#Falling Ethics

[valtsv]

have you seen nosferatu and if so... thoughts?

very annoyed by the disappointing but unsurprising discourse surrounding whether orlok and ellen's relationship is horrifyingly predatory or immensely sexually liberating. like nice dichotomy idiot. it's fucking both.

[cameforstuff]

Au, where Stan doesn't break the science project but Ford still loses. Instead, Stan's shitty project 'footbot' gets him into West Coast Tech. He accidentally created a new element when it explodes or something.

Filbrick wants his millions, so it's college or the streets. Stan goes to college expecting to flunk out, but he keeps passing his assignments

This is because Ford moves in nearby and is seething in the bushes, but he wants to help his brother, so he helps him a bit. He's too good to actually cheat for Stan, so instead, he keeps him from falling behind. Like he throws rocks at Stan's window to make sure he gets up for his tests or signs him up for tutoring when he struggles in a subject. (Definitely not Ford in disguise) Plus Stan isn't dumb so he actually starts to learn.

Stan is trying his best to fail but can't because Ford is literally creating Rube Goldberg machines to aid his brother.

[f-imaginings]

Some Book of Bill musings about the theraprism below the cut.

Bill getting sectioned by the Axolotl (and time baby?) is wild to me.

What sort of therapy would be effective on an unwilling participant with such extreme issues with authority?

Do they enforce medication schedules, is there mandatory CBT or DBT sessions to make him feel bad about his decisions (and is guilt ever an effective method when dealing with someone with Bills issues) or do they do Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.

Can you use EMDR to process traumatic memories if the patient only has one eye (probably) or would they utilise tapping or electric pulses to trigger bilateral brain movement.

I know they do art therapy and have unhelpful patronising motivational posters on the wall, but who decides by what metric these "offenders" reach reform by?

And who decides their reincarnation fate, is there any oversight there to make these reincarnation decisions client led or is it just one more thing the offenders have to accept they have no control over. They are already dressed like prisoners and subjected to solitary confinement (which can be a passive form of torture in some cases).

Do they address the root traumas effectively given the owners of the theraprism seem to be all powerful (but not powerful enough to eradicate the systemic problems that cause the initial traumas) or do they victim blame and reinforce narcissistic injury through this process.

Are you cured when you stop fighting? When you give up and conform?

How is the theraprism a just solution and who controls it behind the scenes?

Are you free when you admit guilt (Bill already described himself as a monster) or when you take accountability?

Is accountability helpful at all when the Theraprism only seems to release patients to be completely reincarnated to a new form and life? How are you meant to make up for your failings in this life if you're just continually punished for it until you reach reincarnation stage and then continue to be punished in the next life (by only getting reincarnated as bugs or lower life forms if the butterfly is anything to go by). Everyone just trusts that the Axolotl is the good guy, same with Time Baby, but by what virtue are they in charge (when they seem just as mysterious, ambiguous and overpowered as Bill sometimes) and what have they done to prove they are worthy of this huge responsibility?

I have so many questions about the actual efficacy of the theraprism past a funny punchline for the Book of Bill.

[stwinsgstdrop]

Fuck it. I'll post it.

Chapter 1.

Rinse and Repeat.

Its life was simple. And painless, most of the time. Just a few inconveniences here and there.

In the morning it was woken up early for the first round of physical activity, to shake its body up into alertness. Then a carefully built breakfast with enough calories and proteins to last for 3 to 4 hours, and more exercises. By then the Doctor would have probably already arrived, and started the first Session. Most of the time it felt like puzzles. Look at the light, touch the shiny weird thing, put back the pieces, try the temperature of the liquid, test the sharpness of the needle. With the mind activated, the doctor would say a few words and play a few games withe the Volunteer, to test mental sharpness and gauge for side effects of experimental treatments.

Sometimes they'd sedate it for the Doctor to play with its insides, or fix another problem. It was filled with problems, they said. Other times they'd let it stay awake and try new games; like who screams louder, when the Doctor injected hot or cold stuff into its veins to see what happened; or play Catch with other experiments. It was the only human shaped one, which made it special. The Doctor always said so. Sometimes they'd let it watch something, or have someone read a story out loud. It liked the ring one the best. Just felt right, like an old friend. Not that it had friends now, but maybe from before.

Most of the times when it was allowed to watch stuff it was because it had to be cut open again. It was the Doctor's way of saying sorry or rewarding it. They had other games to play too, but these were the Volunteer's favorites.

The Doctor often talked about its mind and how far it had come. The Volunteer didn’t really understand what he meant. It was still mostly stupid - but it didn’t say that out loud anymore, or the Doctor would be sad.

What is liked best was when they let it play in the woods, within the facility grounds. Then it could be whatever it wanted - sometimes bird, sometimes dog, sometimes even rock. But not fish. It was specially stupid as a fish, for some reason, which made going back to normal really hard.

And in its birthday – or the day it was first collected by the Doctor, it wasn’t really sure – they let it eat something out of its diet. Sometimes it chose sweets. It was always very funny to feel so energized. But it also made it very hard to focus, so after it was administered, they let it play rampant for as long as it wanted, and them sleep for full 2 hours past its waking time!

It was happy, all in all. Just be good, follow the instructions, and make the Doctor happy.

Simple as that.

But then the Doctor stopped showing up. And the others stopped playing with it, or letting it out of its enclosure. It was fine, sure. They still fed it, and it had its little exercise tools, but it was lonely without them taking notes or poking at its arms and torso.

They stopped coming altogether after a week. It still got food, due to the Doctor's automated system. It still had water and enrichment in its enclosure. But no games, or insides-poking, or sciency stuff. Not even their usual chess game.

It stopped grooming itself after a month. No point in being tidy if there was no one to see anyways. It had brown fur on its head and chin, now. The Doctor's head fur had been white, and almost non existent. Most of the others used to wear stuff on their heads so it didn’t know their colors. It wished it could've asked to see it.

After a full year, it started thinking maybe the Doctor wasn’t coming back. Maybe he'd died. He'd been old, and often talked about leaving the Volunteer to the care of someone competent he trusted. He also joked he often did not trust competent people, which made his quest specially hard. It didn’t mind if whoever got it was smart or dumb. It wouldn’t be able to tell the difference anyways, dumb as itself was.

On its birthday, it finally left its enclosure to check on the other experiments. Maybe the other sciency people were just busy. It would be very scolded once they saw how untidy and furred it had gotten. But that wasn’t a problem. At that point, it would be glad just to hear someone's voice.

The cages were all empty. The rooms were messy and dirty, like no one had been there in ages. The smell was stale and the temperature was a few degrees too warm to keep any bacteria or virus out. There were papers scattered, mystery liquids broken from its vials, and withered plants laying around in disarray. Why would they leave so many things like this?

Its first instinct was to tidy up the place. The Doctor always praised it when it showcased organized cleaning behavioral patterns, so maybe he'd be happy once he returned. But he often said not to touch, mess with or lick things it didn’t know the origin of, so it restrained the impulse. It seemed that everything had been taken somewhere else.

Everything except for it.

It didn’t understand why that made its heart feel heavy.

It stopped doing the exercises regularly or sleeping at the right time after the mark of one year and a half, and by the time year two was done it also stopped eating. Maybe they'd forgotten about it. Maybe the Doctor didn’t think it was funny anymore. Maybe he'd died and left no one to take care of it.

Maybe it'd just been thrown away. It physically recoiled at the thought, as if struck. And then there was water in its eyes. Tears, it recalled. It meant something wasn’t right with its hormonal levels, or that it was distressed. Maybe it was. The thing in its chest wasn’t pleasing. It didn’t want to be alone. It had tried so hard to be good. He'd promised, promised he wouldn’t leave it alone.

It made distressed sounds that reverberated through the walls of the Doctor's office. There was a metal box thing there, and a note next to it. The Volunteer read it.

'My dear Stanley,

If you are reading this, it means I am dead now, or have been for a while. I am sorry I couldn’t finish reading the Return of the King for you this time, it was entirely out of my control.

I know you must be scared, and must feel lonely, but remember what I taught you. Breathe first, think second, act last.

I have made arrangements for someone to take care of you. He's the pupil of an old friend, and while I don't trust his capabilities with organic projects as much as I'd like to, I trust your abilities enough to not mind it as much as I'd have a year ago. You've come very far, Stanley, and even though you can't remember right now, you were very strong.

The enclosure is set to take care of you for five more years, powered by the secret generator I told you about, but I'll need you to be very brave after that. I hope you don't have to stay for that long before seeking the resources I left for you, but I'd rather make a mistake of excess than one of neglect. Not again, and certainly not with you.

When you're ready, type these numbers into the telephone I left and say you are seeking the code 574N133, that you want to reclaim your agreed payment and end the project. Someone will come collect you in 2 days' time maximum. Until then, take care of yourself, eat and relax.

I wish I'd had more time to prepare you for this. The world isn't kind, Stanley. 4 years ago you might have known that, but not now, not after what happened. After what I did to you. So be careful with who you trust, and never stop fighting to survive.

That is my final request as your head director, and as a friend.

With much care and confidence,

Dr. Lionel T. Beauford.'

It had been staring at it for hours, hoping the words would be revealed to be a lie. It knew the Doctor would die at some point. But that didn’t make it hurt any less.

After a whole month of pondering and stalling, it finally gave in. It had to be brave. The Doctor said so. It slowly typed in the numbers left in the note, and waited to be picked up. After a few beeps, there was a voice.

"Hello, this is Fiddleford Mcgucket?"

It breathed in deep.

"I- I'm enacting code 574N133 to... uh... reclaim my- ugh" its voice was raspy after so long staying silent. "To reclaim my agreed pay-peigh- uh, payment, and, uh. End the project."

There was a beat.

"Holy moly" the voice said. "He wasn’t jokin'. You're real."

It nodded, and then realized the gesture wouldn’t be seen.

"Uh- yeah. I'm... uh... here. You... he said you'd come in, uh, 2 days?"

"Oh, no no, don't ya worry, I'll be right there by tomorrow noon or by God my name isn't Fiddleford."

"Maybe you should wait then."

It didn’t know why it had said that. The other end of the line burst in laugher. It smiled.

"Yer a jokey fella, huh? Ye're gonna fit right in, uh- what, what was your name again?"

It stopped, and eyed the letter.

"Um...Stanley." It responded.

"Well, pleasure to meet ya, Stanley! Ya just wait for a bit and I'll be there in no time!" The stranger- Fiddleford, promised. It- uh. Stanley smiled.

"Okay."

[the-barefoot-hatter]

have we considered that Euclydia is not like the classic work of literature, Flatland, but in fact like the classic works of literature, Mr Men and Little Miss??!

I'm just saying...

Mr Cipher fits right in...

[mayakern]

we’re on tiktok shop!!! my wife devin is new to being in videos so please go easy on them cuz i sure didnt 🫣 dont worry this edit was devin approved. no devins were harmed in the editing of this video. they maybe took psychic damage while filming it tho.

[odeqaard]

Ep. 3 IN (H)ONDA con Luca Marini

[nenoname]

honestly??? i still dont know what to do with the idea that there might be a bunch of clone fords out there???? it honestly makes me so unhinged??????

[theweeklydiscourse]

What’s with the ATLA fandom’s bizarre tendency to discuss Aang as if he’s a real-life kid? It’s gotten to the point where if you criticize the messaging of the show or certain writing decisions that are conveyed through Aang, people act like you’re picking on a real person with real feelings. Furthermore, he’s also not a paragon of wisdom, yet people talk about him as though he is based on his fictional circumstances in the narrative. These two issues are connected somehow, both claims ignore the fiction of the show and blur the lines between fictional dilemmas and real-life moral dilemmas. Ultimately, Aang is a vehicle for the morals that Bryke wish to communicate and consequently, their shortcomings, blindspots and biases surface in his character.

[tinfoil-jones]

Gravity Falls: For Your Own Good, Ch. 4

Summary: A few years after moving to Gravity Falls and having his lab built, Stanford Pines happens upon his estranged twin brother, Stanley. He mentally prepared himself to be suffocated by his brothers neediness all over again - what he wasn't prepared for was Stanley walking right past him like he didn't even notice him.

Rating: M for language, violence, and adult implications

Preface: Dialogue only, but some actions will be annotated for clarity. Cross-Posted on AO3 Here

First - Prev - Next

CH.4

"If we’re going to get to the pit of this peach we gotta get some variables outta the way first. I need a scan of his brain and yours. While conscious.”

“Mine as well?”

“You said he’s your identical twin - he should be genetically the same as you. We can use a scan of your brain as a comparison to see if there’s physical damage on the organ itself, because brain damage is the most common cause of amnesia.”

“I do have the technology available for an in-depth scan, but… ”

 “But what?”

“It’s in the shape of a ray gun, but like a traditional MRI whoever is getting scanned has to stay completely still.”

“I don’t s’pose in the time it took me to go into town and get supplies, you managed to reconcile with him?”

“Reconcile? He’s still convinced I’m a mad scientist out to harvest his organs, 'or worse turn him over to the IRS'- don’t ask about that second part. If I point anything gun-shaped at him, he’ll freak out.”

“Can’t say I blame him…”

“Hush, Fiddleford. There’s an easy way we can get him to hold still.”

“Stanford- Stanford put the tranquilizing doohickey away. We both know that concoction of yours wasn’t formulated with humans in mind. Surely you have less caustic means of sedation.”

---

“Stanford, anyone can tell that bottle’s been tampered with.”

“I have a theory that this persona of his is so self-destructive he’ll still drink it.”

“Y’know, this bottled water tastes suspiciously like two crushed Ambien tablets.” 

*Stan keeps drinking it anyways*  

“I am impressed, but I also hate that your theory was correct.”

*Ford undeafens the cell*

“Stanley, if you think there’s zolpidem in that, why are you still drinking it?”

“You think two Ambien is enough to take me down? Guess again, I’ve used this stuff to cut coke. You’re gonna have to try harder than that, PhD.” 

“Hmm, so we should have used Coca-Cola instead of water…”

“That ain’t what he meant by- how did you survive by yourself out here?”

---

“Hello there …Stan?”

“Sup babe.”

“Don’t call me that. I was wondering - you’re so handsome already, but it’d surely tickle my fancy a bit more if you put on this here necktie.”

“Hell no.”

“Do you not know how to tie one? I’d be happy to-.”

“I know how to tie a tie, specs. But I’ll never wear a necktie ever again. Not after Colombia… I still can’t shave that part of my jaw without nightmares.”

“I beg your pardon?”

---

“I couldn’t convince him to put the mind control tie on.”

“Fiddleford, why are you staring a thousand yards away?”

“He was explaining to me his time in Colombian prison, then he went on a tangent about necklaces and now I don’t think I can change a tire without thinking about it ever again.”

“... Interesting. We’re not resorting to the tranq gun yet?”

“This is your own brother you’re talking about.” 

“There’s only one thing we can do. The only thing that will 99.99% work on my brother. I didn’t think it would have to come to this so soon. But it’s our only unharmful option left.”

---

“Stanley.”

“Doc.”

“I will give you twenty dollars if you stay still for thirty whole seconds.”

“On one hand this is a set up… On the other hand, I’ve done worse for twenty dollars.”

“You what ?”

“Ten bucks up front.”

To be continued...

[corvidcrafts273]

Sam x Justin Trouble was a ship I didnt know I needed

[ladyhoneydarlinglove]

i like to think that zoro being callous about luffy mourning vegapunk’s death isn’t so much him being a heartless jerk as it is him being able to recognize that just because the old man felt bad at the end of his life doesn’t mean he isn’t still complicit in a metric fuckton of war crimes.

[vi3w-monst3rr]

cw: pills

Hotline!

[stwinsgstdrop]

Guys I'm sorry for the delay in the 4th chapter of You Ruined Yourself. I was invited to participate in @babyblankyerror 's collab project and am dedicating a lot of my time to it. And also a bit to my Volunteered Ethical Experiments AU. But!!!! I should be done with some projects enough to post some art this week!

In the meantime, have a lil treat of what art piece I'm working on.

[itseasierthanithought]

Love is not affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved person's ultimate good as far as it can be obtained.

~ C. S. Lewis

[mayakern]

searching for the cutest AND the comfiest dress in the world?? look no further 😎