Reminder that phobias are a form of anxiety disorder, so even if you may not have a phobia please be kind to those who are.
If someone is afraid of spiders, it’s fine to remind them it’s harmless and they’ll be okay. It is not fine to tell them they’re overreacting or being silly. Doubly wrong to tease them for it.
This applies to all phobias, even ones you might find silly. It may not be scary to you, but trust it is to them.
Plus, a part of a phobia can be knowing that the subject of their fears may not be as scary as their head puts it. Doesn’t mean that helps them be less afraid, and that’s okay.
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THANKS SO MUCH FOR WRITING THIS, IT WAS PERFECT!!!!!! 🕸🕷
I am so glad you liked it! Please enjoy another!
Warnings: phobia, emotional torture
Superhero couldn't breathe. They couldn't move. They couldn't do anything but quake in terror.
They had fallen into Villain's trap weeks ago. Unfortunately, so had Hero. The weeks with Villain had been uneventful. Villain couldn't hurt either of them. And Superhero realized that Villain didn't know what to do once they caught the two heroes.
Until now.
Villain laughed along with the person they had brought in. The person, face painted white and red, ruffled outfit, bulbous honking nose, was laughing with joy. Villain was laughing at Superhero's expense.
"Superhero, it's just a clown." Hero whispered as they watched Superhero cower in terror.
"Exactly!" Superhero whispered back.
Hero rolled their eyes as they stepped forward. They would handle this since Superhero clearly couldn't.
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what continues / has been willed
Prompt: Facing a Fear.
Title taken from the poem Abuse by Michael Goldman.
(warnings for child abuse, phobia, bugs, solitary confinement, emotional manipulation, psychological abuse, vomit)
Something brushes his leg and Raph claps his hand over his own mouth, choking down a scream. Brave, he reminds himself. Be brave, brave like Leo. He's almost ten, he shouldn't be losing his mind over such harmless little things.
But then something else jumps against his other leg and he yelps, shell clacking against wood. It wouldn't be so bad if he could see the little bastards, but as it is he doesn't have a clue where they're coming from or how to brace himself.
More movements, more tickling, shifting. Raph closes his eyes, thunking his head against the wall of his prison. He tries to remember Splinter's mantras, but all he can think of is icky creepy crawlies, wriggling up his legs, under his shell, under his tail if he's not careful.
The worms crawl in. The worms crawl out. The worms play pinochle on your snout. Oh god, worms in his snout, pushing their way into his brain, filling all his thoughts with bugs bugs bugs--
"Raph?"
He chokes down a whimper at the sudden noise. "Leo?"
Silence. He can hear his brother shuffling around outside. "Are you doing okay?"
More bugs, fluttering against his skin. He kicks them away and nearly slips. "I--I'm fine. Really fi--ine. Everything's g-good." God, he sounds like such a baby. He waits for his brother to start teasing him mercilessly.
But instead, Leo's voice is soft. "You're being really brave, Raph," he says. "We're all so proud of you. You're doing a super job.”
Raph swallows hard, blinking frantically. "C-course I am." His nerves are tingling, nausea boiling in his gut. His hand quivers ever so slightly. "I'm the best, dorkwad, remember?"
"I know," Leo says quietly. He takes a breath. "And...and Sensei's gonna let you out really soon, okay?"
"How soon?" Raph regrets it the minute he says it--it sounds too anxious, too tinged with desperation. "I mean--uh, there's a wrestling thing on tonight, and I don't wanna miss it."
There isn't wrestling on tonight, at least not that Raph knows of. Tonight, they're supposed to be watching that stupid space show Leo loves (and it hurts Raph that he's going to miss it, just a little, even though he knows he shouldn't doesn't care).
But Leo doesn't mention any of that. "Not long, okay? You'll be out here in no time."
"O-okay." The shaking is getting worse. So is the movement of the bugs around his feet. "Can you...can you stay with me? I d-don't want to get bored."
"Sure." More shuffling, and he hears the sound of Leo's shell being propped against the wall. A beat, and then he says, "I... I helped Sensei get the bugs. For you. I mean. I didn't want to--but. I'm sorry." He sniffs. "I tried to count 'em, but...I couldn't keep my thoughts straight. I'm sorry."
"It's okay." Raph closes his eyes, wondering if Leo can hear his heart hammering on the other side of the wall. "It's not a big deal, Leo. I just need to get a little braver, right? For us. For everyone." He presses his legs together, hoping he won't get sick on himself.
Silence. And then his brother says, so quiet Raph almost thinks he doesn't hear him clearly, "I should be brave enough for all of you."
Raph blinks. "Leo?"
A pause, and then Leo says, more brightly, "Do you wanna hear about what I think is gonna happen on Space Heroes tonight?"
"Jeez, dude, that stupid blue chick is not coming back." The damning sentence, proof that he's paying a lot more attention than he'd ever feel comfortable admitting to, slips out before Raph can stop it. Damn it.
But Leo doesn't pounce. "You don't know that!" he protests. "I think that tonight Captain Ryan's going to get another distress call, to some super-cool planet like the one with the purple floating flowers, but it's gonna be from someone who knows him and--"
"Leonardo?"
Leo stops talking. Raph freezes, fists clenching at his sides.
He can hear his brother standing up. "I was just talking--"
"This is something Raphael must handle alone." Their father's voice is stern, but not angry (thank God). "How else can he look after himself on the surface with you to hold his hand?" Raph flushes at that; Sensei's right, he messed up by even letting Leo talk to him.
Leo, to Raph's surprise, doesn't cave. "But Sensei--"
"Leonardo." And now there's anger, just a hint, but enough to chill Raph's blood.
"All right," Leo says sullenly. "Bye, Raph."
"Bye, Leo." He's proud of how little his voice shakes. "I'll see you in a little while, yeah?"
"Yeah." And then he's walking away. Raph can hear Sensei speaking to Leo, telling him what a good job he's doing, and Raph isn't jealous, he isn't, but he--
More fluttering between his feet and he tries his hardest not to whine. The creepy crawlies are sticking and wriggling around his ankles, so it's a good thing he's brave and it doesn't matter it doesn't.
A little while later, he loses the fight against nausea.
A little while after that, the shaking has spread through his whole body.
A little while after that, he realizes they're going to leave him in here forever, and he deserves it because he's so very weak.
A little while after that, Sensei finally lets him out. Raph's voice is so hoarse from screaming he can't even respond when Leo quietly, brokenly calls his name.
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What is each of the batfam’s secret phobia
Dick: Liam Payne holding him down and giving him a tattoo of his own face
Jason: accidentally snorting a centipede
Tim: Damian discovering the secret photo of him sleeping
Damian: Tim discovering his Red Robin kids meal toy
Duke: getting lost in the woods wearing only his underwear
Cullen: sewer clowns
Stephanie: the children of all the waffles she's eaten seeking revenge
Cassandra: something being moist when it shouldn't be
Barbara: scissors falling apart when she's using them and accidentally stabbing someone
Harper: rats falling from the ceiling
Carrie: getting stuck in a bucket and having to live out the rest of her days as a hermit crab
Kate: geese
Alfred: spelling things the American way
Selina: swallowing apple seeds
Bruce: angering the K-pop stans
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