#i stan these dumbasses

[a-scary-lack-of-common-sense]

Part 2/2

By the time Stanley had realized he wasn't as alone as he believed himself to be entrapped in this ravenous abyss; he had honestly begun to suspect that he was finally starting to properly lose his mind.

In all the ceaseless miles that Stanley had journeyed during his apparent permanent residence within the dark devouring void, not once had he encountered another conscious, walking, talking being similar to himself. Every other formerly living creature that he had crossed paths with had been so... silent. Empty. Dead, in every sense of the word. It was as though the very essence of life itself had been sucked out of their bodies with a straw, their forms slowly falling apart piece by piece under the vicious gluttony of the darkness that surrounded them. They looked like they actually were supposed to be there, unmoving and comatose, unlike him.

So, when Stanley first began to encounter the twins, all of a sudden, he wasn't the only one in the dark.

When meeting the first pair of them, he found himself standing in a lake.

He hadn't even noticed the changes at first. It felt as though he had been walking for weeks on end, his body moving purely on autopilot and his aching legs leading him towards a destination only it knew. A thick fog of forgetfulness and flickering memories had descended upon his brain like a heavy blanket of numbing static as he had traveled. In this absentminded state, he hadn't even realized that the ever-present undulating, buzzing darkness surrounding him had begun to gradually shift and morph to form a horizon line; stretching into tall looming cliffsides that almost seemed to close in on him. Once the nonexistent floor beneath his soles abruptly began to ripple and warp, like the disturbed surface of a shallow puddle; only then did he finally notice his transformed environment.

The transition was seamless, almost dream-like. One moment, he was still surrounded by that filthy, overwhelming abyss; and the next, his boots were suddenly plunged deep into the cold, dark lake water.

The silence didn't leave, however. It still choked and stuffed its way into Stanley's ears to clog up his mind with thick cotton; the eerie quiet not quite matching the calm, almost serene scenery the void seemed to have abruptly transformed itself into. Like a movie with its sound cut off; leaving only the unsettling hum of the projector to fill the empty air.

It was odd. The lake was surely incredibly deep. He could obviously tell from how thin and pathetically small the shores appeared all the way from where he now unceremoniously stood in the middle of the lake. Stan could look down and see the darkness below his feet swallow what meager light that managed to break through the murky waters. The overwhelming black almost seemed to beckon him, gaping and haunting; a bottomless underwater pit of pitch black that never seemed to end.

And yet, he didn't sink. Stanley remained perfectly level, the almost ink like waters stopping just at ankle level, as though he were held up just above the surface by some invisible force. Even the writhing waves seemed small and low, as though the waters were shy to climb up his legs further than that. It was odd, so very odd.

However, it wasn't nowhere near as odd as the sight that greeted him when he finally lifted his eyes from the waters.

Stanley had crossed paths with truly unbelievable sights in this strange somewhere; from bursting, collapsing stars; to the imploding heat death of entire universes, but none of them seemed to hold the candle to what he saw then when he lifted his eyes:

Children.

Two, to be exact. Two, nearly identical looking children stood motionless before him; completely soaked through to the bone as though they had taken a plunge into the frigid water that pooled around their ankles. It was a girl and a boy, both adorned with twin expressions utterly devoid of emotion, their wide eyed stare seeming to burn holes into his thin jacket. Their drenched clothes sagged off of their scrawny frames; thin rivulets of water dirpping off of them and disturbing the glassy surface of the water at their feet. The little girl's hair had messily stuck to her face in thin sodden strands, her cheeks still full and round with youth just like the boy's. They looked young. Too young to be in a place such as this.

Oh, but their eyes; their eyes.

They burned with such anger; such injustice, brighter than any dying star or galaxies he had ever seen. Anger towards the world, to fate, to whatever cruel deity that had deemed them fit to be sent to this wretched place so prematurely. They were too young to be here; to be entrapped like he was amongst this hungry darkness. And yet, here they were, sheer denial against their own untimely deaths being the only thing keeping them awake and conscious amongst the dead and rotting. A show of juvenile defiance to nature itself so vehement even the all-consumign darkness seemed hesitant to devour them whole just yet.

It saddened him. It saddened him to know that they belonged there, that they were supposed to be there. He could see it, he could feel it; they were dead. No amount of determination could deny that universal fact.

When they spoke, Stanley could hear anger:

Stan chuckled in a futile attempt to lighten the suddenly heavy atmosphere that threatened to crush him whole. "A lake monster? You kids and your imagination," he teased, hoping to somehow rid the poor kids of the haunted look that seemed to whirl in their glares. No child should have been burdened with such a knowing look; such eyes that looked like they had seen everything there was to see about the world, the horrid and the good.

Clearly, it had been the wrong thing to say, and Stanley's faux pas was rewarded with a scowl from the little boy. A world's worth of sour contempt etched into every contorted groove that his grimace seemed to dig into his much too young face. Stan suddenly felt guilt squeeze at his weary bones for having caused that.

"That's what they all said," the boy spat out, eyes shining with a sheen of wetness Stan wasn't sure he was prepared to deal with.

Stan left that first interaction with the twins with the feeling of guilt and sorrow still clining to him.

He couldn't have known, at the time. He couldn't have known that this wouldn't be anywhere near the last time that he would meet the pair. He hadn't realised just how many of them there were. After that first pair, his endless journeying within the Abyss was hardly be spent alone anymore. Countless more times, he came face to face with the exact same two young and impossibly worn faces; forced to meet one pair of beaten and bruised kids after another.

Not one pair had died the same death as another. Some had gotten lost, prey to whatever threat that had snatched them up out in the open; some had fallen from high up; some had been crushed under an incredible weight; some had burned; some eaten alive; some zombified. Some didn't even seem physically harmed at all, body perfectly intact, and yet that same faraway, distrubed look in their eyes remained.

He thought the worst ones were the ones he found alone. A little girl or a little boy, left all lonesome without their other half there. Twins, he remembered a pair of them telling him once.

Once, he had come across a town full of silent, stone statues. It was a rustic, shabby, almost nostalgic looking town- odd and strangely familiar. The sight of it had tugged at an aged memory that had long since wasted away in the back of his mind. It was serene, almost deceptively so. The sun shone; the air smelled crisp and fresh; numerous waterfalls continued to crash down from the tall cliffsides; and a soft nonexistent breeze whistled through the thicket of pine trees that blanketed the outskirts of the town. None of it seemed to match the gruesome scene of the hundred wailing statues that littered every inch of the town.

He had found the boy's statue on the other side of town, deep within the green forest and toppled over the gnarled roots of a towering tree. Like the rest of the townsfolk, he too, was frozen mid-shriek; his stone face twisted and contorted into a mock impression of a silent scream as his body lay paused in a writhing struggle. He made sure to be gentle when he carried the boy's statue over to place it beside the girl's, whose statue stood far deeper into the forest, sporting the same rictus grimace of terror as her brother's. It somehow felt wrong for them to have been so far apart from one another, even in death.

He had come to dread meeting of the twins. He hated every second he had to confront yet another pair of dead children that did not belong here, but fate had decided they did. He despised having to listen to their tales of woe as they wept about the injustice of the world, of having died young; he despised himself for being unable to do more than weep with them.

"We don't belong here, Grunkle Stan," he would listen to the little girl weep, calling him a title he didn't recognize. He never remembered if they had ever told him their name, but they all seem to know his, without a fail. "If we're dead, then what about you? What about Grunkle Ford? Mom? Dad? What about them? We can't be dead, we can't be," they would say, confusion and frustration written all over their faces. They didn't understand. They didn't understand why they had come to the darkness so early, so unfairly.

He never knew what to say, he'd never been good with words.

All he could do was kneel down to their levels and engulf them in his arms, hoping he could somehow squeeze the pain straight out of their bodies in his embrace. He hugged them, because what else could he do?

[fingolfinwiththesteelchair]

You know, on my second read through I'm starting to think - and I mean this with all the love in my heart - that Murderbot might be a little bit of a dumbass

Head empty no thoughts just Sanctuary Moon

[cup-cake360]

I think a lot of Kataang shippers don’t actually like it because it’s a “slow burn” but rather because they’re mistaking relief for happiness. Like the show dragged out their will they won’t they thing for so long they just wanted them to get together out of the sheer misery this ship brought them as they dragged it out until, laterally, the last minute as supposed to wanting them to get together because they genuinely shipped them.

[marshbevvie]

a losers club roundtable

[essektheylyss]

Anyway, since we are apparently going hard on 'all bets are off', I'm taking the opportunity to throw out my deeply wishful thinking, absolutely not actually serious, buckwild conspiracy theory, which is that the Luxon heard Ludinus's dumbass monologue through the beacon and went, "Fuck you, bastard, maybe the titans were here before the gods, but I was here before the TITANS" and wrecked his plans.

[louissatturi]

"Oh quackity did not know about the abusive pratices that ware going on his >OWN< server, i hope he is okay :("

[khgne]

I'm seeing a lot of arguments and opinions about these latest bnha chapters, asking fans why they thought Tenko would be saved and how it's consistent writting.

Needless to say these have been controversial chapters and I need to sarcastically rant my opinions about it.

You're right, why would we think Tenko would be saved just because Izuku wanted to save him. And shared that with Ochaco who also wanted to save "her villain". If we've been shown tenko was a parallel to Yoichi and a victim of AFO, and his entire worldview was based on AFOs abuse. If this manga was showing us the humanity behind villains and openly questioned if killing them was the best or fair outcome as we saw with Twice.

But you're so right, why would the fans think that Tenko would survive when every other version of "Tenko" from Horis previous works - of which this character was based on - was saved and given a second chance? After revealing that decay is half of overhaul and showing multiple characters having a quirk awakening this arc. Why would fans think that despite all the Mt. Fuji and Butterfly (death/rebirth) symbolism? Forget "win to save, save to win", "a perfect victory!", "changing fates and wishing energy!". Forget "his friends are waiting for him" or "I want to save that little boy!". Forget "OFA IS A POWER MEANT FOR SAVING, NOT KILLING. ALL MIGHT TAUGHT ME THAT". Let's ignore Toshinoris words: "The citizens...heroes...villains...I need to light the way for all of them."

"But Tenko didn't want to be saved!",, and his entire anger against society revolving around the fact that nobody saved or helped him when he needed as a child, is proof of that. Yes, he was angry that Bakugo received immediate help and he questioned why he didn't, and yessss AFO gave him the decay quirk on purpose so that neither he can reach out to others, or others can reach out to him (in a manga that uses hands as motifs and metaphors) without getting destroyed and also adding to the idea that Tenko was born evil; but like, he kept fighting the heroes so of course he didn't want to be saved, duh.

Also, Izuku challenging the vestiges ideals and opinions of killing Tenko for multiple arcs now?? His argument that despite OFA being created to stop AFO, it could be given a new meaning?? Yoichi agreeing with Izuku and saying how happy he was that Toshi and Izuku held OFA?? That was just for fun! No meaning in those scenes!

Sero was so right going on about tragedies not being necessary, only for the story to end exactly in a tragedy. And of course that villains should pay for their crimes and killing them is better than letting them rot in jail, that's exactly why so far, every villain Izuku encountered has been killed! Oh wait no, they...actually got arrested.. mm okay.. But it's not like they could ever atone for their actions, it's crazy giving them a second chance!.... so let's ignore Nagant, Stain, or Gentle and La Brava.

And yes, of course the heroes have learned that villains are people too, and are victims that deserve a helping hand after so many arcs showing and telling us that from a bunch of characters, which is why their decisions and the way they handled a lot of villains!....didn't change at all.

Kurogiri was killed/shoved aside like an inconvenience to the heroes while pleading AFO for Tenko to be returned; and Tenko was killed for being loyal to his friends and wanting to destroy the status quo so the LoV and others could live better. All of these done with no hesitation or internal conflict from Izuku, so as you can see, very different from Hawks vs Twice. Ochaco got to connect and talk Toga out of it, and Shoto got to talk and come up with a plan to stop his brother, and both (plus Enji) begged their villain to stop because they didn't want them to die; so it makes perfect sense why Izuku, the compassionate mc that wants to save everyone, would do the exact opposite.

This kid went in there with no plan at all and it shows! (I guess he really forgot what Nighteye told him about his arrogant thinking). Because ever since the vestige world, Izuku gave up on Tenko and decides the best thing to do is to kill him. No trying to call out for Tenko and reach him, no reaction to AFOs trump card, no internal conflict with deciding to kill Tenko, no trying to explain to Tenko in the vestige world that his friends are trying to help the LoV too, no introspection on Tenkos words of wanting to be a hero to the villains, no guilt as he gives the final punch, no hesitation in shoving aside the one other person that also wanted to save Tenko (and wasn't attacking, only talking) so he could punch him again, and no communication with his fellow heroes to explain the situation of AFO taking control of Tenko again or the fact that Tenkos life and worldview are all bc of AFO. And I call that,, being completely in character for Izuku don't you think?

And of course Hori couldn't help himself and also try that with Toshinori. So that's why we have the one character that always hides behind a fake smile say that maybe if Tenko wasn't crying anymore it's because he was saved. (Out of sight, out of mind, just like what the civillians did when Tenko was a child looking for help) Toshinori, the symbol of peace who sacrifices himself constantly to save others, who felt guilty for failing Tenko, who wanted to save him since Kamino, who was emotional over Izuku wanting to save him as well, who was distressed to see Stain "the hero killer" die, who struggles with the will to live beyond his hero persona, is now emotionless and parroting the idea that "killing can be a way of saving" about Nanas last relative and fellow victim of AFOs, and I think that makes absolute sense. Let's have the same man whose teaching methods consisted of beating and traumatizing Toshinori as a kid, be right! (And listen, I'm one of the few ppl that absolutely love Gran, but that man has always been wrong about this).

And yes, the themes set up of:

- villains (and heroes) are human and more than their role that hero society forces on them;

- Izuku (and others) want to break the cycle of abuse and how villains are perceived and treated by society;

- Izuku wants to be a hero that gives a helping hand and saves everyone and Tenko wants to be a hero to the villains (both of them want the same thing at its core just in different ways);

- save to win, win to save; changing fate; etc.

- giving second chances to ppl to atone their wrongs regardless if they're villains or heroes because they don't have to let it define them (Aoyama, Nagant, Gentle and La Brava, Endeavor, Bakugo, Hawks, etc.);

Definitely work with the decision of death is the only way to save villains.

So yeah, you're so right that anyone that thinks these recent chapters went against the themes, is stupid and wrong. And it's us that see 'saving' at a very surface level right?

But really now, these latest chapters have been a disappointment and left me wondering what even happened for the story to suddenly go against everything it has been setting up so far.

Some of the criticisms are an overreaction, but most are valid and there's merit in discussing them.

Izuku flip-flopping between in-character and out-of-character; Killing Tenko and claim his heart has been saved despite giving him no closure regarding his abuse, quirk, or origin; The weird decision to mention and not show the off screen moment that develops Nanas character and her relationship with Tenko; Izukus lack of emotion and introspection about his decision;

Why have Izuku defy and disagree with the adults that told him to kill Tenko, to suddenly have him kill Tenko? Why have Izuku want to give a new meaning to OFA and break the cycle of abuse by "smashing that lid", if in the end OFA remains as only something to destroy AFO, and he behaves the same way every hero before him has. Why criticize hero society for the way it creates villains, and show them as victims that can be given a second chance to help and atone, only to say that after all, killing them is how you save them because they can't be helped. Why make izuku the compassionate kid that wants to understand villains and is willing to offer them a helping hand, if in the end he kills the same "crying child" he wanted to save for multiple arcs, because he was loyal to his friends and ideals.

If Tenko died still believing AFOs words that he was made to destroy, then did he really get full autonomy from AFO? Is he really free from his abuser if he still believes every word he was told?

[livinces]

I swear, a HOTD character could say they feel a little cold and need to grab a sweater, and mfs in the fandom (mostly Greencels) would be like: "FUCK YOU, VISERYS! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! BURN IN HELL, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!!!"

Like, it's so clear to me that they have even pooer comprehension skills than Gale Hawthorne haters or the Scream fandom, and also that they have 0.00 knowledge of the book verse.

[lesbianwyllravengard]

Being in fandom spaces is no fun when your favourite character/blorbo is a female character. I can't post art or memes or post ab how much I love her without having some dickwad in my notes or ask box saying shit. I can't talk about how much I love Ada Wong without some asshole telling me she's actually bad for XYZ bullshit misogynistic reason. And like I'm very spiteful so it doesn't stop me, in fact I do it more, but it just makes me feel gross checking my notes because I always expect shit and I don't want that. I see a notification for an ask and I feel sick immediately. It sucks.

[nellandvoid]

thievin’, stealin’, takin’ what’s not yours!

fun fact about silvia: she used to be a (very talented) pickpocket when she was younger, but gave it up once she moved to gravity falls

another fun fact about her: she didn’t know that b&e was Very Different from pickpocketing but learned very quickly

as always, in color is under cut!

[possuminnit]

no fucking shot people are saying dreams video is good

[a-scary-lack-of-common-sense]

Eldritch/not-entirely-human Grunkle Stan stories have been eating away at my brain, so I have a silly little concept of Mimic!Stan.

He and his Mystery Shack are both mimics that lure tourists in as a literal "tourist trap" to gather and devour them! Since the house is alive, it raises a few (read: several) child safety concerns that lead to a LOT of rules to be created for Dipper and Mabel to follow when they eventually arrive, such as:

Be careful not to get lost in the winding hallways! The Mystery Shack is bigger on the inside, and you don't want to end up in the wrong areas.

Don't go through randomly appearing doors, they may eat you.

If you think you feel the walls around you breathing and the floor beneath you shifting, no, you don't.

If you think the walls feel a bit damp, you're imagining it.

Watch your fingers around windowsills! You wouldn't want to lose any of them.

Don't linger too long under the doorframes; it may start feeling like they are slowly constricting around you.

[professorducc]

literally no one talk to me

[zazikels]

I can't believe Emmrich is scoring higher than other characters in polls, l didn't realise so many people with good taste existed.

[marshbevvie]

Ben has stolen the couch and Stan has stolen Eddie. Richie is very confused and I saw an opportunity for a new photo to be my phone wallpaper.

[arabian-batboy]

Endeavor from BNHA is a prime example of how fandom trying to shield characters from (rightful) hate will only generate more hate toward the said characters.

Because I binge-watched the show before stepping foot in the fandom and even though I began this show hating Endeavor, he was actually starting to grow on me since his plot-line was one of the most interesting parts of the show and at certain points I even thought his “awkward dad” moments were kinda endearing? Then I looked around and saw an army of people who are so damn eager to swiftly forgive Endeavor for everything wrong he has ever done and shield him from any type of criticism, which includes shifting all the blame to his own wife & children and suddenly what little affection I had for this character is gone and now I’m back to hating him again.

Like you do realize that this is a grown middle aged man who has been emotionally and physically abusing his wife (who’s really more of a stay-at-home surrogate) and children for 25 years straight and has only turned a new leaf in-universe for only half a year max? It doesn’t matter how much you like his character, LET PEOPLE GO OFF ON HIM IF THEY WANT TO!!! You trying so hard to victimize him or to victim-blame his family for all his abuse will just make people hate him even more.