#little bear bongo

[disneyboot]

[bongo-thebear]

henry emily born 1947 september 27 has that circus bear autism. henry emily has that unrelease-able wild animal autism. henry emily forced to perform and punished for biting back at his handlers and audience. henry emily who knows no life besides the performance and the lonely cage. henry emily who is unsuited to the performance, and just as unsuited to the wild. he is not living now, but can never live in the wild.

henry emily who will lean his cheek into the hand that hits him.

henry emily got that circus bear, unreleasable animal autism.

[writerwrabbleswords]

Bongos (but male) | Logan Howlett X [Dilf] Reader

What Logan wouldn't give to have that damn DILF bent over...

  Quick Notes :  Thank you to our savior @/dorkszn for their glorious Dilf! Reader drabbles! The idea of a Dilf! Reader came directly from their posts, so be sure to give them a follow! Obviously this work is in no way related to their own, and is my own version of Logan and a Dilf! Reader. Please enjoy.

  Story Details :  1,300 words, Dilf! Reader referred to as ‘You/Your,’ Reader has twins, Readers children are animal mutants (bear), Readers children are named ‘Jett’ and ‘Hogan,’ Reader is divorced, Reader is about forty to forty-five, Reader is lightly implied to be a mutant, Reader is described as ‘having stubble,’ Logan is whipped for Reader, Logan ogles reader, and finally, sexual implications in almost everything Logan thinks

 Though, even he could admit a few of the kids stood out; there was a little red-head, about eight or so, whose mutation was a pair of wings (though they had only started growing in a few years earlier), and a teenage boy who frequently turned invisible to get away with stealing cigarettes (he never did, and Logan was the one to drag him to the professor's office). 

Despite working at the school for a few months, Logan was not fond of children. They were loud, frequently interrupted his smoke breaks, and often had mutations that they had little to no control over. In short, it was his personal hell. He only took the job because Chuck had asked him, and as much as he hated to admit it, he owed the man something (even if this job made him want to rip his hair out). 

  A gruff sigh left the older mutant, who fiddled with the cigar between his teeth as he leaned back against the wall of the hallway. It was getting dark, most students in their rooms and preparing for bed. Except, Logan could smell a few brats out and about, their scent making his nose twitch in disgust; they smelled like shit - like mud and the forest.

  His gaze was drawn towards the end of the hall by the sound of giggles - clearly children - and the sound of a heavy sigh soon following. Before Logan could push off to investigate, he blinked in surprise when the source of the noise rounded the corner.

  A man - a man he’d never seen but immediately needed to get to know - was carrying two children, one under each arm; You. At the sight of him, you gave him a tired grin, the crows feet on your eyes crinkling as he felt his heart thump against his chest. The mutant didn’t care if he was staring - you were downright sexy. You wore a shirt with the sleeves up past your elbows and a set of slacks that seemed to accentuate every part of your frame. What Logan wouldn’t give to see you bent over a-

  “Nice night, ain’t it?” You called out, shaking Logan from his thoughts as he took an inhale from his cigar to clear his mind.

  “Could be better,”

  He retorted, his eyes drifting to the two squirming mutants in your arms. They looked like you to a tea, their eyes the same color as yours with a nose to match - the only part that was different were the set of rounded ears on the brats heads. Logan guessed bear, but cat might have been it, too. Both the kids groaned, wriggling around as one tried to hit your side,

  “Papa, ‘s not fair!” one whined, making your gaze turn downwards as you arched a brow, “Yeah, papa! You never let us out into the trees!” The other added quickly.

  Instead of replying right away, Logan watched as you hoisted the two higher into the air and did a small spin, making their complaining turn to squeals of laughter.

  “You two can’t go outside without me because you roll in the mud,” You stated lightheartedly, coming to a stop as you affectionately glared at the two children in your arms.

  He shifted his focus to the two mutants, raising an eyebrow as he finally noticed the clumps of mud, dirt, and leaves that clung to the two - definitely bear, then. It was then that Logan took a more obvious look at your face, his cigar sitting in his mouth for a moment as he analyzed every little detail; you had stubble, as though you hadn’t shaved in a few days, and eyes that held a clear fondness for the two kids in your arms. His eyes moved downward, glancing at your visible forearms - hairy, but not too much so, with some muscle obvious. Fuck, you were his type. 

 “You know where I can find a hose? Or a bathtub?”

  Your voice pulled him out of his ogling, his gaze returning to your face as he grunted, pulling the cigar out of his mouth and exhaling a cloud of smoke towards the ceiling.

  “Med bay has bathtubs, should work for the… mud,” 

  Logan knew how he came across - mean, gruff, an asshole - but you didn’t seem to pick up on it, simply giving him that same tired smile before nodding and glancing down at your kids.

  “Alright, med bay it is! Come on, twerps, bath then bed; I’ve got to get all this mud out of your hair and fur,” 

The sound of your chuckle, gruff with age, made a shiver run down the older mutants’ spine. 

  “You guys new here?” He found himself asking out of curiosity, leaning against the wall again as his eyes raked over your form, “Haven’t seen your kids in any of my classes.”

  You paused, shifting the two mutants under your arms before holding them up one at a time, 

  “This is Hogan.” You raised the child in your right arm, “and this is Jett,” you raised the child in your left arm.

  Both children groaned at being named, beginning to squirm once more as they let out soft bear vocalizations - Logan filed that under something he hadn’t expected, but wasn’t surprised by.

  “Cute kids,” he stated, taking a long drag of his cigar before his gaze dropped to your legs.

  He could’ve sworn he saw one of your pant legs moved at his complement, but he brushed the thought aside as his own imagination, slowly trailing his eyes back up to your face. If you noticed, you didn’t call him out on his staring, instead focusing your attention on your mutant bear cubs with a fond huff,

  “Thank you, really. I got custody after their mother divorced me.” You stated it so bluntly that it made Logan nearly drop his cigar, though he quickly recomposed himself as you continued, “They’re my little bear cubs, all fuzzy and cute.”

  He watched as you cooed down at your children, a slight smirk tugging at his lips; you loved them, that much was clear.

  “Are they the ones who’ve been raiding the school's fridge at night?” 

  He asked jokingly, watching as your expression turned sheepish.

  “That… Is likely my boys, yes,” You said after a moment, adjusting the two bear mutants in your arms before sighing and shaking your head, “They eat like crazy. It’s hard to keep them full without handing them a snack every thirty minutes.”

  Hogan seemed insulted at your words, his expression turning into a fierce pout as he crossed his arms and sulked,

  “Papa not feed us! We need more food!” Jett immediately knew what his twin was doing and copied the boys’ pose, “Yeah! More food! More food!”

  The two bear mutants descended into a chant of ‘more food,’ causing an amused smile to cross your face - Logan wanted to see more than just that. He wondered what you’d look like blushing…

  “Well, we can have a snack after you two take a bath,” 

You said fondly, rolling your eyes as you began to walk down the hall towards the med bay. Before you walked too far, however, Logan watched as you turned around,

  “Got a name, stranger?” 

  He blinked, his mouth suddenly dry as he focused entirely on your, ahem, assets, which looked downright amazing in those tight slacks. Pulling his gaze away, he grunted, taking a pull from his cigar to try and clear the thoughts running through his mind.

  “Logan; Logan Howlett,” 

  He answered gruffly, finally returning his eyes to you as he caught the friendly smile you sent his way.

  “Nice to meet you, Howlett. I figure we’ll be seeing you around,”

  With that, you turned and continued towards the med bay, adjusting and joking with the two pouting bear cubs in your arms.

  In that moment, Logan realized he wanted you right fucking now. Multiple times, in his bed preferably, with you calling out his name as he-

 A gruff and irritated sigh pulled itself free, the mutant glancing down before he adjusted himself and began to walk towards his room. He needed a shower. A cold one.

[nightmare-foundation]

Honestly it lowkey annoys me whenever people say that Michael has 'very little personality' outside of hunting down his father.

N like- on the surface, that seems true, but like. If you look deeper, that's... not really true?? Because there's a LOT that actually speaks to his character, but you have to be willing to catch onto the connections his character has

Like, for example, Michael has a very straightforward way of speaking. He's dry and sarcastic ("They thought I was you... [laugh]"), has a foreshortened sense of the future (the drawing of a gravestone in the security logbook), not to mention the dialogue of foxybro in fnaf 4. He doesn't beat around the bush, but he's bitter and dry and sarcastic. Even as an old man, his anger and cynicism towards Freddy's shows in his drawings, but he has a sense of humor (the exotic butters and casual bongos referenced in the logbook, not to mention the silly drawings), plus he's sentimental (as said before, exotic butters and casual bongos). Not to mention he's stubborn as shit, given he keeps coming back to Freddy's, even after 30 whole years.

A lot of people also really like to write Michael off as being stupid, for... some reason. The games really say otherwise; the fact that he tampers with the animatronics regularly, figured out what his father did and what happened to Elizabeth in less than a week, freed the dead kids, helped make FFPS and ran a business, likely Also made the fnaf 3 location too, knew what was gonna happen to him in SL (pretty clear given the fact you can ignore Baby's directions on the last night), can manage several animatronics at once throughout an entire night...

Michael is very clearly Really Fucking Smart. Smart enough that I'm willing to bet that was one of the reasons why William sent him to the SL bunker. Michael is FAR from an idiot, and the FNAF movie even proves this further! He's SCARILY smart!

There's a lot more too; him using a red foxy mask speaks a lot to his character too. Red is often used to denote everything from passion to anger (yknow, 'seeing red' being a term for when you're blind with rage), and he wears it the entire time he bullies CC. It's not just a literal mask, it's figurative too; Michael puts up a mask of anger, he pretends to be this scary bully. The cruelty isn't real, Michael is just the scapegoat and he's acting out (very very common).

Also, Michael is 100% who you play as in fnaf 4 based on the movement, and who rubs away in Midnight Motorist. CC is the type of kid to freeze up, curl up into a ball and cry when he's scared, as seen several times in fnaf 4. It wouldn't make sense for him to suddenly turn around and start running around, or fighting back. It's very Michael to run around, constantly looking around, or to break out and run away.

Another note on Michael's character is that he's associated with Foxy. The Funtimes are clearly modeled after the Aftons (Ballora and Baby are, why wouldn't the rest match CC (Freddy) and Michael (Foxy)?), and using that we can gleam some parts of Michael from FT Foxy (since William clearly was trying to mock and make fun of him with the angsty teen voice). FT Foxy is a performer; he's dramatic, he's vicious, attacking even when he 'shouldn't', and wants his stage solely to himself.

This fits Michael; Michael put on an act of viciousness and cruelty, always attacking when you least expected it. So it makes sense that Michael, too, is a performer, and FFPS hammers this in using the business bear. Again, the mask represents Michael acting, pretending, and it wouldn't be the first time an Afton would pretend (William, Elizabeth, and to an extent, CC). The rest of the Aftons are also theatrical and dramatic, so again, this tracks. He's also represented as one of those hand puppets in the ffps alleyway poster, something used to ACT.

And again, with Foxy, we can gleam that Michael likely is also a sort of 'leader' figure, since Foxy has been depicted as not just a pirate captain, but also as a Ringleader. This also tracks, not just bc the Aftons have a circus theme, but Michael is the eldest of his siblings, and thus the de facto 'leader'. He's the first to act, to put things into motion when everything 'ends'. Foxy is also, well, a fox, which are depicted as cunning and intelligent, which only lends credence to Michael being intelligent.

It's also implied that Michael... doesn't really care about people who Aren't his family?? Whether that's by blood or not, he doesn't care abt others who isn't his family. This is implied by the fact that he only cared about freeing Elizabeth, showing absolutely No care about the Funtimes despite them clearly being sentient. Not to mention the lawsuits he regularly gets in FFPS, or the state Fazbears Frights is in in fnaf 3. And, judging by Henry's final speech, he and Michael just. Don't seem to talk At All. At the very least they definitely don't communicate since Henry assumed Michael wanted to die (which is left Very Ambiguous).

Honestly this doesn't even BEGIN to get into everything that the Glitchtrap Michael theory says about his character that also hammer in all of these traits Even Further.

And like. Michael is SOOO much like William when you put all of this into perspective. Like, they are SIMILAR similar, but differ in ways that are important. Michael is a performer, an actor, he doesn't care about anyone outside of his family, he's stubborn as fuck, he's smart as hell, he's sarcastic and dry, etc.

He has SO. MUCH. CHARACTER. You just have to dig a little- this is ALL gleamed from the games and Security Logbook. There's more if you believe he's Glitchtrap- which he very likely is.

Just... it's nuts. He's such an intriguing character, he's not perfect and he's morally gray, yet people love to dumb him down to "hehe sad uwu arsonist zombie boy who's also Stupid"

Please just let Michael be a problematic old man (he was born in the 60s ffs, he's almost in his 60s by the time ffps rolls around).

[disney-is-mylife]

My Disney Villain Categorization because I have lost control of my life

Disclaimer: I am ONLY counting movies from the Walt Disney Animation Studios line-up. That means, no Pixar, DisneyToon, no live-action, etc etc.

If y'all ever want to know what kind of Disnerd I am..... here ya go. I don't come up with theories or headcanons. Instead, I categorize! So here's the giant list no one asked for lmao:

~~~

There are Four Major Categories:

Totalitarianism

Personal Grudge

Means to an End

Ambiguous

Each category has two sub-categories, plus sometimes an extra sub-sub-category:

Totalitarianism: The Selfish Tyrant & Imperialism

Personal Grudge: Rise to Power (Aka, Hate Your Dad) & Obsession

Means to an End: Animal/Child Cruelty & Forces of Nature

Ambiguous: Intangible & It's Complicated

Without any further ado, let's dive in!

Tier 1: Totalitarianism

The Selfish Tyrant

What it says on the tin. Already a monarch, already has power, and just abuses it for their own personal reasons.

Queen of Hearts (Alice in Wonderland)

Prince John (Robin Hood)

King Candy/Turbo (Wreck-It Ralph)

King Magnifico (Wish)

Imperialism

Even if it's not literally imperialism, these are the villains who are interested in "spreading" their power, to subjugate others for their own selfish needs, etc.

The Horned King (The Black Cauldron)

Ratigan (The Great Mouse Detective)

Gov. Ratcliffe (Pocahontas)

Shan Yu (Mulan)

Lt. Rourke (Atlantis: The Lost Empire)

Alameda Slim (Home on the Range)

King Runeard (Frozen 2)

~~~

Tier 2: Personal Grudge

Rise to Power (aka, Hate You/Your Dad)

This formula was particularly popular during the Renaissance (almost HALF of those films employed this!)

Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

Jafar (Aladdin)

Scar (The Lion King)

Hades (Hercules)

Yzma (The Emperor's New Groove)

Dr. Facilier (The Princess and the Frog)

Hans (Frozen)

Bellwether (Zootopia)

Obsession

These are the villains who don't want or need more power, but rather are fixated on the protagonist, for one reason or another.

Revenge:

Evil Queen (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs)

Captain Hook (Peter Pan)

Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty)

Shere Khan (The Jungle Book)

Amos Slade (The Fox and the Hound)

Bowler Hat Guy (Meet the Robinsons)

Callaghan (Big Hero 6)

Control:

Most of these are toxic romantic abusers, but familial ones are counted as well.

Lumpjaw (Fun & Fancy Free; the Bongo sequence)

Lady Tremaine (Cinderella)

Gaston (Beauty and the Beast)

Frollo (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)

Jack-in-the-Box (Fantasia 2000; the Steadfast Tin Soldier sequence)

Mother Gothel (Tangled)

Ralph (Ralph Breaks the Internet)

~~~~~

Tier 3: Means to an End

Cruelty

These are the villains who have no real interest in "power," but are willing to use unethical methods to get what they want (usually monetary or material desires).

Animal:

Cruella DeVil (101 Dalmatians)

Edgar (The Aristocats)

Clayton (Tarzan)

Child:

Every single Pinocchio villain (besides Monstro lol)!!

Medusa (The Rescuers)

Sykes (Oliver & Company)

McCleach (The Rescuers Down Under)

Forces of Nature

What it says on the tin. These aren't really "bad guys," no matter how scary they appear. They're just Nature and a source of conflict for our heroes.

Monstro (Pinocchio)

T-Rex (Fantasia; the Rite of Spring sequence)

"Man" (Bambi)

The Wolf (Make Mine Music; Peter & the Wolf sequence)

The Rat (Lady and the Tramp)

Black Bear (The Fox and the Hound)

The Firebird (Fantasia 2000; the Firebird Suite sequence)

Carnotaurus (Dinosaur)

Te Ka (Moana)

Don't Fuck with the Fae

Same principle as Forces of Nature, only fantastical/supernatural examples, and as a result, are often more petty or cruel. But mostly, they don't actually do any harm when left alone. But if you cross their path....

Zeus (Fantasia; the Pastoral Symphony sequence)

Chernabog (Fantasia; the Night on Bald Mountain sequence)

Willy the Giant (Fun & Fancy Free; Mickey and the Beanstalk sequence)

The Headless Horseman (The Adventures of Ichabod & Mr. Toad; Sleepy Hollow sequence)

Madam Mim (The Sword in the Stone)

Tamatoa (Moana)

~~~

Tier 4: Ambiguous

Intangible

I'm just gonna list the films that have a sorta "villain"-ish, in the sense that there's a major conflict/theme that hurts the protagonists, but is mostly very.... vague or metaphorical.

Dumbo (society/prejudice)

Lady and the Tramp (classism/animal cruelty)

The Fox & the Hound (yes, I counted Amos Slade and the Bear previously, but the "true" villain is Prejudice)

Brother Bear (ironically, would fit under "Obsession/Revenge"..... if the target was more than just an ordinary bear)

Chicken Little (society/bad parents)

Bolt (reality)

Encanto (generational trauma)

Strange World (generational trauma)

It's Complicated:

Honestly, I straight up could not decide on a category for these movies because their "villains" are much more complicated than your average Disney antagonist.

Lilo & Stith

Treasure Planet

Raya and the Last Dragon

And finally!

No Villains:

Here's the handful of Disney movies with absolutely ZERO villains or major antagonists or themes that can be interpreted as the "true" villain/conflict.

(I don't count the Heffalumps and Woozles, because they only exist in Pooh's dream lol)

Saludos Amigos

The Three Cabelleros

Melody Time

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

Winnie the Pooh (2011)

[taranodongirl]

Ideas for my own Pokemon x Twisted Wonderland fanfic Part 3

Wild Pokemon that Appear in Twisted Wonderland Part 2

Oddish that evolves into a Gloom and Vileplume: An Oddish that appeared in Pomfior’s herb garden and took a liking to Vil, but when it evolved into Gloom Vil became conflicted between his bond with the little poison bud and how it’s new and stinky form could hurt his image. When Alexia explained that Gloom can evolve into a Belossom, Vil tried to convince it to evolve into that. This made Epel lose his patience with Vil and decided to take Gloom and move into Ramshackle, which made Vil question himself and grow depressed. After his overblot Vil apologized and admitted that he didn’t care about Gloom’s new form and that he needs to ease up on his obsession with image. Alexia agreed to let Gloom come back, but only if Vil agreed that Epel can talk the way he wants, and to neglect his beauty routine for each day that Epel and Oddish lived with her.

Misery the Misdrievious: A wild and sneaky Misdrievious that appeared in TWST and likes feeding on the misery of the students. She was temporarily partnered with Vil after Epel and Oddish left Pomfior and took advantage of his insecurity as a food source. She later ditched him mid-show to make Vil even more upset and made his overblot worse. Misery later overblotted due to her addiction of eating the overblots misery and was defeated by Alexia. She was taken to a Pokemon rehab.

Meltan and Melmetal: A minor filler villain thats more of a pest problem than an actual villain. One day an Ultra wormhole sent a bunch of meltan into NRC where they began to cause some mischief with their love of eating metal. They were first found by Ortho, who wanted to keep them as pets (it was kinda like in FMA when Alphonse wanted those cats), but when Idia found them eating his tech and little brother’s arm, the school freaked out and tried to exterminate them, which caused one of them to evolve into Melmetal in self defense. Alexia and Ortho were able to defeat Melmetal and helped it along with most of the Meltan return through the Ultra Wormhole, but one of the Meltan stayed behind and became Ortho’s first Pokemon, much to Idia’s dismay. Ortho named it Tinker and feeds it scrap metal and pokemon food.

Pollywag twins: The students find a pair of Pokemon eggs which go into the care of Alexia’s Crogunk Belladonna. They hatch after a few chapters, eventually evolve into poliwhirl, and then one evolves into Polywrath and the other evolves into Polytoad.

Doduo: a wild pokemon that ended up with the flamingos and became Cater’s first Pokemon. I don’t know why I chose this, it was just the first pokemon that came to mind when I was trying to think of what Pokemon the Heartslabyul boys would get and for some reason it just seemed to fit Cater.

Carnivine: A wild Carnivine that suddenly appears in the rose garden and acts as a mini boss. It mistook the hedgehogs for food and Alexia had to go into his mouth and save them.

Bongo the Bonsly: Jack’s first Pokemon. I chose a Bonsly because everyone else is already thinking of giving him a cactus pokemon and I didn’t want to copy them, but I still wanted to give him a pokemon that was at least somewhat related to his cactus hobby and that was when I remembered Bonsly! It’s a rock type pokemon that looks like a plant type and doesn’t like getting wet, I can totally see Jack making that mistake and watering Bongo but since he is so used to watering cacti he doesn’t put enough water on Bongo to hurt it but it still makes it uncomfortable. Bongo’s name is a reference to Bongo the Bear from the Disney film ‘Fun and Fancy Free’

Bullseye the Tauros (might change name): a wild Tauros that appeared at Epel’s hometown and was a mini boss before becoming Epel’s first pokemon. It’s first impression didn’t go well, Bullseye was suffering from a toothache and was running himself into the apple trees in an attempt to knock it loose and this caused the townspeople to mistake him for a mad bull that escaped from somewhere but when Epel saw the Tauros’s three tails, he suspected he could be a monster or a pokemon and called Alexia who confirmed it was a pokemon and that it’s behavior was either a result of confusion or pain. Epel having grown up on a farm and as a member of the equestrian club, realized what Tauros was trying to do and attempted to wrestle it to the ground and help it. Now Tauros stays at Epel’s house and helps the town by pulling carts and knocking apples out of trees.

Furret and Tepig: Cheka’s first Pokemon and a reference to Timone and Pumbaa

Beedrill: a swarm of beedrill that appear in scarabia and were defeated by Kalim’s oasis maker spell because they don’t like flying in rain. Jamil was in constant terror that day.

Ribbon-Bee the Ribombee: a wild Pokemon that appears in Twisted Wonderland and meets Kalim due to circumstances involving outside sports causing Kalim’s turban to fall off and Ribombee getting tangled up in the accessories. Kalim thought it was a kind of fairy and when he asked for its name, he mistook it for Ribbon-Bee due to the sounds it makes and and the name stuck ever since. In fact it became a kinda inside joke because Ribombee look a bit like bees and Kalim gave it ribbons to wear. Due to its special ability to synchronize its heart with others, Ribbon-Bee became a huge help to Kalim as he has difficulty understanding people. Like Mina’s Ribombee in the anime, Ribbon-Bee is able to make Kalim sense what it feels and uses this to help Kalim understand the feelings of others.

Muk: A wild Muk that appears as a mini boss in Pomfiore. At first it remained hidden due to all the perfumes in the dorm, but it’s stench soon became so strong it overpowered the perfume and its pressure was causing the plants to die. In response to this Vil and the dorm evacuated to get it fumigated and had to stay at Savannaclaw until it was done. At first they thought Ruggie’s Trubbish Nuka (who was visiting) was the cause but since Trubbish smell less bad the friendlier they get and it’s been so happy ever since moving into Ruggie’s hometown, it’s bad smell is almost completely gone, and Alexia pointed out that Trubbish can’t cause the same environmental damage that was happening in Pomfiore. While the dorm was being fumigated by Vargas, Sam, and Crowley, they were attacked by Muk and had to call the students for help. Muk was defeated by Nuka, Vil’s Vileplume, and Alexia’s Crogunk Belladonna.

[fukuzawa-armeddaddyagency]

Since everyone’s on about nicknames, what are the people that do have them and what’s their nickname?

Oh dear...

Ranpo is little bird / baby bird / birdie

Osamu is Goose

Poe is bear

Ango is bongo or Tanuki

Tachihara is pumpkin

Nikolai is dove / little dove

Kunikida is sunshine

Junichiro is Junebug

Atsushi is peanut

Kenji is bean

Sigma is bunny

Kris is puppy

[fleshybones]

classic list of Disney originals in chronological order starting in the 40s/50s ending 2023

Snow White & Little Briar Rose & The Frog Prince & Rapunzel by Brothers Grimm 

The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi 

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Dumbo the Flying Elephant by Helen Aberson & Harold Pearl Bambi, a Life in the Woods by Felix Salten Casey at the Bat by Ernest Thayer 

Peter & the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev Little Bear Bongo by Sinclair Lewis 

Jack and the Beanstalk by Benjamin Tabart Johnny Appleseed, Little Toot by Hardie Gramatky Trees by Joyce Kilmer & Pecos Bill 

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving 

Cinderella & Sleeping Beauty by Charles Perrault 

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll 

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie Joe Grant’s Pet English Springer Spaniel Lady, Happy Dan, The Cynical Dog, Lady & the Tramp: The Story of Two Dogs by Ward Greene 

The Sleeping Beauty by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky The 101 Dalmatians by Dodie Smith 

The Sword in the Stone by T.H. White 

The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling 

The Secret Origin of the Aristocats by Tom McGowan & Tom Rowe The Legend of Robinhood **

Winnie the Pooh book series by A.A. Milne 

The Rescuers book series by Margery Sharp The Fox and the Hound by Daniel P. Mannix 

The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander 

Basil of Baker Street series by Eve Titus 

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens 

The Little Mermaid & The Steadfast Tin Soldier & The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen 

Beauty and the Beast by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont 

Aladdin and the Magic Lamp from 1001 Nights Hamlet by William Shakespeare 

The Lives of Pocahontas and John Smith **

Notre Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo 

The Greek myth of Heracles **

Ballad of Mulan by Guo Maoqian 

Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs Noah’s Ark inter Alia Kingdom of the Sun by Roger Allers & Matthew Jacobs 

Inca mythology ** 

The Legend of Atlantis ** Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson Inuit cultures ** Sweating Bullets by Mike Gabriel  

Henny Penny ** 

A Day with Wilbur Robinson by William Joyce •

American Dog by Chris Sanders 

The Frog Princess by E.D. Baker 

Scandinavian & Sámi cultures ** 

Big Hero 6 by Man of Action 

Buddy cop films ** Polynesian cultures & Hawaiian mythof Māui** Southeast Asian cultures & mythology ** Colombian culture ** 

Saludos Amigos 

The Three Caballeros Make Mine Music Melody Time 

The Adventures of Ichabod & Mr. Toad 

The Black Cauldron 

The Great Mouse Detective 

Fantasia & Fantasia 2000 

Atlantis : The Lost Empire 

Treasure Planet 

Brother Bear 

Home on the Range Meet the Robinsons 

Bolt 

Zootopia 

Moana  

Raya and the Last Dragon  

Encanto  

Strange World Nov. 23 2022 

Wish Nov. 22, 2023

[chiimeramanticore]

Part of the Band - Chapter 3 - In The Back of The Music Store

Chapter summary: Dook meets the gang. An important decision is made.

Chapter word count: 1,103

<- Chapter 2 - Chapter 4 ->

Read it on AO3!

"Beach Bear, I thought you said you were takin' me to band practice?" Dook says as they enter the doors of a music store.

"I am," Beach Bear replies. "I work here. Not on the weekends, of course, but I'm the assistant manager, so I'm allowed to do whatever I want with the back room. You said you needed something to play on, right?"

"Yeah," Dook murmurs. The amount of different instruments here, the amount of variety within just one type of instrument... It's staggering, in a nice way. He has to resist the urge to touch anything.

"Well, you know your drums better than me," Beach says. He points to an area filled with drums and sticks. "Go pick out whatever you need. I'll be in the back–" he gestures toward a white door marked 'employees only'– "The door'll be unlocked. Just come join us whenever you're ready."

"Wait, I can't–" Beach Bear is already gone. "I can't move an entire drum set on my own," Dook finishes, defeated.

Regardless, he moves toward the drums section. There's several sets laid out for show, with other types of percussion behind them. Dook gravitates toward the wall, passing by bongos and a marimba and unable to resist tapping on them both once. The wall is filled with accessories, mallets, hammers, drum keys... but most importantly, drum sticks. Dook takes down pair after pair, running a finger along the wood of each one. Soon, he comes across an unassuming, light-colored pair, but they're silky smooth. These are the one.

He heads toward the back room now, sparing one more glance at the sets in the front of the percussion section as he does.

"Beach Bear, I–" Dook pokes his head into the door of the back room, and falls silent as the several inhabitants all go quiet to look at him.

Beach Bear is there, of course, accompanied by four other characters. Another bear, sat on a couch strumming a guitar. A bird, unlike any that Dook's ever seen, sitting next to him. A mouse, sitting arms crossed on a chair perpendicular to the two. And another, smaller mouse, standing near the corner– she couldn't be older than maybe eleven years.

"Hi," Dook says.

"Everyone, this is Dook," Beach Bear says. "He's going to be joining us as our drummer."

"Where'd you find this one, off the street?" The seated mouse says.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Beach replies. She scoffs.

"I thought you wanted us to be taken seriously," she says.

"Well, I for one think he belongs here just as good as any of us!" The bear says. He puts down his guitar and approaches Dook to shake his hand, the bird following closely behind.

"It's a pleasure to meet ya, Dook," he says. "I'm Billy Bob, and this here's my buddy Looney Bird!"

"How do you do," the bird says, and offers a wing to shake. Dook takes it.

"The cranky one over there is Mini," Beach Bear chimes in.

"Queenie," she says.

"We were in a band together before this," Beach Bear explains. "Queenie was her stage name." He gestures to Billy Bob and Looney Bird, who have returned to their seat. "Billy Bob and I met at college, and him and Looney Bird have been best friends since, like..."

"Second grade," Billy Bob says proudly.

"Second grade," Beach Bear finishes.

"You went to college?" Dook asks.

"For a semester," Beach says. "Then I got bored and left."

"And Billy Bob left with you?"

"Oh– No, no. He was a street performer near my campus." He laughs. "We hung out a lot during those days, and when I moved here, they followed."

"It's like you can't get rid of us," Looney Bird says, curling up on the couch.

"And who's the... little one back there?" Dook asks.

"Mitzi," Queenie says. "I'm babysitting. Don't pay attention to her."

Dook looks over to Mitzi, giving her a small wave. She waves back.

"Hey, I thought you were going to bring drums back here," Beach Bear says.

"I came in to tell you," Dook tells him. "I can't bring back a whole drum set myself. And you'd probably have to dismantle it somewhat to get it through the door, anyway."

"Oh! Well, then, we'll help you," Beach Bear says. "Guys, c'mon– we're gonna move a drum set in here."

Everyone stands to help out. "Stay here," Queenie tells Mitzi.

"I wanna help," Mitzi responds.

"I said, stay here."

"Hey, let her help if she wants," Beach Bear says. "She can, uhh..." He looks to Dook for help.

"You can help carry the, uh, um... th- the drum stands! They're real important. Otherwise I'd just have all the drums on the floor. Not very good for conducting sound, you know." Mitzi giggles.

"Okay," she says, joining them.

·–—–·

"Well? Which one do you like?" Beach Bear asks. The store has three sets put out for display, laid out in front of the group. "Whichever one you choose, it's yours to own."

"Wait– own?" Dook asks, looking at him.

"Sure," Beach says. "Sure, we can't bring it home with us, but if we wanna keep it in the back room full-time, that isn't exactly 'borrowing' it. We'll have to buy it."

"Beach Bear, I can't afford a whole drum set," Dook says, hushed. "I couldn't even afford a place to stay last night."

"Huh? Oh, no worries, man," Beach Bear replies, lowering his voice as well. "I totally got you."

"Got... me?"

"Yeah! I'll pay for it, dude."

"I... Beach Bear, I can't let you do that," Dook says.

"Hey, hey, I've got the money. Don't worry about it," he says. "Besides, what are you gonna do? Pay for it instead?"

Dook shuts his mouth.

"Now c'mon. Which one's calling to you?" Beach Bear returns to

normal volume and gestures back toward the three drum sets.

Dook returns his attention to them. His eyes pass between a red set, a blue one, and... off to the right, a silver one. It's not even a full set. So then, why does this one catch his eye? He lingers on it a little longer, waiting to see how it'll make him feel to imagine playing it. Then he turns back to the red one. This is the sensible choice. It's big, elegant, sleek...

...Dook turns back to the silver one. Something about it is almost pitiable, like he would feel bad for it if he didn't choose it. Like if he didn't choose it, no one else would.

He points to it. "That one," he says. "The silver one."

[timelesstimesgoneby]

Timeline Settings Disney Animated Canon Fantasia: Rite Of Spring 65,000 BCE Brother Bear 10,000 Bc Atlantis The Lost Empire 7000 BC Fantasia 2000: Pomp And Circumstance 1800 BCE Firebird Suite 1590 BCE Fantasia: The Pastoral Symphony) 1277 BCE Hercules 1179 Bce The Lion King 1178 Bce Moana 984 Bce Maui Gone Fishing  short 984 Bce Ye Olden Days short 800 A.D. The Sword In The Stone 400s The Sword In The Stone 400s The Black Cauldron Dark Ages 570 Fantasia The Sources Apprentice 740 Aladdin 800s Fantasia Night On Bald Moutian 1025 Robin Hood 1194 Sleeping Beauty 1300s The Hunchback Of Notre Dame 1482 The Emperor's New Groove -1500 Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs Early 1500s Pocahontas 1607 Fun And Fancy Free: Mickey And The Beanstal 1734 Beauty & The Beast 1770s The Adventures Of Ichabod 1790 Melody Time: The Legend Of Johnny Appleseed 1795 Tangled 1820 50th Anniversary Animation Countdown short 1820 Frozen 1820 Tangled Ever After short 1841 Melody Time: Pecos Bill 1858 Alice In Wonderland 1862 Fantasia 2000 The Steadfast Tin Soldier 1865 Cinderella Mid 1860s Home On The Range Mid 1875s Fantasia Dance Of The Hours 1876 Tarzan Mid 1882 Disneypedia Living In The Jungle short 1882 Pinocchio 1883 Make Mine Music: The Martins And The Coys 1885 Make Mine Music: The Whale Who Wanted To Sing At The Met 1886 Make Mine Music Casey At The Bat 1888 Make Mine Music Johny Fedora And Alice Bluebonnet 1889 Melody Time Once Upon A Wintertime 1890 The Little Mermaid Mid 1890s Fantasia Nutcraker 1892 The Jungle Book 1893 Basil The Great Mouse Detective 1897 So You Think You Can Sleuth short 1897 Peter Pan 1900 Mr Toad 1906 Lady & The Tramp 1908 The Aristocats 1910 Atlantis The Lost Empire 1914 Fantasia 2000 Pines Of Rome 1924 The Many Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 1926 Winnie The Pooh And A Day For Eeyore Short 1926 Mini Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh Short 1926 Winnie The Pooh 1926 The Ballad Of Nessie Short 1926 Get A Horse Short  1928   Fantasia 200 RHAPSODY BLUE 1932 The Flying Mouse short 1934 "The Band Concert short 1935 " Make Mine Music Peter And The Wolf 1936 Make Mine Music Blue Bayou 1936 "Elmer Elephant short 1936 " Thru the Mirror short 1936 Three Blind Mouseketeers short 1936 The Old Mill short 1937 Farmyard Symphony short 1938 The Brave Little Tailor short 1938 Paperman Short  1940 "Lend a Paw Short 1941 " Dumbo 1941 Fun And Fancy Free Bongo 1941 The Reluctant Dragon short 1941 Saludos Amigos 1942 South Of The Border With Disney short 1942 Bambi 1942 Symphony Hour short 1942 The Three Caballeros 1944 Make Mine Music All The Cats Join In 1946 "A Knight for a Day short 1946 " Bath Day short 1946 Melody Time Little Toot 1948 "Pueblo Pluto short 1949 " "Puss Cafe short 1950 " "Lambert the Sheepish Lion short 1951 " Donald Applecore short 1952 Water Birds short 1952 "Trick or Treat short 1952 " Don's Fountain of Youth short 1953 Casey Bats Again short 1954 Grand Canyon short 1958 101 Dalmatians 1961 Rescuers 1-2 1970s inner workings short 1980s The Fox & The Hound 1981 Oliver & Company 1988 Fantasia 2000: The Carnival Of The Animals 1999 Lilo & Stitch 2002 Chicken Little 2002 Easter Egg Runt On The Litter short 2002 Easter Egg Foxy Loxy Short 2002 Meet The Robinsons 2007 Keep Moving Forward Invention short  2007 Bolt 2008 Super Rhino short 2008 Wreck-It Ralph 2012 Big Hero 6 2014 Feast short 2014 Tokyo Go short 2014 Zootopia 2016 Wreck-It Ralph 2 2018 Meet The Robinsons 2037 Treasure Planet 10000000000000000000...

[irenadel]

Which Disney movie do you think would be Johns favorite?

I think he wants to say something classic, straight outta the postwar period. But no princess flicks because those are for girlies like you. If anyone remembers Fun and Fancy Free, the one with Bongo the Bear not understanding bear courtship rituals (it cracked him up as a kid, still does, not an ounce of self-awareness there) and with Mickey Mouse in Jack and the Beanstalk, that would have been his favorite. Oh people knew how to make entertainment in those days. None of this PC bullshit for the kids, just good ole American FUN. But the truth is…

He sat down to watch Lilo and Stitch with you and has yet to recover. He will never, under torture, ever, EVER admit to it but he was close to tears because OHANA MEANS NOBODY GETS LEFT BEHIND and you were actually able to see (and pretend you didn’t) the watery sheen to his eyes in the end. You were so busy looking away that you couldn’t see him turning to you. It’s little and broken, but still good, he thought, taking your hand in his.

[kylo-wrecked]

🥂 Does it count as a toast if you’re just offering a flask while sitting on the back of your pickup? Probably not. Whatever. {Nilza for ex-con}

Here, in the afterglow of night, Ben laughs. Laughs under the starless roadstop sky. Neon and no vacancies. 

Sound he makes isn't a scoff, nor a huff. He proffers neither the typical deprecating or patronizing expression in accompaniment. Ben's laugh, gruff as it is, is a genuine indication of humor. Cheer, however, you want to call it. 

"Whatever," he agrees. Accepts the flask. Contents are strong. Clear. Maybe homemade, maybe not. He's had and concocted worse. In Dontamo, New Year's was playing bongos on walls. Hiding SIM cards in floor tile, teddy bears. Sugar was a weapons-grade material. But even at D.O., you could always rely on spirits to be spirits.  

"It counts." 

Ben rarely lifted his head to look at Nilza direct, often opting to cock a quarter gaze at her instead. Found her eyes occasionally, if that. Thought she didn't want to be bothered, same as her dog. 

With Nilza and Ben, New Year's was sitting in the back of a pickup parked within an inky road stop along 1-15, passing a blunt-force-trauma flask back and forth. Seemed the best either of them could hope for now, but who knew what the next three hundred sixty-five days might bring? 

"Cheers." He smiled a little and passed the flask back. Hesitated. "You plan on making a resolution?" 

[soyouareandrewdobson]

Have you seen the animated short “The Brave Locomotive” on YouTube? I’m bringing it up because the guy who made it, Andrew Chesworth, attended the exact same college Dobson went to, MCAD, and went on to be an animator at Disney in the 2010s, basically having the career Dobson always wanted, but failed to get.

I am aware of it as well as Chesworth, having seen his name once upon a time pop up at one of the first videos on youtube ever discussing Dobson, made by Foreverpandering. I am also aware of his involvement in Wreck it Ralph and Frozen, two of the last good movies made in the 2010s by Disney.

As for "The Brave Locomotive" I have watched parts of it in the beginning and the end when the little locomotive saves everyone, but sadly haven't watched it fully yet despite being less than 10 minutes long.

But what I have seen, I loved. Not only is the thing beautifully animated, you can really feel the love the guy has for old school Disney shorts seeing how the animation style and the "music" of it was very reminiscent of old shorts made by Disney in the 40s and 50s. Particularly ones like "Sleepy Hollow" or "Bongo the Bear". Shorts meant to more or less "encapsulate" a certain rural american or western image, of which some people at Disney wre very fond of.

I highly recommend people watching that thing

[the-irrelevant-trumpeter]

vhs christmas carols: the coherent version

clark just casually sounding like an angel

meredith vibing on the bongos is so funny

i love the choreography godbless james tolbert

the box lids making the play button gagged me fr

janaya sounds so good ugh

and is also pretty wtf and i love della’s costume

i also love jim’s costume! maybe this will just be me raving over the costumes

jim making a heart with his hands as he leaves? i love him. he has such himbo energy

joey lauren and brian leaping onto stage is so funny

actually the three of them in general are so funny in this show

the new songs are so boppy, i know this is such a broad statement but i don’t know what else to say about them except that they’re all fucking spectacular and clark outdid himself

the model walking!!!! the dancing!!!! iconic

everything about the internal panic song is hilarious, a strong contender for my favourite of all of the new songs

“you’re more beautiful than ever” CRYING SCREAMING SOBBING WHAT THE FUCK WHY AM I FEELING THINGS

jim and della are so cute istg

“not combs that comb but combs you wear” fave lyric

this song is so heartfelt and janaya and curt do such a good job and sound so good

the matching combs in the hair 😭 i love them

the cold streets of the city probably is my favourite song

their voices are so funny, this is my favourite trio of all time

brian’s face when the match girl comes in is so funny

and lauren’s face when she gets offered a match ansjdhdjsksa

as i said, i will be raving about costumes, and the match girl costume is soooo good i’m so obsessed

scrooge bumping into della and now the match girl is so funny

meredith tearing up is so real i also feel like crying

idk what else i can say about grandma land except that man this story is genuinely so sad

and that jamie burns is gorgeous and also has the voice of an angel

i like how this final song of the act sets up scrooge and the christmas carol themes

“hi clark”

THE AUDIENCE IS SO REAL FOR CHEERING AS SOON AS BAH HUMBUG STARTS

meredith helping out with the bass line on the keyboard is sooo funny

AJ!SCROOGE IS SO GOOD

like i love dylan obvs but i adore aj’s version so much

going into this with the cast changes in mind i was a little more hesitant about brian as fred (just because i think corey is so good at it) but i love the way he plays him so much, he’s so funny

bob’s wave when he’s introduced is so cute

having meredith be in the band for most of it and then coming down as marley is genuinely so ingenious. his presence is constantly hanging over scrooge and the entire narrative even when scrooge doesn’t realise it,

“scrooge gives a shriek” *short high pitched scream* killed me

the ghosts wrapping the chains around scrooge is really cool

christmas past is always pretty unhinged but i need whatever jlb put into this performance because it’s OFF THE CHARTS she’s so iconic

the slo-mo dancing is so good thank you james tolbert

the contrast between jim & della and scrooge & belle KILLS ME!!! need whoever deduced to have them played by the same person to pay my therapy bills please /pos

curt does a really great job in this role

also JANAYA ma’am im already in love with you, you don’t have to keep driving the needle in

aj sounds so heartbroken holy shit he was such a good choice to take over for dylan he’s so so so so so good

james tolbert crushing it as always

the light up shoes and glasses is still iconic

every time tiny tim gets a little more pathetic and this is the correct choice for character

i also like that it’s developed from just emily being disgusted by tim in the last one to bob also being the same in this one

joey trying to drag brian to his feet is my favourite

also tim using the bear as a microphone

basically what i’m trying to say that every new character choice in regards to tim is absolutely perfect godbless

JIM AND DELLA BEING THE COUPLE THAT WERE IN DEBT IS SO CLEVER I LOVE HOW THEY TIE THE SHOWS TOGETHER

bob holding tim’s bear 😭

the choice to have the people that scrooge has wronged surrounding him and him begging to THEM that he’s changed is such a good directorial choice like!!! james tolbert i will never stop thanking you for this decision

THE MATCH GIRL INSTEAD OF THE TURKEY BOY

SCROOGE BUYING SOME MATCHES AAAAA FJDJDHEBDHDND HIS REDEMPTION IS LITERALLY SAVING LIVES ALREADY

clark audibly giggling as aj and lauren fumble around with the money is so precious

SCROOGE GIVING JIM THE WATCH AAAAAAAAAAAAAA

can’t believe i went from laughing at fred still partying with the glasses to crying at his expression at seeing scrooge trying to connect with him. brian holden i am suing you for emotional damage.

overall the show is still so good but honestly what was i expecting

the first act was a really great edition to the story and i love how they made them connect to christmas carol

and all of the cast changes in christmas carol were excellent and worked so well

this is still the best starkid show no i’m not taking criticism

and i hope they keep on performing it because i love it so much

[jess-the-jester]

The Kurumada x Alice rant

Spoilers for all of YTTD up to Chapter 3-B. It might be completely unintelligible but I have strong thoughts on these fictional characters.

I want to talk about Alice and Kurumada as a concept because although when I entered this fandom I legit had 0 ships in mind and didn't find most of the cast shippable, I am in love with these two as a pairing. But I wanna talk about them as characters and why they work so well.

Alice is a theatric man who has some degree of suspicion directed towards others and despite being a convicted murderer is also one of THE BEST people in the death game, morally. Like I love him he's just a good guy.

Kurumada is rough, and abrasive, and refuses to help when he thinks the dolls will die during the fight with Midori, but is also one of the first to actually turn around and reverse his side. He grabs Maple to kill her because he thinks he can- but also because he's protecting everyone else. If he really wanted to, he could've just killed Sou (or, in the other route, ESPECIALLY KANNA) and succeeded in his little mini game. His dialogue might lend credence to the idea that he would. But he's just a little guy that wants to help. When Ranmaru is about to die he offers to take the tag and die, knowing that Ranmaru has more to offer than him in his wounded state.

Him and Alice share violent tendencies and open aggression, with Kuru being more actually violent and Alice being more threatening in speech (Kuru really does just shake his fist at people by contrast). They're really similar, though. Big tough guys who are just softies on the inside, and I think that's why I find them so cute together. There are two ways it goes.

Or that's the space where they both sorta break down from their performance and share in actual feelings. Because they do both have them. We see Alice mourn his sister (even just when she breaks the Bongos)

Either they are perpetually postering to impress the other person which is an age old trope that i still find really funny,

and we see Kuru cry at the thought of the others being killed by Keiji (with the Midori plan).

Now there is one thing in particular I wanna highlight though, that makes this ship particularly compelling for me

In the logic route, as I'm sure most of you know, the remaining Yabasume sibling dies at the hands of a trap set by Ranmaru.

Tragedy

Who is the one to see this trap and report it?

Kurumada

If Kurumada and Alice were truly together, then Kurumada is the first one to witness him nearly dying. Kurumada is powerless to save him himself. He can hardly even walk anymore. There's a giant hole in his chest that may or may not kill him.

Kurumada has to suffer as he is unable to respond, and unable to save Alice, the others failing to get there in time.

Kurumada's actions, which have been entirely self-sacrificial up until this point, culminate as his own choice to try to kill Maple to save the others, end in his failure to save the person he has bonded the most with.

He has chosen others at the ultimate cost of himself.

Kurumada, if he is still alive, is the one to propose that the dolls are the ones placed in the coffins.

Kurumada gives up everything he has, and it is, in the logic route, simply not enough. And even when Alice lives- Kurumada's inability to prioritize himself leads instead to his own death

(Most likely)

AND BEAR IN MIND

IN HALF OF THE RUNS ALICE DIES BECAUSE HE CARED ABOUT REKO SO MUCH HE WAS ABOUT TO KILL RIO

HE WAS ABOUT TO 1V1 AN INHUMAN MURDER MACHINE OVER HIS SISTER

ALICE'S VERSION OF SELFLESSNESS IS NOT PROTECTION- IT IS VENGEANCE

WHEREAS KURU'S IS ALL ABOUT SACRIFICE

ANyway t

that's

why I think they balance each other out

And why I think they're a really sad pairing.

and alice has to watch as his roboyfriend gets turned into mincemeat when that wasn't even an established rule

guys even if you save alice kurumada still has a high chance to die and then he can also die first

and literal best case scenario where both of them live Kurumada still runs out of battery and they just get a tearful goodbye.

I just like them a lot.

[chimeramanticore-art]

Part of the Band – Chapter 3

Chapter 3 of my RAE longfic! Dook meets the gang. An important decision is made.

< Chapter 2 - Chapter 4 (TBA) >

Read it on AO3!

———

"Beach Bear, I thought you said you were takin' me to band practice?" Dook says as they enter the doors of a music store.

"I am," Beach Bear replies. "I work here. Not on the weekends, of course, but I'm the assistant manager, so I'm allowed to do whatever I want with the back room. You said you needed something to play on, right?"

"Yeah," Dook murmurs. The amount of different instruments here, the amount of variety within just one type of instrument... It's staggering, in a nice way. He has to resist the urge to touch anything.

"Well, you know your drums better than me," Beach says. He points to an area filled with drums and sticks. "Go pick out whatever you need. I'll be in the back–" he gestures toward a white door marked 'employees only'– "The door'll be unlocked. Just come join us whenever you're ready."

"Wait, I can't–" Beach Bear is already gone. "I can't move an entire drum set on my own," Dook finishes, defeated.

Regardless, he moves toward the drums section. There's several sets laid out for show, with other types of percussion behind them. Dook gravitates toward the wall, passing by bongos and a marimba and unable to resist tapping on them both once. The wall is filled with accessories, mallets, hammers, drum keys... but most importantly, drum sticks. Dook takes down pair after pair, running a finger along the wood of each one. Soon, he comes across an unassuming, light-colored pair, but they're silky smooth. These are the one.

He heads toward the back room now, sparing one more glance at the sets in the front of the percussion section as he does.

"Beach Bear, I–" Dook pokes his head into the door of the back room, and falls silent as the several inhabitants all go quiet to look at him.

Beach Bear is there, of course, accompanied by four other characters. Another bear, sat on a couch strumming a guitar. A bird, unlike any that Dook's ever seen, sitting next to him. A mouse, sitting arms crossed on a chair perpendicular to the two. And another, smaller mouse, standing near the corner– she couldn't be older than maybe eleven years.

"Hi," Dook says.

"Everyone, this is Dook," Beach Bear says. "He's going to be joining us as our drummer."

"Where'd you find this one, off the street?" The seated mouse says.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Beach replies. She scoffs.

"I thought you wanted us to be taken seriously," she says.

"Well, I for one think he belongs here just as good as any of us!" The bear says. He puts down his guitar and approaches Dook to shake his hand, the bird following closely behind.

"It's a pleasure to meet ya, Dook," he says. "I'm Billy Bob, and this here's my buddy Looney Bird!"

"How do you do," the bird says, and offers a wing to shake. Dook takes it.

"The cranky one over there is Mini," Beach Bear chimes in.

"Queenie," she says.

"We were in a band together before this," Beach Bear explains. "Queenie was her stage name." He gestures to Billy Bob and Looney Bird, who have returned to their seat. "Billy Bob and I met at college, and him and Looney Bird have been best friends since, like..."

"Second grade," Billy Bob says proudly.

"Second grade," Beach Bear finishes.

"You went to college?" Dook asks.

"For a semester," Beach says. "Then I got bored and left."

"And Billy Bob left with you?"

"Oh– No, no. He was a street performer near my campus." He laughs. "We hung out a lot during those days, and when I moved here, they followed."

"It's like you can't get rid of us," Looney Bird says, curling up on the couch.

"And who's the... little one back there?" Dook asks.

"Mitzi," Queenie says. "I'm babysitting. Don't pay attention to her."

Dook looks over to Mitzi, giving her a small wave. She waves back.

"Hey, I thought you were going to bring drums back here," Beach Bear says.

"I came in to tell you," Dook tells him. "I can't bring back a whole drum set myself. And you'd probably have to dismantle it somewhat to get it through the door, anyway."

"Oh! Well, then, we'll help you," Beach Bear says. "Guys, c'mon– we're gonna move a drum set in here."

Everyone stands to help out. "Stay here," Queenie tells Mitzi.

"I wanna help," Mitzi responds.

"I said, stay here."

"Hey, let her help if she wants," Beach Bear says. "She can, uhh..." He looks to Dook for help.

"You can help carry the, uh, um... th- the drum stands! They're real important. Otherwise I'd just have all the drums on the floor. Not very good for conducting sound, you know." Mitzi giggles.

"Okay," she says, joining them.

·–—–·

"Well? Which one do you like?" Beach Bear asks. The store has three sets put out for display, laid out in front of the group. "Whichever one you choose, it's yours to own."

"Wait– own?" Dook asks, looking at him.

"Sure," Beach says. "Sure, we can't bring it home with us, but if we wanna keep it in the back room full-time, that isn't exactly 'borrowing' it. We'll have to buy it."

"Beach Bear, I can't afford a whole drum set," Dook says. "I couldn't even afford a place to stay last night."

"Huh? Oh, no worries, man," Beach Bear replies. "I totally got you."

"Got... me?"

"Yeah! I'll pay for it, dude."

"I... Beach Bear, I can't let you do that," Dook says.

"Hey, hey, I've got the money. Don't worry about it," he says. "Besides, what are you gonna do? Pay for it instead?"

Dook shuts his mouth.

"Now c'mon. Which one's calling to you?" Beach Bear gestures back toward the three drum sets.

Dook returns his attention to them. His eyes pass between a red set, a blue one, and... off to the right, a silver one. It's not even a full set. So then, why does this one catch his eye? He lingers on it a little longer, waiting to see how it'll make him feel to imagine playing it. Then he turns back to the red one. This is the sensible choice. It's big, elegant, sleek...

...Dook turns back to the silver one. Something about it is almost pitiable, like he would feel bad for it if he didn't choose it. Like if he didn't choose it, no one else would.

He points to it. "That one," he says. "The silver one."