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mediumsizedpidegon · 9 months

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Another avenue I want to explore in an Amity Park is Weird scenario is all the niche sub-cultures going on.

There is absolutely NO WAY there isn't a thriving goth community in Amity Park. They're holding picnics every full moon. They're holding crafting sessions in their friends' basements. They're adopting ghost animals left and right: eight-legged dogs and blob-cats, skeletal fish and neon bearded dragons.

There's a young man called Raphael who performs live music every week at a dance club with his band: he's got a myriad of shiny piercings, and a phone camera roll full of his rabbits, Morningstar and Salem. Perhaps those ghosts are bad business like the Fentons say, but the club's never felt more alive.

The scene and emo kids are multiplying at a rapid rate. The punks and grunge folks are doing shit with textiles that makes every quilting grandmother in a five mile radius swoop in to pass on their skills. Josie and Betty, old friends who periodically upload photos online of their handmade lace, suddenly gain an influx of young folks who want to learn how to make their own ghoulish patterns.

There's a new group peeling off from the goths that dress like the embodiment of Halloween– all bones, pumpkin orange and lengths of costume jewelry.

The historical costuming community is alive and well in these times, and they fall upon the few ghosts from times past willing to share knowledge like starving wolves. Their minds are full of patterning-math and fabric prices, and their excitement is, quite literally, infectious.

A revolution starts up in food service: a great many restaurants closed or moved to follow the many people who left Amity after the ghosts first came. A pair of brothers open a restaurant that has the best Polish food around: people politely don't comment on how the owners are dressed in clothes a century out of date or how their eyes gleam. Two cat cafes open, one space themed and another with loose definitions of what counts as a "cat." Assorted coffee and tea shops dot the landscape: some serve donuts, some have cupcakes, and others have breakfast wraps, sandwiches or savory hand pies.

People that can't afford to open a restaurant sell food out of their homes, advertised by cardboard signs with phrases like CAKES FOR $10, and BARBEQUE RIBS FOR SALE painted on them in gigantic bright letters. High school students bring in bags of cookies they made the night before and completely sell out of stock before the day is done. One woman's house has no signage and yet is known by word of mouth to be a herbalist, selling tins of homemade tea blends, flowers, assorted plant clippings, and cough drops.

Someone down the street of Casper High sells small batches of eco-friendly soap at a nearby corner store.

During summer time, lemonade stands are everywhere. Some of the lemonade is made with the strange fruits from one of the parks: no one dies, so it's fine.

The Farmer's Market has gotten... intense.

#amity park is weird #danny phantom #dp #amity park #i love wordbuilding :))#i didn't mention it but i think Josie the lacemaker dies only a year after the ghost shit starts happening and becomes a ghost herself.#The Drs. Fentons don't notice :)#however they would notice the Ghost Pets so there's a town-wide conspiracy to keep them in the dark about it/keep them away #sorry Drs. Fenton but Snuggles the Nightmare Ghost Cat is beloved by all. you're not going to catch her #my posts

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hasufin · 4 months

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Correspondence Trap

You will end up in the Pentagon parking lot.

This is a basic truth of the DC area. Eventually you will end up in the Pentagon parking lot. It will be 3am, you're just trying to get home from clubbing, for some damned reason you missed the turn to cross the river, and now there's a guy who looks way too young carrying an M4 asking you what you're doing.

Thing is, he's used to it. He knows. He doesn't know why - and honestly they probably select guards for their lack of curiosity. But you're not the first person to get lost and end up there that night, and you will not be the last.

Now, someone might tell you this is because the Pentagon is right next to two of the only bridges from DC across the Potomac, or because the signage in DC is actively terrible. And these are true. But that's not the underlying reason.

To understand, you have to look at the history.

Now, you might wonder why of all shapes, the biggest office building in the world is a pentagon. The reason is that it wasn't supposed to be built there. It was supposed to be built on this weird-shaped plot of land out by Dulles. It was a hasty construction project during WWII with all sorts of contract weirdness, and the land purchase fell through, so they switched to another site. But it was too late to change the plans for the building, so they built that weird-shaped building in the wrong location. And then later they built 395, which isn't just an awful highway but - with its left and right exits much too close to each other - terribly dangerous.

But it's worse. It goes back further. See, the Pentagon is built on an island.

"But wait!" you say "It's not an island! I can see it on a map!" and you're right, but also wrong. It's right on the delta, so it is - or was - an intertidal island. That is, when the tide is in, it's an island, and when the tide is out, it's a peninsula. but it would be stupid to have such an important building separate by water, so they infilled and it's a peninsula.

And this makes it even weirder. Because the Pentagon is on the Virginia side of the Potomac, but it has a DC address.

And to make sense of that, you have to go even further back. See, the land grant for Maryland extends to the middle of the Potomac river, but for Virginia only reaches the shore of the Potomac. Legally this means the islands in the river are part of Maryland. And this intertidal island was... confusing. There were lawsuits. This also means that further South there is a bridge which goes from Maryland to Virginia, and half of the bridge is technically in DC in spite of neither endpoint of the bridge being in DC.

And, if you know DC, you can see how this is terrifyingly confusing. The Federal District was a square - diamond shape, on the map - ten miles on each side, taken from Virginia and Maryland, straddling the Potomac. After a few decades, because they wanted to sell slaves in Arlington, the land from Virginia was retroceded back. Which, again, caused confusion as they couldn't decide if that intertidal island was in DC or Virginia. Again, there were lawsuits. But the outcome of those lawsuits only decided specific matters and neither fully resolved the underlying issues, nor do they reflect later construction; this has never been fully resolved.

So let me round that up for you.

The Pentagon is a weird building which was put in the wrong place.

It's on an island which is also a peninsula.

It may be in DC, Virginia, or Maryland.

I believe in constructing the Pentagon they broke geometry, and it became a place where Lost Things end up.

You will find yourself in the Pentagon parking lot. This is a truth of the DC area.

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swingsetindecember · 8 months

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quebec's language laws have protected quebec in a weird way from late stage capitalism. by no means to idealize quebec, i just don't see it wildly talked about how a language barrier has stalled capitalism.

i am sure there are socio-economic papers written on this. like because you need to have french contracts, terms of service and signage, a lot of american companies and global conglomerates don't go to quebec. like a lot of businesses just don't exist in quebec compared to the rest of canada. like franchise restaurants. quebec has a lot less franchise restaurants. oh there are a couple but they are like very specific to quebec and also just in the more metropolitan areas. usually in suburbs you don't have a lot of franchise restaurants.

this is also sweepstakes. because in quebec a mail in entry is required for any sweepstakes. you don't have to buy the product. also a lot of brands need to have their labels in french so a lot of products just don't get to quebec market

also a lot of the population wants to be serviced in french so they prefer quebec companies. this is why there are quebec specific internet and telephone companies. bootlegging is wild popular because there was usually a lag before you could get english content because they needed to make the french dub.

its also why movie rental stores stayed open for a long time in quebec because they catered to french language dubbed movies. like blockbuster did come to quebec but it didn't have the same chokehold on the market. like i rarely went to blockbuster growing up, there were 3 local video rental places that had more titles than blockbuster because the blockbuster business model didn't appeal to quebec residents. especially if you wanted to rent french versions of video games.

anyway, just interesting to think about

#i hate franchises and monopolies #canada #quebec #i remember before couche tard ruined depanneurs there was a dep that had the best juice #i miss depanneur perrette to this day

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stevethehairington · 1 year

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i watched a movie last night about this couple that goes on a hiking/camping trip and on their way to the site they stop at this little roadside restaurant called "bigfoot's burger shack" and my brain immediately went omg but what if wayne and eddie owned a little diner off the side of the road on the way to a forest famous for "bigfoot sightings" and their restaurant was like totally cryptid themed. and then my brain spiralled...

it's dustin's birthday and he's in his cryptid era right now, so of course he is desperate to visit the forest best known for having the most bigfoot sightings.

robin is just as interested in cryptids as dutsin is (she's not a full blown conspiracy theorist or anything but she DOES get wildly entertained by them, and she loves to read up on them even if she doesn't necessarily believe/agree with some of them).

and because robin and dustin are so into it, steve gets roped along. although, is it getting roped along if you're the one that offers to drive and also plan the whole camping trip while you're at it? (plus, hey, steve's curious too.)

so steve robin and dustin head out to "bigfoot forest" or whatever fun name the locals and tourists alike have given it.

on the drive there they pass this little diner on the outskirts of the nearby town and decide to stop for a bite to eat before they finish the last stretch of the drive to the campsite. this place is one of those like cozy diner style places that's full of like locally handcarved furnishings and every square inch of the walls is covered in framed photographs and various signage and knick knacks of all kinds. except this place has fully capitalized on the nearby forest, because it's basically like a cryptid cafe - those photos on the wall are various "bigfoot sightings" and newspaper articles and clippings about bigfoot and other various cryptids. it's fun and it's very clearly a good business model lol.

this place, of course, is owned and operated by none other than wayne and eddie munson.

(i'm thinking the place is maybe called "benny's bigfoot buffet" and they took it over for benny hammond after he either died or mysteriously disappeared or just moved on.)

but anyways, steve robin and dustin stop there for lunch and they meet eddie and wayne and they all get to chatting and blah blah. eddie and wayne tell them plenty of stories of sightings - both ones they've heard from other people as well as their own (because of course they're believers).

eventually, steve robin and dustin have to leave because it's getting later and they want to make it to the campsite before it gets dark so they can set up.

blah blah blah. the first night is relatively normal, they hear some sounds and steve teases robin about it being bigfoot, and dustin gets excited about that. but they make it through the night. the next day they explore a bit. then when night falls, weird things happen. more sounds, only closer, louder, and they sound... like something. like an animal, like a creature. dustin and robin obviously go bigfoot but steve isn't so convinced. but then dustin runs out of the tent because he wants to try to get a photo or something and steve and robin chase after him and. and. annnnnnd.

he goes missing.

steve and robin comb the forest that night calling for dustin, searching for him. they don't find him though. but steve sees something. he sees bigfoot. (or what he is absolutely convinced is bigfoot now.)

they head to the munson's diner so they can use their phone to call the local police, and hopper callahan and powell roll up onto the scene and ask what happened and steve and robin tell them, and at first steve doesn't want to tell them about what he thinks he saw because he knows how that's going to play out. they're going to think he's crazy. but robin convinces him to maybe? or maybe she just tells them herself. but, as expected, they laugh at that. they tell them that bigfoot isn't real. blah blah.

of course, during all of this eddie and wayne were listening, they heard it all. and after hopper and co talk to them, eddie corners steve and is like tell me what you saw and there's something about him that makes steve feel like safe almost? like he can tell eddie and he won't laugh like the cops, he won't judge steve, he won't call him crazy. so he tells eddie and eddie looks spooked, but also excited and he tells steve yeah. that sounds like bigfoot.

and blah blah they end up taking things into their own hands and doing the investigating themselves, steve robin and eddie. (maybe they call in some reinforcements in the form of eddie's friends from town? local journalist nancy wheeler, photographer jonathan byers, max mayfield, fellow cryptid enthusiast)

and i literally have not thought of anything past this or what actually happened to dustin or how they find him or if bigfoot is actually real in this or if they end up unconvering some huge government conspiracy instead or something lmaoo. but yeahhhhhhh. oh and also ofc steddie happens along the way lol.

just. cryptids. bigfoot. spoooooooky. pacific northwest forest vibes. appalachian munsons. yeahhhhhh.

#steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #robin buckley #dustin henderson #wayne munson #stranger things #mack writes #im in my cryptid era #no plot just vibes rn but is this something

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miasmaghoul · 5 months

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honestly something i’d absolutely love to see in your style of writing would be mountain and one of the other ghouls having a relaxing day potting plants in the greenhouse :) maybe they’re talking about something deep, maybe they’re exchanging gossip, maybe they’re working in comfortable silence, but whatever it is, they’re having fun, they’re soft and chaste, and they’re so so in love <3

yes uh huh yep absolutely lets go

soft boys below the cut

Dew sways in place, humming a tune to complement the raindrops pattering against the glass walls surrounding him. A springtime sunshower that makes him feel refreshed, makes his skin buzz and his gills flutter. He's tempted to sneak away, just long enough to get his fins damp and his hair frizzy, but it's a fleeting thought.

Dew's tail swishes aimlessly on the ground, stirs up fallen leaves and withered petals. The result of one of Mountain's seasonal repotting days, of hours spent pruning and stripping and checking for root rot. Of lugging around countless pots and sacks of dirt and the putrid fertilizer Mountain swears by. It's lousy work, really. Delicate but backbreaking, especially for a ghoul of smaller stature. Exhausting.

Dew's been here since just after sunup, and there's nowhere else he'd rather be.

It's been hours now, the sun hanging high where it peeks through the rainclouds. He has at least six different kinds of soil caked under his nails and streaked across his face, muddy smears covering both his apron and the garbage pair of jeans he'd yanked on this morning. They're more stain than denim at this point, and Dew wears them exactly four times a year. The little ghoul stretches his arms over his head and relishes the way his spine pops.

He's sore all over, truth be told, but it's a kind of good sore. The kind that comes from manual labor, from hard work and dedication. Dew catalogs the places he'll need to ask Aether to rub later, a little quintessence analgesic that he'll definitely have earned; his shoulders for sure, they're starting to crunch when he rolls them. His fingers too, Dew knows his knuckles will be all swollen up otherwise. Probably his legs and feet as well, but that would be better saved for -

"I'm back."

Dew's ears perk up when a deep voice calls from across the greenhouse, accompanied by the telltale squeal of the heavy glass door. Booted footsteps follow, wet soles squeaking against dirty concrete, and Dew hops off the stool he's been perched on just in time for Mountain to round a nearby pallet of exotic ferns.

"Don't get up on my accout," he chuckles, smoothing wind-mussed hair back between his antlers. Dew can just barely see misty droplets clinging to those auburn strands. "Besides," Mountain adds, holding up a paper bag, "I brought you lunch, and you don't want to eat standing up."

Dew's stomach growls mightily the moment he says it, loud enough that they both look down at it.

"Good timing," he says, poking at his belly. Dew hops back up onto his seat and scoots it closer to the filthy bench he's been working on. "Any longer and I might have started consuming things with no regard for signage."

Mountain laughs, but it's true. Dew hasn't eaten anything since he and Mountain found each other in the kitchen this morning. Even that wasn't much, a couple pieces of toast and a container of some weird coconut yogurt he'd found on the bottom shelf of the fridge.

Dew has these four days memorized at this point - three days before a solstice or three days after an equinox - but Mountain still always seems surprised to see him stroll into the common room in his work boots and crusty jeans. Dew supposes that has something to do with the fact that he usually sleeps until at least noon, but that's neither here nor there.

"Wouldn't recommend that," Mountain rumbles, setting the bag on the table for Dew to pounce on. "Last time Ifrit did that I couldn't keep him off me for a week."

"Woe is you, " Dew laments, collecting his prize. "I'm sure you suffered, what with his huge dick and endless stamina."

"It was a struggle like no other," Mountain deadpans, slipping his apron back over his head. He'd hosed it off before Terzo had called him for an unexpected meeting, and Dew had taken the liberty of pulling the moisture from it while he was gone. Left it in dark stains on the floor below instead. "I smelled like him for two weeks."

Dew snickers, opening up the bag. Pulling out a hefty container that's still warm to the touch and a real fork. There's a drink in there too, a bottle of coffee in Dew’s preferred mocha, and a paper-wrapped fruit pie the size of his hand. He looks up at Mountain with a quirked brow.

"What's all this?" Mountain tips his head while he secures his apron, makes a questioning sound. "You said lunch, I figured I'd have a sandwich or something. This is like," Dew gestures vaguely, "this is a whole thing."

Mountain shrugs, rolls up his sleeves. Dew definitely doesn't stare at his forearms for the second or two it takes to open the container. For the smell of it to hit him - roasted salmon with creamy polenta, along with a small pile of green beans flecked with garlic and lemon zest. His mouth waters immediately, and his stomach gives another loud complaint. Dew grabs his fork and gathers up an oversized bite, and it's halfway to his mouth when Mountain answers.

"I stopped by the mess after my meeting," he explains with a casual shrug. "Got there at the right time, I guess."

Dew freezes mid-bite, looks over at Mountain with his mouth still hanging open. He's in the middle of hauling pots onto his own bench, a cart of miniature rose bushes in the process of being repotted sitting beside it.

"You went to the mess?"

It's a well known fact that Mountain can't stand the parts of the abbey that attract swaths of humanity - it takes real effort to even get him to attend mass - and Dew can't imagine him braving the mess hall on his own. Again, Mountain shrugs.

"It was on the way back from Terzo's office," he offers, collecting a bush from the cart. Setting it on his worktable and brushing a few stray leaves to the ground. "You've been working hard, you deserve real food."

Dew's face goes unbearably warm, but he doesn't argue.

"Thank you," he murmurs instead, soft but genuine.

Honest.

Mountain's tail sways up to pat at his arm in response, the tufted end ticklish against his exposed forearm. Dew finally pops that forkful of food into his mouth, and the taste of it is exquisite. He groans, his eyes fall shut, his shoulders curl, the whole shebang. Surely an overreaction, but in fairness he's really hungry.

"Fuckin' hells, that's good," Dew sighs, popping a green bean into his mouth. "Say what you will about Sister Agata, but that old broad makes damn good food."

Mountain scoffs, shoots him a dramatic, offended look.

"Better than mine?"

Dew snorts, shoveling another mouthful of polenta. He makes a wavy gesture with his hand, a silent ehhh, maybe that Mountain responds to with a shocked gasp. Dew rolls his eyes, flicks his tail at Mountain's calf.

"'Course not," Dew assures him, spearing a bean on each tine of his fork. He gives the other ghoul a wink. "No one burns popcorn like you, Mount."

The end of Mountain’s tail whacks the back of his head, right above the knot he's tied his hair into. Dew waves it off, but makes a happy little sound when that tail settles on his thigh instead.

They fall into comfortable silence, Dew watching Mountain unearth a bush from its home and set it on his table. Munching away while he follows the way Mountain starts gentling its roots apart, spreading them out to better suit the large pot at his feet. No matter how often Dew does this, he can never get enough of seeing the way Mountain gets lost in his element.

If Mountain were anyone else, Dew would've asked where his lunch was, why he was eating alone. But there would be no point; Mountain has a certain philosophy when it comes to food, something that must have come ingrained in his vessel. He believes in only eating what he grows or catches himself - be it fish from the lake and streams, animals from the forest or even the odd, wandering sibling. He wouldn't eat mess hall food if it were the last thing Above.

Plus Dew's pretty sure he can photosynthesize, so there's that too.

Dew polishes off his meal quickly, while he watches flowering vines curl their way up Mountain's antlers. Speckled with tiny pale blue blossoms that Dew knows match his eyes. He's quiet, but his lips are moving like he's speaking to the plant in his hands. Dew imagines him encouraging it, coaxing life back into any fading roots. He's tossing back the last of his coffee by the time Mountain's hoisting the new pot onto the workbench, already lined with rich, black soil that will keep that little rosebush happy for months to come.

"What color will that one be?"

Full and re-energized, Dew slides from his seat and sidles up beside Mountain, observing the way he meticulously shake the old dirt from that mess of roots.

"Pink, supposedly," he mutters, brow gently furrowed. "That's what the label said, at least. Hard to know with these, though. Ivy did a lot of crossbreeding in her younger years. These could be black for all I know."

Mountain settles the little bush into its new home, carefully aerating the new earth with nimble fingers. Dew reaches forward out of habit, helps to redistribute that soft dirt and get those roots covered up nice and snug.

"I hope they're white," Dew chimes in, focused only on the task at hand. "The white ones are my favorite."

"And Zephyr's," Mountain hums, tapping the back of Dew's hand when he's happy with the plant job. Dew pulls back obediently, gives Mountain the space to fluff up its leaves. "Guess we'll just have to wait and see."

"Guess so," Dew sighs, leaning his elbows on the table while Mountain adds a layer of topsoil to the pot. "My turn now?"

"If you'd like," Mountain offers, standing back. "Unless you want to wait until they're all potted first."

"Nah," Dew straightens, cracks his knuckles, "I already walked all the way over here, might as well."

Mountain laughs, a brief but rich sound that Dew treasures every time he hears it. Dew extends his hand, takes a deep breath through his nose and exhales between his fangs. The tips of his fingers tingle, cool in the temperate heat of the greenhouse.

"Soil or leaves?"

"Both," Mountain replies, and with a nod Dew twists his wrist.

This is his favorite part, of course. When it comes time for the watering, for Dew to make himself useful and earn a pat between the horns for his efforts. He holds a flat palm towards the bush and manipulates the moisture hanging around them - in the air, consensed on the glass walls, even the few droplets still clinging Mountain's hair. Channels it all into a fine mist that he's sure to apply to every last leaf and burgeoning bud. Dew hums to himself while he works, cupping his hands once he's happy with his coverage and letting the water fill his palms instead.

"There," he says, pleased, pouring a few modest handfuls into thirtsty soil. "Good enough?"

Dew steps back so Mountain can check his work. He wipes both hands on his apron, smears around the caked on dirt that'll take a chisel to remove by the time the day is done. Mountain rumbles his approval after a moment, and Dew preens from the sound alone.

"Very well done," he lilts, and Dew rolls up onto the balls of his feet just in time to meet Mountain's hand. It rests perfectly between his mother-of-pearl horns, ruffling the loose hairs that have escaped their ties. Dew purrs, Mountain chuckles, and they part once more.

"One down," Dew says, peeking around Mountain at the remaining plants on the cart. "How many to go?"

"Eight," Mountain replies easily, already hoisting the next bush up to work on. "Of these, at least. I think the new guy is almost done racking the orchids, so those will be next."

Mountain looks at him from the corner of his eye, like he's waiting for Dew to complain. To whine about this taking too long, or that it's too boring. The look he gives him every time Dew volunteers to help him with this. Dew gives him a fang-filled smile instead.

"Sounds good," he says easily, striding back to his own work station. "I'm here as long as you want me, big guy."

Mountain chuffs, eyes sparkling. Dew can't believe how much more obvious the gold flecks in his emerald irises stand out on these days. He looks so...whole. Mountain's fingers dance over what will one day be a rose, now just a green bud, and Dew doesn't miss the way his ear flicks.

"Hey, Dew?" His voice carries something deep, something real.

"Yeah?"

There's a long beat of silence, and all Dew can hear are fading raindrops. The sun's getting brighter now, fewer clouds to hide behind. He can see Mountain’s freckles in the warm light, and the streak of copper in his hair. Then,

"I'm...really glad you're here."

Everything around them seems to soften. Dew smiles, unabashed and open, his tail drifting over to tangle with Mountain's just because he can. He huffs our a deeply amused laugh, staring down at his tabletop to hide the way his cheeks flush. Force of habit.

"Nowhere else I'd rather be," he replies, easy as anything, and he really hopes Mountain believes it. "Now gimme something to pot, my fingers are gettin' itchy."

Mountain snorts, shakes his head, but doesn't hesitate to grab another bush and a pot, depositing them on Dew's table. Dew busies himself scooping fresh dirt into the terracotta vessel while Mountain checks the plant for anything that requires pruning.

"This one's even supposed to be white," he says, not missing the way Dew perks up at the words. "Take good care of it, yeah?"

He will, of course. And in a few months, when these plants are hale and hearty and flush with springtime blooms, a bouquet of them will appear in Dew's room. Perfectly trimmed and never wilting, wrapped in silky green ribbon that Dew will save in a secret place behind his sock drawer.

For now, Mountain returns to his own table, and together they work. The silence doesn't last nearly as long this time, broken by Mountain humming a folksy tune that Dew has heard enough times to harmonize with. So he does, the sound bouncing around them and accompanied by the gentle rustle of leaves swaying in a nonexistent breeze. The plants singing with them, Dew thinks. Peaceful.

Soon enough, one of them will speak again. Will break up the monotony with talk of music or recent happenings, or maybe even indulge in a little gossip regarding Terzo's newest summon. He's a hybrid, Dew heard, fire and earth and supposedly just enough quintessence to make him a Problem. Dew wonders if that's what Mountain's meeting was about, but he doesn't ask. Not yet.

For now, all he needs is this.

#miasma's work #the band ghost fic #this is too long to be a ficlet lmao #mountain ghoul #dewdrop ghoul #water!dew #how do i tag this idk #im not reading before posting so if you see mistakes #no you didnt

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just-some-random-blogger · 1 year

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can i have a fluff where the reader realizes that morpheus has turned into a cat (because he likes to adopt that form from time to time in his room) and instead of freaking out like he expected, she immediately cuddles up to him because she's a cat lover and she starts hugging and kissing him, plus if she also gives him the nickname of meowpheus

Please?

Hello There!

Dream of the Endless x Reader

Summary: "I LOVE CATS" -you (also me)

Word Count: >700

Warnings: kitty meow meow dream (real), touch deprived!dream, gender neutral!reader, fluff, typos, etc.

A/N: MEOWPHEUS T_T omg that's so cute <3 thank you for this req. i did change a detail tho, i hope you like it still <3 also i totally agree that if dream where a cat, he'd be a big mainecoon 10000% Tagging: @pinksirensong @deniixlovezelda @shadow-pancake9

"You do know instead of spying on like a creep-"

"I'm not spying, I am observing."

"... like a creep! You could just go and-"

Matthew croaks from the top of the signage when the door flies open.

I huff as I throw my trash into the dumpster. I then look out into the damp street, glistening under the shine of the streetlights. I call out to the kitties I usually feed at this time, though I knew they probably wouldn't come, cause it had just rained a few moments ago.

But then, I spot the large cat, walking over to me with purpose.

"Great Scott, you are a big one!" I gasp.

The black cat is unfazed, continuing to walk over.

"You hungry, kitty cat?" I bend down slightly, trying to see if the kitty had a collar, but to no avail. I half expect the cat to meow at me. No, there was only silence.

There was something oddly familiar about this cat, perhaps the cutie belongs to my neighbor? Nah... that's not it. I just couldn't put my finger on it.

Matthew watches from the signage on the other side of the street, wondering why Dream hasn't spoken yet, but then again, this is the first time he's come in his cat form. Maybe he's got sense not to freak the living ghost out of-

I squeal, making the black cat reel back. I crouch to my knees, "shit, sorry, you're just so fluffy and cute. GAH!" I sigh, slowly coming over to the creature, "you must be super hungry."

I reach out to the feline, to my surprise, I am met with a cheek rubbing against my hand. My heart explodes at the cuteness, "okay, okay, gimme a sec."

Dream watches his lover run into the back door.

"Here!" I say once I come back out with a can of opened cat food. I put the object down, crouching a few feet away from the feline. The kitty walks over to me in caution, sniffing at the food before reeling back and looking at me in disgust.

I scoff, "tough crowd. You must be a prissy house cat," I get to my feet, "no matter, the strays will come and eat this if you don't want to."

A shiver runs down my spine when I think I hear a voice whisper out 'you are a kind soul'.

I shake my body, "weird."

The black cat sits and observes me as I call out for the stray cats.

The next moment, they are upon me, meowing for food, rubbing against my leg for cuddles.

"Hello there, cuties!" I say, as three cats swarm over, eagerly heading for the food.

I bring out two more cans of cat food and pour out some kibble on the street for them as well. At one point, there are a total of six cats in front of me. The black furred cat only watches the 5 when they eat. I make a face at the creature, "how very cat of you."

For a moment, there is only the sound of cats eating.

Much like her ritual, a kitty, I called Ruby, comes up to me after eating and rubs against my leg. I coo and pick her up, offering some cuddles to her, uncaring that she was a stray, "hey there, pretty girl. I'm glad you came to pay your dues."

I look out to the cats, "y'all, take notes!"

The next moment, I hear a deep meow, laced with purrs, and I turn down and see the black cat staring up at me with wide, blue eyes.

I snort, putting Ruby down, narrowing my eyes at the seemingly jealous kitty, scratching lightly at my pants. I crouch next to it, "you just wanted cuddles, now, did you?"

The cat stands, pressing paws on my shoulder, rubbing their head against my face, taking me off-guard. I nearly fall on my butt when I reel back. A string of giggles leave my lips, "okay, okay, I get it!"

I gather the kitty into my arms with a grunt. He is so large that it actually takes some strength to carry him. I huff, "what a big, healthy boy!"

I squeeze him tighter into my arms, both because he was so fluffy and soft, and because I was afraid I might drop him.

His purrs are so deep and loud, I can feel them echoing in my body.

"You know... you kind of remind me of my boyfriend," I casually say.

A genius thought comes into my mind.

"I'll call your Morpheus!" I smile, "MEOWPHEUS!" I cheer, rocking him in my arms, "HOMAYGOSH, I cannot wait to show you to him!"

#dream of the endless fanfic #dream of the endless fluff #the sandman fanfic #the sandman fluff #the sandman x reader #dream of the endless smut #morpheus fluff #the sandman x you #dream x you #dream fanfic #dream of the endless x reader #dream of the endless x you #morpheus x reader #morpheus x you

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why-animals-do-the-thing · 1 year

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What do you look for/ ask about when you visit a zoo? Is an AZA accreditation a guarantee of a zoo being good?

At this point, I don't take any accreditation as a sign that a zoo or sanctuary is good or bad. I've seen too many issues at AZA zoos and enough stellar unaccredited places to make any blanket judgement.

Here's some of what I look at to decide how I feel about a place:

Are the habitats in good repair? Is there visible deterioration in the habitat furniture, water damage, etc? Are there issues like exposed heating elements that could hurt an animal? Are exclusion barriers around heating elements or staff access well-built and secure?

Have things been recently cleaned? (Obviously, some animals poop in their water elements the second they're let back on habitat after cleaning - so this is more looking at stuff that's more than a day old, like visibly rotting/stepped in food).

Is the age/activity level of the animals appropriate for the habitats they're in? This one can take a bit of asking to find out, but it matters when places have older construction. Some of the outdated exhibit styles with less space to move or climb are fine for geriatric animals, but not for younger, more energetic ones. Facilities can often repurpose old exhibits for different species, too, if they can’t renovate.

Is the messaging and signage consistent with the ethos of the facility? Is the signage correct? If things are older I can forgive minor errors or outdated info because that stuff is expensive to replace, but new signs should be accurate. Also, if things are incorrect, what's the topic? An error about habitat range is one thing, a sign misleading guests about USDA regulations is another.

Are they doing animal encounters, and if so, how are they set up? Are they voluntary? Are they safe for both the people and animals?

Do I generally feel safe / welcome at the facility? This can be based on things like cleanliness, fence height, general vibe. I've been to places that just don't feel like they want to be a zoo, or want guests, and it was weird AF.

Are animals that are visibly injured or sick under veterinary care? Is it being messaged about transparently?

Are they taking appropriate COVID precautions around susceptible species? (This one is hard lately because IMHO I've seen mayyybe one zoo reliably making staff wear N95s around cats and primates.)

Are the safety precautions appropriate? Are there easy places where guests could contact animals that haven't been addressed? Are spots where people frequently try to reach out to fencing retrofitted or staffed to prevent it?

As you can see, I'm generally looking at how a place functions. There's no specific lines about it something is good or bad - I try to evaluate situations and look at how a zoo is (or isn't) addressing it. The reality is that not every facility has the money to emulate the aesthetics of the big legacy AZA zoos, and so you may see chain fencing or unpainted concrete. As long as it's safe and functional and the animal welfare is good, that's what matters. Renovations cost money. Signage costs money. Places always have to juggle what to prioritize, and big donations are often earmarked for specific projects or species. So for me it sort of boils down to "what are they doing, why, and how" plus a general vibe check.

#zoos #sanctuaries #zoo industry

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eilwen · 10 months

Text

Visiting the Dragon's Nest District

Most cities and towns in No Man's Land have been similar in appearance, with a ship or a portion of a ship watching over its people. However, in Ryutsu, where many things happen, the ship is not the only structure that dominates the landscape.

I wanted to do a dive into the city, what inspired it (and speculate on some of the visuals) and what we can potentially understand about No Man's Land.

Some spoilers for Vol. 4 and 5. Also, this is long.

Even without the baos and wonton-fonts on signage, Ryutsu visually does not match with other cities in No Man's Land. It’s not just the citadel which can be seen from afar, but it’s also the crammed housing and confusing architecture. The tone of Vol. 4 shifts and leans towards neo-noir. As this arc's villains move into the city, Hoppered says: "This place is truly the bottom of the dark. [...] We'll walk into a place where the light does not enter." These lines may not be literal but it certainly brings ideas of seedy places. They move through pitch black and eventually…

The big showdown happens at the city's main feature: the Dragon’s Nest District - an area that brings up memories of the old Kowloon Walled City in Hong Kong. No Man's Land is a sparsely populated planet, yet for whatever reason, people have sardined themselves into this city and into this district.

Kowloon Walled City had been called ‘City of Darkness’ and it was possible to move through the city without ever seeing daylight. It carries a bit of romantised nostalgia because of its weird part in Hong Kong colonial history, its uncontrolled and chaotic construction, and its lawlessness (though apparently the ungoverned city was tight-knit and communal). The city became a source of inspiration for a lot of media, but not many films were shot in the city itself. Those that I had seen tended to use the city as a 'cool film location' so apart from the examples below, there aren't many I know to recommend (happy to take suggestions for films I may have missed).

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Clip from Bloodsport (Arnold, 1988)

"No joke, man. It's a random piece of No Man's Land in the middle of a tourist paradise. It goes way back to the old lease agreement between Great Britain and China. Once you step out of the sunlight into the narrow corridors, it's time to protect your nuts, guys."

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Clip from Crime Story (Wong, 1993). This is the climax of the film, which featured actual explosions from Kowloon's demolition, according to its wiki page.

Off the top of my head, good fiction film substitutes (unrelated and unlike Trigun/Trimax) which more illustrate what life might have been like in these places, may be films like Wong Kar Wai's Fallen Angels (1995) and Chungking Express (1994) - though these films take place at the Chungking Mansions, Kowloon Walled City's more modern cousin. I thought of Wong's films because he treated the mansions as a character more than as a location. His films showed examples of immense density, globalisation, and a bit of that noir crime stuff within small and unusually intimate spaces. They also reflected Hong Kong's complicated anxiety as the city was approaching its handover from British to Chinese rule.

Panel from Vol. 4 Ch. 7; Screencap from Chungking Express (Wong, 1994).

To talk more about Hong Kong cinema itself would be much longer than a tumblr post but if Nightow is connected with Rodriguez's films via Desperado (1995), Rodriguez and his collaborative friend Tarantino are connected with Hong Kong films from those like John Woo and Ringo Lam. One example: Mexican standoffs are tropes used in various films, but we see them frequently enough in Tarantino's films and in Hong Kong action cinema that it becomes noteworthy.

Panel from Vol. 5 Ch. 3

Panel from Vol. 5 Ch. 5

Kowloon Walled City which was demolished in 1993, was visually ‘resurrected’ as Ryutsu's Dragon's Nest. Kowloon Walled City was not a city that just looked interesting. It was an agreement between China and Great Britain that was then kind of weirdly botched, thus leaving it pretty much ungoverned. Trimax Vol. 4 was released in 2000, three years after Hong Kong's handover from Britain to China. We don’t get Ryutsu’s history and with the multiple panels of silhouetted buildings against the night sky and hanging laundry in balconies, Ryutsu’s citadel falls into the 'cool manga location' category. Also, I should be clear: these chapters in Trimax are not an analysis or an allegory of Hong Kong's colonial history.

Panel from Vol. 4 Ch. 4; Photo of Kowloon Walled City's alleyway from wiki article.

At the same time, many eyes, including those outside of Great Britain and China, were on the news when the handover occurred. The point is not if Nightow was considering that historic moment or if he happened to be watching Hong Kong films when he was working on these chapters. Instead, I wonder if readers, when they picked up these volumes from the bookshelves, had thought about Hong Kong, Hong Kong’s movies, and Hong Kong’s past and uncertain future, as they were skimming through the pages. But you know… this is 2023 me thinking about 23 years ago. All of this is daydreaming.

I bring up Hong Kong's history and cinema because I wanted to see what I can envision and interpret about Ryutsu and thus about No Man's Land. If Hong Kong via cinema brings imaginations of transnationalism then Ryutsu via Vol. 4 and 5 could do the same for No Man's Land.

There is no literal ocean to divide cities and there are no named countries. There is a broad ‘Federal Government’, so I assume that means the government concerns itself with all settlements in the entire planet. If Ryutsu itself is No Man’s Land’s ‘Hong Kong’ (which opens another discussion of the use and/or misuse of Hong Kong in media - some other time), then despite No Man’s Land being an incredible dystopia, the elimination of borders is, very plainly, very interesting. I am leaning to this being a good thing, considering that one major problem in No Man’s Land tends to be ‘Humans vs. X’ (plants, worms, the planet’s environment etc.). Also, No Man’s Land is already very sparse. No spoilers for later volumes but I am curious about the planet’s future if the population demographic changes.

Panel from Vol. 4 Ch. 4. Western and Eastern hats in the same panel.

There are also thoughts about its class struggles. Vash says in Vol. 4 Ch. 4: "There are too many people here. I don't like it. The lower and upper class all cramped together." ... which really made me think about the conditions the upper class were living in. Kowloon Walled City was known to be unhygienic, dark and cramped and the wealthy did not live there, so how rough was it to live in Ryutsu when a rich person might still need to live in the citadel? I didn't interpret Vash's statement to mean 'citadel plus those outside of it' when the high stakes in these volumes were because of the high density and maze-like streets.

Panels from Vol. 4 Ch. 6; Ch. 7; Ch. 7.

The above panels remind me of establishing shots in gritty crime thrillers than the sci-fi western I had been reading up to this point.

Featured is the Juukei Building - a building that looks pulled from the 20th century. It is tall, drawn sometimes in narrow panels to emphasize its height and to show how small the characters are in the claustrophobic space as they navigate towards it. As characters move through the structure once inside, it becomes more difficult to tell where in the building they are or if they are somewhere adjacent. Combining historical and futuristic designs in Trigun/Trimax isn't new, but it's not often you see 20th century structures. Maybe wealthier residents lived in buildings like this, though the interiors of Juukei look like abandoned offices.

Panel from Vol. 5 Ch. 3.

Or maybe this was meant to be a mixed-use building? But it seems the entire building is abandoned anyway.... So I'm not sure where the upper class is supposed to live or how I should imagine the upper class to be.

Panel from Vol 5. Ch 6.

... After the end of the battle, once morning comes, we no longer see the citadel. The landscapes return to those reminiscent of American Southwestern deserts. Like we dipped into darkness then we returned to the light.

Anyone who knows about Kowloon Walled City would instantly recognise it in Trimax. The imitative Ryutsu Citadel could be read as a cool manga location where a massive shootout plus some serious revelations occur, but I personally am always interested in what else a location can do. It matters if you set a film in New York City versus a nameless location and how you visually convey that city because it can tell us about its people and helps us understand its characters. So to me, I thought it would be fun to look at certain locations in Trimax (with all of Nightow's free-form inconsistencies and confusions) and imagine or interpret what they can tell us about No Man's Land and by extension, the people in No Man's Land.

Other fun facts include: "[...] Japan, in particular, developed a keen interest towards Kowloon. Its demolition in 1993 was broadcast on national television."

#trigun maximum #trimax vol 4 #trimax vol 5 #trigunbookclub #kowloon walled city #hong kong #idle thoughts #this got out of control #also tumblr is a terrible platform for long-form rambling #absolute nightmare

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