#anyways! i love chipp so much

[tropicreme]

meds: refilled, so naturally? chipp: zanuff

[sluckythewizard]

OOOH MORE WIPS UPON YYEEE i amm gonna crawl outa this artblock even if it KILLS ME! and speaking of killsing. whats with THIS dead guy huh??? its chip jrwi baby yeaaah its undead chip baby yeaaaahh its chip n hes fucken dead and rotting and gross and OOHHH IM SO PROUD OF HIm(for being dead)

[tillman]

actually oh i was checking the win quotes last night after me thinking so hard about chipp and venom i went insane and yeah this ones cute

[illym]

I'm 80% sure the man in the top left of the last panel is Chipp's master, but it could also be someone the strip referenced and I didn't get. Probably both. Anyway I love Venom in the last panel. Look at him.

Translation assistance: @yomotsu-hirasaka

If you understand Japanese and retranslate this, get in touch me me and I'll update the comic.

ID in alt.

Cleaned and original comics below the cut.

Specific assistance:

@.yomotsu-hirasaka: transcribed what I couldn't pick up.

Nothing much to say here. Yomotsu sure does though about the last panel!

[ Now that text to the left is interesting. It's "u" with the indicator .. I've mentioned before that ヴ is a substitute for "v" in Japanese, but that's typically with this, the katakana "u". This is Hiragana "u" with the. (") Indicator, so I don't know what exactly is happening there but it sure is interesting. ]

I'm going to remind everyone that I don't understand Japanese when I say I have no idea what that means, or why Chipp is saying it. But I believe we've all learned something valuable here.

Go drink some water.

[yampidimp]

i used to think i wouldnt get upset about how other people mischaracterize answer since he's not popular enough and doesnt have enough to work with for it to be much of a problem, it means most interpretations of him are not really disputable, and very few people talk about him anyway

that is until i see how people portray his relationship with chipp. it feels like most people get it even if they know little about them but some people make it out like answer fucking hates chipp and his job and wishes he could leave

he works for chipp willingly! the reason given for him following chipp is he "fell in love with/fell under the sway of his charisma". he also has "his current way of life" listed as something he likes. he doesn't hate his job, he gets stressed out from taking on too much of a workload and at how he's treated by the people he has to deal with (he has to endure a lot of verbal abuse in his phone calls, you know how it is if you've ever had to deal with calls for your job lol) and he definitely does not hate chipp, aside from when they first met.

though the details are extremely vague, answer having immense guilt about his past was considered so important to his character that his quote about it was included in his reveal trailer. chipp found him at a low point and gave him an opportunity to start a new life* and improve himself and atone, something he absolutely needed and still canonically wants. why would he hate him for that?

chipp also isn't just his boss, he's his mentor, and though it's debatable i would argue his friend too. he shows some amount of admiration and respect for him even though it's sometimes begrudgingly and he gets frustrated with him often. even disregarding threatening to kill bedman since you could write that off as the chief of staff's reasonable reaction to his country's leader getting potentially killed, the most emotion he has shown by far was when he thought chipp was going to die

tldr; he cares about chipp he just wants to drop a cartoon anvil on his head sometimes. understanding that it's both is necessary *I do not mean by giving him a job btw. chipp is to answer essentially what tsuyoshi was to him. (narratively speaking, minus the father figure aspect.)

[subhumanselflover]

HIII can u do like,,,, Chipp X Anji on a lil date night at a Festival/matsuri bc I’m like INSANE over them😭😭

Make sure they kiss because it’s pride month!!!!!🗣️

note: will do my best!! i know like nothing about chipp and anji's dynamic, nor do i know a lot about matsuri settings BUT!! i did research for this, and will do my best! and ofc they will kiss i got u anon! also. another instance of experimental formatting because yeah

Chipp Zanuff/Anji Mito

When Chipp heard there was going to be a festival in the area, he just about lost his mind, and fully prepared to beg Anji to take him on a date night.

It didn't take much begging, as Anji was more than willing to take him, and had been looking for an excuse to have a date night with Chipp anyway.

Chipp was hyped up like, a week ahead of time. It got brought up at least 3 times a day, and Anji teased him a bit about it.

"A little more than excited, are we?" Anji asked snidely, with a smirk.

"Shut upppppp," Chipp pushed him a little, pinching Anji's arm in the process.

Anji picked out nice festival outfits for the both of them, so that the two of them were matching. (Chipp was ECSTATIC. Well, showing a little more skin than he would have wanted to be.. but Anji had dressed him, so go figure.)

Dressed and ready, they headed to the festival together.

Chipp was sooooo excited about everything, to the point that he was almost overwhelmed. He wanted to try all the food, try every game (he came home with a few goldfish, btw), and see everything.

Anji was also rather excited about everything, but even happier just to see Chipp in such an excited state, practically getting dragged around by the other man to go see everything there was to see.

Everything was comforting to Anji, and exciting and new to Chipp. It was a nice combination— and watching Chipp's excitement made Anji feel a bit like a child again.

When they heard the fireworks crackle towards the end of the night, Chipp stared up with a sort of wonder in his eye, fireworks reflecting in his eyes as Anji looked at him, watching the flashes of light and color through his eyes, smiling softly.

In the midst of Chipp's staring, Anji took it as an opportunity to take him by surprise, stepping carefully in front of him and pressing a kiss to the other man's lips.

Chipp leaned into him, smiling into the kiss. The two broke apart for a moment, and Chipp immediately leaned back in for another, laughing into the kiss.

"Thank you, Anji, the night's been.. more than great. I love you,"

"It's nothing, sweetheart. I love you too."

[kingofdinosaurs]

22 to 25 for the ask game. you are free to ignore any of these you don't wanna answer though👍

sure thing! (all for gear)

22. your favourite part of canon that everyone else ignores

ANSWER. just in general. he wasn't that popular before strive but after strive released (and he wasn't in it), pretty much everyone who jumped on with that (and that is quite a lot of people!) didn't know about him or just didn't care. which is a shame, because i would argue that the eck is just as much his handiwork as chipp's. from what we know of him pre-canon meeting chipp definitely changed him a lot, and i really love his dedication and hard work to make chipp's  ideals a reality. he's genuinely very compelling imo and it grinds my gears to fucking shreds when i see "eck gang" art without him LIKE HE FUCKING LIVES THERE HE BASICALLY IS THE GOVERNMENT AS FAR AS WE KNOW IT'S LIKE HIM CHIPP AND HYORI. don't even get me STARTED on hyori who the fuck is that guy will he ever matter again? anyway. post more answer.

23. ship you've unwillingly come around to

i... don't think i have any of these for gear actually? my tastes have not changed in a while, i like what i always did. i guess i used to be less into nago/anji? but it's not like a ship i LOVE i just think it's nice and nago should have nice things. also happy daryl but more in a weapon of war sort of way. if we point them at each other a bunch of other people dodge bullets

24. topic that brings up the most rancid discourse

much like asuka r kreutz himself i TOO wish the hoes would just fucking feel neutral about him. i don't caare

25. common fandom complaint you're sick of hearing

i... actually don't know. i don't seek out that kind of thing anymore and i avoid the tags so I'm kind of blissfully ignorant these days. if anyone's being mean about potemkin i think you're a cunt and we won't get along but that's basically a warning shot so whatever.

thank you for asking! keep the hate alive!!

[gear-project]

Annon-Guy: Guest Character - Do you think Guest Characters add or take away from fighting games? For example, a LOT of people loved Link in Soul Calibut 2 yet they absolutely did not care for Yoda, Darth Vader and Starkiller in Soul Calibur 4.

It really depends on the game.

Also it depends on the game's internal mechanics.

I think, if Yoda, Darth Vader, and Starkiller were playable in a game like Soul Calibur VI, instead of IV... they might actually be more accepted.

The reasons being: Reversal Edge, for one thing.

It's a move that auto-parries attacks rather easily, and it is useful for dealing with weird-angled hits and attack sequences you can't normally block or dodge easily.

Also, the Force Gauge for Star Wars characters was an entirely separate mechanic to boot, and gimmicks are interesting from a matchup standpoint: take Haohmaru's Ikari Rage Gauge for example!

Even 2B has a mechanic where her attacks (kicks and throws) can "analyze" her opponent and create a Lethal hit later on in the match!

I think part of the reason people struggled with characters like Starkiller and Yoda, has to do with speed, hitboxes, and general differences between how they play versus how your average Soul Calibur "normal character" would play.

Part of the reasons they didn't work out as well was because Star Killer and Yoda could move "much faster" and "attack faster" than a normal Soul Calibur character could... so you were usually at a natural disadvantage... it's like Fighting Chipp Zanuff or Kliff!

If the characters were "toned down" that might detract from their natural style some... but that isn't necessary in a game like Soul Calibur VI.

Compared to IV... VI is built around naturally "fast" gameplay, and players can handle the pacing much better... so speedy characters can still function, and they don't have AS MUCH of an advantage anymore!

Even older characters, like Hwang and Mitsurugi can move and dodge pretty quickly in their respective battles... 8 way run as a technique isn't as "passive" as it used to be in older games...

Even Taki is as much the Ninja as she ever was...

Well anyway, when these games were made in separate eras, the developers were either not "as aware" of the nuances as they are now... it's a learning process.

All the more reason to be excited for "guest characters" in games like Tekken 8 and Soul Calibur VII!

[solradguy]

haven’t seen anyone send her yet so , jack-o for the ask game?

SHE!! Silly pumpkin girl

🎃 Overall opinion of them:

Jack-O' is one of my top 5 favorite GG characters but I think her writing is some of the worst in the series and I really, really, hope she gets more content of her acting independently and doing cool stuff without Sol in the future. I like her interactions with Sol, but I don't want her to end up like Dizzy where once she got written in as a love interest suddenly that was like all her character was there for anymore :(

With that out of the way, she's such a rascal lmfao Her English dub is really good too and I LOVE that she says things like skedaddle and scrub. I've drawn Jack-O' second most behind Sol haha

🎃 Gender/sexuality headcanons:

I think Jack-O' is very much the kind of person who will try almost anything at least once if it sounds fun enough. No idea what the word for that is though. Experimental panromantic/sexual...? I'm pulling out my "I'm too old to keep up with all the terms" card here haha

🎃 Favorite moment in canon:

This isn't canon but it haunts me every night so I'm putting it for this anyway: One of my friends was trying to main Jack-O' in Strive for a bit and there was one day where he snuffed my Tyrant Rave with Elysian Driver no less than 3 times and I wanted to reach through the tv and throttle him IRL

🎃 Favorite line, in canon or otherwise:

She says this line against Chipp in Xrd if she beats him: "Aww, did that hurt? Should I call the wambulance for you? Huh? Really... that's all it took? Why, I must be better than I thought!"

wambulance....

Jack-O' also has a line in Strive where her and Sol are talking while on the way to see Ky and, I forget which one of them said it, but one of them makes a joke about Sol being a dog and then they get to Ky's and Jack-O' calls Ky a "champion [dog] breeder." I think about that so much. What did she mean.

Girl of all time

🎃 Characters I love seeing them interact with:

Honestly like basically anyone. I think it'd be neato getting more interactions between her and the other Valentines though. Axl too. They have a good friend dynamic. Axl, Sol, and Jack-O' bar-hopping adventure...

🎃 Last thing before sleeping headcanons:

She's like 90% hair so she's probably got a pretty detailed routine to keep it soft enough not to instantly get tangled. Maybe she puts it up in a big sleeping cap? Otherwise, I don't imagine her before-bed routine being anything extraordinary. Though, I do think she would sneak snacks even after brushing her teeth if she couldn't get to sleep and got bored lol

🎃 Sleeping habits headcanons:

Oh you KNOW she's got some HIDEOUS 1970s as hell pajamas. Like this shit:

Those pants are so vibrant the printer couldn't even process them right haha!! Sol was given a matching pair but he hates them and Jack-O' can only trick him into wearing them to bed on special occasions. Jack-O' has small beds next to her own for her minions to sleep in.

🎃 First thing after waking up headcanons:

Hair, and then breakfast, which is the most sugary horrible processed cereal ever with marshmallows and fun colorful pieces. It's so bad. How does she not have cavities.

🎃 Favorite locations headcanon:

Like with my Justice answer, this is something where it makes me wonder how much of Aria comes through. Does Jack-O' get nostalgic when she goes up into the mountains too, since that's where the research center her, Asuka, and Frederick worked at was? Unlike with Justice, whose personality was more removed entirely than replaced, Jack-O' has her own independent mind and personality, and likely prefers things that Aria may have even hated. Since Aria was a bit of a pasty nerd, maybe one of those things that Jack-O' likes that Aria would have hated are trips to the beach in the summer?

[berrymeter]

uhh.h.,,,h goldlewis

GOLD. LEWIS. DICK. IN. SON. that's what whoever's parents called him when he fucked their son idfk

HUGE FAN OF THIS GUY. IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM W HIM YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH ME. now it IS cringe that he is the secretary of defense of the united states or something but also like, this is a world where y2k happened, japan is straightup gone from the surface of the earth & india is flying up in the sky so i don't think anything's shooting for realism otherwise nobody would've let chipp zanuff rule a kingdom (i am trying to make sense of the geopolitical situation everywhere in gg but um uh. this is a headache & questionable). anyway this man is SO MUCH and i love him. man with an alien from area 51 he carries around in a coffin? cool as fuck. AND he's bridget's grandpa now? yeah. him

[panthera-tigris-venenata]

I wrote this a bit back but never managed to continue, I wanted to yeet Sea Three on the Isle of the Doomed

Also I’d love for you to write it!

„Uma!“ the doors fly open as Harry barges into the Chipp Shoppe, his voice just at the verge of breaking, „Uma–“

She sets down whatever pitiful excuse for a meal she was carrying and snarls at the customer that would complain it was not his order, as if she ever cared. Especially now, can’t he see?

She takes barely two steps towards her first mate before he is standing in front of her, wringing his hook in his hands as his eyes shine in distress.

„I can’t find CJ–“ he has the good decency not to shout for all restaurant to hear, though gods know how long that’s gonna last, and she doesn’t need him causing a scene in the open. So she silences him with but a gesture – his jaw clicks audibly into place – and leads him outside, only pausing to ask Desiree to cover her shift for a bit. She doesn’t have anything better to do anyway.

Within moments, they stand in an alley behind the restaurant, dark and damp and entirely unpleasant, but with the Lost Revenge emblem shining brightly on one wall. It’s awful and even downright nasty in there, but it’s home.

And so Uma turns around to face her first mate once more, this time with less nosy audience at least.

„What’s wrong?“ she asks.

He answers just as before („I can’t find CJ…“) and squeezes his hook in all the wrong ways. Uma gently peels away his fingers from the sharp weapon and quickly checks if he didn’t manage to injure himself yet; then she squeezes his hand in her own and doesn’t let go. (No one is watching.)

„I can’t find her anywhere, I’ve looked everywhere, I swear, and it has been too long already and Harriet hasn’t seen her either and Freddie Facilier is also missing–“

Uma doesn’t know how to answer, though she knows CJ went missing, of course. So she only holds his hand and draws circles on his skin and hums so he’d tell her more.

„I’ve looked everywhere, Uma!“ His voice rises and when she looks up at him, she sees that his irises are bleeding red.

„I can’t stand it, what if something happened to her? What if something happened to her, Uma?“

„She is fine, your sister is crafty, Harry, I can’t imagine anything what could take her <i> and </i> Freddie. She is alright, she is just hiding somewhere because she feels like it. Maybe she just forgot how time works again, it wouldn’t be the first time…“

„No, Uma, no–“ he cries out, „What if she went to the Isle of the Doomed?“

„The what?“

„Isle of the Doomed!“

„I don’t know what that is, Harry,“ Uma must control her voice so she doesn’t yell at him impatiently, she wouldn’t help things at all.

„Tell me what that is.“

It takes her a moment to piece together what he is rambling about, even as he clearly tries to be as coherent as possible, which is not saying much right now. But it is enough: He just heard about the Isle from Dizzy Tremaine, of all people, and she heard from Celia Facilier – yeah, Uma lost the thread there a bit.

Nevertheless, Harry is convinced that his little sister heard of the forbidden island and immediately decided to go take a look, which, yes, it does sound like her. And it could be very plausible to get stuck on that horrible place with no way out, wouldn’t it now? And what if something happened to her?

„Hey,“ Uma interrupts him, „We’re gonna check, okay? We’re gonna check and find her, if she’s there.“

„What if she isn’t?“

Uma doesn’t know how to answer, and he doesn’t ask again; they stand in silence for a moment.

„We’re gonna check first,“ says Uma finally. If anything, searching is better than doing nothing, everything is better than uncertainty.

„We sail as soon as the crew is ready.“

He nods once and flickers his eyes around the alley, looking if they’re still alone, though who would dare interrupt them?

Finding it satisfactory, he leans in for a hug, which Uma is all too happy to reciprocate. His arms close around her and her fingers slip into his hair just for a moment. They just hold each other for several long breaths, until Uma leans away:

„Go get the crew ready, Harry,“ she tells him. His lips split in a parody of a smile as he says „aye,“ and cocks his head a bit; then he lets go of her and stalks away, fast and heavy steps, hook at the ready, clear purpose in mind. Good.

When she walks into the restaurant, Harry is already at the center, at the little podium. His hook in his hand, the red cloak flaring, and eyes burning with fire.

„Come on, you wharf rats, to the ship.“ 

He makes a rather fearsome image, doesn't he? Her first mate.

„We sail soon, on the Captain's orders-“ 

Uma nods at her crewmates who look at her for reassurance.

„-And I want the ship ready in thirty minutes, so move, move, everyone!“

I THINK WE ARE KINDA SLEEPING ON THE FACT THAT CJ DISAPPEARED FROM THE ISLE FOR LIKE. Min 2 weeks, Max 2 months.🤨

Imagine how worried Harriet and Harry must’ve been, their baby sister disappeared all out of sudden along with her best friend, no trace of her at all, and when she comes back Auradon police or smth are behind her sending her back to the isle💀

[justwaitingforthesnow]

Can we talk about the raven boys if they were raven girls?

Gansey:

Always put together. Designer bag but vintage and clearly worn, probably brown faded leather. Crisp blouses and pleated skirts, sweater vests and pinterest notes. Chanel loafers and not much makeup, but somehow has flawless bronzy glowing skin all year round. Probably takes skincare way too seriously- can't sleep at 2am? Do a facemask and call it self care while making a card house, no problem. (It is a problem because she's kind of allergic to something in the masks)

Ronan:

You can't tell me female version of ronan wouldn't also have a shaved head. So many piercings, but only on her left ear, and just one on the right. Steel toe capped boots and expensive black hoodies. Winged eyeliner and dark scowls. Secretly keeps a diary in latin, but only writes about her dreams. Probably has freckles and hates them because people think they look cute. Is very good at makeup. The girl ronan would be shortish and wear platforms to appear taller.

Adam:

I think the one thing she'd try to keep perfect would be her nails because gansey's always are, expect the polish always chipps and working nails aren't good for anything too long. Mascara but nothing else. Wants to do skincare but it's cheaper just to use soap, and it works anyway. Also pinterest notes but takes it to the next level and actually uses them. Worn trainers and chapped lips. Sketches the gansey when she gets time (gansey loves these)

Noah:

Glitter everything. Pencil case, waterbottle, shimmery eyeshadow and highlighter. Obsessed with pale pink, christmas/halloween and tiktok, tries to persuade the gangsey to make them with her but only ronan gives in "as long as it stays in drafts, I mean it." Bubblegum. Always in the middle of painting something (Ronan once asked why she didn't put any of her pictures up to give her room some personality but she doesn't think they're good enough.)

Just imagine.

[gear-project-official]

GG Orientations

I figured since it’s “Pride Month”, I’d address the issue of Headcanons and what people think about characters in Guilty Gear.

For the record, not much is discussed in the realm of sexual orientation as far as GG characters go, but there are hints here and there as the story has progressed, so let’s address them:

Sol (He loved Aria, and is also quite close to Axl, so Bisexual, despite a hooker once accusing him of being gay once )

Ky (He loves Dizzy, Straight, but supportive of those society fails since she’s a GEAR)

May (She sees Johnny is less of a romantic light than you *MAY* think at first glance, likely bisexual or a lesbian)

Millia (Relationship with Zato was after extensive grooming in her younger years, now has only shown romantic interest during Magnum Wedding, so Lesbian)

Johnny (he loves ALL, so Bisexual)

Axl (He misses Megumi his girlfriend, but gives up the chance to see her again for the man who he’s grown close to to cope with being away from her, so Bisexual)

Zato (Grooms Gay people, likely Straight)

Testament (Gay (See: Johnny))

Kliff (being a hero, he had no time for romance, he chastised Millia for showing her legs though, so he’s pretty old fashioned. Daisuke whispers in my ear that he’s Bisexual, but doesn’t know what that means.)

Dr. Baldhead/Faust (Gay (See: Slayer), otherwise, not very interested with interacting with others in such a way)

Potemkin (he was on a friends-only basis with Dizzy at one point, but otherwise he keeps to himself)

Justice (despite Gears being sometimes considered gender-neutral, Justice was a “Girl Boss”, so Lesbian)

Jam Kuradoberi (she has eyes on Male Rockstar celebrities, but only has meaningful romantic dialogue during Magnum Wedding and her XRD Arcade Mode (See: Jack-O’))

Venom (Venom is both Gay and Black)

Anji Mito (Gay (See: Anji Mito))

Dizzy (she developed feelings for Ky, but her physiology as a Gear is a lot more complex than we know, so it’s hard to determine, Bisexual for NOW)

Robo-Ky (he’s a robot… who likes women, but also Venom? Bisexual)

Bridget (Bridget deserves time to discover himself)

Zappa (he wants to get married to a beautiful woman, but also has Randy openly lampshade their Gay overtones. Bisexual)

Slayer (He’s married to Sharon, and boyfriends with Faust (See: X2 stories and XRD Arcade Modes). Bisexual and Dandy)

I-No (she’s a Sadist and has a twisted sense of interests, not above teasing both genders, but never serious in either, Bisexual anyways)

Asuka R. Kreutz (“That Man” aka the Gearmaker… does everything for the sake of his dream polycule. Bisexual)

A.B.A. (Loves Flament Nagel and wants to give her husband a body, Straight?  I guess?)

Leopaldon (no idea?)

Gig (bad Asexual representation)

Judgement (specifically Homophobic, if his dialogue with the Gay characters are of any indication)

Raven (no longer cares who his pleasure is administered by, but has a Homoromantic relationship with Asuka R. Kruetz. Undetermined, Gay or Bisexual.)

Izuna (he has a girlfriend: Nekomata, so possibly Bisexual rather than what his appearance implies)

Valentine (she’s based on Aria, who was comfortable with Frederick’s Bisexualness, so at least Supportive, if not Bisexual)

Dr. Paradigm (he’s not interested in ANY of this nonsense!! Humans multiply like rabbits and eat up all possibilities! Gay)

Sin Kiske (seems to treat the Valentines in a very friendly and non-romantic way, so Gay)

Ramlethal (she seems to harbor secret feelings, so unknown at the moment)

Elphelt (she’s happy fantasizing about marrying all genders, so Bisexual)

Leo Whitefang (he’s jealous of Ky’s relationship with Dizzy, but also very homoerotic, so Bisexual)

Jack-O’ (Bisexual or Lesbian due to involvement with Jam)

Happy Chaos (based on Aria, but ???)

Baiken (he is openly not interested in being perceived as a traditional woman, similar to the experiences of many Lesbians. It is not explicit, however, so Ambiguous)

Answer (implied to have deep history with and love for Chipp Zanuff. Gay)

Kum Haehyun (Haehyun, like Bridget, should be allowed to take time to become comfortable with herself before we answer these questions)

Bedman (is not shown being Romantic in any value, I would say he needs time to become comfortable with himself as well, but that might be a problem!)

Ariels (hates Humans in general, so nix)

~~~

If you don’t like ANY of these conclusions, don’t kill the messenger (namely ME), this is all based on info I’ve gleaned on Guilty Gear over the years.  If things change, the STORY will let us know!

I hope this helps clear things up as far as headcanons go…

[broken-clover]

Goretober Day 31- Free! (Detox)

In the end, I wasn’t able to get it in on time T-T

hahahaha fuck. Welcome to the final day of @bowlll‘s Goretober, because somehow I managed to survive a month. Despite this technically being his third appearance, I decided to use Chipp for my free day, and today’s topic is ‘detox.’ Because I love this idiot ninja man, and if there’s one thing I love more than content for a character, it’s content where they suffer in some fashion. And getting off of drugs is a great opportunity for pain n suffering, so let’s go!

Additional Warnings: Drug use, vomiting, lots of cursing

For a decent chunk of his upbringing, Chipp was well-convinced that he’d long hit rock-bottom. Living as a squatter in and out of condemned buildings, peddling syringes and pills and powders and looking over his shoulder for the cops all the while. Always struggling to restock for his relentless buyers, yet never having enough money from drug hustling to fully silence his growling stomach.

That wasn’t even getting into the rages his customers could throw out of nowhere, the random street fights he stumbled into when he was just trying to make a few sales, and his own body’s internal pleadings for another hit to keep him going, begging for just another pill, another syringe in his veins. All of it nonstop, with barely a moment’s rest.

He would gladly take it all back if he didn’t have to take the fucking withdrawal anymore.

He’d been the one raring to go in the first place, finally ready to get off the shit that was probably gonna get him killed before he turned thirty. Past-him wound up being a huge goddamn idealist, and he wanted to kick the guy’s ass. His own ass? Fuck it, thinking hurt too much.

The first day hadn’t been miserable. It was part of the reason he’d been so damn enthusiastic to finally get clean. Chipp was used to the quiet burn in his limbs, the little bit of mind fuzz that showed up when a hit was wearing off on him. If he could stay tough, especially with his new master supporting him, how hard could getting clean possibly be?

“H-urk!”

The nausea was by far the worst. It felt like someone spent all of last night kicking him in the stomach. It’d explain the shit night of sleep he got, anyway.

“Bucket’s on your left, kid, don’t miss this time.”

“G-go fuck yourself with a- oh god, nnh- !”

He was barely able to turn and stick his head over the bed’s edge before another round of nausea hit. The yellow bucket perched by his side managed to catch the stream of sick that forced its way out of his body a moment later. The taste of acid made him cough and spit, irritably rolling over on the ratty mattress and clutching at his aching stomach through his old t-shirt.

“You shouldn’t turn over like that. It’ll make you throw up again. And you know you’re just gonna have to do it again in a few minutes, anyway.”

“Go suck a dick, you old bastard.”

Truthfully, Chipp was amazed that Tsuyoshi hadn’t dumped him back on the street yet. He knew that he wasn’t such an asshole normally, but the withdrawal was bringing out the worst in him. He almost felt bad for the poor man.

An equally-prominent part of him wanted the hurled insults and cursing to finally get the man to stand up and slam the door behind him. Chipp knew that he’d be losing one of the only chances he’d ever had, but his body was aching for another shot, all but screaming at him to find the biggest needle he could, jam an arm full of heroin, and chase it down with enough downers to make him numb for a full week. And even if he could bring himself to move more than a few feet, he knew Tsuyoshi wouldn’t let him leave the room.

The last round of vomiting had only sharpened the ache in his head. The motel room’s weak overhead almost seemed to pulse with every beat of his heart. Staring at it made him feel even dizzier- and with it, more nauseous- but his eyes were drawn to the peculiar sight. It was the closest thing he could get to a high.

The older man was sitting across the room, calmly perched at the rickety table. His vision was mostly focused on the magic-powered hotplate that was currently boiling a teakettle. Every so often, Chipp could see his one good eye glance over at him for a moment, before quickly returning to the kettle.

“What the fuck is that for?” He demanded.

“Language.” Tsuyoshi calmly chided, shaking his head. “I’m making tea.”

“No shit, you dumb bastard. Why the hell are you making tea now?”

“I’d say we could both use a drink.”

It was a simple response. Still, Chipp took it as an excuse to let out a furious growl and bury his face in a pillow. Moving all of a sudden only made everything ache more.

“I know it hurts.” Tsuyoshi’s voice was ever-patient. “But I will do my best to help you.”

“I don’t want your goddamn pity,” the teen hissed back, “I want some fucking heroin.”

A sigh heaved behind him. “I know you’re strong. If you don’t clean your body now, I fear you won’t live much longer. I don’t think anyone can thrive in an environment such as this one.”

Chipp wanted to hurl more profanities, but merely curled in on himself. He wanted to get clean. He really did. It was just the drugs talking. He couldn’t live like this anymore.

Stiff, trembling hands clutched at his ears. The teakettle began to whistle, sending more little throbs of pain across his skull. A hiss escaped his throat.

“Turn that fucking thing off!”

“I am, calm yourself.” The mechanical shriek quickly softened into silence. “Better?”

“T-thanks.” He had to remind himself.

The room went into blissful quiet. Well, as quiet as things could get when it felt like even the feeling of skin rubbing together was almost too loud. Chipp considered it better than nothing. It helped, if only a little.

“Here.” Tsuyoshi approached his bed. In each hand, he held a teacup. “Drink this. It will help you.”

Chipp sat up, slow and stiff as to avoid making himself sick again. As soon as he smelled the unusual odor of whatever was in the cup, he flinched away and covered his nose.

“I don’t want it.”

Tsuyoshi sighed in dismay. “You’re becoming dehydrated.”

“It smells like shit!” Chipp protested in turn. “And I feel like hell already, how is hot tea gonna make that any better?”

The man was silent. Chipp watched him place the teacups on the edge of the bed. Before he could pull away, Tsuyoshi reached out and pressed the back of one hand against his forehead.

“Your temperature has been fluctuating all day. It will take a bit of time for it to stabilize again. It does seem like you’ve got a bit of a fever again. Still, you’re dehydrated, and the sweating isn’t helping that at all. If you feel like you can keep it down, I’d like you to drink something.”

It would have been an easy excuse to say that he didn’t, but Chipp didn’t like that very much. Reluctantly, he held out a hand. “Give me the fuckin’ teacup, already.”

A smile poked out under the man’s moustache. “Glad to hear.”

The first sip was hesitant and awkward, but the rest flowed easily. In spite of his initial wariness, the faint sweetness and heat was oddly soothing to his burning throat, and the steam helped with the dizziness and itchy sinuses. He didn’t realize just how thirsty he had been in the first place.

“Feeling any better?”

“I guess…” He admitted. “A little. Maybe you aren’t- fuck-”

Chipp could hear the teacup shattering as it fell off of the mattress. He hardly cared, too preoccupied with frantically grabbing for the bucket as another wave of nausea hit him. Having the bucket in his lap made it easier to aim, but the reeking stench of acid and bile hurt his nose and made his eyes grow watery with tears.

“God…god dammit…” He gasped between heaving sobs. Everything hurt. Even the pleasant feeling of the tea had been replaced with a sickly saccharine taste that he couldn’t get off his tongue, no matter how much he gagged and spat.

Tsuyoshi looked no more concerned. “Oh my. I suppose I’m going to have to go see if I can get something to clean up this mess with.”

“Huh?”

In the time it took him to respond, the man was already at the door. “I’m going down to the front office, to see if I can get a few towels. I’ll only be gone a minute. Will you be alright until then?”

He was actually gonna leave him alone? “Y-yeah, I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about it, Sensei!”

An odd look was sent his way at the sudden title, but Tsuyoshi turned back and left. “Behave yourself.”

Chipp rubbed at his watery eyes, even more red than they usually were. Shit. The whole damn room was too hot. He was melting just sitting there.

Carefully, he eased himself off of the bed, trying to find his balance while also avoiding the mess of ceramic shards and tea that he’d made. Outside would probably reek of city-smog,but Chipp still felt drawn to it, wondering if the the air would help cool his warm skin. If he couldn’t get his highs on drugs, then he sure as hell wasn’t going to restrict himself here, too.

The door opened slowly, the boy flinching at every axle squeak as he peeked out. When he caught no sign of Tsuyoshi, he let out a sigh of relief, and let the door swing open. The banister a few feet in front of him was nothing more than a stack of cinder blocks overlooking a worn-down city district. The afternoon sky was full of dirty gray clouds, and the air stank of cart-food, trash, and sweat, but something about it felt infinitely more free than the four walls of that one room.

He slumped over the railing, propped up on his arms. A faint breeze ruffled his hair. Yeah. That was the good stuff. It felt nice against his hot, sweat-soaked body.

Something moved in the corner of his eye. He glanced at it with panic, but realized that it was merely a ratty-looking kid, probably a couple years younger than him, lingering on the walkway with his hoodie pulled up to his ears.

Just the sight enticed him. Chipp knew exactly what this kid’s deal was. His brain was telling him to turn tail, slam the motel room door behind him, and pretend like he’d never left. The impulsive part of his brain, the one that was always getting him into trouble, made him look over at the stranger and sign him over.

A too-shiny grin sparkled under the hood, matched with glowing green eyes that he was all-too-familiar with.

“Hey, buddy. Need a hit?” His voice was far too raspy for his age. Probably snorted too much of something too quick and got himself hooked.

Chipp flicked his eyes over both ends of the walkway, making sure nobody was coming. “What’cha got?”

“Ohhh, all sorts of good shit, man.” One sleeve was pulled back, revealing a menagerie of baggies that had been taped to his skin. “What are you craving?”

“Anything. Shit, anything.” He was already in too deep, and he knew it. Just the sight of all those powders made his heart speed up, the veins in his arms aching. The last scraps of his mind were screaming for him to turn away. “What’s the strongest thing you got?”

The kid’s smile widened. “A man of simple tastes, eh? Me too.” He gestured to a little packet of gray pills. “Handful of these, and you’ll feel like you’ve died and gone to heaven.”

Chipp was so antsy, his hands were already shaking as he fished through his ratty jeans in search of a few dollars. “How much?”

“CHIPP!”

Both boys froze in place, turning at the exact same time. Tsuyoshi was storming over to them, his good eye blazing with fury.

“S-Sensei, I-” In the sudden panic, he watched the other boy vault over the barrier and take off running as soon as he hit the ground. He couldn’t watch for too long, though, as Tsuyoshi grabbed his shirt collar.

“One minute I said, ONE MINUTE!” Each word was like a stab to the chest. “And WHAT do you do?! Run off and decide to get high again!”

“I’m s-sorry-”

Chipp felt the hand on his collar tug roughly, dragging him. In his panic and disorientation, he let himself be pulled along back to the door.

Tsuyoshi swiftly kicked the door open, gaze stony and unreadable. Chipp stumbled along for a few more steps before a firm hand planted itself between his shoulderblades and shoved him roughly towards the bed.

“Sit down, shut your mouth. I don’t want to hear anything from you for a while.”

The sheer force made his body bounce as he landed on the mattress. It jarred something loose in him. Though he intended to be quiet, the sudden scramble to try and find the bucket he had put down was noisy and awkward as he began retching.

“Here, here, be careful- !”

The contained was oriented beneath his chin. Chipp didn’t have much time to question, too occupied with the spasms that overtook him. They swiftly ate through the last of the energy in his body, and all he could manage to do was to curl up into a ball and begin trembling once it had ended, moaning in pain.

He heard a little sigh. The mattress dipped as he felt Tsuyoshi sit down next to him. Careful hands lifted his head up, letting it rest in the other man’s lap.

“S-sensei…”

“Shh...stay strong. It will be over soon.” Chipp felt fingers running through his hair, pressing against his throbbing temples. “You can make it through this.”

“I c-can’t…” Without thinking, he found himself tearing up again and sniffling. “I can’t-”

“You can. I know you can. Someday you look back and realize just how far you’ve come. And this will all seem like a bad dream.”

Chipp let his body gradually go slack. The hand in his hair and the low, soothing reassurances were enough to relax his taut, stiff muscles. And before he knew it, he had drifted off to sleep.

[yampidimp]

thots about Zato?

There are 5 guys with long blonde hair (that I know of. well 4 now) and I think he’s with Johnny where I just don’t really know that much about him and haven’t looked into it very much because I’m laser focused on my favorite long blonde hair guy. and occasionally the one other long blonde hair guy, the funny one that says yahoo!, I like him

Anyway basically anything that’s not shown in xrd and strive story modes I don’t really know about. I generally don’t go back and look at things from before that in detail unless I am already interested in the character

Well in SIGN he saved chipp which was pretty cool. Idk if there was anything else that really stood out to me personally though. (I feel silly saying this because my favorite character doesn’t really do anything except talk to chipp and attack someone from off screen lol I am biased)

I’ve heard bad things from other people who actually know things about zato but I haven’t really formed concrete opinions because I haven’t actually seen much about him for myself

So for now my only real opinions on him are:

-I love Eddie especially in strive because I like Creatures who are like weird blob things

-I think the fact that he just kinda surfs around instead of walking/running is neat and a lot of his attacks look cool

-I hate fighting him but to be fair I sort of hate fighting everyone because I’m not good at the game lol

-my mom thinks he’s sexy I know that’s not me I just feel the need to mention this.

…Was the spelling important to this if so I’m sorry for responding earnestly lol

Anyway here is a pic of my bunny rabbit

[infinitelytheheartexpands]

Traversing the Verdi Canon #26: String Quartet in E Minor and Other Verdian Instrumenal Music

This post is based on the following videos:

String Quartet in E Minor

Romanza senza parole

Valzer

Sinfonia in C (later revised into the overture to Un giorno di regno)

Canto per Virginia for Oboe and Orchestra 

Adagio for Trumpet and Orchestra

Variazioni for Piano and Orchestra on “Caro suono lusinghiero”

Capriccio for Bassoon and Orchestra

*Note: I was unable to find any available online recordings of three other pieces listed on Verdi’s Wikipedia page: the Sinfonias in B-flat Major and D Major, or La stramberia for violin and piano.

Experience: this is my first time hearing any of this music—I have never explored this side of Verdi at all...in fact, I’d never even heard of most of the above works!

The Pieces:

String Quartet in E Minor: the biggest surprise of listening to this piece was how distinctly un-Verdian it sounded! it sounds just like chamber music from any other 19th-century composer writing chamber music and if you had played it for me without telling me the composer, I would absolutely not have guessed Verdi, not for a second, and I would have laughed if you had told me it was in fact Verdi. this is by no means a dig against the piece; if anything, it’s a compliment of just how versatile Verdi could be and how he could absorb other musical idioms so well. the piece itself is quite lovely and feels much shorter than its approximately 22-minute length. if he had written more chamber music, I am absolutely confident that he would be one of the Romantic Era’s most respected chamber music composers. but ah, the universe has different plans.

Romanza senza parole and Valzer: on the other hand, these two short piano pieces literally sound like the main “cores” of Verdi arias transcribed for piano. they’re too short for me to really say much else about them, but they’re both sweet little numbers that I would love to hear as vocal pieces.

Sinfonia in C: as mentioned above, this piece eventually became the Overture to Un giorno di regno, which is great because that overture has become one of my favorites in the Verdi canon. like its later form, this is just fizzy fun all the way through. it’s great to hear a phrase here or there and be like “oh yeah, that’s Un giorno di regno”! anyway, it’s just a delightful early Verdi piece.

Canto per Virginia: it’s a mini oboe concerto! as someone who always love good work for oboe, I really enjoyed this one and the way Verdi plays with and varies the main tune. not the most memorable work, but it’s lovely all the same. lots of showstopping runs and such for the oboe.

update: so apparently Verdi actually just orchestrated this, originally an oboe and piano piece by one Giacomo Mori. still, nice orchestration work.

Adagio for Trumpet and Orchestra: this was really pretty! most of these instrumental works Verdi wrote are much faster overall, but as implied with the title, this one takes a slower approach and it’s quite lovely. it would not be out of place in an early Verdi opera (research says this was written sometime between 1836 and 1839, which checks out). 

Variazioni for Piano and Orchestra on “Caro suono lusinghiero”: I about gasped after listening to this when I Googled the original piece to find out more information on what exactly Verdi was using as the basis of his variations: I found out that this piece was written in 1832. 1832?! from the sound of the piece, I was ready to believe it was written in the 1850s. this is a spectacular showcase for the pianist, but orchestrally it’s gorgeous too. it’s very light and playful but also capital-R Romantic. it’s really fine work and it shows that Verdi always had it within him, ready to really come out in full force with time.

Capriccio for Bassoon and Orchestra: this literally sounds like a full-blown Verdi double aria that happens to be written for bassoon and orchestra. long melodic line that would be a hit the next day if it were in any early Verdi? check. lots of solo showcase? check. faster second section? check. chipper orchestra? check. variations on that second section? fast, boptastic coda? CHECKMATE. I really enjoyed this one. like I’ve said before, I love anything with a good bassoon solo.

anyway, overall, I’d say there’s a lot of really fantastic stuff here. but honestly, are we really surprised?