#child death /// reference

[brucie-baby]

the fact that alfred was the one to put up jason's memorial is so important to me

[lycandrophile]

i absolutely cannot believe people are trying to start discourse about whether nex benedict was actually nonbinary / whether it was okay for him to describe himself as nonbinary to some people if he didn’t actually identify that way as if he isn’t literally DEAD because he was KILLED. this is a MURDERED CHILD and these monsters are so busy getting mad at the possibility that he might have been a trans boy who described himself as nonbinary to his family because that was easier for them to take that they’re turning a CHILD who was MURDERED into fucking discourse. even when we die at the hands of cis people’s violence, our own community finds a way to make us the villains of the story.

and all of this bullshit on top of the ways that cis people are already trying to say our grief over his death is unjustified. all of this on top of people claiming he wasn’t murdered and speculating on other causes of death (i literally saw someone say he “clearly went home and took the coward’s way out” and i have never been more disgusted) or claiming that he started the fight as if any action on his part could’ve been enough to justify his death. i am haunted by the sound of his father screaming that his child was not filth because that is what people have been saying about this poor kid, that’s how cruelly his memory is being treated, and even the trans community can’t get it’s shit together enough to look past the stupid discourse and see the tragedy in front of us. did you all forget that it was supposed to be up to us to grieve him in the way he deserves when the rest of the world fails to care if people like him live or die? did you all forget that this child was our sibling, the future of our community, a life that we should have had the chance to know and treasure while he was still here but that we now have a responsibility to hold close to our hearts in his absence? nex’s life was precious and it was ended far too soon and if you truly believe that anything is more important than mourning his life and fighting for a world where no more trans people have to meet such an awful fate, you’re a traitor to this community and you do not deserve the place you occupy within it.

i��m so tired. i can’t even imagine how tired his family must be, to see the public treat the child they’re grieving so horribly, to see the world fail their baby again. leave him alone. he was already robbed of peace in life; the least you can do is let him finally have it in death.

[omgellendean]

In this report, evidence and documentation collected by DCIP indicate that Israeli forces are deliberately targeting Palestinian children with the intent to unleash cruel and degrading treatment up until the moment of the child’s death. Israeli authorities, which have the ability to hold Israeli soldiers and military officials accountable, are unwilling to take action to stop the killing of Palestinian children.

This report is based on evidence collected by DCIP’s field researchers documenting 141 Palestinian child fatalities in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, between October 7, 2023, and July 31, 2024.

Full report here

20 percent of the Palestinian children killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since 2000 have been killed after October 7, 2023 at a rate of one child every two days.

Israeli forces deliberately target and shoot unarmed children with live ammunition and trained snipers. Israeli forces and settlers shot and killed 116 Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, between October 7, 2023 and July 31, 2024.

Israeli forces have killed 25 Palestinian children in aerial attacks in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, between October 7, 2023 and July 31, 2024. Some children were directly targeted while others were collateral damage as Israeli forces deployed aerial attacks in densely populated civilian areas.

Israeli forces and authorities systematically deny Palestinian children their right to medical care when preventing ambulances, paramedics, or bystanders from providing medical care to a child shot with live ammunition or struck in an Israeli airstrike. In 43 percent of cases in this report, Israeli forces deliberately prevented injured Palestinian children from receiving medical care by detaining and firing live ammunition toward ambulances, paramedics, and civilians attempting to provide aid.

Israeli authorities and forces systematically, deliberately, and specifically embolden Israeli settler violence towards Palestinian children. Israeli forces present during armed Israeli settler attacks fail to prevent the aggression, fail to help the Palestinian victims, and often collaborate with the settlers in inflicting lethal harm. In two cases, Israeli forces and settlers fired toward Palestinian children simultaneously, and DCIP was unable to determine which perpetrator fired the fatal bullet.

Israeli forces killed at least 49 Palestinian children during the intensified large-scale and deadly incursions into Palestinian refugee camps in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, between October 7, 2023 and July 31, 2024. 

The fatal shootings of child protesters in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and the use of expanding bullets during the crackdowns constitute war crimes prosecutable at the ICC. In October 2023, Israeli forces shot and killed four Palestinian children with expanding bullets designed to increase in size upon impact, inflicting fatal internal injuries.

Israeli authorities’ practice of confiscating and withholding Palestinian bodies is a violation of international humanitarian law and international criminal law, which include absolute prohibitions on cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment. Israeli authorities have confiscated 18 Palestinian children’s bodies in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, between October 7, 2023 and July 31, 2024.

Israeli authorities work to ensure Israeli forces continue enjoying impunity and face no consequence for the extrajudicial killing of Palestinian children. There are no known accounts of accountability during this reporting period.

[feelingtheaster99]

I cannot BREATHE at the Wanda Childa’s fake death performance. Everything about it was so fucking funny and peak intrepid heroes of them

[s0fti3w1tch]

"Ghost" in My Dreams

[context] Raph was the last to see Leo before he disappeared. The guilt haunts him.

[furiousgoldfish]

Abuse seemed normal and justifiable to me, the entire time I was living in it as a kid. I didn't question it, the justifications and defenses would appear in my head before I would even start to get upset about it. 'They didn't mean that, they did it to make me stronger, to teach me how hard life is. They only did it out of anger, they wouldn't have done it if I didn't make them angry. It happened because I did x. They're my parents, they're doing what's best for me. I just don't understand yet because I'm not old enough but eventually I'll get why they're acting this way.'

It feels like that when you've never had a life away from abuse; it is the only normal way of life you've ever known, and implication that it might not be normal are too scary to explore, but also completely unbelievable. Because you would have to believe that you yourself are in a special situation where normal rules no longer apply. Rules like 'your parents love you and do everything for your own good', 'you need to listen to your parents, they know what they're talking about', and 'Your parents are just trying their best'. And you feel like you're nothing special, nothing that happens to you is special, nothing is out of the ordinary, you're feeling even less than normal, you feel like something is deeply wrong with you, rather than the situation you're in. Of course your parents are normal, and mean well, it's you who needs to get their shit together and stop being, whatever you are, it's unclear.

It can seem from an outside perspective, that a child would recognize at least some of the abuse for what it was, even if subjected to the rules of 'parents love you, they know best, you need to obey them', if the abuse is extreme, but no, they wouldn't. Looking back at my experience I was able to justify not only the physical violence, neglect, insults and humiliation, but even the constant, very detailed death threats that would constantly come out of the abusers. I listened to them describe to me how they would kill me, often implying they should have killed me already, and all I thought was 'they are just saying that, they're not actually going to kill me, they're saying it because they're angry, I shouldn't take this personally'. When I think about that now, I am appalled, you would think anyone subjected to constant detailed death threats would know for sure that this is wrong. But I was also hearing about how they 'sacrificed everything for me' and 'nobody else would ever love me like this', and how could I have known, as a kid, which one of these are lies, and which are the truth? I was heavily pressured to believe that they loved me. How would I have known that my parents had reasons to convince me that their murderous intentions were fake, but the love they had for me was real?

Without a clear reference to how parental love looks like, there's no way to tell. And if you ever do see a depiction of a loving family, your abusive family will be very quick to tell you that they're "doing it wrong", "spoiling that child", and "created a selfish brat". And how would you know that this isn't true? You don't yet know that they have reasons to lie to you. You've been told they're your parents and they only want the best for you, like all parents do. They just don't want you to grow up a selfish brat, so that's why they don't do all of the listening, hugging, caring, paying attention, conversing, and advocating for you. To make sure you're strong and responsible as a human being. It makes sense when you're a kid. When you're an adult, you understand that it never made any sense, that shaming good parents only served the purpose of making you feel like you're having a normal experience, and that your parents were right to abuse you, even superior for it.

It's possible to endure any amount of abuse and to be convinced that it's normal. I've talked to adults who've been sexually abused and trafficked by their parents and still believed the parents loved them. There's no limit to what you can convince a child is normal. Any abuse can be hidden by a guise of normalcy.

[siblingshuffle]

Day 12: Regret.

This is a snippet of Sibling Shuffle’s version of Spiritus Ex Machina!

And the theme is regret!

This isn’t very happy. I mean, we’re talking about a mother who was so scared of losing her child that she technically killed her herself and is now confronting that choice. Of course it is.

It’s also a little longer than normal, so be forewarned! ————————

“Speaking of robot girls,” Dr. Light mentioned, “Blues has been very excited to see Tempo again. Did you bring her with you?”

Dr. LaLinde froze, the mirth melting from her expression “…Right… of course…” she murmured, averting eye contact as she turned around. After a moment, she led a girl who appeared to be around Blues’s age to the group, seeming more melancholic than before. “…Quake Woman,” she addressed the girl, “You remember Dr. Light and Blues…”

‘Quake Woman?’ Roll wondered. The girl was clearly a Robot Master, yes - Roll’s sensors didn’t give any indication that she was organic whatsoever - but Blues and Dr. Light had been referring to her by the name “Tempo”.

“Yes. Hello,” Tempo-- Quake Woman-- whichever, waved. The movement was strangely stiff, with no discernible emotion behind it. 

“Why’s she calling you your Robot Master name?” Blues asked, smiling confusedly as he waved back. “You’re not working right now, are you?”

“I am not. However, ‘Quake Woman’ is my name. I am a geological surveyor robot,” Quake Woman responded. Her voice was… strange. It lacked inflection, but it sounded as though it had been designed with a range of emotions in mind. In fact, now that she thought of it, Roll hadn’t noticed her making any obvious facial expressions, either…

Blues nodded slowly, his expression faltering as though unsure of himself. He shook it off so quickly, however, that Roll had to wonder if she had imagined it, “Uh, okay…? I’d like you to meet my little sister, Roll. Roll, meet Tem— Quake Woman, my best friend.”

“Hi!” Roll grinned, extending a hand to shake. “Blues told me a lot about you!”

Quake Woman took her hand, but, looking at Blues, said, “Your statement is illogical.”

Roll blinked, tilting her head and staring at the girl. “…What do you mean?”

“Blues referred to you as his ‘sister,’” Quake Woman responded matter-of-factly. “That statement is illogical. Robots cannot have familial relations.”

Blues stared at Quake Woman, baffled. “What…?” He asked, glancing over at Dr. LaLinde as though expecting answers from her. “...Dr. LaLinde?”

Dr. LaLinde didn’t look at him.

“…Quake Woman…required some adjustments. She’s fine.”

“…What kind of ‘adjustments’?” demanded Blues, his voice low and apprehensive as he studied Dr. LaLinde’s expression, his eyes searching for something that he couldn’t seem to find.

Dr. LaLinde swallowed, biting her lower lip. Her voice was tight when she next spoke. “…I…I’ll…let you get reacquainted.”

With that, she stepped away into the crowd. Roll’s gaze followed her, noticing how stiff her posture was. And with how abruptly she had left… something was definitely wrong.

Dr. Light placed a hand on Blues’ shoulder. “I’ll be right back,” he told him before running after her.

Blues just stared numbly in the direction the two roboticists had disappeared to. Hesitantly, Roll reached out her hand to him, but Blues withdrew, pulling his scarf up to his cheeks and turning around sharply. Before Roll could stop him, he slipped away into the crowd in the opposite direction, leaving Roll and Quake Woman alone.

————————————————————————

“Noele, wait,” Dr. Light called out, catching her by the arm before she could lose him. She stopped but didn’t turn to face him. “What’s going on? Tempo - and you, as well- are acting strangely,” Dr. Light eventually asked, a mix of concern and confusion coloring his expression.

Dr. LaLinde still didn't turn to face him. “…You have a lot of people you should catch up with, and there’s not a lot of time to do it before you have to be onstage for the debate,” she said, her voice tight.

Dr. Light nodded. “You’re right, but that can wait,” he insisted. “Something’s going on with you.”

Dr. LaLinde took a shaky breath. When she turned towards him, her eyes were more tired and sad than he’d ever seen them before.

“You know that you can talk to me, right? Any time that you need me, I’m here for you,” he offered gently, taking her hands in his. His eyes were filled with a warmth that could melt the sturdiest of defenses - a familiar, understanding, comforting warmth, but one that burned if Dr. LaLinde tried to look directly into.

Dr. LaLinde extricated hands from Dr. Light’s.

“Thomas, I know you mean well, but…” she shook her head. “…nothing is wrong.”

“…You’re sure?” Dr. Light asked, his voice soft. He knew Dr. LaLinde was brilliant, the dark circles under her eyes made him wonder how much sleep she had been losing as of late.

Dr. LaLinde inhaled sharply, but nodded, though her eyes remained downcast. “I’ll see you at the debate, Tom.”

Dr. Light watched her leave again, a sense of helplessness, concern, and worry pressing down on him.

Dr. Light couldn’t help but reflect on the LaLindes he had known before - the vibrant, happy family that only nominally resembled the lifeless one he’d just met. It seemed impossible to reconcile the two, yet he knew they were one in the same.

Dr. Light sighed deeply, his hand combing through his beard, his mind racing with questions and concerns. The loudest question of all, though, was this: what happened to the LaLinde’s?

————————————————————————

Story Notes:

My autocorrect tried to call this segment “Sorry Notes” and I think that’s kinda fitting lol

I know you guys know what happened, and furthermore that Dr. LaLinde had sympathetic reasons. However. No one else does at this point on the timeline. All they know is that Dr. LaLinde seems sadder than normal and Tempo isn’t emoting at all. And it’s freaking Blues TF out—

Dr. LaLinde mostly keeps her reasoning to herself because of grief & guilt & regret (as well as the narrative reason of “it makes for a better story if we don’t learn her reasoning until the timing it took canonically”)

DISCLAIMER: Dr. LaLinde is a very compelling character to me! I like that she’s a flawed parent trying her best! In fact, I like all of the LaLinde’s! They’re awesome characters and fantastic foils that I could go on for hours analyzing if I had the time! That aside, though, Dr. LaLinde is a foil to Dr. Light just as much as Tempo is to the Light kids. They’re both parents who care deeply about their kids and would do anything to protect them. The thing is, Dr. LaLinde took it too far by removing the possibility for Tempo to feel anything at all, pain included, and ended up hurting herself and others in the process.

This is a snippet from before any of the Healing Journey character arc starts - she misses her Tempo, yes, but she can’t really bring herself to admit that she was wrong quite yet. Surely it’s better that she removed the part that was her child but kept the part that was a tool. Surely then it would hurt less. Surely it’s better to feel nothing than to feel pain. She must be doing the right thing. She doesn’t know what she’d do if she were not.

Can you imagine having to re-introduce your newly-emotionless child to your child’s former best friend though. Can you imagine that.

I didn’t write it in here (because it would end up turning into a whole novelization of the Sibling Shuffle version if the first comic in this arc by that point), but Blues is so distracted that he ends up knocking over Kalinka and meeting the Cossacks in a way that is similar to the original story, just with the Cossacks not getting to catch up with Dr. Light quite yet.

Everyone ends up present for the debate, with Roll meeting Kalinka when they sit next to each other. Blues ends up storming out of the lecture hall after connecting a couple dots, and from there the Emerald Spears attack.

————————————————————————

Art Notes:

Reference: Tempo’s introductory panel.

Someone pointed out that her eyes half-lidded “made her look high” so I just didn’t make her eyes shiny instead. This is a serious emotional scene lol

Lowered the color saturation & brightness slightly to play more into the mood

[pincushionx]

Listening to ‘I bet on losing dogs’ by Mitski and all I can think of is Caleb for some reason

While I think Caleb is a hallucination, I think about the possibility of ghost Caleb. Due to his body never being let to rest and his bones used to create new life he’s unable to move on. So he witnesses brother make a grimwalker, at first he’s shocked and disgusted, horrified by this act against nature but then he falls in love. This 1st grimwalker whose an abomination to life, who looks like he’s falling a part at the seems, who looks nothing like him, this uncanny being meant to replace him, was the most the most precious thing to him. It was heavily deformed but Caleb through his horror, loved the creature as soon as its head popped up from the ground. Perhaps it was that deep parental instinct in him , or the fact that he never met his own child but Caleb feels love for the being and is sadden that he’s unable to interact with him in a meaningful way. The grimwalker dies after a hour, it’s body too deformed and unstable to hold itself, it dies thinking it’s unloved as Philip simply let it die, neglecting the being, too disgusted by the beast and making plans on how to make the next one better as he withered. Caleb is heartbroken by this. And like that the cycle continues.

Not all grimwalkers are golden guards, many are just experiments or failures, his heart shatters for those whose survival was never a choice, all he can do is weep for their injustice. Their bones the base of the pit. He sees his brother, the boy he raised only grow colder and crueler. He hates that he misses the boy this monster used to be.

He watches over and over, a new grimwalker is born, lives poorly, and dies miserably. His babies, his children being murdered by his own brother and being able to do nothing about it. He’s tries to watch over Evelyn and his child and the generations of clawthornes after but he’s drawn back to the grimwalkers, they are made from his bone, his dna alone, he doesn’t dare to think of them as clones. The clawthornes have each other, these grimwalkers have nothing. He watches as they’re made to do heinous acts against witch and demon kind for their creator, their perception of the world being warped and freedom never being an option. Caleb thinks he would grow apathetic but the pain only grows as he watches the pile of bones get bigger. He sees his skeleton be reduced to quarter of its original size, he’s sees the wild land of the boiling isles being leashed by the rise of the empire.

He’s lost hope that his children would be ever able to escape, he’s seen to many die trying. He finds himself hoping they “stay in line” just to survive even if it wasn’t living.

But then one grimwalker, made from a rib, a child, the third one named Hunter made, finds flapjack. And he survives. He escapes his brothers wretched mind and runs, and like that, Caleb sees the first free grimwalker. His brother dies and he weeps for the child he raised. The boy, Hunter escapes to the Human realm. He follows. The world has changed so much, even more than the boiling isles. He finds himself exploring the place alongside the little grimwalker, Hunter and his friends. For the first time, he feels warmth. He wishes he could reach out and touch the boy and tell him how much he loved him. He wishes that for all the Grimwalkers but he wants to tell him how happy he is that he escaped. He watches Hunter grow a bond to kind women who treats him gently, with friends who love him dearly.

Hunter is his son and his son is alive. He mourns that he can never be a dad to the boy.

His son gets possessed, he watches his brother manipulate his sons body and he’s helpless to any of it, he had spent to much time following his son he didn’t think of the possibility of his brother being alive.

His son dies and Caleb feels as if he would be weeping for all eternity…but then his palismen, who he carved with his own hands lands on the boy chest and gives him life. He’s sadden by the death of his palismen but the bird has centuries to live, the grimwalkers never really had a life. This one a child, not even an adult like the previous where.

His son lives, now scarred and brown eyes and Caleb can’t help to think he’s only further solidified himself as his son. His son has powers, Caleb is a proud father.

Another grimwalker gets possessed but falls apart and dies immediately, Caleb mourns the son he never got a chance to see in proper lighting.

His brother dies. He grieves.

His son is cared for by adults who can be there for him. Caleb feels bittersweet. He watches from a distance, he’s accepted reality but he can’t help but imagine a life where is was him being the parent.

The bodies of his dead children are found, they are buried. Theirs names only remembered by the journals made by their creator.

His own body is found, or what remains of it. It’s buried, his son pays his respects and he feels like a proud father.

Suddenly theirs an opening and he can leave. He watches his remaining son grow a life for himself.

Caleb is at peace, he wants to watch but it’s his time to go. It’s been his time for centuries. He looks longingly to his living son. He wishes he was his dad.

He looks at the other side and hopes that he may reconnect with his wife, with their born child, and meet all the grimwalker children he never got a chance to show his love.

With the first breath he’s taken in centuries, he steps to the other side and Caleb is no more.

(Made myself sad and sorry for grammar issues)

[fazgoo-connoiseur-1987]

Do you think like after the MCI (or during) Bill started one of those ribbon for a cause campaigns to 'raise awareness' and 'show support for the people affected.' He like wears the ribbon on his blazer for a whole year.

[very-uncorrect]

Btw if you vote "other" please elaborate in the tags I'm curious!!

[mugentakeda]

this is actually one of the most fun parts about building on lu tens blank slate ass. Is there truly anything more eldest sibling-like than being a narrative haunter. how does his death make and break the relationships of everyone in the family. in what ways was his death the jenga block that toppled the whole tower over and destroyed everything even more than it was destroyed before. how was his presence the only thing keeping the tenuous peace

[theultimatecruiseship]

Milk baths and bad smells

[dukeofriven]

Judging just by Neil Gaiman's inbox, the most amazing thing about the Sandman/Good Omens fandoms is how they seem to be almost exclusively comprised of people who neither watched the shows nor read the books but sure have a lot of observations and critiques.

[witchysolfan]

The Princess and the Fools

How a child’s soul transferred into the Poppet

Killed by a witch

Gained a witch for a mother

[pyrosomatic-metamorphosis]

Before she could ask he was unwinding her scarf and pressing that into the wound instead, and he could almost convince himself that the rapidly darkeing patch is just the scarf being unevenly dyed and not the blood already soaking through. He was so distracted he almost didn’t hear Tallulah’s voice; it was already growing weak. “Chayanne. Please. You have to get away from here.”

spoilers for how you're gonna get your heart violently torn out of your chest when you read to aim true! fantastic qsmp hunger games au written by @saline-solution for this year's au fest!

Go check out all the other awesome stories and art pieces by scrolling the tag or the blog, @mcytblraufest everyone is so skilled it's been an incredible event to participate in.

this is the second artwork I've done for to aim true- the first one can be found here

[ndscottsummers]

do you think jean still visits annie's grave sometimes...