#nerd discussion

[esonetwork]

2023 In The Geek Seat: The Good, The Bad, and the Geeky | Earth Station OneEarth

New Post has been published on https://esonetwork.com/2023-in-the-geek-seat-the-good-the-bad-and-the-geeky-earth-station-oneearth/

2023 In The Geek Seat: The Good, The Bad, and the Geeky | Earth Station OneEarth

In this episode of Earth Station One, Mike F, Mike G and their guest Ashley Pauls look back at the geek culture highlights and lowlights of 2023. They discuss their favorite moments, characters, and media, including movies, TV series, and live events, while also reflecting on the loss of two members of their network. The conversation covers the impact of work stoppages in the entertainment industry and the diverse ways people consume media. They share a mix of personal stories, critical assessments, and emotional tributes, ending with a note on taking a sabbatical from the podcast to potentially reimagine its future.

We want to hear from you! Feedback is always welcome. Please write to us at feedback@earthstationone.com and subscribe and rate the show on Apple Podcast, Google Play, Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Music, wherever fine podcasts are found, and now we can be found on our own YouTube Channel.

Links The Earth Station One Website Earth Station One on Apple Podcasts The Earth Station One YouTube Channel Earth Station One on Spotify Past Episodes of The Earth Station One Podcast Angela’s A Geek Girl’s Take Ashley’s Box Office Buzz Michelle’s Iconic Rock Talk Show Earth Station Who

Promos Tifosi Optics Earth Station DCU The ESO Network Patreon Unique Crafts by Jenn ESO Network Tee-Public

If you would like to leave feedback or a comment on the show please feel free to email us at feedback@earthstationone.com

[sertralineman]

old polish* names are metal as fuck, cause they can literally mean something like "the destroyer of peace" (Kazimierz), "the rage has come"(Przybygniew), "the one that praises killing/murdering" (Morzysław), "the one that does not know peace" (Nieznamir), or, my personal favorite, "the one that avenges his comrades" (Mściwoj).

it gets even more badass - because the pre-christian slavic traditions and language were rather poorly documented, and throughout history, there have been attempts to erase the records, we can't actually know for sure what exactly some of them were supposed to mean, or how were they used. we're left with names that could belong to a demonic antagonist in a fantasy book, their sound harsh, their origin shrouded in mystery.

*many of those are names in other slavic languages, too, but i'm talking specifically old polish names because i am polish and that's the language i know the most about.

[sins-of-warriors]

Well I always liked Leomon, heroic strong and is a big cat xD, my best digipartner for adventure. I don't know much about his digievolition guide besides he can turn Saber or Bancho, or if he has an ultimate form, it would be cool.

If we talk about other kind of partner... Well the list is a lot more longer ha haha!

So, in a bit of a Digimon mood since Time Stranger is big and I'm planning on getting the latest TCG set soon

So

I'm curious

...

What are your ideal Digimon partners and their Digivolution lines? Send them in through the asks

[ultraviolence-aot]

“Y/N?”

A familiar voice pulled you out from your own mind. You glanced up at the soft-spoken man in front of you. His shaggy blonde hair fell in front of his face, framing it perfectly. The flashing lights reflected off of the lense of his black-framed glasses.

Armin.

“Hey, I was looking for you.” He added with a smile. A light pink tint flushed his cheeks.

He looked… cute.

Or maybe it was the several alcoholic drinks you had downed over the last thirty minutes, thanks to your party animal of a best friend, Sasha. You continued to look up at his handsome face through your lashes.

No, no. He was cute. He was especially cute tonight.

“Y-y/n..? Are you alright?” Armin asked, tilting his head slightly at you. You nodded, smiling at his concern for you. He was sweet. Always.

“Y-yes, of course.. Just need some air, I think.”

He reached his hand down to you, motioning you to take hold of it. “C’mon, we can go outside.” You did, with no hesitation, noting the size of it - much larger than yours, and the warmth against your own.

You zigzagged your way through the crowded club, waving a quick goodbye to your friends and following Armin outside.

The cold winter air hit your face and for a moment, you thought it may completely sober you up.

No, I'm definitely still drunk. You thought, your head a spinning tunnel.

The pair of you leaned up against the cool brick wall, peering down the dark alley together - the bass and faded music of the club still filling your ears.

“You look really pretty tonight,” Armin blurted. You turned to look up at his eyes. His pretty blue eyes.

God, has he always been this tall?

“O-oh..” You stuttered, equally as nervous as the blonde-haired boy. He fiddled with his fingers, looking straight towards his feet. Something about him tonight, something in the air, something in the alcohol. You just wanted to touch him.

You leaned over to look at him a bit closer, bringing the palm of your hand up to his face. You could feel the soft skin beneath you. Your touch turned him into a flustered mess - his eyes wide with surprise, cheeks a dark shade of red, and his mouth agape.

Your attention fell onto his mouth, not noticing him shift his weight onto his other leg to ease the discomfort of the growing bulge in his jeans.

“Your lips,” you muttered, your face a mere foot from his. You could smell his cologne, a light pine filling your nostrils.

Armin gulped. “W-what about them..?”

“Pretty.”

God, you really were drunk. Pretty? I mean, yeah, they absolutely are.. but..

“Pretty?” He responded. You simply nodded, unsure of what else you could say. Embarrassment ran through you.

Why would you say that?

“Y/N?” Armin whispered, and the distance between you felt smaller. Much smaller.

Was it getting smaller? Was I unintentionally moving closer? Was he?

“Yes?”

“You like them?”

You released a breath you weren't aware you were evening holding. Yes, god, yes, you do.

You opened your mouth to reply, but froze, flustered.

“Say it.” He demanded, eyes sparkling in the dim light.

“Y-yes, I like them.” You obliged, your voice a whiny, cracking mess. A look of smugness came over him.

“Then what are you going to do about it?” He whispered again, his voice a tone you had never heard before. Sultry.

His eyes were a wild swirl of desire, flashing between your own eyes and your parted lips. He wants you to kiss him.

Within seconds, you had brought your face to his, your lips so close to his own that you could feel his warm breath on your nose. Both of your eyes were closed, your lips hovering over each other - tempting, teasing, considering.

“Armin..” You breathed, desperate. He hummed in response.

“Please..” You begged the boy.

“Please what?” He mumbled back. “Kiss you?”

“Yes.”

So he did, with no more hesitation, and no more nervousness. He crashed his soft lips against yours, wrapping his surprisingly firm hands around your waist and pulling you as close as you physically could be. The cold winter air was nothing to you anymore - your body a heated mess.

Your lips parted, and his tongue taking its place inside your mouth and lapping at your own. Your hands found their way under his loose shirt, and your breath hitched as one began toying with his buckle - the other running along the firm muscles he was hiding beneath his clothes.

You suppose it wasn't a huge shock - Armin was dorky, and quiet, but he was best friends with Eren and Mikasa. They were both incredibly fit.

Armin angled his leg between yours - pressing his knee against your crotch. You moaned into his mouth, and felt the smirk forming on his lips as he kissed you even more desperately.

His hands trailed down your back, over the hump of your ass until they were gently lifting your skirt. He gripped your ass hard, causing you to grind against his knee with more force.

Fuck.

His hands continued to rub and grab, slowly inching closer to the wet, hot mess between your legs. You had managed to remove his belt, tossing it down on the wet concrete and tugging his jeans down.

You pulled your face from his, your eyes flickering from his lips to the bulge beneath his boxers. Fuck, he looked so much bigger than you had expected.

“You want me?” He whispered seductively. You nodded.

He dropped to his knees, looking up at you through his glasses. He looked gorgeous. Desperate. He looked as if he was yearning for you. You ran a hand through his hair, the other tracing his jaw. “Beautiful,” he complimented.

He pulled your panties down to your ankles in an instant, grabbing one of your legs and tossing it over his shoulder as if you were a rag doll. He admired your pussy, sticking his tongue out and running it up your slit.

You could feel his tongue piercing against your folds. Your hands gripped his hair tighter, and he flicked circles around your swollen clit with his tongue. He groaned against you, the vibrations stimulating you further.

“So wet for me,” he breathed into you, “tastes so good.”

You arched your back as he slid his index finger inside of your cunt, whining out a slur of curse words as you tossed your head back. “F-Fuck, Armin.”

“Mmm.” He hummed back in response, curling his finger up to reach your sensitive spots.

It had been ages since you'd been touched - since you had touched yourself even. Your body was so hungry for more, so hungry for release. You felt the urge to cum quickly. It was embarrassing.

“I… I'm not going to last,” you whimpered, and the boy paused, pulling away from your cunt to meet your eyes. You groaned at the building pressure that had been stolen away. “W-What-” you began, before Armin rose to his feet and picked you up. “S-Shit!” You cried out in shock as he slammed you against the wall, hands gripping your ass and bulge pressed to your bare bottom half.

“Want you to cum on my cock.” He begged, “Please, baby.” He used one hand to pull his member out, lining the tip up with your entrance and swirling it around impatiently. “Tell me to do it.”

Your heart fluttered at the brute strength he had displayed, lifting and holding you against the wall as if you were as light as a feather. He pulled his glasses off his face and tossed them to the ground. “Always wanted this.” He whispered, barely loud enough for you to hear.

“Please,” you pleaded, your arms wrapping around his neck.

“Please, what?”

“P-please. Fuck me, Armin.”

You could barely get out another breath before he shoved the entire length of his cock inside of you, moaning as your walls squeezed him. “S-so tight. So wet.” He whimpered, his lips pressing against the sensitive spot on your neck. You cried out at the stretch, and the way he filled you entirely.

He let you adjust to his size for a moment, leaving soft kisses along your skin before he pulled all the way out and slammed back inside of you. He sped up his pace, thrusting so fast that you couldn't think.

You were moaning so loud, the boy brought one hand up to cover your mouth. “Shhh, baby. Don't wanna get caught.”

Shit. You were in public.

You made eye contact with him, his face so soft, so kind - yet so seductive and hot at the same time. Sweat dribbled down both of your foreheads. His hand muffled your moaning and crying as his cock slammed into you again and again. Each time he pulled out, your cut was desperately aching for his length again - for the force of his cock pounding your cervix.

Hurts so fucking good.

You were close. Very, very close. His tongue and fingers were enough to spiral you, but his cock was sending you over the edge. You could feel the tingling building in your limbs, and the pressure nearly capping.

“Fuck,” he groaned between thrusts, “feel your pretty pussy tightening. You gonna cum on this dick, Y/N?

He moved his other hand back down to your ass, using it to strengthen his thrusts. You gasped out. “Y-yes. S-so close,” you whimpered, tears welling in your eyes. “F-fuck, i-.. i’m-”

“C’mon baby, cum for me.

God.

Your orgasm sent you drooling, moaning out the boy's name. Your cunt tightened around his member, bringing breathy moans from his own mouth.

He crashed his lips against yours, pulling away to speak in between kisses. “Gonna cum, baby. So close. Where do you want it, hm?”

Your sweaty forehead pressed against his. “Inside, please.”

“Yeah, baby? Want me to cum in this pussy?”

“Yes, please,” you cried out.

“Say my name, baby.”

You gripped his neck tighter, pressing your lips to his before pulling away again. “A-Armin, please. Want you to fill me up so bad.”

“Fucck…” He groaned, shoving his cock deep inside once again, before he spilled his hot juice. You felt his cock twitch inside your cunt.

You breathed heavily into each other, hearts still racing as fast as they ever had.

He slowly pulled his cock out, and you quietly whined at the emptiness you felt in your core. Hot, wet fluids dripped down your thighs as he sat you down on your feet.

A smirk built on the boy's lips. Before you could speak a word, he dropped back to his knees and brought his tongue to your pussy, prepared to lap up every ounce of the messes you had both made.

[genericpuff]

it's so funny that dramatubers are calling the censoring of asmongold from bbno$'s new music video a "controversy" when it's actually a totally reasonable and sane thing to do and the only controversy is the fact that asmongold still exists

not funny haha funny weird

it's just flat out weird that people keep defending this loser, you're weird, go outside

[undertalethingems]

Unexpected Guests Chapter 10, Act Two: Page 6

First / Previous / Next

Out of sight doesn't mean out of mind.... Gaster won't let anything interfere with his goal.

Look for the next update on Nov. 16th!

[pollywog-frog]

I love it when actors clearly love and care about a character they’re playing. It makes the whole interacting with a piece of media so much more fun when I can see that the people who made that piece of media also love the story/world/characters.

This is true for lots of actors and movies/shows, but I thought about it again while watching this interview that Lou Ferrigno Jr did with But Why Tho? (I’m about two thirds through, I’ve been saving it up to watch in smaller chunks since there’s so little content with him talking about the show out there, at least from what I could find).

I saw people on Reddit that didn’t like it because he was “sharing his headcanons” for Tommy, and I don’t get that! I mean, that’s part of what’s fun with interviews like this, isn’t it? The actors are not the writers or directors, so nothing they say can/should be considered fully canon, but they’re still the people playing these characters. I want them to have headcanons! I want them to have thought deeply about the characters they’re playing, to have thought about the backstory for their characters! Not because it’s the Word of God that they can then share with a fanbase or anything like that, but because it influences the way they act and portray that character.

That’s what gives us, the fandom, minute little acting choices (a gesture! A glance! A change in expression! A certain tone of voice!) to pick out and analyse and use when we talk to each other and write our fanfics and share our love for a piece of media.

(And if you disagree with the way an actor sees their character? Hell, if you don’t like the direction canon takes a storyline or character? Then all the power to you, go have fun and write a fanfic based on your interpretation of the character! This is why we have AUs and Canon Divergence. So we can all have fun playing around with stories any way we want to).

[alphajocklover]

I really want a hot boyfriend. does instajock always make you straight or can I use it on a guy to make him more my type? (and maybe also make me more his type)

So, I think there's been a bit of a misunderstanding, one that I want to clear up. While I do my best to report on different transformation methods, I can’t include every detail about every one of them. My posts are relatively short and don’t always cover everything, because if I did it would take forever. The lack of details, plus some distracting pictures, leads to a lot of people getting details mixed up or getting confused. It’s happened before, and I think it’s what is happening here. I say this because as far as I can remember I have never mentioned anything about InstaJock turning someone straight.

InstaJock can change a person's sexuality, theoretically, through the settings and details section that I've mentioned in previous posts. The thing is, it normally doesn’t. Instajock changes its users personality, their body, and their mind, but for some reason their sexuality will usually stay the same. They’ll become more openly sexual, and also often very flirtatious to fit their new jock persona, but their sexual identity doesn’t change. Even when their sexuality does change it usually turns them gay, not straight.  For some reason the app's already confusing setting page is set up so it's a lot easier to set your sexuality to gay then to straight. My best guess for why the app is set up that way is that the creator, or creators, are gay themselves and have a thing for jocks. I mean, you don’t make a seemingly impossible app that changes people into dumb jocks if you don’t have some sort of kink for it.. So, If you use the app on someone who's already gay you’ve probably got nothing to worry about. Chances are they’ll stay gay, unless they happen to have a huge conversion kink and are really good with computers. Anyways, now that we’ve cleared up that issue let's get into the specifics of your issue. 

Changing someone's personality and identity so that they’ll be your ideal boyfriend is… pretty questionable, if I’m being honest. But so is much of what happens in the world of transformations, so I’ll focus on the ‘how to’ rather than the morals. Your first problem is one I’ve brought up before: You can only give someone the app if you already have the app. Only an already transformed Jock can invite another person to InstaJock. You’d only be able to transform him,but only if you are changed yourself. I know you said you’d be with being changed, but once you become a jock figuring out the app will be much harder, so you might not end up his type, or he might not end up yours. I think your best bet would be to convince a jock to change both of you. InstaJock users can send out multiple invites at once, so it would be easy even for him. Though I wouldn’t be surprised if he makes a dumb mistake. He is a jock afterall.

I do hope this works out for you. Not because I approve of what you’re doing, but because there are a lot of ways this could go wrong. One of you could have your sexuality changed when you get transformed, the jock who changes you both might make you brothers instead of boyfriends, or you and he could just not click. Just because someones your type doesn’t mean they’re the right person for you. Even if you and your target don’t end up together, I think you will have a much easier time getting a boyfriend after you use InstaJock. I hate to be shallow, but dating is usually easier when you have a 6 pack and huge pecs.

[setmeatopthepyre]

For the guessing game: grin, bank, always

none of these were a hit (somehow??) so I decided to use 'grin' as a little make me write. ended up using it twice in like three sentences again. a little snippet from a different prompt fill (same as this though I've added a little bit to that snippet since):

He let his attention wander to the video again. Some complex diagram flashed across the screen. “Hold up. Did he just say huge loads on shaft balls?” Tommy gave him an exasperated - but fond, always fond - look and hit the space bar to pause the video. “Shaft ball bearings. It even says so on screen.” “Sounds hot,” Buck grinned, waggling his eyebrows for emphasis. “It’s a design flaw that could potentially kill people, Evan.” “Well now I feel bad, thanks,” he huffed. “You’re so welcome,” Tommy said, flashing him a grin. He stretched his arms over his head, leaning against the back rest of his ancient desk chair that looked like it had great lumbar support if anyone ever actually sat in it properly, and groaned as something popped in his spine.

-> send me a word, if it’s in my wip document I’ll answer your ask with the sentence that it appears in

[gerbfukc]

Modern Kazula au where they're both obsessed with books

Prompt: Azula buys some worn out books at 1/2 Price Bookstore and becomes enamored with the person who annotated them and left snarky commentary in the margins.

Meanwhile, Katara is infuriated that her brother donated her spare stash of books. She vows to get them all back.

Along the way, they encounter each other by chance. Their first impression?

Loathing. Pure, unadulterated loathing.

[starssoblue]

"the reason adrien is just instantly good at everything he tries is because he is programmed to be that way as a senti" aside from the fact that i don't think that's how it works (and also while he was decent at everything he tried with marinette he wasn't instantly good at all of them, and what marinette actually said to him was that he could improve in anything with practice but it was a great first attempt) did we all collectively forget about how adrien actually canonically isn't the best singer?

[dramaqueer-commie]

we need to give more credit to Steve Yasui, the sound mixer for the fhjy finale

the lowest moment for Brennan in d20, and by what i can only assume to be actual, real life magic, either the same dice magic Ally has that let K2 roll a nat 20 there, or by the curse that haunts Brennan in that dome, he *spills coffee on his shirt* in the exact spot and shape that Gilear has in all of the art of him.

And Steve Yasui, this absolute hero, plays the Gilear-curse effect.

here is my theory:

Brennan gave K2 true life, and she brought the Curse to our world. here, all magic has a price, and Brennan paid for bringing her here. the bad luck that haunts every DM from time to time, becoming the only actual curse in out plane of existence.

[flavoracle]

Hey, so we all agree that in mythology, a character that is the offspring of a deity and a mortal is called a “demigod,” right?

I mean, that’s like the most common kind of demigod. One immortal parent and one mortal parent.

So from a strictly mythological perspective, can we agree that Jesus Christ should be categorized as a demigod? I mean I know that the stories about him usually stress the whole “son of god” thing, but he is also the son of Mary, who was mortal.

[crab-people-overlord]

Important preface: This isn’t aimed at anyone in particular. honestly, I think most today do seem to get what I’m about to say. I also truly don’t care how people interpret or prefer these fake characters as I DO love having variety in fandom; it's what makes fandom fun! Everyone's allowed their own headcanons and AUs. What follows is just a fandom observation I’ve found fascinating as someone who's joined this space and has loved these characters for years. I also just think it's interesting in the overall debates in all fandoms of 'masculine' vs 'feminine' when these are two of THE most normal dudes who are just guys

And  yeah, these are fake characters and the show changes things up to where you can have your own take, and it genuinely doesn’t matter at the end of the day. There really are LOTS of routes you can genuinely take and still even be in-character for either Stan or Kyle!  but that doesnt mean there isn’t literally nearly 3 decades of characterization of them demonstrating at least something about their characterization and what they’re not 😭

The whole “Stan is the jock and Kyle is the nerd” (or vice versa) discourse has always been super funny to me, especially when it’s pushed to extremes. It’s not that I’m against AUs that lean into those archetypes to a slight extent;  it’s just weird how rarely works seem to overall flip or balance the dynamic if there is one. In so many of these interpretations, one gets pigeonholed as the smart one and the other as the sporty one, and it feels… reductive? And yes, historically this has been Kyle being the ‘nerd’ with Stan as the ‘jock’, but I’ve certainly seen some the other way around as well.

(mini-observation that’s already turned too long; feel free to skip this paragraphs since this is about Mature & Explicit fics… this also goes along with who is the ‘top’ vs ‘bottom’ dynamic and how that’s characterize. Obvs there’s no genuine canon way for this, and I also don’t care if you have a preference for one over the other (I’ve enjoyed fics from both so long as neither is feminized), though i do genuinely think things point to a more equal switching here. Neither is more feminine than the other and neither has more of a ‘dominance’ over the other nor strikes me as being one that has a strict preference, and i think there’s plenty of evidence to suggest they would switch in their dynamic, at least pointing towards more of a balance in fics found in top vs bottom regardless of your preference for them. Leadership canonically switches between the two, and they both tend to defer to the other… they’re the perfect ‘switching’ prototype.

like literally WHY is Kyle more often the ‘submissive’ one? Again; I like a submissive Kyle to the same extent I like a submissive stan- at an equal representation of it. Why the hell is Kyle the more often the submissive one? Based on what? Antisemitism? His curls? The fact he yells and loses his shit? Cuz like… my brother in Christ; stan is the one who dissolves into ‘everything is garbage and I hate everyone’ nihilism and when he doesn’t care just blindly follows Kyle. they BOTH scream ‘switch with control issues and wanting to be the dominant one’. Which can make for such interesting bedroom dynamics! like I wanna see more of them fighting for control like in canon fr). Anyways, that’s all I’ll say on this matter as I know this is a complex and different topic). 

I think there are lots of interesting things to say about stan and kyle’s differences when it comes to personality traits as the show progresses, but when it comes to their hobbies and intelectualism?

There’s a reason Kyle was almost killed off in the early seasons: because people couldn’t tell the difference between him and Stan. That was the fucking point. They were two hats on the same archetype. Even as a kid, I remember getting them mixed up sometimes when I first got into the show. And I see this issue almost every time in the 'reaction' type videos of folks watching the show for the first time.

And while the show has done a good job since then at developing their distinct personalities (they're clearly different dudes with different neuroses, types of intelligences, and ways of dealing with morality — and I think the differences here is what makes them the most fascinating and compelling as far as their dynamic goes), one constant remains: they tend to still be very similar in their preferences when it comes to sharing a wide variety of sports, hobbies, and their shared hobby (and a big reason they bond) of making fun of society's extremes.

Obviously there are some small differences in hobbies (stan being more into board games, also them having different preferences towards the type of sports they like, etc), but at the end of the day, Stan and Kyle are still besties BECAUSE they share a LOT of similarities, including in their morals and their intellectualism (again, even if demonstrated in different ways)

This isn’t to say they don’t have their differences; many of my favorite episodes involve them clashing. And I think when they clash, it’s fascinating considering they often are so aligned with things, and I find the fact that both don’t hesitate to call each other out when they think the situation calls for it refreshing. You don't get this dynamic if one of them is always 'The Cool One' and one is always 'The Smart One'.  

I'd just love to see fewer "jock vs nerd" or "goth vs nerd” or even 'goth vs. jock' etc  debates because, frankly, this debate is boring. lean into a particular characterization so long as you want as long as they're mulifaceted, because at the end of the day  they're two of the most aggressively goddamn ‘normal’ kids on the show (uh… for SP standards. trust, I know they both have their moments lmao). Neither can be neatly categorized as primarily a "jock" or a "nerd" (and it really makes no sense to me that anyone would even focus on one as primarily one over the other?? I genuinely think both their charm comes from the fact that they’re both at the end of the day some relatively smart, normal kids with a wide array of hobbies who are just exasperated with the the adults and policies in their lives) They're just regular kids who happen to live in a town where being normal makes you the weird ones, and they bond BECAUSE they have lots of similarities (yes, including on both a sports, moral, intellectual (and in my very personal opinion as one who does ship them, sexual) level.) They just have different ways of showing this.

they’re not “nerd vs jock.” they’re “oh my fucking god why are the adults like this.” neither of them is more dominant. neither is smarter than the other. neither is more feminine. they both are some some of the most stubborn characters known to man when they are passionate about something. they are not playing house, they are playing “we were raised in a town full of idiots and now we have trust issues with society”

they're both just guys, okay

[unhetalia]

I think Nations are generally stronger than the average human. If an adult male can carry up to 80kgs without too much difficulty, a fully grown Nation can do around 3x that amount, no matter their gender.

Alfred is an abberation in that he could carry animals that weigh at LEAST 400kg as a child. This has nothing to do with the US' status as a superpower because it's been that way since he was a child (and also because my headcanon doesn't connect the Nations with their countries in that way).

Without delving too deep as to why, I've always liked the idea of Alfred's increased strength coming with a few caveats -

1) As he's gotten older, his strength has acquired limitations it never had when he was a child - the main one being that using it requires energy. If he wants to be able to lift a car, he absolutely can, but he needs to eat a lot, otherwise his blood sugar will crash. Alfred eats a lot and constantly, and this is part of the reason (the other part is that food is delicious).

2) Alfred is so used to relying on his strength, it's become his weakness without him even realising it.

Alfred views exercise the same way most modern humans view it: he exercises to stay healthy. He hikes, he bikes, he plays sports, and if he thinks he's gained weight he promises himself he'll go to the gym (he doesn't).

Nations like Arthur, Ivan, Erzsebet and Gilbert - to name a few - who don't have super strength, hone their bodies into weapons with purpose. I love to imagine (for many reasons) a sweaty Arthur, hands wrapped in boxing gauze and wearing a tank top ... erm. Punching stuff. I distracted myself there. ANYWAY. They're incredibly disciplined about maintaining their skills and fitness.

Alfred is reliant on his super strength. If it disappears one day, he's actually a lot less capable of defending himself than he thinks.