#who's the selfish one?

[kidcharlemagnex6]

Wendy Testaburger is NOT Selfish!

As I've been exploring Tumblr, I've noticed several posts regarding the relationship between Stan Marsh and Wendy Testaburger in South Park. Most of these posts are primarily concerned with defending the relationship between the two by pointing out all of the ways that they DO care about each other. However, I've noticed that most of them try to look at from Stan's point of view. I would like to take a different approach and examine the situation from Wendy's perspective by comparing her to a somewhat similar character: Lisa Simpson.

On the surface, Wendy and Lisa are a lot alike: both are intelligent pre-teen girls who take their schoolwork seriously and believe in fiercely advocating for issues that they're passionate about. But when you really look into their characters, you'll notice that Wendy is actually less selfish than Lisa; this, in my view, is down to three major flaws on Lisa's part that Wendy doesn't have: Lisa just uses her schoolwork to stroke her ego, only speaks about social issues to get attention, and refuses to respect other people's choices.

First, let's look at how the two girls approach their schoolwork. As stated earlier, Lisa's concern about her schoolwork, when you really look at it, only extends to how good she can make herself look with it. I think this is best shown in the episode where Lisa gets the chance to skip ahead to the third grade; Lisa was very enthusiastic at first, but once it became clear that there were plenty of third graders who were just as good as her, if not better (Bart getting pushed back to third grade, notwithstanding), she jumped at the chance to go back to second grade and be the "big fish" again. If Wendy was ever given the chance to skip a grade level, I'm sure she would take the opportunity with gusto and do her best to persevere, if not reject the offer because she doesn't want to leave her friends, especially not Stan. That, in my view, would prove to me that Wendy doesn't care that much about being the best, so long as she can do her best.

The next point I want to bring up is both girls' activism. Neither one of them is afraid to speak up for causes that they believe need more attention. But if you pay careful attention, you'll notice that the difference is in the motivations. For one example, when Lisa attempted to join the football team but discovered that the team already had girls and were using environmentally friendly materials, Lisa simply left in tears; if Wendy were in that situation, she would either happily join the team or leave without a word. Another example is how they react when others get rewards or positions that they think were undeserved. When Wendy was trying to prove that Cartman plagiarized that one essay, she was doing so TO prove that the essay was plagiarized. On the other hand, Lisa tried to get Bart demoted from that little newscast they were both working on simply because she was jealous of the idea of him being her equal; same as when Bart learned to play the drums. So, when you take those factors into account, you can conclude that Wendy's ego is not as swollen as Lisa's since she actually tries to expose injustices and would be proud of other people's accomplishments and talents, whereas Lisa would find a way to snuff those out.

The last point I want to look at is both girls' love lives. The biggest difference is obvious: Wendy has been dating Stan for almost as long as the whole show has lasted, while none of Lisa's relationships have lasted longer than a single episode. In my opinion, this is due to one major reason: Wendy is more respectful of other people's choices than Lisa is. You can best see this in the episode where Lisa tried to start a relationship with Nelson Muntz. First off, she never expressed any interest in Nelson before that episode and was explicitly trying to "change" Nelson in both appearance and behavior to mold him into her idea of a "gentleman." Also, she clearly tried to automatically appoint herself Nelson's "girlfriend" and gave up on him once it became clear that she can't mold him into anything. Wendy, on the other hand, asked Stan on a date the way you're really supposed to and has never expressed discontent with issues as minor as Stan's fashion sense or love of fart jokes; therefore, it seems safe to conclude that Lisa would have looked for any excuse to leave Stan over some petty bullcrap while Wendy is genuinely in love with him. And it's not just romance that this can apply to. When Wendy advocated to have vegetarian options added to the school's cafeteria menu, she only did so to give vegetarians the options they want; Lisa, on the other hand, would have outright demanded that the entire menu be made vegetarian without giving any consideration for any students who might need to keep meat and such in their diets; she even abandoned one of the very few real friends she did have just because she wasn't a vegetarian (and really likes horse meat), which Ms. Hoover (her teacher) admitted would happen. So all in all, Wendy wants to love and be loved while Lisa just wants a Ken doll she can dress up and show off.

So with all of that said, I think it would be safe to conclude that Wendy Testaburger is a far better character than Lisa Simpson. Wendy actually cares about doing the right thing, legitimately respects other people's autonomy, and is more than happy to love people for who they are. Lisa Simpson, on the other hand, is a selfish conformist who just wants to be fawned over by yes men. You can also see this in how they view their respective families. While we haven't seen too much attention given to Wendy's view on her family, she seems to have a fairly high opinion on them and most likely wouldn't trade them in for anything. Lisa, on the other hand, would gladly abandon her family, despite all they have done for her, for one that's more "highbrow." So, in my opinion, Wendy seems destined to have a much better and more joyful life than Lisa because she cares more about being happy than being right.

'Nuff said.

[itsdefinitely]

TUMBLR LEGWND ITSDEIFNITLEY ALSO DRAWS SANDERS SIDES?!?!???

i dabble

[imsosleepyofyourbull]

I firmly believe that Kabru is autistic but masks so hard that he’s convinced himself and (almost) everyone around him that he’s neurotypical.

That man’s special interest is people and how they work, but he just thinks it’s him Being So Good At Socializing — like he doesn’t spend 95% of his time people watching and adjusting his personality in response to the traits he witnesses and obsessing over the intricacies of human interaction while mapping an ever growing relationship chart in his head. For fun. He even admits it in the manga!

Like, look at him!!!

It’s such a shame that — because he’s the narrative foil to Laios and his interest is generally considered more “socially acceptable” in both their world and our own — more people don’t realize this about him. He’s constantly misinterpreted as a horribly manipulative person who only acts the way he does to use the people around him, when that’s explicitly shown to not be the case at all. Kabru is naturally empathetic and is almost always thinking about other people, regardless of whether or not they’re right there with him or a thousand miles away.

I mean, his most defining motivation is his desire to do everything he can to avoid another tragedy like the one at Utaya. Someone who doesn’t care wouldn’t have a goal like that, and they most certainly wouldn’t go about it the way he does. He’s constantly working to help people who can help everyone else and tries so hard to make sure that anyone who seems like a threat is actually someone he needs to worry about before doing anything about it. His supposed aversion to Laios is only because of the ridiculous trolley problem he’s set up in his own head.

Outside of that, he (rather justifiably) hates monsters but is desperate to understand Laios’ love for them and his apparently most selfish goal in getting close to the guy was literally just to become friends with him.

When he’s interacting with the canaries and they imply that they’re going to take him and all of his friends to the West, his first thought is of Rin and how much she’d hate to be stuck in the place that gave her so many bad memories.

He helps Kuro learn Common when Mickbell is asleep and firmly looks forward to the day that the half-foot and Kuro can communicate properly so that their relationship can get properly started without any miscommunication.

And he understands Mithrun with only a handful of weeks AT BEST interacting with him, getting enraged when the elf seems to give up and immediately trying to help him find a new motivation for life.

I’m excited just thinking about the day that Kabru starts unmasking more and more around his friends — both new and old — because if being with my current friend group has taught me anything, it’s that hanging out with anyone so unabashedly themselves is bound to make you more comfortable with yourself too. It’s part of the reason why I like Labru so much! There’s something nice about imagining them hanging out in the throne room or laying in the grass outside and talking for hours on end about their special interests. They might not strictly understand what the other finds so fascinating about monsters or people, but they can grasp that shared feeling of love.

They probably influence each other in really good ways too, with Kabru helping Laios figure out what people are thinking even when it doesn’t make sense or Laios helping Kabru understand that not everyone and everything needs to be analyzed a thousand times over. They both get to learn that there are people like them and people who will love them without them ever having to change a thing about themselves. They deserve to know that they’re fine the way they are.

[technically-human]

The hug!!

This one was once again commissioned by our dear @i-am-as-normal-as-you-are and we actually talked about this scene quite a lot. Charles is still going through it, and he doesn't even feel like he should be getting the hugs he needs. Poor boy.

[maddie-grove]

Honestly I hate the “girlboss” criticisms of feminism more and more each day. A lot of people have rightfully pointed out that feminists had/have very practical reasons to fight for women’s rights in the workplace, but I feel like there’s still an idea that a woman is deluded or morally suspect if she enjoys or takes pride in her work. It’s not just about the money; it’s about not being barred from fully participating in society just because you’re a woman. That is an unfair and degrading thing to do to someone, even if they have other means of financial support.

[nellasbookplanet]

The tragic idea that the Betrayers loved their siblings so much that it ended up being what drove them apart. They didn't want to settle for anything that could hurt their family, and mortals were doing so, either directly (a mortal usurping one of them) or indirectly (emotionally hurting them during the Schism by just. dying so much). To the Betrayers, it wasn't worth it. They wanted their beloved family to leave and go somewhere that wouldn’t hurt them.

To them, it's the primes who are the betrayers. The primes were motivated by more than just love for their immediate family - they loved their creation, too, and more than that, felt a responsibility for it. They would rather fight their own siblings than leave it.

We saw all the gods love and protect each other during the opening of Downfall. The Betrayers were not uniquely evil from the start. They wanted to save themselves and their family from hardship and suffering, even if it meant leaving their creation, their game, and in response their siblings locked them away. Not only do they not love mortals, they view mortals as this corruptive force that somehow turned their family against them. Do they think that, if they succeed in exterminating them, the Primes will be freed from their influence? Maybe - perhaps some of them are waiting to forgive and embrace their siblings, but far from all, I suspect. Asmodeus certainly expressed during Calamity that he didn’t so much want to be reunited with his siblings as he wanted to punish them. He was betrayed by the ones he loved most for the sake of a game! Maybe togetherness and forgiveness was once an obtainable goal, but not anymore. Even if the Betrayers succeeded in ending Exandria, the Primes would never forgive them, and they would never forgive the primes. Their family can never be whole again because of, as they see it, the toxic influence of mortals. So they hate mortals for this influence, but more than that, they hate their siblings for being so weak as to fall for it.

[turtleblogatlast]

I think a lot about Leo standing up for his brothers in the things that really matter to them.

Like- Leo is the one who immediately pushes Mikey and Donnie into finding Raph the second it’s clear that their oldest brother is missing because he knows Raph can’t handle being separated like that.

Leo is the one who stands up for Mikey when Mikey wants to go on a solo mission, actively vouching for him and being the one to convince Raph into letting Mikey go, because being independent and proving himself just as capable of standing on his own two feet as everyone else means so much to Mikey.

And Leo defends Donnie’s honor in particular when his brothers’ intelligence is insulted because Leo is well aware of how important Donnie’s smarts are to him - and how important having those smarts valued and acknowledged is as well.

All this goes right into just how well Leo knows his brothers. For as much as he’ll tease or fight with them, he knows them, and he loves them.

[bixels]

vague-posting about this here cuz i don't feel comfortable yapping about my su takes on twitter, but after everything that's happened the most interesting thing about the su fandom to me is that so many are 100% there for applying the "everyone can change and deserves a second chance" message to everyone, even the diamonds. except for one ☝️ she doesn't count. cuz she's dead.

[basilpaste]

ive been trying very hard to formulate a way to say this that doesnt make me sound like an asshole but honestly ive like. given up.

youre gonna drive yourselves fucking nuts with all the doom posting. and all the "its gonna be okay, you have to live" posting isnt any less doom posting. its all the same song to a different tune.

its shitty and terrible and youre allowed to feel shitty and terrible. but its not like. gonna change because you feel shitty about it. and constantly thinking about how shitty you feel about it is just gonna make you feel worse.

go like. eat a snack or something. play a game you like. i dunno. its shitty! but dont spend your time catastrophizing. drink some fuckin water or whatever other cheesy bullshit keeps you occupied while you process.

[erinwantstowrite]

crazy how people will see bruce not wanting to kill because he knows he wouldn't stop and eventually would get out of control because he's severely mentally ill and they think "wow what a selfish asshole"

[adhdandcomics]

perhaps the most important question i’ve ever asked:

does anyone have tips for people trying to stop being chronically late to everything in the world that aren’t weirdly judgmental and aggressive or flat out lies

[platoapproved]

from the teaser for episode 6: like the light by which god made the world before he made light

[jaybirdscoffee]

i don’t think i’ll ever get over the way optimus’ voice breaks just slightly when he says “and you betrayed me.” optimus felt the need to make a distinction, because yes, d-16 betrayed cybertron, but somehow worse than that, he betrayed orion. and never in a million years would orion have thought his best friend would go that far. cybertron be damned, how could d-16 betray him? optimus reserved a small piece of selfish anger, just for them. he’s mourning his best friend, himself, and the life that they could have had.

[starry-bi-sky]

Thinking about the CFAU and marveling at how much Danny and Jason care for one another. Does anybody else figure out that Danny is going to kill the Joker, or is that knowledge Jason exclusive? I can't see Danny being close enough to any other Batfam member to disclose his plans, but I wonder if he drops hints. They're a family of paranoid detectives. I'd be surprised if they don't figure out Danny has a PURPOSE for being in Gotham at some point. Whether Danny's able to disguise it as wanting to be closer to Jason or not is another burning question.

Its def Red Hood exclusive! You're right in that Danny isn't close enough to disclose his revenge plot to any of the batfam members -- hell, not even Sam and Tucker know his true motives for returning to Gotham, and they're his best friends right after Jason! And Red Hood knows only because Danny accidentally slipped up ;].

I do also think that the Waynes kinda think something might be up with Danny -- at least Dick and/or Bruce might since they're the only ones who actually know him beyond brief mentions of him. Tim knows about him due to his stalking, but doesn't really know him -- and Danny plans to keep a healthy, friendly distance from the family so he can carry out his plans.

It's not that he holds any dislike towards them -- quite the opposite. He appreciates what they do for Gotham and recognizes the hard work that goes into keeping their Rogues Gallery at bay (even if he is bitter about Joker, but there's an obvious reason for that) -- but, well. He knows they're the vigilantes, he doesn't want to risk them sniffing out his murder plot before he can even go through with it.

Luckily for him he can excuse any distance he puts between them as just being busy with life and trying to settle in, and they're not close enough to him anymore to find it suspicious. I do think they figure out he's back in Gotham for a reason, Danny's not going to exactly hide the fact that he's back to find some kind of closure -- but what that closure is?

I think the only person who might suspect something sinister going on would be Bruce, who saw the sinking rage in Danny's eyes at the funeral -- it was part of the reason he didn't tell him who killed Jason (beyond secret identity reasons). But that depends on whether or not Danny reveals some of his hand, and the fact that he was still holding onto that rage (somewhat unwillingly) all this time.

[shoezuki]

Thinkin bout Sampo Koski rn as like. His character n what we get of him in honkai star rail and he fucking. He confuses me like. There has to be So Much more to him like

The general vibes of him and especially how other characters treat him is that of comic relief, a punching bag, a goof, just a slick conman causing trouble. It's genuinely difficult NOT to insult him n treat him badly with dialogue options and any time he's even mentioned March 7th hisses at him. He's literally a cryptid in belobog. He's a joke.

But. But. There's his light cone. It makes me insane. It contradicts all of that.

In it he's competent. He's badass. He's omnipotent. He's able to somehow know a sniper from however far away is locked on him and address them specifically.

And even like... in the entire plot of jarilo-vi he's spoken of like he's not much. He's a 4 star character. But he's practically as present as bronya and seele and Gepard and his involvement in the story is ASTRONOMICAL. He has a part in every major event. He's the one who drags the Trailblazers and bronya into the Underworld. He's the one who takes you to svarog, to the overworld again. He gets Natasha and saves you from svarog. He's the first character you ever meet on jarilo.

And he seems to just vanish before you confront cocolia. But no. Sampo is the one who has the last word and wraps up the entire mission on jarilo-vi. He fucking breaks the forth wall. Jarilo-vi both begins and ends with Sampo.

He calls himself shadowy comic relief yet he seemingly orchestrated everything. What is he. What the fuck is he doing. What else is up with him and when will we get more of him. I want to bite into him and tear him apart.

[fellow-fandom-fruitifier]

Edwin is way too fucking kind. Like, picture this. You JUST got dragged down into a pit that took you 70 years prior to escape and, while down there, you run into the very boy that SENT you there. Yes, it was supposed to be a “prank”. But it was never EVER a good one, even if it did turn out to be fake. You were dragged out of your bed, tied up and gagged like a pig, and held down. That “prank”, since it’s inception, wasn't funny or harmless. (Not even getting into how bad it would be to be labeled a homosexual in the 19-fucking-hundreds.)

Then you get dragged into The Pit™️ for 7 decades and tortured beyond comprehension. Now you're finding out its cause the boy ASSSUMED you were like him then ASSUMED he assumed wrong. All that because the boy couldn't handle you not being what he assumed you were, you didn't even know he assumed that! You didn't even know HE was that!

Edwin had every right to berate Simon and leave but he DIDN’T. He offered him a hand — all but begged Simon to join him — and promised a salvation no one had offered him before. (Before Charles I mean.) He’s just so kind it breaks my heart. Like, yes, he’s a petty bitch; but he read to a dying boy to comfort him in the same year he escaped Hell. He upended his entire afterlife to go save Becky Aspen despite his protests. He offered his killer a helping hand.

Someone get this jerk a break oh my GOD he deserves one.