#could just be a bad cold

[cupcakes-and-pain]

Hey does anyone think I can stop myself from having strep throat through positive thinking? Because I sure hope so.

(being sarcastic, I know that’s not how disease works)

[floccinaucinihilipilificationa]

[luck-of-the-drawings]

"I think this is the most inhuman; and human, that I've ever felt.." MUCH CAN HAPPEN IN A YEAR. IN FIVE YEARS. A DECADE. imagine how much can happen in a century. just ONE (1). How will you grow? what phases do you find? even in 5 years, you will find patterns.

[twiyke]

hey dude i'd totally rip open my ribcage for you to use as a furnace if you asked. sorry if that's weird or anything.

[feroluce]

For some weird reason, I've always been fascinated by how wildly different Sampo operates in the Underground vs the Overworld.

Sampo is present in both places and even in official sources, he's not really counted as one side or the other- now that the theory has been confirmed in-game, he's generally just lumped in with the Masked Fools.

But there really is a big difference!

Probably the most obvious and well known instance of Sampo's...business practices *cough burglary and fraud COUGH* in the Overworld is from the Belobog Museum event. In it, you don't find out Sampo is the main culprit until near the end, because Pela has to set up a sting just to catch him in the act. And that sting is necessary all because the initial suspect they arrested, Norbert, had pretty much no idea of his partner's identity. Sampo wouldn't even speak to him face-to-face.

And whereas Sampo is normally very pleasant and friendly with the trailblazer...when he thinks he's talking to Norbert here, he straight up says that they are NOT friends. Like he really shuts that shit DOWN.

There's also an Overworld NPC, Chavez, who heads the "Dark Blue Scam Support Group." And he. Really really really does not like Sampo fjkdasjklfdj

Chavez clearly wants Sampo caught, and has literally no positive feelings about him. So. Why call it the Dark Blue Scam? Why not just out him by name? Chavez obviously doesn't give a single shit about Sampo's dignity or privacy. But he never once refers to him as "Sampo," and even the pamphlets he passes out make no mention of it. No one in the entire support group seems to know how to identify him or how to refer to him except by his hair color. If the trailblazer says his name, Chavez reacts as though he's never heard it before.

(I've seen people say this means Sampo Koski is an alias and not his real name? But Ray pointed this out, and honestly I agree; even the Fools call him Sampo, after all. I think it's just that Chavez never knew Sampo's name in the first place, and given his immense distrust, immediately assumes it's an alias.)

And then there's his characters stories, where he proceeds to pull off a heist in the Overworld while in disguise as Brughel Poisson the entire time. Literally his own stories don't mention Sampo's name even once.

So anyway, all this shows that when he's up in the Overworld working cons, Sampo is incredibly slippery and secretive about his identity. The only people who seem to know him are Pela, Serval, and Gepard. He doesn't get close to anyone else, and is even surprisingly unfriendly. Nobody knows his name. No one knows his face. He has zero qualms about backstabbing or double-crossing, and even plans for it in some cases.

Meanwhile, down in the Underground, I'm pretty sure literally the worst thing we hear of him doing is scalping tickets in front of the Fight Club. Which isn't even illegal in a lot of places (although it's certainly a dick move).

In Hook's companion quest, a vagrant miner steals Fersman's equipment and tries to sell it to Sampo. Even before the trailblazer and Hook jump in and out the vagrant as a thief, Sampo hesitates to buy it because it sounds like stolen goods, which he doesn't want any part of.

Even knowing that a geomarrow detector is rare and incredibly valuable in the mines, Sampo makes no attempt to double-cross Hook or profit off of her loss, and even tells her who to go to to get it fixed.

And my favorite example of Sampo in the Underground is the Survival Wisdom adventure mission. In it, Sampo starts up a business with Peak, another miner. And like. In wild contrast to all the cons he pulls above ground, Sampo is actually super nice and helpful here.

Just the same as with Hook's quest, Sampo talks to Peak face-to-face, with no disguises or barriers. When the trailblazer finds them, they're just in the Great Mine, no secretive meeting places. Peak knows Sampo, is familiar with him, and calls him by name. It's not even a con! There's nothing illegal going on; it really is just a business partnership. Peak is more than happy with their deal, he's even pretty enthusiastic about it, because thanks to Sampo he can now make enough money to get by while also accommodating his chronic fatigue.

The only person Sampo lies to in this whole ordeal is the trailblazer, who he manipulates into getting Peak's mining equipment back from the vagrants that stole it in the first place. And when it's done, he rewards them with a legit treasure map.

So when he's working in the Underground, Sampo is MUCH more upright and lawful. Part of this is probably to do with his "business" model- Sampo only takes advantage of the wealthy, and poverty runs rampant in the Underground. When he charges Peak an extra 30% (the same percentage he charges Norbert as a consultation fee in the museum heists- Sampo seems to go by percentage instead of a flat rate, which means his prices are more fair for lower incomes) for carelessly losing their supply, Peak literally starts counting out pocket change.

Dude's working for pennies and good will down there dknsmdmd

And you can twist this into a Robin Hood thing if you want- Sampo IS technically working to feed orphans and heal the sick. He says himself he's more than happy to make up the shortfall between the greedy and the marginalized- I mean he says it in the shadiest way possible, but I doubt the people benefiting from his work really care that he's a slimeball if it means they can survive another day. Even the two heists he pulls in his character stories are literally just him stealing absurd amounts of food.

Personally though I think it is solely because of Natasha, and Sampo is hilariously well-behaved specifically for her, because she keeps him on a short leash JSKZJMSMSKS

[miramelindamusings]

The moment there is a bit of cool weather where I live, all I can think about is rumbelle. I've been thinking alot about Lacey too so here are a few of the sketches I've done :)

[spyglahass]

If you’re still taking questions on your Hunt and Hunted AU, can I ask about Tango? Like is he a human, and what’s his role?

hi!! and of course! I'm always happy to answer :D (please ignore all the asks I haven't answered yet please I swear I'm working on them)

Tango is actually part of the so called monsters - he is an Ovinnik!

Ovinniks are spirits from slavic folklore that inhabited barns and although usually protected the grain from fire, they could also be the one setting it aflame if provoked. They were depicted either as a small old man that could turn into a barking cat or just as the cat. Basically.

Tango in the AU has two forms - a more human and a cat one, between which he can shapeshift at will and that's how he was able to fly under the hunter's radar so far.

He doesn't really have a permanent home but at the moment he is staying around Bdubs and Keralis (although later on he is found by Jimmy and they have a barn together <3)

[welcometogrouchland]

I love Steph's origin as told in the Secret Origins 80 page giant- I just overall think it strengthens her character by giving her a lot of pathos and adding to her heroism (which isn't something writers were focused on in her actual intro in detective comics #647 since she was just meant to act as a plot device back then) BUT there is one tiny detail in it i will begrudge, and that is the portrayal of her having a minor love at first sight moment for tim

Secret origins 80 page giant, ID in alt

(or well, technically this was their second meeting in that story (the brick was the first) so...love at second sight?)

Mostly because Stephanie showed no interest in her introduction and only showed romantic feelings towards Tim AFTER this moment here:

Robin (1993) #4, ID in alt

Straight up the progression here goes:

The adventure in 'tec where they first meet -> Tim investigating the same crime scene as Steph -> she beats him up not knowing it's him at first, apologizes but says he shouldn't have scared her -> he remembers her/the moniker she goes by -> they talk about plot for a few pages -> Stephanie starts flirting

Robin (1993) #4, ID in alt

Which...is so fascinating to me and says so much about Stephanie. She highlights the fact that Tim "remembered" her. Like. Steph. Girl. This is our bar? It's sweet but kind of speaks to how much Stephanie is ignored at home/how little and sporadically she's shown interacting with her peers (and rarely ever the same kids twice). Her idea of peak romance is just...being on someone's mind even when you're not there.

Kind of also adds layers to Steph's proclivity towards jealousy later on, a manifestation of her insecurity and loneliness (though don't get it twisted, she's not written this way bc Dixon and co think it's an interesting character flaw, they wrote it bc they think it's an inherent character flaw of (particularly young) women/girls, which is very apparent in how he approaches Ariana's character as well from what I've read)

Also the fact that Steph becomes so smitten for Tim almost immediately after this is (a few issues later she aggressively flirts with him during AN ACTIVE HOSTAGE SITUATION. WHERE SHE'S THE HOSTAGE) again is kind of a mixture of kind of funny and sad. One boy is nice to her once and she's fully ready to wife him. Girl you are deranged (affectionate) (concerned)

[simgerale]

me after attempting to get back into sims and realizing i had a lot more to do than play the game

[the-witchhunter]

I started listening to “Riddler: Secrets in the Dark” on Spotify and just gotta say I’m really enjoying it.

Eddie being the point of view character is fun, he’s really charming and manipulative, but also a narcissistic sociopath

He lacks empathy, he’s always hyping himself up, but he’s still concerned about Gotham rogues getting murdered, I think partly because he views them as “his people” not so much friends like most people have because he’s not really able to feel friendship, but a group he identifies with, but also ultimately because he’s going to die if he doesn’t stop it

Also it’s all a riddle to him and he literally can’t help but answer a riddle

And every so often you are just hit with the fact he does not care about people, he is still a villain. People got seriously hurt from his actions and almost transactional in a lot of ways. “You are in my way so you need to no longer be in my way, but I objectively recognize the fact that you are nice to me so just breaking your leg and leaving you there to be found is enough”

I just think he’s a really well written sociopath

Psych major here, got a degree and all that jazz, he ticks off so many of the boxes, you can tell they did their research

[moonshynecybin]

do you think marc and vale ever talked privately after what happened in 2018 (since vale didn’t want to hear from marc immediately after) or vale just kept talking shit about him during press conf but without trying to address it between themselves? and also, do you think they’ve heard each other at least once in between marc’s injury and vale’s retirement or they just went no contact after they weren’t anymore in the paddock together? IDK IF I’M MAKING SENSE (also clearly based on your opinion since we can’t really know)

delulu zone lets go....

um. i think its interesting that marc SO consistently identifies that the ball is in vale's court wrt reconciliation... which tells me (delusional but enjoying it) that perhaps ! and i am making this up here ! marc could have made a genuine move towards patching things up behind the scenes (and off camera) that was met with either rejection or stony silence.... like marc finding him in the aftermath of argentina 2018 in private (after uccio stepping to him on camera) and trying to talk to him alone without the entourage and vale just. not even looking at him or maybe saying something reallyyyy nasty :( like really cementing to marc that the onus is on VALE if anything gets fixed.... like he tried ! a lot even ! for years ! but vale walled him out every time reconciliation started to look like a genuine possibility

[maegalkarven]

I have the suspicion what the Cult of Murder wasn't very keen on healing/ had many healers around.

They probs had healing potions and scrolls and stuff, but do you think Durge would bother with them? Or would they, intimately familiar with the anatomy of the body, occasionally treat their own wounds with the cold precision of a surgeon?

What I have in mind is Durge casually sewing their own wounds shut with the first found rusty needle and something they deemed would suffice for a thread, Gortash seeing this horrific display and deciding enough is enough and taking the ordeal of healing this freak of an ally into his own hands.

[strrwbrrryjam]

why is it when people write/talk about low honour arthur, they just seem to make him Micah (2)- it's annoying.

[0rchidm4ntis]

At least the moon will keep him company in the dead of night

[little-whats-her-name]

"I can't hear you over the sound of the eight billion glasses and plates clinking, and the very high possibility that I'm going to lose my job, and the fact that everyone at this charity dinner hates me but we have to act nice to each other, and the weird lighting in this room, and these fucking Spanx!" - Katherine Hastings, probably

[tswwwit]

One of the staff workers in raised spirits DEF thinks dippers at least fucking one of the ciphers ghosts

I'd go so far as to say more than one of the staff members has certain Suspicions, re: Dipper talking to thin air all the time.