#WHICH SPANISH PARENTS NAME THEIR CHILD MARK? THERE WAS NO WAY THAT WAS HIS NAME

[kar1nsworldx]

Yooo just so people know, I'll be taking a break for a day or two. Just need to get my head straight.

For the people that didnt know, I had a boyfriend. Before we even became a couple we talked months pririor on Discord any everything. He was probally one of the sweetest and nicests guy I knew. After getting together, a few days later (yesterday) he confessed about alot of things.

I wont go into detaild but to cut it short he lier about so many things, from his looks so to his personality. The worst part is his freinds that I befreinded were also into it, so they knew \: And he was hoping Id "uNdErStAnD" like ugh fuck off. Like I understand you getting cheated on sucks, but then DONT GO INTO RELATIONSHIPS LYING ABOUT SO MANY THINGS TO THE POINT YOU EVEN GAVE YOURSELF A FAKE NAME

So yeah blocked him and his friends on everything and tbh i feel so fucking free now so yeah (:

Shoutout to my actual Discord friends, theyre fucking real.

Soo yeah I'll be back soon (will probally be back in like 10/11pm Croatian time to talk abt the Barbie movie IFNDJCBDB)

Im sure after watching it I'll realise Im Kenough 🥲😋

[labcoated]

🔬 ‧₊˚ ⋆ ــــــــــﮩ٨ـ did you page fallon pierson from administration ? they’re the thirty-six year old public relations representative at lexington, they’ve been working here for seven years. you’ve probably seen them if you catch a up to stacks of papers free falling and notebooks littered on an overcrowded desk, sweetener and hot sauce at the bottom of a bag, tears hidden behind a fake smile, and trinkets and lights littering office space to make it homey, the patients that do like them would tell you they are fervent and benevolent, but some of them think they’re aloof and prickly. time is rushing, just go and find them.

possible triggers : mentions of both teen pregnancy & divorce ( her parents for both )

full name : fallon lorelei pierson

birthdate / age : april 30, thirty-six

maternal information : cassandra williams, lives in houston texas -- twice divorced, currently single, age 54, a science teacher

paternal information : michael pierson, lives in atlanta, georgia, once divorced, currently married, age 56, a film director

extended familial information : has one full sibling ( 1-2 years younger ) from cass + mike, one sibling from cass's second marriage, and a few ( 1-3 ) much younger siblings from mike's current marriage. cassandra is the youngest sibling and mike is an only child.

child(ren) information : violet mae pierson, 5

sexuality : bisexual

relationship status : tba

languages spoken : english, conversational spanish.

distinguishing marks : a small patch of violet tattooed on her right hip, random bruises because she just bruises easily and bumps into things / is clumsy, colorful nail polish half done because it chips and she's got to get it redone but rarely has time.

faceclaim : bri.anne howey

fallon was born to parents who were so in love at the time. high school sweethearts, they were, and everyone looked at them and said "if anyone is going to make it, it's them." but everything changed as everything does, and as it came time to go to college with two young kids cassandra and michael simply could not make their relationship a priority. they loved each other, and they loved their kids, but they simply could keep everything together.

at first it was easy, the couple still lived together while they attended university in college station, but then michael decided he wanted to go off to hollywood to make his dreams come true. cassandra, now a college graduate, moved back home to make her own dreams come true. when cassandra began working at the school she realized that working at a middle school was not for her but that was where she met her second husband, and after a few years they had another child.

fallon took to being the eldest sibling quickly, it was a role she knew well, and if you ask any of her siblings to this day they would all say she is by far the one who constantly checks in on them the most. fallon has always been the kind of person who puts others before herself, which makes her job as a public relations expert kind of contradictory in a way -- while it's putting a best face forward, which she's good at, it's also about finding the right story to put forward as well. and fallon knows that it's not always a story that she wants people to see.

when fallon was recently graduated from college and had just moved from texas to new york to attend graduate school, she had big plans of working in actual medicine. her mother had always talked about science and it was something fallon never thought she could do, but always wanted to. as the person who was a caretaker of everyone else, she never thought she would be able to put aside taking care of everyone else she loved to focus on actually doing something for herself. but she studied everything she needed to -- nursing and sciences and literature too. everything she wanted.

and then tragedy struck.

she had to take time off from getting her masters degree to take care of one of her siblings. and the medical hoopla she had to jump through was killing her. she hated the fact that everything seemed rigged and that no one was looking at any picture other than the big glaring one that wasn't something personal. and that's when she decided that she needed to do something smaller. that she wasn't going to be a nurse or a doctor or anything like that, but someone who worked in the hospital and did something to take care of patients in a different way.

she went back to school and got a different degree -- communications this time, and worked harder, making a difference in her own way. and sure, this is maybe not where she thought her life would be, but it's something she loves doing. politics aside, the little things are the best parts of her day.

okay maybe it's the second best part of her day. the actual best part of her day comes in the form of her daughter, violet. a single mom, violet is the light in fallon's life. she was never married, but she was as close as you can get, the venue was booked and everything but then her fiance decided to leave, and well ... violet still came along from all of that. so, fallon can't really be mad about it all, can she?

at work, fallon has an open door policy, meaning her door is open if you need anything. but if she's coming for you it's definitely something.

[beatleswings]

Been a while since I discussed and drew these two...well together! I drew them a while back and yeah kept changing their appearance so I thought I make a sheet like this. So I decided to draw Navarro's dad in his casual look and in his shop uniform, which kind of looks like the jacket Navarro wears just different colors. As you can see, Navarro mainly resembles his dad except his dad is more darker and has hazel eyes and of course he is where Navarro gets his handy side. And by the 50s, already growing grays. Navarro's mom, with her dress, beauty mark and amazing cooking, she's where he gets his smile and brown eyes and also from her side, his interest in the paranormal, though mainly from her parents, his grandparents. Tati was scared of that stuff though she secretly is into urban legends and folklores. She was more into gardening, cooking, and music (headcanon, she was a dancer when she was young). Despite this, she was supportive of his interests. And oh yeah, I gave Navarro's grandparents names. His paternal grandparents (Uli's parents) were named Rigoberto “Rigo” Navarro Hernández and Esmeralda Cevallos Marroquín while his maternal grandparents (Tati's parents) were named Ignacio Muñoz Valenzuela and Javiera Garrido Sepúlveda. Personality wise, they are very humorous, kind and loving and are very close with their son as he is their only child. They understand and speak a bit of English but they aren't fluent so the Navarro household is Spanish 24/7 with occasional English. Uli and Tati though...that cute married couple that sometimes them being lovey makes Navarro embarrassed. They really like Hal and Mary but Willard, they are intimidated by him but either way, they still treat him nicely because on one half, they think maybe he isn't so bad but the other half, because they did it out of respect of Navarro and his friendship.

[ofcvrnage]

      𝑐𝘩𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑟⧸𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑒 : nadya kilic  ››  bitten werewolf  ››  hande ercel .

❛❛   aesthetic.  ❜❜   ⸻   ◜   ❏  . ⸻ bloodstained  dress  &  manicured  fingers , a  beauty with  the  taste  of  copper  in  her  mouth , they  say  the  loveliest  angel  makes  the  cruelest  demons ,  this  is  simply  bloodsport  for  a  being  like  you , she  could  sing  pretty  melodies  on  the  unmade  bed  . . ⸻   ◜   ❏  . ⸻  

🇦​🇵​🇵​🇱​🇮​🇨​🇦​🇹​🇮​🇴​🇳​ ​​ ››

*   ⸻   ◜   ❏  . ⸻  &.  hande ercel . cis woman  .  she/her  .   |  die with a smile by lady gaga ft. bruno mars  |  was that  nadya kilic  walking around mystic falls ? last i heard , the   30-year old  werewolf ( bitten )  can be found mostly around  the mystic grill .  wonder   what   they’re   up   to   ?  she is  known  for  being  +steadfast ,  but  they  can  still  be  very  -moody  according  to  their  friends. i  heard  through  the  grapevine  that  she was turned by her ex. although we can never know for sure when it comes to mystic falls,  in the end,  it could be only rumors, right ?    . ⸻ ◜ ❏ . ⸻ .

🇧​🇦​🇸​🇮​🇨​🇸  ››

full name : nadya kilic.

age : 30 .

date of birth : august 1st .

occupation : baker .

species : werewolf ( bitten ) .

language(s) spoken : english , turkish , spanish .

hair color : brown .

eye color : brown .

notable scars : the bite mark of her ex .

🇮​🇳​🇹​🇪​🇷​🇮​🇴​🇷 ​ ››

positive : kind  ,  steadfast.

negative : moody ,  impulsive .

moral alignment : neutral.

deadly sin : wrath .

hogwarts house : hufflepuff.

element : air .

alcohol use : socially .

prone to violence? : yes .

drives / motivations : herself .

🇫​🇦​🇲​🇮​🇱​🇾​​  ››

father : mr. kilic. †

mother : mrs. kilic. †

🇧​🇮​🇴  ››

⸻   Born on the warmest night of the year to a religious woman, and a military legacy who worked hard to be named chief . nadya was their second child, the first being Adem who is eight years older than her. Growing up, their always expected his children to go into the military as he did and his family line before him. From the day she and her older brother could walk, they were trained in hand to hand and weaponry. Being part of a military family legacy was never easy for nadya. Especially with a controlling religious mother. They never had time for themselves. Between the lessons, their father would leave them for when he comes back and going to church every Sunday, and having prayer groups.

⸻  nadya always felt left out. From a young age, she already knew she didn’t want to be like her father or keep to the family legacy, nor was she as religious as her mother. She did, however, knew she wanted to travel the world. Because her parents were always busy, nadya was always left on her own after school and after practice waiting until her older brother would pick her up.

⸻  As she grew, nadya would find ways to excuse herself from going to the prayer groups. Although, there was never a way to excuse herself in her father’s lessons and training. Which ironically enough, she surpassed her oldest brother. She figured that if she’s better, she would have more time for herself and her arts. Often making deals with her father which would grant her permission to join her school cheerleading, volleyball, and powder puff during her senior year. Graduating early, nadya was still two years shy of being able to enlist. Taking this chance to go off to college and pursue what she wanted to do. making the decision to leave from home. Which proved to be tough when it came to having her father be the chief of police and had all eyes in search of her.

⸻  nadya worked hard to come up with the money to go through school. doing odd jobs , bartending and being a dog walker mostly . then came the year to enlist but nadya kept on going to school. leaving the town to go into the city for work is when she met HIM . Hellos were said more often then they turned into good mornings when waking up next to each other. She was happy and her boyfriend being one of the many points of it .

⸻ unfortunately , it was a happiness that did not last when she got bitten . not remembering much of what happened that night and the events that lead to it. nadya had woken up in the hospital bed with her parents and brother beside her. Worried and clearly crying, they were relieved when she woke up. She had been out for two weeks. Telling her a little while longer and she would have been dead if she hadn’t been found. For the next two weeks, nadya felt strange. Hearing things she normally wouldn’t hear. Smelling scents that she wouldn’t normally smell. Was stronger than she normally was. All those feelings she had that she couldn’t explain made her grow temperamental . especially when she tried to remember what happened that night . she wanted to call her boyfriend but he clearly changed his number when she did try. her father wouldn’t let her go back to her home until she fully recovered but she felt fine. Not understanding what was happening to her before her first full moon .

⸻  nadya had shifted spontaneously for the first time. Animalistic instinct took over and she attacked anything that got near her. Waking up the next morning bare, covered in blood, and their home destroyed. it wasn’t until she saw her parent’s body and her brother was when she realized what she had done. Memories of last night coming to her. She had turned. She shifted into a wolf and killed her parents and brother. The weight of it caused a pit in her stomach. she wasn’t sure what to even do but to pack her all her things and leave . knowing the scene looked like an animal attack and the news would just chalk it up as that .

⸻ for the past 3 years nadya constantly had to keep her temper in check and it had gotten the best of her sometimes. beginning to accepted herself for who and what she is thanks to a friend she made along the way. Embracing the fact that she was a werewolf and coming to terms that she had killed her family. yet she still somewhat felt guilt over it and there was so much she did not understand . she has a lot to learn and is no longer bound by mundane rules but others that are made for creatures that go bump in the night. moving to mystic falls a year ago , nadya works at the local bakery as a baker.

[thepastisalreadywritten]

SAINT OF THE DAY (December 14)

December 14 is the liturgical memorial of Saint John of the Cross, a 16th-century Carmelite priest best known for reforming his order together with Saint Teresa of Avila and for writing the classic spiritual treatise, “The Dark Night of the Soul.”

Honored as a Doctor of the Church since 1926, he is sometimes called the “Mystical Doctor,” as a tribute to the depth of his teaching on the soul's union with God.

The youngest child of parents in the silk-weaving trade, John de Yepes was born during 1542 in Fontiveros near the Spanish city of Avila.

His father Gonzalo died at a relatively young age, and his mother Catalina struggled to provide for the family.

John found academic success from his early years but failed in his effort to learn a trade as an apprentice.

Instead, he spent several years working in a hospital for the poor and continuing his studies at a Jesuit college in the town of Medina del Campo.

After discerning a calling to monastic life, John entered the Carmlite Order in 1563.

He had been practicing severe physical asceticism even before joining the Carmelites and got permission to live according to their original rule of life – which stressed solitude, silence, poverty, work, and contemplative prayer.

John received ordination as a priest in 1567 after studying in Salamanca but considered transferring to the more austere Carthusian order rather than remaining with the Carmelites.

Before he could take such a step, however, he met the Carmelite nun later canonized as Saint Teresa of Avila.

Born in 1515, Teresa had joined the Order in 1535, regarding consecrated religious life as the most secure road to salvation.

Since that time, she had made remarkable spiritual progress, and during the 1560s, she began a movement to return the Carmelites to the strict observance of their original way of life.

She convinced John not to leave the order but to work for its reform.

Changing his religious name from “John of St. Matthias” to “John of the Cross,” the priest began this work in November of 1568, accompanied by two other men of the Order with whom he shared a small and austere house.

For a time, John was in charge of the new recruits to the “Discalced Carmelites” – the name adopted by the reformed group, since they wore sandals rather than ordinary shoes as sign of poverty.

He also spent five years as the confessor at a monastery in Avila led by St. Teresa.

Their reforming movement grew quickly but also met with severe opposition that jeopardized its future during the 1570s.

Early in December of 1577, during a dispute over John's assignment within the Order, opponents of the strict observance seized and imprisoned him in a tiny cell.

His ordeal lasted nine months and included regular public floggings along with other harsh punishments.

Yet it was during this very period that he composed the poetry that would serve as the basis for his spiritual writings.

John managed to escape from prison in August of 1578, after which he resumed the work of founding and directing Discalced Carmelite communities.

Over the course of a decade, he set out his spiritual teachings in works such as “The Ascent of Mount Carmel,” “The Spiritual Canticle,” and “The Living Flame of Love” as well as “The Dark Night of the Soul.”

But intrigue within the order eventually cost him his leadership position, and his last years were marked by illness along with further mistreatment.

John of the Cross died in the early hours of 14 December 1591, nine years after St. Teresa of Avila's death in October 1582.

Suspicion, mistreatment, and humiliation had characterized much of his time in religious life, but these trials are understood as having brought him closer to God by breaking his dependence on the things of this world.

Accordingly, his writings stress the need to love God above all things – being held back by nothing — and likewise holding nothing back.

Only near the end of his life had St. John's monastic superior recognized his wisdom and holiness.

Though his reputation had suffered unjustly for years, this situation reversed soon after his death.

He was beatified in 1675, canonized in 1726, and named a Doctor of the Church in the 20th century by Pope Pius XI.

In a letter marking the 400th anniversary of St. John's death, Pope John Paul II – who had written a doctoral thesis on the saint's writings – recommended the study of the Spanish mystic, whom he called a “master in the faith and witness to the living God.”

[mspigman]

My first story in the Valle Lozano cycle

A Name

The town of Valle Lozano was a place where time stood still. It was a place where dreams went to die. Or so, that’s what its townspeople said. They believed it all started with the name of the town itself. The founders, upon seeing the wide pastures and robust grasslands, knew it would be the perfect place for farming, and gave it a Spanish name meaning Lush Valley. It was as if they had placed all their ambitions on that single name, and the residents believed that from the moment the first sign dictating its name was forged into the ground, the town's fate was sealed. Of course, there had been a time when the place lived up to its name. It was lush. It was a growing community, with rising shops and businesses, and the farmers and the working people prospered. No one could have seen the imminent downfall that now characterized Valle Lozano. 

If the townspeople had to pinpoint a certain event that marked the beginning of the end, it would have been the winter of 1923. An unexpected blizzard had fallen, making it the harshest winter on record, killing livestock, and people, and had sickened the soil in a way that it had not cured one hundred years later. 

If one had to describe Valle Lozano now, it need no more effort than by using the colors yellow and brown. Yellow, brittle stems of dead wheat, brown, cracked dirt. The only semblance of life and color came from the lake at the far edge of town, which may or may not have been home to certain ghosts and spirits. But that wasn’t what brought Santiago Escarra to Lozano, and it certainly wasn’t what had made him find an apartment in the town nearby. 

His decision to come to Lozano had actually been made the night before his eighteenth birthday. Santiago had grown up in foster care, never knowing his parents, or understanding why it was that they never wanted him. When he was twelve years old, despite his age, he was fortunate enough to get adopted. The Escarra’s were a loving, older couple in their late 40s who had never before been bothered about being childless. That was until one morning, they looked at their spare bedroom, the extra space at their kitchen table, and their wide living room and longed to hear the scamperings of an energetic child. They intended to adopt a younger child, perhaps a toddler, as most adopting couples do. But when they set eyes on the young boy and looked into his deep, sad, chocolate eyes, and ruffled his wild, spirally, thick head of light brown curls, they knew he was for them. 

Sebastian had been shy when they first brought him home and overly polite but over time the kindness and affection of the Escarra’s had warmed him and put him at ease. He became the energetic, rambunctious child they had envisioned for their home. Sebastian and the Escarra’s felt that they finally had the families they longed for. Sebastian loved his parents, and though he always wondered about his biological ones, the longing for him that he had been so apt to as a child waned away. As far as he was concerned they were ghosts of his imagination.

Miriam and Robert Escarra watched the boy grow up into a young man with pride in their eyes, and a secret tucked inside their attic. Unbeknownst to Sebastian, when he was put into the system there was also a letter. It was given to his parents, and what the contents of the letter were neither of them dared to know. They assumed it was from his biological parents, perhaps they wanted to keep in touch with him, perhaps they wanted him to know where they were. The thought that Sebastian would discover their whereabouts and choose to want to be with them was an idea that neither husband nor wife could bear. So, for nearly six years they kept the letter hidden deep in a corner of their attic, and in the farthest recesses of their minds. 

But when Sebastian was set to graduate high school, they knew it was wrong to keep it from him for much longer. He would soon be an adult, and he deserved to know the truth of where he came from. Even if it meant that he would distance himself from them. So the night before his birthday, they sat him down and showed him the letter. It was the first time he had heard of Valle Lozano, and the first time he learned his mother’s name. Stephanie. Stephanie Octavio. In the letter, she wrote her deepest regret for leaving him. She had him too young she said, and had broken up with his father, Cameron. She confessed to Sebastian that she never knew her parents either, and was sure she’d have made a rotten mother. She wrote down the only thing she did know of her family, that they came from a small, unknown town. Valle Lozano. 

After he read the letter, Sebastian assured his parents that he was not angry with them for keeping it from him. After all, it had only confirmed what he had secretly always suspected: he had not wanted. He also assured them that this changed nothing, they were now and would always be his parents and his only family. Relieved, they went on as usual. Sebastian continued to grow up. He went off to college and got a degree in journalism. But what Sebastian did not tell his parents was that he decided to keep his mother’s letter. He snuck it into his pockets and kept it nearby, all through his young adult life. And on his 31st birthday, on the 100th anniversary of the blizzard that ruined Valle Lozano, Sebastian packed up his car and drove to the town he was certain contained the pieces of his past. 

The entire ride to Lozano, Sebastian pictured what the town might look like. He created an image in his mind of a quaint, friendly town. He envisioned small colonial houses, romantic Spanish-style buildings, and a pleasant community of people who would greet each other as they passed by one another in the street. He also, in a quiet voice in his mind, wondered if he still had any family there. He couldn’t help but muse over meeting a cousin, or aunt, or a grandparent. He contemplated what they would be like. Would they like him, had they looked for him, did they know where his mother or father were? 

These ideas kept him so occupied, Sebastian wasn’t even sure how he got to town without getting lost or getting into an accident. But sure enough, just before sundown, he saw the small, fading, wooden sign that read: WELCOME TO VALLE LONZANO painted in white cursive. He drove further, inspecting the town, and what he saw shattered his illusions. He saw nothing but emptiness. Large vacant fields with splotches of brown grass, colored with antiquity. Small ranch houses with broken porches and windows that gave the home a clear appearance of abandonment. They looked old, worn out, and hardened, as if resentful of being left alone for so long. 

Sebastian continued to drive and saw nothing much different, except for a few convenience stores that looked as if they hadn’t changed since the turn of the century, their windows holding up posters and signs that had been faded by the sun. He began to feel disheartened. What if he came all this way just to hit a dead end? It did not even appear as if there were any residents left in town, and he wondered if he’d see another soul or even an animal. 

He was considering turning around and returning home when he spotted a sign that read MAIN STREET. The street showed him his first signs of human life in the town, and he saw on the block more modern-looking shops like a bank, a restaurant, a grocery store, and even a library. Sebastian’s mood considerably lighted and he parked in the library.

He walked inside and saw a few people browsing. He went up to the librarian station and smiled at the young woman at the desk.

“Hello,” she greeted him, “If you’re looking for the highway, just keep going down this road and turn left at the church.”

“What,” he chuckled, “No, I’m not looking for the highway.”

The woman eyed him, “Oh, I’m sorry. I just haven’t seen you around here before. No one who doesn’t live here comes in unless they’re lost and looking for the highway. What can I help you with?”

“Well, I am lost,” he admitted, “I’m just not trying to find the highway. I’m actually looking for a family here. If you can help with that.”

“A family here? Well, what’s the name?”

“Octavio.”

She blinked at him silently at him for a long moment, “Octavio,” she repeated finally, “Goodness. I had always thought that was an urban legend.”

“Why do you say that?”

“There’s no family here by that name. At least not anymore.”

“There isn’t?”

She nodded, “The last Octavio was said to have left here… about 80 years ago.”

“That’s not possible. What about my mother? Stephanie? Stephanie Octavio?”

“I don’t think anyone lived here by that name.”

Sebastian let out a long sigh, “Great,” he said defeatedly, “I guess that does it.”

“If you want, you could search through our old newspapers. We have them going back all the way from the town’s beginning. You might find something there. I heard the Octovio’s were important people here.”

“Really,” Sebastian asked, his interest piqued.

The librarian nodded, “Oh, but I’m afraid if you want to do that you’ll have to come back tomorrow. It’s almost closing time.”

“Oh, right. Well, in that case, is there a motel around here that I could check in at?”

“I’m afraid not. People don’t really… they don’t really stay here, you know?”

“Yeah, yeah. I noticed that. Before I got here, I was beginning to be afraid this was a ghost town.”

“Oh, don’t think it’s not,” the librarian said.

“What’s that supposed to mean.”

The librarian sighed, “Well, it’s just this town… it’s very odd. We have a lot of superstitions here. Folk tales. Stories of ghosts and spirits that have always been around.”

“And is that something people around here really believe in?”

“Not really,” she shrugged, “It just makes us feel better.”

“About what?”

“About being here. It’s kind of a town joke that this place is cursed.”

“Why’s that?”

“Let’s just say this town has… quite a history. But you’ll discover it soon enough if you stick around some.”

“I think I might just do that,” Sebastian smiled politely.

He left the library soon after asking for directions to the closest town with accommodations. It turned out that not even the next town over had a motel, just a few sublet apartments. So Sebastian rented one. On his way out of town, he couldn’t help but chuckle at the name. Valle Lozano. Quite the ironic name for a town that looked like it was clinging to its last legs. But he couldn’t help but feel a certain kinship with the town. It wasn’t either of their faults that they had been abandoned. Was it the town’s fault that no one stuck around to water the fields or nurture the soil? Was it his fault that his mother and father couldn’t work out? He was reminded of what the librarian said. This place is cursed. If being left behind was a curse, then maybe he was cursed, too. 

Sebastian did come back the next day. He was met by the same librarian from the day before, and she led him to the newspaper archives. 

“You know something,” she told him suddenly as she watched him peruse the clippings, “The more I see you, the more familiar you look.”

He turned to her with a strange expression, “You don’t say.”

“Yeah, I can’t put my finger on why, though.” 

“Could be an old family resemblance,” he half-joked.

She shrugged and went back to her desk. He chuckled to himself and read the newspapers he came across. He wondered how long it would take for him to find out anything about his family. The Octovios. Were they as important as he had been told? He would have to see. He was also curious to learn more about the town. The town with the ironic name, he thought to himself. He wanted to discover what exactly the curse was, and he wanted to see how much truth there was to it. If the town - and he - really truly cursed.

[breathtakingwaterfall]

; ; INTRO PAGE

| 🕸️ BLOG USERS INFORMATION!

| 🕷️ NAME: OLGA ! ! ! !

🕷️ | INTERESTS : DNA, MUSICALS, THEATRE PLAYS, FRANKENSTEIN, A CHRISTMAS CAROL, INSPECTOR CALLS, ANIMAL FARM, STARKID, SMOSH

| 🕷️OTHER INFO: AUTISTIC, ANXIETY DISORDER

🕷️ | PRONOUNS : ANY PRONOUNS

WHAT I’LL BE POSTING :

I’ll be posting DNA (the play) content! I have a tiktok account (@ metamorphesis) where I normally post on there, but I want to post here too! I really enjoy it. A lot. I also liked watching those comic dubs where they had characters responding to asks! And I’d like to do that here as well. I used to watch those videos under my covers when I had school the next morning.

All the characters are owned by Dennis Kelly of course, but I’ve made them have my own interpretations and head canons. And my own personal ships too! Which are:

- Leah x John Tate

- Jan x Mark

- Cathy x Phil

- Cathy x Richard

- Phil x Richard

- Cathy x Lou

Basically, I’ll do any ship really. I don’t mind! The ones listed are just my personal favourites!

DESIGN REFRENCES:

PERSONAL HEADCANONS:

WORLD HEADCANONS:

- I like to imagine that DNA takes place in the 2000s (2002-2007)

- Takes place in London.

- Kind of an Alternative Universe from the one we know. But only little things have changed; like the LGBTQ being more widely known and accepted.

- I also like to think they’re all in year 11 (so ages 15-16).

MARK:

- Mark comes from a HEAVILY religious household, which’ll result in religious trauma.

- He/him/his

- Tries to rebel against his parents, which got him into that friend group.

- He’s Spanish.

- He was Baptised as a Roman Catholic

- GCSE choices : Citizenship, Religous Education, History

JAN:

- Zimbabwean

- She/her/hers

- Bisexual (and dead /ref)

- Her family has compared her to Phil one time.

- Overworked, and stressed.

- Parents compare her to others, they aren’t pleased. Ever.

- GCSEs choices : Triple science, Computing, History

PHIL:

- Welsh

- He/him/his

- Also Bisexual

- He’s in foster care, using food as a comfort.

- Classical music enjoyer

- Plays the piano.

- Kind of in his own little world.

- One of the main instigators when it comes to ‘picking’ on Adam, but is more subtle about it.

- GCSEs choices : Geography, History, Media Business

LEAH:

- British, the posh kind of British.

- She/her/hers

- Daddy issues..

- Her mum is loaded. So she’s lived in a good environment her whole life (wealth wise)

- Parents are divorced (Obviously)

- on the spectrum.

- GCSEs choices : Art, Drama, History

DANNY:

- Also British! Makes sense since it takes place in the UK.

- he/him/his

- Germaphobe.

- Everyone in his family has something to do with Healthcare; his dad’s a doctor, his mums a pharmacist, so he wants to be a dentist.

- Golden Child Syndrome

- Has moles under his mask, fingers, and back. He doesn’t like showing them.

- Wears a mask to school.

- Kind of Idolises John Tate.

- GCSEs choices : Triple Science, French, History

LOU:

- Mixed (Italian, British)

- He/him/his, She/her/hers

- Dad was accused and wrongfully locked up for murder.

- Less fortunate than his friends.

- She hangs around Richard and John Tate, watching them fight and when they’re both injured enough where they can’t continue, then he gets involved.

- Asexual teehee

- GCSEs choices : Citizenship, history, double maths

CATHY:

- Mixed (Indian, American)

- She/her/hers

- Bisexual

- Plays into the whole Bimbo stereotype, is way smarter than she leads on.

- Type of girl to be like, “we’re friends right?” (Save Adam)

- Lives with only her mum and younger brother.

- GCSEs choices : Media, History, Music

BRIAN:

- British

- He/him/his

- Emotionally neglected by his parents.

- Takes most his frustrations out on Adam, using him as both a punching bag and a therapist.

- GCSEs choices : History, Spanish, geography

JOHN TATE:

- British (somewhere from south London)

- He/him/his

- Roadman.

- Massive God complex

- Dad isn’t the best dad!

- 2nd Biggest instigator against Adam.

- Often fighting a lot with Richard.

- GCSEs choices: PE, History, Spanish

RICHARD:

- Scottish

- He/him/his

- Also a Roadman.

- Doesn’t have good parents, often acts out.

- Enjoys beating up Adam.

- Sort of looks up to Phil.

- GCSEs choices: PE, History, Citizenship.

ADAM:

- British (But he’s from one of those towns which is named after a country)

- He/him/his

- Was homeschooled up until year 8

- Genuinely just wants to be friends with the group.

- he hides the fact that he gets picked on and beaten by them to his parents.

- GCSEs choices: Art, History, Music

That’s all basically! Bye! Leave little asks for each Character or requests! ^_^

[capsicrew]

Okay, half of them had a process and the others were just off the cuff--

Jalliim-- So I came up with this when I was just downloading the up-to-level-30 free trail way back, so I had no context for lore or names. When making an Elezen, I saw most of the suggested names were, like, faux French-sounding names, and I thought something along the lines of placing him more geographically south of that, and since Spain was south of France, I thought I’d come-up with something fake-Spanish-esque. And what says that than J having an “h” sound right (like a jalapeno pepper--which inspired the shared last name)? lmao, from there I just kinda filled out the name based on how I felt in that theme, but not based on anything in particular. If it wasn’t clear before, his name is pronounced “ha-leem.”

Capsisi-- Originally, Capsisi wasn’t gonna be, like, a “main character,” so I didn’t put a whole lot of effort in the name. I wanted to keep the same last name Jalliim had as sort of a joke, but still fit in the naming conventions of a female plainsfolk lalafell. The last name doesn’t quite fit the naming scheme, with its extra syllable, but that’s fine.

Kola-- This one was kinda off the cuff. I was struggling to think of a name--and I fell back on a tactic I often employ when struggling to think of a nickname for, like, Pokemon or something similar--food names. Keeper Miqo’te have short names, so I wanted to keep it to 1-2 syllables and I like soda, so here we are. I switched it from a C to a K because... well I don’t remember if I had a good reason lol

Beutiq-- I actually tried to put in some effort into this one. I did some (admittedly not terribly deep) looking into both Mongolian names and words to craft a name for the boy. I tried just now to do the same digging because... I actually don’t remember the names/words I used to create Beutiq’s name ;; I do remember selecting two which I pushed together as a name, then altered the spelling due to the in-universe leaning on phonic spellings in this case, rather than a strict writing guide among Xaela tribes. I do remember looking into words and name meanings that leaned into my expectations for Beutiq as a character (or a parent for their child lol), and leaned into meanings for creating, beauty and strength. It was a complete accident that it also looks/sounds like the word “boutique,” which I’m going to say was an accident in-universe as well--so it’s always amusing when Tataru talks about her boutique to Beutiq. “Bow-tick,’ btw

Ejvi-- I started creating Ejvi after Veira were announced to be added to the game, but also started to name her before we had official naming convention guidelines. Fortunately, she wasn’t born in the Veira homeland, so it didn’t super matter. We already had a good guess that Veira names would likely continue to take Scandinavian cues for inspiration. So while perusing a variety of names for inspiration, I also half-joked to myself that, like Jalliim’s inspiration, they also use a different sound for J than exists in English, and I should lean into it. As Ejvi developed more as a character in my head, I also decided to try and lean into a nature-inspired name. Eventually I decided on Ivy, and bumped it into Ejvi. It was keeping in that theme that her Chocobo is named Kudju (kudzu).

And they also all share the surname of Capsicum. As I mentioned, this is literally named after the pepper plant. Jalliim Capsicum is almost just “jalapeno pepper” lmao, and then I just kept attaching the name to all of them. While I don’t have an in-universe explanation for why they all have the same name other than just “extremely wild coincidence” (nor, I think, will I come up with one), it did at least inform part of a couple of their backstories/histories--such as what Capsisi’s parents are like to just slightly askew naming tradition, and why Beatiq’s tribe is not one of the “official 51 tribes” (lore here allows for more tribe names than those 51, so I’m not too off the mark), and thus developing a whole family history there.

As an bonus, a quick look at the chosen names for their retainers; F’lossi Tia is literally named after candy floss, and thus why I tend to dress him in soft pink. Shambo Ro is literally named after the Roshambo mini game in Paper Mario: Color Splash--which itself is named after a false story on an alternate name for Rock-Paper-Scissors. Infinite Stars was me getting poetic in a space-themed Hellsguard name and Laikmund Widalds was, like Ejvi, me picking a real world-thematic name I liked before actual Hrothgar naming conventions were released.

WoL QotD: What made you choose your WoL's name? Does it have any important meaning or did it just sound nice?

Follow up: Is it lore accurate? If it isn't, why not?

[frvnscos]

◜Gabriel Graves Travers◞ ; ❝ i'm often painted as the bad guy, and the artistic part of me wants to hand out the brush. ❞

➥ character pinterest here.

◜basics◞

full name ; Francisco Gabriel Percival Travers (he goes by Graves professionally to avoid confusion with his husband) name meaning ; Francisco; free. Gabriel; strong man, hero. nicknames/alias ; Gabriel, Gabe alliance ; ex Death Eater age ; 41 date/place of birth ; April 18th, 1990 / Santiago, Chile zodiac ; Taurus  blood status ; pure-blood currently lives ; London, England nationality/species ; Chilean-American / wizard, metamorphmagus languages spoken ; Spanish, French, English gender ; male orientation ; bisexual relationship status ; married to Jasper Travers

◜work / education◞

former house ; Wampus (would have been Slytherin if at Hogwarts) highest level of education ; he studied law after graduation

◜physical appearance◞

eye color ; brown hair color ; dark brown, almost black hair type ; curly height ; 5'11 body build ; athletic etc. ; his arms/back are covered in various tattoos, his Dark Mark, a snake tattoo down the side of his neck face claim ; Pedro Pascal

◜relationships◞

husband ; Jasper Travers daughters ; Ava Melody and Abigail Gabriella Travers

parents ; Percival Graves II and Camilla Silva ➥ he is extremely close to his father, but, since becoming a father, he’s cut ties with his mother and her family due to their involvement with the Dark Arts. he wasn’t close with her growing up and considered his father’s sister, Lisa Graves, more of a mother. step-mother ; Nora Martinez-Graves

siblings : Marcelina Graves-Weasley, Javier Graves, Bella Martinez ➥ he grew up an only child, but Marcie has always been like his little sister. Bella is his step-sister and Javier is his half-brother. Due to their large age gap, his relationship with them is more paternal. brothers-in-law ; Emmett and Dylan Rowle niece ; Poppy Rowle other family members ; Percival Graves (paternal grandfather), Lisa Graves (aunt)

ex-partners ; Emmett Rowle, Aly Rowle (ex-wife), Daniela Garcia (Abi’s mom) best friend ; Emmett Rowle close friend ; Victoire Weasley

◜personality◞

positive traits ; ambitious, confident, determined, logical. negative traits ; closed-off, dramatic, hot-headed, stubborn archetype ; the Anti-Hero patronus ; black mamba personality type ; INFJ - the advocate  character alignment ; True Neutral etc. ; -

◜character-based playlist◞

Anti-Hero - Taylor Swift Bad Idea - Dove Cameron Toxic - 2WEI god sent me as karma - emlyn Look What You Made Me Do - Taylor Swift

◜short bio◞

Gabe was born in Santiago, Chile. His father was Head Auror of MACUSA. He met Gabe’s mother, Florencia, the astronomy professor at Castelobruxo, while on business in South America. His mom and her family had ties to Death Eaters and when Gabe was six, his parents got a divorce after his father found out. He took Gabe back to the States full-time, where he attended Ilvermorny. Talk of a Successor to Voldemort began during his last years of school and he found himself, by choice like his mother, mixed up in a group of American Death Eater sympathizers. Despite being a pure-blood, Gabe never had a strong opinion when it came to blood purity, but always had an interest in the dark arts and power. After he graduated, Gabe went to university to study wizarding law, all while still being an active Death Eater. However, he started to have conflicting feelings once the threat of war came overseas. Unable to safely leave, Gabe came clean. He was given an alternative to arrest, which was to train as an auror and work with them, using his extensive knowledge on Death Eaters to track them down. He eventually worked his way up to working as an investigator for the President, but accepted a temporary auror transfer in England after his cousin, Marcie, was involved in a Death Eater attack and nothing came of the investigation. He made the move permanent after he married his husband..

[renaerys]

37. For Blossutch 👀 can’t wait to binge read all of these lol -Star

37. “If you want to act like a slut, you can dress like one.”

T-posing for feminism.

This fic is part of a prompt challenge that is now closed to new requests, but you can read all the completed submissions here. Reminder that the challenge is to make everything SFW, so we’re getting creative here.

xxx

Dane Blakely was 140 pounds of protein powder in a five and a half foot body, and still he seemed to tower over anyone in his way. He’d cornered So-eun Park on her way to second period because he could not take a hint, and now there was no getting around him.

“I saw you with that loser at the Shankaplex on Saturday, don’t even try to deny it,” Dane said.

So-eun had her back to the lockers, but she held her ground. “Elmer’s not a loser, and it’s none of your business who I go out with.”

Rookie mistake dating the first guy who asked her out when she transferred to Townsville High School at the beginning of the year. So-eun had corrected that poor decision quickly, but Dane was one of those unfortunate guys whose parents had forbidden the word no in their house when he was a child.

“I’m just saying your standards have gone way down.”

“Oh my god, I’m not having this conversation with you.” She went around him, and he didn’t stop her.

“Yeah, fine. If you want to act like a slut, you can dress like one.”

There were not many people around to hear, and Dane didn’t shout it, but she suddenly felt a hundred invisible eyes on her all the same. Unthinking, she gripped the collar of her sweater dress and flushed. Her first instinct was to check the length of her skirt, and she flushed even harder, ashamed of her own weakness.

Her second instinct was to jump out of the way of class superstar Blossom Utonium, who’d been making her way down the hall with fire in her eyes.

“What did you just say?” Blossom confronted Dane, who immediately backed up…

…right into a T-posing Butch Jojo.

“Dude, what the fuck?” Dane whirled on Butch.

“The lady asked you a question, dude,” Butch said, still T-posing and taking up half the hallway.

So-eun was not the only person to wander over, curious about the confrontation unfolding at the Senior locker bank. From the moment So-eun stepped foot in these halls, she’d learned about the Powerpuff Girls, aka literal Superheroes walking among the mortals. Blossom and her Super sisters were known for interfering in fights and disagreements that got out of hand, since no one was going to go against a girl who could shatter your spine with a flick of her fingers. But Butch and his brothers tended to avoid getting involved in high school drama. So-eun had never even seen him more than twice since the school year started, and only then from afar. It was a big school, and he probably skipped more often than not. Not that she would know; she’d never exchanged more than a passing word with either of the Supers.

“All right, seriously. Get out of my way,” Dane said.

“Butch, don’t you dare. Not until he apologizes to So-eun.”

So-eun startled at all the attention on her. She didn’t think Blossom even knew her name. She was just the newest nobody on campus, one of a thousand students in the Senior class alone.

Dane seemed just as startled, and his gaze flickered to So-eun just staring openly over Blossom’s shoulder.

“Hey, I’m talking to you,” Blossom said. She had the audacity to snap her fingers in his face.

To Dane’s limited credit, it was easy to forget what Blossom was capable of when she came in such a pretty pink package and a mountain of red hair. “Take a number.”

He tried to get past Blossom this time, and she T-posed to match Butch behind him. The sight was so absurd that So-eun had to cover her mouth not to laugh at Dane whirling in between them like a confused dog confronted with stair guards on all sides.

“What is this?!”

“This is the part where you apologize for slut shaming So-eun,” Blossom said.

“Wow, that’s weak, bro,” Butch said.

“I didn’t!”

“Did that sound like an apology to you, Butch?”

“I think the fuck not.”

More students had gathered around to witness the bizarre turn of events, including Elmer. He casually slipped his hand into So-eun’s. “What’s going on?”

So-eun shook her head. “I think it might be justice.”

“I’m gonna be late for class, just—move!” Dane tried to duck under Butch’s arm, but he bent at the waist (still T-posing) and Dane only succeeded in smacking his head against Butch’s rock-hard tricep. He swore and ping-ponged back into Blossom, bounced off of her knee, and ended up on his ass on the floor.

“Butch, he’s fallen to the floor,” Blossom said.

“Should we help him up?”

“Unfortunately, we’re contractually unable to help unrepentant slut shamers.”

“So unfortunate!”

Dane, now red in the face and breathing hard from the stress, scrambled to his feet by himself. He frothed at the mouth. If Butch were anyone else, So-eun was one hundred percent sure he would have punched him. “Fuck you both.”

“Hey Blossom, is fuck you both Spanish for I’m sorry, you think?”

“I’m afraid it simply isn’t!”

“What a shame!”

The late bell rang, and Blossom didn’t so much as waver from her T-pose. She didn’t care that she’d be marked as tardy. She was not leaving until Dane apologized, and no one else was leaving until she did. Dane seemed to come to the same conclusion as So-eun.

“All right, Jesus Christ. I’m sorry, okay? Fuck.”

“I’m sorry for what?” Blossom swung open her T-pose and looked directly at So-eun, and so did everyone else.

Dane gnashed his teeth. He glanced around at all the other students watching him, recording everything on their phones, not a single person worried about the consequences of being late for class. Finally, he looked up at So-eun, and she squeezed Elmer’s hand harder. “I’m sorry…for slut shaming you.”

Butch whooped. “He did it!” He went in for a high-five with Blossom, and the smack sent a seismic ripple through the hall that rattled the lockers.

“He sure did! Give it up for Dane Blakely, everyone!” Blossom clapped, and others clapped with her. Soon the hall erupted into hoots and hollers of Congratulations! and You did it! as Dane stomped off even redder than before and people recorded his every humiliating moment on their phones.

Everyone dispersed soon after when some teachers came out into the hall to investigate the racket, and So-eun was one of them. When lunch rolled around and she looked around the cafeteria for Elmer, who’d promised to meet up, she found him waving from a table she’d never in her life have expected to sit at.

Bubbles scooted over to make room for So-eun in between Elmer and herself. “Hi, So-eun! We’re in the same block for History, right?”

“Um, yeah?” Of course So-eun knew that, but it was a big class and Bubbles was Bubbles and everyone knew her name like they didn’t know So-eun’s and this was just too weird.

On Bubbles’ other side was Boomer playing a game with Buttercup on someone’s cell phone, while Brick had his Beats on as he copied some of Blossom’s notes and ignored everybody. Blossom herself sat across from So-eun and smiled.

“Hi, I don’t think we’ve properly met. I’m Blossom.” She actually held out her hand to shake as if she weren’t one of the few people every single person in school knew.

So-eun let out a squeak that must have passed for hi, because Blossom smiled wider and elbowed Butch next to her, who was busy shoveling mashed potatoes into his mouth.

“Mmph,” Butch said, waving to So-eun.

“I’m sorry…what’s happening?” So-eun asked.

“Halo Infinite is happening!” Mike Believe, Wes Goingon, and Kim Chan slid in around Brick and Blossom. “Todd got the advance copy and he’s hosting this weekend!”

Brick looked up from the notes for that one. “I call dibs.”

Bubbles giggled. “You get used to it,” she whispered to So-eun like they were old pals.

What was happening was that her sort of maybe new boyfriend, Elmer Sgloo, had neglected to mention that he’d been close friends with the literal Powerpuff Girls since kindergarten, and now they wanted to welcome So-eun into their extended circle. As in, the definitely not a bunch of losers circle because it was the honest to god Powerpuff Girls and that was kind of a lot for one seventeen-year-old nobody to wrap her head around.

“Oh shit, you guys are going viral! Check it out!” Buttercup passed Butch her phone, which played a video of Butch and Blossom T-posing for feminism. “Who even is that loser?”

“Some chode,” Butch said. “Bane, or something?”

“No one important,” Blossom said as she leaned on Butch’s shoulder to watch the video. “Right, So-eun?”

So-eun put her shoulders back and popped a tater tot into her mouth, feeling like a champion. “Not at all.”

xxx

If you enjoy my writing, check out more of my fics on AO3, link in my profile. I’m currently updating Trinity House and The Alchemy of Us. Thanks for reading!

[a-snow-decahedron]

A Flower's Guide for Happy Endings - Chapter One

Spanish version: coming soon

Summary:

Flowey witnesses the aftermath of the human's journey across the Underground, and tries to make sense of his life now that he's not in control of the timeline. Will it last? Or will he take desperate measures?

Words: 3892

Read on AO3: Link here!

Flowey was still processing the last moments of his life as he left the human's side and watched them cross the Barrier, leaving the Underground behind. The child had chosen to give him mercy, time and time again. The nonsense of this action was so overwhelming, he fled. He didn't pay attention to his surroundings as he moved through the hallways of the King's Castle in New Home. He just kept going, emerging at times to look at a certain turn or wait for the right time to move his roots to another surface. It was almost a matter of reflexes to him. After so many resets, he felt like he could wander across the Underground with his eyes closed and he would know exactly where he was. Environments were something he wasn't able to change, at least not by himself. He didn't find the idea appealing, either. People were much more interesting to interact with... Until they weren't.

There was a wide range of things that could happen at any time in the Underground, and he had done pretty much everything. Some things never changed, though. The Amalgamates were never freed; it was more likely for Alphys to give up than for the truth inside the Lab to come out. Toriel never left the Ruins, no matter what you told her, or what happened outside the closed doors. Asgore never let him see the human souls, no matter how much he insisted. All his efforts were futile in a way, as none of it amounted to anything significant. All could be undone by his will, but not even those things he did held much meaning after a while. It was like watching the same simulation over and over again.

Flowey usually spent about a month or two at most messing around before resetting. In this timeline he had settled for waiting and not being an intervention as much as possible, until new days came by. It was incredibly boring, sadly. So he decided to do meaningless things to pass the time. Nothing much, not like pestering some Moldsmals ever achieved anything. He didn't kill, since that usually meant trouble, and the whole point of this was seeing a world without him. He also watched people he knew. Toriel carried on with her day; sometimes she fell asleep on her reading chair, with one too many cups of wine. Flowey may have given her some water one time, without a reason, simply to make an insignificant difference. Papyrus, a skeleton in Snowdin he had encountered after spying on the Royal Guard, was also an interesting monster to visit. He always had a remark or an anecdote for every place. He was full of such nonsense and contradictions, Flowey always got a laugh or two from his conversations. It was impossible not to play some tricks on him. Every once in a while he dropped predictions in their conversations, which the skeleton seemed to take very seriously at times.

And just when the timeline was starting to get too monotonous, he heard a loud noise on the Ruins, shortly after he had left checking on the flowers. That place.... it always reminded him of his sibling. Golden Flowers were their favorite. That day, at the Ruins, life took an unexpected turn: a human had fallen down, and with them, his control. Needless to say, he freaked out. Not only was this child a fallen human, they were just so much like them— but they couldn't be, could they? In the end. Flowey did what he knew best: got to know this human, acted nice, and then tested their reaction when he betrayed them. The stupid kid fell for his tricks, but Toriel stopped his movements, and took the child with her. The soulless monster, frustrated, tried to go back to his save point, yet he failed: another force was overwriting his mark in spacetime. From then, he decided to follow the human. and see what they did. Soon enough, he found out that the human was the one in control of the timeline, using it to get their way. Through the Ruins, the Snowdin cold, the dark Waterfall and the steaming Hotland, Flowey followed them, catching glimpses of their journey.

What came after the human spared King Asgore was a blur. His determination flowed in a chaotic way when he tried to reminisce about his attempt to take the human souls. It felt so good to have something within that wasn't just willpower fuel. He felt so good, so intense, so alive. That human kid was about to face his true power, to see what he was capable of doing. He had never met someone that could remember overwritten timelines like him, and he wasn't wasting his chance to make the most of it. But human souls are determined and that includes the six within him. They turned against him, and took him back to zero in moments. And then... well. He simply couldn't understand. His control was lost again. The human just needed one blow to finish him off, but they refused and crossed the Barrier. Why not even try? Why not give him the same pain? Why does it matter if he lives or not, anyways?

He was back in Snowdin town by the time his inner monologue had gone full circle, all caused by the human who’d come and gone in what felt like a mere blink. By the time he got to the town it was early night, the time many monsters had dinner. Snowdin had a system of streetlights that was usually too high for non-flying monsters to reach. They were powered by the CORE, and to tell apart day and night, they had set a gradual energy-saving mode that reduced the amount of lights during the night, synchronized with the time on the Surface. The lights were said to resemble stars. Real stars were prettier, but it did the job well enough for the thousands of monsters that had never seen the Surface.

Flowey was standing on a residential street, still muttering to himself, looking at the houses' windows filled with light and the smell of homemade food. He wasn't quick enough to hide after hearing a muffled voice and a door being bumped open. A yellow striped kid, holding a bag of trash with their mouth and on their way to the trashcan, gasped at Flowey and dropped the bag on the snow.

"The talking flower's real?!" They opened their eyes wide, like they had seen the surface. As Flowey tried to curl underground to leave, the monster child spoke. "Yo, don't leave! Papyrus told me about you!"

At the mention of the name, the soulless flower hesitated, then turned around "Howdy! I'm Flowey the flower.” He forced a grin. "And just what has he told you?" he asked, slightly squinting.

"Well..." The kid stared at a point beyond Flowey, thinking of their answer. "We just met today! I mean, I've seen him before, but we never, like, talked. I was on my way back to Snowdin after I left the human in Water— yo, did you hear a human showed up in town today? It's crazy!" They hopped excitedly, shaking their tail happily.

Flowey raised a brow and waved with one of the roots he pulled from the ground, signaling the kid to keep talking. He supposed hearing some gossip was good enough for now, until he figured out what to do now, or found a way to gain his control of the timeline again.

"I didn't know they were human at first, but man, they were so nice! I showed them some caverns in Waterfall on our way. I was so excited to see Undyne fight bad guys! But it turns out they, uhm, were the bad guy Undyne was going after?" They trailed off, looking for a way to follow their story. "She told me that the human was bad, that i could get hurt. And she tried to attack them! But they saved me so they can’t be bad! I had to show her! Yo I dunno what came over me, it felt like my heart was pounding out of my chest. But I told her, s-she would not. I was really scared, but I think it worked! And then I... left them to go home because my parents would worry if I was out late", they mumbled the last part, feeling their rush of energy decrease.

Flowey shot them an impatient glance. "Ok, got you. But when does Papyrus show up in all this?"

"Oh yeah! Right! We met when I was on my way to Snowdin. He said some things about using friendship for his duties as a future royal guardsman, and then we talked about Undyne. He said she is training him to be part of the guard- it sounds so cool! I wanna be just like him one day!" They hopped on one foot. "Then... I asked him about the friend stuff he said, and he told me he didn't have many friends, but Undyne was really close. And then he spoke of a talking flower, that had like, prediction powers. He said you gave encouragement, advice and stuff. I didn't think you were real, but man, was I wrong."

"Is that it?" Flowey raised a brow, getting tired of the kid's chatter. Maybe someone else would have liked talkative friends, but he had enough for that day, and frankly he just wanted to get healed. All the talking was making him dizzy.

"Yeah! It has to be you, right? Man, if we become friends I would break my friend-making record. Three people in one day! Yo this is so great." Their tail moved from side to side.

Flowey yawned, feigning sleepiness "Hey kid, it's nice talking, but don't you have anything better to do?" He pointed to the trashbag with his body.

"Oh right! I forgot. Thanks dude!" they said, picking up the bag with their teeth and walking to the trashcan on the sidewalk.

"Yeah, you don't want to get in trouble, right? I don't think your parents are very happy you went too far into Waterfall on your own with some stranger."

Flowey shrank a bit to appear smaller as the child walked towards him. "Before you leave, I need something. Do it for your new friend, wontcha? Can you get me a snack? I got in a friendly fight and my HP isn't the best right now. I could use some help." He pulled the most innocent smile he could, which was always convincing.

"Ok! Be right back, yo!" They dashed to their house and came out a minute later, pulling two cinnamon bunnies from their inventory and almost dropping them on the floor.

Flowey picked them up with his roots and saved them on his own inventory with a poof. "Thanks, kid!"

"Yeah, no problem Flowey!" They paused and then added "Yo, I forgot to tell you my name, it's M—" Before they had finished their sentence, the flower was gone, like it was never there.

As Flowey moved under the snow, he didn't notice the recent footsteps or the furry monster that made them as they made their way towards the Riverperson place.

Flowey emerged at the side of the skeleton brothers’ house, careful not to be seen. He took a cinnamon bunny, took a bite, and then tried to rest. Sleeping as a flower wasn't easy. It wasn't like laying down in a bed. He technically didn't need to sleep, as long as he had energy from the lights around him or food. As a plant, the most he could do was fold his petals on his face, and find a place where the wind wouldn't bother him and nobody would step on him by accident. Despite this, if he wanted to recover from his injuries, he needed to rest in order to restore his HP.

Flowey was making himself comfortable —as much as he could in a town like Snowdin—, when he heard a door shut strongly on the second floor of the house. It seemed people were at home. He moved closer to eavesdrop on them, but it wasn't necessary, as the speakers were loud enough on their own.

"So... I'm staying here tonight, right? Until I fix my house."

"YOU'RE ALWAYS WELCOME TO STAY HERE, BUT YES, WE'LL FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DO ABOUT THE HOUSE TOMORROW!"

"When do you think the human's coming back? Do you think they'll stay at the inn?

"IT'S WHAT I EXPECT, BUT MAYBE THEY WENT TO NEW HOME AND FOUND SOMEWHERE ELSE TO SLEEP? THEY HAVEN'T CALLED SINCE THEY GOT TO THE CORE."

"They better not be hanging outside late or they'll get in trouble with me."

"WHAT IF THE HUMAN'S NOCTURNAL?”

"Who knows? Not ME at least. Anime says all kinds of things that don't make sense when you put them together, like in some of them, some humans have cat ears, but in others that's not possible. At least they should have something cooler, like fins!"

"OR BONES! HMM, BUT WE CAN ONLY GUESS. PERHAPS THEY ARE NOCTURNAL, I HEARD HUMANS HAVE SOMETHING CALLED TIMEZONES. MY BROTHER TOLD ME ABOUT IT WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE SUN..."

At that point Flowey stopped listening. Those two went over several topics, and whenever they didn't know something, they made it up with their theories. It was amusing in the first dozen resets, but by now Flowey had exhausted all possible topics with each of them...

Suddenly, he heard something that was new to him.

"SO UNDYNE, I SEE YOU ARE CARRYING A LETTER? IS IT FOR SOMEONE SPECIAL?" Papyrus inquired, teasingly.

A letter? Flowey had seen many letters. Several had been addressed to Dr. Alphys. He wondered why the fish monster would have one too.

"WHAT? Well, I don't want it to get damaged in case I burn down the house on accident again— BUT NOT FOR ANY SPECIAL REASON, it's just a silly thing I keep with me."

"WHO IS IT ADDRESSED TO, THEN?"

"Uh...."

"WILL YOU LET ME READ IT?"

"Absolutely NOT! It's personal!"

"SO IS IT FOR ALPHYS..." A pause. "YOU DID NOT DENY IT. SO WHY DON'T YOU JUST CALL HER, DELIVER IT, AND SEE HER REACTION?" There was the sound of a phone being unlocked. "I'LL DO THE PHONE CALL!"

"Papyrus, no! I need to rewrite it, it's not done yet! Give me the phone, darn it!" There was another pause. "Ok, thanks. Besides, she's probably busy fixing Mettaton right now. Did you see his new body? And BEFORE you make any remark on how hot or handsome he is, DON'T." Nyeh-heh-heh’s were heard in response. "Anyways, she must be busy, and I don't think I can just show her this letter. I'm afraid things could go wrong— I wouldn't know what to do!"

"FINE, BUT IF YOU EVER NEED ADVICE, LISTEN TO ME. YOU NEED THAT KIND OF BRAVERY IN YOUR LIFE" A clicking noise like a wink was heard.

"NGAAAH- shut up!" She lowered her voice. "Hey, if you don't mind, can you leave while I change my clothes?"

"OF COURSE, I STILL HAVE SOME OF YOUR CLOTHES FROM THE LAST TIME YOUR HOUSE BURNT DOWN. I'LL GIVE YOU PRIVACY."

"Thank you, now GET OUT." The door was closed. Strong pacing could be heard for a few minutes, before the window opened with a harsh movement and small shreds of paper were dropped one by one, “I really can't do it,”she muttered “It's too much. I'll make a better one soon. That will be the one.”

The humidity of the snow would soon leak into the remains of the letter and erase its message, never to be read by anyone. Well, not anyone who was meant to read it anyways. Flowey leaned closer and used a root to pick up a part of the letter. It took him five endearment terms and three uses of the verb love to know it was an excessively corny confession directed at the Royal Scientist.

It seemed almost atypical for the fish monster. However, Flowey knew better. During some of his runs he had experimented with the Royal Guard, testing their strengths and weaknesses. Undyne was a particularly difficult monster to deal with. Once you became her enemy, she would strike you down no matter what. Her green soul magic forced any monster under its effect to stay still and only use its own magic bullets as protection. Flowey, being soulless, was not affected by this kind of magic, but that still didn't make fleeing much easier. He had killed her the first time they faced each other, after dying to her several times. That had been the first timeline he decided to kill, throwing bullets at some of the weakest known monsters. Undyne had been furious, and decided to find the culprit and bring them to justice. When Flowey did manage to kill her, though, she resisted. With her last breaths, she kept on fighting, refusing to die. Her last words were dedicated to every monster in the Underground she swore to protect, and as she melted, she regretted never "telling it to Alphys". He had figured out what it was by other sources. The letter was just further confirmation.

No other monster had shown such determination to keep going, and those words rang in Flowey's head. Somehow, the possibility of making someone be honest about their feelings towards something —or someone else— made him particularly curious. He had tried to help her, more than once, but no attempt had been successful. He kept trying for a few more runs. Undyne's resilience reminded him of his own sibling. He thought that maybe staying determined and reaching, helping, and fixing things would... do something. Perhaps he had to be more like them, more like Chara. But he was hopeless now. Nothing he did ever lasted, nothing he did made him feel right.

"Hurts, doesn't it? Some things never change. She writes letters but she will never do anything with them." He dropped the letter and went back to rest for what was left of the night, hoping to restore his HP.

* * *

The "Riverperson'' was never just one monster. There were three of them. Their family had been passionate about sailing for decades; some said they had the reputation even before the war, and ever since monsters found a stream that connected all areas, the River family had dedicated itself to provide quick travel to everyone in the Underground. When it was nighttime, and most monsters outside were nocturnal creatures, only one of them was around. They gazed at the Snowdin port. All three siblings had great intuition, and that night, they agreed, was bound to be interesting.

"Greetings. Would it be possible to make use of your service tonight?" a soft voice asked.

The river monster turned to face the source of the voice and saw a tall white furry monster. They resembled most inhabitants of the small town, with a thick layer of fur covering their features. But something about their presence radiated a sense of grace. A good River monster made no distinction among their travelers, so they simply pointed to the empty space on their boat.

"Tri li li, where would you like to go?"

"Take me to Hotland, please,” the monster said calmly

The Riverperson took off with their only passenger for that ride.

It was late, but despite the time, a few nocturnal monsters could always be found wandering the streets, among the low-glowing lights. The sight of the new monster immediately sparked rumors, catching the attention of the few awake. From the forest, a Whimsun flew, carrying news from the Ruins. The great door deep in Snowdin forest had been opened, and its caretaker was making their way to the capital. Young monsters were perplexed by the story, but older, wiser ones knew this meant great incoming change for the whole kingdom. Nobody knew for certain what had become of Queen Toriel after the deaths of her children, but it seemed that the words carried by the small flying monster could be the solution to the century old mystery. Soon enough, word was spread in the snowy town among the elders. They were careful and cautious, not to make quick assumptions, but staying alert.

The ride across the cave system had not been long, but it certainly felt like eternity, even for a monster with such a long life as Toriel. She was worried sick, wondering whether the human child had been harmed. As she set foot on Hotland, and waved the Riverperson farewell, the feeling of unease only increased. She did not know where the child had gone. All the monsters she had spoken to had little to no information, seeing as they weren't awake during the day, and therefore hadn't seen anything worth noting. However, as Toriel walked through the dry roads, she noticed flyers, all related to a human kid that had been spotted in Hotland, as a guest on the Underground's greatest celebrity's shows. She walked faster, hoping to reach New Home soon. Time felt so slow, each step lasting a small eternity in her anxious mind.

By the time she had reached the castle, the artificial lights were starting to get brighter. She was determined to reach her destination. She could not allow Asgore to take another soul, and she was going to stop him herself if she had to. She would not let another child be hurt by him. Her steps covered longer distances, as she walked across the familiar hallways. Her breathing was fast, and her paws felt heated with anxiety, small fire bullets dancing around her fingers. She paid no mind to the monsters that walked around her, except to ask about the king once: a tall catlike monster indicated that the king was last seen at the throne room last evening, but was not seen leaving the place ever since. As she approached the throne room, an odd feeling made her magic shiver. There was no sight of the King.

She walked in, careful not to step on the golden flowers that decorated the room. In a way, both of them had remembered their children using those flowers. She shook the thought out of her mind, and she went across the room to a smaller entrance. That room had a single orifice at the ceiling, letting the first rays of the morning sun go through. No sign of the King, either.

She feared the worst.

She prepared her fire attacks.

She breathed deeply.

She stepped into the room that led to the Barrier.

She dropped her attacks, which disappeared in an instant.

Before her was a crown, and an armor covered in a purple cape. Dust on the floor, and an ear-ringing silence. A gardening knife was a few feet away.

This was the day the Underground's King had perished.

This was the day a human made it out of the monsters' world alive.

This was the day things would change forever for their kind.

The Queen took the crown. Her expression was solemn, and she braced herself to make the announcement known to everyone in the Underground.

"King Asgore has died."

[dornish-queen]

Pedro Pascal: “I already took all my drugs very early. In middle age, a hangover is not an option ”

When he was approaching 40, he resigned himself to having sporadic papers that would allow him to pay the rent. But playing Oberyn Martell in 'Game of Thrones' changed his life and opened the doors of 'Narcos'. Since then it has not stopped. Now he's the villain from the blockbuster 'Wonder Woman 1984'

JUAN SANGUINO

THE ANGELS OCT 2, 2020 - 3:19 PM EDT

The first big opportunity of his career was presented in 2011, when he participated in the pilot episode of Wonder Woman for NBC, but the network discarded the series and Pedro Pascal returned to his main occupation: casting castings to play the criminal of the week in the Law and order of duty. “That cancellation was a disappointment, of course, I wanted to work. I did not care if it was something good or bad, I just wanted to work, "he recalls today from his home in Los Angeles during a virtual conversation with ICON. Now Pascal plays the villain of Wonder Woman 1984 , one of the blockbusters destined to return audiences to movie theaters .

How can you not believe in fate? The boy who broke his arm twice playing Indiana Jones has ended up becoming the favorite hero of the kids (the bounty hunter in The Mandalorian ), his parents (Agent Peña in Narcos ) and, well, everyone's. world (Oberyn Martell, The Red Viper, in Game of Thrones ). When Pedro was little, the good guys were always white and the bad guys were Russian, Arab or Latino. The Wonder Woman 1984 villain , however, is a white billionaire played by a Chilean.

“The film is set in the United States of the eighties, which were marked by capitalist greed. It was a tainted concept of evil. Stripped of humanity, but still absolutely attractive and alluring. People who dreamed of being rich and successful had to be salivated. It is true that at that time villains in the cinema projected a xenophobic image. Now the white man can finally be the bad guy, ”explains Pascal.

 Some already compare his character, Maxwell Lord, to Donald Trump because of that muck in this mud: Reagan's glorification of rogue moguls in America turned guys like Trump into aspirational role models and glamorous stars. “Trump was not the core of inspiration for my character, on our costume designer's board were Gordon Gekko [Michael Douglas on Wall Street ], American Psycho's Patrick Bateman and other suckers in expensive eighties suits. All those millionaires who hid despair, unbridled ambition and terrified masculinity ”, he clarifies. If Pedro Pascal sounds like a socialist infiltrated in Hollywood it is because that is exactly what he is.

“When Reagan was elected, many people around me were frustrated that the worst forms of capitalism were winning. In my home, with refugee and socialist parents, conservatism was not demonized but it did go against what was important to my family, ”he says. Pascal's father, José Balmaceda, was an Allende supporter doctor who saved the life of a priest wounded by Pinochet's militia .

The priest was later tortured and ended up confessing the name of his savior. When the police went to look for Balmaceda at the hospital where he worked, he took his wife and the newborn Pedro and jumped over the wall of the Venezuelan embassy in Santiago de Chile to request political asylum. That's why Pedro ended up growing up in San Antonio (Texas), in a socialist home but in Reagan's land. A Chilean with no memories of Chile who was called Peter in high school.

At the age of 20, Pascal was in Madrid working as a go-go and keeps good memories. Here she is wearing a Prada sweater. Photo: Danielle DeGrasse-Alston / Realization: Warren Alfie Baker

The Chilean-born but US-raised actor wears a Paul Smith sweater and suit. Photo: Danielle DeGrasse-Alston / Realization: Warren Alfie Baker

Pascal has never left the immigrant mentality behind. Even his father, who came to open a practice in California, always lived in terror that at any moment everything could vanish. “It doesn't matter who you are, how much you are working or how much you get paid. Deep down you always think that each job is the last one ”, confesses the actor. Maybe that's why he didn't dare move from his Red Hook, Brooklyn, hovel to a house more suitable for a Hollywood star until filming for Kingsman 2 and Narcos was over . Nor is it that he had spent more than an entire week at his house since, in 2014, Game of Thrones made him the guy most people would want to party with.

Pascal knew right away that Oberyn Martell, the Westerosi rockstar who always seemed willing to fight or fornicate with the same bravado, was going to change his life. “I had done a lot of castings for friends' plays, for copier factory ads or for very serious independent films that no one was going to see, while I watched how many characters that I had been about to play changed the lives of others. actors. And thanks to my experience and maturity, I recognized the potential of Oberyn. I understood who he was and who he could be ”, he presumes.

The actor found out about the audition when one of his acting students told him that he had taken the test but had been discarded because of his youth. Pedro snapped up and must have thought, “What would Oberyn do?” So he recorded a video on his phone and sent it to his good friend, actress Sarah Paulson . She passed it on to her good friend actress Amanda Peet and this one to her husband, David Benioff, one of the creators of Game of Thrones . The rest is the history of television and headaches: when he informed the Narcos producer that he was available to play Pablo Escobar's pursuing policeman, he accused him of making a spoiler for Game of Thrones: If Pascal had a free agenda, it is because Oberyn was going to lose his fight against La Montaña . He couldn't imagine, of course, in what way.

  Part of that electric, lively and hedonistic energy of Oberyn comes to Pascal from the summer (that of 1996) that he spent in Madrid, where in addition to studying he worked as a go-go in a disco. That stay was transformative because the actor realized that he had had to adapt his identity all his life with each new move, but in Madrid he felt effortlessly at home. “I was 20 years old and I liked it so much that I almost moved. My main language is English, I have an American accent and I can pass for white. But in my house there were many cultural differences with respect to the outside world and I remember that when I was 20 years old, when I came to Madrid, I felt very comfortable in my own skin in a way that I had never felt anywhere else. I guess I was not aware that I had spent my childhood and adolescence learning new ways of adapting, connecting, learning, and pulling. On the contrary, living in Madrid was organic and easy for me. I made friends right away and I felt supported, ”he recalls.

By the time he was 40 Pascal was resigned to being an actor with enough odd jobs to pay the rent. According to him, his aquiline nose was a bad nose by Hollywood standards. Far from being offended or frustrated by this typecasting, he was looking forward to it, if it translated into a new check. “It is very strange to develop a fantasy as a child, to have the opportunity to turn it into a hobby, then some studies and finally transform all that into a career. That is the bet. But my dream of becoming Leonardo DiCapriodied. He died dozens and dozens of times. So to move on he had to accept that, at best, he was going to be an actor with a job. That was already a triumph, "he says. "Also, I accepted that I was not qualified for anything else, I had no more skills: I had put all my time, my energy and my concentration in being an actor and the rest in living life and having fun."

That absence of vanity lives on today, even when he's been involved in large-scale projects for five years without stopping. After Game of ThronesHe has made eight films, of which seven are action blockbusters. The wave of fame came to him when he was no longer expecting it but when he was well prepared to ride it. Still, every workday is a surprise and she acknowledges that what amazes her most about Hollywood is the sheer physical stamina that people have. “Sometimes a project can look like building a city, with all the hours, all the work and all the energy it requires. Some people have better stamina and can get by with little sleep. That is an interesting contradiction: all the people creatively involved in a film have a special sensitivity and at the same time have developed a very tough skin and energy to go through the physical experience of shooting it, ”he admires.

 Then Pascal switches to Spanish (the language he uses to confess intimacies) and explains, in a few words, that he is old for this shit. “I thought I had all the energy in the world and now, in my 40s, I see that ... wow! There are times when I don't know if I will be able to reach the goal, because my energy is not at the necessary level. But I always take it forward ”, he guarantees. Maybe that's why people get so high in Hollywood. Pascal responds between laughter and again in Spanish.

“I already took all my drugs very early. It is something that is already too much in the past, and in middle age a hangover is not an option. No, no, no ”, she assures. What if the other hangover, that of the wave of fame, runs over you? “I was a good waiter. Not at first, because they fired me many times, but I ended up getting the hang of it, ”he jokes. If the Hollywood thing doesn't go well, you can always put drinks again. But for now Pedro Pascal is the personification that the American dream , although sometimes it takes a little longer to materialize, really exists. Even Ronald Reagan would be proud.

source

[thepastisalreadywritten]

SAINT OF THE DAY (December 14)

December 14 is the liturgical memorial of Saint John of the Cross, a 16th-century Carmelite priest best known for reforming his order together with Saint Teresa of Avila and for writing the classic spiritual treatise “The Dark Night of the Soul.”

Honored as a Doctor of the Church since 1926, he is sometimes called the “Mystical Doctor,” as a tribute to the depth of his teaching on the soul's union with God.

The youngest child of parents in the silk-weaving trade, John de Yepes was born on 24 June 1542 in Fontiveros near the Spanish city of Avila.

His father Gonzalo died at a relatively young age, and his mother Catalina struggled to provide for the family.

John found academic success from his early years but failed in his effort to learn a trade as an apprentice.

He instead spent several years working in a hospital for the poor and continuing his studies at a Jesuit college in the town of Medina del Campo.

After discerning a calling to monastic life, John entered the Carmlite Order in 1563.

He had been practicing severe physical asceticism even before joining the Carmelites and got permission to live according to their original rule of life — which stressed solitude, silence, poverty, work, and contemplative prayer.

John received ordination as a priest in 1567 after studying in Salamanca but considered transferring to the more austere Carthusian order rather than remaining with the Carmelites.

Before he could take such a step, however, he met the Carmelite nun later canonized as Saint Teresa of Avila.

Born on 28 March 1515, Teresa had joined the order in 1535, regarding consecrated religious life as the most secure road to salvation.

Since that time, she had made remarkable spiritual progress. During the 1560s, she began a movement to return the Carmelites to the strict observance of their original way of life.

She convinced John not to leave the order but to work for its reform.

Changing his religious name from “John of St. Matthias” to “John of the Cross,” the priest began this work in November 1568, accompanied by two other men of the order with whom he shared a small and austere house.

For a time, John was in charge of the new recruits to the “Discalced Carmelites” — the name adopted by the reformed group, since they wore sandals rather than ordinary shoes as sign of poverty.

He also spent five years as the confessor at a monastery in Avila led by St. Teresa.

Their reforming movement grew quickly but also met with severe opposition that jeopardized its future during the 1570s.

Early in December 1577, during a dispute over John's assignment within the order, opponents of the strict observance seized and imprisoned him in a tiny cell.

His ordeal lasted nine months and included regular public floggings along with other harsh punishments.

Yet it was during this very period that he composed the poetry that would serve as the basis for his spiritual writings.

John managed to escape from prison in August 1578, after which he resumed the work of founding and directing Discalced Carmelite communities.

Over the course of a decade, he set out his spiritual teachings in works such as “The Ascent of Mount Carmel,” “The Spiritual Canticle” and “The Living Flame of Love” as well as “The Dark Night of the Soul.”

But intrigue within the order eventually cost him his leadership position, and his last years were marked by illness along with further mistreatment.

John of the Cross died in the early hours of 14 December 1591, nine years after St. Teresa of Avila's death in October 1582.

Suspicion, mistreatment, and humiliation had characterized much of his time in religious life, but these trials are understood as having brought him closer to God by breaking his dependence on the things of this world.

Accordingly, his writings stress the need to love God above all things — being held back by nothing, and likewise holding nothing back.

Only near the end of his life had St. John's monastic superior recognized his wisdom and holiness.

Though his reputation had suffered unjustly for years, this situation reversed soon after his death.

He was beatified by Pope Clement X on 25 January 1675. He was canonized by Pope Benedict XIII on 27 December 1726.

He was named a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius XI in 1926.

In a letter marking the 400th anniversary of St. John's death, Pope John Paul II — who had written a doctoral thesis on the saint's writings — recommended the study of the Spanish mystic, whom he called a “master in the faith and witness to the living God.”

John of the Cross was a great saint who was a reformer, a mystic, and one of the great Spanish poets.

He has inspired many other holy men and women to pursue God into the mysterious heights and depths of divine love.

[vanaglorio]

VANAGLORIA : A STUDY IN HUBRIS.

HECTOR SOLORZANO. full name, HECTOR ALEJANDRO VELASQUEZ SOLORZANO. 27 years old, born on december 28th, 2994 in mexico city. cis man and uses he / they / doesn’t really care about pronouns. sold his soul to his family’s global construction and real estate empire and works as a civil engineering project manager. 

SKELETON.  DYNAMICS.  PINTEREST.  HISTORY & MISC. BELOW.

trigger warning: suicide, drug overdose

IMPETUS.

the concept of making some kind of lasting, indelible mark on the world that wasn’t gilded, silver-spooned and handed to him on a platter. the glory of having his own name mean something, beyond inheritance and privilege and absurd extravagance. creating something with his mind and his own two hands — in and of itself, an impossible feat considering all he’s ever achieved has had his family’s insignia stamped on it. but an ambition he holds fast to like a cardinal point on a compass

plain old kendall roy style retribution and succession drama baby. hector’s never forgiven his father for destroying his brother and despite his father’s best attempts to shape him into the back-up heir, he’s going to fuck this company up before he ever gets to inherit it. 

hubris is his ultimate achilles heel and downfall. yes, irony thy name is hector. thinks he’s somehow smarter, faster, hungrier and more brilliant and than everyone around him. which is obviously not the case. this guy is playing so many games within games with enemies and allies alike, he couldn’t claw his way out of the matrix-style shit storm if he tried. 

HISTORY.

only child, the demon, angle and beloved favourite all in one. originally born as the younger son. the spare, not the heir.

hector’s father is the CEO of the largest civil and engineering construction company in the world. their headquarters is in mexico city but they have subsidiary offices in madrid, london, tokyo and los angeles. hector’s mother is the heiress of the velasquez real estate empire, her family holding company owning substantial parcels of land all across south america, north america and europe.

his older brother, teodoro, was born 7 years before him. the consummate perfect son and heir to the empire — until, of course, he wasn’t. escalating parental pressure, crushing academic expectations, the weight of the world upon his shoulders. teodoro was no atlas. hector was 14 when they found his brother overdosed in a penthouse in saint-tropez while on summer vacation.

the process of priming hector to become the next heir was so swift, so damning, as to be almost surgical. teo’s body was barely cold and laid to rest in the ground before their parents began to talk about hector’s ‘future’.

hector never forgave his parents for what happened to teo. they were to blame, of course they were — they stood by and watched as teo slowly killed himself, until there was nothing left but his body to go. he was dead long before he swallowed his own heart and jumped on a one-way first class flight to the french riviera. 

generally speaking, hector’s academic record was rather unexceptional until teo died and he had no choice but to perform in teo’s stead. and he did it, teeth gritted and eyes slitted murderous, the whole damn show pony circus show. the endless parade of meaningless extracurriculars: everything from debate club to swim team and lacrosse to mathematics decathlons. enough to fill a trophy room with lustrous medals, accolades, first place ribbons, and still not enough. hector could never live up to teo’s looming shadow, nor did he want to. it felt, somehow, like a betrayal, to prove he was better than his brother in any way. to validate his parent’s desire to mould him as the emergency replacement. 

the only subjects hector enjoyed with any genuine passion or fascination that wasn’t feigned were classics and history.

enrolled into verdamme as a staunch fuck you to his parents who had astronomical hopes he’d attend MIT or stanford or ETH and get an engineering degree. (he did end up getting one, postgrad.)

was julian’s so-called right-hand man throughout all the years at verdamme and is also one of the riot club member’s who knew julian the longest. loved julian as much as he hated him and thought he deserved to die. one of the leading proponents of the #kill caesar movement. somehow not the most suspicious potential suspect. 

the irritating bastard in class who barely tried but seemed to ace every single test. in reality he just has an exceptional short-term memory and mind for rote learning — in one ear, out the other, etc. very much the kid that seems to be napping for all of class and then pipes up to give the most bizarre, unexpectedly insightful comment in the middle of discussion.

fucks with people, their lives / hearts / hopes and dreams, as a way to feel something? inside? maybe?? notorious for being one of julian’s worst enablers but was also plenty responsible for his own schemes, manipulations and cruelties.

MISCELLANEOUS.

is currently engaged to the heiress of a spanish shipping company in the world’s longest running engagement. almost never wears his ring but mexican and spanish news outlets made quite a big deal out of it when it was first announced over a year ago.

speaks spanish, english, french and italian fluently. due to being your typical classics nerd, also fluent in latin and ancient greek. conversational in german and portugese.

general vibe is aloof, albeit quite disarming once he strikes up a conversation, laidback, chariasmtic, “chill”, able to talk to anyone about anything when he can actually be bothered to. also the guy with zero chill, secretly. we don’t talk about that.

endeavours to avoid personal drama at all costs that hasn’t been purposefully orchestrated for some kind of game but will enjoy the schadenfreude from the sidelines while placing bets on who’ll come out on top. it’s probably a gambling problem.

some kind of deep emotional trauma (re: parental neglect & then overnight obsession with him being the perfect replacement son for the dead brother) (re: aforementioned dead brother who is possibly the only person he’s ever loved) that prevents him from properly connecting to people on a deeper level beyond shallow, casual and purposeless sex

travelling is the one and only perk of his current job. he loves travelling, but in the niche struggling backpacker way that normal twenty-something years olds do, not the private jet lifestyle of a billionaire heir of a global conglomerate

collects obscure roman artefacts, specifically from the late roman republic, and has an antique knife collection. his favourite is a ceremonial gold dagger and sheath from the tomb of tutankhamun.

teo’s girlfriend left his dog, socrates, with him after the funeral, claiming she couldn’t bear to have the memory of him around her. he’s unironically hector’s best friend.

[minervacasterly]

Queen Mary (I) Tudor -The Woman behind the Legend of 'Bloody Mary'

"As Mary continued to face Protestant treason she became even more ruthless, with the infamous burnings intended to eliminate what she perceived as a stubborn and destabilising minority. In our context we see Mary's actions as those of a fanatic. In her context she was eliminating fanatics, and of the most dangerous kind, incorrigible rebels against God and queen. But Mary also had to work positively, to build a future, and this unravelled in the face of her infertility and declining health. She failed in her ultimate duty to produce a child and this meant, once again, that the wider family was key to the future. Mary's preferred choice as her heir, was Margaret Douglas, could not compete with the claims of Henry VIII's second daughter and, as Elizabeth took note, it was the knowledge that she would succeed her sister that fueled the disorder and rebellion against Mary. With the loss of Calais in the last year of Mary's life it would be easy for her enemies to paint the young, Protestant Elizabeth's accession as a brilliant new dawn. It is as such that it is still projected. Mary remains associated with her late seventeenth-century sobriquet 'Bloody Mary', and an infamous recent advertisement for the London Dungeon depicted her face transforming into a demon-zombie. Elizabeth, by contrast, has been played in films by a series of beautiful actresses: Elizabeth is ever Cate Blanchett, fairy queen, to Mary's bitter, grey-faced Kathy Burke. Yet these sisters were neither simple heroines nor villains. Both were rulers of their time and we can only understand Elizabeth if we see, as she did, what the Tudor sisters had in common and how she could learn from Mary's example. Most significant for Elizabeth was the fact that Mary's Protestant enemies had sought to redefine the nature of a 'true' king. They argued that religion was more important than blood, or victory in battles -a true king was Protestant- and that all women were by nature unsuited to rule over men. Elizabeth's response was to offer her ordinary subjects a theatrical representation of herself as a 'true' ruler: the seeds of which had been sown by Mary herself in her speech during the Wyatt revolt, in which she is a mother who loves her subjects as if they were her children. Here was a female authority figure accepted as part of the divine order." ~Leanda de Lisle, TUDOR

"The blackening of Mary's name began in Elizabeth's reign and gathered force at the end of the 17th century, when James II compounded the view that Catholic monarchs were a disaster for England. But it was really the enduring popularity of John Foxe which shaped the view of her that has persisted for 450 years. Attempts to soften her image have been made, but their tendency to depict her as a sad little woman who would have been better off as the Tudor equivalent of a housewife is almost as distasteful as the legend of Bloody Mary. To dismiss her life as nothing more than a personal tragedy is both patronizing and mistaken. One of the main themes of Mary's existence is the triumph of determination over adversity. She lived in a violent, intolerant age, surrounded by the intrigues of a time when men and women gambled their lives for advancement at court. Deceit, like ambition, was endemic among the power-seekers of mid-Tudor England who passed, in procession, through her life. Pride, stubbornness and an instinct for survival saw her through tribulations that would have destroyed a lesser woman. Her bravery put her on the throne and kept her there, so that when she died she was able to bequeath to Elizabeth a precious legacy that is often overlooked: she had demonstrated that a woman could rule in her own right. The vilification of Mary has obscured the many areas of continuity between her rule and those of the other Tudors. Today, despite the fact that much more is known about her reign, she is still the most maligned and misunderstood of English monarchs. For Mary Tudor, the first queen of England, truth has not been the daughter of time." ~Linda Porter, THE MYTH OF BLOODY MARY

"Foxe's account would shape the popular narrative of Mary's reign for the next four hundred and fifty years. Generations of schoolchildren would grow up knowing the first Queen of England only as "Bloody Mary", a Catholic tyrant who sent nearly three hundred Protestants to their deaths, a point made satirically in W. C. Sellar and R. J. Yeatman's 1930s parody 1066 and All That. Mary's presence in a recent survey of the most evil men and women in history is testament to Foxe's enduring legacy. But there is, of course, a different Mary: a woman marked by suffering, devout in her faith and exceptional in her courage. From a childhood in which she was adored and feted and then violently rejected, a fighter was born. Her resolve almost cost her her life as her father, and then her brother, sought to subjugate her to their wills. Yet Mary maintained her faith and self-belief. Despite repeated attempts to deprive her of her life and right to the throne, the warrior princess turned victor and became the warrior princess turned victor and became the warrior queen. The boldness and scale of her achievements are often overlooked. The campaign that Mary led in the summer of 1553 would prove to be the only successful revolt against central government in sixteenth-century England. She, like her grandfather Henry VII and grandmother Isabella of Castile, had to flight for her throne. In the moment of crisis she proved decisive, courageous, and "Herculean" -and won the support of the English people as the legitimate Tudor heir. Mary was a conscientious, hardworking queen who was determined to be closely involved in government business and policy making. She would rise "at daybrea when, after saying her prayers and hearing mass in private," she would "transact business incessantly until after midnight." As rebels thereatend teh capital in January 1554 and she was urged to flee, Mary stood firm and successfully rallied Londoners to her defense. She was also a woman who lived by her conscience and was prepared to die for her faith. And she expected the same of others. Her religious defiance was matched by a personal infatuation with Phililp, her Spanish husband. Her love for him and dependence on her "true father", the Emperor Charles V, was unwavering. Her determination to honor her husband's will led England into an unpopular war with France and the loss of Calais. There was no fruit of the union, and so at her premature death there was no Catholic heir. Her own phantom pregnancies, together with epidemics and harvest failures across the country, left her undermined and unpopular. Her life, always one of tragic contrast, ended in personal tragedy as Philip abandoned her, never to return, even as his queen lay dying. In many ways Mary failed as a woman but triumphed as a queen. She ruled with the full measure of royal majesty and achieved much of what she set out to do. She won her rightful throne, married her Spanish prince, and restored the country to Roman Catholicism. The Spanish marriage was a match with the most powerful ruling house in Europe, and the highly favorable marriage treaty ultimately won the support of the English government. She had defeated the rebels and preserved the Tudor monarchy. Her Catholicism was not simply conservative but influenced by her humanist education and showed many signs of broad acceptance before she died. She was an intelligent, politically adept, and resolute monarch who proved to be very much her own woman. Thanks to Mary, John Aylmer, in exile in Switzerland, could confidently assert that "it is not in England so dangerous a matter to have a woman ruler, as men take it to be." By securing the throne following Edward's attempts to bar both his sisters, she ensured that the crown continued along the legal line of Tudor succession. Mary laid down other important precedents that would benefit her sister. Upon her accession as the first queen regnant of England, she redefined royal ritual and law, thereby establishing that a female ruler, married or unmarried, would enjoy identical power and authority to male monarchs. Mary was the Tudor trailblazer, a politiccal pioneer whose reign redefined the English monarchy." ~Anna Whitelock, MARY TUDOR: PRINCESS, BASTARD, QUEEN

Furthermore, as the country shifted from Catholicism to Protestantism, people began to find it easier to vilify her. During the Victorian age, England was at its height. People would say that the sun never set on the English Empire, and as a result, there was a growing sense of nationalism. Previously beloved figures like Queen Elizabeth I, Kings Edward III, Henry V, among others, were no longer kings and queens for people to admire and look upon but national symbols of pride, who were almost god-like. Edward III's victories against the French, Henry V's conquest of France, Elizabeth's Protestantism and victory against Spain with the Spanish Armada and other Catholic rivals, were extolled, and glorified, while Mary I's foreign ancestry was looked down upon. Ironically, all of these monarchs were also foreign in one way or another. You can say that Queen Elizabeth I wasn't because her parents were English, but what about her paternal ancestry, or her maternal one? No matter which way you look at it, she had foreign ancestry as much as any monarch. In fact, the Victorian era's own monarch, was of foreign descent as well! Victoria wasn't even an English name. She was named after her mother, Victoria of the Saxe-Coburg clan who was German and she married her cousin, who was also German. It was very common for royals to marry other royals, which meant that their offspring would be of foreign descent. In Mary's time this wouldn't be a reason to look down on her, on the contrary, she could point to her royal ancestors, be they foreign or not, with pride as a sign of how much royal blood flowed through her veins, making her eligible to be her father's heir. But as it has been pointed out before, times change and with it, so does our view of every historical figure.

[come-on-shitty-boys]

// fatherhood headcannons //

Characters: Kozume Kenma / Akaashi Keiji / Oikawa Tooru

Request: Heyyy merry xmas (if you celebrate it) can I request kenma fatherhood hcs I saw you other ones before and it was so cute (and maybe him having a daughter )

Warnings: some swearing

Word Count: 1.8K (~550 a piece)

Notes: bokuto with stretch marks. That’s all. That’s the note.

Kozume Kenma:

Oof how to put this nicely . . . 

He was terrible. Absolute t r a s h during the pregnancy.  And it wasn’t on purpose.  He wasn’t just sitting there purposefully dismissing your aches and hormone-induced cries.  Kenma just didn’t know that it was actually a big deal.  He didn’t know that you were genuinely in serious amounts of discomfort.

You would say that your back was hurting and he’d be like, “yeah, mine too.”  Which is v a l i d.  He has videos to edit, so he spends a lot of time hunched over his desk, but you’re also carrying a child. H I S C H I L D so he could stand to be a little more sympathetic.

Morning sickness? He’s not about to be there to hold your hair back.  He’s still fast asleep.  Probably didn’t even know that you weren’t feeling well.  Kenma isn’t a total jerk about it.  He does care about you! I need to make that clear.  He does care.  He’ll ask you if you’re feeling better when you mention that you were sick earlier that day, ask if you need anything from the store, etc etc.

It’s really more or less the fact that he’s going to be a dad in less than nine months hasn’t fully set in??  He knows that you’re pregnant.  He’s been there for the ultrasounds.  He’s heard the heartbeat.  He knows that there will be a baby, but it’s like his brain hasn’t processed that it’s his baby yet.

And it doesn’t fully hit him until you wake him up in the night, hitting his shoulder frantically, saying that something doesn’t feel right and in his sleepy haze he can only think to ask-

“Is the baby okay?”

bitch i don’t know that’s the problem 

But he’s out of bed faster than you are, practically shoving shoes on your feet to get you out the door and into the car. pspsps there was no problem just l a b o r

Kenma didn’t cry when the baby arrived, honestly he didn’t even make any moves to hold his little girl when you offered her out to him.  He was just so in awe?  He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.  She was so tiny and he was so scared that he might break her if he tried to hold her.

It takes him awhile to settle into the whole fatherhood thing, but once he gets it, he gets it.  He becomes some kind of expert multitasker.  He’s got the guys on discord through his headset, heating up formula, daughter strapped to his chest with one of those baby holders, ready to get back to gaming with his little girl right there.

She makes a few guest appearances during his streams, because she’ll start crying, wanting attention or to be fed, which brings him to sitting at his desk, bouncing his baby on his lap, continuing on with his stream like it’s the most normal thing in the world, watching as his chat blows up with people obsessing over how cute his daughter is.

Akaashi Keiji

I’m sure this a shock to everyone, but Akaashi is fucking clueless.  He was an only child and his best friend is the youngest?  He never really had to think about babies before.

He tries to research, but he gets so caught up in, ‘Is this a credible source? Can I trust what they’re telling me?’ that he learns absolutely nothing.  Like he knows all of the actual science behind what’s happening, but he has no idea how to take care of a baby.  What kind of diapers are the best?  Should you breastfeed or would formula be the better option?  How quickly should you be trying to teach them things like speech or walking?

Lucky for Akaashi, when his female co-workers, especially the ones who were mothers themselves, found out the exciting news that Akaashi was expecting a baby with you they were giving him every piece of advice under the sun.  “You need to establish a sleep routine!  It’ll take a while, but the baby will get it eventually!” “I know they say that you shouldn’t run to your baby every single time they cry, but that’s actually really harmful for their psyche in the long run.” “Make sure to play lots of classical music, especially early on.  It helps with development!”

When it comes to you, he’s pretty hit or miss?  He’s observant! Absolutely! But, he’s not really sure how to help you when you’re feeling insecure about your body or scared that you’re not going to be a good parent.  He can tell you that you’re beautiful or that everything will be okay, but it never fails to make the situation worse because, “You’re my husband.  You have to say that.”

The hormones.  They do be throwing hands with him smh

Akaashi spent the entire last two months of your pregnancy baby proofing the entire house.  If you wanted a glass of milk, it took you nearly 10 minutes.  You know he means well, but he definitely went a little overboard.

He used to give your forehead a kiss every morning before he left for work, but now Keiji will lean in to kiss your forehead before squatting down to place a kiss on your stomach

He also helps you get ready in the morning.  Your range of motion definitely isn’t what it used to be now that you have a baby bump, so he’s more than willing to help you tie your shoes or hook your bra if you need him to.

PANICKED BOY DURING DELIVERY

Everything that he was told just left his brain and he suddenly forgot everything that he had been told.  He was holding onto your hand just as tightly as you were holding onto his, but he’s trying his best for your sake.

But the first moment that he sees his little baby all swaddled up in that blanket, you swear that you’ve never seen Akaashi’s eyes so wide and his face so blank.  It’s like you could see the gears turning in his head, trying to process everything that just happened.  

He’s absolutely silent.  He doesn’t say a single word or make any noise when he finally has the opportunity to hold his son for the first time.  He can do nothing but stare.  It’s really a sight to see.  The two best things in your life just staring at one another with absolute wonder.

Akaashi takes his baby’s development very seriously.  He wants his son to be just as smart as the both of you some day, so he takes it upon himself to read to his son before every single nap.  

Poor Keiji has read Green Eggs and Ham more times than he would like to admit.

Oikawa Tooru

Now listen. I know we all want to give him shit, but my god is he the only one who knows what the hell is going on 

He has a sister who has been through this whole pregnancy thing at least once. He’s not helpless.  He knows how to take care of a kid.  Oikawa Tooru can rock a baby to sleep faster than you can say Seijoh.  He’s just that good.

Tooru bought you the ugliest pair of sneakers when your feet started to swell and your other sneakers started to get uncomfy, but god damn they were the best pair of shoes that you ever put on your feet.  Well, that he put on your feet.  It’s kind of difficult to put shoes on when there’s a uh . . . big ol’ bump in the way.

He frequently talks to your stomach in Spanish and has already given the little bean a nickname to match the Spanish one he gave you.  He also hums little songs while he rubs your stomach ugh lots of sweet vibes from oikawa

And it’s literally because his sister sent him P A R A G R A P H S just to tell him how to take care of you while you were pregnant.  All of these little things that he never would have thought of like getting one of those grabber things so you didn’t have to bend over so much or keeping snacks and anything you could possibly be craving on a low shelf so you didn’t hurt yourself climbing for the bag of pretzels.

While Tooru loves you and would do anything for you, he absolutely refuses to rub your feet.  Do not even bother asking.  He will turn up his nose and look at you like you’ve lost your mind.

He’s always telling his teammates about you and how big you’ve gotten, what size his little baby is, what names he was thinking about.  Ah it’s so cute.  He invites some of them over to help him put together the nursery, asking them if they prefer the elephants or the bears?  Should they choose yellow or maybe a nice grey?

When it came to the actual delivery of the baby, he was so calm???  Like?? Unnervingly calm?  He just held your hand, running his other hand over your head, pushing your hair back, reminding you to breathe just like he had practiced with you, telling you that you’re doing so well, that it will all be over and worth it soon.

And it really was.  Seeing his face light up with the most adoring smile that you had ever seen as he took his little one into his arms was one of the most beautiful sights you had ever seen.  He was absolutely in love and all it took was one little look and he was already cooing and making silly faces.

But those goofy faces and cute voices were just to mask the tears that had welled in his eyes at finally being able to hold the most beautiful thing on the planet.  He never thought he’d get to be a dad, settling down was something that had always seemed so distant and strange to him until he met you.  And yet, here he was.  A full-fledged dad, on the verge of sobbing as he held onto his first-born as if his entire universe would crumble if he looked away for even a second.

Please don’t even get me started on when his kiddo wrapped their hand around his finger.  SOBBED.  He’s gone.  Absolutely bawling his eyes out.

Ugh i could go on forever about dad!oikawa he’d just be so 10/10

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