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#child abuse cw
punkeropercyjackson · 10 hours
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Azula was not spoiled.Ozai did not favor her because he loved her but because she made the perfect child soldier.It's canon that he never gave her genuine affection,only praise for living up to his expectations and just because her abuse wasn't physical like Zuko's dosen't mean she didn't have it 'as bad him as him'.It's also canon she's as scared of him as he was because she knew the second she slipped up he'd hurt her too and he's the reason she was isolated from her peers except the two he raised her to deem 'worthy' in Ty Lee and Mai.Call Ozai's treatment of Azula what it was,because he might not have done that to her but the term is not exclusively sexual:Child grooming
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fanby-fckry · 3 hours
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Randomly deciding that Alastor was at one point left-handed and that Angel Dust was-maybe-still-is ambidextrous, but they both grew up in a time where left-handedness was punishable by violence, and therefor learned to at least act right-handed.
I have no idea if canon supports this – my dyslexic ass cannot tell right from left and I didn’t even realize Lucifer was a lefty until someone else pointed it out – but I know it in my heart to be maybe somewhat true.
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thehmn · 3 months
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My post about not hitting children got some responses from people who said “I agree and also some young children who get hit by their parents have no respect for adults who doesn’t hit them and become unruly”
As it turns out, the same goes for animals.
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I adopted this girl, Ellie, a year ago. Her previous owners were devastated that they had to give her up but their situation was less than ideal and they lived in their landlord’s house and he was apparently very rough with Ellie and blamed her for everything his own dogs did.
When Ellie first moved in she responded strongly to us talking sternly to her. Even saying her name in a deep voice made her tug her tail between her legs and hide. But eventually she realized we were never going to hurt her no matter how sternly we talked and now, a year later, we have a very sweet but cheeky dog who loves us very much but has zero respect. She will jump on tables and when we shout “Ellie! No!” she just looks at us like “What?”
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Positive reinforcement works pretty well but her early experiences with “discipline” means she clearly doesn’t understand when we are displeased with her. So thanks previous assholes in her life for making this unnecessarily difficult. You’re lucky she’s such a sweet dog who doesn’t let life get her down.
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aronarchy · 1 year
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[image ID: Facebook post by Songbird Schwarz
I often think about how gross it is the way we’ve normalized kids hating school. Like to the point of fear and avoidance. “Lol he’s pretending to be sick to stay home.” “She was so happy it was a snow day she jumped for joy.” “Hahaha he’s hiding under the bed to avoid going.”
It’s... It’s not funny. It’s actually really gross the way we make kids sit a desk all day to be force fed dry as hell information and make them ask if they can use the bathroom, for 7-8 hours a day. 5 days a week and then go home with oppressively unfair amounts of homework.
And then we laugh - we LAUGH - at how much they hate it. It’s become a cultural touchstone. To shake our heads and chuckle while kids try to scheme ways to get out of it.
That’s… That’s bad.
And then we ask adults to do the same with work.
/end image ID]
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txttletale · 2 years
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[pouring myself a drink from a fancy pitcher] so like it’s simplifying to the point of uselessness to say ‘reading comprehension’ is why people say shit like ‘lolita is problematic!’ because clearly the salient points to consider what aren’t they comprehending and why? and i think it probably lies in an unwillingness to approach critically the cultural understanding of ‘the child predator’ as someone that exists wholly outside society, someone who is an obviously deviant Other that enters from the fringes in order to commit terrible crimes--and so when nabokov puts those crimes into the person of a well-spoken, well-read, ‘respectable’ family man, they respond by saying ’well, this must be a favorable portrayal of child abuse, putting its justifications in the mouth of someone so authoritative and respectable is obviously apologetics’--because they’re unable or unwilling to critically confront the actual idea presented here, that ‘the child predator’ exists within society and is in fact often enabled and abetted by society.
humbert anchoring his attraction to children in the mythology and literature of the Western Canon says, ‘this is embedded in our culture, these are not the acts of an Otherized interloper’--but if you cannot put yourself at a critical distance and dispel the myth of that interloper of course you will read that and say ‘well since all these things are self-evidently good and cannot be the sites of violence, tying humbert to them is nabokov inviting this deviant external evil into the fold of what’s good and accepted’. when of course the call has been coming from inside the house! the entire time!
[i take a sip of my drink--fruity, airy, with hints of earth] so yeah ig to talk seriously about the dynamics of abuse we need to divorce ourselves entirely from the discursive fiction of the ‘child abuser’ as a marginal figure so that we can honestly assess how abuse can be reproduced in the key pillars of our culture and society. but that’s hard so let’s all keep arguing about a vague notion of ‘reading comprehension’ until the earth explodes amen brother [i pour you a drikn from my pitcher and it’s just room temperature coca cola]
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blue-rose-soul · 22 days
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A post about Alastor turning into a kid prompted a spiraling daydream wherein Husk gets thrown to Earth in the past. Sometime between 1905 and 1912 ish. He's a demon so of course people are fucking terrified of him so he takes off running through the back alleys, hiding in the shadows, and ends up crashing through the window of someone's house trying to stay out of sight. The house was dark so he thought it was empty, so Husk is completely shocked when he brushes himself off and turns to find a very familiar kid staring up at him.
All things considered, kiddo Alastor is ENTIRELY too calm about the giant winged cat monster with four-inch talons and wicked yellow fangs that came barrelling in through his bedroom window. Not that Husk is complaining, since the kid sneaks him some food and a beer. He's less than thrilled when little Alastor suggests he live in the closet as a pet, but at least he has somewhere he can stay out of sight until he figures out how to get back where he belongs...
The first night, Husk is awoken by the sound of furious yells through the door. Glass shattering. A muffled grunt. Slowly he pushes open the closet door to see Alastor huddled against the wall with a large man towering over him, reeking of beer with his fist raised.
Husk doesn't stop to think about the fact that this is a living human who won't respawn like all of the demons he's killed in Hell. One quick slice of his claws and it's over. The drunk bastard is dead. The hid is staring up at Husk, spattered in the man's blood.
Now, Husk doesn't regret putting the mean bastard down, but he knows he can't stay. So he tells Alastor to say a robber broke in and fled out the window when things got violent. Only, Alastor wants to go with Husk. Husk asks about Alastor's mother, and the look on the kid's face says it all. But Husk doesn't need a brat weighing him down and the kid doesn't need to get mixed up with demons so Husk just sweeps out the window, intent on leaving Alastor behind.
Only, Alastor follows him right outside, slicing himself on a piece of broken glass in his desperation not to be left behind. There's a lot of screaming and crying and Husk frantically looking around in case someone's heard before he finally cracks and agrees to take Alastor with him.
Cue the adventures of the alcoholic homeless cat demon and his tiny boss he accidentally kidnadopted as he tries to figure out a way back home while also searching for a safe place he can dump the brat.
Including such shenanigans as:
Husk bundled up in a trench coat, 3 sweaters, 7 scarves, a hat, a pair of mittens, and heavy boots, in Louisiana, IN THE SUMMER, asking around for a job.
Beby Alastor happily playing with Husk's wings (the mental image that convinced me to actually type all this out).
Husk teaching Alastor how to play poker and regretting it when not two games later, the kid is cleaning him out (they're betting bottle caps).
Husk's debut as a street magician, still dressed in aforementioned trench coats and scarves. He hates every moment of it but Alastor loves it, the little menace.
(This was kinda sorta inspired by this post from @nunalastor.)
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ewwww-what · 3 days
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Aelwyn Abernant and a vision of her sister
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luthienne · 4 months
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Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, Francesca Albanese
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Injustice: Palestinian children’s experience of the Israeli military detention system
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candyskiez · 5 months
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usually I hate possession plots but god,I love the possessed hunter plot. because it's just so painfully resonant as an abuse victim. especially to anyone who's been abused by bigots.
like. this outside force you once loved, you spent so much of your time trying to please, so much of your time begging for the approval of, isolates you. they cause you to grow paranoid and angry, snapping at people and pushing you away from your support system. makes you seem crazy to your loved ones, making them doubt your mental health and making you question your sense of reality because you can't tell what's real or not anymore (gaslighting, baby!) you're cut off and overwhelmed. you get put in situations where you're forced to do things you don't want to, you're in so much pain, you're being treated like something with no wants or thoughts of their own. you're stripped of your autonomy. you're belittled for what you wanted and told THIS is how you're supposed to be, and you're so miserable. you're pitted against your loved ones. your abuser tries to make all your loved ones hate you so you come back to them, so they don't lose you. and belos being a horrifically realistic portrayal of an IRL abuser makes this so much worse. he craves Caleb's attention and tries to force hunter to fill that void. nevermind HES the one who robbed himself of caleb in his life by killing him. he tries to make hunter his shoulder to cry on, his therapist, his punching bag, his doctor. uses him to look at himself and go "see! look how good I'm doing! my family is back and he finally loves me again!" , he is obsessive and horrible and cruel and so horrifically realistic. he strips hunter of his autonomy, and in the shit that will start sounding familiar to people who grew up in bigoted families:
forced him out of what made him most comfortable. literally grew out his hair against his will, treated how he'd changed his body and wardrobe to make himself more comfortable as something that tainted him.
also just. holy shit the violating him like that. just the fucking undertones. it's fucking horrific.
and that's why him fighting back is so huge. because he has the strength to say, no. fuck you, no. this is my goddamn body. this is my goddamn life. he takes all these things he LOVED. he loved, that belos had taught him he was sinful and a horrible person for not despising (hm, allegories) and says, fuck you, I WANT this. I want this, I love this, you tried to teach me to hate it but I don't. I love it. I love it, and you didn't break me. I want to leave the coven, I want to leave you. you hurt me, and I said sorry. you used me, and I said sorry. I am done being sorry. I am done feeling bad. I want this life you're trying to take from me. I want to go to the boiling isles and I want to have a life there, in that world you hate so much. I want to go to the boiling isles and be sinful and disgusting and everything you hate and I will love it. I will be happy. I will be free and everything you hate. and I miss when I thought I could please you, because it was simple. but I am happier as a heretic and as a sinner, and you can't change me. I tried to change myself for you, I just ended up miserable. you can't make me something I'm not. I tried. and I am done trying. I am hunter. fuck you, my name is hunter. my name is hunter, and you hurt people. it doesn't matter if you were trying to help me. you hurt me. and I am done, and I am leaving, and most of all I will never let you hurt anyone else like you hurt me.
and he fucking got it, man. he fucking got it. he went through HELL and he still came back swinging. the death feels symbolic to me almost? losing a part of you in traumatic events and you have to live without that part. and you got out but you lost pieces of you in the process, and that stays with you.
but he keeps going. he kept fucking going man and THAT is fucking amazing to me. he kept going. ohhh my god. I wish I had this when I was 13. hunter isn't as massive of a hyperfixation for me anymore by a long shot, but goddamn. I love this dude. I LOVED the possession scene so fucking much and it will always resonate with me so, so hard.
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sunshine-zenith · 7 months
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This is kinda a part two to this post here, about Ballister’s scar. Specifically I wanted to speculate a bit on Ballister’s relationship with Queen Valerin when you consider the fact that he was a mistreated and vulnerable child when he met her
Like. Look at this moment here
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She’s reassuring him. She genuinely believes in him, and it’s clear from the knighting ceremony, when she specifically lowers her voice to tell him how much she’s been looking forward to this moment that her intentions around him a pure. She wants to change things, she wants to give this kid a chance, and she’s killing two birds with one stone by making him a knight
But like Nimona herself says, question everything
Look a little bit closer at this image — the queen is well dressed and already had a statement prepared. Ballister is dressed in rags and looks like he hasn’t even been given the chance to wash his hair. He looks surprised and a little scared when the media erupts with questions. And I don’t think this was the Queen’s doing, necessarily — odds are the Director was the one who was supposed to prepare Ballister, and chose not to, because she probably knew that while the Queen wouldn’t judge him for looking like the homeless kid he was, the media would. Still, it shows that while the Queen has overall say on Ballister’s future, she doesn’t have a lot to do about his present
Ballister says he loves the Queen, but it’s hard to tell if he meant he loves her like you’d love a family member, or if he “loves” her like someone who has been raised to not question authority “loves” said authority. He took a deep breath and looked to Ambrosius during the knighting ceremony, not to her. She realistically probably wasn’t super involved, even if she wanted to be — she had an entire kingdom to run, other knights to knight, and likely spent her days making progressive decisions that were controversial with the conservatives in her kingdom. Plus, if she had been super involved, it could’ve increased bias against him, like she was favoring him above everyone else — Ambrosius seemed overall not sure popular among the knights, and while they respected his authority when he was put it charge, there was definitely a vibe that they resented him for being the “Golden Boy” descendant of Gloreth.
Let’s compare Bal and Queen Valerin to Comic!Ballister Blackheart and one of the Queen’s inspirations, Dr. Blitzmeyer (the other was the king, who was a basically prop that was referenced heavily in relation to Ballister as someone he should kill before dying off screen).
Blackheart and Blitzmeyer end the comic opening a lab together, working as co-scientists. Blackheart clearly thinks of her as a friend, but she thinks of him as a fond colleague for most of the comic — she’s happy to offer help in the form of exposition, and she helps him save the day by giving him a McGuffin That You Just Gotta Read The Comic To Understand, but part of her is worried he’s a rival scientist that wants to steal her ideas. She still welcomes him in her home and offers him team. When he’s at the end of his rope and needs a comfort hug, she awkwardly indulges him
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She’s surprised when he puts her down as his emergency contact
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Dr. Blitzmeyer is a quirky scientist that hangs out on conspiracy forums and probably practices witchcraft for the sake of scientific study. Queen Valerin is a warm and progressive monarch who makes controversial decisions. And they make big decisions regarding helping Ballister
Remember the reluctant McGuffin handover?
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She’s weighing the odds of him lying to her and stealing/tampering with/destroying it, hesitating before trusting him. If she had said no, a lot more people would’ve died in the comic, but she had no way of knowing that. She was barely interested in looking out her window and just worried the thing she spent years on would be wrecked
Now, the Queen — we don’t see her weigh the pros and cons of letting Bal become a knight, but she had to. And consider what she was presented with: a homeless kid with either no family or an abusive one judging from his scars and bruises. He had no adults in his life to protect him. No one to tell her no, making him essentially a child soldier might not be in his best interest. And he jumped a fence into the middle of a knight training session declaring he wanted to be a knight, basically coming to her — essentially the perfect candidate for her semi-social experiment
I can totally see her in another world letting this kid into her home and giving him tea and comfort, but I don’t think she could here. While she meant good, she took in a kid with nothing to lose and gave him everything to lose (a home, education, likely his first friend, safety), while also putting him under unavoidable social pressure. And she did it while the only adult figure other than her in his life, the one who would actually be involved in his upbringing — the Director — openly and defiantly failed him from the get go, and protested letting him join the knights to her face
Y’all I adore Queen Valerin, even if we only got her for like five minutes. Even if it’s in a speculative sense I like that she’s a good person while morally gray actions. She very much improved Ballister’s circumstances by giving him a home and the opportunity to pursue his interests. She clearly cared about him. She’s also a politician who, even if unavoidably, lowkey set him up to be a scapegoat without a backup plan and no outside support
Like. Y’all.
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heartgold · 6 months
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Always loved how Umineko subverts the whole "creepy horror little girl" thing with Maria going kihihihi mode in Legend and almost baiting a less attentive reader into believing she's Evil or being possessed by Beatrice only for the text to immediately explain that her shift in behavior when infodumping about the topic her entire life and sense of self revolves around to the adults who belittled her and are now interested due to recent developments makes perfect sense if you think about it for 5 seconds. And then that behavior causing discord and panic as the murders keep happening which leads to her being yelled at and smacked around and literally thrown to the wolves while the text is basically gripping the reader's shoulders explaining how much witches mean to Maria and how this tragedy has an entirely different meaning to her. It begs the reader to avoid the kneejerk impulse of reading her unfavorably when she isn't behaving in ways that are agreeable or cute anymore, because she doesn't only deserve understanding and your sympathy when she's the innocent little girl being horribly abused by her mother. Which is why Maria haters really failed the most basic litmus test in Umineko, imagine being that wrong. lol
Anyway the point I wanted to make was that it's interesting to me how that was also done in Higurashi and Umineko basically expanded on it. The way Akasaka in Himatsubushi immediately projected this image of a lovely cute ideal child on Rika only to be taken aback and frightened when she suddenly started talking seriously about her premonitions of death and he couldn't reconcile this Rika with the Rika he projected her to be, suspecting that they couldn't possibly be the same little girl, she must've been possessed by Oyashiro-sama or not even human herself. And then that fear and the betrayal of his expectations stopping him from realizing that she was, in fact, a little girl asking him for help because she desperately wanted to escape certain death. She didn't only deserve his protection when she was doing her cutesy nipah☆ bit. It speaks a lot how Akasaka was a soon-to-be father, saw Rika being cute and immediately set that impression as an ideal for his daughter who wasn't even born yet, and Rika herself breaking that image meant shattering that ideal. Akasaka failing Rika is a direct reflection of the mentality of parents placing expectations on their children and then feeling betrayed and giving up when they turn out to be complex individuals who don't match the projections they made up. And this is similar to the surprise of Maria going from a cute and naive child to cackling and speaking at length about "scary" topics in a smug tone, and the way the text immediately explains that you should get over the whiplash and accept that Maria is a complex individual, there's nothing out of place about it if you try to understand her situation
Basically I think it's neat how both games use the idea of an archetype that honestly would fit right into the setting to basically shake up the expectations of the audience and the characters themselves and add to the fundamental point the series makes, that girls who behave in ways you can't personally comprehend (with a big emphasis on neurodivergent and traumatized girls) and/or that aren't palatable deserve unconditional understanding and compassion, that they shouldn't have to match your projection of who you want them to be or be helpless perfect victims for you to sympathize with them
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punkeropercyjackson · 2 months
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If you're an adult in fandoms for children's media,you have to be nice to the kids in them.The creators for the shows and books and games and so forth may be adults but they made them to cater to KIDS.I'm using 'cater' because it's become a buzzword to try to silence minors when they're uncomfortable with things like proshipping when,again,yes it literally IS 'catered' to them so they have a right to say what should and shouldn't exist in their fandoms.I'm not saying it's bad to be an adult who's super into children's media and in fact half the reason i'm making this post is that i fall under that due to my type of autism and as a way healing my inner child from a lot of trauma and i'm sick and tired of watching you overgrown tar pits bullying minors in their own damn spaces and then acting like they're actually yours
You have no right to mock them for being young or insult their headcanons and art and fics because they don't line up with your headcanons that you think are objectively superior with no basis other than your egos or call them weird for doing crossovers of their interests because it makes them happy and helps them develop their writing skills without needing to get a professional involved.You want to be horny about the adult characters and write darker topics with respect and both with proper tags?Go right ahead,nothing inherently wrong with either.But sexualizing characters who've always been underaged in canon and calling writing taboo relathionships that're taboo because they have abusive dynamics and have been proven to be used to abuse irl people(in///cest and age gap headasses,i'm looking at you)and not just 'cencorship' or whatever has no place existing to begin with but especially not in elementary/middle/high school franchises
You're literally PUTTING REAL KIDS IN DANGER with your weird little incel fantasies instead of leaving them fuck alone and degrading them over being upset over your bullshit that you invaded their boundries to push onto them and as an eldest sibling to both my biological ones and several younger people i've gotten close friends with to also consider siblings on both my side and theirs,i won't stand for any of this and i have no remorse in actively trying to push y'all out of here.If you're an adult who's in fandoms for children's media,you have to be nice to the kids in them.I'm not fucking asking
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yandere--stuck · 2 months
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if you have any more thoughts on the Joker Junior extending the family take I'd love to hear them!! Would J be interested in having Nightwing with them? Or Alfred? I'm not sure how well either of them would take to the venom, but if they have Batman anything's possible
Less ideas and more of an actual fic, oopsie!
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Three weeks. Three long, agonizing weeks without Tim. Three weeks of hoping beyond all hope that he was somehow fine. That they'd all look back on this and laugh.
But, no. Eventually, Bruce was able to get word that The Joker and Harley had holed themselves up in the abandoned Arkham Asylum, and something in his gut that made him sick knew there was some correlation.
Part of him hadn't wanted Barbara to come along, but he also knew he wouldn't be able to stop her even if he tried. So, the two of them traversed through the crumbling asylum together and followed the echoing sound of Harley's voice singing a lullaby.
“Hush, little baby, don't say a word,
Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird,
And if that mockingbird don't sing,
Mama's gonna buy you a diamond ring….”
Closer, closer. It took both of them every bit of will they had not to sprint through the halls as fast as their legs could carry them. As Harley’s voice grew even louder, Barbara split up to find another way in while Bruce took the lead. His heart nearly leapt from his chest with anticipation as he closed in on her location.
“And if that diamond ring is brass,
Mama's gonna buy you a looking glass,
And if that looking glass gets broke-”
The moment Harley saw him burst through the double doors, she perked up, greeting Bruce with a smile. She was cradling a flower vase in her arms, which she set down onto a covered table. Craning her neck, she shouted over her shoulder. “Puddin’, Hubby's home!”
Bruce’s eyes followed Harley’s gaze, spotting Joker on the second floor where he rested on a recliner. With a flourish, The Clown rose to his feet, turning away from his rabbit-eared television set and popping a pipe from his mouth, tossing it aside. 
“Well, hello, dear!” Joker strolled down the stairs, stopping just shy of Batman. He wrapped an arm around Harley, the two of them smiling sweetly at their bat. “Welcome home.”
Bruce all but snarled in their faces, leaning close and baring his teeth. “Where's Robin?”
Both clowns shared a quizzical look.
“Robin?” Joker repeated with a quirk of his head. “There's no Robin here!”
“Maybe he means our little J,” Harley offered.
The Clown Prince of Crime snapped his fingers. “Of course! That's it.”
Meeting the Bat's eyes, smiling back at his scowl, Joker gestured to the other side of the room. To whatever was being concealed behind the large blue curtain. And Bruce couldn't help his rage, shoving the couple aside roughly as he moved to cross the room. 
The Joker stumbled back, recovering with the shake of his head and click of his tongue.  “He must be so stressed out from work.”
“I hate it when he gets like this. He never knows when ta relax,” Harley shook her head and reached underneath the table, pulling out a bazooka from beneath the tablecloth. She fired, and a band of ribbons erupted from the muzzle, knocking Batman to the floor with a hard thud and wrapping him up like a gift - bow and all.
“Good thing he has us. Hmm, now what say we bring this little gift of ours back to the bedroom to unwrap?”
Joker's grin stretched just a little wider as he noticed the movement of Batman's hand - holding it up just so as if to signal someone, just out of eyesight, to stand down. Joker's eyes crinkled. Perfect. He wondered, was it the eldest birdboy? Or maybe they'd be getting two bats with one stone?
“Y'know, Bat's, we've been doing this little run around for years,” Joker spoke again, approaching his prone enemy. “It's been loads of laughs! But the sad fact is - none of us are getting any younger.”
Harley joined his side, patting her stomach. “That ol’ clock's a tickin’!”
“Quite right, Pooh! So, Harley and I were thinking it's about time the three of us finally settled down together.”
“But rather than experiencing the joys of pregnancy, we decided the best way would be to just marry into the family.”
Hand-in-hand, the clowns walked over their Bat's prone form to each rest a hand on the curtain in front of them. 
“But no matter how happy we are to join you, we were a bit disappointed that we didn't really have the chance to nurture them, too,” Joker lamented. “And after all, what better way to officially join the family than to impart a little bit of our personalities to the kiddos? He needed a bit of molding, of course, but-”
The couple yanked on each side of the curtain, the blue cloth sliding and billowing out as it parted - revealing a child strapped to a medical examination table.
“... What kid doesn't?” Joker finished with a grin, drinking in the Dark Knight's reaction. 
Bruce couldn't help the exhale of ‘no’ that left him. Couldn't even blink, too horrified to look away from what had been done to Tim. The horror set in all at once, like freezing water flooding through every nerve in his system.
Joker brought Tim forward with the click of a button, the table rolling forward and bringing the boy into the light. 
Tim...
His face an acid-washed white. His hair an unearthly green. His Robin costume now replaced with an exact recreation of Joker's own suit. And his face… Contorted in a pained smile and his eyes wide and afraid, unblinking.
“Say hello to Dada, JJ,” Joker cooed.
Tim's eyes, seeming to glow red in the light, shifted from Joker to Batman. He leaned further into the light, locking eyes with Bruce, and laughed. He laughed in a way Bruce had never, ever heard before. He unbound himself from the table, leaping to the floor on scrawny legs - God, how much weight had he lost in such a short amount of time. What had they done to his boy?
All at once, the cold shock and dawning horror inside Bruce shifted - and his whole body was alight with rage, like a fire inside threatening to escape through every orifice as he ripped through his bonds. The shout he made was near inhuman, launching a batarang he had cut the ribbons with directly at Joker's head, only for the Clown to dodge it with ease.
Harsh giggles flooded from Joker's throat, wiggling a finger in a ‘come hither’ motion before jumping onto the now vacant medical table, rocketing off with the click of a button, causing Bruce to almost stumble and reorient himself to take off after him - and leaving Barbara to deal with Harley.
Giggles bubbled from Tim JJ's throat as he stared unblinkingly down at his father, body crumpled on the floor, cape draped almost protectively over his prone body. And with giddy glee, The Joker Papa J hopped down from the giant building blocks he was perched upon, where he had sliced at Batman and sent him tumbling down only seconds ago.
It was all a blur for Bruce. The chase. The horrific videos of Tim… Tim's torture. Three weeks. Three weeks of that Hell. Electrocution. Beatings. Torment. Starvation. And it was all his fault. He'd failed him. The rage that had filled him nearly completely, made him seen red, had all been snuffed out. 
First Jason. Now Tim. And Bruce still couldn't bring him to end this. His vision swam, and he could barely even focus. Not on Tim. Not on the man who tortured him. But… Wait. Where was-?
With a final hop, Joker landed in front of Batman in a crouch, hovering over him with a sly grin.
“You've lost, Bruce,” He rasped, and just hearing the name on the clown's lips made JJ seize up, his forever-smile momentarily twitching and a flood of nervous giggles escaping him. The clown continued, voice low. “Robin is mine… And now, so are you.” 
And with a hearty heft, Joker lifted Bruce up by the scruff of his cowl and cape, as if presenting him. The grin of his face, the look in his eyes, as he looked down on his enemy. So proud of himself, so smug.
And Bruce. He looked in a daze, lost and beaten. Blood dripped from his lips.
This isn't what Papa promised. He said everything would be okay now. That he'd see Dad and Dick and Babs and Alfred again and he wouldn't be mean or hurt him again, because Papa knew he would be good now…
But when Joker met his eyes, something in them changed - his smile warping to somehow become comforting, happier. The darkness in his eyes dissipated, replaced with an excited shine. And with a free hand, The Clown grabbed for a large gun that looked more like a toy than anything.
“Here ya go, sonny-boy!” He said, tossing the weapon.
JJ scrambled forward to catch it. He couldn't help but notice how light the gun felt as he cradled it in his shaking, gloved hands. For a moment, he couldn't look away.
“Make him one of us,” The Joker urged, voice like a hiss. 
It wasn't a conscious decision to aim the gun. It just happened. Like one minute, JJ was there and gone and back again. His hands shook so hard that he could hardly keep the weapon straight. Could barely even look at him. At the mask. At the man behind it.
“Tim…” Batman breathed. JJ had never heard his voice sound so small.
JJ would swear he couldn't breathe if it weren't for the rapid rise and fall of his chest and the wheezing, giggling exhales that escaped him as he struggled to calm down. Tears threatened to pool from his eyes.
This wasn't right. But, Papa knows best. He said everything would be okay afterward. He said he wouldn't be punished again. But, he couldn't. But, he couldn't run, either - too scared. Too weak. He wanted to be home. He wanted his family. He wanted to stop crying, to be able to breathe, to run into his fathers’ arms-
“It's alright now, JJ,” The Joker soothed, recapturing the boy's attention. “Just pull the trigger, and everything will be okay.”
JJ wanted his Papa to be telling the truth. He just wanted everything to be okay. He just wanted it all to stop. Bruce, please forgive him.
His finger squeezed around the trigger-
Joker's laugh filled the room, just as a green mist began flooding from the gun’s opening. It spread through the air and quickly covered both men. Joker laughed long and loud as he clung to Batman. He pulled his Bat into an embrace, a smile so bright and wide it made the corners of his mouth rip, as Bruce began to choke and hack.
The man seized up and shook in Joker's arms. Slow at first, but soon trembling and writhing in agony, barely restrained and pained chuckles escaping him. So much hurt flooding through every nerve and system that almost faculties left him. His lungs burned, his face ached, he couldn't feel his extremities and wouldn't have been able to hold himself up without Joker's hold on him. Bruce wasn't sure if he could speak or even breathe anymore, but somehow his body found it in itself to betray him, forcing laughter from gritted teeth.
Joker took a knee, gently laying Batman to the ground. The bat spasmed and jerked. Tears began to fall from behind his mask, shining on his cheeks in the light. Gloved hands caressed the sides of Bruce's face. Green eyes glinted in the light as they watched each movement of the other man - every sputter, every gasp, every choked out laugh, every pained, slowly blooming smile that wobbled onto his face.
“You must be so scared, aren't you, sweetheart?” Joker cooed. “You've been scared this whole time, haven't you? Ever since that night in the alleyway...”
Batman didn't reply - couldn't. His eyes crinkled as his smile grew involuntarily. All he could do was return the man's gaze with a manic smile that wasn't his own.
Joker stroked the top of his cowl lovingly. “But it's okay now, Bruce. You don't have to be scared anymore. You don't have to be strong. Don't have to hold yourself back. Me and Harl will build you back up to what you were meant to be. We'll be brave for you now. And do you know why?” 
Bruce couldn't respond. For one, the agony of whatever this was, whatever Joker had planned for him, blotted out almost all thoughts in his mind completely. Could only tremble and writhe and cry and laugh. Laugh. Laugh. The laughing made it hurt just a little less. But he could still barely even register what the other man was saying. What he could register, though, was the image of Joker slowly leaning down to press his lips to Bruce's cloaked forehead.
“Because we love you.” Joker finished.
“Ohhhh, Harley!” Joker's voice rang through the cavernous halls of the abandoned asylum. “Barbie's turn!”
Barbara's stomach sunk to her feet and her heart skipped a beat. Barbie? No. No, there was no way, he could have known her name. Oh God, what happened to Bruce-?
In the middle of her ruminations, Harley caught her by surprise. A jab to the face, the pull of her leg to trip her up leaving her scrambling to correct her fall- only for her to feel hand grasp tightly at the nape of her neck, coiling painfully at the root of her hair. She was shoved onto her stomach, face-to-face with the dirty, cracked tiles of the former asylum’s floor.
“You know what that means! C'mon, Barbie,” Harley grunted, fingers twisting in the roots of her hair. She lunged forward, slamming her face to the floor with a sick crunch. “Let's go party!”
And everything went dark.
… Barbara awoke with a groan. The smell of pennies flooded her nostrils. Her vision was bleary and swam as she struggled to open her eyes.
A dark figure entered her vision from her periphery, and it loomed over a figure clad in purple. And for a moment, just one moment, she allowed herself to hope.
But, that hope crumbled just as quickly as Joker's voice entered her ears. 
“You're okay, Bruce, you're okay, sweetie. You're gonna play nice now, right?”
Barbara couldn't help but shudder at the sound of Bruce's laugh in reply.
Hands found their way to Barbara's hair again, this time much softer. Not grabbing, just brushing and stroking almost soothingly.
“Wakey, wakey, eggs ‘n bakey,” Harley sang as she carded her hands through the younger woman's hair. “Y'know, I've always wanted a daughter. A little girl of my own. You think you'd ever want Mama to braid your hair for you? It's so pretty!”
“Ah, welcome back to the land of the living, Barbie,” Joker greeted. “Your Dad and I were just talking about you. A real chip off the ol’ block. Now all we need is to make it official.”
Barbara watched as Tim approached Bruce, pushing a gun of some kind into his hands. The Batman held it in his hands, smiling down at the weapon - but seemed almost hesitant. Unsure. Like he knew this was wrong. Like the weapon would somehow come alive and bite him.
“Batman, listen to me,” Batgirl pleaded. “Don't do this. Whatever they've done to you, this isn't you.”
“Oh, but it is! And soon it'll be you, too,” Harley corrected, walking back to give herself some distance.
“I know you're torn, Batsy, but I promise this is for the best,” Joker rubbed circles into the other man's back. “We'll all finally be together. Once we get Barbie here, then we'll get Dick and Al. And we'll be a family! They'll never be hurt again. You'll never be hurt again, sweetheart. I won't let anything bad happen anymore. You'll get your happily ever after. You won't be afraid ever again, I promise.”
Tears stung at Barbara's cheeks as she begged. “Batman, please!”
And for a moment, she thought she somehow got through to him. They locked eyes and Bruce smiled at her with a smile that isn't his own. But, she thought she could see understanding or recognition or something in his eyes, and was sure he'd toss the gun away and start kicking Joker's ass.
But, she was wrong.
With a hiss, green toxin flooded all around her. Even over her screams, the sounds of Joker, Tim, Harley, and Bruce's laughter smothered her completely. And soon after, so did her own.
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prisoner-000 · 5 months
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my head is exploding over today's qna....
amane loved her victim. despite the pain, the punishment, it was all love to her. she loved her parent because they told her they were doing these things for her. she's a child, she's never known anything else - to her, punishing her abuser back is the ultimate form of serving the god they originally introduced to her, a form of love. because good children love their parents like theyre supposed to. and she believed them.
kazui didn't love his victim, not in the way he was supposed to. no matter how much people insisted this was how he should be, he could never kill the person he secretly was. he just can't do it, no matter what.
i think this is why they're paired up: amane, just as much as kazui, is a victim of societal pressure. but instead of kazui, who told the truth and broke the rules, amane embodies the rules, she becomes the new enforcer of her rules. amane succeeds, in her own, messed-up way, where kazui fails.
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annie-of-the-arts · 3 months
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when xiv finally realizes that their father never intends for them to leave the tower.
[reblogs > likes + reblog my art or i will curse you thousands of times!!!!!]
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blue-rose-soul · 1 month
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Vaggie: Alastor, what the hell!?
Charlie: You can't hit a kid!
Alastor: That child was acting like an insufferable brat. Someone had to set it straight.
Charlie: It doesn't matter! You don't hit kids, that's no way to teach them to behave!
Alastor: Well, that's how I was raised.
Vaggie: Who the hell raised you?
Alastor: My mother's murderer.
Charlie: ...
Vaggie: ...
Everyone else in the hotel: ...
Husk: ...Yup, that tracks.
Alastor: ??? :)
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