#let’s see if this gets anywhere

[hyperthermiatapes]

Tom Riddle Had Lupus: A Headcanon

First, I would like to state this has very little if any canon evidence, which is why it is a headcanon. If you have thoughts on it feel free to leave a note, but you must be respectful, especially if you disagree. I highly doubt anyone will even see this, but what I say still stands.

#1: How I Came Up With This Idea

I, like many people, write fanfiction occasionally whether just for myself or myself and others if I ever post it. I had started a new project that includes Tom Riddle as a teenager and I wanted to incorporate a headcanon I saw. The headcanon stated that Tom Riddle is awfully human, he gets sick often, is always too hot, things like that.

With this thought in mind I started digging around on the internet for something that would cause this. Naturally, I came across autoimmune diseases and immediately rolled with it as someone who has a family history of autoimmune. So, this is where this entire thing started.

#2: Why Lupus?

Lupus, like a large majority of autoimmune diseases, has a genetic component involved in it. This is perfect for someone like Tom Riddle because his family has a long history of inbreeding which is known to heighten the risks of certain diseases.

There is still a lot unknown about lupus, but there is some evidence to back up triggers relating to the disease.

Causes/triggers are:

Genetic factors: there are common genes found in people with lupus that are passed down and heighten the risk of an individual getting lupus. People with parents that have lupus are also more at risk than they would be otherwise.

Hormones: lupus most commonly affects women, so it is believed the hormone estrogen could have something to do with it due to woman having higher levels. Woman also commonly have more lupus symptoms before periods and while pregnant. However, no connection has been found between the two, so researchers have moved onto different hormones.

Environment: people more likely to get lupus through genes and hormones can have it triggered by their environment. Again, scientists aren’t 100% sure what environmental factors could cause lupus, but they do have theory’s. The most backed are: Ultraviolet light, infections, silica dust. Other possible factors: medicines, emotional stress and anything that can damage/tire the body (surgery, injuries, birth).

I will not be going over hormones due to little research and the fact Tom Riddle is a biological male and has lower levels of estrogen. Men are also susceptible to lupus, even if they’re less likely to get it.

Genes:

I’m going to mention how magic seems to work first before I dig into genetics because I will be mentioning Merope Gaunt/Riddle.

We know witches and wizards have a faster healing rate than muggles, and that can easily be drawn back to magic. Especially since healing magic exists, so we know magic is capable of it. This means that a witch and wizards magic naturally will heal them.

Magic also responds to a persons emotions and desires. In the Philosophers Stone Harry mentions his hair growing back when he really wanted it to and apparating onto the school roof when he desperately wanted to get away from Dudley. Theres also spells like the patronus and unforgivables that rely entirely on emotion and intent.

Now, let’s dig into Merope and also the Gaunts in general.

The Gaunts in Meropes time were incredibly inbred and they were described as nearly being squibs. They did still have magic, yes, but they couldn’t wield it like the majority of other witches and wizards. It was there, but not easily accessible.

I think this could be linked back to an autoimmune disease, especially with how Merope, a witch, died from childbirth (I’ll go into this in a bit, so bare with me). If a witch and wizards magic will naturally heal them, then it surely did for the Gaunts as well. That means that when a Gaunt got lupus their magic immediately was put towards repairing the damage their own immune system is wrecking upon their body.

This quickly becomes a problem because the magical reserves for a Gaunt is decreasing the more and more they inbreed. That means a larger and larger percentage of their magic will be put towards healing them. And yes, not every Gaunt will get lupus, however, their magic reserves are dwindling regardless.

Now, I do believe Merope had lupus, mainly based off of her dying after giving birth to Tom. Let me explain.

Lupus is known to put a person at higher risk of pregnancy complications, especially if they have kidney problems, high blood pressure and blood problems (which is common because lupus can cause anemia).

A person with lupus is immediately at higher risk of all these things, especially during lupus flares where the immune system is actively attacking healthy tissue.

Lupus flare triggers are:

Emotional stress

Physical stress to the body

Infections/illness

Exhaustion

Exposure to sunlight

I assume we all know what happened to Merope after she got pregnant, but I’ll recap. After she got pregnant (physical stress) she released Tom Riddle Sr. from the love potions which led to him leaving her (emotional stress), and her being left out on the streets (sunlight/exhaustion) due to being disowned.

This creates a scenario where she is at extreme risk of lupus flares and anemia (she doesn’t have money to eat enough and is already at risk due to lupus). The stress alone will also raise her blood pressure.

Now, these circumstances would typically lead to a miscarriage or still birth, but this is where magic comes in. I believe Merope wanted her child to live so much that her magic (no matter how little) went towards keeping the fetus alive. However, by the time she gave birth she was so magically exhausted that she didn’t have enough magic to heal her, and many of her organs were probably already shut down/shutting down.

I mentioned how if a person has a parent with lupus they’re immediately at risk, this is where the genetic factor comes from.

Environment:

Tom Riddle Jr. now has the proper genes to get lupus, however, they need to be triggered to become lupus. I believe this could have easily happened with Tom living in an orphanage.

We’ll start with ultraviolet light (the sun), growing up in an orphanage I’m sure there were times Tom was forced to go outside for prolonged periods of time. Yes, he’s known to be a bookworm and stick to himself, but that doesn’t mean he never went outside.

It’s clear he definitely did from how he took those kids to the cave, meaning he went to the seaside often and found it, or they went on trips to the beach occasionally and he found it. This means he was exposed to ultraviolet light. We also know that at Hogwarts after exams kids are usually forced outside for a while to enjoy the weather (Philosophers Stone).

Infections can also trigger lupus, and while Tom has magic, he is still young and I believe he could’ve gotten one. Orphanages are not the most sanitary, and most don’t have enough money and resources to care for their charges properly. This means that infection/sicknesses are common ground.

Tom could have very well had an immunity to infections while younger without lupus, but I wouldn’t rule the possibility out.

The final trigger that is backed is silica dust. Now, this is a little trickier to look into because I’m lazy and the internet hates me when it comes to looking into Britain. However, I found some stuff.

Silica dust has been used for centuries for construction, and illnesses caused by it only began to be documented around the early 20th century, the time when Tom was a child. That means many of the buildings in London probably were made using silica dust.

This typically wouldn’t be a problem since Tom isn’t the one making the buildings or mining, but WWII definitely brought about a unique situation. Tom may not have been in the muggle world during the Blitz, but the buildings were still demolished and he definitely would have inhaled some silica dust.

Now, let’s go into the other possible reasons that aren’t properly backed.

The types of medications mentioned in my research are things I highly doubt Tom would come in contact with, so that trigger is immediately null.

Emotional stress can be backed by the fact Tom is living in an orphanage of all places. He doesn’t have a proper support system, he’s raising himself and he’s fully responsible for his own wellbeing. That isn’t including the fact he grew up during WWII which is also highly stressful. I don’t think I have to add more to this.

The final possible trigger is things that tire/damage the body. I can’t really think of anything since, y’know, he’s a magical child that doesn’t get sick often until he gets lupus. He’s also not going to be going through any surgeries (hopefully, but the 1920s—1940s are a wild time).

This concludes why I think Tom Marvolo Riddle had the autoimmune disease lupus, thank you for reading.

Resources:

Lupus

Lupus (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus)

What causes lupus?

Lupus and Pregnancy

What is a lupus flare?

[baph0meat]

this is the Gaza Family Funds Directory, a spreadsheet of palestinian families' gofundmes, sorted by the amount of support they've received thus far. please choose as many as you can from this list to donate to, even just a dollar.

in addition, the sheet also contains a link to a gdrive folder with designs for flyers/stickers that you can print out and place in your community. if you truly can't spare anything directly now, please consider doing this so you can get these links in front of people who can donate!

it also remains urgent to keep the people of palestine connected in the face of communication blackouts; please contribute esims! it is very easy to do and is fully explained on this page: https://gazaesims.com/

if you cannot afford the price of an esim individually, there's a campaign currently running on twitter to which you can contribute whatever you can afford ($1, $3, whatever) to a larger pool which will then be used to buy esims collectively. there's also the crips for esims for gaza fundraiser, which operates similarly. there are probably more than this! i chose these two for this post bc they are currently active + both have easily vettable proof of donation (screencaps in the qrts of the twitter campaign, financial accountability document in the crips for esims campaign.)

finally, look into local grassroots organizations in your area so you can stay in the loop on protest activity. many such orgs have accounts on instagram. if you are in the us, looking for local chapters of the PSL, the palestinian youth movement, or national students for justice in palestine can be a good start.

please, please, please: pick something here and do it. i know it can feel overwhelming and there may be an urge to tell yourself that you'll reblog this now and get around to it later. instead please choose one thing. even if it's just finding orgs in your area and following them so you'll be notified the next time there's a protest. even if it's just downloading the flyer designs and looking up a print shop where you can run off a stack of copies. make a decision to do something tangible right now, even if it's just a first step.

[suntails]

i want the vanrouges to go on a trip TOGETHER

[fjordfolk]

this is absolutely not professional advice but there's something about trust and handling and cooperative care that just boils down to whether your dog knows you have their best interest in mind. it's not just trusting your bond or them being calm or whatever, it's about experience. the time your dog gets a bone or a stick or a pez dispenser stuck between their teeth ideally shouldn't be the first time you poke your fingers in their mouth and they shouldn't be running away from you thinking you're trying to take it from them. there's something about your dog knowing not to freak out because parts of this experience is not new to them, and it's going to be fine.

[scoriarose]

Baby that is not an enrichment activity

Baby... Baby no you... Child...

I know you like to play with crinkly things but...

Aaaand into the messenger bag she goes.

[lemongogo]

sry i dont know what 2 draw anymore T_T . elendira portrait #999

[unashamedly-enthusiastic]

My phone is glitching

it's under warranty so I have to take my beloved little looking glass, this physical extension of myself, wipe every trace it has ever known me from it's memory, put it in an unloving little plastic bag, and ship it off, cold, alone, without ever knowing if it will even be the same device that is returned to me

What I'm saying is I don't think my little emergency phone can support tumblr and this may actually mean thr queue might clear out

[lightoutage]

PLEASE for the love of GOD, LET AMY BE GIRLY IN STH 4

[stephsageek]

[erinwantstowrite]

Are you safe from the spider yet?? Have you become spider-erin??

he's currently in a cup trapped underneath a frog shaped, child-painted piggybank that I got from goodwill a couple years back. he'll be like that until morning when i can get my designated spider-getters to let him outside. he's in his containment unit until further notice

[0xeyedaisy]

Aw man...

[possamble]

I absolutely really need to be writing anything but random ideas while I procrastinate and this is so awful rough bc I literally wrote it on my phone in one sitting while avoiding work but

Do you see my vision. Her Nosy Bitch Syndrome would actually be good for him when they've both chilled out a little in the postcanon.

[avellanas-nutty-empire]

Imagine being mad at clavis bc he won't let you suck his dick.

He knows he will melt into a puddle the SECOND you start and that is precisely why he can NEVER let you suck his dick ;-; he would get too subby he doesn't want you to see his 'pathetic' side like that. But I'm just imagining knitting or sewing up some sort of clavis shaped plush to hug and spend all your attention on instead of him when ur mad at him like this.

Clavis: babe plz why u mad? Real clavis is right here stop hugging that stupid substitute

Mc: lemmi suck ur dick and I'll get rid of it

BC honestly he made you that clay figure so you wouldent be lonely when he's gone but when he's NOT gone you DONT need it bc the REAL him is RIGHT THERE. He would get SO JEALOUS. But damn the man just WONT let you suck his dick so you have resorted to drastic measures. And he doesn't know what to do about it

[mushroominaforest]

Guys guys okay so about just under five years ago I, (with the help of my brother) came out to my parents as maybe not quite as straight as they thought i'd be.

And today like half an hour ago my mom gave me a back to school gift, (highlighters, but pastel and cat themed I love them so much) but inside the bag there was also this little sticker that says "love is love" and guys i am this close to crying rn

I've been trying to work up the courage to ask her if I can buy myself a rainbow pride flag for my room (for like three years lmao) and I feel like I might actually have a tiny bit of courage to do that now???

(I probably won't lol, I'll wait until I move out for that but still. I dont know. I feel like maybe I have a chance? Maybe she'd say I'm allowed to?)

[scorpiusmalfoylovesoscarwilde]

headcanon that scorpius was a sick child and was in and out of hospital constantly, perhaps related to astoria's blood curse but not directly. his immune system isnt very strong, and everytime he gets sick they're terrified that it's the blood curse but also whatever else it could be, because it's always so sudden and so intense and they call healers over to the house who recommend this delirious feverish 4 year old is hospitalised immediately, and you'd think it'd get easier to some extent because they'd be used to it, but everytime they feel like this is it, this is the time he'll walk in to the hospital and not walk out again