Kirk Langstrom's Blog

Two questions with really different answers, haha.

My Halloween was… less than great. A whole lot of new doctor’s visits, discussion of starting new medicines, more rigorous therapy, a visit from officers of the Gotham Police Department and the Batman, not to mention this awful feeling I can’t shake that somebody got hurt…

As for Friday’s talk, well, I can only attest to my end of things. It was a huge weight off my mind and, well... instructive.

Seeking, seeking, seeking... But he's not home.

Alone and hungry, gliding through the skies on leathered wings...

To what end?

I can’t speak for Man-Bat- and I really wish you folks would not detract from what a monster he— it— was- but this is what it looks like for me without shaving for just three weeks.

It’s incredible. Three weeks and I practically grow my own stole!

Next time I feel like doing something dumb, someone remind me not to help any young folk train for marathons in summer.

Man-Bat is triggered by stress, and I have a lot to be stressed by right now.

It’s not like a serious injury, but I see how you could think that! It’s just a little needle puncture— like getting a shot.

That's... a pretty fundamental misunderstanding of what's actually going on.

Wh--

-- at?

Absolutely-dootley!

Actually, I have a little excursion planned to the Pinelands Reserve next weekend. I took off work and everything, and if the forecast holds, it’ll probably be warm enough to swim. 

Why d’you ask? 

I can't say much for restaurants, as I try to keep to calm, un-stressful places these days, and often they aren't-- plus, I've been learning to cook well for myself.

But, as for your second question--

Nowhere makes me feel quite at home like the woods. I've always loved hiking, and, well... There's nothing quite like fresh air blowing through your hair, the smell of tree sap, and- something I can appreciate now- the sound of twittering birds jumping from branch to branch.

At risk of getting a little overly sentimental... On summer days in Arkham Asylum, when you were allowed to go outside, you could smell the oak trees, sometimes the pine needles, and the aroma of loam and hot grass beyond the fence. In the early days I could smell the flowers blooming and wild fruit rotting at a hundred paces, but my nose has been getting back to normal the longer I go without becoming Man-Bat.

Honestly, those little glimpses of the forest were my salvation in all that time at the Asylum. It got me through six years at Arkham. Six years of being afraid of the Man-Bat.

On a lighter note, I also like libraries. Seeing the kids run around looking for books, getting too excited to remember to be quiet without a shushing from their parents, is a sight I'll never get tired of. It's never to early to get them excited to read and learn!

Libraries are even more special when you're alone, though. Something about them feels nice, cozy, peaceful; all the towering stacks are like a forest, in a way, and it's nice to get lost in them when you forget the Dewey Decimal system and you don't have a microbiology paper due the next week and no sources.

Oh, well…

I know society has come a long way, especially since the turn of the millennium— and maybe this is an old-fashioned notion, but…

It doesn’t seem polite to ask someone that, especially a stranger. So I’m not going to answer.

( I do not; my social circle in the DC fandom is rather tight-knit and small :/