#they were girly as a kid but stopped presenting that way due to being bullied and also cuz their dads an abusive queerphobic asshole

[cringelordofchaos]

Would anyone like an analysis about why I think Onyx from Boy Girlfriend is transfem/bigender/genderqueer

[disregardcanon]

kinda doubt i’ll ever do anything with this but i have a tentative idea for a gravity falls cis swap with the twins.

dipper is still called dipper most of the time, and mabel has a charming little old man’s name. i’m going with merlin as the placeholder. the big differences here would be

1. merlin still makes sweaters and dresses basically the same, but he incorporates a lot of space imagery into his crafts because people were mean to dipper about her birthmark when they were kids and he was like NUH UH SPACE IS GREAT! MY SISTER IS WAAAAYYY COOLER THAN YOU!

2. merlin is visibly very very gay. like he’s basically just... always known. his parents are supportive enough that when he was a kid and kept showing interest in so much “girl stuff” if he was an egg they would have let him socially transition. but merlin’s really just really visibly, flamboyantly gay. boy bands. glitter. he’s a lot more careful with his flirting and crush of the weeks than in original canon because. you know, not always safe to be as upfront about that for a gay boy as a “straight” girl, but the gnomes, mermando and gabe all still happen.

2. the teasing about dipper not actually being “manly” enough slips into much different places. merlin laments a lot of the time that his sister doesn’t want to do girly things with him, he’ll gently poke her about how tomboy is another word for “baby butch”, and a lot of “ugh, you’re hopeless. you could at LEAST let me do some makeup for you”

3. One of the first things that happens when they get to gravity falls is merlin saying “HI! I’M YOUR GAY NEPHEW!” and then grunkle stan says, “uh, i’m your gay uncle?” 

“Wait, really?” merlin asks. 

Dipper crosses her arms over her chest. “I thought dad said you were married to a woman once.” 

Stan rolls his eyes. “Fine, I’m bisexual. That clear enough for ya?” 

“CRYSTAL QUEER!” Merlin crows. Dipper groans. 

4. Okay so. There is no copyright restriction in my fanfiction ideas (plus i think that disney would actually LOVE the synergy of this) so dipper is very into percy jackson and she projected HARDCORE onto annabeth. She’s like look! there she is! A smart tough tomboy!!!! And she has a lil crush on percy so she’s like smushing her dolls together in her head. But a lot more subtly because she’s dipper and she’s embarrassed about everything. 

5. Merlin loves Sevral Timez. Dipper HATES them. While dipper does sometimes like guys, she is insistent that boy bands are a cash grab, manipulative, a way for companies to bleed girls dry while making fun of them, and pathetic. Merlin tells her to lighten up and goes to the concert with candy and grenda. Dipper reads her little mystery novels in their room. 

6. Dipper IS bi. She DOES like girls, but she’s been in denial about that already for years. She had a boyfriend in fifth grade. They hung out on the playground and held hands and junk. Merlin is still convinced that she’s bisexual and brings it up CONSTANTLY, but stopped and now only brings it up when it’s the two of them because he knows it upsets her. (he thinks that she’ll be much happier once she just accepts who she is though!) 

7. Merlin tried his best to ignore his own bullying, stay away from the guys it wasn’t safe to be around, and stick to hanging out with either the girls who were legitimately fine with him or wanted to pretend to have a gay best friend. He was caught up enough in avoiding HIS bullying that he didn’t notice DIPPER’S bullying. Dipper is a bit of a “not like other girls” type in this scenario, but that’s mainly the result of most other girls being mean to her. While SHE hasn’t accepted that she likes girls, the mean girls in class have decided that it’s gospel truth. There’s a lot about her “finally coming out” and her “finally matching” her brother. I would go into further detail but I think “the bullying was homophobic, partially due to her gender presentation and partially due to her brother, and a lot of it is centered around their first year of middle school gym and changing in company”. Dipper and Merlin both change inside a stall to prevent harassment. Not yay. 

8. Dipper’s crush on Wendy is not any smaller than in canon, but she frames it to herself as just wanting Wendy to stay single because boys suck. Merlin is very pushy about it being a crush crush and. Well. Robbie is an insecure little shit and he’s not super emotionally intelligent, but he knows that Wendy is bi and a little girl isn’t any less threatening to him than a little boy. When Robbie spills the beans about Wendy liking girls too (which is a lot of reason that he’s still threatened by dipper and still so confrontational right back at dipper who thinks that she’s just Protecting Her Friend From Shitty Boys), Dipper goes through about six and a half crises as she realizes that it would actually be. Possible. For wendy to want to date her.

9. Once she’s done freaking out about that and has to talk to wendy about it (because merlin forces her into the same situation as in canon) Wendy assures her that it’s perfectly okay that dipper has a crush on her, she knew, but that it’s just not going to happen. She DOES take one of the queer pins off of her shirt and give it to dipper as a keepsake, though. 

10. when stan finds her in the pin he’s THRILLED

“You bi too, kid?” stan asks. Dipper nods. Stan claps her on the shoulder. “Welcome to the family.” 

Dipper frowns. “Aren’t I already family?” 

“The other type of family,” stan says, winking. And that’s when it sinks in that it’s a euphemism for queer. <3

11. things are probably still going to suck when they go back to piedmont, but... both the twins are a lot more confident in themselves after this summer. after saving the world, how could they NOT be?

[cannibalcreepers]

Bro and sis meeting their cousin(s) for the first time?

I’ll do you one better and add in baby brother Three-Toes as well (aka baby Splooge but we’ll call him Three-Toes here) cause screw the movie gonna make it as though no one died and their lil bro is with them. 

Now, time for these mutated cannibals to meet their cousins! -----

Sister Odet: Was present for the birthing, you think you’re giving birth at a hospital or with medically trained professionals? Oh honey no, this is an inbred cannibalistic family, your cooch is gonna be seen by the rest of the family.

Well, really by any family members present during the birthing of your first child. That being Sister, Ma, Three-Fingers, Old Man Grandpa Maynard and after a lot of convincing, begging and then finally just going with threatening, you forced Saw-Tooth to be present to witness his child coming into the world. 

Sister’s job was simply to take orders from grandpa and get what you needed as you were pushing a damn mutant child out of you, she was there for her baby brothers birthing so this was nothing to her. She would watch as Ma got between your legs and helped you push out the baby as you let out one last scream and caught the little girl in the blankets before wrapping her up and holding her close. 

Sister was surprised to see that it was a little girl, so small and tiny, she would reach out to have the crying child hold her finger, cooing at her cousin until she was passed off to Saw-Tooth to look at. It wouldn’t be until the next day would Sister get to see the child with the rest of the family, you yourself were having a banger of a time dealing with your body healing after a birth, unlike Ma you didn’t exactly have the healing abilities to jump and start beheading people like you didn’t just squeeze out a 7 pound baby out of your body, so for now you were just sleeping and relaxing while everyone fussed over the first born child. As years will pass she will once again be a part of the next two babies birth, with each new cousin you would stay around the more paternal of the family members which were Ma, Sister, Three-Fingers and the Old Man, it gave Sister enough chance to bond and be closer to them as well with you. She enjoys teaching the children fun girly things like doing their hair, wearing nice clothes, scalping people and how to keep your knife sharp enough to cut through skin like butter

Brother Odet: 

Isn’t there for either of the kids birth, mostly cause he has no need being a part of them with how immature and dumb this boy is, you sure as hell didn’t want the perverted bastard watching you pushing out a kid, let alone two more. 

He would get to meet each child the day after their births, with the supervision of either Ma or Sister, he gets his chance to hold them and bond with his cousins, sure he doesn’t get the same closeness as his sister gets but it’s enough for him. He isn’t entirely too caring or fussed about them when they’re babies, he mostly goes out to walk around the forest and look for something fun whenever the babies are up and crying all night. Will definitely go and stay at his uncles if he’s losing sleep over their consistent fussing. When the three get older though, he is the most fun cousin who show them all the cool places to explore and climb, definitely a big reason the kids come back home with broken bones and scrapes, luckily for them they’re like their daddies and pain is nothing to them, that doesn’t stop you from smacking Brother across the back of his head for endangering your children. 

He does have a favourite, which is your son, mostly cause the two girls picked up the bad habit from his sister and started bullying him both physically and verbally, at least with your boy they can have fun and worry about their sisters picking on them together. 

Three-Toes Odet: 

Being as he was just born about two years prior to your first born, Three-Toes doesn’t have much of an opinion on his cousins at first due to being a baby as well. He would end up growing alongside his cousins being in the similar age groups, he would definitely stick around your son similar to what Brother does once the two girls get into their bullying mean stage. But he cares for them as much as they care for him, they’re family and he’s grown up around them, hunted with them, learned how to kill and work alongside them. 

Growing up with them, Three-Toes would have a more deeper relationship with the three siblings, the amount of sleep overs and family times they have together, their friendship is more closer than what Sister and Brother could ever give them thanks to their similar age area as his two older siblings will be in their twenties and have no interest in such childish games at all times. As they reached their teen to adult stages of life, there is a high chance Three-Toes is gonna get with your eldest, if you wish to prevent more inbreeding it will be up to you to find a way to prevent it as the rest of the family, especially their fathers, do not care and encourage the incest behavior as history has shown they prefer to keep family close and safe. 

[star-crossedfidelity]

Juliet’s Story: A Mistress’s Gift

Mun!Yuki: It is now April 20th for me! :D HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JULIET!!!! I’m honestly happy with how this story turned out. Because while Leon’s story was more of his optimism, This is mostly in-depth of Juliet’s character where I even explored writing different sides of her; Sides that she doesn’t even show to others except for Leon. This is now my chance to show more of Juliet’s character, and how this affects Juliet as she grew up; Unlike Hisoka, Juliet was born and raised with a normal childhood, without having to bear the responsibilities of being an heiress to the Kuroi family. PLUS THIS WAS LITERALLY 16 PAGES LONG! XD I’M HONESTLY PROUD OF THIS! 

I hope you all enjoy! AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SADISTIC MISTRESS!!!!!! XD

WARNING: THIS HAS SENSITIVE TOPICS SUCH AS BULLYING, STRONG LANGUAGE/SWEARING, VIOLENCE, AND ANGST!!!!

“Here you go, Jules!”

Juliet reached for her order from the Takoyaki stand. “Thanks, Kirishima.” She gave the man, Kirishima, the payment before enjoying her Takoyaki. “Anything for a regular! How’s your folks?” Kirishima asked. “They’re doing fine; Leon is in the process of recovering this year’s Prank.” Juliet replied as she continued to eat her Takoyaki. “Man, I heard about that; I feel bad for the guy, he’s such a good kid.” Juliet simply agreed, “Yup.”

Then there came the question.

“Hey, I don’t mean to get personal when I ask this, but isn’t your birthday coming soon?” The owner asked. “Yeah, on the 20th; About four days before my father’s.” Juliet stopped eating her Takoyaki as she sensed this conversation might become important.

“What do you wanna get for you birthday?”

Juliet looked at him questioningly. “Why do you ask?” She eyed suspiciously. “Because you’ve done so much for my family, not only have you come to our business so often as a regular, you also help babysitting the kids. Seriously, most babysitters would quit on the first day with them, but they really like you, and you even present yourself as a good example and actually take care of them.”

Juliet continued to eye him suspiciously, which made the man laugh. “I know, you rather cut your own tongue than to be assumed to be a softie; Don’t worry, I’m not assuming that considering the fact I know you and what you are capable of; But that still won’t stop my family and I from speaking fondly of you, unlike the others that think otherwise; You’re not a bad kid.”

Juliet’s blue orbs soften from the better understanding. 

It’s true.

When she was 12 years old and was ordering a Takoyaki as a regular already, Juliet noticed the tension from the man, whom explained that a new babysitter quit last minute and they became worried as their children were rather wild. At the time Juliet needed money and something to do to get out of the house other than physical training and studying all day indoors, was already being homeschooled so there was no school rules applied to her about against having a job on the side, and had a lot of experience taking care of Leon growing up, so she offered to be their new babysitter. They were hesitant, but since they had no other choice, they accepted. After the first night, it was difficult at first, but Juliet ended up having them listen and do as she said. In the end, The Kirishima’s hired Juliet as their babysitter, resulting them to be good family friends, and now their children, for what ever reason, loved and admired her greatly; It was probably because Juliet refrained showing her sadistic traits and posed as the reliable big sister that she sincerely has been when pushing aside her playfulness, resembling her father when he took care of her uncles.

“So? Any ideas? It can be anything.” 

Juliet looked up at him and sighed. “I haven’t thought about it, to be honest; When I do, I’ll tell you though.” The raven-haired sadist commented, “I have to get going. My brother will be getting out of school soon, and I want to walk with him so we can find a present for Father.”

“Hahaha! Well, I wish you both the best of luck! Your dad must be really lucky to have you guys as his kids! Not a lot of kids would go out of their way for their parents.”

Juliet nodded and waved goodbye silently with Takoyaki in her mouth, while Kirishima waved back with his usual jovial grin.

Some time past by once she made it to her brother’s school. School may have already ended but they were all probably in the middle of cleaning duty. Not wanting to let her Takoyaki go to waste, Juliet continued to eat it with a delighted look upon her face as she waited. God, there was nothing that tasted better than-

....

‘Huh...’

After swallowing one of the octopus balls, Juliet stared down at the remaining Takoyaki at it.

While it was true that Juliet normally didn’t like strong-flavored things, it was odd that that fact was contradicted by her love for Takoyaki...

When...?

When did she develop this love for this snack?

She remember being introduced to it by Uncle Ayato, but...

This was just a snack.

So...

“Why...?”

Suddenly, her mind wandered upon curiosity of that one question.

Yeah...

I remember...

It all started about nine years ago. I was about 6 years old. I was prepared to attend the first grade. Honestly... I didn’t like going to school without Leon by my side. But at that time, I was willing to wait a year to be able to walk beside him to school. Back then, I already knew I was a smart kid. And that isn’t something said out of arrogance. I knew because I noticed how different I was compared to the other kids.

“She got it right again?”

“She’s so weird. She doesn’t talk to anyone.”

“She‘s like a robot! She doesn’t even show any emotion! I bet if you throw something at her, her face will still be the same.”

Even the teachers there.

“She doesn’t socialize with anyone.”

“That brat is so disrespectful! She humiliated me in front of the entire class!”

“Yeah, That kid acts as if she knows it all. Why the hell was she even here?”

......

They were all so annoying...

All so ignorant...

It pissed me off seeing them act as if they knew me when they don’t...

Unlike them, I live in a world where Vampires do exist. I was born with the same blood as vampire hunters. My father was once a vampire before returning back into human. My uncles are still vampires. I lived in a different world from other kids. I was what they would call “different” in comparison to their general idea of “normal”. To their words, a “freak”.

This is why I hated ignorant people...

Just because I was different from them, they had the right to talk down to me...?

At that time, I thought I could handle it... because I wanted to get through it and wait for Leon when he attends school next...

But then.. a week after school started, a week before my birthday... 

I snapped....

I was presented a flower by Leon. He wanted me to wear it to school because he thought I would look pretty with it.

And when I did wear it..

“What is with this flower?! It looks gross!”

The next thing I knew was that a group of boys caught me in a hold, forcibly grabbing the flower from behind my ear.

“What kind of idiot would just wear something this girly?!! Was it that sissy brother of yours that gave you something like that?!!!”

One of the boys scoffed and threw the flower on the ground... and stomped on it repeatedly with a smirk on his face...

Everything went black at that point...

The next thing I remember was... 

A distorted classroom...

Horrified gasps from other children..

A chair within my grasp... 

Hitting the boy’s body until it was bruised... 

Yelling out the words “WHO’S LIVESTOCK?!!!!!” past my lips...

And whimpering from the bruised, trembling body beneath me, mumbling repeatedly, “I-I am..!”

At that time, I didn’t realize how much I really enjoyed the sight of this livestock on the ground being punished like that. How the bruises upon his trembling body were even turning purple. How his helpless whimpers and cries were like music to my ears. It was fascinating at the time. Who knew it would create a spark within me that would awaken the sadist within me.

I was forced into the chairman’s office, with my parents in the room. While the chairman wanted to expel me, my parents knew I wouldn’t have done such a thing such as snapping if something wasn’t happening at school... Unless I was given a good reason for snapping the way I did...

They later learned it was because I was treated unfairly in the school, with the students bullying me and the teachers doing nothing but watch and snarl at me. They wanted the Chairman to do something about it, but he refused. Apparently, due to the injures I gave the boy, it should be our family that is count responsible even though it was that boy’s fault for pushing me into snapping like that. The chairman even refused to allow me to skip grades, despite my intelligence being higher than everyone else’s. Then, It lead to Mother and Father to taking me out of that damn school. While now I feel it was the best thing ever since that school was just the worst, back then I thought I have failed...

I felt like a failure. I let my emotions take control over me. Because of the fact that I was different...

Now Leon and I would never be able to walk together hand-in-hand to school. All because I screwed up...

When we got home, I locked myself in my room. I didn’t even let Leon in, because I felt pathetic for failing....

On my bed, I held onto my cow plush that I’ve had since I was a baby...

Everything was quiet and dark...

I felt empty...

Like I didn’t care to continue living anymore....

I found myself ready to doze off, to forget about everything...

But then I heard a knock upon the door...

“Juliet.. open the door.”

I heard Father’s voice from the other side. And I felt fear.

Was he there to tell me how disappointed he was of me?

While it was true, I did do things father would disapprove of. But the last thing I wanted was to be a disappointment to him.

“I am aware that you are awake; So just open the door. I would like to speak to you.”

Feeling hesitant, I slowly got out of bed and slowly opened the door, coming face-to-face with Father.

“Let’s go.” He said, making me tilt my head and stand still. “Where?” I question. “We are just going for a walk; Get your coat, Juliet; You don't want to worry your mother, do you?” Father advised. I shook my head and immediately did as he said.

Next thing I remember, we were walking together hand-in-hand, on a busy street. We didn’t say anything. We just continued to walk. I didn’t want to say anything, in fear of the possibility of doing something he would disapprove of as a disappointment.

I could only look down.

That was when I smelt something delicious.

I turned my head to a Takoyaki stand, and felt my stomach rumble. My father must’ve noticed it by how loud the rumbling was. “Hungry...” I mumbled as I pressed my hand onto my tummy. I remember myself stubbornly refusing to leave my room, even when it was lunch and dinner. 

My father sighed, but he silently took me to the Takoyaki stand. “Two please.” He ordered. I could only watch in confusion. If there was anything I knew, My father hated strong-flavored foods. This also includes Takoyaki, right? So why...

“Here, Juliet.”

I was brought back to my senses when my father handed Takoyaki to me. Hesitantly, I took it and thanked him before we could go sit somewhere quiet to eat. Once we did, I gave my thanks before eating it. I couldn’t help but savor the texture of it. It was heavenly. I remember being introduced to it by Uncle Ayato when Leon and I were being babysat by Aunt Yui and him. I remember taking a bite of it at that time and the wonderful taste of it, but I forced myself to forget it once we returned home. I didn’t even realize I was already finishing mine and that I was now eating the one Father silently placed on my lap above mine.

“It is quite surprising; You usually don’t enjoy strong-flavored food.” I heard Father comment. Swallowing my food, I reply, “Because it’s different from the rest.”

....

Different from the rest...

Remembering the incident at school and swallowing the last one, I couldn’t help but frown...

I couldn’t believe something like Takoyaki was able to make me forget...

“I want to know why you didn’t tell us.”

I turned to my father in surprise, “What do you mean?” I couldn’t help but question. “What do I mean? If you were having a hard time at school, then why didn’t you come to me or your mother? Even Leon never knew about this. I want to know why you kept this secret from us.” Father answered.

The tone of his voice... 

It sounded scary...

Normally, I would be able to handle it.

But this time...

“I-I... I...”

I could only look down... 

I felt my eyes being clouded with tears... 

Word could barely leave my lips...

My voice started to crack...

“... I didn’t want you.. to see me as a disappointment...”

“What?” I could sense my father’s surprise. I couldn’t blame him. I was a strong kid. I was fearless. I was able to withstand my father’s anger. I never let words affect me that much.

I continued.

“They.. they tried to put me down... If I did.. tell you and Mother... I would’ve felt like a.. f-failure... I wouldn’t be a-able to walk t-together with Leon when h-he goes to school next... I-I-I tried to... n-not l-let it.. a-affect me... b-but...”

At that point, I couldn’t do it...

So instead...

For the first time since I was born...

I, Mukami Juliet, the Mistress of Sadism, the definition of a “Bad Girl”, the rebellious child, and the most dominant sadist you could ever meet...

“UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”

Cried...

They were tears of agony...

Tears filled with shame...

I felt utterly disgusted with myself...

My choices lead causing burdens...

Why was I like this...?

It’s not like I hated myself....

And I love my family....

But....

Just why?

Why was I different from the other kids?

Why did they have to be so fucking ignorant?

Why did I have to be the one in the wrong?

Why was I the only one different?!

I remember all of the emotions rushing through me at once, as soon as I started to wail.

Fear, sadness, anger, regret, shame...

It was all like a typhoon.

All of the tears bottled up within me were released. I couldn’t stop them, no matter how much I tried to stop them with my sleeves.

I’m sure it was quite the rare sight for anyone...

Even for Father—

Wait...

During the middle of my wailing, I felt myself in warm, strong arms. 

They were.. my father’s...

“You may have done things that I highly disapprove of...“

I tried to catch my breath, to try and reply back...

But his next words lead me to even more tears...

“However, you are still my daughter regardless.. Both yourself and your brother are always going to be offsprings created from the forbidden fruit that your mother and I shared...”

Even at that age, I knew what he meant about the forbidden fruit that he and mother shared.

It was their love. The forbidden love they shared back then between a vampire and a huntress. Mortal enemies that eventually turned into star-crossed lovers. Their love that was strictly prohibited, much like the love from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, the story Mother has always loved since her childhood. Irresistible yet sinful. Much like the forbidden fruit Adam and Eve ate.

‘Thank god...’

This time... all of my tears were of relief.

I can’t remember how long it has been since I’ve started crying... 

It felt like a very long time...

I believe I passed out from crying too much afterwards.. and that Father carried me back home... because I couldn’t remember what happened next...

On the day of my birthday, it was like before I even went to school. Everything was normal. Leon and Mother were both relieved when I left my room for the first time in a while. My Uncles came, along with Aunt Yui, to celebrate my birthday.

And for the first time in a while, I felt happy.

Uncle Kou got me a new dress, Uncle Yuma got me a set for dumbbells perfectly suited for me as a kid, and Uncle Azusa got me a stuffed bunny. Apparently, Uncle Kou and Uncle Yuma helped pick something out for Uncle Azusa. Back then, I didn’t know why; But now that I know better, it was probably for the best. Aunt Yui got me a journal to write in. And I was received another gift from our other uncle, Mother’s adoptive brother, which was a punching bag. Ever since the incident, My Uncles and Aunt Yui got worried about me. Uncle Yuma was the most furious, but luckily I was able to get him to calm down after I told him what happened next.

It was a fun birthday. But the most special moment for me was at the near end. When it was just Mother, Father, and Leon.

“Our turn!” My mother announced happily as she brought more presents. I could only tilt my head in confusion. “Mother, why didn’t you do this while we were opening presents already?” I questioned. “You’ll see.” Mother smiled before turning to Leon. “Leon, do you want Juliet to open your present first?” Which in response, he nodded and smiled innocently.

Leon’s present? At that time, I was confused. What were they planning? Leon, with the help of Father, carried his present to me, and began to watch me with glee. Now curious, I carefully opened the present and opened the now unwrapped box. I find it to be a small picture frame decorated with the same flower he gave to me the week prior. I look to Leon and gave him a hug. He wanted to give it to me for when I have a memory I want to always treasure. “Thank you, Leon.” I mumbled. “Your welcome, Sis!” He grinned.

I broke the hug to see what my mother had in hand. “This is mine, sweetheart.” She smiled gently. I nodded and gave my thanks to her before unwrapping it. Once I did, I saw it to be a familiar dagger. We all look to Mother, who looked at me with a serious expression. 

“I know you are still too young and you don’t have to take the road my family prior did; However, I inherited this dagger when I was your age. It was your grandfather’s. He used it against bad Vampires to protect the people he loved until his last breath. It was the same reason why I choose to inherit it, and it later became the difficult path that lead me to meet your father.” She spoke giving Father a quick glance before looking back to me as I listened carefully, “Ever since I gave up being a huntress, I never used it in years, because the fight was already over; But I still keep it as a memento of your grandfather, to remember what I fought and risked my life for. So I am giving it to you, for the same reason: To remember what you fought for and to protect the ones you love.”

I look to Leon, who looked back at me. Even though we were children at that time, we both knew we wanted to protect each other. Even willing to fight for each other. From her words, I can only guess that Mother must’ve known how I was feeling when I was locked in my room. That She must’ve went through the same thing too. “Now I’m not giving it to you to use it against those who have hurt you like that school did. I’m giving it to you so you can look at it and remember what you have done.” Mother wrapped her arms around me and held me close in a warm embrace. I could tell she was speaking from experience. “You’ve made some reckless and bad decisions, but you didn’t give in to their bullying. You had enough the moment they did something you couldn’t forgive; And although you should’ve told us what was going on so we could’ve handled it calmly, there was no mistake that getting you out of that school was the right thing to do.”

I shook my head, “They were all ignorant livestock, Mother.” I spoke. Back then, I felt nothing but pity for the people back at that school. But now I know better, they weren’t worthy of my pity. They were all livestock anyways. Mother sighed at my choice of words, but I could’ve sworn at that time my father smirked slightly as if he was proud. Meh. Could’ve been my imagination. “Thank you, Mother.” I hugged back as tightly as I could, after placing the dagger away.

After a moment, Mother released me from the embrace and gave me a light kiss upon my head, before we all turned to Father. For some reason, his present was smaller than Mother’s and Leon’s; However, that made them both smile the widest.

Once he placed the present in front of me, I carefully opened his. It was a small box. And once I opened it...

I gasped.

“Father...”

Inside the box were... 

A pair of light pink barrettes...

I look up to him with wide eyes.

I was met with a smile.

“Happy Birthday, Juliet.”

I was frozen. But he opened the barrettes and helped me place them in my hair. “Look.” Father pointed behind me, with Mother holding up a small mirror to show me my own reflection. “They look really nice on Sis!” Leon commented.

He was right. It was strange, but I really did look better with them rather than a flower. It was like as if they were made for me.

It... suited me...

Within that moment, I felt tears swelling up from the corners of my eyes and looked to my father once again.

And within an instant, I leaned into my father’s arms, hugging him tightly around his neck, and cried.

Since then, I haven’t exactly cried.

Mother and Father decided to have me be homeschooled; But since they both work and can’t offered to let me or Leon alone with someone we don’t know, Aunt Yui offered to take care of both of us and be my homeschool teacher. From what Mother told me, Aunt Yui was an excellent student who took studying very seriously, and even had a higher grade than even the most sophisticated Sakamaki brother, Sakamaki Reiji. With that said, Aunt Yui became my new teacher. Surprisingly, Mother was right. I was able to learn some new things from her as my teacher.

Even better, for breaks, Aunt Yui made me Takoyaki upon my request. It was delicious.

During those breaks, Aunt Yui confirmed my suspicions when she told me how Mother also went through something similar that I did regarding the school incident. When she was younger, Mother got suspended for beating up a group of girls that were bullying Aunt Yui. But Aunt Yui never knew about Mother’s life behind the scenes as a huntress, because Mother didn’t want to get her involved; Otherwise, Mother would feel like she has let Grandmother and Grandfather down for not being able to protect someone dear to her. Like when she wasn’t able to save them. Mother never even cried since the massacre until she was told it was okay for her to cry out all of her emotions she hid during her hellish training and since then. I can't even imagine my own mother being hostile or aggressive like that. Or suffering horribly and trying to hold it in like that. That must’ve been hard for her, having to carry a heavy burden.

And from what I learned from Uncle Kou, Uncle Yuma, and Uncle Azusa, Father was also the type of person to carry heavy burdens too. No matter how stressful it was, being the leader and the eldest, He often tends to stand on his own, and has even pushed Mother away when she first tried to help. Even he had his own problems that he was struggling with that he hid from them. From what I was told, It made sense why he tried to keep it all in. It must’ve been difficult. Being the eldest and the leader that takes care of the younger siblings, desperately wanting to fulfill the debt of someone for saving your life even when the goal was impossible for you to complete yourself, finding out and eventually try to hide an ugly truth about the one that saved you, Et cetera... Just thinking about all of the things Father had to deal with just made me think if it was with Leon, I would’ve done the same thing no matter how bad it would be for me.

So I was similar to them:

We both didn’t want to be appear as a failure.

We bottle up our feelings to avoid showing any sign of weakness.

We are willing to do something risky if the one we care for are involved.

We stubbornly push others away to stand on our own.

We don’t want the people we care about dearly to getting hurt.

....

Now that I think about it...

Were...

Were Mother and Father trying to save me from committing the same mistake they made?

To hold back emotions and turn it all into stress?

... They didn’t want me to become like them in the past.

They.. really did care for me.

They did love me...

I was really their kid...

And for that, I’m forever grateful...

“Sis!”

Juliet looks up, and sees a familiar blond with a grin on his face. The grin slowly disappeared and was replaced with a concerned look upon seeing the Takoyaki still left unfinished. “Hey, are you okay? You didn’t finish your takoyaki.. And that’s saying something.” Leon questioned, worriedly.

Juliet looked down and saw she has not finished her delicious snack. Picking up one of the balls, The raven-haired girl silently gave it to her brother. “Here.” She offered; However, Leon continued to look at his sister with a concern look. “A-Are you sure you’re okay?” He asked again. “I’m fine; Just hurry up and take it.” Juliet eventually got tired and shoved the octopus ball in Leon’s mouth, catching him off-guard, “What are the chances you will ever get an offer like this from me again? Honestly.”

While her expression remained as stoic as it always was, Leon can tell that there was a glint in his sister’s eyes that told him to not push the subject further; With that said, Leon decided to drop it and just eat the takoyaki.

After that, they started to walk together the shopping area to search for a gift for their father. “Hey Sis.” Leon broke the silence between them. “What is it?” Juliet heard footsteps stop behind her, making her stop and turn to see a serious look upon her little brother’s face. 

“... What do you want for you birthday?”

Such a question caught Juliet slightly off-guard. ‘What’s with this question today?’ She thought to herself. “Leon, you should know be better than anyone else in the world; Why would you even ask something stupid like that?” The raven-haired girl raised an eyebrow to show her confusion. They grew up together and know everything about each other. They could even understand what the other is thinking and even turn that into a game.

“I know but.. you don’t ask for anything, Sis.” Leon tried to explain, “You try not to make your birthday a big deal; It’s your birthday, the day you were born! There’s gotta at least be something you want!”

‘Something I want...?’

While it is true that Juliet doesn’t make her birthday a big deal or have anything in mind for a gift, was there really something that she herself wanted?

...

‘Ah... That’s right...’

“Leon, when it’s your birthday coming up and when you are asked the same question, your response was that there isn’t anything you want in particular either.” Juliet retorted. “I-I..” Leon stuttered, caught off-guard by the question. “Why is that?” The raven-haired girl question. Leon‘s tongue was tied for a moment until he looked down and responded shyly, blushing. “It’s because.. the best gift I could ever ask for.. is our family, our friends.. a-and our loved ones...”

There was a silence until Juliet spoke, as it was her turn to break the silence.

“Then you should know already.”

Leon looked up in surprise. His sister looked back at him with a rare smile. A smile that was only reserved to those who she deemed worthy.

“We’re siblings. We grew up together. You should know that if that is why you don’t ask for anything else, it’s not just your reason; It’s mine also.” Juliet responded, revealing the kind side of her that is extremely rare to see, “Do you understand now?”

Enchanted by the rare smile and the rare kind side of his sister, Leon nodded. Out of everyone in the world, it has always been the blonde that has seen this side of his sister the most. That’s why, despite her bullying him and her sadism, Leon knows that there is a good person underneath it all. It’s just his sister rather be known as a monster to others. Only those who work to become worthy enough to Juliet can be rewarded to see what’s underneath the layers of the sadistic mistress.

“Now hurry up, let’s go.” Juliet immediately dropped the smile and returned back to being stoic, “Or else, I’m going to leave you and go on ahead myself.”

Leon couldn’t help but grin before quickly walking next to his sister’s side. That’s his Sis, alright! The one he knows and loves! Juliet took notice of his grin. 

“Why are you grinning like that?”

“Because I love you, Sis.”

“You’re creepy.”

“But you love me anyways, right?”

“Do you have a deathwish?”

“Eh? N-N-No, Sis-“

“Come again?”

“Ma’am! I mean, N-No Ma’am!”

“That’s better.”

There was no need for a birthday gift...

Objects are replaceable...

As long as you have a family that care for you...

Friends that accept you...

Just at least someone that loves you for who you are...

There was no need for anything else in the world...