#and there are always timeline questions

[reliquiaen]

Okay, a few years back I made this graphic to explain the Great Cycle. Now that I've mulled over DD2 for a few days, I'm updating it. Some of the same assumptions as before remain: The Dragonforged fought the dragon, his weapon broke, he tried punching it (lmao), but he did survive without killing the dragon, possibly there was a second Bargain offered in the face of his determination. So you don't have to kill your dragon to survive it. Also still assuming that different classes become different types of drakes because I just like that detail, even though we see nothing to confirm it in DD2 (except maybe for the wyrms in the post-game, I hope that's what those are, just a bit redesigned).

But this time, I'm making some NEW assumptions: A Great Dragon can be manifested directly by the Seneschal's will (I'm guessing this is why our DD2 dragon doesn't have a name, I suspect this dragon was created after Rothais defeated his - he didn't become a dragon OR Seneschal so it had to come from somewhere). The challenge a Seneschal poses to the Arisen can be anything; Savan gave us the opening of the Everfall and unleashed a ton of powerful monsters upon the world; but Pathfinder gave us what the world would look like without a Seneschal to oversee things. My assumption is that the Colossal Dragon that appears out of that final red pillar of light IS the Pathfinder (possibly using his will to force order back upon the world) and when we kill it, our Arisen becomes Seneschal (because Pathfinder says he won't be there to see the new world that's forming). So the challenge can be anything, not just the Everfall. I'm curious what happens to our pawn after that fight, though. And it's a much better Seneschal fight than the one against Savan, sorry Savan.

I'm also assuming that (given we see the Pathfinder rewind time and rewrite the world) the Seneschal can simply will the world into a state of being that suits them. This includes wiping memories of events. Though I like to imagine that our Arisen-turned-Seneschal didn't wipe memories of themselves or of the apocalypse-world. There was an entire plotline going through this game with Rothais and Phaesus where mortals are trying to get rid of the Seneschal and so it makes sense that they need to remember what would happen without the Seneschal's presence.

Anyway, thanks. I'll probably have more thoughts later, but this is the part that gets me most. I like to know how things work so I wanted to sort the Cycle out.

[innocuoussketches]

TT: After you go, what do you think will happen to me?  TT: Will I just cease to exist?

TT: I am scared to not exist.  TT: Aren't you?

[dukeofthomas]

Do you see my vision

[swiiivet-screamathon]

"Hey-hey-hey-hey Pure Vanillaaaaa??? Why is Shadow Milk here???"

"Hm? Oh, I wanted to give him a chance through a method he might be comfortable with."

"Excuse me??? You let him follow us???"

"We needed to return home, we've spent far too long away, but I know that leaving him to simmer in the pot for however long we'll be away from Beast-Yeast was just going to get him to sour even more. I meant every word I told him at the end, I want to be his friend, but that can only happen if he does as well."

"So you put the entire kingdom in jeopardy for that insane clown!?"

"We beat him once when he was on his home turf and with his compatriots, as long as I keep an eye on him I don't assume much can go wrong for long."

"Do you not think that might still be a bit risky?"

"I'm not sure if you've considered this Wizard, but I think its worthwhile to remember that he chose to follow us. He could've left Beast-Yeast the moment he was set free, and yet he didn't. He could've left to meet up with his other beast friends at any point, and yet he didn't. And according to his companions his experience with me specifically is one of a kind for him. We never invited him to come along, we never even told him where we were going, and now he chooses to leave his former tower? I might be gullible to him, but knowing him as well as I do, I think that's enough evidence for me to think that he's not followed us purely to enact revenge."

"At least its comforting to know you've thought this through at all; but it still seems like the idea of a madman! Is there no safer way at all to-- ourgh, befriend--- him?"

"Perhaps, who's to say sharing his mindscape for so long didn't make me a madman either. I simply cannot help but not be the one to ostracize him, whenever he's ready he can come talk, but I won't treat him unequally."

"Well-- not that I think you would, but if anything goes haywire-- thats on your shoulders! AND his!"

"Of course, I never considered that I wouldn't be responsible for him. :)"

[kittleskittle]

all of the hints gquuuuuux has been dropping about original lalah meddling with the AU timeline have me salivating...like as if i couldn't love her enough...what are you doing now girl 👀

[beatriceportinari]

Another year, another outfit to die in! Happy birthday again Izuna!!!!!!

Like last year, I played with someone else's lines for these charming patterns, thank you so much Lena @elhnrt ! I had a ton of fun :D

Check the readmore for pattern references and explanations, there are some easter eggs in there :)

(x,x,x,x)

My goal for this piece, in addition to playing with patterns and textures and adding some Naruto references, was to add as many death flags as possible.

The idea of having Izuna in a fireman's coat is obviously not from me. I've always like the idea of Uchihas in fire resistant clothes, and the opportunity for a thick texture alongside a reversible double pattern is very appealing. I used the image of the second reference as a base, with skulls on one side and stylized lightning patterns on the other (visible inside the sleeves and collar). Both were common immagery of firemen coats.

The actual skull pattern is taken from the third reference. I'd seen this one before and before even learning anything abt it it was too beautiful to pass up. Those white and navy gradients are absolutely delightful and I enjoyed using my gel pens for them very much.... This particular type of imagery with skulls and bones in a field is called Nozarashi, inspired by Buddhist representation of death and transience.

The lightning pattern itself is a reference to water and lightning dragons :) Like Tobirama's iconic jutsu, it's one of the hints of what's abt to happen to our little guy. The scabbard is also decorated with dragon motifs for the same reason.

The background pattern is taken from the first reference, another fireman's coat with an illustration of Raijin, the thunder god. He is often representated with drums decorated with tomoes. It works nicely as a standard looking sharingan illustration, with a reference to Tobirama's hiraishingiris with the thunder imagery, like the thunder patterns inside the coat.

If you're interested in this I recommend the book linked in the second reference! It is entirely about skeleton motifs in japanese clothing of the early 20th century.

[lilcookiebugg]

SONELISE IS PEAK TRAGIC ROMANCE

And I’m tired of people fucking saying it’d “be better if she and Sonic were just friends with no romance.”

When that was the whole point of them.

Elise had to sacrifice her happiness. Her love to ensure that destruction didn’t come across the world. She was forced to give up her memories with Sonic. To give up all her love and affection she had for him in exchange for the greater good.

They are supposed to be tragic. And I just don’t think them just having a friendship would hit the same way.

Since anyone could be Elise’s friend. But Sonic gave her love and something more.

And that’s what makes it more painful.

She spent her years repressed and unable to experience many emotions. She was literally unable to cry. Like she was that repressed. I can’t imagine living like that.

Sonic brought her out of her shell. He allowed her to open up and feel joy again. And she really loved him.

Which is probably why it would hurt so much at the end for her to blow out the flame. And basically sacrifice her love and time she had with him for the greater good.

Could it work with them just having a friendship? I’m sure it could with the right writer and vision. After all, anything is possible in fandom.

But I personally think it wouldn’t hit the same way since like I have said before. Anyone could be Elise’s friend. And maybe she did have friends.

But Sonic gave her more than that. And that’s why it probably hurt more to give it up.

[sarcasticsparkles]

My favorite source of crack AUs is taking a piece of media and then putting characters from a different piece of media on a wheel to decide who is in which role, starting with 3-5 key characters and watching the chaos unfold.

Behold the worst Hunger Games AU, featuring the cast of Death Note.

Our current casting includes:

Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes: Soichiro Yagami (Lucy Gray Baird) and Ryuk (Coriolanus Snow) have a situationship that ends so horrendous Ryuk makes it everyone's problem for decades to come.

Sunrise on the Reaping: Shuichi Aizawa (Haymitch Abernathy) is not allowed to be happy, brutally murdered loved ones and descent into alcoholism edition.

Hunger Games: Light Yagami (Katniss Everdeen) somehow becomes the main character again, and because Ohba possessed the wheel to hate women, Touta Matsuda (Peeta Mellark) got dragged along for the ride. District 12 has no female victors.

[gemknightau]

I could have answered with text but decided that a quick doodle would be more fun

[emicat1159]

Why has my drawing ability vanished again

Anyway I'm doodling our favourite child

[corvus-rose]

the cancelling of The Smitten is very funny because like, y'all remembered when he made us off ourselves if we killed The Damsel right? admittedly that's somehow less disturbing a move than what he pulled in Happily Ever After, and at least tempered by our own dick move of killing the Damsel, but like still guys

[vigilskept]

1, 2, 5, 9, 11, 12, 17, 19, 21, 27, 28, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 37, 38 and 39 for diya (mia) because every time i see her mentioned she fascinates me!

1. What is the Warden's name? Does it have a meaning behind it? How do they feel about their name?

answered over here!

2. How would you describe the Warden's personality before and after the prologue? Did it change much or did they remain the same?

during the prologue, her whole personality is a front. she knows she's being watched, so she tries to present an image of herself (pious, dutiful, meek) that's really far from what she's actually like (analytical, dry, a little mean, passionate abt selective interests & people she cares about). once she clocks how badly they need mages down at ostagar, she dials it up even further. "please don't conscript me duncan, i should rly face the consequences of my actions :(" *

on the other hand even if she is putting up a front here, her choosing to help jowan & knowingly putting herself at risk is the first step towards that pious girl scout mask falling away for good.

*idk if everyone's tried this particular dialogue yet, so i just need to let u know that if you do, knight commander greagoir says he's "glad you still know your place" killing the kinloch templars with hammers :))

putting the rest under the cut bc this is a LONG post

5. What are their thoughts on Duncan? How did they feel about his actions during the Joining?

she can't get a read on him which stresses her out.

she clocks that he's eyeing her as a recruit, but she's not actually interested in becoming a warden until jowan shares his plans with her and she realises she'll need a way out of the circle asap. duncan plays into her hands more or less, mostly because it also works for him. he needs a mage. he definitely picks up on what's going on towards the end though, and i think in this worldstate diya probably isn't entirely wrong that duncan has alistair watching over her to keep his shady new warden mage under templar supervision....

as for the joining, she thinks killing jory was pretty brutal and feels like there probably was a way of talking the guy into it. he didn't seem overly bright. she does make a note of duncan being pretty ruthless, but it moreso raises the question for her of if he got the position of warden-commander because he was ruthless, or became that ruthless because of the position. she never really gets to find out!

9. If the Warden was trapped in a nightmare, what would it be like?

getting trapped in a nightmare is a regular occurrence for diya, rip. i talked about this a bit here, but thus is the fate of somniari.

pre-blight, the worst of her recurring nightmares features a demon of rage that often takes the shape of an elven woman, burning in the fires of the alienage purge she witnessed as a child. post-broken circle most of her non-warden nightmares feature her friend qadir amell, turned into an abomination despite his tranquility. post-blight, most of her nightmares feature alistair & the archdemon :)))

really evil, because demons ultimately pull from your own memories. you can remind yourself you're not there anymore, but you can't always defend yourself by telling yourself it isn't real.

11. How did the Warden react to the truth of the werewolf curse?

she's devastated tbh...... but she also gets it. she's not sure she wouldn't have done the same, if not worse. she's honestly a little impressed at how skillfully he's crafted the curse, given her recent experiences in the circle. uldred was a good blood mage. zathrian is clearly much better.

12. Did the warden end Zathrian's curse?

she did. she's kind of gutted, because she'd honestly rather have had his mentorship than lose him to end the curse. she just can't justify it when the curse already has and inevitably will effect more than its intended targets. he could probably have talked her around on it if it were, but it's not a shems-only curse.... sorry zathrian :(

17. What was the Warden's reaction to seeing [insert character] in the Temple of Sacred Ashes?

i bent canon on this one. mostly to make it worse, but also because diya had already conscripted jowan. he's right there at the temple with her, and actually arguing they shouldn't fuck with the ashes (he is still sad abt lily....)

instead, she sees qadir at this temple, who is dead at this point. it fucks her up bad when he tells her she should forgive herself for what happened to him and that he'd forgiven her a long time ago. she does not take this advice :)

the whole thing is really upsetting to her, and it doesn't feel like a spiritual experience at all. it's the exact same feeling as when demons or spirits take the shapes of certain loved ones either to mess with her or to help. whatever their intent, it's intrusive and painful to have those memories dredged up.

19. Who are the people in camp that the Warden is closest with and why?

she's closest with gavin cousland bc out of everyone he's the most empathetic towards her when it comes out that she's been lying the whole time. as an apostate.... he knows something abt what that's like :) this could also have been the case with leliana, but diya's been so hurt by the chantry that leliana sharing her own religious experience (without any intent to influence her) feels hostile to her. this doesn't change until they see each other again during the events of inquisition.

she's actually pretty wary of morrigan at the start bc she thinks she's out to manipulate gavin (and she kind of is.... at first). their relationship warms up later on as she clocks morrigan's whole "oh shit what if i actually like him" mental breakdown.

she gets along swimmingly with zev right from the jump :) she thinks he's really funny, and the two of them are (recreationally) flirting with each other constantly. they're having the time of their lives exhausting their arsenal of pickup lines against eachother. zevran almost sounds like he means it, but diya's just deadpan the whole time which baffles everyone. morrigan's even more alarmed when gavin decides to get in on this bit.

alistair's understandably pretty wary of her for a while after the mask falls. i mean. she blackmails his uncle to pull a maleficar (who poisoned his other uncle!) out of prison. she bribes & pulls backroom deals with unscrupulous templars!!! then it turns out she's a blood mage herself!!!!!! it's really after the brecilian forest where he actually gets to see her real personality come out that he gradually stops seeing her as a dangerous unknown and starts actually liking her.

it's similar on her end with her starting off really wary of her "supervising templar" only to warm up to him as she stops seeing him as a danger to herself and starts seeing him as just... some guy. who's kinda funny. who she might be fond of. but like. just a little. it's not serious or anything.

21. Did the Warden romance anyone from their group? If so, what attracted them to their partner?

well. i don't know that you could call it a romance, with alistair. they were never together. they did both know the feelings were mutual though, i think.

diya never acts on them bc she knows he wouldn't be open to anything not serious & she doesn't think getting involved in sth serious makes sense when either of them could die soon. + what future could they even manage to have if they do manage to live?? she's had devastating crushes on straight girls and survived, she can get over this too. (alistair on the other hand just has the kingship that he's already sort-of accepted he'll have to step up to looming over him. why start something he knows he can't see through?)

they kiss exactly once, atop fort drakon.

that might be a little unfair on alistair's part, but he's about to die. dying men are allowed to be a little selfish, aren't they?

27. How does the Warden feel about what is happening in the Alienage? How do they feel about how elves are treated?

mad doesn't really cover it. she's from the alienage in denerim and had to live through a purge that still haunts her before she got taken to the circle. walking through the alienage when the gates are finally open again is like stepping into an old, familiar nightmare that's no less painful now than it was the first time.

she tears the slavers to shreds, and would have done the same to loghain if she knew it wouldn't have gotten the wardens banned from ferelden for good.

28. During the Landsmeet, who did the Warden choose to rule Ferelden and why? How did they come to that decision?

alistair, because she genuinely does think he'd try to do right by ferelden (elves and mages included). she can't say the same for anora. she knows he'll probably be miserable as king, but she's hoping that she & gavin would be able to support him through it.

she does try to broker a marriage between him and anora, but when it comes time to pick someone to duel loghain, she has to pick alistair. it's the best way to make his case for the crown, and the rest of them are either foreigners or mages. there's no way that wouldn't undermine his rule down the line. after alistair kills loghain, that agreement is dust, and selfishly (stupidly) she's a little glad for it.

31. How does the Warden feel about being a Grey Warden and the sacrifices that entails?

she'd take it over being in the tower, any day. she does see this is a sigh of how bad things are for mages that a slow death sentence is preferable to their normal state of existence though. it's part of what motivates her to leverage her status at the end of the blight to have anora declare the fereldan circle's independence. as for the sacrifices... more on that later.

32. If they could leave the Wardens, would they?

no. never. she wouldn't accept a cure for the calling, even if you handed it to her on a silver platter. she will see this through to the end, even if it means a miserable, ugly death in the deep roads.

33. Who killed the Archdemon and are they still alive?

alistair insisted on being the one to do it because he felt it was his duty to the wardens he outlived, to ferelden, and because he wouldn't have been able to live with it being either diya or gavin instead........ and no, he is not alive.

34. How does the Warden feel about becoming the Hero of Ferelden?

feels sick to her stomach every time someone calls her that. the response is always the same: "the only one who deserves that title died killing the archdemon."

she doesn't like to talk about the blight, not even to reminisce about the better days of it with old friends.

35. How is the Warden's personality like after the events of DAO? Did they change or are they still the same?

it's pretty drastic. she's a hollow shell of a person for the next few months, it's really bad. she stays in denerim for the funeral, the coronation and the arrival of the orlesian wardens, but she can barely take care of herself.

everyone has a little chat about how the hell they're meant to help her, and in the end they decide she should probably get out of ferelden for a while. and it does help! a little! she's never the same and that grief always stays with her, but she's able to function with a little distance from ferelden & the wardens where the reminders were constant.

it's a lot harder when she returns, and her coping mechanisms aren't necessarily the healthiest. one of them does happen to be overworking herself though, and she gets a hell of a lot done. lots of people and places are better off for it, even if she isn't :')

37. Is the Warden still in contact with anyone after the game's events? Are they still with their love interest, if they have one?

ough. well she's not with alistair, unless u count the various spirits and demons taking his shape, either to make it better or worse :(

she does stay in contact with many of the others though. with wynne it's only the occasional letter or two, but gavin's a regular pen-pal. they write as often as they can, and diya tries to plan ahead with leaving him addresses he'll be able to to reach her (and he returns the favour by leaving some hints on how to reach him & morrigan after he goes AWOL from the wardens)

her first trip out of ferelden is to antiva with zevran, partially because it's the closest, but also because everyone thinks having a goal will be good for her. and it is :) killing crows is a great reason to get out of bed :)

after they've done a pretty terrific job of cleaning house in antiva, she finally accepts sten's invitation to come see seheron. she's a little wary of qunari still, but she can't really resist the temptation to see her parents birthplace, and anyway she misses her friend. she ends up finding seheron really interesting (albeit stressful to exist in as a bas-saarebas). it takes her months before she can get any kind of response from her parents' clan after reaching out (because they think she's ben hassrath...) but she does eventually succeed at that too!

leliana and her don't contact each other at all between the temple of sacred ashes & the events of inquisition but diya does surprise her by responding to her missive to the fereldan wardens by showing up there herself. it's a bit wary on both sides to begin with, but they do manage to mend fences while she's there. i don't know if that helps or make things worse when diya does choose to stay in the fade to buy time for the inquisitor.

38. Is there any decision that the Warden regrets? If so, which is it and why? How would they change it?

answered here! to add onto that though, i think she does come to regret killing genitivi a little bit. she let bitterness drive her a bit when it came to the ashes, but with genitivi she was really just trying to stop him from getting the word out. evidently, that didn't work :/

39. Do the events of the Fifth Blight haunt the Warden or have they moved past it completely?

also answered here! (she will be haunted forever)

[ezlo-x]

noooooo not the timeline it was a bad idea in the first place and nothing they say or do can ever change that fact. just admit that there is no consistent chronology and just be done with it

CAN THEY JUST PLEASE ADMIT THAT??? I FEEL LIKE EVERYONE AGREES YOU DONT HAVE TO FORCEFULLY MAKE IT COHESIVE

[powderrblue]

i missed writing about hadlee heart hands emoji. ghost showfall employees woo

edit i was gonna write more of this but again. it probably wont ever happen this is so old

Hadlee threw her raincoat around her shoulders, fingers combing her long black hair out of the way.

"Honey, it's pouring outside, you'll catch your death," Beau tried once more.

"It's okay, I promise," Hadlee said as calmly as she could manage for the tears that threatened to choke her. "I'll be back and dry before you know it."

Beau's gaze didn't let up.

"Alright," she verbally relented after a few more seconds. Her arms were outstretched for a hug before Hadlee had a chance to look away.

"I don't- I don't need-"

Beau held her arms out still. "I'm the one who's asking."

Hadlee moved close. The older woman's arms were as grounding as ever as they wrapped around Hadlee.

No comment was made as Hadlee struggled to keep her breathing even. Still nothing when she hugged Beau as tightly as her shaking limbs let her.

"I'm sorry," was all Hadlee whispered.

"You did good, baby," Beau said in reply, shaking her head. "Don't be sorry."

"I shoulda listened-"

"There's nothing we could've done. For any of them."

Hadlee hugged Beau tighter. She knew full well the older woman was only talking about this for Hadlee's sake. She also knew Beau wouldn't drop it until she was satisfied with Hadlee's ability to talk herself out of the hole she was digging for herself.

That time was far from coming today.

"Can we stay home just for tonight?" Beau asked.

Hadlee shook her head.

One last resigned sigh from Beau marked the end of her attempt to steer Hadlee back to the house. "Alright. Don't be out too late. Call me if you need me. You know the drill."

The black-haired girl released herself from the hug with an affirmative nod.

Hadlee picked up the keys to her car, starting it and spending a few moments flipping through radio channels before turning it off entirely.

It had been a little over a year and a half since Showfall had been shut down. The mall was always silent now, like it had been before. The government had put in cameras once to make it look like something was being done to prevent Showfall's return.

Hadlee knew they wouldn't come back anyway. Once a location showed any signs of being found, they'd move on without leaving a trace.

The mall itself didn't take much of a drive to get to from Beau's house. Hadlee had only hesitated to go before due to the realization that Beau probably wouldn't view visiting it as a healthy coping mechanism.

Sometimes it still felt like yesterday when she'd sat on the curb, Paislie beside her, Randy and Henrik standing behind her, chaos surrounding her, all of them disoriented and unsure whether they were sharing a dream or worse.

Hadlee and Paislie had done nothing but sign to each other for days afterward.

The actors, Randy's quote unquote family, Paislie, and Hadlee herself were all separated multiple times in attempts to find a combination that would allow for a more permanent housing situation without anyone panicking after two minutes of being separated from each other. Between the constant questioning and legal settlements, it had been a long time in coming.

In the house Hadlee was at long last settled in, death seemed to come in waves. Henrik had been the first, then Paislie not long afterwards. Hardly five months later Maria was next, Randy following her the next morning.

Needless to say, the house got to feeling a lot bigger very quickly.

Ava had asked Hadlee if she was leaving too not long after everything had happened.

Hadlee hadn't answered.

The newly turned twenty-year-old refocused her eyes, waiting for that train of thought to leave, only to find herself standing at the door to the mall.

The cameras there had already gotten hit by rocks, probably because of some kids wanting to go in and see what they could find in that hellhole.

It was cold when Hadlee walked in. The mall usually wasn't warm anyway, even back when it was Showfall.

The sets from the most recent show were strewn around the lobby, signs of a struggle long since forgotten more than obvious.

The makeshift cabin's walls were torn, chipped, and otherwise mangled down to splintered wood. Blood was smeared across the floor.

Someone should've cleaned it, her subconscious whispered. No, she didn't work here anymore, everyone was gone. Things were different. For better or worse.

Hadlee couldn't help but wonder what would happen if she could do it all again. Maybe she could've saved more of them, maybe she could've stopped them from-

Wherever the rest of that probably-not-healthy thought process was going was put to a stop by a chill down Hadlee's back and the sudden feeling of being watched.

She shuddered at the cold, glancing around as quickly as she could without passing out. She only spared a second for a fleeting thought of her thicker jacket at home- or Beau's house, rather.

"Is someone there?"

Hadlee grit her teeth. She still sounded so scared and she hated it.

What felt like the pressure of a freezing hand left a shivery feeling right above her right elbow.

Hadlee frowned. The feeling of being watched was less intense now. Or maybe more? Something about it felt familiar.

She shook her head. Nothing she was thinking made any sense.

"Pey?" she finally called, giving up on trying to think of anything that would give her a more normal explanation.

Hadlee felt another not-really-a-touch against her arm.

Casting another look around the little bit of the mall that was visible, she sighed and let herself fall to her knees on the floor.

She shouldn't have left the house, she should've known something would happen. Probably none of this was real.

Hot tears streaked down Hadlee's face as the chill settled over her shoulders this time in what felt like a hug.

A whispered plea for it to stop was all she could muster.

The touch didn't go away.

Hadlee hadn't really wanted it to.

"Don't do this, just come back," Hadlee told the disembodied pressure against her shoulders.

She registered a light touch above her left elbow.

"I didn't know what to do," she told maybe-Paislie. "You warned me about Maria and I didn't see it in time, why couldn't you stay and do it?"

No answer.

Hadlee swiped at her tears to try to see, but to no avail.

The touch moved to Hadlee's face.

Rain continued to fall outside, barely audible from inside the mall.

"I need you," Hadlee said. She didn't know what this was even accomplishing anymore. "Everyone's leaving and I can't do anything to stop it, I don't know what to do!"

Another presence settled behind Hadlee, but she ignored it in favor of trying to wipe her tears away again.

"Why did you leave me?!" Hadlee screamed at long last, wishing she had any control over the cold beginning to spread numbness around where it had come to rest.

Hadlee flinched at another touch on her already shivery back.

The presence that was probably Paislie signed an 'r' against Hadlee's arm.

So it really was Paislie. And Randy, Hadlee could guess without much doubt.

Hadlee felt tears continue flowing down her cheeks as she vaguely wondered whether she would be able to convince anyone this was real.

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

yet another txf question i fear looking up on my own because of spoilers: which year does each season take place in?

i'm only on s5, so there's no need to answer beyond that and fight the future, but does it follow a pattern of one season a year? is when they shot the season when it takes place in canon?

and i know there's discourse about the first season, but i like the idea that the first episode took place in 1992 and then the rest pick up in 1993, going along with the "it takes place when they filmed it" route

i've heard that the timeline eventually makes no sense, which is fine (said through clenched teeth in a way that makes it clear it is NOT fine) but i would like to know a vague sense of year per season so i can mentally keep in mind the cultural context

(like, if i write a fic set in s5, would scully have been able to watch titanic or not? LMAO)

[liaisun]

Hii, I was wondering where did Riko being 19 at death came from? I understand if it's a headcanon but I've seen a couple other people mention this and got confused, since what I got from tsc was that Jean was younger than Riko and Kevin and had to get in college earlier because of them...

hi!! riko's age isn't known exactly, but nora said he's 5 years younger than ichirou, who is 24. so going by that timeline, riko is either 19 years old, or 20 if he has an early birthday! that's where it comes from

in the original aftg trilogy, jean was actually intended to be older than riko and kevin, around 23ish if i remember correctly. however when writing tsc, nora decided to change his age and have it confirmed that jean is 19. we also don't know jean's birthday at this point, so it could be that jean has a later birthday in the same year as riko, or that he has an early birthday in the year after, so they both happen to be 19 even though jean is younger.

also jean's schooling timeline could be altered considering he's from france. in the US it was pretty common to put someone one grade year behind in school than their age group if they had recently immigrated and didn't speak english. i believe this was before ESL programs (example: happened to my uncle in the 70s lmfao) but considering everything, i doubt jean got an ESL education even if it was available bc tetsuji didn't give a damn abt him besides exy 😭 anyway, that's another angle to why jean could be considered as entering college early besides his age