#so i might as well tag

[honorhearted]

Over the years, I've seen varying theories about why Ben spared Arnold's life (aside from the obvious "gotta keep him in the plot" armor), so I would like to give my two cents -- AKA yet again, I would like to meta about something that absolutely nobody asked for.

For Ben, it's pretty plain early on that friends and family are at the pinnacle of what he's fighting for (he did, after all, risk many lives in S1 to rescue his father rather than thinking about the greater good). With that in mind, when we flash forward to S2 and Ben and Arnold have their first official conversation, Arnold immediately wins Ben over in a very simple way: he commends his brother, Samuel, on his valor and being a "fine soldier." Ben's face when Arnold speaks of Samuel makes that plain:

As someone who is arguably still grieving, and tamping down said grief for the sake of his duty, you can see in his eyes all the heartache and appreciation, and even relief to hear that someone out there actually acknowledges the sacrifice his brother made for the Cause. Here is someone who finally understands the idolized view he has of Samuel in his head, and there's a comfort in that affirmation that none of his superiors have given him thus far. In other words, by uttering what Ben needed to hear, Arnold gained an immediate ally.

IMO, S3 did a great job of showcasing how those you trust and revere can be just as twisted as the supposed enemy. The best examples for Ben are Reverend Worthington, who was a r.eligious figure just like his beloved and trusted father, and then, of course, Arnold's betrayal.

When we get to their showdown in 3x9, Ben is immediately faced with a choice: he can either k.ill Arnold for his treason, or he can spare his life. And just like with most of his decisions, it all boils down to friends and family. Arnold is one of his only remaining links to Samuel. In Ben's mind, how can he possibly take out the one person in camp who'd known Samuel to be as brave and heroic as he did? By k.illing Arnold, he'd be removing the only superior who'd known and appreciated Samuel, and thus, he'd also be snuffing out a part of his brother's legacy.

Ironically, one of Arnold's initial quotes to Ben was, "We do what is right. Then we live with the consequences." Arguably, sparing Arnold was right for Ben and only Ben, and he would eventually have to live with that decision (and thankfully that didn't turn out too badly).

tl;dr ~ Ben didn't spare Arnold for Arnold's sake or any last minute compassion; Ben let Arnold live so that Samuel could live on by proxy.

[shininas-ideals]

Glad Fyodor's finally dead, everyone's alive and we can go back to solving cases and flirting fighting with the PM :D

[agueforts]

forever fascinated by the many machinations of brennan's mind. image description in alt text, below, or at this reblog, originally from @arctic-hands

[Image Description: tweet by Brennan Lee Mulligan, @ BrennanLM. It says "While the statement 'Even educated fleas can do it' may at first seem inclusive, it actually suggests an insect society sharply divided by class, where access to institutions of higher learning is seen as prerequisite to the full range of natural emotions. In this TED talk I will–". In response, Sam Reich, @ SamReich, tweets "for the love of god brennan it's valentine's day", to which Brennan responds "Not for the working class fleas it's not! #Solidarity ["solidarity" in allcaps]" End I.D.]

[gerrykeay]

im not putting this post into words. beams into your mind The Parallels

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[writeouswriter]

People sorting ao3 solely by stats and only clicking on fics with a certain amount of kudos or comments, you will not survive the winter, nor the summer, nor at all, *brings out knife,* run

[wasabi-gumdrop]

Kabru has a secret admirer in the castle!

[nessieartss]

student sukuna au inspired by this beautiful art by inkedberries (galaxy brain moment), please check their other arts as well!

[pinacoladamatata]

blink and you'll miss it moments around skyhold....

[0zt]

did the thing as a comic! context, minato chooses the village, but obito finds himself unable to kill naruto no matter how many different methods he tries

[mindsmist]

don't look back / / move forward

[snakeoid]

imagine astarion so pale hes translucent like a glass frog. ur vampire so white he see through 😭😭

[gradelstuff]

My Hero Academia - Art Card Collection Vol. 1 from Jump Shop Online (2024)

[wardingshout]

Travelling for Day 4 of SpeSilverWeek! going to Mt. Silver to visit "the extended family"...

[aaroleswapau]

ohoho!~ art thee working hard, or hardly working, sir edgeworth? 🌻🎭💗💕

originally drawn for narumitsu week 2022 day 3: free day!

i suppose i should post some of my old swap au art since i'm too busy rn to answer asks adfghd <3 (i'm so sorry, i appreciate everyone's interest and curiosity with the au! but between college and brain stuff, i'm afraid i don't have any spoons rn </3)

anyways, like i mentioned, i drew this for nrmt week 2022 and i polled my bird app followers for which piece of official art i should redraw for the swap au, and this one won so here it is!

y'all finally get to see the full image of this blog's icon if y'all weren't aware lol

[circadianrhythmofthekiller]

day 20 - party

version without the red speech bubbles below

i had a lot of issues exporting this gif, so it doesn’t have a background like i would’ve liked, but i’m happy with how it turned out :)

[deadtiredghost]

a donnie appreciation post cause I haven't posted much about them yet

I didn't realise I made 30.... I was just focused I guess hehe

Guess imma have to do this for all of them now- oh well