#Justification of their actions or apologizing for their behavior

[annakaspring]

Officially the longest rant I've ever posted

Snater mauraders fans literally being the most shallow people on earth.

I will see them saying Snape deserved to be targeted and bullied. And the reason is always the same.

"he was creepy" how was he creepy? "He was obsessed with Lily and possessive of her."

oh, you mean like how James threatened to physically assault Lily if she didn't go on a date with him while simultaneously bullying her friend? While Severus did as Lily asked and left her alone when she said their friendship was over.

"He was racist." No, comparing the word mudblood a fictional slur to a real life racial slur is so ignorant, problematic and also completely disregards that there could be actual racism in the Harry Potter universe. And Snape is not a pureblood in fact he is way more muggle born than half blood as he grew up in a muggle neighborhood, wearing muggle clothes. Is what Snape called Lily right? No. could she have still been hurt? Yes. But I see the same people who bash Snape, Stan Malfoy who is canonically a pureblood who hates muggle-borns. Like be so for fucking for real rn.

"He was a nazi" Again, comparing a fictional "cult" to real life devastating history is ignorant and frankly ridiculous. But let's just humor that idea for a moment. Then why do I see maurader fans idolizing characters like Barry Crouch Jr? Or Regulus Black? Who not only joined the death eaters just like Severus did but were privileged purebloods who unlike Severus had money, a proper home, family. And in Barty Jr's case he is literally canonically evil.

"He was a bully." So was James, so was Sirius.And both James and Sirius are canonically described as being obviously well loved and privileged while Snape "so obviously lacked" that. Severus had reasons to be cold, stand offish and rude. had a terrible home life, neglectful if not straight up abusive parents, a single friend, depressed and was poor. What was James's excuse?

And I will see ppl who loooove Draco Malfoy yet despise Snape. Draco Malfoy, who is repeatedly voiced his pureblood prejudice so much as saying he wished death upon Hermione Granger simply for her blood status, was a HUGE bully, surely bigger than Snape ever was if he did ever bully (he didn't). Severus Snape used a slur once, once when he was a child while he was being SA'd and regretted it so much he never used the word again. While Draco literally never even apologized for his fanatical white supremacist behavior. "Well he didn't want to kill Dumbledore" I'm sorry but being too cowardly to kill someone does not equal being a good person.

"Oh well they changed, they grew up and became better." Did they? Where's the proof? Where's the evidence? I never saw Sirius own up to his actions. Remus still excused his friends bullying. "Well actually Draco actually liked Hermione the whole time. And that's why he was so mean to her" So? If anything that makes even worse. If a guy wished me dead, was openly vile to I wouldn’t suddenly be okay with it because he was actually attracted to me the whole time.

So what arguments do the Snaters have left?

Nothing, absolutely zero justification other than shallow, half baked reasons.

Severus Snape commits the most unforgivable sin. Being poor, morally grey AND ugly.

Because being poor can be forgiven as long as you're hot i.e Remus Lupin. But forbid they actually show signs of their class. Being malnourished, having hand me clothes, not being able to have proper hygiene. These are all things that actually happen to severely lower class individuals. Being a pureblood snob can be forgiven as long as you're hot. Being actually evil with zero justification is forgiven as long as you're hot.

People will twist and headcanon characters we get two pages of information on into fully fleshed out people with intricate backstories and believable justification for all their evil behavior.

Meanwhile bashing Snape who is one the most complex, dark, interesting character in the series. All because Snape is "ugly".

Because god forbid a character does not fit their rigid beauty standards and is actually complex and human.

And we're not gonna get into how literally not once was Snape ever explicitly described as ugly or how Draco Malfoy in the books described as having a pointed, rat like face.

And just to clarity I'm not trying yuck anybody's yum. Love the characters you love, stan evil ones, ship all the characters you want. I do! I ship character who make absolutely no sense in canon. create intricate stories for background characters all you want That's what fandom is all about. But don't act you have an actual reason for hating Snape while simultaneously stanning Voldemort and Barty Crouch Jr.

Be straightforward and say you don't like him because he does not fit your rigid cookie cutter beauty standards and you have no compassion.

Cheers,

[riwooga]

Mnn no I'm gonna say it, I think you're wrong about Bailey. He doesn't have a caring bone in his body. If he cared about the pc he wouldn't sell them lolz

I'm so sorry this is so funny to me, the pure duality to the other ask in response to that post LMAO

But no, you're so free to disagree with me! I am, once again, simply theorizing. I think it's super important in fandom spaces that people can interpret characters differently and have that for themselves. Another person's opinion doesn't have to be your own, I personally definitely see a lot of opinions too in a lot of different fandoms where /I/ disagree with the poster's interpretation of a character, but I simply scroll on pfft

I definitely don't intend to argue with anyone, it's just for fun theorizing! 💕

[godnectar]

Yandere himbo? >:)

・✶ ｡ﾟ𝐘𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐇𝐈𝐌𝐁𝐎 ;

cw: toxic behavior, bae's hot, oblivious and delusional asf, kinda manipulative, jealousy, violence, guilt tripping,,,, justifications + probably a big ass etc. ( inbox )

𖣠 YANDERE HIMBO who possesses a genuinely warm and friendly demeanor that, along with his looks, easily draws people to him. the pure, charming, and easygoing smile he usually wears making it extremely hard for others to suspect anything about his hidden, darker tendencies — reason why you didn't really made a big deal out of his sudden but innocent looking crush towards you and just felt flattered.

𖣠 YANDERE HIMBO whose loyalty absolutely knows no bounds once you two got together after countless of sweet, sincere compliments, some appealing winks, and a few wholesome dates. he's hopelessly devoted to you, willing to go to extreme lengths to ensure his darling's happiness and safety twenty-four seven.

𖣠 YANDERE HIMBO who's cheerful facade is fast to crumble the next second he perceives someone as a threat to your lovely, fairy tale looking relationship, no matter if it's because of one of your friends getting to touchy or just one of your relatives making a disapproving comment about your choice of a partner. even though, he's also quick to apologize whenever you get mad as the familiar, beefy arms that hold you at night get covered with scratches after he holds your acquaintances in a chokehold deep inside an alley hours prior. unsurprisingly, guilt overcomes you as soon as you glance at his pouty lips and furrowed eyebrows, pained by your anger over his instinctive jealousy.

𖣠 YANDERE HIMBO who as much as he lacks intelligence, probably also lacks comprehension for his actions' severity most of the time, leading him to justify some disturbing things such as his hostility, surveillance and obsessive keepsakes by saying it all comes from his undying love towards you, the light of his eyes.

𖣠 YANDERE HIMBO who genuinely thinks there's nothing wrong with what he does. sure, he might not be the brightest bulb in the box, nor the man with the healthiest mental state you'll meet — the latter being pretty noticeable, especially when you catch on the fearful stares some people send among all the praising others unawarely give — but at least he's trying his best at showing you that his... heart throbs only for his sweetling, right?

𖣠 YANDERE HIMBO who desires with all his heart for you to be as head over heels for him as he is for you, never giving up on trying to make you let down all of your guards to share his innermost yearns, fantasizing about an intense, exclusive and unique connection between you two where both seek to become the other's one and only.

"tell me how much you love me, my dear. need to hear you saying there's absolutely no one in your heart but me."

© godnectar 2023. please do not modify, translate, or repost my works on any platform without my permission.

[david-talks-sw]

So I just talked about how these mysteries were all predictable, which is tied to the decision to structure this show like an investigative thriller. The crazy part is... while the long-term twists are being "telegraphed", the short-term ones aren't even hinted at.

Because of how this is structured, I don't understand half these characters' motivations, as they're not doing what a character in their position would do, they're just following the plot beats of a series structured like an investigative thriller.

Characters are just doing stuff, I don't understand what they've got on their mind, then the next episode after it clarifies... but like, what hints had I received that X character was gonna do this?

Here's an example:

Sol is established as wise and balanced, someone who is open to the possibility of being wrong.

Episode #6 ends with Sol imprisoning Mae. Ominous music plays and he's about to tell her what's up. What will he tell her? I have no idea. I just know something happened on Brendok that was so bad that Torbin killed himself over it.

Episode #7, we're shown that Sol fucked up. His self-righteous behavior and impetuousness essentially caused a genocide and that he's partially the reason why Osha and Mae suffered so much. We can see this pained him.

So I don't think it would be far-fetched to assume that in the next episode, Sol will be trying to apologize, get Mae to see his point of view, explain that "Look, you're mother turned into a smoke demon and you began to dissolve, I did the maths and concluded wrongly. I'm sorry."

Episode #8: Nope. Instead he's being this ultra obsessive guy who is more interested in justifying the reckless actions of his youth than just apologizing.

How did we get there? Organically, I mean.

We didn't.

Because the series is dogmatically following the investigative thriller structure, and this is the point where the police detective who mentored the protagonist reveals he did what he did for the greater good. So that's what we're doing now. Even if it means Sol is out of character.

Now, I can buy that Sol's tragic flaw is that he's never able to shed that self-righteousness. But you gotta give me reason to do so, show me hints, here and there.

If the justification is just "well Sol repressed his never darkness and never acknowledged it"...

"Sol is just in full-on repression mode at this point. He’s deluded himself into thinking that he has achieved balance." - Leslye Headland, Entertainment Weekly, 2024

... this wasn't shown to us.

It's literally just Qimir stating as much and that's it.

Everything else can be waived away as "he was angry", which I honestly get because he just saw like five people get slaughtered, some of whom he had a strong bond with.

In Falcon and the Winter Soldier, they do a better job at hinting that John Walker has a repressed darkness. Let's get some hints that Sol could lose his shit at any point even before he suffered great losses. Let's see him lose his shit when he's trying to probe Mae's mind to find her master.

[graceraindrops-blog]

How much of a terrible mom was Cordelia? A full explanation.

It's a shame that the first post of my blog is dedicated to a rather ''interesting'' take @yuikomorii showed me, but taking into account that I've done my research involving the mothers, I find it a perfect opportunity to make a full explanation of Cordelia's abusive behavior.

Before I start, I would like to talk about why Cordelia acted the way she did (I AM NOT JUSTIFYING HER ACTIONS).

We know that Cordelia's father was neglectful towards her after the death of her mother which made her lack the ability to understand love.

Karlheinz manipulated Cordelia into marrying him and giving him children FORCEFULLY (because Cordelia did not want to have children). He also convinced Cordelia that it was okay for her to have many lovers and to have sexual relationships with FAMILY members

Cordelia's abusive behavior towards the triplets also comes over the fact of her jealousy and obsession with Karlheinz and surpassing Beatrix and Christa.

Getting this out of the way I will now start explaining why Cordelia was NOT a good mother despite her traumas.

It's not strange to view Cordelia negatively if she's one of the antagonists of the franchise. NEVER did Diabolik lovers ever paint Cordelia as a good person and constantly tell us about how shitty she was towards her children and how much it affected them.

2. I'm not denying the fact that around those times parenting was more strict, however, you're forgetting that Cordelia didn't just slap, ground, or yell at her children, she put intense waves of pressure on Ayato, and drowned him, she sexually abused Laito, manipulated him and groomed him when he was a KID, forced Kanato to sing until he bled and made him watch her have intercourse with other men. This was the abuse the triplets went through until they finally had enough and attempted to kill Cordelia, which they succeeded.

3. Yes, it's true that Beatrix wouldn't give the triplets much attention or love, she would probably neglect them due to not being her biological children and belonging to her rival, however, Beatrix WOULD NEVER do the messed up stuff Cordelia did. Yes, she was a terrible mother to Shu and Reiji, yet she would've never stepped down at Cordelia's level.

4. A normal mother doesn't drown and threaten her child due to personal issues, A normal mother doesn't sexually abuse her child and grooms him to make him depend on her, and a normal mother doesn't force her child to watch her have sex with men and doesn't use his singing voice to get horny. If she was an affectionate mother ayato wouldn't have found the need to HIDE himself from her and the triplets wouldn't have considered killing her.

5. I would also like to add, that no matter how badly influenced Cordelia was, and no matter how much childhood trauma she went through, that would never be a justification for the way she treated her children. This does not only apply to Cordelia, this applies to every character and to real people as well. It's a reason why they behave that way, but never a justification. Also, Cordelia doing the bare minimum and behaving like an actual mother for a few moments does not mean she cares about her children. I don't think this is explicitly told, but I believe in those particular scenes she's grooming Kanato to become dependent on her like she did with Laito and Ayato.

6. ''She never spoke that way to her children'' I'm sorry but I have to laugh?? I would've understood if you were an anime only (not really) but taking into account that you do know about the games this is really really wrong lol. I don't why it's difficult to understand that Cordelia didn't love her children. Cordelia is such a bad mother that when she was resurrected in Ayato's DF route, she didn't even apologize to him or to his siblings, and yet he still forgave her! She even told Ayato to APOLOGIZE to her and continued to insult him

(Credits to @dialovers-translations)

I understand (I think everyone in the fandom does) that Cordelia had her reasons to behave this way (childhood trauma and manipulation) but that doesn't excuse her actions. I don't agree with people hating on Cordelia and loving Karlheinz but I also don't agree with people defending Cordelia and saying she did nothing wrong when she did.

Cordelia isn't a black-and-white character and she's not a bad character either, she's very well-written for her purpose (an antagonist) but she's not a good person or mother. She never regretted what she did and if she was still alive during HDB she would've still been abusive to the triplets.

This is my problem with morally grey characters/Evil characters. They can't exist in media if people ignore their wrongdoings and actions and try to justify said actions. I'm not saying that they shouldn't exist but I'm tired of people painting them as good people or justifying their actions when their whole purpose as a character is to show that they're not good people and their actions are/were wrong.

To finish off the post I would like to say that I love Cordelia's character and I consider her to be one of the best-written characters in Diabolik Lovers. In my opinion, I would've liked to know more about her in further games but even if I feel this way about her I don't justify her actions and that's something we should all do. I'm glad the fandom no longer justifies the actions of the characters (with some obvious exceptions). And even if I like Cordelia as a character I don't shame others for not liking her, at the end of the day she was a horrible person lol.

[rickktish]

Some unsolicited Harry Potter Thoughts and Headcanons

Ron Weasley is one of my favorite characters. Ron Weasley should have died from the poison in Slughorn's office when he was 16 so that y'all would treat him with the respect he deserves instead of shitting on him and replacing him with Draco in Leather Pants.

The entire reason Dumbledore is so fucked up actually has nothing to do with his sordid past; it comes from the (Doylist) fact that he was a plot device in a children's book until the main characters (and thus the audience) got old enough that it needed to become a YA series, and then had to find ways to justify is plot device-ness after being magically transformed into a character. The justification did not succeed.

Harry and Ginny were fine as a ship. Not spectacular, but fine. But if the series had come out 10-20 years later than it did I would be frothing at the mouth that Harry ended up with Ron's sister instead of Ron.

Draco Malfoy was a victim of circumstance in that he was raised by racists to be a racist. Draco Malfoy did not change his mind about his racism by the end of the series, but he did change his mind about the cult leader his parents had raised him to worship, and he deserves credit for that. Do not give him credit for what we do not have evidence of him doing, namely becoming not racist. No one in his family did that. Don't pretend that they did just to make them look shinier.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were all bad friends at different points in the series, but as far as I can recall only Harry and Hermione exhibited actively toxic behavior. Ron had his disagreement with Hermione in book 3 and with Harry in book 4, but he had valid points in PoA (owner of a pet is responsible for that pet's actions) and was operating under false assumptions which he clearly communicated in GoF ("I thought you might've told me if it was the Cloak... because it wouldn't covered both of us, wouldn't it? But you found another way, did you?") before getting his head out of his ass ("Harry," he said, very seriously, "whoever put your name in that goblet -- I -- I reckon they're trying to do you in!") Followed by a sincere apology, interrupted though it was ("Ron opened his mouth uncertainly. Harry knew Ron was about to apologize and suddenly found he didn't need to hear it. "It's okay," he said, before Ron could get the words out. "Forget it." |"No," said Ron, "I shouldn't've--"| "Forget it," Harry said. Ron grinned nervously at him, and Harry grinned back.) Ron also apologized after leaving in DH. If anyone can remember a single instance of either Harry or Hermione apologizing to Ron for something they did that was wrong or for direct harm rather than accidental harm they've done, would you please add it to this post? I'm hoping it's just been too long since I did an in-depth read of the series and I've forgotten something, because I genuinely can't remember a time and I haven't been successful in locating one by my cursory searches through my ebook editions. I would genuinely like to be wrong about this, please and thank you.

I believe with my whole soul that the reason Dumbledore didn't get Sirius out of prison was because he was having Grindelwald flashbacks. Person I trusted with my whole soul turned out to be pro-enslavement/genocide? Person my students trusted with their magically concealed location appears to have turned out to be pro-Voldemort (and everything he uses to justify his pursuit of power)? He literally did not believe any doubts he might have held about Sirius' guilt, because he hasn't trusted his own judgement since he was 18 and his little sister died. also he 1) canonically did not know that Sirius wasn't the secret keeper and 2) probably did not know that Sirius never had a trial, so there's also that.

Harry and Ron 100% should have gone to the Yule Ball together. I would forgive their not ending up together so long as they had gone and had a fantastic time. Unfortunately, GoF was written in 2000, and we missed out for it.

Hermione would be an emotionally (and potentially physically) abusive spouse to Ron, not because I feel any need to put her down or bash her in any way, but because she wasn't willing to tell him that she was into him and instead conjured birds to attack him when she caught him kissing another girl. I think with time, effort, and a decent dose of humility, they could work it out, but at some point their kids are going to be chatting with friends and reveal the most casually fucked up shit about their parents' relationship to someone who's going to look utterly horrified and poor Rose and Hugo will have no idea why because to them it will be completely normal.

Childhood is thinking Dumbledore is the good guy and Snape is the bad guy. Angsty teenhood is thinking Snape is the good guy and Dumbledore "raised Harry like a pig for slaughter." Maturity is realizing that Snape did good things for really fucked up reasons like "I'm obsessed with the woman whose husband and child I would have seen killed so I could have another chance to get in her pants but unfortunately she's dead so I guess I have to keep her child who I hate alive" while also actively causing (directed) severe harm to the children under his care, and that Dumbledore did fucked up things for some good reasons like "I can't let this person who tortured animals as a child and committed murder in his teens destroy the world" and for some bad reasons like "I would literally die right now but unfortunately I have shit to do" (I honestly think everyone somehow missed the fact that Dumbledore was suicidal?? in spite of the fact that he committed assisted suicide?? I'm not quite sure how, but I suspect it has something to do with the woobification of Snape, so. there's that) while also causing (mostly indirect) moderate to severe harm to all who were in his care including, but not limited to, the government officials who asked him for advice, the staff and children at the school he ran, and his own family. The essential difference comes because Snape acted as he did toward others because he hated the world and everything in it, especially children, whereas Dumbledore acted as he did toward others because he couldn't make up his mind whether or not the ends justified the means and his life was entirely defined by the practice of both intentional and unintentional self-sabotage.

This absolutely might be giving Rowling too much credit, but I grew up with fairy tales of goblins who stole and guarded gold and didn't learn that goblins were a racist caricature based in antisemitism until I was in my late teens or early twenties by reading a post about how writing goblins as bankers meant that Rowling is antisemitic. I also genuinely didn't believe it at first, because I grew up in a culture that reveres Judaism and the Jewish people as God's chosen and the source for the foundation of mankind's relationship with God, and I had to seriously work to believe that the slightly goofy, slightly gross fairy tale creature I was familiar with could have such a disgusting connotation. I strongly suspect that Rowling herself had no idea until she started being accused of racism, at which point she pulled her classic schtick and doubled down, radicalizing rather than being open to being told she might be wrong. Sometimes you grow up with something being so normal and part of the regular zeitgeist that it never occurs to you that it could have its origins in racism. (I experienced this myself recently from a post about the origin of the popularity of private pools in the US, which I always thought were just a rich people status symbol. Even though I've known about the issue of pool discrimination since my mom, who attended a formerly black-only middle school in Alabama as a child, read me picture books about it when I was in elementary school, I didn't put it together until I read the post.) The quality of your character is determined then by how you respond to the criticism rather than whether or not you knew before the accusations began. The end result is the same, but I feel like holding her responsible for knowledge we have no way of telling if she knew before she started being accused of having it is bad-faith criticism, and I'd much rather hold her accountable for wrongs I know she's committed rather than ones I can only speculate about.

Dudley Dursley deserved his redemption. He grew up with the rule "Don't be like Harry" and figured out by the end of the series that Harry was a person, which is better than either of his parents managed. I honestly think a good dose of the real world-- maybe university or something-- would give him the foundation he would need to separate himself from his parents' beliefs and become a halfway decent human being. I wish the best for Dudley Dursley.

Neville Longbottom deserved better. In every possible way.

[tqavaaas]

what if jing yuan was forced to give up a memory to resist Mara, and he had to forget either his girlfriend or the high cloud quintets. So he chose to forget his girlfriend but didn’t tell her, instead he wrote her a note, where he breaks up with her.

*ೃ༄ Heartfelt letter ˚◞♡ ⃗

𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘺 ┊A goodbye from your significant other.

𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 ┊Slightly corny (?) - angst - short

𝘗𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 ┊ jing Yuan x Fem! Reader

𝘈/𝘯 ┊What a great way to kick off my blog! In all seriousness though, thank you for the request; I love angst sm and genuinely loved writing this.

He didn’t want to do this. But alas, this was a curse from being practically immortal. He had to choose to forget the most important people in his life, and he had to pick the girl who’s been by his side since the fall of the quintets. Even after centuries, he couldn’t let go of the friendship that’ll never return.

He had discussed with you earlier that day, and he was going to forget you. Looking back, your reactions were immature. You were fuming with anger, much more disappointed that sparked your childish behavior. You had left the Seat of Divine Foresight that same hour, you hadn’t bothered to even pay him one last visit. Oh, how you wish you did.

The day after, was in fact the worse. Seeing him look at you without that look in his eyes truly brought you to tears. Even yanqing saw it.

“Ah, I presume your [name]?” The general spoke, a gentle smile on his face. How you hated it.

You simply nodded. You figured speaking would bring you to tears - but at this point, why wouldn’t it?

“I found this letter at my side table this morning, it’s addressed to you. I’m unaware of the contents in them, so please do excuse me if it’s disrespectful” He spoke, as regal as ever.

Soon enough, work hours were over. You placed the letter on your counter, debating on whether you should read it. You know whatever was in that letter was everything he felt in that moment. But did you want to experience those feelings to?

Yes. Yes you did.

Carefully you opened the envelope: careful not to rip the paper, nor the bow that was glued to it. Jing Yuan was always so extra with you.

You placed the envelope down, then unfolded the letter itself - to reveal such exquisite and undoubtly elegant handwriting,

❝ My dearest,

I wrote this to apologize to you, you may also consider it my formal goodbye, but I hope that in due time, you’ll find it in your heart to forgive me. It may be years, or centuries from now. But I truly hope that someday I’m able to get forgiveness from you. Though, I am aware no amount of justification will able to condone my actions. I’m guessing you believe my actions are unreasonable, I cannot doubt you for those feelings, nor will I try to change your mind.

I don’t lack doubt you’ll make me yours again - and I wish you would. But someday, somewhere; maybe as foxians, vidayhara, or short-lived species. Among one of the 6 Hexafleet on the Xianzhou alliance, or one of many life forms in the billions of galaxies will we cross paths again, and we can spend more centuries together like we did before.

-Yours truly, Jing Yuan❞

[merwgue]

The anti-ACOTAR (A Court of Thorns and Roses) fandom is not merely a group fueled by blind hatred towards Rhysand and the Inner Circle. It’s far more nuanced, rooted in thoughtful critique of the moral issues embedded within the narrative. The common misconception that anti-ACOTAR fans are wielding pitchforks against Sarah J. Maas or irrationally hating Rhysand fails to grasp the deeper concerns that they are pointing out—concerns about accountability, moral dissonance, and problematic portrayals of power and relationships.

The Core Problem: Cognitive Dissonance and Moral Blind Spots

Let’s start with cognitive dissonance—a psychological phenomenon where a person holds two conflicting beliefs, causing discomfort. In the case of the Inner Circle, readers are presented with a group of characters who are written as heroes but who consistently engage in morally questionable actions. Rhysand, in particular, is portrayed as a figure of justice and fairness, yet he perpetuates authoritarian behavior, often violating basic moral principles.

For example, Rhysand's actions under the Mountain, particularly his treatment of Feyre, included scenes of sexual assault, manipulation, and degradation. But where is the self-reflection? Where is the apology? Moral development theory suggests that as people (or characters) grow, they recognize when they have wronged others and seek to make amends. Rhysand never truly apologizes for the harm he caused to Feyre, which leads to discomfort for readers because the narrative tells us he’s the hero while his actions tell a different story. Psychologically speaking, this is a classic case of moral disengagement, where Rhysand justifies his harmful actions through the lens of doing what’s "necessary" for the greater good. He never engages in genuine introspection, nor does he attempt to change.

If They Were Villains, This Would Work—But They're Not

This brings us to a central frustration of the anti-ACOTAR community. If the Inner Circle—Rhysand, Mor, Cassian, and the others—were written as morally grey or even villainous characters, this would make perfect sense. In fact, many readers argue that it would make the story even more interesting. If Rhysand’s actions were framed as morally ambiguous, and if the narrative reflected that, it would add depth to his character. But that’s not what we get. Instead, these characters are positioned as champions of justice, as beacons of righteousness who never face any real moral consequences for their actions.

Let’s take the Illyrians as an example. Rhysand segregates them into warrior camps, a decision that reeks of elitism and classism. The Illyrians are portrayed as lesser beings in comparison to the fae of Velaris, and the way Rhysand controls them reflects a severe moral blind spot. Moral hypocrisy emerges when a character believes they are the moral authority but acts in ways that are deeply harmful. Rhysand’s control over the Illyrians—treating them like tools for war while never allowing them to integrate into Velaris—is an abuse of power, plain and simple. And yet, the narrative presents it as if he’s making a hard but necessary decision for the greater good. This moral justification makes him no better than the leaders of the oppressive systems he claims to despise.

Accountability and Apology: What’s Missing in ACOTAR

One of the key tenets of growth and development is the capacity to acknowledge wrongdoing and apologize. Apology, according to psychologists, is a critical step in maintaining healthy relationships, rebuilding trust, and achieving personal growth. When we harm someone, we apologize and strive to do better. The anti-ACOTAR fandom isn’t asking for perfection; they are asking for accountability. They are asking why characters like Rhysand and the Inner Circle never apologize for their actions, even when those actions cause immense harm.

Consider the contrast between Rhysand and Tamlin. Despite being portrayed as a villain later in the series, Tamlin is one of the few characters who attempts to make amends for his mistakes. He apologizes to Feyre, he reflects on his behavior, and he faces consequences within the narrative. Rhysand, by comparison, rarely faces any significant repercussions. His behavior under the Mountain is dismissed as a necessary evil, rather than acknowledged as abuse. And this is what leads to fan frustration: it’s not the mistakes themselves, but the lack of acknowledgment and the absence of true growth.

Imagine, for a moment, if Rhysand apologized for his actions under the Mountain—if he faced his moral failings head-on, admitted that he had been wrong, and worked to make amends. That would be compelling. It would humanize him. But without that, readers are left with a character who moves through life as if his actions have no real consequences. It’s a dangerous message because it implies that those in power can do no wrong, as long as they believe they’re doing it for the “greater good.”

The Inner Circle: Power and Elitism

This brings us to the deeper issue of elitism in ACOTAR. The Inner Circle consistently portrays themselves as morally superior, as the ones who know what’s best for everyone else. And yet, their actions—segregating the Illyrians, imposing their will on others—reflect the very behaviors that they claim to oppose. In authoritarian regimes, leaders justify their control by claiming it’s for the greater good, but this is simply a way to maintain power. Rhysand and the Inner Circle behave in much the same way. They impose their will on others without consulting those affected, assuming that they alone know what is best. It’s a deeply flawed form of leadership, and yet Maas writes it as if it’s heroic.

It’s not just Rhysand. The entire Inner Circle is complicit in this elitism. Mor treats the Illyrians as lesser beings. Cassian perpetuates a warrior culture that is both brutal and stifling. None of them truly work toward equality or justice; instead, they maintain a status quo that benefits them at the expense of others. Again, if they were written as villains, this would make sense. But as heroes? It’s deeply troubling.

Rhysand’s Moral Disengagement

Finally, let’s talk about moral disengagement again. This term refers to the ways individuals rationalize harmful behaviors to avoid guilt. Rhysand’s treatment of Feyre, the Illyrians, and even Nesta (locking her up with no professional help) are all instances of moral disengagement. He justifies these actions by telling himself and others that they are necessary for the greater good. But in doing so, he avoids any real accountability. This is what makes the anti-ACOTAR fandom uncomfortable: the fact that Rhysand continues to engage in morally harmful behavior while the narrative asks us to believe he is always in the right.

If Sarah J. Maas had written the Inner Circle with more nuance—acknowledging their flaws and allowing them to face real consequences—then the criticism would be less intense. But by framing them as untouchable heroes, Maas forces readers into a space where they must either accept this moral dissonance or push back against it. The anti-ACOTAR fandom is pushing back, not out of blind hatred, but out of a desire for accountability, for depth, and for a narrative that doesn’t gaslight its readers into believing that harmful actions are justified simply because they’re performed by characters we’re supposed to love.

In conclusion, the anti-ACOTAR fandom’s criticism of Rhysand and the Inner Circle isn’t about irrational hatred. It’s about recognizing the deep moral failures of characters who are written as heroes and calling for accountability, growth, and self-awareness. The critique isn’t that these characters are flawed; it’s that they never acknowledge their flaws. And that, more than anything, is why the anti-ACOTAR community pushes back so hard—because real growth comes from acknowledging your mistakes, apologizing, and striving to do better.

IN MY PSYCHOLOGY ERA??? SOMEONE GIVE ME LAW IDEAS I NEEEEEDDDD TO WRITE ABOUT LAWWW

[chaifootsteps]

its really hard to take any comparisons of stolas to other abusive characters seriously because i genuinely dont think viv comprehends shes written an abuser, the same way other authors can comprehend theyve written abusers. she self projects so heavily onto him and acts like his sass is justified to the point pretty much everyone, even fans and critics, knows that s3 will just end up with him living with blitz and working for IMP (which was foreshadowed just oh so subtly in the helluvababies season 2 premiere,) after losing everything (oh no, the consequences of my actions!) because of the full moon deal HE decided to start. he started out doing something bad, acknowledged it once (didnt even apologize to blitz for the deal btw,) and got go back to his life of luxury after his former sex slave said no to his love. he took advantage of the main character in the very first episode and will still be rewarded with him presented as stolas's knight in shining armor, a family who will unconditionally love him because of fucking course they will even though they know their boss had to fuck him or else they wouldnt have their "meal ticket", and eventually, most probably, his daughters forgiveness after she cut him out of his life for.. taking antidepressants. not for neglecting her, not for not teaching her anything about the book she was solely created for, for 17 years, before letting someone else have it without a single worry of what could happen to it, and certainly not because she cheated on his mom with some "weird red dickhead" i can watch other shows with the understanding (most of the time) that that character probably will receive some kind of growth, karma, acknowledgement, or change of their terrible behavior if theyre intentionally written as toxic. or, if their toxicity is supposed to be the point, for them to go full ham with it. helluva boss is neither to me; its abuse tactics and toxic patterns presented as good, like gaslighting, triangulation, and codependency. and an audience like vivs will digest these ideas subconsciously as good if they have no critical thinking skills of their own, which most of them dont. and all while being too afraid to actually hold abusers accountable in a setting like hell of all places. thats why none of the characters even acknowledge the actually shitty things stolas does and arent allowed to not forgive him- because the creator herself is an abuser who doesnt understand, or doesnt want to understand, that being held accountable is about ALWAYS acknowledging the mistakes you made and STILL trying to be better, even if the people you hurt still hate you. not apologizing once, and then getting pissed someone didnt automatically forgive you, as if your remorse means you're entitled to forgiveness. thats how stolas thinks, because thats how she thinks, and thats terrible. i cant even watch these shows in a "im a messy bitch who lives 4 drama" way as much as i want to because watching an abuser get everything he wants after a season of straight up cloaca sucking is NOT drama. its just incredibly depressing and makes me think about the piles of money that couldve been used to make anything other then this, instead of the creators self insert fanfiction of "no one is allowed to judge my character based on my past selfish actions: the overpriced, overstuffed with expensive celebs while i claim i cant fairly pay my animators i force to work exclusively on my shows the musical!"

I think you're spot on, unfortunately. If it weren't for the fanbase slavishly, cultishly lapping up everything Viv gives them and making it a point to incorporate it into their own lives, it would be a fascinating look at how an abusive person sees themselves. Stolas's justifications really are Viv's justifications, and she'll never see him as an abuser for the same reason she'll never see herself as one.

[theweeklydiscourse]

LARPing Villainy: Rhysand’s character is weighed down by Sarah J Maas’s need to make him sympathetic to the audience.

Maas distorts her own narrative in her attempts to make Rhysand more sympathetic to her readers. Although Maas will employ the aesthetics of villainy or grey morality, her framing is such that the established negative traits or actions of certain characters are contradicted within the text. Rhysand is not the only example of this in ACOTAR, but I believe that he exemplifies this problem the most.

I believe that Rhysand’s development is stunted by Maas’s favoritism and it makes him a less interesting character when she tries so hard to keep him noble and heroic. It’s as if his actions can’t just exist and instead, must be explained away by incessant justifications to keep him sympathetic but dull the story's edge in the process.

To illustrate my point, I'd like to point to chapter 42 of ACOMAF.

This chapter is centered around Feyre’s introduction to the Court of Nightmares and it is meant to be a moment of growth for Feyre as demonstrated by her fortitude and willingness to re-enact events that had previously traumatized her under the mountain. The passage describes Feyre as "barely covered" and emphasizes the color of her lips, describing them as “blood red”. A color that once triggered Feyre due to its association with Amarantha but no longer bothers her as demonstrated by her donning it.

Feyre's empowerment, as shown in this chapter, feels both superficial and hollow in nature. It is a moment of development that is marred by Maas's lack of build-up and her desire to accelerate Feyre's healing journey. Suddenly, after months of panic attacks, flashbacks, and anxiety, Feyre is calm, collected, and ready to partake in a plan where she will be placed in a situation where she will reenact her previous negative experiences. Something that should be triggering, but isn't.

This scene masquerades as a moment of growth and empowerment for Feyre but is in actuality a thinly veiled excuse for Maas to clumsily gesture towards the sexual tension between the main couple and form the basis for a contrived argument in the very next chapter. I came to this conclusion because the "plan" Rhysand creates is politically incoherent and ridiculous. The plan necessitates putting Feyre in a vulnerable position even though doing so makes very little sense and arguably puts Feyre in a worse place than before.

This incoherent plan is never meaningfully questioned or used as a foundation for change in Rhysand's tactics and strategies.

Let’s put this in perspective. According to the story, Rhysand is aware that the Court of Nightmares is full of unrepentant misogynists who habitually sanction the violence and abuse of the women in their court. So with this in mind, is it truly a wise plan for Rhysand to put the person he loves in a position where she will be the subject of judgment and contempt for an audience? He actively puts Feyre in a vulnerable position and approved a plan that involves Feyre putting on the costume of the High Lord’s “whore” and yet, is later appalled that Feyre was slandered as a result.

He then leans further into his darker persona, affirming Keir’s comments about Feyre being his “pet”.

The pair continues their show and Rhysand exchanges a few more words before Keir calls Feyre a whore and hisses that Feyre will “get what’s coming to her”. To this, Rhysand reacts explosively and puts Keir in his place by brutalizing his arm and forcing him to apologize for his words in a “how DARE you slander my mate?! grrrrr” moment. This moment informs my larger point because it is the cause of an argument between Feyre and Rhysand in the very next chapter.

There are certain parts of this exchange that bother me.

Feyre silently draws similarities between Tamlin and Rhysand’s behavior and criticizes Rhysand’s reaction to Keir’s slander. Obviously, we understand why he acted that way, but I hate how Rhysand responds to Feyre’s criticism in a way that feels like guilt-tripping. As if to say “So I’m such a bad person for protecting you from harm? Go on, hate me for protecting you I guess.” And this puzzles me because technically it was Rhysand’s plan that placed Feyre in a position where slander and contempt should have been expected.

Feyre is right. Rhysand should have prepared himself better for this plan but I feel like it’s a missed opportunity that Feyre never brings up how this plan could’ve been done away with altogether. They could have had an easier time in the Court of Nightmares if they had just not placed Feyre in such a vulnerable position and not made her image that of the “High Lord’s whore” which attracted Keir’s slander in the first place. This plan that necessitates Feyre wearing a dress that barely covers her as she’s shown off to a crowd is irritatingly contrived and makes even less sense when you factor in Rhysand’s concerns about Feyre’s safety.

But now onto my main point. I present to you, my least favourite passage from chapters 42 and 43.

I’d like to call attention to how Rhysand frames himself in this passage. He says “how stories get written” as though the narrative is under the sole jurisdiction of outside forces. He denies his agency in the “story” being written about his relationship to Feyre. He frames himself as noble, being unfairly characterized as a demon or a dark lord for stealing Feyre from Tamlin. But his complaints are ridiculous to me because…did the previous chapter not just happen?

Because… if we’re checking the till here, it was Rhysand who explained his public relations strategy as a “mask”. It was also Rhysand who deliberately cultivated his image to be one of an intimidated and dangerous ruler, it was Rhysand who constructed a persona of cruelty which was bolstered by his presumed collaboration with Amarantha. Rhysand was the one who approved a plan that involved toting Feyre around like a “pet” and making a statement that implies that he is a “ dark lord who stole away the bride of spring”.

He wrings his hands over how their story will be written as if he has no control over it. As if he isn’t deliberately shaping the narrative that the public sees and has no say in the matter. The narrative frames him as being “anguished” that people would view him as a villain…but then had him take active measures to reaffirm that he appears villainous to the public.

So What's My Point?

Why does Maas establish facts about her characters, only to obfuscate those qualities later on? Why do the readers need to know that Rhysand is in such anguish about his being perceived as a villain when he takes active measures to project that exact image to the public? What I reason, is that Maas wants to have it both ways (to have her cake and eat it too) She wants Rhysand to be cool and villainous, but doesn't actually want to make him villainous. Rhysand is LARPing villainy, enough that he possesses the aesthetics of a dark love interest (ex. dubious morals, manipulative, shrewd) but not so much that he actually pushes the boundary because Maas is always there to walk back his edgier qualities.

The same can be said for the events of these two chapters. She wants to have a moment of sexual tension where her leads are engaging in pseudo-BDSM exhibitionism and getting close with one another, but also wants to make a grand statement on healing from one’s past trauma which ends up being in conflict with the former.(it wouldn’t be impossible to accomplish both in theory, but Maas just isn’t skilled enough to pull it off)

All this to say, I think Rhysand had potential but is unfortunately held back by Maas’s need to absolve him. Personally, I think I’d like it more if Rhysand actions/decisions were criticized more within the text and that his “mask” was discarded as a legitimate aspect of his character. The “mask” makes him less interesting, I’d prefer it if Maas just let him contend with his flaws and grow because of it.

[the-babbering-dabber]

Ok so I psychoanalyzed Ace

Major depression, generalized anxiety, likely survivor's guilt, moderate to high suicidality, PTSD, (I believe) a form of bipolar, eating disorder is probable, effects of disorganized childhood attachment, and narcolepsy

putting extensive deep diving below cut bc its long

CW Mention and go into disorders listed above as well as Ace's inner thoughts, so take care of yourselves, loves 🩷

Ace collapses his worth into his role of a caretaker and older brother to his “bungling kid brother,” Luffy. While he has his own goals, aspirations, and justifications behind his action, Luffy is on his mind often–he asks folks all over if they’ve seen him, showing them his wanted poster and asking them to tell Luffy he’s looking for him. When interacting with Luffy’s crew–and despite being obviously close to Luffy–Ace keeps his distance, refusing provisions, physically distancing himself from the group during travel and rest, keeps quiet unless absolutely necessary, he speaks with Luffy, or he thanks (and apologizes to) them for taking care of his brother. While they call him ‘Big Brother,’ he’s cautious to intrude or take up space.

He respects Luffy’s autonomy, letting him fight his own battles, face the consequences of his antics, and interact with the world around him however he so chooses–only stepping in when necessary, directly provoked/addressed, or it concerns him. Ace is proud of his brother and the family he created around him yet is hesitant to mingle with that part of Luffy’s world. He clearly loves his brother and knows him well, anticipating his behavior before it happens or completely understanding him from a glance at a smile.

While they share a bottomless appetite, an affinity for sentimental hats, and an impulsive perceived cluelessness (actual genius?), Ace is a far cry from his brother in terms of manners and temperament. Luffy wears his emotions on his face, hiding nothing. Ace, however, dons a social mask, projecting a false self onto those around him. The world sees a heroic, fearless, invulnerable pirate. Ace, himself, has incredibly low self-esteem, believing himself a “demon child, son of the devil” deserving death just for being born, constantly needing to earn love and permission to take up space. Some of his first and last words to Luffy expressed shock and disbelief that he was loved, and and wanted alive’ filled with gratefulness and thankfulness of being deemed worthy of love.

His relationship with himself and his father (whom he never met) is a messy combination of love and hate & idealization and anger. While he also seeks the One Piece (his father’s legacy) and adopts a life of a top, famed pirate, he despises the man (and himself) for his monstrous nature (of being free). He even takes his mother’s maiden name, leaving behind anything tying him to his father.

Ace not only focuses on interpersonal relationships with his brother, father, and adoptive father, he defines himself by it. Every ideal he holds of himself is characterized by his feelings and images associated with important people in his life. Ace himself is full of fear, envy, anger and guilt, often projecting an apathetic, bored, or smug & confident expression and manner when there’s insecurity, self-hatred, and perhaps envy over his brother’s freedom. 

In terms of his childhood, it's characterized by abuse, neglect, and certainly instability marked by fear, distress, distrust, and confusion. Typical of adult children of disorganized attachment theory, Ace does portray the textbook example: anxiety, fear of abandonment or upsetting those close, self hatred, erratic or impulsive behavior, emotional dysregulation. Evidenced by the start of Ace and Luffy’s brotherhood and his acceptance into Whitebeard’s crew, Ace craves intimacy and love, yet rejects it out of fear; putting up walls to avoid vulnerability. Throughout the Alabasta Arc, Ace either keeps his distance from the groups or is exceptionally close to Luffy—another key feature of disorganized attachment. He either distances himself from the group–including Luffy–or runs right up to him, arm wrestles, or provides for and protecting Luffy and co., etc. Ace mostly avoids others, sitting on the side, walking at the end of the group multiple steps apart, or not partaking in discussion, etc. Despite Ace clearly wanting to spend time with Luffy (e.g. asking literally anyone if they’ve seen this random man, telling people to tell said random man he’ll be in town XYZ for X number of days in probably…every town he’s left; the poster child of ‘look at my little brother, isn’t he great’, giving him the vivi card, etc) he doesn’t actually interact much with him when around others. In fact, the only thing he consistently talks with the Straw Hats about is Luffy. He thanks them for looking after his bungling kid brother, apologizes for his “ineptness [and]...trouble”, and requests they continue to take care of him. Despite Ace can be seen smiling at Luffy’s actions quite often, the very image of a proud big brother. Perhaps he just considers himself luck to be allowed in his presence, so why push it?

This boy, man does he have major depression and risk factors of moderate to high suicidality. He often has an apathetic or bored expression or tone, lack of affect (emotionality), binge eating (alternatively, just a large appetite), low self-esteem, anger, suicidal thoughts, low effort in staying alive (i.e. not caring if you die: “It doesn’t matter if I live long, what only matters is that I live today.”), poor hygiene possibly (some folks have taken to calling him greasy), guilt, pessimism, emptiness, worthlessness, insomnia or hypersomnia.

Hypomania or mania are characterized by a variety of symptoms, here are some Ace displays: extreme confidence, grandiosity, irritability, decreased focus or attention, poor judgment, impulsivity, risk-taking, and overactivity and decreased/irregular sleep). Ace’s behavior, to me, makes me wonder if he has a form of bipolar disorder–irregular periods of depression and hypo/mania (hypomania is a less intense form of mania). Stress and instability in childhood–along with child adversity–are common contributing etiological factors to BP 1 and/or 2. In my unprofessional yet degreed opinion, it’s likely he has a form of bipolar.

Now, something to consider is PTSD or complex PTSD (i.e. multiple traumas)–it’s important to note that not everyone who experiences trauma develops PTSD–in fact, oftentimes PTSD does not develop besides an acute period of symptoms. However, many do, especially if they experience trauma during their childhood. Experience to an actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence paired with recurrent intrusive symptoms of memories & thoughts, nightmares, flashbacks, and cue reactivity, avoidance, distress & demoralizations, and heightened reactivity is the official diagnostic model for PTSD. Anxiety and depression, paired with hyperreactivity (If we get funky, we can include observation haki in this), protectiveness when Luffy and co are in danger/putting himself on the line, as well as persistent thoughts of self-disdain drilled into him by others since early childhood doesn’t paint a pretty picture. While children are incredibly resilient, repeated threat, abuse (verbal and physical), neglect, unstable childhood, and even low SES (i.e. homeless jungle orphan), it’s likely he has also developed PTSD. It goes without saying (although I'm saying it), folks with trauma are often high in neuroticism. meaning, he's struggles with emotional instability and regulation and behavioral regulation, experiencing negative emotions (i.e. anxiety, worry, fear, anger, frustration, envy, jealousy, pessimism, guilt, depressed mood, and loneliness) in high and intense degrees.

Another marker of trauma presents itself at Marineford. Folks with PTSD have an over active sympathetic system (i.e. adrenaline, stress, fight or flight). Ace’s body goes into fight mode, protecting his brothers, others, and lastly himself. He may be overattentive and over-response to threats (e.g. overreacting to simple threats with…say…a massive fist of fire). When, however, a large and serious threat presents itself—like if you’re facing execution–the body is biologically unable to react, having been worn down by repeated reactions of the sympathetic nervous system without appropriate stimuli. This may partly explain why he wanted Luffy to leave him there, backed up by self-deprecation and suicidality, Ace was not able to imagine a reality where he wanted to or could physically or mentally survive. There's most likely some survivor's guilt as well with believing Sabo to be dead. That can fuck you up big time, adding to feelings of worthlessness, despair, and anxiety over protecting Luffy and knowing he's alive.

Now, touching on Ace’s narcolepsy, there is a possibility of hallucinations. While, to my knowledge, there isn’t any substance to this symptom, sensory hallucinations are common–often mistaken for nightmares–one may feel as if someone’s touching you, you could hear sounds or words (perhaps something like ‘devil child’, ‘monster’s spawn,’ in his case) or—more rarely–seeing people near you or lying in your bed. Narcolepsy, as with many chronic conditions, has the sneaky side effect of increasing mental health issues, including depression, anxiety (of which he’s been noted to exhibit signs of), bipolar disorder (which is something I theorize he may have), and feelings especially of shame, isolation and worthlessness.

So to oversimplify and summarize:

Ace both Internalizes and Externalizes in terms of coping, experience, and response, mostly internalizing.

Ace presents with symptoms of major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety, bipolar, and traits of PTSD. Circumstances of his childhood and the relationship with his identity contributed to externalizing, antagonist, antisocial behavior (i.e. impulsivity, boredom proneness, aggression at times, alienation of self, rebelliousness, and risk taking. His excessive politeness, manners, and apologies on Luffy’s behalf are possibly externalizing traits as well. Ace’s likely diagnosis of narcolepsy exacerbates feelings of guilt, shame, worthlessness, and isolation, working off of disorganized childhood attachment, depression, anxiety, suicidality, and manic periods. It’s possible that he may have a sort of eating disorder as well, he binges eating (which one could attribute to likeness with Luffy) while exhibiting control and content in other situations. 

also, unrelated but not, i hc that sabo totally experiences psychosis. gotta have thought disorder and high neuroticism. like, there's gotta be some kind of hallucinatory experience and neuro damage from the explosion. maybe i'll do him next. my only original works 💀

Ace draws his worth and ‘permission’ to exist from how helpful he can be and how little he takes up space. He likely craves relationships but has trust issues and fear of rejection and hate. While it’s unlikely based on presentations in media, Ace could possibly experience hallucinations of likely the auditory sort–attributed to narcolepsy and PTSD.

Now it is worth drawing attention to comorbidity (i.e. multiple disorders existing bc of shared symptoms and bidirectional intensification). many disorders mimic others. for example, autism and bipolar may be mimicked by c/PTSD. presence of psychosis may concurrently run with PTSD or possibly manic episodes, not meaning however, that there's a schizophrenic spectrum disorder present. basically, diagnostics don't mean much in the grand scheme of things. what we look at in some forms of clinical psych is symptomology and main issues (e.g. distress, intense self hatred, anxiety and guilt, etc) rather than well defined buckets of labels.

tagging @moikey-croikey bc they wanted this and I was already doing like half of it for a class. i just added diagnostic criteria. sorry for the extra day wait mate, exam kicked my ass

[strangefellows]

okay because i've been rotating it in my head while i have a cold and a fever and why the fuck not babble about this now!

my thoughts on ayin and angela under the cut because i have a LOT of them!

so i want to preface this with a very important disclaimer

NO MATTER WHAT ELSE I SAY HERE, AS A HUGE FAN OF AYIN (as you might notice he's my #1 projmoon blorbo), what Ayin did to Angela was wrong, and cruel, and unjustifiable, and she is 100% within her rights to hate him and resent him and have complicated feelings towards him and do everything she did in Ruina. No matter what I say about my thoughts on why he did it, I don't intend it to be an excuse or justification because it's not. He owes her an apology at the bare minimum and she does NOT owe him forgiveness or anything of the like if she doesn't feel like it. He was a total asshole and she deserved better.

THAT SAID

at the same time i don't think that ayin did what he did out of 100% outright malice and genuine hatred. i think he did what he did because he was extremely fucking traumatized, definitely probably autistic, and has the communication and emotional skills of a wet sock.

do i think he genuinely cared about angela? yes.

for what it's worth he LITERALLY CREATED A LIFE. LITERALLY. FROM SCRATCH. there's no way he didn't care about her on some level even if just as a creation because do you know how much work would have had to go into that? at some point even if he was doing it for selfish carmen related reasons he still had to care about her for her own sake on some level

(vaguely related but the fact that ayin did do this - plus just all of how lobcorp works as a wing - makes me think his background is in compsci or computer engineering or smth of that nature, with ben similarly in those fields / headcanon wise i run with he was originally compsci but after An Incident in which his own dreams were shattered he shifted to abnormal psych)

do i think he did not react well to the consequences of his actions when she finally woke up and he had to process he gave his creation the face of his dead crush + angela was completely trusting and obedient to him and even acted almost in love with him? also yes

is this justified for him? no. is it his own fucking fault for being selfish and stupid? yes.

do i think some of his cruelty towards her was not just out of lashing out via trauma and horror at what he'd done, but pushing her away the more she acted trusting/obedient bc he knew what he was setting her up to do via the script and felt tremendously guilty that he was doing this to someone who trusted him so implicitly? yes.

was, again, it justified? no.

but again, the bottom line is that while what he did was wrong and cruel, i don't think he hates her truly or that he harbored any malice towards her. i think he cared, and felt horribly guilty for what he did to her and continued to do to her, but again, trauma and 'tism and the emotional capabilities of a soggy cardboard box.

he owes her one hell of an apology at the LEAST for all he's done tbh

but another thing: i think that the reason he left the script blank for her after everything was finished was because he short-sightedly thought he was "freeing her" to make her own choices by leaving it blank not thinking for a goddamn second she would misinterpret it given his terrible behavior towards her up til that point. again, not out of malice but out of selfishness and idiocy and not knowing how to communicate At All

i also do think by the end of things after all those loops as X with her as one of the only anchors, he softened a lot towards her as he processed better how they were both trapped in an endless hell of his past self's making, and there's a lot to be said about how their feelings about each other are stupidly complicated due to all his interactions w her as X without his memories of what he'd done, and as he went thru the loops dying/committing suicide/suffering with her as the only witness. i like to think that though she hates him and has every right to and to not forgive him, it's extremely complicated and there's definitely a level of....something, having seen him suffering, but she's flawed and human and wonderful and stubbornly holding onto her hate and resentment and she's valid.

idk how much sense any of this makes but tldr ayin fucked up and treated his daughter like absolute shit and she's entirely in the right to hate/resent him and never forgive him but i don't think he truly hated her, i think he's just a fucked up idiot who made stupid choices out of trauma etc etc etc

tune in next time when i talk about how despite ayin's shitty life choices being his own shitty choices carmen absofuckinglutely gaslit the goddamn hell out of him and that deserves to be talked about! or when i talk about how ayin's shitty actions towards trapping the sephirah in the brainboxes AS sephirah was probably out of a misguided and selfish attempt to "save" them using the seedling of light process because he had regrets and cared about them and loved them and did all of that shit re: them out of coping badly with trauma mental illness and autism! (tho this is ostensibly explicitly canon imho).

holds up ayin. this is a traumatized autistic depressed mess of a man and he did so many stupid shitty things but he's not evil he's just a flawed human and ALL OF THIS is why dantayin theory (u knew it'd come up) because nobody LEAST OF ALL ANGELA truly got closure with this dumbass and they deserve that as much as he deserves a proper ending

[quins-makeshift-menagerie]

My perception of their (in my interpretation) toxic behavior came from the fact that they never really stopped being demeaning and dehumanizing (de-personizing?) Towards the other cast members, especially Fuji and Calli. Their language hasn't really changed at all to show any sort of respect or dignity to the rest if the cast, not just in terms of being "polite" but in the fact that they've continued to be rude and cruel and verbally insensitive??

Like I might be reading this wrong, but if I was put into Fuji's shoes I'd NEVER want to speak to Janus again given they haven't really gotten "better" in how they actually seem to behave???

Also from my perspective, Janus' godlike status doesn't really. Give ANY justification. It makes their actions WORSE in my eyes.

But honestly that might just be from my own perspective, but in general Janus acts very... entitled and self-righteous, and doesn't seem to ever really accept their own responsibility in how others are affected by them. Knowing your intentions now makes me at least hopeful that you do plan to address this, and not just brush it off, but I don't know. I love the cast, I love the story, but I've been operating under the idea that Janus was going to be "revealed as a villain" to Fuji and Mnemosyne, to be a dramatic/upsetting moment later down the line, so I'm kinda thrown for a loop now?

I still like your comic I'm just... confused now, I guess.

I understand what you’re saying but as I said, they’re still learning. Their personality and mannerisms aren’t going to instantly change just because they’ve made peace with their family. They’re learning to consider other people’s feelings in their actions. Their status and age do not justify their actions. It’s an explanation, not justification or an excuse.

Again, apologies for how negatively you feel towards Janus and understand I’m not trying to change how you view them via my words, just explain them the best I’m capable. Unfortunately I can’t get into the deep of it due to spoilers, but I also can’t force you to stay and continue reading if you feel upset beyond enjoyment.

[heavencasteel420]

Okay. I’m gonna be a hater.

I’m not against St4ncy because of the association between their first time and Barb dying. If they were good together and she really wanted to be with him, then I wouldn’t be rooting for her survivor’s guilt to keep that from happening.

I’m also not against St4ncy because of the S1 graffiti, per se. From a writing perspective, I think the show over-egged the pudding by making both Jonathan and Steve do such shitty things to Nancy in S1. I believe the creators were mainly trying to make certain things happen plot-wise (there needs to be a photo of the demogorgon, the teen confrontation needs to be immediate and public so Jonathan and Nancy can end up at the police station) and trying to foreshadow Steve’s heel-face turn by making his objections to the photos more reasonable, and they did a clumsy job of it. And I think it’s basically fine for the creators, having realized that this was all too much, to quietly drop it. Such is the nature of multi-season TV. Realistically, it’s wild that Steve and Nancy would get back together a mere month after all of that, but, unless a shipper actually says stuff like “it’s not that bad that he would do that, because he was understandably upset” or “it was just vandalism,” I’m not going to assume that they’re chill with the graffiti.

That being said, the whole “Steve’s feelings were hurt because he thought he was being cheated on and he’s young and it was all Tommy’s fault anyway and he apologized” vs. “Jonathan had no motivations other than intrinsic badness and his youth is not a factor and his apology doesn’t count and his terrible home life is not only not an excuse but a justification for Steve’s tenuously connected shitty actions” thing has soured me on large swathes of Steve fans across the board. I’ve seen too much of the so-called real-life justice system to find this attitude anything other than disturbing. But this isn’t exclusively a St4ncy shipper problem. If anything, they at least usually like Nancy enough not to act like she’s somehow at fault for the photos because she forgave Jonathan later (???) or put her “cheating” on Steve on the same level as the guys’ worst S1 behavior.

My main reasons for disliking the ship (in an exclusive endgame kind of way; I’m cool with Stoncy most of the time and I think they canonically had some good times together) are way more subjective. The first reason is that Jonathan is my favorite and St4ncy shippers invariably don’t like or get him. This is predictable, although not inevitable; Jancy shippers don’t dislike Steve so uniformly, for example. So obviously that’s not gonna work out.

The second reason is that I just don’t find the things people like about their relationship very romantic or desirable. He’s protective of her, but that mainly seems to involve trying to keep her from doing things she believes she has to do or retaliating against others in ways she finds distasteful. There’s not a lot of awareness of her perspective. He wants to be with her “no matter what,” with no consideration for the obstacles, but those obstacles seem to include “what she wants” and “what they are both like as people.” I’d get it more if he was like “I don’t know what the future will bring, but I’d like to give this a chance in the short term” or “listen, I can figure out what to do with my life in Boston as well as anywhere else,” but instead he just does not seem to know her at all or be thinking about what they would do as a couple in the immediate future. After a point, that’s just being in love with the idea of being in love.

Also—and I am not trying to be catty here—I think it’s kind of silly to compare his romantic dreams with Jonathan having reservations due to trauma, poverty, and family obligations. That’s not so much a testament to Steve loving her more as it is an indication that he is relatively unburdened by material concerns. He may be broke, but he’s not dealing with entrenched multi-generational poverty. I’m not saying these things to suggest that Nancy would be wrong to break up with Jonathan—sometimes love isn’t enough—or that Steve is less deserving of love because his life is easier, but I am saying that Steve was kinda born on third base here.

I am not convinced that Steve would do “anything” for Nancy! Nor do I think that he should! That is not a good or sexy dynamic in an equal romantic partnership to me! They should both have other principles and goals of their own! (Also. Is the guy who wouldn’t revise his college essay in S2 really gonna move to Boston for her? I think he’s changed, sure, but not in that particular way.)

[ownedbythescribe]

Teyvat | Unwittingly Said

ıllı Synopsis: Words have the power to heal, cripple, fortify, and impair relationships. But what are the consequences when biting words are unwitting said?

ıllı Genre: Hurt/Comfort

ıllı Characters: Xiao, Kaveh

ıllı Notes: Blood (Not Gore), Gender Neutral Reader

There are profound meanings hidden behind words. They are expressions of human nature stringed from a variety of cultures, brought together by diversity, forming the archived history and questions left for others to answer. They have the power to heal or cripple, to fortify or impair.

When uttered, one word or two can affect established relationships. Hence, it is necessary to remain vigilant of one’s actions and articulation. But there will be times when emotions get the best of people, speaking of words contrary to what they mean to say.

🍁 XIAO — ALATUS NEMESEOS

“I’m sorry, (Y/N). The traveler and Zhongli invited me to do commissions with them for the day. I might come home late, so let’s just schedule this again next time.” Xiao uttered, readying himself for the adventure he promised other people. You had been planning for this date for weeks only to feel immense disappointment. It was not the first Xiao broke his promise to you. Compromise here, compromise there, there had been no progress with your relationship.

In time, it made you question if he will ever have time with you. Did he think that you were just a pushover? You might have been exhibiting similar behavior, but you wished to be selfish just this once. Was that too much to ask?

“But you promised me. This is the fourth time, Xiao.” You replied, conflicting feelings stirring deep within you. There was anger, frustration, loneliness, and longing placed in the cauldron, boiling.

“Yes, I am aware. However, we could always have them anytime. The traveler will be going to Sumeru soon, and I doubt we’ll be meeting them anytime. Just bear with it for now.” Those last words were enough to make you snap. Without an ounce of remorse, you grabbed his hand before he could leave. There was confusion evident in his eyes, but you stared back at him coldly.

“Then let’s break up. I’m done with this, Xiao. I’m tired.” You muttered.

Xiao was frozen in his spot. Not in a million years did he think you will utter those words. He saw the hurt in your eyes, and he recalled his actions if there could be any justifications to give to them. Nothing. Every word he said felt like an excuse not to spend time with you, and he could see that now.

The youngest yaksha fumbled with his hand, wishing to hold you against him and apologize for not expressing his affections properly. It was his first relationship, and it did seem like he was just pushing you around, expecting that he could come back to you anytime he wished. Even if he says hurtful words.

“(Y/N), I—“ He was only met by silence. You were not in front of him anymore. It was no secret to him that you, too, could utilize the waypoints after years of research. It was now convenient to you as you could get away as far as you could.

Silently, you slumped down the waypoint as you thought of your relationship with the yaksha. You recalled the number of times he would berate you should you forget to bring your weapon when adventuring or getting injured because you got careless with the enemies. There was also a time when he would feast on the almond tofus that you made simply because you were trying to perfect it. He did not share it with anyone. Xiao was such a sweet person, a bit awkward but the kindest being you had met.

“Where did things go wrong? When did it feel like this relationship was set to be damned?” You kept your head down, knees pressed up to your chest, as you watch the clouds float. The tranquility you sought could not be found, not when you were the one who decided to break things off.

“I miss you. I miss us.”

Xiao, finally out of his stupor, informed the traveler and Zhongli of the changes in his plans. They saw his antsy movement and asked if there was a problem. He uttered your name and how you disappeared from him. They got worried, but he assured them that he will find you. Before they could offer their help, the yaksha vanished and sought each waypoint in Liyue. He recalled most of them, and he hoped that he would be able to find you and apologize. There were no excuses to make, and it was only right that he ask for your forgiveness.

Searching for you was not a walk in the park. It was searching for a needle in a stack of hay. Xiao was exhausted. You, on the other hand, were in a pinch. A hydro abyss herald and cryo abyss mage found you wandering around Lingju Pass. You glanced at your pyro vision and pondered if you have enough strength to take them down. Calming yourself down, you infused your blade with pyro energy before dashing the cryo abyss mage first. Cracks started to appear around its shield, but before you could destroy it, the hydro abyss herald held its blade and hit you behind. Blood trickled down your skin, feeling the water around you deep through the wound. It stung a lot, but you endured it. Surviving was the priority right now.

“You dare to mess with us, puny human? How amusing!” The herald cackled. You sneered before materializing pyro blades that rained on them. The herald hissed as two blades hit its side while the mage cried out in pain. The resistance they held lowered down, but so is the patience of the herald. He growled and dashed towards you, kicking you in the air and hitting you with its blade multiple times.

“Damnit! Ugh…” You skid down the floor, knees giving out as the pain around you becomes unbearable. You were not sure if you could survive the battle, but there was one thing you wished you could have done.

“I’m so sorry… Xiao. I—“ The abyss herald held you by the neck, choking you. The sudden cutting of air to your lungs made you dizzy, and tears gathered in your eyes.

“I’m… not going to die here without… bringing you down!” You heaved, utilizing the maximum power of your vision, burning the abyss herald and mage. The monster howled in pain while you slowly sank into the waters. Memories started to drift further and further.

“(Y/N)!” You last heard before everything went dark.

Minutes turned to hours, and hours turned to days. Xiao never left your side as he waited for you to wake up. Verr Goldet had to pull him out of the room to rest or take a breather. She also called for Baizhu, who now comes back to check your health. The wounds you sustained slowly healed, but there was no assurance when you will wake up.

On one of the nights Xiao would not go out to hunt, he would silently sit by your side and hold your hand. His eyes would moist at the sight of your broken body, regrets flooding his senses. Your warmth assured him that you were alive.

“I’m sorry, (Y/N). I was just so lost, not knowing how well this relationship will go. I let my fear get the better of me and used excuses not to spend time with you. Truly foolish, especially when all you’ve done was to care for me.” He whispered, begging that his voice will wake you up this time.

Nothing. There was only silence. He sighed but did not let go. He watched the moon rise and fall, the exhaustion slowly getting to him. Just when he was about to slip into the abyss, he felt a twitch in his hand. His eyes widened at the sight of your blurry eyes.

“X-Xiao…?” Your voice was hoarse. He helped you sit up and grab the water by the stand. The water felt refreshing down your throat. It blinked away the haziness of your mind.

“You’re here… I’m not dreaming am I?” You joked. Xiao’s face scrunched up, knowing how long he had left you alone. He cautiously pressed his forehead against yours and apologized. You froze at his words.

“I’m truly sorry, (Y/N). I will not be able to explain myself enough because they will sound like excuses, but know that I love you. You were patient with me, always caring even in the slightest situation. You never left me alone, and yet I did the opposite. I feared that happiness, and I almost lost you. Please, let me be selfish and be with you again.” He uttered, hands trembling as he awaited your response.

“I was lonely, Xiao. I thought I was the only one making this relationship work. It… will be difficult to trust you again, but I want to give you another chance. Just one. Let me know that you truly cherish me, my dear Alatus.” You replied, giving his nose a chaste kiss. Xiao smiled, carefully cradling you in his arms. This side of him was so different, but it was something new that you will gladly embrace.

🍁 KAVEH — PARADISAEA

Kaveh, the light of Kshahrewar, has been described uniquely by his peers. Tighnari and Cyno both commended his ingenious works on architecture as well as the efforts he delivered per commission. However, they also voiced out the evident frustrations the architect had with his roommate, Alhaitham. The Scribe simply felt like a thorn in his side, with the constant mockery laced in his words and the bickering that ends with him on the losing side. It could be treated as an amusement at first, but it questioned you until what threshold could he take before he snap?

You and Alhaitham shared the same sentiment that Kaveh was overly compassionate. There was nothing wrong with this trait, but giving too much without leaving some for yourself defeated the meaning of the word ‘compassion’. Kaveh is the type to spend fortunes to help others until there was only little left for himself. He was too selfless and good-natured. Hence, that was exactly what got him into this predicament.

Not too long ago, Kaveh had just finished a project from the Akademiya on extracting designs from temples found in the desert. It was a month expedition that caused you not to see him for a long time. There were letters exchanged, but you longed for his embrace and kisses, the assurance that your relationship will not wilt like flowers. However, just when he was finally home, he was swept away again by his work, leaving you deserted and lacking his affection.

The Akademiya wished for him to lead the construction of the school in the desert proposed by Cyno and Setaria. He had been holed up in his room for days, occasionally going out to eat snacks (or the food you make) and take a bath. You cared for him the best you could. Surely, once this was done, everything will be all right again.

“Kaveh, sorry to interrupt, but you should take a pause and eat your lunch.” You voiced, nervously peeking at his room. It seemed like he did not hear you as he was still focused on his paper.

“Kaveh? Did you hear me, Love? Kaveh!” You were about to tap him on his shoulders when he snapped and yelled at you to stop nagging for a second.

“There was an idea that popped into my mind, and you just have to interrupt me! Ugh, just leave me alone for now. I don’t need you buzzing around while I work. So annoying.” He uttered, upset at the idea that flew out of his head. It was the first time he uttered harsh words in your presence, and to call you annoying at top of that only furthered the negative emotions swirling inside you.

“I-I see. I’ll leave your food by the living room then. Please don’t forget to eat them and give Alhaitham his share too.” You hurriedly replied, not wishing to fuel his anger. However, it seemed too late when you heard him growl in irritation at your words.

You left Alhaitham’s home shakily. Kaveh’s words still rang in your ears, and it caused your eyes to water at being called a nuisance by the person you love. You knew that he was stressed out with his work, but it did no good with your fragile emotions. The loneliness that you felt seeped down the cracks, and the tears you held back fell. You could hear your heart thump loudly against your chest. Breathing started to become difficult with every thought that crossed your mind. It almost made you miss the voice in front.

“Are you all right, (Y/N)?” You recognized the familiar green accents around this person to be Alhaitham. Biting your lip, you nodded and breathily told him that you will be going home early.

Alhaitham was no fool. He could see the distress through your body language. Considering that you came out of the house early, Kaveh must have done something idiotic. He was about to ask what the idiot have said when you gave him a wry smile, tears sliding down your cheeks. His eyes widened at the sight.

“Kaveh snapped, and he told me I was nothing but a nuisance. He’s not… wrong. I—I’m sorry, Alhaitham. I need some space for now.” You bowed your head and swiftly made your way to the only place where you could share your thoughts and calm down.

Alhaitham was not one for relationship advice, but you were one of the people he found tolerable. A few words to Kaveh should make the idiot realize how much he messed up. Words can hurt a person deeply, but it can also mend what has been said. As much as he disliked Kaveh, he saw how much the Kshahrewar architect shone in your presence. You acted as his guide at moments, helping him grow into a better person which intrigued Alhaitham about their constant difference.

‘Not to mention that if Cyno were to hear of this, this fool is as good as dead.’ He thought before entering his abode.

Once he entered, he saw the wrapped meals on his table. His share even had his favorites. An exasperated sigh left his lips. Kaveh took you for granted, and it was showing. It was time to give this idiot a wake-up call.

“Truly bold of you to let the food go cold, huh? You even had the guts to scorn your partner for caring about you. I presume you don’t really want them in your life?” He stated as a matter of fact. Kaveh stopped in his tracks and gave him a questioning look.

“(Y/N), you said some hurtful words to them. Did you ever stop to give them a bit of your affection? You’ve been gone for a month only to drown yourself with another work. For somebody who claims to be an empath, you sure don’t know the impact of the words you uttered on your significant other. How pitiful.” Alhaitham said. Kaveh’s eyes widened in realization. Out of pressure, he did the one thing he promised not to do in your relationship. He recalled your past relationships and how much you suffered in the hands of ungrateful lovers. He knew that he screwed up.

Alhaitham deciphered that he was able to get to Kaveh as he watched him run out of the house, even forgetting his keys once again. There was not even a thank you uttered by his roommate, but he was not expecting it anyway.

“You’re welcome, I guess.” The Scribe sat down and munched on his favorite, surprised that you were able to replicate his recipe well.

“(Y/N) is a better roommate than Kaveh.”

Kaveh ran around in search of you. He tried your house, but the light was not even on. Pausing for a moment, he listed the possible places where you could be, and three locations came to mind. From previous conversations, he was sure that you would be in that special place. He did hope that he remembered correctly, or else, how could he ever call himself your lover ever again?

The forest was extremely dense, and his tired visage did not help. He could feel his body get heavier with each step, but it was more important to ask for your forgiveness. Kaveh looked out for your figure, in hopes that you will be near. He encountered monsters along the way, but he defeated them easily with his vision.

“They should be around here…(Y/N)?” Startled at his voice, you unconsciously clutched the Aranara in your arms tightly. It squeaked and tapped at you to release it. You profusely apologized to the forest creature.

“S-Sorry! Didn’t mean to. K-Kaveh, what are you doing here? Aren’t you busy with the drafts? Have you eaten yet? It’s cold out here too! You should have brought a coat or something—“ He did take you for granted, and Kaveh could not help himself but crumble at your kindness.

“I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have said those words. You deserved nothing of it. I was an idiot and didn’t think how much it will hurt you. I… I took you for granted, drowned myself in work, and didn’t even give you thanks for caring about my health. I’m really sorry, (Y/N).” He bowed his head in shame. The tears that had long dried came back again. The Aranara in your arms floated and patted your head, a way to say to go and talk to him. You hesitated, unsure of what actions to take, but Kaveh’s sincerity hit you. He was willing to let go of his work for a moment to find you and apologize.

‘Maybe just this once.’ You stood up and hugged Kaveh. He could feel your trembling figure, and he wanted nothing more than to hug you back, but what he did today made him extremely guilty. You knew the type of person that he is, so you grabbed his hands and placed them around you. He teared up at your kindness, at your willingness to still embrace him. Kaveh pressed himself further into you, relishing the warmth that you gave off.

“It will be difficult to forget those words because they did hurt, Kaveh. I can’t help but get worried whenever you work that passionately, because you tend to forget everything around you. I wanted to be a little selfish honestly, but what you needed more was support. So, I’ll wait until you’re finish. After that, you’ll have to make it up to me, okay? Don’t make me feel lonely again, you hear me?”

The two of you ended up spending time with your Aranara friend, Aramillion, who scolded the blonde for making its Nara friend cry. You could only laugh at the scene beside you, while Kaveh pouted as the forest creature smacked his head. You looked down at you left hand and smiled. His tight hold on it was a silent promise that he will never do it again nor will he ever let you go.

Please do not copy or repost my stories, but notes and reblogs are always appreciated!

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hi! This may be a controversial question but do you think the Overblot victims (and by extension any antagonist's past) falls under the Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse trope? I feel like it's controversial due to A LOT of villains (or awful people) using their past as an excuse to justify their behavior and some people just sweep their crimes under the rug because of their sad backstory.

Before I give my thoughts, let’s first define what the “Freudian Excuse is No Excuse” trope is. According to TV Tropes, this is when “characters that have gone through something horrible believe that they have the moral high ground or that they are in the right for their actions, no matter how evil they are or who the targets are”. Said character’s difficult past experiences are often used by the character to justify why they are taking sometimes immoral or extreme actions. Now, it's important to also note that "this trope comes into play when a character (possibly even the character with the excuse themselves [...]) acknowledges that their actions are wrong". There has to be a moment where there is in-universe acknowledgement of the trope, be it in someone giving a “you suck and here’s why” speech or other characters being disappointed by the motive being poor life experiences. Furthermore, there must be explicit mention that the character's past doesn't justify their current actions in the call-outs.

So there are two main lenses (or perspectives) we can consider: that being the in-universe characters’ point of view and the real world audience’s point of view. I’m going to say right off the bat that I believe that, objectively, the information presented to us in the game doesn’t automatically mean the OB boys fall into the trope; it is the individual fans’ interpretations that leads to the “their pasts excuse their present actions” mentality.

When examining the the OB boys, the only one that comes close to the “Excuse is No Excuse” trope is Riddle. Even then, he doesn’t cleanly “fit” into it. Riddle is the single OB boy whose backstory we learn about prior to his OB; his past is also framed as “justification” by other characters that know him, such as Trey (who points to the past as the reason why Riddle is so fixated on the rules now). We also have the big moment where Ace calls Riddle out for being a tyrant and for not taking responsibility for his own actions (and instead attributing the bad behavior to Mama Rosehearts). Riddle himself doesn’t consciously think of his experiences as justifications for his actions; he genuinely believes he’s in the right and that strictly following the rules will lead to happiness, as this is what he has been told his entire life. This belief is grounded in his own experiences, so in that sense it can be argued that his past informs his present actions. However, Riddle is lacking the awareness that his actions are evil or bad to begin with until after his defeat.

In all other OB incidents, the characters don’t have their backstories fully explained, if at all, to the others (so there’s no context for others to point at their past and go, “Ah-hah! So this is why you’re such a jerk!”), and/or the OB just… straight up doesn’t weaponize their pasts to be excuse their actions. This is particularly evident in cases like Vil (who takes full responsibility, apologizes multiple times, and does everything be can to make amends—and, above all else, does not make excuses) and Idia (who, while still grieving, cannot have his snark and general rudeness entirely attributed to him still struggling to deal with his brother’s passing).

I think the issue with saying all of the OB boys fall to the aforementioned trope is that there is a false equivalency of explanation = excuse, particularly during the flashback scenes post-OB. In truth, explanation and excuse are NOT synonymous at all. In presenting the extended backstories to us, TWST is NOT asking that we turn the other cheek and forgive the OB boys. They are only providing context for why the character may think or act in a certain way—they explain how they ended up the way they are. This is different from excusing their actions (in which the narrative gives the character the “right” to act a certain way). Excusing a character is when the story is spun in such a way that it makes morally questionable or evil actions appear “good”; this would be like saying “it’s okay to commit murder because the person you killed was a criminal themselves”.

The way these flashbacks are presented are obviously biased in that they’re coming from the point of view of the OB boy, but other than that, we don’t really see the characters using their experiences to talk down the “badness” of what they have done or try to frame their actions as “good” because of those experiences. Rather, these flashbacks inform us how their life experiences shaped their personalities and how they think and perceive the world. For example, Leona was beaten down time and time again even when he tried so hard to earn respect through his own merits. This has led him to forming a defeatist attitude despite having very sharp wit and cunning. This is NOT the same as saying, “Everyone thinks it’s okay that Leona almost killed Ruggie! Leona was upset about not being king and Ruggie was pissing him off for making him try even when he had already given up”.

Most of the OB boys don’t actively go about using their negative life experiences to justify attempted murder, coups, poisonings, etc. Most of them are NOT acting and outright thinking, “Yeah, this is okay for me to do because I suffered before!” These are all things they did on their own, personally motivated and perhaps informed by their pasts but never excused by it, whether by themselves or by their peers. Sure, maybe their punishments are minimal compared to what they would be in real life for similar actions, but this is a Disney anime boys game with CROWLEY in charge. (That guy’s probably not taking his job all too seriously.) It’s also difficult for the narrative to consistently hold the boy accountable for their actions due to the bulk of the cast (returning characters have to share screentime with the newer characters). We don’t get to spend enough time with them all to see how they’re dealing with post-OB events and punishment outside of maybe the mandated therapy sessions.

Still, the OB boys do suffer the consequences of their actions and people don’t automatically forgive them. Even Riddle, who was the closest of the OB boys to the trope, is told to apologize and to bake an apology tart. His dorm members are still wary around him due to his known temper. In other OB instances, no one really knows the full backstories of the particular boys but this doesn’t stop them from being held accountable in other ways (like Leona still being forced to play in the Magift/Spelldrive Tournament, Azul having to restructure how his business runs, etc).

Ironically, TWST’s one-off event exclusive antagonists more often fit the “Freudian Excuse is No Excuse” trope than the OB boys themselves do. Take, for example, Eliza of Ghost Marriage. She was a princess seeking a husband because she perished young and was never able to find love. Eliza is literally grounded to a physical plane of existence because the unfulfilled wish is keeping her from moving on, and is willing to kidnap people and resort to violence (slapping, sending her ghost army after others) to get what she wants (even if the groom protests). She, and by extension, her entire ghost entourage, believe she is justified in this because of her premature death and her intense longing for a happy ending. Ace has to speak some sense into the ghost bride by telling her that the ideal prince she made up in her head doesn’t exist, and that she can find happiness with just a normal, realistic partner.

Another example is Rollo from Glorious Masquerade, who, like Riddle, comes close to fitting the whole trope if not for his lack of self-awareness (except, unlike Riddle, Rollo fully commits to denial post/defeat). He literally has a moment in the event where he implies he supports “the ends justify the means”, which says a lot about his character and how far he’s willing to go to bring his plans into fruition. The NRC gang learn via diary entries that Rollo detests magic and blames it for claiming the life of his younger brother. He turns his hatred outward and believe he is justified in robbing Twisted Wonderland of all its magic in an effort to “save” people—but, as Idia rightfully points out, Rollo is doing this not to save others, bit to put his own guilt-ridden soul to peace. This puts Rollo in an odd grey area where he acts self-righteous and morally superior about the deplorable acts he commits, but he at the same time accepts no personal fault for what happened in the past.

In any case, what I meant to say is that most OB cases in TWST do involve other characters reacting and trying to hold the OB responsible to some extent. Though the punishments seem to generally be on the light side, the fact remains that no one in-universe is dismissing the harm the OBs have done just because the boys have sad backstories. Not even the OB boys themselves seem to think this way.

Where I think this “sad backstory justifies their bad actions” comes from is individual interpretations from the fandom 💦 Fans empathize with certain characters (especially Riddle, Leona, and Azul due to relatable themes of controlling parents, being compared to siblings, and being bullied), and this empathy can come with sympathy—and when you start feeling bad for the characters in addition to feeling “connected” to them, or course you’d be more likely to excuse the terrible things they’ve said and done. People are way more likely to forgive and forget that Azul has become a bully himself because “He was bullied before and this is how he’s retaliating, by becoming someone ‘strong’ enough to fight back against those bullies”. It’s ultimately not the characters making excuses for their actions (or, if they are the few that did make excuses, they’re now working on changing their mindset and becoming better individuals); it’s the fans that do make the excuses and perpetuate them, usually to defend a favorite or a relatable boy.

What this ultimately amounts to is… well, you can be the judge of whether or not you forgive each boy for their present actions and their past actions 🤷‍♀️ It isn’t really up to a single trope to decide (though personally I’m not a fan of slotting so many individuals under the same broad label; it kind of invalidates their unique circumstances and homogenizes their characters).