#i didn't mean for it to hurt!

[pokeberry5]

directionless anger

(or, something like: the robin mantle is a curse, but that isn't inherently anyone's fault and someone has to wear it)

i adapted the two pages below the cut bc they were haunting me—tim having a nightmare the day of his mother's funeral, from Batman (1940) #455: “Identity Crisis, Part 1”, from this post

[stucky-headcanon-bot]

💔

[starrylevi]

Levi doesn’t get how you find The Sims entertaining.

 “It’s a virtual dollhouse.” He tells you. “That’s what so great about it!” You retort. “Whatever floats your boat…” He mutters to himself. He says this but he makes sure you have all the sims 4 packs (there are A LOT of them). And when one is coming out, He’ll listen to you passionately explain the premise of the pack. “When it comes out, just let me know.” He’ll give you his credit card info so you can charge it as he doesn’t want you to spend any of your money.

“I made us in the Sims!” You excitedly sit in Levi’s lap with your laptop in hand.

“Hm?” Levi places his chin on the crook of your neck as his hands gently graze the sides of your thighs.

“The Sims!” You exclaim again. “Look, there’s you and there’s me…” Your finger points out each of your sims on the screen. “Oh, and we have a child together!” Levi’s eyes follow your finger as you point at the child sim. “Her name is Kuchel.”

You feel Levi tense up behind you for a moment. “Wait…what’s her name?”

“Kuchel.” You repeat, quieter this time. “Sorry, I can change her name if you don’t feel comfortable with it.” You add quickly.

Levi’s expression softens; he stays silent for a moment before speaking again. “...Can you make her?” He asks you quietly, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Your mom?” You turn slightly so you can see his face.

He nods to confirm.

 “Of course, I'll do my best.” You tell him with a soft smile.

You ask Levi to describe her to you, his eyes filled with fondness as he recalls her features and her personality. You spend hours on the Kuchel sim, wanting her to look and be as accurate as possible.

After a few days, you show Levi the finished product in the game as you have the Kuchel sim interact with the Levi sim. You look at Levi for a brief moment while the Sims are speaking to each other. The expression on his face is hard to read. It’s a mix of pleasant surprise, awe, and sadness.

“Is it okay, is there anything I should change?” You ask him, worried you didn’t capture her likeness as you watch him study her.

He silently shakes his head. “No…she’s perfect.” 

You tell Levi he’s more than welcome to play whenever he wants. You’re surprised when he does take you up on that offer. He picks up on the mechanics quickly and soon he has the whole family (Your sim, Levi’s sim, your daughter, and Kuchel) traveling all over the world, going on adventures, and trying new things together. At one point you suggest the Levi sim and the Kuchel sim spend some time alone together and Levi does just that, taking them to coffee and tea shops, having them take walks in the park, and going to the library. As you and Levi continue to play together, you learn more about Kuchel as some of the actions in the game trigger different memories of his mother.

Levi doesn’t say it but he’s thankful for this silly little game you introduced him to because he can now have a cup of tea with his mother, even if it’s only pretend.

[sysig]

Rainbows (Patreon)

[chaoticallyfluffy]

Ok consider:

A new hero emerges and the Justice League watches him for a while who make sure he’s not a threat. They see this giant clumsy man who moves like he’s not used to his body, smiles goofily every time he saves someone, and is clearly inexperienced with his powers and they’re all just like. Ah. This is a child.

Except they don’t think he’s a ten year old or however old Billy is at the time, no no. Clearly this hero came into existence shortly before his first appearance, just a few months ago. They don’t know how or why but It’s not the weirdest thing they’ve seen so it’s pretty easy to believe.

But they can’t just leave this toddler with the powers of a god to stumble around and potentially hurt someone by accident, nor go down the wrong path and become a villain. So of course they decide to ‘subtly’ guide him without alerting him to the fact they’re onto him.

They introduce themselves but instead of inviting him to the league they pop by every once in a while to ‘subtly’ teach him about responsibility and power, but also about love and humanity. They try to teach him to enjoy life and that he doesn’t have to act like an adult around them, instead encouraging him to enjoy his childhood even if it’s not an ordinary one.

(Too bad the Justice League suck at subtlety.)

Billy is certain they somehow found out he’s a kid before they even met him, probably because of Batman’s freaky know-it-all powers, but he isn’t very worried as they seem nice and don’t treat him like he’s dumb or fragile. They respect him as a hero despite his age so he lets himself act like a kid around them after a while.

When he gets comfortable enough to detransform Billy thinks that’s his identity reveal. The league thinks that he magicked himself a body that’s more of a representation of his true self and fits his developmental age better, possibly as a way to blend in with humans and experience what it’s like to be a normal child. Good for him!

Basically Billy gets a bunch of super powered parents and the Justice League get a newborn man that they think they’re raising from scratch lol

[iwasbored777]

The fact that all Gwen knows about her variants in other universes is that they're dead is so sad. Like imagine you want to know what happens to you in other dimensions and it turns out that wherever you look you mean nothing, you're so unimportant that there's no bigger role for you other than dying.

And I've seen you guys pointing this out, where she's looking at what looks like her own death and even if it's not this is not just a "love interest" Gwen, this is a superhero who is supposed to mean something, but she doesn't. She's only here to die. And so far this (our) Gwen doesn't have any reason to believe that she won't die very soon just like other Gwens.

I think that one of the main reasons why she's rejecting Miles is not just her trauma and all shit she's been through and the fear of dying like other Gwens when they're involved with Spider-Man, but also because if they start something and she dies this will hurt him too.

It's easy to say "canon events aren't true she shouldn't believe in that" but this isn't just a regular risk, this is her life we're talking about.

[frootertooter]

"The way his father looked at him, he knew... something about him was... off. And he could feel it itching."

Illustration heavily based off The Boy Wonder #1's cover by Juni Ba because I think it might be my favourite comic cover ever??? Also seriously go read The Boy Wonder (2024)!!! There's only 2 issues out right now but they're absolutely phenomenal imo

Alternate Versions:

[yuwuta]

yuuta exhibits such previously abandoned, recently adopted dog behavior. incredibly anxious all the time, even though nobody’s out to get him or leave him behind. waits for you to return home or from school or from work excitedly, just to see you when you walk through the door. follows you around senselessly, hovering in your space just for the sake of companionship. initiates affection in prodding ways—starts off next to you, then a hand on your thigh, then deems it safe to lay all the way down, then slowly pushes his head into your lap. gets up whenever you need to get up, and resumes his position as soon as you’re ready. brings you gifts as a sign that he’s thinking of you, and maybe because he likes the affection it brings out in you, maybe because he likes the gentle affirming touches of a hand in his hair or a pinch to his cheek. rests his head on your stomach or his chin on your shoulder when he’s sleepy, stays there, immobile, and will not move unless absolutely necessary. sometimes he gets surprised when he hears you calling for him, there’s a moment of disbelief as he thinks “me? really? you need me?” but it’s very quickly overshadowed by this compulsive need to show up, to please, to do anything for you, which is why he always answers when you call. he doesn’t realize that he has puppygod eyes, especially when he’s excited or confused, but he does and it’s incredible endearing. very reluctant to share your space or attention after a while, considers that to be sacred and he won’t risk being let go or lost again, so as a safety precaution, he keeps himself right by you, waits for you always. 

[momotonescreaming]

Thinking about a scene where Steve tells Dustin to stop insulting him at every chance he gets, it fucking sucks, actually.

Dustin just scoffs. Rolls his eyes. Steve can take it. Plus, Dustin's just saying things that are true. Steve is dumb. His grades were bad. He didn't get into college. He makes dumb comments and gets things wrong. Not to mention his hobbies. He says he can't pick them up from Hellfire because there's a basketball game he wants to watch, like what? He spends all his time watching sports and talking about sports and playing sports. Its either that or working on his car. What kind of hobbies are those? They're not real hobbies. Can't be much of a reformed jock if he can't even give up sports.

So Steve just tells Dustin that if he isn't going to stop being a bully, Steve doesn't want to be his friend anymore, and leaves.

And it's like a slap in the face.

[captain-flint]

For years, I've followed your every whim, I've managed your increasingly erratic moods, I've massaged this crew when they were worried about your judgment. I did all that because I was honoured to work for the legendary Blackbeard, the most brilliant sailor I had ever met. But now, you're just an insane unpleasant shell of a man who's merely posing as Blackbeard. || Ed, I'm sorry. I've been terrible to you. I fed your darkness, Blackbeard. For years, I egged him on, even though I knew you'd outgrown him, but the truth is... I needed him. Blackbeard, it was us. You and me. But you're good now. You're ready. Izzy, you can't go. You can't leave me. I wanna go. You're surrounded by family, Ed. Just be Ed.

[yunamiudon]

The crystal 💎✨🌟💫

(I can't believe it's been almost 3 years since I painted this! ↓)

[thoseyoulove]

Not justifying Armand, but you don't get through that amount of physical, sexual, emotional abuse, brainwashing, isolation etc to the point of amnesia and dissociation since you're a human child until you're a centuries old vampire (and vampirism amplifies their traumas and emotions) without accidentally reprogramming your brain in a really messed-up way. Specially when you're stuck in a teenage brain forever. This is not someone that lived a safe and privileged life, not even a remotely decent one, and decided to be evil. In many ways Armand forgot or didn't even get to learn what is meant to be human and have a healthy lifestyle and relationships with people. Obviously, it would take him a long time to catch up with his humanity and even develop a sense of identity (one of his many issues too).

[snakeoid]

crying appin doodles ^_^

[marzipanandminutiae]

Re: the lack of demand for wool thanks to propaganda causing more waste; my parents live part-time in a small village in Ireland that is about half populated by sheep farmers. ALL those farmers have had to pivot away from wool production to mutton production, because they can't survive off selling the wool anymore. So now they are killing exponentially more sheep than they were killing before, since. You know. You don't have to kill the sheep to harvest the wool!

God, this is incredibly sad

all that wool that could become, not just winter/cold-weather fabric, but summer-weight wool that's excellent for temperature regulation!

and of course, the irony of killing more sheep because P*TA told you the non-lethal sheep product was evil

[blackkatdraws]

Things may have gotten a bit... heated.

video format of my response in the Glue Trap Aftermath Chain

[shadedheart138]

You Don't Have To Be A Hero To Save The World

Wind has always known that he doesn't have the "Hero's Spirit" or whatever religious mumbo jumbo the older Links have talked about. He wasn't "Chosen". He'd wanted to save his sister and got dragged down to hell because of it.

Wind never liked talking about it. He didn't feel like he belonged when he did. So if you block it out, it doesn't exist, right? He was so so wrong.

The Links had a penchant for storytelling around the fire, and the topic of tonight's ramble was adventures, as always. But specifically, what started them. Wind pulled uneasily at the scars on his palms.

"What started your adventure, Four?" Hyrule asked, mouth half full of dinner. "I drew a sword and Zelda got kidnapped." Four said, adjusting their headband. "Figures." Legend mumbled quietly. "My adventure was st-" Warriors was cut of by Twilight. "We know it was some lady who was obsessed with you and started a war over it, Wars, we hear it every night." Twilight wasn't mean, just tired.

"What about you, Wind? What started your adventure?" Four asked, smiling encouragingly. Wind never really talked about his adventure (and for good reason.) "Did your Zelda get kidnapped too?" Legend's voice was joking.

"Um. No. My sister did, though. She got carried off by the Helmaroc King and I had to go save her. Tetra told me not to but Aryll's my sister. I couldn't just let her die there." Wind said quietly, still scratching at his scars.

The conversation ebbed and flowed, as Wind sort of lost himself in his head for a little while. He remembered meeting them all, not too long ago. Sky had been handing the Master Sword to everyone, to learn their hero titles. Wind had gone pale and refused to hold it, immediately making everyone suspicious. He had reluctantly given in in the end, and took the sword to hear his title. He'd nursed the burns on his hands in secret, for days after.

XXX

Later that night, as Wind was getting ready to go to bed, he heard the last remnants of conversation. "Who sent you on your journey, Time?" Time gave a small laugh and then said quietly, "A fairy." ...

"I volunteered." Wind called from across the clearing, pillow in his hand. Multiple heads turned to look at him. Why did he say that??? They weren't asking him. "You. What?" Legend asked, confused. Maybe Wind just felt the need to get it out there. "Volunteered. The King Of Red Lions needed me. I wasn't just going to leave him. Besides, the Wind Waker was kind of fun to play with." Legend came close to Wind and grabbed him by the shoulders. "You. WHAT." "Volun-?" "I heard you the first time! I meant why. Why would you volunteer for something like this??? Are you insane? Wind, why?"

"I told you! The King of Red Lions needed me! Outset needed me! I wasn't just going to sit there and twiddle my thumbs while people died!"

Legend gripped his own hair, eyes wide. "But kid, why? Was it just some wish for adventure, or some adrenaline kick? You coulda saved your sister and been done-?"

Wind stood up, little hands curled into fists, pulling at his scars.

"I volunteered for the rest, why are you so pent up about it? It was my own choice! I stepped up when no one would and went through hell to save my fucking sister and everyone else that mattered! It's not my fault your life sucks, because you're such an asshole half the time!! I'm not some dumb kid!" Wind kicked a rock and it ricocheted off the pot still over the fire. Legend flinched. And Wind turned on his heels and took off, screwing up his face and trying not to cry.

XXX

Wind was later found, sitting against a tree, by Sky. Wind was picking at his hands as Sky sat down, the crickets chirping everywhere.

"Are you alright?" Sky asked gently. "Legend is an ass." Wind mumbled, sniffling. "Sometimes. He means well. His adventure was very, very hard on his soul. He doesn't want you to have the same fate." "Still an ass." Wind mumbled, wiping at his eyes.

"It's a defense mechanism, if you will. Here, do you want Fi? She always makes me feel better." It took two seconds for Wind to scramble away, Legend momentarily forgotten. "No, no. No thank you. I don't want to touch that sword." Wind said, shaking his head. "Why not? Maybe she has advice for you- "I SAID I DON'T WANT TO TOUCH THE FUCKING SWORD!"

Wind slapped a hand over his own mouth, and then the other. His eyes welled with tears again and before he could get out any sort of apology, Sky was putting a hand on his shoulder. "Okay. Why, Wind? Why are you so against the Master Sword?" Sky asked, voice quiet. Ready to listen. Fi was his closest friend, so he wanted a reason. Wind shook. "She burns me." He whispered softly, clasping his hands together tightly. "And it hurts." "She what?" Sky's voice was incredulous. "Fi would never! She'd never burn someone with the Hero's S-" "I don't have it." "... What?" "The Hero's Spirit. I don't have it, because I'm a volunteer. I'm no one's successor, I don't have the bonds you guys do. My Hyrule is flooded, and I'm alone." Wind's voice cracked, and the words were not two seconds out of his mouth before Sky was bodily hugging him to his chest. "Hero's Spirit or not, someone's successor or not, you're still our brother, Wind. You always have a place here." Sky whispered, and Wind fisted his hands in Sky's sailcloth.

Wind pulled at the scars on his hands again, and Sky watched. He gently took Wind's small hands in his own, much bigger ones. "Are these the scars from handling the Master Sword? When you had to defeat Ganon?" Sky asked gently.

Wind nodded. "Stabbed him straight through the noggin." He laughed without any humor.

Sky pressed a kiss over each palm, like kissing a boo boo for a young child. Wind almost snatched his hands back. But before he could, Sky said, "We'll make sure it doesn't happen again."

fin.