...

i think the best example is how neil describes andrew in tkm. he never really thinks about it in detail at all and then all of a sudden “andrew looked as he always had, and neil knew his face as well as he knew every iteration of his own. despite that, something seemed different. maybe it was the sunlight streaming through the window, making andrew’s pale hair shine brighter and his hazel eyes seem almost gold. whatever it was, it was disorienting.”

yes !! absolutely i take any chance to talk about my hcs !! there’s not enough autistic kevin content, and i’m so glad u like my other content too !!

he was never diagnosed in the nest; he had trouble understanding certain cues and sometimes it felt like everyone expected him to know how to communicate a certain way he didn’t know how to, but PR training was engrained into him just as much as the correct grip on an exy stick was, so he tends to fall back on that

it doesn’t really concern him bc he’s not interested in talking to people and why should it matter ?? he only really needs to be good at exy

he always assumed that his special interest in exy and such was just a raven thing

exy was an easy special interest to have bc in the nest talking about exy was really the only type of talking encouraged

his special interest in history is where he kinda... faltered

at its core it seemed similar to his interest in exy but it wasn’t encouraged the same way exy was so he treats it a bit differently

he does infodump, but only to himself about history while he was in the nest; whenever he would read an article that was really interesting and made him kinda !! he would lock himself in his room, alone, and pace while talking to himself for a few hours to get it all out

the first time he infodumps at psu was about the trojans after a really great match they played; it was only andrew, nicky, and aaron in their dorm at the time

he’s kinda hesitant to really infodump about exy bc at first all of his teammates see him only as a stuck up exy obsessed bitch, and while it’s true somewhat, it definitely doesn’t encourage any of them to listen to him talk even more about exy

he gets more comfortable with infodumping to wymack first, telling him about a history project and a certain move jeremy knox pulled off the really should’ve been impossible and slowly but surely he gets comfortable with infodumping on the other foxes, one by one

Routine. he is Very into routine and coming up with a new one after leaving the nest was hell for him and everyone around him; this on top of his hand pushed him to shutdown for a while

whenever he has a meltdown kevin goes nonverbal and Cannot be touched; andrew and eventually wymack and neil are the only people he’ll let be around him while he’s like this. talking feels impossible for him and even the thought of someone touching him can make him writhe

this pertains more to some of my hcs about his anxiety, but whenever he’s overwhelmed he re-strings the mesh of his exy racquet over and over again until his mind quiets down and he stops full-body shaking

is very meh about food. most of his eating habits come from the nest but he Does Not Like certain textures

cooked carrots? mashed potatoes? cooked peas? if it is warm and mushy he will not eat it

he was “trained out of” most of his stims at the nest but as he gets more comfortable at psu he slowly lets himself stim around his teammates

it’s mostly small stuff; he rocks gently, likes to play with things in his hands to keep them moving, doesn’t really like to sit still. snaps his fingers sometimes when he’s aggravated. pulls on the mesh of his racquet, twists his fingers in the strings. has caught himself chewing on his shirt neck/sweatshirt strings on multiple occasions; andrew noticed, because he notices everything, but he doesn’t object when kevin steals his sweatshirts and ultimately chews on the strings

andrew once walked in on kevin laying on the dorm floor with a mountain of blankets on top of him and all kevin said was “good pressure” and gave andrew a thumbs up

andrew gets him a weighted blanket after that

kevin loves the blanket but nothing beats neil (or even occasionally matt or nicky in their last few years at psu when he’s more comfortable around the rest of the team) laying flat on top of him; he blushed Very Hard the first few times he asked them to do it (after the first time neil accidentally fell asleep on him and kevin realized how good the weight was) but eventually he became comfortable asking

is Bad at reading the room/other peoples emotions; wymack is Always confusing him even if he doesn’t try to, wymack is just... Trying His Best; andrew is normally pretty straightforward and tells it how it is so kevin takes solace in that. whenever people have been Too Much and he just feels frustrated and confused bc people were getting frustrated at him for not understanding even though they were the ones being confusing he either locks himself in the dorm room alone or finds andrew and just sits with him until he calms down

when kevin gets too caught up in his own head or is struggling with understanding a certain situation he goes to neil bc neil is brutally honest and will repeat the same thing as many times as it takes to stick without getting frustrated with kevin

betsy was the one to diagnose him; he didn’t take it badly, he did his own research and his biggest reaction was along the lines of relief and “oh that makes a lot of sense”; he likes knowing he isn’t the only one who feels similar to how he feels. in his pro years he makes sure it’s known that he’s autistic bc he knows it helps other neurodivergent kids in the world to have someone they can relate to. it’s also a big fuck you to all the commentators and press who doubted him only after he made it known that he was autistic; he’s very petty about it and likes to remind people that, yes, you can be the best striker in all of exy history and be autistic. it’s not that hard to understand.

(Above is the artist @nickelpin)

I've been collecting as many of these customizations as I can find, and I think they fall into a few categories:

The first is the colorful distraction, where it seems like the aim is to make the mask colorful and cheerful — less scary — which distracts from the apocalyptic / gas mask vibes, while still being simple enough for everyday wear.

2. The second is make it fashion, where the aim is to just make something that looks so incredibly cool that you feel beautiful wearing it, and it feels like a stylish accessory. These use lots of shiny elements and swirling patterns (all of the below by @nickelpin)

3. And the third is punk where the mask customization embraces and enhances its non-conforming / resistance undertones. My favorite in this category is by @andrewshumate, who installed a CO2 monitor and set it up so the filters change color based on the CO2 levels in the space.

Talking about materials: @nickelpin has mentioned that she uses Angelus 2-Hard or Angelus leather paint.

(my daily masks are either my Dentec P100 or the comfy 3M Aura N95, and I'd like to have a reusable respirator that looks less intimidating for everyday walks etc.)

First, some cheerful patterns. I actually like the cloud one a lot, I might do it. I think the high-contrast sunflower design is super effective at distracting the eye from the respirator shape.

I’m also really into this night sky version. Feels more beautiful / mysterious / subtle.

These are not my style, but I'm reeeeeally into the idea of bootleg Louis Vuitton designer masks. (This is like, the opposite of punk, lol)

So along with Crested Geckos I also keep several other species of reptile. This is the bioactive enclosure for my male Leopard Gecko, Aurelio. 

The enclosure is a 40 breeder that originally belonged to my female Leopard Gecko, Bonita. But after she passed I revamped it and gave it to Aurelio. The tank took a lot of work to set up and is the result of years of experimenting with bioactive with Leopard Geckos. 

The substrate is a mixture of Excavator clay, Quikrete All Purpose Sand, and a generic organic potting mix from my local hardware store. I do 50% soil, 30% sand, and 20% clay. After they were all thoroughly mixed I sieved the substrate to remove large pieces of stone and wood. When setting up the enclosure I took all the sieved wood and stone and used it to line the very bottom of the enclosure. I then added a ton of temperate springtails and some baker’s yeast to encourage mold growth. That mold becomes a good food source for springtails and bacteria that will help to keep the tank clean. 

The next few steps are hard to explain in depth without pics, so I’ll keep things short and simple. Basically I added my substrate mix next, I added a black plastic hide on the right, and a half log hide on the left. Both are buried under substrate and stones so they’re basically invisible. I furnished the enclosure with stones taken from a local state park, that were then sanitized, and a couple types of plants. The plants I chose were  Euphorbia tirucalli and Sedum reflexum “yellow bouquet”. The plants are doing well and have been growing nicely. 

For a cleanup crew I have temperate springtails, tropical springtails, Armadillidium vulgare isopods, dwarf white isopods, terrestrial nematodes, fungus gnats (for some people these are a pest but as maggots they can be a great cleanup crew in the soil), dubia roaches, buffalo worms/beetles, mealworms/beetles, and lots of various bacteria and fungi that are naturally present in the soil. The enclosure is only a month or so old but already my Leopard Gecko’s waste is getting broken down after only a day or so. Which is a GREAT sign!

The tank is lit with 3 grow bulbs, as well as a 24″ T5HO 10.0 UVB bulb. I strongly believe ALL reptiles should have access to UVB so despite some articles out there, I chose to give my Leopard Gecko UVB. For heating I use a 150w CHE on a thermostat. The CHE is in a wide-domed lamp allowing for max heat distribution. This gives my gecko the opportunity to thermo-regulate as he has access to basking areas ranging from 78*F up to 94*F. The ambient temp in the cage is 74*F during the day with a 2*F-4*F drop at night. As said before, Aurelio only has two hides. One cool, and one warm hide. However, due to the fact that the cage is bioactive and is misted weekly the hides are BOTH humid hides with humidity ranging from 60%-90%, something VERY important for a Leopard Gecko’s health as despite common knowledge, Leopard Gecko’s naturally seek out more humid areas and burrows in the wild. Exposing them to consistently dry conditions in captivity can be very detrimental for their health.

Part 2

@lovebyluna on instagram

if anyone’s wondering how black desert’s story is going on mobile

black spirit revealed there was no grand prophecy to waiting for us, he just loved us so much and wanted to see us again that he waited for as long as it took.

This is a common occurrence amongst his retired coffee group.

One lady was a head nurse that ran two floor at her hospital. They wanted her to take on more work. She agreed to do so oy if they gave her a small raise and hired an assistant for her. They refused so she retired early. They had to replace her with 20 people.

This isn't to say that the elites just let this happen, either. Laws were passed to limit wage increases, and threats were made, but the workers had economic bargaining power on their side. Labour was in such short supply that employers and landlords had to take what they could get. The people held out - and so can (and should!) YOU.

This was the start of peasant revolts, popular rebellions, and - ultimately, more labour protections, political representation for the lower classes, lower taxes, and an end to serfdom. People could afford to own their own land, the feudal system vanished, and eventually, the Renaissance would rise. In these unprecedented times, there is a precedent, and that precedent is that when workers know their worth, agitate for better and for more, when they hold out and unite, they force the elites to loosen the reigns, giving more power, autonomy, rights, and profits back into the hands of the workers, and with that freedom, society improves.

Meet Bon-chan

Joey, the rescued baby otter loves crunching ice.