The Selfishness of Lily Orchard
Lilyâs selfishness isnât just occasionalâitâs systemic. It shows up in so many corners of her behavior that it forms the core of how she navigates relationships, criticism, and public platforms. And the more you look, the clearer it becomes that sheâs built an entire online persona around taking and demanding, without ever giving back in meaningful or reciprocal ways.
Letâs start with something we touched on earlier: her tendency to frame normal, neutral interactions as boundary violations. When a viewer makes a kind suggestionâlike offering soup when sheâs sickâLily doesnât receive it as care. She calls it âpushing boundaries.â The takeaway? Youâre not allowed to care for her unless itâs on her very specific terms. This isnât about emotional safetyâitâs about control. She doesnât consider how the other person feels, or what their intent was. The only thing that matters is her discomfort. Thatâs not just a lack of empathy. Itâs an act of selfishness: weaponizing personal boundaries to avoid emotional accountability while still maintaining full control over others.
We also see this play out in the infamous âgift subâ incident on Twitch. Her chat celebrated by giving her gift subs, and she lashed out angrily, blaming them for hurting her with the notification noise. Instead of muting alerts or calmly explaining the issue, she ranted. Her stance boiled down to, âIâve already said I donât like it, so if you werenât there to hear it, too bad.â There was zero acknowledgment that her viewers were trying to be generous. No empathy. Just, âIâm in pain, so you did something wrong.â Again: her comfort > your good intentions.
Then thereâs how she positions herself as a perpetual underdog or victim in every situation, while still demanding total power over the conversation. For example, she claims to hate fascism, but runs her spaces in ways that are deeply authoritarian. She purges anyone who disagrees, bans people over tiny infractions, and labels any form of dissent as harassment or stalking. Thatâs not community leadershipâitâs tyranny under the guise of protection. She takes no responsibility for the kind of space she creates, even though she sets the tone herself. Everything bad is someone elseâs fault. Everything good is due to her strength and resilience.
And letâs not forget her hypocritical stances. She claims to be pro-autistic rights, but has expressed disdain for autistic people who âdonât mask,â because she finds masking easy. She has a diagnosed history (Aspergerâs, reportedly), yet she has no patience for people who struggle differently than she does. Her default mode is, âIf I can do it, so can you,â and when others canât? She dismisses them. This isnât just ignoranceâitâs that same selfish impulse again. If your experience doesnât validate hers, she sees it as an inconvenience.
Even her critiques of media operate under this self-centered lens. Her Owl House commentary is a perfect example: Luz, the main character, goes through a guilt spiral and depressive slump. Lilyâs response? Zero compassion. In fact, she goes so far as to say Amity should leave her. Why? Because Luzâs sadness is inconvenient. This isnât analysisâitâs projection. And it reflects the way Lily handles people in real life: she has no time for emotional needs that arenât hers.
She also holds onto petty grudges in the most performative ways possible. Sheâs known to write off shows entirely if theyâre associated with people she dislikes (like Steven Universe), and will conveniently praise something she once ignored (Hazbin Hotel) just because she no longer feels loyalty to a former friend. She doesnât analyze media based on its content. She analyzes it based on what it does for her ego in the moment. Again, itâs not about insightâitâs about serving her own narrative.
And perhaps one of the most telling aspects of her selfishness is that she doesnât grow. She doesnât reflect. She doesnât try to improve her approach for the sake of others, or even herself. She expects her audience to accommodate her stagnationâto keep up with her outdated references, tolerate her hostility, overlook her contradictions, and act like sheâs still relevant even as her style and attitude grow increasingly out of step with current platforms and communities. She wonât change, and she demands you adapt around that.
So to summarize it all: Lily doesnât giveâshe only takes. Your sympathy, your attention, your viewership, your loyaltyâall are things she believes sheâs entitled to. But when it comes time to reciprocate? To show understanding, patience, or care? She doesnât even try. Because in her world, the only feelings that matter are her own. Everyone else exists to serve a role in the Lily Orchard narrative.
Oh itâs so cute, weâre allowed to deadname people now.
