#date of origin: august 2022

[temunitu]

Did you catch the stream with the rise crew? They revealed a lot of behind the scenes stuff, including how oroku saki was actually gonna join the cast if things hadn't been cut off

that sounds awesome and makes me a wee bit more salty we didn’t get to see it in its full glory :/

also if the info is on twitter. i only go on twitter when held at gunpoint ( ▀ ͜͞ʖ▀) =ε/̵͇̿̿/‘̿’̿ ̿ ̿̿ ̿̿ ̿̿ /j /lh

[emoticon is a guy with sunglasses holding a gun. he is smiling]

[gundamplanet]

[burningdaybreak]

Aun no Beats & BAD DOGS' Relationship

Hello everyone! Today is August 19, which is a pretty special day, since it's both Aun no Beats' original version's release anniversary, and Akito and Touya's middle birthday (the day in the middle of both of their birth dates, which are May 25 and November 12). Added to the game on June 6, 2022 (JP server), the addition of Aun no Beats has always been quite an interesting case. The song is covered exclusively by Akito and Touya, which is a pretty rare thing; not many songs are exclusively covered by just original characters, and it hasn't happened for a while now; as of writing this, the last one was Amanojaku (released in the JP server on October 1, 2022). Furthermore, the song's original producer, Hanyuu Maigo, prohibits covers of their songs being sold commercially, which is most likely the reason why it was not included in Vivid BAD SQUAD SEKAI ALBUM Vol.2. So, why did Project Sekai go out of their way to add a cover of this song to the game, even though they wouldn't profit from it at all? They must have really wanted it in the game, then... and looking at the lyrics, I think it makes sense; the song represents Akito, Touya, and their relationship and story so well. And so, in this essay, I will talk about Aun no Beats, and look at its lyrics and analyze them, and talk about how they represent Akito and Touya and their characters and story.

1. What is Aun no Beats about, and how does it represent Akito and Touya's relationship?

Aun no Beats is a song about a relationship where both parties understand each other without a need for words, but they'd still like to hear those words.

So, giving and receiving, I never needed to look for the words Even so, I wanted to hear them from you

However, with the We were going to be together forever in the lyrics, the song feels like it's about a relationship with a bad ending, where they're separated for some reason, whether a break up or separated by death... The meaning of the word aun in the title is taken from the Japanese idiom 阿吽の仲 (a-un no naka), a phrase that indicates an inherently harmonious relationship where both parties can understand each other without the need of verbal communication.

When it comes to Akito and Touya, my interpretation of the cover for them, and possibly the most common interpretation, is that it represents them in the main story, and the short break up they went through due to their lack of communication (therefore, the things that weren't said). Aun no Beats represents them pretty well because of the incredibly close bond they have and how they understand each other so well without needing to communicate their feelings... but they both still want to hear how the other really feels. As for the "bad ending" in the song, it represents the miscommunication issue they had in Vivid BAD SQUAD's main story; this conflict arose from the fact that Touya felt like he wasn't good enough about singing to be Akito's partner. Even though Touya kept these feelings to himself for the two years that he had been singing next to Akito, seeing Akito berate An and Kohane and how they aren't serious enough about their dream of surpassing RAD WEEKEND made Touya decide he can't keep going like this. In the end, he decided to claim he didn't want to sing with Akito anymore because he felt he wasn't worthy of being his partner, but avoiding telling him the real reason and riling him up on purpose, because he'd rather lie than disappoint the most important person to him. This culminated in Akito allowing his emotions to overtake him, and punching his partner, and BAD DOGS breaking up temporarily. However, unlike the song, their story has a happy ending, since at the end of Vivid BAD SQUAD's main story, Akito and Touya talk it out, Akito making Touya realize that he actually loves music...

🥞 You love music. You love it like an idiot, you really do. You love it… and I know that better than anyone else!

... And Akito declaring that he'll never team up with anyone other than Touya...

🥞 STOP SAYING THAT!! … Don't you get it! I'm never gonna team up with anyone other than you!

... Which finally makes Touya talk about how he truly feels:

☕ Gh…! Isn't it obvious that I want to…! I've felt that so many times! I wanted to chase that dream with you as far as I could…!

With both of them on the same page, with the same feelings, they can reconcile and be a team, once again. Although Touya is still doubtful if he's truly worthy of singing by Akito's side, Akito shuts him up with the following line:

🥞 Oh, shut up already. Don't go makin' this complicated. I want to be with you, and you want to be with me as well. And after that, our dream will come true. ... Isn't that enough?

They know how they feel. And they now have words they were looking for. This is all they need, to be partners: just knowing that they respect and appreciate each other, and wanting to sign with each other. With this, they can now be together forever. In short, this song would symbolize Akito and Touya's relationship during Vivid BAD SQUAD's main story; most specifically, the period where they temporarily split up (often jokingly called their "divorce arc"). But they come out of it stronger and more determined than before to be with each other, which is why the song doesn't fully represent their relationship, since their story does have a happy ending... they reconciled, and still have a future together. It's not the first time that they get a song that symbolizes their short break up during the main story, as Fragile can also be interpreted that way (among other covers, but Fragile is the one with most similarities to Aun no Beats); however, compared to that, there's a few things that stand out about Aun no Beats. Fragile was added with Project Sekai's release in September 30, 2020, back when the only story content Vivid BAD SQUAD was their main story, so it made sense that have that song available right when the game came out; but Aun no Beats came out over one year and a half after its addition to the game (June 6, 2022), when Vivid BAD SQUAD was well past the main story's events.

Fun fact: Aun no Beats' addition to the game was announced in the 20th Wondershow Channel stream, which took place on May 25, 2022 — the same day as Touya's birthday. Quite a coincidence, huh?

Another curious thing, which I mentioned back in the introduction, is that the release anniversary of the original version of Aun no Beats (August 19) is the very same date as Akito and Touya's middle birthday. It could most definitely be a coincidence, but considering how well the song represents them and their characters, one starts thinking... could it have been on purpose? Fragile also represents them really well, and it makes you wonder the same thing, and if perhaps they wrote these characters when considering the song's lyrics, but Aun no Beats' case is even more intriguing because of all these odd facts. To add on, both are songs where Akito and Touya sing by themselves, with no accompanying Virtual Singer. These two songs are the only Vivid BAD SQUAD covers with this trait (along with Odo, covered by An and Kohane), making them stand out among the other duets (which all have at least one Virtual Singer); and considering both can be interpreted as representing their relationship, this makes them even more special. They are the BAD DOGS songs. Taking into account the situation with the original producer and their rules regarding commercialization, there genuinely wasn't much to gain from adding this song to the game as a cover, but since it represents BAD DOGS so well, along with the other reasons I've mentioned, I feel like the Project Sekai team really wanted to do this.

2. Song Analysis

I've talked about how the song represents the events of the main story, but I feel like the lyrics symbolize not just that; I would say they also represent Akito and Touya, how they feel about each other, and their personal relationship. And so, here I will look into Aun no Beats' lyrics, and talk about what I feel they represent: (Note that I'll be posting all the Aun no Beats lyrics, for the sake of putting everything here, but I won't analyze all of them!)

🥞♪ Everyone has gone somewhere and became nothing 🥞♪ They had it coming ☕️♪ I wanted to believe it, so I stopped voicing it out

Everyone has gone somewhere and became nothing // They had it coming, lines sung by Akito, would represent how Touya left him, leaving him alone once again. The became nothing part can be viewed as Akito expressing his frustration at how they're nothing by themselves (both him and Touya). And the They had it coming could be about Akito's reaction to their break up, with Akito punching Touya. He "deserved" it, he believes; therefore, this part of the song would be Akito expressing his frustration at how everything went down, anger at his partner, and anger at himself. On the other hand, though, this line can also be considered from Akito's point of view, singing about himself — They had it coming being how he deserved this, because of his reaction, because of something he must have done wrong, because he didn't notice his partner's feelings... Akito is a character who is very harsh on himself, he regrets that they ended up like this, that he reacted like that, and so, he believes he had this coming. Then, I wanted to believe it, so I stopped voicing it out, sung by Touya, is about how he feels about himself: believing he's not a worthy partner for Akito, with half-hearted feelings, but keeping it to himself... deep down, he enjoyed singing with Akito, and wanted to keep doing it, but due to his insecurities, he pretended he was just singing with him because it was better than nothing. Therefore, he wanted to believe it was fine to sing with Akito, even though he thought he didn't deserve it. He didn't talk about how he truly felt, and even when he faced Akito when his insecurities peaked, he lied; he avoided telling the truth, he avoided voicing it out, because, for Touya, disappointing Akito would be worse than losing him.

🥞♪ Why do I want to be loved? ☕️♪ Why do I want to love? ☕️♪ I dressed it up and shared it

(cracks knuckles) I've already talked about these lines in the past, multiple times, and also love as a theme in Vivid BAD SQUAD; but I really like it, so I will do it again. While I think these lines can be associated to the events of their "divorce arc", Akito's Why do I want to be loved? and Touya's Why do I want to love? are, pretty much, the core of their characters, and a very significant part of their characterization and personalities. Akito is a character with a lot of love to give: love for music and his goal, love for the town, love for those he admires, love for his partner... however, that love is often not reciprocated. People make fun of him, they don't take him seriously; the town doesn't love him back at first. Why do I want to be loved? symbolizes Akito's desire to be loved back, how he wants people to respect him and to take him seriously. Akito wants the love he receives to match the love he provides. This line would represent, too, how he loves and appreciates Touya: the guy he met who he found interesting and immediately knew that he wanted to share his dream with; that person who had been singing next to him the previous two years, practicing endlessly with him; always listening to him, taking him seriously, respecting him; always by his side... and Akito wants that love to be reciprocated. And even though he knows Touya feels the same, he wants to hear those words. On the other hand, Touya is a character with a lack of love in his life: trapped since he was young in a home where his family barely provided him love, only really caring about his musical skills, Touya grew up away from a life where he could be free and express himself properly, attempting to meet his parents' expectations and his love for music diminishing as time passed. Ultimately, he ran away from that life, but after meeting Akito, he could enjoy music, once again, even though he's not aware of it at first. Why do I want to love? symbolizes Touya's inexperience with love; not used to being loved, having forgotten how to enjoy music, and not knowing what it's like to have someone close to him — a friend that cares about him, he didn't really know what "love" is like... furthermore, this line also symbolizes his desire to give back to Akito and to everyone else who has supported and watched over him, grateful for their support and for pushing him forward, helping Touya find himself and learning what it's like to be loved. In the past, Touya believed that Akito could do better, that he wasn't worthy of being by his side, that he was singing with him because "it's not classical music"... but he didn't realize that Akito truly cares about him, and wanted to have him as partner, above anybody else; and that, even if he ran away from classical music, even after all the pain he went through because of it, he still loves music, and he realizes that thanks to Akito.

🥞 You love music. You love it like an idiot, you really do. You love it… and I know that better than anyone else!

Touya thought that he'd disappoint Akito by telling him how he feels... but, besides the fact that Akito knew those feelings are not true, he would never be disappointed in Touya — because he loves his partner above anybody else. Touya is the one and only partner he could ask for; and Touya's so grateful to Akito for that, for making him realize that he's loved, appreciated, and that he still loves music, after everything. And thanks to Akito's words, and all the love he provided, the current Touya is so much happier with his life, able to express his emotions better, and no longer bound back by a miserable life of unrealistic expectations. He can now be his own person; and so, the reason why he wants to love is because he wants to repay everyone's kindness, supporting his partner and teammates, and helping everyone in any way he can — Touya wants to reciprocate the love of the people that allowed him to find a place where he can laugh. Love is a very central theme for Akito and Touya as characters (and for Vivid BAD SQUAD as a whole), not just for music and everything that surrounds them, but also for each other, with it being a very prominent part of their relationship: Akito giving lots of love, always caring for his partner and having helped him find himself and learn about a whole new world, surrounded by people that actually care about and love him; and Touya learning to love, grateful for everything that his partner did for him, wanting to repay his kindness, and a desire for Akito to rely on him more — he wants to give all that love back. Which is why the lines of Why do I want to be loved? and Why do I want to love? fit them so well; because it's what they're missing, and what they want from the other. In short, these two lines are very significant to their relationship and how they feel about each other, and I really like it a lot.

☕️♪ I— 🥞☕️♪ My sympathy is due to vagueness 🥞☕️♪ And my fearless sensory 🥞♪ Don't worry, don't worry, it's okay 🥞♪ I will make you smile

Despite the briefness of the line, I believe that the I- is pretty significant; it being a Touya line, it represents his hesitation to speak up his feelings up until then, and keeping them hidden rather than voicing out what he wants to say. Don't worry, don't worry, it's okay // I will make you smile, lines sung by Akito, are quite nice, as they symbolize multiple things: first, Don't worry, don't worry, it's okay is about how Akito wants to reassure Touya that voicing out his feelings is fine, he'll accept Touya no matter what. He wants to hear how his partner feels, and he'd never be disappointed in him. Then, I will make you smile is how Akito wants the best for Touya; to make him feel happy, loved, accepted. It shows all the love Akito holds for his partner, and his genuine wish to be by his side, and make him smile. No matter what, Akito will always be with Touya.

☕️♪ So, giving and receiving, ☕️♪ Stay here so you won't disappear 🥞♪ Then, 🥞♪ "Please reply to me, too"

So, giving and receiving, // Stay here so you won't disappear, both lines sung by Touya, are really good and pretty significant. First, So, giving and receiving, is also a core part of Akito and Touya's relationship, closely tied with what I talked about love in the Why do I want to be loved? // Why do I want to love? section.

Their relationship can really be boiled down to giving and receiving, a mutual exchange of love, respect, help, feelings, dreams... they share everything, they give and receive things from each other, and this allows them to grow as people, together. They make each other whole, and that's what makes them inseparable partners — they're each other's one and only partner. Following that, Stay here so you won't disappear, it represents Touya's yearning for Akito, not wanting him to leave him, despite these insecure feelings he has, these feelings he thinks will disappoint Akito. No matter what, he wants Akito with him... and he'd rather lie than disappoint the one he loves. And then we have Akito's, Then, // Please reply to me, too. This is a direct response to Touya's Stay here so you won't disappear, which symbolizes Akito wanting to hear how Touya truly feels, so they'll stay together; representing that moment during their dispute where Akito tells Touya to voice out how he really feels, but Touya keeping his feelings to himself. Akito wants to hear how Touya truly feels, to hear what's wrong. He doesn't want to let go of Touya the same way Touya doesn't want Akito to leave him.

☕️♪ I held up my heart to you, ☕️♪ Give it back someday, be gentle, okay? 🥞♪ I really wanted to go back 🥞♪ Going back after this is fine, too

Then we have these lines, which I think symbolizes them right after their break up and how they feel. I held up my heart to you // Give it back someday, be gentle, okay?, sung by Touya. This line would represent how Touya trusted Akito, how he enjoyed their time together, even if he never expressed it, and deep down regretting what he said, hoping his partner will forgive him. Akito then sings I really wanted to go back // Going back after this is fine, too; the first one showing his regret towards their fight, and the second line showing that he still wants to be with his partner, after all. He won't accept it, he won't give up on his partner and leave it like this. He'll fight for his partner. This part is interesting since their lines have a similar structure, with the first one showing "regret" or wanting what they had before their break up (I held up my heart to you and I really wanted to go back), while the second line symbolizes their hope to be reunited again eventually (Give it back someday, be gentle, okay? and Going back after this is fine, too).

🥞♪ We... 🥞☕️♪ We— 🥞☕️♪ We were going to be together forever 🥞☕️♪ We were going to be together forever ☕️♪ Don't worry, don't worry ☕️♪ It's a wonderful end for us both

Akito's solo We... is really good, as it comes right after his Going back after this is fine, too; he still talks about himself and Touya in plural. He wants to be with him, after all; to be partners, once again, because there's nobody else he'd rather be with. Comparing Akito's We... with Touya's previous I— is interesting; Touya's earlier line is about hesitating to speak up, unconfident about being by Akito's side, while Akito's line, on the other hand, shows confidence in wanting to be together and still thinking of them as a duo, even if they're currently apart. Which is, frankly, quite a nice contrast, since later on, it's Akito who's more unconfident (in his skill and himself), while Touya's confident in wanting to be by Akito's side. Akito and Touya are very contrasting characters, and even here it shows; these contrasts really make them fit to be together, like they're made to be with each other — they make up for the other's faults, and that allows them to push each other ahead and grow together. Following that, there's another We—, this time being a shared line, showing how they still want to be with each other; and two We were going to be together forever afterwards, also sung by both of them, show that they both feel the same: regretting what happened between them, and yearning to be together. However, these lines are followed by Touya's Don't worry, don't worry // It's a wonderful end for us both; these symbolize Touya thinking that no longer being Akito's partner is the best outcome for both of them, and how he believes that Akito's better off without a half-hearted guy like him and that he can find someone better than him — someone who actually takes music seriously the same way Akito does.

🥞♪ So, giving and receiving, 🥞♪ I never needed to look for the words 🥞☕️♪ Even so, 🥞☕️♪ I wanted to hear them from you

Once again, the line So, giving and receiving, appears, this time sung by Akito. As mentioned before, this is a core part of Akito and Touya's relationship, and with both of them singing the same line, we know that their relationship is one of mutual exchange, that is, giving and receiving; providing to each other what they're looking for, and making each other whole in the process. I never needed to look for the words, sung by Akito, is also an important aspect of Akito and Touya's relationship; as long time partners, by now they know each other really well, and as time passes and they grow together and experience more things alongside the other, their bond will become even more inseparable, not needing to put into words how they truly feel — individually, and about each other. By the point of the main story, their relationship is still relatively early (even though they had been singing for two years together already by then), and they hadn't experienced any major setbacks, simply singing together and enjoying themselves, so they weren't truly close yet — but still, they knew, deep down, how the other felt... which is why Akito thinks that he never needed to look for the words; no matter what Touya said, he knew Touya still loved music, and that he enjoyed singing by Akito's side, and that he wanted to be with him. Even if he never truly expressed himself, Akito knew how his partner felt, which is what makes their bond so strong. ... However, as the next lines say: Even so, // I wanted to hear them from you, lines sung by both of them, they both still wanted to hear those words from each other. They want to hear how each other feels; Touya wanting to be reassured that Akito wants to be with him, and Akito wanting Touya to open himself up. As partners... they want the other to rely on them, to help them and to guide them; so they can become the best partners, and reach their goal together. And for that, they need to communicate; even if it may not be necessary at one point, as they'll know each other without a need for words, voicing out their feelings is necessary to get through this setback — to reach each other.

☕️♪ "We were going to be together forever" 🥞♪ "We were going to be together forever" ☕️♪ Even so... 🥞♪ Even so... 🥞☕️♪ Even so... 🥞☕️♪ "I want you to say it to me"

And with this, we reach the finale of the song, with both of them saying "We were going to be together forever" and Even so... once, before saying Even so... together, and ending it with "I want you to say it to me". All of these have appeared before, with "We were going to be together forever" expressing, once again, their regrets of having ended up like this, and the multiple Even so... expressing that, even though they're like this, they want to fix their relationship... they want to hear how the other feels. They have a desire to communicate to be with each other, yet again; as they complete each other. They're the best partner the other could ask for, and they want to keep being together. Forever.

3. Conclusion

And that's it for Aun no Beats' lyrics! Pretty much all the lyrics can be somehow related to Akito and Touya's story and the events of the main story, and their relationship, which is so great. The fact it fits them so well makes all the aforementioned facts, such as their middle birthday happening to coincide with the same day as Aun no Beats' original version's anniversary day, and how the Sekai team went out of their way to add this song to the game even though they wouldn't benefit financially from it, very interesting. Could it truly be a coincidence? Oh I am so curious... Aun no Beats is a song that can be interpreted as a couple with a close bond that has been separated, a song with a sad ending; and this plot sounds very much like Akito and Touya's "divorce arc" during the main story. Fortunately, their relationship was fixed and now they're a stronger couple than ever. As I've explained in past essays, even though their relationship may not be inherently romantic, because Vivid BAD SQUAD's "partner" (aibou) does not have the romantic meaning that the western partner does, their relationship is very reminiscent of a romantic couple: as of current story events, Akito and Touya are very much like an old married couple, experienced in relationships and being together (as partners), and everything they go through and how they interact with each other really can give off romantic vibes sometimes (look at Let It Ring! Beautiful Sound!'s Touya's card's side stories, for example; the way Akito reacted at Touya was so... unusual of a regular pair of friends); while An and Kohane are a newly formed couple that is still learning to be together and how to be partners, with Akito and Touya guiding them through this new experience as an experienced couple. Although the previous paragraph was slightly unrelated to the essay, the point I am trying to make is that Aun no Beats is often interpreted as a couple that has broken up or that has been separated by death, so the romantic associations for Akito and Touya's relationship are existent. This is definitely up to interpretation, of course, but I believe Akito and Touya are one of the pairs with most chemistry in the game, due to how they're pretty much made to be together, as they complement each other so much, between their contrasts and their personalities. Their break up during the main story was quite similar to how an actual couple would fight, due to their mistakes and lack of communication leading to an argument and split up. However, they manage to make up, and they become partners once again, and their bond has been inseparable since, growing further as they keep singing by the other's side. Their relationship, in the end, is all about giving and receiving; relying on each other, loving and learning to love back, and supporting each other by making up for the other's shortcomings. They grow and learn together, they desire to sing together, and they yearn to be by each other's side. This is, after all, what it means to be partners. And together, they can surpass anything. They're fated to be together, and there's nothing that can separate them anymore. They're each other's best partner they could ask for.

4. Afterword

And with this, the essay is done. Truthfully, I've struggled a bit to write since my last essay, and I am still halfway through Part 4 of the Freedom and Captivity series essay; I may have stressed myself by putting on unrealistic deadlines, first meant for August 1, then for August 19. It wasn't necessary at all to release it on August 1, and it was more of continuing the joke, but I did want to get something out for August 19 because it's a very special day. Fortunately, I got a bit inspired, and I had the idea of writing this... and I wrote it in like, 2 days? (lol) And I'm glad I did because it's a very fitting essay for this day, talking about both Akito and Touya's relationship (since August 19 is their middle birthday) and Aun no Beats (song originally released on this day, too). I'm satisfied, and I'm relieved I can take my time to finish the next essay, since there's no deadlines now... from now on I won't set deadlines so close to the actual thing, haha. To finish off, I'd like to thank my friend Dainn for supporting me as I wrote, both this and the previous essay that I failed to finish in time; I appreciate it a lot!! Also thanks for proofreading my essays as always. And thanks to artemis for proofreading it, too; consider this my gift to you for getting T100 in Let It Ring! Beautiful Sound! Congratulations! Anyways, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this essay! See you next time!

[marybatson]

Billy Batson Week 2024 Use #billybatsonweek and #bb84week to participate!

This year marks the 84th anniversary of Billy Batson as Captain Marvel debuting in Whiz Comics #2, the first official cover-dated issue released February 1940. We're three years into this fan-run event - hopefully we'll have many more to come!

Day 1 ✦ August 11, 2024 Bearing the Bolt + Favorite Costume

Over the years, Captain Marvel has gone through many design changes depending on the era and artist. Let us know which of them you favor the most - or even come up with your own! Bearing the bolt can also mean many things aside from the aesthetic. Is the bolt a heavy thing to bear?

Day 2 ✦ August 12, 2024 On the Battlefield + Favorite Fight

From the Captain Marvel battle that made us hold our breath to the one that you think about constantly - which is your most memorable battlefield moment? Or when has Cap struggled and still persevered?

Day 3 ✦ August 13, 2024 The Rock of Eternity + At Home Base

The Rock of Eternity is a place of reverence as well as the place of Captain Marvel's origin. It's had its moments since the first appearance of it in comics, but most notably it is our hero's home base, and a place he can find refuge.

Day 4 ✦ August 14, 2024 The Perfect Pair + Favorite Duo

Captain Marvel (as well as Billy himself) have had many iconic team-ups over the years. His occasional one-on-one collaborations are among some of the most noteworthy of his career. Who is your favorite Captain Marvel partner, either from canon or from your most wanted dream team?

Day 5 ✦ August 15, 2024 Into the Elseworlds + Favorite AU

Captain Marvel's Elseworlds appearances always have impact, no matter the weight of his role. Pick one to explore, or perhaps an alternate universe of your own making.

Day 6 ✦ August 16, 2024 Domestic Bliss + Off-Duty Hours

We love every moment our hero is a hero, but even more so when Cap turns in for the day and Billy has his own time to shine. Whether it's an unassuming picnic day or a day-in-the-life of Billy Batson, the off-duty hours can be just as fulfilling.

Day 7 ✦ August 17, 2024 Holiest of Molies + Favorite Moment

Holy Moly! Can you pinpoint the very moment that Billy Batson compelled you the very first time? He's been on this planet for way over three-quarters of a century, so let's talk about his impact! This day can also be used as a free-for-all.

Although the prompts have been laid out, you are more than welcome to refer to previous years’ (2022, 2023) to choose ideas from! All prompts may also be interpreted in any way you like, however abstract. Any form of content is encouraged, from drawing, multi-media work, photos, graphics, writing, and anything else under the sun. There's no pre-requisites or rules to join except for keeping everything SFW. Posting late is more than acceptable, especially if you find these dates to be incompatible with your own schedule.

Feel free to post your writing in our collection. There is no closing date, so works may be posted beyond the event.

Remember to use the tags #billybatsonweek and #bb84week so everyone will be able to view your masterpieces! View all previous years' works here.

[thelibraryghost]

A Young Person's Guide to 18th-Century Western Fashion

unabridged version at blogspot

General info Cox, Abby. "I Wore 18th-Century Clothing *Every Day for 5 YEARS & This Is What I Learned (Corsets Aren't Bad!)." YouTube. May 10, 2020. Cullen, Oriole. “Eighteenth-Century European Dress.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2004. Glasscock, Jessica. "Eighteenth-Century Silhouette and Support." In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2004. Accessories Banner, Bernadette. "Women's Pockets Weren't Always a Complete Disgrace | A Brief History: England, 15th c - 21st c." YouTube. April 10, 2021. Colonial Williamsburg. "#TradesTuesday: Men's Accessories." YouTube. June 13, 2021. Murden, Sarah. "The Georgian era fashion for straw hats." All Things Georgian. December 6, 2018. Cosmetics & hygiene Cox, Abby. "I Followed an 18th-Century Moisturizer & Sunscreen Recipe & it kinda worked??." YouTube. February 21, 2021. Cox, Abby. "We tried making *5* different 250 year old rouge (blush) recipes || [real] regencycore makeup." YouTube. August 29, 2021. JYF Museums. "Hygiene in the 18th Century | From the Farm to the Army." YouTube. August 21, 2021. Décor Heckscher, Morrison H. “American Rococo.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2003. Munger, Jeffrey. “French Porcelain in the Eighteenth Century.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2003. Formal wear SnappyDragon. "This dressing gown changed fashion forever : the feminist history of going out in loungewear." YouTube. April 15, 2022. Stowell, Lauren. "The Many Types of 18th Century Gowns." American Duchess. March 15, 2013. Zebrowska, Karolina. "Cottagecore Style Is Much Older Than You Think." YouTube. June 30, 2021. Hair care Cox, Abby. "I made 250-year-old Hair Products Using Original Recipes (and animal fat...)." YouTube. November 7, 2021. Cox, Abby. "I tried a 300-year-old hair care routine for a year & this is what I learned (it's awesome!)." YouTube. January 23, 2022. Cox, Abby. "What's the Deal with 18th Century Wigs? (and why Bridgerton really messed this up)." YouTube. June 1, 2023. Laundry Cox, Abby. "Making 300 Year Old SLIME for Laundry Day." YouTube. June 15, 2023. Townsends. "Historical Laundry Part 2: No Washing Machine, No Dryer, Hit It With A Stick?" YouTube. June 3, 2019. Outer- & working-wear JYF Museum. "Getting Dressed | Clothing for an 18th Century Middling Woman." YouTube. March 18, 2021. Major, Joanne. "The practicalities of wearing riding habits, and riding ‘en cavalier’." All Things Georgian. March 12, 2019. Rudolph, Nicole. "What did Pirates ACTUALLY Wear? Fashion at Sea in the 18th c & Our Flag Means Death Costumes." YouTube. May 8, 2022. Shoes Chin, Cynthia E. "Martha Washington's Shoes." George Washington's Mount Vernon. No date. Murden, Sarah. "18th-century shoes." All Things Georgian. December 15, 2015. Rudolph, Nicole. "Real 18th century Shoes? Historical Shoemaker Examines an Antique." YouTube. December 13, 2020. Textiles Cox, Abby. "18th Century Printed Cotton Do's & Don't's." American Duchess. December 23, 2019. Stowell, Lauren. "Fabrics for the 18th Century and Beyond." American Duchess. June 14, 2021. Townsends. "Oil Cloth - Waterproof Coverings for Your Campsite." YouTube. July 30, 2018. Undergarments Major, Joanne. "Quilted Petticoats: worn by all women and useful in more ways than one." All Things Georgian. November 20, 2018. Rudolph, Nicole. "Making 18th century Stays for the Ideal Body Shape : Historical Undergarments." YouTube. August 12, 2023. SnappyDragon. "RUMP ROAST : Ranking historical fashion's wildest fake butt pads." YouTube. October 27, 2023. Townsends. "Sewing Histories' Most Popular Garment - The Fabric Of History - Townsends." YouTube. September 3, 2022.

[lololololchips]

in which series with SEVENTEEN || a series of smaus where the SVT members tend to leak their relationship in various ways…

Yoon Jeonghan —> read here

4th member to get his relationship exposed

his gfs name is Bora 🙈

they’ve been dating since February 20, 2024 (meaning that jeonghan is one of the few guys that have recently just started being in a relationship in this smau)

his relationship got exposed by joshua aka his evil twin

mingyu kinda ratted him out, which led to joshua following him around as he was “exposing” him in his private twitter account

he then accidentally tweeted on the main SVT account where he revealed that jeonghan was in a relationship and that’s how carats ended up finding out

we love joshua tho!!

Jeon Wonwoo —> read here

first member to get his relationship exposed!

his gfs name is lily hehe

sneak peak for dino’s smau: she’s a BIG help when it comes to his relationship…

they’ve been dating since July 14, 2020

this relationship is one of the longest in this universe 💪

members/pledis knew about this relationship but DK accidentally exposed it to carats on live one day (sigh)

wonwoo had ZERO idea of what DK had exposed until the PR nightmare happened

after lots of PR work done (poor vernon) both wonwoo and lily just decided to reveal their relationship:)))

their relationship was revealed on new years 2024!!!!

Lee Jihoon —> read here

5th member to get his relationship leaked

his gfs name is hana!!

MY STEM GIRLY OMGGGG I LOVE HER

they’ve been together since April 2, 2023 (A YEAR MY BABIES HEHE)

no one ,but jun, knew about this relationship

woozi decided to release a song where he just talking about falling in-love, and this song has LOTSSSS of stem vocab so carats are a bit suspicious…

ofc rumors go around after the song is release but no one really knows if woozi is in a relationship or not

until… seokmin opens weverse live once again; a big thank you to DK the king of leaking relationships 👏👏👏

this live was supposed to be a cute one where dk, vernon, wonwoo, and joshua surprise woozi at his studio

spoiler alert: the guys surprise themselves cause once they walk in, WITH THE CAMERA FACING WOOZI, they see hana and him cuddling

no PR nightmare this time cause DK just ends up getting banned from lives (BRING BACK MY DISPATCH KING)

Kim Mingyu —> read here

2nd member to get his relationship leaked

his gfs name is anna!! (she’s been mentioned in a few smaus as well)

they’ve been dating since August 20, 2022

dispatch was actually the one that was originally going to leak this relationship 😾

this did not end up happening until mingyu got drunk and accidentally posted a pic of him and anna kissing

EVERYONE went crazy for this one oh my

pledis paid dispatch to stay quiet and here this man comes and does it on his own siiiiighhhh

but at the end everything was fine 😁😁

Xu Minghao —> read here

3rd member to reveal his relationship

his gfs name is jae!!!

they’ve been dating since December 16, 2023 (also one of the few guys that recently got into a relationship)

carat’s actually do not know he’s in a relationship 🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌

he decided to soft launch his relationship to the guys but literally only jun and vernon caught on LMAOOOO

jun became really close with jae so the guys started to think she was his gf >:(

BUT THIS LED TO JUN EXPOSING minghaos relationship (only to the members tho he’s not like DK)

[hsslilly-blog]

hello! i’m happy to share with you my high school story + hollywood u archive. these are spreadsheets containing screenshots and/or the pdf files of the in-game quests:

for the high school story archive click here

for the hollywood u: rising stars archive click here

they are better displayed on desktop (or in the sheets app). this is a work in progress. it will be constantly updated until both games are fully archived. i have screenshots of most of high school story’s quests, but i’m still working through them. as it is, i have catalogued the main questline for both games.

i have also archived the original android .apk for both games back when the servers were shutdown in 2022. high school story is fully playable, while hollywood u is not due to a server check. you may download them via archive.org:

high school story for android at archive.org here

hollywood u: rising stars for android at archive.org here

general instructions/clarifications:

in the spreadsheet, you'll be able to consult the level, name, release date and summary of the quests, along with the link for the pdf of the .lua file. for the screenshots, click on the quest name.

high school story has both screenshots and the pdf files for its quests;

hollywood u only has pdf files; i wasn’t able to get the screenshots while the game was still running, unfortunately;

hollywood u’s main questline is incomplete since the last three quests were not stored locally, so i do not have the files for them, sadly;

this also means some side quests for hollywood u will be unavailable since everything around august 2016 was stored in the server and not locally anymore;

for high school story, i was unable to play some side quests as they were very time specific (e.g. world cup) or they were exclusive partnerships (e.g. lea michelle, monster high, one direction). for those, i will include only the pdf files;

the pdf files are not complicated to read/make sense of, but tell me if you need help or want me to go in depth into the tags.

please, if you're able to provide me with the missing release dates for hollywood u or ANY release date for high school story, do not hesitate to dm me. the same applies for the missing hollywood u quests. i have made a list of them here.

i am open to any questions, suggestions and anything else!

[milligramspoison]

Let’s connect the dots, we’re gonna theorize real quick 😵‍💫

Obviously back in August, Frank posted a fortune cookie, which seemingly hinted (or confirmed, however you wanna take Frank’s story as) that something was coming at some point in the future.

Obviously, the last time Frank posted a fortune cookie, which was in February 2022, we got Foundations three months later in May 2022.

The miracle we witnessed was them dropping Foundations a few months after this was posted.

And of course, this isn’t the first time he’s done this either- he hinted at the mini MCR reunion in May 2017 with a fortune cookie, MCR’s first time spotted together since the breakup in 2013.

Now let’s go back to Frank’s August 2023 fortune cookie- what are we waiting for exactly?

Well, there’s a few things, actually- MCR5, LOTMS2 announcement, another tour announcement, Eagles as the next single, etc.

Starting Tuesday night, I and some other MCR blogs got the same exact ask at the same exact time.

We all received this ask asking us if we’re seeing MCR at WWWY in 2024. Of course, as of writing this, the 2024 WWWY lineup has yet to be announced.

We all had received more similar asks asking us pretty much the same thing but worded differently and also gave us some info- I’ll show the ones I got personally that gave us info.

No one had heard anything at this point in time as far as I’m aware! So we were all pretty convinced that we were getting trolled.

Earlier today, a mutual of mine on tiktok came across this screenshot below on twitter.

This seems to be the origins of those asks we received on Tuesday night.

Of course, we knew MCR was gonna tour again, Gerard’s expressed a shit ton of interest for it at various of shows throughout the tour.

And based on the fact Frank remained in LA from late August to early September after the Dunes tour ended and also posted the fortune cookie while he was there, we can assume that they were more than likely in the studio together.

But let’s connect this discord message to Frank’s August 2023 fortune cookie.

“Let’s finish this up now, someone is waiting for you on that.”

That’s what Frank’s fortune cookie said. And like I stated earlier, we’re waiting for MCR5, LOTMS2 announcement, another tour announcement, Eagles as the next single, etc.

The discord message is stating an announcement from MCR could come within the next 2-3 weeks.

While that would dismiss the Friday the 13th theory, as that’s 7 days away as I’m writing this, it makes the Halloween theory more possible.

Halloween is a little over 3 weeks away and is one of the theorized dates of MCR doing something, whether it’s an announcement of some sort or them dropping a single.

Frank, like he’s done in the past with fortune cookies, was telling us something. And if this announcement does happen in the next 2-3 weeks, whether it’s a tour announcement, an announcement of a surprise single like Foundations was, etc, that’s what Frank was possibly telling us through his fortune cookie.

Of course, this is a theory, so this could all be wrong. And we don’t know how true the discord message and the anonymous asks some of us received are, so of course, take this all with a grain of salt.

[ask-serendipity-sky]

1108: Facts and observations

•Day 0

1108 started on the 8th of November of 2015.

Jimin uploaded a video of him and Jungkook to twitter:

On the 26th of January 2016, Jk uploaded a small snippet of a song he was covering.

•Day 100

And on the 15th of February of 2016, Jk uploaded the entire song Nothing Like Us and noted to listen to the lyrics as they were expressing what he wanted to say:

In Korean culture, parents celebrate 100 days after a child is born. This is to indicate that the child made it through the first vulnerable phase in their life. In the same manner, the 100 days are celebrated by Korean couples.

And this is what Jk had to say 100 days after the 8th of November of 2015:

There's nothing like us There's nothing like you and me Together through the storm There's nothing like us There's nothing like you and me together, oh

•Day 366 (1 year)

On 08/11/2016, a year later, Jimin posted another video of them:

•Day 732 (2 years)

On Oct. 28, 2017, Jungkook treated Jimin to a trip to Tokyo. It was because of this trip, that Jungkook released gcfTokyo on Nov. 08, 2017.

A fan used the images in the video and was able to determine the hotel and room jikook stayed at. It was room number 1108.

The video also used the song There For You by Troye Sivan:

Boy, I'm holdin' onto something Won't let go of you for nothing I'm runnin', runnin' just to keep my hands on you There was a time that I was so blue What I got to do to show you? I'm runnin', runnin' just to keep my hands on you

Day 811

On the 26th of January 2018, in a Japanese fancafe, Jimin gifted Jungkook a drawing of a set of champagne glasses and a bottle. Note the details of the glasses.

•Day 900

On the 25th of April 2018, a day before the 900 day milestone, Jimin had a vlive where it was obvious he wasn't alone in the room. He kept looking to the side, laughing shyly and explained:

After he said this, you can hear someone whisper, "Jimin."

Day 1000

On August 3rd 2018, Jk posted a selfie while they were all filming BV3:

During BV3, jikook were able to look around the city alone, and have a boat date under the moonlight.

Day 1013

As you all may know 10:13 is also known as Jimin ssi, or Jimin time. It only makes sense that this day would be special to jikook too.

On the 16th of August 2018, Jimin tweeted a series of 3 tweets:

Jungkook was the only member that appeared in the photos with Jimin. It is also interesting to note the 2 butterfly temporary tattoos he had on his hand.

This is the same time when they had the photoshoot with the inflatable unicorn:

The next day, Jimin uploaded a tweet with the caption "Love Ya", and one of the photos was him and Jk.

•Day 1141

On the 22nd of December 2018, when fans uploaded their selfies on fancafe, the fans let Jk know that Jimin had uploaded his own:

This prompted Jk to type "JIMINNNN" and he signed off. He later uploaded a song that he stopped at 1:18:

You take my mind away When you touch me that way This place, your face It gets hard to breathe I know you're feeling me now You're all I see Almost like we're dreaming

•Day 1394

On the 1st of September 2019, Jk made 2 tweets. One in which uploaded a snippet of Decalcamonia, which he also ended on 1:18:

•Day 1500

On the 16th of Dec 2019, Jimin posted a good night tweet:

The time he uploaded this was at 1:50.

•Day 2300

On Feb 22, 2022, Jk uploaded a story on insta where he is in a car, listening to So Good by Joan. The story was labeled 23:08 even though he uploaded it at 1:24 am.

You and me Got a lotta tension, not even to mention Ooh, that night, just two weeks ago It was half past ten Thinking about living, suddenly when you walked it You took my breath away

•Day 2315

On March 10, 2022, during the Permission to Dance Concert, Jimin used the 2315 numbers and stated the following:

2315 days had passed since November 8, 2015.

•Day 2545

On the 26th of October 2022, Jk uploaded a photo of himself while he was in Qatar. He uploaded the photo at 11:08 Korea time and, 5:08 Qatar time.

•Day 2643

On the 2nd of February 2023, Jimin answered a question on weverse at exactly 23:08. The question is now deleted.

•Day 2684

During Jungkook hosted a series of lives on White Day, 14th of March 2022. His first live was started at 8:11 pm:

During these lives, Jk changed to various outfits and had an extensive playlist. One of the songs that was included was There For You.

•Day 2855

On the 1st of September 2023, Jk hosted a short live to thank the fans for being present with him during so many birthdays. He ended his live quickly and it lasted 8:56 minutes:

My impressions

Based on Korean customs, celebrating different day milestones is typical in a Korean couple.

While some may think that jikook started dating on the 8th of November 2015, I think that's when they decided to be intimate with each other.

I feel like a jikook kiss had already happened since the last time Jimin asked Jk for a kiss publicly was in September 2015 for Jk's birthday. From there, one can only think that things proceeded quite quickly.

I think that in recent years, we have observed less mentions of 1108 because of BTS' popularity and so many fans expecting something from jikook.

It's possible that jikook has decided to not make these milestones known like they did before, but every now and then, they still reference that number. Who knows when they will do it again.

But who is counting, right?

[bfpnola]

definitely a longer piece so these excerpts are far from showcasing everything this piece has to offer! read the whole thing on your own time, and in general, just check out jewish currents, an educational, leftist, anti-zionist jewish magazine!

Every August, the township of Edison, New Jersey—where one in five residents is of Indian origin—holds a parade to celebrate India’s Independence Day. In 2022, a long line of floats rolled through the streets, decked out in images of Hindu deities and colorful advertisements for local businesses. People cheered from the sidelines or joined the cavalcade, dancing to pulsing Bollywood music. In the middle of the procession came another kind of vehicle: A wheel loader, which looks like a small bulldozer, rumbled along the route bearing an image of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi aloft in its bucket. For South Asian Muslims, the meaning of the addition was hard to miss. A few months earlier, during the month of Ramadan, Indian government officials had sent bulldozers into Delhi’s Muslim neighborhoods, where they damaged a mosque and leveled homes and storefronts. The Washington Post called the bulldozer “a polarizing symbol of state power under Narendra Modi,” whose ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is increasingly enacting a program of Hindu supremacy and Muslim subjugation. In the weeks after the parade, one Muslim resident of Edison, who is of Indian origin, told The New York Times that he understood the bulldozer much as Jews would a swastika or Black Americans would a Klansman’s hood. Its inclusion underscored the parade’s other nods to the ideology known as Hindutva, which seeks to transform India into an ethnonationalist Hindu state. The event’s grand marshal was the BJP’s national spokesperson, Sambit Patra, who flew in from India. Other invitees were affiliated with the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS), the international arm of the Hindu nationalist paramilitary force Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), of which Modi is a longtime member.

...

On December 6th, 1992, a mob of 150,000 Hindus, many of whom were affiliated with the paramilitary group the RSS, gathered at the Babri Masjid, a centuries-old mosque that is one of the most contested sacred sites in the world. Over the preceding century, far-right Hindus had claimed that the mosque, located in the North Indian city of Ayodhya, was built not only upon the site where the Hindu deity Ram was born but atop the foundations of a demolished Hindu temple. The RSS and its affiliates had been campaigning to, in the words of a BJP minister, correct the “historical mistake” of the mosque’s existence, a task the mob completed that December afternoon. “They climbed on top of the domes and tombs,” one witness told NPR. “They were carrying hammers and these three-pronged spears from Hindu scripture. They started hacking at the mosque. By night, it was destroyed.” The demolition sparked riots that lasted months and killed an estimated 2,000 people across the country.

The destruction of the Babri Masjid was arguably Hindu nationalism’s greatest triumph to date. Since its establishment in 1925, the RSS—whose founders sought what one of them called a “military regeneration of the Hindus,” inspired by Mussolini’s Black Shirts and Nazi “race pride”—had been a marginal presence in India: Its members held no elected office, and it was temporarily designated a terrorist organization after one of its affiliates shot and killed Mohandas Gandhi in 1948. But the leveling of the Babri Masjid activated a virulently ethnonationalist base and paved the way for three decades of Hindutva ascendance. In 1998, the BJP formed a government for the first time; in 2014, it returned to power, winning a staggering 282 out of 543 seats in parliament and propelling Modi into India’s highest office. Since then, journalist Samanth Subramanian notes, all of the country’s governmental and civil society institutions “have been pressured to fall in line” with a Hindutva agenda—a phenomenon on full display in 2019, when the Supreme Court of India awarded the land where the Babri Masjid once stood to a government run by the very Hindu nationalists who illegally destroyed it. (Modi has since laid a foundation stone for a new Ram temple in Ayodhya, an event that a prominent RSS activist celebrated with a billboard in Times Square.) The Ayodhya verdict came in the same year that Modi stripped constitutional protections from residents of the Muslim-majority region of Kashmir and passed a law that creates a fast track to citizenship for non-Muslim immigrants, laying the groundwork for a religious test for Indian nationality. Under Modi, “the Hinduization of India is almost complete,” as journalist Yasmeen Serhan has written in The Atlantic.

To achieve its goals, the RSS has worked via a dense network of organizations that call themselves the “Sangh Parivar” (“joint family”) of Hindu nationalism. The BJP, which holds more seats in the Indian parliament than every other party combined, is the Sangh’s electoral face. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) is the movement’s cultural wing, responsible for “Hinduizing” Indian society at the grassroots level. The Bajrang Dal is the project’s militant arm, which enforces Hindu supremacy through violence. Dozens of other organizations contribute money and platforms to the Sangh. The sheer number of groups affords the Sangh what human rights activist Pranay Somayajula has referred to as a “tactical politics of plausible deniability,” in which the many degrees of separation between the governing elements and their vigilante partners shields the former from backlash. This explains how, until 2018, the CIA could describe the VHP and Bajrang Dal as “militant religious organizations”—a designation that applies to non-electoral groups exerting political pressure—even as successive US governments have maintained a warm relationship with their parliamentary counterpart, the BJP.

...

The most extreme figures in the Hindu nationalist and Zionist movements were especially frank about the nature of their partnership: “Whether you call them Palestinians, Afghans, or Pakistanis, the root of the problem for Hindus and Jews is Islam,” Bajrang Dal affiliate Rohit Vyasmaan told The New York Times of his friendly relationship with Mike Guzofsky, a member of a violent militant group connected to the infamous Jewish supremacist Meir Kahane’s Kach Party.

...

In 2003, Gary Ackerman—a Jewish former congressman who was awarded India’s third-highest civilian honor for helping to found the Congressional Caucus on India—told a gathering of AJC and AIPAC representatives and their Indian counterparts that “Israel [is] surrounded by 120 million Muslims,” while “India has 120 million [within].” Tom Lantos, another Jewish member of the caucus, likewise enjoined the two communities to collaborate: “We are drawn together by mindless, vicious, fanatic, Islamic terrorism.”

[enchantedwolfoon]

I had some heavily referenced SAD-ist Technoblade doodles so I presented them in a scrapbook format.

Original upload date: 21st of August 2022

[gundamplanet]

[actualbird]

Statistical Report of Marius/Luke Ao3 Literature (2024)

(aka, a pet project i've been working on behind the scenes for a while. if you'd rather read it as a PDF, you can check it out here, but i've copy pasted its entirety into this text post, beginning in 3...2...1...)

Introduction

Ahhh, Marius von Hagen and Luke Pearce…such wonderful characters from hit mobile otome game “未定事件簿 | Tears of Themis.” As love interests to Miss MC Rosa Qiangwei, they each are incredibly compelling characters with incredibly nuanced backstories, personalities, and dynamics with MC.

Also, there’s a small but dedicated community of shippers that want them to kiss and make out and be in love with each other. Hell yeah!

Welcome to the Statistical Report of Marius/Luke Ao3 Literature (2024), a report that aims to capture this community’s literary contribution to the MariLuke ship by crunching the data available to the public on Ao3! 

Before going into the data, there are some notes and caveats to this census that the author would like to make clear.

This report’s data was taken from the “未定事件簿 | Tears of Themis (Video Game)” fandom tag on Archive of Our Own. This means that all works outside of this tag or outside of this website (ex. Twitter thread fics or Tumblr drabbles not crossposted to Ao3, fanfiction only on other sites like FanFiction.net, Wattpad, Weibo, etc.) have not been included.

This report’s data is as of May 31, 2024 as a cutoff date. This was so that I wouldn’t have to endlessly update the data and go insane.

Works that did exist but have since been deleted as of May 31, 2024 are not included, as the author does not have an encyclopedic memory of fanfics that no longer exist on the site :( 

Now with all that said, let’s dive in.

---

Number Of Fics Posted and Surge Periods

Now, let’s begin with the number of fics posted. As of May 31, 2024, there are 166 fics in the “Lu Jinghe | Marius von Hagen/Xia Yan | Luke Pearce” tag on Ao3. This number (and subsequently, this report) counts fics as they are listed in AO3 as unique fics, meaning that if it takes up its own little box in the AO3 feed, that’s one fic in itself. This does unfortunately mean that fics that act as a collection (i.e. each chapter is a different story) are only counted as one fic. This number also excludes podfics, because that’s basically the same fic in a different format.

That being said, this number is still nothing to scoff at. And things get even more delightful when we track down the frequency of fics posted month by month in a timeline.

The earliest MariLuke fic posted on Ao3 was “You are King” by itshaku on August 8, 2021, a mere 10 days after ToT’s official global release. The folks who posted the very first few fics in August 2021 laid down the foundation and bedrock of the Ao3 tag, and as ToT’s existence to the global audience continued, more and more fic started to populate our hallowed halls.

However, while that’s the earliest MariLuke fic as is recorded by Ao3 now, I happen to know that there was a fic that was posted even earlier. A fic called “Don’t Let Me Go” by sakurei. Both the fic and the author’s account has since been delated, but I knew this fic existed because I originally started this report in 2022. When I had first put together the preliminary data, I noted “Don’t Let Me Go” as the first ever fic, and then was disheartened to learn that it was deleted. Like, no…the sacred texts… All hope seemed lost until my dear friend Z Lukevonhagen suggested I search the link on the Wayback Machine, and lo and behold, a copy of the True First Ever MariLuke Fanfic On Ao3 had been unearthed. Thanks, Z!

In the month of October 2021, the Marius/Luke tag experienced its first fic surge. For the purposes of this report, any month with 8 or more fics posted during their duration is counted as a surge. Why is 8 or more the qualifier? That number was picked solely off of vibes.

A total of 9 new fics were posted in October 2021, though the I can’t find any discernible reason for this fic. After some digging, I found no relevant fan events that occurred in October 2021 that linked to any of the MariLuke fics. In terms of in-game happenings, the only thing of note here is that this is when the Symphony Of The Night event was running, but it’s not like Marius and Luke made out on screen during that event’s storyline (oh, how I wished though…)

Our next surge happened in August 2022, with a whole 12 fics posted, when the tag suddenly and beautifully got a sizeable influx of CN fics. CN fics take up 6 of the 12 fics posted during this time period, which is half of the month’s total fic yield. Thank you for your service, CN MariLukers !

Our next surge period lasted for a whopping 3 consecutive months, ushering a Golden Age for MariLuke fics, so to speak. Month by month, what happened was:

In October 2022, another surge occurred with a total of 11 fics. During this month, Twitter account Thirst of Themis had run a ToT Kinktober fan event, and a number of new Marius/Luke fics were created and posted in accordance with the Kinktober prompts. 

In November 2022, a total of 9 fics were posted, and this was mostly because of two specific singular authors’ hard work, as they published several fics all on their own in rapid succession and contributed to the surge. Ao3 author Litchire posted a whopping 4 fics during this period, along with Ao3 author ynfzymokaihewo who posted 3 fics. 

In December 2022, a total of 9 fics were posted, though this is the month where I couldn’t find any discernible reason once again. Maybe the holiday season just made us all fic-happy? Who knows.

After that, it’s smooth sailing for a while with average MariLuke fic yields for a couple of months.

Then, the Recession came. Followed by a Revival. Followed by another Recession. 

In April, 2023, only one (1) MariLuke fic was posted. Authors recovered in the following month of May 2023, but right after in June 2023, we all died once again with a staggering zero (0) new MariLuke fics posted. I assume we all went into hibernation or something. But that’s fine, because the next month in July 2023, the crops started flowering once more and the MariLuke harvest began anew.

Our next surge happened a couple months later, in November 2023, with 8 new fics posted. The culprit here is Thirst of Themis once again, for they had run a November prompts event, and 7 out of 8 MariLuke fics posted this month were in fulfillment of the event.

Now, we arrive at our latest surge and also our biggest one. In may 2024, the MariLuke Ao3 tag saw a whopping 28 new fics posted. This is undoubtedly the result of the fan event MariLuke Week (May 2024) for 27 out of the 28 fics were posted in fulfillment of the event’s prompts. The following authors participated in MariLuke Week, with their fic counts for this event placed next to their name:

xXILoveMyFridgeXx (10 fics contributed)

wtfhoney (7 fics contributed)

quarterweeb / theobscenfraction (4 fics contributed)

reptilianraven (3 fics contributed)

lukevonhagen (2 fics contributed)

Litchire (1 fic contributed)

Congratulations and thank you to the writers who participated in the event! You all contributed to the biggest surge in MariLuke stocks THUS FAR, and you should all give yourselves a pat on the back.

That concludes the timeline of MariLuke works up til May 31, 2024! Hit the showers, everybody!

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Full List of AO3 Users Who Have Written Marius/Luke Fanfiction

The Marius/Luke writer population is a small but mighty one, with a total of 45 unique authors who have posted a fic Marius/Luke fic on Ao3 as of May 31, 2024. Before going into the full list of authors, here are some important caveats to the list:

ON ANONYMOUS AUTHORS: As this report deals with how Ao3 lists data, all authors who have opted to post anonymously will be counted as one entity. I personally know that some anonymous authors are different users, but verifying this without making any fuckups would make my tiny pea brain cry. For this reason, anonymous authors are counted as one unique author, so if you’re one of these anonymous authors, congrats on being a part of a Marius/Luke hivemind!

ON AUTHORS WITH PSEUDS: An Ao3 user who has different posted fics within the Marius/Luke tag under different pseuds will be counted as one unique author. Despite saying in the last paragraph that the my personal knowledge will not be enacted to tweak how Ao3 lists data, I’m making one exception here because it literally only pertains to three Ao3 users in the ship tag, so this won’t make my tiny brain cry at all.

So without further ado and in alphabetical order, here our are heroes:

Authors listed under the Anonymous Label

ajing_1124

artistic_gemini

asukryo

autumnsparrxw

BlazingSunflowers

CandorArchives

chechevitsa

darkbreak

doridoripawaa

dxpiarchaive / keeyamii

Eden_of_Amour / suffering_meguca

EnnTea

floweringlight

friedchickenlord

Goryo_Wataru

i_o_u_e_a

itshaku

kombat_exe

ladyhaspran

layla_wp

Litchire

lukevonhagen

m3i_day

marcipancake

monocuri

osamurice

pvsiytemhaver

quarterweeb / theobscenefraction

reptilianraven

RikuMorimachisGirl

Rxzaliya

samandspam

snocchiato

Solaste

sondepoch

strayris

Szim

Tinowenn

ThirdLibraryOfYumenosaki

turnscote

wtfhoney

xeriacat

xXILoveMyFridgeXx

ynfzymokaihewo

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A Brief Glimpse Into Ratings and Tags

Before I looked at the ratings, I had a hypothesis that Explicit fics would take the lead because in majority of the MariLuke fics I’ve read myself, Marius and Luke are written to have incredibly active libidos. Lo and behold, when I did chart down the fics by rating, is is revealed that…

…statistically, we are horny. 

Not by a whole lot though! Fics that are rated Teen and Up comes in 2nd place by just a very small margin, so that’s a lot of fics that are accessible to those who don’t want to read Marius and Luke getting nasty.

In terms of Additional Tags, I checked out the Top 5 most frequented Additional Tags and charted them below.

The Top 5 most used Additional Tags are actually Fluff, Light Angst, Comedy, Humor, and Anal Sex. However, I reasoned that Comedy and Humor are the exact same thing, so I counted them as synonyms and added in the 6th most used Additional Tag: Established Relationship. 

Anyhoo, I think it’s really sweet to see that Fluff reigns supreme! And by a large margin, too. We love to write our boys having a wholesome lovely time. Of course, we also like just a smidge of narrative spice, which is where Light Angst comes in in 2nd place. That being said, I think it’s insanely funny that Anal Sex is in this chart. It is very out of place among the rest, LMAO.

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A Brief Segue Into The Popularity of Marius/Luke In Relation to Other ToT BL Pairings

As of May 31, 2024, Marius/Luke is the 1st most popular M/M ship in the Ao3 tag, overall clocking in with a total of 166 works. 

In addition to that, I think it’s interesting to note that the 2nd most popular BL ship is Marius/Artem, with 130 fics, while the 3rd most popular BL ship is Marius/Vyn, with 66 fics. Tied for 4th place is Artem/Male or Gender Neutral Reader, and Vyn/Artem, both at 46 fics respectively.

The reason why I think the top 5 BL ships are interesting to look at is due to Marius’ participation in 3 out of the 5 most popular M/M ships in the ToT tag. Given this, we can veritably congratulate him for statistically beating the heterosexual allegations. Marius really gave off vibes that made many different shippers go “oh there’s no way in hell he’s completely straight.”

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Accolades 

Longest Fic

As of May 31, 2024, the Longest Fic in the tag is [drumroll]...Losing Sight by pvsiytemhaver! This fic is actually primarily as ArtemRosa fic with MariLuke as an additional ship, and it currently clocks in at 90,109 words, taking the 1st spot as the longest MariLuke fic and the 18th longest fic overall in the general “未定事件簿 | Tears of Themis (Video Game)” fandom tag. Let’s take a look at the runner ups!

Here’s the list of the longest fics in the MariLuke tag:

Losing Sight by pvsiytemhaver (90,109 words)

the lips i used to call home (it was maroon) by xXILoveMyFridgeXx (58,185 words)

Five Points of a Star by xXILoveMyFridgeXx (25,494 words)

Risk of Pain by Solaste (25,157 words)

end of a decade (start of an age) by xXILoveMyFridgeXx (20,671 words)

Special shoutout to user xXILoveMyFridgeXx who consistently pumps out fics with gargantuan word counts.

Fic With Most Kudos

Next on the list is the Fic With The Most Kudos, and this title goes to [drumroll]... “standard operating procedure (x4 speedrun) by reptilianraven” which…oh, that’s me. 

This fic is not solely a MariLuke work, but an NXX Polycule work that has MariLuke within it. Weighing in with 827 kudos, it takes the spot as the 1st most kudos’d MariLuke work, while also weighing in as the 9th most kudos’d fic overall in the general “未定事件簿 | Tears of Themis (Video Game)” fandom tag. Let’s take a look at the runner ups!

Here’s the list of the Top 5 Fics With Most Kudos:

standard operating procedure (x4 speedrun) by reptilianraven (827 kudos)

every breath you take, every move you make, peanut will be watching you by reptilianraven (735 kudos)

how Puppy Pierce© conquered the world by reptilianraven (705 kudos)

the existence of a top student implies the existence of a bottom student by reptilianraven (575 kudos)

making out with your bro for fun and for profit by reptilianraven (567 kudos)

(Thank you for the kudos ;^;)

Author With Most MariLuke Works Written

And now, for our last accolade… the award for the author who currently has a large chunk of the MariLuke Ao3 tag coming from their own fics wrought by their own mind. 

This title goes to [drumroll]... oh goddamn it, it’s me. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for being insane about them. I don’t remember writing this much for them, I swear to god. Let’s look at the runner ups!

Here’s the list of authors with the most MariLuke works written:

reptilianraven (24 works)

quarterweeb / theobscenefraction (quarterweeb) (23 works)

Litchire (15 works) and ynfzymokaihewo (15 works) tied for 3rd place

xXILoveMyFridgeXx (13 works)

wtfhoney (11 works)

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Conclusion

I love this ship. I love this ship so goddamn much, but if there’s one thing I love more, it’s the community of shippers who write for this ship. This pet project was started as a little love letter from me to the MariLuke writing community. So, thank you, MariLuke writers!! Thank you for putting your heart and soul into the works you create, thus fashioning a beautifully wide array of fics to enjoy and read, and thank you for showing your love for this rarepair!

Alright, this report is too damn long. I’m gonna go reread MariLuke fics now. Bye! Hope you enjoyed!

[beautifulmars]

HiPOD: A Possible Glacial Formation in a Crater

This observation features an impact crater with a furrowed and pitted floor and a big, slump-like feature in its northern part. The crater floor is reminiscent of formations believed to be of glacial origin elsewhere on Mars, and our HiRISE image can provide clues to its nature. The terraced wall of the crater has blocky material reminiscent of craters on Ceres. (Black and white cutout is less than 5 km across; enhanced color is less than 1 km.)

ID: ESP_075273_2145 date: 17 August 2022 altitude: 293 km

NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona

[hldailyupdate]

Whitstable-based Santus Circus features in new Harry Styles music video Daylight

A member of a Kent-based circus says Harry Styles kept his cool as he was taught how to walk across a high wire for a new music video. The former One Direction star, 29, paid a visit to Santus Circus to shoot the daring stunt for his latest track Daylight, from album Harry’s House. The Whitstable-based touring company, which is run by a French family, were originally approached by an unknown artist to feature the circus as the setting for the filming. Lucien Santus was asked to help out with part of the star’s performance – a walk across a specially-rigged high wire. But it was not until a few days before filming took place that the 27-year-old found out it was the global megastar attending the shoot. “Leading up to it, we didn’t know who the star was going to be as it was very hush-hush,” Mr Santus said. “We put the high wire up and did a run-through three or four days before when it was really hot and I spent hours on end up there.” Harry’s House, Mr Styles’ third studio album, was met with critical acclaim when it was released last year, becoming the fastest-selling and best-selling album of 2022 in the UK. The music video for Daylight was released on July 19 this year and has already amassed more than eight million views. Lucien added: “He was really easygoing and he was lovely to everybody but also very professional. “Some people weren’t doing the right thing and there was a lot of chaos. “But he was the guy who said: ‘Everyone just calm down and take a deep breath. We’ve got this’.” Mr Santus says the star practised at a circus school and used a high wire one-and-a-half-metres off the ground leading up to the shoot, which took place beside the Millbrook Garden Centre, Gravesend, in May last year. As well as riding a penny-farthing bike, the singer actually walked across the wire himself. “Before he went up there, they made me do the run-throughs to check it was safe.” While there are no animals in the circus, the film crew brought a pony, a snake and a parrot with them as part of the script. The Santus Circus tour is in Ramsgate from July 26 to August 6 and is set to play further dates at venues in Kent and London.

-Harry on learning how to walk on high-wire for the Daylight music video. (1 August 2023)

[who-is-page]

That person you and Rani were arguing with about phantom limbs apparently got called out a few days ago for having zootherians in their pack

I saw a post about this; namely, because the associated Therian Amino call-out used my Beware as a main citation for talking about the known bestialist LycanTheory.

I haven't reblogged or commented anything regarding it because, in all honesty, the evidence as I've seen so far has not been substantial enough for me to feel confident in commenting and saying anything one way or another. All I've seen is a single video on it (x) which was incredibly difficult to parse or understand with my audio processing disorder and the filter the therian chose to use: the video cited the Therian Amino post I mentioned earlier (x), which offered no proof to its claims regarding Thorn nor its claims regarding PinkDolphin, and a highlight reel on Instagram (x), which is also very nearly fucking impossible to navigate and once again has claims that are very difficult to prove on the basis of a single messily-edited screenshot that stay up on the screen for just a few seconds.

So... let me look into this more and give an informative summary for the people just now hearing about this before I give any sort of real, proper response.

I'll give you the TL;DR now: The accusations leveled at Thorn from Therian Territory regarding this claim seem to be false.

The claims that I'll be focusing on here are that Thorn is an active part of the Evergreen Unakite Pack (EUP), which also supposedly contains the founder of the BITE Discord, Dayn, and his partner, Autumn. The BITE Discord is a bestialist-friendly Discord which masquerades as a safe space for paraphiles; some of you may remember LycanTheory, the predator who sexually assaulted his pets and who has sexually interacted with minors via texts and videos, and his bestialist partner Jade who was a long-time member and moderator on the server.

Thorn of Therian Territory has made a response video (x). Thorn states that there is no association between themself and LycanTheory, pointing out that the original call-out also doesn't showcase any proof for that claim either; much the opposite, they've had some really nasty experiences with LycanTheory. Thorn claims to not have known that Autumn and Dayn were zoophiles, as they did not actively identify as zoophiles at the time of them being in a formal pack together and it fell apart soon after. When Jade entered the friend group, zoophilia more generally became a topic and things fell apart due to Thorn's discomfort. Thorn outright says they do not support zoophilia.

I went digging and looked into the EUP's first pack meetup (x). There is an Autumn at the meetup, who identifies as a black wolf and a zebra; the screenshot displayed of Autumn333333 from Twitter claims to be a zeta with a zebra and husky theriotype. There is no one at the meetup who identifies as an ANCD wolfdog, Dayn's theriotype as displayed in the screenshot of vilewolfxD from Twitter.

The Twitter account Autumn333333 joined Twitter in December 2021; the Twitter account vilewolfxD didn't join until October 2022. The EUP first howl meetup was posted on August 16th, 2021, and was likely taken earlier than that. This seems to support Thorn's claim that Autumn and Dayn were not public about being a part of the Zeta community until after the pack had already disbanded. Thorn also supplies a screenshot of what is supposedly the first time Autumn333333 liked a post on Twitter from someone in the Zeta community, dated April 16th, 2022. I'm not really dedicated enough to scroll all the way back and check myself, but if it's accurate then that also supports their claim. Autumn333333's Twitter is empty outside of likes, but searching for "Thorn" and "Therian Territory" and "Evergreen" on vilewolfxD didn't garner any results for my Twitter.

So, ultimately... these accusations of Thorn being a part of a pack with Zetas seem to be false, and based entirely on a single YouTuber, intentionally or accidentally, misrepresenting a timeline in order to make someone seem significantly worse than they actually are.