#The circus from hell's main post | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

fyozaibrainrot · 3 months ago

Text

FYOZAI ANALYSIS

Heya bsd fandom! Welcome to my fyozai analysis that no one asked for. If you're an anti, please feel free to skip this post, I'm not a fan of shipping war. If you're not caught up to the manga and don't want to get spoiled, you can also skip because this contains manga spoilers.

Now, I want to say in advance that I have nothing against other zai and fyo ships (I like skk — I even edit them — and fyolai — thanks to Creantzy), I'm merely stating things as I see it. And if you agree with me, then we have something in common.

Background

Their similarities and differences

Their relationship

They hate each other vs. it's nothing personal

Their view of each other

How they treat each other vs. how they treat others

Why is fyozai a good ship?

How they feel about one another

fyozai is NOT skk 4.0 or fyolai in a different flavor

Their connection

Their abilities

Background

In chapter 37, after the fall of Moby Dick and before Dead Apple, Dazai told Hirotsu that he met Fyodor before the present timeline, and he also hinted that he knew Atsushi is the tiger from the very start. It's a popular headcanon that they met after Dazai left the Port Mafia, but until today, we still don't know how they met and their circumstances at that time.

I'm assuming it will be revealed in the coming chapters before Fyodor is defeated to make us cry, maybe from Sigma's POV, or Asagiri-sensei will release a new LN. (It's also possible Asagiri-sensei will leave it at that for us to do what we want in fanfiction.) Either way, it's clear that they got to know each other pretty well during that time, since Dazai is already familiar with Fyodor and his ways even before they reunited again.

Speaking of reunion, there's a detail that wasn't specified in the Dead Apple — in the movie, at least. I haven't read the manga or LN — but supposedly, Dazai teamed up with Fyodor against Shibusawa, but Fyodor was pals with Shibusawa and sold Dazai for his ability only for Fyodor to also betray Shibusawa. In short, it's a circus of clowns and demons.

Anyway, this means that Dazai had a way of reaching out to Fyodor to be able to team up with him beforehand. Of course, that went up in flames during the cannibalism arc. (It'll be hilarious if Dazai casually called Fyodor to ask him where he is and Fyodor hung up on him though.)

Moving on to communication, the two of them talked to each other enough to create their own language. And by enough, I mean a lot, they must've had a lengthy conversation during the DA and before that. Otherwise, how the fuck can they use a lot of words in prison? Because their meetings during the cannibalism arc and their on-screen time in the movie sure as hell wasn't enough to make up their language.

We don't know enough about their personal background yet and their history together is still up in the air so we'll leave it at that.

Their similarities and differences

Dazai and Fyodor are so similar. That's established since their first interaction in the main manga. They are both highly intellectual geniuses who feel alienated from society. Dazai feeling alienated? Not a shocker if you've read his ability and it's shown in the 15 arc. (i.e. him shooting that guy from GSS over and over, and going “ah right, that's the right way to think" after Chuuya stopped him.) But Fyodor? Well, yes. It was practically stated by Ango during the DA and confirmed by Fyodor with his iconic counseling hour bit. That panel is not just for fun and giggles. It's Fyodor admitting that no one can quite understand him. Just as they can't understand Dazai.

They view themselves as being different from the rest of society; Dazai views himself as being below the other humans, and Fyodor views himself as being above and closer to God.

Both are also willing to go to great lengths to achieve their goals. Getting captured, killing, manipulation, using people, betraying allies, the list goes on and on. As they said in the alley, they are alike. And that's the reason they are each other's worst enemy. They are not yin and yang like Akutagawa and Atsushi, no, they are the opposite sides of the same coin. The reason why it's opposite? Well, aside from them being on opposing side of the war, it's because of their one difference.

Dazai found beauty in people being sinfully stupid while Fyodor despised it. Fyodor wants to cleanse that sin, but Dazai accepts it as part of people's humanity. But you know what's interesting?

“He is stupid. I am not disputing that, but perhaps the normal man should be stupid, how do you know? Perhaps it is very beautiful, in fact.” — Notes From The Underground

This is a line from one of IRL Fyodor's novels. I think that their conversation about stupidity comes from this. Who knows? Maybe Fyodor will have a change of heart in the end.

Their relationship

-They hate each other vs. it's nothing personal

I think it's clear by now that Dazai and Fyodor don't hate each other. There's nothing personal in their fights. It's Dazai wanting to fulfill Oda's last words and doing his job for the ADA, Fyodor is an enemy so he has to dispose of him. It's Fyodor wanting to achieve his goal, but Dazai is in his way so he has to eliminate him. They are rivals, sure, but they don't have the animosity sskk used to have.

It's all business. If Fyodor ever becomes like Verlaine, I doubt that Dazai will still kill him without a reason. If Dazai ever joins Fyodor's side, I don't think Fyodor will kill him either unless given a reason.

In fact, it looks like Fyodor doesn't even want to kill Dazai. Before you guys call me delusional, bear with me and read until the end, it will make sense. Of course, this is all speculation on my part.

In the Dead Apple, before Dazai merged with the dragon, Fyodor could have stopped him by dragging him down before he's high enough. Or he could stab him lethally to make sure he's dead and not rely on Shibusawa's poison. But he didn't. Fyodor just let everything play out as though he's testing Dazai. (And for entertainment)

In the alley scene, Fyodor knew Dazai would come for him and he ordered the sniper not to hit Dazai anywhere vital, but he didn't have to do that. Fyodor rationalized his action by saying that Dazai still had to tell the Armed Detective Agency about the fight against the Mafia. Did he need Dazai specifically to be his messenger though? He sent the Port Mafia a letter! Can't he do that for the ADA? Fyodor could have ordered his sniper to kill Dazai (Dazai still came anyway even knowing there's a sniper, he's suicidal like that lol or maybe he just knew Fyodor wouldn't kill him) and order someone to give the Agency the letter, but he didn't do that. Basically, they just exchanged information and Fyodor got Dazai out of the way, albeit temporarily, without killing him.

And then there's Meursault. Mushitaro said that Fyodor let himself get captured, although he looked genuinely shocked when Dazai caught him, and that may be because Dazai getting arrested was already planned from the moment Fyodor recruited Mushitaro.

Once again, getting Dazai out of the way without killing him, Fyodor planned to send him away from Yokohama. And so Dazai also let Jouno arrest him in order to get closer to Fyodor. But then, Nikolai came into the picture and started the prison break.

Now, if Fyodor really doesn't want to kill Dazai, then for what reason? It's simple. He wants Dazai to be his other half. And when he deemed Dazai unfit for it, after the whole prison break, he went to Atsushi.

-Their view of each other

Earlier, I mentioned how they view themselves, now it's how they view each other. Fyodor put Dazai on a pedestal and vice versa. Why? Because they view themselves as being different from the rest of society, but as the two outcasts who share a mutual understanding, they see each other as being the same kind. They said it time and again throughout the manga.

It's more apparent with Fyodor singling Dazai out of the world, but Dazai also regards him highly out of his every other enemy, because Fyodor is someone who can match him. Dazai's actively putting in effort and using everything he can (government, Port Mafia, The Guild, and even Sigma) to defeat Fyodor. They view each other as equals and don't treat each other as mere pawns. And that leads me to this next point.

-How they treat each other vs. how they treat others

Dazai treats Fyodor differently from the others. ie. Kunikida, Chuuya, Sigma, and Ango

Dazai has a habit of annoying his partners, withholding information, and manipulating them. He does it to Chuuya, Kunikida, and later on Sigma who he admits is a replacement for Kunikida. It's called the Dazai effect.

But he couldn't do that with Fyodor. Why? Because Fyodor is calm and rational like him, Dazai wouldn't be able to easily manipulate him. First, Fyodor wouldn't yell and punch him. Second, Fyodor would guess what information he's withholding rather than wait to be amazed or mad by it. That's literally their whole shtick. They would guess and anticipate the other's plan until they got surprised and then repeat. And third, unlike the rest who will still trust Dazai and even put their lives on the line for the sake of his plan, Dazai won't be able to just simply utilize Fyodor, as proven in the Dead Apple when Fyodor turned on him.

That's not to say fyozai don't get silly though. The prison arc is enough proof that they can. Their silliness is just on another level that others couldn't reach or understand. So to speak, Dazai is both more mature and childish when dealing with Fyodor. He's more natural and not putting on a happy-go-lucky mask.

Then there's Ango. Though he's not usually ship with Dazai, Ango and Fyodor have one similarity, that is that they both have a history with Dazai in the past. Unlike with Fyodor, we already knew what happened between Ango and Dazai, and even when they started talking again their friendship wasn't quite mended. What's interesting to compare here is their reunion. With Ango (and Mori in extension), we can still see a hint of hostility from Dazai, but there's none of that during the Dead Apple or the alley scene during the cannibalism arc with Fyodor. They're casual with each other. What can we take from that? That their previous meeting didn't end on a particularly bad note to warrant a resentment from Dazai.

Fyodor also treats Dazai differently from the others ie. Nikolai, Ivan, Shibusawa, Fukuzawa

Like Dazai, Fyodor is manipulative towards the people around him, whether they're allies or not. Fyodor always has control over the others, and as Dazai said, he can't trust those he cannot control, and that's why Fyodor has no real allies (compared to Dazai), they're just pawns for him to control. He manipulated everyone who ever got close to him (Shibusawa, Ivan, Nikolai, Fukuchi — to name a few) but there's an exception to that, because just as Dazai couldn't easily manipulate Fyodor, Fyodor also couldn't easily manipulate Dazai. And it works so well in their dynamic.

Now, on to his enemies. Fyodor has shown a lack of interest in his enemies, even the president of the ADA which is where Dazai currently belongs to, with the exception of Dazai and Atsushi. Although, Fyodor's interest in Atsushi has less to do with Atsushi himself, but to him being a bookmark, and that's what makes Atsushi and Dazai different. Because Dazai is not the bookmark, what makes him any different from Fukuzawa, who by all rights based on hierarchy should be the bigger fish? It's that Fyodor put Dazai on a pedestal. This also further proves my earlier claim of how they view each other.

Fyodor now thought that Dazai isn't fit to be his other half, but what happened when he went to Atsushi?

He's dissatisfied and disappointed because Atsushi didn't live up to his expectations and went on yapping about Dazai. And what can we take from that? It's that Fyodor wants Atsushi to surpass the standard Dazai set, especially since he houses the bookmark, to be his other half.

Why is fyozai a good ship?

-How they feel about one another

Do I need to say more? Really? Is that not good enough evidences?

Sounds familiar? If you're an MTP fan, it does. Fyozai is like a darker and doomed Sherliam.

-fyozai is NOT skk 4.0 or fyolai in a different flavor

As I stated above in their relationship, Fyozai is different from the rest of the ships. Of course, every ship has their own uniqueness to them. Soukoku with their unbreakable trust, Kunizai with their differing sense of justice and morality, Sigzai with their damsel in distress and knight in a criminal uniform, Dazaku with their codependency, Fyolai with their Judas theme, Shibufyo with their ghost bride shit etc etc. But the thing is, Fyodor and Dazai both treat each other differently than when they're with the rest. Dazai isn't constantly messing with Fyodor and Fyodor isn't controlling Dazai's moves. They stood on equal ground and planned each other’s downfall.

Also, Fyodor wants a challenge. Simply put, he's sick and tired of his monotonous life. Dazai's someone who can give him that and in return Fyodor can give Dazai a challenge to live for.

He smiled when he saw Dazai in prison!

Now, some might say “but they're toxic!" All of their respective ships are toxic tbh, but fyozai is actually good for each other because they bring out their humanity together, and like I stated above, they're both manipulators who can't manipulate each other easily. “But they tried to kill each other!" And so did the others. It's out of necessity and not because they hate each other. There is a reason why their ship is enemies and lovers duh.

-Their connection

Everyone likes to say that SKK understands each other, and while I admit that SKK matches each other perfectly (there's a reason why it's the most popular ship in the fandom), I hate to break it to you but fyozai is the one who truly understands each other. They relate to each other at a much deeper level; in their alienation from society, their shared intelligence, morality, and humanity.

“Living itself is the source of sin." — No Longer Human

This is a prime example of that. In Stormbringer, Chuuya hallucinated Dazai, and that Dazai was naturally created from his view of him in his mind. However, Chuuya didn't think the same way as Dazai and didn't agree with him, like he later on said. But you know who does?

Yes, everybody. It's your host Fyodor Dostoevsky!

“Dazai doesn't give a fuck about Fyodor!" you might say. But this point is still debatable due to a lack of POV from Dazai's side. However…

Dazai didn't look happy when Fyodor died. Like, his smile disappeared as soon as the helicopter moved, and then his expression went blank. Even his eye seem empty.

Then, if we based Dazai to Yozo from NLH, then he's someone who cannot love someone he cannot relate to. That's why he claims to hate Chuuya. Because Chuuya is so human.

Even if Dazai and Fyodor didn't spend years together, it's undeniable that they have a strong connection with each other. And that connection is also related to their abilities.

-Their abilities

No Longer Human

-Nullifies any ability with a touch

*Crime and Punishment

- The crime is killing Fyodor and the punishment is Fyodor taking over the killer's body

-In DA, Fyodor claims that he is Crime and his ability is Punishment, working side by side, however, in NLH Dazai supposes that Crime and Punishment are not synonymous, but antonymous. How will that work? We will put No Longer Human into the equation.

Punishment is not the result of crime, but the opposite of it. Fyodor's crime is living a long life as a consequence of the sin that's his ability, and so his punishment is death that can be granted by No Longer Human, releasing him from sin. However, there's another question that arises here. If death is not the opposite of life, but a part of it — the last part, the first part being birth — then what's the opposite of life? Well, I still don't have the answer to that other than non-existence. And if Fyodor dies he will cease to exist. Idk if I'm making sense. But that's it.

It's also possible that Fyodor wants Dazai to kill him in order for him to be at peace (aside from Atsushi who can tear through abilities with his claws, Dazai is the only one who can possibly kill Fyodor) and that may be part of the other half thing. It doesn't seem like Atsushi will kill Fyodor since from what we've seen they're still fighting the higher being two hours later. Unless, the higher being can move independently even if Fyodor's dead.

And Dazai will see that as courting! (Mentioned in the Dark Era about Gide 'courting' Oda) Also, Dazai started talking about double suicide after Oda died, so maybe he really doesn't want to die alone because it's lonely. If that's the case then a double suicide with Fyodor will satisfy the both of them.

And that's enough yapping from me. I won't call Fyozai underrated, but it definitely deserves more love and appreciation. I just wish that I did them justice with this analysis.

#bungou stray dogs #dazai #fyodor #analysis post #bsd #dazai osamu #fyodor dostoevsky #fyozai #dostozai

56 notes · View notes

lonelywretchjervistetch · 11 months ago

Text

The State Birds Initiative: New Jersey (#3)

Welcome to the third official poll of the State Birds Initiative! Before the poll, though, one thing real quick. My suggestion is that you read the post below before voting in the poll below. That's especially important if you're lacking any context about the birds being presented as the new (or old) State Bird of the Garden State, New Jersey. This is to be fully informed as to why these are being presented, and to make your choices appropriately. Lastly, some of these birds, you will notice, may go against some of the rules listed in the introduction post. All is explained after the jump where the explanations are, I promise you that. But with that...OK! Here's the poll! If you'd like to see the last post, check out Pennsylvania (Poll | Results)

So, with that done...New Jersey.

OK, I'll be honest, I have very little history with New Jersey. Only been there a few times, I've driven through it a decent number of times, and I mostly know it by reputation. But, uh...for whatever reason, every trip I take that requires me to go through New Jersey, NJ is the worst driving portion of that trip. Basically every time. Maybe that's a New Jersey turnpike problem, maybe that's unhappy coincidence. Hell, maybe it's conservation bias from being a New Yorker (upstate, but I've gone to the city regularly throughout my life). Or maybe it really is cultural reputation for New Jersey trickling in to my subconscious (looking at you, Jersey Shore). But either way...I have complicated feelings about New Jersey.

But this post is NOT about my personal geographic experience. Mostly. It's about birds! So, let's get into New Jersey objectively. Third state admitted into the union, state capital is Trenton, largest city is Newark, and it's the most densely populated state in the country. Famous for being the origin of electricity in civic infrastructure, as well as the home of their favorite son, Thomas Alva Edison. Which...when you learn more about the guy, makes you wonder about New Jersey as a whole. MOVING ON! It was a major staging point in the American Revolutionary War, and ever since, it's been all about freedom. Even though you can't pump your own gas there. Although, to their credit, the Statue of Liberty is actually technically in New Jersey waters. Yeah. That's absolutely true. But, like...it's spiritually a New York landmark, so we'll let it slide.

Now, here's the thing about New Jersey, seriously and truly. It has a bad reputation because of media and New York City. This is for two more specific reasons, from what I can tell. One, the New Jersey Turnpike sucks, and it smells like raw sewage due to its proximity to industrial factories and processing plants. And unfortunate way to experience the state, and the main way I've experienced New Jersey personally. So, that's one, and it's not indicative of the state's quality. Number two is simply the fact that it's a hub for commuters, with lots of people going to either NYC or Philadelphia for work. Because of that, Jersey itself gets pieces of their cultures combined, which also makes it a very easy target with a unique accent. So, not Jersey's fault.

In reality, it's quite a nice state with more natural area than you'd expect for somewhere so densely populated. New Jerseyans, unsurprisingly love their state...and aren't big fans of tourists, from discourse I see online. It's a small state, which makes it crowded enough. Plus, there are tourist attractions there. There's the massive American Dream Meadowlands mall, there's MetLife Stadium, there's Six Flags Great Adventure, there's...Trenton. Actually, no, Trenton sucks, I stand by that assessment. But it's also a highly diverse state, with the highest proportion of Hinduism followers in the country, as well as the densest collection of LGBTQ+ social centers (AKA gayborhoods), amongst other things. NJ does deserve more credit.

Now with that said, let's talk about the natural world of New Jersey, because there is a surprising amount to talk about. 45% of the land is covered in mixed deciduous-coniferous forest, which you've probably noticed is typical of the NE USA. Oak is our primary tree here, which is also probably why Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra) is the state tree. It also has some major ecological features that are well known for its natural advantages. Cape May is a seaside city and vacation resort, but also one of the most well-known and important sites for birders from the United States during migration seasons, making it immediately prominent for this post. Great Swamp NWR in the north is the first wilderness area ever designated by Congress, and also serves as a major refuge for birds during the breeding season for various reasons. And maybe most importantly, the New Jersey Pine Barrens are the largest remaining pine barrens in the NE USA, and act as a bastion of diversity. More on this later, I promise; there's a species entry dedicated to this unique environment.

And that's not all to talk about here. NJ's environment needs some focus for a number of reasons, not least of which being that the state has more toxic waste dump sites than any other state in the Union, which are the focus of the federal Superfund environmental remediation program. Yeah, there's some cleanup that needs to happen in the state, especially as it is so small. Of 150 federally listed sites, only 35 have been cleaned up since the 1970s. So, yeah. We should get on that, please. But with that said, NJ has relatively low carbon dioxide emissions compared to other states, they're seventh in solar power, and get most of their electricity from natural gas and nuclear power. So, it's a greenish state that could be a lot greener.

There's a lot to talk about for such a small state, it would seem. Let's not linger about, and let's get on with the show here! I'm honestly kind of excited. Birds after the jump!!!

American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)

Let's kick things off by talking about the incumbent, the American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis). Now, why was the American Goldfinch chosen as the State Bird of New Jersey in 1935? Easy answer: favoritism. The bird was nominated as the only candidate by the New Jersey Audubon Society because...it was their mascot at the time. Yeah. That's it. In reality, the New Jersey State Bird is the New Jersey Audubon Society. And even then, it's officially lost its relevancy, because that's not their mascot anymore. More on that later.

What's actually worse about the goldfinch here is...for some reason, not a lot of New Jerseyans have actually seen them. Part of the reason for this entire series, by the way is this Reddit post, which stoked the fires that had long been simmering deep within my soul. OK, not that deep, but still. Anyway, the header of that post is that the OP had barely ever seen an American Goldfinch, despite being a native. I thought that was insane (and said as much in my comments), because this is a ridiculously common bird, especially for birdwatchers. But, uh...I've looked into since then. And only 0.4% of its global breeding population resides in the state. What's crazy is, this is a common sentiment amongst New Jerseyans. They just...haven't seen this bird. And obviously, that/s not every new Jerseyan, and a lot have reported seeing it. But to be honest...is this bird really worth being called the State Bird of New Jersey?

OK, can we make the American Goldfinch make sense in retrospect? Let's see, they're a highly social finch species throughout the year, living in dense colonies in the spring and summer especially. The males are late breeders with ornate flying displays meant to attract females, and may group territories with other males to defend against predators. And they're an open secondary growth forest specialist that live in the state year-round, including during the breeding season. Which means...well, actually, it means that they're perfectly suited to live in New Jersey, funnily enough.

Hear me out here. There are two things that goldfinches love most: forest clearings and weeds. New Jersey may be 45% covered in forest, but it does have deforestation as a minor problem around its settlements. However, that's not a problem for the goldfinch, who thrives in secondary growth forests that occur as a result of succession. Given an attempt in recent decades to recover New Jersey's forests, this means the goldfinch is a potential symbol of these efforts. Plus, its love of the seeds that come from flowers that are pest plants, like dandelion, thistle, ragweed, and cosmos, make it a potentially attractive bird for gardeners of the state to attract, especially as those plants thrive in open fields during stages of succession!

...YES I'M STRETCHING MORE THAN AN AUSTRALIAN BREAKDANCER WITH A DOCTORATE TRYING TO MAKE A POINT, BUT WHAT ELSE AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THIS MASCOT OF AN ORGANIZATION NAMED AFTER A SLAVE-OWNER???

So...moving on.

Clapper Rail (Rallus crepitans)

While the majority of natural New Jersey is covered in forest, it still has a fairly important habitat in the form of the saltmarsh. Just to get the definition in place early, a saltmarsh is essentially what it sounds like: a vegetation-dominated coastal biome with salt and brackish water, salt-tolerant grasses and plants, and the animals that depend on such. They're coastline preservers, trapping and binding sediment as it makes its way to and from the ocean, and acting as a major supply for the food web along the coasts. They're incredibly important habitats, and this will not be (and have not been) the last time you've seen them during the State Birds Initiative.

Now, obviously, these habitats are chockful of birds. New Jersey has a few major salt flats along its coast, all of which shelter some major breeding populations of birds. One of these species is the Clapper Rail (Rallus crepitans), which is our eBird-sponsored pick of this poll. Clapper Rails have 13% of their global population in New Jersey saltmarshes, meaning they're quite dependent on this unique habitat, and most of their population breeds in the state. Some people may never have seen or heard of a rail, but in case you're one of those people, just know that they're a smaller semi-aquatic relative of cranes. If you've seen a coot, moorhen, or gallinule, then you've seen a rail! And the Clapper Rail is a crustacean-eating, saltmarsh-loving, new Jersey-dependent example. And that said...it is kinda boring looking to the average person.

Don't take me wrong! For me, this bird is fantastic, and would actually be a lifer for me, personally. But the average non-birder? Look, in instances like this, I usually tap into the part of my brain my fiancee lives in rent-free, and all I can hear is her shouting "LONG DUCK LONG DUCK" over and over. I love these guys, but I'm not sure they'd resonate with the public. Plus, as far as saltmarshes go, these are good representatives, but I'm not sure they're the best. Are these a good New Jersey representative? Possibly, since they represent a major ecosystem in the state, and that is important. But I'll leave that question to you all. Moving on!

Cape May Warbler (Setophaga tigrina)

OK, onto the category of birds that are named after the state, and New Jersey has one of those! The Cape May Warbler (Setophaga tigrina) is so-named because the first specimen described by Alexander Wilson was collected in Cape May, New Jersey by George Ord. That said, it's certainly a unique warbler, easily recognizable, and dependent upon conifer forests dominated by spruce, which the Pine Barrens are...not. Still, an iconic bird in New Jersey! Except...wait, hold on...ah. It doesn't breed in the state. In fact, after it was described from a Cape May specimen, it wasn't seen in the area again for...a century. So...yeah, it's named after a major location in the state, known for birds at that, and yet it's barely found there?Love this bird, but...maybe think about renaming it one of these days.

Pine Warbler (Setophaga pinus)

Now, the Pine Warbler (Setophaga pinus), on the other hand, that's a better warbler representative of New Jersey. Well, sort of. To be fair, the Pine Warbler only has 1% of its global breeding population in New Jersey, so the state isn't a bastion or reservoir for the species. However, there is a major reservoir of the species in the New Jersey Pine Barrens, which I'd mentioned earlier. And hey, Pine Barrens, Pine Warbler...slam dunk for representation of the habitat right there. And yeah, that's absolutely relevant to the species as a whole. They live, eat, and breed in pine-dominated forests, exactly like (and including) the Pine Barrens. It's actually listed as a "Significant Congregation" species by the New Jersey Audubon Society.

And as for making a good State Bird of New Jersey? It's a notable bird, even keeping the goldfinch's yellow with white wing bars. It's not terribly difficult to find, especially during the breeding season in areas like the Pine Barrens. And hey, they're even well-known to live with other species, making them an important biodiversity indicator for conservation purposes. Plus, if people go out to look for the Pine Warbler in the wild, they'll likely encounter other species like the Blackburnian Warbler (Setophaga fusca) or the Tennessee Warbler (Leiothlypis peregrina), amongst others. Fostering interest in birdwatching by chance! It works in a conservation sense...but I don't know that it's particularly emblematic of New Jersey, to be fair.

Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonicus)

Now, here's an interesting choice! If the current State Bird, the American Goldfinch, was chosen because it was the mascot for the New Jersey Audubon Society at the time, then by that logic, their current mascot should actually be the State Bird of New Jersey. And so, in that case, may I present to you the current mascot of the NJ Audubon Scoiety, and the next candidate for State Bird...the...is that a Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonicus)? Yeah, looks like it, and some sources I have confirm that's the case. But, uh...why?

Let me be really clear about something first off: I adore the Northern Harrier. Also caleld the marsh hawk, they're a beautiful raptor native to brackish and salt mashes, as well as grasslands and fields, hunting small mammals, insects, and the occasional bird. They're one of the few accipiters that are silent fliers, ambushing prey from above like owls. They even have the disc-like face. They're one of the new North American raptors with sexual dimorphism (the smoky gray male is pictured above, as compared to the brown females), and their iconic coloration has given them the nickname of the Gray Ghost. WHICH IS BADASS. They're also one of the only polygynous raptors, meaning a male can mate with several females in a given season, nesting on the ground and hatching chicks. Because of their unique relationships, some indigenous peoples see them as a symbol of healthy marriage. Finally, these are considered good for agriculture, as they eat rodents and not chicken. I love harriers, they're super neat birds, and it's always a pleasure to see them in the wild. Also, they DROWN THEIR PREY!!! What the hell! That's terrifying!

OK, harriers are cool, but do they have a relevance to New Jersey outside of being the logo of New jersey Audubon? Well...they do breed there...barely. But they've been observed doing so, so that counts. They represent key habitats in the state of New Jersey, so that's great. Their certainly charismatic enough (GRAY GHOST), and they've got nationwide conservation concern as an endangered species. So, it has those qualities going for it as the State Bird candidate. We'll see what the poll says. In the meantime, let's move on!

Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla)

Y'know, my original plan was to put the Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) in this list as well...and then, I stumbled upon a fun fact. The black-headed cousin of the Ring-billed Gull, and Laughing Gull, is a regular traveler to New Jersey, and in fact has a colony right off of the Jersey Shore, making them a fairly well-known and recognizable resident of an iconic area of the state. But pretty importantly, the species has a pretty massive breeding population in New Jersey. 5% of the breeding population of the species are in southern NJ, which isn’t the bulwark of their breeding population in the USA (that'd be Louisiana, according the eBird Status and Trends), but it's still a significant portion.

That said, the Laughing Gull is a recognizable member of the New Jersey shore community, and I mean the term "community" in multiple contexts. Ecologically, they're omnivorous scavengers that are well-adapted to living in a densely populated state, as well as in saltmarshes and other coastal environments throughout New Jersey. Sociologically, they hang around human settlements so much that they see opportunities in human hands...literally. The Laughing Gulls of the Jersey Shore are pretty notorious for stealing food out of the hands of beachgoers and boardwalk visitors. There are even boardwalk restaurants with signs saying they won't offer refunds if your food is stolen by a gull. They're SO notorious, in fact, that falconers have been hired to use their falcons to drive away these birds. And honestly...that's a shame. After all, the Laughing Gulls are such prominent citizens that humans have had to adjust to them.

But that said...I'm gonna quote Brian Donahue, the reporter at the end of the video/new report I linked to above...because it's hilarious, and it makes an interesting statement that I think people from New Jersey should think about. Read the quote, but trust that I have a somewhat well-thought out idea supporting it.

Derided as "flying rats" by many, I think it's time to reconsider the Laughing Gull, because if things haters say about Laughing Gulls (they're loud, feisty, there's too many of them... (Interviewee Kathy McCarey): They're rude...they're very demanding...and they come for what they want...I don't like 'em.) ...are the same things haters often say about New Jerseyans. Laughing Gulls are us. They deserve more respect.

youtube

Look, as extremely funny as that point is...there's a point about that statement. That is something that people say about New Jerseyans! They live in a state full of garbage, they're obnoxious and loud, all of that kinds thing. And New Jerseyans love their state as much as anybody else; SO MUCH, in fact, that many people online say they actually love that stereotype, because it means that people STAY OUT OF THEIR STATE. Funny or not, true or not...there's a point there. Laughing Gulls, as with all gulls, have a bad reputation, which is mostly undeserved. They're opportunists trying to feed themselves and their young, who see a smorgasbord of food right in front of them, in their neighborhood! In their place, what would YOU do? Honestly, these guys are a solid contender for that reason alone.

Plus, honestly...it's kinda funny.

Saltmarsh Sparrow (Ammospiza caudacuta)

Finally, let's look at the conservation focus for this post: the Saltmarsh Sparrow (Ammospiza caudacuta). So, this is a pretty big one, especially when looking at New Jersey. A full 32% of the species' global population breeds in this state, which is, frankly, a MASSIVE proportion of any species. What's more, they're considered an endangered species, which immediately makes this an impressive contender for the State Bird of New Jersey. And as one of the most endangered species in the Eastern USA, not to mention a species of immense scientific interest for ecological and genomic reasons, this bird should get some attention by the public and federal government.

However...and this is a point to be made here...it's not exactly the most iconic bird for non-birders. As a birder who would kill to get this on his lifelist (I AM WORKING ON IT, LITERALLY TOMORROW AS I AM TYPING THIS), this is a prominent bird within certain communities. And to others? Ugh, this is gonna hurt me to say, you have no idea, but...it's a sparrow. It may be a little harder for people to become attached to a sparrow, and even more difficult for people to recognize the Saltmarsh Sparrow specifically.

Don't believe that this matters? Do me a favor, bird people. Show your non-bird friends Bird A, Bird B, and Bird C. Ask them how many different species you showed them. I'm willing to bet the especially observant will say 2. The less observant are gonna say 1. And throw in these top two pictures, while you're at it. I'm willing to bet you'll still get a 2 or 3. Because, unfortunately, to many people, sparrows all look pretty similar. And going forward, that's something we'll have to keep in mind: a unique appearance. What makes a bird iconic is also in its uniqueness and identifiability. And sure, maybe I'm not giving the average person enough credit, but we're also talking about children. I've said it before and I'll say it many times over: kids are important targets to consider when choosing natural State Symbols. And I really don't know how many adults could tell the difference between some sparrows, even professionals. And, uh...the Saltmarsh Sparrow is a very important example of this, because it wasn't even a species until the '90s.

Oh, and kudos to those of you who caught on immediately to my little trick up there. Probably a good amount of you noticed it, but if you didn't...there are five species of sparrows shown in this post. The two birds pictured in the post? Different species. Yeah, hearing that now makes that more obvious, but you may not have noticed it immediately. The first bird pictured is indeed the Saltmarsh Sparrow. The second bird, however, is the Nelson's Sparrow (Ammospiza nelsoni), which was once considered the same species as the Saltmarsh Sparrow. Dirty question, I know, but it's also found in New Jersey. Not a breeder there, but it's enough to cause a bit of confusion. See what I mean?

Oh, as for the rest, Bird A is LeConte's Sparrow (Ammospiza leconteii), Bird B is a Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis), and Bird C is a Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum).

Please understand, bird-peeps: I hate making this argument. Genuinely. The New World sparrows are a wonderful group, and a really fun one to play around with and hunt down as a birder. And don't worry, sparrows will be getting a mention in my personal list. But as for the State Bird? I'll let you all decide.

And with that, that's the end of this post! I miss any big ones? Make any leaps a bit too big? Feel free to let me know! In the meantime, stay tuned for State #4 - Georgia! Wait...wait, the fourth state to be admitted into the Union was Georgia? Huh. Go figure.

See you next time, and happy birding!

Introduction to the State Birds Initiative

138 notes · View notes

immarble · 29 days ago

Text

If the 141 aren’t in the military, shooting people to death for the greater good, what would their other jobs be?

Hi again! Back at it again at Krispy Kreme with me rambling about more head canons! This time it’s what their other jobs may be if the 141 aren’t shooting people and y’know, all that military jazz. Not gonna lie, this may be somewhat important for my fic that I’m creating, so I thought why not kill two birds with one stone? Not only for me to give these characters an actual life along with their personalities (especially Soap and Gaz, as they’re the main characters of my WIP which I won’t disclose, it’s a spoiler lol), but also for you to enjoy and maybe, just maybe might be similar with my own interpretation (however if you have any different kinds of head canons of the characters mentioned then by all means, please comment on what their jobs would be! It’ll be interesting to know everyone’s ideas, and I love to hear from you gremlins!)

Anyways, let’s get started! Once again, from my previous head canon ramble I’ll be using the five (Price, Ghost, Gaz, Soap and Roach), but like my previous post you can ask me on different characters that I can do and I'd be happy to yap, (same goes with the previous post!)

Price: Captain… Of the football team!

(Fooled ya.)

So when I was making this I was like, “Y'know, I could make Peepaw Price become a captain again," So why not make him a star football player? I saw a fanart of Price competing in football (I wish I tell y'all who the artist was so I can praise their work and give ‘em all the kudos LMAO), but I thought it was fitting for him y'know? Like just imagine him grabbing wins and trophies because his team (can be any, whether it'd be the 141 or different characters) are the best of the best.

Ghost: Detective..?

Honestly? He gives either L.A. Noire or Sherlock Holmes vibes, take your pick. Anyways, I think Simon would be a pretty well known detective, who leaves no stone unturned and his methods are… Mysterious, to say the least. Rumors say that he may be a serial killer, like the infamous Dexter, but nobody could know if he's part of it or not. (And besides, you shouldn't question The Ghost… Lest you don't want to be the headline of a news article.)

Gaz: Model

Gucci, Prada, YSL, Abercrombie and Fitch. Whatever the brand is, if there's a new clothing article coming out then Kyle's your model. He makes rather mundane pieces and jewelry work like a charm, as people flock to the socials for that new accessory or shirt (hell, even a fucking DRESS), as YouTube videos and Tiktoks always chant his name like he's Jesus Christ of the modelling industry. He knows it, and he fucking loves it. Ooh and don't remind me about the red carpets and the award shows, if you see him then you just know he's rocking out in brands that could pay off your mortgage, in beautiful dresses or crisp suits. Hell, you may even spot him mingling with the stars, (have you seen him chatting it up with Price during the Oscars? Vogue did a news article just last week.)

Soap: Bartender

Now before you ask, I don't think he'd work in some dive pub in some bumfuck, no where. No, I'd think he would work in a pretty well-known spot in England (forgot to mention, but all of them work in the UK), whether it'd be Piccadilly Circus or Manchester, he's there workin’ his charm and giving great service. Now he probably wouldn't in a busy nightclub, just somewhere nice enough where there's enough customers to keep it buzzing as his Scottish brogue works on the regulars and the newcomers who's here for good times and great drinks. (And hell, maybe one day he can make it big, either in comedy or an actor… But for now, there's patrons to serve and tips to be earned.)

(artist by the amazing arizona.mint.tea, SEND THEM LOVE RAHHH!!!) ((sorry if y'all are expecting a roach gif, with the rainbows and shit. i couldn't stand it 💀))

Roach: Sign Language Interpreter

Hah, you'd think Gary, someone who cannot speak, would NOT work in BSL? Think again. A simple job really, all he has to do is sign either a news segment, a show or heck, if he's lucky, at the Superbowl. And besides, if he's lucky he could be the next Justina Miles. (If you don't know her, she was the sign language interpreter from the Rihanna Superbowl concert.) Oh, and if he's really lucky, he's been looking for dance groups and he may or may not have a spot for a pretty well-known play happening next month...

And that's pretty much it! It's a bit quicker than my previous post, but honestly I think I want something short and sweet, so I hope you like it in this way. Once again I hope you enjoy my interpretations, and please comment on whatever you like or if you have any headcanons of these boys and I'll catch y'all later! (Gonna go rot in my bedroom rn, squealing at new edits, fanart and fanfiction…)

44 notes · View notes

unholyhelbig · 25 days ago

Note

Dude your kate bishop backstory post was literally amazing as someone who has been obsessed with kate since the show and didn't know where to start.

I would absolutely love if you told us more about the kate archives that you have 💜✨️

Thank you so much! I know that comics can be confusing, especially when they are constantly relaunching and reworking characters. Unfortunately, there isn’t too much done for Kate’s overall character arch but she sure as hell has a lot of side quests, so I’ll tackle those adventures!

Check out the first post here

Dark Reign: The Young Avengers

Marvel has a lot of widespread events within their comics that deviate from original story lines and flip the world on it’s head. Dark Reign was one of these events that spanned multiple characters and series. It follows the world after Secret Invasion where Tony Stark is removed as the director of SHIELD and security is taken over by Norman Oswald (Green Goblin) of all people. Norman created his own teams, and that included a villain based Young Avengers. Kate fights along with the rest of the Young Avengers to dismantle this new group. It’s an easy five issue read released in 2009 if you’re inclined.

The Arch Nemisis

Right, so I’m technically cheating here. In the last post, I talked about how worth it, it is to read any of the Matt Fraction comics that focus on Hawkeye. The adventure that Kate and Clint go on as a duo focuses on getting a tape back that incriminates Clint as Ronin (very Hawkeye series). But, I figured it was worth mentioning because this is how Kate gets who I consider her main Nemesis.

Madame Masque has no qualms against Kate until she’s knocked out by the archer and wakes up with her clothes stolen. This kind of sets Madame Masque on a warpath after Kate for the remainder of her runs. She’s the main villain (with a freaky ass circus in tow) through Kate’s adventures in LA (even going as far as pretending to be Kate and making out with Clint. Gross, I know.) Her latest act of villainy is revisited in Kate’s latest run. She’ll never escape this woman!

The 2013 Fling

This is quite possibly the third best version of Kate Bishop. In 2013 a new lineup of Young Avengers took center stage, while still paying homage to the original group: Kate Bishop, America Chavez, Noh Varr, Wiccan, Hulkling, and Kid Loki all join forces as skrulls begin to infiltrate their lives by replacing their parents.

This is a fifteen issue run, and you don’t need to have any context towards the Young Avengers to enjoy the fun story-line and the art style, which is one of the best for Kate. Trigger warning though: She is with a man. Sort of. It gets a little gay at the end. (We all know Kate has never dated a straight man, and yes, this has been confirmed as cannon.)

Hawkeye vs. Deadpool

This is another guilty pleasure for me, and another five comic run that you don’t need any context for. It’s a Halloween special! And in my opinion has the closest Kate you can get to MCU Kate. She’s clumsy, speaks before she knows exactly what she’s saying, and gains a best friend out of Wade Wilson. This series isn’t all fun, however, it’s one of the only times Clint’s mental health is discussed, and really shows off Kate’s relationship with him.

More fucking Circus Performers??

The 2021 run of Hawkeye was released in succession with the show, which kind of overshadowed it’s fun art style and plot lines. But, I must say, get Kate Bishop away from cults 2k25! Our girl is a little too kind and gullible to be thrown into these situations! When she shows up with Lucky to a wellness spa that Susan is staying at, she realizes that people are being mind controlled.

This is a particular weak spot for me when it comes to Kate. Her sister was written out of the show entirely, but in the comics, she has such a complicated relationship with her and this series furthers that for the first time in years. It’s a standalone run and totally worth the read.

Bonus: Marvel Meow (Ongoing)

Marvel Unlimited is a series of comics that read vertically and are only released on the Marvel Unlimited app (I’m not promoting it, but It does have all of the marvel comics ever available to read and is how I stay current in a town with no comic shop). Marvel Meow is a fun little series that follows all of the cats of the marvel universe.

Kate always seems to be put in charge of watching Alpine, Goose, and Liho the chaotic kitties of Bucky Barnes, Natasha Romanoff, and Carol Danvers. She’s… really fucking bad at it. Lucky is most definitely more her speed, but I recommend giving it a read if you have it at your disposal.

Bonus: It's Jeff, Venom Wars: It's Jeff, Jeff Week

This is another Marvel Unlimited series that has captured the heart of so many readers. It’s written by Kelly Thompson, who is responsible for the 2016 Kate Bishop run, which was one of the best. Technically, Jeff the Landshark was introduced in West Coast Avengers, a team led by Kate herself, but he really shines in this series.

Kate Bishop coparents Jeff with Gwenpool and there is a element of them both in most of the comics, if not all of them. For all intents and purposes, it’s been confirmed that Jeff is Kate’s pet along with Lucky, and he puts her through more headaches than she can count.

Okay... I'm done for now. There are more cults I could touch on, and if people are interested, I totally will. We haven't even really talked about both of her evil parents. (Protect America Chavez from Vampire Eleanor Bishop, she is not a cult sacrifice people!)

#Kate Bishop #Kate Bishop comics #Deadpool #Deadpool comics #Clint Barton #Hawkeye #Marvel comics #It's jeff #Marvel meow #Young Avengers #America Chavez #Cassie Lang #Wiccan and speed #Noh varr #hulkling #teddy altman #billy kaplan

39 notes · View notes

autisticandroids · 10 months ago

Text

free space: "i forgor"

this is for fics that should have been on my other reclists for @spnficrecfest but, well, i forgor.

my other reclists are in this tag.

this list will be ordered by wordcount, but it will also be by category.

should have been on my season six reclist:

what a brave little ant you are by withthekeyisking, 2k

dean goes about his life. cas pops in, from time to time. dean is soooooo mad about it. the salmondean of it all is good too. great stuff. destiel.

there are no lies on your body by tiptoe39, 6k

post godstiel, cas is a poor little meow meow. dean's poor little meow meow. destiel.

the law of conservation of energy by peroxidepest17, 90k

an oldschool "what if cas capitulated in the man who would be king and they had to come up with a different plan" type fic. im kind of obsessed with this one. like the ways in which it's good and the ways in which it's weird. destiel.

should have been on my season nine reclist:

i shall not want by domesticadventures, 20k

a little season nine bunker depressionfic with good brother conflict.

should have been on my true au reclist:

apr��s moi, le deluge by allthismusic, 11k

dean is an innocent hiker, and after he messes up his foot, he and his brother happen upon a nice cabin with a friendly cas inside. destiel. horror.

the fix by luulapants, 12k so far, chose not to warn

an au where dean is a conservative politician and cas is a fixer. this is like, the fic i have been longing for for literal years, and i can't think of a better author to take on the topic. wip, but my experience is that luulapants will finish what she starts. destiel

lillith's fayre by all_the_damned_vampires, 17k, chose not to warn

a strange and wonderful fic with a lot of fun character stuff. meg is the main character, and she's joined by casey and lenore, two favorite side characters from the early seasons. and cas, of course. it's a whole polycule thing. they're in the circus in the nineties. the demon circus. i was particularly compelled by lenore's characterization.

should have been on my canon-a-little-to-the-left reclist:

in the twilight kingdom by argentnoelle, 48k, violence and noncon warnings plus chose not to warn

so i am actually currently enjoying this fic right now and im not done with it. i'm like halfway through? which is maybe against the spirit of things. but im REALLY liking it so far. it's a rewrite of seasons four and five which takes place mainly in hell. deanalastair, destiel, megstiel, and deancasmeg. the deanalastair parts are particularly compelling to me because they're like written like, you know. it reads like a sugar daddy thing. except of course you know how things started. you KNOW. sickeninggggg. and of course dean and meg are brainwashing themselves a castiel. which i'm greatly enjoying so far.

should have been on my rarepair reclist:

a rock with a hole in it by de_nugis, 11k

cas has an interlude with soulless sam in fairyland. a kind of fascinating, unsettling pastoralism. and it's not even set in season six. sastiel, unrequited destiel.

should have been on my outsider pov reclist:

leave my body, moving up to higher ground by trieduntrue, 17k

post godstiel, cas has to switch vessels. an adventure from the point of view of the vessel. i'm kind of obsessed with this author. the vessel character is so charming to me, i enjoy her. yes: this is a female vessel cas fic, lol. destiel.

#spnficrecfest #spn

67 notes · View notes

tbob-enthusiast · 3 months ago

Text

NEW AU 🎸💥💥💥

In which Robbie becomes the main s1 antagonist because he got J2 and a magic amulet instead of Gideon :]. Which is why I named the AU: "Villain Switch!"

I knew I wanted Robbie's "amulet" to be different from Gideon's telekinesis/telepathy amulet, so @thecluelessdoctor helped me by suggesting it to be a guitar pick!

I call it "Banshee's Blessing" and it grants a lot of sound-based magic to whoever uses it to play :] !!! Mostly he uses it to charm crowds in order to get money for his band HEHEHE.

This guy's deranged! I love him!

Here's some more info if you'd like to know about it:

- I love the idea of Gideon having been a nerdy, lonely kid before finding J2, and once he got it, he got a confidence boost because of the power he gained (with his amulet, he was untouchable! And everyone who was ever mean to him could pay for it!! Mwahahaha!!)

- I believe the same thing happened to Robbie in this AU. He WAS just some guy before, but once he got his lucky guitar pick? His music was beloved by everyone! He had power like he's never had before and now he and his band can be the best ever!

- That's why this Robbie's design is so different. It's big and loud and it's meant to look like the most eye-catching thing in a room, because now he wants to be seen, heard, noticed! He's powerful now and since anything he says is validated (thanks to the magic-given charisma boost lmao), he feels super confident.

- Unfortunately, Gideon doesn't have that same confidence because he never got J2. He still performs for his dad's business, but he has complicated feelings about "Lil' Gideon". It's a mask, a show, but it's pretty much the only way he ever gets any sort of positive attention. His "real" self doesn't even keep the pompadour! @thecluelessdoctor made a design for him, but I won't post it for them hehehe

- I like that they're both bullies, in a way. Gideon's been bullied for a while and he's not just a harmless loser, he's vengeful! He wants to make his oppressors feel what it's like to be on the bottom! Robbie however wants to feel important. He likes the validation of being adored, and most of all he loves the attention, both the good attention (like crowds whenever he plays a song), and the bad attention (like the way kids will cower upon seeing him and his band, because he got a reputation of being a mega jerk to those who aren't charmed by his music). I find it fun that Robbie could and would bully other people while also getting unreasonably upset at anyone else bullying others 😭 like bro THAT'S HIS TURF !! ("who the hell do you think you are ???? Stop messing with a little kid, you circus clown! Pick on someone your own size! Yeah, so what that I have beef with two 12 year olds? THOSE 12yos are ASSHOLES. THIS kid you're harassing is just a kid, you wet blanket ass jerk 😡 get outta here before I drag you to my family's morgue 💥💥💥💥💥💥")

This is all still a WIP, but I really like this concept, man.

Also a lovely little detail:

Plus a few sketches and doodles!

Oh I have such plans for this guy. Here's a peek into his future:

#gravity falls #gravity falls au #robbie valentino #gf au #gravity falls robbie #gf robbie #gideon gleeful #gf gideon #gravity falls gideon #gravity falls thompson #gf thompson

20 notes · View notes

ask-funnybunnydoll · 1 year ago

Text

Hi!

I think I have to move on.

You may have noticed that all of a sudden my posts have become less and less frequent. That's not on purpose I simply don't have the motivation to keep this ask blog going. I made this blog at the peak of my TADC hyperfixation because I knew it would give me the boost to work. At the start I made like, what? 2 a day, wowzas! Then it became like every other day posts. It's not that I don't enjoy the blog, the ship, the asks. Hell, the asks were the best part of this, I love just seeing what you guys come up with for these three and I get to do the even more fun part of drawing the answer.

But I still have no motivation to keep this going. And I have fixated on something else if you follow my main.

So, thank you for being here and still liking my posts even if I hadn't posted often. This was the most fun I've had and being my first ask blog I ever created just makes it more important to me.

I probably won't ever revive this blog but I'll keep it open for you. And if you want to see what the story I originally planned out was gonna be then check below the cut! Or if you wanna stay curious and theorize then just scroll by. Thank you again, hope ya have a great day and year. I hope my shit was at least okay to you.

I'm not gonna lie. Most of the stuff was just created along the way of drawing. I was like, huh this would be cool let's add that in. And ofc I didn't get to any juicy lore in this but it would've been rushed because I didn't plan beforehand... which you probably could tell xd

For Pomni, here's the plot twist: she's dead and her conscience was updated into the game to keep her somewhat alive. She worked in the place that created the game, she even took part in putting people in there. The entire game was just an expirement to test if immortality was possible, but of course.. everyone goes insane in there so they have to keep on and keep on trying with more and more people to get anywhere. They wait until someone goes to edge of absolute insanity and that's when they take them out of the game, their bodies are still kept alive and they go back to normal. They forget everything that happened while in the game. For Pomni she died just after her conscience was converted to the game, for others they were forced to go while alive. Who killed Pomni? Well, her boss, the head of the experimentation. Why? Idk 😭

For Jax, I gave him a dark story. He was isolated in his home and kept away from the outside world, which is why he lacks empathy, because he simply doesn't know how to feel that way when he never really had knowledge of emotions outside or even inside his home. His father was emotionally and physically ab4sive so.. that didn't help. He latched onto his mother the most but they never saw eachother often. That's all I had for him in mind.

For Ragatha, she lived in the country on her own land with her husband. Yup! She had a husband and a daughter too. Husband was a total jerk and she couldn't leave because she didn't want their kid to experience separated parents. She's a doll in the game because it resembles the doll she made for her daughter.

I also had some plot that I made up in my mind. Like.... Pomni at the end would be the last one alone in the digital circus. That being since she's dead she would just be yknow. Dead if she left the game. Jax and Ragatha leave but only because Pomni forces them. Again don't know how, I probably would have made it up while I went along with the story. So, Pomni is just there alone, with Caine. And she lives like that for eternity. She doesn't go insane anymore and it isn't as lonely as it used to feel like. It would feel like home kind of. But she would be there, longing for her partners forever unless she decides one day to just. Yknow, die..

Also since Jax and Ragatha would forget everything after they leave the game, they just don't remember they were in a relationship and would live their lives like before. Sad and lonely.

Goodness, I forget I make the most sad stories ever sometimes 😭

#thank you #anyway who wants to go get angel food cake 😍😍

79 notes · View notes

duckie-darling · 1 year ago

Text

Worth the Effort

Lucifer x gn! sinner reader (may skew more f! reader in later chapters)

Chapter 1: Slow burn, Fluff (for now), post season 1, 4.5k words.

1 of (at least) 5 chapters

Inspired by the very specific intersection of Luci hyperfixation and youtube hoof care videos and relating way too hard to this silly, sad little man.

Summary: During the upswings of depression, the King of Hell's love language is breakfast and over the top circus puns. But on the downswings, he needs help remembering that he matters, too.

It was hard to identify the smell wafting through your hotel room, beckoning you away from your dreams and out from under the covers. The streets of hell were often smoky with the faint burning smell of dumpster fires or smoldering brimstone. But this was a little different. Almost pleasant. Almost comforting.

You rolled over to your other side, trying to will yourself back to sleep. It was too early to deal with a fire in the hotel. Surely if it were serious there’d be screaming, right? And besides, if it was anything besides the viridian hell-fires hungry for the flesh of sinners, then it would be fine. It wouldn’t actually hurt the sinners in the hotel, just the hotel itself. Right?

But after a few minutes of trying and failing to fall back into slumber, your growling stomach convinced you that it’s not likely to happen. You reluctantly kicked the blankets down off of your body and laid there, soaking in the comfort for a moment longer.

You hadn’t been a guest at the princess of Hell’s hotel that long. Long enough to fall into somewhat of a routine, but not long enough for the absolute decadence of the plush pillow and feather-soft sheets to have worn off. Not long enough for the quiet and solitude of a room all to yourself to stop being exquisite. Not long enough to forget what it was like to be out on those streets, a hapless sinner trying to dodge knives and bullets and bad deals. No, the privilege of this room and this place hadn’t worn off yet, so you chose to soak in a few more seconds with your head on a pillow behind a securely locked door.

Although, your stomach disagreed.

Finally giving in to its demands, you reluctantly shuffled to your feet and flicked on the bedside lamp with a yawn, limply rubbing sleep from your eyes. The smell had turned from something your brain detected as burning into instead something sweet, slightly smoky, and inviting. Someone was probably making themselves breakfast, and according to your stomach, you should follow suit.

You had come here with only the clothes on your back and whatever of your belongings weren’t pinched by pickpockets. So at least the added step of having to change out of pajamas wasn’t keeping you from breakfast! Turns out there’s a bright side to having not a single possession to your name.

But you still felt the need to make yourself look like you hadn’t just rolled out of bed before facing the world outside that door. The princess didn’t really seem like the kind to kick someone out for messy appearances, but you couldn’t afford to take any chances.

So your stomach continued to murmur as you trudged to the bathroom. You combed your fingers through your bedhead, detangling just enough to be presentable, and gargled with tap water in a weak attempt to stave off morning breath. You also checked your face for dirt and ensured the clothes you slept in weren’t twisted around during sleep. The face staring back at you in the mirror wasn’t exactly your best - but it was presentable.

Stepping out into the hallway, you were pleased to find you were alone, at least for now. While the enticing smell was definitely stronger out here, it didn’t seem like enough to awaken any other hotel residents. As you slowly walked down to the main floor, the sizzling and chopping noises cutting through the silence made it apparent that someone was in there cooking up a storm.

Plenty of people in hell were night owls or just slept most of the day, but very few of them would wake up this early in the morning to cook a proper breakfast for themselves, whistling cheerily. If there was some kind of visitor coming this morning, maybe it would be better to stay out of there - lie low, maybe see if that bartender (Husker was his name, you think?) had any cocktail peanuts to nibble on until the place cleared out. You cautiously stuck your head around the corner to glimpse the source of all the activity.

In no way did you expect that all the activity you heard from this room was coming from just one person.

He stood in front of the stove, whistling a jaunty little tune as he held a skillet in his right hand. He skillfully jerked the skillet, flipping a perfectly browned pancake into the air, which then did an acrobatic little flip before plopping back into the pan. His left hand was whisking some sort of concoction in a red bowl, which itself was being cradled in the air by a swirling golden light. On the counter off to his right, yet another swathe of golden magic was wrapped around a chef’s knife, rapidly julienning potatoes into perfect little matchsticks.

He let go of the whisk, grabbing instead, straight from the air above his head, a black spatula. The utensil was decorated with a shiny red apple at the handle. That, it turns out, was your first clue, but when he twirled quickly in place before coming to face you, you were suddenly certain exactly who it was you had just been caught spying on.

Lucifer - fallen angel, ruler of demons, King of hell - stood before you.

Making pancakes.

In an apron.

Patterned with rubber ducks.

“Goooood morning!” he chirped, eyes brightening as he flipped the pancake again into the air, angling it to land gracefully on a platter that was already piled with its siblings. “Oh, haha, you’re a new face! Well you’re in luck, because early risers get served first~!”

You blinked rapidly in surprise.

“Take a seat!” He snapped his fingers and one of the stools at the kitchen’s island pulled itself away from the counter as an invitation. There was a slight swirling sparkle of golden magic in the air above the surface, and a cascade of plates and silverware arranged themselves into a perfect place setting. The napkin was folded in the shape of a perfect origami swan (or duck?) in the middle of the plate.

“Are you thirsty?” He was talking too fast for you to move or even respond. “Apple? Orange? Pomegranate? Pick your poison!” Each word was punctuated by the fruit in question appearing in his hands, which he almost immediately started to casually juggle. Even just the fragrance of those fruits - a rare, almost unheard of delicacy in hell - made your mouth threaten to water.

He paused a moment, giving you just enough time to inhale in the hopes of replying before he interrupted. “Oh, but not REAL poison, heh!” his voice cracked and he looked slightly bashful over the misstep, finally breaking the constant excited chattering and replacing it with a slightly awkward silence.

“I-.....” You suddenly realized that somewhere in all that you had been given a command by the king of Hell, so you promptly sat on the stool that had been pulled out for you. “O-orange…?”

The awkward smile turned less awkward, and his face lit up again. “Comin’ right up!” His 3 makeshift juggling balls quickly turned into four, five, eight, twelve. After a moment of showboating while he juggled them with ease, each orange in turn magically hovered over top of your glass, squeezed itself dry, and then helpfully launched itself into the garbage can.

He dusted his hands off on his apron and gave a brief bow, seemingly ending his performance. Then his eyes narrowed slightly in annoyance, stopping your heart until you realized he was staring at your glass. He snapped his fingers, adding both a silly straw and a ruby red paper umbrella. “That’s more like it.” He then spun on his heel, resuming his whistling as well as his work.

You sipped the juice. It was delicious.

You couldn’t tear your eyes away from the man before you. He gave off the least intimidating presence you could imagine, and yet he was almost definitely the most powerful person between the two of you. No, realistically he was the most powerful person in the realm. Just thinking of the broadcast footage from the final extermination convinced you that much was true.

And sure, you had expected his once-in-a-while presence when taking up a room in the hotel. Rumor was he stayed in one of the corner suites, though you had never encountered his presence since you had gotten here. But this…this was not what you had expected.

You swallowed hard, again struggling to find your words. Words that wouldn’t risk insulting him and lead to you having your soul tormented more viciously than ever before, or your organs squeezed as dry as those oranges. But you were thankfully saved from having to say anything when the door swung open with another visitor.

“AuuuuuUUUGUH,” Angel Dust groaned, slipping onto another of the stools and planting a bottle of vodka onto the counter, followed shortly by his face. “Boy am I glad yer here today, pops. Ya don’t even wanna know about the fuckin’ night I had. Val had me upside down blowin’ so many dicks I couldn’ get the blood rushin’ anywhere but my head.” He seemed too exhausted to even pounce on the easy “head” double entendre. “Think ya can just make me the usual?”

Lucifer made a flourish with one hand, and more ingredients landed on the counter in another golden swirl. “Buttered biscuit, over hard eggs, absolu-HOOTly no bacon, shredded potato, lots of cheese. Coming right up!” He rolled up his sleeves and started shredding potatoes for the order that he apparently knew by heart.

You cleared your throat for a moment, finally managing to speak again. “Is this….a regular thing?”

Angel picked his head up, hair fluff falling over his face as he took a quick swig from the bottle. “Yeah, every once in a while.”

“That is-....that is, very kind of you, your Highness,” you muttered, addressing Lucifer this time.

The man in question paused from his nimble knifework to shrug and glance back at you. “Just Lucifer, actually!”

"But-", you stuttered, shifting in your seat. Was this a trick? “But you're the king and-”

"That I am!" He stood a little straighter, and from what little of his face you could see, his teeth shone through a smirk. “But to my darling Char-char’s official guests, I’ve decided to forgo those titles.”

He turned back to his slicing. “No matter how debauched, debased or demented! Whether pickpocket, peddler, porn star or poisoner. To all of the sorry sinners who haunt these halls, I am just Lucifer.” He stiffened a little, and then chuckled out a nervous laugh as his voice cracked. “I’m sure you’re just fi-iNe, though!”

The king glanced back at you, noting the nervous (or maybe confused?) energy. “But…you ca-can call me whatever you want! Whatever, uh, makes you more comfortable! Anything is fine exce-”

“So you’ll let me call you ‘Daddy’ now~~~~~?” Angel Dust interrupted.

“Except that,” Lucifer sighed. He was now tossing the shredded potatoes into a sizzling hot pan, and then grabbing his apple-handled spatula again, twirling it between his fingers like a baton. At some point in the rotation, it turned from spatula to whisk. He dipped it into a bowl full of egg yolks, beating them together with a practiced hand (and, apparently, wrist muscles of steel). The cheery whistling started again, and he tapped his foot gently to the tune. It was only now that you noticed he was standing on a stool in front of the stove.

He next grabbed a salt shaker, and you flinched a little as he tossed it into the air, doing a full 180-degree turn before catching it again and using it to salt the egg mixture.

“I gave you that bottle thinking you’d at least save a glass for me, Legs,” Husk growled slightly. He had apparently slunk in while-...while your attention was elsewhere.

It wasn’t your fault, though. It was sort of mesmerizing. Like watching a master at work - you just didn’t expect that work would be breakfast sandwiches. And he seemed to take genuine joy in the art. The corners of his eyes crinkled slightly when he smiled, and his forked tongue stuck out slightly when he seemed to be focused on flipping the egg just right. The blush-pink circles on his cheeks did cause his expression to always seem slightly-...well, cherubic. The genuine excitement made his smile so bright you almost had to avert your gaze. “Morningstar” really was a fitting name.

Lucifer floated over a plate onto the counter, and Angel Dust tore into his greasy sandwich.

“Hm-...could I have-...pancakes?” you spoke up, finally brave enough.

Lucifer turned to you with wide eyes and a dopey little grin. “Well that is actually my specialty! What shape?”

“R-...round?”

His face dropped in disappointment, scrunching up his nose a little. “That’s way too easy. How about a-”

“Duck?” Husk guessed with a smirk.

“...turtle. I was going to say turtle, BUT a duck is also an excellent idea. Do you want a duck? Please, say you want a duck?” he turned his eyes to you, almost pleading.

And how could you say no? “I-...yes, sure. Duck pancakes. Duck-cakes?”

“HA!” he let out an enthusiastic laugh. “Duck-cakes! DUCK-CAKES! That’s great. HahA!”

He made your order with expected enthusiasm, and when the plate slid across to you on the counter, the top pancake was decorated with an orange-wedge beak and blueberry eyes. Taking a bite, it was expectedly delicious, the perfect balance of crispness and fluffiness. You couldn’t help letting out a little sigh of delight.

“Heeheh! It’s the shape that makes it more delicious,” Lucifer snickered with another toothy grin. “Don’t you think?”

“It m-must be. But I think the chef also had a lot to do with it.”

That got him to beam even more, but you didn’t get to bask in the glow of that expression for long before his gaze snapped up to the next visitor.

“Char-char~!” he exclaimed, and 3 pairs of wings burst out of his back, allowing him to cartwheel through the air to land gracefully next to his daughter. “Do you want pancakes, honey? Duck-cakes, DUCK-CAKES! How have I never thought of that?” His hands flailed out above his head in excitement.

“I’m pretty sure you have, Dad,” Charlie offered with a smile as she sat down, Vaggie taking the seat beside her.

“Oh.” His jazz hands fell and his face scrunched up in thought, trying to remember whatever time she must be referring to. “Well, anyway, what’s your order this morning, Char-char?” He poofed himself back over to his post at the stove, already preparing to start on his next order.

The rest of the morning went on similarly to that. Hotel guests (and crew) slowly filtered in, each seeming to know exactly what they wanted for their breakfast order.

The diminutive hotel maid, Niffty chortled and wheezed her way into the kitchen, skittering up to Lucifer and holding a plastic dog bowl above her head. “In this, please....hehe... ”

Lucifer glanced down at her from his spot on the stool, frowning skeptically. “...really?” His eyebrow arched gracefully, again forcing you to turn your eyes away from the way the light caught his pale, unexpectedly beautiful face.

“yES, hehe,” Niffty chuckled.

“Uh, okay," Lucifer said with a sigh and another shrug, “you-... oddly endearing little gremlin.”

The comfortable chatter in the kitchen started putting you a bit more at ease, and it was easy to stay seated right where you were as the morning waned. You sipped your orange juice as your eyes wandered around the room, observing the conversations without having the need to participate.

Angel leaned an elbow on the counter, and his cheek on his palm, shaking the last bits of Beelzejuice into his own flute of freshly-squeezed orange juice. Charlie's face spread into a dopey grin as she sipped her mug of hot chocolate, and then began rambling to Vaggie about how she ‘never knew humans had invented something so delicious, so splendid, so warm and comforting!’ You also tried not to look too hard at Nifty, eviscerating her cockroach-shaped pancakes into a gruesome mush as strawberry syrup splashed out of the dog bowl. At least she seemed...happy?

But your eyes again found it difficult not to linger on the chef de cuisine. He was still standing on his stool, seemingly for a better vantage point to observe the results of his handiwork. His posture was perfectly poised, back straight and facial expression reserved as he sipped apple juice from a silly straw, but you managed to catch the smile.

Not the paparazzi smile, the one he probably puts on for the public, the people who want something from him. But a genuine one, tilting up the corners of his mouth and arching his eyebrows with some sort of fondness for the sinners surrounding him (and surrounded you all were, because quite a few other residents had filtered in throughout the morning).

He clearly seemed to be happy to do anything to please his daughter, but you also caught a sense of satisfaction when Husk, reaching past Angel, slid another pancake onto his place with a 'gimme one of those!' It was a struggle, but you caught his subtle grin when Vaggie, flushing as she took a bite from her girlfriend's fork, licked her lips so as not to waste a drop of syrup.

Not that it was a surprise for the literal sin of pride to get an ego boost from people enjoying his handiwork. But it was a softness you can’t say that you expected.

Lucifer’s eyes caught yours, and he tilted his head curiously, lips still clamped around the silly straw. You unfortunately could not control your expression, your eyes widening as you glanced away.

But it was too late, and you heard a little pop! of golden magic at the same time the stool next to yours was no longer occupied.

“So who are you, again?” his question was punctuated by loud straw slurping as he drained the last of his apple juice. “Oh, right! You’re new here. Right? That’s why I don’t remember you.”

You cleared your throat a little and turned to face him. “Y-yeah, pretty new. Got here a few weeks ago…”

He set the cup down with the tiniest hint of a frown on his face. “Ah. Well, it’s, heh, a big place, and I just can’t keep up with all the sinners Charlie brings in because-.....well, you know, because I’m usually in the suite doing-...very important paperwork and-”

“I, um-” you interrupted him, almost regretting it until you saw the relief on his face when he no longer had to keep talking, “It’s ok. I mean-! I mean, I’m not offended. It is a big place and-...I-I should say it’s an honor that you and Charlie are taking someone like me in and-”

“Oh, that was aaaaall Charlie! I don’t want a thing to do with managing the sinners,” he glanced over at his daughter with a gentle smile, full of pride.

“Oh…I’m sorry, should I-”

“Oh gee whiz!” he exclaimed, turning back to you with a frown. “No, that’s no slight meant to you, I just-” his delicate hands went to cover his face. “Obviously I’m no good at talking to humans any more. Or, I guess I never really was!” he chuckled in exasperation.

“A-as long as you don’t want me gone…then it’s alright,” you smiled, nervously but sincerely trying to reassure the Devil.

His hands left his face and he let out a deep breath. “Okay. Let’s try this again.” He turned to you with a smile, leaning his cheek on his hand and his elbow on the counter. He had managed to calm the nerves in his voice, and instead in a smooth tone that made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, said, “So what brings you here?”

With that particular choice of words, the graceful way he crossed his legs and bobbed his foot, the inquisitive arch to his eyebrow and the frankly embarrassing way you’d been eating up the view all morning, it was hard not to imagine it as a pick-up line, and instead as the invitation for small talk that it really was.

“Well-...I-...before this, I was sort of just doing odd jobs that I could bear to stomach. Trying to get by without-...you know…doing something really terrible. The place is honestly a miracle, because it’s-...tough out there. I’m sure you know that.” You managed to make eye contact for a moment, and you were met with an expression of genuine interest, and a twinge of guilt.

“But-...if you mean Hell in general? I really wish I knew!” you admitted, glancing away again and turning to stir the bare ice cubes around in your otherwise empty glass. “I thought I was a good person. I mean, I’m sure I lied occasionally. Had a mean thought every once in a while. Didn’t always do my best or give everything my all. But, I really thought I would-...well, I didn’t think I would end up here.”

“HhhOOO boy do I know how that feels.” He inhaled deeply, then let out a sigh. “But-...ok. Listen,” his voice lowered, leaning in closer and giving you a whiff of what must have been apple-scented cologne. “I’ve tried to tell Charlie this, but the rules for that kind of stuff ma-ake no sense. It’s not even worth trying to figure out a ‘why.’”

He sat up, glancing over at his daughter, then back at you. “You came here for help, anyway. That’s...that’s good enough.” He paused for a moment, staring at his own fingers drumming against the counter as he seemingly became lost in thought.

Would it be a mercy to break him away from his thoughts? Maybe.

“Can I- ….can I ask a question, actually?”

He blinked rapidly, looking around as if trying to remember where he was. "Can you-....oh, but I believe you already did just by asking me that~” he snickered, as his brain caught up enough for a witty retort.

“Okay, fine,” you couldn’t help but chuckle. “Can I ask you a question besides the one I'm asking you now? "

“Hmmmm, I'll allow it! I am a gracious king after all.”

“While you were cooking...you just, you know, created those ingredients. Poofed them into existence. Why go through the trouble of cooking it? Why not just-....summon up a finished product?”

Lucifer straightened up again, and the trademark toothy grin spread across his face. “Well, it would be wa-HAY less fun to do it that way. If I did that, I’d make them, but I wouldn't really make them.”

After you tilted your head in momentary confusion, he continued, “Isn't it more fun to-....to make something by hand? To bust out the elbow grease? To feel like you sculpted something bit by bit?” There began a rising excitement in his voice, and you could see the slightest flutter of the wings laying flatly against his back. “To look at a pile of bits and pieces, and create magic instead of relying on it? Sure, I could make anything anyone wanted.”

He shrugged, and seemingly just to prove it, twirled his finger and created a 3D ferris wheel pancake sculpture, complete with carts full of maple syrup.

“But-...you know-...when people bother to take that first bite-...it feels better when I actually tried. It may not be as easy as this,” he rested his chin in his hands, watching the flapjack wheel rotate. “But to truly enjoy creating something, you have to put in the effort…”

“That’s-...that’s quite a sweet sentiment coming from-...sorry, please don’t take offense, but the literal devil. From the Bible.”

He chuckled, again almost forcing you to look away from the brightness of his expression as your heart fluttered. “Yeah, well! You know what they say. Don’t judge a duck by its feather.”

And you couldn’t help but chuckle in return, “I d-don’t think that’s how the expression goes! But may-ha-ha! M-maybe it should~?”

“Uh, wait is that not how it goes? Hold on- I could have sworn-” he rambled, as something about his expression kept you snickering. It was the lightest you’d felt in days, maybe even since you’d arrived in hell. A conversation with the actual devil had you tittering like a schoolgirl with a crush.

When you caught your breath from laughter and opened your eyes, you could swear his gaze lingered for a moment longer than necessary, though it could easily have been your imagination. His sharp smile widened, and he leaned in just a little closer. “Well, however you say it’s supposed to go, doesn’t it roll off the tongue a little better? Doesn’t the image it conjures of a flappy little bird-o sound so-ho-ho much cuter~? And make you want to not judge his wittle feathers?”

You smiled again, picking up on the apparent fact that the duck obsession was more than just a pancake thing. “Okay, yes. Maybe the people-...up there on Earth will realize not to ‘judge ducks by their feathers’ either. Things can change...sometimes,” you shrugged.

He settled that dazzling smile into a gentler one, still looking at your face and making your heart flutter against your will. He then seemed to suddenly be aware of his unconscious gawking, and looked away, clearing his throat.

“Y-yeah-" he stammered, “...I guess sometimes they do.”

#lucifer morningstar #hazbin lucifer #hazbin hotel #lucifer morningstar x reader #finally gathered the courage to publish the first chapter of this fic #it has been rattling around in my brain and leaking out my ears and puddling on the carpet for weeks #it's a labor of love I promise #but dear sweet lucifer is creation hard and painful #lucifer x reader

52 notes · View notes

mishmash-webster · 6 months ago

Text

WELCOME

she pinned on my intro til i post heya. feel free to read through my intro post... if you dare. have a swag day unless you bathe in bigotry, in which case i hope you bathe in different things in the near future because you smell horrible and no one likes you. also im a minor, i have no problem w/ adults following me or anything, just stating upfront in case it makes anyone uncomfortable. if you don't want minors interacting but i accidentally followed you, im vvvv sorry and likely just missed it because im stupid, feel free to block softblock etc

please note: please do not dm me asking for donations. i am sorry, but i am unable to donate to campaigns as i am a minor, currently have no source of income (will likely be years until im allowed to have one), and my whole family is also struggling pretty badly financially rn. i apologize deeply and pray you find peace and safety, and i will try my best to share campaigns when i can but beware my blog is not very popular and you’re likely better off going to someone else. again im sorry.

❂ Greetings!

✦ im Blue da ba dee da ba dai, or perhaps Bingle or Bingley if youre feeling creative. you could also just call me mishmash or webster or smth idc

✦ they/he/ey/cos/it, primarily they/he.

✦ transmasc enby, additional gender labels = genderfuck/genderpunk, androgyne, anarcho-queer. buncha jumbled shit

✦ orientation = panromantic, demiromantic, grayace.

this blog is my main and only blog, so dont expect organization, but i will trigger tag when possible/requested to.

❂ Additional info

❂ Tags legend (some tags i may still be going back and sorting through, apologies for that)

#bingletxt (posts that are mine and no one else’s)

#go fund them (donation campaigns (may not always be on the gofundme website, but just all donation campaigns in general). please look through this tag and consider donating if you have the time/resources)

#sick art, #godly art (other peoples' cool art, used interchangeably, one isnt inherently better than the other it's just based on vibes)

#vent post (my vent posts, please feel free to filter this tag, i may talk about heavy/personal subjects)

‼️Note: i may reblog posts with nsfw/suggestive content or subject matter (for example, medical diagrams of private parts for trans reasons, artistic nudity, etc), ship posts with suggestive allusions (almost always in a comedic way), or make/reblog suggestive jokes. this is because i have the eternal humor of a middle schooler who giggles during sex-ed. if you dont wanna see any of it i tag with #nudity, #artistic nudity or #suggestive. (plsplspls tell me if i forget, or if theres anything else you’d like me to tag, id be happy to ✌️)

❂ Fandoms

some of these i havent consumed in their entirety, ill mark them with purple if so

Welcome to Hell, The Owl House, Ace Attorney, Madoka Magica, The Amazing Digital Circus, Amphibia, The Amazing World of Gumball, Beastars, Cherry Crush, I'm In Love With The Villainess, Ramshackle, Heartstopper, Deltarune, Undertale, Bluey, Mob Psycho 100, Calvin and Hobbes

stuff i wanna consume but havent gotten the chance to

Sonic franchise (games + movies), Garfield (yes the cat)

❂ Stuff i don’t appreciate and will most likely block you for

i cant really forbid you from interacting with me at all costs and think the concept of dnis is kinda meh, bla bla bla, but if you support/fit the description of any of these and still choose to interact, im prob gonna block you so be forewarned:

✘ pornblog-related anything. i am a minor, dont want to date/fuck you, and you will be blocked (not in reference to blogs who occasionally post/reblog nsft content, im primarily referring to pornbots here)

✘ Conservatives/right-wing/MAGA imbeciles, centrists, homophobes, transphobes, zionists, antisemites/islamophobes (real ones, not Palestine supporters), radqueers/radfems/TERFs, predators, pedos, forced birth supporters, anti-neopronouns, anti-therian, beastiality supporters, sexists. (self explanatory)

✘ pro-sh or pro-ed blogs. (you deserve help, please do not encourage others to do it.)

————————————

blinkie credit: blinkies.cafe

my pinterest

my ao3 (dont get too excited i havent posted anything yet)

#intro post #intro pin #introduction #pinned intro #blog intro #introducing myself #intro #pinned post #bingletxt

26 notes · View notes

the-s1lly-corner · 1 year ago

Note

(This was inspired by an OC post I saw)

Can I request headcanons for Jax being affected by a love virus, (as in being forced to act lovey-dovey because of a glitch the reader carries)? I hope this makes sense.

Jax w/ a love virus!

might be a little different than the post youre referring to because i dont know what post youre talking about </3 written as the reader and jax already being in a romantic relationship since i think otherwise i may be uncomfortable writing it </3 will touch more on that in the actual post but!! kind of written with like, a slight angst angle at the beginning, going off my own silly ideas since i dont know specifics for this!! my toxic trait is seeing someone call a recipe "hard" and "difficult to master" and my immediate reaction is to make the thing. i learned how to make macarons i can learn how to make panettone... not today though i need to get the nuts and fruits for it

he doesnt care if he was sick, when he recovers from it hes going to be so embarrassed. will become argumentative with anyone who tries to bring it up, even if theyre being neutral or supportive of him.. it might be easier for him to come to terms with it and live it down if you (his main target) are already in a relationship with him

i think he might be really upset if he got the virus from you; regardless of if you can control it or not.. it sucks, yeah, but this isnt like a flu or cold, but

yeah

bonus points if you yourself dont show many symptoms of the virus and even more bonus points if you decided not to tell anyone about it; i think if it were like this it would warrant break up material for jax

obviously i dont know the specifics, and i do want to keep this somewhat vague so it can hopefully be morphed to fit what you, the anon, specifically saw/read

but how is he like during the actual virus/infection?

clingy. very clingy

sure, jax was already clingy in his own way before getting sick, what with keeping an eye on you and trying to keep you all to himself when you guys were alone... but this is... something else

he constantly follows you around, and might even drape himself over your shoulder while you're trying to talk to someone else

gets visibly antsy and even irritated when separated from you for too long, perhaps even becoming a little verbally aggressive to the other circus members if they try to get him to calm down

wont even hesitate throwing himself into danger. not to save you. but to be around you. "if you die im going to die with you" mentality, pretty much

audibly whines when you have to go do something. embodiment of the "nooo you hang up :3" thing but way more intense and kind of obnoxious (obviously not a knock to anyone who does it, jax is just ramping it up to 100 and beyond)

if hes showing typical... sickness.. symptoms (fatigue, fever, ect) youre going to have one hell of a time keeping him in bed. youre probably going to have to monitor him until he recovers; because otherwise hes just going to follow you around the circus

this is already normal jax behavior but hes going to push people, hes just going to do it a little more often and more aggressively in order to get to you while hes sick

#tadc x reader #the amazing digital circus x reader #digital circus x reader #jax x reader #jax x you #jax imagine

129 notes · View notes

sharpidiot · 3 months ago

Text

I'm thinking about that Agatha Klinklang post too much

Like there are 2 main routes in my head and I adore both

1. She's had that thing since she was practically a baby. Borderline manifested that Klink when she was a kid, maybe even before her breakthrough. Barry didn't have the heart to take it from her, that one last piece of her spark. Maybe as she got older and fought through the headaches to train her pokémon it evolved into a Klang, maybe not. But she grows up in Beetleburg, where people barely trust her with a Klink, let alone her family's Herdier. So the Baron comes, he tests his heir, the city is taken, and Agatha breaksthrough with her Klink at her side. Castle Wulfenbach, the circus, Strumhalten, and they finally make it to Mechanicsburg. (Somewhere in there Klink definitely becomes a Klang) She makes coffee, enters The Castle, proves her blood, keeps Gil and Tarvek from killing each other, and on top of the Castle, lightning strikes over and over and over and Klang becomes Klinklang to fight off Gilgamesh Wulfenbach and Agatha becomes The Heterodyne

2. Agatha Clay does not have a pokémon for herself. She takes care of the family Stoutland, and they love each other to hell and back, but that's not her pokémon. The headaches don't let her concentrate, she couldn't train a pokémon properly anyways. It's fine. Well everything in Beetleburg goes wrong, and she and Stoutland are stuck on Castle Wulfenbach (an airship is no place for a dog, especially not one so large, so she barely has Stoutland to comfort her). And then. Well. Gilgamesh Wulfenbach takes her on as an assistent... and things seem a little less miserable for a time. She's only an assistent sure, but shes been doing that for forever; and now she's actually having fun! Small projects start going well and in the lab she finds a little Klink hiding. The "young master" doesn't mind her having it, and so Agatha has her first pokémon. It even gets along with her little klanks :D! Oh btw she's a Heterodyne, aaaaaand now she's in the wastes. Greattttttt. The circus and Strumhalten, but she learned something interesting during that time. Klink is a crazy powerful motor, and is a force to be reckoned with at showtime. It slots right in among her klanks and keeps one of the more damages carts running, even with half of it destroyed. This comes in handy as everything in Mechanicsburg starts going sideways. It finds itself slotted into ancient clanks to get old engines started, and does what all creatures of the Heterodynes do best. The Castle slows down and something needs to be done, so Agatha gets up on that roof and makes lightning power her Castle, and she and her newly evolved Klang tell off Gilgamesh Wulfenbach for daring to think she needs his protection

#girl genius #agatha heterodyne #im soooooo normal about pokemon and how they can parallel a person's growth with their own #read more bc i dont wanna eat the tag #sorry all the words are colored i like color coding things #also i didnt mention it but krosp's a zangoose now. id go for something more unassuming but he's so zangoose #also also can you guys fucking imagine all the species of spark made pokémon there'd be?? it'd be unhinged #like forget the UBs (don't. they matter to me and i love them) whatever fucked up spark pokemon is out there would be wayyyyy scarier #(nihilego dreen real)#lemme speak for a sec

14 notes · View notes

sebadztian · 8 months ago

Text

In relation to my previous post about demon lore, I hope we will never find out too much about Sebastian (and demons in general).

Despite what the general public think, the main character/protagonist of Kuro is Sebastian the demon. And yet, 200+ chapters later we still don't know anything much about him.

What we know so far about him is from others' POVs, the servants, the Reapers, Arthur, and even Ciel himself. But the man himself remained tight-lipped. It's just like what Bard & Ciel said in the Murder arc, none of them knew where he came from, whom he served before. Bard only knows him to be the perfect butler, and Ciel didn't care, as long as Sebastian can give him what he wanted. As for the Reapers, well, it seems that they despise each other.

Is Sebastian the only demon in Kuro? No.

Grell mentioned that she was surprised to find a demon posing as a butler, which implied that there are other demons out there, but none of them has ever played the role of a butler before (as far as Grell could tell, at least).

And Will also mentioned it in the Circus arc, implying that there are other demons who'd scavenge for a meal.

And to make things even more certain, Sebastian himself has talked about his own kind.

Even Undertaker has questioned his 'motive' in Campania arc.

Now, having said that, while Sebastian is not the only demon in the Kuro verse, we can safely assume that he's not quite like other demons. Or at the very least, he has changed. He's tired of consuming souls mindlessly and he's now actively working to cultivate his next meal, a. k. a. Ciel, as per his own words in the Circus arc.

Admittedly, the Reapers might know a whole lot more about demons compared to Ciel and Bard, but I think we can safely say that whatever these Reapers know about demons do not fully apply to this particular demon.

When it comes to Sebastian Michaelis, nobody quite knows what kind of demon he is. This is not a ship post, but I'd still say that Ciel knows him best - compared to other characters, but even then, he doesn't know a whole lot about him.

Ciel knows him well enough to trust him - and not to trust him. But even then, he still doesn't know him that wellz or at least, Sebastian doesn't show him that much part of himself, as evidenced in the Green Witch arc.

Ciel told him to be 'a beast', and Sebastian himself said later on that what he currently finds most fascinating is to play the part of Ciel's butler. Ciel clearly doesn't know/understand this.

The thing is, Sebastian is not all brawl and no brain. I personally believe that he has an eidetic/photographic memory, which means he has perfect recall. But being intelligent is so much more than that.

Throughout the manga, Sebastian has shown that he is smart, cunning, scheming, and he is one hell of a manipulative bastard. He's creative and resourceful, as shown over and over again. When he battled Grell, how he came up with the Curry Bun, how he got the information about Kelvin from Beast, how he battled Undertaker onboard of Campania, how he his own way into Weston, and he was shown taking many initiatives during the Green Witch arc.

As much as Ciel tried to keep him under control, the demon would always find ways to challenge him and find loopholes and to play his own games (like with those poisonous snakesz for example). He is no idiot.

What fascinates me the most is how little we know of him, and yet, despite all those knowledge - or lack thereof, we can see how his character developed throughout the course of the manga.

And when this is all over, Ciel Phantomhive might be a blip in the long life of this demon, but he'd have the most impact in the demon's existence & character. Which is why this demon has chosen to tell this particular story of his adventures as the young earl's butler. Because if you really think about it, Kuro is Sebastian's story about this foolish yet beautiful boy and his path to revenge. He's the narrator and the story-teller and maybe that's also why we don't quite know a whole lot about him...

In other words, Kuro is Sebastian's recipe book about how to microwave a Victorian boy.

#sebastian michaelis #kuroshitsuji #black butler #manga panels #kuro analysis

45 notes · View notes

bendersmind · 3 months ago

Text

From '69 to Release (Giggity)

Is "giggity" still funny? Did I mention I'm fucking ancient? Because I am. I saw the premiers of South Park AND Family Guy my dudes. That's how old.

Speaking of cartoons, I've been watching "Scooby Doo, Where Are You?" for the past 2 days. You should too. It's on Tubi, my favorite source for both garbage films and weird cult shit that only I (and a small amount of freaks) watch. It's great. This has NOTHING to do with my Ghost post, I just thought you should know.

Well, not nothing. The relationship is that Scooby Doo premiered the night of the Ghost show where Nihil fucked everything up. Behind the cut you'll find some potential spoilers for "Sister Imperator #2" based on the released preview pages. If you don't want to read it come back to this post after it's released. It releases on April 16th and will make the following post ENTIERLY meaningless and wrong. So let me waste a bit of your time . . . under the cut.

Alright, so information from the preview is kinda iffy. The biggest thing, which isn't probably related to the plot of the issue itself (something about some suspicious dude following the circus Imperator is in) but it's important for lore purposes.

There are a few things we learn.

A man we presume is Nihil has been touring away from the main circus on and off for 2 years.

At this point in the story, Imperator has been with said circus for those 2 years.

The man we assume is Nihil has at least 1 brother.

Said brother has a bunch of kids already

Okay. So lets look at number 3 and 4 as being the "point" of this post. 1 and 2 set up Imperator and (probably) Nihil's relationship.

Nihil tells us that his brother has several "pups" when Imperator accuses Nihil of leaving a bunch of French maidens sad after he left. The implication is 2 fold, Nihil's brother is a ho (and I say that with love; nothing wrong with being a ho) and he doesn't wrap it before he taps it.

The last frame of our preview shows us a dinner table with circus folk and 3 women each with young children. 2 with babies and 1 with a toddler. This occurs sometime between '53 (the start of Imperator #1) and '69. It's not super clear how old Imperator is when the comic starts but she is probably 10-13. She leaves home after her stepfather murders her sisters and presumably when she was a teenager. It's hard to say when, but I'd say 15/16ish. This means she's somewhere around 20 when Nihil comes back from France. Per my timeline this would be around '60. Nihil would be around 20 then as well(based on his death being in 2020 at 80). Let's assume that they are close in age(and Imperator aged gracefully, Nihil . . . not so much).

The toddler looked to be around 3ish (I legit know shit all about kids so please correct me if I'm wrong) and is potentially Papa I (or maybe my favorite pre canon theory, Mystery Papa); the babies are likely Papa II and III. I'd like to correct my already partially incorrect post from a while back; Papa I, II, and III are confirmed to be brothers; and based on the current information we have, Nihil is probably their uncle. It'd make more sense as to why he was cool with just murdering them.

Sister Imperator #2 will probably give us more of an idea of the family structure for the Emeritus bloodline and exactly how many brothers Nihil has. Based on what I'm thinking both Nihil's father and Nihil's older brother are dead by '69. This would open the line for the next oldest son (or daughter; we actually don't know anything about female descendants in the church). That would be Nihil.

When Nihil's bid for fame failed miserably after the show at Whiskey A Go-Go he was clearly replaced. By who? Probably the next in his father's line. And so on up until the last son of his father and then on to the oldest son of the oldest brother of the last generation of Papas.

Lord in hell that's a clusterfuck of a sentence. Basically, it'd go to Nihil's older brother's oldest son. This could be either Papa I or Mystery Papa (2008 - 2011). We just don't know yet.

I think the most interesting part of this whole thing is the "old world circus" that the church comes from. The biggest question for me is where does the circus "end" and the church "begin". That is to say, how do you go from circus performer to clergy? Is everyone in the troupe an agent of Satan? Or were the Emeritus line stashed into traveling shows to hide them from potential assassins?

That would actually give us an explanation as to why Copia and Perpetua were split up and raised apart. The current theory is that Mrs. Psalterian is Marika from the comic and thus the person who raised Copia. But where was Perpetua? Someone suggested with all of his Venice carnival schtick he was raised somewhere near Venice. I think that's a fair assessment. While the Ministry is (in canon) located in Linköping, Sweden, Italy is REALTIVELY close. Also Europe has the fucking trains that get you goddamn anywhere so it isn't even like living on different coasts of the US. (Fucking Europe and your . . . excellence)

Anyway, the raising of the twins is neither here nor there; until we get some more about Perpetua we'll be lost in the surf. I really look forward to seeing how he works with the crowd. Whatever we get it will certainly be interesting.

Points of interest: What is the structure of the Clergy exactly? Why has Marika always called Copia "Cardi"? Was his name when he walked into the story we are seeing "Cardinal Cardinal Copia"? Is the circus "Cooger and Dark’s Pandemonium Shadow Show" from "Something Wicked This Way Comes"? Does Nihil already know the nature of his family? Has the church always been hidden in a traveling circus or was it in other itinerant entertainer groups(bards, theater, fakirs, etc)? Was there a magician Papa? Please tell me there are puppets! I fucking love puppets.

#shitghosting #ghost theory #ghost the band #the band ghost #cardinal copia #papa nihil #sister imperator #puppet weirdo

11 notes · View notes