#his paranoia and trust issues

[youngdutchishot]

hc grayaromantic dutch van der linde... he means.. everything to me....

this is my favorite photo ive taken of him its got that twinkle in his eye that arthur wouldnt stfu about—

[undertheredhood]

any dc character: *confessing something about their past they kept hidden out of fear/shame*

their batfam bff who had already known for a while and is now desperately trying to hide that they knew the truth this entire time: “oh, wow! that is so crazy, i am so sorry you had to go through that.”

[crumb-crumblet-s-crumbington]

willingly unloved

[morganbritton132]

Firm believer that Tim would tell each member of his family that he has a severe allergy and then tell each of them that it’s to something different. So he’ll know if one of them tries to poison him.

The only one of them that knows what Tim is really allergic to is Alfred for obvious reasons.

[petrichormore]

yknow a moment from today that I feel is really under appreciated and kinda highlights the difference between the people q!Bad trusts and the people he doesn’t?

(this is about the characters obviously. You cannot make me use q! on long analysis posts. None of you can make me.)

Aypierre was showing Bad the room he used to capture and question Fred, and built into the only entry into the main room was an inventory scanner.

An inventory scanner - the thing Bad was hesitant to use to save Forever because he was scared of the islanders knowing of its existence and turning it against him. He did it anyway obviously because he cares about Forever but it’s clear he knows this is the one thing that could remove all his carefully built up protections in an instant. And the only way into the room was through it.

So Bad stops, of course, and Aypierre (who already walked through it first) notices and goes “I’ll just give you your items back, come through”

And Bad says “Ehhhh no, I…”

And Aypierre reassures him “You can come through. Don’t worry, don’t worry, don’t worry.

And Bad repeats “Ehhhh no…” And then “Forgive my paranoia, can you disable it? Or make an opening for me?” He asks it very politely too, as if he believes it’s a hard ask (it’s not).

And Aypierre does. That’s why I think this moment is underrated. Bad asks for forgiveness for his paranoia - a paranoia that has been built up and rewarded and reinforced by his experiences on the island - and yet Aypierre doesn’t treat it like a burden. He doesn’t complain about it, he doesn’t tell Bad he’s overreacting, and he certainly doesn’t try to guilt-trip or otherwise insist Bad go through when he’s clearly uncomfortable. He just… makes another opening, and Bad walks through that, and the moment of hesitance, of distrust, is left behind. Not just left behind, but accepted. From Bad’s perspective, Aypierre has essentially communicated that “I can see you don’t trust me fully, and that’s okay, I understand why. It’s not a big deal, and I can move on.”

And I think that acceptance is why Aypierre has managed to gain an impressive amount of Bad’s trust so much faster than other islanders. I think that’s why when he told Bad he put cameras in his house, Bad didn’t get upset.

A lot of islanders, even islanders that are Bad’s friends, would not have reacted the way Aypierre did to Bad not wanting to step through the inventory scanner. And it does make a difference.

[canisalbus]

sorry im emotonal and going off of the other asks sent about machete and just i need to stress how beautiful it is to me that machete sees himself so undeserving of love and affection and feeling as if vasco's too good for him but despite all that he is so incredibly devoted to vasco and loving towards him (in his own way) but is so incredibly clear to anyone with eyes that just how in love he is with vasco. like it's not done out of a "oh god please never realize that you're too good for me here here let me overdo it with the affection" its done with the "i love you, and will always love you, no matter what happens to us or separates us, and i will give it to you as long as i am able, and if you ever leave, i won't be okay, but will still love you, and want you happy". like he doesn't use his own feelings of being undeserving taint his love or the way he loves for vasco, and it's so, so beautiful

.

[thetismcave]

An unlikely crossover I think would be extremely entertaining

Batman: has a ‘no metas in Gotham’ rule and an incredibly strict code against killing

Me, rubbing my hands together, about to drop mono (a twelve year old killer with fuck off strong superpowers) into his area: >:)))

[distort-opia]

oh now im intrigued by your thoughts on who are bruce’s best friends in your opinions 👀

...You know, in the end, I think it actually might be Alfred. And that's because, if you think about it at length, Bruce has not had ONE SINGLE FRIEND who hasn't either 1) betrayed him, 2) attacked him/tried to kill him, or 3) both. And that's leaving aside the friends he had as a kid who died.

Thomas Elliot? Steals his face and tries to kill him. Harvey Dent? Gets disfigured and becomes a villain and tries to kill him. Then you've got Clark Kent and Minhkhoa Khan, but both have physically fought Bruce and tried to kill him. In Clark's case it was under the effects of mind control or kryptonite or whatever, but it happened. It's arguable how different actions Clark participated in were considered a personal betrayal by Bruce (e.g., the infamous JLA decision to wipe Bruce's memory, or Clark taking on Bruce's memories post Superman: Emperor Joker). Which brings me to Zatanna, perhaps the only childhood/teenage years friend Bruce has who hasn't tried to kill him, but who did deeply betray him (again, the mind wipe incident). There's even that one time Bruce thought he made a new vigilante friend in Baphomet, but actually it was Onomatopoeia (a villain who betrays him).

And it isn't just friends, at the end of the day. Bruce has physically fought off attacks from almost everyone he's ever cared about. His most important romantic relationships are with villainous women (e.g., Talia al Ghul, Selina Kyle), and he's fought members of the Family too more than once (that is, if he didn't just hit them in a moment of anger). It is striking, to be honest, how deeply defined by violence Bruce's world is; not just because he fights criminals and villains, but because his deepest interpersonal relationships also contain violence. It's so familiar to him it's probably a comfort. King did understand this very well about the character, especially in his Knightmares story arc.

Um. I ended up on a tangent, but I think my point is that it's difficult to name a best friend for Bruce. I still feel as if labeling Alfred as a best friend is... not entirely accurate, because he's so many other things to Bruce. Alfred raised him, he's an incredibly important pillar of support, and yet he's also an employee, someone who gets his paycheck from Bruce. I would still say that Alfred is the person Bruce trusts the most, and the most supportive relationship Bruce has ever had. Alternatively, I guess one could say his best friend is Clark Kent, but Bruce has shown time and time again that he's unable to let go of the hero worship and the wariness he has of Clark's powers. And I guess you could say it's Dick Grayson, but similarly to Bruce's relationship to Alfred, there's a bigger element there of mentorship and being a father figure. Jim Gordon is definitely a friend, but their dynamic is defined by "work", by their crusade against crime...

Well. In the end, it's that fascinating pattern in Bruce's choices, I suppose. He's a very lonely individual who is terrified of loss and being vulnerable to others, but not enough that he doesn't surround himself with people who love him; he's just rarely able to cross the wall he puts between himself and them. This wall can vary from one relationship to another, but a power differential tends to be a core reason; master-butler, father-son, leader-soldier, squishy-human vs overpowered-alien, hero-villain.

[thedroloisms]

Tommy made a joke and suddenly it's the end of the world. Dream fans really need to check their bias and rsd, Tommy's video was funny for anyone that don't project on Dream

I didn’t find Tommy’s joke particularly funny but also ascribing to extreme malice to the exact same shit Tommy had been doing for 3-4 years and was literally a staple of his relationship with Dream this specific time Just Because is a ridiculous lack of considering the entire context of their friendship. It’s fine for people to think Tommy’s video is stupid or generally dislike the pattern of making fun of Dream in often stupid ways that crossed the line more than a few times, but it wasn’t . New for him and him and Dream specifically. What.

[quietwingsinthesky]

i just loved that the writers were like mark of cain dean slowly becomes more and more barbaric and inhuman as he can’t control this primordial, gaping wound in the form of an already healed over scar that has been borne by the devil himself and is in fact what made him the devil and therefore will make dean long and lust after maiming and ultimately murdering people with an urge stronger than any love or passion or resolution he’s ever experienced in his life And Also He’s A Huge Misogynist

well. TO BE FAIR. you have just kind of described dean when he is normal also.

[meistoshi]

listen he's not a fan of interviews!!! he does pokemon logic!!!!! if you wanna understand him just battle him!!!!!! everything'll make sense then. someone will be like: elaborate on that, & satoshi will look them in the eye & go ''no. i dont think i will :)''

[vanivanvanilla]

red couldn’t find zam’s castle, and thank god for that!

[undertheredhood]

bruce 'unlimited contingency plans" wayne: *having an apocalyptic sized mental breakdown every two days*

jason 'dead boy walking' todd: you know what, therapy doesn't seem so bad anymore

[please-picturemeintheweeds]

I have Opinions about the discussion that pops up every few months about the ethics of labeling JM an abuser but I am afraid of the vague posts and anon hate I would get if I posted them 🫠 which probably means I should be brave and post them. Speak now or whatever she said lol

[sciencelings-speaks]

*looking at college-age Phoenix Wright* I am having such a good time fucking you up

[spycopoth]

I need to get put of this damn house