#toxic behavior in fiction

[thecruellestmonth]

"Jason isn't the only one to die and return from the dead. He's not special, so he shouldn't be treated as special. He's not the first, and he's not the last."

"How could Bruce ever anticipate that Jason would return from the dead? Bruce coped how he needed to. The dead aren't supposed to judge how the living treat their memory."

🗣️📣 You can't pick both.

[rowanoftheunknown]

Okay listen it's been 4 days I'm over it but I hate that everyone is like "that's where Izzy's arc was meant to end, he accepted his death" yeah no when I developed my support system and dismantled my toxic habits and moved on from my trauma my psych took me out the back and said you're free and shot me like a lame horse

[sigery]

I was thinking about Lord Eclipse and servant sun, about their relationship- their master and servant dynamic. The possibility that it's kind of a facade (or I want it to be at least)? Like Sun wants to be controlled and given strict rules- it soothes his anxiety... usually. Regardless of what Lord Eclipse says or does, Sun knows he isn't in any actual danger. Which is one of the reasons he was so terrified of Moon because he doesn't know or trust him.

[atwistedandbrokentale]

A BURNING DESIRE

My first fanfic! I’m quite proud of it. Now please read the tags and make sure what you’re getting into. With that being said, enjoy!

❤️💌———-———-———-———-———-——❤️💌

Squidward knocked impatiently on the door. He did not want to be here right now. All he wants is to get his vacuum cleaner back. It’s been a week since Spongebob “borrowed” (read: stole) it and his statues were getting dusty. As he stood there waited for Spongebob to answer, he thought about how weird Spongebob was acting this last week. Sure he was always weird but lately it's like someone cranked up to a hundred.

He seemed much more quiet than usual. Squidward would normally find this a blessing but it instead creeped him out. When Patrick told him that the studio that made Mermaidman and Barnacle boy comics released an in memoriam comic that would “send our favorite superheroes off in a blaze of glory”, all Spongebob did was ask when he could get off work and when he was told he’d have a 17 unpaid overtime shift, he was only mildly annoyed about the inconvenience.

The Spongebob Squidward knew would cry loudly and try to find a way to somehow both work and go to the comic book store at the same time. It would have been annoying but that’s what SpongeBob did. The door opened. A yellow sponge stood there, staring at him with an odd expression on his face. He seemed empty yet excited at the same time. “Hello Squidward.” He said rather softly. Squidward tried to shrug it off. “SpongeBob, can I have my vacuum back? It’s been a week.” The sponge smiled creepily. “Oh of course. Come on in..”

Squidward hesitantly went inside. The living room was dimly lit, looking like a dump. The tv showed a Kelpy G performance. “I didn’t know you like Kelpy G.” The sponge kept staring at him. “Oh I’ll like everything you’d like.” he said. Squidward wasn’t sure how to feel about this. He knew Spongebob wanted to be his friend but this felt too far. He cleared his throat nervously. “So, uh about that vacuum?..” The sponge didn’t show it but he was quite annoyed with this. With a forced smile, he chipperly said, “oh. Yes. It’s in.. the hallway closet.”

Squidward walked away, looking at the sponge with a worrying look on his face. He saw a closed door. He figured this must be what the sponge was talking about. He opened the door to see paintings. His paintings. “Spongebob..” he asked. “Where did you get these?” He turned around to meet the sponge. The sponge held something behind his back. “I took them. I knew you wouldn’t give them to me so I went inside and I took them while you were sleeping”. He started to walk to Squidward who backed away slowly.

“Aren’t you glad? I really like your paintings because they’re paintings of you. I think you’re very beautiful” the sponge said, never raising his voice yet becoming ever more terrifying with each step. Squidward felt the wall bump into him. “Oh, r-really?” He stuttered out, afraid of what the sponge would do next. The sponge nodded. “I’ve always wanted to hang out with you but you’d always say no. So I figured if I took something of yours, you’d come to take it back.”

“But you’d never notice how your artwork started to disappear. So I took something I knew you would need.” Squidward looked up at him. He was forced to slide down in fear. “S-SpongeBob, what are you doing?” “Well I can’t let you leave now, silly.” The sponge said, malice laced in his voice. “You’d try to escape. I won’t let that happen.” The sponge revealed a bat from behind him. “SpongeBob, wait! Think about this!” Squidward yelled before covering his face as the bat started to slam on his body.

Squidward slowly opened his eyes. Everything hurt. Pain flowed through his veins. He looked down. Both his legs and his arms were broken and were sloppy bandaged. Squidward frowned. He knew it was the sponge who did this. Paralyzing him so he couldn’t escape. He tried to get up only to be met with agonizing pain. He almost screamed and was forced to sit back down.

That horrible sponge showed his face again. His smile seemed to be inhumanly huge, almost tearing off his face. “Careful Squiddy. You might hurt yourself again and we wouldn’t want that, would we?” He told Squidward, wanting to seem caring. But he clearly enjoyed seeing Squidward in pain. Seeing him fragile and weak. Squidward would need him now.

Squidward felt like he wanted to cry. He didn’t know what he did to deserve this. He pleaded with the sponge, “Spongebob, why are you doing this? You were never like this before! You were just mildly annoying!” At this, the sponge softened up, clearly wanting to confront Squidward. But it just creeped out Squidward even more. The sponge leaned down closer to him, smiling all the while.

“But I always like this, Squiddy. I was always obsessed with you. Your clarinet playing, your artwork, your dancing. All of it. And you couldn’t stand me. You’d degrade me. You hated me. It was wonderful.” The sponge started to slowly stroke Squidward’s face. Squidward hated the touch but could do nothing to stop him.

“Whenever I was near you I felt something. It would consume me. At first I didn’t know what it meant but now I know what it was. It was love. Oh I love you, Squiddy! I need to be with you. I need to be at your side forever. But that won’t be enough. It never would be. No, I need more.” Squidward couldn’t believe it. SpongeBob really felt like this? “W-what? What are you talking about?”

The sponge got a manic look on his face. It was a combination of soft comforting and insatiable obsession. His eyes transformed to be heart shaped. It would be cute if it weren’t so horrifying. “I need to be one with you. It's only the way we’ll truly be together. When your heart beats, my heart will beat. When you breathe, I will breathe. You will be my oxygen, I will be your blood. We will be perfect together.”

Squidward wanted to cry, to scream, to do anything. “SpongeBob, please! Are you-is this because I said no to jellyfishing? I’ll-I’ll go jellyfish with you! Right now! We can go right now!” The sponge laughed. “We can go jellyfishing whenever we want when we’re together. We’ll have no choice.”

The sponge walked to the kitchen. He opened up a drawer and pulled out a big knife. Squidward feared the worst. “What.. what are you doing?” The sponge grinned with that same intense obsession. “As a sponge, I can regenerate cells. If I put my head on your body, my cells will mold and fuse with yours. You’ll be healed and I’ll have you forever. It’ll be perfect.”

Squidward couldn’t believe it. He always felt something was off about SpongeBob but he never thought SpongeBob would be capable of such evil. His body started aching as he tried to turn around to meet his intense gaze. “Please don’t do this! I’ll do whatever you want just please leave me alone!” He felt his head pounding like a ton of bricks but he tried to stay awake. Even after all he’s done, he couldn’t stand to see Spongebob die.

“But I can’t leave you alone, silly.” The sponge laughed. “How else can I make sure you’ll be safe? How else can I make sure you’ll never push me away? This is the only way.” Squidward couldn’t bear to look at the horror. His eyes started to feel weary. He can’t black out now, not like this. The sponge noticed this and giggled. “Just go to sleep, little prince. Soon it’ll all be ok..” He pressed the knife to his flesh. His beaming smile being the last thing Squidward saw.

ONE WEEK AGO

Spongengebob was ecstatic. It’s been so long since he visited his parents. He can’t wait to see them again. He rang the bell for another delicious Krabby Patty. “Order up!” Squidward put his head over the window and grumply grabbed the sandwich. “Isn’t it great, Squidward? I get to-.” “Don’t talk to me.” Squidward shut him up. Spongebob wondered about Squidward. He didn’t want him to be left all alone. If he was Squidward, he’d want someone to play with him. He’d want another Spongebob.

That gave him an idea..

Spongebob started to grow a third arm. It grew like a tree branch before falling off. Spongebob watched happily as it expanded and tried to figure out its shape. It grew two eyes that looked around nervously. It started to shape into a square body. Two arms and two legs started to poke out the now solid form. It’s mouth started to form. “Welcome to the world!” Spongebob said excitedly. “What?” The other sponge said. “Who am I?” Spongebob bent down to help up the new sponge. “Well I’m not sure, that’s for you to decide.”

He stood up nervously. He looked at Spongebob and then at himself. He seemed in awe of himself. “So.. who are you?” The other sponge asked. Spongebob smiled. “Well I’m Spongebob! I work here at the greatest place in all the seven seas! The Krusty Krab!” Spongebob twirled around to show his enthusiasm. He took the other sponge’s hand. “Come with me.” He pulled on the other sponge and lead him to the door, where they peaked out and saw Squidward arguing with a customer.

While SpongeBob simply smiled, thinking nothing of it, the other sponge started to feel something. Seeing Squidward insult the customer, yelling and screaming without a hint of empathy. It was like a fire was lit in him. “Who is that?” He asked. “That’s Squidward, my best friend.” SpongeBob answered. “I’ll have to go soon and leave him all alone but I want you to take care of him.” The other sponge started to smile. It was his first one. “Why? Is he weak?”

SpongeBob, not really paying attention, simply answered, “well I wouldn’t say that but he’s definitely not exactly the strongest coral in the reef, if you know what I mean.” He laughed, not knowing how the other sponge took his words. He looked at Squidward, wondering what it would be like to be that customer. To be yelled at and to be humiliated. He shuddered with excitement at the thought.

SpongeBob grabbed his spare work hat and handed it to the other sponge. “Can't work here without a hat! It represents everything amazing about working at the greatest place on earth!” The other sponge couldn’t care less about the hat. He kept staring at Squidward. He liked the feeling he got when he did. He wondered what it was. SpongeBob put his hand on his heart and the other sponge confusingly did so as well.

Spongebob pulled out a book from nowhere. He flipped to a bookmarked page. “Do you soberly swear to uphold the spirit of the Krusty Krab? To put the customer first and promise fresh high quality products? To work with a smile on your face no matter what?” SpongeBob asked eagerly. The other sponge couldn’t care less about this grease trap but if working here means he can be close to Squidward, then he’d gladly never leave.

He’d stay by his side and watch him forever. Squidward won’t need to know. He’d stick to the shadows and make sure Squidward was safe. Squidward clearly can’t take care of himself. He’ll need someone to protect him. And the other sponge will be there, to take care of him. The other sponge enjoyed these thoughts. He won’t let Squidward go, he may squirm and fight but he’ll break eventually. The other sponge will be sure of it. He smiled once more, the sparks of obsession starting to flare.

“I do..”

🖤🗡️———-———-———-———-———-——🖤🗡️

(Disclaimer: the police busted in and arrested the faker before the real SpongeBob arrived, confused at what happened. Squidward was traumatized from the ordeal but did heal and recovered, eventually becoming able to hang around SpongeBob again. They aren’t together though)

[chatdae]

The Great Gatsby (1974) au where Gatsby doesn't die and instead Nick takes on the no-paying job of trying to get Jay to move on from Daisy.

Bad ending is Gatsby never does & he and the Buchanans become a never-ending shitshow. Good ending is Jay moves on. Super special bonus ending is Jay and Nick fall in love (toxicity optional)

[luminisvii]

if you're sitting here complaining about "shiver simps" endlessly, you are a bigger problem than any shiver fan could hope to be. this is frankly ridiculous and a lot of you need to either grow up or stop playing outright until you learn how to act

[musical-chick-13]

Thoughts on toxic yuri?

One of my very favorite storytelling concepts, I love it when women make each other worse. <3

I do think it's important, for me anyway, to note the difference between a dynamic that's toxic in one direction versus something that is mutually toxic. The first one doesn't really interest me a whole lot, usually because it means one character suffers constantly without being allowed to do anything else--at the very least, it will come across as the more ""normal"" character not really being that into the relationship in question. I need BOTH parties to be unhinged.

The important thing for any fictional relationship (though we're specifying toxic yuri here, obviously) is that it's interesting. If there is no limit to what the women can do within a dynamic, then there are an infinite number of ways for that dynamic to go. And while you can learn a lot about a character through examining their values and positive qualities, you can learn just as much (if not more) by considering their flaws. And those flaws really come out in the case of toxic yuri; characters get to show the uglier parts of themselves in this context, which I am always a fan of. A fraught, complex relationship, when written well, can be a really great way to psychologically explore the characters: what inspires them to act this way? why do they think this behavior is acceptable? if they don't think it's acceptable, why do they keep doing it? what do they think about the concept of love as a whole? how far would they go for intimacy or to be understood? how do they view other people in general? and probably most importantly, what led to them developing the beliefs underlying their actions in the first place?

From a more "psychologically, why do people enjoy this" standpoint, mutual toxicity often goes hand in hand with extreme obsession, extreme jealousy, and a willingness to forgive a whole lot of horrible shit. Which, yeah, in real life you don't want to be in a relationship like that. But I think there's a lot of emotional resonance in exploring those feelings. The idea that someone will never leave you. That they think so intensely about you specifically that they'll break anything and anyone to stay with you. That even if you're the worst version of yourself, someone will still want you because that's still you. Someone knows exactly how to fuck you up because they genuinely understand you. Things in fiction that we would never want in real life can be incredibly interesting or even cathartic to witness from a distance. I think we all feel things that scare us sometimes (or even simply feel an innocuous emotion so intensely that it scares us), and looking at unpleasant feelings within fiction can help identify, parse out, process, and successfully cope with those feelings. And I think, at the end of it all, a lot of people want to matter to someone, in some way. It makes sense that some creators would take that concept-of meaning a great deal to another person, of affecting them deeply-to its absolute extreme through writing.

(And also, consider. That I am very gay. And that horrible women are very attractive.)

[fearissorrowful]

'ᏋᏕᏕᏋᏁᏖᎥᏗᏝ.' [ᏒᏋ-ᏇᏒᎥᏖᏋ] short/oneshot

WARNING: Adult themes/toxic relationships/peer pressure/unwanted advances/cheating/delusional behavior/mind games/cheating?

"ᏋᏕᏕᏋᏁᏖᎥᏗᏝ."

Evelyn nervously fiddled with her phone, it had died a few minutes ago; usually she kept it charged but today just wasn't the case. she stood by herself under the extended roof of the closed store as it harshly poured. she had forgotten her umbrella and wasn't expecting it to rain tonight, all she wanted to do was make one quick stop before visiting her friends for the weekend. She sighed as her eyes glanced around until she heard someone approach. jolting straight up as her eyes turned to meet the unknown figure in a subtle surprise.

"Are you stupid?" the male figure sneers as he comes into view holding an umbrella over his head. "james?" she questioned before shaking her head. "what are you doing here?" she asked completely ignoring his insulting question. "could ask you the same. did you forget it was going to rain?" he asked monotony.

"i thought that wasn't supposed to be till tomorrow night." she pouted. as he rolled his eyes chuckling at her childish behaviour. "well, guess i got lucky today then." he commented as he pulled something from the bag slung around his shoulder. "is that your wallet?" she asked curiously, eyeing the object he presented. "yeah." he replied nonchalantly, as he placed it on the counter."how much was in there?" she inquired curiously. "not enough." he retorts back as he took off his hood to reveal himself. "so...you really didn't need me to pick up your stuff then, huh." she mused as her gaze traveled down the length of his body.  "no." he replied as he smirked.  "ugh are you serious." she whined grasping onto her sides, bags in arms.

The only reason she was in this situation was because James had asked her to pick something up. maybe he planned this... she eyed him suspiciously, Crossing her arms as James whistled using one hand to hold up the umbrella as the other slung around her shoulder pulling her closer to him under the umbrella . "c'mon," he urged her, as his hand gently rubbed across her back to calm her. She sighed and nodded as they started walking away from the shop and toward William's apartment. "did you bring some games?" James questions curiously. "uh, yeah actually!" she replied eagerly, as she reached inside her backpack digging through the contents until finally she pulls out one of the games.

"i got these at a game shop so I don't know what they're called but i think they might be cool." she explained handing them over to James. he took it and examined it before handing them back. she put them away before handing him a plastic bag containing several board games, plus snacks and drinks. "thank god for small favours." he chuckled humorously. The walk there was fairly uneventful, which suited Evelyn just fine as her mind wandered, thoughts drifting to the man standing next to her.  It seemed like they were both lost in their own heads as they walked alongside each other silently. it wouldn't take long for either of them to break the silence. "so..." he began as she glanced at him curiously. "how often do you visit William?" he asked curiously."surprisingly not as often as I would like." she glanced at James.

"are things going well between you two?" he inquired curiously. she shrugged as a small smile played across her lips."he's my boyfriend, my everything." she admitted, feeling warmth bloom inside her chest at the memory of them together, smiling, laughing, teasing, playing...

"oh if you want I can..."  he offered, almost hopefully. "no." she perked up looking into his eyes. "I think we're fine. how often have you visited?" Evelyn questioned back. "This is my first visit in months actually." he answered with a small nod. "i came by the cafe once or twice and saw you guys..." he mentioned with a small shrug. "i'd like to hang out again though.. mostly just you..." he muttered quietly, as he stared ahead at the rain.

she didn't expect such words to come from him, especially in there situation. "huh?" she turns to him his grip tightening on the umbrella. "what?" he responded. "James... your my boyfriend's best friend..." she quietly whispered just loud enough for him to hear over the rain. "i know." he answered back quietly, as his hand rested atop hers. "and I know you both have been together for years but...I have liked you for a while...not like, love..." he added.

she felt heat rise up to her face as she looked up into his eyes. "and that's okay, i think." he adds softly.

"you think?" she questioned incredulously. "yeah... I'm not sure how to express it but i've always admired you and always cared about you, despite my actions sometimes." he explained. she couldn't believe this as he stood In Front of her holding his umbrella in one hand while the other grasped onto one of her slim soft ones his eyes meeting hers. "James..." she murmured. "we should probably get indoors before it gets worse." she sighed. "right.." he mumbles nodding his head in agreement. still holding onto her hand, he doesn't move as his eyes stay glued to hers.

"Evelyn.... please, can i- can i... kiss you? just once, I won't tell anyone i swear, i just want to know how it feels..." he stuttered as Evelyn felt her heart race inside her chest as they both held eye contact staring into one another's eyes. "okay...." she breathed out hesitant, before closing the gap between them slowly their lips meeting in a sweet chaste kiss. Evelyn felt his arm wrap around her waist pulling her closer as their bodies pressed against each other, their tongues dancing together slowly.

they pulled away breathing heavily as Evelyn glanced up at him with cheeks tinted pink. "you taste nice." he mumbled as he brushed the hair from her face. their faces flush red slightly as they continued to stare into each other's eyes, unsure of whether to continue or end this moment. "you know... iv missed you." James whispered against her lips as he pulled away slowly. "me too." she replied leaning into him resting her head against his chest. "now let's go inside." he said softly before heading towards William's apartment with Evelyn following close behind.

"where did you even find these?" william questioned as he scanned through the plastic bags looking at the contents inside. "dunno ask Eve." James shrugged. "eve?" william repeated confused. "Evelyn." james stated as william sent him a suspicious glare. "i wasn't aware you guys were that close..." william trialed off as he waited quietly for his girlfriend to return. "things happened." james shrugged again, smirking at william before walking out of the room, finding his way into the kitchen where Evelyn was putting various objects away.

"so what's the reason you guys haven't moved in together?" James quipped wrapping his arms around her waist as he rested his head on her shoulder. Evelyn jumped startled dropping what she was holding, thankfully not breakable. "don't scare me like that." she scolded him as she turned around in his grasp and lightly pushed him off. James let go reluctantly, frowning. "The reason we haven't moved in together is because of our habits... that's all." Evelyn trailed off her eyes meeting the floor, james tsk'd. "what's the real reason, commitment issues? or maybe.... your in love with another?" he inquired as he gently lifted her head to meet his gaze. Evelyn blushed. "no, no of course not. I love william, i do."

"then what?" james demanded wanting her to finish her sentence. ''nothing." she lied. "i mean i am in love with him, he means a lot to me, but it's hard when he treats me like so Ill. it doesn't make sense, it makes me feel inferior and insecure and I'm scared that he's going to leave me if i do something wrong." Evelyn admitted sadly grasping onto James quietly as tears built up in her eyes. he wrapped his arms around her tighter, bringing her closer towards him as he glared at the wall. "You can do better." james  stated. "I'm trying," she confessed, as she leaned further into him, burying her face against the crook of his neck. "hey look," james mumbled, placing a gentle kiss against her forehead. "do i make you happy?"

"james..i..."

"listen, when you look at me. you see me. you see someone who cares for you deeply and i love being around you so much. and when you laugh you're breathtaking. I know that your insecurities make you worry about what people may think of you and how others will treat you but trust me, no matter how badly things may seem. i am here for you, whenever you need it. so please, don't ever forget that, okay? I love spending time with you." he uttered as tears pooled in her eyes as she listened to what he said. "you'll change your mind about me.. i hope." he added.

"if it's any consolation... even if i have trouble expressing it sometimes. you can see me with no problem. but if i hurt you then you push me away, even after everything that has happened in the past. do you understand that?" he questioned, as she gazed up at him, her expression unreadable to his eyes, her gaze wandering across his face. "i understand... thank you james." she sniffled wiping away the stray tears as she smiled sadly at him. "for what?" he asked confused. "for making it easier for me to be honest.." she explained gently. "hey..." he whispered brushing her cheek with his finger causing her to turn her head towards his hand. "everything about you is special to me. you are beautiful Evelyn... i know you're in pain but i can help ease your burden. so please don't worry about what others might think. because i won't let them hurt you anymore." she smiled weakly at him.

"besides it wasn't easy for me to admit that i loved you either... but i'm glad i got the courage to. it took some convincing though." he teased with a chuckle. "james.." she mumbled softly. "you don't have to talk if you're uncomfortable." he continued, gazing down lovingly at her. "i'm okay." she told him. he nodded, letting out a relieved sigh as she snuggled closer to his side. "what about those bags?" he asked gesturing towards the plastic bags sitting neatly beside them. "oh yeah." she chuckled nervously. he watched amused as she tried opening her bag and taking something out. he helped her open her bag and found a book inside. "is that yours?" he asked curiously as she opened the book up and read the title. "yes. it's one of my favorites."

"why did you bring it into the kitchen?" he chuckled as she shrugged placing the book down. "well i know why you're in the kitchen." he smiled leaning over her shoulder sending shivers down her back. "what is that supposed to mean?"  she eyed him curiously with doe eyes. "You're a snack." he smiled licking his lips as he eyed her blushing face. "you flatter me." she coughed out meekly as she kept putting various items away with haste, james chuckled leaning back against the wall, mumbling to himself watching as she worked away, wondering various things...

"Eve." he called out catching her attention as she turned to face him. "mhmm?" she hummed, "how many years have we known each other? five?" he pondered. "six." she corrected rolling her eyes. "how long does it take for one person to fall in love with the same person twice?" 

"uh.. depends on how well they already know each other." she muttered. he smiled as he raised an eyebrow. "are there any examples?" he asked curious. "well there used to be, but they stopped happening when we moved back home." she replied, as he nodded understanding. "well, how about right now? how many people do you know that have been in love with someone else multiple times?"

"hm... a few."

"and?"  he asked raising his eyebrow again. "well... none of them ended well, i think they had broken up or something by now.. i've never really thought about it." she answered truthfully. "how long until the next time you feel ready to fall in love?" he questioned smirking down at her. "well i think that would depend on how many kisses we have." she giggled as he rolled his eyes. "come on, i'll give you a hint."

"hm?" -- "the best kisses start off slow... and then go faster the more times you get them."

"that was terrible." she laughed as he grinned playfully. "maybe, but i still won." he replied smugly as she lightly punched his arm, causing him to yelp in protest. "what happened to the whole 'be honest' thing?" he complained rubbing his arm. "shut up," she pouted crossing her arms as he laughed. 

"what should i put next to my contact picture? a picture of me crying? my number written on the fridge? my name written on top of it?" he listed off teasing her as she shook her head with a smirk. "i' ll take it." he smirked taking a step forward and pulling her towards him, locking their lips in a soft kiss, he cupped her cheeks in between his palms. she jolted back, breaking the kiss in shock, james hand softly grasping onto her arm. "james-" "Eve, please.. ever since our first kiss, i couldn't stop thinking about it- about you." he quickly admitted his grasp on her arms growing tense as she squirmed in his grip, glancing at him every so often with her soft eyes, torn.

"your the only one who makes me feel alive. stay, please. we can leave together..."

"I can treat you better Evelyn."

[nururu]

If u have bad mental health and you're misery obsessed, literally just stop feeding yourself poison all the time. Your mental health will improve. If you're only primarily consuming extremely angsty fiction, stuff with mentally unwell conflicts, abusive relationships, etc, you're only keeping your own mental status locked in a box of this one thing. If you're miserable irl, and obsessed with fiction centered around misery, it 1000000% IS making it so your mental health will never improve. When you see healthy relationships in fiction? Learn how to appreciate them and idolize them, and dissect them and understand them, instead of turning towards fiction that depicts this healthy relationship as abusive and toxic. You have to start somewhere with yourself. This is an easy way to help improve your overall mental health and worldly outlook.

[thecruellestmonth]

Normal Batman fans: I don't want to engage with parts of canon in which my fave is an abusive asshole. I choose to engage with other stories instead, and I ignore stories that I dislike.

Nasty toxic Batman fans: Ooh, Bruce is being totally gross again, don't mind if I do~

Good Dad Bruce™ stans: Yes, I fully acknowledge that every single one of Bruce's kids is deeply—at times suicidally—traumatized by his parenting failures in canon, but he is NOT a bad parent! Bruce LOVES his family. Sometimes COMPLICATED PARENTS make their children feel WORTHLESS and ISOLATED, and then don't do anything to fix it! It's totally NATURAL, Bruce is just a COMPLICATED parent! He's COMPLICATED! Bruce LOVES his family. COMPLICATED, I say! NOT ABUSIVE! Would an abusive parent put a hand on his child's shoulder in a vague display of warmth once every few years??? Hm??? Yeah, I DIDN'T THINK SO, YOU STUPID ABUSE VICTIMS!! Bruce LOVES his family. He does nice things—why are you ignoring all the nice things that he's done? He is just an IMPERFECT person, he has made some teeny tiny mistakes repeatedly with 5+ separately acquired children over a twenty-year period. Bruce is just a regular IMPERFECT human being—which means that you critics are the UNREASONABLE MONSTERS imposing PERFECTIONIST standards on a poor innocent middle-aged baby adult man! Bruce LOVES his family. How could we expect exceptionally privileged hyperintelligent parents NOT to regularly use their position of power to make 4-6 children feel inadequate, unsafe, and alone?? What ridiculously high standards! Bruce LOVES his family.

[lumiinix]

I have a pet peeve with those fic that had reader pining a character that already has another s/o and that they painted the s/o to be a bitch/bad person like wtf? There’s literally someone crushing on your s/o, of course they’re gonna be worried! Y/N is the bad person here!

[ladsofsorrow24]

am i immune to the allures of parasocial relationship? not really.

but can i do something to make sure i never crossed the lines of being a creep? hell yeah.

[acerathia]

having to read long comments explaining that they're not excusing what the ml has done is soo bothersome, like, just stop reading idc

[luna-azzurra]

12 Emotional Wounds in Fiction Storys

Betraying a Loved One. Your character made a choice, and it backfired, badly. They betrayed someone close to them, maybe on purpose, maybe by accident. Now, the guilt’s eating them alive. They might try to fix things, but can they even make up for what they did?

Guilt Over a Past Mistake. They made a mistake, one that cost someone else. Maybe it was reckless, maybe it was a dumb decision, but now it haunts them. They can’t stop thinking about it, and no matter how hard they try to make things right, the past keeps pulling them back.

Survivor’s Guilt. Imagine surviving something awful, an accident, a disaster, but someone else didn’t make it. Now your character is stuck asking, “Why me? Why am I still here?” They push people away, convinced they don’t deserve to be happy or even alive.

Feeling Powerless. Your character is trapped, maybe in an abusive home, a toxic relationship, or just in life itself. They feel stuck, with no control over their own future.

Being Wrongly Accused. They didn’t do it. But no one believes them. Your character has been falsely accused of something serious, maybe even a crime and now they’re fighting to clear their name. It’s not just about proving their innocence, though. They’re also battling the pain of being abandoned by people who were supposed to stand by them.

Public Humiliation. They’ve just been humiliated in front of everyone, maybe it’s a video gone viral, or they were betrayed by someone they trusted. Now, they can’t even look people in the eye.

Living in Someone’s Shadow. No matter what they do, it’s never enough. Someone else, a sibling, a friend, a partner, always shines brighter. They feel stuck in that person’s shadow, invisible and overlooked.

Abandoning a Dream. They had big dreams, but somewhere along the way, life got in the way, and now they’ve given up. Maybe it was because of fear or circumstances beyond their control, but the loss of that dream has left them feeling empty.

Childhood Trauma. Something happened to them when they were young, something painful that still affects them today. Whether it was abuse, neglect, or a significant loss, the trauma follows them into adulthood, shaping how they see themselves and the world.

Being an Outsider. They’ve never felt like they fit in, whether because of their background, their personality, or something else. They long for acceptance but fear they’ll never find it.

Struggling with Addiction. They’re caught in a destructive cycle, whether it’s with substances, behaviors, or even people. The shame and struggle to break free from addiction are real and raw.

Living with Chronic Illness. They’re living with a chronic illness or disability, and it’s not just the physical challenges that weigh them down, it’s the emotional toll, too. Maybe they feel isolated, or like they’re a burden to others.

[rhythm-gam3-add1ct]

CW: kinda venty but its not a vent

Using selfshipping to cope with your irl partner/very close relationship being insanely toxic, incredibly damaging to your mental and psychological health and ruining your entire life with nothing you can do about it and no support system to turn to for help >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

[wilwheaton]

In a long essay about the televised incident, Wheaton makes a lot of salient, emotionally vulnerable points about his reaction to David’s stunt, tying it in to memories of parental abuse he suffered as a kid—pointing out, among other things, that, within the agreed-upon fiction that we all adhere to pretty fervently around all things Muppet or Muppet-related, Elmo is a child. Writing, Wheaton notes that “Elmo is an avatar for children all over the world. Children who are too small to understand Elmo is a puppet will know that a man attacked someone they love for no reason, and that will frighten and confuse them.”

Wil Wheaton condemns Larry David for his Elmo-based violence

This story is a week old, and has blown up today. The right wing smoothbrains are out in force, doing their usual thing, until they get distracted by the existence of a successful woman somewhere in the world and have to go rage against that.

I don’t know why this is happening today. I don’t know why right wing clout chasing incels have decided to make this their Thing today. It’s all very confusing, especially a week after the fact.

But I want to put something here that I added to my post on Facebook, that those dudes (it’s always dudes whose entire personality is “MONSTER ENERGY DRINKS!”) need to hear but won’t understand:

A lot of us who had the same visceral reaction to a grown man putting his hands on a child (Elmo is 4 years old) in anger, without consent, and then laughing about it all share an experience that you should be grateful you don't share with us. And when you say your shitty little toxic and cruel thing, when you reduce the whole thing to a puppet and a joke, you're doing to us what the adults around us did when we were kids. And it hurts all over again. Are you really someone who wants to hurt another person simply because you can? Maybe take the impulse to be a jerk and redirect it into being grateful you have no idea why this is so upsetting to so many of us.

Larry David put his hands on another performer, without consent, in a segment he was not part of. That, alone, is not okay. It is not EVER okay. The fact that so many people don’t get that, or are deliberately choosing NOT to get that, is telling.

But as I said, Elmo is a child, and he is a friend to children, so all the kids whose parents were watching the Today Show with them, because Elmo was on to talk about sharing big feelings and caring for your mental health, got to watch this man storm into a set, and angrily attack Elmo.

That’s indefensible behavior, and calling me names doesn’t change that.