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ok but what if the rite of courage & cowardice isnt referring to setsuna, but sesshomaru in the sense — will he take the courage & do everything in his power to protect his family? or will he back down, give into the ridicule having hanyo children come with & cowardly walk away?
i sincerely think his journey as a father resembles his own father’s for a reason, primarily because sesshormaru always considered toga weak for following AND dying at the aid of lady izayoi, and in result, inuyasha as well.
a lot of the resentment he had came from misunderstanding toga’s reasoning, and nonetheless, having to watch inuyasha inherit EVERYTHING (in protection of him) without proper explanation.
if sesshomaru was already getting shit for the twins despite having a more infamous reputation than his father & for being known to have surpassed him, then the amount of ridicule & insults he might’ve been around probably adds to reason why he isolated himself from both worlds.
if we can recall when sesshormaru passed the meido on to his brother & lost his sword, other yokai had no problem challenging him in hopes of his title bc they considered him being weak then. after toga, it’s obvious sesshormaru became a target & why he was the way he was tbh
I think it also adds another layer to his relationship w/ rin & why it took her 2nd death to understand her value/meaning in his life bc he spent so much time NOT acknowledging why he was letting her follow him around & why he would go out of his way to protect her.
anyway, so before, toga dying in protection of his human family WAS seen as weak. to sesshomaru before, it might’ve been cowardly and even seen as a choice that his father could’ve ignored, esp since he had his entire empire to run still.
however, now sesshomaru is in the same position as his father. in the yokai world, it is NOT cowardly for him to abandon his children purely because they are considered weak by simply being hanyo. in fact, it probably adds onto his heartlessness & cruelty that he does.
HOWEVER, as a father, as a husband, and as a brother, it takes more courage for him to step up and figure out how to save everyone simply because it’s the right thing to do.
also it’s very easy to see him as a villain, but it’s important to keep in mind that he loses on both sides if he shows his fondness for his human family. back to the above tweet, showing that he doesn’t care purposely makes him look like the bad guy, but bc of that, he’s able +
to maneuver between protecting the twins with jaken and being close enough to zero to keep tabs. please also remember that the concept with sesshomaru is that you can’t tell what he’s actually thinking 
(though, to the audience is obvious if you pay attention to his actions)
(though, to the audience is obvious if you pay attention to his actions)
