#next time maybe

[murasaki-cha]

Choi Han: *about the Thames* Cale-nim why is your family so frustrating?

Cale: *also frustrated but weirdly defensive* Why is your family Choi Jung Gun?

Choi Han: .....

Choi Jung Soo: ....dude

[lomakes]

(Some of) My Wardens!

[Templates here!]

[theheirofthesharingan]

How did Itachi murder his own family and left his brother? I would never do that! He doesn't deserve sympathy for murdering innocent people and for putting Sasuke through hell.

This is a phrase I repeatedly come across with slight changes in the words, but their intent of expressions remains the same:

I would not have done what Itachi did. My morals are better than Itachi's. I would have found a better way. He doesn't deserve to be hailed as a hero. Itachi deserves no sympathy.

[long rant post ahead]

Well, love, if it helps you a little bit, be glad it isn't about you. It's about a 4-year-old boy who was plunged into the darkness of war without his consent, at the age you might be sucking your thumb, sniffling around with your mom and dad looking after your little needs. It's about a boy who, after witnessing the horrors of war, realized he needed to stop it, no matter the cost. He didn't have to lose a friend or a family to understand this needed to stop. Children needed to stop dying.

Everyone around him abandoned him. His parents, the grown ups around him - every single one of them - used him as a tool. He raised himself, without having to rely on anyone else. The coup was going to cause massive damage, or so he was made to believe, because no one would listen to him if he disagreed with them. He had the "freedom" to choose whether he would carry out the massacre or not. Because whether he did or not wasn't going to change the end result. Danzo was going to kill people anyway. If not him, someone else would have done it. The only thing that he could change was that he would spare Sasuke's life.

For someone whose psyche was irrevocably damaged after witnessing the world war, being a Shinobi, and watching death too closely from a young age (he killed the first person when he was 4), Itachi knew the importance of life all too well. And more importantly, he would want to protect the person he loved the most from the worst - the worst in the eyes of someone who was already familiar with the emptiness and hollowness the death brought was, nothing but death itself. He was psychologically conditioned since his childhood to view death as the absolute worst. Worse than what he put Sasuke through.

And no, he was not proud of what he did. He was not proud to put Sasuke through hell.

He was not good at expressing himself. Because he had never expressed himself before except for the brief joy whenever he was around Sasuke. He watched Shisui kill himself right before his eyes, and the next day he was spending quality time with Sasuke. He didn't lose control until he was accused of killing him.

But this is where he lets go of his feelings for a little while. This is the sadness of someone who knows what he's done. His purpose in this life is to protect his home and his brother from the evil that might befall them. Everything for him has ended. Anything beyond this moment, stretching as long as it does, will be extra.

This is immediately after he leaves Sasuke. Proud of himself? No. The sky is covered in red. It signifies the blood he spilled. His crimes will haunt him for the rest of his life.

He could have left Sasuke without traumatizing him, without saying a word. But he knew how much Sasuke loved him. He would chase him. Question things. And then, what if Sasuke found out the truth? What if Sasuke went against the Leaf and tried to avenge his clan? Danzo had already threatened Itachi what that impertinence from Sasuke would result into. He was leaving his little brother in a place filled with wolves and vultures who had just made him murder his own parents. How was he supposed to have tiniest bit of faith in them? He wanted to give Sasuke a purpose to live, even if it was revenge. He wanted Sasuke to kill him. And he wanted Sasuke to not feel guilty while he did it.

Believe it or not, it's not someone who had fun or had no regrets watching his brother fall apart because of him. He hardly ever cried in his life, and this is one of those moments.

Upon joining the Akatsuki, he was too deep in the world politics where the Village, Sasuke, and the Shinobi world - their civilization, basically - was at stake. He stood between the Akatsuki and the world. It's his death that prompted the Akatsuki to finally attack his home.

Itachi devoted himself to Sasuke completely, selflessly. He was not openly sentimental but he wasn't without sentiments. What do you think made him prolong his excruciatingly painful life forcefully until the end? His ego? His pride? No. His guilt.

This is not the look of a criminal who was proud of the things he did. He lived for Sasuke. He was dying for him. His purpose was complete in this world. Sasuke had friends who loved him. Who wouldn't give up on him, wouldn't hurt him the way he (Itachi himself) had done. I personally don't think he saw his death as some sort of liberation from life or the torture he went through. He saw it as his last service towards Sasuke. He knew even his death, him giving up everything for him, couldn't make up for the things he'd done to Sasuke. His hope was in the friendship between Sasuke and Naruto. That's why he'd met Naruto before his death. He was happy and relieved to know that at least someone else would look after the brother he loved when he's gone.

Mind you, none of his actions are 'justified'. They don't deserve to be condoned because that's not what Itachi's character is in first place. He himself wouldn't agree with people who deify him. When talking about fictional characters, I don't look for justifications either. I don't have to agree with their decisions or morals. All of Itachi’s actions, justified or not, make sense. They're explainable, not excusable. I'm not into the characters who do nothing offensive so that their fans can take a moral high ground because feeling validated with fictional characters is more important.

Itachi is a complex character, probably the most complex in the series, because he's a walking paradox. He can't be considered as a complete hero or a villain. When did he get to be either of that? His intent was noble but his actions were not. He's not a hero. Or is he a hero?

He's a victim. He's a story that should have been remembered by everyone, but instead his blood-soaked tale has been thrown away because it shows the world a mirror about a 12-13 year old child who was sacrificed because of the adults' spinelessness and incompetence.

This is long, I know. If you read it this far, thank you so much from the bottom of my heart.

_____

[To the haters: I did not write this for you to rant about how he's a horrible person and all. Please go where you'll be heard. If you really want to self-insert in his place and think you'd have done better, by all means flee. Make the world a better place.]

[rebelrayne]

inspired by tiktok. take a screenshot and share your how date night went 🤍🤍🤍

[dailyedgeworth]

today, edgeworth and a butterfly, as suggested by @htsparrowheart <3

[darkdragon768]

🦷 Toothless 🦷

A Dragon a Week 8/52

[caxycreations]

A thing I did for @akiwitch for Art Fight!

Very proud of it as I don't draw humans often and I think I did well for it!

The hands still bug me but hey everything can't be perfect!

[ethicstownpod]

The first part of our cast Q&A is out now! Tune in for vague and tangential philosophical references, tumblr sexyman lore, and just so many people violently telling each other that they're great!

ID: A red abckground with the Ehtics Town top hat at the centre. Text reads 'cast Q&A part 1'. Around the hat are doodles: a heart, saturn, half a daisy, a tea cup, two mushrooms, a half-sun half-moon, a twist that looks like a DNA strand, an anatomically correct hart, two hands reaching for each other, and an arrow.

[wanderlustmagician]

Oh I was just reminded of funnier facts about myself. Oh well.

[commissionsdarian]

go on strike

Sounds like a good idea, July 28th 2023 anon. No clue why I didn't post a response at the time

[idrawgaystffs]

Vee’s inner-monologue is likely him questioning why he lets this idiot live.

So! @css10987 (I seem to not be able to tag you),

Here’s your gift from me to you as per the TssSecretSanta contract! Some villain Ro and questionably sided Virgil (I imagine he’s a good vigil-ante :) There’s a bit of tag lore for the heck of it vv

Oh and have a nice wintery season!

Tagging @sanderssidesgiftxchange as well, thanks for setting this all up and modding!

[Click for quality and reblogs are appreciated!]

[cuntstable]

saw cows up close for the first time btw. i mean up close in the sense that they were like 50 meters away but YAY

[miloutic]

something about bg3s camp theme being named I want to live

[amethyst-the-necromancer]

Wei deserved a win after I misspelled his name ngl.

[infinity-tippy]

Couldn't get tickets :(

[wanderinthedeep]

ugh the cutest boy was at the MTG event tonight and I didn’t get to play against him cuz he did good and I did bad 🤬