Cuckoo - Tumblr Posts
The world biggest cuckoo clock par Frédéric Poirier
@merpmonde we have seen it for real... It was impressive and a really beautiful place to visit The village seems to be something not very extraordinary. We had just crossed it from the Triberg waterfall to here then from here to the world first biggest cuckoo clock some kilometers away. and it was not so inviting too stay more in it.
The world biggest cuckoo clock in action
Located in Triber, Germany It is something really spectacular to see and to visit. Yes it is possible to visit the insides of the cuckoo. At few kilometers from here, there is another cuckoo, the world first biggest cuckoo clock. But we were to late to see and visit it
You may remember hearing about caterpillars tricking predators by mimicking more toxic caterpillars, but biologists in South America have discovered something amazing: a caterpillar that mimics a baby bird. This allows them to ‘flip the script’ and rather than worry about being eaten, they are fed regularly by the Cinereous Mourner whose nests they parasitize.
Diederik cuckoo (Chrysococcyx caprius)
encouraged by @pagesofcursive and spurred on by my own brainrot for my new characters, here’s a short story inspired by a combination of one word september prompts from @nosebleedclub
the words were dead insects, spear, and hero, with cuckoo from here
The shrill cry of infants made it hard for Cuckoo to be heard. At least their cries drowned out the discomfort of the hoard in front of her. That afternoon, Cuckoo had been put in charge of seven children; whether they belonged to her parents or her aunts and uncles, she didn’t know. It didn’t really matter, at this point. They were all her responsibility to keep out of trouble — no getting hurt and no getting in the way. Cuckoo herself should have been looked after at the tender age of five and two thirds, but her unfortunate streak of independence had left her caring for the toddlers.
Sighing with too much world weariness, Cuckoo grabbed a dead beetle from the corner of the room. It was brittle and almost turning to dust in her fingers, its wings papery and shattered. It likely starved to death in a home that had barely enough food for the people living in it, let alone pests. She crammed a tiny twig into one of its claws, wrinkling her nose when the claw broke before trying the other. Unfazed by the sheer grime on the floor, she swept up a pile of dead ants behind the beetle armed with a spear. Directly across from the necromancer general and his hoard of undead soldiers, Cuckoo set up a dragonfly with only three wings. She outfitted the brave warrior with two spears, making it a much more helpful and willing toy combatant.
Cuckoo loosed a piercing whistle, drawing the attention of the smaller children, who were breaking from the listless staring and beginning to wander off. Just in time she began her tale, swooping up the opposing warriors in grimy fists.
“Once upon a time, there was a great but tragic hero facing off against an army that took all his red bean paste…”
Many years later...
Hands cradling the back of Cuckoo’s neck and propping up her head where she lay on the ground, Cuckoo gazed into the middle distance. Her attention shifted to staring up at the insects dancing with motes of sparks on the fire, riding the hot gusts of air. Her companions rested nearby, warmed by the fire. It was quiet, save for the occasional hoot of an owl or rustle of a lizard in grass. Flying near the hypnotic lick of flames, the bugs reminded her of evenings in the mud and fallen spices of her home.
Cuckoo wished she could say she missed it. Her home life was stifling, though, and her talents were wasted in that squalor. She missed the guarantee of love from a family, but what was love compared to glory.
On a quest of her own, fighting battles of her own, Cuckoo wondered. Was she now a hero with beetle wings and a weapon of leaves and twigs?
Falls and Walls
Thank you again to the wonderful @flashfictionfridayofficial for inspiring me again. Welcome to a use of the Humpty Dumpty rhyme for evil! Set in my current wip, in a spliced scene featuring four injuries (probably) and four reactions
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Alex, Ben, and Cuckoo squint in the morning sunlight as they stare up at Maggie. Her boots knock against the wall as she swings her feet. She cocks her head to the side, smirk stealing across her face. If Alex, the tallest among them, reaches up, they would only brush the end of her boot with their fingertips.
“Maggie,” calls Alex, “what are you doing?”
“Getting a good view,” she drawls.
Ben strides around the wall, trying to find a way up. Loudly he says, almost to himself, “And how are you planning on getting down?”
“It’s quite nice up here,” Maggie says blithely. “I wasn’t exactly planning on that anytime soon.”
Snickering to themself, Cuckoo wanders over to their supplies. Out of clear sight of Maggie, they start rummaging around for a rope to help her down when she so chose to. Every good crimminal or acrobat has an route to safety.
A shriek sounds from the wall. Cuckoo, who had been preoccupied, whips up and turns to see Maggie gliding towards the ground. Alex’s hands are clapped around their face and Ben is rushing forwards to break her fall. Maggie herself has her knees bent preemptively to absorb the shock of the landing.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
The ground seems to shake, though this is only felt by Ben; a muffled thump rings out as they collapse from the drop. Air wooshes from his lungs, not from the fall, but from the pain. He looks up, blinking back tears. The others are gathered some distance from him. Cringing, he stretches out his legs. Pain shoots through them, not alleviated by the ground baked to burning by the noon sun. Ahead of him, the group slows, finally noticing his absence. Ben runs trained fingers along his legs, one after the other, meticulous and gentle. Finding a tender spot he lingers on it. Pushing, poking, and finally twisting, they let out a sharp cry. Immediately he bites down on the noise. Cuckoo, Alex, and Maggie don’t seem to notice. Cuckoo is breaking away from the pair, gesturing emphatically in one direction.
Steadying himself with deep breathing, Ben plants one hand, then the other. He pulls his legs under himself and pushes. He gets into a crouch, but the added body weight onto his injured legs makes spots swim before his eyes. They wobble and fall, eyes rolling and ears heating up. Muffled shouts ring out, barely breaking through the haze of pain.
Ben feels hands on him. Voices squabble in panic and frustration. He’s eased into a laying down position. A cool hand is pressed onto his forehead. Blinking tears away again, he sees Maggie’s concerned face peering down at him, the others beside her.
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men
“Alex! What were you thinking?” chides Ben. With Maggie’s help, he pushes Alex into a seated position. He barks at Cuckoo, sending her to retrieve some rocks. “We need to elevate their foot.”
“You didn’t need to do that,” Maggie mutters gently. She taps Alex’s uninjured ankle.
They wrinkle their nose, reaching out a hand to squeeze Maggie’s. Alex asks, “What else was I supposed to do?”
“Look out for yourself! Not throw yourself into danger. Just,” Maggie pauses, sighing deeply. “We worry about you. I worry about you.”
“Duh, you goof,” Cuckoo says, returning laden with large flat rocks. “We care about you.”
Ben stacks the rocks beside their foot. As if handling a baby bird, he picks it up and balances it on the rock. His breath is warm against their ankle as he bends over it, inspecting it. “And if you think otherwise, you’re due for a knock up the head harder than your ankle was hit,” he says, gently stern. Scanning the ground, Ben picks up a thick, sturdy stick. Maggie comes up beside him at his gesture and holds it in place. From his pockets, Ben retrieves bandages and starts wrapping Alex’s ankle, splinting it.
Tears drip down Alex’s cheeks. A smile threatens to split their face in two. Cuckoo bumps their side, mouth turned up to mirror theirs. The afternoon sun turns the pair golden.
“Okay, everyone, back up,” says Ben, having finished his work. The others shuffle away, giving Alex space to stand. Bracing themself on Maggie’s offered hand, they begin to stand.
Couldn’t put Humpty together again.
With a sweeping arm, Cuckoo pushed everyone away as they stumble to their feet.
“Just get away!” they scream, voice rasping.
“No-” Ben shouts back, trying to catch their arm. They shake him off. He falls into pace behind them.
Alex follows. They cry out, “Just wait!”
“Stop!” Maggie chimes in.
But Cuckoo’s feet catch the dirt in a way theirs couldn’t. They zip away from grasping fingers and desperate feet trying to slow them. One hand snakes around their ribs. Pain of many kinds cracks their chest as tears stream from their eyes. For a moment their steps falter, allowing Alex and Ben to begin to catch up. Maggie has already fallen behind, shorter legs and weaker stamina slowing her to a stop. Dust flies in their wake as Cuckoo finds their footing again. Even to Ben’s critical eye, their limp is barely noticeable. Alex’s foot catches on a rock and they crash to the ground. Skidding to a stop, Ben almost falls too. His heart aches, torn between loved ones. The distance between him and Cuckoo stretches as they arc up a hill, darting between shrubs. He can’t help those who don’t want to be helped. As he marches back to Alex’s prone form, Cuckoo disappears over the hill. Cuckoo winks into the sunset, taking parts of hearts with them.
happy blorbo blursday, eve! hope your pride month has been decent enough. for any oc you've got massive brain rot of: how did your oc discover themself? Did something cause them to question, or did they always know? sending good ~~ vibes ~~ and good luck your way. 🍀🍀🍀 - 🌟 Enc
My pride month was great (it was my siblings’ first ones after figuring out their identities so it was a bit more special than usual)
Ben, while he primarily works at his inherited apothecary, discovered his passion as a toxicologist out of sheer boredom. They took poisonous plants as a challenge to grow and then made a business out of it! They’ve been enjoying it a lot and it kind of speaks to how he is. Gentle and sweet with those that treat him and those he loves, and a deadly quiet to those that cross him.
Cuckoo realized she was miserable, and even after running away she doubted her decision. It took months of hiding and stealing to finally find a home in the circus where everything just clicked. She could use her illusions to entertain and frighten (but in a fun way). She had already used them to entertain little ones, but this extension brought her life.
Stella (who I wish was a main character, I love her so much) was given paints as a small child and has never looked back since. She finds joy in the entire artistic process, from making the supplies, to finding the inspiration, to creating the art.
Happy WBW! What part of your world would your protagonist (& others if you want) change? Aaaand go! ♥️
this is super tricky on many levels. i don't have a single protagonist and I've created this world as a flawed version of my ideal realistic world, so I'm going to have to poke holes in my baby. still, I'll give this my best shot and go one by one.
cuckoo wants things to go back the way they were. she can survive without magic, but it was her sole comfort for so long she doesn't want to let it go. she wants her goddess back and she wants to live with her circus family again, she's sorry for what she did, promise
maggie wants an incredibly interconnected archive system. it's one thing to order books from nearby villages and salvage them from passing markets, but another to have catalogued and more easily accessible bank of knowledge (if anyone is starting a library it's her
alex wants better communication over long distances. trains are nice, and magic messages do in a pinch, but they miss their mum. she's lived far away for so long
ben wishes they could have been a bard. it's not a world changing thing, and maybe a career in tale telling might have burned him out, but right now it brings them joy. more joy than healing does, since anyone can be taught that. maybe he should get an apprentice
Happy Blorbo Blursday, Eve! For Cuckoo: If your character was suddenly challenged, would they rather run away or stay and fight? Sending good 🌌🌌 vibes 🌌🌌 and good luck your way! - 💫 Enc
Hey enchant! Hope you’re doing well 💜✨✨
If cuckoo is challenged to a fight, it depends on whether or not she thinks she can win. Bonus points if she looks cooler after and her opponent made a fool of themselves. She’s more likely to play it safe and run away, but if she gets the jump on them
Happy STS! Let's talk about secrets. Do your characters or world have them? Are they considered a good thing or bad? Who in your cast is most likely to spill one? ♥️
hey tori! hope you're doing well
In terms of the world, many of the churches dedicated to the banished goddesses have been sweeping a lot of hurt under the rug to drum up more support to bring the goddesses back. not good :( there's a reason they were banished which is what the party of heroes is trying to keep them gone. my kiddos don't deal with that, though.
cuckoo by far keeps the most secrets. they lie for fun, and for protection. it's all gone a bit too far in some directions, but it's just habit at this point. however, all this practice means they are the least likely to spill a secret.
alex can't deal with guilt well and is most likely to spill a secret
Happy Blorbo Blursday, Noah! For Cuckoo: if they had been given a magical artifact to take care of, how would it go? Sending grand creative energy and ☆☆ vibes ☆☆ your way! - ✨ Enc
Hello lovely! sorry it's been so long
as a self serving person, cuckoo would assess its capabilities and see if she could exploit it. if not, she'd make sure it was safe until she could pawn it off, either back to where it belongs if it's convenient or to the highest bidder.
suffice to say, do not give her any artifacts
so many male characters are held back by the fact that they're not wearing earrings when they so clearly should be wearing earrings
Saw this birb and my mind went places, all i know is that one moment i was scrolling through tumblr and the next i was uploading this.