in your most recent tyson post, you said something about leo being distinctly autistic-coded and I was wondering if you could elaborate on that? it sounds really interesting (sorry if you've already posted something on this, I couldn't find anything though)

Of course! I do have a specific tag for talking about Leo's autistic-coding/traits - [here], and [one for Nico as well].

The main aspects with Leo being autistic-coded actually have a lot to do with Nico being autistic-coded, because it's the comparisons between the two that most clearly indicate Leo is autistic-coded rather than it just being his ADHD or etc.

So with Nico being autistic-coded, it's very clear in the Titan's Curse that he's intended to be autistic. First, the first series has a repeating pattern of secondary characters being very distinctly neurodivergent-coded in different ways (Annabeth's adhd/dyslexia, Tyson's down syndrome-coding, Nico's autism-coding). With Nico's introduction, he's pretty stereotypically autistic and we're given a lot of descriptors about him that are notably not attributed to him being ADHD, like it would be for other demigod characters. He doesn't register social cues such as people getting annoyed at him, he's asking/making inappropriate or impolite questions/comments, he gets particularly upset about change (such as Bianca joining the Hunt) and generally gets emotional, and one of his most notable traits he's introduced with is the fact that he has a special interest (MythoMagic) - and we're shown that this special interest particularly colors how Nico navigates the world. While ADHD has hyperfixations, we don't really get much acknowledgement of hyperfixations with demigods usually - Annabeth gets a little, but most others don't and it's not nearly as focused-in on as Nico's is.

Then as the series continues we see these traits stick with him and him start to show or voice more traits that similarly indicate he's autistic: He regularly mentions how he doesn't understand living people and prefers the company of the dead (social issues). He has more notable stims than other demigods (twisting his ring, fiddling with bones, etc). He's indicated to have strong sensory preferences (usually wearing mostly black/aversion to bright colors, usually wearing layers/his coat, multiple times he's described as wearing loose/baggy clothing or clothes too big for him). He has specific comfort items (his ring, likely his jacket(s) as well). We later get even more information about his special interests (Mythomagic/mythology/history and an older interest in pirates - the latter he specifically notes likely heavily influenced his feelings towards Percy). He struggles with emotions and facial expressions and tone. He struggles particularly with ostracism and feeling like he doesn't fit in and has something distinctly different about him from the people around him (who notably, all have ADHD, which indicates it isn't the ADHD that's making him feel that way), and other characters regularly describe him as being off-putting because of his strange behaviors - again, different from specific ADHD traits they recognize. And that last point is kind of notable because we have Hazel and Bianca for comparison - we know people are off-put by both Nico and Hazel because of being children of Hades/Pluto and their powers/aura, but other characters get past that general feeling of discomfort way faster with Hazel. And even after characters get past the death stuff with Nico, there's a second thing that they aren't moving past that isn't a factor with Hazel (Nico's autism).

So that brings us to Leo - Leo is paralleled to Nico a lot. And there's some very specific traits about him that we know are autistic-coding because of how they're used with Nico: He similarly struggles with social cues/etc, and in a very similar parallel to Nico describes how he prefers the company of machines to people because machines make more sense to him. He has similar types of clothing/sensory preferences (again some stuff with layers but also - pockets! He likes having pockets and things to put stuff in! He's even introduced as having a jacket with lots of pockets), and he has a distinct special interest (machinery) that we specifically know heavily influences how he views and navigates the world (constantly comparing things to machinery, describing things with machinery metaphors/terminology, etc etc). He even describes his entire general worldview to Hazel and it's a machine metaphor. He also similarly struggles with ostracization like Nico does, the only difference being that Leo specifically puts on a persona to compensate for areas he knows he's lacking in and very explicitly describes it as a means to make people like him, because without it he normally struggles to fit in (He's masking!). We also see notes of characters describing that similar discomfort with Leo's behaviors that they do with Nico, except without the aura of death this time. And when we're in Leo's POVs we see a very stark difference between his masking and his actual personality/behaviors such as his internal dialogues or how he behaves when he's alone. Also, like Nico, he stims more than other demigods, though for Leo it's more attributed to his ADHD. Leo also, more often than most, similarly struggles with tone and reading the room, such as making misplaced jokes/comments or etc.

But yeah! It's really interesting. Also it's just a fun thing that ADHD/dyslexia and autism have comorbidity, so it makes sense that we see demigods who are also autistic. It's also really fun to look at how other characters are coded in the series, what coding looks like in the riordanverse specifically (usually it's tied into the mythological stuff - like Chiron being in a wheelchair but he's actually a centaur, Grover being introduced as having a muscular disease but he's actually a satyr, demigods having adhd/dyslexia, Tyson being coded as having down syndrome but he's a cyclops, etc etc - it's a lot of specific metaphor stuff that I've talked about a bit before), and to look at how characters are compared to one another.

C!Thomas: Can I have some dopamine?

Logan: Dopamine machine is broken.

Thomas: Then can I have some serotonin?

Logan: Serotonin machine is also broken.

Thomas: Well, what DO you have then?

Logan: Well, I-

Remus: *cutting in* Here’s that one line from the Bananaphone song, but you’re gonna think about it for 3 hours gay!

Jean kissing Armin’s knuckles before every fight, promising Armin and himself that they’ll both come out alive.

trying to convince Astarion not to undergo the ritual on low charisma be like

Hi! I came across your post answering an ask ahout your most ✨controversial takes✨ on the world of dogs from back in April.

I read that you thought the AKC should not allow "professional handlers", and saw that you also seemed to distinguish these from breeders and owners. I've never given it much thought, but I think I would've assumed a handler was just another word for "owner" on my own.

What's the difference between these things, and why do you take your stance against handlers?

(I can infer what a breeder is as opposed to the others lmao, so I guess I'm asking about owner vs handler vs "professional" handler)

In dog conformation the dogs are handled by a handler when they go into the ring. This handler does not have to be the owner and in many instances is not. Professional handlers are just what they seem: people that handle dogs at dog shows for a living. A good handler knows how to make the dog look good, not just from a grooming standpoint, but when moving around a ring. Hiring a pro handler outsources this knowledge, time needed, and skill to somebody else.

There are several problems with this for me:

1.) dog shows, especially at the upper levels, are highly politicized. Hiring the ~right~ handler could give your dog the upper hand from a dog of equal or better value handled by somebody “lesser”. It keeps you and your dogs in the in-crowd.

2.) A dog that shows or “campaigns” a lot becomes known to judges, has more opportunities etc. When dogs are shown by professional handlers the owner/breeder is not always going with them and dogs can be on the road with their handlers going to show after show for months and even years at a time. This is not something the average purebred dog owner can afford.

3.) professional handlers are NOT cheap and conformation dog shows aren’t either. Having the monetary means to hire a well respected pro handler is not feasible for most people. This sets the people who already have the means to compete in dog shows and campaign their dogs year round leagues above people who cannot afford this. This further pinches top dog shows into a 1% that is near impossible to break into for new people, people from marginalized backgrounds, young people, etc.

4.) because of the competitive nature of modern dog shows and it becoming a “sport” instead of an evaluation of the quality of breeding stock you get people willing to look the other way on corrective grooming, poor temperaments, non correct structure to have “their people” win, to have their friends win, to have the people they are connected to win. Dog shows are not an even playing ground and very much an unspoken club of who is “in” and “out”. The culture and ability of hiring pros to take your dog around the country, to groom your dog, to show your dog ensures it stays this way.

In my opinion dogs should be lightly bathed and put into the rings with their owners/breeders/co-owners. Nothing more. This would imo, better level the playing ground and provide more equity in the purebred dog world.

Mask study

Follow to see the same picture of Enya Silverash every day.

[Trigun OC]

post-plot Bad Luck (and his annoying husband, who definitely isn't the $$60,000,000,000 Man)

Accidentally Undercover - How the family meeting does end up happening <3

1. the most literal possible interpretation of the english dialogue. deals with the idea that in the crucible era all was one and one was all, with no singular lifeforms or ideals. in this case the crucible knights and others tied to the crucible would be retroactively paying tribute to an age they did not experience

2. post-stew. individual lifeforms did exist, but actual thought and will as humans would think of did not. the elden ring equivalent of dinosaur times. crucible knights idolize these beasts’ uncomplicated strength, but still did not ever experience the era themselves

3. post-dinosaur times. both individual lifeforms and free will existed, but separate societies did not. all are one in the sense of there being no discrimination, war, organized religion, etc on account of survival still being the number one priority. the elden ring equivalent of caveman times. it’s possible crucible knights and the like did live then and are just really, really old

4. self explanatory. something that came before the elden beast and the greater will, but was equal in terms of technological and societal advancement. could possibly relate to the giants, the helphen, the deathbirds, etc. if the present day lands between are ancient greece, then the crucible era is minoan civilization

5. the crucible existed under the greater will, but only during placidusax’s reign. the idea of “all are one” can be interpreted here as being about beasts rising to the same level as humans rather than everyone starting out equal in the first place. when marika changed the ring, the crucible era ended

6. the crucible era and marika’s rule overlapped, and the crucible only ended once the erdtree stopped producing sap and things started going to shit. the end of the era could feasibly coincide with events the game directly tells us about, such as godfrey’s induction as elden lord

Oops I didn’t mean to make this, my hand slipped

I totally did not forget to post this for 2 weeks-

ANYWAY-

Another clay Ram orb done :) Wandering monk skin this time.

Well, that was the intention, anyway.

I happened to have this sick metallic bronze paint laying around, wanted an excuse to use it, so I slapped it here, thinking heeeey it's fiiiiiiine, it's dark enough to match the skin...

... It isn't dark enough to match the skin, and looks like the gold weapon version of both monk skins instead LMAO

Either way, I'm not complaining, it's a cute lil orb, how could I complain :P

doodle dump and some lore i added to the lum rings

Golden Rings AU Masterpost!

Hiya everyone! Welcome to the masterpost of all things When Fate Finds Golden Rings (or the Golden Rings AU)—or the royalty, arranged marriage, enemies-to-lovers, team rancher AU i’ve been writing fully since january and haven’t stopped thinking about since- this is where you’ll find lore! character stuff! designs! fanart! the playlist! and a bunch of me infodumping in response to asks!!

this’ll be continually updated as time goes on when necessary, and will be tagged accordingly under some the tags, but SPECIFICALLY under #golden rings masterpost for easy finding! so, without further ado! The Golden Rings AU Playlist! and my annotations!

Worldbuilding/Lore: - general worldbuilding! - another worldbuilding ask but this time: customs and stuff! - that one time i actually put lore into an ask answer (minus that little bit about a missing scene whoops) Character Lore/Relationships: - Golden Rings Tango and Impulse (This Dynamic My Beloved) - Golden Rings Scar and Grian - MORE SCARIAN - even more scarian only this time it was theo and i brain rotting - someone asked how grian felt about jimmy and tango’s relationship - sentimental items brought along (Spoilers for after chapter 5!) THE BELOVED FANART THAT EVERYONE SHOULD GO LOOK AT:

Canon design art done by my very talented best friend, @elipsis-art! - Tango and Jimmy (Palace Designs) - Tango and Jimmy (Post-Ch. 10 Disguises) - It also did this super adorable art of the redstone scene in chapter 10! - First ever fanart for this AU! they’re dancing! by @parissfrogg   (don’t worry i’m only tagging you once, haha!) - Golden Rings Pearl in all her spooky, pretty goodness! - THE BELOVED PREENING SCENE FROM CHAPTER 12 !! - the COOLEST art from the beloved @ellalily!! :D - My good buddy Theo (@hitheeprithee) did art of Tango and Jimmy! - These ADORABLE drawings by @/cillpiines (rancher buddyyy i wasn’t sure if you’d wanna be tagged, but i can fix it if you want :D ) - the CUTEST AU DOODLES !! :D by @/astrangeghost (wasn’t sure if you also wanted to be tagged, but you’re here! <3) Other Fanworks: - Distant Company May Be Closer Than It Appears by @hitheeprithee! A fic of this fic, mainly taking place at the palace, and what a couple of our characters left behind may be up to. >:)