#listen to the mockingbird

[joezy27]

HAWKEYE - "Listen to the Mockingbird"

Hawkeye (1983) #1 Cover by Mark Gruenwald & Brett Breeding Coloring by John Kalisz (2010) / Bob Sharen (1983)

[strawmaguchi]

English classes at Monster High would be like “today we’re reading Scaradise Lost and The Wraiths of Wrath”

[kankuroplease]

I’m fine, I’m cool, not really. So I did a quick sketch of one of the characters I love but have always felt intimidated to draw because I can not draw like the original style at all

For those of you who don’t know, I love DBZ and know entirely too much about it. So hearing of Toriyama’s passing is devastating. His story inspired me so much as an artist and to that, I say thank you 🫶

[moonypears-blog]

Accidents happen.

Summary: Sofia accidentally breaks something in Cedric's workshop.

C*dfia shippers DNI.

Wordcount: 956

-

Oh no, oh no, oh no!

Sofia thought, staring at the broken glass on the floor and the green liquid spilt everywhere.

“Remind me, princess, I did bring some mugwort back from our last visit to the village?”

Sofia nodded, her eyes still on the green liquid. What if it took him ages to make and she just spilt it all over the floor? “Umm, yeah, I think so!” she put on the best voice she could. The last time she’d ruined something important in Roland’s office he was very upset, she didn’t want to upset Mr Cedric. He worked so hard on his potions. She stepped away as the green potion spilt closer towards her feet, she always knew his workshop was slanted!

“Are you alright, princess?”

Sofia braced herself as Cedric spun around on his stool. “I’m really sorry, Mr-”

“Sofia! Get away from that!”

Cedric rushed over to her, whisking her away from the magical goo. Paying no mind to the broken beaker, he grabbed her hands, checking over her. “It didn’t get on you, did it?”

“O-Only a little bit, I’ll clean it up!”

Sofia heard Cedric mumble some adult words before he knelt down to the broken glass, carefully picking up a shard with a label on it. He took a breath of relief, holding his hand to his chest. “Athena’s arena…”

“I’m so sorry, Mr Cedric, it wasn’t important was it?”

Cedric turned his attention back to his apprentice, petting her head with a level of care and sweetness Sofia had only ever seen him use with Calista. “No, no, It’s alright, love…Just go clean yourself up, it’s been known to stain. Bailywick will kill me if he finds out I let you stain another dress,” he stroked her hair gently, minding her tiara. Gods, had she scared him. This was why he tried to put his more dangerous potions and ingredients higher up. There were many things in his workshop she wasn’t allowed to handle, if he was working on a more dangerous spell or potion he'd practically push her out the door.

Sofia shook her head, running off to grab a broom from the other side of his workshop. “I’ll clean it, I don’t mind!”

Cedric rolled his eyes ever so slightly, snatching the broom from her small hands. Why was this child so sweet and who taught her to be such a people-pleaser? In what world does a child clean up glass? It’s an age-old situation, a little kid accidentally knocks over a glass, parent rushes over and yells at them to not go near it. “It’s glass, princess. I’ll sweep it up.”

“But that isn’t fair? I’m the one who broke it after all?”

“And I’m the one telling you to go change and let me clean up the very sharp sand on the floor because I’m the adult.”

Cedric watched Sofia’s face contort in confusion. “Glass is made of sand?” She was so cute. “How?”

Cedric smiled to himself, starting to sweep the glass into a little pile. He couldn’t have Sofia stepping on it. “It’s melted down into a liquid, then it becomes glass. Simple, really,” he explained, taking on a very soft, fatherly tone. He found himself speaking to Sofia like this a lot. It was quite odd, he didn't talk to anyone else like this, at least he’d never noticed it. “Now that that’s out of the way, won’t you go clean up? I’ll finish this.”

Sofia looked down at her purple dress, speckled with green potion. She really didn’t mind her dresses getting stained, it was only a dress, after all. If anything it was a reminder of a fun experience she got to endure. Even if Bailywick or Amber didn’t share her feelings.

“Do you have to remake the potion?”

Cedric shook his head. “It was defective, I’ve been meaning to throw it out. You beat me to it, princess,” he said, starting to rake up the goo. Sofia smiled a bit, she felt better knowing it would have been thrown out anyway. “I’m sorry I made a mess, Mr Cedric.”

“It’s alright, love. Accidents happen, I’ve broken an unruly amount of beakers in my time,” Cedric pulled his wand from his sleeve, pointing it at the small pile of liquid and glass and mumbled a quick spell, the floor becoming spotless once again. “See? No harm done.” Cedric put his wand back and patted Sofia on the head, making her giggle a bit. How was one princess so cute?

“You can’t go your whole life without a few mistakes, dear. Mistakes and accidents are inevitable, no matter how small,” the fatherly tone came back yet again, much stronger this time.

It was comforting to Sofia, it felt nostalgic in a way. Roland didn’t really speak to her in that tone, she vaguely remembers her biological father speaking to her in that way. A lot about Cedric reminded her of Birk, it was nice, considering she didn’t remember him all that much.

Sofia lept to hug Cedric’s waist, almost making him stumble backwards. That was a habit of hers, she was very enthusiastic with her hugs, sometimes a bit too enthusiastic. She just loved showing affection to the people she loved and cared about. Cedric very quickly caught on to the fact that she was a very sweet girl who wanted everyone to feel cared for, even if everyone else thought they weren’t worth the time of day.

“Thank you, Mr Cedric.”

Cedric smiled down at her, one hand on her shoulder, the other stroking her hair. He was growing to enjoy her hugs. A few years ago he would have pushed her off, but not anymore.

“It was only a glass, princess.”

[23rdhunter]

felt like Spring today

February 2024

[winterstaryu]

You know the call and response bit of Mockingbird? The whole "A finger tracing distant tracks, I felt the world end what is next" ????? That shit, I love it, I want it etched into my ribcage, I could live there, it comes on and I drop everything to close my eyes and just listen

[radical-rapscallion]

not knowing anything about anything is fun because sometimes i'm listening to a show and absolutely losing my mind because i didn't expect it to be that funny and sometimes i listen to a new song and it leaves me sobbing in the kitchen at 4 in the afternoon

[damesvirusalert]

I’d just like to call out the fact that Scout calls it his “courtroom voice” instead of like dad voice or something when Atticus is being stern

I just like that, I think it’s funny

[felixcosm]

Listen to Mockingbird → Realize you forgot how good it is → Get distracted by other songs → Listen to them for a while → Remember Mockingbird → Listen to Mockingbird → Realize you forgot how good it is → Get distracted by

[himebushou]

For Day 1 of #KazukiWeek2023! Content warning: Mention of dead animals.

Acceptance

“You’re lookin’ at that bird like ya wanna eat it!”

“Am not,” Kazuki says automatically.  He rips his gaze from the sparrow – fixes Kiyoshi with the filthiest scowl he can summon.  Kiyoshi grimaces and sticks out his tongue.  Then, he smirks.  He cups one hand around his mouth and hollers,

“HEY!  Kurusu’s dreaming kitty cats again!”

Clamorous laughter.  Over the last few weeks, the others have become obsessed with Kiyoshi’s feeble joke: Kazuki’s so dumb he thinks he can turn into a cat and gobble up a bird.  Poor ickle Kazuki’s sooo hungry.  Poor itsy bitsy Kazuki wants a tail and whiskers and to chase birds around and say, “Miaow miaow miaow!” all day long!

More than anything, it’s the stupidity that’s irritating.  Of course he doesn’t want to be a cat.  What good are they?  Stupid strays, slinking from home to home, never belonging anywhere, hissing and spitting like oil in a frying pan.  Kazuki is far more interested in growing wings (like crow or a dove or a crane) and flying far, far away – until these memories fade into fragile specks and the sun dissolves, a red pin-prick on the horizon.

Not everyone remembers to be horrible all the time. 

Some of the girls like him, a bit.  They find his golden hair fairy-like.  And some of the little ones appreciate that Kazuki doesn’t mind reading out loud, occasionally, if he can find a book that still has most of its pages.  And some of the boys sort of admire how far Kazuki can kick the deflated soccer ball. 

There’s also Kiyoshi.

Kiyoshi’s the oldest because he’s been stuck here the longest.  That’s it.  He got here a whole day before Kazuki and that virtue, apparently, is enough to make him Kazuki’s senior.  Never mind that there are at least four kids at the House that are a few grades above them both – Kiyoshi’s parents obviously loved him the least and that means that he deserves the most, even though he isn’t the smartest or fastest or strongest.

It’s pathetic.

They’re playing hide-and-seek (Rika’s idea) and they’re playing on the streets (Aoi’s idea) and Kazuki and Kiyoshi are on the same team (an unlucky draw – so, fate’s idea).

Kiyoshi wants to lead, but Kazuki digs his nails into Kiyoshi’s wrist and pulls him down an alleyway.  Kiyoshi whimpers at the sudden gloom and Kazuki snaps, “Don’t wet yourself!”

Kiyoshi swats at Kazuki – snarls in denial – and is swept into silence when Kazuki says:

“Don’t bother.  I saw ’em hanging out your sheets this morning.”

He can imagine Kiyoshi’s face; it’ll be scarlet, a glowing heat-lamp warming the late autumn afternoon.  Kazuki smiles as they round a corner.  He strides forward and something moulds itself into the sole of his shoe; Kazuki’s stomach convulses and, instinctively, he throws out an arm.  Kiyoshi snarls again when he’s impaled by Kazuki’s elbow – Kazuki growls, “Shut up!” and forces Kiyoshi to retreat.

Finally, Kazuki can see what he stepped on.

“Oh, what the hell,” Kiyoshi breathes.  “Ya reckon it’s still alive?”

“Doesn’t look like it,” Kazuki returns.  “Half the bird’s missin’.  This thing’s dead, Kiyoshi.  Dead dead.”

“Oh.  Oh!”  A sniffle.  Kiyoshi blows his nose on his sleeve.  He clears his throat.  “We gotta bury it or somethin’,” he says at last.  “Since it ain’t alive no more.”

Kazuki rounds on Kiyoshi, incredulous.

“Why?”

Kiyoshi starts.  His lower lip trembles.  “Well.  You know.  Because we found it.  Since no one else is here, we gotta be the ones to sort it.”

“It’s sorted,” says Kazuki.  “This is nature.  Some cat probably ate half of this thing – don’t really know why it left so much meat – and some other cat’ll be along to take the rest.  Things live and die, Kiyoshi.  You know that.”

Kiyoshi mumbles, “Shoulda known you’d side with the cats.”

“I’m not siding with anything,” Kazuki’s voice is steeped with scorn.  “If you want to give it a funeral, Kiyoshi, be my guest.  But don’t expect me to cry about it.  It’s just some stupid bird.”

Kiyoshi nods.

Later, after the group have trooped home from their game and been scolded and sent to bed without supper, and the days have erupted in floods of ruby leaves and Kiyoshi has had enough time to tell the others, usually in whispered tones, about Kazuki’s words That Afternoon, there’s a… change.  The collective know, now, that Kazuki won’t cry or be shocked by nothing.  He’s the toughest.  He’s ruthless.

That’s how you establish dominance.

[theluckiestrose]

The autistic urge to identify and comment every song that isnt properly credited in a tiktok just in case someone wats to listen to the whole thing instead of like 15 seconds of it

[missallanea-a]

I love when Mal casually drops an idea or a concept on me in the chat and then has to deal with the outpouring of capslock as I scream at them about how perfect it is...

[dad-friend]

does anybody else wish hozier would do a cover album? like he always does such a good job of taking a song and putting it into his own style instead of just copying it, i think itd be fun to have an album of some of the covers hes done as well as some new ones

[narutosfrogwallet]

i might've had a weird not great day but the sky was clear at dusk and the moon is beautiful tonight

[neotheater-kid]

Bruno is Orange and To Kill a Mockingbird are forever intertwined in my brain

[heystephen]

this is actually the worst hypothetical festival lineup ive ever seen and i love it