I feel like the CRK fandom as a whole would benefit from remembering that multiple things can be true at the same time
The Beasts' backstories/raison d'être are legitimately understandable and sympathetic. They were thrust into responsibilities they did not choose to bear the literal moment they were born, were never allowed to live and think and feel as normal people (they weren't even allowed to be children and grow up/mature), were seen only as archetypes and wish granting machines by the mortals and never understood nor respected as autonomous individuals with thoughts and emotions, and had no support system to rely on for comfort and counsel when they started going insane
Something that is also true:
The Beasts are genuinely disgusting, reprehensible people. They are selfish, cruel, manipulative, dishonest, sadistic, hypocritical, homicidal maniacs. They have kidnapped, tortured, maimed, brainwashed, stolen from, and murdered millions of innocent people, including literal children. No sob story makes any of that excusable and they are far beyond deserving of punishment for their many heinous crimes
The Beasts probably could be redeemed, if the Ancients and co. really tried. They were good once, there's no reason they cannot learn to be good again. Salvation should be available to all who seek it
Something that is also true:
The Beasts very obviously do not feel remorse for their behavior and actions at this moment in time, so redemption is not currently possible nor deserved, and there is no way to know if that will ever actually change. No one is entitled to redemption nor forgiveness even if they're genuinely sorry, and these people are very much not sorry anyway. Should there be redemption for them, it will be a very long uphill battle for everyone involved, as you have to want to change for change to occur and it's clear the Beasts do not want to change
Silent Salt did not do enough for his fellow Virtues when they were struggling. He did not check in on them and pay them enough heed to notice that they were corrupting, and personally intervene on their behalf as their friend and fellow Virtue. Though he was Solidarity, it is clear he failed to uphold solidarity with his holy compatriots, choosing instead to devote himself entirely to mortalkind and the friends he made in the outside world, and then took unilateral action with regards to the Silver Tree and creating new virtues, as opposed to actually sitting down with the other 4 and having a meaningful discussion about the future and their opinions on the matter and potential next steps, which was the absolute least they were owed
Something that is also true:
The other Virtues likewise did not reach out to Silent Salt when they were struggling. When he visited Mystic Flour's domain to try to speak with her in person, she did not appear nor respond at all; he quite literally tells Elder Faerie this in a scene. Though he was not there to help the others in their moments of crisis, they also chose to not seek his help; that is a choice THEY are responsible for. Silent Salt was only one person, he could not be everywhere at once, he is not a telepath and he does not have a crystal ball. You can't help people if you don't know what's wrong. If they had simply said something to him, he very well could have genuinely tried his damndest to help and be the person they needed him to be for them, because he had already proven that that was very much in his general nature
Something that is (probably) true:
The Beasts did not personally orchestrate the slaughter of the Kala Namak Knights and all the people they were sheltering. It is possible they were not even aware of it happening in the first place, due to having disappeared from the public eye in the immediate aftermath of corruption. So it is not fair to lay the entirety of the blame on them
Something that is also (probably) true:
The Beasts probably would've wanted the slaughter to happen anyway, because Silent Salt and his knights were the only people left on earth that were capable of presenting as a significant obstacle to them and their goals, so getting rid of the knights and permanently crippling Silent Salt's peace efforts was in their best interest. In fact, Burning Spice probably only would've been upset that he wasn't there to kill them all himself. The Beast stand-ins sincerely believed they were fulfilling their masters' wishes, and let's not kid ourselves, they were. So the Beasts still hold at least partial culpability for the massacre and for the overall ruination of Silent Salt's life
It is not fair or reasonable to compare the Beasts' struggles and trauma, and try to say one or some are "better" than the others. Pain and suffering are not a competition; they all have serious issues, both from being immortals without purpose beyond what was given to them and from the personal tragedies unique to each Virtue and their station/sphere of influence. They were and are all hurting very, very much
Something that is also true:
Someone is not stupid or illiterate or whatever mean and uncalled for words you want to hurl at them for personally sympathizing with one or more Beasts over the others. People are allowed to have preferences and resonate with certain characters more than others. Burning Spice and Silent Salt are my personal favorites of the 5, I understand who they are and why they're who they are and I am perfectly aware of their flaws and failings. I still feel for them a little more than the other 3 (while still recognizing that the other 3 also had it very rough as well) because I simply like them more as characters. I concede that I am biased, but I am only human and am allowed to be a little biased towards my favorites, as everyone is and should be. It is not a moral or intellectual failing to do that, let people be fans of things they like (provided they still behave politely and reasonably towards others)
The Witches set the Beasts up to fail. They were self-absorbed and neglectful, leaving their creations to their own devices and not caring when they struggle and begin to collapse under the weight of the destinies they forced upon them. They did not even intervene when 4 of 5 corrupted and began terrorizing society, it was the 1 that was forced to make the ultimate sacrifice to try to clean up the mess, losing everything and everyone he ever loved in the process. The Witches had a responsibility to be there for the Virtues, these living beings they deliberately created and gave sapience to, and they were not; had they been, a real difference could've been made and the Virtues could've stayed sane and good
Something that is also true:
Evil is a choice. The Witches did not hold a gun to the Beasts' heads and demand that they go out and kill people. Nobody told Mystic Flour to force a man to watch his loved ones disintegrate before his eyes while trying to drill into his head that their lives were meaningless anyway. Nobody told Burning Spice to beat a woman within an inch of her life, mutilate her, throw her in a dungeon, and wait for her to wake up so he could bring her back out and beat her again. Nobody told Shadow Milk to trick people into committing suicide, psychologically torture a man for days on end, and throw young children out of a window to their presumed deaths. Nobody told Eternal Sugar to drug and brainwash people into staying in her garden, orchestrate their maulings by wild animals if they try to leave, and turn them to statues or drown them in jelly jars if they continue to refuse her. Nobody told Silent Salt to give up on people, write them all off as irredeemable monsters unworthy of care or respect or solidarity, and declare/present himself as the sole arbiter of justice and morality, both of which now only existing to him within his own bitter, defeated, nihilistic perception. Evil is a choice, a choice no one can make for you but you, and they all chose evil of their own accord and continue to choose it every single day. No amount of personal suffering justifies the suffering of others. You do not have the right to hurt people because you're lonely, or because you're sad, or because you're angry. The Beasts' right to compassion was forfeit the moment they spilled the blood of the innocent for the first time. They can be shown sympathy, they can be shown understanding, but they should not be excused or babied or apologized for because they do not deserve that!!!
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