#and this includes the villain stans too

[gojosbf]

don't ask a jjk fan who their fave character is because it'd be either someone dead or someone soon to be dead

[raventrigonsdaughter]

Ok i finished that mouthwashing or whatever the name is game that my fruends recommended .eand that i was seeing all over twitter and tumblr and even tiktok on the rare moments i open it... Why so many of u fucjing weirdos like jimmy... and it's not in a "well written villain" way either some of you fucks are genuinely making fanart about him as a uwu baby and about him and curly wth is wrong with u people

"It's just a game character" absolutely and he happens to be a rapist and all i have seen before even playing this game is non ironic fanart of this fucker and people completly ignoring the victims of the story

Cool game tho, thanks for the friends who said i should play it

[leikeliscomet]

(Reposting from twitter)

My POV as a Black fan that thinks Dot and Bubble's racism commentary is trash

Rewatched Dot and Bubble and I'm gonna break down from my POV as a Black fan why this episode didn't work for me & why it's an awful racism commentary. Long arse post incoming:

The whole "You should've noticed the cast was all white except for fifteen ha your bias is showing" doesn't work for a show that's been predominantly white for 60+ years. D&B casting has been the default for most of the show so its not abnormal enough to be a racial litmus test. An example is the Matt Smith era The only reoccurring character of colour in s5 (2+ appearances) is Liz 10. Artie n Angie in s7. 0 in s6. RTD's own era isn't fully safe either. For many eps Martha or Mickey are the *only* Black characters. Most POC are side characters or extras.

White fans should be aware of the predominantly white casting of the show but this late in the game feels cheap. Most of the show has gone through 100% white episodes including fan faves and it was never an issue back then bc it was beneficial. This is so hollow. Representing racists as cartoon caricatures SEVERLY underestimates the danger of white supremacy irl. White supremacy is system designed and constructed and rebranded over centuries. It is not accidental. People aren't racist bc they don't know they're racist because they *do* They know the system that oppresses POC, Black people especially, benefits them socially and financially and that is why they participate. Its not stupidity it's intention. That should've been the Finetime core not Lindy goofing around bc the arrows are gone or some shit.

Human Nature showed us racist young people that exercised this power bc they knew this. They may be children but they are still dangerous bc of their views. Martha knew this. The silly tech obsessed gen z angle erases this danger and that of actual gen z white supremacy

Instead of the camp goofy tone we could've gotten a serious focused episode. The slugs and millenial/gen z social media silly distracts from what could've been the main theme of colonisation instead of saving it for 10 mins of exposition at the end & scattering microaggressions. Saving Fifteen's racism scene for a goofy episode was a horrid idea. Spending 30 mins on representing racism as silliness then giving a dramatic dangerous score is the definition of tonal whiplash. Representing his oppressor as a blonde bimbo again does not take this seriously. Fifteen went to 1960s BRITAIN & got through it unscathed. Finetime is a fictional futuristic land but the racism of 1960s Britain was real. If anytime was right it could've been Devil's Chord. Distancing yourself from a panto villain is easy but addressing your history is hard.

The scene itself is incredibly performed so I'll give Ncuti his flowers but what he used this skill for could've been so much more. Having his FIRST SCENE begging to save a racist is disgusting. It isn't Black people's responsibility to show compassion to people that want us dead. Yes the Doctor helps the baddies bc they care. But they're aren't ignorant to prejudice. The liberal anti racism of who is so jarring and why I still think Thin Ice is performative. When white people are angry at injustice it's radical. When it's Black people we're aggressive.

Respectability politics is a tool of white supremacy. That if one pleads and is nice enough they can earn liberation. What would white fans think of Fifteen if he DIDN'T beg Lindy? If your allyship with Black people depends on showing kindness to racists you are NOT an ally.

Next up is Ricky. It was established ALL Finetime citizens have white supremacist views yet Ricky September stans refuse to see him in any negative light. Just like Joan Redfern white dw fans refuse to see racism if a character is likeable. If nice guy Ricky's a racist, then anyone no matter the niceness can be racist too and that's a pill white fans aren't ready to swallow. If racism is systemic and not about individual character, then what's keeping them safe? What happens when YOU are under the microscope.

THIS is why we NEED Black writers in Doctor Who. The nuances, depth and complexity of the Black experience can only be told at it's best by Black creatives and not guessed, assumed or spoken over by white fans and white writers. It's okay to put ego aside and say you don't get it.

"Im white but I loved the Doctor's reaction" "I'm white and i thought the racism commentary was great" "I'm white but i-" Yet again, we have to sit through another round of white and non Black fans of colour dictating Black representation for us. I'm so fucking tired man. AGAIN IM YELLING FROM MY HILLTOP TO WATCH SHOWS BY BLACK WRITERS. Almost EVERY single theme in Dot and Bubble and frankly most of the show has been done WAY better in other media. RTD is not the authority on Black stories. We are. Always have been and always will.

Tl;dr Dot and Bubble is an unserious and tacky racism commentary. It's core message is drowned by more RTD Who camp. Don't tell me this episode was good at representating my own experience. It wasn't. S15 having Black writers isn't a need it's a must. Goodbye.

Reblog this version pls

[ckret2]

What’s ur favorite GF character you almost never see mention/art of?

Lately as I've been digging more into Gideon's character in order to write him, I've actually been getting genuinely fond of that kid.

There's a lot to work with! He's the season 1 main villain and the villain with the most appearances, he does real magic, he's right on the cusp of forming a full cult around his fake magic, he's been earning his family's money since age 9 at least, he bonds with Mabel because they both like beautiful sparkly things—there's a side to him that vibes HARD with Mabel that she felt too that gets buried when he romance zones her, and it's a huge loss for both of them—he had the exact same "found a Journal and got obsessed with its magical/paranormal secrets and went to extremes trying to dig to the bottom of this mystery" story as Dipper but we never SEE that story because it's all offscreen and that's a WILD plotline for a kid coded as (Raised To Act Like) A Good Little Conservative Christian Boy, he's as much Ford's indirect protégé-in-absentia as Dipper was,like, he has nearly as much to flip out about re: the Ford reveal as the actual Mystery Shack household does, he's the only other person in town who understands the gravity of that, AND HE'S ALSO Stan's nemesis, which is WILD, they BOTH look goofy for considering the other their nemesis—he's summoned and betrayed Bill Cipher TWICE and lived to tell the tale, he went to WHOLE ADULT JAIL as a TEN YEAR OLD and formed a BIKER GANG that follows him just because they adore him and he brightens up their lives... There is so much! Going on with this kid! He's SUCH a fun & fascinating character, he can be an interesting foil to ALL the Pines in different ways and he's got the second deepest relationship with the main villain out of the whole cast just in terms of how much we can assume they interacted with each other...

But for a main villain and one of the most frequent recurring characters, Gideon gets next to no fandom attention. When I search his tag, nearly every post is about the whole ensemble cast with Gideon just happening to be included too; i can scroll for pages and only see 2 or 3 posts that are actually about GIDEON.

I'm assuming it's because he's chubby and has a goofy pompadour.

[rebelumbrella46]

Things I Will NEVER Forgive the Writers of The Umbrella Academy For

Klaus Comic's powers: Klaus’s powers have so much untapped potential that it's frustrating to see them remain stagnant throughout the series. From communing with the dead to briefly mastering telekinesis, Klaus’s abilities are unique and powerful, yet the writers never fully explored or expanded on them. Despite his growth as a character, his powers largely stayed the same, it’s especially disappointing considering how pivotal his powers could be to the group’s success.

The Sparrows’ Minimal Impact: The introduction of the Sparrow Academy was highly anticipated, but many fans were disappointed with how little they ultimately contributed to the story. Their potential as compelling antagonists or allies felt underdeveloped.

Ben’s Underuse and Departure

Allison’s Character Arc in Season 3

The Handling of Luther and Allison’s Relationship

Not bringing Sloane back for season 4.

The Lack of Villains Worthy of the Heroes' Stories, such as those from the comics like The Murder Magician, Doctor Terminal, or The Perseus Corporation

Hargreeves' Advanced Inventions: Sir Reginald Hargreeves is a brilliant inventor and scientist. He develops a range of advanced technologies, including weapons, gadgets, and enhancements that the Academy members use. His inventions often have a retro-futuristic design, blending old-school aesthetics with advanced capabilities.

No Pogo and Grace in S4

The Unmemorable New Characters in S4: These characters added little to the overall story and failed to make a lasting impact. Their inclusion felt unnecessary and detracted from the focus on the main cast.

The Whole Jennifer Storyline: The extensive focus on Jennifer in the last season felt like a waste of time. Her character wasn't compelling enough to justify the attention she received, and so much narrative energy was spent on her when more critical storylines could have been explored.

Abigail was actually interesting, but we didn't get so enough of her.

Lila and Five... just... WTF was that?

No Delores...

No Sparrows...

No Umbrella Ben! (THIS IS UNFORGIVABLE)

No Little Girl On The Bike in S4.

No Ray...

No Dave...

No Stan...

Diego and Lila...

Everyone Forgiving Allison Way Too Quickly Without Accountability

No Gerard Way cameos.

No Ben and Klaus this last season...

Only six episodes in S4.

Merging The Hotel Oblivion and The Sparrow Academy storylines into one season.

No commission?

No explanation for the subway station?

No dance sequence?

No White Violin?

The ending...

Feel free to add more things...

[ahsokasupremacy]

Alright, here are my Top Ten funniest guesses (+1 that I bet nobody ELSE will guess) for who Inquisitor Marrok actually is!

You are most welcome to correct me or let me know who YOU think is most probable.

And just to challenge myself, I’m NOT putting Ezra. Because that would be too obvious.

1. Barriss Offee

I’m serious when I say that this is probably the most likely.

We know that she is a very important character in Ahsoka’s life, the writers could be trying to mislead us into thinking that the Force User is a man when really we have no confirmation that they are. Plus Dave Filoni has said in interviews that he refused to have the character make cameos just because he wanted to save her for later. Also, many people already speculated that Barriss became an Inquisitor after Order 66, explaining the double-sided Inquisitor lightsaber.

2. Darth Maul

Their build is a little too skinny for Darth Maul, and also wow, he must really be getting up there. And also, he died in Rebels. But when has that really ever stopped Disney from resurrecting him? I just think they should keep bringing him back. For the bit. I want the opening scroll for the upcoming Daisy Ridley movie to contain the words “Somehow, Darth Maul returned…”

3. Bo Katan

I highly doubt this because her character arc on the Mandalorian is already concluded, but I can kinda see her doing this as like, a side gig. Homegirl is probably broke from paying off Mandalore’s restoration fees. She’s not a Force User unfortunately, but when has that ever stopped her? I like to believe that Bo Katan simply woke up one day and decided to be Force Sensitive and it all kinda worked out for her somehow.

4. Lux Bonteri

If this is the option David Filoni is going with, BOOO. Yet another character who isn’t Force Sensitive. If you really think about it, Dave Filoni probably wants to include someone with an important history with Ahsoka, someone close to her that she held dear and that betrayed her and that she still has lingering feelings for.

Well actually that person is Barriss, and yknow, she kinda went MIA. Sooo the next best thing we could get is Lux, I guess!

5. Anakin (Force Ghost)

Daaaad, what are you doing here?

Well, the ghosts of Obi-Wan and Yoda told him to fuck off and get a job. So here he is. He’s putting in the work! He’s logging onto his Zoom! Ahsoka is gonna be sooo surprised when he finally takes off the mask and reveals it was him along. Just you wait! It’s gonna be so funny!

6. Korkie Kryze

Now we’re really starting to get big brained here.

In Legends, we have Jacen Solo. In the sequels, we have Kylo Ren.

But in the Brand New Republic era? Hark, a new villain arises. Korkie is embittered about being left behind and forgotten by his biological parents, Satine and Obi-Wan. And now he is out for revenge against all the Force Users and Mandalorians who abandoned him. Mwahahaha. We should’ve known he would turn out like this, he’s a ginger after all.

7. Ventress

This would technically make Dark Disciple non-canon? But I don't think Dave Filoni cares, considering he hilariously made the Ahsoka novel non-canon. Ventress is obviously very powerful and capable of dual-wielding and she would make a great candidate for an Inquisitor. Plus her and Morgan Elsbeth are both former Nightsisters so points for rapport.

8. Anakin’s Evil Clone

Hey, I mean Palpatine HAD to start somewhere, right? He didn’t just create Snoke without practice. I like to think he tried making a second Anakin at first, only to discover that Clonakin was a huge pain in the ass and doesn’t wanna follow orders just sit on the couch all day eating the space equivalent of Hot Cheetos.

9. Cal Kestis but he’s evil now

This one pretty much goes against everything we know about Cal but hey, I’ll take a live action Cal cameo any day now. I’ve been on the frontlines defending my babygirl Anakin since day one, don’t even try to lecture me about the ethics of stanning Darksider Cal.

9. Mara Jade

OK no more messing around!! I'm serious this time!

EVERYONE LISTEN CLOSELY!

I think the reason why Dave hasn't made any references to Eli, or Ar'alani, or Vahnya must be because he grew up on the 80s Legends trilogy (not the canon trilogy). Whenever Thrawn is mentioned, there is a direct reference to Heir to the Empire. The same novel where Mara Jade is introduced as the Hand of the Emperor. Coincidence? I think not! Obviously, this must be part of Dave Filoni's master plan to softlaunch the upcoming top secret Thrawn series adaptation.

10. Starkiller

My only real proof is that his name (Marek, Marrok) kinda sounds similar?

Making Starkiller canon would create a whole bunch of problems for the Star Wars timeline. I think his origin story is too Mary Sue-y for even Dave Filoni to try and integrate into current canon.

However, it would be interesting to see a showdown between Anakin's two former apprentices. Interesting, but unlikely.

And finally, for my last guess, I will tell you exactly who Marrok REALLY is. Kathleen Kennedy told me personally, so don't get mad at me! She said it, not me!

11. Luuke (the clone Palpatine made out of Luke's dismembered hand)

This is the ONLY correct answer.

Us Timothy Zahn enjoyers know that this was really Luuke all along. I told you, Snoke isn't the first clone that Palpatine made! I imagine he had a lot of downtime and got bored and decided to fuck around, and that's how we got Luuke.

And yes, I would cast Sebastian Stan to play him because I'm petty AF.

[corporatefrog]

꒦‧₊ ꒷ HEADCANNONS: team stan reacting to yn being in the hospital✧.*

✧.* tags: superhero au, college au

✧.* Characters: stan marsh, kyle broflovski, kenny mccromick, butters stotch

a/n: i ran into a bit of a wall with team craig but i'm going to give it another go tomorrow!

masterlist

Stan:

You send him a text saying you won’t be at the next dnd session because your in the hospital with a broken rib 

Straight up just says “I’m sorry”

Nothing else. He doesn’t know how to talk to people. 

You saw him dealing with kenny dying, he does NOT know what to say

He’s freaking the fuck out though irl. Are you okay? What if you aren’t okay? What is he going to do if you aren’t okay?

He comes to visit you when you tell Kenny and Kyle and they DRAG him into the room

He got you a giant fucking basket of random stuff that doesn’t really apply to you but you appreciate it nonetheless

“Are there any broken rib vitamins in here?”

“Those are a thing? I didn’t realize they made those. I can go grab some right now-”

“I fucking with you, dude. Thank you for the basket :)”

Kenny: 

You’re talking to him normally, chatting about your day

Then he asks if you want to get pizza, smoke, and watch Rango

“Oh sorry, I’m in the hospital rn so probably not tonight"

"WHAT???"

"yeah my bus was hit by the stampede of cows from the villain attack yesterday"

You get no response

But that’s because 5 minutes later, kenny is standing in the doorway of your hospital room with a slushie from 7/11 in hand

It was the only thing he thought to get you (because who doesn’t love a slushie?)

You’ve got a few bruises and a hairline fracture on your ankle but Kenny acts like you are on death’s door

“Just don’t go towards the light” 

“If you really thought I was dying, you should’ve brought me more than slushie.”

“Should I have brought 2 slushies?”

Becomes your personal errand boy until you’ve recovered. 

Hungry? He’s got your grocery list and a recipe printed out for breakfast, lunch, and dinner

Bored? Time for a movie marathon.

Need help with class? He’s dragging kyle down the hall for whatever you may need. 

Butters:

He was there when you got hurt because you were trying to film a fight and the coon miscalculated his landing spot, landing on a bunch of trash cans and sending a lid hurtling towards you

Obviously as butters, he’d rush over and help you 

But he was PROFESSOR CHAOS

And what is more chaotic than a civilian being included in the battle? 

But this wasn’t any civilian, it was YOU 

And he’ll ground HIMSELF if he lets someone get away with hurting you >:(

He’d shout out a “TIME OUT” which mainly just confuses everyone (as any agent of chaos would do)

But it’s enough time for him to grab you and run away from the fight to his LAIR OF CHAOS where general disarray is able to give you a check up

After working with chaos for a few years, general disarray realized there needed to be someone with medical training so he took a few courses at the community center and now he’s on his way to being a registered nurse! 

Doesn’t stop apologizing even though you tell him it wasn’t his fault. 

Takes all of his stuffed animals from his bed and brings them over to you so you’re not alone while you wait for Disarray to give you the go ahead to go home 

Kyle

Probably asking why you weren’t in class and you tell him you’re in the hospital

Thinks it’s a joke at first 

But you send him a picture of you hooked up to the heart monitor

The coon had used you as a human shield during a fight with a villain and you ended up getting hit with an energy blast by Solar Flare (bebe’s supervillain persona hehe)

He calls you instantly

“I’m going to kill him.”

“Don’t kill him, kyle”

“Too late. I'm killing him. This is too fucking far.”

“Aw you care 🙂”

“No i just needed a reason to finally put that fucker in the ground.”

“Oh sure, just be mean to the person hooked up to fucking life support”

“YOU'RE ON LIFE SUPPORT?!”

“No, I just wanted to see how you’d react.”

“When i’m done killing cartman, you’re next.”

Spoiler alert: he was joking. 

He brings you flowers and a sudoku probably 

And the notes from the class you missed like the absolute king he is

Talks to the doctor when you get discharged and basically becomes a live-in nurse

“The doctor said you need to limit your screen time while you recover. Do your crossword instead” 

Okay fucking MOM

Just kidding it’s sweet

[justcallmeremus]

Do you all think I sleep? HA NO

Witch Au that I do in fact plan on making more content including fleshing out the world properly and I’ve only drawn Mabel so far…

But Basically:

Same ole Gravity Falls with the twist that the Pines family are descendants of witches (not the same ones from the Boiling Isles/Owl House I know I know I’m a villain) and magic is focused in Gravity Falls.

Ford studied not only the creatures of Gravity falls but also worked to hone his magic (cough with the help of Bill cough)

Ford still gets sucked into the portal and then with Stan staying at the Mystery Shack he discovers his magically abilities (:0) but he doesn’t focus on refining them mostly like a sorcerer in DND with like wild magic.

Ooookay I’ve yapped for too long, if you have questions about the world ask!! I love talking about my aus…

ANYWAYS here’s Witch!Mabel

[kimberlyannharts]

So Darkest Hour is over, the MMPR main series has wrapped, so what do we do now? We......check out the adventures of this team led by a giant polar bear? Sure!

It's Power Rangers Infinity!

= For those who haven't seen the previews: our main character, Lola! She's cute, I like her a lot; even if admittedly BOOM has really been dishing out the Green Ranger girls one after another lately. (As for her last name being Navarro.....put in a pin in that for a second. Unfortunately it doesn't go where you might think it goes.)

= Obviously there's no way to prove it but moments like this kiiiiiind of feel like this was written back when BOOM figured they were finished with the PR license. It's a little too on the nose

= GIRL YOU LOOK SO GOOD

= Though I am a little annoyed because her lines here about looking for Lola for a long time made me think my theory that she was targeting her because she was related to Tyler/Shelby (or Poisandra just THOUGHT she was) was real. Unfortunately Lola's last name being Navarro isn't at all relevant (she targets Lola because she overhears that she writes PR fanfiction, so she wants Lola to make a weak team she can beat, it's a whole thing) so I guess in the end it was just an Easter Egg. I guess it's not too much of a surprise as this is set in "our" world rather than the Dino Charge world, but still, if you were going out of your way to pit a Dino Charge villain against a main character with the same last name as a Dino Charge character, you'd think that was leading up to something

= Group shot of the team! Along with the names, since I kind of skimmed my first reading and didn't retain them kjkdjf

= Also I just noticed Braylee's visor is shaped like a megaphone. That's cute

= Unfortunately the Poisandra Stan Society skipped out on PMC 2024. I totally would have gotten a picture with them otherwise

= Obviously as this is a one-shot book making gags out of the concept of "unlikely character archetypes as Power Rangers" the Infinity team members don't have the most complex personalities, but it's vital for you to know that the Pink Ranger, Penelope Prescott, is a lesbian. Anyway hot bear time

= I literally went into this book thinking the polar bear (Coach Kumo) would end up being a joke one-note "haha is that an ANIMAL as a ranger??" a la Yale but he actually ended up being my favorite character so uh. Yeah. Power Rangers Infinity did the whole "animal ranger" thing better than the main series. Make of that what you will

= And a look at the other teams. And okay, I'm just going to come out and say it; we did canonically have a pirate team in the show. I KNOW THEY DIDN'T DO PIRATE STUFF BUT I DON'T CARE, THEY STILL EXISTED, IT'S NOT AS OUTLANDISH AS THE HOCKEY BEAR UNIVERSE

= I do have to admit, for as much as this book tries to joke about how Poisandra isn't a threat and can't find a team weak enough for her to defeat, they're pretty casually talking about how she's basically committing mass genocide. Like their teams/universes are literally dead. I think that counts as beating them

= Proud of the book for not calling them "Paisley Force"

= your uber is here

= Anyway actual worst part of this book is it implies Poisandra took out Curio too which SHE WOULD NEVER DO!!!!!!! THAT IS HER BESTIE!!!!!!! Sledge getting her this ship is 100% in-character though

= Poisandra has committed mass murder and kidnapping but nothing compares to the evil of committing Lola to the path of customer service

= Still a better Green Ranger reveal than M/tt

= This silly one-shot parody comic sure has a lot of death in it

= speaking of death:

= MORE ONSCREEN DEATH THAN DARKEST HOUR IN THE ONE-SHOT GOOFY PARODY COMIC I'M GOING INSANE

= This is sweet and everything, but it kinda takes me back to how members of this fandom would uhhhh kinda harass the writers and BOOM about including their own ideas in the comic. (And the actors too. Firsthand witness to that at PMC 2024!) So to all up and coming writers and artists: please keep your submissions and pitches to professional settings

= see you, space cowboy...................

[naetaesarya]

Why do people in this fandom think the ending of the story is supposed to be miserable and nihilistic? Why do they think it’s supposed to be such a terrible ending? Then again… in the books hope and unity are always a consistent theme while the show just made everything gritty and dark and “everyone will always be torn apart”

Well, everyone in the show will be torn apart unless you're Sansa Stark 🫠

I think the feeling that the ending of ASOIAF will be miserable and nihilistic comes from the tone of the series, which is quite dark and miserable. It's not a straight good vs. evil or light vs. dark. Instead, it contains many shades of grey and the morality isn't really clear cut in many situations. Additionally, it's not a happy series. That said, there are moments of levity, love, and light amongst the massive pits of darkness though and GRRM has promised a bittersweet ending:

I think you need to have some hope… we all yearn for happy endings in a sense. Myself, I’m attracted to the bittersweet ending. People ask me how Game of Thrones is gonna end, and I’m not gonna tell them… but I always say to expect something bittersweet in the end. You can’t just fulfill a quest and then pretend life is perfect.

GRRM for Time, 2015

I think that's reflective of what GRRM says when it comes to his heroes:

With great power comes great responsibility, Stan Lee once wrote. Spidey's credo articulates the basic premise of every superhero universe, including ours. But Lord Acton wrote that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. The tension between those two truths is where the drama comes in. My own heroes are the dreamers, those men and women who tried to make the world a better place than when they found it, whether in small ways or great ones. Some succeeded, some failed, most had mixed results... but it is the effort that's heroic, as I see it. Win or lose, I admire those who fight the good fight.

Source

We may not succeed, we may fail at some things, we may be imperfect, but the important thing is that we've tried... and when it comes to the future, we do need to have hope or otherwise, it's difficult to justify continuing to go forward.

Now, that does bring me to something I saw recently in the fandom regarding bittersweet and I've sadly seen it before... ----------

----------

"She" being Dany of course. No, I highly doubt GRRM means that the "bitter" of "bittersweet" will all be down to shit happening to Dany and to Dany alone (being sexually deceived, used, and exploited before she is murdered by Jon who, apparently, gets to "have his cake and eat it too") while the "sweet" will come from all the good happening to Starks. Convenient. Since when does GRRM write like that? Rewards blatantly villainous actions with no consequences?

It is for the characters to experience and question these emotions, not the readers? That's... literally how and where the story takes place.

Yikes. But that's what I think, that's where I think people believe the bitter ending comes from -- the dark tone the series generally has. I think GRRM is striving to mirror people and situations in real life or how he sees/imagines real life. Hope is an important factor.

[edenfenixblogs]

I think that the user who made this post is lacking reading comprehension as to me it looks like Netanyahu is just saying that he wants security controls in place which if we go by the Wikipedia article for security controls, is just tighter security. The article in that post also doesn't include his full statement which adds context.

This article has his whole statement

what are your thoughts on this?

Idk what article or post you’re talking about.

I don’t like or trust Netanyahu. I do not believe anything he says. He’s Israel’s version of Trump. Idk what exactly he wants more control of but based solely on this post it seems like he’s offering to end the war by placing more security and checkpoints around Palestine.

My thoughts on that are that people not dying is better than people dying. But that’s too low a bar. Palestinians deserve better than just “not being under siege.” The steps must be in the direction of increasing freedom, not limiting it further.

This is what I’ve been talking about for months while people have been busy trying to compare me to a Nazi for saying I don’t want Jews to die or be expelled.

The only proper way to behave right now is to actively discuss what a future where both Israelis and Palestinians live together in peace should look like and then taking steps to ensure that future.

If we don’t do that, then Netanyahu will get his wish: tighter controls around Palestine, increased tension between Palestine and Israel, a guarantee that enough discontented Palestinians will look to organizations like Hamas for a solution to their oppression only to end up endangered between a terrorist organization and a hostile Likud-run government that stays in power by casting them as inherently vicious villains.

So, idk man. I can’t know for certain that I have any of this right. I’m just going off context clues cuz I refuse to look it up. Why do I refuse to look it up? Because I’d give myself an 85% chance of being right about what Netanyahu is proposing. Because he’s predictable and a bad person and a bad leader whose only goal is to weaponize both Jewish and Palestinian trauma to retain his own power.

This, even more than the personal attacks from antisemites, is what has bothered me most about western leftist “support” for Palestine during this most recent flair of the conflict. By focusing on attacking Jews around the world and stanning terrorist organizations and ignoring Jewish people and Israelis and even Muslims and Palestinians and Arabs who are and have been actively engaged in working towards peace and against Netanyahu for literal decades they have all but ensured that the most reasonable and informed voices have been effectively silenced. And you know who’s gonna fill that power vacuum? Netanyahu. Cuz it’s what he does.

And then the next time this happens, because it will, we will have to all live through this (or fault to live through it) again.

So, do I get a gold star friends? If I’m wrong I’ll delete this post. But man just the idea of Netanyahu proposing tighter security makes my blood boil. He knows what he’s doing. And it’s bad.

I hope I’m wrong. I hope I’ve misinterpreted something. And I will look it up further. But before I do, I genuinely want to know: is that asshole really that predictable? Did the entire western left literally just fall for his whole schtick and end up helping him to concentrate even more power? Did it work because it relied upon people hating Jews more than they trust Jews or love Palestinians? Cuz it feels like that’s what’s happening.

In the meantime, A Land for All is a solution worth actually discussing. Let’s all work toward that or another equally mutually beneficial solution to this conflict instead of helping Hamas gain adherents and helping Likud retain power:

https://www.alandforall.org/english/?d=ltr

[myobsessionsspace]

He could never have been a villain, never anything but the greatest hero, leader, man on the show…

no matter how you word it

Now I don’t usually post much on Rick Grimes alone, cos Queen Michonne takes up all of my heart. This is Danai & Michonne (and Richonne) stan Space FIRST💅…

BUT I stan Richonne and can stan them DOWN because one half of Richonne is WORTHY of Michonne.

Second to Michonne, Rick is my favourite character. Why am I lying it’s their unborn baby(s) conceived during TOWL ep 4😜

Rick was the ‘officer friendly’ the ‘by the book’ family man, didn’t lose his temper with his wife to the point that THAT annoyed her, loved his son inside out and sideways. Did his job with everything and took a bvllet for it.

In the new world, though many bumps along the way, people he butted heads with, power plays, differences had with words and fists. Ultimately this man took charge and led people, protected people, sometimes from themselves and NOT by preying on the week, selling them out or culling them. NOT by lying and backstabbing, siding with the bigger bad, imposing a tax and enforcing a rule by fear, follow my rules or die by my hand, violence against any and all.

remember how and why Dwight’s face ended up that way 😑 why the women are dressed and distressed, why the doctor was there and what happened next? Why we even sweated The Saviors for too damn long?! The plain difference between what someone chooses to do and what they do when they have no choice or what they chose to do because they feel it must be done.

No, RICK GRIMES stuck his neck out for people he knew for days, weeks or months. He would do for someone he met a week ago the same as someone he’d known for years.

Pillow talk after risking their necks to helps several communities survive including people that tried to take their lives and their community

He protected and loved a child as his own, protected and loved the wife that created said child with his BEST FRIEND & PARTNER. Some wouldn’t, many wouldn’t.

Along the way he turned strangers to family, protected himself and others with everything he had in him. Used his bare hands and mouth to the end lives of those trying to end his and his loved ones.

Never once gave up on his children, after every antagonist that he encountered he they took a little more from him, broke him a little more, the last even took him from his family for YEARS, left him physically disabled trying to be with his family.

Rick Grimes may have blood on his hands, HIS INCLUDED, but it has always been to protect or defend his family, protect or defend those that couldn’t. He started out as a Sheriff’s Deputy and ended up a Survivor. The only person that he ever can be compared to as the other side of the same coin is the other half of his heart, Michonne.

No other character man or woman, dead or alive, on the show or a spin off, a protagonist or antagonist can rightly and justifiably claim that.

different leaders then RICK flaws and all

It’s impossible to make Rick Grimes into a villain, to liken him to one, because at his core Rick Grimes is just a loving father, a loving husband, partner and friend, a protector and a survivor. NOT at the cost of others but for the benefit of others. He puts others first each and every time.

That’s why his character is THE main character. Why he is one of the most loved characters active or not and why his & Michonne’s continued story is THE MOST SUCCESSFUL ❤️‍🔥

[feministsouthpark]

South Park Filler Guide - Season 5

Link for Season 1  Link for Season 2 Link for Season 3 Link for Season 4

I find the existence of filler guides quite amusing, since for some shows it makes sense (like Naruto), but for others (like Pokemon) it absolutely doesn’t and they still exist. So here is an attempt to do an absolutely unnecessary one just for fun. 😅

The classifications are CANON (an episode with major storylines present), LORE (in which we get significant backstory or world building, but could be skippable)  and FILLER (completely skippable episodic storytelling, not connected to overarching story arcs)

PLS my analysis will have spoilers, if you’re a first time viewer, just scroll to the bottom and read the list and only read full text if you are familiar with the content of the show already! S5E1 Scott Tenorman Must Die is CANON

It is an important episode, it develops Eric and morphs him into a new role, kind of a villain origin story. Also, yes, this is not a mistake, this IS the intended season premiere. It aired as episode 4, but it is earlier by production code.

S5E2 It Hits The Fan is FILLER

Curse words now have an origin story. S5E3 Cripple Fight is CANON

This is how Stan, Kenny, Eric, Butters and Timmy first met Jimmy. Butters also slowly but surely emerges as a major character. S5E4 Super Best Friends is CANON

Be aware, this is very canon, despite some sites pulling it for... Being culturally inclusive? Oh no, I posted a drawing of Muhammad, hope I don't get cancelled. S5E5 Terrance and Phillip: Behind the Blow is LORE

If you for some reason really like these two, this one episode helps you get how Terrance has put on weight, since he will be seen in later episodes more plump than before.

S5E6 Cartmanland is FILLER

This is one of the episodes in which we see Kyle and Eric being universally opposed forces. But other than that it's just cementing the status quo.

S5E7 Proper Condom Use is CANON

Because of Diane and Mr. Mackey side-plot which kinda has further consequences, not really, but it's a red herring for a cause of death.

S5E8 Towelie is CANON

Only because Towelie will be back and otherwise you can't really explain him existing. S5E9 Osama Bin Laden has Farty Pants is FILLER

It was important to US citizens, but basically nonexistent in the further South Park lore. S5E10 How to Eat with Your Butt is FILLER

It's a great Eric episode that also helped Jimmy to come to the foreground, but other than that the events aren't important.

S5E11 The Entity is CANON

Because of Kyle. No, not the Broflovski kid, Kyle 2. I mean Kyle 1, the OG. He will be back.

S5E12 Here Comes the Neighborhood is FILLER

Tolkien gets an episode, the whole thing is like a Peanuts special, it's great. Overall it doesn't account to much and Tolkien will have time to shine later too.

S5E13 Kenny Dies is CANON

Obvious. One of the main characters die. I won't tell you who it is, but they for sure will stay dead, so that's a canon episode for sure.

S5E14 Butters' Very Own Episode is...

Well, what do you think? It has a different theme song, it focuses on characters that were never the focus before. It's also the most important episode in context of the next season, basically Butters gets his own pilot backdoor episode for his ascension to main cast member, while we also get to know his parents in depth. A bit of Herbert lore in this as well as Old Farmer's introduction.

SPOILER-FREE RUNDOWN

Again, CANON means you should watch it, FILLER means you can skip it, LORE is somewhere in-between, any episode with the LORE label will have an explanation that helps you decide if you should include it or not.

S5E1 Scott Tenorman Must Die is CANON S5E2 It Hits The Fan is FILLER S5E3 Cripple Fight is CANON S5E4 Super Best Friends is CANON S5E5 Terrance and Phillip: Behind the Blow is LORE* S5E6 Cartmanland is FILLER S5E7 Proper Condom Use is CANON S5E8 Towelie is CANON S5E9 Osama Bin Laden has Farty Pants is FILLER S5E10 How to Eat with Your Butt is FILLER S5E11 The Entity is CANON S5E12 Here Comes the Neighborhood is FILLER S5E13 Kenny Dies is CANON S5E14 Butters' Very Own Episode is CANON

*If you need to know about Terrance's personal health

CANON counter:

S1: 9 out of 13 S2: 3 out of 18 S3: 6 out of 18 S4: 10 out of 17 S5: 8 out of 14 Overall: 36 out of 80

[gravityfalls4life]

Welcome to the Gravity Fallz official blog, ya beauty ppl!

eugh.. Mabel do I have to? *camera pans to Dipper*

Uh- As the employees of the best gift shop.. shop.., we've.. uh.. spread to- uh- Tumbuler! Tumblrer? Tumblarr... Who named thi-

Ask us something, anything, fuck it, TELL US something! Go nuts!

Yo, dipstick, why d'ya look like that in the background?

UH- SOOS YOU'RE UP-

Nice! I'm da handyman o'er here! Dude, you done with those snacks?

Soos, you need to lose some weight. Over at the Mystery Shack, we bring the Fun, in No Refunds!

What is this? The internet? I'll just stick to my books, thank you.

WHY DO MABEL AND WENDY GET THE GOOD PICS??

It might take a while, but we'll reply one day... Until then... Stay cool!

-Mystery Shack

TW: Occasional swearing ig and S p o i l e r

btw I will NOT answer asks about Palestine!

OP NOTEE: This is a RP blog HEAVILY inspired by the Hazbin Hotel rp blog made by the-grand-av3. I heavily recommend having a look at their blog!! (if you know the lore of hazbin hotel that is). Ask us questions, and we'll respond, color indicating character. Color coding below! Feel free to tell us or show us anything too!

Characters available:

Mabel, Dipper, Wendy, Soos, Stan, Ford, Tambry, Candy, Grenda, BILL CIPHER THE BEST VILLAIN EVER" Pacifica, Gideon

If you'd like to get a message from only ONE of us, before your ask, type in

[Private message to Character]:

Otherwise, if you just go:

"Hey <character>! <Ask>?", more than likely, you'll get more than that character responding.

You may include as many links as you'd like in your asks, whether this be copy and paste or hyperlink! PLEASE don't share actual p0rn, g0re, or something potentially triggering.

You may call me mod, Ominous Voice (OV for short), or GF4L or literally anything else (I'm actually curious as to what you'd come up with lol) Pronouns are she/her.

Thank you, and enjoy our blog! :)

(why am I saying our? I'm one person lmao)

EDIT: I FORGOT TO ADD THAT I AM A MINOR. I'M UNDER 18 OKAY BYE-

[slimeylee]

Toolshed's Improved Tools

characters : kyle broflovski ( human kite ) & stan marsh ( toolshed ) -- request for anon !!

" So if we beat up our past selves , does that mean we change the future ? "  " Maybe we split off into another timeline . "

lee ! human kite , ler ! toolshed - south park tickle fic :3 WARNING : this fic includes the use of tools !

In the lair of the Coon and Friends residing in Cartman's mom's basement , conversation was rather dead tonight . There weren't any of South Park's typical strange situations ... no fire in Kenny's house , no oil spills , no evil almighty dark lords . The group were superheroes all night , and typically they all did their own thing in the basement until an announcement was brought up . Just in case .

Professor Chaos sat quietly in his cage with Mysterion sat chatting with him . The Coon watched television and ate Cheesy Poofs , Fastpass and Tupperware talked at the table , Mintberry Crunch sat with Captain Diabetes in a far corner of the base . The Human Kite and Toolshed sat in a separate corner of the base as well . Toolshed had told Kite a bit ago that he had been working on some new , upgraded tools .

So that's just what they did . In the corner of the base , Toolshed and Human Kite sat and looked over Toolshed's tools . " I'm still kinda working on this one , but this is a hammer that can do permanent damage to even the strongest villain's bones ! " Toolshed exclaimed , picking up a sledgehammer that had bolts on either side from the bucket of finished and work-in-progress tools he was working on . " I don't know if I'm gonna add anything else yet , but I might add a mini shield or something to protect myself from the enemy . " He explained . He wasn't actually too sure how it would work in general ( in superhero terms ) , but he came up with stuff as he went on . " Cool ! " Kite exclaimed , a big grin on his face . He loved watching Toolshed be passionate about his works , even if it was just a game .

" Wanna see some of the ones I finished ? I've been waiting to show you them and I actually wanted to try a couple out with you , " Toolshed said . The Human Kite's expression became slightly worried , slightly concerned . " Don't worry , they won't actually hurt you -- they're not actually designed to hurt -- they're more meant to stun . " Toolshed explained . Kite loosened up a bit , " Oh , okay . Sure then . " He nodded , and Tool immediately smirked a bit ... that couldn't be good . Maybe he should've turned down the offer ? Too late now , he presumed .

" Let's do this one first , " Toolshed said , pulling up a screwdriver out of the bin . But it wasn't any ordinary screwdriver -- it had a ... feather , taped to the tip . " I don't have names for any of these yet . I'll show you how it works . We can spar , " Toolshed explained , and Kite stood from his spot on the floor . " Alright , sounds good . "

" Okay ... and , go ! " Stan started to somersault in different directions , rolling and jumping from one spot to another . Kite spread his arms , ' flying ' around and ' shooting ' with his laser eyes while making " Pew pew ! Pew ! " sound effects . Kite whooshed behind Stan , a wrong move , to which Stan took as an opportunity to tackle Kite to the floor . " Ah ! - Wait , I was - FLYing ! " The Human Kite immediately yelped .

Kyle had immediately broke character in that moment as the gentle feather of Toolshed's screwdriver fluffed under his chin . " Wait -- Toolshed ! Ahahahahah -- what the heheck ! " The Human Kite giggled and squirmed beneath Toolshed , turning his head away to try and escape the tingly sensation that the feather brought . " Effective , right ? " Shed asked . " T-Tohohoolshed stohop ! That tihickles ! " Kite whined with loud giggles as Toolshed skittered the feather over his chin , neck and ears .

From his belt , Toolshed grabbed out another screwdriver . This one was a normal screwdriver . It was one of those ones with the thin , straight tip rather than a pointed tip . Kite got the chance to catch his breath as the feather-tipped screwdriver was placed down , immediately breaking into laughter again as he felt gentle but quick pokes being peppered around his abdomen .

" FUHUhuck ! Tohohoolshed ! Gehet off ! " Kite made a desperate attempt to cover his stomach , but with Toolshed prodding in different areas , it made it hard to cover himself immediately . " Ihihit tihickles ! " Human Kite whined a second time. " That's kind of the point , dude , " Toolshed chuckled at Kite's current situation .

" Oh yeah , I had another one I wanted to show you . " Toolshed smirked . In a rush , he stood up and ran to the box of tools . Human Kite lay practically defenseless on the floor in a flurry of giggles and pants , making an attempt to stand up .

Unfortunately for him , Toolshed was quicker . He immediately straddled Kite's waist again . " Thought you could escape ? " He grinned , holding up the tool he had acquired in the short amount of time . It was a wrench -- A wrench that looked normal , til with the push of a small button it ' transformed ' . The top half of the wrench twirled up , and it was connected to a contraption that made the top half of it spin whenever Stan pushed down the button .

Human Kite panicked and began to thrash underneath Toolshed . " Waitwaitwaitwait -- let's tahahalk about this ! Please ! " Kite whined , looking at the tool with a look of anticipation and ( playful ) terror . Toolshed smirked , " It looks like your screws are a bit too tight ... that's usual -- let me loosen them for you , " He grinned , pushing down the button . It made the top half spin rapidly , which was apparently extremely scary to Kite , because he grabbed at Toolshed's hands , pushing him away and trying to squirm away himself .

" What's wrong , Kyle ? " Toolshed taunted , " I'm just trying to help you loosen up ! " Shed giggled , trying to pry his hands out of Kite's grasp . Human Kite was laughing madly out of anticipation -- pushing at Toolshed's wrists . " Woah -- fuck ! " Shed startled Kite by pulling his arms back , and Kite released his wrists . Letting out a mighty cackle .

" HAHA ! SHIHIT - STAHAN ! " Kite squealed out as Toolshed began to lightly drill the wrench into his stomach . He moved it along Kyle's stomach from one side to the other , adding in some scribbles to his side with his free hand . Kite thrashed , his laughter turning eventually into snorting and wheezing . His face was extremely red . Stan smiled and ... realised how adorable Kyle was just now . Wow . He's never beating the gay allegations

But , he noticed Kyle was definitely getting to his limit ... despite not lasting very long ... and eventually brought the tickling to a stop . He hopped off of Kite's waist , waiting by his side for him to calm down . While also admiring him in the process . Kite sighed loudly , covering his face with his hands . "Thahat was fucking horrible , " He whined .

Stan smirked . " They're good tools though , right ? " He asked , to which Kite gave him a playfully annoyed look . Stan held out a hand , and helped pull him up . Their little moment was interrupted by a yell from the other side of the base .

" What the fuck are you fags doing ? " from The Coon . Yeah ... everyone was looking at them .

[whumble-beeee]

The (Un)Official Guide to Hero-Keeping

The First Day of the Rest of Your Life, pt. 1

Masterlist

CW: disabled whumpee, gun mention, restrained to chair, knife

* * * * * * * * *

[Welcome to The (Un)Official Guide to Hero-Keeping; a self-help guide for super-villains and bounty hunters! In this self-help manual written by villains, for villains, we will go over various techniques, tips and tricks, and other useful skills for all different types of villains needed to keep those pesky heroes safely and securely kidnapped, nicely out of the way for your dastardly deeds!

Torture tips, mind games, knot-tying step-by-steps, and more, all the knowledge you will ever need in order to capture and contain a super-powered person is kept right here, in The (Un)Official Guide to Hero-Keeping! Time to seize the day, villain! Heretofore, may your endeavors forever be hero-free!]

* * * * * * * * *

Stan screamed himself awake, but he couldn’t hear anything over the deafening flaring in his ears, his heart racing, body burning, every muscle seizing. 

He couldn’t breathe. It wasn’t that there was anything strictly in the way of his breathing, it was just as if his lungs had succumbed to death's dark embrace and were about to glide through to heaven’s pearly gates when some malevolent force clawed into them and ripped them asunder, shoved them back into his body, and ordered them to get back to work. 

And they were not happy about it. 

Neither were his heart, nor his brain, or any normal bodily function for that matter, because for a brief moment, they all seemed utterly appalled and offended that Stan had the audacity to still be alive.

It only took a couple eternal seconds for his bodily functions to fully reaccept their lot in life, but now he was fully aware of every fiber of his being that insisting “wait, aren’t you supposed to be dead?” which made him immediately spiral into a blind panic. 

His chest heaved as it tried to force in air, his head buzzed in a horrible all-consuming way, the lights and colors and sounds around him were all way too bright and loud and whooshing around him faster than he could ever process fully. So he just screamed, begging and needing for it to stop, please, please, he couldn’t take this anymore, anything else but this, please.

Slowly, unfathomably slowly, the panic began to ebb away. His surroundings finally started to infiltrate his overloaded consciousness; the gray concrete, the cinderblock walls, a mostly empty room that immediately set him on edge, because he knew exactly what this type of room was for. 

He sat in a chair. Or rather, his arms were wrenched behind him and his wrists were secured to the back of the chair with what must have been twine. Then some ropes connected to his wrists crisscrossed around and across his stomach several times over to keep him bound tight. So it was more like he was imprisoned in the chair.

He thrashed out against the rope, only succeeding in momentarily stealing the breath from his lungs again. No give at all. He held in a sob and blinked the tears away, trying to fight off the angrily buzzing head and desperately weak appendages. 

Then he saw him. 

Another person in the room; a man sitting in his own chair a few feet away, only with the good fortune to not be tied to it. He held his phone limply in his hand and tilted his head at Stan with some mild amusement, as if he had just paused his internet browsing to watch the captive struggle. 

There really wasn’t that much special about him, at least considering he was probably a villain; he dressed like a cyber-punk cowboy, with blond hair, a darker complexion, and a couple of scars scattered about the small amount of skin he had exposed, including a pretty nasty burn scar that peaked out from his collar and up over his jawline. He wore a mask to cover the bottom half of his face, and a tool belt with various little pockets and cases, among which was an actual leather holster housing an actual shining metal gun. It was some sort of old-timey-looking revolver, sparsely decorated to match the rest of the man.

Stan stared wide-eyed at him. He wished that he wasn’t a panicking lurching mess in front of the person who must have been his kidnapper. The guy returned his terrified glare with half-lidded eyes and a light-hearted smile.

 “Let-let… Let me go-o.” Stan finally sputtered out.

The man raised an amused eyebrow. “What, no hi, hello? Would have thought you to be the polite type…”

A tickle in the back of Stan’s mind told him that he knew that voice from somewhere, but a much more prominent voice in the front of his mind screamed danger danger DANGER!!

“Let me go!” Stan shouted through gritted teeth, straining against the ropes. The man didn’t so much as flinch. “Let me go and we can forget all about this! I’ll let you off with a warning! But you need to let me go, you have no idea who you’re dealing with here!”

The captor rolled his eyes, slid his phone into his pocket, and casually strolled over to Stan, which Stan reciprocated by leaning back into his chair as much as physically possible. He tried not to eye the revolver too noticeably.

“You’ll let me go off with a warning, huh?” The man teased with a soft lilt. “That’s a relief. Y’know I was worried there for a second, since I’m dealing with THE Stan McKellen, right?” He said the name as if Stan were some movie star, instead of some super-powered nobody.

“Age twenty-two, five foot four, brownish-redish hair, green eyes, buncha fuckin’ freckles. Pretty bad limp in your right leg, and you’ve got this cute little magic cane that you use to walk and make your powers just… so much more powerful.” 

His eyes practically sparkled as he knelt down in front of Stan. “Telekinesis, or something of that sort. Y'know, I saw you in full action before I nabbed you. Really impressive. The swirly magician cape really adds to the magic of it, I think.”

Stan tried to kick him in his stupid smug face, but the man was sadly just out of kicking range. He smiled a shit-eating grin and stood up to slowly meander around Stan. 

“But I wouldn’t know about all that, especially the part about keeping that cane the hell away from you because could lay me on my ass if you had it. Because I don’t know who I’m dealing with, right?”

Stan's face flushed. “You can’t just take–!”

“You’ve also got some pretty shady history, yeah? I mean, did you know you don’t even legally exist? Like, not that you've been declared dead or something, I’ve seen that before, I mean you don't exist at all, in any database. It's like you've been erased. You don't exist. That, of course, got my attention, so I did some digging, loads of recon and llave, you've got some of the most insane powers I’ve ever seen, just throwing shit around and pushing people around like ragdolls. I’ve been in this business for quite some time, and it wouldn’t be a stretch to say you’re probably one of the most powerful I’ve seen. It's really a shame that you need that cane to do anything with them, and even more so that your leg doesn’t work right–”

“Okay, OKAY, I get it, you know who I am! Stop talking about the cane, or– give it back, I need it!”

“Preeetty sure I implied you’re not getting that thing back.”

Stan jolted in his restraints, and immediately regretted it when he was sure he felt new bruises forming on his wrists. “I need it! Give it back.”

The man paused behind him. Long enough that Stan almost called out to him to demand what the hell he was doing. Then he sat on top of the back of Stan's chair, forcing Stan to either take his full weight on his upper back or lean forward and strain against the already too-tight rope. Stan quickly chose the latter with a strangled grunt.

“I do what I want, chiquito,” the man said, deceptively calm. Friendly, even. “You'd do best to learn that quickly.”

Stan bucked back against the weight and let out a frustrated groan when the whole man on top of him didn't budge. The ropes dug painfully into his stomach.

“Get. Off of me.” He seethed.

“What's the magic word?”

“Fuck you.”

His captor leaned back onto him a little bit more, and the rough tendrils of the twine bit into his wrists like sandpaper. His shoulders tugged back, stuck behind the chair and protesting the weight folding him forward by tugging him rebelliously back, caging in his ribcage, forcing the air out of his lungs. He let out a pained wheeze before he could stop himself.

“Still not quite right.”

Stan squirmed in his seat, trying to shove up and get the captor off of his back, but it was proving increasingly hard to try and shove such a big guy off with only the use of one knee to push back, his protesting noodle arms, and the increasing desperation banging against his skull.

“Okay, okay, fine!” he squeaked breathlessly, hoping he sounded like he was just conceding instead of near panicking. “Get off of me, please! Please!”

The man stood back up and Stan slammed back up against the back of his chair, breathing deep and fast, only now feeling the bone-deep soreness and probable ring of bruises around his aching wrists. He couldn’t even feel his hands, the bonds were so tight. How long had he been tied up? How long had he been here?

He felt a hand ruffle his hair. “Now that wasn’t so hard, was it?”

Stan wanted to scream. “Yes. It was hard.”

The voice snorted. “That's what she said.”

Stan could have sworn he saw red. He closed his eyes and took a deep, calming breath to turn down the boiling rage and rising panic in his stomach. It did absolutely nothing. He pulled on the ropes yet again, more out of desperation than any actual notion that he might be able to tug loose, and another jolt of pain branched up along his forearms. 

Tears threatened his eyes again. He was at the complete mercy of a man who made ‘that’s what she said’ jokes.

He did his best to shove down the emotions and tried to focus on the positives. This guy obviously didn’t care about experimenting on him or trying to steal his powers, or torturing him until he was just a husk of himself, or trying to mold him into a living weapon who just lived to do as he was told without question or hesitation. Hopefully… 

There was also still that nagging feeling that Stan knew this guy from somewhere, a small piece of vital information buried deep in his brain screaming to get out, shoved down under years of trauma and intentional burying of memories until it couldn’t find its way to the front of Stan’s mind if it had a map, a compass, and the sun to guide its way.

He clenched his fists. Why was his brain being so stupid?! He was smarter than this!

“Who are you…” Stan grunted under his breath, not even fully meaning for it to be verbal, but the pent-up emotion was starting to bubble over.

“Hm?”

“Who!” He shouted, surprising both himself and his captor. “Who are you?! Why are you doing this, why am I here, how am I here, why did you kidnap me?”

The man narrowed his eyes at Stan, and his heart may as well have stopped. He cringed in anticipation of some sort of punishment for yelling. He knew the man’s type. Power-hungry. Easily pissed off. Eager to make someone suffer, especially when they’re given a reason to, which Stan just did. Why couldn't he just keep his mouth shut?

Instead of doing any of that, the kidnapper just picked up his chair and slid it closer so the two of them could talk face-to-face. 

“Alright, you're right, I should probably explain,” he started with a sigh. Despite the sudden bewildering tone shift, Stan couldn't help but tentatively lean into the promise of answers. He hadn't expected any sort of positive response from his outburst. 

“Can’t tell you much, but I’ll give you a few free questions, yeah?" The man started. "The deal is, I’m basically gonna be your babysitter. I'm really just supposed to keep you here for the time being.”

“You're... my–… my babysitter?” Stan sputtered.

“Basically.”

Stan waited for an elaboration, but the man seemed perfectly content with his answer. But he did say Stan could ask questions, right?

“Okay, so you’re…” he started tentatively. This was a delicate game. “You’re holding me for someone else? Or you’re gonna let me go in a little while?”

“Can’t say.”

Stan scrunched his eyebrows. “Why not?”

“You’ll learn soon enough.” 

Ominous.

He sighed, searching his brain for a different line of questioning. 

“Then why are you holding me here?” he ventured.

“Can’t say.”

Stan groaned. Was this how it was gonna be? “Why not? Are you like a villain or something? Got some big plans to use me to destroy the world or some crap?”

“If you wanna describe me as a villain, sure. I’m just a mercenary. A bounty hunter, if you like.”

Okay, that felt like important information, but all it did was make Stan want to kick himself for not realizing sooner. Obviously the guy was a mercenary, just look at him. He felt some puzzle pieces click together within his brain. Mercenaries do other people’s dirty work. 

“What’re you gonna do to me here?”

“Depends entirely on you.”

“What does that mean?”

“Can’t say.”

He must be messing with him on purpose, this was egregious.

“Who are you working for?”

“Can’t say.”

Stan was getting tired of this. “Can’t, or won’t?”

“Won’t.”

“Why are you even letting me ask you questions if you’re not gonna answer them?”

He shrugged. “It’s a helpful pacifier.”

“Come again?”

He shrugged again.

“Okay, okay, fine,” Stan conceded. “Can you at least tell me who you are? I don’t even know your name.” and I feel like I’ve seen you before.

The man chuckled. “Bud, I think you can use your smart-brain to know what I’m going to say at this point.”

Stan took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “Won’t say?”

“What can I say? If you knew my name I’d have to kill you,” he said in an almost sing-songy voice.

Stan nearly laughed at the cliché before he realized there was probably some truth behind the joke. It turned into a more strangled cough.

“...uh. What do I call you then?”

“Usually I’ll say ‘DB’ if the target isn’t creative enough to come up with some derogatory nickname on their own.”

“I’m not calling you Deeby, that’s stupid.”

“It’s even stupider when you know what it’s based on.”

“What’s it based on?”

“Can’t say.”

“This is bullshit.”

The man snorted and shot up from his chair fast enough for it to skitter backward. Stan recoiled into himself at the sudden flurry of movement and sound.

“Wonderful, I hope you found your little impromptu interrogation session enlightening.” the mercenary smiled. “Now back to business.”

He fiddled around in one of his belt pockets, then tsked when he apparently couldn’t find what he was looking for and switched to another pocket instead. Stan felt a horrible churning feeling start to stir in his gut. He didn’t like how the man had just suddenly sprung to life, how giddy he seemed to be for whatever he was searching for.

His heart sunk into his shoes when he finally saw what the mercenary held up for him to see. “So, runt,” he drawled, fiddling with an egregiously large pocket knife and locking it open with a deafening click. The blade glistened in the clinical lighting. “How do you feel about knives?”

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