Stillflight

I love kiwis. They're one of my favorite fruits, maybe even my favorite if you factor in affordability and ease of access. I am now obsessed with kiwi berries. They really do taste almost exactly the same, with maybe a little softer of a sweetness, yet they're the perfect size and shape to just pop right into your mouth like a grape. Such a good raccoon fruit. I also bought a papaya on the same trip which is also an amazing raccoon food.

I've been so intensely raccoon lately; I'm not sure what's causing this, a shift lasting multiple days and still going strong. Mostly an envisage shift, but for me that is often accompanied by a mild mental shift. And of course, intense, frequent ph-shifts. Mostly they've been of my muzzle, nose, whiskers and teeth; some tail, paws, fur, and my usual red panda ears have been raccoon ears. I would really like to get some persimmons. There is no better fruit for the raccoon in me. Some fruits are ringtail fruits, some are raven fruits, and some are raccoon fruits.

When I was a teenager, I was less insecure about how often I seem to "change my mind" about who I am as a person. I knew it was who I was; it was in my nature to change, and it was my only nature. I told myself one thing, not really as a promise or reassurance, more like a conclusion, an understanding: The only thing that will ever stay the same about me is that I will always change.

I think I forgot this too much recently. I went looking for one tangible weighty answer, my perfect self which would never change and would always be that thing I could draw a business card of and present to anyone who asked, synoptic. Here is my favorite song and my favorite band. Here is my favorite movie and book. Here is my gender. My species. My sexuality. My whole life on a card. And it will be this forever, until I die, so feel comfortable getting used to it. I've finally found it. I've ordered a bulk order of these cards so I hope this is the one! Otherwise I'll have to spend another $100.

I NEED TO STOP BUYING THESE CUSTOM CARDS.

Because I think teenage Cyril was right. Hell, even just the name is proof of it. I've changed it legally now, but how can I be so certain this will be my name for the rest of my life? I thought that about Cyan. And Jayce. I thought it about my deadname. I live in Iowa now, but god knows I won't forever. I wear these clothes now, listen to this music, play this kind of video game, but why do I need to hold myself to that forever just because I like it now? I am a bisexual binary male musteloid, right now, but three years ago I was a nonbinary gay fox, and this was something I knew so certainly I didn't expect to ever need to come to terms with any updates. Who do I think I am to say, well actually, that was simply wrong, I was incorrect, mistaken, I was just confused, and if I had actually thought about it (and knew what I now know), I would have immediately come to the right conclusion. This is the right conclusion, what I am now, which I will always be, because it feels right now so we're good, set up the plaque and start carving.

But that's just misrepresenting history. It felt right then too. To say "ohh I always felt a little off" is a complete fabrication. I know I'm a man. I knew I was nonbinary. I am a wanderer in all ontological forms. I wander geographically and I wander metaphysically. I will never stay the same. It's not who I am. I would say that's the only thing I'll ever know about myself, but it's kind of the opposite. I know who I am. Tomorrow's knowledge may just not reflect today's knowledge.

And I will always hold that quote close to my heart. “As you experience all of the Universe’s things, each thing also experiences you. Things leave their mark on you as you leave your mark on things, and somewhere inside you is an impression of everything you’ve been.” Hence the Everything icon.

Something fun I've been talking about with my headmates (the ones who have special interests). It's a really fun question I like asking people now. It's completely open to interpretation but the goal is to think of a power that is narratively interesting, so not too omnipotent, but also makes sense for how your special interest affects you individually and personally. So, two people with the same special interest in, say, paleontology, might have two different powers; the person who focuses more on the geological timeline may be able to time travel, while the person who focuses on the animal biology may be able to shapeshift into dinosaurs. It goes for special interests in specific media too. Someone with a special interest in Avatar could say they have elemental bending powers, or a special interest in Doctor Who could give you immortality on a technicality.

Foxglove's special interests are botany, mineralogy, and possibly psychology. Psychology is obvious; she's psychic, she can read minds, and maybe even influence them. She got stuck on the other two, but eventually decided (after a perusal of Superpowers Wiki) that she has mineral property manipulation, and "just a very good green thumb." She can alter the chemical makeup of minerals to a different structure, thus changing the type of mineral. And she is real good at growing plants, though I'd interpret that as having very slight plant-growth-influencer powers.

Ziv's special interests are weaponry and wilderness survival. Zie thinks it would display as innate skill. Zie'd be able to expertly wield any weapon zie picks up, even if zie has never set eyes on it before. Zie'd have innate understanding of wilderness survival tactics and knowledge, from building a fire to flintknapping to navigation, and wouldn't even have to think about it or look up guides. Zie's a simple wolf, zie says hir superpower would just be impressive skill in the area of hir interest.

My special interests are art, biology, and (in as few words as possible) cultural change over time. My favorite idea for these was for the latter, which is my main special interest. I call it object postcognition. I'd be able to touch any object (or living thing!) and see into not only just its future, but also its past, and at my most capable, I'd be able to time travel to the moment of either is creation or destruction; but I would be simply an observer, and cosmically unable to alter timelines; no matter what actions I take, they would be negated or simply zap me back before they can take effect. For biology, I could shapeshift, but only animals for which I know the scientific name and the placement in the taxonomic tree of life, as well as having an intimate knowledge of their biologics. I can flub it in rare moments of confidence though, and convince my powers that I am intimate with how, for example, a Smilodon, or a dragon works. As for art, I've thought of something interesting, but a bit abstract -- which fits. I have two hand-in-hand powers: what I call artistic divination, and something similar to "probability manipulation" but based on artistic engagement. Obviously for the first, I receive signs and messages on things through art, not as in it warps to tell me things, but I kind of psychically interpret it into true things. And the second, with the example of music, if I am listening to a specific song, reality will shift around me to match the mood of the song. But it's simultaneously a very weak power, because I have to be actively engaging with a piece of art for it to work and most pieces won't do anything drastic, and potentially a very dangerous one, because it could also go very wrong.

Lumi's special interests are snails, Nintendo, shapeshifting mythology and folklore, and possibly Ancient Greece. For starters the most obvious power would be shapeshifting, especially as they already are one. They said the shapeshifter power inherently includes turning into snails, so they can also communicate with gastropods (but understand snails the most). And that was their idea of a really cool enviable power. We got stuck on the last two because they're so broad with so many different unique stories between them. They think that because of their Nintendo special interest, they can manifest objects from different games, but due to the overpowered nature of this, greatly struggle to use it to its full advantage. And due to their ancient Greece special interest, they are an "oracle."

V'vohu may not have traditional human-level neurology, but if it had special interests, based on what it takes interest in, we think they would be outer space, Kabbalah, deep time, and Welcome to Night Vale. So V'vohu is obviously the most powerful of all of us. But honestly, how could we assign it superpowers based on these without stumbling onto things it can probably already do?

I want to ask more friends with autism this question. Specifically narratively-minded ones. I want to see what other people come up with that would make for a cool character in a story.

A thorough review of every coffee shop in downtown Iowa City.

Tru Coffee
Expensive. First impression: expensive. Overpriced? Possibly -- the drink I had (I believe it was a mango smoothie) was mediocre, even despite being a mango drink. The food was good. It was an almond chocolate croissant, and they had many other options. Quality food. However, if you go closer to close, they will be completely out of all pastries, and they close at 3 pm. In addition, the seating is terrible; most tables are spread out in the center of the large room, and there is not a single seat with an outlet in the entire store. The last two points are what hurt the most. This is NOT a place you can set up and do work. You will not have time to get anything done -- but at least you won't be there long enough for your computer to run out of power.
2/5

Tspoons
The food is unreliable. They might have good donuts. I wouldn't know -- they have different ones every time and I never get one. Their cups smell weird, and it makes the drink less enjoyable. There is only one good seat in the whole store -- it's a small space, but that one seat is very fun. The mall locale detracts from the atmosphere significantly.
1/5

Press
It's a bit out of the way. Let's acknowledge that first. It's kind of the outcast of Iowa City coffee shops. It's a good way to get your steps in. But, is it worth it? No. The whole space smells strange in a bad way, making it uncomfortable to stay for long. The London fog is watery and bland. There is no good food, save for a few limp muffins. They offer very little in terms of drink selection.
0/5

Java House
The vibe is really good here. It makes up for the lack of windows by being a cozy, aesthetic-inspired little studyhole. Good lighting, and by that I mean, there is comparatively little. The food can be good. They are able to heat up pastries, and they have a good banana chocolate chip muffin and an okay chocolate muffin. They also sell a lot of little a la carte treats like chocolate candies. Their London fog is nasty, far too sweet and too much vanilla, but their iced tea lemonade is top notch. There's a lot of good seats with outlets, but the best in the house is the big oval table at the very back. The main problem with Java House is the shitty owner, who I don't want to support too much, so I don't go super often. The secondary problem is the unreliable WiFi.
4/5

Poindexter
AWFUL SHOP. They have a mango smoothie? Not worth it. London fog? Ass. There is nowhere good to sit, a corporate atmosphere, no food, and the kicker on top of it all is that they don't even have good WiFi. The WiFi isn't even just shaky, it's straight up all the way consistently bad. It is impossible to work here. Going on a coffee crawl -- skip this one.
-1/5

Fix!
Just tried this for the first time today, and I loved it. Unlike the last shop I just mentioned, the WiFi is actually noticeably good and fast. The food is decent, they have a few types of cake which is really cool, and I liked the drink I had, a green tea hibiscus lemonade (though it was awfully sweet), but would have to go back to try their black tea lemonade and see if they do tea lattes. None of that is the point though. The point is that the atmosphere in here is off the CHARTS. It is almost like a cross between an airport sitting area and a teen lounge at a rec center. Open spaces, huge windows letting in tons of light, really cool vibes. It's right behind the theater at Film Scene and you can hear when a movie is playing which is fun. It's sandwiched between the back wall of the theater and a glowing little bowling alley that I didn't even know existed. The only problem I see with this place is that there is a significant drought of outlets. There's really only one table in the whole huge space (and it is VERY large with lots of seats) where you can place your laptop on the table and still have an outlet in reach.
5/5

Coffee Emporium
This one just makes me sad because I think I'm going to do two different ratings for it. The first is for Coffee Emporium, the new moniker for this store. It is, by all means, a decent coffee shop. Probably well above the level of most coffee shops in this town. They have a good banana bread which you can ask for warm. Their drink menu did not change, which I will get to. Their internal layout did not change either, which I will also get to. They close much earlier than they used to, which is a shame for a store that used to be the only coffee shop open past 7. They have fun paintings and photographs from local artists displayed on the walls and they host poetry slams regularly, which is really cool. Very good location.
3/5
The second review is for The High Ground. A coffee shop that closed at 11 pm, then 9 pm after the pandemic. Large windows and multiple good window seats with outlets which you could sit at and watch the street outside as the sun set. You are almost guaranteed an outlet seat. They had (have) INCREDIBLE drinks -- delicious caramel flavored milk steamer, iced tea lemonades, wide tea selection, and the pinnacle: the BEST fucking London fog, not just in Iowa City, but anywhere. All of which they'd serve to you in a ceramic mug. They used to have tons of tasty food options -- an amazing chocolate muffin, peanut butter banana bread, hazelnut chocolate croissant, and my favorite, a white chocolate raspberry scone, plus meal food like amazingly seasoned avocado toast and a tuna melt, all of which has been retired. It was a cool casual vibe, and they even had this fun trivia board where if you got the answer right you got 10 cents off your order. Once they even asked me for a trivia question (I of course gave them one on video game history) and the next week I saw they had put my question and answer options up on the board. The workers are very friendly to regulars and remember your name if you go often, which is obviously still true since it's the same employees. I miss The High Ground, best coffee shop in Iowa.
5/5

Prairie Lights
My new favorite in town. Not because of its good food options, which include a berry danish, a chocolate croissant, and a ham and cheese croissant. Not because of its good seating with outlets. Not because of all the art it has up on the walls like The High Ground does. But because it is on the second floor of a bookshop. And fuck yeah. That is a good vibe. Though, it is to be said, everything else about it is not ideal. The WiFi is abjectly terrible unless you're sitting at one specific table. The tea latte quality depends entirely on who is working that day because sometimes they will make you a frothy London fog in a mug and sometimes they will hand you a pot of oversteeped earl grey tea and a cup of milk. But it is a good place to read. Because the WiFi is so bad.
5/5

I've been making myself what I call "falconry meals." Simple ground beef, cooked of course because you gotta avoid parasites with a human body, sometimes with egg mixed in. Pure protein. It makes me think of a meal made for a falconry hawk or one in wildlife rehab with a lot of close contact with humans, which is kind of like what I am. I dispense it in a bowl and eat it with just my mouth, tipping my head back and swallowing whole instead of chewing like a bird. It kind of makes eating dinner fun when I don't want to expend the energy otherwise. It puts me in an animal mindset which makes me more food motivated instead of feeling like I'm slogging through human hygiene tasks like feeding yourself.

Cooking always gives me fictotype euphoria. I love experimenting with recipes and throwing things together to see what works. I'm still new at it because I wasn't taught to cook growing up but so far every time I cook I feel so much more like Link.

Just bought groceries for the next few days because I'm alone this whole week. Not enough for the whole week -- in a few days I'll look up some recipes and plan my next shopping trip around that, but today I got a tube of ground beef on sale and I'm making fettuccine with meat sauce. I plan to eat it without a fork -- like a hawk, as I do with pasta when I'm alone. Later tonight I'm going to fry green beans. Tomorrow though, even better: beef and mushroom stuffed sweet peppers. I love that it's not a BotW recipe but very feasibly could be. I'm improvising.

Maybe for this week I'll do the Zelda Diet. Only buy ingredients found in BotW and TotK. Lots of meat and fish and mushroom and rice recipes.