#He considers if this is why Stan actually brought him back

[inktriguing]

I’ve been having fun finding photos on Pinterest to draw. I felt like Stan would do something like this the moment I came across the photo LMAO. I had to draw it or I’d explode.

Heres the reference photo I used

[a-writing-otter]

This is a little something I wrote for @a-scary-lack-of-common-sense ‘s Kook Ford AU. Sorry that it’s not actually Ford, but the post about what Fiddleford and Stanley were doing kind of ate at me for a bit until I blacked out and this was on my screen.

Go check out his AU art, it’s absolutely delightful. Honestly, thanks for inspiring me with this to write anything. It’s been a minute. Thanks for your killer AU, I hope I did it justice. Enjoy!

It’s well after five in the morning. Tate, Soos, and the twins are all asleep. Fiddleford is standing on one side of the kitchen, glaring at Stan who is looking through the cabinets of this old ghost of a house with something intent on his face, pointedly not looking at Fiddleford.

“I’m sure it’s around here somewhere. God knows I wouldn’t drink that swill, ha!”

Fiddleford says nothing. Stanley looks at him, then winces, and looks away.

“C’mon, Fidds, you can’t be that mad.”

“Can’t I?” Fiddleford reaches a hand up and then pushes his goggles to the top of his head to pinch at the bridge of his nose. “Let’s count it out, shall we? Y’turned on that portal after your brother and I told you not to; you endangered the lives of your niece and nephew, your supposed heir, and, apparently, my son; you faked your death; you abandoned your brother; you took my name; and you run a leg of the mafia. Am I forgetting anything else?!”

“Hey! I saved your life!”

“You almost killed everyone in this—!” Fiddleford stops at the sound of shuffling from upstairs. He clears his throat, exhales a breath, and tries again, quieter.

“You almost got everyone in this damned town killed. And for what? This ain’t Casablanca.”

Stan turns sharp eyes on him.

“Don’t,” he says pointedly at him. “I didn’t—“ Stan fists a hand and thumps it against the wall beside the cabinet he’s still searching through, though not nearly loud enough to let out the frustration Fiddleford can see building up in him.

“You’re right,” Stan says, measured. “You are also… the only one that can fix this. I tried. I tried real hard, Fidds. There ain’t nothing I can do. No money, no power…”

“That’s why you brought me back. To clean up your mess,” Fiddleford sneers.

“No. To save Ford.”

Fiddleford goes quiet and his mouth draws into a line.

“You said he went crazy after I left,” Fiddleford says slowly. “That he— With the memory gun and—“

Stan looks up the stairs and finally gives up his pursuit and comes in close to Fiddleford. His words are quiet and low.

“Ford… After you went through, he got a little skrewy. He got… agitated and scared. He was convinced that Bill was comin’ after him after everything with the portal.”

“Yes, well, if I do remember, my last words were ‘oh god, Bill’ before I disappeared into another dimension.”

“Yeah. Thanks for that, by the way.”

“You’re going to blame me? You’re seriously going to blame me? Who in the hell’s fault was it that that portal even turned on?”

Stan winces and then rubs a hand over his face.

“I know, I know, I know. It’s mine. It’s all my fault. Everything in this godforsaken—!”

Stan reels it back and forces another breath out his nose. All things considered, Fiddleford is rather impressed how well Stanley is handling his temper. He was never the kind of lash out, but certainly the kind of get loud. Fiddleford shakes his head, walks away from Stan, and goes over to the cabinet just above the fridge. The robotic wrist extends out to grab the extra few inches he needs to open the cabinet. From there, he can open the door and then pull out a crystal clear mason jar. Pulling it down, he struggles with it for a second. Stan holds a hand out and Fiddleford meets his eyes fiercely before something in his robotic wrist clicks and the seal pops. He keeps looking at Stan as he takes a swig.

“Does that taste good?” Stan asks, disbelieving. Fiddleford is trying not to gag.

“Like vinegar. Better than nothing though.” After a second, he holds it out towards Stan who shakes his head. “Y’always were a wuss, city boy.”

Stan’s lips twitch slightly.

“Not all of us were kitted out to be hicks.”

They lapse into silence again and Fiddleford leans into the counter as he continues to nurse the jar of moonshine like it’s some kind of fine wine—after the swill he’s had these thirty years, he’s happy to have this, vinegar or not.

“What happened next?” Fiddleford finally asks, looking at Stanley. “What happened to Ford, why does my son call you my name, why are you a mob boss?”

Stan takes a deep breath in.

“That’s where it gets a little… eh, complicated. Ford and I got into an argument about him refusing to boot the portal back up. I told him if he was going to leave his best friend to die, he should consider me dead too. And I, uh,” Stan pauses for a second, expression haunted, “I don’t think I’m never gonna regret that. I got in the car, I left. Decided to tell your wife and kid something, didn’t know what. It, uh, went… Well, I—“

He looks at Fiddleford and holds his hands out like an offering, expression sheepish.

“I don’t know, Fidds, it happened so fast. I was— I was convinced that you wouldn’t want them to be left alone and I— I mean they missed you, so—“

“Did you wipe their memories to make them think you were me?!” He hisses out. Fiddleford doesn’t really believe a word of what he himself is saying, but it gets louder and almost desperate when Stan nods his head.

“You stole my identity?!”

“You were gone! Or dead! I didn’t know! I didn’t know how long it’d take to get you back! I just thought, well, you know… I’d look after them, make sure they were okay, and then when we got you back, everything would be great!”

“Stanley Pines, you’re insane!”

“Uh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Apparently, it’s a family trait.”

Stan is running his hands through his hair over and over again to the point it’s sticking up in every direction. It takes more effort than Fiddleford cares to admit not to reach out and smooth it out.

…he almost misses the mullet.

Fiddleford shakes his head—no, no, he doesn’t. There’s nothing about this bastard that he misses.

“So, what? You convinced my family that you were me and then just left Stanford?”

“Well, no. I, uh, went back to Gravity Falls, figured that he’d had some time to think, so we’d team up, figure out what to do, all that good stuff. Your family managed that long without you, figured a little longer would be—” A pause. “Except he wasn’t himself anymore when I came back. I—“

Stanley slumps down into the chair, elbows on his knees and head in his hands.

“I didn’t know what happened. I came back and he started howlin’ about ghosts. His head was bleeding and there was metal in there and he had—“ Fiddleford sees Stanley shudder from head to toe. “Fidds, he had no idea who I was. I tried to jog his memory, you know, I’m his brother? Twin? Stanley? And then he started wailin’ about his dead brother. Shook me off to crawl over to a phone that wasn’t even plugged into the wall, talkin’ to no one, wouldn’t even look at me. I— I was a coward, Fidds. I couldn’t stay, didn’t know what to do for him, so I just— I left. I faked the death of Stanley Pines he thought was real and put the whole thing behind me.

“Only problem is that my life as ‘Fiddleford McGucket’ wasn’t exactly charmed. Couldn’t wipe Em’s mind of you bein’ gone for four years and she was real pissed. Then, of course, I couldn’t work a computer for the life of me. So, uh, Em left me, took Tate, and… and it was just me. Alone. In Palo Alto. No brother, no…” he hesitates for a second before pushing on, “you, no your family to look after. Everything I’d done, I’d kind of come up empty on.

“So, I, uh, did what I was good at. Clawing my way out of bad situations. I’m real good at lying, you know. Pretty damn good. And you had some real amazing equipment still at your house. Some tongue-in-cheek lies, some bravado, some promises I threatened others to keep, and I—“

“You used my technology to bribe your way into the mob?” Fiddleford groans. “You couldn’t even replicate my stuff!”

“You’re right! Tech? Computers? Screw that! But I’m great at making connections with people who know people. And, uh, when the connections ran out, I made other connections. And, eventually, with enough time and connections and power, I—“

“Became the head of the mob?”

“I mean, that’s a bit of an over-exaggeration, but, eh, more or less. Was able to keep the house, keep myself afloat, even made sure I could be ‘round Tate’s life.”

“You exposed my son to the mob?!” Fiddleford takes a step forward that Stan reels back from as much as he can while seated.

“I kept him safe! Look, he and Em were always safe, I made sure of that!”

“Okay. Great. Wonderful.” Fiddleford takes another two gulps of moonshine and, again, tries not to gag. “You put my family at risk, you abandoned my best friend. How the hell did you end up back here?”

It gets quiet again and Stan goes from looking like that cocky bastard who believes his own lies to that scared kid who got caught telling a lie.

“It was Tate,” he starts. “He was stayin’ with me, sleepin’ real tight in bed before he came in to get me. It was nightmares for a bit, nothing out of the ordinary for a ten year-old. But they kept happening over and over and— And finally, I ask him to tell his old man what’s eating him. …and he says there’s been something coming to him in his dreams. That a man who looks like me with yellow eyes and so many teeth keeps talking to him, trying to tell him he needs to come to Gravity Falls. I— I don’t know. I tried to convince myself it was a coincidence, that he’d seen something on TV. You know kids and their imaginations, right?”

Fiddleford just stares at Stan.

“But he was shoutin’ one night, went to go check in on him and— And he said my name, clear as day. Said Ford’s name too and I— knew I couldn’t stay away.”

Stan folds his arms over his chest. Fiddleford’s eyes are drawn to the way that the tattoos bulge slightly when he does. He’s not the starved vagabond he once knew. All things considered, he looks healthy. Well, healthier.

“Came up here, came to the house. I expected to find Ford, but… he wasn’t ‘round. Looked high and low for him ‘til the dame at the diner told me about the ‘Crazy Kook Ford’.”

“…Crazy Kook Ford?” Fiddleford presses, jaw dropping. “You left your brother to— to be a crazy old townie?”

“Not like I didn’t try to bring him inside! Geez, I’ve had better luck taming seagulls and those things are nasty. But, no. No matter how much reasonin’, how much cajolin’, I couldn’t get him to talk to me or recognize me. He’ll talk anyone’s ear off if given the time, but me? He avoids me like the plague.”

Then Stan shrugs.

“Couldn’t leave him again, though. Came up here, kept up my work long-distance and brought some of it here. Small towns like Gravity Falls are happy to take in someone who can keep it afloat and prosperous. And I knew that, if anyone was going to get Ford back to one-hundo, it was going to be you. So I tried to rebuild the damned portal. It, uh, took longer than I would have liked.”

Thirty years is a helluva long time, Fiddleford has to admit.

“What do you want me to do?” Fiddleford finally asks. “I mean, you got me here, sure, but I don’t know damn about neuroscience and memory. Well, other than how to scramble it. That’s all frequencies and brainwaves and hypnotism. I can’t put memories back, that’s a lot more complicated.”

“You’re not even gonna try?” Stan demands and Fiddleford throws his hands up.

“I didn’t— Christ Jesus, Stanley, I didn’t say that! Just— This ain’t gonna be easy. This is gonna take time. Might be years.”

“…we don’t have that kind of time.”

Fiddleford snorts.

“Look, I know you’re not keen on Stanford spending his golden years as a drooling, crazy, old man, but—“

“He’s got Bill in his head.”

Fiddleford stops at that. Blinks. Shakes his head a little.

“Come again?”

“I mean that Bill Cipher, that rat bastard is still inside of Ford’s head. He takes him over in spurts, does all kind of crazy shit. I think that when Ford put that metal plate in and did whatever to his head to wipe the memories, he ended up trapping Bill in there.”

“We might not have a choice than to keep him like that,” Fiddleford says, slowly. “Look, I know, I know, that’s not ideal, but Bill—“

“Is using him to create a tear in the universe.”

Ah.

Right.

Of course.

Because Fiddleford couldn’t escape one point of insanity without landing in another.

He sets the moonshine down and puts his head into his hands.

“So you’re telling me, Lee, that Bill Cipher is inside of your brother’s mind and he’s taking him over to try and take over the universe again.”

He hears Stan suck air from between his teeth.

“That’s about it.”

Silence settles in the room and Fiddleford leans his head back into one of the cabinets. He’d spent years trying to escape Bill Cipher and the monsters that he kept company with. All things considered, he wishes he’d known about Bill being trapped on this plane. …beggars can’t be choosers, though, right?

“Give me two hours to sleep, a pot of coffee, and time alone in the basement. Don’t know where to start, but I’ll figure it out.”

A smile cracks across Stan’s face and it does something to Fiddleford’s chest that makes him have to grit his teeth and look away. He seizes up when Stan grabs his shoulders before immediately shaking him off.

“You’re amazing, Fidds, I can’t thank—“

“Don’t,” Fiddleford says firmly. “This don’t mean nothing. I’m not doing this for you. After this is figured out, frankly, I don’t want to see you again. I want my life back, I want my name back, and then I don’t want to breathe the same air as you ever again, y’get me?”

He’s seen kicked puppies look less pathetic. Once upon a time, he’d have raced to soothe the burn, but there’s thirty years of rage that’s only growing hotter as they stand there in the kitchen.

Stan balls his hands into fists, pulls them back down his side and looks away.

“Right. You got it, McGucket. I’ll, uh, let you to it.”

Fiddleford doesn’t spare another look to Stanley as he pushes past him and towards the stairs, remembering where Stanford’s old room used to be. He passes by a mirror and winces at his own reflection. Lifting a hand to his head, he pulls the goggles back on and winces at the old, weathered man staring back at him. He hasn’t had a proper look at himself in god knows how long. The wrinkles are plenty, his hair is white save the few strands of blond that try to peek through. It’s a miracle, he supposes, that he still has hair. He’s tired and he looks it.

“No rest for the wicked,” Fiddleford sighs before ducking into the bedroom to try and catch some shut-eye before attempting to fix yet another of the Pines’ messes.

[zepskies]

Break Me Down - Part 14

Pairing: Soldier Boy/Ben x Female Reader

Summary: You’re a private investigator by trade, but now you happily sit at a desk — leading a surveillance team at Supe Affairs. After managing to end Homelander in New York, Soldier Boy escapes custody. You are recruited for the manhunt, joining Butcher’s team.

Truly, you joined the S.A. for the right reasons. But after you become his accidental hostage, Soldier Boy will break down every single one of them…

💚 Break Me Down Masterlist

AN: Stick around at the end for a special note — new SB fic dropping soon!

Word Count: 6,000

Tags/Warnings: 18+ only! We return to the smut! Plus a healthy dose of fluff, angst, action, moral quandaries, and feels.

 Part 14: Safe House

Jon lied in his hospital bed, frowning hard at a computer screen. His arm and collarbone were broken, along with a few ribs. He had a private room, at least, courtesy of Vought. 

Stan Edgar strode in following a quick knock on the door. 

“Hello, Jonathan. I meant to visit you earlier,” said Stan. Jon stared at his boss, silently simmering. On his laptop played footage of the destruction wrought on the Lower West Side by a major car chase.

“How are you feeling?” Stan asked.

“Why was Black Noir set loose on my wife and daughters?” he seethed through gritted teeth. Damn how the effort of keeping still was almost as painful as moving.

“Ex-wife, isn’t it?” Stan said, raising a brow.

Jon was not amused.

“I gave the order, yes,” Stan acknowledged. “On your eldest daughter.”

Jon was incensed. If he could get out of this bed, he’d very well contemplate strangling the other man. Stan seemed to know it, but considering his personal security guards were standing near the back wall of the hospital room, he also didn’t look worried.

“Why?” Jon asked, genuinely surprised and dismayed. “She’s not a threat.” 

“Soldier Boy kept her for a reason,” Stan pointed out. “She brought him to our doorstep, with the intention of helping him assassinate me…eliminating her was a calculated risk.” 

Jon shook his head.

“But since Noir has failed, we will have to prepare accordingly,” Stan said. 

Jon glared back at him. “You think I’m going to help you?”

“I think you have a job to do,” Stan returned. “It didn’t stop you from breaking your daughter’s ribs, and very nearly her neck.”

Jon faltered, a brief regret weighing his frown. 

“That wasn’t…that was to teach her a lesson.”

Perhaps he’d gone a bit too far, but he’d only been trying to subdue you. To get you to listen to him. But you’d always been stubborn.

Stan broke him from his thoughts.

“I am not being attacked, Jon,” he said. “We are. Your daughter is a part of it.” 

“Marie and Luisa are not. Leave them out of this!” 

Stan merely rose a brow. He folded his hands behind his back and withdrew. He was flanked by his bodyguards as he left the room. 

“Rest up, Jonathan,” he said. “I’ll need you soon enough.”

The master bed was actually pretty comfortable, as you and Ben found out. 

You clung onto his shoulders after both of you were spent. You panted for breath as he held you to him with his solid arms wrapped around your waist. You two were both kneeling, technically, in the middle of the bed.

Your thighs were molded to his hips, and he was still buried deep inside you. But as of yet, you had no reason to move. You were enjoying your vantage point above him, watching him collect himself with closed eyes. 

The simple truth of it was, you’d missed him. 

Even when he was being a stubborn pain in the ass, you hated every moment you had to watch him caged, watching him start to think he may never get out.

Your hands slid around to his back. It allowed you to hold him in more of an embrace as you caught your breath. 

When his eyes opened, you met him with a smile. You slipped your fingers through his sweaty hair. Holding your free hand at the nape of his neck, you pressed your lips above his brow. Then another kiss to his scratchy cheek. His beard had gotten overgrown.

“You need a trim,” you said, letting out a breathy laugh. You kissed his cheek again. Slow, and with purpose. 

Ben let out a sigh through his nose. His eyes closed again at your gentler kisses, your touch. Maybe he reveled in this—being able to hold you back. It felt right. 

If he was honest with himself (and this time, he was), you were somehow able to ease the frayed edges of his mind. Edges that had been starting to unravel in that cell. 

And there were other things too, that he was beginning to realize, but not yet willing to cement in his mind.

So you reluctantly detangled from one another, but remained in bed. The problem was, for whatever closeness you two had just shared��you weren’t quite sure what to do now.

You hesitated to ask him just what the two of you were doing. Mostly because you didn’t want to ruin whatever this was by labeling it. 

So instead, you relaxed against his chest and pulled the blankets over you both. Ben didn’t just tolerate it; he settled a heavy arm across your lower back and over your hip. It made you smile.

“Ben…what do you want from the rest of your life?” you asked. 

You didn’t know what possessed you to ask, but you had to wonder what the end goal was for him, after the issue of Vought was settled. After he presumably kept his end of the deal and retired to South America, or Europe, or wherever he wanted to go, really. 

His hand came up to pet your hair. “I just got some of it.”

You huffed a laugh, hiding your face into his chest for a moment. You couldn’t see it, but Ben grinned at how easy it was to embarrass you, for how wanton he knew you could be.

“Come on, seriously,” you said. 

“Seriously?” he teased. 

“Yes,” you said, despite a giggle.

He let out something of a sigh. Meanwhile, his hand drew lazy patterns up and down your naked back.

“I always thought I had time,” he confessed. “To settle down. Have a family…I actually thought it would be Tess.”

That thought was accompanied by a bitter chuckle. Your brows furrowed in question. 

“Crimson Countess,” he explained. 

“Ah.” You nodded and rested a hand across his lower abs, playing with the thin trail of hair there that led south. He found it strangely soothing, if a hint arousing.

“Was it difficult killing Homelander?” you asked. 

Ben scoffed. “Just chock full of questions tonight, aren’t you?”

You sat up and propped an elbow on his shoulder, so he had to look at you. 

“Not physically. Emotionally,” you said. God forbid you ask him about his man feelings, but you really were curious. 

Ben eyed you with a raised brow.

“I know he wasn’t really your son,” you said. “He was a raging psychopath and needed to go down, but was there a part of you that…was it hard for you?” 

Ben’s mood dimmed as his lips pulled into a frown. “He was a true disappointment. Barely a man.” 

That didn’t quite answer your question, but you thought you could read some of his true feelings on the matter. You didn’t think he regretted killing Homelander. But maybe he mourned the connection he could’ve had with a son. From what he’d said about Crimson Countess, you knew he wanted a real family.

That softened you. You brushed a lock of hair away from his eyes with delicate fingers. 

“He was told he was a god his entire life. That’s what happens,” you said. 

Ben scoffed at that, his gaze cutting away from you. You didn’t know what that meant exactly.  

“And you?” he asked, turning back to you. “What do you want from all this?” 

“Besides my family safe?” you retorted. But then, you considered his words. “I don’t know. I thought I knew who I was before I met you. Now I’m realizing that I can’t control anything in my life.” 

Ben raised your chin, and therefore your face up to him. 

“You can control you. You’ve been doing that since I met you.” His thumb swiped against your lower lip. “Especially this fucking mouth.” 

You smiled. “But you like that though.” 

His lips pulled at amusement, huffing in response. 

“Come on,” you teased. You moved, slipping a leg over to straddle his lap. You delved into his hair with both hands, and he let you tug his head back as he now looked up at you. 

“Admit it,” you said cheekily. “You like my mouth. Talking back to you…on you…and getting you off.” 

All while you spoke, you brushed your lips across his cheek, down his jawline, pressed a nipping kiss along his neck, below his ear. Then you returned to his lips. But you also ground down into his lap, feeling his rising length brush against your wet folds.

He groaned deep as you plied him the way you’d learned to do. And your tongue slipped into his mouth with your next kiss. He gripped your hips tight, wordlessly urging you to lower down into his lap and onto his waiting cock. But you resisted. 

“Say it,” you demanded. 

When he merely smirked, denying you control, you lowered a hand to take a firm hold of his cock. He let out a low hum of pleasure as you pumped him a couple of times, then held him poised at your entrance. 

“I’ll give you what you want,” you said, brushing his lips. “But first, tell me how much you missed this.”

His next breath came out sharp as you squeezed his cock in your hand. You knew you’d find his fingerprints on your hips and ass in the morning, but you didn’t care. Because you were about to fucking win. 

“Fine,” he said, through clenched teeth. “Maybe I’ve been craving this, more than a fix. More than goddamn sleep.” 

Ben’s eyes were dark with lust, and he thumbed at your lower lip. 

“And this fucking mouth. Gets you into all kinds of trouble, baby doll.” 

You smirked and finally sunk on top of him. His cock slid past your folds and bottomed out inside of you, making you shudder and Ben groan in relief. 

You did exactly as you promised. With your hands braced on his shoulders, you moved over him nice and slow. 

Well, nice for you. Torturous for him. 

He cast his head back to the headboard as he fought not to make you move. 

“You’re fuckin’ killing me here,” he growled.

Your mouth curved into a grin. 

“Alert the media,” you said. “We’ve got the ultimate weapon against Soldier Boy: a slow ride on his dick.”

Ben’s rich laugh rumbled out, crinkling his eyes at the corners and making you smile. You felt the impact of his laughter deep inside you, which wasn’t unpleasant. But you had mercy on him and finally picked up the pace. He grabbed a fistful of your hair for leverage while your lovely tits bounced in his face.

Then his fingers slid between you, parting your folds to rub at your clit. It made your hips stutter as you let out a mangled moan. Your inner walls started to tighten around him, earning you another muttered curse. He couldn’t help but thrust up inside you, mostly in time with your movements. 

But he got impatient.

He grabbed your hips tighter and flipped you over, with your thighs wrapped around his hips. 

“The moment I saw you, I knew I’d have you,” he gritted out. “Fuck, just like this.”

You gasped as he pounded deeper inside you. You felt like the bed was going to swallow you up. But you pressed your heels into his lower back and held on for the rest of the ride.

Within moments, Ben spilled into you so hard and fast that it took both of you by surprise. It felt hot and tingling inside you, making you shudder again. 

Thank God for IUDs, you thought. 

And when his fingers found your clit again in time with his last wild thrusts, it was enough to tumble you over along with him.

Afterwards, Ben braced himself on the headboard as a line of sweat dripped down the column of his neck. You grabbed onto his free hand while you caught your breath. His lips tugged at a smirk, his thumb brushing over the back of your hand. 

“And we’re not done,” he said. “Not by a long shot.”

Ben woke to the annoying sound of coffee percolating. A normal man would have slept right through it, but thanks to his sensitive ears, he was up at… 

Christ, it’s 11 in the morning. He noted the digital clock on the nightstand and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He actually slept all night. And all morning. 

Up until recently, that had been impossible. 

He heard puttering in the kitchen, knew it was you because of your soft humming. It drew a smile to his face without him realizing. 

He climbed out of bed, showered, shaved and trimmed off the wilder parts of his beard, and dressed casually with the clothing he found in the closet. Wasn’t a perfect fit, but it would do for now.

This house was also not what he was used to. It was small, and too “suburban dad” for his taste. But he guessed it was better than an underground glass prison cell.

He ventured into the kitchen, where the smell of good food made his mouth water, and the sight of you frying bacon (trying not to get burned by the sparking grease) deepened his grin.

All you wore was his discarded shirt from yesterday, presumably over your underwear as it hung around your thighs, and a pair of slippers you must’ve found in the closet. 

Maybe you heard him coming, because you glanced back over your shoulder and met him with a smile. But it soon edged into a more serious look as you turned and leveled him with your spatula. 

“Okay. I don’t want any smartass remarks,” you warned. “I did make breakfast, because I’m a nice person, but don’t expect this for every meal.” 

Ben raised a wry brow.

“Morning to you too,” he drawled. He rested a hand on your lower back as he looked over your shoulder, surveying the plate of cooling bacon, the pan of scrambled eggs, and the toast ready to be buttered on the counter, next to a jar of strawberry jam. “Looks good.”

You watched him steal a piece of bacon, your lips quirking.

“Is that a thank you?” you asked. 

He purposefully bit into the bacon instead of answering. You gave him a narrowed look, but you were still amused. 

“Even a child can say please and thank you,” you pointed out. 

Ben turned to you then and hooked an arm around your waist, suddenly pulling you tight against him. 

“All right. How about this?” he replied. His head bowed and kissed you thoroughly. He tasted coffee and jam on your tongue. A surprised moan caught in your throat, and you clung to his arms on instinct. Meanwhile, his other hand went to your hip, bunching the material of the stolen shirt.

When he broke from you, he looked down on your somewhat dazed expression and had to temper his smile. He gave you a nice slap on the ass, shocking a yelp out of you. 

You shot him a dry look.

“Is that please, or thank you?” you teased. 

Ben rolled his eyes and kissed you again, trapping you against the counter this time. But he didn’t allow himself to get carried away (yet). He swept back strands of your hair and let his fingers skim across your cheek, feeling your skin warming under his touch. 

He finally settled on brushing his thumb across your bottom lip, meeting your eyes.  

“Thank you,” he said.

It had a deeper meaning, you realized from the gravity of his gaze.

“That fucking bitch probably wanted to put me on ice the second they brought me in,” he said. 

You could only assume he meant Grace. 

“You’re probably the reason that didn’t happen,” he continued. “And that I’m here now.” 

Emotion threatened to choke you, beginning to sting your eyes. You cleared your throat and soothed a hand along his forearm. 

“You made the deal,” you pointed out. Ben shook his head.

“You were right. I want the fucking target off my back, once and for all,” he said. He touched where a smattering of bruises from the car accident colored your temple and part of your cheek with fading purple and yellow.

“But I’m getting it off you too," he said gruffly. "You want a deal? Here it is: no one’s fucking touching you again as long as I’m around.”

Your breath hitched as your heart began to hammer in your chest. You wanted to ask what that meant. You wanted to ask if, maybe, he wanted to be with you. If he…

But you lost your nerve.

“The eggs are gonna get cold,” you said in a coarse whisper. 

Ben smirked. 

“That’s really what you’re fucking worried about?” he asked, shortly before he cut off your would-be reply with a heated kiss. 

Your arms twined around his neck, almost of their own volition. He already had you by the waist, and from there he hefted you effortlessly onto a small clean portion of counter space in the kitchen. His hands burned up your thighs, underneath the overlarge shirt. When he encountered nothing but bare ass, his lips curved against yours. 

“What a naughty girl. You’re out here cooking with no fucking panties on?” 

It was your turn to smirk as you held a hand to his cheek. He did in fact trim the beard. 

��You like that, don’t you?” you remarked. 

His dark chuckle was your answer as he spread your thighs wider. Your breath came out a bit shakier as his hand went smoothly up the inside of your thigh and slipped between your folds. 

“Already wet for me, I see,” he said. His smirk only grew as you whined with pleasure at the invasion of his fingers. First just teasing inside your entrance, working you up. Your grip on his neck tightened, your nails digging into his shoulders. 

“Ben…”

“How many fucking times I gotta tell you to be patient?” 

“Ugh.” You dropped your forehead into the crook of his neck. “You are the worst.” 

His resulting chuckle reverberated in your chest and tingled down into your lower belly. Combined with his teasing, it made your inner walls tighten on nothing from anticipation…until two of his fingers suddenly sunk deep into your heat. You cried out into his ear in surprise. 

“Ben,” you breathed, but it ended on a moan as he finally began to give you what you wanted. His thumb found your clit and circled slowly while he thrust and turned his fingers inside you. You gripped at his hair, holding on tighter and tighter as your walls clenched on his hand. 

“That’s it, baby doll. I gotcha,” he muttered. Though you teased a grunt out of him when you snaked a hand between you to palm at the bulge in his jeans. If he was going to give you a good morning, you’d be sure to return the favor. 

He kept working on you, but with shaking hands you unzipped his pants and aimed to free him from those tight boxer briefs. 

Unfortunately, your cell phone ringing halted both of your plans. It was on the kitchen counter, and it vibrated across the tile next to you. 

Butcher calling…

Both of your heavy breathing accompanied the shrill sound. But when you noticed the caller ID, you gave Ben a rueful look. 

He frowned in annoyance, but he withdrew from you, wiping his hands on a kitchen towel before he grabbed your phone and answered it (even if it took him two or three angry tries on swiping the green button). You put it on speaker. 

“What?” Ben grouched into the phone.

“Apologies for interrupting what I’m sure is a dewy morning after,” Butcher said with all due sarcasm. “We’ve got a lead on Neuman.”

You raised a brow at that. Tugging down your shirt back over your thighs, you answered, “Where is she?”

“She’s giving a speech at NYU this afternoon.”

You frowned. You knew for a fact he hadn’t run that by the whole team. 

“It’s not a good idea to catch her there. Too exposed. Too many people could get caught in the crossfire,” you said. 

“Her next scheduled outing is a fundraiser for the homeless. That any better?” Butcher asked with mock cheer. “At the least the college kiddos won’t be coughing up a lung because their hepatitis A’s on a flare up.”

Ben’s lips twitched at amusement, but your frown only deepened in irritation. 

“You’re unsavory, you know that?” you said, rubbing at your temple. “…Fine. We’ll catch her at the college.” 

“Wasn’t really up for fuckin’ debate,” Butcher replied. “We head out in two hours.”

This isn’t going to be easy, you thought. 

You were teamed up with M.M., Annie, and Hughie on surveillance, sitting in Frenchie’s van on one of the side streets outside the auditorium where Victoria Neuman was giving her speech.   

Kimiko and Frenchie had formed a perimeter with Butcher on the campus. After the speech came to a close, Butcher, M.M., and Frenchie had worked out where Victoria would likely be escorted out to get back to her limo. 

But you forced yourself to take deep breaths. You watched the various camera angles you and M.M. had been able to hook up to the monitors inside the van. On one of the screens was Ben in his full Soldier Boy gear, sans helmet, waiting for his cue.

You felt M.M. glancing at you, and you met his stare. His expression was tight, but mostly stoic. Still, you had a feeling you knew what he was thinking. 

“He can do this,” you said. 

M.M. shook his head and faced the screens. “You think you can fucking change him.”

“No,” you said. “But he just might surprise you.”

You weren’t trying to change him, nor were you trying to free yourself anymore. He’d caught you, in more ways than one. 

Now, you were just trying to help him. And maybe, help yourself. 

“I don’t give a fuck,” M.M. bit out. Annie and Hughie glanced at both of you in thinly veiled concern. You just quirked a humorless smile. 

“I think you do,” you replied. 

“All right, look alive,” Butcher said on the comm. Victoria’s speech was over. She was shepherded off the stage by her bodyguards while the president of NYU got up to make closing remarks. 

She got as far as the hallway leading to the back door of the auditorium before Frenchie and Butcher sniped out her guards. You watched Victoria gasp and flinch at the bullets flying all too close to her. She looked around sharply, but finding no one there, she made a run for the exit. 

That was when Ben ambushed her from the side, grabbing her from behind and shoving her through the door of the next room before she could aim her gaze at any part of him. 

Ben stalked in after her. You adjusted the camera monitors to connect to the science lab they’d burst into. Every muscle in your body tensed as you watched. 

Meanwhile, Ben was wary but not afraid as he kept his shield in front of his face. Victoria raised a hand to a her now bruised arm, but she scrambled in her navy pencil dress and heels to pick herself up. 

She looked up at the supe striding toward her, taking in his head protecting his upper body. So she focused her gaze on his right thigh, making him falter as her power made her eyes roll into her head and blast at his suit. 

The skin underneath was durable though. It felt like a nasty sunburn, one that Ben could ignore. He approached until he could grab her by the hair and turn her face away from him. She cried out, clawing back at his hand. 

He placed his shield onto the holster on his back and got a hold on the back of her neck. He forced her onto her knees while he made her keep looking at the ground. 

“Soldier Boy,” she panted. “Haven’t had the pleasure.”

“Cut the fucking chit-chat. Where the fuck is Stan, that dick tease?”  

He was about to start squeezing his grip, when he was suddenly thrown into the far wall. He fell into a mess of student desks, beakers, and various scientific instruments. 

“Zoe!” he heard Victoria shout. Apparently the woman’s daughter was a supe too. A telekinetic, by the looks of it.

With an angry growl, he picked himself up and shook off the glass from his shoulders. By the time he looked up, Victoria was ushering her daughter out the opposite door. 

Ben ran after them, following them into what seemed to be another classroom. This one was full of students busy taking a test, and a professor grading a large stack of papers. Ben zipped through and ignored the gasps and shocked faces, along with a couple of kids that recognized him and immediately took out their phones. 

He also didn’t care that his elbow knocked the stack of papers to the ground (to the professor’s outrage). 

He bulldozed his way into another empty classroom, where he threw his shield at Victoria’s back. With a cry, she tripped and fell into a desk, and was separated from her daughter.

“Mom!” Zoe cried and reached out for her, but Victoria raised a frantic hand. 

“Stay there!” she shouted back at her. Her attention focused back on Ben. 

She razed at his face and chest with her powers. Ben winced as heat flared across his skin, blistering to the point of second-degree burns on his arm after protecting his face. He strode forward and grabbed her again, this time with a thumb pressing over one eye. 

“You wanna keep your fucking eyes, or you want to tell me where your father is?” he demanded. 

“No!” Zoe shouted. She raised her hands, and a violet glow of energy spread between them. Ben picked up his shield, ready to use it as a projectile against the girl. 

Until your voice sounded in the comm in his ear.

“Go easy, Ben. She’s not the target,” you warned. He hesitated, his lips twisting in annoyance. 

“Zoe,” Victoria warned. His thumb still pressed threateningly against one of her eyes. The other looked up at him, defiant. But her lower lip was trembling. 

“You really want your daughter to be a part of this?” Ben asked darkly. 

You were on pins and needles. While you watched the screen, M.M. glanced at you. 

“We need to do something,” Annie said. She had been antsy the entire time, and when Hughie tried to grab her shoulder, she shrugged him off. 

“We can’t extract the girl without Neuman seeing us,” you said. But you weren’t happy about it. 

Annie gave you an incredulous look. “So you’re okay with that psycho killing a little girl?” 

“Of course not, Annie!” you snapped. “But this is the reality of catching criminals. They rarely go down by themselves.” 

She frowned angrily at you. 

“That sounds like an excuse for murder,” she said. 

There was a tense moment, in which you and Annie stared back at one another. You eventually relented. 

“Okay, go. But stay on standby with Kimiko and Frenchie. They’re outside the classroom, 112B,” you told her. She and Hughie raced out, and you let out a breath while you turned back to the tense scene in front of you. 

“Look, I don’t know where he is,” Victoria said. “We haven’t exactly been on speaking terms.”

“Then get him on the fucking phone,” Ben snapped. 

A tear streamed down her eye, the one that briefly closed, then looked up at him. 

“He’s not a bad man,” she said. “Not…entirely.” 

Ben snorted in response. “Well, aside from trying to replace me with a bullshit knockoff, shipping me off to motherfucking Siberia. He stole from me. My life. And the bitch of the whole bunch, tried to kill me with a fucking clone, with the help of my own DNA. So excuse me if I’m past the fucking point of forgive and forget.” 

“Fine! Fine,” she said, when he started squeezing in earnest. “Let my daughter go, and I’ll help you.” 

Ben glanced up at the girl. She was frightened, with her glowing hands still poised to try and take him out. He still had half a mind to knock her out first. 

“She’s just a kid, Ben. Let her go,” you said in his ear.

After another tense moment, Ben nodded.

Annie burst into the classroom, followed by Butcher, Frenchie, and Kimiko. Annie reached Zoe with a gentle hand on her shoulder, and she shared a look with Victoria. 

“She’ll be okay,” Annie told Victoria, who nodded as more tears slipped down her cheeks. Ben held her firm by the shoulders when Butcher came with a device, no doubt provided by the CIA. It looked like a large metal band that clicked into place around Victoria’s head, covering her eyes. 

Kimiko and Frenchie led her out, while Annie and Hughie did the same for Zoe. Butcher shared an appraising look with Ben, who stared back at him coolly.

Meanwhile, you let out a deep breath. You sat back in your seat and ignored the way M.M. gave you some cursory side-eye. 

Thank Christ that’s over.

Back at Supe Affairs, Victoria gave them addresses to her adoptive father’s known safehouses. Not because they expected to find him there, but because they might find even more material to leverage against him before they attempted to arrest the man. 

 While Butcher and the rest of the team ran down the leads, you and Annie made sure Victoria’s daughter Zoe was put in protective custody, again, with Grace’s help.

Afterwards, Ben was waiting for you in the car that would bring you both back to the safe house. You rode there in silence. 

When you got inside the house and made your way to the bedroom, Ben followed you. It seemed he couldn’t help himself. His arms were crossed, and his face was tight. You waited on him to speak as you started rummaging in the dresser for a shirt and pair of jeans to change into after a shower.  

“I don’t need you yapping in my ear when I’m trying to get shit done,” he said. 

You paused in your search, and you turned to him, raising an incredulous brow. 

“I wasn’t sure if you were going to stick to the plan. Targeted kills only, remember? Zoe wasn’t the target.”

His frown soured. “She hit me first.”

You stared back at him. Then you raised your eyes heavenward, praying for strength. And you let out a breath. 

“She was trying to help her mother, Ben.”

“If you’re grown enough to throw a punch, you’re grown enough to take one,” he argued. 

“You’ve never hit me once,” you pointed out. “Is it different because she’s a supe? Were you really going to kill a child?”

“I never said that,” he said, glaring at you. 

“Would you have killed Ryan too?” you asked.

Ben expelled a sigh of exasperation. “Would you shut up already?” 

“No,” you refused. And you followed him into the living room when he stormed out. “You’re not going to weasel your way out of this. Would you have killed Ryan?”

“I don’t know,” he snapped. “He was Homelander’s fucking kid.”

“And that makes it all right?”

“Yeah, are you gonna say that in a few years? If he turns out just like Homelander, are you going to come crying to me to take him out?”

You glared at him. He was making a valid point you couldn’t refute, but that didn’t change what he was trying to do. 

“You’re unbelievable.” You shook your head and crossed your arms. “You’re actually justifying this.”

“Whether you want to admit it or not, a supe is a supe,” Ben said, raising a finger. “No matter how old they are, they’re a threat.”

“It doesn’t mean a child shouldn’t be protected, Soldier Boy,” you countered. “A life is a life.”

“Hey, if you want to be sanctimonious, good for fucking you,” he shot back. “But don’t tell me how to do my fucking job.”

“I’m asking you to keep your word,” you said. “For both of our sakes.”

That managed to shut him up. With a sigh, you tried to ease up by taking his hand with both of yours, holding it with care. His glove was busted, the skin underneath was red and raw. He allowed it, but he still looked down on you with reserved irritation.

You knew you didn’t have to remind him what breaking Grace’s agreement would mean, for both of you. 

“Just follow the plan,” you implored. “Targeted kills only. No collateral damage.”

After Ben came out of the shower, he went into the bedroom to change with a towel wrapped around his waist.

You were already cleaned up, a messy bun atop your head, wearing a plain shirt and some shorts, and sitting up in the bed with your new laptop. But you subtly watched him move around the room.   

You noticed the burns across his chest. You were still irritated with him, but you couldn’t help it. You set your laptop aside and went to him. 

Ben saw you coming through the large mirror above the dresser. His head turned to you just as you raised a tentative hand near the burns across his chest.

“Does it hurt?” you asked with furrowed brows. Your fingertips were light in touching his chest. 

It did sting, but it wasn’t that bad. 

Still, all Ben said was, “No. They’ll probably be gone in a few hours anyway.”

Your lower lip stuck out a little, like you didn’t quite believe him as you inspected the various burns. 

Ben eyed you. He still couldn’t fucking figure you out. 

He knew you were into him…and evidently, you cared about him. 

Still, you fought him on virtually everything. There were times when you seemed almost disgusted by him, but when he fucked you, you acted like he was the eighth wonder of the world.

Even now, that perfect damn mouth of yours was frowning while your fingers moved delicately over his skin.

“You want some aloe vera?” you asked. 

He knew by your face that you were completely sincere. It made him chuckle. You looked up at him in confusion.

“What’s so funny?”

Not unlike this morning, he picked you up (smirking at your squeal) and set you down on the dresser. His hands rested on your hips while yours laid gently on a non-burnt area of his chest.

“For someone as breakable as you, you seem to be real concerned about me,” he said. “...You’re really not afraid of me, are you?”

Your fingertips ran down his skin, unintentionally raising goosebumps. Though you considered his question with a tilt of your head. 

“Why, are you going to break me?” you teased.

Ben huffed in amusement. His lips drew near yours, hovering but not yet claiming. He wanted you to come to him this time. Wanted you to let him know if this thing, whatever it was between you two, was heading where he thought it was…

And you didn’t disappoint him. 

You reached out and framed his face with both hands, and pulled him into a kiss. For once, neither of you were in a hurry as one languid kiss turned into another. 

Your tongue slipped into his mouth, and he welcomed you with a deep, reverberating hum, along with your thighs slipping around his hips. He took a firm grip of you there, while your fingers carded through his hair. 

“Still not tired of this?” you whispered against his lips. 

He backed off enough to look at you. Really look at you. His brown hair fell above his brows, and as was your habit, you swept some of it out of his eyes. 

You read his answer there without him having to say it in words. 

So you pulled him back in.

AN: 😏 Was their reunion everything you wanted it to be? Let me know in the comments!

(And do you wanna know where we're going next?)

Next Time:

“Good morning,” Stan greeted, raising his mug. “Care for a cup? Perhaps a donut.”

“Still fucking smarmy,” Ben said. He stood in front of the man’s desk, flexing his half-gloved fingers. He glanced up at the walls of this office, this tower in the sky. “We’ve been doing this dance for a long time, you and I.”

“And yet, on entirely different tempos,” Stan replied. “How can I help you, Soldier Boy?”

Keep Reading: PART 15

Special Note:

I'm releasing a new one-shot soon, set in this story-verse called "Love Actually." It's part of @deanwinchesterswitch's Christmas in July fic event running this month!

Go here to check it out and participate (as a writer/artist or a reader)!

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[ilikekidsshows]

I almost feel bad for the Marinette stans that are still fighting tooth and nail to claim that Marinette would never use Adrien's amoks

Like.. guys, what show are you watching? If Marinette knows an option exists, she will eventually justify maxing it out to her advantage. Sure, she wont do it willy-nilly for no reason, but I can easily see it happening that if Adrien were to now want to go back to working in his father's business because he's Gabriel's heir so he can take it over when he's of age to not lose the business his saint of a father built for them

Yeah, Marinette would justify using the amoks against him to change Adrien's mind to wanting to take over her parents' bakery for example because him going back is "wrong" and she knows what's "right". Adrien has no reason anymore to not wanting to go back to working in the Gabriel business. He thinks he owes his dead family to keep their legacy going. Adrien is all that's left of the Agreste's, s5 brought this up several times.

Marinette saying at the end of season 5 that Adrien "doesn't need to be as great as his hero father. She loves him anyway <3 (isn't she such a saint too? ^^)" is nice and well, but she also says that its HIM who decides what his future will be and that is laughably unlikely for Marinette to actually respect. If Adrien makes a big decision she doesn't agree with, she wont respect it. When has she ever?

Adrien has no reason to not decide to be his father's heir again and no way in hell will Marinette give anything resembling to a valid reason against it. She can't, it would require the truth and communication skills she refuses to work on.

I can even see it happening that Marinette will break up with him over this while going "I cant bare watching you do this 😔" hoping that itll make Adrien give in, and if he dares to choose his dead family over her she'll use his amoks "for his own good" cause "what was she supposed to do? 😭"

Or any similar situation. No, she wont do it at any little problem, but saying that Marinette would NEVER do it makes me wonder if these people like canon Marinette at all if they are so in denial about her massively flawed character.

Now, her doing it to CHAT NOIR is a different thing. Pre season 5, she would use his amok in a heart beat and claim its a totally level headed and a phenomenal battle strategy he needs to learn to respect her for. It would be sold as "he trusts her so MUCH uwu" and "she would never hurt him, it cant be abusive 😢"

Thats one of the only good things I can say about season 4 Ladynoir. At least Marinette didnt know Chat Noir is a Sentimonster. Knowing Marinette's disastrous writing in that conflict (she was rewarded for and held to 0 moral standards), she might have even refused to give the amok back to him and taken it with her "for save keeping because shes the guardian and she decided that him having his amok is too dangerous".

She would have raped his mind several times just to avoid any pushback or confrontation. She would have used "kind" phrasing to order him to shut up or to just stand there and do nothing but follow her orders.

She wouldn't have considered Chat's humanity one bit because for her hes already just some magical pet, and would have still only started crying for herself once anything might have asked her to realize what shes doing to him is wrong. Why should this factor cause a development in her that hasn't happened in Canon? Canon Marinette is a selfish leech in her treatment of Chat Noir. He cant have anything or anyone. She will abuse him however she likes, she gives no support back, she forbids him from existing as a real person, shes entirely uninterested in him as a person, she lies and uses him with a smile to prevent him from ever asks anything of her ever again the second even the tiniest consideration was expected of her, and then turns around and plays blameless cause "he didn't tell me 😢 im so pure he just isn't dedicating himself enough to me 😭" once she has to somewhat face that he wasn't treated well.

It is a god send that Marinette doesn't know that Chat Noir is a Sentimonster. Sure, she would show at least SOME restraint for Adrien, but even that has obvious limits once she doesn't agree with the big decisions he will make. But Chat Noir? Lord have mercy on that boy, she already barely allows him any true personhood and treats him like an animal and puppet to abuse, sacrifice, and posses to stroke her ego.

She would abuse the SHIT out of that amok and the show would paint her as "kind" and "loving" or "badass" for doing it over and over and OVER again.

But it's fine, cause she's doing it with love ❤️ and isn't her doing all that to him the proof he needed that she values him cause otherwise she would have long killed him like the goddess of justice she is? 😘

---

Oh, yeah, I have no faith on Marinette’s self control over the Amok if Adrien did something she found “bad” enough that she’d have “no other choice”. I think Adrien's career path would invoke this reaction if she couldn't badger, pressure and hound him into changing his mind first. She'd be crying while she does it about how she doesn't want to but she can't lose Adrien after they've come so far together and we’d be expected to think that yeah, she's totally justified, couldn't Adrien just do whatever Marinette wants because it's so sad when Marinette is upsette.

You're also totally right on how Ladybug would totally be controlling Cat Noir with his Amok if she had the knowledge and access. After all, Cat Noir gets mind controlled so often that it's just an excellent backup plan for Ladybug to have a counter mind control option. And it would be so convenient if she could just will Cat Noir to do what her plan requires instead of telling him to, because now the enemy can't hear her scheme. It's fine, because she's the leader and Cat Noir would follow her lead anyway. There's no moral conundrum here, because she's Ladybug and she decides what good and evil mean!

[yourlowkeyidiot3]

I'm actually gonna write a fucking essay defending ford bcs I'm tired of this fandoms bs I'm actually gonna scream fuck it I'm doing it rn

(It might be because I relate to him and seeing people completely demontise him for things that aren't really his own fault makes me feel terrible but whatever dude)

" He shouldn't had gotten so mad at Stan for ruining his project"

Put yourself in his shoes for a bit. Imagine that, in your whole life, you've been bullied for something that while, yes is abnormal, but also is out of your control, and treated like an outcast and a freak for it, then one day you get the chance to go to your dream college and prove your worth, prove that you are more than just a freak. But you get rejected because turns out, your brother had ruined your project and kept it a secret until it was too late to fix it. Wouldn't you be mad as well? Because if my brother did that to me. I would also be mad, and hell. I might not even want to speak with him ever again in my life.

Yes it was an accident. But Ford didn't know that. Ford thought that Stan had purposely sabotage his only chance at proving himself just so they could stay together.

" He didn't do anything to prevent Stan from getting kicked out"

Do you seriously believe that standing up against an abusive partner is easy? It's not easy to stand up against an abuser for yourself. You think it's easy to do that for another person? You do realise that if he had tried to do that, he likely would also gotten kicked out as well right? Yes Stan didn't deserve that, and yes Stan was 17. But Ford was also 17!

I think I should give a friendly reminder that Filbrick didn't gave a fuck about Ford the same way he didn't gave a fuck about Stan. He only saw Ford as a way to success and make money because he was smart, the same way he saw Stan as just a failure. Ford was the golden child, and Stan was the scapegoat. Both are still abuse.

"He treated Fiddleford terribly"

You also need to consider that it was Bill's fault, and not really Ford's. Ford was a great friend before Bill started to insulating him from Fiddleford. If I remember correctly (god please don't be misremembering things that'd be embarrassing) He went ahead and brought Fiddleford a banjo (or banjo strings I can't remember) after he had arrived in Gravity Falls. He,(the 24/7 workaholic Ford Pines) threw a party for him, when he returned back to Gravity Falls after his argument with his wife. And genuinely he was happy to go on adventures with him. To me it seems like he only started being "a jerk" after Bill started to isolate him from others. And that's kinda the point. That's what Bill was trying to do, he isolated Ford from his best friend, his only friend. So he wouldn't have anyone to help him get away from Bill. He manipulated Ford to think that Fiddleford was against him. That he was untrustworthy and weak.That's what abusers do. You guys are blaming him for something Bill is responsible for.

"He didn't appreciated Fiddlefords gifts!"

Now that's just straight up wrong. He loved Frilliam, it was Bill who had pressured him into getting rid of him, he fucking loved those gloves, him dropping the snowball was an accident because Bill had startled him, (and knowing Bill probably did that purposely just to make him drop that snowball) and ..I feel like there's another thing Fiddleford had gifted Ford and I can't remember what it was oh my god my brain is so stupid why is my memory so bad--

"He was a jerk to Stan after coming out of the portal despite the fact that Stan spent 30 years trying to bring him back"

Have you also considered the reason he was mad at Stan is actually way more understandable than it seems? It's not just because Stan opened the portal when he was about to defeat Bill. It also because Stan had ignored all of his warnings that opening the portal could put entire world in danger. And Ford certainly doesn't consider himself someone worth enough to risk putting the entire world in danger just to save him. And in a way he's right, one person really isn't worth putting the entire world in potential danger. And not to mention: Stan stole his identity and committed a shit ton of crimes under his name! Yes I understand why Stan did it, but I'm pretty sure if we were in Ford's position we'd also be mad!

I mean he shouldn't had punched him , but his anger is understandable.

"He was gonna rob Dipper of Mabel and his future"

Okay I will agree with this one. And yes this is in fact one of his flaws. It would had been bad for Dipper, had he not refused. It was gonna rub him of his future, and it would had been bad for a 12-13 year old for many reasons. But it also wasn't done with malicious intentions. Keep in mind that he hasn't seen another human being in 30 years. He probably just didn't see/understood why it would be bad for Dipper. And as for Mabel? He thought she would be fine on her own. He cares for the kids, he loves them, he would never intentionally do anything that'd hurt them.

"Well he should had known better than to summon Bill"

Oh Christ....where do I begin with this one?

Did you the show you watched, magically didn't have the parts where it's literally shown that he was bullied his entire life for being a freak and that he wanted to show everyone that he wasn't just a freak? Did the show you watched and the books you read magically didn't had every moment where Bill had lied and manipulated him by overflattering him and using his insecurities against him? What you all so call "stroking his ego"? Bill's whole point is that he's terrible, and a master manipulator no one is safe from. Ford wasn't the only victim of Bill's manipulation. Why only blame him? Why are we blaming Bill's victims. And not Bill himself?

"Ford doesn't deserve any friends/his family he deserves no love'

And wow! Just like that you're blocked! Get the fuck out of my blog if you genuinely believe that. You disgust me. You're saying a victim of: bullying, manipulation, abuse and torture. Both physically and psychologically, deserves no love. Are you even hearing yourself? Especially when his character arc is about how he learned to be a better person. And about how he has a family and friends that don't blame nor hate him for his past mistakes and that's all he needed. Yea okay I am sure that he doesn't deserve love and support right.

God whatever. It's not like trying to reason with people who have no media literalicy and the mindsets of victim blamers is gonna get me anywhere

[sokkastyles]

since you have spoken out of turn ONCE AGAIN I, “the stupid Stan” must educate you, the actually stupid Stan

This is one of the more depressing lines in ATLA, because Azula tried to peacefully coexist with Zuko earlier, because she tried to give everything he ever wanted and acted on the premise that it was possible for both siblings to be happy, successful, and equal.  

But as a result Zuko’s actions she’s come to accept the toxic paradigm of sibling competition created by Ozai and accepted by Zuko where the rise of one sibling inevitably means the fall of another, where it is impossible for her to coexist with her brother unless(at the very least) one of them has been violently forced into submission by the other(if it is possible to coexist at all).

You know, Katara runs out into the arena at the Agni Kai just when Zuko is beginning to taunt Azula about lightning. I have zero idea of what was going through her mind.

You know, ever time I think about the final Agni Kai, I’m reminded why I’m terrified that Zuko having Azula under his control post-canon would lead to him abusing her.  I like to think and hope that he’s better than that, but it would absolutely be keeping with the dynamics between the siblings.  Azula shouldn’t have power over Zuko, and Zuko shouldn’t have power over Azula; otherwise things will end poorly

#zuzu stans are retarded

I "spoke out of turn"? You came into my inbox, numbnuts.

Also, poor choice of words unless you're trying to mimic Ozai, which does seem the case considering everything else you've said.

At least you're not making any pretense that this is about protecting disabled people, since you feel very comfortable using an ableist slur, or about feminism, given the other asks you sent me calling me a "stupid bitch." I shouldn't bother with your nonsense but this one is actually really dangerous for the myths about abuse it puts out.

I like to think and hope that he's better than that

Don't lie. You are VERY willing to demonize Zuko and twist the narrative to make it look like he's the abuser. You just aren't very good at it.

Azula DID NOT try to "peacefully coexist" with Zuko, and that claim in and of itself is abuse apologism. Because there is no peaceful coexistence while Zuko is living with Ozai, and Azula not only brought him back there, she would have brought him back there as a prisoner if he hadn't sided with her.

She's not doing him a favor by bringing him back as an ally because she is the reason he was a prisoner in the first place. She's not doing him a favor by telling him to stay away from Iroh because she is also the reason that Iroh is a prisoner. But abusers are actually very invested in creating problems just to convince you that they can provide the only solution. It is literally an abuse tactic. That is what Azula does when she tries to "peacefully coexist" with Zuko. None of this is for Zuko's benefit, but it benefits Azula for Zuko to think it is.

It also benefits Ozai, since Ozai wants Azula to be his golden child and Zuko to take the blame for everything Ozai doesn't approve of. Ozai did not encourage them to fight each other, and he certainly didn't encourage them to compete. It makes no sense that he would, because he does not want Zuko, his scapegoat, to be able to or even think he could compete with his golden child. He doesn't want them to fight each other. He wants Azula to fight Zuko. And Azula wants that, too.

You say that Azula should not have power over Zuko but fail to acknowledge that Azula did have power over Zuko, which is why when she brings him back to his abuser with a heavy dose of "prove you're not a traitor" and the knowledge that if he didn't, he'd be thrown in prison, plus being separated from the one adult who actually cares about his well-being, it isn't a peaceful coexistence. Zuko is not peacefully coexisting, he shows telltale traits of being abused and gaslit, and describes how he feels like he's not himself, feels like he's losing his mind, is angry all the time but can't articulate why. It's because he's being abused.

Azula also has power over Zuko by virtue of being Ozai's golden child who Ozai allowed and encouraged to treat her brother badly. That's another big reason why there is no peaceful coexistence under Ozai's roof. Not because of some general idea that they're in competition or are mutually toxic to each other. That's actually a myth that abusers use to try and control their victims and obfuscate their own culpability.

Oh, there's also the fact that Azula tried to kill Zuko numerous times.

Azula should not be allowed to have power in any capacity and she's shown that she's very capable of manipulating Zuko and others even from the diminished position she is in in the comics, and that is because he wants to help her and makes the mistake of trusting her. Interpreting this as him somehow abusing his power over her is a very deliberate attempt to make the victim seem like the perpetrator.

Also lol at the victim blaming of Katara that is casually thrown in there. Really doesn't help your argument!

[alikat7]

https://www.instagram.com/share/reel/BAIn_rY2Gy

I couldn't fit my reply in an Instagram reply!

I cannot believe how much crap people put on Sebastian that is mostly lies or twisted info. Is he perfect? No. But does he deserve this BS? Hell no. I guess since your whole claim to fame is 'Hurting men's feelings by saying what they did', you probably needed to fluff this up with BS and half truths to be more controversial. I am going to talk about this video and the response comments both.

1. Yes. Actors would avoid the PR with him doing a Trump movie. Trump is about to be one of the most powerful men in the world again and he has been known to be very vindictive of entertainment people portraying him badly. Late night talk show hosts have been threatened with lawsuits for making fun of him. If you're not American, you might not understand. Regular citizens have been attacked verbally and physically for criticizing Trump. MAGA people are violently protective of him. Hollywood has mostly been very vocal against him(including Stan during his term in 2016-2020 and now) so I bet he assumed that everyone reaching out saying how great he was in that role would also be willing to do the Actor on Actor thing. But Hollywood is being quiet about Trump now that he won the election. It's fear. And yes, fear of the bad PR.

2. The whole ex thing - OMG I cannot believe this is still going after 4 yrs! - is BS honestly. People claimed his ex was racist because of the crazy section of his fandom that went back 3+ years on one of her friends Istagrams to find a picture of her in Asian clothes at a party and accused her cultural appropriation. First, she's Spanish. We have no idea if Spain has the same definition of cultural appropriation and if they consider it racist. Even in the US, it wasn't always considered racism. The MET gala had a Chinese theme in 2015, but no one complained about racism. Second - why are fans researching his girlfriends to the point you find a photo on their friends Instagram 3+ yrs before? That's crazy! I bet Sebastian didn't know about that photo until the fans dug it up. Third - if she didn't realize it was considered racist and he asked her about it when the fans brought it up, she could have just admitted to him she made a mistake. Who can say. None of his fans actually know the details of his relationships and should stay out of them. I am not defending anything she did. I am just pointing out that the fans don't know the whole story.

3. Pam & Tommy - Seb was brought into the project by the same man that did I, Tonya. I'm sure he assumed everything was cool since in the past it had been. He met with Tommy, and he was cool with it. Lily couldn't get a meeting with Pam. No one has any idea *when* Seb knew Pam was against it. The public didn't know until Courtney Love claimed Pam was hurt by it. Courtney Love isn't a credible source for anything. She's crazy. But even if she was telling the truth, Sebastian was under contract and filming by then. He can't just back out of projects because he finds out something like that. It wasn't his job to talk to Pam. It was all of the show runners. He knew he had Tommy's blessing. Despite Tommy's future abuse of Pam, he was also a victim in the sex tape release, too. And what is everyone upset he played an abusive man? He's not condoning it. He also played an assassin and a cannibal. Jeff in I, Tonya, was abusive, too. He's not glorifying Tommy. He may have admired Tommy's rock God status (and yes, at one time, he was a rock god), not his treatment of women. I only heard him talk about it being fun with the tattoos, earrings, playing the drums, the total physical transformation, etc. Seb has gone on record many times talking about how they portrayed Pam and Tommy as victims of an unbelievably cruel invasion of their privacy and how it destroyed their relationship and damaged her career. He considered the show an expose of the horrible truth because most people thought they leaked the tape because they sold the rights. I am old enough to remember, and everyone thought Pam & Tommy released it. They were known for being wild, so it wasn't that surprising if they did. Seb and Lily thought it was very pro-Pam, so until they started doing press, they probably didn't know Pam was truly against it, and they hurt her. But Pam didn't even blame Sebastian or Lily. And to be honest, no one got more shit about it than Sebastian. Not the creators, not the show runners or writers, not Lily, not Seth Rogan, no one else dealt with the backlash like Seb. Why? I think it was due to #4.

4. Sebastian has a huge fanbase. He always has, but it got bigger due to Marvel. I read some bad comments here about how he treated his fans. This goes against everything I have heard about actual fan meetings. He's known to be a bit shy, introverted, and quiet at times but has always been kind. Did everyone forget when jumped off a stage at a convention, ran into the audience, and hugged a girl because she was overcome by nerves to ask her question? Or when he heard some fans were outside the hotel at Toronto Film Fest at night so he came down in his PJs to take pics and talk to them? The man stops to talk to kids and dogs all the time. He's a nice guy.

So let's talk about the small, dark, denented section of his fandom - the Anti-Fans. They claim they used to be his fans, but not anymore, yet they still spent hours a day digging for his personal information so they can post online. They post pictures of the outside of the building he lives in, his fathers funeral, personal family photos, photos at friend's houses, his vacation, his address, videos of him as they wait outside his building or his favorite restaurant. They go up to him when he's eating, getting coffee, running, walking out of his building, etc, and wonder why he's polite but obviously not thrilled about the encounter. But then he's 'horrible to his fans'. They write long essays about him being problematic with twisted facts and lies. Sometimes, they just make shit up, which later ends up in the permanent record of why he's problematic. They list things he's done wrong and either ignore any apology he made or just say it doesn't count. He never has to apologize, but he does because he actually cares about offending or hurting people. And you know when these anti-fans come out in force? When he has a girlfriend! How odd. They rip every girlfriend to shreds and then say Sebastian is horrible if he defends them. But they also claim every girlfriend is PR. According to them, Sebastian has never had a real girlfriend - only PR girlfriends. A gorgeous actor who is single, funny, and kind, but yet he never has a real relationship that doesn't include a contract? What deluded world are you living in??  And of course, every one of these antifans claims to know about the 'business' enough to know the signs of a PR girlfriend. Every good-looking actor is supposedly in a PR relationship according to these people, even the married ones with kids! But I have questions - why does Sebastian need PR? And he would be more appealing to female fans if he were single. His current girlfriend is a successful actress on her own (and don't bother saying she's not as successful as him because it's impossible to compare). But neither of them need the PR of a relationship. And when you consider how private they have been for 2 yrs, how is it PUBLIC relations??? Most of the pics of them are taken from someone else's Instagram(a friend of a friend of a sister's friend of their agent's brother-in-law's cousin, etc. Seriously, how do you people have the time to cyber stalk to that degree?) or paparazzi pics. Including pics of them on vacation with her parents. A trip with the fam - kinda extreme for a PR relationship! Whether it's real or PR, what does it matter? He's never going to be your man, so stop trying to ruin his life by harassing his GF. You loved her when she replaced the Spanish GF, but then you realized it was serious and started tearing her apart. It's plain jealous, spoiled bitch behavior. "If I can't have him, no one should." It's nauseating. Reality check here - whether he stays with this GF or finds a new one. he will NEVER be your man.

See also:  Parasocial interaction (PSI) refers to a kind of psychological relationship experienced by an audience in their mediated encounters with performers in the mass media, particularly on television and on online platforms.

If you really care about Sebastian, stop analyzing every pic of him with his GF for signs of unhappiness, and just leave them alone to be happy. Its none of your business whether they are happy, or if it's PR, or if she meets with your approval. Sebastian is a grown man who can handle his own love life all by himself.

5. I saw a few posts about him being an asshole on set to the crew. Elizabeth Olsen once said Sebastian hangs out with the crew more than the cast. The crew always raves about him. I just saw a video the other day where a cew member from The Devil All The Time who said he gave $200-300 to each of the lowest paid crew members. God, what a monster!

This type of fuckery is what drove him off social media. When he sorta called out his fans recently, it was after years of abuse from these so-called fans. And if you weren't one doing it, why be offended? It wasn't directed at you. Everyone has their breaking point. When you think about all the fan interaction he used have on Insta like his cute videos, it's truly heartbreaking that these anti-fans drove him away. And they criticize his lack of fan interaction?

The only thing about Sebastian that is truly problematic is part of his fanbase, who are so entitled that they aren't happy unless they spend most of their time trying to destroy his reputation.

If he truly offends you, hit him where it hurts. Stop watching his movies. Stop contributing to his income. Act like he's irrelevant by not even discussing him. And let the real fans enjoy his work in peace.

Oh, and BTW, if you spent hours a day stalking him and his gf's friends and coworkers' Instagrams because he's so problematic, you are kidding yourself - you're obsessed with him. You're a fan.

[mikeellee]

Hi, in the lieu of the lastest chapter of MHA I want to do a post bc ...I almost fall on the mistake to respond the izu hate vitrol

To all the stans of shig and LoV, please, if you have to hate a person for what befall on Shig ...hate Afo or hori (NO DEATH THREATS! HE IS NOT IMMUNE TO CRITICISM BUT HATE AND CRITICISM ARENT THE SAME) but not Izu!

Take a wild guess who is blamed for all Shig did? Izuku Midoriya ofc.

And is bizarre how you lot are ready to jump on the Izu hate when he is, canonically, the only one who wanted to save shig...who btw doesn't deserve an ounce of consideration from Izu. Shig is undeveloped (to be fair, Izu is too. But if you guys call him deku knowing it means useless, then please let's all call Shig the dark deku bc he is a broken doll who can only destroy)

Shiga has show, canonically, he doesn't value any life. He is a terrible leader, he is immature and knew afo was manipulating him and went along (guys all I cited here is pure canon)

I talked to @bibibbon about this and like what would even be Shig's plan here? He knew afo was manipulating him....so he was waiting for an opening ....in the worst time possible?

This legit makes me think of Aizen and Ichimaru from Bleach. To summarize: Ichimaru decided to betray Aizen ....when Aizen was in god form. Poor choice, poor plan indeed

(was Hori copying Tite Kubo? Maybe?)

Also...Shig is hella inconsistent. He hates am bc........

I don't know. He just does.

"Afo groomed him"

Yes and no. Grooming would imply he spend time with shig, and what is showed is how...afo tossed shig aside, communication happened, ofc, but it was via phone or cameras....why?

Actually why afo even has shig as "heir"? The plan since day 1 was to take shig's sexy body? Ok then why toss him aside.

I don't think Afo groomed shig, per se, it was more coaxing him to the worst conclusion....and shig says yes.

At the end of the day, while we can blame afo ... shig's actions are his.

Now onto Izu. Izu who values himself so little ...he went to save Shig bc anyone is worthy saving but him ...and you lot think this is normal or smth to mock Izu. Izu lost his quirk and arms (yes, he got it back) to save a man ...he barely knows. Everyone wanted to kill him and they are right. Gran Torino is right here and yet...Izu tried....but Shig failed himself.

"I'm destruction" He says.

Izu tried to save a monster.

And the monster choose death.

The only plotline Hori gave to Izu ....and he failed. Please be mad at the author for his abysmal incompetency here. The moment shig accepted afo he was extra doomed.

Abd even if in the next chapter Shig is brought back....what good this will give? He will rot in prison.

"this is Izu's fault" no. He is so innocent here it's ridiculous.

(wanted to post here the "how many times do we have to teach this lesson old man" from Bob sponge bc is a meme that fits Izu perfectly )

Shiga is the one to fail himself.

Shiga is TENKO...but he is not that cute kid anymore.

And "change society" no one in class A1 or Izu had the mind to make commentary about society bc well...society would stop existing thanks to Shig and LoV.

Do I need to say again? Izu is innocent here.

"he looks cold at shig" my guy, they are strangers...not long lost brothers (or lovers but we have fics for that) they are strangers and ...considering all unnecessary shit shig did...izu was being way kinder.

[maxdibert]

Hello! :)

I saw a post of yours where you mentioned liking Itachi, so I assumed you also like or are at least interested in the anime. That made me really curious about your opinion on Sasuke and Sakura, both as individual characters and as a couple. Do you think they’re good characters or a good couple?

Yeah, I mean, I wouldn't consider myself an otaku, but I do like a lot of anime. I'm not an expert and I haven't seen all the anime you're 'supposed' to watch, but I've seen quite a few :D

I love Sakura and I'm a Sakura stan. I think Kishimoto, in general, writes his female characters terribly, and most of them are pretty disappointing, but well, that's something common in shonen, and it’s not like a feminist complaint is going to change much about it. But I think that since Sakura is the most relevant female character, she's also the one who gets the most appreciation in terms of evolution and development. I really like that throughout the story she finds her own path, becomes a super strong kunoichi, and ends up being a total badass. I mean, Sakura is a character I started by really disliking because I always thought her reasons for breaking up with Ino were total bullshit, and there’s nothing that pisses me off more in a dynamic between women than fighting over a guy who’s not worth anything, but little by little, she matured and grew on me, and honestly, she ended up - along with Ino, actually - becoming one of my favorite characters in the whole series because, in general, most of the main characters in Naruto are pretty insufferable to me.

On the other hand, I really can’t stand Sasuke. I think he's egocentric and quite flat compared to the others. Although I think my dislike for him doesn’t come from the character itself but from Naruto’s insistence on going after him again and again like he’s some kind of messiah who needs to be brought back to the path, when Sasuke knew exactly what he was doing when he left, and he was fully aware of the decisions he was making and why. I think it’s pretty obvious he was one of Kishimoto’s favorites, and he tries to force people to see him as a badass, outcast, super anti-hero, but in the end, he’s just a brat with issues like all his peers and even his senseis, with the only exception being that he thinks he’s the only one with serious problems. I mean, literally the vast majority of the characters in that manga are seriously traumatized; he’s not the only one who’s messed up, but he is the only one who thinks his problems are more special or important than anyone else’s. I don’t know, sorry, I just can’t stand him.

Personally, I’ve always been pretty anti-SasuSaku because it seems like a very mismatched relationship based on Sakura’s teenage obsession, which is already annoying from the start. Then the fact that Sasuke doesn’t pay any attention to her throughout the entire story, I mean, Sakura always seems like the third wheel in the dynamic between Naruto and Sasuke, not part of that dynamic. Also, Sasuke treats her like crap on so many occasions and doesn’t value her as a kunoichi until way at the end. They seem like a forced couple to me, but honestly, all the pairings at the end of Naruto, except for Temari and Shikamaru, seem like a huge mess, and for me, all that Boruto stuff doesn’t exist and shouldn’t have ever existed. I mean, I deny that reality exists, sorry, but I just can't.

[lover-of-mine]

Personally, I like Tommy as a character, and I’m okay with BT for the time being, though I don’t really ship it. The biggest feature Tommy brought to the table this season was to make Buck realize he’s bi. But you could have replaced him with any random guy and I would have been just as happy about it.

My biggest issue is the toxicity from the BT stans. As in, I don’t appreciate being called a homophobe for thinking that the daddy-kink comment was out of place at the dinner date.

Look, we’re all part of the same fandom and if it makes you happy, go smash your Barbie doll’s faces together. Have fun with it. I support you 100%.

But the fact of the matter is that up until now, most of the things relating to Tommy come from head canons and Lou’s cameos. There isn’t much in the source material to go by. Mostly because he didn’t get a lot of screentime, and the writing of the scenes he’s been in, has been questionable. It’s not a very realistic show so why couldn’t they dress Tommy up for the bachelor party? It would have meant the world to Buck. (Oh, but guess who suggested matching outfits because he cares a whole lot about him?)

Yet, people are out here celebrating these two like it’s the most romantic thing since sliced bread. It’s jarring to see, how many people - especially former Buddie stans - jumped ships at the first opportunity they got. I don’t know if it’s a thing of instant gratification of having Buck in a queer relationship canonically or something else, but I don’t like it. The whole thing makes me worry, the show runners will change course to cater to the BT supporters and push for BT endgame. That would be the least satisfying ending to both Buck’s and Eddie’s story.

I will be honest with you, I think most of my dislike of Tommy comes from the way I am being called names because of him all season, it kinda kills a character's chances when the following of them gets so aggressive, he aggravates me more because of the way fandom treats him than because of anything he did this season because he was barely there this season beyond showing Buck he's bi, like you said. The fandom created this version of him and his relationship with Buck that's not backed by canon, because his scenes lack depth and the writers are not helping him at all and the way people flipped is actually disconcerting. Especially with how willing they are to attack everyone who doesn't agree they are the best thing to ever grace their television. But honestly, considering the way that buddie was still very much present and very much displaying the partnership and love they always had, I still think Tommy is a stepping stone that they are dragging out because it gave them better publicity that they were expecting. Buddie was the only thing that was handled carefully in both Buck and Eddie's storylines the whole season, they know the potential they have there, so I will keep the hope that they'll let this story unfold in a satisfying way. And yeah, it would be extremely unsatisfying to see Buck end up with Tommy with the way Buck was constructed and I like to believe they were way too careful with the construction of Buck in the love interest archetype to fumble the pass in the 2 yard line (I know that's not a saying but my brain is in football mode for some reason bear with me) and not give Buck the conclusion of that when they have been building Eddie in the way to fight that archetype by giving Buck someone who just loves him. And because no one they introduce for Eddie is gonna feel as satisfying as Buck with the way they kept playing up the way Buck is Eddie's life partner. And Buck is quite literally the only thing the show is allowing Eddie to keep. It would be unsatisfying to watch them end up with other people and that was very clearly exemplified by the season 6 finale and the way their ending were very 😬😬 yk? I have faith we will get there.

[void-occupation]

Don't mind me, just gotta put a little theory about gravity falls out into the world now that it's been revived

WARNING: minor Book of Bill spoilers

So in the BoB and the 3rd journal, Ford mentions that he needs to destroy the journals, but turns back on it because of "the importance of his research". However, he could have just torn out the pages about summoning Bill and the portal and burned those, and the rest of his research would have been safe

So why didn't he?

You could argue that it was because he couldn't reason through his growing paranoia and admittedly delusional state, and that is valid considering everything Bill was putting him through at that point - but it also would have been one of the first things to cross his mind, right??? He'd already said that he was planning to dismantle the portal, but was putting it off for some reason - again, something that didn't make any sense considering how terrified he was that Bill would be able to start it up again.

In the BoB, it talks about how Bill tormented Ford to try to get him to open the portal again - physical, psychological, and emotional torture on top of very real threats and gaslighting. There was also a point where Bill showed Ford that he could take full control of Ford's brain, turning off memories (such as his own name) at will, and Ford would be completely unable to tell that the memories were gone until Bill brought it up

So, here's my theory: Bill knew that Ford was planning to burn the journals/the pages about the portal, which were his only chance to enter the third dimension. He couldn't let that happen, so he fucked around in Ford's head - planted a few ideas, erased a plan or two, and suddenly, Ford was much more concerned about his research surviving than he was a couple hours ago. Concerned to the point that he wanted to hide his journals rather than destroy them. Basically, Ford being so protective of his research was due to more of Bill's manipulations in his mind that he never found out about. It's the only reason I could think of about why he went from 100% ready to burn the journals to being willing to physically attack Stan for trying to do just that

Anyways, that's all, figured I should get my theory out in the world now that canon actually backs it up a bit more than before BoB came out

[horizon-verizon]

I still find it hilarious how even after they made Jon a Targ in GOT and butchered Daenerys’ character to prop him up as some “male leader we all needed ”; it’s only Daenerys who is brought up in the spinoff about Targs. If I was a Jon bro I’d be mad asf. Now his story ended with him being back at the wall while his brother is king and no one, not even HBO cares about him being a Targ while the “mad queen” he killed off is still relevant and extremely popular. It really shows that they regretted killing her off and realized the only way they gon be able to pay the bills is to get a show about her family AND show her. They were reminded on who really people were watching the show for.

And not just a show bout her family but the dragons as well like they knew exactly what they needed to do and they giving us another adaption about her family like watch A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms have another vision with Daenerys in it (it better be from Daeron the Drunken, “someday the dragons will return. My brother Daeron’s dreamed of it”). Notice how her ancestors dreamed of Daenerys and not about Jon. She IS the prince that was promised.

Yuuuup. I'm sorry, but even with Jon's dad being a Targ AND the political problems the reveal of such would present, I just can't concieve Jon as a "Targ" the way I can with Dany even though she has a lot of differences from her ancestors (she has some important similarities). He's too Stark. Do I think he'd possibly still press for a claim or that it's a possibility that has strong legs, yes (under the context of Targ men almost always disfavoring or disabling their female relatives for power). But his personhood derives more from his Stark lineage than the one he only dreamed to mirror Daeron I. A lot of young noble Westerosi boys had Targ inspirations bc they were important historical figures that literally changed so much of Westeros and the family ruled for about 200 years.

I am also aware that within the universe/Westeros itself, yes by many people's estimation or desires, he would be considered a Targ bastard or--somehow but I think highly unlikely, it turns out Rhaegar married Lyanna and somehow this is ruled a true polygamous marriage even though this has never been really socially incorporated and accepted since Maegor--a legitimate Targ princeling. Doesn't mean he's got a Targ "character", you know?

You'd think certain Stark and Jon stans would love that, but no you got angry people upset that a man is not the center of the universe and the prime hero so they are willing to "dilute" his Starkness or at least "halve" or make it share his personhood to emphasize the supposedly evil Targs. Ha.

This is why sexism, racism, and xenophobia gets us nowhere. You see you own stats, see how most of your audience responds more to the woman of the tale, see how the entire story revolves around her saving the world through her kindness and and you decide that, no actually, we can afford to kill her off and be blind to the fact that we've severely diminished the emotional and logical value of all our next ASoIaF projects...for why, sir?

[cheese-ducks]

TWRP ORIGINS

Chapter 8: It Is Revealed That He Has No Plan

Main master list

Previous chapter Next chapter

(Warnings: descriptions of anxiety)

Sung stood menacingly above his bed like a sleep paralysis demon. He looked slightly uncanny, his face completely visible for the first time since they'd met. His eye sockets were dark voids with a white slit in place of a sclera, his ears were slightly bigger and pointed upwards. Jack quickly acclimated himself with Sung's inhuman features as he noticed similarities between them. Slim figure, messy brown hair, Sung was kind of right about them looking alike. That wasn't important right now but he'd noticed nonetheless.

"What do you mean 'what have I done to you'? You were the one giving me amnesia!" He couldn't believe Sung had the nerve to ask him that. Although, to be fair, it was Sung's first time sharing a vessel too.

"And did you look like that the whole time?" He added.

"Yes, of course I have!" Sung shouted, completely exasperated, like Jack was the first night he experienced possession symptoms. "And what I mean is you somehow made me nervous while we were busking tonight! How? Why?" 

"Dude, I get nervous doing most things." Jack defensively retorted. "I'm just pretty good at hiding it." 

"Doth my nubs bequeath me? You never brought that up when we discussed the game plan!" His audacity stained every word as he pointed at Jack.

"I didn't think it'd be a problem!" 

While trying to recall exactly what was discussed that night, Jack suddenly remembered a crucial detail he hadn't thought about since it happened. 

"And while we're on shit we never brought up on game plan night did you ever actually get my notebook pages back from Stan?" 

"What notebook pages?" Sung asked innocently. 

Jack took a deep breath upon hearing the careless response. Freaking out would not help right now.

"The pages with my song in it! Y'know the one with the stupid title?" Sung still looked clueless.

"The thing you gave to my brother, like the day after you possessed me?" 

Sung made a low humming sound like he was trying to remember it. 

"Strange, it's not coming to me, perhaps you need to be a bit more specific." 

Was he messing with him? He couldn't have forgotten about that so easily, considering how eager he was to show it to Stan in the first place. 

"Maybe it's 'stupid title' will jog my memory. What was it called again?" Sung's eyes darted around the room, trying not to give away his intentions. 

"Dude, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Just tell me what you did with it." 

"Must I repeat myself further? I told you I have no clue! I'm going to need more information than that." His laughter made Jack even more suspicious, but it was equally likely Sung just forgot. After all his memory was naturally garbage. Jack's cheeks turned a slight red as he let out a long sigh, knowing he'd have to play along and utter the embarrassing title. 

"It's the one with the synthesizer bass line, one actual lyric, there's like a million layers to it, there's that break in the middle for a small drum solo..." 

He'd walked right into it. Sung was eagerly waiting, his hand crudely covering up a sly smile. There was no turning back now.

"It's called 'The No Pants Dance'." 

"Thank you!" Said Sung, grinning with pride as he retrieved the papers from under Jack's bed. "Of course I got it back after I realized you were unhappy with it, but I must admit the shame at such a fun track is uncalled for and confusing to say the least." 

Jack snatched it from Sung's fingerless gloves and safely returned them to one out of a pile of notebooks he had scattered across his desk.

"Getting back on track, maybe if I wasn't blacked out I wouldn't be subconsciously giving you second hand anxiety." 

"And what do you suppose we do about that?" Sung asked, not so subtlety eyeing the stack of notebooks. Jack immediately leaned against the desk, effectively blocking Sung's view and hopefully curtailing his fascination.

"Couldn't we just do what we did today but in reverse? Like, I could be in your head while you have the vessel?" 

Sung was very apprehensive about the suggestion. 

"I'm unsure. Humans are quite fragile and I wouldn't want to inadvertently harm you in any unforseen way."

Even though Sung was just being considerate, he didn't like to be referred to as fragile.

"However, I have underestimated you before. I didn't think you'd be able to handle consciously sharing the vessel today, and you somehow gave me prolonged fear during our performance." Sung was thinking out loud at this point, weighing the options  and evidence. It was looking more possible by the second.

"We might just be able to do that."

At that moment they both realized the game plan wasn't as thorough as it should've been. Due to their general inexperience with each other and their particular situation, they hadn't actually made a full plan. Neither of them knew what to do, so even though it slightly terrified Jack, they were content to throw ideas at the wall and see what stuck. 

.........................................................................

It was hard to describe. He saw everything through Sung's eyes, all three of them. It felt like he was having a really vivid dream. The kind of dream you have no control over, yet you're still aware that it's a dream. It was completely surreal being a passenger in his own body. 

"Where are we headed again?" Jack asked, unsure how he did because he didn't have access to his mouth at the moment. 

"To the High Top Express, my personal spaceship." Was this the same ship that crashed into the woods, or had he gotten another ship here?  He figured it was the crashed ship. If Sung had gotten a functional space ship here, it would have made national news. 

"It's been through hell and back, but it's never been out of commission for long, which is honestly pretty shocking considering that incident on the Communitas." 

Jack shuddered thinking of what he could have possibly meant by that, but the fear was quickly replaced with confusion as to how he shuddered. He saw a light in the distance, growing brighter and brighter as Sung walked through the forest. He recognized it as the ship as they approached it. It was less on fire than it was the last time he saw it. They'd obviously been fixing it since the crash-land. Sung stopped in front of the hatch like door as he grabbed the handle. 

"Are you sure about this, human?" Sung asked cautiously.

"For the millionth time, my name is Jack" he paused before answering the question. Was he? He was never really sure about anything, about his songs, about his nerves, about his life. Strangely, he didn't feel like that right now. There was more than the nerves now. There were exciting possibilities, new adventures to be had, and a familiar core of optimism. For the first time in his life, he was ready. 

"I don't think I've ever been more sure." 

[velvetblunders]

I'M PISSED HENRY FISCHER NEVER CAME BACK UP AGAIN

Joint Custody showed pararrels between Jeff and Stan and their parents and showing the different ways it affected Jeff and Stan's life and considering this realization was the first time Stan was genuinely nice to him i hate that they never developed that fact

Like they both have horrible dads but didn't really realize how awful they were till sometime after they came back into their lives. Stan looked up to his dad Jack heavily and aspired to be like him, and carrying over a lot of his beliefs and loving his dad even after he left. His aspiration motivated him to join the CIA and he wounded up successful in life but it turned him into a shitty human being and left him dead inside from all his time working with the CIA Jeff also looked up to his dad and never recognized he was a bad person till the end of Joint Custody, only instead of trying to be like him he has 0 life plans at all and spends all his time stoned out in his van. Objectively he's failed more at life then Stan but unlike Stan, Jeff is actually happy despite his shitty living situation and his shitty father. Stan even directly brings up that he's impressed (or some other word, I forgot what the exact word was) that Jeff remains so happy and upbeat despite his dad being so awful

and then it's NEVER BROUGHT UP AGAIN

Actually that might be part of why Stan has such a big distain of Jeff, he's been raised with the idea that you're a failure of a man if you can't be successful and provide for a family so seeing Jeff, a man who isn't that, but still way more happy and content with everything then Stan is confuses him and might even make him jealous

[gleefullypolin]

Stacy's Tipsy Musings: Battle of the Stans Round 2 Penelope

We are back for round 2 of Stacy's Tipsy Musings: Battle of the Stans Version

Yes you heard me, it's when one side of the ship screams louder than the other about a certain opinion. Well I wanted to tear those opinions up one by one and see what a Polin Stan thought about it.

Disclaimer: This is all in good fun, I'm not trying to start a real fight here! These are just personal opinions that I feel come from one side and should really be looked at from the middle more. Peace love and shipping!

Round 1: Penelope| Colin

On to Round 2

Penelope Stans Round 2:

Why can’t you just get over it and accept her?

This one baffles me. The argument is from Pen’s stans is that Colin’s love was not enough for her because he could not immediately forgive her and accept lady Whistledown and instead ruined their wedding and made Pen suffer needlessly while he pouted and raged over it like a child.

Ok so this one bugs me a lot because the argument usually goes hand in hand with the same people being ok with Eloise being angry for a year over the same revelation, yet it’s not ok that Colin was angry for a couple of weeks. Le Sigh!

So, let’s go back to what happened. Pen did not get the chance, nor did she make the time before she was caught, to tell Colin herself that she was Whistledown. Now to be fair, I did not expect her to tell him herself since the books didn’t do this either. But she had the opportunity. Multiple opportunities to do so. El tried to force her hand through blackmail, then El told her not to do tell him to protect herself and sort of her brother. Either way, Pen should have done more talking and less listening to El’s advice which was only there to serve El’s own purpose and was not there to actually help Pen.

Either way, Pen did not communicate with Colin and thus he found out about it himself.

Now close your eyes! Imagine the person you love and trust most in your life. Someone who you are about to dedicate yourself to. Now imagine something that hurt you greatly in your past. Then imagine you find out that the person you trusted is connected to that hurt, that they lied and deceived you for years with that lie.

It changes how you see that person, right? However, Colin never lost his love for Pen. The conversation between Kate and Anthony shows that he didn’t. He responded that it didn’t change how he feels for her.

He was however lost and confused on many things. He’s upset with who she is, he’s wondering if he truly knows her, what and why she has written what she did, and his own jealousy over her success.

Colin was just finding his purpose, Pen brought him a new dream. Writing. And yet now he thinks she was just playing with him! Colin saw her as this adorable girl musing about his writing, and then he finds out she’s a famous writer. Suddenly so much of his understanding of Pen changed.

It wasn’t just a tiny white lie; it was everything he thought he knew. Now put them in Regency times when an unmarried man and woman can’t just sit down in a room and talk it out. They are literally stuck alone with their thoughts right before their wedding. He is lost adrift, and his closest friend isn’t who he thought she was. This is the person he would have gone to with an issue like this, but he can’t because she is the issue, and she is no longer who he thought she was.

And we blame him for not just immediately being ok, for not immediately accepting everything about the situation. But El was fine to be angry and sulking in her feels for a year? Considering that what Pen wrote about her was due to the QUEEN OF ENGLAND coming after her and she knew that. Please make that make sense to me.

Polin Fan Knockout Punch: Colin was appropriately upset and took his time to come around to his feelings. Pen gave him grace and space to work through them. Yes, she got tired of waiting, hence her leaving him to pout like a child on the day of Fran’s wedding. Even Pen had her limits, God bless her. But at the end of the day, they were married and worked it out and Colin accepted her completely as LW and Pen, he was proud of her and did not set limitations on their love. He was unconditional on his love of her when he came around to his acceptance. He deserved his time, and she gave it to him, which is what marriage is about. And we are lucky we have a couple who understand that.

[acourtofthought]

Hi! Hru? I hope you had/ having a good day so far<3

I was reading some Elucien scenes (as one does ofc) and I have the genuine belief that Rhys is 100% Elucien Stan... Well maybe I'm a little exaggerating lmao but for real he's so on Lucien team and it shows.

And I feel like is mostly bc he's been in Lucien's place (sort of) and knows how it feels to not have your mate by your side and being completely oblivious (or in Elain's case acting oblivious) about the bond and try to pursue someone else. And one of the reasons he stopped Azriel was this very reason, he didn't want another Feyre/Tamlin situation happen to Lucien.

I know that he brought some valid points about his court safety and wanting to avoid them but those feels like they're just there to stop Azriel and pulling rank was to make him see some sense and get him out of the fog of lust and stupidity as he said it in his pov that make him stop on his track bc Rhys never does that.

Bc if you think about it Rhys wants his family to get to their HEA like he did. He cares about them sm. I mean wouldn't he find a way to help Elain and Azriel to be together bc he knows they would be happy and in love?

But no he knows Az feeling on the matter and he knows him better than anyone else and dare I say better than Az himself? lol

Back to Lucien's case, even tho he has some problems with him for valid reasons he would never wants for anyone to be in this position not unless Elain objects on the matter. And that's the point Elain hasn't rejected nor says anything about accepting it. She only said that she doesn't want a male therefore Azriel is also on the things she doesn't want lmao.

So it seems even Elain is confused and lost as Azriel so ofc they subconsciously seek each other. Bc let's be real if they were in the right head space they wouldn't go as far to kiss while Lucien is in the same house, they wouldn't even chose each other. And let's not forget Azriel is obsessed with mating bond and I wonder if he ever thought about what he would do if he ends up with Elain AND find his mate as well (I mean he thought about Cauldron being wrong to believing he won't get a mate... like dude you clearly have some serious problem😭)

Yeah so we have Rhys as Elucien leader and Nesta as Gwynriel leader and that would result in Rhys and Nesta brotp and that's what I live for haha :D

You bring up such good points. Rhys has often gone about things in the wrong way but outside of that, all he really wants is his loved wants to be happy. He is often willing to sacrifice himself for their happiness. He was willing to sacrifice his own happiness if it meant Feyre could be happy. In ACOWAR, Rhys had no real reason to care for Lucien or consider him an ally as he did in SF yet he still spoke to Lucien's loyalty when Feyre asked if he thought he and Elain matched. Even in ACOFAS, we see that Lucien is still not Rhys's favorite person ever so why in SF would he put Lucien's own happiness above Azriel's, his own brother if he knew Elain was what made him happy? If Rhys was going to allow Feyre to be with Tamlin who wasn't her mate then there's no reason to think he would stand in the way of Elain and Az being together if that's what made them happy UNLESS he knew deep down that they really didn't want one another. I think it is a first love kind of mentality that believes "no one can understand the kind of love we share" and "they just don't get us" where the older you get, you start to realize that our friends and family (the friends and family we love, not the toxic kind) actually can see when someone isn't right for us. Rhys probably went a bit overboard in his reaction but it doesn't change that it's clear to him that his brother was not thinking rationally and he was about to do something for all the wrong reasons. Some readers want to yell and cry about how mean Rhys was but I think what they're forgetting is that Rhys has been Az's brother for over 500 years and if he is coming down with an iron fist, having to pull rank which he RARELY does (Az's own words), it's more than likely there's a good reason for his behavior rather than going the route of thinking he's wrongly standing in the way of two lovers who want to be together.