration softened, replaced by a glimmer of understanding as he reached for his knees, hugging them against his chest. "But it feels like you don't trust me", he mumbled.

Donnie, realizing the importance of addressing Gali's feelings, and how this was about much more than just the episode with Dortothy, wrapped an arm around his son, holding him close before he spoke. "It's not about trust, Gali. It's about helping you make better choices. I believe in you, and I know you can learn from this. We're a team, and I want us to work together."

A thoughtful silence filled the room as Gali absorbed his father's words, his eyes still not looking at his father..

Donnie continued. "I'm here for you, even when it seems like I'm being strict. Let's find a way to bridge the gap between us, okay?"

Gali finally looked up at his father with a small smile. “Okay”, he said before he wrapped his arms around Donnie in a hug. “Thank you, dad”.

Michelangelo:

Given the nature of Michelangelo, he would get sad. But with his strong empathy, he would quickly realize what was going on, working to fix the problem in the best way possible.

The lair was filled with an unusual stillness, interrupted only by the soft coos of the newest addition to the family, Luis. The arrival of the baby boy had brought joy and excitement to the lair, but it also introduced a wave of change that affected every member, especially the energetic and ever-cheerful Michelangelo.

You and Mikey's sunny disposition had dimmed slightly as he navigated the challenges of balancing your time between caring for the newborn and ensuring that your oldest, 5 year old Sunny, felt just as cherished. Sunny, despite her name, found herself grappling with the stormy emotions of feeling overshadowed by her baby brother. She missed the days where she was all you and Mikey looked for, craving the attention she once held so easily.

One afternoon, while you were out on a rare girls night out, Mikey sat on the floor, playing peek-a-boo with baby Luis, he sensed a pair of angry little bright blue eyes fixed on him. Sunny stood at the entrance of the nursery, her small hands clenched into tiny fists. Her cherubic face contorted with a mix of frustration and sadness, she declared out loud; "You always play with Luis, and you don't play with me anymore, daddy!"

Mikey's expressive eyes widened, a pang of guilt hitting him square in the heart. He gently set Luis down in his crib, making his way over to Sunny, his voice laced with concern.

"Aw, Sunny, baby, I didn't mean to make you feel left out”, he said. “You're my sunshine, you know that, right?"

But Sunny, in her 5 year old wisdom, shook her head defiantly. "No, daddy, you don't love me anymore!", she exclaimed, the weight of her words hanging heavy in the air.

Mikey, feeling a mix of hurt and determination, crouched down to her level. "Hey, little star, that's not true. I love you and Luis with all my heart”, he said, reaching out for her small hands. “How about we play together? You, me, and Luis - the ultimate superhero team!"

Sunny, her anger slowly giving way to curiosity, looked at her father with wide eyes. "Really?"

Mikey beamed, his signature grin returning. "Absolutely! You're my first little hero, and Luis is the newest member of our awesome team. What do you say we play together and show Luis the ropes?"

Sunny's face lit up with a bright smile, her grievances momentarily forgotten. "Okay, daddy!", she exclaimed, rushing forward to join the trio on the floor, while Mikey went to get little Luis from the crib.

And so, the nursery became a battleground for imaginary adventures and laughter. Mikey juggled the role of a playful father and referee between his two little ones, ensuring that both Sunny and Luis received equal attention and affection. Sunny, in turn, discovered the joy of being a big sister and basked in the warmth of her father's love.