Tow-hee, tow-hee

Art blog: @californiatowhee | AO3: @citsiurtlanu | Non-reblog tag: Mine Call me Lanu! 30+ aroace AAPI birder. What's here? Phoenix & Edgeworth, Steve & Tony, and hella birds. (I was on hiatus from roughly 2021-2023 so I am sorry if you tried to contact me during that time!!)

[adirtnap]

you've all seen Listers, right? the self-published youtube documentary? about writing down the birds that you look at?

it's subtitled "A Glimpse Into Extreme Birdwatching," an inaccurately voyeuristic title, because the glimpse is at Themselves.

two unemployed brothers (one an unemployed videographer, one nonspecifically unemployed who has a ferocious new interest in birds) decide: firstly, they are now birders. secondly, to start their birding adventure in a maximalist way by doing A For-Real Big Year.

what's a Big Year? they don't know, they just heard of it now. oh, what's that? they're going and seeing the greatest number of birds from Jan 1 to Dec 31 in the lower 48 by way of their shitass van. they also have about my own exact knowledge of birds, which is: there are bald eagles, great blue herons, crows, and a lot of small brown birds which are all called "sparrows."

a youtube comment correctly remarks that it's like watching oldschool skating videos, where you got maybe 480p of the finally-stomped kickflip down the stairwell, but the joy isn't in that, it's of the camera following the guy as he jumps into the bushes with three cheering friends. they are uniquely new to birding AND uniquely good at cinematography.

the documentary works because These Guys Love Birds. they love birds so much. they are signing up to rare-bird-sighting email lists. they are taking hour-long detours to find a kind of grackle that they later learn lives in every single gas station dumpster they've passed. they're interviewing just about everyone they come across, from award-winning birders to a guy walking down a freeway. they have an instinct for jon bois style stupid-but-emotional bits—they are calling every defunct bird hotline in old birding guides to see if any of them can give them a tip about a local bird; or to see if any of them are still connected at all. they are making fun of quails.

this all works WELL. it is beautiful wildlife cinematography cut with handheld camcorder-quality ski bum video. it is what documentary is for.

[avengerscompound]

Tony Stark

MARVEL RIVALS

[doodlingbees]

wait for me

[nobodysuspectsthebutterfly]

And they were roommates...

[great-and-small]

We’re gonna getcha

[ashcremated]

motivational words from the yuan ming dinasty blorbos to brighten your day <3

[citsiurtlanu]

Questions for friendsssss!

1) What's your favorite Ghibli movie?

2) What was your favorite childhood book series?

3) What is your dream pet?

4) What's your #1 bucket list travel destination?

5) Where would you rather spend a week - cabin in the woods or beach house?

oh fun!! ho ho. ok let's see

1) i will be shunned for this but the only ghibli movie i've ever seen is, uh, grave of the fireflies……. which i do not ever want to rewatch so "favorite" would be a hard word to use on it alksj;ladsjf

2) the shannara series by terry brooks!! sometimes i think about rereading them to see how they hold up and then i think about my other childhood faves fared and i get scared to lol. maybe someday

3) rabbit <3 cute af and relatively easy to take care of. (realistically though probably no pet at all - i don't own a car so it would be hard to take care of it during an emergency)

4) antarctica but even ignoring cost i don't know if i could ignore the environmental downsides uhuhu

5) beach house 'cause that's a biome i have less exposure to so… greater chance of seeing new birds LOL

waaa thanks for asking <3

[maythe4th]

ANDOR SEASON 2 OFFICIAL TRAILER

[longingforrotkehlchen]

Oh, dear spherical Rotkehlchen! Bereft of speech you leave me every time.

Rotkehlchen (European robin) im Pfaffenwald, Vaihingen.

[makaira-art]

Uhm happy (unofficial) klapollo day! Here is a mini comic I made 💜❤️

“After all…”

“… Evidence is everything in court.”

Dual Destinies “Turnabout for Tomorrow” What-If scene. Perhaps a bit too edgy for Apollo, but I thought the concept was compelling! He gets shelved a lot in his own “trilogy” so he can have whatever he wants

[thingsonwalnut]

blue plastic game piece

[cottoncandylesbo]

life tip: sometimes there's a bird outside & you can look at it

[stiffyck]

Yes I used to be stony trash how did you know

[californiatowhee]

what do you mean turnabout goodbyes isn't a christmas romcom

(insp: the netflix christmas masterpiece known as hot frosty)

[dirigibleplumbing]

If you're like me, sometimes you need the full text of Civil-War-era Tony's letter to Steve in the event of his death from "What If? Fallen Son" (2009). So here it is in its entirety!

If you notice any typos on my part, please let me know.

I put line breaks wherever the text was broken up, either by being in different sections of a panel or different panels/pages. I preserved the ellipses, though I didn't double them (in many cases a section of text would end in "..." and then the next section would also begin with "..."). I also didn't double up line breaks and ellipses.

Steve, I hope you never have to read this, old friend, because if you do, it means something terrible has happened. It means I'm dead. I suppose it shouldn't come as much of a surprise, really. During my years as Iron Man, I've racked up hundreds of enemies who wanted to do me in… and after recent events, probably a few old friends who feel the same. It's funny, though. I always prided myself on being a futurist--constantly thinking a leap ahead of everyone else. Apparently, that leap wasn't nearly far enough. But this letter is about looking forward--not back. It doesn't matter what killed me. All that matters is what happens next… and the legacy I've left behind. I'm not talking about Iron Man, either. The suit is nothing without the right man inside… and there aren't many I'd trust to pilot. Rhodey. Pepper. Happy. Maybe Jarvis… though he was never really the hero-type. And you, Steve. Whether you believe it or not, I always trusted you. Even during the darkest days--during the war--I never stopped believing in you. No one did. But like I said, this isn't about choosing a new Iron Man. There was a world before him, and there will be one after. This is about my ideas--the plans and inventions that I hoped would make the world a better place. This is about making sure those things don't fall into the wrong hands. I don't even want to imagine the suffering that could cause… That's where you come in it. I need your help, Steve. I need you to keep an eye on things now that I can't anymore--which is a lot to ask, I know, after what I've put you through. Still you're the only one I trust to make certain everything I was working for doesn't fall apart without me… and to ensure that the threats that I wasn't around to predict… don't end up blindsiding us in my absence. Our war may be over, Steve, but we both know that it won't be the last one. When the time comes, the world will still need heroes. And when the fighting is over and history is written… I can only hope that we will be remembered as more than just heroes. I hope that we will be remembered as I will always remember us… As friends.

And the typeface used in the comic is--or is very close to--Lucida Handwriting Light, which used to come free with a lot of Microsoft products.

I also have a rough mock-up of the entire letter.

[veryluckyclovers]

random noise to let you know I love u

[rei-guns]

I love this stupid sweater