#thank you youtube for filling in the gaps of my books

[onemillennialquilter]

Venting a little bit, but I'm a little frustrated with some of these "complete" guide to quilting books I have. I have four different ones that when it comes to basting the layers says almost verbatim do a 2 inch basting stitch across your project.. and not ONE of those books actually tell me what a basting stitch is.

I know that to actually do a complete guide it would be monstrous but like not one, not a single one is going to tell me what this stitch is?

[dynamic-swap-au-archive]

I'd like to offer gorillaz fans (and Potential gorillaz fans) another resource that I've spent over a year creating and perfecting.

The Gorillaz !

This playlist is, to the best of my ability, Every Single piece of gorillaz content that can be found on youtube in story order.

all of the music videos, all of the indents, all of the interviews, animations, radio shows, news specials, podcasts, audio books, tiktoks, Everything.

on top of that ! I made the decision to include select fan content! because Frankly the gorillaz fandom is unimaginably talented and creative. this includes Fully animating several music videos that were cancelled, but given to us in animatic form, original animations, animatics, and storyboards, fan visualizers and recreations of live visuals, even voice fan dubs for written material like the interviews and novels.

and more than that, with the (incredible) fan content that was available I've Also been able to flesh out the stories of each phase! a decision I made due to the plastic beach, the third album, never getting to finish the story officially (leading to the band breaking up and coming back 7 years later).

I'm so proud of what I've been able to do with it ! and even happier to share the picture I've been able to make as a whole :>

below the cut I'm going to include several other playlists that are based on this one, but made to be more digestible and less intimidating for newcomers ! as well as many other resources to fill in the gaps that this playlist can't ! (namely the written material)

thank you ! and I hope I can share something I love with all of you !

First is the simplest ! all of the music videos in order ! (plus a Few indents, because I can't help myself): [Link]

this obviously means that you lose out on quite a bit of context, as much of who the characters are as People and their relationships together are in the extra material (especially the shorts and interviews). BUT

this is the most Accessible, and also really convenient if you just want to vibe to the music. if you're not sure if you want to commit this kind of time to a cartoon band, consider checking this out! you may find yourself interested enough to learn more, or you may just have a good time and feel satisfied with what you've seen ! either way I'd be honored to have helped :>

Second, the Midpoint between these two extremes !: Phase 1-3 [Link] Phase 4-7 [Link]

these Include extra material like the shorts and animation, but Cuts Out some of the longer content like the podcasts and interviews! you can still get a pretty good idea about what happens in the story of each phase watching this, but it's not bogged down by videos that are hours long.

it'll give you a clearer picture of what's going on, include fun side content, while being less intimidating than the Full playlist. this is what I use to show my friends gorillaz !

alright, so you've got just the music videos and just the short stuff, now lets try just the Long stuff. all of the interviews, radio shows, podcasts, Etc: [Link]

maybe you've used my last playlists and now you'd like to listen to some of those long form videos you missed out on. maybe you just want to listen to these characters talk because it's Nice. either way, it's all here :> (I know, because I had to upload some of them myself)

Pirate Radio: [Link]

it's all here with One technical exception. pirate radio was the serial radio show for plastic beach/phase 3, that gave us insight into murdoc's frame of mind as a character. it Also used copywriten music. the reuploads on youtube cut the music out (likely because they wouldn't be available otherwise), while this google drive has the full unedited audio files if anyone would be interested!

this one may seem redundant, but I promise it isn't. All of the gorillaz albums in order: [Link]

this playlist (for the most part) doesn't Have any visuals, it's Only the music.

likewise, all of the music in the previous playlists are only those songs that Have visuals (official or fan made), which means not all of gorillaz's music is present! which is exactly what this is for :>

you have every album in order, filling in the gaps of what's been missed, As Well As special albums that are Associated with gorillaz, and gorillaz' guest appearances in other people's music !

now we're out of my playlists and into other resources :>

Lobotomy Pop: [Link]

this is a website that's worked for years to preserve and organize Every Single written interview gorillaz has ever done ! it's an invaluable resource and really just very cool.

it also categorizes several other things ! such as listing out all of the personal playlists the gorillaz members have put out over the years, or every profile that's ever been written for the characters ! it's very much so worth checking out as a fan.

Gorillaz Art Archive: [Link]

exactly what is says on the tin ! this is a google drive that's attempting to archive Every Single piece of official gorillaz art that was released from phase 1 in 2001, to phase 5 in 2018. it is Massive and it's such a joy to have access to

The Kong Files: [Link]

if you were wondering why the art archive stopped at 2018, this would be why ! the kong files has much the same goal, but instead picking up at phase 6 and continuing on Theoretically forever ! or at least it's kept up with all of phase 7

that said ! the kong files is attempting to document Everything relating to those phases. so all of the social media, all of the music videos, all of the written text, Everything !

I wouldn't try to Only use this for watching phase 6 and 7, but it's an Excellent resource for everything that could fall between the cracks

Rise of the Ogre on Archive dot Com: [Link]

rise of the ogre was an official novel released at the end of demon days (the second album/phase 2), that covered the entire history of the band up until that point! their backstories, how they met each other, what they'd gotten up to in the 10 years they'd known each other, and the shocking event that happened at the very end of the phase and the band's reaction to it. all leading in to plastic beach, (arguably) the Most story heavy phase of them all.

as I understand it, this novel has been out of print for a very long time and is quite expensive to buy second hand. so ! it's been scanned and uploaded here to the archive! there's actually several more scans available in the gorillaz art archive, but this is the most recent (having been uploaded just earlier this year).

Dawn of the Ogre: [Link]

dawn of the ogre is the fanmade sequel to rise of the ogre, attempting to fill in the gaps of what happened at the end of phase 3, the 7 year gap, and up to the (then) newest point of canon.

this is, of course, unofficial. so this is essentially fancy fanfiction. But it's extremely well done fanfiction that happens to be novel length, attempting to emulate the style of the original novel, and is fully illustrated. along with being available completely for free!

I'd definitely give it a shot, if you're the type of person who's already read rise of the ogre

the gorillaz wiki !: [Link]

I have no clue what the fandom thinks about it, but it was absolutely invaluable both in making my playlist, and becoming a fan at all. with all the work I've done my hope is that people won't need to go digging for themselves, but the Option is certainly always nice !

I'd Especially like to highlight this page [Link] which has transcriptions for all of the pirate radio show episodes !

I feel like there's a lot to find here :>

and of course, my own dynamic swap au archive! [Link]

if you've fallen in love with gorillaz and are desperate for more to sink your teeth into, then I couldn't recommend this enough !

keep in mind that these resources will continue updating ! as new music is created and new fan content is made! I'm keeping my eyes out on a fan project for a fully animated mv right now that I'm sure will make it to my playlists one day :>

[underpaid-paragon]

Your VTM comic book covers are simply GORGEOUS, I'm totally in awe! How did you get the super cool halftone/coloured dots effect? It looks super cool and realistic, I love it! Have a lovely day! :)

Thank you so much!

So to get the halftones, I use an old-ass tutorial I got off deviantArt literally....more than a decade ago? (Rosalarian's Golden Age Tutorial). The account appears to be deactivated, but I'll go through the steps here:

For reference, I bounce between Clip Studio Paint and a very old-ass copy of Photoshop, but if you're using other programs that have fun pixelate filters and you can change the color mode, you should be ok.

NOW...

Ink your drawing in straight black on its own layer

Block your colors on another layer (I hunted up some old comic color palettes thanks to madformidcentury dot com/2013/10/mid-century-color-palette-in-comics dot html)

Turn off any and all blackwork (this is INCREDIBLY important), and take your colorwork into Photoshop. (if there are any gaps in your color work, fill a separate layer with white and then merge the layers so it's all solid)

Set the mode to CMYK

Go to Artistic Filters >> Pixelate >> Color Halftone (the only thing I mess around with is the size of the dots; the default for my era of Photoshop is 8 and that's a lil big for my taste--all the VTM covers are between 4-6. It's up to your own best judgement, but I go by how "readable" things look--does the face still look like a face at a reasonable distance or is it just a smudge? If it's not readable, undo and change your dot size)

Add 3 new layers to your document and LABEL THEM: Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow

Then go to your channels panel and click on the Cyan layer to make a selection of it

Back to your Layers panel, make sure you're on your Cyan layer, and SELECT INVERSE

Then FILL the selection with the CMYK cyan that you've picked out

Deselect your selection, move to the next layer (and make sure you've got CMYK magenta in your bucket) and repeat steps 6-8 selecting Magenta and Yellow respectively

NOW you've got the beginnings of retro-feeling halftone. At this point, I import the halftone manipulation back into CSP and turn my blackwork back on.

For the ✨ grunge ✨ effect, I grab an old paper texture (after reducing its saturation and upping the contrast until it's mostly black and white splotchy) and set it to OVERLAY at anywhere from 50-20% (this is a 'let your soul decide' moment) over the whole thing

Then I grab another old paper texture and put underneath the Overlay Texture Layer, on MULTIPLY, at anywhere from 65-25% (again, let your soul decide). Both layers will give you a nice level of funk to go with your halftone shenanigans

A lot of the colorwork is going back and forth and back and forth because what looked ok in flats didn't translate after toning, but it works out eventually!

Some important things to remember:

Cool tones tend to fade back and warm tones tend to move forward if you're gonna use this method on any kind of scene

Keep your shapes SIMPLE; don't get bogged down in tones of gradients and fades and all of that because most of it WILL NOT come across once you start toning! Think of it this way: mass-production doesn't have time for fine detail, that's why comics are a lot of heavy black inks and flat color contrast

Experiment with the colors! You're working in a limited palette (if you're using any of the old Marvel/DC print books especially), and it doesn't have to be photorealistic/absolute. For instance, my Nos isn't actually green, but the tone suited the funky retro vibe so I went with it!

Let yourself fall down the research rabbit hole of pulp covers because they're both hilarious and informative. Same dot energy is an interesting collection website to go through, you can also go through your search engine (remember to add -pinterest -youtube to your search term to filter out that crapola)

HAVE FUN!

💖

[16magnolias]

Gonna pick a couple random numbers for the ask game- 22, 67

22. describe your writing process from scratch to finish.

Fun answer: Oh boy it’s a lot of squiggly arrows, a veritable Jeremy Bearimy if you will XD

Real answer:

I start with a lot of daydreaming.  All of my fics have stemmed from ‘what if…’ or ‘how?!’ questions.  The daydreaming takes up a significant portion of time.  In the shower, laying awake in bed, staring out the window doing dishes, etc.

At some point the daydream will start to solidify into a few solid lines/descriptions and develop a clear end and beginning.  This is usually when I delude myself into thinking it’s going to be a one-shot.

I start writing down my favorite/most important bits.  Could be on the back of a grocery list or junk mail, or more likely hastily typed into the notes app on my phone.

I continue daydreaming and noting the important bits until I have enough important bits to string together.

I sit down and write out all the important bits together on the computer and fill in the rest, spending a lot of time putting myself in the characters’ shoes and asking ‘What Would Character Do’ in this particular circumstance? And ‘Does This Sound Like Character’s Voice’?

I get stuck in a black hole of tweaking and editing and trying to connect this important bit with that important bit.  Sometimes this leads me to realize I need to add some more bits in to get there.  Plot ensues.  I’ve lost control of the narrative and it usually goes from a one shot to a multi-chapter story with side plots because I keep asking myself ‘what if’, ‘why’ and ‘how’.

I now have a clear end in sight. If this is going to be a multi-chapter fic, then by Jove - characters are going to develop, lessons are going to be learnt, and the ending is going to be happy ‘cause I’m in charge here and that’s how I like it!

Oh no. In order to develop character and learn lessons Hard Things happen. I must write emotional scenes and now I need music to help me get in the mood.

I fart around on Spotify and Youtube and find myself some mood music.

I write. Usually starting with the most emotional pivotal scenes, and then filling in the gaps to get us from point A to point B. 

Characters develop. Then they betray me by learning their lessons and developing too quickly and now I need to go back and undo something I did so my Big Climactic Moment will still be Big and Climactic and not redundant.

I take a pause and look at the big picture.  I tweak the writing so the big picture is consistent in terms of themes and pacing. 

I get distracted by life or tumblr or a really good book and then have to come back and reread everything I’ve written to remind myself of everything I’ve planned.

I edit and revise until I’m satisfied with both the chapter itself and its place in and what it contributes to the overall story. 

I post the chapter and repeat the above steps until the story is finished!

67. when have you felt the least confident?

Probably seventh grade gym class 

For real though, with my writing it’s usually when I’m tackling a heavy subject and I want to be respectful and real and do it justice.  Runner up is the opposite side of the spectrum - humor - because humor can be a very subjective thing and a punch line landing totally wrong makes me deflate like a discount bounce house after an elementary school field day. 

Thanks for the asks! :)

[idrawgaystffs]

GLaDOS thinks it’s time to buy an apartment, kinda

Modern AU? Of @bondibee & @sarcasticgaypotato ’s Portal Necromancer AU, particularly to bridge the gap of Middle Ages to GLaDOS Is On YouTube uhh enjoy?

[Note: I’m not a contributor to the canon of the AU and all of my add ons can be OOC or use speculations, thank you!]

“Dear?” Chell turned swiftly to catch her lover’s eyes.

They’d been in the throne room and idling for what felt like an hour before the silence had been broken. This was normal, as GLaDOS would often find ways to fill the room with something else to pass the time other than conversation, and Chell didn’t have “big talker” added to her nature after she’d been revived either. But now she was looking at GLaDOS and listening.

“Have you ever thought we should leave the castle?” GLaDOS’s voice rang clear and with confidence. Though Chell knew the question’s weight was hidden behind her perfect tone. The unknown always was a touchy subject when you’re married to what might be the largest collection of knowledge over the past thousands of years.

Chell hmm-ed. Not in a way signifying agreement or disagreement, but just thought. Because she was thinking about that. How long had it been since she had gone outside? The start of her second life gave her a distaste for the sun and a more nocturnal lifestyle anyways, so she had grown attached to the colder and darker areas of the castle, of course she had regained more sense after GLaDOS and her figured out a schedule that would keep her sane and healthy, so she visited her wife more and more often without the promise of food. But she still did wonder. What was going on out there?

“Did a trespasser say something to make you think about it?” She decided to prod out GLaDOS’s feelings on the matter, why the elf even bothered hiding her thoughts from her knight was rather pointless. They were open books to each other.

“No.” GLaDOS’s tone fell a degree noticeable only to Chell.

“No?” Chell repeated knowingly.

“Maybe Someone Couldn’t Stop Mentioning How ‘This Castle Is So Dusty Does Anyone Even Live Here?’ or ‘I Feel Like The Walls Are Gonna Fall On Me!’ because Then Maybe! I Did Put A Spell On The Walls To Crush Him To Death?! Okay!”

Ah there was her temperamental sweetheart.

“At first I only regretted putting hearing enchantments around the castle because all I’d hear was the random rat in our walls or those two bucket heads clanking down hallways.”

Chell cracked a smile at the mention of the haunted armors, she should visit them later.

“But that Intrusive Fly’s last words had made me think of the last time I remodeled this place.”

Chell perked up at the premise of story time. It wasnt often GLaDOS spoke of times before Chell arrived and, in fact, preferred using either Chell’s arrival or the present as a relative date when referring to her ongoing projects. So she did what she did best and took in what GLaDOS had to say.

“I used to be in a smaller castle than this one. Less adventurers took notice of it and it was easier to maintain while I still practiced magic and it’s uses. Over time, of course, I gained my reputation of being a ‘place of no return’ and a ‘great evil to be vanquished’ and more pests came to bother me. After one particular wave, I had been face to face with an adventurer and I heard him say ‘I did not know such an old fort even existed’ that was the first and last thing he said to me. I decided to remodel the place after that! After all it was less that worm’s words and how I didn’t want another professional ‘hero’ to get into my main chamber. I hadn’t realized just how much time had passed since I had settled down here, so I made new traps, built new walls and was far safer in this territory. And yet, a hundred or so years later, you managed to get here. And you know the rest.” GLaDOS finished her spell and Chell was released to think once more.

Chell hmm-ed again but this time as a show of affection towards the praise. She knew how witty and smart she was to make it through her tests. But the information about there being an predecessor to this castle had stuck in her mind.

So Glados did like to change her living space sometime in her life, but no mortal would live long enough to see the whole life of her moves though so it didn’t cross her mind before she arrived herself.

“You want to change the castle again?” Chell asked.

“No, that’s not what I want.”

“What then?”

“I- I want to know more about what’s going on in the rest of the world. The last few maggots had armor that looked different from how yours looked. Their uniforms were stitched evenly and yet their boots looked like they didn’t fit their feet. I’d never even seen this pattern of clothing, Chell! I want to find out how it’s made and what kind of sorcery people have been making out there if this is where they’ve gotten with just simple textiles!”

Chell was rather surprised at how the topic has blossomed. Glados spoke with vigor that was reserved for science and herself.

“I don’t want to just remodel this place. I know it’s our home, but we’ve stuck around long enough to outlive generations. Time is passing and I think we need to catch up a little!”

Chell stood there, in her 1000 times washed tunic and equally worn pants and felt out of place all of a sudden. From what? She did not know. In this place, in their home, she belonged. A wonder about the outside didn’t mean a desire to leave her comforts. She had only recently, well it felt recent to her, gotten used to being undead, and a blood sucking one at that.

She gave Glados a worried look.

Glados immediately slowed down and grew mellower in tone. “Oh but of course I do care about everything that is here. My snakes, my lab, Blue and Orange, You! But I just need you, and I can go anywhere. We can take whatever we need with us till we find a place to settle down for the Next millennia.” Ending on a sarcastic note to help lighten Chell’s mood.

And it worked. Chell smiled, “Okay.”

Glados lit up again! She knew they’d need time to prepare, but a journey was about to begin. Plus, Chell enjoyed a good challenge.

[demonslayedher]

HI! Buriko-senpai, lately ive been to interested in japan and its whole history (one of the reasons being your blog because its so fascinating how much of kny is connected to japanese folklore and history) so i wanted to know if you would have some recs for me to learn japanese or its history... though its fine if it cant be answered bc this isnt much of a kny ask, still, thank you for inspiring me to learn about japanese culture and also throw me down the rabbit hole that is kny (❤´艸｀❤)

Sup!! So glad I can inspire aspiring Japanese folklorists/aficionados/scholars! Or weebs, that's fine, let's own that term. And that totally is one of the things I love about KnY, it has so many connections to real life culture and lore!

When it comes to learning a language, the first step is asking yourself your goals. If you want to attain professional fluency you can expect to devote a lot of time and money to serious language acquisition, but if you want to be conversational and make friends, this is easier to do through dedicated self-study. It's also okay to just want to know travel basics, and to forget them all after taking a trip abroad! I've always taken hardcore textbook routes with the languages I wanted to hardcore acquire, and I've never used Duolingo or Rosetta Stone but I've liked Mango for gaining conversational travel phrases (which I made good use of while traveling and then forgot everything after traveling). What I suggest for self-study is finding an audio-course which you may be able to find at your local library, like Pimsleur, so you can play it on repeat and mimic and respond to what you hear. If you want an app for the writing system, I liked KanjiBox back in the day, and prior to that I used Tuttle Language Library kana/kanji workbooks. And for my other personal tips on language, see here! My tips do include active listening while watching anime. As for Japanese history, bill wurtz already has you covered in nine minutes, but gaining a general image of the different times periods and their order helps to build a framework for appreciating anime set in different time periods, as well as to tie famous places and people to their context. To take it further and fill in gaps in understanding, timelines of events can help, as long as they are focused on what will aid your understanding as opposed to, say, cramming for a Nerd Test. Wikipedia rabbit holes of bios of historical figures are also lots and lots and lots of fun.

As for deeper explorations of cultural topics and the history behind them, I've got my old blog about San-in region stories and adventures but it looks horrific with the Photobucket watermark all over everything. That said, you should still be able to download the silly and educational Kojiki mythology comics to avoid those watermarks, though. (Do note that my focus was only myths which took place in the San-in region, so like, a third of them, but not the whole Kojiki/Nihonshoki/Fudoki.)* *On this note, if I could ask Gotouge one question, it would be, "Did you happen to see my drawing of Kagutsuchi and did that influence the spirits inside Tanjiro's inner space????"

As for places I recently enjoy gaining insights, two of my go-to YouTube channels for this lately are Linfamy (watch out for dirty jokes everywhere, though I find his wording hilarious) and Let's Ask Shogo (I like how his explanations are straightforward and clear for general audiences, but still rich with detail).

Something that's been fun with the KnY phenomena is that it brings out all the nerds, and I learn so much from people putting out unofficial KnY books to introduce more of their knowledge specialties just because they can frame it with a KnY focus, or theorists who see connections in canon with existing lore that don't stand out to me. Part of the reason writing this blog is fun is because I get to bridge the language gap and tell people in the English speaking fandom cool things that people are saying in the Japanese fandom!

[jcmarchi]

MIT OpenCourseWare “changed how I think about teaching and what a university is”

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/mit-opencourseware-changed-how-i-think-about-teaching-and-what-a-university-is/

MIT OpenCourseWare “changed how I think about teaching and what a university is”

Bernardo Picão has been interested in online learning since the early days of YouTube, when his father showed him a TED Talk. But it was with MIT Open Learning that he realized just how transformational digital resources can be. 

“YouTube was my first introduction to the idea that you can actually learn stuff via the internet,” Picão says. “So, when I became interested in mathematics and physics when I was 15 or 16, I turned to the internet and stumbled upon some playlists from MIT OpenCourseWare and went from there.”

OpenCourseWare, part of MIT Open Learning, offers free online educational resources from over 2,500 MIT undergraduate and graduate courses. Since discovering it, Picão has explored linear algebra with Gilbert Strang, professor emeritus of mathematics — whom Picão calls “a legend” — and courses on metaphysics, functional analysis, quantum field theory, and English. He has returned to OpenCourseWare throughout his educational journey, which includes undergraduate studies in France and Portugal. Some courses provided different perspectives on material he was learning in his classes, while others filled gaps in his knowledge or satisfied his curiosity. 

Overall, Picão says that MIT resources made him a more robust scientist. He is currently completing a master’s degree in physics at the Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon, Portugal, where he researches prominent lattice quantum chromodynamics, an approach to the study of quarks that uses precise computer simulations. After completing his master’s degree, Picão says he will continue to a doctoral program in the field. 

At a recent symposium in Lisbon, Picão attended a lecture given by someone he had first seen in an OpenCourseWare video — Krishna Rajagopal, the William A. M. Burden Professor of Physics and former dean for digital learning at MIT Open Learning. There, he took the opportunity to thank Rajagopal for his support of OpenCourseWare, which Picão says is an important part of MIT’s mission as a leader in education.

In addition to the range of subjects covered by OpenCourseWare, Picão praises the variety of instructors. All the courses are well-constructed, he says, but sometimes learners will connect with certain instructors or benefit from a particular presentation style. Since OpenCourseWare and other Open Learning programs offer such a wide range of free educational resources from MIT, learners can explore similar courses from different instructors to get new perspectives and round out their knowledge. 

While he enjoys his research, Picão’s passion is teaching. OpenCourseWare has helped him with that too, by providing models for how to teach math and science and how to connect with learners of different abilities and backgrounds. 

“I’m a very philosophical person,” he says. “I used to think that knowledge was intrinsically secluded in the large bindings of books, beyond the classroom walls, or inside the idiosyncratic minds of professors. OpenCourseWare changed how I think about teaching and what a university is — the point is not to keep knowledge inside of it, but to spread it.”

Picão, now a teaching assistant at his institution, has been teaching since his days as a high school student tutoring his classmates or talking with members of his family. 

“I spent my youth sharing my knowledge with my grandmother and my extended family, including people who weren’t able to attend school past the fourth grade,” he says. “Seeing them get excited about knowledge is the coolest thing. Open Learning scales that up to the rest of the world and that can have an incredible impact.”

The ability to learn from MIT experts has benefited Picão, deepening his understanding of the complex subjects that interest him. But, he acknowledges, he is a person who has access to high-quality instruction even without Open Learning. For learners who do not have that access, Open Learning is invaluable. 

“It’s hard to overstate the importance of such a project. MIT’s OpenCourseware and Open Learning profoundly shift how students all over the world can perceive their relationship with education: Besides an internet connection, the only requirement is the curiosity to explore the hundreds of expertly crafted courses and worksheets, perfect for self-studying,” says Picão. 

He continues, “People may find OpenCourseWare and think it is too good to be true. Why would such a prestigious institution break down the barriers to scientific education and commit to open-access, free resources?  I want people to know: There is no catch. Sharing is the point.” 

[coffeewithcutcaffeine]

Might be a little in deviation to Voievod (I'm yet to catch up with your wonderful writing again!), but I've always been curious -- how is your writing process usually like, for historical fiction? Or more specifically, how's your research process like? Do you have a favourite part in researching?

Eeek, my beloved Mads! Thank you so much for sending this my way -- you are such an angel! 🥰️❤️️ I apologise beforehand for my endless ramblings, but there is certainly a lot to be said about this topic!

Research for historical fiction can vary -- it depends a lot on what are the main goals you want to achieve with the text as you can either write a more fictionalised story that only draws inspiration for a particular period or a person, or you can write a more factual story that tries to follow the historical facts as closely as possible. In my case, I add more fiction to certain parts of the story (mainly family ties and interpersonal relationships) but try to follow history as much as I can. I made my first attempts at several drafts only after researching the topic extensively for about four-five years.

The quality of research depends so much on the historical period and country you choose -- because my work is set in 15th-century Wallachia (present-day Romania), there are many blank spaces that historians cannot seem to fill. This can be a blessing because I can use these spaces to add my own ideas to come up with the missing pieces. But sometimes, it is a curse because more information would help clarify certain events.

I try to read as much on the topic as possible (just yesterday, I managed to get my hands on two new books I am excited about) -- book publications, academic articles or mentions in popular media. YouTube is also invaluable, especially for military analyses as you can see the precise position of the forces or the movements of the armies. It's also important to read up on other subjects that help you get a better picture of the world as it was back then. I went through some preserved correspondence written by the characters in my work to understand their thought processes and shape their journey better. Last but not least, any additional media that helps you get the right atmosphere and literature -- for the scenes in the Ottoman Empire, I tend to listen to Ottoman music to better describe the ambience, I have also read Machiavelli and Sun Tzu to comprehend the philosophy of politics, then some Rumi poetry to grasp the literature that was popular with the Ottomans etc.

Also, what is specific to my research is that I have to absorb every source and then estimate if it is an objective piece of information or simply a popular cliché / propaganda piece. With Vlad Dracula, you usually get the famous myth of a blood-thirsty ruler and many of the "known facts" are no facts at all, only targeted slander. To discover his life as it was, you have to dig in much more depth and clear the piece of information of hubris to find out what's beneath.

As for how I store this research, I have an extensive file divided into three parts -- historical information on the characters, geography and settings (locations and landscape, but also technology or architecture), and historical context (political climate, society, law, culture, religion etc.). From the latter two, I draw information into my story and do the world-building around it; my characters' behaviour reflects the world they navigate in. With characters, I write down the known information into my character sheets, then add the fictional parts -- either to fill the gaps or add richness and depth to their stories. There are also people mentioned in the historical sources that had some ties to the figures we know more about, but it's only a link or two as we don't know much about them other than the one thing they are mentioned for -- in that case, I work with the significant link we are familiar with but otherwise build a new character based on how I want them to fit into my story.

My favourite part of researching is finding a new piece of information that helps me turn some parts of the story into something even better than I initially planned. A recent crumb like this has helped me figure out a big part of what happens to the main character's mistress and their children when he is forced into exile, as well as include a significant new character in the story!

[arson-09]

Thank you for the tag @achaotichuman and @1800naveen !!!

What should we call you?

Arson!

How long have you been a Tamlin fan? What drew you to Tamlin?

since probably this time last year. I had watched these acotar summaries by youtuber CariCanRead and I thought "wow. they are really screwing this guy [Tamlin] over." and I didn't like Rhy/sand so the obvious choice in my pea brain was to like Tamlin. So then I read the books at the beginning of this year and started to REALLY like him. His nuance as a character, the mistakes and choices he makes, makes him feel very real to me. I enjoy characters who are genuinely GOOD at their core and have a very strong moral backbone. And hot and blond

Do you have a favourite headcanon for our Spring Lord?

He has a scar from where Feyre stabbed him UtM, hes a shockingly sentimental guy and keeps tons of little mementos that remind him of his favorite people, his favorite flowers are peonies and sunflowers, he is a bug and plant enthusiast, *edit cause i forgot a good one/worded it better*- He has done journaling since he was young and by now has a shelf FULL of his journals, filled with day to day things, reminders, inspiration for poems, and little bits of music for his fiddle.

Who’s your favourite pairing (platonic or romantic) with Tamlin?

Romantic- Feyre/Tamlin (og cuties), Nesta/Tamlin (Delicious), Rhysand/Tamlin (toxic and doomed variety)

Platonic- obviously Tamlin/Lucien (their dynamic>>>), Tamlin/Eris (they have things to bond over),

Have you named Tamlin’s family? What are their names? (Give us your headcanons too!)

Mother- Iseabail, Father- Hector, Eldest brother- Alastair, Middle brother- Lachlan.

Last name- Dallas- Its of Scottish and English origin and seems to mean Meadow Dwelling which I liked and I'm also from Dallas Tx and I thought it would be funny.

When they were younger, Tamlin and Lachlan got along (there's a decent age gap between the two and Alastair) but as Lachlan grew older, he was influenced more by their father and hung out with Alastair more. Alastair was raised to be heir (as he was the oldest and for a while the most powerful brother) and he felt betrayed when Tamlin started developing the markers of the High Lord. Alastair was the one tormenting Tamlin the majority of the time, Lachlan just tagged along.

If you were transported into the Spring Court right now, what would be your role? (Sentry, Gardener, etc.)

To give Tamlin a kiss (somewhat joking), Astronomer (idk if they need those but still)

While we wait for Tamlin week, do you have any fic recommendations?

@/positivelyruined rewrite of Acotar from Tamlins pov, A Ballad of Thorns and Roses and anything by @/achaotichuman :DD

In the coming months, weeks and days leading up to Tamlin Week, we'll be dropping some fun community activities. Feel free to participate as much or as little as you like!

Now that we've got the prompts out of the way, it's time to get to the heart of Tamlin Week. Everyone knows our High Lord Tamlin, and you’ve met our mods, but it’s time to meet you!

Introduce yourself through the questions below, and if you know someone who’d like to participate in Tamlin week, feel free to tag them.

What should we call you? How long have you been a Tamlin fan? What drew you to Tamlin? Do you have a favourite headcanon for our Spring Lord? Who’s your favourite pairing (platonic or romantic) with Tamlin? Have you named Tamlin’s family? What are their names? (Give us your headcanons too!) If you were transported into the Spring Court right now, what would be your role? (Sentry, Gardener, etc.) While we wait for Tamlin week, do you have any fic recommendations?

Tags: (add your friends here!)

We encourage you to check the notes to say hi to old friends, and welcome new names to our community!

[onemillennialquilter]

Lovely fabric artists of tumblr, can someone teach me some tricks to get hard creases like the above out of fabric?

[just-lexy]

Ho postato 1.065 volte nel 2022

Sono 78 post in più del 2021!

15 post creati (1%)

1.050 post rebloggati (99%)

Blog che ho rebloggato di più:

@itsbeen20years

@luxahheart

@bakutenmayhem

@gingericywolf

@parfaitkiwi

Ho taggato 308 dei miei post nel 2022

#lol - 56 post

#kai hiwatari - 9 post

#love it - 8 post

#beyblade - 7 post

#oh my boris - 5 post

#sanremo - 4 post

#boris kuznetsov - 4 post

#sweet - 4 post

#youtube - 4 post

#well well well - 4 post

Tag più lungo: 94 caratteri

#back in the days in the italian fandom there was a oc au where kai was ryan and takao was seth

I miei post migliori nel 2022:

#5

I am not a Valentine's day enthusiast. That said, it's been too long since I last actively shipped my bois. Well, I guess I have a good excuse then.

As usual, I am using tools and attempting things that I don't know how to use/do, so just accept the effort.

23 note - Postate 14 febbraio 2022

#4

For the series, "artifacts from my childhood home" I present to you some mini Dranzers.

Back in those times Beyblade was so popular in Italy that this was the surprise you could find in the major brand for chips.

But even better.

Since I didn't recall any of this before finding those "spinners", I did quick Google research and found the (cringy) tv spot for it lol

Oh, my. Thank you internet for filling the gaps in my memory.

27 note - Postate 20 gennaio 2022

#3

I am not consuming a lot of media lately so this list will be pretty boring lol but thank you for tagging me @itsbeen20years

favourite colour: red (darker tones like burgundy), lately got some feelings towards orange as well

currently reading: I am sad to say I haven't been reading much lately. I tried to start two essay books in January but didn't work out. So, still looking to start something new.

last song: SEB - f**k it, i'm the man

last film: on this I'm ready since yesterday I went to the cinema. "Licorice Pizza", I am still not sure what it was about but it was entertaining lol

currently watching: a trashy Italian talent show lol and reactions to Eurovision songs lolx2

last series: I bingewatched "Anne with an E" recently and it warmed my heart (I don't usually like to bingewatch so when I do is special)

three ships: I'll try to avoid Beyblade for once as well so... ReiraxShin (Nana), Viktuuri (Yuri on Ice), sns (Naruto)

first ever ship: I think the first one that didn't come explicitly from Canon was PanxTrunks (DragonBall).

currently working on: finding the inspiration to work on something (please help me ç_ç)

tagging: if you feel like it @parfaitkiwi @cosmicstardustx

29 note - Postate 22 febbraio 2022

#2

So the story is:

Kai gets out with some traditional Japanese outfit for whatsoever reason...

Yuriy is a bit affected by it...

Guarda il post completo

44 note - Postate 27 novembre 2022

Il mio post numero 1 del 2022

You know when you get lost in Picrew? I know you do.

Well, I found this one and I ended up having a long-haired rocker AU in my hands XD

Guess they are Yuriy, Boris, and Kai lol

Guarda il post completo

56 note - Postate 9 maggio 2022

Guarda ora l'Analisi del tuo anno 2022 di Tumblr →

[waifu-napoleon]

Congrats for passing over 50 follower! Can I ask why and when you got dragged into Napoleonic era? Thank you!😁

Thank you Zenia!!!

I was always interested in history, my history teacher in highschool was really good at his job, it didn't feel like classes, more like a grandpa telling his grandkids stories about the past. Tbh at first I was more interested in the 30 years war, especially the swedish king Gustav Adolf, I still have the books I bought about his role during that time. I have no idea why I was so interested in him lol. I also have a soft spot for documentaries, I almost always watch them when I draw or do chores. I think I was watching a documentary about Joséphine like a year or so ago which caused me to relive some memories about the Napoleonic wars topic in school, mostly how the German soldiers fighting for Napoleon at the battle of Leipzig switched sides, which I thought was such an awesome move back then. After that I watched the cinematic documentary about Louise (which I use for some memes here) and that was what pulled me back into the topic. I bought a book about Frederick William III.'s and Louise's lifes together as a married couple and, well, I connected with Frederick on a very deep emotional level. I devoured their wikipedia articles and various other websites, I went to museums to look at their statues or paintings, I bought books about Frederick, ordered a book all the way from the UK that had almost all the letters that were sent between Frederick, Alexander and Louise in them. Needless to say that learning so much about Frederick especially made me quite emotional. He wasn't a perfect person, far from it, but I can relate to him and I understand why he did (or didn't do) certain things out of fear. But this isn't a Frederick post, whoops. But he was a key factor for my interest. Shortly after that Oversimplified's Napoleonic wars videos came out which I ofc watched a ton. It's hilarious, and thanks to my knowledge about Frederick and Louise especially I was able to fill in the gaps. I also think Oversimplified's artstyle is very cute which led me to drawing these guys myself.

So yeah, long story short, I've always been into history from the get-go but documentaries and youtube videos dragged me back into that specific part of history. And I'm really glad it did. 💚

[jellonotslime]

"HAHAHA Oh my god, I LOVE that you haven't watched the show yet "Saw this on YouTube and I was sold", I support you so much, my friend"

My life summed up in one sentence. 'Ooh a ship(/anything else really) I know nothing about? This is my obsession now!'

"(Honestly? Expect nothing from the show. I mean it. Keep your expectations under the ground and you might like it.)"

I will! I'm hoping to watch it soon. I'm not very good with finishing shows, I have loads of things with only one episode or season left that I just forget about. I will try check back in when I've started Soy Luna and finished your one shots. I've also started crossroads<3

"Have you had any problems understanding the context to my oneshots?? I just realized I usually don't explain much of what's going on around them because I just assume we've all watched the same thing. I hope it hasn't been too confusing. If you ever, like, not get a reference, just ask me, I'll explain what's going on <3"

Don't worry about it. I'm probably the only person doing this to be honest lol! I'm filling the gaps I don't understand in my head. I know enough vaguely about them both to make sense of it. If I do get confused I will ask :)

"And that's all that matters!! Shows and fics are for entertainment and I'm so happy you've found entertainment in mine"

I really did!! They're so good and I'm such a romance lover. I always pick the longest fics to start with because I get far too emotionally attached. I will be sobbing when I finish but I'm not going to finish any time soon with that word count- thankfully! Normalise reading fanfics as long as books instead of finishing the books on your bookshelf.

"I'M SO HONORED !!! ksdjnfjksd. Oh my god. I'm speechless, seriously. Thank you so much for giving them a chance and letting me know you like them; it means the world to me :')"

I'm new to Tumblr. I have had this account for a while but don't log on much. I just knew whn reading your fics I had to try and find you to say how awesome you are!! Speaking of being new to tumblr, sorry if you got three separate notifications saying I replied. I kept trying to go down a line and accidentally sending a unfinished message. Damn my unresponsive shift key. I gave up after the third time I did it and went to notepad to type up my reply instead 🤣

"Oh my god, now I'm curious about what your thoughts will be on the show after reading fanfiction first. I hope my fics are superior!! Hahahah, but that's just my pride talking😂"

I will report back with my thoughts!! 💖

I just wanted to say that I am in the process of reading all your Simbar oneshots and I LOVE them. I'm not going to lie... I haven't even watched Soy Luna yet. I'm here from listening to Caitlin McKillop on YouTube scream about them and when I heard Ámbar was the stereotypical bad girl who fell in love with the good boy, I tell you I was SOLD.

Maybe it's a little strange I've developed the habit of reading fanfics for shows I haven't watched, just because the ship speaks to me but it's fun! So what can I say, you're technically my first introduction to this ship...

HAHAHA Oh my god, I LOVE that you haven't watched the show yet 😂😂😂 "Saw this on YouTube and I was sold", I support you so much, my friend😂❤���

(Honestly? Expect nothing from the show. I mean it. Keep your expectations under the ground and you might like it.)

Have you had any problems understanding the context to my oneshots?? I just realized I usually don't explain much of what's going on around them because I just assume we've all watched the same thing. I hope it hasn't been too confusing. If you ever, like, not get a reference, just ask me, I'll explain what's going on <3

"Maybe it's a little strange but it's fun!" And that's all that matters!! Shows and fics are for entertainment and I'm so happy you've found entertainment in mine 🥹 💖

"you're technically my first introduction to this ship..." I'M SO HONORED !!! ksdjnfjksd. Oh my god. I'm speechless, seriously. Thank you so much for giving them a chance and letting me know you like them; it means the world to me :')

Oh my god, now I'm curious about what your thoughts will be on the show after reading fanfiction first. I hope my fics are superior!! Hahahah, but that's just my pride talking😂

[thistransient]

ภาษาไทย

In the beginning, aside from watching some youtube videos that were pretty ineffectual at imparting a lasting understanding of the Thai script, I did not put forth any effort at it beyond turning up for class, and doing the extremely brief and easy homework. (Early on I tried to find a language buddy on iTalki but we skyped once, didn’t click, and that was the end of it.)

Once everything shut down and I wasn’t talking to anyone in daily life beyond “hello” and “thank you”, there was even less pressure to progress. Until one day I ordered the wrong kind of bananas, because the fruit stands on GrabMart often have no English translation and I can’t copypaste the text from my phone. Possibly unpopular opinion, but I am not a fan of kluai nam wa (กล้วยน้ำว้า) aka pisang awak, so suddenly learning to read became a pressing issue. I ended up signing up for a free trial of a site that had an actual in-depth, useful explanation of the alphabet (which feels like it has a billion rules accompanied by an equal amount of exceptions to those rules). However, because Thai romanization is terrible, inconsistent, and doesn’t really do justice to Thai having more vowels than you can shake a stick at, being able to read it really helps at being able to pronounce things. (The fact that changing the font can make it suddenly and totally incomprehensible is a bridge I plan to try and cross in the future.)

I decided to just go ahead and finish the rest of the class textbook on my own. It’s not a “real” textbook -  that is, it’s put out by the school company with no ISBN or author listed and I have no shortage of criticisms about its format and contents. However, in looking up a grammar pattern required in an exercise but not explained anywhere in the book (presumably it’s expected that the teacher will fill in all gaps, and indeed, we didn’t even use the book much in class), I stumbled up on a Chinese-speaking youtuber doing short, effective, and well-explained videos of beginner-level Thai grammar. This is delightful because I can kill two birds with one stone, and I feel Thai has more parallels with Mandarin than English anyways. Plus, not that I have that big of a sample size, but vloggers teaching Thai in Mandarin seem a lot more excited and energetic about it than those teaching Thai in English. On account of my uni days studying abroad, I’m not a stranger to learning a foreign language via another foreign language, but this is the first time it’s actually more enjoyable doing it this way.

I would hazard that things might go a bit faster if I tried to actually make Thai friends, but a) these are isolation times and b) I didn’t have any close friends who spoke Chinese with me (an abundance of curious ride-share drivers, yes, friends, no) til I was already at lower-intermediate level (which is probably the point where one can start having intellectually meaningful conversations anyways) and I still turned out fine. There is a distinct chance that I will never get anywhere near intermediate though, and simply wander off confident in my banana order but nothing else, but it’s certainly grown on me more than I ever expected it would, which means there is some potential. 

[audreydoeskaren]

Hello! I am with questions and a statement. How did you come up with the idea of blogging? Are there blogs about other things you're interested in? What did you find most interesting about China at the beginning of the twentieth century? How did you first learn about China in the twenties? What is your favorite work of that period? What book of that period is worthy of being in your home library? Why are you such a cute bun? Would you like to live in that time?

Hi, thanks for the questions and I’m very happy you like my blog! I’ve been thinking about blogging for quite some time now but didn’t find the right platform until I remembered Tumblr existed. As I explained in my 1890s post, I think there’s not enough information on Chinese fashion history on the Internet so I’d like to fill that gap a bit by sharing my knowledge and observations; even though I’m just an enthusiast and not a professional historian, I hope I can get more people interested in this obscure topic :)

I’m still quite new to Tumblr so I haven’t found so many blogs, but I do follow some other vintage/fashion history blogs. If you’re interested in hanfu/Chinese fashion history please go follow @ziseviolet and @fouryearsofshades as well!! 

China in the beginning of the twentieth century... I think I really appreciate the progressive ideals of that era and the feeling that everything was possible, but also the mix of historical/traditional with modern Western aesthetics (particularly fashion, of course). But frankly I don’t know so much about political history so I’m not really qualified to comment on that.

My entryway to fashion history is actually Costube (historical costumers on Youtube, e.g. Karolina Zebrowska, Bernadette Banner) and European fashion history, particularly the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Maybe that’s why I sometimes have weird takes on Chinese fashion because I learned my methodology there. At that time I was also playing Europa Universalis IV (a historical strategy game set in the 15th-19th centuries) and as a Chinese person of course I played the Ming Dynasty and was very attached to it, so at some point these two interests merged and I started to wonder what clothing in the Ming Dynasty looked like, which is how I discovered hanfu. As I researched more about Ming Dynasty women’s hanfu I realized how much it continued into the Qing Dynasty and the 20th century, so my love for the Ming Dynasty spilled over into these later eras. I then realized how much EASIER it is to research the 20th century because of availability of primary sources (there’s a ton of pictures on Pinterest alone, aside from museum originals), so I decided to go further into that. Of course I still love hanfu and the fashions of the Ming and Qing dynasties, I just know less about them than the early 20th century. I tend to not distinguish between decades or periods, to me they’re all fashion history and equally fascinating, but it’s especially interesting to research 20s and 30s fashion and watch the cringe flapper stereotypes unravel before my eyes haha.

I haven’t really read any books from this period aside from what I was forced to back when I was in the Chinese public school system... I’m not a literature person so again I’m not really qualified to recommend books, but I do love the works of Lu Xun I read when I was younger, his social commentary is really sharp and still relevant today.

I really, really do NOT want to live in that era. Even though progressive movements were gaining momentum, the majority of the Chinese population at the time lived in poverty in the countryside and people were significantly more conservative, superstitious and misogynistic, so as a woman I wouldn’t really have any chance in life unless I was extremely wealthy and lived in the city. Even then there would be countless barriers to success that I wouldn’t need to face in the 21st century. It was a very politically turbulent era with many wars and stuff so life wouldn’t be as peaceful. China was also under partial colonization at the time and I am NOT a fan of white supremacy, so I would really suffer.

[maybeimamuppet]

dance with you

“Jan, calm down, you’ll think of something,” Damian comforts, patting her back gently as Janis lies face-down on her bed and lets out a groan.

“Damian, prom is in a month! And it has to be perfect, it’s our senior year,” Janis huffs into her pillow.

“You’ll think of something perfect. You could... fill her locker with ping pong balls that say ‘prom’ and then when she opens it and they all fall out say ‘I finally got the balls to ask you to prom’?” Damian suggests.

Janis chuckles at that, finally poking her head out. “Is that how Elijah asked you?”

“Maybe,” Damian mumbles. “I thought it would at least make you smile.”

“You got me, then,” Janis says. “Ugh, why is this so hard? I had an easier time with the ACT.”

“Feelings.”

“Gross. I don’t want ‘em anymore,” Janis sighs.

“Just think of stuff she’s into. Like animals or math. You can borrow Pippa if you need to.” Damian says as Janis leans against his shoulder.

“Animals... math... I can probably work with that,” Janis says, a hint of a plan forming in her mind.

“There‘s my Janjan. You go Janjan. Ask the girl you’re already dating to prom,” Damian teases.

“Shut up! You know Caddy loves those tacky promposal things you see on YouTube, I gotta do something dorky,” Janis says. Cady really does love them, she gets so excited every time someone at school gets promposed to, the tackier the better.

“And you’ll think of something perfectly sappy and gross. I have faith.”

“Thanks, D.”

————-

On Monday, Janis uses her study hall period to hunt down Kevin G. Cady is in English on the other side of the building, so unless she goes really out of her way to go to the bathroom there’s no chance of her finding out what Janis is up to.

She finds Kevin in the library, reading what appears to be a math textbook cover to cover. Janis puts on some fake confidence and marches her way up to his table, sliding into the chair across from him.

“Yo, Sarkisian, how ya been?” Kevin asks, closing the book and looking up at her.

“Um... fine. Listen, can you help me with something?” Janis says hastily.

“Depends,” Kevin responds. “What do you need and what do I get out of it?”

“I’m trying to think of a way to ask Caddy to prom, is there any sort of, like, equation or something that would spell out prom if she solved it or something? Something math related I could do?” Janis pleads. She had decided getting animals involved was a little more risky than she was willing to try.

“Oh. Uh, I don’t... actually know about that. I can check with Norbury and get back to you?” Kevin says.

“Sure. Just, would you be able to do it soon? Like, sometime this week? I wanna give her time to get everything prepared, and prom is less than a month away.”

“Sure thing, Sarks. Don’t stress, Africa never shuts up about you. She’ll say yes.”

“Thanks, Kevin. I really appreciate it.” Janis says, relieved.

“Anything for Heron. We’d be a fuckin’ wreck without her.”

—————

On Wednesday, Janis is sitting in art when none other than Kevin comes barreling through the door, making a beeline for her.

“Yo, Picasso, Norbury and I have somethin’ for ya,” He calls.

“Really?” Janis asks, tucking her paintbrush behind her ear.

“Yeah. Um, Norbury got really excited when I told her you were trying to think of a good way to ask Africa and did a lot of research. They have a strange relationship. Anyway. She found this dope series of equations that spells ‘prom’ once it’s graphed. Norbury said you can ask her during Mathletes practice on Friday using it, if you’re into that.” Kevin says.

“Oh, that’s perfect. I’ll talk to Ms. Norbury, I have a free next. Thank you, thank you, thank you,” Janis says. “I owe you big time.”

“You wanna design a new logo for my DJ business?” He asks with a slightly creepy wink.

“Sure. Uh, how long do I have?” Janis asks, pulling out her sketchbook to get going.

“As long as you need, I... um. Don’t get many gigs. Also, don’t fuck it up with Heron, please.” Kevin begs.

“I’ll do my best,” Janis says, determined not to.

-

Janis heads to Ms. Norbury’s classroom next, knocking on the doorframe. This is her plan period, so there’s nobody else there.

“Oh, Janis, hello. Kevin told me you might come by,” She says once she looks up.

“Um, yeah. He said you found something I could use to ask Cady to prom?” Janis says nervously. Ms. Norbury is one of the sweetest teachers at their school, but Janis always gets anxious when she talks to adults.

“I do indeed,” Ms. Norbury says, pulling out a sheet of very complicated looking numbers and letters. “This looks like this, once it’s been graphed.” She flips the page over to reveal a graph with what looks like ‘prom ?’ in cursive.

“This is perfect. Can Caddy really solve this kind of stuff?” Janis asks, looking at the equations again.

“She can,” Ms. Norbury confirms. “She’s my MVP, so to speak. If you’d like, we have practice this Friday after school, we can squeeze this in at the end.”

“That would be great,” Janis breathes with relief.

They decide that Janis would drop by on Friday morning to drop off a few supplies, and then show up before Cady in the afternoon. She would hide in the classroom storage closet until Cady solved her graph, and then pop out with prom balloons and some flowers.

It’s just tacky enough for Cady to love, and not quite tacky enough for Janis to hate. It’s perfect.

———

Friday rolls around quicker than Janis is quite ready for. She wakes up two hours early to head to the party store and get the balloons, and then to the convenience store next door to grab a bouquet of pink roses, one of Cady’s favorite flowers.

Ms. Norbury looks rather startled when she comes barreling into the room in a frenzy, but shoots her a wink as she stuffs everything into the closet and dashes back out the door to meet Cady like normal.

She’s just barely gotten her breath back under control when Cady comes bouncing through the doors, auburn curls in a ponytail today. As always, she looks for Janis by her locker, smiling as she spies her and comes up for a hug.

“Hi, Jayjay,” She says, wrapping Janis up tightly.

“Hi Peanut,” Janis says back, kissing her forehead. “Did you take your medicines today?”

“Mmhmm! Did you take yours?” Cady answers. Cady almost always remembers, Janis almost always forgets.

“No,” Janis answers, looking around as she pulls the bottle from her backpack as if she’s committing a felony. She’s not, but they’re technically not allowed to carry their own medications. “Did you have breakfast?”

“No,” Cady mumbles. She struggles sometimes to recognize physical sensations, occasionally forgoing a meal or forgetting to stay hydrated, especially if she’s sucked into an activity or a routine.

“Eat one of your Kälteens, then,” Janis says once her pills are down and the bottle hidden away in her bag again. Cady does, offering one to her too. “Thanks, babe.”

“Are you okay, mpenzi? You look nervous,” Cady says worriedly. Shit.

“Yeah I’m fine, everything’s fine! All good,” Janis says rapidly, shoving a large bite of her bar into her mouth and grinning at her like a chipmunk.

“Okay...” Cady says, clearly not believing her even slightly but also recognizing it’s not something Janis wants to talk about.

The warning bell rings then, Cady pouting as she hugs Janis goodbye. “Bye, Butterfly. Have a good day,” Janis says, pecking her lips gently.

“Bye, Bluejay. I love you,” Cady says, blowing her another kiss as she walks away.

“I love you too!” Janis calls after her. And that makes this afternoon much easier, she thinks to herself.

-

Janis is almost relieved when school finally ends, the nerves having been building inside her as the day went on. Luckily Janis has study hall in the science wing directly above the math wing, allowing her to rush down and get to Ms. Norbury’s room before anyone else. Cady has English on the other side of the building, so she’s commonly the last one to arrive at practice.

She opens the cupboard where she’ll be spending the next hour or so, luckily spotting an outlet so she can charge her phone to keep herself busy. Ms. Norbury agreed to film for her, so she has that covered. She makes sure no light shines out and sits on the ground, peeking under the doorframe as Cady enters, calling a hello to everyone else.

They all mill around and chat for a while before Ms. Norbury enters again with their practice problems for the day. Sometimes they practice competition style and other days they just make sure their problem solving skills are still up to snuff. Today is the latter. Cady greets Ms. Norbury as well, asking about her day and complimenting her blouse.

The boys all sit down first, having been informed of the plan, leaving Cady the seat with the best view of the cabinet Janis is in so she’ll be able to see the reveal right away.

Janis watches her work for a while, having to hold on a chuckle as Cady’s brows furrow in concentration and she taps away furiously on her calculator. She’s so cute. She finishes first, taking the time to double check her work before going to Ms. Norbury for the answer key.

“You finished, Cady?” Ms. Norbury asks, taking her worksheet to check over it.

“Yeah, I’m not sure about number eight though,” Cady says, rubbing her sleeve against her lips nervously.

“You got it correct, Cady. We’ve talked about this. Confidence,” their teacher chides gently. “I have some bonus things for you to work on now, we need to work on graphing practice more. Here you go.”

Janis perks up at that, standing quietly and grabbing hold of her balloons and flowers. There’s just a big enough gap between the door and its frame that she can still peek and see what Cady’s up to.

Cady taps away on her calculator again, plotting all the points down with her pencil carefully. Her brow gets progressively lower with her confusion as she goes, starting to realize something might be up here.

Her head snaps up when she finishes connecting all the points and sees what it spells, Janis taking that as her cue to step out of the closet. That’s a hell of a metaphor, she thinks, bracing herself for Cady’s reaction.

Cady gives an excited gasp when she sees her, scrambling out of her chair and rushing to leap into her arms. Janis drops the balloons and flowers to catch her, glad she had the foresight to go for a balloon weight. “Cady Heron, will you go to prom with me?”

“Of course I will, goofy,” Cady says, sounding a little choked up. “This was perfect.”

“Good,” Janis says, setting her down gently and pressing their lips together. She forgets they’re not alone until the other Mathletes start whistling and cheering, and Ms. Norbury gives an audible coo. They both break apart, blushing violently. “I love you.”

“I love you too. How long were you in there?” Cady asks, pointing to the cupboard as she bends over to pick up the abandoned roses.

“I dunno. About ten minutes before you got here, I think. I wasn’t paying attention to the time.”

“You hid in a closet for an hour just to ask me to prom?” Cady asks, hugging her tightly again.

“Apparently I did, yes.”

“You’re such a dork, I love you. I’m so excited! We get to match this year,” Cady squeals, bouncing up and down.

“Treat that one right, Africa! She’s committed,” Kevin hollers from behind them.

“Oh, I absolutely will,” Cady purrs, leaning in for another sweet kiss.

————-

Damian insists on taking them both shopping, individually of course, so as not to ruin the reveal. Cady gets to go first, since she didn’t get to pick an outfit for Spring Fling last year. Cady would decide the color scheme, and Damian would pass that information to Janis when it was her turn.

“This is fun!” Cady cheers, lugging him around the mall happily.

“We haven’t even gotten to the store yet, Cads,” Damian says, huffing slightly. For how small she is, Cady moves very quickly. He can’t tell if it’s the autism, the bisexuality, or some leftover instinct from Kenya, but he’s exhausted.

“I know, but I like hanging out with you! You’re fun,” Cady says as she swings their arms back and forth happily.

“Aww. You’re fun too, Cads.” Damian responds, touched. “So, do you have any ideas of what kind of dress you want? Wait, do you even want a dress?”

“I want a dress, yes,” Cady giggles. “I think a suit could be fun, but I didn’t get to wear a dress last year. I think I want a long one? But I don’t like when they have long sleeves, they’re usually lace and it’s too itchy.” She looks at him questioningly, as if asking his approval for her opinions.

“Okay, we can work with that,” Damian says as they enter.

“Whoa,” Cady blurts, immediately slightly overwhelmed by all the colors and big poofy skirts.

“Yeah, it’s a lot,” Damian chuckles. “Do you wanna split up and look or stick together?”

“Stick together,” Cady says hastily, pressing closer. “I trust your fashion sense more than my own anyway.”

Damian thinks that’s probably a fair assessment. “Okay, I think your sizes are over here.” He starts flicking through a rack, and she roots through the one next to it. They have to be a bit more particular due to Cady’s sensitivity to certain fabrics, but they get several good options.

“Oh, this is great,” Cady says as Damian hands her a gown. “My cousin had some Broadway star take her shopping for her prom last year and it didn’t go very well. Turns out a future Broadway star is much better.”

“Wait, your cousin had a Broadway actor take her prom shopping? How did she swing that?” Damian asks.

“Oh, her school turned their prom into some big civil rights thing, they wouldn’t let her go since she’s a lesbian and wanted to take her girlfriend. They came down from New York to bring attention to it and stuff, I think. Her name is Emma.” Cady says, grabbing another dress from the rack.

“Emma? Wait, does she live in Indiana?” Damian asks, excitement building.

“Yeah, why?”

“Emma Nolan is your cousin?! Janis and I each watched her video, like, fifty times. We donated to her campaign thing for the inclusive prom,” Damian says.

“Oh, really? That’s so sweet, I’ll tell her. She’d love to meet you guys. I’ve told her a lot about you,” Cady says, now weighed down by a mountain of heavy dresses.

“Oh my god, yes please, she’s such an icon. Anyway, give me these, I can’t even see your face anymore. Let’s go pick your dress!” And with that, the pile is transferred to Damian and they head towards the changing rooms.

The first dress she tries is an amethyst color, and mermaid style. She likes how it looks in the mirror, but it’s so tight around her legs that she almost falls flat on her face when she goes to show it off. Damian catches her and immediately turns her around to go try something else.

The second one is an emerald green, with a shorter skirt and long (but thankfully not itchy) sleeves. She’s more into the length than she thought she would be, and the color suits her. Damian takes a photo so they can compare it to her other options.

The third dress is a beautiful yellow color, and has a sweetheart neckline and thin straps. It reminds her of her costume from Beauty and the Beast. She absolutely loves it, but it turns out to be way too large and her whole chest is pretty much exposed. Oh well.

Her fourth option is a periwinkle two-piece contraption with a very complicated top piece and a long poofy skirt. She likes the color and the way it fits, but the neckline makes her feel like she’s choking and the material of the skirt is very itchy. Damian claps when he sees her in it, though, so she decides to keep it as an option.

The fifth time turns out to be the charm. It’s a royal blue gown, the bodice tight and embroidered with a large flower pattern, and a skirt that flares out at her waist. The  short sleeves hang just off her shoulders, and it makes her feel like a princess. This might be the one.

Damian’s eyes go wide as he spies her coming from behind the curtain, gasping at the beauty of it. “This one this one this one,” he repeats excitedly, clapping his hands in between. “What do you think?”

“I really like it,” Cady says, turning to look at herself in another mirror. “The material is really nice. And the color is so pretty.”

“It makes your eyes pop. And it goes so well with your hair,” Damian says as he comes up behind her, laughing as she starts moving her hips to see how the skirt swishes.

“The swish is good,” Cady giggles. “Do you think Janis will like it?”

“She would love anything you feel good in, you know that,” Damian says. “But yes, I think we’ll be lucky if she doesn’t pass out when she sees you. You look gorgeous, Little Slice.”

“Thank you. Oh, wait, can you take a picture to show my mom? She wanted to come with us but she got stuck with a work thing,” Cady asks. “I think she said someone brought in a sick elephant and they had to decide what to do with it.”

“An eleph- okay, sure. Smile,” He responds, taking her phone and snapping a few photos. “There you go. Wanna go get some boba?”

“Ooh, yes!” Cady squeals.

————-

The week after is Janis’ turn, Damian taking her shopping along with both of their mothers and Juliana. It’s much easier  shopping for suits. There’s less variety, so they don’t have to decide from as many options.

Damian goes first, he and his date Elijah having decided on an emerald color scheme for their outfits. He tries on two options, a slate grey suit with a green button up underneath, and a fully green suit with a black button up.

He looks great in both, but Julie in her typical brutally honest fashion says he looks rather like a tree in the full green one. Janis’ mom whacks her on the back of the head and tells her to be polite, but Damian just laughs and agrees with her, going with the grey ensemble.

Janis’ turn. Damian tells her that Cady’s dress is a royal blue, and that’s all the detail she gets. She grins, trying to imagine what her girlfriend will look like on the night, wondering what style of dress she chose. Janis does love Cady in blue.

Their group wanders aimlessly for a minute until Janis finds a black pantsuit in her size, Damian grabbing a soft blue crew neck t-shirt as an option to go under it, as well as a white button down and cobalt skinny tie as an alternate.

She heads to the changing room, tugging the curtain closed and staring at her pieces for a second. She decides to try the more traditional button down and tie first, fumbling with it for a second before giving up and heading out, asking her mom to tie it for her.

Janis looks in the mirror once her mom loops it around her neck correctly, grinning at what she sees. She looks hot. The thin legs of the pants make her look even taller than she already is. They’re a little long, so she’ll have to get it tailored a bit, but the fit other than that is perfect. The dark blazer accentuates her shoulders, and the length of the sleeves makes her feel like a boss bitch.

She turns around to see what her little crew thinks, finding Julie already in Damian’s lap and wide grins on everyone’s faces.

“You look beautiful, hon. Very sophisticated,” Ms. Hubbard says, her own mom sneakily wiping a tear away and nodding in agreement.

“Go see what you look like with the t-shirt instead,” her sister demands. She does, heading back to change before pulling the blazer back on. She looks in the mirror again. The t-shirt is a little less formal, but she still looks very dapper.

“Which do you like better, baby girl?” Her mom asks. She has to think for a moment. The shirt allows her to match more with Cady, and is more comfortable. But if she wore a tie, Cady could use it to pull her into kisses, which she’s always wanted to do.

She decides they’ll be doing plenty of kissing anyway, and goes with what she feels more comfortable in. “I like this. I think once I have my accessories and makeup on and stuff it’ll still be fancy enough.”

“I think so too,” Damian says, removing her sister from his lap to stand. He heads to change back into his so their moms can take pictures of them together.

Janis’ phone pings right as she’s about to hand it over for a photo. She pulls it back to check, grinning a little when she sees a message from Cady.

Caddy Cakes: Hi lovey!!!! 🥰📷 Did you pick an outfit yet??

Jellybean: hi baby

Jellybean: i just picked my suit, no you can’t see it yet

Caddy Cakes: D:

Caddy Cakes: Just kidding, I know. I have a request

Jellybean: 🤨

Caddy Cakes: Can I see you in heels????? Pleeeeeeaase?? Just for prom night and then I’ll never make you wear them again 🥺🥺

Caddy Cakes: Sent a picture: Pwease?

Jellybean: you gotta stop doing the puppy eyes

Jellybean: fine. i’ll talk to damian

Caddy Cakes: Oh yay!!! Ok I’ll let you go now. I love you!!!!! Mwah!

Jellybean: i love you too baby 📷📷

She clicks her phone off and stares at it for a second, realizing what she’s just gotten herself into.

“What happened?” Damian asks, concerned something is seriously wrong.

“Caddy wants me to wear heels,” Janis whines as she buries her face in his blazer.

“You are so fucking whipped,” Damian teases. “We’ll find something.”

Their moms finally finish taking photos and they head to the shoe store, Janis looking longingly at the flat men’s dress shoes Damian chooses from. Once his are picked, they head over to the high heels. Janis stares incredulously at the height of some of them, very glad she escaped the Plastics before the heels got this high.

Juliana suddenly comes running at her holding a box, nearly tripping over her own feet and falling on her face until Janis reaches out to steady her. Julie shoves the box at her, Janis taking it curiously and looking to see what her sister has found.

She pulls back the tissue paper to find a pair of stiletto heels (which concerns her, thin heels are not a good way to introduce yourself to them), about four or five inches high and the same royal blue as their color scheme.

“These are huge, Jules,” Janis says incredulously. “Pretty, but... damn.”

“They’re the only ones that match,” Juliana pants, still out of breath from dashing around the store. “I checked everywhere.”

Janis looks at them again. Maybe if she practiced wearing them she could do it. “I’ll try them. You gotta help me, though, or I’m gonna fall on my ass.”

Juliana giggles at that but nods as Janis heads over to a bench to sit, tugging off her comfortable boots. She immediately regrets agreeing to this, but does kind of understand the appeal once she stands up for the first time.

With the height of the heel she’s roughly six and a half feet tall and feeling like she can grind the patriarchy to a pulp under her foot. Of course, it all flies out the window when she tries to take a step, since her entire gait has to shift.

Julie grabs her hands to steady her, guiding her slowly down the aisle like she’s teaching a baby how to walk. Unfortunately, Damian and their mothers come back at this point, all of them immediately bursting out laughing at the sight.

“Oh, baby girl, you’ll have to practice,” her mom giggles.

“Those shoes are perfect, though,” Damian says excitedly.

“I picked ‘em!” Juliana says proudly.

Damian looks impressed. “Nice, squirt. You have a knack for that.” Juliana beams proudly as Janis messes up her hair, immediately losing her balance.

“Who fucking invented these,” she grumbles crankily under her breath.

“Language, Janny,” her mom chides warningly, despite knowing she swears all the time.

Janis looks sheepish, turning away. “Sorry Mama.”

“Alright, let’s go get you kids fed and head home,” Ms. Hubbard says.

“God, yes please,” Janis breathes, yanking the shoes off her feet and stuffing them

back in the box.

————-

The day before the dance, Cady insists on all three art freaks (plus Juliana, who had her own middle school dance on the same night) going to the spa together.

It’s a lovely place, very clean and bright. Janis decides to get her nails all painted the same royal blue shade to match their outfits, Cady gets a glittery silver, and Juliana gets a purple to match the dress she had picked. Damian felt left out and decides to get his painted green.

Since they’re not getting any kind of fancy processes done, they’re all led back to sit next to one another in massage chairs to wait for their nail technicians. The hostess offers them a drink of their choice, Damian and Julie choose a cola, Cady gets water and Janis asks for a Sprite.

While they wait for their drinks, their nail techs come to get to work on them. It turns out that part of the package is hot stone massages on their legs, and warm lotion massages on their arms while they get their nails painted. Janis nearly falls asleep in her chair, lulled by the soothing warmth of the lotion and the repetitive motion of the chair.

She’s startled back awake by the lady returning with their drinks, learning that they had run out of Sprite and offered a Mountain Dew instead. She says it’s fine and takes it, finding the contrast of the drink and the sensations she’s experiencing very funny.

Once their nails are all painted, they’re led over to a drying station in the middle of the room, sitting on benches and sticking their hands and feet under fans to blow their nails dry. Cady leans her head on Janis’ shoulder while they wait, Janis kissing her hair and pressing her cheek against the top of her head.

“I can’t wait to see you tomorrow,” Cady whispers. “I’m so excited.”

“I can’t wait either, Peanut. You’re going to look so beautiful,” Janis responds softly, pulling her into a sweet kiss once her nails are finished and safe to use again.

Cady looks sad to see Janis go once they have to pay and leave, but cheers up a bit when she’s reminded that they get to spend the whole night together tomorrow.

————

On the day, Janis’ mom helps her get ready. The dance doesn’t start until nine, but she and Cady are going out to dinner with Damian and Elijah first, so she has to be ready early.

She’s lucky that her mom appreciates her style. She applies some natural looking makeup around her eyes, which is a bit different than Janis normally does, but she does have to admit it’s a nice look. She’s surprised when her mom gets to the lips, pulling out a blue lipstick, so dark it’s almost black. It’s perfect.

Janis thinks she looks sort of like a model when she looks in the mirror as her mom starts working on her hair.

“I’ve missed doing this for you,” her mom says as she starts brushing out her hair.

“You can anytime, Mama. I hate doing it,” Janis huffs.

“You always did, baby girl, you always did,” her mother replies. Once she finishes brushing it, she applies a few products to get her natural wave back into it, and then starts slicking it to the side with some gel. Once it’s finished, all her hair is resting over her shoulder. It’s a very elegant look. “There.”

“Mama, are you crying?” Janis asks, turning around to hug her.

“No,” her mom sniffs. “Yes. You’ve just... grown into such a beautiful young lady. Feels like the years have gotten away from me. Won’t be too much longer before I’m doing this on your wedding day.”

Janis laughs at that. “You’ve got a while, I’m nowhere near ready to be married yet. I love you.”

Her mom squeezes her, brushing a hand against her cheek as she lets her go. “I love you too, baby girl. Go put your suit on, I’ve got to help your sister now.”

-

Janis heads to her room, tugging on her now perfectly tailored suit pants, then her royal blue t-shirt, her blazer, and necklaces. She decides to forgo the shoes for as long as she can, leaving them resting on her bed. She slides her fanciest rings on as a finishing touch and heads to look at herself in the mirror.

It’s strange. She’s wearing a suit, but she looks more feminine than she has in a long time. Even in comparison to her suit from last year’s Spring Fling where she wore a skirt, it’s a more feminine look. She decides she’s into it. She looks good.

-

She heads downstairs right as Damian and his date pull up outside. Juliana goes rushing up to hug him, looking beautiful in her lavender dress. Janis is glad her sister and best friend get along so well.

“Looking good, guys,” she says as her sister finally releases him. Elijah wound up choosing the option Damian didn’t, looking quite handsome in his green ensemble. He’s shorter than Damian, so he looks less like a tree.

“So do you! You look so good, Jan,” Damian says, pulling her into a gentle hug so he doesn’t mess anything up.

“Thanks,” Janis says shyly, spinning around to show off with her shoes still in her hand. “When’s Caddy coming? I wanna see her.”

“She texted me and said she’s gonna be a couple minutes late, she shouldn’t be too much longer,” Damian responds, checking the time on his phone. “Oh, speak of the devil.”

Cady’s parents pull up then, Cady’s door opening before the car even comes to a complete stop. Janis gasps when she sees her girlfriend in her dress for the first time.

Before she even has time to fully process it, her jaw hanging open, her girlfriend is in her arms, hugging her tightly. “Janis, oh my god! You look incredible!”

“So do you,” Janis says, pulling back for a second to see her. “You look like a princess.”

Cady really does, her long auburn hair has been braided into a thick crown around her head, the remaining strands tied in a bun on top of her head and two little pieces hanging out to frame her face. Her makeup is heavy around her eyes, silver shadow on her lids and eyelashes dark. She looks very ethereal. Her lipstick is more natural, and Janis likes that she can still see her freckles through her face makeup.

“You look so hot! Very, um, sexy businesswoman going to a fancy thing,” Cady says, reaching out to feel her blazer. Janis realizes when she doesn’t have to reach as far that their height balance is off, thrown by Cady’s shoes.

“Thanks,” Janis laughs. “I think.”

“Put your shoes on, I wanna see,” Cady demands, pointing to the heels Janis is still holding in her hand.

“Fine,” Janis pouts as she rests them

on the ground and steps into them carefully. Cady reaches out to steady her at first before letting go once she’s more stable. Janis has been wearing them around the house all month to get used to them.

“Jesus, you’re tall,” Cady giggles, looking up at her. “Oh, wait, I have your-um. Thingy.”

“Boutonnière, baby. Thank you,” Janis laughs as Cady tenderly pins it on. “Here’s your corsage.”

“Why thank you,” Cady says as Janis slides it on her wrist and kisses her knuckles. “Now come on, we gotta take pictures. I want to kiss you but I can’t mess up your makeup until those are done.”

“Okay, Peanut, let’s go,” Janis chuckles, taking her hand and stumbling slightly as she heads over to Damian, Elijah, and their parents.

They take every cliché prom photo in the book, all awkward poses and cheesy smiles. Janis nearly breaks her ankle trying to do their jump shot in those shoes, but Cady somehow does and lands it perfectly, reaching out to steady Janis with a chuckle.

They take one more jokey shot of each other with the wrong dates, Cady with Damian and Janis with Elijah looking at each other confusedly before switching back to who they’re meant to be with.

“Alright, you crazy kids, get out of here,” Damian’s mom demands, shoving them towards their Uber that had pulled up. None of them were into the idea of renting a limo, but none of them wanted to drive either.

“Be safe!” Janis’ mom adds.

“Make good choices!” Cady’s mom pipes up. Her dad and Cady both roll their eyes lovingly.

————-

As they pull up to the restaurant, everyone clambers out quickly. Damian and Elijah head in first, Janis and Cady following hand in hand a few paces behind them. Just before they reach the doors, Cady tugs on Janis’ hand, hauling her backwards.

“Wha- oh, okay,” Janis stutters, gasping as Cady looks around quickly before fisting a hand in her t-shirt and pulling her down for a hot mess of a kiss. Turns out the shirt works just fine. Janis kisses her back just as hard, wrapping her arms around Cady’s waist to pull her closer.

When they finally break apart, their lipsticks have fully blended together. “Glad we made it to the dance before we ruined our makeup,” Cady chuckles breathlessly, pulling two makeup wipes out of her clutch to get rid of the evidence. Damian looks at them knowingly when they walk in several minutes late suddenly missing lipstick, but neither of them care.

-

It’s a fancy restaurant, and their table is next to a water feature. Janis immediately sticks her hand in it, causing water to splash everywhere for a second until she pulls it out.

“Janis, what? Why did you do that?” Cady asks in exasperation as she grabs a napkin from their table to dry Janis’ hand.

Janis looks down sheepishly. “I wanted to see if it was real.”

“Well now you know,” Cady says, dabbing at the splash marks on her suit and wondering how a fountain could be fake. “And I’m sitting next to that. You get the outside.”

“Sorry, Caddy.”

“Don’t be sorry, my love. I just worry about your regard for social norms and sense of self preservation sometimes.” Cady comforts, kissing her cheek gently to cheer her up.

“Oh, speaking of which, I got a great idea for senior pranks,” Janis says excitedly. Damian and Elijah both lean in across the table, as if they’re plotting something for the mafia. “I’m gonna get a cow and stick it on the second floor, and then put chickens in the elevator. Cows don’t go down stairs, so they’ll try to put it in the elevator and find the chickens.”

“Where are you going to get any of these things?” Elijah asks. It’s a fair question.

“My mom knows a guy, one of her old classmates is a farmer and he said I could borrow some of his livestock,” Janis explains.

“I- wh-“ Cady stutters, trying to find a response to this. “If you get expelled before you can graduate I’m not gonna help you.” Her own plan was just to stick a bunch of plastic forks in the football field. Gretchen and Karen had already agreed to help, too.

“I won’t get caught. It’ll be fine,” Janis says, sounding as if she already knows it won’t.

“That’s actually kind of genius, Jan,” Damian says. “I’m gonna put a speaker in the gym playing the chorus to It’s a Small World on repeat and then put a bunch of cups full of water in the way of it.”

“Nice!” Janis cheers, high-fiving him.

“You guys,” Cady pleads, looking as if she’s witnessing a murder plot. “You’re gonna get in trouble.”

“That’s the fun of it, Peanut! The risk,” Janis says boldly. “Plus, Regina knows how to hack the security cameras so there won’t be any proof. Unless someone rats me out.”

Cady thinks she might, just to save herself the headache. She feels as if she’s gotten a very telling taste of her future. “Jesus Christ.”

Cady and Elijah make exhausted eye contact periodically throughout their meal, exasperated with their respective partners. Once they finally finish eating, Cady has to haul Janis away from the fountain by the tail of her blazer to stop her from reaching into it again.

“Come on, Jayjay. No fountain or I’m revoking your little spoon rights for a week.”

“Fine.”

————-

A few minutes after nine, their group strolls into the school. Janis and Cady head to the bathroom to reapply their respective lipsticks before going into the main dance.

Janis stops Cady before she can put hers back on, pressing her against the wall gently and kissing her soundly again. Cady grips the fabric of her blazer at her waist, having to restrain herself from messing up Janis’ hair.

Janis checks under the doors to make sure they’re alone before coming back, pulling Cady flush against her and sucking on her lower lip. Cady groans softly, making Janis want to fast forward through the dance and take her home.

Cady gives her one last good smooch before pulling back, both of them panting slightly. “We should go in,” She breathes, ghosting the words over Janis’ lips. “We have time for this later, we only get one senior prom.”

“Fine,” Janis pouts, kissing her gently one more time before heading to a mirror to finally put her lipstick back on.

They head hand in hand into the gym, looking around at how it’s been transformed. The theme this year is a Night Under the Stars, so they’re surrounded by dark balloons, gold decorations, and glow in the dark stars stuck to the ceiling. Janis is reminded of Cady’s speech from last year’s dance. Maybe that served as the inspiration.

“Whoa,” Cady says excitedly. The school puts much more funding into prom than Spring Fling, since it’s supposed to be a kind of final memory for the seniors. It actually looks quite nice. “I’m gonna go say hi to Regina and Gretchen and Karen really quick, I’ll be right back.”

“Okay, Butterfly. I want punch, I’ll be over there.” Janis kisses her quickly and sends her on her way.

She people-watches as she sips slowly from her cup, wanting to get as much punch as she can before someone inevitably spikes it. Damian and Elijah have already been lost to the mob of dancers, but she can spy them just across the way. Regina looks strangely nervous in her baby pink dress. She’s been wary of large crowds since the bus incident. Gretchen and Karen look adorable as ever together, in royal purple dresses that are slightly different styles.

Janis is working on her third cup of punch when the DJ announces a request for Born This Way by Lady Gaga. She and Damian lock eyes from across the room, nodding slightly. Damian sometimes choreographs dances to his favorite songs, and almost always drags Janis into learning them. They both have backgrounds in dance, and can do them quite well. Janis figures they might as well go out with a bang.

They meet in the middle of the floor and start their routine. Damian is a talented choreographer, having spent hours studying for his various shows. The routine is actually very well put together.

People gradually start realizing what’s happening and stop dancing themselves, surrounding them to watch and cheer them on. It’s a nice feeling, if a bit strange for them. She spots Cady with the former Plastics watching her excitedly, and shoots her a cheeky wink before continuing her moves.

When the song finally ends, they pause in their ending pose for a split second before standing and blushing scarlet. Everyone claps for a short while, looking rather stunned as they head back to their friends. “Well damn,” the DJ says into his microphone. “Did not expect that. Uh, here’s the Macarena.”

Cady wraps Janis in a tight hug once she finally reaches her, yelling, “Janis, what the hell?! I had no idea you could dance like that, that was incredible!”

“Thanks,” Janis pants. “I’ll teach you sometime.”

“I’m such a klutz, good look with that,” Cady giggles. “You need more to drink, you must be exhausted.”

She leads Janis over to the table, pouring them both one more glass of punch. “We should go see who the prom court is, too.”

Prom court worked a bit differently than Spring Fling, in that it was a secret until the night of the dance. Student council made nominations, which allowed some of the less popular students to make the ballot, and then whoever attended the event got to vote.

“There’s two winners of each this year? That’s different,” Janis mumbles on seeing the sign at the voting table.

“Regina said it’s because there’s a lot more LGBT+ couples that are out and coming to events together now, and should both be able to win. They’re doing it from now on,” Cady says. “And look at who’s on the ballot.”

Janis does, surprised to see her own name listed, along with Cady’s and the three former Plastics. “I’m an option?”

“You are,” Cady chuckles. “And Damian is up for Prom King, too.” Sure enough, Damian and Elijah are both listed along with all the Mathletes.

Janis is stunned. It doesn’t make up for the years of torment they faced at the hands of these kids, and she doesn’t think for a second that she’s going to win, but it’s a nice gesture at least. A start.

They’re each allowed to vote for two people for each category. Janis votes Cady and Karen for queen and Damian and Elijah for king. Cady votes Janis and Gretchen as queen and also votes Damian and Elijah as king.

Once they slip their papers into the boxes, the DJ announces a slow song. “May I have this dance?” Janis asks in a suave voice, reaching out a hand for her girlfriend.

“You may,” Cady giggles, taking her hand and following her onto the dance floor. Janis kisses Cady’s knuckles gently before letting go to hold her by the waist, Cady grinning up at her as she holds onto Janis’ neck.

“I love you,” Janis murmurs as they start swaying softly to the rhythm of the song. Cady pushes up briefly to brush their lips together.

“I love you too,” she whispers when she pulls away again. “I’m so glad we got this night together.”

“I am too. We’ve come so far in a year, it’s crazy,” Janis responds.

“Crazy indeed,” Cady chuckles. “I’m so lucky.”

“I’m the lucky one, baby,” Janis says, surprising Cady by dipping her. She squeals and clings tighter to her neck, but giggles when Janis kisses her quickly and pulls her back up.

“You’re so smooth,” Cady teases as the song ends.

“Thanks,” Janis responds as she kisses her again. “God, my feet are killing me.”

“Take your shoes off then, Jellybean. The ticket lady will hold them for you,” Cady says. “Mine kind of hurt too, we can just walk around barefoot.”

They both sit on the bleachers to take their heels off, breathing a sigh of relief once they’re back to their normal height. Now that they’re free, they meet back up with Damian and Elijah, letting loose and dancing crazily to the loud music, jumping up and down as they laugh. It’s freeing, dancing like nobody’s watching in a room packed with people.

After several songs, the DJ announces that it’s time to reveal the winners of prom king and queen. All the nominees head up on stage next to him, Janis and Cady holding hands as they make their way up.

They announce the kings first. “Your nominees for prom king are: Damian Hubbard, Elijah French, Kevin Gnapoor, Marwan Jitla, and Tyler Kimble!” The DJ calls dramatically. “And your kings for tonight are... Damian and Elijah!”

Janis and Cady both cheer happily as their friends receive their crowns, clapping for them excitedly.

“Moving to your nominees for prom queen! Caddy Heron, Janis Sarkisian, Regina George, Gretchen Wieners, and Karen Smith!” Cady pouts a little at the mispronunciation of her name. “And your prom queens tonight are... Caddy and Janis!”

Janis blinks rapidly, stunned. They’re handed the tiaras to put on each other, Cady having to pop up on her tippy toes to reach that high. Janis places the crown tenderly on Cady’s head, sliding it in place around her updo. Cady bravely decides to pull her down into a brief, sweet kiss. A few people clap for them then, which is nice.

They’re led off stage after that, Janis still in shock. How the hell did I win? These people all hated me. If Cady finds out later that Regina had threatened everyone into voting for them, she’d take that secret to her grave.

-

They decide to stick around for one more slow song, this time with Cady leading. Janis leans down and presses their foreheads together, looking into Cady’s clear blue eyes happily.

Cady tries to dip her, too, nearly dropping her on the ground until Janis barely manages to pull herself back up at the last second. Cady looks very sheepish, until Janis kisses her cheek gently to make her smile.

“Can we go home?” Cady asks quietly once the song is finished, pressing close to Janis. “I feel buzzy.”

‘Buzzy’ is how Cady had taken to describing the feeling of being overstimulated. She surprisingly isn’t feeling too overloaded, given the amount of noise and the lights, but knows it will get to be too much for her soon.

“Of course, baby. Go get our stuff, I’ll go tell Damian,” Janis answers, kissing her sweetly and pushing her towards the door.

She heads to fetch Damian, who is deep in conversation with Elijah. She doesn’t want to interrupt, but he spies her lurking and waves her over. “Caddy and I are going home, she’s tired.”

“Okay, I’ll come say bye,” Damian says, kissing Elijah on the cheek and standing to follow her. Janis leads him over to where Cady is waiting with her bag and both pairs of their shoes.

“Bye, little slice,” Damian says, wrapping her in a hug. “See you later.”

“Bye, Dame,” Cady responds, leaning into his embrace as best she can. Damian heads back to his date then, Janis leading Cady by the arm out the doors gently. She taps into her phone to order their Uber home before sitting down on a bench and pulling Cady into her lap.

“Did you have fun, Peanut?” She asks, kissing Cady’s forehead as she squeezes her tightly to help with the sensory overload. Cady nods against her shoulder, too overwhelmed to speak unless she absolutely has to. “Good.”

It’s a cold night for springtime, and Janis notices Cady start shivering slightly in her embrace. She pulls away for a second to tug off her blazer, wrapping it gently around her girlfriend and pulling her back in. Cady kisses her jaw a few times in thanks.

————

Once they get back to Janis’ house, Cady leads Janis quickly up towards her bedroom, desperate to get out of her now heavy and uncomfortable gown. Janis hands her some makeup wipes as she pulls out Cady’s emergency sleepover pjs from her dresser, as well as some shorts and a sweatshirt for herself.

Cady takes the pjs once all her itchy makeup has been removed, but tugs gently on the hem of Janis’ sweatshirt, silently asking for one too. Janis goes to fetch another one, kissing her cheek as Cady heads to get changed.

Cady is scratching at her head when she returns, trying to relieve some of the ache caused by her hairstyle. “Help?” She asks quietly, barely above a whisper. Talking takes energy she doesn’t have to spare at the moment.

Janis nods, gesturing for her to sit between her legs as she removes the crown, starting to unravel the mess of pins and ties holding up her hair. Cady breathes a sigh of relief once her long curls are flowing down her back again, and her eyes flutter shut as Janis starts stroking a brush through them gently to remove any excess product.

Once she’s finished, Cady ties her hair up loosely so it’s not in her face before turning to face Janis. “Now you.”

Janis switches spots with her, taking a wipe to take off her own makeup as Cady starts gently brushing the gel and hairspray out. They’d still have to shower tomorrow, but that can wait. They’re both exhausted.

Once Janis’ hair is sufficiently soft, Cady lies down and pulls Janis to lie on top of her. Janis was worried about squishing her the first few times, since Cady is so much smaller, but Cady had explained that the pressure didn’t hurt and actually was very helpful when she was upset.

Janis tugs the duvet over them gently, kissing Cady goodnight before tucking her face into her shoulder and closing her eyes.

“I love you.” Cady mutters quietly, rubbing Janis’ back.

“I love you too, baby. Sweet dreams.” Janis says back, popping an eye open to look at the two tiaras resting on her nightstand. She grins happily before shutting her eyes once more and drifting off to dreamland.

Tonight belonged to us.

-

hope you enjoyed! if you want to check it out, I put some images of their outfits and such in this chapter of my work on wattled (titled cadnis oneshots so I can get some f*cking sleep). I'm sorry I didn't put them here, but I frankly do not have the energy.

requests are still open! please leave them either here, on my wattpad, or on my ao3. I've been getting a fair few recently (thank you all!) so it may take a few weeks for yours to be published, but I am doing my damndest to crank these out and will get to everyone's eventually.

thanks for reading!

lots of love,

ezzy