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hybridempress · 1 year

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Of course it makes sense that Aziraphale would ask Crowley to go back to Heaven with him.

Of course it makes sense that he believed Crowley would be happy to come back to Heaven with him.

Think about the way that Crowley talks about or views his Fall. Every time he mentions it, he is either super vague or he is extremely sad and remorseful. Either way, he doesn't actually take responsibility for his Fall.

"An Angel who did not Fall so much as saunter vaguely downwards."

"I didn't mean to Fall, I just hung around the wrong people."

"I only ever asked questions. That's all it took to be a demon in the old days."

It is always made very clear that he never wanted to Fall. It was never what he intended. It is something that he regrets. It is something that happened to him, not something that he did. Something that was undeserved. Something that he is extremely distraught over and that he doesn't want to be blamed for or even properly admit that it happened.

Crowley is also fundamentally a good person. He pretends not to be because it gets him in trouble. He refuses to let Aziraphale say that he is a good person, whenever he does something good he comes up with an excuse or an ulterior motive, but his excuses don't even always work. He's been punished before. And yet, over and over again we have seen him put his own life at risk to do the right thing.

He is devastated at the idea that God is going to flood the world and kill all living things. He saves Job's livestock and his children and makes sure their family is saved and reunited. He drinks literal poison and convinces Elspeth not to kill herself and helps her get a head start on a new life so she doesn't have to suffer anymore. He redirects Nazi bombs to kill Nazis. He convinces Aziraphale to form an "Arrangement" with him where they both either do a temptation and a blessing or neither of them do anything at all because it "balances out" and he doesn't actually try to make an effort to do bad things. He mostly leaves the humans alone. All of the "sins" that he has invented have been either inconvenient, frustrating, mildly mischievous, or actually kind of funny and have an equal amount of good effects on humans as they do bad. He's never shot a gun before. The only times we ever see him bring actual harm to something is when he (accidentally) drops some graveyard watchmen down a deep hole, kills Nazis, and (assumedly) throws a potted plant into a wood chipper. He refuses to kill Adam because he's "personally not up for killing kids." He convinces Aziraphale to stop Armageddon with him because he loves the world, he loves humans, he loves life on Earth, and he is fundamentally against the idea that humans should be "tested to destruction." He is a better person than all of the other angels and he is even a better person than Aziraphale in a lot of scenarios.

Of course Aziraphale would think that Crowley would want a chance to go back. And not just to go back to the same system that had hurt them both before, but to go back to a Heaven that Aziraphale was planning on recreating in their own image. A Heaven where both of them could make a difference on a massive scale and be able to protect the Earth and all of the humans in it without having to worry that they would ever be in danger again. A Heaven where Crowley would never be cast out for asking questions or making suggestions. He truly believes this is the best case scenario for both of them, where they can be together without having to hide themselves anymore and they can do things their own way forever, and they can always help people in the process.

So when Crowley says no, it sends him spiraling. He panics. "No, this isn't how this was supposed to happen. You were supposed to be happy about this. That's the only reason I said yes, because I thought it would be what you wanted. I already told them yes, I can't take it back now, you can't just abandon me with this when I did this for you." He means it when he says that he needs Crowley. He is begging Crowley to reconsider. When he says "nothing lasts forever" he doesn't mean that his and Crowley's life on earth can't last forever, he means that he is willing to give it all up if it means that Crowley will be happy, if it means that the two of them can be together unconditionally and that they can make a difference together.

Aziraphale tells the Metatron that he doesn't want to go back to Heaven. He only changes his mind when the Metatron says that Crowley can come with him. And after Crowley leaves him, and the Metatron comes to collect him, he seems now so unsure of himself. He starts to say something along the lines of "I think I--" forgot something? changed my mind? whatever it was, he is hesitant to leave. He doesn't want to anymore. It's just that I don't think he can back out of it now, or at least he thinks that he can't back out of it, he doesn't think he's allowed to change his mind--or maybe he really can't. And for him, Crowley kissing him and then leaving the bookshop feels like an act of manipulation. And it's Crowley leaving because things are hard. Crowley does this a lot. He leaves when things get hard. He usually ends up coming back, but he does always leave. Aziraphale feels like he's being abandoned, and he doesn't know if Crowley can come back this time. He's just hoping that Crowley will.

#good omens 2 #good omens #aziracrow #aziraphale #crowley #em rose.txt #meta

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imagionationstation · 2 years

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Your posts of Donnie12 are my LIFE SAVOR!

Donnie is probs the hardest brother out of the bunch I can get a character grasp outside of smart, sarcastic brother that’s a bit of a simp. I didn’t wanna do him injustice in the fic I’m writing so if it’s no trouble, can you make a list of your head cannons of him pls?

No trouble?! No trouble?!

Excuse you! I love any excuse to spread my love of the purple genius and educate people on why he is a lovable green bean! In reality, I should be thank you for this ask! Thank you!!!

*ahem* *looks through millions of notes*

Hmmm… This sounds like a character development type question? Let’s check out my headcanons for those…

Mhmm, mhmm, mmmmm, ah!

HERE WE GO

DONNIE AND HIS BROS:

Mikey and Donnie have bonded over being the youngest brothers the same way that Leo and Raph bonded over being the eldest. Donnie appreciates Mikey because he’s the one person that he doesn’t feel like he has to prove himself too. Mikey treats him as an equal and he’s the only brother who (somewhat) supports his hopes of winning over April. He gets annoyed with his little brother’s antics like all older siblings do, but that stems from the fact Mikey does many things that trigger his OCD. He forgives him easily. Just like Donnie understands Mikey’s hyperactivity; Mikey understands his brother’s compulsive nature.

Donnie and Raph are brain and brawn, and when they compare one another in that way, they always hit walls in terms of their relationship. Raph will always have a strength that that Donnie can’t tap, which will make him insecure. Donnie has brains that Raph can’t tap, so that makes him insecure. When they can look past this, there’s a lot they have in common. Passionate, strong-willed, and determined to protect their family no matter how it effects their well-being. They’re the middle children, so they know how it feels to have less attention then the heir and baby brother, and when to be there for each other when it counts.

Donnie and Leo are the most mature of the group. While Raph only jokes about it, Donnie truly sees Leo as- in a sense- perfect. He’s a confident older brother who lives up to expectations, never fails when they need him most and never stops trying no matter how difficult things get, carries his families burdens without faltering, acts only in their best interests, can face death without blinking, and can even flirt with the girl that he likes and get a positive reaction in return.

Leo is everything that Donnie aspires to be, but fears that he never can. He’ll do just about anything to earn his approval, and feels like a failure when his inventions or experiments can’t reach his expectations. Donnie’s willingness to complete tasks does lead Leo to push to hard. The team genius does have his limits, and will snap when the pressure gets to much. That’s usually where their arguments stem from. He desires to prove himself, and gets frustrated when anything gets in the way of that.

FLASHBACK TO MIKEY EXPLANATION:

I mentioned that Donnie has OCD. THIS IS CANON. And lemme tell you it explains SO MUCH. What IS headcanon is my theories about what OCD does. So here we go:

-Donnie can’t tolerate people messing with his stuff. Everything has a place and they are set there for good reason. When his brothers come in and touch his things, it risks ruining the order he has for his lab. (It may look messy at times, but he put those things there, so that’s deemed their place, at least for the moment).

-OCD comes with emotional irregulation, which is why Donnie tends to go from calm to high-strung at a moment’s notice. Even though it drives them nuts at times, his brothers understand that him letting it out as an unnecessary shrill rant is healthier than him locking up the stress and fear that could be dangerous to his mental health. They’ll tease him for it, but have never actually pushed him to stop.

-His OCD also gives him a constant anxiety, which he usually chooses to handle by working or studying in order to make the nerves go away. He does his best to keep it under control in battle by focusing on the mission, even if his brother’s constant pushing to “go faster” makes it all the more difficult.

-Because of the intrusive thoughts that come with OCD, Donnie sometimes sees himself the way that humans do; as a monster and a freak. One of the reasons that he got so obsessed with April (after the original crush wears off) was because she was a human who accepted him as he was, and he wanted to prove his fears wrong by winning her over. His compulsive tendencies lead him to do things like stalk her and build questionable gifts. His brothers understand this, even if they don’t approve.

THERE ARE OTHERS BUT I’M MOVING ON NOW-

Donnie can’t handle being sick. He’s no germaphobe and he won’t hesitate to care for an ill family member (if they’ll let him. Raph can be stubborn). It’s being sick itself that he can’t handle. He’s investigated every sickness known to man, and it always ends up being his undoing. He’s terrified that whatever he has is so much worse than the simple fever that his brothers keep telling him it is, and is convinced he’s on his death bed. The only way to keep him calm is company and contact. He’ll continue to irrationally fear for his life, but he takes comfort in knowing that he’ll die surrounded by those he loves.

Donnie has been shocked and electrocuted so many times that his body has actually developed a tolerance to it. He theorizes it has to do with the mutant cells adapting to the abuse. It comes in handy when he’s strapped down during Fourfold Trap.

Donnie would do a lot for Leo. Space Heroes is where he draws the line. He doesn’t understand his fascination with it and can’t go a minute without pointing out an inconsistency in the plot or questioning Captain Ryan’s morals. After a few months, Leo had to start waiting until he knew Donnie wasn’t around to turn it on.

Better safe than sorry.

Out of all his brothers, Donnie is the last one to learn how to talk. Not because he couldn’t or struggled, simply because he chose not to. He read and he could interact with his brothers and father with chirps and churrs. The day that he did choose to talk, he shocked Splinter out of his fur when he calmly used full sentences.

Donnie built Metalhead to assist the team and never stopped trying to make him worthy of Leo’s approval. At some point along the way, he subconsciously started looking at Metalhead like his own kid: Someone to be taught and taken care of. After losing him, Donnie just couldn’t bring himself to make another, because he knew his lil’ buddy was one of a kind.

Everyone thinks that Donnie hates Leo’s wars with the toaster, but in reality, he doesn’t mind. The repairs are never difficult and his older brother always feels guilty for putting something else on his list, so he hangs out with Donnie as he fixes it. Donnie enjoys the excuse for bonding outside of training or missions. Leo even helps Donnie around the lab sometimes, as it’s mention in an episode when someone knocks against the ShellRaiser that Leo “just waxed her!”

Leo’s the only one who knows about Donnie’s nightmares about Slash. Not only is the memory of being sought out and forcefully separated terrifying, but Donnie knows Raph still cares about ‘Spike’ and doesn’t want to hurt him by reminding him of what Slash did. He’s relieved when Slash goes to the good side, but being around the large snapping turtle still makes him nervous.

If I keep going, I will headcanon myself into oblivion- THAT’S ALL, FOLKS

Maybe. Possibly. For now :)

Thanks again for the ask!!

#See what I see TMNT #donnie #tmnt donnie 2012 #donnie tmnt #tmnt donnie #2012 donnie #tmnt 2012 #tmnt 2k12 #tmnt donatello #tmnt fandom #2012 tmnt #donatello #donatello hamato #donnie hamato #tmnt headcanons #teenage mutant ninja turtles 2012 #teenage mutant ninja turtles #teenage mutant ninja turtles donnie

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ministrationz · 10 months

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i don't know what azula anti needs to hear this, but absolutely NO ONE who is worth listening to is seriously making the argument that azula hasn't done anything wrong, or that she's been the perfect child. what we are saying is that azula was a VICTIM of her fathers abuse and mistreatment by her mother, and that it heavily impacted her actions. yes ursa was in a bad situation, yes she was being abused by ozai, and yes she had very little personal liberties, but no matter how you spin it, that's no excuse to treat azula less favourably than zuko, nor is it an excuse to make azula feel unloved. the opinion that ursa can do no wrong and did no wrong to her children because she was abused is out of touch with the reality of what it's like to grow up in an abusive household. abuse is unfortunately a cycle and leads to EVERYONE in the household being negatively affected. this does not mean that anyone asides from the abuser is blameless for harm being done to children in the household.

azula understands that ursa was in a bad situation. she knows that her father was abusive. we see this in azula in the spirit temple. that does not, however mean that azula could not have been negatively affected by her mother's actions. azula was not born evil. she's a traumatized teenage girl with NO support system. she was left alone with her monster of a father from a young age and had to internalize all her struggles to survive. of course she can't manage relationships, and doesn't have healthy coping mechanisms. she has been groomed into being at her father's every beck and call. ursa treating azula differently from zuko and making her feel unloved from a young age, whether it was intentional or not, definitely made these issues exceptionally worse. when you have no one around you who genuinely makes you feel loved, and when the one person in your family that should have made you feel loved leaves, you're going to turn to the only source of it you can find (ozai, in this case), even if it means you act poorly or put yourself/others at risk.

ursa's parenting left azula traumatized, and i genuinely do think the reason many of you cannot understand that ursa did, in fact, make many mistakes is either because you are looking at ursa through the biased perspective we got in the show, or because you simply have not been in these circumstances in the past. abusive households are toxic to everyone. just because one parent is abusing everyone in the household, does not mean the other parent can't inflict harm, either. that doesn't make them any less of a victim, but it doesn't negate the devastating lifelong effects their behavior will have on their children.

was ursa in a good position to be a good parent? no. her situation is absolutely heartbreaking and i wish she had gotten to live an easier life. it is completely reasonable for her to struggle with parenting properly. you can't expect someone to take the best care of their children when they're in a terrible situation. does that excuse the impact she had on azula? no! not at all. while it's important to acknowledge how ursa's abuse influenced her behavior, ursa was not a good mother to azula and that is an objective fact. how do you see azula's breakdown at the end of the show, or her breakdown in The Search, or her visions in Azula in the Spirit Temple, and still think there was no issue with ursa's parenting? no child with a healthy relationship with their parents grows up with these feelings, let alone starts HALLUCINATING their parent haunting them. i won't even go into ursa forgetting her children and having kiyi because i think it's just absolutely ludicrous and completely inexcusable.

so many of the arguments against azula are textbook victim blaming. yes, azula conquering the earth kingdom and trying to kill people on behalf of her father was WRONG. no one thinks it wasn't! however, EVERYONE that should have helped azula FAILED HER. she is a product of her horrendous environment, and not acknowledging this while you grant a character like zuko, who unlike azula had people around him to support him, the benefit of the doubt when he acts out negatively for the EXACT SAME REASON without hesitation speaks for itself. no one is saying azula is a good person. no one is saying azula should not have been held responsible for her actions. what we're saying is that she is a person, not some evil caricature you can use to express whatever internalized biases you have. she has depth and should be treated as such. she is not some bogeyman you can levy your most heinous accusations towards.

on that note, please stop calling azula anything on the lines of psychotic, psychopath, sociopath, etc. you are showing how ignorant you are on mental health issues when you use these terms in this context.

#azula #tw abuse #ursa #as someone who grew up in a severely abusive household a lot of the takes i've been seeing make me feel like i'm losing my mind

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papirouge · 10 months

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man, I wish Christian natalists wouldn't get so predator-enabling/breeder fetishy whenever they speak...

I was watching a videos about a Christian woman making a testimony of her pregnancy with risks, "putting back" together her ligated tubes, and explaining how the Bible says we should have as many children as God decides and not us (so no contraception), and yeah why not

but THEN she got like "why would God make girls to have their period at 10 if it wasn't to have children? Why would women wait until they're in their late 20s-30 (the average age of women getting their first child)?"

IDK girl, probably for the same reason grown women aren't sexing barely pubescent boys to get impregnated just bc they virtually can? ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

and then she explains she's from middle east and that her aunts/grandmother married respectively at 17 and 12 years old. Interestingly she didn't tell about their husbands age...🙃 ...and we all know how these marriage with weird age gap work in middle east... Even if Mary was 14 when she got pregnant like some pedo apologists argue (we never have evidence of that ofc), nothing says that Joseph was an old scrote old enough to be her dad.

She was like "yeah these marriage weren't perfect but they worked uwu" sticking into a marriage = marriage "working". Those marriage lasted because those women didn't have much alternative back then. Their backing support wasn't the same as those of modern/Western societies. Same in the West (because she also brought up old school family model with 8-10 kids). I mean, I'm ok for dunking on the sexual revolution as much as you want, but let's not act like access to a bank account, divorce and work didn't facilitate women nope'ing out of having big families. My grandparents stayed together until my grandpa died but I wouldn't say their marriage worked just because of that. Was she happy? Was she fulfilled? THOSE are the things that make a marriage working. Otherwise the Bible wouldn't tell spouses to treat well & cherish each other until death. Otherwise sticking together until the end would be enough.

She ended saying "when they get theirs period, young girls start having their hormones working.... If one of my daughter tells me she's interested in (marrying) a man I wouldn't tell her no" and that's how I noped out lmao

The excuse "hormones working" is like the WORST reason to get into marriage. When Paul said marriage was better than sexual immorality (sex outside marriage, masturbation), it was about people who weren't fit for celibacy, not those eaten by their flesh and eager get married just to have a valid situation to get their peepee wet.... The same Paul who said to not trust the flesh...but suuuure tHe hOrmOnEs 🤪

Also note how the "why would girls get their periods that early if it wasn't to get children" actually works both ways: if God wanted women to have children at 14 (like OP said) why would He make women have periods until their 60s? 🤔 Why would He made the window the be able to be a mother so WIDE (~50 years)?🤔Why did He show through the Bible several examples of MATURE women (not barely pubescent girls) getting children?🤔 The math ain't mathing.

She says, concerning the difficulty of having big families in the modern time, that God knew about how the world would work and would helps us go through it and therefore there's no reason to take contraception. Okie dookie, then why get mad at women getting children at later age?? God is good so he inspired doctors to make pregnancy safer at older ages. Women are living longer. Women don't have to get pregnant at 14 to hope seeing their children and grandchildren before dying. Why is it a problem?? 🤔 The Bible does ADAPT to a bunch of different lifestyle, so why not embrace it instead of shoving ONE model of pregnancy? Paul said that the good news was about FREEDOM.

She also said "it's said Mary was 14 when she got pregnant with Jesus uwu" WE LITERALLY HAVE NO IDEA WHAT AGE MARY WAS AND THAT'S BY DESIGN BECAUSE GOD DIDN'T WANT YALL WEIRDOS TO HAVE A WEIRD FIXATION WITH AGE TO BREED WOMEN. IT'S THE SAME WITH THE AGE OR DATE OF BIRTH OF JESUS AND CHRISTIANS SHOEHORNING THE CELEBRATION OF CHRISTMAS. GOD DISMISSED THOSE DETAILS ON PURPOSE BUT YOU GUYS ARE CONSTANTLY MISSING HIS POINT DESPERATELY TRYING TO CLING ONTO WHAT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE RELEVANT TO BUILD YOUR THEOLOGY AND LIFE DECISION.

#Christian #papi watch

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theladyofbloodshed · 2 years

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You know what, whenever somebody says something along the lines that Lucien was not loyal to Feyre as a friend or something like that, my mind immediately goes to all those people who feel they are entitled to everyone and everything, they should be the absolute first priority in every case, and nobody should say no to them.

What loyalty!? Lucien was Feyre’s first unconditional friend. Infact, to this date in all the books, he’s the only unconditional friend she’s got. Nobody cares for her unless they are in a relationship with her or is mated to their family/friend. Except Lucien. Why do people think that Lucien owes her more, should have beaten up Tamlin (hello damsel in distress complex), somebody he has no power over, and grovel at her feet because she’s opened up her court (her mate’s let’s be honest..if she weren’t his mate, he would have melted her brain the same way he melted the Winter court children’s, using the same tired excuse of wanting to protect Velaris and his family). The reason he lost his home was her. Did people really forget the part where she caused Tamlin doubts (on purpose) reagrding her relationship with the whole fake nightmare.

It is so weird to me how people do expect the entire world to get on their knees for the MC. Do they want Lucien licking Feyre's boots or what??

Lucien has known Tamlin for centuries. He knows Feyre for a few weeks before UtM. Lucien is exiled from his court. Tamlin gave him a place to live, a job etc and they were good friends. Lucien lived the curse with him, watching their friends be killed by humans. Why would Lucien be more loyal to Feyre than Tamlin when he hardly knows her? Despite this, Lucien still helps her on many occasions including utm - and he tries to protect human her from rhys when he rocks up at the spring court. She uses him for the nightmare which puts his life in danger because she knows Tamlin is volatile. Lucien helps her cross the Autumn Court despite the risk it poses to his life and he sacrifices his life and role in the spring court because of it. For somebody that he hardly knows, Lucien goes above and beyond. He should be resentful for the fact he's lost everything (once again) but instead adapts and helps where he can including going to the Continent.

#anon asks

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jessplaysgenshin · 2 years

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please excuse my grammar i'm in a rush i don't want to skip my sleep but also don't want to miss the release--

Pairing: Itto x gn!reader

Summary: (y/n) had a very normal life until a wanted man literally took them away. Now, their number one priority is to survive. Whether it is to survive in general or survive the Arataki gang's antics.

Warnings: None

A/N: really rushed at the end i'm sorry i'm too tired for this it's 3am atm ngl i'm not at my peak performance~~

Itto was... A special case. Oh he was famous alright, sadly, not for the right reasons. Most times, there was a warrant for his arrest, which pretty much sets the tone. Though, a few people did take his defense for some reasons, saying that he was a hero, that he saved some people. It was hard to accept, especially knowing all the times he's been arrested. But, he never tried to escape when he was in jail. Rather, he seemed to patiently wait until someone bailed him out. Surely the Doushins would never accept the money if he was doing some major crimes, but it was still a bit frightening. The Arataki gang wasn't popular for their good deeds, nor for being delicate. And from what you've heard, you didn't want to end up between them and whoever they're having a fight with. It's said that their leader, Arataki Itto, is deathly allergic to beans. Rumors has it that if he's spotted near your home, you'll have to put a bag of beans at your door and he won't come back for a long time. It sounds like a bit of a stretch, but you couldn't possibly risk it. You've been living on your own for a while now, and nothing very interesting happened. You worked all day, every day just for the sake of it, income was needed and you couldn't turn a blind eye. No charity would help you.

You lived in a bundle of houses right outside Inazuma City. It was nice and cozy, everyone knew each other, so it was pretty calm most of the time. The most noises are usually kids screaming playfully, in delight of their youth. It was nice. On the other hand, you had to go up the city's stairs just to go to work. Some days you don't even have the strengths to do so, but you don't really have a choice. Thankfully you've been sometimes on babysitting duty for a few neighbor's. They keep on saying that you're the perfect fit for babysitting since you're still quite young and the children can see you as an older sibling. Knowing the little demons, they just want an excuse to run around places they aren't allowed with their parents.

Of course, it wasn't like you weren't enjoying it a little. It was actually fun when they weren't up to any mischiefs or chaotic games.

And then, there was that one time where one of the two kids you were keeping vanished. The siblings got in a fight and you had to tend to the youngest. Upon checking where the oldest went, your heart stopped working. He was nowhere to be found. You got the youngest to another neighbor and went on a full search for the missing boy. "Nao !" You yelled, running within the borders of the city. "Nao, this isn't funny, hurry home !" He wasn't anywhere in the city. Time was ticking and after 2 hours the worst case scenarios started making their presence known. Where could he have gone ? Kidnapped ? Murdered ? Lured away ? What if he fell down a cliff or drowned ? Attacked by hilichurls ? "I promise you're not in trouble ! just come ho-"

"HAHAHHAHAH !" A loud laugh coming from nowhere made you stop. It clearly wasn't the one you were looking for, however, the groan that followed was. "I win again !"

You rushed to the voices, and there he indeed was. "Nao !"

"Ah ! (y/n) ! What are you doing here !"

"I WAS SO WORRIED ! What are you doing here ! With a stranger nonetheless !"

"I-"

The man spoke. "Uh, exsqueeze me ?" He was tall and muscular. Anything but the kind of person a child should hangout with unless it's family. "I'm not a stranger. I am THE one and oni, Arataki Itto !"

Well that made it even worse. "N-Nao... Let's go home, alright ?" The boy looked slightly nervous and nodded after a quick gaze at the giant. He follow you, the whole trip home silent.

Arriving home, you had a small talk about stranger danger and didn't mention it to his parents once they got home. If they should be careful about their child meeting up with a stranger, you should also be careful to receive the small pay they're giving you. Plus, the kid looked comprehensive. You just hoped he wouldn't talk about it to his parents. Such a hassle for a beetle battle.

Putting that incident aside, there wasn't anything that really happened in a while. For the most part, you were living your regular life. As nothing happened, you were torn between complaining of a blank life, or be happy that nothing weird was going on and keep on going with whatever you had.

Unfortunately, that's exactly when something bad happened. Bad or not, it'd be your problem to find out.

"COMING THROUGH !" Was the yelling that you heard while you were just out to get groceries. What you hadn't expected was to get literally ran over by a tall large man who grabbed you in the process and forced you to go with him. He stopped a few feet later, taunted the Doushins and kept on running, not. letting. you. go. A few minutes later, you didn't where or what or why. The only thing you knew was who. And the answer to that was, of course, the Arataki gang. You were just standing there, wondering what else you could do. You were literally surrounded by criminals, what could you do ? If you did anything, would they hurt or kill you ? That was your biggest concern at the moment, and honestly, also the only. Eventually, the tall man approached you, a big smile on his face. "Ohh ! I recognize you !" So did you. It was hard not to. "Say, can you do me a favor and be our hostage for a bit ? Yeah ? Yeah. Alright. See ya soon, then !" Without waiting for an answer, he agreed for you and left.

What were you supposed to do ??? Are you actually an hostage ? Is that really what's happening here ? The man with the most abs you've seen in Inazuma casually shows up, takes you away and dubs you his hostage. What's coming next ? Are you going to be their servant or something. You groaned in annoyance and worry. Maybe going out today was a mistake. They don't manage to get Itto that often, and when they do it's for a short amount of time. How long are you going to be stuck ? Not like you were tied up, but... It still sucks.

Should you try to run away ?

What a question, of course you should, and you did. No one was there to stop you, you were left unattended and free of restraints. Of course, this doesn't change the fact that you had no idea where you were and how to get back home nor to safety, but at least it wasn't night. If only you had beans on you, that'd make part of the threat go away. At least it was still daytime. so far you didn't have to be terrified for the dangers of the night, but still, when nobushis and hilichurls were roaming everywhere, you found out that you weren't safe anywhere. Your only way to be safe would be to end up in a town or something, at least then you'd have some warmth and protection. Though you didn't make it very far until the white-haired oni caught up to you, getting you back to the gang's camp and even scold you. "Hey, no, we said you'd be a hostage, so sit still and don't go anywhere. Alright ? Alright."

"Boss..." A new voice rose. "We can't have hostages. We already struggle to be on good terms with the Tenryou commission, this will only make it worse." The female sounded as annoyed as she looked sassy. She proceeded to scold him instead and turned to you. "I'm sorry about this. Sadly, now that the Tenryou commission saw you leave the city with the boss, they'll most likely title you an accomplice and you'll only get arrested. So until then, I think that it'd be more advantageous if you act as an hostage. Of course, you can leave whenever you want." She didn't seem to be lying. She also had a very strong presence. It was smoothing and scary at the same time. "I'm Kuki Shinobu."

"(y-y/n)." You looked around. No matter how far you searched, you couldn't see Inazuma anywhere. The Narukami shrine didn't seem that far, yet the city was nowhere to be seen. Either you traveled to a whole island, which seemed unlikely since you've been trying to remember what path you took to end up wherever the hell you are now in case you could escape. Could you be around Konda Village ?

Lost in your thoughts, you almost didn't notice the large man getting closer. "Say just a question real quick." You flinched at the sudden voice. "Do you know where I can get the best Onikabutos around here ? I've been looking everywhere but uh, yeah no shot."

"Onikabutos...?" Ah, right, the beetle fight with Nao from the other day, your first encounter with the man. "N-no ?" The different scenarios began to make you nervous. Who knows what they'll do to you ? Shinobu did affirm that you'd be safe and implied that nothing would be done to you, but you wanted to get home. Sadly getting home will probably get you arrested unfairly. Playing the hostage would be the best card. You'd be brought home and you'll have nothing falsely held against you. Now the question was: how long will it take until they're found out ?

And then began your new lifestyle of being this group's mother. You didn't want to wait around all day, so you did your best to tidy the place as best as you could, dispise having Shinobu saying several time that you didn't have to do it, that they'll have to learn to take care of themselves. You mostly did it out of boredom, but some things sometimes made you smile. The way they do not know how to make a proper shelter, for once. The Arataki gang has been around for a while, but they apparently still don't know how to make a proper camp and that was a bit funny. Their dynamic was also as alluring as it was funny. Thankfully they had Shinobu around to keep them to get in big trouble. Funnily enough, every time one of the guys disappear for a few days, mostly Itto, they reappear while getting lectured by a very upset Shinobu. You learned a while later that it usually means that they got arrested. Although, there was something that you think you were the only one to see.

It's usually during raining nights. The rain is too loud for your liking so you'd get up to get some water, but then you'd notice him. "Itto ?" You approached the sitting figure, looking out to the rain, into nothingness, and not making a sound. Sometimes he'd just be sleeping in a sitting position, but sometimes, he would just be thinking, and your presence would make him snap out of it. "You should head to bed."

Normally he'd follow your instructions. "Do you want to leave ?" That question took you by surprise. You've been with them for a few months now, the Tenryou Commission never found you, so you just started living with them, but you haven't thought about it so much. "I dragged you into that weird mess, and now you're kinda one of us, y'know ?" Compared to his cheery self, his eyes were filled with different emotions that you couldn't quite read. "You're part of the gang." It was weird. As much as you felt happy, you also felt sad. His cheery self always rubbed off on you, but this ? It was strange and new. Has he been thinking about that for a while ? "So, I need to protect you too, y'know ? You're my family. I'd do anything for all of you."

Did something happen ? "Itto ? What happened today ?" Just like most days, the group went out to do their daily lives, while you stayed at the camp and did your daily tasks, these became quite the unspoken rule. They wouldn't do anything bad to you, even if Shinobu made it clear from the beginning that they wouldn't, and you'd do whatever there is to do at the camp. But the thing is, they never really talk about their day when they're on their own.

Itto blinked several times, and grinned. "Ah, nothing big ! Just some Commissioners saying some weird stuff." There it was. His huge grin that was so contagious.

You let a smirk creep on your face, but somehow, it didn't felt right. Something was missing. "What happened with them ?" He seemed hesitant to speak. "Itto. You're always protecting us, but you also need some protection. We're here for you as much as you're here for us. Please. Even if it's not to me, talk to them."

"No, no ! It's fine, nothing happened. He just wouldn't let me get some Onikabutos in peace." He was lying.

"Alright. Then I guess I won't feed your beetles the 'greater food'." The Greater Food was what he started calling what you fed his Onikabutos. It didn't really did anything, he's just been feeding them some junk and their performance during the tournament were lacking. Once you give them what they need, it's much better for everyone. Except your opponent.

"NO, FINE !" That was quick. "They've mentioned that you were in greater danger with us than at home." He avoided your gaze, stared back at the rain. "They're not wrong, but I don't think they're right, either."

You put a hand on his shoulder. "You're right. I'm not in danger. I'm loving it here, with all of you. Plus, it's much funnier than living alone at home. It gets lonely, it's... Kinda sad." You gave him a small smile, which seemed to put him in a better mood. "I'll stay for now. Shinobu can't look after all of you on her own, she'll get exhausted way too quickly, I have no idea how she managed to put up with all of you all this time on her own." You giggled at your statement, although the truth was a bit different than what you claimed it to be. You've grown quite fond of the demon, and truth be told, it was getting hard to contain by the day. Some times, you just want to jump in his arms and at this very moment, all you wanted was to cuddle and be the small spoon. He's a tall and strong man, of course you'd be drawn to all the cuddling material he represents by just existing.

Still, it wasn't something you could just spurt out. It was weird to see Itto having deep thoughts, but he did have his moments once in a while, thank goodness it wasn't too often. You loved him, but having him doubt stuff was so different for him you usually wake up thinking you dreamt some weird things.

Not that it was a bad thing, it was a great thing. He wasn't just a strong dumbass, he was a strong kind-hearted dumbass, one that cared for the people he loves.

In the morning, things shifted back to how they were. You didn't want to leave, at all, you mostly didn't want to leave Itto. Not because the others were awful people, far from that, but because you felt so safe and calm around him. Most worries fade away and all you can feel is the warmth of a newly found and loved home. Maybe that was a bit far fetched, but you did notice a few glances and whispers your way coming from him. He was clearly planning something, mostly since he was almost avoiding you, which was anything but sneaky. Still, you wondered if you were supposed to be concerned or laughing it off. Shinobu and the guys kept affirming that he was just being Itto, considering it as enough of an explanation, which was fair. Itto really is a peculiar one, thankfully not in a bad way.

One thing that you really liked about him, is how humble he can be at times. When it comes to silly matters, he'll be the complete opposite, however, when it comes to get serious, nothing will matter more than the safety of as many people as possible. You've been told about the time with the blue oni. No labels, reputation nor his life mattered. All that mattered at the moment for him was that everyone was alive and well, and this was the most wonderful thing. He's kind, heroic, considerate, funny, odd, a real lovable goofball. No matter how hard you'd try, you couldn't really find a good reason to leave your fun group.

Except that one time, several days after that exchange.

You were cleaning the lair, as you do every single day, and in one of the pile of mess, which you'd make sure to scold them about, was what looked like newspaper. No shot, it wasn't quite right, but it was an announcement. You've been reported as missing a while back, there wasn't a reward for bringing you back, but there were threats thrown to the Arataki gang. You've first been introduced as an accomplice of the group, after a few reports, been considered an hostage. At least heir plan was working. But knowing the Tenryou commission, bailing them out wouldn't be an option this time, not when they threaten to put a warrant on their heads.

You had to make a choice. You could either stay hidden, or you could leave to make sure nothing would have been done to them. Well, nothing drastic, at least.

Which is exactly what you chose. You left a small note, saying that you missed your normal and calm life, that you won't be mentioning where the lair was and thanked them for their company and kindness. You took on of the maps the guys had and followed it as best as you could, and you finally arrived home. Your first move was to get the the Tenryou commission and explain some poor excuses. How you fled from the Arataki gang but instantly got taken away by some treasure hoarders. It was stupid, but they seemed convinced enough, which was weird. Hopefully the detective Heizou won't look into it. If he did, you'd be in a terrible spot. Surely he'd understand your point of you if you explained it to him, right ?

That night, you returned home. To your house. A cold, empty and lone house. You went to sleep in a heartbeat, not wanting to keep on thinking to how everything ended. Hopefully, you'd meet again, when you wouldn't be the reason there are serious threats on your loved ones' heads. Of course, most of this was due to over thinking. Surely they wouldn't do anything rash without a proper reason. You were alive and well, after all. So well it was actually suspicious but they somehow did not pick up on it, not that you could or were complaining about it.

A few bland days passed by, as you went back to your regular lifestyle. Stuck between babysitting and trying to enjoy all the lone time you had on your hands.

Until, one evening, as you came back home...

"YOU !" A stoic figure jumped at you, making you effectively shriek. "Why'd you leave, huh ? You said you'd stay !" Surely enough, Itto was mad at your sudden disappearance. You tried to push him off, but surely, you didn't have the strength to fight back, not against him. "Why'd you do that ?!"

"I'll explain ! Just get off !"

"Don't try to run !"

That sounded more like a threat, and you didn't like that. Gosh, was he really that upset ? "A bit after we had that conversation, I found some papers saying that you'd all be in trouble if they couldn't find me, so I gave in. That's all there is to it." You explained briefly.

The man's eyes were as confused as they were starting to grow even more upset, somehow. "You found it ?"

You gave him a look of annoyance. "Well, if by "found it", you mean buried in a pile of mess that is my duty to clean, then yes, I found it." You've then had a small talk. You talked about how it was stupid to think they'd do their part, for one, but also that there was no use hiding it. It would have been so much easier to let you return to your home and get to visit them from that point on, but what you couldn't shake off was the hurt look he wore the whole time you were talking. He seemed so out of it, not broken, but rather betrayed, lost, confused. "I didn't mean to leave so suddenly. I was just... Scared, I guess."

"You said you felt safe."

"I did ! I do ! It's just- I wasn't scared for me but for you." A moment of silence followed. None of you seemed to have anything to add, that, or Itto was simply looking how to put his mind into words, or even trying to process the whole thing. But then the silence got unbearable. "I just... Really care about you. Of the whole gang, of course, but I feel different things with you. Nice things." He looked directly into your eyes, waiting to hear more. "I feel... Safe. Warm, at home... Loved."

"You are loved. We all love you. I love you." This time, you were the one wanting to hear more, your face turning slightly red. He didn't mean it like that, did he ? Surely it was just a clumsy way to put it. You cracked a snort, to which he immediately responded. "No I'm serious ! I love you !" The repetition made you stop. Did he actually. "Like- like a romantic context, like, wanting to have children and all that fancy business, right ? Does that makes sense ?" He really did. You collapsed. He really did. Was that for real ? Are you still dreaming from the day you got home ? Your eyes turned into a fountain, which gained even more worry from the male. "Wowow okay uh, don't do that ? Are you okay ? Need me to call Shinobu ?" You looked at his blurry figure. Gosh was he sweet. His touch was so gentle, a clear contrast to how strong he looks. All you did was wrap your arms around him and just stayed there, not moving, not daring or wanting to move.

The next day you were awoken by the guys' cheering upon seeing the both of you just cuddling in your sleep. They could cheer all they wanted. Right now, all you had on your mind was the strong man big a big spoon with big cuddles in his sleep, and it's all that mattered.

#arataki itto #itto x you #itto imagines #genshin itto #genshin impact itto #genshin impact #genshin x you #itto x gn reader #genshin x reader #genshin impact x reader #i still don't know how to tag my posts AGHIROG

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yanderelmk · 1 year

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tw; mentions of pedœphilia, and gr∞ming

I got sick and slept for a few days to come back to this blog to someone trying to argue how simping/lusting for a minor character isn't pedophilia??? so a very bare bone but decent enough reasoning as to why the annon or annon's are wrong.

- 1 - it is, by definition, it is. there's not if's, and's, or but's about it. yes it's a fictional character, but it is still a child, so by definition you are defending pedophilia.

- 2 - children characters, regardless of how old they are in human years, if they are defined as a child by their species or peers, it's a child, point blank. so the whole "but they lived so and so years" argument, is an empty excuse to to be a pedophile without the repercussions of your actions or the judgment of your vile behavior.

- 3 - I'm 19, going onto 20, if I see a child character, I don't think about them past "damn, it's a kid" or "wow, that's my sibling now" because thinking past that is disgusting and concerning. the absolute worst I've done, is aged up characters to feel comfortable with the idea of being *friends* with them because I don't feel comfortable being friends with anyone 2 years younger than me.

- 4 - fiction, can bleed into reality. people who engage in that style of "content" can and most do, act on it. that's why it is repulsive and vile, by defending it you are actively encouraging it and putting real children at risk.

- 5 - what if it was you? seriously, what if it was happening to you? what if it was your best friend or a younger family member? would you be comfortable with it then? if you can't say you'd be okay with something in that context, with nothing else changing but the person it was happening to, then clearly something about the situation is wrong, and if you cannot understand that, you need help.

a child, is a child.

children, cannot consent because they don't understand, their minds aren't developed enough to understand and quite frankly, it's repulsive and terrifying that someone has tried to defend this behavior. worse if it was more than one person. I am not speaking from a place of "moral superiority" but from the place of a past victim, I was groomed as a kid. it was a terrible experience that haunts me to this day to the point I no longer celebrate my birthday anymore. 3 years of my childhood was lost to someone I thought I could trust, and so did my family and I am lucky that they never went all the way with me despite their best efforts. and if you think a monster ruining a person's life is okay, I hope you get the help you need. it is on the adult for behaving in such a repulsive manor and to the annon or annon's trying to argue that this is okay behavior, I hope you seek out therapy and get the help that you so clearly need. this isn't okay by any means and the fact you are trying to defend it speaks volumes to what kind of monster you are.

good on the owner of this page for discontinuing the content that led to this issue, you are a good person for doing this and I am genuinely very grateful that you have done this. I'm sorry for the petty and idiotic drama it has caused you. I hope things stop and you get to go back to your normal life and get to enjoy the things you enjoy without dealing with grimey monsters who try to defend other monsters like them.

- 🪷

AMEN, YOU BETTER PREACH, SEND A BUCKET AROUND Also thanks for the kind words! I've been doing my best to get my steam back up and going. I'm working on one of the more detailed requests bit by bit. I've noticed a small drop in followers since the post and tbh all I can think of is "Wow so all of those people were so mad about not being able to sex up a minor they went to pout off when someone had a reasonable reaction to something absolutely despicable and horrific." See ya, you creeps won't be missed! I'm sorry to hear that you're a victim, as a fellow survivor I hereby bump my fist with yours in solidarity. To anyone who still wants to try to dig their heels in, allow me to present a question: Do you not think it weird that you are fighting and kicking and screaming for the "right" to draw/write porn for a character of dubious age when there are PLENTY of confirmed of-age characters? To the specific point of the 'immortal who looks like a child' argument: Why are you so obsessed with proving that a religious deity (in the case of Nezha)/fictional character who is clearly physically/mentally a minor can have sex or do sexual things? Get your head out of the pants of kids and into a Bible cuz y'all clearly need some form of Jesus.

#melody chatter

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lemon-inferno · 2 years

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Reborn Rich episode 12 ✔️

Aaah, what an episode! I watched it a little late, but it got me so immersed. Okay, there’s just a few things I want to say, so let’s just start in order.

The scene in the hospital where the chairman first realizes something is wrong with his mind was heartbreaking, but what I saw in it was more than that. The great man Jin Yang Cheol who founded Soonyang and gave it his life, the thing he lives and breathes for. His dream that he held in his hands. Suddenly we see him as a withered, pitiful old man. It’s about feeling the power of life and how fragile humans are actually.

Next one is when he went to the board meeting. I saw the tears in Do Jun’s eyes when the chairman was smiling at him and clapping. That was probably one of the sincerest smiles Jin Yang Cheol has ever given anyone and it made me really feel how he has bonded with his grandson over the course of the show. What set it in stone for me was the elevator scene. In that moment, when Do Jun did literally wipe his piss off the floor to hide his shame, Do Jun was the only person in Jin Yang Cheol’s world that he felt really loved him and treated him like a grandfather, a family member, not just a wallet. I know that Jin Yang Cheol is not a warm man, he may not have been the best father or husband, but he is a good man in his own right. And he is a brilliant businessman. He gave everything to his wife and children that they needed. With all the money that had afforded to them, even if it wasn’t Soonyang, they could’ve built successful businesses of their own. We may try to excuse it with accepting money as their father’s affection, but we all know any grown man (and woman) should know better, especially with the education that you’ve been lucky to receive. They’re just greedy and blame that greed on their father.

As for the grandmother, Lee Pil Ok, I knew something was up with her when she revealed her cold side a couple of episodes ago, but I didn’t think she’d be the one attempting to kill her husband “for her children”. Since Yoon Ki isn’t her son, and Do Jun isn’t her grandson, she couldn’t bare lose the company and the money to the “other woman” as well. I think that’s her intentions behind it, even if she can’t comprehend it herself and blames it on her love for her children. We could say it’s both actually. Why do her children have to lose to this woman as well? She probably hated that thought so much it made her resent Jin Yang Cheol despite the things she’s gained from her marriage with him. She and her children were given everything, all they had to do is use it right. To think she’d to this to the person she’s spent her life with. The accident that she caused gave him something worse than death. As we saw, he risked his life to get rid of this state for two hours. We can deduct that he’d rather be dead than be in this helpless state and have to depend on people who want to take everything from you. The reason why he was so reluctant to give Soonyang to any of them was because none of them cared to know what Soonyang really means to him and appreciate the effort he’s put into it.

Speaking of characters, I like that they revealed more of Sung Jun’s genius. He’s actually someone I wish we had seen more of, because I really like him. He’s in a constant state of conflict (in my eyes), because on one hand he’d do anything to protect his father and doing the right thing by respecting his grandfather and not causing trouble. Why I think this is, is because, Sung Jun is smart enough to do what Do Jun did. Maybe not on the same scale, but if he was acting alone with himself as his only interest, I believe he could’ve taken the company from his father, easily. Why I think he doesn’t is because he more than anyone knows how badly his father wants to inherit the company after so many years and so much he’s sacrificed. He also knows that his father is only using him as an excuse to keep fighting for the company so he could “have something to leave to his son”. I really do think Sung Jun is was smarter than anyone gives him credit for. I’d also like to think that the photos that were taken when he was at the factory, were a genuine side of him. He found temporary peace there, even if it’s not peace he was looking for. Eventually he got yanked back onto the chess board, because he was a very important pawn for his father. But in the end, no matter how smart, his genius is misplaced.

And last, for a reason, I don’t even get why Min Young is in this even with her function as a prosecutor. Even though they’re both good people, their values crash. Min Young must always follow law and the order it goes through to achieve something, in that she is absolute and refuses to look the other way even for someone she loves. Do Jun on the other hand has already tasted everything life has to offer. From all the suffering he went through with Hyun Woo to everything he gained as Do Jun. He will not harm innocent people, but he’s not afraid of paying back those who have harmed him or his loved ones with interest, even if it means doing something shady. This is why I never could see this relationship. No chemistry between the actors, no chemistry between the characters. Just when we think Min Young will finally do something, she doesn’t. I mean, I do fully except her to go through with this investigation, but at this point in the show, why? We didn’t really need her initial scene at the gallery with Hyun Min to find the culprit. And now we don’t really need her to catch the culprit, because Do Jun has the evidence and could report her at any moment. I assume that’s not gonna happen and Min Young will still be the one to trigger that, I just don’t understand why.

Amazing episode, can’t wait for the next one.

#reborn rich #reborn rich kdrama #kdrama #kdrama talk #kdrama thoughts #the youngest son of a conglomerate #song joong ki #lee sung min #shin hyun bin #kim hyun #kim nam hee #park ji hyun #reborn remon

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messers-moony · 3 years

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Runaways | R.B

Paring: Regulus Black X Twin!Fem!Reader

Summary: Regulus refuses to lose yet another sibling after Sirius leaves.

Being a Hufflepuff Prefect with a mischievous older Gryffindor brother is a lot of work. Sirius is frequently getting into trouble, and Remus is no help. But honestly? Y/n isn’t either. If anything, she laughs at her brother and her friend's antics. Y/n is the only Black family member still in good shape with all her family.

Sirius was overjoyed when Y/n was into Hufflepuff. His little sister following in his footsteps of no longer being a Slytherin. However, Y/n’s twin brother - Regulus - was sorted into Slytherin. She didn’t let that define their relationship. Y/n was close with her twin and the Marauders. Remus often bumped her shoulder in the halls making her smile. The werewolf often had that effect on her. So did James, and so did Peter.

But no one made a giant smile appear on her face than Sirius and Regulus.

“Oi! Little sis!” His voice, it was calm and bright, something she hadn’t heard in a long time.

Y/n turned, “Hey Siri.”

Sirius’ arm went around her shoulders, “How’s your day been?”

“Good, yours?”

“Oh,” Sirius sighed, dreaming, making her chuckle, “It’s been perfect, dear sister.”

“What did you do now?” Y/n fake scolded, “Everything.” Sirius replied.

A familiar raven-haired boy was making their way towards them, hoping and praying that they wouldn’t notice. His green tie and green robes. The prefect badge on the left side of his chest. The wavy black hair and the beautiful grey eyes. The 5’11 Slytherin walking towards his twin sister and older brother. The people he adored the most in the world but barely talked to within the castle walls. His plan ultimately failed.

Regulus turned to walk by his two siblings only for Y/n to wrap an around his shoulder, “Reggie!”

“Y/n, Sirius.” Regulus greeted with the corners of his lips barely turning up, “How’s your day been?” Sirius asked, turning to look at his younger brother.

“Good until two idiots came along.” He joked with a smile adorning his features.

Y/n put her hand on her heart dramatically, “You wound me!”

Both brothers chuckled, and a Professor came to greet them in the middle of the hallway, seeing their beautiful smiling faces, “All three Black’s in one spot. How brilliant!” Slughorn commented as Sirius faked tipping his hat.

The three Black siblings. The Black trio. One Gryffindor, one Slytherin, and one Hufflepuff. Oh, how Walburga adored them despite the way she treated them. It was never in her heart to treat them the way she does. Orion had such a soft spot for his twins. But alas, both parents knew that if they didn’t raise them correctly - or without abuse - they would only get hurt worse. Walburga knew that if she treated them the way she truly wanted to, they’d be split.

But that never compared to the aching in her heart when she had to cast a spell on her children. The kids she was sworn to protect. Walburga never wanted this life, never wanted to marry Orion, hell, she never even wanted kids, but Merlin, her kids were great. Slughorn and McGonagall would send her letters of how wonderfully they’ve been doing in their studies, how Sirius made another cauldron explode, how Regulus caught the snitch and won the Quidditch Cup, how Y/n made prefect and was top of her class.

It was beautiful, and for once, Walburga was happy. She hid all the letters from Orion. If Orion knew he’d made Walburga send a howler, and she didn’t want that. Godric how she hated the awful red colors the howlers came in. The awful shade of brilliant rose. It brought a grimace to her face just thinking about it. But like everything, the truth comes out, and Sirius eventually got a howler.

Sirius let go of Y/n to begin Transfiguration while the two twins made their way to Herbology. Not before Sirius kissing the tops of their heads like he did when they were kids, “I love you guys!”

“Black, get in here!” McGonagall yelled, and both twins laughed, “We love you too!” They replied in unison.

Regulus and Y/n laughed, their arms around each other's shoulders, “I never want him to leave.” Regulus admitted.

“Me either.”

The day was uneventful. More learning, more foolishness, and more laughter. Professor Sprout couldn’t help but smile at the Black twins in her classroom. Regulus was always ice cold when not around his siblings. They made him shine even if he couldn’t find a reason to. It didn’t matter where they were. The Black trio always brought smiles with them. Whether it was Y/n and Sirius, the twins, or all three, their smiles, their laughs, their happiness was so contagious. Three children from an abusive home, coming together to make each other smile. How is it possible?

Y/n would be the answer. The glue to the Black family. The bond to keep her brothers from drifting apart. But that all changed in the summer of 1976.

It was dark and another day of yelling. Sirius couldn’t take it anymore. He needed to leave. He wanted to go. It was bound to happen. He kept telling himself. But did that excuse leaving his siblings behind? Would he risk their safety for his own pleasure? Sirius didn’t have time to think about it. He packed his trunk and opened the window. One leg out and just about to get the other over until his door opened.

His little sister, “Sirius?”

“Hey, sis…” Sirius hated how his voice shook and almost broke.

“What- Where are you going?”

He couldn’t help it; she needed to know the truth, “Away. Far away from here.”

Y/n crossed her arms slowly, “Without saying goodbye?”

“Goodbye?” Sirius replied with a nervous smile.

She shook her head with a smile, walking toward his window. Sirius expected a smack, a lecture. But she didn’t do that. Y/n cupped both his cheeks and kissed his forehead like he did when she was hurt. Tears filled his grey eyes without permission as he stared at his younger sister's glossed eyes. Gently she ran her hand through his hair, moving it back.

“I suppose you were never good at goodbyes.”

“Not really, no.” Sirius chuckled.

Y/n smiled, “I know you aren’t happy here. You were never happy here.” Sirius interrupted before she could continue, “You could give Remus a run for his money.”

“Listen, Sirius, please.” She pleaded, and Sirius looked at her eyes; he’d miss them, “All I ask, is that you take care of yourself. Regulus and I, we’ll manage. But you should say goodbye to him too….”

“Go get him.”

It took minutes, but Regulus was eventually standing in front of his older brother, one leg out of the window and the other inside his bedroom. Y/n stood behind them, arms crossed with tears streaming down her cheeks silently. Regulus looked like he wanted to cry, but he didn’t. Sirius didn’t care anymore. Silver trails ran down his cheeks, especially when Regulus hugged his older brother with all his strength.

“I'm going to miss you.”

Sirius sniffled, “I’ll miss you a hundred times more.”

“Impossible.” Y/n interjected, smiling.

Regulus and Sirius pulled apart, Regulus now standing beside his twin, “I need you to know,” Sirius began, looking at Regulus, “James isn’t your replacement. He is nothing compared to you. You’re my brother, always.”

“And you,” He turned to Y/n after Regulus nodded, “You’re my baby sister, through and through. Just because I’m leaving doesn’t mean you can give me detention.”

They chuckled, and possibly for the last time, “Always.”

“Forever.”

“Together.”

Sirius gave a watery smile and finished the jump out his window. Wordlessly Y/n shut it behind him. Regulus stood in front of the glass pane until Sirius was out of sight and gave a heavy sigh. Y/n was standing right beside him, leaning her head on his shoulder.

“I knew it was going to happen. I just wish it wasn’t so soon.” Regulus whispered, “I know.” Y/n agreed.

Regulus took her hand, “Forever.”

“Together.” Y/n replied, squeezing his hand.

So many they lost their always, but they still had each other. The next night at dinner was dreadful. Possibly the worst one yet, “Where is he!”

“I- I don’t know.” Y/n answered, cowering away, her hand rubbing her forearm.

Walburga looked at Regulus, and he shook his head, “Where is Sirius?”

“Gone.” Walburga replied to her husband, who gave a mere shrug at the answer, “Our heir is gone, Orion! What are we going to do now.”

“The reasonable thing, Y/n is next in line.”

Walburga scoffed, “Absolutely not.”

Regulus reached for his sister's hand after noticing the tears collecting in her eyes, “She is a disgrace! Just like Sirius!”

Orion put down the daily prophet, looking at his wife across the table, “What would you like me to do about it?”

“Regulus!” The boy stiffened, “You are our next heir.”

“No!” Y/n exclaimed, her rage taking over, “That isn’t how it works! I’m the next in line, disgrace or not. I'm older than Regulus.”

Walburga pulled out her wand, but Y/n didn’t flinch, “With that courage, you should be in Gryffindor.” The older woman seethed.

“You feel no remorse, do you?” Y/n asked, but she did; Godric, Walburga hated herself, “Putting your wand to my neck like I’m some training dummy.”

“How do you think we feel! Our older brother is gone! The one who took care of us because our parents can’t.”

Y/n had tears flowing down her cheeks, “How do you think we feel?”

The girl stood up from the table without being dismissed after letting go of Regulus’ hand, “I saw the tapestry.”

“You burned him from it! What kind of monster are you?! He’s your son regardless of his house. I’ll be your heir, but I will never be your puppet.”

Y/n ran up to her bedroom. Walburga and Orion stared at their son, who sat as stiff as a board. More minutes passed, and Regulus left the table too but not before speaking to his parents, “I’ll- I’ll be your heir. I’ll be your son.”

“Brilliant. Thank you, Regulus.” Walburga smiled.

Regulus lost his brother. He wasn’t losing his sister. But over time, it felt like he was. There was no more laughter in the halls. Only one Black sibling was laughing and smiling - Sirius. There was no more hugging in the halls, no more playing around. Regulus and Y/n were ice. They were cold and in pain. That was the first thing Sirius noticed. His siblings hadn’t stopped by his carriage like usual. It dampened his mood.

“Hey, I’m sure they’re just busy.” James had reassured, but Sirius wasn’t so sure.

It was the first ride to Hogwarts that Sirius was utterly silent. He played with the ribbon in his hand. It was a green ribbon that he carried with him everywhere. The boys never knew what it was or where it came from. They had just discovered that Sirius would fidget with it when he was upset. Remus noticed it first - of course - but James did too, and shortly Peter followed. It was her ribbon, Y/n’s ribbon. A ribbon she wore in her hair when she was seven.

After a bad punishment, Sirius had been given Y/n took care of him. Washed his cuts and plastered them. It was then she learned how much Sirius loved when people did his hair. So she braided it for him and tied it off with her green ribbon. He remembered the way it felt on his fingertips. So perfectly combed and webbed together. It was the reason his hair was long enough to braid. Every Quidditch match, he’d weave it. James asked why once, and Sirius ignored him, but Y/n knew. It was okay to keep secrets sometimes.

Fifth-year for the twins went by smoothly. Sirius’ sixth year was hell. He missed his siblings so much somedays it was hard to get up in the morning. Regardless it was hard to get Sirius out of bed in the morning, but this year was particularly rough. It was like he was in a constant state of Remus after the full moon - tired, fatigued and sad.

He missed Regulus’ smile and Y/n’s laughter. Godric, he missed everything! Sirius cried - sobbed about it at night. His silencing charms weren’t good. It left James and Remus in a tricky spot. It was apparent he didn’t want to talk about it because if he did, he would’ve by now. Remus stopped seeing the twins during prefect rounds and stopped seeing Y/n altogether. It was like she was avoiding them.

The twins did their prefect rounds together, studied together, and only talked to each other. It broke Sirius’ heart. He ruined everything just for his own pleasure. But hadn’t Y/n meant what she said? That she wanted him to be happy? Sirius wasn’t happy. He was far from it.

Regulus had nightmares every night about his parents. About his brother leaving, about everything. So he didn’t sleep most nights, and instead, he threw himself into his studies. Occasionally he’d realized that he had done two essays and then understood that he no longer had to do his brother's homework. Regulus had copies of reports everywhere because it was a habit. A habit he had to lose.

Y/n stopped baking extra cookies. Every Saturday, she’d go to the kitchens to bake a new delicacy the muggle way. Y/n couldn’t help but accidentally bake extra for her Gryffindor brother, only to realize that she wouldn’t give them to him. Instead, she gave them to the house elves to serve after dinner in the Great Hall. They’d appear on the Gryffindor table, and Sirius knew they were a product of her.

During the summer holiday of 1977, Regulus began to notice that Y/n gone often. Walburga would send her away, or Orion would make her run an errand. Regardless Y/n wasn’t around as much. Was she going to run like Sirius? Walburga and Orion sent her to Auror training. Y/n was young, too young for this training. It was Auror training, but they weren’t training her to work for the Ministry. They were preparing for her to become a death eater.

Weeks passed, and Regulus felt saddened by her absence. So one day at dinner, he spoke up, “Why haven’t you been present at home?”

Y/n chuckled, “Are you serious? You haven’t told him?”

“What- What do you mean?” Regulus questions suspiciously.

Walburga coughed, “She’s been put into training.”

“Training?”

“Auror training.”

“But not to be an Auror, to be a death eater.”

Y/n scoffed, “Bullshit, tell him the real reason.”

She looked at both her parents, “They don’t want me anymore. They send me away because it’s easier than disowning me, like Sirius.”

“N- No.” Regulus denied, “Mum, tell me that she’s lying.”

Silence, “Answer me, please.” Regulus pleaded as a water film glossed his grey eyes.

“She’s not lying.” Orion stated, and Regulus let his tears fall down his cheeks, “No! I won’t let you take her from me!”

Regulus stood up, and his chair flipped behind him, “If you disown her, you disown me!”

“Reggie…”

“No! Please no!” Regulus was clawing at his hair, sobbing, “Don’t take her too….” He whimpered.

Y/n began to stand up until Walburga sent a spell her way, throwing her back. It just made Regulus cry more. He couldn’t. He wouldn’t. They were sixteen! This wasn’t fair. So Regulus stood up and held back his tears. Walburga held her wand to his throat, making Y/n nervous. But Regulus was cold, ice cold. Hastily he grabbed his mother's wand and snapped it. Y/n didn’t have time to gape. Regulus ran to her, and they ran.

Through the front door to anywhere else in the dark of the night. Orion was too busy with his wife to realize his children were gone. Y/n was sure they were miles away before they stopped. No magic could be done. They weren’t seventeen yet. They’d have to survive without magic. But then she heard it. A howl. It was a risk, a big one, but they had to take it.

She took her brother's hand and began running towards it, “Y/n, where are we going?”

“To whatever is howling.”

“Are you mental?”

“Maybe.” Y/n shrugged.

Suddenly he saw it. That look Sirius always had. She looked free, happy, and mischievous. Suddenly she wasn’t Y/n Black. She was just Y/n. His twin sister. The girl that would beg her brothers to adventure with her, to trust her blindly. That’s what he was doing now - trusting her blindly. They must’ve been miles away. Regulus didn’t even know how they got that far, but in the forest, the howling got louder.

But at the edge of the forest was a black dog, guarding the entrance to the woods, making sure that no one entered. The stag was taking care of the werewolf. They took turns. One full moon, the dog, was to stand guard, next the stag. Y/n cried upon seeing the animal. She dropped to her knees, and Regulus knelt beside her. The dog looked familiar and gave them both great kisses. They fell asleep together. Y/n, Regulus and the dog.

The following morning, James went back out to the forest after realizing Padfoot was missing. At the entrance of the forest, he saw them. The Black trio. So he left them. Sirius knew the way back; it wasn’t worth ruining their moment. Regulus stirred awake first and woke the dog. The dog left a multitude of kisses on the twins. Y/n woke up shortly after.

Regulus was appalled to see the dog turn into his older brother but happy nonetheless, “Sirius!”

“Reggie.” Sirius replied, holding him close.

They parted, and Sirius kissed his forehead, “How?”

“The howling.”

“How did you leave?”

“I snapped mum’s wand.”

Sirius looked flabbergasted, “Really?”

“She- She was going to separate us. I didn’t- I couldn’t lose another sibling.” Regulus admitted, and Sirius took him into his arms again, “Never again. I promise.”

Y/n chuckled, “Looks like we’re all runaways.”

Sirius grabbed her into the hug, “But we’re doing it together.”

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simonalkenmayer · 2 years

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Pardon my forthcoming rant:

Abortion bans make no sense. Not in any, ANY way.

Financially it makes no sense. Forced birth states have resulted in thousands upon thousands of children who weren’t wanted in the system. There are no benefits for unwanted children. There are no benefits in this society that make motherhood tenable. The wages are so low that it is now impossible to survive while living alone. If one member of a couple is forced into child rearing, families will starve. The financial drain on the state will be huge. The states enacting abortion bans are the same states who draw the most on federal funds, so why in hells name would they want to have to draw more? Be in more desperate financial standing? These people argue against a welfare state, but are condemning people to it. No health care, no prenatal care, no paid leave, no livable wage, no benefits, no subsidies. They want women to sacrifice their health and wellness and force them to either draw on the state or push children into a military industrial complex that forces young people into wars as a means of financial stability and then ignores them when they are vets.

It makes no sense religiously! Abortion isn’t mentioned in the Bible. Even if it was, it doesn’t matter, because this isn’t a Christian country. No, it’s not. Half the “founding fathers”, aside from owning slaves and raping children, were agnostic, some were atheists, and half the things these stupid idiots think are inviolate were invented in the nationalism of the 30’s. Flag etiquette , the pledge of allegiance, the “In god we trust” on our currency, all added later. This was not a country of Christianity. It was a country in which religion was never meant to play a hand. But what good does it do for a church to deprive half of the worshippers of their bodily autonomy? How will this in any way rebuild the church, in an age of social media? Watch for laws that restrict information next. They’re already doing it in schools.

It makes no god damn political sense. Why, right before a midterm, one they have to win if they want to prove voting won’t be a referendum on the GOP, would they EVER poke the sleeping giant of young voters? Why on earth would they do this right now? To me it seems as if this plan was both a slow moving plot that suddenly was jammed into effect AND the result of desperation to distract from everything else they’re doing badly. This is cartoonishly bad. This is insanity.

It makes no legal sense! The constitution provides for autonomy. Life liberty and pursuit of happiness. Autonomy. You cannot deprive a citizen of equality. And in the case of medically necessary abortion, you cannot legally deprive a citizen of life, when they have not undergone due process of law. You cannot deprive a person of a right they’ve been granted and call yourself a democracy.

It makes no sense scientifically—a fetus is not capable of being an autonomous creature until it can live outside the womb. And the potential of one person cannot supersede the reality of another. Otherwise people could be put to death for not being perceived as capable of breeding and making healthy children. This is the beginning of eugenics. Don’t believe me? You haven’t been paying attention. Ectopic pregnancies are lethal to both mother and fetus. There is no reason whatsoever to force a woman to keep an ectopic pregnancy. It’s just an excuse to murder her. Rape and incest are horribly scarring to mental and physical health and incest results in malformations and illness in the children. Medical PTSD is real. We have the worst maternal death rates of any first world nation, so asking a woman to carry to term is asking her to risk her very life. Then on top of all of that, criminalizing miscarriage is already occurring. You cannot prevent a woman from having healthcare as a right, beneath the banner of “healthcare freedom of choice” and then legislate the choices she makes with it. If healthcare isn’t a right, then you cannot force a person to give birth.

Psychologically this makes no sense. Do you really want to saddle people with tiny humans they aren’t ready to raise and will come to resent? Are you ready for a generation of exhausted, bankrupted poor?

It makes no sense logistically. What are going to happen to these children? Coney Barret cites “adoption demand” in her decision. What demand? How many unadopted kids do we have? How much fewer would we have if gay couples lost the right to adopt? So where are all these desperate mothers? In the 30’s-50’s we had baby farms. Women who’d buy and sell and even steal babies and then sell them. Is that what we want back? What will happen to all the children? This country can’t repair its roads. Are we really going to demand that pregnant people produce thousands more children? What plan exists for them? How many foster children report violence and abuse? How many kids actually thrive in the current system? How many social workers do we have? Aren’t they already overworked?

It makes no sense! Not in any way. This is just a plain bad idea

My friends, this is the last gasp of freedom in this country. This cannot stand. We actually have to react now. Those marches and protests that happened for police brutality? They have to happen again. In fact, protest should happen on a massive scale.

If you have a uterus and can afford to, (even if you can’t, this is worth it) call into work on Mother’s Day. Call in the day after. Call in until your employer or company commits to standing with reproductive rights. Until they put their money where their mouth is. To hell with this capitalist hell scape. People with uteruses have the power to crush this country. So do it.

One thing I hear constantly from the younger generations is “the older people are infantilizing us and ignoring us”. You want power? Take it. Force them to let go. Pry it out of their cold wrinkled hands. Fight back. You can affect massive change if you do it.

Take it from someone who has done it more than once.

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jasontodding · 3 years

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i really have never seen anything quite like the power of fandom continuing to show up and make excuses for absolute pos male characters because they’re objectively ~~attractive.

ohhhhh poor nick goode !! so pressured by his family’s expectations !!! if you read between the lines deep down he obviously still loved ziggy !!!

like…. my god. i shipped them too in 1978, but that was before we found out that he and his entire family knowingly lived off a deal their ancestor made that continuously sacrificed people year after year from the “wrong side of town”, all in the name of keeping sunnyvale the quintessential seat of wealth and prosperity.

that abundance was built off the literal blood sacrifice of people who unwillingly lost their lives all because the greed of one bloodline. because solomon goode wanted more.

nick was 110% content to let things continue on as they were- dooming hundreds of ordinary citizens to lifetimes of bad luck and misery and tragedy, all so his own family could selfishly continue to prosper like they had for years. ziggy probably lived for years with what had happened at camp nightwing weighing on her. the paranoia, the drinking, the obsessiveness- all signs of major PTSD. you don’t let someone you love live like that. ziggy saw her sister die in front of her, sacrificing herself because cindy thought she could stop the curse and give her sister a good life- a life of freedom from the “curse” they all believed sara fier put on shadyside. he brought her back to life, he wanted her. wanted her with a kind of selfishness that let her live in a nightmare long after the ambulance drove her out of camp nightwing. because she told him it was the curse, and was probably so hurt when nothing came of it. when everyone just assumed tommy went crazy, killed his girlfriend and a bunch of others. she probably felt broken and betrayed and a thousand other things, on top of living with the memory of the flashes of knowledge she received when her blood dripped onto sarah’s hand bone- stuff she didn’t even fully understand. nick could’ve validated her. nick could’ve supported her, backed her up. but nick said absolutely nothing. nick did nothing. NICK CHOSE TO SAY AND DO NOTHING, because in reality, he knew it was all realer than real- knew that his own ancestor was the originator of the curse, that the goode family kept it going from solomon up until then and even beyond that afterwards.

in 1978, ziggy said to him, “do you believe me?”. and he looked her right in the eye, while fellow campers, innocent people were being murdered and said “yes”, knowing FULL WELL HIS FAMILY WAS THE REASON THOSE CHILDREN WERE BEING SLAUGHTERED. just because they were deemed a necessary sacrifice to continue the unceasing prosperity of sunnyvale, and had the bad luck of being from the shadyside. while she was covered in blood and begging him to believe her, he already knew what was happening and why.

maybe some part of nick faltered at the sheer violence and carnage his family wreaked over time. maybe he had times where he doubted everything that was happening- but the fact is, people died because of him and his family. cindy died. but ziggy made it. becuause ziggy was pretty, because he liked her, because he thought she was different than the other people from shadyside, the ones he and his family deemed as expendable for their own gain.

but it’s like the widow said- making a deal with the devil is a CHOICE.

nick lived in the wealth his bloodline provided him. nothing that was earned, just built off the literal blood sacrifice of others. nick CHOSE to continue that. he wasn’t asking probing questions to deena, sam, simon, kate, and josh because he wanted to get down to the truth of what really happened- BECAUSE HE ALREADY KNEW. he just wanted to know how close they were to the truth. the truth of how much blood was on his and his family’s hands.

he called deena a d*ke, would’ve ended ziggy no matter how much of a crush he had on her, just to continue the whole frickin’ thing. to keep it going. he was just as selfish and greedy as solomon was.

nick goode was evil, but he had a pretty face, right? so viewers will keep searching for a reason for even a modicum of good in him. young nick and ziggy were adorable, so people can’t accept that he CHOSE to hurt her. like ziggy would ever fucking be okay with this man getting away with it all- she may have liked nick, but she LOVED her sister.

stop doing ziggy a disservice by trying to find some sort of overly multidimensional spin on nick. i’ll admit, i had a moment after i finished all 3 movies where i was like, damn, it sucks ziggy and nick didn’t make it, they had chemistry. and then i wanted to slap my hand on my forehead, because i was completely missing the point. fear street has an unexpected beauty to it because of the love characters have for each other- deena and josh, cindy and ziggy, sara and hannah, etc. it’s unselfish and pure and stubborn and all encompassing, it drives them and those characters would do so much for the ones they love.

nick’s “love” for ziggy, if you can even call it that, was not that type of life. it was selfish, and it was based on lies. even though she had a prickly exterior, ziggy obviously cared for others- hell, sheila strung her up and burned her and she still went back and risked her life to help her. nick presented as if he was also that way, as well as an outsider in his own life, someone who didn’t fit in. and maybe nick didn’t. maybe nick really struggled deep down with the curse. but in the end, nick made choices. just like solomon made the choice to deal with the devil, nick chose to let ziggy live in self-doubt and fear. nick chose to be selfish, to protect his family’s own interests.

you can still have chemistry with people who suck, that’s the catch of life. monsters can have attractive faces too. but to try to dive deep into nick’s character like he was eternally stuck as the conflicted teenage boy who wasn’t sure if he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps, even when he held a gun to ziggy’s head… ugh.

stop making excuses for the fucked up shit male characters do. they may look good, they may have been possible love interests, but why on god’s earth would you blatantly ignore the fact that someone like nick CHOOSE to continue the cycle solomon started so many years ago??

why is it so important to find reasons to explain away nick’s abhorrent behaviour? because teen nick and ziggy were cute? you can acknowledge that but still be able to point out nick’s deceit, his selfishness.

idk man this phenomenon is… troubling to say the least.

#fear street #fear street spoilers #ziggy berman #nick goode

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motsimages · 2 years

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Green flags for adult-minor interaction

I have seen a couple of posts to get minors alert to notice possible grooming online. It is necessary to be aware of that and I always reblog them. However, I also believe that it is healthy for children and teenagers to have adults they can trust outside of their family. For one, maybe the family is abusive or not good for them for whatever the reason. But also, even if the family is a good one and the relationship is good, it is also positive to have other role models outside of it, other people to whom you can speak about things you don't want to tell to your mother.

So here is a list of Green Flags for minors when speaking with adults:

1- They will always follow your lead. They won't ask you personal questions about your life or your family out of the blue and they won't force you to speak about it if you don't want to. They may give their POV if you tell them, but they won't dig for more details than you are comfortable sharing. They will also stop you if you get confused or say something intrusive (more on this later).

1- You speak about hobbies and personal interests. If you share a hobbie, that will be the main topic of conversation. For instance, if you are taking drawing lessons and you get along with an adult there, they may comment what you both draw, comment on the teacher and the way the class goes, speak about art and exhibitions, etc. If it is online, let's say, in a fandom, you will mainly bond about characters, plotlines and fandom related stuff. They will show interest in your opinion and POV about the hobbie/common ground but they won't move outside of it, nor will they use it as an excuse to get information you otherwise wouldn't share.

3- Related to this one: they will respect the figures of authority you have in your life, even if they are not ideal. They won't put you against them or create conflict between you and your family when you are in an emotional or vulnerable situation, they will always mediate between your feelings and the authority your parents have. Let's say you are angry at your mom because she did something you didn't like. You may want to tell somebody and you tell this person. Because your mom is your figure of authority, they may say "Well, I understand how you feel, it's a pain in the ass but mothers are busy and tired sometimes, she wasn't nice about it, but she didn't mean harm, remember to be patient with her too". If your mom is actually an abusive person, they may let you know that this is not normal or desirable behavior but, unless your life is in immediate danger, they also won't present themselves as The Solution. They may invite you to set boundaries for yourself ("She shouldn't have read your diary, you can tell her that you don't want her to do that. Hide your diary somewhere where she won't look"), to ask for help at your school ("Find the school counselor and see if they can set a meeting with your mother or get social services involved") or to find other help, but not necessarily themselves or not themselves alone. Abusive families are tricky and, unless your life is an immediate risk, often it's riskier to get involved for both of you and can worsen the situation.

4- They will probably use some kind of public communication. Maybe you only speak when you meet in class and out in the street. Maybe you only speak on the discord channel where other people share the same fandom. Even if it is a "secret" conversation (a private chat), it will be in a bigger channel, not a hidden room. Unless it is a real risk for you, they will want to know your parents and that your parents know them (at least, from reference, maybe even in person) and only then they will give you a more personal / direct contact, if at all.

5- Related to that one, they will avoid making plans just the two of you, generally speaking. If there is a plan that only involves the two of you, it will probably follow all the other green flags: it is about a shared interest, with the informed consent of your parents or other people you trust, for a reasonable amount of time and following your lead/your parents' lead. If you don't want to tell your parents because of your family situation and they know this, they will make the situation as safe as possible for you and for them (again, public place, other people knowing about it or even present, etc.)

6- If they notice you are getting confused about the nature of the relationship, or if you are getting more eager for whatever the reason, they will inform you about it and set a boundary. They will not use the feelings or confusion you have for them in their favour.

7- Maybe you want to ask questions about sex. Again, following point 1, they will follow your lead. They will not bring up sex in conversations, they will not ask you personal questions about your sex life further than "do you have a crush on someone?" (and even that, rarely). They may answer your questions, they may offer you information you lack or refer you to other resources. They may also set boundaries if you over-step ("Well, this is not a conversation I want to have with you, it's too personal/you are too young for this chat, come back in a couple of years", for instance).

8- They will sincerely apologise if they misunderstood something and will stop doing it if you ask them too, no negotiation.

In short, they will treat you like a person, but they will know at all moments that you are younger and that they are responsible for your well-being. They won't be patronising but they also won't make you forget the social hierarchy and power imbalance. Read this post for a real life example of adult-child friendship in fandom.

As for me: when I was a teenager, my parents met a comic artist and thought it would motivate me to explore my artistic side to be in touch with him. He was probably in his 30s. We wrote letters to each other that my parents never checked but they knew him (they gave him our address), and he knew them. The letters were mainly comics he drew or I drew, he would reply to my comments about school and have a general interest in my life. We eventually lost contact but it was a tiny space of life outside of high school for me.

There were also friends of my parents (usually women) with whom I sometimes went on an excursion or joined in for conversation. Very rarely there was just the two of us, even if we had our own private conversation. Maybe there were other people sitting with us, or we were in the street in an area I knew well. Often, this wasn't done on purpose but it happened like that.

#green flags #adult-minor friendships #minors online

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hamliet · 4 years

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Dabi’s Missing Heart

So I’ve been seeing two main responses to Dabi’s character as portrayed in BNHA 292, both of which I feel touch on a very surface understanding of his character and role in the story despite seeming like opposite takes.

Take #1:

Dabi is an unfeeling monster created to show the redeemability of Shigaraki and Enji in contrast with his true eeeevil villainy! He will never be redeemed!

Take #2:

Dabi is a sweet softy who did nothing wrong! He will never be redeemed because of this chapter which is so out-of-character!

Note how they both have the same endpoint. I’m not actually gonna address the redemption question much because I can’t fathom what this panel foreshadows if not Touya’s salvation (alive):

I’m not looking to debate this either; I’m just putting it here because I know it’ll come up if I don’t.

Instead, I wanna address Dabi’s character. He’s my favorite, and I’ve been asked a few different times whether I enjoy him as a villain or as an uwu poor baby, and my answer is always both.

Dabi is a villain. This chapter’s rampage is, in my opinion, not remotely out of character for him. But neither is it the summation of his character, and he surely is not meant to make Enji look good by comparison.

So, who is Dabi?

Dabi is kind of a flaming jerk, and that’s why I like him. He’s an abuse victim who gets to be angry and crass and sharp. He pushes people away because he doesn’t want to open up to them and get burned (heh). He’s just like Shouto in that, except with a dose of murder.

Believe it or not, this is a very realistic response to abuse, and very common too. It’s good to see that representation. If the writing was indeed just “he’s bad get rid of him,” well, that would of course be a terrible representation. But seeing a mean victim get redeemed? Now that’s some good sh*t I’m here for.

If you want a sweethearted, misunderstood soft victim, there is one in MHA, and that’s Shigaraki. Dabi is not these things, but that does not mean he’s not a victim or that he’s somehow an unfeeling monster.

You see, Shigaraki is a heart character. Dabi’s the mind. (Heart and mind characters are a literary pattern that is utilized in literature across the globe; it’s not an eastern/western cultural thing. It has its roots in alchemy.) The problem is that you can’t have a heart without a mind nor a mind without a heart. If you lack one, you’re missing half the picture, and you won’t accomplish anything.

We see this with Shigaraki in his quest to look for ideals, something to believe in, purpose to justify/enable acting on his feelings/emotions.

Dabi, in contrast, has conviction and ideals, but eschews any kind of personal connection and care.

So, both Shigaraki and Dabi struggle to unite heart and mind--but they need to do precisely this.

It’s not a coincidence that Shigaraki expressly envisions both Dabi and Himiko when musing on what his purpose is.

Yet Shigaraki is able to unite more easily with Himiko as opposed to Dabi because Himiko is also a heart character. She claims to be motivated by extreme empathy that warps around to become a lack thereof (wanting to be who she loves).

Shigaraki’s motivations are basically revenge for hero society not saving him--which encompasses both a deep internal and external (societal) need for empathy and a need for better ideals. Shigaraki needs Himiko and Dabi. They’re a trio, and all of them need each other to grow. But Himiko, being similarly driven expressly by emotions, is easier for Shigaraki to understand and work with.

The irony is that Dabi is actually a very, very emotional character as well. But what he does (as is typical for a mind character) is repress them, compartmentalize, dissociate. He constantly pushes people away, yet admits privately, to himself, that he’s primarily (and paradoxically) motivated by family. This is emotional, yet Dabi claims he “overthought” and, according to other translations, “snapped” can be actually be read as “went crazy” as a result over overthinking (note: both are mind allusions).

Dabi repressing who he is--Todoroki Touya--is symbolic of him repressing his emotional side, because again, family and emotions are tied together for his character. Now his identity is acknowledged, and Dabi claims to be losing his mind (again), claims that he can’t feel, and yet is completely consumed by emotions. Like, does anyone think he’s being methodical and calculating this chapter?

It’s not just negative emotions (rage, hate) that drive Dabi in response to his family. His seeking belonging and emotional connection is present even in a chapter where he tries to murder two members of his family and laughs off the risk to the life of another.

See, Dabi first asked Shouto to validate his pain:

But like, given the circumstances, of course Shouto doesn’t really respond well. How Shouto responds is this:

Shouto’s words are triggering. And keep in mind I am not blaming Shouto: he’s in shock and he’s a kid. I’m merely trying to explain how it likely comes across to Dabi.

You’re crazy. Your feelings don’t matter. You don’t really care about Natsuo! You’re a villain and that’s ALL you are. Not a brother or abuse survivor. Just a villain.

So, uh, yeah, Dabi then retreats back to being unable to feel, dissociating as has always been his coping mechanism. But that’s not all: Dabi’s been repressing for so long that of course he’s gonna go a little insane in response to the dismissal of everything he’s trying to point out. Why wouldn’t he? His family dismissed his pain back then and now again, and so, without that heart, without those emotions, principle is all Dabi has. This has been present since long before Stain’s ideology came into his life:

Now, he answers this question of existence through Stain’s ideology. Purpose is all he has, and to him, Shouto and Best Jeanist are dismissing that too. Why are they dismissing it? Best Jeanist dismisses him for an ideal: the overall good of hero society. Shouto has a mixture of this ideal and also like, genuine shock and pain.

Back to Dabi. Dabi’s summation of himself and his purpose is incorrect and harmful to himself and others. I’m not excusing him or justifying, just explaining. It’s a tragic reflection of what Endeavor raised both Touya and Shouto to be (and thereby ironic that BJ uses an ideal to dismiss him):

Instead of being raised to be the symbol of hero society--as Endeavor intended--he exists to destroy it. The root is the same: Dabi assumes he exists for hero society, as a tool. He dehumanizes himself, hence why his quirk physically harms him (which also fits his almost religious zeal for Stain’s ideology). But it is not all Dabi is. He’s not a tool, he’s a person, but to acknowledge he’s a person involves acknowledging his heart/emotional desires, and that gets to my next point.

Dabi’s not a reliable narrator about himself. At all. I’ve written about Dabi and dissociation before. So let’s look at Dabi’s devotion to his ideals, the ideals he puts above people and claims he only cares about... because there are moments where Dabi goes against those ideals.

For one example, Dabi’s gone against those ideals when he’s allowed his personal need for revenge (an emotional/heart motivation) to overcome his longterm plan. Like, he was fully about to get himself killed here, even though that would likely mean no one would know the corruption of the Todoroki family and hero society, just for the chance to prove to his father that he hurt him.

In addition, I’ve talked before about how Dabi’s the only character in the entire damn manga to comment that maybe using child soldiers is not okay. While it’s not explicitly stated, it’s reasonable to conclude that Dabi considers the abuse of children in hero training a sin of hero society that ought to be purged (hence, part of his ideals).

That said, I have also pointed out that Dabi has gone after children in the past when it benefits his mission (Bakugou would like a word). So let’s look at four examples of Dabi and his principles concerning kids--since, after all, he claims to be motivated by heroes who hurt kids.

Firstly, Dabi’s “save the cat” when he spared Aoyama.

Why did he spare Aoyama? We can only speculate, but it seems quite likely there are two reasons: 1) hurting Aoyama would not add anything to his overall goal of downing hero society, and 2) a terrified, cowering kid might just have been a teeny bit familiar to Dabi. Here, his ideals--destroying hero society--either take a backseat to a reflection of his personal pain (and)/or his ideal of not abusing kids directly contradicted his ideal of bringing down hero society. But the important part is that in this instance, Dabi chose mercy and the goal of bringing down hero society was jeopardized as a result.

So then why did he attack Tokoyami, Nejire, and Shouto this arc? Well, Dabi does things he knows are wrong for the sake of accomplishing his overall purpose. He does things he knows hurt himself for this purpose. This isn’t new. If he can’t be acknowledged, can’t exist as a person with emotions, then he at least will ensure he still has a purpose.

In addition, let’s look at what sets Dabi off in all of these instances. (Again, this isn’t me saying “well actually Dabi’s justified.” He’s not. I’m just pointing to what’s in the text to explain the machinations beyond “bad guy do bad.”)

Dabi tries to reason with Tokoyami, pointing out that Twice was doing essentially what Tokoyami is doing: trying to save his friend(s), but Tokoyami doesn’t listen (also again: not me saying Tokoyami should have listened--realistically, in this situation, it makes sense Tokoyami trusted his mentor!)

Only after his reasoning was rejected did Dabi go to flames mode. He could have just let Tokoyami save Hawks, but instead he really wanted to kill Hawks and that overrode his other principles. Was this just because of his furthering his goal--killing the #2 hero would help destroy hero society--or because of a sense of personal revenge for Twice? That’s open for interpretation (in my opinion, it’s likely a mixture, because again, it tends to intertwine more than Dabi likes to think it does). His principles and/or emotions are brushed aside, and Dabi Does Not Like That.

Dabi does this again with Shouto this chapter, asking him where he stands on their family issues, and gets brushed aside, and then Shouto goes into his rage mode and Dabi responds. Again, not saying Shouto is rational here or that he should side with Dabi’s murderous plan, but like, his words really don’t come across well to Dabi.

Dabi going after Shouto after explaining things, asking Shouto for help, and then having his pain dismissed is pretty much a repeat of Tokoyami. When Dabi’s pain is dismissed, he says fine, let’s aim for the highest principle possible: making Stain’s will a reality, and damn any emotional ties.

Dabi’s obsession with ideals, you might say, is a smokescreen to cover his own pain. Far from feeling nothing, he feels very deeply. (I promise I’m getting to Nejire.)

So what does this indicate? Well, that Dabi does have a heart and a conscience. But when he lets his heart act, when his heart reaches out, he gets burned. His heart jeopardizes his overall purpose, so he most often dissociates himself from it. But by pretending he doesn’t have a heart, he dehumanizes himself, and he projects that dehumanization onto others (see: seeing Shouto as an extension of Endeavor, when that’s actually the precise image Shouto is trying to shed).

It’s not a coincidence that Shigaraki has been unconscious during the entire confrontation with Endeavor, nor is it a coincidence that Himiko has been MIA. But, Shigaraki wakes up a bit this chapter not only when hearing Dabi spout about how hero society needs to burn, an ideal/the thing Shigaraki lacks, and through a less important but still-ideal-driven character in Spinner asking him to accomplish his supposed ideal of destruction, but when Dabi saves Shigaraki and Spinner.

Dabi doesn’t burn Nejire for lols (not that this makes it better because it doesn’t) or even for ideals. He burns her to save Shigaraki and Spinner, because they are his links to full humanity right now.

(Again, this is also dissociation and projection: Endeavor did this! No, Dabi, you did. You’re perpetuating violence against kids rather than stopping it.)

But anyways, when Dabi calls upon heart, Shigaraki wakes. He lends Gigantomachia and thereby Dabi and the league power.

Dabi can only grow and actually accomplish anything related to his ideals (fixing hero society) through accepting a heart--even though that will likely mean some painful surgery to shift his ideals to accommodate said heart, because pure ideals don’t leave much room for humanity. He needs to feel to actually change anything, because right now he’s just making things worse (hence, the need for saving and redemption).

I know the League aren’t the protagonists of the serIes, but their complaints aren’t exactly incorrect either (if anything they’re almost a little too valid). But through growing together, Dabi, Shigaraki, and Himiko might actually be able to accomplish something, and get themselves in a place where they can be reached and saved by Shouto, Deku, and Ochaco. Because to be saved, the kids will have to acknowledge the villains’ pain and complaints, and do something about it.

#bnha 292 #bnha meta #mha 292 #mha meta #dabi #todoroki shouto #todoroki touya #todoroki enji #hado nejire #toga himiko #shigaraki tomura #shimura tenko #best jeanist #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #bnha theory #mha theory #league of villains #spinner

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