im like if jake english was a boy

Cute matespritship hours for Ainahz's birthday.

metatextually, this is a random forum game comic hussie had made a while ago, and was inserting because she's addicted to callbacks. acknowledging this fact before i get into the meat here.

can you fucking imagine being dave? like, specifically, can you imagine growing up like this? being "raised" by bro, who beats the shit out of you so routinely you're already steeling yourself for sword combat the moment you see a weapon out of place

who keeps the kitchen stocked full of weapons instead of food, and intentionally packs his possessions in the kitchen appliances to make eating even harder

keeping the place a dangerous wreck all the time, leaving a trail of threats of imminent destruction everywhere he's been

you're having some crises today. your only friends are in danger, you're failing to choke down the realization that you hate your home, you hate your brother, and you hate your life. a sword is missing from the rack. the air reeks of metal, sweat, and heat. nothing's going right. you're trying to keep your cool. you've gotta keep your cool. you need to keep your cool.

your name is dave strider, and you can't even manage to eat.

on one hand, i think her propensity for tantrum throwing is interesting. she lives her life in a constant state of repressed frustration, and only lets it out on things that don't seem to matter. at least, not to the outside observer. it's always the little things. that's just how it is. when you face a million tiny injustices every day, any one of them could be the straw that broke the camel's back. even if that straw is born of kindness - like someone lovingly making food for you that you just cannot stomach right now.

again, she's a very strongly written child. she lacks agency in ways children often do, and reacts to it exactly the way a child would. especially one that's as deeply repressed and closeted as june. i feel this is an aspect of her writing that's often overlooked, because a sizable chunk of readers are teenagers who have not unpacked that. and, unfortunately, even more lack experience of or even basic knowledge about transmisogyny, how it operates, and the effects it has on trans youth