#and this ties into my feelings about the death penalty

[susiephone]

the phrases "they're 'human rights' not 'person i like rights' or 'good people rights'" and "i don't want to live in a society run by my worst impulses" have collectively done more to summarize my political ideology than 30 books' worth of arguing ever will

[burningcheese-merchant]

Can we get more of all of the yandere beasts? Idk. I'm kinda feral for your headcanons

Y E S

Assorted trivia/factoids because they've been rattling around in my head for ages now

Most to least physically violent: Burning Spice (duh), Silent Salt, Sahdow Milk, Mystic Flour, Eternal Sugar

Most to least horny (I mean they all are, but... idk some of them REALLY need to go to Horny Jail): Burning Spice + Shadow Milk (tied for 1st), Eternal Sugar (she doesn't necessarily act on it usually, but the thoughts are certainly there), Silent Salt + Mystic Flour (tied for last; both are actually quite sexually repressed. Salt feels guilty for ever thinking of White Lily in such a "dirty" way, so he tries very hard not to ("exaggerated disgust for sin/impurity and shame for feeling/expressing such as is often seen in religious fundamentalism" is the vibe I'm going for). For Flour, it's just another manifestation of the extreme denial of her obsession that she grapples with. It's arguably worse because there is no worldly attachment more egregious and corrosive than lust. Just another way Dark Cacao has ruined her chances at enlightenment...)

How often do they actually try to go after their Ancients?

Shadow Milk: All the time lol. A few times a month, at least. Cooldown periods between harassment attempts only because he likes to make a big, elaborate show each time he appears to Pure Vanilla, which can take time depending on what Shadow has in mind

Eternal Sugar: Not too often, really. The laziness is strong with this one lol. When she reaches out to Hollyberry, she does so in dreams or just through stalking her via the Soul Jam most of the time. Something particularly upsetting has to catch Sugar's eye to get her to actually go after Holly in person (usually involving jealousy)

Mystic Flour: No. The answer is no. She maintains as much distance from Dark Cacao as possible. Back to the Ivory Pagoda she went after he left Beast-Yeast post-battle, and in the Ivory Pagoda she shall stay. Alone. Away from him. No matter how empty everything feels without him, including herself. No matter how badly her soul aches without him there. No matter how her blood boils at the thought of someone else taking up his time and attention. Because she doesn't want to do that anyway...

Burning Spice: All the time. About the same rate as Shadow Milk, more or less: a few times a month, with cooldown periods in between (but only to heal bc Golden Cheese beats the hell out of him every time he shows up). There are times where he gets extra hungry/desperate and hunts her down more frequently; once, he stalked and attacked her at least once a week for almost two months straight. It took her dropping another building on him to send him away again.

Silent Salt: He doesn't have to "go after" White Lily, he's already there lol. He's the most "successful" of the five in this regard; he gets to be near her pretty much 24/7. She is effectively trapped in Beast-Yeast because she feels an obligation towards him (mostly towards keeping people safe from him, but also that weird sense of pity and misguided commiseration), which he takes advantage of without hesitation. He sees her pretty much every day... whether she notices him there or not. (She does, most of the time. He's actually pretty difficult to ignore, even if he's hiding from view. She just SENSES him there. It's very off-putting)

Is there any possibility for redemption of some sort? Could professional help benefit them at all?

Shadow Milk: No. Death penalty.

Eternal Sugar: No... but a boring as hell talk therapy session might at least put her to a sleep deep enough that she can't be bothered to harass Hollyberry. Maybe. (Her laziness is her downfall, really. It's all anyone can count on sometimes.)

Mystic Flour: No, but she wouldn't say no to help. She does not want to feel this way about Dark Cacao. At this point, she'd rather forget he exists at all. He can keep the Soul Jam; if that's the price she has to pay to be free from this sickness, then fine. Just give her the cure. Please. For the love of God

Burning Spice: NO. DEATH PENALTY.

Silent Salt: ...No? Probably not. It's weird. His gentleness with White Lily herself, plus his genuine efforts to try to please her, almost make it seem as though he can be reasoned with, at least to some degree. But it's what makes him so scary, in a different way from the others - and it's what helps lock White Lily in the sad, strange little cycle they're in. He keeps lulling her into a false sense of security and enticing her to believe he won't act out this time... until he inevitably does, because, ironically, he can't keep his controlling nature under control for long. He'll only "behave" as long as he believes it'll curry White Lily's favor. And as long as there's nothing and no one there to challenge him or their "bond"...

And height comparisons, just because. (These are canon for me in general, across the board. Not just in this creepy ass AU lol)

Pure Vanilla: 5'9"/179cm VS Shadow Milk: 5'9"/179cm

Hollyberry: 5'6"/170cm VS Eternal Sugar: 5'5"/167cm

Dark Cacao: 6'1"/185cm VS Mystic Flour: 5'9"/179cm

Golden Cheese: 5'7"/173cm VS Burning Spice: 6'5"/198cm

White Lily: 5'8"/176cm VS Silent Salt: 6'1"/185cm

[thornybubbles]

JJBA Yandere Scenario: Jealousy (The Joe-Foes) Doppio/Diavolo

**Note: This is another story that I’m just not satisfied with. I thought about scrapping what I had and rewriting the whole thing but changed my mind and just went in and added some changes instead. I figured if I spent time rewriting it, I’d never get around to all the other projects I want to work on. I’m sorry if it’s trash. I’ll try to do something better for Doppio and Diavolo later.**

You were in way over your head. 

You were in way, WAY over your head.

You joined Passione as the lowest of the low, just a messenger and nothing more. Slowly over time, you found yourself climbing higher and higher in the ranks receiving more responsibilities and more rewards in turn. Before you knew it, you were as high as you could go. You had somehow become your own unit within the organization.You had no subordinates but you answered only to someone named Doppio. When you first met the man you were certain someone was playing a prank on you. This guy, who looked and acted like a kid, was actually the underboss? This was the guy who took orders directly from the Boss himself? It had to be a joke… but it wasn’t. Doppio absolutely was the undisputed second in command… somehow… and you were taking your orders from him. The strange part was that only you knew who Doppio was and who he had ties to, and you were sworn to secrecy on penalty of death. But when you found out who Doppio really was, that’s when you knew that maybe a life of crime wasn’t the career choice for you. Though, it was far too late to drop out of the game now.

Doppio and you were often paired on missions together. Usually you would receive your orders through cypher messages stating that you were to “Make sure the plan goes smoothly, eliminate any interference, and keep dear Doppio out of trouble.” You had suspicions that Doppio must be related to the Boss somehow. Nepotism wasn’t unusual in the business, but it always irked you whenever you came across it. Doppio’s naivety, clumsiness, and habit of finding trouble no matter how hard you tried to avoid it made you wonder why he was allowed to have such a high ranking with all the responsibilities that came with it. You began to resent the pink-haired twerp, feeling that if anyone should be the Boss’s number Two, it should be you. You actually worked to get where you were. You didn’t just have it handed to you! You didn’t fight your way to the top just to end up as a glorified babysitter! 

What made it worse was that Doppio seemed to have developed an annoying little crush on you. It didn’t help that whenever you and Doppio were on a mission together, the Boss expected you to be in disguise and pretend to be Doppio’s lover. This gave Doppio the perfect excuse to always be holding your hand or clinging to your side in some way. He was always begging for kisses, hugs, or just your attention in general. You were not happy, but what could you do? Orders were orders. What’s worse is that you were beginning to suspect that these “missions” were actually dates. Now every time Doppio snuggled into your side you seethed on the inside and sent mental curses to the Boss. You were one of the best that Passione had to offer and now you’ve been reduced to being a forced date for the Boss’s nephew or something! You were deeply insulted, but due to the situation, you wouldn’t be allowed to voice any complaints. 

Of course at the time, you had not yet put two and two together about Doppio’s real identity. That day would be one you never forgot. It started when Doppio decided to take you on a shopping trip around the city. You sighed and reluctantly allowed yourself to be dragged along. Realizing that this “mission” wasn't going to be anything important, you decided to just let Doppio treat you. You weren’t about to say “no” to free stuff. The problem arose when you made the mistake of not only letting the guy at the jewelry store flirt with you, but flirting back at him. It wasn’t that the guy was especially attractive or anything, you were just relishing the fact that you were finally getting attention from someone other than Doppio. The man-child was so busy looking at all the shiny things in the store that you hadn’t thought he’d notice if you fluttered an eyelash or two. Besides, what would he even do about it? 

Well, you fucked around and found out. 

At some point during your conversation, you turned to see Doppio staring at you with a stunned, horrified expression on his face. For a moment, he looked like he would burst into tears. Then he did something weird. He started imitating the sound of a ringing cell phone. You and the jeweler exchanged confused glances and you began to feel embarrassed by Doppio’s antics. You watched as he started looking around as if he was searching for a phone. He looked behind jewelry cases, rifled through a stand holding some designer purses, and then made his way back over to you. All the while he was making that stupid sound. Finally you’d had enough. 

“Doppio, what the hell--?” You didn’t get to finish the question as you found yourself suddenly off balance. 

Doppio had, for some reason, snatched one of your shoes right off of your foot and was holding it to the side of his head and talking into it as if it were a phone. The action nearly caused you to fall over and nearly lose the wig that you wore as part of your disguise. You turned to glare at Doppio and chew him out for acting like a loon, but when you caught the look in his eyes, anything you were going to say got stuck in your throat. 

Those were not Doppio’s eyes looking back at you. His normally hazel colored eyes were now green and glared back at you with an intense madness. The very shape of his irises had changed. What was wrong with him? Was he possessed? Was an enemy Stand attacking him? Why did it look like he’d grown taller? Shocked, you took a few steps back from him. 

“Boss?” he spoke into your shoe. “Yes, we’re at a jewelry store…. I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding… “ 

Doppio continued talking into your shoe as if he was having an actual conversation with the Boss. You could only stare at him in shock. What on earth was happening? The jeweler chose that moment to make a snide comment at his expense and Doppio… effectively lost his shit. The meek, timid, wimp of a man you knew as Vinegar Doppio turned his green-eyed glare on the jeweler. He pressed your shoe closer to his ear to secure it while he used his other hand to grab the poor man by the hair. He then slammed the man’s face into the jewelry case repeatedly until the glass was cracked and splattered with blood. 

“CAN’T YOU SEE I’M ON THE PHONE?!! SHUT YOUR FILTHY, COCKSUCKING MOUTH AND MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!!!” he bellowed, using a voice and language you’d never thought you’d hear from someone like Doppio. 

Now he not only looked taller, but his arms and legs seemed more fleshed out and muscular. The sleeves of his sweater were pushed up slightly and you could make out what you thought to be elaborate tattoos on his arms. Since when was Doppio the type to get tattoos? You thought about calling your Stand, but you didn’t even know what you would have it do. If you used it to attack Doppio, the Boss would be furious, but you couldn’t exactly just let him give you the same treatment as the jeweler. You had to get out of there. 

The jeweler’s unconscious body slumped to the floor and you moved even further away from Doppio before turning and breaking into a full run. You didn’t care about your other shoe, you just needed to get away from Doppio while he was acting like a psychopath. You didn’t get far. You only took about three steps when you suddenly ran right into Doppio’s arms. You had no idea how he got ahead of you like that. You didn’t even see him move. He practically crushed you in his grip, but his embrace didn’t have its usual clingy, loving feel to it. He was holding you with a strength you’d never felt him display before. It was as if his arms were pythons and they were trying to squeeze the life out of you. 

He was looking up at you with the saddest expression you’d ever seen him use. His watery eyes were now back to their normal color and looking at you like you just knocked his teddy bear out of his hand. 

“Why are you trying to run from me?” he asked with a whimper. 

Was he serious? After that display of his, did he even have to ask? 

“D-Doppio… you… w-what happened to you? Your eyes changed and you-you…” 

Doppio wiped his eyes and let you go. He placed your shoe into your hand. You took it from him and put it back on, not taking your eyes off of him. 

“Boss called us back. We need to go.” he said with a sad sigh.

He never addressed your concerns and seemed to actively ignore it when you mentioned what just happened. He grabbed you by the hand and all but dragged you out of the store. Where was this strength coming from? You just couldn’t understand what was happening. It was like Doppio was becoming a different person! The next thing you knew, you and Doppio were getting into a taxi and being taken to God knows where. 

“He wants to talk to you.” Doppio said, still giving you that sad look. 

“Who?” you asked. 

“Boss. He sounds really mad.” 

A thrill of terror shot through your system. The Boss wanted to talk to you? And he was angry? That’s extremely concerning. On top of everything that was going on with Doppio, you really didn’t need this right now. Also, the Boss never had heart to hearts with anyone directly. Just what was going on? What rule did you break that was bad enough for the Boss to speak to you in person about it? 

“What is he mad about?” you asked Doppio, gulping down your fear.

“Why were you flirting with that guy at the jewelry store?” Doppio said, completely ignoring your question. 

“Uh… I… It didn’t mean anything, Doppio!” you stammered, not wanting to set him off again. “I was just messing around! That’s all!” 

You added the last part with a nervous smile. You never felt so on the spot in your life. It was apparent that your flirting had been what set Doppio off, but you never expected such violence from someone like him. Now you were beginning to understand why the Boss kept him around. He was a force to be reckoned with when he was angry and no one would ever suspect someone like him to have psychotic meltdowns that ended with brutal violence. But what was with the eye color change and the increase in height and muscle mass? Surely you hadn’t imagined that. 

Doppio huffed and folded his arms, going into a full pout. 

“You never look at me like that…” he muttered. 

His kicked puppy expression was slowly turning into one of annoyance and disgust. For a moment you feared he was about to have another outburst. For the rest of the ride, you sat in fearful silence while Doppio fumed and pouted next to you. After about 20 minutes, you realized that the taxi was taking you to an area of the city that you’d never been to before. Judging by all the sprawling villas and expensive looking stores, you were going into a very well-to-do neighborhood. The taxi pulled alongside an alley next to a huge hotel. 

“This is our stop.” Doppio said. 

He climbed out of the taxi and you followed after him. The taxi driver made no attempt to get any money out of either of you and he drove away as if he couldn’t get away from the area fast enough. Doppio grabbed your hand and dragged you down the alley. The alley was nothing like the ones in other parts of the city. The street was free of any garbage and there weren’t any shady guys in trench coats or scantily clad women leaning against the walls, waiting for their next customers. Other than a few trash cans lining up against the building wall, the alley was completely empty. 

Doppio took you all the way to the end of the alley and you realized that he’d taken you to a dead end. Out of instinct you jerked your head to look behind you, expecting to see rival gang members closing in to corner you, but there was no one there. Doppio stopped at the door and finally let go of your hand. The door looked weirdly high tech. It lacked a knob or handle of any kind and on the wall to the right of it was a keypad. Over the top of the door frame was an ominous looking security camera that seemed to focus in on you as you stared up at it. Doppio punched a code and the door slide open, making an unsettling “ssshhhh” sound. The room beyond the door was pitch black and you couldn’t make out a single thing inside it. Doppio grabbed your hand again, but instead of dragging you along behind him, he suddenly pulled you forward, flinging you into the yawning darkness. You yelped as you felt your body collide with the hard floor. You heard the door clang shut behind you, sounding far too similar to a prison door for your liking. You weren’t sure if Doppio came into the room behind you or threw you into the room alone. 

“Doppio?” you called nervously into the darkness. 

No one answered. You stood up, rubbing your sore shoulder from where you were tossed onto the floor. That would definitely be a bruise later. You never thought Doppio could be so vicious. You had always seen him as a klutzy, slow-witted pest with a childish streak, but you were really starting to think that it was time to reevaluate the way you thought about him. You were startled by the sound of footsteps walking around you. 

“D-Doppio? Is that you?” you called, your voice shaking slightly. 

No response. 

You listened as the footsteps moved away from you. You weren’t sure but it seemed that the further they got away from you, the heavier they sounded. It got to the point that they started to sound like a different set of footsteps. Just how many people were in the room with you? 

“Doppio, if that’s you please answer me!” you said, hating how your growing fear could be heard in your voice. 

The footsteps stopped a few feet ahead of you. There was a clicking sound, and you were suddenly blinded by a bright light shining directly in your face. 

“Doppio isn’t here right now. It’s just you… and me.” 

That was certainly not Doppio’s voice. It was much deeper, richer, and older sounding. You squinted your eyes, trying to see past the blinding light and oppressive darkness. You couldn’t see much, just the outline of a tall man with long hair. He was standing in front of the light, blocking it from blinding you, but also making it impossible to see his appearance in detail. There was one detail that you could make out though, and that was his glaring green eyes. The same green eyes that Doppio had when he flipped out on the jeweler. 

“Do you know who I am?” he asked you. His voice gave you chills, and not in a good way. 

You didn’t answer. You couldn’t answer. You were too afraid to. 

The man walked up to you, staring down at you with menacing green eyes. He reached out and grabbed you by the face, squeezing your jaw just enough for it to be uncomfortable but not quite painful. 

“I’m the man that you signed your life over to when you joined Passione.” he said, tightening his hold on your face just slightly for a moment. 

“I am the only reason you have the power and position that you have today! I am the one that gave you everything! With a snap of my fingers I could have you back to being a lowly messenger, or tossed into the streets! If I so chose, I could end your life in the blink of an eye. Your very existence continues because I allow it!” 

As he ranted, you could feel your blood began to freeze. The mysterious man that stood before you was the Boss himself! You were alone with the leader of Passione and he was royally pissed at you! The trouble was that you still didn’t know what you had done to earn his ire. 

“When you joined up with Passione, you became my subject, my property! I partnered you with Doppio for a reason. You answer to Doppio. You belong to Doppio. Anything that belongs to Doppio belongs to me! Do you understand that?!” 

He shoved you away from him, causing you to fall backwards onto your rear. You stared up at him in fear, afraid that he was going to inflict more abuse on you. He sounded unhinged and still, he hadn’t explained what your crime was. 

“Do you understand the concept of loyalty?” he asked you all of a sudden. 

You nodded your head. 

“Tell me, what do you think loyalty is.” he commanded. 

You took a moment to get your thoughts together while he stared at you in expectation. 

“Loyalty is showing support, devotion, or allegiance.” You answered, hoping that was what he wanted to hear. 

“Do you think you’ve been loyal?” he asked you, his voice taking on a slightly irritated tone. 

“I have been nothing but loyal to you and the organization!” you answered without hesitation. What was this talk of loyalty? When had you ever made the Boss doubt your loyalty? 

He reached down and grabbed your arm, then he yanked you up to your feet. You found yourself pressed up against his chest and staring directly into his green eyes. He studied you for a moment before saying, 

“You were on a date with Doppio, yet you dared to throw yourself at that lowlife at the jewelry store!” 

You didn’t know how to respond. 

He clenched your arm tightly, causing you to gasp in pain, but you didn’t dare try to break free. 

“Let me make it clear to you once more. You belong to Doppio, to ME!! If you are not loyal to me then you are a liability! You do know what happens to those that I deem to be a liability, don’t you?” he practically spat in your face. 

“Y-yes! I’m sorry! I’ll never-- I’ll never do it again!” you said, squirming in discomfort due to the grip on your arm. 

The Boss released you and you sagged to the floor, doing everything in your power not to burst into tears in front of him. After this, the last thing you needed was for the Boss to view you as an emotional fool. 

“I will hold you to that.” he said and you could hear the contempt in his voice. “Now get out.” 

You had no idea where the door was but that didn’t stop you from picking yourself up and charging into the darkness to find where you hoped the exit would be. Luckily, the door slid open as you approached and you wasted no time practically jumping out of the room. The door slammed closed behind you with a foreboding clang. To your surprise, Doppio was waiting there for you, looking both worried and downcast. When he saw you he threw his arms around you in an embrace. You returned it, though shakily. 

You knew the truth about the Boss now. It was something else that no one else knew. Vinegar Doppio and the Boss of Passione were the same person. They occupied the same body somehow. But this wasn’t some rare disorder or anything so… human. No,  this was something straight out of Robert Louis Stevenson! Pure Jekyll and Hyde shit! You weren’t sure how something like that was actually possible, unless it had something to do with his Stand (which you were certain he must have, even though you hadn’t seen it yet).

You looked down at Doppio, who was brazenly snuggling his face into your chest, and took a few slow breaths to calm your jangled nerves. 

“I’m sorry, Doppio.” you said, hoping to smooth things out between yourself and this “current incarnation” of the Boss. 

The man in question looked up at you and cheered, smiling sweetly as if the events of the day had only been a waking nightmare. 

“I forgive you…” he cooed, but suddenly his whole body seemed to tremble and twitch. His head jerked back and it seemed as if a whole separate set of eyeballs rolled around to replace his own. Now you were, once again, staring into the Boss’s wild green eyes. 

“...but…” he said, in a deep threatening voice that was most certainly NOT Doppio’s, “If your lovely eyes ever begin to rove again, I will cut them from their sockets!”

Doppio’s body convulsed once and he was back to normal. 

“I still want to buy you something nice, if that’s okay?” he said, grinning and giving your waist a little squeeze. 

You grinned at him nervously. 

“Okay, sweetheart.” you said with a gulp. “We can do whatever you want to do.” 

You just barely caught the triumphant grin on his face, before Doppio started dragging you out of the alley to finish your date. 

You should have stayed as a messenger.

[thunderon]

i have many inconsequential thoughts on the yellowjackets pre-crash team and what they were like:

- the yellowjackets, as a collective, are a physical team. they’re the team that you see on your game schedule and groan about having to play against because you know you’re gonna feel like you were in a car crash (or plane crash lol) the next day

- nat is the team’s best penalty kick taker. she definitely fucks around during practice tho and always forgets at least one part of her uniform. lottie always carries spare socks and hair ties for her

- shauna is the absolute dirtiest player. im talking after-the-whistle shoves and cheap digs. her elbow always finds its way into someone’s solar plexus. jackie firmly believes most of it is an accident or just shauna “being a real go-getter” and is quite literally the only person in the state of new jersey who defends shauna’s playstyle

- taissa gets carded for talking back to the refs at least twice a season. van and lottie each have had to pull her away to stop her from getting ejected

- every season there is a team betting pool on whether taissa or shauna end up with the most fouls. everyone knows about it except tai, shauna, jackie, and laura lee

- the betting pool may or may not have been set up by van

- lottie wins the betting pool every year. she has an uncanny ability to predict the number of penalties they each get

- van is the most clutch goalie specifically in sudden death penalty shootouts

- taissa turner is the JV team’s boogeyman they’re absolutely terrified of her

- i know in my heart that mari is the team snack provider. definitely brings homemade food for everyone to eat at weekend-long tourneys

- taissa is def the teammate who gives unsolicited team pep talks/“we need to get our shit together”speeches. half of the time they’re inspiring and the other half of the time the entire team wants to throttle her (except laura lee, who always claps at the end)

- gen and melissa were once forgotten about and left behind by the team bus and became best friends after the experience

[cringefailvox]

https://www.tumblr.com/cringefailvox/764976225598029824/my-ultimate-fantasy-for-hazbin-s2-is-a-reveal-of?source=share

I give zero fucks about Alastor, but Valentino *IS* irredimable, rape *IS* the worst thing a person can commit. More than rape, Valentino ENSLAVES sex workers, dehumanizes them and abuse every single part of their existence. He is irredimable. He is a monster. Rapists are monsters and they don't deserve any kind of sympathy. The fandom hating Val more than Alastor is not a big deal as some people think it is, it's literally being a normal human being. (Alastor is also terrible, a serial killer and what he does to Husk is horrible, but even if he gets some sort of redemption it would be much better than giving a rapist redemption)

i hear you, but i respectfully disagree on a few points. apologies for how philosophical / unrelated to hazbin this is going to get, but i'm also a correlated philosophy major and i can't help it.

firstly, i generally resist the urge to strip the humanity from people who have committed atrocious crimes, because it's a slippery slope. dehumanization is always extremism, even if you're doing it to someone who you might think deserves it, because then how do we measure when a person has gone too far to be human anymore? how can we objectively measure the no-return threshold of irredeemability? i personally don't think we can, and that we shouldn't try. it classifies certain actions as outlandishly beyond the pale of the everyday person, when in reality anyone is capable of doing horrific things, and i'm not interested in obscuring that truth. it absolves responsibility.

secondly, with the understanding that obviously we're discussing a fictional character that has no bearing on the material world, i am wary of the claim that rape is the worst thing someone can do. not because i disagree, but because i don't believe in some objective scale of badness where each crime is neatly filed and ranked according to how horrible it is. it's sort of ridiculous how subjective morality is when you get down to brass tacks and super frustrating occasionally but it is what it is.

i also don't think there's such a thing as someone being irredeemable. cards on the table, i'm religious, and my tradition holds that redemption is possible for everyone - someone who is incapable of change may as well not be alive, and no one is incapable of missing the mark. in judaism, murder is the worst thing you can do someone, because there can be no complete repentance "unless the injured party has been appeased" (mishna yoma 8:9), and you can't repair a relationship with a dead person. of course, there's no compulsion for forgiveness either.

this is also tied to my rejection of punitive justice / the death penalty in general but i digress. this is really dicey, subjective moral territory, and i really don't have a perfect answer. i am just personally bothered by the idea that we can categorically revoke someone's ability to feel remorse and change their ways if they've "gone too far" and become some nebulous, inhuman monster by crossing the subjective line we've drawn in the sand. you can believe that rape is the absolute worst thing anyone can do, but i just want you to consider why you believe that beyond the cop-out that your belief makes you "a normal human being". your moral values are not universal, and neither are mine, and i would gently suggest examining your principles and whether they're based on punishment or rehabilitation & coexistence. there's really excellent scholarship out there on restorative justice and the shift away from carceral thinking, so i'll link some of those here:

breaking free of the prison paradigm by judy c. tsui

sexual violence and the possibilities of restorative justice by nicole westmarland, et al

restorative justice: the challenge of sexual and racial violence by barbara hudson

feminism, rape, and the search for justice by clare mcglynn

[roseworth]

I read through your Dick Grayson asks and I would like to thank you for putting all the issues I've (also) had with his character into words. I feel like Jason fans (that have read his comics) are far more critical of his actions and will call him out on it. Meanwhile I haven't seen anyone be critical of Dick before, even when his writing activity hurts other characters (like him being the main leader in Absolute Power even tho it was at the expense of both Diana (a woman) and Mr Terrific (a poc), among others)

im going to disagree just a little bit bc i have beloved mutuals that Are actually critical of dick. not in the same way jason fans are critical of him because we hate on that man every day out of love. but my dearly beloved gay ppl in my phone will sometimes be critical when he deserves it

but youre absolutely right that just talking about people who read the comics (bc wfa/fanon fans are a whole different can of worms), jason fans are a lot more likely to be critical of jason. i think thats at least partially because every few months theres death penalty discourse about jason todd so a lot of fans feel the need to emphasize that they like the character because of his fictional actions and they dont actually support the death penalty. and since dick hasnt done anything that warrants that kind of thing theres less of a need to add disclaimers before talking about him

i do think that most dick fans dont feel the need to be critical of his writing, which kinda ties into what i was saying before about how hes treated by a lot of his fans as an unknown side character. whenever something happens to dick the general consensus about it seems to be "omg hes finally getting the appreciation he deserves 🤩" as if he hasnt been appreciated by dc and by fans for like 80 years. and it especially annoyed me during absolute power bc its not necessarily Wrong for dick to be the one to lead everyone but on the other hand the story kinda treated it like he was the only one who could do it?? i feel like diana was the obvious choice but she wasnt even considered. you make a good point about mr terrific too, i feel like hes a less obvious choice just bc part of the reason nightwing was chosen was because everyone on the team had a connection to him but a lot fewer people know mr terrific, but again i think the fact that he was kinda holding shit down during ap means he could've been the leader (idk a lot about mr terrific but it does kind of annoy me that they keep using him in stories to be the guy that gives everyone information on the multiverse then he doesnt get to do anything but maybe thats just me). anyways all that to say it makes sense to me why dick could be leader but it just bothers me that there were other choices but the story acted like dick was the only one who could possibly do it

and i think its not Super often that characters are completely ooc for the sake of elevating dick, but it definitely happens. i think it happens super often with damian where the writers will ignore his development and write him to be a mean little kid just so dick can say "remember to be nice damian ☺️" and very few people talk about it just because the people going "awww hes so big brother coded <3" are louder. and dick becomes the center of every team book hes on no matter what, which to be fair is usually because hes the leader so he gets most of the focus. but it seems like every single team book that dick is on becomes Nightwing & Friends where dick gets the storylines and everyone else gets the scraps and most team books are usually. yk. about everyone.

anyways thats my dick rant for the day like and subscribe for more

[shsenhaji]

Les Misérables - 1.1.4 - Les oeuvres semblables aux paroles

So, I didn't post anything yesterday, partly because I was too busy, and because I didn't have much to say about 1.1.3 - except that it was surprisingly short and that I totally didn't remember Victor Hugo directly comparing Myriel to Jesus Christ in actions and manner.

However, for today's chapter I do have Thoughts.

First thought: The French chapter title seems more meaningful and packs more of a punch than the English version.

Second thought: There were a few parts I didn't remember, including the trial of the man who made counterfeit money. Myriel's position of asking who judges the judge was pretty cool, and once again it's nice to see how his ideals ties into Jean Valjean and predisposes Myriel to act the way he does.

As my friend said in reply to my thoughts, "It's a really powerful setup for everything that comes later, for sure."

Third thought: For whatever reason, the narrator's tangent on the guillotine and the scaffold was a bit abrupt. The change from the past tense, describing Myriel, to a present-tense meditation on the guillotine took me by surprise, even though I like the book's conceit of a narrator describing past events while also expounding on things in the present sense, and that's one of the parts I enjoyed most last year. Perhaps it's the audiobook version that made a difference, or the French, but either way, I was taken a bit aback at that part. I guess I'll see how I feel as I continue to read. I do respect that Myriel (and the narrator/our friend Victor Hugo) is against the death penalty.

Fourth thought: the ending was both abrupt, a bit like the transitions between the scenes of Myriel's "oeuvres," but also sweet and quite touching.

Fifth thought: While I understanding what he's saying, I don't love this passage: "

« L’homme a sur lui la chair, qui est tout à la fois son fardeau et sa tentation. Il la traîne et lui cède.

« Il doit la surveiller, la contenir, la réprimer, et ne lui obéir qu’à la dernière extrémité. Dans cette obéissance-là, il peut encore y avoir de la faute ; mais la faute, ainsi faite, est vénielle. C’est une chute, mais une chute sur les genoux, qui peut s’achever en prière."

This sense of the flesh being burden and temptation, and always having to repress it... Especially the wording in original French sounded too preachy in a negative way; as in, our selves and desires are inherently wrong, and we have to watch ourselves all the time? In some ways, we do; we have to decide what our actions will be, regardless of initial impulses.

I do love how Myriel considers himself to be an ex-sinner, however. It says a lot about his past (which we don't know a lot about) and about his beliefs and actions.

Sixth thought: I really appreciated how Myriel in a way does realize that the actions of the poor and the "misérables" are not always their fault, though he specifically blames the fathers and husbands and the masters and the rich and the wise. However, the little aside at the end of that section, where the narrator tells us that Myriel's views are strange and sketchy, but that he probably got it from the Gospel, was both depressing and hilarious.

Final thought: "Le fantôme de la justice sociale l’obsédait." ("The phantom of social justice tormented him.") That line, when Myriel is grappling with his newfound crisis of faith regarding the practice of execution by the state - that hit me hard. In a way, it almost summed up a lot of the book's themes in really poetic way. The ghost of social justice. What so many characters grapple with or are forced to face, the ghost of old wrongs always coming back to haunt the present, the ever-present and oppressive forces so eloquently laid out in the preface...

[moonsprings]

maybe it's because i've been through it these last two years with a shit ton of personal shit that happened (family deaths, friend with illness) that everything feels a lot more... more but this news of lee sun kyun's death has been shocking. it feels odd because i'm a lot more sad about it than i expected to be, just from a human perspective of not wanting other people to feel the kind of despair necessary to take your own life. i wasn't a die hard fan but a casual fan nonetheless (cue self callout about liking middle aged men with nice voices... lol.) and while admittedly i've been more of a fan of lee sun kyun's wife (actress jeon hye jin, who is famous in her own right) in recent years, he was undoubtedly an actor i watched growing up. coffee prince was the hit drama when i was in grade school, back when my family used to watch korean cable/broadcast tv at home. then pasta, then my mister which i consider his representative work, more so than parasite. it's a horrible thing that's happened.

there's a lot of context that's missing on the western side of the news, mostly to do with the whole hostess/escort blackmail situation that had been unfolding on korean news in the last 2-3 months which likely compounded the entire scandal and his decision to do this sadly. imo this entire thing has far less to do about drugs than people actually think though it's still a significant factor. lee sunkyun has always had a 'family man' image on kor tv and the revelations about him and the alleged hostess/escort who had been blackmailing him who supplied and took drugs with was a madame/hostess from a VIP (basically rich people only) room salon/hostess bar he appears to have been having an affair with for a while which irreparably damaged his image and reputation and likely his marriage and family. rumors had been circulating that his in-laws were urging jeon hyejin to divorce him, they supposedly sent their kids to an overseas boarding school because they were getting bullied in korea over lsk's scandal, and he was facing millions in won in contract violations penalty fees from cancelled CFs/advertisements and tv and film work that was delayed because of the scandal (also fucking hell, just saw the news report saying he left a message to his company's rep apologizing for the penalty fees right before his death). the same penalty fee situation happened to actor yoo ahin after he was convicted of drug charges and is now reportedly millions in debt. that is an incredible amount of pressure, even if part of it was the consequence of his actions. and to be clear, these were stupid choices he made but the reaction was so wildly disproportionate to what he's been accused of.

i feel like if it had "just" been drugs, or "just" been the hostess scandal, he could have made a come back after a few years as many other korean celebrities have (way more than people think, and he has more leeway as a critically celebrated, middle aged male actor who is not an idol), but it's the combination of the drugs, the 'room salon'/hostess club situation that just exploded, and the corrupt police placing this level of constant pressure and publicity on him that caused this imo. his private phone calls and messages he made with the hostess were leaked yesterday from a known r/ight wing kor youtuber before his suic-de. having seen it reported in the kor news, it's difficult to describe the contents of it other than being very personal and frankly, embarrassing (and i mean this as neutrally as possible. think adam levine-esque) in a country as conservative as korea when he's telling a s-x worker he 'really likes [her]' in the sense that he has feelings for her. and again, his wife is a prominent actress and their public images are tied together. given the timing, it likely wasn't just about the drugs. and i know the whole room salon/hostess bar thing is incredibly common in korea, in older stats some say something like 70% of korean men have frequented one (though it's increasingly becoming less acceptable and therefore less common, which is why the public reaction been harsh) and i really don't approve of the cultural aspects that have allowed this to be permissible (as a korean-american) but i feel like that's a personal issue that should have been handled by him and his family. if it was one or the other he could have made a return but i think the pressure of it being this public and detailed due to police likely being the ones intentionally leaking information from the investigation was just too much for him to handle. it feels like the police purposefully went out of their way to humiliate lee sun kyun in the press and public to try and get him to admit to the drug charges because g-dragon, the other celebrity that was implicated, proved his innocence rather conclusively and the police didn't have anyone else to use to get some high profile publicity.

...so we started the year with a suic-de and ended it with a suic-de. it's telling, i think. obviously i don't know any of them, they're 'just' celebrities who literally don't know i exist (as it should be) but honestly my chest feels heavy watching dark coats and emotionless faces walk into the university hospitals, the smiling portrait pictures atop the bed of flowers at the ceremonial funeral rooms, the whole lot - i don't know how many more times people can see this and not feel like anything's wrong. image is everything and the pressure to perform, be perfect, be successful is too much. i'm not even half as talented as any of them and i still felt it, a sea away, in a watered down version from immigrant korean parents and an immigrant community. everyone is way too damn casual about admitting their suic-dal thoughts but not really offering any real solutions and it's just so common. i've heard far too many interviews from kor celebrities who had scandals (and when i say scandals i mean in the asian sense again, dating, secret marriages, divorces or drugs or whatever shit that would barely even qualify as a line in the news in the west most of the time and not more serious crimes) who admitted years after the fact that they were considering suic-de because of the public reaction. or more mundane shit like 'i felt suicidal in school because of academic pressure' stuff i've heard a million times from korean friends, classmates. a lot of it gets dismissed as 'puberty' or 'everyone feels that way'. and again i ask why it's so normalized.

then even those celebrities that have died from suic-de are treated like virtual boogeymen afterwards, their names never mentioned even in places where it should be. the eggshells, the sidestepping because it could be considered 'sensitive' and thus they're erased because the only context their lives can be in is in position to their suic-des. other people who knew them, friends, acquaintances, coworkers they had - past the initial condolence messages, it's like they never existed because everyone is scared of controversy from saying the wrong thing, or not being serious enough, or whatever the hell people want to nitpick that week. people have literally been criticized before for being too sad or not being sad enough when a death from a suic-de has happened so i'm not surprised this was the end result, that literally no one talks about the deceased now outside of a very select few. if they are talked about, it's more so alluded to in an extremely vague manner usually not mentioning them by name, and they rarely, if ever say the actual word suic-de. they usually say that it was an "안타까운 사건" ('an unfortunate incident') even in official news reports, including of LSK's death, and it just bothers me that it's this taboo, everything from making stupid decisions and stupid mistakes (bullying, drugs, cheating, whatever the fuck) or just plain having mental illness, to ending their lives because of it, to having their friends and family not speak about them publicly because it's 'shameful' and they'll get judged.

i don't know what the point is, just that i'm really increasingly frustrated with the state of things. the police shouldn't have pushed him to the brink. this entire situation straight up should not have happened at all.

[aachria]

Okay so another random name for Mr uncle/father figure, Ree D Civic, cause who knows maybe somehow he also got hit by a red Honda Civic tis a small world

Now I'm going to do theories, that I just want to talk about lol Okay so Ussop leave the crew in water 7 right, and then when he wants to come back Zoro is like nuh uh. So, if Ussop does that again doesn't that mean Ed will have to say something similar, even if itll be like pulling teeth. Then we go away from that and go way into the future to Ace's Execution I feel like Ed will somehow end up with a canon and use that to do something to keep Ace alive, cause can They'll be destroying cannon with a canon.

I was also thinking bout the two year time skip and the fake Strawhats, because you said Ed will eventually just have brown hair so will the fake one have green still? I'd snicker at that

Ed: I'm the real one

Fake Ed: I have green hair! >:D

Ed, their eye twitching: hair grows out you dumbass

I wonder as well where Ed will be teleported (I can't quote it exactly because my memory is horrid but) when the strawhats were separated and asked the question 'where would you go on a vacation' or something along those lines, I feel like they'd either somehow end up at Marine Ford out of spite or with Uncle Music shell. Who I feel like is also going to try to stop Ace from dying? So maybe the two of them will combine their plans or something. Oh or Ed could just end up with Luffy as a 'Where ever Luffy ends up I also want to be'

Anywho I've rambled enough for today, I'll be back Wednesday (unless I come up with more Father I'll do it my way names that I think are funny aha) have a good day!

Bless your heart and your frankly hilarious names.

Uuuuuh I cannot say much about Water 7 aside from it will Make You Cry because it made me.

I’m keeping my damn mouth shut about anything Marineford under penalty of death because I want whatever it turns out to be to shock your fucking system. So will Ed show up with a cannon? Will Ed even have to show up? Fuck around and find out.

The fake Strawhat thing is so real you’re so real for that.

I am, once again Not Allowed to speak of Marineford.

ALSO UNCLE MUSIC SHELL AND FATHER I’LL DO IT MY WAY?????

[screamingaboutaceattorney]

which culprits were executed?

disclaimer i know nothing about actual law and did no research for this post which i feel fits the spirit of the franchise so i will not apologize for it. also i did not include perjury charges because no one has ever been charged for that in these fucking games

ideas under the cut because spoilers or whatever and also there's so many of these bitches oh my fucking god

frank sahwit: no, i don't think so. he killed one person in a panic, and aside from that he was just a petty burglar. probably a decade or two in jail, but he's getting out eventually (plus, we did see him in the imprisoned turnabout, and he seemed to be doing just fine)

redd white: unfortunately, no. blackmailing most of la and killing mia is probably not an executionable offense :( i'd imagine life in prison, if not 50 years or so. depends on his lawyer, honestly

dee vasquez: i'd say no. yes, she blackmailed people and had mafia connections, but she killed hammer in self defense. a good few decades behind bars, and then she'll be back to producing movies with the same dramatics as always (someone is probably going to keep a closer eye on that, though)

yanni yogi: prooooobably not? he killed hammond, yeah, but was at least slightly coerced into it, and based on his confession in turnabout goodbyes, probably plead guilty this time! fairly certain he'll just get a life sentence

manfred von karma: hell yes. he killed a man in cold blood over what most people would consider an inconvenience, covered it up for fifteen years, assaulted maya and phoenix (which they probably pressed charges for), and probably forged evidence (he definitely got jeff master's confession under duress, at least, even if it was orchestrated by blaise). even beyond all that, though, we know he's dead by bridge to the turnabout (maybe earlier, i don't remember off the top of my head)

damon gant: yuuuup. he killed two people, forged loooooots of evidence, blackmailed the chief prosecutor, and did so all as the chief of police (except the first murder, i guess). he's gonna hang for that

richard wellington: nah. similar to sahwit, he was a petty criminal who killed someone in a panic to keep his other crimes a secret. he'll be out of prison in like 25 years

mimi miney: this one's tough, but i think no. did she kill thirteen people? yes, she did. however, the first twelve were because she was overworked and exhausted and made a mistake, while the last one was something she did out of desperation to keep her secret from getting out. she's probably got a good 20-30 years behind bars, but she'll get out eventually

acro: nope, nope, no way is he being executed. he intended to kill regina, sure, but definitely not russell. i'd imagine the rest of the circus vouched for him at his trial, too. on top of that, he's already disabled. probably got a solid 20 or so years in prison, but that's it

matt engarde: shockingly (maybe), no! he's an all-around godawful person, but kidnapping a girl and hiring an assassin (and then blackmailing said assassin) probably doesn't warrant the death penalty. i imagine he would've asked for life in prison, too, given the... situation he was in regarding de killer

dahlia hawthorne: canonically executed, which is a big plot point. don't think i need to elaborate here

luke atmey: no? he killed bullard because he was being blackmailed, blackmailed ron delite because he was being blackmailed, and then was also a phantom thief. don't think he's gonna die for any of that

furio tigre: i'm gonna say no. he killed glen elg, was a loan shark, had ties with the mob, and assaulted phoenix, but i imagine that just got him a hefty prison sentence

godot: absolutely not. he's canonically disabled and only killed misty to protect maya. if anyone's getting out of this with just a fine, it's him

kristoph gavin: empathetically yes. forging evidence, killing two people, attempting to kill a third... he's getting the noose, no questions asked

alita tiala: don't think so. she killed meraktis, but he did try to kill her first. also had ties to the mob, but the kitakis openly hate her now, so i don't think that matters as much. three decades in prison, tops

daryan crescend: HARD maybe. he killed letouse, blackmailed machi, and smuggled the cocoons, but he's also a celebrity and a police officer and was being kinda blackmailed about the cocoons. depends on his lawyer and how hard interpol pushes for his execution. i could see it going either way

ted tonate: no, but he probably is getting a life sentence for killing arme, assaulting apollo, and setting off a bomb in an occupied courtroom while a trial was in session

florent l'belle: i don't think so, no. he can only be charged with killing kyubi since perjury isn't a thing in ace attorney, so he's probably got 50 years to a life sentence, since he did kill the mayor of a village and also caused environmental damage with all the fucking perfume (he did get sued for that one, though).

aristotle means: gonna say no here. just because he accepted bribes and instilled his students with shit values doesn't mean any of that is necessarily a crime (the bribes thing might be but hell if i'm gonna check), so it's really just killing one person that he's being charged with. his sentence might be longer depending on klavier, though, since he was expressly close with constance courte and is well respected in the legal system (as well as an actual fucking celebrity)

the phantom: if simon blackquill was gonna hang for killing metis and stealing a psychological profile while pleading guilty, there's no fucking way this guy's escaping the noose

marlon rimes: canonically, no! that death was a full-on accident, and phoenix argued for him to receive help instead of conviction. he'll be fine

pees'lubn andistan'dhin: given that they were going to execute a nine-year-old for this crime, yeah he's gonna die

roger retinz: don't think so, no. troupe gramarye was fucked up, and he continued the trend, but i don't think he'll die for it. depends on who prosecutes his trial though, since he framed trucy for it and she is the little darling of the legal system (who is not very involved in the legal system)

geiru toneido: probably not. she killed taifu on purpose, sure, but over a misunderstanding. i'd imagine she'll be fine and out of jail in a few decades

paul atishon: god i wish, but no. being a politician an asshole isn't a crime, and i don't think archie buff's death is something he'll get the death penalty for

ga'ran sigatar khura'in: i have NO IDEA if she'll be executed or not. she's responsible for countless deaths (and lots of treason), yes, but she IS still royalty. i'd like to say yes, but that's not something i'm super confident in

pierce nichody: probably not, given that gloomsbury's death was an accident and he didn't succeed with killing ellen. depends on if the sprockets press charges, given that they're pretty rich and influential

jacques portsman: don't think so. i'm fairly certain that faith's murder and his involvement in the smuggling ring don't add up to the death penalty

cammy meele: nahhh. she's involved with the smuggling ring again, but she killed hicks in a panic. she'll probably be fine

lance amano/ernest amano: you have no idea how desperately i wish i could say these fuckers got the noose, but i unfortunately can't. organized crime + a fake kidnapping + involvement in the smuggling ring + a few deaths =/= execution

calisto yew: yeah i'd say so. she killed at least two people, was involved in the smuggling ring, was a member of a vigilante group, and attempted to shoot kay. lang and edgeworth are getting her in the noose if it kills them

quercus alba: yuuup. part of the smuggling ring, killed people, abused his diplomatic immunity, had a cross examination that lasted too long... he's gonna hang for that last offense alone /j

horace knightley: i would not think so, but i could be wrong! i think the biggest thing in regards to his execution would be if "di-jun huang" pushed for it, but roland killed him so it's a moot point anyways

patricia roland: yeah. everyone involved in the ss-5 plot is gonna hang, no questions asked

dane gustavia: i'm going to tentatively say yes? given that he caused the is-7 incident, which led to the dl-6 incident, which led to... many things, plus the fact that he fled the country for a while, he's probably gonna hang for that. could be wrong, though!

blaise debeste: dear god yes. not only did he kill jill crane, he was involved in ss-5, forged a shitload of evidence, has made many people "disappear" (they're probably all dead), and not to mention sebastian :( he's gonna hang and i'm gonna enjoy it

simon keyes: probably not? given that he's only directly responsible for one death and was a victim of circumstances, i imagine he'll get a life sentence, but nothing more

[starboundsingularities]

tbh it's really always bothered me a bit that they never actually get into the consequences of misusing the magatama. sure, sure, they say your soul shatters, and like, yeah that's ominous and all, but what does it mean? obviously we never get to see that in-game but i've been thinking about it a lot and i would like to present these thoughts because oh boy there are a lot of them. long post under cut but it's a fun little au as well

alright so before getting into it all, obviously there are some things we're aiming to explain, in some sense, with this.

for one: what is a soul, even? most depictions of souls portray them as the very essence of one's self, as the "culmination of your being" or as some similar nebulous expression of an entire person. but... well, if a soul was the entirety of a person, what would that soul shattering entail? it would just kill them. which is a valid reading i guess but not very fun to mess around with and is also a reading that comes with some... troubling implications.

most notably, the meter on how close you are to that breaking point while using the magatama is the same meter as your penalties in court. not just in the asset used, which wouldn't be worth bringing up, but in the sense that once the magatama is introduced, that same value that meter is held at is shared between court trials and the magatama. before the introduction of the magatama, that meter refilled automatically between trials, each trial starting with it completely full, but after the introduction of the magatama, it was only ever refilled by successfully breaking psyche-locks. this is concerning, because it implies a direct connection between phoenix's soul and his performance in court, which probably wasn't intended but is very fun to mess around with and i love the idea of your soul being tied to your passions. however i don't love the idea of him Straight Up Dying if he does too poorly in court so. uh, no insta-death for soul shattering. anyways this whole side tangent never comes up again. thumbs up emoji.

anyways, if a soul shattering doesn't entail simply death, and if a soul isn't just someone's essence or personality or whatever, well, what is it? well, one compelling answer is that it's merely a container. it holds someone's essence or being or personality, but it itself is not that.

thus i present:

Soul Shatter AU

a soul is just a container. one that holds everything in. someone's passions, ambitions, personality.

someone's secrets.

if it were to shatter... without a container, everything would come spilling out. whoever was involved would be unable to keep anything contained within themself. sure, their physical self might be enough to hold in some of the more ambiguous, nebulous aspects of their "self", but it would prove rather difficult to hide something with nothing there to keep it hidden inside.

a fitting punishment, really, for abusing the power to reveal what others have kept hidden.

the fun part, of course, is what comes next. who's used the magatama? who's had the chance to fall to such a fate?

off the top of my head i can think of two people. phoenix wright and miles edgeworth. (i think mia used one too? my friend says she did but i haven't gotten to that part yet i'm only on the third game)

and both of them, despite their focus on finding the truth, are very ironically prone to hiding things themselves. their feelings, their troubles, their emotions.

what if we opened them up a little?

[toodleoorblx]

Natural Order

Agatha Harkness x Rio Vidal

Word count: 2,273

۫   ּ  ֗  ִ  ִֶָ ׄ . ִ  ۫   ּ  ֗ ִֶָ   ִ  ⠀ ִ  ۫   ִֶָ ּ  ֗  ִ  ִֶָ ׄ . ִ ۫   ּ  ֗  ִ  ִֶָ ׄ . ִ  ۫   ּ  ֗

Summary: Agatha faces the judgement of her mother.

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7 - Chapter 8 - Chapter 9 - Chapter 10 - /?

Warnings: cursing, violence, implied/referenced child abuse, tinyy smut.

A/N: Made this update pretty quick tbh. Enjoy!!

Chapter 6

Salem, Massachusetts 1693

Agatha groggily wakes up, her head throbbing with pain as she tries to piece together what happened. Her wrists burn with searing agony, and when she tries to move, she finds herself unable to escape. Panic begins to rise within her as her vision slowly returns, revealing her surroundings: she's tied to a stake, exposed to the frigid night air.

Fucking hell.

Torches flicker around her, casting eerie shadows that dance in the darkness. The chilling breeze causes Agatha to shiver uncontrollably, her breath forming wisps of vapor in the cold night air. She's back in her everyday attire, the events after her blackout a blur in her memory, the last thing she remembers being Rio.

As Agatha struggles against her bonds, her heart sinks as figures emerge from the shadows of the surrounding trees, draped in black cloaks that look like her covens. Fear clenches at her heart as she realizes the gravity of the situation; she's about to face her own demise. But why? Because she kissed a girl?

Her coven members form a circle around her, their identities obscured by the darkness of the night. They remove their hoods, revealing familiar faces that only serve to deepen Agatha's dread.

Among them, her mother stands tall and imposing, her gray hair billowing in the cold wind. Agatha feels a surge of darkness welling up within her stomach, a mix of fear and anger coursing through her veins.

Evanora's expression is unreadable, her features hardened with resolve as she addresses her daughter.

"Agatha Harkness. You have defied the laws of our coven, delving into forbidden knowledge beyond your station. And worse yet, you have dared to associate with a whore," Evanora's voice carries a tone of authority, her words cutting through the stillness of the night.

Agatha's mind races as she tries to comprehend how Evanora uncovered her secret. Did Margaret betray her trust? But why would she do that? Margaret would've known that Agatha would get a death penalty. Something isn't adding up.

"You have wielded your dark magic with reckless abandon, causing harm to one of our own," Evanora continues, her voice unwavering.

What the fuck is she talking about? ‘Hurt our own’? Who? Agatha's heart pounds in her chest as she struggles against her restraints, desperation gnawing at her.

"I know- I know nothing of these crimes. I... I swear it."

"Enough deception!"

Amidst the chaos of her thoughts, one question burns brighter than the rest.

"Where is Rio?" Agatha's voice rings out, laced with defiance and fear.

Her mother's gaze remains steadfast, refusing to acknowledge her daughter's plea.

Agatha gulps, her heart pounding in her chest as she frantically looks around. They all look unfazed, not even 1 looks partially guilty.

Agatha licks her lips, a sneer forming on her face. “I did not break your rules.”

They simply bent to my power. The Darkhold and Agatha say in perfect unison.

Evanora clenches her jaw, her expression hardening with resolve. With a subtle nod to the coven, they begin chanting in unison. Agatha doesn't recognize the words, realizing that her mother hadn't taught her these chants.

A surge of panic grips Agatha's chest. “No, wait, please! I can control it, I- please! Mother! Help me, please!” Agatha's desperate pleas fall on deaf ears as her mother remains unmoved, joining in the chant with the rest of the coven.

Agatha's cries are drowned out by the cacophony of the chanting. The air crackles with magic as it begins to orbit her coven's hands, casting an eerie blue glow over the clearing.

As the ritual intensifies, Agatha's pleas cease abruptly, replaced by agonized screams. She feels it draining her life force more and more as more of her sisters follow the spell. The wind howls around her, echoing her torment as bolts of magic strike her body. A bolt of magic hits the spot where Evanora attacked her and Agatha is met with seething pain, she feels faint, like her lungs want to give out. Tears fall down her face as the magic fills her veins with unbearable heat.

Agatha's vision blurs as she struggles to remain conscious, the pain and exhaustion threatening to overwhelm her. But amidst the chaos, a voice echoes in her mind, soothing yet commanding.

You want to see your lover? The voice resonates within her, stirring a flicker of hope in Agatha's heart.

Agatha can barely muster the strength to nod, her breaths coming in ragged gasps.

Then let go. Let go of your fears. I'll take care of it all.

Agatha's grip on consciousness loosens as she surrenders to the voice, allowing herself to release the fear and desperation that had consumed her.

As she relinquishes control, Agatha's senses sharpen, her vision clearing as she witnesses the unfolding scene before her. Her blood curdling cries slowly begin to subside. She struggles to catch the breath that was moments ago eluding her. She surveys the streams of blue magic that are attached to her and slowly begin to turn purple. Agatha furrows her brows, what's going on?

A sense of detachment washes over Agatha as she observes the carnage, her emotions numbed by the weight of her impending demise. She watches her mother, Evanora, levitating with a sinister aura, her magic poised to strike Agatha down.

But Agatha feels something shift within her, a surge of defiance rising from the depths of her being. With a steely resolve, she channels her magic, breaking free from the bonds that once restrained her.

Agatha gasps at the impact of Evanora's magic, it doesn't exactly hurt, but it's not the greatest feeling. She can feel her mothers magic trying to encircle her heart, squeezing it from the inside, but it fails, there's a thick veil of darkness surrounding her heart. A shield. Despite the pressure bearing down on her, Agatha remains resolute, her gaze locked with her mother's, brimming with hatred.

With a newfound sense of empowerment, Agatha stands tall, confronting her mother with unwavering determination. The darkness that once threatened to consume her now becomes her shield, her strength, her salvation.

With a fierce flick of her wrist, Agatha unleashes a devastating wave of dark energy, watching with cold satisfaction as it engulfs her coven sisters, their bodies convulsing before falling lifeless to the ground, mere husks of their former selves.

"Mother. I told you I can control it," Agatha retorts, a smirk playing on her lips as she meets Evanora's gaze.

Evanora, though visibly weakened, maintains a steely composure. "No. No you cannot," she manages to utter, her voice strained with effort.

Undeterred, Agatha braces herself as her mother launches a final, desperate assault. The surge of coven magic crashes against her, threatening to overwhelm her. But Agatha channels her own power, merging it with her mother's magic in a potent display of dominance.

As Evanora's strength wanes, Agatha feels a rush of exhilaration coursing through her veins. With each passing moment, she absorbs more of her mother's magic, leaving Evanora gasping for air, her once formidable presence reduced to mere frailty.

With a triumphant grin, Agatha watches as her mother falls to the ground, drained and defeated. Her chest rises and falls with the weight of her victory, the wind now still around her.

Surveying the lifeless bodies of her coven, Agatha feels a hollow emptiness settle within her. Yet, amidst the silence and death that surrounds her, she feels nothing. No remorse, no guilt. Only the cold embrace of her newfound power.

Approaching her mother's fallen form, Agatha crouches beside her, her voice laced with venom as she speaks. "I can control it, Mother. It's your fault our coven is dead, not mine. May you carry that knowledge to the grave."

With a final glance of disdain, Agatha takes her mother's brooch before rising to her feet

The sound of rustling leaves draws Agatha's attention, her senses ablaze as she whirls around to face the source of the noise. Her eyes shimmer with a bright purple hue as she locks gazes with Rio, who stands before her, seemingly unfazed despite her disheveled appearance. A warm smile graces Rio's lips, a stark contrast to the tension that hangs in the air.

Agatha's eyes revert to their natural blue hue as she engulfs Rio in a bone-crushing hug, her heart pounding with relief at the sight of her beloved.

Agatha closes her eyes tightly, savoring the moment as she peppers Rio's face with kisses, eliciting giggles from the green witch.

“How are you, little iris? Did they hurt you?” Rio's voice carries a note of concern, her expression serious as she meets Agatha's gaze.

Breaking the hug, Agatha holds Rio's hands tightly, her own emotions swirling within her. “They, um… no, they didn't. I, uh,” Agatha clears her dry throat, her words catching in her throat. “I fought back.”

Rio's giggle fills the tense air, though her eyes search Agatha's with earnest curiosity. “Clearly. But… how?”

Agatha feels a lump form in her throat, uncertainty gnawing at her. Releasing Rio's hands, she takes a step back, her gaze drifting to the ground briefly before meeting Rio's puzzled expression.

“I...” Agatha hesitates, her mind racing as she struggles to find the right words. She's afraid, afraid of how Rio will react to the truth. “I found a book. Called the Darkhold. Ever heard of it?”

Rio shakes her head, her gaze unwavering with nothing but love and concern. “No, I haven't.”

Agatha's chuckle is tinged with bitterness. “Well, it's... it's a book of pure darkness. The Book of the Damned. It corrupts everything and everyone it touches.” Agatha's grip tightens around her mother's brooch. “And I was stupid enough to touch it.”

“So... what does that mean for you?” Rio's voice is steady, her eyes searching Agatha's for answers.

Agatha's breath catches in her throat as she fidgets with the brooch, her thoughts racing. “It means that my magic is tainted with darkness. And it... it changed me.”

Rio takes a determined step forward, her gaze unwavering. “How so?”

Agatha gulps, her nerves getting the best of her as she struggles to find the right words. “It made me... different.” Agatha's response is vague, a deliberate attempt to shield Rio from the full extent of the truth.

But Rio doesn't stop prodding. “Can I see?” she asks with bright and hopeful eyes, while Agatha's are dark and full of fear.

Agatha stands there for a moment, her mind racing as she weighs her options. But she ultimately sighs, realizing that if she's going to love Rio, she should know who she truly is.

With trembling hands, Agatha hesitantly whispers the counter spell to revoke the glamor spell, revealing her fingertips and claws.

“Happy?” Agatha's voice is laced with uncertainty, knowing that Rio can see her fangs.

Rio stands frozen, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion as she takes a step forward, her gaze never leaving Agatha's. There's a sense of wonder in her eyes, a wonder that makes Agatha shy away from Rio's intense gaze.

The green witch gently takes Agatha's hand in her own, and Agatha's first instinct is to yank her hand away, not wanting to contaminate Rio with her darkness. But Rio rubs her thumb over Agatha's hand gently, then lifts it up and places it on her own face. Agatha blushes furiously at the intimate gesture, feeling a rush of fear coursing through her veins. How can Rio not be repulsed by her?

Rio smiles warmly as she caresses Agatha's hand, and Agatha stands still, unable to comprehend the acceptance she's receiving. “You're not... scared, disgusted?” Agatha's voice is barely a whisper, her heart hammering in her chest.

Rio's face softens with sadness. “Never. Why would I be? You're still as beautiful as when I first saw you.”

Agatha fights back tears, feeling a surge of emotion welling up inside her. She pulls Rio into a tight hug, holding her close as she places a kiss on top of her head. “How did I find you?” Agatha whispers, her voice trembling with emotion.

“How did I find you?” Rio chuckles softly as she releases the hug and places a chaste kiss on Agatha's lips, before taking her hand firmly in hers.

Agatha smiles with a mixture of contentment and awe, realizing in that moment that she loves Rio more than anything in the world.

“Let's go to my cabin. Or we can travel? Whatever you want to do.”

Agatha huffs a laugh. “Lets go to your cabin for the night, we can decide all of that tomorrow.”

“Ok.” Rio smiles.

Agatha and Rio walk side by side, the weight of their intertwined hands grounding them in the present moment. But Agatha's attention is suddenly drawn to something red on the ground before they leave the area.

She stops abruptly, her heart pounding in her chest as she spots Margaret's red ribbon lying abandoned on the forest floor. Agatha's breath catches in her throat, her mind racing with a whirlwind of emotions.

Rio turns around, concern etched on her features as she notices Agatha's sudden stillness. “Are you okay, my love?”

Agatha's mind feels clouded, her thoughts racing as she tries to process what she's seeing.  “Y-yeah, I'm fine. I just... saw something,” she manages to murmur, her voice barely audible.

Rio nods understandingly before continuing into the forest, trusting Agatha to follow.

Agatha clutches the ribbon tightly, feeling a pang of guilt and longing wash over her. She moves hastily to catch up with Rio.

[humanbeanvitaminsea]

The complete and utter ignorance of all these naive LGBTQ people "and allies" (really?) blindly supporting Hamas (whilst saying they're not supporting Hamas) is mind boggling.

They honestly believe they're "on the right side of history" by saying Israel doesn't have the right to exist. By using the language of Nazi Germany to describe Jews, using DARVO gaslighting tactics to de-legitimize Israel. Whatever "the right side of history" means to them is beyond my comprehension. Calling the survivors of the October 7th massacre "nazis" and saying "Israel hasn't even suffered any damage during this "war": they're just enjoying themselves in cafés and dancing to celebrate the deaths of Palestinians" really isn't it.

Hamas, on October 7th, alongside Palestinian Islamic Jihad and even Gazan civilians, aimed for total annihilation of the Israeli people. Hamas even called for an "International Day of Rage" against all Jews, worldwide. And they call Jews "Nazis"?

They think they are supporting LGBTQ whilst they're simultaneously calling for Israel's annihilation. They spout tired anti-Semitic tropes without even understanding what they're saying. Have they forgotten already about the LGBTQ victims of the Holocaust? Have they failed to notice the extreme intolerance Islamists have against LGBTQ people? Have they zero knowledge of the historical ties Hajj Amin Al Husseini had with Hitler? They've probably not even heard of him. Yet still they use language designed to shame Israel into putting their weapons down, not thinking to mention that Hamas have had over four months to surrender and to release the hostages.

Hamas still have Kfir Bibas, who turned one in captivity, and three of his family members, held hostage since October 7th.

If these "well meaning", naive fools care about Palestinian lives, why aren't they demanding Hamas' immediate surrender and immediate return of the hostages? Instead, they accuse Israel of genocide.

Are these spreaders of Islamist propaganda against Israel simply self hating? Is that it?

I actually think they sincerely believe their own nonsense, that they've fallen hook, line and sinker for the Islamists' international campaign against Jews.

Then they say they don't understand how they could possibly be upsetting LGBTQ people, when they share Islamist propaganda. They don't even seem to have the intelligence to understand that they're sharing Islamist propaganda. They don't seem to understand that Islamists would happily murder them, given half the chance.

They call Israelis "Settler colonialist nazis" whilst sharing Encyclopedia Brittanica definitions of "Philistines" in order to "explain" why Israelis, specifically Jews, don't deserve a country, but why "Palestinians" should have the entire land, Judenrein. They explain their views as being "Justice for Palestine".

I wonder who's more confused: them, when they support terrorists who would murder them for being gay or trans- or me, wondering why comfortable Western LGBTQ people would spend their time and energy on DARVO gaslighting, calling the IDF "Terrorists" for fighting terrorists, calling Jews "Nazis" for daring to inhabit the Jewish national homeland and being the only nation in the Middle East where LGBTQ rights are even a thing, and why they don't bother to do actual research outside the memes and blogs they are so fervently reblogging.

THEY DON'T EVEN UNDERSTAND WHAT HAPPENED ON OCTOBER 7th.

They don't even realise that they're simping for Islamist jihadis who believe LGBTQ people should be given the death penalty, that women shouldn't be allowed to go outside without permission from a man.

If an October 7th style attack happened in their hometown, would they still be simping for Islamist terrorists?

I feel sick.

[hydrodragons]

many many thoughts after watching the furina teaser..........

this is just a lot of rambling on my part and not an actual cohesive theory but i like speculating so here are my thoughts

also no leaks are mentioned here if anyone’s worried about that!!!

ever since the 4.2 trailer dropped ive been scratching my head to guess as to what's gonna happen in the fontaine archon quest bc this honestly feels like the most unpredictable finale out of all the nations we've gotten so far

with mondstadt we knew we were gonna save dvalin by the end of it

with inazuma we knew we were gonna get everyone's visions back to their holders

with sumeru we knew we would be overthrowing the sages, saving nahida and defeating scara

i think liyue is the closest to unpredictability we got but now fontaine is blowing it out of the water (pun intended)

anyways my speculations!!!!

there's a very big emphasis on separating the identity of 'furina' and 'focalors'

the 4.2 trailer makes this apparent (to me at least) by what neuvillette calls furina throughout it

we never hear him call furina by her real name. he calls her 'focalors' throughout it

and it's weird to me bc up until this point, we've never heard him call her by her god name

it's almost always 'furina' or 'lady furina'

this teaser also makes it even more apparent that their identities are two completely different things

throughout the teaser you actually notice that it's furina in her pneuma state

(she's also mirrored up until the glass cracks which is smth interesting to note)

but by the end of it, it's furina in her ousia state

my guess is that the person talking throughout the teaser and the one in the pneuma state is 'focalors' bc she seems wiser and more all-knowing while 'furina' is the one we see at the end in the ousia state

so now we’ve established that there's two different identities for her and it’s been hinted at for quite some time ever since 4.0 started

but now the question is how the hell did these separate identities come to be????? and how the hell does this play into the prophecy?????

my personal guess is that perhaps before she went to sumeru to deal with the cataclysm, the previous hydro archon egeria created a hydro mimic in the form of the furina we see today as a precaution if anything were to go awry

(and well. she's not alive anymore and she's that huge fucking tree in vourukasha oasis so pretty sure she made the right call)

im thinking that a certain part of egeria's consciousness made its way to furina and that's what i speculate to be 'focalors'

but the 'furina' side is her own personality that's cultivated over the centuries (or it's just always been there i can't decide which one i lean into more)

the teaser talks a lot about fate and furina by the end of it says that she wants to "deceive fate itself"

sooooo with the differentiating of both 'focalors' and 'furina' i think it's safe to assume that furina's arc next patch is gonna have to be her severing ties with the side that's 'focalors'

the hydro archon that gets sentenced with the death penalty by the oratrice is not furina herself but 'focalors'

and bc furina is severing ties with focalors, that could possibly mean that she loses her godhood by the end of the archon quest

furina wears a special type of vision when you look more closely at it in the 4.2 trailer and her splash art

perhaps after severing her ties to godhood, she loses her hydro powers BUT gets a hydro vision at the end of it

in act 4, neuvillette says that he can’t attain his full dragonhood unless the archon disappears

so now im speculating that furina severs her ties with focalors and give neuvillette his dragon authority back in order to push back the primordial sea and prevent the waters from disintegrating everyone in fontaine

but now im wondering if that’ll even work considering we do see fontaine flooded with the water reaching as tall as the opera epiclese

my brain fucking hurts

tldr furina’s gonna sacrifice a part of herself to deceive her own ppl’s fate of dissolving in the primordial sea, lose her god status and gives the dragon’s authority back to neuvillette via the gnosis

i think after all of this, furina’s still gonna be the archon more in status than anything

lik ei and nahida don’t have their gnoses and are still recognized as their respective regions’ archons so it’ll be the same for furina

im not sure if neuvi’s identity will be revealed as the hydro sovereign to the ppl of fontaine will be revealed at some point (it’ll be interesting if it does happen but im very 50/50 on that)

also i don’t think arlecchino will get the gnosis this time around

even if she does, the power could already have been passed to neuvillette so it’s more of an empty husk more than anything

and that concludes my thoughts!!!!

to anyone who reads this whole thing, thank you and i hope i made sense throughout all of this lmao

[buldakdrama]

Upcoming Dramas in August 2023 that are a must watch!

It is never too early to get your calenders decorated with what will really keep you busy in the upcoming month and honestly, I am a huge procrastinator in almost every other subject except one... can you guess it? Yep, it's kdramas. I need to get that mental preparation running so I can be thrilled, haunted, humoured and of course, romanticised to the point of desperation. And if you are like me, then I can guarantee: August is going to be your month!

The First Responders 2

Starting with this sensational thriller that took us by storm with its first season, The First Responders is finally back with its sequel. We are finally going to be off that cliffhanger that made us lose our minds. As a fan of crime thrillers and *ahm-ahm* drool-able people in uniforms, can you imagine the sequences with firefighters and cops at play, together?! I am excited to see how their combined efforts will continue on the restless path of justice. Well, if somebody looks for me in August, you all have a clue now for where I would be.

This season will follow on the tracks of its prequel and air on Disney+ for all audiences and will take over the slot occupied previously by SBS' Revenant on Fridays and Saturdays.

Moving

Moving is a webtoon adaptation from Writer Kang Pool's webcomic. The story captures three high schoolers, who have superpowers that they want to hide from people. They, however, have inherited these powers from their parents who struggle to protect them from letting their powers be misused.

I'm not too empathetic about the latest inclination of kdramas towards webtoon adaptations but as an avid viewer, I cannot deny the crazy amount of interesting tales that have come to life from toons, all of which are a sight for sore eyes. But Moving really grabbed my attention from the distinct plot. I am expecting a lot of parent-child dynamic and a lot of (hopefully credible) action scenes.

Moving will be airing on Disney+ for all audiences.

My Dearest

Yet another period drama that will tug at your heartstrings. Set in the Joseon era during the Qing invasion, there is a great suffering of people from all works of life. In an unforeseen storytelling, love blooms in the ruckus between a man of complex character and dark secrets and an almost-too-confident noble lady. Will their journey be a smooth sailing or will it be overturned by storms? We'll have to see.

With the serene covers and the bright, picturesque snippets, I do feel a very strange conviction that we'll be dragged through the darkest angst in this series. I am praying that they won't pull a Scarlet Heart Ryeo with this one *cries in sad endings*.

My Dearest will be airing on the slot previously occupied by MBC's Numbers on Fridays and Saturdays.

The Killing Vote

Do the loosely tied law bindings sometimes call for extreme measures by the anonymous greater masses? Such happens in The Killing Vote when all citizens over 18 years old begin to get a polling message that makes them choose whether a person should receive the death penalty or not. If the majority votes in favour of the death penalty, the offender is then taken out by an anonymous masked persona. This stirs up the authorities and hence begins a blind pursue of a murderer in the facade of a lawless justice lender and the real national safeguards.

And we are at my favourite genre! This one is based on a webcomic too written by Eom Se-yoon. Ah, the way I am already jittery awaiting this drama. I feel like this has the potential to be one of the biggest dramas of 2023 or it could be a massive disappointment and a mess of plot holes. Either way, strap up your seat belts because this will be a ride for sure!

The Killing Vote will occupy the airing time of SBS Thursday's 21:00.

My Lovely Boxer

A story of a coerced bonding between a professionally ruthless Sports Agent and a lost boxer, who was previously undefeated in all her matches. Sports agent, Kim Tae-young begrudgingly takes the duty of bringing back the lost boxer, Lee Kwon-sook. Will he, whose strongest suit is extracting the most from his players, succeed in convincing someone who has no intention to return?

A sports drama with what I expect to be a painful back drops awaits us in My Lovely Boxer. I am definitely looking forward to seeing the developments that the two visibly hard headed characters will have. The action will be added bonus!

My Lovely Boxer will take over the slot previously occupied by Heartbeat on Mondays and Tuesdays.

How many of these are you going to watch? Or do you have already more dramas scheduled in your itineraries? Do let us know! I'll get the spicy chicken ready and you set up the dramas, okay? I'll see you next time.

- Admin Kiara

[super-rangers]

Okay, first let me wax your car. The opening/closing bookends were perfect. Such a clever summation of Regina's arc. I love that not everything was neatly tied up, like Regina's relationship with her mom, but you saw just enough to have hope for the future. (but lol at her mom asking when she was going to date again in front of Janis). Hands on Thighs! I love that they were super petty about their friends intervening when in reality they've been torturing them for months. You do this really interesting thing with Regina where she wants a genuine connection to people but at the same time she finds it incredibly uncomfortable and it makes her so sympathetic. Like when she's confessing to Janis - something she's wanted forever - but she's crawling out of her skin.

Okay, questions! To preface, I'm glad not everything is spelled out in the story, but that doesn't mean I'm not curious about your thoughts.

In your mind, how did Janis know about the pin?

What happened to Janis' portrait, was she making it for something specific?

What made the hands off Damian and Gretchen finally meddle? Was it just time?

Did Mrs. Imiike discourage Janis from pursuing a relationship with Regina?

I'm also really glad you're planning one shots in this universe...

Thank you! When I started the last chapter, I honestly wasn't sure how I was going to end it. I kind of fell into paralleling the start of the story, so I'm glad it read well!

I didn't want to tie up absolutely everything at the end, while I wrote it I didn't feel like it was necessary. (Mrs. George has no tact and we love her for it lol)

In my head, Regina really struggles with vulnerability and creating genuine connections with people. And even once she's managed to create those connections and relationships, it's hard for her to let people in. That applies even when she really wants something (like Janis) 😅

1) So originally I didn't have a real reason for her to know about the pin lmao it was more a device to get her to where I wanted her to be (kissing Regina on the forehead). Since I posted the chapter, though, I've thought about it a bit cause you aren't the first person to ask! I think there are 2 ways that she would have known about it. Either Cady accidentally let it slip, having noticed it while Gretchen was singing what's wrong with me, or Janis found it while she was hiding all the ducks around the house. Which, in case you were wondering about that, Regina still hasn't found them all

2) In my head, she was making it as a gift to all her friends for graduation. She's going to keep the original, but she's having prints made for everyone that they'll get during a grad party. Aaron already has his, but he's sworn to secrecy on penalty of death, to the point that he hides it when Cady comes to see him 😆

3) yeah, it was more or less just time for them to meddle. In my head they had gotten fed up enough to throw out their hands off rule and just go for it. Because they didn't want to be old and gray by the time rejanis actually got their acts together

4) I think Janis and her mom had a very frank discussion on whether or not Janis was sure that Regina had changed and if a relationship with her was what Janis really wanted. Mrs. 'Imi’ike is going to take a bit of convincing, but hearing Janis gush about Regina for almost ten minutes straight did make her a bit more accepting

I'm excited to write more for this universe! I don't have anything specific planned out besides a request someone made to see prom so far