#with Simon Micke is divorced from Linda and also hated by his children

[heartbreakprincewille]

I find it very interesting that both Wille and Simon are younger children in their respective families and they depict the two sides of the same coin of a "parent-younger child" dynamic.

In Wilhelm's case, Kristina and Wilhelm have a very rocky and nuanced relationship. An older sibling, especially who's a "golden child" and is the parent's beloved, sets this road-map for the younger sibling to follow, to walk upon, and the parents usually leave the younger sibling to deal with that road-map alone- after all, "we have done it all the first time with the older child, right? And the younger child has seen it all, right? Then they must know what to do!" Missed school events, constant examples of Erik in a conversation- it's all there in little interactions between them.

But the thing is, the younger sibling is going through life for the first time, just like the older child, and they too need assistance in everything. But if the younger child is left alone to fend for themselves most of the time, they will be lost, so lost. And alone. Wilhelm felt alone even with both of his parents because they were never there for him like they did with Erik. You have to ask for their attention, to guide you just like they guided the older child, and it results in "little rebellions"- going to a public school instead of Hillerska, constant outbursts of anger because nobody is listening. And the thing is, you know your parents love you- they are not like the "fairy-tale bad parent who tortures their own kid", they just love your sibling more- and there's nothing wrong in that, they're also human, and everyone loves their first child to death, right? And they love you! They still support you! But, sometimes, it's just not enough.

But in Simon's case, it's the opposite- when the younger child is the "golden child", it brings a different kind of loneliness. Your sibling loves you, and you love them too, but you are also the target of every frustration they will emancipate of being a "project" for their parents to work on- Sara with her neurodivergency and how she dislikes Simon having to look after her all the time. And you can't help it, because how can you stop being "you"?

The parent loves you, but they also assume that you've got your shit together all the time. You have to make a roadmap for yourself, and you feel lost making it, and even more lost navigating the wobbly sketches all by yourself. You suppress your emotions, because any display of trouble will be worrisome for your parent, like Simon suppressing his problems about Marcus and extra tutoring fees from Linda. And you just don't know what to do because you're still inexperienced in life and asking for help is not an option.

And maybe that's why they provide each other comfort all the time, because even though they are not aware of each other's issues on the surface, they recognise this loneliness in the other person, and they see their own loneliness inside them, and feel like no one should feel like I did.