#the hyperfixation is too strong folks

[hellogoodbyegirl]

Me listening to "Another Man's Woman" by Supertramp for the millionth time this year (featuring Disco Deaky (John Deacon) from Queen)!

[this-cult-of-dionysus]

What if Aziraphale and Crowley discovered Spotify and just sat with each other for a while, finding songs to share?

Well I was the fly on the wall and that playlist is real now. So are their accounts.

[so-mordor-itis]

Fluffy Alphabet: Leon Kennedy

You know what time it is folks--it's time for my fluffy alphabet with whatever fictional character I'm hyperfixating on let's goooo

You can imagine whatever Leon for this, it applies to almost all in my opinion

A ctivities - What do they like to do with their s/o? How do they spend their free time with them?

When it comes to you, he'll pretty much do anything. At a certain point in your relationship, Leon just craves your presence, as if you are his battery when he needs to recharge. It doesn't matter what you two do: converse about mundane things, cuddle, chores around the apartment. All he cares about is if you're there, safe, and by his side. You could even be doing something as simple as reading a book. He'll feel blessed to simply be there. At the idea he can even see you like this, no danger in sight, no need to grab his gun or knife or anything that can remotely be regarded as a weapon. Just normal domestic intimacy. He craves it so bad that the memory of you reading or talking or listening to him vent about a bad day reminds him why he's still going.

B eauty - What do they admire about their s/o? What do they think is beautiful about them?

He admires your ability to keep up with him. Not just his personality--the guy knows he's not the most pleasant man to be around if he's grumpy or going through a mood swing. Everything. His trauma, his work, his habits that he can't seem to shake no matter how hard he tries. Leon has so much on his plate, yet it keeps piling on. It's why when he found himself interested in you in more than a friendly manner, it scared him a little. At the idea of opening up to someone, allowing them to see parts of himself he'd rather not let see the light of day.

It's why, when you saw those parts of him, the night terrors, the memories of Raccoon City, and you simply grabbed them and kissed them tenderly, he was amazed. He swore he fell harder and faster to the point he was scared of smacking the ground. He finds your stubbornness and persistence admirable, well when it's not leading you down the road of trouble.

C omfort - How would they help their s/o when they feel down/have a panic attack etc.?

Leon isn't the best at wording things correctly or appropriately. He cracks jokes during moments he shouldn't, shoves whips and sharp edges into sentences that really shouldn't be there. He's not great at receiving comfort himself. He's not used to it. Leon's been alone for a good chunk of his life and grew to push his problems away or ignore them, then actually talking to anyone.

So, witnessing you hold your face in your hands, beyond exhausted, his heart shatters, and all he wants to do is hold you. Though he over analyzes the situation a bit. Would you want him to hold you? Would you even like that at this point in time? What could he even say to make you feel better, to make you smile even just a little? Eventually he caves, asking if it's okay to hold you and once you confirm it is, his strong arms wrap around your form and he hopes desperately you feel comforted in some way.

D reams - How do they picture their future with their s/o?

If he's honest, all he wants is a normal life. That's what he's wanted ever since he was younger: a life of fixing fences and pipes that burst, maybe help clean up cat litter in the mix. He thought his life would be normal when he assigned himself to the Raccoon City branch of police work, that he'd be a regular cop scolding teenagers that loitered in front of the station too long. Naturally, that wasn't the case at all. Now, he's at the President's beck and call, the DSO's puppet, and labeled a weapon by many.

In the future, he tries to envision you in it as much as he's hesitant to let you in at first. Eventually what made him want to fight for that future was when you moved into his apartment so casually, as if you were a missing puzzle piece in his life. That normal, picket fence life was his end goal and he would fight tooth and nail to see it come to fruition.

E qual - Are they the dominant one in the relationship, or rather passive?

He's both, but he tries to be more passive in certain situations. Leon doesn't like the idea of trying to take control of everything, and only does it when he feels he needs to. Leon knows you can take care of yourself, regardless if you're an agent or not. You've got a voice, too. However, if he notices you're uncomfortable or you're actively trying to get out of something, he'll play along and shuffle you out of it. The last thing he wants is for you to think he's trying to control what you do, since you don't do that to him.

F ight - Would they be easy to forgive their s/o? How are they fighting?

Leon hates fighting you. Sometimes he just refuses to and hopes letting you think things over will defuse the bomb you're about to become. A thing about him is he never raises his voice and if he's drawn to that point, his volume is only increased so he could get your attention. He hates the idea of yelling at you; having dealt with hearing his parents constantly at each other's throats. It makes him feel ill at the idea, of shouting at you so he could get his point across. What would that accomplish, making you shrivel into a corner, hurting and pleading for him to stop.

He's very easy to forgive, especially if you apologized immediately after. Leon knows how easily people give into emotions, and if you two were arguing about his work, or about how he's barely around, Leon wouldn't even blame you for that. If it's stressful for him, he can only imagine what it's like for you to see him so stressed and not be able to help.

G ratitude - How grateful are they in general? Are they aware of what their s/o is doing for them?

Leon's not able to put into words just how grateful he is that he met you. If it weren't for you, he swears he would've gone insane and part of him is terrified at that realization. That a person could have that much effect on someone's life. You've stuck with him so long he wonders why he was ever worried in the first place. Leon's not the best with words and the idea of telling you out of the blue how grateful he is he has you makes him flustered. He shows how grateful he is through certain actions: hugging you close from behind, kissing your temple over and over, nuzzling into you despite your protests that it tickles.

He's grateful he can see your smile and hear your laugh, because even the smallest thing can make him feel better.

H onesty - Do they have secrets they hide from their s/o? Or do they share everything?

Oh God, he wishes he could share everything he's been through with you. Depending on if you knew about Raccoon City or not, he'd most likely share that old wound eventually, but anything to do with work he's physically not allowed to spill. Again, unless you're an agent, you pretty much have no choice but to be left in the dark. He hates it. Makes him feel like less of a partner because he's stuck between a rock and a hard place.

It causes a bit of friction, and he feels it hang in the air some days. Some days he wonders if you've figured out what he's been doing for 10 straight years, some days he thinks you secretly have figured it out but just won't tell him.

I nspiration - Did their s/o change them somehow, or the other way around? Like trying out new things or helped them overcome personal problems?

You gave him a harsh reality check about caring for another person, and that inspires him to do better with what he's got. Not that he ever thought being in a relationship would be easy, but you definitely answered his question of how hard it would be some days. He wants to be there for you, and hopes you recognize it. Leon's always had trouble opening up to people, because when he trusted some, they tore that trust away so fast he couldn't even blink. Sometimes he reaches out to you and then flinches at a flashback of red.

You inspired him to try to pry open that box he locked his heart in.

J ealousy - Do they get jealous easily? How do they deal with it?

He doesn't like the idea of getting jealous, even bitterly hating the word. Though, he's human, so naturally he will get jealous. It takes a bit of pushing at him to get him into that corner. Someone else flirting with you? He's more concerned about you and if you're comfortable and if he needs to intervene. They put their arms around you? Well, if you know them sure, but they're kinda being too friendly. They wiggle their eyebrows and make a suggestive action? Yeah, he's gonna say something.

If you ask him about it, he immediately shuts down the idea of jealousy.

"Don't get jealous on me now."

"I wasn't. I just didn't like how they were rubbing themselves on you."

It's only until later on as he thinks about it that makes him afraid. He's scared of losing you and the idea of you possibly leaving him for someone else wraps around him for awhile. He's still terrible at telling you how he's feeling sometimes.

K iss - Are they a good kisser? What was the first kiss like?

The first kiss with him was endearing. This isn't his first rodeo, he's kissed people before, but he probably wouldn't classify himself as an amazing kisser. He couldn't help himself anymore, with you looking at him like he's an idol, like he could never do any wrong, he grabbed you gently, asking if this was okay, before finally giving in. He kissed you so softly, as if he was holding a feather that could be blown away by the wind.

You had laughed a little and his brows knitted.

"You can kiss me again, you know."

He took your offer instantly, kissing you harder in the process. That sealed the deal.

L ove Confession - How would they confess to their s/o?

His love confession was more of an action and then a question. Leon didn't exactly know how to express the fact he had feelings for you, so he didn't verbally say it, but he said it all the time with his actions and he didn't even realize it. How he'd linger too close to you during mundane moments of the day, how he'd immediately jump at the chance to help you with anything. He'd stupidly wonder how people around him knew he was head over heels when his body kept showing it.

Though, it seemed like you didn't know either. When he finally gathered himself to ask you on a date, you looked surprised.

M arriage - Do they want to get married? How do they propose? What would the marriage be like?

It takes awhile for him to get around the idea. At first, the idea of commitment to that degree makes him anxious. One screw up could lead to the downfall of a relationship in the making for years. The history of you two would be wiped clean and he'd loathe over it for God knows how long. So, at first, he brushes off the idea of marrying you.

And then you moved in with him. Started helping him around his apartment, lying in the same bed, and something just clicks with him. Maybe he does want that with you, but would you want that with him?

He doesn't propose outright, but alludes to it with a question. (He never liked the idea of getting down on one knee.)

N icknames - What do they call their s/o?

The standard nicknames: baby, babe, sweetheart. On rare occasions he'll toss out 'love' to test it on his tongue and see if it fits. 'Dear' when he's trying to annoy you. 'Darling' during intimate moments. He knows that riles you up.

O n Cloud Nine - What are they like when they are in love? Is it obvious for others? How do they express their feelings?

He's different, but also the same. Even when Leon is in love, he attempts to keep that same stoic expression to his co-workers and even to you if he works with you. Though, obviously someone is willing to point it out that there's gotta be something between the two of you. Hunnigan is willing to be that person, buzzing in his ear about how he acts differently when you're around but he's quick to deny it. As Leon looks back, the fact he got defensive would've given off alarms to her.

P DA - Are they upfront about their relationship? Do they brag with their s/o in front of others? Or are they rather shy to kiss etc. when others are watching?

He's willing to hold your hand and kiss you gently on the cheek or lips when he's confident. When he's not at that moment in time, he'll just hold your hand and hope you won't tease him for being more reserved.

Q uirk - Some random ability they have that’s beneficial in a relationship.

He can read you like a book. He'll know when something is wrong or when you're nervous. Leon grew to read people's body language over the years. He watches carefully, taking notes in his head about how you may be fidgeting or how you're breathing kinda fast. He can absolutely tell if you're angry at him and he immediately wants to quell that anger as soon as possible.

He'll ask if you're okay daily to check in with you, and then notice you also ask him the same question. You both can read each other pretty well.

R omance - How romantic are they? What would they do to make their s/o happy? Cliché or rather creative?

Leon's kinda silly when it comes to being romantic. He's extremely cliche and cheesy, and he knows it. He does it on purpose, but not because he thinks it's cool or hip these days. He does it because it never fails to make you laugh or at least smile. He'll regard a glare or a look of bewilderment and just continue to run his charade, shrugging all the same.

He doesn't want to stop. Not yet, at least.

S upport - Are they helping their s/o achieve their goals? Do they believe in them?

Of course, he believes in you. What partner wouldn't believe in the person they love? He wants you to be happy, just as you harbor the same thought process for him. Seeing you doubt yourself, your abilities... it makes him feel that he's failed. That he hasn't been encouraging you enough. (Even if you constantly remind him just how much he's done for you.) He'll put a hand on your shoulder and squeeze it, lightly telling you he's got your back.

T hrill - Do they need to try out new things to spice out your relationship? Or do they prefer a certain routine?

Leon's most certainly not afraid to try anything new, even in the bedroom. No matter how big or small the suggestion, he's always willing to, at the very least, apply it to your relationship. Even if you get all shy and try to walk across eggshells. He thinks it's cute and endearing that you want to work on or try different things out. His heart feels full at the fact you trust him so to let him know how you're feeling and what you've been thinking about.

U nderstanding - How good do they know their partner? Are they empathetic?

Leon often feels that he's too empathetic. It's affected him before, many times in fact. He's acknowledged this himself in the past when he was drinking and wondered what would've happened if he refused the ultimatum the government offered. What would've happened to Sherry? Would he even still be alive at that point? Would Sherry?

He knows you too well. To the point that he can sense what you're about to be feeling despite your stubbornness. You tell him you're okay, that you'll be fine, when he knows it's the exact opposite. You're not fine, and you won't be fine until you talk it out.

V alue - How important is the relationship to them? What is it’s worth in comparison to other things in their life?

Besides work, you become the most important aspect of his life. There's not a moment that goes by where you don't flash across his mind. Leon will often think of you during harder missions, wondering what you are doing at that moment, if you missed him at all. He knows you do, but he dodges that answer to avoid feeling more guilty than he does.

He'll start pondering about your decisions and merge them into his own actions. Wondering how you'd react to situations and what you would do if you were in his shoes. You influence him in more ways than one.

W ild Card - A random Fluff Headcanon.

He loves simple dates. Riding on his bike with you hugging his waist, going to the beach, and just smelling the salt from the sea, your hand in his own. He sees you collect a sand dollar, and then he rolls his eyes playfully but knows he will often think on this moment at work. Of how childish your grin was and how he felt joy at you healing your inner child.

He enjoys simple things, perhaps to peel away from the horrors of what he's seen. To pretend for one second his life was actually normal.

X OXO - Are they very affectionate? Do they love to kiss and cuddle?

The man is touch-starved to a maximum degree. Even before the two of you started seeing each other, Leon had already begun envisioning how his lips would feel on yours, and it made him feel gross, as if he was a pervert. He even imagined how good your hugs felt and how your figure would feel as it slipped into his embrace.

After he told you how he felt and got the sense you were comfortable? He couldn't keep his hands off of you. And not even in a sexual way. (Though, that too.) He adores cuddling you, being the big spoon. Leon wouldn't even mind being the small spoon, but he's adamant on cagging you in his biceps. He wants you to feel safe.

Y earning - How will they cope when they’re missing their partner?

He's used to being alone. Used to coming home to an empty apartment, listening to the echoes of his own footsteps as he's awaiting his next call. So when you're away on work trips, he tries not to let it get to him. After all, how unfair would it be if he bothered you at work when you couldn't do the same to him? Once you're home, he just pulls you close as a greeting, mumbling how he missed you.

When he's at work, when you're not allowed to call him at all, it's a different story. A different type of loneliness. Not being able to hear your voice once just fills him with a sadness only those in love could explain. Leon has to force himself to think about the details of meetings or when he should reload his gun next.

Z eal - Are they willing to go to great lenghts for the relationship? If so, what kind of?

Leon would kill for you or die for you if you simply ask, and that scares him. He's not a violent person by nature and is appalled by those who hurt others as easily as they breathe. But, when he sees you, this odd, protective energy springs out of him, and he immediately tosses all common sense out the window. You make him stupid and reckless, and he's willing to do anything for you.

It's what terrifies him the most.

~

|Tags:|

@uhlunaro , @izuniias , @universal-imagines , @madeholyy , @some-insomniac-writes , @mandalhoerian @leonskillshot , @unhealthy-leon-brainrot , @honeyfict , @seraphiism , @toseetheworldinaworkofart , @i-can-sabotage-me-bi-myself

[workingbynyx]

Words I Held Back — Gojo Satoru x GN!Reader

× :: summary — satoru is gone and sukuna remains victorious while you had to stay on the sidelines, however, a note managed to find its way into your pocket– what could it be?

× :: pairing — gojo satoru x gn!reader

× :: genre — angst, oneshot

× :: warning (s) — some ooc and oos instances!

× :: a/n — aaaand we're back in the game after months of disappearing 😎 hey folks! i'm gonna have to start yall off with a recent hyperfixation of mine (aka jjk) about our glorious blue eyed king 🙏🏻 this is my first time writing some angst and about anime, so apologies in advance! i'm also sorry if this was pretty short :<

now that satoru was gone, you felt as if a big part of your soul was gone too. it didn't feel real, it didn't feel possible but sukuna managed to do the impossible. you were angry at yourself, you should've been there with him— everyone should've been. you were in complete shock, you wanted to blame yourself but there was no time to even mourn the loss of satoru gojo, you had to help shoko with other injured people that needed your assistance.

tears wouldn't stop falling down your cheeks, they all fell on their own thinking about him alone. you worked on patching up sorcerers although they couldn't help but notice how stained with tears your face was while you cleaned their wounds in a blank expression. you never bothered to wipe them on your own since new patients are coming in every second, you had to put them first before yourself.

eventually, you stood up to get yourself a nice cup of tea to calm your nerves. however, you felt a piece of paper in the depths of your pocket when you placed your hands in them. you carefully fished it out and noticed a something written in them. you gasped under your breath when you realized who it's from...

"y/n, it's satoru.

if you're seeing this then that probably means i'm in shinjuku right now~ i wrote this letter for you to read since i know how anxious you get in serious missions that involved special grades. i also wanted to write this letter because, well, i've been meaning to tell you something for a while now actually. these are the words i held back, y/n. i never had the guts to tell you in person so this is probably the only reasonable way of letting you know. you've always been the source of my motivation to keep going, you kept my world spinning even if it was slowly caving in towards me. you made me realize how much my worth is as a person... as my self, and i'd like to thank you for that.

right now, i'm fighting in that city for everyone. i wouldn't be able to forgive myself if i died on that field and leave you like that without any further explanation, i'm really sorry. but at least i died knowing i've fought and gave my all for the person i love earnestly. i remember when we were still first years and you've only then discovered your true cursed technique with me, you were so happy. i fell in love with you right there and then. i didn't think it would be possible for somebody like me to develop these feelings for you, i didn't want to admit it because i know i wasn't strong enough yet to protect you. i thought i needed to prove myself first to be worth of your love, but i realized that i already was even if i didn't. that was foolish of me, wasn't it? hahaha

i guess i was also scared, most of the people i loved are always harmed or endangered, so all i really wanted was to keep you safe in this cruel world, free from danger like me. love is the most twisted curse of them all, but here i am completely bewitched by you. whatever our fate may be, i only wish for your happiness to be found— even if it's not with me. you probably already know what i'm about to tell you but you always forget (dumbass !) sleep on time, eat on time and remember that you're the strongest.. second after me though of course :P

let's talk when i get back!

— g. s. "

you completely broke down by the end, sinking onto the floor on your knees as tears slowly stained the paper. your heart shattered into pieces like glass when everything finally caught up to you, why must the world be so cruel? nanami, haibara, suguru, and now satoru. one by one, everyone is being taken from you without any reason why other than beastly curses being bloodthirsty for murder and power. satoru deserved to live longer away from constant danger, he deserved the happiness that was ripped from him a long time ago.

the both of you could've lived a wonderful life together, but all of that was gone in a flash.

"satoru... i didn't k-know... i'm really sorry" you muttered under your breath, your nails digging into the skin of your thigh. your hands then came up towards your face in attempt to muffle your sobbing. shaking hands, silent cries and heavy tears falling, the folded letter abandoned in front of you as guilt slowly consumed you inside.

from that day on, gojo satoru was dead.

[dmfromtheblacklagoon]

Y’know what. Screw it, random Harvey headcannon time:

This man is my personal little skrimblo, my grunkle if you will, so I have decided to compile my personal headcannons for him here for you folks!

His personal comfort show is Over the Garden Wall, I can imagine him listening to the soundtrack while he builds :]

He struggles with C-PTSD and RSD, which is possibly canon? Hinted at HEAVILY in his higher friendship/marriage dialogues. I just need him to know it’s gonna be okay ;-;

He enjoys antiquing and thrifting! I feel like he would heavily enjoy the pre-loved items, however making sure to properly cleaning them before he puts them away!

There is absolutely no evidence to prove this, but I feel like he would, or has collected coins. Really not sure why, I just feel like this fits him quite well.

Mentioned this in my last Harvey appreciation post, but I feel like he would be asexual or possibly demisexual! This might also be your local ace wanting more rep, but I get a strong vibe from this man.

He has a fear of getting tattoos. Both the commitment of having something on his body for so long, the risk of infection, and the fear of the actual process worry him, however he hopes to get one to represent Farmer soon :3

Harvey loves bugs. Another one I don’t have any evidence for, but I can just imagine him sitting on a bench outside with a little guy on his hand while he reads, or flipping over stones to make sure the pill bugs are doing well. (Also, he seems like the kind of person who had a bug hyperfixation, coming from someone with one)

He doesn’t know any instruments fluently per say, but he finds the mandolin to be a fun, and good instrument to play around with, especially learning songs for farmer!

He has a complex understanding of the International Phonetic Alphabet, and will go on happy rambles about etymology if farmer inquires! He is a doctor after all, and lots of medical terminology is based in latin, which has a deep connection with the IPA so this would make sense!

He is terrified of dogs, specifically small dogs. They just seem too evil and ill-intended, he cannot understand why these little goblins must be so aggressive, which is honestly valid

Anyways, that’s all i’ve got for now, but more coming soon possibly?? If folks want, I can do my headcannons for other characters as well!! Enjoy my friends :3

[retrobr]

Folks you have no idea how much it hurts when the hyperfixation is too strong for your poor little brain. I want to race around my room every time I think of it, ramble about it at someone all day long, think about it every second of my consciousness, and make 100,500+ posts about it in a row. 

This is a cry for help basically

[unbizzarre]

Byerly Vorrutyer Character Designs

BYERLY VORRUTYER of Lois McMaster Bujold’s Vorkosigan Saga

Tried to go for a rapidly-aging prettyboy with the gothic heavy lidded eyes (idk how to describe the eyes I’m talking about) and a face that reads as male while having something slightly feminine about it. A face that smiles often but is composed, cool. Slightly wavy black hair that is either shortish, chin length, or slightly shorter than shoulder length (I haven’t decided yet 😅)

Designing faces is not my strong suit so I am working backwards from a few references I like. Will probably simplify artstyle, slightly lengthen hair and mix with a dash of Professor Venom from OK KO (for that little bit of haggard twink energy) to creat the final design.

References:

Wardrobe:

Materials: silk, velvet, ruffles lace, detailed embroidery, military piping, sheer cloth, fur — echoes of beautiful luxurious handmade traditional artisan clothing- but all a little to gaudy and cheaply produced - the barrayaran aristocrat version of fast fashion. Androgynous and galactic styles occasionally thrown in to add to mystique

-SHIRTS: silk shirts // shirts with poofy or frilly sleeves // patterned shirts // sheer shirts // velvet shirts // shirts that are tucked in the pants but so unbuttoned the entire chest exposed

- SUITS: velvet suits that absolutely reek of cologne // sleezy yet sharp barreyaran style black suits you might smoke a cigar or play pool in // pastel suit for daytime garden parties

WARDROBE ACCENTS

- bigass fur coat - maybe even almost a midieval king robe

- several offensively knock off fast fashionmilitary style jackets

- luxuriously patterned bathrobe

- see through shawl / wrap / night robe thing

- some gaudy galactic style outfits

- a few sexy or frilly dresses to piss off the family

- a few a casual / slightly more subdued blend of komarran, barrayaran and practical galactic clothing he only really wears at home (stuff he wears when he’s not preforming for an audience). maybe some sentimental pieces. What’s hidden beneath the camouflage.

- some bling: rings and earrings. A few broaches and cuff links probably not that many necklaces

EDIT: here are some reference collages I put together! Note that these references aren’t the exact items that he would have in his closet but rather there are aspects to each piece that I would want to incorporate into his design. Maybe it’s the cut of a sleeve, the silhouette of a coat, the way a robe drapes, the embroidery pattern on some fabric, or the general partied-too-hard vibes of a particular photo of a model.

Bastardized military jackets:

Neglige options / heavier nightfrobe options:

Bigass fur coat:

Shirts (please ignore the long blue scarf in the central image like wtf is that- the rest of the suit is nice tho):

Party vibes:

A lot of these aspects would then be mixed with my own head cannon for the rules/cuts of barreyaran mens clothing (I went to a library and spent a stupid insane amount of time looking through books with midieval, 1800s and 1900s men’s fashions and France, Russia, and Greece- + additional books of traditional folk clothings and textile patterns + several other books of historic military uniforms…. The process and choices were so long that I had to give up and just stop thinking about any sort of vorkosigan related character design for a couple months cuz my head hurt. - I will probably make another post at some point with more annotated collages and possibly some of my own drawings synthesizing the concepts, but uh not right now because I need a nap just thinking about trying to organize it all.)

If you’d like to see a little more of vorkosigan universe costume imaginings here’s my Pinterest board on it (kinda) https://pin.it/2rOoHsq it’s a extremely disorganized and from early hyperfixation days so none of my fashion history research stuff is there (cuz that was all physical book stuff) but uh, you can look at it if you want.

P.S.

If you have any feedback or critiques on the design so far, or ideas for how you think By should look, let me know! I love hearing other people’s interpretations 😊.

Photos of faces you think look like By, pictures of outfits that feel Byerly-ish, or direct quotes from the books about his demeanor or appearance are also welcome!

@starfishlikestoread it’s been approximately a thousand years but I’m finally getting around to that Byerly fanart! Hope you enjoy 😅

[zahri-melitor]

Newish Comics (15/01/2025):

Absolute Batman #3: This comic continues to feel like the triumph of aesthetic over storytelling. Sorry, Snyder. Tiny Bruce and Selina are very cute, despite that.

Alfred, stop stalking your daughter who explicitly told you to stay out of her life.

Action Comics #1080: In the Clark story I quite liked the range of heroes that got tapped to help round back up the Phantom Zoners. A lot of heavy hitters. I can also see for Superman fans that Clark and Mon-El are very much having a moment here. Personally, I’m still giggling that Kon hasn’t taken off the Over-Admiral cape yet and is still swanning around in it. (Every other family member other than Clark switched to jackets in the last two years; Kon, the original jacket guy, now has a cape on)

In the Kara story, we are so clearly at the climax, and I am loving the discussion of identities and echoes of each other in this. Particularly that we just got an echo of Kara Zor-L. I really want to see what Tamaki does with that next issue.

Batman and Robin: Year One #3: What is really interesting about this that it’s so early in Alfred, Bruce and Dick’s relationships that all three of them are still messing up and learning the balance for each other. I like that it’s early and rough, and that we’re going to see how they form those strong bonds through this story. And that was particularly evident in this issue, where Alfred is frustrated with both Bruce and Dick but unable to communicate his problems to Dick; Bruce is not yet able to disengage himself from hyperfixation to remember that he has a child to take care of; and Dick’s pushing for boundaries and not finding them, while also not taking enough care in risky situations, and his mess ups are causing harm to Bruce.

Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #34: It was nice to see the version of Babs and Jimmy that Waid consider exist in this timeline. Barbara is so tired, folks.

Catwoman #71: something that fills me with joy is non-American writers getting to write stories for DC that are set outside North America. In this case, Selina is a perfect choice for it because her background specifically involves a lot of time in Europe pulling various cons and uncovering plots. So having a Norwegian writer having Selina running around in Sweden? It’s fun, especially with the cultural touches and jokes that you wouldn’t get from a US based writer doing that.

Challengers of the Unknown #1: I’m trialling this for the Justice League plot. I’ve read a few scattered issues of Challengers stuff before, but never for them yet.

My main thought was that this title was going WAY too hard with the Challengers going ‘oh we’re just mere mortals next these heroes and gods’ as they’re unpowered humans, and that would feel more reasonable if they weren’t working with heroes like… Ted Kord and Michael Holt, both who famously are unpowered heroes. Not to mention the Question, or all the Arrows and Bats running around. I think you’ll fit in okay, folks.

Green Lantern/Green Arrow: World’s Finest Special #1: Hard Travelling Heroes get a WF era book. It does what it says on the tin. Deathstroke for boring reasons attempts to kill Hal, (and incidentally Ollie and Barry), and after Slade fails miserably at that, he walks off the page to go attempt attacking teenagers over in NTT and watch Grant die.

You’re such a loser, Slade.

Dinah gets to appear in this title exactly long enough for Ollie to call her to pull Hal out of danger with a plane and patch him up, despite the fact the boys are on a cross-country roadtrip and have presumably left her behind running Sherwood Florist on her own. Lucky Dinah.

(Yeah this sort of GA/GL stuff is not my favourite era for Dinah sorry)

Jenny Sparks #5: so after having read another of Tom King’s asynchronous plot minis this past week, the big things I noted reading this today was that we finally, as of issue 5, have a handle on what is actually happening in this story.

Look I don’t mind a story told asynchronously (Indeed I think they can be really fun ways to mess with people’s understanding of how things happen and give context), but this one needed more of a hook and more explanation earlier, because reading it monthly has dragged horribly, and while I think it will read better in trade it still feels very very late to finally have a decent grasp or understanding of what the goal of the plot is.

I’m also very very confused as of the final page of this issue, because my understanding from the nonsense going on in terms of the concept of this title, plus how Outsiders 2023 decided to lean really hard into ‘there are lots of Century Babies of various types right now, but we’ve wiped Jenny Quantum from existence’ thing, was that Jenny Quantum at this point only exists in the Wildstorm universe timeline and n52 and got deleted by Rebirth.

The final page of this issue involved Jenny Sparks, in 2016, being in the bedroom of a blonde teenage girl asleep in her bed.

…

I know Jenny Quantum has black hair, not blonde, but given everything I’m not convinced the team on this book is aware that Jenny Quantum has black hair, not blonde. It’s certainly suggestive of this teenager being SOME sort of Century Baby.

The New Gods #1: the art on this title is sumptuous and worth reading for that alone. They went HARD for this launch. And it’s seducing me, because part of why I haven’t read more New Gods is getting past the Kirbyness of all the designs.

It’s a very very Ram V title. He’s clearly having fun, and I suspect is going to recruit some more fans for the cause (godly space opera).

Nightwing #121: Look Watters, you didn’t have to bribe me with Babs-hacks-the-Pentagon, but as a Dixon BOP enjoyer, I am glad to see it being acknowledged that Babs can hack the Pentagon. I’m enjoying how in conversation with the Taylor run this is – I do love when a writer picks up threads from where things were left and puts their own spin on the situation, rather than just hitting a reset button and wandering off in their own direction.

Plastic Man No More! #4: and this continues to be extremely Black Label body horror. Eel blows himself up with a nuclear bomb, Luke doesn’t get blown up by the bomb, and Tim lies to Batman.

Luke O’Brien reminds me a fair bit of Owen Mercer in various ways in this title and uh I’m not sure that’s a great thing? At least his mother is happy.

The Question: All Along the Watchtower #2: I think it’s interesting that DC are running this complicated multi strand plot at the moment in the birth of this new JLA, and it particularly seems to have been a chance to use a diverse range of characters. But there’s some odd outliers, as most of this book are characters able to support a run by themselves (Batwoman, the Blue Beetles, Animal Man, heck even Nightshade) and then there's random appearances like Bulleteer, who I had to look up.

I'm still not sure on the vibe and tone of this book being particularly Reneeish yet, but I'm willing to be convinced, and it's at least trying.

The Warlord #81: this week in Skartaris…Jennifer and Joshua meet each other! Oh boy oh boy we’re back to a main plot here, who knew!

Travis has a dream about the time he fought and killed clone-Joshua, recapping the important elements and complexities of Joshua’s backstory for anyone who hasn’t read all previous 80 comics.

And Jennifer and Joshua team up against some New Atlantis troops trying to kidnap them…after which Jennifer clues into Joshua being mysterious and unusual. She decides to take him along with her on her hunt for Travis.

Siblings United!

[coldflasher]

i was listing to your podcast episode and i was wondering if can you elaborate more on your autistic/(and i think?) adhd barry headcannon? i'm very curious to hear more.

Oh boy can I!

So take this with a grain of salt in that after being diagnosed I now see autism everywhere lmao (extremely ironic that so many autistic people literally develop a special interest in autism, go figure) but I actually think there's a LOT of textual evidence of behaviour that aligns with the diagnostic criteria!

Hyperfixations/special interests

Barry often exhibits signs of having what could either be considered hyperfixations and/or special interests throughout the show, including becoming incredibly hyperfocused on certain ideas or tasks, like catching the man in yellow, stopping various villains or metas of the week... Examples of long-term special interests would obviously be science in general, as well as researching the impossible (he had a blog about this and was known to run away from home or travel long distances to investigate these happenings. Incidentally, running away is very common in autistic kids and as I'm sure you'll agree, very appropriate for him as a character haha). He has a strong tendency to infodump about the science stuff. He also often fixates on solving situations and pushes the people around him too far because they're not as laser focused on the thing as he is (this becomes a biiig pattern for him later).

Social difficulties

When we meet Barry, aged 25, he has one friend that we know of, and that's Iris. Other shows will often have an ep or storyline where we meet a character's old friend who's back in town or whatever, but this never happens with Barry. His only friend is (on a technical basis) his adopted sister. He was bullied pretty brutally as a kid, allegedly because of his loud insistence on talking about his mother's murder and the mysterious man in the yellow lightning, but arguably even a traumatized NT kid would catch on pretty fast that talking about that loudly in public is not a great social move lmao. He does end up with quite a few long-term friends, but I'd argue that Cisco and Caitlin aren't particularly neurotypical either lmao so it checks out, we tend to attract one another.

At work, he works in the crime lab by himself, not interacting with other CSIs. He's hypercompetent at the actual CSI work but struggles hugely with the social demands of the work environment and with how to conduct himself in a professional capacity. The only work colleagues we DO see him interact with (at least until later seasons) generally seem to view him negatively. Captain Singh is visibly impatient with him, and Barry's constantly putting his foot in it with him. Chyre also doesn't seem to be a fan of him. Julian actively goes out of his way to get Barry fired. Even in just the first 2 eps of s1 he's repeatedly said things that his colleagues view as inappropriate and been scolded by Joe for "embarrassing" him by letting his mouth run away with him in an unprofessional manner (aka, difficulties adjusting his behaviour for various social contexts).

Strong sense of justice

Having an incredibly strong sense of justice and morality is a common autistic trait. People sometimes interpret this as "autistic people are inherently more moral than allistics", and that's not true, of course. What it does mean is that we're more likely to have a very strong sense of what we perceive as morally right or just, and it can be more difficult to get us to act in ways that go against those beliefs. It's also common for autistic folks to either be intense rule-followers OR to disregard rules that don't make sense to us (usually due to some social hierarchies that we aren't interpreting in the same way or just don't really register, or that don't make sense to us) and I think this definitely applies to Barry. He's incredibly focused on getting justice for people, and he's willing to break rules he sees as unimportant (like uh. Contaminating evidence by working on crime scenes he was involved in... being a vigilante in general... keeping metahumans locked up in his basement) but then he also gets Ralph fired from CCPD for (iirc) planting evidence, because he sees that as wrong and unjust, even though the perpetrator HAD committed the crime and there just wasn't sufficient evidence for a conviction. (Not saying he was wrong to get Ralph fired at all but there is a certain amount of hypocrisy there haha).

He also clashes really hard with Julian in this way, because (in my opinion) they're both autistic but it's presenting in very different ways. Julian is an "I'll follow all rules exactly to the letter autistic" (see him getting mad when Barry tries to leave work less than five minutes before his work day officially finishes) whereas Barry is an "I'll follow rules that I understand as important and that personally make sense to me, and ignore the rest" autistic.

Stimming

This is more true of season 1 Barry but he's a very fidgety boy. He's always messing with his hands and touching the hair over his ears. This is a small thing but a character detail I really love.

Motor function issues

In the first seven minutes of the pilot Barry has already crashed into multiple people. Enough said haha.

A lot of these traits get toned down in him over time, but he's often described as slow and shown to be clumsy, bumping into people and knocking things over. Whenever he doesn't have or use his speed they really emphasize how he struggles physically: he's described as running extremely slowly "even for a normal person", and when he plays baseball in s5, he's unable to catch the ball (he may have been playing this up to help hide his identity but it seems from the way Iris is sympathetic towards his struggles that he just genuinely isn't a good player).

There isn't much or any textual evidence of him having sensory issues or sticking very firmly to a routine (quite the opposite actually, this man is pure chaos) but that could be because of the novelty-seeking; autism and adhd symptoms often "cancel each other out" in some ways, and it's apparently quite common for folks with both to have one they skew more towards that kind of hides the symptoms of the other.

Here are a couple of ADHD things:

Time blindness

When has this man not been late for work? Before he got his speed he was always late. Even WITH speed he's late half the time.

Organizational issues

He's always standing people up, forgetting about commitments, showing up late... again, this could be because he's juggling so much in his personal and professional lives, but...

Impulsive behaviour

From the NHS ADHD criteria:

excessive talking (see the infodumping and getting himself into trouble at work by going off on inappropriate tangents)

acting without thinking (see literally everything he's ever done in his life. how many times have the people around him torn him a new one for taking a risk or doing something stupid?)

little or no sense of danger (again. see literally everything about him. the man runs around the city in a red suit saving lives with little or no thought towards the risk or potential costs to himself).

So yeah, I clearly have spent a lot of time analysing him and his behaviours lmao, tune in soon for my "Rogue Air" episode where I will monologue for an hour about autistic Leonard Snart

[acrossthewavesoftime]

I was tagged by @basket-lily, thank you, friend!!

ೃ⁀➷ hiii hi here’s just a random question form ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

: ̗̀➛ what’s ur fav color: Green, dark reds, dark blues and the colour of the sea in a specific spot I am at times nostalgic for.

: ̗̀➛ how long have u been on tumblr for: I'd say I joined sometime during the Pandemic, I think it was the summer of 2021.

: ̗̀➛ wheres a place u always wanted to travel to: I have quite a few, currently I would like to re-visit Het Loo Palace.

: ̗̀➛ what’s ur fav clothing brand(s): I feel that in the end, one pays extra for the supposed 'privilege' of becoming a walking advertisement for a company, and thus avoid anything with visible branding. I wear clothes that I like, that fit me, and that, in a best case scenario, are from materials that aren't plastic. There is a particular shoe brand I like for their durability and quality materials; they do not put visible logos on their shoes, though.

: ̗̀➛ what’s ur fav singer/band(s): I have a few! Currently, I am listening to a lot of different folk artists again.

: ̗̀➛ what’s ur current phone lockscreen: ...I have not changed my lockscreen in over a decade, I realise. At this point, I have grown too attached to it to change it, and it is a little reminder of my interests back then, and how they continue to shape who I am today. It is a piece of art I found when I was lurking on Tumblr some 10 or more years ago. The original artist's blog seems to no longer exist, despite my best efforts to find them again via reverse image searches. It is a depiction of Richard III in armour, viewed from the back, and surrounded by medieval weaponry pointing at his head. The background is red, the outline of Richard and the weapons are done in greys. He appears to stand up straight, and over his head hovers a yellow crown. His back is overlaid with an anatomically correct outline of his scoliotic spine, also in yellow. It may be a long shot, but if anybody remembers the blog, or the artist, please tell me!

: ̗̀➛ most recent/current hyperfixation: I don't know if it counts as a hyperfixation, but I really enjoy reading about the Stuart family currently.

: ̗̀➛ what’s ur relationship status: There are some things that I would like to keep off the internet.

: ̗̀➛ what’s ur dream job: I am in the lucky position that I have been told more than once that I have a "dream job." As my industry is not too big however, I am not going to disclose exactly what I do. All I will say is that I may not be the first person you should approach regarding Sword Safety.

: ̗̀➛ outside of tumblr, fav social app: I don't really do social media, Whatsapp aside which I have in order to keep in touch with dear people fom my life.

: ̗̀➛ do u have pets: Not currently, sadly. I do have some very strong-willed potted plants, though.

: ̗̀➛ if u do have pets, what kind/how many: A pink syngonium who guilt trips me for abscences (despite always being cared for), a tall bird-of-paradise who is #not like the other strelitzias and enjoys everything it technically shouldn't, a Christmas cactus who has waged war on Christmas, and a "Prince of Orange" philodendron who, presumably like the person it was named after, doesn't grow quite straight.

: ̗̀➛ do u prefer tea or coffee: Tea!

: ̗̀➛ whats ur fav ice cream flavor: Chocolate, by far. Blackcurrant and mango are firm favourites as well.

: ̗̀➛ tag at least three other tumblr accounts

@mycological-mariner @cedarboots @clove-pinks - feel free to participate!

[miketownsends]

i found blaseball in season 3.

the very end of season 3, and i remember i only found it because one of the NITW creators tweeted something along the lines of “ok i’ll bite what’s blaseball” and i went ���what IS blaseball?” and i Googled it and suddenly there i was

i picked the Garages because i always have been and always will be a Seattlite at heart - i remember briefly deliberating over the Tacos (who were just the LA Tacos at the time!) and a couple other teams, but the Seattle pull was too strong

i remember that i joined either very late on Saturday or very early on Sunday - it was post the s3 finals because i remember seeing the Tigers as the s3 champions, but it was pre-election because i remember casting my lone vote for Eat the Rich

but this was RIGHT before the first siesta, and i had no idea what the timeline of a season looked like, and i went “well i guess i’ll check back in later” and then basically completely forgot about it for the next couple weeks and might’ve forgotten forever if i hadn’t seen another tweet from someone when it came back.

i remember watching my very first game on the bus to work. i think i must’ve missed the first day of games, i think it must’ve been a Tuesday, because i caught the bus at like 7am and i remember seasons not starting until 8am on Mondays. i watched the Garages play the Crabs (Garages lost). i remember falling in love with Avila Guzman and Allison Abbott and Malik Destiny (pre-catboyification!) based on nothing but vibes because i didn’t know anything about blaseball lore, i didn’t even know blaseball HAD lore. i think i found the Discord later that day, and i remember the Avila-Farrell feedback happening right around the time i joined the Discord.

i got my best friend into it at the same time and it turned into a hyperfixation for both of us. i remember sitting in their living room watching the finals for s4 while our partners sat by slightly befuddled by this thing that had suddenly taken over our lives.

i moved a couple hours away for grad school at the beginning of Sept 2020 and it was possibly the most miserable time of my life. i was lucky enough to be with family at least, but i was away from my now-husband and because of COVID everything was online and i am NOT a person who does well with online courses - when i had applied in fall of 2019 i had obviously assumed everything would be in-person. i had multiple meltdowns the first few months and blaseball was often the only bright spot.

the Jaylen necromancy, oh man. i remember when i first started looking up our lore and went “i missed out on a player named Jaylen Hotdogfingers????” she loomed so large over the Garages those first few seasons. her death kind of set the tone for us, especially as we kept losing players - every team wanted to fight the gods, but it felt so viscerally PERSONAL. and then one day i opened the website and saw her on the idol board with the little flaming skull next to her name.

i cannot even begin to describe the chaos i walked into when i opened the Discord and went to the Garages channel. it was just something you had to be there for. i was IMMEDIATELY team necromancy, because what was blaseball all about if not slamming big red buttons? and i figured if we didn’t, someone else would, so it might as well be us. a lot of folks felt the same. some didn’t. my mom called me at one point and asked me why i was talking about necromancy on Twitter. the Garages, obviously, decided to go for it. we had to try.

and at the same time, the Garages, somehow, were finally becoming a decent team. we made the playoffs for the first time in season 6. Jaylen’s final words, as per lore, were “we’ve just gotta make it to the playoffs.” we swept the Pies and Tigers - both former 2 time champions - to get to the finals. Mike Townsend, he who lived always in Jaylen’s shadow, threw out the first pitch of the first game of the finals. the Crabs swept us but we didn’t care. we had made it to the playoffs. we could do ANYTHING. we could bring our star pitcher back. and we did.

god, i’m just telling stories now, but to be fair blaseball is nothing BUT stories. i remember i spent a lot of that weekend in bed sleeping and crying because i was so depressed, but i pulled myself out of it enough to watch the election results roll in. to see Jaylen come home. to see Mike truly relegated to Jaylen’s shadow.

on Ruby Tuesday i was busy trying to unpack my room with my mom’s help. i took a break to check in on blaseball. games weren’t running even though they should’ve been. i scrolled through the game feed until i hit the Tigers-Moist Talkers game and realized just what we’d done, what Jaylen’s debt truly meant.

i didn’t always remember to watch the playoffs if the Garages weren’t in them, but i was watching when the Shoe Thieves reverse-swept the Crabs and were launched into a boss battle. Jaylen pitching against the puppets of a God. (the results of the Snackrifice.)

i cried when Jaylen went back to the Hall, even though i was sure her story wasn’t done. (and it wasn’t.)

the s11 finals between the Beams and Garages was one of the most emotionally draining things i’ve ever been through. we KNEW the Beams had us beat but the Sun 2/Black Hole shenanigans kept us holding on. i cried when we finally lost. and then the Keepers opened up the eternal concert in the Discord, and for hours there were hundreds of us packed in there, listening to Garages songs that sounded like you were hearing them played at a dive bar down the street because the quality was so bad and “singing” along, and eventually Get Normal came up, and everyone had been waiting for it, and. i don’t know. god, i cried so much. something about that moment of connection. something about the closest to a concert i’d experienced in a year. something about knowing it was the literal end of an era.

i don’t even know where to start with expansion. yeah it was an exhausting mess. my hyperfixation fucking LOVED it. i may have to do an expansion era retrospective/ramble separately because this is already too damn long, and expansion was SO much. for now i’ll just say that i will carry the way the Garages handled the final season of expansion with me for the rest of my life. it was so… poignant. watching us cling to our philosophy of “the Garage is always open” even though we KNEW we were inviting our own potential destruction through the door. choosing containment because we refused to save ourselves at the expense of the league but we could at least make sure the damage started and ended with us. making a beeline for the Hall because at the end of it we just wanted to go see our friends one more time.

i’ve mentioned this before, but when we melted the Coin i was at a minor league baseball game. it was the first game i had been to in probably four or five years and it was the first time i can remember actively CARING about baseball as an adult. i work for that minor league team now and i absolutely would not be doing that if not for blaseball.

god. i’m so, so sad. i will miss blaseball for the rest of my life. what a weird little piece of the internet i was blessed to partake in.

[dootznbootz]

Alright you know which character I am going to ask about HAHAHA. So - the man of many ways - and 1, 7, 21 and 25!

1.) Why do you like or dislike this character?

There are so many reasons I love this scrappy lil idiot. I've already talked about it but he's painfully human. He's a man who hates as deeply as he loves. And while yes, he's an asshole for so many reasons, (So SO many reasons) he also IS pretty nice in some parts even to strangers. He tries to give Amphinomus the chance to leave. And even then, before he left, everybody talked about how wonderful he was. (remember this guy was a "Mad King" right before he left) We KNOW he's a trickster and usually won't hesitate to swindle you but he still is very adamant about Xenia and I don't think all of his "kindness" is JUST for show and for "swindle".

He is a family man!!! He'd trade the world to see his son and wife!!!! 😭 And as someone has mentioned on here before he basically has no higher morals than wife and son and that's just...skldjfklds

I could go on and on about how much I love this silly man and his story. This is definitely a hyperfixation that won't leave! I'm actually kind of weird with him because I don't see him as "evil. evil man. (affectionate)" like I think other folks do. He sucks but idk, I think if I met him irl, I'd probably give him some logs from outside for him to make something with. I know damn well he'd probably steal my wallet and giggle about it later but idk. He's just...a Man.🥺 That's another thing. I think people forget that he is NOT a demigod compared to the other well-known heroes. Hermes is his great-grandpa and he's Athena's pet. that is NOTHING compared to being the CHILD of a god. And I'm a doofus who weirdly relates to him. I too go feral when people are mean to people I care about and/or are simply being an asshole. And I am also in love with Penelope!!! 🥰

7.) What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like?

The fact that everyone calls him a "wet cat". It's so silly and specific but PERFECT and I love that. Also, one thing I find neat is that out of ALL the heroes? so many artists doodle him differently. It's like the very IDEA of him is "always changing" and not consistent. The only thing I've seen that's consistent is his hair usually being darker (but changes from red/brown/black depending on the artist), that he's strong, and that he has a "shit-eating grin". But usually the face is never consistent (square or narrow faced? Tall or short? Long or short hair? Is he more like a "weasel" or like a "ram" (as he's described in the Iliad.)

Honestly, there isn't much that I don't like when it comes to fandom! :D as long as it keeps his Love of wife and son (VERY IMPORTANT), his "scrappiness", and as long as he's still "morally gray" but not "evil". then I'm happy :D

21.) If you're a fic writer and have written for this character, what's your favorite thing to do when you're writing for this character? What's something you don't like?

SIMPING.

I'm a romantic bitch and as I said, I am basically in love with Penelope so this shit writes ITSELF. I am living and loving through both of these con artists.

This ties into simping but also how much he dotes on his loved ones. He loves his baby boy!!! He carries him whenever he can and practically everywhere he goes. "Yes, my baby is in the council meeting. He is actually more coherent than you, Leodes. Dear wife, can you rip this fool's self-esteem into shreds? I need to put Telemachus down for his nap." (history only partially exists when it's a timeless story >:D "Dads weren't that involved back then-" SHUSH YOUR MOUTH! /j ) I LOVE FLUFF!!! 😭 I also love banter and teasing. It's especially fun with Odysseus and Penelope as it usually ends up with them snuggling and giggling 🥹

I really hate writing "old-timey talk". ಥ‿ಥ As you can see, I am very fucking casual when I text/talk so this has been a STRUGGLE. Also just with how much research it is. I love it but yeah...anytime I start to write I realize I need to know what wildflowers are native to Greece and what time of year they bloom because Odysseus wants to get flowers for his wife >:( (While also trying to make sure his son doesn't eat them because he's teething and trying to shove everything into his mouth as babies do)

25.) What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

Oh, no... 😅 I won't lie. Basically, all my knowledge about Greek Mythology was from PJO for many years (I still have a soft spot for it but I know that it definitely takes creative liberties and is very incorrect with some myths. I knew back then it wasn't "the truth" but I didn't know HOW much.) And while I didn't "hate" Odysseus back then, I was very Meh about him. It's been a long time and I just remember the whole thing with PJO Calypso (funny enough, I hated her before I knew "the truth". She's quite mean to Leo and as he was basically my first "Blorbo" I hated her as a little enraged 13 year old. Little did I know...) Sometimes I want to reread the series again but I also know that while I love the demigod kids and the writing style, I don't know how I'll be now that I know the real myths. I really hate the whole "what a womanizing asshole" as he's ONLY an Asshole! He's an asshole for so many reasons but it makes me sad that people hate him for the one thing that he didn't do and that was deeply misinterpreted by many folks. It also pisses me off but I will hold my tongue and be nice

Bonus:

[maybeaweirdo]

Info card thingie for Hakkon, with some mild spoilers for Gale's romance route below!

Name: Hakkon son of Heldrin

Aliases: Bearmarked, the White Bear

Race: Half-elf

Age: 29

Height: 212cm / 6ft11

Class: barbarian/druid

Place of origin: Icewind Dale

He's born to a human mother Heldrin who's a well learned healer, and his father is a high-elf elf named Thrynn who recounts tales with a sharp mind and a quick tongue. He has three younger siblings, Thessia and Andorin who are both half-elven, and Helia who's adopted from a human pair who perished when she was a baby.

The scar is from when he was a kid, he was training to dual-wield axes and, doing so without instructions or supervision he ends up hitting himself in the face with one. He's partially blind in that eye. Anyone asks today and he'll say it's from a bear.

The tattoos he's got mark him as a Berserker, or barbarian to common folk, and a hunter. He doesn't know the exact meaning of them, just that with one look it tells people from other tribes what he is and from which tribe. His piercings are for decoration, the claws being from his coming-of-age ritual fight with a bear, who's spirit now allows him to sift into a bear.

He's physically strong, (can carry almost 500kg no problem) , drink most people under the table and dual-wields axes when he fights. He's surprisingly nimble for his size, and he knows how to be gentle. Not the smartest guy and he's bad at reading people, but he can be charismatic when he needs to. Has problems looking people in the eye and some people don't take it kindly, think he's being a disrespectful brute. Very kind actually, soft with kids and animals and he knows that a life like his, as a barbarian brute, isn't for everyone.

He's very much on ye olde 'tism spectrum and very much in love with Gale. Basically a huge soft teddy bear with him. He's the type to take Gale on a date to a bookshop just to watch him hyperfixate, info dump and be happy. As well as carry the mountain of books for his noodle arm bf.

Look at these clowns in love. Absolute tomfoolery.

He would also do anything for Gale if it made him happy. Or break anything that makes him sad. Mainly Mystra. Hakkon would absolutely throw hands with gods if he was asked to or he felt like he needed to. Mostly Mystra, for telling Gale to kill himself.

But he did refuse to help Gale in his chase of ascension to godhood, he wouldn't be able to stop Gale but he also wouldn't be able to bring himself to love a god, no matter who they are. There are too many gods that don't give a shit about mortals for him to take that chance, they argued but he didn't give Gale an ultimatum or anything. Just voiced his feelings and that he loves the man for who and what he is now.

They just... Fit, you know? It has been kind of unintentional cause Hakkon started out as a himbo who gives gods the middle finger and does his best to be a good person, and he kinda balances Gale? Like he's very supportive, a true hypeman if you will, but he's also not afraid to tell what's on his mind and I feel like Gale would need and appreciate that kind of support.

And Gale balances Hakkon out as well, he's a good moral compass, doesn't judge him for not being on the same intellectual level and helps him keep his mind as his own which comes into play in combat, I rarely rage on Hakkon because he doesn't like how lost he gets in it.

My fave moment with these two autistic dumbasses so far hasn't been any bit of dialogue, Gale has some really good lines but the one that hit me into the feels the hardest was this

This being right after they argued about Gale's feelings of never being enough and needing to prove himself and Hakkon desperately trying to put into words that he is enough as is and deserves to be loved?

The touch, the little smiles, the way they look at eachother, just everything about this moment

[spricket-central]

your account is my new obsession lately, so so so many cutie little critters to look at!! 🦗

i was curious how you got into keeping camel crickets? do you keep them together or are they all in individual containers? & what is it like keeping them?

also please tell them all they’re so very lovely and adorable and mystical 🦗 🦗 🦗 🦗 🦗🦗🦗

awwww, thank you im honored! it makes me so happy when people tell me my lil goobers bring them joy :)

where i (and most people) live, Tachycines aaynamorus is actually invasive (they dont appear to be causing any ecological harm though, to my knowledge. very polite!), and i guess they hadnt made their way to my area until around 2019, because it wasnt until i moved into my current apartment not too far from where i grew up that i saw one for the first time. i was laying in bed, saw one ambling by, said "what the fuck is that" out loud, searched "big round cricket," aaaaand... huh. camel cricket? neat.

ive always loved bugs (they were one of my primary hyperfixations as a toddler), so they never scared me, but i didnt have any particularly strong feelings towards them other than that theyre funny lookin until one night when i noticed one on the pillow beside me. she was just calmly grooming herself, and as i watched her i just kinda fell in love? theres just something so endearing about the lil guys. just scared lil beans on stilts, nervously tryna survive in this big, scary world.

from then on, id been toying with the idea of catching one and keeping it as a pet for a while, but never really had the spark to act on it... until a rainy december night in 2019, when i met Crouton.

Crouton was a young nymph, not quite a hatchling, but still very small; about the size of my pinky nail. normally, i would have captured her and released her outside, but it was so rainy, and she was so small...

...so i mangled a tupperware container, gave her a tiny piece of apple and a wet cotton ball, and the rest is history. the next day, i went and got her a proper enclosure, and only a few days later, i ended up also catching an adult pair, Biscuit and Cookie, who i housed separately from her. it had Begun.

all of my current pals are housed separately, so i have a LOT of lil "critter keepers" in my apartment, ahaha. im like that one animal crossing villager that keeps asking you to catch them bugs until their house is full of them.

id like to house some of my adult ladies together as, in my experience, females tend to get along just fine (males can apparently be competitive, so ive never risked cohabitation between multiple males), but i dont feel like i know their distinguishing markings well enough to tell them apart yet (id have to really sit and study them), and its really important to me that i know who everyone is! i love knowing them all by name, as individuals :)

i always keep babies separate though, both because of size differences and because i dont want anyone to disturb anybody else as theyre molting. theyre so soft and vulnerable, and the process itself takes some time (about half an hour, in my experience), so it would be so easy for another spricket to hurt them. i dont wanna risk it!

keeping them is... oh man. its such a delight 💚 again, ive loved bugs all my life, but i never expected insects to have such big personalities? they each have their own individual quirks, preferences, etc. its fascinating! their care is also pretty easy; just gotta give em fresh veggies every few days so theyve got a water source, top off their dry foods when theyre running low, and clean the tanks now and then when they start getting funky. i have ADHD (amongst other things) and have a REALLY hard time keeping on top of even the most basic household tasks, so im very thankful for how low maintenance they are, ahaha.

thanks for the thoughtful ask! these lil guys bring me so much joy, and im so happy they can make other folks happy too! :)

[thegoodceai]

Five players wow! Thats a lot to convert to the "Devil's Game" I love that, congrats! From the handful of games I've gotten to play, I've flipped back and forth between using content that I've made for Stories and using the things that happened to place in the Stories; have you gotten to flesh out more of your fantasy adventure through dnd or vice versa?

Yesss, IF so goood. I'm definitely gonna check out those, I've had Project Hadea cross my dash a couple of times but as always know Of things not what they're about, but if u like em I definitely gotta check em out ^-^. The Passenger was a surprise hit for me, I personally suck at replaying for multiple endings/routes but that one I definitely wanna.

Ayyo! Nice! Even if nothings out yet, I still know it takes a lot of effort and ye is hard to even work up the confidence to put it out there, so I'm proud of you! I can't wait! If nothing else you'll have at least one fan, and it's always good even if you're just making it for yourself <3. Woulddd/have you considered making it an IF or do you have a more 'linear' story in mind?

Oooo nioce! I've saved scummed, and crash and stuck in sidestep is Rough, omg the good/bad angst lol. I've played twice but keep being 'too bad' for folks to want to bust sidestep out lul. I loveee reluctant villains, they're so good. I'm a big fan of playing sidestep as 'fated' but reluctant, like feels they can't stop but wants someone (cough ortega) to stop them. I've tiptoed into the fully evil sidestep, it's veryyyy rough but if you love angst I highly recommend, oh jeez just the reactions.

I feel u lol. We tend to name pets along with food names, but the hilarity of a Cat named like Kevin is just too great. Clementine is a beautiful name and a dumb orange cat would be grateful to have it lol.

Ahh fair enough. It sounds like it was a good series for the time, at the very least a good stepping stone and formative! I'm interested to see how much that might be reflected in your own writing. At the very least, thank you for sharing how important it is/was to you <3 :))).

Again thank yew for answering my questions and replying to all my paragraphs with paragraphs lol

asdfaf yeah, i love my friends to death but they are Chaotic players. it's been a journey. if nothing else, i've learned quite a bit of improv, and fleshing out our homebrew setting helped me organize my writing quite a bit (especially my outlines). for the most part, i try to keep stuff separate tho, even if sometimes some things bleed over (like, NPC traits, or city structures or stuff like that), but the stories are completely different in both the general setting, and the vibes.

Project Hadea just updated and i read it last night and. god. so good. definitely check it out.

it started out as a linear story, and mostly for fun, but the more i added to it, the more other possible outcomes and scenarios started to make themselves known and. i am kinda considering making it into IF format. idk yet, i am waiting to have it more fleshed out (like, actually written, not just outlines and bulletpoints and scenes that aren't yet tied to each other)

aaaah the good angst. i will definitely play an evil route with sidestep. hopefully soon, i started replaying Baldur's Gate again and the Hyperfixation is. very strong.

unfortunately naming pets with human names seems to start to be a tradition with my friends. we already have a cat in the group named Mike (he truly is the definition of no thoughts, head empty. i love my furry nephew so much). some other friends recently rescued a stray kitty and named her Maia (which we all know several people with that name). the other pets that are relatively close to the group are either named after food, or have very literal cat and dog names (my aunt got a cat and she named him Motan. which is just "male cat" in romanian. truly like naming your cat Cat)

thank u for being so indulging lol <3 it's been fun to rant with someone on this hellsite again 🖤🖤🖤

[taran-chan]

Thank you for the tag! @citruscloudsandmoon ❤️

1. Three ships (this is so HARD!!!): MSR (The X-Files), Thenamesh (Eternals), YeolSeon (Crash Course In Romance)

2. First ever ship: I can't remember bc there are so many skjgkdfhgd I'm just gonna put the first (obsessive) ship I ever blogged about on Tumblr, which is JohnLock (Sherlock BBC)

3. Last song: Graceland Too (Phoebe Bridgers)

4. Last movie: La La Land. I rewatched it with my sister and omg ouch.

5. Currently reading: my current reading already has FOUR different books lmaooo and i'm about to add one more. They are American Gods (Neil Gaiman), A Darker Shade of Magic (V.E.Schwab), Divine Rivals (Rebecca Ross), and Foul Heart Huntsman (Chloe Gong). All are bangers FYI, I'm just all over the place rn.

6. Currently watching: my delusional daydream scenarios lolll jk there are A LOT as well: Strong Girl Namsoon, Taxi Driver (kdrama series, not the film), My Perfect Stranger, Sousou no Frieren, SpyxFamily, Brooklyn Nine-Nine (rewatch), and The Good Place (rewatch)

7. Currently consuming: Thinking about getting fried chicken for lunch, or maybe some Korean food bc I miss Jeon Do Yeon to the Moon and to Saturn :((((

8. Currently craving: A new hyperfixation to lose myself in, we're going through a drought rn folks!! New Jeon Do Yeon content/project announcements, even better if it has something to do with Jung Kyung Ho (and vice versa), a new Angelina Jolie+Ma Dong Seok project announcement. Some assurance that the task I'm going to do tmr is gonna go well, nobody yells at me and asks me difficult questions and I won't embarrass myself.

Tagging now: anyone who wants to do this

continuing a tag game! "9 people you would like to get to know better"

(the post was really long, and i'm always hesitant about reblogging those, so i hope it was okay to splinter off ^-^ here's the chain i got tagged in!)

Thank you @paradoxlemonade for the tag!!

1. 3 ships; hmm, probably Joel/Etho (double life smp, etc.), Joe Hills/Oli (hermitcraft/empires smp s2), and Witch Shelby/Princess Katherine (empires smp s2)

2. first ever ship; Sokka/Suki (<- first one ever, before i knew what shipping was) or Remus Lupin/Sirius Black (<- first obsessive ship)

3. last song; Take Me to War by The Crane Wives (its. so good. and also influencing a fic maybe shhh)

4. last movie; I want to say Lilo and Stitch? I think?

5. currently reading; Haven't started a new book yet, but the last thing i finished rereading was The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater. Very good book, i love it (have an au of it planned, may finish it someday)

6. currently watching; mm, it's been a while, but I don't think i finished The Queen's Gambit? That's the last show i was working my way through i think.

7. currently consuming; Boba tea! It's a mango fruit tea with rainbow jellies though, because boba pearls are a no texture XD

8. currently craving; a hug. Might grab one of my younger siblings and get them to cuddle with me :3

9 people to tag; @nevergonnasaygoodbi, @maybitsnia, @ilexdiapason, @neoflames, @bigb-enthusiast, @giddyfenix, @alittlebirb, @bishops-severed-torso, @ellalily

Of course, there's no pressure to participate if you don't want to <3