#crows unemployed

[nezumikozo6th]

Shigeru Mizuki played a Postman of Spirit World in the 1985 Gegege no Kitaro live action show.What is the postal code for Gegege no Forest?

[mohntilyet]

i read the wigmaker job recently and there’s an idea that really stuck with me, which may well have been discussed before, but it’s really been itching at me. it came from this exchange near the end –

“i don't want to quit.” / illario sat back. the distance between them suddenly felt much wider than a table. / “even if it kills you,” illario whispered. / “death is my calling,” lucanis stated, matter-of-fact. “just as yours is to become first talon.”

(the bits before and after this give important context, too, but these specific lines are what gnaw at me)

i. really wonder if this conversation – and the long-standing beliefs held by both of them that it’s indicative of – contributed to giving lucanis to zara.

like, illario coming to terms with the fact that lucanis really just will. not. stop. for ANYTHING. his cousin WILL get himself killed doing this and lucanis won’t have any regrets. he’ll leave illario to go this alone. (no one to follow after anymore.) combined with the envy of knowing that lucanis is and always will be caterina’s favorite, and she will likely pick lucanis to be first talon even tho lucanis does not want this At All…

i wonder if he thought that, well, if lucanis is going to die anyway… maybe it’s better to have it happen sooner, rather than later. why put off the inevitable? especially if this is the one thing that could shift caterina’s gaze to illario and give him what he’s wanted – what he’s earned.

lucanis wouldn’t be happy as first talon anyway (honestly, illario seems to see that what lucanis is NOW isn’t so much ‘happy’ as it is ‘obedient and content to accept the scraps that gives him’), and he’s GOING to get himself killed doing this, anyway… and sure, they COULD wait it out. wait for lucanis to do something foolish enough that he can't just walk away from it. maybe he’ll even last long enough to be made first talon (if caterina can ever bear to loosen her grip from the title) and be miserable for a while. years even, maybe. before he, again, does something he can’t walk away from.

OR. or. or illario could cut through all the pointless waiting and get right to the point. go straight to where this was always going to end up.

(and maybe part of it is an extension of anticipated grief, too – the loss will be agony. if illario controls when and how it happens, he can control his grief. …except he hasn’t accepted the inevitability of lucanis’ death quite as well as he’d thought and when he gets sloshed at the wake, real grief seeps through the cracks)

i dunno. something about both of them viewing lucanis’ death as a foregone conclusion and how illario Might have had that shape his decisions.

YEAH . YEAHHHHH. i do also think the “to reason” exchange is what solidifies it in illario’s mind. lucanis is like 'this has been a productive if tense talk with my cousin. surely he sees sense now.' and illario is like ‘what the fuck. i think he wants to die’ <- okay im exaggerating a bit but i do absolutely see the end of wigmaker’s job as the start of lucanis-illario’s downward spiral. there’s a reason that it’s something lucanis is stuck on during inner demons, and the exchange that you have very nicely broken down is what he hears echoes of, this is where he knows it started to go wrong

probably the worst part is lucanis WOULD have worked himself to death and it takes the series of events in veilguard for lucanis to see other options for his life, and still he ends up being shoehorned into first talon by the end of the quest. i thought his quest would parallel iron bull’s, in that rook shows them that living outside and away from crow influence is possible, and that he is much more than the weapon they turned him into, but it ofc doesn’t go through like that. it’s genuinely a bit heartbreaking that lucanis finally has support and like. FRIENDS. but with the way the game ends he’s pulled back into the crows and to a life that will be about protecting a cousin that the organisation he runs hates, and for as long as caterina lives, unable to say no to her. and meanwhile after lucanis has made connections outside of the crows, illario has absolutely nothing left (prison of his own making i get it but i still want to get his ass out of there. 😭) so the codependency that they used to share is gone as well. maybe lucanis has a foot out the door but i genuinely have no idea how illario goes on after this

[apologetic-artist]

Okie dokie, dumpin some sketches since I will hopefully be doing some digital arts today :]

Lots of Brendy since I've been thinking about him a lot, also Corvus and Trace as u see, but Brendon more so

[crows-of-buckets]

Once i finally finish act three you guys WILL be hearing about my new silliest little gal. My Durge. I love her. One hundred evils upon her soul. But she kisses her buff tiefling wife and she feels better

For now take these drawings of her. I cannot stop drawing this bitch naked and covered in blood. also I've been trying to figure out why that top drawing looks off I FORGOT HER HIGHLIGHTS IN HER HAIR FUCK

[six-of-cringe]

This is one of my favorite things in the series, but I have seen it misinterpreted in comments on various platforms and in other separate posts, so I wanted to add something.

Jesper's addiction is caused by the suppression of his powers. His ADHD is not.

I have seen comments conflating his addiction with the rest of his ADHD, fanfics implying that all other expressions of his ADHD fade with the use of his powers, and even analyses critiquing a couple authors' use of "magical ADHD", i.e. ADHD that only exists due to a fantastical element.

That interpretation detracts from how interesting this character/worldbuilding trait is, and I can see it being somewhat offensive as well. Even before his magical suppression began in earnest, child Jesper was described as having his ADHD traits - hyperactivity, risk-seeking, poor focus. He did not "become" ADHD because of his suppression, and it won't go away once he stops suppressing himself. He may have ended up struggling with addiction even if never hid his powers! He was written with the intention of having ADHD from the start, with all the good and bad things that come with it. That is how his brain is wired.

And since he is wired in such a way, the "sickness" caused by magical suppression manifests as negative neuroses typical of ADHD - addiction and adrenaline-seeking. His suppression exacerbates their severity, making his urges to gamble worse than they ever would have been on their own. Shooting, on the other hand, gives him that tiny bit of release as he uses his powers to guide the bullet, temporarily reducing those addictive urges, the feeling of sickness. The sickness is his addiction - not his ADHD altogether.

say what you will about leigh bardugo's worldbuilding choices but "guy who's hiding his superpowers is so constantly understimulated he developed a gambling addiction to cope" is fucking brilliant actually

[dragonstailbutch]

im tired and scared and tired of being tired and scared

things keep changing, getting bad in my and my partners' life, from botched electrolysis to our rommate/ex-partner leaving the apartment and us having no income and being unemployed for forever basically, and having to put our sick cat to sleep. Also were both trans women and my partners tumblr got nuked two days ago

its been a shit show through and through

if ayone would be able to donate, cents or dollars or anything at all, we have about a month to save up for an apartment anywhere so anything helps please

cashapp- $dragonforgedbutch

venmo- @crow-forgemaster

Ko-Fi - dragonbutch

our tentative goal is 2000

200/2000

[n0rmal-cat]

Siren singer x taxi driver reader- part 2

[for harpy person, are we talking like a night bird? Like an owl or crow? Or just any]

Reader sat in their boss's office, "I’m sorry, Reader, but it looks like we have to let you go.”

“You're firing me?! For what? I couldn’t have possibly done anything that bad!” they ask confused.

“I’m sorry, but we don’t have to explain why we fire people,” the boss replied, avoiding eye contact.

“Yes, you do! This is so unprofessional!” Reader slammed their hands down on the table.

The boss stood up hastily. “Now listen here, Reader, we don’t want to call security.”

Grumbling under their breath, Reader left the room. They had suspected this would happen all along, all because of that insufferable man. But why had they been offered $1,000 in compensation? Asshole.

Reader didn’t believe their job application had been that bad. Surely they could find a position at a fast-food restaurant or something similar, but that hadn’t happened. No one seemed willing to hire them.

They slumped down on their couch. "I guess I could talk to my parents?" They really didn't want to, though...

The ring of their doorbell startled them and made them jump, "Jeez!"

"Don't be the landlord, don't be the landlord,"  they whispered, crossing their fingers as they made their way to the door.

As they opened it, they collided with the chest of a man. “At least take me on a date first, dear,” he joked, a cocky grin spread across his face.

They recognized that voice anywhere, "you!" They stumbled back, "you got me fired!"

His shirt was unbuttoned halfway down, and he had sunglasses on

“Oh, gasp! You got fired? How terrible,” he pouted playfully.

"Yes, I got-...did you just say gasp?"

"Enough about me, let's talk about you," he stepped into the apartment . “So, it’s come to my attention that you don’t have a job, yes?”

Reader blocks him “You can’t just waltz into my home like this. And yes, I do have a job!”

“Ooooh, delightful! I was thinking about what you said, and you’re absolutely right I should get a personal driver, you” 

“Excuse me? Wait, are you actually some rich guy?” Reader eyed him warily.

“Yes, and apparently an asshole as well,”

Reader paused for a moment, momentarily caught off guard before snapping back to reality. “No, you?!”

“Yes, you see, you intrigue me. I’ve never met ‘anyone’ who doesn’t like my voice,” he said, the last part sounding almost like a growl, made even more apparent when he bared his teeth slightly.

"i highly doubt that, and no i refuse, you're the one that got me fired and for a petty ass reason nonetheless"

“Oh, okay, I see how it is. But…” He lifted Reader’s chin, forcing them to meet his intense gaze. As he spoke, a mesmerizing mixture of blue and green mist escaped his lips, his sunglasses sliding down the bridge of his nose to reveal his striking blue-green eyes.

“Did you vape before coming in here?” Reader blurted out.

"W-What?" He looked genuinely shocked. Suddenly, he squeezed Reader’s face in his hands, frustration flaring in his eyes. “What is wrong with you, human?” he glared at them, fully showing his teeth now.

“What the hell are you doing?” Reader struggled against his hold.

“Unless you, gasp!” He opened Reader's eyelids with his fingers to peer inside them.

“Let go of me, you idiot!” Reader shouted, mortified.

“I swear to God, if you try to take my turf… oh, okay, good not a siren,” he said with a smile, finally releasing them.

Reader pushed him away, breathing heavily. “I’m going to call the cops on you!”

“Fat chance they’ll do anything, sugar. Now, let’s get straight to the point, you're my new driver. There’s no room for argument unless you’d prefer to stay unemployed.”

Rubbing their temples in frustration, Reader groaned, “What are you talking about? I can find a new job!”

"No you can't i made sure of that. i did say I was a siren that's why I need to have you, why don't you fall under my spell dear tell me."

"Siren?" That did sort of make sense, his fanbase was a mindless mob, wasn't it? "Really?" they asked, confused.

"Yes, really, I mean what human could have a name like mine?" he said smugly.

"yeah 'silver midnight' is a shit name"

"No, it's not!" he composed himself.

"So tell me, would you rather leave all this junk behind and come with me, or do you want to take some of this crap with you?” He gestured around the apartment casually.

"Are you gonna be paying me the same as the check?"

"That depends, are you going to be a little smart ass the whole drive" he crossed his arms like they were the problem.

"Maybe pay me more."

He puffed his cheeks "get in the damn car and well see how many zeros i add on"

[so-i-did-this-thing]

Hey -- I just wanted to say, I hope you're doing okay (or as okay as any of us can be, considering everything right now). I know a lot of people come to you for advice and you're always so composed and... idk, a very publicly reasonable and calming presence, I think? But I know that we're all going through a lot right now and I just wanted to send my well wishes, I guess.

The job thing sounds like an absolute nightmare and I hope that you're able to shift to a more welcoming place of employment, but since we've moved in the same circles for ages and I know we both work in tech/tech-adjacent, if there's ever anything that I can do to help you and Crow, please let me know. Just random mutual feelings tonight but. Y'know. Big world out there with lots of friends, despite everything.

Hey, I really appreciate the check-in. ❤️

I am a pragmatic panicker, so my stress reaction is to dive into logistics and make plans. I was able to escape Florida because of plans I made in 2016, and I'm hoping the continuation of those plans will get me and Crow through a Trump presidency. But it sucks having to pull out the old spreadsheets that track when my money and HRT would run out in worst-case scenarios.

I've bounced back from a lot of bad shit in the past, and being white + cis-passing is going to afford me a degree of invisibility a lot of other trans people unfortunately won't have. So, I count my blessings.

Making this public in case other friends wanted an update. Losing my job this coming April is going to suck, and I welcome job opportunities for remote (or a decent commute) work for a Senior Product Manager. I'd love to stay in civic tech, but can't be picky right now, as there is going to be a huge wave of unemployed gov workers soon.

Big hugs to you and all my other mutuals. And for trans mutuals who may find themselves coming to New England, I am happy to refer my realtor and other resources if you need them.

[bean-market-art]

梅が香を...

This is my end of an art trade with @kalolasfantasyworld! Working on this was an absolute BLAST (as you can tell from the five page Google Doc of explanations for all the stuff I did not need to add lmao) and I had so much fun with it! Thank you for doing the art trade with me Lola :D 

Full explanation of history and themes below:

Historical Overview

The Edo period (1600-1867) is pretty prominent in modern culture, and is often romanticized as one of THE periods of Japanese cultural significance. Hinokuni (Land of the Sun) in Black Clover is based off of Edo-period Japan, or at least the late Muromachi pd.

You might know this as a time of samurai, ninja, etc. However, a fair amount of that is completely wrong. Edo period society was carefully structured to maintain peace. There was no war, and therefore virtually no work to be done for warriors – save a few rebellions, samurai were basically unemployed. However, since all of the power was in the hands of the military, they remained at the top of the rigid hierarchy established by the shogunate. This ended up putting the samurai in a strange situation: they grew more and more financially destitute, but still kept their high status as society slowly broke down over 200 years. 

In the mid 1700s, however, Japan was the most urbanized country in the world. Woodblock printing meant that media became available to everyone for a much lower cost than it would if everything was an individually commissioned drawing. “Modern” consumer pop culture arrived and evolved in Japan much earlier than other places, and part of pop culture was the ukiyo-e.

What is ukiyo-e? 

Have you ever wanted to see a hand drawn and carefully reproduced woodblock print of a woman having sex with an octopus? I imagine you don’t, but we’re on Tumblr, so. You can’t be sure. 

Anyway, If you know The Great Wave off Kanagawa, the glorious and quintessential piece of Japanese art, that was done by Katsushika Hokusai. Hokusai, the mad lad, also printed women fucking octopodes. Both of these things are (according to the people of the time) a depiction of the “Floating World,” ukiyo. The Floating World refers to the beautiful, fleeting, and hedonistic red-light district of Edo (now Tokyo) which was literally a man-made sex and theatre island. Pictures of the Floating World are usually the traditional Japanese woodblock print, and can be anything from beautiful flowers to famous actors to scenic views to pictures of lovers, to… well, porn. A lot of porn.

However, this particular drawing is (thankfully) based off of Lovers Walking in the Snow (Crow and Heron), a wood-block print that dates to around 1770.

The long sleeves on the woman is one of the signs of the mid-Edo period, as those were in fashion at the time.

According to the Met, “Of all ukiyo-e prints of lovers, this one creates the most romantic and melancholic mood. Harunobu emphasizes the intimacy of two lovers strolling in the snow, even suggesting perhaps a michiyuki, a path to a love suicide.” The love suicide or double suicide was considered one of the most romantic things lovers could do at the time…. which… you know, that’s cool for them, but I wanted to thematically move away from that for this one, so I switched the crow to a crane 😭 This only partially solved the problem but I swear they’re not going to kill themselves guys I love Nozelena and there are other reasons I picked this print, please – 

Crow and Heron was created by Suzuki Harunobu, who invented the nishiki-e, or multicolored woodblock print. Prints prior to his innovation were limited to two or three colors, but Harunobu’s wealthy commissioners gave him enough money and time to carve up to twelve individual wood blocks to print many different colors onto one sheet of paper.

He is also famously known for fucking hating kabuki performers, so sorry, Harunobu, but I’m putting you in here with mentions of kabuki actors lmao. shoutout to Wikipedia for Harunobu facts please don’t kill me hbomberguy im just a little man with dreams 

Clothes 

I want to preface this by saying that these clothes are NOT COMPLETELY HISTORICALLY ACCURATE. With that being said, let’s get into the Themes :]  

Helena, our Crane, is wearing clothing that’s pretty similar to the woman in Crow and Heron, but she’s also wearing an auspicious red uchikake, or over-robe. Uchikake are only really used in wedding kimono in modern times, but they were frequently worn in everyday life by the wives of samurai-class nobles during the late Muromachi (1336-1573) and Edo periods. Consisting of a patterned silk robe left open over her white kimono with the fashionable long sleeves of the time, she’s hopefully a little more warm in the snow! 

Image courtesy of the Met. Uchikake depicting scenes from the Tale of Ise

Plum blossoms are the flower of the month for February, and make up at least ten entries in the Kokinshu, a famous seasonal poem anthology. These white blossoms are often elegantly 'confused' with snow on the branches of the plum trees, and are a sure sign of early spring.

Given that this drawing is being posted around the time that these poems were likely written back in the 900s, I thought it would be fitting to put Helena in plum blossoms. You can also see faded plum blossoms in two corners of the piece. Cranes (tsuru) are associated with the same bright red that Helena’s almost always drawn in. They signify long life, purity, good luck, and fidelity. Overall, cranes have the same general happy connotations that I think of whenever I think of Helena, and they have the same colors -- they're perfect for each other!

You can see a version of Helena’s outfit with the hood in the ukiyo-e below, also done by Harunobu. 

Nozel is styled as a daimyo or regional warlord of the time. I wanted initially to put him in a kataginu kamishimo, which you can see below, but the haori (jacket) and hakama (pants) that he’s wearing are also appropriate. 

Dressing him down and leaving his hair down saved me from having to draw his stupid braid hopefully gives the piece a more intimate feeling.

If Nozel was a daimyo of the time period, he’d only see Helena a few months out of the year. The Tokugawa shogunate used a system called sankin koutai, or alternate attendance, to prevent the regional warlords from rising up and trying to usurp their rule. This system meant that the wives and children of the daimyo were forced to live in the capitol, and the daimyo could come to Edo once or twice a year to see them. The shogun having everyone’s wife and kids readily accessible to him at all times was… a pretty effective deterrent from treason, so Nozelena wouldn’t get to see each other often. Any time they would spend together would be very precious, and I hope I've depicted that feeling. 

Nozel’s haori hakama is not very traditional (usually it would be black with gold thread for the kamon, or family crest stitched onto the shoulders of the haori. You’ll see that where there’s meant to be a family crest, I’ve put the Silva cross), but there’s a reason for that. The EEO store New Year had a Nozel in a haori hakama that’s pretty close to the colors of the aosagi, or grey heron, and that gave me an idea. 

Grey herons carry connotations with mystery and death, which fits well for a man who has a secret about death that he can’t reveal to anyone or risk killing them too. Herons are also featured in an incredible kabuki performance called Sagi Musume. This dance was famously done by onnagata Bando Tamasaburo (link here to watch! He’s a Living National Treasure: I can’t recommend it enough). It’s tragic, but beautiful. 

Crows and herons are both somewhat related to death, which is likely part of the reason that it’s intimated that the two lovers in Harunobu’s piece are walking to commit a double suicide. However, changing one of the birds in the metaphor to a crane lightens up the metaphor and makes it much more hopeful, which I associate with this ship. As spring comes in and the white snow melts away to reveal budding plum blossoms, so too does a little sun shine on the grey heron, trapped in his secret and closed off from the world. 

Or something like that. It’s pretty pretentious, but I enjoyed thinking about this relationship and conceptualizing the metaphors I wanted to use for this drawing.

Ai ai Gasa

The Met writes about Harunobu’s piece: “The couple walk together in the quietly falling snow, in what is known as an ai ai gasa pose, literally, the sharing of an umbrella and love.” I kept this pose for Nozel and Helena – I knew I wanted something to do with a paper umbrella, since our girl has paper magic. In the starting sketches, he was holding the umbrella over her head while she reached for koi in the river (koi in Japanese is a homophone for love), but this version of the pose is both more historically aligned and cuter in my opinion.

The umbrella actually exists. 

This is a wagasa – a Japanese umbrella – made by Matsuda Wagasa in Kanazawa. It has Helena’s signature red as well as a Hangetsu/half moon pattern. Kanazawa umbrellas are different from any other wagasa makers in the country, and a dying craft. Matsuda is the only store left that still makes Kanazawa-style wagasa. I know no one on this site really has any money, but if you want to buy a piece of long-lasting, living art, please consider supporting them. 

The Poem

The writing that you see in the corner is a famous poem from the Kokinshu. However you ask me, “Alex. This is the Edo period. That’s the 1700s. This poem was from the 890s. The EIGHT. NINETIES. Why the hell are you using poetry in Classical Japanese? No one from the Edo period could understand something that was written 800 years ago at the time.” And to that I say: that’s a very logical conclusion! However, you are WRONG, because there’s nothing LOGICAL about ELEGANT, AESTHETIC PERFECTION!!! 

Classical Japanese (theoretically the Japanese used from around 900 to 1100) was used well into the Meiji period (1868-1912) whenever someone wanted to sound fancy or official. There are hundreds, maybe even thousands of poems about plum blossoms and spring, but I picked this one for a reason. Harunobu often included poems in his work to poke light fun at them, but the inclusion of this poem in my drawing was perfectly serious. I’ll leave you with it to close out the explanation of this drawing. I hope seeing this piece of art has given you a happy and soft feeling, even if it’s only brief – I love Helena, I love this ship a lot, and I appreciate how hard Lola has worked to understand Nozel’s character and create an OC that plays well with him. I know only a few people who have put in the time and effort to meet Nozel where he’s at instead of trying to make him into something he isn’t. I imagine that for a man who has experienced so much death and made so many mistakes in his life, Nozel’s feelings for Helena are somewhat like this poem. 

梅が香を袖にうつしてとどめてば春は過ぐとも形見ならまし

mume ga ka wo/sode ni utsushite/todometeba/haru wa sugutomo/katami naramashi

If only the plums' scent/would shift to my sleeves and/stay there, then/even when spring is past and gone/a keepsake it would be...

[doomandgloomfromthetomb]

David Kilgour + Lambchop - Abbey Pub, Chicago, Illinois, March 9, 2002

Digging back into the Aadam Jacobs archives — an ever-expanding treasure trove of live music from days gone by, mostly recorded in Chicago. Thanks to everyone involved in this valuable project! Today, we're listening to a killer double-bill from the early 2000s: David Kilgour and Lambchop! Very unique, especially since various Lambchoppers served as Kilgour's backing band.

I actually caught this cool tour in Somerville, MA a week or so prior to the Abbey Pub show. I was fresh out of college, incredibly unemployed, totally confused. Memories are hazy. The 608? I think that venue existed for exactly five minutes. Who did I go with? It may have been a member of Papas Fritas — Donna, are you out there somewhere?! And was this gig my intro to a very young William Tyler? I think it was — have you checked out William's new LP yet? It is amazing. Anyway, both sets are very much worth your time, with David's always sweet guitar work ringing out over the club and Lambchop bravely battling some chatty Chicagoans to present the mellow (yet still intense!) sounds of Is A Woman.

By the spring of 2002, I had started doing a little music writing for some burgeoning websites — mostly the long-gone Junkmedia. I can't remember exactly how I got hooked up with that crew, but it chugged along nicely for a little while there ... and with the help of the Wayback Machine, I've salvaged my Kilgour-chop show review from way back. Important history! Right? Read it after the jump, if you dare.

Lambchop Somerville, MA March 6, 2002

Who knew seven musicians could make so little noise? That was the question I went away asking myself after witnessing Lambchop's absurdly subdued performance at the 608 club in Somerville, MA, on an uncommonly warm March evening. The stage was packed with keyboards, guitars, horns, drums and other assorted sonic gadgetry — yet the players seemed to be in an unspoken contest with each other to see who could play the softest. For fans of the more expansive, colorful sound heard on the band's previous albums, Nixon and What Another Man Spills, the set may have been a disappointment. But for those in the audience willing to set aside their preconceptions and really listen, there were untold delights in store.

Opener David Kilgour of New Zealand indie-pop legends the Clean seemed to be in a similarly subdued state of mind, though perhaps he had no say in the matter, since his backing band was made up entirely of Lambchop members. Playing almost maddeningly catchy songs from his latest solo release, A Feather in the Engine, Kilgour impressed with an all-too brief set.

Then came Lambchop. It was an audacious move on the part of the group's mastermind, Kurt Wagner, to attempt to replicate the hushed, subtle intricacies of his band's latest long player in the decidedly un-hushed, unsubtle setting of a rock club. Is A Woman, the album in question, has its sonic axis in the moody, jazz-tinged playing of pianist Tony Crow, a relative newcomer to the ever-expanding Lambchop fold. (Believe it or not, this was, in fact, a stripped-down version of the band; when they hit Europe this spring their number will be up to 14!) It's a simple fact of life for the touring band that as the volume of the show increases, the first casualty is usually the keyboards. But instead of letting his band blast away any traces of Crow's piano, Wagner brought the decibel level down to an astonishingly low level—drums were brushed lightly, trumpets were muted and the two electric guitars were barely audible. As a result, the gentle rise and fall of the piano-centric tunes from Is A Woman drifted languidly across the room like a light summer breeze.

Of course, listening to such mellow playing requires a certain degree of discipline from the audience, something that some of the 608's patrons failed to take into account. While the chatter coming from the bar area was no louder than a basic night out at an average rock club, it seemed almost deafening when compared to Wagner and company. But as Lambchop got deeper into their 75-minute set, the performance took on a bizarre sort of drama—each note Wagner struck on his guitar seemed to take on an extra layer of meaning, and even the most delicate of drum fills had a powerful feel. On "The New Cobweb Summer", one of the standout cuts from Is A Woman, Crow's gently crashing piano chords formed a shimmering backdrop for one of Wagner's most affecting (if still typically obtuse) set of lyrics. At moments like these, you had to appreciate a band willing to turn down the volume in order to let the simple beauty of its music shine through. — Tyler Wilcox, 2002

[foreficfandom]

Alastor - Historical Trivia And Headcanons

Alastor was a mixed-race Creole man living in New Orleans, and was in his 30's/40's when he died in 1933. We don't know much else about him, but historical context can provide us with possible additional details:

The population of New Orleans in 1930 was 458,762, more than it is now. 27.2% of the people were black, 3.1% were foreign-born, and roughly half of America's bipoc population was unemployed thanks to the Great Depression. New Orleans' original Francophonication was still strong, and it was common to run into locals who only spoke French dialects (Cajun French, Louisiana Creole). The city has had a huge Chinatown, a small Little Italy, and multiple other districts known for their immigrant African/colonized French cultures.

The Jim Crow laws were heavily enforced, as was the 'One Drop' rule. If Alastor was a mixed race black man, he would not have been able to attend a white school, use the same public transport, and would have shopped at black-local stores and restaurants under threat of violence. If he was mixed with any other race, some Jim Crow laws didn't apply, but state or city laws might specify differently.

Just because Alastor wears a suit, it doesn't mean he was rich in life. Radio personalities often didn't earn a fortune. Unless he owned his own broadcast, he was paid by a private company for long shifts of hosting music, news, and radio plays. In 1930, 40% of households owned at least one radio, which means that a popular radio host would have been easily recognized.

If he was in his late 30's in 1933, he might have fought in WW1, so long as he was over the age of 21. Some cities gave veterans small benefits, or encouraged the community to give them jobs. This often did not include veterans of color.

New Orleans was famous for being one of the least Christian cities in America, thanks to its unique immigrant and slave population. Haitian-based faiths and practices (such as voudo), indigenous cultures, Asian Buddhism, and atheism were common. But Christianity was still the official, law-enforced religion. Schooling involved reading the Bible, laws were sworn to Jesus, etc.

Alastor's outfit in Hazbin Hotel isn't very accurate to real-life American men's fashions of the time. Back then, deviating from the norm with the smallest detail would have stuck out like a sore thumb - like his white-lined lapels. Men always wore a hat. They were allowed to go without a waistcoat, but not a jacket. Belts were becoming more popular than suspenders. The silhouette was bulkier than the slimmer, Italian cuts of our modern times, especially the pants. Hair was kept short, and oiled down in a side part. Americans preferred the clean shaven look. Ties were essential unless you were a blue-collar laborer. Colors were almost universally muted neutral tones for everyday wear. The most colorful textiles for men were sporting outfits, like a tennis jacket.

If Alastor was a middle-class single man, he likely would have lived in an inner-city apartment, in an ethnic neighborhood. He probably didn't own a car, and took public transit like the streetcars. If he owned a house, it would likely have been an inheritance, and even the more opulent houses of the time would have looked small and plain to our eyes.

Because of the Great Depression, unmarried men were becoming the norm, rather than the exception. Men of the community who were sought after but remained single were suspect to gossip, but less ire than you might think; in the '30s, American queer culture was going through a very sharp revival, escaping the rigid Victorian era and before the puritan 40's/50's. But as a mixed-race man, it may have been illegal for a white woman to marry him, as the Jim Crow laws forbade the marriage of white people and Black/Asian people.

A middle class city household would have had electricity, gas heating, indoor plumbing, but may not have had running taps or a gas stove. Even with decent means, Alastor might have been using a potbelly woodburning stove, a dry sink/washbasin, wooden bathtub, and did his own laundry instead of sending it to the neighborhood laundresses. He may or may not have bothered with an icebox. Fresh groceries needed to be cooked and eaten soon, as things like pasteurized milk or store refrigeration wasn't a thing.

If he had enough money, then he almost certainly hired maids or other servants. Whether the maid came over just once a week, or did the shopping and laundry every other day, hired help was much more common back then, especially if he had no wife.

The most popular musicians in 1933 were Bing Crosby, George Olsen, and Leo Reisman. As you might have noticed, it was trendy for the lead singer to be backed by an orchestra, not a 'band' of just four other people like today. The most popular radio shows were Dick Tracy, Sherlock Holmes, and Doc Savage. They were recordings the radio station would buy and then broadcast, or sometimes the actors were live on the air. The radio host was usually not the journalist - the production team was responsible for writing his script.

[jester-and-clowns]

The lovers! Idk I finally had motivation to draw the married couples!

I think their neat :3

Crows stay at home cause they never really planned on changing their talent of being in the circus. So Daniel and Colby wanted them to rest for a bit so for now Crow unemployed.

[alive-and-burning]

if you could be anything, what would you be?

please stop asking me to reblog/donate to your campaign, i’m unemployed and have 60 followers. you won’t find what you’re looking for here.

⦫

general

♱ he/him, 17, american (unfortunately)

♱ half emo, half punk, total loser either way

♱ hobby historian/hoarder

♱ most of this blog is either my chem related or me complaining

♱ previously c1g-f1end

stuff i like

♱ bands: saosin, leathermouth, the used, l.s. dunes, anything anthony green has been in ever, sinema, dance gavin dance, la dispute, minor threat, from first to last, pierce the veil, dropdead, orchid, chiodos, sunny day real estate, alexisonfire

♱ books/comics: the fabulous killjoys, tmnt, beowulf, frankenstein, tender is the flesh, the crow, metamorphosis, umbrella academy, most of kafka’s work

♱ tv/movies: saw franchise, hannibal, daredevil, star trek, invincible

♱ games: stardew valley, sally face, disco elysium, terraria, resident evil, fallout, fear & hunger, faith

♱ misc: leather (not in a kinky way), the american interwar era, diy, uranium glass, bass

tags

♱ #it’s alive! - posts directly from god

♱ #spam - whatever i feel like putting under this tag

♱ #deathwalk diy - my personal projects

♱ #deathwalk records - music related posts. listen to my band recs boy

♱ #deathwalk catalogue - art, writing, photography, etc.

♱ #deathwalk bulletin - resources, fundraisers, other links

♱ #deathwalk watch - news, politics, various human rights violations, etc.

links

♱ airbuds

♱ ao3

♱ writing/side blog

♱ ask for discord

byf

♱ i am an alcoholic

♱ I AM NOT HITTING ON YOU

♱ probably dyslexic. sorry if some of my posts have typos or are otherwise incoherent

♱ my house my rules, if you’re weird i will be mean about it

updated 13/3/25 (still haven't figured out how to add blinkies to my camera roll)

[murdocs-sweetheart]

Get to know your mutuals

Tagged by @dastmalchiansnose !! Hii ! Tyy!! :D

———

What’s the origin of your blog title?

Well I just wanna start by giving an honorary mention to my former, longstanding url bc I had that one since this blog’s inception!

My former url, ‘selfindulgentfandomstuff’ was born of my half assed attempt at coming up with a blog name that indicated that I was a selfshipper and not just a normal fandom blog! I realize in hindsight, it probably did just the opposite haha! Still, it became kind of iconic amongst my mutuals/followers, I think, which is why I mention it haha!

My ACTUAL url as it is currently, ‘murdocs-sweetheart’, is the final nail in the metaphorical coffin that is my relationship with Murdoc (CBS MacGyver). I love that guy so so much and I wanted a url to reflect that yknow?

Favorite fandoms?

Alllll of Star Trek (but especially TNG, DS9, DISCO, LD) <- listed first bc even tho I don’t talk abt it much on this blog anymore, Star Trek is a core part of me in so many ways <3

CBS MacGyver

Villainous CN

Late Night With The Devil

Erhhmm probably more but I forgor and those are the main ones I suppose

Otp(s)/shipname?

Will I be crucified if I say my selfship with Murdoc?/hj I AM a selfship blog after all haha!!

For realsies tho, all my mutuals’ selfships and for canon x canon stuff, I gotta go with ‘Elim Garak x Julian Bashir’ aka Garashir. I drew a looooot of fanart for those two when I was younger haha!!

favorite color?

Any shade including and between blue and green. Cheating? Perhaps. Do I care? No :)

Favorite game?

The Star Trek Catan board game!! (There’s a theme here, are you noticing this?/silly)

Song stuck in your head

‘The Moral’ by Shayfer James

Weirdest habit/trait?

Oh man, I could be here all day listing stuff…autism moment. You understand/lh

I suppose the one that comes to mind has to be the way I sit when I draw. I CAN sit in other positions to draw but the way I CHOOSE to when I get to choose is … inexplicable to be quite honest 😭

hobbies?

Drawingggg (traditional and digital), jewelry crafting/beading, juijitsu (although truthfully I’m quite new at it so I’m not very good yet lol), umm I think that’s it.. I used to do archery?? I got pretty good too. Stopped bc I hit a rough patch that wouldn’t go away and took a break about it and haven’t gone back yet. :(

if you work, what’s your profession?

Unemployed babeyyyyy

If you could have any job you wish, what would it be?

Well, my goal, right now, is to work in some kind of space exploration program. Not sure where, perhaps NASA but that feels a bit too lofty even for my fantasies haha! But for the purposes of this question, yes I suppose my dream job would be working as an astrophysicist at NASA or some comparable organization. (NOT SpaceX)

And I think my alternate, that I’m still equally enthused about- so much so that I added it here- is working in research in quantum physics. Particularly stuff in quantum field theory! Cliche, I know, eeeeverybody wants to do ✨Quantum Physics✨ now but idccc I love the subject so much!!

Something you’re good at?

Umm I’ve been TOLD I’m good at drawing?? Not really compared to people I see on the internet but I guess I could say that- drawing! OH oh ooohh I’m EXCELLENT at untying knots. Like weirdly good and fast at it. Weird flex, I know 😅

Something you’re bad at?

Lots and lots of things, my friend/lh

I guess I’m pretty sucks at maintaining friendships. Decent at MAKING friends! Not so much keeping them, y’know?

Something you love?

ANIMALSSS YAYYY particularly cats, crows and elephants!!!

Something you could talk about for hours off the cuff?

Literally any of the stuff I’ve listed above. My fandoms, my selfships, my interest in physics, you get the gist! I’m a yapper at heart!

Something you hate?

Whatever the hells going on inside my brain with that moralistic OCD type shit 😭😭😭

Something you collect?

ROCKS. SHELLS. PLUSHIES. BOXES/CONTAINERS. NEED I GO ON? I loooove hoarding stuff haha!!

Something you forget?

Most people don’t really give a damn if I slip up in a social interaction <- social (among other types) anxiety disorder haver

What’s your love language?

Idk I think I like when people make a point of reassuring me I’m doing Okay, in their eyes, if that makes sense?

Favorite movie/show?

Well. You already know about my fav shows lol. I’ll say my fav movies have to be a tie between ‘The Secret of NIMH’ and ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’!!

favorite food?

My mom’s Puffed Pancakes :))

Favorite animal?

Cats, probably. Particularly African Servals!!

Are you musical?

I mean, I love listening to music? Is that anything? Idk I sang in Glee club throughout my elementary school years but idk if I was actually any good, despite being praised by all the adults in my life for it haha!! You know how people are, trying to make kids feel better.

What were you like as a child?

Annoying. Next question.

Kidding!! I was just autistic and undiagnosed! I think I was a lot like I am now? Just. Smaller. Maybe a little less anxious. Maybe a little more ambitious. Who knows.

Favorite subject at school?

Sciencessss (I took all the available science courses at my high school in either AP or honors 😎/lh/gen)

Least favorite subject?

P.E bc that shit is So Sucks. Also being a bigger girl meant that people always looked at me funny in the locker rooms. I don’t like locker rooms. :(

What’s your best character trait?

I think maybe my honesty? Like, not that I never tell white lies or anything but I think I’m pretty straightforward with most people, or so I’ve been told. That leads me to the next question tho…

What’s your worst character trait?

People REALLY do NOT like frankness sometimes 😭 so I think perhaps it’s two sides of the same coin.

In all seriousness, I think my worst character trait is whatever it is that makes me believe that I am Special. It used to be, I thought I was ‘special’ for being smarter than all my peers. Now it’s, I can’t help but think I’m ‘special’ in the way that I’m uniquely awful! 😃👍

If you could change any detail of your day right now what would it be?

I should’ve gotten up before 2 pm LMFAO

If you could travel in time would you like to meet?

Leonhard Euler. To stop him from putting the Greek alphabet into math. KIDDING. As much as I have a personal distaste for all the damn LETTERS in math now (English and Greek now), I know that it is an elegant notation and he was smart to have introduced it. No but fr I would want to meet Euler bc of the sheer amount of STUFF he contributed to and how INFLUENTIAL and AWESOME a lot of the stuff he did was!! He was a brilliant dude and I would’ve loved to meet him!

Recommend one of your favorite fanfics (spread the love):

I’ll be honest, I haven’t read any fanfic in a considerable amount of time. Chiefly bc I selfship now and honestly I just like writing my own selfship fanfic and reading that now haha!! Sorry!!

[wysteria-naha]

Raphael Wysteria Naha - Oc RP blog

Explanations, Rules, and a Pinned Post:

If you have questions about the Character/AU, or otherwise, ask!

What is this? -This functions as a Roleplay Blog of my Oc for a Good Omens AU in which Crowley remained an angel and fell later to become duke of hell. As hell needed to prepare for war, new soldiers had to be made and new young demons were born from templates of old. Thus, Wysteria. - If you have specific questions about the Roleplay permissions or otherwise, dms are okay! - Main blog is Dangersnekcrowleyylover ! - This blog is "partnered" with my Crowley/Angel AU Crowley blog! But can be used on its own without them! - Playlist here! Rules for roleplay and questions! - No NSFW (obviously) mildly suggestive is okay - Don't be hateful or bigotted here! I will NOT tolerate that - Cross Universe roleplay is allowed, as well as meeting other variants of Crowley, Aziraphale or other Good Omens characters! Oc interactions are fine too! - Please ask before you do any sort of shipping content/roleplay, for my own comfort, or at least ask first! About the Character/AU! - Wysteria is a young demon, a new blood as some might say. Not made at the dawn of creation, never seeig the beauty of the first light. Wysteria was made only to fight in the war at the end of the world. - Like his caretaker, he's a snake demon, with very close motifs to said caretaker, The Duke of hell, Crowley, who really goes by Anthony Crow Naha these days. - Unbeknownst to Wysteria himself, he was a living mistake of the two greatest mishaps of hell @resident-unemployed-demon, and @odd-godwine. Being the sister of @miss-godwine he, was taken away shortly after being born and only much later found by his father, The Duke who took him away from his current master and took him, quite literally, under his wing. - Wysteria has mostly been raised in hell, but now stays in the human world, helping his "Dad" run the Florist shop. He loves it, but won't say that out loud. - Wants to be called Wysteria, is always called "Raphael" by his "Dad" instead. - Is actually nice, but don't tell him, he would get mildly embarassed. - Currently gunning to be earth rep, but still working lower class warrior duties. - Absolutely admires angels, and the stars. - LIkes playing pranks on people.

[eldritchdraaks]

I just hit 1k subs on YouTube!

This is a huge moment for me. I've been posting on YouTube for ten years now, and as an unemployed video editor out of college, it means a lot that over a thousand people want to see the videos I make. I've always treated my channel as just a place where I can share whatever video I decide to make, a truly personal pit of expression. It's not been until 2024 that I've decided I want to post things for other people to enjoy too, not just for me; less personal, more public.

I want to be able to keep this going. After the Crow Strider AU dub is done, and the Rave collab is out, I'd like to be able to do more on YouTube. I don't think I'll ever reach a point where I can make money off of it, but I'm not bothered by that. I don't do it for the money (nice as it'd be).

Anyway, I've got something completely unrelated to anything else that'll I'll finish up in about a week that's Among Us related, and actually this post isn't even about my sub count...

It's about

FUCKING CHAPTER MARKERS, BABY!!!

(This is an unlisted video from early in the CSAU dub project)