That scene in episode 3 where Natsu is asking Umi why she's pretending to be happy and Yayoi just keeps trying…
I really like Yayoi's character, and relate to being the odd one out so I'm going to defend her a little haha
I think that that scene has less to do with Yayoi not being ready to be a parent + not recognizing Mizuki's importance, and more to do with being an outsider in Natsu + Yumi's relationship. Natsu + Yumi have this bond of both dealing with the grief of losing Mizuki; something Yayoi just can't understand no matter how much she tries.
We see Yayoi recognizing Mizuki's place in both Natsu + Yumi's life throughout this episode... to almost a heartbreaking degree. We got the scene with the grandmother when they drop Yumi off after the library, the library scene where she clutches the parenting books while musing about being an outsider with Tsuno, and when she sits while Natsu + Yumi hug in the scene mentioned above.
She could dial down the "I'm going to be Yumi's mom!" thing though lol. As Natsu's girlfriend it's only natural to want to be part of Yumi's life as well but that's definitely going in too strong too fast and is probably where you are feeling Yayoi is trying to replace Mizuki. But I think the "I'm going to be Yumi's mom!" comments have less to do with replacing Mizuki and much much more to do with what you mentioned before her trauma and projecting her unborn child onto Yumi. I just feel Yayoi has been soooo respectful of Mizuki's part in Natsu (Yayoi's boyfriend!!!) + Yumi's life that it feel bad faith to say she's trying to replace Mizuki. Whenever Mizuki is brought up, she tries her very very best to keep the most neutral face because she doesn't want Natsu to feel guilty or bad about mention Mizuki around her because Mizuki is Yumi's mother!!
I do agree, however, to be the best parental figure for Yumi, Yaoyoi has to deal with her trauma. She has an unhealthy coping mechanism of pushing down her feelings and putting on a brave face rather than allowing herself to feel all of the emotions. We can see it in a large scale with how she pushed down truly dealing with the trauma that came with her abortion and in a smaller scale with how she deals with Mizuki's mother's passive aggressiveness and feeling left out by Natsu + Yumi. Rather than vocalizing her discomfort, she kind of just pushes the negative feelings away. Definitely don't think this is a healthy coping mechanism to have or pass onto a child.
But I don't like the implication that Yayoi isn't allowed be part of Yumi's life while she's working through her trauma. She can do both! I don't think people should need to have everything figured out before being a part of someone else's life.
I think that that scene has less to do with Yayoi not being ready to be a parent + not recognizing Mizuki's importance, and more to do with being an outsider in Natsu + Yumi's relationship. Natsu + Yumi have this bond of both dealing with the grief of losing Mizuki; something Yayoi just can't understand no matter how much she tries.
We see Yayoi recognizing Mizuki's place in both Natsu + Yumi's life throughout this episode... to almost a heartbreaking degree. We got the scene with the grandmother when they drop Yumi off after the library, the library scene where she clutches the parenting books while musing about being an outsider with Tsuno, and when she sits while Natsu + Yumi hug in the scene mentioned above.
She could dial down the "I'm going to be Yumi's mom!" thing though lol. As Natsu's girlfriend it's only natural to want to be part of Yumi's life as well but that's definitely going in too strong too fast and is probably where you are feeling Yayoi is trying to replace Mizuki. But I think the "I'm going to be Yumi's mom!" comments have less to do with replacing Mizuki and much much more to do with what you mentioned before her trauma and projecting her unborn child onto Yumi. I just feel Yayoi has been soooo respectful of Mizuki's part in Natsu (Yayoi's boyfriend!!!) + Yumi's life that it feel bad faith to say she's trying to replace Mizuki. Whenever Mizuki is brought up, she tries her very very best to keep the most neutral face because she doesn't want Natsu to feel guilty or bad about mention Mizuki around her because Mizuki is Yumi's mother!!
I do agree, however, to be the best parental figure for Yumi, Yaoyoi has to deal with her trauma. She has an unhealthy coping mechanism of pushing down her feelings and putting on a brave face rather than allowing herself to feel all of the emotions. We can see it in a large scale with how she pushed down truly dealing with the trauma that came with her abortion and in a smaller scale with how she deals with Mizuki's mother's passive aggressiveness and feeling left out by Natsu + Yumi. Rather than vocalizing her discomfort, she kind of just pushes the negative feelings away. Definitely don't think this is a healthy coping mechanism to have or pass onto a child.
But I don't like the implication that Yayoi isn't allowed be part of Yumi's life while she's working through her trauma. She can do both! I don't think people should need to have everything figured out before being a part of someone else's life.