#and the knowledge of what he was willing to do

[apoloadonisandnarcissus]

Why did Galadriel allow the Three Elven rings to be forged, in 1x08?

Despite knowing, for a fact, Halbrand is Sauron, and he has been working at Eregion, alongside Celebrimbor, all along, in 1x08? It’s because she knows the Three are truly free from Sauron’s influence, like she tells Elrond in 2x01?

Because her own statement in 2x02, seems to contradict this: Sauron... sees himself not as master of a barren waste, but of all Middle-earth. He seeks to rule it not only through conquest, but by bending the minds and wills of all its peoples to his own. And for that, he needs not armies... but Rings. And he cannot craft them without Celebrimbor.

Galadriel is not naïve, nor is she stupid, quite the opposite. Tolkien describes her brilliant in mind and swift in action. And, in Season 2, we saw her lying to hide the true nature of her connection to Sauron: to Gil-galad, in 2x02, she denies Halbrand was her friend; in 2x06 she tells Adar, Sauron promised her an army.

Galadriel’s entire plot in Númenor, in Season 1, was her trying to get herself an army to fight “Sauron” in the Southlands, and to persuade Halbrand to reclaim “his” throne.

Halbrand: I'm afraid you're short an army. Galadriel: Leave the army to me. 1x02

Halbrand: How? You're stuck on this island. And you're still short an army. Galadriel: That is all about to change. 1x03

Halbrand: You used me. After I all but begged you to let me be. Galadriel: I have just convinced Númenor to send five ships and 500 men to aid your people and place a crown upon your head. Many might assume you used me. Halbrand: Find another head to crown. 1x05

1) Galadriel knows Sauron’s reputation

As are all Elves, and that’s why they feared him so. They know Sauron is a powerful sorcerer, and very much so. He’s known as the “great deceiver”, a trickster, who employs deception and illusions.

2) Galadriel was aware of Sauron’s goals

Galadriel was, also, perfectly aware this was Sauron’s plan and goal, all along. Adar revealed it to her, in 1x06:

After Morgoth's defeat, the one you call Sauron... Devoted himself to healing Middle-earth, bringing its ruined lands together in perfect order. He sought to craft a power not of the flesh... But over flesh. A power of the Unseen World. He bid as many as he could to follow him far north. But try as he might... Something was missing. A shadow of dark knowledge that kept itself hidden, even from him. No matter how much blood he spilt in its pursuit.

3) She knows the rings were Sauron’s idea

And hearing Celebrimbor speaking about a “power over flesh” was what made her suspect Halbrand was lying about his identity and had hidden motives to be at Eregion, in the first place:

His [Halbrand] suggestions were but the key that unlocked the dam. We are on the cusp of crafting a new kind of power. Not of strength, but of spirit. Not of the flesh, but over flesh. This is... This is a power of the Unseen World.

4) Sauron’s request

Persuading Galadriel into allowing the rings to be forged was the entire point of Sauron’s first illusion, when he takes the form of her brother, Finrod. 

He [Sauron] was seeking a power not to destroy Middle-earth, but to heal it. Just as your fellow Elves are seeking to do this very moment. You needn't lie to them. Simply let the work proceed.

This alone should “ring the alarms” in Galadriel’s mind that something is “up” with this whole project. And Sauron is talking in the past tense, which indicates he already found the power was seeking (as he tells Galadriel himself before the reveal: “we found it!”).

However, this is exactly what Galadriel does. She only doesn’t reveal to Elrond and Celebrimbor Halbrand’s true identity, but she allows the rings to be forged, anyway. But instead of two, she makes it three. For balance.

Are the Rings really free of Sauron’s influence?

Yes and no. The Three Elven rings are free from “Sauron’s influence” in the sense he doesn’t enslave its bearers to his will, but they not free from his power, they feed off of it, all the same. We know this from Tolkien lore; after the One Ring gets destroyed, in the Third Age, the Three lose their magical properties, and become mere pieces of jewelry.

What is most likely to have happened is that Sauron infused the mithril with his intentions in 1x08, as he did in 2x03 (for the Seven), and this was him attempting to replicate what he did before (in 1x08), but now he wants control and dominion, too, so his intentions are tainted with greed (which will be what the Seven rings of power will do to the Dwarves’ Ring-bearers):

The rings of power are Sauron's masterplan, after all. He sees himself as their creator and their master, like he says to Celebrimbor in 2x08:

And this strengthens the theory it was Nenya that stopped Galadriel from joining him, and compelled her to fall down the cliff, in 2x08. The ring resisted his command. Which might indicate these rings have a will of their own, like the One Ring, and Nenya chose Galadriel and sees her as its master:

Having a ring of power desobey him (his very own creation) would give Sauron not only the motivation but the idea to forge a “master-ring” to control all others:

"They worked wonders"

And this is why Sauron wants Nenya, and other Two of the Three. He needs them for his masterplan, because these were the only rings that actually worked. They heal Morgoth’s corruption. And he wants to know what he did different with them.

And 2x08 answered to that, too:

I’ve already talked about this on several posts: the Three contain OG Mairon’s essence and the qualities he was created to have by Eru himself (perfection, order, beauty), plus his desire for healing Morgoth’s corruption. And this idea is also present in 2x01:

But this is not Celebrimbor’s doing, at all. This is powerful Ainur magic, that only one of the Ainur (Vala or Maia) could accomplish: and that's Mairon.

Through Adar in 2x08, we got confirmation that the mithril can cure Morgoth's corruption in every sort of way. But this effect is only temporary, and that’s probably why Sauron/Halbrand wanted to forge two (one for himself, and the other for Galadriel, because he recognizes the same yearning for healing in her).

Then why, knowing all of this, did Galadriel allow the rings to be forged, anyway?

Galadriel herself answered to that, in 1x08:

Indeed, the Elves were running out of time (Gil-Galad gave them three weeks to find a solution), soon they would have to leave Middle-earth, otherwise they would fade, and die. And Galadriel refused to return to Valinor, in 1x01, because she wants to destroy Sauron. And Elrond failed his mission in Khazad-dûm in getting more mithril (like she said to his face in 2x01):

She knows Sauron is an ancient and powerful sorcerer, and if anyone can pull something like this off is probably him. And, subconsciously, Galadriel is aware she needs his power, because he tells her so, himself, 1x08:

Sauron: You have no choice. Without me, your people will fade. And the shadow will spread and darken to cover all the world. You need me. Galadriel: I should have left you on the sea.

And to “the sea” he returns her in the next vision, to the moment when he saved her in the Sundering Seas, to make this point across.

And it worked. Because Galadriel is willing to take that gamble and allow the Three to be forged, because there’s no other way for the Elves to stay in Middle-earth. And, in order to do that, she has to keep Halbrand’s true identity concealed from Elrond and Celebrimbor, otherwise they would never agree.

And Gil-galad himself agrees with this idea (“it’s the only way”), in 2x01, as he compels Elrond to surrender the rings:

Elrond: He worked with Celebrimbor for weeks. We know not the depth of his influence Gil-galad: Soon, the last Gold-leaf will fall, and it will be my task to inform all Lindon our time here is ended, and the Elves must abandon these shores forever. Now, you inform me our most cunning enemy is rising again. If we leave now, the peoples of Middle-earth will be left to suffer under the tyranny of a new Dark Lord. Those Rings are more than our last hope, they may be the last hope for all Middle-earth. It is a risk we must chance to take. Give them to me.

Because of you, we've no choice but to test the virtue of the Rings.

And Galadriel sort of says this to Elrond, in the same episode: I did what I felt was right. And time alone will reveal whether that was folly or wisdom.

Now, the irony of all of this is that Galadriel and the Elves, by keeping the rings for themselves, instead of destroying them and returning to Valinor, are enabling Sauron to continue his masterplan. Because had the Elves left as they were meant to, Sauron wouldn’t had the means to see his plan through (because Celebrimbor would be out of his reach), nor had they condemned Middle-earth to the tyranny of the a new Dark Lord. Which means: Elrond was right.

[jasvtsc]

terminally ill!dean winchester x reader.

dean knew that he didn’t have much time.

after discovering that he had blood clots in his brain that were pretty much incurable, because of a spell some witch cast on him, he didn’t know what to do. for the first time in his life, he felt so…

lost.

and when he thought about it better, he realized that he was all alone.

sure, there were people in his life. he had his brother and his friends. but he didn’t have his own person. everyone had someone. sam had a whole family, castiel was back in heaven doing some angel duty type shit and the rest of them? they weren’t that close.

so yeah, everyone had someone. but dean? he was lonely.

how else, after all he was the one who got rid of you in the first place. he still had this bitter feeling about your break up. not to mention the guilt that was eating him alive since that day.

as the type of person who avoids any type of feelings like fire, he did the same with you. as soon as you were getting too close to his liking, he got scared and immediately ran away. he came up with some shit, how he just got bored of you and it was all causal from the beginning — you were just imagining things, there was no relationship.

when in fact he loved you. and he loved you like crazy.

and the knowledge that he was about to die soon (where this time there was no coming back), he was actually scared.

all he wanted was one day with you.

but even when he was standing on the front porch of your house, he hesitated, his hand halfway up to the door as he didn’t know if he should knock. however, he had nothing to lose at this point. even if you screamed at him how much you hated him and punched him repeatedly, he’d take it. he’d do everything, just to see you this one last time.

so, he knocked.

and when you opened the door, you didn’t know if you were seeing things now or what. there he was — dean fucking winchester, in the flesh.

you debated whether you should kick him out or kick him. the fucking audacity to appear at your doorstep after all these years? yeah, well, you weren’t as strong-willed as you wanted to be so soon enough, he was sitting in your kitchen, having a cup of coffee.

“so, kids, huh?” he hummed, looking around at all the different pictures of your little family — your partner and two kids probably around the age of four and two.

and he couldn’t help but feel nauseous at the thought that it could be him if if wasn’t for the fact that he was a fucking coward. it was enough to make him want to turn back time and undo everything.

he missed you, so much.

and at this point, he regretted his whole life spent on avoiding commitment. maybe then, he’d have someone who would care for him enough to have a family together. maybe then, he’d get to be the father he once dreamed of being. he had always been good with kids and he wanted to even have some of his own one day — with you.

but of course, he had to fuck it up like everything else in his life.

“what do you want, dean?” you sighed tiredly, rubbing your temple. this whole situation was already giving you a headache and you had a feeling that it was about to get worse.

you weren’t wrong.

“well, you see—“ he cleared his throat and began to explain his situation. he didn’t want pity or sympathy. he didn’t want to guilt trip you. he just wanted you… to know. that’s all. “—so, i just wanted to see you again. one last time,” he said with a sheepish smile, quickly looking away.

because as soon as he noticed the tears gathering in your beautiful eyes, that once had held so much love for him, he felt like he was about to cry himself.

“how much time do you have?” you asked, your voice trembling as you looked at him in disbelief. it felt so surreal to know that the man you once loved was actually dying. and there was nothing you could’ve done about it.

“i don’t know,” he shrugged.

a fucking lie.

he knew exactly how much time he had left — just a few hours. he already said his goodbyes to everyone and you were the last one on his list. and the reason was pretty simple — he wanted to spend his last moments with the love of his life.

with the one that got away.

a/n: so yeah, this one was inspired by a kdrama called mr. plankton (that shit DESTORYED ME i actually need a few business days to get it together lmao) and ig i just keep on being emo

༄♡ tags: @internetitgirl17 @beausling @deanswidow @deansbite @aileenunfiltered @fitxgrld @figthoughts @angelicp0etry @hrtsoldierboy @titsout4nicholas

[sassydefendorflower]

The way so much of the first chapter of the manga gets mirrored in the last one is so effortless, it feels pretty redundant to talk about it here.

We all remember the callback to "I'll show you who the novice is!" and the literal hand of God striking down. But the entire core of the theme gets represented so elegantly by this panel from the first chapter of the manga in which Ed compares alchemists to the closest thing to God because they are capable of the act of creation.

This arrogance is Ed's fatal flaw, it's what led him down this path of destruction (and redemption) even if he no longer believes the dead can be brought back. He still thinks alchemy is the answer. He still thinks that every problem has an alchemical solution and pure scientific belief will be able to answer the moral conundrums presented to him on his journey.

And then here he is at the end of his journey.

And the answer to the question of "will you sacrifice your power and simply become an ordinary human?" is "I've always been an ordinary human". It is the answer to a question asked a hundred-and-eight chapters earlier, and it is the final moment in which Ed finally lets go of his arrogance. They couldn't save Nina with alchemy, because they are not God. They aren't some higher being that can break the rules of the universe.

They are human.

That's all they've ever been.

Ed has finally accepted that alchemy can't fix everything (which makes it slightly ironic that just this once it does). But he accepts his arrogance, he lets go of his belief in the black and white rigidity of science, and still he never once gives up his ideals.

He admits that seeing Truth is what led him down this path, this belief that if only he had all the answers in the universe, all the knowledge within the Gate, he could solve everything. He could do the impossible. Seeing Truth is what led him to compare alchemists to God.

And in the end what does he do? He lets go of Truth. He destroys his Gate. He frees himself from the shackles of his knowledge.

He gets his brother back.

In the first chapter, Ed says humans are cheap. You can buy all the ingredients with the pocket money of a child, down at the village store.

In the last chapter, his brother costs Ed his arrogance and the ability to play God. And the acknowledgement that Rose is right: a person isn't a thing. It isn't just all these ingredients mixed together.

And it is disrespectful to assume otherwise, to act as if the answer to a lost loved one is science.

(the answer is the flow of the universe)

When the answer is love.

And for love? For his brother?

It is a steep price(his alchemy, his provenance, his arrogance, his knowledge), but one Ed is more than willing to pay.

[shinystealingbirb]

This is a bit of a rant, but I wonder what Ratio's opinion on people who are in majors they don't want to be is.

Like, the people who clearly want to be studying one thing, but through one reason or another, are in a different major/professor.

From a teacher standpoint, I imagine it sucks to watch the life leave a kid's eyes every time they look at their worksheet, and it must be annoying if they turn their stuff in late because they were working on something else or just not paying attention.

I know that ratio puts an emphasis on not only wanting to be in that specific class, but actively participating and listening. Failure to do either of these gets you kicked out. i wonder if he would toss people from his class without a second look, or if he would take the time to consider why someone who fought to be in his class so clearly doesn't want to be there? if they're still taking notes, still somehow scoring decently, but its so obviously half-hearted, like they've resigned themselves to this, would he transfer them? Let them stay? kick them out entirely?

im certain he'd just toss them out, but they'd be better in the long run, and anotehr slot would open in the class for someone who wanted to be there. but i wonder what he himself thinks about those types of people. if he pities them for not being able to follow their own ppath, or finds himself disgusted that they turn away knowledge in favor of some other course. or if he considers this class itself, for these people, to be a roadblock in their own pursuit of knowledge. Does he consider what they want, if they're still in college, still trying to study, but forced to be in that major, to still be a pursuit of knowledge? i wonder how far his idea of "knowledge" spreads, if its purely math and phyiscs and medical and philosophy, or it if extends to art and writing and drama. if people want to learn to create expression, is that still knowledge to him? or is it the act of learning he finds so important, that as long as they are not closing their minds off and accepting what they know as fact so solid that nothing else can pass through it, then they are learning and willing to understand?

(honestly, i like the last one. it would explain why Ratio likes Stelle so much. She's got no education, but she's willing to question most things and think critically instead of accepting things as solid fact, and I think he appreciates that.)

i wonder all of this because college has been rough for me so far, and sometimes considering it from a more intelligent and higher perspective than my own helps me see a bigger picture, if there is one. If i am still learning, even if i am struggling, even if its not where i want to be, is it pitiful or embarassing? and could it still be cosnidered a worthwhile pursuit?

[3dchoujinbag]

Thinking about tserriednich in this parallel pile as a foil to all four:

Has plot and/or narrative connections to all four.

Legitimate as opposed to Morena and Halkenburg’s relationships with illegitimacy. (Chrollo and Pika have their themes of ‘real’ family as well)

Sees everything like a game, similar to Morena, opposite of Halk and Pika. Chrollo tries to see everything as theater, which feels similar?

Has a loyal group of friends/followers opposed to what their ‘leader’ is doing like Chrollo (and Pika in Yorknew), while Halk’s and Morena’s loyal groups are not opposed

Is explicitly not willing to give up his life, unlike all four. No death wish with this guy.a

Jesus/Antichrist symbolism abound, like with Chrollo, Halkenburg, and Morena. Notably, Halkenburg, Tserri have both died and “risen from the dead” (Hisoka, too!!). A heavy cross to bear

Has an interesting relationship multiple Nen abilities and dehumanization. On the surface, it would appear that, unlike the other four, Tserri does not repress his emotions and urges at all. However:

both his abilities play on his hatred of “those who don’t know their own ignorance”, and his refusal to see as his own ignorance. Both the lie detector and future sight abilities act to cover up Tserri’s unknown ignorances (he didn’t even know Nen existed lmao).

both of his abilities manifest as Nen beasts outside of himself. He himself is not privy to the fact that his beast knows Theta is lying, or to her intention to kill him (until she is literally 10 seconds away from doing so). His abilities manifest as two parents protecting him from the world around him. He remains ignorant by sheltering himself

Compare to Pika, whose abilities reflect both his desire to do everything himself (he wields his chains, Tserri does not wield his abilities), but also his resistance to his own dehumanization (Dolphin chain allows him to create allies, Tserri’s abilities are his allies/force others to be maybe)

compare to Halk, who has an ability to takes over others’ bodies, but it notably DOES NOT KILL THEM, or even hurt them. If you do strategically kill them while they are vulnerable, their soul will be returned safely to their body (Balsa returning to his body rn). Tserri will make his enemies “less than human”, but Halk cannot dehumanize his enemies with his abilities, only himself. Tserri turns his enemies into slaves (or something similar, presumably), Halkenburg literally cannot sacrifice anyone who is not willing to die for the cause.

compare to Morena, whose scars and illegitimacy prevent her from being ignorant of the world around her. Her ability is not only a) directly, intimately used by her and b) spreads knowledge of her worldview to others, but also c) she herself guides and mentors her subjects, but not have total control over them. Her ability requires her to sacrifice casualties en masse, unlike Halk, unlike Pika.

compare to Chrollo, whose ability also reflects a search for knowledge about other people. While Chrollo’s ability showcases his curiosity in others’ individuality, Tserri’s ability shows he only cares how other people will affect him. Chrollo’s ability requires careful long-term planning, Tserri’s allows him short-term flexibility.

something something chrollo steals nen abilities and morena grants nen abilities.

chrollo steals abilities to hoard while kurapika steals them to use once, or grants them to others.

kurapika teaches a class of 20+ people working for the upper class how to use nen in order to force a stalemate- in other words, stagnation. morena "teaches" (infects) 20+ lowerclass nobodies to wreak havoc, cause anarachy, and ultimatly bring about change.

kurapika's cause being a just one that happens to benefit a bunch of awful royals while morena's cause is objectively, profoundly malevolent while also inconviencing those same awful royals.

morena wanting societal change for the worse while halkenburg wants it for the better. kurapika wanting personal justice (arguably for the better) chrollo wanting personal justice (arguably for the worse).

halkenburg coming to terms with being willing to sacrifice the lives of his own (consenting) people for the betterment of society. morena being willing to do the same - for the opposite cause.

both chrollo (the spider) and kurapika struggle to justify doing the same. personal justice does not make their loss any easier to bear or grief any easier to withstand.

kurapika, chrollo, morena, and halkenburg all having their own sets of disciples.

all of them being attached to biblical imagery. all of them fighting for wildly different causes.

all of them completely willing to throw away their lives.

something something something it's a heavy cross to bear

[adragonsdance]

Does anyone else ever think about how WC!Scott canonically brought Mertha back to life and there was a bit of hand waving like “Eeuuhh she was a goat that’s not to difficult” but really she was a human soul trapped in a goat’s body, so Scott could bring back a human soul by like, the middle of the trials, so he might have already been powerful enough to bring back Milo by that point or soon after, without having to go full Lich and do all the horrible things that ritual entails, but by that point he had convinced himself so thoroughly that the only way to achieve his goal was by becoming the Supreme Witch that it didn’t even cross his mind to try?

[mishy-mashy]

Bruce is actually really attractive, and I have enough reasoning to make a list

He's:

Tall (. Tall enough to hit his head on the vault doorframe)

Long-legged

Has a straight nose bridge

Has high cheekbones (more noticeable in 2nd pic below)

Has a strong jawline

Sharp eyes, but they aren't small (plus eyebags if you're into that)

Overall, he has strong, attractive facial features

Has broad, refined shoulders. You can tell he works out (or he did, when he was alive)

Even has a thick, muscly neck

He has MUSCLE. Is SCULPTED. NOICE. VERY NOICE. (nice arms. Nice shoulders. Nice neck. Nice legs. Nice butt-)

(There are actually panels where you can see some of his muscles. Other than those already shown here, he's got bricky thighs-

-and in the panels where we first get his name dropped, he's got those shoulder blades too-)

The one time we see him smile, and he actually has a scary one

Has small, kinda sharp pupils, and his eyes remind me of a cat. We only ever saw him tense or defensive, so his resting/listening face is really cute

Other than the physical appearance stuff, he also:

Takes shit without batting an eye (patience, knowing it's just how Kudo is, etc)

Kudo being all "Cut the crap Bruce and give it to me straight", after Bruce tests his blood and is rightfully Concerned because they just faced AFO

Put up with Kudo's experimenting and testing over Yoichi's transferable Factor

Did ya'll see the look on Kudo's face when he realized he had Yoichi's Factor/will? Kudo was going to start in nonsense and Bruce just dealt with that.

Also something I noticed when looking back at the images here; Bruce has bandages on his arms in the void. But not when he faced AFO in the sewers.

Were he and Kudo cutting their arms open in their experimenting over Yoichi's theory? Is this why Kudo has two gauntlets instead of his one? Why we never see his bare arms in the void? That he always keeps his arms down so there's no slip?

Is smart enough to run blood tests, plus has enough common sense to pick Shinomori as his successor

He picked a guy who avoids society, has an Ability to detect danger so he can always stay away from AFO, is also a coward so he's never going to go throw himself into danger, even without knowing instinctively he stands no chance, etc.

Meanwhile, Kudo chose Bruce, who he played Hot Potato Yoichi with; but he did also trust Bruce, and put the only pure combative Ability in OFA through Bruce.

These two made their choices based on what they valued and saw the Factor needed.

Is logical, analytical, and calm.

He tried advising Midoriya on their Abilities in One For All, especially his own.

Midoriya then tried ignoring him about using Fa Jin for the first time, but found he was right, thinking: "Dammit!! I had [Lady Nagant] right where I wanted her, but... ugh! The Third was right. My parallel Quirk processes are all screwed up!" (ch. 314).

Plus, when Midoriya fixed his processing mistakes, Bruce was analyzing the way he reached his new conclusion. Pure facts, no bias, very calm, just saying it as it was.

We never see him panic. When he's caught by surprise in the sewers by AFO, Kudo, and Yoichi's little bubble event, he immediately reacts. He doesn't falter, he just knows he has to do something right now.

Was more willing to listen than Kudo to Yoichi's beckon, and probably was just following Kudo's rejection of Midoriya

While we don't see Kudo's face, we see Bruce's eyes when Yoichi calls on his heroes. Bruce was more open and receptive, or at least more impacted.

Bruce was also the one to start talking, while Kudo just kept quiet.

He actually communicates a lot

When Yoichi called them to support Midoriya, Bruce started talking to paint a picture of why they thought the way they did, so Yoichi understood where they were coming from.

(Though he seems to beat about the bush sometimes, since Kudo spoke up to be direct on how they couldn't just put their trust in some starry-eyed teenager. Plus, when Kudo tells him to just tell him what's wrong [double Factors])

When Midoriya first used Fa Jin against Nagant, Bruce came out just to tell him he knew what he was trying, but that Midoriya wasn't ready; and Midoriya found he was right. Midoriya just didn't want to listen to him then.

He asks Kudo for clarification after finding Kudo had two Factors in him after the sewer incident ("Just to be sure, All For One didn't touch you, right?") Kudo knew him well enough to go "stop beating around the bush and tell me", so Bruce was probably gonna start with questions, theories, and trying to understand everything in general, before saying "yeah you have two Factors. Don't know why".

Is strong-willed and loyal.

He followed Kudo, even to death, carrying on the cause he started until it ended with him.

Plus, when talking about how AFO needs a strong will to override OFA's own, we first see Bruce, Kudo, and Yoichi.

AFO couldn't steal OFA because the will was too strong for him, and that was back during Banjo's time. Since Shinomori never actually tried opposing AFO and just hid, we can assume the first Three (Yoichi, Kudo, Bruce) already had an accumulation of strong willpower that made OFA un-stealable. Those three are a strong enough foundation, and the main wills, that the other users just become bonuses.

Kudo, also saying that Midoriya needs allies with the same will and drive as him... hey Kudo, you're talking about yourself and your old allies, aren't you? That's why you look at Yoichi and Bruce when you say this.

Not only is Bruce attractive, but he's got good character. THE END.

[double--cross-d]

I DON'T THINK WE TALK ENOUGH ABOUT HOW SUPERFLY ACTIVELY SPEEDS UP TO PLOW INTO THE VAN WHILE HE CAN CLEARLY SEE MONDO CLINGING TO THE BACK.

HE CLEARLY DIDN'T CARE THAT THEY WERE RIGHT THERE EVEN THOUGH HE COULD'VE SERIOUSLY INJURED OR KILLED THEM IF THEY HADN'T NOTICED OR GOT AWAY FAST ENOUGH.

[mymarifae]

also veritas and i are on a first name basis now partially because his last name is fucking stupid and i hate calling him "ratio" but mostly because after poking at his character a bunch i've decided i like him quite a lot LMFAO

[dailyeca]

the henry stickmin to eca orichird pipeline

[soft-serve-soymilk]

help I’ve started listening to my chemical romance 😭

[enjomo-arch]

happy ramble in tags

[clairvoyantcubes]

Hearts from Super Dragon Ball Heroes would treat you right!!!

[simptasia]

"you're wasting your life watching movies and tv shows"

every time i've asked missionaries if we get to watch tv in heaven, they've responded with variations of "we're not sure"

so watch star trek while you can

[watering-plastic-plants]

genuinely confused at how my dad decided to get a degree in a scientific field

[victoriousscarf]

This article was from last October and thus does not take the most recent events into account but I often find myself going back to it lately... Excuse me while I also now quote excessively from it below:

ROBINSON

And this helps us to understand the development of Palestinian resistance to this project. Today, this is characterized often as being based on irrational anti-Semitism. But as you point out, when we understand the history of the development of this resistance, we see it differently. There are even early Zionists on the record saying things like I don’t know how you expect the Palestinians to react, they’re going to react the same way every indigenous population reacts when there is a colonial project to impose minority rule. [Ben-Gurion himself said: “If I were an Arab leader, I would never sign an agreement with Israel. It is normal; we have taken their country.”]

...

ROBINSON

There have been many attempts in the United States and Israel to make Palestinians completely unpalatable and impossible offers and then characterize Palestinians as unreasonable, uncompromising “rejectionists” when they won’t accept the offer.

KHALIDI

That’s a trope that goes back to Abba Eban: “Never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.” There weren’t very many opportunities. There might have been one or two. I talk about the 1939 White Paper. It was a very limited opportunity. The Palestinians, in my view, were very foolish to fail to accept it. There might have been other opportunities. I was involved in the negotiations at Madrid and Washington [in the early 1990s] with an Israeli delegation in which we tried to achieve self-determination and statehood. And that was something that was systematically denied us by the ground rules laid down by the United States at the behest of Israel. The same ground rules ended up governing the Oslo process later on. So there was no opportunity there.

It turns out, I argue in the book, and I’ve argued elsewhere, that the maximum that would be offered, has ever been offered to the Palestinians, is some form of autonomy under Israeli sovereignty with complete and absolute Israeli security control. Israelis would have control of the borders, the airspace, the land, and the water under everything that Israel was willing to offer under every Israeli government. I go into Yitzhak Rabin’s shift in his willingness to accept the existence of a Palestinian people and his willingness to negotiate with the PLO. But even Rabin in his last speech made it very clear that there would never be a Palestinian state.

So self-determination, statehood, and independence are ruled out by the Americans and Israelis, then and now, I would argue. So what are we talking about? You can pick up your own garbage, but we’ll arrest anybody we want, any time we want, to torture them, beat them up, and drag them off to our jails. And we’ll do it to anybody who resists our dominance, and we make all the laws, and you obey our military rules. What kind of “state” is that? That’s not a very good deal.

ROBINSON

Let me dwell on this because it seems critical. To the extent that there has been talk of a “two state solution,” what has actually been on the table consistently in every negotiation for the last 50 years has never involved a concession by the United States and Israel—they negotiate together—that Palestinians should have anything that we would consider to be equivalent to a state in the sense that other states are states.

KHALIDI

The United States talks the talk, but it will not walk the walk. It will never say “this outcome has to include complete and absolute Palestinian independence.” It will never impose that in Israel. It will never lay that on the table as the outcome that has to be reached.

There are some Israeli governments that came closer to this than others. Rabin came closer. But none of them would have accepted the idea that Israel would give up its security control, that Israel would cease to control the borders, that Israel would cease to be the only sovereign power. I mean, if you don’t have your own army and your own borders, and your own economy, and your own ports and your own airports and your own airspace, you’re not sovereign. You’re not independent. You’re a dependent subunit of a larger sovereign state. And that’s all that Israel has so far been willing to offer. The United States has never pushed it to do anything more than what Israel was willing to do. The deference of the United States to Israel is limitless.

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ROBINSON

When you said the Palestinians are not engaging in terrorism, one important point is that various means of resistance are denied them. You’re very critical in the book of attacks on civilians. But at every stage, the available ways that Palestinians can fight back have been constricted, and those things that horrify us come out of that. 

KHALIDI

I think there’s another point to be made. I argue in the book that various forms of armed action, including, especially, attacks on civilians, are horrific, immoral, and, very importantly, politically counterproductive. I go into this in some detail at one point in the book. But it has to be said that slaughtering civilians is slaughtering civilians. When Israel kills 16 children and five women in Gaza, using 2000-pound bombs and Hellfire missiles, if you don’t describe that as terrorism, and you describe the death of an Israeli child or an Israeli woman or another Israeli civilian as terrorism, this is Orwellian language. You are simply using the word “terrorism” as a bludgeon to demonize Palestinian resistance, whereas somehow the murder of children in Gaza … 16 kids were killed in these attacks, five women were killed in these attacks. Heaven knows how many other civilians were killed. Maybe a dozen militants were killed? I don’t know. But 30 or so civilians were murdered. If that’s not terrorism, then the word has no meaning. And this happens every single time. There were 240 civilians killed in one of these attacks a few years ago. Each time the toll is equally lopsided. Why are attacks on civilians not considered terrorism? If you use the same measure, I have no problem with the use of that term. But then you have to describe the use of Hellfire missiles and F-16s and heavy artillery in the same way. In the book I go into the kinds of weapons that are used by Israel— the artillery, the missiles, the aircraft, the helicopters—and the indiscriminate nature of the attacks on a population of a couple of million people in a tiny area. If that’s not terrorism, I don’t know what is. But of course, the term is only applied to the Palestinians. Somehow Ukrainian resistance is not terrorism yet Palestinian resistance is. I repeat, I think the killing of civilians is wrong and immoral. It’s a violation of international law. But if that’s true for the Palestinians, certainly it’s true for the Israelis as well and on a much larger scale.