#ch: donovan.

[stellas-and-tonitruses]

these last 3 chapters more than ever have left me wondering about the timeline of spy x family and in particular,

donovan's age.

i'm not going to go too deep into the full timeline because i simply don't think we have enough info to make a real robust timeline, BUT i do think we can very feasibly approximate donovan's age with our current info.

I also won’t be using any precise years like 1964 or whatever bc at this moment in time I find that to be kind of useless, bc the only years we have happen very early in the story in background details and for a lot of those ones, I noticed endo had a tendency to just carelessly put whatever so long as it looked fine from afar, which includes news that were happening around the time of that chapter's release. SO unless he decides to explicitly highlight actual years, I’m not gonna be like “this happened in 1964 and that happened in 1953” and anything of the sort.

now, i shall partake in my least favorite activity.

✨math.✨

so uh buckle up my fellas and feel free to correct me anywhere where i might be wrong bc i am more than aware that math is NOT my strong suit!

SPOILERS FOR CHAPTERS 97, 98 AND 99!

gonna start with the facts!

according to the spy x family EYES ONLY fanbook, henry henderson is 66 years old at the time of the current events of spy x family! in the past three chapters we have learned that there is a 3 year age gap between him and martha, so that would make her 63 years old currently.

as of the events of chapter 99, he is 22 years old (and martha is 19), assuming there wasn't any years-long time gap that was not mentioned within the chapter! which, it doesn’t seem like there were any MASSIVE time gaps, so I’ll be using those ages for calculating.

so, what all this means is that we are (roughly) 44 years into the past at the moment! previous info about the war of loid and yor's childhoods puts it at around 20 years old, so from where we are in the backstory, we still have roughly 20 more years before Luwen is attacked — clearly, because this first war has already ended with donovan still in school.

while we don't have loid's age, we do have yor's, who is 27 years old — meaning she was born around the time of henry being 39 years old, aka clearly neither loid nor yor have been born yet as of the events of chapter 99. too into the past for now!

now, how am i gonna get donovan's age out of all this?

simple! henry's his teacher and has a talk with him after his jail time.

like I mentioned previously, I shall be sticking to 22 for henry’s age here. it may not be fully correct, it may be a year or two off because we aren’t given concrete details on exactly how long he was in jail, so just take it with a grain of salt! it's only going to remain as a rough estimate until we get a definitive answer on donovan's age.

so! henry has a talk with donovan, but the conversation itself, while very important for the plot and especially for our understanding of donovan’s character, is irrelevant for this conversation. no, what's crucial here is what henry is holding. endo even highlights it by focusing an entire larger panel on it!

it's a history textbook for year 7 students!

it being a history textbook is very poignant for the conversation they're having, but the reason this is important to me is because it's very clearly a year 7 textbook.

now, i don't know how much of eden academy's curriculum is based on the uk! but because pretty much all of the architecture of it is based on eton college and endo has literally just returned from a london trip where he showed us he visited a kindergarten, so i think that's grounds enough for me to assume eden academy's year 7 is generally populated by children between 11 and 12 years old. luckily for me, that seems to be the general age for germany's secondary school year 7 too, so even if it's not the british one, it's still close enough!

with all that being said, if donovan is, say, 12 in that moment and henry is 22, that means there is a 10 year difference between the two of them, which, drum roll please, means donovan desmond is 56 years old when our story's events take place! assuming the war of loid's and yor's childhoods took place exactly 20 years ago (when yor was 7 and henry was 46), this would make him around 36 years old when he became ostania's prime minister! it would also mean he had damian at 50 years old, and if demetrius is 12 right now, that would mean he was born when donovan was 44 years old (and his birth would’ve been in the last years of the war).

so, rough events timeline based on all that, focusing on ages!

66 years ago: Henry Henderson is born.

63 years ago: Martha Marriott is born.

~56 years ago: Donovan Desmond is born.

49 years ago: Martha (14) transfers to Eden and meets Henry (17)

47 years ago: Henry (19) graduates Eden.

44 years ago: Henry (22) joins Eden as a teacher, in the same year becomes Donovan Desmond’s (~12) history teacher. Martha (19) graduates Eden and joins the Women’s Defense Auxiliary.

~44 years ago: Martha (~19) is presumed dead. Henry (~22) faces jail time. The war ends, and he marries.

27 years ago: Yor is born. At that time, Henry is 39, Martha is 36, and Donovan is 29.

~27 years ago. [REDACTED] is also born. Same as above, just approximate this time!

~20 years ago: Second war begins. Yor and [REDACTED] are ~7, Henry is ~46, Martha is ~43, Donovan is ~36. Yuri is born.

~12 years ago: Demetrius is born. Donovan is ~44, Yor and [REDACTED] are ~15, Henry is ~54, Martha is ~51, Yuri is ~8.

~10 years ago: Second war ends. Demetrius is ~2, Donovan is ~46, Yor and [REDACTED] are ~17, Henry is ~56, Martha is ~53, Yuri is ~10.

6 years ago: Damian is born (and most other kids in his and Anya’s grade). Demetrius is ~6, Donovan is ~50, Henry is 60, Martha is 57, Yor is 21, Twilight is ~21, Yuri is 14.

5-4 years ago: Anya is born. Damian (etc.) are 1-2, Demetrius is 7-8, Donovan is ~51-52, Henry is 61-62, Martha is 58-59, Yor is 22-23, Twilight is ~22-23, Yuri is 15-16.

1 year ago: Yuri (19) becomes part of the SSS. Anya is 3-4, Damian (etc.) is 5, Demetrius is 10-11, Donovan is ~55, Henry is 65, Martha is 62, Yor is 26, Twilight is ~26.

I HOPE THAT HELPS PUT THINGS INTO PERSPECTIVE?? melinda is not included bc we have nothing to go off of for her age outside of purely subjective things like her appearance.

super glad endo included the year 7 thing JAKLSDFKLSD

anyway thank you for reading!!! :DD

[potionio]

- Weren't there five of you? - Yeah.

Sloane Gardner. Donovan Gardner. Alana Bloom. Kit Stafford.

[sambergcrs]

alexandra breckenridge as mel monroe in 'virgin river' || 5x01

[doodle-dog-diary]

*gets hit by bolt of lightning* HWURGGH

Donovan Desmond had some kind of procedure done to his head brain that enables him to read minds and Demetrius knows this. That's why his thoughts are silent. He's intentionally silencing his thoughts so his father can't hear him. And Donovan knows he's doing this, but can't fully grasp why he's doing it (because he's a sack of shit failure of a father, that's why), which relates back to his whole "even parents can't understand their children" speech way back when

[founderscouncil]

♛ — KATHERINE PIERCE (@malka-lisitsa) brings a bottle of bourbon, a tin of cookies and a really warm scarf to MATT DONOVAN. She stole them all but he doesn't need to know that.

It gets cold in Virginia, with the occasional snowfall, though it's always a tossup whether that snow arrives in time for a white Christmas or not. Still, it's enough to make the windshield of his truck ice over and he spends a good amount of time each morning scraping it off.

This morning is no different, and he can see his breath as he tries to work quickly. He's just thinking to himself that he probably should get himself a new hat and maybe some boots when there's a prickle at the back of his neck, his sixth sense when it comes to supernatural creatures. Still, it doesn't keep him from jumping when he turns and sees Katherine suddenly by his side.

"Jesus, Katherine," he breathed out, trying to bring his heartrate back down. He doesn't know what it means, the fact that he's fairly easily able to distinguish between her and Elena at this point. "What are those?" he asks, cautious when he spots the items in her hands. "Did I miss the Secret Santa drawing?"

[bardic-tales]

Who is your current muse, and who is their faceclaim/what do they look like?What is one item that you associate without fail to them?What is their favourite colour?Is there a song you associate with them? If not, what quote fits the best for them?What do they like doing in their spare time? How much spare time do they get?What one fact do you love about them, but might not have had the chance to share yet?

Hello, foxesandmagic. I hope you are having a wonderful day. I hope you don't mind if I talk about my latest muse: my Uncharted character named Niamh Aoife Donovan.

I hope you don't mind if I break these questions down one by one. It's easier for me to concentrate that way. As I have aphasia, please forgive the occasional wrong word.

Who is your current muse, and who is their faceclaim/what do they look like?

My current muse is Niamh Aoife Donovan, daughter to the famous former explorer and professor named Arthur 'Art' Donovan. Niamh is a very spirited and tenacious adventurer. She is a bit of a thrill junkie as she loves excitement and discovery. Her upbringing from her father and his friend, Victor Sullivan, lead her to become a skilled treasure hunter. She has sharp wit, quick thinking, and a very playful nature that adds a lighthearted dynamic to any adventures she is on. She cherishes her relationship with Nathan Drake and Sully, who have become her found family. She has an independent spirit, charm, and intelligence that makes her ready to take on any challenges that come her way.

Niamh's face claim is Karen Gillan. Here is her following description. It's kind of vague since it's just in my notes.

Niamh stands 5'3 inches. She has blue eyes and straight red hair that stops at her shoulders. She typically wears sundresses and a sunhat when she is not adventuring and tending her bar in Kuta Beach. Her adventuring gear is typical for a woman of fortune.

What is one item that you associate without fail to them?

As Niamh lost her father due to tragic events, she keeps a Carthaginian coin on her person. This was from her father's last dig in Greece (if I remember correctly as I don't have that in my notes). It dates back to 428 BTC. The front of the coin has Nike flying over a horse; the back, a grain of wheat.

When she is nervous, she tends to dip her hand into her pocket or pouch and rub it. It makes her feel like her father is watching over her.

What is their favorite color?

Her favorite color is emerald green. When I choose her favorite color, I wanted to symbolize her vibrant and adventurous spirit. She represents growth and renewal in her relationship with Nathan Drake, but she is also tenacious, resilient, and can adapt like any creatures in a jungle.

Is there a song you associate with them? Is there a song you associate with them?

When I first heard this song, I was reminded of Nate and her relationship immediately. It is how he feels about Niamh as she has devoted herself to helping him overcome his grief while pushing the grief she felt for her father's murder down inside her.

This is a pivotal when Nathan learns that she was suppressing her grief to help him through his own pain. It's actual the theme song of their relationship.

Here is a Spotify playlist for their relationship. I need to curate one just for her.

A quote that she is known to have say is:

Fortune favors the bold, and I'm not one to shy away.

What do they like doing in their spare time?

Niamh likes to explore ancient archaeological sites, read and research, rock climb, expanding on her mixology skills as well as coming up with signature drinks like 'Drake's Fortune' (a tongue in cheek reference to Uncharted), practice martial arts, take photography for her travel blog, and go to escape rooms. She also loves to attend the Fire Festival on Kuta Beach.

How much spare time do they get?

As the co-owner of 'Sunset Shores' -- her bar in Kuta Beach -- she leads a very busy life. Running a bar requires her attention to detail, overseeing operations, and ensuring that her customers are satisfied.

It's a responsibility that she shares with Sully, but even then, it eats a significant amount of her time. This is especially true during peak season and busy periods.

She does find a balance between her responsibilities as a bar owner and her personal pursuit. She prioritizes her free time to engage in treasure hunting with Nate and Sully, expeditions, and her more adventurous activities.

Niamh knows that she needs to take breaks and enjoy moments of relaxation.

What one fact do you love about them, but might not have had the chance to share yet?

tw: guns

One of the facts that I love about them that I haven't shared is a particular adventure in the heart of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Nathan and Niamh embarked on a thrilling expedition into the heart of the jungle. Her eyes caught a sparkle in the distance, prompting her to encouraged Nathan to investigate. He immediately jumped off the ledge with her in tow to get a closer look.

To their surprise, they'd discovered a discarded pirate captain's gun stuck in the mud instead of the treasure they thought it was. Their excitement gave way to humor as they laughed.

They would soon find themselves in the middle of a chaotic shootout with the pirates and the captain.

This was actually based on my husband's recent playthrough of Uncharted 2. He had cleared the area of mobs (bad guys) and was up on a ledge where we both saw a twinkle to the far right of the TV screen. He had Nathan like leap off the ledge he was currently on, raced over for the treasure, and it was only a gun. It was hilarious and I decided to include something like this in my personal head-canon.

[bentrule]

                    stiles looks at the other cautiously,    his lower lip rolling between his teeth.                    ❝     i don’t know.     ❞                    his feelings of displacement don’t stem from the personal choice he made when all of this began with scott getting bitten,    but from the isolation that he’s hoisted on himself.          (     he’s the most human of them all.        they are all drowning in   ALTRUISM AND HEROISM   while he’s the only one with blood on his hands.        it’s exhausting rooting for the antihero,    especially when they’re the one in the reflection that he sees with each mirror he passes.     )          he shakes his head,    exhaustion slowing his movements.                    ❝     what exactly are you asking?    ❞

@divienity​    /    starter.

[sy-on-boy]

My 2 cents on the plot / thematic relevance of Ch 95

This is not about advancing Plot B or showing Anya's school life (which is still true but has been discussed), but rather the overall theme of education and war. There was an excellent post about how Eden is at the frontline of the cold war and it is subtly shown through the innocent lens of the first graders (I can't find it now, would link it if I could). And I think that perfectly applies to Ch 95.

Quick recap on some references about education/students/war throughout the series (that I remember at the moment):

Sylvia gravely condemning the Berlint University Student Terrorists during the Doggy Crisis arc (Ch 20) and saying "did you learn nothing about war at your university?"

Henderson talking about his experience as a history teacher (Ch 27.5, Short Mission 4) and quote: "Yes, well, I have always maintained that there is nothing to be learned from the memorization of time lines. From the grand efforts with which our forefathers crafted society to the foolish notions that sent them racing to war, to not study the human element at history's root is to not understand history at all"

Note that Damian's best subject has been established to be history, and his family (father) has been involved in war, at least Donovan was PM during most of the war (established by Melinda in Ch 91). Donovan is also a graduated Imperial Scholar (Ch 64).

The Red Circus group started out as a peaceful student demonstration "advocating for peace and quality" (Ch 72) and "speaking out to protect the weakest members of our society". And Billy Squire said, "We were a respectable movement that fought for our cause with respectable means. It was the state that turned violent against us. So I'm not taking criticism from a member of the establishment (referring to Henderson, an educator). I'm gonna see to it that they reap what they've sown." Billy's daughter Biddy was killed by the state at a protest.

Less of a point, but Becky is the daughter of the CEO of a major military manufacturer. Despite their very likely involvement in military conflicts because they sell arms, the Blackbell cohort has been depicted positively so far: Becky being a kind, wonderful friend to Anya, Becky's father doting on her, and Martha again being kind and dignified (and also being an ex-soldier and acquainted with Henderson).

Eden Academy is a major setting for SxF and the themes of politics, education, and war are embedded in it. The students involved in protests/groups are older (the university students, Billy's daughter), but the political implications remain even among the youngest of the students— the first graders.

Hence, Ch 95. When mere first graders are shown to fight to gain connections, which can be political as pointed out by Henderson: "In the world of politics, dances serve as major social events". But of course, they are kids, so they see it more playfully and innocently, especially Becky with her shipper lens on.

Of course, there is also the aspect of getting to know other people better out of interest (the boys asking Anya and Becky to dance because they were impressed after the bus hijacking). But as people have mentioned, nobody mentions this to Damian despite him being equally involved in saving the class (all three of them got a star). The girls aren't interested in Damian as a person, they're interested in him as an asset because of his family and their power.

And I can see the teachers trying to diffuse the tension and create camaraderie with their friendly competition. To me, this reads as the teachers fully realizing "the battlefield of political maneuvering", and they want to remind the kids to have fun, to show good sportsmanship, to unite the kids, to operate as a class and be friendly with one another, and overall make it more lighthearted. It's nice to see the classes work together and get excited / win as a unit, especially compared to the more "individual" bits of fighting for a dance partner later.

We get a bit of comparison between Bill and Damian, with Bill showing good sportsmanship while Damian scoffs at him. But Damian ends up becoming ultra competitive and telling his classmates to not screw it up.

Like the Dodgeball chapter, Damian is clumsily attempting to lead the class by doing good in his quiz, while getting stressed and yelling at his peers when they don't succeed like he did. So he's not really a good leader. Like how him being good at history does not necessarily mean he is good at being peaceful (Short Mission 4 ends with Henderson staring in exasperation at Damian + Anya bickering with each other). But obviously, he is merely a child, and he is naturally immature.

At first Loid is all for advancing Plan B and analysed Anya's suitors in a rational (reductionist?) way by ranking them in terms of gaining intelligence, but he remembers this is just a dance, Anya is a kid, and she should do whatever she wants. Loid (and the adults) are very aware of the political side of the gala, but ultimately they want the kids to have fun and not worry / worry less about politics.

Because they're kids! They'll grow up and learn more and be politically active later, but right now, they're just kids. Kids who don't know much about the world but are eager to make the world a better place.

In the end, we get a panel of Anya and Loid "teaming up" to win Damian's hand for Plan B / world peace. The Damian-Anya dynamic is cushioned with the silly crushy feelings, but underneath it, Operation Strix continues to be a core motivation.

I find it interesting that Endo chooses to focus on the first graders and their innocent view of the world / politics. It's embedded everywhere and especially in a prominent school like Eden, but the kids don't really realise it / realise the severity of it. Heirs and heiresses are educated at Eden and grow up to have incredible influence and the power to shape the world. Our protagonist's best friend comes from a family that manufactures arms. Henderson mentions the importance of learning history to avoid making the same mistakes (ie. war).

So Ch 95 is a cute prom chapter. But I think it also helps to show the themes underneath the fun, bubbly interactions.

[yuzukahachimir]

SxF CH 99 SPOILER ALERT

.

.

.

I don't know what could happened to Donovan Desmond but he looks he saw ghost at night

[stellas-and-tonitruses]

⚠ SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER 93 AHEAD! ⚠

now that we have finally met demetrius, it seems like a great time to dissect his first scene and proper conversation! :]

his wide, unfocused stare hides ✨unexpected complexity✨, as expected of a desmond

he's impatient (common desmond trait at this point)

he's nonchalantly exceptional, as we expected and have been repeatedly told thus far

...but most importantly, amidst a sea of accomplishments, he is burdened with a lack of people skills and visibly frustrated by it, as evidenced by his conversation with damian in this chapter.

the analysis and speculation continues under the cut!!

so, a breakdown of the main meat of his introduction

similarly to every single time there's an interaction between damian and another desmond, damian is the one who reaches out first by calling out to demetrius, who immediately asks him what he wants. damian tries to begin with small talk, congratulating him on his accomplishments of the day

demetrius is brief and to the point, but it doesn't feel to me like he is annoyed here. perhaps curious, perhaps indifferent, we don't know -- demetrius is a boy of few explanatory thoughts, after all

merely in the next page, demetrius is revealed to have a blank mind for most of this conversation.

i don't believe this is a sign that demetrius was experimented on or anything. obviously, this does not rule out that he has been experimented on, but i don't think his lack of thoughts are indicative of that, nor do i believe anya was too far away (in previous chapters, she has read the thoughts of people at greater distances than this with ease!). i think this has something to do with his upbringing, but also very importantly his state of mind at the moment

his eyes are wide open, but his stare is unfocused. i think this is an intentional choice to hammer in that he's not really here at this moment, listening to what is undoubtedly to him pointless praise. he has likely tuned all of it out completely.

(as a side note, if we wanna involve anya in this situation more, we could assume that he is intentionally cloaking his thoughts from anya or any other potential mind-readers, but while i do think donovan is very likely involved in project apple, i severely doubt the financial benefactors of project apple would spend likely a lot of money to figure out a way to shield the thoughts of a middle schooler, regardless of who his dad is, from potential telepaths. as far as we know, anya is the only one with this specific power and demetrius is unlikely to have any information that would incriminate the operation. if that was an issue, i don't see why they wouldn't spend their money to protect melinda's mind, since she likely has way more info than demetrius ever could.)

moving on from that side note though,

we do not see demetrius' face as he says this! this is important to me

we are left unaware to whether or not he is disappointed or just trying to abscond to take a nap (he really needs one)

but then, he says this:

this, to me, is a direct attempt at connecting!! he's trying to reciprocate the small talk, the praise, trying to continue the conversation. his thought, "i don't understand him," may feel contradictory but to me, it only underlines his frustration about this, because he knows what damian is going to say next:

even though it was expected, this is not what demetrius was hoping to get out of this. his downturned eyebrows give a feeling of discontent. he is not blank, he is visibly frustrated, visibly annoyed.

and we are thus made aware of a boundary demetrius and melinda both share:

never mention donovan.

for one reason or another, this is the boundary damian has overstepped with both his mother AND his brother now, without ever being informed that it IS a boundary in the first place

so demetrius, upset, turns around to leave and throws this at damian:

this is important, because damian has shared a very similar sentiment to anya before, albeit in a mournful tone.

demetrius likely feels similarly neglected by his parents, but is long past feeling sad about it. he has moved straight to anger, understandably!

but the bigger reason for his frustration, imo, relates to a problem damian once again ALSO has: people treating them as a gateway to their father and nothing more.

demetrius has more than likely also been treated like this, and probably still is unless his peers have learned not to engage because of his brief, snippy responses, so he is familiar with the feeling of being used.

...and damian unknowingly treated him the exact same way, even though he's also grown to hate it.

of course, he's 6 years old and he meant no harm by this -- he's just a lonely boy trying to be noticed by his neglectful parents, after all, what else could he possibly do?

but for demetrius, this is the end of the conversation. he is not his father's manager, he's not even that close to him, so why does his brother only ever talk to him when it relates to their father?

as he said before: he doesn't understand him, and why he keeps doing this. does he not know there is little info to be gained?

he doesn't understand their father either, with his impossibly high expectations, never pleased, never happy, never available

and lastly, as ewen and emile try to introduce themselves

demetrius has one final thought.

and he casts aside this entire conversation, leaving the scene as empty as he entered it.

of course, the chapter doesn't end here, but this is where demetrius' involvement in it does, leaving us with a newfound understanding that while to damian, demetrius represents everything he can only strive to become... to demetrius? his accomplishments ring hollow in the face of everything he wishes he could understand.

we do get an extra flashback that hearkens back to a better yesterday, but while donovan is lacking some very important details (those scars, that dead disinterest that follows his every move -- he seems mirthful somehow here), we don't know if this scene represents a time when they were closer or if it's simply evidence that as far back as everyone can remember, demetrius has been doing nothing but studying all the time

could this be evidence of something nefarious relating to project apple? eh, not particularly, not to me. the boy's just studying hard, any relation to project apple would have to be more recent in the timeline imo

TL;DR:

demetrius has been built up throughout the past 92 chapters as a figure larger-than-life, and this has been thanks to most of our knowledge of him being directly affected by damian's perception of him, as the younger brother living under his shadow

however, he has now been humanized by his flaws: a short temper and a lack of social skills that comes paired with a clear want to connect, to understand, to converse. he seems to be a very lonely kid, everyone around him either jealous, putting him on a pedestal or actively seeking to use him under the false impression that he has important connections, and although he doesn't mean to, damian has unknowingly been treating demetrius in the same way, only seeking him out when he wants to know something about donovan.

interestingly, him and melinda share the same trigger, that being donovan himself, though we do not yet know if their reason for this is also shared.

CLOSING THOUGHTSSS

it has been so exciting finally meeting this little goober-- i thought i might never see the day 😭😭😭

thank you to whoever read this far, i literally made this blog just now so! HOPE I DID WELL!

💖

[potionio]

Symon Donovan.

[connoisseursdecomfort]

Chapter 94 - Their first family fun time

[Manga spoiler alert]

I know, I know, before that, we have the penguin chapter, the doggy crisis arc, the cruise arc, and there's even Loid taking Anya and Bond to the park to meet with the Handler play with Aaron chapter.

Ch. 94 is the first time no one is disturbed or distracted by their work/mission. They were there to have fun, and they had fun.

And that INCLUDES Loid, who is unusually smiley the whole time. He told himself not to think about the tonitrus bolt, and just had fun with his family - it's almost the first time we see him enjoying himself.

He went from this

to this without mentioning his mission the whole chapter

And Yor had fun too. Even at times she still panicked, she actually had a lot of character development.

Ch.35

Ch.79

Ch.94

And this panel when she calmed down and came back to her family <3

And of course there's Bond, who didn't even know how to have fun when he first became a Forger.

And of course Anya had fun.

But her sense of waku waku might be hinting towards something more dangerous which I have already discussed here.

I adore Ch.94 because of that. Every time after Anya gets her results at school, Endo tries to update us how far the family has gone from the beginning. It happened after Anya had her first exams - that Loid had a conversation with Donovan, and that two chapters, to me, sounded like a report card for Loid as a dad.

Maybe the next family fun time would come after Anya has her next exams. Or maybe it would come because of Plan C. Either way, the Forgers having fun is the most waku waku thing ever.

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Five Fics Friday: Sept 6/24

Happy Friday everyone! Here's a great selection of fics to start off your weekend!! Enjoy!

Please note because I am busy this weekend, there will be NO NEW SUNDAY LIST. It will be a reblog. Thanks!

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A Christmas Connection by jadztone (E, 40,066 w., 9 Ch. || Mystrade || 1970's AU || Alternate First Meeting, Christmas, Pining, UST, Angst with Happy Ending, Period-Typical Homophobia, References to Drug Use, First Kiss / Time, Frottage, Anal, Blow Jobs, POV Mycroft, Fluff and Humour) – It’s Christmas 1974 and Mycroft and Greg meet for the first time in France. Mycroft is visiting his Grandmere Vernet and Greg’s family have just inherited a fortune and the estate next door. Over the next 38 years the holidays show glimpses into their life choices, influenced more by ambition and social expectations than the desires of their hearts. Will the time ever be right for love?

Deleted Heart Series by AndThenThereWereWords (M, 42,115+ w. across 3 works || Series WiP || Post-TRF / Hiatus, Past Relationship, Hurt / No Comfort, Angst, Canon Divergence, Sherlock's Mind Palace, Amnesia, Sad John, Implied Mystrade, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Kidnapping) – Sherlock comes back from the dead, but in his mad quest to take down Moriarty's network, he had to delete his memories of John. John finds all this out the day after he proposes to Mary.

Painting Pictures On Silence by Elfbert (E, 56,395 w., 17 Ch. || Rock Star AU || Johnstrade, Celebrity Lestrade, Musicals) – Greg Lestrade is one of the biggest rock stars of his generation - talented as fuck, gorgeous, and been at the top of his game for nearly thirty years. But his band is facing an uncertain future after their drummer OD'd in a Little Chef off the M1, and Lestrade is spending his time turning his band's greatest hits into a West End musical. But it's nearly ready to open, and it seems someone is murdering his cast. Scotland Yard's crack team of Dimmock and Donovan are stumped. Enter Sherlock, and his assistant John who is secretly one of Lestrade's biggest fans. Sherlock wants to solve the murders and get out of there as soon as possible. John wants to solve the murders, and also snog the face off Lestrade. Lestrade just wants his career to end on a high, not getting slagged off by two-bit theatre reviewers in the Evening Standard.

[yallthemwitches]

Catch the Wind Authors Note:

(Art Source @blvnk-art)

Hi all! Since I'm already at my 13th (!) chapter on this work, I figured I'd clean house:

I saw that ch. 1-5 were badly formatted due to a glitch on AO3 so I just went and cleaned them up. Also I "slightly" changed the name of the fic from "Change in the Wind" to Catch the Wind---which is a Donovan song reference which feels quite fitting ( my fav version of the song here!). Finally, I changed the rating on AO3 from its original Mature to Explicit---due to obvious reasons.

If you have been following this fic since the beginning: really thank you from the bottom of my heart. If you haven't and want to check it out here's the link! I'll continue to try to post/repost the artwork that inspires certain scenes immediately after the chapters drop. I love any feedback so comment away or come talk to me here! <3

[founderscouncil]

Matt's at a loss. What does a broke, working-class kid get a centuries old vampire for her birthday? Every idea he comes up with sound worse than the last, and he's not entirely sure whether any of his friends would be willing to help.

Alcohol is a start, and he sprung for a decent bottle of scotch but it also feels impersonal in a way. He's got no way of defining whatever the hell is happening with him and @malka-lisitsa, but she's at least someone he cares about in his own way, and he likes to think it's the same on her end. Or maybe he's just walking blindly into a trap. Wouldn't be the first time for that either.

But he pulls up in front of the Grill, dressed in a clean pair of jeans and a flannel without any holes in it. They're only meeting here for convenience's sake, and he feels a little like he's driving up to the Gilberts' for the first time to take Elena out on a date.

But Katherine is decidedly not his ex-girlfriend, and Matt finds himself a little grateful that they're such opposite personalities despite looking identical. His truck idles at the curb as he hops out of the cab, all nervous energy that both feels misplaced and not, given the current situation. "I was thinking I could take you out for your birthday? Like, out of Mystic Falls somewhere. If you didn't already have plans?"

[yep-yep-yep]

About Melinda, ch 77 and abuse.

I can't throw from my head ch 77, we know how Endo loves adding pieces of information before the main arc (just remember extras about Anya's secrets and mentions about Red Circus), so:

In this chapter we can see Loid as a psychiatrist and his patient-Eden's teacher, who suffered from hijacking and.. his wife. Abusive wife. I thought that it would be about PTSD due to abusive relationships, but not, as I understand it was heavy trauma, camouflaging as a stress after a hijacking. So, I suppose that we will see Melinda in front of Loid in the near future. Maybe after some incident or Yor's recommendation she will try to get help. For me the most interesting thing would be the way Loid will try to help her, cuz tbh his advice wouldn't work in deep abuse (when Melinda and Demetrius can't even stand Donovan's mention, she starts to rip between love and hate, he tries to cut off any conservations about father). Perhaps the conclusion will be that we can’t save everything and sometimes we just need to separate (in their case, a genuine divorce). Also, some detail:

And Damian, who doesn't have close connection with his family, reacted really fast, he started to apologize for asking some attention. I can't imagine how Melinda would react to this shit, when she was boiling in it for about 13-15 years.

Also about Demetrius, maybe we will see him, else I don't have any sense why Endo added this mark:

Eventually, it was my odd theory about major meaning this chapter, but I also want to say that it's so sad seeing people in commentaries, who are laughing about teacher. It's not funny, it's violence, his wife literally told him to stay in hospital cuz she doesn't want to see him, SHE MOVED THE ONION ACROSS HIS EYES. my god. Will be something more harsh in Melinda's experience? I hope not

well, that's all, thank you for your attention