#he who is compassion personified

[themorguepoet]

Transliteration: Karpuragauram Karunāvatarām Sansarsāram Bhujgendrahāram। Sadāvsantam Hrudyārvinde Bhavam Bhavāni Sahitam Namāmi।।

Translation: Lord Shiv, who dwells in my heart along with Mata Bhavāni, one who is white as camphor, one who is the manifestation of compassion, one who is the essence of the universe, and who wears the king of the snakes Vāsuki as his necklace, I bow down to you.

[the-eeveekins]

People are going to have different takes on characters or try and explore different directions with characters. But I think a core part of Suletta, something that makes her her, is that she would never intentionally hurt the people she loves.

Saying Suletta should have lashed out in anger at the people who wronged her is a deep misunderstanding of the type of person Suletta is. She would never. Unrelenting Tenderness is the title of episode 23, and Suletta is that concept personified.

We've had Gundam protagonists lash out at the world in anger due to their trauma, and they weren't well received. We saw Lauda do the same, and he almost killed a person he loved. It's shown to be a negative, self-destructive path. And it's a path Suletta rejects for love.

It is only through Suletta’s compassion, love & unrelenting tenderness that she is able to save her loved ones from their own self-destructive paths & untimely ends at the hands of the SAL. And it is only through that kindness that she earns a happy ending with her family.

I personally believe that a Suletta who isn't full of love and compassion for the people she loves, who lashes out in anger to hurt the people she loves, is so OOC that it's not even Suletta anymore. Because you can't take those aspects out of Suletta.

[daylighted]

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤSHIELD ! READER.

meet indy . . . properly, because for the entirety of her life, she's been a pretty prop to the only supe capable of handling her, and nothing else. frederick vought was a cruel man, but he was intelligent beyond measure, and with soldier boy out of commission, it was the perfect time for the iconic shield of soldier boy's to be recycled & reused . . . until an even more outlandish idea came into the doctor's mind. a little compound v and a lot of determination ended up with a shield robbed of its durability & an indestructible girl — just in time to put soldier boy back in his place.

WOMAN OF STEEL !! the name indy comes from the word indestructible, the one factor that ben asked for in a shield constructed for him. man could tear and bleed, even if it did not debilitate him. this was a trait also was translated in the scientific creation of indy; the girl created from the shield was impossible to break, or to mar.

WORDS LIKE BULLETS !! indy has been under the legend's careful & watchful eye since the death of frederick vought, not trusted to be let loose as one of vought international's esteemed superheroes, or amongst the civilians themselves. it is not confirmed, but theorized by the legend himself, that indy's "unrivaled cruelty" and "lack of compassion" are not her fault, but instead soldier boy's, for fostering an aggressive environment that effected more than just the people surrounding him, including his titanium shield.

BATTERED & BEATEN !! it is no secret that the shield, in soldier boy's possession and care, endured abuse like nothing else. deflecting bullets, and superhuman fists, and abilities that transcended anything human beings should be capable of. a lot of indy's brash aggression stems from the defense mechanism triggered in life-or-death situations; capable of handling the hurt but not immune to the human instinct to flinch away from hurt after everything she'd been through.

LEGEND IN THE MAKING !! how indy was created is something that isn't known. the main scientist handling her fruition has long been dead, and the scientists who assisted in it are, if not sworn to secrecy, too old to recall the experiments and testing that went on in the original vought laboratories. though, there are some clear indicators in how it effected indy, in the way she flinches at the mention of doctors and testing.

A LIFE WITHOUT LOVE !! there's no surprise in the fact that indy and ben would clash. indy went through hell in soldier boy's care, and then some more in the creation of her human identity. it was thought and expected that the two would get along considering that, back in the day, ben went nowhere without her on his arm, but the trauma rooted itself deep into both of them, and knowing nothing else, the two end up in arms more often than not.

THE GIRL IS A GUN !! it is already a lot for the boys to handle on their own: one of the world's first supes, and the human personified version of that supe's shield, now under their supervision and care while they work to dismantle vought. it is only amplified and made worse by utter dismay evoked between indy and ben whenever they are in the same room together. the only thing that they can do is hope that vought gets caught in the destruction the two make together, because there is no telling if their relationship will sour or sweeten with time.

—ㅤㅤㅤBROKEN PIECES !! ㅤ ๋࣭ ㅤ ⭑ ㅤ ⋆ ㅤ ⭒ ㅤ ˚ ㅤ ｡ ㅤ ⋆

. . . or, the chronological timeline of shield!reader. find the full shield, including shards, in all of its glory here ㅤ — ㅤdiscuss shield!reader nation here !! taglist for indy coming soon.

shield!reader interactive version coming soon, only found on c.ai.

01. BITTER REUNIONS 02. ULTIMATE REVENGE 03. LIVE & LET DIE

—ㅤㅤㅤSHARDS OF TITANIUM !! ㅤ ๋࣭ ㅤ ⭑ ㅤ ⋆ ㅤ ⭒ ㅤ ˚ ㅤ ｡ ㅤ ⋆

. . . or, the pinnacles of thoughts and headcanons about shield!reader. join the discussion in the link above !!

ㅤㅤㅤ⛨ TBD.

notes. baby!reader's impact has gone global. everyone say thank you baby for all of the incredible things inspired by her & thank u dahlia for making this post bc it actually about killed me trying to find funsie words for all of these things ok. anyways biggest shoutout to @theosaurous for planting this idea in my mind i hope u love the flower it will grow into.

again layout inspired by my pookie twin @deansbeer <3 !!! bc as hard as it is every time it EATS every time.

tags. @titsout4jackles @honeyryewhiskey @ultravi0lence14 @figthoughts @stereotypicalbarbie @whyyouegg @eepwtf @rositaslabyrinth @rubyvhs @jensenacklesballsack @abox-of-rocks @sunsbaby @bluemerakis @jollyhunter @misatxox @angelblqde @bombarda-babe @unfortunate-brat @funkycoloured @chevroletdean @chiierful @cowboysandcigarettes @voidsuites @bitchykittenconnoisseur @beausling @soldiersgirl @dulcescorderitas @hyacinnths @blushpinkdoll @mccartneyqp @svbnra + all other soldier boy lovers if u want added / taken off pls lmk !

[toffeecoco1]

@perpetualgrey's comment on this post

Ok my first instinct was to laugh, but then I realised you might be onto something???

Shen Yuan is LITERALLY an impostor, who’s more far more kind and beloved by Binghe than the original. The Guanyin pendant is a counterfeit, but it carries the love of Binghe’s mother and is far more precious than any real jade could ever be.

The heartbreak Binghe’s mother felt after realising that the Guanyin pendant was fake and she’d been tricked was part of what lead to the gradual decline of her health.¹ In wanting to do something kind for Binghe, she felt that she’d failed, and this led to her demise. What is Shen Qingqiu’s entire story, but trying to be kind to Binghe, feeling inadequate at this, and dying? (More than once!!)

Guanyin is a Bodhisattva associated with mercy, kindness, compassion and unconditional love. She is a patron of mothers, and is called upon in times of fear, uncertainty, and despair. The Bodhisattva she originated from is seen as a saviour, through whose grace even those with the most negative karma can achieve salvation. Even when she is not worshipped as a goddess, she is revered as the principle of love, compassion and mercy.² From wikipedia, “The act, thought and feeling of compassion and love is viewed as Guanyin. A merciful, compassionate, loving individual is said to be Guanyin.”²

The original Luo Binghe appears never to have lost his pendant. Shen Qingqiu tells us: “It was the only bit of warmth in Luo Binghe’s dark world, always by his side, and even in the future when he was at his darkest, it could summon up his last dregs of humanity.”¹ He also states that “it was Luo Binghe’s biggest berserk button.”¹

Our Luo Binghe does not cling to the pendant when he’s at his darkest: he clings to the love he has for his shizun and to memories of his kindness, and later, to the lifeless body of Shen Qingqiu himself. His biggest berserk button isn’t when people insult the pendant or his mother, or try to take it away; it’s Shen Qingqiu: when people insult him or try to take him away.

From the start, Shen Qingqiu expresses truly unconditional love for Binghe. He spends three years showing endless compassion and kindness, actions which feel insignificant to him but are more than enough to completely change Binghe’s life. He holds no blame or resentment for the things he fears Binghe will do to him; though he doesn’t want to be tortured, he forgives Binghe for it nonetheless, before it has even happened. He sacrifices himself to save Binghe as his mind is eaten away at by Xin Mo, when he believes that Binghe just slaughtered a hundred Huan Hua Disciples, when Binghe’s reckless use of the sword is putting countless more lives at risk.³

Shen Qingqiu is a counterfeit that is more precious than the original could ever be. For Binghe, he personifies kindness, compassion and unconditional love. His regrets over his treatment of Binghe lead to his temporary demise. Binghe clings to him in his darkest moments, and he is that which Binghe protects most fiercely.

I always found the pendant’s role in the story to be almost lacking: it’s treated as such an important item to Binghe, yet in the end its return is almost anticlimactic. But perhaps this is because the role the pendant played in Bing-ge’s story has been overtaken by Shen Qingqiu. When he returns the pendant, Binghe is relieved and appreciative: but his joy seems to stem more from the fact that Shen Qingqiu held onto it and cherished him than from the pendant itself. The pendant doesn’t matter all that much to him anymore, at least not compared to how important it seems to have been in PIDW. Binghe doesn't need an object to symbolize love and kindness; he has a person to love, who loves him back.

In conclusion: Shizun was in fact the fake jade Guanyin pendant all along!

sources cited below :)

1. Seven Seas Volume 1, Chapter 1: Scum. Pages 40-41.

2. “Guanyin,” Wikipedia. There’s a lot more to her than what I mentioned here, she’s quite interesting.

3. Seven Seas Volume 2, Chapter 8: Death. Pages 154-156.

[idliketobeanalbatross]

A lot of the lore questions can be answered with, "yes, Spike is just a fucking freak."

Like, yeah vampires don't get much out of eating, won't risk going out during the day, wouldn't have the inner compass to seek out a soul, wouldn't stand by a mad Drusilla for centuries, would avoid slayers at all cost, and wouldn't aid a slayer once neutered for funsies.

Spike is just a fucking freak. A weirdo. Darla and Angel couldn't stand him in part due to the fact that something just is sideways in that man's head. No wonder him and Drusilla got on like a house on fire, they both have something deeply wrong with them.

And yeah, there's that whole demon taking the human as a template theory, and Spike being hedonism personified, and I'm well aware.

But like, I think using Spike as any kind of metric is a mistake because he is simply like that.

Spike is a kinked up, adrenaline junkie, loser, who sees common sense and sprints the other way with nothing but a blanket for holes for cover. It's just him, his purple shampoo, and his boredom zooming through the undead existence.

[monzamash]

tears and scraped knees — daniel ricciardo

fatherhood is about learning the art of letting go. dad!daniel ricciardo x you | 2k warnings – cute shit, mentions of injuries and swearing. masterlist

She was the light of his life the moment she entered it, screaming the house down and crying her lungs out. Pure love personified. She was the apple of his eye, the most precious gift he had ever been given and simultaneously the reason for the grey hair speckling his dark curls; the ones identical to hers. Like him, she was a firecracker, the joker, and the life of the party everywhere she went; smile bright, eyes warm. A rich chestnut brown, flecked with yellow, charming and stunning just like his.

To Daniel, she was your little twin. Your beauty was reflected in her in different ways – in her long locks and dark sense of humour, her tenacity and moral compass. She was strong like you, stoic in her beliefs and confident in her skin.

Smart, magnetic, a bit book-ish like you.

Sporty, energetic and kind like him.

Looking at your daughter was a daily reminder that he was half him and half you – a beautiful symbol of your love, your miracle.

“How ya doin’ back there kiddo?”

“Fine,” She mumbled under her breath, eyes focused on the perfect distraction from the morning ahead – her phone. 

You and Daniel shared a knowing glance; traffic building at the lights as you waited for the signal. There was no doubt in your mind that your daughter was saving herself from a stirring speech by bottling up her feelings. Her father was basically a glorified inspirational speaker in his retirement and she had been on the receiving end of too many over the years – each one cheesier than the last, she would confess to you whenever he was out of ear shot.

“Does Dad realise that I’m not one of his rookie drivers? Like, I know what I need to do to win.”

Strong in her convictions, just like him. A carbon copy.

“Remember to keep your elbows out today, especially around that Maddy girl. I know her dad and I reckon she’s dirty like him so watch her at the sta – ouch.”

Your fingernails digging into his forearm cut off Daniel’s spiel, his eyebrows furrowed and silently asking, ‘what the fuck was that for’.

“Just have fun out there, sweetheart,” You interrupted, saving your daughter from her father’s pep-talk, “Keep your elbows tucked in, shoulders with the part like you were taught.”

Daniel sighed and turned his attention back to the busy streets of Fremantle, weaving his way through the traffic like he was back in Monaco, living out the glory days. He was the first to admit that he was living vicariously through her and passionate about what the world had in store for his not-so-little girl. He saw so much of himself in her now, sixteen and on the cusp of what could be.

But you saw things differently to him. Her path wasn’t paved so clearly in your eyes and you made sure that she remained open to whatever life had to bring. She had it all in front of her; possibilities endless with opportunity and success but that didn’t have to be racing. Your dreams for her weren’t as rigid as Daniel’s; his plan to move the family back to the UK had been vetoed by you when your daughter came to you in tears, begging to stay in school and graduate with her friends.

“But babe, those friends don’t last. It’s all just in the moment when this could be her chance at getting her foot in the door,” He argued until he was red in the face.

“Says the guy who just had Blake and his wife around last week for dinner? Come on, Dan – it’s only a year away.”

“Realistically we should’ve moved when she showed an interest in bikes…” He grumbled, frustration simmering behind his closed eyes.

“What? When she was four? Baby, she’s only sixteen but still, she has her dreams set on riding and when the time is right, we will do everything we can to help her make that a reality…”

Your voice was soft; calming as you rounded the dining table and nestled into the open arms of your husband, “Just let her take the lead.”

Daniel dropped his head onto the top of yours and sighed, “You’re right.”

“I almost always am.”

That wasn’t the last conversation you and your husband had about Joey’s future, her grandfather and namesake chiming in with what he thought was the best thing for her budding career. She was the pride and joy of the whole family; everyone saw her talent from a young age but that kind of pressure had to be managed and that had become your life’s work. Her youth had been so hyper focussed on honing her craft that sometimes you felt like she had lost her childhood to the trials and tribulations of racing.

So you put your foot down where you could; namely saving your daughter from having to sit through another car ride hearing all about her dad’s accomplishments and mistakes – hoping she would learn from him but you both knew better than that. She was so young and so ready to make her own mistakes to learn from, like it should be.

She was stronger than both you ever were – a perfect amalgamation of your love.

One of hardest part about race day for Daniel was taking a step back. Of course everyone knew who Joey’s dad was and of course she copped shit for it. Your dad’s a flog and the only reason you’re here is because of him, had been a couple of the unsavoury post-race reports your daughter eventually confessed to you – teary eyed while she begged for you not to tell Daniel but you did because if anyone knew the power of harnessing negative energy, it was your husband.

But the hardest part of all for Daniel was controlling his emotions. He had Italian blood coursing through his veins after all, passionate and fiercely protective of both his girls. Once Joey came along, you knew the papa bear within that had been lying dormant would arise and alas, you were right. All of those crazy nights in bars all around the world, fighting off sleazy men had prepared him to be a girl-dad.

That side to him was glorious to you, endlessly sexy and usually rendered you useless when he decided to bust out the dad moves but to his teenage daughter, he was a total embarrassment.

“Racing under number 33 is Joey James Ricciardo.”

“Give ‘em hell, JJ!”

Daniel’s loud woo echoed through the small crowd, heads turning in your direction including your daughters and you could sense her scowl under the helmet – mortified.

“Daniel,” You scolded, smacking your husband gently, “She’ll kill us both.”

“I know I know,” He grimaced, “Fuck, I’m sorry – I can’t help it... That’s our baby girl out there.”

The image of your daughter, barely two years old, always flashed in your memory when he said things like that. It reminded you of the weeks spent teaching her how to walk. She was so small but so tenacious and you could see that same proud glimmer in Daniel’s eyes now as he did watching her take her first steps. It was mixed with the same wash of fear he had when he let go of her bike seat down that old gravelled road for the first time, praying to god she didn’t hurt herself and end up with tears and scraped knees.

And sure, that happened. Many Band-Aids and tubes of antiseptic were applied to her bloodied elbows and knees but she was a kid after all, feeling every bump in the road until she found her strengths and soared above the rest. She was as quick as a whip and even faster on track – destined to be her own hero but always inspired by her first.

“I’m gonna be sick,” Daniel mumbled as the two of you waited for the race to begin, his foot tapping on the dead grass and nails already chewed down to the skin.

His white cap was still pulled down, disguised as a promise to his daughter who wanted him to just blend in. Wishful thinking. But there was a time that she didn’t want him to come to her meets, insisting that her life would be so much easier if her dad wasn’t ‘the Daniel Ricciardo’ but you couldn’t buckle on that one.

“Your dad is a strong man but that would kill him, J.”

“But he yells out and brags to all the parents about me and the other kids bully me for it… He doesn’t understand how hard it is being a Ricciardo.”

“Hey,” Daniel’s soft voice startled you both, heads flying towards your daughter’s bedroom door, “If that’s what you want, honey I can stay home.”

She sighed heavily and clutched the lilac pillow on her lap, “I want you there, Dad but people are so mean to me and I just want to be normal for once.”

The mattress dipped as Daniel sat down beside you and reached out for his daughters hands, “You can be anyone you want to be, darlin’ – just say the word and we’ll make it happen. We can be normal… or try to be normal.”

You couldn’t help but chuckle at your husband and give him a teasing nudge, “Try being the operative word.”

Daniel smiled and shrugged, “I’ll even wear a disguise. How about that?”

And here you were, hidden behind a couple of gum trees watching your daughter flying through the air and making her fathers hair greyer with every passing second. She was a force to be reckoned with and karmic retribution for all the years you spent white knuckling in garages across the globe.

“Now you know how I felt back when you were racing. Karma is a bitch, my love.”

“Maybe encouraging her to do this was a bad idea after all…” Daniel groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose with his shaky fingers as you slid an arm around his waist and pulled him close.

“This is sleepover camp all over again. You have to learn how to somehow let her go and spread her wings. That’s all she ever says to me, you know? I wanna be like dad – not afraid, free.”

“I didn’t even realise she felt like that…”

You softly smiled at your husband and pressed a soft kiss to his stubbled cheek, “Don’t tell her I told you.”

my hope for this little story is to build a cute world around it. i have a really nice outline for another part of this story so let me know if that's something you would like. and thank you to @vetteltea for her supportive nudge to post this x

[muzsmocsing]

Reviewing tgcf characters because I have thoughts

I finished S2 recently and I need somewhere to put my not exactly hot but like warm (?) takes because it's taking up too much storage space in my brain.

🤍 Xie Lian 🤍

It's a good thing I'm not into guys because if I was I would be on my knees for this man in every sense of that expression and his pet menace to society would mince me up like garlic.

So I'll try to be brief about my overflowing feelings about him. Xie Lian is the best main character I have come across in a WHILE. He's the embodiment of compassion and kindness. And also a cold blooded murderer. A babygirl. A father figure. A terrifying martial god. A silly little guy. A pathological liar. The most genuine man you'll ever meet. He's everything, and Hua Cheng is 100% valid in his obsession. I'm right there with him.

Rating: 10/10

❤️ Hua Cheng ❤️

Idk if we ever figured out who wrote My Immortal but I'm pretty sure we have our culprit.

"Hi my name is Hua Cheng Crimson Rain Sought Flower Red-Robed Ghost King and this is my evil weapon of death E-ming. I've killed soooo many gods with it!! My dark power is I can summon storms of BLOOD and SUFFERING. I have my own scary city of DEMONS and they all love me and think I'm HOT but I only want my BOYFRIEND who's the only REAL GOD so STOP FLAMING HIM YOU POSERS-"

Needless to say I love him. Being the 8 time winner of the Loverboy of the Century Awards with unbeatable records in the yearning olympics is truly a remarkable feat.

Rating: 9/10

(Bonus: E-ming. Cute little guy. Likes his stepdad more than his real dad. Not afraid to show it's feelings even if it makes it look like a muppet, 10/10)

🧡 Feng Xin & Mu Qing 🧡

Tweedle dee and tweedle dum gets a shared rating because they would hate to be grouped together like that and that's funny to me. Their dynamic is great, they're good characters, I wasn't sure which one was which until midway through the second season. But then also I have a pair of 7yo twin cousins who I still can't tell apart despite them not looking even a slight bit similar so that might just be a character flaw on my end. Oops.

Rating: 7/10

🩵Shi Qingxuan🩵

I'm doubling the rating because she is best boy and best girl at the same time. I love that I can use any and all pronouns for him because he's literally a pride parade personified and therefore all of them are correct. You don't get that type of chaotic fun just anywhere.

He is truly living my dream, presenting as whatever gender they want depending on what's more convenient and/or funnier in the moment. Super useful, for things like gathering intel and terrorizing Feng Xin by being a woman.

And I personally think we should crown her the new emperor. She'd look significantly better on that throne, with her Barbie-like radiance and flourishing Kenergy.

Rating: 20/10

🖤 Ming Yi 🖤

Listen, I hate to say it because I like a sunshine x grump moment as much as the next gay but he's just... not giving what he thinks he's giving. Everyone is whispering ominously about him having some dark devastating secret but MY point is no matter how big his boobs are in his female form, Shi Qingxuan could do better. I'm sorry. She really could.

Rating: 4/10

💙 Lang Qianqiu 💙

Just an honest man with good intentions and a sickass fucking sword. He did NOT hesitate to attack the infamous Crimson Rain Sought Flower on SIGHT and I respect a quick decisionmaker, even if it shows some himbo tendencies. He also has the same distinct energy as Fred from Scooby Doo.

Rating: 6/10

💚 Qi Rong 💚

He's got some odd dietary and moral choices going on. Definitely. But he's just such a fun villain!!! Being Xie Lian's nr 1 source of migraines SHOULD make me like him less but I'm sorry, every time he was on screen I was LIVING. He would do numbers on reality TV. Someone put this guy on Kitchen Nightmares, I need to see him 1v1 Gordon Ramsay.

Rating: 7/10

🌚 Jun Wu 🌚

He has his emperor status & DILF card going for him but something about this man just ain't right. If he came to a party I was attending I would cover my drink is all I'm saying.

Rating: 2/10

🔥Pei Ming🔥

I don't know much about him besides he had that one shady empolyee or whatever (could not hear the plot over the deafening sound of Hua Cheng's yearning) but I'm partial to a good manwhore character. The thought of people praying to him like "Hugh Mungus, who art in heaven-" really tickles me.

I know he's probably straight but I headcanon him as at the very least bi-curious because you can't be that hot with that much game and not use it for evil. (That evil being causing large scale gay awakenings among his soldiers.)

Rating: 7/10

❓Pei Xiu❓

Unreliable, unimportant, unattractive, unemployed.

I remember not a singular thing about him besides fucking up Xie Lian's daughter's life and also being on my last nerve from the jump. If you're going to be evil at like least be memorable about it, you know? You can't be a bad person and a bad character at the same time. Pick a struggle.

Rating: 1/10

📚 Ling Wen 📚

I heard she committed some war crimes but honestly if I had to do an entire realm's tax returns by myself AND teach Pei Ming how to read (I refuse to believe that man is literate, just look at him) I would want to rage on occasion too. I hope she has a hot wife waiting for her at home to give her massages after carrying the whole system on her back all day. It's what she deserves.

Rating: 8/10

Thank you for reading!! Opinions might change once I read the books but as of now this is it. Remembering everyone's names has been a journey and a half so this post is sponsored by @kirstenly 's character cheat sheet go look at it! and everything else too!!!

[rockinmusicquarterly]

broken/hunted is good because they're the Controversial Method of Helping You Survive That Most Other Voices Aren't Fond Of and Survival Instinct Personified Who Will Do Whatever He Can To Keep You Alive pairing, which i think makes them a lot more sympathetic and understandable to each other than other pair-ups, along with both ultimately showing a lot of compassion to the princess when she's in pain, even if they've been hurt themselves - and broken/smitten is good because they're both very fond of the princess and want to truly do what's right by her, and can help each other with and understand those feelings better than other pair-ups where others tend to find smitten's fawning annoying, or brush off broken at face-value as being pessimistic and burdensome, with both having the potential to help each other grow past their limitations and grief

what i'm saying is broken has 2 hands

[talonabraxas]

"Om Mani Padme Hum" Avalokitesvara - Chenrezig Talon Abraxas Legends of 1000 Armed Avalokiteshvara The study of Avalokiteshvara and his forms has great importance for the student of Mahayana Buddhism. In the Mahayana Pantheon as developed in India, Nepal, Tibet, Japan, Mangolia, Bhutan, China and Korea, Avalokiteshvara is depicted in the text Gunakarandavyuha, Saddharmapundarika Sutra etc. According to these texts, he is personified as the symbol of compassion, He is frequently mentioned as the god of mercy who will help anybody who finds himself in trouble mentally or physically. He can infallibly eradicate all mundale sufferings. In order to achieve his ends, he can assume various forms, According to the text Karandavyuha Sutra he manifests all possible forms of life for the sake of ignorant and to bring liberation to living. It says: "As different people belonged to different faiths, this compassionate Bodhisattva was obliged to assume the shape of all gods of all faiths." Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of compassion, in front of Buddha Amitabha made to commitment to intentionally manifest into the three realms of Samsara in order to harrow the depths; that is to say, in order to stir from depths and completely liberate all sentient beings from samsara, and to be their supreme guide. Thus in the presence of Buddha Amitabha, Avalokiteshvara made this promise. Also he vowed that if by chance his compassion and his courageous mind of mercy for sentient beings were to decrease, then may his head and his body just completely crack and fall into one thousand pieces. When Buddha was residing at the Veluvana garden he was surrounded by Arahats. There were five different divine rays coming out of his circle of hair between the eyebrows in the middle of the forehead and gradually it formed itself into a rainbow. Thereafter it went to the north in the direction of the Himalaya country of Tibet. At that time Buddha looked and smiled, then immediately Bodhisattva Sarvanivarana Viskambhi asked Buddha, What is the reason of your smiling, Lord? Buddha answered, "Noble boy! In the future there will be a pure Dharma through which one can be delivered to the path of liberation in the barbarian country of Tibet where there has never been a single Buddha for three junctions of time and there are uncountable demons and ghosts yet to time. "Therefore, Avalokiteshvara will tame those wild men, because once upon a time when he was a Bodhisattva he prayed to One thousand Buddhas Saying," May all the transcendent bless me to be able to time those beings who are into barbarian country. May you bless that barbarian country through my taming, May you bless me to become the parent of those ghosts and demons;. May you bless me to free all those beings. Once Amitabha Buddha placed his hand on the head of Avalokiteshvara and commanded that noble son, "Now you be the one who can tame the animated beings of the barbarian snow land whereas not a singly Buddha of the Three times has been there. This is the fruit of your sincere prayer for the purpose you have wished. Those suffering beings will be emancipated from the three lower realms as soon as they see your young holy body and hear the sound of the six mystic syllables, Om mani padme Hum. May your Bodhimind be manifested to the minds of ghosts, demons, evil spirits and hobgoblins and may they be striving with their minds for the benefit of others like Bodhisattvas, instead, of harming others. May all carnivorous animals-such as tigers, leopards, bears and snow bears abandon the mind of eating others and turn into the love of parents for each other, seeing your holy body and hearing the sound of the six syllables. - Buddhist Himalaya: A Journal of Nagarjuna Institute of Exact Methods Vol. II No. I & II

[upsidedowndreamland]

You gotta appreciate villains like Fecto Elfilis/Forgo. Throughout the Kumazaki Era (but specifically the well-known RTDL-TD-PR-SA tetralogy) Kirby has been leaning heavily into tragic villains who only became so cruel because of circumstances beyond their control. Magolor is a bit of an exception—he deceived Kirby and co. and used them as pawns to get what he wanted after failing to defeat the innocent dragon guarding said thing he wanted on his own—but his heightened cruelty and villainous actions afterward are implied to be a result of the Master Crown messing with his head. Obviously there’s a lot of gray area here—did he originally plan to conquer the universe with the Crown or were his intentions originally different and it just got its claws into him? But I digress; in the end, his fate was ultimately treated as tragic—his soul nearly consumed by the Crown and his body reshaped into a hollow, remorseful vessel that could only watch as it was forced to attack the people he still saw as friends, deep down.

Elfilis, though, is just unambiguously, unapologetically, a jackass.

They were an unfathomably powerful person whose own power went to their head (metaphorically, unlike with Magolor) and caused them to develop a god complex. They began to view their own capacity for mercy and compassion as weakness and deliberately suppressed it. With every planet they invaded they willfully ignored the voice of their conscience and pushed aside whatever guilt they may have felt. They compartmentalized and ignored their own ability to not be a jackass to such an extent that when it was torn from them and personified, it was physically dwarved by the rest of them—their petulant, childish entitlement, their god complex, and their bloodlust.

Even as Forgo did everything in their power to reclaim Elfilin, their goal was never to become whole. They didn’t want to be able to feel love or have friends. They weren’t lonely like Dark Matter. They didn’t want their heart back. They just wanted back the piece of their essence that would restore them to power, allow them to live independent of the Eternal Capsule’s life support systems, and pick right back up where they left off. Presuming Elfilis retained all the memories Forgo and Elfilin made in their time apart, all the fun Elfilin had with Kirby meant nothing to them. Every time Kirby saved Elfilin meant nothing to them. The eons Forgo spent rotting in that jar—bled dry, used as a tourist attraction and then abandoned to continue rotting for God knows how many hundreds of thousands of years—meant nothing to them. They learned nothing from it. They could’ve flown back off into space and enjoyed their newfound freedom in peace, and instead they chose to resume the very same activities that had caused them so much trauma and mental agony for so long as if nothing had ever happened—despite literally just regaining their ability to not be an asshole.

While tragic villains who never really meant any harm like Sectonia, Haltmann, and Hyness will always be classics who are fun to discuss and analyze in their own right, there’s something incredibly compelling and real about someone who has every ability and opportunity to change for the better—and simply refuses to. In the real world, you don’t come across formerly pleasant—if a bit vain, greedy, or overzealous—people who only became murderous assholes after being driven insane by ancient magical or technological artifacts and dark gods. But you do see people like Elfilis.

Elfilis is a narcissist. And that hits way closer to home.

[voiceofthefreak]

I've been thinking about these voices too much and my last obsession is hero so here are my thoughts about him

He is optimistic and ingenue. He is the moral compass and initially opposes to slay the princess, but always respect the decider and try to support him in whatever he chooses. He is the only one to not take control of the body and while he always try to make his point and express his disagreements he never goes against the player's decisions, trying to help even when we choose the opposite of what he wanted like when we choose to stay in the cabin for the 'happy' ending. He is also fast to accept suggestions from the other voices, always listening to them, he seems to think less of himself and so chooses to trust in others first. He is more innocent than most, showing less experience with romance if none at all and trusting anyone who don't give him reasons to not do so. He directly says that he isn't good in detecting lies the same way he don't always get sarcasm. His real qualities are his empathy and willingness to help and take the first step in being better. He is goofy, he is easily pleased and tries to appear more heroic or smart than he is. He cares deeply about the other voices, but is easily annoyed by them too. He is quite emotional, he is easily scared too and often overpowered by the other voices. He is the reactive nature from quiet personified by the narrator's expectations, the chosen one to save the world.

[phoenix-king-ozai]

I think Ozai did love Ursa or at least got along with her. It's just his desperation to win Azulon's approval was far stronger.

Fire Lord Ozai Characterization Analysis

This is an interesting topic that I want to expand upon. I don’t think that Ozai was physically abusive to Ursa and Zuko (besides the Agni Kai which Ozai believes was justified given the societal norms of Elite Fire Nation Society) like how many in the fandom believe he is. Ozai isn’t some deadbeat drunkard abusive father that takes out his anger and fury on his wife and children due to his own personal struggles and feelings of inadequacy. Ozai holds Zuko and especially Azula to extremely high standards of demand because of their birthright and royal obligations to Fire Nation Imperialism under Sozinism.

In regards to Ozai and Ursa’s complex romantic and familial relationship. I doubt that Ozai was the most affectionate, compassionate, caring, and loving husband in the same way that Iroh probably was with his own wife. However, Ozai did care for his wife and children but his imperialistic attitude and behavior is paramount rather than his wife and children’s own happiness and desires. Ozai is certainly more of a warlord at heart than a family man which is an inverse parallel of his brother Iroh who is ironically more of a family man at heart than a warlord.

I believe that Ozai, Ursa, Zuko, and Azula, including the entire Fire Nation Royal Family, have very complex relationship dynamics with each other. I believe that over time, Ozai began to develop feelings of affection, care, and even genuine love for his family. However, Ozai has been raised to be a ruthless, cunning, manipulative, and vicious warrior since his childhood.

Ozai has socializing and romantic relationship problems as a result of Fire Lord Azulon’s ruthless, cruel, and brutal royal indoctrination of him. Ozai and Ursa may be Fire Nation Elites, Royal (Ozai) and Noble (Ursa) by blood. However, their personalities and background environments differ extremely because Ozai was raised as a prince. Which is why Ozai is so much colder, cruel, vicious, and brutally ruthless compared to his wife Ursa and even his brother Iroh. Ozai has become Fire Nation Imperialism personified due to the pressure to live up to his father and grandfather's harsh imperialistic legacy.

Ozai has been personally brainwashed and socially conditioned since childhood by the Fire Nation Elite and Fire Lord Azulon to become the man that he is today. Compassion, Morality, Peace, Pacifism, and Mercy are signs of Weakness and MUST be eradicated and eviscerated. The Fire Prince of the Fire Nation is expected to be callous, ruthless, dangerous, destructive, and even downright despicable to instill fear and terror in the Fire Nation’s enemies and even their own subject peasants and lords alike that would dare threaten the power and stability of the Fire Nation Royal Family!

However, during Zuko and Azula's early childhood, Ozai was more gentle and fatherly towards his children and husbandly towards his wife, Ursa. Ozai, Ursa, Zuko, and Azula used to enjoy their family bonding vacation trips to Ember Island during their childhood in the summertime. Ozai was never some sadistic wife and child beater that the ATLA fandumb tries to horribly make him out to seem like! It just their abuse porn head canon fanfiction obsession.

Ozai most certainly didn't want Ursa influencing Zuko and Azula especially. Azula is the perfect tool and heir for the Fire Nation as a genius and later on, becomes a perfectionist. Azula's natural skills and abilities far supersede expectations and that of her older brother. Ozai doesn't want Ursa to make Azula "soft" hearted. Ozai wants Azula and even Zuko to be ruthless, vicious, cruel Imperialistic enforcers for the Fire Nation and his reign.

Ozai never wanted Ursa's morality to "infect" their children considering they are supposed to be ruthless, cunning, manipulative, and cruel imperialistic overlords for the Fire Nation. Also, Iroh is the Black Sheep of their family ironically morality-wise. Whereas, Ozai is a brainwashed imperialistic fanatic warmonger just as Fire Lord Azulon desired and wished for him to become during his childhood.

Fire Lady Ilah probably instilled moral values during Iroh's childhood in comparison to Fire Lord Azulon who obviously doesn't care about morality in war which he inherited from Fire Lord Sozin. Ilah probably managed to break the ruthless, cruel, and aloof imperialistic personality in Iroh which passed on to Lu Ten as well! Unfortunately, without Ilah's guidance, Ozai became a carbon copy and a small degree worse morality-wise in comparison to his forefathers.

Unfortunately, Ozai cares more about the Fire Nation's imperialistic ambitions than the happiness of his wife and children. At the end of the day, Ozai doesn't understand and value the unconditional and pure love of a parent because he probably has never gotten to experience it with Fire Lord Azulon, due to him still being resentful over Fire Lady Ilah's death in childbirth! (head canon)

In a twisted imperialistic paternal sense, Ozai DEEPLY cares about Zuko and Azula. However, it is predicated on his children upholding the legacy of Sozin the Destroyer and Azulon the Conqueror of the Burning Flaming Throne with their all-consuming ideals of Fire Nation Imperialism along with the callous, ruthless, and vicious indoctrination that comes with over a hundred years of Sozinism brainwashing & propraganda!

Ozai's harshness and ruthlessness regarding Zuko have nothing to do with Ursa and Ikem's letters and their scandalous forbidden love! Ozai wants Zuko and Azula to both prove themselves to be GREAT WORTHY SUCCESSORS to the empire that the Fire Nation has forged through Fire, Blood, Steel & Ashen Corpses! Ozai doesn't favor Zuko or Azula. It is about which child will succeed Sozin, Azulon, and his legacy as future Fire Lord. In fact, Ozai doesn't want Zuko or Azula to think that they are the “favorite” child. He wants Azula and Zuko to improve through competition. Because of the “only the greatest of pressures can forge diamonds” & “steel sharpen steel” mentality. Ozai has the mindset of an imperialist warlord. Ozai isn't trying to be the world's most loving and caring father, but rather continues building upon a powerful and dominant legacy that his forefathers had created. He wants Zuko & Azula to be cold, ruthless, heartless, vicious, and brutal imperialistic warmongers like him (Ozai), his father (Azulon), and his grandfather (Sozin) to continue an imperialistic legacy that can last centuries & generations.

[marvel-starwarsfangirl]

Crosshair's Character in TBB: A Study

“Loyalty means everything to the clones,”- Anakin Skywalker

I wanted to start my study with this quote because it basically personifies who Crosshair is as a person. Over the course of three seasons (plus CW), there is no doubt that Crosshair is arguably the most well-written and developed member of the Bad Batch. His journey and inner conflict isn’t neatly wrapped up in a little box and tied with a cute bow in only one season. No, his journey spans the entire show. It is very compelling, filled with a deep inner conflict, broken relationships, and the struggle to find one’s self again. In this study, I wanted to look at the major themes of his character and how his relationship to them has changed. 

Loyalty

Crosshair’s strongest and best quality is loyalty. It is everything to him and it’s why he reacts so strongly when the Batch leaves him in “Aftermath.” However, misplaced loyalty is dangerous, especially when it’s blinding. The core struggle of his character, specifically in season 1 and 2, is discovering who is worth his loyalty. Crosshair isn’t the type of person to just save his own skin when things get bad; S3 disputes that multiple times. As rude and off-putting as he can be, Crosshair cares deeply for others. Unfortunately, it’s the choices he makes and where he invests his loyalty that conflict arises. 

The Worth of Loyalty

A part of understanding Crosshair is understanding how far he will go for those he’s loyal to. 

“Do you know why they put me in charge? It’s because I’m willing to do what needs to be done.”

This line is stone-cold, but remove the context and apply it to Crosshair in general. It speaks volumes. Crosshair isn’t driven by some moral compass like Echo or Omega are. He’s not loyal to some grand cause. He’s loyal to people who’ve earned his respect. He’s loyal to those who value his skills as a sniper. Crosshair will not hesitate to go to extreme lengths for others. He killed Tawi Ames because he is a soldier of the Empire. He dragged a half-dead Mayday back to base because Mayday saved his life and showed him compassion. He went back to Tantiss for Omega because she saved him and he loves her. Crosshair’s journey is about him discovering who is worth that kind of loyalty. Who is worth dragging someone through sheer hell even though the optimal solution would be to just leave them? As Crosshair learns, it’s not the Empire.

The question remains, who is worth his loyalty? The answer is simple: Omega, his brothers, and other kind people such as Mayday and Cody. But Crosshair’s loyalty is severely misguided at first. There are a multitude of reasons as to why. One of the most obvious reasons is due to his fractured relationship with his brothers. By the time the entire Batch reunites in “Return to Kamino,” Crosshair can’t help but voice his pain and anger.

“They don’t leave their own behind… most of the time.” “You weren’t loyal to me.”

Due to the chip, Crosshair doesn’t understand why they left him. Did years of loyalty from Crosshair mean nothing to them? Did their relationship as brothers mean nothing? At that point in the story, he hasn’t realized how damaging the Empire is to him. So, he turns his anger to the group of people who meant more to him than anything else in the entire galaxy. And his anger isn’t completely unjustified. He was deeply hurt and he didn’t know why. Unfortunately, his beliefs about the Empire and struggle with identity push the Batch away. But as Crosshair’s feelings were continually challenged by others and his environment, he started realizing just how deep of a hole he’d gotten himself into. Crosshair’s brand of loyalty is something the chip absolutely would take advantage of. It’s fixating and fierce, hard to break. Only something severe such as removal or damage can break it. 

In S3, we get an exchange between Rampart and Crosshair. Rampart comments that Crosshair used to believe good soldiers followed orders. Crosshair responds that it depends on who’s giving them. This statement is absolutely true. Rampart doubts that Crosshair has changed, but it is Rampart who hasn’t changed. Both were betrayed by the Empire, but only one recognized where he went wrong. Crosshair now understands that his deep and fierce loyalty belongs to those who won’t hurt him or others he cares about. Loyalty is reciprocal and not to be taken for granted. This is a sentiment he shares with Howzer.

“Loyalty meant something to me. But with the Empire it didn’t go both ways.”

But Rampart can’t understand that because he’s only loyal to himself. And when you’re only loyal to yourself, you don’t care who around you falls. 

The Empire: An Environment of Shame

Why doesn’t Crosshair see just how bad the Empire is? That’s an argument I see often, but I think it’s important to understand just how manipulative and demonizing the Empire really is. Crosshair deeply internalizes his identity as a soldier. His value comes from his skills and if he can’t do his job properly, he will be discarded. The Empire is an echo chamber of that insecurity. 

“There are other ways of producing loyal soldiers”- Rampart

Rampart, Tarkin, Nolan… the faces of many imperials who remind Crosshair of what happens if his loyalty falters. He will be discarded. All around him, Crosshair hears the imperials speak about replacing the clones. They speak about the value of loyalty. It pushes him to keep proving his loyalty to the Empire. Crosshair is a sensitive soul despite appearances and he internalizes what others say around him. 

“Not the ones that matter.”- Cross to Hunter about the Empire phasing out clones

If Crosshair can continue fulfilling his purpose, then he will be spared, or at least that’s what he tells himself. We see this in real life too. Social media can influence others by feeding into their egos, only to rip them apart should they step out of line. It’s the same scenario with Crosshair. Rampart mocks Cody’s absence and talks about clone loyalty not being what it was advertised. Crosshair tenses up at his words, clearly bothered, until Rampart asks if he has a problem and then dismisses the issue without a care. The Empire makes Crosshair feel so alone. But he’s a soldier, right? This is where he belongs, right?

Compare that environment to the one put forth by Omega and Mayday. Omega is warm and compassionate. She cares deeply for others, even when that person probably doesn’t deserve it. As Crosshair struggles, Omega remains nothing but encouraging. She believed in him from the very beginning. 

“You’re still more capable than most.”- Omega

Omega’s constant display of loyalty and affection towards him eventually wins Crosshair over. He finds himself in an environment where his fierce devotion is not only reciprocated but goes above and beyond. Mayday shows compassion to Crosshair even though he barely knows him. He also shares Crosshair’s unspoken frustration. The Empire didn’t care about the clones despite them being good soldiers who followed orders. When danger strikes, Mayday doesn’t hesitate to protect Crosshair. Once again, it’s this reciprocated loyalty that shows Crosshair the truth behind the curtain. The Empire is all take and no give. Omega and Mayday display the opposite; they give Crosshair their all and don’t expect him to grovel on his knees for their praise or friendship.

Identity

But loyalty is only one major aspect of his character. Crosshair’s willingness to stay with the Empire also stems from his struggle with his identity. Clones are taught to be loyal and the behavioral modification chip only reinforces that notion. For Crosshair, it’s not so easy to just throw away something he grew up his entire life hearing. Thus, he finds himself in conflict between his loyalty to his brothers, loyalty as a clone, and identity as a loyal soldier. It’s so heartbreaking to see him when the chip partially activates. The chip makes him so fixated on Order 66 and yet, he can’t help but still stay by his brothers’ side. It is only when the chip is enhanced that he attacks his brothers. 

The Soldier and the Clone

The moment they are born, the clones are raised to be soldiers. They have no say in their fates, only that they have one purpose in life. Crosshair is no ordinary clone though; he’s labeled as defective for looking and sounding different. However, he has exceptionally sharp vision. One of the first things established about the Bad Batch is that they use unorthodox methods and they’re very showy. They also have a 100% success rate. As a result, Crosshair views himself and his squad as “superior.” As a soldier in the Empire, he expects to get the same recognition. The Empire is fueled by individuals who love feeling powerful. For Crosshair, to get special treatment because he’s a “superior” clone definitely would feed his ego. Unfortunately, the Empire also will pull the plug on anyone at any time. On Kamino, being defective is a death sentence. But Crosshair’s enhancement makes him useful; it’s why he was kept around. Interestingly, the more isolated Crosshair became in his time with the Empire, the more he began to seek companionship with the regs. S2 sees Crosshair shed his views that he’s a “superior” clone. He slowly begins to accept the fact that he and the other clones aren’t actually that different. We see this change in many ways: he tries to sit with the regs, he enjoys going on a mission with Cody, and he quickly gets attached to Mayday. 

Crosshair’s journey of accepting himself as a clone and finding companionship with others outside his squad humbles him and makes him an overall kinder person. It is integral in how he becomes disillusioned with the Empire. The Empire makes him feel so alone. Look at his room in “The Solitary Clone;” it’s no better than his cell on Tantiss. “Nat-borns” don’t understand what it is like to be a clone and his squad isn’t there anymore, so Crosshair turns to “regs.” He starts realizing that their experiences under the Empire aren’t much different from his. It’s Mayday and the mission on Barton IV that really pushes him over the edge. Mayday, a reg, understands him more than he’d like to admit. He’s lonely and feels like his efforts aren’t enough. 

Crosshair has let the Empire mistreat and abuse him for months, but eventually he snaps. He can’t do this anymore. He’s a person. Mayday is a person. Has his and Maydy’s loyalty meant nothing? Has the loyalty of the clones in general meant nothing? 

A clone’s identity is intrinsically tied to being a soldier. Why did Crosshair stay with the Empire? A simple answer is it gave him a purpose. Crosshair deeply internalizes his role as both a sniper and a soldier. He can’t see himself in another role as it is all he has known. What will happen when that’s taken away from him? Crosshair struggles with that exact dilemma. As I said early, being defective and unable to fulfill being a soldier means decommissioning and being discarded. I’ll bet this is why Crosshair struggles breaking away from his soldier mindset. He was taught to be loyal and there is no place for him if he can’t fulfill his purpose. Let’s take a look at his role as a sniper. Crosshair’s role is to wait on the outskirts and observe for danger. He’s supposed to keep his team safe from afar and spot trouble before it strikes. He’s a protector. That role gets shaken when his tremor starts. What happens to Crosshair if he can’t shoot? What happens to his brothers? 

S3 introduces the arc of Crosshair learning to accept help from others and becoming more than a soldier. A sniper is supposed to be distant, a loner, and always on the lookout. Once that role is challenged, suddenly, Crosshair realizes he can’t do this alone. He initially tries via brushing it off or shaking his hand. But it’s not enough. Both Hunter and Omega grow concerned. Omega takes the initiative and gently encourages Crosshair to try meditation with her. Even if it doesn’t work, the fact that he tries already speaks volumes. Throughout the season, Crosshair tries multiple times to do things alone. However, Hunter declines that proposal and says they should work together. The most glaring example is the climax of "The Cavalry Has Arrived." Crosshair is missing his dominant hand, weakened from his injury, and on top of that, it’s pouring rain and Hemlock has handcuffed himself to Omega. It is only through the help of his siblings that Crosshair makes the shot. He did it with the support of his family. 

In relying on his family, Crosshair becomes more than a sniper. He becomes more than a soldier. Even if he had his hand, Crosshair still would’ve had to overcome the huge barrier of making a steady shot. Either way, Crosshair overcomes by accepting the love and help from his family. Looking back, I’m really glad that this was a part of his arc. Crosshair has spent so much of the show alone, having to rely on himself and his skill to survive. But as time passes, he learns that it’s ok to have help. As people, we’re not meant to carry all our burdens alone. Crosshair learns he doesn’t have to remain distant all the time to protect others; sometimes, our greatest strength comes from each other.

The Beauty of Self-Worth

“Omega, don’t risk anything for me. I belong in here.” (This line is one of the most heartbreaking lines in the entire show). “So, I’m doing this alone. It’s what I deserve.”

A smaller, but just as important arc, is Crosshair’s journey of forgiveness. By “Tipping Point,” Crosshair has largely tackled his inner conflict. He knows who deserves his loyalty and who doesn’t. He realizes that he isn’t so different from the other clones. However, the guilt from his actions still lingers. Although he gets his message out, everything else fails. Tech dies, Omega is captured, and he doesn’t know what happened to the others. Crosshair suffers for a long 5 months due to Hemlock’s conditioning. His days are filled with the same mundane (and painful) routine and there is no sign of hope… that is, except for Omega. No matter what happened in the past, Omega undying love for him never yields. 

“None of us belong in here.”- Omega 

Omega’s words are reassuring and they hit Crosshair in a way he doesn’t expect. How can he, who has done these terrible things and has been forgotten by the world, be worth kindness? For all the times he said/did something cruel to Omega, she still came back for him. It’s Omega’s compassion that helps push Crosshair to finding his own self-worth. She loves him when nothing seems to be working for him. She encourages him to talk to his brothers. Crosshair wants to be accepted and belong again with his brothers. But up until that point in the narrative, everything around him seems to tell him the opposite. 

As much as I would’ve liked more from Hunter, I’m still glad he and Crosshair are able to have a conversation. In “The Return,” Crosshair admits how wrong he was. To come to terms with the darker parts of one’s self is important in forgiveness and the courage to do so is immense. There are things in life we as people can all do better. It’s what makes us human. The last time Crosshair interacted with his brother, it devolved into anger and pain-fueled argument. Crosshair so desperately wanted his brothers back, but it had to be on his terms. As the brothers fight again, Hunter antagonizes him into getting answers. A quick “blink and you’ll miss it” moment is that Cross’ hand trembles when Hunter brings up betrayal. Crosshair initially clamps up before biting back, blaming Hunter for Omega’s capture. But as both brothers learn to realize, both of them need to do better. The past hurts immensely because of that broken bond. Now, they have the opportunity to mend it. 

“I have regrets too, Crosshair. All we can do is keep trying to be better and who knows? There just might be hope for us yet.”- Hunter

Like Omega, Hunter’s words offer reassurance and comfort. Can Crosshair, a person who hurt his family, be worth that forgiveness? Hunter’s words all but confirm that Crosshair is forgiven in his eyes. Crosshair’s struggle to find forgiveness and worth in himself is eased by the people who he cares for the most. Even something simple as a hug from Wrecker catches him off guard, but it’s something that tells him “you’re loved and wanted.” As the vulture leaves the outpost, Crosshair slowly learns to forgive himself for what happened. 

It all culminates in the hug he gets from Omega in “The Cavalry Has Arrived.” Crosshair believed he deserved to die in order to atone. After everything he’s done and been through, does he still deserve a happy ending when it’s all over? Omega’s hug says yes. Tantiss is the heart of his pain and agony. In another world, Crosshair would never have set foot there if he chose differently. Perhaps Omega wouldn’t have suffered there. Perhaps Tech would still be alive… Without any hesitation, Omega wraps her arms around Crosshair and he is shocked. She reaches over to pull Hunter in and Hunter wraps his other arm around Crosshair, holding him close. And without any words, Crosshair leans in and closes his eyes. As the trio begin to head back to the shuttle, it’s Crosshair who reaches out and places his stump on Omega’s shoulder. In doing something as simple as leaning into the embrace, Crosshair accepts the love he is given. He lets himself be loved and understands that he is worthy of that love. 

This isn’t the end of Crosshair’s journey, of course. Crosshair has a very long and difficult road ahead of him. No, his PTSD wasn’t stored in his hand. Cutting off his hand isn’t a magical “cure” for it. Crosshair still has to work through a lot and he will. The big difference is that he knows he doesn’t have to work through it alone. With the help of his family, Crosshair can continue that journey of healing he began in “Bad Territory.” He’s so loved because he’s Crosshair, a brother, a protector, with fierce loyalty that could never be truly broken. 

Anyways, we’ve reached the end of my character study. Thank you all for reading. Crosshair is a very complex character and one who faces many trials. But no matter how many times he falls, he always finds a way to pick himself back up. At the end, he makes it. Crosshair has learned a lot, but I’m grateful that TBB team chose a long and complex route for him. Because guess what? Healing and growing as a person isn’t a “one size fits all” scenario. It’s a messy and difficult process. When all is said and done, Crosshair has one of the best realized redemption arcs in all of Star Wars and I couldn’t be more thrilled with how it played out.

[mariacallous]

Why has Disney’s new live-action remake of “Snow White” flopped at the box office? Is it because the dull trailer looked A.I.-generated, or because the film’s stars, Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot, appear to have sourced their costumes and makeup from Party City? Is it because the film personifies Hollywood’s status as a bottle-and-can redemption center for moldering I.P.? Is it for being a movie nobody asked for, about a princess who falls asleep?

The prospect of the “Snow White” reboot has been irritating various constituencies for some time. Conservative critics griped that Zegler, who is partly of Colombian descent, wasn’t white (these kinds of complaints were louder a few years back, when the Black actress Halle Bailey was cast in Disney’s live-action “Little Mermaid”). Some were offended that Zegler talked trash about the 1937 original. The actor Peter Dinklage questioned why the story was being dusted off at all. “You’re progressive in one way,” Dinklage said, referring to Zegler’s casting, “but you’re still making that fucking backward story about seven dwarves living in a cave—what the fuck are you doing?”

At some point, Disney started asking itself the same question. Despite the film’s two-hundred-and-seventy-million-dollar budget, the studio scaled back the première and promotional blitz and may have delayed making tickets available for pre-order. Currently, on IMDb, “Snow White” is being “review-bombed,” with more than ninety-one per cent of users giving it the lowest rating: one out of ten.

Recent articles in Hollywood’s top industry broadsheets pin much of the blame on Zegler. The Hollywood Reporter observed that the movie “has been under fire for years on social media due to a combination of the film’s progressive creative decisions”—presumably referring to Zegler’s casting—“and star Rachel Zegler’s controversial comments.” In a Variety article, which promised to take readers “Inside Disney’s ‘Snow White’ Fiasco,” a “top agent” rebuked the studio for permitting the twenty-three-year-old actress to “control the narrative” by making a lighthearted quip to a reporter about the stalker-like qualities of the original movie’s Prince Florian. “The first time she shoots her mouth off, you nip it in the bud,” this agent said. (Incidentally, the screenwriter of the new “Snow White,” Erin Cressida Wilson, has said that she centered the character’s journey toward “discovering and trusting her own voice and her own purpose with compassion and strength.”)

Variety also zoomed in on an episode from August, shortly after a teaser for the movie dropped, when Zegler shared a message of gratitude to fans on X, adding, in a separate post, “and always remember, free palestine.” The article implied that Zegler’s post fuelled death threats against her co-star Gadot, who is Israeli. It also reported that one of the film’s producers, Marc Platt, was so incensed by Zegler’s pro-Palestine message that he flew to New York to admonish her in person about it.

The detail about Platt seemed to strain credulity, but it was later confirmed by his son Jonah, who wrote on Instagram, “Yeah, my dad, the producer of enormous piece of Disney IP with hundreds of millions of dollars on the line, had to leave his family to to fly across the country to reprimand his 20 year old employee for dragging her personal politics into the middle of promoting the movie for which she signed a multi-million dollar contract to get paid and do publicity for. This is called adult responsibility and accountability. And her actions clearly hurt the film’s box office.” The younger Platt may have also been alluding to an Instagram post that Zegler made following the November elections, in which she lamented the “deep, deep sickness in this country that is shown in the sheer amount of people who showed up for this man who threatens our democracy.” She concluded, “Fuck Donald Trump.” Zegler later apologized for her Trump-related remarks, saying, “I let my emotions get the best of me.”

Placing the failure of “Snow White” largely at Zegler’s feet—as many insiders in Hollywood are evidently eager to do—is almost perversely flattering to her. The Walt Disney Company has a market cap of nearly a hundred and eighty billion dollars, and yet, in Variety’s telling, this international conglomerate could not “overcome the backlash that had been brewing like a fairy tale cauldron.” I am no box-office analyst, but, for what it’s worth, my kids are squarely in the “Snow White” demographic, and I don’t think they were lukewarm on going to see it because its star has insufficiently nuanced opinions about Prince Florian, President Trump, or the Israel-Hamas war. (An open letter from film journalists criticizing Variety’s coverage of Zegler has about a hundred and eighty signatures.)

The reasons behind the implosion of “Snow White” are structural and multifaceted, and emblematic of an industry that has no new concepts and poor judgment about which of its old ideas warrant revival. For example, Disney recently pulled the plug on a streaming series based on “The Princess and the Frog,” which is easily the best and most modern of the Disney-princess movies: glorious New Orleans blues-jazz-gospel soundtrack, outrageously stacked cast, makes an airtight case for marrying for money—the works. (And no dwarves in caves!) Whether it’s the fate of “Snow White” to become a symbol of the anti-woke, anti-D.E.I. fervor that characterizes the Trump II era or it’s simply a casualty of reboot fatigue, the identity and political views of one performer could never have sunk the film on their own.

The Platt anecdote and the framing of the Variety article in which it first appeared point to what is perhaps the most interesting aspect of the “Snow White” debacle: the film’s position in a larger narrative about which kinds of views on the Israel-Palestine conflict are acceptable in Hollywood—or anywhere in the U.S. circa 2025, really—and who is permitted to air them. The top Hollywood agent Maha Dakhil stepped away from her role as co-chief of C.A.A.’s motion-pictures department after she shared—and then deleted and profusely apologized for—an Instagram post that referred to Israel’s military attack on Gaza as “genocide.” The actress Melissa Barrera was fired from the “Scream” franchise for expressing pro-Palestinian sentiments online. In contrast, the actor Mark Ruffalo won his fourth Oscar nomination in 2024 despite vocal opposition on social media and elsewhere to Israel’s military actions in Gaza. Ruffalo’s fellow-actor Guy Pearce, one of the most prominent pro-Palestine voices in the film world, earned his first Academy Award nomination this year and sat in the front row at the ceremony, where “No Other Land,” about the I.D.F.’s demolition of a Palestinian community in the West Bank, won the Oscar for documentary feature.

In other words, there would appear to be space in Hollywood to demonstrate sympathy for the more than fifty thousand human beings that Israeli military forces have killed in Gaza, as well as for the roughly twelve hundred human beings that Hamas killed in its October 7th terror attack on Israel. But you must be the right sort of person to demonstrate such sympathies, and you must use the correct terminology. One might speculate that Ruffalo and Pearce have more latitude than Dakhil and Barerra because they are both middle-aged white men. And yet, last year, after the director Jonathan Glazer won an Oscar for his astonishing Holocaust film, “The Zone of Interest,” an open letter circulated in Hollywood to condemn his acceptance speech as supporting a “blood libel,” attracting more than a thousand signatories (Jonah Platt among them). One Academy member likened Glazer’s measured words to a “Hamas rally.” Among Glazer’s offenses was in using the word “occupation” to refer to the occupied territories and invoking the “dehumanization” of both Israelis and Palestinians in the ongoing war.

The tenor of this conversation presumably informed a recent statement issued by the C.E.O. and president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, after Hamdan Ballal, the Palestinian co-director of “No Other Land,” was badly beaten by Israeli settlers in his West Bank village and then detained overnight on an Israeli military base, his whereabouts unknown to family and friends for hours. “Understandably, we are often asked to speak on behalf of the Academy in response to social, political, and economic events,” the AMPAS statement read in part. “In these instances, it is important to note that the Academy represents close to 11,000 global members with many unique viewpoints.” The text did not mention Ballal by name, or enumerate any of the unique viewpoints one might have on his terrifying situation. (After an outcry by hundreds of Academy members, AMPAS issued an apology for neglecting to name Ballal.)

The organization released its non-statement of non-support on behalf of a freshly minted Oscar winner on the same day that video emerged of a Tufts University student, Rumeysa Ozturk, being accosted outside her apartment building by masked, plainclothes ICE agents; she was handcuffed, detained, and flown to a facility in Louisiana, reportedly for co-authoring an op-ed in a student newspaper citing Israel’s “clear violations of international law” in Gaza. Ozturk’s arrest, which has sparked worldwide condemnation, was made possible by precisely the two conditions that Zegler’s controversial posts acknowledged: the subjugation of Palestinians and the election of Donald Trump.

The attacks on a wealthy young actor like Zegler for her political stance may scarcely bear direct comparison to the violations of human rights allegedly endured by Ozturk, or Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian green-card holder who, in early March, was arrested by ICE agents in the lobby of his Columbia University–owned apartment building and now faces deportation. But a commonality between them is that they work within ostensibly powerful cultural institutions that are now under assault by the Trump Administration. Columbia, along with Harvard and other universities, may lose hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding owing to allegations that they allowed antisemitism to flourish on their campuses during the antiwar protests of late 2023 and 2024. Disney and its subsidiary ABC—which settled a defamation lawsuit with Trump in December for fifteen million dollars—is now under F.C.C. investigation for possibly breaching “equal employment opportunity regulations by promoting invidious forms of DEI discrimination,” according to Brendan Carr, the agency’s new chair. In a letter addressed to Disney’s C.E.O., Carr cited ABC’s “Inclusion Standards,” which called for the network to draw from “underrepresented groups” for its casts and crews, and in creating its characters. In other words, we may now be living in a world in which casting a Latina actress as Snow White is not only infuriating to online edgelords but a purported violation of federal law. And, if a Ph.D. candidate can be jailed for speech and threatened with deportation, it may follow that so can a showrunner, a filmmaker, or an actress who “shoots her mouth off.” 

[vindicated-truth]

What defines Joowon to me, more than anything, is his rigidity and absolutism when it comes to his morals.

It's his own brand of justice that—for better or for worse—he's unwilling to compromise for anything.

Not even for someone he has finally come to genuinely care for.

Not even for Dongsik.

What strikes me the most in this pivotal scene when Dongsik finally asks Joowon to arrest him is Joowon's immediate answer:

"I can't do that. I have no right to do that."

And the only way Dongsik finally, gently convinced Joowon to go through with it is by saying:

"If you don't arrest me, I won't ever turn myself in. Please arrest me now.

What makes this exchange pivotal is the nuance of Joowon's reason: "I can't do that. I have no right to do that."

It's not that he doesn't think that arresting Dongsik is wrong. He absolutely still believes that it's right, because it's only when Dongsik—who knows his Joowon well enough by now—gently threatens that he won't ever turn himself in if Joowon doesn't arrest him then that Joowon finally, finally concedes.

What breaks Joowon's heart here is not that Dongsik finally turns himself in, not that Dongsik will finally be arrested and very likely will be indicted.

Joowon knows this, intellectually, and knows this is right—if only because in the balance scale of his moral compass, it gives justice to Kang Minjeong's death too. Because he also knows, intellectually, that if Dongsik didn't do what he did with her fingers, they all could've had that small window of a chance to save her while she was still buried alive.

This, Dongsik facing that justice for Kang Minjeong's death, Joowon firmly believes to still be right. This isn't what's making him reel from the wrongness of what Dongsik is asking of him.

Because what is breaking Joowon's heart is that Dongsik is asking him to do it: that the son of the murderer will be the one to arrest the victim's brother.

It knocks him off-kilter from what he perceives justice to be, just because he holds everyone so rigidly against this moral compass—including himself.

For someone who never, in his whole life, had someone believe in him—had someone believe him—Joowon cannot reconcile the fact that Dongsik trusts him.

That Dongsik chooses him, exceptionally and exclusively, the only one he trusts, for this.

In this pivotal moment, it's Dongsik who makes Joowon reevaluate everything he has ever known, everything he has ever believed, not only about justice, but about what it means to be completely, wholeheartedly trusted by someone else.

Because what Joowon absolutely cannot fathom is: it's precisely because of the rigidity and absolutism of his moral compass that Dongsik trusts him, and only him, exceptionally and exclusively, with this.

Because for someone who's been a victim of the justice system for 21 years, used and abused over and over again by the people in power within the very system that was supposed to protect the innocent like him, and bring justice to victims like him—

It is only now, in meeting Han Joowon, that Dongsik finally meets the one person who finally, truly personifies the kind of justice he believes in.

The justice Dongsik can finally, finally believe in.

The only one who will see justice through.

No matter what.

[aliciavance4228]

Here's a list with obscure deities from Greco-Roman Mythology to obssess about

Aceso: The goddess of the healing process and Asclepcius' daughter;

Achlys: The goddess of the eternal night, aka the Mist of Death;

Agon: The greek god of competition;

Alala: The goddess of the war cry, daughter of Polemos and one of Ares' attendants;

Alke: The goddess of battle-strenght and Eris' daughter;

Amechania: Apparently the ancient greeks did have a goddess of helplessness too.

Apate: A daughter of Nyx and the goddess of deceit;

Arete: She's more a concept than an actual deity. From what I found, her name means virtue, in the sense of being the best version of yourself or reaching tour highest potential. She was supposed to personify that;

Aristaeus: A minor god primarily known for rustic arts like beekeeping and cheesemaking. And Eurydice's assaulter;

Arke: Iris' sister who was thrown intk Tartarus after betraying the gods and becoming a messager for the titans;

Atë: Eris' daughter and the goddess of mischief, delusion, folly, and reckless impulsiveness that leads to ruin;

Bia: The goddess and personification of force;

Caerus: Very obscure guy and the god of opportunity;

Ceto: An early sea goddess and the mother of the Gorgons, the Graia, Echidna and the Hesperian Dragon;

Cybele: A Phrygian Mother Goddess, her cult being very popular in Anatolia once;

Dike: Goddess of mortal justice and fair judgment;

Dolos: God of trickery and guile, and a former apprentice to Prometheus;

Dysnomia: Daughter of Eris and goddess of lawlessness;

Eleos: A daughter of Nyx and the personification of pity, mercy, clemency, and compassion;

Endovelicus: Worshipped only by the romans, and apparently a deity who came from the Lisutanian Mythology. He was the god of healing and light.

Epione: The goddess of the soothing of pain and Asclepcius' wife;

Eucleia, Eupheme, Euthenia and Philophrosyne: Hephaestus and Aglaea's daughters;

Geras: Son of Nyx and the god of old age;

Homados: God of the noise of battle and all the blood-curdling screaming that implies;

Homonia: Goddess of concord, unanimity, and oneness of mind;

Hygieia: A daughter of Asclepcius and the personification of health, cleanliness, and sanitation;

Iaso: Daughter of Asclepius and the goddess of recuperation from illness;

Janus: Present only in the Roman Mythology, Janus was the god of doorways, gates, transitions, and beginnings and endings;

Kratos: Apparently he actually existed in Greek Mythology, but he was the god of strenght and power;

Limos: Daughter of Eris and the goddess of starvation;

Lyssa: Daughter of Nyx and the goddess of mad rage, frenzy and rabies in animals;

Mithras: Besides the fact that he was a roman god worshipped by a popular mystery cult there are few things known about him;

Momus: Son of Nyx and the god of satire, mockery, censure, writers, and poets;

Moros: Son of Nyx and the god of impending doom;

Oizys: Daughter of Nyx and the goddess of misery;

Pamacea: Daughter of Asclepcius and the goddess of universal remedy;

Peitho: Goddess of persuasion and seduction;

Penia: Goddess of poverty and need;

Phorcys: God of the mysterious dangers of the deep and Ceto's husband;

Plutus: God of wealth;

Polemos: Personification of war;

Ponos: God of hard labor and toil;

Porus: God of plenty and a son of Metis, making him the half-brother of Athena;

Praxidike: The goddess of judicial punishment and the exactor of vengeance;

Priapus: A minor fertility god, known for trying to rape Hestia once and his large equipment;

Ptocheia: Greek goddess of beggary;

Quirnius: An early roman god of Rome itself as a city state.

Seilenos: The god of drunkeness and crushing grapes under foot to make wine and the godfather of Dionysus;

Soteria and Soter: The goddess and god of safety and deliverance from harm;

Zelus: The personification of dedication, emulation, eager rivalry, envy, jealousy, and zeal. Had wings like his siblings (Nike, Kratos and Bia) and was an enforcer for Zeus that stood about his throne;