#but it is also in swedish. so that might be a turn-off for some people

[walterdecourceys]

what’s the best version of chess to watch for ur first time watching?

GOOD QUESTION there's not really an easy answer unfortunately 😭 so i will suggest a couple options instead!

unless you'd really prefer to watch it first: listen to the concept album. it's the first published iteration of chess and while there's still some gaps in the narrative it is widely agreed upon to be Good. it's synth-y. it's extremely 80s. murray head is in it. listen to the concept album

in terms of actually watching it. if you plan on watching other versions after/just want to get a really broad sense of the characters and story: IN MY PERSONAL OPINION chess in concert at the royal albert hall (2008) is still a decent version to start with. it's a semi-staged concert based on the london version of chess and for the most part i think it gives you a good sense of the general shape of the plot and characters (except for walter it introduces walter pretty badly. but i really like clarke peters's performance so it's forgiven slightly). a lot of people got really into chess through this one but more than a few people have also been super bored by it. so just keep that in mind 🫡 josh groban adam pascal and idina menzel are in it if that means anything to you

if you want to watch a fully staged production and don't mind some slightly fuzzy video quality: LONG BEACH. this is one of the best productions just about everyone loves long beach. i think the only downside to watching it first is that it is based on the broadway version, which is (IN MY PERSONAL OPINION) the better version of chess, but london (from what i've observed) tends to sometimes be the default when it comes to analysis/fanon/metatextual discussion. so just something to be aware of! but honestly as i'm typing this i'm becoming more firm in my stance that long beach is a very good first chess. no contest and let's work together are in it. it has one of the most gut-wrenching pity the child performances ever. watch long beach <3

ummm. those would be my like. general recommendations but if you're looking for something specific i can probably suggest something else as well... honestly all chesses are a little bit confusing and a little bit bad so it's not like there's one you Must watch first or absolutely Should Not watch first. actually probably don't watch sydney first it doesn't establish the characters very well

[delulujuls]

emotional support rivals | ls18, sp11

hi! i dont know how to comment on this one, basically i thought that i would try to tame sergio and lance a bit because i know that some people may not like them as much. but they did pretty well here!

anyway, enjoy!

summary: reader is having the worst day of her life aka first day of her period, lance and sergio dont know how to act but they tryna be supportive

warnings: none i think

pairing: lance stroll x fem!mclarendriver x sergio perez

This day was terrible. And that was it.

But you might ask, how could a day be terrible when it hadn't even had a chance to start? Y/N just felt in her bones that this would be the case. She also knew her current schedule of duties, which considering the current jetlag that weighed heavily on her mind, added quite a bit to her already full plate.

Of course, days like these were allowed to exist; balance in life was the norm. Nevertheless, Y/N fervently wished for this one to, as soon as possible, come to an end.

Unfortunately, a quick end was out of the question, as her alarm had just rung. She struggled to open her sleepy eyes and saw the gloomy 6:30 on her phone's display.

She sighed and sat up in bed, feeling an unpleasant sensation in her stomach. She was familiar with this feeling and it signaled one thing and one thing only.

"Oh no, it can't be."

Y/N muttered under her breath and quickly reached for her phone, opening one of the apps. The notification confirmed her worst fear. "Your period may start today!"

"Fantastic, just fucking fantastic."

In a already bad mood, she tossed her phone into the pillows and got up with a symphony of groans, sighs and curses. As soon as she got out of bed she checked the sheets but the snowy white fabric assured her that today would be a one big roulette of waiting for her period to start.

When she showered and got ready to leave, she also packed her emergency kit for days like this. She had to use it partially though, because the pain in her stomach was simply unbearable. And it wasn't the typical stomach ache that everyone thinks of when they hear 'oh no, my stomach hurts' but this stomach pain was the Lance Stroll of all stomach pains. It doesn't seem to hurt too much, but it spoils your whole mood with its terrible nature.

Since talking about Stroll, it happened like that she still had practice laps that day, which she failed to pass while everyone else did. As it turned out, the same task was waiting for Lance, because in the cafeteria, apart from the busy employees, there was him. And that damn Mexican, too.

"What time are you supposed to be on the track?"

Checo asked from behind her when she was grabbing breakfast from one of the swedish tables.

"What happened to 'hi, good morning'? 'Buenos dias,' at least?"

She muttered, pouring syrup on her pancakes.

"Normally you don't talk to me, so I figured there's no point in trying."

He replied, somewhat thrown off by her response.

"Hello Sergio, nice to see you too and yes, it just happens that we're stuck with each other today. I'm on at 10am, you're ahead of me at 9, and that Aston idiot is at 11."

Y/N said sarcastically, putting on the nicest tone she could muster.

Sergio didn't know how to respond, so when she turned to leave for her table, he simply stepped out of her way.

Lance ate in silence, observing the scene quietly. He was watching the McLaren sun, today completely covered by stormy clouds, going away and sitting alone. Inadvertently his gaze met with Checo, who just shook his head and returned to choosing his breakfast.

Y/N sighed heavily, sitting at one of the empty seats. She ate absentmindedly, not used to the absence of Oscar and Lando. They had different things to attend to that day, so it wasn't unlikely that they wouldn't even cross paths. Maybe it was even better for them; each of them would probably receive a monthly dose of sulking. The charms of being the only girl in the company could be really tough at times.

And it's not that Y/N was a pain in the ass only for Oscar and Lando. She got along well with most people she interacted with daily. A few times she even went out with other girls; she wasn't limiting herself to the company of guys only. Unfortunately, Oscar and Lando had happened to take a particular liking to each other, which made the trio basically unseparable.

There were people with whom she didn't have frequent contact, or with whom she only exchanged smiles in passing but she had never had the chance to exchange a word.

It's also known that in life you can't be liked by everyone and not everyone can be liked by you. In this case, there was no magical exception. It just so happened that she would spend today in the company of those people who sat at the other end of the cafeteria, occasionally throwing her stolen glances.

After finishing her meal, the girl got down to her duties, wanting to bring this day to an end as quickly as possible. At the appointed time, she appeared on the track, quickly changing into her racing suit. She put on her helmet and after a brief discussion of notes, she sat in the car. That's when she felt that something was wrong. The worst-case scenario flashed before her eyes.

"Can I quickly go to the bathroom?"

She asked, looking at the technician nearest to her.

"We're a bit behind schedule. Can it wait?"

Y/N resignedly nodded. She knew there was nothing left to salvage.

She adjusted her straps and when she got the signal to leave the garage, she drove outside and headed straight for the track. After the radio test and receiving permission to start, she clenched her fists and roared the engine.

She was angry and as it's known, there's nothing worse than a female rage.

She was angry at this day, at herself, at this damn car. She was angry at the bloodstain on her damn orange suit, even though she hadn't seen it yet.

She was so hormonal that if it weren't for the helmet restricting her movements, she would have screamed at the top of her lungs.

However, female anger was priceless.

"Best lap time, I repeat, best lap time."

She tightened her grip on the steering wheel, not responding to the message.

In moments like this, she didn't care about anything. And it's pretty well known that a person who doesn't care has nothing to lose.

When the session ended and she received the message that she could pull into the pit lane, she complied. Mechanics rolled her into the garage and only then did it dawn on her that her hands were still clenched on the steering wheel. When she managed to free herself from the car, she immediately checked her seat. She cursed under her breath and took off her helmet, placing it aside. Quickly grabbing the nearest rag, she began to wipe away the stain of shame on her seat. The technician, whom she asked about going to the bathroom before the start, when he realized what had happened and what she was doing, just gave her an apologetic look.

She unzipped her suit and slid its top off, covering the stain on her backside. Zac wanted to congratulate her on the result and discuss the outcomes, but she apologized and grabbed her emergency kit, heading straight to the bathroom. She changed into her unstained clothes, guarded against another unpleasant surprise and bundled up the suit, muttering under her breath that a visit to the laundry awaited her later that day.

When she returned to the McLaren garage, Zac, upon seeing her, immediately smiled.

"Young lady, you charmed us today! You literally flew in that car!"

"I guess that's good, I think."

The girl replied, mustering a smile as she glanced at the monitors in front of her.

"Good? It's brilliant!"

Zac replied with a smile and checked his notes.

"After checking the car, I would ask you to put on your suit again for a moment because we need to do a few more laps on different tires."

"I thought that was it for today."

Y/N replied, looking at him.

"Now, you were driving on mediums; it would be good to know what time you can achieve on the hard compound."

The girl tightened her suit under her armpit.

"But—"

She started, but it felt silly, so she lowered her voice and approached him, "My suit is not suitable."

"How so? What happened?"

He frowned and looked at the bundle she was holding.

"I won't be able to drive in it anymore today."

Zac looked confused, so she just said "period" without using any words. He quickly understood and immediately nodded his head.

"Ask someone if we have another suit in stock. It would mean a lot to me if we could finish these tests today."

Y/N nodded and walked away, sighing heavily when she was out of his reach. However, as it turned out, racing suits are not as straightforward as one might think and the only McLaren suit in this garage was hers—rolled up into a ball of shame and unfit for use. One of the women upon hearing her situation only gave her a comforting hug and suggested borrowing a suit from Sergio or Lance, taking advantage of the fact that they were only drivers nearby. The situation was exceptional and it was all about internal measurements.

Disheartened by the fact that she would be forced to confront the men, she left the garage and looked around. Checo and Lance were sitting nearby, chatting in front of the Aston Martin garage. Y/N gathered herself and approached them, causing them to immediately pause their conversation.

"Can I borrow a suit from either of you?"

"You drive for McLaren, not for Aston or Red Bull."

Sergio said, taking a sip from his bottle. The girl involuntarily clenched her fists. Be professional, she thought and took a deep breath.

"If I didn't have to, I wouldn't ask. I need a suit; mine... is not suitable for driving."

"What happened?"

Lance asked, glancing at her. His expression lacked the hint of malice that Sergio currently possessed.

"I just need one; is that not enough?"

"Give a good reason and I might even give you mine."

Pérez said, crossing his arms.

"I just got my period which means my suit is having a fucking bloodstain on my ass and even though I feel like they're cutting me in half completely alive I have to do some extra laps because this fucking fat idiot didn't think about pitstop to change my tyres and let me go straight to the track" Y/N she spoke quietly and calmly, but her voice was dripping with fury "So do me the pleasure and let one of you give me your overalls before something hits me, for fucks sake."

Lance and Sergio stood still. Sergio's face lost its fierce expression and Lance suddenly realized that he had started holding his breath out of stress.

"I'll give you mine, no problem."

Stroll spoke up, starting to unzip his suit.

"Yours is light, you idiot; if something happens again, everything will be visible."

Pérez scolded him and turned his gaze back to the girl.

"Wait a moment; I'll bring you mine right away."

Y/N nodded and watched him leave.

"Do you feel very bad?"

Lance asked, looking at her. He couldn't wrap his head around how the girl standing in front of him, bleeding and all, could endure such a great strain and still set the best lap time.

"It's been better."

She sighed.

Lance, not knowing exactly what to do or how to help, reached out his hand with a bottle in it. Y/N looked at the bottle first and then at his face. Seeing that he was genuinely concerned, she whispered a quiet 'thanks' and took the water from him.

Sergio returned shortly after, handing her his suit.

"I hope it'll fit well for you."

The girl handed back Lance his water and thanked Pérez as well.

"Good luck, tigresa."

Y/N nodded at them one last time and returned to the garage, changing into the borrowed suit and taking her place in the car again.

As she sat there, waiting for permission to leave the pit lane, she noticed that she wasn't angry anymore, at least not as much as she was some time ago. When she drove out and headed towards the track, she passed Lance and Sergio once again, who were giving her thumbs up.

For the first time that day Y/N genuinely smiled and who would have thought it would be thanks to her rivals, who had now become her emotional support ones?

[graycomfort]

Simon Henriksson x gn reader - Leende - Part 1

Synopsis: You just started learning Swedish.

Masterlist (coming soon) Part 1 Part 2

A/N: Hello! This is my first ever finished fanfiction. It includes two cheesy tropes, but since it's my first one and there aren't many fics for him I didn't care. If there are any mistakes in the Swedish parts, please tell me and I will fix them!

They/Them is used like three times, the rest of it refers to you as you. Hope you enjoy! : ]

Word Count: 1.8 k

"God morgon, uhhh miss?" [Good morning]

Simon raised his hooded head slightly from his pillow at the sound of broken Swedish coming from the front door. It was followed by his mother's subtle laughter.

"Åh! God morgon! Komma in, tack!" [Oh! Good morning! come in, please!] There was a slight pause before he heard the door close as if the person standing in the hall hesitated. Perhaps processing what was said to them.

Was his mother having guests? That's weird since she always told him when she plans to have guests. Mainly so he gets his shit together beforehand, so he doesn't make her look bad, he thought. Simon also couldn't remember any of her friends being from overseas, at least that's what Simon assumed from the accent. Could be a new friend of hers, which doesn't make him happy.

New people usually meant being forced by his mother to at least introduce himself to the said new person and being shown off by her to them. Simon didn't see anything worth showing off about himself, but he guessed that she just wanted to make herself look better. As in "Oh look, I raised a boy, aren't I so cool and hard-working?"

He didn't feel like doing all of that at the moment. Actually, he doesn't want to do it at all, ever. Simon buried his head back into the pillow, smushing his face down to it. Praying that it was in fact not a new friend of hers but some tourist getting lost or something. He didn't really care who, just leave him alone.

"Simon! Kom hit, snälla!" [Simon! Come here, please!]

Skit… Simon dragged his legs over the edge of his bed and groaned out a loud "Jag kommer!" [I'm coming!] Without getting up from his bed, he leaned down to grab his pants. Which he lazily discarded onto the floor before he got into his bed. After quickly putting his pants on, he lifted the blanket at the foot of his bed to find his socks. After finally being fully clothed, he fixed his hair a bit by skimming his hand through it and finally left his room.

As he met his mother in the corridor, he was surprised at who stood beside her. Simon subconsciously fixed the hem of his hoodie as his closest friend, y/n, stood before him. "Åh, Hej, I didn't expect you." His eyes were fixed on you, not even paying attention to his mother who just made her leave. "I know, I should have texted you, to warn you I would be coming but I wanted to surprise you. I brought snacks and drinks!" You said with a joyous tone. The bag you had with you was now in your hand as you shook it. This confirmed your words as the sounds of snacks hitting each other filled the hallway they stood in. "No, no! Don't worry about it. I was just surprised, I thought I heard Swedish and I remembered you said you don't know Swedish."

"Well, Yeah I don't quite do yet… but after living here for quite a bit, I thought I might as well learn it. I also thought it would be pretty cool if we knew each other's languages." You said proudly while straightening your back. "Since you already know mine, it's my turn to learn yours." You pointed accordingly to yourself and Simon as you spoke.

Simon's face felt warm at the thought that you thought about him while making that decision. "Yeah. Yeah, that would be cool" He smiled warmly at you. "Well c'mon, we still got Spyro to finish" He let you go first. "I thought we finished that one already!" You whined and went the way his room was. He decided to take a jab at you. "We would have already finished, if you didn't die so much" You quickly turned around "I don't- I don't die that much!" "Ja, det gör du." [Yes, you do.] "Nej, det gör jag… inte!" [ No, I do… not!]

In his room, Simon made his way to his PlayStation 2 to turn it on. As the console buzzed, he leaned down to grab one of the few boxes of PS2 games lying scattered in front of the TV. He looked for the one that had Spyro in it. Because it's definitely not the box that it was designed to be kept in. In the meantime, Y/n looked around, even though you have been in his sorry excuse of a room many times before. "En säng, en fönster, en TV" "ETT fönster" He corrected you without stopping his previous task. "shit. That's embarrassing." "Nah, don't worry. You just started learning, you're bound to make mistakes." You raised your eyebrow and stared at his turned back. "You will still make fun of me." "I will still make fun of you, yes" He nodded as he spoke. "fan" Simon snorted at the attempt of swearing.

He finally found the disk he was looking for and popped it into the console. He grabbed both of the controllers and passed your favorite one to you. The one you always fought for if he gave you the wrong one. While the game loaded, you grabbed your bag from the bed and dumped all the snacks and drinks in front of them. Simon immediately went for an energy drink. As soon as he cracked it open, he took a big swing of it. Scrunching his face at the carbonated drink. "Thank fuck, I needed that." "Knew you would like that one, eboy." You teased. "Oh shut, I have not slept much today… And I need to stay awake while waiting for you to finish your segments" He shrugged and took another sip. At that comment, you playfully pulled the hood of his hoodie.

Simon caught himself, trying not to let any drop of his energy drink spill onto the floorboards. "I was drinking! That was foul!" "Oops" Y/n said with a happy tone.

He was about to get back on you but the game already loaded. You cut him off before he could do anything. "C'mon, you said you will be the one waiting for me. So far it's the other way around." You said as you spammed the X button. He scoffed and joined you. He will just die in the game out of spite later.

After many tries to defeat the ending boss, they finally finished the game. Wrappers of what used to be snacks now lay empty in front of them. So did a plate they ate a frozen pizza from, that Simon's mother made for them. Which you thanked her for in her mother tongue. His mother seemed to like you, which Simon was pleased about. Hearing you speak Swedish made his mom so happy, Simon wondered why.

After screaming for about two hours, which you will definitely apologize to his mother for. And eating tons of their favorite snacks, you were exhausted. Resting your head against his bed was enough to make you pass out. Simon stood up only for a moment, to turn his ps2 off and switch to the cable. But as he turned back around he realised you were already asleep.

He knew he wasn't the strongest, so he debated on picking you up and putting you in a more comfortable position. He didn't want to risk dropping you, yet he didn't want you to wake up with a sore neck. He took all of the stuff from his bed, which isn't much, and placed it around you. Lifting your head slightly to put a pillow under it. After he was satisfied with his creation, he left the room.

Coming into the kitchen, he spotted his mother sitting at the table standing next to the window. "De verkar sova, ska jag väcka dem eller får de stanna över natten?" [They seem to be sleeping, should I wake them up or can they stay overnight?] Simon's mother smiled "Självklart kan de det, men var inte för högljudda!" [of course, they can, just don't be too loud!] Simon sent her a deadpan yet slightly glaring look. "Vi är int-" [We are no-] He paused and sighed. He knew it was pointless to argue, knowing full well she was just taking the piss out of him.

Before leaving, he took a quick peek into the fridge and grabbed the last energy drink left. Now he was ready to come back to his room. Seeing what her son took from the fridge, she quiped in. "Du borde också sova" [You should also sleep] "Ja, mama" [Yes, mama] He said without even turning back to her.

He opened the can before entering his room, to not disturb the sleeping you. Speaking of you. As he entered his room, you seemed to have made yourself comfortable. Taking a way more comfortable position. He just stood there, watching. You never slept at his place. For you to just pass out like that, you must trust him a lot. Looking back on today, he realized how content he felt. The way he could just let go when you were around. He felt happy.

That didn't last long, his mind began to spiral. He felt slight regret that he had shown his emotions, he usually hides the positive ones deep inside. But with you, it's just hard to do so. You just make him want to live, make him want to smile. The toothy grin that made him feel terrible every time he looked in a mirror. The crinkles near his eyes that the outside world doesn't get to see that often, and if they do it's usually because of anger. He has anger issues, what if he lashes out at you for no reason whatsoever? Would a person like you prefer if he was a happy guy? Or would you not like him anymore if he showed emotions?

Every thought suddenly stopped. His eyes no longer stared into the void, as he looked down to see your hand weakly pulling his pant leg. He stared at you again. But this time instead of overthinking, he spoke to himself quietly. 'You're right, y/n'. He gently removed your hand and moved to the now-empty bed. He placed the can that he held, on the floor. He didn't care about a pillow or blankets, he knew he would do anything to assure your safety and comfort.

He laid with his head next to your sitting position, so he didn't kick you while he was asleep. Simon grabbed a strand of your hair with his left hand and started playing with it. His eyes now closing shut, ready to pass out any second.

"God natt, y/n. Jag tycker om dig" [Good night, y/n. I like you (romantically)]

[bearyzdiary]

Hi, request here! Would you have anything in mind for simon with a gothic reader?

I keep thinking about the summer days with my best friend when we would lay for hours in bed just smoking and listening to vinyls, watching the rays of sun try to come into the room through thick curtains and when it would finally get dark outside we would go to libraries or just wander the streets (or cemeteries). I think this would be nice to do with simon if he could be my (boy)friend lol

Don't feel pressured to get this out too fast, enjoy your holidays :)

Summer days

Simon x reader

This diary entry contains…established relationship | smoking | Simon being silly | fluff! | might be short but probably won’t be that long😵‍💫

THANK UUU FOR THE REQUEST 🫶🏾🫶🏾🫶🏾 I honestly had to do some research to get the goth style accurate 😓😓 I HOPE THIS IS TOO YOUR LIKING!!!

Simon was absolutely head over heels for you.You were laid back,chill person who knew how to put people in their place when they would call you “emo”.

Simon knew a thing or two about the goth style and was interested in it.he loved your style and how you dressed,It made you stand out.you always had the best outfits,you didn’t cause a scene and mostly just watched things unfold before going back to doing whatever.

He always would get nervous when you would wave at him.He always wanted to make the first move and introduce himself but he was just too scared you wouldn’t like him.

Turns out you also wanted to talk with him but didn’t know how as he would always look the other way when you would look at him.you knew he had a friend named Sophie and wondered if maybe she could help you talk to him more.

Sophie was pretty nice and onboard with getting you and Simon to get closer.You guys had the same lunch period so Sophie brought Simon over to your table and introduced him to you.

You saw the way he fidgeted with his fingers as he spoke to you.he then went on a small rant about how much he liked your style and had been wanting to talk to you for a while.

You happily explain to him how you found him cool mostly because he stayed to himself and didn’t cause any trouble.

You guys got closer as the months went by until it reached summer.Simon had asked you out a month ago and you happily agreed.it was a slow simple relationship as you both respected each boundaries.

It was a bonus as you explained the goth style to him and it’s background as the both of you laid on your rug going through Simon’s vinyl collection he had brought with him.he took in every piece of information you had to offer as reached into his bag and brought out of pack of cigarettes.

He offered you one which you gladly took as the two of you sat in silence,Sadly your record player wasn’t acting right so you couldn’t play any music but that didn’t matter, you had Simon’s amazing singing skills…by amazing I mean you wanted to put him on mute but in a good way!

He made small comments about how much of an angel you look sitting in front of the window,the rays of sunlight outlining your silhouette in a way.

You adore how honest and thoughtful Simon was with his compliments as he watched you with his pretty tired eyes,Your favorite thing about him.

Your main plan for later that day was to just sit outside and chat about things.Even the smallest talks were nice for you and Simon as well he doesn’t speak much but when he does speak he can go on hour rants or just tell you small Swedish history facts he finds cool.

Once the sun had fully went down,You packed a small bag with a flashlight,your phone charger and a bottle of water mostly because that’s all you really needed to just sit outside and talk.

Hopping down your steps,Simon was sat on your couch watching whatever was playing on your TV before noticing you were ready and turned off the the TV.

Unlocking your front door he opened it for you with a small smile as you give him one back before stepping out the house.It was pretty quiet and warm out.You wouldn’t really expect to see anyone besides maybe a couple of kids who didn’t have a certain time to be in or maybe a bunch of teens causing problems.

You kicked a small rock with your boot before looking at the moon.”I really like summer nights,It’s really the only time where it’s kinda quiet out.”You say while looking at Simon who was on his phone.

“I don’t really have an opinion on the summer or really any season,I’m more of a winter person though.”He says while putting his phone back in his hoodie pocket.

“I could kinda tell you like winter more.You look like the type to play in the snow and make snow angels”You say while looking at a small playground with three teenagers on the monkey bars chatting and taking photos.

“Funny that you say that,I used to love making snow angels until one day I just kinda grew out of it and stopped.I prefer making snowmen now”He explains.

You nod slightly.”I like snowmen…maybe when it gets colder and it snows we can build one together!”You say while looking at Simon as he smiles and nods.

The rest of the night was filled with the two of you pranking and scaring a bunch of teens,Buying snacks and sitting on the top of a building watching the pretty city lights,hands interlocked.

[clatterbane]

Early o'clock appointment at the prosthetics place this morning. This was waiting in the office after the initial intake talking to the prosthetist, while he went off for a while to look into using a bigger room where they do casting.

The prosthetist I got was a youngish Indian guy who seemed fine to deal with so far. My shitty Swedish skills did not turn out to be an issue today either, which was a relief. Occasionally I really do need Mr. C to act as interpreter on some things, but that really wasn't needed today. And it's extra important to get clear communication going with a prosthetist, at least if you want to get an actually useful prosthesis.

The initial assessment was pretty encouraging. He was initially concerned that the situation might have been complicated by the delays, and me mostly being stuck in the chair for 4 years and counting now. But, I really do NOT have the troublesome muscle contractures or level of general deconditioning that they were halfway expecting to see. Actually seemed impressed (like the PT people last time) at my leg strength now, after a couple of quick tests.

I am in absolutely terrible shape right now, for myself as an individual. But, I am also NOT upward of 70 and with other serious health issues complicating matters, like the average client they'd be encountering. Kinda makes a difference. Also, being persistently unable to fucking sit still for more than a few minutes at a time has probably actually worked to my advantage in this case.

At any rate, the guy quickly seemed convinced that, with a little practice and reconditioning and all that good stuff? I am likely to be very active, and need to be set up with appropriate equipment to that end.

Thankfully, there that may well include more than one leg setup at a time, to be better for different purposes. Also a higher level ankle and foot than they put most people in especially starting out. ..

(They don't use exactly the same system for classification or criteria here, but it's pretty much the same idea. I haven't actually looked into the specifics. What'll get you around a grocery store fine won't necessarily work so well if you're wanting to hike around uneven terrain, etc. Sounded like I went straight to the equivalent of K4 back in the US, though.)

Gotta say I was a tad concerned about that part, going in. I didn't make it as far as the actual prosthetics clinic dealing with the NHS, but overall I kept getting these mixed messages that I was young and healthy, and should spring back in no time--and also that it was basically only expected for a middle-aged AFAB person to occasionally gimp around the shops, and that it might be unreasonable to expect to ever get back much better mobility than that. Which could easily turn into a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy, especially with enough pennypinching involved. Again, I never made it to the stage of working with the local "Limb Centre", so may have run into some different attitudes there. It may have been better than I still sorta suspect.

As it stands, though? Nobody's looked at me like I had two heads when I've mentioned wanting to get back on a bike. Very normal daily activity, living in a purposely very bikeable city! Or anything else, really. I do not want to start running marathons now, I just want the ability to get back to some reasonable-for-my-hyper-ass level of activity doing stuff that I actually enjoy.

It sounds like I should at some point get a leg set up for general walking-around purposes including hiking (as one of my explicitly stated goals) and one set up better for cycling (as the other major one), using different attachment systems and slightly different ankle/foot components. May be able to get a swim fin foot in the future to swap on if I want to get back into that. It is evidently (thankfully!) not like some insurance coverage elsewhere or some of the things I hear about experiences with the NHS, where you're necessarily getting one all-purpose leg to last you for 5 years or whatever.

I really don't know what they're intending with the timeframe for both, but it should be 2-3 weeks until the walking-around leg is ready to try on. They may need to do some adjustments before it's ready to start getting up on. It sounded like they're doing the socket building in house, rather than sending it out to some more centralized facility--which is to the good, as long as they know what they're doing. Sounded like my leg guy would be doing the fabrication.

I was a little surprised that they're skipping the temporary socket step and going straight for a final version, but things have had a good while to shrink down on their own by now, and that guy wasn't foreseeing my bony leg shrinking down much more anytime soon so that it needed a new smaller socket to fit. That is a pretty common thing for people who have started the process much sooner after surgery.

(No, he just kept commenting on how knobbly mine is. Which, he's not wrong. That does need some extra fitting accommodation around the potential pressure points, however.)

I did not go home entirely empty handed today, though.

I did get one of the "real" liners made for wear under a socket, as opposed to the compression-only sleeve that PT put me wearing. It is remarkably more comfortable, as I was hoping. We're talking a neoprene sleeve with enough of a silicone gel lining to make a seal on the leg, and it's cut down lower. Not extra bastard heavy duty silicone only.

With limited wear so far, the less rigid material is indeed NOT trapping and pinching the hell out of any flesh on the back of my leg. I did take it off after we got home because my skin there does need a little rest break to heal after what the first one has been doing to it. I do not really intend to put the white one on again. Will be happy to give that thing back to PT whenever I see them again.

But yeah, there is no doubt an awful lot of work in my near future. I am extremely relieved to finally have an aftermarket leg this close in sight, though. It almost felt like a "when I win the lottery" type prospect, there for a while. (And I am trying not to place similarly unrealistic expectations on the whole process, tbqh.)

[fleacollar999]

w-werewolf ideas? -pleading eyes- (but only if ur up for it)

Hello, friend, I am finally here with my treatise on Medieval Werewolves. So this is going to be more like a Brief History of Werewolves as I Can Remember It Off the Top of My Head, Over A Year Since I Read Most of These Sources, than maybe the list of werewolf fucking ideas you might have been looking for. I hope you will agree that this rich history of werewolf lore is a GOLDMINE when you view it with the monster fucking lens. Now, the story I've been working on only has incidental werewolf-fucking, it's not a Monster Fucking story, but I will do my best to help you.

WEREWOLVES ARE REALLY FUCKING OLD. The first recorded "beast-man" is in the Epic of Gilgamesh (~2100 BCE), where Enkidu is a "bull-man" that Gilgamesh helps to find his humanity. Not werewolf specific, per se, but monster fuckers have been around a while. The most famous early werewolf is Lycaon of Arcadia (I believe a date of around 400 BCE), a king who fed Zeus the flesh of his own son cause he thought it would be funny, I guess. Zeus turned Lycaon into a wolf, or wolf-man, and that's where the word Lycan comes from. This also establishes a connection of werewolves with cannibalism.

So now I am actually going to fast forward to the Middle Ages. There is a rich, rich history of werewolves in Europe, particularly in the Slavic and Baltic regions. In Renaissance Germany, werewolf trials were held alongside witch trials. The Malleus Maleficarum, written in 1486 and was like *the* handbook for witch hunting, contained passages on identifying and capturing werewolves. (I'm pretty sure. Like I said it's been a year since I read this stuff.) So what did medieval people believe about werewolves?

There were many ways to become a werewolf. You could have the bad luck to be born on Christmas Day or (interestingly) the night of a New Moon. If you drank water that collected in the pawprint of a werewolf, you too would be cursed. If you died and an animal jumped over your corpse? Werewolf. In Livonia, it was said that if you spoke a certain incantation over your drink, you would become a werewolf upon consuming it. There were also ways to be a werewolf were one had more agency in the transformation. A wolf-pelt belt (often called a "wolf-strap", which cracks me up for reasons we won't discuss here) could be used to transform yourself into a wolf. To become human again, all you had to do was remove the belt. Some people believed you could do the same with a wolf skin. There are stories where if a werewolf's clothes are stolen while they're in wolf form, they will remain that way-- you can read about one such story, as recorded by tumblr user @qqueenofhades here! In Elliott O'Donnell's 1912 book simply titled Werewolves, there is a description of a ritual to summon some dark entity called "the Unknown" who could supposedly grant you powers of lycanthropy. Maybe don't do that. (This book also discusses other, non-European forms of Lycanthropy!)

There are ways for a non-lycan person to return a lycan to their human form; one can return their clothes to them, one can call them by their Christian name (sometimes 3 times, sometimes just once). There are accounts of a witness recognizing the werewolf due to some identifiable injury or something, and once they speak the werewolf's name he will turn back into a human.

Some ways to recognize if a person is a werewolf or not: do they have hair growing on their palms? If you cut them, is there hair growing inward from their skin? Are they just so, so hairy? In Swedish tradition, I believe, it was said that werewolves looked just like regular wolves except they had no tail-- so a werewolf would run on three legs, holding his fourth leg out behind him to look like a tail. Some werewolves still have human eyes when transformed.

A lot of the pop culture lore about werewolves comes from the 1941 The Wolf Man, which really brought the werewolf into modern times. You can check that out if you'd like, it's interesting stuff, but not in the scope of the research I've been doing.

OH MY GOD FLEA you just did a HUGE info dump on werewolves, this is not what I wanted. Yeah, I know, but you triggered my special interest gag-reflex.

But like.... Character A loves Character B and finds their clothes one night, takes them to wash, and a big hairy beast starts following Character A???

Character X gets attacked by a bad guy in the woods but a big ass wolf fends him off and gets a slice down his face. The next day Character Y has a nasty facial wound that seems somehow familiar??

The bond of being able to recognize your lover even when they're in animal form, even when you didn't know they could do that????

And I mean MY GOD just apply A/B/O shit to werewolves HELLO (that's what started this whole spiral for me).

I particularly like medieval monster fucking because the Middle Ages are just very interesting to me. There is a lot of political and religious stuff going on, a lot of culture clashing and forbidden fruit and what not. Remember how I said that there is a rich history of werewolves in the Slavic and Baltic regions? Those were the last areas of Europe to get converted to Christianity. And they resisted, HARD.

Livonia, the Baltic area where you could enchant your beer to make you a werewolf, has a famous account of a man on trial for being a werewolf. "Hell yeah I'm a werewolf," he said. "Me and my werewolf buddies go down to Hell three times a year to fight the Devil and his demons." If I recall correctly they weren't sure what to do with this guy because he *confessed* to being a werewolf and hadn't really done anything wrong. I believe there's another Livonian tale of an abandoned castle where all the werewolves gathered once a year. And something about werewolves breaking into your basement and drinking all your beer and stacking all the barrels up to the ceiling just to be little shits I guess?

Anyway, I think this is super interesting and I know this is not like "Medieval Werewolf Headcanons" but just get out your horny goggles and I am SURE you can find some good shit in this WAY TOO LONG POST.

Peace and LOve

[rosetta-j-stone]

So...I wanted this to be a one-shot but I think it might end up being a slow burn after all...

Er, I mean, yes, I absolutely intended this to be Chapter 1 of MANY.

ANYWAY

AU BOJERE FANFIC LET'S MM MM GOOOOOO

If you'd told him five years ago that he'd be living in London, he wouldn't have believed it.

London is for rockstars. Models. Hotshot city boys.

Bojan is none of those things.

But he does love people. And excitement.

So maybe it's not so surprising after all.

...OK, so it's a bit less glamorous than he expected. He's working three jobs and sharing a house with four other guys.

Five, if you count that mate of theirs who's always coming over.

Anyway.

He checks his watch. Plenty of time.

He takes one last drag on his cigarette, savouring it, then lets it fall, still smouldering, to the ground, before shoving his hands deep into his pockets and hurrying back inside.

He'll never get used to the British weather.

****

Jere is nervous. This is definitely the right place. Right? He checks his phone again, like he didn't check it a hundred times on the way here. Yep. Definitely the right place. Probably.

It's just...there's no one here.

He can't be the only student on this course, can he?

He hopes not. He still remembers that summer when he had to retake Swedish. He shudders.

But no...wait...those are definitely footsteps echoing down the corridor.

Phew. He won't be doing this all alone after all.

He turns with a smile to see who his classmate is.

****

There's already someone waiting outside the classroom when Bojan gets there. Either they're really keen, or they live so far out that they've learned, as he has, to allow 2 hours to get anywhere in this city. Or both.

He's about to introduce himself when the student thrusts out his arm, grasps his hand firmly and vigorously shakes it, rather faster than Bojan is used to.

"Hellohelloyoualsohereforlanguageclassyesyes? Nooneelsehereyetbut" - he breaks off from shaking Bojan's hand to dig his phone out of his pocket and check it - "Ithinkweinrightplace"

Bojan grins. Yes, he is also here for the language class.

AKA the worst-paid of his three jobs.

****

Jere is gabbling. He knows he is, he can hear he's talking too fast, but honestly he thinks he's doing pretty well getting any actual words out when he's just been confronted with one of the best-looking men he's ever seen.

And Jere considers himself something of an expert.

This guy should consider himself lucky Jere isn't speaking total gibberish actually.

He leans against the wall, which is 100% so he looks cool and casual and definitely not because he suddenly feels weak at the knees.

"So...you new student like me? Or you do this course already some time?"

The other student stifles a laugh for some reason. Jere frowns. Did he accidentally say something weird? Or is...is this guy laughing at his accent? That's pretty rude of him.

...pretty...him.

OK, he needs to focus.

****

This is what he gets for teaching adults, his sister would say, before asking him for the umpteenth time why on earth he doesn't work with kids, he's a natural, she can put in a good word for him with her friend who's a headteacher, he only has to ask-

He doesn't do it because he's a coward, is what he'd tell her.

He'd say it'd be too much to be surrounded by kids all day every day when he still doesn't have any kids of his own.

He really did think he'd have at least one by now.

Anyway, that's what he'd tell her. If he wasn't a coward.

Besides he doesn't really mind being mistaken for a mature student once in a while.

"Actually," he says, taking a key from his pocket and unlocking the classroom door, "I'm the one giving the classes"

****

Of COURSE he is. No wonder he was trying not to laugh.

Although, in Jere's defence, this guy looks way too young to be anyone's teacher, even if he does have a streak of grey in his hair.

Hmm, distinguished.

Focus, Jere.

You're here to learn, remember.

He sighs and follows his new teacher into the classroom, kicking himself every step of the way. Hopefully the rest of the students will arrive before he can make a bigger fool of himself...

[hanna-kin]

Some time ago I made a post with random Swedish facts based on some very common misunderstandings or misconceptions I've seen in this fandon. I was asked to make more of these.

Some points will be repeats because I see them in fics and discussions all the time.

Again this is just made to share swedish culture and some fact about swedish society. Not to point blame at people. Research can be tricky and it's easy to assume that things work as they do in your own country.

And at the end of the day it's not that deep. However if you have any questions or want to discuss my ask box is open and I'm always happy to help. You can also dm me if you prefer that.

⭐️ Swearing is no big deal at all. For a Royal and in public yes, in every day life, no teenager will scold another for swearing and alot of parents wouldn't bat an eye.

⭐️ Sex is also not a big deal. Teenagers have sex. Parents expect them to.

⭐️You don't adress eachother with Mr and miss/Mrs/Ms. Hillerska is a little different because the students formally adress their teachers but that is not how things work outside of school. The teachers call the students by their first name. Noone will day Mr Eriksson to Simon. Not Malin, not the Queen, not a teacher, noone.

⭐️ Legal age for drinking is 18 but you can only buy it at 18 at restaurants, bars and nightclubs. The legal age to buy alcohol elsewhere is 20.

⭐️You are allowed to get your drivers lisence at 18. Most people get one for stick shift and stick shift is very common. You can start practicing at 16 though.

⭐️Simon and Wilhelm are 16 or about to turn 16 the year they start Hillerska. So in season 1 they are either already 16 or about to turn 16. In season 2 they are going to turn 17 that same year. Unless they for some reason skipped a year or were held back. Which there's no reason to believe.

⭐️ Sara is a year older than Simon. They are not twins. She was held back. This is why she turns 18 amd becomes a legal adult in season 2.

⭐️ August is 2 years older than Simon and Wille so is about to turn 19 during the year that season 2 takes place.

⭐️ The age difference between August and Sara is not considered weird. Neither is the age difference between Marcus and Simon (2years) it doesn't really matter that Marcus is an adult and Simon is not. The legal age of consent is 15 and if people are close in age people won't think it's weird.

⭐️ School is free. There are laws that prohibit schools from charging anyhting. I don't even think the uniforms would cost anything. Getting them tailored would of course. I might be wrong about this but the first 9 years of school before Gymnasiet (High school) are not allowed to cost anything. Simon and Sara are not on scholarships. Sara is on one for boarding but not for attending.

⭐️ University is also free. Most people have the opportunity to go to uni since it's free and there are loans you can take to cover living expenses that you pay off once you've done with your studies. You also get a little amount every month that is not a loan. You get in based on grades. The police school also have physical tests and interviews to make sure you are fit enough and suitable to become a Police officer. Other than that it's basically grades for most educations. So everyone has the same chance. (Almost)

⭐️ Many students work extra but not everyone. I did but not all of my friends did.

⭐️ Both school and university are based on two terms. For school the autumn term starts in kid August and ends just before Christmas. Then the Spring term starts in the beginning of Janaury and ends in the beginning of June.

Uni is a little different. Autumn term starts at the end of August or at the beginning of September (typically) and ends in the beginning of january.

The new term starts around the 9th of January and ends at the beginning of June.

⭐️ Uni on really has a summer break but not all teachers and professors are dickheads but you can technically have both lectures and seminares only days after Christmas which means no Christmas break. You will most definitely have something to study for or write during Christmas because the beginning of January always almost mean a written exam or a deadline for an essay.

⭐️ Normal school has breaks. 10 weeks of summer break from beginning of June to middle of August.

Autumn break in late October/beginning of November. 7 days. Or like 5 weekdays.

Christmas break is around 3 weeks. From a few days before Christmas to beginning of January. A few days into the new year.

Then we have what we call Sports break. Typically in February but it warries and different regions have different weeks to not crowed skiing resorts etc. 7 days.

Then we have easter break which is also devided ao the break either begins with the easter weekend and Good Friday (almost wrote black Friday lmao) or ends with easter monday. In total it's 8 days.

⭐️ As a full time employee you typically get 25 paid days of leave which is 5 weeks. There is a law that states that your employer has to allow you three weeks of paid leave in a row during summer (June-August). You also get more days the older you get. In addition you also get a kind of vacation bonus that is added on to your salary when you take time off.

⭐️ Very typical working hours are 8 hours a day for a full time job. Some work a little less though. For my full time is 7.75 hours a day. Those who work shift sometimes have a little less than 8 hours or 40 hours a week.

I worked shift at my old job (Group home) one shift was from 07.00 am to 16.00 or 16m30 with 30 minutes break. One shift was from 13.30-21.30 if I remember correctly. Also with 30 minutes break. The night shift was from 21.00-7.00. If you worked late nights, the night shift or weekends and holidays you would get paid extra. So on weekends I got around 53 kr extra per hour, around 5 euros. During holidays such as christmas, new years eve, easter or midsummer you'd get around 100 kr extra per hour.

If you end up more than full time you also get paid extra or get more days you can take off. For me you get paid double or can take time off instead.

This varies though depending on where you work and your title etc.

⭐️ The hospital has similar working hours with three shifts. We know Linda is a nurse so she probably works as least both day shifts and evening shift. Maybe even night shifts. If she worked overtime she would be paid extra.

⭐️ Labour unions are also very common and very important. There are many unions depending on profession. The unions protect the workers rights and interests. They can help you should you get in some kind dispute with your employer. They also negotiate terms and conditions for workers as well as wages.

⭐️ Sweden has fairly strong laws around work and employment that also set duties and responsibilities of employers. You can't fire people based on nothing and are obliged to follow strict laws.

⭐️ Over all Sweden has a fairly strong welfare system. Not perfect by any means but fairly strong and not something to take for granted.

That includes free health care, free school, child protective services, etc. Of course its funded by taxes so it's not free but you get it.

⭐️ There's protection of you don't have a job, can't work because you are physically or mentally unable to and when you retire. (This could definitely be better though)

⭐️ There are also protection for children. There would not be shelters for Lgbtq+ teenagers that have been throwned out by homophobic parents etc. There is social service that would help and there is a foster care system though.

School also have very strict rules to follow and are obliged to report if they believe a child is in danger at home or that their parents are not fit to care for them.

Orphanages for children and teenagers are not a thing but there are group homes but for other reasons.

⭐️ There are shelters for homeless people and other socially vulnerable people like drug addicts. Many are funded by the Church.

⭐️ I used to work with people with mental illness and or drug addiction and they were also surrounded by a sort of support network. (I would say that too would need improvement but they got help and they had somewhere to live.)

This is what I can come up with right now. Thank you @darktwistedgenderplural for coming up with ideas.

If you have any questions feel free to ask and if there's something you want me to adress don't hesitate. And feel free to add points.

[thealmightyemprex]

Universal Monster watch through thoughts part 2

Onto 5 more monster movies

A few notes:I have been watching the behind the scenes documentaries that go with certain movies and this is the first batch with no documentaries .ALso with Daughter of DRacula we exit phase one of the Universal monsters ,as in studio history I belive this is where the LEamlies (Those who founded Universal) were I believe forced out and Horror films were put on the back burner due to the Hays code ....Till a theater owner did a very sucessful triple bill of Dracula,Frankenstein and Son of Kong ,which got Universal seeing dollar signs and brought beack the monsters with Son of Frankenstein

6.Werewolf of London 1935

First film I fully dont like.Like its one of the first werewolf movies Jack Pierces makeup ,which is more man then wolf is good and theres some amusing drunk old ladies ......But other then that and unless you are a hardcore werewolf fanatic,I think this film is skipable .I dont like the main characvter or actor ,Henry Hull ,and the key to a good Werewolf story is I gotta care about the main character,and while it has cool ideas it does ntohing with them.Also the villain is played by Warner Oland ,a Swedish actor known for playing mostly Asian characters ,including here .....Skip this movie

7.Draculas Daughter (1936)

So this is an example of a film I saw once before,didnt think much of .....And on this watch I really enjoyed it .The opening scene is dumb with Van Helsing getting arrested and honestly as much as I love Edward Van Sloan ,I wouldve preferred if he wasnt in the movie .Other then that its a good movie,and for Queer horror fans I think its a must watch ,Zaleskas queer subtext is palpable ,ESPECIALLY in the scene with Lili the model .I like the humor in the film mostly (Im noticing more a trend to humor ),Sandor is one of my favorite characters so far cause he is the ultimate buzzkill and personification of gloom , but what makes the film really is Zaleska played to perfection by Gloria Holden ,she really brings the tragedy and pathos so she isnt just a villain .Also earliest vampire film I can think of to treat vamparism like addiction,with Sandor the utimate enabler .Also ummm I didnt realize this but I couldnt shake the feeling while watching that the hero Jeffrey looked villanious ....And turns out Its Otto Kruger who I had just seen in Hitchcocks Saboteur where he plays a villain (Also was Dr Livsey in Tresaure Island with Wallace Beery ).Anyway good movie,hidden gem reccomend

8.Son of Frankenstein (1939)

...So yeah the first 3 Frankenstein movies (The Karloff trilogy as I call it ) are all amazing ,its soooooo hard to pick a favorite.I have heard people who say its the best of the three and others who say its the weakest,but honestly like the first two it is still a masterpiece .It is sadly the first one where the monster becomes a bit of a prop,he is the least interesting character in the film but he still has great moments in the film to showcase how great Karloff is (His wail of Anguish upon finding Ygor dead ,his one friend ,is HEARTBREAKINGLY AMAZING ).Honestly what makes the film is the cast which might be the best ensamble of any of these movies .Lionel Atwil is so good as the one armed Inspector Krogh who plays off Basil Rathbone beautifully .Basil Rathbone gives possibly one of his best performances as the titular character and the dart scene is some of the best actor Ive seen from him .The scene stealer in EASILLY his best performance ever is Bela Lugosi as Ygor ,he is so creepy and is played to perfection by Lugosi .I am tempted to say he is tied with Pretorious as my favorite villain of the series .The movie looks beautiful,its got a good final set piece and you get to see some amazing actors work off each other.Another CLASSIC in my oppinion.Also Bambi is in it .And with that we leave the 30's and enter the 40's

9.The Invisible Man Returns (1940)

Another solid one ,love the wronged man trying to prove his innocence plot while trying not to lose his mind ,I think thats a fun angle .Im not a huge fan of Sir Cedric Hardwicke ,but I love his performance here as the main villain not playing it villainous but rather desperate which leads to villainy .I also really like the inspector here who is a fun foil .The stand out of the movie is its lead a very green Vincent Price in his first time being the lead in a horror film ,I think his manerisms when bandaged are good and he has a strong voice though he hasnt developed his signature affectation yet so he sounds alittle diffrent though the signature "Price voice" slips in a few scenes .My favorite scene is when he is menacing Alan Napier (AKA Alfred brom 60's Batman TV show ) and the film has a great finale .Also the effects were OScar nominated and RIGHTLY so,they look good for being over 80 years old.Must see for both Universal fans and Vincent Price fans

10.The Mummys Hand (!940)

....Sooooooo,I have seen this one before,but this time around I mostly had it on in the background as I made lunch ,and thus have very little to say .I kind of like that the two main characters are goofy ,fun knowing the mummys actor Tom Tyler was in westerns (Including John Fords Stagecoach) but also is the first live action actor to play a comic book hero ,Captain Marvel and Geroge Zucco is creepy....I dunno,I got nothing both times Ive watched this I just thought it was OK

Ranking so far

10.Werewolf of London

9.Mummys Hand

8.Mummy

7.Dracula's Daughter

6.Dracula

5.Invisible Man Returns

4.Invisble Man

3.Son of Frankenstein

2.Frankenstein

1.Bride of Frankenstein

To be Continued

@ariel-seagull-wings @themousefromfantasyland @theancientvaleofsoulmaking @piterelizabethdevries @the-blue-fairie @princesssarisa @countesspetofi @amalthea9 @barbossas-wench

[sirfrogsworth]

I was bored in the hospital last night and for some reason I decided to debate some Matt Walsh transphobe jerks in a Twitter thread. Like here and here and here. I was holding my own but then the discussions turned into a "Study Off" as I like to call them. They post a link to a study saying medical transitions or puberty blockers are the worst. And then I have to counter with a newer better study that says they have decent positive outcomes. Then they say that study is bad. Then I have to find a different study. And it is just a tiring form of debate that never goes anywhere.

One study they referenced was a Swedish study that assessed how transgender surgeries from as far back as the 70s turned out. I was all, "You know they improved the surgeries a tiny bit from the frickin' 70s, right?" But also, it is really hard to gauge how effective transitioning can be when you can't factor out societal attitudes.

"They transitioned and for some reason they are still depressed! Clearly it doesn't work!"

Meanwhile, every red state in the country is basically trying to outlaw being trans.

The depression is a real mystery.

I never know how to pivot from a Study Off. I want to tell them I have friends and many many followers that have gone through medical transitions or done the puberty blockers and affirming care and it basically saved their lives. But the response to that will be "anecdotal evidence." Though I might have enough trans followers for a decent sample size.

But my point is, they don't ever talk to trans people to see how they feel about all this. When I ask, these people never actually know any trans people. They might debate a few online, but they don't *know* or befriend actual trans people.

I don't think you can truly understand the reality of something unless you talk to the people affected. I mean, *really* talk to them... without a character limit and barrier of anonymity.

I asked this guy if he knew any trans people or had any trans friends.

How can you judge something as "horrific" if you never actually talk to the people you are making wild speculations about?

He just created something in his head of what a trans person is and has no interest in seeking the reality of a trans existence. Apparently all trans people have been duped into a medical money making scheme. So none of them have the agency or self awareness to want transition?

I bet he purposely avoids getting to know any trans people because he doesn't want to lose this idea of them he has manufactured in his mind.

Manipulated and taken advantage of for profit, eh?

What do they think being transgender is? Organized religion?

I keep seeing conservative Christians call trans people delusional and living in a fantasy all while they believe in a magic man that walked on water. They see people speaking in tongues and think that is normal. They watch faith healers scam people and praise the Holy Ghost. They are told if they tithe all their money they will be rewarded with prosperity instead of just incurring more debt. They see their megachurch preacher owning 20 supercars and a private jet and don't question the money they gave. They see Rhianna in a red outfit at the Superbowl and are convinced she is in league with Satan. They think being queer can create disastrous storms.

Maybe they aren't the ones who should be policing delusion.

They are the ones that have been duped into a money making scheme. Matt Walsh and the like are profiting off this hatred and everyone that buys into that hatred, they are the ones being manipulated. They are being told they are "saving children" from mutilation and castration and you can learn more after buying the Matt Walsh movie and his book of the movie. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and buy merch too.

It's all to save the kids! (Until they become 18 and then they are adult trans and thus, the enemy.)

"How can we help the least amount of kids that don't actually want or need our help?"

[finchers-ipad]

‘David Fincher: Interviews’ Edited by Laurence F. Knapp book highlights!!

I just finished this book and it was SOOO fucking interesting, here are some of my favourite quotes from it :))

-"Because of the horrible Aliens thing, every time I hear the name Fox, it just makes me shrivel. I lose circulation in my hands and feet and I think I'm going to become a quadruple amputee.”

-"I never thought it was scary at all. I turned to the editor and said, 'My God, what have we done? We've totally let people down in the fucking terror department; we need to go shoot some dismembered bodies. Go and see if you can get someone from a morgue and chop 'em up. "

-"Right up to when we finished, I just didn't think it was violent enough. I was like, We've got a movie called Fight Club, we might as well call it Glee Club?”

-"There was absolutely nothing fun about making the movie." He gives the matter a little more thought. "Nope," he finally decides. "Nothing."

-DRE: Is Jared Leto tired of getting the crap beaten out of him in your movies? DF: He's perfect for it, isn't he? If there is any guy you want to see get his face burned off it's him.

- So now I have kids in my daughter's school who go: "Man, I love Fight Club," and you go: "Why are your parents letting you watch that? Don't come near my kid."

-I remember being a little bit, 'Uh-oh’ And Brad's drunk and Edward's drunk and Helena's drunk and they're all like, ‘It's great and we love it' and I'm like, That's fantastic. You did notice that there were six hundred other people there who walked out ready to lynch us?'"

-You know, it's like accountants and lawyers all love The Game, and college students and perverts all like Se7en.

- Empire: You've been developing Heavy Metal and Torso, among other projects. Any idea what you're doing next? Fincher: I'm sleeping for six months! I think I'm whoring myself out to come to fly around Europe and defend my honor, but I don't honestly know.

-Look, people come up to me and say, "You started torture porn." And I say, "Fuck you."

- "So it's about fighting." And they went out and sold ads for this movie on World Wrestling Federation. [audience laughs] I said, "You know, the crowd who go to the WWF are going to be made a little uncomfortable. Certainly the opening weekend, they're going to be like, 'Dude, that was gay."

-"aside from being completely unusable, it's fantastic!" They are close to wrapping the final Swedish stint of the production before flying back to LA, where they'll take the weekend off before the last week of shooting. "That gives me two days of uncontrollable weeping," says Fincher.

-"There's a quote from a film critic that David had enlarged, framed, and hung in his conference room," says Social Network writer Aaron Sorkin. "It calls Fight Club 'amoral and Godless.' I think he'd rather have that quote than a Palme d'Or."

other random things:

- Fincher came up with “ikea boy”

- Brad Pitt riding a segway around Fincher’s office and trying to convince him to join him. this was in an interview for benjamin button, and then years later in an interview for ‘the girl with the dragon tattoo’ the interviewer says there is a segway in Fincher’s office, in this article, he is also described as a ‘Segway-riding gearhead’.

- if i took a shot every time Fincher or Ed Norton compared ‘fight club’ to ‘the graduate’, i would be dead from alcohol poisoning 

- my favourite interview was ‘Forget the First Two Rules of Fight Club’ by Nev Pierce for ‘Total Film’, it was so funny and well written and interviews Fincher, Norton, Pitt and HBC. i think you can find a preview of it online but PLEASE read it if you like fight club because is so fucking good!!!

[95jezzica]

Your replies are closed, so I'll send this as an ask instead. I strongly agree with your idea of "Canon-Canon Nyo Nations", where the male and female characters represent regional cultures within the same country instead of making the female nations a "dream universe" gimmick. Expanding on this idea, what do you think about OCs who represent regions of the same nation? I would think it's a logical next step because 2 characters per country still wouldn't be enough to represent all regional cultures.

[Picture ID: Jamtland send an additional ask which says: "Whoops, I forgot to include this part in my first ask about "Canon-Canon Nyo Nations". What are your ideas for which regional cultures the female Nordics would represent, and what would the differences between them and the male Nordics? Picture ID End].

Oh yeah, sorry, the replies are still turned off. I have a post which seems to summon a lot of hateful idiots, so eventually I got too annoyed by it and turned off replies.

For the rest I will preface my answer with the fact I saw you're also Swedish on your profile, but I'll likely leave some extra information for any non-Swedes who might also read this, since I mostly use Sweden as an example. Also, fair warning to everyone: Long Post. [Below "Read More"].

For simplicity sake I've also choosen to just call nyo!Sweden Svea, and our canon-canon Sweden for... Well, Sweden.

Now, I personally don't make a lot of OCs unless they're humans or I'm making a human AU. (For an example I made Finland some "AU Parents", because I got REALLY tired of people always making Finland the orphan with no other family). With that said making OCs for regions and the likes is obviously still valid.

I also agree 2 personifications are too few for many countries, but I also understand why Hima wouldn't want to draw 3-100 characters for every country. Identity within a country is complicated too, because it depends a lot on who you're talking with as you describe your own identity.

If we take myself as an example. If I was talking with someone from another country I'd probably just say I'm European and/or Swedish, and perhaps mention I live on the west coast if they ask and/or seem more familiar with Swedish geography. If another Swede or Nordic asked I'd probably mention I live pretty close to Gothenburg - and if they live nearby I might go into more details, because my lil' hometown is small enough that there's no chance even other Swedes has heard of it unless they live somewhat close/have family in the area anyway.

My point is that it'd be difficult to make a representation for all kind of national-/regional-/state- identity within a country.

However, if we once again take Sweden as an example, I think (hws) Sweden would likely represent a lot of the middle/pretty far up in the west coast. Think the old Goths, and/or possibly Dalsland, Värmland, Dalarna.

Dalarna has the bonus of having a strong identity of their own in their region, and all three are placed close to (irl) Norway. It'd make sense how (hws) Norway and Sweden got to know each other early on then, but also how they might have met (hws) Denmark early.

Svea at the other hand is someone I view more as being further north-east, likely the literal ol' Svea, and someone I headcanon to have been among the first Swedish personification(s) to get into contact with the Finnish personifications.

It's weird though, because neither Sweden nor Svea really gives off "Stockholm vibes" (sorry non-Swedes/Nordics, I have no idea how to describe what "Stockholm vibes is) - but then again they are all based on Japanese stereotypes about the Swedes, so I guess it makes sense. x)

Another possibility I can imagine is the Swedish personifications in modern days being divided into something like this:

[Picture ID: A map of real life Sweden cut into three parts. From up to down: Norrland in strawberry red, Svealand in autumn leaf yellow, and Götaland in bright sea blue. End of Picture ID].

... with perhaps an additional personification for the far north and south. However, we have to keep in mind a lot of the far north of real life Sweden's lands would still be in the ice age early on and/or simply not be Swedish - and parts of what today is the real life far south Sweden would be with Denmark instead.

[Picture ID: An edited version of the previous picture, now with almost all of Norrland and the far south of Sweden faded out, since they weren't part of real-life Sweden at this point. Only a small part of south-east Norrland remains, now coloured and part of Svealand. The names are now also edited to say "North Swe" instead of "Norrland", "Svea" instead of "Svealand", and "1p!Sweden" instead of Götaland. End of Picture ID].

The picture above is a quick edit made by me and should by no means be used as a picture of research, so obviously not exact accuracy or anything, but it's a rough estimate of what (irl) Sweden would have looked like very early on, and also roughly what I headcanon (hws) 1p!Sweden and nyo!Sweden to represent/have represented respectively.

In history the Svea people more or less forced a union with the goths, but I headcanon (hws) Svea had absolutely no interest in working with the humans leaders and basically dumped all the responsibility and work on our (hws) Sweden instead. While Sweden was forced to work more closely with royals and leaders, Svea set to truly live like their people. That's not say say (hws) Sweden didn't interact with the "common people" at all, because he's a rebellious shit in his own right, but he was still forced to take on a lot of the responsibility and work with his leaders.

It didn't help that once Christianity was brought up in Scandinavia together with a less favourable view of women, 1p!Sweden no longer had a real choice than to take on the work. I think (hws) Svea moved back in with Sweden around the time Christianity became more common in Sweden (the lands and people), too. Partly because she felt guilty over having just dumped all the work and responsibility onto (hws) Sweden, but also because it was safer to live with someone she viewed and could claim as her brother. Svea would also have started out to (secretly) help Sweden out with work around this time, which only became official closer to modern days.

For the rest of the Swedish personifications I don't have a clear picture of what they'd look like, but the personification of "south-south" Sweden (in old days more viewed as "east Denmark") is likely around the same age as Denmark, Sweden and Svea, while the personification of Norrland is much younger than the rest of the Swedish personifications. I'd say (hws) Norrland likely didn't pop up until the Swedish population grew much bigger in the north and the Sami people were pushed further and further out in their lands by the Swedish population.

.

(cough). So I know I've basically only covered Sweden so far, but this post is already getting ridiculously long, so I will cheat a bit and refer you to @ifindus for Norway's regions instead. xD

[Again, art and OCs of the Norwegian regions made by @ifindus .]

Findus fully uses OCs for the regions to be fair, so I'm not entirely sure what I would make nyo!Norway represent since I really like Findus' OCs. x') . Maybe nyo!Norway could be more specifically the Oslo area? Because Oslo Norwegians are very different from Norwegians in the rest of Norway.

As generalization I'd say most of the Nordics probably have at least 3-5 personifications though, with one of them being the nyo. For an example Denmark might be divided into Jylland, Syddanmark, Sjælland, Hovedstaden - or it'd go a bit more detailed like cutting up Jylland in North & South like most maps.

(The Faroe & Greenland would obviously also have their own personifications, btw).

.

Hope this was helpful, and sorry I didn't get to cover them all in the post! x)

If inspiration hits me I might make another posts with the rest of the Nordics in the future. \^w^/

[sandutita]

sandu • 20yrs • they/them • finnish • digital artist

hi there! i'm SanduTiTa or Sandu for short. i make digital art and post it on my art blog @sandu7174 :)

on this blog i mostly just reblog whatever appears on my dash from funny and stupid memes to serious political stuff. i hardly ever tag with content warnings when i reblog on this blog, but with original posts (#my post) and on my art blog, i always do (at least i try to).

more info under the cut:

so what type of person am i? well, art is a big part of my life. i mostly make digital art but i do have a musical side to me as well, it's just not blossoming as well as my visually artistic side is. i'm also an aspiring writer. i wish to make a dramatic comic book someday.

when it comes to social interactions, i am quite shy but i've been trying to work on my social anxiety (and i've been making progress lately). i've always struggled with loneliness but since last year i've been managing to fight that off a little as well. being autistic interacting with people has always been problematic for me, since i tend to overthink things and get things wrong.

i also tend to ask a lot of questions, which annoys some people. being an overthinker and a question-asker and trying to find the middle ground between asking too many questions and not knowing enough, it's... distressing :,D. like i don't wanna be annoying, but i also want to know if i'm being annoying, y'know? but recently i've been asking fewer questions since i've slowly been learning that the voice inside my head which tells me i'm being annoying is lying to me most of the time. but i'm also asking more questions since i'm not as worried about people thinking i'm annoying as before. that's confusing...

i'm transmasculine and nonbinary and i wish to go on HRT someday. since summer 2023 i've known it's something i want to do at some point. unfortunately, i have to get my life together first before i can actually pursue this opportunity, which has turned out to be challenging... (yes, i have depression, how did you know?)

i'm also asexual, greyaromantic, panromantic, and agender.

i'm a very enthusiastic supporter of topfreedom and the Free the Nipple -campaign, and it shows in the posts and the art i make. we as a society need to work towards eliminating this misogynistic double standard that sexualises female-presenting nipples if we value gender equality and wish to move towards a fairer world. anything men can do topless (i.e. go to the beach or a public swimming pool, appear on tv and social media etc.), women should be allowed to do as well. there is no gender equality without nipple equality. if you claim to be a feminist but don't support topfreedom, you're a hypocrite.

tags i use the most: #finnish #swedish #my post #my art #important #topfreedom #abso fucking lutely (i use this tag on posts with hot takes) #character inspiration (i use this tag on posts that give me ideas for the stories i'm working on, so if you see me reblogging your post and using this tag, that means i might implement whatever was in your post into my own characters and stories) #a magical place (i use this tag on posts that include imagery of environments that have magical vibes. it's inspiration for my story involving magic.) #incredible future (i use this tag on posts that have futuristic vibes. it's inspiration for my story involving a futuristic setting.)

if you wanna talk to me about something, don't be afraid to send a message! i'm always up for making new friends :)

more info can be found on my carrd: sandutita.carrd.co (seriously, check out my carrd, there's a lot of info there)

last updated: 27.1.2024

[tinkerreise]

>Making Rödfärg (Red-paint)

My captioning/translation of a video by Skansen, a museum in Stockholm. Thought it was a shame that it had no captions at all, since it's a cute little paint cooking video about the most important paint in Sweden - röfärg, Falu-rött, etc.

Translation (long):

We usually associate red cabins with the Swedish countryside, but only a few hundred years ago all houses were unpainted and grey. Here on Skansen, you can see how even bigger homesteads were without paint, like Bollnässtugan and Älvhusgården. In the middle of the 17th century timbered buildings started to be painted in red, such as the wings of Skogaholms Herrgård, built in the late 18th century. The red colour was intended to resemble bricks, which was rare and expensive to build with. During the 17th century, it was decreed that all houses facing the streets were to be painted red. Dalsbogården from Hellsingland represents a well-to-do farmstead that was painted red at some point during the midpoint of the 19th century. The paint was a way to show one's prosperity. But in the 20th century, even simple cabins, such as this one from Sörmland, were painted red. At Skansen, there are many examples of how red-paint was combined with other colours, such as green and ochre. We’ll pay a visit to Skansens paint-master Björn Andersson, and he’ll teach us how to make and paint with red-paint.

«Hello, my name is Björn Andersson, and I am the paint-master at Skansen. Today we’ll be making some red emulsion paint, or rödfärg (red-paint), as it’s commonly known as. It’s one of the most common paints, in use since the late 17th century, and we use the same recipe then as now. One point differs though: while we use wheat flour to make the paint nowadays, rödfärg used to be made with rye flour. Today we’ll be using rye.

But first we’ll add the iron vitriol, now that the water has begun boiling. The iron vitriol is vaguely light-green in colour, and it’s this the addition of iron vitriol that preserves the painted wood. One thing that you ought to think about when boiling paint like this, is to watch out for the fumes that the iron vitriol gives off. If you stand over the pot with your mouth open, it’ll turn your teeth black! Many people want to brush iron vitriol on their houses directly. You brush it on like water, and with time, it’ll turn grey, and end up looking like our houses here that are unpainted and untreated. I recommend iron vitriol to timbered houses, but not for thin wooden panels - the iron vitriol may cause the wood to dry itself apart. When you’ve added the vitriol to the boiling water, it’ll take about fifteen minutes for it to dissolve in the water before you can add the flour. Now when the vitriol has dissolved in the water, it’s time to add the flour. I’ve stirred it out in some water to prevent clumping, just like when you’re making sauces at home. When you’ve added the flour, the paint must not be allowed to boil. If it does, it might boil over for one; but flour is the thickening agent, and if you boil it, the paint will end up being thinner. Let’s add the flour mixture to the paint… It tends to stick to the bottom of the pan and burn if you don’t stir it well. After a while, the paint will thicken. When it has, we’ll add the pigment.

As you can see, the paint has started to thicken, and it’s now time to add the red pigment. When we here at Skansen make paint, and school classes come and catch a whiff of this smell, they tend to say things like.. “Wow, this smells just like macaroni!” That’s due to the wheat flour, but now we’re making paint with rye flour, so it smells more like some kind of rye porridge or rye dough… This is really just like cooking. Now when the flour has thickened the paint, it’s time to add the pigment. This is rödfärg from Falu copper mine. Today we’re making the brighter version of the paint, which also is older. The pigment comes from the slag piles. You bring the slag in, wash it, grind it up, and burn it in large ovens to bring out the red colour. In the first stage of the process, the pigment turns yellow-ochre. Burn the pigment more and it turns bright red. Even more, and it turns dark red. Finally, burn it for long enough and it’ll turn black. The pigment is, after all, iron oxide.

As you see, the pigment turns the mixture red right away. It’ll take a little while for it to dissolve into the mixture. It’s important to stir the paint after you add the pigment, since it’s so heavy that it tends to settle at the bottom of the pot. This brighter shade of red was standard before the 1950s, but since then, the darker variant beat out the brighter one almost entirely. Here at Skansen, we started making rödfärg towards the end of the 1980s, and by that point we actually had to do special orders for the brighter red pigment. Ever since we started painting our houses with this shade of red, it became more and more popular, and nowadays you can actually buy this bright red rödfärg in stores. And here in the pot, it’s really starting to look like proper rödfärg, and at this point it does not smell like macaroni or dough.

When you’re painting houses with rödfärg, you need to brush off the old paint. While modern, water-based paints are brushed on in one thick layer, emulsion paints (slamfärger) such as rödfärg need to be worked into the wood. If you don’t brush the old paint off, the paint will crack and fall off. When brushing off the old paint, it’s important to wear a mask. The pain dust contains some unhealthy stuff, so it’s best not to breathe it in. I’ll skip the mask since I’m only brushing a tiny patch on this wall, but if you’re brushing a whole house, you should definitely wear a mask. You can use a coarse brush such as this one, but brass brushes are very effective. Steel brushes may damage the wood.

You’ll want the surface to be about this clean for the new paint to stick well. Now it’s just to work the paint into the wood. At this point, the paint is without linseed oil. Linseed oil is added to all the rödfärg paints you buy in stores. It’s important that it’s 8% boiled linseed oil or less. If it’s above 8%, it’s an oil paint, and not an emulsion paint. After that, you add a bit of såpa (liquid soap). I’ll add the oil to the paint tomorrow, once it has had time to cool down. If you add the soap to the paint after it has cooled down, you might be able to avoid those black specks that tend to be in rödfärg nowadays. Let’s paint. This is the typical brush for rödfärg, but I prefer brushes with longer bristles, since they hold more paint. Saturate the brush, then it’s just to work the paint into the wood. We’ll paint two layers of paint on this house. The first time around, we’ll dilute the paint with about 10% water. Work the paint into all the little crevices like this… and as you can see, it really stands out against the old paint, which has darkened a bit. But this new paint will darken a bit too once it dries.»

Recipe:

50 litres of water

2 kilos of iron vitriol

2.5 to 3kg of fine rye or wheat flour

8kg of (Falu) red pigment at most 8% boiled linseed oil + liquid soap (såpa)

The end!

[clatterbane]

The lovely new orthopedic sandals I just got sent home with, y'all! 🥴

These are actually less grandma-shoe fugly than the first ones they pulled out. My Mamaw wouldn't have gone out in public with those things on her feet, for that matter. I apparently had a severe enough case of Stressed Autistic Face going beyond my control when they pulled those out, that they did bring out another style. Which is something, I guess, embarrassing as it may have been. I don't have the best control over my face at the best of times. Which that wasn't.

At least they went straight for black, possibly after seeing my outfit. I went in halfway prepared to semi-politely try to avoid taupe. 😑

[ETA: Besides just the whole usual "orthopedic shoe" aesthetic, I couldn't help but notice that we were the only people under retirement age in the fairly busy waiting room. Which may not help.]

So yeah, I had an appointment this morning at what appears to be the only orthotic and prosthetic clinic in town. But, not yet on the cooler side.

At the last endo appointment, the doctor for whatever reason decided to put in an urgent referral to orthotics after finding out that I hadn't been there already. I can certainly see the point of trying to keep my one remaining foot as happy as possible, but it hardly seemed urgent when I'm not even walking around right now. Today was actually a delayed appointment, thanks to a collision with another gastroscopy appointment when they were wanting to schedule it.

But, examining my foot the endo also sort of freaked out for whatever reason. My supposed "deformities" were mentioned. That would be through a few layers of communication interference, since she is at best guess from somewhere in the Balkans. Dealing with my dense ass in English, in Sweden. It still seemed like a bizarre thing to say with no further explanation. The best either of us could figure out was that maybe she somehow got worked up over my toes...doing what they've always done with absolutely no comment from any sort of professional before? I really have no idea.

But, today I did go to orthotics. And they openly wondered wtf was up with the urgency. Apparently the information they got was that I had some active foot ulcer(s) going on which needed some special fitting to accommodate--which was very obviously not the case. (?!) No wonder reception there was pushing to get me in much sooner. The actual specialist also did not seem to see anything particularly concerning whatsoever about my foot or the way I stood on it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

So, I got sent home with a pair of totally off the shelf orthopedic sandals for around the house, basically because why not.

Did they even see a need to fit me with additional orthotics, as recommended on the box? NOPE. And I did not get the impression that it was out of NHS-style cheaping out.

Just straight off the shelf walking sandals, which actually seemed less comfortable than what I've been wearing. Oddly, this orthotist wanted to put me in shoes at least one size down from what I would normally wear. It wasn't like they didn't have the next size up, either. She thought it looked too big. These looked and felt about like you'd expect on--and with my sensory issues, you can bet that I am careful about how my shoes fit. 😬 And my feet aren't exactly sliding around in them normally. Ah well. Another reason these sandals went straight into the closet after getting home!

Hopefully this won't turn into a bigger issue once I do have an aftermarket leg to stand on, and will really need decent shoes for walking around in.

On that front, when we were discussing why I was even there and what I might need? (And explaining that, yes, I was really hoping to get walking around again ASAP?) My handy live-in Swedish interpreter asked the orthotist about how we might best try to go about getting that underway. Seemed like a good place to ask, since that is also the prosthetic clinic I would be going through.

They honestly seemed a bit surprised that I wasn't already in the system for that--and once again unused to dealing with situations where someone had moved in minus a limb and a Robo Leg, rather than going through the local system from surgery onward. She went to get a prosthetist to talk to us, but they weren't in the office right then. Probably gone to lunch. So, we were advised to get back to the endo about the referral she said she was putting in (which wasn't showing up in their system, and honestly may have gone to the wrong place since it was so far out of the endo's wheelhouse). Also to try primary care, who should be able to refer me there too.

So, at least we do have a little more knowledgeable advice about where to even start with that. Plus some gratuitous too-small granny sandals resigned to the back of a closet.

[5sosfanfictioncatalogue]

Co-Workers AU Masterlist

cake topics (ao3) - galacticsugar luke/calum E, 39k

Summary: Every morning that week, Calum goes back to the bakery, collects his lemon bar, and sets up on the terrace with his laptop.

And every morning that week, he sees the tall guy with off duty model vibes, right around the same time, always carrying his iced coffee, always wearing a leather jacket. Since he’s all the way across the street, Calum doesn’t really get a good look at him beyond basic shapes, so the off duty model thing is based entirely on his build and the fact that he looks sort of effortlessly put together with his leather jacket and casual sneakers.

That’s probably why Calum waves like a maniac and blurts, “Hey buddy!” when he comes face to face with the guy when he’s in line for his lemon bar the following Monday morning.

Jumping before the Gunshot has Gone Off (ao3) - tigerlily_sunshine michael/luke, calum/ashton, luke/louis E, 128k

Summary: (In which Michael’s hated Luke since they met, and Luke’s hated him back—except, somehow, they can’t stop having sex with one another. To make matters worse, Luke is dumb enough to go and fall in love with the man who hates him.)

minute suite dreams (ao3) - galacticsugar luke/calum M, 10k

Summary: The attendant disappears down the hall, and Luke finally gets a good look at the place he and Calum will be spending the night.

“Oh fuck,” Luke murmurs under his breath, wheeling his suitcase into the space and looking back at Calum apologetically. “It’s, uh. Small.”

Sapphire (ao3) - Icantswim luke/ashton T, 3k

Summary: Part Five of my Lashton One-Shot challenge. Prompt: Coworkers

See the World Hanging Upside Down (ao3) - tigerlily_sunshine ot4 M, 117k

Summary: (In which Ashton pines after Luke, who is already in a relationship, and Luke really wants Ashton to meet Michael and Calum.)

small talk (ao3) - galacticsugar luke/calum T, 5k

Summary: There are these people in everyone’s life that aren’t really people you know, but they’re also not people you don’t know. Luke has a few of these sorts of uncategorizable acquaintances.

The barista who makes his iced latte every morning, the lady who always sits in the same seat across from him on the train, the guy who gets to work at the same time and shares the elevator with him to the 9th floor.

***

An elevator fic.

takeoffs and landings (ao3) - galacticsugar luke/ashton T, 7k

Summary: It’s been Monday for an entire week. This might sound like an exaggeration. Like something Ashton would say to Calum after a long day at work. But it’s really just Ashton’s life right now.

***

a time loop soulmate au.

There Must Have Been Some Magic (ao3) - Maluminspace michael/ashton G, 4k

Summary: Ashton is the office Grinch and Michael maybe a little too enthusiastic about Christmas.

there’s no need to run and hide (when the world leaves a scar) (ao3) -haveufoundwhaturlookingfor luke/ashton, michael/calum T, 10k

Summary: Luke is a new intern, and he gets along with pretty much everyone he works with. Well, everyone except for Ashton Irwin. Ashton is cold, and doesn’t give him the time of day. Certain events keep on bringing the two together whether they like it or not, and eventually, Luke finds out why Ashton is so cold.

To Fall And To Live, To Adore And To Give - @ashtcnirwin (elivigar) luke/ashton E, 46k

Summary: In which Ashton and Luke spend a week together in a cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains.

two can play that game (but you win me every time) (ao3) - galacticsugar luke/calum T, 10k

Summary: When Calum tells people he works at IKEA, people tend to respond enthusiastically. Some of them joke, did you have to learn Swedish?, or make a crack about the meatballs. Some of them ask how many marriages he’s seen end amongst the aisles. Basically, everyone turns into a comedian the moment Calum mentions his job.