#obligatory parental responsibility

[ghostly-wisteria-tea]

Joke/Crack Headcannon

One of the reason MCU Khonshu refuses to officially address 616 Marc or 616 Badr as "sons", is because by the Traditional Ennead law of his universe, he will have to pay what is essentially child support covering their entire lives, allowance, medical/hospital bills, living conditions and funeral.

He calls himself their boss, never father simply to avoid the taxes. Because even a god can't avoid taxes, the Egyptian pantheon is bureaucratic like that.

MCU Khonshu is also broke to the bone AND has a gambling addiction, as well as impulsive buying on food. He can barely pay to take care of himself, keeps getting gigs just to buy food and would occasionally eat from the dumpster. He can't afford to take care of 2 fully grown adults he ended up "inheriting" from his 616 counterparts.

MCU Khonshu also recognizes Steven and Jake as separate people and a package deal with Marc. So, for him, it would be 4 fully grown adults. 3 of which share a body. Steven and Jake have their own lives, so they are to be paid equally with Marc.

I did my research and in a general term, one kid will have to be paid 400 USD a month. So, with 4 "kids" that would be 1,600 USD a month. With interest due to how overdo it is, and the missing birthday gifts for all of them.

[skay-ali]

The Forgotten Daughter

Well let Troy burn.

Jajaja, I don't speak fluent English, but I can still write in English, even so I try to make my wish of writing about this neglected au yandere character possible.

Don't judge me I'm trying my best.

Prologue

You were born from an adventure, you are a bastard, your father never recognized you, you never knew about him until fate forced you to meet him.

For as long as you can remember, you lived with your mother, they were the happiest days you ever had.

Why the words "those were the happiest days", well your mother died in a car accident one day.

You were left alone when your beloved mother died, you remember being scared at the thought that you were now an orphan and would have to struggle in this cruel world to survive.

That would have been a hundred times better than what actually happened.

No, your destiny was to go live with your unknown father.

The famous Bruce Wayne, a Gotham City millionaire, philanthropist, playboy and owner of Wayne Industries.

Suffice it to say that your welcome was not the best, along with the lack of attention from your new father, to know what awaited you.

You were his first daughter, before he filled the house with many wild children who became vigilantes just like him.

You saw how a new child arrived with the passing years.

He guided them on their path with wisdom and something that could be described as fatherly affection.

You just stood on the sidelines waiting your turn to have a little bit of your father's attention.

That was never possible, there was never time for you, no matter how hard you tried, you were not important, you were not on his list of priorities, not even on the list of pending things.

You only had a butler as a responsible adult figure, no matter how much you want to say that it was enough to have him, it wasn't.

He reminded you that your father didn't even have any interest in you that his butler had to take care of you.

You gave up on this family with the third adopted child.

None of them wanted to hear from you when you tried to build a relationship with them, something that added insult to injury you already had.

You were an adult when the third son Tim appeared, you didn't learn anything from them except for his name, partly because you weren't interested in his past and partly because none of them wanted to share it, because they would do it with a completely unknown and disadvantaged girl.

As soon as you had the opportunity, you fled the mansion, maybe no one would notice, you were very sure.

You had money, your mother had insurance, which would pass into your hands when you came of age.

With that you survived at the university, of course you went to another city, safer and far from your family.

You wouldn't be so stupid to stay in y our already proclaimed city.

Your college years were healing for your broken heart, filled with sadness, hate and pain.

Being neglected, ignored and forgotten was very destructive to your life.

You went to a lot of parties, you drank a lot, you took a lot of substances and powders of dubious origin to numb your feelings, you met a lot of people, you made friends who had problems similar to yours.

Shitty parents who screwed up your life.

If your stay in that house caused you episodes of depression, low self-esteem and constant anxiety that caused you to mutilate your nails.

Over the years away from that place that you had to call home, you recovered from all your self-destructive feelings along with the people you met and had the honor of calling friends, brothers and family.

You graduated without complications, in the career that you always dreamed of following since you were little.

At one of the parties with your friends, when they were celebrating the entry into the hateful but obligatory world of work for you and one of your friends, you met a boy, his appearance caught your attention.

When you started talking to him, you hit it off very well, you danced a lot on the floor together, you drank like there was no tomorrow and you talked until you were hoarse.

In a moment of conversation between the two, he confessed that he was a hero, something that you took as a joke, because who would confess it to a complete stranger.

You didn't take into account that it could be true, a confession that the man said because he was super drunk.

You woke up in an unknown place, as soon as you recovered you fled the place, it was easy because the man you remembered coming to this place with had already left long before you woke up.

You continued your life normally, some stumbles and falls but nothing extreme that you couldn't resolve.

At least that's what you thought, until you saw a dark-skinned boy, with black hair, with green eyes and a terrifying unfriendly face, outside your house knocking on the door.

His appearance was very easy to spot, you had a vague idea of who he was.

If you had known that his presence would turn your world upside down, you would have thought better of it.

[puimoo]

Some thoughts on Dick's parents, away from the rose-tinted glasses.

[Obligatory ‘new to comic canon’ warning!]

I was working on writing up my thoughts on young!Dick in general, when I kept getting stuck in my thoughts around how there are particular personality traits he likely already possessed before coming into Bruce’s care. This led me down the Grayson family route, which is always interesting. In everything I have consumed so far, this is always portrayed as a very loving relationship that hasn’t really been explored in much depth in canon. Which leads me to…

I completely understand why Dick loves his parents so deeply and don’t doubt at all that they loved him, but there is also this interesting selfishness with them that I find difficult to ignore.  I can’t help but keep coming back to this: they included Dick in an act where they chose not to have a net.  A position where, if he makes a mistake, it could mean his death or (probably worse for Dick) the death of his parents. This isn’t a situation that occurred out of necessity, his parents chose to do this: they could have chosen to use a net when they started involving Dick in their act, but they didn’t.  They could have chosen to wait until Dick was older and more able to make a call about what risks he could and couldn’t take, but they didn’t.  When the options were to adapt their act to protect their son or to keep it as they wanted to, they chose the latter – and I would say because the act wouldn’t be the same if they did.  I very much doubt it’s because they didn’t realise the risk involved, and rather that it wasn’t enough to get them to make changes. 

And so, you have an 8-year-old Dick Grayson who has likely been training for years under the knowledge that if he doesn’t get things perfect – if he makes a mistake – he and his parents could/would die (and it would be his fault).  You have an 8-year-old Dick whose parents are willing to risk his well-being for the ‘greater good’, and he sees this as normal – this is how families are, the payoff is worth it. You have an 8-year-old Dick who likely doesn’t value his own life quite as much as he probably should, because his parents didn’t exactly appear to, either.  You have an 8-year-old Dick Grayson dealing with adult responsibilities and adult consequences. 

This is all drummed into Dick at some level before Bruce even enters the picture. It helps explain why young!Dick struggles to understand why he shouldn’t be able to fight at Bruce’s side – his parents included him in situations that could (and did) turn deadly, and they didn’t feel the need to include a physical or metaphorical safety net.  This is going to sound really harsh, but I think it’s also kind of true: they didn’t value Dick enough to. The act was more important, and the show must go on.

I don’t doubt at all that his parents loved him.  In some ways, it’s even worse that this comes from a place where there is likely love because it gets as deeply ingrained as those healthier, positive parental elements.  However. There is an interesting prioritising of their act over Dick, and I’d love to see this explored more.  Less the perfect, untouchable parents and more the actually somewhat morally grey parents who had both a positive and negative impact on their son.

(or: we really throw the cat amongst the pigeons and hypothesize that the reason they don't use a net with Dick is because it is part of his preparation for the Court of Owls, but that is not simply taking off the rosy glasses but smashing them completely!)

[ifindus]

since you seem to know a lot of history, I was wondering if you could tell us a little more about norway and his role during ww2, I feel like not a lot of people talk about his importance as an ally.

Let's pretend this wasn't sent back in November! Of course I can!!And "a little" turned into a decent amount 😳

Norway declared itself neutral when the war started in 1939, but became occupied by Germany in April 1940. Throughout the war Norway played an important role helping the allies win. Note that there is also a lot to be said about Norwegian collaboration with the occupiers during these years as well, but that is not the topic of this post.

During the war Norway had both a military and a civil resistance movement. The civil movement was directed towards NS (Nasjonal Samling, the Norwegian nazi party and the only party allowed during these years) attempts at converting people to nazism, while the military resistance were building an underground army who were prepared to step in for the liberation and who also organized sabotages during the last year.

Norway’s government went into exile in London, and was in large responsible for Norway’s war effort and resistance. They took control of the Norwegian merchant ships and put it at the allies disposal, probably Norway’s most important asset and contribution to the war effort. The Norwegian marine and air-force also partook in operations along the Allies, and a Norwegian brigade was organized in Scotland, who were to partake in the final liberation of Norway.

The exiled government had an extensive running contact with the growing resistance back home in Norway, and could gradually provide the resistance with supplies and other support. Soldiers from the Scottish base were sent on missions to aid the resistance in Norway and conduct sabotages.

There as also a base for Norwegian resistance established in Stockholm, who were eventually allowed by the Swedish government to form a military force of 14 500 people under disguise of being police. About 50 000 Norwegians fled to Sweden during the war, and many Norwegians in the border areas aided them as guides over the mountains through difficult and secret passages – they also smuggled goods and supplies through the same routes.

The civil resistance was not exclusively organized, but included everyone who was not a nazi and could be as simple as civil disobedience. Teachers, parents, and priests opposed the effort to convert the youth to nazism by the NS through forced nazi curriculums in schools and obligatory youth service. Other examples of civil resistance were Norwegian workers sabotaging or not even doing the bare minimum at the jobs in factories for the Germans, and the publishing of illegal news-papers which were spread by people handing them to the next person. The most famous illegal news-paper was London-Nytt (London News), and were just Norwegian translations of BBC broadcasts transcribed directly from illegal radios.

The military resistance was known as MILORG, and this secret group had its peak in the last year of the war. This was when they began receiving guns, military equipment and professionals. During the last year they carried out assassinations and sabotages to a much more effective and extensive degree. MILORG was taking orders from the Norwegian military in London and coordinating with them, passing vital information back and forth.

When the Second World War began, Norway was the world’s fourth largest shipping nation, after Great Britain, USA, and Japan, with the Norwegian fleet being the most modern. When Norway was occupied and the Germans demanded Norwegian ships return to Norwegian ports, all of the around 1 000 ships set sail for Allied ports. The Norwegian government in exile commanded all Norwegian ships sail for securing supplies for Norway and the Allies. The ships supplied Great Britain with invaluable wares such as food and oil, and kept up the transatlantic trade during the war. The Norwegian sailors were also present at evacuations and invasions of occupied France and fascist Italy, North-Africa, and Normandy in 1944. The Norwegian ships were under constant attack from the German fleet and many sailors lost their lives transporting for the Allies, most of them working continuously for the five years Norway was at war. Almost half of Norway’s fallen during the war were sailors killed at sea.

[diazsdimples]

Wasn’t sure how mean I was gonna be today but I can’t resist Alfie do lots of Alfie sentences please and thank you 😘💜

👨‍🍼 👨‍🍼 👨‍🍼 👨‍🍼 👨‍🍼 👨‍🍼 👨‍🍼 👨‍🍼 👨‍🍼 👨‍🍼 👨‍🍼 👨‍🍼

And one more for luck:

👨‍🍼

Here’s the old Alfie art for motivation 💜

39 Alfie sentences!!! Your wish is, as always, my command. And I LOVE the Alfie art, thank you so much 🥺 you get two bonus sentences for that 😊

“Anyways!” he interjects before either of them can come up with another reason to roast him. “Tommy and I actually had reason behind coming and finding you.” “Ah, are you looking for sage advice from your elder? What can I help you two with?” Bobby sets down the tea towel he’d been holding and places both hands on the counter, an expectant but friendly look on his face. “Well actually, we more wanted to ask something of you,” Tommy explains. “Or, Evan did.” Bobby’s gaze settles on Buck, and he swallows thickly. It really shouldn’t be this nerve-wracking to ask this of Bobby, considering everything they’ve been though together, but in all of these years, neither of them have ever put words to this dynamic between. Everyone else in the station has been happy to – muttering “father and son” at least once a week – but it’s not something either Buck or Bobby have openly acknowledged. Until now, at least. “Tommy and I, uh, we realised the other day that Alfie doesn’t really have any grandparents near him. I’m not really in contact with Mom and Dad these days, and Tommy obviously hasn’t spoken to his parents in years.” Buck watches as Bobby’s expression changes, initially his brows furrowed inquisitively before smoothing out as a look of understanding passes over him. Like he knows where this is going. Buck takes a step back, searching for Tommy’s hand. As their fingers lace together, he feels his anxiety seep from him, strength taken from his husband’s presence. “S-so we were – we were hoping that maybe – if it’s okay with you guys of course – th-that you and Athena could be like his grandparents? If you’d be comfortable with that?” The words are barely out of Buck’s mouth before Bobby’s arms are around him, pulling him into a tight hug. He can feel Bobby’s fingers digging into the meat of his shoulders as he clutches Buck to him, as though he’s afraid he’ll disappear. He’s released almost as quickly, but Bobby keeps a hand on his shoulder. There are tears in his eyes, mirroring the ones threatening to spill in Buck’s own, and Bobby reaches up to wipe them away before speaking. “I would be honoured to. Honestly, you two have no idea how much that means to me, and how much I’m sure it’ll mean to Athena. We both love that little boy so much, and you two as well. It means the world that you asked.” “Well we figured, what with all the jokes about you being like Evan’s father, that we’d make you officially Alfie’s grandpa. Seems like the least we could do to repay everything you’ve done for us,” Tommy says, his hand settling on the small of Buck’s back. Bobby laughs wetly, taking another swipe at his eyes. “Yeah well, someone had to parent that kid. You should have seen him back then, Tommy.” “Oh, I’ve heard the stories.” Tommy smirks and he presses a cheeky kiss to Buck’s temple. Buck curls into Tommy, resting his head against Tommy’s shoulder. He feels light and floaty, the relief that had surged through him after Bobby’s response akin to helium. He’s about to open his mouth to thank Bobby when Jee comes barrelling into the kitchen, all limbs and pre-schooler excitement. “UNCLE BUCK!” she yells, launching herself at him, and he catches her around the middle, hoisting her up into his arms. “Daddy says to tell you guys to get your lazy asses into the lounge so we can open presents!” “That is not what I said!” Chimney yells from the lounge, and Jee covers her mouth with her hand, letting out a little giggle. “Yes it is,” she whispers conspiratorially in Buck’s ear. “But he told me to say it nicer.”

obligatory @hippolotamus tag

Make Me Write!!!

[cursedtransby]

Ryoshu and Sinclair, Mother and Child

As I've mentioned in this post, Ryoshu and Sinclair have an interesting dynamic that has been played with for a long time now, and this is the followup post that mostly focuses on Ryoshu's perspective and actions. Obligatory Spoiler Warning for all of Limbus.

As I've discussed, Ryoshu doesn't exactly start off friendly with people. It's something shown with how she callously murders Heathcliff and Ishmael at the start of Canto I, but she ties Outis in being distrustful of those around her. She's hyper aware of betrayal (I wonder why) and the most she does for sympathy at first is give Greg a cig at the end of Canto I.

However, She's one of the sinners who comes to Sinclair's aid during Canto III, and while this canto is arguably one of the biggest for sinner development, it's a massive one for knowing that Ryoshu does in fact have her ways of caring for those she considers close to herself.

In terms of her parenting, we've seen so far that Ryoshu is arguably a girldad. She's gruff and offputting, but deep down shows that she cares for others, mostly through forms that aren't outright telling the person that she cares for them.

One of these forms is through 'tough love'. Tough love is a technique that's popular among father units and those that want to toughen up those they love, and while I'd argue it's efficacy until the cows come home...it seems effective for Sinclair, who is someone that is learning to express his aggression and determination more profoundly.

The last one is extremely important to me because it shows another quirk of hers. Her single "heh" one offs that are fairly uncommon. She's only said it directly in response to two other sinners' jokes besides Sinclair, in fact.

Gregor, her smoking buddy, and the sinner she has a whole identity based around caring for. Her giving Sinclair a laugh then takes on a whole new meaning. It's a dad snort of approval, in essence, and shows that she does in fact care a lot for the rest of the sinners and their 'comedy'.

The other major way I see her caring for individuals is the physical. We see it manifest in a couple different ways, most prominently in relation to her lob corp identity with Yi Sang

Ryoshu in this world takes on a similar vein of protection to her team that she does as Edgar Family head does, outright telling Yi Sang he's safest with the group and that she'll be the sole reinforcement for Training Team's group. She isn't the Safety Team Captain for nothing!

All of this is to say that Ryoshu cares for Sinclair like a kid. While it might be born of some guilt from her previous life, it's clear it's transcended to more. Like a child looking for approval from using one of their parent's fancy swears, Sinclair is willing to perform violence for those he trusts, and Ryoshu is more than happy to give him credit for it. All I'm waiting for now is a mirror world where the two are linked in some way.

Obligatory thanks to @lu-is-not-ok and @ryoshudoodles for inspiring my posts about the funny yet depressing murderer mom.

[suzukiblu]

WIP excerpt for miri_tiazan; obligatory sugar baby Kon. ( + non-chrono link for mobile users )

“You–are?” An odd expression flickers across Suzie's face, and he's not sure what it means, but then she smiles brightly. “Oh, um–congratulations! That's–great, yeah! Is she . . . nice?” 

“Not even slightly,” Tim says wryly. 

“. . . is she a supervillain?” Suzie asks, looking a little worried.

Tim doesn't even want to know where she got that idea. Maybe he's giving off the fifteen-year-plan vibes a little too early again, though. 

He's really gotta work on that. 

“No,” he says, shaking his head. “She's just a stubborn, arrogant brat with a bad temper and enough attitude to power half of Gotham. And kind of an attention whore, too.” 

“And you’re dating . . . someone who’s not nice?” Suzie says, frowning in confusion. Admittedly, Tim could’ve made that sound better. And Suzie’s still a little confused about . . . literally everything, sometimes, so it’s not like he can blame her for being confused about him kind of insulting someone he’s dating. He doesn’t mean any of it insultingly, just as statements of fact, but . . . well . . . 

“Yeah,” he says, pretending to check a few more connections. “She's really cool, actually. I mean–people are complicated, obviously. She's all that other stuff, but she's also brave and determined and she wants to help people. Like, you know–just with her life, I mean.” 

“Oh, like, um–us?” Suzie says, biting her lip again. “Is she a vigilante too?” 

“No,” Tim says, because technically a superhero is a different thing from a vigilante. Barely, but still. He’ll ride that technicality all the way to the bank, if he’s gotta. “I can’t really tell you anything specific about her, sorry, just–”

“Secret identity thing, yeah,” Suzie says, looking a little sad for a moment. Tim feels bad about it, a little. Suzie doesn’t even have an identity, secret or not. Like–“Suzie” isn’t really her name, it’s just a hand-me-down from Cissie, and she got it even more recently than Kon got “Kon”. Not much more recently–which, considering how long Kon’s been in the community and how long Suzie’s been in the community is a goddamn crime, in Tim’s opinion, especially since Kon’s been a public figure from day one and Suzie is literally a secret–but still more recently. 

“Yeah,” Tim says, and gives her an apologetic smile. “Sorry.” 

“It’s okay,” Suzie says. “I understand. If, um, I had a family to protect, or anything like that . . .” 

She trails off, then looks embarrassed. Tim feels increasingly like an asshole. 

“Robin is my responsibility,” he says. “Not anyone else’s. It’s not fair to drag other people into my secrets.” 

His dad . . . he doesn’t even know how his dad would react to this, really. He’s Robin because it’s necessary, and one day he’ll be a supervillain because it’s necessary, but he doesn’t have any intention of ever actually telling his dad about either of those things, even once Bruce is dead. It just seems . . . unwise, maybe. 

Or really, really stupid, maybe. 

Also, really awkward as a conversation to start. “Hey, Dad, three guesses how bad you were at parental supervision when I was growing up, and the answers are definitely all illegal . . . ?” 

Definitely awkward, yeah.

[jimmy-tulparco-pilot]

any tips for writing a character with NPD?

Actually, yes! but i think the main thing is doing research, and when i say research, i mean from books written by psychologists and psychiatrists, and obviously reports from people who have the disorder and victims of people who have NPD.

But i think the most important thing for this is to remember, people with mental disorders are humans, and so on they shouldn't be villanized, NPD is a neutodivergency, that is mostly advent from trauma, specially related parenting, usually neglectful and narcissistic parents(not necessarily NPD parents) creates Narcisistic adults, there's a lot of books of how victims of narcissistic parents survived their childhood.

Another thing that i find very important is corelate comportament, someone with NPD has usually (since its a disorder its not obligatory for them to have that and people can react to it different) this caracteristics:

they always either put themselves up or victimised themself towards other people in an attempt to get an upper hand.

They tend to be manipulative to exactly bring someone and sometimes even themself that they are not to blame about anything, evwn if it is their blame they usually has this tendency to gaslight people.

People with NPD have a hard time taking responsability, they are scared of consequences and the idea of being wrong and breaking theirs mask of perfection is very hurtful to them. They feel the need to be right so they have a hard time even apologizing even when they regret and remorse and feel guilty and the idea of it can even lead to aggression and impulsive thinking. Being discovered is a big thing for them.

now a bit of a lower area, narcisistic people tend to have lowself eesteem and even if thats contradictory thats what tends to happen, the kid that was never reaffirmat2d by their parents, no matter how hard they tried to be good or better or the best will do anything to not feel that again, they live in a fantasy world where they are better and they NEED to be better and not reqching that is so hurtful that can lead to even self harm (ive seen it happen even) and i mean it as in both the grandiose and Vulnerable narcissist. Even if the grandiose makes it mess obvious.

now just out of definition:

Narcissism refers to a personality style typically characterized by a pervasive pattern of self-centeredness, an excessive need for admiration and attention, and a lack of empathy for others.

it has two subtypes usually that is the vulnerable narcissist and the Grandiose narcissist

While narcissists typically exhibit grandiosity, arrogance, and a sense of superiority, vulnerable narcissists manifest these traits in a more subdued, insecure, and sensitive manner – to write one you need to undertand them and specially understand that NPD is a sickness the persons brain works in a different way and yes they will be mean, they will be arrogant, they will be awful and a asshole and you need to be delicate when approaching this topic specially to not just give a sense of he is **Just** awful. The struggle is important to be shown too, either way this is just my experience. im not a professional just a person who reaaally likes to study lol

I've dealt with a lot of narcissistic people, my auntie has undiagnosed NPD, my mom is narcisistic and i have a friend who has Diagnosed NPD and i find it very valuable how people evolvd through it. Anyway! hope that was of any help take care

(If i was offensive or wrote something you think it was wrong or mean please leave a comment i dont mind CONSTRUCTIVE criticism)

[nebuladreamerrr]

Home is wherever you are| Kylian Mbappé x Fem Reader

Summary: After a few months of a lovely relationship, it's time for Kylian to meet your parents and you think he might be uncomfortable or ashamed of the kind of life they lead.

Warnings: English is not my first language

Even though your profession brings you into contact with celebrities, you never entertained the idea of pursuing a relationship with one. Since childhood, you've relished taking charge and imprinting your unique touch on everything you do. From an early age, you delighted in crafting with fabric scraps your mother would occasionally bestow upon you. Despite their humble nature, these textiles fueled your boundless imagination, solidifying your passion for event organization when it came time to choose your path.

Navigating the world of event planning wasn't without its challenges, as success often hinged on one's network. Thus, you embarked on the gradual process of building connections. Initially daunting, given your upbringing in a small village where genuine relationships trumped networking, you acclimated to the dynamic.

Typically, clients reached out to you through referrals from former acquaintances, and you made it your mission to orchestrate celebrations that would linger in their memories. To some, your meticulous attention to detail might have seemed excessive, but to you, each element held significance. Even the simplest of adornments, like napkins, warranted careful selection, ensuring every moment became indelible. Yet, despite your dedication, you felt uneasy attending these events. Whether due to social anxiety or shyness, you preferred delegating oversight to a trusted employee, prepared to intervene remotely if any issues arose.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly for little Amin Hakimi's party until a last-minute hiccup with the birthday cake. Maintaining control was your forte, and such mishaps were rare. However, when they did occur, you hesitated to dispatch an employee to rectify the situation. While the bakery bore responsibility for the oversight, you owned the consequences for placing trust in them. With resolve, you swiftly retrieved the box and hastened to the venue.

Upon your arrival, Hakimi reassured you, understanding the situation, insisting that everything was fine as the party had just begun. Initially, you intended to depart, but he skillfully appealed to your emotions, emphasizing how saddened Amin would be if you left. Tentatively, you attempted to acclimate to the ambiance, grabbing a few canapés, but your efforts were interrupted by a suave Frenchman eager to engage you in conversation. Thanks to him, the evening passed swiftly.

Following that serendipitous encounter, a string of dates ensued, and before either of you knew it, love blossomed unexpectedly. Kylian, typically guarded about his personal life, met his match in your reserved nature. Concerned about public perception and wary of being perceived as with him for his fame, you opted to support him discreetly, save for major games. Kylian, understanding your stance, found added motivation in performing well, knowing you'd be watching.

It was at the Ligue 1 final that you found yourself face-to-face with his parents, a situation orchestrated by Kylian himself. Yet, you couldn't protest, feeling an instant connection with them. From that moment on, they became integral figures in your life.

Now, after eight months together and with the leisure of summer allowing Kylian more flexibility, introducing him to your parents had become almost obligatory. Not doing so risked misconceptions, suggesting secrecy where none existed. They were affectionate and supportive individuals who always championed your aspirations as if they were their own. Their modest lifestyle wasn't due to financial constraints but rather a source of genuine contentment. For instance, your mother eschewed modern conveniences like washing machines and tumble dryers, finding solace in the simplicity of handwashing clothes—a sacred moment for her to reflect amidst the melodies of birdsong. Similarly, your father's preference for a gas stove over a ceramic hob wasn't a matter of practicality but a belief that it imbued dishes with a distinct flavor. You never felt ashamed of their choices; rather, they were the bedrock of your life. Fully aware of your relationship with a football player, they eagerly anticipated meeting him.

 So, after preparing a quick protein shake for Kylian to drink after training, you knew it was time to start that conversation.

"Thank you so much, mon amour," Kylian said quickly as he hurried to sit beside you while you sipped the shake you had prepared for him.

"You're welcome, darling. By the way, there's something I've been thinking about, and I'd like to tell you," you said, nervously playing with the bracelets adorning your wrist.

Kylian immediately noticed your nervous gestures and grew concerned. Swiftly, he took your hands in his and said, "Is everything alright? You know you can tell me anything. No matter how overwhelming it may seem, we'll figure it out together."

Upon seeing his loving gestures, you couldn't help but muster a shy smile that his comments had elicited. Quickly, you addressed the burgeoning concern for Kylian. "No, no, nothing is wrong. I simply thought that it was time for you to meet my parents. Though don't worry, I know it's a long car journey and you might feel tired, so if that's the case, we can..."

Before you could continue, Kylian silenced you with a subtle kiss, smiling warmly. "Mon amour, nothing would make me happier."

Despite Kylian's early fame bringing a myriad of opportunities with numerous women, he held the notion of meeting your parents in high regard. For him, it was an intimate milestone in a relationship, and he was certain that he wanted that with you.

From that day forward, Kylian was filled with excitement, so the first weekend he had free, without any interviews or company campaigns, was earmarked to meet your parents. Additionally, he consistently sought your input on attire and suitable gifts for your parents. While he typically favored sporty attire and luxury brands, he harbored no fear of judgment from his potential in-laws. However, he recognized the importance of harmonizing with the natural setting. Ultimately, he settled on vegan soaps infused with natural essences for your mother and a bottle of wine sourced from a vineyard near his locale as the optimal choice for your father.

"Ma cherie, I promise you everything is going to be fine; you have nothing to worry about," Kylian reassured you, casting a reassuring smile as they stopped at a red light.

"I know, honey, but remember they don't have all the electronic resources you're used to, so if you need hot water or if you need to wash your clothes, don't hesitate to..." you said nervously until Kylian interrupted.

"Shhh, mon amour, I've already told you that I went on a school trip to a farm school, and they were the best days of my life, not counting the day I met you. So relax, don't worry."

When you arrived and beheld your parents' quaint little house adorned with various flowers, likely planted by your mother during her gardening course, the first thing you did was greet Fleur, your German shepherd, enveloping her in a warm hug. Your bond with your dog had always been strong and leaving her behind when you moved to the big city had been heartbreaking.

"Mum, we're here" you called out, raising your voice slightly, knowing she could be anywhere in the garden.

Receiving no response, you intertwined your hand with Kylian's, guiding him through the garden as you searched for your parents. You couldn't help but be amused as you watched Kylian marvel at the various objects in sight.

"Honey, this is incredible, like something out of a movie. I wish that when I retire from football and you're not as tied up with your event planning, we could live in a place like this. Or maybe we could buy a second home now to relax when we are stressed," Kylian remarked, his words prompting a smile to spread across your face. You leaned in to give him a gentle kiss, silently conveying your love for his idea and your willingness to do anything as long as it was with him.

Finally, you encountered your mother amidst the strawberry bushes she had likely planted months earlier. Upon seeing you, her excitement was palpable as she enveloped you in a tight hug. Your closeness with your mother was evident, and despite your parents having a phone, they preferred face-to-face conversations, relishing every opportunity to catch up. She released you quickly, however, turning her attention to your companion.

"My goodness, you're taller than I thought," she exclaimed, wrapping Kylian in an affectionate hug. Kylian chuckled softly and reciprocated the hug, embracing his mother-in-law warmly.

After the introductions were complete, your father arrived, having just returned from a ride on his tractor. You all entered the house and settled into the cozy living room, adorned with a wooden table crafted by your father and a fireplace that held a special place in the family's heart, having been passed down through generations.

From that moment on, Kylian's excitement was palpable as he eagerly assisted your parents in any way he could. What made it even better was knowing he wasn't doing it to impress them; he was genuinely fascinated by their ability to thrive without modern technology. He looked like a child following your father around, trying to comprehend the wonders of their world.

"He's a good boy. You're going to marry him," your mother suddenly remarked, handing you a cup of tea.

"What?" you asked, dumbfounded. While marrying Kylian was certainly your desire, your parents hadn't always been keen on your past partners, so their swift intuition caught you off guard.

"Call it mother's instinct or whatever you like, but I'm certain. Mark my words," your mother replied, gazing out the window as the sunset.

You cherished the truth in your mother's words, yet you didn't want to rush and miss out on important moments. So, you savored every adventure with Kylian, allowing your love to deepen with each passing day.

In the end, it seemed your mother's intuition was spot on when you exchanged vows in a quaint stable three years later.

[teabeexo]

Hi hi hi, I've seen you around the our life tag and I am absolutely in love with your art style, it is so lovely and it got me curious on your OCs.

So do you have any general information about your other MCs for our life? I've seen that you have a Derek and Baxter MC (very interested in your Baxter MC, they always fascinate me (ironically Baxter isn't even my favorite I just love when people have messy relationships haha)) and also a Qiu MC but do you also happen to have a Cove and Tamarack MCs? Any other side characters for your version of the game? I'd ask more in depth questions but by the look of it you seem to give your MCs a lot of thought so I will ask more in depth questions for each character in the future if you'd like <3 have a lovely day !!

AHHH, hello! Thank you so much for asking!! Knowing that people are interested in my characters makes me SO thrilled! I am more than happy to yap about them <33

To answer your question, yes, I do have Cove and Tamarack MCs! They'll be below!

My Cove MC is named Winona! Lore-wise, she follows the plot of the game, with most of the nuance lying within inward turmoil rather than outward problems.

Here's the basics (with some fun facts)!

Winona was adopted by Noelani and Pamela when she was less than a year old.

She's Korean-American by birth.

Her full name is Winona Mahina Cameron.

She begins to learn the bass as a teenager, but can fully play by the time she's an adult.

Winona's birthday is August 2, which makes her a Leo.

She sings 1st soprano and has the highest range of any of my characters.

She redyes her bangs nearly every month, often to fit with an occasion or emotion she is experiencing.

Winona has diagnosed ADHD.

Her favorite animal is a firefly!

Winona's arc mainly centers around learning to focus on oneself rather than emotionally investing completely in others. Out of all the characters, Winona has a pretty easy go of it, haha. The others have a bit more angst in comparison.

Also, here is one of the only good digital pieces of Winona that I have!

Next is my Derek MC, Luella! Again, her story is more internal, but does have some outward elements too.

Here's some basic (and fun) facts!

Luella is Italian and German.

Her full name is Luella Bo Faraway.

Luella's favorite possession is a string bracelet that Derek wove for her while he was at a sport's summer camp one year.

She has diagnosed anxiety, as well as dyslexia.

She is extremely flexible and did gymnastics for her entire childhood/adolescence.

Luella sings alto.

Out of all my MCs, Luella is the best at drawing and has a creative eye.

Her birthday is March 18, making her a Pisces.

Luella gets all her facial piercings done over the course of time between Step 3 and 4, except for her nose ring, which she already has in Step 3.

Luella's legal guardian and parental figure is her elder sister, who was 20 years old whenever she was 13. Luella's story heavily revolves around survivor's guilt and self-worth.

Obligatory Luella art, haha

Wooo, next one is the one and only Baxter MC, Vérène! She is by far one of the most angsty of the MCs. Baxter is in part responsible for that, but there is also some family stuff involved.

Vérène is from Nice, France and moved to Sunset Bird when she was 11 (which means she was not present for Step 1).

She is fluent in both French and English and will use either depending on appropriateness and setting.

Vérène's full name is Vérène Dominique Alcott.

This isn't necessarily a character thing, but Vérène was the absolute hardest MC for me to decide a final design for.

Vérène bakes as a hobby, and likes to chat with Xavier about it.

She was born on February 10th, making her an Aquarius.

Vérène grows up with an old cat, then as adult rescues kittens when he passes away.

Her favorite flower is a sunflower.

She is a mezzo-soprano.

She lives with only her mother for a majority of her life following a gnarly divorce. Vérène's story has mostly themes of overcoming old emotions, as well as abandonment issues. Forgiveness (or lack thereof) is also very prevalent in her lore.

One of my favorite sketches of her!!

So! That's it for my OL:BA MCs. Let's move onto the two OL:NF MCs!

Let's start with Mina! As I've mentioned in other posts, Mina is Vérène's cousin. My other OL:NF MC, Maël, is her twin brother. Her love interest is Qiu. Like their cousin, Mina and Maël moved from Nice, France when they were 10.

Mina is French on her mom's side, but Swedish on the side of her donor's.

Mina is not fluent in English during Step 1, but that didn't impede her at all -- she learns a majority of her English from other kids (and one of them even teaches her some Japanese).

She learns the piano and plays it in her free time.

One of Mina's number-one passions is ice skating, and she often uses it as escapism.

Her birthday is June 23, making her a Cancer.

She has always loved mysterious and detective shows.

Her full name is Mina Octavia Linwood.

Mina is hyperopic, meaning she struggles to see things that are close to her eyes (hence her glasses).

Mina loves antique/old things and collects trinkets of that nature.

Most of her story is about self-confidence and self-denial, as well as discovering oneself. Qiu may have something to do with that, hehe.

Mina profile practice <33

Last but certainly not least of the MCs, we have Maël! I'll spare you most of his background context because he comes from the same place as Mina, haha. His love interest is Tamarack!

Similar to his sister, he's also not fluent in English during Step 1 -- but he's much shier about it. Mina basically becomes his shield.

He knows French and English, but also ASL.

He was born on June 23, making him a cancer (hmmm, sounds familiar LOL).

Maël plays baseball during Step 2, and during that time he builds up a lot of his confidence and social status.

Similar to Qiu, Maël is lactose intolerant!

Maël grows up to be a teacher due to Mrs. Murray's influence.

He has ADHD that goes undiagnosed until Step 3.

Maël babysits for his neighbors during Step 2 (he is known to be very good with kids).

He could be very good in school if he applied himself more, but he doesn't like school environment and how homework functions, so his grades suffer.

Maël's story deals with things like comparison to others and healing harmful complexes.

This is like... the only art of Maël that I have... featuring Tammy!

Phew! Okay. Finally, I'll quickly go over side characters that exist at the time of posting this.

I would like to stress that just because they're referred to as 'side characters', that doesn't mean I like them less than any other characters. A lot of them still have intricate lore and lives and I love them dearly -- they're just referred to like that because, through the lens of the game, that's what they are.

The entire Linwood family is technically side characters. Sonia, Jude, Beau, Raoul, and Quincy are all cousins to Mina, Maël, and Vérène. Sonia and Jude have already been written in (especially in Mina's story, and the other three probably will too, once I'm done designing them). Sonia's boyfriend Dante might also get a cameo here and there.

Otherwise, you have my OCs that are friends with the MCs.

All of my OL:BA MCs (Winona, Vérène, and Luella) are all within the same group, which consists of them and the canon characters. They don't really have any important friends beyond the ones provided in OLBA (and eachother).

BUT Mina and Maël are different. Mina's close friend group consists of Tamarack, my characters Rex, Diana, Sonia, Maxine, and my friend's OC Yuki.

Maël's close friend group is Qiu, Renee, and my characters Florian, Phoenix, and Róisín.

These characters will likely get posts of their own, and it's possible that more side characters will be developed as time goes on. Okay... I think that's all, LOL.

Thank you for asking! As always, if you have specific and in-depth questions to ask about certain OCs/MCs, their relationships with the love interests, or with each other, please feel free to ask!

Again, it's so thrilling to know that people are interested! I tried to keep this brief while also informative, but I don't know how effective that was because I tend to ramble haha!

Take care!

[mantarobin]

Mm, that it's all for the best (of course it is)

(lots of yapping below)

So, Petro and childhood trauma. Woohoo! (episode 16 & petro character analysis)

I find his relationship with the Wisp very interesting, with how she treats him and his responses to it. There’s a lot of little details with childhood trauma and motherhood that I find very interesting. I’m mainly gonna be discussing their dynamic, then symptoms of childhood trauma and emotional abuse.

In EP16, Wisp has a lot of traits similar to a controlling or abusive parent. She blames Mark’s death on Petro, despite none of it being his fault. She states things along the lines of, “look what you made me do.” and, “I’m sorry for breaking your toy.”

The toy line really sticks out to me. It’s both dehumanizing Mark, and dismissing Petro’s grief. It’s equating Mark to a toy, and makes his sadness sound silly and overdramatic. Of course, there’s obviously the parallels of a mother breaking a toy, then brushing it off.

Generally, the Wisp has a lot of moments that feel like a mother belittling their child. One example is how she mentions disappointments- a lot. She explains how she doesn’t approve of them, doesn’t tolerate them, and projects these expectations onto Petro. She expects him to do perfect work, and when he does, all is well.

However, if he messes up, if he disobeys in the slightest, she switches up instantly. She becomes cold, begins to demean him and remind him of his place. It’s abusive, and keeps Petro constantly worried about her. He can’t afford to mess up because he can’t deal with her punishments, her threats, her switchups and anger.

It’s also worth noting she looks similar to Allay’s, which we saw in EP15, and they look fairly cute and, well, child-friendly. Even now, the Wisp doesn’t necessarily look scary at first glance. Ironically, when she was first spotted, a lot of the fandom thought she was just a little buddy or creature. Take that how you will.

Now, moving onto Petro’s responses to this. Not just in the situations where she’s mad, but how he reacts in general.

In general, he has a very brash, blunt attitude. Something interesting is that he seems to always want the upper hand on people. Now, this could just be explained as “well he’s evil of course” but I’m delving deeper. His urges to constantly want control could be explained by how helpless he feels when around the Wisp. It’s the only way he can have the illusion that he has a choice; he can manipulate people, he can make his own relationships and distractions from the cruel situation he’s stuck in.

While it’s not really the most serious scene, I do keep it in mind. Alux is joking about holding Petro’s hand while they escape, and Petro’s first response is “I’m not a child.”. Interesting to keep in mind.

Now!!! Delving into symptoms. Obligatory reminder I am not a therapist or psychiatrist so I apologize if the info is off.

For starters, childhood trauma. Common symptoms of lingering childhood trauma are: difficulty controlling emotions, impulsiveness, an increased response to stress, relationship instability, dissociation, avoidance, and heightened anger.

I’ll go over these. Not all of them apply to Petro, or have no proof that it applies, so I’ll go over the clear ones I can prove and discuss.

Impulsiveness: While Petro comes off as calculated at first, he does have quite a few moments where he does things without thinking. This is shown more when his emotions are heightened, either for good or bad. The first scenario I can think of is when he finds the scroll, and his first instinct is to just immediately climb the bookshelf instead of just… looking for a ladder.

He also demonstrates this a few more times when he’s hanging out with Mark. He does the majority of the ritual without really thinking about his own well-being, brings the stone guards to life before Mark can even process anything, and his behavior in the first few minutes of the recent episode comes off as him not thinking much. He’s put off about being ordered to kill Mark, and isn’t thinking clearly.

Oh yeah also in the very first episode when he defends Alux from the guard!

Relationship Instability: Pretty much all his relationships have some form of risk, at least in Petro’s perspective. Becoming friends with anyone is already a risk of his identity. Pretty much all the relationships he has or had are risky for his safety or hostile. I don't have as much to say about this segment, the unstable connections he makes are made very clear by the series.

Dissociation and Avoidance: I’m putting these two together because I don’t have too much to say for either, and I can link them both together. The main example is at the end of EP16, where Petro’s eyes go blank. Other than that, there’s not many examples of him dissociating. The same can apply to avoidance, the best example is the most recent episode when it comes to Mark.

Heightened anger: Petro gets annoyed quickly. It’s a pretty notable part of his character. He faces almost everyone with annoyance, anger and irritation. Almost everytime something goes wrong in the slightest, he ends up irritated and frustrated (unless it’s the wisp). I don’t really need to explain this one a lot, he… he’s a pretty angry guy yeah.

NOW!! Before getting into all this, I also want to go over signs of psychological abuse.

- Helplessness.

- Hesitation to talk openly.

- Implausible stories.

- Anger without apparent cause.

- Sudden change in behavior.

- Emotionally upset or agitated.

- Unusual behavior

- Unexplained fear.

- Denial of a situation.

- Extremely withdrawn and non-communicative or non-responsive.

​Now. Like. Most of this applies to him. Mainly in the recent episode when we see him at his most vulnerable.

Hesitation to talk openly, unexplained fear, unusual behavior, denial of a situation and helplessness are all traits that are very explicitly shown in EP16. He tries to dance around his mood change, and refuses to tell Mark anything. When Mark keeps pushing, he is incredibly hesitant and scared to talk about his life and what’s going on.

The helplessness kicks in the moment the Wisp begins messing with Petro’s head. Once that happens, he’s completely vulnerable to anything that happens. Everything that happens from that point forward is entirely out of his control. Near the end of it, he becomes unresponsive and withdrawn, as stated in the list.

The anger is like what I stated before. He’s just generally someone filled with anger, not gonna repeat myself.

Implausible stories could be seen as him just. Well. Generally being a liar. 😭

With all this said, there’s a lot of signs and symbolism of Petro and childhood trauma. I didn’t even mention that he explicitly mentions his mother dying in a fire. Considering she died when he was young, leaving him alone in an anti-magic kingdom… yeah.

I'm super curious to see how his relationship with the Wisp develops, and where his character will go. Anyways uhm yapyap yap Petro is for the trans fans with parental issues fr

I'm so sleepy thanks for reading gang

[dilatorywriting]

I have come to pour some Monsters & Mayhem Rook brainrot in your inbox. Hope that's okay!

Rook is a freelance bounty hunter who most people find deeply unsettling. He never accepts payment, only picks up specific targets which interest him, and never fails his mission. It doesn't matter if the target hasn't been sighted in two years, after 3 days of taking the request, Root is at the commissioner's house at 3am (the witching hour) on the dot, a large, bloodied burlap sack behind him, and a heart in his left hand as the obligatory proof of death. He offers to show the corpse as well (waving at the sack behind him) if they wish, but no-one ever takes him up on the offer. What with his polished smile that lacks any warmth and his green gaze that seems to be looking into your very soul. The bloodstains on his clothes and his uncanny ability to pick up on the very thought that happens to be crossing your mind at that moment does not help matters either.

In truth, Rook is a Reaper. At least, this is what the MC comes to suspect. MC is runs a bakery in the village - something they come to regret on a daily basis because being a baker means waking up at 4am so you can start the ovens by 5am and begin your prep for the day. But MC likes making pasteries, truly, and it was between this or their parents marrying them off to that stuck up noble in the next town over who only really wanted someone to make him strawberry tarts day in and day out.

The first time MC meets Rook is when they're shuffling around on the shop floor at 4:30am, arranging some of yesterdays leftover treats that had been stored in the ice box, when they become suddenly aware that someone is at the window, watching them. They turn and there is Rook, plastered on the window watching with such rapt fascination. Perhaps MC should have had a more adverse reaction, considering the time, and the bloodstains on his clothes, and such, but it was too early for that. Instead, they crack open the door and offer him a small tart to say "please promptly leave - you're getting smudges on the glass". The way Rook starts marvelling at it like he's never seen one before, and especialy when he inists on MC eating a bite first "to show how one might savour them", starts to raise suspicions that he might not be human. He starts dropping by every morning at the same ungodly hour, and asks for pasteries in exchange for whatever strange (and rare) ingredient he's picked up, and MC even lets him inside to eat them. There's something endering in the way he can wax poetic about a piece of carrot cake.

Through general gossip from the mouths of customers, and Rook's own monologies, MC does piece together that yes, Rook is that bounty hunter, and that yes, he's most likely some sort of Reaper. He's a hunter by profession, and his last name is Hunt for gods sake, and he talks about tracking people down by "the light of one's soul" and whatnot. But MC remains largely unbothered. Rook may be strange, unhinged, and probably not human, but he's also oddly sweet. He's interesting to listen to, and it's refreshing to have a conversation with someone who isn't looking down their nose at you for being unmarried at your age.

Speaking of which, as rumors start to go around about that bounty hunter visting your bakery, another proposal from the tart-loving noble ends up on your doorstep. Except it's less of a proposal and more of a "the agreement between Duchess Roseharts and the family head, concerning the union between you and Riddle Roseharts, has been reached. This is a curstesy call for any last objections, before final arrangements are made. Only objections with a basis in the kingdom's law will be considered".

And so, because you've never been very good at making up lies, and because Rook seems to scare everyone, and because Rook has, technically, proposed to you before (many times, which you never took seriously, in his long winded speeches of praise about your baking), you write in response: I object to this union, on the basis that I have already accepted a marriage proposal from Rook Hunt.

Chaos then ensues.

Ooooh this is top-tier brain rot indeed. Reaper Rook? I'm here for it. Also, like, I just recently watched the new Puss in Boots movies and like, THAT sort of reaper? That kind of death? And Rook having that sort of presence and terror factor?

But oh my goodness, this is all marvelous. I love Rook and his oddities so much, and he's been slipping more and more into all the other character's lil stories. But ahhh, Reaper!Rook, Reaper!Rook... You sound very lovely. Excuse my while I go brain rot over this

[weltato]

The Ramble About Klavier (AA4 spoilers)

Going off this post I made a while ago, here's a ramble about everyone's favourite rockstar prosecutor :)

This is gonna be a long post, so I'mma put it under a cut, but the TL;DR is that Klavier's damage sprite hurts me physically and I absolutely think that Kristoph is the cause of it :)) Also, using Franziska as a bit of a comparison at points because I could go on about her as well honestly, but that's for a different post.

(obligatory headcanon disclaimer here)

*Warning for mentions of verbal abuse, if that's uncomfortable then please scroll on and stay safe!*

You still here? Grand.

This sprite hurts man.

(I couldn't find a gif file for young Klav, had to use the icky webp file from the wiki- I fucking hate webp it's such a stupid file type)

You see how it's the same? You see how both sprites are the same? They move exactly the same! Now, you could say that it's something related to the chord that plays every time we see the sprite crop up, but he's gonna be smart enough to know about ear protection when doing rockstar stuff. Could be a sensitive ears thing, or a cringe thing at the sound of the chord (bc it does sound bad, I'll grant that), but it's never said if Klavier has sensitive hearing or smth (afaik, bc I haven't seen SoJ yet). We know Athena does, but nothing about Klav.

So! Remember Kristoph? Remember how shitty of a person he is? Welp, in the same vein as Franziska's damage sprite making everyone go "ooh, MvK did bad things" I put forward that Kristoph also did bad things.

But not physically. Kristoph is a man who uses his words as his weapons until he just casually has to poison people and then stalk everyone for seven years bc a fangirl screwed up his plan.

The sprite when Klav's 17 is labelled as "Disbelief (Unused).

Sure, it's unused in-game, but they still made it and they made it exactly the same as present Klav!

But when he's older, it's simply listed as "Damage".

Damage is a word used for quite a few sprites tbh, since it's when they...well, take damage, from their opponent, either through scripted event or from player decision.

However! Going back to a point I made in the original post: Franziska has a different distinction. Her older sprite is listed as "Shocked" but her younger sprite is given the "Damage" title.

Look! Her sprites are different! It doesn't give any good vibes tbh, she's sort of holding herself higher up and more with both arms than with the one arm her younger self uses, but that's for a different ramble about Franzy. This is about Klavier.

Franzy goes from "Damage" to "Shocked", potentially meaning that whatever is being thrown at her doesn't hurt anymore, merely catches her off guard and this is a reflexive response.

Klav goes from "Disbelief" to "Damage", which tells me that his younger self refused to hear and his older self is now realising that things are SO much worse than he feared and that HURTS.

With Franziska, it's pretty obvious that MvK was a pretty distant parent in parenting terms. I mean, he was always there, sure, but he didn't really show much love and affection. Franzy realises this and carries on because that's how she was brought up. She can handle that. (Don't get me started on the cry sprite omg-)

Kristoph was the same.

All my homies hate MvK and those same homies should also hate Kristoph. His nickname was literally "The Coolest Defense in the West" - this man was known for being level-headed! He was known for being a cool, calm and collected person! You never know what's going on under that.

Klavier was absolutely verbally and emotionally abused. I don't think it was physical abuse in any way, and if anything happened then at most it might've been a slap in the face, but Kristoph doesn't strike me as someone who gets off on holding power over his brother by beating him. After all, Klav is in the public eye 90% of the time as a rockstar, he doesn't want to risk make-up being applied wrong and the paparazzi picking things up. Kristoph strives for perfection in everything (again, the wiki literally says this, although I'm aware that the wiki can be edited by anyone) and he sees it in his brother too: he wants Klavier to be perfect.

But then he went to be a prosecutor and a rockstar and that's...well that's not good, it might ruin the name he's made for himself if his little brother goes off gallivanting with people like that (poor Daryan). Kristoph sets impossibly high standards that Klavier just can't match because he's not the same as his brother, he's not like that, he cares about people and his decision to go study in Europe is met with more disapproval from Kristoph, but Klavier takes it all as brotherly encouragement because the boy is SEVENTEEN and there's an eight year age gap, surely Kristoph knows best...

Then we get to the final section of Turnabout Succession.

When presenting the nail polish, Klavier recognises it immediately because that's the brand his brother uses. When Apollo asks about his hesitation, he says it's nothing.

They never checked Vera's nails either and Klavier is unable to say anything because Apollo is on a roll and Klavier really hopes he's wrong, so he asks if the bottle belongs to Vera and Apollo asks back if he knows someone else with one of those...

"No." he says, "Just checking."

YES. HE. DOES! He knows immediately as soon as that nail polish is brought up, everything clicks and he's so distressed by it that he refuses to believe Kristoph could've done this. He's in prison right now, how could he poison someone??

And when the Judge isn't convinced by this, Apollo deals him the final blow.

"Prosecutor Gavin doesn't seem to think this is inconceivable."

No response. His face is unreadable, or maybe it's anguished, and when it's suggested to bring Kristoph up as a special witness, Klav says this: "I've known for some time that an impenetrable darkness lurked at the bottom of this. ...A darkness that has swallowed even myself."

He knows and it's time to face The Devil that orchestrated all of this.

Maybe he's known for a long time and only just removed the rose-tinted glasses he was seeing Kristoph through - and he's crushed by it.

When Kristoph is in the room, Klavier's words are especially defeated here. Kristoph even asks Klavier to explain what's going on.

"You're being accused again. By him. Again."

And when Kristoph asks if Klav agrees with this, he says nothing. What can he say? That yes, his brother is a dark man? That yes, he's manipulative enough to do this kind of thing? That, if given the chance, he do it again to get rid of everyone who's in his way?

Trucy even says in one of the pressed statements that Klavier "must be nervous with big brother watching!"

Kristoph even takes over from Klavier's Objection when Kristoph's pressed by Apollo about the likelihood of Vera wanting to poison herself. That bitch! He's so obsessed with control that he takes control over his own trial from his own brother who's trying to 'defend' him. When Trucy says the two together is a force to be reckoned with, Apollo notes that they could do with more teamwork.

In that pivotal last statement, Klavier acts more like his brother than he ever has in the whole game and Apollo picks up on that. Kristoph is the reason Klavier is acting different, the reason he's trying so hard to get Apollo to notice the difference - Kristoph is clearly the threat in the room.

Kristoph is cruel in public too, but only now that Apollo is cornering him. See, the abuse towards Klavier was only ever subtle in public and far more pronounced in the home, but in this trial there's nowhere for him to go and Apollo would pick up every detail. So, when Apollo brings up the stamp and Klav's taken aback by this, Kristoph takes that moment to pounce: "You've upset my poor brother to the point of uselessness. Allow me to clarify this matter[...]"

We all hate him, right? He's such a dick.

Klavier is quiet, just watching everything unfold since he has no way to confront Apollo when he himself believes that Kristoph is guilty, and when Kristoph worms his way out of things he belittles Klav: "Really, Klavier. You should be seeing through these weak-spined bluffs by now."

What can he say? It's the same kind of thing he was always told - that he should be better, always pushed further than he could go.

But then he doubles down. He's sick of this, sick of Kristoph always being the perfect brother. So he fights back and calls Kristoph the bluffer. Kristoph is shocked; never once has Klavier outright pushed back on him. So when Klavier starts to side with Apollo, Kristoph plays the game.

Now, I'm not going through the whole case beat for beat, but there's another point later on when Apollo goes "oh btw Phoenix didn't do this and lol here's evidence" and Kristoph tries to deny this by saying "oh but defense attorneys are only assigned the day before anyway" but Klavier objects and turns to Apollo, pleading with him because he needs to know the whole truth on this.

Even Kristoph is caught off guard because he thought he'd kept Klavier on his side but NO! NO HE DIDN'T! HAVE YOU SEEN HIS DAMAGE SPRITE HE'S HURTINNGGGG T^T

ahem-

Anyway, Kristoph tried to dismiss this and Klavier objects in his face and keeps his focus solely on Apollo - he even calls him by his actual name instead of Herr Forehead (which I think is kinda sweet actually but anyway-) and fuck man, this hurts me.

And as it closes in towards the end, when Phoenix's recording is mentioned and Kristoph says that his "brother is incapable of making rational judgments at the moment" (angy Wel grumbling) we soon get this:

I LOVE KLAV HAVE I SAID THIS YET!?

AND HERE'S THE KICKER:

KRISTOPH IS WORRIEDDDDD

AND KLAV DOESN'T GIVE A SHIT ANYMORE YES!

CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW GOOD THAT FEELS? HOW CATHARTIC THAT IS? THIS MAN WHO'S DONE NOTHING BUT CONTROL HIM AND USE HIM FOR HIS OWN BENEFIT AND BELITTLE HIM WHENEVER HE DOES ANYTHING EVEN OUT OF LINE IS FINALLY GETTING HIS COMEUPPANCE AT KLAVIER'S HANDS!!

OH it's great to watch, we love to see it.

Better still is the very end, after the breakdown, after Kristoph loses his cool:

The sass is strong in this line. To me, it's a final 'fuck you and everything you ever did to me' from Klavier.

We end on this line after the Judge says that nurturing is the task for all human beings: "Except for you, Kristoph. You aren't changing. You've stopped. You're not needed anymore."

And it's true. Klavier doesn't need Kristoph anymore. He's 24, he can live his own life and he doesn't need a cynical and condescending brother like Kristoph breathing down his neck every two seconds. He's broken free from Kristoph's control completely and he's relishing that.

So this is why his damage sprite hurts me to see. It's a point of pain and discontent, it's Kristoph lingering in Klav's head, it's the want to have a normal brother that loves him as he is and sees him as an equal. He got his first trial against him taken away, and we never know if there was another opportunity for the two Gavins to go up against each other again, but by the sounds of it there probably wasn't - and that's a good thing! If Kristoph had faced off against Klavier, it would have probably broken Klav's spirit to be a good prosecutor like we see in AA4 and to some extent in AA5 when he crops up in the Themis case.

On the whole, the damage sprite is a look into how Klavier hid from his brother's verbal abuse - by covering his ears and not listening to it. He didn't want it to be true, but it came at him anyway and he hated that. But it's also a parallel to how he feels about Kristoph: that is his brother and he can't bear the thought of Kristoph being not just a murderer, but also a scheming manipulator that's been skirting around the law he so desperately hides behind for seven years. Once again, he didn't want it to be true but it came at him anyway and he hated that he couldn't get away from it.

It's a good sprite, I won't lie. Great storytelling at the conflict between the two and that Klavier loves Kristoph probably more than Kristoph love him, but it still hurts me to see it because all I can think about is what kind of manipulation has Kristoph done to keep his power over Klavier. Kristoph is manipulative even to his own brother and there is nothing Klavier could have done about it. Throughout their interactions in the case there's this underlying current of "if I get out of this you're so dead" and that feels like it's been a thing forever between them.

I hope this makes sense because I should be writing my assignment rn and I just couldn't bc this has been taking up all the space in my head lol. I'm tirrrrrred, uni wears me out man >.>

[anarcoqueer1994]

Steve's parents were definitely Reagan Republicans mainly due to his fiscal policies that allowed them to exploit people and make more money. But that also means whether superficially(or worse genuinely) were part of that "moral majority" bs. So imagine Steve, late middle school aged being stuck going to some fundraiser event his parents are hosting during Reagan's first election campaign.

He would have to sit and listen while people alluded to "family values" and other euthanisms for being anti-queer. And Steve may not always be book smart but he is not stupid. His parents and all their friends were affirming that him liking anything but women was wrong and gross and un-American. So he hid the fact that he liked guys in his class as much as girls. Focused on only his romantic feelings for girls. Wouldn't shut down Tommy when he made homophobic remarks even though it killed him because not only had Tommy been his best friend since the 5th grade, but he had also been his first crush.

But as he got older, and grew close to The Party and the other older teens, he started to feel like maybe his parents were wrong. Maybe people like he and Robin and Eddie and Nancy and Jonathon and Argyle and the kids deserve to be themselves, deserve to love whoever they want. And eventually he finds his romantic soulmate in Eddie, and they are so happy together.

Meanwhile, his parents left Hawkins permanently after the "earthquake. Ended up selling the house, sent Steve some money for a security deposit and first month's rent, and barely have kept in touch since. It's okay, Steve talked to them in obligatory phone calls a couple times a year. He doesn't really miss them. They haven't particularly been there for him most of his life. He and Robin (and later Eddie and Nancy who move into their respective partner's rooms) share that apartment and are happy.

So imagine their surprise in 1988, when they turn on the TV, they see their son on TV kissing the Munson boy at a protest in Chicago over the government's response to the AIDs epidemic. Standing next to them is all their friends, many in queer relationships of their own. Eddie is holding a sign saying Silence=Death, and Steve’s sign simply says "Fuck Ronald Reagan" And that's how his parents found out he was queer and that he hated Reagan.

[ghcstao3]

obligatory ghostsoap medieval au with childhood friends to enemies-ish to lovers because i finally got around to watching nimona

young prince soap with an affinity for going out into the kingdom unsupervised and socializing with commoners, as much as it’s discouraged by his family. but it’s how he meets ghost.

ghost, a boy just as young and bright, who struggles to make ends meet for a family that only consists now of his mother and baby brother. soap tries to help in the ways he can, but it’s difficult when he’s only a child himself.

so they come up with a solution—soap finds ghost work at the castle so he can not only provide for his family, but he can spend time with soap, too.

it’s not until after ghost becomes a servant for the royal family does soap learn ghost is a dragon shifter.

it’s an accident, when he finds out—but thankfully soap isn’t scared. not like others, no. to him, it’s the best thing ever. but they understand it has to be kept a secret.

especially between late-night rides, soap clutching onto ghost’s spines as wind rushes through his hair, grinning ear to ear the entire time.

they’re careful, though.

until the servant that usually tends to soap’s parents falls ill and simple tasks fall to ghost—he’s been trusted with the youngest son, he can be trusted with a few things to do with the king and queen.

but then it’s ghost who finds them both dead, one morning. there isn’t any hint to who it could have been, but there’s only one assumption that could be made when ghost is found alone, panicking—and when several swords are pointed his way and he shifts as a fear response. so ghost is chased out.

he’s exiled. never to see soap again—not that it seems to matter. the look in the young prince’s eyes when they see each other in passing for one last time tells ghost enough about what soap thinks about him now.

but ghost swears to come back. he’ll find out who really killed the king and queen, get his name cleared, and maybe, maybe get soap back.

[read-write-thrive]

inspired by my last post on dead boy detectives high school AU: obligatory band kid AU (and it ended up v long so buckle up)

instrumentation/roles:

edwin: if we’re talking still in his shell edwin, he’s an oboe/bassoon player. if we’re talking out of his shell edwin, he’s a French horn player. either way he is 100% first chair but will only accept the section leader title if there’s no one else in his section, he is not about to deal with marching band any more than he has to. he aces competitions and the like when he’s on his own, but rarely has the patience for ensemble work. his parents started him on his instrument younger than his peers so it makes sense he’s so good, but his ego is mostly separate from that—he’s just like that. he’s in the main/symphonic band, marching band with some hesitation, orchestra, and chamber/honors band

charles: while you could say almost any brass/low woodwind instrument and I would say fair enough, I personally think he’s a trumpet player. he does sports so he is often running back and forth on practice/game days but wouldn’t trade it for anything. he’s probably not first chair, or at least isn’t until his later years since he/his parents prioritise sports, he 100% would love being a section leader!! he fits the loud trumpet stereotype but is one of the few that’re complete sweethearts (as long as you keep him away from some of the more toxic dudes, he can get a little swept up in it from time to time, but luckily he figures it all out by the time he graduates). he doesn’t do competitions or any of the fancy stuff since he has obligations with sports, but it sometimes makes him sad that his friends are so good at his instruments while he’s juggling this other stuff and can’t match their level. he’s in the main band, marching, and jazz band in the spring semester

crystal: she’s a saxophone girlie 100%. she can play any of them if pushed, but she tends towards alto sax during marching season and tenor/baritone during the off season depending on the piece’s/concert’s needs. she kept up with some of the more toxic upper woodwind/percussion players in her mean girl era but she’s since come to her senses and avoids them whenever possible. she could be first chair and section leader if she wanted, she’s good enough (parents definitely put her in lessons) and charismatic enough, but she’s not enthusiastic about either position and often purposefully dodges the extra responsibilities. likewise, she’s not interested in separate awards or competitions or anything like that (though I think she also tried it her first semester, like orchestra, to try to get her parents’ attention—when it didn’t work, she dropped it). I can see freshman being simultaneously terrified of and crushing on her. she’s in the main band, marching, and jazz band, though she tried orchestrating for a semester before deciding it was not her vibe

niko: I see her as a violin/strings player who then switches to flute for symphonic/marching band, especially since she’s an international student. I don’t think she gets along super well with the other flute/violin players, so she’s glad to make friends with the group. she’s taken lessons for both violin and flute, but violin was mainly when she was a kid and flute was to help her catch up to everyone else. she does competitions and such mainly so she can get out of classes and hang out with her friends, but tries her best to do well without taking away from her other activities/free time. her instrument cases are COVERED in stickers. she’s super nice to the younger years but they stop talking with her much once they find their friend groups, which always makes her sad. she’s the type to be a “band mom” to an underclassman once one sticks around, but it takes until her senior year for that to happen. she’s in the main band, marching band (again, more to hang out with her friends than for any enthusiasm in the competition), and orchestra to get a chance to play the violin

monty: that boy plays the clarinet argue with the wall. he has his shy moments but also his outspoken moments, just depends on the people involved. he was never in lessons but definitely practices more than your average person. he’s the one to always be in a practice room, either actually practicing or giving people readings, to the extent that there’s a practice room that’s unofficially his (including him scratching/writing his name somewhere before he graduates). he’s perpetually second chair, and secretly would like to be section leader but is just enough of a people pleaser that it never happens (either by him giving it to someone else or the director doesn’t give him the position). he’s in symphonic, marching, orchestra and chamber

thomas/the cat king: so I think he’s a percussionist as his mood can be a little all over the place and hard to read, so I think the variety of percussion suits him. plus the putting on a persona thing just screams percussionist to me. if he isn’t the one dealing himself he 100% has an in with the local dealer (which ig isn’t band related but the percussionists were the dealers/stoners in my band so). he isn’t first chair by any means but he is 100% the section leader of the pit (I cannot see him marching). I think he’s also one of those guys who tends to date underclassmen which concerns literally everyone and breaks a few hearts but is ultimately harmless if a bit of a dick (said with love). he’s in the main, marching, and jazz bands

jenny: was a stellar saxophonist in her time, graduated a few years ago but comes back to help with marching band over the summers/eventually decides to become a band director herself and student teaches during the gang’s senior year. when she was in school she did every ensemble available, which honestly intimidated most of her peers (barring the sapphics bc she 100% had everyone crushing on her, dated quite a few of them too). she’s a great band director once she learns more on how to deal with the inevitable students breaking down in your office on random lunch periods

esther: monty’s mom but refuses to be part of any band parent organization. will occasionally show up to concerts, but if you talk to her she somehow makes it all about her. at some point she gets in trouble with her concerning relationships with minor girls and as a result can’t go to school functions, which monty doesn’t talk about to really anyone but secretly is glad about. she never played any instruments and openly calls monty a nerd for enjoying band

the night nurse: I’m sticking with her as an assistant principal/in charge of attendance/some cog in the bureaucratic system. the band kids are all too familiar with her as they’re often incorrectly marked absent when they go to band practice during lunch/free periods, so getting called down to her office happens to everyone sooner or later. during the gang’s senior year she’s assigned to be directly in charge of the band (for whatever reason idk) which has her suddenly showing up to games and concerts. no one really likes this but they eventually warm to her. she tried the flute once when she was in school but wasn’t good right away so she decided it wasn’t for her

tragic mick: I’m again sticking to custodian but specifically the custodian that’s in charge of the practice field/band rooms/etc and is as such a beloved if cryptic figure in the greater band family. he played the tuba when he was in school but when asked says it’s been far too long to remember anything about it

kashi: hear me out, Kashi as the band director goes hard. like he’s eccentric, always has a grand story to tell, and is simultaneously good at making you laugh and at giving advice. his main instrument is something weird like the soprano saxophone or the euphonium or flugelhorn or harp, but as band director he’s learned most of not all of the instruments in the band over the course of his career

david the demon: percussionist. I take back what I said about the cat king dealing, david is 100% the sketchy dealer of the band. Is also older than the gang. was in the main and marching band but that’s it.

Lilith: superintendent. cryptid type figure. is the one responsible for the shit that goes down with Esther. showed up to exactly one concert and everyone is still losing their mind over seeing her in the flesh

I cannot remember her name but the lady who ran the gift shop: the choir director/theater teacher/eccentric English teacher. well known by the band kid population but not directly involved

the finality or whatever that character is called: prinicpal. directly in charge of the night nurse. surprisingly agreeable for how much bs/cruelty she oversees. her coming in right at the end of the series echoes her showing up to graduation and that’s it for out side of school hours

the ghost mail carrier: he mans the front office desk. will deliver messages over the intercom that always make people jump

extra info/plot points in a fic i doubt I’ll actually write:

monty and edwin get close after being sat near each other in orchestra and then working together during a chamber piece

thomas/the cat king is also older than the main gang. edwin is one of the underclassmen he cozies up to, but edwin never actually dates him

the charles and edwin dream duo imo is charles on trumpet say behind edwin on French horn, with both of them constantly making little comments just to make the other laugh/roll their eyes/react during practice/rehearsal. their senior year they end up being co-section leaders of upper brass but only after some serious begging on charles’s part

crystal has a major crush on jenny at one point

not a single person can stand esther finch, to the point that Kashi slips monty some flyers on different help resources and the other kids all let monty crash at different points when she’s angry

it’s at one point revealed that thomas/the cat king’s parents aren’t in the picture for some traumatic reason and he’s being raised by his grandparent(s), which most people accept as justification for his iffy behavior (it isn’t, for the record, but ive seen this situation happen exactly twice over in my band career and it lines up with him too well not to include)

crystal and charles date for a time and are the band’s it couple when they do. a handful of people don’t like it, but it’s mainly bc they’re jealous they missed their chance with one of the other ( cough edwin cough ) but it doesn’t end up lasting

david and crystal date when he’s a senior and she’s a freshman and it’s BAD. like she’s partaking in drugs she doesn’t fully understand and he’s enabling it/actively supplying it. it’s ultimately jenny who notices the spiral and talks some sense into crystal/gives her a semi-relatable authority figure to lean on. aforementioned crush happens during the chaotic period during/immediately following this. david stays in town and still deals post-graduation, so he shows up to high school parties and without fail creeps on crystal if she’s around. as such she starts avoiding parties, which is the final mail in the coffin of her mean girl era, leading to her befriending charles and niko (and eventually edwin) and made part of the gang

there’s a running joke/conspiracy theory that Kashi and the night nurse are in love with each other. it has been used to embarrass freshmen several times over the years. the night nurse actively denies it but kashi keeps it vague just for the fun of it

at one point when charles and crystal are dating and the four of them are already friends, someone starts a rumour/starts suggesting that niko and edwin should pair up. edwin isn’t openly out but his friends all know so they laugh about it (I also hc niko as aroace for a multitude of reasons i won’t get into here but I think that adds to the humor of it all)

when the band plays for a sport that Charles is on the team for they all go WILD when he’s mentioned by the announcer/scores/what have you. to the extent that there a specific chant/riff/cadence/whatever they start playing specifically for him. this eventually gets them in trouble on some big championship game and the band only stops/does it quieter so that charles doesn’t get in trouble over it

charles had a letterman’s jacket that he adds his band letter to (as well as some diying with pins and patches and such to make it more his style). he uses offering it as a way to flirt/show off his partner(s). it is very effective (to the chagrin of some of those partners who wouldn’t otherwise be caught dead in a letterman’s jacket, incl crystal and edwin)

monty initially charges the rich-asshole kids for readings until he’s caught and forced to stop. he then stops giving readings to anyone he doesn’t already know/like. he uses readings as a way to flirt with edwin, who literally doesn’t realise it for an extended period of time. monty keeps trying to flirt/ask edwin our, but by the time he hyped himself up for it the bell rings and the lunch period ends. they eventually go on one date, which edwin doesn’t realise is even a date (despite his friends insisting otherwise) until monty kisses him at the end of it. it’s awkward for a while afterwards but they eventually settle into a friendship

several other band kids place bets on when edwin and charles will finally get together. niko wins the bet, despite actively encouraging monty x edwin along the way. some say she’s biased being so close to them, but she openly admits that she wasn’t sure it would ever happen

may add to this post later but ive written wayyy too much for rn so we’ll leave it here