#i call him wilbur rivers now tho

[flamedraco]

I want to rant about them. Buckle in, this is a long rant.

I want to just say that I love TNT Duo. Just as a whole. In whatever form they take. These stupid little men and their stupid little rivalries and tension.

I am not a "DSMP" fan in most senses of the term. I never really got into the story all that much (though the lore was cool and more well thought out than most people give it credit for) and there wasn't much to really keep me interested. But these two characters. These two.

shakes them

I love them. I love how Wilbur is emotionally unstable even on his best days and his entire arc of going from a leader that others looked up to slowly devolved into a man driven mad by his own legacy. Writing Arsonist's Waltz made me really take a long look at his character and how I wanted to write him in that fic and it really made me think about how young the character must've been when he died and how tragic that is. I think about him a lot. He's my favorite blorbo to torture for a reason he's the perfect character for tormenting really. And it's so easy to write him with a strained relationship with his family, seeing how Phil did the bare minimum for him and his mother is either a Fridge or The Goddess of Death depending on how you interpret the lore because personally I don't see either as being wrong. Or him being married to a fish (Sally go brrrrr). Or canonically being the one to give birth to Fundy. And the idea that he was usually such a doting father but the second Fundy needed him most he was just gone and the complications that brings to their relationship. I love him and how it's so easy to either make him just a guy or some eldritch FUCK. I can make him BIRD. I can make him FREAKY and INHUMAN and I love to torment him.

And then Quackity. Fuck let me talk about Quackity. This is the BEST EXAMPLE of a FALLEN HERO character I have EVER SEEN in my LIFE. And if you know me you know I am WEAK for Fallen Hero shit.

C'mere shrike bitch we're talking about you now!

(just picture me grabbing him by the back of his stupid little button up and holding him like that, I've scruffed his dumbass)

This FUCKER went from being one of the most goofy, joking, just fucking around and having a good time person, to one of the most well thought out and interesting character arcs in the ENTIRE SMP if you ask me. This man went VILLAIN no matter how you want to slice it and that idea of someone who GENIUNELY tried to see the BEST in others deciding "fuck it, I've had enough of this" is just. The best kind of Fallen Hero to me. I love his entire casino theme. Gambling is one of my favorite aesthetics, and I love how when I came into this fandom despite the overwhelming amount of Duck Q stuff I found I managed to find ONE PERSON who made SHRIKE QUACKITY and it was SO PERFECT FOR HIM! Like there's nothing wrong with Duck Q and I recognize why that's the most common thing in the fandom because obviously the fucker's name is QUACKity and he has his whole thing with ducks but like. Shrike Q tho. The leader of the Butcher Army being a Butcher Bird. One of the most violent songbird species known for brutal kill methods and eating other birds being reflected in the man who ATE THE FUCKING HEART OF HIS EX. Like C'MON. (Yes other birds will eat other birds all the time but I'd like you to point me at another songbird species that has the absolute BALLS to attack something so much bigger than them) ((seen a video of what I think was a loggerhead shrike attacking a duck once)) (((though if you can find more aggressive songbirds like this I would LOVE to see them and learn about them))) ((((FUCK I LOVE BIRDS)))) It's perfect. I don't care. I love him. I love him and his Loggerhead/Northern Tendencies.

I love him for all the ways he didn't START violent and cruel but BECAME that way because he felt like he HAD TO. His arc is SO GOOD. The way he manipulated others he perceived as being "forgotten" like him to try and join him. I just. This man. This man. I'm going to shake him. I'm going to put him in a jar in the /affectionate way.

And then THEM TOGETHER. There is so much APPEAL to this ship in how you can write their dynamic in any way you want. From the more playful early days of the SMP where they were clearly friends and enjoyed each other's company to those stolen tense moments of Pogtopia to the eventual EVERYTHING that was LAS NEVADAS. You can write them on some of the best kind of healing arcs, with the idea that no matter what you did or who you were that you can still find love and forgiveness with the right person. You can have them heal together and learn to love again after so much tragedy. Or you can go down the route of making them ABSOLUTELY tearing each other APART and making each other WORSE. They can be absolute BASTARDS to each other but keep coming back to each other because they are the only two people on the server that have seen SO MUCH of the other person and the paths they went down.

These two characters just. Scream a level of UNDERSTANDING with each other that they wouldn't GET with other CHARACTERS.

And can I talk about how flexible they both are when it comes to AUs? I'm going to talk about them in AUs. They are FASCINATING TO ME in AUs. HEAR ME OUT OKAY!

So as someone who's been in a lot of fandoms there's a keen difference between being into a fandom for the content itself of the world, and being there for a specific character or groups of characters. I was into BNHA because of the lore of the world, not really an attachment to the characters themselves even if I did love them. Persona 5 was driven, again, by a love for the world and also the aesthetic of the game itself (and also a bit of the characters, I'll admit they changed my brain chemistry a little). Danganronpa, in contrast, was something I got into for the driving force of the characters and the murder mystery aspects. Assassination Classroom, obviously more character driven. Fairytail, also more character driven than anything else.

I got into DSMP specifically because of TNT Duo and my friend introducing me to them. But I've discovered something interesting about TNT Duo and why my hyperfixation over them has been lasting for so much longer.

Because they're easier to pry out of their world than other characters are. Which is why I was so surprised when I found so much more Canon Divergence AUs and less AUs in the sense of other universes. Like when I came to this fandom there was: No flower shop AUs, maybe a single coffee shop AU or two, not a single dragon or naga AU, and maybe one Siren AU. And the rest of it was mostly canon divergence! Which felt weird to me because these two feel so adaptive to other AUs you put them in!

While other characters feel, in some regards, tied to their original universe, these two don't feel as heavily weaved into their world. When I try to take them out it doesn't feel like I'm ripping them out and damaging them as I do. I don't feel tearing seams or fabric ripping, they just kinda...pop out. Which let's me take them and throw them into any roles I want, any AUs I want, and what I've noticed is that people do this a LOT with SBI and that they don't feel tied to the universe they originated from either. And I feel like that's in some part due to how the characters have lore from previous SMPs, previous worlds, previous experiences, and even future ones where the characters flow and adapt to fit whatever situation they're put into.

Some people might argue that I'm misrepresenting the characters in my fics or characterize them differently from the original source material, but that's because these are characters heavily formed around their experiences! Which makes them SO COOL for AUs! Because obviously the experiences are going to be different in an AU versus the source material! Making them a superhero or supervillain isn't the same experience as starting a country from the ground up! Making them a prince or king is different from elections and surviving from the land. Or dying and getting revived. Or overcorrecting into becoming a villain so nobody can ever hurt you again. AUs bring different experiences and that's why the characters are so fascinating to put in different AUs. And obviously some characteristics will carry over, but it's up to an author to decide what they carry over from the source material. Usually I carry over Wilbur being related to Phil, Techno, Tommy, Kristin, and sometimes I'll carry over Phil and Kristin's divinity which sometimes makes Wilbur an angel or demigod. Some authors usually carry over his mental instability, I like carrying over his sense of individuality. I like that he's stubborn, good at leading but not always enjoying it, yet always having the qualities for it. For Q? I like to carry over his general gambling aesthetic because I write mostly Las Nevadas Q since that's kinda who I know best out of all of Quackity's characterizations in the DSMP. Which means I write him as a manipulative little shit most of the time, who sometimes has second thoughts but usually pushes through for what he sees as the best outcome. And for their relationship usually what I carry over is this sense of tension or opposition between them. Hero/Villain, Angel/Demon, Human/Fae, Hunter/Vampire. This sense that they are on opposite sides, but not so different from each other when they look deeper than surface levels and titles.

They are such interesting characters. And I love them so much. They give me so much brainrot. So many ideas because they can just. Go anywhere I throw them!

I think I'll write more about them later. How I like to characterize them based on what I know about them from DSMP. Maybe rant more about why I think Q is definitely a shrike and that Magpie Wilbur is the only correct option. I feel like talking about them. I want to talk about them more.

Talk to me about them. I like hearing other people's thoughts about these fuckers.

[straighttohellbuddy]

you know me {Wilbur Soot} // 1

sigh no more

Summary: As much as you love your university dormmates, you wished they wouldn't try and wingman you every time you all went out together. The only thing that gets them and their good intentions off your back is telling them you're already seeing someone. What happens after that is at least partially their fault for misinterpreting your friendship with Wilbur... But it's also his for agreeing to go along with it when you ask, and it's definitely yours for not being more worried when he gleefully threatened to be the most embarrassing fake boyfriend the world has ever known. Need to Know: They/Them. Set late 2020ish?? University Student!Reader. childhood best friends with Wilbur.

{ masterlist }

A/N: 2452 words. so ive been struggling to exist lately which is why i haven't posted this earlier despite how much i love it. im not sure when the next parts will be though i have made a solid start for now, but i really do hope you enjoy this! solid feedback is also a fantastic motivator, so if you have any thoughts, feelings, or suggestions at all about what you might like to see in this story going futher, please let me know!! i hope you enjoy it <3 also im just gonna go ahead and say here that one of my favourite forms of intimacy is giving ur friends silly nicknames on messenger.

Warnings: References to drinking.

Taglist: @extremeloserr @ahsteriawrites @mishthemess @spencer-not-reid1 @esylwen @lovejoyenjoyer @harbingerofheartbreak @lavcha @axeofwars @hiredars0nist @boiled-onionrings @river-exe @artsycanongoer @ghostyv @mitbin24 @generalnav @raes-gay @btwimskyvv @midnightsky1213 @lastwandastan @alive-woman-sitting @musiclovebot

Taglist is always open! Feel free to message or comment if you’d like to be added! xx

Your class is running far later than you'd expected on a Friday afternoon when your phone starts blowing up with messages. You had only been at university for a few weeks but finally had managed to schedule time to hang out with Wilbur, and had wanted to show him around your new dorm, so messages from him were to be expected. As you check your phone, however, you realise you forgot to tell the rest of the people who lived in your dorm that he would be meeting you there.

[Y/N literally is this your man? Come collect him from the sofa if u know him or let me know if I should call campus security] Your Residential Advisor sends to your dorm's group chat along with one of the awkwardest photos of Wilbur you've ever seen in your life. In class you choke on a laugh before seeing a series of messages from Wilbur as he'd been navigating around the campus until finally -

[hamilton kinnie(affectionate): I THINK THE PEOPLE YOU LIVE WITH THINK IM A SERIAL KILLER]

[hamilton kinnie(affectionate): like ted bundy]

Your whole face scrunches up with fond but well worn exasperation as your lecture across campus finally comes to an end. You respond first to the dorm group chat, assuring them that he was indeed your friend, and that you'd left your room unlocked if someone could show him there so he wouldn't have to awkwardly wait in the living area, before finally turning your attention back to Wilbur's messages.

[🦀in my crab arc 🦀: nobody thinks you're Ted Bundy can you please just be normal while interacting with my dormmates]

[🦀in my crab arc 🦀: my RA let you in she's gonna show you to my room you can wait there]

[hamilton kinnie(affectionate): I'm so normal right now I asked about the Weather! Small Talk! ]

[hamilton kinnie(affectionate): seriously tho this is so awkward she definitely thinks I'm a creep]

[hamilton kinnie(affectionate): which I AM but that's usually part of the long con, not a vibe I like to give off at the start]

[hamilton kinnie(affectionate): thats a joke]

[hamilton kinnie(affectionate): obviously]

[hamilton kinnie(affectionate): but actually please get here soon she definitely wants to call security on me I'm pretty sure]

[hamilton kinnie(affectionate): please tell her I'm not a murderer]

[🦀in my crab arc 🦀: alfkalflakfls]

[🦀in my crab arc 🦀: no someone just told her you're an internet celebrity lol you're fine]

[hamilton kinnie(affectionate):😐]

[🦀in my crab arc 🦀: not me lol]

[🦀in my crab arc 🦀: I didn't even remember to tell them you were coming to the dorm today why would I mention something like that]

[🦀in my crab arc 🦀: you passed the vibe check tho]

And you send a screenshot of the group chat where someone had mentioned that he was the awkwardest man they'd ever seen, but a few others had chimed in that he had a 'cute, shiny face' that made sense for an internet celebrity. Someone had screenshotted and close cropped his name from Twitter already and just commented 'FROM CHARLOTTE'S WEB?????' which had the latest response of '😳🕸️SOME PIG🕸️😳' which had the most positive reactions of any message in the chat.

You assure Wilbur you've told them not to be weird, which does little to alleviate his concern, but thankfully you're climbing the stairs to your dorm and are only moments away. Your RA gives you a look which you shrug helplessly at, but thank her nonetheless as you abscond to your room to put Wilbur out of his misery.

"It's different to how I imagined it," is the first thing Wilbur says to you. The door isn't even properly closed, and you're setting your bag down by your desk before you give him a wry smile.

"Better or worse?" The door closes with a click and you cock your head to the side, watching him while he gazes around at the way you've decorated the little dorm room from where he's perched on the edge of your bed.

"That's entrapment," his face lights up with an amused grin, still looking around, "I'm used to your old room," and when you sit beside him and flop back to look at the ceiling, he follows suit, "it's nice here, well decorated." And there's something about his strangely reserved tone that has you sighing.

"They're not gonna be weird about it," you assure him softly; unfortunately you were able to intuit what was worrying him fairly well. This isn't the first time you've had a conversation like this.

"You know I don't think it's your fault," he tells you matter-of-factly, turning to look at you, "but people -"

"- are weird," you finished with the faintest disappointment, knowing all too well that he was right. Still, you're glad he's here, and you tell him as much. He smiles at that, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes.

"We could go," you suggested, "I could plan better for next time and give you the full tour in the middle of the day when everyone's in class," the earnest offer makes his smile widen to something fond, "come on, we can get dinner and eat at your place, get on the piss at a pub across town; barely anyone goes past walking distance here." His whole face scrunches up with something all kinds of bashful and fond as he hides the expression against your shoulder, smacking you with his forehead hard as you speak, "I'm only here for a year, dude, you've seen it, that's all I require, I'm content, you never have to come back, which does mean there's a good chance I'll be living at your place on weekends but -"

"- and you'll spend your weekdays wasting away here in your well decorated Fortress of Solitude -" he snorts, shifting back to lay beside you properly, but at least now he's grinning.

"- I have friends outside of you," you remark flatly, smirking.

"I never agreed to that," Wilbur plays at being offended, and you sit up if only to shove him in the side.

"If you're really so jealous I can move in with you -"

"Into what? My linen cupboard?" He sits up too, giving you a right shove back, which has you skittering to your feet, crossing the small space to lean against your desk once more, looking at him with a sharp grin.

"You already having a housemate is not my problem," you stick your nose in the air and try not to laugh at the whole charade. As the bit slowly dies but the good mood remains, you ask if he wants to leave now, or later.

"I quite like it here," he says instead of answering properly, looking around again with a newfound fondness, "I might live here; gonna give up my place and move in. You're okay to sleep on the floor and be the only one paying rent, right?" After a moment, you school your expression into something neutral as he plays up his innocence.

"Wil, did you ever hear that Flight of the Conchords song Petrov, Yelyena, and Me?" You ask with a blithe smile. You can see the moment he remembers the song and it's premise, the way amusement lights up in his eyes as he keeps his expression otherwise controlled.

"The one where they eat their unwitting roommate in his sleep?"

"Yeah, that one."

"Never heard of it," he refuses to break eye contact, "haven't the foggiest," he sits back a little, "on an unrelated note, how about snacks, and something on Netflix, and I don't move into your dorm?" Giving a toothy grin, you finally break and laugh, agreeing easily.

You pass him your laptop from your bag and tell him where the charger is while you head out to the shared kitchen to get snacks for you both.

"You guys joining us tonight?" There's more than just your RA in the common room now; a few of your dormmates are sitting around the kitchen island preparing for predrinks. They'd already invited you earlier in the week, but you'd declined in favour of hanging out with Wilbur.

"What?" Now in the presence of other people who definitely knew who your best friend actually was, you could feel yourself growing tenser.

"You and Wilbur, you know you're always welcome to pregame with us, he is too," your RA smiled so kindly, as if trying to reassure you.

"We won't be weird about it," one of your dormmates assured earnestly, "it's cool that he's your friend." The girl next to her elbows her pointedly and averts her gaze, trying to hide her smile.

"He is," you blurt out, "my friend that is. He's my best friend, and he has been for ages, so just... don't be weird -"

"Come on, we're not being weird!" The first girl tries again, before giving a long sigh, "we'll try not to be weird," she concedes.

"You can't blame us for being a little curious about him," your RA says carefully, "he's a pseudo-celebrity on the internet, he -"

"Yeah but he's not a spectacle," you countered sharply, brow furrowing. You open the fridge into silence, "he's my best mate, he was before any of the internet stuff, and he's a person before any any of it; can you guys just treat him like that?" And you grab a bottle of soft drink from the fridge, closing it again, leaning your forehead against the cool metal with your eyes closed, "sorry, I shouldn't have snapped."

"No, we get it," one of the girls says sincerely.

"Do you and your friend Will wanna do pres with us?" The other offered kindly, and you take a deep breath, grateful for their understanding.

"I'll ask," you tell them, and all three give a little cheer at that, "no promises," you warned with a half-smile, and they all nodded quickly, thankfully all wearing grins.

The minute you step back into your room, however, you're startled by Wilbur standing only a foot from the door. His arms are crossed awkwardly over his chest, hands tucked into his armpits, cheeks puffed out and eyes wide as he rocks back on his heels with the movement of the door. He looks... kind of guilty. Also like he's trying desperately not to look guilty.

"I wanted to ask about the bathroom," all came out in a rush, and you, door still open, sighed, "you took longer than expected," he added; you hung your head. He'd heard your outburst at the very least, that much was clear. Stepping aside you tell him the bathroom is across the hall, hoping to use the brief moment to come up with some sort of an apology.

Instead, as he leaves, he heads to the common room first, and you can see from your door as he raps his knuckles on the empty doorframe, garnering the attention from the three girls in the room.

"Hello, hi, I'm Wilbur, Y/N's friend Will," its an akward if amicable start, jerking his thumb over his shoulder to your bedroom door where you stood still watching.

"Y/N's friend Will!" All three in the kitchen practically chorus, like they were somehow aware that he knew about the conversation that had just occurred and it was all an inside joke. Well, it does get Will to chuckle.

"I was told there was an invite to drinks, is that still on the table?"

"Uh, yeah of course," you can hear your RA answer, though she manages to regain her composure, "it'll be us and the guys from over there," you don't see her gesture but knew she'd be pointing to the block across your joined balcony, "we start drinking pretty much any time after sundown, but will be heading to the club around ten."

"It's a theme night - neon," one of the girls added, "not that you have to dress up or anything, but I'm about to make a run to the costume shop for any face paint if either of your guys want some, that's pretty much all I plan to do for pres," she laughs brightly as the others groan about how it's going to end up a mess, and Wilbur looks over his shoulder; he knew you'd be there, but gives a grin nonetheless.

He raises his eyebrows in silent question, and you, so endeared having watch him mend bridges that weren't even his problem, smile and shrug; sure, why not.

"We'll be there," he tells them, which elicits another round of cheering from the three prepping in the kitchen, "lovely to meet you ladies," a sentiment which is echoed back at him, and from there he finally actually heads to the bathroom.

The interaction you'd witnessed has you feeling all sentimental, and as you close your door and head back to your bed where Netflix is waiting, you can't wipe the goofy grin from your face.

"I guess you can move in here if you want," you tell him with this silly, saccharine tone, and Wilbur laughs before he even closes the door, "I'll sleep on the floor, you win."

"Nah," he shrugs, kicking off his shoes finally.

"Lost interest?" You raised your eyebrows at him and he gives a dubious glance over your bed. Then, almost as if he feels guilty about admitting as much, he sits beside you, back against the wall that served as your headboard.

"I literally don't fit, Y/N," he pointed out, kicking at your wall to draw attention to how dangerously close his feet are to the end of the bed already. You allow your tone to get teasingly sappy as you tell him he fits in your heart, and all he can do is rolls his eyes with a half smile, the sacchrine silence lasting right up until you pull your laptop onto your lap an a notification from your dorm's group chat flashes up in the bottom corner of the screen.

[🕸️SOME PIG🕸️ confirmed for pres!!]

It was one of the girls who had been in the kitchen, but Wilbur's expression seemed to flash through all five stages of grief upon seeing it, despite the growing number of heart emojis for the message.

"Oh god, is that really what they're calling me?"

Pulling out your phone you text the group to remind him that his name is Wilbur. Immediately, however, you get the response that 'that's too obvious'. Beside you, Wilbur snorts a laugh.

"What? Like I'm a secret agent?" Which you then send word for word in the group chat, attributing it to Wilbur himself as he buries his face in his hands and you quietly cackle. They were trying, in their own way, to accommodate your request to 'not be weird about it', which you were grateful for, so at least this you were happy to laugh about.

So they end up deciding to call him Charlie; it's short for Charlotte's Web.

[strawberri-syrup]

have a Ramble

idk what to call this because i dont think its a fic?? but also idk here we go bby (for those who dont know this is based on my stardew valley au :] )

also this is about michael and how ranboo and tubbo found him!

so michael

mans a puppycat type animal

still want him to be a hybrid, but also i dont want to give some teenagers responsibility over an actual child lmao

think puppycat but more weird and abnormal looking

might do a quick sketch later if i feel like it

CONCEPT THING TIME :D

tubbo finds him on the farm

ranboo was pulling some weeds to prepare for the chanign season when he heard tubbo call him

man was off climbing trees and causing chaos to escape actually having to do *gasp* manual labor

the thing tubbo pointed out was a strange looking animal

weirdly colored fur that was matted in places

it was literally every color fur could be

fucking rainbow or smthn idk

they decided to keep it because of course they did

theyre two teenage boys left mostly unsupervised and they found a cool lookinig animal

why wouldnt they keep it??

simple answer

man bites

like hard

i mean it makes sense

two random things grabbing you out of your home??

id freak out too tbh

took the two of them about a month to gain his trust

they also kept him a secret because wilbur would 100% make them get rid of him is he knew that he was hurting them

made hiding the bandages a bitch tho

eventually ranboo was able to pick him up

and it took another week for the thing to trust him enough to stand on his shoulders

the first time he did it tubbo lost his shit

as he should

the two of them named him michael because its a good word

good sounds and all that

fancy enough for their gremlin

they planned to keep michael a secret for a little while longer

maybe until they had tommy make him a collar

but it all went to shit because of course it did

michael got spooked by another animal while ranboo was farming and ran away

since he was sitting on his shoulder michael gave him a nasty cut accross the mouth

(which is why ranboo wear a mask btw, the cut left a nasty scar)

and michael ran into town

which led to a very panicked and also bleeding heavily ranboo sprinting to the general store and asking everyone if theyd seen his thing

this was when the lack of species really hit

what was he supposed to say????

have you seen my angry blob of fur? he responds to michael, bitchboy, gremlin, and bike

n o

so the obviously spooked niki took him to the clinic and forced ranboo to let her treat his wound

mind you man was losing his shit the whole time

borderline hysterical

because that gremlin was basically an emotional support animal at that point

 once niki calmed him down some she managed to get a basic explanation

not a good one, but an explanation at least

she walked ranboo over to SBI’s house near the river and explained to them what happened

tubbo was obviously upset because his friend had bandages wrapped around his face and their “son” was missing

tommy was just confused and upset becuase tubbo was upset

wilbur was both concerned and exasperated

because of course he couldnt trust those two little shits (affectionate) to just farm alone

so they spend the rest of the day looking for michael

and you know where they find him

do you know

after hours of searching

of spending hours crawling through bushes and bugs to find michael

do you know where he had the audactiy to be hiding

ranboos bed

man went back home

hid under the sheets and everything

twas an upsetting day for all

but now practically everyone knew about michael and no one wanted him to go missing again

both because holy shit ranboo lost a lot of blood

and also because no one wanted to see the chaotic gremlins sad 

yea thats all i got, turned out more rambly then i intended but here ya go :]

[flamedraco]

Magpie Wilbur

So why did I pick magpies for Wilbur?

Well that kinda traces back to the start of YWNTMBAH. I knew I wanted wings and bird habits to be a power in this universe, not necessarily just a trait of the characters. And Corvid based powers run in the family. So I knew for Wilbur I wanted something in the Corvidae Family. Which if you didn't know is a MASSIVE range of bird species. But when I was looking through the list I saw magpie and that jumped out at me because I didn't know they were technically corvids.

The more I researched it the more it made sense to me. Because magpie are incredibly intelligent birds. And more specifically the Eurasian Magpie is what stood out to me the most due to the blue/green coloration in their feathers. I associate Wilbur very heavily with blues, purples, greens, and more cool colors as well as silvers. So the coloration matched, and then I learned magpies are incredibly talented vocal mimics. On top of being, again, extremely intelligent, they can also reportedly repeat back the noise of car horns. Which was a hilarious thought to me because I just thought of Wilbur randomly scaring criminals by mimicking the sound of a car horn when he swoops down at them.

Magpie birds also have very interesting mythological associations. I read somewhere that they had a strong association with storms, bad omens, and of course the Corvid rhyme you may have seen me reference in my books before. The one for sorrow, two for joy rhyme, which is associated with both crows and magpies depending on where you read. They're very interesting birds and, at the time, finding out that a group of magpie are called a parliament made me laugh because "ha ha, funny British joke" tho now we know c!Wilbur is technically an American which is hilarious.

Either way, I liked their associations with vocal mimicry, storms, and the colors of the Eurasian Magpie jumped out at me. They're very musically inclined songbirds who are also incredibly loyal to their flocks and extremely protective over their nests. Which was perfect for the characterization of Wilbur in YWNTMBAH. Note how he only really left his family, emotionally and spiritually, when his instincts no longer considered them flock. And his defensive nature over whatever it was he considered his home.

In the end the choice just stuck and now it's become a staple of my fics. I love magpie Wilbur.