#but also if you want a fat Penguin

[danniruthvan]

Listen

Listen

Listen

Oswald Cobblepot should be a dapper gentleman, a goth slut, a monstrosity, or some combination of those three things.

Oswald Cobblepot should not be just a guy from the Sopranos.

[skunkes]

i need more AC and Magicians Quest life sim "clones" in the way of like

I don't need realistic graphics!!! Just a simple cute player character and lots and lots of clothes (easier to put on simple characters!) and furniture...and I also think life sims with dating Now are kinda polarizing wrt art styles and (lack of) diversity which is why I do actually wish u cld date in AC and such (well not anymore since the franchise has gotten a bit sour to me)...

this isn't even just me "being a furry" since a lot of characters in magician's quest are like. living objects. i was dating a TV when I last played 😭 but ykwim...it's less about being a furry or w/e and more it's much easier to project traits onto "Universal" cute designs and silhouettes than hoping that 1. the art style for the human characters is pleasing to you 2. hoping there's a character that's your type 2a. picking between potentially samefaced characters 3. why's there always just one non white person 4. where are all the fat and old people 5. -

[liquifiedfurby]

literally giggling and kicking my feet rn from researching birds.

[deadghosy]

I was wondering if you could do a miniso penguin reader being a delivery boy for all of hell (mostly hazbin)

I JUST LOOKED IT UP AND OMGGGG ITS SO CUTEEE🦆💗🦆 AND YES I WILL! THANK YOU MY GHOST

HAZBIN HOTEL X PENGUIN! READER

prompt: you deliver mail all over hell, but mostly to your favorite place!

Okay starters off….you definitely get petted by the sinners who walk by you. Like you are so adorable!

I headcannon that you have a magic barrier that activates when you are in danger. Like say for example, a sinner tried to stab and mug but a bubble appears around you as you quack and roll away.

But like…you are the most known person in hell. YOU COULD BE WALKING AND GIVING MAIL AND IMMEDIATELY- “Hey [reader]!”

Yeah you’re quite known🦆🔥

The overlords love you! Carmilla adores you as you help her move her things around with her supplies of angelic metal. And Alastor….he joked about eating you up because of how cute you are..you definitely hide behind carmilla as she glared at him.

Alastor said sorry as he buys you ice cream for scaring you. (Charlie made him do it after carmilla snitched on him)

The most place you love giving mail to is the hazbin hotel! You like it there as you always get greeted by the people there gently. Charlie would pet you as she gushes how cute you are and how you should’ve been an angel.

Husk just pokes at your chubby and cute body as you quack and rub your face in his leg. You are the size of a penguin so guess how small you are 😭💗

You and fat nuggets are best friends, dead ass you both speak animal to each other and just gossip… “quack…” “oink oink..” “QUACK?!” You yelled pointing to Alastor as fat nuggets nodded seriously. Angel tried to record it but he just couldn’t help but laugh

Lucifer loves you! Like at first he would just watch you around hell secretly as he didn’t want to scare you off too easy. But soon he felt over protective at how pure and nice you are to other sinners and hell born

I headcannon every time it’s extermination, you would be forced to be at the hotel as you bake cookies to past the time helping Charlie and the other feel less stress as the angels kill the sinners.  

“So like…do you lay eggs or somethin'?” Angel asked looking at the egg boiz under you as they are sound asleep. You just stay there like a mama penguin as you shrugged.

“[READER] I CHOSE YOU!” Vaggie yells as you waddle to a person and hug them in need. Its funny to imagine you being used a Pokémon who’s only attack is “HUG SURPRISE!”

I headcannon you to use a rolling attack. LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, you are getting chased so you roll like a ball and BOWLING BALL THEY ASS! STRIKEEE‼️‼️

You have a room in the hotel, it’s just you don’t stay there often. But the other would loved if you stayed at the hotel with them as they find you lovely to around. Like imagine how cool it is to be tired from delivering mail all day just to go to the hotel and see your own room.

Immediately passing out in the soft bed😭🦆

I imagine you walking, more like waddling and the egg boiz just copy your waddling as they are still baby chickens in eggs.

Velvette definitely has you go to her section of the vee tower so you can wear those cute sailor boy outfits 😭 like imagine how cute that is….

Sir Pentious and nifty love you also as they find you adorable. The egg boiz love you, and nifty….she just finds you interesting how every sinner knows who you are and wants to be your best friend.

I can see you being sick and not coming to deliver mail to the hotel, and immediately you wake up sniffling as you waddle to your door to see a bunch of gift baskets as you quack surprised at all those candies and get better cards….man you are loved

[acapelladitty]

I want to suck Penguin's cock

savour

Fic Masterlist ☆ AO3 ☆ Other Penguin Fics

Summary: Oz is in need of a little loving and you know exactly how to make him feel good. (NSFW drabble) (also...same)

For a man who kept his cards close to his chest, it was surprisingly easy to work out when Oz needed a little attention - not that he would ever really lower himself to ask for it. Between his wandering fingers and the constant attention which his eyes had seemed determined to give you, his desire for some sordid affection was as clear as day.

Now, with his stomach pressing into your forehead with every shallow thrust of his hips, the scent of his cologne pairing with the fresh sweat on his skin is heady as hell as you carefully breathe through your nose and give him what he needs.

"Fucking hell!" Oz stutters through panting breaths and the sensation of his thick fingers stroking along your hair to hold your head firmly in place startles you for a moment until you relax fully into his grip, "Yeah, just like that, baby."

Hand alternating between clawing messy cresent-shaped divots into his wide thighs and gently massaging at his balls, the ache in your jaw grows steadily more pressing as you struggle to keep your teeth free of his fat length. The hair which covers him is coarse and delicious against your fingers as your other hand maintains an equally frantic pace - stroking along your soaked cunt to drag sharp bursts of pleasure from your heated skin every time you slip your fingers up to graze along your clit.

"Don't wear yourself out too quickly, sweetheart," growling the words, Oz taps his foot roughly against your knees as they press into the cheap carpet. "A man's got to eat and I dont like my food all used up."

Snatching your bobbing mouth free of his length, a thin string of saliva connects your lips to his sensitive cockhead and you wipe it off playfully with the back of your hand.

"You gonna eat me, Ozzie?" Glancing up at him with fluttering lashes, you lick at your lips and pop your mouth with an unmistakable wink. "What if I don't wanna move from here?"

"And miss out? I'm only having a taste of what's mine, doll. Gotta savor a woman proper, not like one of those shitty wines those club pricks'll pay a small fortune for."

Your hand moves slowly along his shaft, enjoying every little twitch of his velvety skin as you question that logic, "But you don't drink wine, baby. You say it tastes like piss and vinegar."

"Mmm," Oz hums contendely as he stares down at you past the swell of his gut, "you ain't wrong about that. I like my women with a bit more punch to 'em. Woman who know how to have a good time and take what they're give-"

Taking the hint, you drop your head forward and swallow him down once more into your wet and willing mouth - stretching your jaw wide as you press forward until you feel the tickle of his pubic hair against the tip of your nose. It's a move which strangles the words from his throat as his hand tightens around your head and his knees buckle slightly.

"Again, fucking hell, doll."

Unseen as you bury your head in his groin, you focus on the task at hand as your tongue swirls along his cock to pull him deeper still. A little loving never hurt anyone and the promise of some loving in kind just made all the effort that little bit sweeter.

[riddle-me-ri]

Omg I just saw the request for the reader lovingly staring at all the different Penguins and telling them it’s because they’re handsome and it was so cute, my heart nearly exploded!!! Is it ok if I ask for the same thing with all the different Scarecrows please? If not, that’s completely fine! If it is ok, take all the time you need! Have a great day/night ❤️

a/n: aww sure thing! some scarecrows definitely take it a bit better than others lol also sorry if I may have skipped a couple of the straw boys..I worry about getting too repetitive with these

Content Warning: none that I can think of

The Scarecrows Catching Reader Staring at Them

Arkhamverse Scarecrow:

- After looking through the corners of his eyes he can only confirm his suspicions.

- You were indeed staring at him.

- Jonathan is perplexed at the reason but annoyed at the sensation.

- He hopes your attention is drawn to something else.

- But alas, you seem lost in his presence.

- Jon insists you tell him what you need or please stop staring at him..it's quite rude.

- Your face flares in embarrassment, stuttering about how you don't need anything. He just looked handsome while he worked.

- Now it's his turn to be a little flustered.

- Jon just shakes his head and tells you not to be ridiculous, even as a small satisfied smirk lifts on the side of his face you don't see.

BTAS Scarecrow:

- For once, it seems you have turned the tables.

- Jonathan does a double take, just to be sure he isn't mistaken.

- He looks behind him a couple times to ensure you aren't gazing past him to some other professor.

- Jon nibbled his lip. Should he ignore it or investigate?

- Maybe you're daydreaming, and your eyes seem to focus on him?

- Jon called your name questioningly, and it snapped you out of your reverie.

- You apologized profusely, and no matter what excuse you tried to give, it sounded wrong, so you were honest.

- Jonathan immediately averted his gaze, not able to handle your truth.

- Him? Handsome? With his nose and shaggy hair?

- He does find strength to quietly say thank you before scurrying away to take in this new information…

- Perhaps there's an opportunity here.

Fear State Scarecrow:

- Jonathan doesn't even notice you're staring for the longest time.

- It's not until he's noticed you literally haven't moved an inch from your spot.

- He's frustrated at first, what's got your head in the clouds? There's much work to be done!

- When he snaps you out of it, you struggle to catch back up to what was happening.

- You could tell Jonathan was frustrated with you.

- You thought perhaps if you told him what and why you were staring, it'll calm him?

- When you tell him you were distracted by his handsomeness; he freezes.

- Not sure to be frustrated or flustered.

- He calmly but sternly reminds you of your task at hand before leaving the room.

- To not pose as a distraction to you and to get him a chance to control his fat beating heart.

Year One Scarecrow:

- Genuinely doesn't think much of it at first.

- Jonathan thinks you're daydreaming until he realizes your eyes follow his form throughout the room.

- The attention does cause him to blush slightly. What is he supposed to do?

- Does he stare back? Should he say something? Is there something you want to say?

- Thankfully you seem to notice Jonathan staring back at you and it snaps you back to reality.

- You apologize for making him uncomfortable–you were just admiring his features.

- Jonathan is too stunned for words…but it would explain the soft gaze you held.

- You apologize once more and try to get back to what you were doing.

- Although truth be told you were just embarrassed for getting caught.

Masters of Fear Scarecrow:

- Jonathan could feel your eyes bore into him from behind the current book he was reading.

- Even though it's through a series of stutters, he asks why you're staring, quicker than other Scarecrows who spend some time doubting what they're seeing.

- It's your turn to blush and try to shy away from your actions…

- You were so sure he wouldn't catch you with his nose stuck in a book.

- You're left with no choice but to be honest and tell him you found him incredibly endearing partaking in his favorite pastime.

- The ex-professor tries to hide his blush behind the pages.

- He mumbles something about how you shouldn't tease him like that.

- But you deny ever doing such a thing. You were speaking from the heart.

Happy Halloween, Scooby-Doo Scarecrow:

- Most likely the only Scarecrow that is fully aware of what you're doing.

- And absolutely relishes in it.

- He’s picked up on this habit of yours whenever you don't have anything to occupy yourself with.

- Will tease you constantly about it

- “Take a picture, it'll last longer.”, “Stare at me any longer and you'll burn a hole right through me.”

- It frustrates you…

- Both his teasing and the fact that you find yourself staring at him while time trickles away.

- When you first stared at him, it did fluster him but he quickly took it as a source of flattery when you told him why you did it.

- Now he welcomes your stares openly, and may even get his feelings hurt if you ever occupied your attention anywhere else.

Harley Quinn: The Animated Series Scarecrow:

- Jonathan's immediate reaction is one of concern.

- He wonders if you're trying to get his attention in some subtle way.

- When he approaches and hastily asks if something is wrong, it takes you a minute to respond.

- You're confused with his concern but when he explains how you just stared at him…he assumed you needed him for something.

- Now you're embarrassed to cause him to worry…and the fact that you just stared at him for so long without realizing.

- You try to dismiss his concern, but appreciate his efforts nonetheless…

- However, that didn't quite suffice for him, he wanted to know why you stared at him so intently…

- As if you two were the only people in the large community room filled with villains.

- “You just…look very handsome…” You fidget with your fingers nervously as you felt no reason to keep the truth from him.

- Jonathan is grateful for his mask at that moment. It got to hide the blushing red that rose to his cheeks.

- He still manages to thank you for your compliment and happily returns one to you, both of you beaming in delight at each other.

[george228732]

Fylass Nolde (Final Reference Sheet/Masterpost)

Finally! Made a reference sheet that was appropiate for the boy.

''He's more than up to sacrifice everything he has and lacks, even his own humanity, if it meant that he'll be able to see the one future he desires - He'll burn the misfortune of the stories of the world, and from the ashes, he'll make his own, before his matches run out and his days of daydreaming go out with them.''

The rune on the top left of this picture is Fylass' symbol. Just like how Kirby has a Star, Susie has an H, Dedede has the hand one on his robes, etc.

He has a lizard belly! And more lizard attributes, besides the whole wings and all. His tail for example, is connected to his stomach; if he wants to store food/fat for later, he can store it in his tail and all! We love fictional anatomy.

In the first pic, you can see two things! That his wings are too short to use them to actually fly, but also that he can find walking a bit difficult depending on how full his sack is.

In the second pic, there are three things! He has another set of eyes above his regular ones which are just as functional, he has sharp teeth and all like a normal penguin, and second of, he has a bit of a forked tongue, like lizards!

In the third picture, you can see how Fylass is a bit of sleepy boy - he normally sleeps more than the average person, so please give him a bit more of patience.

Lastly, his weapon! His Parasol. Fylass has the ability to nullify magic of other users, but the only way he can do that is by using his parasol, by basically using it as a way to shoot red projectiles in form of magic bullets/waves that resemble sparks that paralyze you - these don't really harm you, and simply just disable your magic for a prolonged amount of time depending on how magic Fylass used to make the projectile.

Trivia:

Fylass is inspired by the story, The Little Match Girl, which consists of a poor girl freezing to death when she wasted all her matches, since each time she lit one up, she could see her dead grandmother giving her a candlelit dinner, with the grandmother being the Dream Team and Fylass being the girl.

Fylass' design is based on the Basilisk, a mythological creature that has the ability to paralyze the people it sees with its eyes to turn them into stone, paralleling the powers he has of disabling magic with his paralyzing attacks.

The kid is one of the main antagonists of my AU, being someone that wants to save Kirby, Bandee, Dedede and Meta Knight from a world ending threat, accidentally making things worse by trying to get rid of some of the friends he finds a huge hatred off.

He's adopted by Dedede! Not being the Prince of Dreamland but getting a dapper jacket, robes, and sweater from him!

He's one of the few remaining ancients currently alive at the moment.

The amount of hexagons that appear in the Kirby series are actually a reference to Fylass in the AU, being a presence always watching but unable to get to where Kirby is. That's why his rune has an eye.

Fylass is a direct reference and role of one of the Seven Deadly Sins, Wrath.

Enjoy!

[sunshinetoshi]

a solid pair

kuroo x reader (<1k words)

content (warnings): fluff

a/n: i was going to wait until kuroo’s bday to post this but i simply -cannot wait- it’s been a fat minute since i’ve written anything more than thoughts into my notes app so if this is bad i will pretend it’s not. self-confidence. also bless romcoms for making me rot for love once more.

“I have a question.”

“I have an answer.”

“What do you want for your birthday?”

His chest rumbles in soft laughter beneath you. He hums in thought before responding, “I’m going to give a kind-of answer because I already know you’re not going to settle with me saying I don’t need anything.”

You nod your head, “You’d be correct. Like give me ideas or a price range that makes you comfy. I have a couple different ideas but I wanted to ask you.” You sat up to give him a proper look in his eyes, “Just amuse me, it’s the first birthday we’re spending together and I want us to both be comfortable with how we celebrate. It’s unknown territory,” you hold a hand out to him like you’re making a deal, “help me out here.”

He grins before pushing your hand out of the way and engulfing you into a hug. “All right give me second.” He rubs small circles into your back. “Hm.. Don’t get me anything fancy, so definitely nothing expensive. But I don’t want to say anything specific. I want to be surprised. Helpful?”

“Just barely,” you huff in a faux dramatic tone, “But yes, helpful.”

“Hey, if you really want an honest answer you could get me a rock and I’d love it.”

“A rock.”

“Yes, a rock.”

“You joke a lot, you know.”

He shook his head, “I’m not joking around, I’d love it and I’d love it because it’s from you.”

———

“Socks?” Your friend stops in their tracks.

You nod without taking your eyes off of the displays you’re scanning, “Mhm, socks.”

“Please explain before I cast judgement.”

“We’re at the mall getting socks because he has said so many times he - quote unquote - loves funky socks. And he’s always wearing a different pair when I see him so why not add to the collection?”

“Funky how?”

“Funky like his favorite pair have cats on it. As in he prefers striped or polka dot socks over plain ones. As in he complains when he has to wear plain ones for fancy events.” You smile remembering the last big meeting he had and the little grumble Tetsurou made as he put his socks on.

“Aw, I guess that’s nice then. Okay you said there was a another part to your gift?”

“Yeah, and if you’re loving this side quest you’re gonna love the next - oh! These! He loves space and these lil guys are way cuter aliens than the other socks.” You hold up the pair for your friend and they laugh in disbelief.

———

You can’t help but join your friend in laughing at yourself.

“You look ridiculous!”

“I feel it too but I need to find a good one. Just stand watch and tell me if anyone’s coming.”

You continue your search, picking out select candidates when you realize after quite a while your friend is no longer giggling at you.

You turn you turn your head and look up at them. Their grin is wide. “What?” you ask, cracking a smile of your own.

“This is too cute.”

“What is?”

“You’re squatting like a kid looking for the perfect rock to give your boyfriend because he said he’d be happy even if you have him a rock for his birthday. You’re like a little penguin and it’s really really cute.”

You give a bashful smile and go back to searching for the perfect one.

———

“Did you get full?” Tetsurou gives your leg a gentle shake from the driver’s seat.

“I did.” You take in the smile on his face. “How’s your birthday so far?”

He shakes his head. “Oh man, a great day at work and a great evening with you with great food? Pretty great.” He gives a cheeky grin.

“Good,” you respond, satisfied with his answer. “But actually I have one more surprise,” you reach down to your jacket on the floor of the passenger seat - where you had been hiding his present.

You hold it out to him and expect him to giddily open it up. But he grabs it with care and takes it in. This was a softer smile than you usually see on him and when he turned to look at you you swear his eyes had a brighter twinkle.

“Thank you, really. I was serious, you didn’t have to get me anything,” he grabs your hand and gives it a squeeze. “I’m gonna treasure whatever is in this box.”

“See what’s inside first,” you give his hand a squeeze of your own before dropping it so he has both hands free.

He chuckles and begins to untie the ribbon of the box. “Dang,” he lifts the box up closer to the car light above him, “This is a nice box. This is present enough.” Back to his teasing self.

“Open it,” you laugh.

“Okay, okay, but I’m serious. I’m keeping this box. it’s fantastic.” He lifts the lid and after of beat of silence of him processing what he sees he lets out a deep laugh at the rock sitting in the box. “A rock?” He laughs again before looking at you, “I love it.” He lifts it to get a closer look, reading aloud the tiny letters you carefully (stressfully) wrote on one side of the rock.

Happy Birthday Tetsu ♡

He traces over the date and your name you also wrote. He rolls the rock in his hand, tossing it a couple times. “This is like the perfect shape too. You know what, I’m putting this on my desk, that way I can look at it everyday.” He smiles at it once more before reaches over and gives you a big warm hug, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” you giggle before bringing his attention back to the box, “there’s more - just a little something.”

He lifts the piece of paper you used to separate the two parts of your gift.

“Socks!” He takes them out and looks at the design on both pairs. “Aw I love them! Hey these are great quality, they’re thick. Look at this one with the little aliens. And this one,” he lifts the other pair, “Is your aesthetic to a T.”

“That’s what I said!” you exclaimed in excitement.

He laughed at the outburst. “Then clearly,” he put each pair on either side of his face, “We’re the perfect pair.”

And maybe it was how he appreciated the small things. Maybe it was how his jokes, though corny, always made you smile. For reasons, emotions, beyond you, you decide then that yes - he’s the one.

hi!! given it’s been almost 2 years since i’ve written anything here i will no longer being doing taglists. ty for reading thooo <3

[wolfsrahne28]

HBO’s The Penguin hates women unless they’re conventionally attractive. Prove me wrong.

Oh, you don’t believe me? Well here’s Sofia Falcone and Carla Viti in the comics, and there’s the actresses the show is using. (No hate to the actors btw, I’m just making a point.)

Sofia Falcone in the comics. Big. She’s tall. Beefy. Has big, red hair, and has a Roman nose.

Sofia Falcone in the show is played by a skinny, conventionally attractive woman. She’s shorter, and has a straight nose.

Carla Viti in the comics. Stocky, heavy, round. She is FAT. Fats not a bad word or a bad thing.

And… here’s who they hired. Notice something off? You’re right, she’s skinny and “prettier” by bs Hollywood standards.

I see so many people talk about how much they love Sofia bc she’s crazy and violent, and apparently breaking gender stereotypes while doing it. And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with conventionally attractive female characters being violent and evil and playing roles more reserved for male characters. But the fact that apparently the show has a problem with women doing that and being an important character UNLESS they’re “pretty” is very telling.

So yeah, as if I needed more reasons to stay away from Reevesverse, and I already had so many, it also hates women that aren’t “pretty”. Which is already an issue with most comics, but this is somehow doing WORSE than comics in that regard.

And the worst part? NO ONE GIVES A SHIT. Comic bros rant whenever a white character is made black, and then others jump at defending the race lifts. But when women who are either buff or fat are made skinny, no one cares. Not the comic bros who want 100% accuracy, and not the more progressive fans who should be want more body diversity. But no, everyone is too distracted by the shiny keys of Sofia being violent, crazy, and hot being jangled in front of their face, that they don’t notice this blatant and obvious disrespect of women. This show doesn’t love women or break stereotypes like people think it does. But everyone seems to either not see it because they’re distracted, or they simply don’t care about women that aren’t “hot”. Either way, it’s frustrating seeing everyone falling for this.

I can’t… I just can’t do this shit, my guy.

[pigeon-behavior]

Did you know the gold standard for pet pigeons is pigeons raised by their own parents?

That's right! Unlike the common practice of hand-raising that is performed for parrots (we won't get into those ethics here), hand-raising is the LAST thing you want to do with pigeons.

But what is so bad about it? What problems arise? What's the alternative?

Behold, I will tell you.

The most immediate issue that arises with hand-raising over parent-raising is the success rate of making it to adulthood. Pigeons have several biological traits that makes this process extremely difficult for us to adequately copy.

Most birds feed their young the same way. You know exactly what I'm talking about, because even if you haven't seen it in person, you've seen pictures, or even cartoons! Most baby birds open their beaks up as wide as they can go, and mom and dad reach in there to supply food. Hand-raising baby birds with this trait is easier.

Pigeons do not do this. The parent takes the child's beak in their own before barfing up the goods. Pigeon babies (squabs) seek food with a closed beak as a result. And they really, really do not like you trying to pry it open to get food in there.

Most emergency hand-raising or supplementing of columbids is done through specially engineered methods that help mimic this style of eating, but even that isn't perfect.

Columbids (pigeons and doves) are one of three groups of birds that produce this really amazing thing called 'crop milk.' The other two are penguins and flamingoes. Weird combo, isn't it. Maybe not!

It's thought that crop milk originated to feed the young of these species due to their heavily specialized diets and circumstances. Flamingoes are extremophiles who ingest things like brine shrimp and algae. Penguins live on a varying diet of seafood, often in very inconvenient locales. Pigeons (ours at least) are granivores, and grain is typically hard for young animals to make use of. But even the fruit eating pigeons are like this. So what is the huge advantage of crop milk?

With crop milk, you don't have to change your diet or find unusual food items to feed your offspring. With crop milk, your offspring gets an enormously nutritious meal right out the gates, with all the fats and proteins and carbs they could want, pre-made and ready to go. With crop milk, both parents can produce this super meal and extend their chances with this investment cost. All of these groups have very small numbers in their clutches at a time. Some species of penguin only raise one chick a year. To my knowledge, flamingoes also go one at a time. Columbids like rock doves (our pigeons) and mourning doves are capped at 2 per clutch, unless an accident happens. We will get to that.

Here's the rub.

Baby pigeons are one of the fastest growing birds on the planet. The crop milk is a big, big factor in that.

What happens if a 3rd baby is born in those nests, by the way? Usually nothing good. 2 babies are perfectly balanced to receive their parents efforts. 3 is enormously taxing on them and draining on them physically. Responsible breeders do not let their birds have 3 babies on accident. It can lead to deaths.

We don't have an adequate crop milk replacement yet. Even things marketed for this purpose fail. I know breeders who have desperately worked on improving their methods when a baby pigeon NEEDS intervention, and they've made improvement, but it still isn't perfect.

There's a scientific paper that details the gut microbiome transfer between parents and child in pigeon crop milk. It's hard to know how vital that bacteria is. Even if a crop milk substitute could be made with enough protein and fat and less sugar, would there still be a probiotic gap in it?

It is not unusual for a baby pigeon who misses out on parental crop milk to die. Sometimes two weeks later, when you thought maybe they would make it. They get this odd, dried, purple tint to them and most don't pull through past that. We call it FTT, or failure to thrive. There's no other reason they pass - it's not disease. They just stop.

No breeder worth their salt will take a baby to be hand-raised. It's dangerous for the baby. And, it impacts their mental development.

Pigeons that are raised by humans successfully become what we call human imprints. This means they don't really know they are a pigeon. They think they are like their parent - the big ape!

Imprints are NOT desirable among domestic species, or arguably at all, but pigeons are domestic so we'll stick there.

Pigeons who think they're people don't understand why we won't listen to them. So they ramp up their social signaling to 11. They bite as hard as they are capable of, which you can find out is pretty hard actually. They can't be housed with other pigeons. Not only do they have the tendency to be violent, but other pigeons don't like imprints. They tend to sense something is 'off' about them. This can lead to grouping up on one bird. And there's no fixing this. The bird can't be taught otherwise past a certain age. Their owners can find them extremely frustrating.

Don't make this mistake if you don't have to.

So what's the alternative, then?

Parent-raised babies who are socialized by humans, but left to grow up in the nest the majority of the time. Companion-bred birds from ethical breeders will be this. And it works.

Allowing the pigeon to maintain its social identity while introducing them to the fact that people can be great too is the best of both worlds. I personally used my parents as part of the socialization process - feeding the whole family in my lap to help show the babies that there was nothing to be afraid of.

And socialization can get very thorough. Everyone has their own method. But its the best chance you have of an out-of-box friendly bird. Especially from people who actually know their lines and have cultivated good stock.

Long story short, don't try creating imprints for no reason. They'll be messed up, you will be frustrated, and you could end up killing the bird.

I hope that was informative!

If you enjoy my posts, please consider tipping me on ko-fi!

[bunni-v1]

(Twenty) Nine Lives for Love

Chapter 3: Meet the Team Prev Chapter\\Next Chapter m.list

Tw: Yamamoto (/j)

Info: Kenma x Reader ; Kuroo and Reader; Kuroo is a wingman; Your cat is so fucking fat (this is so important); Nekoma team introduction (yay!!!)

Word Count: 7.5k 🍓I know I said I was gonna get Curee out, but... I wanted to write this one so sorry lol. Anyway, I am again asking you to pretend Animal Crossing came out earlier in 2012. We get to meet the team, and I know I didn't highlight all the characters, but I just wanted to highlight the ones that are generally the most important in the Nekoma game. Anyway, enjoy lovelies!

Tag List: @angel-academia @bi-bi-papillon

You stretched your arms up above your head, groaning at the satisfying pops of your spine. The sun wasn’t even up yet, though you could see it just barely peaking over the horizon through your curtains. Maki let out a disgruntled sound as you shifted to grab your phone. 6:00 AM, 20 degrees Celsius, partly cloudy. 4 messages from ‘shithead’ (Noya) and 3 from ‘baldy’ (Tanaka). You shut the screen off, setting it back down, you’ll deal with the boneheads later. (Why Tanaka was up this early was beyond you). It was way too early to see your Dad off to work. He was never up before 6:30, and he left at 7:30 on the dot every day.

Lazily, you slumped out of bed, ignoring your cat growling at the loss of your warmth. You drag your feet over to your closet, pulling out your uniform and tossing it on haphazardly. You would fix it later once you were more awake. You took care of your hair just as fast and checked your phone again. 6:10 AM, great. You sigh, quickly responding to Noya and Tanaka’s messages (something about ‘annoying teachers’ from Noya and ‘rowdy freshmen’ from Tanaka). While you were at it, you decided to double-check the group chat Kuroo made last night for meeting times.

‘Meet up around 8:30’ and make your way to school with ‘enough time to grab snacks before class.’ You smile a little at the messages, Kenma complaining that was too early and Kuroo scolding him as usual. He also insisted on Kenma introducing you to Yamamoto and a Fukunaga, which you were 100% certain would not be happening if Kenma had the choice. You turn the screen off and sigh. With nothing to do for at least an hour (or until your old man decided to bother you), you decided to pass the time the only way you knew how: playing video games. 

With the stealth of a practiced ninja, you crept down the stairs and set up your N64. It was your Dad’s, which he bought so he could play with you when you were old enough. It had seen a lot of love since then, covered in stickers and markers from when you and Noya were too young to know better. You slid open the small drawer holding all your games, mulling over what you should play. Finally, you settled on the classic Super Mario 64. You’d beaten and 100% the game a million times by now, but you never got tired of it – besides it was only to pass the time for a bit. You would probably only play the slide level, or throw that little penguin off the side of Cool Cool Mountain. 

You blew into the cartridge, just in case, and pressed it into the slot. Not too long after, Mario’s impressive (for its time), but horrific 3D face greeted you with ‘It’s-a me, Mario’. You took a few minutes to stretch it around, deforming him until you were satisfied, then finally loaded up the game to mess around a bit. You decidedly chose not to play either aforementioned level, and hopped into Bob-om Battlefield instead, mostly because you liked the theme so much. After a long while (or exactly 45 minutes according to your phone), you heard the soft steps of slipper-clad feet make their way down the stairs, and pause right outside the entryway to the living room.

“You’re up early,” called the soft voice of your father.

“Couldn’t get back to sleep,” you answer.

He walks further in, leaning over the back of the couch to get a better look at what you’re up to. He laughs a little when he gets a full view of you running around aimlessly, setting the little bombs off on purpose. His hands come down to ask for the controller, which you hand him, and he proceeds to do the same thing you were doing. When he is satisfied, he hands the controller back to you and presses a kiss to your temple.

“Wanna eat breakfast together, since you’re up?.” He offers.

On cue, your stomach grumbles. Both of you share a look, then laugh before heading for the kitchen. Your dad makes two eggs, sunny side up, and toast. Simple, but more than enough to fill both of you up for the day. You pour yourself some apple juice, never having been a fan of bitter orange juice with your savory breakfast. When all is settled on the table, and you’ve already begun to eat your breakfast, your Dad decides he wants to catch up.

“How was your first day at school? I meant to ask last night, but that movie had us both snoring before we could talk.”

You laugh and nod, “Yeah, what a snoozefest. I thought it was ‘the scariest movie of all time.’ What a joke.”

“Scary movies aren’t scary anymore.” Your Dad scoffs, and you adamantly nod along with him.

“Seriously! But, anyway, school was good!” You exclaim.

“Oh yeah? Anything interesting happen, sweetpea?” he wonders.

You think it over, not quite sure where to start, “I was lost, but one of my upperclassmen – his name is Kuroo – helped me out. It turns out his best friend – Kenma – was in my class, and I was able to sit next to him, so I wasn’t lonely like I thought I’d be.”

He takes a big bite of his toast, and grins at you as he swallows, “That’s good! I’m glad you’re making friends. I told you it wouldn’t be that bad.”

You nod, “Oh, yeah, they actually live just down the street from us. We’re walking together this morning.”

“That’s… really convenient! You won’t have such a lonely walk now either.”

Again, you nod, “Oh, and get this, they asked me if I wanted to help manage the volleyball team. I’m going to their practice today, so I’ll get back around the same time as you today.”

He pauses, swallowing up the rest of his eggs – while you have only eaten half of what was on your plate – and gives you a nervous look. “That’s… a lot of conveniences. Anyway, isn’t it a bit odd that he’s asking someone he hardly knows to manage his volleyball team?”

You eye him suspiciously, “...That’s what I said, but… I dunno I guess he’s desperate. The volleyball team isn’t all that popular or good from what I’ve seen, so they haven’t had a manager since he was a freshman at least. Besides, if I feel uncomfortable or anything I just won’t say yes.”

He seems to accept the answer, “Alright, just be safe. Text me if you need me to come pick you up, okay, pumpkin?”

“I will, don’t worry too much,” you assure, and he reaches over to ruffle your hair.

“Finish your eggs up, then come see me off for work.” He states, getting up to clean off his plate and heading back upstairs to finish getting ready.

Obediently, you eat your food until the plate is clean and down the last of your drink. You rinse the plate off in the sink, set it in the dishwasher, and then move to straighten out your uniform in the first-floor bathroom. At some point, Maki lazes her way downstairs to find you, settling herself on the edge of the sink to stare at you complacently in the mirror. You give her a good scratch behind her ear, then leave to meet your old man at the entrance. He holds your school bag out in one hand, his briefcase in the other, and a big smile on his face.

You sling the strap over your head, adjusting it across your body, and then all three members of your household make your way outside. Maki, however, is not allowed outside of the gate, despite her wailing to say goodbye as well. You hush her as your father climbs into the old family van.

“She’s only so co-dependent cause you baby her all the time,” your Dad teases.

“She is my baby,” you insist, “I practically birthed that cat.”

He snorts, shaking his head at you, “Alright, alright. Be safe, love you pumpkin.”

You lean into the window, pressing a kiss to his cheek, “I will. Love you too, Dad. Have a good day at work.”

You wave him off – behind the gate, to appease Maki so she doesn’t disturb the neighbors. When he is out of your line of sight, you sigh, bending down to poke at Maki as punishment for her dramatics. She falls onto her side, thinking it’s playtime, and begins to bat at your hands. You huff out your nose, shaking your head. 

“Maybe I do baby you too much, you fatass.” 

She meows curiously up at you, and you can’t help but laugh at the display, rubbing at her stomach more affectionately this time. You spend a long time playing with Maki on the pavement of your entryway, enjoying the way she reacts to your poking and prodding fingers dancing across her little tummy. You only stop when you hear feet shuffling up to your gate, looking up to find Kenma. You blink in surprise, checking your phone, 8:00 AM – he was very early, and he was alone. You look around, maybe Kuroo is hiding, but there is no sign of him.

“Morning Kenma,” You finally say, standing to your feet.

“Morning,” he replies, but you can tell his focus is elsewhere. Specifically, on Maki.

Without another word, you bend down and scoop her up, then open the gate to let him in. He hesitates, looking at you nervously, but steps in when you widen your smile. Only after you close the gate do you set Maki down – knowing she would bolt if given the chance to. Kenma immediately squats down to pet her but pauses and looks at you.

“Is she friendly?” he asks.

“Yes, but she won’t be for much longer if you keep depriving her of pets,” you joke playfully.

Kenma smiles, then finally gives Maki her well-deserved butt scratches. You bend down to sit next to him, watching him in amusement. He got this glazed over, delighted look in his eyes, like he was in heaven. It was kind of cute to see. His eyes slipped over to you, and you continued to smile softly at him. There was a careful kind of consideration that crossed his face. Something… gentle and familiar about the look that you could not quite place. Then, he spoke.

“You didn’t mention you had a cat,” he mumbled, turning his gaze back to Maki.

You do the same, “It just didn’t come up, but she’s my pride and joy.”

His fingers find their way up to her collar, thumb rubbing the imprinted hiragana, “Maki. Why’d you name her that.”

You smile fondly at the memory, “I found her on the street when I was like eight or something. She was next to one of those souvenir shops that sell stuff to tourists. The shop had a big Maneki Neko sign, so I named her after that.”

He hums, scratching behind her ears, “So you rescued her?”

“Yeah, she was nothing but skin and bones when I found her. I fattened her up real good though, don’t you think?” As you say that, you give her stomach a playful smack.

“She sure is fat,” he laughs, then he thinks over his next words carefully before speaking, “Do you like rescuing animals?”

You nod excitedly, “Oh yeah. I scored a part-time job at the animal rescue downtown. I work the weekends, and I love it.”

“Paws and claws?”

“That’s the one! You know it?”

He hums his confirmation, “Yep. I’ve thought about trying to volunteer there, but I figured I wouldn’t get the approval.”

You frown at him, adamantly shaking your head, “We could use the help, and I can put in good word for you now. Besides, it would be a good way to get to know each other better.”

He seems to mull over your words carefully, jaw shifting as he thinks. You find him handsome like this, and you have to squash the squealing of the teenage girl in your head, reminding yourself you had met him yesterday. 

“I’ll… think about it,” he answers finally, “if I have the time.”

You huff a laugh out of your nose, “Oh! Uhm, I visited your village last night, it’s so cool. I love that all your villagers are cats, and you’ve got a cute, like, yarn theme going. It’s really, what's the word? Charming?”

He smiles, wide this time, “Thanks. I think I spent over a hundred hours making it perfect… I liked yours too. The way you set it all up was nice and cohesive, it felt like I was walking through a real city.”

“I based it off of my neighborhood back in Miyagi,” you admit, “I wanted it to feel as… homely as possible.”

“Well, you did a good job at that,” he compliments, “My favorite part was how you put your house right next to Bob’s.”

“He’s my favorite villager!” You defend, “He was one of my starters, and I kinda just fell in love with his personality. Y’know, he’s kinda like you!”

“He and Tangy are my favorites,” Kenma replies, still petting Maki, “…Tangy reminds me of you. A little.”

You try to shove down how happy that makes you, though your cheeks still heat up at the thought of it. The universe was out to get you, giving you this new boy who you just couldn’t seem to feel normal about. If Yuu or Tanaka were here they’d never let you hear the end of it. In your attempt to keep composure, a nice silence falls between the two of you. Kenma is still, somehow, dutifully petting your spoiled cat and you scrolling through your phone out of boredom. A few of your friends from Karasuno had posted about their first day back, and you tried not to feel too sour about it. It wasn’t your fault you weren’t there, and it wasn’t theirs for enjoying their time without you. Still, it stung just a little. Only a little, though.

“Have you thought about practice?” Kenma asks, so quiet you almost didn’t catch it.

“Huh? Oh! Yeah,” you respond awkwardly, “Yeah I have. I said I was gonna give it a try, so I won’t go back on my word. When does it go ‘till, though? I have to let my dad know what I’m up to or else he gets nervous.”

“Mine is the same way. My mom couldn’t care less, but he worries too much,” he responds coolly, “practice goes until 5, then we usually grab something to eat from the konbini down the street. So.. 5:30, I guess. We probably won’t today, though.”

“Okay, thanks,” you nod, quickly texting the information to your father. Kenma peers over your shoulder, cat-like eyes watching your fingers dash across the keyboard rapidly. He doesn’t have a touchscreen like you do – most kids your age don’t because they’re so new and expensive – so you don’t pay his prying eyes any mind, assuming it was only curiosity at the phone.

“Who’s shithead?” He asks suddenly.

You’re a bit confused until you look at your screen again and remember you never responded to Noya’s text. ‘Shithead: Remember not to be too intense or you’ll scare him off’ shows on your recent messages. Your face heats up, hoping Kenma didn’t read the message, “Oh! He’s just a friend from back home– Not just friend, sorry. He’d kill me if I said we were just normal friends. He’s my–”

“Your boyfriend?” a much deeper voice from behind asks.

You turn to Kuroo, face hot and flustered as can be. You try to ignore how Kenma’s face falls a little at what Kuroo said, not wanting to unpack that right now. Not this early in the morning, at least, maybe alone in your room tonight.

“Definitely not! Ew!” you exclaim, shaking your head, “I think I’d rather die. He’s my best friend. We’re practically family.”

Again, you try not to acknowledge that Kenma relaxes when you say that. Kuroo shrugs, pointing an accusatory finger at Kenma. 

“You coulda told me you were meeting her here early,” he scolds, “I stood outside your house like an idiot. Mrs. Shimada had to shoo me away, do you know how dumb I looked.”

Kenma rolls his eyes, “I wish I was there to see it.”

“You never leave the house early – actually, you’re almost always still sleeping when I come to get you! Who are you?” Kuroo argues.

An eye roll, “I just felt like it okay? It’s not a big deal or anything.”

A couple of expletives leave Kuroos mouth, and you snicker at him. They were just as amusing in the morning, that's good, yesterday wasn’t a fluke. Hoping to be the keeper of peace, you scoop Maki up from the ground and walk up to Kuroo.

“No arguing, okay, just pet my cat,” you smile, offering her up to him

He sighs, looks at her for a long moment, then begins scratching the top of her head. She purrs in your arms, little paws reaching out to grab at Kuroos arm. That seems to lighten him up, a wonderstruck smile growing across his cheeks as he goes in for more scratches.

“You didn’t mention you had such a cute kitty,” he coos.

“It didn’t come up,” Kenma says, now standing next to you, very close. He reaches up to pet Maki too, and you rationalize that he has to stand close to reach her. (He does not, you know he does not, but you were not going to complain).

“We should probably head out soon if we wanna make it in time,” Kuroo says, though he doesn’t stop his affections for a second.

You let him and Kenma give Maki all the love in the world for about five more seconds, then you pull her away. All three of them are disappointed. Spoiled rotten kitties. You open your front door and shoo Maki inside, laughing at the indignant face she gives you as you close the door. 

“She’s not an outdoor cat?” Kuroo says, a bit disappointed.

“You saw how fat she was!” you laugh, “but seriously, if I leave her outdoors she’ll follow me to class, and I don’t want her getting hit by a car or something.”

The two of them hum and nod in understanding, and then you’re off on your usual route to school. Again you talk about nothing and everything, and time passes incredibly quickly. These two were simple and easy to talk to, for whatever reason. It was a little annoying that you couldn’t place why, but you would count your blessings lest you lose them.

“Hey, are you still planning on coming to practice this afternoon?” Kuroo asks you as you arrive at the vending machines just outside the gym.

You nod enthusiastically, “Yeah! I’m really looking forward to it! You talked a pretty big game, I gotta see if it’s true, right?”

Kuroo laughs while Kenma slides some money in the slot, selecting some kind of juice, “We’re pretty average, but I think we’re fun to watch, maybe.” He comments, sliding another bill into the slot, “What do you want?”

“Oh– I can pay for myself,” you worry.

“I already put the money in, just pay me back later,” He says flatly.

“Aren’t you sweet,” Kuroo teases, much to Kenmas chagrin.

“Just milk, please,” you say finally, and he presses the button.

“I told the coach about you last night, he’s excited to have you,” Kuroo comments as he gets himself something too.

“I hope I live up to the standards then,” you joke.

“We don’t have any standards…” Kenma mumbles.

Your eyes glance over Kuroos hair, and you hum in understanding. He looks offended, and you sip on your milk so you don’t burst out laughing. For what it's worth, though, it gets a smile out of Kenma – which is all you wanted in the first place. Kuroo chooses something peachy, which does not seem to fit his whole persona, and then you are off to your homeroom together. You expect it to be like yesterday, light, playful conversation and quick, but it is not. 

As you are rounding the first of your right turns, a loud, somewhat familiar voice shouts behind you. Kenma flinches and Kuroo rolls his eyes. You have a total of about three seconds to react before there is a blonde boy tackling Kenma forward.

Ah. You think. It’s Yamamoto.

“How rude are you, you didn’t come by to see me yesterday – I gave you my classroom number and everything!” He says, scolding like a parent.

You think, just for a moment, that the sight is very funny. In the kindest way possible, this guy looks like a punk, and he’s scolding Kenma. You cover your giggles with another sip of your nearly empty milk carton. Kuroo sighs, which seems to be a habit of his, and marches forward to separate the two. You smile a little at Kenma, who shies away from your gaze, but still returns to your side like a lost kitten. (You let the teenage girl in you kick her feet over this one because it is cute.)

“Don’t make a scene, Yamamoto,” Kuroo scolds, and all balances itself out.

“‘M not making a scene, dude! I just–” He pauses when he sees you, doing a double take. The best way to describe his face would be: stupid. Like how Tanaka looks when he sees Kiyoko. You sure hope this guy doesn’t think you’re his soulmate – no offense to him. He points at you, “Who’s that?”

You introduce yourself and decide not to mention that you literally introduced yourself to the whole of his class yesterday. Kuroo decides to add, though you wish he hadn’t, “She’s trying out the manager position, so be nice and presentable, alright?”

Instead of being nice or presentable, Yamamoto falls to his knees and begins… praying? You think you see tears come to his eyes, and you realize the world has sent you a new Tanaka to replace the old one. 

“God, Buddha, whoever's out there, thank you for answering my prayers,” you hear him mutter.

Kuroo gives him a kick to his side, and you decide to leave him to deal with that, turning to Kenma. He looks nothing less than exhausted, and you feel a little bad. He was not much of a social creature. Still, he looks at you and sighs.

“I told you to avoid him.”

“Is he always like this?” You ask.

“He’s always whining about how we don’t have a female manager – it’s not fair because Fukurodani has two, we deserve one too.” He recalls, like having flashbacks.

“Kinda creepy…” you mumble, “but, one of my friends from home was kinda like that. Only, he’s convinced that he’s soulmates with his manager.”

Kenma huffs a laugh from his nose, “He still believes in that soulmate stuff?”

You feel a prick of… annoyance in your chest. Not only at the insult to Tanaka but because you believed in ‘that soulmate stuff.’ It also… kinda hurts, for some reason, that he doesn’t believe. Embarrassment and disappointment burn in your stomach at the thought, and you know you shouldn’t feel as bad as you do, but you do. Kenma seems to notice this because his face falls and he bites at his index fingernail. 

“I’m sorry–” he begins, but you cut him off.

“No, no, it’s fine.” The kind, non-confrontational part of yourself wins your mental battle, you didn’t want to debate soulmates with someone you didn’t know well,  “I know most people think it's silly.”

“It’s not–” He tries again.

“You don’t have to defend yourself. I get it.” You assure, smiling warmly at him.

He has this look like he wants to say more. Wide-eyed, eyebrows raised, and lip between his teeth. You hope he doesn’t, because you’re already embarrassed and hurting, and you don’t want to hear him justify why soulmates don’t exist. Why they can’t. You hear it enough from your dad.

The ten-minute bell is your saving grace, alleviating the tension in your shoulders and drawing Kuroo and Yamamoto back to the group. Kuroo splits off early because the nearest flight of stairs is closer back than it is forward, and you are left alone with Kenma – who does not seem to want to talk – and Yamamoto who is already mentally building a statue in your honor in his head. Thanks, Kuroo.

“Are you seriously considering managing for us?” Yamamoto asks, too excitedly, too close.

For some reason, Kenma finds it in himself to squeeze between the two of you, giving you the breathing room you need. Yamamoto grumbles about it, and you briefly see gears turning in his head as he considers the action, but you don’t give him too much time to think.

“I am, yeah,” you respond, “I wanna meet your coach and your team first before it’s set in stone, but… I like volleyball and there’s not much else for me club-wise here, so I’m pretty sure I’ll take the position if I’m wanted.”

“You will be!” He says too quickly, “I-I mean. I think everyone would be more than happy to have a cute girl helping us out every day too.”

You feel your face heat up at the compliment. The straightforwardness was refreshing, just like Noya, but if he flirted with you. Ew.

“We’d be happy with the help anyway,” Kenma jumps in, “we have to do it all ourselves, and it’s tiring after practicing for hours.”

“But it’s extra nice from a pretty girl~” Yamamoto purrs.

“Her gender doesn’t matter, so long as she’s helpful,” Kenma groans.

“Are you even into girls man?”

“Oh look!” You interrupt before things escalate, “This is our stop! It was nice to meet you, Yamamoto. I’ll see you in fifth period!”

You leave him in his bewilderment, ushering Kenma and yourself into the classroom and to your desks. He practically deflates as he sits down, all the tension gone as soon as his butt hits the seat. You chuckle at the look on his face, and he smiles a little, though you’re not quite sure why.

“Thank you,” he says finally.

“I’m used to his kind,” you joke, “If you ever need help, call on me and I’ll be your hero.”

He snorts as you flex your arms playfully in the air. You’re delighted that everything seems to be back to normal, though there is still a nagging thought in the back of your head. The disappointment that he does not believe in soulmates. You don’t know why it’s so disappointing – or, at least, you don’t want to acknowledge why it is.

.·:*˚¨¨ ≈★≈ ¨¨˚*:·.

The bell signaling your last class rings, and you are suddenly hit with nerves unlike any other you’ve experienced. Maybe it’s because you know you’re about to meet a lot of new people all at once, or maybe it’s because you feel the need to be more than you are to impress them, but your stomach is in knots by the time you and Kenma descend the second flight of stairs. You fiddle with your fingers, not sure what else to do with all this nervous energy. God, maybe this wasn’t a good idea. You felt like throwing up. Was it hot, or are you sweating a lot? Ugh, ew, why were you sweating?

“Are you nervous?” Kenma asks, startling you out of your head.

“Oh, uhm, hah… yeah. I guess I am,” you laugh at yourself, “I didn’t think it would be so bad, but now that we’re going…”

He considers you for a moment, before awkwardly patting you on the head. If you weren’t nervous your stomach would be doing backflips for a whole other reason now. “You’ll be fine. I promise everyone else is better than Yamamoto.”

You think – no you know that you look stupid, with your mouth in an open smile and eyes wide. If you think too hard about it, though, you might actually throw up, so you just nod. It’s enough to appease Kenma, and he gestures for you to follow him. Luckily, you do not bump into Yamamoto on the way, so he can’t pester you anymore in his excitement. (He did that plenty once he realized you were in his class. Though, you found it more endearing than annoying. You just couldn’t handle more than what you had right now).

He leads you to the entrance of the field house, where Kuroo and two other guys stand. One is short – like really short – with sandy hair. The other is more average height with tanned skin, and buzzed black hair. They’re both incredibly cool-looking, and you feel your nerves return in full when Kuroo points at you from a distance. It takes everything in you not to stop and turn around, but you manage to approach the three of them.

“Oh? Is this our little manager?” The short one coos, a wide smile on his face, “She’s a cutie!~”

“Don’t be a creep.” Kuroo scowls.

“I’m not being creepy, I’m pointing out a fact.” He snaps back.

“Yeah, like a creepy old man!” Kuroo presses further, and the two of them start bickering.

The normal-looking one sighs, smiles at you, and offers his hand over the bickering of his fellow seniors (you think the short one is a senior, because you can’t imagine a junior being so comfortable arguing with their senpai like that.) “I’m Nobuyuki Kai, don’t pay them any mind.”

You smile weakly, “Hi…” Your voice is small and squeaky, but you manage to introduce yourself. You think Nobuyuki must have the patience of a saint, to put up with his friends and your floundering all at once.

“The short guy is Morisuke Yaku, but don’t call him the short guy, okay?” he winks, and you feel a little better, “Everyone else is already getting changed or warming up. You can talk to the coach inside once you feel up for it.”

Your nerves return in a wave, “Are we late?”

“Kenma’s just slow,” Kuroo finally returns to the conversation, “he’s always the last one here. Normally I’m with him but… I figured I could leave him in your care.”

A knowing smirk grows on Kuroo’s face, and you see Kenma glare at him. Odd… but, whatever. You were just glad that you weren’t late or anything, especially not on the first day.

Morisuke holds his hand out to you, “Morisuke Yaku! Excited to work with you!”

“I already introduced you,” Nobuyuki corrects, causing Morisuke’s smile to drop.

Quickly, you take his hand and introduce yourself, and you swear you see stars in his eyes as the smile returns to his face, “You’re gonna fit in great.” He says enthusiastically. You realize then that your nerves are eased a lot. Is this the power of reliable senpai? 

Kenma tugs at your skirt a little, and you look at him, “I’ll take you to the coach so you can talk to him.”

“Oh,” you almost forgot all about that, “yeah, thanks Kenma.”

The five of you walk in, and then split off from each other. Yamamoto and two excited boys wave at you as you pass. You wonder why you were so worried in the first place. Kenma points out the coach, who is standing off to the side of the court discussing with the Assistant Coach about something. When he spots you (at least, you think he does, since his eyes remain closed) he waves you over with a welcoming smile. You bid Kenma farewell, and quickly close the distance between yourself and the coach.

“You’re the new manager girl?” He asks before you can say anything, and you nod, pulling a hearty chuckle from him, “Welcome to the team!”

The other man clears his throat, “Sir, she’s just trialing today.”

“Don’t be so negative about it Naoi, you’ll scare her off!” The old man scolds. They seem to do a lot of scolding on this team.

“I-It’s no big deal Sir– I’m pretty sure I’ll accept the position, I just wanted to be sure I clicked.” You try and smooth things over, and the old man chuckles at you again.

“Coach Nekomata,” He introduces, “and this is Assistant Coach Naoi. We’re happy to have you.”

You grin, “Thank you! I really hope I stick, so to speak.”

He gestures for you to follow him, so you do, and he leads you over to a set of seats. Coach Naoi does not follow you, instead going over to check up on the boys. He pats the empty one next to him, and you take a seat.

“Tell me about yourself, where you’re from, and your interests.” He says, leaning in intently.

You’re taken aback but recover quickly. Describing your love for animal care, where you came from, and how you got into volleyball. He perks up when you mention coming from Karasuno, and asks a couple of questions about the team. You do your best to reiterate what Tanaka had told you, but you’re not much help since you’re so removed from it now. You do feel a little sad at the loss, but try to remind yourself that your friends haven’t suddenly forgotten about you due to distance. Sugawara’s constant texts asking about Tokyo and Diachi’s reminders to take care of yourself are proof enough of that.

“Our boys are rowdy, but they’re good-hearted. I think you’ll come to love working with them if you give it the time, I know I have.” He says with an air of finality, “Coach Naoi will show you the ropes today, I do hope you decide to stay.”

You give him a shy smile, “Thank you, Sir. I think I’d like to give it a try.”

Another hearty laugh pushes its way out of him, and then he claps his hands together and stands from his seat. Only then do you realize the whole team is changed and ready to begin practice. He waves you over to his side, and you follow him over to Coach Naoi’s side, the boys standing in a half circle around the three of you. Coach Nekomata begins some kind of speech to welcome back the team and get them excited for the coming year, and you take the time to observe the new faces that you’ve yet to see.

First, and most obviously, was a ginormous foreign-looking guy. He had to be at least three heads taller than the other members of the team, and his silver-grey hair and green eyes made him stick out like a sore thumb. Next to him was a kind of cute guy with spiky brown hair and a big smile passively resting on his face. He was one of the boys who waved at you when you passed Yamamoto, which led you to the other kid. He had a black bowl cut and was also awfully smiley, though you’d describe him as more thoughtful-looking than the brown-haired boy. And finally was a boy you recognize passing in the hall once or twice. You’d seen Yamamoto talking with him between classes yesterday, a permanent cat-like look on his face like he was up to no good. There were a couple of others, but they didn’t strike you as interesting – not to be mean. The four of them mixed in with the others you’d met piqued your interest. What kind of players were they? How did they play as a team? Would you be able to fit in with them?

“This young lady here is thinking about being our manager,” Coach Naoi’s voice pulls you out of your thoughts as all eyes fall on you, “do your best to impress her today, and she might just stay.”

Your face heats up, and to hide your embarrassment, you bow and introduce yourself just a little too loud. Luckily, no one comments on it, and they all excitedly bow and welcome you with an eagerness that only teenage boys can have. It reminds you a lot of Karasuno, and your chest warms up at the kindness these boys have afforded you already. You've never managed a team before, and you doubt you’d be any good to start, but you feel the need more than ever to give it your all – if only to make sure their kindness doesn’t go to waste.

Coach Nekomata barks out a few commands for warm-up, and Coach Naoi pulls you to the side to give you a rundown on your responsibilities. Fill water bottles, hand out towels, take notes on the athletes, clean up the balls, and help come up with strategies. Simple things you’d already sort of done before just by proximity to Nishinoya and his love for the sport. Coach Naoi shows you where things are, how best to fill up and transfer multiple water bottles at once, and of course, gives you some reminders of the basics of the game. By the time practice is wrapping up, you can hardly remember why you were so nervous to start. Everything comes so naturally to you, and you mentally make a note to text Kiyoko your thanks for conditioning you later tonight.

You’re so busy learning from Coach Naoi, that you don’t get the chance to talk to any of the team members outside of handing them their towels and water. Kuroo does take the chance to shoot you a thumbs up every chance he gets, which is reassuring. Kenma even smiles at you when you pass him. Every time you pass him actually, without fail. You do your best not to overthink it.

It’s not until you’re picking up balls that you get a chance to talk to some of the other members of the team. Fukunaga – the cat-faced guy – and Inuoka – the spiky-haired cutie – offer their help to you while everyone else cleans up in other places. Inuoka is a first year, and is just as friendly and excitable as you expected, asking all about your interests and happily sharing his when you ask. He’s kind of like a dog amongst cats, which makes him all the more likable in your opinion. Fukunaga the second year on the other hand is more of the quiet observant type, you expect him to be a stone wall, but he is not. He’s actually – pardon your language – fucking hilarious. He has you bursting out laughing with nearly every quip that leaves his mouth. Unfortunately, you don’t get a chance to talk to the others you don’t know, but you learn that the super tall guy is Lev Haiba, who is Russian, though he’s ‘Not cool enough to know the language’ according to Fukunaga. He also was totally brand new to the sport which made sense since he seemed to be way out of his depth. The other was Yuki Shibayama, who Inuoka described as just ‘Nice’ from their interactions at the camp before the semester starting. ‘Nice,’ might’ve been the most vague descriptor possible, but you weren’t gonna give him too hard of a time about it. (Fukunaga did that for you with another jab that had you snickering behind your hand.)

Kenma approached the three of you just as you finished tossing the last of the balls in the basket. You gave him a smile, positioning yourself to face him better.

“Hey Kozume-Senpai,” Inuoka says cheerfully, which makes you feel bad when Kenma’s face doesn’t even shift a little. Jeeze, he was heartless.

“Kuroo wanted me to grab you, you’re on sweeping duty tonight,” he states flatly.

Inuoka groans but obediently jogs over to the broom closet. Only when he’s out of earshot does Fukunaga’s lips twitch up into an almost smile, leaning in to whisper to you, “We don’t assign broom duty.” Then, before you can respond, he walks off casually leaving you and Kenma alone.

“He’s strange,” you comment, still watching him wander away, “but, nice!”

“You don’t have to be so positive about everything,” Kenma responds.

“But I mean it,” you retort, “everyone is so nice. I feel welcomed.”

You begin to put the cart toward the storeroom, and Kenma follows side by side with you. “Everyone is so… cheery. It’s exhausting sometimes.”

“I’m cheery,” you pout, “do I exhaust you?”

The question takes him off guard, his eyebrows lifting in surprise, and then he looks to the floor like he’s considering the question. Again, you do think he’s cute while he’s thinking. His face doesn’t change too much, but there's a subtle furrow in his eyebrows and scrunch of the lips. It’s… charming.

“You’re cheery,” he finally manages, “but… you know when it’s too much. It’s a good thing from you.”

You ignore the nagging part of your brain that wants to ask what that means, and simply smile, “Thanks. And, for the record, your pessimism is kind of a nice thing to have around too.”

His lips quirk at the corners and your heart thrums with pride at the sight. It is quickly interrupted by a throat clearing, and Kuroo is standing behind you already back in his school uniform. He looks more disheveled than usual, and you actually laugh at him this time. He prickles like a pissed-off cat, and you swear you see his hair stand up.

“If you two are done flirting in here, Kenma needs to get changed so we can head out,” He says, annoyed, but somehow still playful about it.

It’s then that you realize you haven’t texted your Dad since practice started. You curse and pull your phone out, pulling up the messages with a frown.

Dad: Let me know when practice is out.

That's all he said, which is significantly worse than a long paragraph about how upset he was. He was angry, but he was also hurt. You groan. The lecture you would get upon returning home was bound to be legendary.

“That looks bad,” Kenma states factually.

You nod, “He’s going to make me feel like shit when I get back.”

“Then let's not waste any more time,” Kuroo announces with two claps, “Go get changed so we can get her home.”

Kenma rolls his eyes but doesn’t do anything else to protest as he moves out of the store room. When he’s gone, Kuroo gives you a weary look, “You all good?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” you sigh, “just… frustrating. I’ll be good though.”

He hums, “Did you at least enjoy practice?”

You think back over everything, and you realize… you never ever miss out on texting your dad. The only time you do is when you’re having too much fun with Noya. The comprehension of this draws a little chortle out of you, “Yeah. I had a lot of fun. Who knew menial work like this could be enjoyable?”

“See! I knew you’d be a perfect fit!” He proclaims, “You were all nervous for no reason.”

You scoff, following him as he leads you outside the field house, “You couldn’t have known that I would’ve worked out. I’m practically a stranger.”

Despite your words being a little harsh, he shrugs them off like nothing, “It just… felt right? Like, you know how sometimes you meet someone and you just know you’re gonna be friends. That’s what it felt like with you, especially after seeing how well Kenma took to you.”

You try not to think about Kenma liking you, and consider his words. They echo how you’ve been feeling this whole time, and it feels good to have that reciprocated. “I’ve been thinking the same thing, y’know. I normally don’t… connect well with other people on my own, but for some reason, everything felt natural. Like it was fate.”

“Exactly!” He confirms, “Weird isn’t it?”

“Suuuper weird,” you laugh, “but, it’s nice!”

“You two sound like crazy people,” Kenma says, stepping out of the gym.

“Don’t be rude!” Kuroo defends.

“It is true though, right? Don’t tell me you don’t feel it too,” you insist as the three of you start your walk home.

Kenma gnaws on the thought for a second before responding, “I dunno if I can believe it’s fate or anything like that… but I do like that you were able to fall into place as you have.”

You cannot stop your heart from singing songs at the shy smile on his face. You also cannot decide if this is the universe being cruel or kind to you, but you think you could get used to the giddy feeling in your stomach.

[esperata]

How is the new Penguin show?

Is it worth checking out for someone like me who didn't like Reeves's The Batman (2022)? I thought it was well made but I found it too dark-and-gritty and I didn't like how much of an asshole Bruce was. I want more whimsy from my Batman properties. And Colin Farrell did a good job, but I'm so put off by how they wanted a fat Oswald but wouldn't hire a fat actor. And Oz Cobb? Why would they do that!?

On a scale of 1 to 10, how babygirl is Penguin in the new show? Does he come off as queer at all? Do you think they'll make him fancier as the series goes on? These are the things I want in a Penguin.

Personally I enjoyed the new Penguin episode but it has pros and cons. A few of us have likewise remarked on the annoyance of casting someone slim and then using (impressive) effects to simulate a fatter man. Especially when we have a shirtless scene. It's distracting to be conscious of the unreality of what we're seeing.

There's no denying the series is going for gritty as The Batman did. It is violent and has a gangster show vibe. If that's not your thing then you may not like it. In many ways it's similar to Gotham in how they play on the clash of crime families and Penguin manipulating things to his advantage.

Colin Farrell does act Oswald well, and I am sure I heard that name as well as Oz in the episode. Cobb has not been canonised in the show yet so to me it isn't real yet. There seem to be more hints of his family which I hope will actually be expanded on. Thus far, he loves his mother, so again Gotham-esque.

As to the character, he has a wish to be loved, a sense of humour, and a bit of a soft heart. He appears to be an ally but not noticeably queer himself, at least thus far. We met one casual girlfriend but no big love interest yet. The street workers seemed happy to greet him.

He took a young boy with a speech impediment under his wing. He listens to Dolly Parton when he's alone. His foot is mangled and painful. He favours purple and plum colours in his wardrobe and car. Will he gain any fancier attributes? I don't know. With the way people speak of this version as being "grounded in reality" I can't see us getting the monocle or top hat.

I think he's a fine Penguin, prone to lashing out but primarily a tactician. His desire to be revered like the Don he grew up admiring makes him desperate to be seen as a provider. He wants to be the man to go to. But he also wants to have a personal connection and he clearly struggles finding that within the circles he moves in.

So I can't say it has whimsy, queerness or anything fancy. It has an Oz with dreams of being admired and giving off sugar daddy vibes.

[raccoon-eyed-rebel]

Body Double

Masterlist

A/N: A little bit of friendly Sy fluff I started during a moment of struggling with some lovely Executive Dysfunction (I get that for free with my ongoing ADHD subscription 🥰🥲)

Summary: You need to clean your house, and you get a good friend to help you...

Word count: 679

@geralts-yenn @deandoesthingstome @keanureevesisbae @fvckinghenrycavill @ellethespaceunicorn @peaches1958 @sillyrabbit81 @peyton-warren @summersong69 @mayloma @livisss

“You need me to what?” Sy looks at you in surprise.

“Body double,” you say plainly, blissfully unaware that there’s nothing wrong with his hearing so much as he doesn’t have a clue what you’re talking about. “Eh. I need to get some stuff done and I... can’t...”

“So you want me to help you?” The tone in his voice suggests that he absolutely would help you, and you love him for that. But no.

“No, I don’t need you to help me. Alright, no, wait. I want you to help me, but not by actually helping me. I just need you to be there while I do the thing.”

“And why does that work?” Sy says. You feel the expression on your face change, even though you’re not sure to what, and Sy raises his hands. “Not a judgment, just trying to understand why this helps you.”

“Right. Well, having someone in my space who knows what I’m trying to get done very gently shames me into actually doing it. Also, I can talk to you, which keeps my brain occupied while my hands do the boring thing.”

“Alright,” Sy shrugs. It’s not as if you were planning on doing much other than hang out on the couch all day. Might as well straighten out a bit of your house while you’re at it… “Where do you want to start?”

“Ehh...” Decision making. Not your greatest skill. “I need to do laundry, dishes, tidy and clean the bathroom and kitchen and tidy the living room...” Fuck. Breathe. In. Out. In again. When did breathing become a chore you have to also consciously do? Shit.

“Help. Overwhelmed.” Sy immediately wraps you up in an almost bone-crushing hug that helps you settle down right away. He’s the only guy you know who’s strong enough to squeeze your soul back into your body. “Thanks.”

“Can I make a suggestion, or is that going to make you want to not do anything at all?” You’re happy to hear he remembers your memo about demand avoidance. A nod will have to do as an answer: you can’t speak yet. “Washing machine, dishes, kitchen, dryer, bathroom, living room, fold laundry. Plan?”

“Plan.”

“Alright, lead the way.”

“Did you know that emperor penguins lose up to fifty percent of their body fat during winters, and their feather density increases to compensate for that?” Sy has been sitting at the kitchen table, staring at his phone, for about an hour while you are hard at work. The dishes are done, dried and put away, and the counters are clear for the first time in months.

“I did not,” you laugh. “Keep hitting me with those, they make my brain happy.” God, you’re so glad to call this guy your friend, because he delivers way beyond what you’re asking of him. He spends the next few hours throwing random facts and trivia questions your way, and you couldn’t be happier.

“Let me buy you pizza,” you say when you’re finally done with everything. Now it’s finally time to laze around and watch movies! Sy takes the beer you’re holding up.

“No need, sugar,” he replies as if you were asking him a question. In the four years you’ve known him, this man has never allowed you to pay for a meal. Ever. It’s ridiculous.

“You helped me, you deserve pizza,” you remind him.

“I wasn’t helping you,” he shrugs. You schlump down on the couch next to him and poke him in the ribs.

“You have no idea how much you really did help me, though,” you say. “But you know what? I’ll just order a large pepperoni, and you can just take a slice when you decide you want food, after all.” Stubborn as a mule, this one. And you just know he’ll never learn.

“Alright, fine.” Sy scowls and rolls his eyes at you. “But as far as I’m concerned, we’re already square.”

“How so?” You raise your eyebrows in surprise.

“You bend over a lot when you clean, let’s leave it at that.” Unbelievable.

[cebwrites]

Hi Cev!!!!! Kinda going off of the group chat last night, I would like to humbly request some wedding headcanons for Ace and any other characters you’re brain rotting for 🥰💖✨ It can be sfw or nsfw, go nuts 😘

a/n: you know i got you bestieeee <33

wedding headcannons (Ace, Law)

gn reader, masc reader (law) he/they law word count: 0.9k

Ace

He's having a big blow-out wedding for his beloved (either on ol' Pop's dime or paid with treasure he's pirated on his own adventures) and planning NONE of it, not if his love or Deuce can help it, anyway

Ace's instructions are firmly to show up on time, look hot, and get married - frankly he's more than fine with that so long as he gets to have his tits out at the ceremony

It's not like Ace doesn't want to help out with the organizing, the décor, the thises and thats; but you're also well aware that kind of minutia drives him up the wall, and Ace is grateful that he doesn't have to agonize over what the hell French Pink is and why is that comparable to salmon the fish (oh, Ace...)

It's the happiest day of his life, he's getting married to the person of his dreams!! You could tar and feather him - though a little uncomfortable and itchy and worried about the mess it'd leave on your outfit - and Ace would still be grinning ear to ear, sopping wet with muck at the altar

So really Ace is content with just sitting pretty, getting his face beat on the day of, and promptly ruining all that makeup by absolutely destroying the buffet table with his brothers

He also can and will fully bawl once the minister (Pops) announces that y'all are officially married, Ace held back and stiffed his lip through the vows but now that the knot is tied and you're all his (as if you weren't before), he's hugging you like his life depends on it and thanking you over and over for loving someone like him

Please dip this man low and kiss him sweet and carry him bridal style past the threshold he deserves it

In the modern universe, I think Ace would be the kind of person to get hammered right after high school and have a Vegas Elvis wedding with one of his friends before he's yelled at to get it annulled by the only responsible person in his friend group after a week of finding this the most hilarious thing on planet earth

He'd also maybe elope to get away from it all and then come back with your arm proudly around his waist and a big fat wedding band like "hi we got married it was great soz you couldn't come tho 💔"

Law

Trafalgar D. Water Law, as he is in the present, has no interest in marriage - between escaping Sabaody with their tails between their legs from admirals, to once again staring death down in the face of Big Mom and Kaido, they don't have the time to breathe let alone THINK about marriage

Being with their lover in the little moments of respite that he gets with him, holding him close and knowing that everyone on their ship is safe and alive, is already more than Law fearfully asks the malevolent fates for every single night

They have, however, officiated at least a handful of them

Law vividly remembers the morning that Penguin and Shachi came into their room nervous but obviously trying to hide their elation, they remember you playfully telling his childhood friends that this'd better be important if they were bold enough to disturb what little rest Law managed to get, sleep made your voice deeper than usual but the threat was betrayed by your bemusement - and then the warmth that quickly spread throughout the moderate little room you and Law cohabitated in the Tang when Shachi shakily announced that him and Penguin intended to get married, and how they both wanted their captain to officiate it

Law was happy for the boys but still grumbled underneath their breath about this being something that could wait until he'd gotten out of bed, a comment you pinched their cheek for in return; the ceremony was filled with raucous laughter, celebration, and joy between the newlyweds and their Heart-bound family

They gladly officiate a few more within the crew; some older members renewing their vows, the sheer force of Ikkaku's grin when she picked up her wife and spun her on the dancefloor - how Law's eyes were trained on you when you basked in the lovers' unbidden mirth

Law was up front about their intentions from the start with you, mentioning that a cushy picket fence life with 2.5 kids and a family pet just wasn't in the cards for them and these were the conditions for spending his life with yours; when you answer with relief and understanding, they're convinced you're The One just that much more

Maybe not now, maybe not any time soon and definitely still a hard no to parenting, but perhaps some time far in the future the cards would foresee a husband for them - and by god Law's hoping it's you because darling, you're perfect

In the modern universe they'd enter a civil union with their partner after close to a decade of living comfortably together - Law may or may not cry into his shoulder after it fully settles in on the car ride home staring at this little certificate that shows that their little partnership actually, you know, has to be recognized by the law

Pun intended, and he's thwacking you with the binder of documents later when you point that out

Bonus: Sabo is absolutely a bridezilla, no I will not be elaborating <3

[coffbeanie]

Thoughts on The Penguin Series before watching it

I see some reviews coming out for the penguin series already, and from what i can tell they’re fairly positive and make me very excited!! but there’s still something a bit off to me and idk i just need to yell it into the void

For context i really liked The Batman! it was a great film, it def brought some hope back to DC films, i enjoyed the interpretations of the characters, and i’m super excited for the next film!! Also for the Penguin, I haven’t seen much promo since the trailer when it first came out. I know DC on instagram has been pushing a few other teasers and sneak peaks but i haven’t watched any of them.

I’m saying all that because ik the Penguin is in capable hands and that there is a very slim chance i’m going to finish the penguin and be disappointed-i’m sure its going to turn out great but rn the premise for it seems kinda…boring??

Like The Penguin starring in a mob drama à-la The Sopranos or The Godfather-great things to take inspiration from! but also seems very basic to me?? like it seems like the safest most basic option for a penguin centric show, which has me feeling kinda disappointed

And my issue is that a mob drama Penguin show could be really cool and interesting!! if the show was willing to include more fantastical elements!! A lot of other mob dramas are grounded and based in the real world but how cool would it be to see someone try to do that surrounded by other villains? a (For the most part) regular guy like Oswald trying to build his empire when people around him have powers and out of this world gadgets? Trying to act somewhat civil with gangs who follow a costumed villain with weird looking goons! Treating all of that with the same seriousness as a typical mob drama cause that’s just the city Oswald lives in but he’s gonna do whatever it takes to make it his and get the respect he deserves!!

But Reeves has already discussed the possibility of fantastical stuff within his version of the batman, and from my understanding, it’s meant to be very “grounded” which…like i said i trust the people behind this version of the batman i know they can make great things!! i just wish we got more “Fantastical” batman stories, and just from what we’ve seen, the penguin series has me feeling a bit meh cause it seems kinda bland on paper, and i fear it’ll be kinda basic, so it’s definitely a case of i’m gonna have to see it to see if it’s any good (and i’m pretty sure it’s gonna be great)

Also side tangent on Oswald’s appearance below

hey so when i said i liked the interpretations in The Batman I lied. Oswald character wise is fine!! His attitude, Colin Farrell’s performance, all great!! what i take issue though is with his appearance, and this falls back into the issue of doing “grounded” batman stories

Oswald, at least physically, shouldn’t really look realistic. Yeah short, fat people with pointy noses exist, but for Penguin it has to be hella exaggerated and you need to take into consideration other bird or penguin-like features, and that’s why Farrell’s prosthetics don’t really do it for me (also i saw that thing where he complained about his prosthetics)

Again, I really enjoyed his performance in The Batman, and I’m sure he’s gonna do great in The Penguin, but they used all of the prosthetics to just make Farrell look like another person who probably already exists out there. They didn’t really do anything interesting with it, nothing to make him particularly “ugly” which to me, is important to his character, when you consider how Oswald wants to be accepted by “high society” a group that especially cares about appearance, especially in Gotham.

That’s just in the face, and when it comes to his body I do not like it. The way they made his body Farrell doesn’t even look fat?? Especially with his height he looks more built than anything (google says he’s 5’10”? far from short) It leads to him looking intimidating, which he shouldn’t be, at least physically. The Penguin isn’t scary because of how he looks, he’s scary cause he’s The Penguin. Without his title, his power, his reputation, he should look like someone even a pretty regular person could take in a fight (ik there are interpretations where Oswald is a trained fighter!! but i’m meh on them i don’t mind if they make him a fighter i just prefer it when he isn’t). Farrell’s Penguin just doesn’t really have that “pathetic-ness” i feel most Oswald’s should have, at least with his appearance

TLDR- my hopes for the Penguin are both extremely high and extremely low at the same time-also if ur gonna do prosthetics do something interesting, and bring back short, fat, and “ugly” Oswalds

[rainworld-oc-showdown]

Stargazer by @devilshelter vs Roadkill by @just-a-silly-billy - round 1 set 2

Stargazer- Description:

They have a long tail that attracts pups but also predators. They can dash on short distance. While crouching, they moves a little bit faster than usual slugcat. They have a limited amount of cycles like Hunter but this amount is much larger (50+). You supposed to find lost slugpups and bring it to slugcat tree. The more pups you save the more scores you get.

Story:

Stargazer was a normal slugcat, one of friends of Monk and Survivor. They decided to try to find them. They already met Pebbles and tried to ascend but found in void tree inly survivor and no Monk. So their desire to come back was too strong. They was born again from the sky.

Fun facts:

Fun facts I wanted to add if it was a mod. Pebbles supposed to have a dialogue where he was very disappointed that Stargazer spend his gift (aka mark and karma). Stargazer supposed to have several endings: die at last cycles near tree, try to ascend again, die in a room with Pebbles, die in a room with Moon (supposed to be triggered if player has less than 5 cycles left). Also last thing: Stargazer supposed to symbolize Monk’s wish to return home. They made it when they looked at green stars on top of the wall.

Roadkill- Description:

Roadkill if it were in a campaign would have a similar build to The Gourmand. Physically the Slugcat has a handful of advantages, such as having a thick layer of fat around his body giving it a second chance if it were punctured by a spear, or bitten down upon by a Lizard. It also has a ferocious bite itself, similar to how The Artificer can maul creatures. Roadkill can also create large sparks or mimic the sound of explosions to scare off or startle prey in order to gain any advantage. With the area the slugcat is located in, it's accustomed to withstand the cold as well similar to The Saint. Similar to a walrus, Roadkill has thick blubber/fat that keeps him warm throughout the harsh elements that its environment throws at him, lasting as long as The Saint with a lantern. It has a strong spear throw as well, having thrown one spear is equivalent to hitting something with two. However there are a few downsides to his variety of abilities. For one thing, he gets tired out just as fast, if not faster than the gourmand. Another issue is whenever he makes the loud explosion noises, similar to The Artificer if he uses this ability so many times, it will end up stunning him for a matter of seconds. He also has a large food meter, having to fill a total of 9 food pips needed to be filled, though it can store five extra.

Story:

Roadkill is a purposed organism for an iterator of mine named Lingering Absence. Roadkill's purpose is to keep outsiders, specifically fauna, from invading the iterator's can. Nothing too special is needed from the large slugcat however, so often whenever it's off duty it spends its time with its beloved owner, Lingering Absence.

Fun Facts:

If it's not obvious, Roadkill is heavily based off of an array of creatures, specifically walruses, penguins, moles, and also gourmand, who isn't an animal, though I feel I should mention him. Outside of the idea of a campaign, he can actually burrow through snow and puncture through thick ice in order to ensnare prey that lurks underneath such. Though I doubt there's any way to properly incorporate this in-game. He is also my first Rainworld oc I made once I got into the game, as well the most worked on.