#amelianational

[manhwa-animated-cover]

[hockeyspiral23]

Harkening back to this post (linking and not reblogging to keep spoilers hidden) and going back to a theory that popped up in my IG feed the other day ...

(Onyx Storm spoilers below the cut)

... the key to defeating the venin might be Violet learning to wield magic from the sky. Or someone learning how to do so. But probably Violet (and our girl is definitely gonna need to get better at runes).

Going all the way back to Fourth Wing, when Violet flips through The Fables after reading the note from her dad, what's mentioned? Oh, merely this: "Another talks about the dangers of wielding power from the ground instead of the skies, as one could easily start drawing magic from the earth and eventually be driven mad."

Then look at the ch.37 epigraph: "But it was the third brother, who commanded the sky to surrender its greatest power, who finally vanquished his jealous sibling at a great and terrible price." We all know that there were three brothers - a dragon-bonded, a gryphon-bonded, and the venin. But which brother learned to draw from the sky?

Then, in Onyx Storm, when Violet goes to Anca to retrieve the Amelian Citrine, she mentions that it feels different than normal passing the wards:

My skin tingles as we slip down into the valley through the Esbens, and I'm struck with the oddest urge to try and pluck strands from the very sky and weave runes. "It feels like there's more power out here than usual," I tell Tairn as we dive along a ridgeline. "There's actually less - the venin saw to that," he replies. "But you grow more powerful every day, more capable of recognizing what once was invisible to you." "I could recognize it," Andarna chimes in. "If you ever let me come with you."

And Andarna can notice it because, as we learn from the conversation with the Irids, she is magic. That's why their breed can live on the Isles. It's why Violet can still talk to her own dragons and no one else can - my guess is that Tairn can talk with Violet thanks to her being double bonded; she can talk to one, she can talk to both. It's also why Theophanie was fine killing Violet once she thought Andarna was gone - the venin want the Irids because they know what they truly are.

(How this ties into the Sword of Tyrrendor/Blade of Aretia I don't know, but I somehow also know that those are going to come into play somehow later. Because the thing that Xaden mentions about keeping safe? Is 10000% the Sword. I think it's why he actually tried giving it to the Deverelli - because he knew it would be far away from him (and well out of the reach of Berwyn's hands, given how much Berwyn wielding that sword is in Xaden's dreams)).

(Also also since we're here ... Xaden emphasizes the word dream when he talks about how much he misses her, so we're totally gonna get her dream-walking into Xaden's dreams so they can have dream sex. And I'm not 100% sure how I feel about this ...)

[hyperblue]

Name ideas for cloned Timkon twin children.

Girl named Robin "Robbie" Felicity and boy named Amelian "Melloy" Theodore.

Girl's name.

I delved into the symbolism of the robin bird and found a lot of interesting things and perfectly suitable for Timkon. Robin symbolizes good luck, happiness, rebirth and this bird is also a messenger for the lost loved ones. Robin also connected with hope and faith. Felicity means happiness.

Boy's name.

Amelian - male variation of the name Amelia, which in turn means Industrious, striving and work. I think it might highlight how hard Tim tried to produce his children. Theodore means a divine gift.

you know that robin as a timkon clone daughter name is everything to me

i can imagine tim frantically searching through baby names websites researching the meanings and writing down his options

[shinycozytwistedglam]

Onyx Storm RECAP ch 15-ch18

And now, for an interlude that can only be called "romantic" by Fourth Wing standards.

WTF is happening in ch15-ch16?

Violet goes to her new favorite class, Signet Sparring, with Professor Shadow Daddy. Xaden's done some interesting warding on the outdoor fighting pit they're using, keeping the space warm and probably containing the magic.

First Wing thinks Xaden isn't up to the task of teaching since he just graduated, so we get to watch Xaden put some rando in his place while Violet thinks about how sexy he his.

Xaden is terrifying like always but Violet tells her friends she's "never scared of him" which feels like foreshadowing! Violet also tells everyone he's not her boyfriend (because Codex) and Xaden agrees (because he's More Than Her Boyfriend). This book is full of hints & foreshadowing about marriage.

Xaden tells the cadets he's trying to give them "his edge" so they can defeat venin.

When Violet steps up Xaden fills the mat with shadows. They spar, flirt, and make out a little bit as he teaches her how to distinguish "his shadows" from existing shadows that he's extending, so that she can find him in the dark...and kill him.

Weekend trip to Chantarra for the Scooby Gang. The riders are drinking in the pub while the fliers go to temple. Everyone is still talking about how scary Xaden is and Violet insists he'd never hurt her. (I'm anxious!)

There's a big lore dump here about gods & temples.

Dain pulls Violet aside to talk about stealing her dad's hidden journals out of the personal quarters where Colonel General Aetos is now living. Violet can't go along for the heist so she has to trust that Dain won't sell her out to his dad.

WTF is happening in ch17?

The opening quote for ch17 is from the recovered correspondence of Asher Sorrengail to Violet Sorrengail. Papa S has a name now!

It's formation time and the death roll is still a thing.

Sloane pulls Violet aside and gives her a bag of library books, which also includes the journal Dain stole for her. (Dain gave it to Jesenia to avoid suspicion and we love to see our boy learning to break the rules.) Sloane is still having feelings about her role in Lillith's death, and Violet tries to reassure her. Violet talks about how Grady wants to take Quest Squad north but Violet's intuition says south.

Violet pulls out the journal and discovers it's passcode locked and set to self-destruct if she enters the wrong code. (WTF is this Inspector Gadget???) The clue to the code is First love is irreplaceable.

The Scooby Gang strategizes about the passcode and the hints about Violet & Halden are hard to miss.

It's Signet Sparring time and Xaden brought Garrick with him to give the cadets better odds on the mat. As Xaden gets class started Violet is aggressively flirting down the mental bond. Also a bit of Garrick-Imogen flirting thankyouverymuch give the people what they want.

Iron Squad decides to take on Garrick as a team instead of 1 on 1, which is going fine until Garrick deflects some ice that flies too close to Violet, and Xaden goes into Protective Venin Mode. Violet delivers a kill shot to a dagger (not Garrick) and Iron Squad reigns supreme.

Slow clap from the top of the arena and OH SHIT it's Prince Halden making a fucking entrance with his eyes on Violet.

Violet & Halden chit-chat (wow he sucks) while everyone else watches sparring and Xaden watches Halden. Halden is talking about Quest Squad & their upcoming mission to retrieve a macguffin. He's trying to flirt with Violet but the moment he reaches up to touch her hair he gets blasted into a wall by shadows LOL.

Hello Jealous!Xaden! We missed you baby.

WTF is the Amelian Citrine? It's a gemstone necklace – an artifact from one of the first griffin fliers. It enhances their lesser magic abilities. It's old & rare and therefore valuable, and Tecarus has given Violet permission to give it to the King of Deverelli in exchange for a meeting.

What is Deverelli? It's the closest Isle kingdom to the Continent.

WTF is the Emerald Sea? It's in the north but it doesn't matter. They're not going there.

Who are the gods and why do I care? Go brush up on the Empyrean Wiki.

Violet really has a thing for guys in power, huh? I dunno, man. I think there just weren't that many guys willing to sleep with General Lillith Sorrengail's daughter. Halden was convenient and is clearly a pussy-hound.

WTF is happening in ch18?

Professor Shadow Daddy pulls his cock out in front of Halden. Okay maybe not literally but he is extremely territorial about Violet and while it's kind of hot, it's also toxic in a way that tastes like venin.

Violet does her Smarter Than Everyone thing and figures out the passcode to her dad's journal is Aimsir, the name of her mom's dragon. (Dragon bond love is an important theme in this book.)

Violet opens the journal which her dad describes as "my careful study of the second Krovlan uprising." (Yawn) Dad clearly had a multi-step plan to all this that involved Dain learning Krovlish, and he says that Violet needs to go to Deverelli and meet a merchant there. (Oh great, another macguffin chase.)

Xaden shows up and needs to know if Violet loved Halden. There's a lot of talk about feelings and a lot of emotional vulnerability from Xaden which warms my heart but also feels like 180° from Iron Flame. Thank you for not fighting I guess?

Overall summary of Chapters 1 - 18, Onyx Storm

The riders who left for Aretia have been re-integrated with Navarre, but there's still tension and a definite flavor of Tyrrish independence in everything Xaden, Violet, and Brennen are doing. No trials or consequences for abandoning Navarre.

Violet did a bunch of maneuvering, including that stunt with the wardstone, in order to ensure an alliance between Navarre & Poromiel. She's trying to protect Poromish people, but politically this is a good move for Tyrrendor, since the Tyrs are already closely allied with Poromiel. Getting all 3 factions sort of on the same team is a huge win, and Violet made it happen.

In the course of these chapters Xaden has gone from disgraced rebel lieutenant to Duke of Tyrrendor slash Basgiath professor. And yet, he's mainly focused on doing whatever Violet wants him to do and preparing Violet to kill his future venin self (sob).

Xaden and Violet are saying I love you as many times as possible. It feels like Xaden got diagnosed with terminal cancer and all the old fights don't matter and I love it but it also tears me up inside.

The squad is...okay. Sloane is being cagey after the death of Lillith. Sawyer is working through the grief of his disability. Ridoc is providing outstanding humor but also paying closer attention to everything than we realize. Cat is being less obnoxious than usual & she & Violet seems to have settled into an equilibrium. Dain seems...likeable? Character growth!

The focus of the book is about to shift into Journey Mode as Quest Squad goes after the first macguffin the Amelian Citrine. Violet has her eyes on the southern Isles and clues from her father to follow. She wants to find Andarna's kind and also find answers for how to cure Xaden.

Big reveals: Halden is Violet's ex-boyfriend, Xaden's venin emotions are super territorial for Violet

Keep your eye on: Gods/Goddess lore, signet lore, animint, marriage themes, dragon bond love

[eludin-realm]

Character Name Ideas (Male)

So I've been browsing through BehindTheName (great resource!) recently and have compiled several name lists. Here are some names, A-Z, that I like. NOTE: If you want to use any of these please verify sources, meanings etc, I just used BehindTheName to browse and find all of these. Under the cut:

A: Austin, Aiden, Adam, Alex, Angus, Anthony, Archie, Argo, Ari, Aric, Arno, Atlas, August, Aurelius, Alexei, Archer, Angelo, Adric, Acarius, Achilou, Alphard, Amelian, Archander B: Bodhi, Bastian, Baz, Beau, Beck, Buck, Basil, Benny, Bentley, Blake, Bowie, Brad, Brady, Brody, Brennan, Brent, Brett, Brycen C: Cab, Cal, Caden, Cáel, Caelan, Caleb, Cameron, Chase, Carlos, Cooper, Carter, Cas, Cash, Cassian, Castiel, Cedric, Cenric, Chance, Chandler, Chaz, Chad, Chester, Chet, Chip, Christian, Cillian, Claude, Cicero, Clint, Cody, Cory, Coy, Cole, Colt, Colton, Colin, Colorado, Colum, Conan, Conrad, Conway, Connor, Cornelius, Creed, Cyneric, Cynric, Cyrano, Cyril, Cyrus, Crestian, Ceric D: Dallas, Damien, Daniel, Darach, Dash, Dax, Dayton, Denver, Derek, Des, Desmond, Devin, Dewey, Dexter, Dietrich, Dion, Dmitri, Dominic, Dorian, Douglas, Draco, Drake, Drew, Dudley, Dustin, Dusty, Dylan, Danièu E: Eadric, Evan, Ethan, Easton, Eddie, Eddy, Einar, Eli, Eilas, Eiljah, Elliott, Elton, Emanuel, Emile, Emmett, Enzo, Erik, Evander, Everett, Ezio F: Faolán, Faron, Ferlin, Felix, Fenrir, Fergus, Finley, Finlay, Finn, Finnian, Finnegan, Flint, Flip, Flynn, Florian, Forrest, Fritz G: Gage, Gabe, Grady, Grant, Gray, Grayson, Gunnar, Gunther, Galahad H: Hale, Harley, Harper, Harvey, Harry, Huey, Hugh, Hunter, Huxley I: Ian, Ianto, Ike, Inigo, Isaac, Isaias, Ivan, Ísak J: Jack, Jacob, Jake, Jason, Jasper, Jax, Jay, Jensen, Jed, Jeremy, Jeremiah, Jesse, Jett, Jimmie, Jonas, Jonas, Jonathan, Jordan, Josh, Julien, Jovian, Jun, Justin, Joseph, Joni, K: Kaden, Kai, Kale, Kane, Kaz, Keane, Keaton, Keith, Kenji, Kenneth, Kent, Kevin, Kieran, Kip, Knox, Kris, Kristian, Kyle, Kay, Kristján, Kristófer L: Lamont, Lance, Landon, Lane, Lars, László, Laurent, Layton, Leander, Leif, Leo, Leonidas, Leopold, Levi, Lewis, Louie, Liam, Liberty, Lincoln, Linc, Linus, Lionel, Logan, Loki, Lucas, Lucian, Lucio, Lucky, Luke, Luther, Lyall, Lycus, Lykos, Lyle, Lyndon, Llewellyn, Landri, Laurian, Lionç M: Major, Manny, Manuel, Marcus, Mason, Matt, Matthew, Matthias, Maverick, Maxim, Memphis, Midas, Mikko, Miles, Mitch, Mordecai, Mordred, Morgan, Macari, Maïus, Maxenci, Micolau, Miro N: Nate, Nathan, Nathaniel, Niall, Nico, Niels, Nik, Noah, Nolan, Niilo, Nikander, Novak, O: Oakley, Octavian, Odin, Orlando, Orrick, Ǫrvar, Othello, Otis, Otto, Ovid, Owain, Owen, Øyvind, Ozzie, Ollie, Oliver, Onni P: Paisley, Palmer, Percival, Percy, Perry, Peyton, Phelan, Phineas, Phoenix, Piers, Pierce, Porter, Presley, Preston, Pacian Q: Quinn, Quincy, Quintin R: Ragnar, Raiden, Ren, Rain, Rainier, Ramos, Ramsey, Ransom, Raul, Ray, Roy, Reagan, Redd, Reese, Rhys, Rhett, Reginald, Remiel, Remy, Ridge, Ridley, Ripley, Rigby, Riggs, Riley, River, Robert, Rocky, Rokas, Roman, Ronan, Ronin, Romeo, Rory, Ross, Ruairí, Rufus, Rusty, Ryder, Ryker, Rylan, Riku, Roni S: Sammie, Sammy, Samuel, Samson, Sanford, Sawyer, Scout, Seán, Seth, Sebastian, Seymour, Shane, Shaun, Shawn, Sheldon, Shiloh, Shun, Sid, Sidney, Silas, Skip, Skipper, Skyler, Slade, Spencer, Spike, Stan, Stanford, Sterling, Stevie, Stijn, Suni, Sylvan, Sylvester T: Tab, Tad, Tanner, Tate, Tennessee, Tero, Terrance, Tevin, Thatcher, Tierno, Tino, Titus, Tobias, Tony, Torin, Trace, Trent, Trenton, Trev, Trevor, Trey, Troy, Tripp, Tristan, Tucker, Turner, Tyler, Ty, Teemu U: Ulric V: Valerius, Valor, Van, Vernon, Vespasian, Vic, Victor, Vico, Vince, Vinny, Vincent W: Wade, Walker, Wallis, Wally, Walt, Wardell, Warwick, Watson, Waylon, Wayne, Wes, Wesley, Weston, Whitley, Wilder, Wiley, William, Wolfe, Wolfgang, Woody, Wulfric, Wyatt, Wynn X: Xander, Xavier Z: Zachary, Zach, Zane, Zeb, Zebediah, Zed, Zeke, Zeph, Zaccai

[cool-fungus]

amelian

[elpscroll]

Saturday Report 130

Yes, we are not in Wix anymore, but only for the Saturday Reports, the website is still there.

If you don't know yet, I had some problems with posting the Saturday Reports there, and here is just much better...

You do get that "Please make an account bar down there", sorry about that, but hey you can still see the latest report without it! You will need one to see older ones though... They're all here by the way, it took a long time but it's nice to have this archive... Now if only I had v.1.0 of the scenario still

I also noticed the number was wrong while getting all Reports, that's why we're back in numbers.

Anyway! Back to the actual reporting! Well I've been doing some nice progress with the planning of "Amelian Reasons Why You Will Lose." and I'm almost done with it. Soon I will be able to start the actual writing of the stuff here. I'm aiming for like, 9 hours of more content, which is the usual big size update around here, though of course it will take a long time to complete.

Next Saturday we'll most likely start talking about the writing and have actual in game screenshots, but for now, it's another week of wait.

Hey, I can post the new future Flowcharts of the Memories update too, that should be noice.

Three links down here, pick the place you like to view it

https://mega.nz/file/Fh4GXBYY#rBsUMdct_iJK3dDKoqCbVz0kINo2OZ86CSYTiRWVgvc

https://www.mediafire.com/view/dcwysjne6evrth9/2.8_completebiblity.png/file

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HrMFiDb2BcozvVvcjbT25sobjO766Beb/view?usp=sharing

Anyway, that was all, have a nice Saturday and see you on the next one!

What did you think of the the new "Day 1" of both Abby and Zoey?

Vote here!

(Poll will stay up until 18 of December)

How much did you like the new Halloween special, Gadgets VS Ghosts?

Vote here!

(Poll will stay up until 2 of December)

What am I doing?: Doing the initial planning for the new stuff in the Memories Route

Progress of the update: Rough writing:

Nothing

Animation:

Nothing

Music and Sound:

Nothing

[queerworldtravelers]

Sicilian Family Search

Aspra, Bagheria, Santa Flavia

We spent two months in Sicily looking for Krystal's family. Join us as we search the streets of Palermo in this 20 min long documentary. Transcript follows in English and Italian (Google Translated). Make some popcorn and be sure to leave a little space for processing:

In the spring of 2023 I spent 2 months in Sicily looking for clues about two lines of my family, Salvatore Pecoraro and Angeline Distefano. There is a dark pain that rests deep in the minds and hearts of my family. I also wrestle these demons. My calling as a genealogist is rooted in the relentless pursuit of understanding the unsettled waters in myself and others. This is a story about seeking, being wrong, and not giving up until the truth is revealed. This is healing through storytelling. 

Twenty one years ago my grandmother died on my father’s birthday. People recall my grandmother, Maryanne, as a rebellious teenager and unfit mother. She married my grandfather at the age of 16 and was three months pregnant when her mother and sister signed the marriage certificate as witnesses. My grandfather is listed as having no job and he would find himself in jail just a little over a year after their marriage leaving my grandmother with a new baby and pregnant with my father. The story continues from there and is rife with pain, more marriages, and unclear memories. On November 18, 1959 the Kenosha News paper ran a small excerpt on page 8: “Infant Son Dies Theodore John Mielke, the two-month-old son of Mr. and Mrs. LeRoy Mielke, died at Milwaukee Children’s Hospital Tuesday noon. The boy was born on Milwaukee Sept. 19…” and that is when things really came apart. All of the children were removed from the house. My father went to St. Amelian’s Orphanage and was raised by nuns and his brother and sisters we spread out through Milwaukee County. 

My great grandfather was named Salvatore Pecoraro and went by Theodore in the United States. He married Angeline Distefano, my great grandmother. My second great grandfather was Giuseppe Pecoraro born in 1876 near Bagheria, Sicily. In June of 2022 I found an image on Ancestry of Giuseppe Pecoraro and I messaged the woman who posted it. She shared so much including tips about a trip she and her husband made 20 years earlier to Aspra, Sicily where the family still lives today. Details and connections were fuzzy because of the time that had lapsed, but she shared what she could remember. There is an Antonella and you must go find Antonella Pecoraro in Aspra. The photograph listed everyone, including Giuseppe’s father and mother: Antonion Pecoraro and Maria Vitale. I carried this photograph through the streets of Palermo asking everyone I could think of if they could tell me anything. The Archivio de Stato was able to locate the birth record for Antonino Pecoraro. Days of digging led to death records for Antonino and a marriage record for him and Maria Vitale. I added details and began figuring things out. Giuseppe Pecoraro was born in 1876 and Antonino and Maria Vitale were married in 1884.

I plotted all of the clues I had and discovered the location of the Pecoraro family home in Aspra. I had an image of the front of the building with cars parked perpendicular to the building. The streets in Sicily are very narrow and I knew not every building would have this feature. Sure enough I found it. We packed up a day pack and took the train to Bagheria from Santa Flavia. Aspra is about a 30 min walk from the train and Google Maps took us on a wild adventure down an old dirt road.

I wanted to stop by the anchovy museum. Something told me there would be clues there and I was absolutely right. Images and artifacts spread around old boats and tools guided our way as we wandered through the displays of past lives in Sicily. There were no tickets to this museum and it also seemed like there may be no people either. After a bit we turned a corner and found a man and couple capturing a video in one of the rooms. We entered quietly and then were greeted with a string of Italian. Google Translate to the rescue! After a moment it became clear: I returned to the land of my ancestors and the gregarious fellow, Michelangelo, was the founder of the museum. And so began our afternoon of immersion into the history of Aspra, Sicily and the importance of returning to the land of your ancestors. Michelangelo and the other folks that day taught me about the importance of returning to the places where we are from with our hearts open. The memories of fishing, song, and creativity are imprinted in my bones and having the opportunity to spend an afternoon learning and engaging was truly a gift. Magic is waiting if we give it a chance to find us. 

We stopped in a small cafe by the sea for a snack before venturing to the door of the house of the Pecoraor’s of Aspra. Armed with a hand-written note explaining my mission in Italian: “I am a descendant of Giuseppe Pecoraro and Sheila Pecoraro shared information that helped me find you” we walked up to the door. Faded tape on the mailbox held the faint outline of “Pecoraro.” We found it and I rang the doorbell knowing full well that whoever answered was certainly not going to speak English. Gulp. The slats of the shutter opened and a suspicious woman grumbled. I slipped the note through the crack in the door and pulled up my trusty family photo. I do not speak Italian, but facial features communicate a thousand words and her face told me “WHAT?!” Just then Antonella came out from the side door with her daughter. On their way out and through broken English we shared that I am a descendant of Giuseppe Pecoraro and I have come here to say hello. Antonella had to go and said we should go inside.  

Through gestures and Italian commands we were directed to sit at the kitchen table. One second. From the back of the house emerged an 85 year old man in a fishing hat and flannel. Time to get out Google Translate. Except he only spoke SIcilian…which is not Italian, not even close. We were able to suss out that this gentleman is the son of Giuseppe Pecoraro and who am I? Our dear friend Janel in Rome said to call anytime we got into trouble. It was time to phone a friend. Janel was on speaker, the daughter was shouting in Italian, and the father was pleading with Mary in Sicilian. “They are saying they do not know a Salvatore Pecoraro.” 

Absolutely devastated, we walked back up to the Bagheria train stop as the sun set over the orange orchards. Just as we settled in the Pecoraro family from Aspra called and let me know they were IN Porticello. What?! The whole family drove to Porticello and they found us at the bar. They sat and explained the family tree again, and again. The family was right, the Giuseppe in Aspra was not related to me.  What I believed to be true, based on clues from other family trees I found on Ancestry, was not true at all. I had spent weeks in Palermo looking for the wrong family which was a crushing realization. There is no way Giuseppe of 1876 is the same Giuseppe. 

Mary pulled a muscle in her back and the next morning the only place she was going was the couch. I absolutely had to get to the city hall in Bagheria to pull the birth record for Salvatore and Giuseppe Pecoraro. It was the only piece of evidence that would lead to the truth. I arrived at what appeared to be the tax office which was crowded with people. Then I walked across town to another building that may have been a record office. Nope, that wasn’t it either. A really nice lady directed me back to the tax office. I stood across the street and watched the total chaos. Imagine the DMV only in a language you do not understand. I typed a message on my phone “I am hoping to find my great grandfather’s record” and walked up to the security guard. He yelled a few things at me in Italian and I just smiled and held up my phone. Frustrated, he pointed to a blue door across the room and I recognized “Anagrafe” - this was it. The door was closed and the waiting room was filled with shouting children. Five weeks in Sicily taught me to just open the door and that is exactly what I did. 

An interesting man was sitting at a very messy desk punching keys in his keyboard with his index fingers. He was shielded behind a towering stack of paper and motioned for me to enter. I showed him my phone message and handed him a hand-writted family tree that included the details for the people I knew were related to me: Salvatore Pecoraro, Giuseppe Pecoraro, and his wife Maria Giagnate. He took the paper and left me in the room alone. I sat amongst the stacks of record requests and prayed. I don’t usually pray, but weeks in Sicily made me think the only people who would answer me right now would be listening for prayers. The man returned and indicated that he found all of the records, including marriage records. Follow him. So I did. He took me back into the stacks and there were all of the scripted records from 147 years ago. I cried. We used Google Translate to communicate and he indicated he would make official copies of everything. I went back to the office and waited. When he returned with all of the records he excitedly pointed at the name of Maria Giante’s father: Cosimo - that was his name too. How could I ever thank this person? He suggested a photo with the original record book, and then a selfie together, and then a hug. And that is when I realized Cosimo was eager to help for reasons that may not have been apparent to me, a married lesbian.

I am grateful to the Pecoraro family in Aspra for taking hours to explain that their Giusseppe was not my Giusseppe. This experience has grounded me in the importance of primary sources and generated a great appreciation for documenting and telling our ancestral stories for younger generations.

A story that hadn’t been told in my family was that of Salvatore Pecoraro’s wife, my great grandmother Angeline Distefano. The search for her began in Phoenix, Arizona. There we spent time with my great Aunt Janet and she shared stories of her mother. Was she adopted? Where was she born? What was her story? While we were in Berlin I had a phone call with Aunt Janet and she remembered a name: Emma Gioia. She remembered that her mother said this was her name in Italy and that she remembered living in a big house as a child. A quick search on Ancestry immediately revealed a ship manifest with an Emma Gioia traveling with her step mother, Giovanna Mercurio from S. Flavia. From Berlin we booked two weeks in Santa Flavia, Sicily and committed to searching for Emma. 

Upon arrival in Santa Flavia I went to the city hall. The records are indexed online and I did not find anything for an Emma Gioia born January 12, 1912, but maybe there is something I did not know. On our way to the city hall we passed an old abandoned building with “Orfanotrofio Pezzillo” scrawled below a statue of the Virgin Mary. At city hall we were connected with several ladies who pulled down the 1912 record book. Nope not here. What about the Orphanage? Did they have the records at city hall? The lady responded “what orphanage?” Ah, we left the cookies we brought and went on our way. 

A few days later the owner of the local bar caught wind of my mission and said he would take me to city hall to meet with his friend Nancy. Walking into the tiny city hall with the local bar owner turned many heads. I can only imagine. We walked through the familiar doors and knocked on the very door I had been to just days before. Nancy was the same lady I spoke to just a few days earlier. She still had no answers, but this time she shared that I should go to the records office in Palermo. I went to Palermo; I went to the church; I sat outside of the orphanage and begged Emma Gioia to come out of the woodwork; I asked our hosts who connected us to an older gentleman who knows everyone in Porticello, he asked all of the elders if they remembered a Giovanna Mercurio or a little adopted girl.

I am not one to give up. I will keep looking until I find a clue, but this was proving to be a monumental task. On our last morning I stood at the train station in Santa Flavia and accepted that I would have to leave without finding a single trace of Emma Gioia. As the priest repeated to me: mi dispiace (I am sorry). Just then, in the minutes before the train arrived to take us to Palermo, a second cousin posted Emma Gioia’s adoption record to a family Facebook group. The title of the document: “Istituto dei Trovatelli”, Foundling Institute. A foundling is an abandoned child of unknown parents. Child abandonment was so widespread in Sicily that the churches installed wheels that allowed mothers to set their baby in the wheel outside of the church and turn the baby inside without ever being seen. My great grandmother was abandoned as an infant in Palermo, Sicily. She was adopted a year later by Angelo Distefano and Giovanna Mercurio. Six years later they traveled to the US and Emma was listed on the ship manifest as having no family in Italy, the step-daughter, and paid her own passage. 

This is only the beginning of a great unraveling of how my grandmother’s inability to be a fit mother was tied to my great grandmother’s experience being abandoned at birth. Where do the demons rest in this story that has never been told? 

[daily-tropes-provider]

TROPE: "I entered the world of a novel! Seeing how the young male lead suffers, I'll make sure to take care of him until he meets his female lead! But... why does he seem so attached to me?!"

MANHWAS:

• Author of My Own Destiny

• The Little Princess and Her Monster Prince

• My BFF is a Tyrant in Training

• This Villainess Wants a Divorce!

[thedevilliers]

so there’s not like. familial beef between the devilliers and the grimalldis right? so why does amelia have a stick up her ass 😭

hi!! nope, there's no longstanding problems. amelia and max just clash HEAVILY. max said himself (to margot, not to amelia) that she reminds him of his mother. max/helena don't have the best relationship ever, so... amelia/max weren't going to be bffs either.

amelia's problem is his attitude, the grimalldi's public perception, how chrisemi was leaked, how gardanians are 🤨🖐 about chris... u kno. she blames them 😃 let amelia be 😤 thats my mom

[manhwa-animated-cover]

[creativeliza]

Getting ready for the season opener pool party with AquaGym Fitness. In addition to leading the cool down with AquaYoga, I’m also filling in for some partner drills. Who’s coming? #aquagymfitness #aquagymsummerkickoff2019 #letsgetwet #aquayoga #aquatherapy #waterfitness #poolparty #amelianational #fernandinabeach (at Fernandina Beach, Florida) https://www.instagram.com/p/ByuusGHH_Jr/?igshid=ph8ltg2o2zzk

[summerhouserealty-blog]

🏌🏽‍♀️🌴This view coming soon! Relaxing golf views, setting sun silhouettes 🙌🏽 #amelianational #amenities #viewproperty #floridaliving #fernandinabeach 365k 🍦#summerhouserealty (at Fernandina Beach, Florida) https://www.instagram.com/p/ByWe5qUn6_q/?igshid=17zv95olsqkxp

[dicenquedicen]

Y sin embargo (x)

[ameliaevedaily]

“She got both feet on the ground and she's burning it down she got her head in the clouds and she's not backing down this girl is on fire she's walking on fire” • • • • • • • • • • • #ameliaeve #ameliaeveedit #ameliaeveedits #fanaccout #blymanor #jamietaylor #jamieclayton #jamieclaytonedit #jamiethegardener #thehaunting #thehauntingofblymanor #thehauntingofhillhouse #actress #spoilertv #damie #damieedit #amelianation (en Argentina) https://www.instagram.com/p/CHqc19_A6OJ/?igshid=1it7uro0hrrev

[theisisnicolemag]

The IN Magazine Issue 7, F 2018