#doesnt appear here because i dont like her design (drawing her is a pain in the arse)

[littlelightfish]

Welcome Home Mini Comic: Homewarming

⚠️TW: eyecontact

[Read left to right up+down. No wierd combinations. No, I didn't look up their Homewarming clothing if you're wondering. I messed up.]

AAAAAAH oh boy the love I have for Eddie I CANNOT explain. LIKE HES SO LOVELY OUGHHHH favourite local mailman. <3

Idk if I made correct use of the image ID? I hope I did.

Hm... this was suposed to be a ramble about my guy Eddie but here, have a short fic under the cut.

He is just there. Uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable. The feeling of doom is there. Why. Why is home looking at him like that? What is going on? He wants to go home. He needs to go home. Does he have a home? He has his post office... does that count? Why is home looking at him like that. He needs it to stop. Stop. Stop it. Please. Stop. Oh? Who...? Frank? He can't talk. He realizes vaguely. His eyes go up. Frank... He needs to tell him... His vission is blurry and he feels overwhelmed. He feels... overestimulated..? He doesn't know. He doesn't feel good. Too much... he needs to go home... he needs... he...

And Frank gets it and goes to tell Wally that he wants to leave. Leave? On homewarming? Why? What's wrong? Because something has to be wrong if Eddie of all people wants to leave. So he goes check up on him. Of course he does. Barnaby close behind because... Why does Eddie want to leave? They don't know. But he isn't looking great. He is staring. Shaking. Sweating. Crying silently. That doesn't looks good.

Wally gets it. He would like to do the same. Because Home is now looking at him. Because of course it does. Just... staring. Meanacely. He feels the dread. A chill goes down his spine. Home... what did you do to Eddie...?

Barnaby, fortunately, catches up somethings off with Home. And that means Wallys distressed. So he puts a paw on his shoulder and asks Eddie. He doesn't answer. He tells him what he's going to do as he puts his arm to support Eddie and help him walk so he can go home. He is worried. Wally is worried. Frank is worried. Eddie doesn't look good. He shakes. He won't stop crying. He looks... terrified..? He tries to loose up his shirt. He needs to breathe. He can't. But he is. The others realize a bit too late that he is hyperventilating. Wally does only when he sees Eddie's legs wobble. But then he just... shuts down and goes limp. What. What. What. Why. Why. What. What. No. No. No. What. No. Wait. He can help. Yes. Bed. Bed! He needs... yes, yes! He in bed now. He better? What? What? He better? Please... He opens eyes! He better! Low sugar? More sugar then! He bring sugar. Yes. He better now?

Eddie tries to calm Wally with his words. He doesn't know what just happened. He just... sat down at that couch and suddenly was at Wallys bed, all neighbors worrying sick over him. What happened? He just... has this feeling... something changed.

[bashfultern]

Research

My research can be divided into 4 chunks- The australasian Bittern, legal eagle, schatten parker, and autism. The australasian bittern

my research into the Australiasian Bittern was very interesting. It is an endangered bird that thrives in the wetlands of eastern australia, namely in freshwater environments where there are many reeds. Its most stunning feature is its long neck, which it can extend up to 45 cm in length. The neck is pale on its underside, with long dark brown stripes running down it, which would later inform my design of both the neck and the clothing seams. It is a heavy set bird, which also informed my design. The Bittern often when threatened or alarmed will extend its neck to its highest length. This inspired me when i would later research stimming behaviours, as a common stim is to jut ones chin out and to stretch the neck. Due to this, i made this one of Andy’s self soothing stims. This animal is very shy and reclusive, with current numbers not even being accurately known due to it’s reclusive nature. Due to this, I think Andy could draw from this personality trait, and be also very shy, almost bashful. 

Here are some visual research drawings

a “Legal Eagle,”

This phrase connotes a lawyer who is particularly skilled in their profession. Due to this, I decided that Andy is a law student, who is currently completing his masters in International Commercial Law with Dissertation. I decided he is probably most fond of contract law, as this is the type of law that fits in best with the phrase Legal Eagle- meaning someone with a fine eye for the detail of the law, and a very devoted lawyer. I decided that contracts and the language they use is a special interest for Andy, hence his extreme aptitude at the subject. Andy is not well liked among his peers due to his odd behaviour, however even they acknowledge his prowess in the court of law. Andy would love to be hired in a sucessful law firm by the time he graduates, (he is in his final year of law now,) however his social skills need some more fine tuning before he can confidently apply for a job.

Oddly enough there is a partner phrase to “Legal Eagle,” being “legal beagle”. Legal Beagle however, has more negative connotations, such as being more aggressive in court. It also has a tendency to refer to lawyers you are opposing, rather than ones on your side. Due to this, i wanted to make Andy a sympathetic character, hencemy choice for him to do contract law.

Schattenparker

In german, this word refers to someone who parks in the shade- its used in an insulting manner to imply this person is delicate, or “not a man.” In context, and example of someone being a Schattenparker would be if they parked their car under the shade after a long hot day. The argument is that only old people and weak/sick people would park in the shade.

Whilst this word only implied these meanings, as i delved deeper into my research i found it very odd this turn of phrase. There are many reasons why people would want to park in the shade. People could be sick, they might have an animal in the car, they might have a migraine, or a sensitivity to light.

As i investigated this, sensory processing issues for autistic people came up. Many of Andy’s characterisations already leant to towards behaviours shown by autistic people, so i decided to do more research in autism for Andy’s character.

Autism

Autism is defined as “ a developmental disorder characterized by difficulties with social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior.” A lot of my research into it was information from autistic people; their experiences, their explanation of things like stimming and sensory issues/overload, and on their special interests. I was able to talk with a friend of mine about her autism, and she helped me with the respectful characterisation of Andy. One thing which appeared in my research was about how to avoid alienating the audience from an autistic character. The example was called  behaviorizing vs humanizing. An example of behaviourising from their site was “’Brianna would scream whenever she had a wrinkle in her sock.’(Non-autistic kids typically do not do this, so the unusualness is located in the action of screaming. Because Brianna’s experience is left out, the only thing the reader sees is “mildly uncomfortable situation” and “completely disproportionate behavior”.)” 

and an example of humanizing was “Wrinkles in Brianna’s socks grated on her nerves like sandpaper on raw skin. Brianna often had difficulty conveying how unpleasant this was to other people, and when it happened, it reminded her of all the times she’d tried to communicate her frustration and been ignored. The combination of pain and stress and knowing she would likely be ignored again stripped her words from her and left her with no other way to communicate but screaming.”

Things like stimming and sensory overload are not things that autistic people do out of the blue. They are direct responses to stimuli, in the same way that I might smile when i see my favourite movie, an autistic person might flap their hands or rock from side to side. Sensory processing issues can lead to what in neurotypical people to be a tolerable sensation, for example a wrinkle in a sock, but for non-neurotypical people to be a vary painful and unpleasant experience. As with the other experiences associated with autism, such as repeated behaviours, special interests, and occasionally non verbal phases, it’s important to portray these respectfully in Andy’s character. He should not be a source of comedy due to his actions. So, all being said, here is a little character summary of Andy. Andy is 6 foot 2, heavy set, and a genius when it comes to contract law. He is home by 3:15 every day, applies sunscreen every 4 hours, (sometimes a bit more often if it’s been a rough day,) and finishes his studying at 9′oclock every evening. He likes to wear a matching pale green jumpsuit everyday, (turned inside out so that the hems dont grind on his skin,) loosely tied sneakers, and he keeps his hair short so it doesnt tickle his nose like how it did when he was younger. However, whilst Andy might be a legal eagle when it comes exams, he can’t seem to apply this keen eye to his social life. no matter how many online forums he reads, he can’t seem to make this friendship thing work with anyone in his year group. He is often seen with his brother Jonathan, who is helping him find some buddies of his own. 

Andy is 22, and is a Capricorn. His favourite season is winter (as it is much less hot, and sweating is an unbearable aspect of the human condition. In summer he showers 7 times a day just to avoid it.) His favourite color is beige, and if he won the lottery, the first thing he would buy would be 2 new rubber pencil grips. When he sees a cute puppy, he flaps his hands in delight, and can often be found gently rocking himself in his favourite part of a movie, or when the day is a bit stressful. At exam time you can see him jutting his chin out and stretching his neck from the stress of it all, and occasionally, when class is a bit too loud and the lights are a bit too bright and it’s getting overwhelming, you can find him under the stairs in block 4. It’s nice and cool there, very quiet, and there are no harsh glaring flurocents to stab into his eyes.

Andy’s dream is to work in a law firm that has very gentle lights and gentle speaking people. He is looking for graduate oportunities now, and can’t wait to start his dream job one day.