#my little goth punk seeker of darkness

[rattsnott]

im so fog brained rn, smthn snapped inside of me. have some first pass scary marlowe doodles

[ike-mcswains-mortician]

low-quality scary doodle :)) I love her your honor

[watchingyoufromthestars]

Teens as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse because Freddie brought it up and I love character assignments

First Horseman, Conquest/Glory: Normal

Glory can align to Pride, which from the Hell arc we know as Normal’s greatest sin. This is the White Rider, the color of which in the Bible is associated with righteousness; being morally right is a big part of the Oak characterization. A random side note of the twins using bows during the betrayal, this guy uses a bow, not that connected to Normal besides being his dad(s). Another interpretation of the First Horseman is as Pestilence, or infectious disease or plague, and he’s an Oak that’s explanatory enough for that. And he’s our resident stinky boy (even though it seems like everyone even the cast has forgotten that Normal DOES shower he just doesn’t know how to do laundry correctly but alas).

Second Horseman, War: Taylor

The Red Horse. In some translations, the color is specifically a “fiery” red, which fits perfectly with our little literal demon child. The rider wields a sword, which is the weapon Taylor is associated with the most from his wide array of survivalist gear. There’s also the association with bloodshed, which there has been for everyone, but I’d say most heavily with Taylor’s family at specifically Willy’s hands, who is currently in the position of God. He killed Glenn, decapitated Taylor, and also chopped off Nicky’s other arm (though none of those actually bled). I forget where I was going with that point is that actually a connection? Whatever.

Third Horseman, Famine: Lincoln

Not an actual reason for assigning him this, but this is the Third one and Link is a #3 kind of guy. He hates the number four because “that’s how many family members it’d be if his dad's got another kid”. The actual assignment may feel like a bit of a stretch but it makes sense to me. The Black Rider carries a scale, representing how bread would be weighed during the famine. They’ve also been interpreted as Scales of Justice. Applying this is Lincoln, I see it as the end to ep37 and Link’s feelings towards Grant as they are currently. Link is struggling to let his love for his father and hatred towards his actions coexist. He broke the garlic knot out of love, but he said he never wants to speak to Grant again. The garlic knot is his bread that he weighs in decision of how to approach his relationship with Grant, and he instead sliced it like the Gordian Knot and removed himself as a son and refers to Grant as a coworker.

Fourth Horseman, Death: Scary

Death surrounds Scary, that was my first thought when assigning. From Tony to Terry, and without going into depth about them because just mentioning them should be enough, Scary and Willy’s hand in her life has been more associated with Death than any of the other teens. Death is also the only rider explicitly given a name, and I’ll connect that to how she ‘rebrands’ herself as a goth punk seeker of darkness and going by an entirely different name upon introduction/throughout the series.

And that’s all 🫶 I love doing character assignments they’re so fun. There wasn’t that much to work from so they’re pretty simple reasons for assigning but I feel like the reasons fit enough.

[stimtoybox]

hey! mods get a lot of asks so feel free to ignore, but lately ive been really stressed out and my need to sensory input skyrocketed. i really like soft things, and rn for that i have a minky blanket and a cat that i love to pet, but ive been looking for public acceptable soft textured stims. do you have any suggestions?

There’s a lot of asks, yes, but I don’t want to ignore anything, so if folks don’t mind waiting a bit or a lot, I promise we’ll get to it eventually. I mean, people are asking under the belief that we can help (or try to help) so to ignore that, I think, would be a disservice to the people who support us. Not to mention the fact that I’d be surprised if there isn’t at least one other person who is helped out by someone who asks and gets an answer, no matter how odd or unnecessary the ask might seem. Informative posts help people know something exists; asks often ask me to put together toys by category or need, or provide care/safety information, all things posts about a cute squishy or a sale Tangle don’t accomplish. So to me, anyway, they’re pretty important!

I’ve actually got quite a lot of soft textured sims, some small enough to hide in a coat pocket or handbag/satchel, some that won’t draw too much attention and some that don’t even look like stim toys:

Image description under read more cut at end of post!

Subtle/Easily Hidden Toys:

- Keychains (Fluffy, Pompom, Plush, Tassel): These are the biggest in “stimmy objects attached to a bag or satchel that nobody will consider an obvious stim” toys. If you choose more muted colours, especially if you’re female, feminine or seen as female by society, nobody will think anything of these: I’ve seen plenty of professional-appearing women with a dark pompom keychain attached to their handbags. If you’re a little quirky, punk, goth, counter-culture or unconventional, you can get away with any colour and style you like without anyone realising what they’re actually for.

Try the accessories sections of department stores (K-Mart, Target) and accessories stores (Claire’s, Lovisa) as well as markets (Queen Victoria Market) for the more unusual and funky items. There’s all sorts of things on eBay (none of them expensive) under the search plush keychain.

- Purses and Pouches: again, it helps to be a little unconventional here, since most of the really stimmy ones tend to be brightly coloured. I’ve got two very soft plush coin-style purses shaped like a frog head and a watermelon slice; I’ve also got a chenille coin purse with all the lovely fronds for running hands through.

I’ve seen the plush pouches/purses in K-Mart and Daiso, so again think the accessory sections of department stores. Or you can try eBay under the search plush coin purse, as there’s loads of awesome purses for $2 USD or less. The chenille ones are harder to find, but I’ve seen the Yoobi-branded ones here in Officeworks and they’ve been found in the US, I believe, at Target.

- Makeup Blending Sponges: soft but with a little cellulose-like texture. Available in most department stores. You might not want to be seen holding this, but they easily fit into a coat pocket or bag.

(I also glued two makeup sponges together around a slide clip to make a crackling squishy, as in this tutorial you sent in to us, and sewed the sponges into a small flannelette bag, making a tiny, fabric-textured cracking squishy - the purple star-print rectangle in the photo above.)

- Disney Mini Tsum Tsum Plush: soft, has a variety of gentle textures, readily squishable, available at Target and Disney Stores. Also easily hidden in a coat pocket or bag, and I should know, because I have one in my satchel that’s easily stimmed with just by sliding a hand inside said satchel.

(There’s a lot of similar mini plushies as well - you might prefer Puchimaru, Teeny Tys or any of the handmade plush toys made by many of the autistic crafters on this list.)

- Crocheted Stress Ball: the crocheted thread is soft and non-scratchy, and the ball easily slips into a pocket. This is a noisy toy, though, as the ball contains crinkle paper, so for this reason it’s not terribly stealth. The best place I know for purchasing these for non-Australians is Stimtastic.

- Mini Bean Bags: can be made from flannelette, fleece, minky fleece, faux fur. Anything soft and strokeable. If you’re DIYing this or ordering it (several of the sellers on our autistic crafters list make these sorts of bean bags) just have it made small enough to fit in a pocket.

(Note: you can also buy small pieces of these fabrics from a craft store like Lincraft or Spotlight, cut them up into portable swatches and keep a piece in your pocket or bag. You can hem or blanket stitch the edges for neatness, but it isn’t required, and it gives you something soft to stroke, like a minky blanket, wherever you are.)

Less Subtle/More Obvious Toys:

- Tangle Jr Fuzzy: this one really isn’t subtle, but for soft texture seekers, they’re absolutely divine. You will look like you’re stimming (although for some reason, nobody has commented when I use a Tangle on the bus, as opposed to other toys) but they’re too perfect for the soft aspect of this ask for me to ignore them. They’re still easily carried in a pocket or bag, though!

- Marble Maze and Marble Loops: made from flannelette, they’re absolutely wonderful just for stroking, and I make this even better by using a layer of minky fleece for the back. Again, you will look like you’re stimming, but even out and about there’s usually places where you can pull out a toy for private stimming/calming, and the maze can easily be folded up to fit in a pocket. The loop, being much smaller, is far more subtle and even easier to keep on your person.

I hope this gives you some ideas, @abandonedshops, and if anyone has any ideas that I’ve forgotten to include, please comment away!

- Mod K.A.

[image description: a photo of several soft, fabric stim toys sitting on a round red and green watermelon slice pillow and a tree-on-night-sky silhouette quilt cover in black, blue and white. The pillow is sitting on the quilt cover, covered by toys, with a single line of toys sitting underneath the pillow.

Toys from left to right, top to bottom:

- a dark blue, turquoise and yellow wool pompom keychain;

- a white and peach plush ball keychain;

- a red plush heart-shaped keychain;

- a square pink Yoobi chenille coin purse;

- a cream, lemon and aqua Disney Tsum Tsum mini plush Elsa;

- a round-with-bulging-eyes frog face plush coin purse;

- a red, yellow, green, purple, blue and purple striped crocheted stress ball;

- a black, white and grey leopard-print faux-fur bean bag;

- a green, blue, purple and pink round plush ball keychain;

- a red, white, green and black watermelon slice plush coin purse;

- an orange, yellow, light pink, dark pink and purple embroidery thread tiered tassel keychain;

- a pink, orange and yellow tassel leather keychain;

- a fluro yellow, pink, green, purple and blue cord tassel keychain;

- an aqua owl-print marble maze with pink fleece backing;

- a mini purple and full-size orange teardrop-shaped makeup blending sponge;

- a solid red flocked Tangle Jr Fuzzy;

- a red, yellow, green, purple, dark blue and light blue flocked Tangle Jr Fuzzy;

- a rectangular-shaped white-star-on-purple flannelette-covered DIY cracking squishy;

- a white-spot-on-red flannelette marble maze;

- a lemon and light blue stripped bunny plush keychain.]