#but his mynah bird is fun

[wanderingmind867]

Hawkman and The Atom's books stopped selling well, so they merged their books together. The fun thing is: I far prefer the Hawkman stories. Sure, The Atom stuff is fine, but it's nothing when compared to the Earth-One Hawkman and Hawkgirl. With themes of ancient history and aliens struggling to learn and fit in on earth, Hawkman is cool. The Atom is mostly just a scientist. Sure, they try giving him some personality, but he'll never compare to Hawkman. With villians like The Gentleman Ghost and the Shadow-Thief, Hawkman is amazing.

[byneddiedingo]

Two With Marcello Mastroianni

A Slightly Pregnant Man (Jacques Demy, 1973)

Catherine Deneuve and Marcello Mastroianni in A Slightly Pregnant Man

Cast: Catherine Deneuve, Marcello Mastroianni, Micheline Presle, Marisa Pavan. Screenplay: Jacques Demy. Cinematography: Andréas Winding. Production design: Bernard Evein. Film editing: Anne-Marie Cotret. Music: Michel Legrand.

A Special Day (Ettore Scola, 1977)

Marcello Mastroianni and Sophia Loren in A Special Day

Cast: Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, John Vernon, Françoise Berd. Screenplay: Ruggero Maccari, Ettore Scola, Maurizio Costanzo. Cinematography: Pasqualino De Santis. Production design: Luciano Ricceri. Film editing: Raimondo Crociani. Music: Armando Trovajoli. 

The great charm of Marcello Mastroianni lies, I think, in the fact that he always seems to be the odd man out. Despite his good looks and sex appeal, there is always the sense that the characters he plays, even though they attract women on the order of Catherine Deneuve and Sophia Loren, are never quite in charge of the world they inhabit. Certainly this is true of his most famous roles, Marcello in La Dolce Vita (Federico Fellini, 1960) and Guido in 8 1/2 (Fellini, 1963). And directors Jacques Demy and Ettore Scola exploit this otherness in Mastroianni in very different ways: Demy in the satiric A Slightly Pregnant Man and Scola in the earnest A Special Day. In the former film, whose French title was the lengthy L'Événement le plus important depuis que l'homme a marché sur la Lune (The Most Important Event Since Man Walked on the Moon), Mastroianni plays Marco, a driving-school instructor who feels out of sorts and goes to see a doctor who decides that he must be pregnant. When a well-known specialist confirms the diagnosis and presents his findings to other scientists, the press goes wild and the advertising department for a maternity-wear company launches a campaign for male maternity clothes. Marco winds up on posters everywhere, and he and his fiancée, Irène (Deneuve), begin to make big plans for the money the company pays him. Eventually, the diagnosis proves to be false, however, and the film concludes with an anticlimactic thud. Demy, whose best-known work is probably the cotton-candy musicals The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) and The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967), seems to have launched into his screenplay with no sense of how to end it satisfactorily. Until that point, however, Mastroianni and Deneuve have fun with their roles. Forgoing her usual sophisticated chic, she plays a somewhat blowsy beauty-shop owner. A Special Day earned Mastroianni one of his three Oscar nominations, partly because there's nothing the Academy likes better than a straight actor daring to play gay. He is Gabriele, a radio announcer who has lost his job because the Fascists have begun purging the work force of "undesirables." The day is May 8, 1938, when Hitler visits Mussolini in Rome to solidify their alliance. He lives in a large apartment complex with windows facing an open courtyard. Across the way lives Antonietta (Loren), a woman with an abusive husband and six children. On this day, she has stayed home to clean house after sending her family off to the parades and speeches, but when the family's pet mynah bird escapes and flies out into the courtyard, she asks Gabriele's help in retrieving him. They are virtually the only people left in the complex other than the nosy, gossipy concierge, whose radio is blaring the news of the day -- Fascist anthems, speeches, the cheers of the crowd, and a running patriotic commentary -- which serves as the sometimes ironic counterpoint to the growing intimacy of the mismatched couple. A severely deglamourized Loren gives a fine performance, as does Mastroianni: Gabriele is aware that at any moment he may be taken away to a concentration camp, and he vacillates between suicide and a carpe diem fatalism. The film is a little too predictable, and although the screenplay by Scola and Ruggero Maccari is original, it feels somewhat like an adaptation of a two-character stage play. Pasqualino De Santis's cinematography, using long takes and tracking shots through the apartment complex (which we never leave except in the archival newsreel footage at the film's beginning), helps open it up.

[alstroemeriadissonance]

I havent seen much of a luke nsfw on ur works so maybe? You can make one? Its completely fine though if not no beggie!!!

Whew, this turned out to be pretty long. I sorta enjoyed writing Luke and Rosa's casual banter here.

WARNING: NSFW. This time though, it's Luke x Rosa

I hope you like this, Luke simp anon :'3

Unfair (NSFW)

"Hey, I managed to teach Peanut a new trick!" Rosa held out her elbow towards Luke's pet mynah, letting it perch on her sleeved arm.

"Catch!" With a small flick of her wrist Rosa threw Peanut a piece of dried fig.

With a flapping of its wings, Peanut the mynah craned its neck to catch its favorite treat.

"Yay!" Rosa clapped, then nudged Luke. "Hey, did you see that?"

"What?" Luke looked up the retro digital clock he was working on. He looked unimpressed. "That's nothing new. Watch," he said as he took a piece of dried fig from its baggie and threw it at Peanut, almost triple the distance compared to Rosa's attempt.

This time, Peanut hopped and took flight to catch the dried fig in its beak. Having caught its treat, the bird retreated to a nook hidden behind a cobwebbed grandfather clock.

"Aw," Rosa pouted. "You're no fun."

Having learned that Luke was on a rare day off from NSB duties that day, Rosa decided to drop by his antiques shop to accompany him while he manned the store.

It was mostly on a whim, and also borne out of her wish to catch up with her childhood friend outside their duties in NXX.

Luke chuckled. "You really should pay more attention to what Peanut can do," he said as he turned his sights back to the dismantled digital clock laid out on his worktable. "Peanut can even count using figs, did you know that?"

"You make it sound like Peanut can do anything as long as there's dried figs involved."

"More or less, yeah." Luke deftly unscrewed a tiny bolt to dislodge the LCD screen from the main body.

"Can Peanut take over the world as long as there's enough dried figs?"

"Pretty much." Luke removed a CR battery, already crusted over with disintegrated metal. "Ugh, this battery's all ruined..." he muttered.

"All hail our Peanut overlord."

A silence fell over the antiques store, with Luke's fiddling of the retro alarm clock the only sound that could be heard, aside from the muffled sounds of South Stellis streets from outside the door.

Rosa's gaze fell on her old friend, who she had not seen for eight years, until fate had decided to put them to work together in the NXX unit.

Planting an elbow on the table and resting her chin on hand, she intently stared at Luke in silence, studying his form as he worked on his pet project.

Since when did he become ripped? Rosa idly wondered, noting Luke's wide shoulders and his well-defined muscles that fit his black shirt perfectly.

His current form was the direct opposite from the boy she last saw before they were separated for eight years--scrawny and even almost around the same height as Rosa.

"I can feel you staring, you know." Luke's eyes were still on the clock, his gloved hands gently prying apart its plastic shell. There was a very faint blush on his cheeks, which was almost invisible underneath the warm orange lighting in the store.

"Whaaat. Is it a crime to stare at my best friend?" Rosa asked, her mouth forming a moue.

"It's a little unsettling, is all," Luke murmured, his gaze still on the dismantled clock in his hands.

"Eh, you weren't like this before." With a huff Rosa reached out to Luke and with a gentle hand, touched his upper arm. "Are you upset at me or something?" She sighed, a bit too thickly. "I dropped by to catch up with you Luke, not just watch you fiddle with a clock."

"Ah, no, I'm sorry," Luke finally set down his tools. "That's not what I meant, really..."

He seemed flustered and unable to look at her in the eye.

Rosa then grinned. "Heh, gotcha," she said as she grabbed at the hem of his black shirt. "I wanna see your abs! Abs inspection time!"

"Wait, what--"

Without warning she lifted Luke's top, exposing his fit torso to her scrutiny. "Hmhm," Rosa hummed in mock approval. "Your skin is still smooth," she said as she ran her hand across the pale skin of his abdomen.

His skin was warm to the touch, almost fever-hot.

"Hey..." Luke said in a quiet voice that was almost an octave lower. "Can you cut that out?"

Rosa blinked. "Huh?" She looked at him in the eye. "Luke, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Luke answered in a husky tone, unlike what Rosa had gotten used to hearing from her best friend, which was mostly brimming with cheeriness. "Just that...yeah."

For a split second, Luke's expression could be described as smoldering, before it switched to one of sadness.

"Think you can let go of me?"

"...Why?" Rosa was now genuinely concerned, however her innate stubbornness won out. "No, I'm not going to remove my hand until you explain to me what's going on."

Luke groaned.

"Listen, you," he said, his voice oddly strained. "I'm going to count up to ten, and if you're still like that at ten I'm not going to be responsible for my actions."

"Huh." Rosa bit her lip, standing her ground.

"One."

"Two."

"Three." Luke's breathing hitched imperceptibly.

"Four."

"I'm not going anywhere, Luk--"

"Five," Luke interrupted Rosa, not missing the beat of his count.

"Six."

"Seven. Don't say I didn't warn you," he said, his voice at its most serious that Rosa had heard so far.

"Eight."

"Nine."

Rosa still did not move. "I'll be here and you can't--"

"Ten." Luke took a deep breath. "Help me, god." He then stood up, towering over Rosa.

Luke pulled her into his arms, one of his hands pushing at the small of her back, pressing her body flush against his.

His other hand easily pinned both of her wrists to her upper back, effectively immobilizing her and leaving Rosa at his mercy.

"Luke, what--mmph--"

He stifled her protests with a wet, sloppy kiss. Artlessly he slipped his tongue into Rosa's mouth, exploring her, feeling her tongue writhe against his own.

With a moan, he pressed his erection straining through his pants against Rosa's stomach, as if to prove the point that he had been trying to put across earlier, albeit with much difficulty.

"You're so unfair, Rosa," he hissed as he let go of Rosa's lips.

Rosa was now trembling, but did not speak. Instead, she listened to his pleas.

"You never saw me as a man, did you?" Luke's voice came out pained. "I never had a chance to prove myself to you."

"No matter what I do, I'm still that snot-nosed kid that lived with you and your parents and played pretend brother." His voice was increasingly becoming bitter. "You aren't even aware of what you're doing to me!"

"I--I'm sorry, Luke."

Rosa buried her face in his neck, breathing in his light cologne and the faint scent of sweat on his skin.

This time Luke was taken aback. "What are you doing?"

"Listening," Rosa replied with a calm voice.

Luke let out an exasperated laugh. "I don't think you understand me at all, Rosa," he said, his vice grip on her wrists tightening. "I can rape you if I want to, you know."

"But you won't," Rosa said with a voice full of calm certainty.

"What makes you say that?" Luke gritted his teeth, his exasperation at his best friend's insane stubbornness palpable.

This time Rosa looked at him squarely in the eye. "Because you made me want you too," she said, her voice shaky but determined.

"Ah, damnit."

"Can you let go of my hands now?"

"Fuck. Fine," Luke finally released her wrists, but not before rubbing them gently with his thumb, as if to soothe the marks left by his iron grip. "Sorry about that."

Standing on tiptoe, Rosa reached out to gently guide Luke's face to hers. Her lips gently glide against his, and her tongue softly prods his mouth open to welcome her slow, languorous, deep kiss.

Eyes fluttering closed, Rosa sighed against his lips, not minding Luke's hands that were starting to fumble at her clothes.

Her clothes slowly drop to the floor one by one as the slow and indulgent kiss went on. Her cardigan came off first, followed by her skirt. Then her blouse.

With a gulp, Luke clumsily tried to disengage the hook of her bra.

"Oh, you." Giggling softly, Rosa reached to her back to let her bra fall from her shoulders and to the floor.

Luke gasped at the sight of Rosa, with only her green panties on.

"Are you sure about this?" Luke's throat went dry. "I can still stop, you know."

"That's an awful thing to say to someone who's already naked in front of you." Rosa frowned. "Are you getting cold feet, Sherlock?"

"No."

"Then sit back down," Rosa gently led him back to his chair.

Luke followed Rosa's lead and let her straddle his lap, breathing in the citrusy perfume she wore as she once again wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

With unsteady fingers, Luke traced the outline of one of her breasts. "You sure did grow when I was away." He nuzzled her neck, eliciting a groan from her.

"You did, too," Rosa palmed his chest muscles through his shirt. "You've grown even more handsome," she sighed. Then, "Since when?"

"Since when what?" Luke bent down to suck on one of her nipples.

Rosa bit one of her fingers to stop herself from moaning too loudly. "Ah--when you felt this way about...me..." She found it hard to speak straight, not when Luke was tonguing her nipple in his mouth.

Luke's lips let go of her nipple. "Are you kidding me Watson? I've been this way even before I left eight years ago."

"What."

A sad smile crept across Luke's face. "I guess my Watson is usually brilliant, but dumb in this kind of thing."

"Shut up and kiss me, Sherlock," Rosa ordered, not wanting to ruin the mood.

"Yes'm."

Their tongues meet again, and eventually Luke learned to match Rosa's rhythm as they kiss--his ministrations still sloppy compared to her slightly more experienced movements.

In the heat of the moment Rosa began to grind her wet arousal against Luke's now all-too apparent erection straining and begging to be let out of his cargo pants.

He moaned aloud at the blissful yet tantalizing friction on his nethers. "Do you...do you want to do it?" he asked, still finding a shred of sanity in the lust-addled haze.

"Why are you asking these questions when it's already too late?" Rosa whimpered, straining to relieve the tension growing in her inner thighs by rubbing against Luke's hardness.

"I don't have rubber."

"That's fine." Rosa quickly slides her panties off.

"Okay then," Luke has finally decided drop all pretense of control and just go all in. He shimmied out of his pants and let them fall to his ankles, freeing his cock that was straining out all these time begging for sweet relief.

Straddling Luke's lap again, Rosa slowly guides his shaft to her entrance, lubricating his tip with her own wetness.

"Hey, Luke. Are you ready?"

"...Just do it."

Biting her lip, Rosa slowly impales herself on her best friend's cock, with gentle bounces, until he was fully hilted inside her.

"Shit," Luke's hands firmly hold Rosa's hips as he started to thrust underneath her. "Ah, shit. I can't believe we're doing this."

"Shut up and let go," Rosa ordered, throwing her arms around his neck, pulling him into yet another kiss. This time however it was more of licking each other's lips, cheeks, and tonguing the other's ear...

"Hey, you once asked me how strong I got, remember?" Luke's voice come out husky, concentrating in thrusting in and out of her wetness.

"Y-yeah."

He managed a lusty grin. "Let me show you. Hang on tight to my shoulders."

Without slipping out of Rosa's sex Luke stood up from the chair, supporting Rosa by holding her upper thighs against his hips.

"Luke, what--" Slightly panicking, Rosa tightened her hold on Luke's shoulders, afraid that she may fall to the floor.

"Shh. I got you." He lifted her by her buttocks, his grip firm and sure. "Wrap your legs around my waist."

His posture finally stabilized, Luke started thrusting into her while standing up, his arms and hips supporting her entire weight. "Well?"

"What the hell Luke?"

Rosa felt incredible. She learned that being fucked with her feet dangling midair was such an immense turn-on for her.

She wanted to reach down and rub her clit now so she can feel sweet release while being literally fucked off her feet, but she was too afraid to let go of his shoulders and risk falling...

Somehow Luke managed to read into her mind. Or rather saw how she struggled to let go of one of his shoulders. "Go ahead," he gasped between thrusts. "I got you. Like always." He adjusted his hold on her so that one hand supported her lower back.

Trusting him not to let her fall, Rosa lets one of her arms let go of his shoulders to rub at her clit. It only took her a few moments before she shuddered, her sex squeezing tightly at the cock inside her in the throes of her orgasm.

"Oh shit," Luke gasped as he lost control, shooting his come deep inside her.

===

They decided to spend the rest of their afterglow taking a bath together like they used to, when they were still kids.

Luke was trying to shampoo Rosa's hair--trying, because they spent most of their time in the shower playing by making shapes using the shampoo foam.

Rosa smooshed a pile of soap suds right into Luke's face. "Haha, gotcha."

With a warm smile, Luke opened his arms to Rosa. "C'mere, you."

Rosa complied, squeezing herself in that tight space where only her and her best friend existed.

"You don't have to worry about this getting out. My lips, they are tightly sealed," Luke whispered into her wet hair.

"...Thanks."

"I know just how vindictive Vyn can be, so...yeah."

Rosa's head snapped up, looking at Luke in quiet shock.

"...You knew?"

Luke cocked an eyebrow. "Eh? We all know. We just don't talk about it when you're around."

"What?"

Luke shrugged. "I mean, I can't not find out. I know how you spend a lot of nights at Vyn's place, at least. It's not hard to figure out what's been happening."

Then he continued, "Marius I think knows already, and he seems cool with it.

"Artem though, I think he's going to shoot Vyn dead one day when you're not looking."

Rosa sighed. "And you?"

"Me?"

"What do you think?"

The smile that Luke gave her was so heart-wrenchingly sad Rosa immediately regretted she even asked.

"If you're happy, I'm happy." He then tightened his embrace, placing his chin on Rosa's head. "But if Vyn hurts you, or makes you cry, even once...

"Let's just say, he wouldn't be able to even use his fingers. Or hands. Or even his feet."

[risoria]

i was tagged by @chnqin (thank u!! this was a very fun little game :’)) for this one, and i’m tagging @koalammas, @oneweirdcryptid, @monstermarcie, @blackandwhitemotley and @driszol if you feel up for it! i did it for the untamed but you can just change the fandom to another of your choice, of course!~

Character Interactions

Answer these random questions and tag anyone you would like to see answer them

Which character would you want as your roommate?

tempted to put lan wangji just because he’s my fave, but let’s be real i would never dare approach him and it’d be awkward as hell. also tempted to second you and go with jiang yanli because she’s an Angel, and the warmest person on earth. i think however i’m gonna go with nie huaisang simply because he seems rather chill and Also Loves Birds...... our bird menagerie.... heaven. 75% of the apartment would be aviaries and edible plants and branches and bird poop. there’d be doves and canaries and society finches and lineolated parakeets and button quail (these are just my dream birds. sorry to namedrop), and probably lovebirds and parrotlets and more canaries and mynahs, on his part. the. dream. also chickens in the yard! 

he would teach the lovebirds and the mynahs to say THE creepiest sentences in strange voices, and it would just be a madhouse, constantly. (also whenever meng yao would come over one of the mynahs would just look him straight in the eye and say “... bitch” in the most bone-chilling, low whisper. only to him, never anyone else. i think eventually, he’d stop coming over.) 

Who would be the best driver (in a modern au, sword flying is a completely different question)

i think wangji because he’d follow every single traffic rule to the point where people get super annoyed and yell at him to just pass that super slow truck already oh my god the road is clear, and he’d just pointedly ignore them. literally impossible to rile him up, unless jiang cheng is backseat driving in which case he goes even slower.   

Who would be the worst driver?

jiang “road rage” cheng. second worst driver teenage jin “road rage but Small” ling, but he later grows out of it. xue yang likes to pretend he has a license or at least Passably knows how to drive, for fun. has totalled at least one car but it’s alright it was wen chao’s. 

Who would be the best at home brewing?

i feel like wei wuxian might take this up as a hobby (partially to hide how much he drinks?? oh i made myself sad.. ), experiments a LOT with the wildest fruit etc combinations you can think of. it all tastes heavenly. 

Who would be the most likely to have a really weird pet (LWJ doesn't count) and what would that pet be?

i dont know why but in my heart wen ning would have an axolotl, and xiao xingchen would also have an axolotl, and they keep running into each other at the pet store buying Axolotl Food. 

Who could best pull off tie-dye robes?

i think im going to have to agree with lan jingyi here because i honestly cant even picture anyone else in them

Who would be the best juggler?

jin ling because he had a phase when he was like 11 when he wanted to be a magician, and then a year later thought it was super embarrassing but now he Knows how to juggle and it will stay with him forever 

Who would you call if you needed to bury a body?

ok so. first instinct was xue yang, for reasons that should be obvious, but to be honest i think he’s more the “just leave them right in the street” kinda guy... digging is sooo boring. he always bullies su she into burying all the people meng yao has him kill, and at this point su she could do it in his sleep, and probably has, many a late night. so, su she.

Which character would you want to be your best friend?

i’m gonna be Soft for a moment and go for my faves because i love them so lan wangji and xiao xingchen 

[ibijau]

Jin Rusong Lives / On AO3

A surprise visitor comes to the Unclean Realm to see Jin Rusong

Slowly and carefully, Jin Rusong walked to the next cage, inspecting the bird inside. The mynah returned the stare with equal curiosity, always the smartest one among Nie Huaisang’s little friends, and hopped toward the door, knowing there was always the chance of a treat or even of getting out for a bit.

“I wish it would speak to me,” Jin Rusong sighed, sounding like he was the most miserable boy in the world. “Uncle Nie, you swear it speaks?”

“I wouldn’t lie to you,” Nie Huaisang replied, cutting up a slice of apple and handing it to the child. “Here, give it a little treat. This one really doesn’t trust people easily. There’s only one person aside from me who’s heard it speak, you know. But you’ve been so good and so patient, I’m sure it’ll get comfortable with you, given a little more time.”

Jin Rusong nodded, and slid the slice of apple through the bars, which the mynah quickly snatched. Already they’d done great progress with this bird. When Jin Rusong had arrived, it wouldn’t even eat any food the little boy tried to give him.

“Who’s the other?” Jin Rusong asked, still curiously peering at the bird.

“What other?”

“Uncle Nie said his bird speaks also to another person. Who is it?”

The question, however innocent, felt like a slap.

“It doesn’t matter,” Nie Huaisang muttered as he cut another slice of apple. “He’ll never be here again.”

Something in his tone must have been too sombre, alerting the little boy that something wasn’t quite right. Tearing his eyes from the bird, Jin Rusong looked up at his uncle, worry written all over his little face.

"Uncle Nie is sad again," Jin Rusong noted, tilting his head and pulling on his sleeve so he could put his hand on the hand holding the apple. "Is it because of me?" 

Nie Huaisang nearly grimaced. This too was innocent, but sometimes Jin Rusong sounded too much the way his father had when trying to use other's pity to his advantage. 

Well, not just any others. There was only one man whose pity he had really prayed on, and Nie Huaisang had seen so much of it happen. Present but forgotten, little more than a pretty decoration while Jin Guangyao manipulated Lan Xichen, Nie Huaisang powerless to stop it for fear that… 

"Uncle Nie?" 

Nie Huaisang shook his head and blinked at Jin Rusong, the child now so worried it wouldn't have taken much to make him cry. Only a child, who had no twisted intentions, just a big heart and a bigger fear to lose again the person taking care of him. 

"SongSong is the best thing in my life," Nie Huaisang said as he knelt down. He carefully put his knife and apple on the floor before pulling his ward into a tight hug. "Uncle Nie has his own reasons to be sad. I was thinking of a friend I miss a lot, that's all." 

He felt the child nod against his shoulder, tightening his grasp on Nie Huaisang’s robes. Of course Jin Rusong understood loss better than a child his age should have. And although he felt guilty for a number of reasons, Nie Huaisang couldn't help being glad to have that quiet moment of comfort. 

They remained like this, unmoving among the singing birds, until two sets of footsteps approached behind them. Judging by the changes in the songs around them, one set had to belong to Nie Funyu, whom the canaries had taken a shine too. 

"Sect Leader, you have a visitor," his first disciple announced, confirming Nie Huaisang’s suspicions. "As per your instructions, I brought him to you right away." 

Nie Huaisang shuddered and jumped to his feet, hoping against all hope… but when he turned around it was Jin Rulan standing next to Nie Funyu. Of course that was one of the other visitors about whom Nie Huaisang had given special instructions. And he had been expecting a surprise visit for a while now, and… Nie Huaisang refused to feel disappointed, because it would have been foolish to hope for anyone else. 

"Nie zongzhu, I've come to see my cousin," Jin Rulan announced. 

Nie Huaisang nodded, but before he could find something polite to reply Jin Rusong cried out in fright and hid behind him, hugging his legs tightly. 

"I don't want to go back! I'm staying with uncle Nie!" 

At this Nie Funyu had to fight a smile, while Jin Rulan's eyes narrowed. Nie Huaisang winced, but put on as cheerful a smile as he could. 

"SongSong, don't be like that! Your cousin came all this way to see you, and you greet him like this? Isn't that a little rude? He'll think you haven't missed him." 

"Uncle Nie…" 

"Come say hi at least," Nie Huaisang insisted. "Show your cousin what a polite young man you are." 

It felt like a dirty trick to say that, but Jin Rusong had told him a few times that his cousin used to be scolded for his rudeness, partly due to the influence of his uncle Jiang no doubt. Nie Huaisang had guessed that his ward probably liked being the polite one by comparison, especially when it was a quality everyone also praised Jin Guangyao for. 

It worked, which made Nie Huaisang half proud and half awful for having guessed right. Jin Rusong hesitated a second, then came out of hiding so he could bow before his cousin with an elegance and restraint that was adorable in such a young child. 

"I'm sorry, LingLing. I'm happy to see you, even if you are big now." Jin Rusong paused, and looked up at Nie Huaisang. "Do I have to call him Jin zongzhu now, like people do for daddy?" 

"You can call me LingLing," Jin Rulan quickly intervened before Nie Huaisang could answer. "It's fine, I don't mind." 

Jin Rusong nodded, clearly relieved to hear that he wouldn’t need to be so formal with his cousin. More than anything else, the fact that Jin Rulan was now nearly an adult really bothered the child a lot, as it was the most visible effect of his long sleep. All the rest he could either process or ignore, but this was hard on him.

“LingLing, are you here to take me back?” Jin Rusong asked.

Rather than to answer, Jin Rulan threw a glance at Nie Huaisang who remained perfectly impassive. The young sect leader sighed, and came to kneel down next to his cousin so they could be at the same level.

“Do you want to come home, A-Song?”

Immediately, the child shook his head.

“I like it here,” he explained. “I get to play with a lot of people, and the other day I fell in the mud and Uncle Nie said it was fine, and there are birds also. Did you see the birds, LingLing?” he asked, pointing excitedly at the caged around them. “I like them, they’re pretty and I can be near them, not at all like the peacocks at home that pinched us. You remember? Daddy was so cross because we had to run to escape from them, and then I was feeling bad again. But I can run now, Wen gongzi says it’s okay, and it’s easier to play like that. It’s really fun here. And if I go, then Uncle Nie will be sad, you know.”

As he said this, Jin Rusong returned to Nie Huaisang’s side, grasping his robes tightly.

“LingLing, Uncle Nie is trying very hard to be good,” he announced, which caused a mortified Nie Huaisang to hurriedly open his fan and hide. “He cries a lot and he is sad a lot, but he is nice and he lets me do anything I want.”

“Not anything!” Nie Huaisang protested, glaring at Nie Funyu who was barely restraining his laughter. “Jin zongzhu, I promise you that I’m not letting your cousin be spoiled or endangered, I know how to enforce boundaries… when it’s important.”

Jin Rulan threw him an unimpressed look before turning his attention back to Jin Rusong.

“Does he make sure you eat your vegetables?”

“Yes. I like how they’re cooked here!” Jin Rusong added. “But Uncle Nie doesn’t always eat his, and then Nie Funyu and Nie Zhilan have to scold him. Nie Zhilan says I have to also scold him if he doesn’t eat well. She’s the doctor here and she says Uncle Nie is not serious, but that’s not true. He works a lot and he really does his best, and…”

“I think maybe we should continue that conversation inside!” Nie Huaisang intervened. “Funyu, could you see to have tea and biscuits brought to my private quarters? And have guest quarters prepared for Jin zonghu. How long does Jin zongzhu plan on staying with us?”

Rising up again, Jin Rulan took a moment to consider the question, his eyes darting a few times between Jin Rusong and Nie Huaisang.

“I’ll be leaving tomorrow morning,” he said. “I just came by to check how A-Song was settling in, I sadly can’t stay very long.”

“Oh, but then you won’t meet my friends!” Jin Rusong lamented, throwing himself at his cousin and clinging to his robes. “Do you really have to leave? I’m sure they would like you so much! Please, please stay a little, LingLing!”

Jin Rulan blinked a few times. Nie Huaisang, used to the teenager’s volatile temper, steeled himself, unsure what to expect. He let out a long exhale when Jin Rulan smiled and picked his cousin up as if he weighed nothing.

“Maybe I can try to stay until I’ve met them,” he conceded, much to Jin Rusong’s delight. “And at worse, I’ll come visit again anyway. Maybe next time I’ll be less busy and I can stay longer.”

Hiding a grimace behind his fan, Nie Huaisang noted that the other sect leader wasn’t even pretending to ask for his permission. Of course it had been one of Jiang Wanyin’s conditions that Jin Rulan would be able to visit freely at any time of his choosing, but Nie Huaisang would have appreciated it if an effort was made to respect his authority, such as it was. But Jin Rulan probably felt he didn’t owe him even that, after some of the choices he’d made, and Nie Huaisang was in no position to complain, not with his current guardianship of Jin Rusong on the line.

So he simply waved his fan at Nie Funyu who went to make the necessary arrangement and, after quickly tidying what had been moved in the aviary, Nie Huaisang led the Jin cousins toward his quarters. Jin Rusong took it upon himself to describe to his cousin what each building they passed by was, continually going on tangents about whatever idea crossed his mind along the way. Nie Huaisang distractedly listened, mostly out of worry that the child might say something that would be interpreted the wrong way by Jin Rulan. It did not happen, though. By the time they reached their destination, Jin Rulan seemed as satisfied with the situation as someone half raised by Jiang Cheng could be.

Tea had already been served when they came in, and they only had to sit down to enjoy it. As was proper, Jin Rulan and Nie Huaisang sat on opposite sides of the table, which caused a dilemma for Jin Rusong. Usually he would have come to sit on Nie Huaisang’s lap, because his uncle Nie did perhaps like to spoil him a bit, but with his cousin present, he hesitated to take his usual spot.

That there was room for hesitation at all made Nie Huaisang’s heart feel too big for his chest.

“Go sit with your cousin,” he ordered gently. “You haven’t seen him in a long while, and he’s only here for a little bit, you should enjoy his company as much as you can!”

Jin Rusong nodded so seriously that it made Nie Huaisang want to pinch his cheeks, and he forced his way onto Jin Rulan’s lap. The teenager appeared a little startled by it, as if he hadn’t expected that his cousin would want to sit quite so close, but he allowed it easily, reminding Nie Huaisang of the way Jiang Cheng had been when his nephew was younger and cuddlier.

While they had tea, Jin Rusong was still the one to carry most of the conversation, clearly determined to prove that he was very happy in the Unclean Realm and ought to stay there. Here and there Jin Rulan asked questions or demanded details, which always made Nie Huaisang tense. It went well though. The only moment Jin Rulan frowned was when his young cousin explained that, no, he wasn’t working on cultivation at all, but even that wasn’t cause enough for him to get angry.

After tea, Jin Rusong insisted on showing his bedroom to his cousin, clearly very proud that he had his own room within Nie Huaisang’s quarters even though he had never spent an entire night there. Even if Nie Huaisang managed to convince him to go to his own bed sometimes, by morning he always woke up with a guest curled up against him. He didn’t mind. He’d done the same with his brother, after their father’s death.

That night, after dinner, Jin Rusong was the one to proudly announce that he’d be going to sleep in his own room. It made Nie Huaisang want to laugh, and it made him ache. Jin Rusong had always looked up to his cousin, no matter how unruly Jin Rulan had been as a child, and apparently that hadn’t changed. In a few months, a year or two at most, when things had settled down, when Jin Rusong had had time to get used to the changes in the world around him, there was no doubt he would ask to return to Carp Tower to be with his beloved cousin.

It would be fine.

It would be right.

Jin Rusong belonged with his family, not his father’s murderer.

And as for Nie Huaisang…

“Nie zongzhu, could we go talk somewhere?” Jin Rulan asked.

Nie Huaisang blinked a few times, his hand still on the door to Jin Rusong’s bedroom. It was embarrassing enough to space out this way around his ward or Nie Funyu, but to do it around another sect leader…

Maybe Nie Zhilan was right and he needed to sleep more.

He wished he’d manage to sleep more.

“Would Jin zongzhu like to go for a walk in the gardens?” Nie Huaisang offered. “It is nowhere near as beautiful as the ones in Carp Tower, the land here simply doesn’t allow it, but I’m quite proud of what we’ve managed to do.”

Jin Rulan had no objections, so they went that way. Nie Huaisang only paused a moment to make sure that the disciple in charge of patrolling around his house knew to keep an eye and ear out for Jin Rusong, in case he woke up before they returned and became scared when he realised he was alone.

Once they reached the garden, Nie Huaisang started chatting about the choice of plants, as he would have done with any guest. It was part habit and part nervousness. Without surprise, Jin Rulan did not put up with it very long before he lost patience and asked about what he really wanted to talk about.

“You took off his cinnabar dot,” Jin Rulan noted, not nearly as angry about it as Nie Huaisang had prepared himself for. “For safety, I imagine? Do your people even know who he is?”

“My people know I am very attached to him in spite of what his father did, and they wouldn’t dare lay a finger on him,” Nie Huaisang haughtily retorted, opening his fan to hide his affront. “But I know better than most how quick rumours can spread, and how they get started. I thought it would be safer to make his presence less obvious.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t just change his name,” Jin Rulan scoffed.

“I considered it, but he’s still very young, and he would let it slip anyway. It’s safer not to make him lie. Children are rarely any good at it.”

Besides, with such a father and grandfather, Nie Huaisang just did not want Jin Rusong to learn how to lie well. It made him feel guilty that he would even have such a fear, but he could not help it. He did not want that little boy to walk the same path Jin Guangyao had.

“And you’ve been keeping him away from cultivation classes?” Jin Rulan asked, a little more upset about that than about his sect’s mark.

“He is a Jin, it would not do for him to cultivate along the methods of another sect. I know you’ll want him back when things are calmer in Carp Tower,” Nie Huaisang sighed. “And you are his legal guardian, along with Jiang Wanyin. I would not dare to intervene in his learning of cultivation.” 

He hesitated. He had been thinking about sending a letter on that topic actually, only stopping himself time and time again because he worried about being accused of scheming.

“He shows promise though,” Nie Huaisang said at last. “If you sent a trusted teacher here… I think he inherited his father’s talent, and considering how skilled Jin Guangyao was in spite of his late start, I can’t imagine how great of a cultivator Jin Rusong might become. It would be a shame to let that go to waste.”

Jin Rulan startled. “Nie zongzhu, you’re the last person I’d have expected to praise my uncle.”

Nie Huaisang lowered his fan to give him a wry smile.

“I believe in justice, Jin zongzhu. Where people fail or act wrongly, it should not be ignored. Likewise, there’s nothing to be earned in pretending even those who do wrong have their own qualities. And your uncle was… all the choices he made were his own. But he should not have been put in front of some of those choices. Whatever grudge I still hold against Jin Guangyao, it is nothing compared to the hatred I have for your grandfather. It is on his order that I lost my brother, as well as one of my dearest friends.”

Jin Rulan stared at him, a deep frown on his face, and Nie Huaisang quickly raised his fan again.

“I’m sorry, that was uncalled for. My point is simply that the wrong your uncle did doesn’t erase the better sides of him. He might have been a murderer, but he was also a very clever man, and a skilled cultivator who only suffered from getting such a late start in learning. Your cousin shows every sign of being equally brilliant if given the chance, and I hope the necessary steps can be taken to let him make the best of his innate talent.”

“Uncle Jiang was right, you’re a complete weirdo,” Jin Rulan retorted.

Nie Huaisang laughed, shocked and delighted to be insulted like this. Most people only said that sort of things in his back, so it was really refreshing to hear such an honest opinion of himself.

“Here’s a secret for you, Jin zongzhu: everyone is weird.”

“I’m not!” Jin Rulan protested, with all the outrage only a teenager could muster at being called weird. “I’m perfectly normal, unlike the rest of you!”

Nie Huaisang only laughed harder, until he became so breathless he had to lean against a tree. He was almost sure he’d had a similar conversation with Jiang Wanyin once, back when they were young and happy in Gusu.

“Ah, Jin zongzhu, I hope life doesn’t change you too much,” he said when he had calmed down a bit. “Normal or not, I think you are exactly the sort of person we need at the head of Lanling Jin. A little honesty will do us all a world of good.”

Jin Rulan glared at him, clearly thinking there had to be some hidden insult in there, but there truly was none. Not that Nie Huaisang tried to protest his innocence. 

Even on the rare occasion he had done no wrong, he knew nobody believed anymore these days. 

-

A few weeks after his visit, Jin Rulan wrote to Nie Huaisang to announce he had found a trustworthy teacher for Jin Rusong, a woman who Jiang Wanyin approved of. Jin Rulan had some other business to take care of more urgently, but as soon as he was back in Carp Tower he would accompany Jin Yixin to the Unclean Realm so they could finish organising this together. 

As soon as he had received the letter, Nie Huaisang had taken the necessary steps to welcome Jin Yixin as an honoured guest while also ensuring she would have absolute privacy to teach Jin techniques to his ward. Nie Funyu and him spent the day looking for the perfect building to use as a classroom until they had a few options to present. 

After such a busy day, Nie Huaisang felt suitably tired after dinner and would have gladly gone to bed. Sadly for him, this happened to be the night for one of Wen Ning's visits. It was short, as usual, and did nothing but confirm once more that Jin Rusong was recovering perfectly well. In spite of the good news, when Wen Ning left, Nie Huaisang found he was now too restless to sleep, unnerved as always by the company of the fierce corpse. 

It would have been a loss of time to go to bed in that state. After Jin Rusong was comfortably tucked under his blanket (in his own room, as was more and more frequent) Nie Huaisang returned to the main room of his quarters and decided to wait for tiredness by reading. It could never hurt to brush on the proper etiquette to adopt when dealing with a guest teacher, he figured out. 

By the time his second candle threatened to burn out, Nie Huaisang still was no closer to sleepiness. He was starting to consider laying in bed anyway, just for the sake of trying, when he heard a commotion outside, pots falling and wind chimes ringing. His disciples knew how to avoid the careful mess around his house, so only a stranger could have made so much noise. And as to why a stranger who be there in the middle of the night… 

Without hesitation, Nie Huaisang reached for his sabre, glancing toward the door to Jin Rusong's room to make sure it was closed.

Before Nie Huaisang could decide what to do next, the main door opened. 

Nie Huaisang dropped his sabre and gaped at the sight before him. 

Lan Xichen was staring back at him. 

Lan Xichen, exactly like in his memories, and yet changed beyond words.

He looked thinner than Nie Huaisang had ever seen him, with dark bags under his eyes and dishevelled hair, his ribbon somewhat askew. He seemed exhausted, breathless as if he'd been running, or perhaps as if he had been foolish enough to make the flight from Gusu without break, his hands trembling so badly it was a wonder he had managed to open the door. 

Lan Xichen took a step forward. 

Nie Huaisang took a step back, causing the other man to frown at him. Lan Xichen, an almost feverish look in his eyes, opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it again. 

They stared at each other for a lifetime, or perhaps just for a few instants. Then Lan Xichen, at last, managed to speak. 

"I want to see him." 

[birdhouse-of-shadows]

Hmm, now that you have me thinking about TokoJirou, how about continuing the Toko w/character headcanons with the two of them?

Emo lovers! Absolutely~

Platonic Hcs!

These two are a perfect team during training, it’s actually kinda scary. With Jirou’s tracking, and Tokoyami’s ability to move quietly, they make the perfect stealth team.

Even after the school festival, these two continued to practice guitar together

Don’t ever let them drag you into a music store, you won’t make it out before closing time.

These two are def apart of the Baku squad, and are the team parents ft. Sero as the wierd uncle

Kaminari wanted to see if he would take a toaster bath without getting killed and it took these two an hour to convince him not to

Have these two had to convince Bakugo not to throw Kirishima multiple times? Yes

They don’t know where Sero and Mina keep getting the weed from, but they’ll be damned if they don’t try to find the source and kill it

They are tired, let them drink their morning coffee before any shenanigans

They took the Bakusquad to a concert ONCE, and will never do it again. We don’t talk about what happened that night...

Once they just gave up and let the squad do whatever they wanted. It took 5 minutes to break something, and only ten more until there was a fire. Jirou and Tokoyami just wanted to watch one episode of Death Note, just one.

They both scream in G note

Phone names aren’t the nicest, but at least they match...sorta“Stupid bird” “Idiotic Headphones”

Idc what you say, these two played Danganronpa together. They spent 3 hours trying to figure out “meat on the bone”

Romantic Hcs!

He is without a doubt a protective bf. Especially since Jirou can get scared easily.

When they were on their way to class, Mineta asked Tokoyami how he could be with a girl who had a flat chest. Dark Shadow just threw him, like a football, they couldn’t find the grape for hours. Aizawa didn’t even give Tokoyami a detention for it.

Tokoyami is the jealous type, bc fun fact: mynahs are very territorial. Kaminari tried to flirt with Jirou once, and nobody has tried it since. Tokoyami came up behind him, put his hand on Kami’s shoulder and was like “Kaminari, I think we need to have a conversation.” To this day nobody knows why Kaminari was crying

During training these two are just horrible. If they are doing vs battles, these two have the worst cheers ever. “Beat his ass, sweetheart! Make sure the bastard goes deaf~” “Using a chokehold will end the match and his life, so go for it, babe!”

Tokoyami is the type of guy to watch a horror movie with her just to get her to hold onto him.

Jirou wrote him a song and he ended up crying for the next two hours. He felt so loved~

Dark Shadow absolutely loves Jirou because she teaches him how to play simple instruments. They end up having group jam sessions, Bakugo occasionally joins

Jirou collects any feathers of his that she finds and turns them into stuff. “My love, did you make a bracelet out of my feathers?” “Ye” “Why?” “ Because, ily”

CONCERT DATES!! It doesn’t matter if it’s heavy metal or j-pop, they’ll find any reason to go to a concert

They definitely have matching “Deep Dope” shirts. On the topic of shirts, JIROU IS A THIEF. She’ll steal anything she can fit into, which is pretty much everything.

Their phone names is what poem reminds them of each other~ “She Walks in Beauty” “Passionate Shepard”

Hawks is not sure what to do with his second emo child. He definitely liked her, but why is she just like him. Why have the edgelords multiplied???

[the-a-j-universe]

Alright, cool. I finally have a guaranteed length of time that should be long enough to go through all of these, so let’s do this. I know the plan was to have me address each ask one at a time but that didn’t work out lol so I’m just doing it all at once. I’m also turning it into a post so anyone who wants to can follow along with my journey.

I’m also gonna copy/paste the text of the other asks instead of screen capping them because copy/pasting is faster lol.

I’m gonna put a pic of each one here, give my thoughts, maybe a goofy rating (I dunno), and then pick my favorite. Just so y’all know.

* Tanawy's entry n.1 in the Dragon Quest monster showcase: the all-time classic Slime. When asked to design the Slime like the standard goop monster they usually were, Toriyama said "no" and a legend was born, now cute slimes are more popular than the disgusting goop depiction. Its cousins and variants are numerous and some are very different from one another so as a bonus here the criminally underutilized Mottle Slime and its evolution the Mottle King Slime.

See, I don’t even need to look this one up. Here it is:

But let’s be real, you guys didn’t need to see an image of this dude either. I love this thing. I never went through a period where I thought of the grosser oldschool slimes. This thing has always been what’s come to my mind when I here the word in an RPG context. Which, considering my zero experience with DQ, really speaks to this thing’s popularity. I am actually going to remove this one from consideration, though, for that reason. I just have too much of a bias towards it. I know it too well, and all variations seem to be equally great. It’s a 10/10, though. Truly iconic.

Get the rest after the cut!

* Tanawy's entry n.2: Originally a boss monster, here is the Golem. While not the sharpest tool in the shed, these brick-made guys can be quite loyal, with a child-like personality, downright adorable (I will never forget you Goldirox) but their strenght in battle must not be underestimated. And since St. Valentinus is around the corner here a Chocolate Golem variant as a gift. Friendship chocolate mind you, from a dude to another 😄

I like this guy. He reminds me of a couple oldschool Yugioh cards. They’re all bad cards, but I’m nostalgic for them so that help’s this guy’s chances. I don’t know that I buy him as a threatening boss, though. He seems more like he’d be your big stone pal.

The chocolate variant is absolutely adorable.

8.5/10 overall for both.

* Tanawy's entry n.3: Here are two members of the Machine Family, first the Killing Machine. These relentless hunters are merciless and they are constantly upgrading, so models with different modifications are plenty. They even come with garden sprinkles. Then there is the Mecha-mynah, who puts a different spin on the mechanical Cuckoo-bird motif. Careful these guys have razor-sharp wings and they selfdestruct when cornered.

Alright, not so much for the second one, but the Killing Machine also reminds me of, like, a half dozen Yugioh monsters. Did Kazuki Takahashi just like ripping this franchise off or something? Either way, these are both good designs, but they don’t really work for me that much. They’re a little...plain? I guess? I guess I like my machine creatures rougher and with more detail. 7/10.

* Tanawy's entry n.4: Next are my deepest fears (exaggeration) if they were real; the Waspion, half wasp half scorpion, and the Claw Hammer, Half hammerhead shark half metal scolopendra, all nightmare. Continuing with the caravan of creepiness, here is the Bona Constrictor, just get it away from me. This next one, when i saw it for the first time i yelled "WTF is That?!" here is the Ulcer, a walking awful pile of rotting flesh.

I am NOT a fan of the Ulcer. That thing’s ugly, and not even in a fun way. 0/10.

I like these other guys, though:

The Waspion is literally just Gligar from Pokemon, but aside from that I like animal/creature mash-ups. And the Claw Hammer is a pretty unique one. 9/10 for the whole lot.

* Tanawy's entry n.5: Beef or chicken? Why choose when you can have both? Here is a heavyweight of the Bird Family the taurine Bullfinch. But dont forget your vegetables, or else they might turn into these Plant family monsters, the eggplant Woebergine, the bellpeppers Capsichum and the cucumber Cruelcumber. Also, meet the Peahooter, these guys pelts their targets with arrows taking advantage of their higher ground.

Okay, we’ve got another mash-up creature here in the form of the Bullfinch, but I’m not feeling this one as much. It’s worth, like, a 6.5/10, maybe. The Woebergine and the Peahooter are both pretty interesting. The Peahooter is kinda cute in a weird way and the Woebergine is delightfully derpy. They both deserve approaching an 8/10. I’m not really feeling the Capsichum at all though. They get a 5 or a 6/10.

* Tanawy's entry n.6: Who doesn't like a good dog? Well maybe not these guys from the Beast family: the Chainine who will ensnare their preys with their collars, the Putrefido, who is no longer alive, the Abracadabrador, who will eat your bones, the Crocodog, a levitating (yes this thing floats in the air) dog-crocodile hybrid and finally the Jackal Ripper (long lost relative of Wolverine or just imitator? More at 11 on the news)

Hey now. That’s not really fair to the other entries. Every one of these dudes:

Is a very GOOD BOI. I think I like the Abracadabrador the least. He’s a little too un-dog-like compared to the others. 6.5/10. The Chainine and the Putrfido are both the perfect blend of cute and weird. I like them a lot. They get 7.5/10. Jackal Ripper is a badass 8/10. He’d be cooler if he was wearing jeans. I LOVE the Crocodog, though. 10/10. Perfect. He just looks like a friend, but he also looks like he could kill my enemies. Which is what I like in a monster.

* Tanawy's entry n.7: Here is a taste of Japan with the Boppin’ badger, the most Tanuki-like monster you will ever meet; Then these guys don't need consent to give everyone within their reach a smooch, here is the Lips. Also, beware of these horses of the underworld, the Equinox where they probably hangout with these other lovely fellows, the Hellspawn. Speaking of which here is the demon Teeny Sanguini. Cute eh? Not when it evolves in the Bloody Manguini. Thankfully not everyone of them does that.

Okay, you can’t fool me. That first one is just a regular animal.

Jokes aside, though, I’m not really feeling this bunch unfortunately. The Hellspawn just reminds me too much of mutant can Steven, the Lips is a little boring, and the Equinox, while I like the wordplay in its name, and while it’s cool in principal, is too busy. I’m just not feeling the designs of these guys overall. 4 or 5/10 for the whole lot. Though the Teeny Sanguini is closer to a 5 than a 4.

* Tanawy's entry n.8: There are two species of monsters, the Pips and their cousins the Conks, who constatly imitate the classic classes of the humans, like warriors or priests, but this time the little rascals have gone a little farther and here they are copying the DQ8 4 main heroes in the Trodainian Conklave, the DQ4 heroes in the Zenithian Conklave, the hero of DQ1 and the 3 heroes of DQ2 in the Alefgardian Conklave and the hero of DQ3 with 3 other companions in the Aliahanian Conklave. Cute.

Okay, I love the idea of these things. They’re cute, they fit right in with the general aesthetic of the franchise, and they have a ton of personality. I’m not gonna post pics of all of them because there’re so many, but they deserve ~9/10 collectively. They’re very good.

* Tanawy's entry n.9: Not enough dragons? So here's three: what do you get mixing a T-rex, a dragon and a vicious axeman? An Hacksaurus that's what! Then the Drakulard. Don't be fooled by their mole these portly fellows mean business. Another chubby dragon, the Jargon: dragonic masters of the clay containers, these guys URNed their right to use jar puns and they will make sure you remenber it, even if they have to crack your pot.

Okay now these are more what I was thinking when I heard the title Dragon Quest.

I like the Hacksaurus the best outta them. He just looks nice. They’re all good, though. They fit the art style perfectly, and resemble each other just enough that you buy them all being related creatures. 8/10 overall, though the Hacksaurus is a little above the others, with the Jargon being a barely at the bottom of the barrel. Or the jar I guess.

* Tanawy's entry n.10: The only story entry in this showcase, because just look at him, it's the only DQ big baddie (at least in english) to actually call themselves "the Demon Lord" It's Orgodemir, specifically it's true form which is the first photo you find in the gallery at almost end-page. Let me just tell you this, Orgodemir is a d*ck of the highest level. The brain it's actually an eyelid for a giant eye by the way. Happy Nightmares.

HAHAHAHA. I know there are other forms for this guy, and this is probably not the reaction that anyone who played the game would have, but I just can’t take this guy seriously. He looks like Edward Cullen with bat wings. HAHAHA. 8/10 ‘cause it made me laugh.

* Tanawy's entry n.11: And lastly, in a category i like to call "I can't belive these are real", its the Funky Ferret; yes he and his cousins do exactly what the image shows. And the almost copyright-infinging Owlbear, yes they did not even try to distance themself from D&D with this one (ok they have a variant but is not saying much). There were others in the last category, but since they REALLY did not age gracefully to the modern standards of "acceptable" i prefered not show them.

I love Owlbears, they’re just such iconic fantasy monsters at this point, so he gets a solid 8/10 rating by default. It’s a pretty original take, too, focusing on the cuteness potential of the creature over the badass potential. I like that.

The Funky Ferret, though...

With a name like that this guy coulda been so cool. But he’s just a pretty generic design blended with a fart joke. What a bummer. 3/10.

And there we have it. Probably not exactly what you were thinking but I hope you like it. I don’t hate any of these guys. Some are more boring than others, but there’s something neat about each of them. I like the ones that take badass ideas and make them cute while remaining intimidating best out of all of them, and I think the Crocodog does this best with the Hacksaurus as the runner up. Crocodog is definitely my favorite of these, though. He gets the Best Good Boi award of Bestness.

Orgodemir gets an award, too, though, the “made AJ spit out his rum and Coke laughing” award. It’s not the most coveted, but it’s something.

I know this is a long one, and y’all may not want to reblog, but what do any of my followers think of these funky dudes? Leave a comment on this post or reblog with your answer in the tags!

[handeaux]

Harry Spindler: From Wild Drummer To Wild Kingdom

If you ran into Cincinnati’s Harry Spindler in 1940, and hadn’t seen him since 1920, you might imagine you were meeting a completely different person. Harry had the good luck to find success in two entirely different fields.

In the beginning, Harry was the leader of one of Cincinnati’s pioneer dance bands. It is generally agreed that the first jazz record was pressed early in 1917. By December of that year, “Cincinnati’s Original Jazz Band,” directed by Harry Spindler was sizzling the local hot spots. Harry’s musical career was interrupted by World War I, which he spent as a musician first class in South Carolina.

Harry received an honorable discharge, headed back to Cincinnati and put another “Original Jazz Band” together. When his group headlined the “assembly dansant” at the Odd Fellows Temple on 11 January 1920, Harry was billed as “the Wild Drummer.” The only known recording of Spindler, a jaunty 1925 version of George W Meyer and Alfred Bryan’s “Brown Eyes, Why Are You Blue?” (Cameo 781) sounds all but sedate to modern ears, with no percussive pyrotechnics to speak of. An Enquirer article [9 September 1937] describes a photo of Harry’s old drum kit:

“The picture shows a drummer with more aids fastened to a trap drum than there are instruments in a modern cockpit.”

Harry and the boys had a good run. They toured Canada and the Far East, endorsed Wurlitzer instruments in newspaper ads, took first place in an Atlantic City popularity contest, played the best speakeasies in New York City and earned top billing at Cincinnati’s swankiest hotels.

The tour through Asia reignited Harry’s childhood passion for animals. As the band performed in India, Sri Lanka, China, Japan and Egypt, Harry bought a boatload – almost literally – of animals and shipped them back to the United States for sale to collectors. By 1930, wild animal collecting was his main source of income. Harry developed a partial paralysis of his right arm and could no longer maintain tempo on the drums. By then his international tours had yielded connections with animal dealers all over the world – and he piggy-backed on the reputation of Cincinnati’s Zoo. As he told the Cincinnati Post [27 March 1930]:

“Cincinnati may not be known in the jungles of India or South Africa, but if you are there and need a friend, all you have to do is to mention the name of Sol or Joe Stephan of the Cincinnati Zoo. Every native who trafficks in animals or birds has heard of these two men."

A 1929 expedition to India and Africa netted 500 animals. Harry learned that collecting the animals was easy. Transporting them was another thing:

“It was fun going over, but coming back you can imagine our job. With gales to buffet and with screaming, scratching, clawing, shrieking, howling, roaring wild beasts on board sick from the storm and heat, you can imagine how much sleep I had in 47 days.”

As a naturalist, Harry associated with several pet shops in the Cincinnati area, through which he sold some of his exotic animals. Throughout the years, Harry held any number of official titles, including Federal Zoological Instructor for the Civilian Conservation Corps, Zoologist for the Ohio State Department of Education, Sanitary Inspector for the city’s Department of Health, Director of the Cincinnati Recreation Commission Traveling Zoo, and Special Lecturer for the Hamilton County SPCA.

Harry was in demand as a lecturer throughout Cincinnati and the darling of local media. For years, he had his own column in the Cincinnati Enquirer and was regularly featured in Ollie James’ column in the same newspaper. Radio loved Harry, but it loved his pet mynah bird, Jerry, even more. From 1930 until Jerry died in 1950, Harry brought his talkative fowl to all the Cincinnati radio stations – including Ruth Lyons’ radio studio – and even to Dave Elman’s nationally broadcast “Hobby Lobby” radio show out of New York. Jerry could imitate a window shade rolling up, the squealing sound of automobile brakes, speak 20 words in English and whistle several tunes including “Sweet Adeline” and “That Old Oaken Bucket.” For old time’s sake, Jerry sometimes launched into a melody from his native India.

The talking mynah was far from Harry’s only trained animal. He even domesticated a black widow spider, teaching her to climb a glass rod out of her jar to amble around his palm before clambering back into the jar. Harry brought his poisonous arachnid to New York for a segment on “Hobby Lobby,” but a stagehand knocked the jar from a table and killed the little beast. Host Elman suggested Harry come back when he had trained another black widow. Harry replied:

“Alright, but listen – when I bring my next trained black widow, she’s going to have a dozen understudies with her.”

Throughout his career as a lecturer, Harry kept running into myths and ignorance about animals. So many Cincinnatians swore they knew someone who had seen a hoop snake grab its tail and roll away that he offered a $150 reward for anyone who could produce one. Listening to Harry, you get the impression that his audiences were as entertaining as he was. Here’s one he told the Enquirer [8 January 1939]:

“A man in one audience told me he knew of a grocer who had a monkey trained to steal customers’ change and conceal it in his mouth. The man claimed the monkey tried it on him, and he hit the monkey so hard that the animal spit out $906.”

Harry died in 1961 at the Veteran’s Hospital in Chillicothe, Ohio. He is buried in Spring Grove Cemetery.

[narrators-journal]

a bit of fun

So, the way I tend to work is by throwing stuff at the wall to see what sticks, and since I needed a break from Into Wonderland to explore the world and see if I could world build alongside it,I wrote this little short story with some experimental oc Ideas. Nothing here is set in stone, I just wanted to try and explore some other parts of the world.

   It had been a while since Johnny had lost his life, about 20 or so years maybe? He'd lost count. Instead of worrying with that, he'd spent his years in hell looking into all he could. Lucifer was an ancient dude, he had a lot of information squirreled away, so the Hill Mynah demon made it his mission to use his newfound status as a Sin to dive into those records. His goal was to learn about the reaper who'd killed him, but as he dug he found more information, interesting information .     However, one of the only creatures he couldn't find any information on, was a creature he had dubbed Smoke. Smoke was a shapeshifter, maybe, or maybe he was some specter? Johnny honestly wasn't too sure, but one thing he did know was that Smoke was a mute. Or, at least he never spoke to Johnny. The bird also knew that Smoke enjoyed taking the form of a skeleton as his sort of, base form, or maybe he was really a skeleton when not using his ability, either way, the Hill Mynah demon knew he was a skeleton.    "Hey! Smokey!" Johnny chirped, his wings flaring out, the white spots on his ebony wings seeming to at least catch the skeleton's slit eye, making him look at the short ebony haired man, or maybe calling him smokey earned the look, either way, the bird approached him "hey there dude! Didja just get back from the human world?" he asked, looking the creature over. While johnny had decided to wear his death-outfit, a thick coat, gloves, and scarf, Smoke was very prone to changing his outfit. Today, the creature wore a baggy hoodie and some dress pants with some tennis shoes, "I guess ya did." he hummed, folding his wings back along his spine and giving the tall skeleton a big grin. Of course, Smoke didn't say anything, he never did, but Johnny didn't mind carrying a conversation,      "why were ya in the human world this time?" he asked, following after Smoke when he tried to walk away. Now, the creature had grown himself from a normal human height of 5'9, about four inches taller than Johnny, to around seven feet tall, so the shorter bird did struggle to stay at his side without jogging, but he did his best, "Were ya there for some fun? Were ya there to meet a girl? Use ya power on someone, maybe? what is ya power by the way? Can I know yet?" he asked, trying to pry into the creature while he jogged beside him.     Johnny knew Smoke would never answer him with words, but he'd made these polite chats before, and in those many, many attempts he'd learned how to read Smoke's body language. Because of this, he knew when the towering skeleton turned on him and blew breath or gas out of his mask he was telling him to get to the point. :    "anyway, we've been through this song and dance before, ya know I want to ask ya what information ya have of the ancient gods." he said, watching Smoke roll his slit eyes at him, "oh come on! Write the information ya have down, that's all I ask! Or, would ya rather I learn sign language? Don't mutes use that to speak? I can, I will learn sign language to learn what ya know" he said, beating his wings and catching some air when Smoke sped up more. From his experiences, Johnny knew he was pestering Smoke, but he was determined, "come on! Ya can teach me your mode of communication, I'll do or learn anything," he said, his wings flapping indignantly when Smoke stepped in front of him and leaned down to give him a head tilt and quizical look, one eye half closed, the other open, his version of raising an eyebrow.      "Seriously! Go ahead, give it a try," he encouraged, landing on his feet and closing his wings while smoke slumped his shoulders in a silent sigh and turned to head to his room, shrinking down to a normal height to step in. Of course, Johnny followed, letting his companion think before he turned back to the bird. He gave another quizzical look, this one accompanied by more relaxed, slightly quirked shoulders, something Johnny came to learn was a sign Smoke was either relaxed or maybe being humorous. On instinct, the bird nodded, and the skeleton popped his fingers.      Johnny really had no way of knowing for sure what Smoke was going to do, the skeleton could've been preparing to sock him in the face for bothering him, it wouldn't be the first time he's done that, but judging by their conversation so far, he was hoping he would agree to teach him sign language or something so he could share his knowledge. And Johnny did see some sign language, some sign language he didn't need translated.      Defiantly, Smoke went into his room, leaving his middle finger up long enough for Johnny to get a good, thorough study of his boney finger before he shut the door. Once again, the Hill Mynah demon had failed to get the mute to talk in a sense.

[noonmutter]

Ship: Leon and Murkey

1. Made the first move: Leon!2. The big spoon: Leeeeon3. The little spoon: Murkey4. The cuddler: Leon--he’s a big plush toy as a worgen5. Cries during movies: Hm. Maybe Murkey? Leon doesn’t really cry super easily, but Murkey doesn’t seem the type to do that either.6. More affectionate: In public? Leon. When they’re alone? Murkey. 7. Their favorite non-sexual activity: Cooking! Partly because making food together is super fun, and part because cooking frequently leads directly into other activities.8. More nervous to meet the parents: Actually, I think Murkey would be for this one. Leon’s parents factor so heavily into who he is as a person that it’s probably kind of terrifying for his SOs/spouses to “meet” them, even though they’re dead. (Ignoring the fact that Graeme and Bettany have both made the effort to appear as spirits on separate occasions.)9. More protective/jealous: Murkey, but only because it’s really hard to make Leon jealous unless you’re his older brother. 10. Sneaks into the shower with the other in the mornings: Dead even here. It’s too fun to do that and they both wake up really early.11. Initiates sexy times the most: ...I think I’d have an easier time flipping a coin than figuring this one out accurately. They sort of set each other off all the time. Maybe Leon sets up more elaborate scenarios more often? But Murkey’s perfectly capable of doing that, too. God damn this one’s hard.12. Fuck or make love: Both, depends on their mood. Right at first, mostly make love; Leon’s kinda been yearning to have that with her for a while.13. Behind the wheel more often during road trips: Pretending for the moment either of them drove a car, Murkey. Leon trances on long trips (trait picked up from learning to fly as a bird--you pick a direction, lock your wings, and mentally check out for a while).14. Gives the silent treatment when they’re mad at each other: Murkey. NOT A PUN. Leon just doesn’t do that, so probability’s against her there.15. Reaches for the other’s hand first: Leon. He’s very handsy.16. Whispers inappropriate things in the other’s ear at inappropriate times: Another dead even one. The tricky part is finding a time where it would actually embarrass the recipient, since they’re both pretty comfy with that kind of thing. Murkey can do it to Leon with a properly-timed smirk.17. Comes up with cheesy pick-up lines: Leon. Leon Leon Leon Leon Leon HE WRITES SAPPY MEDIOCRE POETRY FOR HIS WIVES AND GIVES THEM AFFECTIONATE NICKNAMES HE CALLS MURKEY “MYNAH” BECAUSE SHE CAN HAVE WHATEVER VOICE SHE FEELS LIKE HAVING WHAT WITH SPEAKING THROUGH A NOTEPAD AND ALL I MEAN HOW FUCKING MUCH MORE CHEESY CAN HE BE I DON’T KNOW BUT THUS FAR THERE’S NO APPARENT UPPER LIMIT

( @murkeyglglgl )

[sunilbhavar]

Birds of a feather....

July 03 2020

Finally after hide n seek for all June, the rains seem to be making their presence felt, seem to be, atleast for now. It has been cloudy all day and its been raining for 2 hrs now. Its fun to se birds quietly flocking together on a branch, flopping out their bodies to try and drain out the rain drops. Wonder how would they be feeling. Its probably, birds of a feather flocking together. I have had some new visitors since lockdown started, ones with small bodies but very sweet stereophonic chirpings.

Crows are usual, but their antics are increasingly unusual. They are becoming over friendly and stepping in the house and sitting their for long moments. It seems as if they enjoy watching television and especially those typical soap operas. I have seen them remain glued to the tv screen for more than 30 mins. Wonder what effect these serials will have on their minds. Mind you, crows are very intelligent. Try throwing a bread crumb anywhere near them. They will pluck it out in mid air. They'd easily qualify for a fielding coach's position for any cricket team.

Then theres a new fellow, name unknown, who has a swag in his tail and an apache like movement in his flight. He swings through air like a fighter jet and his favouraite hunting bird is the crow. I have seen him attack poor unsuspecting crows being literally manhandled and harassed by this tiny fellow.

Mynah, I really like this bird. It has a no nonsense, less friendly piercing eyes and a bold yellow dash on its face. It was great to notice a mynah calling on me to feed her farsaan. The moment I appeared on the balcony, the bird prepped up to swoop and pick up the food.

And the good old friendly sparrow, they stay in our home and are part of extended family. I have been forced to feed them, nurse their amateur flying young ones to flight. They are happy to prick on food remainders and fill their tiny tummies.

And then there are bats, who gleam in the darkness of the night and swoop in and disappear in a jiffy. Bats are more infamous than famous for their associating with Zica, Nipah, Corona viruses. Its not their fault, bit they have become symbolic.

Its a pretty sight to see a bird soaking in the rain drops, perched on branch and trying to brave the elements underneath green leaves.

Regards

[thesmithsfiend]

GOLDEN AGE OF LOONEY TUNES REFERENCE GUIDE

Golden AGE Of Looney Tunes  Volume 1 Disc #1 Side 1:    •    Smile, Darn Ya, Smile! (1931)      •    Shuffle Off to Buffalo (1933)      •    Page Miss Glory (1936)      •    I Love to Singa (1936)      •    Have You Got Any Castles? (1938)      •    Speaking of the Weather (1937)      •    Katnip Kollege (1938)   Disc #1 Side 2:    •    The Wild Hare (1940)      •    Daffy Duck and Egghead (1938)      •    Odor-Able Kitty (1945)      •    A Tale of Two Kitties (1942)      •    I Haven't Got a Hat (1935)      •    Life with Feathers (1945)      •    Walky Talky Hawky (1946)   Disc #2 Side 1:    •    Cinderella Meets Fella (1938)      •    Hamateur Night (1939)      •    Thugs With Dirty Mugs (1939)      •    Cross Country Detours (1940)      •    Dangerous Dan McFoo (1939)      •    The Bear’s Tale (1940)      •    The Crackpot Quail (1941)   Disc #2 Side 2:    •    Wabbit Twouble (1941)      •    Horton Hatches the Egg (1942)      •    The Hep Cat (1942)      •    A Corny Concerto (1943)      •    Kitty Kornered (1946)      •    The Great Piggy Bank Robbery (1946)      •    The Big Snooze (1946)   Disc #3 Side 1:    •    The Night Watchman (1938)      •    Old Glory (1939)      •    Sniffles Takes a Trip (1940)      •    The Dover Boys (At Pimento University) (1942)      •    My Favorite Duck (1942)      •    The Aristo-Cat (1943)      •    Inki at the Circus (1947)   Disc #3 Side 2:    •    Rhapsody in Rivets (1941)      •    Pigs in a Polka (1942)      •    Little Red Riding Rabbit (1944)      •    Duck Soup to Nuts (1944)      •    Hare Trigger (1945)      •    Back Alley Oproar (1948)      •    Tweetie Pie (1947)   Disc #4 Side 1:    •    The Heckling Hare (1941)      •    Hare Tonic (1945)      •    Hare Ribbin? (1944)      •    Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips (1944)      •    A Hare Grows in Manhattan (1947)      •    The Unruly Hare (1945)      •    Gorilla My Dreams (1948)   Disc #4 Side 2:    •    Nasty Quacks (1945)      •    Hair-Raising Hare (1946)      •    The Bashful Buzzard (1945)      •    Daffy Doodles (1946)      •    Little Orphan Airedale (1947)      •    Baby Bottleneck (1946)      •    Book Revue (1946)   Disc #5 Side 1:    •    The Coo Coo Nut Grove (1936)      •    Daffy Duck in Hollywood (1938)      •    Hollywood Steps Out (1941)      •    What's Cookin' Doc? (1944)      •    Hollywood Daffy (1946)      •    Swooner Crooner (1944)      •    Slick Hare (1947)   Disc #5 Side 2:    •    Tortoise Beats Hare (1941)      •    Tortoise Wins by a Hare (1943)      •    Rabbit Transit (1947)      •    Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid (1942)      •    The Old Grey Hare (1944)      •    Bugs Bunny Rides Again (1948)      •    Haredevil Hare (1948)  

GOLDEN AGE OF LOONEY TUNES VOLUME 2

Disc #1 Side 1 - Musical Madness:

   You Don't Know What You're Doin'! (1931) *    Goopy Geer (1932) *    Three's a Crowd (1932) *    We're in the Money (1933)    Honeymoon Hotel (1934)    The Lady in Red (1935)    The Penguin Parade (1938)

Disc #1 Side 2 - Early Wabbits:

   Prest-O Change-O (1939)    Hare-um Scare-um (1939)    Elmer's Candid Camera (1940)    Elmer's Pet Rabbit (1941)    Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt (1941)    Hold the Lion, Please (1942)    Fresh Hare (1942)

Disc #2 Side 1 - Frank Tashlin:

   The Major Lied 'Til Dawn (1938)    Cracked Ice (1938)    Brother Brat (1944)    Plane Daffy (1944)    A Tale of Two Mice (1945)    Behind the Meat-Ball (1945)    Hare Remover (1946)

Disc #2 Side 2 - Chuck Jones:

   The Little Lion Hunter (1939)    The Draft Horse (1942)    Flop Goes the Weasel (1943)    Lost and Foundling (1944)    Fair and Worm-er (1946)    What's Brewin', Bruin? (1948)    Rabbit Punch (1948)

Disc #3 Side 1 - Bob Clampett:

   Goofy Groceries (1941)    The Wacky Wabbit (1942) *    Buckaroo Bugs (1944) *    An Itch in Time (1943) *    The Gruesome Twosome (1967) *    Draftee Daffy (1945) *    Bacall to Arms (1946) *

Disc #3 Side 2 - McKimson & Davis:

   Acrobatty Bunny (1946) *    Hollywood Canine Canteen (1946) *    The Mouse-Merized Cat (1946) *    One Meat Brawl (1947) *    Mexican Joyride (1947) *    Mouse Menace (1946) *    Catch as Cats Can (1947) *

Disc #4 Side 1 - Fables & Fairy Tales:

   Beauty and the Beast (1934) *    Little Red Walking Hood (1937) *    A-Lad-In Bagdad (1938) *    Robin Hood Makes Good (1939) *    Tom Thumb in Trouble (1940) *    A Gander at Mother Goose (1940) *    Jack-Wabbit and the Beanstalk (1943) *

Disc #4 Side 2 - The Art of Daffy:

   Yankee Doodle Daffy (1943) *    The Wise Quacking Duck (1943) *    Daffy - The Commando (1943) *    The Stupid Cupid (1944) *    Birth of a Notion (1947) *    To Duck....or not To Duck (1943) *    What Makes Daffy Duck (1948) *

Disc #5 Side 1 - Best Supporting Players:

   The Hardship of Miles Standish (1940) *    Hop, Look, and Listen (1948) *    Roughly Squeaking (1946) *    The Goofy Gophers (1947) *    Scent-imental Over You (1947) *    Crowing Pains (1947) *    Of Fox and Hounds (1940) *

Disc #5 Side 2 - Variations on a Theme:

   Tick Tock Tuckered (1944) *    Good Night Elmer (1940) *    Bedtime for Sniffles (1940) *    A Pest in the House (1947) *    Trap Happy Porky (1945) *    The Unbearable Bear (1943) *    Daffy Duck Slept Here (1948) *

GOLDEN AGE OF LOONEY TUNES VOLUME 3

Disc #1 Side 1 - Harman-Ising:

   One More Time    Red-Headed Baby    Pagen Moon    A Great Big Bunch of You    The Shanty Where Santy Claus Lives    One Step Ahead of My Shadow    The Dish Ran Away With the Spoon

Disc #1 Side 2 - Bugs Bunny:

   Wackiki Wabbit    Hare Force    Super-Rabbit    Herr Meets Hare    Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears    Stage Door Cartoon    Easter Yeggs

Disc #2 Side 1 - Chuck Jones:

   The Squawkin' Hawk    Inki and the Mynah Bird    From Hand to Mouse    Fin N' Catty    Fresh Airedale    The Eager Beaver    House-Hunting Mice

Disc #2 Side 2 - Fritz Freleng:

   Pigs is Pigs    The Cat's Tale    Lights Fantastic    Ding Dog Daddy    The Wacky Worm    Peck Up Your Troubles    Racketeer Rabbit

Disc #3 Side 1 - Early Avery:

   I Wanna Be a Sailor    Circus Today    Aviation Vacation    Aloha Hooey    Holiday Highlights    Crazy Cruise    The Cagey Canary

Disc #3 Side 2 - Tashlin/Clampett:

   Little Pancho Vanilla    Booby Hatched    I Got Plenty of Mutton    Farm Frolics    Falling Hare    Birdy and the Beast    Russian Rhapsody

Disc #4 Side 1 - Sports:

   Freddy the Freshman    Boulevardier From the Bronx    Along Flirtation Walk    Sport Chumpions    Greetings Bait    Screwball Football    Baseball Bugs

Disc #4 Side 2 - The Evolution of Egghead:

   Egghead Rides Again    Count Me Out    Johnny Smith and Poker Hontas    A Day at the Zoo    Believe It, or Else    A Feud There Was    Confederate Honey

Disc #5 Side 1 - Porky and Daffy:

   Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur    Slightly Daffy    Ain't That Ducky    Wagon Heels    Along Came Daffy    Nothing But the Tooth    The Up-Standing Sitter

Disc #5 Side 2 - Politically Incorrect:

   Wake Up the Gypsy in Me    He Was Her Man    Sioux Me    The Mighty Hunters    A Feather in His Hare    The Early Worm Gets the Bird    Inki and the Lion

GOLDEN AGE OF LOONEY TUNES VOLUME 4

Disc #1 Side 1 - Bugs Bunny:

   The Wabbit Who Came to Supper    The Hare-Brained Hypnotist    The Case of the Missing Hare    Hare Conditioned    Buccaneer Bunny    Rhapsody Rabbit    Any Bonds Today?    A Wild Hare - original version

Disc #1 Side 2 - Early Chuck Jones:

   The Good Egg    Ghost Wanted    Snow Time For Comedy    The Bird Came C.O.D.    Dog Tired    Fox Pop    The Weakly Reporter

Disc #2 Side 1 - Friz Freleng:

   The Trial of Mr. Wolf    Double Chaser    The Sheepish Wolf    Hiss and Make Up    Holiday for Shoestrings    The Gay Anties    Of Thee I Sting

Disc #2 Side 2 - Cartoon All-Stars:

   Tom Turk and Daffy    I Taw a Putty Tat    Two Gophers From Texas    Conrad the Sailor    Doggone Cats    A Horsefly Fleas    Hobo Bobo

Disc #3 Side 2 - Radio Daze:

   Crosby, Columbo, and Vallee    The Woods are Full of Cuckoos    Let It Be Me    Little Blabbermouse    Malibu Beach Party    Quentin Quail    Hush My Mouse

Disc #3 Side 2 - Frantic Forties:

   Hop, Skip, and a Chump    A Hick, a Slick, and a Chick    Meatless Flyday    The Foxy Duckling    Bone Sweet Bone    The Rattled Rooster    The Shell-Shocked Egg

Disc #4 Side 1 - Wacky Blackouts:

   Land of the Midnight Fun    Wacky Wildlife    Ceiling Hero    Fresh Fish    Saddle Silly    Foney Fables    Bug Parade

Disc #4 Side 2 - Ben Hardaway & Cal Dalton (and Private Snafu):

   Love and Curses    Gold Rush Daze    Bars and Stripes Forever    Hobo Gadget Band    Fagin's Freshman    Busy Bakers    Snafuperman    Spies

Disc #5 Side 1 - Sniffles:

   Naughty But Mice    Little Brother Rat    Sniffles and the Bookworm    The Egg Collector    Sniffles Bells the Cat    Toy Trouble    Brave Little Bat

Disc #5 Side 2 - Merrie Melodies:

   The Queen Was in the Parlor    I Love a Parade    The Organ Grinder    Billboard Frolics    Flowers For Madame    September in the Rain    You're an Education

           GOLDEN AGE OF LOONEY TUNES VOLUME 5

Disc #1 Side 1 - Black & White Classics:

   It's Got Me Again! (1932)    Moonlight for Two (1932)    A Great Big Bunch of You (1932)    You're Too Careless with Your Kisses (1932)    I Wish I Had Wings (1932)    Young and Healthy (1933)    I Like Mountain Music (1933)

Disc #1 Side 2 - Early Avery:

   don't look now    i only have eyes for you    ain't we got fun    a sunbonnet blue    the sneezing weasel    the mice will play    detouring america

Disc #2 Side 1 - Freleng Follies:

   she was an acrobat's daughter    sweet sioux    the lyin' mouse    my little buckeroo    the fighting 69 1/2th    rookie revue    fifth column mouse

Disc #2 Side 2 - Musical Madness:

   the merry old soul    mr. and mrs. is the name    into your dance    country mouse    bingo crosbyana    the fella with a fiddle    now that summer is gone

Disc #3 Side 2 - Pesky Pets:

   the cat came back    country boy    dog daze    dog gone modern    the curious puppy    stage fright    snowman's land

Disc #3 Side 2 - Objects d'art:

   those beautiful dames    little dutch plate    i'd love to take orders from you    toy town hall    my green fedora    streamlined greta green    shop, look & listen

Disc #4 Side 1 - Animal Antics:

   pop goes your heart    i wanna play house    i'm a big shot now    when i yoo hoo    at your service madame    a star is hatched    plenty of money and you

Disc #4 Side 2 - Supplemental material (CAV):

   hare ribbin' (director's cut)    the return of mr. hook (U.S. Navy)    the good egg ( U.S. Navy)    tokyo woes (U.S. Navy)    my dream is yours (excerpt from film)    two guys from texas (excerpt from film)

[papermoonloveslucy]

LUCY THE HELPFUL MOTHER

S2;E15 ~ December 29, 1969

Directed by Herbert Kenwith ~ Written by Milt Josefsberg and Al Schwartz

Synopsis

Kim and Craig want their own phones, so they take on part-time jobs to pay for them. Kim’s job has her animal-sitting for the local pet shop, turning Lucy's living room into a zoo!

Regular Cast

Lucille Ball (Lucy Carter), Gale Gordon (Harrison Otis Carter), Lucie Arnaz (Kim Carter), Desi Arnaz Jr. (Craig Carter)

Guest Cast

Irving, a baby chimpanzee.

Radish, a talking parrot who says “You did it again, stupid!”

Breath-of-Spring, a deodorized skunk.

Bruce, a sarcastic mynah bird who says “Get away, kid, you bother me.” This quote from W.C. Fields was previously spoken in “Lucy and the Used Car Dealer” (S2;E9).  

The cast also includes baby leopards, a ring-tailed cat, bunnies, hamsters, canaries, doves, and a tank full of piranha (the only 'prop' [fake] animals in the episode).  

This is the only episode to only feature the Carter Family: Lucy, Harry, Craig and Kim.  A season five show will only feature Lucy and Harry, with archival clips of Kim and Craig.  This episode is also the only episode to have an ‘all-animal’ supporting cast!  

This is the final episode of calendar year 1969 and the final episode of the turbulent 1960s. For Lucille Ball, the decade began with saying farewell to Lucy Ricardo with the last “Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” airing in April 1960. “The Lucy Show” was born in 1962 and ran through 1968. The decade also began with Ball's divorce from Desi Arnaz. In 1961 she married Gary Morton.  The upcoming decade would be quieter for Ball, but not for Lucie and Desi Jr., who would each face failed relationships that dominated the headlines.  

For some unknown reason, assistant choreographer Anita Mann was asked to introduce this dance-less and creature-filled episode on the series DVD. Mann fondly remembers that Lucille Ball was a virtual 'Dr. Doolittle' when working with animals.  

Lucy's phone number is KL5-8231. On rotary telephones the alpha characters K and L corresponded to the number 5 making Lucy's number 555-8321.  A 555 exchange is the accepted screen format to include a telephone number as it will never correspond with a real telephone number.

The episode includes multiple rotary telephones at Lucy's home and work, including Kim's Princess model. Rotary (dial) telephones were first introduced around 1904. In 1962, the touch tone button phone was introduced.  These gradually supplanted dial telephones throughout the decade. The Princess telephone, a compact rotary phone with an illuminated dial, was first introduced by Bell Telephone in 1959.  

Teenagers and telephones was a familiar TV and movie trope of the 1960s.  It most famously is celebrated in the 1960 stage musical and 1963 film Bye Bye Birdie, which features a song called “Telephone Hour.”  Interestingly, Bye Bye Birdie played on Broadway at the same time, just two blocks away, from Lucille Ball in Wildcat.

During the episode, Lucy and Harry are working on contracts for the Kasten account.  The name was previously given to a character played by Phil Silvers in “Lucy and the Efficiency Expert” (TLS S5;E13, above).  

Craig plays a drum solo over the phone for his friend Steve. Steve has been mentioned on several previous episode, but never seen. Later, Craig talks on the phone with Tina, a new name in the long list of Craig's girlfriends.  

To get Craig's attention over the din of his drumming, Kim calls out: “Hey, Buddy Rich!”  Buddy Rich (1917-1987) was a world-famous drummer.  He appeared with Lucille Ball in the film Du Barry Was a Lady (1943) and will guest star as himself on a 1970 episode of “Here's Lucy” (above). 

While Kim takes care of the animals for the local pet shop, Craig is earning extra money gluing wings on toy airplanes for Herbie's Hobby Shop and blowing up 500 balloons for the school dance.

Lucy gets a call from Mary Jane about Bridge Club and the Bowling League. She mentions Hilda, who is the only one who knows how to keep score. When Lucy's Bridge Club was introduced in “Lucy and Eva Gabor” (S1;E7, above) it consisted of Dolores, Maude and Nelly, but no Hilda.  Mary Jane is played by Mary Jane Croft, but she does not appear in this episode.

With his bandaged dialing finger, Harry invokes the name of the inventor of the telephone Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922). Bell is considered the father of the modern telephone and founded AT&T in 1885.  

Lucy compares her house full of animals to the San Diego Zoo. Located in Balboa Park, San Diego, California, it is one of the most famous zoos in the world. It first opened in 1916 and is still in operation today.  

Lucy sings a lullaby to the chimp:

“Rock-a-bye Irving Hark to my chant. You're kinda cute But you're no Cary Grant.”

Here is yet another mention of Hollywood heartthrob, actor Cary Grant, who was mentioned in the previous episode “Lucy Protects Her Job” (S2;E14) as well as many episode of “I Love Lucy.”  

When Lucy gets a call from a kindly Officer O'Reilly that Kim is in jail for setting off the Pet Shop burglar alarm, she calls him “a nice Fuzz.”  It was a common TV trope to portray policeman with Irish accents and surnames. “Fuzz” was a slang word for policemen (or, in Lucy's generation, 'cops') that was coined due to the fact that so many serviceman coming home with short military haircuts became policeman. Their buzz cuts resembled peach fuzz.  The expression sounds particularly odd spoken by Lucille Ball. 

From 1951 to 1969 Lucille Ball worked on television with: 

chickens

cows

a calf

dogs of every breed

elephants (2 babies and one Jumbo)

many horses

a pony

a lion

chimpanzees

pigeons

sheep

dolphins

seals

bears

birds of all sorts

an antelope

rabbits

donkeys

deer

geese

turkeys

goats

an adorable kitten

a scent-free skunk

a baby leopard

and a ring-tailed cat  

All of these were LIVE animals!  The list does not include prop animals (like the piranha), imaginary animals, offstage creatures, or actors in animal suits!  

Lucille Ball got a lot of experience working with three trained chimpanzees in “Lucy the Babysitter” (TLS S5;E16, above) which not only starred three rambunctious chimps, but a baby elephant as well! 

A tank full of piranha were also featured in the pet shop in “Lucy Gets the Bird” (TLS S3;E12).  The comic payoff of retrieving a devoured item from the tank is repeated here. TV’s “Addams Family” (1964-66) kept piranha as pets the way other families kept goldfish. 

Little Ricky had a mini-menagerie on “I Love Lucy” that included Fred the dog, a frog named Hopalong, Tommy and Jimmy the turtles,  parakeets Alice and Phil, goldfish named Mildred and Charles, and a lizard (who fell – or jumped - out the window).

FISH ON A WIRE! When the piranha fish jumps out of the tank, the wire can be seen attached to the end of the fish. [Unfortunately, the wire can barely be seen in the still photo above.]

DIETARY RESTRICTIONS! Piranha fish are carnivorous and would not eat a leather pouch and paper.  

“Lucy the Helpful Mother” rates 4 Paper Hearts out of 5

The fun of this episode is seeing Lucy working with Irving the chimp. Lucy loved animals and incorporated them in scripts whenever she could.  The finale with her glued to three phones is particularly funny.  

[believerindaydreams]

in which I get the cuisine in two fandoms hopelessly muddled

Wot I am currently reading: Scandinavian Comfort Food. Umpteen recipes for meatballs, check, lots of lovely Surface veg I can’t use because it’s not in the setting, check...I had no idea Denmark used so much rye in their cooking. So, that’s probably a secret ingredient in our hero’s amazing world-famous pancakes, then. 

(more MacGyver/Fallen London ponderings below the fold)

(The pancakes are a thing on the TV show. Or rather, it wasn’t a thing but rather a one-off joke but I am making it a Thing, because what fun’s fanfic if you can’t indulge in overextrapolation of the canon?

Have pretty much decided that he’s Scandinavian on his mum’s side. The TV series went for Mac having Scottish ancestry - given the name, I suppose that was the obvious choice - but in interviews RDA plays up to this whole Scandinavian-Minnesota stereotype that I previously hadn’t known existed, and that’s much more interesting to play with from a writerly perspective than More Hackneyed Scottish Jokes Everyone Knows Already. 

On that note, I am disappointed that TV Tropes has not got a page for “The Episode Where They All Go To Scotland,” becuase that is Quite Definitely a Thing.)

So, can I realistically have the Innocent Spy making everybody Neath pancakes? Not until I can figure out a source for eggs somewhere, and that’s probably not until they’re back in London...there was this IRC headcanon about the fake raven advisors actually being chickens. I liked that idea. 

(Interval in which I double-check the Taciturn Mynah card and boggle. Despite it being a very common pest bird, no one seems to have thought of eating their eggs yet. The extent to which Alexis did his homework continues to impress me. A non-productive, talking nuisance good only for telling you stories - how admirably suited for a Fallen London pet!)

To return to the cookbook... a nice recipe for brine. Vinegar, sugar, peppercorns, cloves, cardamom, bay. There must be a lot of uses for brine in the Underzee - come to think of it, spices must occupy much the same position in London as they would have done back in the Age of Exploration. Expensive, obtainable only by long zee voyages (even longer if the Elder Continent doesn’t grow any, though they must have some, right? Maybe not ones familiar to Surface Dwellers though). And a useful component for spicing up what must otherwise be a rather tired and familiar diet. 

Should the Clipper have a sourdough starter? Or maybe you don’t need a starter in the Neath, with the amount of fungi and so forth floating around. In all probaility it’d just be ship’s biscuit, but I like these recipies for anise and cardamom flavoured breads. Wonder if you could cultivate einkorn wheat in Frostfound. It’s old enough, it could have been floating around the Neath since the First City. And there’s certainly a lot of light. 

Skorper: “kind of a savoury biscotti that we like to make and keep in tins”. Needs buttermilk. Well, presumably you could use sheep buttermilk...I may save this for the sequel. 

Caramel potatoes. That should translate to caramel mushrooms very nicely, assuming I invent a source of sugar that isn’t solacefruit. A lot of these recipies seem to involve *lots* of sugar. Second-guessing my decision to make solacefruit a stand in for stevia now. I want my Iron and Misery Golden Syrup, dash it. 

Say, if trees near Adam’s Way only live one day, you’d be able to do sugaring *every single day*. Only problem is you’d have to finish the whole extraction in five minutes. That seems...annoying. And hilarious enough for the Neath. All it’d take is some brash Surfacer with a few maple cuttings and you could have teeth-rotting concotions for Urchins across the Underzee.

Dessert buttermilk soup. With cardamom biscotti, known rather more awesomely as kammerjunker. Detecting a theme here. 

Oh, a recipe for the correct spicing of mushroom tea! That’s the kind of thing that makes this all worthwhile.

[yasbxxgie]

If even half the stories in Rick James's new autobiography, Glow, are true, then James led one of the most epic rock lives ever. The book, written with David Ritz, was finished posthumously (James died of a heart attack in 2004, at age 56) and is out this week, alongside a digital box set of his Complete Motown Albums.

James became one of the leading lights of funk in the late Seventies and early Eighties, but across the years, the singer was equally obsessed with sex and drugs. At one point in the book, he approvingly remembers the SUNY Buffalo English major he hooked up with for a while ("She had a PhD in blow jobs," according to James) who adapted a line of T.S. Eliot's poetry for him: "In the room the women come and go/Talking of Michelangelo" became "In the room the women come and go, looking to snort Rick James's blow." Ten other stories from the master of punk-funk:

1. O Canada James dodged the Vietnam War draft by heading across the Canadian border from his hometown of Buffalo, New York. But as soon as he got into Toronto, three drunk white guys tried to beat him up for going AWOL. "A trio of three other white guys saw what was happening and came running to my aid." Two of those three: Garth Hudson and Levon Helm, then playing backup for Ronnie Hawkins, later Bob Dylan collaborators in the Band. He also became friendly with Joni Mitchell (they would stay up all night listening to jazz), and she recommended Neil Young, who joined James in a band called the Mynah Birds. They got signed to Motown and were ready to release a single — but it got shelved when the U.S. armed forces caught up with James for going AWOL and threw him in the brig. 2. The Kind of Girls You Don't Take Home to Mother Some of the women James reported liaisons with: Linda Blair (The Exorcist), Elisabeth Shue (Leaving Las Vegas), Catherine Bach (The Dukes of Hazzard TV show), Ola Ray (the video for Michael Jackson's "Thriller"), Iman (the supermodel), Teena Marie (his protégée), Jan Gaye (the wife of his friend and mentor, Marvin Gaye). 3. Street Songs James scuffled on the periphery of the music business for many years before breaking through, watching friends become famous, making money however he could (including drug smuggling from India and Colombia) and periodically ending up in jail. How he remembered getting busted in Toronto on an old charge of breaking and entering a clothing boutique: "A few seconds ago, my life was perfect — the perfect bitch, the perfect financier, the perfect backup band, the perfect connections to the perfect music scene in L.A. Now perfection had turned to pure shit." 4. The First-Aid Kit of the Lizard King While staying at Stephen Stills' place circa 1966, James woke up to find a young guy sitting cross-legged on the floor, "stoned as a motherfucker," watching blood drip from his wrist, "saying things like 'Isn't the blood beautiful? Isn't that the deepest red you've ever seen?'" Alarmed, James woke up Stills, who said, "Oh, fuck, he's doing it again," and bandaged the young man up. Which is how Rick James met Jim Morrison. 5. Cocaine Is a Hell of a Drug James made his national TV debut on American Bandstand. He performed his singles "You and I" and "Mary Jane" and did a long interview with Dick Clark, who he remembers as "one of the nicest cats I'd ever met." The only problem: James had done so much blow backstage, his nose started running profusely. "I started sniffing and wiping myself until it had to be obvious to Dick and a million viewers what was really going on." 6. I'm Rick James, Bitch James nursed a grudge against George Clinton, who consumed his cocaine but didn't help him get a record deal, and Prince, who stole his thunder (and, James claims, his stage moves). Bringing Prince out on tour didn't go well: "My band was a bunch of friendly down-home brothas loved by everyone. His band was a bunch of snobs who never bothered to acknowledge my guys." Years later, what gave James the push to collaborate with Eddie Murphy was that the comedian had gone in the studio with Prince but felt uncomfortable around him. "There wasn't anything I'd rather have done than write a hit for Eddie — and stick it in Prince's ear," James said. 7. The creation of "Super Freak" It was about three in the morning. We had just put the horn parts on "Give It to Me Baby" when I was sitting in front of the console with my bass. I wasn't trying to write. I was just noodling. This bass line came out of nowhere. Four descending notes. Nothing particularly striking. It was cheesy, but it was also catchy. I couldn't stop playing it. At the same time, I started singing, "She's a very kinky girl…" I was about to stop — the whole thing sounded a little dumb — when one of my cats said, "Cut it, Rick."    "You crazy?" I asked.    "No man, it's cool. It's hypnotic."    I kept playing the riff and realized that it was hypnotic. Right then and there I had the engineer hook up a mic and started singing the story as it came to me — this story of a super freak. I never wrote down a word. Made it up on the spot. 8. The Persistence of Memory James went to a dinner party in Hawaii where one of the other guests was Salvador Dali, who kept staring at him — and finally said, "Senor, I am mad about the way you look. Please allow me to sketch you." Dali spent 15 or 20 minutes drawing a portrait of James on his napkin — and then gave James the napkin. It could have been a priceless memento, except the next morning James smoked a joint and went for a swim in the shorts he had been wearing the night before, forgetting that it still held the napkin. The portrait became an inky blob. 9. Back in the Saddle Steven Tyler of Aerosmith became James's recovery buddy during various stays in rehab — he would even jump on James's back for piggy-back rides. "He's the one cat who can outtalk me and actually makes those meetings fun," James said. "Half of what he says is bullshit, but his bullshit is so brilliant I don't care if it's true or not." 10. Rick James's Inferno In his later years, James was constantly battling his addiction to freebase cocaine, and usually losing. After his mother died, he reported, "there was nothing to keep me from descending into the lowest level of hell. That meant orgies. That meant sado-masochism. That even meant bestiality." No details provided (or honestly, wanted). [x]

[atticusblog2016-blog]

New Post has been published on Atticusblog

New Post has been published on https://atticusblog.com/its-good-to-talk-about-mental-health-but-is-it-enough/

It’s good to talk about mental health. But is it enough?

My infant has lately discovered to talk, and she or he speaks as if she’s recording her podcast, an unedited until the roll of mind with a small pause for congratulations at the cease. Occasionally she will be able to prod me for reward. “That was a lovable story I just advised wasn’t it?” Yes, toddler. “I piggy pardon?” Yes, that became a lovable tale.

It very regularly is a lovely tale, but a time will come, perhaps while she turns three, when she will be able to learn that speaking isn’t always enough. Talking is not often the give up – speak is the car, the bus, the motorbike. The meandering adventure to some other place.

Talk is cheap. And that’s the hassle, for me, with our current consciousness on “focus”

This has been Mental Health Awareness Week, with coverage that’s various and shifting. Much is invested in cognizance at the moment – of mental health, of abuse, of sexual violence – in speak approximately the things which have been traditionally hidden. And regularly, as with Prince Harry discussing the way grief affected him, communicate has been essential and provoking. And regularly, as with Stormy acting on the duvet of the NME towards his will in a chunk about despair, it sparks new conversations. has long questioned the darkness of your moods, the places your mind takes you at moments of stress, and Prince Harry – a man with literally everything except a surname – admits he sought help for similar feelings, and you think, I could do that. I could get help like Prince Harry did. So you make an appointment with your GP. It’s in two months’ time, but OK. You plan a morning off work. And two months roll on, speckled with panic attacks and weekends in bed, and then suddenly, there you are, describing your break-up, the way you get obsessed with things like cloud cover, and how you felt suicidal last week at a Holiday Inn off the North Circular. You are put on a waiting list, and there you stay, for months. For almost a year, in fact, in which time the wait itself sends you spiraling. Aware, but spiraling. But aware. But spiraling. Theresa May has pledged to tackle the “stigma” around mental health and praised Harry for speaking up. But the mental health crisis has been fuelled by her party’s policies and exacerbated by the scything of services. We can weigh it in our hands. Here, the fact that the number of young people arriving in A&E with psychiatric problems has doubled since 2009 and two-thirds of British adults say they’ve experienced mental ill health. Here, that spending on mental health services is being cut by millions. And you glance down, and you feel slightly, “stigma stigma”, do you not?

Good Methods to Attract Clientele

The entire idea in the back of the use of sports activities promotional products, of the route, is to get human beings fascinated

You need to offer them enough data with a view to lead them inside the proper path, this means that, in a manner, that they will want to act after having had a flavor of the appetizer, so to talk.

Generally, speakme you need the client to apprehend what business you are in. He has to realize you are about sports and physical hobby. It, therefore, makes sense to draw their attention by using the usage of the correct sports promotional merchandise to be able to talk to them, a good way to sell the precise sport or sports they’re about.

You do not get them interested in spending a fortune on man or woman gadgets. The concept at the back of sports promotional products is to get the general public talking, now not always the financial worth of the gift. Very regularly something cheaper, but catchy, may additionally deliver higher effects in the long run. Something small that they see all of the time, something they can take with them everywhere without having to worry approximately how expensive it’s miles, will regularly do it.

A top concept to get your message throughout is to get in contact with faculties inside the location. Hand out as a good deal as you can. Those youngsters inform their buddies and circle of relatives and earlier than you understand it, inquiries begin coming in. The equal is going to sports activities clubs wherein members are specifically adults. Just consider it: The nearby soccer club, netball membership – hockey, you call it – could be the next forestall on your sports activities promotional merchandise to be handed out at.

Let’s Teach Your Pet Bird to Talk

Teaching your chicken to speak may be extraordinarily enjoyable. It’s miles just like coaching your small kids to mention their first words. It is comparable surely because it takes quite a few patience and love. The new skill your pet chook will learn is also similar to coaching a toddler in that it’s far fine accomplished at an early age. What you are genuinely doing is the primary programming of the bird’s mind so it mimics what you’re announcing through continuously listening to your phrases. Birds examine with the aid of mimicking their parents. The pleasant time to start is weaning age no later than four to six months. This is whilst the mother and father generally educate their young the calls and whistles related to the species they belong to.

The birds that may be taught to speak are the African Grey parrot who is one of the pleasant to teach, the cockatiel, the green-winged macaw, rose-ringed parakeet, the amazon parrot, the peach fronted love hen, sulfur crested cockatoo which could be very popular desire via chicken enthusiasts. There is also the crimson rosella and jam rosella, pink-rumped parrot and budgies so one can talk however are a little tougher to train. Interestingly enough the mynah birds from the starling family are very easy to educate.

I used to have a puppy save with a talking correlate whose name turned into Percy

He uses to say “Hello how are ya” with the letter r sounds at the stop of the word. Some humans trust that woman birds cannot be trained to speak this isn’t actual. They are just tougher to train. Male birds are truly a lot easier to educate to talk. When you do begin education your favorite cook handiest do it for 15 mins numerous times a day. That manner you both won’t become bored and the cook can have a wreck to give it time to consider it has heard. Always provide a unique treat to the hen if it genuinely speaks even if it isn’t clear in the beginning. When you think your hen has mastered the phrase or word you’ve got so patiently taught it you can strive every other one. Sometimes they may be taught to react to a noise. My friend had a purple and gray parrot that stated whilst the cellphone rang, “solution the cellphone”. Make certain the bird is announcing the word or word certainly before you circulate to any other one. Don’t teach your cook whatever you don’t need it to copy consisting of foul language. Also, some birds will take longer than others to speak so do not give up so without problems. Remember staying power and repetition much like you favorite baby and also endurance. So have fun together while you are education your bird and you will have more fulfillment. Good good fortune.

The Health Benefits Offered By Indian Assam CTC Tea

So, you had a long tiring day at your office? What else can be more relaxing than a cup of steaming warm tea, particularly the very famous masala chai? Whether it’s far tea time, a little run at an office, get together or another event, no quantity of meals or drink can reduce the cravings for tea for a diehard lover of this fragrant beverage. Whether it is raining outside, snowing or burning, tea is a staple drink to nearly every own family. Probably, you may second this.

Do you want to Buy Indian Masala Chai on-line? Well, it’s far a smart decision and there are plenty of reasons to support this choice of yours. The first and fundamental cause – it is smooth and convenient. Secondly, there are more than one alternatives to pick from that you won’t even understand approximately otherwise. Thirdly, you are more likely to get accurate reductions with reputed stores. And, lastly, you can revel in each pleasant and range under one roof.

Helps to prevent most cancers

Not many of us understand, however excessive first-class Assam tea carries compounds like phenolic, Phytoestrogens, and flavonoids. All of those compounds are superb on your health assist of prevention of the most lethal disorder on the planet, cancer, and lots of other diseases. However, again you should have a check at the quantity of cups you have got.

Helps to prevent Parkinson’s disorder

Parkinson’s disorder is a condition of the valuable nerve gadget. It especially affects the motor system of your frame that is liable for motion. According to various researchers, it’s been observed that liquids containing high caffeine, as an instance – Assam tea can help plenty in reducing the probabilities of having tormented by Parkinson’s disorder.