#people are terrible and selfish and literally evil

[blu3berrydraws]

Mental Health at an all time low fr

Trying to pour from an empty cup and what not

[serkonans]

i’m going to say something extremely unpopular

[myfandomrealitea]

honestly, I’m really happy that you made that “we need to be allowed to be free from politics in fandom” post. And I’m really happy that it made some people angry.

Because you’re right. I’m a living example- I’m a person who just feels so much guilt if they don’t participate in this ritual of self-sacrifice in the way of helping others. And I feel like tumblr activism has come to a point where it’s not even about helping each other or mutual aid, it’s about guilt-tripping people and saying “well, you wouldn’t want to be Mr evil terrible guy, right? Right? So signal boost this! Or else you’re literally an evil transphobic homophobic racist Zionist fascist bigot”

we all have to be selfish sometimes. We have to. Selfishness is inherently neutral and we need it to survive. I’m a real example of what happens when a person tries to live a life without selfishness- guess what, I’m the worlds biggest doormat and I’m basically miserable because I’m too afraid to tell people that I just can’t do it anymore.

I’m a person who needs help right now. I’m a person who needs assistance right now. But I don’t think any of them really care. They just want someone to make into their strawman. The world isn’t black and white like that, though

The majority of Tumblr activism isn't about helping other people.

Its about giving people an outlet for their own emotions, and showing other people you're not a bad person. I have no doubt a lot of the people falling victim to this actually believe they're helping, and likely have good intentions, but realistically I see so many people just using "activism" to lash out at others and moral grandstand.

Weaponizing activism blatantly defeats the purpose of activism. There's no standard to the people who need help, and just because someone can't necessarily be an extreme activist doesn't void them from being the recipient of it.

I hope you get the help and respite you need and if I can help you or facilitate finding people to help you I'm happy to. I can also gather some resources for self-help and methods to reduce stress if those are beneficial.

And remember:

Fandom is not inherently political.

The point of activism is to make change, not to get notes on a post.

Those with broken legs cannot run. Don't cripple yourself trying to help others.

[junewongapologia]

It is no secret that I hate the Fanny/Henry pairing, bc like...

How can you read that book, and how Henry acts, and the distress it causes Fanny while we're in her head the whole way through...

And want her to be wrong? And want her to be the one to have to admit she was wrong?

No! Terrible, awful ending. Henry Crawford is not a good person. He's not, like, evil. But he's selfish and self-centred and thinks he deserves Fanny because he's rich and charming and made the bare minimum effort to seem like a better person. I fully buy into the idea that he likes her because he likes a challenge, and that if finally faced with what she like every day (shy and retiring and quiet and uncomfortable around loads of ppl) he'd start to resent her sharpish.

This is a book about selfishness and selfish people, and even in this cast, he's near the top of the most selfish, the most careless with the feelings of others. At the centre is Fanny, who is maligned and mistreated, but despite all is selfless and good, though she struggles with jealousy and negative thoughts and feelings.

It's a book about how she - poor and dependent and not especially well educated or taken care of by her relatives - knows her own mind and deserves to be treated as a rational, intelligent person.

It is literally crucial to her arc and the arc of the story that she's right about Crawford!

[bumblebeesfromvenus]

Taunting Ghosts 👻

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Two idiots go ghost hunting, and it backfires. That's it. TW: bad jokes.

I know it looks scary, but I promise it's not. I was cracking myself up while writing it lmao

The ask is here!

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"Did we really have to fly all the way to fuck-knows-where in Spain for this?" Leon groaned in annoyance, one hand stuffed in his pocket, the other holding a flashlight as the both of you made your way deeper into the woods.

You rolled your eyes.

"I don't know if you know this, but ghosts don't exactly have a knack for phones. Or international flights."

He grumbled something illegible in response, continuing to follow you.

Ghosts, spirits, demons and the like had always spiked your interests. The ever wavering question whether there was an afterlife pulled at your brain. You thought maybe you'd convert to a religion to have your question answered, but never in a million years did you think you'd pick up ghost hunting.

It's a fickle thing, ghost hunting. The large amount of fake content for views made it hard to decide whether you wanted to believe in entities or not. You had to try for yourself. To quench the thirst for knowledge.

That's how you ended up here. In a deep woods in rural Spain, searching for evidence that the biggest local legend was ,in fact, not just a story.

It had huge impacts on the superstitious locals, keeping them from the heart of the forest.

It's said that an ancient cult inhabited these woods, performing rituals and sacrifices to appease their God.

All that is known about the cult is that they called themselves "Los Illuminados" and often used insect and hive imagery. A swarm that could only survive together. Should even the smallest fly fall out of line, it would mean the terrible demise of the entire cult.

The reason why you were here, however, was to investigate a particular event that supposedly occurred.

The cult craved more influence, their following never enough for the ambitious leader. In an attempt to gain followers, they took the daughter of the chief with the biggest village.

They'd planned to indoctrinate her and send her back, hoping she'd influence her father enough to teach their ways. The girl, however, was resistant and fought them every step of the way. In the end, to spare them any more trouble, they sacrificed the poor girl.

It's said that she stumbles aimlessly around the woods, crying and weeping to find her way back home. Uncanny wails have been reported by the locals, saying they came deep from the forest. Not only that, but low moans and groans that shook the trees supposedly stemmed from the followers, patrolling the woods in search of their leader who had abonded them for his own selfish reasons.

Leon gave you an unimpressed look as you told the story.

"A bug cult? That kidnaps people? A bug cult?" He asked skeptically, his brows raised.

You huffed, shoving at his arm.

"It's not a bug cult. They were firm believers of the hivemind. Although I think they took that a tad bit too literal." You answered, your nose scrunching up.

As much as Leon didn't believe in any of this ghost crap, he did enjoy your little adventures. Even if they were at night after you'd dragged him to some abondend asylum or something of the sort. He loved seeing you so passionate. Your belief also meant that you had immense

respect for ghosts and spirits, which ended up with you being very jumpy and scared at times. Leon didn't mind. He could play the heroic protector, having his arms wide open for you to shield you from any evil. He indulged you, too.

Going along with your theories and agreeing with you when the all common question of 'did you hear that?' inevitably came up.

He was a good boyfriend, after all. The best, actually. Always insisting he carry your bag filled with all of your gadgets and devices.

From spirit boxes over candles, salt, and bundled herbs to thermal cameras and Ouija boards. It was all safely stored in the backpack slung over his shoulder.

Dry sticks and leaves crunched under your shoes as you went deeper into the forest, illuminating the way with your flashlight.

You stopped in your tracks and turned around to face Leon.

"Oh, would you do me a favor and take this a little bit seriously? I don't need angered spirits on my plate, too."

"I don't what you're talking about, babe. I'm like a super legit ghost hunter." He scoffed jokingly.

You rolled your eyes, but the hint of a smile that tugged at your lips wasn't missed by him. Leon held his flashlight in all different directions, taking in the woods.

"You know, this is actually a pretty good spot if you wanted to start a cult." He mumbled.

You perked up, eagerly turning to face him once again.

"How so?"

"It's isolated enough so you won't be discovered, but it's not too far away that it would cause significant suspicion if a group of people would come from here. Either to indoctrinate or potential supply runs. It has some memorable spots, something that would help with remembering the way but would be of no meaning to outsiders." He explained.

Your face lit up as you listened to him carefully.

"That's fascinating-"

"Oh, and the bone crosses that were hung up on trees that I've been keeping track of."

Your expression fell.

"WHAT?!"

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

After Leon had gotten an earful from you, you were heavily fixated on the bone ornaments he'd mentioned.

He led you to one, shining the light on it. You examined it, pulling out a little book and putting down a quick sketch of it.

The ivory, although darkened and withered, stood out against the dark and rough bark of the tree.

"You said you saw more of these?" You asked in a mumble, eyes trained on the bone in front of you.

"Yep. All along the path we went down."

"Interesting... Oh! What if they used them as-

"-trail markers?" Leon smirked, watching as you grumbled something about him being a know-it-all little shit.

"But it's brilliant! A clear sign for the followers but due to the beliefs of the locals, none of them would've dared to step past a tree marked with a bone cross..." you mumbled in amazement, a smile spreading on your face.

Leon smiled at you adoringly.

"My clever little know-it-all." He teased with a grin which earned him a huff and you sticking out your tongue at him.

You gazed a little longer upon your, well Leon's discovery, a strange and eerie aura making it hard to avert your eyes. Leon mirrored your actions, not taking his eyes off it as a silence fell between the both of you.

A gentle breeze was combing through the thick canopy of leaves, their rustling the only sound echoing through the woods.

After a moment, Leon broke said silence.

"Should I touch it? I kinda wanna touch it."

Your eyes widened, and your head snapped towards him. "Leon, no, no do not touch the-"

"I'm gonna touch it."

"NO, Leon, don't you dare touch that cross-"

Your warnings were for naught as his hand was already reaching out. Before you had any chance to stop him, his fingertips came dangerously close to brushing against the bone.

He couldn't make contact with the cross, however, because just as he was millimeters from touching it, it fell to the ground.

You let out a loud shriek, startled, your hand slapping over your mouth. Leon flinched slightly but regained his composure quickly.

He had to hold back a snort at your reaction, instead deciding to wrap his arms around you from behind and pressing a kiss to the top of your head.

"It's alright, sweetheart." He murmured into your hair.

"I swear to god, if we're cursed now I'll kick your ass." You said sharply, staring at the now broken pieces of bone that somehow still formed a cross as they laid scattered on the ground.

Leon scoffed.

"We're not cursed. Besides, I'll protect you from any evil spirits."

Your expression softened and your heart swelled. How sweet of him. Ever the hero, putting your safety first-

"I've watched all the Ghostbusters movies."

"LEON SCOTT KENNEDY-"

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

Despite the chill and unsettling feeling that sat deep in the pit of your stomach, you refused to give up your search quite yet.

You followed the markers even deeper into these haunted woods, hoping you'd find something at the end.

And find something you did. It was a large clearing, the moon fitting perfectly into the space of the trees when you looked up at the sky.

It was like they split just for her, asking for her light to shine down on them.

"Wow, look at this.." You beamed quietly, turning in every which direction.

What stopped your gazing was a large stone structure resembling an altar. It had a symbol carved into its front, only barely visible as it was obscured by moss and weathering.

"Oh shit, so they were real..." Leon mumbled, walking closer as he inspected the altar.

"There's always a bit of truth to a legend!" You smiled, pulling out your sketch book to draw the symbol, or what you could see of it.

You made sure to faintly sketch in any cracks and scratches. You wouldn't miss anything on this. You wouldn't let yourself.

"Ha! What did I tell you?" Leon beamed, breaking into a laugh as he pointed at something on the altar.

"It is a bug cult!"

There was a small colony of insects huddled together in the middle of the stone table.

"It is not a bug cult." You replied, unimpressed.

"What are you talking about? That one is clearly preaching a sermon." He argued with a serious tone, gesturing at one of the bugs being proped up on a small rock.

You looked at each other for a beat before Leon started cackling.

"He's not- it's an insect!" You tried to stay serious, but the idea of a tiny cockraoch indoctrinating even tinier cockroaches had made a mental picture appear in your brain.

It didn't take long before you, too, were in tears of laughter.

"Can- Can you imagine him having a robe and a little staff and everything?!" You wheezed, holding your stomach as your combined laughter bounced off the trees and into the night.

Leon was doubled over, steadying himself on the altar. You were gasping for air at that point, trying to calm you nerves with deep breathes. Your mistake was looking over at Leon when you'd thought you'd calmed down, only making the two of you break into another fit of laughter.

You were wiping tears from your lashline, inhaling sharply, determined to finally get it together again when you noticed streaks of deep crimson running down Leon's arm.

"Oh my god!" You gasped, rushing over to him.

"What the hell happened?! Are you okay." You asked frantically, inspecting his hand for any cuts or other injuries while wiping away the blood with your shirt.

Leon didn't move, only staring at his bloodied hand.

"Sweetheart..." he said lowly, making you look up at him with a concerned look and furrowed brows.

"This..." he swallowed before continuing," this isn't my blood." Leon stated quietly, keeping eye contact with you.

"What? But how could-" you chuckled breathily, your gaze drifting to his hand.

Your eyes widened as they fell to his arm that you were clutching, not a scratch in sight.

You looked back up at him with parted lips.

"Oh crap."

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I hope it made you laugh at least a lil bit :D

More of my works -> 💫

《taglist》: @vampkennedy @dmitriene @k-fallingstar @argreion @leonslittlekennedy @allysunny

lmk if you want to be added to my Leon taglist!

[sampegger]

certain deangirls just frustrate me so bad. like. the ones who insist with their entire chest that dean loves sam more than sam loves him. even just talking early seasons. to see sam leaving for stanford as a betrayal to dean and proof that he loves him less is so. him leaving for college wasn't about dean. it was about wanting something better for himself than what hunting had to offer. him being able to want something more for himself than what he had with dean and john is not a betrayal. to claim that sams ability to endure misery is directly correlated with how much he loves someone is cruel and a terrible perspective to have on any relationship.

and in season 4, to claim that he chose a demon over his own brother while in the midst of having an active addiction problem, and to take that and make it about his loyalty to DEAN is so. that is so biased and evil. you should not see sams violation of his own autonomy as a betrayal to dean. i know the show likes to think they do in the later seasons but the choices sam makes do not all have to center around dean, and that still doesn't mean he loves him any less! viewing it through that type of lens will certainly make it look like he does, but that is objectively the wrong way to interpret any of sams arcs.

when it comes to season 8 i'll say a lot of the same stuff i said about sam leaving for stanford in the first place. while yes i do think him not looking for dean was slightly out of character, it is still unbelievably cruel to think of sams ability to endure pain and claim it marks the level of which he loves someone. especially when he takes on the trials this season, and the entire narrative thrown on sam is his newfound notion that pain purges sin. to have that level of misery thrown in your face (these trials are purifying me) and still insist that if sam is actively fighting against something that is making him miserable (staying in hunting) it's proof he never loved dean that much anyways is awful!!! and that whole "non-agreement" line in which bobby says that he and dean promising not to look for each other was just something that was said and it should've been obvious he was meant to look for dean. don't even get me started.

season 9 is the last season that i think people use as evidence for this. sams claim that he "wouldn't do the same thing for dean." and really. i guess i don't expect dean letting gadreel possess sam to be seen in any other light at this point. sam said he wouldn't have done the same thing for dean because he literally wouldn't have!!! there is nothing that can properly convey the absolute level of violation that that was, especially when sams entire storyline is about his struggle for autonomy. it was a selfish decision on deans end, as is most of the way that he loves sam. it is just so frustrating to see this arcs that revolve specifically around sam turned into evidence of how much he does or doesn't love dean, because that is literally the opposite of what they're about.

i could move onto later seasons as well and talk about how dean is outwardly abusive in them, but that would just be dean slander and that's not what i'm trying to do. the entire point of this post is that tying all of sams decisions to how much he loves dean is wrong and you fundamentally miss the entire point of sam as a character if you view the story through that lens.

sam's ability to endure misery is not directly correlated with his ability to love.

[cometblaster2070]

alright here we go, we're going to talk about raven for a bit, because there are some people saying strange, strange things about HER of all people.

(slight disclaimer: this is not an apple white hate post; she is also the loml and both her and raven are wonderful, nuanced characters)

i've seen a couple of people (before you ask, yes, it is those apple white defenders) talk about how utterly selfish raven was being. how she was completely uncooperative and unwilling towards apple, how rude she was, what a terrible friend and a terrible person she was in general she was to everyone (but especially apple gasp), and most of all, raven is completely and utterly selfish for refusing to see apple's viewpoint and for refusing to at least hear apple out.

LIKE IM SORRY?? DID WE WATCH THE SAME SHOW?? DID WE SEE THE SAME CHARACTERS??

AH YES, MY MISTAKE, RAVEN WAS COMPLETELY AND TOTALLY SELFISH FOR NOT WANTING TO FOLLOW IN HER VILLANOUS MOTHER'S FOOTSTEPS AND HARM THE PEOPLE SHE LOVES AND CARES ABOUT.

she's also definitely wrong and completely selfish to even consider wanting to have a happy, peaceful life for herself, instead of poisoning her best friend and ending up hated, alone and chained up like a monster.

my bad guys; i misunderstood the show, clearly it was raven who was the selfish one for not acquiescing to apple's request of poisoning her and ending up miserable for the rest of her life.

jokes aside, like, i don't even know how to explain how wrong this is. not only is it completely outlandish to make the argument that raven is wrong and selfish for wanting to NOT end up in magic jail, but it's so strange to demonize her in this particular way??

LIKE WOW WONDER WHY SHE WOULDN'T WANT THIS DESTINY.

raven's defining character trait throughout the show and the books and any other form of media she's associated with is her kindness, her gentleness, her willingness to do the right thing and how she sincerely just wants to help people, and completely loathes the fact that people see her as nothing more than evil and they see her as someone dangerous.

raven is shown to be someone who would literally rather die on the spot than hurt someone or willingly cause them pain, she has also continuously shown guilt over her mother's previous actions (particularly Wonderland); and another thing we're shown time and time again, is that although she disagrees with apple, she loves her so, so much and would do ANYTHING for her.

LET'S ALSO TALK ABOUT HOW RAVEN WAS CONSTANTLY EMOTIONALLY MANIPULATED THROUGH EAH BY LITERALLY EVERYONE??? LIKE THIS GIRL COULD NOT CATCH A BREAK, IF MADDIE WASN'T THERE SHE WOULD'VE SNAPPED SO FAST IM NOT EVEN KIDDING.

side tangent on this: woman spent her wishing well coin on asking if her friends would be fine if she didn't sign, PLEASE I LOVE HER.

like we had GRIMM of all people on her ass constantly threatening her with going 'poof' and ruining everyone's lives, and oh yes, he took the one thing she had from her mother and gave her that horrific wishing well vision, and then, she had ALLLL the royals telling her how horrible she was for not signing and dooming them all, and then we still have apple, who was constantly reminding her to sign and asking why she didn't and how she should've and whatever whatever; you get the point but STILL.

like i sincerely have trouble understanding why we're demonizing raven rn over wanting to choose her own happiness for once, over a lifetime of literal TORMENT AND SUFFERING.

and consistently throughout the show, we are also shown how apple is in the wrong; apple is a very nuanced character yes, and there's a lot of valid reasons that explain why she has the worldview that she does, and does the things that she does, but it doesn't take away the fact that apple is wrong, and throughout eah, we are shown apple realizing and then later accepting that she's wrong and raven's views and actions are valid and right.

i mean, we even get other characters who were diehard royals acknowledging raven's terrible situation and sympathizing with her; case in point, briar in thronecoming.

lastly, on the point of her not listening to apple or hearing her out, girl, like i love apple sm; but her entire point throughout the earlier seasons was 'oh raven why won't you poison me so you can go to prison and i can get my happily ever after like we're supposed to?'; like apple is also shown to be entirely unreasonable in the earlier seasons to raven being like 'haha hey, this is kind of fucked up, don't you think??' and again, apple has valid reasons for this, but it doesn't take away the fact that she was wrong and that there is really no reason for raven to be demonized over THIS of all things???

tl;dr: raven queen is a wonderful character; apple white would beat your ass if you're talking shit about her (like not in being like "oh i don't like this character" way, in this particular clown way), and demonizing raven for being 'selfish' is WILDDD.

[dumbdolphin333]

So I decided to dip my toes into the Apple White drama (because I got hit in the head with a basketball like 3 times like 2 days ago so I’m pretty sure I got the common sense knocked out of me)

This is by no means a hot take, it’s quite literally such a basic opinion that you’ve seen like 5 times already. But I want to be included 🥺👉👈

Apple was manipulated since birth basically. Her trauma makes her terrified of uncertainty. Finding comfort in her destiny, preparing for it since such a young age- it’s understandable that she’d be horrified at Raven’s decision not to sign. (Also being told that she’d die go poof if Raven didn’t sign… that’s fucking scary).

However Apple was still a massive bitch to Raven. She knows that Raven doesn’t want to be evil. She knows that a terrible fate awaits Raven. And she actively pushes Raven to make the choice to go through that. To go against her nature, to hurt her friends, and to suffer for something that she was forced to do. That’s selfish. Apple acts selfishly.

But something I find interesting is that her motivations aren’t selfish. She doesn’t want her friends to suffer. To an extent, she believes that signing the storybook is better for raven. She believes that not signing will cause suffering and death for everyone. So in her mind, Raven is selfish. All Apple wants is for her friends to live good lives- and Raven wants to take that away? Oh, how selfish!

Except that’s Apple’s fear talking. Ever After is better because Raven didn’t sign. People can choose how to live their lives. Apple is just so wrapped up in her trauma that she can’t accept that. She can’t accept that things aren’t how she was taught, that what she found solace in and dedicated her life to isn’t true.

So really I think it boils down to the discussion of intent vs. actions. Apple made selfish decisions. Her decisions are absolutely influenced by trauma and manipulation, but they are her’s. Denying her any agency over what she did is pointless. And it also undermines her character development. She was meant to break out of those selfish decisions. And if those aren’t her decisions- then how did she even grow? And even though she thought that her decisions selfless, they weren’t. Which is why Apple is so goddamn interesting.

I think that at heart, Apple is a good person. But factoring her fear, trauma, and flaws she made selfish decisions. She made harmful decisions. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I honestly feel that Apple White lovers love her because she has a desire to protect those she loves. And Apple White haters hate her because she’s selfish, despite not even knowing it.

So yeah, that’s my two cents. Hope I did her character justice in my regurgitation of everyone else’s opinions analysis of her.

[antianakin]

Satine is one of the most frustrating characters of all time because she seems like she should be an enjoyable, interesting, complex character. She's got one of the most interesting backstories of any character I've ever met, and I'd LOVE more of THAT story (not the on the run with Obi-Wan bit, that bit can get left out, but the bit where she has to somehow bring together an entire population of warring people who just nearly destroyed their own planet due to years of fighting and a civil war that just killed her father and she managed to convince them into a peaceful, pacifist lifestyle while she was only a teenager). The level of strength and competency that this would require of her is INSANE.

I want to know more about where this prime minister came from, whether he was ACTUALLY elected or if Satine chose him, whether the position existed prior to Satine or if she created it, and what the actual difference is between Satine's role as a ruling duchess who inherited her role through birth and the prime minister. I want to know more about Satine's relationship with her father and with Bo-Katan. I want to know more about where the fuck Korkie came from and how Satine ended up with him and what happened to this mysterious third Kryze sibling that is presumably Korkie's parent.

And the concept of Satine as this person who was raised in a culture of war and violence and who, at a pretty young age, insistently chose to follow the opposite ideology of pacifism, and how these two very differing things impact her as a leader is INTERESTING. Satine as someone who struggles with an instinct towards violence and arrogance because it's how she was raised but who WANTS to be calm and reasonable and peaceful and strives towards this ideal as much as possible even though she doesn't always achieve it is INTERESTING. Satine as someone who clings to her pacifist ideology so hard that it becomes a fault of its own sometimes (by causing her to REFUSE to see nuance in anyone else's situation) is INTERESTING.

And yet, that's never the character we get.

There's no real nuance to Satine. There's never any real discussion of Satine making MISTAKES or being WRONG. When she condemns Obi-Wan and the Jedi, the narrative supports her. When her choice to remain neutral cuts her planet off from all trade, the consequences of it aren't attributed to HER choices but to literally EVERYONE ELSE'S as they struggle to deal with the ramifications without her ever bothering to find a solution to a problem SHE CAUSED. She threatens an innocent man with imprisonment for wanting to save a warehouse full of evidence from being blown up and it's just brushed off as Satine being passionate about her cause instead of a dangerously incompetent and arrogant asshole. And somehow she was strong enough to stand up to a bunch of Mandalorains who had just been at war with each other and force them into being at peace, but when Death Watch shows up with a few criminals she immediately rolls over and surrenders without even bothering to fight back in any way, but this is represented as Satine giving the people what they want instead of Satine just being weak.

Believe me, I WANT to like her. The version of Satine that is implied by her backstory is so interesting, but the version that exists in the present day is one of the worst political leaders we're introduced to in Star Wars. At least most of the other terrible political leaders have the decency to be openly lazy or selfish or evil. Satine is presented as this perfect benevolent intelligent leader and then every action she takes is the stupidest, most arrogant bullshit imaginable that constantly just makes her and her people's lives worse. What is there to enjoy about that?

[elkonigin]

Inuyasha Meta - Sango's Relationships

Let's take a moment and talk a bit about the main relationships that Sango has within the story.

Inuyasha

Okay, these two are siblings that aren't actually related. Inuyasha gives her that brotherly relationship that she's been looking for after the loss of Kohaku. Especially at the beginning when she thinks that he's actually dead.

And when she discovers that Kohaku isn't dead, Inuyasha is the one to make her see reason and stops her from killing her brother to save him from doing anything else evil.

Inuyasha should be anti-brother, but he's not. Because he understands family and what it should be. Inuyasha protects Sango from doing something that he knows that she's going to regret.

But these two seem to banter and argue back and forth like siblings and I think that's what gives Sango some sense of normalcy, because Inuyasha makes her realize that family doesn't have to be blood, and that she has people who care about her here.

Kagome

Ah yes, Kagome. The ultimate best friend duo. Kagome allows her that opportunity to have a female friend. I have no doubt that Sango had a ton of male friends because of her profession, but Kagome lets her be soft and feminine, and brings her those things that define her as feminine.

Kagome offers her the duality of Sango's nature. Sango wants to be feminine; if she didn't, then she wouldn't be wearing her traditional wrap skirt all the time (which I also think Sango uses as a disguise part of the time to let people misjudge her and then BAM! she enters ass kicking mode).

Kagome also serves as a confidant, allowing Sango to therapeutically release all that negative emotion and her confusion in her attraction to Miroku. Kagome is the normal girl that Sango wants it to be, however, she is allowed to be both soft and ass-kicking all in the same sphere. Kagome lets her see that it is possible to be both AND be accepted for it.

Miroku

Now, so many people argue that Sango deserves so much better than Miroku, and I say that you're wrong.

Was Miroku a terrible person at the beginning? Yes. But a lot of this stemmed from the fact that the man thought he was going to die within a few years, and had to literally pop a baby out of some woman in the hopes that maybe he would finally get rid of Naraku.

Both Sango and Miroku were living to die. Sango was willing to die to destroy Naraku and save her brother, and Miroku was just counting down the days until he was sucked into the void.

We see Miroku's habits change towards women once he was engaged to Sango. Miroku might have been a player, but he's devoted to Sango. There's also a distinct change in how he acts. Miroku wants to live once he realizes that he has something to live for.

Sango is Miroku's reason for living, and Sango finds a reason for herself. Revenge is no longer her primary focus, and we her be a little selfish for just that one bit in her desire to be with Miroku and be a married woman. Miroku's willingness to die for Sango and her despair over the thought that he might die before her, renews her passion for fighting Naraku, not for revenge but for the life she desires to have.

Kirara

So we have the dynamic duo here. Kirara is Sango's constant companion. She is loyal and faithful, and helps Sango whenever she's in danger or needs assistance. We know that Kirara loves Sango. This much is clear.

And it's obvious that Sango loves Kirara, judging from the first scene we see them reconnect after the deception of Naraku is revealed. Sango thought that Kirara had died defending the village, and Kirara had spent the entire time attempting to defend the village, even after it fell, because Sango had asked her to.

Kirara is happy to follow Sango and group along as they travel with hardly a care or concern, even when she's treated more like pack mule and transport.

However, both are greatly respected, and this is the relationship that gives our hearts joy and makes us all wish we had a little fire cat as a personal companion.

Kohaku

These two have to be the kindest siblings you've ever seen. Our first introduction to them is where Sango is reassuring Kohaku over his place in the village and as a demon slayer. She's reassuring and motherly, and even when her brother murders everyone that she loves, she still tries to comfort him as he dies.

Even as Kohaku attempts to attack Kagome and kill her, she tackles him to the ground and is willing to him herself, because she knows that even though it would destroy her to kill her brother, she's willing to suffer as long as he's not. Sango knows what her brother would want, and she'd do her damnedest to carry out his wishes.

Because when Sango loves, it's full force 100% inescapable care and affection whether you want it or not.

And after everything is done and over, there's no hard feelings between them. Sango doesn't hold what happened to the village and her family against him. Think about it. This is a lot to just let go, and Sango immediately forgives him, because she knows that it wasn't him.

I feel like I could go on more, but I think this is more than enough. 😂

[mohgreal]

IMO the biggest sign of the shittiness of Miquella's writing is the fact that his actions between the Caelid War and Mohg's death are so inconsistent and unexplained that half of the "lore fandom" still believes he's a selfish power-hungry godhood seeker even though he explicitly has to abandon his fears and doubts to go on that path, his own mind describes godhood as eternal torment, Ymir and Trina both describe him as making a terrible sacrifice out of guilt, and he sounds absolutely terrified of his inevitable godhood in the final cutscene where he's kneeling in resignation (literally stuttering and baby-talking in Japanese and sounding like he's going to cry in the English voice acting). There are three entire characters who exist for the near sole purpose of saying "Miquella really doesn't want to do this but is resigned to having to to atone for his mother, making a noble but misguided sacrifice" and it still didn't drown out the obvious questions like "wait so what was the vow?", "what was the timeline and reasoning for Mohg's kidnapping, and was that his or Mohg's idea?", and "why didn't he tell his sister and her army anything and leave them to rot in a dead tree and blow themselves up?". One of the most popular interpretations is that he really really just wanted Radahn's bussy (probably because "Radahn is my consort" is literally all he says when he's actually on-screen).

Honestly people praising Miquella's writing in the DLC (especially anything having to do with Mohg and Radahn) feels like gaslighting. This is easily noticeable when you notice that the people praising its "brilliance" have completely contradictory ideas of what actually happened or what the story was trying to say. I've heard everything from "Miquella is tragically noble but misguided" to "Miquella is mentally handicapped" to "Miquella is a victim of fate who is cursed to fail no matter what he does" to "Miquella was an evil scheming mastermind whose nobility was a carefully crafted facade" to "Miquella is a dumb, impulsive, spoiled little brat and cautionary tale against nepo babies", and all of these are supposed to be Genius Writing[TM] despite all these directions being so underbaked that people can think his story is literally the opposite of any of the above…

it also killed the fan interpretation. i used to really really like the idea of it being a misunderstanding where mohg kidnaps miquella for his own dynasty and malenia attacks caelid thinking he stole miquella and you cant even argue that i just "wanted my own au to be canon" no. i just wanted it to make sense 🙏

also the "character existing for the sole purpose of X" in the case with the DLC being just to say something about miquella is so fucking dumb. i get fromsoftware never had very in depth characters but its getting far too obvious to the point its comical;

SOTE also does screw up the entire timeline because the writers didn't know their own lore as proven by me many times on this trashy account whoops

also I agree on the "glazing miquellas writing" part because if you can take so many directions with a character that contradict each other, thats not even interpretion anymore that's straight up having your fans make the character for you 😭

getting a monthly anon rant is always a good thing. sorry if this post is as underbaked as sote's writing its the middle of the night cause my insomnia is always awake

[tumblezwei]

I am a Ruan Mei defender, not because I think she's a blameless misunderstood character, but bc I am very afraid of people interpreting her terrible actions as bad writing bc "the game still expects us to like her" or overexaggerating her bad traits in order to make Dr. Ratio look better by comparison.

And that's not to say I think Ratio is a "bad" guy either, I think the whole point of introducing him alongside Ruan Mei was to highlight how different the Genius Society operates compared to "normal" academics. Ratio's over the top arrogance makes him off-putting at first, but his genuine desire to spread knowledge to everyone who wants to learn it is the perfect contrast to the obsession and selfishness of the Genius Society, who only ever care about fulfilling their own desires without concern for those below them. Even Screwllum, the member who seems the most sociable and friendly, let Ratio carry on with his antics on the space station just to see what would happen, even though it put the Trailblazer in danger and threatened the whole facility.

So that is to say, Ruan Mei is like that on purpose. We aren't supposed to see her drugging us and sending us after an incomplete Emanator of Propagation and be confused as to how she's a "goody guy." She isn't. None of the members of the Genius Society are "good" people just bc we're allied with them. Herta uses Traliblazer as a guinea pig for the Simulated Universe after all, and we now know that as long as it's something he's curious about, Screwllum won't interfere to protect us even when he's already figured out the solution to the problem we're facing.

But I also want to do a little apologism for Ruan Mei bc sometimes the accusations I see lobbed at her is a bit much. Like, yeah, she drugged us, but it was a temporary inhibitor that literally only stopped us from giving people information about Ruan Mei. And she didn't do it just to fuck with us? Ruan Mei is incredibly aware of how emotionally detached she is and knows it's almost impossible for her to understand the affection given to her by her creations. She doesn't drug us out of some evil desire to control information, she does it bc she knows her time on the space station is temporary and wants to avoid leaving behind any memories of her being there. That doesn't make it okay and it's still presented alongside everything else she does that's uncaring towards TB and her creations, but it makes it a little more complicated than just "she's an unfeeling sociopath that would happily watch us die." It's bad, but it's also one of Ruan Mei's weird and not good ways of showing consideration.

It's interesting, is what I'm saying. It's compelling. And I don't really dig how it she gets reduced to a two-bit manipulator.

I'm a bit of a stickler for this particular thing bc it's something I truly adore about HSR's writing, and also something I see as one of the game's core themes. There is no clear divide between "good" guys and "bad" guys. The Genius Society is full of emotionally constipated weirdos who wouldn't pay a single bit of attention to us if we weren't interesting to them, but they're also important allies to the Express. The Stelleron Hunters are our biggest opposition and wreak havoc on whatever planet they enter, but we know that their goals somewhat align with our own and unless you go out of your way to be mean to her with every dialogue option, it's pretty obvious that Kafka is someone Trailblazer loves.

And even Cocolia, someone who almost destroyed the last remnants of civilization on her own planet, gets treated with sympathy. Bronya is allowed to mourn her mother and still see her as an aspirational figure, all the while Serval is allowed to break off ties with her and definitively move on from her past.

It's a theme that carries over to a lot of HSR's important side quests too, where often you're expected to choose between two options that both have some pretty heavy downsides no matter what. You have your own moral compass, and along the way the choices may seem crystal clear, but it's never so black and white as you predict. It's a game about decisions, about making your own way in life and learning about the different worldviews of those you meet. Good or bad, helpful or hurtful, it's not always so obvious as "this person did something bad to me, now I will forever dislike them."

"When there is the chance to make a choice, make one that you know you won't regret," "explore, understand, establish, and connect," "the Express welcomes everyone" etc etc

[desertfangs]

I haven't yet read the books (there's so many!) I've only watched the iwtv movie and TV show and I love Claudia in both but I've had people tell me in the books she's awful and considered to be one of the series villains. Idc about spoilers I just wanna know how true that is bc I dunno if I'd want to read that lol

Hi anon! I was excited to see your ask this morning because I'm gonna tell you something: Claudia was one of my first favorite characters in the series and her death devastated me. Louis was my first fav (understandable, he's literally the protagonist of the first book, we're meant to sympathize with him!) and when he lost Claudia and became numb in his grief, I related. I hated Armand for what happened to Claudia and I held a grudge for a long time.

Anyhow, I can't speak to the show so much as I've only seen season 1, but if you like the 94 movie, you will probably like the novel Interview with the Vampire. It's a pretty close adaptation.

To get to the heart of your question, no, Claudia not an awful villain. Anymore than Louis or Lestat are. If anyone is a villain in IwtV, it's Armand, and even he is not a mustache-twirling evil guy.* Everyone in this series in morally gray and does terrible stuff. I emphasize that because I've been in this fandom for a long time and I've seen all kinds of arguments about who is evil and who is not, and the fact is, all of our vampires do questionable things. That's sort of the point. So it's arguable how much there even is a villain in IwtV outside of Louis' own depression and grief, but Armand probably gets that honor.

Claudia in the books was turned around the age of 5. She is a very small, doll-like child who doesn't seem to retain much, if any, memory of her human life. She is more purely a vampire than Louis or Lestat can really fathom because she lacks that humanity and a connection to humans. She's a natural hunter and killer.

She doesn't understand Louis' sentimentality for humans, and resents Lestat for withholding information she knows he has about their kind. She is a complex and fascinating woman trapped in the body of a small child to the point where even Louis, who loves her dearly, cannot really see her as an adult and struggles to accept her agency. She does manipulate both her parents, in part because they don't often see her as a capable equal, which she very much is.

She does eventually rise up to kill to Lestat out of desperation. She believes he will not let Louis go and knows she can't travel around alone, given her appearance. Lestat himself is devastated by this and by her loss, and even says later he understands why she did it. That he probably deserved it for what he'd done to her, which was trap her forever in the body of a very young child, something he admits was selfish. (And something Marius had actually warned him against doing beforehand, LOL!!)

Like in the movie and the show, she does die at the Theatre des Vampires, and Armand is more responsible for that than I've heard he is on the show (he tells Louis he couldn't have stopped it, only to later reveal he orchestrated it, which Louis knew the whole time).

She appears later in The Tale of the Body Thief mocking Lestat and acting as a sort of voice for his subconscious, but she is just his hallucination in he book. He's dealing with a lot of trauma and grief and that manifests itself as Claudia's ghost.

Where you might be hearing she's a villain is from Merrick, where both her diary and spirit appear and are... not very nice. I gotta say, I am not convinced that is actually the spirit of Claudia that gets conjured, and even if it is, it's possible she's been warped somehow. But I also haven't read that book in decades and often tend to ignore it, so I am not an expert on that score.

I hope this helps! I'm always happy to answer questions about the books! (They are my special interest, if you cannot tell.)

But I do want to say that if you are a fan of the show and curious about the books--which are very different!--I highly recommend you read at least the first few yourself. The best way to judge if you'll like the book versions of the characters and story is to experience it yourself. There's a lot of misinformation that gets passed along about the books, and a lot of misinterpretation due to that because people just repeat what they've heard without having read them. And hey, they still may not be your cup of tea, and that's totally fine! But you won't know if you don't try, you know?

Anyhow, thank you so much for the ask! 💖 Claudia is awesome and deserves more love in the book fandom, but because she dies so early on, she doesn't get as much attention sadly.

*And even when he is, we love him.

[rius-cave]

This comic this artist made is making me go crazy because it just shows how Adam was never the villain! Like they make it seem like him killing sinners is a bad thing...like hello!? Sinners?! You mean the people who did down right horrible terrible things that they CHOSE to do by free will and ended down in hell by their own actions. But Adam is the bad guy for killing the r*pist and abusers? Adam? The guy who probably wasn't always like this, but has been jaded by the evil of man kind caused by Lucifer? Lucifer, the guy that was so selfish about wanting HIS vision for what mankind should be. Leading all humankind to it's down fall? Now his kid is trying to get these horrible people into heaven where they'll most definitely run into their victims again, and their victims have to now live eternity with them?

And sure, Adam is not 1000% perfect, and I'm sure some people in hell are not just plain evil like angel dust or nifty. But Adam is the asshole? Please.

I love hazbin, but there's a lot of things they need to address in season 2.

https://x.com/TioLimonD/status/1814092025526161808?t=Q4xjSEa-AJ5Saj9PRTP3Ug&s=19

Okay anon, I definitely think you're missing the point a little bit lolol

Yes, it's definitely a little more nuanced than just "Adam bad, people in Hell good", but let's not go and boil it down to "Adam hero, sinners awful" either lmao.

We're talking about the guy that's completely okay with killing children, with punishing people, the guy who just ENJOYS killing. I love Adam, I really do, but he is literally committing genocide.

Listen, I'm not about to come here and lecture any of you on whether or not it is moral to kill bad people or not, especially when the alternative is making them better people. Like we know, Hazbin's theme is about redemption, in believing that people who once did bad things can be better. This is an important message for the show, and I'd argue it should be something that we believe in too, at least for most people. I'm someone who also believes in redemption, in people genuinely seeing the error of their ways and being better in the future.

But even if you believe that all criminals should die or that we should genocide prisons as well, the show is kind of... Very clear that a good number of the people in Hell are NOT that. It's more complicated, it's not just black and white, it's not just sinners and winners. They're all human souls who made mistakes, and maybe some of them genuinely want to do better, or they COULD if someone gave them a chance, like Pentious and Angel.

I love Adam, and I don't think he's just completely evil either, or that the Hazbin cast are all saints or that people in Hell are GOOD people, but my boy Adam is a straight up murderer lol and the show is clear that this includes innocent people as well.

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

https://www.tumblr.com/mokkamicci/708045503336775680/kataang-vs-zutara-a-small-chat

This accidentally came up on my dash so I thought I’d give it a read and you know what? They were so close - so gosh darn close - to making a couple of really good points, but they kept losing it. I was willing to hear them out, but they lost me when they started talking about Aang’s character traits.

Honestly, I think you're being too kind. I see someone who is not okay with harrassment, but that is perfectly happy living in an echo-chamber where the only thing that exists is their alternative version of Avatar in which Katara never liked Aang and he was terrible, and, more importantly, an alternative reality in which the poor zutarians are just "fighting back" against the evil Kataang fans by *checks notes* accusing them of pedophilia, rape apologism, racism, and misogyny for shipping Kataang instead of zutara, and thus using that as justification for doxxing and sending rape/death threats.

(Seriously, the dick sucking and constant "BUT I DO LOVE OUR OBVIOUSLY SUPERIOR SHIP" after the tiniest criticism is the biggest proof of the zutara fandom having some serious issues. Even zutarians are scared of speaking out against their so-called friends because they KNOW these fuckers are unstable and impossible to reason with).

Aang is a child that wants to have fun instead of fighting a war - a responsibility that he never asked for and has no way of rejecting. He feels trapped because he is, and that upsets him. That's his only "immaturity."

The most selfish we've seen him be was when he hid the map to their dad from Katara and Sokka, because he was afraid THEY were going to leave him - because they were the only 'family' he had left, and he was scared of being all alone. He still realized what he did was wrong and confessed. He wasn't caught, he decided, of his own free will, to tell the truth and suffer the consequences.

And I gotta laugh whenever Zutarians pretend AANG was the character that had trouble putting people's needs before his own, not their "perfect", beloved Zuko, who literally let his uncle go to prison just so he could be on Ozai's good graces again - Ozai is literally the ONLY person Zuko always put before himself, and that's why he ended up trapped in that abusive situation for so long: he was constantly distancing himself from people that could help, because they weren't saying what he wanted to hear.

The only thing that's funnier is their insistence that Kataang is one-sided despite plenty of evidence that Katara liked Aang back, meanwhile they insist zutara is canon when neither character was explicitly stated or implied to have feelings for the other.

So much for "Zutara fans criticise the Kataang ship with logic and facts." If that shit is logic and facts, I don't even wanna know what lies and nonsense would look like.

[samble-moved]

i hate the fandom idea that homura's actions (especially during rebellion) are out of a place of total selfishness, or homura just "not letting go" or because she's evil.

did everyone forget that madoka, while dying, begged homura to keep looping to make sure madoka didn't become a magical girl? homura had already seemingly looped several times before, and madoka all but asked her to keep going to save her from her fate. albeit, madoka was likely not thinking clearly about this, and obviously wasn't asking to be cruel or to "hurt" homura by continuing the cycle, but the idea that "homura only loops because she's selfish and evil and wants madoka to stay human because she's selfish and evil" is literally not true at all in canon. madoka asks homura to make sure she (madoka) doesn't contract, and all but asks her to loop again and again until that happens. obviously this is something homura wants to do (since human madoka = safe from the fate worse than death magical girls get), but the concept that it's only homura's desire, that madoka never asked for this, is false canonically.

and the idea in rebellion that homura is intentionally acting against madoka's wants and "forcing" her to be human and seperate from the LoC ties into this as well. for one, homura 100% genuinely believes that madoka regrets her wish. madoka (while not having all her memories) says she could never do what she did as a goddess — that is, leave all her friends and family behind, erase herself from existence, etc. and after this, homura then 1) believes her, and 2) blames this perceived misery madoka felt as a goddess on herself (iirc, she says something like "if those are your true feelings, then what a terrible mistake i've made").

she blames herself for "letting" madoka contract, thinking madoka was miserable, thinking she once again committed a grave sin by "breaking her promise" to madoka by letting her contract. remember, the reason the looping seemed to continue on for so long in the first place is that madoka begged homura as she was dying to make sure she didn't contract. homura had been ready to die, along madoka's side. and madoka, as any fourteen year old would, wanted to keep it from happening again.

then rebellion kicks in, and homura (in her despairing state) thinks that not only 1) she has betrayed her promise to madoka by letting her contract in the first place, and 2) that madoka is horribly lonely and miserable after the contract/wish was granted. she 100% whole heartedly believes this, and also believes the only way she can fulfill the promise and protect madoka from kyubey is to rip her from goddesshood.

kyubey openly said in rebellion the whole reason homura is in the isolation field is because he's using her to get to madoka. he can't prove the LoC exists, only homura knows who madoka is, so they can eventually control madoka/the LoC by having her save homura. homura is put in a spot where she can't really even let madoka save her, because that gives kyubey access to seeing madoka, which can lead to him controlling her. and even if he doesn't get madoka that time, there's always a chance he could try this isolation field trick with any other magical girl, possibly even another one of madoka's friends, since the LoC wouldn't just willingly ignore a magical girl despairing. and he has all the time in the world to work on getting control of the LoC/madoka (an incomprehensible amount of it), provided entropy doesn't accelerate, and his species is both determined and much more advanced than humans.

homura doesn't do it because she's bored or evil or For Fun or because she's a "yandere" or whatever the hell else some people claim. she unequivocally thinks it's what madoka wants, and that it's the only way she can keep madoka from being controlled and hurt by kyubey, once again echoing back to the promise made in an earlier timeline ("can you go back in time and make sure i don't get tricked by kyubey?").