#the before

Posted by Nancy Wheeler | Investigative Reporter

For months, officials have insisted that the disappearances of young women visiting Indiana colleges were isolated missing persons cases.

They weren't.

As of this morning, at least eight women remain missing after traveling to tour universities across the state. Despite the growing number of victims, investigators have released very little information beyond vague statements promising "an active investigation."

Now, multiple sources close to the case have revealed details that paint a far darker picture.

According to information provided to this blog, federal investigators are exploring the possibility that the suspect isn't simply murdering victims.

They're consuming them.

Yes. You read that correctly.

While officials have refused to answer questions regarding recovered remains, sources familiar with the investigation say forensic evidence suggests portions of the most recent victim are unaccounted for in ways inconsistent with animal scavenging or natural decomposition.

If accurate, this would make the unknown offender one of the few documented serial killers in American history suspected of practicing cannibalism.

Law enforcement has not confirmed these claims.

They also haven't denied them.

The suspect has already earned the nickname Indiana's Baba Yaga because victims appear to vanish almost as if swallowed by the woods themselves. Now that nickname may carry an even more disturbing meaning.

The obvious question is why this information has been withheld.

Authorities may argue they're protecting the integrity of the investigation. Others believe they're trying to prevent public panic.

Neither explanation changes the facts.

Eight families still don't know where their daughters are.

Students continue touring campuses across Indiana.

And if these reports are true, the person responsible isn't just taking lives.

They're erasing them.

Anyone with information regarding the disappearances is encouraged to contact the FBI or their local law enforcement agency immediately.

Wings of wax can only fly so high and swoop so low

(just typed this out and it's way longer than I intended...)

UMMM I've been really obsessed with my oc Alex (she/her) for a while. I've posted about her a bit on here (under the tags "the before" "alex+seb" "alex oc" and "puppetsverse", but she's a child actress. She has a best friend named Sebastian (he/him), and when they are fourteen, their parents stage a pr relationship between the two. It slowly erodes their friendship until Alex is forced to publicly accuse Sebastian of cheating on her, which obviously destroys his trust completely. To make things worse, the rumor mill runs it's course and "fans" eventually find pictures of Sebastian with his boyfriend and he gets outed.

Alex spends the next couple of years hopping from fake boyfriend to fake boyfriend. While all of her "boyfriends" know the relationships are fake, Alex doesn't really know when to let her guard down and stop acting, even when they are alone, so many of them accuse her of leading them on. She's too sacred to outright say that she doesn't like them back, as she fears their reactions, so she stays silent and let's them believe what they will, trying to ignore the issue. Meanwhile, she's hooking up with girls on set. I probably should've mentioned that she's lesbian. Sebastian knew, and her parents finding out was part of the reason they forced her to ruin her relationship with him.

She blames herself a lot for the reactions of those around her. She's been conditioned to always portray herself in the most perfect way. If her fans have a negative reaction, it's her fault. If her parents, or "boyfriend," or anyone else has a negative reaction, it's her fault.

She thinks she likes being a celebrity and always in the spotlight, but it's all she's ever known. She has to like it, because otherwise everything she's worked for--everything she gave up her childhood for--was worth nothing.

Then she gets kidnapped and meets some people who force her out of that way of thinking (I especially like her relationship with a person who hated her at first before getting to know her), but that's another story. I've posted about it under the "puppetsverse" tag if you're curious, but be warned, I wrote it in middle school and it shows lol.

I really like her relationship with herself and the way it impacts her relationships with others. Her and Sebastian are really interesting because they can relate to each other on many levels, but they also differ in some fundamental ways. While they are fake dating, Alex voices her hope that her and Sebastian can keep up their charade forever. She's accepted that she's going to end up in a lavender marriage to appease her fans. She doesn't want to leave the industry, since it's all she ever known. And she's fine with pretending to be someone she's not to achieve that--it's what she does anyway. Sebastian, on the other hand, plans to get the fuck out the second he turns eighteen and is out of her parents' grasp. At this point he has a boyfriend (that Alex knows about) and doesn't want to have to hide him for the rest of his life. He doesn't want to be in the public eye forever, chasing dreams that aren't his. It's been fun to explore the tension this causes in their relationship. Both think that the other will change their mind eventually, so they don't fully hear each other out (they are 14 and 15, after all).

I also mentioned a relationship with someone who hates her at first. Jade (He/She/They), who she meets while kidnapped, saw through her facade before they even met. Jade views Alex as just another skinny white girl pretending to be perfect to gain fame (they're not exactly wrong). Alex picks up on this hatred and definitely reciprocates. There's a lot more to it, but long story short, Jade eventually starts to see through Alex's exterior and realize how much she's hurting. He softens to her, and their feelings slowly turn to mutual friendship. Although their relationship is rocky at times, they have a ton of really good discussions. Jade is the one to finally convince Alex not to go back into the acting industry when they finally escape their captor.

(Also, in case you're curious, Sebastian does end up leaving the industry. It's after Alex is kidnapped, and definitely after he is 18, but he does it. Years later, he makes a documentary about what it's like growing up in the acting industry. He also reaches out to Alex a full decade after they stop talking, and they talk it out and make up because I don't do sad endings.)

Hopefully I'll be able to post the story of her relationship with Sebastian on Ao3 sometime.