#literally an abuse victim's mannerisms down pat

[mikakuna]

twins!!!! <3

[ae-azile]

3. 8. and 22.

(for ask game)

3. Screenshot or description of the worst take you have seen on Tumblr: 

There have been many bad takes on Tumblr (and on social media in general). But I suppose when it comes to this show, it's any time I see someone express their views on a character in a manner that obviously puts other fans’ analyses down. Like, it isn’t the fact they view a character differently. It's the fact that they feel the need to belittle a different interpretation to make their point. If you need that, is it a great take? 

I won't get into specifics, because the few I have seen this from do actually have interesting takes. It's just the way they feel the need to write them passive aggressively. This seems to mainly happen with Kim meta, but I occasionally see it with Vegas meta too. 

8. Common fandom opinion everyone is wrong about: 

Bahaha, I wrote myself into a corner with the response to question 3! 😂 I guess I am going to go with Korn and Gun. Both are viewed with a lot of hate, and rightfully so. But I also think they are products of their environment and have a lot of layers to them. And overall - at least from what we have witnessed solely in the show - I feel like Gun is more redeemable than Korn, despite Korn being a better father. Can't forgive him for what he did to Namphueng, Pat, Porsche, and Chay. He literally destroyed a family. I think Gun being under the impression they were all dead, losing the mother of his children, and likely being abused himself was what made him abusive. While I have no doubts Korn also carries a lot of trauma that plays into who he became, I also feel like his worst actions can't be viewed with any compassion like Gun's potentially could. Don't get me wrong, perpetuating the abuse cycle is NOT okay or excusable. But unfortunately, it can potentially be a reality that abuse victims who don't have help, resources, or healthy outlets end up re-enacting. There is an explanation for his worst crimes. There is no explanation for Korn's, nor will he ever offer a truthful one.

22. My favorite part of canon everyone else ignores: 

I don't know if everyone ignores it, but I love that Arm is working multiple guard positions? Boy does surveillance, builds and distributes weapons, designs high tech spy gear, and goes on missions with Kinn (which is sort of dumb in hindsight because he is one of the main people holding that compound together). On top of that, he was the first one to tend to Big when he was shot, implying he has some medic or strong first aid knowledge, led the clean up crew after Tawan set off the bomb, and then built bombs of his own for the attack on the compound later on. 

He does all of this, and still manages to be a guard to Tankhun, who is likely the safest yet most emotionally demanding family member. And he seems committed to that position. I am sure Arm could easily be removed from Tankhun's team. He has plenty of other work demands, and he better be the highest paid guard other than Chan. Yet he chooses to stay with Khun along with all of those duties. Hm. Love that for him though. 

[takaraphoenix]

Today's tea is: redemption arcs should be redemption arcs and not redemption magical girl transformations. :)

I MEAN YEAH OBVIOUSLY.

Seriously. A redemption arc means that a character who has previously done wrong:

realizes that they did something wrong,

realizes what they have done wrong,

spends an arc figuring out how to change their behavior,

expresses actual regret for the past,

actually, actively changes and does good now.

Somehow, nowadays’ redemption arcs like to immediately skip to step number 5 and forget the four before it. See, Wanda MCUmoff. There was barely a moment of realization and no figuring out just sudden, mostly even self-benefitial change of behavior.

Because that’s another huge part of redemption. The redemption has to be fueled by something selfless. If it is just to benefit the character’s position, then it is not actually redemption or changed behavior, it is just a selfish asshole continuing to be selfish.

A good redemption arc: See Zuko. Seriously, dude goes through all the stages, he actually has to sit down and figure himself out before he changes his behavior and even then, it is gradual because there is no magical ‘suddenly doing everything right!’.

And, another important thing about Zuko’s arc compared to say Wanda or M@ryse, he does not immediately gain forgiveness and blind trust.

Because that is as much an important part of a redemption arc, not just the character themselves changing, but also their environment around them reacting to that change.

While the Gaang accepted him onto the team, there was weariness at first and it took a little for him to really gain their trust. Rightfully so considering the dude’s spent all the show hunting them so far!

But he works through the steps 1 to 5 and earns their trust and thus earns his redemption.

With Wanda...? She suddenly does good when it benefits her (her brother is killed and her home is about to be destroyed... gee, let’s switch sides) and everyone just pats her on the back for it. No weariness or actual consequences for her previous villainous actions. At all.

And they could have actually worked on it. In a perfect world, even she could have been redeemed, by having her first of all locked up in prison for a while to make up for her crimes (seriously, she is literally a terrorist who sided with the Nazis and then with Ultron willingly??) and in that time, contemplate her own actions, fueled by the grief for her brother, vowing to change her ways. Released after her justified punishment, she does good, but the Avengers obviously would not immediately trust the girl who messed with their minds. She has to prove herself, repeatedly, by helping out, saving lives on a small scale, before helping in a major event and then earning her position as an Avenger.

But since this isn’t a well-paced cartoon with lots of episodes but a rushed movie-verse, we had to immediately, within the same damn movie, jump to her being accepted with open arms.

And that’s... not right. A huge part of a redemption arc is the part about earning forgiveness for the deeds of the past. Just because the other side are the good guys doesn’t mean they have to blindly trust and accept abso-fucking-lutely everyone.

Now, a good redemption arc can be a really fulfilling plotline. Looking at Buffy, the characters who came from a bad place and fought their way to the good side are the most interesting ones - Angel, Spike, even Cordelia on the comparibly small scale of being a bully, Anyanka.

We root for that. We root for the good in people and seeing someone realize that about themselves, that they have good inside themselves, and then seeing them fight for it and also struggle with it is absolutely fascinating to watch.

Granted, just because I love a good redemption arc does not mean that every character is redeemable.

You

Can

Not

Redeem

Abusers

Period.

If he beat up his wife for seasons on end, I do not want to see him become a better man, or heavens forbid, being taken back by said wife. It’s unrealistic and bad and also rather gross.

Sure, people can change. But being an abuser - a grown-up abuser - is... it’s not a redeemable quality. It’s a fundamental character flaw. That does not mean those characters should not exist. They’re important too. Not every person is a good person, not every character needs to become a good person. Seeing the bad and evil in people is very important in story-telling.

There is, of course, a difference.

There is a difference between an adult abuser and a school bully.

And that is, I think, where tumblr’s attitude toward redemption arcs come into play. They don’t make this distinction.

So this kid bullies and, consequently, abuses other children? Then they do not deserve a redemption arc, they are beyond redemption.

That’s... a problematic point of view. Children are children. What they do is usually learned behavior. Learned behavior can be unlearned. Learned by their own environment, their own abusers, or simply the pressure around them. They can still change. Often times, children don’t even realize that what they are doing is abusive and painful for others.

It’s the adults that are beyond redemption. An adult preying on the weaker - on their partners or worse yet, their children - is someone very conscious of the power they are using and also very high on that power. Using it to make themselves feel better.

The positive about giving school bully characters redemption arcs? Children who watch them, children who are like that, might see the error in their ways and might change. Those redemption arcs are a learning opportunity.

The negative about giving adult abusers redemption arcs? Real living, breathing abuse victims will feel like they have to forgive their abusers, like the ever-old mantra of “It’s just this once, it won’t happen again, they don’t mean it” is actually true - because this here abuser on their favorite TV show did genuinely change and everything went good, right? Wrong. All it does is silence actual victims, make people being abused by their parents believe they owe their abusive parents something, which they don’t.

Abusive partners and abusive parents do not deserve redemption arcs. Their stories need to be told, but you can’t just slap a “and then they became a hero and everybody loved them and also their bad behavior from the past is totes fotgotten!” onto that bad boy. The thing is though, they can still become heroes. Because humans are complex. He can save the world repeatedly and yet still come home and slap his wife around because he likes to feel powerful, be that by being worshiped as a hero or by domineering his wife.

Characters do not have to be black or white. That also includes that a previously morally black character does not need to be redeemed into a one hundred percent morally white character. Gray’s a thing that exists.

Just because a character is “a hero” does not mean they have to be “a 100% good guy, beloved by all and kind to everyone”.

That’s... That’s part of what makes abusers so scarily fascinating, because to everybody else they might be a very nice fella. They have a good, kind and even helpful front.

What you do when you write and mistake making your abuser do A Good Thing and thus concluding they now need to turn into actual 100% good guys, is that you validate the front. And you invalidate the ones who suffered the abuse at their hands.

There are people - characters - who can fundamentally change their ways, who can have a triggering experience that will make them realize they were wrong. Children behaving in an abusive manner can realize and unlearn this behavior. But grown abusers can’t.

You can make a Dudley push through his learned behavior and acknowledge Harry and apologize for the past. You can not make a Vernon suddenly hug Harry and become Uncle Of The Year. It is not realistic.

Abusers do not deserve a redemption arc.

[taesbetch]

02|Murderous;

Pairings: Taehyung x Reader

Genre: Fluff, Smut, Angst Murder!AU

Summary: People can be deceiving; People lie every day. When murder is the new talk of the town and everyone seems like a suspect; the truth seems to slip further and further away every second. Everyones on edge, as they should be. Wrong things happen when you trust the wrong people.

Word Count: 7.1k +

Previous | Next 

Your ear was pressed to the door of your dad's bedroom as he spoke to his colleagues about what happened yesterday. There was a cold cover that hugged the door tightly, but your ear could handle it as the information you were receiving was worth it.

"His throat was cut so precisely, we're definitely dealing with someone who knows what they're doing" you heard him say.

Someone with experience? Like a doctor or a biology major maybe?

"Do you think it's the same killer?" He asked the other person, his voice low and concerned.

You listened to him hum in agreement before he sighed deeply.

"Alright, I'll call you later" you heard him say before you heard the clicking of the call ending. Hearing another sigh escape his lips you awaited patiently for what he would do next.

A couple shuffles and a few squeaks sent your body racing with adrenaline. He was moving. You quickly ran back into your room and as you flung yourself into your rollie chair you flicked your books open to make it look like you were studying.

"Hey kiddo, I'm heading down to the station real quick ok?" He stated as he leaned against the door frame, His eyes were droopy and the purple bags under his eyes were evident. This case was probably killing him and the police force, the town is slowly gaining interest and the negative coverage wouldn't reflect well on the police force.

It was night time so you were close to insisting that he leave it and get some rest, but you knew he wouldn’t agree to any of that.

"Y/N" he said as his eyes narrowed in your direction.

"Mm"

"Be careful, okay, I don't think that taehyung kid did it either...but just be cautious?" he said causing you to nod along before he stared at you for a moment and turned back around to leave

As he left the house you sighed deeply, resting your arms behind your head you sat back and had a little recap of previous events.

So, the first victim was daehyun...the killer would have had to be someone she knew.

And with this second killing, it would have to be someone who knew what they were doing.

So lower high school students are out, maybe just graduated and older... that still leaves a bunch of suspect groups you would have to search through.

You decided your brain needed some fresh air, stepping outside you noticed how dead the street was, it was only 10pm but the people who lived around you were mostly elderly, so you would expect nothing less.

As you zipped up your hoodie you weren't really paying attention to the cold that was nipping at your nose, More the eerie vibe that coated the neighbourhood.

You could literally hear yourself breathing and the small noises of crickets. It hadn’t concerned you before but after remembering there was a murderer on the loose your heart beat started to speed up.

Before you could decide to turn around the sound of screams of horror and sirens captured your attention. Your body was almost frozen in place as your brain thought about what to do.

Turn around Y/N...go home....

AH fuck it.

running towards the sudden sounds of distress, you of course knew it was a free pass to get killed but the thought that you could help someone overcame the fear of it.

Your heart pounded loudly as you cut through an alley way to enter a short cut. The cold that had once nipped at your skin was now abusing it.

The back entrance was narrow and dark, but you could see well enough to know where you were going. You could hear your footsteps hitting the ground hard as you run.

As you heart pounded against your chest you took a brief break, so you could catch your breath. However, you could still hear the sound of running footsteps.... you weren’t alone.

You freaked out for a moment as you realised the sound of footsteps was coming towards the front of you. The person was running away from the commotion.

You were about to turn around but hearing how close they were you knew it was too late. You pressed your back against the wall waiting for the person to run around the corner.

Hearing the way your heart beat sped up you tried to cover your mouth to control your heavy breathing. Your eyes flew to ground and flickered up and down constantly, wondering if the first thing you would see would be their foot or their arm.

As you saw a foot enter from behind the wall you closed your eyes and threw a hard punch in the direction of the stranger.

"Y/N!" The stranger yelled as he caught the flying fist.

Opening your eye’s, you saw Jeon Jungkook.

His eyes were wide his breathing was staggered and all colour had been drained from his face. As your first swivelled in his hands you realised they were wet.

As your eyes scanned down his body you realised he was covered in blood.

You pulled your fist back quickly as you stepped back from the boy.

"W-what happened?" You asked softly as you fully took in his state. He was a shaking mess, he kept looking behind him and big blots of purple were forming on his face.

"You need to help me, please" he begged as he pushed you backward lightly his head turning around constantly in fear that if he waited a second longer whoever he was running from would get him.

He shuffled his feet getting ready to run again as he looked at you for approval.

You hesitated but eventually nodded your head as you realised now was not the time to think things through, you had to leave right this second. He grabbed your arm before sprinting back the way you came.

"what happened?!" You asked as the both of you were full on sprinting down the street. The stinging of your feet was pushed aside as the fear of possible death kept them going.

As the two of you approached your house you chucked him the keys and you both ran inside.

"You have 5 minutes to explain what the fuck is happening because I’m freaking out" you said as you tried to catch your breath.

You flicked on the light and locked the door as Jungkook paced back and forth.

"My whole family....M-my whole family...he killed them all" he stated his eyes grew wider and his hands shook vigorously.

"What?! Jungkook why did you run! You realise you can be cast as a suspect now!" You told the freaked boy as you started freaking out more and more as time passed.

"I was the one who called the police! I had to run because he found me hiding in the closet! I only had enough time to get him off me and run!" He yelled at you as tears were making their way down his face.

Staring at the panicked boy you took a deep breath as you raked your brain for a solution.

"Okay, that's okay, I’m calling my dad" you said as you brought out your phone, frantically searching through your contacts list for your dad’s number.

-----------------------

"Explain what happened" your dad said as the three of you were sitting in the lounge; you and Jungkook were sitting on the couch and your dad was in front of you on the table.

"I had just come back from Yugeoms house, the door was open which was weird for that time of the night...when....when I opened the door I had found my two sisters on the floor...the-they were dead...I heard screaming from upstairs so that's when i hid in the closet and started calling the police but he found me...i swear...it was like looking in the eyes of the devil...we got in a physical fight, he was taller and stronger than me... i had crashed something over his head and it worked enough for me to get him off me and run" he explained as tears rolled down his cheeks.

"We're going to need you to evaluate the crime scene to see if anything is out of place, we're going to need to call yugyeom and confirm your alibi, the door shows signs of forced entry so were also just going to need a list of people that may have hated your folks " your dad said emotionless as he scribbled in his notebook.

"Dad" you said softly as you watched Jungkook stare at the floor in shock.

We personally knew Jungkook. The boy has been home schooled all his life, so he would walk around the neighbourhood looking for friends.

"I’m sorry son, i was in cop mode" you dad sighed as he put his notepad to the side.

"You don't have to go back if you don't want to" he added as he patted Jungkook’s shoulder.

"I'll go...but...what’s going to happen to me?" Jungkook asked as he looked upwards to meet his gaze with your dads.

"You can stay with Y/N and I for now alright?" Your dad asked as Jungkook continued to shake.

"Thank you" he whispered as you placed your hand over his.

----------------------------

As we walked towards Jungkook’s house the number of cops in the area was insane.

You could feel the aurora of the house radiating through the streets.

Jungkook clutched you hand tightly, the blood was still present, but you ignored it as the three of you approached the house.

"Are you sure you want to do this" you whispered to him as you stopped following your dad up the stairs for a second.

"Positive" he nodded before motioning for you to keep moving as you were in front of him.

The feeling of vomit climbed your throat, as soon as you enter the house you saw his older sisters.

The first one was face down on the ground, multiple stab wounds were dug into her back, her blood was splattered all over the walls in the same manner in was splattered all over Jungkook.

Some of her hair had been pulled out, it lay beside her body, half dipped in the pool of blood oozing out of her.

The second sister was ten times worse. Her left arm had been removed from its socket, the only thing connecting it was a string of skin.

Shivers spilled down your spine as you saw the gaping hole in the middle of her head.

"This requires crazy force...the murderer must have been extremely angry" your dad noted quietly.

"Do you see anything?" I asked him as he tried not to cry again.

He looked around the room getting ready to shake his head, but something had caught his eye.

"It's gone" he whispered

"What’s gone?" You asked as your dad tuned into your conversation.

"My sisters boyfrie- well not even really a boyfriend more like a constant stalker, he bought her a painting that mum liked so she hung it up...but it’s gone" he explained as he stared at the space on the wall.

"Your sister was 18, right?" Your dad asked as he ferociously wrote things down.

Before you could ask why Jungkook pointed outside. "Why is he here".

You looked outside to see a man in his early 20s staring into the house.

His hood was zipped up and placed over his head. His hands found their way into his pocket before eventually, he walked away, his tall and lanky figure causing you to squint in suspicion.

"Who was that?" Your dad asked quietly before Jungkook turned back around.

"The boyfriend i was talking about"

--------------------------------

For the rest of the night, you tossed and turned around in your bed trying to think of why the whole family was killed.

The boyfriend would make sense.

Either he was annoying the girl too much, she told him to go away and he killed her and her family out of vengeance.

Maybe the family didn't approve of the relationship, so he killed all them out of vengeance.

Could have been she was in love with someone else he didn't like that, and the rest of the family just happened to be there.

You sighed before staring at your ceiling, maybe it was the same guy who killed daehyun, at least you'd finally have a suspect to get the town of taehyung’s back...

But no... the way of killing was too different. Daehyuns was clean, planned precisely...this one seems like a passionate killing, the murderer truly had something against his victims.

The  boy in the music rooms was similar to Daehyuns…no idea what the motive was but still…

Jungkook didn't want to see his parents, understandable so...especially seeing how the killer killed his sisters...

There was a quiet knock on your door before Jungkook poked his head through the door.

"Hey, can I come in?" He asked sheepishly.

"Sure" you said as you shimmed over, giving him room to lie down.

"I’m sorry, I tried going to your dad's room, but he snores" he said as he wrapped the cover around himself.

You let out a chuckle as you nodded your head.

You had been friends with Jungkook for approximately 12 years, you weren't close friends, but you knew him well enough.

"I still don’t know what’s going to happen to me...i usually go to my sister for stuff like this...she always knew what to do" he whispered

"Don't think about it, we'll figure something out" you said as your eyes drifted shut.

Thank god it's a Saturday tomorrow...  --------------------- "I didn't know you were allowed boys in your bed"

You groaned as your body told you to go back to sleep, but the talking voices kept your brain active.

You turned around to see Taehyung and Hana staring into your soul as a sleepy Jungkook started waking up.

"Hush ok, it's a long story" you said as you sat up in your bed, stretching your arms.

"Yer well ya know what else is long" Hana said as she wiped out her destroyer.

(A/n:.....yall are nasty)

"This fucking essay, so wake up and let's get going" she said before storming out of your room.

Taehyung eyed Jungkook suspiciously before walking out to join Hana downstairs.

"Your friends?" Jungkook asked as you got out of bed, his hair tossed and eyes droopy.

"Is that what they're called?" You asked as you slipped on a jumper.

"I'm going back to bed" he said smashing his face into your pillow. You laughed before heading out, closing the door behind you.

As you strolled downstairs you watched as the two of them were whispering intensely on the couch.

"What the fuck are you guys doing" you said as you joined them on the couch.

"Were figuring out how to connect Daehyuns murder on this new murder suspect" Hana stated as she turned on the T.V

"The murder of the Jeon family has a prime suspect known as Kim Namjoon, the man had been stalking the youngest female in the family; sending her threatening texts and explicit images. The man was known to be in contact with various teens and is a suspected drug dealer. There are no further updates"

Damn this town moves quick.

"He was in contact with various teens...one of which could be daehyun?" Hana suggested. You nodded along with them, it was a good plan...there was just one problem.

"As far as we know, as far as anyone knows daehyun was an extremely clean-cut girl. She only did things with people that she trusted and even that was a stretch...but if they had been in contact for a while..." you trailed off as the both of them nodded along.

"If we just had her phone, ya know to figure out what kind of conversations she was having with people. This would be so much easier" Taehyung said.

"...i think we can get it..." you said as a really bad idea popped into your mind. As you pondered the idea more youwatched as taehyung and hana watched you attentively, hoping to get the answer out of you.

"Don’t ask...Hana, ask her friend for some more information. Taehyung I’m going to need your help" you stated as you scooted closer.

Before you could reveal your plan, you heard the door of your bedroom open and close.As Jungkook trotted downstairs Hana flipped open her books and Taehyung place a pencil in his mouth as if he was thinking.

"Hey guys" Jungkook said scratching the back of his head nervously.

You knew Jungkook was shy around people he didn't know; the boy was home schooled after all.

"Hey Jungkook! This is Hana and taehyung" you said introducing the as the three of you made space between you and Hana.

"Hi...sorry for your loss" Hana said hesitantly as he sat down.

He nodded his head unsure of what to say. A silence set itself over the four of you.

You leaned back and locked eyes with taehyung on the other end of the couch, motioning for him to turn the TV on. He quickly understood your hints and turned it on. Of course, we forgot that we had previously been watching the news channel.

"The suspect for the Jeon murdering has gone on the run-"

Taehyung quickly changed the channel, but the awkward tension was hard to avoid. You bite you lip as the cringe was hard to ignore.

"I... think I’m just going to go back to bed" Jungkook said slowly as he rose from the couch.

Your heart sank to the pit of your stomach. Fuck…the poor kid.

"I'll come up with some food later" you said softly but he just shook his head and dragged himself back upstairs.

The three of you gave each other guilty glances before returning your attention to the T. V -------------------------------- It had been a good 2 hours and Hana had left. She said she was invited to a frat party and was going to use the invite to find out some more information.

"Hey, can you show me some of your brother's shoes, you said they might fit?" Taehyung asked randomly.

You nodded your head before the two of you skipped upstairs.

As you made your way up the last couple of steps you stopped in your tracks as you heard a rustling of paper coming from you dad’s office.

You and taehyung connected confused gazes before the two of you slowly approached the office. As you quietly pushed open the door you were met with Jungkook’s back, his hands were deep inside your dad's case cabinet.

"Aye" Taehyung said in a low voice.

The boy jumped in a fright before turning around to face us.

There was a brief moment of silence as he tried to find the words to say. The both of you glaring down on him with questionable looks.

"I... I’m sorry...it's just, the news said he had run away and I know there are other cases on him...so I just thought I could find something" he said sadly as he played with his hands.

Your hardened expression softened as you nodded your head in understanding.

Taehyungs eyes narrowed before he spoke. "Don't you think you should leave that to the police".

Like we can talk.

Jungkook nodded before he cleared his throat nervously. "I think I’ll just go for a walk" he said as he moved past the pair of you.

Before you could follow behind Jungkook taehyung stopped you; you looked at him confused but you knew he would explain once the boy left.

"I'll see you tonight!" you shouted downstairs to Jungkook.

"okay! I'll bring you some food!" he shouted back, you heard the door close and looked towards taehyung.

"I don't like him" he stated suddenly "something about him...ugh it just seems like he's faking it" taehyung stated as you leaned against the door frame.

"well, of course, he's faking it. his whole family just got murdered, he probably doesn't want to be breaking down crying every 2 seconds" you explained as you rolled your eyes.

"no Y/N, I mean...I don’t know what I mean, there's just something off with that kid and i don’t like him" he hesitated.

"taehyung, I've known him for 12 years, he's a little off putting at times yes I’ll admit and i know he genuinely has some type of mental illness but i also know he's on medication" you stated.

"illness?" taehyung asked intrigued.

"yer when he was 10ish he was diagnosed with a mental illness...I can't remember which one, but I know he's on medication and its fine" you shrugged.

taehyung was quiet for a moment before nodding his head "alright, fair enough, if you don't think anything’s wrong..." he trailed off before sighing.

"anyway, stop focusing on him and focus on yourself. Lisa’s having a mini party at her house tonight and I think you should go, even if it’s just for an hour" you stated as he started to whine at the mention of Lisa.

"she's so happy, so happy! like all the time, Y/N don't make me do it" he pleaded as he took your hand into his.

"to bad, you're going. And try and initiate some physical contact, like a hug or something" you said as you thought more about how to up taehyung’s image as a genuinely good person.

"her parents might be there! even better" you said as you nodded your head at the prime opportunity in front of you.

Taehyung groaned and continued to beg but you both knew it would be good for him, especially compared to a runaway suspect.

There had been two more murders in the time frame of 3 days. The town had shifted its accusations off of taehyung and towards Namjoon; the runaway suspect.

Jungkook was packing his stuff up and getting ready to move in with his grandma, he was a little reluctant at first, but it was this or his aunt in Mexico and he hated her.

You were currently in the library trying to study for your upcoming Physics test, but it was a little hard with Lisa hardcore trying to stick her tongue down taehyung’s mouth.

"Hey" lucifer said as he seated himself beside you.

"Hey, do you think you could help me, I don’t understand...like...anything" you said as you slid him your book.

"This is why i told you to do biology, its way easier," he said as he shook his head.

"Look ok, not everyone is a science wiz like you, you do all three! Biology, physics and chemistry!" You whined which caught taehyung attention.

He turned his body fully in your direction, blocking Lisa out of the conversation.

"What’s she complaining about this time?" He asked causing Lucifer to chuckle.

"Go back to your girlfriend" you sneered causing him to smirk smugly.

"Why, you jealous?" He asked.

"I’m your girlfriend?"

There was a pause of silence before all three of you turned to the hopeful girl.

"No" you all said in unison.  ------------------------------ You knew the town would rejoice at the fact they think they know who the killer of all these people are, but you know you have two different killers on your hand.

As you reorganized your locker your head went back into thinking mode.

The killings that have happened recently have all been older woman during school time.

And the killings before were high school students after school time.

The killings as of recent would be understandable if it were Namjoon...but still, there's pieces missing and pieces that seem like they are being forced to fit.

"Hey, you're gonna wanna see this..." Hana said quietly as she dragged me away.

Yesterday you had given Hana Daehyuns phone; she’s really good with all that tech shit that no one really understands.

"What, what’s up?" I asked worriedly as she dragged me into a classroom and locked the door.

"Look, at the messages between Jimin and daehyun" she said as she scrolled through their chat.

'Am i meeting you tonight?'

'What time do i meet you there?'

'Remember not to tell anyone about this okay?'

You stood there shocked as you scrolled through the messages sent from Jimin. You didn't even know the two of them knew each other well enough to actually talk let alone have secret meetings.

"But...it doesn’t make any sense, when was it sent?" you asked as you tried to connect the dots between Jimin and the killing of daehyun.

Hana paused for a second before taking a short breath "twenty minutes before the apparent murder time" she said.

"Go back, let me see who else she’s talking too" you said as you scooted closer to your friend, it didn’t make sense to you why Jimin would kill her but then again you only just found out they even spoke to each other.

"There was one person that confused me. They were nicknamed as God of destruction like that could be anyone, these were sent the day of the killing" Hana said in frustration as she showed me their messages.

'I think I’m in love with you'

'Stop meeting that Jimin boy, I’ve been watching you'

'You can’t hide from me'

"Could this be the runaway suspect?" Hana asked as you scrolled some more.

"It’s possible, really possible actually" you said as Hana tucked the phone back in her pocket.

"Where is Jimin now that I think about it?" You questioned as you remembered him rushing off in a hurry.

"I don't know...he hasn't been here for a while" Hana stated as the two of you exchanged looks.

"Find him okay, I’ll find out more about Namjoon from Jungkook" you stated as you watched more students fill the hallway.

You nodded before going your separate ways.

As you rushed down the school stairs to go home, you tried your best to avoid the talkative students who you knew would try and talk to you.

"Hey Y/N wait up!"

Fuck. You knew that voice all too well.

As you stopped in your tracks, you turned to face up the stairs you had just ran down to see angel skipping down to you.

"Ah, Angel...what’s up?" You said trying to be as nice as possible.

"I just haven't seen you around lately! I was just wondering if there was something going on?...like a secret club that i wasn't invited to" she asked quietly as she looked around.

...what.

"Sorry what?" You asked in utter confusion as she twirled her hair.

"All of you keep going missing! First Lucifer stops hanging out with me and goes who knows where, then Hoseok keeps ditching me for that home-schooled kid, now you’re going missing. Plus, just yesterday I saw that sin of a human being Jimin sneaking around the abandoned factory yesterda-" she said but something caught your ears.

"Sorry what? What was Jimin doing?" You asked curiously as she continued curling her hair.

"Oh, yesterday i saw him walking around suspiciously so i decided to follow him. Not the first time this has happened but anyway-" she started but you interrupted her.

"Not the first time? When else has this happened?" You asked intensely.

"Like...three weeks ago maybe? I’m not sure" she stated as she scratched her head.

"Where a bout’s was this?" You asked her with the same intensity.

"You know the abandoned factory next to the primary school...odd place for a school but yer he was there...why? Is there actually a secret club?! Can I join!? Of course, it would have to be after my volunteering at the chur-"

"Yep! There’s a meeting on Monday at subway! Be there or be square!" You chirped loudly before rushing away from her.

Three weeks ago,...that’s around the time daehyun was killed...and so were those text messages.

But why would he have killed her? What was their relationship?

You knew Jimin would have been able to overpower her, he maybe be shorter than others but his previous fights at school confirm his strength.

As you ran home different theories and thoughts flowed through your mind.

Firstly, you know for a fact the killings that have been happening lately are different from the first one.

They're messier, more passionate. The first killer was clean, every move was almost planned...

You still had no idea why the boy in the lower grade was killed but you figured it would come to light if Daehyuns was figured out.

Secondly, Kim Namjoon, otherwise known as the runaway suspect was in possible contact with daehyun. Again, this wasn’t confirmed, who knew how many stalkers you had in this town.

Thirdly, Jungkook’s whole family had been murdered by this guy, would he come back to finish the job?

And lastly, you would not be meeting angel at subway on Monday.

As you ran through your door, you ignored the fact that Lisa was straddling taehyung’s lap on your couch and ran straight up stairs to Jungkook.

all his shit from his house had been transferred to yours and with the amount of shit he had, you knew he'd still be packing.

"Hey Y/N" he smiled as he taped his final box.

Sweat covered his forehead as the light glistened over it, giving him a sparkly overcoat over his entire body.

"Hey, are you done packing?" You asked as you tried to catch your breath.

He nodded before standing up and making his way over to you.

"Have you been running?" He asked as a cheeky smile graced his face.

"Er yer, anyway...are you sure you’re alright going to your grandmas? Like...I’m sure my dad wouldn’t mind you staying a bit longer and, its...probably safer...over here" you tried to say subtly.

However, your attempt failed as Jungkook quickly picked up what you were trying to say.

"Don’t worry about it, he'd be stupid to come back" Jungkook stated as wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his palm.

"Mmm okay, only if you're sure..." you said hesitantly.

He chuckled before abruptly stopping when his eyes connected with something behind you.

As you turned around taehyung let out a grunt before extending his hand out to Jungkook.

Both you and Jungkook looked at taehyung in confusion before he spoke.

"Good luck" he said quietly as his eyes were glued to jungkooks face.

Jungkook smiled brightly before shaking hands with him.

"Why is lisa here?"  "Dont worry about it"

---------------------

As you and taehyung helped Jungkook pack his boxes into the removal van you felt a strange vibe... almost as if someone was watching you.

You looked around slowly; the green bushes in the neighbour’s yard started to rustle but you brushed it off thinking it was the wind.

"Tell your dad i said thank you" Jungkook smiled before pulling you into a hug.

"I will...but i just have one question before you go" you asked slowly as you both pulled away.

He nodded his head signalling you to ask it.

"Do you know if Kim Namjoon had a nickname in your sister's phone? Or one you maybe just heard before?" You asked curiously.

Jungkook furrowed his brow as he thought hard about it.

"I think...i mean I’ve only seen it pop up a couple of times so I’m not sure...but I think it was like destruction something" he said as he scratched his head in deep thought.

You heart skipped a beat before you corrected his mistake.

"Do you mean...God of destruction?" You asked slowly.

"Yer that’s it!" He said as his face lit up with recognition.

You paused for a moment before continuing your goodbye.

"I hope everything goes good for you" you said sweetly as you watched the boy breathe in happily.

"You too Y/N" he nodded before getting in the van, ready to drive off.

You sighed before walking back into the house.

"Is he gone?" Taehyung asked as he raided your fridge for food.

"Yer...why was lisa here earlier? And what were you doing?" You asked as you stood behind him, his back turned to you as he picked up various items from the fridge.

"Theres no need to be jealous" he smirked as he turned to face you.

Rolled your eyes as you rested against the counter behind you.

"Why would i be jealous?" You scoffed as you folded your arms; His smirk grew as he walked closer to you.

"Awww, you know your my one and only" he teased before tapping your nose.

"Lisa asked if she could come and do her homework with me, and like hell I’d take her back to my place. I don't know how she ended up on my lap, but honestly i didn't mind" he said before sending a wink your way.

You fake vomited as his arms came around you, trapping you against the counter.

"Mmm wait until she finds out what a phony you are" you said as you poked his stomach.

"Oh well, at least I’m getting information out of her" he shrugged as his eyes bored into yours.

"Like?"

"That guy, the runaway suspect. Was really into teenage girls, he gives them fake IDs and stuff like sexual favours" he stated as he removed his arms from the counter.

"He also was very attracted to how you say....the innocent ones" taehyung said hoping you would catch on.

"Daehyun" you stated as he nodded in confirmation.

Before you could ask him any questions your phone started ringing.

"Its Jimin, he’s being all suspicious, meet me at the cafe near my dad's work. Hurry" Hana said as she breathed harshly.

"We gotta go" you said quickly Hana hung up the phone.

----------------------------------

As the two of you of you ran towards the small coffee shop you watched as the sun started to set and people started to clear out from the streets.

"Where is he?" You huffed as Hana’s eyes were glued in one direction. The hospital

"Why is he in the hospital?" Taehyung asked in confusion as the three of you stared down the hospital doors.

As you questioned it too, a figure dressed fully in black snuck out holding a beige file holder in their hand.

"That’s him!!" Hana whisper-shouted as you watched him walk at an incredible sped down the street.

"Quick follow him!" You said as the three of you split up, trying to find subtle ways to follow him.

You followed Jimin for seemed like a solid hour until you reached the destination; The abandoned factory.

"Do we go in?" Hana asked quietly as you watched him sneak inside, his body was tensed and every moved he made seemed to have a purpose.

"I think we should" taehyung stated as he looked around for any other followers, aka angel.

The three of you quietly snuck into the abandoned building, you headed in first than taehyung, then Hana.

It was incredibly dark but a gleaming light snuck its way around a corner, so you guessed that’s where Jimin was.

You slowly approached the light as soft murmurs could be heard.

As you peeked your head behind the wall, you saw Jimin standing in front of what seemed like boards of evidence and theories. In shock, you slowly walked towards him, your mouth was hung open as you examined then.

Suspects such as Namjoon and Daehyuns best friend were placed on the board, even taehyung was there.

"Jimin" Hana called firmly yet shock still evident in her voice.

Jimin quickly turned around, his eyes scanned all of our faces before he slowly removed his hoodie from his head.

"What are you guys doing here?" He asked in discomfort as his eyes wandered the floor, his amrs went up to hide the boards but after realising it was no use he gave up.

"It’s hella complicated, but it has something with that" taehyung said as he pointed to the stuff behind Jimin.

Jimin looked behind him before turning towards the group again. "You guys are trying to figure out the murders too?" He asked as he eyed you.

"Well at first it was to clear Taes name...but now I think it’s more than that" you said scratching your head.

"We actually...thought you could be a possible suspect...we saw the text messages the night daehyun asked...what happened?" Hana asked as Jimin stuck his hands in his pockets.

Jimin sighed before dipping his head down to the ground. "She was actually my best friend..." he whispered.

"Being gay isn't an easy thing, especially when your parents are hardcore Christians and bitches like angel are running around" he started.

"Daehyun was my excuse, i would tell my parents i was going studying with daehyun, or I’m going to hang out with her but...id be doing other things if you get what i mean" he explained.

You nodded you head as dots started connecting.

"Why did you run out of class so quickly that one time?" Hana asked softly.

"I remember daehyun telling me about this guy she was meeting, he was older than her and richer than her...but she would never tell me who. She had told me when and where they were meeting so i was hoping to catch him...ya know maybe he was the murderer" He answered quickly.

"Namjoon? Was she going to meet Namjoon?" You asked as interest peeked.

"No, she told me about Namjoon, she would say his name, but this one..." he said before pointing towards a picture with a question mark on it.

"She never said his name" he said in frustration.

Hana grunted before running her hands through her hair.

"Looks like daehyun wasn’t as innocent as everyone thought...does this our suspect range rises?" She asks nervously.

You nodded as your eyes stayed connected with the question marked photo.

I guess Jimin’s not the killer...

Before you left you took down Jimin’s number and set a time for you all to meet up so you could discuss everything you had found and re-group.

----- it had been a long fucking day it was around midnight and as you dragged your body up your driveway you regretted a lot of life decisions…It was cold, and you were exhausted; thank god your dad was out, otherwise, you would have had a lecture about the dangers of the night.

As you yawned you heard heavy footsteps behind you...

Your heart skipped a beat as you approached your front door, you were so close. You quickly whipped out your keys for protection, but your stranger saw it coming.

In an instant, his large hand wrapped around your mouth as he pulled your body into his with his other hand.

You wiggled and tried to shake him off you as he breathed harshly into your ear and tried to grab your keys off of you.

It was hard to breath as his hand pressed hard against your mouth and was large enough to block your nostrils.The man managed to rip the keys from your hand; with a harsh bang, you were slammed against your door before he managed to unlock it.

As he pushed you inside you managed to remove the hand he held against your mouth by shaking your head unexpectedly but he was too occupied by closing the door to care.

You pushed away from him harshly as you fell to the floor. The main goal was to provide oxygen for your lungs; as you slowly crawled away from the direction of your intruder he flicked the lights on. Your face was still facing the opposite direction and your willpower was failing.

"Stop!"

An arm reached around your crawling body as two feet were set beside you.

You screamed out as he flipped you around to face him.

"I’m not going to hurt you!"

You gasped as you now faced Kim Namjoon.

A small tear dropped down the side of your face as you stared up at him in shock.

He had kneeled, so his body was trapping your body, so you wouldn't move.

"Are you going to kill me?" You whispered as your breath started shaking, not knowing which one was going to be your last.

"No-i...i didn’t kill anyone" he said as frustrated groan filled your ears.

You looked at him in confusion before he rose off of you sitting on the floor next to you.

"W-what do you mean?" You asked quietly as he looked down at his hands.

"I admit...I’ve done some shitty things, but...I’ve never killed anyone" he stated as you slowly sat up and crosses your legs.

"What about daehyun...we saw those texts" you stated firmly as he shook his head.

"I was in love with daehyun, I only wanted to scare her- i....I would never" he started as tears welled up in his eyes.

"I don't know if I believe you...the Jeon house showed signs of forced entry..." you said slowly as you tried to read his face.

"I swear it wasn't me! Yes, I fought with their family and maybe I was obsessed with their daughter...but I swear, it wasn't me" he pleaded as he wiped the tears from his eyes.

"Why did you run?" You asked curiously.

He laughed as he shook his head "Y/N, I’m a drug dealer who has had sexual relations with minors in return for fake IDs and alcohol" he said as he looked at you like you had asked a dumb question...which you had.

"Yer well now, you're on trial for murder...but they haven't found any evidence yet" you said more to yourself.

"Because I wasn't there, and I didn't do it!" He exclaimed.

"Go back to the crime scene, you're smarter than you think you are...you can figure it out i know you can" he said in a serious tone.

You stared up at the ceiling before sighing deeply. Maybe...he's onto something...

"I don't trust you"

"You don't need to"

"Stay away from Jungkook, the last thing he needs is knowing that someone else may have killed his family" you said sadly. He's finally on the track to recovery...

"Don't worry...that kid scares me" he said as he shivered.

"Scares you?" You asked in confusion.

"Yer...don't worry about it. Just find the real killer"

you didn’t know why but you felt like more people were about to die but the murder of the Jeon family. The silence of your first murder sent chills down your spine but for some reason, this new murder freaked you out even more. the feeling of time running out was not a good one. You had to find this killer…you had to find him now.

[angeltriestoblog]

The state of the world has once again taken a turn for the worse, and like all other similar instances, I turn to the comfort of the written word. With that being said, I wanted to put it out there that I have no intention of speaking over the narratives of those who need to be heard the most during this time. (I guess it pays that I don’t really have much of an audience here.) It’s just that I’ve always said that writing helps me compartmentalize my feelings and figure out my next course of action, and I guess this time is no different. I need to get my thoughts down somewhere I can see them instead of having them flit around aimlessly in the deep recesses of my brain.

—

These past few days, I have been made more and more aware of my smallness. Following the (first degree) murder of George Floyd, I’ve had access to all the information surrounding his death: who did it, how they did it and why, the implications of the act, and the several ways black people of color and their allies are standing in solidarity to counteract this brutal display of injustice. I’ve come across several petitions that hope to hold certain individuals accountable or raise issues to the national level, funding sites that aim to provide financial assistance to those most in need, and resources with the intent to educate that demand to be circulated on a wide scale. While these have technically showed me how I’m not entirely powerless, that I do in fact have the ability to enact some sort of change, it’s still difficult to stomach that the change I am capable of making is not as substantial as I want it to be.

I understand that what I’m feeling is a hassle, at worst—nothing compared to those on the streets, to the black people of color who have to fight for rights that are supposedly inherent to all human beings, who demand justice for all those who have fallen because of police brutality only to have these cries fall on deaf ears. I do not have to face various forms of oppression and microaggressions not just when this topic is trending, but throughout the course of my entire life. I do not carry this lingering fear that every step I take outside of my front door could be my last. What happens to their community is absolutely sickening but the thing is, we haven’t even seen all of it. Keeping tabs on social media, checking up with actual victims of structural racism often deludes us into thinking we know exactly what’s going on and how hard it must be, but access to all of this information doesn’t erase the fact that I am watching everything from afar.

So instead of sulking so much that my reaction could be misconstrued as an attempt to make the conversation about me, I tried to channel all this frustration in a more productive manner. I’ve reduced my Twitter time because my timeline has magically morphed into a raging cesspool spewing hatred and anger and is thus getting in the way of my journey towards being an effective ally and concerned citizen. I’m definitely not saying this because the people I follow only ever tweet about the resurfacing of the #BlackLivesMatter movement—hopefully, at this point of the post, I’ve already made it clear that I am far from apolitical. It’s just that my following can easily be classified into two groups: those who wear their ignorance on their sleeve and actively resist any form of education, and those who are so ruthlessly divisive that they scare away anyone who wishes to be educated. The world is already unforgiving enough as it is and I refuse to take part in that kind of culture. I have been trying to ease my way back in though by looking at tweets almost exclusively in the likes of some of my most politically aware friends (hi Pat, Ryen, and Alyanna—I hope you never have to see this) and checking the trends sporadically for any live updates.

Not only have I realized just how many hours in a day going on that stupid bird app actually eats up, but I’ve also had a lot of time to educate myself and reflect on my previous actions. I figured that if I’m so upset about how my impact on a global scale is terribly lacking, I can always start on a more personal level, which is probably just as revolutionary. I’ve watched movies, gone through articles, and even started on this book called White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo, which debunks why exactly it’s so hard to talk about racism with white people. In this process, I’ve learned that everything I knew about the concept was surprisingly shallow and surface-level. Having first claimed my badge of wokeness when I was 15 (and engaged in some pretty performative activism at the time, if I do say so myself), I was shocked to find out that everything I collected from viral hot takes and recommended YouTube videos that claim to be an extensive guide to fundamental social movements possessed an unforgivable degree of inaccuracy.

For instance, all this time, I was under the impression that I could only be a racist if I called someone ugly because of their dark skin or curly hair, or said the n-word whenever I sang along to Caroline by Amine. As long as I didn’t do those things, or any other form of discrimination towards a marginalized group, I was in the clear and had nothing to worry about—I could get a star on the Good Noodle board. In reality, to quote Scott Woods, racism is “a complex system of social and political levers and pulleys set up generations ago to continue working on the behalf of whites at other people’s expense, whether whites know/like it or not”. It is not something we actively choose to participate in, but something that we are born into—literally who would have thought!

Because racism has been demonized by everyone with working mental faculties (as it should be), it’s hard to own up to the fact that at some point, we have subconsciously picked up racist behaviors or exhibited racist tendencies at some point in our lives. Every time someone tries to point out where we went wrong in the hopes of giving constructive criticism, we have our defenses up, a list of receipts of all the times we tweeted the #BLM hashtag prepared to show that we are, in fact, not the villain that we were made out to be. This is a counterproductive exercise that helps nobody. If we truly want to step up and show our support for the movement and those working to make it happen, we must first be open to the possibility that we have done wrong and we have so much more to learn.

As a kid, my beauty standards were very Eurocentric, like most Filipinos: according to a study conducted by me based on years of personal observations and experience, we are the country most obsessed with whitening soap and hair rebonding treatments. I called my friends the n-word as a term of endearment and previously used AAVE (African American Vernacular English) in my tweets to give them a little bit of personality. I chose not to watch chick flicks that revolved around interracial couples because I felt that the difference in their skin color got in the way of their chemistry. One time, when my mom and I were walking to WalMart during a vacation to the States, we came across a stocky black man and my initial reaction was to hold my purse closer to my body. I remain deeply ashamed of these beliefs I held, which were admittedly born out of ignorance, and I acknowledge my responsibility to continue to eradicate any traces of these I may still have.

I am also doing my best to extend the same compassion I have for black people of color during these trying times towards my own countrymen. We’ve struggled enough during this pandemic thanks to the sorry state of our healthcare system, and now the government seems hell-bent on speeding up the passage of the anti-terrorism bill. This threatens to impede our freedom of speech and help government officials get away with incompetence and even abuse of authority. If anyone gets a hold of this blog post and chooses to interpret this paragraph as an open threat to the President, this could be the last time you could ever hear from me, and this frightens me beyond words.

I know this isn’t a new contribution to the discussion but here are some links to helpful masterposts containing a variety of resources should you wish to donate, learn, or sign. This goes for both issues in our motherland and what is supposedly the land of the free. Let’s stay vigilant, let’s stay compassionate. Wishing you all the love and light the world still has left to offer.

[ruffoverthinksthings]

Can you please try the Core 4 in your vice/virtue assessment?

Iapologize for the delay.

Itried to answer this some time back, and already had all myjustifications written out in my head when I made the chart and theoriginal post, but sadly, I didn’t have the energy to write themdown, and I’d already forgotten them, so now I had to think back,debate, and put it them into words all over again, along withremembering what specific scenarios or logical assumptions wouldqualify them for a Vice or a Virtue.

Withoutfurther ado, the Rotten Four’s Vices and Virtues:

TheRotten Four are an interesting case as their “Vices” are largelyattributed to blatant misinformation, abuse, and the twisted valuesystem of the Isle. None of these “Vices” are considered badthings, and are actually admired traits, only discouraged when itstarts to personally affect you, such as Jay getting so greedy thathe starts stealing from Jafar’s stock along with everyone else’spockets.

However,I will still consider them all to be guilty of these Vices becauseignorance does not excuse you from the consequences of your actions,and more so, the Rotten Four KNEW outright that they were being“Evil.”

Mal

Gluttony- Desire for Excess.

More,more, and more, it’s never enough, and never will be for Mal—ormore specifically, Maleficent. Bythe time of the Isleof the Lost (book),she’s the princess of the prison, top dog among her peers, fearedand respected by all to the point where anyonewho knows better willnot mess with her, and even those that don’t have second thoughts.

Butit’s still not enough, as she constantly seeks to get more power, amore fearsome reputation, more evil deedsunder her belt, even if it’s only inthe hopes of impressingher mother.

Wrath- Desire for Harm.

Youcould make the case for her trapping Evie in Cruella’s closet inthe Isle of the Lost (book) as the penultimate exampleof Mal’s Wrath, but I think that her behaviour towards Audrey inthe beginning of the movie is much better.

Withthe former, she was being coerced and forced into pulling amean-spirited prank as part of her education in Dragon Hall; she hasgreat, understandable motivation to want to pass this class with theheads of her enemies set up proudly on the ramparts.

Withthe latter, there’s really no good reason for her to pissoff Audrey, nothing to gain but the satisfaction of having earned herire, and more to lose with an enemy that could potentially sabotagetheir plans to steal the wand.

Envy- Desire for Other’s Belongings.

Malliterally being green-eyed aside, one of her first acts in TheIsle of the Lost (book) is to banish Evie and the Evil Queen fromthe Isle at large because she didn’t invite her to her 6thbirthday party, and she was jealous of all the attention and thepresents Evie was receiving.

Herhabit of pickpocketing and stealing (though not to the extent of Jay)is also a sign of this.

Pride- Desire for Attention.

Mal’sPride stems largely from Maleficent’s transactional parentingstyle, where love is only parceled out as soon as you prove yourself“worthy” of it. This is a problem in itself, and crosses into therealm of Pride when all of Mal’s truly cruel actions like trappingEvie in Cruella’s trap-laden closet was her way of permanentlycementing herself as the “Evilest of them All, next to Maleficent.”

Plus,when you make graffiti in such an iconic and easily recognizablestyle that you’ll immediately know who made it just from a glance,and put it all over every surface you can as your supply of spraypaint allows, it’s safe to say that you probably really wantto put your name out there.

Diligence- Being Steadfast in Work.

Malis mentioned as frequently passing over perfectly goodif not exceptional ideasfor her Ultimate Prank for Dragon Hall, and goes to great pains andincredible lengths tomake her schemes work, such as arranging the giant wildpartyin Cruella’s mansion (though admittedly most of the actual legworkwas onCarlos).

Thataside, she is a verydeterminedgirl who won’t stop until the job is done—be that trying to stealthe Fairy Godmother’s wand, stopping Maleficent from taking overAuradon,or all the numerous other “Let’s Save/Doom The World!” ploysshegets roped into.

Allthat pressure to constantly achieve and dobetter, especially without any meaningful reward or evenacknowledgment like a pat on the head would drive most people to justgive up, and declare honest,hard work intoanythinganinherently futile and painful endeavour.

ButnotwithMal.

Carlos

Diligence- Being Steadfast in Work.

Thoughthis might have stemmed largely from him being turned into Cruella’spersonal slave, and it being in his best interest to get work donewell and when Cruella said he should have, Carlos is still shown tobe a very hard and eager worker.

Youcan see this with his personal projects in the Isle of the Lost(book), where despite being constantly overworked,underappreciated, abused, and malnourished, he still finds time andmotivation to tinker with his personal projects, build himself a lab,and go through the inevitable break-downs, unexpected failures, andjust flat-out “will not start” prototypes before you get anactually working invention.

Beforeyou ask, yes, I do realize that there is also the looming threat ofMal, Evie, and Jay calling him out for being lazy and not helpingwith the “steal the wand” ploy, but as they’re all friends, Idoubt they would be as harsh and as great of a “motivator” as hismother is.

Patience- Being Peaceful in Goal.

Youcould argue that Carlos isn’t a fighter in the first place andwould get himself creamed in a straight up fist-fight, but not havinga hope in hell of actually winning never stopped anyone from saying“Fight me!” and following through.

(Justask a bartender about their favourite one-sided bar brawls.)

Youcould also argue that Cruella has made it so thatback-talking, getting angry, and making return threats is a VERY badidea indeed, but I would also like to point out that some bulliesthat lash out at others and get pissed off at the most innocuous andimagined of slights do that because they can’t actually fight theirtormentors, so they do what they wish they could do to them onothers.

Carloshas never been shown to take a violent or aggressive solution to muchof anything, except for the Tourney field and his clearlyfriendly rough-housing with Jay. It’s VERY impressive thatsomeone who has been tormented, abused, and picked-on like him canjust go on and show civility and kindness towards others, instead ofdishing out the same hand he’d been given as a misguided form of“karmic retribution” towards the world.

Alot of abused kids like Mal don’t just stop being mean as soon asyou take them out of the abusive environment; there are NUMEROUSscars and maladaptive habits that take years to heal and deprogram,if they’re not permanent.

Kindness- Being Good towards All Life.

Inthe Isle of the Lost (book),despite having absolutely nothing to gain from it, he gives Evie ahand in escaping his mother’s bear-trap ridden fur-closet. Shedoesn’t have anything to give him, nor does he ask for anything; hejust saw another victim like him in need of help, and he offered it.

Thisisn’t really that strange to us, but please remember that the Islehas a strictly “Every one for themselves, but also for just me!”and “I’ve got mine, now fuck off!” philosophy drilledinto all of their heads.

Evie

Lust- Desire for Pleasure.

Mydefinition doesn’t define this as purely desire for sexualpleasure, but with a LOT less PG-13 and all over realistic portrayalof Descendants, I wouldn’t put it past Evie to have slept aroundquite a lot, using and abusing boys for her own pleasure and selfishbenefit, and of course, getting access to all their luxuries and nicethings (relative to the Isle) using (what she assumes to be) hergreatest and only asset that matters.

(Orof you want to get specific, assets.)

Also,aside from wanting to impress her mother, the entire motivation ofher being a throne grabber (the Auradonian version of a “golddigger”) is for her to live a comfortable, carefree life with ahandsome, rich prince with a big castle that answers all of herneeds, which frees her up for all of her wants.

Envy- Desire for Other’s Belongings.

Greed- Desire for Things.

Gluttony- Desire for Excess.

Allthree are related to Lust, in that it ties in with her being a thronegrabber, and explicitly desiring and having been implied to do allmanner of unsavoury things to get more than her fair share fromothers.

“Rottento the Core’s” “schemer” and “heart-breaker” lines fromEvie’s section could allude to her charming and manipulating peopleinto getting what she wants, and most probably past the point whereshe’d already satisfied her needs, and is purely in the realm ofwants and luxury.

Shefalls into both Greed and Envy because this could be somethingimmaterial like influence, and/or having boys (and sometimes girls)head over heels for her past the point where she could or would wantto have a serious, healthy relationship with any of them; to materialthings, like someone’s jewelry, quality (again, relative to theIsle) goods and food, or someone else’s boyfriend, stolen justbecause she wanted to prove that she could.

Pride- Desire for Attention.

Eviehas long past the point of “having healthy self-confidence” withher primadonna attitude.

Thoughnot nearly as bad as Audrey can get (which is really sayingsomething), she still can get very selfish and self-centered like inWicked World where she complains that everyone else piling theirproblems onto Mal is distracting from her addressing the mostimportant issues of all, that makes everything else pale incomparison:

Evie’s.

Shealso tends to act like a stereotypical princess in that she thinksshe’s inherently better, prettier, and more competent than everyoneelse. She’s getting better after the first movie, but bad habitsdon’t die that easily.

Diligence- Being Steadfast in Work.

Shecooks, she cleans, she sows, she does your homework for you—Eviecouldn’t have learned all of these domestic skills and gotten herincredible in cosmetics, sewing, and alchemy without a LOT of hoursof dedicated practice, and more failures than successes.

LikeCarlos, you can attribute this to her mother making it a very badidea to be lazy (with their needs, anyway), but as Wicked Worldshows, she was willing to put in enough effort and reality-bendingprowess to make cupcakes that have every single element in theperiodic table.

Thisis particularly impressive when you realize a lot of these willEXPLODE, produce poisonous gas if you put them together, or outrightkill Evie from exposure.

Patience- Being Peaceful in Goal.

LikeCarlos, Evie has never been shown to get violent or that aggressiveand brutal towards others. I wouldn’t put it past her to be one ofthe Isle’s best roasters, with every VK having suffered a brutalburn from her at least once, but she doesn’t seem like the kind ofperson that just flat-out insults and destroys people’s sense ofself-worth for shits and giggles.

Youcould even excuse this behaviour somewhat as it was a necessarydefense mechanism to survive on the Isle.

Kindness- Being Good towards All Life.

Relatedto Carlos own entry, Evie sacrificing one of her pillows (a HIGHLYvalued commodity when the stock sleeping quarters is a cold, damp,hard floor) to repay him for saving her from Cruella’s closet isvery telling and impressive, given that the default Isle response tothis would be “see how much more kindness you can milk from himbefore he turns you down.”

Iwouldn’t be surprised if that’s how Evie treated most people thathad been good to her in the past, to be fair, unlike Carlos, theyprobably had their own ulterior motives, too.

Jay

Lust- Desire for Pleasure.

Jayhas been shown have the same carpe diem attitude of Aladdin,just taking every day as it comes, doing whatever he needs tosurvive, but without the generosity and the goodwill towards others,so whenever he does come across something good, it’s purely for hisenjoyment.

Hisconstant flirting with pretty much everyone is also a hint of one ofhis primary pickpocketing tactics—distract them with his sexy, sexyself—a history of (unhealthy, to be clear) casual flings andrelationships like Evie, or both, as I wouldn’t be surprised if hisexes complain that he stole their hearts and their wallets.

Gluttony- Desire for Excess.

Greed- Desire for Things.

Thoughit’s more apparent with Greed, in that he has his wandering eyes onvaluables, electronics, and other precious goods, Jay also showssigns of Gluttony how he keeps on stealing despite alreadyhaving a healthy and productive outlet for all that energy inTourney.

Stealinghas already stopped being a way for him to survive, and it seemsclear that all the Rotten Four have stopped trying to impress or earnthe love of their heartless parents; at this point, it just seemspurely for the thrill of it, and/or his still being unsatisfied withall the good things that have been given to him.

Wrath- Desire for Harm.

He’snever shown to actually physically fight his fellow VKs, and theworst he does to Chad is to get in his way and look intimidating, butit’s not that far of a stretch to assume that someone as bulky andlarge as him has gotten into much more than his fare share offights.

Ifit’s not for his stealing and them noticing before he’s out ofsight, then it’s when someone weaker or on his level has somethinghe wants and discretely pilfering it isn’t an option (along with“fair trade” not really being a thing on the Isle), or him takingoffense to something or someone, before taking the low-road into aback-alley, or just taking them on right there and then.

Sometimes,it might have even just been because he was bored, or REALLY neededto punch someone, period.

Envy- Desire for Other’s Belongings.

Necessityand Jafar’s abusive use of him as a shop employee more than a son,it’s not hard to imagine that a lot of Jay’s thefts were doneafter he saw someone with something very nice that he didn’t have,or wanted more of.

Pride- Desire for Attention.

Jayconstantly displays an over-inflated sense of self-confidence withhow he shamelessly flirts with everyone, and seems genuinelysurprised that someone WOULDN’T be attracted or respond positivelyto his words and actions.

He’snot as much of a narcissist as Chad is, but again, not hard toimagine that a more realistic and less PG portrayal of Jay would havehim showboating and being more arrogant than he already, constantlytalking about how awesome, handsome, and intelligent he is in spiteof the reality.

Diligence- Being Steadfast in Work.

Thoughthe work may be inherently illegal, you can’t say Jay doesn’thave impeccable work ethic, single-handedly keeping hisfather’s junk shop in business for all this time in spite of thelack of due compensation and acknowledgment for his deed.

There’s also theinfamous scene in the first movie where he dumps a giant armload ofstolen phones, tablets, and laptops for the group to use.