#Least autistic programmer

[zuxigo]

was talking to me parents about the Titanic because of the whole Xbox controller death tube thing and my dad opened the wikipedia page for the Titanic and proceeds to spend the rest of the afternoon reading it

[enbycrip]

I will genuinely never forgive anyone involved in making The Imitation Game for their absolute travesty of Alan Turing’s story.

He was intensely autistic, and gay, and *kind*.

He mentored people below him in the programme - including women, who pretty much everyone else was crappy to.

He had terrible allergies and went cycling in a gas mask in the country to avoid then, and when he got overstimulated at parties he pulled incredibly daft elaborate “walking into a cupboard” leaving gags to handle them that left everyone screaming on the floor despite the silliness.

He got on really well with kids and never talked down to them. He gave his neighbours his sugar rations on their kids’ birthdays so she could always make them birthday cakes - even when he was being persecuted after the war, even when he was suffering horrible side effects from the tortures they put him through.

He was such an utterly, genuinely lovely human being, and he deserved so much damn better, and at the very *least* he deserved to be portrayed as who he was in the 21st fucking century instead of falling into a whole slew of horrifically harmful stereotypes that erased the fucking gift he was to us all over again.

[theguywhodoesntlikemusicals]

Some Hatchetverse headcanons

I've been thinking about implications.....

I've been saving these up for a while so I can do a megapost so here we are. I've pulled in points of evidence where I can but I don't think there are any outright spoilers (the cut is just mostly for length) but so be aware that there are at least some context spoilers.

This ended up being long enough as it is but maybe I will make a part 2 especially once i've rewatched NPMD

TGWDLM

It's probably obvious in how I play him but I'm of course an Autistic Paul believer. I see how he acts in myself and some of the things he does in my friends and also this and this video add years to my life

Since Bill is like 13 years older than Paul according to the wiki at the time of TGWDLM, I like to imagine that Bill maybe either interviewed him or mentored him after he joined CCRP. I mention this in the tags of this post but to further on it, I can totally imagine Paul immediately latching onto Bill as someone who is very kind and supportive especially to younger team members (see Melissa), especially since he didn't have a particularly supportive upbringing (see being taken to musicals and made to feel like shit).

I'm assuming that Paul joined CCRP upon leaving university (since he seems like a one-job kind of guy, and I'm basing this off my friend who has a similar seeming-job), which would put him at around age 21-22. Alice is 13 years younger than him according to the wiki, which means he may have been babysitting her from when she was around age 9. Which I think is adorable, no wonder she thinks he's cool. He probably brought over his gameboy and let her use it to play Animal Crossing.

Speaking of videogames, we know from Forever and Always that he plays videogames to relax. Or at least one. Which do we think this is? I'm taking suggestions but tbh, the only game that truly takes up 100% of my concentration and distracts me from my thoughts and anxiety (which I also absolutely displace onto Paul) are rhythm games. For me it's Project Diva but I can actually see him getting really into Rhythm Heaven. I don't think he's a big rpg person or games where you play as a character (e.g. mario or final fantasy)

This kind of leads into the biggest question and I think the biggest source of Paul HC contention........ does he actually dislike musicals? Do I think he dislikes music? No. I think he likes some specific music and may even, in rare cases, be caught humming. Do I think he likes musicals? No. I'm a Paul vs Musicals believer. I think this comes from a) when being dragged to a school that (presumably had a theatre programme whereas his didn't so) had better resources and more funding, where kids were being applauded and praised while he was made to feel small. This comes from this video where it's explained way better and I would definitely recommend watching it, but it is representative of his own lack of self-value and how he puts his needs last. But ALSO b) I do also think it's an autistic/ overstimulation thing from the setting. It can be both! I definitely think he gets overstimulated easily. (This comes from just after Not Your Seed where he blocks his ears and curls up to stop himself from hearing the girls sing/scream at him, despite the fact he KNOWS at this point that the infection is spread by being killed and re-animated. So sitting still there was the worst thing for him to do in practicality.) TLDR: Musicals: NO. Music: Some is ok. Get this man some Loops Earbuds and he MIGHT be able to go to a concert with you.

In that same video as above actually they suggest that the Infected retain some degree of their own personality, and the infection has the side effect of removing a lot of inhibitions and removing the reason to hide what's inside them. It's not technically my headcanon it's from that vid WHICH YOU SHOULD WATCH, but it basically explains why in Join us and Die, the change in Charlotte's personality is so jarring. My HC is that she's been penting up so much anger and upset for so long regarding Sam and her situation, and feeling powerless. No wonder when she loses her reason not to be sweet and polite all the time she goes all guts out rambo on everyone (ESPECIALLY TED who has been essentially using her from her perspective).

Speaking of Charlotte, I think it is less of a HC and more just how she comes across, but I think she is a very big romantic. She dreams of being a disney princess and being swept off her feet. See: just before Tied Up My Heart where she runs like a little girly and kneels down like she's fucking Snow White. I love and support her. All she gets is Sam and Ted and she deserves better.

Emma was on her way home from work when the meteor struck... Did Infected!Nora call her BACK into work in the middle of the night to practice Cup of Roasted Coffee? I'm surprised she didn't quit right there holy shit. Knowing that she probably did the whole of TGWDLM on 0 hours sleep, and also was probably already exhausted from having a job AND putting herself through college makes me respect her so much. That would explain why in Perky's Buds and Forever and Always she's so much more chill, she's actually slept!

I think Paul is actually very physically affectionate once it comes to it. I love that Jon Matteson basically has him grabbing onto Emma (in Cup of Poison Coffee & Join Us and Die), Charlotte (in Show Me Your Hands), and Bill (in Not Your Seed) to protect them at every opportunity. He even goes to catch Sam when he falls at the end of Show Me Your Hands despite the fact that he's been threatening them with police violence for the last 3 minutes (I know this is probably a staging thing to keep Jeff safe but still). If someone is in danger his immediate reflex is to grab and put himself in the way. It's Fight, Flight, or Fling your arms around your friends.

Why is Paul the best dressed person in the office? Bill and Ted both just wear shirts of different colours and a colourful tie but Paul is the only one in a full suit jacket and black tie. Is this because he's hard working or professional? No, further down I mention how I think he's actually quite lazy. Is it because he's boring? No I don't think so, he has things he likes! Even if his contentment with them considered 'dull' or 'mundane' by the rest of the world. No, here's what I think: he wears a suit jacket while everyone else is just in shirts because this man's circulation is NONEXISTANT. His hands are CHILLY and he needs some mittens. Melissa, please turn off the AC in floor 3. This man is Too Cold.

Ted thinks Paul is his best friend and thinks Bill is lame. Bill thinks Paul is his best friend and thinks Ted is a weirdo. Paul thinks hmm i want some coffee. Both of them have a kind of unspoken tension about it meanwhile Paul is just No Thoughts head Empty. JK i do think he thinks Bill is his best friend but he doesn't see it as much of a massive deal as Bill does

Black Friday

I like the idea that 'But they are intimate' becomes a local Hatchetfield meme along the lines of 'Oh god they were roommates'. Tim starts saying it at school and the kids who've never processed that word before all start saying it because it's hilarious, then it gets on tiktok and you know how it goes. Emma is cringing the whole time, until Paul realises and cringes as well, and then she uses it to laugh at/with him.

I know it's not technically a headcanon... but after watching a review of Black Friday, I have an alternate version in my head that addresses some of the pacing in the second act. (don't get me wrong I love BF but i do get where the guy is coming from!) where Ethan gets to live to the end of the musical. I'm an Ethan fan personally esp how he becomes such a father figure to Hannah and is so supportive of Lex. He wants to marry her in Yellow Jacket ffs!! Let them be close! I have this image built up in my head of him wanting to defend them from all their problems with his tough exterior but being frustrated and helpless that he can't actually do anything to address their real, systemic socio-economic problems. He gets patched up by Becky, and sticks with her and Tom to prevent them from finding Hannah, watching and juxtaposing their descent into Wiggly madness. During Do You Want to Play, he fights with Tom and Becky to protect Hannah but is knocked out and ends up getting taken to Linda along with Becky where they get tied up. Before Lex arrives with Tom, he manages to free himself with his switch blade. He gives it to Becky so she can free herself but runs to help Hannah. Without the doll to summon Wiggly, they try to sacrifice him in order to bring Wiggly through the portal/give him a vessel like Nibbly. He comes face to face with Wiggly himself as he and Wiley try to convince Ethan to come over to Wiggly's side, preying on his eagerness to throw money at Lex and Hannah's problems to save them (as he does in Yellow Jacket). In the end his knowledge that just the nice moments he is there for Hannah and supports her through her visions are what matters saves him. He gets his own song (maybe with echoing stings from Made in America or Black Friday) but just before Lex arrives, knowing they failed, Linda stabs him. Lex gets to save him this time and they have a tearful reunion, and get to sing together in the final number. TLDR Thank you Dragons that's my pitch I'm accepting investments to let Ethan live

Also not really a headcanon, but I ADORE that in the series so far, the two characters that John Macnamara has trusted to save the world are Lex and Paul, two people who are just trying to live their lives and get through the day but care about their friends and will do whatever it takes when the chips are down. Except the president he doesn't count because he shit the bed and that was the whole point

We know that Wiley/Wilbur Cross was John Macnamara's mentor. I imagine mourning losing him to the Black and White must have been awful for him. In TGWDLM he says 'The experiences I've acrued... have given me a deeper understanding of the cosmos and of our place in it. I follow a higher law than any institution could decree, and that's the universal truth of love and the strength of the human heart.' I went into this about to write that the experience might have been losing his mentor, but wouldn't that have taught him the opposite? Wilbur's heart was weak and his mind was lost... But what if Wilbur went into the black and white to save John? It was an act of love and strength all along.

I love lex more than any one and she deserves better.

NPMD

I'm a trans ftm Richie believer and this is definitely not just me displacing my feelings onto him... This is mainly because I think it would make that scene where he gets accepted by the football bros even stronger and I need to see it happen...

I also think he probably draws and is writing a manga sue me

I think that he likes magic the gathering...... I've just gotten into it and I swear that that's not just the only reason why! I think Paul got him some (Paul likes boardgames which we know from TGWDLM and a card game like this seems like the next logical step into nerddom before dnd) to bond with him and it spiraled from there.

I explain my reasons why I like the idea of Paul and Richie being close below, but I think Paul comes to Richie's games sometimes to support him, especially when he started out being a mascot. He needs Loops and to sleep for 17 hours afterward to recover but he is there for Richie GDI!

Also not a HC but Grace Chastity is my favourite character and she deserves better. I love THIS video on her and basically support every suggestion about her, but I wanted to highlight that there's an alternate universe where she works through her issues in a healthy relationship with Jason/someone else and becomes the kinkiest guidance councilor in the US. I want her to have a supportive partner who lets her explore!

Nightmare time:

We know from Hey Melissa, that Paul puts in headphones when he doesn't want to engage with people at work. What does he listen to? He could very well be a podcast person, but I'm willing to bet that he actually does like some music. His hate for musicals seems specific to the setting and the social awkwardness stemming from childhood events, so here's my pitch: I think he listens most to movie soundtracks. I think in one of Jon Matteson's livestreams he mentions that CCRP was initially created to be a buzzfeed style movie review company, we know he watched Moana and has opinions on it, and we know from when he asks Emma about film that this is something he at least engages with. I can imagine him fucking vibing to the opening of the Hobbit or something when trying to concentrate.

Not really a headcannon since it's essentially confirmed in Hey Melissa (Mr Davidson: Don't work too hard! | Paul: I don't!) and also the fact that he 'spends his days surfing the web' rather than working, but I think Paul is actually quite lazy and a huge procrastinator.

We know from Forever and Always that Emma's line to try to kiss Paul for the first time was 'want to smoke some pot and make out'. Do we think they got high and had their first make out session like that? I like to think so. Follow up question, what is Paul like high? I've never smoked anything before so definitely open to suggestions. But since Emma enjoys it so much I do think Paul partakes with her occasionally to share in something she likes, and if anyone else he knows found out they would be shocked to think of him as a stoner. It has helped with his anxiety.

My favourite characters from Nightmare Time are Duke and Miss Holloway... I love them sm they even inspired a story I'm currently writing. HOWEVER... I do have a bone to pick with Holloway over that fucking note. 'Could I have BEEN any clearer?' YES IT COULD QUEEN. If you know someone is going to be faced with a body they can't let be taken to the morgue, then INDICATE that and don't make him feel bad for then you having to change your identity if it's that important! This is unlicensed Duke himbofication and, while he may indeed be a himbo, forcing that on him is unethical!

General:

I'm not too familiar with the All-Jon-Matteson-Characters-Are-Related family tree, but I do like the idea that i've seen floating around that Richie and Daniel (DANIEL!! MY BABY!!) are brothers and are Gary Goldstein's kids from various affair partners, with Paul being his half-brother (hence the different surnames) and so uncle to his kids. From Paul going to Sycamore, it seems as though his parents weren't the most wealthy, so I can definitely see Gary, becoming a ruthless lawyer to wealthy clients, favouring getting a high income and financial security, rather than relationships with his kids and partner(s). We know from Forever and Always that Paul is also savvy in terms of financial security, insurance, etc... but didn't go off the deep end that much, so I think he is very supportive of his Nephews. I think maybe I saw the family tree thing on @boy-jerrys-blog so kudos fam.

Also was anyone going to tell me that Beige Jacket Reporter from Hatchet Town was Boy Jerry or did I just have to figure that out for myself????? Who let this man join the workforce??

If Paul had like 1 ounce more conviction and consideration for his own desires I think he would get himself a dog now that he's an adult and has financial safety (definitely a rescue) and that thing would have the best most love-filled life ever I cry thinking about it. Someone take this man to a shelter and he will have a field day and maybe cry.

Actually he might not do it because he has trauma from seeing spot die but GOD JUST LET HIM BE HAPPY AND GIVE IT A GO IT'LL BE GOOD FOR YOU PAUL JUSt maybe buy a sturdy leash

[brooklyn-house]

Leo

okay so. thing is. my number one top leo ship is. him being aroace. that's to me always the best option. however, the dynamic i enjoy him the most in is always valzhang. even if they're not romantically involved (the aroace!leo version), they're always going to be so weird and abnormal about each other. you're the one holding the knife that will one day twist into my heart. you're the only one who gets it. we're bound together by fate. my life is so fragile in your hands. i am learning to be a soldier by embracing this fragility. you are learning to love again after killing someone with the same thing that'll kill me. they're both TERRIBLY insecure and misinterpret things because of that. they'd be a total mess and would more than not make each other worse. that's what i love about them

i also like a good frazeleo or valdangelo! and imo i don't really enjoy val//grace all that much (censoring it so it doesn't show up in the tag, no need for negativity). also, tho that's not nearly high enough on the list, i like a good lercy!! they're amazing and probably have both thought of having sex with the other at some point lol

more general headcanons:

leo has trouble sleeping. only way he ever falls asleep is in front of a laptop/work (i thought nobody did this but my roommate is literally like this so i was wrong ig)

he can code! of course he can code! he knows all the stupid languages like brainfuck

after coming back from the dead (if that's something you consider canon), he has burn scars all over his body and face, and at least a prosthetic limb.

learnt most physics from richard feynman's physics lectures (trilogy that explains it all really really nicely, cannot recommend it enough)

forgets to shower regularly. cannot force himself for the love of god to brush his teeth

is good friends with carter kane!! they love to bounce ideas off each other (based on me and my mathematician/programmer friends and having people who know what you're talking about being much more important than a typical author can comprehend, apparently)

too many papers with scribbles and todo lists that he's got and lost

doesn't like talking to annabeth about the stuff he's building, bc annabeth is the type of person to always demand rigorous proof about why something will or won't work. he's built tons of these things, he just knows!!!

usually has some sort of background noise on when he's working. usually music, either two steps from hell or some sort of metal

autistic. do i even have to say it

[canmom]

canmom.art is well overdue getting updated with a lot of posts on here. it still doesn't even have the music theory series, for example. plenty of other posts, book crit and such, needs to go on there. rpg posts are woefully behind current thoughts on all that.

unfortunately this seems to be slipping into the 'bin of large imposing tasks', which i rarely open, instead apparently preferring to say something about AI or some shit, which is easy to start doing.

the habits need to change. my relationship with reading and posting on this site (and other social media feeds like youtube) is not healthy - projects I want to continue have been backburnered for months of years, new ones barely get started, my work is not doing great rn. and yet it seems to represent something I need, because I keep coming back here for many hours when I planned to do other things.

I have tried other approaches, like keeping a personal journal that nobody else will read, but somehow I come back here, maybe because I will get a number for my trouble. the exact number isn't that important, if it isn't zero - sometimes it's less than 20, sometimes it's like 60, these are about equally satisfying. the rare numbers above 100 can be pleasing, but also slightly worrying, since they are more likely to bring in someone who comes in hot with an angry disagreement.

I do however have a lot of admiration for (presumed to be) autistic people who define their own little web corner full of blog posts, fiction, art, comics, manifestos etc. etc. etc. on all of their projects and scattershot interests. Jennifer Diane Reitz is the prototypical example. Schuschinus and xrafstar are powerful examples in the artistic sphere; floraverse is a more community-shape one; qntm is a more normie-aligned one; todepond is a newer flavour; bogleech is borderline, hewing a bit close to a consistent listicle Content(TM) flavour. they might deliver fiction, essays, or some other stranger thing. sometimes the material is quite inaccessible to outsiders, or requiring immersion in an insular but devoted community, but these are not totally inaccessible - they aren't timecube style crank websites. other times it goes to great pains to lay it all out and be somewhere you can get lost, and yet can't help but have its own specific character. it must be at least a little intriguing. you should be saying 'what's the deal with this' - it must have its own deal, but the more inscrutable the deal, the better.

depending on the person, the look and feel of such sites can be aggressively saturated and high contrast blast, or at the extreme end of programmer-driven cleanness and readability. what you should not find is ads. the site is paid for by a day job, or perhaps a patreon. it is personal. it accumulates sporadically over the years, more varied than your average webcomic site, by the whims of its creator.

very often people who run such a site will have strange opinions that interject unexpectedly into their work. JDR infamously positioned herself as the expert on 'transexuality' in the early internet, presenting a very partisan medicalist account best represented in the 'scientific' are-you-trans test called the COGIATI. today I came across someone from the ratsphere called 'gwern', whose site was among the most impressively featured static sites I've encountered with some very clever hover-based interactions, but they will also randomly drop into some bizarre eugenic parenthetical about the effect of mental illness on evolutionary fitness or some other condescending shit. baffling person. this is part of the character of such websites, though. you don't get to be a weirdo on the internet without being, well, a weirdo.

if you vibe with their flavour of weirdness, finding such a site is like finding a treasure trove, and feels more like getting to know someone's soul or whatever than most other encounters on this dreadful internet. even if this is as illusory as all other parasocial relationships.

this is what I want canmom.art to be. perhaps it already approximates it. and if I can make it the main nucleus of activity, then I am less tied to one or another social network. such is the hope...

when I die, I hope my website will serve as some sort of time capsule record of what I was, a place for someone to discover what one life was animated by in the early 21st century, and ideally a trove of art to fascinate them. but it is perpetually incomplete; for all the pride I take in making it standards-compliant web engineering, it's never quite there. some known issues: the comment field breaks the responsive design causing a huge horizontal scroll on mobile. it is not loading as instantaneously as a static site should, largely due to the large web font, with a warning about layout being forced that I have not solved. most images in the animation night archives do not have alt text, and may never. there are no pages which collate tags.

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

Very funny to me that for the last couple of seasons, we've had a Taskmaster contestant being uncomfortable because there were too many costumes - Babatunde looking at his team of a cricketer and Inspector Clouseau and wondering if this was supposed to be fancy dress, and John Robins being really annoyed that he put all that effort into his Freddie Mercury costume (I know he already owned the jacket, I think he first bragged about that thing on the radio in about 2016, but apparently he had to procure a second one for Taskmaster, and make the sacrifice of doing all the filming in something clearly hot and uncomfortable), only to be upstaged by a vampire. While in season 19, Mathew Baynton's being made uncomfortable for the opposite reason - quite understandably, based on the last few seasons, saying he hadn't expected to be the only one dressed up.

I think his problem is that no one else was really a fan of Taskmaster beforehand except for Jason, and he had to wear his normal uniform, apparently. I think the costumes are normally worn by people who've watched it beforehand.

I, of course, stand by my congratulations of Sam Campbell for being the least autistic person currently lined up to compete in Taskmaster Champion of Champions IV, though I assume that'll no longer be true once season 19 ends. However, that reminds me, as I make my Edinburgh schedule and think of that COCIV lineup - SamCam, Zaltzman, Robins? None of them on the programme. You win Taskmaster and become too good for the Edinburgh Festival?

[redbreastedbird]

I just remembered the thing that I wanted to ask when I discovered you were on Tumblr ages ago and then immediately forgot-

Buckle in, I apparently can only explain this with a LOT of words:

Okay, so - in one of the MMU books (I can't for the the life of me remember which one, nor has my frantic page flipping helped me to figure it out - I think it *might* have been Top Marks For Murder, but I really can't be sure), there's a scene where at least both Daisy and Hazel are present (because it describes Daisy and the books are from Hazel's point of view - my own bit of detective work), and I'm pretty sure it's in their dorm room and the other girls are there too. Daisy in some way leans on her pillow (maybe lies down, or sits back against it or something) and it is described as crinkling - I think that's the exact word - under her, whilst she tries in some way to hide being embarrassed or flustered or some kind of un-Daisy-ish emotion (also why I think it happens in Top Marks For Murder, she has a lot of those in that one - another bit of detective work).

Now. This has haunted me since I first read it. (So, for at least a good few years.)

Did Daisy have something under her pillow??

That's what I initially understood to be happening - Daisy had something under her pillow, something she was hiding because it was in some way embarrassing or something and then got flustered by it crinkling (in an onomatopoeia sense), because that's what made sense to my very autistic and dyslexic brain when I read it (reading it freaking hard, dude (it feels weird calling you, someone I've looked up to for ages, "dude") - this might not actually exist but be a strange amalgamation of the words that actually existed on the page). But after (I feel so silly saying this, but) LITERAL YEARS of contemplating it, I've freaking figured out that I don't think she actually did???? I think she was embarrassed (?) by something in the conversation, leaned (?) against her pillow and it non onomatopoeia crinkled.

I have no idea if you even remembere writing a scene like this - or if it even exists outside my mildly disassociated memories from when I read the later books (!! that's another thing I wanted to do in this ask! Say thank you because these books got be through some pretty rough times!) or previously mentioned dyslexia amazing what-I-think-those-words-are™ powers - but I thought there was a chance that you'd know that you hadn't written a scene where Daisy hid something mysterious and never brought up again under her pillow and could silence my confusion finally.

Yours sincerely,

Anonymous because now I've typed it all out I feel dumb-

(also sorry if this is in some way disjointed or unintelligible - I'm super tired. And dyslexic.)

Okay, I think I know what scene you’re talking about! From memory, there is a real thing under Daisy’s pillow, and I think it’s a playbill for a production Martita is in, which Daisy has kept. So it should be either at the end of DITS or the beginning of TMFM. Maybe at the beginning of DSS?

Having typed that, I did a quick search for ‘crinkl’ in my manuscripts but couldn’t see anything, so I tried ‘crackl’ and came up with it. It’s at the beginning of TMFM, chapter 4, and yes, Daisy has the Romeo and Juliet programme. Kitty finds it and teases her and Daisy freaks out because of course she’s keeping it for having-a-crush-on-Martita reasons but she doesn’t want to admit that.

Pretty proud of my memory now!

[junimoking]

Oliver (OllieOxenFree)

Little facts and notes about Oliver (feat. Micah Yujin)

Oliver's favourite food is Tikka Masala and generally really loves Indian food.

Oliver works as a cashier at a grocery store in between his freelance graphic design and programming gigs to make rent.

When Micah asks Oliver what his love language is, he references pebbling, which is common with autistic people. It refers to when penguins give each other rocks and such to show affection. Oliver will usually show affection by finding things that he thinks his loved one would like. Fanart of a series they like, a song, or small gift.

But when in reference to the main 5 we all know, at first, Oliver doesn't know, until Micah begins complimenting him, realizing that it is words of affirmation.

Oliver is on the smaller side of being fat (fat is not a bad word, do not attempt to censor my usage of it) and frequently becomes insecure with how Micah looks and fearing he won't find his body attractive.

Micah adores the way Oliver looks and is definitely a thigh man when it comes to his boyfriend.

Oliver's hyperfixation on having his first date be someone he cares about and trusts coming through his window comes from his fantasy of dating in high school. But because he was both fat and an unaware trans guy who didn't know he was trans, people weren't interest in dating him. It took a major toll on his self-esteem to the point he believes Micah's advances are a joke and that there is no way that he could have feelings for someone like him.

He wants to live out his high school fantasies. Sneaking around, making out in the backseat of their car, playing stupid high school games like truth or dare. Micah is all for all of it and loves seeing Oliver happy with the experiences.

Oliver and Micah's interactions before meeting IRL is at least a month. It's not as fast-paced as the game is.

Oliver isn't just a graphic designer and programmer. He also draws, plays the guitar and sings. His private accounts are where he keeps the art he does as a hobby, while his public accounts with his programming and graphic design portfolios aren't attached.

Oliver's initial hacking was out of spite for losing the CFT tournament to Micah, but it was a bit more serious to him. He was under the impression that he could get the exposure he didn't to push his freelance status off the ground. That tournament was nothing serious and wouldn't have helped at all.

After that, Micah decided to keep chatting with Oliver, seeing that he was clearly a struggling freelancer and wanted to help him improve, while finding a fun way to keep pushing him. This desire to mentor him soon turned into romantic attraction.

[sainzinnorris]

the whole bianca situation is so haywire. I'll try to compress my thoughts on it in a few pointers;

1. let's start with the very obvious. i mean we know she's young and stuff, but you're 18. you're a public figure. you're under the drivers development programme for one of the well known teams of f1. you know you have a fan following, you know people look up to you, you should know better.

2. it wasn't a single post. yes that post in particular was extremely offensive. but liking all those tweets about lance stroll isn't gonna make you look quirky or edgy. nor is it going to help you build up a steady career if your first instinct (very childish) is to shit on a driver who's literally already driving in f1 and has enough records to prove all your silly likes wrong ✋🏾.

3. that apology. oml. what was that. using the “my brother has autism“ as an excuse ? and the whole thing about accidentally liking the post when she didn't (the original creator just deleted the post). at least sound like you're apologetic, take up the blame and promise to do better.

with all that being said,

4. i know i don't completely understand the effect her actions have had on those who who of her fans that are autistic , or anyone who looked up at her, finally being happy with mclaren's choice of including her in their programme, but we need to understand formula 1 is an extremely male dominated sport with drivers who all have done or said the most cancellable shit ever and they've gotten away scot free. so before hate tweeting vigorously about how she doesn't deserve an f1 seat ever. give her the same treatment you'd give the men in this sport who have said things like this or worse. it's not to pick sides or to an excuse, but ,people have this terrible habit on hating on women with so much passion it fuels into pure hate and disregard. this situation has escalated to a point people on twitter go like "don't give this women or any women a seat in f1, they will ruin it." . yes. hold bianca accountable for her actions , but don't use this instance to generalize all women striving hard in this sport to leave a legacy. don't use this one instance , one bad example of one female driver to discredit every female driver in the motorsport.

of course if she never learns from her mistake, by all means, the discontent is completely valid and you can channel it in everyway you deem necessary. but she's a human , she makes mistakes. i hope we can all find it in us to forgive and deal with this in a humane manner if she manages to actually grow from this mistake and never repeat it.

[sunset-skater]

since we can't draw characters we'll just visualize ideas we know we lack the skill to draw so we need to figure out how to write about them instead. anyways enjoy a before/after of the classified au sambastian polycule, because being abandoned at a remote astrological facility it putting them THRU IT

Sam, back in the city

loved his time living in Pelican Town, but is ecstatic that he gets to experience city life alongside Seb

on disability for his adhd and chronic pain, so he plays house husband but also has the space to just focus on his music. plays guitar on good days, makes digital music when he's having a bad pain day

visits home whenever Seb does, to keep in touch with his parents and especially stay in Vincent's life

always goddamn sunshine even on his flare up days, he's just so happy to be alive and loves sharing it all with Seb

went from saying hi to the guy Seb's on voice with, to getting to know his boyfriend's latest date, to eventually falling for the guy Seb's dating and branching this polycule into a triangle

Sebastian, finally in the city

works part time at a bookstore, freelances as a programmer on the side, loves being able to work with information on so many fronts

owns way too many books cause they're SO cheap through work!

very autistic at work, usually wearing headphones and doing his own thing. his coworkers love that he enjoys all the mundane tasks they'd rather hand off

visits home on the regular to hang out with his mom and enjoy his hometown, calls her lots even when he isn't visiting

plans to move back to Pelican Town someday but is enjoying the city at this stage in his life

takes over the house husband role when Sam's having a bad take, finds so much joy in being able to help out

met Scott online on some astronomy forums, eventually started dating online and they voice chat lots

Scott, working his dream job

cannot believe how lucky he is to be working in astronomy like THIS

has a real firewatch vibe going on, takes care of his base and the surrounding site in between processing collected information

hasn't actually gotten much of a formal education yet, but has enough training from work - and enough research done on his own time - that he knows his way around here better than most of the people he works for

absolutely loves this life, living out in the middle of nature while working in a field of science he loves with all his heart. he even gets to use the equipment during his off hours to do whatever he likes - it's the most jacked up stargazing he's ever done

met this cute guy who loves moon aesthetics but then turned out to be the nerdiest tboy ever??? Scott's in love??? and his boyfriend is a handsome guitar-playing goofball who's always teasing Seb on video calls??? Scott's in love with them BOTH??? how lucky is he

and then a visit to meet the long distance boyfriend turns into a new living situation because extenuating circumstances means that the boys just... can't leave

Sam, isolated by woodlands and machinery

definitely losing it. the least capable of coping with these circumstances, he is NOT built for this kind of quiet. he can't even talk to people online - the only people he's got to interact with are his boyfriends, one of whom is as stir crazy as he is and the other who's so often busy with the work that trapped them here in the first place

is very bad at hiding it. he wants to be a good presence for Sebastian, and when he's in a better mood he's honestly able to lighten the mood, but when he's doing bad he wears it on his sleeve. he spends hours outside alone or holed up in a corner with noise cancelling headphones to make music, just trying to keep himself sane and feel like he's in his own space

he loves Seb so much. they spend so much time together, where Sam cooks or shares his music, Seb reads aloud to Sam or cuddles him to sleep. they try to recreate their old life anywhere they can just to feel okay

he misses his family so bad, but especially feels so much guilt and worry for Vincent. he's supposed to be there for him, yet Vincent's lost his older brother until further notice. he wants to go home so bad, spend an entire year living with his family again just so that he can make up for lost time with Vincent

anytime Seb sleeps, if Sam isn't laying in bed with him then he's set up shop in Scott's workplace so that he doesn't have to be alone. even if he's sitting on the floor with headphones in his own world, he needs so badly to be in the same room as someone. he just wants to see Scott working out of the corner of his eye - experience some semblance of normalcy

Sebastian, paranoia and nicotine cravings personified

hates this place. at first it reminded him of home but now it's such a bastardized version of it, where he resents the technology keeping him here and how the lack of civilization made it possible to keep them here at all. what's he supposed to do, walk into the woods and hopes he survives long enough to find a highway?

that said he tries to keep it hidden. even when this anger seeps through, he says it's the lack of cigarettes or the fact that his bpd flares up easier in such small confines. it's obvious how angry he is with the situation - but he can't bring himself to be open with it

in spite of it finds ways to help Scott wherever possible. he can't believe how badly he misses actually working, so he helps with the non-science work whenever possible. it keeps him busy and helps him feel productive

in spite of this all he still cares about Scott so much. he always sounded like he had some kind of dream job - but now they're trapped here and he doesn't even care. what does this place have, that Scott is so unphased by these surroundings? he just wants to be his boyfriend

he wanders outside a lot during daylight hours, wishing these woods were more like the ones they have at home. the forests he grew up in lie so much further north, and he can't even tell what is and isn't manufactured. how many of these trees were replanted after the original forest was destroyed, and how much of this is actually like this?

he misses his mom more than anything. he could handle all of this if only he could call her and talk through everything he's feeling. instead he just has old voicemails saved to his phone, voice memos she recorded while working so that random sounds of saws and chisels can be heard in the background, and leagues of text conversations he rereads just to feel like she's here

Scott, still working his dream job

feels absolutely HORRIBLE about how getting his boyfriends to visit turned this south. he worked so hard to get permission for them to visit at all - since he isn't sure when he'll actually get a break from work - only for this to happen

copes by sinking himself further into work, both to satisfy the higher ups and hope that he gets Sam and Seb out of here sooner, but also just to lose himself into something he enjoys. to immerse himself in space and all its wonder is escapism undiluted

honestly misses working alone, and enjoys late nights spent alone at the console surrounded only by the joy of science

the one thing he does miss most is the lack of an online presence. ever since they killed their internet connection - only his dedicated work consoles have any kind of connection, and those are glorified pagers with how limited their communication options are. he's got his boyfriends here in person, but everyone else in his social sphere saw him drop off the face of the earth

he doesn't know how to regret bringing Sam and Seb here. he hates that it ever came to this, wishes he had some way of anticipating this, but also he's not sure how he could've known. he just wanted to meet them, show them the pride and joy that is this site, but instead they've all been punished

[sylsaccount]

rare ramble post

it is so hard to be like. yes i am a trans woman. yes i believe that i am biologically male. yes i hate males and i am literally kam about everything. yes i do not think of myself as a man but if someone were to ask me "does kam include all male people in general" i would say yes bc its kind of biased for me to say no and i dont think its worth it to spend the resources to figure out the like 0.001% of good ones. not that kam is a thing i realistically believe in just like. theoretically you know. idk.

its weird trying to live mostly separatist but not earnestly being part of the group u wanna separate with you know? and like. i literally dont believe in gender yet i am a gender haver. that is simplifying it for sure, its not like the way i think about things isnt consistent, but on the outside it seems like i dont make any sense. i dont get along with most rad-aligned ppl for obvious reasons, and i dont get along with other trans people for obvious reasons. ive met a lot of detrans folks lately that i get along with, but i am not and i doubt will ever be detrans myself.

ig i should say i dont get along with trans women, not trans people lol. ive known plenty of trans men over the years, some of which have been close friends. the truth is 99% of trans women act "like males", at least in my experience. and like. i just cant deal with that lol

i just made a post saying im the only real gender abolitionist so its kind of funny that i say "like males". i am not a biological essentialist nor do i like calling behaviors "masculine" or "feminine". yet any woman reading this knows exactly what im talking about. even the ones that claim to be the "good ones" that are "actually women" etc. are walking caricatures. if i have to see one more instance of that hsts slaaay yassss motherrrrr i love sabrina carpenter shit i will blow my brains out (you are fortunate if you have not encountered this group. i personally find them just as evil as those knee sock programmer catgirldick types)

i cant help but wonder if someone similar to me from an outside perspective would judge me the same way, u know? a lot of my interests are stereotypically male, i am autistic, i am kind of an asshole. ofc at the end im always like. well i have actual feminist values and i cant stand males and i always prioritize women over everything so like. its just me being anxious over nothing i think.

this is mostly unrelated but ive also been thinking a lot abt the ppl who follow me. ive had an influx of followers as of late, but there r others who have followed me for a long time. its kind of funny looking through... i have ppl that i know for a fact hate trans ppl. me being trans is not something ive ever specifically hidden, but its also not something i bring up a lot. i just realized bc of that weird anon the other day that its the first time ive explicitly mentioned it on my blog in a couple years. i couldnt help but be worried abt it! at the same time, i have some old friends i dont rly talk to anymore... a couple of which, despite knowing that i am respectful towards other individual trans ppl and that i am not truly transphobic, im sure have taken issue with the types of things i reblog and strongly personally disagree. yet as im looking over who im following, it doesnt look like ive lost mutuals from either camp.

id like to talk to more people too. its hard to dm people for me, as i think it is for many people here. i have some mutuals i would love to talk with, but i am kind of an ass, and they are kind of an ass, and thats why we follow each other, so its like... they may not even wanna be bothered like that u know? i know what its like when u have some coworker or acquaintance u like well enough but then they start trying to be buddy buddy with u and they become a nuisance. i dont wanna be that!!! i am extremely misanthropic myself so its easy to imagine being on the other end

my friend group (some irl and some online) has a little discord group chat we use. we just added someone new and its been very nice. i really do love meeting new ppl when i vibe with them...

u could say. sylvia why dont u just go meet people irl. well, unfortunately, i cannot tell people irl that i have extremely regular homicidal fantasies and think 50% of the population should kill themselves. i cant rant abt all the dystopian shit i am subjected to on a regular basis, bc they dont view it as dystopian. i cant even discuss my own life and perspectives on things because SOMEONE is going to have their feelings hurt (despite me being the one who has trauma abt it -_-). on the computer there are lots of intelligent people with interesting lives who r also kind of losers and hate everything. i like those people.

i dont rly have a point on any of this. just thoughts ive been having.

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Hello Steph! I was wondering if you have some Johnlock song fics? It doesn't matter what kind of song heheh

thanks and remember to take care of yourself, Hug! 💖

Hey Nonny!

Ahhh, I get asked this a few times! I never have anything really significant though, LOL, at least not in the "classic song fic" sense from MY early fandom days ("song fics" used to be fics written with the lyrics to the song inspiring each section of a fic, now I think it just means "fics inspired by whole songs"). Here are the ones I know of, from my knowledge and from the above linked tag :)

EDIT: I did a tag search on my offline lists, because I should stop being so lazy, so here you are, now I have a list! :D Thank you!!

As usual, feel free to add your own, friends!

And thank you for your kind words :)

-----

SONG FICS

See Also:

Moulin Rouge AU (Mine)

Song Fics (Alexx's List)

BOOKMARKS

Evermore by SosoHolmesWatson (G, 2,068 w., 1 Ch. || Post-S4, 5-Year-Old Rosie, Love Confessions, Song Fic, Parentlock, Oblivious John, Pining Sherlock, First Kiss, Love Confessions, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Disney Songs, Beauty and the Beast) – For the past years, John and Sherlock have lived at Baker Street again, raising Rosie together--as friends and nothing more. Ever since the little girl has watched her first Disney movie, she is obsessed with princesses. When John comes home one day, he finds his friend and his daughter in the middle of a reenactment of her current favourite. Part 1 of Made of Music

Engaged by lifeonmars (NR, 3,146 w., 1 Ch. || Marriage Proposal, Fluff, Holmes Family, Song Fic) – Sherlock did not believe in marriage, but he wanted to be married. He found this something of a surprise. Part 2 of Damage

Living Musical by VeeTheRee (G, 4,149 w. 1 Ch. || Est. Rel., Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Hobbies, Summer, Song Fic, POV Sherlock, Painting, Play Fighting, Soft Sherlock, Dancing, Love Declarations, Hair Petting, Promise of Forever) – A one-shot of John and Sherlock being domestic during summer. There is paint, fluff, and music from Imagine Dragons, namely from the album 'Speak To Me', specific song in this one-shot is 'Living Musical'. Part 1 of the Happy Fluffy Johnlock Time series

Sunday Evening 6 p.m. by Silvergirl (E, 30,712 w., 6 Ch. || Post-TRF / TEH Divergence, Grief / Mourning / Stages of Grief, Mutual Pining, Dreams, Reunion, Love Confessions, First Kiss / Time, Alternating First Person POV, Smart John, BAMF Boys, Emotional Love Making, Song Fic, Referenced Suicide, First Kiss / Time, Touching, Sleepy Sherlock, Blow Job, Villain Mary) – Six months after Sherlock jumped, he learns that John is dedicating songs to him on a requests-only radio programme. Is John just working through grief? Or is he—communicating? Fixes the hell out of S3 by pre-empting it altogether. Remember, as TAB told us, John is Pretty Damn Smart.

The Baker Street Nativity by SwissMiss (E, 99,662 w., 23 Ch. || Nativity! AU || Teacher Sherlock / TA John, Pining, Sherlock POV, UST, Angst, Christmas, Music/Song Fic, Anal / BJ’s, First Kiss / Time) –Fusion between Sherlock (BBC) and Nativity! (2009 movie starring Martin Freeman). Sherlock is a primary school teacher and John is assigned to be his classroom assistant. Together, they are charged with putting on the school's Nativity play. What could possibly go wrong? Part 1 of The Baker Street Nativity Verse

MARKED FOR LATER

To John - love SH , how me met by Tha_shipper_Burning_void (NR, 315 w., 1 Ch. || Fluff, Angst, Song Fic) – John nor Sherlock knew of each other – Sherlock rich and John poor – but John believe someone was out there for him.

Satisfied by VTsuion (G, 1,067 w., 1 Ch. || ACD Canon || Watson’s Wedding, Toasting, Song Fic, Past Relationship, POV Sherlock) – Watson is getting married, but he will never be satisfied. Holmes will never be satisfied.

All Along There Was Some Invisible String (Tying You To Me) by Biana_Amberly_Vacker (G, 1,145 w., 1 Ch.. || Fantasy AU || Bullying, Holmes Family, Autistic Mycroft, Family Dynamics, Angst, Song Fic) – Mycroft is alone. He decides to make himself a brother. Out of wood.

Clarity by tea_and_violins (M, 1,606 w., 1 Ch. || Post-TRF, Angst, Reunion, Song Fic, Slash) – A one shot/song fic inspired by Clarity by Zedd ft. Foxes. Have a listen before or during :)

(They Tell You) Wake Up, Go Put On Your Makeup, This Is Just A Phase You’re Gonna Outgrow by Biana_Amberly_Vacker (T, 1,738 w., 1 Ch. || Trans Sherlock, Song Fic, Transphobia, Self-Harm, Hurt No Comfort) – Sherlock was always a boy. Even in his traitorous body. This is a story, throughout a childhood, of a boy who everyone thought was a girl.

Take me to Baker Street by MorganeUK (G, 2,087 w., 1 Ch. || Adult Ballet AU || Ballet Dancer Sherlock, Doctor John, Song Fic, Pre-Slash) – I always loved Sergei Polunin interpretation of Take me to the church so I decided to write a version where Sherlock is a ballet dancer in serious need of a doctor…

The Very Thought of You by reveling_in_mayhem (T, 2,386 w., 1 Ch. || Canon Divergence, Song Fic, Kitchen Dancing, First Kiss, Fluff) – John and Sherlock have danced before. For a case and for a wedding. But they've never danced like this. So why is John reaching out his hand for Sherlock's now?

Body Language by CeruleanDarkangelis (T, 2,706 w., 1 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Dancing, Song Fic, POV First Person John, Voyeurism, Dirty Dancing, Clubbing) – There is a language to dancing; a call-and-response from one body to another. Even with the poncy kind of dancing I knew he was versed in, the kind that requires classes and counting and rules, there is communication between bodies. Watching him now, I’m more than pleased to discover that he understands my dialect as well. Part 1 of the Without Words series

Jukebox by standbygo (T, 3,990 w., 1 Ch. || Friends to Lovers, First Kiss, Music, Singing, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Humour) – After the music halls of Sherlock's mind palace get damaged by accident, John learns that Sherlock never forgets a song. Even the ones he'd rather forget. But the random singalong brings some unexpected benefits.

Blame it on My Youth by standbygo (M, 4,151 w., 1 Ch. || Retirement, First Kiss, Declarations of Love, Song Fic) – “Courage doesn’t mean you’re not afraid. It’s knowing that you’re afraid, and doing what you need to do anyway.” Sherlock and John are retired, but receive an unexpected client. Part 10 of the November 2014 Song Challenge series

Lights On by SosoHolmesWatson (T, 4,396 w., 1 Ch || Post-S4, First Kiss, Pining Idiots, Angst with Happy Ending, Song Fic, Love Confessions, Dev. Rel., Emotional Repression, Bed Sharing) – Sherlock and John are living together again but things between them are far from okay. John is out of his depth until a song brings the needed epiphany. Part 2 of the Made of Music

Rumbos Secretos by Ceibos (T, 5,991 w., 1 Ch. || Unilock || Argentinian Spanish, First Kiss, POV John, Internalized Homophobia, Song Fic, Military, Autism Spectrum) – AU en el que Sherlock y John son dos jovenes alumnos de la UBA en los 90´s o Sherlock ayuda a John a estudiar para su parcial de anatomía y pasan cosas.

Dirty by standbygo (E, 5,093 w., 1 Ch. || Established Relationship, PWP, Dirty Dancing, Romance, Smut and Fluff) – “Yeah, I actually learned how to dance like that, like in the film. I was quite the hit at parties while the craze lasted. Some of Harry’s friends called me Johnny Castle, after the character. Or Swayze.” “Swayze? What kind of word is that?” John did not reply, but gazed at Sherlock, his lips pressed together but still smiling. After a moment, he stood and held out his hand to Sherlock. “Dance with me,” John said.

Take Me To Church by Daziechane (M, 6,370 w., 1 Ch. || Ballet, Song Fic, First Kiss / Time) – John’s days blurred. It didn’t even bother him anymore, that he wasn’t onstage. At least, that’s what he told himself every time he clocked in for another shift. Sherlock’s days blurred. It didn’t even bother him anymore, that he wasn’t onstage. At least, that’s what he told himself every time he stepped into 221B.

Burn by EmilyisSOgay (T, 7,481 w., 1 Ch. || Alternate Universe || Jazz Singer John, Alternate First Meeting, First Kiss, Everyone is Gay, Love at First Sight, Falling in Love, Flirty John, Song Fic, Romance, Sexual Tension, Sherlock POV, Sherlock in Love, Jealous Sherlock, Fluff) – John is a seductive jazz singer at small London club. And Sherlock gets a special birthday performance that sets his Mind Palace ablaze.

You Are The Reason by ICanDoThisAllDayy (G, 9,432 w. || Post-TSo3, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Pining, Letters, Bisexual John, Song Fic, Heavy Angst) – When Sherlock leaves the envelope for John and Mary at their wedding, he forgets to take out another piece of paper from it - the paper on which he poured his heart out while preparing the Best Man's Speech at 221B Baker Street. He intended to burn the piece right after he finished writing, but he was too exhausted from the emotions and accidentally slipped it amongst his composition for the Waltz. As things work out, somebody reads his letter. That somebody is John Watson. Part 2 of Songs-inspired fic(let)s

A Very Sherlock Musical by flawedamythyst (T, 11,980 w., 1 Ch. || Musical AU || No S3 Compliant {more tags to be added after reading}) – So, you know how musicals are set in a world where people just burst into song every five minutes, and everyone around them automatically knows to join in with the tune and choreography? This fic is set in that world. John finds it extremely frustrating that Sherlock won't sing their theme song with him.

This Is Your Song by agirlsname (E, 79,990 w., 19 Ch. || Moulin Rouge Fusion || Prostitute Sherlock, Poet John, Acting, Singing, Dancing, Writing, Poetry, Musical, Song Fic, Heavy Angst, Unreliable Narrator, Sherlock is French, Love at First Sight, UST, First Kiss/Time, Frottage, Coming in Pants, Anal Sex, Switchlock, Clothed Sex, Crossdressing, Secret Relationship, Forbidden Love, Jealousy, Terminal Illnesses, Grief/Mourning, Breakup/Makeup Sex, Past Drug Use, Attempted Rape, Canon-Typical Violence)– When John Watson is invalided home from the army in 1895, he moves to Paris to rediscover his writing and find a new meaning in life. His old friend Stamford invites him into a group of artist friends, and suddenly John finds himself auditioning to write a show for the famous brothel across the street. There, he meets the most beautiful man he’s ever seen - Sherlock, the star of the Moulin Rouge. But Sherlock is already promised to the investor of the show, the rich Duke Moriarty.

A Case of Identity – The Musical by shamelessmash (E, 83,147 w., 15 Ch. || 1950′s Hollywood AU || Musical, Case Fic, Undercover as an Actor, Dancing, Happy Ending, Kidnapping, Drugs, Fluff and Angst, Humour, Writer/Director John, Slow Burn / Romance) – A mysterious death on set causes chaos in Stamford productions latest movie. With the premiere date left unchanged, they must find a new lead actor and reshoot an entire movie in two months. Sherlock Holmes goes undercover as a lead actor in a Musical: a juggling act to solve a murder while singing, dancing and charming his way through 1950s Hollywood. The last thing he expected was to fall in love with the screenwriter along the way. Or as I like to call it: the case where Sherlock finally gets to dance. Based off this prompt.

To the Sticking Place by blueink3 (E, 121,973 w., 20 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Musical Theatre AU || Showmance, Friends to Lovers, Bickering, UST / RST, Fluff, Virgin Sherlock, BAMF John, New York City / Broadway) – Renowned Shakespearean actor Sherlock Holmes has finally burned all of his bridges in the theatre industry save for his constant director, Greg Lestrade. John Watson has made a name for himself in the musical theatre circuit, but age and injury are working against him. Can they reinvent themselves for an all-male Macbeth without killing one another? Part 1 of the Screw Your Courage series

[coffee-n-bagels-comic-universe]

[Ghostbusters] Brainwaves: Mini Bios (1984) C.U.P.S Professors & Students

Tagging @ariel-seagull-wings @spook-central and @soulman133 Let me know if you want to be tagged/untagged from Brainwaves posts. These are just bullet point bios for the main groups of characters, as in the female professors, Ghostbusters and Ghostbuster staff, the C.U.P.S students, Nova's family (some of them are in C.U.P.S, but won't be in this post) and then the others™ (e.g. Dickless, Dana)

Following Characters:

Heather Nieto-Jorge

May Keaton

Allison Wada

Nova Teufel

Jacob Blumenthal

Cecilia Hedlund

Long post so it's under the cut

Doctor/Professor Heather Nieto-Jorge, PhD. 'Nieto':

Face Claim / Actress: Jennifer Beals

Full Name: Heather Bárbara Yasmin Nieto-Jorge

Doctor / Professor / Miss. AKA: Barbie, Hettie, Nieto

32 in 1984. Born November 7th 1952 in Panama. Lives in NY, NY

Panamanian, Female, Bisexual, Catholic, Scorpio, Smoker

Speaks Spanish, English & Portuguese

5'8" and 152 lbs, Brown eyes, Black Hair with a Bleached streak

Matching rose tattoos on her hips, pierced ear lobes

Teaches Agriology, Anthropobiology & Demonology at Columbia

Doctor/Professor May Keaton, PhD. 'Keaty':

Face Claim / Actress: Tracy Chapman

Full Name: May Olive Keaton

Doctor / Professor / Miss. AKA: Livi, Keaty

33 in 1984. Born May 1st 1951 in Indiana. Lives in NY, NY

African-American, Female, Straight, Christian, Taurus

Speaks 15 languages to varying degrees, including English & Greek

5'4" and 145 lbs, Brown eyes, Black hair, no tattoos, pierced ears

Teaches Folkloristics, Genetics & Hepatology

Undiagnosed but possibly Autistic, ADHD/ADD

Doctor/Professor Allison Wada, PhD. 'Allie':

Face Claim / Actress: Cherie Chung

Full Name: Allison Saki Wada

Doctor / Professor / Miss. AKA: Ali / Allie / Ally

34 in 1984. Born April 9th 1950 in Saskatchewan. Lives in NY, NY

Japanese, Female, Straight, Non-Religious, Aries, Rarely Smokes

Speaks Japanese, English and Spanish

5'5" and 150 lbs, Brown eyes, Black hair, 1 tattoo, pierced ears

Tattoo of a Chinese dragon up her spine

Teaches Biophysics, Biochemistry and Haematology

Doctor/Professor Nova Teufel, PhD. 'Novocaine':

Face Claim / Actress: Meg Ryan

Full Name: Nova Eris Teufel. The Teufel Family are supposed Psychics

Doctor / Professor / Miss. AKA: Professor Goth, Novocaine

31 in 1981. Born January 2nd 1953 in Brooklyn. Lives in NY, NY

German, Female, Demisexual, Biromantic, Wiccan, Capricorn, Smoker

Speaks English, German, French, Spanish and Latin

5'8" (5'11" in her boots) and 152 lbs, Blue eyes, Blonde hair, Dyes her hair often

10 tattoos making up a 1/2 sleeve on her left arm, Ear Lobe & Helix piercings

Teaches Criminology, Mortuary Science & Eschatology

Misdiagnosed and given Anti-Psychotics, Undiagnosed but Autistic and Anxious

Grew up in Psych wards, now lives with her older brother Mars

Jacob Blumenthal. 'Jake':

Face Claim / Actor: John Belushi

Full Name: Jacob Jasper Cassidy Blumenthal

AKA Blue, Blue Man, Cas, Cassie, Coby, Jack, Jake, J.J

30 in 1984. Born January 24th 1954 in Chicago, Lives in NY, NY

White, Male, Straight, Christian, Aquarius, Smoker

Speaks English, Spanish, French and Japanese

5'8" and 222 lbs, Brown eyes, Black hair, stubble & lots of body hair

Has a smiley face tattooed on his left butt-cheek, no piercings

Has been in every classroom at least once, takes Nova's classes because he likes annoying her for attention

Cecilia Hedlund. 'Celia':

Face Claim / Actress: Gilda Radner

Full Name: Cecilia Juni Hedlund (Soon to be Solberg)

AKA Cece, Celia, Cilla, C.J

30 in 1984, Born June 28th 1954 in Sweden, Lives in NY, NY

Swedish, Female, Straight, Lutheran, Cancer

Speaks Swedish, English, Norwegian, French, Spanish and German

5'6" and 145 lbs, Brown eyes and hair, ears pierced, no tattoos

Engaged to an American

Part of the exchange programme & C.U.P.S

[agentsecret24]

Here's some more art for that Mystery Dungeon series that I'm working on. Here's Moira, one of the secondary characters, and updated art of her daughter, Skye.

Moira runs the local blacksmith/forge as well as being the primary weaponsmith for the Rescue Guild.

Her daughter, Skye works with her in the forge, but longs to be a programmer, much to Moira's dismay.

This has led to them not having the best relationship to say the least. It also doesn't help that Skye is Autistic and her mother "doesn't really get it" to say the least.

[fortressofserenity]

Something else

I feel when it comes to studies on what makes somebody a geek pointing out to rather unexpected factors, it seems it’s one thing to be smart and another to be autistic but the geek mindset is something else altogether. According to one interesting mid-2010s study, what makes somebody a geek is a recipe consisting of apophenia (tendency to see patterns), extraversion (tendency to be outgoing and sociable), narcissism (really inflated self-esteem), neuroticism (tendency to be moody), openness to experience (open-mindedness, though not so much on intellect) and surprisingly not so high on crytallised intelligence, or the tendency to gain knowledge over time.

So judging by the study’s criteria, what makes somebody a geek isn’t what most people think it is. This leads to an interesting corollary that at least non-geeks might be smarter than one realises, especially if this involves both crystallised and fluid intelligence. Fluid intelligence being the tendency to come up with novel solutions to any situation, so fields like nursing may require both crystallised and fluid intelligence in the sense of both learning about each and every disease, ailment and cure and finding out ways to cure or heal somebody on the go. Or the odd possibility that just because somebody is smart and scientifically inclined doesn’t mean they’re necessarily nerdy, going by the study’s parametres.

If this is true and something not many have considered nor understood, then it becomes more telling that when there are scientists who have little to no connection to geek culture in any way (judging by the blogs they write) it seems the association of geekiness with intellect starts to fade away. Admittedly what they write online isn’t always indicative of what they do offline, but if you are what you eat then it becomes telling that when they don’t delve any deeper into geek culture themselves then they’re not really geeks. The sort of sciences that are really popular with the masses tend to be biology, psychology, anthropology, sociology and astronomy.

If because not only are they practical and/or easily observable, but that they’re also more relatable and understandable in some way. But then again this means sometimes a normie who stargazes a lot and shows some knowledge of the solar system might just be a really smart normie, especially if their involvement in geek culture is so shallow to begin with. An athlete who moonlights as a scientist but doesn’t read that much comics and speculative fiction might just be a really smart athlete, likewise I know one geek who admits having difficulty reading academia and another admits to not being this smart themselves.

So these examples, especially the last two, prove the study’s point right. If not all geeks are really this intelligent, despite their love of obscure trivia then the geek mindset is something else altogether. Geeks seem more intelligent than everybody else not just due to the accidental conflation of being academically inclined with being into comics and science fiction (at least in the west), but also how and why geeks have a thing for obscure trivia. If not all geeks are this smart, nor are they into the sciences then the geek mindset is really a different beast. It does shed light on what makes somebody a geek, albeit not for the reasons you think it is.

Maybe that’s why so many geeks hate The Big Bang Theory, it’s a programme that really doesn’t get geeks as they are. Not to mention, many geeks tend to gravitate towards cult programmes a lot that explains why no matter how hard TBTT tries to appeal to them, it really doesn’t get the real ins and outs of geek culture. Perhaps what I realised about geek culture and this study are any indication, geekdom isn’t what you think it is. If not all geeks are into the sciences nor are they autistic, then the geek mentality is another creature altogether.

[danimia]

Twenty-Five Percent Teaser 2

News! I've decided that I'll be posting my hard comp-sci-fi thriller Twenty-Five Percent to Scribble Hub at a hopefully chapter-per-week cadence, starting in the near future. I'm still getting everything all set up, but in the meantime, I thought I'd leave folks with a more substantive teaser than I've posted here so far: the first few pages of Chapter 1. So, without further ado:

It took me a long, long time, but I finally came to realize that most people understood software development about as well as I understood most people: very little, approaching not at all. There’s this impression of the Hollywood programmer, typically a young white guy with a bag of chips and a case of whichever soda brand won the sponsorship, who has a brainstorm and starts furiously hammering away at a keyboard, writing line after line of code nonstop. There will probably be some sort of spectacular visual effects to keep the audience interested, and maybe some cheesy narrative about a “mind palace” or whatever, and the end result is that after a couple hours, he staggers out of his programming cave, clutching a USB stick that he claims will save the world, or stop the evil plot, or discover alien life or whatever.

(Someone at the lunch table told a joke, and I didn’t need to break my train of thought to giggle appropriately.)

That’s not to say that there aren’t times when a software engineer (that’s the professional way to say ‘programmer’) gets in the zone, hyperfocuses in on the code, and just starts writing and writing; I’d done that plenty of times myself, and it was always the best feeling in the world when it happened, but that isn’t what programming is. Programming is an art form like any other, but unlike a filmmaker who plays with emotion, a photographer who manipulates perspective, or a painter who controls perception, anyone who works in the software industry must befriend, beguile, or otherwise come to terms with uncertainty.

My terms for uncertainty were unconditional surrender.

(I carried my paper plate to the trash can in the corner of the conference room, smiling apologetically at whichever of my coworkers it was that I had to scoot past without otherwise registering their presence.)

That was the ideal, at least. There were, in fact, precious few things in the world that I could be absolutely certain about. That I existed was definitely one of them, but I couldn’t take credit for that; Descartes got there before I did. My name and pronouns I knew to be ‘Maya Brown’ and ‘she/her’, respectively, as they had been my whole life, but since I was the only person in the world who could speak to my identity with authority, that wasn’t a particular accomplishment. I was short, which I got reminded of any time I needed to reach a high shelf or match someone else’s pace; I was in my early thirties, and I could figure out the exact number by subtracting my birth year from today’s date, if I ever bothered to (which I didn’t); I was both curvy and beautiful, as my husband Chris liked to remind me whenever he got a chance.

(I waited patiently until Rashmi had a pause in her conversation, practicing my next conversational performance in the back of my mind.)

Beyond those unwavering constants of my existence, however, things got a lot less certain and a lot more contextual. As a software engineer, I worked for a company called Setheory Incorporated (which despite the name had literally nothing to do with set theory), and I knew that because they let me in the door every day. I was almost certainly one of the better programmers of my generation, given how often I was able to intuit the answers to problems that stumped my colleagues and my cohort, and how rarely anyone else had answers to problems that stumped me. I was, apparently, autistic; I’d gotten the diagnosis when I was young, but it always seemed like a bigger deal to other people than it was to me. People were just a little bit more unpredictable than computers, that was all, but I wasn’t about to give them up just because they were a challenge. I liked challenges.

(Rashmi turned towards me and I let myself gush effusive thanks for her delicious cooking, just as I’d been practicing.)

Sometimes, like now, there wasn’t that much else I felt very sure of at all. I was supposed to be working on building out a new software feature, but every time I tried to think about it, it felt like a huge massive cloud of uncertainty that I wasn’t sure where to even start with. Right now I was letting it cook on the back burner, and I refused to let myself consider it even a little. Right now I was indulging myself in a hobby: looking for ways in which my computer wasn’t behaving to my exacting specifications, diving into the code to find out why, and then figuring out how to fix it.

Having finished my social obligations, I fled the conference room, digging my computer out of a pocket and thumbing it on. The word processor—the Setheory word processor, I thought smugly—had a strange performance issue I’d been seeing sporadically. It wasn’t anything that would have been particularly obvious to anyone else, but I’d written most of the word processor code. I knew where it was efficient and where it needed work, and sometimes, it felt like my computer was lagging even during what should have been efficient operations, ones I’d personally tuned and optimized. It rankled.

I thumbed open my standard test document, filled with a bunch of placeholder text and some extremely unusual formatting, just as I got back to my desk. I dropped my computer in its cradle and the monitor on my desk blinked to life, the document fleeing my computer’s own tiny screen for the much vaster expanse of a desktop monitor. I grabbed the standard-issue company headset off my desk and put it on, tucking my hair behind my ears and adjusting the boom mic to in front of my lips. This served the dual purpose of allowing me to use voice control if I needed or wanted to, but it also helped coax my brain into “engineer mode.”

I frowned at the document, my eyes narrowing, as I considered my approach. I’d already tried all of my usual diagnostic and debugging techniques many times in the past, like pushing the software harder and harder until the performance issues became glaring, or taking random profiling samples during long editing sessions, or running leak detectors to monitor for wasted memory usage. I’d turned up a number of leads that way, and some of them even led to some useful discoveries and fixed bugs, but none of them had any sort of performance implications.

I was getting nowhere with my usual techniques, so maybe I needed to start trying some unusual techniques. Rather than come up with a plan for what I was going to look for and how I was going to find it, I just started clicking. I cleared my mind of everything, every expectation I had for what I might find, and every dead-end I’d explored in the past, and I just let my hand move the mouse on automatic, wandering through the user interface completely at random. My eyes glazed, but I never took them off the screen; I refused to think about what I was doing, letting my subconscious process what I was seeing without me peering over its metaphorical shoulder.

Some probable fifteen minutes later, I found myself just clicking around in the text, watching the cursor move, sometimes double- or triple-clicking. I clicked inside the text; I clicked outside the text; I selected a sentence from front to back, and then I reselected the same sentence from back to front. It formed a rhythm that felt somehow satisfying in how deliberate and consistent it was. Mouse clicks, and cursor moves. Mouse clicks, and cursor moves.

Mouse clicks—