#tw: mention of abuse

[the-blue-sandglass]

You know folks-

Condemning Ben's behaviour, particularly towards Charlie, and not seeing his personal issues as an excuse to literally ab//e and attempt s/a on his partner while ALSO wanting him to get better as a person and accept himself (including his sexuality) in a healthy way aren't mutually exclusive, and probably shouldn't be treated as mutually exclusive-

In the same vein-

You can fully hope that Ben was trying to be sincere and that he'll be a better person one day while ALSO acknowledging that Charlie does not owe him anything, is not obligated to forgive him and is not responsible for his absolution-

[tempest-toss]

Yeah... that's not a mother, that's an egg donor.

Wish she was a donor, instead I had to live with her up until it became physically unsafe and I took my sister and ran.

--Ten

[damagedward]

𝘕𝘰 — 𝘐 𝘞𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘉𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘈 𝕳𝖊𝖆𝖗𝖙

*** ⚠️ Trigger Warning ⚠️ ***

tw: dark themes , tw: mature themes , tw: abuse , tw: mention of abuse , tw: 21+ , tw: mention of death , tw: mention of murder , tw: patricide

She had always had a heart , but over time that had grown cold , frozen over , become a sealed vessel . It only lead to hurt , pain , false hopes and dreams .

Her entire life from the start to now had been nothing but one long nightmare , in all aspects . Family ? They wanted her dead . Raised a hand to her , had shackled her . Friends ? Had tried to poison her , attempted to end her . Romance ? Well she had ruined her chances at that long ago hadn’t she ?

She had been driven out of her home , a bastard son , named a Prince as she was stripped of her titles .

𝕯𝖎𝖘𝖔𝖜𝖓𝖊𝖉 — because she’d had enough and snapped , tried to hurt him ( Arthur ) for the first time .

After that the only surprise had been when she first ran and their father actually sent out men to find her , he wanted her back home , and for sometime she had wished and hoped it was for and with good intention , that he may actually care .

It wasn’t the case —

She finds herself constantly on the run for months , sometimes closer to the kingdom than any of them would’ve ever suspected but she knew she couldn’t go back for real unless at least Uther was handled .

So a plot began in her mind , she began to figure out how to kill the king .

He never saw it coming in the end , as she came to him , in the middle of the night , she awoke him with a blade to his neck …

“Don’t —,” she shushes him as his eyes widened and his lips parted to scream she’s sure .

“Did you think I’d never come back ? Or let myself be caught ? I had to come back , because you need to pay .. for all you’ve done and all you’ve yet to do .”

He had shaken in her hold , she had felt powerful then , felt that perhaps she had the upper hand to him for once . It had always terrified her how with all her powers she was so weak and useless to him and against him .

“Do you truly hate me so much ?” He had asked as she pressed the dagger against his throat , he’d have felt that , the difference in pressure .

She hissed .

She had ended him , his blood had been on her hands in all senses that night .

Even after having washed herself raw she had still seen the stains , she had gone mad that night in her tower . The tower she had once been chained in , imprisoned in many times . It had become her secret hideaway . And how twisted it was to be there now after finally finishing him .

As the word had spread they had come for her , her brother and now his men .

“How could you be so heartless ?! He was our father ?!”

“HE WAS A MONSTER !”

The arguments had fallen to deaf ears . She had finally stood for herself and naturally the result was she be pushed down immediately .

“I wasn’t always like this —,” she had tried in a last attempt before vanishing in a whirlwind of magic .

“I know ,” the new King would say as the dust settled and his eyes had remained glued to the place she’d just been .

She knew from then on that no one would ever see anything she did as good for anyone , not even herself . And she knew he had raised hand to her brother as well , yet he held his sword to her neck rather than aiding in her mission that night .

How many times could one be told they were worthless ? Be pushed and beaten down , physically , mentally — how lunch longer would she had endured and how much more ‘heartless’ would she be when it was all said and done ?

It had worn her down , and she had resorted to this as her solution , she had tried her brother but that had just caused her more issue so why not go for the main source . And she had .

[lunarninja613]

Where I Belong (Modern Bad Batch AU) Chapter Two

Again, credit to @alligatorpie1945 and @kaydear and their story on ao3. https://archiveofourown.org/works/35750065/chapters/89145700

Warnings: mentions of past abuse, medication, blood tests, doctor visits

Words: 902

Echo sat down in the waiting room with the twins while they waited for someone to come and get them. While they waited, Echo thought about the past few days. He thought about that Friday afternoon when Hunter and Wrecker told them about a little girl they had met while volunteering at the carnival. Their sister.

He remembered Tech calling Cody. Hunter had then gone to meet up with Cody, who had gotten them a lawyer. He remembered going to the courthouse with Tech and Hunter the following morning and meeting Omega for the first time. It came as quite a shock when they saw a second little girl.

Omega waved at them and smiled brightly while the other girl clung to her arm with a nervous expression on her face. Shaak Ti, the social worker, explained how the investigative team found the other girl while searching the house.

Hunter had then bent down and tried asking the other girl what her name was, but she quickly ducked behind her sister. Omega introduced the skittish girl as Umber, her younger twin sister by six minutes and thirteen seconds. Identical twins, just like Echo and Fives.

“Omega and Umber Se?” a doctor called out, bringing Echo back to present time. Echo stood up and walked over to the doctor, Omega and Umber following close behind him.

“Come with me, girls.” the doctor said. Omega looked at Echo for a brief moment before taking Umber’s hand and following the doctor. Echo went to sit back down in one of the crummy waiting room chairs and decided to look through some of the magazines that the clinic had while he waited. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed before the doctor came back with Umber and Omega.

“Why don’t you girls go sit down while I talk to your brother, okay?” the doctor asked. Omega nodded before dragging Umber back to the chairs and sitting down. The doctor led Echo over to the front desk and told him in a hushed voice how the two girls were underweight and that they were very small for their age, and something about strains in their kidneys or something like that.

“It says here that there is some suspected medical abuse that is currently being investigated.” the doctor said, looking at her clipboard.

“We can thank their mother for that.” Echo said, trying not to show how furious he was with Nala Se.

“Do you know what their mother did?” the doctor asked.

Echo shook his head, “Not really, although I’m guessing she gave them different medications.”

The doctor nodded, “Alright then, I’m going to ask you to head down to the lab so we can take some blood tests.”

Echo winced a bit, but nodded before walking back to where the girls were seated. “Alright, girls,” Echo said, causing the twins to look up from the magazine they were reading, “We gotta head over to the lab to get some blood tests done.” Echo said. His chest clenched when he saw the fear that flashed across both their faces before they nodded stiffly and got up. It seemed that this wasn’t the first time that they’d had a blood test.

Echo noticed how the twins held hands the entire way to the lab, and continued to do so during the blood test. It seemed to be their way of showing themselves and each other that they were there. Echo began to wonder if his brothers did something similar to comfort each other when Nala Se would test on them.

“All done.” the doctor exclaimed, and Echo let out a breath he hadn’t known he was holding. The doctor placed gauzes on the girls’ arms and told them that they could remove them in about a half hour.

Echo thanked the doctor before leaving the clinic with the twins.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After leaving the lab, someone at the front desk had offered the girls stickers. “Why don’t you pick a sticker out for me, hm?” Echo asked when he noticed Omega’s hesitation. Omega picked out a shiny cat sticker for him, and eventually decided to choose a sparkly soccer ball sticker for herself.

“Do you want one?” Omega asked her sister. Umber whispered something in her sister’s ear before Omega picked a sparkly bat sticker and handed it to Umber.

The bus ride home was silent, with the two girls sitting quietly and admiring their sparkly stickers like they were some sort of priceless treasure. It made Echo’s heart hurt a little bit. However, his thoughts were cut short when the bus driver announced their stop over the intercom.

The three of them walked to the house. Echo saw the Marauder parked in the driveway, which meant that Tech was home. However, Crosshair’s car was nowhere to be seen, which meant that Crosshair had left for work early. Again.

Ever since Omega and Umber had arrived, Crosshair did everything in his power to avoid them. When questioned about it, he simply replied that he did not want to get attached to them when he knew that they would only leave in the end.

Upon entering the house, Echo saw Tech and Hunter sitting at the dining room table. “How was the doctor’s appointment?” Hunter asked.

“It was okay.” Echo replied. Hunter cocked an eyebrow and Echo added, “It was a doctor’s appointment, not a trip to an amusement park.”

[the-doll-in-red]

I've read previous blogs but never really understood, who IS this guy you've dated before and what happened?

tw: abuse/mention of abuse

[deathxcko]

//making me emotional? I think that's a solid trademark. Your writing consistently makes me feel things in the best ways, and I'm delighted at how much depth you've given jason and how open you are to writing all the things!

tell me my blog's trademark // accepting !!

awwwwwwwwww thank you!! writing jason has always been from a place of immense love for a character. even growing up, jason had always been my favorite robin. not to hashtag theater kid myself, but i think when you give a character love and really devote yourself to the kinds of stories the character wants to tell it can take you to some real deep places!!

beyond that, speaking as someone who grew up dirt poor, surrounded with the struggles of poverty in america, as a highly emotionally intelligent person, and as a ab*se survivor.... idk. i relate a lot to him. he gives me hope !!

[illuminxte]

━ TWENTY-SEVEN. NEWCOMER. STORE CLERK. COLONY HOUSE. OBLITUS.

as a fellow townie: calm and collected, if not a little quiet. you are not sure if he's just one of those people who are slower to warm up to others or if he's still trying to adapt to the unique situation this town is in. he's good when it comes to chores and will always agree to help out where he's needed, whether that involves washing dishes or assisting with funerals. strangely enough, blood really doesn't seem to bother him, and the way he efficiently buries corpses...it's almost as if he's done it before. FIRST DAY/NIGHT IDEA: due to his childhood (under readmore), sangjoon does not believe anyone would open the door to save him. therefore, he'd likely run and hide from the creatures until daybreak. if someone does reach out to him, it could be interesting because he'd be extremely surprised. almost...taken aback.

as a friend: it starts off as a few exchanged words, but quickly becomes full conversations. you learn that he does not have a strong academic background and when it comes to a career, considers himself a bit of a jack of all trades due to his life of constant traveling. it's nice having a friend, he tells you. moving around all the time...it can get lonely.

as a lover: attentive and gentle, but a keeper of many secrets. a part of you must know this - he - is a terrible idea. however, he can be such a source of comfort. there to listen, always available to soothe. with soft words and loving touches, he can make the dreadful nights bearable. just take care to not lie to him. yes, he is counting.

as an enemy: revenge is sweet and unfortunately, if you wrong him, sangjoon is unlikely to forgive and forget. he may take his time with planning and strike only when you and yours feel safe. for him, your intention does not matter as much as your action. if you harmed him, that's enough, and he cannot care less if you are sorry.

IS THERE MORE TO THIS STORY?

CW: mention of abuse, childhood neglect, murder

if ordinary love could be likened to a comforting warm hearth, then his father's love for his mother would be an uncontrollable wildfire. it spread rapidly, seeking to dominate more than all else. she suffered from this twisted affection and withered away slowly.

when a baby came, the man finally loosened his grip. surely a mother tied down by a child would never think to escape, he thought.

but he would be surprised.

one day, sangjoon's mother told him that she'd be right back from the market with his favorite apple sauce but never did. as a child, sangjoon did not understand. he stood by the window every day. watching until the leaves went from green to yellow, to red then brown. he cried a lot back in those days, quietly, so his father would not be tempted to shut him up with beatings.

it took a lot of courage for a child to flee from his own guardian, but on that night, sangjoon felt like he needed to. into the night he escaped, on bare feet, he ran. against every nearby door, he knocked, begging for one of their neighbors to let him in. help me, help me! he only needed one person to please come to his rescue.

but nobody did.

maybe fate was cruel and they were somehow all absent that night. or...more likely, they'd rather not risk the rage of a violent man.

sangjoon went home. he came up with a plan to free himself for good.

that was his first kill.

[ardenwritesegos]

Arden's Murdock

Warning: Mention of abuse, mention of trafficking, mention of molesting

Man (He/Him)

Bisexual

Murdock was once a boy named Aiden. He lived with abusive parents who criticized him for anything they could. One day, he was guided to the water by a powerful spirit named Lydia. Once submerged, Aiden's vision went black.

He woke up without any memory of who he used to be, in a warm and calming void. One name stuck out to him: Murdock. He didn't quite know why, but it had a nice ring to it. So that became his name.

He has the power of a siren, except on land. With a song, he can partially "pull people under" (that meaning controlling people).

If a siren song doesn't fully work, he can fully pull someone under with his swirling, purple hypnotic eyes. With this power, there's no hope for anyone, even those within The House's control, to evade his powers.

The only one immune to Murdock's hypnotic eyes is The Host and that is only because he's blind. Because of that, Murdock feels comfortable enough to take his shades off around him.

He kills, but only people involved with messed up things like trafficking and molestation. (In other words, he's technically chaotic good.)

He loves tea. Jasmine, specifically.

He has a knife collection that Lydia adds to for every asshole he kills.

[ghostsandbunnies]

or you know- just write about your own life like the shitty dumpster fire it is, because the patriarchal system who has failed you all your life won't believe you, so it's not really going to matter if you label the book as fiction or nonfiction. just change the names around a little bit and legally you're not in trouble. (don't actually listen to me for any legal advice btw.) because I've been writing and talking about my trauma for over 20 years now- pretty much since the moment I could talk or draw- and no one aside from my mom (who was also a victim of the abuse) - believed me. so really, just word vomit your trauma and put it in a leather bound cover and sell it to the masses. who's gonna care?

When writing about childhood trauma in a novel, it's important to handle the topic with sensitivity and nuance. Here are some quick tips to consider:

1. Research and understand: Take the time to research and understand the specific type of trauma you're addressing in your novel. This will help you portray it accurately and respectfully.

2. Show the impact: Explore how the childhood trauma has shaped the character's thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Illustrate the long-lasting effects it has had on their development and relationships.

3. Use flashbacks sparingly: Utilize flashbacks strategically to reveal key moments from the character's past that contribute to their trauma. Ensure that the flashbacks serve a purpose in the narrative and provide deeper insights into the character's experiences.

4. Depict coping mechanisms: Show how the character has developed coping mechanisms to deal with their trauma. This can include avoidance, dissociation, or seeking control in certain areas of their life.

5. Allow for healing and growth: Give your character opportunities for healing and growth throughout the story. Show how they confront their trauma, seek support, and gradually find ways to overcome the impact it has had on their life.

6. Avoid sensationalism: Handle the portrayal of childhood trauma with care, avoiding excessive graphic or gratuitous details. Focus on the emotional journey of the character rather than relying solely on shocking events for impact.

7. Show support systems: Include supportive relationships and resources that aid the character in their healing process. This can involve therapists, friends, or mentors who offer understanding, guidance, and empathy.

8. Highlight resilience: Illustrate the character's strength and resilience in the face of their trauma. Show how they find ways to persevere, grow, and rebuild their lives despite the challenges they have faced.

9. Offer hope and redemption: Provide a sense of hope and the possibility of healing for your character. Allow them to find moments of redemption and transformation, demonstrating that healing is attainable.

10. Approach with empathy: Approach the topic of childhood trauma with empathy and compassion. Treat the characters' experiences with respect, acknowledging the complexity and individuality of each person's journey.

[emotionaleating]

pls don’t flirt with me i want to be nonchalant so bad but i unfortunately crave connection so intensely that i will give you my entire soul and forgive you over and over until i’ve lost myself completely and feel like i’m drowning

[tempest-toss]

Violently in the literal sense..?

Tw: mention of abuse

Yes. Despite being living in an anomalous area and our parents being friends with anomalous folk, they were disgusted with us having anomalies.

You know my big brother? You can't see it because he's always in his Moon Lord form, but his arms are full of marks

I had to hide Dot's anomaly after it began to manifest.

Our brother essentially being sold off to the Foundation was the last straw.

That night I packed up everything essential and took my sister and we fled. To this day I have yet to return back to the family house

--Ten

[sillypuppetmeister]

“Cass… listen, I know this is confusing, but…” Antinous steps inside, the door creaking open and the giant pile of fluff known as Lycan comes bounding inside, the wolf licking Cass’s face family. “I brought him back. He’s still a bit shaky, had a nightmare…. the wolf, I mean.”

what?

[tw, confusion, eventual panic attack (Maybe?) Abuse mention]

cass has never had a "normal" life, so to say: her mother died giving birth to her, her father was a cruel peace of crap, and when antinous brought her to the palace, her life got somewhat better, she got a mother figure, a lover, a best friend, but now....everything had gotten confusing

Her brother was set to marry her best friend! Yay!

But then he lost his memory....and antinous now marrying her mother figure? Even if her husband was still alive. She also witnessed him die once, and she felt like crap for not being able to help ot stop any of this.

And now you found her, crying on her bed, looking so very confused

[ @sillypuppetmeister @penelope-is-waiting @ithacas-prince @another-telemachus-wont-hurt @the-prince-telemachus ]

[damagedward]

ᴜɴʟɪᴋᴇʟʏ ᴀʟʟɪᴀɴᴄᴇꜱ —

( ɪɴ ᴀ ᴛɪᴍᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴡᴀʀ )

*** ⚠️ Trigger Warning ⚠️ ***

tw: dark themes , tw: mature themes , tw: mention of abuse , tw: abuse , tw: plot of murder , tw: mention of murder , tw: war , tw: fighting , tw: 21+

Storyline Solo featuring @magikborn

She never expected that they’d see eye to eye , yet here they were face to face , he had a plan , their father would be taken down , magic would reign free — and dragons perhaps that was next .

But for now — they have a sword of legend , he’s the rightful king and it stings , how can it not ? That in the end even legend , fate … they all said no to her . Had she not lost enough ?

“We were both wrong ,” in their own ways , he speaks the truth but it’s a hard one to swallow , not a pill she thought she’d need to take .

They would be marching back into Camelot , side by side , together , and overthrow the tyrant of a king that was now there .

Uther deserved to die , but she isn’t sure if Arthur will see eye to eye with her on that , he never was one to jump to killing , she on the other hand .

If it came to it though .

“I want to be the one … when it comes time …”

True they had both suffered at his hand but she felt she could at least have one thing . This .

Merlin , the one who tried to end her , her brother whom she had tried to end herself , her lover and the few men they had who were truly Arthur’s men rather than Uther’s .

They were outnumbered in all honesty but magic was something most present had , it was something that if Uther wished to declare a war on it , they’d bring the war to him .

It’s the moment of truth as they arrive at the gates and she dismounts , standing next to the blonde .

There was no going back now , only forward , and there was much to discuss , much to work out , but for now she would enjoy that they could be on the same side , that they had the same goal . She isn’t sure it will happen again , not any time soon at least . Once the bandaids get ripped off — nothing will be the same .

They make their way inside and there’s immediately bells sounding , people shouting , guards and knights rushing and all she can think is

‘꓄ꃅꀤꌗ . ꀤꌗ . ₩₳Ɽ .’

[lunarninja613]

Where I Belong (Modern Bad Batch AU) Chapter Four

Credit goes to @alligatorpie1945 and @kaydear, and here's the link to their story -> https://archiveofourown.org/works/35750065/chapters/96533154

Author's Note: I hope to get Archive Of Our Own soon because I feel like it's easier to post stories on, and I think the people I'm tagging are getting really tired of me.

Warnings: a bit of angst (especially at the end of the chapter), mentions of fighting for custody, mentions of being hooked up to machines, mentions of needles, basically just mentions of past abuse, fluff

Words: 1065

Umber sat alone in her and Omega’s room while her sister watched T.V. with a guy called Cody. She didn’t know much about Cody, all she knew was that he was somehow related to her and that he was friends with the lawyer who was helping Hunter get custody over her and Omega.

Umber had mixed feelings about the whole ‘fighting for custody’ situation. She wanted to go back to her mother’s house, back to the familiar blinding lights and bleak white walls. There was a part of her that didn’t want to go back though, a part that shivered at the thought of being hooked up to all sorts of machines again. The therapist said that something like this would happen, now that she was beginning to understand that the things that her mother did were not right.

Umber’s thoughts were cut short by the sound of knocking on the door before Omega opened the door and stepped into the room.

“Hey.” she said quietly as she closed the door behind her. Umber watched as Omega lingered at the door, fiddling with the hem of her sleeve. Umber sighed and patted the spot next to her on the floor. Omega shuffled over towards her sister before sitting down next to her. The two of them sat in silence for a few moments before Omega spoke.

“I don’t think it went very well at the courthouse,” Omega said as she began to fidget with the bottom hem of her shirt. “They didn’t say anything, but they seem kinda… drained.” she explained.

Umber hummed in understanding. The whole custody battle did seem rather stressful, and it didn’t help that their mother had a very good lawyer. It made sense that everyone seemed to feel a bit tired. Not to mention the massive pile of papers that Hunter had been studying the other day, that looked pretty stressful.

“I think– I think that mother might have spoken with them,” Omega had stopped fidgeting and was looking at Umber with a worried expression on her face. Umber tilted her head in confusion, but Omega continued, “Hunter looked kind of sick, and he seemed a bit nervous.” Omega explained.

“What if– what if they decide to give up on us? What if mother convinced them not to fight for custody any more?” Omega asked, her eyes becoming glassy with tears. Umber wrapped her sister in a comforting hug, because although she wasn’t entirely sure whether or not she wanted to go back, Omega had made it perfectly clear that she didn’t ever want to go back to living with their mother.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

During dinner that night, Hunter told the twins that a man named Ninety-Nine would be visiting them.

“Who’s that?” Omega had asked.

“He raised my brother and I when we were pretty little, and he took Hunter, Wrecker, Tech, and Crosshair in after they ran away from… her.” Echo explained, the last word laced with venom.

Sure enough, the next day, a grey van pulled up to the house. Umber and Omega watched from their bedroom window as Hunter helped an elderly man, who was most likely Ninety-Nine, out of the vehicle. They saw a man with a large scar over his left eye get out of the driver’s seat and go retrieve a walker from the van, and hand it to the elderly man.

Omega pulled Umber away from the window before leading her downstairs and into the kitchen. Echo went outside onto the porch and greeted the old man with a hug, while Omega stood in the doorway, Umber partially hidden behind her.

After Echo had let go of Ninety-Nine, the older man spotted the two girls and slowly made his way towards them. Umber peeked over Omega’s shoulder just a bit. Something about the man seemed warm and welcoming.

“Ah, you must be Omega and Umber.” Ninety-Nine said as Omega stepped out onto the porch, Umber still peeking over her shoulder.

“Hello.” Omega chirped as she looked up at the man with her large curious eyes.

After introductions were given, the group then ambled inside, and Wrecker showed Ninety-Nine and Wolffe, who was the man with the scar over his left eye, around the bottom floor, beaming proudly the entire time. Omega sat next to Ninety-Nine during lunch while she and Umber listened to him tell stories of when their brothers were younger.

The rest of the week passed by rather quickly, and before anyone knew it, the next court date had rolled around.

Omega had asked Tech about what would be happening, as neither she nor Umber would be present at the time. Tech had explained to her that witnesses, such as himself, would provide evidence to the court in order to explain their side of the case.

So the next morning, Omega and Umber loaded into Suu’s truck before heading off to the Lawquane farm. Hunter had thought it best that the two girls spend the day at the farm instead of being stuck waiting in the childcare area of the courthouse.

Omega enjoyed her stay at the Lawquane farm, swinging from the barn’s hayloft, exploring the small forest that was on the property, and walking around the greenhouse. Umber had tagged along, occasionally wandering off to go look at the bats that lived in the barn.

Omega had almost forgotten all about the custody battle and the possibility of her and Umber going back to living with their mother. That is, until her brothers came to pick her and Umber up at the end of the day.

Omega ran up to the Marauder as her brothers got out of the vehicle, but she stopped short when she saw the tired, anxious, frustrated expressions on their faces. Wrecker tried giving her a reassuring smile, but she could see that it was strained.

The Marauder was filled with a deafening silence during the drive home. Omega clung to Hunter’s arm and Umber’s hand rested on her knee, her way of saying ‘It’s going to be okay.’ Was it really going to be okay though? The last meeting would be happening the next day, and if her brothers didn’t win the case, it was back to the tests, needles, and machines that waited in a familiar cold laboratory.

And the worst part was, she would probably never get to see her brothers ever again.

[cupcakeslushie]

Recovering your autonomy vs Completely cutting yourself off from your support system. FIGHT!

This happens sometime after the ongoing Kendra reunion comic, but not far enough along that the brothers have figured out how to navigate certain landmines.

Donnie is still re-adjusting to communicating his needs in a confident manner. Sometimes he gets a little too worked up, and lets the panic take over. He regrets the yelling later.

…The next morning

[teaboot]

When I was a kid, I regularly lost reading privileges for "having an attitude" and "acting out".

It wasn't as simple as being told not to read during other activities- one of the first times it happened, I remember being six years old, watching my stepfather pull fistfuls of books off my bookshelf and throw them to the floor in a heaping mess while I cried and asked him to stop.

It was weird. Every other adult I knew described me as exceptionally well-behaved, but at home, it was the opposite, and it was blamed on "learning bad habits from that shit you're reading".

Because I couldn't read at home, I spent all my free time at school in the library, reading with my friends.

When I grew up and moved away, I realized that my family life was toxic and abusive, and the "attitudes" I was being punished for were standing up for myself, standing up for my younger siblings, and resisting actual, real-life psychological abuse. Because I'd learned from what I'd read that my family wasn't normal, not like my parents said it was, and in my stories, the heroes were the people who spoke out when it was hard to.

It is insane to me that there are students right now who can't access books. It is insane that books are being outlawed. It is perverse that we are stealing away an entire generation's ability to contextualize their lives, to learn about the world around them, to develop critical thinking skills and express themselves and feel connected to the world or escape from it, whatever and whenever and however they need.

That is not how you raise a compassionate, thoughtful, powerful society.

That's how you process cattle.

It's fucking disgusting.