#like it always seemed unnatural and stilted in other pods

[inkbirdie]

the gayly prophet is one of my all-time favorite podcasts! it’s absolutely hilarious and the commentary is always on point. an excellent for queer hp fans to consume fandom content ethically in a way that supports trans, queer, and BIPOC creators. i love listening to new episodes (and eps of the queer movie podcast, another fave) on my walks. i often find myself laughing out loud with Lark and Jessie and hoping no one around notices lol

one of my personal favorite aspects of the podcast is how Lark points out the egregious amount of semicolons, ellipses, and general lack of good punctuation and grammar that scoundrel jkr exhibits in her writing. as a writer and someone who hates terfs, it’s very funny and therapeutic.

i highly recommend the gayly prophet to anyone who likes harry potter, a good time, queer people, NOT terfs, or is just into the delicious asmr-like paper turning sound effect when they move between topics. they also have another podcast about buffy the vampire slayer, and although i haven’t listened as i have never watched the show, i’m sure it’s also wonderful!

so yeah that’s my gayly prophet rant, now everyone go listen!! hashtag ruthless for life 😎

the gayly prophet

I can’t believe I don’t see more people talking about @thegaylyprophetpodcast. it’s such a fantastic gem. it’s like listening to your friends talk about gay harry potter shit while you’re comfy on the couch next to them.

you don’t have to start at the beginning. they go through the books chapter by chapter and talk shit about jkr and do tarot readings and scream. they’ve done at least one episode per chapter for PS/SS through POA. pick one and go.

it’s a podcast so I know my adhd babes out there are gonna struggle but it’s my favorite thing to listen to while I’m doing an easy task. folding laundry, cleaning, driving, etc.

just trust me and give it a try. so fucking precious. if you need a starting point, try “Proving Love is Real with Chuck Tingle.” bring tissues.

also they have adorable merch like this:

[ID: two stickers on a gold glittery surface. left sticker is a black outline of a star and the words SUPPORT TRANS WITCHES on top of the star. the words are pink, white, and blue. second sticker is a comic book-style spiky speech bubble outlined in black. over it are the words HEX TRANSPHOBES in red.]

[worryingthing]

It happened to me, I came back from a work task to find another coworker lamenting to the person who used to have my desk that she missed her because I don't like to talk and "am always busy working"*

I do actively try to keep this particular coworker from engaging me because she seems to talk, and loudly, beyond the point of conveying useful information. I do avoid her if she is in the break room. I am not trying to be cruel, I just find pointless engagement really, really draining.

I have started to wonder if I have a dysfunctional personality because of how much I loathe idle chatter. I am also in the second month of full time 8 to 4 pm work, and as an introvert with a low social battery the adjustment has been...interesting. The majority of my complaints center around how loud people often are, how ineffectively they communicate, and how inconsiderate like 95% of people on the subway are. This reminded me that I have to charge my air pods if I want to make it home without killing someone on the train today. I truly walk out the door at 4, pop them in, and hit a playlist of white noise and crank the volume until I can't hear whatever bullshit conversations are happening around me.

But anyway, yeah, generally I am psychotically polite and considerate due to how I was raised (and generalized anxiety disorder), but underneath that I am also a warm and friendly person. I just don't have extra energy to spare! Zero. I come home and take off my shoes and lay flat on the bed by 4:30. I know my AUDHD sometimes gives off the impression of me being a blank NPC, sort of just standing and lightly swaying with an empty head. I am aloof but also at times unbearably aware, it's a tough equilibrium to maintain and also why I am very prone to total dissociation. 

anyway, I wanted to know if I was totally irate or if this was really a thing. Every month or so people pop off on twitter about how abhorrent and small minded it is to hate small talk. It's annoying as fuck to me, so I looked it up. 

 For most autistic people however, the point of a conversation is the content.  If the content is engaging they will connect, content leads to connection. It seems that for many NT’s (neuro-typical or non-autistic people) connection comes before content, so they connect with contentless conversation and if that works they will move on to sharing meaningful content.

Most of us autistics want language to be used to mean what it says not as a backdrop to an invisible social signal. 

So while in an autistic setting (or any setting where they feel safe) many autistic people will ask after someone else’s family or discuss how travel arrangements, because they are genuinely interested and connected. This can give the impression of being small talk, but in fact its meaningful because of the prior connection of the participants. The conversation does not create the connection it happens because of it.

and there you have it. Source is AutismMatter.org.uk

My contention is that NTs will talk about inconsequential matters to create connection while autistics will only do so when they already feel connected.  Social skills courses which teach people that should talk about the weather are teaching masking not connection.

If we repeat stock phrases because we've been taught that's what you're supposed to do it’s likely to feel unnatural, appear stilted and require lots of effort and energy leaving us feeling depleted and unable to actually listen and respond to the other person’s reply.

Should I just forward everyone this article? I promise I am not rude, and I do care! about you, your quality of life, etc. I'm just tired all of the time now and when I crop up against the reality of how I am perceived in reality I can't help but allow it to sting a little. I am trying!

*I am at my job??? working??? ok.

[rubberchickeny]

Jaime/Brienne prompt in ASOIAF (book) verse!

I wanted to stretch my writing muscles and do a prompt in the ASOIAF universe rather than GoT or mod AU. I likeblue prompted me with first kiss and defending honor, and I of course used the opportunity to write Hyle Hunt. If there is one thing I want from Winds, it’s to see how Jaime meets Hyle. 

And yes, the whole business of Lady Stoneheart is crammed into a couple of paragraphs. (Now there’s a writing exercise for you!

On with the show:

Honor and virtue

Ser Hyle Hunt was certainly aware of Brienne of Tarth’s journey through the Riverlands with the Kingslayer.  Ser Hyle had personally heard the given name of the Kingslayer come out of Brienne’s too wide mouth when her near festering cheek wound had her fevered and delusional.  The brotherhood without banners had called her the Kingslayer’s whore.

’Another case of Renly,’ he had thought. What else could he deduce when the said man was the handsomest in Westeros and the maid known far and wide as one of the ugliest. ’Brienne the Beauty’ they had called her, and Hyle had taken part, once. T’was nothing but the truth, after all. He did not think Lannister had had a true taste of her, but even if he had, that made no difference to him. Maybe another disappointment like that would sweeten the value of his proposal.

The proposal he had made to Brienne before they encountered the brotherhood had been a good, honest deal, for both of them. Hyle respected Brienne enough to not insult her with pretty words better used on prettier maids. Brienne knew the truth, and what Hyle was offering was amiable partnership. He would get to be the husband of the next Evenstar of Tarth, and she would gain the respectability of a husband and the freedom to keep wearing a man’s mail. Hyle had no interest in ruling over Tarth or over his wife; he was happy to be a consort and someday have his child rule Tarth.

The maid should appreciate his genuine offer of the marriage bed as well, Hyle thought. She wasn’t likely to get other, respectable offers. Ser Hyle was not bad looking, and he could tolerate her well enough. Of course the lady had not said yes yet, but Ser Hyle knew it was just a matter of time until she saw sense.

If she ever got the chance.

Ser Hyle had lost the track of time since Brienne of Tarth had left both Ser Hyle and her young squire to the hands of the brotherhood without banners and went to retrieve the Kingslayer. The maid was stubborn to a fault, but even Hyle had been surprised when she had been ready to let herself hang for the sake of protecting a Lannister. It was only the act of starting to hang Pod that had changed her mind. Sadly Podrick was not faring very well, but he tried to stay brave for his ”ser lady” that was coming back for them.

In hindsight Ser Hyle might have suspected, but the unpleasant truth was that while he didn’t see Brienne as entirely unbecoming, he found it impossible to believe a man like Lannister could find her comely.  A man like Jaime Lannister had to have had more than his fair share of offers, bound by oath to celibacy or not. Why would he be interested in a maid like Brienne of Tarth?

====

Jaime Lannister had known something was wrong when he let Brienne lead him away. The Wench could not lie to save her life, and as hard as she might try to feign it, Jaime could see she had been hurt badly, and the movements she made were unnatural and stilted. The first time she was forced to remove the dirty bandage off her cheek he had been shocked despite himself.

”That isn’t…is that a human bite, Lady Brienne?” he had asked, trying to appear calmer than he really felt.

 What had he send her to, and what all had been done to her? Had someone succeeded in that which many had failed, and gotten her virtue, as well? He didn’t want to risk hurting her more by asking, but he had to know if he had failed her in this, too. The memory of how much Pia had changed between his two visits to Harrenhal was still fresh in his mind, and he thanked the Maiden when Brienne finally managed to answer him no.

After a two days journey they finally reached their destination.

When Jaime saw what had once been Catelyn Stark and was now Lady Stoneheart, he was truly speechless for perhaps the first time in his life.  Life had been cruel to Catelyn and her family, and by the looks of her, death had been no kinder. This was not the high born lady that Brienne had served, but a cold, vengeful wraith set on bringing pain to everyone who had ever dreamed of hurting her or her family.

There had been an attempt at a trial, and it had not surprised Jaime when Brienne offered to be his champion in a trial by combat. Lady Stoneheart was spitting mad, wheezing that Brienne of Tarth had once been her sword and now she had given away her honor and virtue and loyalty for the likes of the Kingslayer.

The fight turned into a blood bath. If Lady Stoneheart’s own hadn’t turned against her, they both would have surely died. The one they called Thoros of Myr had changed the tide of the battle, and instead of dead on the battlefield, the Wench was now bleeding while an ill looking young boy tried to staunch the flow.

”So this is the Kingslayer. The man you were willing to let us all die for.”

The words came from another prisoner of Lady Stoneheart’s who had survived the chaos by joining the fight. He had brown hair and eyes, and a bleeding nose. Jaime found it impossible to tell if his nose had been as crooked and swollen before the fight broke out, as his overall appearance was quite battered.

The boy tending to the Wench’s wounds looked at the other man with clear anger coming off of him in waves.

“Ser—Lady Brienne came back for us. She saved you!”

“It’s fine, Pod,” Brienne calmed the boy down with a steady, heavy hand on his shoulder. The boy continued his work in silence, but seemed mollified.

The other man did not let down, however.

“I always knew you liked a pretty face, Brienne, but surely not Jaime Lannister.”

Jaime was getting enough of this man with no manners. “Who do I have the pleasure of speaking with?”

“I am Ser Hyle Hunt. I know the lady well.”

Jaime said nothing, waiting for Brienne to acknowledge the situation and explain her relationship to this insolent man.

She did not.

Ser Hyle continued, “I made a fair offer of marriage, but she would rather do the same as she did with Renly and just moon at your beautiful face from afar. Because that’s what will happen, Brienne.”

This was news to Jaime. Brienne looked embarrassed. Jaime knew of course of the three broken betrothals, but he had never much considered any new proposals coming her way. She was the future Evenstar, so naturally there would be many hedge knights ready to deal with much worse than her for a chance at that, even with the war raging on and the future of Tarth undetermined.

“You are speaking to a high born Lady, Ser.” Jaime ground out.

“I am speaking to the lady who the brotherhood called the Kingslayer’s whore. A roll in the hay is all you’re going to get from him, Brienne, when I’m the one—“

Suddenly Ser Hyle was down on the ground, holding his nose which was spouting fresh blood.

“Do not call him the Kingslayer in my presence ever again.” Brienne enunciated slowly, “Without him you would not be alive. He has never besmirched my honor, which is more than can be said for you.”

Despite the less than ideal circumstances Jaime felt quite pleased, but he could not let go of what the Wench had said.

“What do you mean he has besmirched your honor?”

Knowing Jaime and sensing the danger, Brienne refused to explain further, saying only that what was past was in the past. Still, Jaime wanted to make sure this Ser Hyle knew where he stood. He crouched over to Hyle and said quietly, “I better not hear of this again. I take care of what’s mine, and we Lannisters always pay our debts.”

As he got up, he continued, “You might start looking for another wench to woo. This one is spoken for.”

Ser Hyle all but sputtered as Jaime yanked Brienne close to his chest and kissed her, bleeding and all.

The kiss was intense; fierce but sweet just like the Wench herself, and if Jaime was lucky Brienne would not hit him for taking liberties on her person once they were done. Jaime could taste her blood but he did not mind; they were warriors and they were alive. In fact, it was kissing Brienne that made him feel so alive; like he was still a young man, a man who could do anything! Even become a better man.

Once they came out for air, Brienne did not hit him, but yanked him back and kissed him in turn. It was fumbling and glorious and gave him goose bumps all over.

If Jaime had had a thought to spare, he might have noticed Pod happily grinning at a sour looking Ser Hyle.

[mobius-prime]

228. Sonic the Hedgehog #160

Birthday Bash! (Part One): Giving and Receiving

Writer: Ian Flynn Pencils: Tracy Yardley! Colors: Jason Jensen

Welcome to the beginning of Ian Flynn's reign, everyone! As many of you will know, Ian is a fan favorite amongst readers of the comics, and for good reason. Objectively, I'd say he has a much better sense than any previous writer of how to construct dynamic and interesting stories, as well as a great head for writing dialogue. Every character has their own unique voice when speaking, and as someone who takes a particular interest in dialogue in her own writing, it's something I admire a lot, especially given how stilted and unnaturally formal a lot of dialogue by Karl and especially Kenders often sounded, regardless of who was speaking. That said, I think that it took a good year or so for him to fully come into his own as head writer for the series, so some earlier issues are a bit strange and not up to par with a lot of his later work. Some of this, to be fair, is due to him essentially playing clean-up for this first year, untangling a lot of the bizarre leftover plot threads that Karl and Kenders left behind, and generally trying to make the world of the comics conform a little better to that of the games. All that aside, anyone reading the comics will likely notice an immediate and apparent improvement in the overall quality of the work starting with this issue. This is helped along, in addition, by none other than the very talented artist Tracy Yardley! who always (well, almost always) introduces himself in the story credits with an exclamation mark. It's kind of his calling card. Tracy took a while to really improve his art as well, so while his earliest issues sometimes have some strange proportions and poses, later on his style became easily one of the most visually attractive and recognizable ones in the series, simplifying a lot of the inconsistencies that many character designs had as well as doing away with the strange pseudo-human proportions that some artists tended to favor, particularly with the female characters. All this said, I will say that Ian isn't going to be immune to my criticism, as while I do recognize his skill as a writer and the good things he brought to the table, there are definitely some problems I have with the way he handled certain things. We'll cross those bridges when we come to them, however, so for now, let's dive into the new world he's creating and see how he does!

Elias and Sonic are walking on the outskirts of Knothole as Elias explains why his father approved the Metal Sonic troopers from last issue. We don't even really get to hear the explanation, but to be fair, we hardly need one, as the idea was so insane to begin with that the only true explanation is that Kenders needed a plot device. Sonic tries to make Elias promise that "you royals" won't hit him with any more weird surprises, and Elias says they only have one more, leading him to a building next to where the Great Oak Slide into the village ends.

I mean, canonically he's supposed to be turning seventeen here, even though realistically he should be turning eighteen, because remember, for him to have turned sixteen in StH#68, had the Robians be deroboticized in early June in StH#123, and still have managed to spend close to a year in space before turning seventeen, literally everything in between the two aforementioned issues would have had to take place in the span of a few weeks - yes, that's counting the month-and-a-half time span that Sonic was confined to Knothole, as well as major events like Eggman's return and the entire Green Knuckles saga. You can see why this huge discrepancy still bothers me, right? Hmph. Anyway, no sooner has the party begun than an explosion destroys the door, and two new players enter the scene - Bean the Dynamite and Bark the Polar Bear from Sonic the Fighters! Nack's been part of the comic for long enough now, so it's cool to see these two make their first appearance. Bark is totally silent - as far as I remember, he never says a single word during the entirety of the comic - but Bean, in the absence of an obvious personality to draw from in the game, has subsequently been given the personality trait of "criminally insane" in the comics.. He's erratic, he talks to himself, he cracks jokes where jokes really shouldn't be cracked, and most importantly of all, he loves his goddamn bombs. Bean starts chucking said bombs left and right at the various Freedom Fighters in the base, while Sonic tangles with Bark. He seems to think these guys are only after him due to something Evil Sonic did in his place, something which he has by now apparently finally explained to all the women of Knothole, and manages to break away from Bark to stop Bean's bombing spree by pinning him to a wall and asking about Evil Sonic. However, Bean happily insists there's been no mistake and he wasn't even aware of Sonic having an evil twin, nor does he particularly care. Oh, speaking of Evil Sonic…

Huh, it seems that Evil Sonic has actually explained his true identity to Rouge in between their previous failed attempt and now. I'm surprised she hasn't outright abandoned him by now due to Rouge not exactly being evil-aligned to begin with, but I guess the pull of the shiny is just too strong for her to resist. And as it turns out, Bean suffers from a similar insatiable need! Fiona pulls out a ring of keys and shakes them around, completely distracting Bean from his current activity of bashing Sonic's head in, and throws them out the hole he made in the wall, prompting him to immediately abandon everything to chase after them. Fiona then advances on Bark, who by now has gotten himself cornered by every Freedom Fighter in the room, and convinces him to stand down as he's outnumbered. Outside, Bean plays with the keys and talks to them, seemingly convinced that they're a beautiful woman with an "adorable accent" who wants his number, when a suspiciously-Shadow-shaped shadow converges on him, prompting him to try to invite him into smashing Sonic as well. Good luck there, buddy, I don't think Shadow usually runs with crazy…

Geez, Sally, cut Fiona some slack. Not everyone had a squeaky-clean record - hell, just look at Shadow! Back in the Chaos Chamber, Rouge and Evil Sonic begin to battle Locke, who tosses Evil Sonic to the side as he perceives Rouge to be the bigger threat. However, that turns out to be a bit of a bad idea, as with Rouge tied up in the fight, Evil Sonic takes his chance to go after the Master Emerald without her, obviously recognizing it as more than just a shiny trinket.

Back in Knothole, Shadow explains that he's only here to thank Sonic for saving Hope, as he knows he wouldn't have been able to do it on his own, and reminds him that as soon as he leaves this building they're back to being enemies, as Shadow's still aligned with Eggman for now. Sonic, to his credit, seems to recognize that Shadow is only allied with Eggman because he doesn't yet know better, and cheerfully invites him to come back here whenever he cuts out on that deal in the future. It's at this point that everyone realizes Bean has quietly snuck into the brain trust's comms room to casually let Eggman know that he and Bark failed to take Sonic down, and when Fiona ushers him back out of the room, Eggman is only too happy to let Sonic know personally that he wishes him a happy birthday and he's sending him a new, more metallic present. Within seconds a thud outside alerts them to the arrival of this present, and everyone rushes out to see a strange figure emerging from an egg pod - a figure which resolves itself into the combined forms of Crocbot and Octobot, now merged into the singular entity of… Croctobot! (Don't worry, Ian knows just how silly this is and even acknowledges it next issue.) But what of Evil Sonic and Rouge? How is their fight faring against Locke after the former got knocked aside? Well, Evil Sonic takes his chance to dramatically emerge from behind the emerald as the other two get ready to continue their fight…

Plot twist! How many people actually didn't know by now that Evil Sonic and Scourge were the same person? I'm guessing there had to be at least a few of you. You can actually already see Ian's new plans being put into action - it's very telling of his intentions when the very first issue he ever pens immediately makes a point of distinguishing a rather tired and boring character into a new and improved version of himself, with a unique name and new, visually distinct look. Apparently Kenders, who if you recall is the original creator of Evil Sonic, never liked this and continued to insist on referring to him as Evil Sonic, but screw that, Scourge is a much more interesting character and this was a change that sorely needed to be made.

Sonic Rush (Part One of Two)

Writer/Pencils: Tania Del Rio Colors: Ben Hunzeker

So unfortunately, Sonic Adventure 2 isn't the only case in the preboot of a partial adaption of a game being included without any actual ending. Sonic Rush, the game, introduces Blaze, a cat from an alternate dimension that is controlled by the Sol Emeralds rather than the Chaos Emeralds, and most of the plot revolves around the Sol Emeralds ending up in Sonic's dimension and her trying to recollect them to bring back to her own world. However, things are a bit different in the comics universe. In this story, Blaze comes to Sonic's dimension because, apparently, she's been having nonstop dreams about him, dreams which show her visions of Eggman threatening the Sol Emeralds and Sonic helping her protect them. She's frustrated that she would have to rely on anyone else to help her protect the emeralds at all, believing them to be her sole responsibility, but nonetheless she's tracked Sonic to Knothole. However, while deliberating her next move, a squad of swatbots - yes, ordinary ones, it's been a while since we've seen them rather than shadow-bots - happen upon her and decide that they should take her in for interrogation.

Yeah, I guess Blaze doesn't understand the dangers present in this universe yet, does she? An hour or so later, Rotor sends for Sonic, informing him that they caught the aftermath of Blaze's capture on their video surveillance. Neither of them know who she is, but they decide she can't be from their village, since she left several disabled swatbots behind, while most people in Knothole are noncombatants and those that aren't are accounted for elsewhere. Sonic rushes out to find their trail and tracks them to a nearby facility set up amidst the trees, and while he begins fighting his way in, the scientific robots in the building go about studying their new specimen.

Sorry, but why the hell would Eggman be looking to add some random Mobian to his team? He only likes robots anyway, and tends to either betray or enslave every living being that comes to him. Blaze suddenly awakens and becomes furious - not that she's been captured, mind you, but that they took off her coat while studying her. She must be really goddamn attached to her coat, because she starts absolutely trashing the place, exploding into flames and screaming so loudly that Sonic becomes genuinely worried about her wellbeing, rushing to where he last heard her. The door of the lab she's in is completely blasted off its hinges by the force of Blaze's explosions, but thankfully after this she seems to have found her coat, because the blasts subside and she appears in the doorway wearing it once again, staring down at an utterly shocked Sonic with a look of fiery fury (the literal flames coating her entire body probably help with the "fiery" bit). Uh… good luck dealing with that, buddy boy!