Dandelions

Month 1: January
PROLOGUE

Tropes:

• Soulmate friendship origin story
• Wish fulfillment/magical moment
• Meeting your person
• Childhood connection
• Dandelion as symbol (resilience, beauty in weeds, growing through concrete)
• Fated friendship
• “Wished for same thing” bonding

Trigger Warnings:

• None (wholesome friendship origin)

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CHAPTER 1: Twilight Ritual

Tropes:

• Daily ritual/tradition between friends
• Twilight as liminal magic time
• Cozy domesticity
• Workplace gossip
• Office affair discovery
• Information as power
• Strategic photography for leverage
• Found family (Alex’s dad’s restaurant)
• Petty crime bonding (stealing straws)
• “Women always know”

Trigger Warnings:

• Alcohol use (wine ritual)
• Workplace sexual content (affair discussion)
• Mild profanity

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CHAPTER 2: The Stairwell Confession

Tropes:

• Wrong place, wrong time
• Overheard confession (inciting incident)
• Late night at office
• Locked in building
• Pretending to sleep
• Box breathing survival technique
• “Oscar-worthy performance”
• Attorney-client privilege as trap
• Body disposal service revealed
• Serial killer confession (“I did it AGAIN”)

Trigger Warnings:

• Murder confession (detailed)
• Strangulation description
• Sexual violence in murder (“split her open,” choking during assault)
• Body disposal planning
• Serial killing (“this keeps happening”)
• Panic attack
• Dissociation (Dylan’s survival mode)
• Gaslighting (Marcus to Dom)
• Predatory language (“tight little body,” “dirty whore”)
• Victim blaming (“something came over me”)
• Profanity
• Alcohol (implied intoxication during crime)
• Manipulation
• Fear/terror
• Hypervigilance

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CHAPTER 3: Alex Believes Her

Tropes:

• Best friend believes immediately
• “I wanted you to be wrong”
• Tarot confirmation (Tower card, Ten of Swords)
• Cards fly/move supernaturally
• Prophetic dreams referenced
• NDA as silencing tool
• No body, no crime
• “Banks don’t lie” (financial evidence)
• Attorney-client privilege prevents reporting
• Women protecting each other
• Shared danger bonding

Trigger Warnings:

• PTSD symptoms (Dylan’s trauma response)
• Panic/crying
• Grief for unknown victim
• Supernatural/paranormal activity (cards moving)
• Murder discussion
• Body disposal discussion
• Legal system failure (can’t report)
• NDA entrapment
• Emotional distress
• Fear
• Helplessness

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CHAPTER 4: The Ring

Tropes:

• Evidence discovery
• Physical connection to victim
• Evidence tampering (taking the ring)
• Tarot reading (Nine of Swords – nightmares/anxiety)
• Prophetic nightmares
• Investigation begins
• Documentation as resistance
• Ron Swanson & Leslie Knope mugs (their dynamic)
• Missing persons research
• Database diving

Trigger Warnings:

• Evidence tampering (felony)
• Nightmares/night terrors
• Anxiety (Nine of Swords energy)
• PTSD symptoms (repeated nightmares, checking compulsively)
• Insomnia
• Victim remains (ring as only trace)
• Grief
• Intrusive thoughts
• Missing persons (no report filed)
• Obsessive behavior
• Shower compulsion (feeling dirty)
• Olfactory flashbacks (smelling bleach)

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CHAPTER 5: Seventeen Unsolved Murders

Tropes:

• Research montage
• Database investigation
• Pattern recognition
• Serial killer pattern revealed
• Financial trail following
• “Prices are going up” (body disposal costs)
• Missing women statistics
• Unsolved murders
• System failure (bodies found, no justice)
• Women’s bodies as disposable

Trigger Warnings:

• Murder (17 unsolved strangulations)
• Missing persons (87 women)
• Serial killing pattern
• Body disposal service
• System failure (police didn’t solve)
• Violence against women (central theme)
• Death (multiple victims)
• Victim blaming (“probably went home with someone”)
• 24-48 hour wait (dismissal of missing women)
• Grief
• Obsessive research
• Emotional distress

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CHAPTER 6: Dom Assigns Dylan to Marcus

Tropes:

• Boss manipulation
• False mentorship
• Career advancement as bait
• Forced proximity with killer
• “High-profile government work”
• Cat and mouse begins
• Dylan working for Dom while knowing truth
• Trapped by NDA
• Blood money (bonuses from murders)

Trigger Warnings:

• Workplace manipulation
• Coercion (career threats)
• Forced proximity to killer
• Gaslighting (“this is good for you”)
• Power imbalance
• Financial crimes (accepting blood money)
• Complicity pressure
• Anxiety
• Moral injury
• Trapped/no escape
• Profanity

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CHAPTER 7: The Lunch Ambush

Tropes:

• Predator approach
• “Too pretty to be a lawyer”
• Hand over work (dominance display)
• Future planning without consent
• Reproductive coercion mentioned
• Genetic testing revelation (BRCA gene)
• Fertility pressure
• Strategic marriage discussion
• Dylan’s cemetery visit
• Father’s grave (hasn’t been since age 11)
• Dead dad lie weighs on her

Trigger Warnings:

• Sexual harassment (“too pretty”)
• Reproductive coercion (discussing her pregnancy)
• Medical condition (cancer gene carrier)
• Fertility pressure
• Bodily autonomy violation
• Predatory behavior
• Stalking (planning their future)
• Gaslighting
• Parent death (Dylan’s father)
• Grief (cemetery scene)
• Child abandonment (Dylan avoiding grave for 16 years)
• Anxiety
• Panic response (walking out)

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CHAPTER 8: Dom Pressures Dylan to Date Marcus

Tropes:

• Boss pressures employee to date
• “You’ll fail as a lawyer”
• Transactional sexuality normalized
• “I fuck her over this desk”
• Career held hostage
• Strategic marriage suggested
• “Negotiate a five year marriage”
• “Fuck your way to the top”
• Mentorship betrayal
• False concern weaponized
• Memory as manipulation (Dom remembers fake dad)

Trigger Warnings:

• Workplace sexual coercion
• Sexual harassment (explicit)
• Power imbalance exploitation
• Career threats (“you’ll fail”)
• Forced dating/marriage pressure
• Transactional sex (“fuck your way to the top”)
• Explicit sexual content (Dom’s confession about assistant)
• Manipulation
• Gaslighting
• Emotional abuse
• Professional exploitation
• NDA as weapon
• Career hostage situation
• Profanity (explicit)
• Anxiety
• Panic
• Moral injury

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CHAPTER 9: Surveillance Begins

Tropes:

• Amateur surveillance
• Nikko involvement (Alex’s brother)
• Burner phone acquisition
• Dry cleaner stakeout
• “Too clean” business
• Never open during business hours
• Shell company discovery
• Financial forensics (Alex’s superpower)
• Body disposal front revealed
• “Banks don’t lie”

Trigger Warnings:

• Conspiracy
• Body disposal operation
• Financial crimes (shell companies, money laundering)
• Felony activity (surveillance, copying files)
• USB drive evidence (stolen financial records)
• Anxiety
• Fear
• Breaking the law
• Family involvement in danger

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CHAPTER 10: The Supply Closet Scene

Tropes:

• Secret meeting
• Supply closet urgency
• “We need to talk” (hissed)
• Fear driving Alex
• Dark closet scene
• Alex finds smoking gun
• Dom interrupts/controls
• Cancels their lunch meeting
• Universe conspiring against them
• Forced lunch with Marcus instead

Trigger Warnings:

• Paranoia
• Fear (Alex shaken)
• Dark enclosed space (supply closet)
• Workplace control (Dom canceling lunch)
• Forced proximity to killer (Marcus lunch)
• Power dynamics
• Surveillance by boss
• Anxiety
• Hypervigilance
• Being watched

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CHAPTER 11: Marcus’s Pursuit Intensifies

Tropes:

• Stalker behavior
• Shows up at apartment
• False boyfriend narrative
• Public relationship he’s creating
• Social media campaign
• “America’s royal wedding”
• Playboy politician image
• Dylan trapped by circumstances
• Alex protective

Trigger Warnings:

• Stalking (appears at her home)
• Harassment
• False relationship narrative
• Privacy violation
• Public manipulation
• Social media stalking
• Gaslighting (making relationship seem real)
• Power imbalance
• Fear
• Anxiety
• Trapped/cornered
• Lack of consent

---

CHAPTER 12: Alex Copies Financial Records

Tropes:

• Felony for friend
• USB drive evidence
• Complete financial records
• “Dandelion Project” spreadsheet
• Payment patterns match murder dates
• ACH routing trails
• Shell company patterns
• Dry cleaner address discovered
• “Banks don’t lie”
• Evidence compilation

Trigger Warnings:

• Felony crime (data theft)
• Financial crimes (documenting)
• Money laundering evidence
• Murder payment patterns
• Body disposal service (financial proof)
• Conspiracy
• Breaking the law
• Risk of discovery
• Anxiety
• Fear of consequences

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CHAPTER 13: The Fundraiser

Tropes:

• Forced attendance
• Marcus as date (not consented)
• Dom’s manipulation
• “You’re going”
• Public relationship display
• Marcus’s fur coat (predator symbol)
• Female politician ally
• Business card exchange
• Secret ally within system
• “When you’re ready”
• Predator-prey dynamics
• Public performance of relationship

Trigger Warnings:

• Forced attendance
• Unwanted date
• Public relationship coercion
• Stalking (Marcus controlling her time)
• Gaslighting
• Power imbalance
• Harassment
• Alcohol use (fundraiser)
• Predatory behavior (Marcus)
• Anxiety
• Trapped situation
• Performance of normalcy
• Dissociation

---

CHAPTER 14: Social Media Campaign

Tropes:

• 2 million views
• Photos posted without consent
• Public narrative building
• “Perfect couple”
• False relationship going viral
• Privacy obliteration
• Marcus’s political image
• Dylan’s autonomy eroded
• Can’t escape public narrative
• Comments/speculation
• Loss of control

Trigger Warnings:

• Privacy violation (photos posted)
• Consent violation (images without permission)
• Public harassment (viral attention)
• Stalking (digital)
• False narrative
• Social media abuse
• Loss of autonomy
• Public humiliation
• Gaslighting (relationship seems real online)
• Anxiety
• Panic
• Trapped
• Loss of control
• Dissociation

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CHAPTER 15: The Club Investigation

Tropes:

• Club where Dahlia was last seen
• Dylan goes undercover
• Alex as distraction/backup
• Split up plan
• Five minute timer
• VIP booth with curtains
• Supernatural curtains moving
• Bartender scared/under NDA
• Security chase
• Alex making out as cover
• “What are we becoming?”
• Evidence gathering under pressure

Trigger Warnings:

• Danger/risk
• Security threat
• Paranormal activity (moving curtains)
• NDAs silencing witnesses
• Fear (bartender’s reaction)
• Adrenaline/panic
• Hypervigilance
• Risky behavior
• Sexual content (Alex’s distraction technique)
• Club setting (loud, crowded)
• Alcohol
• Crowds
• Anxiety
• Moral compromise (“what are we becoming?”)
• Danger to personal safety

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CHAPTER 16: Corporate Ownership Trail

Tropes:

• Following the money
• Corporate filings as evidence
• LLCs and shell companies
• Forensic accounting
• Public records investigation
• Owner identity hunt
• “Philadelphia’s best forensic accountant”
• Partnership investigative work
• “Dandelions growing through concrete”
• Systematic resistance
• Women against institutional power

Trigger Warnings:

• Conspiracy
• Institutional corruption
• Financial crimes investigation
• Risk of retaliation
• Danger escalation
• Fear of discovery
• Anxiety
• “What are we becoming?” (moral injury)
• Relationship strain
• Loss of innocence

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SUMMARY STATISTICS FOR MONTH 1

Most Common Tropes:

1. Soulmate friendship (every chapter)
2. Amateur investigation (12 chapters)
3. Cat and mouse with Dom (10 chapters)
4. Evidence collection (9 chapters)
5. Workplace manipulation (8 chapters)

Most Frequent Trigger Warnings:

1. Anxiety (15 chapters)
2. Fear (14 chapters)
3. Gaslighting (10 chapters)
4. Power imbalance (9 chapters)
5. Murder/death discussion (8 chapters)

Heaviest Chapters:

Chapter 5 (17 Murders) – Darkest statistics

Chapter 2 (The Confession) – Most trigger warnings

Chapter 8 (Dom’s Pressure) – Most explicit workplace abuse

Month 2: February
CHAPTER 17: Marcus Arrives at the Firm

Tropes:

• “It’s like she never existed” (victim erasure)
• Checking databases obsessively
• Corporate LLC investigation (The Dahlia club)
• Predator arrives at workplace
• Fur coat as signature/trophy
• Sharon’s superpower (Alex befriends everyone)
• Sharon’s hot forensic accountant son (setup)
• Emergency phone call to Dom’s office
• “Save yourself” gallows humor
• Box breathing survival technique

Trigger Warnings:

• Missing persons (no reports filed)
• Victim erasure (cleanup too perfect)
• Obsessive checking (database refreshing)
• PTSD symptoms (hypervigilance)
• Panic attack (head between knees)
• Predator proximity (Marcus in building)
• Serpent-spine warning (body danger response)
• Fear/terror
• Nausea (physical panic response)
• Anxiety
• Hypervigilance
• Intrusive memories (stairwell confession replays)

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CHAPTER 18: Courtyard Breakdown After Meeting Marcus

Tropes:

• Panic attack in courtyard
• “Didn’t vomit on serial killer = professional achievement”
• Alex rubbing Dylan’s back
• Box breathing
• Processing having to work with killer
• “The mask fits so well you forget your real face”
• Performance of normalcy trauma
• “Dandelions push through concrete”
• Cold February air as mercy
• Still calling victim “Dahlia” even though might not be her name

Trigger Warnings:

• Panic attack (severe, physical)
• Nausea (almost vomiting)
• Shaking/tremors
• Dissociation (“the mask cracked”)
• PTSD response
• Hyperventilation
• Processing trauma (just met killer)
• Fear
• Anxiety
• Cold exposure (seeking physical discomfort as grounding)
• Emotional breakdown
• Performance trauma (“good at pretending”)
• Identity crisis (“forget who I am underneath”)

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CHAPTER 19: Twilight Talk About Marcus

Tropes:

• Twilight ritual returns
• Wine and extended straws
• Alex researching Marcus Ashford
• “Playboy politician”
• Social media deep dive
• Instagram stalking
• Marcus followed Dylan
• Public image vs. private reality
• “Men can present to the world as incredible”
• Discussing serial killer over wine
• Best friend investigation partnership

Trigger Warnings:

• Stalking (Marcus followed Dylan on Instagram)
• Digital surveillance
• Predator research
• Social media harassment
• Alcohol use (wine ritual)
• Murder discussion
• Serial killer
• Anxiety
• Fear
• Hypervigilance

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CHAPTER 20: Ghost Encounter – “That’s Not What Happened”

Tropes:

• Sleep paralysis experience
• Voice in Dylan’s head (not her own)
• “That’s not what happened” (Dahlia’s message)
• Shadow figure in bedroom
• Can’t move (frozen)
• Running to Alex’s room
• Alex checks Dylan’s room
• “I felt her too” (Alex confirms)
• Cold spot, heavy energy
• Alex saw Dylan’s dad at 16 (backstory reveal)
• Dylan called Alex a liar (past hurt)
• “Women haunt each other until someone listens”
• Dylan afraid ghosts mean dad is really gone
• Alex hurt/angry Dylan won’t believe
• “Stop deflecting, pay attention”
• First real conflict between them
• “Dandelions” reconciliation

Trigger Warnings:

• Sleep paralysis
• Paranormal activity (ghost/shadow figure)
• Hallucinations (auditory and visual)
• Panic/terror (intense fear)
• Dissociation (“someone else’s thoughts in your head”)
• Intrusive thoughts
• Mental health concerns (questioning sanity, “am I schizophrenic?”)
• Fear of the dark
• Paralysis (cannot move body)
• Parent death (Dylan’s father)
• Grief (unprocessed, fear dad is “really gone”)
• Past trauma (16-year-old fight about seeing dad’s ghost)
• Emotional abuse (past – Dylan calling Alex a liar, cruel)
• Gaslighting (past – Dylan made Alex doubt herself for 11 years)
• Relationship conflict (Alex angry, “done talking to someone who won’t listen”)
• Crying (both of them)
• Fear of abandonment
• Past hurt (betrayal between friends)
• Screaming
• Dark enclosed spaces (bedroom, closet)
• Cold sensations
• Being watched
• Hypervigilance

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CHAPTER 21: Alex Won’t Talk to Dylan (Ghost Fight Aftermath)

Tropes:

• Alex giving Dylan silent treatment
• “Non-talkative Alex is mad Alex”
• Sharon notices Alex’s mood
• “What did you do to my Alexandria?”
• Dom calls Dylan to office (ominous)
• Best friend conflict continues
• Processing betrayal (11 years of Dylan dismissing her)
• Relationship strain

Trigger Warnings:

• Relationship conflict (silent treatment)
• Emotional pain (both characters)
• Abandonment feelings
• Guilt
• Anxiety (losing best friend)
• Workplace stress (Dom calling)
• Past trauma (11-year betrayal processing)
• Isolation (Alex avoiding Dylan)
• Fear of losing relationship
• Emotional distress

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CHAPTER 22: Forced to Attend Event With Marcus

Tropes:

• “Not bad enough I have to work with him”
• Public appearance required
• Dom forcing attendance
• Dylan as Marcus’s date (unwanted)
• Career held hostage
• “You’re going” (no choice)
• Public performance of relationship

Trigger Warnings:

• Forced attendance
• Coercion (work requirement)
• Unwanted date
• Public relationship pressure
• Career threats
• Power imbalance
• Trapped
• Anxiety
• Fear
• Loss of autonomy

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CHAPTER 23: Alex Babysitting Nikko’s Kids (Weekend Away)

Tropes:

• “Heading to babysit for the weekend, be back Monday”
• Alex away from Dylan
• Physical separation
• Dylan alone with investigation
• Still not fully reconciled
• Brief text communication

Trigger Warnings:

• Isolation (Dylan alone)
• Relationship strain (still fighting)
• Separation anxiety
• Text-only communication (distance)

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CHAPTER 24: Dylan Goes to Thirteen Candles (Apology Gift Shopping)

Tropes:

• Bus ride practicing apology
• “I’ve practiced seventeen versions”
• Thirteen Candles occult shop
• Old woman proprietor
• “You overthink”
• Tarot reading offered
• Gift shopping for Alex
• Attempting reconciliation

Trigger Warnings:

• Anxiety (apology preparation)
• Obsessive thoughts (practicing apology)
• Guilt
• Fear of losing friendship
• Relationship repair attempt
• Occult/supernatural setting
• Public transportation (enclosed spaces)

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CHAPTER 25: Alex Texts Back – Reconciliation Beginning

Tropes:

• “Alex texted back Saturday night”
• Communication reopening
• Hope for reconciliation
• Gift received/acknowledged
• Relationship thawing

Trigger Warnings:

• Anxiety (waiting for response)
• Relief
• Emotional processing
• Relationship repair

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CHAPTER 26: Marcus Shows Up at Their Building

Tropes:

• “I stare at the city block like it’s the first time”
• Marcus at their apartment building
• Stalking escalation
• Home no longer safe
• Predator knows where she lives
• Privacy violation

Trigger Warnings:

• Stalking (at her home)
• Privacy violation
• Predator proximity
• Home invasion (emotional)
• Safety compromise
• Fear
• Panic
• Hypervigilance
• Loss of safe space
• Anxiety

---

CHAPTER 27: Marcus at Glass Door – Alex Hits Him

Tropes:

• Alex drags Dylan to stairwell
• “Away from Marcus watching us”
• Alex protective
• Glass door between them and Marcus
• Alex hits door/Marcus with it
• Physical barrier
• Best friend protection

Trigger Warnings:

• Stalking (Marcus following)
• Harassment
• Predator proximity
• Violence (Alex hitting door/Marcus)
• Protective aggression
• Fear
• Panic
• Escape behavior
• Physical confrontation
• Anxiety

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CHAPTER 28: BYOB Event Setup

Tropes:

• “It’s BYOB” (repeated)
• Alex “vibrating with suspicious energy”
• Planning something secret
• Mystery event
• Alex being evasive
• Best friend scheming

Trigger Warnings:

• Anxiety (unknown plans)
• Suspicion
• Alcohol mention (BYOB)
• Uncertainty

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CHAPTER 29: “This Is Absurd” – Dress Shopping/Event Prep

Tropes:

• Forced fancy dress shopping
• Preparation for Marcus event
• “This is absurd”
• Performance of normalcy
• Getting ready for predator

Trigger Warnings:

• Forced preparation for predator
• Performance pressure
• Anxiety
• Trapped situation
• Loss of autonomy

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CHAPTER 30: Call About City Hall Event

Tropes:

• “Tuesday morning while getting ready for City Hall”
• Official event notification
• Political fundraiser
• Marcus will be there
• Formal attendance required

Trigger Warnings:

• Forced attendance
• Predator event
• Political corruption
• Power imbalance
• Trapped
• Anxiety
• Fear

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CHAPTER 31: Dress Fitting – Needle Stab

Tropes:

• “It could be worse” (Alex trying)
• Seamstress accidentally stabs Dylan
• Dress fitting for fundraiser
• Physical pain
• Preparing armor (beautiful dress)

Trigger Warnings:

• Needles
• Accidental injury (needle stab)
• Blood (implied)
• Pain
• Preparation for predator event
• Anxiety
• Fear

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CHAPTER 32: Car Ride to Fundraiser – Nikko Drives

Tropes:

• “You’ve got this”
• Alex white-knuckling steering wheel
• Nikko’s car
• Driving to fundraiser
• Pre-event terror
• Best friend support
• Found family (Nikko helping)

Trigger Warnings:

• Anxiety (severe, both characters)
• Fear (Alex terrified for Dylan)
• Driving to danger
• Pre-traumatic stress
• Hypervigilance
• Tension

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CHAPTER 33: Marcus’s Hand Returns – At Fundraiser

Tropes:

• “Marcus’s hand already back on my waist”
• After Alaina disappears
• Possessive touch returns
• “That smile that doesn’t reach his eyes”
• Predator reclaiming
• No escape
• Female politician network revealed
• Alaina (House Speaker) intervenes
• “When you’re ready, call this number”
• Emergency network of women
• Patricia Joyce, Maria Santos coordinate
• Fake emergency (Krasner’s office needs Dylan)
• James Morrison drunk scene (distraction)
• Service exit escape
• “This isn’t the first time”
• “They watch and save who they can”
• Network of powerful women who can’t stop him
• Business cards with emergency numbers
• Bathroom attendant has cab fare
• 19th floor separate elevator
• Wawa with good cameras
• Girl code look

Trigger Warnings:

• Non-consensual touching (hand on waist)
• Physical harassment
• Possessive behavior
• Predatory touch
• Trapped (Alaina gone, then rescued)
• Fake smile (threat)
• Bodily autonomy violation
• Systemic abuse (protected predator)
• Multiple victims (“other women”)
• Institutional failure (powerful women can’t stop him)
• Escape network (underground railroad for victims)
• Harassment
• Danger
• Near miss (almost alone with Marcus)
• Alcohol (drunk distraction scene)
• Fear
• Conspiracy of silence
• System protecting abuser
• Anxiety
• Terror
• Relief (escape)
• Dissociation
• Freeze response

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CHAPTER 34: Dawn – “Putting a Pin In It”

Tropes:

• Saturday morning confrontation
• Alex photographed Marcus’s files (felony)
• “This is real”
• “So much deeper than what I overheard”
• Network of women revelation processing
• “What chance do we have?”
• Alex terrified for Dylan
• Dylan flinches when Alex touches her (Chapter 32 callback)
• Safe hug (after flinching night before)
• “We’re putting a pin in it”
• Strategic pause to survive
• “Not walking away, pausing to think”
• “Survive the week, then figure out the rest”
• Setting up surprise trip (Month 3 foreshadowing)

Trigger Warnings:

• PTSD processing
• Systemic abuse revelation
• Institutional corruption
• Fear (both of them)
• Crying
• Emotional breakdown
• Survivor’s guilt (“almost victim number four”)
• Touch aversion (Dylan flinched from Alex in car)
• Touch recovery (safe hug after flinching)
• Trauma bonding
• Grief for victims
• Helplessness (“what chance do we have?”)
• Exhaustion
• Terror (Alex’s fear for Dylan)
• Processing near-death experience
• Anxiety
• Depression symptoms
• Strategic avoidance (pause as survival)

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MONTH 2 SUMMARY STATISTICS

Total Chapters: 18 (Chapters 17-34)

Darkest Chapters:

1. Chapter 20 – Ghost encounter, sleep paralysis, major friendship conflict
2. Chapter 33 – Fundraiser with multiple trigger warnings, female politician network reveal
3. Chapter 34 – Processing accumulated trauma, “almost victim number four”

Most Common Tropes:

• Anxiety/fear responses (all 18 chapters)
• Predator proximity (15 chapters)
• Best friend support/conflict (16 chapters)
• Performance of normalcy (12 chapters)
• Trapped/no escape (14 chapters)

Most Frequent Trigger Warnings:

• Anxiety (all 18 chapters)
• Fear (17 chapters)
• Predator-related content (15 chapters)
• PTSD symptoms (14 chapters)
• Power imbalance (13 chapters)

Escalation Pattern: Month 2 shows clear escalation from Month 1:

• Marcus goes from workplace to stalking Dylan’s home
• Relationship strain (Dylan/Alex fight about ghosts)
• Supernatural elements intensify (ghost contact)
• System protection revealed (powerful women can’t stop him)
• Physical touch violations increase
• Dylan nearly becomes “victim number four”
• Ends with strategic pause because both are “terrified”

Key Emotional Beats:

Chapter 34: Pause to survive

Chapters 17-19: Meeting Marcus, initial terror

Chapter 20: Ghost encounter, friendship crisis

Chapters 21-25: Reconciliation process

Chapters 26-33: Marcus stalking escalation, fundraiser danger

Month 3: March

Month 4: April