#universe rambles

[todisturbtheuniverse]

hello hello!

it's been a long while since i posted here. but i am playing The Game, and as a result have been inevitably thinking about this place, and missing it. i'm really looking forward to reading everyone's thoughts once i've finished it. i'm still muddling along somewhere in Act 2 - if i hadn't already known my life has changed dramatically since Inquisition came out, this would be the final proof, lol.

i hope you're all well, or as well as can be expected, given recent events. maybe more dragon age talk here soon. ❤️

(unrelated: i clearly need to brush up on how tumblr even works these days. all the old tags i used to organize stuff on this blog appear to go exactly nowhere. 😅)

[universefulloflove]

have some pics of my dog enjoying a snow day today in these trying times

[spocks-husband]

In Bruce's phone, he keeps the contact photos for all his kids as their baby pictures (or the closest approximation that he has).

Dick's is a photo of him when he'd first designed his Robin costumes, smiling ear to ear as he proudly showed off his first hand-sewn prototype.

Jason's is a picture Alfred got of the boy sitting on Bruce's shoulders while they went over a case.

Tim is him fast asleep in the middle of taking notes on his first real mission (he wanted to impress Bruce really bad).

Damian is a polaroid he got from Talia of him when he was about a year old, teething on a mango seed as he sat on the floor of his mother's room.

Cass is entirely blacked out except for her big bright eyes that can be seen in the darkness-- Bruce thinks it's the cutest photo ever.

Even Babs has hers set to a photo of her with her first computer, grinning happy as she probably hacked into a federal database somewhere. He got that photo from Jim.

Likewise, of course, Alfred's (very bareboned) smartphone that he barely uses has Bruce's contact set with a photo of him playing in the snow as a little boy.

[spicy-apple-pie]

Bruce says that his "true self" is his disguise. But Dick doesn't believe him.

Bruce keeps saying how important it is to notice the little details. And Dick does. He notices how Bruce's shoulders relax when they make it home after patrol, the slight change in tone as he tells Dick to wash up and head to bed. He notices how Bruce rolls his eyes at his puns, with a slight smirk that he tries to hide. How he ruffles Dick's hair and calls him "chum". Whatever the hell that means.

Most damning of all, Dick knows how Bruce peaks in on him after he's done in the Batcave. It scared Dick at first, for this... stranger to watch him while he slept. But one night, Dick decided to stay up a bit longer to finish a chapter in his psychology textbook Bruce made him read. If he finished it tonight, then he would have the next day free from Bruce's homework.

He startled a bit when the door creaked open. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Bruce whispered. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Why?"

Bruce shrugged. "I just... saw the light on and wanted to make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine." Dick reassured.

"Okay. Not too much longer though." Bruce quietly shut the door behind him.

"Batman's the mask, huh?" Dick thought to himself, turning back to the last paragraph. "Yeah, right."

[liimonadas]

randomly rememebered a very silly maya content creator AU i came up with like 2 years ago. its just dumb fun haha

[philsmeatylegss]

As someone who is studying history with a big interest in 1940-1980, it is insane to see the crack down on the college protests. History does nothing but repeat itself. It happened with protests against segregation, against the Vietnam War, against the Iraq war… and how we view it looking back is always the same. People always ask why studying history is important. This is exactly why.

[dreamingaboutsakuratrees]

[During a white elephant gifts exchange]

Steph: A metro card? no way!

Tim: From me! Unlimited rides

Jason: Oh, unlimited rides? Is that what your tramp stamp says?

Tim:

Tim: I was gonna get mad, but that was a damn good one

[universefulloflove]

so true. i get to love two little cats

ummm . to love a little cat is to see the face of god

[nugatorysheep]

Moments in Steven Universe that live in my head rent fucking free

[misty-feathers]

universal translator is my favorite trek concept because there'll be some throwaway word that has Implications for how the universal translator works and i feel like such a huge nerd but i need to Know

like for example how quark pronounces human "hyoo-mon"

presumably quark is not speaking standard which means that we the audience are hearing his dialogue as filtered through the universal translator, and assuming also that the universal translator can deal with different accents -- so the same word pronounced in two different accents gets translated the same way

why does the translator preserve that mispronunciation?

even if quark was intentionally mispronouncing it, the translator wouldn't have any way of knowing that, unless the translator somehow transcends language to translate the meaning rather than the actual words spoken (which is a CRAZY thing even for futuristic tech)

[todisturbtheuniverse]

i've finished The Game, and now i'm going to go on a weird tangent. here are some thoughts. the Veilguard spoilers are vague. this is also about the book Somewhere Beyond the Sea, for some reason, so spoilers for that, too.

i finished reading Somewhere Beyond the Sea last week. honestly, 10% in i did not think i was going to keep going. i pushed through because i rarely DNF a book, and i figured it was just taking me a minute to get from one fictional place (the last book i'd read) to another (this one).

that was probably part of it. the other part was this book was so relentlessly positive. against impossible odds, our main cast of characters triumphs. i don't think there was ever any doubt in my mind that that was how it would go. i knew enough about this author and this particular story to know that.

and by the time i closed the book (or whatever it is you do with an ebook, yeet it into the digital void or whatever), i thought, well, that was nice, but it would never happen.

my own brain kind of took me aback, in that moment. it's...a fantasy story. there are many layers of it would never happen, here. what the hell does that matter?

i just kept mulling it over and over until i went to bed. it would never happen. everyone was too nice. too many people stood up for the right thing. good triumphed over evil. the government was beaten back, at least for now. the heroes are safe, and loved, and fed, and housed, and unafraid.

on the one hand, i understand my reaction. i need a lot of salt in my sweet. i want to see the heroes get bloodied (physically or metaphorically, not picky). i want them to lose something to make the eventual victory feel earned. i don't think that's what this book was intending to do, and that's completely fine--it's subjective, whether that's what you'd like at the moment or not. i do think the characters certainly go through a lot, it just wasn't enough for me.

on the other hand, it feels a little like i've allowed the general state of things to twist me into a more cynical version of my usual self, one who doesn't believe good things happen. i'm definitely talking about the world at large here (climate change, AI, american politics, many more things). though personally, i've also had a...dip...these last few years. and this is even though, personally, lots of good things have happened to me! it's just that some bad stuff has happened, too, and it's definitely been a trial working my way out. to some extent, every time i get some breathing room, something else happens. it's exhausting. but it's like i sort of expect that now, for me and everybody else, to be continually ground down. i don't exactly like that, but it is where i am. i see the angle i'm approaching everything from, at least.

so. Veilguard. i thought a lot while i played about how everyone in the group is too nice to each other. the friction is limited and short-lived. i wanted a lot more of it. there were parts of the game that really hit for me, to the point that i'd probably call it a 7/10, but i kept coming back to how nice everyone was. i've always liked Hawke's messy Kirkwall crew best, so it's understandable that i'm annoyed about the lack of drawn-out hissy fits amongst the Veilguard.

but i also get wanting that. wanting people to be nice, kind, understanding, empathetic. to have their own shit together enough to understand your shit. it's not necessarily for me, for whatever reason, but it's not inherently bad. i can make up more friction for fanfiction.

i also think that, first time through, i probably missed some muted friction that comes through in party banter. is it a dragon age game if all the banter just doesn't trigger often enough and you miss half of it? a good example is Harding and Lucanis. early in my second run i heard some banter from them that i just did not get the first time, Harding being so suspicious of him, reserving a special arrow for him, etc. i saved Minrathous the first time through, so i didn't even get the quest where Spite takes Rook into Lucanis's head and a version of Harding is there, suspiciously looking out. it's not super overt, her suspicions and concerns are reasonable, but i hadn't seen that distrust in my first run of the game, so their later conversation over coffee didn't hit the same. that's going to be a feature of a game in this style and this size, that there is so much content and sometimes you miss some of it, especially when most of the folks on the team seem to be real adult-adults and are more muted about their issues with each other.

i said this was going to be a tangent. anyway. loved pretty much all the Solas stuff. the moment-to-moment gameplay was fun in both classes i've played so far. i'm midway through my second run and have been able to take my time and explore more, since i'm not co-piloting with my husband and i'm not driven by the frantic urge to know how it ends, and the bits and pieces you find out in the world are pretty cool. the lore drops, also largely fascinating. i get a little deflated by those answers to huge, long-time worldbuilding questions, but only because i love the journey and hate that it's over, lol. that in some way, some possibilities have ceased to be.

i definitely wanted more romance content, but i'm liking the Harding romance a lot more than i liked Neve (sorry, Neve) and looking forward to romancing some others on the team in the future.

it wasn't my favorite dragon age game, but i'm glad we got it, finally. and i hope it's good enough that they'll get to make another one, whatever that looks like.

[universefulloflove]

she is honestly one of the most beautiful dogs

[riverthebooknerd]

hey y'all, with all the protests going on, here is your friendly reminder to NOT TALK TO COPS

whatever you do, do NOT talk to ANY cops. do not answer any questions. do not give them ANY information unless you are LEGALLY REQUIRED TO. if they ask you a question, ask them if you're required by LAW to reply. if they say yes, ask them WHICH LAW EXACTLY.

some cops WILL try to trick you to get information out of you. give them NOTHING unless they prove that you have to by law. if you're arrested, comply and WAIT TO TALK TO A LAWYER. do not tell them ANYTHING until you have a lawyer.

i'm so serious, don't even nod or shake your head. don't comment on any of your intentions. the smallest thing could be an admission of guilt, which just makes your lawyer's job much more difficult. as soon as you come into contact with the police, you are a STATUE. you say nothing, you do nothing, you have no opinions.

stay safe, love you all, free palestine <3

EDIT- MAKE SURE YOU SAY THE WORDS "I AM INVOKING MY RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT" OR THE COPS WILL TRY TO GET YOU IN TROUBLE FOR "NOT COMPLYING" 🍉

[spicy-apple-pie]

I think that Damian hates the cold.

He can handle heat, likes it even. But the cold... he feels that he can never escape it.

First winter in Wayne Manor, he's demanding Alfred empty out the linen closet for him. Alfred stops at 10 because there is no way Damian is still cold with a mountain of blankets. But Damian still feels chilly. Bruce gets a nice electric blanket for him, but he still insists on a blanket or two over top of it.

The robin suit does have a winter version with some insulation, but Bruce makes the longer hooded one for Damian that is warmer. When he's really cold he'll burrow tight under it and he looks like a mini batman. Once he learns the benefits of hiding under Batman's cape, including how warm it is under there, he's there most of the time for patrols.

During the day, you'll probably find him drawing in front of the fireplace, under a pile of blankets, with a mug of cinnamon spice tea.

[forgettable-au]

END OF CHAPTER ONE

FORGETTABLE-AU (Page 65-72)

* Time to put this puzzle together.

[BEGINNING] [PREVIOUS] [CONTINUE]

[foldingfittedsheets]

One of my favorite lines from Steven Universe is, “If every pork chop were perfect we wouldn’t have hot dogs.” It’s just upbeat and silly. If you haven’t seen Steven Universe you will need this context going forward.

Last night I was relating to my wife that regardless of who I’m talking to I’ll call them my wife and only use they/them pronouns and every single time the person I’m talking to immediately goes to she/her regardless.

I was grumping about this and my wife shrugged and said, “If all genders were pork chops, we’d be having dinner.”

What does it mean? I don’t know. But it made me laugh.