People on Reddit were asked: "What fictional villain had pretty reasonable excuses for why they did what they did?" These are some of the most creative answers.
24. Kids never learn, do they?
Shere Kahn, the tiger from The Jungle Book. Rules were in place to keep men out if the jungle [because] they kill animals and burn down the jungle. What was the absolute first thing Mowgli did once he saw fire? He brought it back to the jungle and burned the whole place down.
baconismidog
23. I mean, it sort of makes sense
Grant Ward in Agents of SHIELD. The guy was abused by his own family, manipulated by the only person that thought he was worth anything and had to make some really hard decisions because he saw the man that was manipulating him as a father he never had.
Of course he was a douchebag by betraying the only people that were good to him and saw him as family, but it is easy to understand why he did all of this.
TheSovereign2181
22. It goes to show that being loving and caring to others can do a world of good
Luke Castellon from the Percy Jackson series. He was pissed because he felt unloved, and that too many demigods were ignored by their godly parents. Cronos used this to manipulate him.
Lostsonofpluto
21. I was waiting for someone to bring this one up...
Loki is always a top choice for understandable evil doing. He was raised under false pretences. Odin was a giant [jerk] who literally told his would be son stories about how Frost Giants were monsters and never thought an "oh btw you're adopted and kinda are a frost giant" was important information. It's understandable that Loki would attempt to win his fathers affection by eradicating the so called monsters. Throwing himself off the bifrost was a bit of a drama queen move, but given the turmoil of finding out your identity is an entire lie it's still kind of expected.
Then if we move on in Loki's story arc to the events in the Avengers you can clearly see that he is not entirely there mentally...being tortured by a Mad Titan would be more than enough reasoning for a mental breakdown. I still find it difficult to believe that Loki would have launched such a poorly planned attack if it was of his own creation, I mean dude has serious magic skills and yet barely uses them in what is meant to be a bid for planetary domination.
LunaHyacinth
20. Sometimes you gotta look at both sides of a situation
Mr. Freeze. Most of his actions were based off trying to cure his terminally ill wife. Even though I wouldn't do most of things that he's done, I do understand his intentions. His origin story always gets to me.
GammaRayBaby
19. Well when you put it that way...
A beastly recluse kidnaps a young woman and holds her prisoner in his castle. He will only release her if she falls in love with him. A local man rallies the town to go and rescue the girl.
Gaston is the villain in the story, but at the root level, he's the one who's right.
melonlollicholypop
18. Finally someone tells it like it is!
The Wicked Witch of the West. Dorothy basically killed her sister with her flying house and then stole the sister's magic ruby slippers.
purpleprosenose
17. But he's just too good of a villain!
Agent Smith from the Matrix. At the base of it all, he's trying to keep random "hackers" from messing with the reality he knows and screwing everything up for not only other humans (who the "good guys" constantly kill without cause) but the machines who were tired of being slaves.
Humans ruined the damned sky. The machines have a point, that beings capable of ruining the sky probably should be kept docile in a big game of Sims.
Agent Smith is just... like... "Not this douche bag hacker stuff again." He's like every dude who's trying to administrate a competitive online game, only to constantly see people with aim bot and wall hacks. I understand his frustration and descent into madness.
Slimebeast
16. You mean there might be more?!
Heinz Doofenshmirtz. Neither of his parents showed up to his birth, he was raised by wild cats for the first few years of his life, and his father forced him to be a garden gnome as a child. His only friend ran away, only to be abducted by an alien poacher, and his brother was treated like a prince. And that's all I can remember off the top of my head.
saltedwarlock
15. Someone has to have written a PhD thesis on this by now
The hyenas in The Lion King were an oppressed class. What, the lions get to eat everything they can find but the hyenas get banished out to where there's no food? But apparently the God of this universe is racist and doesn't like the hyenas having the same status as lions, so he sends his disapproval by destroying the environment as a sign that lion supremacy must be restored.
I feel like they had to have James Earl Jones play Mufasa, mostly because he has the best voice ever, but also because if all the nonwhite actors played hyenas this movie would look like it was endorsing racism.
looklistencreate
14. Yeah, but you can't really say that stuff anymore these days
Ben Stiller's character in Heavyweights. He's just trying to help the kids at fat camp make healthier choices and lose weight, but everyone resents him for it.
agyag
13. Everyone in this series is a tortured soul
Magneto. Holocaust survivor who then grows up once again hated and segregated from society, I'm not saying I agree but I can definitely understand why he feels the way he does.
Yeezyonmypizza
12. I guess I never thought about it that way
Tom from Tom and Jerry. Most of the time he was just chilling, minding his own business and the mouse just had to [mess] with him, get him all worked up and then the owner would hit him with a broom.
fantasmas05
11. At this point I don't think we can call him a villain though, come on!
Darth Vader. In the prequels he is dismissed by the Jedi and the only person that talks directly to him is the emperor. He loses his wife and kid, loses his limbs, and is burned inside and out. He was killed and through an iron lung, prosthetic everything, a suit and the emperors use of the force he is brought to life.
By Empire Strikes Back he went from being listened to by the emperor to kneeling to him. In that time Vader has tried to kill the emperor and die and he can't do either on his own. He is a slave like he was growing up. He does what he has too with no loyalty and complete impunity to the empire. He strangles officers right and left, and orders storm troopers on suicide missions. He is on his own missions that either the emperor forces him on or whatever he can get to free himself.
By Return of the Jedi, even more than a son, he needs someone to distract the emperor long enough to kill him.
DarrenEdwards
10. Preach!
The "bad guys" in American Sniper, 13 Hours, Black Hawk Down, Jar Head, Hurt Locker, etc. are just people trying the best they can to protect their country from foreign invasion.
FredPennerr
9. She was, by far, one of the best animated villains of all time
I always thought Yzma from Emperor's New Groove was a pretty reasonable villain. The Emperor at the start of the movie was a selfish entitled idiot who obviously couldn't run a country, and although her motivation was 50% "this kid can't be a ruler" and 50% "I want to have all the power", that still seemed more reasonable than the current person in power.
Dishbutt
8. We all set out with the best of intentions
Andrew Ryan. He was right in a way. "Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his brow?" All he wanted was to have a place where a man's true efforts were recognized by society, and they were rewarded for the talents they were given, or the hard work they had gone through for their inventions.
Don't get me wrong. He went totally off the rails after a while, and the city fell into absolute chaos, and it's totes mcgoats his fault. The ends did NOT justify the means that he was looking for. But I'm sure there's plenty of people that feel like their achievements or their talents aren't recognized enough. Granted, while an artist should not have to be censored, a scientist should absolutely follow some rules of morality. You can't just go [messing[ up a plastic surgeon customer because "She looked prettier this way". No she did not, you're twisted, give her what she asked and paid for you creep.
Thatkidwithaspergers
7. Life doesn't always work out the way you want it to
Not reasonable excuses, but I always felt sort of bad for Commodus from Gladiator, and it sort of makes sense why he hates Maximus so much (even though he's clearly a bad person).
He's in love with Lucilla (which is admittedly very creepy) and who does she love? Maximus. He wants to be Emperor, and who does Marcus Aurelius say will be the new Emperor (albeit temporarily)? Maximus. He wants to be loved by his people, but who do they love? Maximus. He wants to be a great warrior, but who is better than him? Maximus.
I guess I just feel some level of sympathy because literally everything he tries to do, one person comes in and takes from him.
Ihateregistering6
6. There's no arguing with this one
Ozymandias - yes, he did detonate a bunch of weapons but the alternative was a worldwide nuclear apocalypse.
astrocrazy
5. So basically he's actually a hero
Dr. Doom. He, literally, took over the world so he could save it. He saw every possible future scenario and the only one where the Earth survived was the one where he ruled it.
_BindersFullOfWomen_
4. This is so poetic
For all of his murdering, double and triple crossing and mustache twirling villainy....Revolver Ocelot had noble intentions. I'd argue that his actions were ultimately some of the most heroic in the entirety of the Metal Gear series, even if he had to commit evil acts to get there. Weirdly enough, while everyone around him willfully or accidentally misinterpreted the Boss' vision of a perfect world, he strove for it.
And at the end of the day, he was left a broken old man with nothing to fight for, his only friend in his final moments a man who he counted as his greatest enemy.
Flutterwander
3. The whole plot looks very different when you look at it this way
Javert in Les Mis is just a police officer trying to track down a man who broke his parole after an unsuccessful escape.
shadowaway
2. When the hero becomes the villain...
I'm just done re-watching Breaking Bad, and I have to go with Walter White/Heisenberg. Essentially, all Walt wanted was to provide for his family, so that when cancer take him away they don't end up in debt and mourning...
Then things get [weird] and he just tries to navigate the chaos that his life becomes.
philoupilou
1. Ah, the age old nature vs. nurture
Tywin Lannister. Tywin is a man obsessed with promoting his family and their place in the world, and when you live in a world where your family's station is literally the difference between life and death it's not hard to imagine why he is this way. He's also a product of his environment in that he saw his father stepped on and diluting the power and good name of their family and desperately wanting to avoid that for his own children.
He just happens to be perfectly ruthless at the same time, so he appears more of a monster than he really is. He's not killing, torturing and terrifying people just for the hell of it, he always does what is most expedient. If killing a village is the best way of achieving your goals he'll give that order, but if talking to the mayor is better he'll do that and spare the village.
kungtotte
There are few things more annoying than when you are seeking advice and someone responds with a boring platitude that helps no one. Believe it or not, if you choose to provide advice, it needs to be specific to the situation and shouldn't be dressed up in trite phrasing. Does saying, "Keep your head up" actually contribute anything if that's all you have to say when someone comes to you in search of a listening ear?
But this goes deeper than just advice, to be fair. Some of us are sick of greedy corporations that stress the importance of being a "family" while refusing to pay proper wages. Still more of us are tired of people using certain language when other language can suffice.
After Redditor BensReddits asked the online community, "What is a phrase you absolutely hate hearing?" people shared their stories.
"At any sort of conference..."
At any sort of conference/gathering/presentation:
"How're you all doing today?!? C'mon, I know you can answer louder than that! HOW ARE YOU ALL DOING TODAY?!"
Instant resentment every time.
I second that resentment.
I attended a conference once where the main speaker did this several times in the span of thirty minutes as he announced different initiatives.
Such a headache.
"At my work..."
At my work upper management has started using the word "activate" a lot. As in, "We are working on plans to activate underutilized spaces." And, "Let's activate a few other teams on this." It just sounds silly to me and like they are trying too hard to avoid using simple, perfectly adequate language.
I'll take your "activate" and give you...
..."utilize." WHY?
What is wrong with the word "use"?
"I was born in Australia..."
"Your English is so good!"
Thank you, I was born in Australia and English is literally my first language. My standard response these days is, "Oh thank you, yours too!"
This one is especially annoying...
...if you're not alabaster white.
I repeat:
Also annoying if you're not alabaster white.
"Someone saying to a teenager..."
Someone saying to a teenager, "These are the best years of your life!" I am in my mid-40s now and most people my age remember high school as horrible and awkward. The more appropriate thing to say is, "Hang in there kid! I promise life gets better. Just get through adolescence the best you can."
High school sucked.
My life vastly improved in my 20s. Let's not convince teenagers that they have nothing to look forward to after high school's over and done with.
"That's nothing..."
"That's nothing... " when I tell them something only for them to turn it onto a competition and say something worse that happened to them.
Ah, yes.
The chronic one-upper.
Loathe them.
"I've heard it from people..."
"When you have your own children you'll understand."
I've heard it from people who don't understand that I want nothing more than my own family but being pregnant will kill me, and when I bring up adoption as a valid way of having children they'll buckle down on that phrase as to say adopted kids are not the same. It's disheartening to hear as a formal foster child and has reinforced my beliefs that no one really saw me as enough. Why would you say that to someone? All kids are the same and those without kids shouldn't be dismissed.
"I lost my daughter..."
"God has a plan" or "It happened for a reason."
I lost my daughter when I was 36 weeks in because of a sudden placental abruption followed by a uterine rupture, lost 2.2 litres of blood. I can't carry again without risking the child or myself. And I had to listen to a variety of phrases that made me want to hit those people. Those two were the worst. Followed by "You can try again" or "Did you get the child baptized?" (got this one only once though).
"Who on earth..."
"When are you going to have kids?"
Who on earth are you to not only insist I should stop and redirect my whole life for kids, but then put me on the spot and make up a timetable to change my whole life? Not everyone wants kids.
Now that you've learned a thing or two...
...you could say that all of the responses here are an exceptional opportunity to improve your social skills.
Have some of your own stories to share? Feel free to tell us about them in the comments below!
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Image by freestocks-photos from Pixabay |
Dating is difficult––and truth be told, I don't know how anyone can do it right now, what with a pandemic going on and all. Just the thought stresses me out. Dating is especially hard for people who defy expectations in a heteronormative society. Take bisexuals, for example.
Bisexuals have been open about their struggles maintaining relationships with both men and women, even having to lie about their sexuality if they want to date certain people.
"I feel like if I end up in a straight relationship, I'll look like I was just experimenting all these years, but if I end up in a gay relationship people will say I was never actually bisexual," one man told the BBC in 2019. "Then if I don't have a monogamous relationship people will say I'm just greedy."
Indeed, the pressure to be either gay or straight can be a lot to navigate. After Redditor Trevor-on-Reddit asked the online community, "Bisexual people who have dated both genders, what are some notable differences you've learned about dating both men and women?" bisexuals spoke candidly about their experiences. Take note: You might learn something new.
People Share Their Funniest 'This Person Clearly Doesn't Know How The World Works' Experiences
We all know someone who really cannot figure out even the most basic thing without copious amounts of help. But when you meet someone who is completely and totally past all help, how do you even begin to try to help them get along?
Most of the time, they will just be flustered, or they won't listen. And you have to just stand Idly by and watch them fail.
u/FryingPanZ asked:
What is your "This person has no idea how the real world works" moment?
Here were some of those stories.
The Boot, Not The Camp
When I was in boot camp, some kid put his letter addressed to 'mom' with no address attatched.
I was gonna say that its not that stupid for a very young kid to do that, but then I realized you said boot camp and not summer camp.
Don't Steal Dangerous Chemicals
A student working part time at my laboratory at a University came into my office and asked "so what all can I eat in the refrigerator, I didn't know I was supposed to bring my own lunch". I looked at him, stunned and replied "nothing, that food is what people brought for their own lunch, but you can use my grub hub to order". He DID NOT UNDERSTAND. It took 4 tries to get him to realize he can't just eat someone else's lunch.
Same student: I walked into the lab room and told him I made a full pot of coffee in the office and he could help himself. Him: "a pot of coffee? What's that?" He never used a coffee maker other than a Kuerig before and didn't even know it was a thing.
He was fired a month later for stealing chloroform.
No Ma'am, Like, REAL Bears
At a national park, the park ranger says "stay on the trails, there are bears in the area."
One lady says "isn't that dangerous? Why aren't they in their cages?"
"Ma'am, we're not a zoo."
These people are lucky to make it out of bed every day.
Sleeping On The Job
I lived with some Japanese exchange students during the final summer of college. They were really nice girls, but one of them (Mari) (~19 years old) obviously had no idea how anything worked. She spoke the best English and I was tutoring some of the other girls, while they helped me with my Japanese.
But Mari would constantly call me to come to get her because she thought we had free buses (all the buses). After all, we were students. That wasn't the issue. I could deal with that. It was a whole new culture. She was learning.
But what happened that made me realize Mari could not be left on her own was when she ended up in Eloy, Arizona. Which was ~400 miles and five hours from where we were. She had been talking to some guy on campus, he said he was visiting family in Arizona, and she said "I want to go."
He just took her with him, and she went without even telling us. She had just assumed the guy would take her back, but he said he couldn't because he was staying in Arizona. So I had to arrange a ticket, get her on the bus via the phone, and then pick her up two hours away because she missed her second bus by napping.
How...? What...? Huh...?
Had a friend who was in some uncredited scam online college for her master's degree in medical billing or something. She was on a loan program that was sending her about $5k every 3 months directly to her via check in the mail.
This was her only source of income. She kept calling it a grant that didn't need to be paid back. She was flat broke as a joke for 2 months but then the check would come in and she would be living the good life for a few weeks before being poor again.
We tried to do an intervention and show her the insane interest rate that would be back dated as soon as her "school" was done but she didn't want anyone to bust her free money dreams.
She just kept talking about all the money she would eventually be making billing insurance companies...turns out she wasn't even logging in to the online college or even attempting to get this degree.
She thought the money was free, the degree was automatic and the job was guaranteed. Some people are beyond help.
Such Brilliant. So Money. Wow
My boss told me about a friend of his, who told him af a "life hack". She would get her bills in the mail, NOT pay them, and then wait a couple of months to pay. Then she would cry so the debt collectors would feel bad and waive the fees for not paying on time. That was her "brilliant life hack"
Himbo Rights Activist
The other day, my 18yo brother-in-law got married to his highschool sweetheart in a parking garage so that they can live off campus at college together.
Girlfriend's, now wife, mother is an ordained minister. His parents, my in-laws, were very upset and he couldn't understand why because "it's just a fake marriage for school". Oh no, sweet boy. You are MARRIED. I just laughed and laughed. I love him dearly. He is a dumb*ss.
And yet somehow they are there to add these stories to our dull, dull days.
Daddy's Boy
A dude (18 yo) in boot camp got a letter from home and I can see he is agitated. Being 22 and concerned for his well-being, I asked him if he wanted to talk about it. (I'm thinking a Dear John letter or the Mom and Dad divorcing letter.)
He dead *ss told me that his younger brother got a Mercedes for his birthday and that he was pissed bc he "only got a BMW". Can't remember what I said, but I knew boot camp was gonna knock down. (It did.)
Who Pays Your Bills?
When my roommate, who never once paid for rent or groceries or anything, turned down the only job offer they have ever gotten, in front of me, TWICE.
They were so desperate they called him twice, offering good pay, during covid, and he had the gaul to say no in front of me. His excuse was "nah I'm sure there's something better. $20 an hour is garbage in this city" -_-
Just Read ONE Parenting Book
I worked for a clueless couple who had no idea how to raise a kid. He wore the same outfit everyday for a month until I gently suggested that he needs new clothes. His parents asked me "Where can we get baby clothes?" This was slightly hilarious given that they lived above a Target and next to a baby boutique.
I had to have the same conversation once the child was old enough for solid foods. I was asked "Where can we get baby food?" I had to explain that most grocery stores carry a baby aisle, or that she can mash up her own fruits at home for the baby. This family decided that sour cream would be a great first food for their baby!
I'll mention that this was a wealthy family who went on vacation at least 2-3 times a month. By far the weirdest thing they did was try and drop off Grandma at daycare along with the baby.
Stories like this make you feel like the most well-equipped, with it person alive, right?
We're all well aware of the weird, horrible, predatory things men do when attracted to women. But what about when women are the culprits?
Though it seems that, statistically, men are problematic at a WAY higher rate than women, there are certainly times where the person bringing the creepy vibes is, indeed, the woman.
Some men of Reddit gathered to share the most bizarre and uncomfortable things a woman has ever said.
AidenTheGamer14 asked, "Men of Reddit, what is the creepiest thing a girl has ever said or done to you?"
For some, it was the stalkers.
The cryptic behavior and frightening detective work of ex-lovers can be unparalleled.
Some Light Sleuthing
"Found out my address from the phone book, this was the 90s, sat outside my house for multiple nights, all night just watching my house, I live in the middle of the woods miles outside of town."
"We only had one date and agreed to leave it at that. I found out sometime later what she had been doing."
-- crooky50-dc
Plot Twist
"Girl I was dating asked if I had changed the locks since breaking up with my ex months prior. I'm like 'No, but she wasn't a crazy person so I never worried about it.' She says if I don't change the locks she ain't comfortable sleeping over, so I change the locks."
"This ex sends me an angry text the next day 'So you changed your locks huh? Real nice a**hole.' So she had been coming over this whole time and doing who knows what."
-- Joey42601
She Stopped at Nothing
"She kept writing me letters at every address I lived at during that five-year period. If she didn't have the address she'd send them care of my parents. The most memorable is the one where she told me she was married and 'he's a great guy but he's not you.' "
"Once not long after I'd moved to a new address I came home and found a box of cookies she'd FedExed to me. Eventually I moved to a new state. I knew from her return addresses that she lived and worked there, and was worried we'd run into each other but realized that was pretty unlikely."
"Then after less than a year, she found me through a blog I was keeping and left a message on my voicemail demanding we meet. I posted a message to her on my blog telling her to stop harrassing me or I'd call the police (up to that point I'd been ignoring her, hoping she'd take the hint). That night she called, I repeated my threat to bring the authorities in, and I haven't heard from her since."
-- JedLeland
Others dealt with the creepiness on the internet. With so many avenues of communication all around us, uncomfortable comments can come from all directions.
Phony Warnings
"Someone I considered a friend started to grow feelings for me, but when she found out I had a girlfriend and I didn't feel the same for her she found out who my girlfriend was somehow. She then DM'd her and tried to tell her that I was cheating on her with her."
"Luckily I was with her when she got that DM so I could explain the situation and then we blocked her. Next day she DM'd her again from an alt account."
Worst Kind of Pen Pal
"I started a new job, and I shared a small office with a woman my age (and a couple other people). She was kinda cute but also weird and super naïve (she grew up in a very rural area). She'd flirt with me a lot, but I wasn't interested."
"So she started sending me emails."
"They were super long, detailing her whole day. And she sent them to me every day. I never responded. Then one day she sent me this long email confessing her love. I replied with the (very obvious) reasons why it wouldn't work and asked her to stop sending me emails every day. She didn't."
"They kept coming. This went on for months. I asked her in person and online to stop, but I still got these email memoirs every day. Eventually I had another female office mate who was her friend have a talk with her. Finally the emails stopped."
-- RPShep
That's A Lot of Passwords
"I've had a girl create about 50 different Snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram accounts all to try to get me to friend her. I've never met this woman in person and yet every few weeks I'll get a handful of friend requests from her"
-- keldog361
Terminal Catfish
"Met this girl online and talked to her a bit. I did started to like her."
"Later found out that the pic she showed me of herself was actually a pic of her friend who had passed away due to cancer."
-- Immortal1h1
Poor Host
In my early 20's I was at a party and the hosting woman full-on tried to reach down my pants to grab my business."
"Strange, yes, what made it creepy is that we were right in front of her mother, who was cheering her on."
-- BauranGaruda
Breaking Out the Scroll
"After 6 months from our breakup, my ex called me because she wanted to see me. It seemed strange to me but I accepted. When we met she was friendly and all..."
"Then at a certain point she pulls a sheet in which there was written a list of all men she fu**ed after our relationship and she read it all to me, with accurate description of every sexual intercourse. Well it was an awkward moment."
-- Omoi_
Getaway Vehicle
"I was going to head home after a night out and a I was getting into my taxi a girl jumped in after me. I asked what they were doing and she said 'I'm coming home with you.' "
"Nope. Taxi driver helped me and she got out the car eventually when I shot down her advances."
-- Stuf404
Again, it's important to read this thread and remember that this is a bias sample, solely focused on the incidents where a woman did act creepy.
But, yes, it happens out there.
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