#a really curious crow

[drieddpetals]

where do you guys think the six of crows characters fall on the soldier / poet / king spectrum?

[capinejghafa]

I have a bit of a weird question, and maybe it's my american brain... but why do some people spell Matthias without the 'h' so it looks like Mattias in fics? I'm just more curious... because his ao3 tag still shows up as Matthias Helvar.

[melodic-mayh3m]

💯🔱 (if he winds up sinking to the ocean his daughter's gonna point at him and laugh) 🧡

For Crow Father :D

DETAILS ABOUT OCS | Accepting!

💯 share three random facts about your oc that others may not know?

He does have a fashion sense, thank you very much. Just because he likes Hawaiian shirts doesn't mean he's a disaster at dressing himself. What honestly surprised me is how much he likes floral patterns and how he doesn't mind some open-backed clothing.

He can become a very happy, more affectionate drunk, or a sad drunk. There's not really an inbetween. Thankfully his tolerance is fairly high, and he doesn't allow himself to get to that point, so that's not something people will see often if at all.

Surprisingly, even after the events of Gigamix and his subsequent space death, his enjoyment of stargazing hasn't diminished. It tends to go hand in hand with watching the city skylines, but he'll still perch himself up high and just... sit there. It's calming for him, somehow.

🔱 can your oc swim? do they enjoy swimming?

Haha! No :')

Unless he enters water with an extremely high salt content or there's some other liquid out there that would let dense metal float, he would sink like a stone. He can be submerged just fine, I actually don't think he minds the ocean or large bodies of water, but he can't swim.

🧡 does your oc tend to prioritize family or friends?

I think I need to start by establishing that in broad terms, he prioritizes himself. Not in a narcissistic way, I want to stress that. But in the way where if something goes wrong, or if there's a situation he really, truly, does not want to be part of, he will put his needs first. His own safety and security ultimately comes first.

Having said that.

I think he tends to prioritize those he considers family, then whoever he may consider friends. Tango is family. Rock and Roll are family. Even Sam, by this point, is family. Now, obviously, this also depends on what needs to be prioritized. Protection, for one, doesn't need to be prioritized for Rock and Roll the same way it might need to for Sam.

[soundofastar]

Wanted to say this last night when I couldn't sleep but didn't want to spam. . .your artstyle is so satisfying. Not sure if I said that before but I love your artstyle. Maybe it's the lines ??? Honestly have ZERO clue but I love seeing it :- >

Also, it's officially the weekend chat and I also got new glasses !!! We all cheered, hope you enjoy your weekend !!!!

( OKAY I kinddd of feel like I'm treating this like a day in my life blog but if you have seen any of my other asks from Neon then I think I kind of do the same thing ykyk )

-Ulysses loving anon

NO ITS OKAY IF YOU SPAM!!! i honestly answer these on demand (and if im not busy at the moment, i am at work but i do work so fast that my boss just lets me take breaks), so i dont particularly mind

im so glad!!!! funnily enough, i dont really enjoy doing lineart, but maybe thats the reason why you enjoy it? i rather enjoy color, and rendering!! though i havent drawn much lately (however, i am working on 2 commissions, so...)

oh, im so glad! new glasses are always a good experience. i use glasses myself, and always find it so weird the first few days, but i hope you can enjoy them for a long time!

thank you so much, i hope you enjoy your weekend too :) im gonna play CAIN today after work, and then monster hunter wilds with my partner later!! hehe

(theres no worries, ive seen :] i dont mind! you are welcome in my blog, even if, again, i kind of reply on demand)

[gaymarasov]

Mira: I don’t care about your opinion Strand, you’re just the Queen’s obedient attack dog 😡

Strand: Close but I’m not that kind of dog if you catch my drift 😏

Sigrun, trying not to think too hard about this conversation:🧍‍♀️

Mira, seething, trying to find serenity by imagining how good it would feel to press her boot to Strand’s windpipe until she squirmed: I should just fucking slaughter you. 😑

Jivan and Min after a long, agonizing silence: Right. Anybody in this bombed out shack smoke Queensfoil 🧍‍♀️

[sojourner-between-worlds]

Sorting characters into Hogwarts Houses is OUT; sorting characters into Avatar Nations is IN.

(I mean, I could do both but. Not in the same post.)

Criteria used for sorting comes from Iroh's explanation to Zuko in "Bitter Work" and this reddit post: Water: the element of change and of mind. Fire: the element of power and of emotion. Earth: the element of substance and of body. Air: the element of freedom and of spirit.

Yusei: Water Tribe, hands down. He is both a healer and a protector, so it makes sense he would have the one element that allows him to do both. He's the king of being able to adapt in less-than-ideal situations (the prison duels, anyone?) and quite obviously values community.

Jack: Fire Nation, obviously. C'mon, it's the element of power, for crying out loud! And he absolutely possesses the energy and drive to achieve his goals. Nothing makes more sense to me than Jack being a fire bender.

Aki: Fire Nation. I see-sawed between and fire and earth honestly. A lot of her monsters are fire types, but they are also plants. She is similar to Jack in desire and drive, but she is also strong and persistent. In the end, this one came down to character arc, in a sort of "learning there is beauty here and not just destruction" way.

Crow: Air Nomads. I hesitated on this one, but it wouldn't let me go. Everything from his bird-themed deck down his color scheme screams "air bender!" ...even if the philosophy doesn't quite match up. I can't really see him being entirely detached from the world. I also can't see him with a bald head. He'd have to be a bit of rebel but really, that's already his personality anyway. Not to mention, he collects orphans already. His canon living situation isn't really that different from Air Nomad culture in the "no parents, everyone lives together" kind of way. Also...can you imagine him with a gilder????

Rua: Water Tribe. The twins were so hard, ya'll. In the end, chose water here because of their sense of community and love that gets them through anything. Sounds an awful like Rua in my opinion. (Also. While its doubtful it would take so long for him discover he's a bender... it's also the element of change which works well with him eventually becoming a Signer.)

Ruka: Water Tribe. Debated Air Nomads (despite it being different to her brother) because she can talk to spirits and she's really not a fighter by nature, but in the end, I think water works better, partly because of the community aspect and partly because I just think healing would be more her wheel house (though if push comes to shove, obviously she can fight fiercely as well).

[novarex]

I have MAGPIES at my house. AND a bunch of crows just moved in. Please excuse me while I descend into madness trying to befriend these birds. I've already spent a bazillion dollars on Amazon buying birth baths, peanuts, mealworm, feeders, and a bird cam.

I need them to like me.

[i-really-should-change-my-url]

MUSICAL theatre or musical THEATRE?

[be-xkyy]

Is it bad that I wanna have the yandere men’s babies? 🫣 Cowboys, Sugar Daddy, etc. I’m curious though how some of them would react if reader was enthused to settle down with them and start a family? 🥰

Please don’t stop the breeding/pregnancy kinks

Hi! that's a good question anon and I'll answer it right now.

Yandere reactions to a reader willing and happy to be with them and have their babies.

Tagging list: @kthehoeforfictionalmen ★ @dreamlessnight ★ @riawrld ★ @darkuni63 ★

Masterlist

Yandere Farmer link

This grumpy man doesn't jump for joy or anything, in his mind he doesn't understand why he would be elated by the simple fact that you know your place and where you belong? You belong beneath him receiving his fat cock in your greedy pussy. End of story.

He already thinks he's old (maybe just a little...) and that he's running out of time to have a family and you accepting your place without making a fuss takes a huge weight off his shoulders, he takes you to live with him that very day and oh... you'll realize that this man has the stamina of a bull and the same softness.

As soon as you arrive he already has you bent over the kitchen table with your cheek pressed against the oak wood while his fat cock abuses your pussy, his fat balls slapping your plush ass with a dirty sound while a large hand holds you tightly by the back of the neck squeezing the little hairs deliciously.

From that day on you will have your poor pussy sore and overstimulated because he will fuck you all the time and at all hours.

He fucks you in the morning when the rooster wakes up and doesn't even crow yet but he's already buried deep in your pussy, he fucks you in the barn on a pile of hay when you go to feed the horses, he fucks you in the afternoon when he takes a break after hours in the field under the sun, he fucks you in the shower when you go to bathe to clean off the dirt from a productive day of work and he fucks you when you go to sleep with his calloused hand squeezing your throat, your eyes are rolled back as he fills your fertile pussy with his thick cum for the eleventh time that day.

That repeats itself every day so it's no surprise when just a month later you find out you're pregnant, did that soften it? No really I keep fucking you mercilessly and squeezing your throat until you see stars but you notice him rubbing your flat belly from time to time.

"The children in my family are big— when the baby grows up you may feel a little uncomfortable at first but don't worry, you will feel better during the seventh or eighth pregnancy."

Yandere Cowboy link

Well, reader actually does like yandere Cowboy (since she doesn't know what a bad person he really is) so from the start she wants to be with him and does what he asks her, she stopped taking birth control when he asked her to, she let him fuck her where he wanted and kept her legs up with a pillow underneath for half an hour so his semen wouldn't leak out because he asked her to.

Besides the fact that he knows how to take advantage of her, she's too young and naive and believes that besides her father he's the only one who loves and values ​​her, so it's normal for her to let him sneak into her room (secretly from her father obviously) to fuck like rabbits, he squeezes her in a tight mating hold that barely lets her breathe keeping her legs pressed down almost touching her ears.

He pumps his fat cock into her pussy frantically as she lets out low mewls, he uses a calloused finger to rub circles on her tiny clit that tightens around his member from the overwhelming pleasure she feels and he lets out a guttural growl as he watches her delicious tits bouncing right in front of his face, with one final thrust he cums deep inside her womb flooding it with his swimmers.

"That was so good baby doll, ugh— ha! I bet after this I'll get you pregnant with twins, and if that's not the case we'll try again and again until it works."

Yandere Dilf link

I'd be over the moon, really. He already believes you're his wife, he's believed it since he first saw you holding his son (very delirious) and for you to accept that fact so happily and willingly to be his, to have his babies, would only increase his already enormous delusions.

You won't be going to college anymore, of course not. You'll stay home to take care of his son and prepare everything for when he comes back from work, as a reward he'll make love to you every night without exception, he'll fuck you fervently with one of his hands covering your mouth, muffling your high-pitched moans while his cock drills your swollen pussy mercilessly.

He'll kiss your tits and neck before licking the salt off your skin as he tells you how much he wants to fill you with his babies, that you'll be the prettiest mother ever, all fat and round with one baby in your belly while you hold the other on your hip, he keeps repeating those things over and over again until he finally reaches the limit by cumming deep inside your swollen pussy just like it should be.

"Darling— let's do it again, what if once isn't enough...? Come on spread your legs."

Yandere Sugar Daddy link

Honestly this man is arrogant as fuck when he sees how happy and willing you are to be his and have his brats, he'll end up gloating while pinching your cheek telling you how proud he is that you came to your senses and are his good little girl.

Obviously he'll take you to live with him in his mansion a big one so his future children can have fun running around all over the place, you'll drop out of your law career after all now you have him and his kids soon so why study? He'll fuck you anywhere, he'll fuck you on his private jet forcing you to ride him while the embarrassed stewardesses serve champagne without making eye contact, he'll fuck you on all fours in front of the fireplace filling you with his cum over and over again scolding you playfully when his cum comes out of your pussy staining his 50 thousand dollar carpet he sticks two fingers in your pussy plugging you.

He doesn’t stop fucking you when he finds out you’re pregnant, he doesn’t stop fucking you when you’re 7 months along and your stomach is all big and swollen, he lays you down on the bed making you ride him you bounce up and down as best you can while his hands rub your ass before moving up to your belly heavy with his child, his child, just the thought of him doing this to you turns him on so much, he ends up cumming inside you every time, without fail.

“Fuck— I wish I could put another one of my babies inside you right now, see you even more swollen with my children. Shit— move again.”

[sy1vs-3]

idk if you take requests but I ADORE the sylus nesting habits thing you wrote and I was wondering if you have any thoughts on an mc who immediately sees it and never wants to leave it, maybe they even add some of there favorite blankets or plushies? like mc doesn't know it's a nest but it's cozy and comforting so they just follow his example. I like collecting (hoarding) and honestly my whole room is a nest at this point

Aww thank you, I’m really glad you liked it. I wrote it because I also love collecting cute little things, even if people around me don’t really get it haha (honestly, deep down we’re all just trying to build a cozy little nest). I’m happy to take requests, but I didn’t mention it before because I’m not sure if my writing style is good enough.

Now I’m really curious how Sylus with his dragon instincts would react if someone started adding things to his nest... I can't stop writing about him help 😭

please enjoy... ♡

part 2 🌸

Sylus noticed the changes in the nest he had made right away.

A few days earlier, he had won you a cute plush crow from a claw machine, and you’d carried it around all day, laughing happily. Then he saw that exact plushie placed right in the center of the armchair—right where he’d laid out his pillows.

The next day, you brought in a few more plush toys you’d won with him and placed them here and there. You had no idea it was a nest, but to you, this little corner in Sylus’s living room just seemed so cozy and sweet, you couldn’t help yourself.

A few days later, you placed a pretty flower you bought at the fair on the table, surrounding it with all the shiny little trinkets Sylus kept gifting you. Later, you brought in a couple of figurines and dragged over your favorite blanket. You started sitting there often and even hung up some cute string lights around it.

Sylus watched every change closely, glaring at anyone who got near the nest. No one (except him) was allowed to touch your things. When you were gone, he’d grumble contentedly to himself, adjusting everything you’d brought into the nest—examining each item and smiling quietly. You had brought your treasures into your nest.

That meant you liked it.

Even if his logical mind called it silly, he couldn’t stop the flutter of warmth that thought stirred in his chest.

Oh, and yes—he would absolutely want you to sit there with him. It’s your nest, after all, so you have to sit on his lap while he whispers silly things in your ear. He might even wrap you up in the very blanket you brought and hug you as close as possible. He’d take care of the flower you placed there himself, and he’d practically purr if you asked to sit with him in that spot. You don’t know it’s literally a nest—but it doesn’t matter, because you’ve clearly understood how it works.

He could sit there for hours, buried in soft pillows, nuzzling your neck and hugging you tightly, ignoring your playful protests— until he finally lets you take a picture of him surrounded by plush toys, pillows, and blankets.

masterlist 🌸 please don't translate or copy without permission

[downbad4sylus]

Consider if you will for a moment: Like and/or Keiran accidentally calling MC ‘mom’

please, anon this is literally so cute :’)

whipped a lil something, i hope i did you justice

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.

It was just a normal day made special simply by spending time with Sylus. The two of you had been rather busy the past few weeks, only seeing each other here and there, but never for as long as you really wanted.

You were the one who suggested taking time off, to which Sylus—albeit surprised—eagerly agreed, which was how you found yourself in the kitchen of Onychinus’s base, apron wrapped around your waist as you and your boyfriend made cupcakes.

The twins sat at the island behind you, impatiently waiting to eat the sweet treats.

“How much longer?” Luke whined.

It was the third time he’d asked in the span of ten minutes. The first batch of cupcakes were currently cooling off to the side so Sylus could frost them, he was surprisingly deft with a piping bag. You were mixing the batter for the second batch.

You glanced at Luke over your shoulder. “If you keep whining, you won’t get any.”

Kieran’s shoulder shook with quiet laughter.

Luke’s head lowered. “Sorry, Mom.”

Everyone went still.

You looked up at Sylus in shock, but he only offered a slight raise of a brow and a tilt of his lips. Was he enjoying this? Of course he was, what a silly question.

If you were being honest with yourself, hearing Luke call you Mom fill your heart with warmth. Since dating Sylus, you’d become quite close to the twins, creating what you felt was a little family of five (including Mephisto, obviously). You’d often joke with Sylus that you and he were like their parents. Sylus would go along with the joke, saying you were a great mother and asking if you thought he made a good father. You’d always answer him with the upmost sincerity, telling him Yes Sylus, you’re a fantastic dad. They’re lucky to have you.

But Luke hadn’t called Sylus Dad, he’d called you Mom.

Sylus watched you, curious to how you’d respond. It had warmed his own heart, hearing Luke call you his mother, not that he’d ever admit it. Sylus held a deep-rooted fear that you’d one day leave him because you didn’t feel at home in the N109 Zone. This slip of the tongue served to ease that fear, but your reaction was what was most important.

Saying nothing, you gently took the piping bag from Sylus’s hands and grabbed one of the cooling cupcakes. It was still a little warm, but it didn’t stop you from piping the frosting onto the top. Passing the bag off to Sylus, you took the cupcake to the island, to Luke.

You offered it to him with an affectionate smile.

Luke hesitated for a moment before taking it.

“Happy now?” you teased.

Luke lifted the mask enough to reveal a wide grin before shoving the cupcake in his mouth.

“Can I have one too, Mom? Please?” Kieran asked from beside his twin.

Your smile widened. “Of course, how can I say no to my boys?”

—

After eating nearly half of the two dozen cupcakes made, the twins had retired to their rooms for a post-cupcake nap, leaving you and Sylus alone to clean up.

Sylus nudged you with his elbow. “I guess we really are parents now.”

You chuckled. “That was the last thing I expected to hear today.”

“You didn’t seem to mind.”

You smiled fondly up at him. “No, why would I? The twins mean a lot to me.”

Sylus mirrored your expression. “It makes me happy to hear you say that, sweetie.”

You turned to face him, looping your arms around his neck. “I love nothing more than spending time at the base with you and our boys, and Mephisto, of course. I feel at home here, Sy.”

Sylus’s arms encircled your waist, his heart filled with so much love he thought it might burst. “They’re never going to stop calling you that.”

Your smile grew. “That’s okay, if it makes them happy, then that’s all that matters to me.”

Sylus dipped his head to whisper in your ear, “How would you feel about adding a few more crows to our flock?”

“I thought a group of crows was a murder, not a flock.”

Sylus scoffed and nibbled at your ear.

You laughed, unabashed, slapping his back lightly. “You owe me a ring first before we even think about that.”

“Mmm,” he hummed, his arms tightening. He placed soft kisses on your neck. “I think that can be arranged.”

[melodic-mayh3m]

🐈🧐😓

For Crow and Zero?

DETAILS ABOUT OCS | Accepting!

🐈 does your oc prefer a wide circle of friends or a few close friends?

For informational purposes, sure. A wider circle of people you've got a friendly relationship with is a good thing to have.

In terms of personal relationships? Even though I've established that he's more well adjusted, Crow still has very, very few people he considers close friends because of his trust issues, and even then there's some distance. That does change somewhat down the line, he's more willing to place trust in other people's hands, but within the current timeline he's still got difficulties. Even then, the people he'd consider close are labeled as "yes, But."

X is his friend, why does he need more— (Joking I'm JOKING)

In all seriousness though, he's... not really one to go out of his way to make new friends, or meet new people for that matter. That's not to say he's incapable of doing so, he just doesn't feel the need to. (Granted. That could be stand-offishness of the Seconds speaking, but). He already has connections he's familiar with and likes/tolerates, so... why go and make more? Again, he can make more friends! He just doesn't think he needs any others and won't actively go seeking them out.

🧐 is your oc more logical or emotional?

As much as he'd say or act otherwise, he's more emotional than he'd like to admit. He ran away out of emotion, he betrayed Wily out of emotion, and frankly I choose to believe that his decision to stick around and mentor Rock—and therefore Roll—was more out of emotion, even if he didn't realize it at the time. That's not to say he can't be logical, he very much is, but he's got a habit of letting his emotions get the best of him in high-stress situations.

He feels his emotions very, very strongly, and it's one of the many things he greatly dislikes about himself. Unfortunately, he also acknowledges that being emotional is something he needs.

Zero is an interesting case because while he is more logical than he is emotional, that mileage will vary inside and out of combat situations. In combat? He excels. He's very efficient, figures out the quickest way to take down an opponent, if needed can figure out how to lessen any casualties, etc. etc. He was built to be combat focused anyway.

Outside of that? He's very much working past the "Logic is knowing how to build a bomb, Wisdom is knowing not to launch it" aspect in terms of emotional and social situations. He has the logic! He can go from point A to point B, he understands the general concept of emotions and all that, and he can feel them himself. In practice, he still struggles with emotions and emotional situations, and frankly can get uncomfortable with them depending on the situation.

Emotions are still somewhat of a puzzle for him. It also doesn't help his creator is emotionally constipated, and the other Wilybots range from "The only emotion I feel is rage" to "Leave me alone" to "I'm going to cause problems on purpose" to "Star Man."

😓 is your oc open-minded or stubborn? are they inquisitive or do they prefer to keep to their bubble of knowledge?

I think it's no secret that as a Protoman, Crow's pretty voracious when it comes to gaining new knowledge. He wants to learn, and loves to do so. He has no qualms about digging into things and gathering more information, even if curiosity may kill the cat. The information is always worth it to him. However.

He is also very, very stubborn. He always has been, even when he was first made. He doesn't take well to being told he's wrong, or people prying into his choices, or challenging his beliefs, and he will dig his heels in real deep. Do not tell him what to do, do not try to control him, otherwise that will cause many, many problems for you.

Zero is a slightly more complicated case. He absolutely wants to learn more, and will do so very intently. That's not an issue at all. Wily literally had difficulties building him because he would wake up and go poking around and was a pain in the ass to put back under.

The complication comes from stubborn vs. open-minded, bc... I mean technically he's both? He's open to learning, he wants to learn, he'll try to understand, but depending on what the topic is he'll bluntly call out the stupidity and just. Not budge on it. He's also got that typical Wilybot stubbornness and confidence, so he that doesn't help things either. He will be charging into a "fight" until he comes out on top or he physically can't move anymore.

[alcrox]

Minor detail in six of crows i liked is that both kaz and wylan have a similar thirst for knowledge although they are generally in different fields. And it is shown by two moments. First is a conversation between wylan and jesper where wylan says he is curious about how the moat in the ice court is sustained so high up. Where does the water come from? He wants to know. Jesper makes it clear that he isn't really interested in the whys that much. And the second comes much later one where we see that kaz was wondering the same thing AND he had a theory that the sacred ash actually hid a spring which is the thing that gets him, nina, matthias and kuwei out of the ice court and ends up being the key to their escape.

Kaz and Wylan actually have a really similar curiosity and ingenuity

[tunaculosis]

I think it's very fascinating that, back to back, we have had a pair of what I want to call system shocks on tumblr.

The first wave was the beef between Kendrick and Drake. The beef reached truly titanic levels in order to breach containment and reach our shores in any real way. What was then immediately revealed is that a very loud (if not actually numerous) portion of the tumblr userbase is not simply ignorant of rap music, but proudly so, and not just proudly so, but ignorant of it in ways that have become stereotypes of rap critics. Accusations of violence, misogyny, and difficulty of understanding it were particularly visible to me. With a side helping of racism. The response to this was twofold: tumblr users either got into some damn funny fights when idiots doubled down on their ignorance, or they were curious and we got some damn good recommendations.

The second event was this week: The AO3 Ship Bracket finals: Destiel vs Suletta. The strongest yaoi of the past vs the strongest yuri of today. As Sulemio tore through the polls, again this trend emerged! Deeply incurious, proudly ignorant people parroting criticisms of anime that have become stereotypes anime fans repeat to make fun of critics! Accusations of sexualization, misogyny, and obscurity were particularly visible to me. With a side helping of racism. And then, just like last time, people split off into two camps. The first was idiots without any actual knowledge of Gundam showing up to crow about Destiel like the franchise isn't older than some of their parents. The second was some really good recommendation threads with people willing to learn (just start on Witch From Mercury, it's fine, then maybe watch The Origin or something, other people have better recs than me).

I think it's really interesting that tumblr's userbase has been exposed for being really inflexible and driven into a rut in its fandom spaces. And defensively so. I think that expanding your horizons is good for you for a lot of reasons, but avoiding looking like a jackass on tumblr is a really good incentive, I think.

[great-and-small]

How many studies have been done on heron intelligence? There's records of multiple species fishing with bait, they seem pretty smart but never get included in pop sci conversations on avian intelligence

I’m not sure if I can think of an experimental study on heron intelligence specifically but I know there are plenty of observational studies describing the bait luring you mentioned as well as other behaviors we humans like to associate with intelligence, like play activity, tool use, and problem solving. I personally feel that a black heron’s canopy feeding behavior is one of the most remarkable displays of practical intelligence in the animal kingdom! The best place to explore this literature imo is HeronConservation.org which is an amazing resource for any Ardeidae enthusiasts. They have tons of fully accessible articles from their journal (Journal of Heron Biology and Conservation) and the website is just very visually nice to look at and easy to navigate while also being extremely informative! Here’s an article from their website about a heron using a stick as a fishing lure, super good stuff on this site.

As for me, while I completely agree that herons are underrated for their smarts, the more I think about our concept of intelligence in animals the more I struggle to confidently declare one species of wild animal smarter than another. As world-renowned crane expert George Archibald said on crane intelligence “Sure, if you put them in front of a computer they don’t do much, but if I dropped you on the tundra in spring you wouldn’t do much either. It’s all relative”. If a toad has evolved a brain that perfectly serves its purposes in regard to being a toad, is it really fair to say that toad is less intelligent than something like a dog? Either way, the toad doesn’t care because it’s perfect at being a toad.

That said, it is curious that herons aren’t often included in popsci discussions of bird intelligence (which are in my experience nearly dominated by the ever-popular corvids). I would say herons are probably one of the families of birds that most people around the globe have some opportunity to witness their hunting behavior, which is where their intelligence shines the most. It would be hard for anyone to watch a heron fishing or stalking and come away completely unimpressed. Back in the day, people used to think that Great Blue Herons excreted a fish-attracting oil from their legs as they thought this was the only reasonable explanation for a heron’s spectacular success when fishing. But nope, they really are just that good! I suppose the type of practical intelligence and hunting adaptations that we see in herons are maybe not as flashy as stuff like crows voting to make group decisions, but I agree that the herons deserve a little more attention!

One last little story on the complex inner lives of herons just because I think you’ll like it- a British biologist named Julian Huxley was studying herons in Louisiana in the 1920’s and specifically observing the courtship displays of tricolored herons. He recounted seeing two courting birds suddenly in perfect synchronicity lift their wings and call out, then intertwine their necks in a graceful movement as they preened one another’s feathers. Huxley’s comment on seeing this display is a quote I think about all the time:

“Of this I can only say that it seemed to bring such a pitch of emotion that I could have wished to be a Heron that I might experience it."

[ryuto12-gaming]

Funny idea that after Veilguard Emmrich returns to the Necropolis and starts teaching again and ljke, his class of ten doesn’t believe he was actually part of Rook’s team, think he was just like distantly involved and not really right up and personal

Until one day the Neve Gallus pops in, and Maker only knows how she got there. And she’s talking with Manfred like she knows him personally, calling him ‘Fred’ and patting him on the arm like an old friend. And after shrugging off that nonsense while Emmrich is in the middle of a lesson some random just sits in the back of the class and it’s only later they all figure that’s Rook who was coming to trade ideas on the Bellara Lutare’s notes on a possible renovation to the Lighthouse.

And that’s just passing bullshit, right? Wrong. A bunch of younger Watchers are gushing over this new monster hunter manual and one brings it up in class so Emmrich takes the opportunity to show off his signed by Davrin copy of it and their all just jaws to the floors. He even offers to have Davrin come in and they could have a small module on Darkspawn and other creatures they could encounter.

Emmrich has a beef with another teacher about something, and on his desk the next day is a note “ask Lucanis about the issue with (name)” one student who has an odd backstory makes the connection that’s Lucanis Dellamorte, the killer of Ghili’nain and First Talon of the Crows. Start watching the other teacher very closely, thinking there’s now a hit out on them. Emmrich had actually meant it as help with a poison in the body of a nobleman that he’d never seen before and wanted a Crow’s professional opinion on what it was, but they don’t know that.

One becomes mildly obsessed with dragons and Emmrich starts listing off anything curious about and when they ask how he knows so much he goes into a whole story about how he and Taash bonded over learning each others interests. Spirals into Rivaini and Qunari death practices eventually, and how a combination of cultures can lead to unique funeral preparations.

By this point they almost believe him, but just can’t bring themselves to fully get into the idea that old, soft-hearted and sweet Professor Volkarin fought the impossibly powerful Elgar’nan.

Then one day there’s a griffon playing with Manfred when they walk into class and Davrin is having the time of his life because Emmrich’s chair has wheels and he’s just spinning. And on the desk Taash is sitting there, spinning him faster and faster. It’s not helped by once again the Neve Gallus, who’s fighting off like seven wisps who are trying to steal her hat.

They finally believe him.