#how punishment or revenge is never part of her idea of justice

[a-dauntless-daffodil]

remember how charlie started dating her gf back when she thought vaggie was a sinner who'd earned a place in hell, and then she found out the gf used to be a murder angel and got angry / hurt bc SHE tells vaggie everything so why didn't vaggie trust her with the angel thing??? does vaggie not really LOVE her????? oh yeah and murder bad too whatever- OH WAIT SO VAGGIE /DOES/ LOVE HER!? fuck yeah who cares about murder! the angel gf's wings are hot and charlie Will Hug Her

what im saying is... charlie doesn't just TALK about the fluffy vague idea of redemption

she's been living it this whole time

we see her CHOOSE to stay with vaggie even after having the exact terrible bad things vaggie did shoved in her face. there's no "she's just naive" excuse here

she knows. her kindness and hope doesn't come from a LACK of knowing how bad things or people can be

but that was vaggie's past. charlie talks about a breach of trust, of vaggie not trusting her with the truth, of the fear that other things between them hadn't been true too- Those are all PRESENT vaggie issues. they're all questions about the woman vaggie is NOW, and what kind of relationship charlie has with her, today

even charlie's line wondering if vaggie would've told her about an angel's weakness- it's not, "oh you're still one of them", it's "now i know there was something else important that you didn't tell me"

it's so quiet. that kind of, amazing moment. where charlie just unravels the whole idea of sin and flicks it away, like a speck of dust

being reminded of how many ways vaggie SHOWS who she is and who CHARLIE is to her, that settles charlie, answers all her worries and questions (she can trust vaggie) (vaggie is in this with her no matter what)- because none of them, those fears and pains, were about what vaggie had been

that's how the hotel can work. it's built on something REALLY strong- it's built on charlie honestly meaning what she says, and vaggie truly actively being her partner in it

we can't SEE that happening without looking at THEM

(we see people not taking them, or charlie, seriously- and getting fucked up when they Find Out)

them being and staying together is proof that the hotel can work, that angels can sin and seek redemption, that people- even sinners- can change

and when they change there'll be at least one place where they can BE that new person

at the hazbin hotel

[inamindfarfaraway]

The Exorcists’ Masks of Virtue

The vast majority of Exorcists in Hazbin Hotel have a notable design element that other angels don’t: their masks are missing an eye. Specifically, the right eye.

I believe this is a reference to the Bible, Matthew 5:29. Jesus says, “If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.”

He’s being hyperbolic. Mr Free Healthcare was not pro-mutilation. What he means is that you have to be willing to make sacrifices to prevent sin. The context of the eye metaphor is him condemning adultery and warning that even something as easy, casual and small as a look full of lustful intent can lead to further, worse sin if you don’t notice your sin, hold yourself accountable for it and do the work to not let it influence your decisions. This will probably be hard. It could be very, very painful. Changing your perspective can feel as horrible as plucking out your eye, so many people can’t bring themselves to do it. But although it won’t feel that way in the moment, it’s healthier for our general wellbeing in the long run to abandon traits and behaviours that damage ourselves and/or others.

(You may notice that Jesus’s teaching that you can have sinned, redeem yourself by giving up sin and thus escape damnation is the founding principle of the Hazbin Hotel. You may also notice that it contradicts everything the Exorcists believe.)

The Exorcists seem to follow this idea of painfully excising badness for the sake of the greater good devoutly to the point of placing it above teachings like ‘Thou shalt not kill’, with their job being to remove sin, in the form of sinners, to protect Heaven. Hence the missing right eyes. They’re a declaration of moral righteousness and inability to stumble.

But the truth is that the Exorcists all have their right eyes. Their flawlessness is a facade. Underneath, they are untouched, think themselves morally untouchable and, as shown by their horror and outrage when even one of them is killed, would much rather be physically untouchable too. This perfectly represents their complete unwillingness to acknowledge their own faults, let alone improve. They are never the ones who sacrifice. They force the sinners to sacrifice and don’t compensate it with any salvation. They metaphorically rip out the sinners’ eyes, but still condemn their entire bodies as inherently, permanently sinful. So they’ll just have to do another Extermination to get the other eyes! And another one to cut off their right hands! And so on until there’s nothing left.

The only exception to the rule is Vaggie, both in appearance and character. Her mask has the left eye crossed out instead. Even before her expulsion, she’s set apart to the audience as an Exorcist who has the capacity to, shall we say, see a different side of things. Her mask having its ‘sinful’ right eye reflects her understanding that the Exorcist worldview is wrong.

When she almost kills a demon child, her hateful vision clears. She discards the part of herself that’s an unquestioning, merciless agent of death, terror and grief… and as punishment for what Lute perceives as treacherous weakness, gets her eye plucked out.

Of course Lute leaves her with only the ‘sinful’ eye. It brands Vaggie forever as the inversion, a perversion, of what the Exorcists are meant to be.

You know, all this talk of eye removal in the Bible reminds of another line - ‘an eye for an eye’. Adam directly quotes it in “Hell is Forever”. He uses it to frame the Exterminations as Old Testament-style punitive justice; the sinners did harm and so they receive it. But putting aside the debate about how ethical the concept of revenge is, the entire point of taking an eye for an eye is that it’s proportional. The punishment fits the crime. If someone cuts your eye out, you shouldn’t murder their whole family in front of them and then slowly disembowel them to death. That would be the sin of wrath. You should just make them pay without excessive pain or collateral damage. This is the fairest form of revenge.

The Exorcists don’t do that! The Exterminations aren’t proportional to the wrongs of all they hurt, nor was Vaggie’s brutal punishment equivalent to her extremely mild insubordination. Lute literally takes Vaggie’s eye, and more, after Vaggie does nothing to her! That’s the opposite of the phrase! Adam and his soldiers are wrathful and cruel, deriving satisfaction from others’ suffering. But they just can’t stop going on and on about how disgustingly evil the sinners are, in total hypocrisy… despite some of the sinners being far better people than the genocidal Exorcists are… it’s like they’re obsessed with specks of dust in the sinners’ eyes when they have massive logs stuck in their own. Oh hey, that’s in the Bible too!

[bonefall]

So, your Clear Sky post is absolutely horrifying, but it was very needed, so thank you. What are your general thoughts on tackling his abuse for the AU? Like you've said, pretending he's a good guy is not the way to go, but are you planning on toning down *some* of the situations, just to give some of the cats a break? Clear Sky is a very realistic depiction of abusers, but that seems to come across even without victim number 25, yknow? I'm very curious about how you'd like to go about this.

My most recent big change was bringing Slash back into the fold, because I realized that it was actually a disservice to not address where DOTC's themes dip into Colonialism. It's a hard topic, and I'm still trying to work out the details, but I realized it was important.

With how BB!DOTC is such a MASSIVE overhaul, to properly address abuse and the ways it impacts you, ableism and its violence, and xenophobia broadly, a huge reworking of Slash belonged here too. He's one of the greatest examples of how badly WC demonizes non-Clanborn cats. I shouldn't dance around it.

That's what I need to do with Skystar.

MANY of his victims have happier endings than canon, though. Bumble is one of the most famous, bumped up into a major character and directly responsible for the formation of ThunderClan. Bright Storm is taking most of Gray Wing's roles. Birch and Alder are getting examined, with either a father who wants his kids back or Milkweed as the mate of Misty.

A lot of people will die because of him, even more will be hurt, but I see BB!DOTC as a story about victims and survivors.

Others might grab POVs here and there, but as a response to canon which I feel is Clear Sky's story told in many parts, I center this rewrite around Thunder Storm. The path of kindness he marches down, with love and with anger, and the people he helps.

So BB!Star Flower...

Previously I was playing her as ENTIRELY just manipulating Clear Sky. She was loyal to One Eye and trying to get at Skystar to bleed him dry for 8 lives to sacrifice; but connected to Thunderstar over recognizing him as a victim who deserves her idea of justice. So, she offers Thunderstar the final kill, so her father will be grateful to him and he'll get power AND the death of his abuser.

(When Thunderstar looks upon Skystar, pathetic and neutralized down to one life, he thinks about the collateral damage that will descend upon the forest if he accepts the deal. He decides that he has found the line between Justice and Justification. Of course he wants the power to make his enemies cower, protect his people, and eliminate Clear Sky so he never threatens them again; that's not the problem.

He can still do these things. He wouldn't NEED the power of a war god to do so.

But if One Eye returns, he will be endlessly hungry, ruthlessly dedicated to revenge, and set out to devour the whole forest. Everything would get worse, and even more people he loves would die. It's where his desire to destroy a monster would lead to him BECOMING one.)

Even on its face, it was previously missing an element. There's a step between "Starf decides to bring One Eye back" and "Starf offers Thunderstar the final kill" that was bare. This is the piece that was missing-- That she, herself, is trying to reach out to the only person who's ever really understood her.

But more importantly... I do feel this topic belongs here, in BB!DOTC. Abuse is a MAJOR theme. SKYSTAR is a monster already. He's harmed two wives in BB (Bright Storm and Falling Cry) and played toxic games with all three kits (Thunder Storm, Pale Sky, Tiger Sky).

And I'd avoid Star Flower being abused... why? Because it's uncomfortable to confront the pattern that Clear Sky displays? That in-canon, he tries to cut all his victims into the same ideal shape, from Storm to Thunder to Star Flower? ...it should be uncomfortable. Everything that I described in Clear Sky Is A Monster is rooted in the same desire for control, power, and punishment most abusive people share, he just happens to be a severe example.

Yes. That includes how he treats his child and romantic partners. The parallels that are drawn between Starf and Thunder are there because he wants power in the form of obedience. Starf replaces the son as a narrative award for his "growth" of not killing random people anymore for a while.

A cookie cutter is an effective tool because IT ONLY MAKES ONE SHAPE.

You know what's more uncomfortable? Reading canon!DOTC and seeing someone who hurt you reflected almost perfectly in the character the writers think did nothing wrong. Because of "good intentions" that were not there.

I will say though, just to be clear; I don't see a purpose in being more than PG-13 about serious topics for this project. I promise none of my intentions have changed. Nothing will be more graphic or gorey than canon WC-- just more intentional.

I'm keeping the sacrifice because it's dope. No one is taking this from me. Girl Moment: Killed her awful husband 8 times to count as 8 sacrifices and offered the last life to her buddy as a show of good will. How else do you make friends outside of high school

But I know now that Star Flower NEEDS to keep the canon fact she has very little agency, UNTIL that moment she snaps.

She's sacrificing one abuser to try and bring back a bigger, badder one, because in spite of everything, her father One Eye always made her feel safe. Even though he promised her off to Skystar, and expected her to be willing to die for him. She's followed every command, every order, past the death of his mortal vessel.

The first, and only, selfish choice she's ever made was in reaching out to Thunderstar to offer him the power of her father.

Thunderstar's Justice is a story about a Thunder Storm at the pinnacle of his arc, how the survivors of his Clan are settling into the new normal after the carnage of The First Battle, how Skystar's arrogance brings a violent god to the Forest... and the connection Thunderstar makes with the daughter of a monster.

[sailtomarina]

Make it right

Draco spat the blood out of his mouth before wiping his chin clean. Shame burned low in his stomach at the reality of it all: his return to Hogwarts after the trial, his sentencing to ten years of Ministry work following graduation, and his inability to defend himself under the strict guidelines of his probation. Each day brought with it new tortures in the form of taunts, hexes, and fists. The worst part was that he didn’t even try to avoid punishment. He chased it the way his friends used to take potions—often, and in great quantities.

Like, for example, today.

He could have walked away the second class ended, made his way back to the castle and the safety of his dorm room. Instead, he’d watched Hagrid saunter off into the Forbidden woods to gather Acromantula venom, gathering his belongings in as slow a manner as possible. 

He’d seen the way Finnegan glared at him throughout the entire duration of class, how he’d exchanged whispers and nods with the other wizards near him.

The jelly-legs jinx hit him just as he made to stand with his bag, sending him sprawling face first into the boulder towards which he faced. He’d turned his head just in time to avoid a broken nose, but the impact on his teeth still cut up the inside of his mouth.

“Why didn’t you move, or at the very least, block that?”

He didn’t have to turn around to recognize that voice. It was the voice he heard in his dreams tinted with screams and piss and so much blood.

It was the voice he most desired and feared. Of anyone, she was the one who most deserved justice against him. He wanted her to kick and scream at him, call him all the terrible names he knew fit.

“Because it’s the very least I can offer them.”

She cast the counterspell, and Draco stood to brush the dirt off his clothes, leaving smears in their wake. He could use a charm to vanish the mess, but he hardly ever used magic outside of classes anymore. The weight of his wand felt like clasping the hand of a stranger now, rather than the comforting friend it had always been in the past.

“Scourgify.”

The marks he’d left behind vanished. He turned around to yell at Granger for her meddling and complete lack of self-preservation. The words never left his lips, instead becoming trapped on his tongue as she moved the tip of her wand up to his face without the slightest hesitation. Was this the moment he’d been waiting for?

“Episkey.”

The sharp pain in his cheek faded to nothing, and he probed the spot with his tongue to verify the cuts had healed.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Her actions didn’t make any sense to him. She shouldn’t be here, cleaning him up and casting healing spells.

“Righting a wrong,” she said, her voice calm and steady as if the response was only natural.

“Righting a wrong.” 

He couldn’t help but repeat what she’d said, in utter disbelief at the implication. “Are you daft?”

“What’s daft, Malfoy, is you seeking out every single person looking for petty revenge.” Her rebuke was quick, slapping him with her disapproval.

“Finnegan deserves some satisfaction just as much as I deserve punishment,” he choked out. This was the first time he’d dared utter them aloud, even though he’d said them to himself a million times and more. He chanted them, repeated them almost like a prayer each night.

“Looking for pain the way that you are doesn’t make any of it right.” Her gaze, a clear shade of light brown like the honey he stirred into his tea, pierced him straight through. She saw too much.

Then again, she always had.

Trapped under his eyes the way that he was and feeling a rare moment of naked honesty, he again let out more of his true self.

“I don’t know what else to do.”

At that admission, she cocked her head to the side, chewing on her lip like she often did when considering a particularly trying problem. Her brows rose, lighting up as an idea came to mind.

“Catch.”

Not a half second later, her bag was flying towards him. He caught it just before it hit the ground, the weight of the shelf’s-worth of books she must have stuffed into it nearly knocking him on his arse.

“Bloody hell, Granger, this thing must weigh more than a hippogriff,” he grunted, hoisting the bundle more evenly into his arms. She smirked at the gripe, remembering a specific hippogriff and his specific blunder then.

“You’re my study buddy now, and you’ll accompany me to and from class and the library until graduation. Your choice, of course.” Spinning on her heels, she started her ascent back to the castle with the full expectation of his acquiescing to her offer.

Draco’s mind went through a series of mental gymnastics over the turn of events as he watched the distance increasing between them. He could drop her books and go his own way. Malfoys didn’t bow to others.

Unless they were Voldemort.

Or sentenced to Azkaban.

Or…

He could swallow his pride and follow the witch. Maybe she knew the real meaning of justice. Maybe she could help him figure out who he was outside of the family name and the Mark.

His mind made up, he grit his teeth and took the first step towards a future of his own making. He found Granger stopped and facing his way as she waited. The smile that stretched across her face when she noticed him moving hit him as hard, if not harder, than her ridiculous bag.

A smile for him rather than at his expense.

With she the giver and he the recipient, the smile took on a whole new meaning. Perhaps instead of seeking his own pain, he could seek joy for her and, just maybe, for himself. 

WC 999

Juuuuuut shy of 1K, let's go!

Twitter prompt from DramionePrompts

[writingsofwesteros]

When you mentioned the Bolton girl stringing Aegon along. It gave me an idea

At first her instructions were simple. Get Aegon in a compromising position and get caught.

But as time passes, she starts to enjoy tormenting him.

Moving her body and bending it in subtle ways, to watch his reaction. And taking those reactions, using them to influence her clothing. She has all the excuses.

“All this heat. So hard to manage.”

“Forgive me. I am no talent at the intricacies of court.”

Just a proper northern girl. Not presenting that image for Aegon’s benefit…. As much as it is a show for any who see them. It’s important no one believes she would ever ENCOURAGE such attention. Oh but Aegon must believe it. Or he must be too lust blind to think.

And the bolder she gets with her tricks… the more he wants.

One genuine feeling in her is a love of the Weirwood tree. She often spends her time beneath it. That’s where Aegon finds her. He wishes to impress her once, trying to climb it and instead cutting his hand. Of course he tries hiding it. She half laughs. Pointing out that he’s bleeding. He’s embarrassed. But she takes his hand.

“Bleeding onto the roots. Sort of sacrificial… isn’t it?”

She presses it to her lips. In a gesture that appears a gentle kiss. As she pulls back, some blood remains on her lips. She smiles softly, and suddenly turns. Gliding away. With only a single look over her shoulder.

He’s caught.

It doesn’t take much more. She finally invites him to visit her in the rooms given to her house for their stay. He arrives early. At least that’s how it’s supposed to appear…. When he walks in on her, still in her small clothes. The way she looks up at him…. Those clever grey eyes… finally seeing parts of her body… and oh how he wants to see more. He can’t take it. He moves close to her and confesses his desires, kissing her neck.

Of course, that’s when Lord Bolton happens to return. Along with a lord he had business with. And they’re both greeted by the sight of the prince. Kissing the neck of the young lady. His hand on her breast. While she’s still in some state of undress.

Just as planned.

Lord Bolton plays his anger perfectly. Going straight to the King with his story, and demanding Justice. It’s all wonderfully crafted.

The north has been struggling. No house is exempt from that. To ensure the good of his house and his people, he made the long journey to king’s landing with the young lady. All for a suitable husband. She is dutiful, and ignorant in the ways of men! Instead the king’s own son does this! Who knows how many times he might’ve done this before! Already, he says, rumors are spreading questioning what “liberties” he took. How can we hope to find a match now. Return to our kin empty handed?

“Or perhaps…” He locks eyes with Queen Alicent as he says this. Driving his point home. “Perhaps we won’t be empty handed at all. Perhaps this poor girl will be returning with a white haired babe in her arms!”

That statement does it. The performance of a lifetime. Queen Alicent is beside herself for Aegon “ruining this poor girl.” Even Viserys, decides Aegon should do right by her and the house he offended. Their marriage is set.

Aegon does get the lecture of a lifetime. And that annoys him. He was never even inside her! If he’s being punished like he was, at least he should be able to now.

But she gives him no peace. She finds she likes tormenting him still. Oh so many nights Aegon lies in bed, dreaming of her body. How he’ll finally take her. Rip her clothing and shove inside her. Fuck all of that composure off her face. Make the soft spoken girl beg and cry out for him. A lady no more. Just his whore wife going dumb on his cock.

He whispers his fantasies to her sometimes. Trying to get any reaction out of her. Get revenge. Make her crack. But she’s composed, just that soft smile still. A simple thing. Quietly she enjoys seeing his desire growing. How long can she frustrate him she wonders….

One night, she enters his chambers. Closing the door behind her. When the door is finally shut, he wants to rip her clothes and throw her on the bed. And she knows. But she’s quicker. Taking his cock in her hand and biting his neck. He actually moans. She smirks and strokes faster. Bringing up all his fantasies. All the things he touches himself to, asking him if that’s what he wants. Would he do it all right now? He begs and bites his lip as he feels himself getting close, saying yes to all of it. Right as he’s about to go over the edge, she stops. Stepping back.

“Good. Then surely you can wait until our wedding night.”

She smiles and before he can stop her, she’s gone.

Aegon can scarcely handle it until their wedding day. The entire time, he’s counting down the minutes until the ceremony is complete. Kissing her much longer than he’s supposed to, until the Septon clears his throat.

He does enjoy feasts. But for the first time in his life, he finds himself wishing this one would just end. He has to try his absolute best not to get hard now just from the anticipation. His new wife notices his strain. And she’s almost smirking to herself. She knows he’ll lose control soon. And it will be fun to see what comes of all the built up lust when he does.

What indeed.

The second it’s appropriate to leave, he all but drags her out of there to their room. Shooing away anyone in the chamber and almost slamming the door. She can scarcely undress before he sets upon her. For the first time in his life, he is truly something of a dragon

ALL OF THIS

Also I think because Aegon is entitled and such a little dick sometimes...he'd want to go to the street of the silk.

But she knows all his games

[arrozaurus]

Hello, hope you're somewhat well. I was wondering if you could possibly explain what the whole deal with bismuth and rose was. To explain, I am confused on why exactly bismuth was wrong with her idea about killing the the diamonds and rose's later response. I remember reading somewhere that the reason that bismuth was wrong with her plans was because a) the diamonds are just too powerful and b) it wouldn't really fix/help anything because the system would still be in place (you'd just have dead dictators). Is that correct? And so why did rose later on do somewhat of what bismuth wanted if she (assuming here) knew it wouldn't work? Pink would be dead, but the system not at all dismantled. Please explain as if you were speaking to a really dumb person (me)

Thanks for this question. I know it's been sitting for a while in the inbox but I didn't forget, I just think that I should leave this macerate... because? that's a complicated question??? you're not dumb at all.

I think that you're conflating perspectives here: what the story is trying to tell, morally, with how the characters feel and do and where they morally position themselves regardless of the story. The first corresponds with your first question: why Bismuth's plan was wrong (in the sense that it was flawed, not necessarily inmoral--though it is). And the second question corresponds with what pertains the characters inside the narrative.

Objectively, Bismuth's plan was not going to be succesful, and it would've been a mistake in the future. We know this because... Rose went in with the idea, she carried it out. She killed Pink Diamond and it changed nothing about the situation. Homeworld's status quo, its hierarchy and its system, remained unchanged, but moreso it created an earthquake, a trauma, on the landscape that reverberated back on the crystal gems.

I want to say that this is normal. It's a plan that is blotchy, messy and runs on a very emotionally charged motivation. Bismuth was right on feeling this way, these emotions are admirable and also very valid. But having the right feelings does not mean that things are going to go the way you expect and the way you want to.

Let's look at what the story says about this: Steven Universe is a medium that sits on the belief that justice must be restorative in order to be justice. Punishment, vengeance, other contemptious actions are always unwarranted under this principle, because they're not considered useful to actually amend the hurtful situation and are in fact almost always counter productive to mitigating the injustice. Hurts keeps going because we keep hurting each other back.

There are several examples were this statement particularly stands out in the show, most notably Steven in Homeworld Bound when he shows resentment towards the Diamonds, perceiving injustice for the trauma they directly caused on him and feeling vengeful at this injustice. This is portrayed as wrong. It's okay to have feelings on the matter but if you want to kill someone that is actually already trying to fix their wrongdoings, the story says, you're the one that is going too far and the one that needs help.

Bismuth is another example because she also has resentment towards the Diamonds (for a completely good reason!) and wants to revenge her friends and free everyone by getting rid of the only thing that seems to be perpetuating that. While the way Rose acted is unfair and kind of cruel? , Bismuth's plan is never warranted by the story because it collides with this principle of restorative justice.

Parenthesis, part of the reason Bismuth hates the Diamonds so much is that she's been swallowing everything Rose had been saying about them. Rose comes from a place of self hate and she's particularly harsh on Pink Diamond when she talks about them with the CGs. We could talk about how she uses this to cope with her own inner critic and to find what feels to her like an honest response to her inexcusable behavior, but maybe not here.

Moving on to why Rose follows through despite disagreeing with that plan... I think she doesn't, necessarily, disagree on the plan of Killing Pink Diamond. I think that's a possibility although we cannot know for sure. What she's definitely against is the weapon. She doesn't think it's right. And I think it makes perfect sense when you think about her background and her feelings on the matter of destruction: she has the core belief that her nature is inherently destructive and she's deeply ashamed of it, she wishes to make it disappear, to not reproduce that destructive nature ever again.

There is some complex trauma around it that gets triggered when Bismuth shows her the breaking point. She had swore to never hurt anyone ever again but here it is the most Crystal Gem of all telling her that she created a weapon of (at the time) irreversible destruction... As irreversible as Volley's scar. How is she not going to feel responsible for this, after all she created the Crystal Gems, and how is she not going to feel contempt at someone who wants and seeks to do something like this to someone else?

Who says they wouldn't use this weapon against any other gems too? I don't know, I think Rose simply didn't want to get more gems hurt so horribly. Which is not incompatible with killing "herself".

One thing is that Rose is not aware of the impact this action will have when she decides to go through with it. She's under the impression that she's utterly irrelevant and that no one on Homeworld will miss her if she were to be gone (and I don't think she can truly believe it even after that, since she does it a second time).

I think that the major catalyst to this decision for sure was what Blue told her in Can't Go Back. Immediately, she believes the words, fixates on them. Earth will be a colony for as long as she's there to rule. And materializes the idea in her mind. For as long as she's there. If she's not Pink Diamond anymore, if she gives up her status and kills this part of herself, Earth will be free and the war will end. And everyone will be free. She will be free.

With this comes the second and last realization, Rose’s goals killing Pink Diamond were never about dismantling the system. Not because she's conservative, that'd be absurd, it's just that she simply does not believe that she's capable of that at all (out of feelings of powerlessness). She thinks reedeeming the system is impossible, and therefore the only solution is to escape the system and create a new solar punk anarchist utopia outside of it.

[i-cant-stop-fandoming-help]

Lab UnSafety

I had no idea what to title this but this was my birthday gift to @threeais and it is of his lab au. I. I forgot to post it on here, but he did get to read the doc way before this.

uhhh. fuck what do i TW for. Cannabalism, malnourishment, workplace abuse(?). I will add TWs if asked.

Mikado scratched his stitches, a hiss escaping his mouth. He hated Miss Kurokawa's head, it felt too light. When he found that mistake of a human, he would take his head back once and for all.

Makunouchi’s screams were loud, obnoxious, disgusting. If that foul beast didn’t quiet down, Mikado would force him to be silent. 

His screams grew louder, and Mikado only got more annoyed. He paced towards the experiment’s cell, only to be struck with an idea. He had fed Makunouchi flesh before, what if he fed makunouchi and entire body part? Or, an entire human… 

Oh, Mikado could not wait to find Miss Kurokawa. She must die, she must be shown no mercy. She had worked at the foundation, she must be punished.

Mikado threw a scarf around his neck, hiding his stitches so he would not receive any questions or jokes about him being a “frankenstein”. He was no monster, he was merely… a god of karma. Out for revenge, so justice would be served.

Maybe Miss Kurokawa was still at the foundation’s old building, she never did stop working- too much of a people pleaser to take a break. She took on the entire foundations work sometimes, pitiful but disgusting.

The building smelled of abandonment, but there was still typing. Typing, typing, typing. Of course it was her, of course, typing away. She looked horribly malnourished, wouldn’t be a good meal for Makunouchi.

“Miss Kurokawa, I’ve come to help you.” Mikado said, as sweetly as he could. She turned her head towards him, and tried to stand up, but she was shackled down. So Kurokawa turned her head back towards her screen.

She was hurt just as much, he thought to himself. Her fingers were swollen and near-bleeding, her eyes were sunken and red. Had she even slept?

Maybe she didn’t have to die, maybe she could work with him. 

“We’ll get you some food and water.” He promised, and his voice was… so surprisingly gentle, even to himself.

Mikado freed her of her shackles, helping her up and guiding her out of the place. She was limping and groaning, and her eyes were slowly closing. Maybe she wasn’t so bad.

By the time they were back at the lab, Kurokawa had been chowing down on some fast food. She clearly had been starving, and it was mere determination that had her living. Mikado had lost track of how much chicken she had eaten, but one of the bags was filled to the brim with garbage. 

“Miss Kurokawa, your brother has hurt you so very much… haven’t you ever wanted him to feel even a fraction of your pain?” Mikado asked, glancing over at the cell in which he kept Kisaragi.

Kurokawa had to pause and swallow, glancing over at him and tilting her head. “No, not really…? Anything I am hurt for, I deserved. Because I didn’t do well enough.”

Mikado could only chuckle at such an answer, walking over to Kisaragi’s cell. “That’s where you’re wrong, Miss Kurokawa. Mister Kisaragi is such a foul man, he only hurts others. So I gave him what was coming. I’ll let you deliver the finishing blow, of course.”

Kurokawa slowly walked over, only to stumble backwards and look at Mikado with horror. “No… no..! You monster!” 

A snarl found its way out of his throat as he walked towards her. “And here i am reminded of why I wanted to kill you. You are weak.” The more she backed away, the more he got closer. “And I want my head back.”

Screams coated the building, fresh and delicious. And when they were over with, Makunouchi was able to enjoy a freshly beheaded corpse. As for Mikado, he just had to figure out how to replace his own head.

[larabiatasstuff]

Part five🖤

Sweet Tooth took a step towards me taking my face in his hands. "And we will get justice Y/N, I'll make sure that this piece of shit will not even have one happy day for the rest of his pathetic life. I promise but please let the boy go. You're better than him Y/N." he was right, I wasn't myself since our son died. I was completely driven by wanting revenge that I didn't care about anything else. That wasn't me, the real me wouldn't hurt a child. I took the knife down and looked at the boy before me." I'm sorry. " I said and let him go. "Oh thank god. Come on Eric let's get out of here." the man said but Eric didn't move "No!" "What do you mean no?" "You always say actions have consequences. I think it's time to face yours." then he turned to me "I'm sorry for your loss. I had no idea what my father did to you and... I understand that he has to be punished." there was a moment of silence before I spoke up again "I... I think fearing for the life of his son is punishment enough. It might not bring my son back but seeing that your son has more courage than you gives me hope that he will be a great man and father later. I hope we will never see each other again and that this moment will haunt you in your sleep. " with that I turned around and left the building. Outside I completely collapsed, crying and sobbing." I'm so proud of you Y/N you know that? I knew you would do the right thing. " Sweet Tooth said taking me in his arms." I'm so sorry Sweet Tooth I don't know what got into me. I saw him and I...". "Shhh... it's okay. How do you feel?" I wiped my tears away. "I think I'm back to myself again. My real self. All that grief and mourning turnt me into a monster. How could you be so calm about everything?" "Well, I met someone who taught me to control my rage and anger. I married her and she made me a better person, a happier person. We will get through everything together no matter what it is and I know it might take while but I'm glad to have you back Y/N." I gave him a small smile. "Can you take me home please? I just wanna go home now." "Of course Y/N let's go."

Part one here 🖤

[tobiasdrake]

So, my opinion on Wanda (if you don't mind hearing it)...

If we're going to condemn Wanda and say she needs to be punished for what she did, should we not hold characters like Tony Stark to the same standard for being such a huge part of the global war machine that directly caused a significant part of Wanda's own trauma, or for accidentally causing the Ultron incident due to his own trauma motivating him to try and protect the world through his obviously-a-bad-idea technology? What of Banner, who arguably could have prevented a lot of the damage the Hulk did if he just gave himself up to the military to be experimented on instead of fighting for his right to exist freely? Or Clint's Ronin phase after the Snap? Even Wanda volunteering to be experimented on by Hydra, she was a young traumatized person who was exploited, as is typical of military and terrorist organizations to do. She most certainly had agency in that decision and killing out of revenge isn't exactly good, let alone all the collateral, but if we argue that Wanda deserves punishment for the harm she has done, then is she also not justified in wanting to punish Stark and others complicit in the atrocities she's suffered where she and her family were the collateral?

And complicating matters is that due to her powers, Wanda having a breakdown has a greater impact than say, if I went a little crazy in my grief. Her simply lashing out has huge consequences because she has reality-warping abilities that are downright instinctual for her to use. It's kinda a problem a fantastical world of super-powered people would have to deal with. How do you deal with people in crisis who normally would have a small, undirected impact when they lash out, but now have to actively restrain themselves from causing massive damage with careless use of their laser eyes or magic? Two individuals could have the exact same character, the exact same reaction, and cause vastly different amounts of harm. If Wanda didn't have her powers, she simply would not have been capable of what she did.

(And, more practically, how do you implement our current carceral justice system on someone with powers without breaking several dozen human rights laws like with the RAFT? More than ever, crime reduction, rehabilitation and restorative justice would become the only practical way of dealing with the majority of powered individuals like Wanda long-term because A) restraining them is hard, and B) the most important goal, which is or should already true of most crime but especially when you're dealing with someone who could blow up a city, is to prevent them from re-offending which punitive justice is hardly good at)

Which is basically a long way of saying Wanda did some bad things, but punishing her when she clearly wants to just heal and not hurt people doesn't make much sense, especially in the more fantastical context of the MCU. I also find a lot of the people who want her to "face consequences" to be a little... strange about it? It's one thing to complain about a character being let off the hook for what they did with only a slap on the wrist and seeing them as given undeserved sympathy, but a lot of people seem to really want her to just suffer in a way they don't with other MCU characters who've done similar stuff.

Oh, absolutely, Tony has a lot to answer for that the franchise just lets him skate for. Civil War, the movie that pointedly refuses to talk about Johannesburg, also pointedly refuses to talk about Tony's culpability in making Ultron. It never comes up.

It condemns the Avengers for being too careless with collateral damage while fighting Ultron - A wildly hollow accusation for anyone who actually saw the third act of that film. It accuses them of destroying Sokovia through their careless disregard for civilian lives. But the fact that they, and specifically Tony and Hulk, made Ultron? Never comes up.

And I would be the last person to defend Clint's Ronin phase. The fact that he's a serial mass-murderer who gets to just retire to a happy family is something I find intensely bothersome, which greatly affected my enjoyment of him moving forward. That's going to come up when we get to Hawkeye.

[aronarchy]

Opinion: No one deserves to be raped—not even Larry Nassar

By Lovisa Stannow Jan. 28, 2018

It is a sadly predictable facet of American life that whenever a high-profile rape sentence is handed down, the first instinct of many people is not to celebrate the triumph of justice or applaud the courage of survivors. Instead, their response is to express a desire for the perpetrator to be sexually assaulted in prison.

This revenge-rape fantasy was on full display after former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar was convicted of sexual assault. The shocking part, however, is that it was Rosemarie Aquilina, the judge in Nassar’s case, who explicitly promoted this form of vigilante justice.

During sentencing, Aquilina stated that if the Constitution did not forbid cruel and unusual punishment, she “would allow some or many people to do to him what he did to others.”

In some ways, of course, the sentiments of the judge and legions of like-minded internet commenters are understandable. No person, even a judge, can be expected to remain unmoved by Nassar’s monstrous behavior toward hundreds of young women, and to the institutional indifference that allowed his abuse to continue as long as it did.

And yet, by sharing her hope that Nassar be raped in prison, Aquilina did more than breach judicial ethics. She undermined the very fight against sexual violence that she purports to champion—and utterly failed the young women whose voices she was trying to elevate.

Rape apologists have long drawn distinctions between people who deserve to be assaulted and those who do not. For centuries, rape victims have been told that they had it coming because of what they wore, or how much they drank or because of their sexual orientation. These same arguments are made about people in prison. “Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time,” as the saying goes, implying that you deserve—and should expect—to be abused while in the government’s custody.

Aquilinia’s defenders have pointed out that Nassar is a special case. This is true: The overwhelming majority of prisoners in America are not serial rapists of young girls, not to mention Olympic heroes. What’s the harm in carving out an exception for a hideous person like Nassar?

The obvious answer is that rape is wrong and unacceptable. Always. Period. Sexual violence against any person, in any setting, makes all of us unsafe.

Imagine if corrections officials responsible for Nassar’s custody were to take the judge at her word and “allow some or many people to do to him what he did to others.” Does Aquilina really believe that a detention facility that condones the gang rape of one inmate would succeed at protecting others whose crimes were less severe?

Prisons where “bad” people get raped tend to be places where “good” people get raped, too.

You cannot condemn rape in one breath and then endorse it in the next. To do so is to promote the idea that there are places in the world where sexual abuse is OK, even encouraged.

Rape is never OK—not when the victims are young girls and not when they are hardened criminals. Not even when it’s Larry Nassar.

Lovisa Stannow is the executive director of Just Detention International.

[happylives360]

51+ Karma Quotes On Good & Bad Karma, Revenge & Gossip

There’s something incredibly satisfying about seeing karma come back around on someone who deserves it. These karma quotes show just how powerful they can be.

“Karma is a bitch.” This phrase is often used to describe the idea that what goes around comes around. If someone does something bad to you, they’ll eventually get their comeuppance. This phrase is usually uttered with a sense of satisfaction, as it’s satisfying to see people get what they deserve.

“Wait for your karma.” This phrase is a reminder to be patient. Just because someone has done something bad to you doesn’t mean that karma will act immediately. Sometimes it takes a while for things to come full circle. But eventually, the universe will right itself, and justice will be served.

“Cheaters never prosper.” This quote is a reminder that people who try to take shortcuts in life often get caught and pay the price. It’s better to play fair and square than to try to cheat your way to the top. Because, in the end, cheaters always get caught, and they never really prosper in the long run.

These karma quotes show just how powerful this force can be. And it’s always satisfying to see karma come back around on those who deserve it!

Best  Karma Quotes

“Karma moves in two directions. If we act virtuously, the seed we plant will result in happiness. If we act non-virtuously, suffering results.” – Sakyong Mipham

“Sooner or later in life, we will all take our own turn being in the position we once had someone else in.”

“According to the karma of past actions, one’s destiny unfolds, even though everyone wants to be so lucky.” – Sri Guru Grant Sahib

“I was in the biggest breakdown of my life when I stopped crying long enough to let the words of my epiphany really sink in. That whore, karma, had finally made her way around, and had just bitch-slapped me right across the face. The realization only made me cry harder.”

“Karma comes after everyone eventually. You can’t get away with screwing people over your whole life, I don’t care who you are. What goes around comes around. That’s how it works. Sooner or later the universe will serve you the revenge that you deserve.”

“Like gravity, karma is so basic we often don’t even notice it.”- Sakyong Mipham

“Contrary to popular misconception, karma has nothing to do with punishment and reward. It exists as part of our holographic universe’s binary or dualistic operating system only to teach us responsibility for our creations – and all things we experience are our creations.”- Sol Luckman

“The life I touch for good or ill will touch another life, and that in turn another, until who knows where the trembling stops or in what far place my touch will be felt.”- Frederick Buechner

“When you see a good person, think of becoming like her/him. When you see someone not so good, reflect on your own weak points.” ― Confucius

“Still others commit all sorts of evil deeds, claiming karma doesn’t exist. They erroneously maintain that since everything is empty, committing evil isn’t wrong. Such persons fall into a hell of endless darkness with no hope of release. Those who are wise hold no such conception.”- Bohidharma

Cheaters Karma Quotes  About Cheating   Peoples

There’s an old saying that cheaters never prosper. And while there’s certainly some truth to that, it’s not the whole story. People who cheat sometimes get ahead – at least for a while. But eventually, their bad karma catches up with them, and they come crashing down.

These cheaters’ karma quotes remind us that what goes around does come around. So, think again if you’re thinking about stepping out on your partner or cutting corners at work. It’s just not worth it in the long run.

“Karma is not just about the troubles, but also about surmounting them.”- Rick Springfield

“Even if things don’t unfold the way you expected, don’t be disheartened or give up.” – Daisaku Ikeda

“I must have killed a lot of cows in a past life for Karma to hate me this much.”

“Give up your selfishness, and you shall find peace; like water mingling with water, you shall merge in absorption.”- Sri Guru Granth Sahib

“If you send out goodness from yourself, or if you share that which is happy or good within you, it will all come back to you multiplied ten thousand times. In the kingdom of love there is no competition; there is no possessiveness or control. The more love you give away, the more love you will have.”

“There are the waves and there is the wind, seen and unseen forces. Everyone has these same elements in their lives, the seen and unseen, karma and free will.”- Kuna Yin

“When someone has a strong intuitive connection, Buddhism suggests that it’s because of karma, some past connection.” – Richard Gere

“Karma has a surprising way of taking care of situations. All you have to do is to sit back and watch.” – Author Unknown

“Most times, how you treat your children is how they grow up to treat you.”- Terry Mark

“Thoughts lead on to purposes; purposes go forth in action; actions form habits; habits decide character; and character fixes our destiny.”- Tryon Edwards

[evilguacamole]

Thoughts on Roy Harper

Not sure if anyone will read this or what not but I kinda wanted to get my thoughts in text somewhere. So, me and my wife have been watching all of the old @atopfourthwall episodes and have been having a good time discussing the comics brought up as we watch. We’ve neither one read a ton of comics but we’ve consumed a ton of the media it made (like the cartoon series of the 90s and such) and so seeing the bad (and sometimes the good) of comics really is very interesting. We actually bought a bit of comics recently because of it. Anyway, that’s not what I’m here to talk about. The thing of interest is our response to The Rise of Arsenal. We both were very on board about Linkara’s take down of “Cry For Justice” as being very poorly written, nonsensical from a philosophical point and disgustingly cruel with killing Lian Harper. Upon checking just now it seems Lian actually has come back? I think it’s something to do with one of the DC world reboots which always confuse me. Regardless, the idea of her ‘getting better’ from being dead seemed unrealistic and the whole thing was pretty gross. Rise of Arsenal was much more interesting. Linkara was pretty upset, with good reason, about how Roy because a complete asshole. But I actually think that was one of the best parts of the series. As someone who’s let grief become ugly and toxic and harmful... I could relate. I get frustrated with how grief is depicted as just being sad or a struggle as a person attempts to bottle it up and pretend to be okay. Which of course can happen. But it can make you cruel, it can make you unable to empathize with those around you, it can make you slink away, pushing everyone away from you. In the comic Roy becomes unlikable and I say that is good. This set up an amazing place where he could have had to struggle to rebuild what he destroyed. They never did this which is really the biggest failure here. Once he was cruel to other people who lost their children it should have gone one of two ways: he had a long road of to repent for this or this was a set up for him to full on be a villain. They did neither and that was the failure of the series more than anything. And no, anti-hero doesn’t count here; killing out of revenge isn’t an anti-hero action really. Anti-heroes kill because they think it’s justice, they’ve lost the ability to care about life that much, they just find it easier or it’s just a job to them. They lack emotional stakes in death. Think Punisher; Frank thinks he’s some sort of justice machine. Even when killing those responsible for his family’s death he does so because he doesn’t believe the system will punish them. I’m not the biggest expert but I don’t believe the Punisher would have ever killed his family’s killers if they were in prison for life. Revenge is the act of a villain; particularly fatal revenge. It leaves a person empty and with nothing left; just look at Frank, the only thing left for him was to justify his actions by applying it when it wasn’t him as who was harmed. So he goes punishing others. If they wanted an anti-hero they should have set up Roy killing the Electrocutioner as ambiguously moral. Maybe he was escaping. Maybe the evidence was lacking. Maybe he was making plea deals and wouldn’t get much punishment. SOMETHING. Personally, I think the anti-hero and villain routes are dumb. Harper is a person who is characterized by fighting to fix things about him that are harmful, be it his relationship with Jade or his addiction issues. Him fixing the harm he caused by his grief would have been an amazing story. With all this I am a parent too. Me and my wife were both like, would we kill someone who killed our child? Maybe... but likely because it would be hard to see beyond doing that. And Roy even kind of indicates this. But he gets his shallow revenge on a person already in prison. Logically, the only thing left for him is to OD on heroine. But we’re expected to believe he’s like ‘ah, did that, time to go fight some more crime’? Nonsense. I will say I particularly liked (or could have liked if they stuck the landing) his lashing out at the other parents who tried to comfort him. Particularly if you read him as misdirecting the hate he had for himself at that moment. He isn’t capable of admitting what he really feels: that he is the reason Lian died. When he says to Donna that Robbie died because she was a bad mother he is doing so because he feels that Lian died because he was a bad father but can’t admit it. This is him being a piece of shit because he can’t admit he hates himself. And until he admits that he can’t come to terms that no, he shouldn’t hate himself because it’s not his fault Lian died. Of course... this is only a good thing to include if he eventually has to fix this, that he has to deal with this harm he did. But he doesn’t. But I like the psychology of Roy in all this. It is often very good. The ‘hallucinations’ are all just him as well, just given visual so he can justify his bad actions. There is no old dealer, it’s just Roy’s addiction manifesting. It was never Lian that told him to get revenge and he always knew it. It was always him. As an aside, we found the sexual encounter and failure to be interesting but the end messed up. In a way, Cheshire is right, the stress of everything could have messed up his ability to perform. But here’s what doesn’t make sense. If there is one word to describe the many feelings Jade has for Roy it is passionate. She doesn’t have mild feelings about the man. At times she hates him, at times she loves him, at times she desires him, at times she wants to break him. She isn’t capable of being casual or indifferent. Yet when she talks about his performance failure she’s like ‘yeah, makes sense, no biggie’. She doesn’t do no biggie with him, though. There are two far better reactions. First, she makes a big deal out of it, trying to humiliate him about it. This... sucks. She doesn’t seem cruel enough to do this nor does she strike me as someone who would enjoy this... however, it makes more sense than her hohum response because she at least is passionate. I think more fitting and better for the story is if she was like ‘I don’t give a shit. I didn’t come to you because I needed to be railed, I came because it hurts and I need you at this moment.’ Now, Roy might not buy it; his ego too bruised or just in such a bad place he doesn’t trust her or what not- I mean, that’s how this would have to go if we aren’t getting our resolution here, but it also makes sense. I can see him saying that he doesn’t buy it, that he’s broken, etc. etc.. And I can see her being PISSED. Saying that his dick could have been cut off instead of his arm and she’d still have come there and she’s insulted that he thinks all she wanted was any pole in a storm. He storms off and so does she. Plot wise this accomplishes the same thing- he feels broken and has pushed away someone who he should be embracing in the moment over something petty. But this gives so much more agency to Jade and is so much more in character. The best end of ROA would have been him nearly killing but giving up in the final moment, doing so in response to Oliver admitting how Roy was right: he wasn’t there properly. He took him in as his ward and he got addicted to drugs. He has been distant. But it doesn’t change that Roy should not give up on his humanity. If he kills this helpless man he’s lost everything. Roy is capable of so much still, like protecting the children who can’t be protected or just living life- either a noble goal that Lian would unquestionably want for him and both of which hampered by turning to murder. But we didn’t get that end and, for that, all this cool stuff, good stuff in here turns foul.

[ephrom]

Oh, CarmenRider

I admit, I had to watch this video a couple of times in order to understand what Septy's crimes are. Best as I can tell, Septy said spur of the moment out of anger that they could leak Carmen's full name if they wanted to, which they then quickly took back. In fact, Septy took it back so quickly that we don't even have screenshots of these messages. However, the title of this video says that Septy threatened to do that, which is just wrong.

Or, I guess it's more accurate to say that we don't know if they said that. Septy said in later messages shown in Carmen's video that they just meant they could as revenge, not that they were going to:

Septy also said the same thing to Redd Gier, a moderator in CarmenRider's discord server, after they were informed Gier told Carmen about these messages:

Septy also denied it was a threat for a third time later--and might I remind you all, these are literally just screenshots from Carmen's video:

Carmen calls this an obvious lie based on--well, nothing. She doesn't have the message of Septy saying anything that would lead anybody to believe this is some kind of threat, so how the fuck does she know what Septy really meant? The only messages that might be able to confirm this have since been deleted--and even then, Septy took this back so fast that any chance of this being an actual threat is basically non-existent.

You know, in her call with The Senate, Carmen noted that her opposition was engaging in the same tactics somebody Just A Robot fought with in the past, specifically name dropping Kai Weiss.

In her response to Septy's and Neko's video on the situation, she made it clear that she was doing this because, since SeptyPaws works for Just A Robot, that means that they shouldn't be doing the same thing Kai Weiss did--or something. She also responds to Just A Robot recommending a video from Kai Weiss by saying she was incredibly surprised he'd do such a thing.

Never mind the fact that Just A Robot has never held a mindless vendetta against those he covers. To give just one example, Just A Robot went from making videos on Doodletones, to defending Doodletones against xX Icyhazard Xx, to working with Doodletones in a video on TheNamesJunkie from this year.

But I mention this because this tactic of taking somebody saying they can do something and using it as evidence they want to do something is the same thing done by somebody else Just A Robot battled with, TMossBoss. Specifically, Just A Robot told TMossBoss that he could flag TMossBoss's channel down, and TMossBoss took that as Just A Robot saying he wanted to flag TMossBoss's channel down, or even that he actually planned on doing it.

Anyway, I saw this video--the first one I showed, not the like seven I've embedded since--and was incredibly confused--so I took to the comments and expressed my lack of understanding with this video.

According to Google, Bobby Kotick is the CEO of Activison Blizzard and I have no idea what he has to do with the conversation Carmen and I were having. I seriously mean this, if somebody can please explain to me the connenction--well, send it as a submission or question.

And yes, this is part of Carmen's long history of randomly bringing up people she doesn't like that have nothing to do with the thing she's talking about. If you want to know more about that habit of hers, I pointed it out in this post:

Class Edgelord then joined the conversation:

I did type out a reply, but it appears to haven't been sent so I'l paraphrase it here: What exactly does Class want to do to hold Septy accountable? The best I can tell is that Class wants is either preemptive justice or punishment for what basically amounts to a thought crime. I mean that literally, because both Carmen and Class have said that the issue is that Septy even thought this in the first place--not that they were seriously going to do this.

Also, aren't these the same people who have told us over and over again that thoughts of pedophilia do not turn into child molestation? Why is it that thoughts turn into actions now when it's convenient?

Anyway, after this happened, I did something that it seems like neither Carmen nor Septy did, I actually tried asking Septy what happened. They confirmed to me exactly what I assumed happened, Septy got angry and said something regretful before quickly taking it back:

Septy also notes that they were not on their normal medication at the time, and that greatly impacted their decision making:

Some people might be wondering why I'm dedicating so many words on this topic, and it's because it's such a great microcosm for how Carmen acts. Even when she catches somebody she doesn't like doing something wrong, she decides that she has to hyperbolize it and engage with things in--and I don't like this term personally, but it really does fit--bad faith. And Carmen's fans are perfectly willing to go along with this.

Take this comment by a fellow named BurningSpeed:

That can't be the actual explanation, according to Burning, Septy has to be convincing themself of this. Funny how this is totally unfalsifiable. This is yet another example of why people should never support Carmen, even when she's right she still makes sure that what she said is wrong.

[fannish-karmiya]

I've often noticed people in the MDZS fandom imply that the narrative essentially punishes all of the antagonists for their crimes and that, by extension, anyone who survives the end of the novel is thus not that bad, or at least redeemable. Personally, I find this a very flawed idea. MDZS is not a novel where justice prevails; it's a novel where those in power act with impunity and never face justice for it.

In fact, I think the only times anyone faces justice is when their victims happened to also be upper class.

No one in cultivation society cares that Jin Guangyao mass murdered prostitutes (twice). They don't even care that much about the smaller, less important sects who were massacred by Lanling Jin. They definitely don't care about the Wens. No, they care that he killed Nie Mingjue. They care that he married his sister, killed his father, and killed his son. Nie Huaisang only acted against Jin Guangyao because he wanted revenge for the death of his brother.

No one cares that Jiang Cheng led the siege and helped massacre 50 innocent people who were non-combatants (none of the Wen remnants had swords). No one cares that he spent 13 years hunting down people he suspects of practising guidao and torturing and killing them, regardless of whether they truly did or not, or whether they were using guidao to harm others or not. They also don't care that he sometimes killed people simply for having the name Wen and being unlucky enough to cross him.

That is why he survives to the end of the novel. Not because his crimes weren't horrific, not because he's been deemed redeemable or 'not that bad' by the narrative. But because his victims were people their society doesn't care about.

Dare I say it, it's the same with the Lans. Lan Xichen isn't being 'spared' by the narrative because he's just a hapless victim; his survival has nothing to do with whether he's a good person or not. In fact, he survived in the end because, to paraphrase MXTX: even scum has someone they care about. Gusu Lan's failings go unaddressed because their victims were people they could get away with hurting. Who will judge them as unrighteous for taking part in the siege, when all the other sects did, too? Who will judge them for how they imprisoned Lan-furen for life, when her fate was kept a secret and she had no powerful family to speak for her? Who will judge them for whipping Lan Wangji 33 times, when that, too, was kept a secret, and he was being punished for protecting Wei Wuxian, who the cultivation world only viewed as a dog to be put down? Who will judge them for not wanting to give shelter to Wen Yuan, an innocent child, when their whole world wanted to kill said innocent child?

Jiang Cheng is not left alive at the end because his crimes weren't 'that bad'. Lan Xichen isn't still alive because he's actually a good person (I'm sorry, when does he ever do anything actively good in the novel? he's very neutral). Lan Qiren isn't still alive and a respected elder of the Lan sect because he's a good person with no blood on his hands. All of the other sect leaders and cultivators who took part in the siege aren't alive because they were less culpable.

They're alive because their victims were people society doesn't care about, and still does not care about. That's it. That's the only reason.

[forbidding-souda]

Hm yes much deviousness, Very mastermind. Could I request the THH boys reacting to their s/o being the mastermind pls ? ʕ •`ᴥ•´ʔっ🔪 "upupupu" - 🐺

THH boys reacting to their S/O being the mastermind headcanons

Written as headcanons because it could be so much easier to write it cosiseveley or whatever the word is ykwim.

Also i love hifumi sorry

-Mod Souda

Makoto Naegi

❤ Kirigiri kept looking at him - why was she constantly glancing his way? She had been so secretive ever since they were gathering evidence, it was almost unfair. Why did she feel the need to hide something from him? Wasn’t she the one that hated secrets so much?

❤ He was clenching his fists and staring at her back. He was trying to see the answers in her eyes.

❤ Genuinely, he had no idea. He wasn’t like Kirigiri, he hadn’t explored every possibility. There was a protective barrier around you in his mind, of course there was.

❤ But the more and more the evidence started pooling in, the harder he was fighting. He defended you to himself. There was both the sense of my love would never do anything like this and how could I let somebody so evil so close to me?

❤ You would have to admit it. You would have to laugh in his face, so humored by tricking him so he could fully process that you were the big bad wolf.

❤ When the truth settles in, suddenly it is hard for him to breathe. He is grasping his chest, his memory electric as it plays through all of the moments you two had together. How could he not see it?

❤ Were you playing him this entire time? Is that why it felt as if you were perfect for him?

❤ His hands will not stop shaking.

❤ Everyone looks at him with sympathy.

❤ He gulps down his sorrow before lifting his chin, letting out a loud I will prove everything, right now!

.

Leon Kuwata

❤ When Kirigiri finally brings forth the true evidence that you have been the mastermind, your teasing eyes glance his way. He meets your gaze.

❤ There is no way he can say I couldn't have known - because he could always tell that you were different, that is what drew him to you.

❤ He wanted to uncover that mysterious part of you, your secretive nature was alluring and seducing.

❤ But this is not what he expected.

❤ “How… could you?”

❤ Though, with all the pain you caused his friends; your friends, he still finds a simple feeling of gratification, because you were the one that helped him live.

❤ He had killed Maizono, he did, he remembers slashing through her, that relentless urge to seek revenge - self defense?

❤ So why had Naegi been punished instead?

❤ He looks at Kirigiri, taking in her neutral expression, the way she is looking at the Monokuma doll and not at you. When his eyes glide back at you, you are staring at him, chin tilted down, a small smile on your face.

❤ “But you are thankful, aren’t you?” You say.

❤ He grabs onto the wooden podium in front of him, gripping it hard to stop himself from running over there.

❤ You continue, “I watched it happen. I knew you would do it.”

❤ Hagakure crosses his arms, tilting his head to the side and leaning in with a nervousness in his voice. “Hey… what are you talking about?”

❤ Leon has remarks, rude words telling that man to bug off, but none of them come out. He just cannot stop staring at you.

❤ You protected him - you have to love him, right?

❤ He tries to shake the thought out of his head. It doesn’t matter if you love him - it doesn’t matter if you love him - it doesn’t matter if you love him.

.

Hifumi Yamada

❤ His heavy sense of justice and defense made him more determined to figure out the mastermind than he was at the beginning of the game.

❤ His tongue spits out little to no actual evidence but more empty threats (realistically, at least, or maybe not-) to anyone he suspects to be the mastermind.

❤ But Naegi kept pointing accusations at you - why? Why does he?

❤ The more you try and defend yourself, the more passionate Hifumi gets.

❤ There’s no way you are the mastermind. You help him, you accept him, you let him ramble about his fictional pieces and you even talk about some fictional media you like. He’s never met somebody who was as loving to him - as a person rather than a creator - than you.

❤ His lips curve into a tight smile when you yell at Naegi and berating him and calling him an imbecile.

❤ But the final story - the pieces - fit together perfectly.

❤ Hifumi never stopped defending you, he couldn’t. Even if it made sense that you were the evil one, maybe it was a set up.

❤ He swore to kill whoever the mastermind is, but if it’s you, how can he be so confident? What is he really defending his friends from: his greatest enemy or his closest treasure?

❤ You’d have to admit, say it loud and clear with no faltering in your voice. I am the mastermind.

❤ Brainwashed, then, you’d have to be!

❤ It tears him up inside to think that he was enabling somebody like you, that he let you inside his heart and let you help him get closer to everybody.

❤ Were you making him friends with everybody just to see the despair on his face when they finally died?

.

Ishimaru Kiyotaka

❤ There’s no easy way for him to process this information. It’s like a slap to the face - it’s something hard and ruthless.

❤ What life does he live where he’s lost his ability to judge character? How horribly will his grandfather feel once he hears of this?

❤ He watches you as you shout about, both laughing at people for not realizing you were the mastermind and defending yourself from those who call you ungenerous.

❤ You purposely dodge his attention. He tries to call out to you, tries to find a way to reach you but you look away, addressing somebody else, trying to ignore his pleas.

❤ You can’t handle it: his teary eyes and his clenched fists.

❤ He always defended you when people would think you were the culprit. He’s always been there, by your side, supporting you and keeping you safe throughout the killing game.

❤ He risked his life to make sure you were okay.

❤ And each time he did, he didn’t die.

❤ You’ve planned for his death many times, but never has it ever succeeded. Why?

❤ Does that mean the two of you are destined to be together?

❤ If so, then that only gives you more motivation to kill him, and he can see it in your eyes when you finally meet his gaze.

.

Mondo Oowada

❤ He knew it - he could almost tell from the beginning of the trial. There was an antsiness that he picked up from your body (the body he stares at all the time, but anyway).

❤ It wasn’t nervousness, no. He’s seen you when you were nervous: the times where he’d pick you up on his illicit bike from in front of your house, or the times where he’d be stealing food from a supermarket and driving away with you sitting behind him. This isn’t you being nervous - it’s an exciting anticipation.

❤ And that’s a horrific omen.

❤ He was quiet, not saying anything unless provoked, and rather than giving useful thoughts he would establish his place with rude offenses.

❤ It made him look the tiniest, more suspicious, though beyond the beratting from Fukawa, Kirigiri was always there to mildly defend him.

❤ He almost wanted to be guilty, that would make things so much easier.

❤ He glances at you, and you glance back with a smile.

❤ He knows - but the thing he’s contemplating is whether he wants to help you to win this game or if he wants to survive without you.

.

Chihiro Fujisaki

❤ He was emotional the entire trial, and everyone talking about you possibly being the mastermind? It was too much for him to handle.

❤ He was gripping his hair, begging for it all to not be true.

❤ You even went outside of your podium and held him, brushing your hand against his face, telling him that everything will be okay.

❤ You won’t die, is what you promised, you won’t die.

❤ And he didn’t, he really didn't, though it really felt as if he did.

❤ You were a bit too caring for the severity of your evilness to really set in. You were considerate, even when admitting to loving the death of your friends.

❤ Throughout the entire trial, you were making sure that he was not being sent into a panic attack, you were checking up on him and asking him if he was okay.

❤ It was only increasing his despair - why are you still being nice? What is your true personality - a caring person or an evil murderer?

❤ Are you allowed to be both? Is that even possible?

.

Byakuya Togami

❤ It was sexy- no I’m just kidding. Well, maybe not. He finds your morbid attitude to be a bit charming, but outside of that, your direct ruthlessness and carelessness for others is something that he cannot get behind.

❤ You were fooling him - is it because you wanted his money?

❤ The part that he doesn’t understand is why didn’t you just tell him. That could have saved you - would he support you in destroying the world? No, but he wouldn’t have just thrown you in jail.

❤ Something could have been done about it.

❤ Something could have been done to avoid this.

❤ He is more upset at the way you follow your own rules than anything else, why must you deserve to die? He had destined his future with you, he was loyal to you and finally felt as if he was more than a Togami - that he was Byakuya.

❤ More than feeling as if you betrayed him, he feels like he has betrayed you by letting you die like this.

❤ He watches your execution with stern eyes.

❤ If there was nobody else here, he would be kneeling in front of you, kissing your fingers and offering different solutions. But that’s not how this all played out. There is an audience - a group of people looking at him, trying to feed off of his reaction, trying to get a read on him, what are they searching for? Weakness?

❤ He showed you no sympathy the same way you did to him.

❤ But there was a telepathetic understanding, you both trying to convey the same hidden message to each other: I am sorry.

.

Hagakure Yasuhiro

❤ What is he supposed to do? He doesn’t know how he is supposed to react to all of this evidence.

❤ Will he be a good boyfriend if he defends you? Do you want him to defend you?

❤ He tries to mimic your actions.

❤ He doesn’t know what to think - there are so many reasons why it is you, and so little reasons why it isn’t. Should he be holding onto faith?

❤ What would his crystal ball say?

❤ So he asks, in front of everyone, “Hey man, you’re not really the mastermind, are you?”

❤ “Would you still love me if I was?”

❤ The question didn’t sound genuine, it sounded like a tease, and it caught him off guard.

❤ He stutters before Naegi cuts him off.

❤ He cannot hear anything else, your response echoes throughout his head. Was this you admitting?

❤ If he genuinely answered, what would your response be then? It is too late for that, he knows, as Naegi is already explaining the origins of your crimes.

[velvet-games]

hi I designed an arcane oc at 3am one day so here are my delirious sketches

initial brainstorming stuff~

I had a veeeeery rough idea of what I wanted to do at this point. I set some goals since I’d designed an arcane oc before, but that design got too caught up with what made sense and it ended up being really boring and restrictive (hence, the “fun to draw” goal for this new one) 

random outfit stuff~

this was just me playing around with what looked nice for the most part. I tried to keep the eyes motif constant though, as well as the idea that she’d be going from a closed dress to a more open and floofy one (it’s meant to look like a flower opening up but I don’t think I succeeded at that lol). there’s also some really mild snake imagery since she’s supposed to represent envy. 

when I actually start doing design lol~

this is when I started fleshing backstory stuff out a lot more, as well as making changes to the design(s) after actually knowing what her character was about. the bottom left was supposed to be the final concept piece, but I made the upper right to adapt her character to new lore stuff I came up with. 

digital render~ (no I don’t know how to shade gold I’m sorry ;__;)

okay so what’s invidia’s actual bio?

the main idea of her character is that she starts as someone whose motivations are almost completely derived from envy. she’s born to a high house, always told she’s better than everyone else and deserves more than other people. she hasn’t had to lift a finger to get anything she started with; not her home, not her money, not her clothes, and definitely not her council seat. when she sees someone better than her, she only feels resentment, immediately going into an “if I can’t have it, no one can” mindset. she couldn’t even look at a sunset without envying its beauty. 

while cunning, she usually spends her intelligence only on elaborate ways to sabotage people even slightly better than her, insisting she’s doing it for the sake of equality. she has a fierce sense of justice, but it’s focused on punishment and revenge more than actual deterrence. it’s no noble cause, but she’s inherited her father’s charisma, and the other councilors don’t bat an eye when she wraps up her ideas in a pretty rhetorical bow. 

(quick design note~) she wears opulent and intricate gold jewelry as often as possible to show off her wealth and superiority. the barred corset and dark greens in her usual dress is meant to remind the viewer of a snake, both as a symbol of her house and to associate her with envy (the eye motif does this as well). her clothes are tight-fitting and stiff, sleek in a dignified way but also suffocating. there’s barely a peek of a frill at the bottom of her skirt though; a clue that maybe there’s more to her than her uptight disposition. 

(co. ~) the reason she has multiple designs is that I wanted her to change the way she dresses as her arc progresses. as she grows, she manages to loosen up a little, both literally and figuratively. 

eventually, invidia meets mel medarda. invidia thinks mel is similar to her at first: a cunning woman partial to gold and glory, but finds something else when she looks deeper. one day, during a progress day celebration, invidia begrudgingly speaks to mel after reaching what must’ve been the apex of a human’s capacity to experience boredom. despite her charisma, invidia envies mel, never quite able to automatically get the other councilors on her side the way mel could with ease, but she’s also the only other intelligent person in the room, so to hell with it. 

the conversation actually manages to be engaging despite how distant mel acts. in a rare moment of vulnerability however, mel manages to admit that she’s actually envious of invidia’s natural charm. caught by surprise, invidia tries to ask mel to elaborate, but the moment is gone. mel’s returned to the spotless, indestructible picture of dignity she’s always been. 

invidia’s envy manages to melt just enough for her to actually want to get to know mel more, and the pair begin to talk even when they’re not forced in the same space. mel, recognizing the effect she’s having on her fellow councilor, weaponizes more moments of her own vulnerability to keep invidia invested. it might mean a few future favors, after all. invidia recognizes the manipulation, but carefully indulges in it anyway, not having anyone else to be infatuated with. it’s the first time she’s been able to genuinely feel something close to happiness from interacting with another human being instead of being envious of everything they had that she didn’t. it was addicting. 

something changes after a while though. mel starts being vulnerable just because she wants to share herself with invidia, and invidia starts to see the world in a way she’s never considered before. mel seems to actually want to protect people, not to gain the favor of her constituents, not to keep up a facade of kindness, but out of real, genuine empathy. 

time passes. invidia sells the fancy gold jewelry that she was never really fond of in the first place, pushes the hair from her eyes, and feels love for the first time. starting to see more clearly, she realizes she’s never even bothered to use an ounce of her privilege to help anyone; she hardly even knows half the city. 

one day, cloak around her shoulders and mask over her mouth, invidia steps foot in the undercity for the first time. what she sees is horrifying; who she thought were freeloaders and low-borns were victims, ravaged by shimmer, sick from pollution, dying with no hope to hold on to. she trades what little she brought with her to feed a starving child.

invidia starts visiting zaun more and more, each time more desperate than the last. by the time the next zaunite comes to trial, she can’t bring herself to say “guilty.” it was her own decision a year before to make the crime worthy of a life sentence. 

it’s slow, but invidia’s envy starts to morph into love. the visits to zaun were difficult, but never completely devoid of joy. a child’s eyes lighting up at a toy, a young girl’s neon portrait of invidia, a new invention from a sharp young mind. the love is so sudden and sure that sometimes she feels like she’s drowning in it. invidia looks at her superiors and realizes at times that they might be people too. people who’ve mourned, who’ve cried, who’ve laughed. people that she loved. 

before she knows it, invidia’s become a completely different person. jayce talis, golden boy that he is, shows up, and she doesn’t even want to beat him to death with one of his family’s hammers. in fact, she might even feel happy for him. her lengthy speeches on justice and “equality” soon stumble and falter. she sheds the intricate stitching so emblematic of her past self, and with the help of mel and the citizens of the undercity, starts to make change. the undercity brought sadness and joy to invidia, but it also brought anger. a white-hot fury both at herself and piltover’s complacency. she couldn’t stand to send a thief to prison knowing their family would’ve died without the stolen food. she was disgusted that it’d ever crossed her mind. with a burning passion, talk of punishment and revenge turned into actual solutions. rehabilitation, social spending, even the proposal of independence for zaun. she brought the undercity’s citizens to the council, brought the council to the undercity, forced them to see what inaction had done. while she couldn’t fix everything herself, as her community of supporters and allies grew, she didn’t need to. they were improving things together.

so invidia sits now, years of hatred and envy peeled away and fallen at her feet, listening to a story from a white-haired firelight. she smiles fondly, eyes closing as night settles in, head finding rest in mel’s shoulder. 

she’s glad the sunset’s beautiful. 

---

okay anyway sorry that got way longer than I wanted lol

tl;dr: envious council lady learns how to love through the power of sapphic yearning

okay thanks for reading <3 if you got this far you’re a real one lol