#actually I can. he’s a crow. crows hold grudges

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

I can’t believe Monty out-pettied Edwin in episode 6

[anxious-witch]

I know, I know we talked about the forest scene with Monty, Edwin and the Cat King to death. But, but. Hear me out.

Edwin was ready to both forgive Monty and thank the Cat King right then and there if they didn't push him, aka crossed a line in the sand for him.

When the Cat King initially informs him of Monty's betrayal, this is Edwin's reaction:

He looks confused, he looks hurt. But he doesn't look angry. Not yet. When he says "Were you just pretending to be my friend" he sounds hurt, but when he sees how Monty is affected, he still looks oddly touched. Especially when Monty says: "At first, yes! Then...no."

I know we joke about Edwin being awful at reading people, but Monty is obviously distressed and Edwin reacts to it. Besides, Monty is his friend. He wants to believe it wasn't all a ploy. But then, Monty makes a fatal mistake and brings up Charles. Immediately, Edwin's expression falls and then it turns angry and says: "Even if it were true, you are a bloody crow!"

We see Edwin forgive Simon, his killer, the person who was responsible for sending him to Hell, in mere minutes, once he finds out why Simon did it. I don't believe for a second he wouldn't have forgiven Monty in a heartbeat if Monty properly explained himself, instead of falling back to his hurt feelings and in turn, trying to hurt Edwin the same way by bringing up Charles. Which is a shame, because they really could have used each other's help.

As for the Cat King, I think it's a very similar story too!

Immediately after Monty walks away, Edwin closes his eyes and says: "I am such an idiot." And the Cat King nods, but you can already see most of the anger Edwin held towards Monty dispersing.

When the Cat King stops him from leaving and says: "I came all the way into this ridiculous forest to save you, I think I am at least owed a thank you," Edwin doesn't seem mad. I'd even go as far as to describe his expression as soft surprise. I think he is thankful, in that moment. And why wouldn't he be? The Cat King did save him from a trap.

It's only when the Cat King brings up a second kiss, implying he should thank him by kissing him, does Edwin grow angry again.

Also, importantly, the way Edwin pushes the Cat King away is almost gentle. Bitchy, and pissed off, for sure, but also gentle. Like, if it was someone who I genuinely didn't want anwhere near me, I'd shove them away by the shoulders, and with much more force. And sure! Edwin isn't a type for violence, but c'mon. We know he is capable if pressed, as seen when Esther hurt Charles.

Edwin keeps his anger tightly locked, only letting it out through his words. He practically spits out "I am not your toy to yank around." But even so, the only tense action we see from his is the way he cocks his head and demingly looks thr Cat King up and down.

Only after the Cat King threatens him, does Edwin get up in his personal space and almost violently(by his standards) shows him the bracelet, saying "This is all that you are. Do you understand?"

My point is, if both the Cat King and Monty essentially told/showed Edwin their actions are somehow tied into his reciprocation of his feelings. Funnily, enough, I feel like if either of them didn't base this interaction on that, and instead rather connected with Edwin emotionally, they would have had a shot at getting exactly what they wanted that night. Monty, Edwin's forgivness and the Cat King, Edwin's thankfulness, perhaps even a sense that he owes him, next time they see each other.

Which is great! Because it shows us sm about the characters, their flaws, and their priorities! But yeah. Talking about shooting themselves in the foot.

I also think that, for all we joke around Edwin holding grudges, he is actually incredible in how quickly he forgives people, as soon as they show the skightest initative for change/goodwill. Part of me hopes he and Monty meet again, just so Edwin can understand his pov, the same way he understood Simon and thr Cat King's but alas. I suppose we'll see

[obey-me-disaster]

A/N: I'm reposting this cause the tags didn't work the first time <3

Demon brothers x gn!MC

Demon brothers x MC that info-dumps about their familiars

Lucifer

Whenever he feels like the two of you haven't spent enough time together due to his work, he invites you into his office to hang out. He enjoys hearing you talk excitedly about your passions while he does paperwork.

He can't say he has too much of an interest in peacocks, but he loves hearing you talk about the things you love, so he'll let you talk until you've had your fill.

"So peacocks apparently peacocks feathers are covered in tiny crystal-like structures that reflect different wavelengths of light depending on how they're spaced."

"Also, since only male peacocks have the large train of feathers, do you think it played a role in them being your familiars? Since you're the avatar of pride and all of that."

"That's quite the theory you've got there, but I'm afraid I don't know how true it actually is."

"Still, I would love to hear more facts that you have, I can see from the expression on your face that you're dying to do so"

"And before you ask, yes, my feathers have the crystal-like structures, you can have a closer look if you would like"

His ego does grow quite a bit every time you go into one or your rants since he can tell you're talking so much about peacock cause they are his familiars.

He will probably buy you something peacock inspired to give you during one of your info-dumps.

God forbid you start gushing about his familiars in front of Diavolo. The prince will see it as a way to talk even more about Lucifer, and the former isn't sure how much he can deal with that.

Mammon

He has a pretty good base knowledge about crows. Out of all of his brothers, he probably works with his familiars the most. It's canon that he literally uses them to spy on people and gather information.

Still, there are a lot of things he might not know. And even if he knew, he would die before telling you to stop talking.

"Your crows are so cute, did you know that they are considered some of the world's smartest birds?"

"Of course they are! They're the Great Mammon's familiars after all"

"They are also known to gossip with their peers and hold grudges"

"I am well aware of that fact, more often than not they tell me the latest gossip in Devildom"

He would let you hang out with his crows in order to learn more about them.

I also have the headcanon that he can talk with them, so he would literally be a translator for you and the crows

"Feel free to ask them anything, I will translate whatever they say!"

Is pretty smug about the fact that you are so interested in his familiars, even so when you interact with them. He might even give you some accessories made out of his familiars' feathers(of course, feathers that have fallen on their own)

Leviathan

Bold of you to assume he doesn't know already everything there is about snakes already, he is literally one!

"Levi, did you know that snakes can smell with their tongues and a good amount of them have shit eyesight?"

"Henry the 1st used to have a bad eyesight!! They also don't really stop growing. This is more obvious with Devildom snakes tho"

He would honestly be really touched by your eagerness to learn and tell him about snakes since he is pretty much one. He sees it as you being interested in him on a whole new level and gets really excited when you info-dump about them.

Leviathan, on the verge of crying internally "They actually care about me!"

NB! Levi would actually really appreciate it tho. His demon form is that of a snake and he also got a pet snake, so any new info is more than welcome. Especially about how to deal with shedding.

"MC, you've got to help me! You know a lot about snakes, so could you tell me why my tail feels so itchy???"

Satan

Your info-dump session about unicorns is pretty much a 'is it true that they actually do that??' kind of thing

He still touched about you wanting to learn more about his familiars so he is always willing to answear any and all of your questions. He might even take you to see some of them.

"Is it true that unicorns can use magic with their horn?"

"Saying they can cast magic is far stretched. They have some abilities specific to their kind that can be used with or without the horn."

Cats on the other hand? Doesn't matter if he already know whatever fact you want to tell him, he is always more than happy to discuss about them.

Hell, he might be the one info-dumping about cats before you get the chance to do so.

"Did you know that cats can have up to 100 different vocalizations? Dogs only have like 10"

"They are also believed to be the only mammal who doesn't taste sweetness, which I find unfortunate. Still, they truly are amazing creatures"

More often than not Solomon is dragged in the conversations too due to the 'Cat' group chat that three of you have. Not like he minds, he loves cats too.

Asmodeus

He lets you info-dump about scorpions while he does your hair/nails/helps you with you skin care.

"Is you info-dumping about my familiars your way of telling me that you love me~"

Your self care sessions are also info-dump sessions, so you kill two birds with one stone.

"Did you know that scorpions are capable of dissolving their pray from the inside out. They also glow under ultraviolet light??"

"It's only natural that my familiars would be able to do this, they are my familiars after all ♡. Maybe I should use some make up the glows in the dark"

Since you've started to info-dump about his familiars to him, his outfits/nails/accessories have started to have a scorpion motif to them quite often

He also tells you one of the facts you've told him before while he shows off his scorpion inspired accesories. It's his way of showing that he listens to your rants.

"Scorpions can do that, can't they? Remember when you told me this last night?"

Beelzebub

He doesn't really know a lot about his familiars but he has an odd fondness about them. He can't really bring himself to kill them, tho flies tend to leave him alone anyway.

He thinks is really sweet that you know so much about those little guys, so he is always happy to sit and listen to you.

If you feel like info-dumping about flies, feel free to do it whenever you like. He is raiding the fridge? You can help him carry some of the food while you tell him more about his familiars. He is working out? He can hear loud and clear. He might not be the most responsive during some of those moments but he is always listening to you.

He is aware that out of all of his brothers, his familiar is not the cutest or the coolest one, so when you start talking about it, he can't help but feel really loved.

"Beel, did you know that flies can taste food using their feet?"

"It would be pretty usefull to know how food would taste just by touching, not like I would care if the food would taste bad, I would still eat it"

"Also, due to their eyes being compound they can also see behind their back. They actually have a 360° field of view"

"I also have that in my demon form, it came in handy a lot of times"

"YOU HAVE WHAT?!"

Belphegor

Lying on the attic bed while facing the ceiling "Shouldn't your familiar be a bull instead of a cow, since you're a guy and all of that?"

"Just shut up and cuddle me.."

While he thinks cows look comfy enough to take a nap, he does not care about them. But he care about you, so he is more than willing to cuddle up with you while you info-dump.

"Cows are actually pretty nice, they can spend about 10 hours a day lying down and they can also sleep while standing...are you even listening to me...?"

Belphegor, looking on the verge of falling asleep "hmm? Yeah I'm listening.."

Despite looking like he is one second from falling asleep or even downright sleeping, he actually listens to you. He can pay attention to things even in his sleep, how do you think he has really high grades at RAD? so he is listening to all of the cow facts you're telling him.

Anytime you doubt that he has been listening, he will tell you a fact that you've told him in the past to show that he was in fact listening.

"Cows can sleep while standing, right? You're the one who told me, so you should know. Now get closer, I want to use your lap as a pillow."

If you dare to do any kind of jokes about him being a cowboy, he will kick out of the bed.

[fatgirlonadate-blog]

21 Days - Day 7

Crows are one of the most misunderstood birds in the animal kingdom. Due to their dark feathers and association with death, they're often seen as creepy and sinister - a bad omen. But, in reality, crows represent wisdom, intuition, and transformation. They're highly intelligent, form unbreakable bonds, and can hold one hell of a grudge. They are a good sign - a good omen. It's actually quite lucky to see one.

Despite all of that, the mechanical crow currently perched outside of your bedroom window can only mean one thing: trouble.

You glare at Mephisto, your frown deepening as you pull on a shirt swiped from Xavier's side of the closet.

The bird continues to watch you with an unwavering stare, his red eyes following every movement as you finish dressing. It's a bit unsettling not knowing exactly how Sylus and Mephisto communicate. Can he see everything Mephisto sees? If so, then he's a pervert and has probably seen you naked more times than you care to think about.

You cross to the window with a heavy sigh, and pull it open. The crow flaps its mechanical wings in response to the movement, but doesn't budge from its perch.

"How did you find me?"

You're not sure if the question is for Sylus or for Mephisto - they're basically one and the same. You had told Sylus that you were going to be out of Linkon City for a while, but you had very specifically not mentioned where you were going. And yet, Mephisto is here.

You resist the urge to pet the damned bird, and walk back to your bedside table to retrieve your phone. You open your messages and tap on Sylus's name.

Kitten: What are you doing?

The message is marked as read instantly, and a notification appears at the top of the screen. Sylus is calling you. You swipe to answer and bring the phone to your ear, "Hello?"

"There you are, Kitten," Sylus greets you on the other line, his voice all razor blades and honey. "Do you miss me yet?"

"Why is Mephisto here?" You ask, getting straight to the point.

Sylus chuckles and you can imagine the cocky smirk he's wearing. "How should I know the answer to that? You know he does as he pleases."

You scoff, and glance at Mephisto who is now sitting on the windowsill and peering into the room.

"Uh huh, sure he does. What do you want, Sylus?"

The sound of fabric rustling comes through on his end of the line, and you hear the muffled sound of a yawn.

"You already know what I want, Sweetie. What are you really trying to ask me? Use your words."

You roll your eyes even though he can't see you. "What are you planning?"

"I'm not planning anything," Sylus replies in a softer, more innocent voice. "Unless you count going back to bed."

You glance at the time on your phone, it's nearly noon. Of course he was still sleeping.

"Why did you send Mephisto to find me? I told you I'd be gone for a while."

There's a long pause on his end of the line. "Maybe he's bored of me and misses you?"

"It's been less than a week since I've seen him, and that's the dumbest thing you've ever said to me."

Sylus laughs, a rich, happy sound, "Oh, have you been keeping count? Have you missed him, too?"

"No," you bite out quickly, "I haven't missed him...or you."

"Careful, Kitten. You'll break his heart."

You try to fight the smile that's threatening to spread across your face, but it's a losing battle. He knows how to make you laugh, even when you don't want to. And as much as you want to hate the nickname, you can't. It sounds so good when he says it.

"Are you going to answer me or not?" you demand, trying to keep your tone harsh.

There's a shuffling sound on his end, and then Sylus's voice is close to the phone again, "You'll be receiving a package today. Mephisto is there to make sure it arrives."

"A package? What kind of package? What is it?"

"I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise, Kitten. I promise it will be worth the wait."

"What does that even mea-"

The line goes dead, and the phone screen dims in your hand. He hung up on you.

"Asshole," you mutter as you toss your phone back on the nightstand and turn to look at Mephisto. You could swear that dumb bird is smirking at you. With a sigh, you cross the room to the window and shoo him off the ledge.

"Message received. Out you get," you huff, and close the window in his face.

Mephisto tilts his head and clicks his beak at you before spreading his wings and flying off to perch on a branch in the yard. You watch him for a moment, wondering where the hell that package is supposed to be delivered, and then head into the living room.

Xavier is sitting on the couch, reading a book and sipping tea. He looks comfortable, relaxed, and so damn beautiful that you just want to squish his perfect face.

"Hey," he greets, setting down his book.

You sit beside him on the couch and curl up against his side. His arm naturally finds its place around your shoulders, pulling you closer. It's a simple gesture, one that's become almost second nature in the last few days. It's nice. You could get used to living with Xavier like this. For the first time in a long time, you've found something that feels like home again.

Your momentary happiness is interrupted as you remember the package. What could it be? You know it's not going to be something normal like flowers or chocolate. Not with Sylus - that's not his style. A strange mix of excitement and unease settles in your stomach as you try to think of what he could possibly want to send you.

Xavier tilts his head toward yours. "Is something wrong?"

You shake your head and try to school your features. "Oh, no. I was just thinking...why don't we get out of the house for a bit? We're a married couple on vacation, after all. Shouldn't we be going on dates?"

"Are you asking me out on a date, Mrs. Shen?"

"Well, that depends, Mr. Shen. Are you saying yes?"

His lips twitch with a hint of amusement. "Of course. Where are you taking me?"

You hum, tapping your chin as if deep in thought. You hadn't actually planned anything - you simply want to get him out of the house so he won't be here when your mystery package arrives. Xavier is the last person you want to know about Sylus. He'll have questions, and you don't have good answers.

"There's a park not far from here. I saw it on my walk the other day. Want to go check it out?"

Xavier nods and gives your shoulder a small squeeze, "Yeah, alright. Let's go then."

The park is within walking distance, and it's a beautiful afternoon. The sky is clear, the temperature is warm, and there's a light Autumn breeze rustling through the trees. Leaves fall to the ground around you like flower petals.

Xavier walks beside you with his hands in his pockets. As you stroll, you take the time to really look at the town this time. The houses are all different shapes and sizes, some old and weathered, others looking brand new, and yet they all blend together seamlessly. They fit. They belong. The people, too, look like they fit here. You pass a group of kids riding bicycles, an elderly couple walking their dog, a woman watering the plants in her front yard, and a man washing his car.

This is the kind of place where couples settle down and start families, you think. It's a bittersweet thought - one that causes a pang in your chest. It's a life you're not sure you'll ever get to have.

Xavier nudges your arm, snapping you out of your thoughts, "What are you thinking about?"

You glance up at him, "Hmm?"

"You're quiet. Too quiet."

"Just enjoying the scenery. It's very...domestic," you say with a shrug.

He makes a face as if he doesn't really understand what you mean. "Is that good or bad?"

You smile at him, and reach up to ruffle his fluffy hair, "It's good. I miss the city - the chaos. But it's nice here. Pretty. The company isn't half bad, either."

Xavier ducks away from you with a laugh and tries to smooth his hair back down.

As you turn into the entrance of the park, you see your new neighbors in the distance chatting away on a bench. The two women are huddled close together, their heads bowed as they gossip in hushed tones.

"Oh god," you breathe out as their eyes land on you. "Quickly! Act like you love me."

Xavier glances at you, clearly confused. "What?"

"The old ladies! Just act normal...no...act like you love me!"

He blinks down at you, his brows knitting together, "I am acting normal."

"Okay, well...act different then! Now!" you order, grabbing him by the front of his shirt. You tug him close and stand up on your tiptoes, your eyes fixed on his.

Xavier looks down at you with a raised brow, and then glances over his shoulder in the direction you are staring.

"They're coming over," he whispers, leaning in closer to you.

Your eyes dart between him and the approaching ladies. Without thinking too deeply about it, you wrap your arms around his neck and lean in and press your lips against his in a rush. Your noses bump together. He freezes, his hands hovering in the air, and then wraps his arms around your waist and pulls you closer.

It's a quick kiss - over before it even started. And you look down, flooded with embarrassment, as you pull away. Your heart is pounding and your cheeks are burning crimson.

"Remember what I said?" A voice chirps close behind you. "The couple that just moved in..."

You're still cradled in Xavier's arms, and you feel them tense around your waist as the two women pass by.

"Aw, young people are adorable. Look at how smitten they are with each other..." The woman's voice trails off as the two of them continue to walk out of hearing range.

You let out a shaky breath, your heart still racing, "That was close."

Xavier doesn't say anything, he's just looking at you, his blue eyes searching your face as if trying to read your thoughts. He still hasn't loosened his grip on your waist.

"Can I try again?" he asks, his voice low and soft.

"What?" Your gaze flickers from his lips to his eyes.

Xavier brings his hand to your cheek, and tilts your face up toward him. He leans down and presses his lips to yours, softer this time. Gentle. His hand slides down to the back of your neck as you part your lips and feel his tongue brush against yours.

You can't breathe. You can't think. All you can do is kiss him back. His lips are so soft, moving slowly and deliberately against yours. He tastes like ginger tea, and smells like clean laundry and sunshine.

When he finally breaks the kiss, you're breathless, and you're clinging to his shirt to keep yourself steady. He rests his forehead against yours and closes his eyes.

"I've wanted to do that for a long time," he says softly.

You're frozen, barely processing his words. Your brain is still in a haze from the kiss. You've been kissed before, but never like that. Never so sweetly or passionately. You're not sure if it was real or not. It couldn't have been, you think. It was fake. Just for show. But right now, in this moment, with Xavier's arms around you and his lips so close to yours, it feels pretty damn real.

He clears his throat, and takes a step back, his hands dropping to his sides.

"So, the park. What do you want to do first?" he asks, breaking the silence.

You blink at him and try to regain some semblance of composure.

"Uhhh, the playground?" You suggest lamely, pointing at the colorful structure in the center of the park.

Xavier's mouth curves into a half smile, and he offers you his hand, "Let's do the swings. I'll push you."

You slip your hand into his, and let him lead you forward. Your heart and your head haven't caught up to what just happened, and your mind is reeling as you try to make sense of it.

The next few hours slip by in a blur. Xavier pushed you on the swings until you were breathless with laughter, and he raced you through the park to the ice cream stand. You know he let you win, but that didn't stop you from rubbing it in his face and insisting that the loser had to pay. He didn't protest.

It was as if nothing had changed. And yet, everything felt different. You couldn't shake the feeling that Xavier was watching you even closer than usual, his gaze lingering longer, and his touch more frequent. Maybe you were imagining it. But maybe you weren't.

As you make your way back to the house, you sneak glances at him from the corner of your eye. He looks the same as always, but something is different. You can feel it.

You reach the front of the house and notice a large cardboard box sitting on the front porch.

"A package came while we were gone," Xavier notes, following you up the stairs.

You glance at the box and then at Xavier, and feel a knot form in the pit of your stomach. It's here. Sylus's mystery gift has arrived - just as he said it would.

Xavier is standing next to you, his eyes fixed on the box. He's staring at it as if he's trying to figure out what is inside.

"Did you order something?"

"Um, yeah. Just some things I thought we could use around the apartment," you lie, your voice pitching higher.

He looks at you, his eyes narrowing.

"Like what?" Xavier asks.

"Uh...I don't really remember. I ordered it days ago."

You pick up the box and carry it inside. Xavier is watching you from the doorway as you place the box down on the coffee table.

"Are you going to open it?"

"Yeah, in a minute. I have to pee. Right now," you reply as you scurry past him and dart to the bathroom.

As if on cue, your phone buzzes in your pocket the moment you shut the door behind you. You pull it out to check.

Sylus: Is the package there?

You curse under your breath. Is that goddamn bird in the house?

Kitten: It's here all right. Sylus: Good. Kitten: Are you going to tell me what it is? Sylus: Open it and find out. Kitten: Just tell me. Sylus: It's a reminder. Kitten: A reminder of what? Sylus: See you soon, Kitten. Kitten: Sylus?? Kitten: Really???

There's no reply.

With a sigh, you exit the bathroom and return to the living room. Xavier is slouched on the couch with his eyes closed. Sleeping? Thank god.

You tiptoe across the room and gingerly grab the box from the coffee table, and creep out of the room as quietly as possible. Once you're safely inside the bedroom, you place the box down on the bed. The package is unmarked and plain. What in the hell could this be?

You quickly pull a pair of scissors out of the nightstand, and slice the tape open.

Inside, there's a smaller black box tied with a red, silk ribbon.

You lift out the gift and set it down on the bed, staring at it as if it's a bomb.

With hesitant hands, you pull off the ribbon and lift the lid of the black box.

Heat instantly rises to your cheeks as you see a pair of silver handcuffs staring back at you. There are no other contents, just the handcuffs and a note.

'Don't forget, Kitten. We're bound together. -S'

You stare at the note. You read it twice. Then thrice. Your heartbeat quickens every time you reread the words.

You put the note back in the box and tentatively pick up the handcuffs to examine them. They're heavy in your hand - not a toy. The realization makes you feel both hot and cold at the same time.

The sound of footsteps approaching the bedroom breaks you out of your trance, and you drop the handcuffs as if they're on fire. Your heart seizes. In a panic, you quickly grab the black box, snatch up the red ribbon, and toss them in the closet.

You turn around just in time to see two things at once.

Firstly, Xavier is standing in the doorway, watching you with a curious expression.

And, secondly, the handcuffs that are still laying on the bed in plain sight next to the cardboard box.

Xavier follows your horrified line of sight and you watch his eyes widen as he sees the handcuffs. A mix of emotions flicker across his face. Surprise, confusion, curiosity, and then something else. Something you're not quite sure you recognize.

Xavier walks over to the bed and picks up the silver cuffs, turning them over in his hands. He looks up at you and raises his brows questioningly.

"You bought handcuffs...for us to use around the apartment?"

Your mouth opens and closes, but no sound comes out. A dozen lies flit through your mind, all of them much better than what you actually end up saying.

"Um, yes?"

[yuri-is-online]

Been brainrotting lately and now I present to you what I think is an underused story beat for Yuu. What if “Yuu” isn’t even the prefect’s real name?

Considering that Yuu’s first experience in Twisted Wonderland is waking up in a coffin, wandering around an obviously foreign place, and being questioned by a suspicious man in a crow mask surrounded by people in black hooded robes… I just think most people would not give their real name in such a sketchy situation.

Fast forward to when Yuu is more comfortable with the cast and there is both comedy and angst potential here. On one hand, the reactions to the deception could be pretty funny. (Cue a “woe is me” from Crowley. Of course he can’t find a way home for you when he doesn’t have your real name!) On the other, this could be a great way of exploring the prefect having a crisis. Yuu already lost so much in being taken to Twisted Wonderland, and now in a way even the prefect’s name has been taken.

What do you think?

waking up in a coffin, wandering around an obviously foreign place, and being questioned by a suspicious man in a crow mask surrounded by people in black hooded robes…

Annon, annon, annon, when you put it like that it sounds like Yuu woke up in the middle of a cult ritual of some sort. Which I suppose if you were an edgy Night Raven student idia you might argue that the enrollment ceremony totally is as an excuse not to go

But to be more serious, I have seen a few memes about this concept and I like it a lot σ(￣、￣=) It's a fun character concept, it's not everyday you get a chance to re-invent yourself completely.

That being said, just based off of the few dialogue options Yuu has at the start, I think Yuu is implied to believe that they are dreaming:

Which honestly doesn't make this idea any less valid. If you're dreaming about waking up in the middle of some weird necromancer's rite, why not give him a fake name? It's not meant to be serious anyway. Just go with the flow and hope things don't get too weird (and get offended when your dream doesn't give you magic powers) until it's too late and you realize everyone thinks your name really is that bad joke you made.

If you want to get darker, maybe Yuu really did think they died. A black carriage pulling a coffin really only goes to a funeral, and death has been depicted as an unmanned coach with black horses. Maybe Yuu is only just coming to grips with the fact that they really are alive when they see Riddle overblot and he hurts them. Maybe they now are sitting next to two people who have started to think about them as a friend, a really close one. Maybe they think Yuu is really brave because they charged headlong into danger without a second thought, and won, twice now. Maybe Yuu cries themselves to sleep that night because in a way... you died so yuu could live.

As for reactions, Crowley and the other staff members I think would be the most dramatic, followed by Adeuce and Grim. Jack I can see accepting your reasons and not thinking too hard about it, maybe even respecting your survival instincts, while Epel... well he says he's mad but mostly he's just concerned. He knows what it feels like to have two dueling parts of yourself and trying to find the middle ground. Ortho would be excited, you have a secret identity just like a magical girl/super sentai/anime idol/superhero take your pick really. He certainly doesn't mind getting to know you all over again.

Sebek screams at you for being a threat to Wakasama but it's clear to everyone who actually knows him that he's really just worried about the amount of stress you put on yourself. He would hate for you to have the same issues with self loathing he does. And Malleus? Well he lied to you about who he was because he was worried you would be afraid, even though you didn't know he existed. It would be very petty for him to hold a grudge against you for doing the same.

In general I think this would be something the others would have an easier time understanding as opposed to Yuu's sense of alienation or loneliness at not having magic. Identity issues are common themes in fiction, so I could see them actually seeing it as a problem as opposed to an abstract problem like no government papers (since these kids with one obvious exception don't do taxes.) But it would make for a great way to explore the prefect having a crisis just as you say, in a way it's the perfect example for every problem they might have with being in Twisted Wonderland.

[incorrect-soc]

Godly Parents: SoC edition

(Lil disclaimer: This is not necessarily PJO's meaning of Godly Parent. It's just basically a "Which God is your godly parent" buzzfeed quiz but with actual information-)

Kaz: Nemesis, Goddess of indignation against, and retribution for, evil deeds and undeserved good fortune. Kaz spent the entire two books and the bigger part of his life holding grudges and planning his revenge on an arrogant man who got away with destroying a bunch of people's lives. He makes it his life mission to make him pay for his crimes.

Inej: Hermes, Messenger of the gods; god of travel, commerce, communication, borders, eloquence, diplomacy and thieves. First of all, Inej is Suli. Suli people are known to be "nomads", travelling from place to place. Second, Kaz hired her to be his spider, to collect and deliver important information, a messenger of some kind. And a detail I particularly liked is the whole thing with the shoes. Hermes most characteristic item are his flying sandals; and Inej is also particularly fond of her climbing leather slippers.

Jesper: Hephaestus, God of the forge, craftsmanship, invention, fire, metallurgy and volcanoes, craftsman of the gods. Yeah, yeah. The obvious reason is in fact because Jesper is a Fabrikator. He literally controls metal. If it's parental issues we're talking about, well, we all know how that went for both of them.

Wylan: Apollo, God of Sun, light, prophecy, philosophy, archery, truth, inspiration, poetry, music, arts, manly beauty, medicine, healing, and plague. "Because of Wylan Van Suns-?" *slap* Shut up, that was literally sarcasm. Wylan's story and latter fate begins because of a music conservatory, and music really played such a big part in his own story as well as his story with Jesper (ehem, piano incident). Also, bit of a fun fact, Apollo is supposedly the creator of the flute so there you go. Another literal thing is that he created a fake plague to help Kaz.

Nina: Hecate, Goddess of the dead's souls, witchcraft and divination. (Matthias would be so happy for the whole witchcraft thing). I don't think I have to elaborate on this one, but just a reminder that Nina can in fact control dead bodies.

Matthias: Hestia, Goddess of the hearth, fire and of the right ordering of domesticity and the family. *Introduces really gut-wrenching line from chapter 40 of Crooked Kingdom about how he finally could go back home*. I know it's kinda ironic that Matthias is from an icy country and Hestia is the Goddess of the fire, but no one said this was a perfect analysis (do I look like Rick Riordan to you?). Matthias was all about family values and homeland really, even if they meant different things at the beginning and at the end of Matthias' story. First it was his bio family, whose death ignited his hatred for the Grisha and his home was Fjerda. But in the end, the Crows became his family, the family he gave his life for, the same way Nina became his home.

[ahamkara-apologist]

Okay I kinda get being dissapointed at how they rushed the Sov sibling reconcilliation with just one conversation after drawing it out for months but y'all...this really isn't the end-all-be-all of Crow's character arc, nor is it necessarily out of line for him. His biggest weakness is that he's a bleeding heart who lets people walk all over him- remember how he decided not to get revenge on Spider despite Spider very literally keeping him as a slave? Or how he killed a psion because he was too empathetic to a hive guardian? As much as I love him, and as much as his love is a terrifying force when weilded correctly, he's soft and weak. He always has been. He was bound to forgive Mara eventually, esp. since they have a psychic twin bond going on.

I think y'all are also forgetting the fact that Mara has had quite a bit of character development over the past year or so and has very notably been more open about her emotions and better about keeping herself out of Crow's life- because she got bitchslapped by the reality of what she'd done to him in Season of the Lost and then got shaken to the core by her confrontation with the Witness in Witch Queen. She hasn't been 'defanged', she realized that the way she was acting qualified her to be a Disciple (aka the worst of the worst, the enemy she'd been hellbent on fighting this whole time) and that in tandem with Crow's rejection upset her deeply enough for her to change her behavior, which hasn't been as apparent until now. Idk how y'all can forgive how Uldren Sov slaughtered hundreds of Awoken citizens and wreaked havoc on the Reef but is changed as Crow without also acknowledging the fact that Mara herself changed as well. It's not as dramatic of a difference because it happened more gradually and without intervention from a Taken Ahamkara and the Traveller, but its still there and is the most apparent its ever been right now. It wouldn't surprise me if the reason why Crow is forgiving her now- apart from the fact that he's a softie and discounting potential Riven bullshit- is because she's proven she's changed by both keeping her distance and being more emotionally open with him, as well as open about how she knows she fucked up. That's the second thing Uldren wanted other than her approval, after all.

Also, it's been like, 2 years of Crow being pissed at Mara and avoiding her, so them starting to make up now is kinda necessary even if it feels a bit rushed. I personally would have loved to see more snark and nettling from Crow's end, bc I love conflict and sibling angst, but it really isn't out of character nor is it throwing away Crow's character arc. It would have if Mara hadn't changed, but she has. And while I myself love storylines where victims don't need to forgive their abusers and can exert their wrath upon them as they wish, the fact of the matter is that how such a situation needs to be dealt with varies immensely on a person-to-person basis, which the writing team has already proven they're capable of understanding. Just look at Calus's and Caiatl's relationship! That ended with no reconcilliation because Calus simply refused to change, while Mara has spent the past year trying to get Crow to feel comfortable with her as an equal in conversations and open up to him more and trying to break her habit of watching him like a hawk- aka, acting like an actual sister rather than the pseudo-mother figure she'd picked up from Osanna. Ofc Crow the softie is going to respond to that, esp. since he's got a psychic connection to her via Awoken Twin Magic and seems to have been walking Uldren's memories as of late. He just genuinely is really fucking bad at holding a grudge.

(And while its easy to go 'oh the writing is lazy and rushed', I also think its kinda sus that Riven specifically talks about the human wish to reconnect with family right after the Sov sibling talk happens. It wouldn't surprise me if she picked up on Mara's desire to reconnect with her brother and pushed Crow towards forgiving her. It seems like she's been trying to pull Uldren's memories to the forefront everytime she talks with him and that could be a big factor as to why he's been reflecting on them a lot recently)

[queenmuzz]

Three Lies and a Truth

"So...Rook," Neve sits back, after lighting up her slender pipe, the smell of elfroot wafting and mixing with the scent of coffee and cinnamon. The entire group is lounging in the dining room, all of them winding down after yet another succulent meal. Emmrich's fiddling with one of Manfred's joints, Darvin is pretending not to notice Assam sneaking a bite of the cinnamon cake. Bellara and Harding are chatting about some plant they'd discovered in the latter's little garden. Taash is stretched out on one of the chaise lounges, busy digesting the hearty meal, and beginning to drowse off. And Lucanis? He's watching Rook from across the table as the scrawny man tears off another shred of cake and stuffs it in his mouth. It's amazing how much food the man can eat, and yet stay as wiry as a stray cat.

He turns his head to the right to face her. Lucanis has noticed that it's easier for him if you approach on his left, where his good eye is, as he doesn't have to turn his head as far to look at you.

"I was wondering," she pauses and takes a puff, "What happened to your right eye?" She notices that for an instant, he tenses up. Lucanis notices too, the way he flattens a crumb of cake between his index and thumb, "If it's not prying. Just curious." There's a moment of tenseness, and Lucanis swears he's going to shut her down, before one of his trademark grins pops up.

"Oh, it's not prying. In fact," He rolls the flattened cake into a ball then tosses it in the air towards Assam, who cheerfully leaps up to snap it up. "Let's make it a game. Winner gets the last of the cake, and the loser has to wash the dishes. I'll tell you, and you have to guess if I'm telling the truth."

Neve sits up, obviously intrigued, and Lucanis cannot help share the feeling. Milo has remained rather tight-lipped on what exactly he has done with the Crows. Viago seems to have grudging respect for him, even recommending him to Caterina to have him break him out of Ossuary. And Lucanis has seen how he fights. Like a rogue, he darts in, and blasts people with magic they don't expect, before darting back. You could hardly tell he's got a literal blindspot, the way he practically teleports across the battlefield, dodging blades, arrows, and magic. And yet, he must have made a mistake, once.

"You're on." She responds, and to emphasize it, she puts out the pipe with a quick ice shard.

Rook rolls his shoulders, as if to get ready for a fight and begins to spill his tale.. "So, Lord Divalos is holding a soiree, and one of his guests, a fop from Olais, is the target. He's apparently some sort of poet that all the ladies and men are going ga ga over. I'm not the one tasked with the hit, I'm working with Teia, to distract some of his fans, to make it easier for the actual assassin to get close. Turns out..." he pauses to pick his teeth with his knife, then uses the blade to check his reflection. Ah, I can see why Viago gets exasperated with him. Lucanis muses.  "Lady Divalos is one of his greatest fans. In fact, she's the one who invited him. So I got my work cut out for me to peel her off the guy's shoulders. Thankfully, due to my charm and my dashing good looks," he says with a grin as he takes one last glance at his reflection, before tucking his knife in its sheath, "and a little bit of liquid courage, I managed to convince her I was an up and coming Antivan poet, and even 'recited' some of my own poetry that I made up on the spot. It worked so well, the next thing I knew, she and I were in her private quarters, busy ripping off our clothes." Lucanis notices that Harding and Bellara have stopped their botanical conversation and are now sucking up the tale, with the latter covertly taking notes.

We're both in bed, about to make mad passionate love when BANG!" He slams his fist down, causing everyone to startle, save for Taash, who is beginning to snore. "The door slams open, and a red faced Lord Divalos rages in, screaming at me, with his sword drawn. Now of course, I'm as naked as the day I was born, so I'm running around the room, avoiding his swipes as I manage to get my pants back on. Unfortunately, he got me good in the eye before I could get my weapon, and all I could do was topple off the balcony into a bush, and climb out of the premises." He grins sheepishly. "Thankfully, the whole debacle caused enough commotion that everyone was distracted by the spectacle, and no one noticed the poet had… accidentally strangled himself with his own silk scarf…”

He smiles with pride as Darvin rolls his eyes, and Emmrich sighs sadly and as the dwarf and elf are wide eyed in amazement.  “So, Neve, truth… or lie?”

It takes Neve a remarkably short period of time to give her answer.  “A lie.  Even without your weapon, as a mage, you could have cast a simple spell to disarm him before he reached you.” Milo gives a sad smile.  “Correct.”  This results in a couple of ‘Awwws’ from the girls, and an inquisitive hiss from Manfred, whose now had his spine realigned and now is participating in his own way in the conversation. 

Lucanis could have called him out without using any detective logic.  There is no Lady Divalos.  Everyone knows Lord Divalos has been happily married to Lord Divalos-Cuttenberg for decades.  

Milo cocks his head back at Neve.  “Want to double your luck?  If you answer this correctly, both today's and tomorrow’s dishes are the wager.”

Neve smirks as she crosses her legs, waiting for him to begin.

“So, there was a brash young up and coming Crow.  House Valsti, if I remember.  He went by the name of Tusino, but always wanted to be referred to as ‘The Silencer’ because he was so quick and efficient with his kills.”  Milo rolls his good eye, obviously not impressed at the title. “So we’re in the bar, and he’s getting drunk and starts boasting about how great he is at the three m’s: Maiming, Murder and… Mating.”  Manfried gives a quizzical hiss, and Emmrich mutters to him that he’ll explain later while Harding stifles a giggle. “Everyone at the bar is getting pissed off at him.  So eventually I speak up and go ‘Oh really?  For a guy who calls himself The Silencer, you never seem to shut up.  Oh that caused him to lose it.  He starts taunting me, telling me I’m weak ‘cuz I’m over reliant on my magic.  So, I challenge the shitheel to a fight, no magic, no weapons, just our fists.  Tables are cleared, bets are placed and we’re in the middle with the bartender acting as the referee.  We’re throwing punches, he gets a few good hits on me, I get a few good hits on him, there’s cheering and jeering, and finally I get a great left hook that breaks his nose.  The asshole can’t take the blow to his ego, so before anyone can react, he grabs a bottle by the neck, smashes it on a table and… uh…” He looks around as everyone aside from Neve, Lucanis, and Taash, now drooling and completely dead to the world, winces.  He smiles reassuringly, “Thankfully, breaking that rule turned everyone against him, and even the House Valsti Crows started beating his ass as I got dragged to the healers. They managed to save most of my good looks, but  Viago still reamed me out for that one” He looks at Neve, “so, what’s the verdict?”

She rubs her chin for a few moments before declaring “A lie. Logically, once he took out a weapon, you were free to hit him with the closest weapon at hand, and someone of your magical prowess would never pass up an opportunity to use it.”

“Awww… thank you for the compliment” he smiles again at her, “and you were correct.  Although Tusino did exist, and had he actually been good at his job, we might have come to blows eventually, instead of him getting trampled by the Antaam.  What an idiot” he mutters.

Lucanis also had deduced it was a lie.  The three scars that go across from the center of his forehead, across his eye, and into his right cheek look far too regular in spacing to be the shards of a bottle.

“Last one, winner takes all.  Three nights of dishwashing, are you up for it Neve?”

“Hit me.”  Even Darvin is paying apt attention now that Assam has begun to doze off at his feet. The girls are hanging on to every word Rook says.

“So, before I joined Viago’s outfit, I was still in training, and trying to impress the ladies and the men with my knife work.  He pulls out the blade again, and twirls in between his fingers, almost mindlessly, like he’s doing a coin trick,  the light of the fireplace reflects off the blade, casting sparks of reflection as it twirls faster and faster between his fingers, before being tossed in the other hand. “So, I decided to do a little magic show, without the magic and began to do more and more elaborate  tricks with my knife, like I was a juggler.  Turns out, I miscalculated a single toss….” and at moment, he tosses the blade up with a flourish, but makes no motion to catch it.  Everyone’s hearts stop as the blade falls, panicking as he continues to not  react, only restarting  as the blade lands in front of him with a THUD, and embeds itself in the wooden board.  This time, EVERYONE winces. Even Neve.  Either of the implication of the pain, or the second hand embarrassment of imagining how he must have made a fool of himself.  All of them cringe…. 

Except for Lucanis.  He just frowns.

He yanks the blade out of the table, smooths the wooden splinter and utters a soft apology to the table.  He smiles softly, and resheathes the knife.  “So, last one…. Truth or Lie?” “Hmmm” Neve muses before calmly stating, “Truth. That sort of overconfidence would be like you, when you were younger.  The eagerness to prove yourself to the world, and others, and most importantly, to yourself.”

Her words hang in the air like elfroot smoke, drifting over to Milo, who observes her passively. “Neve… it was… the truth.”  His trademark grin that Lucanis finds so endearing returns, but not fully.  It doesn’t reach his eyes, not even his good one.” “HA!” the detective laughs as she swipes the plate and waves goodbye. “Have fun with the dishes!” he hears her say as she leaves the dining hall.  She’s followed by the others shortly after, with Bellara still taking notes.  The only ones left in the hall are Milo, Lucanis, and… Taash, now snoring loudly.  

Milo sits still, his gaze focused on his knife, a frown on his face that does not suit him at all, Lucanis thinks.  

“You lied”  It's less an accusation, more a statement.

Milo looks up and at him, his face unreadable.

Lucanis continues.  “I may not know much about you, Rook, but I’ve seen how you work.  You don’t go flashy unless you know for certain that you’ll come out on top.  Something like that is out of character for you, even as a braggartly teenager. So,” he leans forward, whispering conspiratorially “What’s the truth?”  

A strange emotion passes over Milo’s face, as he seems to struggle.  Lucanis hasn’t seen him like this before.  He’s always cocky and selfsure, even before the most dangerous enemies.  He opens his mouth, and closes it.  Opens it once more, and utters one word…

“I…”  he pauses and his hand clenches around the hilt of his dagger, his knuckles turning white. He refuses to look at Lucanis, almost as if he’s ashamed.

“I made a mistake.”  The effort it takes to say this seems to exhaust him.  Lucanis waits for him to elaborate, but he doesn’t say anything else.  Eventually he looks up into Lucanis’s eyes and just sounds broken, as he rasps “Don’t ask me… please”  There’s a pleading in his voice, something timid and scared, like a lost child.  This is a side of Milo Lucanis hasn’t seen, he’s pretty sure none of the rest of the crew, hell even Viago has seen.  He nods, and something happens to Milo.  A door slams shut, and his eyes light up as if nothing has happened.  His trademark smile returns with the incredible brilliance that Lucanis has always admired.   If he didn’t know better, the way Rook’s personality just switched, the man must be possessed. “Welp, these dishes won’t wash themselves,” and he begins to stack the plates.  Lucanis pushes back his chair, standing up in order to help, but Milos waves him off. 

“Nah, don’t worry about it, you made all of this for us, you deserve to rest.”

“But surely you could use a helping hand?”

“This burden is mine and mine alone,” he cheerfully explains, and Lucanis isn’t sure if he is talking about the dishes… or something else. .

The young crow begins carrying the dishes to the back room to wash up, whistling the entire time, but pauses at the threshold, turning to face him.

“But… Thank you for the offer.  It’s sometimes very hard to remember that I don't have to handle it all alone.”  And with that, he vanishes, replaced with the sound of whistling and splashing water.

In the corner, there’s a hollow thud, and Taash’s hand slips off their chest and falls to the floor.

[kedreeva]

How would you rate peafowl in terms of intelligence, in general or socially? Any of your animals outstanding in that regard and where does Bug fall on the scale?

Honestly they have a huge range of intelligence and personality. They're GENERALLY smarter than chickens, not as smart as crows. They do have complex social hierarchies and rules, though, and violating the rules has consequences for social standing. Rude boys, for example, do not get the girls.

They also have long memories for some things- for example if you frighten or anger or hurt them, they remember that and they will likely not trust you again, if they don't outright try to chase you off. My dad once made a swipe at a nosy hen and she never forgot. She threatened to fight him every time she saw him after that. LOTS of people report that their birds can be caught 1 time by a bird net pole, and forever after they will bolt if they see it (and we have the same experience here, and I don't even have to have caught them personally if they even SEE me catch 1 bird with it, that's it. This is why I move them into a coop and turn off the lights to pick them up). I know people who have tried to solve berserker males problems by hitting their birds with brooms or sticks or spraying them with a hose, and what they find is that this makes it a thousand times worse because the male's understanding of the situation is only confirmed- you ARE a rival and you DO want to fight him. And since you (the intelligent human being who understands birds and money and probably a) like this bird and/or b) spent a lot of money on this bird) are unwilling to purposely cause severe injury or death to him, he will always hold a grudge and always think he has a chance to beat you.

They do have some amount of social learning, at least from my observations. When I taught Eris to use word buttons to ask for specific treats, Artemis learned without actually ever being taught. With 12 buttons on the board at the time, she removed the "treat" button and guarded it so she could tap it instead of Eris. More commonly, if one bird thinks a treat or other potential food item is yucky, they will start shaking their head no and clacking their beak the way they do when they taste something they hate, as if they took a bite and it tasted bad- but WITHOUT having actually touched the item. This triggers all the nearby birds to have a look, and they all start shaking their heads and clacking their beaks. Once one of them figures out how to do something - like get up onto the pigeon perch in the rafters they're not supposed to be on - the others will watch and learn how to do it, and start doing it, too. I just recently had to put an extra lock on the barn pen door, because I caught Wendy pulling our emergency latch release for dumbasses that lock themselves into the pen on accident, and the others were Watching to learn. Eris had to be moved out of that pen because she also learned how to let herself out of the pen that way.

Then you have birds like Callisto. Who will come over when you call for treats, and despite that the treat gets held right in front of her or dropped close by her, panics and can't find it to save her life, and you find yourself standing between her and the others to give Callisto enough time to look at the ground for the treat.

Or stan who, every morning, gets let out of the coop and walks calmly over to the fenced door between pens to be let out into the pen. Except the door is open.

So. It's a scale. it's a scale that slides between "mocking me with word buttons I taught her" and "repeatedly waits at an open door to be let out"

[deadboydetectives-confessions]

I am BEGGING my fellow Monty fans to give our bird boy some depth. He is NOT just a woobified sadboy! He is clever and manipulative and selfish and petty! PLEASE stop writing Monty as a poor helpless shrinking violet who was wronged by the narrative. He is so much more INTERESTING than that! No more making him a helpless punching bag so that the other characters feels sorry for him and learn to love him and now he's just a standard good guy. That's so boring and reductive to Monty! Give me the crow boy who was raised by an evil witch and has skewed morals, who has actual agency and makes mistakes! Make him tricksy and underhanded like he actually is in canon. Let him be morally grey! Let him keep hating Charles and the Cat King (crows can hold a grudge like no one else)! Make him a crow fatale who uses every trick in the book to get what he wants. Let him connect with Edwin's sass and smarts and passion instead of them bonding over just being a pair of whumpdumps. PLEASE I am on my knees. Show us the sneaky, ruthless, regretful, messy, complicated Monty that we're given in the show 🙏 (I have yet to see any fics like this but I might have missed them and if anyone has written one/seen one/decides to write one where Monty is more than a punching bag and is still allowed to like Edwin (because Monty loves him and Monty deserves to get what he wants!) please link in the comments and I will name my first born after you)

.

[conanssummerchild]

Di. I meed to hear your thoughts on how cat-like Rick is (if you want to feed my hyperfocus on crows go ahead as well with crow rick)

HI sorry it took me a little bit to get to this ask ive been super busy but !!! he is incredibly cat-like i mean he himself has literally compared summer to a cat because "their love is earned" and i think the same applies to him, hes seems very like blunt or kind asshole-y until you get to know him, hes like a sad little kitty thats been abandoned out in the rain and someone finds him in a cardboard box in a dumpster all by himself and they have to teach him he can be loved again

look at him 😔

also so many of his mannerisms/expressions remind me of a cat

startled cat

kinda looks like hes farting here LOL but also cat

i mean even his hair. pointy like cat ears

anyway you get it hes very much cat like

also of course that thing about how cats are autistic or something i cant remember but someone somewhere said that in one time

also cats are my fav and rick is my fav :3

this is already such a long answer but i havent had the chance to talk about rick and morty in so long and i miss their dumb asses so about crow rick i'll also just say that rick is pretty crow coded, like crows are cool as fuck bcs they're actually smart as fuck and you probably know this already but they remember human faces (idk how much the average person knows about crows) and hold grudges (rick holds a lot of grudges lol) and a species of them can even CRAFT AND USE TOOLS !! and they're very family-oriented birds (like rick) and often mate for life and older crow siblings sometimes even care for their younger crow siblings also when rick says in forgetting sarick mort when he leaves with the crows "leaving walnuts in the street for car tires to crack them open" or smth i dont remember exactly its likely referencing because crows use traffic to crack open their nuts (that sounds wrong im sorry 😭) for them so they can eat the inside easily but not only that, theyve been seen waiting for the light to turn red before dropping the nut and then not taking it back until the light has turned red again !!!!! meaning they have some at least minimal understanding of traffic/traffic lights! also did you know that crows are scared of new things and will be very wary about new or unfamilliar things in their enviroment !! (sounds a little like rick)

also they have regional dialects also more about the recognising human faces thing, there was a study done where scientists would wear rubber masks that looked like faces and hold dead crows and then like see if the crows would be mad at whoever wore those face masks and get this, not only were the crows that saw the people in the masks angry towards them, several other crows and even young crows that had recently been born were too! meaning that the crows had communicated to other crows to warn them of the face mask people !! and this reached about 1.5 km away from the original place where the masks were !!

anyway im terribly sorry, this just turned into an infodump about crows but i just think crows are so awesome !!!! i wonder if rick knows a lot of crow facts from his time spent with the two crows lol :) have a lovely day mootie <33

[raydom-gamer]

Okay this is just a general obey me thought.

There's little spoilers in here but most of it is just common knowledge and stories about Mammon, it's just about a demon and his crows.

Am I the only one who finds it interesting that Mammon the Avatar of greed his familiar is a crow. I always just thought it was kind of funny because crows being notorious for liking shiny objects, Mammon notorious for stealing shiny possessions. But today I learned that crows are kind of a pack mentality. If a crow is deemed too greedy or selfish the rest of the crows will actually peck and shun the greedy crow. Which sounds very similar to when his brother is watch him tied up and hung from the ceiling. They point and laugh at him.

Crows are also notorious for getting items for other members of their murder when they suspect others being sad or stressed. I've only seen two examples of Mammon doing this which was when he thought Leviathan didn't win his concert tickets so he spent money on a cheap pin of one of Leviathan's new favorite anime. The other time being Beelzebub spending extra time on practice for his team, Mammon unprompted showed up and brought his little brother some extra snacks to get him through practice.

Crows are deemed some of the smartest animals in the world and their intelligence are considered on par with chimpanzees. Despite Mammon having very low grades in R.A.D., there's a card (in shall we date) that proves that he's actually very intelligent (especially in math) it's just you have to give him the right motivation to use it.

Crows are also notorious for holding grudges for generations. Mammon still complains about what some witches that he hasn't seen in a couple decades made him do because he requested money for them and they requested his services, only for them to give him stupid tasks. (Mostly because he was running away from his debt.) As well as being still upset about the time Leviathan broke into his room to steal a figurine that Mammon won at random.

Crows are also known to mate for life which is why they tend to be very rude and picky about partners even though some crows can be quite promiscuous and mate with other crows outside of their pairing. This could explain why he enjoys the attention but pushes it away most of the time because he has high standards. Of course that immediately changes when he sees MC giving someone else attention. He gets kind of snippety and territorial over MC by claiming that he is there first but is known to forgive MC in the end.

Crows are also known to steal other birds eggs or fledglings most of the time for food but also to study different birds behaviors. Other times is when the crows own eggs or fledglings have been killed and adopt other birds as their offspring. I know technically Mammon did not steal the child or adopt the child but he does send money to some witches to take care of a human orphan child that grew emotionally attached to him. Chances are the witches are going to use Mammon as a sponge to get as much money as they can from him. He's also been caught multiple times taking care of Luke like a little brother.

Crows have mob behavior and tend to harass bigger predators in order to take down the foe or to steal from it. Very similar to when Mammon convinces Leviathan, Beelzebub and MC to try to steal from Lucifer only to then have to take on Cerberus. Most of mamons ideas usually involve him convincing his brothers (not Lucifer) and MC into helping him with one of his scams.

I could keep going on and on by just Crow facts that I've learned today. It just really cracks me up to think about his behavior and realize that he acts very much like his familiar. Obviously there's some big differences in certain behaviors compared to crows but it makes me wonder if the DMs had taken in fact about crows and tried to humanize them so they could make a Baseline for certain behaviors.

After all we can all agree that Lucifer acts very much like a peacock. So I guess it shouldn't be all that shocking on how much Mammon behaves like a crow.

[bitter-panacea]

Goultard's introduction in the Dofus manga, his confrontation with Clustus Part 2

Part 1

Let's get right back to the fight. Clustus tells Goultard he talks too much and attacks first.

Clustus : You shouldn't have been called Goultard the barbarian but Goultard the chatty!

I still think the D at the end of Goultard's name was supposed to be silent. First of all because in french the D is usually silent in words that end in -ard-, just like here in "bavard", but also because they make a lot of rhymes with his name and none of them work if you pronounce the D. Goultard le barbare, le bavard, le bâtard etc

ANYWAY! Back to the fight. Goultard is hoping this fight won't be yet another disappointment...

Goultard : King Clustus, I hope you have more to offer me than a pityful crow spell.

Turns out Clustus isn't king of Bonta for no reason and is actually quite skilled in combat. And Goultard seems pleased to see it. Maybe this won't be as easy and boring as he expected.

Goultard : Well, well, well... This old man can do some damage.

"Bonhomme" is a very interesting word to me. It can mean "man" or more accurately "fellow". For example "bonhomme de neige" is a snowman, "un bonhomme" is also what you'd call a child's drawing of a person, there is something childish about it.... It's informal and can be affectionate or condescending, maybe even both at the same time. Goultard calls Joris "petit bonhomme" (little fellow), but he's not the only one who uses that word to describe him. (If I'm not mistaken, Gou affectionately calls Arty bonhomme... I might be wrong but I'm too lazy to check right now)

BACK TO THE FIGHT

Clustus invokes the royal crackler (whose name happens to be Kabor). Goultard gets crushed by Kabor and buried under the rubble but frees himself and destroys him with ease.

Rip Kabor

And Goultard starts talking again (he wants to be mysterious so bad but he simply cannot stfu)

Goultard : You said earlier that you knew me... But I'm not so sure, you must be wrong. Because, you see... If you really knew me, you would hold more of a grudge!

Clustus basically tells him to "be more clear or shut the fuck up".

Clustus : A grudge? What do you mean by that? Be more clear, if you will, I'm too old for guessing games. / Goultard : I'm much older than you, Clustus, and I still love riddles... But let's not get distracted, what I meant to say... Oh!

Goultard loves riddles apparently, (I find that hard to believe but why not.) Goultard says "let's not get distracted" and immediately gets distracted by a cool sword he saw. Clustus attacks while Goultard has his back turned (to pick up the cool sword he saw.) Goultard parries the blow and slashes Clustus across the chest (with the cool sword he just picked up.)

Goultard: As I was saying...You can't know me, we've never met before. However, I know you, and I've known, your father well. The king Balbosus Sheran Sharm! / Clustus : What... Impossible!

Goultard : a king well-deserves a few explanations before dying! You see, Clustus, I've spent wonderful moments with your father. He even almost "freed" me. Shortly before I took his life!

Clustus' reaction to that information

Clustus : It's impossible. My father died sixty years ago! I don't know what you're playing at but your story makes no sense! He lost his life facing a monster named Dark Vlad.

Goultard shapeshifts into Vlad just a moment to make Clustus understand they're part of the same entity.

Clustus : You killed my father... He was a good man... Generous and certainly the best king Bonta ever had! / Goultard : Maybe...

Goultard : But once again... That changes nothing! You all are nothing but humans. Whether rich or poor, kings or peasants... Only your combativeness and eagerness interests me!

(I will explore this whole thing with Goultard's contempt for humans, how he doesn't see himself as a human yet wishes he could feel like one, his self-loathing, in a future post focusing on Gou and the symbiote)

Goultard : And to get back to your father, know that he didn't hesitate to sacrifice his men to get me! And when time came for him to be reunited with his ancestors, he begged me to spare him...

Goultard : If you're saying the truth and he really was the greatest king this city's ever known... I don't dare imagine what the others must be like!

We don't know anything more about Goultard and Balbosus' realtionship but I go absolutely fucking bonkers imagining what it could have been like. Wonderful moments, knew each other well, almost freed him, but in the end sacrificed his men trying to capture him... I could talk more about it but It's all stuff I completely made the fuck up in my head. In my head Balbosus wished to free Goultard in a messed up dehumanizing savior complex way "I must free this creature and if I can't, i'll be the one to kill it". They fought many times but Goultard would always let Balbosus live because he was amused and intrigued by his weird obsession for him. A sick game of cat and mouse. Goultard enjoying the thrill of being chased... Until the symbiote grew more possessive of his prey, or Goultard got bored of Balbosus, or he felt betrayed when Balbosus sent his men after him... The fact Dark Vlad is the one who killed Balbosus in the end could also imply Goultard lost control at some point before he finally decided to kill him... Much to think about.

Goultard then starts to shift between his different shapes, revealing only now that, all along, Vald (who we thought was dead), was a part of Goultard, or that Goultard and Vald are both part of a whole. He talks briefly about Vlad and Vald having 50% and 5% of his potential strength, respectively. Clustus calls him insane.

Goultard : No, in hindsight... You could have only beaten me in my Vald form.

Clustus : Well, boy... Seems like you have a couple bats in the belfry! Quickly, put me out of my misery, I've had enough of your ravings... (why is he so funny)

Goultard : My... ravings? My ravings, as you say, make my immortality easier to put up with. / Clustus : If you say so!

Goultard HATES being immortal. Being immortal is a curse, unbearable without adapting by developping a dissociative disorder.

Goultard gets bored of talking to Clustus and decides to leave to find something better to do. Clustus realizes Goultard isn't going to kill him after all.

Goultard : Time has already taken its toll on you, Clustus. You're but a shadow of your former self. So don't count on me to give you the warrior's death that you dream of so badly! It's much more cruel to imagine you passing away on your throne like the senile old man you are.

Clustus shouts at Goultard to come back and finish him off. But Goultard is gone.

Volume 6 continues with Goultard's backstory and ends when Goultard finds Arty and offers him to fight. I'll probably make a post comparing Goultard's manga backstory and the animated one.

[moonygryffin]

If thsc characters were dinosaurs

Henry: As much as I (and a few others I've seen) call him a magpie, magpies don't actually steal or collect shiny things that much. Bowerbirds, on the other hand, constantly steal shiny, blue objects from other bowerbird nests - perfect for our diamond-stealing boi

Charles: He is easily a hummingbird. Their wings allow them to fly like a helicopter and their primary conflict resolution is to plow into each other at high speed

Ellie: I went between a lot of dinosaurs for her but ultimately landed on a crow. She's loyal, smart (relative to Henry and Charles at least), and - as seen in TCW - holds grudges. Went with crows specifically over any other corvid because their tool use with sticks. I can picture Crow Ellie wielding a stop sign perfectly

Reginald: Wilson's bird-of-paradise. It's flashy, Reginald is absolutely the type to have a designated and meticulously clean display court in which to do a seductive dance ritual, plus look at its tail!

Right Hand Man: He's a kiwi. They're small, aggressive, and have bad eyesight just like him

[camorrsthorn]

thinking 'bout my rook de riva before he was a crow & how he got there

THINKING. he's the son of two southern elves who fled northward to escape the blight with a young vittore in their arms, which is how he wound up in antiva. he was only a couple years old at that point, like three at the MOST. the only thing he has left of ferelden and his parents is the accent

his magic manifested sometime before he was ten, during a scrap with another alienage kid - he fade-stepped, or something untrained close to it. his parents gave him up before anyone else could tell the local templars. in their eyes, they'd already given up a whole life to move to antiva, and they couldn't risk pissing off their neighbours or the town guard or the templars to try and hide a mage kid. vittore has never forgotten it, and as far as he's concerned he's an orphan. no he doesn't hold grudges why do you ask. as an adult he can understand but also no he can't

so. he was a mage in the circle in antiva city for a bit. until the circles dissolved in the uprising and he did not even try to hang around. he took some of the younger apprentices and did his best to just disappear them into the city, and did a pretty good job, tho most of that is probably due to the fact nobody was looking for a couple of apprentices anyway. one or two of them he managed to get back to their families, if the family had tried to keep their kid. the rest he helped vanish and avoid anyone who might not be best pleased

for less than a year, before the breach happened, he scraped by doing odd jobs and errands of the less than legal variety, including a couple that in hindsight were definitely for the crows, but he simply did not notice at the time. when he couldn't get work he was willing to do, he'd pick pockets or lift bits and pieces from market stalls. never anything big, no important marks, and he never did enough to draw the attention of any gangs, but he did pretty well for himself

i think this is perhaps too self indulgent and i may change it but. i kind of like the idea of this idiot cocky little mage trying to pick viago's pockets absolutely without recognising him as a crow, and getting a contact-activated poisoning for his trouble. nothing that would kill him, but enough to teach him that crows are terrible targets, and enough for the crows to then be able to track him down. if not viago himself, then another house de riva crow. work in progress y'know

after that, he joins the crows - not viago's choice right away, but vittore already at that point is skilled enough in stealth and subtlety to make a decent living as a go-between and petty criminal, as well as able to hide himself and the other mage kids. he's also got plenty of skills with magic, and knows how to hold his own in a fight. be silly not to take him under the wing, pun intended. HE wasn't going to complain at all - he knows full well he was on absolutely borrowed time, either for getting found out as a mage or a criminal or running afoul of a gang or the watch or or or, and in his eyes the crows not only saved him but very quickly became the family that he's lacked ever since his own gave him away - and this family did the exact opposite of that

and he's been insufferable and cocky as hell ever since! yaaaaay

very much a work in progress as i have not actually played with him all that long but. i'm having fun. also look at him again xoxo

[bobtheacorn]

2024 Writing Roundup

tagged by @goodlucktai !

Words Posted:

round abouts 25k! i actually worked on AND published more than i did last year! so that's kind of exciting! 2023 was..... ROUGH buddy! 2024 was kinder 😊💜

Additional Words Written:

*gestures vaguely* at least twice that. probably

Fandoms:

Digimon

Rise of the TMNT

Usagi Yojimbo

Sonic the Hedgehog 

Highest kudos + Highest Hit One-Shot:

warmly in the dark taking the W for both!! by like, a LOT lmao not Technically a one-shot but idc

New Things I Tried:

I don't know that i was particularly adventurous this year, at least writing wise. I wrote the same sort of fics for the same sort of characters that i'm always obsessed with lmao Apart from starting (or at least working on) some ambitious (lengthy) projects, I stayed pretty much firmly in my wheel house. But i did spend genuinely most of the year prepping for and then actively moving to a new state so. That's a new thing!

Fic I Spent The Most Time On:

GOD the fic i spent THE MOST TIME ON was that. Goddamn. Leosagi fic…. that still isn't done. When I started splitting it into multiple docs and then into multiple folders to even keep the timeline straight, when I started actively feeling like this guy

any time i worked on it - i set it down lmao. Girl it's not that deep. You are thinking too hard abt all of this. It is a silly self indulgent fanfic you are writing FOR FUN it do not need to be so goddamn pedantic. Sometimes u just gotta let stuff cook a lil longer in your brain before u try and get 'em out and that's fine

Fic I Spent The Least Time On:

meager and infinite, bro the way i sat down and wrote that straight out in like an hour. actually insane to me lmao I'm surprised that i managed to do that with a couple of fics this year, where when i actually had the TIME to just sit and write, i cruised 'em out in just a couple of days! So that's been nice! 💜

Favourite Thing I Wrote:

Soft spot in my heart for pop. I got really nostalgic abt digimon (like I do every 5-10 years lmao) and there was actually a lot of new stuff that came out right around the time my brother and I rewatched it (or stuff had already come out that we got to catch up on)! I feel like Tai got waaayyyy to much attention in Adventure 2020 but damn if he don't live in my mind rent free. my fav guy.

Favourite Thing(s) I Read:

I have so many ao3 subscription emails that i haven't even opened 💀

I know i read You should TOTALLY kill that guy, my liege by waywardwitchcat at least five times bc it's so funny and insane i'm for real obsessed w it aslkdjaslk it just GIVES! it gives Everything so casually, the comfort kinkfic of all time lmao

also (not fanfic related but) I listened to the audiobook for This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone and oh my god Oh my GODDDD if you haven't read it, do it; if you can listen to the audiobook, specifically, DO IT.

Writing Goals for 2025:

Think I wanna try and hit at least 200/400 words a day. I want to buckle down on FINISHING STUFF, and i want to actively try to set aside Actual Time to Write.

New Works:

Pop sequel, project Aster, the "apparently witches hold grudges" series, and oh my GOD the Mariko fic I wrote 5k for and then FORGOT EXISTED until i was just now browsing through my folders 💀💀💀 the brain fog is REAL. anyway, those are where im gonna be putting the brunt of my efforts unless something hits me sideways!

Tagging: @plothooksinc @radishhqueen @sroloc--elbisivni @crows-murder if yall wanna 💜