#the aunt thing has been debunked later but still

[theparanormalperiodical]

French Nuns And Newspaper Clippings: The Real Stories That Inspired The Exorcist (1973)

The year is 1632.

We are in a remote commune in Northern France. The situation is bleak: an outbreak of plague has started snatching lives again, and King Louis XIII is ordering the walls around Loudon to be torn down. The locals are more divided than ever.

But things are about to get worse.

Way worse.

The local nuns are beginning to act strange.

It started when one young nun claimed she had a vision of a dead priest. Suddenly, all 17 clergywomen are reporting similar visions. They then begin cussing, shouting, and displaying more and more aggressive behaviour.

17th century nuns do not act like this.

Oh no, this was something unholy. This was demonic possession.

331 years later, this little-known historic tale would feature as one of the main inspirations behind horror’s most iconic movie.

Yep, the film that still gives you nightmares of young girls walking down stairs crustacean-style is based on a true story. But it’s worse than that. It’s based on two tales of alleged possession, several real-life people, and a demon many still worship today.

*nopes the f*ck out*

Let’s Talk About The Exorcist

Let me just clarify something: the exorcist is not the creepy, possessed ‘lil girl. An exorcist is a person that performs exorcisms - so here, it’s the priests.

The Exorcist was originally a book written by William Peter Blatty. Adapted to a film series (and a TV show) starting 2 years later, they both shared a close plotline. Well, to begin with, anyway.

A statue of a demon is found in an archaeological dig of northern Iraq. The discovery unleashes a mysterious spirit/demon/god called Pazuzu. On the other side of the world, a young girl begins exhibiting strange behaviour. Regan, a typical 12-year-old American girl, refuses to eat or sleep and becomes aggressive. All the while, strange things happen around the house.

The doctors provide no answers to her behaviour, so the mother of the supposedly-ill child turns to religion instead. She finds help in the form of a priest who is experiencing a crisis of faith and consequently doesn’t believe this is demonic possession. But a couple chats with the girl convinces him that yep, she’s bunged up with a demon. So, he asks the bishop if he can perform an exorcism. A priest fresh off that dig in Iraq is shipped over and they get to work. During the final exorcism, one of the priests opts to save the possessed girl by asking the demon to possess them instead. The possessed priest chucks himself out of the window and as he falls to his death, regains his faith in God.

The Exorcist is one of the most famous horror films - if not, the most iconic - of all time, from the traumatic FX makeup of a possessed Regan to sequences ‘80s America wasn’t ready for.

But The Exorcist was not a stand alone film. Contrary to popular belief, what followed was 4 (soon to be 5) sequels ‘n’ prequels that unravelled a deep, dramatic plotline. There’s a reason we don’t hear about them.

In the following films we see the aftermath of Regan’s exorcism and emerging doubts about whether she was in fact really possessed. Political and theological themes rise to the surface, looking deeper at the priests that conducted the exorcism rather than the victim. At the same time we take part in an archeological dig, meet a serial killer, and get a front row seat to a battle during WW2.

It’s a wild ride. But this ride is brimming with reality.

Blatty directly cited inspiration from a number of sources, most famously the 1949 demonic possession of Roland Doe that he first heard when studying at Georgetown University. But he has also claimed that many of the characters who navigated the possession of Regan were based on real people.

Take Father Merrin, the exorcist leading the exorcism: he was based on a British archaeologist that excavated the caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls (ancient manuscripts written in Hebrew) had been found.

But the nature of the exorcism that filled out a majority of the film were informed by the work for Father William S Bowdern, a Jesuit priest who exorcised Roland Doe himself.

However, it wasn’t just the mortals that were inspired by real, historic figures.

Pazuzu Is An Actual Worshipped Demon

Without Pazuzu, there would be no possession. Without Pazuzu, there would be no exorcism, nor the need for an exorcist.

We only see the demon in flashes - but these moments inherit a history that takes us back as far as 3500BC. Pazuzu was an ancient Mesopotamian or Assyro-Babylonian god that was the king of the demons of the wind. He brought storms and drought, and although recognised as an evil spirit, he also drove away other evil spirits. He strives to protect us from plagues and misfortunes, and his rival, Lamashtu, causes harm to mother and baby during childbirth.

He is known as both a demon and a god, but in The Exorcist is recognised more as the former.

We do catch a couple glimpses of Pazuzu, but we only see his face clearly when he begins to take over young Regan. The pasty white face and blood red eyes don’t fit ancient lore: Pazuzu is traditionally depicted as having the head of a lion, the body of a human, the talons of an eagle, a pair of wings, a scorpion’s tail, and a ‘serpentine penis’ (I can’t work out if this is the penis of a snake or a penis that looks like a snake and like I don’t wanna know k).

The Exorcism Of Roland Doe

It’s one of the most famous cases of possession - and we don’t even know who the victim actually was.

In 1949, American newspapers began to pick up on the story of an exorcism in Maryland. A teenage boy was at the centre of mysterious poltergeist activity after the death of his spiritualist aunt. She was the one that first introduced him to an ouija board.

After typical paranormal activity took place, priests were summoned to exorcism him. During these exorcisms, furniture began to move by itself, the boy began to attack priests with rogue bedsprings, he began to speak in an unknown voice, the mattress he lay on began to shake, and words like “evil” and “hell” began to appear in scratches upon his body.

It was a very similar state to the one Regan was in during The Exorcist.

Roland Doe (a pseudonym, obviously) to this day has remained anonymous, and - if alive - he would be 86 years old.

Despite this being the most known case of alleged possession - rivalling only that of Anneliese Michel - it has received a large dose of skepticism and debunking. The supposed location of the exorcism and some personal details of Roland Doe have been contested. Plus, many believe Doe was actually a spoiled, attention-seeking bully who simply repeated Latin phrases heard at school in order to create some elaborate prank.

Regardless of whether it was real or not, it is a landmark moment in paranormal history.

And 300 years before a 14 year old lutheran began to growl Latin at his family members, a group of women began to show similar signs of a haunting.

The Possessed Affair Of Loudon And Aix-en-Provence

I’ve already introduced you to the possessed nuns of Loudon. But it turns out The Exorcist also took inspiration in another French convent: Aix-en-Provence.

The nuns of Loudon pinned their possession on the demon Asmodai and gave a number of different answers as to who summoned it. Some claimed it was either a priest named Peter or Zabulon (a biblical figure). But a week after this, a man named Urbain Grandier who had amassed a lot of power and a strained reputation in the community was considered the culprit.

Soon after the nuns first exhibited strange behaviour, they were hidden away and the symptoms stopped.

The accusations levelled against Grandier were clearly inspired by political motives as he had publicly attacked the cardinal’s work and the taking down of the wall. But locals say he would appear at random in the convent with no one sure as to how he got inside. It was even claimed that he had made a pact with the devil - from which a physical contract was supposedly uncovered - and that he had attended witch’s sabbat.

The priest was executed for sorcery and given ‘the boot’ (a method of torture).

Loudon and Aix-en-Provence are considered cases that fit in well with wider witch trials taking place across western Europe in the 17th century. The possession of the Ursuline nuns of Aix-en-Provence were similar to that of Loudon - but were just a tad more mental.

20 years before Grandier was convicted, a young woman, Madeleine de Demandolx, confessed to the superior of the convent that she had been intimate with the local priest. She was sent away to Aix-en-Provence to get some distance but soon began to do some rather out-of-character things.

She would have convulsions and soon the other nuns began to do the same. It appeared to be contagious.

But things got hella weird when the nuns gathered together in a holy cave that Mary Magdalene was meant to have once lived in (Sainte-Baume) to be exorcised. Instead of just shaking, they all tried to outdo each other in symptoms of possession.

Once would cuss fervently; another would speak in a deep, demonic voice.

A political story soon unravelled full of accusations, executions, and even Madeleine being released from jail at 77 for her alleged witchcraft.

So - are you ever going to watch The Exorcist after this?

(Me neither.)

If you liked this post, go on and let me know with a like ‘n’ a reblog. And if you want to hear somethin’ spooky every Saturday, go on and hit follow!

[takerfoxx]

In response to JK Rowling and Joss Whedon, my (former) idols

I really didn’t want to have to do this.

So in addition to…=gestures vaguely=…all of that, the last few months have been kind of sucky when it comes to learning some really unpleasant things about artists that I looked up to, admired, and was in fact inspired by. I’ve already spoken about the Speaking Out movement revealing a lot of ugly behavior from various wrestlers, some of which I was big fans of, and then later we got Chris Jericho being a full-on MAGA. Yeah, that all sucked. But those were just performers whose work I enjoyed watching. The one that really hurt were writers who I deeply admired, whose stories I love, and who I was heavily influenced by.

The first, of course, was finding out that JK Rowling, the author of perhaps the single biggest YA fantasy series of all time Harry Potter, is a TERF. This really sucked for a number of reasons. Firstly, I really like Harry Potter! I mean, I’m not a super fan or anything. I came into it when things were kind of dying down, like the whole book series had already been released and there were only a few movies left, but I still really enjoyed it, have all the books and movies and a fair amount of merchandise swag, including a nifty wand I got at Universal Studios. Shit, I got two replicas of the Sword of Griffyindor, thanks to them screwing up my order in my favor and sending me a duplicate! They’re on my wall right across from me as I type this!

But in addition to writing a book series I really liked, JK Rowling was supposed to be one the good guys. She’s been vocally progressive, often openly comes down on British right-wing nonsense, has supported various persecuted minorities, and is on record as being one of the few self-made billionaires to actually stop being a billionaire for a time because she donated so much money to charity. And while we mock it now, her revealing Dumbledore as gay was a huge deal at the time. Plus, she cultivated this reputation as Auntie Jo, that cool, supportive aunt we all wanted.

But for a while her stock has been dropping. Her preference for confirming “representation” via tweets instead of explicitly putting it in the text of her stories has raised the question of queer-baiting, especially with a whole-ass movie with a young Dumbledore and Grindelwald to make their relationship explicit but failing to do so. The whole Nagini thing from the latest Fantastic Beasts movie was pretty gross. And re-examination of various problematic elements from the original novels has rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. Now, none of these really looked to be intentionally malicious, of course. Just about everyone’s early work will have problematic elements; that’s just how people work. And the later stuff smacked more of ignorance than anything. But after all this time, it’s like, c’mon. You should know better by now.

But the biggie came when her transphobic views finally came to light. Now, this one had been brewing for a while, due to some questionable likes and statements on her twitter. But then she decided to just go public and published what essentially amounts to a TERF manifesto, one with a very “love the sinner, hate the sin” condescending attitude and had a real persecution complex air to it.

Now, I’m not going to go into detail about what the manifesto was about, what the circumstances surrounding it were, or how wrong it was. It’s already been raked over the coals, dissected, answered, and debunked in detail by people far more qualified than me, so odds are, you’re already well aware of its contents and the subsequent rebuttals. But the gist of it comes down to her basically believing that transwomen are actually cis men claiming to be trans so as to infiltrate and invade female-only spaces.

Yeah.

Okay, that’s gross, but…why? Why is someone so noted for being progressive and wanting to foster an inclusive environment making this the hill of exclusion that she wants to die on?

Well, that’s where things get tricky. She mentions that prior to Harry Potter, her first marriage was highly physically and sexually abusive, and when she escaped from that, she had no place to go, leading her to be homeless for a time.

Oh.

Well, that makes sense. Someone goes through a highly traumatic experience with a member of the opposite sex, has no support structure when she escapes it, is left to fend for herself, only to suddenly get rocketed into fame, fortune, and influence, which in turn leads to a Never Again mentality. She was hurt, no one was there to help her, and now she’s afraid of men invading women-only spaces to victimize others like she was victimized. So…literally transphobic. Literally a Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminist.

Guys, this is so fucked up. Like, how do you even approach something like this? She’s a victim in every sense of the word, so of course she’s going to have physiological damage and a warped view of things. I mean, if I found out that a close friend of mine went through the same thing and had the same prejudices, I would be nothing but sympathetic! I mean, I’d still do what I can to convince her to overcome those prejudices, but I’d still show sympathy and support for what she went through.

Abuse warps people. There’s a reason why so many abusers are abuse survivors themselves. It makes you terrified of being hurt again and often causes people to adopt toxic behaviors, beliefs, and reactions to protect themselves. I’ve already talked about it at length while discussing She-Ra and its own handling of the cycle of abuse, which included franks discussions of Catra’s horrible behavior, why she was the way she was, while never losing sympathy for her and rooting for her to overcome it. So if JK Rowling is an abuse survivor, is it really right to come down on her for having warped views because of that abuse?

But that’s the problem. See, she isn’t your troubled friend that you’re trying to help. She isn’t your cousin Leslie who’s a really sweet person but unfortunately adopted some bad ideals due to trauma suffered. She JK freakin’ ROWLING, one of the most famous, wealthy, and influential women in the world. She has a platform of millions, if not billions, which means her voice lends credibility to her bigoted beliefs. Alt-righters and other TERFs have already swooped upon this for giving validation to their awful beliefs, which puts trans people even more at risk. And as horrible as Rowling’s experiences might have been, the trans community is often the victim of far worse, and they don’t have a mountain of money and an army of defenders to protect them like she does. I’ve said it time and time again: just because you’re a victim, that doesn’t give you the right to victimize others! And bringing things back to Catra, as much as I loved her redemption in the final season, she was still a TERRIBLE PERSON for a huge chunk of the show, one that needed to be stood up to and stopped.

So yeah. That’s the messiness that is JK Rowling.

Now, let’s talk about the one that really hurts. Let’s talk about Joss Whedon.

I’ve made no secret of what a huge Whedon fan I am. Unlike Rowling, I was a HUUUUUGE superfan. Seeing Serenity for the first time in theaters was akin to a religious awakening to me as a storyteller, making it one of my top three movies of all time. Firefly is my favorite show ever. And I adored Buffy, Angel, and Dollhouse as well. I love Cabin in the Woods and The Avengers. The very first fanfic I ever wrote was a Firefly fanfic that disappeared along with my old laptop. I know his style isn’t for everyone, but I cannot understate how much of a personal inspiration he is to me as a writer.

And like Rowling, Joss was supposed to be one of the good guys! Buffy was monumental in pushing the needle when it came to female empowerment. Will and Tara were groundbreaking as a gay couple. He’s been outspoken for years about his feminist views and beliefs and was seen as one of the most prominent and influential feminist voices in Hollywood!

And then things started to go bad.

One day he was on top of the world, the mastermind behind the first two Avenger movies. And the next, it seemed like he was in freefall. It’s hard to really pinpoint exactly when the change took place. Some would say him being brought in as a last-minute substitute for Zack Snyder to take over on Justice League after Snyder had to leave due to family tragedy, and the subsequent awful critical reception to that film tarnishing his image, even if those were very unique circumstances that couldn’t really be blamed on him. Others might point to Age of Ultron’s less than stellar reception, as well as criticism of some questionable jokes and certain creative decisions regarding the character of Black Widow, which then led to a more critical examination of how Whedon continues to write female characters, as while his work might have been revolutionary in the 90’s, his failure to evolve with the times had meant that many of his portrayals are now woefully outdated and problematic, with his vision for a Batgirl movie getting hit with a lot of backlash as a result.

Again, I’m not going to go into too much detail, as this is all public knowledge and can be easily looked up, but overall it seemed that Whedon entered into a period where he was getting criticized more than he was celebrated, and his image of a guaranteed hit maker was now in doubt.

But all of this wasn’t the big problem. All creators go through rises and slumps, and everyone hits points where they get hit with a barrage of criticism; that’s just part of being a public creative figure, especially a progressive one. And had nothing happened after, it would have probably faded, got forgotten, and Whedon would have moved onto the next project with no fuss.

But as it turned out, it wasn’t just a minor slump in his career. Instead, it was the priming of the pump.

In 2016, Whedon divorced his wife of sixteen years, Kai Cole, and in an open letter, Kai Cole accused him of being a serial cheater, who would have affairs with a great many women, from co-workers, to actresses, to friends, to even his fans. And in addition to raising questions of him possibly abusing his position as showrunner to elicit sex from those working on his projects, there also is the ugly question of how could someone who speaks so highly of women then go and backstab the person who was supposed to be the most important woman in his life, as well as lying to her and denying her the autonomy of deciding whether or not she even wanted to continue to have a relationship with him?

Furthermore, Whedon himself has not explicitly denied these accusations, and comments made by him seem only to confirm them.

Now if you’ll recall, I reacted publicly to this news, and despite my admiration of Whedon’s work, I came down on Kai Cole’s side, and stated that while things like marriage issues and infidelity were no one’s business but that of the couple’s, it did raise a lot of uncomfortable questions about how Whedon treated the women in his life and he really needed to get his shit in order.

But hey, a messy private life and a guy falling into temptation isn’t that big of a deal, right? Plenty of creators also go through multiple marriages and have problems staying faithful and still continue making great art. We’re all human, it’s a stressful job, and this shit just happens, right? Sure, it’s gross and a shitty thing to do, but ain’t no business of ours, right?

In late 2020, actor Ray Fisher, who played the role of Cyborg in Justice League, openly accused Joss Whedon of fostering a hostile work environment, claiming that the director’s behavior was abusive and unprofessional, and that Whedon in turn was protected by DC executives.

DC and Warner Bros. came down against Fisher, claiming they had done an internal investigation that turned up no evidence of wrongdoing (yeah, sure they did), and soon Fisher was out as Cyborg, apparently for rocking the boat.

But then Charisma Carpenter, noted for her important role as Cordelia Chase in both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, then spoke up, claiming to be inspired by Fisher in doing so. She described Whedon did indeed foster a hostile work environment on his projects, that his often acted in a toxic manner, from asking incredibly invasive and inappropriate questions regarding her pregnancy to insulting her on set. She said that she made excuses for him for years, but after undergoing a lot of therapy and reading what Ray Fisher had to say, she felt compelled to speak out.

And this just open the floodgates. Other actors and actresses also came forward, some with stories of their own, others to offer support. Even Buffy herself, Sarah Michelle Gellar, confirmed Carpenter’s stories and said that she no longer wanted to be associated with Whedon. Michelle Trachtenberg, who played the character of Dawn, stated that she also experienced toxic treatment from Whedon despite her being a minor at the time, and says that the set had a rule that Whedon wasn’t allowed to be alone with her again, which really raises some sickening questions of what happened the first time. Even male stars have spoken out, from words of support and apologies for not speaking up earlier from Anthony Stewart Head and David Boreanaz, to an earlier interview with James Marsters, in which he described being terrified of Whedon, mainly due to an instance when Whedon was frustrated with the popularity of Marsters’s character of Spike messing with his plans and physically and verbally taking it out on the actor. There have been many corroborating stories of Whedon being casually cruel on set, on seemingly taking delight in making his fellow show writers cry, and even the man himself admitting to enjoying fostering a hostile work environment during his director commentary of the Avengers. We’ve joked about Whedon’s supposed sadism for years, but that was in regards to how he treated the characters in his stories, not the people helping him make them!

So yeah. That’s the problem with Joss Whedon.

So, do I think that Joss Whedon is somehow some kind of sociopath who lied about his feminist principles and deliberately put on a progressive façade specifically to get into a position of power so he could torment people? No, of course not. I think he was sincere about his beliefs, and I do think he didn’t realize the wrongness of his behavior. But that’s kind of the problem. See, it’s one thing to have kind of a trollishness to your nature, a sort of sadistic side. No one can help that. But when someone with that quality gets put into a position of power in which they are protected by both the higher-ups and their legions of fans, they are allowed to mistreat and continue to mistreat people. And by never suffering any consequences, that sort of toxic behavior becomes internalized, becomes a habit, becomes their moda operandi. And when you’re constantly getting praised as a creative genius and a wonderful feminist voice, any self-criticism just gets wiped away, and you think yourself above reproach, leading to what Joss Whedon became and went on being.

And you know what scares me the most about this particular issue? It’s not that I am a fan of his stories. It’s that I can so easily see myself turning out the same way.

Look, I’ll be upfront about it: I’m kind of a sadist myself. You’ve seen it in my stories, you’ve seen me gloating after a particularly dark plot twist makes my readers freak out. That sort of stuff is fun to me. There’s a reason why I have a much easier time in the dark and violent scenes, because I’m channeling something ugly within me. We all have a dark side, and this is mine.

But UNLIKE Whedon, that doesn’t carry over to how I treat people in real life (unless Monopoly or Mario Party are involved, then it’s fair game). Maybe it’s because I wasn’t given the sort of power and praise he did so early, and I was always taught to be considerate of other people’s feelings, but if I ever find out that I hurt another person or went too fair, I feel TERRIBLE, and it just throws me off all day until I apologize. Even if I don’t notice right away that what I said or did wasn’t cool (autistic, remember?), when it’s pointed out to me and I have some time to think on it, yeah, the guilt is on and I make a point to apologize to whoever I’ve hurt. I’ve even made a point to apologize to members of my family for inconsiderate stuff I said years ago as a little punk kid because it wouldn’t stop bugging me.

So maybe Whedon got too big, too fast. Maybe putting people on these sorts of pedestals, especially progressive ones, is ultimately a bad thing.

So where does this leave us? How are we to treat JK Rowling and Joss Whedon, one who developed a lot of transphobia due to abuse suffered while the other became a toxic individual due to unchecked control and a lack of consequences? Can we still enjoy their stories despite them now being colored by their creators’ falls from grace? Can we separate the art from the artist, or do we have to do a clean split?

Honestly, I feel that has to come down to the individual. I can’t remove the influence Rowling and Whedon have had on me as a storyteller, and I still highly respect both of their talents despite taking major issue with their problems as people. And I’m not going go throw away all of my Harry Potter or Firefly stuff. Because that’s my stuff. It has value to me, it doesn’t represent the issues with their creators, and a lot of it was gifts from people who are dear to me. Though I do think it’ll be a long time before I return to either of their work, as I just don’t have the stomach for it now.

But I will be avoiding any projects they have in the future. I don’t want to put money in their pockets that might go on to support their toxic beliefs or behavior. And as for royalties for their past work that would also support the cast and crew of the Harry Potter films or those who worked on Whedon’s shows who do not deserve to lose money because we don’t want any of that money going to the creators? Er, that question is a little above my paygrade. I don’t know. You’ll have to all decide for yourselves. As for me, I still have a lot of thinking to do.

Regardless though, if I or anyone else is still able to enjoy their work, then it’s important to not divorce what these people said or did from the art they created, even if it makes enjoying that art less fun. It’s important to be critical about what we enjoy, to acknowledge the bad aspects along with the good, and open up discussion of those elements, because that’s what mature adults are supposed to do. 

And as for JK Rowling and Joss Whedon, whose stories I love, whose talent I admire, and whose past good work I’ll happily acknowledge, I do hope they both experience some sort of realization and enter into a period of self-examination that leads to them getting help for their issues, for Rowling to get help in coming to terms with her trauma and realizing that she’s wrong about the trans community and a full apology, and for Whedon to also come to terms with his toxic behavior and how he treats people, for him to make no excuse for what he did and sincerely apologize to those he hurt and work on bettering himself, as well as them both examining some of the more problematic tropes still present in their works. Because despite everything, I do feel that they can still be a creative force of good, and it would be a shame if they let themselves self-destruct.

But if not, then if it comes down to choosing between Rowling and the protecting the trans community, if it comes down between choosing between letting Whedon continue to make shows and protecting actors and writers from his abusive behavior, then I know who I’m siding with, and it ain’t the two individuals this whole essay is about. No story, no matter how good, no matter how creative, is worth letting sacrificing vulnerable people in order for it to be made.

[fangirlmary]

First Tumblr fanfic Accidentally Exposed

Disclaimer: I do not own Steven Universe or Miraculous Ladybug; they belong to Rebecca Sugar and Thomas Astruc respectively. I won’t be writing a direct follow up to this but feel free to write your own and share it.

Accidentally Exposed.

One of Marinette’s earliest memories was from when she was 5 years old and had gone on a vacation to America with her parents. Her father’s pen pal lived there in a small city called Beach City and said pen pal, Greg Universe, had a son named Steven that was Marinette’s age. Steven had not known French at the time and Marinette had not known English so their parents would have to translate for them but the 2 of them had hit it off well and had decided they wanted to be friends.

Marinette had also met the Crystal Gems, who acted as Steven’s “aunts” (Garnet and Pearl), and “cousin” (Amethyst) during that same visit. Of them all, she had liked Amethyst the most because of the purple Gem being a lot of fun and friendly. Pearl and Garnet were nice enough if more distant in a sense and it wouldn’t be until years later that Marinette had started liking them more. That said, when the week-long visit was over, Marinette had been disappointed to have to go home so soon but had decided she would learn English and in turn Steven had decided to learn French so that they could talk to each other on the phone and send emails to each other as well as video call each other. It hadn’t been easy but it had certainly been worth it.

Now 9 years later as a fourteen year old, Marinette had been venting to Steven about the whole situation with Lila; at least Max had apologized for mistakenly causing people to think that he wasn’t smart enough to know that a napkin was harmless and Alya had apologized for not consulting Marinette before the seat change and promised that she would treat Lila’s stories with skepticism and actually follow her own advice in the future regarding source checking from now on.

“Alya removed the fake posts from her blog and apologized to her followers for not checking with Ladybug to be sure that the story of her and Lila being friends was true.” Marinette was now saying to Steven over the phone. “It helps that Ladybug debunked that theory in a recent interview.”

Steven of course did not know yet that Marinette was Ladybug. He had however freely told Marinette about the Gem related stuff he had been dealing with, including his recent prevention of the destruction of Earth by the Cluster. Right now, he wasn’t thinking about it and even though it was late at night for him while it was daytime in Paris, he was still listening to her. “Has anyone else in class figured out the truth?”

“Chloe and Sabrina revealed they never believed Lila in the first place but didn’t apologize for anything they’ve done as bullies in the past. Nino also apologized for not having believed me. I’m not sure about anyone else at this point.” Marinette answered. “I have decided not to act like a stalker to Adrien anymore since I don’t think his ‘take the high road’ advice is going to work with Lila and I’ve realized how creepy it is.” Indeed, she had torn down Adrien’s schedule from the wall and gotten rid of all her pictures of him but one. “I might be able to forgive him if I can get that through his thick head.”

“He probably wasn’t taught the difference between different types of lies.” Steven had another reason to dislike Gabriel Agreste now.

“You’re right; I hadn’t thought of that.” Marinette admitted. “If I tell him the difference, maybe it will help. Whether he believes me is another thing entirely since I never told him I was threatened by Lila in the girls’ bathroom since I thought he wasn’t going to care.”

“I’m going to use the warp pad to come over there tomorrow since I know it will be Sunday. Maybe doing something fun and forgetting about it for a while might help.” Steven suggested.

“Yeah, it will. See you tomorrow.” Marinette was smiling at the idea of finally seeing Steven in person again. She bade him good night and hung up the phone, hoping that tomorrow would be good.

Unknown to them, Tikki had gone to tell Plagg about this development and Plagg was furious.

“Can I use Cataclysm on that girl on my own?” He asked, eager to do something drastic.

“No, that will put too many innocent people at risk! Lila may be a liar but she doesn’t deserve to die a horrible death.” Tikki pointed out.

“All right; but what should we do about this?” Plagg asked.

“Good question; it’s up to you whether you want to tell Adrien or not but he definitely should know.” Tikki replied.

It turned out that they did not need to do anything drastic though; the next day, Steven had used a warp pad that took him a mile outside of Paris and Marinette and her parents were already there to pick him up and take him back to the bakery for breakfast. Afterwards, the two friends took a walk in the park and surprisingly enough, Alix was there and practicing her rollerblading. She apologized to Marinette for believing Lila’s bogus stories and asked “Can you forgive me for being an idiot and not using Google?”

“I think I can but it will take some time.” Marinette replied. Finally, someone else in the class had common sense.

“Prince Ali doesn’t know Lila according to Rose; she contacted him last night and asked him and told Juleka and I about it in the class group chat this morning.” Alix added. She then noticed Steven. “Wait, who is this?”

“I’m Marinette’s pen pal, Steven Universe.” Steven explained. “I’m visiting her for a bit.”

Then an akuma alert went off on everyone’s phones and Marinette groaned. “Great, now we have to get out of here because this akuma isn’t far from us.”

Alix immediately rollerbladed away and Marinette had Steven go behind a tree for his safety; then she found another spot to transform into Ladybug. “Tikki, spots on!”

Unfortunately, being only part human meant Steven wasn’t affected by the glamor that kept Miraculous holders’ identities a secret and he went out of his hiding place to see Ladybug in action. He immediately knew she was Marinette. Who else had hair that looked bluish and was in pigtails after all? It was hard for him to tell who Chat Noir was seeing as there were lots of blonde-haired guys around and he hadn’t met Adrien in person.

As it turned out, the akuma this time was a woman who was furious with her boyfriend for cheating on her and she was targeting guys close to said boyfriend’s age. Steven couldn’t stand back and immediately used a bubble to shield a random man who had been caught in the crossfire and then got him to safety. He then shielded Chat Noir while Ladybug put her Lucky Charm to use. All too soon the battle was over with and the Miraculous Ladybug cure had repaired the damage and the akuma butterfly purified and sent away.

“What were you thinking? You could have been hurt!” Ladybug scolded Steven.

“I couldn’t stand back and let you guys handle it alone.” Steven answered.

“Thanks for doing that though.” Chat said.

Both heroes bid Steven good bye as their timers would run out momentarily and as soon as they were gone, Steven waited and Marinette was soon back with him.

“Steven, are you okay?” Marinette asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” He assured her. “Let’s keep walking.” How was he going to bring up the fact that he now knew she was one of her home city’s superheroes? He wasn’t sure but he would do it somehow.

They had wanted to next find someplace where they could have lunch but Alya had shown up. “Marinette, is it true that some kid who didn’t have a miraculous stepped in to help Ladybug?”

“Yes and my pen pal Steven is that kid.” Marinette replied. “Steven, this is Alya.”

About 15 minutes later, Steven had been interviewed about what happened after having texted Greg and getting permission to do that at Alya’s home. He did not mention that he had guessed Ladybug’s identity of course but he did mention the Gem related stuff and that he was part alien. After that interview, he and Marinette had opted to just get fast food as they knew Steven would have to get home soon and stopped at McDonald’s. After doing so, they had returned to the bakery and Steven and Marinette were allowed to eat upstairs as long as they threw their trash away.

“That was a pretty crazy morning, wasn’t it?” Steven asked.

“Just another day in Paris unfortunately; I just hope Hawkmoth never akumatizes you since that would be a scary situation.” Marinette replied.

“Yeah.” Steven had soon finished eating his burger and was now eating some of his fries. Then afterwards, he asked Marinette a question. “Uh Marinette, being that I’m only part human, I think I kind of was able to figure out Ladybug’s identity easily and I think it’s you but you’re not mad at me, are you?”

The teenage girl spat out her soda in shock. That had not been what she was expecting to hear from him. Tikki on the other hand was panicking silently. Before either one could respond, Steven’s phone rang.

Steven immediately answered it. “Oh, hi Garnet. Are you using my dad’s phone?”

“Yes I am. I wanted to talk to someone that’s with you that’s an old friend of mine.” Garnet had already guessed what had happened earlier thanks to future vision. “Her name’s Tikki.”

“Oh gods, how did I not realize he would guess who I am?” Marinette was whispering to herself and panicking.

“Hang on.” Steven then turned to his friend. “It’s not your fault I figured it out easily. I won’t tell anyone although I think the Gems just figured it out too. Garnet does have future vision after all. She wants to talk to Tikki since she apparently knows her.”

Tikki figured there was no point in hiding anymore and flew out of Marinette’s purse and Steven held out his phone so the kwami could land on it. “Hello Garnet; it’s been a long time.”

“It certainly has, Tikki.” Garnet was smiling while saying this. “We need Steven home as soon as possible but Pearl and I would like to see you and Plagg in Beach City later this week to catch up. We won’t tell anyone the identity of your chosen. You know that the glamor that keeps a Miraculous holder’s identity hidden doesn’t work as well on Gems or half Gems in Steven’s case.”

“I’m aware of that. I don’t know why I was panicking and forgot that. Did you find out what happened today from the news or future vision?” Tikki asked.

“Both. It was only a matter of time before the things that have been going on in Paris made the national news.” Garnet answered.

After another minute, Tikki bid Garnet goodbye and Steven assured Garnet that he would be home soon before hanging up the phone.

Steven then finished his fast food and threw the trash away. “Well, I never knew the Gems knew about the Miraculous.”

“Past miraculous users fought against the Homeworld Gems alongside Rose Quartz and the rebels who sided with her.” Tikki replied. It would be great to see Garnet and Pearl again since it had been thousands of years since they had last seen each other.

“I wish we could have met in better circumstances.” Steven admitted.

“Steven, I’m not angry with you for figuring out about me being Ladybug. I just want to know how I’m going to explain what happened to Master Fu, the one who gave me a miraculous.” Marinette admitted.

“I’ll explain it to him when we see him tomorrow.” Tikki assured her. “I think he’ll understand.”

Soon Steven had to leave once Marinette had finished her food. Once her pen pal had gone on the warp pad and disappeared instantly, Marinette and her parents drove home. Today had not quite gone how she had expected.

The next morning, Lila’s reign at College Francois Dupont came crashing down. Steven had called Marinette before class started, having forgotten the time difference again.

“Steven, I’m about to start class. What do you need?” Marinette asked him.

“Sorry I forgot. I was wondering if Lila has said anything about knowing me.” Steven wanted to debunk that story though whether anyone else would decide for themselves to find the truth behind the Italian girl’s other tales was up to them.

“Unsurprisingly, yes she did say so when she walked in. Maybe you could tell everyone all about it since it’s better to get stories straight from the source.” Marinette turned her phone on speaker and asked “Steven Universe, you’ve been my friend for nine years and I think I would know if this was the case. So I was wondering if you could tell my peers have you ever actually met Lila Rossi at all?”

“Nope, I don’t know her; her mom has never had an assignment in America and even if they had ever been to Beach City, I wouldn’t have known who they were since so many tourists come there each year.” He replied in perfect French.

“All right, thanks. Talk to you later.” Marinette immediately hung up the phone

Most of the class wasn’t believing Lila at this point but any who still wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt had now stopped doing so.

“How could you say that? What else did you lie about?” Ivan shouted.

Lila had not expected to be busted for her lies this soon since it had taken much longer at her previous schools. That Steven Universe kid and those Gems were going to pay for this. Who’d have thought that Marinette actually knew him?

Moments later, Ms. Bustier had come into the room and Alya explained the commotion. This was a huge shock but at the same time, something had to be done.

Unsurprisingly, those who had not come around to the truth earlier apologized to Marinette for their behavior and Lila had been sent to Mr. Damocles’ office with her parents called (though they had to get to Mr. Rossi first so he could give them his ex-wife’s phone number since the one Lila had given in her emergency contact information wasn’t the real deal). Ms. Bustier had accompanied her, leaving everyone alone again.

“Did you do that on purpose?” Adrien asked. “I didn’t think you’d ignore my advice.”

“Nope; Steven, being my pen pal on another continent, tends to forget the time difference between the U.S. and France so I just took advantage of it.” Marinette answered honestly.

“What do you mean by ‘ignore your advice’? Did you know she was lying the whole time?” It was Nino’s turn to be outraged now.

“Yes.” Adrien hadn’t really thought about how to handle this but then he remembered Plagg informing him last night that Lila had threatened Marinette in the girls’ bathroom last week. Ladybug’s kwami had apparently witnessed it and had informed his kwami that this happened. He then suddenly realized that he hadn’t been told about this earlier because Marinette had been afraid that he wouldn’t believe her like most of the rest of the class. I’m the worst friend in the world right now, he thought.

“There’s a huge difference between tabloid lies and the kind Lila’s been telling us.” Chloe pointed out. "Adrikins, Lila’s lies have been hurting people. What do you think people would say if they thought Jagged Stone had written a song about a minor? Or thought that Lila’s mother was misusing embassy funds to travel to Achu with her to see Prince Ali?”

“I hate to say it but Chloe actually has a good point.” Kim added. 

Chloe’s explanation led to Adrien feeling extremely guilty about how he had been dealing with this and immediately excused himself to use the bathroom. He was certainly not going to cry but he did need time alone. He just hoped someone wasn’t akumatized since judging by her reaction, it was likely Lila would be subjected to it a third time. He stood by the sink and sighed. “How could I have been such an idiot?”

“It’s not your fault you didn’t know before.” Plagg reminded him.

"Still, I don’t think Marinette will ever forgive me. I wouldn’t blame her for it.” Adrien pointed out.

“Kid, you had good intentions. They just didn’t work out.” The kwami of destruction replied. “Just because you did one bad thing doesn’t make you a bad person. I can’t believe I’m being that sappy right now.”

“Me either but I’m going to do everything I can to make it up to Marinette and everyone else. I don’t want to lose her friendship and I don’t want to be inconsiderate of the others’ feelings again. I’m going to go back to class and apologize.” He decided after a few moments. Adrien Agreste wasn’t entirely sure how he was going to atone for his actions but he would figure it out soon.

First though, judging by the screams, it seemed that either Lila or another person had been akumatized and he had to intervene. “Well, first I’ve got to do one other thing. Plagg, claws out!”

Once transformed, Chat Noir went out into the hallway. Surprisingly, it had been Mrs. Rossi who was akumatized after hearing of her daughter’s misbehavior from her ex-husband. The Italian ambassador was calling herself “Revealer” and those caught in her trap had to reveal some kind of truth about themselves. This was going to be an extremely tough fight.

In the meanwhile, back in Beach City, Steven couldn’t sleep. He was looking at a stream from the Ladyblog that showed Ladybug and Chat Noir’s fight against Revealer and couldn’t help but be worried for everyone’s safety. He couldn’t help but think this was somehow his fault. If only he hadn’t accidentally called Marinette when she was about to start class.

“Steven, you can’t stay up this late. I’m sure Ladybug and Chat Noir can handle everything.” Garnet’s voice was saying.

Steven turned around and saw that Garnet was at the top of the stairs that led to his bed. “I know but I didn’t think this would happen as the result of debunking one of Lila Rossi’s stories.”

“It wasn’t Lila who was akumatized; it was her mother.” Garnet once again had guessed this via future vision.

“That’s even worse!” Steven looked guilty and started crying. Maybe he shouldn’t have called Marinette.

“Steven, it’s mainly Hawkmoth’s fault any time someone is akumatized since he takes advantage of negativity.” The Crystal Gems leader reminded him.

“Could a Gem be akumatized?” Steven wanted to know.

“That is one thing neither Pearl nor I are sure about since it hasn’t happened before.” Garnet replied. She sat next to Steven on the bed and put one arm around him.  “It’s not your fault this happened.”

“Still feels like it is though.” Steven sighed sadly. He was not going to be able to go back to sleep anytime soon.

Fortunately, the fight had gone in Ladybug and Chat Noir’s favor and the akuma purified. Mrs. Rossi had apologized for her overreaction and immediately decided “Lila is going to be grounded until she turns 18.”

Because no one wanted to risk Lila being akumatized a third time, she would be sent back to her father in Italy that evening and arrangements would be made for her to be homeschooled from now on so she wouldn’t be able to try to lie to others quite so much. Mr. Rossi had agreed that Lila should be grounded for 4 years because of the fact that she had deliberately put people’s lives in danger the second time she had been akumatized and she would also have to see a therapist.

The next day, Steven was traveling to Paris once more, this time with Greg on a private plane courtesy of Jagged Stone. It turned out the record label Greg had used to work for was the same one that distributed Jagged Stone’s music in the U.S. and he had heard about what had happened when commissioning Marinette for something again (this time a shirt with various gem stones on it). This was because the French news networks wanted to interview Steven after he had helped Ladybug and Greg would only allow it if he was there with his son. They would be gone for the remainder of the week until Saturday when Tikki would come to see Garnet and Pearl to catch up with them.

Before the flight, Steven had called up the Italian embassy in Paris and had gotten a hold of Lila’s mother and asked if she blamed him for what had happened.

“Absolutely not. I failed to realize just how easy it was to be controlled by Hawkmoth and you were trying to do the right thing by revealing the truth.” She had assured him. “I’m lucky no one thought the trips Lila claimed I took with her actually happened since that would be a misuse of embassy funds if they had been real. It’s probably partially my fault for not paying enough attention to what she’s been up to and not checking the school’s website to see if they were really closed at all.”

“Thanks for the reassurance. I hope the rest of your assignment goes well despite everything.” Steven was relieved to hear that he didn’t need to feel guilty about this. He bade her goodbye and hung up. It would still be a few more hours until they got to France so he went to sleep after noticing Greg was already sleeping. He didn’t know what else would happen after his accidental exposing of all of Lila’s lies but he hoped things would improve for Marinette significantly.

The visit with Master Fu had gone well; he was surprised that Gems were still around on Earth and told Marinette that she would not have to stop being Ladybug. He did remind her to be a bit more discreet with finding places to transform in public from now on just to be on the safe side.

“The Crystal Gems can be trusted to keep secrets.” Tikki had explained. “Steven certainly can be trusted too.”

“Steven has been my friend for nine years and I trust him more than anyone else in the world.” Marinette added. “All the Gems know how to keep secrets.”

“Very well then. I trust your judgement, Marinette.” Master Fu replied.

When they had gotten home, Tikki had started munching on peanut butter cookies and Marinette got a text from Steven, telling her that he was on his way to Paris by plane for some interviews with the news networks and that he was going to be careful about what he said in those interviews. 

That’s good to know. Hope you get some free time to come and see me in between interviews. I’ll have to be at the Gem temple on Saturday so Jagged’s arranged for me to come back with you and your Dad for the weekend. Marinette texted back.

Great to know. Peridot’s trying to modify the warp pad so that you can use it without me or one of the Gems being with you if necessary. She hasn’t had much success yet but hopefully she’ll be able to do it ASAP. I’ll talk later since we’re getting far from the U.S. East Coast now. Steven messaged back.

Marinette decided not to send another message yet; she knew it was likely that Steven wouldn’t have a good cell phone signal until he landed. Still she had a feeling that things would get interesting and she was glad that he had been there for her, even if he had caused a liar to be accidentally exposed without initially planning to do so.

[dantesintegrity]

Higurashi Gou Theory [DEBUNKED]: The Miracle, Motive, and Murders of Satoshi Houjou

Satoshi has always been a fascinating character to me, mainly because we’ve only actually seen him in the first half of Chapter 5, an only in some segments of Chapter 8.  Even so, his presence has been constantly lingering in Higurashi for as early as Chapter 1, and because of his sudden disappearance it only lead to more and more suspense. Not just to us, the audience, but to the characters themselves, they were completely changed because of his Disappearance. Shion was devastated by the demoning away of the one she loved, Satoko felt immense guilt because of it, and Keiichi became paranoid by the mere mention of his name. So when we found the truth that he was merely comatose in the Irie institute, we gave a sigh of relief because he was alive- yet still devastated of the news that he my never wake up. We’ve known that he has been through so much reading the Visual novel, and it only adds to the Tragic circumstance he is under.

However, This is not the Visual novel. Higurashi Gou is something new, and we have started to suspect that the culprit my in fact be someone different this time.

It was around Watadamashi that I began to think that- you know, as a joke- that Satoshi was the Culprit this time. I had no real reason to suspect him, just a crack pot theory that I will humor on occasion.

Then we all noticed something peculiar, when Keiichi woke up in Onidamashi, he was informed that Rika and Satoko were ambushed and killed.

In Watadamashi- while Rika was killed as well- it was Mion and Satoko who were killed together.

Then, in the Thirteenth episode, Mion, Shion, Rika, and Satoko were said to be dead- Supposedly killed by one Ooishi Kuraudo, if Rena’s words are to be believed.

Now, in all of these Circumstances, Satako was one of the Victims, alongside Rika. To us Original fans, we know that Rika is Certainly fated to die. In Gou, however, Satoko is added to that list.

There is a phrase that goes something like: “Once is Happenstance, Twice is Coincidence, Three times is Enemy action”

Satoko is Directly Targeted by the Culprit, I can say that with conviction.

Now, here is where my theory diverts from other theories. Some theories that she is the Culprit, murdered Rika and committed suicide. The reason why she did that is because......... Some will also that she is a Looper, Evidence to support this is that.................. Some say she is just sus.

While I agree, some- key word, some- of her actions are suspicious, I believe that she is actually more of a distraction if anything else. Whether it is intentional or coincidental, we are the ones who is being deceived into thinking that Satoko is behind everything.

But we are focusing too much one what is being shown by the light, when the truth may be in the shadows. Additionally, one of the complaints I have been seeing for this series is that the Endings of each arc seems to just pop up out of no where, unlike the original where we would be able to at least get a grasp of how the story ends. However in Gou, we are being kept in the Dark, as well as other things...

In a previous theory of mine, I suggested that the existence of Satoshi is narratively being kept in the dark. Original viewers would have noticed that he was barely mentioned, and new viewer who noticed the bat would wonder who this “Satoshi” person even before Tataridamashi.

From Keiichi, who doesn’t know who Satoshi is. To the club members characters, who never mention him. To Rika, who perhaps completely ruled out him as a possibility.

(Note: Before anyone says anything on Knox’s First, You must remember that literally the first thing we see in the Opening is Satoshi’ name. It is written in Japanese, so anyone who knows Japanese, or knows the bare minimum of how to use google translate would know that his name is written plain as day. Therefore, no, this does not Violate Knox’s First. If you don’t take that as evidence because it is in the Opening and not in the actual episode, then you are also forced to disregard any and all other evidence that shows up in the Opening, yes, that includes the blonde hair girl.)

While the endings and circumstances of those endings are very different from the original- and some might even say ‘out of no-where.’ There is one thing that actually remains consistent throughout all the arcs.

Onidamashi is very similar to Onikakushi, up until Keiichi lets Rena in. With some few notable exceptions (such as Takano and Tomitake dissapearing- but we will get to that later.)

Watadamashi is also fairly reminiscent to Watanagashi, at least until Rika dissapears in school- ending up in the septic tank.

Tataridamashi is almost beat for beat to Minagoroshi, all the way up to the Watanagashi Massacre.

You starting to notice a trend? The Drastic change shows itself after- or on the day of Watanagashi. Meaning that on the night of Watanagashi, something happens that drastically changes the game board.

Enter: Satoshi Houjou.

So, where does my theory begin? Well, like the original series: Satoshi kills his Aunt, Has his mental breakdown, and forced into a Coma. He enters into a Sleep that he may never wake up, nor will he ever recover from entering L5.

And then... he does.

One day, Satoshi just wakes up, completely lucid. Those at the institute thought he would have never wake up, thinking he was a lost cause and would certainly never wake up. Yet even so, an Astronomical chance happened, and he recovered from the breaking point. It was a Marvelous Occasion, A Miracle, some might even say.

Naturally, this Miracle would have effected Two people in particular: Irie Kyousuke, and Takano Miyo.

To Takano, she could have used him as evidence in support of her research and to get more funding and prevent the Shut down- it was a long shot be she may have had the slightest bit of hope.

For Irie, this was more personal for him. He knew Satoshi and wanted for things to have been better for him, now he has the chance to change everything. Plus his recovery could lead to more and better treatment for Hinamizawa syndrome- or better yet a Cure.

Satoshi meanwhile, is confused. Where is this place? What do they mean by Parasite? Why can’t he see his sister? He doesn’t understand what is going on.

So to help calm him down- or for Takano, help him cooperate- They both told him the truth behind Hinamizawa, and the Parasite.

They tell Satoshi about the truth about Satoko’s Illness, and their theory that Rika may actually be the Queen Carrier.

This is where I form the Crux of my theory, its about what they told him, combined with his willingness to do anything for his little sister.

Because, what if, when they were telling him everything, he had an idea.

What if Satoko’s illness is caused by Rika.

Rika, being the ‘Queen Carrier’ turned Satoko into an L3 Instance, causing the Hallucinations and Paranoia she has now. Yes, she is currently being Treated, but what if Rika was the one to Cause it.

Of course, Satoshi may be misinterpreting everything they are saying, but he doesn’t understand all the medical terminologies Takano and Irie use. There could also be a chance that he is not fully cured either, and that his symptoms are causing him to misinterpret everything they are.

Regardless, he has his theory, Rika is the cause of everything.

There is another that thing could have happened while he was under their Care. One day, Takano was taking some samples from him, testing to see what could have caused his awakening.

Satoshi then asked a question, something like “Will I ever be able to see Satoko.”

Takano possible replied, “Well, unless she also has a full on breakdown like you, then maybe we’ll let you meet with her- but she might not even recognize you, like you couldn’t recognize anyone other than your Aunt.”

Satoshi, feeling dread from her response, then ask, “Well... what will you do with her then?!?!”

Takano, perhaps Joking, replies, “Don’t know, maybe I’ll dissect her brain hee hee hee.”

Whether Takano was joking or not, Satoshi took it literally. I mean, with this secret underground facility under the Clinic, a paramilitary group at her command, She is more than capable of kidnapping Satoko and dissecting her.

He killed his Aunt to protect his sister, but now he knows what could really be up against them. Takano can take Satoko, and examine her brain and do all kinds of horrible experiments on her, all while Satoko is still alive.......

Satoshi would not let them do that, but he is their medically confined prisoner.

He needs to escape.

He needs to stop that monster from demoning away Satoko.

He needs to make sure this ‘Tokyo’ organization from ever doing harm to her.

...

He needs to Kill Satoko.

He doesn’t want to... but what option does he have? If Satoko does breakdown, then she will become Takano’s lab rat. Even if they do manage to escape, she will be unmedicated, and her condition will degrade even further.

To Satoshi, that is his only option, it would be a mercy kill in his eyes.

And while he’s at it, why doesn’t he kill the person who is also heart of this damn parasite.

He needs to kill Rika Furude.

So, on the night of Watanagashi Festival, he decides then to escape.

Perhaps to keep extra watch on Rika, there were fewer Mountain Dogs on the Clinic, or the others were in the Secret base that Takano planned on hiding out in. Meaning that on that night, there were few people guarding the Clinic.

That night, he gets up, and finds anything relatively bat-shaped, and escapes his room. He tries his best to hide in the many dark corners of the Clinic, but eventually he is spotted, and he is reported to the others. They try their best to stop him, but he does manage to escape, almost as if Fate was certainly on he side.

After he escapes, its reported to Takano and Tomitake, right before she enact her plan. She now has more important matters to deal with, so she suggested that her and Tomitake remain hidden in the mean time, to protect themselves from what ever danger Satoshi poses, and also to- just for her own amusement- keep up the appearance of the Curse.

So her and Tomitake begin their search for Satoshi Houjou.

And Satoshi Houjou will begin this years new game, his goal:

Kill Satoko Houjou and Rika Furude.

Well this theory took me a while to type, Sorry if there are any spelling or grammar errors, but this is actually the third time I had to write a lot of that, since my computer crashed while I was typing... Twice. Feel free to comment any Critiques to my theory. Soon I will need to write my theory on each one of the arcs, so I can fully break down what happened.

[justmeandmyships]

Debunking Amy & Laurie’s haters part. 1:

For my daily dose of rants about Amy & Laurie, I’m going to respond some of the most arguments people like to use to destroy this couple, so they can keep pushing their heteronormative relationship into Jo/Louisa troat. So let’s begin.

1. “Laurie only could love Jo. He only married Amy because she was the last March”

There are so many chapters I could use to debunk this thing but that would take my whole rant, so I’m just going to use a few ones☝️☝️ ( I have to make clear this so you don’t fool yourself thinking those are isolated chapters).

I find strange how many of you forget the chapter where Laurie end up mad at himself because he was forgetting Jo way too quickly and instead of fighting to forget her, he was fighting to NOT FORGET HER !!!

He wanted to feel bad for loosing her but his heart was like “sorry dude, ain’t happening” .

If he indeed loved Jo romantically like y’all claiming he wouldn’t have to force himself to be sad. He will be sad and broken and that’s it but he wasn’t.

He even tried for days to write about her, but what he got was him saying the expression “God Bless, What a nightmare of a Woman”. That’s why he got mad at himself because he realize his love for her wasn’t that deep as he thought.

He was so ashamed of himself that he was even willing to marrying her and when she rejected him again, he felt relief. I’m not making this up. Everything it’s in the books!!! Like seriously.

Also can we all remember that Jo wasn’t Laurie’s first heartbreak.

Jo herself , talks about how he has dated so many ladies before and so it’s the case when he reunited with Amy in Europe, she assumes he’s heartbroken but not for Jo. Which means she is used to seeing him heartbroken, she actually said that to herself. She’s actually surprised when he tells her the woman in question is Jo. All that means that He wasn’t exclusive thinking of Jo while he grow up.

She was his childhood crush and it makes sense why he though of her when the moment of marrying got closer.

He would have probably regretted doing so because just like what happened with his opera, he would have ended up finding her annoying because, believe me they were not alike like y’all like to think.

Laurie liked to socialize and have fun and the fancy things. He didn’t turned up to them because of Jo’ s rejection. He liked that life before all that, and that’s the reason when he proposes to Jo he says something like he went to school and changed for her because she hates those things, even the ones that aren’t parties like in that chapter when she goes with Amy to visit some of their neighbors.

Soon or later Laurie would have been miserable in that marriage because unless when they were kids and hide in their plays, now adults they couldn’t do so. So else, Jo learned to be more social or else Laurie learned to not be so. Either way they will be miserable because that’s not who they are.

That’s for the hand of his feelings towards Jo. But what about Amy? Did he really loved her? Let’s see. Ok. I already say about Laurie’s love life and how he likes to flirt. Something I always find upsetting, it’s how in movies, they like to portray how flirty was Laurie with Jo but what about Amy? What about Amy?

Forgive me if I’m wrong but I think one of the first scenes we have of Laurie being adult, it’s him saying hi to all the sisters. Each one a particular way; which very much represents his real relationship with all of them. He says hi to Meg with respect, he says hi to Beth with sweetness, to jo like she was his brother and what does he says to Amy? What does he says to Amy?!! “Amy, way too beautiful to not being married already” and later we find out it’s not the first time he says things like that to her; because when Jo it’s thinking Beth has feelings for Laurie and she ask herself what might be Laurie’s feelings, she admits that he likes to flirt with her (Jo) and Amy all the time. All the time!!!And excuse me If I scream this to you but HOW IS IT THAT THE TWO WOMEN HE LIKED TO FLIRT ARE THE ONES HE ENDED ASKING MARRIAGE AND Y’all COME TO ME AND SAY HE DIDN’T LOVE AMY!!!! LIKE HOW!!! Y’ALL ACTING LIKE HE NEVER NOTICE HER AND HE DID!!!

Sorry lmao but I just can’t with the logic of some of you.

And yes, we see this flirting in many chapters, we even have Laurie jealous of one of Amy’s pretenders. This is presented as a brother jealousy and I bet for Laurie in his head was like that but was it really? This alone requires an analysis that I might or might not do later.

There’s also this iconic moment when he sees her playing with aunt March’s dresses. He could have knotted but he didn’t. He stayed there watching her act up like she was some royal princess. I mean dude...

and can i talk about how he seconds her in everything her family makes her feel ashamed. He says hi and goodbye to her with courtesy just to her because he knows she loves those kind of things. When she wanted to make her testament, did he laugh of it?

No, he sits down and reads the whole thing with the serious tone that Amy herself gave to the matter. And I could keep bringing moments but I’m going to jump to the future. When Beth dies, he choose to go to Amy and don’t come to me saying “but it was because Jo asked him to” please, slap yourself at your mouth.

I can’t give my soul and more to affirm, if Laurie still saw Jo with romantic eyes he would have go automatically to Jo, not only because he knew Jo was the closest to Beth but because he himself was close to Beth because she was “his favorite”.

But he didn’t. Actually the book is a little bit harsh about it because the first thing he thinks when he gets the news of Beth’s death, is Amy. He thinks in how heartbroken she must be. Why not to think in Jo? Like I said, she was the closest to Beth but did he cares? No. All he thinks is Amy.

And like it wasn’t enough they didn’t return to home immediately. They Spent a few months there and not exactly crying. I bet Amy cried for time to time but Laurie? He’s only worry was loving her. And he only gets the clue of his selfishness after they return and he talks to Jo and he sees how sad she is for her sister and apologized to her.

But whatever he didn’t love Amy.

Now, in that same scene, Laurie says and acts so in love and proud of Amy that my fingers will hurt analyzing word to word but I will talk about one particularly because it resumes everything I’ve been saying. When Laurie is talking to Jo he says something like : “I TRIED TO LOVE YOU BOTH EQUALLY but I couldn’t And when I saw her (Amy) again in Switzerland, everything was clear. I love you like like a sister...” Do I need to explain this? Or y’all forgot about this intentionally ? Or did y’all thought he was joking or what? Because it’s so clear. It wasn’t a forced thing. The only forced thing was him refusing to admit he didn’t love Jo.

There’s also another moment when he says that if he would have waited, he would gotten to the same results; many people had assumed this is about him getting over his crush for Jo but this also speaks about his feelings for Amy. If he would have waited a little bit more, he would have realized that his way of being with her was something more. Not a playful thing but a real one. He staying with her a whole month when he was planned to be just for a few days, BEFORE of his realization of his romantic feelings for her; he running with all his energy to tell Amy her sister was okay and her mother was at home when he could have waited to the next morning... all are little proofs that indeed that statement it’s true.

Anyways, this question alone ended up being larger than I thought, and still I hasn’t answered completely, so I’m force to do other parts of this topic.

[astoryinred]

⭐!

One of the most telling and damning parts of “Eris Throws More Apples” is the time Marius turns up at a lunch party and accuses Enjolras and Eponine of trying to break up his marriage to Cosette. The Amis really let him have it at this point, till he realizes that he’s the one who should beg Cosette’s forgiveness for insisting that she live under the same roof with her former abuser, Thenardier. The way everyone responds is telling of what they have observed over the years about their friends and the circumstances surrounding the past and the present they are navigating. 

What is really interesting is Combeferre’s observation that in his own way, Jean Valjean contributed to the present state of affairs between Marius and Cosette. Combeferre is in a good place to make this observation, since he can compare his own situation with Claudine and his late father in law Valentin to the mess that is Marius and Cosette at this point. Combeferre had a more convivial relationship with Valentin till the latter died in 1833. To this day Combeferre’s marriage with Claudine is rather more egalitarian than most of the era. 

Although on the whole, Jean Valjean is one of the best father figures one could ask for in this story, his overprotectiveness towards Cosette can lead to some harm down the road. We see it in the first installment “When Apollo Met Persephone” when Valjean worries about Cosette being involved in her friends’ politics, and does his best to keep the Rue des Filles du Calvaire a safe haven from the outside tumult. This overprotectiveness is implied to have held sway until Valjean’s death in 1842. The result is that Cosette has rarely been in a position to directly confront the ugly traumas of her past, or to even contend with making decisions outside of her realm (which is childrearing and charities). Everything has so been arranged that Cosette would decide nearly everything in conjunction with Marius, or Luc Esprit Gillenormand, or even a business associate such as Bossuet. 

But this battle regarding Thenardier being close to her children is one that Cosette must fight, tooth and nail. To her dismay, Marius is not on her side here. Marius is the kind of man who believes that Cosette’s being an “angel in the house” extends to all aspects, even her psychological scars. He mistakenly believes that her forgiving nature will have her overcoming everything, even childhood trauma, for the sake of harmony in their home. It does not help that he has never asked, or Cosette has rarely brought up, what had happened in Montfermeil. Making it more complicated is the fact that Cosette has repressed much of her trauma as a psychological defense, as well as her still grieving for her father. In a more modern day and age, Cosette would be a great candidate for individual therapy and these two would need marriage counseling. 

But this is 1842, and the only recourse available is a rude awakening courtesy of the couple’s friends. Everyone agrees that Cosette needs to be mistress of her own home, and that the family’s move out of the Marais is long overdue. At this time, all of the women married to/living with the Amis (Eponine, Claudine, Charlesette, Azelma, Leonor, Therese, Musichetta, Marthe, Nicholine) and many of their friends have already experienced handling their own households and making decisions as equal partners. For lack of any ammunition, Marius hurls accusations that are essentially parroted from what his aunt has told him, from what Thenardier has told her. Eponine and Enjolras systematically debunk them, but most of it is Eponine’s work. 

Key to this whole argument is Eponine speaking out as to what she has witnessed and experienced. Enjolras knows better than to ask or compel her to reveal the past, since he understands that such an exposition has to be of her own volition. She outlines not only the physical abuse but also the emotional and mental abuse that was first inflicted onto Cosette and then later onto herself and Azelma. Although Marius accuses her of having been complicit in her parents’ actions, Eponine points out that she was a child being told what to think and do back in the day. She even goes as far to remind him that he was also just as ignorant about his own father, owing to his grandfather’s machinations. What Eponine does own up to are her actions as a teenager, which nearly got herself and Marius killed at the barricade. After doing this, she redirects the conversation back to the harm that Thenardier is capable of even in his later years, and emphasizes that she is so much more than just the innkeeper’s daughter. 

Marius is incredulous not only at this revelation, but at the fact that Enjolras and Prouvaire also knew of these things because of their own wives. Prouvaire points out that it would not have been his story to tell, tacitly respecting how Azelma has confided these things to him. Marius then and only then admits that he has confused Cosette’s repressing her memories for actual forgiveness and moving on. This leads him to feeling remorse at how he has treated Cosette, and prompts him to go out the door and meet her to ask for her forgiveness. 

More than getting her friends back together, this experience is cathartic for Eponine. Finally she gets to voice out more openly what she rarely contemplates or writes down. In a way this is part of her healing, and helps set her free. 

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

Do you think you’ll still develop Fiore as an OC even if it’s looking more & more likely in canon that R*kepick isn’t actually a mother after all?

Oh, I definitely could! Rakepick being a mother, and having a child...that theory, and the whole concept of Fiore were always connected, but if it had turned out to be true, then Rakepick’s child would have undoubtedly gotten a name and perhaps even been introduced, depending on if they were still alive or not. And while it’s not technically, officially debunked or anything, (Said child could still turn up later on in Year 7, after all) you’re right that it’s seeming less and less like the motherhood theory is dead. I guess Rakepick’s Patronus really was as simple as her being a Gryffindor and a ferocious predator. And it being a Lioness instead of a Lion may have just been as simple as her Patronus matching her gender. I dunno, the symbolism just made me very curious, because a mother’s love has historically been a significant motif in this universe. On the other hand, another motif is the idea that if you can love, you are redeemable. Nothing about Rakepick at present suggests that she has that capacity. And Rowan’s body is still cold, so unless the game finds a way to undo that, there’s no redemption for Rakepick anymore. 

All that said, Fiore is a clean slate and an innocent one at that. After all, blood means nothing. That is, it means something, but it doesn’t say a damn thing about who she is. And I’m excited to develop this character, the daughter of HPHM’s Benedict Arnold. Who can trace ancestry to R, who may or may not have been their captive at one point. She’s like Sirius, growing up among Dark Wizards, but even more of a cinnamon roll. She’ll be like Delphi Diggory, except I’m going to try and have her actually make sense. Much like my theory that MC’s family is in R, Fiore’s existence and her nature, her backstory...all of these are rather dependent on how the game turns out, how the story itself ends. I’ve got some fun facts about Fiore, though, so let’s get to them! 

Fiore has something called Situs Inversus. A rare congenital condition that basically means all of your internal organs are mirrored. Your heart is on the right side, etc. This is a real thing, by the way. Just extremely rare. Fiore is “right-hearted.” 

Adding onto that, I picture her having a crooked scar on her chest where an R agent tried to kill her by shooting some curse through her heart - not realizing, of course, that they’d gotten the wrong side, and this was why she survived. 

I’ve talked about this before but assuming Rowan’s brother is younger, that they are in fact Ashok Khanna, then I like to interpret the two of them becoming best friends. Because despite the awkward context, it’s not Fiore’s fault that her mother killed his sibling. 

She would very much honor the Prankster Pantheon, living up to the legacy of folks like the Marauders, like Tulip and Tonks. Given that she’d be about the right age to overlap with them, I also see her becoming good friends with the Weasley twins. 

She knows how to walk the walk, and talk the talk, so to speak, when it comes to dealing with Dark Witches and Wizards. She doesn’t have dealings with them the way that Jae does, but her mother’s connections result in several shady figures having been like aunts and uncles to her. Many of whom remain loyal throughout the years, though it’s always a nasty surprise when one of them doesn’t/ 

Basically, Fiore is fearless. I’ve considered putting her in Gryffindor, as well as Ravenclaw. I feel like she’s got the kind of “evil genius” type of behavior that would do well in Ravenclaw. Actually, yeah. Plus I could see her arguing with the knocker. If that weren’t enough, I imagine Ashok going to Ravenclaw, and she’d want to hang out with him. But being in different Houses also wouldn’t stop her. 

Nah, the more I think about it, Ravenclaw is the way to go. Because I also see her playing Quidditch, being friends with Cho Chang, and ultimately becoming a Beater. Which she can’t do if she’s in Gryffindor, those spots are filled. 

Like Fred and George, she attempts to put her name in the Goblet of Fire. She does succeed in getting past the age line and gloats about it for a whole day before waking up with gray hair. Oh how the turn tables. 

Considering that R apparently studies Wandless Magic, I wonder how Fiore might do with that. If it might be something she’d be good at. If it was, I’m going to add the drawback that she sucks at magic that actually uses wands, they always hold her back. If she does have her own wand though, I’m gonna say it has a Phoenix core. 

I picture Fiore having a side-ponytail, something she just does out of habit, oblivious to how weird it looks, or just plain not caring. 

Fiore has always wanted an Owl, more than anything. But the tragedy is that she’s actually very much allergic to them. To the point that she cannot visit the Owlery without sneezing and/or getting hives. Her friends have to take her letters for her. Eventually, I see her getting a Falcon or something cool like that. 

Fiore is a laughably bad student, especially for a Ravenclaw, but she does manage to come up with some creative new ideas. It’s more like she just doesn’t respond well to the traditional, educational environment. I picture her failing to brew the potion of the day, but instead inventing her own. One that actually might have merit if it was studied and polished up, but too bad Snape angrily vanished it and gave her a zero. 

This naturally results in her failing her O.W.L.s, much to the dismay of Ashok, but she doesn’t care. She’s a drifter anyway. After Hogwarts, I see her working for Fred and George for a while. Maybe she had a huge crush on Verity. But eventually she leaves to travel the world after the war ends. 

[cartoonfangirl1218]

Moments of Lightness

This is just for prosterity from Ff.net, written way back during season 1 of EoA so lots of things in here have been debunked. Long time since then. Just four "scenes" of Paloma and Esteban of things I imagined of Shuriki's reign, connecting to present like why they have a rivalry, how Paloma got her fan, why she dresses so conservatively, that yellow neck thing Esteban has, how she got greedy etc. A lot of this headcanon was inspired by daydreamingobsessed.

Esteban tried to avoid flinching at the ear piercing volume Shuriki was emitting as she heard the latest report of the trade deal between Satu and Avalor.

"I want him in!" Shruiki shrieked, "How could Satu have duped us. I said we should be the ones getting more money out of the deal." "Uhh, The Magister of the Guild is a she." A guard piped up to Shruiki's glare.

"What?" She hissed. "You killed Master Mascarenas and his associates last week because you suspected him of rebelling."

"Oh, right" Skruiki smiled, "So who do we have in charge now?" "His ward, your Grace. His daughter." Higgins put in.

"She better have a good explanation." Shruiki looked at the mirror once more, admiring her reflection and preening. "Bring her in."

Esteban's eyes turned toward the door where Paloma Mascarenas walked in. He had seen her around when he was younger, whenever her father came to talk to King Ronaldo. She had been so vain and cocky, what with her father as a very important man in Avalor. She and he would get in the most petty fights.

Paloma looked be in her twenties now. Still pretty with her brown eyes, and slender frame accented by a silk teal gown. Her hair in tendrils to frame her face as the rest flowed down her back. But she looked like she lost most of her arrogance for now. She looked terrified as she stood in front of Shuriki's throne. As one should. Esteban shuddered as he remembered Shuriki ruthlessly taking over Avalon, killing anyone in her way.

"Explain yourself." Shuriki demanded with a tone of steel, "What were you doing? Making a fool out of Avalor? Letting Saturday gain the upper hand. You signed a contract that gave them a quarter of our exports for only a 4th of theirs! What were you thinking? YOU are the one who is suppose to lead the Guild, do you know anything about fine print?" Shuriki sneered.

"I..I thought..I mean in the long run, the trade will work in our favor. By exporting our goods at slightly higher prices than their imports, eventually we.." Paloma tried to gather her thoughts into an explanation but Esteban could see that Shuriki had no patience to hear. She never did. She only cared that things got done.

"Eventually." Shuriki cut her off, "What does that have to do with now?"

"Your Grace, I thought.."

"You are a failure. Avalor is the best trade city in the world, the height of sophiscation and your mistake could ruin our reputation. It would let other countries think they can deal whatever they want with us. Are you trying to make a fool out of Avalor, Mascarenas? Hmm? You are working like your father. Slowly ruining us from within.." "No! No, no your grace I wasn't trying to do anything against Avalor or you I swear" Paloma cried.

"Silence." Shuriki got up from her throne, taking a knife that the Captain of the guard handed her.

Shuriki came up in front of Paloma, and surveyed her wth a critical eye, "Honestly, I don't know why I allowed you in my service. You should be a prostitute. It would be more fitting considering to your clothing choices." She dismissively waved a hand over Paloma's partially covered shoulder. "That way you can actually make money."

Shuriki grabbed her firmly by the chin, "I won't fire you for now. It's too much work finding people. But if you dare mess the next trade deal and you do not get me the 12 pounds of diamonds I requested. Well..." she made a small slice on the girl's cheek.

Shuriki turned away, handing the blood specked knife to Esteban. "Till next time" she smirked.

Paloma stiffened and walked backwards out the door.

It wasn't until much later in the day when Shuriki was having her daily routine of looking at herself, and Esteban finished any miscllaneous duties, he decided to pay a visit to the guild.

Esteban quietly knocked the office door of the Trade's Guild before he entered.

"Señora Mascarnes, I would like to discuss today's meeting with you." He entered to see Paloma frantically looking through papers, almost on the verge of tears. Her cheek faintly red from the scar. The room was a mess with piles of paper, boxes of trinkets and unorganized seats of furniture compared to the tidiness of the warehouse.

She jumped up with a start, "What? Has she changed her mind? Are you..Are you going to kill me?"

"No" Esteban held up his hands, showing his lack of weaponry.

"I just wanted to know what happened? Your father was very good at his job, I thought he would have taught you the same skills. You have been for the last 4 years."

"Yes" Paloma muttered in agreement, her head down in reverence. Esteban remembered he was in his official uniform of a Chancellor. He sometimes forgot that in the few times he walked in Avalor. He was so used to being in the town, but now everyone looked at him differently due to his position. As Shuriki's right hand man.

"Well? What made you make the deal?"

Paloma slowly looked up at him, "I..I did think it was a good contract. I mean we didn't get as much money but the imports would have been very useful for Avalorian resources and workers so I signed. I really wasn't trying to do anything against Shuriki."

"Isn't there a way you could have gotten more money from it?"

"I'm sure there was." Paloma nodded. "And you didn't?"

"I don't know how." Paloma admitted, "She's right. I don't know what I'm doing. I mean, you see, I was suppose to be in training for 3 more years. Then gradually take over the job. I was suppose to be Master at 30, not now! And..and I can't find anything around here. The guards ransacked my house and the office. They took all my father's belongings. I can't find any contracts, I can't find his will. I couldn't ask for help because all the other officials would love to see me fail and take my position."

Esteban pitied the girl in front of him. Truly she did look younger than she was right then. Vulnerable, scared.

"I have a solution for that though." He said, "I have some experience in financial matters since being in Shuriki's court." He pulled out a fan he had Ben hiding in his inner coat pocket. He had plucked most of the jewels from it's cover so it showed its actual light blue design of flowers rather than the bejeweled design of a rose. "This, you can use to cover your scar if you wish."

He picked out a small pile of rubies buried within the pocket as well. "And this you can use as bribes when you need to."

"Bribes?" Paloma stared at him dubiously.

"Money makes the world go round. And with Shuriki in control, I really don't think we could afford to have too much of a moral compass. Believe me." Esteban thought to when he let Victor get banished. To allowing his family to be trapped in a painting and an amulet respectively. Letting Shuriki kill the king and queen as he stood by meekly.

Paloma looked at him to continue. "I don't know how far along you got to in training but right now as Master of the Guild, what matters is that you make money. That way we can keep Avalor prosperous and keep everyone in standard comfort than poverty."

"Yes" Paloma leaned forward eagerly, greatful that someone was giving her advice.

"We need more taxes. Just for a little bit. Put a price on everything. At this time, everyone wants to decorate to have some cheer in their house. So they are more than willing to pay in decorations, candles, food. But what else, we need a bigger revenue, more of a reason to buy this stuff. So that is why we need to organize sales, competitions. In which you must play the people off one another."

Paloma nodded, calculating the numbers in her head, "A harvesting contest would be good. You need to hire workers to plow and of course, materials which could cost extra since they have to be built.." Paloma continued happily, employing more people was necessary. "That's it" Esteban encouraged

"Good, really good. Everyone is dismissed." Shuriki called to the officials, waving them out the door, "Ah Paloma, you look less whorish. But still quiet vulgar for my court. A slut among nobles." Shuriki smiled at her.

Esteban resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Paloma had been dressing less "slutty” lately. Her dresses covered her shoulders, and any other skin that could be shown, from her ankles to her collarbone. An hour later as they were walking to the docks for a impromptu meeting with sailors, Paloma asked him.

"Esteban, what is it? Do I really look like a prostitute?"

"You never looked like a prostitute. Her Grace, is just...Her Grace. Look, you're young and she isn't, that's all."

"There is a part of Shuriki that is insecure of her looks?" Paloma said dubiously with a look of disbelief.

"Yeah that's probably not it." Esteban admitted, "But if you want to make her stop trying copying her dress. Put your hair up like a married women. Fancier jewelry, I'm sure you could get it."

"So like real jewels instead of plain smith shop work. But what about the blacksmith? He needs the money I pay him for his work..." Esteban gave her a look.

"Right, no moral compasses here. I forgot." She fingered her gold tinted chain that had PXPM carved into the stone in the middle.

"You use your mother's maiden name?" Esteban asked pointing to it. "Oh no, I have two middle names actually." Paloma said, "My parents wanted to name me Paloma Prospera Mascarnes but then my mom died so my father wanted to name me Xiomara after her as well." "How?" Esteban asked softly. He never knew his parents, no matter how much he begged Francisco and Luisa and his aunt and uncle to tell him, he never got the answer. He sometimes would dream of the day they would return from some long journey and come to him and they would spend the days like a family, and he could say "My Mom and Dad" instead of "My Abuelo and Abuela."

"I came three weeks early and there were complications...and my mom's body couldn't.." she took a pause to recollect herself "She died almost half an hour after I was born. I wasn't suppose to live either. I was all small and pale, like a paloma. So..yeah."

"I used to wonder if that is what happened to my mom." Esteban whispered, "But death by childbirth is somewhat a normal occurrence so I thought Francisco and Luisa would tell me. I just wonder..”

Paloma put a hand on his shoulder, "I'm sure they didn't abandon you because it had anything to do with you. After all you were left with your grandparents and they are so..I mean were so kind."

"Well they would definitely abandon me now" Esteban thought to himself, "And my grandparents wouldn't be so kind if they knew what I had helped do."

Esteban mustered a small smile at the girl beside him and tried to push the thoughts away.

Months later, Esteban was walking down the royal palace when he saw Paloma walking ahead. Behind her a guard was obviously trying to look like he was walking casually behind her but Esteban could see him leering at the women's long skirt. Esteban shook his head in disgust. There was nothing to see! She wasn't doing anything and they all looked at her like some sort of sex toy.

Esteban quickly strode up, and shoved past the guard. "Señora Mascarnes, I must have a word isn't you in my study. Right now." He whisked her off to his study and firmly closed the door. "I don't like that man." He growled.

"Why Esteba," Paloma smirked with a mocking tone, "Don't tell me you're jealous?"

"Jealous!" Esteban thought. No, he wasn't. Yes, he didn't like it when other men stared at her. But that only was because they were not gentlemen!

They all saw her as "the prostitute" the pretty girl who had nothing in her brain. He wished they could see what he did. Over the months he worked with her to keep Avalor, prosperous he saw her as educated, and sly and witty, and very well-cultured. She was fiercely protective and determined in doing her job as Magister of the Guild.

He never could have thought of the many ways to squeeze money out of people as she did. And how to outmaneuver the trade deals to Avalor's favor.

But jealous...no he wouldn't let himself. It was something he could never do. He couldn't afford to make that kind of liaison in Shurki's court, no matter the women.

"No" Esteban answered. He thought he saw her smile falter a little but dismissed it as his imagination.

"I was keeping your virtue" Esteban let the sentence speak for himself.

Paloma grew solemn, "Thank you, I appreciate it very much." "I think it's wrong. You are more than that. You are a valuable member in court."

"Thank you again." She blushed, then she straightened like she remembered something.

"I got you this." She pulled out a yellow handkerchief, "I never thanked you for the fan. I got it from Córdoba"

"It is very fine. Thank you for your gift..and your company." Esteban smiled

————————————————————————————————

"Did you not hear that Esteban!" Paloma beamed pulling him into her office, "She didn't say anything about my appearance. She didn't call me a prostitute! I'm finally doing something right!"

Esteban tried to match her feelings but felt like he couldn't. He didn't like Paloma's appearance. It was too..it was like Shuriki's. Formal, somewhat regal but didn't hold a candle to the colors and vibrancy of Avalorian dress. Her long brown hair had been pulled into a bun mimicking how Shuriki wouldn't let one thing out of place. Large, heavy-looking emeralds laid at her neck. A hat with an absurd feather poking out, just announcing her presence. No, it wasn't...

"She didn't call you anything." he pointed out.

"That's music to my ears." She smiled, "This is just the beginning. She'll have to start calling me something. An actual title like yours. Señora or Doña."

"I don't like this." Esteban blurted out. "What?"

"I don't like this" Esteban gestured to her body "It's not you. Neither is this title thing."

"Excuse me. Do I not deserve a title? After all I have done. I have brought more money the past two years than my father has ever done in his two."

"Yes, yes. That is good. But this sucking up to Shuriki." "And you don't?" Paloma argued.

"I have to!" Esteban amended vehemently, "I'm her right hand. I'm the one doing all the royal duties here. If I'm gone, Shuriki would neglect it and let some poor, unefficant soul run Avalor to the ground. I am helping Avalor."

"I'm helping Avalor too!" Paloma retorted "I'm the one that is keeping the economy going, keeping jobs for the people. I'm not letting the other countries take advantage of us."

"You are making the people buy buy buy to run the economy. You tax the lower villages too much." Esteban said.

"What I'm doing is helping them in the long run. Yes, they have to pay taxes but those taxes provide them with food and shelter. You can't get things if you don't give a little." Paloma crossed her arms.

"But you are using some of the inventory to buy that." He pointed to her necklace.

"Just this." Paloma hissed "For my own sake. Do you know how hard it is to be taken seriously when you're called a prostitute by the queen? She calls me that in public everyday in front of officials, in front of guests! Do you know how many have treated me like one. Seven offered to pay for my services. Three didn't even bother with the pretense of paying they just tried to force.." Paloma took a shuddery breath before continuing, "I have to look like I'm a part of the court to do my job, Esteban. I have to suck up and do what Shuriki wants and get the amount of money she wants. I don't know why you think that is different from you. You are so close to her. You might as well helped her to.."

Esteban took a sharp intake of breath, "Because it doesn't matter that you look better now. You are still a lower person even you don't look the part. You only made it because I helped you. You wouldn't make it at all."

"I would." Paloma's eyes flashed with fury "I know just as much. Even more than you."

"I'm the royal here." Esteban said coldly.

"You've been overthrown." Paloma answered icily "I can make it just fine without you. So get out of my office."

Esteban hesitated but with a defiant glare he left. He was the one in the right. He wasn't turning to Shuriki's pet. Right...

So from then on, I imagined it developed into the rivalry they have in the present. Who is the one who knows court life/formalities more? Who is the one who could always come out on top. I also imagine Shuriki could see their tension and helped to pit them against each other so there is that as well.

[maknaesdancersrappers]

july 21

hello. july 21 is a special day for me and you dont have to read this because its just me venting out my thoughts and emotions as long as i can without word/character limits on any platform.

july 21 is my maternal grandmother’s birthday. when i was born, my mom went abroad often and my dad had the regular 9 to 5 job plus extra hours for commute. so growing up with my sisters who are 5 and 7 years older, our grandparents and aunts took care of us.

im also more fond of my maternal grandmother since my paternal grandmother lived far away and we rarely ever get to see her (usually only during summers and once she stayed with us for awhile) until she passed away from Alzheimer's.

during the long hiatus i took early this year (late december to mid-march?), a lot has happened in my life. my health was put at risk because of the ash fall brought by the volcano eruption (january 12); i had allergies for weeks - i couldnt breathe properly, let alone sleep because of it. it was about to be the second year after graduating college and i have yet to get a job; the pressure from my family - and myself - was so unbearable that i caught myself slipping back to my very, very, very dark thoughts. and the worst thing that happened in those three months: my grandmother passed away. in filipino, grandmother is lola (loh-lah) and i’d like to use that for the rest of this post.

if you ask anyone in their neighborhood, any of our family friends, and relatives, everyone will tell you that her death was sudden. because everyone knows her as the sometimes-funny-sometimes-cranky old lady that owns the convenience store at the corner of the street. she was 96. she was 96 but she refused to get a wheelchair or use a walking stick even though her knees started to hurt after a few steps. she was 96 but didn’t need glasses to read most of the time. she was 96 but didn’t have any maintenance medication. ever since she reached her 90′s, she had gone to the town clinic at least twice because she fell over (from loss of balance) and busted her head. yet she would walk the next day like she doesnt have stitches on her scalp. she hated going to the doctor, she’d always claim that nothing hurts and the only thing she wanted the doctor to fix was her hearing (its as weak as how her eyesight is clear)

i wasnt the only one in the family that got severely affected by the ash fall. my lola also had trouble breathing because of it. she also went to the doctor for it and they only prescribed her antibiotics. please remember this info. this should be around early february

she got a little better but her voice was very hoarse from the phlegm. even before this, lola had little to no appetite and would only eat when someone else is eating (usually if it’s us, her granddaughters). and by little to no appetite, i mean her whole meal would be three spoonfuls of rice and one piece/chunk of whatever the main dish/ulam is. whenever we ask if she had eaten (even though we know she hadnt) she’d always claim that she already has (this eventually became a little joke in our family.) we took this sign as her dementia getting worse (although she was never really diagnosed with it, we had naturally assumed it because she would always repeatedly tell us stories that she insists happened even though some have been debunked and there were times she forgets our names if we havent visited in a while.)

after she gets better from the cough (idk the real diagnosis of it), her legs started to swell and because her routine had been reduced to being bedridden for most of the day, my aunts thought it was just poor circulation. it took two weeks before they brought her back to the town clinic and again, they just prescribed her with some medicine. everything after this is blurry to me until feb 21

my mom, being the eldest, made the decision to bring lola to the hospital. she’s, rightfully, unsatisfied with the town doctor’s diagnosis and prescriptions because lola is in so much pain and her legs were still swollen and its been weeks. i was with her in the emergency room while my mom and aunt did the paper work and the staff ran tests on lola. i’m contacting my sister who was in singapore and we’d video call to entertain lola since she was very adamant - and vocal - that she did not want to be admitted to the hospital bc she was “fine.” goSh she made so many hospital staff laugh because she would always announce whenever she had to fart. after like 2 hours, we move her into a ward and my mom tells me that i’ll have to stay overnight to watch over her. i was very apprehensive of this idea. i honestly did not want to. seeing her in pain was bad enough, but the fact we were in a room with other people and she was crying out loud made me really anxious but it was final. my mom, aunt, and uncle all went back home just to have dinner and they’ll come back since lola’s doctor would be coming by to give the results and for that hour they were gone? i lost it.

lola started talking/praying out loud, asking god why she was in so much pain, asking what she had done to deserve this; and i didn’t know what to do but hold her hand and kiss her head. i couldn’t even show her i was crying. when my mom got back, i told her i cant do it and she eventually convinced my other sister to join me, who cancelled her plans for the next day. that night, i did not and could not fall asleep. after a few hours, her doctor finally came by and dropped a bomb on us. he was kind enough to talk to my mom and aunt behind the curtains in the softest voice ever while i helped the nurse with lola, but i could hear him crystal clear.

cancer of the liver. 

they even momentarily walked back to lola to touch her stomach and stepped back out. i almost thought i misheard, but my mom and aunt’s expressions were too grim that it basically confirmed it. later on, my mom finally told me and explained that the antibiotics she had been taking weeks ago were too strong for her because of her lifestyle and diet. there were tumors in her liver and surgery wouldn’t do anything. i dont remember what i did aside from sketching on the journal i brought, but until i got home at 10am the next day, i did not sleep a wink.

feb 22. when i woke up at 2PM, i was told that they had lola discharged from the hospital. there was nothing we could do but try to ease the pain to the best of our abilities and wait. starting that day, i went over to lola’s house to help out with feeding her, giving her medicine, and just trying to keep her happy by randomly smiling at her when i see her looking around or dancing to no music.

feb 24. these were the early weeks of covid - ph hadn’t had a case yet, i believe, but travel restrictions were being implemented. my sister in singapore was doing everything to make sure she could come home because we don’t know when, but we know lola was leaving soon. of all the things our mom told her not to do, she cried at the entrance of the embassy and by the grace of god, someone took pity and listened to her (bc she was denied entry since she had a small cough) and she was able book a flight at midnight and be home in 4 hours. that afternoon, when i arrived at lola’s house, that was the very first time i stood at the doorway to greet her like i usually did and she didn’t smile. not even the corners of her lips moved. she was in that much pain that she couldn’t even greet me back like she always did, which was to smile and nod her head. that night, we all decided to sleepover there (with the exception of my dad since he had to feed our dogs at home). i take my usual seat in the living room and i notice a white dress that i remember (from photos) being lola’s 50th anniversary wedding gown and without being told, i know it was what she was going to wear for the very last time.

feb 25. being notoriously a late sleeper, i was about to go to sleep at 2AM when i hear lola groaning and whining out loud. when i checked her, her stubborn lil ass was trying to get out of bed alone!!! so i obviously panic and try to wake up anyone by exclaiming that lola had to go to the bathroom - she’s been wearing adult diapers for weeks now but refuses to go in them and is adamant about bringing her to the bathroom so she could relieve herself - so me, and the same aunt and uncle from the hospital, assisted her into this modified chair so she could pee and the only thing i could do was hold her hand, like always. after that, my uncle said he’d watch over her and lie down beside her on the bed so in case she needs to go again, he can take care of it himself. after falling asleep, i heard a few hours later that my sister from SG arrived. when i woke up later on, my sisters and i presented ourselves to lola bc its been so long since she last saw us complete, and this time she was able to give us a small nod of acknowledgement. i realized that none of my uncles and aunts went to work that day, thinking it was just so we could be complete since my sister was home. but then i overhear them making plans to have a priest come over for the sacrament of anointing of the sick - which based on my last and only experience (my grandfather/lolo), this must be the day. during the session, a few of my aunts and an uncle cried. my sisters cried, too, but i forced myself not to. when the priest left, i don’t know how long, but suddenly, she was gone. i didn’t know how to react. this was the second time i’ve seen someone pass away before my very eyes. everyone was crying out for forgiveness, kissing lola’s head, but i couldn’t move one bit. i was finally crying, but i couldn’t move at all.

3 days. from learning about the real problem with lola, it only took 3 days for it to take her away from us. not even a week, or a month. the only bright side to this was that she’s finally relieved of all the pain that’s been causing her suffering. 3 days of knowing her time was very, very short, but it was still a shock when she finally left. 

for the longest time, lola’s goal was to reach the age of 100 because apparently our government will reward her with 100,000 pesos (like 2k usd) for doing so. she wanted to reach 100 because she wanted to leave us with some inheritance haha. and everyone believed she could do it. no one doubted her. until this happened. maybe its just me, but i feel foolish... completely stupid and ignorant for knowing deep down in my heart that she would reach 100 that losing her 3 years prior her goal hurt me more than ever. 

it’s been 5 months but remembering her death still makes me cry. i have dreams (and you all know im a lucid dreamer) where she’s still alive and we’re talking about how she beat cancer at 96 in just a few months, but then i’ll remember that she didn’t and the dream in front of me just shatters and i’ll wake up empty and crying. i have never felt so much regret after she passed bc all she wanted was to see me graduate and it was up to me to show her that i got my first job and give her a portion of my first salary, but i couldn’t even do that. i waited too long and now its too late. her ideal type for me was a rich atenean boy who could drive 😂 and i still couldn’t give her that bc im so anti-men. there was a time i was so scared to go back to lola’s house bc she called me out during dinner - “baket ka malungkot/why are you sad?” - when all i was doing was browsing through my phone, scarily enough going through another “episode”, and the last person i’d ever want to know about my possible depression was her. of all my suicidal episodes, i’ve always resolved them by thinking of her - that i will continue living because i wanted to see her smile. because i wanted to see her happy.

i miss her so much. i wish i had been a better granddaughter to her. the small things i’ve done for her were never enough. in the past 5 months, i’ve only dreamt about her twice (actually being with her) and both times made the day so hard to function. i havent moved on and i dont know if im the only one. i dont know if i’ll ever move on. she would have been 97 today. whenever she forgets my name, i’ll tell her i have the same birthday as her and she’ll remember me. she’ll say “ahhh rosean! july 10!”

if someone read through this, im sorry you had to go through that mess. but thank you for hearing me out. no, i’ll thank you the way my lola would thank people, verbatim:

thank you very much from the bottom of my heart.

[skyfireflight]

The Dragon Prince: A (Speculative) Timeline

MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD

This a timeline I've compiled from the show, information from the creators, and my own speculations. Also from this post by @mimosaeyes and this post by @solitae 

Things here may be debunked once we have new information.

Suggestions for edits are welcome!

(And honestly, there's probably going to be a bunch of typos.)

Part of this is under a read more, because it's long.

Timeline:

5,000 years ago

1. The first elves appeared; at this time, they are not differentiated by primal sources

2. Dragons and elves are not united

3. Humans were struggling and suffered from starvation

2,000 years ago

1. The Rise of Elarion

Presumably when the City of Elarion was founded; still possible that it was named after a person.

2. Humanity found their way to magic; this allowed their civilization to begin to thrive

Presumably when Aaravos gifted magic/dark magic to humans.

1,200 years ago

1. The Era of Sol Regem, the first king of the dragons

2. The adventures of Sir Phineas Cursed; travelled together with Delilah Giehl, who became the youngest known university professor at the age of twelve

3. Dark magic has become a problem, with mass poaching of magical creatures

4. The confrontation between the human dark mage Ziard and Sol Regem

Sol Regem gives the ultimatum of either humans giving up dark magic, which humans thought of as what allowed them to live and thrive, or the destruction of the City of Elarion, which was home to hundreds of thousands of people; also calls humans lesser beings.

Ziard refuses to give up dark magic, and shows horried disbelief at the ultimatum. Sol Regem goes to destroy the City of Elarion. Ziard uses dark magic to absorb fire birds in order to try to stop Sol Regem and defend the City of Elarion; Sol Regem sees this and flies back to Ziard. Ziard throws a dark magic fireball at Sol Regem; Sol Regem breathes fire at Ziard. Sol Regem is blinded; Ziard is killed.

Between 1,200 - 1,000 years ago

1. Sol Regem is no longer the king of the dragons

2. Dragons and elves unite

3. The war between dragons/elves and humans begins

Moonshadow elves, Sunfire elves, and Skywing elves are shown to have fought. Whether Earthblood elves or Ocean Primal elves fought is unknown, though some speculate they did not.

Aaravos is also shown on the battlefield, but whether he participated or simply watched (possibly by astral projection) is unclear. It is speculated/assumed that other Startouch elves did not participate.

1,000 years ago

1. The Era of Luna Tenebris, queen of the dragons and the second known dragon monarch

2. The Judgement of the Half Moon

The humans lose the war against the elves and the dragons. Luna Tenebris orders humans to be exiled. All humans are driven out of Eastern Xadia, similar to the real-world Trail of Tears. Sunfire elves and Moonshadow elves are shown to have participated. Whether or not the other four elven races participated is unclear.

3. The Great Xadian Split

Xadia is divided in two. Powerful elven mages create a physical barrier, a river of lava, to keep humans from re-entering Eastern Xadia.

Between 1,000 - 300 years ago

1. The Mage Wars

On the human side of Xadia, powerful human mages become warlords who fight for power. This continues for a long time, and is an era in which Western Xadia is violent and war-torn.

300 years ago

1. The Era of Avizandum, king of the dragons and the third known dragon monarch; married to Zubeia, queen of the dragons. He is known to the humans as "Thunder," and guards the Western/Eastern Xadian border

2. The Orphan Queen, the first queen of Katolis, ancestor of Harrow and Ezran

The Mage Wars end and the human kingdom of Katolis is founded, presumably by the Orphan Queen.

It is assumed that she found her way to Xadia and somehow met/encountered Aaravos, by which she gained the Key of Aaravos and took it back to Katolis. The Key of Aaravos has since been passed down through the royal family of Katolis.

The Orphan Queen's true name, as of now, is unknown.

3. The Fallen Star, assumed/speculated to be Aaravos, the Startouch Archmage.

This is possibly when Avizandum discovers Aaravos's involvement with humans. Aaravos is imprisoned.

4. A spell is cast so that all text that humans have on Aaravos is unreadable

Between 300 - 100 years ago

1. The other four human kingdoms, Del Bar, Evenere, Neolandia, and Duren are founded

2. Western Xadia is now called the Human Kingdoms, or the Pentarchy; Eastern Xadia is simply referred to as "Xadia"

3. Unnamed Battle between Katolis and Xadia

It was assumed that the battle shown in the intro in the very first episode was when King Harrow of Katolis killed Avizandum in revenge for the death of his wife, Queen Sarai of Katolis. However, season 3 has revealed that this is not the case.

This battle took place sometime after Katolis was founded. Katolis's banners show the symbol for the queen's crown, so I speculate that Katolis was ruled by a queen, not a king, at this time. Whether this queen is the Orphan Queen, or one of her later descendants, is unknown.

Avizandum, Moonshadow elves, Skywing elves, and Sunfire elves are shown to have participated. Whether Earthblood elves or Ocean Primal elves participated is unknown.

Sunfire Queen Aditi, grandmother to Janai and Sunfire Queen Khessa, is also shown to have fought in this battle. Her fate is unknown, though it is speculated to have something to do with humans.

Though elven lifespans vary by race, they live about as long as humans, with the exception of the Startouch elves. While the battle could have taken place closer to 300 years ago, around the time Katolis was founded, it is unlikely that Queen Aditi was alive at this time. I speculate that it is more likely for this to have occurred closer to about 100 years ago. However, if this battle did take place 300 years ago when Katolis was founded, it is possible that Aaravos was involved, which could be how he knows what happened to Queen Aditi; his involvement could also have been a factor in why he was imprisoned.

The specifics as to why this battle occurred, or whether it was one battle or part of a longer war, is unknown.

18 years ago

1. Soren is born on January 19th

17 years ago

1. Claudia was born on June 16th*

16 years ago

1. A famine begins in Duren

2. Rayla is born on July 31st

15 years ago

1. Callum is born on July 15th

15 - 11 years ago

1. Sarai, Callum's mother, marries Harrow, crown prince of Katolis

11 years ago

1. Aanya is born on June 22nd

10 years ago

1. Ezran is born on March 19th

9 years ago

1. Harrow's father, king of Katolis, dies

2. Harrow and Sarai are crowned king and queen of Katolis

3. Queens Neha and Annika of Duren ask King Harrow of Katolis for aid; 100,000 of their people risk death from starvation that coming winter

Harrow agrees, promising half of Katolis' food. However, he barely has enough food for his own people; this would mean 50,000 people in each kingdom would die.

On a discovery made by High Mage Lord Viren, he, Harrow, Sarai, the queens of Duren, and some soldiers go to Xadia and kill a magma titan to use its heart in a spell that will warm the land and provide food to save their people.

However, before they can return over the border, Avizandum finds and attacks them.

4. Queen Neha and Queen Annika are killed by Avizandum

5. Queen Sarai is killed by Avizandum

6. The famine in Duren ends; 100,000 people are saved.

7. Aanya becomes queen of Duren

8. The egg of the Dragon Prince, Azymondias (also known as Zym) may have been laid sometime this year

9. Rayla's parents may have joined the Dragon Guard sometime this year, after the egg was laid

4 or 5 months ago

(note: Runaan says that "four full moons passed" since the king of the dragons was killed; whether or not he is counting the current full moon is unclear.)

1. Harrow kills Avizandum to in revenge for Sarai's death

Harrow drives Sarai’s spear, which was enchanted by dark magic as a weapon of revenge, into Avizandum’s heart. Avizandum turns to stone.

2. Viren infiltrates the dragon monarchs' lair, taking Aaravos's mirror and kidnapping the Dragon Prince egg

Zubeia is not present. While the rest of the Dragon Guard flee, Rayla's parents stay and fight Viren. Rayla's parents are restrained in magical blocks of ice.

Viren intends to destroy the egg, to prevent the new dragon from being a future threat. Rayla's mother convinces Viren to keep the egg alive.

Afterwards, the elves and dragons believe that Rayla's parents fled with the rest of the Dragon Guard, and that Dragon Prince egg was destroyed.

3. Rayla's parents are trapped in coins by Viren through dark magic

4. The Era of Avizandum ends

5. A new era, that will be later known as The Return of Aaravos, begins

Between 4 months ago - Now

1. Soren becomes the youngest crownguard of Katolis

Now (0 days)

1. Sent by Zubeia to kill Harrow and Ezran in revenge, six Moonshadow elf assassins arrive in Katolis

They are discovered by the guard Marcos. Rayla is sent to kill him, but spares him. This allows King Harrow and his guards to prepare for the coming attack; Harrow sends Callum and Ezran away to the Banther Lodge. Runaan calls Rayla off the mission.

2. Rayla infiltrates Katolis' castle to kill Harrow and Ezran and rectify her mistake

3. Ezran, Callum, and Rayla find the stolen Dragon Prince egg

Rayla asks Runaan to call off the mission, and the princes show him the Dragon Prince egg. Runaan refuses; Rayla fights Runaan to stall him.

4. Ezran, Callum, Rayla, and Bait begin the journey to take the egg of Dragon Prince back to Zubeia in Xadia, in order to try to stop the war and bring peace between Xadia and the Human Kingdoms

5. Runaan kills Harrow

6. Runaan is captured, and Viren imprisons him in his secret dungeon

1 day later  (one day)

1. Callum gets the Key of Aaravos    

Rayla goes to the Banther Lodge to get the "glow cube," but is found by General Amaya, the princes' aunt. Callum lies to get her to let Rayla go, but it backfires, and the children flee.

1 day later (two days)

1. Viren sends his children, Soren and Claudia, to search for Callum, Ezran, and the Dragon Prince egg; he imprisons Commander Gren in his secret dungeon

Unbeknownst to Claudia, Viren indirectly tells Soren to kill the princes.

Unbeknownst to Soren, Viren tells Claudia to choose the Dragon Prince egg over Soren if necessary.

2 days later (four days)

1. The gang, along with Ellis and Ava, climb the Cursed Caldera; they meet Lujanne, a Moonshadow elf mage

2. The Dragon Prince, Azymondias, is hatched

3. Runaan is trapped in a coin by Viren through dark magic

3 days later (one week)

1. Claudia and Soren find the gang at the Moon Nexus

2. Amaya fights Sunfire elves, and Sunfire knight Janai for the first time, at the Breach

1 day later (eight days)

1. Callum finds out about Harrow's, his stepfather's, death

2. Claudia and Soren's betrayal; the gang leaves the Moon Nexus

3. Corvus is captured on the Moon Nexus by Soren and Claudia

4. Viren sees Aaravos through the mirror for the first time

2 days later (ten days)

1. The gang meet Villads, who sails them across the small sea

2. Sunfire elves and Sunfire Knight Janai take over Katolis's fortress on the Xadian side of the Breach

1 day later (eleven days)

1. Callum reads Harrow's letter and learns about the Key of Aaravos

2. Viren meets with the monarchs of the four other Human Kingdoms to convince them to unite against Xadia; they refuse

3. Zubeia falls into a grief-induced coma

2 days later (thirteen days)

1. Pyrrha attacks a Katolis town

A sun dragon, Pyrrha, flies over a Katolis town. Soren and Claudia shoot at her, but miss. In retaliation instead of just understanding how scary she was and flying away, she sets fire to the town. Claudia and Soren shoot her down and chain her.

2. Callum uses dark magic for the first time

Rayla goes to help the dragon. Callum goes after her, and saves Rayla and unchains the dragon by using dark magic. Callum falls unconscious soon after

3. Soren gets severely injured by the dragon; his spine is broken, and he is paralyzed

4. Viren makes a magical bond with Aaravos

1 day later (two weeks)

1. Corvus finds the gang

2. Ezran learns that Harrow, his father, is dead

3. Ezran and Claudia reconcile and have a heart to heart

4. Callum learns the sky arcanum and gains sky magic

5. Claudia kills a deer to heal Soren through dark magic

6. Ezran decides to go back home with Corvus, to take his place as king

7. Claudia and Soren begin their way back to the castle

8. Viren sends out shadow assassins to the other four human kingdoms, at Aaravos's advice

9. Viren is arrested on charges of treason

10. Gren is found and freed from Viren's dungeon

1 day later (fifteen days)

1. Rayla, Callum, and Zym arrive in Xadia

The three are confronted by Sol Regem, who the gang cleverly trick and entrap in order to get past him into Xadia without getting killed.

2. Amaya and Gren reunite at the Breach

3. The Breach is sealed

The Standing Battalion of Katolis set off explosives along the Breach, caving in the stone and sealing the path with an impassable flow of lava.

4. Amaya is captured by Sunfire elves

5. Ezran is crowned king

1 day later (sixteen days)

1. Soren and Claudia are arrested for treason; Ezran releases them

2. Soren and Claudia speak to Viren; at Aaravos's advice, Viren lies about telling Soren to kill the princes

3. Janai interrogates Amaya

4. The Sunfire Queen Khessa puts Amaya through the Trial of Light; Amaya is found to be pure of heart and is allowed to live

5. Rayla and Callum arrive at Rayla's home, the Silvergrove; they discover Rayla's been banished, and meet Ethari

When the other Moonshadow assassins died, but Rayla lived, the Moonshadow elves of Silvergrove assumed that she abandoned them. Rayla and Callum speak to Ethari about what really happened and their plan to return Zym to Zubeia. Ethari reveals that Zubeia is dying, and gives them animal mounts to ride. Ethari then sends a message to Zubeia.

1 day later (seventeen days)

1. Nyx intercepts Ethari's message

2. Prince Kasef gives Ezran an ultimatum; either Katolis joins the fight against Xadia, or the armies of 3 kingdoms, Neolandia, Evenere, and Del Bar, will attack Katolis the next day at dawn

3. Rayla and Callum meet Nyx; they agree to ride on her ambler across the Midnight Desert

4. Ezran is tricked by Councilman Saleer into abdicating and releasing Viren so the 3 armies won't attack Katolis; Ezran gives Bait to Barius the Baker for safe keeping, and is put in prison

5. Rayla kisses Callum

6. Nyx kidnaps Zym; Rayla and Callum go after them

7. Callum's mount, Runaan's moonstrider, is killed by soulfangs

1 day later (eighteen days)

1. Viren declares himself king of Katolis

2. Soren sneaks Ezran and Bait out of the castle; Ezran and Bait head to Xadia on Phoe-Phoe the moon phoenix

3. Opeli, Corvus, and Barius leave Katolis to seek help from the kingdom of Duren

4. Viren declares war on Xadia

5. Marcos, and some other soldiers, refuse to fight; they are marked by a "broken link" insignia

6. Lujanne disguises herself as a human and goes to interact with human townspeople

7. Rayla and Callum rescue Zym; Rayla saves Nyx from soulfang serpents

8. Callum and Rayla share their first mutual kiss

1 day later (nineteen days)

1. Rayla, Callum, and Zym arrive at the Storm Spire, the royal sky dragons' lair

2. Ezran and Bait arrive in Xadia and reunite with Callum, Rayla, and Zym

3. Phoe-Phoe dies; Ezran keeps her feather so she can be reborn

4. The armies of Katolis, Del Bar, Evenere, and Neolandia cross the border into Xadia

5. Aaravos and Viren infiltrate Lux Aurea; the two corrupt the Sun Forge with dark magic, and Aaravos kills Sunfire Queen Khessa

6. Amaya is released from prison

7. With the stolen corrupted Sunfire staff, Viren changes the human soldiers into Dark Heat-being Mode

8. Soren leaves Viren and Claudia

9. The gang climbs to the top of the Storm Spire

Callum learns a new sky magic spell, Ezran learns about Rayla and Callum's relationship, the gang meets Ibis, and sees Zubeia and discover she is in a coma. Ezran tries to wake Zubeia, but to no avail.

10. Opeli, Corvus, and Barius meet with Aanya in Duren

1 day later (twenty days)

1. Soren arrives at the Storm Spire

2. Ibis scouts from the sky, and meets with Amaya and Janai

3. With the moon opal pendant that Rayla gave him, Callum uses a Moon spell to see the past; he and Rayla discover what really happened with Rayla's parents

4. Amaya and Janai arrive at the Storm Spire; Sunfire elf soldiers from Lux Aurea gather to defend Zubeia and Zym

1 day later (twenty-one days)

1. Viren's Dark Heat-being army arrive at the Storm Spire

2. The Battle at the Storm Spire

General Amaya, Soren, Janai, Callum, and Sunfire elf soldiers defend the base of the Storm Spire, while Rayla and Bait guard Zym and the dragon queen. Duren's army, led by Aanya, and Katolis's army of "deserters," led by Corvus, Gren, Opeli, and Barius, arrive as reinforcements. The Dark Heat-being army is subdued, and the elven and human allied forces win. Viren and Aaravos climb the Storm Spire and capture Zym, but are stopped by Rayla.

3. Callum learns the Mage Wing spell

To rescue Zym, Rayla tackles Viren off of the pinnacle of the Storm Spire. Callum jumps after her, and successfully casts the Mage Wing spell, catching Rayla and saving her life.

4. Viren dies

5. Zubeia wakes from her coma; she and Zym are reunited

6. Aaravos's caterpillar forms a cocoon

2 days later (twenty-three days)

1. Viren is resurrected by Claudia through dark magic

It is assumed she did so by killing a Dark Heat-being mode human soldier, but what other methods or ingredients she may have used are unknown.

* Depending on what day in May the current timeline started, Claudia might have turned 17 years old during season 3.

Total time of first 3 seasons: 24 days

[in-a-cave-with]

do you have any fics to recc that arent stevetony? you have the beeeest taste ilu

apparently all my comics fic bookmarks are stevetony but also all my non comic marvel fic bookmarks AREN’T stevetony so that’s just. kind of weird. also a lot of these are irondad . also i added some fics that aren’t in my bookmarks which mean this post is going to be gigantic

for good by Madelinedear"Sorry, May, we can't all be best friends with a celebrity.”May opens her mouth to retort reflexively, the words 'we aren’t even friends' on the tip of her tongue before she closes her mouth. Because they are friends, now. They’re way past that point.Oh my god, she thinks somewhat hysterically. Tony Stark is my best friend.(or; Tony Stark, May Parker, and the road to something like friendship)rec note: this is THE marvel fic. THE fic i tell you,,,.

chocolate chip cookies (alternate words for i love you) by hopeless_hopeBeing a superhero, Tony has come to expect a lot of things. He can’t really afford to be surprised by too much; being flexible is just part of the job. Aliens attacking New York? Sure. People threatening to attack his home? Not uncommon. A teenage spider-kid baking cookies in his kitchen at almost three in the morning? Completely unexpected.rec note: PETER MAKING COOKIES NEVER MADE ME CRY SO HARD

the spider-man conspiracy by tempestaurora WHO IS SPIDER-MAN?The screen showed Peter Parker, sixteen years old and determined to prove the identity of Spider-Man over the course of the three-part documentary he was making, unknowing that it would become viral within days of the first part being released. Behind the camera, way off screen, was Harley Keener, Tony Stark’s other prodigy child, grinning like crazy as Peter started the documentary. Only a few people knew what was to come, and those few people were about to have a great few weeks.“My name is Peter Parker, and with the help of my friends, Ned Leeds, Harley Keener, and my Aunt, May Parker, who provided me with a lot of red yarn for this project, we’re going to uncover the identity of Spider-Man.”rec note: THIS FIC IS SO FUNNY!!!! I LOVE HARLEY IN FICS

5 Times Peter Made Tony Laugh Out Loud by grilledcheesing... and one time he did not.Post Spider-Man: Homecoming — Tony is just trying his damn hardest to keep this reckless kid from Queens safe, but it's hard when Peter is, occasionally, ridiculous as all hell.rec note: sof.....last chapter don’t interact....

if you love something, let it go by theprimrosepathBy now, the Avengers are well-acquainted with grief. But grief is a companion that rarely travels alone, particularly not around a prince.Really, grief is the least of Thor's problems.rec note: THOR MY POOR SON BOY SUN BOY :(((((((........

The Art of Publicity by xmypandabearAfter everything with the Accords, Tony Stark's reputation is in the toilet. Fortunately, he's got Spider-Man to make it better.(AKA Five times Peter and Tony's relationship made the internet implode a little)rec note: THIS FIC IS SO GOOD

We've Made It This Far, Kid by EmAndFandemsTony's just trying to protect the kid from SHIELD. Why does everything have to be so hard?Meanwhile, Peter's biggest problem is buying movie tickets, until he gets a harsh awakening.rec note: this fic is so good!!!!!! it feeds me in every way i want (also this was from the irondad big bang and i did art for it heyyyyy)

of nukes and goats by doingthewritethingsAs Tony find out, it’s hard to say no to teenagers who burst through a window into your lab and tell you they have made a grave mistake. (“We?” says Shuri. “There’s no ‘we’ in this mess, Pete.”)or, the one where Peter Parker buys a farm animal on a whim, and it almost leads to intergalactic doom.rec note: hey remember all the shuri & peter parker content we all made after infinity war? good times good times

We Drown Together by GalaxyThreads"...Sir?" Peter repeats, cautiously. The man licks his dry, split lips and then parts them, ragged breath escaping followed by a pleading whisper: "Help him."Odin arrives too late to save Thor and Loki from the plummet into the Void at the end of Thor 1, and both are captured and claimed by the hand of Thanos. Four years later, Peter Parker comes across two half-dead men wandering the streets of New York.rec note: this is such an interesting au!!! also, please give the brodinsons a hug.

Exclusive by copperbadgeHeroes In Manhattan: From Captain America's Hidden Talents To The Truth About The Hulk, We Debunk The Myths And Expose The Daily Lives Of The Avengers.rec note: ah yes, a classic! 

Stars, Hide Your Fires by YellowDistressStarks didn't create beautiful things.They created weapons that destroyed beautiful things. That was the way it had always been.But when the four-year-old's wide eyes blinked at him, Tony was struck with the sudden realization that maybe that had been a lie.rec note: this fic is part of a rlly long series that basically entails tony adopting peter after learning he’s his dad. i don’t really read a lot of bio dad aus (me reading irondad: it’s about the found family) but this is super good! it makes me feel a LOT 

buried alive by twoifT'Challa, king of the living, king of the dead, king of the in-between.The body is heavy. T'Challa's own trembles. He may not be able to support much more. He has been through so much already. Bast be with me, he curses. I have already borne so much today.But still, he carries Killmonger once more.rec note: SCREAMS i love t’challa so much

home training by theformeroneT'Chaka takes Erik back to Wakanda.Erik is a problem child.rec note: THIS IS SOOOOO GOOD!!!

Small Gods by LullabyKnell"Larger than life.They say that a lot, in the interviews and social media posts, when they talk about meeting Tony Stark. (Who’s ‘they’? Well, everybody, of course.) Shorter than they’d expected him to be, in person, but with a presence that makes him seem like... more.More than a regular celebrity, more than a man, more than a person - something big, something brilliant, something that’s already left a blazing mark on history."rec note: on god i am such a slut for tony character studies in fics

Remembering September by sunbean72As Tony confronts his past demons using BARF, Peter’s enhanced senses allow him to experience the world differently from others. When BARF malfunctions and someone needs to rescue Tony, Peter might be the only one who can save him.rec note: now that ffh came out this fic becomes uncanon but it’s canon in my heart

Stray by MemoryDragonJim Rhodes went out to get some studying done at the library. He ended up with a best friend.rec note: *clutches heart* OH

He's My... Intern? by losingmymindtonightA kid from Queens was all it took to melt the ice around Tony Stark's frozen heart.--A series of oneshots that delve into the relationship between Tony Stark and Peter Parker as their lives begin to merge.rec note: hhhhng. HHHHNG. HHHHHHH

Then How Do YOU Explain Peter? by Asphodelia“I DID NOT HAVE SEX WITH A SPIDER, THOR.”rec note: this fic made me laugh really really hard. also i’m 90% sure thor’s just trolling all of them

In Your Corner by asterismsFive adults who try to be the reasonable authority figure Peter needs in his life post-homecoming and one who was there all along.rec note: UGH i have many feelings....about spidered man.....

the one where Tony breaks Captain America by singingwithoutwordsTony and Rhodey have been in a committed relationship since Tony was sixteen. This is apparently news to Steve(and also the rest of the team).rec note: why is there not more rhodeytony fic. this is a crime.

Hypothetically, I'm a Role Model by madastheseaFor lack of better options, Tony asks Clint a question about kids.rec note: yes i know mcu clint is a rat. i still adore this fic because i can tastefully ignore his canon characterization

The A-Team Challenge by Isnt_it_pretty_to_think_soTony Stark just wants to keep Peter Parker on the down low. Heaven forbid Spiderman do something stupid, like go viral.OR: Peter Parker accidently patents the superhero equivalent of the ice bucket challenge.rec note: THE only cacw fixit ever

Small Town by ifitwasribaldIn the aftermath of Extremis and the Mandarin and Killian, a town keeps Tony's secret.rec note: honestly i just. really really like tony and his potato gun son

Pretend We're In Love (The Heartache Still Hurts) by InsaneJuliannRhodey's dad is dying, and what he's always wanted is for Rhodey to be happily married. Tony and Rhodey were best friends, and haven't spoken in years. But after a chance meeting at the airport, and a desperate, insane idea on Rhodey's part, they end up pretending to be engaged.But how much of it is really pretend?rec note: rhodeytony in this fic are like. ahaha what if we fake-kissed....but we’re still secretly pining for one another...

Time Past by flute25After the events of Dark World, Loki has deposited Odin at the Shady Acres retirement community.And that - should be that.But the pull of family (not his family) is strong, and Loki soon finds himself a regular visitor at the decrepit institution.After all, Odin is enchanted, and what harm can there be in finally telling the old man what is on his mind without any repercussions?What harm, indeed?rec note: lokiiiiiiiii :((((((((

An Eggscellent Adventure by flute25Loki teaches Thor about a new Midgardian cooking method as the two sons of Asgard settle into their new home at Stark Tower.Post-Infinity War/A4. Thanos is dead, everyone else is alive, and the sun is shining on us again.rec note: LOKIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!

Tony Stark is the New Tokyo by CiderSkyTony Stark has a complicated relationship with moths.rec note: this is a pretty old fic but also. MOTHS FLYING AROUND THE ARC REACTOR

This Tiny Bird by battybatzgirlYou can never be too sure of what teenagers do on dates these days. Good thing Tony is excellent at being stealthy.(He's NOT overprotective. He's not.)rec note: ahhhhhhhhh

The Adventures of Captain Crowbar and Spider-Man by ciaconnaaPeter gasps. “It's like you're psychic. A super-powered brain. You sure you aren’t an Avenger, too?”“No. And the answer to the next question, 'Is Spider-Man an Avenger?' is also, no.”“I’m an honorary Avenger, Em. It’s a big deal.”“Stark comes up with fancier ways to say lackey every single day.”or;When Michelle gets mugged and hit over the head with a crowbar, she's gifted with a concussion. It's not a fun time. Luckily, she has Spider-Man's number.rec note: this starts out as spideychelle but is part of a series that’s a mcu/brooklyn nine nine crossover which makes me so happy

the sky collapsed but the stars remain by ciaconnaaOn the day of the Snap, Harley Keener watches his mother turn to dust.With a duty to look after his younger sister, the two of them abandon the wilting town of Rose Hill in search of Tony Stark. Because if Harley helped him before, he can damn well help him again. Tony's a mechanic. He fixes things.To put it simply, they have to fix this.rec note: oh, my feelings,

...two birdbrained heroes and a spider in a stark tree by ciaconnaaThis year, the first Christmas after Thanos, the Avengers decide to do gifts by simply doing a Secret Santa for their Christmas party. And it's just Peter's luck that he drew Mr. Stark's name.rec note: THIS IS THE POST ENDGAME FIC THAT I SHOULD’VE GOTTEN. GODDAMN YOU R*SSOS FOR K WORDING TONY ISTG

potato guns and repulsers by gossamernotesHarley Keener was four when his dad left.Five when Tony Stark became Iron Man.And ten when said superhero broke into his garage and demanded a sandwich.Life, after that, was never the same.[The story wherein Harley Keener thinks over his life and watches where it goes after he meets the one and only, Tony Stark. It doesn't really go the way he planned.]rec note: this makes me so soft

Restless Night by Fernandidilly_yoSometimes even heroes can't sleep, but that's alright because there is always someone else awake and nearby.Or: Five times Tony couldn't sleep and the one time he did.rec note: you may notice a pattern of “not a lot of these fics are angsty! wow!” this one kind of is

Silence is Golden by GloriousBlackoutPeter doesn't say a word during his first six months with the Ravagers. Yondu learns to adapt to having a silent shadow following him around.rec note: DAD YONDU AND SMOL QUILL

Watch Our Souls Fade Away by GloriousBlackoutNebula and Tony struggle to come to terms with everything they've lost as they make the journey back to Earth.rec note: this fic was written before endgame but I SWEAR. THE WAY NEBULA AND TONY ARE WRITTEN BY THIS WRITER I CRY

All You Distrust, All You Save by GloriousBlackoutNebula could be forgiven for hoping things couldn't get much worse than being stranded in space with a man she barely knows and little chance of rescue. Unfortunately, the universe has a habit of proving her wrong.Missing scenes from Nebula and Tony's difficult journey back to Earth.rec note: please i am fragile,

All That's to Come by GloriousBlackoutIn the aftermath of Tony's funeral, Nebula tries to comprehend her feelings of loss and ends up meeting a little girl who's grown up hearing stories about her.rec note: I’M NOT OKAY. I’M NOT FUCKING OKAY

Lazarus, come forth by iron_spiderTony's mind is a chaotic mess but he remembers the moment—remembers his death, remembers the red hot pain and Peter screaming, Rhodey rushing to his side. How he knew he’d never see Pepper again—but they’d fixed it. They’d fixed the world, erased the lost time, set things right—and the kid was back. The kid was crying, the kid hated him for doing what he did, but he was back. He was alive.rec note: this isn’t an endgame fixit but....i also read this around 10 times after endgame because. yeah. also here comes the iron_spider spam

dear mr. fantasy by iron_spiderTony worries his brain is misfiring, transporting him across time and space in one final insane journey. He swallows hard, and he hears those garbled voices again. He can’t make out words, or tone, or who the hell is talking, but somebody definitely is, and it sounds strangely like they’re underwater. Or he is. He grits his teeth and turns around, and before he can even begin to trudge over towards Peter’s room, he’s stopped in his tracks. By a door. In the middle. Of the living room. Straight up and down like a monolith, just beside the glass coffee table. Tony chews on his lower lip and stares at it. “Well that’s new,” he says, still rooted to the spot.rec note: listen i swear i’m not going to just rec every single iron_spider longfic *does exactly that*

the rattle of their hearts by iron_spiderTony deals with the aftermath of Infinity War. He needs to get things back to normal. And Peter is an essential part of normal.rec note: this is one of the first marvel fics i read and i started reading it while it was being updated and i was SHAKING in ANTICIPATION and i SCREAMED several times i just. h,,,hhh.. this is an infinity war fixit but it’s miles better than endgame

Stark's Home for Wayward Animals by iron_spiderTony narrows his eyes and turns the corner. Peter is splayed out on the third stair, in his Spiderman suit sans the mask, soaked to the bone. His hair is plastered to his forehead, he’s shivering, and he’s holding a gray cat clutched to his chest.Tony stares at him. Both Peter and the cat are looking at him, wide-eyed, and then the cat meows again, breaking the silence.“What’s happening right now?” Tony asks.rec note: CAT CAT CAT CAT CAT CAT CAT CAT CAT

ever in your favor by iron_spiderHe remembers what day it is, and his heart beats like a drum at someone’s execution. But he tries to put on a mask, make it all seem normal. It’s everything but, despite the fact that he’s been dealing with reaping day since he was born, between himself, Ben and May. That fear that one of them could be taken away. Sent to surefire slaughter. But now Ben is gone, taken despite never having his name drawn from a bowl, and May’s finally safe. Now Peter’s name is in there alone. The last Parker sitting on the chopping block. He doesn’t know how to be. He doesn’t know what normal is, when the Hunger Games are looming on the horizon.rec note: ghhghfjkgf this fic is so top notch...it gave me so many feelings....it GAVE ME CAROL&TONY RIGHTS?? FROM AN MCU FIC???? LITERALLY THE DREAM ??

5 times Peter is stuck with Tony by iron_spider(...and one time he’s stuck alone.)“I wonder if Pepper’s reported me missing yet,” Tony says, with an exaggerated sigh. “I wonder if this is some kind of scheme to kidnap me or something.”“I think the ride’s just broken,” Peter says.“Today of all goddamn days,” Tony says, exasperation clear in his voice and in his eyes. “Ruining our trip—”“It’s not ruined,” Peter says. “Look, we’re hanging out."“Real quality time,” Tony huffs. “Us, a few other trapped members of the general public, and a handful of animatronic pirates. Drunk pirates. Repeating themselves.”rec note: this fic is a RIDE. i laugh in one chapter and then my feelings get vibe checked in the next.

what if there is no tomorrow? by iron_spider"We're in a time loop. I'm Bill Murray. I remember everything, you guys don't, we're...we are trapped. We're trapped, buddy. I've done this over and over. And over. And over and over and over. I don't know how to fix it. So I'm...giving up. I make snow angels now. And that's it."rec note: this fic made me like justin hammer. it’s done the fucking impossible.

[itskiah]

An autumn leaf has no control, it sways in whichever direction the wind leads it. All the other leaves have fallen and now its just one leaf trying to hold on to the tree with all it's might. It is afraid to fall like the others, even though it's uncomfortable with the constant twisting and turning of the wind. The tree has become unwelcome, and uninterested in the leaf. It no longer provides the leaf with the nutrients it needs to be strong and green. The leaf is meant to fall, to cut ties with the tree, to wither away and seep into the ground and grow into something else, something stronger. Lately I've been reminded of who I used to be. A sad, lonely leaf afraid to fall. I had friends, if you want to call them that. They were mean and cold and never took accountability for the things they did to me. They made me feel small, unloved, and unworthy. They even pretended to plot my death once. And all because I tried so badly to be like them, to be with them. It wasn't my fault I was so unhappy, so uncomfortable in my skin. There was nothing I could do about it, it was just how I was born and how I was forced to live. I would tell them that each time I was upset. Tell them it's not their fault either and I'm so sorry for upsetting them. I would stalk their social media pages and see that they were all hanging out without me. Then I started to text them that I wanted to hurt myself, or that I had an allergic reaction just to see if they would answer, if they cared. I remember one time they all sat me down for an intervention. They harshly told me I'm not the victim and I was the reason I was so miserable, and that they were becoming miserable because of me. They told me they didn't want to be friends with me if I didn't change. I tried to point out all of the things they did and said that made me feel the way I did, but they didn't hear it. They debunked everything I said, told me I made it all up.  I cried, I cut, I felt ashamed. But despite this I still longed to be a part of the group, I pretended I was okay, but each time I left them I'd be overwhelmed with anxiety, convince myself I wasn't worth their friendships. Then the next day I would make damn sure I was at the pool with them all, I resented them, but if I didn't have them what did I have? I couldn't wait to go to college. A fresh start with people who don't know me, people who would see the real me. I'd see all the girls in the hallway and wish I could be like them. Unapologetic and popular, magnetic really. I'd hear them outside my door getting ready to go to parties, but they never invited me. "Why? I know I'm shy but all I need is for someone to give me a chance." But I did make some friends after all, we would be living together in a quad the following year. But these girls didn't care for the parties like I did, so even with them I felt out of place. Sophomore year I was finally invited, finally given a chance. I went to a party and I remember watching all the boys hitting on the girls as I continuously pulled my shirt higher to hide my cleavage. Why weren't they looking at me? I know I'm not pretty but am I really that ugly? I knew I shouldn't have worn that shirt it made my chest look too big and my arms looked fat and standing next to these girls really brought that out, There I was the designated fat friend there to make everyone else look better by comparison. I remember sitting on the bed in the dorm room when a girl grabbed my hand to dance. She told me one of her guy friends was looking at me, I didn't even notice. She introduced me and he asked to dance but I wouldn't let him touch my hips, he would feel my fat. He told me I was beautiful I told him he was lying. Then we stopped talking and he left with one of the "pretty girls." A few weeks later was my birthday and one of the "pretty girls" wanted to throw me a party. I didn't show because she wouldn't tell me who was coming. She told me that I was being disrespectful and that I didn't appreciate all that she had done and she stopped speaking to me. I apologized incessantly "it's just my anxiety I can't help it." We never rekindled that "friendship." Which I knew all along would happen because she never truly understood me. I thought my roommates did but they even started to show they didn't care, they stopped asking me about my vague posts on twitter and facebook. One time they even told me that what I posted was obviously about them and that "I make everything about me." Why can't anyone understand how hard it is to be me? To feel what I feel? A few days after my birthday I snuck out of my college dorm and got in my car. I had every intention to drive into a tree. Before I took off I listened to a voicemail from my aunt and cousins singing me happy birthday. I called my mom and told her I didn't want to be alive anymore. Although I had had these thoughts before, I decided this was it.  I posted on twitter and facebook that I wanted to leave this "earth." None of my "friends" replied, just a girl I worked with who didn't even know me. I was right, I knew they didn't care. Then I put the car in reverse and started driving. I didn't know where I was going, I just knew that there were plenty of roads near my school where I could easily shut my eyes, and hit the gas until I crashed. Through the tears I remember thinking "they'll be sorry now." But I couldn't do it. Something inside me was afraid. "Of course even I would fail at this." It took me a while to realize that I couldn't follow through that night because I wasn't doing it for me. I was doing it to seek some sort of revenge on "them." I turned the car around, still crying and pulled into the parking spot I left from 20 min prior. My roommates were there waiting, they jumped in the car and hugged me as I sobbed. When we got back to our room, I checked my phone and had several missed calls from my mom and several private messages on facebook and twitter. People do care. After that day I became determined to start my journey  to prove "them" wrong. To show "them" all that I was worthy of all the good that life has to offer. I begun deep diving into myself, my thoughts, my feelings, my behaviors. I realized that the people in my past had a point. People in my past were not trying to hurt me, they were trying to save me. I convinced myself for so long that I was the victim and "they" were the perpetrators. But "they" were just a figment of my creation. People in my past did not say that I was the ugly, fat friend, I did.  People in my past didn't tell me that something was wrong with me, I did. So if "they" were really just my inner thoughts I didn't have to prove anyone wrong but myself. And so the journey's purpose changed. Once "they" held less power, my true personality emerged. Other's began to flock to me, I began to see myself and accept myself for the things that I am (good, bad, and the ugly.) I became an unapologetic "pretty girl." I don't need anyone else to love me as long as I love me. Realizing I held the power all along was terrifying yet amazing. I am not a victim. I am not just a leaf twisting in the wind. I am a strong and flawed woman and I matter in this world. Now the leaf has become a tree. beautiful and full of leaves. This tree has now begun to understand the tree it fell from all those years ago and whispers "thank you" in the wind. This tree nurtures it's many leaves until they are ready to fall and become their own trees

[themildestofwriters-ocs]

OC Masterlist

~Divine Intervention~

Babette Felicia Abrams Melwyn

Celestial | Veteran | The Goddess out of Time

When Babette returned to Earth, she wasn’t even sure she was truly home. But, after a few months of the world staying remarkably consistent, she was beginning to rule out her return as some fever dream of the dying. This didn’t change anything though. It didn’t stop the nightmares. It didn’t stop the memories. Her family—and they were her family, weren’t they?—tried to help, but it had been so long and she could barely remember them.

She needed air. She needed some alone time, out of the hospital, out of the home. So what if it was Shabbos? Home was barely home anymore.

Tag: #oc: babette melwyn

fc: Anya Taylor-Joy

Josephine Avery Williams

Artist | Student | A Fan of the Classics

Josephine was a girl with a lot on her mind and, considering graduation was right around the corner, it was quite the pain in the ass. Grades, ATAR, university prospects, work prospects, drama rehearsals, and this isn’t even counting all going on in her private life. She felt like she was drowning in a tumultuous sea, barely being given the chance to breath.

Small things first. It was Samuel’s birthday, soon, wasn’t it? She still hadn’t gotten him a gift, yet. Perhaps she could organize a short trip to the city, just for that?

Tag: #oc: josephine williams

fc: Jessica Sula

Yael Aoi Melwyn

Complicated | Blade Fanatic | Takes After her Father

The first few moments of life for young Yael Melwyn was the sterile light of a laboratory, behind the spotless glass of her tank. A clone, bred to kill her genetic father and serve as an executioner of the Empire, but defective. She would’ve been thrown to the incinerator or dissected to perfect the final, penultimate clone. But when the very woman she was bred to kill besieges the facility she was born, plans change.

Older now, Yael searches for her father who had vanished so long ago. Her heart aches with pain and confusion and straight denial that Babette was dead. She was lost without her, lost without the single anchor she had in life, without her guardian.

So, when a being of pure light visited her in the night, asking if she wanted to be with her father again, there was no other answer she could give but “Yes.”

Tag: #oc: yael melwyn, #oc: yuuki melwyn, (defunct)

Ezra Valeria Melwyn

Miracle Child | Daydreamer | A Godling in the Playground

Ezra Melwyn, named after his mother’s brother in arms. Despite the chaos that was his birth, life for the little godling has been blessedly quiet (at least, so Mum says). But... there’s something wrong.

A pit of longing grows in little Ezra’s heart. Gods are abound, Uncle Apollo is proof enough, but the only kids like him are in his books. There is no Camp Half-blood, and aren’t any other godlings running around. He loves his mortal friends, but he’s the odd one out. Lavender skinned and golden eyed, he’s alone.

Tag: #oc: ezra melwyn, #oc: azrael melwyn, (defunct)

Henrietta Abrams

One night and Henrietta’s entire life was thrown into chaos. She barely had time to understand what was happening before her sister was shipped away in a speeding ambulance. When she next saw her, it was like a viceral punch to the gut. Tubes stuck out of her arms, out of her

she looked skeletal, almost dead yet somehow clinging to life.

What had happened to her sister? Why did she look at her family like they were strangers?

Tag: #oc: henrietta abrams, #oc: henrietta phillips, (defunct)

Miscellaneous OCs

Josephine’s Family: Harrison Williams (father), Alyssa Williams (mother), Noah Williams (older brother; deceased), Adrian Williams (little brother), Sofia Meric (aunt), Samuel Meric (cousin).

Babette’s Family: Aharon Abrams (father), Diana Harris-Caynham (mother), Fredrick Harris-Caynham (step-father), Benjamin Abrams (older brother), Henrietta Abrams (little sister), Flynn Harris-Caynham (little half-brother).

~A God Among Us~

Amara Windell

[synopsis pending]

Tag: #oc: amara windell

Meryl Culson

[synopsis pending]

Tag: #oc: meryl culson

~ INFAMOUS: Second Sons ~

Diana Evans, the Silica Conduit

Bio-Terrorist | Vagabond | Chaotic Good

Life sucked. First, your city is destroyed in a massive explosion. A plague sweeps the nation. Your family dies. You get superpowers, but you can’t do anything without the DUP hunting you down, and you can’t run far enough.

Years later, Diana Robin is sitting in her government funded cell, twiddling her thumbs. It’s not too bad, if you discount the guards treating you like subhuman pieces of trash, but the food’s alright and she can’t wait until Augustine lets her rip loose in the training arena again. But the Director has been gone for a while now, and nobody’s said a thing.

The answer comes soon enough, though, when some dude named Delsin Rowe comes bursting in, shattering the front door and liberating the conduits trapped inside. But, now that she’s free... what now?

Tag: #oc: diana evans

~Star Wars~

Lyira Arren, Apprentice to Darth Baras

Pureblood | Warrior | The Empire’s Wrath

Orphan of war and daughter of a hero, Lyira’s early life was filled with pain. But that was life, especially in the Empire. What really stung were the expectations. Her sister, Rayne Arren, heir to their house, was by far the more skilled of the daughters of Arren. The Force was second nature, and the things that she could do with her lightsaber were enviable.

What could Lyira ever hope to accomplish in the shadow of her sister, the prodigy? But now it is her turn to attend the prestigious Sith Academy on Korriban, and the most she can hope for is to survive.

Tag: #oc: lyira arren

~Vampire: The Masqurade~

Lisa Stroud

Tremere | Anarch | The Vampiric Troubleshooter

Strong soft arms, guide her to the bed. Bodies intertwined. Pain, then pure aching bliss. Bright lights and an insatiable hunger.

When Lisa went out clubbing to get over a rejection, she didn’t expect for anything to happen. A drink here or there; a break down in the bathroom. But now she’s been thrown into the deep end of vampire politics without a leg to stand on. With a puffed up Prince with the power to kill her in an instant and a brewing civil war on the horizon, Lisa just wished she could have one, one day to acclimatise to her new life.

Tag: #oc: lisa stroud

fc: Eiza Gonzalez

Julie and the Phantoms

Ryn “GrimmApple“ O’Brien

Skeptic | YouTuber | Problem-maker

Ryn was the quiet sort, content to fade into the background, an observer rather than a participant when it came to the daily dramas of Los Feliz High School. After all, why bother with who’s dating who when they could spend time thinking up ideas for their YouTube channel: GrimmApple.

A self-proclaimed skeptic, Ryn loves learning about the various supernatural phenomena, cryptids, aliens, and conspiracy theories across the world. More than that, they loved dissecting them, breaking them apart and debunking them—almost as much as they loved creating their own as little thought experiments. And that is precisely what GrimmApple was about.

Unfortunately, Ryn was going through a bit of a burnout. Motivation was hard to find and things were becoming a bit of a slog.

Then Julie Molina, a fellow classmate, takes the Spirit Assembly by storm with her hologram band, and Ryn needs a moment.

Holograms? Really?

Ryn wants to call bullshit. Where’d some high schooler get access to that sort of technology? In fact, why hadn’t anyone heard of holograms so advanced before? And how did Julie of all people, who hadn’t sung a single note for a year, got hold of a band in just one night? It just doesn’t add up!

So, with support and more than a little guiding wisdom from their older brother, Ryn sets out to solve the mystery that is Julie and the Phantoms.

tag: #oc: ryn o’brien

Terrence “Terry“ O’Brien

Himbo Extraordinaire | Aspiring Filmmaker | Penultimate Big Brother

Ryn’s brick wall of an older brother. Graduated high school top of the football team but quit sports to pursue film making. The gentle giant sort, he’s always looking out for his little sibling, whether it’s helping with their YouTube dream or lending support when life gets tough.

tag: #oc: terry o’brien

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Kaitlyn “Katie“ Walsh

Ray of Sunshine | Witch | Resident Pyromaniac

If Kaitlyn Walsh had to say where everything went wrong, she would cite Halloween night, 1997. One minute, she at a friend’s party, dressed up as a cute little witch. The next? She was face down in a pile of old books in the school’s library. Hours of time gone, no memory of what happened.

She wasn’t the only one. Countless people across Sunnydale had woken up in strange places across the town without any memory of how they got there. Of course, everyone else had different stories—break ins, arson, and violence in the street. It was utter chaos, and the only answer they were ever given was “A gas leak. Mass hallucinations. Nothing to worry about.”

Yeah. Nothing to worry about. Sure.

Still, she was alive. Her neck hadn’t ruptured, and nobody had tried stabbing her with a barbecue fork, so everything returned to normal. Schools. Studies. Boys. Parties. The usual. But… there was this niggling feeling that something had changed. That things were different now.

Then, one night, the power cut out. Her house was bathed in darkness. Rolling her eyes, she muttered a spattering of Latin and the candles decorating her vanity burst into flames.

She froze, staring into the fire and blinked. Once. Twice. Three times. “What the fuck?”

tag: #oc: kaitlyn walsh

fc: Bailee Madison

[aq2003]

today is international fanworks day, heres a list of some of my favorite fics

-star wars

The Silent Song by Eirian Erisdar When Qui-Gon Jinn is told to take a new padawan, the Force pushes him towards a certain initiate - but when Qui-Gon is told that Obi-Wan cannot speak, he hesitates. And all the while, Palpatine moves in the shadows... 

A Trophy, Nothing More by solojones After killing Obi-Wan Kenobi in 'A New Hope', Darth Vader takes a moment to reflect on what he's done.

Adagio by ruth baulding A slow movement, in a minor key, set on Tatooine post-Mustafar.

The Weeds in the Wilderness by ealcynn A man wakes on a cold and desolate moor. He knows he is hurt. He knows he is alone. What he doesn't know is what he is, or where he came from. He doesn't know even his own name. But there is something else that this man knows, and that is that if he doesn't get help soon, he is going to die. And on this strange new world, there are so many dangers.

Teachers by Selena "Remember, Anakin, the master learns as much from the padawan as the padawan learns from the master." Eight lessons Anakin Skywalker learns through Ahsoka Tano, and one Darth Vader does.

one door closes, another opens by isabilightwood Ahsoka runs through a portal in the Lothal Jedi Temple, and finds herself seventeen years in the past. Only to find everything is slightly different - her seventeen-year-old past self was just executed, Obi-wan is missing, and Anakin fell eight months early, prompting Order 66 just after her arrival. With only her questionably useful knowledge of the Empire as a guide, Ahsoka finds herself helping to build a rebellion from scratch. Again. But this time, with a few more Jedi left in the galaxy. Some of whom could cause more problems than they solve.

Reprise by Elfpen Ben Kenobi dies aboard the Death Star in the year 0 BBY. He wakes up shortly thereafter in the Jedi temple in the year 41 BBY. Haunted by memories and regret, Ben must forge a new path for himself in the Jedi Order of his youth while navigating the murky waters of time travel. Crafting a better future from bitter experience is hard, but learning to heal is even harder. Part 1 of Reprise

Hard Deviations by flute25 “The snares of the world were its ways of sin. He would fall. He had not fallen but he would fall and surely, in an instant. Not to fall was too hard and he felt the silent lapse of his soul, as it would be at some instant to come, falling, falling, but not yet fallen, still not fallen but about to fall.” James Joyce - Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Obi-wan Kenobi goes undercover, fighting a battle against Dooku, the Sith, and himself. Takes place during the Rako Hardeen arc. Part 2 of Divergences

Drifting Starlight by Pandora151 Just before the fateful Battle of Naboo, Qui-Gon Jinn is brought to the future, to the Clone Wars. He doesn't know why or how, but he knows one thing for sure: He never, in a million years, expected the galaxy to end up like this. Part 2 of The Journey of the Lights

-mcu

for good by Madelinedear "Sorry, May, we can't all be best friends with a celebrity.” May opens her mouth to retort reflexively, the words 'we aren’t even friends' on the tip of her tongue before she closes her mouth. Because they are friends, now. They’re way past that point. Oh my god, she thinks somewhat hysterically. Tony Stark is my best friend. (or; Tony Stark, May Parker, and the road to something like friendship) Part 1 of call you home

Exclusive by copperbadge Heroes In Manhattan: From Captain America's Hidden Talents To The Truth About The Hulk, We Debunk The Myths And Expose The Daily Lives Of The Avengers. Part 1 of Magazineverse

Watch Our Souls Fade Away by GloriousBlackout Nebula and Tony struggle to come to terms with everything they've lost as they make the journey back to Earth. Takes place immediately after the events of Avengers: Infinity War.

the rattle of their hearts by iron_spider Tony deals with the aftermath of Infinity War. He needs to get things back to normal. And Peter is an essential part of normal. Part 1 of rattle universe

home training by theformerone T'Chaka takes Erik back to Wakanda. Erik is a problem child. Part 1 of erik stevens, prince of wakanda

We've Made It This Far, Kid by EmAndFandems Tony's just trying to protect the kid from SHIELD. Why does everything have to be so hard? Meanwhile, Peter's biggest problem is buying movie tickets, until he gets a harsh awakening.

the spider-man conspiracy by tempestaurora  WHO IS SPIDER-MAN? The screen showed Peter Parker, sixteen years old and determined to prove the identity of Spider-Man over the course of the three-part documentary he was making, unknowing that it would become viral within days of the first part being released. Behind the camera, way off screen, was Harley Keener, Tony Stark’s other prodigy child, grinning like crazy as Peter started the documentary. Only a few people knew what was to come, and those few people were about to have a great few weeks. “My name is Peter Parker, and with the help of my friends, Ned Leeds, Harley Keener, and my Aunt, May Parker, who provided me with a lot of red yarn for this project, we’re going to uncover the identity of Spider-Man.” OR "what if peter just decided to fuck with everyone who didn’t know he was spider man and make a documentary about him trying to uncover the Truth." Part 1 of the conspiracy kids

Below Freezing by aftersoon (notboldly) When Rhodey crash lands in the Himalayan wilderness, it tests more than just his survival skills.

-marvel 616

Resurrection, Reconstruction & Redemption by Elspethdixon, Seanchai Doom brings Steve back from the dead. Hijinks ensue, some of which might vaugely be considered plot. Part 1 of Resurrection-verse

Winter Is All Over You by Kiyaar Tony can't remember why he's running.

Sea Stars by Muccamukk Summary: Steve comes back to life somewhere entirely unexpected; Tony doesn’t remember being a hero; something is rotten in the province of British Columbia, and the 2010 Olympics are doomed.

(Not So) Lonely At The Top by foldingcranes Summary: Riri has a bad day, and Tony tries to be An Emotionally Available Adult for her. It doesn’t go so bad.

Emanata (The Comics Will Break Your Heart Remix) by teaberryblue Summary: Steve Rogers has the opportunity to fulfill his childhood dreams of becoming a comic artist when eccentric billionaire, superhero patron, and obsessive comic enthusiast Tony Stark offers him a job drawing Iron Man. But Tony Stark has no idea that Steve Rogers is really Captain America, the newest member of the Avengers. And Iron Man has no idea that Captain America is really Steve Rogers, up-and-coming comic book artist. And Steve doesn’t know what to do about the fact that he’s falling head over heels for them both.

Changeling by Sineala Instead of deleting his entire brain and reloading from a backup, Tony attempts to erase just the SHRA database from his mind. As Steve later finds out, this is unfortunately not what he actually did. Part 1 of Changeling

Zero Sum by Crait Did you do your best, Anthony? And did your best only make things worse?Series Part 1 of Stark Disassembled

-jojo’s bizarre adventure

nothing like the sun by succubused

“All Jotaro’s other targets are dead. Except for you.” Malika cocked her head, considering Kakyoin. “After he came back the last time and he was…alone in there, I…grew him flowers, a few times. I wasn’t supposed to. But he was in the dark for so long. I thought he wouldn’t mind losing a little bit of blood as long as it reminded him there was still something left.” “What do you mean,” Kakyoin said slowly, “‘in the dark’?” Malika didn’t answer. White flowers unfurled from her forearm, gentle trickles of blood rising up the thin stems. She watched them thoughtfully. White poppy; consolation. She plucked a poppy out of her arm and held it carefully between two fingers. “You have to get him out,” she said. “You have to.”

AU where Jotaro is the evil brainwashed assassin sent to kill Kakyoin, who makes life very complicated for Dio by being better at counterpossession than he is. Part 1 of nothing like the sun

somebody's baby boy ain't coming home tonight by simkjrs He rolls back the sleeve on his left arm and looks at the scabbed-over words that have been cut into his skin.

KASAI 181 BRING PEN

It’s not like Jotaro makes it a habit to listen to what other people say to him, but this is too strange of a case. He doesn’t remember doing this to himself, but if he didn’t do it, then who? And if he did do it, then why can’t he remember? ---- Four months after Egypt, and there is something strange happening back at home.

I am the desert by catboysam Jotaro hated to admit it to himself, but despite the fact that he hadn't teared up when they left Japan, he missed his grandfather’s presence. After having him beside him for so long and through so much, being separated from him felt… almost wrong. Like another thing was missing. And the more he lingered on that thought, the more the lack of Polnareff's presence felt wrong too. Jotaro invites Polnareff to his high school graduation.

the sidewalk soldiers sing the midnight blues by queenieofaces In hindsight, he doesn’t know why it didn’t occur to him that losing a hand might affect his hamon. His lungs are fine, but the flow of energy through his body is different now, no matter how imperceptibly.

The Best-Laid Plans by deuil Jotaro'd mentioned to Josuke on a few occasions that every plane that Joseph Joestar's ever been on has crashed and burned. Josuke wonders now if he's somehow managed to metaphorically inherit that trait.

Can't Go Back Now by etymologyplayground "No, no, he was not the devil. It is just that he was called Diavolo. … Well, maybe he was, I don't know," Giorno says. "Bene, he was the… director? Of Passione." "Boss," Fugo supplies him. "He was the boss." Giorno snaps his fingers at Fugo gratefully. "He was the boss. I should not care about him personally except that he made Passione sell drugs, and weapons. That's no good, you know." Jolyne slides her eyes over to Hermès, who is very resolutely looking at the road. She bites her lip. Jolyne thinks about the dime bag of weed currently sitting in the glove compartment. "Oh, yeah, for sure." -- Giorno and Fugo visit the Florida crew. Jolyne figures some stuff out about herself, her dad, and Hermès.

Untitled (1980-2014) by platinumfinale Jotaro Kujo, and his family, grows up. Contains spoilers for parts 3-6.

and the PTA meetings are worse by shonens Love thy neighbor. Or hate them. Hate them so passionately you trim your hedges in the shape of 'get fucked' in hopes of ruining their day. A collection of AU short stories about mudad, oradad, and suburbia.

[demonkins]

Bogerts come a’knocking Barnaby Lee x Jacob’s Sibling

Summary: Strange creatures knocking on doors? Sounds like another mystery for Jacob’s sibling to uncover. Maybe even a chance to spend more time with her good friend Barnaby

Part I

A stifling shriek echoed through the house, alerting every witch and wizard present. Aunty Zo stood frozen in the doorway, her old-fashioned purse spilt out on the floor. One by one each L/n rushed to the scene. Y/n was no stranger to a good mystery, especially when it involved her own family. That’s why when she saw her aunt’s pale face struck with fear as she stood frozen in the front door, she knew this would become another mystery needing to be solved. “Are you alright?” Her father asked in a gentle voice. As her aunt turned to face him in response, her whole body began to shake with terror. “It was-” she began, before falling helplessly to the ground. A few members of the L/n family gathered around, comforting and investigating simultaneously. “-the most terrifying dragon” she continued in a shaky voice. Of course dragons do not disappear into thin air and there certainly was no dragon there anymore. This was when Y/n thought that perhaps this mystery would also add to the suspicion of her family being crazy.

 At first she dreaded the idea of sharing what happened with her friends. The excitement of plundering into a brand new investigation was supressed by the fear of her family being labelled as crazy once again. This was until she talked to Ronan. “My mother swore she saw a Chimaera.” Ronan said as they sat down alongside Penny and Charlie, at the three broom sticks. “What!? Where?” Y/n gasped. Ronan’s eyes suddenly lit up. “That’s the thing” she began as she scooted closer to her friends. “She said it basically knocked on the front door.” There it was. A spark of excitement began to shimmer in Y/n, the fear drifting away. Before she could open her mouth to speak Penny suddenly shot up from her seat. “The same thing happened to me! Only it was a werewolf” she confessed. Y/n quickly did the same, confessing about her situation, only to find that the three had made a pattern of sorts. Penny remained standing, astonished at this revelation. The four looked at each other, mirroring the same question on their faces. Why?

“You don’t think Kettleburn has accidently let out his creatures again, do you?” Penny pondered as they we’re all heading to class the next day. “And came all the way to each of your houses?” Charlie asked rhetorically. “Besides last time I checked, Kettleburn doesn’t have a dragon. At least not at Hogwarts.” He laughed. Then just silence. Their conversations since the revelation were often infested with these silent moments, where they would all wonder what could possibly even begin to explain it. Sadly most of the ideas they said aloud they used as fodder to their conversation. Already debunking the chance in their own heads before it became words. As Y/n sat down in charms class, later that day, an annoying sense of doubt lingered in her mind. “You know I don’t think I’ve ever seen you struggle with a charm before” Barnaby suddenly chirped beside her. A small smile crept at her lips at the sound of his comforting voice, drawing her attention away from her previous thoughts. Without correcting him, she simply explained what had happened. “Really? But how come it’s stopping you from producing the charm?” He replied scratching his chin in confusion.

“I’m just preoccupied with my thoughts. It doesn’t make any sense.” Y/n corrected him this time, surprised he hadn’t noticed by now that she wasn’t aiming to attempt a charm she already knew, when such a mysterious case was upon them. “Come to think of it though” Barnaby began as he picked up his wand absentmindedly and started working on his movement. “Didn’t the boggert, Penny ran into in herbology, turn into a werewolf?” That’s it! Y/n thought, the explanation they were seeking was so simple and solved by Barnaby, whose innocent, green eyes showed no real realisation as to how much he had just helped. They all must have been a boggerts. “Barnaby you’re a genius!” Y/n exclaimed, smiling widely at him. Startled at her sudden praise, the boy’s cheeks flushed a light shade of pink. Y/n had always admired the way his intelligence would seep through in times of crisis, when no one really knew what to do. He, she thought, was the saviour that no one really suspected. Ecstatic, Y/n felt as though a weight had been lifted off her shoulders, she was now able to concentrate on their current lesson. Barnaby however, no longer could.

 Barnaby’s vibrant, longing eyes watched Y/n carefully as they wondered down the hall together. All though Charms, his eyes had shifted onto her repeatedly, admiring the way she glowed with delight. He couldn’t believe such a simple thing he said had made her so happy. It made him want to keep assisting her mind against this mystery. In fact, he was eager to. “Do you need help?” Barnaby inquired. As soon as she looked at him with a bewildered expression, he knew he should have led with some context. “With the mystery I mean.” He added quickly. “I know how much you love mysteries and I know you want to solve this one”. Once again a smile crept up on her lips. This time that was all it took to make him blush. She felt complimented by him knowing her so, even if her ambitious detective skills were obvious. “I would love that. Somehow I know we are going to make a great team” she sang happily, a bit more of a spring in her step. Her mind whirled erratically, planning their next move. Barnaby had shown a knack for bringing her a bit more clarity and it was defiantly needed. This case had a lot of loose ends and he would help her tie them. “Let’s meet up after our next class” and with those words along with an angelic smile, she hurried into her next lesson, leaving Barnaby’s side. He looked forward to it profusely.

 She didn’t realise at the time, but Y/n had failed to specify where exactly her and Barnaby would be meeting. She was so excited in the moment, she simply forgot. Luckily as she emerged from potions class, there he was waiting for her. His arms swung by his side ever so slightly as he rocked on his heels. A face of pure bliss once he spotted her. Y/n could tell he was just as thrilled to get started. “Where should we start” he trailed Y/n like a small puppy as she led him towards the library. He didn’t say it out loud, but he was glad it was only them when they sat down in a secluded corner. “So the question is, why would they knock?”

“Because it’s Polite” Barnaby replied. Chuckling, Y/n couldn’t tell whether he was being serious or not, but enjoyed his answer. “Boggarts don’t knock. Obviously someone must be doing the knocking and then letting them out”. Her voice was soft and comforting, not condescending like most people who sometimes laughed at his answers. As much as he listened to her words, he also paid attention to the way she spoke, how she sounded like optimism. Y/n was what Barnaby believed to be the witch equivalent to the sun. She was bright and warm and he was always happy in her presence. He knew he really liked her, that was indisputable, but the question he sometimes asked himself was whether he would always be this content simply being her close friend. To love someone and be happy was very different then to be with someone you love. He knew he made her happy as they were, but would she be happier with more? Did she ever think about that? They were not questions he could answer by himself, but saying them out loud would make them feel like a rope tightening around his neck. There was a chance he would become broken hearted. Or worse, he could make her feel uncomfortable or unhappy. Still the way she treated him not only gave him hope at times, but overjoyed him so much that he often felt like spewing out his feelings, overflowing with the warmth that she provided. “Wait” she exclaimed in a hushed whisper leaning closer to him. Following her trail of vision he saw Merula hastily leading Ismelda to a separate secluded area of the library.  “Isn’t that suspicious?” she continued, eyes burning into them before they disappeared into their hidden quarter. “I mean they always sneak around don’t they. Maybe their searching for the next vault already?” Barnaby suggested. Shaking her head, Y/n quickly grabbed Barnaby’s hand and began to discreetly make her way towards the nearest bookcase to the girls. Y/n pulled them into a small gap between the wall and case, an ear towards the girls who were only a few feet away. While she was focused on overhearing their conversation, Barnaby was now very aware and captivated on how close their bodies were. His arms instinctively snaked around her waist, pulling them closer although there was no need. She welcomed them and although they both knew there was enough room, they told themselves it was necessary. She smelt like a mix of lavender, trees, books and perfume. He was very familiar with this smell, especially since anytime he was near the love potion amortentia, it reminded him of her. Tucking a loose strand of her h/c hair behind her ear, his face inched closer to hers. Y/n’s head spun round to face him. She could feel his hot breathe on her face as he stared intensely into her eyes. “Barnaby?” she whispered gently, her e/c eyes shining. Spellbound by the moment their faces began to slowly draw together. Lips just about to brush- “No way was Lord Voldemort at your house!” exclaimed Ismelda. The moment was broke. She whipped her head around analysing the situation. They hadn’t been detected. Merula held a finger to her lips, signing for Ismelda to be quiet. “Don’t question me, I’m deadly serious” spat Merula visciously, hands clenched at her sides. “Anyway I don’t want to talk about it anymore” and with that she took her leave, Ismelda in suit. Y/n let out a slight sigh, her hands traveling to rest on Barnaby’s chest. She gave him a light push and nodded her head to signal for them to leave. “So Merula’s probably innocent, it happened to her too.” She reasoned. It wasn’t that she expected Merula to always be the bad guy, but it would have been a bigger lead. One that could of handed them their next move. “Why would someone want to take a boggert to all these houses?” Barnaby wondered outloud. Despite their investigation continuing, their brief moment had not vanished. Y/n remembered the feel of his arms around her, how natural and comforting it was. Feeling his hot breath almost stole her own. Those few seconds it took for their lips to then almost meet were so incredibly intense that she felt like a part of her was left there, the moment never really ending. She wished it didn’t.

 It was the weekend and Barnaby was back home. He knew he would be alone, but the purpose was simply hope. He wanted it to happen to him. To face your fear at the door was not something anyone looked forward to, but if it meant that the case with Y/n was no longer at a halt then he felt it was worth it. He wanted an excuse to hang out with her. Sure there was plenty, but this one would make him stand out more from the others. She had already chosen him to accompany her, despite him having no personal connection to the mystery, he didn’t want that to change. Barnaby reflected on their moment in the library. He wanted to kiss her. She was going to kiss him. It sounded so simple, but it didn’t happen. He began to repeat the moment in his mind, this time he imagined they did kiss. He wondered what her lips would have felt like, how long it would have lasted, how she would have looked at him. She wouldn’t have looked at me with the same eyes, he thought. The kiss would have sealed something new in their relationship, no longer being just close friends with a spark. The spark would have become a flame. There’s still time, he told himself. Suddenly a firm knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. Barnaby froze for a second staring in its direction. He gave himself a few seconds to prepare. What do I fear? He contemplated as he slowly made his way to the door. Barnaby counted each step, his breath growing heavy. There was no doubt in his mind, he was going to do this. After at first carefully twisting the handle, he swung open the door. There stood a surprised looking Y/n, wrapped up in a warm coat and woolly scarf. An image which Barnaby considered incredibly adorable. “Wait, I’m not afraid of you” he uttered.

“I should hope not.” She giggled into her scarf.

 Barnaby and Y/n were lying on the floor, books and snacks scattered around them. “I thought you were a bogert” Barnaby confessed, grinning as he watched her flick through a book. She fit perfectly in her more casual clothes, a style that he thought defiantly suited her. But then he couldn’t think of a thing she couldn’t pull off. “I heard you had gone home and was afraid a bogert would show up at your door next” she explained, shyly tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ears as she kept her eyes locked on the book in front of her. Barnaby grew warm, thinking of the way she came out to protect him. He would have done the same for her. “I came here for the case. I wanted to see the bogert”. Barnaby’s answer caused Y/n’s gaze to shift away from the book to him. “That’s incredibly brave of you Barnaby” she spoke sincerely and impressed by his initiative. The sound of his name rolling off her tongue along with a praise was enough for the spark to begin shimmering again. Barnaby’s body shifted closer to hers, this time the movement being both instinctive and a choice. He laid next to her, both lying on their stomach, shoulders touching. Shyly, her eyes crept away from him and back to the content before her. He closed the book in front of her, drawing her attention back to him. His left hand held her chin as his deep green eyes stared into hers. Then as his right hand pushed some hair out of her face he kissed her. There it was. The flame roared between them as their lips moved together, the kiss deepening as they began settling into it. It was far more magical then either of them could have imagined it to be. It was impossible for them to tell exactly how long the kiss lasted. They were too focused on the movement and touch of the other. Barnaby moved so that his body climbed on top of hers, needing to feel more of her against him. Y/n felt as though she was melting, her feeling for Barnaby had exploded so suddenly that she felt weightless. As soon as they parted they knew there was so many questions now to be answered.

 Barnaby held her hand that night as she slept soundly besides him. It was pulled to his chest as he softly played with her delicate fingers. The rest of the evening they had spent exploring their feelings rather than focusing on anything they were worried about before. They talked, they laughed, they kissed. It was a repetitive cycle that got more and more mundane each time. Now Y/n lay sleeping soundly on top of Barnaby’s bed beside him. Her figure was illuminated by the moonlight that seeped through the cracks of the windows blinds. She looked more than peaceful as she nestled into Barnaby in her sleep, under their cosy, knitted blanket. Every now and then he would tuck her hair back from covering her face as she shuffled in her sleep. Watching her movement with great adoration in his eyes, he counted himself more then lucky. There wasn’t a single thing he would change about her. She was perfect. Everything that had happened between them that day seemed like a dream. When he answered the door he thought he would be met with his fear, but unknowingly was faced with the one thing that made him feel stronger than he ever was. He never wanted that night to end. He had never had a connection like the one he had with her and to have finally acted on it was liberating. “Sleep well” he whispered before kissing her head tenderly and then drifting off into a peaceful slumber beside her.

  The sun began to rise as morning came, light suddenly filling the room. As her e/c eyes fluttered open gently, Y/n sluggishly pulled herself up. Sitting on the edge of the bed she laid a hand on Barnaby’s chest, feeling his steady breathes as she watched his serene form. Although he was sleeping, she swore there was a light smile painted on his lips. His dark brunette hair was messy from sleep, similar to the clothes he was wearing. She caressed his cheek lovingly and left a small peck on his forehead. His warm, ivory skin felt soft under her fingers. Memories of the day before spun around her head like a fast jumbled movie. Scene by scene, it played out in her head and finally reminded her of how she got where she was. She let out a chuckle, funny how things play out, she thought. Noticing the mess still on the floor she started to tidy the room, picking up and piling each book and throwing away any rubbish. She had just finished and began brushing herself off when she felt a warm set of arms wrap around her waist. “Morning” Barnaby’s euphonious voice rang. Snuggling back into him she hummed happily to herself. Still giddy on the feelings that exploded between them the day before, she still felt as light as a feather, like he was some kind of opium and she was high on him. All it took was the sound of his voice and the feeling of his touch and she was melting once again. Turning herself around to face him, both of their knowing eyes wondered over each other. “I should probably head back to Hogwarts soon” she declared, now wrapping her arms around his neck lovingly. “Stay” he cooed into her ear, his lips brushing it ever so slightly. Y/n hadn’t thought of the possibility of staying that much longer, she never really stayed overnight anywhere other than Hogwarts during the school term. The thought of spending some more alone time with Barnaby was far too irresistible to say no. She nodded in response. “Okay I’ll stay”. His arms around her tightened for a second, before letting her go and leading her to the kitchen. Barnaby was surprised at how confident and assertive he had managed to be. He wasn’t necessarily a shy person and did often speak his mind, but after waiting for so long to show Y/n how he felt he was very glad he managed to pluck the courage. She had reciprocated all of his feelings, responding to every action positively. Everything that happened between them showed so much possibility. There was so much potential between them. To Barnaby, at that moment their potential was practically guaranteed.

[file-tunnel]

Excerpts from weekly report 7.

Our exhibition date has been set to the 20th of october. Following reflections, scripting, preparing, arranging, and then branding it all.

(graspable concept)

Statements/questions on exhibiting placebo products for fear of darkness.

Define the brand of the exhibition or the initiative before the user has entered the space.

Define how the room will communicate the products.

Define the products in the exhibition and their individual purpose

These factors should communicate what the participant can do afterwards and/or until the next exhibition or part of the service.

(Sengevesenet - Bed service/bed creature)

Concept Philosophy:

Sengevesenet is defined as an initiative service that seeks to explore how children and guardians may talk or act around fear of darkness.  As with a psychologist seen as a service, conversation is always based on personal triggers. We would never know what certain triggers are on behalf of all of those who are afraid of the dark. Design usually offers manifestations of needs. Although external conversational services - like psychologists, may work well as a conversational service, they are usually initiated on what is seen as uncommon and serious occasions. On “common” problems, like fear of the dark, parents are fully capable of dealing with the situation by talking to their child. 

So, what is really needed is a service that can act as a catalyst for parents to talk about sensational and emotional triggers with their children. This will be done by creating something together, based on the manifestations of their emotion, to suit the comfort of them both. 

Thus, conclusively, the dissemination of those real and valuable instances of (de)mystifying delusions will be in the hands of Sengevesenet. They will spread this to the masses in order to further strengthen awareness and experience of speaking about emotions with our younger self. 

This can be done through videos, graphics, ads, exhibitions, litterature, talks, seminars, games, products and subordinate services to name a few. 

(pallette/safe play)

Brand philosophy:

Name:

Sengevesenet has a double meaning. Vesenet as in creature, and Vesenet as associated with “service” as in the health care service (Helsevesenet). Thus, Sengevesenet is an authoritative “force” denoted by act around the myriad of situations unfolding in the bedroom of a child. Sengevesenet is also the actual thing -the creature as a product of imagination.

Sengevesenet is both a safe and organized thing, but at the same time, a representation of the actual thing it seeks to contain. Logo:

The logo is a visualisation of the name. It is a bed seen from above, with four legs, a pillow and a blanket. The perpective makes the bed look like a creature seen from the front. 

The tight and thick strokes of the logo is meant to make it look more emblematic, to strengthen its expression as an organized unit. The use of cursive is related to the cursive picture notes often used in children’s text books. A drawing or picture might need explaining, just as parent or child might need explainations of their emotions or sensations.   The use of paranthesis is also a nod to parts of the concept philosophy, as it is usually used with cursive under a symbol in translation, often of asian letters and symbols. Since the logo could draw some similarities to an actual asian letter, the logo plays with the literal cultural look of a translation. Our service will serve as a translator between parent and child, therefore giving the logo another dimension including the more obvious reasons stated above. This is not necesserily easy to catch, and we are motivated to keep it that way. 

(moodboard)

Visual Identity:

Sengevesenet communicates on behalf and within the borderland of adult conversations and child conversations. Visually, this can be expressed by exposing how children see “adult things” and how adults see “child things”. Mixing them, interpreting and translating them gives a visually interesting contrast between the mundane as an underlying justification to the playful.

A good reference are the products of the members of the Memphis Group. These were relaitvely normal everyday products, like a leaning chair, a lamp or a toaster, designed to look visually extreme. A stark contrast between expression and intention, giving the object personality and character though still maintaining their respective function.

This is empasized in the typography of Sengevesenet. Beneath the bubbly visual representations of ideas, follows a calm and controlled comment, interpretation or reiteration.

(Sengevesenet typography)

(context... maybe)

Other insights gathered during week 7:

Mats talked to his grandparents about our theme, trying to get a bigger grasp of the timeline of the subject we have been diving into.

With the rise of home electronics, our perception of childhood have shifted into something a far cry from what were typical just 20 years ago, when we were about the same age as our youngest user group. Contrasting even further, both the grandparents were that age during WW2, but under drastically different circumstances. 

The Grandfather (b. 1937) lived in Kristiansand during the War, a city which suffered greater civilian loss than any norwegian city during 9th of April 1940 (The day of the Nazi occupancy). The city was bombed several times, which resulted in several cases of evacuation, many times during night hours.

On the contrary, the Grandmother (b.1940) lived on a remote island outside Brønnøysund called Vega. Almost completely seperated from both cultural impressions and wartimes, she had an uncommonly isolated childhood. 

(war)

I suspected their most notable experiences around fear to be logical to their surrounding sociatal situations, and after presenting the frames around the project, asked them about their memories from the age of my interest. 

Reasonably, many of the things the Grandfather presented, were memories during and relating to the war. One of his earliest memories were being carried by his aunt, terrified of the loud german planes above. He also remembered being evacuated with his family during one night when a dud (bomb that doesn’t go off) were dropped in their garden. His memory was faint when asked if he had any troubles or trauma because of his experiences, but was also clear that he was very young and talk about the War was taboo, and the children were “sheltered” from knowing about the War. Aside from the combat related insidents, roleplay in the forest as cowboys and indians were mentioned, but nothing too spesific about any long-lasting fears.  The Grandmother was also quite vague, but in an interesting aspect to our concept and suspitions. She had no spesific fears but, in her words, were afraid of the unpredictability in the dark. Something might be there, and therefore, she is afraid. Death was the only thing to be specified, and the living dead was something she definetly didn’t appreciate. As a real death was one of the only ways to get exposed to something we today get exposed through earlier with pop-culture, mass information and easily available and less sensitive entertainment, and all the “memes” that might get stuck on the cornea of a 5-year old today, was easily enough not available. But the fact that she still was afraid illustrates a valid point, which was talked about in an earlier excerpt, namely evolution.  As a 5 year old, it’s perfectly normal to be afraid of the dark as we’re hardwired to do so, and therefore survive. We are by nature a weaker fighter in the dark, and a reason to be afraid of ghosts, could be to have a peg to hang the fear on. The Grandmother was definetly afraid, but weren’t exposed to anything that her fear could exist as. 

On the other hand, the Grandfather were exposed to real things happening, so his fears might weren’t that hard to deal with as they most likely weren’t “debunked” by his parents or peers, or the fact that he was too young to understand the actual terror of it, but rather afraid the loud noises combined with the stress of evacuating.  

Another theory is that they forgot about their fears a long time ago, and shoved them in tray way back in their head, unavailable for discussion. A lot of people who recall having fear of darkness either remember their feelings or the actual visual memories that they imagined at the time.

We theorise:

After conversing with someone who newly or currently experience fear of darkness, certain nuanced visual memories may pop up. 

People who had very distinctive visual representations of their fear will remember it more vividly later on.

Children who have a good ability to rationalize early on may still be supported by actually finding some kind of visualisation to aid them, either way.

With this, we conclude week 7, and prepare ourselves for making 12 objects for the exhibition. phew