#the time between february and may is also about the same time between march and june

[loveletterworm]

The “significant updates only come like once every few months” thing splatoon is on nowadays is so scary  they said they weren’t planning to update the game until june...Um well earlier i determined through an extremely long series of conjecture  that there might be a decent chance of them starting to post more than 2 sentences about side order in may. so i will attempt to look forward to that until my attention breaks again. This is why i wanted to be a bullshit untrustworthy video game leaker the other day because i thought my guess sounded pretty good

[sohnric]

distraction, a fatal attraction – l. chan

pairing: lee chan x fem! reader

genre: strangers to lovers au, college au, fluff. a weird kind of situationship between yn and dino, drunk dino because svt can't stop mentioning his excessive drinking which is so university student of him and i headcanon him as my drinking buddy.

warnings: drinking, swearing, mentions of throwing up, smoking

word count: 7k

a/n: started writing this literally last may. it's now february and i finally finished it after rewriting it like three times... anyways idk how many more svt fics i'll post in the future but i had to get this out in the open lmaoo. as always thank u beloved @csenke for beta reading despite not even being a svt stan <3

You and Lee Chan seem to have the same clubbing tendencies. That being: drinking a little too much at times and getting a little too touchy when doing so. (Or - you and Lee Chan have kissed a concerning amout of times before he finally asks for permisson.)

“Can I kiss you?” Chan asks you one March evening and you don’t know why exactly you find yourself so surprised. 

By default, it’s only natural for the boy to ask– the two of you aren’t dating, not even close to that, you’d say– and while you wouldn’t really mind if he kissed you without giving you a warning and swooped you off your feet on the stairs leading up to your dormitory building (for you found yourself a little too lightheaded and on the edge of your seat whenever he’s around lately, the fuzzy feeling in your stomach only further proving your assumptions– you have a silly, little crush on the male), you must admit that him asking for permission is quite nice. Surprising, but nice. 

One might think you’re surprised because there was nothing that could lead you to this scenario– one might think you and Lee Chan were nothing but friends, not even close ones, per se (you just have a group of mutual friends that somehow always brought you two together when either one of you got excluded out of their conversations, ending up as each other’s, although pleasant, last resort). One might even think the two of you are hanging out alone for the first time together, which isn’t that far away from the truth in the first place, but still, is a blatant lie. What’s so surprising about the question to you, then?

The fact that this isn’t the first time you and Lee Chan would be kissing, and the sheer fact leaves you wondering if he’s forgotten, or if he never really remembered in the first place.

You and Chan have kissed…. an embarrassing amount of times for people that aren’t dating, or anywhere close to the said establishment. The circumstances of said kisses differ from time to time, and while you thought that they were meaningless at first, you must admit that as time went by, you selfishly and almost a little pathetically looked forward to each and every time where a similar situation might occur and his lips would end up on yours again.

The first time you and Chan kissed was also the first time you two met. It’s a strange sentence to use when describing a story about your first kiss with someone that you’re currently (hopefully) on a date with, but it’s the one you have to use, because it’s true.

The group you walked into the club with on the first day of orientation during your freshman year of college consisted of all your upperclassmen friends– the girls you had met in high school and didn’t fail to keep in contact with: Lee Chaeryeong, Kim Minjeong and Huh Yunjin. You would trust these three girls with your whole entire life, and so when they had told you that they could show you around the campus and let you in on all the secrets you only learn with months of attending college, you felt like you just won the lottery. 

After the cheerful senior Choi Soobin walked your humongous group through the campus and showed all of your classmates the fundamental parts of the college building (the gym, the labs and most importantly, the cafeteria), he invited you all to the open semester party in the club just a few minutes away from the campus. And yes, the party was originally supposed to be mainly for the freshmen, but as soon as you texted your friends to let them know about your whereabouts, they announced to you that there is no way you were going back to your dorm room so quickly– the whole campus was supposed to be on that party, and that’s exactly why you were forced to stay.

“So, how do you like it here so far?” Chaeryeong asks you as you start swinging your hips to the rhythm of the music, the DJ surprisingly not as bad as you expected him to be from the reviews you heard from the girls when standing in the queue leading towards the club.

“The music isn’t as bad as you said it will be,” you yell over the music into your friend’s ear, having her roll her eyes and shake her head at you in disbelief.

“I meant the campus, not the club, you silly goose,” she clarifies, making you gasp at the sentence.

“Oh!” you laugh. “Well, I’m less frightened, that’s for sure.”

“That’s gonna come back to you once the exam season starts,” Chaeryeong notes, snickering. The comment is slightly terrifying– therefore you choose to ignore it and stick it somewhere to the back of your brain to come back to when the time is right and your anxiety is no longer a far-away thing, but a very present and real issue.

“Ah! I see Mingyu there!” she suddenly screams, pointing somewhere behind you. “I’m gonna go talk to him, can you try finding our table and going back to Minjeong and Yunjin?”

“I’ll be fine,” you nodded, trying to believe the sentence just as much as you were trying to convince your friend of it. The place was filled with people, and although you didn’t feel particularly in danger, you were getting a little scared of getting walked over to death in the wave of the drunk upperclassmen enjoying themselves in the club.

Feet dragging you through the crowd painfully slowly, you try hard to find your table on the sides of the club. Your eyes never really had a 20/20 vision, but the neon lighting of the club and the glass of Martini you’d had before stepping to the dance floor with Chaeryeong really didn’t help you in seeing things clearly. No matter how hard you try, you can’t find your two other friends anywhere, and if you are being completely honest, you’re almost certain the table you previously sat at with your group was now occupied with someone completely else– meaning that your dear friends either left to the dancefloor, or left the club completely (which you doubted, but the possibilities were never really 0).

And so with that, you drag yourself towards the bar. You think that was a better option to choose in this situation– since you thought that going out for some fresh air is just going to get you kidnapped if you went there alone– and you also figured that you’d be easier to find by your lost friends if you were somewhere out in the open instead of in the corners of the humid room. Ordering yourself another Martini to pass the time, you drink the beverage in slow sips before you feel the presence of someone on the bar stool next to you.

You look up at the stranger beside you, noticing a boy around your age sending you a shy, yet charming look. “Do you mind if I sit here?” he asks.

“Not really,” you answer, watching as the boy nods, his shoulders relaxing as he orders himself a drink. 

“Are you here alone?” he asks as he looks back at you again, face tugging into a panicked expression when he realizes the implication his words may hold. “I’m not asking in a creepy way, or anything, it’s just- I’m a freshman and I lost the people I came here with, so I’m kind of alone here as well…” he quickly explains, eyes big and honest, “you just looked like you could use some company,” he explains, making an endeared smile flash over your features.

Shaking your head at his tangent, you wave him off with your hand. “Don’t worry, I got it,” you laugh, “and the same as you, actually. I came here with my friends, but they disappeared somewhere, so I just sat here and figured they’ll find me eventually.”

“Great minds think alike,” the boy laughs, holding up his glass before taking another sip, “well, until that happens, I guess we can hang out, can’t we? My name’s Chan.”

“Y/N,” you introduce yourself, “it’s nice meeting you, Chan.”

The two of you talk about everything and anything: where he comes from, where you come from, which dorm building you’re staying at, which dorm building he’s staying at, your major  (literature) and his major (dance), your friends and his friends– and with the increasing amount of information you get out of him, the pull of gravity sends you more and more towards the boy. Chan is charming, talkative and fun. You find yourself attracted to him each time he cracks a joke or teases you about your choice of your favorite movie (‘This is the first time I’ve heard anyone say The gods must be crazy is their favorite movie!’), and that’s exactly why you don’t find it in you to say no when he asks if he could buy you a drink.

One drink turns into two– three, four, eventually even five– and you progressively start to forget all about your lost friends as you ask Chan to show you what being a dance major is all about and invite him to the dancefloor, swinging your hips back and forth to the rhythm.

You don’t know if they teach this type of choreography in dance school, but as the songs change from more upbeat to less energetic and more sensual, you find yourself a little too enchanted with the way Chan’s features soften under the neon pinks and purples, your arms instinctively wrapping around his neck and stepping closer to him. His arm ends up on your lower back– dangerously close to your bottom, which you aren’t that opposed to anyway– and when his nose brushes against the shell of your ear in the middle of one of the songs to talk to you, you can’t help but press yourself against him closer. 

“You’re kind of good at this, for a literature major,” he hums, his voice making shivers run down your spine.

And sure, it could’ve been just the alcohol levels in your blood that made you so dangerously close to him, but as you study his features– although a little hazily, but still fully taking in the sharp angles of his jaw and the sparkles in his eyes– you don’t have it in you to pull away when the boy leans in and kisses you, lips enchanting you the same way his moves have.

His kiss is heated and sensual, the one that makes your knees buckle and your mind go on overdrive, creating all sorts of fantasies in your delirious brain, and you must admit you don’t mind it when his hands slip further down to grope your butt, the two of you still lazily moving to the rhythm of the song in the background. The sound is coming in a little muffled to your ears as you let yourself fully indulge in the moment– it’s not every day you make out with an extremely attractive guy in the club– before your oxygen runs out and you have to pull away from him, instead studying Chan’s swollen lips from up close. They are inviting you for more, especially as his eyes open and look at you all blown-out and hazy, but you figure that he can wait. You have to catch your breath first and get yourself together– if you don't want to come completely undone in the middle of the crowded dance floor, that is.

You could honestly stare into his face forever, if you wanted to– except, you don’t have the chance as a loud voice from behind you calls: “Y/N! There you are!”

Annoyed thoughts fill your brain the very second you hear Minjeong from behind your back– where were they for the last hour? Of course they had to find you when the night was finally getting good– but you turn towards her nonetheless, showing her an innocent smile. You notice the girl is accompanied by the rest of your girl clover, alongside a tall guy that shows your companion a mischievous grin. “So I see you and Chan have already met and we don’t have to introduce you to each other anymore,” he says.

The sentence has you nervously clear your throat and take a step away from Chan. The boy ironically heaves out a: “Mingyu! How nice to see you again, after an hour.”

“Don’t pretend you weren’t having fun.”

Feeling the atmosphere grow awkward, you quickly look at your friends, smiling tightly to try and save the situation (while also acting as if you didn’t just finish making out with their friend’s friend). “Where did you all go anyway?”

“Oh, we met Seungkwan and Vernon, so we decided to sit together, and then Chae came with Mingyu after some time, and that’s when we realized we were each missing a person… so here we are,” Minjeong clarifies, having you nod.

In conclusion, this is the story of how you met Lee Chan. What was supposed to be a one-night thing at a club for you, never really expecting to see the boy ever again (except from accidental meetings on the campus that could very well be played off as neither of you remembering), turned into a whole another situation as the two of you now shared a surprisingly tightly-knit friend group.

You never spoke about the kiss again. Or much at all, really.

Kind of disappointed with the fact, but still kind of okay with the situation, you found yourself falling into rhythm with the newly found world at university. You’d gotten used to the all-nighters, the weird partying in the middle of the week on a school night, to the hookup culture you’ve never really found yourself fitting in with, and with the life that comes to you when living in a dormitory. All of these somehow had the presence of Lee Chan included, though, as you learned on another Wednesday night (those are the designated bar runs when you’re friends with Chwe Vernon and Boo Seungkwan– since their Thursdays are free and they can get as drunk as they want without fearing being hungover in class), much to your surprise, you and the charismatic boy have the same clubbing tendencies.

That being: drinking a little too much at times and getting a little too touchy when doing so.

It doesn’t help that the both of you were light-weights– or at least that’s what you’ve been told. 

You two don’t talk to each other much before getting a few drinks in, since you’re a little shy when it comes to the charming, but endearing boy. What his reasoning for the seeming lack of interest in you when sober is, you’re not really sure– but as the night usually goes, you bet with Vernon on who can drink more tequila shots before their gag reflex hits, and sooner or later, you find yourself drunk at the bar. 

Once your otherwise stoic friend feels that it’s too much for him to handle and trails to the toilets (accompanied by a sulking Sungkwan complaining that ‘He always does this, ruining the night for everyone!’), you allow yourself to get back to the dance floor. Sounds like a good idea in theory, but is a bad idea in practice– somewhere along the way, you start to feel too dizzy in the heat of the crowd, the lightheadedness making you feel sick. Your figure is quickly dragged outside by a person you didn’t notice has been keeping their eyes on you, and only when you finally slip to the floor and sit on the pavement in front of the crowded bar, you recognise the guardian angel staring down at you with hazy eyes

“You looked like you were going to faint over there,” Chan hums, a perky expression playing with his face. There’s a boyish grin spread over his lips as he stares at your disheveled composure, the two of you coming into a weird sense of déja vu you’re convinced only a few shots of tequila can bring you into on a Wednesday night.

“Oh, I was going to,” you nod, watching as the boy settles next to you on the ground. The place around you is buzzing in true college fashion– people smoking, drinking off-the-counter alcohol straight from the bottle they got at the corner shop down the street because it’s cheaper than the shots in the club, people meeting and talking about their majors and where they’re from, making new connections.

“Thank god I was there to rescue you, then,” Chan chuckles, shoving you with his elbow.

“Yeah, my guardian angel,” you hum dreamily, giggling at the ridiculousness of your comment. 

“Saw Vernon running off with Seungkwan tailing him,” he nods, “now that’s not a guardian angel.”

“That’s a guardian devil for sure,” you hum, pursing your lips. “Wouldn’t want to have Seungkwan as my caretaker. He complains too much.”

“They argue like a married couple,” Chan snickers. 

“It’s the curse of being roommates. After a certain amount of time, you start to view each other like you’re married,” you hum, nodding to yourself.

“Do you consider Minjeong to be your wife?”

“No,” you sigh, shrugging, “she’s too immature to be my wife. I think of her more like my child, actually.”

“Well, looking at you right now, you don’t seem to be the more mature one out of the duo,” he pokes a finger to your side, making you jolt away at the contact. Furrowing your brows at him, clearly a little offended, you huff at him.

“The roles change when I drink. That’s how marriage works,” you say, closing your eyes and pressing your lips together, nodding, fully pleased with yourself.

Chan laughs at you. “I thought you said she was more like your child?”

“Then stop thinking, Chan.”

“You were the one who said it!” he points out, shaking his head in disbelief. You’re not sure to what extent you can blame this on the effect of alcohol– what can you say. Sometimes you get too tied up in your own lies.

“Oh,” you snicker, “right.”

“Dummy,” he teases, flicking the side of your thigh, making your blood boil with frustration.

“Who are you calling dummy?” you argue, having a perfect comeback to snap back at the boy. “Weren’t you the one coming to the wrong class for 2 weeks?”

Chan’s whole composure crumbles, a serious look tinted with hints of shame overtaking his previously grinning face. “Who told you that?”

“Not relevant,” you shrug. You find that it’s the best to keep the identity of the mole confidential. (It was Mingyu.)

“Was it Seungkwan?”

“No.”

“So it was.”

Sometimes you wonder just how clueless Lee Chan really is. Although you don’t think he’s slow, you must admit that he does have his moments that keep you wondering just how he can operate in the world without being used or manipulated on a daily basis. Is anyone keeping an eye on him? What if he accidentally joins a cult one day?

“Well, whoever told me wasn’t the one going to a completely different class for 2 weeks straight, so–”

“Look, it’s not my fault they make the schedule so difficult to read! The classes were overlapping on the thing, and I didn’t know which one applied to me, so I just assumed I could choose,” this has you laughing out loud at the boy, “and so I just chose one. I didn’t know those were electives. I didn’t even sign up for any electives! Can you believe that? We are supposed to have electives?” 

He looks so endearing as he speaks, laughing to himself and gesturing with his arms. There’s a sense of fondness pooling in your stomach as you reach over and plant a soft, quick peck to his lips. The male seems to be caught off-guard as he stops in his tracks, not a single word coming out of his lips after your action– and truth be told, although you’re kind of glad for the silence, the thought of scaring him away makes you a little anxious. When you look at him from the side, though, the boy is grinning.

Scattering to your feet, you wobbly waddle back into the humid building. You don’t think either of you could continue on with the conversation after your actions, and so you figure the best way to go around this is to leave. “Well, I’ll see you on the dance floor, Channie.”

The third time you manage to lock your lips with his is no different. It’s January now, though, and Seungkwan decided to host his birthday in one of the houses you can rent on the beach. It isn't as fun as it would've been in summer and you could go for a swim, but let’s be realistic– you'd never say no to a good birthday celebration. 

There’s havoc erupting all around you as your friend group sings the birthday song to Seungkwan. You all had something to drink prior to the cake ceremony, since some of you came sooner than the others and you figured that you have to wait for everyone with the cake, and so the singing now resembles a mating call of five dolphins more than the casual, harmonic birthday song. 

Seungkwan is sitting at the table, the rest of you gathered around him– some with glasses in their hands, some recording the commotion with their phones– and when the song is over and the birthday boy made his wish, he blows out the candles on the cake. Clapping resonates through the little kitchen, everyone ready for the cake, when Chan pushes the older one’s face straight into the icing.

It only takes Seungkwan half a second before he starts chasing the little devil around the beach house. The younger one is laughing at his own antics– which you must admit, although a little childish, you find to be quite endearing– and the older one curses at him with the most colorful vocabulary you’ve ever heard him say out loud. Not even Lee Chan’s own mother has ever scolded him in a way Boo Seungkwan is able to.

“Do you think Seungkwan would mind if I start cutting the cake without him?” Minjeong asks as she gets out a large knife– she looks a little threatening, you must say– which has you shrugging.

“I think he’s preoccupied right now,” you say.

“Yeah, but I’ve waited for this cake for over two hours,” she grunts, “so if he doesn’t want to cut it, I’ll do it for him,” she shrugs to herself and proceeds with her intentions.

Minjeong cuts straight through the face imprint of Boo Seungkwan in his own cake, slicing the red velvet into equal parts to put on the paper plates Vernon found somewhere in the back cupboards of the kitchen. “Do you want some?”

“In a minute,” you laugh, shaking your head at your roommate, “I’ll go get them before they kill each other. I think the cake is enough to make truce fall over this war.”

“Stay safe out there,” Chaeryeong hums, nodding as she takes a paper plate and puts a chunky slice of the cake on, taking a fork into her hand and tasting the icing. “It’s surprisingly good even with Seungkwan’s skin cells in it.”

Minjeong slaps the other girl’s back, gritting her teeth. “Of course it’s good! I baked that shit for 2 hours and Y/N wouldn’t help, because she didn’t want to ruin it–”

(You just didn’t feel like baking. You don’t want to have another fight with your roommate about it, though, and that’s another excuse to leave the kitchen and go find Chan with his murderer.) 

Peering your eyes around the whole beach house, you fail to find Seungkwan anywhere. Assuming you two accidentally missed each other and he’s back reunited with his cake, your legs automatically lead you on the patio, where you find Chan resting against the railway. He is wearing a leather jacket, his hair now a little longer than when you first met him in September, and when the noise of the back door opening lands into his ears, he makes a turn and watches you cross the space between you, all while eyeing your naked legs. 

You contemplated if wearing a mini skirt in the middle of January was a good idea, but the satisfaction running through your veins at his hungry, yet collected eyes make it all worth it.

“Aren’t you cold?” he asks. You shake your head in answer, but he pays it no attention as he takes off his jacket and puts it around your shoulders, the smell of his cologne filling your nose like a blissful drug. You’ve always liked attention, but when it comes to Lee Chan, you are twice as satisfied when he pays you just a mere glance.

“Not anymore,” you hum, smiling to yourself. “Seungkwan gave up on murdering you?”

“I think it was more of a health concern for him. He was breathing so heavily after a few minutes of running that I thought he was going to suffocate,” Chan snickers, making you laugh.

“I’d sleep with one eye open tonight anyway,” you peep, “just in case.”

“Oh, definitely,” he nods, grinning. “I won’t even take any drinks from him in case he poisons them. Better be safe than sorry.”

He takes out a pack of cigarettes from his back pocket, lights up one for himself and offers you one as well. Even though you always promise yourself you’re quitting and that smoking is a bad habit you should overcome, you eagerly nod and watch him with half-lidded eyes as he lights it for you, one hand close to your face shielding the lighter from the chilly breeze, just like every time. You haven't had that much to drink yet, but the effect of nicotine always makes your head spin when the smoke fills your lungs. Truth be said, though, you are afraid that the proximity of your friend doesn’t help much with the weakness of your knees either.

“Come inside, you’re gonna catch a cold,” he mumbles when the both of you are done smoking, hands gripping the sides of his open jacket on your body, tugging you towards him just the slightest amount. 

Like another bad habit the both of you have to break, he seems to pause for a second, as if questioning himself one more time before he goes for it and places a short peck to your lips, leading you to the beach house again, now flushed and internally squealing.

The fourth time, it happens on his own birthday party. 

It’s too late in the semester for any of you to experience a big party, the exam season being just around the corner. You still managed to gather and celebrate nonetheless– the boys letting you into their dorm building, your little friend group fitting inside of the communal kitchen on the end of the hall. People passing by look at you with half concerned, half annoyed faces at the commotion– which is understandable, nobody wants ruckus just down the hall when they’re supposed to be working on the last-minute assignments– but you don’t mind it much, telling yourself it’s not your problem in the first place and you’re allowed to have a bit of fun once in a while, as long as you’re not the one being wronged in the moment. 

A bottle of champagne is taken out of the fridge by the hands of the birthday boy, the commotion around you happily cheering and clapping (only Chaeryeong hides away from the pointed tip of the bottle, knowing all too well that Chan is not to be trusted with things that can explode), and while Mingyu encourages the boy to pop the champagne open out of the window, you all realize that the action is indeed, not possible.

“Don’t tell me you got the one with the lid that screws on!” Seungkwan turns around to scream into Vernon’s face, having the poor man shrug to himself.

“You can’t really tell in the store when the seal is on–”

“Then you should’ve double checked–” the nagging would go on further if it wasn’t for the last bits of common sense from the birthday boy himself (that Seungkwan would protect with everything in him, making sure their youngest has the best birthday ever, but would never admit to it outloud), as he just unscrews the lid and flicks it out of the opened window instead, earning himself a couple of cheers and claps from the rest of the group. 

The bottle gets passed around the circle, each of you chugging the sparkly alcohol straight from it– because pouring the drinks would take too much effort, and also, there weren't even enough glasses for everyone to pour the beverage into anyway.

The tallest one out of the gathering takes a cake out of the overstuffed fridge, lighting a singular candle in the middle and holding it up in front of the birthday boy’s face. There are sparkles in Chan’s eyes despite the poor condition of the cake– it’s one of those you get discounted in the dollar store, one of those that don’t even have candles on them and you have to get them yourself (which is exactly why Chan’s cake only has a singular, yellow candle in the middle)– and you find yourself admiring the sheer joy and appreciation in his orbs with fondness in your heart. 

“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you–”

“Happy birthday, dear Channie!” Seungkwan’s vocal abilities shine through in the heartfelt song, the dramaticness of your whole group never denying itself as all of them make sure to sing to Chan with as much theatrical over-exaggeration as they can. Chan watches the flame with an inkling in his eye you can’t quite place. He looks adorable, you think.

You watch from behind as he blows out the candle. Something inside of you beams at the sight of your friend growing older– the fact that you’re here, celebrating with him moving something in you. You don’t often like it when people get older, but you think birthday celebrations make the sentiment worth it. In a moment of particular fondness, you hug the boy from the back– where you’ve been standing, considering the crammed nature of the kitchen– and whisper a giddy ‘Happy birthday!’ into his ear. 

The male turns his head to you, a grin settling on his lips as he scans your face from up close. He looks at you with a look that you can’t really read, but makes you all warm from the inside. It’s different to the way he usually looks at you, and you only decipher it when he quickly leans towards your face and presses a peck to your lips. Only then it starts to all make sense.

He does it in front of everybody, the rest of your friends whistling at the action. Your heart leaps a little as you wrestle Chan off with a laugh, trying hard to keep the unseriousness of it all. If you can keep lying to your friends about the way you feel towards the male, maybe you’ll even manage to convince yourself. 

The cake is taken away from his grasp and placed onto the table, ready to be served. You keep a calculated distance away from him, but that still doesn’t keep you from watching the boy from afar. There’s a certain haziness in his eyes when you stare at him from across the room and an aftertaste of vodka on your tongue when you lick it off your lips.

The fifth time, it happens when you gather to celebrate passing your exams. 

College kids have only one way of celebrating the joys of life (as well as only one way of dealing with sorrows), and that is– you guessed it– alcohol. The whole friend group gathered in the common kitchen of the boy’s dormitories again, soju bottles ringing against each other as you cheered and drowned in the taste of the liquor. You’d be lying if you said you weren’t watching Chan the whole time, the endearing twinkles in his eyes making you foolishly drink more and more, a weird desire in you just begging to be drowned out, since you couldn’t do anything about it.

Once the night was over and the bottles were all emptied, the boys decided to walk you back to your dorm building.

“Gyu, it’s literally a 10 minute walk across the campus. What could possibly happen on the way there?” Minjeong laughed, but the commotion followed you outside nonetheless.

“It’s dark outside!” Mingyu insisted. “You never know what could happen. I don’t want the responsibility of your dead bodies on my hands.”

“Chaeryeong is feral enough to fight off any creeps alone, you don’t have to worry about us,” Minjeong joked, but the boys followed you outside nonetheless, grabbing their coats and escaping the warmth of their dorms.

You find yourself trailing behind the group, the essence of soju lulling you to a peaceful slumber that you perform despite still being on the go, your brain coated with the incoherent buzz. Lee Chan finds his stance next to you, cautiously watching over your step as you shuffle across the sidewalk, a gentle voice coaxing you awake.

“Got any plans for the winter break?” he asks.

“Probably just going to stay home with my parents for a bit,” you muse, shrugging. “Have lots of naps… I need to recharge. This semester was too hectic.”

“Oh, you don’t have to tell me that,” Chan admits, chuckling at your shared despair. 

Kicking the pebbles under your feet, you watch as the male indulges in a little game of football with you, passing the chosen rock back to you each time you kick it too far. The air is crisp and you sniffle a little from the cold every once in a while, but every time you catch the playful twinkle in Chan’s eyes when the pebble hits the side of your shoe again, you feel a bit of warmth engulfing you from the inside.

“I think this whole thing would be far less enjoyable if it wasn’t for you guys,” Chan admits, licking his lips. He’s right– it’s always better to have someone to rely on in university. You can’t imagine going to school and not having a familiar face to fall back to any time you feel lonely. It’s easier when you know all the insider tips from your older upperclassmen friends– when you have a default friend group you fit into without actually attempting to make any new friends yourself. Suddenly, you’re awfully thankful for everyone.

“Yeah. Although they did turn me into an alcoholic, it seems,” you chuckle, earning yourself an amused giggle coming from Chan.

“Oh, for sure,” he nods, scratching the back of his neck. “We have to tune it down next semester. Wouldn’t wanna end up in AA instead of graduating.”

“Now, that’s a long way from here,” you say, shaking your head in amusement.

“You never know before it’s too late, to be fair.”

You don’t realize it back then, but Chan is always somehow there when you take it too far, taking note of your drunken needs and providing you safety from creeps in the club. Lee Chan holds your hair back when you throw up, your stomach too weak on certain nights. He is there when you want to dance and also when you want to cool down. He’s your drinking buddy, sure, but the reality is greater than that– he always wants you to have fun and be as comfortable as you can be. If he can do anything to ensure that, he’s going to do it.

That applies to your sober adventures as well, although he’s more reserved when he has nothing to blame for his obviously smitten actions. Cranking his neck to look at you better, Chan decides to get rid of anything to blame next time. 

Maybe he has to try harder.

Just tonight, for the last time, Chan kisses you with an excuse of alcohol to fall back on in front of your dorm building when nobody is watching, paying his goodbyes to you. He kisses you almost tenderly, making your knees buckle and the lightness in your stomach cry out with full measures.

“I’ll miss you, Y/L/N.”

You don't see Chan for a while after. You spend the rest of the winter break you have after completing your exams at home, relaxing with your parents. They are right when they say that the holidays should be spent with your family– no matter how much you love the friends you made in university.

Coming back to school after the few weeks of break brought a sudden change to your and Chan’s dynamic, though. While you must admit that you’ve grown strangely closer over the months, talking more even sober and naturally gravitating towards each other when sitting in booths at McDonald’s or falling into casual conversation at the back of the group when walking to places with everyone, you find that Chan puts more effort into being friends with you now.

He texts you randomly through-out the day, asking you how you are and what you’re up to. He sends you pictures of Seungkwan when he’s sleeping in the lectures, and you even find yourself laughing at the Instagram reels he randomly shoots your way in the middle of the night sometimes. He doesn’t drink much even when all of you end up going to the nearby bar again on a Tuesday evening, and you find yourself following his pattern, knowing that even if you gave in to the alcohol, the tipsy state wouldn’t be as fun if you didn’t have anyone to share the same energy with. 

Because while you do enjoy drinking, the truth is, it’s not as fun without your drinking buddy. Half the fun of drinking is having fun with the people you share the moment with, and, well, it wouldn’t feel right to drink with the others being sober. You owe your friends that much.

Lee Chan puts effort into being friends with you more, and you don’t know if you like it. 

Because even though before, you weren’t as close as you might be now, the adrenaline of what could be and what even is between the two of you any time you’re under the influence was exciting you, keeping you on your toes, making you feel desired and liked. Now, he’s relaxed– no more than an arm around your shoulder when his hand gets tired in the booth of the bar. The casualty of it all gets you worried.

So when the time comes and the two of you finally hang out one on one today, getting boba and then finding comfort in the April sunlight provided by the park across from your dorms, you find yourself questioning the nature of this hangout. And you think you’re not wrong for that, of course– everyone with working two eyes must admit that Lee Chan has been sending you mixed signals so far.

Hearing the question “Can I kiss you?” from his mouth, his cheeks dusted pink and eyes big in anticipation, was even more surprising to your ears, and you might understand it better now– the history you have with the boy suggests that there’s no need in asking, but also, the intentions are more than unclear at the moment. He’s not drunk– not even tipsy– why is this happening, then?

“I mean, we don’t have to, of course, I– I just–” he stutters, eyes aimlessly breaking eye contact with yours to stare anywhere but at your lips right now, nerves clearly written all over his face and in the stance he’s taking, a few steps below you on the stairway to the dormitory. Snickering at his hesitance, you sigh to yourself.

“This is the first time you asked,” you mumble a little jokingly, and when the boy’s eyes finally meet yours again, he seems a little embarrassed from the way his ears are burning red and he chews on the inside of his cheek. 

The tone of his voice is kind of defeated, a little shy, even, when he speaks up again. “Well, yeah,” he shrugs, “so I finally wanted to do it right. And sober, no matter how fucking wrong and weird that sounds.”

Breaking into a soft laughter at his comment– because truthfully, to a stranger’s ear, that might sound a little alarming– you roll your eyes at the boy and lean down to be at his level, palms of your hands meeting with his cheeks as he watches you with curious eyes, the sparkle in them filling you to the brim with endearance. Your lips meet with his in a gentle, soft, yet yearning-filled kiss, having your eyes fluttering close and the pads of your thumbs softly stroking over the skin of his cheekbones. 

The kiss is no different to the ones you’ve shared before– well, except there’s no loud music in the background, no smell of trash cans behind the bar or the smoke of an earlier-smoked cigarette in the air, and most importantly, no taste of alcohol on either of your lips– but still, it feels a little different. Sure, it has your knees week and your stomach feeling fuzzy, it does make you feel like you’re drunker than you were, which now, sober, you realize it just the effect Lee Chan has on you alone, but there’s a little more care, thought and intention to the kiss now, and it hits you with full force when you pull away from him and feel his hands glazing the skin of your waist in a hesitant hug.

“So that means this was a date then, right?” you ask.

“Well, you didn’t really seem to care about that all the times we've kissed before–” he jokes, earning himself a swat to his shoulder.

Now he’s bold.

“Okay, sure, if it helps you sleep at night. I’ll even take you out on another one, if you want.”

Turns out that alcohol was the variable in your relationship that only brought you two courage– the desire to kiss his lips off has always been there, you just never acted on it sober. And while you’re not so sure you’re gonna tell the story of how you two met in detail to your kids one day, you’re glad for the kick the rum and coke gave you on the day of your orientation, because who knows. Maybe you wouldn’t be here without the weird coincidence.

[yuurei20]

hi there!! idk if you've answered this before, but did the 5 student overblots happen over the span of 5 months ? one happening each month ? idk if im misremembering but I was sure that in book 6 that was mentioned, yet I can't find the chapter it's in. im assuming since the twst school year starts in september, riddle was the first, with vil being the last OB before book 6 sometime in january, but im not 100% sure

Hello hello! Thank you for this question!

I am not sure if we can pinpoint that overblots have been happening at a pace of exactly once a month, but as you say in Book 6 we learn from Idia that there have been five overblots "in less than six months," which he says on the same day as he overblots himself!

The Main Story will occasionally drop hints about the timeline: we know that the start of the school year is in September, and Cater mentions mentoring new students in Book 1 (in reference to the prefect, Grim, Ace and Deuce), so it does seem like Book 1 takes place in September!

We also know that the Interdorm Spelldrive Tournament of Book 2 is in October and Book 3 begins with the final exams of the year.

Book 4 begins on the last day of the fall semester and ends with Ace and Deuce wishing the prefect Happy New year, as they are reuniting for the first time post-winter vacation.

The VDC is held in mid-February, and the students are kidnapped by Charon "a few days later!"

An exact, official timeline may not have yet been released anywhere (that I have been able to find), but based on these clues we might be able to guess the following:

September: Riddle Overblot

October: Leona Overblot

November: Azul Overblot

December: Jamil Overblot

February: Vil and Idia Overblot

Malleus is a little more vague! There is a comment from Lilia and the prefect about it being spring at the beginning of Book 7, and we know that the Interscholastic Spelldrive Tournament is in May!

If the tournament has not yet happened, the timing of Malleus' overblot is presumably sometime between mid-to-late-February and May. If it is also still pre-spring-break, perhaps it was sometime in March? But this is all conjecture! :>

[alpaca-clouds]

The Thing About The Age of the Characters in Digimon

Okay, let me talk about one thing in the western Digimon Fandom, that has always bothered me. And it has to do with something very weird: The age of the characters in the first four seasons.

See, in a lot of western fandom discourse there is this idea that the main characters in Tamers are 1 year younger than the characters in Adventure, 02, and Frontier. This mostly originates with one thing: The Japanese dub of the other three seasons do not give any age for the characters, as they introduce themselves saying just their grade in primary school. Tamers meanwhile gives official ages for the characters (with pretty much everyone but Shaochung and Ryou being 10). While the western versions of the other seasons gave an age for the main characters, making the Goggle Boys 11 years in their respective seasons.

However... This does not make them a year older.

See, most of the main characters in the first four seasons of Digimon are 5th graders. This maintains to Taichi, Sora and Yamato in Adventure, to Daisuke, Hikari, Takeru and Ken in 02, the entire main cast in Tamers, and Takuya, Izumi, Kouichi and Kouji in Frontier.

What does this mean for age? Well, basically it means that these characters should have been 10 by the 1st of April of the year that they entered 5th grade. To be exact, it means the birthdays should be like this:

Taichi, Yamato, Sora: Between April 1st 1988, and March 31st 1989 (through Sora's birthday being recent in movie 2, which takes place during spring vacation, we can assume her birthday is in March 1989)

Koushirou, Mimi: Between April 1st 1989, and March 31st 1990

Jyou: Between April 1st 1987 and March 31st 1988

Takeru, Hikari, Daisuke, Ken: Between April 1st 1991 and March 31st 1992

Iori: Between April 1st 1993 and March 31st 1994

Miyako: May 21st to about June 21st 1990 (we know her star sign is Gemini)

Takato, Jianliang, Ruki, Hirokazu, Kenta, Iori: Between April 1st 1990 and March 31st 1991 (this should also be true for Junpei in Frontier)

Shaochung: Between April 1st 1993 and March 31st 1994

Ryou (Tamers Version): Between April 1st 1986 and March 31st 1987

Takuya, Izumi, Kouichi, Kouji: Between April 1st 1991 and March 31st 1992

Tomoki: Between April 1st 1994 and March 31st 1995

And yes, if you have autistic knowledge of this franchise, you will know that there is in some cases stuff that does not make sense.

Notably the fact that within the old Artbook with the character reference pictures 02 Sora is referenced to be 14 years old. However, that book has been released years later, and the information came from Seki Hiromi, so I am fairly certain this is just her not quite realizing that Sora's birthday is somewhat confirmed to be in March through movie 2. (The same is also true for Ruki, who also has her birthday in movie 6, which also takes place during the spring vacation. However, other than with movie 2, which is confirmed as canon for the series through 02, the canonicity of movie 6 is a lot more doubtful, as there are several ways in which it contradicts the canon of the show.)

The other thing is one very specific for Tamers.

See, Tamers is unique in giving the ages of the characters. And in fact with every screenplay of the series (which have been digitally distributed and are most available and actually super interesting for some background information) in the list of characters showing up in that episode most ages are given. This is why we know the ages of the parents in Tamers. However: Tamers takes place over the time between April 2001 and late February or early March 2002, so over the course of a roughly year. And even in the last episodes the ages for all characters are still the same as by episode 1. However, I assume this is just simply an oversight, that nobody has thought about. At least this is a lot more likely than none of the main characters (including the adults) having had their birthday before March. lol

So yeah. Generally speaking: All four goggle boys are 10 or 11 in their respective season. 5th graders at the very least.

[gunsandspaceships]

MCU Timeline: Iron Man. Part 3 (The Cave)

Part 1, Part 2

We know Tony spent 3 months in captivity:

He was in Afghanistan from late January/early February 2008 until May 2. Since we don't have exact dates for February-April, for convenience I will take approximate ones and write down the periods of time that might be needed.

Day 1 (~Feb 5):

~3:30 pm - the attack. Tony is mortally wounded and captured by the Ten Rings. They give him emergency medical care to keep him from bleeding out and, while he is unconscious, transport to their base in the mountains. They are not very gentle and add abrasions to his head.

Evening - Raza records a video for Stane.

Same night - Yinsen performs surgery to remove shrapnel and bolts an electromagnet into Tony's sternum.

In 2 weeks (~Feb 20):

Tony finally wakes up (he partially woke up earlier - there is blood on his right hand and on the bandages, which means he was messing with his wounds not long ago).

He meets the Ten Rings and refuses to work for them.

The Ten Rings torture Tony by dunking him in a barrel of water. Due to this (electromagnet in chest+water are not good for one's heart) or to shrapnel-inflicted damage to his heart, Tony develops arrhythmia.

During the torture, Tony's brain comes up with the idea of ​​a miniaturized arc reactor.

Why so long? 1) Facial hair on his cheeks and neck has already grown. It is about two weeks long; 2) His wounds needed time to heal; 3) Some of the wounds on the torso have already developed scars; 4) He had a nasogastric tube inserted, which means enough time had passed for him to need it; 5) His lips are very dry and chapped.

Next few days (~Feb 21-22) - torture continues, this time they beat him on the head.

~Feb 22:

The Ten Rings take Tony outside to show him the SI weapons they have, and offer "to free" Tony if he builds them the Jericho. Tony "agrees". He sees that they have missiles with palladium, which he needs to build the reactor.

Later that day, Tony comes up with an idea for how they can escape: the armor.

~Feb 23-29 - "one week before death". Tony and Yinsen work on the reactor and pacemaker. Tony makes a drawing of Mark 1.

~March 1 - Yinsen performs the second surgery to implant the pacemaker, the housing for arc reactor and the reactor.

~March 1-April 12 (about 6 weeks) - post-op recovery:

First 4 days (~March 1-5) - Tony is unconscious and on a ventilator to help him breath.

~March 5 - Tony wakes up.

~March 15 - Yinsen starts physiotherapy to restore Tony's movement.

~April 6 - Yinsen removes bandages (scene on the surveillance camera).

~April 6-12 - Tony is almost recovered, but not yet strong enough to work. So he and Yinsen play backgammon, drink tea and talk.

How can we tell that a lot of time has passed between these two scenes (Tony showing Mark 1 drawing and the backgammon scene)? In the backgammon scene, Tony is shaved and his skin is clear - there are no traces of small wounds on his face and neck, as well as the long cut on his collarbone that was visible earlier.

~April 12-29 - work on "the Jericho" - Mark 1.

End of April - Rhodey goes back to Afghanistan with pararescue to search for Tony.

April 29 - Raza threatens Tony and Yinsen, demanding that they build him the Jericho by tomorrow. Tony and Yinsen work intensively all day, night and the next morning.

April 30 - Escape day:

Morning - Tony and Yinsen assemble Mark 1. They attack the Ten Rings. Yinsen dies. Tony destroys the base and escapes.

Evening - wounded Tony wanders through the desert. Hypovolemic shock kicks in. Rhodey finds him.

Why the same day? In the "Iron Man novelization" (not canon, based on an original script, unreliable source) and "I Am Iron Man" comics (many scenes are also different and cannot be seriously considered canon), Tony spent the night in the desert. The scenes in the book and the movie are very different. In the book, Tony was unconscious and unable to move when Rhodey found him. In the movie, Tony is not that exhausted. He couldn't walk all day and night in the desert and be so active. Also, it gets very cold there at night, and Tony used the jacket to cover his head from the sand, not to keep himself warm, which would have been more important. Still he's cold, but it's daytime (it is hot in the desert in April). Therefore, it must be from hypovolemic shock and not from the actual ambient temperature.

May 1 - Before returning home, Tony had to spend some time in a hospital at a military base in Afghanistan. During this time, he and Pepper were contacted by the Department of Defense, the FBI, and the CIA.

May 2 - Tony comes back to US.

Part 4

[the-mortuary-witch]

PAGAN AND SATANIC HOLIDAYS AND CELEBRATIONS

PAGAN:

IMBOLC (CANDLEMAS): (February 1st-2nd) a festival dedicated to the goddess of the New Year (Brigid).

OSTARA (SPRING EQUINOX): (March 19th-23rd) marks the Spring Equinox, which happens on March 19th-23rd. Ostara is a Pagan celebration of the German goddess Ēostre.

BELTANE (MAY EVE): (April 30th-May 1st) the Gaelic May Day festival, marking the beginning of summer. It is traditionally held between April 30th-May 1st, or about midway between the Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice.

LITHA (SUMMER SOLSTICE/MIDSUMMER): (June 20th) Litha occurs during the Summer Solstice held on June 20th-21st. More commonly referred to as Midsummer's Night, Litha is believed to be a time when faerie folk pass into the human world at Twilight and offer blessings. Litha is a time to celebrate the abundance and beauty of Mother Earth.

LAMMAS (LUGHNASADH): (August 1st) a Pagan holiday and one of the eight Wiccan sabbats during the year. Each sabbat marks a seasonal turning point. The sabbat occurs on August 1st, which is about halfway between the Summer Solstice (Litha) and the Fall Equinox (Mabon).

MABON (AUTUMN EQUINOX/FALL HARVEST): (September 20th-23rd) represents the height of nature's abundance and usually falls on September 20th-23rd. It is seen as the height of the harvest season and is a time to celebrate nature's bounty. Many also celebrate the balance in nature during Mabon.

SAMHAIN (ALL HALLOWS/FINAL HARVEST): (October 31st-November 1st) a festival dedicated to the dead and a celebration of the New Year.

YULE (WINTER SOLSTICE/MIDWINTER): (December 21st-25th) a Winter Solstice festival. The longest night of the year followed by the sun's "rebirth" and lengthening of days. In most traditions, Yule is celebrated as the rebirth of the Great God, who is viewed as the newborn solstice sun. Some Pagans consider Yule to be the beginning of the New Year

SATANIC:

LUPERCALIA: (February 15th) celebration of bodily autonomy, sexual liberation, and reproduction. Based on the Roman festival of the same name, Lupercalia falls on February 15. In keeping with the ancient tradition, February 13th and 14th are observed as feast days leading up to the actual holiday. What we are translating this to in TST is a "hail yourself" day. This idea offers a parallel to the "others-centered" traditions of Sol Invictus.

HEXENNACHT: (April 30th) occasion honoring those who fell victim to superstition and pseudoscience, whether by. In Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust: a Tragedy (1808), Mephisto and Faust attend the Walpurgisnacht revelry atop Mount Brocken. TST's Hexenacht is a solemn holiday to honor those who were victimized by superstition.

UNVEILING DAY: (July 25th) celebration of religious plurality and shedding archaic superstition. A centerpiece of our religious movement and icon of modern Satanism, the Baphomet with Children statue was commissioned by The Satanic Temple in 2014 and created by Mark Porter with "respect for diversity and religious minorities" in mind. On July 25, 2015, The Satanic Temple unveiled Baphomet to a large crowd of devotees in Detroit, signaling the beginning of the new Satanic era. We observe this milestone in Satanic history by celebrating Unveiling Day.

DEVILS NIGHT (MISCHIEF NIGHT): (October 30th-November 4th) an informal holiday on which children, teenagers and adults engage in jokes, pranks, vandalism, or parties. It is known by a variety of names including Devils Night, Gate Night, Goosey Night, Moving Night, Cabbage Night, Mystery Night and Mat Night.

HALLOWEEN: (October 31st) holiday to celebrate indulgence and embrace the darkness and its aesthetic. Halloween is consistently described as evil, demonic, and satanic by those steeped in religious dogma. Costumes, candy, and facing fears are to be embraced.

SOL INVICTUS: (December 25th) a holiday to celebrate indulgence and embracing the darkness and its aesthetic. The cult of Sol existed within Rome since its early days as a republic, and Invictus was an epithet used for Jupiter, Mars, and Apollo (among others). The festival celebrated these Gods and may have also been used to celebrate the winter solstice.

[nelsonakis]

So I decided to look up historical data on the amount of Finnish learners on Duolingo. I used the Wayback Machine but for some reason since the start of this year, the page doesn't load correctly so I have very limited data for 2023.

If we count the amount of new learners in 2022 every 2 months, it's about 15-25 thousand. But this changed at the start of 2023. Between December 2022 and February 2023 there were 43 thousand new learners, coinciding with the release of Cha Cha Cha in January.

And the growth didn't stop there. 3 months later and the Finnish language added 63 thousand new learners (the average last year for the same time frame was about 30 thousand).

Also, the total learners went up 100 thousand in just 5 months (December 2022 with 663K - May 2023 with 769K) compared to last year which happened over a 9-month period (March 2022 with 560K - December 2022 with 663K).

Conclusion: Cha Cha Cha did have an influence on the amount of people learning Finnish on Duolingo and I predict it's going to be even bigger in the weeks to come.

Fun fact: Yesterday I checked the website and Finnish had 767 thousand learners, so in just one day it went up by 2 thousand!

[annabelle--cane]

do we have any information on the approximate dates or year that TMA takes place in? I’m obsessed with timelines and I’m so curious about if those dates are Known or not or can only be guessed about

yes we do! some parts of the timeline are a little vague, but every live and "in situ" statement (with a few exceptions) has a date attached to it. I won't go through every known date, and I'm also not scrupulously checking to make sure I've copied all these numbers down correctly so there's probably an error or two in here, but some significant ones include:

s1

mag 13 - alone: the first live statement and the first hard date for the show, 13 january 2016

mag 22 - colony: martin's statement after being trapped by jane prentiss, 12 march 2016

mag 26 - a distortion: sasha's statement about meeting michael, 2 april 2016 (<- that was my fourteenth birthday :3)

mag 38 / mag 39 / mag 40: jane prentiss's attack on the institute, sasha's death, and all the debrief statements afterwards, 29 july 2016

s2

mag 41 - too deep: jon's statement about exploring the tunnels and his first supplemental tape about gertrude's murder, 2 september 2016

mag 43 - section 31: basira's statement about diego molina + the start of her giving gertrude's old tapes to jon, 19 september 2016

mag 47 - the new door: helen's statement about the hallways, we meet michael in person for the first time, 2 october 2016

mag 61 - hard shoulder: daisy's statement about seeing the coffin for the first time, 1 december 2016

mag 73 - police lights: basira's statement about rescuing callum brodie from maxwell rayner, 11 february 2017

mag 76 - the smell of blood: melanie's statement about her investigations into war ghosts, at the end she and jon have a bit of a fight about how That Is Not Sasha, 13 february 2017

mag 78 / mag 79 / mag 80: jon releases not-sasha from the table, martin and tim get trapped in the corridors, jon meets leiter, elias smashes leitner with a metal pipe, all on 16 february 2017

s3

mag 81 / mag 82: jon makes a statement at georgie's place about a guest for mr spider at the same time as daisy interviews the remaining archives staff to try and ascertain his whereabouts, 18 february 2017

mag 89 - twice as bright: statement of jude perry, ft. jon hand crispification, 24 april 2017

mag 91 / mag 92 (/ maybe mag 93?): statement of mike crew, death of mike crew, jon daisy and basira's encounter in the woods, the big elias conversation at the institute, 28 april 2017. mag 93 might also be recorded on this day, I'm not quite sure, because georgie's statement (mag 94) is 29 april, but I don't know if that's fully the next day or if jon got back really late on the 28th, recorded mag 93, and then georgie gave her statement in the wee hours of the 29th. up to interpretation and how little sleep you envision jon as having.

mag 100 - I guess you had to be there: lynne hammond's is 2 may 2017, robin lennox's is 20 may 2017, brian finlinson's is 26 may 2017, and "john smith's" statement doesn't have a date.

mag 111 - family business: gerry's posthumous statement about smirke's 14, 30 june 2017. again, trevor and julia's statement about how they met in mag 109 is dated 29 june, and I don't know if it's an either-side-of-midnight thing or a full day elapsed between them.

mag 118 - the masquerade: martin and melanie pull a fast one on elias while the rest of the gang sets up explosives in the unknowing, 6 august 2017.

mag 120 - eye contact: elias's statement about jon's coma dreams + elias's arrest, 9 august 2017.

s4

mag 121 / mag 122: oliver banks gives his statement about point nemo and jon wakes up, 15 february 2018

mag 128 - heavy goods: breekon deliver's the coffin and jon slurps a statement right out of his head, 3 march 2018

mag 132 - entombed: jon buries himself alive to rescue daisy, 24-26 march 2018

mag 141 - doomed voyage: on the boat to norway jon slurps a statement about mikaele salesa out of a shiphand's head, 11 june 2018

mag 142 - scrutiny: jess tyrell comes in to complain about jon slurping a statement out of her head and haunting her nightmares, 12 june 2018

mag 146 / mag 147: jon gets intervened on about all the brain slurping, they go to hilltop road and find annabelle's statement, 20 july 2018

mag 157 / mag 158 / mag 159: peter releases not-sasha and brings martin to the panopticon for a showdown with "elias," julia and trevor attack the institute, daisy goes monster mode, and jon follows martin into the lonely and saves him with the power of gay love and also slurping peter lukas's brain so hard he explodes badly, 25 september 2018

mag 160 - the eye opens: jon reads a normal statement and nothing bad happens, 18 october 2018.

s5

fuck if I know

[acourtofthought]

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

Those are the months that have gone by since Solstice, all the way through HOFAS.

7 months and not a single e/riel crumb (though they were so convinced HOFAS would be full of them).

7 months and not a single look or glance indicating Elain or Az still have any feelings for one another.

7 months and Elain has nothing connecting her to Az the way she'll forever be connected to Lucien even with a rejected bond.

If Elain, after 5 months (August to December - the events of ACOWAR to ACOFAS), was over the fiance she loved, who she confessed her feelings to in front of friends and family to the point she could have a slight crush on Az starting that first Solstice, then 7 months is plenty of time for her to get over Az who she never gave her heart to, never even admitted liking to anyone at all.

The other side can claim Gwyn has no romantic interest in Az. They can claim Az has no romantic interest in Gwyn. That would be fair, I don't think either of them is really there just yet though I think Gwyn is curious.

But they can no longer claim it's canon than Az and Elain are still romantically interested in one another because there is ZERO PROOF of this. Anyone claiming they are can only claim fanon at this point, it's their preferred headcanon. If it's canon she's over Graysen because she doesn't mourn for him anymore then it's also canon she's over Az as she expressed zero emotion over his rejection beyond that night.

It's hysterical how they'll say Elucien's are delusional for thinking Sarah's been biding her time for mates to end up together all because "Elain has no interest in Lucien" while screaming their ship is going strong despite Elain's returning of the necklace and complete lack of interest in Az over the past 7 months. And no bond between them.

I'd much rather my ship start from scratch in the next book, especially for confirmed Fated Mates who have never truly explored their bond then still be rooting for a ship where the guy already called the girl a mistake and didn't bother talking to her for over half a year. Where she got over her hurt practically the same night and seemed to never think of him again.

If it's really about what the FMC wants then where the canon proof that Elain still wants Az?

[skystarsmutexchange]

Yes, We're Doing It Again!

It's time for another round of steamy stories, art, and podfic celebrating the passion between our beloved Seeker and Shuttle. This year, we're switching things up by using a Discord server for the exchange. When assignments are given out, participants will also receive an invitation to join the server.

This year's schedule:

Sign-ups: February 3-10 (close at 11:59 PM PST)

Assignments go out: February 12

Check-Ins: This year we will be checking in with each participant individually to make sure assignments are on track.

First Check-In: March 1st. At this point, participants are expected to have chosen their prompt(s) and have a plan for how they're going to fill them. This could mean a sketch, an outline for a story, or (if you're a pantser) a general sense of where your piece is going. If you're a podficcer, you need to have chosen the story you plan to record.

Second Check-In: March 15. At this point, assignments are expected to be well underway (30% to 60% finished). This will be the final drop-out deadline, and assignments that have not yet been started will be reassigned to a pinch-hitter. We're being strict about this, because we want everyone to receive a gift.

Gift completion deadline: March 31. We will touch base with you once more to confirm that your assignment is complete and ready to be posted. The moderators can give feedback on request, but our primary focus is ensuring that each submission meets the prompt requirements and is fully finished.

Posting: April 8-12. You can post SFW promos of art to Tumblr, and according to Tumblr’s guidelines you can post NSFW text, so fic should be fine. You can post your completed art on Twitter without having to censor it, and you can post uncensored fic and art on AO3. The AO3 collection is HERE. It will open for posting when gifts are due. If you tag the Tumblr/Twitter account, we’ll reblog/retweet your posted gift.

All gifts MUST be posted by April 12.

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[brf-rumortrackinganon]

Ok so im the same person who’s been asking these endgame/superinjunction questions. I’m sorry if you may have to explain these stuff to me like a dummy, but i figured i’d rather ask than be stupid. So what you’re saying is there’s a possibility there really is some kind of deal between the palace and the murdoch establishment and it’s not simply a good old out of court settlement that involves monetary compensation, it also involves some sort of deal to supress the affair rumors? and this deal might have benefitted harry too if he waited? but also h&m and scobie believe the deal also involves bad press for the sussexes?

No worries, anon! Ask as many questions as you like. (I know I can talk in circles when I start rambling. I've even confused myself.)

I'll take your ask point by point because I think that may be more helpful and less rambly. I've also done a bit more research into what actually happened in court last year and that may be the missing piece to clear everything up.

there’s a possibility there really is some kind of deal between the palace and the murdoch establishment and it’s not simply a good old out of court settlement that involves monetary compensation, it also involves some sort of deal to supress the affair rumors?

Yes and no. What we know about the deal is in 2012ish, an agreement was made, authorized by The Queen, that the royal family wouldn't pursue litigation or claims of litigation against the News Group Newspapers (which is owned by Murdoch) until all of the other cases in the phone hacking scandal had been resolved first in exchange for an apology and a settlement (i.e. cash).

The affair rumors were not part of the original 2012 deal because, well, there were no affair rumors in 2012. Let's leave that aside for a second.

So after The Queen makes the deal with NGN/Murdoch, the BRF basically sits back and waits for all the phone hacking lawsuits and court cases to resolve. This takes about 8 years. In 2019 or 2020, NGN/Murdoch calls up the BRF and says "we're ready. Let's talk." They meet and start negotiations for the settlement. William eventually walks away with X, cash in hand.

We don't know what the terms of that settlement is. There's speculation it was $80-$90 million because someone looked up the NGN/Murdoch financial reports after Harry spilled the tea and found NGN's profits dropped by $80-$90 million. But we don't actually know.

Now going back to the affair rumors. They started in February/March 2019. Soon as it started, all the royal reporters and society reporters immediately began investigating. They were crawling all over Norfolk and talking to everyone/anyone they could but they couldn't find any evidence and kept digging, thinking it was a massive coverup. Eventually they couldn't find anything and they all stopped talking about an affair or rumors of an affair, except for one: Dan Wootton and The Sun, which is owned by NGN/Murdoch. Wootton kept investigating and kept talking about it, until all of a sudden he stopped, in June 2019. Never brought it up again.

My personal theory is as William/KP and NGN began meeting about the settlement, William had some kind of leverage that made them realize 'oh we fucked up with the affair rumors' and it was addressed in the settlement he walked away with. I've no actual idea what the leverage could be - maybe Christian Jones had something on Wootton? Maybe William did the "let's tell people fake stories and see which one gets published" thing (he's done it before) and it fingered people other than Wootton? I've no actual idea if there was any leverage in the first place. I've no actual idea if it contributed to the settlement. All I know is that The Sun stopped talking about it around the time things may have started moving to execute the 2012 deal and the timing seems important.

and this deal might have benefitted harry too if he waited?

Yes, absolutely. When The Queen initially struck the deal, it applied to all members of the royal family - so William, Kate, and Harry were covered by it. What's important to remember is that the deal was contingent on waiting out all the other lawsuits and cases first. So had Harry just waited, he would've been able to split the money William walked away with.

Instead, in 2017, Harry started getting antsy about how long it was taking to close everything out. He started pressuring the BRF to push NGN to move faster - he didn't want NGN/Murdoch's people covering his engagement, his wedding, his future children, etc. He wanted to ban them from certain events as retribution/revenge for violating his privacy and he believed that NGN was dragging out their lawsuits and cases to continue covering the royal family. (Quick aside here: Harry and Meghan did not invite the rota or members of the press to cover their wedding, as is their prerogative, but it's thought the reasoning behind this decision was because of Harry's anger at NGN's phone hacking and what he perceived was a lack of consequences.)

This goes on for a couple years: Harry keeps pressuring the lawyers to force NGN to settle and the lawyers kept saying 'no, we need to wait, remember the deal.' Summer 2019 rolls around and Harry has had enough. It's his money, he wants it now! So then Harry pulls out of the 2012 deal and begins filing two lawsuits.

Lawsuit #1: Against NGN/Murdoch

Lawsuit #2: Against MGN/The Mirror

I don't remember which one gets filed and looking it up sends me down a wormhole I can't afford to go down right now. I think the MGN/Mirror lawsuit is part of the cases that are announced in September 2019 while they're in Africa and the NGN/Murdcoch lawsuit comes some time later.

Now there are three separate cases: a) William's settlement which is still bound to the 2012 deal, b) Harry's lawsuit #1 against NGN that's part of the bundle with Hugh Grant and Elton John and all those other celebs, and c) Harry's lawsuit #2 against MGN/Mirror.

So as Harry's lawsuits begin to working through the court system, William is negotiating the terms of his settlement and at some point in 2020, he finally gets his payout and it's a big one.

Fast-forward 3 years. It's 2023 and Harry's lawsuits are finally getting its day in court. In April 2023, NGN/Murdoch is arguing that Harry's lawsuit is past the statute of limitations* and should be dismissed. Harry says 'no, actually, I couldn't file my lawsuit earlier because of a deal my granny made that I didn't consent to.' As part of that testimony, Harry has to describe the deal and that's how we know what happened in 2012 and that William got his payout in 2020. The judge decides 'Harry's right' and finds in his favor: the NGN lawsuit stays. That was in April 2023, I believe. In June 2023, Harry's back in court to take the stand (the lawsuit goes horribly awry).

*I think they call it something else in the UK though. The actual phrase "statute of limitations" didn't come up in any of my research. I'm using it here as a shorthand because it's easier for us Americans to understand. (Apologies if you're not American, anon!)

In July 2023, Harry is back in court for lawsuit #2 against MGN. MGN makes the same argument: it's past the statute of limitations and should be dismissed. Unfortunately for Harry, this judge agrees with MGN and his case is dismissed. So lawsuit #2 is done.

In December 2023, the judge from lawsuit #1, the NGN/Murdoch case, rules that the phone hacking was "widespread and habitual" awards Harry damages of $175K(ish). That's not enough. Harry wants more money, so lawyers do lawyer things and eventually, last week, Harry finally settles with NGN for damages ($175Kish) and legal fees ($500Kish).

So, long story short is this: If Harry had waited for the 2012 deal to play out, he would've walked away splitting $X million with William in 2020. Instead, because he was too impatient and too greedy, he's walking away with less than $700,000 in 2024.

How do you like them apples.

but also h&m and scobie believe the deal also involves bad press for the sussexes?

No. They do not think the 2012 deal leading to the 2020 settlement involves bad press for the sussexes.

They think William used the bad press for the Sussexes to kill media coverage of the affair rumors in 2019. They think Christian Jones made a deal with Wootton/The Sun back in 2019 involving bad press for the Sussexes to stop writing about Rose and William had approved of it because William didn't immediately fire Christian as Harry wanted when he told William of his suspicions of Christian's relationship with Wootton/The Sun.

-------------

So what actually happens in Endgame is that Scobie speculates that connections between

an abandoned investigation of the affair rumors

bad press for the Sussexes,

an embargoed report on the behavior of British newspapers (which may or may not be a superinjunction), and

William not doing anything to address Harry's concerns about Christian's relationship to Wootton

is the clearest signal that William is using the power of his position as heir to control, suppress, and influence how the media covers him. It's an implication that the power has gone to William's head.

I definitely muddied the waters for you by thinking it may all be connected to the phone hacking deal. There's no evidence that says it is - that was just me thinking "it can't be a coincidence these four things are happening at relatively the same time, and then they all just kinda stop at the same time, the same time that we now know William received a huge cash payout."

I hope this untangles things for you, anon. If it doesn't, please keep asking questions. (If anything, this round of questions led to some research that helped untangle the lawsuits for me so they're as much a chance for me to learn as they are for you!)

[fellow-anime-weeb927]

Hii, I'm back. First off, I'm sorry about the request I send yesterday, I think? I didn't see the 'angst' under the 'don't do' 😭 🙇‍♀️but I'm back with a rant (I should pay you rent for staying in your asks this much- I can pay it with kaldo drawings 😭)

I recently checked the sons' ages and well- Doom, Fanim, Epidem and Delisaster were born with only 1 year of difference (also, the whole family was born of 11th of something- Innocent zero was a weird guy. He even shares birthday with Mash lol) and knowing that a pregnancy lasts 9 months there would be 4 months of non-pregnancy state with each of the 4 first sons (I calculated it- I needed to know if it was actually possible to pop out 4 kids in 4 years like that). Yes, they literally were born Doom-January, Fanim-February, Epidem-March and Delisaster-April (Domina was born in May, but Mash wanted to be different and was born in November 😭). There is a problem, Mash and Domina were born the same year, less than 9 months in between their birthdays. To which I can only find the excuses that, again, Mash wanted to be different and decided that he would be born premature lol (or they just speed up his birth, if mother was getting ill or her health was going down). Also, I checked how much each kid weights and I'm pretty sure Innocent zero starved them- BECAUSE WHAT DO YOU MEAN DOOM (who's 2 meters tall) WEIGHT ONLY 88KG??? THAT MF IS HUGE😭 My older brother (who's 25, 5 years younger than Doom, apparently) is like 1,80m and he weights 110kg😭 Domina (who's 1,76,i think) weights 68kg (that's around my weight, I'm 1,65± and 15 y/o). So, knowing that information I want to add that after mother fell into a coma, Innocent zero had more power over the sons so he starved them (bc before it was impossible. If they told mother that they wanted to eat, or even if they didn't, she gave them food and made sure they ate at least 3 times a day. Since she suffered a lot from starvation herself and almost every family member (all of her three brothers and her mom) died due to starvation), and it would also explain why tf Delisaster has such a thin waist.

It's also possible that, instead of her bearing the children in her womb, they just decided to mix their DNAs in an incubator of some sort. Innocent zero would say something that it wasn't necessary for her to bear them and that it wouldn't benefit neither of them, since he doesn't want for a strong ally to be unable to work for over 9 months and he read that it pregnancy can affect her health (again, that means that his ally will be weaker than before (imagine his reaction when she randomly falls into a coma after mash's 'birth'- and doesn't wake up for a long time). And mother would also prefer it by just mixing the DNAs (✨trauma✨, and probably not liking physical touch?). I'm also sure that after some time, Innocent zero would put some spell on mother just to keep her in the coma (let's say her necklaces worked only around itself and since it didn't cause any actual damage they weren't activated) so that he can manipulate the sons more. I also imagine them visiting her, maybe on their own birthdays or her birthday or just randomly showing up to check on her idk.

I also imagine that when Innocent zero is defeated by Mash and mother wakes up and gets context of everything that happened during her 'absence' (she really didn't care if the realm was destroyed since they didn't care about neither her or those similar to her), she would be mad with both Wahlberg and the divine visionaries (even though she didn't like the realm, she had some respect for Wahlberg when they were young bc he had good ambitions and she expected for him to at least try to make them reality) bc "what do you mean after 100 years the law against lackmagic is the fucking same and nothing changed? And then you dump it all onto a 15 y/o boy? Wtf" She would 100% slap Wahlberg in his face (and it's a good one, after all the sons didn't get the physical abilities from their father lol) and say that if they don't change things soon, she won't hesitate to start a revolution. I also don't know how would Mash react to his biological mother appearing out of nowhere. They would probably have a talk, at least and she would say that she won't interfere in his life unless he wants to and that he should contact Domina if he wants to talk with her or needs something from her, since she doesn't have a phone bc she was in a coma.

Also, after Innocent zero is defeated, I'm sure that the castle doesn't fall down, so as she wakes up she goes through it and sees all of her sons (or their remains) dead (Except Doom, since he did live after the battle with Mash) and she doesn't know the cause of it yet, but when she sees the 'arrows' that attacked Domina she would get the puzzle together that Innocent zero have killed at least one of her sons (she couldn't care less about the realm, but won't hesitate to hurt someone tenfold if they hurt her sons in the slightest), he would have had hurried to hunt that mf down, but tending to Doom's injuries is more of a priority at that time.

Anyway, I'm really sorry for that request, it was my bad. I would send a kaldo drawing as an apology, but I can't send photos when asking as anon🙇‍♀️ have a good time

-🎨anon

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(original ask:)

A/n: dear anon you sure are discovering a whole lot oh my goodness- now that you explain the entire thing I’m like o_o I’m literally confused about the logic (but anime/manga logic am I right?-) so I’m not sure what to do about this, would you still want the ask?

[foxes-that-run]

Where do Broken Hearts Go?

WDBHG and four overall has a 80s sound. WDBHG sounds like a Belinda Carlisle's Heaven is a Place on Earth, both are anthemic 80's songs. In this video is the Spotify visual, TV Special, Four Hangout and when Harry changed the lyric to "Will you ever F*** me again" in Sydney 8 February 2015. It refers to I Love You which Harry wrote under a pseudonym and included lyrics from Taylor's Red.

When was it written & who with

Harry wrote WDBHG with Ruth-Ann Cunningham, (who later wrote No Control and on Niall's solo album) Teresa Geiger (Little black dress), Ali Tamposi and Julian Bunetta. It’s likely it was written over a period of time (December 2013 - May 2014) with these collaborators rather than all in one day with all these people.

7 December 2013, London, seems to be the day shown in the Spotify visual, based on clothes.

12 March 12 to March 25 2014 Teresa Geiger, posted pics on him being in a studio in LA and Harry was in LA and has lunch a 21 minute drive from the LA studio it was recorded at (Dojo Studio). (it was also recorded at Wendyhouse London) This also close to when JALBOH and Stockholm were written.

On 8 May 2014 One Direction record Change your ticket in Fasano Hotel, Rio De Janeiro which is credited in the booklet. The TV Special shows Harry recording WDBHG there (2:25) but the hotel is not credited so that version is not the final vocals, or they used an earlier one.

It was announced 10 November 2014 and Niall says it is his favorite in the Four Hangout and Harry says thank you.

Lyrics

[Verse 1: Niall, All] Counted all my mistakes and there's only one Standin' out from the list of the things I've done All the rest of my crimes don't come close To the look on your face when I let you go

The theme of crimes (stealing, kidnapping)

So, I built you a house from a broken home Then I wrote you a song with the words you spoke Yeah, it took me some time, but I figured out How to fix up a heart that I let down

Home theme, Harry refers to home often. Here the is broken between him and the muse and the muses home. At this time Taylor parted with her publicist who cited her parents fighting as an issue.

The song with the words you is “I love you” performed by Alex and Sierra:

[Chorus: Zayn, All] Now, I'm searchin' every lonely place Every corner, callin' out your name Tryna find you, but I just don't know Where do broken hearts go? Where do broken hearts go?

Lonely is a theme of Harry’s work. Harry is searching everywhere for this person, drawing imagery of how far Harry was travelling, as if always in search of this person.

[Verse 2: Liam, Harry, All] Yeah, the taste of your lips on the tip of my tongue Is at the top of the list of the things I want

Harry was seen wearing the outfit in the Spotify visual on 7 December 2013, this first line (taste of your lips is top of the list) reminds me of Christmas, when what do you want from Christmas was a common 1D interview question.

Mind is runnin' in circles of you and me Anyone in-between is the enemy

Circles refers to the theme of round again, a cyclical relationship. The only other circular lyric of Harry’s is ‘same mistakes’ which also refers to mistakes. Here like in Same Mistakes Harry is singing to a muse with an on/off relationship that keeps coming back. And in A.M ‘swimming round in our glasses’. Taylor has also posted about cycles and the winding wheel.

Anyone in between is the enemy refers to people others coming between them.

Shadows come with the pain that you're runnin' from Love was something you never heard enough Yeah, it took me some time, but I figured out How to fix up a heart that I let down

'Shadows come from the pain you're running from, love is not something you’ve heard enough.' Brings to mind “who’s this shadow holding me” in Stockholm Syndrome. Here the shadows are haunting the muse, earlier Harry referred to a broken home and here they have not heard love again and he feels sad for having added to their feeling of wanting for love. Harry has figured out how to not let them down and needs to find them to fix it.

[Chorus: Zayn, All] Now, I'm searchin' every lonely place Every corner, callin' out your name Tryna find you, but I just don't know Where do broken hearts go? Are you sleeping baby by yourself Or are you giving it to someone else? Tryna find you, but I just don't know Where do broken hearts go? Where do broken hearts go?

Harry is not with the muse when the song was written, he’s wondering if they are with someone else.

[Bridge: Harry, All] Tell me now, tell me now Tell me where you go when you feel afraid (Where do broken hearts go?) Tell me now, tell me now Tell me, will you ever love me again, love me again?

In the bridge Harry asks where the muse goes when they are afraid, presumably of love. In Sydney on 8 February Harry changed the first “will you ever love me again” to “will you ever f*** me again?” On the same day Taylor watched Ariana perform JALBOH at the Grammy's, Harry and Taylor had broken up but she was not yet dating Calvin.

The bridge further confirms Harry is singing to someone he shared love with before and was not with.

[Outro: Louis, Harry, Zayn & All] Tell me where you're hidin' out Where do broken hearts go? Come on, baby, 'cause I need you now Where do broken hearts go? Tell me, 'cause I'm ten feet down Where do broken hearts go? Come on, baby, come and get me out x2 Come on, baby, 'cause I need you now Where do broken hearts go?x4

In the outro Harry writes that he needs to find the muse, asking them to tell him because he is “ten feet down” as in dead and buried. This is a theme of love that is alive at the cemetery referred to again in HYGTG, Two Ghosts, OOTW/LAWYMMD transition, down bad and loml.

Harry goes on to write “Get me out” of the grave, as in come back and bring him back to life. He has no life without this person. Earlier in the song Harry says he let the muse down, now he’s asking them to pull him up out of the grave he’s found himself in for breaking her heart. He’s asking for forgiveness

[redleavesinthewind]

elliot's 2023 fic wrap up

2022 version

alright friends it is once again time for me to review the (many) fics i read in the previous year and try to write a more or less concise rec list of my absolute faves (i wish i didn't have to chose but heh i'm not gonna subject anyone to 332 fics in 1 post - also wait only 332 fics? that's like. over 100 less than last year, what the fuck. anyway)

okay now first the part that interests no one but me (yes you may skip this) and that's the numbers part! i'm not making a whole elaborate spreadsheet to then not throw around cool numbers. anyway.

i've read around 4,932k words in 332 fics across 18 fandoms. that is much less than last year, and yeah, i've been generally less productive in 2023 but we don't have to talk about it. at least i have more variety of fandoms this time (let's ignore that it's only 2 more and also that from fandom 13 on there's only 1 fic per fandom)

i started out the year strong with 847k words across 72 fic in february (followed by 753k across 42 fics in january, and 621k words across 63 fics in march). it goes downhill for the rest of the year. eh it wasn't my year so what! 2024 is gonna be more filled with fic reading again!!!

my top 3 fandoms are so entirely unsurprising to me i am almost disappointed in myself. when did i become so predictable. top fandom is young royals with 166 fics! congratulations young royals, you are a very persistent hyperfixation, you didn't peter out after 2 months like i expected. Spot number 2 is taken by avatar the last airbender with 41 fics! giant leap there, but it's also funny because i fell into an atla rabbit hole late 2023 (as i do every few years) and it still got up to 41 fics despite uni not allowing me to read last semester (uni is evil). Same as last year, spn takes third place with 38 fics. speaking of persistent hyperfixations.......... *big sigh*

and that is it the boring part is over let's go to the fun section LET'S REC SOME FIIIIIICCCCSSSSSSS (under the cut)

JANUARY

bet you you'll ... (noraverse) (series) by @gh0sthugs | young royals, wilmon | teen&up | 52k words

a kid fic!! and such a sweet one too! i'm kinda weak for kid fics ngl, and nora is so sweet and wonderful, and the relationship that slowly forms between wille and simon is beautiful and comfortable. this whole series is just such a good time

spreadsheet notes: ah to fall in love with the dilf next door who also happens to be the ex crown prince of the country

A Royal Intervention by AnxiousAnaconda | young royals, wilmon | teen&up | 18k words

erik is being such a dumbass in this one. like, he means well, but he's kinda messing up and pissing people off (understandably). it's nice to get a view on erik that's not portraying him as this perfect guy though, and the fic is actually so much fun to read. and hey, the prime minister of luxembourg gets mentioned, which i was kinda waiting for in yr fic ngl

spreadsheet notes: big sigh... erik you fucking idiot. stop listening to august. also shoutout to xavier bettel apparently (edit: this aged poorly, fuck xavier bettel)

and each slow dusk by @if-fortunate | young royals, wilmon | mature | 49k words

okay. ooookay how do i even begin with this one. ohhh boy. okay. so. world war three. wille gets stuck in bjärstad with simon, many many things happen, it's about finding hope in a horrible situation and trying to live life despite everything falling apart around you. it's incredibly well written and something about it just has me in awe

spreadsheet notes: i don't know what it says about me that this is without a shadow of a doubt the best fic i have ever read in my life

Put Me Back Together and Take My Heart by @notalotgoingonatthisinstant | young royals, wilmon | mature | 50k words

i once again don't know what to say, this one is sooo good. simon is suffering and both wille and i hate it, but... but wille is there for him and ugh, they just... they just can't be apart. a story of reconciliation and healing from both physical and invisible wounds, and of making the right decisions for yourself

spreadsheet notes: ugh. UGH. my guys. MY GUYS. yeah let's go blackmail the queen

Department Six by @thisdiscontentedwinter | teen wolf | gen | 4k words

a fun short one about stiles and danny working for the fbi and being delightfully weird and mysterious

spreadsheet notes: HILARIOUS i'm in love with outsider pov always

FEBRUARY

There Are No Wolves in California by @thisdiscontentedwinter | teen wolf, sterek | gen | 5k words

you know, sometimes you see a fic you know is going to hurt you, and you've never clicked on anything faster. this is definitely one of those fics

spreadsheet notes: let's be wolves today yeah well derek what if i just break down and cry instead

you got my body, i got your body by @prince-simon | young royals, wilmon | explicit | 9k words

this one's technically part of a bigger series (which, definitely read that one too), but i'm highlighting this one cause... damn... this made me feel things... like, gender things... which is really weird cause wille's gender in this is very much different from mine BUT STILL

spreadsheet notes: how almost 9k of pwp gave me so many gender feelings i will never understand

Changing Channels: Queer Premiere by @emeraldcas, @fellshish | spn, deancas | gen | 27k words

this might actually be one of the funniest fics i've ever read. dean and cas are so stupid (affectionately) and all the crossovers are delightful (bonus that i knew all the other shows). everyone go read this it's gonna be the best time

spreadsheet notes: mel and fells have genuinely outdone themselves this is the most hilarious shit i've ever read

Catalyst by @stretchoutfics | young royals | teen&up | 3k words

a backstory for boris! this fic is within a series of other side character ficlets, but this one has a soft spot in my heart

spreadsheet notes: AAAAHHHH HE KNEW ABOUT THE RECKLESS DRIVING BUT DIDN'T BRING IT UP but also... him being a gay man trying to help the queer crown prince navigate his sexuality that's kinda nice actually, like boris understands at least a bit

The most beautiful boy by lovelysarcastic | young royals, wilmon | teen&up | 88k words

there's something incredibly grounding about this fic. the way it develops, the way wille rationalises his thought processes, the way the relationship between wille and simon develops... this fic just kinda sucked me in and spit me out again feeling... content and calm and... it's just... this fic is so beautiful

spreadsheet notes: dude i love this so much??? they're both so stupid??? i love them???

MARCH

All's Fair in Love and Hunting by @badjoices | spn, deancas | mature | 20k words

they're playing gay chicken but also are being incredibly competitive and stupid about it, and i'm just sorry about the shit sam has to witness. so many shenanigans in this fic

spreadsheet notes: they are both so stupid omg

["mi cotufita" started sharing their screen] by @omar-rudeberg | young royals, wilmon | explicit | 60k

so... this is a follow up to one of my favourite fics and it is a delight. very horny but also very sweet? and also for some reason there's porn. fun times! oh, and this fic made me cry. it really has the range

spreadsheet notes: how are they so horny it's so funnyyyyyy, but also if i were wille i could never look linda in the eyes again

A Light To Guide You In The Dark (Warmed By The Fire's Glow) by 80shairmetal | stranger things, harringrove | teen&up | 19k words

this is just... people taking care of each other out of the kindness of their hearts. finding comfort in strangers who become family. growing and helping each other. there's such a beauty to this one

spreadsheet notes: this is just..... comfort

did you see the love in my eyes, oh were you gazing through this disguise? by @tooindecisivetopickaurl | young royals, wilmon | mature | 67k words

fake dating my beloved. they're so in love with each other but they're pretending not to be while pretending... to be? i'm obsessed with them. but they're so respectful with each other and cautious of boundaries and they really are best friends who also happen to be obliviously in love

spreadsheet notes: love a good fake dating au they're so stupid i love them

flash like a setting sun by @playedwright | 911, buddie | explicit | 22k words

because you only realise you're in love with your best friend when you're scared you're losing him. that's the fic. and it's beautiful

spreadsheet notes: oh this is sooooo beautifully written and ugh just <333

Other people's secrets by @sflow-er | young royals, walty & wilmon | mature | 239k words

yooooo hello? so first off this is an outsider pov on wilmon which i am always obsessed with anyways but the focus isn't just on them, this is henry's story. it's a beautiful story about how friendships form and warp and change, how feelings manifest in different ways, how decisions and actions have consequences. it's an incredibly mature take on post-s1, and it's probably my favourite of the year. also ace representation!!!!

spreadsheet notes: ace henry my beloved <33 also love seeing wilmon from an outside perspective! such a good, well thought out fic with lots of healthy comminication <33

APRIL

if i stare too long by @brawlite & @toast-ranger-to-a-stranger | stranger things, harringroveson | explicit | 191k words

i haven't seen st s4 (and probably won't watch it) but that definitely won't stop me from reading harringroveson fic. i mean, who wouldn't look at those three and immediately want to see them together. the way their dynamic is written in this fic is peak, i don't even know what more to say. i also very much trust these authors with billy, and again i wasn't disappointed. there's just something in his head that's intriguing.

spreadsheet notes: this whole fic is such a vibe it makes me feel of hot summer chillin

MAY

Rewrite the Stars (series) by @in-amor-veritas | young royals, wilmon | mature | 137k words

definitely one of the highlights of the year, simon's whole life in new york... those scenes, they just show such a wonderful life simon has built for himself, and his relationship with wille doesn't change it, but he manages to fit in (after, you know, fun rom-com drama shenanigans). also. this is a kid fic. kid fics are my weak spot. rasmus is my new favourite little guy. also shoutout to luis best side character ever

spreadsheet notes: YELLING i love this fic sooo much it is everything

Where The Wind Will Carry Me by @1-life-to-give | young royals, wilmon | teen&up | 49k words

AND THEY WERE ACTORS PLAYING LOVE INTERESTS. do i have to say more? the tension guys the TENSION. also erik's side-plot i'm in love

spreadsheet notes: hopping up and down like a hyperactive chihuahua EN I LOVE THIS

Your love is my turning page (the t4t wilmon as girldads au) (series) by @willesworld | young royals, wilmon | teen&up | 17k words

i know i know another kid fic BUT!!!! t4t wilmon. makes it automatically superior. i'm not even kidding, add trans characters and i will like your fic (that i probably already like a lot) aroun 300000000 times more. but also this series comes for your feelings. it hits

spreadsheet notes: i am weak for t4t wilmon AND them having a biological child there's something so beautiful about it like that could be meeee ; siiimon i need to hug him and i need to hug wille they're gonna get out of this i prommy ; recovery and one step forwards a hundred steps back, but they made it there in the end ; they were so happy :((((

JUNE

A trace of dew by nuncflore | elden ring, this is too complicated | gen | 13k words

very elden ring-esque writing style, wonderful representation of whatever the hell is going on in the lore. hehehehehhe fucked up family ehhehehehe DIVORCE. my friends are so talented :))

spreadsheet notes: CAP I AM EATING YOU

Hanging from the Ceiling by @spicymiilk | spiderverse | teen&up | 6k words

for like. a week after i saw the new spiderverse movie i made miles 42 my entire life. that also meant reading this fic. and damn did this fic hit. i am still thinking about it

spreadsheet notes: i need more miles 42 content he is my favourite guy ever

The Darkest Little Paradise by @yourdemiurge | young royals, wilmon | explicit | 79k words

*holding you at gunpoint* read this fic. read it now, in this moment. you are not gonna regret it. believe me when i say you NEED this fic, you really do. doesn't even matter if you've seen yr or not. you're gonna thank me later

spreadsheet notes: THIS IS INSANE I CAN'T BREATHE MADY WHAT THE FUUUUUCK

JULY

Protected (series) by bastuba | young royals, wilmon | explicit | 69k words

hey do you ever read a fic and you just feel. so incredibly grounded because something about the characters feels grounded? like, they aren't grounded, but they still give off that vibe? idk how to explain this properly but that's this fic. also wille and simon cook together (i haven't read all parts of the series yet btw)

spreadsheet notes: incredibly grounded very mature how is wille like this ; i'd be like wille, always complaining about the heat ; they're soooooo. idiots. getting tattoos for each other ; i too would come out on a podcast about food ; SAFE SEX

AUGUST

The Season of Rebirth by @notalotgoingonatthisinstant | young royals, wilmon | mature | 30k words

part of a series, but i'm picking out this one specifically because it's soooo sweet!!! the title fits the fic so well, like yes it is the season of rebirth, but simon and wille's relationship is also rehashed in a very cool way, this fic is like one giant easter egg, i love it so much!

spreadsheet notes: wille taking the season of rebirth to recreate their early relationship, i am obsessed with him he's such a dumbass romantic

The Upgrade by @groenendaelfic | young royals, wilmon | explicit | 13k words

it's about the moment simon realises who wille is. that's why this fic is here. i mean of course also because it is very good, but mainly because of that moment

spreadsheet notes: the moment simon realised who wille is i am wheezing

Right Where You Left Me by @armandgender | spn, deancas | explicit | 94k words

if you're wondering why this fic is on my 2023 list instead of the 2022 list.... well that's because it took me almost a year to read the last chapter, and in terms of how my spreadsheet works, that makes it a fic i read in 2023. anyway. if you haven't read this fic yet, what are you even still doing here. click on that link right now. you want complex emotional situations? intricacies of ill-advised marriages? you wanna pick through abusive behaviour and encourage infidelity? well you're at the right place! also this has one of my favourite jack characterisations ever. it also made me go on multiple rants

spreadsheet notes: I FINALLY FINISHED IT AAAAHHHH I LOVE THIS FIC THE CABIN THE CATS JACK!!!!!

Alejito y Marimar (series) by th0ughts | red, white, and royal blue | teen&up | 18k words

OBSESSED WITH THIS DYNAMIC YOOOOOO. seriously the friendship between alex and martha is an expansion of the rwrb universe that is much needed, trust me

spreadsheet notes: the friendship i didn't know i needed in my life <333 ; they're just chillin!!!

SEPTEMBER

Change of Address (series) by hearmerory | avatar: the last airbender, zukka | mature | 134k words

okay. oooookay. strap in for this one, it is a lot. emotionally. like yes zuko is autistic, yes yes yeeees, i agree, also azula is treated like an actual person with actual mental issues, she deserves to be treated with care and this author definitely does that! this is the kind of series that makes me want to disappear in it, but it's also the kind of story i need breaks from, because it is so heavy (definitely check the tags for this one). zuko's relationship with sokka is written so thoughtfully and iroh is characterised incredibly and the author even included ursa in a way that didn't undermine everything that happened in the series before she appeared again. i can only recommend this one!

spreadsheet notes (there's lots of parts to the series, so this one is long): hhhh if i were ms jamieson i would have snapped after two days probably ; be nice katara!!!!! he's nervous ; i need to murder ozai ; and i need to murder zhao as well ; iroooohhhhh he should have just. taken the kids with him that first time he noticed something off ; yeah i think there was a reason why iroh never took zuko to the movies ; ozai needs to suffer ; i need to destroy ozai. violently and painfully ; iroh is the best uncle ever, zuko deserves all his kindness ; azula...... you don't have to fight for affection, it's not a competition..... they love you ; iroh should have taken her with him the first time around, she was like. 10, he could have just picked her up or sth ; ..... hakoda you idiot ; IROH BACKSTORY IROH BACKSTORY ; sokka and the plan that changed his life <3333 ; they are so soft with each other ; they all deserve all the therapy and support and yes sokka obviously you have adhd get with the program ; URSA??????? also i am living for sokka and azula's dynamic they are everything ; i don't. i don't understand her. i don't fucking understand her how could she not want her own children. how can she talk about them like that. like she knows them she doesn't know them she LEFT

Every night my teeth are falling out by @sulkybender | avatar: the last airbender, zukka | mature | 9k words

i was in need of some good zuko angst and oooohhh boy was i lucky to find this author. PEAK zuko angst. this fic in particular is very dear to me because it explores how mental illnesses would be handled in a world where there's practically no resources to help. i think we need that more

spreadsheet notes: yes well. how DO you deal with a schizophrenic fire lord in a fantasy world? (you stay with him and support him that is how)

OCTOBER

for years or for hours by @ghostinthelibrarywrites | the witcher, geralt/eskel/jaskier | explicit | 52k words

listennn i love myself some good polyamory fics, and this is the first fic i read for this ship and now i am OBSESSED with them. but this fic in particular.... the concept alone, like. what do you do when you thought the man you love was dead for 800 years, and then when he comes back you have another man you love. the answer is simple. polyamory. the two men you love also love each other. perfect coincidence.

spreadsheet notes: YO the concepts of witchers in modern times alone is sooo cool but adding in everything else? hello yes?

this is a love story by @achillestiel | supernatural, deancas | mature | 3k words

listen, i've never seen fleabag, but that's not the point. this is intriguing and funny, that's the point

spreadsheet notes: fucked up families and you want to fuck the priest hell yeah

The road not taken looks real good now by @stretchoutfics | young royals, wilmon | explicit | 90k words

it's not even the wilmon part i love about this fic (i very much enjoy it of course don't get me wrong) but wille and his kids. like, i don't want to spoil anything but like. wille's interactions with his kids are so important in this fic, and they're written so well. like, emilia is my favourite character in this, i kinda wish there was more with the kids honestly. this fic is definitely a highlight of the year, and to get back to wilmon, i do love how they're portrayed in this fic, how their dynamic plays out, and specifically how certain decisions do not depend on simon

spreadsheet notes: no but. the care put into this story. i can't--

NOVEMBER

Averno (series) by @sulkybender | avatar: the last airbender, zukka | mature | 12k words

a fascinating take on a fire lord zuko that was never part of the gaang

spreadsheet notes: HE JUST DESERVES KINDNESS but also he's a little fucked up WELL NO WONDER GIVE HIM KINDNESS ; i mean.... what makes a monster really ; well then let's get him out of his cell shall we (also hiiiii suki hello <3333)

Half Awake in Our Fake Empire by @hmslusitania | 9-1-1, buddie | teen&up | 34k words

another kid fic!!! but in a different fandom this time!!! seriously, giving buck a child fills so many of my life's needs it's ridiculous

spreadsheet notes: THEY'RE A FAMILY (thank you for giving that man a child)

a soldier (who carries a mighty sword) by @ghostinthelibrarywrites | the witcher, geralt/eskel/jaskier | explicit | 92k words

everything about this fic is wonderful!! the world(kaer morhen!!)building, the developing dynamic between geralt, jask, and eskel, ciri and yenn, the conflict, jask as a teacher!!!! aaahhhhh!

spreadsheet notes: they're my new favourite guyssss this whole fic is so cool, what they've done with kaer morhen <3333

Will We Last the Night by CSHfic & VSfic | avatar: the last airbender, zukka | teen&up | 143k words

this fic asks what if sokka had been stuck with zuko since the end of s1 and delivers a delightful answer. this is the adventures of zuko and sokka (and sometimes iroh) travelling through the earth kingdom. shenanigans ensue

spreadsheet notes: i am obsessed with this i'm just. i know it was only shortly but their life in ba sing se. obsessed

DECEMBER

Grudge Match by @catcas22 | elden ring | gen | 17k words

i'm not entirely sure how to explain this. it sure is an elden ring fic

spreadsheet notes: i don't even know what to say. this is ridiculous and brilliant and stupid and genius all at the same time. hell yeah suburban demigods

Lonely Digging by @toast-ranger-to-a-stranger | stranger things, harringrove | teen&up | 3k words

this is hilarious. go read it to unlock intense life-threatening flirting

spreadsheet notes: best way to flirt billy's doing everything right

***

(quick note: i’ve tried to find everyone’s tumblr handle, but i’m aware that not all the authors have tumblr/have it on their ao3, however if i somehow missed someone, i can go back and rectify that!)

if you’ve made it all the way down here i am giving you a kiss <3

[roseofhybrids]

So I was looking at the missing posters in episode 3 and noticed something about the dates.

On the posters we get dates for January, February, March, April, and May. So, a 5 month timespan.

Now, there are two ways for these girls to end up with missing posters. 1. They were killed by Doll, and 2. They were killed by eldritch J. (most likely the former)

It wouldn't make sense for any of them to be killed before that point, because if they died during the break in during episode 1, the colony would know they were killed by the disassembly drones, not missing. Also, when Thad brings Uzi her gun, he tells her about the "recent disappearances." Which suggests they started after Uzi banished herself. (We also know when Thad went to get said gun, J's corpse was already gone, keep this in mind.)

This would mean that, between the events of the pilot and the prom, about 5 months have passed.

Now then, when in that time frame did episode 2 occur?

There are four events we need to place within that 5 month time span: - Frank gets sent to fix the hole in the roof, J goes worm mode and kills him - Thad enters the storage room (must happen after Frank dies) - Jorm eldritch J begins her murder spree, this happens concurrently with Thad bringing Uzi the gun, as she and N immediately return with Thad at this point - Prom occurs, this must happen at the end of the 5 months

The first question we must ask is: How long was J's corpse sitting there?

The first event we can try to place is Frank getting killed when he goes to fix the hole in the roof. This happens at the same time J's core mutates into eldritch J. So how long do we think that 1. The colony would wait to try to fix the hole and 2. The core would sit there waiting? I feel like this had to happen not long after the break in, as neither the colony nor the core has a reason to wait around. It doesn't make sense for several months to pass between the end of episode 1 and this scene.

Second question: How long did Jorm wait to start the murder spree?

Eldritch J uses Frank's hologram to lure Tim in to kill him. Khan is informed of this during the parent teacher conference, which he stays at while the other WDF members investigate. Uzi, N, and Thad witness this investigation and hear the detective drone comment that Khan is at currently at the conference, ergo Tim's death likely happens the same day those three enter the bunker.

So the only part where we can really speculate about time is in between Frank and Tim's deaths. When he sees the hologram, Tim is surprised and says, "we looked everywhere for you." This suggests that some time has passed between Frank going missing and Tim seeing the hologram. So, we then have to ask how long would it take for them to notice that Frank was gone, and how long would it take for them to "look everywhere." This is tricky as we don't know how long a drone could go missing for before the colony takes notice, or how it would take for them to check around the bunker for him. Especially since we have no way of knowing how much Tim could be exaggerating when he says this. The time frame could be anywhere between a few hours and several weeks. Keeping in mind that he's forgettable enough for Tim to call him Ladderbot 5000 in spite of a name tag. Was Tim the only one like this, or did the colony just not care much about his guy?

As for when Thad enters the storage room. While, it doesn't make too much sense for him to go get the gun and just hang on to it for weeks on end. There's also nothing to say he went and picked it up right after J's corpse moved. Whether he went to get it minutes or days after Frank died, things could still play out the same way they do in the episode.

Third question: How long did Uzi wait before trying to go talk to N?

So, between the events of episode 2 and the prom, Uzi and N wallow in a guilt and shame for a lil bit. Till Uzi finds the posters the day of prom and plans to go out to talk to N about it.

This time frame is probably the most malleable of them. Because honestly, I can see these lil dumb dumbs doing that for multiple months. Angsty girl who built a sci-fi nonsense gun to fix her problems through violence, and a golden retriever of a guy who thinks he's too dangerous to be around? They could dodge trying to work that out till Copper 9's sun went super nova. The only reason they meet is that they needed to stop Doll's plans.

The amount of time Uzi spent living with N and V is also very up in the air. She had enough time to: make her pod plans on the whiteboard, learn that the communicator is busted, the disassembly drones' memory got messed with, realize that the solver symbol shows up in her eye, look around and find the pin on N's hat, and get in contact with Thad in some capacity. None of which would take all that long.

We'll probably never know exactly how long it was between each event.

But here's my estimation: We'll be generous and say it took maybe a week or so before Frank went to get eaten.

We'll be very generous again and say eldritch J hung out in the vents for 2-3 weeks

That gives us about a month or so that Uzi was banished, and another 4 for her and N to avoid facing their problems

If we assume that the next three episodes took about another 5, that would put us at just under a year for the events we've seen. Which feels about right. 6 near-death experiences in ~10 months feels doable. Also, would place episode 6, and the upcoming events, around October, which seems fitting.

[littleplasticrat]

Behind the canvas: Painting 'Finally getting that drink'

This is a post about some of my thoughts while painting Rugan's pin-up for this month. Some technical ideas, rambling and mild nudity below the cut.

Inspo and references

The pin-ups of Gil Elvgren are on the left, and 'Elspeth Resplendent' by Anna Steinbauer is on the right.

Elvgren is one of my favourite artists and I spent some time looking through a book of his collected work to see what ideas I could take for this pin-up project. The things that jumped out at me were:

The women felt like 'subjects' rather than 'objects'. There's some implication of hobbies, an inner life. They're often in the middle of doing something when they're captured on the canvas.

The subjects know they're being looked at, and they are taking it as an opportunity to flirt (signalled through eye contact, coquettish facial expressions and body language). It feels like a conversation between viewer and viewed.

Parts of the body may be exposed, but the eye is drawn back and forth between the subject's face and more titillating parts of the image.

I knew that I wanted to show Rugan in a similar setup, then; in this case, he's halfway through dinner and then catches sight of the viewer. His eye contact and smirk are flirtatious and mirror what you see of him in Act 1.

I initially wanted the pose to mirror Elspeth's in this beautiful Magic the Gathering planeswalker art by Anna Steinbauer, whose work I am obsessed with. Since I started taking art seriously, it's been my goal to paint for MtG, so I often try to study from artists whose illustrations I admire.

However, I didn't want to copy her pose or the composition of the piece. Don't get me wrong, I'm not above doing this - but I felt it just didn't work with the subject. The horizon line (shown in red) is very low. This is a gnome-level view of Elspeth. And I didn't want to place the viewer at the eye level of Rugan's penis.

I kept the composition similar in some other aspects though - there's still a T shape (pale green) that draws the eye to the focal point (pink). I did some sketches where Rugan is leaning forwards/sideways in the same way as Elspeth is, but I feel that this final leaning-back pose demonstrates more dominant body language and allows me to paint the musculature of his torso in more detail. This acts almost as a 'ladder' that draws the viewer's eye up and down between the two focal points of the nude variant.

Painting

I've already said quite a lot on a post that was supposed to be short, so I'll keep it brief here and write more about the painting of Gortash and Raphael (February and March respectively).

It's been quite a while since I've tackled such a detailed painting, so I had to do some research/studies to remind myself of some helpful rendering rules:

Veins beneath pale skin might look blue, but they're actually just a desaturated version of the same colour. There are other parts of this image where the veins are particularly lovely. I'll leave that to your imagination.

2. Highlights on leather are not as saturated as you'd expect until you get to the most reflective part of the material. Also, a good texture brush can work wonders.

3. I try to use as few layers as possible when painting, but I remembered the importance of putting design detail on a separate Multiply layer. Multiply allows the layer to modify/darken the layers below, so you can more easily add detail that follows the shape of the object. For example, the body hair or the snake's head going over the chest. If I were painting traditionally, I'd have had to put in a lot more effort. With Multiply layers, it's one colour. Nice! I got a great tip from @dustdeepsea about the blue-ish tint that tattoos, particularly older ones, can get. I felt like this massive tat is not something that Rugan has had done recently, so I added a Gaussian blur as well.

Well, if you got this far, thanks for reading! This is a great way for me to reflect and record what I've learned from the painting. I want to paint sexy stuff, but I also want to keep improving as an artist!

Keep an eye out for updates on my next pin-up, who will be Lord Enver Gortash. Time to practice using my hair/fur brushes 🥵🥵