please talk more about your au I love it very much
im really glad you guys (my target audience) are enjoying this as much as you are!! im a big fan of it even if i dont have enough ideas or motivation to write it (which has been a big oof for me these last few months)
anyways, here's some more details abt the au:
inspired by @sianabird's au, birdie is a teacher and married to siana, also a teacher, and they raise nuka together. when becky goes back to school, they're both really accommodating and understanding, not questioning why becky needs a room to calm down in if she needs it. nuka made a stimming toy for siana to give to birdie and it's one of becky's favourite things.
becky in this is probably autistic, if nothing because i'm autistic and love projecting onto my favourite character <3
becky used to have stims that were more harmful to herself and many of aimee's foster kids were neurodivergent in some way (one had ocd, one had BPD, three had dyslexia, etc) so she noticed near-immediately and gave her some stimming stuff. there's a funky fluffy thing shaped like a hedgehog she can press, a necklace she can chew on, several rings which she adores which she can twist (i had them, they weren't right for me but i think becky would love them).
i may or may not project my hearing issues on her but the jury's still out there on that one LFMAIRHJFHJR
gus and wendy majorly helped becky come out of her shell (along with the animal army, who i'll get to in a bit). wendy was the only kid aimee fully adopted, and gus is wendy's best friend, so they hung around a lot inside the house. wendy knows what it's like to be in the foster system (though it didn't happen to be as cruel with her as it was with becky) and was really kind to her without being like too much. and gus hadn't spent as much time in the foster system but is so happy and full of kindness that he's just great to hang out with. they both understand when becky doesn't come out of her room a lot, but they're both accepting when she comes over to watch them play or play with them
i've updated gus's situation: he's still jepp's adopted kid, but they're only a year on from being adopted and still getting used to it!
anyways, the animal army (which is their name, despite only having like. 4 people including tiger) really helped too, as they hung out with her but without forcing her to talk, letting her just... be part of them, and it helped becky talk to them, even if she did feel like a stranger despite knowing them for little over a month already, so yeah
at the beginning of this au, becky's mental health is similar to that to mid-s3. she's not the confident leader of the animal army like in the beginning of s1/the end of s2, and doesn't have that purpose of finding and taking care of that drives her throughout all three seasons. she's lost and adrift, believing herself to unlovable, but slowly comes to find that she is loved and cared about by those around her, and shows herself to be the warm and open person we know and love <3