Artemy, with literally every other child in the game

Artemy, with Clara

"I'm in. And no charge. Consider it a freebie."

"Why?"

[Tyler Galpin had no control over who manipulated Hyde. He had no idea or any sort of training in controlling his own powers. As a normie he was neglected by his father and found solace in the lies Thornhill fed him. If his dad had ever tried to communicate with him rather than being scared of what his son would become, he'd be in a different place. What he was made to do was not his fault. He did not choose to kill people. He was just a teenager trying to be a better person, trying to live his life peacefully. He was haunted by the pain of the people Hyde killed, and when he's telling Wednesday about it, you can see the mask almost slip. And that's all I have to say.]

We’ll play forever, me and you…!

(3x10 Samadhi Fire) - (3x11 This Imperfect World)

You! You ruined everything! All that time you spent locked away, and you haven't changed a bit! I'm going to finish you, like I should have done a long time ago! I told you—you should have stayed buried.

rewatching destiny is so funny but it also HURTS !!!!!!!!! jay has to hear his dad say he’d kill the destiny gang members, which includes little destiny, and i’m sure that finn would be understanding of jay and ld’s relationship but naturally since they’ve kept it a secret finn doesn’t fucking know and it clearly upsets the poor kid ,,, crying throwing up

like its ok to wish that hunter did more to get crosshair out but i will say PLEASE stop saying that rescuing the literal helpless child from the child murdering fascists was somehow wrong of Hunter.

also like. can we stop undermining the very clear and obvious way that crosshair liked the power that he was given in the empire, especially over others, he was radicalized. he convinced himself that the war crimes were justified in the name of power. that is a far bigger problem and something that is going to haunt him far longer and requires a lot more to undo and forgive (and some people will never and should never do that, and others can't bc they are Dead)

to say it was all the effects of the chips, at this point in the series, its just not true. the events of aftermath specifically are 100% the chip. Everything after that is up for debate. We don't know when it was taken out, but at some point it was, and crosshair's pov is that it doesn't matter when, bc he likes where he's at. Had he not been abandoned by the empire on Kamino for so long, I doubt he would have ever changed, had Cody not deserted after confronting him about what it was the clones were doing, I doubt he would have ever changed. Had he not been forced to see Mayday's struggle and fight to bring him home and still after everything they both gave after everything suffered mayday died not in battle but because someone couldn't be bothered to even try to help him, I don't think he would have changed. I don't think Hunter could talk him out of it, and maybe he didn't try hard enough, or really, at all. Crosshair's version of loyalty, though, is blind, unquestioning, a soldiers loyalty. Obeying what they were doing, things that Hunter couldn't obey, and would have made him a monster to do.

But I can't imagine the disgust I would be forced to contend with if like, my family member came forward like "oh yes we're built to be soldiers, that doesn't mean preserving or protecting innocents, It means power and killing those who get in my way. its my purpose in life and i think you're stupid for not getting over the moral objections" like what do you even say to that. Hunter at that point had SEEN what the empire was doing. They both had, their home planet, (and head canons aside, all clones did in fact, in canon, see it as their home.) orbitally bombarded to secure power. How do you talk someone out of that, if fundamentally what your disagreement is on the value of life. You don't. Hence Hunter's demands in S3E5 to know what changed. What finally made Crosshair realize what he believed, about power and his purpose, was wrong.

Crosshair didn't want out. Crosshair was upset they didn't stay. He saw their purpose as being with the Empire. They escaped and ran and deserted. If they weren't with him, in the Empire, then they should die, like the Jedi, and Crosshair did absolutely believe that.

So this is all to say that. they are not equally responsible for what happened to their squad. Crosshair didn't have a choice at first— but once he did keep running right over that line. And a lot of us hoped that he was lying about the chip, that he wasn't entirely responsible for all that he did. But he was. That's clear at this point.

Even the whole chip matter— it's prolly really hard for Hunter to separate it. logically, he knows it was partially the chip at this point. But at that point in the story he watched someone he was incredibly close to nearly kill them all and at the time he had no idea why. If Hunter'd not grabbed Omega by the leg and tripped her she would be shot dead. If omega hadn't surprised Crosshair by shooting his gun out of his hand he would have killed Hunter. He shot wrecker, to use him as bait against the rest of them? Like, again, we all knew about the chip, but I can understand the emotional toll of such a thing bc he DIDNT at the time. The betrayal in that moment? How do you let it go?

But thats all fine! its interesting its character development and its the story they were determined to tell. But like. we can be honest.

Now if someone thinks that im wrong i'd love to know what exactly hunter needs to be sorry about, and why he's equally responsible that doesn't like either downplay the war crimes and murder and doesn't throw Omega like directly into harms way and under the bus.

Terrorist State Israel BOMBS houses and buildings sheltering CHILDREN

kinda relevant: i've been seeing weirdos on twitter refer to young Palestinian guys (aged 15-35) as military aged men, trying to imply that all such Palestinian men are potential hamas fighters, and therefore legitimate targets. they are literally hungering for excuses to kill as many Palestinians as possible while evading accountability

"Er-ge, oh, Er-ge!"

Lan Xichen had no patience for Nie Huaisang's little troubles, not at that place and time, but the younger man sounded and looked so distraught and unconsolable that he felt obligated to help him. Even his tears looked real and honest, not just the dramatic ones he conjured when he was too lazy to bother with sect things.

"Yes, Nie Huaisang?" The younger - and smaller, weaker, his conscience whispered - man threw himself in his arms, tears flowing without his unnecessary sobbing noises.

Lan Xichen had a soft spot for his sworn brother's didi, his didi. And maybe helping him with whatever trouble he found himself in this time, he could hopefully pretend that the love of his life wasn't getting married to his beloved bride.

"Er-ge..." Nie Huaisang sniffled. "I'm in trouble."

"I already guessed that. What happened, A-Sang?" He asked, his hands buried into the soft locks of his younger brother.

Nie Huaisang pulled away, his eyes big and teary, tugging on his heartstrings. "No, Er-ge. I'm in trouble."

It took Lan Xichen more time than he would like to admit to finally understand the meaning of those words. Nie Huaisang was in trouble.

Oh, the irresponsible man!

"Who? Is it somebody in our status? Is there anybody who knows this? You need to get married immediately." He went into problem solving mood, his questions coming like rapid fire.

Nie Huaisang just cried.

"Nie Huaisang, this is serious!" He wanted to shake the boy. How could he be so- "Who is the father?!"

The answer came like a slap in the face. "Da-ge."

Oh.

Oh, the poor boy.

"I..." A sharp inhale. "I will help you. Nobody has to know."

His heart beats for Jin Guangyao, but he always had a soft spot for Nie Huaisang. It wouldn't be love, not the way it should be, but he would take care of the younger man and his unborn child. Da-ge's unborn child.

"Th-Thank you," Nie Huaisang stuttered. Tears were still gathering in the corner of his eyes, but he looked relieved.

Lan Xichen was glad he could be helpful. He was glad he could offer a good solution for his- his betrothed?

"I knew I could count on Er-ge's help," Nie Huaisang said, his usual fan fluttering in front of his face.

"You can always count on me," he promised. It was a promise he was intended to keep.

I get so infuriated when people reduce Jason's ultimatum to "trying to force Bruce to kill someone to prove his love". The dishonesty of it. Remove all context from the situation and make it sound like an insane inhumane choice. I can do that too actually. Batman is a rich kid who whales on poor and mentally ill people instead of going to therapy. He colludes with cops to bypass due process and collect evidence illegally. He creates child soldiers and makes them into canon fodder for his obsession. It sounds pretty indefensible when you remove every single context and convention that makes a story work doesn't it? Almost like you're only willing to extend the in-universe rules to the rich white manbaby and not the child whose death he was responsible for, huh?

Also? Moral absolutism is harmful and egoistic. You shouldn't kill people, not even criminals, of course not. But that doesn't mean refusing to kill in any situation whatsoever is the moral choice. There's a difference between killing to protect and killing to avenge. Between killing an active threat who will definitely escape and slaughter a family and killing one who is safely contained. Any rule that's taken purely prescriptively and without regard to the individual context of the choice is simply dogma. Especially if the role you have voluntarily taken on requires the willingness to do whatever it takes to do your fucking job. That's why morality isn't fucking black and white.

That's the crux of it for me; why I take this defense of Batman's choices so personally. I don't trust people who see the world in such a black and white way (this includes Jason, who is exactly as myopic as Bruce, but happens to be right about the Joker imo. Fortunately he's a fictional character and also a kid who has not yet had the opportunity to grow, unlike Bruce). I don't trust people who think morality is about a set of correct judgements rather than the process by which you arrive at said judgements. I don't trust people who won't fucking choose. Inaction is complicity, bitch. The consequences of your choices exist and fall on other people regardless of your refusal to take responsibility for them. Bottomline – if your version of "mercy" results in the death and suffering of other people, maybe consider that you're the villain of the story.

defining will's love for hannibal as religion stands as an overpowering symbol of how will's emotions are powerful enough to mold a man into something akin to god, even with his flaws, even with his mortality, even with his own devotion to him that isn't some imprisonment or necessity or a show put up for valour or honour but formed of his own volition that itsn't driven by lust unlike so many other metaphors and so called "analogous" loves, is such strong visual and visceral representation of the human psyche omitting life outside of its own want and turning it into piety. in this essay i will...

How Belos remembers Caleb back in the human realm:

How Caleb actually was back in the human realm:

This is such a good addition to the ways the story has shown us over and over that Philip is an intentionally unreliable narrator.

Now, Luz is also an unreliable narrator as we've seen a few times, but with Luz it's clearly unintentional and a side effect of RSD, where she takes on more guilt than is warranted. Philip on the other hand, rewrites the story to make himself look better and be absolved of all guilt each time.

First we see it in "Elsewhere and Elsewhen", when Philip is exposed for purposely fabricating the entries in his journal, which we were following since Luz discovered it back in "Through The Looking Glass Ruins". It was deliberate on his part to doctor his own personal journal that he later personally delivers to a library, all centuries before he ever became Belos. And it worked! Philip appeared much kinder and genuinely curious of the Boiling Isles, so much so both the audience and Luz had sympathy for him, yet it was all a lie on his journey of genocide. He set about fabricating sympathy for himself long before he had any power or chance of destroying the Isles, relaying how deeply manipulative he is.

Then we see it again in "Hollow Mind", with Belos having a fake mindscape full of fabricated propaganda of his reign that hid his real memories of his life and actions. His own subconscious greeted them in a purposely innocent persona to lower their guard, then revealed himself after he got what he wanted. The layers of manipulation and dishonesty it takes to create such cognitive dissonance just on the off change his mind is ever explored is something that cannot be understated. Even further than purposely fabricating his journal, he stripped away parts of his own memory and presented his Inner Belos as a child all to garner, again, more sympathy.

Now we see it again here, in "Thanks To Them", where the first time the show directly shows us Caleb in the human realm outside of Belos' memory of him, he looks miserable. He has heavy bags under his eyes, sunken in cheeks, and a truly despondent expression.

It's entirely possible Caleb hid his misery from Philip, being the older child and having to take on responsibility to protect his younger brother, and it's also possible Caleb did enjoy his childhood and was genuinely happy in those earlier memories. But as this new shot shows us, Caleb eventually stops appearing that way and grows depressed being in the human realm, yet conveniently there's no memory Philip has that shows this stage of Caleb.

We can even dig a little further into some of the mindscape memories to see more of the framework for this final reveal.

Here we have the last memory of Caleb before the Boiling Isles memories start:

This is also the first memory where Philip isn't smiling. Caleb is smiling though, and this is the most in the light Caleb has appeared in a memory since the one of him carving that mask. Caleb slowly turned further away from the lighting throughout Belos' early memories, being shrouded in more and more darkness in each one, but this memory when Philip looks unhappy for the first time is when Caleb's finally turning back towards the light, and it's most likely the memory of when Caleb left the human realm.

Then here we have the first memory Caleb's eyes become visible:

The moment they reunited is when Philip finally remembers Caleb's eyes. And boy does he look drastically different from the man in the mirror. He doesn't have eyebags, his cheeks are no longer sunken in, and he looks happy.

This moment is also when Philip decides to kill him.

Because he looked too happy here in this world Philip thinks is hell.

And he looked far happier there than he did back home.

So Philip wipes away those details from his memory. Like he does every other detail that makes him appear to be in the wrong.

And we finally have the proof of it. When Belos said "Out of all the grimwalkers, you looked the most like him" he meant it, even after he willingly rewrote his own memories of Caleb to reflect differently.

OH, speaking of misao, while i'm still here... let me talk about how she was introduced to playing instruments + why she still does it often to this day. as you may know, misao's mother — kaiyah — did suffer from mental health issues, and in ancient japan... they were very behind in terms of providing the appropriate care to those who had mental health concerns. while doing research on it, i also discovered that it was also unfortunately HEAVILY stigmatized and thought of to be caused by spirits and/or brought about by spiritual means. and so kaiyah would often have to find ways to try to help herself cope with her symptoms; one of which turned out to be music. and misao remembers which instrument kaiyah used to play vividly because listening to her play music, as well as sing, was one of the ways that they'd bond despite them having a rather complicated relationship. kaiyah used to play the biwa, which is a plucked string instrument that sort of resembles a guitar and whenever she'd play, kaiyah would sit cross-legged. and this wasn't only because that was the traditional way to play the biwa, but so that misao could sit in her lap as she strummed the instrument. and misao also remembers kaiyah just looking at her with this look that was just made up of pure happiness during those moments. which, although they were very ephemeral, kind of helped her pull through her childhood because they gave her hope that maybe she could be like this all the time at first; and then upon discovering that although that might not be the most realistic thing to think... it helped her pull through because she would believed that she rather hold onto whatever scrap of happiness she could get, rather than try to forget these experiences with her mother, because of the fact that they hurt her so badly emotionally sometimes. and this was because she wanted to help kaiyah the same way that music seemed to — she just didn't know how. but as the years passed, misao came up with the idea that maybe learning to play it could be a method in which she could assist kaiyah with feeling more... at peace, i guess you could say, and so she did.

though misao only got to play the biwa for her mother a few times before ryu was born, and whenever that happened, everything changed. but of course... none of it was his fault. all those good feelings that misao had associated with the biwa now had a sort of bitter taste to them because of kaiyah's neglect towards ryu and once more, although this conflict was a lot more nuanced than it might've appeared because of her mother's illness, misao felt this strong urge to just completely smash her biwa into pieces because she felt so bad inside. though, honestly, misao is glad that she didn't today. because it honestly is one of the few things that she still has around that reminds her of kaiyah, and although she literally cannot play it because the last time she did, misao just sobbed all the way through it — she was able to pick up another instrument that vaguely reminded her of the biwa and allowed her to reconnect with that old part of herself: which would be the guitar. but it is a very private part of herself that she doesn't reveal to a lot of people. she'll really only play the guitar around people she really trusts, as whenever she's playing it, it's almost like she's playing to her mother again.

clarinette "Wait....................if mochi dies, then lime will be sad enough to date me again to get over her................" and joins the kill-mochi-on-sight club