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dirtytransmasc · 9 months

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[mild tw for marital rape/forced 'consent' its only referenced a little, but it feels necessary to mention it]

imagine Alicent only standing up for herself when Aegon is in the picture. Imagine her talking her son to her chambers cause he's fussy and won't go down for bed and was asking for his mum, and she has him tucked close, blissfully asleep, and Viserys calls for her.

she knows she can't refuse, but she tells the servant he had sent to make him aware of Aegon's state. he still demands that she be brought to his chambers and that the babe go back to his nursemaid. she looks down at her baby, who's now woken due to the disturbance, who is staring up at her with soft tired eyes, a little yawn escaping him.

she doesn't want to go, she doesn't want to be forced to take her husband, to pleasure him at her own discomfort. she doesn't want to leave her son, to have him sent back to bed where he will remain restless and in the care of someone who is not his mother. she had never want to refuse more than she did in that moment.

she hesitates, her facade falters. Aegon is still looking up at her as tears well up in her eyes. he quirks his head at her, fingers reaching for her cheeks as if to comfort her. with a sudden conviction, she takes him in her arms, rising from the bed, requesting a robe and a blanket. when her servant looks at her in question, she clarifies that she will be taking Aegon with her and does not wish to rouse him in attempts to dress him. they look at her with shock, but don't voice the concern written on their faces.

they bring her Viserys's favorite robe. Alicent recognizes it from her time with Rhaenyra and Aemma. she's worn it before, Viserys has made sure the servants bring it to her every time he requests her. she hates the way it feels against her skin, knowing why he makes her wear it. she wraps aegon in his blanket, soft and royal blue, his hands beginning to play with its golden tassles as she tucks him inside her robe, pressed to her chest with care.

even as fear bites at her heels, anxiety churning her stomach, she walks to Viserys's chamber with her held high. she knows she is only asking for her husband's wrath; she knows she should just obey him, but she just can't. her son will not suffer a sleepless night and horrid following day all because her husband feels the need to use her body once more. he will not suffer at his father's hands tonight, even if she has to endure Viserys's anger for it.

she enters her husband's chambers, finding him in bed, in a white night gown, clearly ready to use her; he was never subtle when he asked for her, not even the first time.

she pauses in the doorway, pulling back the robe slightly, making him aware of Aegon's presence. she watches his face fall, barely muted anger. she holds onto Aegon tighter. part of her fears he may hurt her for this disturbance, but more of her fears he will hurt Aegon on her behalf.

"I told the damned servants to take him," his voice is warped and cruel, just an angry scowl of sorts.

"Aegon is not well, dear husband... I could not leave him," she admits before he can say anything else. she puts her foot forward as a mother, hoping to claim mercy from the man who made her one.

he mutters something in response, not quite loud enough for her to hear. she has a feeling she is grateful for that.

"what was it you needed, my dear?" she tries to sound sweet and kind, in attempts to abate his anger, "I'm sure I could still attend to it."

"you know what I wanted," he yelled. it had been the first time he'd truly raised his voice to her. she couldn't help but gasp, stepping back one step, than two, stopping when Aegon began to fuss, curling around him instead.

"Please Viserys, the baby." she ducks her head down to press her against his whispy white hair. her son his huffing, as if about to cry, and she's sure if she could see his face, his little cheeks would be red and his eyes would be crinkled and wet, his lip puckered. she begins to rock him slightly, still afraid to move.

"your'e dismissed," he grunts, but his tone gives it away. she knows he doesn't mean it, the if she leaves she will be in more trouble. she questions staying, calling a servant to take Aegon and giving him what he wants, but decides against it. he would not come before her son, not now, not ever.

"I'm sorry, my dear, another night, when I do not have Aegon to tend to," she forces some cheer into her tone, "he is still so young, so helpless. he needs his mother. I'm sure you understand?"

"he is not the only one in need of you." he had not lost his anger yet. not even for the sake of his son.

"yes, of course. forgive me. only he is not as understanding as you, my love." that wasn't the truth, Aegon was more kind and understanding at a year old, than viserys was in all of his years. "I will leave now. I am sorry for the disturbance."

she pauses for a moment, waiting for her husbands reaction. when he doesn't lash out at her, she breathes a quiet sigh of relief, feeling as though she has evaded a great beast. her heart calms in her chest, slowing from its fluttering and her stomachs stops its dizzing ache. she questions turning and running, fleeing from his presence before he can change his mind, but knows better.

she hurries to his side, eyeing him all the while, each step calculated, avoiding cracking any eggshells, until she is close enough to kiss his cheek. he allows it, and gives Aegon grace when he reaches out for him, letting him play with his finger a moment, before pulling it away, not even turning away fully before sneering. she takes that as her cue to leave, this one being much more genuine than the last.

"goodnight dear husband." he says nothing. she takes Aegon's little hand, waving it slightly, "say goodnight Aegon."

her son tries to imitate her, though unintelligible, as a toddler would. she continues to smile and coo at him even when his father ignores him, not letting him feel his father's scorn, quickly turning towards the door and back to her own chambers.

the second the door is close she feels herself sag, she would have fallen to the floor right then and there had there not been kingsgaurd watching. instead she holds her head high once more, walking calm and steady, like a queen should.

Aegon settles his forehead against her collar, giving a great yawn against her skin. she smiles at him fondly, kissing his brow, earning a tired little giggle from him. it hits her that he is unaware of the trouble he just saved her from. she feels equal parts relief as she does terror; she hopes he never knows, never understands, but is so so thankful for it none the less.

the second she steps into her chambers she pulls of the robe, setting it aside carefully despite the pain it brings her, respecting the memories it carried. she pulls back the covers before smothering her and her son amongst them. he's quick to curl against her, quite tuckered out after their harrowing adventure, even if he was unaware of its true weight. she herself still wanted to cry, but was similarly too tired to keep her eyes open for another moment. tomorrow, she tells herself, tomorrow will be difficult, but tonight you have your son, tonight you have a chance to rest.

so she does, she holds him close, tracing fingers over the gold threaded patterned of his blanket, feeling the shifting of his chest as he breathes and the tickle of his hair against her neck. all is well in that moment. she drifts to sleep at the thought.

#omage to Aemma's robe that we see alicent wearing in episode 3 (I believe. it was when she was helping bathe viserys)#cause I know he made her wear it cause he's a monster #this is set prior to Helaena's conception. aegon is tiny. and alicent is still naive to the true extents of viserys's abuse.#especially to the fact that despite all of the love she holds for her children and how badly she wishes to always pick them first #his abuse and the stockholm syndrom that follow it will turn her against her children. aegon in particular.#maybe not against. but acrid and foul. her pain overtaking her love. she still tries so hard to protect them though. if you get what I mean #its otto's fault too and they should both die #anyway #I'm just in my feels with these two #we didn't get enough scenes of them together especially when they were both young and I wanted to give alicent a moment were she fought bac #she refused to give him what he wanted. she chose her child over him. she stood up for herself and what she wanted.#she earned that moment #I know she was choking through those “my dears” and “my loves” but she had to for formalities sake #angst in the front fluff in the back #even if the fluff is laced with angst #letting alicent be soft and love her son #I needed it #aegon targaryen #aegon ii targaryen #alicent hightower #anti viserys i targaryen #pro team green #hotd #house of the dragon #I love them your honor

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bonefall · 5 months

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what’s up with BB! Puddleshine? been having thoughts about him recently lol. i find it funny that rowanstar grabbed this random child from the nursery and was like ‘bam here’s our brand new doctor and spiritual leader everyone’

(*shaking twelve year old in the background*)

You know what's pretty cool about AVoS, buried underneath the slog of it all? The thing I keep going back to about this arc, in spite of how annoying it is to be forced to say in ThunderClan as everything interesting happens off-screen?

The way that so, so many young warriors are horrifically traumatized by both the structure of the Clans, and the Kin that they turn to.

It's a shame that the Erins were so committed to the idea of the Clan social structure NOT being the problem, because this whole arc is a perfect time to show how flawed it structurally is. LET these kids have a point, that maybe they were rebelling against something broken, but Darktail was a malicious actor who exploited their naivety to serve HIS ends.

A recap of what's happening in BB!AvoS before I explain my intentions with the Puddy Boy;

The big problem that I want Rowanstar to display is a problem that ALL the leaders of this time period also have. Commitment to Clan rivalry.

After Firestar was killed in AVoS by Dark Forest warriors, Bramblestar considers diplomacy secondary as a tactic. "ThunderClan will not be bullied any longer. We have been too soft with the other Clans for too long; and they have humiliated us by taking advantage of our kindness." (Note: Harespring and Breezepelt being part of the assassination patrol is not revealed until TBC. For MAXIMUM drama reveal.)

He escalated a border dispute that Firestar had worked closely and intimately with ShadowClan to resolve; a fight for a knoutberry patch on their border, just before Winter.

After Russetfur died in this painful battle, Blackstar backslid hard from his redemption arc. This caused the Thunder/Shadow alliance to dissolve towards the end of OotS, ending a friendship between the two Clans that had lasted through all of Po3.

He was open to Sol's manipulation, and while Tawnypelt was trying to fight the Dark Forest trainees who took over ShadowClan in the meantime... Rowanclaw became deputy by organizing a patrol of cats to remind Blackstar how much he means to them.

So Rowanstar inherits the Clan with this in mind. ShadowClan solves SHADOWCLAN'S problems. "ThunderClan had a quarrel with WindClan, but decided that we were their enemy. Leaving ourselves open for betrayal was a mistake; if we cannot handle our own problems, we will inevitably succumb to them when our so-called 'allies' don't come to help." (Note: he isn't completely wrong. His words are borderline prophetic for what's about to happen.)

Onestar has a smug chuckle at this. Since taking leadership, he's been appealing to the strongest, hardest members of his Clan. Those who once tried to kill him for his "weakness" in the Civil War. The "lesson" ShadowClan learned is one that he's known since the day Onewhisker died and Onestar was born, on the night of that sabotaged muirburn. "That so-called peace was always a farce. We are warriors of the four Clans; it was always going to come down to honor, and putting ourselves first. My WindClan isn't foolish enough to pretend like ThunderClan ever acted in anything but their own, hidden self-interest."

And Mistystar respects the direction Bramblestar has taken his Clan in, and approves of the "honesty" that the Clans are now showing. "As the branches of the honeysuckle fight and win the light for themselves, sometimes there are beautiful flowers that die in the shade. We can mourn the end of an era, and prepare for a future that will be made all the sweeter for our shared struggle. This is the way of the Clans, and StarClan's solemn light shines upon us all." (Note: god I love writing Misty's speeches)

In the family tree reworkings, Rowanstar is now the brother of Littlecloud. Sons of Brokenstar, honor-sired for Newtspeck.

Littlecloud... is suffering from early onset Alzheimer's.

He didn't want to choose an apprentice after Flametail's horrible death, heartbroken and stressed out, especially when he couldn't reach his nephew through contact with StarClan.

He can't remember, anymore, that Flametail was freed. He keeps forgetting this, over and over

He keeps ending up in different times of his life, where he's best friends with Cinderpelt and still calling Leafpool by her pre-Honor Title name, where he's inventing a mobility device for Wildfur, where he's still escaping the plague and before he knew his mentor caused it, where he's on the Great Journey...

Rowanstar is in a lot of pain, watching his brother forget so many things, scared and confused half the time. He doesn't want to believe that this is really the end, or that... many of these cats are now so young they can't recognize the various eras that Littlecloud is finding himself in.

Puddleshine and Slatefur are going to remain in Pinenose's litter. Either Lion or Birch MIGHT get shuffled to another one; and ALSO the shuffler might survive the Kin. (SO voice which one you want to survive, if you have a preference!)

SO, Violetshine has either two or three adopted siblings... plus another.

Pinenose's oldest surviving child is Happypaw. Happy is the half-sibling of Puddle/Slate-- the death of Weaselkit in the Great Battle caused his parents (Pinenose and Owlclaw) to break up.

(this is why I'm thinking about just reducing the litter to Puddle/Slate, so Violet has three major adoption-siblings to remember instead of four.)

And now we're ready to talk about Puddleshine.

He isn't the first young cat to be shoved into an extremely high-pressure position because of a Cleric becoming incapacitated. Kestrelflight was also forced to become the holy speaker of his people when he was far, far too young, after Barkface died in TNP. He dealt with this obediently, with only Jayfeather ever really being able to get him to think about it in a different light.

Unlike Kestrel, Puddlekit did voice that he was interested in becoming a Cleric, in BB. But he was too young to be properly making that choice, to know what he was getting into. He mentioned it practically offhandedly, and BOOM Rowanstar had rolled him into the position.

But Puddlepaw has a deep sense of responsibility. "Wise beyond his years"-- likely because of how tumultuous his home life was.

His mother's oldest child, Happypaw, was openly a bully of his half-siblings. Pinenose distanced herself from him as a result, causing Happy to be closer to Owlclaw, who was still not over Weaselkit's death.

But Puddle's Ba Spikefur is not a cat who handles his kit's emotions well. Instead, he encourages ambition, tells him to get back at his half-sibling by being more influential than that twerp could ever be.

Puddle will often go to Violet, the new POV, to vent about these things.

And one thing he mentions to her is how amazing Kestrelflight is, when he gets to meet him at the half-moon conferences. He learns SO MUCH from him, it's like he GETS what he's going through...

Puddle doesn't even feel sure that Littlecloud knows what he's doing anymore. If he's learning the right information at all.

But Rowanstar won't DO anything about Littlecloud-- and he CERTAINLY isn't about to let Puddlepaw go train under someone else's Cleric.

As a result of this, Puddlepaw becomes a VERY important member of Sleekpaw's little group. He wasn't one of their friends to begin with, buuuuut...

When he sits to chat with Sleekpaw and Needlepaw, with Happypaw good and far out of earshot, she makes a lot of sense.

A LOT of it.

ShadowClan is run by old men who don't know what they're doing. Rowanstar is too emotional to make good choices. Puddlepaw, barely even old enough to begin apprenticeship, is running all the medicine for an entire Clan.

And, sure, he doesn't have much in the way of a connection to StarClan, no, just a little more spiritual than the average cat...

But who can point this out? If Littlecloud is slowly losing his mind anyway?

"It's not right, how much pressure's on you," Sleekpaw growls, "And it wouldn't be this way if we could challenge Rowanstar. You should be training with Kestrelflight right now."

"But we're dealing with the shells StarClan dealt, and the Clan is looking to you now," Needlepaw points out on behalf of her friend, "You have much more sway than you know."

This time around for BB, Sleekpaw starts as a young hero. She's right. Rowanstar should be challenged, his emotions are affecting the ENTIRE Clan, and Puddlepaw is in a bad position because of it. Needlepaw is like her best diplomat, surely to become her deputy someday.

They would have made an excellent set of leaders for ShadowClan. But they trusted the wrong person, and were exploited. When Darktail and The Kin came to the lake, they were swept up by it, and WindClan began an embargo.

Puddlepaw eventually oversees the Yellowcough Outbreak, and at first just thinks it's Greencough. He has no idea about strains, or the special types of Color Cough that Clan cats have historically dealt with. Even when he finally does learn it's not JUST Greencough, he's powerless to do anything about it. A lot of cats die because of the lack of mullein.

After that, with ShadowClan so weak and the Kin so strong... he's one of the cats who calls for the merge. The most important one, in fact, leveraging his position to say that this is StarClan's will.

Sleekwhisker and Needletail were right all along, and he's happy to stick it right into everyone's faces. Onestar's tantrum of an embargo killed his Clanmates, Rowanstar stopped him from properly training, he's been under pressure from the time he was small with Littlecloud not fit to be a mentor, and he's ready to welcome in ShadowClan's new era as something that is not a Clan.

...unfortunately, it turned out to be the wrong choice. Not because his thought process was wrong. But because Darktail had other plans in-mind.

#Also I did decide on it being early onset alzheimer's for BB!Littlecloud specifically #It means a lot to me... my great-grandmother had it in her last days. And it's very likely I'll get it someday too #and the line that leads from her down to me #it scares me. So I want to explore it. For myself #especially in such a terrible situation like this #BB!Puddleshine #obsessed with all of these children making big choices for their Clan and the way it's going to make them turn on their IDEAS #They were right. They were right to be mad at what they were mad at #But it was a bad actor who ruined it.#If I have to deal with a born-evil foreigner in BB. Then I'll lean into it. I'll reveal he wasn't such an outsider after all.#And I'll show that the xenophobic backlash was the WORST possible route for all of these cats to take #and yet... they do. They attack the one thing they felt they had control over #When the truth is that it wasn't their fault.#BB!Rowanstar #Better Bones AU #BB!AVOS #Their biggest mistake was being mislead. I hope Puddsy realizes that when he looks at Shadowpaw #Kindness for himself through kindness for another.

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thevioletcaptain · 4 days

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I know the ask is about ships but could you make a non ship one with Dean and Carlos from the Winchesters? I can't think of an exact thing for Dean to say, but the first sentence can be what Dean would say for their first meeting. Thank you if you can (*^‿^*)

"I like your hair," Dean says, staring up from where he's clinging to the bottom of Mary's winter coat, and Carlos grins wide when he adds, with all the breathless gravity of a four year old eager to impress their opinions upon a new friend; "It's swooshy and it's pretty like Mommy's hair, and your-- your beads are pretty and shiny and shiny is my favorite color."

"Swooshy and pretty and shiny is exactly what I was going for, so thank you, little buddy."

Even with almost six years between now and the last time he'd seen Mary, Carlos is relieved to find that they still have a good sense of one-another -- can still communicate silently, swiftly, like they used to when it was life or death. He meets her eye, and her face softens, and understanding passes between them before he slides one of his lucky beaded bracelets -- the bloodstone one -- free.

Dean's eyes light up when he takes it.

When he smiles, he looks just like his mother.

[for this askbox game if anyone else wants to send me a prompt]

#supernatural #the winchesters #supernatural fic #the winchesters fic #dean and carlos #hi anon i love you and YES you can have a platonic dean and carlos ficlet!!!#for the record this is set in the uh... the prime universe? og spn universe?#did we ever reach a consensus on what to call the different 'verses?#but yeah this is a world in which the events of the winchesters didn't happen #so mary got out of the hunting life as she did in spn and lost touch with carlos and lata and ada #and carlos has been on the road #and just happened to be passing through lawrence when he bumped into a heavily pregnant mary with a four year old dean at the grocery store #so here we are :P #cass writes fic #fandom: supernatural #fandom: the winchesters #also now i've made myself extremely sad thinking about a year later #carlos swinging through lawrence again and going over to the house to visit mary and meet her husband and the new baby #and finding the house abandoned and ravaged by fire #checking the local newspapers and discovering that mary had died and her kids and husband have dropped off the map #having to call lata and ada to tell them #and then not reconnecting with dean (and meeting sam) until many many years later #when they happen to be hunting the same monster #and he realizes who they are #and is absolutely distraught over what has become of mary's children #especially the sweet little boy who'd been so enamoured of carlos' pretty hair and jewelry #also i linked to a picture of bloodstone because it is indeed very pretty #and i chose that as the stone used in the bracelet carlos gives dean for several reasons:#it symbolises strength and resilience and encourages growth and positivity generally but also especially during times of hardship #so i've basically decided that carlos helped keep dean safe for many years thanks carlos <3

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childrensrightsrehumanrights · 11 months

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If you're in a fandom of children's show, please note that you're in a children's space.

This show was designed for them and the fans are mostly their age. They're not invading your spaces, you've entered theirs. So try to keep your fanfics age appropriate and if you really can't do that keep it in a space for adults only.

And listen to children's voices, if they don't like how you're portraying children or their shows take that into account. It's always important to listen to an oppressed group about their representation and culture.

For example there's an actual problem where bronies have kind of ruined people's childhoods and exposed children to things they were not ready to see yet through their fanfics and art. Especially if the characters are children and like kids are seeing the characters they relate too, idk, fighting zombies to the death or something.

Taking a children's space and dumping 18+ content into it is not cool, they hardly have anything anyway. So just mind the boundaries, be respectful and enjoy your favorite shows.

#children's rights #fiction affects reality #I've met a lot of people who were taught the wrong thing about life or consent or anything #through the fanfic they read as children about their children's tv show #it's messed up to do that #adults have a responsibility to protect kids especially when we're in their spaces and we know they're in our communities

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makerofmadness · 8 months

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ok I'd been wondering what the israel situation was about and right now what I can gather is "governments are killing people" and Goddamnit not again

#Heart goes out to Palestinians right now #Especially through the bullcrap people are spewing to excuse what's happening to them #Like. Everyone please remember these are real people right now who did nothing themselves and are dying.#You do not counter Genocide with more Genocide (from what I understand of what Hamas is). Especially when you draw in people who didn't do #It. Especially when you include their fxcking children. You just became the very villain you swore to hate.#Though let's be real it's the government doing this not the people. At least that's my understanding of what IDF is

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nympippi · 1 year

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Does the Ghost Boys go back to their Parents/Families? Or do they stay under the Blake household?

If they do return to their families, how do their families react to having their son/child back and having a second chance in life?

-Ghostkid

Interesting question and I think I answered something similar a while back and that link is here but,

yes, the boys do eventually go home to their parents and try to readjust back to their normal lives. Also in no way shape or form would Terrance adopt six boys when he’s already got a strained relationship with the one he’s already got. Griffin was the exemption because both Gwen and Finn insisted he be under his care.

But how their parents react to their children being “rescued” is varying,

Vance’s parents: Couldn’t care less, they really didn’t care if he showed up dead or alive. They are very abusive to Vance, his dad is a drunk and his mother is emotionally distant from him.

Bruces parents: Were extremely happy to have their son back, they are very supportive and try their best to accommodate Bruce. Amy was overjoyed to have her brother back even if it isn’t the Bruce she remembers.

Billy’s parents: His parents were also very happy to have him back. However they did get a divorce, but they co-parent and are very loving towards their son after what happened in the basement much like the Yamadas.

Robins parent: Like both the Showalters, and Yamadas, Mrs. Arellano was sobbing and clutching her son and never wanted to let him go. She and her brother do their best to help Robin.

Griffins parents: Weren’t there to even pick him up from the scene/ police station, they kinda never wanted him and when he was presumed dead they hitched out of town, further prompting led to him being adopted into the Blake’s.

Also none of the parents know their child was in fact dead for a period of time, the police in regards to this whole mess spun the story that the boys were being kept alive in the basement and that the grabber simply decided to keep them for himself. This of course never happened but it’s simply a fabrication of the truth. Only the detectives on the case, the boys and Finn’s dad know the truth.

#pippi speaks #the black phone fandom #the black phone #thank you for sending this!!#yeah none of the parents know their children were dead. because the boys sure as hell will not tell them because most of them try to forget #that they were in the first place #however the Blake resident is a place where all the boys hang out at and have sleep overs there often!#some of the kids don’t like Terrance though. especially Vance because he knows a drunk when he sees one.#he’s trying!!! but not as fast as Finn would like #Finn and Vance also bond a lot through their crappy dads even if one is currently trying to be better #but I hate Terrance so…#the boys also viscerally hate Vance’s parents.#necromancer finney au #finney blake #vance hopper #griffin blake #billy showalter #griffin stagg #robin arellano #bruce yamada #tbp paperboy

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ed-nygma · 5 months

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IMDb review for an animated movie made specifically for abused and orphaned children. "I do not think any child would have liked the approach of this film," an hilarious way of saying you've never met anyone with a rough family life.

The movie is extremely raw but also filled with themes of hope and comfort. The main character got taken away because his alcoholic mom fell to her death while trying to go up his room to beat him, the others all had their own traumatic experiences, one having drug addicted and neglectful parents, another having a mother who was too mentally ill to continue to care for him, one whose mother was deported and unable to take her, one whose father ended up in jail after robbing a store to try to provide for him, one who was sexually abused by her father from a young age and one who witnessed the murder-suicide of her parents. This all the while being shown through the lens of children, children who've lived through those experiences but are too young to fully understand the complexities and implications of those situations.

All are realistic scenarios that millions of children have dealt with but which are very rarely addressed in media aimed at kids. Furthermore, tons of kids feel completely alienated by movies and shows where characters their age face no sort of family struggle.

"My life as a Zucchini" is everything but average. If you can't grapple with its message, you've most likely lived a rather sheltered life. To think that kids and, frankly, anyone else who faced similar problems in the past, wouldn't appreciate this film is beyond amusing.

#While I cannot relate to the specific lived experiences of those characters I've had several friends live through similar stories #And I very much appreciate seeing characters from dysfunctional families find happiness and comfort as they begin to heal from their trauma #Growing up I always felt alienated by picture-perfect families on TV #It was especially difficult to understand why parents in shows comforted their children when they saw them crying #Or when parents apologized for doing something wrong #That was never representative of my life #We need more media meant for kids who grow up feeling unloved or abandoned by everyone around them

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aroaessidhe · 7 months

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2023 reads / storygraph

The Art of Destiny

book 2 in a fun wuxia-inspired high fantasy series

set a couple years after book 1, after Jian failed to live up to his chosen-once prophecy, he is once again training with Taishi who decides to recruit a bunch of her grandmaster peers to come out of retirement & finish his training

Qisami & her crew are lacking assassin work and take a job going undercover in a palace - and the change of pace & new developing friendships give her a glimpse of new possibilities

Sali leads the survivors of her exiled clan to a new home while trying to find a cure for a magical sickness she's developed

#the art of destiny #wesley chu #the war arts saga #aroaessidhe 2023 reads #god this is so fun i love the characters #I think i didn't love it QUITE as much as book one for a couple reasons #the narratives r quite disconnected through most of the book (though i love them all equally)#and also jian randomly has a love interest and istg he was not-attracted-to-women coded lmao......#(I guess that was like. immature/dumb about girls coding. which I feel euh about. but whatever)#shes a cool character and it's like. 3 scenes. still far more focus on platonic relationships. but still.#qisami…….babygirl….is this what mean when they talk about dudes being their little meowmeow.#unhinged assassin who hates children forced to be babysitter then realises children are feral actually & gets attached to these ones #i thought this was a duology but it’s a trilogy. the end definitely doesn’t wrap things up. ESPECIALLY FOR QISAMI #theres MAYBE a few moments where im like oh yeah this is written by a man. not in an egregious way just like. Noticing.#BUT i love it very much overall #lots of ocean boat time. flying lion riding. centipede wagons???????

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proudfreakmetarusonniku · 1 year

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i am 100% against villain apologists i do not think they should ever exist. not out of any moral reason it’s just boring. they’re sexier if they’re murdering. they’re cooler if they’re committing horrific crimes against humanity. i love them more when they’re irredeemable shitheels who i cheer at the death of. enough “uwu he was an abuser bc he was sad” no let me analyse all the shitty reasons he was an abuser because he was a possessive violent piece of shit I will spend hours on that and love every second of it.

#this isn’t serious i jsut get annoyed at entering spaces trying to talk about my beloved awful irredeemable villain children #and having them full of people trying to justify their crimes #especially when it’s like… realistic shot #like justifying evil magic doesn’t hurt anyone #but maybe don’t be an apologist for slavery or genocide or something even if it’s fictional #like… real people have been through that…#I don’t think it’s like morally wrong. i just think it’s very uncomfortable lol

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always-a-joyful-note · 8 months

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Tatsumi in !! Music: Aww, look at these kids. Oh, to be young again Me: My brother in Christ, you are 18

Nagisa and Sakuma in Road to Show: Gotta be adults and let the kids enjoy themselves while we grown ups take care of the work Me: Guys, you haven't even graduated from university

Keito to Kiryu: Gotta take care of our child Souma Me: ????? He's just a grade younger than you both???

Knights seniors: Must protect our adorable king from the horrors of the world Me: HE'S LIKE 3 YEARS YOUNGER THAN THE OLDEST OF YOU AND HIS FAMILY HAS ASSASSINS

Kiryu @ Kanata in the anime: As Ryuseitai's mom, you should help out its dad with the kids Me: "Mom" and "Dad" are still HIGH SCHOOLERS

#the enstars experience is being reminded that everyone but 2.5 people are currently under 20 #and then reading about them Experiencing the horrors of the entertainment industry #which granted...probably would make up kids grow up faster. especially with all the traumatic things they went through BEFORE school #but also like. the biggest age gap is probably between aira (15/16) and himeru (???)#or with the current knowledge aira and rinne (20/21 <-literally the only over 20 yr old after 19/20 rei)#and thats like 6 years which IS pretty big so he does get rights to call them all children #but i stand by me having a crisis over high school students saying theyre adults compared to guys 1 or 2 years younger #ignoring the fact that i do literally the same except im mostly joking and i think theyre all dead serious #enstars #ensemble stars #stuff i say #fandom spamdom #actually to be fair being a teen in high school IS thinking that this guy a grade younger than you is basically a fresh-faced child #its more when they talk about it as if their youth is fading when 94% of the cast are still in their teen years #like boys i know youre in the idol industry but come on

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venulus-reblogs · 2 months

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#it's lovely hearing my mom say #'yourewasting your time in college'#lovely #especially when it took her 35+ years to graduate from university #lovely mother #I wonder what goes through parents's minds when they say hurtful things like these to their children #regardless of their age #like you purposely want them to feel sad or miserable #there's no other explanation #and you're 100% aware of this #how can you sleep at night knowing you're belittling and hurting someone you're supposed to love?#it's insane #and you should seriously consider talking about this in therapy #not kust vent about the things 'others do to you'#have some self-awareness #you're a shitty person #thanks mom #don't come crying at me when all I'll feel towards you is apathy #cause that day will eventually come at this rate #and dont come at me complaining about how my brother answers you harshly #you reap what you sow after all #venus vents #fucking tired of this bs

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bionicbore · 1 year

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Y’know I kinda wanna elaborate on the HC I mentioned, where I said that if Donald hadn’t found out what Douglas was doing and intervened, Douglas would’ve eventually cracked and fessed up

Mostly I wanna elaborate that he wouldn’t have fessed up because of ethical guilt (though I do think he may have something somewhere inside him that would give a damn about ethics. He did seem pretty excited to do good things after all) but more because he’s got the emotional strength of a wet tissue and would feel personal guilt after getting so attached

I’m gonna put most of it under a cut ‘cause it turned into a full on Douglas study I guess

Like... obviously I’m prefacing this with it being my own interpretation of the guy, but Douglas was a pretty emotional dude in the show. His entire redemption was rooted in his emotional attachment to his family. His morals never 100% improved, and the growth we did see was almost entirely motivated by “My family won’t like me if I’m a bad guy :(”

And while he’s not a particularly GOOD dad, he is a dad. Literally every kid Douglas gets more than 2 minutes of screen time with, he goes into some kind of Dad Mode

So, the way I see it, I don’t think Douglas would’ve lasted if he got to keep the Rats for longer than he did. It’s never actually said how old the kids were when Donald found out, but they couldn’t have been older than like... 3? Tops? Possibly even younger, technically. If Douglas actually got to watch those kids grow up in whatever messed up environment he had them in to keep them hidden (Which, I’ll be honest- based on comparing the brothers’ lab quality, was probably a worse environment than Donald’s lab) I don’t think he would’ve been able to commit. Not with the original trio, anyway

ALSO. I wanna bring up Donald, ‘cause he’s also a factor in of himself

Yeah, the brothers fight a lot, and did fight a lot. But I think it’s worth remembering that despite that, these two founded a company together. They invented things together. They work together seamlessly when they get in the zone. Douglas, despite all the animosity, was ecstatic at the prospect of getting to work alongside his brother again, and was genuinely sad when Donald didn’t feel the same, but chose not to fight Donald’s decision

Douglas cares what Donald thinks of him, and I bet he cared a lot more before Donald discovered what was happening and made his own judgement call. The two of them had to have been incredibly close, and that probably would’ve weighed on Douglas, too

But Donald found out on his own, and he didn’t waste time. He saw the children, he saw the conditions, the plans, the schematics. There was absolutely no way to rationalize what was happening here, Donald had to get these kids out and away. His little brother was using their assets to make deals with terrorists regarding the creation of bioweapons in the form of children

And Douglas was left ghosted by the most consistent presence in his life for the past 20+ years, locked out of the company he helped build from nothing, and separated from these kids who have also been a consistent presence in his life for entirely different reasons

And Douglas is notorious for deflecting and pushing back when someone else decides that he’s in the wrong. All that potential turmoil means the time between Donald finding out and Douglas “dying” was probably like. Intense. To put it mildly

All this to say: Douglas is still a DICK lmao and the point of this post is NOT to be like “Douglas deserved better” or even “Donald is to blame.” It’s more about how Douglas is a notably emotion-driven character and how it affects his dynamics and actions, both positive and negative

It’s also my favorite kind of angst- where technically, things could have turned out okay, or at least better than they did, if everyone involved hadn’t been such a mess

#Lab Rats #Douglas Davenport #I'm only tagging Douglas 'cause he's the focal point but Donald does get a fair bit here #Anyway Douglas fascinates me 'cause like. I definitely don't want him or his actions to be underplayed #Like it really doesn't matter if he wouldn't have gone through with it. Especially not at the time everything happened #The fact that he got as far as he did is damning enough #But also he is SO pitiful and his emotional reliance on others is interesting #Especially in contrast to how nonchalant he tends to act #He's perfect for exploring how consequences effect someone #Which is why I draw him with such tired eyes and like to write him being Fucking Miserable #And I'll say it. Dude was a SOFTIE in the actual show #Seriously- in no particular order:#He made Chase some good soup. He went above and beyond to save Leo's arm. He gave every Rat a new ability for various reasons #He stood up for various kids on numerous occasions. He cried when Leo became an instructor #He saved a stray dog. He put a kid up for adoption to keep him safe.#He encouraged his robot son's passion for drama club. He actively helped Donald with the indestructible car #Look me in the eye. Make direct eye contact with me and tell me #That this man could raise 3 flesh and blood children from infancy #And simply pawn them off as disposable weaponry #You cannot convince me. Douglas Davenport is too pathetic to commit to that bit #He's willing to kill a kid but that goes out the fucking window if he spends more than 1 non-hostile hour with said kid #He acts like he hates his brother's guts but will literally drop it the minute Donald's nice to him in any capacity #... See now I went and wrote TWO essays #Kill me

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t-u-i-t-c · 3 months

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nightmare scenario

#actually wild to take someone's phone like that like you don't even know her and it's not that big of a deal #but it is a bit to her which is the whole thing like she's ~34 so this feels very anxiety inducing even if she continues liking toku #like you can enjoy something and not want others to know especially when societal expectations are that you give these things up #like nakamura seems to not be able to enjoy it openly as society rejects geeks but also bc she doesn't want her disapproving mother to find #out that she still likes toku when her mother has always disapproved #it seems like it's rooted in the idea that nakamura must be feminine and hold traditionally feminine interest hence why her mother wants he #to wear clothing that she believes is more feminine and get married as she has a specific idea of how a woman should live and that is to #live with the goal of building a family with a husband and children but it's not like she's suggesting but she's forcing her way into #nakamura's space and pushing her boundaries while also manipulating her through social pressures and false tears #sure we could say she should cut her off but it's a lot more difficult than it seems to do that especially when you have the weight of #expectations crushing you #tokusatsu gagaga lb #misc lb #umbrella.thoughts #umbrella.posts

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cienie-isengardu · 1 year

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After watching Chapter 20: The Foundling (s03e04), I think I finally figured out why Children of the Watch bugs me so much. Ironically this is not just about the helmet rule even though at this point in the story I find it hysterically hilarious how the show doesn’t follow its own worldbuilding. Like Din got kicked out from the Tribe because he took off his helmet and Armorer - who usually is fair and act as the voice of reason - didn’t even bother to ask for the reason behind it (and at least one time was about Din getting medical help and the other, if I remember correctly, was done to save Grogu) with moment before Paz Vizsla claiming he has never took off his helmet because this is the way but now Children of the Watch take off the helmets to eat like no big deal, when we already saw Din eating while not revealing fully his face? Like, sorry, either you are not allowed to take that blasted thing (about what we have two seasons and a bit Book of Boba Fett) or you are allowed to do so in certain situations but if the letter is true, then not asking Din for reason behind his action and just kicking him out on spot is so… jerk move. Double so, when Armorer claims that saving a Foundling is the “highest honor of the Creed '' and isn’t it what all Din’s actions are about through the last two seasons?

I sidetracked.

Anyway, the mentioned scene of Mandalorians scattering around to eat alone so other people don't see their faces (the act of removing the helmet) is what frustrated me so much about this group. Children of the Watch are recognized as a Mandalorian community but they don’t feel much to be one?

On one hand, the show established that members of the Children of the Watch:

support each other in various ways. Like coming to aid a fellow Mandalorian in fight whatever said members are on good terms or not (Paz and Din in the first season) or providing material goods, as we are both shown (with Din) and told (by Armorer) that “It is a tradition [...] for each to donate a small portion of what they earn to the foundlings”. So those who earn money or get their hands on anything special like beskar, support the most vulnerable ones (orphans) of their Tribe. Which is definitely a positive aspect of their community (even if so far we see only(?) Din to wander through the galaxy and actually earn money and share them with his people).

celebrate (witness) together an important moments of individual members like the ceremonial accepting Creed by Ragnar or Din’s official return after Armorer confirmed his proof about Living Waters

train together and the older (more experienced) members act as mentors

organize a searching (war) party for a child abducted by predator animal

So it can’t be denied that Children of the Watch is a community in which all members take part in the social life of the Tribe, and all play some specific roles. The adults mentor the less experienced people and act as protectors in times of danger, Armorer is providing knowledge and guidance but also (alongside Paz Vizsla?) guards tradition and “punishes” for breaking the rules - and it is important to note she is usually presented as fair judge, as it was seen with Din and Paz’s rocky relationship through the all seasons.

On another hand we don’t see Children of the Watch (beside Armorer and Paz) interact with Din or Bo in any meaningful way that builds the feeling of truly belonging to this little society or even between each other in background? And here comes my realization with the rescue group sitting around the fireplace. The food was distributed, Bo’s position as leader acknowledged by Paz and then… everyone went on their own to eat in solitude. Which is so anticlimactic in regard to building any personal connection between Tribe and newcomer. They were a rescue group, on “enemy” territory (with some dangerous local fauna, there could be more hungry predators lurking in the night) and instead of sharing the warmth of firework, the sitting (eating) by the fire is treated as privilege.

Eating together and sharing food with your community is a universal bonding experience and it is no wonder that Bo-Katan is out of her depth so much in that scene, when one remembers she was for years part of Death Watch. And we know thanks to The Clone Wars (a tie-in material from the same New Canon) that Death Watch feasted together (A Friend in Need)

or even during Pre and Maul talk about alliance - a pretty important moment for both involved parties - there was one warrior who apparently chose to eat/drink between his folks rather than sitting (alone) somewhere else.

Hell, even when Din and Boba Fett seek her in the previous season, she and Koska also ate a meal together.

Of course, those little scenes are just glimpses at life of other mandalorian groups, but there is drastic contrast between Children of the Watch (eat alone so no one see you removing helmet/showing face) and what Bo-Katan experienced within two separate communities (Death Watch and her clan/followers). And I think this is the reason why Children of the Watch doesn’t feel like a true community to me. Sure, they train together and take part in ceremonies and aid each other in fight, but there is little of actual personal relationship? Little of normal things the community do together like exactly eating and sharing a place by the fire?

And there is something really bothering how the morally dubious Death Watch act as a community, not only with the training, but also eating a meal together or talking with each other - what could be observed in various scenes between the unnamed members.

In general I think TCW provided a better feeling of Death Watch’s daily life outside of combat than The Mandalorian show did for the Children of the Watch. It is doubly weird that Pre Vizsla of all people bothered to offer Maul a tea when they were making alliance as a gesture of goodwill and/or playing the good host role

while Bo-Katan (a newcomer) is left to eat alone because no one is allowed to remove the helmet in company thus can’t eat together. Come to think about it, Bo-Katan too offered to share her food with Grogu and Din in the “Mines of Mandalore” which adds to the feeling how food - as bonding / belonging to community - means a lot to her or Mandalorian in general.

Additional feeling of the not-so-good community sense comes from the same episode and is about how Ragnar could walk away from the group unnoticed when apparently Children of the Watch are perfectly aware of dangerous predators lurking around. And the kid walked to the edge of the water from which Tribe was already attacked by a beast and for some reason no one noticed it? Like Din was there when Ragnar just walked away but he was too busy praising Grogu even though, as the adult and part of the community he was responsible for other (especially less experienced) members. He however could have zero knowledge of the flying predator that may snatch the kid but the Tribe living there knew but did not bother to guard their children better? As was shown, they didn’t put anyone on guard duty to make sure those training together were safe or to keep an eye on kids wandering away from the group? You know, to not repeat the tragedy that already befall on their community in the recent past? It is especially weird to me, because the whole episode put so much pressure on how saving a foundling (or child in general) is the most honorable part of the Creed yet the Children of the Watch, as a collective, did not provide the safety to the most vulnerable members as they could despite the knowledge about danger and already experienced tragedy.

And sure, we could argue hey this kid is a sworn Mandalorian and maybe the Mando doesn’t fret about children safety as we, the no-warrior people, do. But the thing is, none of the monsters the Tribe faced was something a single adulr warrior could beat alone. It was always a community effort to beat them - and mind you, the “water beast” ultimately was killed by fire from Din’s spaceship so it is not something that a lonely kid could achieve on his own. The flying monster also was defeated because of cooperation of several warriors (though they maybe could kill it faster if the animal didn’t hold the kid). Which is why I find the execution of the plot weak from the in-universe perspective, as this tragedy was easy to avoid if only the Tribe bothered a bit more with common sense and security (something they were much more focused on in the first season?)

Of course, the show is an ongoing project so maybe the future episodes will change my mind about Children of the Watch, but for now I have very mixed feelings about them as the Mandalorian community. They are built as one for sure but they don’t really feel like a real community so far to me. Especially not compared to Death Watch, as was presented by the same New Canon.

#star wars #children of the watch #death watch #the mandalorian #the mandalorian critical #the mandalorian spoilers #i know i'm looking and judging the children of the watch through real life experiences when it comes to what community is #and especially the importance of sharing food / eating together with family or friends #so i know it is not universal experience and dunno maybe this kind of mando community is meant to represent something else #not sure from where creators take their inspirations for this religious-like tribe #but i'm really bothered by their take on them #especially when we can compare this group to death watch (from the new canon)#and when bastards like TCW!DW feel more like tigh knitted community than the supposed honorable mando i'm a bit concerned #when from DW it was mainly pre and bo who we truly knew about while other mandos were the background #but they still interacted with each other and eat together and have fun?#while children of the watch are mainly seen in regard to ceremony / creed / fight #and the one scene when bo could learn something about her companions ya'know to bond with someone outside din and armorer #she is left to eat alone?#dunno if this is just me or the show #my analyze

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