untilstarsfall:

khaleesioftheharleys:

untilstarsfall:

I’m really tired of revenge stories in which the hero realizes that revenge is “wrong” or won’t bring closure or satisfaction because that’s not always true. Sometimes revenge is exactly what the person needs to move on. Especially if they’re getting revenge for a loved one’s wrongful death or something.

I just want stories where the heroes lose their shit and get revenge and are fucking satisfied with it.

Time to do some writing, I guess.

What’s annoying is the way these narratives often conflate revenge with any kind of justice. Not forgiving the person who slaughtered your family isn’t “living with hatred in your heart” for fucks sake, not wanting the person who killed thousands of people to just get away with it and carry on life like nothing happened doesn’t “make you just as bad as them”.

Exactly like catharsis is a beast with many faces and sometimes those faces are ugly and it’s jaws are bloody. It also plays into the ‘perfect victim’ narrative where the hero is expected to recover from a traumatic experience a certain way. If they aren’t forgiving and at peace then somehow they’re ‘flawed and wrong’ for it.

This is one of the reasons I love Jemisin’s Broken Earth trilogy because she explores the theme of vengeance and forgiveness in its many forms throughout the story.