#she said that like. one or two small studies don't necessarily mean definitive fact

[tangledinredstring]

I struggle to get my head around the religious lore of Fantasy High, sometimes - I suspect I haven't studied the correct subjects at school, but I do my best! But I will put some of my thoughts here, to see if pinning them to the conspiracy board helps me connect the dots.

So, I had this thought during the last episode, and I've seen it mentioned in other people's posts, but it was a bit strange that the dead rage god could be named in the circle, but Cassandra's name had been updated to be Cassandra, even though that definitely was not her name at the time. And there's a couple of explanations, that might be at play here, or a combination of the two.

The first is that Adaine was translating from a Proto-Sylvan language, so it wasn't like she was reading the English/Common words where it said "Susan/Cassandra". My thought it was more like she saw the rune meaning the combined concept of Mystery/Night and understood that to mean the god she knows as Cassandra.

The other explanation that came to me is that although the end result was the same, and possibly the cause leading up to it, what actually happened to the two of them is not the same, or at least I don't think so.

As I understand it, Ankarna died due to a lack of worshippers. That doesn't necessarily mean that it was done maliciously, although the fact that this appears to be the only written record of the name, especially since they are part of a pantheon of gods that are still worshipped, certainly points to someone going through after the fact and removing the name from history books and religious texts does point to that. There is a difference between knowing the god exists and believing in that god, but if no-one cared, the name would have been left in documents as part of the Giant pantheon, and there would be a possibility of worship if someone (like Fig) felt that actually, a god of summer and rage did fit their personal beliefs. But that was removed as a possibility, by parties unknown, so that they would be completely forgotten.

What happened to Cassandra was different, in that immediately prior to the Nightmare King incident she did have worshippers. They had been swayed by the church of Gallicaea into believing they needed to ritually destroy her previous name, but they did exist, so she didn't just fade out of existence like Ankarna. And it was the ritual that makes the difference here; before her followers could ritually destroy the name, she ritually changed it to the Nightmare Kings crown to save herself. Since big ritual magic was involved, and again when she came back to being Cassandra, I don't think it would be out of the question that reality could just be remade to reflect the new names.

TL:DR - I think too much about this.

I had one last thought, only tangentially related. I've seen people saying they feel like Porter is urging Fig to worship Ankarna specifically; because he is Genasi, and because he has some religious backing as a paladin, and with his feelings about rage, it makes sense that he is a follower of this god. But - perhaps I have read Small Gods too many times - that just doesn't make sense to me. If Ankarna had even one believer, let alone if he worships because his ancestors did, Ankarna would not be dead.

[melancholymiiist]

blue velvet | semi eita x fem oc | mlist

i. cafe endo

           Hayakawa Kaemi was a muse to one's imagination. With her coffee-dipped curls and eyes of a doe she lingered between worlds so effortlessly and efficiently, she was a daydream on a summer's day. She was a tranquil soul, a hopeless romantic at heart. Her words were eloquent as ever, and she spoke quite a lot when required. In the context of the plain atmosphere of Shiratorizawa she appeared like a figure out of an allegory or a reverie, both sophisticated and enigmatic. Regardless, it was hard for her to find company–worthy company. The circle of faces she shared the greatest familiarity with was small to say the least: her close friend, uncle, co-worker, and employer (the last one not so much)

The Thursdays at Cafe Endo were by far the most serene. This was the place where Hayakawa Kaemi worked part-time after class hours. Pretty chic, yet nothing fancy, the place offered a warm ambiance. The lights were warm and dim, reflecting upon perfectly cleaned wooden tables. The tranquility this place provided was something Kaemi anticipated after a hard day in the academy, so she allowed herself to wander a little in her endless thoughts while she worked. 

There never was an extreme flow of customers, which granted her a lot of spare time to read or do her studies behind the counter. The atmosphere offered a sense of endless serenity. She loved her work. Additionally, the owner of the place—an old lady named Endo Yoko—allowed Hayakawa to choose her own music while working her shift. Yoko was a lovely lady in her late 60's, despite being very superstitious, she was wise as her age suggests. 

Kaemi grabbed her phone to change the song and the speakers filled the place with soft notes of "Between the bars" by Elliott Smith. "Kaemi-chan!" Mrs.Endo called, making her look up from her phone, "Is everything alright Yoko-san?"

"Those punks came again today," she said, pretty bothered by the visit, however Kaemi didn't necessarily know who she was referring to and called 'punks'— what an old-fashioned insult, she smiled to herself. Those 'punks', have come to the cafe before, in fact they come here almost daily to talk to Mrs.Endo about renting the little stage they had in the corner, right beside the restroom door, for their performance. That's everything the owner has told her by far.

"Mhm, did you decline again?"

"Yes! I told them my cafe isn't suited for their satanist music–"

"Sorry, what?" The girl couldn't contain herself anymore, she laughed at Endo's traditional approach to such matters. "Do you know their names?"

"I don't know what they call themselves. But I'm almost certain the two of them went by the name Kimura," the old lady thought. So there were two of them.

"Why not let them, though? I mean, you rented the stage to some amaeture musicians before, plus if they come every morning, they must be persistent and serious about the payment." The cafe hosted live music evenings sometimes, and Endo Yoko surely made fortunes out of those events, what were her arguments?

"But they are kids! They look like their parents barely give them pocket money! Can you believe this? They will either destroy this place or defraud me." She sighed disappointedly, Yoko didn't have an ounce of belief in this generation. 

"You need to stop being so uptight about this stuff, Endo-san,what if they're good? That can definitely boost our sales, there's barely anyone nowadays, haven't you noticed?" Kaemi observed how the old lady's eyes lingered on the empty polished tables and how her wrinkled lips let out a little sigh of defeat.

"Surely, you're right, but..." she trailed when she noticed the young girl's stare of disapproval at the upcoming comments and something in her mind decided to relent, "alright, I will call them tomorrow morning." And then she left to the little stuffed room she called her office, where she usually slept or read old magazines until someone would inform her that they were out of sweet rice balls.

Kaemi came home that day well-rested and done with her academic work.. It was Thursday, and Thursday always meant movie night— just Kaemi, her uncle, and a movie's dreamy company. When she stepped into their shared apartment she heard someone rustling through the cabinets. The feeling of her bare feet being enveloped by the threads of their soft persian rug made her drowsy. 

"You came later than usual," Izumi—the said uncle—met her in the living room, he was the culprit of the noise. He grabbed something from a box of movies.

"Had to clean the restroom," she let a yawn fall from her lips, "Reservoir dogs, seriously? We watched it last month."

"Okay? We'll watch it again," he looked back at her, raising a brow. "Come on, I made some tea and brought you coffee pudding." 

"Okay, let me wash up first." Of course she had enough coffee pudding at work, since Endo lets her eat anything during her breaks, but the thought of her uncle picking up something from the store, taking his time and slight effort just for a smile to break on her face made her grateful, and she would later eat it with the feeling of such content that it would make Izumi proud of himself.

She walked to the bathroom, managing her actions faster this time, not to make her uncle wait too long. She splashed some cold water on her face and felt the traces of today wash out immediately, leaving her clean. Kaemi changed her clothes and sat on the couch to see the older Hayakawa completely immersed in the film, "You could've waited," she blinked at him, to which he just hummed and continued. 

₊ ⊹

"God bless your parents, Nana," Fujiwara Seishu closed his eyes with relief and leaned further on the dusty couch of the 'studio'.

"Seriously, tell them we're grateful for the money," Semi Eita eyed the girl who seemed so proud of herself for taking matters in her own hands. "Oh I'm glad I could be some help guys!" she smiled.

"Aren't you gonna thank me?! I was the one who talked to that lady every day!" Ryō, Nana's twin brother, chimed in.

"Yeah yeah, whatever," his attempts of feeling included were brushed off by Seishu.

"I wonder what made her change her mind," Semi said thoughtfully, adjusting the strings on his guitar, a stunning maple-colored Fender Telecaster. 

"She couldn't stand my intense charm so she gave in, obviously," Ryōta gave himself a mental pat on the shoulder for such effort.

"Please, you sound so stupid right now," his sister snickered.

This group of four had poured their whole being into this little project. It's been a year since they have come together as a band. "Blue Velvet" was their name. They played all kinds of things: folk rock, shoegaze, indie rock and so on. They had a few of their own whimsical love songs that were written mostly by Nana and Seishu, since these two had the talent to pour the depths of their hearts onto paper.

Kimura Nana was the vocalist of the group, and the only female member. Just like Polyhymnia she would sing the most poetic hymns and put people under her spell of talent. She was dedicated to her art, therefore she was outstanding at it. Her brother Ryō, the drummer, was the invisible string that held the group together with his antics and feverish demeanor. They were so different from each other, yet completed one another greatly. Nana would usually appear in clothes as white and innocent as her soul, she would wear dresses as lacy as ancient veils. Her twin, on the other hand, was very random in his choice of clothing, putting on whatever suited his mood more, irrespective of whether the pieces matched each other or not. They both shared similarity in the pale faces, narrow fox-like eyes and charcoal hair–although Nana kept her long as ever, and Ryō preferred his buzz-cut.

The twins' parents were both Corporate Lawyers, meaning their job surely provided well. They had an undying love for their children, which reflected upon the twins' lives. This time around their parents financially helped the band to rent the place they were so fond of, because the owner did charge them more than they were able to pay.

The third member, Fujiwara Seishu, was the bassist. Calm and collected. Every event they held was so far organized and thought through by him. He made plans, arranged band meetings and practices. The other three trusted him with everything, if they ever struggled or had the slightest bit of self-doubt, Seishu was always there to help them with their hardships. He wore his ash-brown hair in a mullet. His features were set but delicate. Most people avoided talking to him since he showed no interest in talking to anyone either. But if you really got to know him, you would see the charming aspects of his being, which are masked by his modesty. 

And the last of the group was Semi Eita, the skilled guitarist. Semi Eita was a man of many talents. He also happened to be the setter of Shiratorizawa's volleyball team and share the court with the one and only Ushijima Wakatoshi, a prodigy, who possesses exceptional talent and popularity amongst his peers. He was proud of his position in the team, but something inside of him always had a constant longing for something greater than that. Something that will, perhaps, strike his life with a deeper meaning, a sense of the picturesque. And because music gave him satisfactory results and painted his morbid existence with the hues of vibrant emotions, he found solace in the freedom it provided via melodies and tunes. 

The ash-blonde had prominent features like his bassist friend, but his eyes were sharp as a knife's edge and brows furrowed, jaw defined. He stood tall, his shoulders broad and slightly slouched from playing his guitar, but his physique always healthy and fit. 

"Ryō, you must've really gotten on her nerves if she finally gave in," the ash-blonde chuckled. "You guys give me no credit, it's almost unfair," the younger twin frowned, "you haven't even said a word about these posters I made!" Ryō held up a stack of paper, offering one poster to Eita, quite proud of his creation.

The guitarist was puzzled to say the least, the drawing looked like it was made by a five-year-old, with all the crayons smeared on paper and an unrecognizable silhouette of a man and the text that read "Blue Velvet: this Sunday at Endo's Cafe!"  "And what the hell is this supposed to be?" He questioned.

"That's me on the drums you idiot!" Ryota snatched the paper and looked at Semi as if the thought he put behind those messy crayon lines was so obvious to everyone. "It's called abstract art."

"I call it shit," Semi laughed at Ryo's hurt expression. "You're cruel, Ei," younger Kimura clenched his heart.

"We should get back to practise, guys, Semi is skipping volleyball because of this, let's have some respect," Seishu reminded, grabbing his bass.

Somewhere in the corner of their studio, lying on the carpeted floor, Seishu's phone received a notification form their band account: 

kaemi hayakawa (@hayaemii_) started following you!

₊ ⊹

"Look!" Masuyo Mutsu, Kaemi's only friend in the academy, exclaimed pointing at the announcement wall in the Cafe, "Did you know about this? Blue Velvet at Endo's this Sunday..." she read.

"Obviously, I work here," Kaemi trailed, eyeing the green-eyed girl, Mutsu's curls bounced as she beamed happily, "I didn't know you were into music."

"Oh I'm not, but I heard someone from our year is in this band," she stated.

"Really? Never heard of them before," Kaemi grabbed the towels to dry the cups. Her shift was over for the day, and as promised earlier Mrs. Yoko talked to the 'punks' from before and made arrangements. This morning a guy with a buzz-cut and an odd attitude came with some posters and practically begged Endo to put them on the announcement wall.

"Will you come?" Masuyo looked at her friend, who was working behind the counter, with anticipation. 

"I'm not sure..." Kaemi doesn't work on the weekends, but Mrs. Yoko said she wouldn't charge her employees for events held at her place and the thought of free tickets sounded very appealing, but the thought of sleeping early on a Sunday afternoon overpowered.

"Come on, if you go, Mrs. Endo wouldn't mind me tagging along for free, plus I've heard some people form the volleyball team will come." Hayakawa knew her friend pretty well to understand the goal of her actions, she was almost certain her friend developed a tiny crush on the team's captain. 

"Are you for real?" the hazel-eyed girl deadpanned. "I mean...It wouldn't hurt to come, right?" The curly girl smiled. 

"Alright, do they have any socials? I'd like to check them out first." And so Mutsu grabbed her friend's phone to type in the username.