#came back different

[meltedsoggycrayons]

Someone, an expert in their field, goes through some sort of trauma where they’re put through living hell, and when they come back they’re terrified of their subject.

A cave diver who can’t be in small spaces. An entomologist who can’t handle bugs anymore. A firefighter who can’t face the flames.

They came back. They came back and they’re home now. But they can’t be who they were because the VERY THING they loved THE MOST has been turned into a nightmare.

They either have to force themself through the panic and anxiety or they have to change.

And that’s the opposite of what they begged for.

They wanted things as they were, and now it can’t be.

[hbatfam98]

HC: Jason Todd came back different. He didn't come back wrong because of the pit, he came back different because dying and coming back to life is fucking traumatising. And so, like a good batfamily, every one of them learn to interact with and love Jason all over again.

E.g.Bruce defaults to hugs as his way of showing his love to Jason because Jason loved just melting into his father and being held by him as jaybin. But now full hugs feels a bit too suffocating, a bit too much like all the air is being squeezed out of him. But while he hesitates to show it, Jason still craves physical affection. So, Bruce learns. He learns that if u want to hug Jay now, u give him side hugs, cos Jay still likes the feeling of someone's arm holding him. He learns that instead of the intensity that feeling someone wrapped around you gave, Jason now preferred more casual instances - Bruce does more work in the library now because Jason likes to lean on his shoulder while he reads his books; when having harder conversations, Jason wants his space so he'll sit further away but he feels grounded when Bruce holds his hand and gently rubs soothing circles with his thumb; and at his most relaxed and when he fully trusts you, there is nothing more comforting to Jason than someone gently running their fingers through his hair.

Because there is something so beautiful about people who are willing to learn and relearn who you are in each stage of your life.

[wildemoth]

People are saying I came back wrong and like, yeah, I do get it. My eyes are a little different now and there’s the ever-present smell of decay and sometimes i am overcome with whispers from beyond the grave, but like. I’m still me? I still love watching horror movies! Even if no-one really wants to watch them with me any more. And I still love cooking! I can’t technically eat now but i think i love it even more now i can only do it for other people. Feels like less of a chore, y’know?

Oh, and my back pain is completely gone.

[mendellyill]

Has anyone ever played an ME playthrough were their Shepard did come back different in ME2? Like a paragon Shep in ME1 is renegade in 2 and 3? Do any of the characters comment on that?

[wre7ch]

came back fine but that doctor's an asshole

[g-l-o-w-y-l-i-g-h-t-s]

Shoutout to friends who don't treat you coming back "wrong" as a shameful thing. Shoutout to the people who don't compare your undead self to your pre-mortem self so they can pick a favorite. Shoutout to people who stand by you even when pieces of you fall off and your corpse starts to rot.

Shoutout to the allies and friends of the undead.

[cephalopodsquad]

so... bare with me and put on your tinfoil hats, but im having thoughts about swerve strickland, death and resurrection, the supernatural, and hangman adam page.

so as we all know, swerve at wembley was in a coffin match and IN KAYFABE was stuck in the coffin for 2 weeks.

(this gifset is by bloodycowboyclub)

so... what if he wasnt stuck? but was actually dead and buried?

what if swerve came back... not necessarily wrong, as he was already ruthless before (i mean, look at the nick wayne attack spot. that was brutal)... but instead came back different? almost... inhuman? came back with an unsettling smile, with even less regard for human life?

(bloodycowboyclub again)

his eye makeup is getting darker every single week, almost like hollywood rotting zombie makeup, or showing that he himself is getting darker. same with his gear, focusing on reds and blacks (and gray fur coats ofc) instead of colors.

he hasnt slept since August? since the coffin match?

my favorite though, is how he knows how to get under hangman's skin. yes yes, going to his home. the drawing from his child. but also every word swerve says in the ring to page. his body language.

(original gifs by firstmix)

he knows exactly what to say and what to do to make hangman angry. angry enough to draw blood. angry enough to drink it.

and then there was last night's promo. I'm still thinking about it.

“If God opened up the clouds above us and challenged everyone on earth, I believe Hangman could beat Him….. But he still couldn’t beat me”

implying that Swerve is not of this earth like hangman or anyone He would challenge. but isnt capital g God either - instead something different. something stronger.

swerve was in a coffin for two weeks. he hasnt slept well since then. his makeup and gear has gotten darker. he has gotten bloodier in the ring, and has targeted hangman, easily getting under his skin.

(bloodycowboyclub once again)

i wonder, if when hangman shouted the above words at swerve, if he knew just how right he really was.

[worrywrite]

Came back different, but no one died. No one did anything irreversible. Two people were together, and then then one of them took a trip and spent a month somewhere else where they couldn't keep in contact. And when they came back they came back surrounded by new people and with a new attitude, maybe even a better and more mature outlook on life. And the person who had stayed behind is just the same.

Maybe that's the root of the trope though. Maybe the root of the trope is always "someone stayed the same and someone grew up." That's why it stings to think about when you read it, because that's the real life version.