#THE MAIN THAT RAISED HER AND TAUGHT HER HER MORALS

[pensymbols]

RUNAAN LOVED RAYLA *SO* MUCH THAT THE GUILT OF THEIR LAST INTERACTION CORREDED AWAY AT HIS SOUL FOR THE YEARS HE WAS STUCK IN THE COIN.

HE LOVED *HIS* DAUGHTER SO MUCH THAT IT LITERALLY TORE HIM APART WITH HOW THEY ENDED.

YOURE FUCKING KIDDING ME.

[astheworldgoesonitswickedway]

I've been thinking about ASoUE again so this is gonna be a long one. Kit accused Olaf of hurting people and he responded with a tiny scoffing laugh and the line that "people hurt him" and this, this just so perfectly captures both Olaf's character and one of the main points I think Daniel Handler was trying to make throughout the series. Olaf never wants to take responsibility for his actions right, but he never tries to say his actions aren't wicked. His distinction is that he believes his wickedness is justified. He believes because others wronged him, he is justified to wrong others. It comes down to what I like to call "the circle of cruelty" We are told that Olaf's "mentors" basically took him and twisted him when he was young and vulnerable. (And of course, we can’t not mention his father’s death. Sure it was an accident but he wasn’t necessarily incorrect in perceiving this as a wrong against him. And anyways, the dart may not have been meant to hit his father, but it was meant for someone.) They didn't just teach him to be cruel, they taught him by being cruel. In The Slippery Slope, we see for once Olaf is the scared, submissive, and ingratiating one. His mentors constantly berate him, mock his attempts to please them, and they tell him "they weren't emotionally distant, he just wasn't worthy of praise." We are given indications Olaf felt manipulated by them through the entirety of their relationship and even considered it to be akin to Stockholm's Syndrome. We see as the show progresses and Olaf grows increasingly unhinged, he is more and more cruel to his own hench people. Who in turn are cruel to the circus recruits, who are cruel to the Baudelaires. Which means, the mentors to Olaf-Olaf to the hench people-the hench people to the circus recruits-the circus recruits to literally anyone they think they might be capable of bullying. So, in essence, one cruel and wicked person makes other cruel and wicked people who continue to do the same. Now here me out, this is one of the ways Daniel Handler is telling us "Look, after all you've seen you've come to hate Olaf. But he is the way he is for a reason. Horrible things happened to him and horrible people turned him inside out. But its no excuse." See, Olaf refuses to take responsibility by saying, its fine because others did it to him too. He doesn't try to say he was manipulated into doing it, he just sees it as "the way of the world". And at the end he talks about man handing on misery to man and how it deepens and you shouldn't have kids that you hand that misery on too. He handed his misery on to the Baudelaires but he warns them not to do the same, and make no mistake, the way he abruptly turned to look at them was a warning. He recognized that those who came before him had a lot to do with shaping his life, and even though he misplaced all the blame, he was right in a way. But Daniel Handler never for a moment justifies Olaf. He shocks us by unexpectedly delivering emotion and even sympathy for this brutal man we came to hate, but he never makes us say "poor Olaf" What happened to him was horrible, but the way he handled it was horrible. Its all about how you handle it, and whether or not you choose to pass on the cruelty. And its so beautiful to see that despite everything the Baudelaires endured, they broke the cycle. They didn't let Olaf drive them into becoming him. And let's be honest, isn't that part of the reason he hates them so much? Because he sees himself in them, but they made the right choice he couldn't make? After all, we get an entire scene during which he recounts V.F.D.’s injustices against the Baudelaires. But that's a different rant. The Baudelaires maintained their morals despite the hard choices they had to make, and they raised Beatrice without letting all that cruelty reach her. Its such a great way of showing us cruelty and abuse and the way it shapes people and grows, but also how every individual is responsible for their own actions. The cycle should be broken and it can be.

[mahuhumaling]

not to intellectualize and defend bridgerton's mid ass writing but for me S2 was never really a love triangle.

sure they marketed it heavily that way, had charithra join jb & simone for main promos etc., but edwina has always been a representation of what was truly hindering kanthony to love each other: DUTY.

kanthony are both eldest children who were raised to take care of their younger siblings, stepped up to practically be the heads of their respective households, and had to carry the burden of responsibilities at a young age.

edwina is literally the physical manifestation of that reminder. anthony never loved her, we get like one (1) scene of edwina and anthony alone together because they never made him develop romantic feelings for her.

kanthony are both too stubborn because time and time again they KEEP prioritizing her (= DUTY) instead of themselves. it's why it takes kanthony's moms' apologies for putting them in such a role so young when they faced heavy losses in their lives — for KA to actually recognize that it's okay to have something for themselves.

jb said it himself: anthony needed to go through such a long and slow character arc before really committing and fully devoting himself to kate. he "surrenders" himself to the thing he has deprived himself off of for most of the season (for months, in show time): happiness.

i thought ppl understood that but apparently not. they're too busy complaining about the lack of KA screentime when that's literally not true???

and that apparently kate's backstory wasn't that fleshed out? these people think flashbacks are the only filmic device to give depth to a character when that is the furthest thing from the truth. you get to know her through her scenes with other ppl, her relationship with them.

you see all her facets: her horsemanship, her love for newton, her competitiveness, her disposition as a spinster, how little she feels because of her grandparents, how she subconsciously desires her mother's approval, her strength, womanhood, and capability in conversations with eloise, how edwina is literally an extension of her (taught and shaped her as a person), & of course her own desires and wants.

but no, they want to waste time getting mad at edwina to see all of what they've been trying to show us, and determining whether a character is well-written only when she is "likeable" or within the standards of morality like ohmygod give me a BREAK

[gatitties]

HEY! I really hope your requests for TokREv are open because I had an idea plagued in my mind since this morning!! It defiantly changes canon, takes places after Kisaki gets kicked out of Toman! What is reader is his older sisters (19-20) and she finds out about what he did and she's pissed! Like she has ties with yakuza so she is able to get info on where mikey and his friends are hanging out and she shows up, dragging hanma and Kisaki by their hair/ears and she looks really scary before she just forces the two on their knees infront of the Toman captains and forces the two to apologize before she herself apologies for her brothers behavior and she's really sincere about it and promises Mikey that they'll never here from Kisaki Tetta or Hanma again, bows then just leaves, still dragging the two trouble makers behind her. This can be crack or fluff or serious. Headcanon, fic, scenario. Its really up to you, I just want to see this idea play out please.

─Tokyo revengers x kisaki!reader

─Summary: You discover something you don't like about your little brother and decide he needs to apologize

─Warnings: none

Oh this was fun to write, a interesting idea!!

"Don't fuck with me…"

You massaged your temples after one of your friends had told you some information about small teenage gangs, having friends from the yakuza gave you the privilege of finding out about all the acts of vandalism that were about to happen or had happened, you always met with them to spill the tea on gang gossip.

And while you found some of the stories about teens fighting each other entertaining, you didn't fully support that behavior. Finding out that your little brother was involved in a group like that didn't please you very much. Even though you weren't the best sister in the world, you had to draw a line in his behavior for planning to destroy a group of friends. You didn't mind that he got into fights because you knew that he wasn't the typical one to throw punches, you knew that Hanma, his friend, would do it for him, but they would learn the lesson that violence wouldn't lead to anything good on their own.

But it was something different when you saw all the ins and outs that went into his main task, you weren't going through that, he wasn't going to go through that, trying to destroy people just out of contempt or trying to impress someone, in no way had you been taught those ethical values at home, your parents would be disappointed if they found out, you did him the favor of keeping that information to yourself, however, his actions were a hard blow to your morale.

Your friends talked to you a lot about fights, but also about respect, just like how they raised you, and a mistake comes hand in hand with an apology, whether it was sincere or not, depended on your brother, although it would be on your part.

That same day you entered the house, hearing the voices of both teenagers, a grimace on your face, still somewhat grumpy at their behavior, you didn't even knock on the door to ask if you could come in, you walked in with long strides, looking at the duo with a frown as Tetta looked back at you.

"What's up with knock the door and respect privacy?"

"What about having a minimum of values and not manipulating people?"

He looked away clicking his tongue, Hanma just smiled slyly, he even seemed amused by the situation because he couldn't give more than a damn about that whole Toman betrayal thing.

"You shouldn't care what I do or don't do with my life decisions, get out of my room."

You let out a sigh of surprise at the aggressiveness in his words, looking stunned as he even approached you to push you out of his room, a bad decision, when his hand touched your shoulder to push you, you put him in a headlock, holding his head.

"What the hell!? Hey, let me go!"

"I'll let you go when you apologize to that gang! What you have done is disrespectful and a stain on your morals."

He squirmed in your grip but you stopped him from letting go, although a laugh made him escape from your deadly hold, you turned your head slowly to see Hanma laughing heartily at your struggle, your eyes turned into burning flames, you used your dominant leg to kick the door shut while cracking the bones in your knuckles, they had pissed you now.

"Shit, did you have to laugh at a time like this? She's going to kill us."

Younger Kisaki muttered to his friend, his face paling at the sight of your completely serious expression, though Hanma didn't seem to take it seriously until he spent at least half an hour locked in the room with you. A few knocks on the door made you step back, you adjusted your clothes and hairstyle, smiling when you saw your mother open the door.

"Have I heard screams? everything is alright?"

"Perfectly, mom, we were just playing Uno, and you already know how wild the game is."

"Oh yeah, you two hate losing at Uno, anyway, don't you want something to snack on?"

You looked back, Tetta tried to say yes to get rid of you, knowing that your mother would kick you out of his room if he complained asking for privacy for himself, but you cut him off with just a look.

"Don't worry, I haven't spent time with my dear brother in a long time, I'll take him for ice cream!"

"Oh how nice, bonding time, then I'll leave you, be careful and have fun!"

When your mother left you looked back at the duo, they gulped at the sight of your mischievous smile. One of your friends had told you that just today Toman was having a meeting, so it was the perfect time to apologize, you dragged them both by the earlobe, letting their complaints be music to your ears.

Everyone tensed when they saw that both former members appeared, interrupting Mikey, who narrowed his eyes as he watched you drag them towards the first step of the stairs where he used to give his speeches, everyone remained silent, watching your next move.

"In the name of…" you pulled them down, making them kneel, you doing it with more grace and softness, still looking directly at Mikey " this two idiots, I apologize for all the problems caused, with all my heart, I promise that they will not bother you again, if so, I will take care of punishing them again."

You lowered your head, hearing a snort from your brother, you hit the back of their necks, hearing some murmurs that sounded like apologies on their part, although perhaps only Mikey and Draken could hear it since they were the closest. The two leaders of Toman looked at each other perplexed by the scene, they shared a smile, Mikey nodded towards you, ending the meeting.

"Thank you, I'll keep that in mind."

You nodded in the same way as farewell, still dragging your brother and his friend by the ears, once out of sight of all those teenagers ─who were surely laughing at the strange situation─ you let them go, your face softened slightly and you let out a breath you had been holding.

"I hope you two have learned your lesson… now, let's go get some ice cream."

"Ice cream won't solve the pain in my ear."

"No, but maybe you want me to keep stretching your ear until you can get a damn dilation."

You said under your breath, noticing how Hanma stood next to you, obediently, not knowing if it was because he didn't want to know anything more about your punishments or because of the ice cream, Tetta gave up easily, crossing his arms and mumbling here and there, but accepted the ice cream, after everything he had endured today, a refreshing snack wouldn't hurt, he needed to cool his mind to recalculate his plans and make sure you never found out again about the things he was planning.

[sweetcloverheart]

Clover Rants Miraculously: Thee Other 1%

I think this has been complained about before, but it honestly does kind of come off super extremely tonedeaf when the show starts moralizing about rich people being "evil" and how success corrupts people (especially egregious in season 5) when their main soapboxers for this argument to represent the "poor 99%" are...

Girl who's parents own the most popular and profitable bakery in the city (that's constantly getting commissioned for catering jobs by the wealthy and famous of the city), has a world-famous chef for an uncle, who's grandmother has enough cash to fund trips around the world and expensive gifts for her (no shade to Gina, biker GILF is valid and can do whatever she likes with her ex-husband's alimony checks), and is favored by famous rockstar + 2 world renowned fashion icons (one of whom was willing to fund a trip for her to New York for an apprenticeship). Like Maribug, I love you, but seriously...

Boy who's a world famous fashion model, who's father owns a (self-made) fashion empire that spans the globe, who's mother was a (claimed-to-be but the show refused to expand on this) famous actress and former noblewoman from the British aristocracy, and spent his childhood being taught by (very likely expensive) tutors paid for by his parents

Girl who's mother is the head chef for a extremely popular and long-running hotel-line (Alya sweetie I love you too, but...)

Set of twins who's mother is a former rockstar who may or may not still get royalty checks from her old producer (and maybe child support from her own ex(no shade to Anarka either you get that bag girl!))

Boy who's late father was a weapon's manufacturer (and a rather lucrative one at that) and noblewoman mother is the heir apparent to their household (mostly due to her twin being disappeared and then dead)

Girl who's mother is the owner of a huge tech conglomerate on par with Apple

Girl who is the affair child between the previously mentioned fashion icon and an never-seen business man, who spent a majority of her childhood at a (implied to be) super expensive bordering school

Corrupt (now former) mayor who has changed gears to corrupt movie director and still owns his expensive and profitable hotel chain

Classmates of the first mentioned girl who's parents include a famous mime actor, director of the Louve, and an astronaut (we're never shown/told what everyone else's parents do but I'm certain they're on similar paygrade levels)

A man who's screentime involves emotionally abusing his son, mistreating magical animals in his care, and humiliating children and his own adult friends for his own ends

Like, if it was an argument about "class solidarity doesn't exist between the elites because they constantly change/raise standards even among themselves", they might of had a point to make, but it's always just "Rich people are all inhuman monsters (except the ones that give us stuff, you guys are cool)"

[ilikekidsshows]

I just saw a video of children pshycologist where she said "a lot of parents nowadays only want their kids to be happy, and that's why a lot of kids nowadays has a lot of problem. because they never taught what necessary for them, such as disappointment, responsibility, accountability, how to regulate their emotion, emphaty-" and some more I don't remember, sorry. And Marinette's parents does reflect this IRL problem which should be a good thing because we have seen what kind of child Marinette is as a result of such parenting. but, instead of make this a moral lesson, the show just validated this kind of parenting and Marinette behavior as "good".

But also it's interesting how I never see the so claimed child pshycologist who said "sentimonster is good methapor for abuse" commenting about Marinette problematic behavior, or maybe because I'm no longer followed the blog, idk.

---

To discuss the connection between Marinette’s problematic behavior and how she’s been raised, people would need to accept her accountability for said behavior first. Instead the closest to accepting that Marinette did anything wrong I’ve seen from the stans is the take that “Gabriel manipulated her into it” because being manipulated would make Marinette a victim and therefore not culpable for her own actions in their eyes. To the average Marinette stan, “being asked nicely by the main villain” just about equates to “was forced to do it with a gun held to her head”.

Also, like, I really do think that the Miraculous fandom at large either considers Marinette’s parents as close to perfect as you can get or claims they're neglectful for not suing the school for suspending her. Because, as I said before, the idea of parents who never expect anything from you, always give you whatever you want and instantly do whatever it takes to keep you in a good mood sounds really good. We all talk about how having supportive parents is really important, so no one thinks it’s possible for parents to be too supportive. It sounds ridiculous, the idea that you can basically give your child too much love by wanting them to always be cheerful and never having to struggle with anything.

The reasons for this attitude make sense. The other extreme of completely unsupportive parents messes with a child’s psyche much more obviously than being overly permissive does. Unless you’re actively observing someone’s behavior and know what to look for, there’s not much difference between having a healthy sense of self and being self-obsessed. It’s good to take care of yourself and prioritize yourself, it keeps you safe and healthy. But it’s bad to mistreat others because you just couldn’t be bothered to be considerate. It’s one thing to set boundaries when you’re dealing with things yourself and don’t have enough strength to take care of someone else on top of that, and a completely another thing to ask others to always prioritize you to their own detriment because you can't deal with even the smallest problem alone.

Fortitude against anything needs to be built up, just having support doesn’t cut it. When it comes to strengthening your immune system, it's not enough to just take all your vitamins while staying indoors all day, you actually need to expose yourself to bacteria by going outside frequently. It’s the entire point of vaccines that you need small amounts of a bad thing to be able to counter large amounts of it. Children facing expectations, disappointments and stressors is the same thing. You’ll never be able to handle even the slightest amount of stress unless you get exposed to it in small amounts first.

Also, like, this isn’t new information about parenting. Granted, developmental psychology as a separate field of psychology is a pretty new field of science to begin with (less than two centuries old), but I remember, already in my childhood, there being a philosophical approach to parenting that said: “overprotective parents raise cowards”. This was based on the idea that children mimic their parents, so the things their parents overly protect them from start to register as “scary” things. These days we know child development also includes more subtle connections, and, indeed, several articles on overprotective parenting discuss children with overprotective parents as being overly anxious, being more dependent on others, being involved in bullying as either a victim or perpetrator (or even both) and tending to lie to get people to like them more, among other behaviors connected to different types of overprotective parenting. Sounds almost like a checklist for Marinette, huh?

I used to think Marinette was coddled all the way back during the original show. It was just so obvious to me, because that’s how I was parented and I had similar problems with emotions and I had to clean up my act as a teenager. But, I think the reason it’s never been a topic of discussion, is that it makes Marinette out to be flawed in a real, tangible way that she herself would need to fix. Even before the retool validated all the more annoying stans, we had to be very roundabout and hushhush about any flaws Marinette had, because the stans were using the boogeyman of “everyone on Reddit/Youtube calls her stalker and blahblahblah” to justify being annoying jerks to people trying to discuss Marinette’s character with anything that wasn’t pure praise.

The one thing to remember about the fabled fandom psychologist, whose posts I’ve also had blocked for years, is that they were a popular blog. I’ve never been that popular in the Miraculous fandom, some posts of mine were, and my most popular posts were the most milktoast, tongue-in-cheek posts that didn’t actually challenge the audience in any way, practically shitposting. The Miraculous fandom at large, the side of it that desperately clings to this show and its protagonist as flawless, have never wanted to be challenged. They don’t want to read anything too spicy, they want to read posts that validate the common consensus . And that’s why a popular Miraculous blog would never write an in-depth analysis of Marinette’s character flaws and what caused them, it just wouldn’t bring the numbers they’re used to. In fact, if a popular blog decided to say anything even vaguely critical-sounding, they’d be torn apart by the Marinette stan mob who are just “so sick of all the salt”.

I know these things because I lived that too. I used to dial back my opinions on this show so much, once it became clear that Marinette stans just don’t remember what happens in the show and go purely on vibes and will dogpile anyone who says the vibe isn’t canon. The thing I said that offended these stans so much? “Marinette has a huge support system.” This was “too much salt”. I was new to active blogging and didn’t know how to deal with that much negative attention, so I tried to remain mostly inoffensive the rest of my time in the fandom. Choosing to burn any bridges with a fandom that unquestionably supports this bad of a show was the best decision I ever made.

[utdrmv-confession-box]

Transcript: I think all of the main characters from Undertale have compromised morals and most are hypocrites EXCEPT Undyne. She is the only character who expresses, directly, that she's been taught that the player's soul is the ONLY way out of the Underground. This leads to her thinking the only option is to kill you to get 7 human souls, even when other people know it's not, but they still try to anyways.

Toriel says she loves you like a child, but would still raise her hand against you. Sans blatantly threatens you. Papyrus still fights you despite not really wanting to hurt you. Alphys takes advantage of your presence to fulfill her fantasies of being important. And Asgore could have just taken one of the first human souls he got and gone outside of the barrier by himself to find more so that others wouldn't have to do his dirty work.

[moltensmusings]

I follow some people who talk about baldurs gate 3, and the way the fandom almost largely goes out of its way to babygirl everything astarion does while refusing to give the same leniency to the far less evil characters is baffling.

I feel like Gale, Wyll, and Lae'zel are the ones who often make this the most clear. Under the cut.

Whether it's because of the glitch pre console release or just a general refusal to engage with his story, people like to paint this picture of Gale being some Narcissistic abuser who is only ever power hungry. I've seen people try and justify mystra's actions. Now even if Gale was a young adult when Mystra came to him, Mystra is his goddess. She's in charge of the weave. She had so much more power over him, student/teacher and boss/underling relationships are so looked down upon because of that inherent power imbalance. And I think there's also an implication that this is relatively normal for all versions of mystra to do to younger men.

Elminster isn't free of criticism because he actively brought a young Gale to be groomed into becoming a pawn for Mystra. Gale gets discarded by mystra for his seeming ambition and wants to move on, but is also still desperate to please her in anyway he can, and she tells him to kill himself. I don't understand how people go through his plotline and see him believing the only way he's useful is dead and then just assume he's just power hungry. Is he a bit full if himself? Yes. He's a wizard. They're like that. But he's not the worst person in the world, and he's definitely not the one people should claim as the abuser in his relationship with Mystra.

People call Wyll boring, some paint this idea of him being holier than thou/looking down on everyone around him. Since he was 17 Wyll has given his whole life to protecting people and trying to be a hero. He's self sacrificial, thrown out by his father for making a pact he only made to save the city he adores. Wyll talks so much about baldurs gate. He wants to return.

Wyll has his body altered unwillingly for doing the right thing and yet he never once regrets it. He's made into a devil, the creatures so many of the npcs and companions loathe, for his kindness. He's constantly tricked and mocked by Mizora who we know from the game was sent by Zariel to corrupt a good hearted person. Even still, Wyll is a kind and honest man. He's charming and a bit cheesy but that's fine. Wyll can be incredibly self sacrificial and stubborn in his morals, but if you're running around doing mean things to impress Astarion, you can't blame Wyll for not liking your character and judging you. He's a hero of the people, of course he'd stand with them. We also need to remember he got so heavily redone that he has barely 6 hours of in-game content now. Which is abysmal compared to everyone else.

Lae'zel was raised by a cult, a cult that spans all her people where they're taught to bow and serve a lich queen who promises them glory if they're good enough. She can be harsh and unfriendly, but we need to remember she's the one most aware of what the tadpole can do and with that in mind we know she's very desperate to get things done and cure herself. Next to astarion she's the most evil aligned origins companion, and even still so much of that is due to being brainwashed into a certain belief.

Lae'zel in canon is the youngest companion, very early 20s and it often shows. She's a skilled warrior who doesn't see the need for statements that are already obvious. She's been beaten into shape and filled with ideas that unless she's perfect as the creche commands then she is worthless. She's scared and alone in act 1 with people who most likely don't care about it the same way she does. Lae'zel is imperfect like all the other companions, but if you're willing to accept that astarion is soft under all his bluster, why can't you do the same for Lae'zel?

I don't hate Astarion, I liked him a lot my first playthrough, he was my main romance. But the way the fandom ignores that he's definitely evil in act 1 and 2 because "I just don't see him that way", how people act like he's the only character in the cast who was abused when abuse and the cycles of it are the main theme of the game, how people willfully misunderstand his ascension ending and paint it as his good one when the writers state repeatedly it's not, the way the fandom will insult and demean other characters for jabbing at astarion's trauma but applaud him when he does the same exact thing, when they ignored his racism towards gnomes and gur (which is anti Romani racism repackaged). There's also a chance that in his time, Astarion was a corrupt politician, something making his death more complicated but also adding interest to it that a lot of his fans want to ignore to make him pure.

Astarion isn't perfect, none of the companions are. And they're not supposed to be. But his special treatment by fans is becoming so incredibly tiresome to see.

[slytherinnerd05]

So I had to write an argumentative essay in English the other day, and I decided to write about why Cassandra Cain is the best one of the bat kids to take Batman’s name when Bruce retires….

“Even Batman admits his loss when faced with his daughter, Cassandra Cain. He was asked by Batwoman what would happen if he had to fight Cain, all he said in response was “I’d lose.” Given Batman believes he would lose when fighting her, it only makes sense for her to be his predecessor. She is the only one who genuinely wants and can handle the title. She can read body language. She is even more strict than he is with her morals. The only other member of the family who could take the mantle instead would be Dick Grayson. Cassandra Cain is the best choice out of his children to become Batman when he gives up the name.

Cassandra Cain has been Batgirl since 2000. She understands Batman's morals better than any of his other children, as she was raised with her mother, Lady Shiva. She trained to be a silent assassin, meaning her mother never taught her how to speak. When she came into the bat-family she learned sign language first, then eventually learned how to speak. She understands Batman's need not to kill, as she feels the same. They both believe they wouldn’t stop if they started.

While living with her mother she learned how to read body language. Meaning she can read every attack before they strike. She is so good at dodging enemies, that the CIA classified her as a “meta-human” (a human with superpowers, that isn't an alien), as they've seen her dodge bullets. The main reason she can and has beat Batman in a fight is because of her ability to read and dodge his attacks while still being fast enough to counter the hits. She may not be the strongest physically but she is the fastest and the most fluid in her fighting style.

She is the only one who can take his title out of all of Batman's kids. Some of the Batman villains have already seen her as Batman’s successor. Even if Damian, the only other one to want the title, feels like he can take it, he still believes that killing is acceptable, when Batman’s entire gimmick is that he cannot kill.

Ever since coming into the bat-family she is the only one who hasn’t killed. Dick Grayson, who is said to be the “next Batman”, has killed the Joker, after he tortured Tim Drake (long after Jason Todd had died). He has been said multiple times in comics as “better than Batman”, meaning he never should become Batman, as he is the light to Batman’s dark.

In summary, Cassandra Cain is the best choice for the successor to Batman because she is the only one who believes in his morals, she is the only one who wants and can handle the title, and she can read body language makingit simple for her to predict attacks.”

If anyone actually finds this I will be amazed

[11queensupreme11]

I feel like it's wishful thinking but would ror poseidon actually like or maybe respect Sally? He hates humans, but Sally was the one who raised his daughter-wife after all so....

unfortunately, he would personally hate her even more than he would with the average human 💀

why? many reasons!

spoiler under the cut because these do get talked about later on in arsenic blues

one, he's envious of her. sally got to raise percy since day one. she got watch her grow and witness all those important milestones that poseidon never got to see

two, she's a human. ofc he's gonna fucking hate her.

three, he thinks that sally didn't raise her right. poseidon's a god and imperial royalty (yes i'll be going with the emperor route on my fic, it fits my plans for worldbuilding so yeah). in his eyes, percy should be raised in luxury and splendor. sally's an unworthy peasant woman to him. she also chose to raise her in a disgusting city such as new york where the rivers are all polluted and the humans are just as filthy. she's poor too so percy wasn't spoiled as she 'deserved' to be

four, gabe. poseidon does not give a shit that sally married him to keep percy safe from monsters. she even sent her away to boarding schools so she would have minimal contact with him, but poseidon doesn't care for any of that. his daughter was abused and sally is to blame for it.

five, percy got her morals from her. human morality is a huge thing here. since percy was raised by a human and lived amongst them, ofc she's gonna share their morals and what's one thing humans can agree on? incest is BAD 💀. ofc percy's gonna start feeling disgusted and ashamed with herself once poseidon makes his move on her, and he hates it because incest is so normal where he's from but noooo percy thinks it's "wrong" 🙄 how annoying. in his eyes, the humans taught her shame and hates it

six, sally's part of the reason why percy refuses immortality. when a human becomes immortal, they'll have to watch all their mortal loved ones grow old and die. percy would never want to go through with that and poseidon hates how she's so attached to all these "worthless mortals"

these are the main reasons why he hates her. most of them are kinda unreasonable and sally doesn't even have control over most of the blame he's putting on her, but he doesn't care. he resents her too much.

[midnightstargazer]

Cursed Child is awful, but I really like Astoria and have enthusiastically adopted that version of her into my headcanons.

First of all, I like that she's a genuinely good person who was (most likely) a Slytherin. I'm totally here for interesting villains and morally gray characters, but there's something very irritating about the way Slytherin is consistently the "evil" house in canon, as if 25% of the student body can be reliably identified as bad people from the age of eleven. Astoria is one of the few exceptions and feels like a breath of fresh air. She can be kind-hearted, loving, and non-prejudiced and still be a Slytherin, and I love that about her.

The blood curse is a pretty blatant example of fridging: Astoria is not meant to be important in her own right and is killed off to create angst for her husband and son, as well as to get her out of the way before the main plot gets started. But ignoring how it's handled in the play, I think the idea of the blood curse has a lot of interesting potential. The Greengrasses must have been in a very odd position, being part of the upper crust of pure-blood society and yet having their family's greatest weakness be a curse passed down from one of their ancestors, whether that is openly known or kept secret.

Astoria was raised with the same ideology as many Slytherins, in a family that was surely not still pure-blood by accident, but rejected that ideology and never looked back. That might have had a little bit to do with the curse and the weird position it likely placed her in, but I think it probably had more to do with the war.

Her experience was described on Pottermore as "similar (though less violent and frightening)" in comparison to Draco's, which I take to mean that she wasn't personally affected by the war. She was pure-blood, her parents weren't Death Eaters, and she was only fifteen or sixteen when it ended. She most likely flew under the radar and was left alone. And yet, she still came out of it believing in equality, unwilling to pass down bigoted ideas to the next generation.

To me, this suggests that she was a compassionate and empathetic person who was moved by seeing how harmful the ideology was to other people. Reading about all the awful stuff that was happening, hearing about the ways in which the war was affecting her classmates, witnessing the Carrows' cruelty even if she herself wasn't their target - although she was a bit too young to be involved in it personally, the war must have played a huge role in shaping how she sees the world.

Astoria is, above all else, a good mother. She and Draco raised Scorpius differently than how they were raised, and it shows. She taught him that Muggles are people deserving of his respect, she sent him off to school with sweets to share hoping it would help him make friends, she encouraged him to be kind and generous rather than trying to mold him into a snob or a bully. And, it's strongly implied, she helped him make sense of his family's past, especially his father's ("Mum always told me that you were a better man than I could see" - CC Act 3 Scene 3).

What really breaks my heart, more than the blood curse, is what a lonely life Astoria seems to have led as an adult. She clearly had a loving relationship with Draco and Scorpius, but between her disapproving in-laws and the stigma of being connected to the Malfoys, her husband and son seem to have been all she had. Not only is she never mentioned having any friends as an adult (which could just be because she's out of focus), Scorpius obviously had a very isolated childhood, and the family is subjected to vicious rumors thanks to Rita Skeeter. Scorpius never even mentions his maternal grandparents or his aunt when he talks about his family. Did Astoria still have a relationship with them as an adult?

And yet, it was entirely her choice. She loved Draco, she saw (or perhaps brought out) the best in him, and so she married him. I love that their relationship isn't some sort of arranged marriage or strategic match based on blood status. That they do genuinely love each other and are willing to be together even though it's not the easy choice. Even though his parents disapprove, even though she will be judged and scrutinized in a way she has done nothing to deserve, even though there is no promise of a happy ending where they grow old together.

It's weird, because Astoria is only mentioned once in the books and gets absolutely zero characterization. She comes almost entirely from the play, most of which I reject; the trolley witch is an ordinary person, and Cedric Diggory would never join the Death Eaters 🤣. And I don't really love how she was dealt with in the play, never appearing onstage, killed off without ever being properly introduced. But from the little fragments of her story that we get and the implications of what we're told, I find her to be a really interesting character.

[just-a-gamer-daydeamer-girl]

So now I’m hyper fixated on Rayman again I should probably post some of my head canons on the limbless guy

Rayman is a master at playing all the instruments in the plucked string family. Including the harp. Every time I hear his theme in Rayman M I keep thinking he is the one completely rocking the Banjo.

He also has a hobby in painting. Just anything he feels like painting he paints, he mostly just does it for himself and doesn’t give any of his paintings away even as gifts. It’s more a hobby for himself and he either doesn’t feel comfortable with giving his works away or doesn’t think that there good enough.

His love language is quality time, he doesn’t care what they do he just wants to spend time with others. Weather it’s sleeping together with globox, helping Ly or listening to murffy ramble.

He does have a spa day at least every week.

Rayman often leaves his home, no one in the glade knows where he goes or how to find him but he always comes back after a few days. The popular theory is that he trains his skills in private during this time but no one knows.

He gets really angry when others blame him for things he has no control over or when he ends up failing and telling him that it’s his fault .

Rayman and Barbara have a bit of a toxic relationship. They both enable each other’s reckless behavior. But their friendship is more of a friendly rivalry more than anything. They are adventurous buddies to the end.

He knows how to fight with a battle axe, and other weapons, Barbara and the other princesses taught him.

In legends he ended up getting captured several times and Barbara had to save him. (Like from the giant toad in the Rayman legends trailer)

He and Barbara often wrestle and have some playful fights together. Sometimes this goes on for hours.

Rayman has a strange relationship with Betilla, she is both his mom but also kinda not. Betilla is conflicting because she genuinely thinks of Rayman as her son (even if she doesn’t realize it) but her duties as a Protector kinda conflict with that (basically her feelings are conflicting with her logic) as she created Rayman to save the world. They really need to talk about their relationship but Betilla kinda keeps pushing the subject away. This is one of the main reasons why Rayman left the valley, he was sick of not getting a straight answer. But he does genuinely care for her.

This odd relationship extends to the other Nymphs, who all adore and care for Rayman but due to their duties keep bit of distance from the limbless boy. Except Voodoo Mama, she full blown calls herself Auntie Voodoo to Rayman and insists on calling Betilla his mother. She is the one who helps Rayman leave the valley, understanding all of his reasons to do so.

The magician (Rayman 1) actually helped raise Rayman if Betilla was too busy. He taught Rayman important lessons about morality. He also liked hyping him up with dramatic speeches and was the first one to call rayman a hero despite, him haven’t done any heroics yet.

Rayman keeps his past and his relationships with his mother and aunts a secret but he does let some things slip every now and again. Hence why the Phantom knows about Mr dark.

Rayman is a foodie, he loves all kinds of food and enjoys eating anything. And he can technically eat anything with no problem, but that doesn’t mean he likes the taste.

He sometimes visits has conversations with both Polokus and Jano.

He is asexual (I don’t think he ever shown any interest whatsoever) but he may be open to a romantic relationship.

Some nights he can’t sleep and just watches the sky.

Hates being picked up and held like a doll or a kid.

The way he ‘ages’ is different from others as instead of growing up naturally he instead incorporates energy, lums and magic into his body which allows him to get bigger and changes his appearance over time. (I think the limbless are creatures who are unable to age)

Rayman makes a majority of his own clothes or gets them custom Made. Not a lot of shops made for limbless people around.

He likes a wide variety of music, mostly he likes 2000’s music though.

Rayman loves to enjoy the little things in life, he likes the idea of riches and glory but doesn’t love it.

He loves children, and is a really good babysitter.

He actually gets really scared when facing threats, he gets scared when fighting Mr Darks forces, the robot pirates, the hoodlums, the knaaren, even the Rabbids scare him. But he knows that fear isn’t something to be ashamed of, embraces it, and manages to act despite of it. That is genuine courage. 

He is clever, and can be an absolute troll when he wants to be, using his extended reach to pull pranks.

He takes care of the walking shell like a pet, it has a weird power of putting itself back together.

There are a lot of legends and rumors about him from what he accomplished and what he looks like to his backstory. Some of them are extremely wild and a lot of people don’t realize that the Rayman in the rumors is the same guy when they meet him in real life.

His hands and feet sometimes wanders around with out his knowledge when he is deep in sleep.

He is very aware that one’s species and looks do not attribute to how good or evil they are. He learned this lesson from others who judged him purely on looks, many people have attacked him in the past due to his appearance and thinking he is a monster.

He ended up ultimately failing to save Globox’s children from the Rabbids, someone else saved them. But he did in up accidentally saving the Rabbids by unknowingly teaching them to enjoy the little things in life, that it’s okay to make mistakes, enjoying their own sense of fashion and getting them into hobbies, allowing them to actually be happy and Turing them away from their conquest and destruction in the long run, and this all eventually leads to the Rabbid heroes in Mario + rabbids. Some Rabbids actually worship him as a god for opening their eyes to the wonders of the universe. To bad no one really knows about this connection.

After the Rabbids invasion Rayman starts having trouble sleeping (Ubisoft gave him eye bags in sparks of hope) and his friends (minus Barbara who hasn’t been aware of this situation due to reasons) were a bit disappointed in him after failing to defeat the Rabbids, not offering him any comfort or compassion to him, treating him differently then they used to. This did not help his mental health, and he started taking longer trips from home. (This is not my original idea but I love it.)

Rayman went to the phantom show because he had nothing better to do.

The Phantom invited Rayman because he as a few memories of him before he got fussed, he is also a bit jealous of the limbless hero.

There is quite a bit of distrust between Rayman, Rabbid Mario and Rabbid peach. Beep-o has to play peace keeper. (There is no way he instantly trusts them just because they say they’re heroes.) They do end up forming a genuine friendship by the end of the game but there was a bit of drama we didn’t get to see.

Rabbid Mario is the most friendly to him, liking Rayman’s vibe. But it takes awhile for Rabbid Peach to warm up to him. Rayman is visibly untrusting but civil to all the Rabbids.

When asked about why he doesn’t like the Rabbids by Beep-o he tells the truth about how they originally came from the glade of dreams, invaded and captured others and all the other horrific stuff. He says that he knows that it’s silly to judge if someones good or evil because of their race, but that’s not gonna stop him from being weary of the Rabbids. Rabbid Mario just looks horrified, Rabbid Peach just scoffs saying that she would never be apart of some dum- but never finishing her sentence.

Rayman is technically a demigod.

If he ever met Ramon he would except him as a family member.

He knows the value of listening

Might do more later

[intheholler]

Do you have any traits that you think are vital/you’d like to see more of in Appalachian characters?

I’m writing a fantasy story (that I dream of making into an animated film) whose main character is an Appalachian-coded werewolf woman. I’ve been working on her story for a while, and while she was always from Appalachia in my head, she wasn’t Appalachian until I started following you, not really. I want to make sure I’m capturing the beautiful spirit of Appalachian folks with her and the people around her. She’s selfless to the point of personal damage, deeply, deeply compassionate, and smart as a whip. She’s also a little ruthless and morally utilitarian, which means she does some bad things, but her whole thing is that she always acknowledges that the people she hurts are people who don’t deserve it.

Apologies if this is like, weird, I just want to thank you for helping me flesh out a character who is so near and dear to my heart. Hope you have a nice day!

hi, this absolutely is not weird. actually it kinda made me wanna cry (in a good way).

it's been a busy morning & afternoon and i am drained so i'm worried i won't give this the right response bc brain is currently hamster on wheel.

first...

"...while she was always from Appalachia in my head, she wasn’t Appalachian until I started following you, not really."

i felt really warm reading that. like wow?? that i could be that much of a positive influence on perceptions my home or like that i could make that kind of impact just by talking about my experiences, those of which i used to be so ashamed of..

ok actually yeah got misty typing that. lol. aaaa okay.

to the point of your question-i would like to see more of acceptance as a trait.

people always equate us with hate and intolerance, but that has not been my exclusive experience. yes there are queerphobic racists here, clearly i do not downplay that here on this blog.

but there are queerphobic racists everywhere. everyone acts like they are all solely concentrated in appalachia/the southeast, and that that's the only kind of people we are allowed to be. incorrect!

im not saying we're innocent obviously. growing up we were constantly checking each other's casual racism and prejudices.

but like, that's the thing. most of us didn't/don't wanna be the way we was raised. we didn't actually feel that way. we were just taught that we should, and deep in the hollers all you find are echo chambers.

we are a very "you tend to your business and ill tend to mine" kind of people. we don't wanna bother nobody and we don't wanna be bothered.

so, characters who keep each other in check when something ugly slips, or a character who might have to originally confront bias/prejudice when meeting new people, but who does so quickly and lends aid without question, would be pretty realistic.

and honestly really fucking refreshing lol

[hyukassubi]

SUBI'S EXTRAVAGANT REVIEW ON GROSS!

A couple months ago, I have read, dare I say, the most dramatic fic I've ever laid my two eyes upon (in a good way!!).

It was (nearly) everything I thought I would NEVER enjoy: situationships, flawed main character, drama.

Yet here I am... Absolutely pleased with the drama-filled, humourous rollercoaster of a romance that supposedly had no chance of growing into something more.

Warning, this review is bound to contain spoilers so if you haven't read @moamidzyism 's 'Gross!' yet, read it here! Now that that's out of the way, ON WITH THE REVIEW!!!

Yes, you can like unlikable characters, actually!!

Never would I've thought in a million years I'd end up rooting for a 'bad' main character. I assume a good chunk of us have been shoved in the face countless of times by the media what 'good' main characters are supposed to look like. Like we were programmed by society to like the good heroes and pull out our stakes and pitchforks for the evil villains.

I was in a reading rut for the longest time (I still am tbh 😭😭) and I always thought perhaps the stuff I was reading didn't fit me anymore? Was it the genre? The writing style? No. None of that. I was simply bored of always reading 'perfect' stories with 'good' characters and expecting plot lines.

It is genuinely so very astounding how, in my lifetime, I stumbled upon a 'badly written' y/n and still ended up enjoying her journey and the overall plot of the fic. Moral of the story aside, 'Gross!' has absolutely helped shift my perspective on 'reading what I enjoy' and 'enjoying what I'm reading'.

Character dynamics

I love how everyone has their own little friend group and super top secret bestie groupchat convos, definitely adds to the drama and complexity of the story as a whole.

All the friend groups are so different and although the 'yeonjun-taehyun-yuck!yn' gc is my favorite of them all (a buncha sassy silver-tongued fellas (ESP YUCK!YN, what's not there to love?) I LOVE THE 'B🐶s WHO BRUNCH' SO MUCH TOOOOOO.

I'm not into itzy but Chaeryoeng and Yeji y'all, Chaeryoeng and Yeji UGHH THEY'RE SO SUPPORTIVE AND LOVING ESP TO GROSS!YN, TRULY RAISING THE STANDARDS FOR FEMALE FRIENDSHIPS AND BEING A GIRL'S GIRL

I can definitely learn a thing or two from them too, growing up as someone who's always taught to 'love someone for their gains' which can be partially true but that's not the trajectory of healthy friendships!! You can be besties with a complete Mary sue but if you're not they're biggest hypegirl then literally what's the point????

Notable scenes that devoured, left no crumbs and did the dishes!!

SOOBIN, CHAERYOENG AND YEJI HAVING A JOINT SLAY TOWARDS THE END OF THE SERIES 😭😭😭😭

Sungchan being right but we all still mutually despise his character in the fic purely because he's Gross!y/n's ex... Something I never knew I needed until now. Ex-boyfriends are typically portrayed as candy-stealing 🍑 holes (which he was!!) but to have them actually spit facts that are right and raw and brutal but he's right???? My new favorite trope ✍️the 'bad but right but we still hate him' Ex✍️

Every. Single. Kai and Yuck!yn cameo. Couple goals. *Throws hands in the air* COUPLE GOALS!! IM TRULY NOT EVEN TRYING TO BE BIASED, THEY CAN BE CHARACTERS IN A NOVEL AND I'D STILL FIND THEM SO SO CUTE!!

GROSS!YN HATE TRAIN RUN BY YUCK!YN GODDD THOSE WERE ALL SO SO FUNNY I'D EITHER MASSAGE MY FORHEAD OR LET OUT A WHEEZE

THE GC INTERVIEWS!! THE GC INTERVIEWS ‼️‼️‼️‼️ (ps, Fay you wrote yourself so we'll here 🫶🫶🫶 talented author AND interviewer wowowow your talent is BEYOND me 👏👏👏👏👏👏)

Gross!YN'S miscellaneous items: Spotify playlist, notes about YJ and THE BLOODY VOICE CALL GAAAAAAAAAH

...THE MOMENT YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR!

This segment does not need any further explanation.

I loved making the 'video essay' on 'Yuck!' A couple months back and so ofc I'm back making yet another compilation (2 WHOLE MINUTES BTW) for this lovely work indeed 🫶🫶🫶 (Fay, if you're seeing this, take this as a late birthday present ^3^)

(if your guys' short attention spans lasted all the way to the very end, you'd see what I'd be on for the next couple of months moving forth nyehheheheEHEHEHEHEHE MUAHAHHAHA TYUNNING HERE I COMEEEEEEEE)

(PS TYSM FOR READING THIS REVIEW OKAY BYEE 😄🏃‍♀️💨)

[devilsrecreation]

More previous gen oc’s cuz I love lore and worldbuilding

Kujivunia(brag)-Makuu’s lovely mother and a good friend of Pua; A great fighter and an even better mom, she doted on her little Makuu til her death and didn’t care what anyone said. Crocodiles usually tend to avoid spoiling their young and prefer to give them tough love. Too bad Kujivunia wasn’t a very good listener cuz she spoiled him like hell, bragging about how proud she was of him (which definitely added to his ego). Don’t be fooled though, she DID draw the line at certain things and whenever Makuu did something stupid, she gave him a glare that would make even him back down. Although very sarcastic (which no one was safe from), she still had a good heart and very much respected the circle of life. Makuu gets his fighting skills, stubbornness, and good heart from her.

She was adamant that Makuu would be the next leader, even telling him that before she died (idk how yet cuz I’m the worst at timelines). Makuu promised to, in her words, “be the leader you’re destined to be”. After a long talk with Pua, Makuu remembered what he had promised his mother and from that point changed his ways so he could make her proud.

She also has this weird tendency to unintentionally predict the future:

-She kept saying how Makuu was going to be the next leader and he did

-Piga argued how Kiburi was going to be the leader and at one point, she said something like “Keep talking like that and they’ll challenge each other in a Mashindano”—yeah, about that…

-She kept telling Makuu to watch out for traps once he became leader. Now that the Savannah Summit happened, it makes sense

-“Pua respecting the Circle of Life? What’s next, a Lion Guard with one lion?”—Guess what happened?

AND THOSE ARE JUST A FEW EXAMPLES. The others think it’s stupid at the moment but years later, they’re like “holy shit”

Mamba (crocodile)-Pua’s predecessor; The cocky, merciless former leader of the crocodiles who believed the world was a hate-filled place and fighting was the only way to survive. Unlike his successors, he cared nothing for his float and blamed any losses on the world and the Circle of Life. Pua eventually got sick of his leader’s poor choices and mustered up all his courage to challenge him to a Mashindano, which he won. Although arrogant, Pua was still a better leader than Mamba ever was

I love to think that the crocodile leader eventually getting overthrown by an arrogant member is an ongoing cycle, no matter how strong the current leader is. Whether they humble themselves or not is a different story (although it seems Pua may have started that trend lol)

Karimu (kind) and Kicheko (laughter)-Chungu’s parents; I’ve mentioned them in my “Kifamilia Means Family” idea where they talk to Chungu near the end. Not much is known about them due to Chungu being a baby when they died, but they were shown to be generous and loyal as their main concern was for Chungu. Chungu inherited his father’s silliness and love for food, as well as his mother’s cluelessness

Furahia (frown upon) and Nidhamu (discipline)-Reirei’s parents; When thinking about how Reirei was raised, I like to think they did everything right “Jackal-wise”, meaning they fed her well, prioritized her and her siblings, and taught her everything she knows. Personality/morality-wise…….ehhhhhh not so much. Furahia’s a very strict, stern, and uptight mother who never seemed to be satisfied with anything Reirei did. No matter how hard she tried, she was never good enough in her mother’s eyes. Nidhamu was no better, as he was controlling and a perfectionist who would get annoyed over the slightest thing going wrong. He lets out a single bark to keep his pups in order, which is shown to still work on Reirei when they run into each other at some point.

Neither of them approved of Goigoi. They thought he was pathetic and tried to forbid Reirei to stop playing with him, claiming he’d only be a distraction. Against her parents’ expectations, Reirei ran away to start a new life with Goigoi.

Mpenzi (darling)-Goigoi’s mama; Unlike her son, she was very hardworking and intelligent for her kind. Goigoi was her baby boy and she coddled him to no end, believing he could do no wrong. Fortunately, she did teach him to treat his loved ones with the same love he gets, which is why he dotes on Reirei so much. She had the same slight accent Goigoi has

I don’t have any lore for Jasiri and Madoa YET, but what I CAN tell you is that her mother’s name was Athiri, meaning “attentive” or “influence”

[paradox-time]

@basil-does-arttt

Heeeeyyyy, thanks for giving me an excuse to ranttt <3<3

Ok so, I saw a post of yours that was something like "what about gortash do fans find appealing?”

I'm going to try my best to answer why some of us are fans of this Absolute Shitbag (pun intended)

Some of my credentials, I've played the game for over 700 hours over about 4 months, seen, made, and interacted with tons of fan content and talked about it at length with other fans and unwilling friends. I make it my job to know every single scrap of Lore the game has to offer, going to stupid lengths to read all the books and letters hidden throughout the game, I also savescum the hell out of dialog options so I don't miss any exposition. I've played a tav twice and a dark urge 8 times, plus started but never finished other origin playthroughs.

Safe to say. I am deranged. (Yay hyperfixation)

Anyway, Enver Gortash is one of my favorite villains in fiction. This does not, in any way, mean that I admire or excuse any of his actions. I don't find him handsome or charming. He isn't redeemable or even likable in any capacity as a person.

The entire main theme of the game is whether or not the characters perpetuate the cycle of abuse or break it. You see that with Astarion, he either kills Cazador and forges his own future as a freed spawn, or ascends, and becomes someone who is just as bad and abusive as Cazador. You see it with Shadowheart in whether she chooses to live a life under Shar's cruel influence, or leave her past behind her and embrace Selúne. You see it in Gale and whether he ascends to Godhhood and is nothing like the kind and inquisitive person he once was, or leaves Mystra and his life as an archmage behind to live a life of quiet comfort where he can follow his passions and teach people like he should have been taught instead of isolating students like how mystra and elminster isolated him.

Many more examples blah blah blah

Ok, a lot of people (wrongly) try to justify and apologize for everything gortash has done by pointing at his backstory like a gotcha thing.

Gortash's parents sold him into slavery when he was very young to pay off their debts. The person who then raised and owned Gortash was none other than the ultimate slimeball, Raphael the Cambion. In this environment, Gortash grew incredibly bitter and started to worship Bane, the god of Tyranny, Dictatorship, Strife, and Subjugation. This was because he believed he was owed power over others for everything he was put through. He then becomes a slave trader, selling Karlach to Zariel is one notable example, a war profiteer and arms dealer, he keeps the families of his prisoners held hostage in an underwater prison that was rigged to explode and then subsequently flood if any of his factory staff tried to escape. His workers were also made to wear fucking bomb collars. He sews bigotry in the general public by not letting refugees in the city and controlling the media (newspapers and posters). His entire goal and religious doctrine is founded on the belief that it is his divine right to control and oppress people.

It has been so freaking long since I've found a piece of media that had an actual villain, but still kept said villain's story and motives interesting! Lots of modern media really tries to go the formulaic propaganda villain route. “Character A wants to do the right thing. Character B wants to do the right thing but does it in a BAD and DiSrUpTiVe way!! Gasp!! Villain!” I think it's supposed to endorse and enforce moral superiority of centrists, yuck. but that's a Different Tangent™.

I feel like there are a lot of fans that think that in order to like a character, they have to be morally palatable and pg or whatever. I see lots of fans that can't fathom liking a character that is genuinely evil and a bad person. So they just. Ignore the entire central point of the character.

Gortash sucks ass. If I met him in real life I would beat his ass into the dirt. But he isn't real. And fiction, especially interactive fiction, is an amazing way to explore darker themes in a safe and controlled environment. This is amazing for dozens of reasons, including exploration of catharsis.

I like Gortash because he amazing as a Villain. His story is super connected to the themes of the game. His acting is done with so much care and talent from the production team at Larian.

Fans who fawn over and woobify him. Umm. Do better. Get media literate please. No hate, love all the gortash content, especially in relation to the Dark Urge's story line. But please stop pretending he isn't as bad as he is. That's one of the main things I find compelling about him as a story device in the first place. You can like evil characters because they're fake.

Ummm conclusion…. Yeah. I like Gortash because he makes a fun story.