#the other is an owl — i mean — “vogel”

[askdariusvogel]

What do you think about Crown’s little robin?

"...Her name piqued my interest when I first heard it. And I do wonder, why would such a pure soul like her ever choose to reside in a den of villains?"

"As for what I think of her..."

"I might have taken a liking to the Little Robin already — after all, we are the same birds of a feather, are we not?"

[textingtroublesanswers]

What's the most memorable dream/nightmare Lutz & Misha have had, for whatever reason: it was scary, it was psychedelic, it was just kinda weird, it was funny, it was wholesome, etc. I had a dream I got trampled by giant ladybugs... No idea what that means(≧∇≦)/

-🦖

Ludwig chuckles, "Ooh, I am getting flashbacks to when we studied Herr Freud, hoo hoo!"

Mikhail tilts his head at him, slightly confused, "Who is that?"

"The father of psychoanalysis, who posited that our dreams tell us a lot about who we are as people, amongst a few other psychological theories." Ludwig smiles up at Misha. Mikhail is still confused, but he smiles back & pats Ludwig's head.

"I once had dream where everyone on team had bird heads!" Mikhail exclaims with some excitement, throwing his hands into the air as if imitating a bird, "Doktor was cutest little dove. Sniper was owl! Demo was parrot, the colourful green ones. Heavy was robin bird. Cannot remember what other teammates were."

Ludwig giggles, "I bet Soldier was a bald eagle."

"Oh! Da! He was!"

Ludwig giggles again, "The most memorable dream I had... I'm sorry, this isn't quite as funny as Misha's, it's rather disturbing actually."

"Doktor."

Ludwig adjusts his glasses, "Well, in that dream I was back in Germany, before I became Ludwig. It was the night I killed my previous husband but, instead of Dr Vogel at that moment, my teeth were wrapped around Mikhail's neck instead. Logically, that was an impossibility, there was no way we could have ever gotten into that situation in that time period. Emotionally, it was devastating, making it one of my most memorable nightmares to date."

Mikhail hugs his husband, rubbing his back.

"Also, his blood was orange for some reason."

Mikhail snorts, trying to hide it in Ludwig's hair. The doktor looks up at him with a cheeky smile.

"You do look very good covered in blood, Kuschelbär."

"Doktor is making me blush."

[etchif]

Hello Birdblr. The other day I got reminded of the existence of a german folk/childrens' song called 'Die Vogelhochzeit' (The Bird Wedding). I think some here might enjoy it so I will translate the lyrics :)

Ein Vogel wollte Hochzeit machen

in dem grünen Walde.

Fidirallala, fidirallala,

fidirallalalala. (Chorus, sung after every line.)

A bird wanted to have a wedding

in the green forest.

Die Drossel war der Bräutigam,

die Amsel war die Braute.

The Thrush was the groom,

the Blackbird was the Bride.

Der Sperber, der Sperber,

der war der Hochzeitswerber.

The Sparrowhawk, the Sparrowhawk,

it was the Hochzeitswerber (made up of the words ''Hochzeit': Wedding' and ''Werber': Suitor/Advertiser'. I do not know for certain what this term means, and I have heard differing opinions about its meaning. Here are the options:

Someone who asks for the bride's hand in place of the groom

Someone who sets couples up to marry

Someone who also asked for the bride's hand (but was rejected in this case)

Someone who spreads the news of the wedding around

Pick which one you like best I guess)

Der Stare, der Stare,

der flocht der Braut die Haare.

The Starling, the Starling,

it braided the bride's hair.

Die Gänse und die Anten,

die war’n die Musikanten.

The Geese and the Ducks,

they were the musicians.

Der Spatz, der kocht das Hochzeitsmahl,

verzehrt die schönsten Bissen all.

The Sparrow, it cooks the wedding meal,

eats all the best bites himself.

Der Uhu, der Uhu,

der bringt der Braut die Hochzeitsschuh’.

The Eagle-owl, the Eagle-owl,

it brings the Bride her wedding shoes.

Der Kuckuck schreit, der Kuckuck schreit,

er bringt der Braut das Hochzeitskleid.

The Cuckoo shouts, the Cuckoo shouts,

it brings the bride her wedding gown.

Der Seidenschwanz, der Seidenschwanz,

der bracht’ der Braut den Hochzeitskranz.

The Waxwing, the Waxwing,

it brought the bride her wedding wreath.

Der Sperling, der Sperling,

der bringt der Braut den Trauring.

The Sparrow, the Sparrow,

it brings the bride her wedding ring.

Die Taube, die Taube,

die bringt der Braut die Haube.

The Pigeon, the Pigeon,

it brings the bride her veil.

Der Wiedehopf, der Wiedehopf,

der bringt der Braut nen Blumentopf.

The Hoopoe, the Hoopoe,

it brings the bride a flower pot.

Die Lerche, die Lerche,

die führt die Braut zur Kerche.

The Lark, the Lark,

it brings the bride to church.

Brautmutter war die Eule,

nahm Abschied mit Geheule.

Mother of the bride was the owl,

said her goodbyes with crying (or 'howling' it's a pun ^^).

Der Auerhahn, der Auerhahn,

der war der stolze Herr Kaplan.

The Grouse, the Grouse,

he was the proud Mr. Chaplain.

Die Meise, die Meise,

die singt das Kyrie eleise.

The Tit, the Tit,

it sings the Kyrie eleise.

Die Puten, die Puten,

die machten breite Schnuten.

The Turkeys, the Turkeys (female),

they made long faces.

Der Pfau mit seinem bunten Schwanz

macht mit der Braut den ersten Tanz.

The Peackock with his colorful tail

had the first dance with the bride.

Die Schnepfe, die Schnepfe,

setzt auf den Tisch die Näpfe.

The Snipe, the Snipe,

put the cups on the table.

Die Finken, die Finken,

die gaben der Braut zu trinken.

The Finches, the Finches,

they gave the bride her drinks.

Der lange Specht, der lange Specht,

der macht der Braut das Bett zurecht.

The (long) woodpecker, the (long) woodpecker,

it made the bride's bed ready.

Das Drosselein, das Drosselein,

das führt die Braut ins Kämmerlein.

The Thrush, the Thrush,

it leads the bride into the chamber.

Der Uhu, der Uhu,

der macht die Fensterläden zu

The Eagle-owl, the Eagle-owl,

it closes the blinds.

Der Hahn, der krähet: „Gute Nacht“,

nun wird die Kammer zugemacht.

The rooster, he cawed: "Good night",

now the chamber is closed.

Die Vogelhochzeit ist nun aus,

die Vögel fliegen all’ nach Haus.

The bird wedding is now over,

the birds all fly home.

Das Käuzchen bläst die Lichter aus

und alle ziehn vergnügt nach Haus.

The Little Owl blows out the lights

and everyone goes home happily.

Also in most illustrations of the song I've seen the blackbird bride is drawn black, however only male blackbirds are black meaning she is canonically trans god bless.

[popculturebuffet]

Reviewcaps: Amphibia: Swamp and Sensibility / Wax Museum

This week Anne tries to treat life like a ABCFamily Original Movie with predictable results while Kermit the frog cameos and the rest of the family wonder into a few possible Jordan Peele Movies. Then Anne stumbles into a Gravity Falls Homage and Frog Stan nearly murders her because that’s our boy. That’s our boy right there. Be warb under the cut. 

Wooo hoo! While this one’s a little wait both due to work on another review for a certain episode, this was a decent episode to cap off our long road trip. We’re now one week away from Marcy debuting and also Keith motherfucking David. 

I have no idea what enlisted is or what the hell is going on here but it’s keith david casually laying on a bicyle in full uniform. How could I not? 

Before we get to this week here’s last week’s recap, as tumblr ate it for reasons..  as you can also see if you click on my blog I tided up my subpages, so amphibia reviews can now be found in the general disney section along with ducktales and star vs. Now that’s out of the way our last episodes before marcy and keith, i’m a day behind, let’s a go. 

Swamp and Sensiblility

I”m also going to try going a bit looser.. still recapping what happens but not beat for beat as it’s gotten tiring and I sometimes strain for jokes especially when tired. So this week The Plantars find themselves stranded in Ribbiton, the most expensive city in amphibia after betsy breaks her reigns and, not having any other options are forced to stay with Hop Pop trying to keep the kids from getting distracted by the luxury. Thankfully they find an old friend: It’s One Eyed Wally!

Actually got an outside gif to work! Also hooray! But I did really like wally after his spotlight episode last season and his insane plan with the explosives that wound up paying off.. that’s some Wolverine level thinking.. no really he once cut the wires open in a sewer during a rainstorm so when the water inevitibly hit them it’d cause a blackout and hopefully help the x-men when it did if things had gone sideways.. which by the time it did, it did and they had. So good on you guys.  Anyways turns out Wally’s a rich boy but he’s gone too far because he know it don’t matter anyway.. and has been hiding his true self from his family, so the plantars showing up really dosen’t help. Thankfully he’s able tos top them from talking or correcting his father assuming their the help and our family takes lord rich asshole up on his offer to stay the night at their mansion, which in what I assume is a nod to gravity falls has peacocks on the lawn, though this being Amphibia their giant and deadly and you shouldn’t look right at them. 

Once in their fancy guest room, Anne wonders...

Wally explains, as I did he’s hiding himself. Anne sees parallels with a movie she was watching at the start of the episode from point to pop and lock which looks like my own personal hell.. aka an abc family original movie back before it became freeform, which is a more fitting name for what the network horrifcally mutated into over time so fair enough. It’s better than say keeping the names MTV or TLC long after either of those acronyms is at all accurate.. and at least with MTV they have almost 40 years of brand recognition to justify it with. But yeah it’s about a ballerina who wants to hip hop dance, you’ve seen the story a million time.. and a plot repeated here about a kid wanting to live their dreams but worrying their family won’t accept them or knowing they won’t, with wally, while not carrying for the money, not wanting to loose his family or his beloved bug... which reminds me of that Pokemon episode with James and his growlithe only without a carbon copy of jesse trying to use bdsm to make james obey which is not how that works Jessebelle. That’s not how any of that works. What.. what even was that episode.. I mean somehow it was really good and makes me question why Jesse and James never hooked up but still, what WAS that. 

Anyways, while Anne decides to interfere, the Plantars get a great montage of wondering into various creepy shit with toad saunas, rich people smashing things, and one frog in a peacock outfit among actual peacocks.. just.. yeah.. real Jordan Peele/Blumhouse “Rich white people are fucking terrifying” shit.. which is accurate. Thankfully instead of getting trapped in their own bodies or forced to star in the boy, our heroes make it back to Anne.  At dinner Anne outs wally as a frigging weirdo with predictable results. Yeah the one flaw I can find with this episode is it’s REALLY predictable up to this point: Anne watches a movie, is obviously going to encounter someone with similar problems, then tries using that movie as real life, it fails but then somehow workso ut in the end or dosen’t but the person is happy anyway. What does spice it up though is the final act, as Wally decides fuck it , he’s going to take control of his own life and issues a family challenge against his dad to do so, something Anne, and me honeslty, had forgotten about from last season as that was 30 years ago and one of the less memorable episodes. Still nice bit of continuity. But with wally lacking a mount because his dad’s a prick, Anne pitches in to fix her screw up and we get a decently shot sequence, and amontage, as Anne and Wally play rich polo against wally’s dad. Oh and of course the more notable part of this, Kermit the Frog here, if sadly the minty fresh matt vogel one instead of the sadly fired Steve Whitmire.. still not over that but oddly Vogel does a better job here than on muppets now as I genuinely could not tell it was him so it works. But yeah, it’s not Vogel doing a voice but Kermit DOING voicework for amphibia, because Muppets get wonderfully meta and Disney wanted to keep this gimmick going. yes going, as last year Fozzy did voice acting for Big City Greens... I fucking love this and hope disney keeps doing it for all their shows. Do Owl House next. 

Anywho Kermit commentates and it’s okay, they don’t do much with him but the sheer novelty of Kermit playing a thinly veiled copy of himself that still looks like a muppet still kinda works. Anyways wally ends up winning via hair accordion (”How long has that been in there?” “At least a full season”) and his dad dosen’t want Wally to leave the family.. which neither does he, he just wants to be accepted, his father accepts him, reveals he also likes music, happy end.  Final Thoughts: As you can tell I kinda breezed through this one but unlike other just okay episodes lately i’ts not half bad and while using a stock plot, it does use it cleverly, and to help flesh out a character we like.. it’s still very by thenumbers but the neat setting of the rich people mansion, the plantars journey through it’s creepy bowels and kermit the frog cameoing all really help boost what otherwise would’ve just be “the episdoe before the gravity falls homage” it still was but it was enjoyable enough. It’s just in a day where disney said gay rights and i’ts sister episode is again an homage to one of Disney’s greatst shows in it’s storied animated television history, it’s also easy to forget. If nothing else it was nice to have Wally back. I do think that helped. As you can probably also tell these road episodes have been wearing on me.. while their not BAD, and some are infact quite excellent, a few like this one, quarallers pass, and the acting and western episodes, are just.. eh. The character flaws they bring up are only one episode and they don’t really felsh out the charcters enough. Even here while it’s nice to get more dimension to wally i’ts not really by much. They just feel fairly stock in a show that while using some stock plots usually can do so creatively. I think that’s the core problem: it’s not that these are TERRIBLE it’s just I expect better form the show in a typical episode, and from the interesting setups the road brings, especially since it DOES deliver on them in other episodes and i’m kinda glad this stretch is finished next week. That being said it does go out on one hell of a note.. 

Wax Museum So after weeks of anticipation, our road trip ends on an episode that was hyped up before the season even began.. a weird move given this is week 5 and i’d of saved the interviews for closer like Disney does with ducktales, but regardless, this one was worth the wait.  First my quick, since I tend to go overboard on my thoughts on shows, thoughts on Gravity Falls: It’s fucking excellent. I stand by calling it one of disney channels best shows and while certaint hings could’ve used more time, like Dipcifica seriously I have no idea why tease that and then do nothing with it when they still had plenty of time left int he series even with Ford. But yeah a few minor quibbles aside the series was really good, left us wanting more which after seeing other shows sputter into flames at the end, hello Star Vs, I can live with. So yeah I was hyped for this one, especially since Amphibia creator Matt Braley not only worked on Gravity Falls but got Gravity Falls creator Alex Hirsch’s blessing.. and of course, Alex being a peach of a guy, just yesterday he proudly cooed over the fact Dana Terrance actually got Disney to have a bisexual lead character after he struggled to get anything remotley LBGTQ into gravity falls. He’s a good guy. And a weirdo but he’s my kind of weirdo. But being so nice, he naturally agreed to return as stan expy the curator and frog soos. While that is all we get, I do get not wanting to shohorn 80 refrences to the show in or get a ton of voice actors to come back for a cameo, nor try and include the twins due to the plot of this episode really not working with them around, thougH I WOULD have appricated frog mcgucket, but eh, you can’t get everything you want.  Said plot is again simple but really intresting: The Plantars stop in a small town and are dead broke, but Anne casually taking off her hood and being reminded she’s seen as a freak ends up as a lucrative buisness opprotunity as naturally small town yokels are fine with gawking. So with the plantars now having actual money to see the sighs Anne settles on the curosity hut, our mystery shack for the evening. The rest of the plantars, especially Polly who sees some eyes move, are utterly unverved byt he place and by it’s owner, the curator, our stan pines.. or stan ponds if you will. I mean if the series has a chuck and other normal names here an there, including Polly, then it’s not a stretch to say his first name stayed the same. Anyways, Stan shows the family around, including Air Mantis, because hell yes and some gnomes and other callbacks to gravity falls.. but I like how theirs only a handful to gravity falls monsters. There’s plenty of refrences but the episode wisely goes more for the FEEL of Gravity Falls: The creepy setting, weirder monsters (even if amphibia dosen’t shy away from weird , last episode had sheep bugs and all), and spooky vibe from the curosity hut all feel like the tone Gravity Falls went for, which is similar enough to amphibia the two mesh well. Plus the curator is basically a SLIGHTLY more evil stan pines... SLIGHTLY., and Braly naturally having worked on the show nails the character in writing while Hirsch steps back into the roll like it was just yesterday. It feels like a love letter to what the show was rather than just “hey remember this cool thing from it”, with still plenty of nice nods here and there. 

Anyways back to the actual plot, the rest of the Plantars decides to leave because this place gives them the creeps as does Stan, but once htey leave Anne finds something: A skipman! Which is a great name for a portable cd player.. seriously I had one of those early in high school, the skipping really was constant hell. If anyone ever complains about mp3s, smack em. I do not miss that era. Have a bit of nostalgia for it sure, but I do not actually MISS it. 

Anyways, yeah this is a big deal and it’s nice that even in the homage to it’s parent show, we get a rather big plot point: something else came from Earth and given Anne dosen’t recognize it as Marcies, though It still could be but I highly doubt it, it didn’t come with the three of them, meaning there were humans BEFORE.. possibly centuries in amphibia time given what we’ve seen so far. After all a great calamity had happened, it somehow invovles the box that brought anne here... no one says time travel can’t be involved. And it’ll raise even more in a minute. But first Stan offers a million coppers for it. not being made of money Anne instead bargins on her weirdness: One day of performance in exchange for the discman. Sounds good Stan. He certainly doesn’t have any evil plans. Wink... he’s telling you he’s winking because one eye’s under an eyepatch. Naturally Stan has less than good intetions and ominously plots to frog soos.. which I absolutley love how they just call him frog soos, who postulates on multiverse theroy because he’s apparently been licking himself agian. Oh that soos... I always knew he was on something. Also while he dosen’t get a high from it I don’t doubt human soos also licks himself for unrelated reasons. 

Anyways the rest of the family are skpetical of Anne meeting stan at night.. which is fair. I wouldn’t want my nieces or nephews, and one of the nephews is around anne’s age, around stan alone for any length of time. I mean he’s fine with his own family but I know i’d find them in a child size armadillo suit having been fed questionable canned meats after having to dance for gawking yokels. Plus stan has resting “Call the police fan” so HOp Pop wants to just discuss it in the morning first before remotley trusting this guy. But anne impulsively decides to just sneak out when their asleep. More on that in a bit.  Naturally trusting the strange man she just met who presumibly traffics ladypugs in this reality and constnatly looks like he wants your wallet goes poorly as Stan traps Anne and plans to incase her in wax like the other exibits. The plantars realize anne is missing and rush in with Polly trying to face her fear and ending up freeing ah orrifying monster “This is way worse’ indeed. Meanwhile Stan is annoying anne who’s praying for the wax to get her in one of the best bits of the episode.. because of COURSE stan would talk inncoently to someone he’s kdinapped while eating canned beef. To me it’s another nice touch: While the caretaker IS more of a villian than stan, for obvious reasons, given he’s put a random person behind glass just for not buying things, dressed his own grandson up in a humilating wolf suit and had soos use a fucking boiler for his employee break room, it’s not a hgue stretch to say a pre-character development, i.e. pre dipper and mabel to convince him to be slightly better, Stan would kidnap a bunch of freaky wax creatures. It’s also why i’m okay Jason Ritter and Krystin Schall didn’t return. Their great and I woul’dve loved to have dipper and mabel back.. but the episode just dosen’t work with them in it even as a cameo, and they could easily show up in a followup later if they choose to bring this character back. Probably not but hey stranger things have happend.  Stan does however reveal something important: He got the discman from newtopia.. where a bunch of OTHER artifacts are. Thankfully before that information becomes useless to Anne, Sprig and Hop Pop show up to the rescue and Stan fights them thinking their cops as he dosen’t want to go back to frog jail. And even once he finds out their not, he still wants a new attraction because this is stan and again, as good as he is by series end, or at least marginally better, I still wouldn’t put it past him to put sentient creatures in wax. This however backfires as once Polly frees the creature above sprig and hop pop free the rest, and the giant throng of monsters drags Stan off, with blood popping up.. though he assures us it’s just wax so he could show up again. Probably not. He also offers htem 10 perecent, and goes up to 11.5 but that’s as far as we go. Goodbye again stan. I’ll miss you buddy. Seriously I absolutley loved the character and even with a shifter copy it was really nice to have him back for an episode.  The family carts Anne off and back at the campsight Anne bemoans not getting the skipman.. luckily Sprig grabbed it on their way out, because h’es a good friend, but Hop Pop and Pollly are annoyed at anne for once again recklesly endangering herself without considering them and forcing them to save her (As polly pefectly puts it I”m tired of facing my fears anne) And that’s why I saved that: this episode deconsturcts anne’s tendency to act before she reallyt hinks or consult anyone else and actually has the family confront her on it, though she does genuinely apologize so hopefully it’ll stick. But yeah now newtopia offers even more promise and anne offers hop pop an accidental laser to the eye vai the skipman to close out the episode.  Final Thoughts: As you can probably tell If reaking loved this one. Instead of just apping gravity falls, as I pointed it out i more felt like a gravity falls episode in miniture, mixed with Amphibia to still feel like it belonged in amphibia, and with Stan back just slightly more evil. Slightly. Alex Hirsch was as always a massive delight and it was a treat to have him back, and it was a really damn good note to close the road trip out on after some middling episodes, toadcatcher excluded. Not much else to say, it was really damn good, easily the seasno’s second best after toadcatcher.  Next Time:  MARCY. KEITH DAVID. Ants? Good times. Until then you can find more disney reviews under the disney tab on my blog including the entire season of amphibia thus far and season 3 of ducktales thus far. Until we meet again, courage. 

[mongoose-bite]

@milleandra-nebula tagged me! Thank you :3

1. Which BTS song means the most to you?

I don’t know what that is, but my mind keeps reading it at Buffy The (?) Slayer.

2. How do you feel about astrology?

It’s a load of horsefeathers but it doesn’t seem to cause a great deal of harm so I am indifferent.

3. Do you think ghosts exist?

No.

4. What’s your favorite instrument?

I don’t really have one. I can’t play any and I must confess I don’t sit down in an evening to a specific kind of music either.

5. Who was the last person to make you really smile?

Sean Bean? I watched an interview with him last night on the Colbert Report. When he smiles I smile back.

6. What do you do when you feel vulnerable?

Put on a p-p-p-p-p-poker face.

7. What is the last dream you had?

Oh man so I dreamt I was a teenage girl protagonist of...something. And I had a couple of magic items maybe I there were some evil teachers and I spent most of the dream in the bathroom in a park getting ready to start my quest and trying to work out what I was supposed to do and it was equal parts exciting and stressful, but waking up it’s a huge jumble now. I do know I was trying to hide a hollow ceramic artichoke in my bag and one of the evil teachers grabbed it.

Then I dreamt I was hanging out with @synstruck and he gave me a stuffed toy owl with long legs.

8. Are you a nature person?

Yes.

9. What’s your favorite thing to do to relieve stress?

Working out, playing computer games, watching other people play computer games on youtube, jerking off.

10. Do you have any other blogs you’d like people to check out?

@lowrollshighhopes, which chronicles the events of the DnD game I run. It also has character arts.

11. Marvel, DC, or neither?

Neither really.

12. What do you want out of 2018?

A Vogel award.

13. Do you hold grudges?

Sometimes. My instinct is to want to hold grudges but I often forget.

14. Who is your favorite Disney hero/heroine?

Moana. First disney movie I liked in a long time.

15. Do you consider yourself a positive person?

Hmm. Yes and no. I have a ‘she’ll be right’ attitude towards personal stuff, but I’m pretty well convinced the world is fucked overall.

16. What is something you love that’s underrated?

Soursop, my friends. It’s sweet creamy paradise in a green prickly shell.

17. What is your dream job?

I hesitate to say writer, because while I feel it’s what I must do, I expect there are jobs I’d physically enjoy doing more. Writing is hard work. My dream job would  be nice and relaxing most of the time. Maybe one of those people who sit by a bike trail surveying traffic. Yes. Traffic surveyor for a pleasant woodland area, with a creek and lots of shady trees.

18. If you could live anywhere in the world, where bitch?

Right here. I live in paradise. Most other places are too cold or too dry, although I think I might also like a Greek island.

19. When was the last time you faced a fear and how did it go?

Well, I cancelled my health insurance. And by that I mean I told them I wanted to, sent in a form via registered post, and told my bank to block further direct debits from them. I hate doing this kind of thing and part of me isn’t convinced they’ll let it go that easily. But they can’t take any more of my money so nuts to them.

20. Which would you prefer to read: poetry, fiction, or non-fiction?

Fiction.

21. Where do you feel most at ease?

In my room or on my balcony, just chilling. I also like my friend’s place although when I’m working pretty much every time I’m there I have to watch the clock so it’s harder to feel at ease.

[shut-up-math]

Home Is Where the Pack Is

[Author Note: Okay be nice. I haven’t written an actual fanfic in like two years but I really wanted to do a (Not so little) fic of Martin x Amanda fluff and the Rowdy 3 after last weeks episode so this is what happened.]

Martin sat back and watched as the shadows danced across the trees as the light of the fire licked at the night sky. The Bofuki Nepoo (A name that would still take him some getting used to) were an odd people, if they even were that. They danced and jumped around like animals for what felt like forever and played music like no Rowdy had ever heard before and their food tasted sweeter than candy. However they were not only offering the Rowdy 3 a safe haven in this strange land, but celebrating with them as well. And what a cause for celebration. The Rowdy 3, together once again.

Martin leaned against a hut with his thumb pressed to his lower lip in thought. He missed the sensation of a cigarette between his lips. It was just a reminder they weren’t quite out of the woods yet. Away from Blackwing perhaps, but now a new threat loomed overhead. Out of the frying pan and into the fire.

The wind shifted suddenly and Martin could feel Amanda’s presence before she stepped beside him crossing both arms and leaning up against the hut. He never dropped his gaze as his eyes flicked back and forth between Gripps and Cross who were linked arm in arm dancing around Vogel who was now hooting and flapping his arms like an owl, grinning ear to ear. “Bit poetic, ain’t it?” He huffed with a hint of a smirk playing at his lips. “You showin’ up just when we were about to give up hope—BOOM!” He made an explosive gesture with his hands, mimicking rain trickling down over him. “Drummer girl saves the day!”

“Well, what the hell else was I supposed to do, stuck in Puff the Magic Dragon’s bad acid trip? Besides…Vogel really missed you guys. ” Modestly Amanda laughed trying to act like it was no big deal, despite feeling the complete exhaustion of whatever freaky psychic shit she had managed to pull off. Even under the waterlogged mascara and eyeliner, he could tell by the dark circles under her eyes she hadn’t been sleeping well. Though, Martin wasn’t sure he looked all that great himself. Two months of starving will do that to a guy. It was impossible to imagine what she and Vogel had gone through trying to find them. It was hard enough running from Blackwell, even more difficult finding it.

His lips parted trying to find the right words to thank her for…well, everything but the moment was cut short when Vogel and Gripps grabbed Amanda by the arms and hoisted her up on Cross’s shoulders while the Bofui Nepoo slammed their hands against the ground in a rhythmic pattern. “Admit it, Drummer! You missed our ugly mugs!” Cross teased as he balanced her weight while he moved around the camp fire.

“Of course she did! Vogel laughed hysterically as he smacked Martin’s arm. “Tell ‘em Drummer! You cried like a little cry baby after we went on the run!” Amanda knew he didn’t mean for it to embarrass her but it did. A light blush rose up on her cheeks, visible even in the dim light of the fire. The boy’s comment left a sour feeling in Martin’s stomach, not liking the mix of emotion he felt emanating off of Amanda nor the thought of her lying awake crying while they were locked up.  

“’Cry baby’?!Oh please!” She retorted back to Vogel with a scoff. “Who was comforting who when we accidentally burnt down that Circle K because somebody doesn’t like spiders” Cross then launched Amanda into Gripps’s arms who gently set her back onto the ground.

Vogel gave her a playful shove. “I told you! Nothing that small should be able to build cool web stuff outta their butt!”

“And I told you not to mix lighters and hair spray! That’s an outside activity!” Amanda teased back.

“Sounds like you two got quite the adventure to tell.” Gripps joined along side Cross. “Can it wait til morning?” Cross yawned as he leaned his head on Gripps’s shoulder. “Dancing’s not as fun when you’ve been in a box for two months.”

“Agreed. Those box headed guys really filled me up too. I need a nap.” Gripps nodded and his head sunk onto Cross’s.

“You always need a nap.” Vogel hummed as his eyes closed. Amanda seemed to notice, even before they returned from Blackwing that the Rowdy 3 had a kind of Hive Mind thing going. She could see the exhaustion settling in on each of their faces at the same time.

“Come on,  Wakti Wapnasi said we had a place we could crash for the night.” Amanda said gesturing for them to follow.

“Wak-tee-woop-what-what?” Martin made an attempt at the name, giving up half way through.

“Just…don’t even try to make sense of it. I gave up after the unicorns. I know this place is batshit, but trust me on this, the old lady with the butterfly face is cool.”

­­­————————

Amanda lead them to what looked like a bird’s nest made of every color feather imaginable, and then some. By the time 4 out of 5 Rowdys had settled in it reminded Amanda of when they’d sleep in the van. Dog piled into a small space, limbs wrapped around each other as make-shift pillows, the complete concept of personal space thrown out the figurative window. Amanda knew well enough to know to pile in last for fear of being crushed under Cross’s boney elbows or be stuck by Vogel’s smelly feet. Martin on the other hand ended up on top beside Amanda, both using Gripps’s shoulder to support their heads, Cross’s long arm draped across Martin’s chest.

Almost instantly the snoring started. A familiar noise Amanda didn’t realized how much she missed. For the first time in two months…no before that even. Maybe for the first time ever, even while being stuck in a weird land that sounded like a nursery rhyme, Amanda felt at home. The feeling settled into her chest and again Martin could feel the warm comfort of emotion roll off of her in waves. The snores mixed in with the faint distant music of the Bafuki Napoo still playing tribal drums and the crickets chirps echoed into the forest making it feel like it went on forever.

Martin could feel the others drift to a deep sleep but he couldn’t keep off edge. Every crack of a branch had him twitching, listening, feeling for anything that might dare ruin this moment. His family was back together and it still felt like any second Blackwing would sweep through the grass the moment his guard was down and he’d be back at square one. For a brief moment he entertained the idea that this was all just a beautiful dream and soon he’d wake up still dangling from a chain in the ceiling but quickly dismissed the idea feeling his heart race at the thought. It was then he felt the shift of Amanda’s boot against his and hearing the subtle sigh of someone still awake.

“Drummer?” He whispered over his shoulder to her.

“Hm?” Came a soft reply as she did the same before shifting onto her back to hear him better. He mirrored her actions so they were face to face now and suddenly Amanda was finding herself aware of how close they really were.

“Thanks.” Martin spoke softly again, just loud enough for her to hear. He could see here attempting modesty again but quickly put a hand up to silence her. “Not just for this…Vogel too. I know he ain’t …” Martin stopped himself for fear of sounding insulting. He loved Vogel like a little brother, of course he did, but he also wasn’t blinded enough to not see that spending most of a boy’s educational years in a government facility and then on the run with three crazy psychic vampires didn’t do Vogel any favors.

“Martin…it’s okay. I get it, we actually had a lot of fun along th-” She tried but again he put a hand up.

“He’d be dead if’weren’t for you. We all would. Takes a lot of balls to do what you did, to last ‘s long as ya did. To still have hope after two months of nothing. Shit you’re more Rowdy than any of us.” It was now Amanda was realizing this was the most serious she had seen Martin. There was a desperation behind his eyes that pained her to see. She tried her best to swallow the knot in her throat, but there was no hiding your feelings from the Rowdy 3. After a long silence once more Martin cleared his throat.

“I cried too by the way….” He spoke softer than before but the words hit Amanda like a ton bricks to the chest. She knew what he was doing, trying to make her feel better about Vogel calling her out earlier, but it didn’t change the fact that the pain in her chest grew tighter. “Don’t tell the boys. We were locked I separate cells beside each other.” He explained. “When y-you…”He cleared his throat and gave the hint of a sniffle. “A few moments before you pulled us through that-what’dya call it? Magic water thing?! It’d been days since we’d seen anyone. Not Priest, not Friedkin, not even that weird little assistant guy who filled our water bottles. Just…darkness and I was sitting there thinking…We’re never going to get outta here. Then –” He snapped his fingers softly. “Splash, I see you looking back at me and smell the most delicious meal I’ve had in months.” He smiled licking his lips at the residue of energy drained off the knights. “And it all feels like a dream still…Thank-Ooof!” Martin grunted as Amanda’s small arms wrapped around him pressing her cheek to his chest.

“Quit fucking thanking me already. Just don’t ever leave us like that again.” Her words were mumbled into the fabric of his suit, but heard none the less. Martin didn’t need to use his abilities to know she was crying again, though the emotion was powerful.

“Promise, Drummer Girl. Never again.” The words passed between his lips in a heavy sigh against her hair and he wrapped his arms around her as she shook slightly trying to hold back sobs. His beard burrowed into her hair as they nuzzled closer together. After silence and time he felt her begin to drift to sleep. The sun crept over the trees and birds chirped as morning slinked across the forest floor. Martin never let himself fully fall asleep, ever watchful of the Rowdy 3. All five of them.

[ioveclubs]

EA | Chapter 3: 3rd Times The Charm

Sometimes, Emily really doubted societies claim that men are needed to further progress the world. Because looking over at the blubbering mess in a puny white t-shirt, she’s almost 100% they’re not needed at all.

She’s pretty pissed off, to be frank. Not only was she made to apparate (a nightmare due to motion sickness) when dusk was just settling in, meaning her vision was unclear, and she was so close to splinching herself, it was a miracle she was standing in this station, but the person she was sent to retrieve was an ENTIRE hour and a half later than expected. She was certain she’d scoured every corner of the station, when a tired, husky voice croaked in front her, complaining the ghastly weather.

The weather really was ghastly. She’d been in London for the most part of the year, as Hogwarts and Beaubaxtons had done an exchange with 3 students, herself, and two other boys in the upper years (yess, Beau’s was not an all girl’s school, common misconception). She’d been placed in Slytherin, and though she settled right in, Emily, it seemed, had enjoyed herself a bit too much, and she’d discovered, all too late, that taking her O.W.L.S a year early had not as smart as she’d thought it was.

So there she had sat, just two weeks ago in a little hotel in Dartford, staring, and crying, and laughing in a horrible cycle, at her sorry looking grades. Unfortunately for us, Emily burned the remnants of her scores, so we won’t be able to truly comprehend the depths of her despair. Much to her dismay, however, her father did.

“Emily, WHERE in our agreement did it say that going to England also included a ridiculous amount of frolicking around with your friends?”

Emily thought this was a bit of a harsh statement to start with; in her defence, every OTHER Saturday, she considered, was actually quite civilised.

“Scheisse mann! That’s 3,000 galleons DOWN THE DRAIN!” he continued, orange sparks spitting up from his mangled face pushing out of the fireplace. Emily really wished she’d taken the smaller room. The one with a radiator instead.

In retrospect, Emily completely forgot that being here had cost money, she really didn’t think about money much at all. And as she sat there conversing (kind of) with her Father, she wondered just how many opportunities she had been given from her families wealth. A wave of regret and shame tumbled over her, realising just how many were not anywhere near her situation. Sympathy for those was at the forefront of her mind. Then and there, Emily took a mental note to never take her advantage in life for granted again.

“I would’ve sent you a Howler, but it seems Merkur is just as useless as you! He’s only gone and got himself stuck in München. Again!”

Dummer vogel! She giggled to herself. Merkur meant well, the poor thing, but he was really the stupidest owl she had ever met. Lucky for him, his features made up for it. He was a dark black, the kind that goes almost blue in the light, and his eyes were a stark green colour. When he flew (a rare occurrence) his underwing would be hit briefly by the rays of the sun, and a deep gold would glint softly for a split second, then disappear into the night of his wing. She missed him, and her father too.

“When can I come back?” Mr Abdecker was starting to fade back into the fire.

“Oh Süße, I’m so busy with work in the Ministry, and the whole ordeal with the keine Magies...I don’t know if I’ll be able to see you all too much. I was thinking...”

Emily hates it when he does that.

“Maybe you should go to that camp, you know the...the summer one in Scotland. You know the one with all the books...and resources! Much more than at home, ja?”

He didn’t really need to explain Camp All-Bloods to her. This would be her third time already. You’d think going to an academic camp might improve her work ethic, or something, by even a fraction, but her time spent there was so incredibly boring and monotonous, that whatever small amount of studious drive she had was wrenched out of her by means of camp fire singing of the three unforgivables.

“I think it’d really help you with your work ethic......was denkst du?”

Hä? Work ethic? Can you use legillimens through a fire? She doubted it....

Fuck this, her brain chimed in, and her fists followed suit, clenching in annoyance.

“Well I don’t really have a choice, do I?”

The silence rang in her ears.

Finally,

“..Ähhhm...na nein liebling, not really....the Ministry’s requesting my presence. Ciao, ich liebe dich!”

“Jaa...ich auch.”

Well, at least she’d not bothered to unpack.

She blew hard through her nose, watching her father fizzle away, all that was left were the small black curls of paper beside her, spewed out from the fire during her father’s sqwuaking, as if he’d spat them out himself. She’s sure if he tried hard enough, he could’ve push his eyes to the size of an owl, spell some wings and sent the dämlich howler himself.

An unwelcome shiver circulated her body, and she realised, feeling the goosebumps up and down her arms, she was bloody freezing. She moved from the desk, and edged closer to the fire, settling herself down and shifting her body every few seconds to aim the warmth at specific areas. God she missed the warmth. She closed her eyes and imagined the cobbled ground at Beau’s. Laughing with her friends as the sun heated her skin as she lay, at peace. The smell of washed linen, and parchment and-

Her memory was rudely interrupted by a clatter. She opened her eyes to see a small, shiny object had been ejected from the fire.

On closer inspection, she’d figured it was some sort of diadem. It contained 4 gems, arching across the front; a deep blue colour with silvery undertones.

The strangest thing happened then. Upon tilted the diadem up, it had reflected a ray of light right into her eyes. She squinted and placed it back down on her desk. The light followed her still, though, and she discovered that the mirror before her showed the most magical image- which is saying something for a witch. The diadem was reflecting words, constantly changing, on the wall opposite. Every time she deciphered the message— “don’t follow the ca-“ it vanished, and changed again— until it was in a language she could no longer even identify. She was mesmerised— maybe it’s enchanted? She wondered to herself, and considered the possibility that it was a present from her father. Very unlikely. Remembering her father’s inability to so much as acknowledge her existence for more than an hour put her in a bad mood, and she gloomily placed the diadem into the desk drawer, and went to sleep.

The train now arrived in a great, scarlett blur. The boy stepped in front, and she almost audibly gasped at the vast amount of bruises that surrounded his body. She hoped they weren’t purposely inflicted. She wondered, quite rudely, if he was one of those she should feel sympathy for. Was it ignorant to assume he was less well off due to his insufficient clothing? Yes!! Emily thought, mentally hitting herself. She found herself softening towards him, even so, and realising the length of the journey ahead of them, thought it’d be best to make conversation.

“Emily” she said simply, hoping if would instigate one.

He smiled. It was small, but his eyes glinted with mischief, and dimples rose from the corners of his mouth. God she can’t believe she was concentrating on dimples, what’s so interesting abiut dimples? But she couldn’t really stop.

[grimmmedic]

fraulinekritzkrieg​:

     -”Yeah, the Sniper’s owl. It’s cute and all but people need to keep the pets away from the med bay. It’s important everything is clean and sterile. I mean, after the accident with Archimedes, one would have expected people to have learned, right? Well, apparently not! Sniper always tell me to stop harassing his owl but I am sure it’s the other way around. I can see it in its little owl eyes!”

 The shorter woman continued her word diarrhea, walking down the hallway before she took a turn to the right. She was still talking, expecting the man to follow along as she made her way to the office. As one hand held the pitcher, the other gesture along with her rambling, occasionally spilling some water form time to time but it didn’t seem to bother her all too much.

     -”Anyways! Fredda is wonderful and I am sure you’ll both get along just peachy. At least she’s easier to work under than Ludwig. I mean, Ludwig is brilliant but the man steamed my carrots more than once! I was happy that Doctor Vogel took me in instead! It’s been incredible having her as my boss! What is your prior work experience? I admit I have never heard of your kind of medic before. I assume it’s a new idea? Or maybe we’re just slow here a Teufort? Who knows!”

Aldrich found himself nodding, even if he still did not really understand exactly what was going on. He had the creeping suspicion that he was going to have his work cut out for him at this new base, if it was more of a zoo then a sort of military installation. 

He did not exactly know what she meant by ‘steaming carrots’, but he could guess from the words around the phrase that Herr Ludwig tended to annoy people with some of his actions and irreverence to their thoughts or opinions. The ARC blinked in surprise, his train of thought completely and utterly careening off the tracks and wrecking itself in spectacular fashion. 

“I er... I fought in a war?” The ARC sputtered out, once his brain managed to get a line of communication down, but the man was nothing if not stubborn and able to get back on his feet in record time. “It is a new idea, yes. I...” He could do this. Aldrich wrestled his waning focus into attention and spoke once more, sounding more calm and confidant. “Primarily through genetic augmentation and gene splicing. It is a bit more complicated then that, but that is the most concise manner in which to explain it.”

[alolatahilillie-blog]

WIZARDING WORLD QUESTIONS

tagged by: @balsamina tagging: yer a blogger, harry

MUGGLES

What is your character’s opinion of Muggles? Lillie quite likes Muggles. She never grew up around many of them, being highly sheltered by pureblood Lusamine, but she thinks that they’re fundamentally good people who don’t pose any sort of threat to wizarding society. She is afraid of them learning about the wizarding world, however, and she is very cautious around them.

Does your character look down on Muggleborns?  Nope, never. She views them as completely equal to her in every way. She’s disgusted by anyone who looks down on Muggleborns

Would your character ever use the phrase ‘Mudblood’? Absolutely not. If she ever hears anyone saying it, she will call them out on it. She believes the word is unacceptable.

Is your character familiar with Muggle technologies, customs, or money?  Not particularly. She may have picked some stuff up from Mohn (who I HC as either half-blood or muggleborn) but she mostly grew up surrounded by magical items and culture. She’s willing to learn, but she probably doesn’t have too much of a reason to. She feels most comfortable around wizards and their culture.

What is your character’s blood status?  half-blood

Has your character ever watched TV or gone to the movies?  I don’t think the Vogel family would have had a TV, but I could imagine them going to the movies sometimes. TV and movies weren’t a particularly important part of her childhood.

HOGWARTS

What was your character’s House?  Hufflepuff, but just barely.

Was your character happy with their House? Did they feel the Hat was wrong?  Lillie was happy! Lusamine wasn’t. Lillie was hoping for either Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw, and the Hat ended up taking ages to decide on what her house should be. The Hat eventually asked her to choose, and she chose Hufflepuff because she wanted to be around the friendliest people. 

What is your character’s opinion of the other Houses?  Lillie obviously really liked Ravenclaw, and she gets along well with them. She could get into the Ravenclaw common room easily, and spent quite a bit of time there with her friends. She was pretty much an honorary Ravenclaw. Lillie was skeptical of Slytherin, but hesitant to assume that they’re all mean - she couldn’t go near their common room, though, she found that part of the dungeons too creepy. Lillie respected Gryffindor a lot, even if she thought a lot of them were a little dense: Gryffindors are usually friendly and Lillie’s personal hero, Hermione Granger, was a Gryffindor.

Did they have many friends in the other houses?  Lillie’s friends were mostly Hufflepuffs (she was friends with almost all of them) and Ravenclaws, with a few Gryffindors. She had a reputation as one of the nicest girls in the whole school, but she wasn’t afraid to stand up for people if someone was being harassed. Her brother and her friends Sun and Moon were in Gryffindor, while Hau was with her in Hufflepuff.

Which subjects did your character take?  DEFINITELY CARE OF MAGICAL CREATURES, IT WAS HER FAVORITE. She also took Arithmancy, Apparition, Magical Theory, and Orchestra.

What OWLs and NEWTs did your character achieve?  “Outstanding“ in Astronomy, Charms, Herbology, Potions, Transfiguration, Care of Magical Creatures, and Magical Theory. “Exceeds Expectations” in Defense Against the Dark Arts, History of Magic, and Arithmancy.

BEINGS & BEASTS

Does your character or their family own a House Elf?  Lillie never would, and her family never had one when she was growing up either. She is deeply concerned about the treatment of house elves.

Would your character join SPEW because they support House Elf Rights or to shut Hermione up?  You kidding? Lillie was probably president  of SPEW when she was at Hogwarts. And Lillie could listen to Hermione talk for hours. She may have a celebrity crush.

Does your character consider Werewolves to be Beings or Beasts?  Beings

Would your character stop being friends with someone after learning they’re a Werewolf?  Absolutely not. She would become very protective of them...probably too protective. They should expect Patronus messages every day for a few days before the full moon like “remember to take your Wolf’s bane and stay somewhere safe and send me a Patronus if you need me and-”

Would your character willingly kill a transformed Werewolf if they encounter one? Would they see the difference in killing an untransformed Werewolf?  She would only do so in self-defense, and only if there was absolutely no other way for her to escape with her life. She would feel just as bad about doing so if she killed them while they were not transformed. Which is to say she would feel awful.

Does your character respect Non-Human Beings?  Absolutely. She feels very strongly about this.

Does your character support a Non-Human’s right to a trial?  See above.

OTHER

What is your character’s Patronus form? Can they cast a Patronus? Lillie can cast a Patronus, but it took her years and years of training to be able to get it to be anything more than a vague blob, and years more to be able to get it to deliver messages. Her Patronus is a lion.

What is your character’s Boggart? Is it embarrassing for them?  Her Boggart is Lusamine. It was a little embarrassing for her at first because “oh no now everyone in the class knows my mother was abusive,” but the Boggart acts creepily enough that the rest of the class came to pretty quick understanding of why Lillie fears Lusamine.

Has your character ever thought about or tried to become an Animagus? What form do or do they think they would take?  She’s thought about it, but never tried. Spoiler alert: even if she tried, she wouldn’t be able to pull it off. She thinks that she would be a cat, because they’re graceful and smart creatures.

Random fun fact: Lillie was born exactly one month after the death of Lord Voldemort, and as such has no memories of the Second Wizarding War.