PODZOL PRETTY

okay i'm going to yap. hmm.

i LOOOOOOOOVE the idea of pearl forced into using forbidden magic..... branded with transformation runes...... i also kind of like the idea of her having had her memory erased: the rune tattoo destroyed, her mind wiped of any knowledge of what was done to her. possibly dumped at a hospital to recover and then just left there? a witch, with no memories of her past, still knowing abt magic but with no one to teach her, tended to by non-magical healers who of COURSE she would befriend. and maybe knowing those healers, seeing them struggle to do what magic could achieve so easily, maybe that would send her right back down the brimhat road?

i think the difference between pre- and post-memory loss pearl would be pretty stark. pearl with her memory gone would be a whole lot more carefree and happy-go-lucky than how she was before. she might not even want to seek out any knowledge of her past bc she doesn't feel like she's missing anything. there's this odd feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach when she tries to think back......

i also REALLY LIKE THE IDEA of brimhat gem!! totally stealth with it because like, she still wants to live in witch society, take apprentices, visit the assembly, but she just doesn't see the point of the laws, and will break them if she wants. i think she would know a bit of healing because of that

(my alternate idea for gem is that she's actually just an unknowing, working at the hospital, who finds out how magic is done by observing the witches around her. bc honestly some of them are just careless?? coco figured out the big secret just by peeking through a window?? i reckon gem could figure it out)