#mention of child abuse cw

[the-hobgoblins]

.·:*¨༺ once upon a time, in ireland ༻¨*:·.

( CHAPTER ONE )

Once upon a time, in the lush green meadows of the Irish countryside, there lived a witch who destroyed everything she touched.

The townsfolk feared her, shuttered their windows and locked their doors at night, praying the same evil would not come for their own children. The witch’s parents were deeply and intolerantly religious, but even their severity, their cruelty, their heavy-handed methods of casting out the demons that plagued their daughter did little but to feed the monster that dwelled within her.

Until one day, she’d had enough. There was no cataclysmic event to have caused the switch to flip in the witch, no single identifiable trigger that was to blame. She simply awoke one day, after enduring a steady crescendo of daily abuse, and she ended them. She walked outside, felt the sun’s morning rays upon her skin, beaten and healed and scarred so many times over, and in an instant the deed was done. She willed the stone walls of the house to cave in on themselves, and so it was; her parents crushed to pulp beneath the rubble.

Then she walked the dirt road that stretched through the center of the small town, and did the same to each and every building she passed, until nothing was left.

And then the witch ran.

There were others like her, the witch discovered. They practiced their dark craft in dark, hidden places. They hid from those who would persecute them like insects in the soil, not daring to crawl into the light and attract a predator’s eye, to seek too much power, to want anything too deeply. Wanting was akin to giving yourself over to Death.

But the witch wanted—she craved more, always more. The scraps of power offered to her within the dark, dank coffin of existence into which her kind had entombed themselves was not enough.

She buried her old name in the rubble of her old town, never to be uttered or so much as thought of, again. She went by Morrigan, now—the Warrior-Queen, the Fury and the Doom, the Inciter of War and the Harbinger of Death.

The witches had told her she was a sorceress of chaos; it fueled her, it thrummed through her veins. And so chaos is where Morrigan went looking for more power.

For there was only one source of magic in this land that could be considered chaos in its purest form. The Fae.

For years, Morrigan sought contact with the Fair Folk. She grew desperate, obsessed. The hunger for a glimpse of what she knew lay just beyond her reach consumed her, burying the last shreds of her humanity like the rings of mushrooms in the dirt that Morrigan sought with endless fervor, from one end of the isle to the other.

But the Fair Folk did not grant Morrigan an audience. She could almost feel them laughing their sharp teeth at her from the crevices of reality wherein they lurked; foolish mortal, insignificant bug.

So she turned her back on them, and poured all of her ire into a new task. She built her own coven of witches out of ruthlessness and sheer grit, and she refused to cower in shadow. Soon every practitioner of magic in Ireland knew of them, feared them—Asarlaíocht, the dark mages whose very presence, their threatening, violent infamy that was whispered in the shadows kept their enemies up at night. Morrigan’s power grew of her own two hands, the dirt and the blood beneath her nails as she clawed her way to the top. She forgot her obsession with the high-and-mighty Fae.

Until a raven-haired boy was dumped at her safehouse door.

The beast that dwelled within Morrigan’s flesh sang with that ravenous want from the very first moment she got near the boy, Ozymandias Pryce, like the magic that raged in Morrigan’s blood could smell the chaos that leaked from this child’s every pore, that consumed every inch of its fragile human host. The father who’d abandoned him was too stupid, too blinded by his own arrogance and pride to realize the true value of the prize he’d been so eager to rid himself of. But Morrigan could recognize this boy’s power for what it was, where it came from; a hidden well of magic relinquished from the Fae realm, a tiny glittering pool like a Holy Grail that Morrigan had searched for, had coveted, had been delirious to drink from and quench her blackened, shriveled, power-parched soul for so, so long.

Hers at last, wrapped up and delivered into her waiting hands like a perfect, precious gift.

And Morrigan did not intend to ever let him go.

( TO BE CONTINUED... )

[c-hrona]

A Rough Night

Basically the thought process for this was:

“I really really want to do a comic full manga style” + “I really really want to draw TriStamp again” + “I really really want to draw some Wolfwood’s angst”

And that's it. That's the comic.

[misseligon]

This is the most stupidly self indulgent oc ever, throws found family upon ye.

More info about the boyo

(File Template made by @glow-and-vamp)

[signanothername]

What if the Apple incident was more historically accurate for the time, and Nightmare got burned at the stake for witchcraft or being the devil? Or, to make it worse, what if he was hanged from the tree of his mother? Would that be fucked up or what?

That would indeed be extremely fucked up Anon

I already explored the possibility of Nightmare burning at the stake (not necessarily for their past but in the future) but it’s definitely something I thought of for their past too

But I never thought of the idea of him being hanged… and it’s so fucking tragic to think about

But like is it before Nightmare’s inevitable corruption or after? As I feel like it’s impossible to even get close to Nightmare after his corruption, so I’m thinking maybe even in the process of him getting corrupted?

Imagine if that is why Nightmare kills his own mother? What if it is out of anger at his mother or even just to save himself? Like he cut the tree down so he wouldn’t suffocate?

What if he has the biggest mark on his neck cause of him being hanged??

And it’s also fascinating how that could change Nightmare’s view on trees for me, I like to think Nightmare finds comfort in trees but if he were to be hanged I think that’ll make trees just a negative trigger for his C-PTSD

[theanonymousclown]

I’ve been re-reading this Psychonauts fic by @magicalmilly and my GOD this scene never fails to make me laugh. Anyway this is my petition to PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE continue this fic it’s been unfinished since 2022 and it was JUST REACHING THE CLIMAX OF PSYCHONAUTS 1-

Anyway the basic plot of the fic is that Milla and Sasha are very concerned about Raz because of what he shares about his family life. High key recommend, Raz gets to apologize for intruding on Milla’s nightmares.

[hajihiko]

Family Business

[wickjump]

xgaster the kind of dad to make sure the tangled movie doesn’t exist in his universe just in case his kids see it and realize something might be up with his choice in parenting style

[stay-pos-cos]

I think that the Supernatural fandom doesn't give Dean Winchester enough credit or hold John Winchester accountable nearly enough. I would argue that John's abuse (mental, emotional and physical) and its constant effect in both boys lives is constantly downplayed by a majority of the fanbase.

The parentification of an elder sibling has been proven to cause lasting issues and we see this throughout the show; when Dean is overly protective of Sam, treats Sam's life as more valuable than his own, can't picture a life where he's not needed, and his dismissal of Sam as a valuable contributor in an equal partnership. Dean is often criticized both in canon and by fans for being overbearing and codependent on Sam. This is a direct result of John Winchester's inability to parent.

Dean's emotional repression is shown to be caused by his father's militant behaviors and approach to parenting. Dean doesn't see his feelings as valid or important and thus turns to repression or unhealthy coping mechanisms as illustrated throughout the show. His alcoholism, violent outbursts, and unhealthy relationship with sex are all coping mechanisms he uses not to feel.

Through flashbacks (and some dialog) the viewer is show that Sam is more resentful towards John than Dean, and that he even holds resentment towards Dean for being the "perfect little soldier".

That's part of the reason Castiel is such a great foil for Dean, both are loyal to absent fathers' but while Dean was born with free will he follows his father's orders unwaveringly until sometime after his death, Cass a being created without free will breaks free of the command of his father and from his father's mission, becoming for all intents and purposes a Prodigal son like Sam.

Dean's adherence to his father's word is, much like Sam's rebellion a response to continued and repeated abuse, neither brother is perfect. And their father was the furthest thing from it.

[diazsdimples]

@hippolotamus and I were bouncing around ideas the other day about Bucktommy gaining custody of Tommy’s younger sibling and it got me thinking. Full credit to Hippo for this idea.

What if Tommy had a much MUCH younger brother (say, 14 years old compared to his 42 years) who he wasn’t allowed to see. Tommy’s parents are Bad Parents, and they abused Tommy his whole childhood, so imagine the gut-wrenching panic he would feel what he finds out that somehow, his mom is pregnant again. The only thing he knows about this kid is his birthday and his name, and that’s it. He itches to meet the kid, to protect him from their parents but he can’t because they forbid him from coming to visit. They cut off all contact with Tommy, and he spends the majority of his 30’s wondering what happened to his brother and if he’s safe.

Fast forward 14 years, Tommy is happily in a relationship with Buck, they’ve moved in together and are contemplating taking the next step in their relationship (💍). Tommy’s happy, happier than he’s been in years. He’s found his family, he’s doing well in his career, he’s in love, life is good. Until one day, he gets a call out of the blue from his lawyer, who tells him that he now has sole custody of one Dillon Kinard. Tommy listens as the lawyer informs him of his parents’ arrest, and how they’re set to be charged with counts of abuse against his brother. As Dillon’s only other relative, he falls into his custody. And Tommy has no clue what to do. Of course, Buck immediately tells him that they’ve got to take the kid in. He sympathises with Dillon (I think his story resonates with Buck a little) and can see the hurt in Tommy’s eyes whenever they talk about the kid. So Dillon comes to live with them and Tommy and Buck get a sudden crash course in parenting a teenager.

Only problem is, Dillon doesn’t want a thing to do with Tommy. He’s spent his whole life hearing about this almost mythical older brother who never came to visit and never one reached out to them. All he knows is Tommy left him, and he hates Tommy for that. Tommy tries to explain that he wasn’t allowed to see him, that he would have killed to lay eyes on the kid just once, to know he was safe, but every step he took to reach out was thwarted by their parents. And Tommy doesn’t know what the fuck to do, but he knows he is going to love this kid and care for him and provide him with the safe, loving home he needed from the day he was born. So every day, he tells Dillon the things Tommy wanted to hear as a teenager. That he’s safe, that’s he’s loved. As Dillon slowly warms up to Buck and Tommy, he sees that Tommy did care. Tommy shows him the letters he wrote Dillon every year on his birthday, and how they got sent back to him every year. Tommy finds that loving Dillon and helping him heals Tommy’s inner child, the kid that had craved nothing but love and his parents’ approval.

Buck though, Buck is stressed. How the heck can he be a good pseudo-parent to his partner’s 14 year old kid brother? He feels like he’s barely old enough to be his father, having only been around 18 when Dillon was born. And Buck’s never been a dad before, he feels so out of his depth, so he pulls away. He doesn’t run, because he can’t leave Tommy, but he retreats into himself a little bit as he tries to process everything. And that hurts Tommy, because right now he needs his partner’s support, and he feels as though he doesn’t have it. Tommy thinks Buck doesn’t want Dillon in their lives and that hurts more than anything. They have an argument about it, and Buck gets so frustrated because he can’t explain what he’s meaning and he knows he’s hurt Tommy, so he runs to Eddie and begs his best friend to help.

Eddie immediately goes about talking some sense into Buck. He sits him down, listens to Buck rant and ramble about how he’s not good enough, and how he’s going to fuck everything up, and how he doesn’t know how to be a dad. And when he’s done, Eddie very very patiently explains to Buck that he is, in fact, a father. That he’s been a dad to Chris for over half the kid’s life now, that he’s loved his son unconditionally. And that he knows Buck loves Dillon just as much. He contemplates roping Chris in to back him up but figures he should probably leave the kid out of it. Instead, he lets Buck cry, gives him some water and some food, and then frog marches him back to his and Tommy’s home, where he sits the two men down and gets them to actually talk to each other, goddammit.

Tommy and Buck might not be perfect parents, and they’re not going to get everything right all the time, but they’re a damn sight better than Tommy and Dillon’s parents, and that’s all that matters. And sure, the 3 of them have difficult days as Dillon pushes boundaries and is just a typical teenager, but at the end of the day, they love each other and they want happiness for their kid.

[14dayswithyou]

I don't understand why didn't Rendacted approach our MC sooner? Like if he'd been obsessed with them for MORE THAN A DECADE(?like since the ring incident?) he could as well just try to befriend them or ask them out many many times earlier.... What made him go "THATS IT! I'LL FINALLY ASK THEM OUT!! TODAY!!!"?

✦゜ANSWERED: I've explained this before, but Ren had an extremely horrible childhood growing up, and formed an inferiority complex because of his father >.< After the ring incident, he didn't feel adequate enough to approach Angel again for a long while.

I've also mentioned before that Ren has tried multiple times to talk to Angel throughout his life, but none of his personas were perfect enough to really stand out to them. His Haruko persona was the first time Angel actually noticed him and paid full attention.

Also! It's just a silly lil fantasy game, so sometimes you don't need logic lmao

[intothedysphoria]

Going from a social outcast to seemingly universally desired was a change that Billy found himself sorely lacking the capacity to deal with.

It felt like barely a year ago he was just the fat kid with the asshole dad. The kid who was more comfortable speaking Irish than English. The weird kid who couldn’t sit still in class and had “outbursts” that would leave a classroom completely overturned.

Now he’d lost weight (not by choice), had to speak English if he didn’t want to be uprooted for a third time and was supposedly taking his adderall post ADHD diagnosis. Neil was still an asshole but that would never change.

He was desirable now. A hot commodity. Had the approval of everyone apart from his own fucking dad.

In short, Billy was absolutely miserable.

He missed California a lot. He missed Belfast even more. He missed being fat. He missed his mam and grandad. He missed everything.

Showing any signs of weakness was how it started though. So Billy did what he always did. He adapted.

Harrington was weird. Taking the crown from him was almost too easy. For all the talk he’d been fed about King Steve, what Billy got was a teenager who couldn’t make eye contact, spent an hour reading two pages of a textbook and walked like a penguin when nobody was watching.

Good thing Billy didn’t mind weird.

The usual taunts didn’t really work. All it really achieved was getting Harrington flat on his back on the gym floor and that got Billy thinking about sex which wasn’t helpful.

Harrington just stared up at him with these big startled eyes. Like a damn deer. The pointed star he wore around his neck swayed as Billy let him up. Jewish maybe. Billy felt his hand unconsciously drift down towards his own pendant, the one his granny had given him.

The one that would help him find his way back home.

They fought within a week. Arsehole had Max holed up in a strangers house. It made Billy’s skin crawl just thinking about it. Especially after having to flirt with Karen Wheeler just to get any answers, All he could remember was that he was winning then the world started going black.

When he woke up there was a dead something in the fridge. He probably hadn’t woken up at all then. His body took that hint as a sign to collapse again.

He woke up again. A small woman with mousy brown hair and a nervous tic was cooking. Billy could hear The Clash drifting from another room. Christmas lights were scattered across the wall. It was the first place in Hawkins that had actually felt like home.

The woman’s name was Joyce. The house he’d found Harrington and Max and the nightmare in had been her house. She was dressed practically and smelled like paint and reminded him so much of his own mam that his heart hurt.

She was a good cook. The soup wasn’t like anything he’d ate before, probably Polish but it was fantastic. She asked if he wanted to stay the night. He said no.

Neil would be waiting. He always was.

Neil had burned the damn book. The one Billy had wrote when he was seven, colouring all the words in orange and white and green. It hurt more than any punch every could have.

He was under house arrest again. Only let out when Max needed a fucking taxi to a Christmas dance. Harrington was a couple of cars away, fussing over a boy of about thirteen who could have been his younger brother.

They weren’t biologically brothers. But Henderson was his cousin. So they were in spirit. Those were some of the things Billy learned from a few strained sentences of conversation.

He apologised in a way so Billy reluctantly returned one. Apparently he hadn’t realised how fucking dodgy he’d looked with Max.

Billy was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Neil kicked him out of the house on Christmas Day for hanging an Irish flag on his door. Billy went to the Byers. Joyce’s family didn’t exactly celebrate Christmas but she still gave him a present.

She gave him gorgeous Polish cakes which were fucking delicious and some of Jonathan’s old vinyls which he didn’t listen to anymore.

That day Billy discovered The Specials and tucked the vinyl under his weed stash in the Camaro boot. Somewhere Neil would never think to look.

Harrington was tolerable after Christmas break. Tolerable in an infuriating way because Billy still wanted to fuck him. The queerness wasn’t something he’d told anyone about though apart from Patrick McKinney so he kept those thoughts to himself.

He spent more time at the Byers, learned what Shabbat was, came out to Joyce in a flood of tears, kissed Harrington, wrote a letter back to Ireland for the first time in two years and made a plan to get the hell out of Hawkins Indiana.

Harrington managed to pass high school with a lot of bribery and tutoring and kissing at his place. Jesus but Harringtons house was a bloody mansion. Billy had spent his first eight years in a terraced shared accommodation where his entire extended family had lived. Harrington had five bathrooms and his own television. Not even in black and white.

Billy got his predicted mix of A’s and B’s so he was happy and spent most of the weekend post graduation floating on his back in the Harrington pool, beer in hand. He couldn’t afford to slack off completely though. So he got a summer job.

Working at the community pool was fine. As long as Billy didn’t think about the middle aged women staring at him like a piece of meat. Fucking perverts. Heather was fun though. Funny. The only lesbian he’d met in Hawkins apart from Buckley.

Neil had started acting even weirder than usual after a night Billy had slept over at his boyfriends. He’d taken to ice baths and Billy swore he’d seen the man drinking bleach. Ugh.

Max was pretty obviously freaked out though so Billy slowly phased her into spending most nights at the Byers or the Sinclairs or Steve’s. Susan wouldn’t budge. Something in Billy’s chest felt a bit sick about that.

The Fourth of July they were in the mall, the one Steve worked at. Something even more hellish than the thing in the fridge stood above them. And Neil just stood by with blank, hateful eyes and let it happen.

He died. Billy killed him. Stabbed him in the chest then the monster went away.

Steve was gripping his shoulders as he stood there, Neil’s blood on his jacket and he cried.

Susan left.

Social services took Max. Billy cried a lot that day. She was living with some family in Michigan. They promised to keep in touch.

Billy went to therapy twice a week. A guy from County Mayo who Billy trusted immediately.

There was no point really in Joyce adopting him as he was over eighteen. Besides she didn’t need to. Billy knew who his family were.

A letter came back from Belfast. Inviting both him and Steve back to his grandparents house. Steve had never left the US, had never really left the Midwest actually. Billy wanted to show him everything.

The years went by and Billy regained weight. He stopped speaking English as much and was determined to teach Steve Irish. He still sometimes forgot to take his adderall and had awful nightmares but Steve was there to make it better.

He was alive. And life was pretty ok.

[stardustdiiving]

I’m so deeply sorry to Childe fans who understand his mental illness(TM) the way ppl talk his #issues stresses me out SO much. They don’t GET it. like idk even when ppl misunderstand say Xiao or Scaramouche I feel there’s generally an understanding of the severity of their emotional baggage and how that impacts them as characters. However unfortunately Childe seems to have completely dissociated from the concept of his own trauma and thinks he’s just a little silly sometimes and everyone has FALLEN for it .

Do NOT let him fool you. That freaking white boy got dropped into a hole when he was 14 and was molded into a child soldier and weapon of violence who twisted his terror of being a child in literal hell into loving the thrill of violence and combat with the strangled remains of his childhood innocence so he could survive. Ok. Everytime I talk to him he starts dropping casual passing comments about how he loves being used as a weapon instead of being a person and how he loves compartmentalizing his sense of identity like he’s doing nothing but playing a good imitation of himself/Ajax/Tartaglia/etc in the middle of our mundane conversation, and I don’t even think he’s aware of the implications of this. You have got to help me

[sage-thee-herbmaster]

Proof that minors are being groomed by PRATS.

This user thinks that the age of consent should be abolished, and that children of any age should be allowed to be in sexual relationships with adults and thinks you can’t be youth lib if you disagree with this. Everyone with a brain knows that, yes, pubescent minors can consent, TO EACH OTHER.

There’s nothing wrong with teenagers having sex, but it’s not healthy for them mentally, to engage in sexual relationship with grown ass adults even if it’s “consensual” as the consent that teenagers give to adults is usually the result of prior grooming (I should know because that happened with me) and there’s countless reliable studies and victim word of mouth recounts proving this.

Children can’t consent to adults, simple as that and hope that “AAM” radqueers realise this and get help.

This account also thinks that “cracker” is just as bad as a slur for white people as the n-word is for black people even though cracker doesn’t have the horrible history behind it like the n-word does, so yeah there’s that…

Conclusion: Radqueers are groomers, pass it on.

[signanothername]

After seeing what you thought about the "dadmare" trope, I got a little curious and wanted to know your thoughts on shipkids. Like even if you don't know them all, just Nightmare having children as a concept, I want to know your thoughtssss.

Personally I had this whole spiel about Nm kind of being a manipulative parent that uses different types of manipulative tactics to get his kids to compete with one another. Just like- a way of getting them to spread negative for his own benefit. It's a lot to describe atm but that's the short of it hehe-

Tbh ship kids aren’t my thing, like I don’t hate them, just neutral on them, I don’t find them interesting shshhshs

And as for Nightmare, god forbid he actually becomes a parent dbdhhdhd, this bitch is way too emotionally immature for that to do well with kids

Like tbh my thoughts on this topic are complicated???

But in general, I don’t see Nightmare as a parent, like at all, he doesn’t strike me as someone who wants to have kids or start a family of his own, he’s literally a semi-god, self proclaimed king of negativity in the entire multiverse, extremely powerful and literally immortal, what would having kids add to him?

Like I think it’s an important question to ask: why would Nightmare want, let alone have, kids of his own?

Spreading negativity? He has 3 slaves for that, he can even do it himself thank you

A Familly? He already has a headache inducing twin, that’s one too many

A heir? Heir for what? He’s immortal, and his possessions and power belong to him, and he doesn’t intend on sharing or entrusting it to anyone else (not that anyone deserves to in his eyes in the first place, not even his own family and blood)

Nightmare sees no benefit in having kids, cons more than pros, they add nothing to him, but take so much away, effort and time and resources that he doesn’t intend on wasting in the first place

Like, even if it added anything to him, Nightmare’s just not the kinda person who even wants kids, he isn’t in the mood to pay attention to a weak pathetic child that couldn’t survive on its own

That being said, if he did become a parent, then he’s definitely not gonna be a good one, he’d be neglecting at best, and extremely abusive mentally, emotionally and even physically, at worst

Like believe me when i say that an animal has wayyyyyy better chances around Nightmare than a kid does (and that says a lot when it comes to Nightmare)

Nightmare never had an actual active parent in his own life, and the closest he had to a parent figure, was literally a tree, Nightmare’s too ignorant on the subject of parenting and was super neglected as a child himself to truly understand how to take care of his own

Like why would he become a parent when he doesn’t even fathom the prospect of being one?

Like the closest thing I can imagine Nightmare doing when it comes to parents/parenting, is read books regarding that, not to take care of his would never exist children but cause he’s curious, only to realize “huh, parents are supposed to hold you close and kiss you and encourage/ support and love you??? Sure mother would’ve done that had she been able to, surely she loved us as much as this book speaks of”

Hell, i’d say if Nightmare had a child, it’ll be completely accidental than an actual want/ decision on his part, and a horrifying one to him at that, like I can see Nightmare genuinely freaking out at the prospect of a child of his own, but not in the sense of “oh I don’t know how to be a parent, how shall I take care of you little one?” And more “I never wanted you in the first place why do you exist? You sure as hell would never belong to me” He’d literally abandon them, if he didn’t just immediately kill them

Not to mention, I don’t think Nightmare has the patience to deal with children generally, he barely tolerates the 3 adults living under his own roof

Yeah, Nightmare and children don’t mix well, keep them separated chchhc

He will hold no love or any attachment to his supposed kids, they will not even be in his radar

Does that mean I believe that Nightmare is incapable of love? No, I believe Nightmare is cable of genuine love in general and is absolutely capable of loving people, he loves his twin after all (even when he’s in denial of it)

It’s just that he’s way to blind to that love that settles within him, he’s too stubborn and too afraid, too in denial, and he stomps on any semblance of love, kindness and compassion he has cause he believes it’s irrational, that it’ll get him killed

Plus no one showed him any love, why should he? Not that Nightmare himself believes he’s capable of love, with the hatred consuming his soul, and with how he never truly developed any true love for anyone other than his twin, Nightmare fully believes he’s completely incapable of love

And so he still hurts the people he loves, he still hurts Dream, and he doesn’t hold much guilt for it, he enjoys it even, a sort of sick satisfaction at seeing those who are weaker than him groveling at his feet, a deep rooted hatred that overshadows that love inside him, he’s sadistic and crule and full of hate as much as he’s full of love

His love for someone doesn’t mean they’re safe from him, Nightmare’s better to deal with in a business manner than an emotional one (even when he’s a being that acts on emotion than brain)

Anyone has better chances of being safe from Nightmare if they make a deal with him and somehow convince him to agree on the terms in which they are safe from him in exchange for something he wants, than if they simply rely on his love for them

Cause Nightmare’s hatred always wins against his love, but Nightmare’s fair when it comes to holding his end of the bargain, he doesn’t appreciate deal breakers and it’s beneath him to do so, as long as the other party holds their end, he’ll hold his

In conclusion, keep kids away from this bitch xbbxbxbx

[dubiousdisco]

they should have burned lionel luthor at the stake

[tarucore]

screenshotting this one bc I can acknowledge that I’ve got shipper goggles on and op isn’t about that life which is fair but

I feel like batfam fans misunderstand the term parentification a lot and conflate it with Dick filling a parental role for his siblings, which might be part of the “oldest daughter syndrome” that’s so often pinned on him but that isn’t what parentification actually means

If I say that Dick Grayson was parentified, then that isn’t referring to him taking care of his siblings, it refers to the way Bruce treated him. As someone capable of taking care of his emotional needs and not as the child in need of care in the relationship

Parentification is a term that’s been around for decades, and while having to care for younger siblings might be a part of the definition, it focuses mostly on the role reversal of the parent-child dynamic. I’m not going to get into the psychology of it but being parentified has very little to do with if he actually acted as a parent for his siblings and everything to do with if he acted as a parent for Bruce

This is honestly why I prefer the term spouseification, which is less ambiguous than the term parentification and I feel accurately describes their “equal” relationship and the type of emotional abuse that Dick went through

Also from what I’ve read, Dick doesn’t act as a parental figure for any of his siblings except for Damian. While he might have given extra emotional support to Tim due to Bruce being Bruce, Dick still fits solidly into an older brother role. I’m not even going to touch on Dick’s relationship with Jason which is too weak to even be considered fraternal never mind parental