Aww, gosh, now I want to give him a hug. ;_;

This is so poignant. And he's just so cute here.

He could have used some hugs then. But maybe it's not too late! :D

It's never too late for hugs! :D


I wish someone would go stamp out those bullies and give him a hug then. He looks like he could've used lots of hugs.

Yeah..been there, done that.

As far as people being 'born that way'...good and bad are moralistic values that have everything to do with ones own personal perspective and little to do with why people are mean to others. There are a variety of reasons, I agree, but you can't ever forget that some people are born with mental conditions that make them more prone to violent behavior.

Despite the fact that there is a veritable wealth of information about all the various mental illnesses out there, mental health and the public perception of it are woefully behind and misunderstood. If more people realized just how important getting their kids tested for mental illness early and if more people realized how important it is to treat mental illness as just another illness and not something to be ashamed of, hidden from people, and a reason to shun others, we'd be a lot better off as a society.

I was bullied a lot as a kid, mostly due to the fact that I was insecure and took everything way too personally and really let people get to me when I should have brushed it off of my shoulder. One of the worst was a kid named Kenny. Kenny would orchestrate bullying. He'd get his buddies to rag on me, too. For seven years, the dude made me feel like crap on a constant basis.

Flash forward about seven years after I graduated high school. I managed to start hanging out with an old high school bud and asked him 'Hey, whatever happended to Kenny?' Turns out he lived down the street. I decided to go there and give him what for. I had all those years of resentment stuck inside me and had never really let them go.

We went over and the first thing Kenny did-before I could even get a word out-was start apologizing to me. I was dumbstruck, all those words I was going to say, all the pent up anger disappeared.
He said that he'd gone into the military and learned what it felt like to be bullied by others. He said he felt really bad about all the shit he'd put me through and had been worried i'd committed suicide or something, and had been looking for me, hoping to make it right.

I spent the next year getting to know Kenny and saw him in a totally different light. He'd had a rought childhood, his dad had left his mom and his mom had been an alcoholic. We became really good friends, he was one of the best friends i've ever had.
A year later, I got woken up at 3am. It was a call from our friend. Kenny had had a heart attack and died. Turns out he had a congenital heart defect and had had a hole in his heart and it had been growing larger over the previous year.

I'm really glad I got to know Kenny and I miss him terribly. :(

I'm not religious or anything but this is one of the reasons why I believe in forgiveness and second chances. Getting to know Kenny again helped me grow as a person and i'll never forget the lesson I learned.

Yeah ive had pleasant encounters recently with those who once made my life in school hell. It's amazing what time can do and how it can humble people. Besides, who needs to worry about jerks from our past when adulthood throws brand new jerks at us everyday who are far less redeemable. XD

This will not end well

Ok the whole arm-mocking comment had me in giggles!
But I could've imagined someone like Pool being the subject of bullying, considering the way he handled Clem a few pics back. Takes me back to the halcyon days of highschool!
Fightin's fun!

anyway, love his sad little face XD

I've noticed that those who are mean in their later years tend to be the ones who were bullied while bullies seem
to grow up into more pleasant people. It's funny what time does!

Awww.. poor guy.

No greater evil than mean kids...a bittersweet but intriguing backstory here.

:C

Childrens' and teenagers' world is so small that there's no room for being different, and it's awful for those who become targets because of that : (
It's such a shame since difference is what really makes the world an interesting and unique place to be.

Nice idea for his character though. Solid!
... He so cute tho ;.;

At least he grew up big enough to defend himself! Now he doesn't take crap
from anybody!

Except maybe Lotan, im not sure how well Pool would handle a giant fire breathing dragon with four arms XD

Well, I'm happy for him then.
... Too bad I'm not sure it's likely he knows how to make friends though... :'( You need friends, Pool!

Hopefully he's wiser than his spelling suggests and knows what fights to pick! :'D