#tadc patchwork

individually speaking, as parents, zooble is very laid-back and tolerant. they would let their kid keep the random dog they brought from the streets. they would let their kid ride the giant and most fucking horrifying coaster in the theme park that even coaster enthusiasts shit their pants thinking about. in return their kids would probably view them as the Cool One (tm). while being pretty lax, they aren't ignorant or dissmissive; they do still hold their kids accountable and is capable of establishing authority and being direct. their main flaw as i see it is that they lack self confidence and don't believe they are suitable as a parent. they lack the admiration their kids and partners have for them; it's something they're still trying to comprehend after years of wallowing in self-hatred and thus convincing themselves that they are hard to love

ragatha is pretty much the polar opposite of zooble when it comes to her parenting. while not necessarily a "helicopter parent", it's safe to say that she's still overbearing and clingy in some form, often being the one that the kids would describe as a "buzzkill" by being hesitant on letting them do certain things and constantly checking up on them in fear that they might get themselves hurt or, even worse for her, that they might find her annoying. its a harmful cycle; she worries about being percieved badly, so she checks up on their kid to make sure that's false, but that causes her kid to find her overbearing and dislike her more, but she has to keep asking otherwise she won't know. zooble and ragatha's flaws in this scenario, however, aren't so different. ragatha also fails to see that she's loved and by god does she hate herself, often outrightedly denying love by believing that they are being dishonest or that in the end she'll fail them, constantly seeking some kind of approval or reassurance that she's doing good enough, that she's not being the mother that she once had. also i forgot to mention this but i imagine that ragatha would be the parent their kid would go to if they need to vent. probably not the best advice giver, but certainly the best at being kind, compassionate, and making others who are struggling to feel comforted and important

in this way, zooble and ragatha are mirrors for eachother while also completing what they lack. they're slowly reminding themselves that they're loved and important, not only because of the affection they show to one another, but also because their kid still looks up to the both of them