The laws of God, the laws of man,
He may keep that will and can;
Not I: let God and man decree
Laws for themselves and not for me;
And if my ways are not as theirs
Let them mind their own affairs.
Their deeds I judge and much condemn,
Yet when did I make laws for them?
Please yourselves, say I, and they
Need only look the other way.
But no, they will not; they must still
Wrest their neighbour to their will,
And make me dance as they desire
With jail and gallows and hell-fire.
And how am I to face the odds
Of man's bedevilment and God's?
I, a stranger and afraid
In a world I never made.
They will be master, right or wrong;
Though both are foolish, both are strong,
And since, my soul, we cannot fly
To Saturn or Mercury,
Keep we must, if keep we can,
These foreign laws of God and man.
they call him...
HOWARD, THE DUCK.
canon-divergent & mixed lore. inspired primarily by the zdarsky/quinones comics run from 2015-2016, as well as events of the MCU. additional elements borrowed from the 1986 film and other comics.
investigated by che since late 2015. re-est aug 2025.
✱Quick Guide!
LET'S TAKE IT FROM THE TOP. This is the one and only Che. Like Chevrolet or Chevalier. If that's confusing, call me Nine. Age 31. I've been roleplaying for over 20 years now, and more than 10 of them have been on Tumblr. By this point, my needs as a writer are pretty simple.
ONE Treat me as you’d like to be treated. If an issue arises, we should try to discuss things and find a solution. The fix might be easier than you think! Note: If we’ve been mutuals for a while, but never interact, I may unfollow / softblock to keep my dash clean. I’ll understand if you do the same. You can always talk to me about it or re-follow. TWO I can churn out short replies much faster than long ones, but I’m more than happy to write novella if you’re patient with me! Length isn’t an issue as long as you provide enough to work with. If you reply to multiple paragraphs with two sentences, we’re not a match. THREE This blog is multiship. Chemistry is paramount. No force-shipping. No cheating: romantic relationships will not overlap unless agreed upon out of character. Platonic ships may cross universes: if your muse leaves an impression on mine, that muse may be mentioned in threads with someone else. For what it's worth, I won't consider sending shippy memes as force-shipping, but you shouldn't be shipping with a duck anyway.
WARNING Adult themes in terms of violence, alcohol, drugs, etc. may appear depending on what serves the plot. Howard is an adult. I don't anticipate sexual content here, but if the occasion should arise, there will be no involvement with minors. I tend to tag in this format:#partner's url #verse used #commentary #// #triggersI use a tag of two slashes to mark the end of commentary and organizational tags. After, each trigger has its own individual tag. For example, #gore and #blood would be separated for easier blacklisting. To cooperate with tumblr filters, the tag I use for “inappropriate content” is currently #USFW, but may be subject to change. LAST NOTES I take mains on request. If we interact extensively and I feel your muse is the only portrayal for mine, I may make you a one-way exclusive—unless you’d like to make me one of your exclusives as well. If we’re mutuals, you can tag me in a post at any time. Non-mutuals can tag me and send asks as well, but there’s no guarantee I’ll respond. I can sometimes be wary of people I’m not familiar with. If I’m comfortable with you, I’m open to roleplaying on Discord!
BUT ALSO— If you see something you like in my meme tag, send it to me. It doesn't matter how old it is. If the post is in the tag, assume I'm still accepting it. Memes are my love language. I send as many as I can whenever they come up on the dash, and it feels good to get them in return!The same goes for opens. An open is always open unless I mark it in some way as closed. It doesn't matter how many notes it has or when I posted it. It's there to facilitate easier interaction!
✱The Pierrot!
LEGAL NAME Howard T. Duckson. Yes, really.
ALSO CALLED Ducktective, Howard Theduck, The Cleveland Duckman.
BIRTHDAY / AGE 8 September (early 30s).
SPECIES Anthropomorphic duck.
ORIENTATION Slight female preference.
➜ Hairless apes are more of an acquired taste.
OCCUPATION Private investigator, supposedly.
➜ Juggles multiple part-time jobs to pay the bills.
PLACE OF BIRTH New Stork City, Duckworld.
RESIDENCE Tiny, shabby apartment in Brooklyn.
MINDSET Dependable, honest, compassionate, hot-headed, abrasive, unambitious.
EYES Red. Not with rage, though he's definitely irate.
FEATHERS White—fairly common for a duck. Well-kept and voluminous.
DETAILS Roughly three feet tall, about average for his species. His stomach is fluffier than he'd like. His arms end in fingers, not wings.
STYLE Mostly slacks and button-ups. Enjoys accessorizing with jackets, waistcoats, or suspenders. Does not wear shoes.
OF NOTE Adores hats, and has a fairly eclectic collection of them for all sorts of occasions.
THUMBS UP When everything goes according to plan.
THUMBS DOWN Shapeless, unflattering clothing...like prison uniforms.
| Title | Author | Year | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENDURANCE | ██████████████████████ | ||
| COMMON SENSE | ██████████████████████ | ||
| QUACK-FU | ██████████████████████ | ||
| CONFIDENCE | ██████████████████████ | ||
| CHARISMA | ██████████████████████ | ||
| SWIMMING | ██████████████████████ | ||
| FLIGHT | ██████████████████████ |
looking for howard the human?
✱The Pierrot!
LEGAL NAME Howard Theodore Duckson. Yes, really.
ALSO CALLED Ducktective, Duckie, Mr. Manson.
BIRTHDAY / AGE 8 September (early 30s).
SPECIES Human—what else?
ORIENTATION Slight female preference.
OCCUPATION Private investigator, supposedly.
➜ Juggles multiple part-time jobs to pay the bills.
PLACE OF BIRTH New York, USA, Earth.
RESIDENCE Tiny, shabby apartment in Brooklyn.
MINDSET Dependable, honest, compassionate, hot-headed, abrasive, unambitious.
EYES Warm brown, verging on red. It's definitely a trick of the light.
HAIR Blond. Carefully coiffed. It's clear he puts a great deal of effort into it.
DETAILS About 5'11" with an average build. Practicing martial arts keeps him toned.
STYLE Mostly slacks and button-ups. Enjoys accessorizing with jackets, waistcoats, or suspenders. When he looks good, he feels good. Believe it or not, he also wears shoes.
OF NOTE Adores hats, and has a fairly eclectic collection of them for all sorts of occasions.
THUMBS UP When everything goes according to plan.
THUMBS DOWN Shapeless, unflattering clothing...like prison uniforms.
| Title | Author | Year | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENDURANCE | ██████████████████████ | ||
| COMMON SENSE | ██████████████████████ | ||
| KUNG-FU | ██████████████████████ | ||
| CONFIDENCE | ██████████████████████ | ||
| CHARISMA | ██████████████████████ | ||
| SWIMMING | ██████████████████████ | ||
| FLIGHT | ██████████████████████ |
back to howard the duck?
✱The Story!
LET'S TAKE IT FROM THE TOP. This is the one and only Che. Like Chevrolet or Chevalier. If that's confusing, call me Nine. Age 29. I've been here over ten years, etc. You should know the rules by now, so I'll keep things simple and specific this time.
ONE Treat me as you’d like to be treated. If an issue arises, we should try to discuss things and find a solution. The fix might be easier than you think! Note: If we’ve been mutuals for a while, but never interact, I may unfollow / softblock to keep my dash clean. I’ll understand if you do the same. You can always talk to me about it or re-follow. TWO I can churn out short replies much faster than long ones, but I’m more than happy to write novella if you’re patient with me! Length isn’t an issue as long as you provide enough to work with. If you reply to multiple paragraphs with two sentences, we’re not a match. THREE This blog is multiship. Chemistry is paramount. No force-shipping. No cheating: romantic relationships will not overlap unless agreed upon out of character. Platonic ships may cross universes: if your muse leaves an impression on mine, that muse may be mentioned in threads with someone else. For what it's worth, I won't consider sending shippy memes as force-shipping, but you shouldn't be shipping with a duck anyway.
WARNING Adult themes in terms of violence, alcohol, drugs, etc. may appear depending on what serves the plot. Howard is an adult. I don't anticipate sexual content here, but if the occasion should arise, there will be no involvement with minors. I tend to tag in this format:#partner's url #verse used #commentary #// #triggersI use a tag of two slashes to mark the end of commentary and organizational tags. After, each trigger has its own individual tag. For example, #gore and #blood would be separated for easier blacklisting. To cooperate with tumblr filters, the tag I use for “inappropriate content” is currently #USFW, but may be subject to change. LAST NOTES I take mains on request. If we interact extensively and I feel your muse is the only portrayal for mine, I may make you a one-way exclusive—unless you’d like to make me one of your exclusives as well. If we’re mutuals, you can tag me in a post at any time. Non-mutuals can tag me and send asks as well, but there’s no guarantee I’ll respond. I can sometimes be wary of people I’m not familiar with. If I’m comfortable with you, I’m open to roleplaying on Discord!
BUT ALSO— If you see something you like in my meme tag, send it to me. It doesn't matter how old it is. If the post is in the tag, assume I'm still accepting it. Memes are my love language. I send as many as I can whenever they come up on the dash, and it feels good to get them in return!The same goes for opens. An open is always open unless I mark it in some way as closed. It doesn't matter how many notes it has or when I posted it. It's there to facilitate easier interaction!
✱how it comes together...
DEFAULT. MCU/616-inspired with 1986 elements
Howard, as always, is trapped in a world he never made. His business is hanging on by a thread, but that thread hasn’t snapped. Yet. One of these days he might even be able to afford a receptionist...but that kind of success would mean putting himself in harm’s way. Voluntarily. The universe has its way of catching up with him in the end. If he makes like a sitting duck, he knows it’s only a matter of time before trouble finds him first.
HUMAN. gen modern; no fantasy
Life won’t let Howard Theodore Duckson catch a break, but that’s nothing new. At least in this timeline he doesn’t stand out so much. One of the infinite hairless apes on planet Earth, he does what it takes to get by. This verse exists to facilitate easier interaction with muses whose canon does not, for one reason or another, allow them to interact meaningfully with Howard in his naturally feathery state.
...even beyond this world!
FANDOM. Stranger Things
SUMMARY: Howard is a private investigator, currently based in Hawkins. He first wandered into town ten years ago with his girlfriend at the time, Beverly Switzler. Neither of them had any real goals and, paycheck to paycheck, they barely scraped by. They didn't have much, but they had love. Eventually, Beverly realized she wanted more from life and decided to pursue a career as a veterinarian. Howard, however, still had no idea what he needed out of life. Predictably, she left Hawkins—and Howard. As the years went on, he stayed in town and drifted from one job to the next, unfulfilled.FULL DETAILS
FANDOM. His Dark Materials
He's Gyptian. His daemon is a duck named Beverly. More to come.
✱The People...
no url available
Best friend and beyond. Away from Howard, she might just stand a chance at a normal life.
no url available
A tattoo artist and former one-time partner on a case. Not bad company for a hairless ape.
no url available
The best cat that a duck could hope for. Yes, he's a cyborg. No, he doesn't eat computer mice.
daemondaes
A similarly stranded companion. Nothing weird happened between them, he swears.