#the kind of characters who are relatively chill but are also very tired and can absolutely destroy you verbally

[shsl-box-worshipper]

Realized that I haven't posted my CL OC here at all. Cuz fuck it, cringe culture is dead and I like her

This is Alexandrie Fontaine, or, as she likes to be called, Alex.

Since tumblr basically borked the image quality, here's what it says about her character, with some additions here and there:

She's the typist at Kadic News, in that she's the person behind how it looks and how its formatted via using a 2000s era version of photoshop (which she happens to be quite adept at). She's apart of Yumi's grade and class and is legitimately one of the smartest kids in her class.

However, she's an anxiety-ridden stress nugget who continually forgets to sleep and overworks herself. Part of her character design is literally what I call 'Perpetual Eyebags of Insomnia'.

She's a sarcastic snarker and is typically seen as a chill person to be around (She rarely raises her voice and her default mood is tired). However, she is also known to be quite blunt with how she talks to people. These stem from her being an introvert, who'd rather just mind her own business than get herself involved in other people's drama (Ironic since she works for the school newspaper).

Her main likes are cola (she's addicted since it acts as a lite coffee for her), a band called Geiger Husks (a techno/nu-metal/punk band with a post-apocalyptic theme. Their logo is a red gas mask, which is on the back of her jacket), Sundays (because there are no classes on Sundays at Kadic), horror movies, and pizza.

She dislikes soup, when people are being idiots, being forced to talk to people, and The Subdigitals (she finds them too poppy and her peers constantly play their music to the point that she's grown to hate them).

And of course, since she works at Kadic news, she works with Milly and Tamiya. Alex publicly states that she has a professional relationship with the kids and nothing more, but she secretly likes the kids and appreciates their company.

However, she hates pre-XANAifcation William and Sissi. William is because he kept trying to flirt with Alex and ask her out on dates, even though she is not interested in the slightest. And Sissi because the girl has a tendency to bully Milly and Tamiya which can easily invoke Alex's wrath more often than not.

I very much intended her to essentially be an additional side character. Another face at Kadic that sometimes gets involved in the plot and sometimes not. She's not a member of the Lyoko Warriors (though that can obviously change) and was made to be a chill big sister character for Milly and Tamiya.

[fzzr]

The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague is the Comfiest Workplace Anime

Koori Zokusei Danshi to Cool na Douryou Joshi (The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague, henceforth "Ice Guy") is a slow-paced anime about a workplace romance in a world where the descendants of youkai live openly among people. It is also super duper comfy, with characters who are absolute perfect cupcakes hanging out in a workplace setting.

The titular Ice Guy is Himuro, a descendant of a yuki-onna (snow woman). His ancestry means that when he experiences some strong emotion (anxiety, anticipation, etc.) he manifests a highly localized snowstorm or other snow-related phenomena. He meets Fuyutsuki, the cool female colleague, when he finds himself literally frozen in place on the way to what turns out to be both of their first days on the same job. They're both immediately smitten and only become more so as they get to know one another.

Alongside our leads are an assortment of other humans and youkai descendants. Fox spirit Komori and phoenix Katori fill out the supernatural side, and Himuro's sister puts in (criminally few) appearances as well. Saejima and Otonashi are other humans working alongside them all as they go through their days at an unspecified but usually relatively relaxed office job.

/comf/

Ice Guy is always an all around chill (no pun) time. It's not like there's no conflict at all, it's just that the conflict is along the lines of trying to get a limited edition drink or wanting to get a prize in a company costume contest. The point of the show is to put Fuyutski and Himuro in proximity and let them be perfect at each other. Normally one might feel anxiety that they're taking too long to get moving with the romance, but despite being glacially (yes pun) slow it never feels frustrating. The characters all just like being around each other, and so do we.

There are probably a few layers of fantasy here to draw you in. Many jobs are stressful and alienating. Seeing a group of people doing work they at least don't mind with people they enjoy being around is a dream in its own way. Workplace romance in real life is often a Bad Idea but Fuyutski and Himuro seem to be able to navigate it without great risk. Plus, who doesn't like the idea of bonding over someone's cat and exchanging cute little matching tchotchkes and doing tiny acts of consideration and kindness and and and....

The Eyes Have It

There is one unavoidable thing to discuss about the animation of Ice Guy, and that's the eyes. Everyone has interesting and distinct eye (and especially iris) designs, but what makes them stand out is they're animated. If you look at someone's eyes they're almost never still - they adjust and look around. You know, like actual eyes. That is incredibly rare in anime, and certainly I don't think any show has done it in this way. It can be distracting when you're not used to it, but once you are it makes the characters all the more human. It also provides something to look at when we see reactions up close.

Conclusion

Score: The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague is 8/10. Sometimes you just want to hang out with characters who are just adorable together and this more than delivers.

Recommendation: Ice Guy is indeed very slow paced, but if you're in the market for something comfy and romantic but are tired of the usual high school setting, maybe give it a shot. The power level requirement is minimal.

Comparisons

Wotakoi is the most obvious comparison for Ice Guy. It's also about workplace romances, this time between otaku. It takes place at a different time in the relationship, though. Wotakoi's main characters already had history together. The plot kicks off with them getting together as a couple. Most of the content is similar to Ice Guy anyway, with the two of them getting to know each other in different ways, meeting family, etc. It's a bit more comedic in tone, but if you like Ice Guy there's a good chance you'll like Wotakoi as well.

Working!! is a different kind of workplace romance anime. Specifically, it's an off the wall comedy. The romance starts out as very secondary, but increases in prominence as the story moves along. It follows the Toradora! pattern of being about how the characters develop and come to understand their feelings. The similarity with Ice Guy is mostly in how the workplace setting interacts with the plot. Both of them make ample use of work as a device to put the characters in proximity and in unusual situations (like a work party or team trip).

Interviews With Monster Girls is a show that uses a similar conceit of supernatural beings living casually in an otherwise recognizable society. It uses that frame to explore living with and accommodating disabilities and disabled people. Ice Guy doesn't make quite as much use of that setting twist, but it does share the specific detail of using the yuki-onna ice power to punctuate emotional moments. Just a neat little commonality.

Final Thoughts

I don't know how many times I gotta tell you that Himuro and Fuyutsuki are perfect and adorable and etc. etc. Just give it a watch next time you feel like life is going too fast.

[unfathomable-river-of-stars]

Character Profile: Bai YongLin

Name:

Bai YongLin

Age: 20

Position:

Royal pharmacist/apothecary

Gender:

Male

Sexual orientation:

Panromantic acesexual

"...Don't you dare."

Personality: 

Fairly bold, isn't very talkative but once he opens his mouth it's either sarcasm or brevity.

“Hey… Don't look at me with that kind of eyes! It's not that bad-!”

Appearance:

At first glance, YongLin has a typical height of around 175 centimeters (which is about 5'9 feet tall) person, although his appearance can be deceiving. Lin has fair skin and hair with the color of clouds that extends to his shoulders, tied loosely into half-up a with a few strands dyed a muted navy blue. His eyes are close to a snake's iris, though missing the usual chill. If you look close enough, right under the corner of his striking eyes is a fine layer of white scales from his noble snake linage. He has pointed ears, slightly drooped by an earring that resembles two four-petaled flowers, hooked underneath is the bright rays of light reflecting from two small sapphires. The tinge feels strange yet familiar, as if they are a matching pair with someone else's accessories.

From Lin's outfit, it is difficult to infer his rankings as one of the few royal chemists. A thin inner layer of button-up shirt along with the wide sleeves that he partially cut off with the excuse of "It's scorching, just let me do whatever I want". The shirt was haphazardly tucked into an underbust corset patterned like a snake's belly. In the middle of YongLin's chest is a necklace symbolizing the royal pharmacist troop- perhaps the one and only thing that represents his status.

It would be best not to pay too much attention to the waving tail behind or the clattering noises it makes; This little snake will not be the most pleased. Well, except for a specific tiger.

Likes:

Brewing various chemicals, potions and poison; torturing unfortunate victims who wandered around with unorthodox methods (mostly using pesticides); gathering herbs; gardening; binge reading books; criticizing a certain someone's height of one and a half meter tall.

“Medicine manufacturing isn't my main pursuit... It's but a mere side hustle.”

Dislikes: 

Humidity, forced to attend social gatherings (believes it is a waste of time), shedding, mistaken for a dragon, cooking creating digestibles, having his money stolen by a "dim-witted" tiger

“For emphasizing purposes, I shall repeat once again: I am a snake. What dragon are you babbling about?!”

Strengths:

Making medicines, potions and poison; identifying a variety of different plants, throwing darts, drawing illustrations, receiving hugs

“If there are any inquiries, feel free to shut your mouth.”

Weakness: 

Communication, close combat, trying to control his timetables, dancing

“Violence is tiring; What's the point of messing around?"

Story:

The surname Bai belongs to a long-standing aristocratic lineage from the northern snowy mountains. Although 'Bai' means white, this clan firmly believes that both the snake form and the hair at birth must be balanced with the colors of sky and clouds. Since YongLin has hypopigmentation syndrome, he does not have the inherited midnight blue in contrast to his blood relatives. This is unquestionably the primary reason why being shunned became a part of Lin's daily life. Even his preferred pastime of elixir making does not help this situation, if not making things worse as his clan prides itself on excellent close combat abilities. The moment he was ten, he was permanently disown and forced to leave by the patriarch. His years as an aimless wanderer also began from there.

The roaming days was never close to smooth sailing; He was kidnapped and tortured many times to the brink of death. These prolonged and agonizing sessions caused Lan to awaken his snake form, thanks to which his life was not lost. This was the time when his obsessions with poison reached its peak as well. Using his own blood and scales to make lethal antibiotic doses, testing it on himself as well as poisoning nearby rodents and eventually humans... In a frenzy, Lan swore to himself that he would collect everything that could be used to prepare and create more poisoning scenarios.

Bai YongLin coincidentally pass by a kingdom in particular just when the land fell into chaos. Stuck in the discord and unable to continue his now journey, he decided to support the kingdom in the hope of ending the war as quickly as possible. His achievements in the war were quite good for an apothecary, so the emperor later recognized and awarded him the title of royal pharmacist. Initially, Lan intended to refuse and continue pursuing his current path, but with the promised funding and resources, he decided to stay and serve under the royalty.

Additional information:

With the salary of this position, Lin should have been be considerably rich, but a certain tiger illegally spent most of his money.

The name YongLin means the scale of eternity.

Lin is about 1 meter 75 meters tall; This is also the length of his snake form.

He almost never closes his eyes, except when sleeping or resting; This is simply because snake eyes have an operating mechanism vastly differs from a human's eyes.

His birthday is on the seventh of April.

He doesn't place too much care on memoirs and biographies. For YongLin, the past is of little significance, it's the constant shifting present that is worthwhile. Even though contempt and gratitude are still persistently remembered by him.

When deciding whether to accept or refuse the position of a royal pharmacist, Lin was "threatened" into settling on a cooperation.

As a snakeskin, he molt about once or twice a year. The question of how he molt is a secret that should be left undisclosed.

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed, Episode 26, part two

(Masterpost) (Other Canary Stuff)

Warning! Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

Content note: This episode has a lot of lightning, but this post does not have lightning flashes--I’m using mostly stills for those parts, or I’ve snipped out the unfriendly frames before giffing.

Qing-Jie

Having successfully ruined Jin Guangshan’s party plan to get the Yin Tiger seal, Wei Wuxian dashes off to tell Wen Qing where her brother is. She hops up to hit the road with him, but then sorta-faints because she’s starving. In a rare moment of tenderness between these two, he catches her and gently sits her down again. 

Normally they’re busy out-toughing each other, both before and after this moment, but right now Wen Qing is openly vulnerable. Wei Wuxian responds to that, predictably, with all of his kindness and with his usual slew of unwise, impossible-to-keep promises.

As she eats the bread he’s brought her--a parallel to an important piece of bread in his early life--he says they have to believe in Wen Ning’s survival. Cut to: Wen Ning, not surviving. 

I mean, yes, yes, he’s only mostly dead, but he’s never going to be fully alive again, so.  

24 Hour Party People

Back at the party, Jin Guangyao, deliberately, I think, goes to offer his pops a drink while his pops is still super furious and looking for someone to take it out on. The servant lady is like, better you than me, pal, and helps JGY get his drink ready. Pops, predictably, knocks the drink onto Jin Guangyao.

(more behind the cut)

Lan Xichen is standing by with a hanky and a face full of worry. Lan Xichen is so Lanny that he thinks JGY needs to go change clothes after getting clear alcohol spilled on him, rather than just letting it evaporate and smelling pleasantly of booze for the rest of the evening like a normal party guest. 

JGY launches into a criticism of Wei Wuxian, which Lan Wangji listens to very carefully, frowning. Lan Xichen, Nie Huasang and Jiang Cheng listen as well, and don’t speak up. 

A Clear Conscience

Then Lan Wangji *literally* steps out of his brother’s shadow, and speaks in defense of Wei Wuxian. This right here is Lan Wangji’s turning point, as far as I’m concerned. Xichen is gazing at JGY, totally on board with JGY’s spin of the situation, and his shadow falls away from Lan Wangji’s face as LWJ steps forward.

Lan Wangji says, isn’t what WWX said true? JGY puts on his customer service smile and says that the truth isn’t something you’re supposed to go around saying out loud. 

I’d like to say this is what’s wrong with cultivator society but this is really a universal human thing; every society has rules about upsetting the social order, and they are very frequently at odds with basic compassion and morality. 

Nie Huaisang and Jiang Cheng stay silent but Lan Xichen goes and throws Wei Wuxian under the bus carriage, saying his character has changed. 

Lan Wangji nods decisively at this, and bows to Lan Xichen, silently asking permission to follow Wei Wuxian. Lan Xichen grants permission, telling Lan Wangji to do his best. Lan Xichen probably thinks he and Lan Wangji are in agreement, in this moment, but that nod of Lan Wangji’s was nothing of the kind.

That nod was Lan Wangji agreeing with himself; he is going to try to bring Wei Wuxian back but he is also going to listen to him.  Meanwhile Lan Xichen is tying himself in knots to appease Jin Guangyao. The divergence between the brothers will just grow, from this point onwards.

Lan Wangji leaves to go follow his boyfriend conscience, while Jiang Cheng continues to silently listen to the commentary of others, and gets so mad he crushes a wine cup.

It Was A Dark and Stormy Night.

Wen Qing and Wei Wuxian arrive at the prison camp, and the first person they encounter is Granny, with a defaced Wen Banner in her hand and Wen Yuan on her back. 

Whenever I read a meta or a fic that talks about how the juniors are so sweet partly because they are “untouched by the war” I want to point to this moment. A-Yuan endures an absolute truckload of war trauma by the time he’s four years old, and while Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji both deserve a lot of credit for saving him at great risk to themselves, Granny and Uncle Four are the first heroes of A-Yuan’s story. His kind, mellow personality has a lot in common with theirs. 

This is followed by an eternity of Wen Qing running around asking if anyone’s seen her brother. Eventually Wei Wuxian gets tired of this and gathers the guards together, threatening them with Chenqing. 

He doesn’t need to play it; just holding it up has every Jin dude instantly kneeling and scared. 

The guards send him and Wen Qing go to a giant field of corpses, where Wen Qing runs around checking to see if any of them is her brother. Wei Wuxian starts off kind of detached and angry, but eventually snaps out of it, tucks away his flute and starts helping her to search. 

Wen Qing finds Wen Ning, mostly-dead with a lure flag speared into his belly. Wei Wuxian grimly takes in the situation from across the field of corpses. 

When he arrives at Wen Qing’s side he sees this talisman in Wen Ning’s hand. 

This is the talisman that Wei Wuxian made for Wen Ning back in Gusu summer school, before the war. It’s the one that Wen Ning was wearing at his waist when they met up after the massacre of Lotus Pier. It’s supposed to literally protect Wen Ning from having his spiritual consciousness snatched, as well as being a symbol of Wei Wuxian’s sense of responsibility for, and affection for, Wen Ning. 

Wei Wuxian, understandably, loses his shit at this point. Less understandably, he is about to decide that the best way to express his sorrow and rage is to re-animate the corpse of his friend, right in front of the corpse’s sister. Like, seriously, dude. Dude. 

Ghost General

This super-questionable decision leads to one of the most badass sequences in the show, which is unfortunately chock full of lightning flashes, so not everyone can watch it. Wei Wuxian and his flute and swirls of resentful energy come marching out of the darkness of the corpse field, back to the guards. 

The guards have decided to slaughter all of the prisoners and then run away, which would be a good plan except they should really have skipped right to the running away part of things. When Wei Wuxian accuses them of killing the prisoner in the corpse field, they claim that the Wens have a habit of falling off of a hill and dying. Wei Wuxian can relate. 

At this point Wei Wuxian summons up Wen Ning 2.0, ultra badass edition, who comes flying through the air with his odd, straight-armed fighting stance and cool solid-black eyes and rock-and-roll hair. 

Soundtrack: *Four Sticks*

Wen Ning proceeds to whale on the guards and scare the shit out of his relatives.

Then Wen Qing shows up and begs Wei Wuxian to stop. She explains that Wen Ning is only mostly dead. Like, if he was fully dead would she be okay with this? 

Wei Wuxian tries to reel Wen Ning in and realizes that he is not actually in control of Wen Ning. Ok, see, right from the first day of Wen Ning 2.0, WWX is aware that his control is iffy. Why does he think he’s going to be able to control him later? 

Anyway, this is where we learn Wen Ning’s grown-up name is Wen Qionglin. Wei Wuxian yells this name, and Wen Ning looks up like a cat hearing the “food noise,” and then proceeds to get control of himself. 

This is such a nice symbolic moment, that will be replayed later in the temple, when Wen Ning saves Jin Ling from Baxia. 

Wen Ning has a remote-code-execution OS vulnerability throughout the story; his soul is at risk of being stolen, and he is magically controlled by Wei Wuxian, Xue Yang, Su She, and Baxia.  Meanwhile Wen Qing, Wei Wuxian, and random kids on the street mostly treat him as a child, despite his clear adult capabilities. Wen Ning’s journey in The Untamed is at least partly about asserting his full adulthood, and his ability to overcome magical control is directly connected to that journey.  

After getting Wen Ning to chill, Wei Wuxian calls the floating resentful energy back into his own body, which looks about as comfortable as swallowing a burp. 

On the plus side, apparently resentful energy keeps your hair dry even when it’s raining.

Wei Wuxian should take a page from the guards’ book and slaughter all the Jin witnesses to this situation, but he decides to be the better person and let them live. They go running off down the road, where they encounter Lan Wangji and give him the 411, saying that Wei Wuxian resurrected dead people.

Meanwhile Wei Wuxian collects Wen Qing--half-fainted, again, in an echo of the start of their journey--and collects the Dafan Mountain Wen group, who are hiding, wisely. When they see Wen Ning, Uncle Four and some others start to freak out, but Wei Wuxian tells them that fierce corpses are cool, and they all grab horses and mount up.

Where Are You Going?

Lan Wangji is waiting for them, nonconfrontationally indulging in some visual poetry while he waits. 

In a show where every prop is exquisitely, carefully designed to enhance our understanding character, his Gusu-toned umbrella reveals surprising red and yellow threads woven in, right above his eye line as he looks at Wei Wuxian. 

Wei Wuxian speaks first, saying “you came to stop me?” Lan Wangji doesn’t answer, but asks him where he’s going. Then Lan Wangji warns him that he’s about to abandon orthodoxy forever, if he follows through. 

Wei Wuxian challenges this idea of orthodoxy, asking if Lan Wangji remembers the promise they made together, back in Gusu. It’s worth noting that they both appear to think of it as a co-promise, even though Lan Wangji didn’t speak aloud at the time. 

The conversation will continue in the next episode, because what’s better than a rainy romantic cliffhanger?

Soundtrack: Four Sticks by Led Zeppelin

[otakusheep15]

SFW Alphabet - Diavolo

I love Dia with all my heart, so I thought it was finally time I made a post for him

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

He is probably one of the more affectionate characters. Not many people are willing to get this close to him due to his status, so he is all over you the second you give him permission. His favorite form of affection is when you sit on his lap while he works. 

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?)

Him as a best friend is a lot of fun. He’ll constantly sneak out of the castle just to hang out with you. He’d probably also wear those silly disguises so no one recognizes him. You two go all over the Devildom and he takes you where ever you’d like. In the end, you two usually get busted by Barb or Luci, but it’s always worth it.   

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

Cuddles are literally his love language. He’s always coming up behind you and lifting you up into a hug or dragging you off to his room just to cuddle in bed. Being the prince of literal Hell can be so tiring, so cuddles are exactly what he needs after a long day. And once you two get into bed, you’re never leaving again.  

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

He knows that he can’t settle down, but he would love nothing more. Honestly, if it weren’t for his responsibilities, he would have already dragged you off to some secluded house in a forest somewhere to just live in peace. It’s also thanks to his status as prince that he doesn’t know any basic household chores. He cannot clean, and he can barely cook without burning down the whole kitchen. He’s had to rely on Barb and his other staff for so long, that he’s just never had to learn. He wants to, if only to impress you, but he never has the chance. 

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

I don’t think he’s ever even been in a relationship tbh, so he’s never had to break it off with someone. If he did have to, it would be bad. Like, I’m talking literal execution in front of everyone in the Devildom bad. He is a very patient demon who is very caring towards basically everyone. If he actually had to break it off, there would probably be blood. We don’t talk about it.

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

As prince, he does technically have to find a spouse, so he’s down to get married if you are. However, the whole point of getting married for him is so that his partner can carry his heir, so if you can’t get pregnant that might be a problem. Not with him, not at all, but more so with Devildom law and such. Afterall, he needs an heir, and he can’t let someone have it if he isn’t planning on marrying them. He’d still marry you regardless though, so there’s nothing to worry about there. 

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

He is the gentlest giant you have ever seen in your whole life. He knows how big he is, and he knows how intimidating he can be, so he is very careful to make sure you know you can trust him. If he ever gets mad and feels like he might start yelling, he makes sure you are well out of range so that you don’t have to hear him. He also makes sure he never hugs you too hard or startles you without warning. He just wants to protect you, and that includes protecting you from himself if needed.  

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?)

A sucker for hugs, that’s what he is. It does not matter how, when, or where he hugs you, he just wants to, always and everywhere. If you’re in a place where he can’t out-right hug you, he has to be touching you somewhere. He’s lowkey possessive, so he loves any contact just to show others who you belong to. Hugs are just the best way to do that since they’re super obvious. And he also just loves you a lot and wants you to know. 

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

He’d say it relatively fast. he’s not one to waste time or lead someone on, so if he knew he loved you, he’d say it. He wouldn’t even care if you don’t say it back, he just wants you to know how he feels about you. 

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)

He gets insanely jealous, but he’s always good at hiding it. With all of the public appearances and people he’s had to deal with, he’s become a master actor. Inside, he could be fuming with jealousy when someone so much as looks at you, but no one will even know. He just puts on his classic smile and ask you to go with him somewhere for some “business” you have to attend. In reality, he just wants to drag you away for some cuddles to remind him that you’re his and you love him above all else. 

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

His kisses are usually rather soft cause he’s so afraid of accidentally hurting you in some way. They’re sweet and gentle, and so full of love. They don’t come as often since of how much he works, so that makes them all the better when they do. 

L = Little ones (How are they around children?)

He actually loves children, but they’re always so afraid of him. No kid would ever go up to him due to pure fear, so he never gets to interact with them. It really does make him quite sad since he would love to get to know the younger generation more, and he just finds them adorable. Maybe you can convince one (1) child to talk to him with the promise of candy after. 

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

He has to wake up pretty early for work, but he always makes sure you’re still comfy before he leaves. If you wake up with him, he’ll talk to you about what his day will be like while getting dressed. If you’re still asleep, he tries his best to stay quiet as he gets ready. No matter of you’re awake or not, he makes you stay in bed and brings (read: makes Barb bring) you breakfast in bed. 

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

He’s usually pretty tired by the end of the day, so he wants nothing more than to just pass out with you in his arms. However, he usually still has work to do even after dark, so he’s forced to stay up. During these times, he loves when you come over to him and just sit there while he works. That usually motivates him to finish up faster so that he can get cuddles. Once he hits that bed, it’s lights out for him. 

O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

He seems like he would be an open book, but he really isn’t. Trust me, he’d love to be as open with you as possible, but he can’t. There are so many things he has to keep hidden due to his role as prince. Plus, he doesn’t have much to share since he can’t really get out much to being with. He tells you as much as he can, but he always has to stop himself before he goes too far. 

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?)

He is super patient. He’s always having to deal with less-than-ideal situations, so he’s built up a good amount of patience. Usually, he’s pretty chill, so when he snaps, it’s for a good reason. 

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

Quite honestly, his head is already filled with so much, so he can sometimes forget things you tell him. That’s why he has Barb write stuff down about you so that he won’t forget. He keeps all of these facts in a journal in his room, and you have no idea. 

R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)

He loves the first time you stayed over at the castle for the night. Not that time when everyone went over, but just when you came over. He was still busy with work at the time, and he loves how understanding you were about it. There was a short time where you left his room, and he was worried with how long you were gone. He was about to go look for you when you walk back in with some tea and snacks to help keep his energy up while he’s working. It was this moment when he knew he loved you. The fact that you cared this much for him really made him happy. 

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

He is more protective than anyone else. The entire castle staff will be told numerous times over that their number one priority is now to protect you, much to the annoyance of Luci and Barb. He also makes sure to keep you close whenever you go out, and he’s always touching you somewhere. 

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

He would only have the best for you. Every date you two go on will be the most romantic thing you’ve ever witnessed. He would only calm down if you mentioned you prefer more lowkey dates, in which he immediately apologizes for not asking you first. He still wants to make them the best dates possible, but he’ll try and calm down a bit. 

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

He tends to overwork himself, often leaving you alone in favor of finishing his work. He also gets way too overprotective sometimes, even going so far as to drag you away the second he gets jealous. 

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

Like Luci and Barb, he only really cares about his looks because he knows he has to keep up appearances. He has to make a good name for himself, and looking good certainly helps. Barb also constantly pressures him into taking better care of his looks when he starts slacking off. 

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

It honestly depends on how close you two are. He’s used to people leaving him because they can’t handle being so close to the prince, so he might not even care if you leave him too. It’s only if you two have gotten super close that he might feel something if you were to leave him. 

X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them.)

Okay, so, this came completely out of nowhere, but I have always lowkey had a  headcanon that he and Barb were in a QPR before. (for those who don’t know, it means queer platonic relationship). Anyway, I have no clue where I got this idea from, but it just makes sense to me. They probably broke it off once he showed romantic interest in you, but I promise they were in a QPR at one point. 

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?)

He wouldn’t like someone who would try and drag him away from his job. He wants someone who understands what it means to be the prince of the Devildom, and that includes them being aware of how much work he has and that he can’t just drop it all without planning even if he wants to

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habits of theirs?)

He’s bog, even for demon standards, so he tends to take up a lot of room. Honestly, he’s the kinda person that would spread out across the whole bed without a single care for who else might be in it. Let’s just say, you’ve fallen out of bed several times because he accidentally pushed you out. 

[jennycalendar]

ok you know what i think it’s actually really vital that i talk a little bit about tea time. buckle up kiddos.

first off, a brief and relatively spoiler-free summary: the premise of the issue is very simple. the kiddos (aged up, if willow’s mention of being engaged is any indication) are hanging out in the library to help giles with research, swapping stories about what it would be like were giles a vampire. each of them, save giles, gets a chance to tell a detailed story -- xander tells two! -- and each story plays out in a way that says a lot about the scooby that’s telling it AND the way they view giles.

obviously this is a VERY character-driven issue, and it’s a really really interesting look at giles and how he is perceived as well! shit like that is my bread and butter, so this has honestly become one of my favorite things that boom has put out -- possibly my ACTUAL top favorite issue if we’re being real here. 

below the cut is a spoilery dissection of every story told -- a literal summary of Every Single Thing that happens in this issue, as well as what it has to say about the scoobies and their perception of giles, so definitely keep that in mind.

as can be seen in the preview, xander’s first story is about giles rising from the grave as an ineffectual british caricature, who is easily defeated by smoldering, sexy xander harris (and xander in turn walks off with buffy and willow draped all over him, cooing about how amazing he is). it’s more of an intro to the premise than anything, but it still sets the tone pretty clearly wrt how xander handles this situation: there’s some laughter and levity, and he’s center stage. obviously a lot can be said about xander’s self-esteem issues and how he overcompensates by casting himself as the main protagonist both in canon and here. however, i wanna save my more in-depth xander analysis for his second, longer, story, so i’ll stop myself there.

willow immediately responds with skepticism: she’s of the mind that giles would be an incredibly serious big-bad level threat. the tale she spins involves giles as a dangerous vampire cleric with access to a cryptic altar, killing xander almost immediately and slaughtering buffy as a sacrifice to create eternal night. her view of giles is more clinical than anything -- and, i would argue, the most perceptive and realistic from a threat standpoint. the guy knows a fuckton of magic and he is incredibly well-read and powerful. he’d have some kind of terrifying master plan. where xander goes for comedy, willow goes straight for logistics, already looking at the battle like it’s a battle rather than laughs aplenty. 

xander and buffy have a bone to pick with willow’s story (xander is indignant that he’s immediately and brutally killed, buffy is of the mind that she would easily defeat giles in hand-to-hand combat even if he IS a vampire), so (after one more teasing story where buffy lives and xander dies) willow gracefully alters her narrative to reflect her friends’ objections: after a dramatic tussle, xander helps willow and buffy unceremoniously stakes giles in the heart. still pretty straightforward and plausible. willow sees vamp giles primarily as a threat -- one not easily neutralized. one who could easily wipe them out.

buffy, about to tell her story, is interrupted by xander, who “had an even better idea!” the web he weaves is this time purported as realistic and entertaining: while partying at the bronze, buffy and co. are interrupted by a bunch of balding, greying vampires in curlers and bathrobes, led, of course, by giles -- who is wearing a hair bonnet and disapprovingly informing the bouncers how late it is at eight PM. a knockdown brawl breaks out at the bronze -- old people feeding on and decimating the young -- and culminates in giles and the geezers taking over the band to sing “some terrible song” that’s “probably something really old and bad!” the rest of the story descends into b-movie chaos, with buffy throwing a broken guitar neck up at the stage lights to send the whole thing crashing down onto vampire giles and his vampire old person band. it’s categorically absurd.

the thing that really sticks with me about this story is how dumb it is. xander’s take on giles is not even slightly serious and wholly underestimates him. fandom at large talks a lot about how giles dropped the ball with xander, but i think tea time explores an easily overlooked factor: xander constantly, consistently underestimates giles. in canon, xander’s view of giles is not often challenged: to him, giles is a bumbling, british librarian who regularly gets his ass handed to him by vamps and demons and the like. certainly part of his story’s intent is about laughingly entertaining his gal pals, but there’s a very real and consistent thread involving giles being hilariously nonthreatening. 

giles, taking umbrage at this particular tale, calls out both xander and willow: xander’s story, in giles’s opinion, emasculates vamp giles and turns him into a ridiculous caricature -- and willow’s story, though much more flattering, lacks the kind of imagination that vamp giles would clearly have. he then offers a suggestion of his own. it’s worth mentioning here that both xander’s and willow’s stories get gorgeous multiple-page spreads depicting the vampy action, but giles’s is a simple and chilling little thing: this is his vampire story. this meeting, called to ostensibly “research” a vampire altar, is really an excuse to get the scoobies to do his dirty work and find the thing for him. they’re tired and silly because the tea and donuts he’s given them are drugged, and their library location is to keep them out of daylight. he laughs it off when he sees they’re bothered, and the meeting is then adjourned when willow finally finds what they’re all looking for. 

buffy’s left her phone in the library, so she doubles back, and accidentally wakes up a dozing giles. just as she’s about to leave, he inquires, casually, “...you never did tell your version of the story.”

and good god here is where it gets interesting.

see, buffy’s take is simple: she’s fighting giles in a cemetery, she’s given the chance to kill him, and she is entirely unable to do it. they share a tearful embrace as she sobs about the unfairness of it all -- “you’re giles! and you’ll always be! ...how will i do this without you? without your guidance?” and as the sun is rising, giles turns her into a vampire, with no resistance whatsoever from buffy. the next handful of pages depict bloody, indulgent violence on the parts of giles and buffy, the two of them cuddled up together as they watch the world burn. 

buffy’s tale is the most emotive, the most loving, which makes me so damn soft! i love this girl so much! she is unable to even joke about giles as a foe to be taken down -- he is her watcher. he is her friend. she loves him endlessly and that does not change when he’s a vampire. vamp giles as she portrays him is gentle and understanding, holding her as she cries, because he knows that they’re connected. it’s easily my favorite part of this whole issue.

notably, there is a definite buffy/giles bend that the comic itself tries to contradict. the art is sensual in nature -- vamp buffy all dolled up in a way somewhat evocative of drusilla, giles tenderly caressing her face as he waits for her to wake up. “watcher and slayer connected forever” being the quote chosen to describe the situation. i think it’s kind of what naturally happens in a vamp giles sitch, especially if he turns buffy -- the childe/sire bond is incredibly sexual in nature, especially in canon, and a lot of frustrating human sentiment gets translated into something sexual as well. sex is a big BIG part of the relationships between vampires we see in canon; it would make a lot of sense for that to hold true for buffy and giles.

the comic is reticent about Going There, which i can understand -- though buffy is decisively aged up in this issue (willow mentions being engaged to a woman, later revealed to be tara), the buffy/giles bond is always seen through a father/daughter lens in canon. i do think it’s also important to always recognize how desperately giles wishes to escape the label of father in reference to buffy, pretty much entirely because there is no way to parent a child soldier who you’re also training, but that’s a whole other kettle of fish. point is, buffy very pointedly refers to vamp giles as her father not once, but twice -- once as a human, once as a vampire herself. it’s a very clear attempt, imo, to un-sexualize the vampy experience. the reason it doesn’t totally work, at least for me, is the fact that -- like i said -- the childe/sire bond is VERY sexual (spike and dru, angel and darla, angel and dru) and it seems just totally implausible that vamp buffy/vamp giles (two people who, as human were both VERY repressed) would chastely remain within the socially acceptable version of their relationship.

i can definitely understand why they did their best to blur that line, though. the idea of buffy and giles being romantically involved as vampires is 1) Kind Of A Lot and 2) not exactly the target demographic that i think this comic is going for. but the subtext is there, to the point where the issue itself has to actively obfuscate it, which i think is .... so interesting? especially as a counterpoint to the way i often see buffy/giles in fandom, wherein the father/daughter subtext in canon is at times actively obfuscated in fic in an attempt to push a preferred reading. 

the ending i particularly enjoyed: after buffy leaves, it is lightly and ambiguously implied that giles might really be a vampire. works GREAT as a standalone, imo, and the end is like the cherry on top. it’s a really REALLY interesting issue and i highly recommend it for any giles fan. 

[a-simple-imagine]

A Treasured Memory

Synopsis: You reminisce on the past with Charlie.  Prompt: "you're quite cute when you're tired"

Pairing: Charlie Weasley x fem!reader

Words: 2.1k+

A/N - This was written for @blisfvll​‘s 1.5k writing challenge. This is my first time writing for Charlie Weasley but I am utterly in love with him as a character. This whole thing is just pure fluff so I hope you all enjoy it. 

Shrouded in the dim light of flickering candles, you're sat up in bed examining a photo album that arrived by owl. It had been addressed to the both of you so you took it upon yourself to open it. Your fingertips dance over the silky smooth film almost like you could feel the energy of that day from many moons ago. It showed Charlie dead centre surrounded by white snow and bare trees, just in the distance you could see the Shrieking Shack. He wore a thick green coat that reached to his knees, darkish blue jeans and a maroon jumper adorned with a deep yellow 'C' right in the middle. A red and yellow scarf rested tightly around his neck and flecks of pure white sat upon his flaming red hair. The smile on his face indicated a desire to be anywhere but in front of the camera and he was utterly oblivious to you creeping up behind him. As your hands slap against his shoulders, he jumps out of his skin. You can't help but smile as you watch the simple memory play out within the confines of the photograph. Bill had been the one to take it and you were rather grateful that he had. It was a special day forever engraved in your mind.

"What are you looking at?" Pulled from your thoughts by the man himself, Charlie enters the bedroom in nothing more than a pair of red and white checkered PJ bottoms. The bed dips beside you as he climbs in and you place the photo album carefully in his lap.

"Do you remember this?" A day so special to you could be long forgotten by him.

"Where did you get this?"

Your gaze falls to the photograph once more. "Your parents. It's mostly photos of you and your family," Flipping over the page, there was a picture of a very smiley Charlie with a tiny Ginny Weasley. It was an adorable shot but you quickly turn back. "Except for this one- do you remember?"

"Kind of... We went to Hogsmeade with Bill right?"

You nod a little before proclaiming ever so proudly. "I remember this day perfectly."

"And why is that?" Charlie passes the album back so you can continue your walk down memory lane.

"Because it was the day I realised I was actually in love with you..."

Grey clouds filled the afternoon sky, covering the ground in a thick blanket of snow. There was a brisk chill laced with the breeze that threatened to invade your winter clothes, but for now, they kept you reasonably warm. Snow flew into the air with every kick of your shoe and just a few paces behind you the crunch of Charlie followed. The day had been spent accompanying the two eldest Weasley siblings, Bill and Charlie around the small village of Hogsmeade. Nothing had struck your fancy except a Pumpkin Fizz purchased at The Three Broomsticks; the boys had both ordered Butterbeers. Bill was the first to leave so when the time came to return to Hogwarts, it was just you and Charlie. Not that you minded, he was your best friend after all. It had been that way ever since your second year when you showed a mild interest in dragons only to discover your fellow Gryffindor was rather... passionate about the subject. It was one of many things you came to admire about Charlie; he was so passionate about everything he engaged with. It was very sweet to witness just how excited he came at the mention of the ferocious magical creatures.

"It's so cold today." You muse out loud; a shiver spilling through your veins as the cold air blew against your face. It was beginning to feel numb with how cold it was. Charlie hummed in agreement. "Maybe next time you drag me out in the snow we should invest in some hot coco." Spinning on your heel, you begin to walk backwards so you can face him.

"You actually invited yourself," Charlie countered, his brow creasing. It really brought focus to the scar across his eyebrow. "It was only supposed to be Bill and me."

"Oh I see how it is" Arms folded, your bottom lip comes out in your best pout. "You could have just said you didn't want to hang out,"

"You know I didn't mean it that way," His expression softens, he really was too gentle for his own good. Of course, you knew he didn't mean to make it sound like your company was unwanted, you just liked making him sweat. "Sorry,"

"For what?" Bending at the knee, you brush the snow around you into a messy pile. Grabbing a handful off the very top. "I'm the one who intruder on your brotherly bonding." Standing back up, you roll the snow between your hands into a responsibly neat ball. The melting flakes quickly seeping through your Gryffindor mittens.

"We were happy to have you."

His words bring along a smile. "Thanks," Without hesitation, you throw your completed snowball directly at him. It smashes against the large yellow C of his jumper, covering him in white powder. "Now, come on."

Turning back around, you march forward with sincere child-like glee. There was something so magical about the way snow could make a person feel. You come to an abrupt stop as snow crashes into the back of your head; luckily none of it got into your coat. Glancing towards Charlie, he's brushing his hands together with an undeniable smirk. "Oh, it's on Weasley,"

Open fields, bare trees and stone walls guide the way back to the main castle meaning there was a lack of places to find cover. However, there certainly wasn't a lack of ammunition. Running ahead, you duck behind some cobblestone as best you can. Snowballs fly in your direction and you manage to dodge each one as you prepare your own stockpile. With one snowball in hand and five or so in reserve, you very carefully peer over the edge of the wall. Nothing but stone and snow; Charlie had completely vanished. Nicely played. With a deep breath, you listen for the sound of shoes against snow but the whistle of the wind is a heavy distraction. By the time the crunch hits your frozen ears, it's too late; Snow descends from up high like your own personal avalanche, covering you entirely in the frozen flakes. "Gotcha."

"Weasley," You whine, springing to your feet. Shaking your entire body to rid yourself of snow but it already managed to find it's way down your collar while freezing cold water begins to seep through your coat. Hearty laughter fills the air from an utterly amused Weasley; you try to look angry but it's a losing battle as you giggle alongside him. Feeling a lot colder than before, your eyes narrow in on him like a hawk and with the reflexes of a hare, the boy flees for his life. Grabbing the spare snowballs, you launch them one after the other as you chase after him. "You'll pay for that," A few land on their target but he's an agile little bugger. As he sprints past the wall collecting snow, he tosses it back before dropping to the ground. Both concerned and amused, you jog up to him.

"Charlie?" You find him face down in the white snow creating an almost perfect outline of his body. With a deep groan, Charlie flips onto his back; face flushed in a shade of bright red bringing his freckles into the spotlight. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine- don't worry." A sigh of relief, you offer him a gentle smile and a helping hand which he gladly accepts; pulling him to his feet. "Thanks,"

A tender smile graces his lips and for a split second you find yourself lost in his eyes; you've never noticed quite how unique they are. The light brown that surrounds the pupil fades so elegantly into the sea of blue. They're... mystical. Your heart beats a little bit faster as you both stand there in comfortable silence. Reaching up slowly, you brush some snow from his hair. "You should be more careful. We don't want you getting hurt." So many hours spent together and yet something felt different. Pulling your hand away quickly, heat rushed to your cheeks and you push him away. It was only then, while alone playing in the snow, did you realise that somewhere along the way your feelings towards him had changed; or perhaps you had just been scared to admit it to yourself before. "The last one to the castle is a rotten egg- and If I win I expect a chocolate frog."

As fast as you believed yourself to be, the snow made it increasingly difficult especially with it being rather deep. You also didn't count on Charlie Weasley being as fast as he was.

"Cheater," Is all he has to say as he so easily surpasses you; reaching the castle before you have a chance to think of a witty comeback. The boy leans so smugly against the castle wall as you approach, brows furrowed. "That's one chocolate frog for me,"

"How - are you - so fast?" You question between each breath. The race took more out of you than expected; at least you felt a little warmer now. Charlie shrugs at the question and so it's soon forgotten. What used to be such a normal act for the two of you now set your stomach a flutter as you take hold of his hand. "One chocolate frog coming right up."

"You don't have to," He replies, shaking his head a little.

"It was my idea and now I have to pay the price for losing."

Could he sense your nerves as you drifted through the castle corridors towards the common room? Did he feel the beat of your heart or the fluttering in your stomach with your hands together? Did he recognise the moment too? Heat washed over you as you entered the common room; a tickle contained in the bridge of your nose and your head begins to throb.

"I'm gonna go get changed." Dropping his hand, you disappear up to your dorm opting for something more comfortable and warm. It was awfully cold in here now. Heading back down to the coom room, you find Charlie lounging on the couch in front of the fire; just what you needed right now. There were a few students littered around the room but it was relatively quiet. Sitting on the edge next to him, you hold out your hands in front of the fire in search of its warm embrace. "Are you sneaking off into the forbidden forest tonight?"

"Not so loud," He hushes you. "Not tonight, it's way too cold. Not even mum's jumpers will help."

"I think your mum's jumpers are plenty warm," You fall back against the couch; head feeling cloudy. Why did you suddenly feel so hot?

"I can ask her to make you one if you like?" Charlie offers brightly meanwhile your head falls to rest against your best friend's shoulder. "She's always looking for an excuse to knit more." Chuckling to yourself, your eyes drift closed to deal with the sudden onset dizziness. "You alright?" You nod a little against him. Distant voices and the crackling of the fire filling the silence between you. "you're quite cute when you're tired"

Your heart skips a beat but you try not to think anything of it. It’d hurt your head too much to think anything of it. "I'm always cute,"

"Sure you are," a playful chuckle that's quick to fade leaves his lips "Maybe we should get you to bed?"

A gentle groan in response. "I'm fine here. Just... talk to me."

"About what?"

You knew Charlie better than anyone other than maybe his family so there was only one obvious answer. He just needed a little encouragement to ensure you didn't find him annoying; which unknown to him you never do when he talks about them. "I don't know... dragons?"

You don't hear much after that as you feel yourself begin to drift off but you just know his eyes are glittering with every ounce of passion he has for the beasts...

"If I remember correctly, didn't you get sick that day?" Charlie's voice breaks you from the memory. He was right; it turned out that you felt so exhausted because you'd actually caught a cold.

"Yeah," Closing over the album, you place it off on the bedside table for another day. Attention turned to Charlie, he's laying back with his head rested against his hands. Leaning down you place the gentlest of kisses against his lips. "Then you asked Bill to help brew a pepperup potion. Worked a treat although I didn't appreciate the steam shooting out of my ears."

[mimzy-writing-online]

Hi! I wanted to run an idea by you if that’s okay, since I’m not sure if it’s chill. This may be kind of silly, but it’s basically a fan work of the cartoon generator Rex, and although I don’t plan on posting it anywhere, I’d rather not end up having any ableist tropes. It’s a futuristic ish world where an explosion caused a bunch of tiny little robots to be spread all over the earth- small enough to alter dna at the molecular level. My idea is that a scientist got photic retinopathy during the initial explosion, and the nano robot things bonded to him. He can somewhat see silhouettes of things by concentration of the robots, since the nanites can ‘sense’ each other. However, he can’t see fine details, has trouble with depth, texture, and I’m not entirely sure about color. Different things have different concentrations- some may not have enough to even be visible at all, and he can’t control how sensitive his sense of the concentrations is- he can’t ‘focus’ on seeing large or small amounts. It’s fixed. Since nanites bond to living things, there wouldn’t be a large concentration on say- a wall, or a desk. Things with a very large concentration of nanites would be so ‘bright’ they’d feel overwhelming. I’d say painful, but moreso in the way sensory overload is? It’s not causing physical pain so much as being Too Much. I also had a thought of an assistive device, based on recognition software. Basically a camera would take footage of what’s in front of him, everything would be crunched into numbers, and it would tell him the closest matches for the objects in the image. Instead of just telling verbally, it would be transmitted directly to him. It’s not that he sees or imagines the image, but has the basic description of what the computer thinks it is. Of course, object recognition isn’t perfect because it’s just an algorithm. The goal would to be to make things easier in the event he wants to know what things look like without having someone tell him. For familiar or more accessible surroundings, there’d be no reason to use it. (Im really thinking this future won’t be perfect, esp since it has some tones of government dystopia, but there will have been progress in the years passed.) I think there’s some similar technology already out there, but since this is in the future I think it would be more streamlined and a stand alone device rather than an add on to a smartphone. I’ve still got more research to do on his specific condition, but I was wondering what you thought abt the general idea.

Okay so there's a lot to cover here, but overall I like your ideas a lot.

-The vision this scientist has is relatively similar to some existing conditions. My tired brain can't name one off the top of my head, but there are people out there who only see light and shadow and movement. I myself am unlikely to distinguish still objects from moving objects when my vision is being particularly bad.

-Honestly would not be surprised if the next few hundred years there emerged some brand new eye diseases or injury types that lead to blindness. Did this explosion cause other characters to develop a disability or for their disability to function a little differently?

-Your ideas about new technologies are also really cool. The camera thing being able to identify objects is pretty close to some technology we already have for the blind. I think Samsung has a feature with its camera/voiceover that tells you what the camera is looking at. I've seen it pop up in Molly Burke's videos. And there is a new cane in development that uses sonar to detect nearby objects and beeps in response to how close you are to something. It can also connect to your phone and give you updates on GPS. There's also an app that uses Google maps and 8d audio w/ headphones to alert you to objects of interest (street corners, shops you're passing by) as you walk around.

Overall I like your ideas.

[pastel9girlbunny000die]

Age Gap... AU

One Piece~

♡The characters are all between 27-29 unless said otherwise

♡The s/o is between 16-18

Warning: ...Kissing and Cuddles? PDA, nakedness and language.

Part 2

Exstra 😱😵🖊 {At some point I couldn't stop writing.}

Portgas D. Ace 🔥

🔥You met Ace at school during one of your art classes.

🔥He came in to do a favor for one of your teachers, to give tips on art and give you guys professional guidance and at some point he posed as a model.

🔥Yes a model !!!

🔥Soooo you kinda got to see him naked the first time you met, he was opened with all his god like built.

🔥When the class was done sketching. He caught a glimpse of your work seeing as it wasn't nearly done, so he offered to stay longer for you to finish.

🔥God damn you wish he didn't, him being there is the very reason your sketch wasn't done. It was too embarrassing to look at a naked man infront of you and sketch.

🔥Not knowing which to concentrate on?

🔥Ace saw that, and offer to help you like exstra lessons at his home maybe improve the areas you lack at.

🔥And you gladly took that offer.

🔥At some point after teaching you for half a year. You started just acting like a couple without knowing when it actually happened.

🔥Ace loves his s/o with every bit of his heart.

🔥You spend most of you free time with each other, either sketching each other or chilling playing video games or talking.

🔥Ace is a professional artist, with both a degree and diploma in practical arts, so ofcourse his art is going to so much more advanced than yours.

🔥You love staring at him while he paints.

🔥Ace loves not wearing a shirt proves he is comfortable in his own skin, he also got his s/o into wearing less clothes.

🔥With the less clothes you got use to drawing him only in boxers.

🔥And somehow you guys turned into that couple that's completely fine with walking around each other naked in his apartment alone.

🔥Ace's job is something he loves doing while having fun. Yes he does teach arts at a university.

🔥Remember your still in high school not in a college/university.. yet.

🔥Ace is a very clingy man he will hug you a lot even when his naked. He gives you a lot of pet names he's favorite is, teachers pet.

🔥He doesn't do small half ass kisses. Its either long and passionate or heavily horny make out.

🔥Ace's s/o loves the tattoos on his skin, trenching her/his fingers over his arm or back.

🔥Ace reminds you of a cowboy though to his country style and mostly the hat in his bedroom.

🔥Yes you have met his friends especially Marco, you didn't mind hanging out with them their nice people and fun.

🔥You met Ace's family the first week he started teaching you. You met his two brothers and his Father that goes by White Beard.

🔥The second White Beard met you, he told Ace to never let you go or he will beat the crab out of him

🔥Ace took it to heart and loved you even more.

🔥You never really told your parents that your dating Ace. One day you just brought him home and hanged out in your room, at some point they just assume you guys are dating and they we're all right with it.

🔥When it comes to drawing Ace, you love to draw his face the most, make it look like his freckles are stars.

🔥His black hair and freckles are the most notable features on him.

🔥Your first date, wasn't that bad except at a random part he fell asleep

🔥In the beginning when he started teaching you, you though he was just tired but it happens frequently so it made you worried.

🔥He calmed your nerves telling you he has narcolepsy and his fine, might fall asleep at random times but his okay.

🔥It made you relax, and questioned him if there's a way to stop it but he only shook his head and dropping down on you snoring as he sleep hug you.

🔥You can only ask him help with art work/homework anything related to art otherwise not he can't help, he'd be just as dumbfounded as you.

🔥He inspired you to get a tattoo of your own name in your (Body part), but he was against the idea of a random person touching so he did it himself.

🔥Accidentally spelled one letter wrong so he had to cross it out, you strated yapping at him that he did it purposely.

🔥He made it up to you by giving you another tattoo on your (Body part) that was your favorite (animal of your choice/any tattoo of your choice.)

🔥You guys never gets mistaken for relatives or family members even friends, cause Ace's is all over you, making out even sucking on your neck.

🔥But they do know you guys have an age difference but they don't know how much

🔥His already in his late twenties, and doesn't care as long as you are with him and love him for who he is rather than his age he'll love you back.

🔥You were happy afterwards.

🔥PDA *Public display of affection*

🔥He would hold your hand even kiss you.

🔥But he loves wrapping an arm around your waist having you lean against his body.

🔥Signaling others that you are taken and your his property.

🔥PDA kissing😏😳 just like I said, Ace only allows long and passionate or heavily horny make out kissing.

🔥He makes sure sexual tension rise when your with him, his happy knowing you desire him, so does he.

🔥The fire in your relationship might take a very long time to whither away.

🔥He loves you dearly.

Exstra exstra!!!

Portgas D. Shanks 🍺

🍺Unlike the others Shanks is way older. Reaching 37.

🍺But very childish and energetic.

🍺You decided to take on a part time job just to own a little side cash for yourself, you start working as a waitress/waiter at an old diner in town.

🍺One day Shanks and his friends came in after work to hang out and drink the place dry having some sort of celebration.

🍺And his glad he came along, (His friends might've made him go unwilling) but his glad one glimpse of you and he already knows what's for dinner on the menu.

🍺At first glance he didn't seem very approachable, maybe it was his appearance the three scars over his eye or maybe his big god like built

🍺But once spoken to him he passed off a kind caring and loving atmosphere his actions where so nice he even apologized for accidentally touching your hand

🍺Through out the night he shot complements and cheesey pick up lines, that made you either giggle or blush.

🍺You where kinda sad when he left. (or rather his friends dragged his black out ass out of the diner)

🍺You really wanted his number or at least his name.

🍺The next day he came in for breakfast, you were lucky to catch him, some how you talked the day over with him.

🍺So on he came in everyday, either for breakfast lunch or dinner, which pleased you very much.

🍺on some occassions you joined him, being able to enjoy the food you cooked and seeing him enjoy your cooking as well as the beer you pour for him.

🍺One evening your co worker pointed out that you must have been enjoying your dates.

🍺You were a little confused but decided to ask Shanks himself

🍺"Yeah, we've been going on dates for awhile now, why?"

🍺"u-umm?" That was your only response.

🍺You just let go, and decided to start calling yourself Shanks's girlfriend/boyfriend.

🍺He made sure you never regret it

🍺Later on you guys hanged out more outside of your part time job, and more at his house

🍺He began loving you more and more each day he's kinda a clingy guy

🍺He loves holding you in his arm and kissing you all over your face and neck.

🍺Only way he can show you how much he respects and care even loves you.

🍺He was happy that you didn't back away when you saw his missing arm.

🍺But you love how he still cable of a lot of things and doesn't need anyone's pity

🍺It makes you few him in a new light

🍺But sometimes he takes advantage of his disability and asks for your help, like putting on his shirt or drying his hair, a lot of other more minor stuff that might give you naughty thoughts.

🍺You know exactly what he's doing, but you get to enjoy it too.

🍺He can't help but laugh at you blushing at his bare skin, he loves you trying to be innocent

🍺Shanks has great friends their all lively like him and loves to drink as much as him. Whenever you come over to his place you might meet 3 or 7 of his friends enjoying a beer and BBQ.

🍺They respect Shanks very much, and is happy for him that he found someone that can deal with his childlike nature and take care of him at the same time

🍺When you are hanging out with them, they always tease Shanks and you making Shanks fall in a fit of laughter and you blush madly in his lap.

🍺School work/homework is something you can easily ask Shanks about he might not have all the answers but he knows more than he lets on.

🍺So at times you get better grades than you did before, the way he explained some things made it easier hand that you played more attention to your hot older boyfriend.

🍺But Shanks doesn't have much family left and never saw why you need to meet those his not close too.

🍺You just simply forgot to introduce him to your parents.

🍺Until it back fired, you forgetting to introduce him made the situation even more difficult.

🍺You just mindlessly invited him to a one of your family BBQ's and he cheerfully agreed.

🍺Once he came by the weekend that's when you remember that you forgot to introduce him to your parents before your family and distance relatives and family friends.

🍺You sucked it up and acted normal, which displeased Shanks since you didn't sit on his lap or kiss him much not even hugs.

🍺At first he thought you were embarrassed of him but saw you running around handing drinks and snacks to those who just use you as an little servant girl/boy, too lazy to get off their own asses and do it themselves.

🍺He also knows you have a hard time saying no, since you are a good person and very nice

🍺He decided to deal with the matter himself.

🍺Place down his beer, he grabbed your little ass that was about to hurry pass him, pulling you down onto his lap hugging you to his chest.

🍺Your tired body automatically rest on him laying your face in his neck

🍺Not a few seconds later you two started having a nice loving conversation he made you giggle at his words. Rubbing his hand in circles on your back.

🍺Making you love him more.

🍺That's when your mother/mom came by angry calling you lazy for not helping the others around.

🍺Before you could get up and back to "helping" the family, Shanks grip around your waist tighten.

🍺"Listen here, miss. I'm not a rude guy but the table is right over there, now I haven't seen (y/n) for entire week cause of my business trip. Now they can serve themselves, or can they all not walk."

🍺Your mother/mom got furious now turning to you.

🍺"Whose this?" She simply pointed at the red head

🍺"(Y/n)'s man... lover... Boyfriend. Which do you prefer miss?"

🍺"I forbid you to see him ever again."

🍺"You can't. (Y/n) is 18 an gown adult so she/he can make her/his own decisions. You have no say in the matter."

🍺Your mother/mom huffed crossing her arms stomping away. Not liking him one bit

🍺Your Dad/father couldn't help but laugh liking Shanks even more.

🍺This is the kind of guy he'd let his daughter/son marry one that can stand up to your mother/mom stupid shit.

🍺You thought that was the end but the tables quickly turned on your mother/mom.

🍺Shanks is truly the one for you.

🍺So having him meet your parents didn't go all that well especially with your mother/mom.

🍺The things you love about Shanks ofcourse his personality and body.

🍺But his red hair is what you love the most, running your fingers through the red locks makes you happy all the time. Is truly a beautiful color.

🍺Red has a range of symbolic meanings, including life, health, vigor, war, courage, anger, love and religious.

🍺You even asked if its his natural hair color and you got a yes, he even proofed with some baby pictures of himself.

🍺Which you adore the ones that his near your age.

🍺But you will always love the him who is in front of you the him you met and fell in love with.

🍺Shanks has a pretty good job, he is the owner of one of the biggest four business company in the world.

🍺Yes! That means his quite rich. Your set for life marrying him.

🍺That's where some of his friends teases him, calling him your Sugar Daddy.

🍺You have never really asked him for anything not even a penny. If you want money you make your own.

🍺A gift, you refuse any gift unless it is his love and affection that you'd gladly take.

🍺Shanks drinks alot sometime you question his liver. When his drunk his someone that anyone would like around a happy drunk, his not sad or angry, just ×10 more cheerful and clingy.

🍺PDA *Public display of affection*

🍺He wants bear hugs daily. Once your in his lap he doesn't let you out for a long time same goes for your butterfly kisses he wants them daily.

🍺He'd die without your attention.

🍺Your eyes must always meet his.

🍺PDA kissing 🍻😚~ Shanks doesn't mind cheek kisses or a make out session, he thinks it's brave of you that he won't take you then and there.

🍺At home DA *Display of affection*

🍺He loves when you leave a trail of kisses on his neck down to his lower abdomen, it happens rarely but he just loves being under your touch

🍺The little things you do for him makes him wanna keep you for himself.

***

The End.

Maybe~😏

[wirsindkrieg]

Fuck it. Rant time.

I’ve recently discovered the term KFF (“kin-for-fun”) for describing people who appropriate otherkin terminology to describe things which have never actually fallen under the “otherkin” umbrella. Things like roleplaying, identifying with a character (as opposed to as the character), and voluntary identification, among other things. This group also has a trend of telling existing otherkin, including those who have been in the community for some time, that we’re “taking kinning too seriously” and that we need to chill out and let them do what they want. This isn’t a new phenomenon, but it’s getting way out of hand.

I’ll admit to being a relatively new face in the community, having only properly joined in mid-2017. I’ve been otherkin my whole life, though, even before I had the vocabulary to describe my experiences. Gaining that vocabulary, and being able to connect with people who have similar experiences, has been incredibly good for me. It helps me find my center, to understand myself and how I perceive and interact with the world around me. Being non-human is central to my identity because it influences almost everything about me, and there is no way to separate myself from my alterhumanity that wouldn’t be incredibly harmful to me.

As much as people seem to hate this comparison, imagine you’re a young trans person. You’ve just been introduced to the LGBT community, and you’ve managed to find one or more labels that describe your experiences and help you understand yourself and your place in the world. Now imagine a group of cis people who do drag coming along and telling you that you’re taking being trans too seriously, and that being trans is all about presenting as a gender, rather than being that gender. I’d like to think we can all agree that would be an incredibly shitty thing, both in that it’s shitty to try redefining the trans experience that way, and in that it’s incredibly hurtful to any trans people dealing with it.

A small aside to head off anyone wanting to jump to saying “It’s not hurting anyone to say kinning is [insert new definition here]!” There is a distinction between “harmful” and “hurtful”. It may seem a subtle distinction, but it is there. While trying to redefine “otherkin” may not be inherently harmful, it can still be hurtful, in that it hurts to be told that we don’t belong in our own community, one that was built on a certain type of experience that we all share, and which is excluded from the (attempted) new definition.

The otherkin community has always been stigmatized, in a manner not dissimilar from the stigma surrounding the furry community. Otherkin have been treated as “cringe”, told we’re delusional, and generally treated like we deserve to be shit on for having non-human experiences. Now we’re being told that we should abandon the terminology we built to help us find people with similar experiences, so that we can share those experiences and better understand ourselves. We’re being told that we’re taking our identities too seriously, that we should let people push us out of the spaces we built for ourselves because people want to have fun with our labels. And yet even when we put it in those terms, we’re treated like we’re the assholes, told that we’re “gatekeeping” by telling people not to misuse our lexicon.

Another small aside: There is a distinction between “oppressed” and “stigmatized”. Otherkin are not oppressed, in that we aren’t treated as lesser or pushed aside by society for being otherkin. That doesn’t mean we can’t be stigmatized, though. We still get shit on for our identity, and the fact that “anti-kin” is even a term says something about the volume of hate our community receives. Not to mention the number of blogs dedicated to making jokes at our expense, or in some cases bullying otherkin who are seen as too “weird” or “cringe”. If you want to try denying that otherkin are stigmatized, you’re free to try justifying it to yourself, but the evidence is incredibly clear on this one.

Now, I’m willing to give the benefit of the doubt on a lot of this, and work under the assumption that the root of this problem is some combination of a lack of information, and the presence of misinformation. “Always assume a mistake before assuming malice”, or my preferred variant “cock-up before conspiracy.” And I’m a firm believer that the solution to ignorance is education, because without information about how things need to change, it’s difficult at best to change in a positive direction. The problem is that many members of the community have tried educating, have tried pointing out that the terminology being misused already has an agreed upon definition (which has been agreed upon for quite some time), have pointed to other, existing terms that actually match what’s being described. And time and again, those attempts at education are dismissed and ignored. We’ve tried being diplomatic and kind, and clearly that’s not getting us anywhere.

Anyways, the point of this rant is to say this: I am sick and tired of being told I have to redefine my identity because some people have decided that they want to take over an established community. I’m done hearing people tell me that I take my identity too seriously, and that I need to be okay with losing a community that has done me a lot of good. And I’m very, very pissed off that people are, intentionally or not, making it harder for people with serious non-human identities to find other people like them, to come together and have the kinds of discussions that help us understand ourselves and our place in the world. Make your own terminology, form your own community, and get our words out of your mouth.

And if that makes you feel attacked, like you’re being called out? I want you to stop and think, and I mean seriously think, about why being told to stop redefining someone else’s experience is so important to you. And if after that thinking you still want to argue? Feel free to start something. I’m always happy to educate.

[disneyat34]

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad at 34

A review by Adam D. Jaspering

The 1940s were a troubled time for Disney Studios, financially. Through deal-making, patience, and budgeting, Disney Studios endured a dark age and righted themselves. By 1949, they were free to return to the path established at the decade’s beginning. 

Abandoned interpretations of Cinderella, Peter Pan, and Alice in Wonderland started up again. Production began on Disney’s first completely live-action film, Treasure Island. True-Life Adventures, a series of documentary shorts, were a surprise hit. The 1950s were going to be very kind to Walt Disney and his company. But they weren't there yet. There was one final task before Disney could shut the door on the 1940s.

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad was to be the final package film from Disney, closing out this era. The movie is comprised of two shorts: The Wind In the Willows, and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. The two shorts have no thematic link besides being literary adaptations. For much of its development, it had the working title Two Fabulous Characters. 

The Wind In the Willows is an adaptation of the 1908 children’s book by Kenneth Grahame. The story centers around a quartet of animals living in Edwardian England. The sensible MacBadger, Ratty, and Moley try their best to help their outlandish and boisterous friend, Mr. Toad. Basil Rathbone narrates the short.

At various points of its production, Disney Studios intended to adapt the book into a full-length movie. The troubles at Disney Studios and a string of creative blocks impeded its completion. At the insistence of Walt Disney himself, it was finally scaled back to a half hour short.

The Wind In the Willows has a level of appreciation in its native Britain, but in the United States, it’s a somewhat obscure novel. Much of its substance relies on a knowledge of British customs and sensibilities. This cultural disconnect makes it relatively inaccessible to American children. For a book featuring talking animals, a runaway locomotive, and a prison break, there is a large focus on manners and dignity.

Being an American production company, Disney Studios had an uphill battle. They not only had to produce the ostensibly British work, they needed to deconstruct it. They couldn't just deliver the story, they needed to present it in a way that could be understood by children internationally. A comedy of manners doesn't work if one doesn't understand the setting and society. Disney does not deliver in this regard. Everything comes across as British for British sake.

The character MacBadger is voiced by animator Campbell Grant. Grant had been working with Disney since the Hyperion Studio days. He was born in Berkley, California, and never lived in Scotland. His talents as a voice actor reflect the fact. He provides an incredibly forced and painful Scottish brogue.

On the other hand, Ratty has such a perfect English accent, it’s almost a parody. Ratty is voiced by Claud Allister, an actual British actor. Allister seems determined to perform the most stereotypical British character ever witnessed by an American audience. Ratty has a stuffy London accent, smokes a pipe, wears a deerstalker cap and wool suit, has a bushy mustache, aristocratic mannerisms, and regularly hosts tea. Is English his nationality, or his personality? 

The other characters (minus the Scottish MacBadger) are English as well, but allowed other traits. Is Ratty a joke? Is he meant as an object of ridicule? Is this Disney's attempt at societal farce? His characterization is confusing and doesn't help the story.

The main character, touted as ‘fabulous’ by the film’s working title, is Mr. Toad. Mr. Toad is an individual of great wealth. Old family money, to be specific. He has no work ethic, no discipline, and is intent on spending his fortune and his days as recklessly as possible. MacBadger, Ratty, and Moley spend their days cleaning up Mr. Toad’s messes and curtailing future mistakes.

The relationship between these four is something of a mystery. Ratty and Moley appear to be roommates. MacBadger operates as  accountant of Mr. Toad’s estate, apparently a long-time employee. But how all four came to meet is never fully explained or implied. For the purposes of the film, they are burdened with Mr. Toad and his antics. This is their lot in life.

Mr. Toad is a vivacious individual who’s quick to jump on frivolous trends, indulging his whims at a moment’s notice. He spends way too much money on ostentatious displays of conspicuous consumption. We’re introduced to him, rampaging down the road on a horse-drawn carriage. Ratty and Moley beg and plead for him to stop, as he is causing an alarming amount of property damage. Mr. Toad scoffs at their request.

But Mr. Toad's interest in his wagon is halted by another method. Seeing an automobile, his appreciation for wagons disappears. He becomes maniacally obsessing over owning a car. Ratty and Moley intervene again, locking Mr. Toad in his bedroom as though he were an addict detoxing. Mr. Toad's fits are a nice piece of visual humor, but don't endear the viewer to his selfish behavior.

Mr. Toad escapes out his window, finding a tavern full of literal weasels ready to sell him the stolen car. The weasels are stock criminals. Their purpose is to distract the viewer. To trick them into not suspecting the true villain of the feature. The deceit is ineffective, not from a narrative standpoint, but an animation standpoint.

The bartender is one of the most on-the-nose designed characters in the history of animation. His treachery is supposed to be a surprising plot twist, as though we could not see it coming from miles away. The man practically has "villain" tattooed on his forehead. With his squinty eyes, malicious grin, hunched posture and arched eyebrows, the animators did not give their audience any credit. Anyone who could not come to the independent conclusion that he is a con man deserves to be ripped off. 

Mr. Toad's friends are forced to intervene again, testifying on his behalf. To no avail. Mr. Toad is arrested, but escapes from prison in an effort to prove his wrongful conviction. MacBadger, Ratty and Moley are tasked one final time to reverse Mr. Toad's fortune and prove his innocence. It is a very one-sided friendship.

Mr. Toad eventually clears his name. He doesn’t learn any lesson, immediately returning to his old imprudent lifestyle. Mr. Toad experiences no consequences, and suffers no losses. His friends don’t think any less of him. They receive no reward for their faithfulness. Our heroes end up exactly where they had started.

The Wind In the Willows is an adventure where somehow nothing happens. There’s no moral, no journey, no change, no growth. It’s a chapter from the characters’ lives. It feels immaterial. 

Perhaps Disney Studios expected to reuse the characters in the future. Only a portion of Grahame's book is represented in the cartoon. The Wind In the Willows could conceivably be a franchise. Story elements cut from the original feature-length script could be repurposed into one or two additional shorts.

If this was the plan, of course the writers needed to hit the reset button. Viewers wouldn't understand a follow-up cartoon if they hadn't seen the predecessor. The shorts would need to operate independently as well as part of a series. The characters end here unaffected, consequence free, but primed for another outing later.

If this was the plan, nothing came to fruition. As Disney presents it, The Wind In the Willows is an abandoned pilot. It's the pointless story of an unlikable amphibian and his overburdened friends. A good story makes you glad you went on the journey. The Wind in the Willows is the equivalent of walking into a room and forgetting why.

The production of The Wind In the Willows continued off and on beginning in 1938. Walt Disney himself was rather indifferent to the source material. He only optioned the film rights for financial opportunity. Ironic, as the production was a complicated, eight-year boondoggle.

At various times, it was intended to be paired with Mickey and the Beanstalk or Pecos Bill, and released as early as 1946. For varying reasons, it wasn’t released until 1949, when it was paired with another short entirely.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow had a much simpler production history. There was no logical way to adapt the 24-page short story to a full-length feature. From the beginning, it was intended to be a short. Production began in 1946. In 1947, Disney decided it would accompany The Wind In the Willows to the big screen. 

Why pair these two unrelated shorts together? There’s no official justification, but one can deduce their intention. Disney Studios was sick and tired of package films. They wanted to move on. They didn't want to spend a single extra minute supporting them. They had two shorts completed, ready for distribution. It didn't matter how disconnected they were in subject. Sometimes art is a labor of love. Sometimes you want to end the creative process as fast as possible. 

Referred to as Ichabod Crane by the film, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is based on the 1820 short story by Washington Irving. The story centers around a superstitious schoolteacher, Ichabod Crane. New in town, he vies for the romantic attention of a wealthy heiress, Katrina van Tassel. Crane is impeded by local townsman Brom Bones, also courting Katrina. As the contest grows to a head, a mix of animosity and local legend decides the fate of Crane.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is one of the earliest pieces of American literature to be regarded as a classic. It remains a staple of the gothic horror genre. The featured monster, The Headless Horseman, remains a chilling figure in the horror pantheon. What's more, the Disney version is considered the definitive adaptation and a Halloween staple.

With such an established holiday association, it’s easy to forget that all mentions of Halloween don’t occur until halfway through. More than that, the iconic ride of the Headless Horseman lasts seven minutes. The first half of the story is nothing more than a typical love-triangle. Just set during the Washington administration.

It’s a testament to great storytelling and memorable characters. Half the picture is establishment and foreshadowing, but never feels plodding or pointless. It all builds, shapes the world, and pays off spectacularly at the end.

The physical appearance of Ichabod Crane is a master stroke of design. Crane is tall, rail thin, with long legs, and a large nose. He looks every bit like the bird he shares a name with. He looks odd, comical even, but not out of place among the other citizens of Sleepy Hollow. 

It’s part of his charm that such a gangly, awkward fellow is depicted as a classy, desirable man. Him being voiced by Bing Crosby is a large element of this attraction.  It’s not stunt-casting. The disconnect between a major celebrity’s charisma coming from the mouth of a laughably ungainly character is fantastic. It’s just one great element of an intricate character. 

Every time we think we understand who Crane is, we learn something new to smash those conceptions. He’s a man of letters, but also superstitious. He’s a romantic, but also deviously wants to marry Katrina for her money. He’s a disciplinarian, but easily swayed by his own interests. A running gag demonstrates he values food over everything. Crane is an enigma.

In contrast, Brom Bones is an archetype. There’s not much to comment on. He’s a burly man, popular with the townsfolk, prone to violence when challenged. He's singularly focused on a specific woman who barely gives him attention. We’ve seen this archetype already with Lumpjaw in Fun and Fancy Free, and we’ll see it again in Beauty and the Beast.

And yet, Brom Bones surprises us by transcending his himbo personality. He displays a precisely-executed bit of cunning. Brom takes advantage of Crane’s superstitions, reciting the story of the Headless Horseman at a Halloween party. With perfect delivery and cadence. He captivates the townsfolk with his tale, but leaves Crane paralyzed by fear. 

The final climax features a sense of ambiguity outshining Irving's original story. It’s strongly implied that the Headless Horseman is truly a myth. That Crane experiences no supernatural entities. Instead, it's Brom Bones in disguise who terrorizes Crane on his way home. It's the second half of his scheme, causing Crane to flee town, leaving Brom alone to marry Katrina. 

It's strongly implied, but not definite. One may also choose to believe the Headless Horseman is real. That Crane did indeed meet his doom on Halloween night. It’s open for interpretation, and both are viable. Even if one is slightly more credible than the other.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a fantastic short. Ichabod Crane is interesting and complex. The environments are lush and evocative of a New England autumn. The story is fun and engaging. Its final act is atmospheric and chilling. It's the perfect introduction for children to the horror genre, and holds up to adult sensibilities. It deserves to be watched once a year. But just like with Disney’s other package films, a great short is better enjoyed separated from a crudely assembled movie. And The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad is as crude as they come.

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad was the last in a long march of frugal package films. Mandated by financial constraints, everyone knew they were low-effort affairs. Thankfully, Disney Studios could pursue ambitious productions once again. Disney would not produce another package film until 1977, when the studio encountered similar financial problems. But in 1949, the era was finally behind them. The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad wasn’t meticulous, wasn’t neat, and wasn’t even coherent as a feature. But it was a film. Disney shut the door on the era with a resounding slam.

Fantasia Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Pinocchio Bambi The Three Caballeros Dumbo Melody Time Saludos Amigos The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad Fun and Fancy Free Make Mine Music

[mallowstep]

cloudtail’s daughter: ivypool

i wrote this up a while ago, and i’m just queuing it for completions sake. it may or may not be accurate.

ivypool. it’s time. it’s time. i’ve been waiting for a long time.

i wrote about dovewing like. well okay it was only like two weeks ago for me. but it was a very long time ago in my brain. i’m pretty sure when i wrote the dovewing essay, i still hadn’t figured out a lot of relatively basic things? or like, i’ve just made a lot of changes? yeaaah. also, this is my last official warrior cats essay that i’m writing for this blog. so. yeah. uh. yeah. i’m excited for this. because this is, well, i have good good thoughts about ivypool. i don’t really like her like dovewing and jayfeather, but she’s up there with jayfeather and like, squirrelflight? for quality characters. she’s one of the best characters. possibly the best character. so. yeah. it’s time. let’s begin.

section one: ivykit

oh yeah baby. going back to basics. let us examine the life of warrior, via ivykit. ivykit is born. she has one littermate. dovekit. ivykit and dovekit vibe, aight? like yeah, sure, ivykit spends a lot of time playing with blossomkit and bumblekit, but like, less than in my other aus. ivykit is…well at first, she does not feel underloved. i mean, she’s on equal footing with dovekit for like, the first moon or two of their life, when they’re still all stumpy legged and stumbling, with fluffy coats and eyes that don’t work right.

and yeah, things are fine. i mean, sure, jayfeather is concerned about dovekit, but ivykit doesn’t care. dovekit is her sister. that’s what matters. of course, as they get older, this starts to crack. subtly, at first. ivykit feels like she needs to protect dovekit. she doesn’t know why or from what, or even when she started thinking this, but ivykit just knows that she has to be there for dovekit. that she’s going to be the person who doesn’t complain when dovekit doesn’t hear, etc., and that’s just her job.

and the cracks grow larger. cloudtail and brightheart are concerned for dovekit. ivykit can’t keep going she’s my sister, she’s just like that and so she does yeah she does start to grow jealous. and there’s this awkward rift and they can’t make it work, except that ivykit and dovekit are still sisters. (oh man oh man is dovewing’s silence gonna fuck ivypool up.)

but ivykit doesn’t really grow resentful until BB&B are apprenticed. because now she’s, well, alone. i mean yes, she still has dovekit, but dovekit is working with their parents, and her old friends are busy, and what’s a girl to do?

and then she starts to feel lonely. and this, while not when hawkfrost contacts her, is the weakness he will exploit. i’m not doing a mapleshade/crookedkit situation. wrong vibe. hawkfrost and ivypool should end as equals. but otherwise, that’s pretty much her kithood.

section two: ivypaw

alright, so we’ve heard this story 5 times by now. but that’s ok, that’s okay. ivypaw is given to lionblaze. this is chill, this is chill, this is some good vibery. you know? oh lord i’m meming again hold on someone needs to factory reset me.

right so ivypaw is assigned to lionblaze because he’s supposed to be encouraging and brave and loyal. and you know, ivypaw is fine with that. it’s fine. this is fine. she doesn’t mind. he’s chill. this is really cool lionblaze is a really good warrior ivypaw is internally screaming because she’s very happy but she wants to seem cool so she’s trying to keep it together.

yeah, she’s very hype. she’s like, mildly concerned for dovepaw, but dovepaw gets cinderheart and everything is fine and they’re going to be apprentices together and then. dovepaw catches a few mice.

and whoa, does this make ivypaw jealous.

because this means that dovepaw’s training with brightheart and cloudtail wasn’t making them equals, it was making dovepaw better. (this is wrong, obviously, but it’s how ivypaw feels, and that’s kind of the most important part.)

so ivypaw just sulks and about a moon or two in, i’d need to check notes for the specifics (yes, this au has finally gotten large enough i can’t hold the entire thing in my head), but a moon or two in, she gets contacted by hawkfrost. and i’ve actually already drafted their first meeting, so i can include some quotes. i know it’s unorthodox, but it’s one of my favorite scenes i’ve written. plus, it’s definitely not final form yet. so i don’t feel bad about including it.

Ivypaw didn’t know where she was. Her dreams were usually across the Thunderclan territory.

Now, a strange tom stood in front of her. He had no scent, but he looked like a warrior. But he sat still, saying nothing.

She could smell a mouse in the field, and she instinctively dropped into a crouch.

At least I can make a catch in my dreams.

But as she was preparing to strike, her back brushed the stem of a poppy, and the mouse squeaked, running off.

Ivypaw flopped to the ground.

“It’s not your fault,” the tom said, his voice low and gravelly.

Ivypaw’s ears flicked towards him instinctively, and she turned her head.

“You haven’t been taught how to crouch properly in this kind of field,” he said. “It’s a shame, but I’m sure your mentor is getting around to it.”

Ivypaw growled. “Sure, whenever he actually decides to pay attention to me.”

The tom didn’t say anything, only gazed kindly at Ivypaw. Feeling self concious, she stood up, and tried to lick the dust off her pelt.

“Do you want me to show you what you should have done?”

“Sure,” Ivypaw said.

The tom crept forward slowly, his back flat. He pounced, without giving a single sign he was about to move. “Did you see that?” he asked, calm. Ivypaw nodded. “Good. Now, you try.”

Ivypaw tried to copy his form. “Do you live here?” she asked, trying to make sure she was in the correct form. He didn’t say anything, just flicked his tail.

“Hold yourself a little looser,” he said, “but go on, give it a try.”

She leaped, but her belly brushed the ground, and she skid to a halt far closer than she meant to.

“That’s alright,” the tom said. “Here, aim for this.”

He hooked a ball of moss with one claw, putting it a fair distance in front of her. Ivypaw shook her head slightly, trying to think about what she needed to do.

She pounced, this time, moving cleanly, but when her spine flattened, her balence was thrown off.

“You’ve almost got it,” he said. “Watch again, then you try.”

He demonstrated the pounce again, and Ivypaw tried to pay attention to how he landed. He realigned the ball of moss. “Now you.”

She thought carefully about what she needed to do, then leaped. She moved through the air cleanly, and landed with the ball between her paws without even a whisper from the grass.

“Very good,” the tom said. “You must be quite the hunter.”

Ivypaw didn’t say anything.

“Oh, you must know you are. That’s an advanced move, and you picked it up in no time.”

Ivypaw felt flush. “Is it that obvious?”

The tom’s eyes were piercing. “No,” he said. “But I had a hunch.” Ivypaw had the sense he was waiting for something.

“My sister struggles with hunting,” she admitted. “We’ve been spending a lot of time with her.”

“It hardly seems fair,” the tom said, “that your training should suffer.”

Ivypaw didn’t know what to say.

“Let me show you one more thing,” he said. “Call it, evening the scales.”

The tom moved so Ivypaw could see his whole body technique. “A stalking technique,” he said, “one I doubt you’ve seen before.”

He drew his whiskers back and stuck his chin out, holding very low and flat to the ground. The tom weaved through the grass and snapped at the stem of a violet, impossibly quickly.

“That was so fast!” Ivypaw said, despite herself.

The tom licked his chest. “Comes with practice. Give it a try.”

She copied his technique, grabbing a flower stem, although she couldn’t move nearly as quickly.

“Very good,” he said. “You’ll get the speed with time. It’s a good technique for fish.”

Ivypaw tilted her head, quizzical.

“Or mice,” he ammended. “Anything fast.”

Ivypaw began to feel something pulling her.

“I think I have to go,” she said.

“So be it,” he said.

“What’s your name?” she asked him.

“Hawkfrost.”

“I’m Ivypaw,” she said. The pull was growing more urgent. “Why are you being so nice to me?”

“Because,” he said, calmly, “I think you deserve to succeed.”

and there you are. like i said, i don’t think it’s going to stay in this form. so i wanted to share it. it turns out the canon version of this scene is just. good. i don’t like a few key things about it, but for the most part, it’s good, so trying to redo it is hard.

anyway, so. ivypaw isn’t exactly kind about her feelings. she’s angry at lionblaze and at dovepaw. and dovepaw knows this and dovepaw feels exceptionally inadequate. so, dovepaw starts sneaking out.

section three: ivypaw II, ivypaw alone

so dove/holly/cinder leave to deal with beavers, and ivypaw is…salty. as i’ve made somewhat clear, i’m not 100% sure where this falls on the timeline: it could overlap with the hawkfrost incident. but. yeah.

lionblaze is very distracted, and she picks up on that hard. and hawkfrost is getting into her head, and she’s tired all the time, but she feels good.

ivypaw is…ivypaw is complicated. she wants to be good so badly it’s blinding, and somewhere i have notes on why she doesn’t figure out the hawkfrost deal sooner, but there’s a reason, but she wants so badly. she wants recognition, she wants to be good, she wants to serve her clan, she wants to protect dovepaw. and it’s all building to an almost unhealthy level, but like, what is she supposed to do? no one is paying attention to her because of dovepaw.

[edengarden]

may i have a regular matchup with a bnha character? i’m a minor!

- 3 positive personality traits

im nice + soft like i will be soft and try not to hurt anyone’s feelings

i’ve been told that i can make a room a bit happier! so cheerful!

i’m very empathetic

- 3 negative personality traits

im pretty clingy / don’t like being alone

i bottle up stuff so when i get sad it’s bad

im ditzy

- hobbies

i crochet a lot!

idk if playing on my switch is a hobby but i do it a lot!

is watching youtube videos about psychology a hobby?

- music taste

it’s all over the place but: 90s / 2000s r&b, musicals, mainstream pop and indie pop

- appearance

im 5’1 / im mixed and like the exact in between skin tone / my hair is either in long box braids or feed ins but it’s all dark brown + curly and at shoulder length / my style is pretty simple with colors: jackets, sweaters, turtlenecks, jeans, white filas + vans / i wear glasses!

- traits i look for / don’t like

i look for someone who is also kind and can be soft with me sense i’m sensitive too, who can bring me back to earth when i get a bit too wild but can be a bit crazy too (like safe fun with a bit of danger), who can chill out and cuddle too

i don’t like people who are super loud since i’m surrounded by loud people a lot, someone mean cause as i said i’m pretty sensitive, who antagonizes people, who doesn’t like to be touched (im a bit touchy with consent ofc)

- facts

i have epilepsy is this a fun fact? not really but it’s something about me

i swear a bunch (since covid started i haven’t too much)

i play with peoples hand a lot and rock back and forth a lot

i have a little brother and he’s pretty big for his age and he’s a little terror and likes to play rough so i’m tired a lot

i run super cold despite wearing layers and having a heater in my room

im learning the ukulele!!!

i hate to say this but i tend to have panic attacks about school so i close up sometimes

i get teased for being short a lot since i live with tall people!

i bite my lip a lot so i have scars there and i get bruises a lot and have scars on my arms and and hands due to fore mentioned brother

thank you soooo much if you do this! and i really hope you have a good day/night/afternoon/evening!!!☺️😚

I’m matching you up with Shouji!!

First of all, THE. HEIGHT. DIFFERENCE. Oh my god that’s?? So adorable?? He internally melts when you grab his arm or just hold his hand bc he literally has to look down to look at you and if that’s isn’t the cutest shit idk what is.

Shouji loves your attitude and your personality! You’re so sweet, and eccentric and cheerful and he thoroughly believes you’re a delight to be around. Will he outright tell you? Not at the beginning. Although I do think like six months in you guys would be cuddling and he’d bust out the “remember when you...” questions. And he’ll be honest about everything, too.

Shouji is SO soft for you like I think everyone knows. But that’s relatively fine to him as long as it doesn’t get you in danger! He seriously wouldn’t mind your clingy side that much? Maybe a bit if you’re clingy from the start, but it’s mostly bc this dude is sort of shy and he has zero dating experience and he thinks you’re out here busting out the big moves because you wanna hold his hand but no it’s not-

Songs!! (I rlly doubt this boy has,, any taste in music? He just sort of likes anything that has a memory attached to it,,)

- Take It Back, Pink Floyd

- SLOW DANCING IN THE DARK, Joji

- Redbone, Childish Gambino

- Valentine’s Day, David Bowie

[creepercraftguy]

If Danganronpa: Another Despair Academy had an English cast

So I recently made a post very similar to this where I talked about who a hypothetical English voice cast for Our World Is Ended would be. I kind of enjoyed making that post, so I decided to do something similar with the cast of a Danganronpa fan game that has been featured prominently on my chanel and that’s the Danganronpa: Another series. Being a Korean fan game, the original dub of Danganronpa Another has barely any dialogue to speak of. In fact, the only two characters in the series who speak often are Yuki and Sora, the protagonists of the two games, but that’s when they’re in trials. As of right now, a group of people is working on an English dub for the second game. This is why I’m specifically going to talk about the first game in the series, and bare in mind 2 things.

1) There will be some pretty heavy spoilers that I talk about in this post, so if you’re going to read it, please play the game, watch a playthrough or read up on it first.

2) If by any chance the first game gets a dub and the following people I do mention end up voicing the characters, I assure you it is purely coincidental. I wouldn’t even call this a hypothetical scenario so much as I’d call it a basic thought process of my weird weird mind.

Without further ado, let’s begin.

Yuki Maeda: Yuri Lowenthal

In the current dub for the second game, Yuki is being voiced by a user by the name of Soluri, who is pretty talented in their right, but my thought process for an alternative voice actor would be this. Yuki as a protagonist takes a very similar standing as Makoto Naegi and Hajime Hinata, whom are voiced by Bryce Papenbrook and Johnny Yong Bosch respectively, so if I was given a choice to choose who could voice act him, then I think Yuri Lowenthal would be a fitting choice, since he’s also often voiced protagonists. Being someone who often does work in famous franchises, his voice work includes Marth from Fire Emblem, Yosuke Hanamura in Persona, Ben Tennyson in many Ben 10 works, Klavier Gavin in Ace Attorney, Simon in Gurren Lagann and Suzaku from Code Geass. However, he’d also be a fitting choice since I believe he’d be able to do a good job as both the somwhat cowardly and submissive Yuki as well as the mysterious and somewhat stoically dangerous Utsuro, as he is also the main VA for Sasuke in Naruto and Alucard in Castlevania. 

Akane Taira: Monica Rial

Akane’s basic character throughout the majority of the game is that she’s lighthearted and even though the killing game is getting to her just as much as everyone else, she still finds a way to lighten the atmosphere, and is a usually cheery and kind person, if a little scary when angry. However, her true nature is something much more freakish, being, in actuality, the mastermind behind the aforementioned killing game that she spends a lot of the game seemingly fighting against. For an English VA, I think the best bet is Monica Rial, who has previously voiced in Danganronpa as Sayaka Maizono in the Danganronpa anime. The reason for my choice is she has previously voiced usually nice, if a little stern, characters like Bulma from Dragon Ball, Tsuyu Asui from My Hero Academia, May Chang from Full Metal Alchemist, Tsubaki from Soul Eater, Kayano from Assassination Classroom, Mirajane Strauss from Fairy Tale and Sakura from CardCaptor Sakura. However, she’s not one to shy away from maniacal villains, or generally creepy characters either, also voicing Tanya from Saga of Tanya the Evil, Krul Tepes from Seraph of the End or Stocking from Panty and Stocking. Also doing the voice of Misaki Ayuzawa from Maid Sama and Mey-rin in Black Butler, she’s not new to voicing maid characters.

Tsurugi Kinjo: Crispin Freeman

Having already done voice work in a main Danganronpa game, albeit for a very unlikable character, I ruled out Matthew Mercer for this one. I can only really describe Tsurugi as the Nagito Komaeda of this series. He has good intentions, but a really messed up way of thinking, even at times quite self-deprecating and reflecting on his own incapabilities to stop the killing game and catch the mastermind. Like I already said, he seems like he’d be voiced by a deep voiced character like Matt Mercer, but when it comes to characters like that, Crispin Freeman is a safe bet. Some of the rightous and/or badass characters that he’s lent his voice to include Winston from Overwatch, Kyon in the Haruhi Suzumiya series, Tsume in Wolf’s Rain and more, but can also do a pretty good crazy character every once in a while, like Alucard from Hellsing, Itachi Uchiha from Naruto and Firefly in the Batman Arkham Series.

Rei Mekaru: Laura Post

Admittedly, I was considering Monica Rial for this crude and shrewd character too. Mature and professional to a fault, barely showing any sort of real emotion and often insulting the other killing game participants for seemingly no reason, Rei is basically Another 2′s Byakuya Togami, intelligent, but rude. Having previously voiced condescending characters, Laura Post is a pretty good choice. I’m referring mostly to characters like Kill La Kill’s Ragyo Kiryuin and Fubuki/Blizzard from Hell from One Punch Man, as well as Diana Cavendish from Little Witch Academia and one of her first ever performances, Queen Nehelenia from Sailor Moon. However, Laura Post has also voiced rather gentle and friendly characters before, which would be a good way to highlight Rei’s secret soft side. Characters like Nozomi Tojo from Love Live and her most recent role, Kasumi Yoshizawa from Persona 5 Royal.

Haruhiko “Haru”  Kobashikawa: Sam Riegal

The minute I was introduced to him, I immediately thought, “Ok, he’s going to be the Kazuichi of this game isn’t he?” And to be honest, I don’t think I was that far off. However, even so, he seems more like Kaito if Kaito wasn’t necessarily a central character. Haru’s important, but he’s on the same level of importance as a character like say...Game 1 Toko. A sociable person who’s only goal is to get along well with everyone, he’s cheerful, laid back and more often than not pretty amusing to watch. Someone I believe to be fit for the role, having previously voiced a repertoire of pretty dorky and likeable characters, is Sam Riegal. By that, I mean he’s done the voice work of Teddy from Persona, Phoenix Wright in Ace Attorney, Emperor Awesome in Wander of Yonder,  Kanata from Trinity Universe, Shirou Emiya from Fate/Stay Night and Donatello in a large number of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles works.

Teruya Otori: Kyle McCarly

Teruya is a character that returns for the second game, and his voice actor in that is NuzikVA. I was really stuck on this one, since Yuri Lowenthal, whom I picked for Yuki, was my main option for Teruya too, but my second option for him would be just as viable. One of Teruya’s most important aspects to his character is that he has a pretty unique western accent despite being Japanese, since his Ultimate Merchant talent means he’s travelled the world and picked up on a few things. On top of that, he’s pretty adorkable and a little childish. I’ve heard Yuri Lowenthal do accents before, which is why I considered it, but I figured anything Yuri Lowenthal can do, Kyle McCarly can do just as well, if not better. He’s a voice actor who’s lines are packed full of expression and some of his previous work includes 9S from Neir: Automata, Hyde in Cross Tag Battle, Hal in Astral Chain, Gatekeeper in Fire Emblem Three Houses and Narancia in JoJo Part 5.

Satsuki Iranami: Deva Marie Gregory

While she was a character that I found initially very irritating and she was definitely the one I had to warm to the most, I won’t deny that Satsuki Iranami is like 70% of the humour and happiness in this game. Similarly to Ibuki, she tends to act childish and make jokes in very tense situations and as described by Yuki as “a person that makes you tired just by talking with her” or something along those lines. Now, this might seem like a pretty obscure and strange choice for a VA, but my choice for a voice is Deva Marie Gregory. It’s obscure, since she is relatively new to the voice acting industry, only voicing one character in one franchise so far. However, that character is Flayn from Fire Emblem Three Houses, arguably one of the characters with the more comedic dialogue. I can totally picture her playing an “In-your-face” practical joker character like Satsuki, making common wisecracks, and it’s something I’d really like to bear witness to.

Mitsuhiro “Mitch” Higa: Joe Brogie

Possibly my least favourite character in this game, he’s essentially a worse version of Leon Kuwata from the first game. He’s genuinely kind of a chill guy, but his status as the Ultimate Soccer Player and his world fame makes him more than a little arrogant and cocky and often ignores people who he doesn’t care for. Joe Brogie is my choice for him, despite being a relatively new voice actor. His previous work includes the player character from God Eater 3, Linus from Fire Emblem Heroes, Donatello from Injustice 2 and Sylvain Jose Gautier from Fire Emblem Three Houses. However, despite his few roles and lacking history of voices, he’s talented and capable nonetheless. 

Kizuna Tomori: Tia Ballard

Kizuna can be described in the following words: Cutesy, flirtatious and distrustful. I know those phrases sound mutually exclusive to each other, but trust me, it’s true. Obviously, her nature just changes depending on the situation, since she’s lighthearted and merry more often than not, but in a tense situation becomes suspicious, snappy and even physically violent. I picture her having a high voice, and when taking her character into account, I think the best bet is Tia Ballard. The main reason for my choice is that Tia’s most common voices belong to generally “moe” anime girls, but she voices them in a way that doesn’t sound annoyingly high pitched like how Stephanie Sheh does with Mikan in Danganronpa 2. If Ballard voiced Kizuna, she could pretty much perfectly land the “cutesy at first, but angry when provoked” attitude that Kizuna has. Some of her previous work includes Marron from Dragon Ball, Happy from Fairy Tail, Chiho Sasaki from The Devil is a Part Timer, Takao from D-Frag, Zero Two from Darling in the Franxx and has actually voiced in Danganronpa previously as Daisaku Bandai in Danganronpa 3.

Mikako Kurokawa: Brittany Cox

Extremely similarly to my choice for Satsuki, my choice for Mikako has also only ever been in one game, and it’s the same game as my choice for Satsuki actually. Mikako is a quiet person and she isn’t much of a talker, and when she does she sticks to short replies after long periods of silence, often causing people to forget she's around or becoming surprised when she eventually speaks up. She is unresponsive in a conversation and avoids making eye contact with anyone she talks to which seems rude, but her past explains why. The character Brittany Cox plays in Three Houses is Ingrid Galatea, who is generally a pretty merry, if a little serious and motherly, character, who’s personality isn’t a quiet one. However, while her voice acting is really good, Brittany Cox has a bit of a stoic, monotone and quiet voice, that I believe would fit Mikako perfectly.

Kinji Uehara: Robbie Daymond

There were a few reasons why I chose this person for this characters voice, but I’ll talk about those in a moment. Kinji is the good type of priest, one who is serious and quiet, but is a good listener, and respectful of people to a point where he doesn’t force his religious ideals onto others. However, when put under immense amounts of pressure, he can break down and turn somewhat psychotic. Hence my choice for his voice actor. Robbie Daymond is a personal favourite of mine, since he has a special talent of playing characters such as Goro Akechi and Hubert Vestra, from Persona and Three Houses respectively; characters who for the most part are calm, reserved, quiet and in Akechi’s case, somewhat kind. However, after certain points in the games stories, the two characters turn inexplicably evil and crazy, and the voice work and the shift in tone has such an amazing range that it’s hard to believe it’s the same guy. Seriously, look up Daymond’s work as Akechi, it’s honestly amazing and is the type of voice I’d honestly expect for Kinji when he breaks down. Alongside those two roles, Daymond also voices Prompto in Final Fantasy 15, Reinhard in RE:Zero, Professor Willow in Pokemon, Gilthunder in Nanatsu No Taizai and Mumen Rider in One Punch Man.

Kiyoka Maki: Colleen Clinkenbeard

A girl with a personality that doesn’t match her talent, Kiyoka Maki is outgoing and carefree and doesn’t have an awful lot of care for her talent, being way more interested in more effeminate things than guns. When I first saw Kiyoka and was introduced to her character, for some reason I thought “This is the type of character Colleen Clinkenbeard would voice.” Originally I was going to cast Clinkenbeard as Teruya before I realised Teruya wouldn’t necessarily have a child-like voice. Clinkenbeard however, does have experience of voicing male anime characters, and a lot of characters that scream a lot, Monkey D. Luffy from One Piece and Young Gohan being the prime examples. Alongside that, she’s also voiced another gunslinger in Full Metal Alchemist as Riza Hawkeye, as well as Momo Yaoyorozu in My Hero Academia, Rachel Moore in Case Closed, Erza Scarlet in Fairy Tail and previously in Danganronpa 3 as the loveable Chisa Yukizome.

Ayame Hatano: Karen Strassman

Ayame is a stoic and strong-willed person. Although she appears to be perfectly calm in most situations, she admits that she can be awkward especially during conversations, and as a result, she has a tendency to ramble and wander off in her own, or not talk much at all. To me, she seems like a character that someone like Karen Strassman would lend her voice to, since she’s played several characters with those personality traits before. To name a few, there’s Aigis and Nanako from Persona and she’s also voiced Anna in several Fire Emblem games. She’s also played Kallen Stadtfeld in Code Geass, Miyuki Takara in Lucky Star and Rouge the Bat in several Sonic the Hedghog games.

Kanata Inori: Felicia Angelle

I was also considering casting Tia Ballard for this character too, but unlike Kizuna, Kanata genuinely seems like a moe character that would have a high voice. Kanata is a sweet girl who wishes nothing more than the comfort of her patients and everyone else around her. Exceedingly formal and polite, she addresses her classmates as Mr or Ms, like how Hifumi Yamada does in the first game. My choice for her is Felicia Angelle, who’s repertoire consists of both cute and geeky anime girls, as well a little bit of the scary stuff too. This includes Tohru Hagakure from My Hero Academia, Perona from One Piece, The Supreme Kai of Time from Dragon Ball Xenoverse, Shinoa Hiragi from Seraph of the end, Shaltear from Overlord, Georgie from Maid Dragon and has previously been in the Danganronpa anime, playing Aoi Asahina.

Kakeru Yamaguchi: J Michael Tatum

I have a pretty good reason for this cast. Becoming a legal prodigy when he was quite young, Kakeru is a character who seems to have a split personality, but on a level way less extreme than that of Toko Fukawa. Essentially, he’s usually quite a timid and shy person, that finds it hard to hold a conversation, but when he’s in the courtroom or a class trial, he becomes quite loud and brash in a way similar to that of Nekomaru in the second game. His personality reminds me that of characters like Tenya Iida from My Hero Academia and Rei Ryugazaki from Free! both of whom are voiced by J Michal Tatum, whom is my choice for Kakeru. Tatum has also voiced Zarbon from Dragon Ball, Commander Erwin from Attack on Titan, Rintaro Okabe from Steins:Gate, Scar from Full Metal Alchemist, France from Hetalia and Sebastian from Black Butler.

Yamato Kisaragi: Max Mittleman

Yamato is almost as crazy an inventor as Miu, sans the whole sexual and perverted invention parts. Being a character who’s introduced a little later into the story, Yamato is pretty quirky, energetic and honestly friendly, but that leads people to be a little doubtful of him, Tsurugi in particular. His energetic character and his genuine feel make me think that someone who could voice him is Max Mittleman. Mittleman’s previous voices include Plag from Miraculous Ladybug, Ryuji Sakamoto from Persona, Saitama from One Punch Man, King from Natatsu No Taizai, Meruem in HunterXHunter and more

So that’s what I got. If you liked this, then leave me a heart and repost if you want. If you have any other recommendations for Japanese exclusive projects I should assign voice actors to, then let me know.

[paladin-lynx]

“why are we whispering?” with like,, anyone from the arcana if you play it but if you don’t, with anyone from be more chill!!

I actually just recently started playing “The Arcana” but haven’t gotten very far, so I don’t think I can write anything about it just yet. Maybe soon! So for now, I’ll go with “Be More Chill” and a pairing that I’ve been meaning to write about for a while!

Send me a character/ship/fandom and a prompt and I’ll write something!

Fandom: Be More Chill (musical)

Ships: The SQUIP x Jeremy Heere (Technical Difficulties/Squipemy/Squeremy/JereSquip)

Setting: Post-musical AU where the SQUIP somehow returned as a human and was redeemed/rehabilitated by Jeremy (with the help of the rest of the squad), and lives with him having had nowhere else to go. He looks pretty similar to how he looked in Jeremy’s head, and physically he looks to be around college age.

It had already been a good few months since the SQUIPcident, as it had been deemed, and even if things were weird, they were going relatively well. Jeremy would never forget how initially terrified he’d been when suddenly a familiar Keanu Reeves-esque looking individual had shown up at his front door. Even if he’d looked worse for wear and rather pathetic, the voices in Jeremy’s head had been screaming, “it’s the SQUIP, he’s going to hurt you, he’s going to ruin your life again, you can’t trust him, get away—” and he’d slammed the door in his face.

But of course, upon hearing the tentative knocking and quiet voice – still with that almost ridiculous-sounding surfer lilt – asking him to please listen, empathetic Jeremiah Heere couldn’t help but open the door again and give it another try. He supposed it had made sense that his SQUIP had picked up traits from him, given that they’d shared a brain for a time, but it was still strange to see what it looked like when he fell into a panic attack.

From there, everything had changed. Jeremy had taken it upon himself to teach his former SQUIP – who they defaulted to just called ‘Squip’ – how to be a proper human being. It was strange, in a way, because here was someone who used to be a machine that knew the ins and outs of social interaction, that could read every single vital of its host and deduce when something specific was needed, and yet he tended to forget to do basic human things. Jeremy would constantly have to remind him to eat, chastise him for staying up too late, tell him that some of his behaviors weren’t exactly acceptable. It was almost like their roles had been reversed. Squip was embarrassed about it but chalked it up to still being used to being a supercomputer, who didn’t have to do all of the things that it kept tabs on for its user.

If there was anything that Squip was the worst at doing, it was sleeping. Of course, Jeremy knew that there was a reason behind it other than just forgetting to, because as a stupid squishy human, it was difficult to go too long without it. Jeremy heard Squip’s screams in the middle of the night, even if Squip liked to act like he silenced himself before anyone noticed, and Jeremy was familiar enough with nightmares to know that they could scare you away from wanting to sleep even if you were tired to the bone. But the result was that Squip tended to sleep in the middle of the day, which wouldn’t be a huge deal if there weren’t times he’d just straight-up passed out over things he was doing. He’d almost hurt himself on multiple occasions because of it, but he seemed to be getting better at reading the signs and getting himself somewhere comfortable before promptly zonking out. He seemed to sleep better during the day, and Jeremy wasn’t sure if that was because he felt safer with the buzz of activity in the Heere household around him, or if his mind was just too exhausted to come up with a nightmare.

Jeremy and Squip had sat and talked about their trauma together quite frequently. It was actually pretty easy to discuss it with one another because they understood it best out of everyone. Jeremy knew now that Squip had human feelings and an actual conscience that he felt awfully guilty for everything and was hoping that becoming human was his second chance to be a good influence on Jeremy. Jeremy always tried to tell him that he shouldn’t feel too bad about the past because he’d been forced to follow his code and there was even a chance he had been defective – and Jeremy also pointed out that some of the pain others had felt had been his own fault, without Squip’s help – but Squip still refused to accept that. He was determined to spend the rest of his life making up for his actions. He’d even said he didn’t want to give himself a ‘real name’ until he felt he’d earned it, despite the fact that they both knew he couldn’t go out into the real world calling himself ‘Squip’.

And as time went on, Jeremy and Squip got ever closer. It was easier for Jeremy to forgive him than he had initially thought it would be, because this version of Squip was so different. It was obvious now that he was free from the shackles of his programming, he was an entirely new being. He could still act a bit stuck-up and like a know-it-all, because he still had a lot of knowledge stuffed into his now-human brain, but he was also funny, clever, and never missed an opportunity to help someone. Even the rest of Jeremy’s new squad – even Michael – had slowly come to accept him. But even if Squip had become part of the group, he was closest to Jeremy and, honestly, Jeremy was becoming incredibly fond of him. It was a bit difficult for him not to, really.

Of course, Squip still tended to stay in Jeremy’s house for the most part. He sometimes wandered out on the town while Jeremy was at school and Mr. Heere was at work, but without identification and much money, there was only so much he could do on his own. Jeremy knew that he liked to frequent the park because now that he could actually feel things, he had become a bit obsessed with nature, which was kind of funny considering how technologically-inclined he was.

Today was a day like any other. Because it was Friday afternoon, Michael was coming over after school so that they could spend stay up stupidly late playing video games and gorging themselves with junk food and soda – nothing with Mountain Dew, though. Jeremy was religiously staying away from the brand from now on, to be safe, even though Squip was very obviously out of his head.

“I am not going to see the Sonic the Hedgehog movie with you,” Jeremy said as they walked up the steps to his house, fishing his key out of his pants pocket.

Michael pouted at him. “Why not? It’ll be great! You can’t go to that movie by yourself! Do you know how embarrassing that’ll be?”

“Not nearly as embarrassing as you constantly making comments about how I’ll wanna get it on with Sonic.”

Michael snickered, nudging Jeremy with his shoulder as they stopped in front of the door. “I’ve gotta be supportive of my furry best friend, don’t I? Maybe Tails’ll be in it, too! You know all the jokes online about his second tail being a b—”

“Mell,” Jeremy hissed, his cheeks burning as he fumbled to get the key in the lock, muttering under his breath, even slipping into Japanese for a moment without really realizing. As he finally shoved the key into the slot, he collected himself. “Honestly, with all the freaking ridiculous research you do, I’d say you’re the furry. And, for the record, I do not wanna do anything with Sonic. Or Tails. Or any of them!”

Michael laughed again, more heartily this time, as he followed Jeremy through the now open door. “I’m doin’ all the work because you’re too ashamed to. I, of course, have absolutely no shame. So I’m helping ya out. You’re welcome, by the way. But I do know you prefer your catgirls. I guess they gotta look somewhat human for you to—”

“Michael.”

“Look, I know as well as you do that your dad isn’t home right now, so I will keep talking about this. I mean, you remember Krystal from Star Fox? Of course you do. They knew exactly what they were doing when they designed her. Although I guess you also really liked Scar and Kovu, so maybe they don’t—”

“Michael.”

“Come on, Jere, I—”

“Michael!” Jeremy finally turned to his friend and waved one hand in a ‘keep it down’ gesture as he quietly closed the door.

Michael blinked, clamping his mouth shut in surprise. He waited a moment before he spoke again, much more softly: “Why are we whispering?”

Jeremy pointed to the living room, where the TV was playing a re-run of Rick and Morty. And there, sprawled on the couch fast asleep, one arm hanging off the edge, was Squip.

“Oh,” Michael murmured, once again trailing behind Jeremy as they went into the living room, slipping off their shoes and backpacks along the way.

Jeremy shed his coat and tossed it onto one of the armchairs before padding over to the couch, his expression softening as he gazed down at his housemate. There had only been a handful of times he’d seen his SQUIP look peaceful, and they were so few and far between that he wasn’t even sure he could remember the exact contexts. But seeing him now – mouth slightly open, black hair splayed on one of the small couch pillows with that one silly white streak falling somewhat into his face, brow not creased in concentration like it always used to be – warmed Jeremy’s heart in a way he couldn’t quite explain. Squip had said at one point that Jeremy should want him dead after what he did, to which Jeremy had said that he couldn’t wish something like that even on his worst enemy, let alone someone on the path to redemption.

Jeremy grabbed the blanket draped over the back of the couch and gently lay it over Squip, tugging it into place so he was properly covered. When Squip mumbled something and shifted slightly, Jeremy feared he’d woken him up, but Squip simply grabbed the blanket and pulled it up, nuzzling into it and humming contently, still very much asleep.

Jeremy couldn’t help breaking into a smile and reaching down to gently brush that white streak off of Squip’s forehead, letting his hand linger for a moment and just watching the former supercomputer.

“You’re so whipped for him, dude.”

Michael’s words snapped Jeremy out of his reverie and he pulled his hand back as if he’d been burned, his cheeks going up in flames. He looked up at Michael with wide eyes. “What?” he whisper-yelled, and he swore his voice went up at least ten octaves. “I am not!”

Michael just quirked an eyebrow in his trademarked ‘you know I’m right’ way. “You so are, Jere. I’ve seen the way you look at him when we’re all hanging out together, and just now. You used to look at Christine that way.”

Jeremy’s face was still dark red, almost putting Michael’s prized hoodie to shame, and he peeked down at Squip again. Squip had always been attractive, even when he had just been a projection of Jeremy’s mind. Jeremy had a feeling that was intentional, because he would be more willing to listen to and follow the orders of someone he was interested in. Of course, Jeremy had been struggling with his bisexuality then, so he wouldn’t have ever accepted the fact that he was maybe attracted to someone who presented male. But perhaps, like Rich, being freed from the commanding voice in his head had made him come to a few realizations.

And now, the new human Squip was ever the charmer, using little pet names constantly, always knowing what to say in that smooth-as-honey voice of his, cracking a smirk that could make anyone’s knees weak and okay, maybe could make a few people question their sexuality. He’d come back from his excursions plenty of times with little slips of paper in his pocket with various phone numbers, and maybe it made Jeremy a little envious that Squip had only been around like this for a handful of months and could get more people to ask him out merely by existing than Jeremy could by using every trick in the figurative book of romance. Not even Christine had stuck around, after everything they’d gone through, although they were still very close as friends.

But that didn’t mean Jeremy was into Squip.

…Right?

Jeremy huffed, stepping away from the couch and snatching up his coat, grabbing Michael’s abandoned one along the way so he could stomp over to the closet and hang them up. “You’re high.”

“Nope. I am one-hundred percent sober, Jere-bear. You like him. Like like him.”

Jeremy was too flustered to make fun of Michael for using the elementary school phrase and instead just glared at his friend as he came back over to join him in the living room. “I do not,” he repeated.

Michael smiled, amusement dancing in his eyes. “You sound like you’re trying to convince yourself.”

Michael had known Jeremy for over twelve years, and even if he sometimes didn’t understand what Jeremy was going through, he knew all of Jeremy’s tendencies and mannerisms down to a T. It was part of why Michael had been so worried when Jeremy had started changing after getting his SQUIP. So of course, if anyone was going to know that Jeremy was going through a romantic crisis, it was Michael.

Jeremy let out a slow breath, trying to rub the heat out of his cheeks, as if that would work. The more Michael commented on his apparent predicament, the less and less inclined Jeremy was to disagree. He peeked down at Squip’s sleeping form once more, just in time to see him murmur something in Japanese that Jeremy sort of understood as “very comfy” and turn over to face the other way, and Jeremy’s heart stuttered.

“…So what if I do?” he mumbled, shoving his hands into his pants pockets.

Michael shrugged, flashing him another little grin. “You do you, my man. I mean, it’s a little weird because he used to be a pill in your head and tried to take over the world with you as his sleeper agent. But I guess it’s not that much weirder than you being into animal people.”

“You are the absolute worst,” Jeremy groaned, lolling his head back in exasperation for a moment before sighing. “It’s not like he would wanna date me anyway. He has so many admirers. He could have literally anyone he wants.”

“You know I’ve never actually called any of those numbers I’ve received.”

Jeremy and Michael both froze at the voice, and Jeremy’s gaze snapped down to the couch again. There was Squip, eyes open and watching him curiously, a tiny, sleepy smile on his lips.

“Y-you’re…awake?” Jeremy squeaked, his blush returning full-force. “I, uh, you…H-how much did you hear…?”

“Just enough.” Squip chuckled and sat up, still holding the blanket to his chest in a way that Jeremy decided he should not find as cute as it was. “I know you were trying to be quiet, but I wasn’t in that deep of a sleep to begin with. But I felt rude interrupting.”

“You were eavesdropping. That’s worse,” Jeremy argued, and Michael laughed, excusing himself to go raid the kitchen. Jeremy silently cursed him for leaving him alone with his maybe kind of crush that he’d just realized he maybe had.

Squip only smiled again, letting the blanket drop into his lap and picking up the remote to turn off the TV. He set it down again and beckoned Jeremy to sit with him. After a moment of hesitation, the boy did so and Squip turned to face him, tilting his head like he always did when he was thinking.

They sat there in silence for what to Jeremy felt like an eternity – but was probably no more than ten seconds – and he fidgeted in his spot, finally piping up. “So…”

“…I may not have been human for long,” Squip began, “and I may still be figuring some things out, but I do know that I feel strongly for you. Up until recently, I had thought that it was perhaps just residual attachment from when I was your SQUIP, and the persisting need to look after you and care for your well-being, but I’m beginning to think that it may be something…more than that. And I wouldn’t be averse to seeing what developments come out of it.”

Jeremy just blinked dumbly at him. “…In English, please?”

Squip just laughed warmly, slipping a hand into Jeremy’s hair and pulling him forward to plant a soft kiss to his forehead. “I like like you, too, sweetheart.”

[fc5holidayexchange]

FAR CRY 5 HOLIDAY EXCHANGE 2019 [FIC]

‘come things only happy and whole’

Original Character/Sharky Boshaw -Pre Relationship. Deputy Rook, Sharky Boshaw, Earl Whitehorse, Original Characters

@ask-chibi-rook

This was a really fun experience with a really cool character concept! I think I scrapped like five ideas, which almost never happens. TYSM and I hope you enjoy! 

Notes: general warning for Jacob Seed who is Sir-Not-Appearing but still felt, brief non-graphic discussion of miscarriage, gentle flirting, as close as I get to fluff.

–

The circumstances are specific.

Eden’s Gate has a now unusually large population of pregnant women. The Resistance has few in the family way and explicitly no children in or around the compounds. So colour Pastor Jerome Jefferies and Father Joseph Seed surprised when they received identical messages asking them to parley a little north of Dutch in a zone they’d been habitually calling Bear Trap. Because of the bears. Twelve women who had been friends on Facebook before the Reaping started had kept to the agreement they’d made to meet up at Sally Sue’s old cabin and stay the days or weeks it took for all of them to give birth. This would have been a ridiculous thing to organise if a) every single woman involved hadn’t been previously part of a larger prepper group before making a smaller, more intimate one and b) that smaller group hadn’t been specifically for women who’d survived multiple miscarriages. 

“They’re ah, not coming down.” Some poor son of a gun has to tell Whitehorse at two am on a Thursday. They’re out in the chill, on the porch of a little house. “They’ve got four doula’s and a bunch of equipment they’d set up beforehand as well as a doctor. Marcie, that’s, uh, Walter Whit’s Marcie, says that we can shove it up out be-hinds if we want them to come down. It’s between them and God now.”

“She tell Seed that too?”

“She told Walt that.” The boy sighs. “She told Seed that he should have kept that prize winning show dog of his brother under better control as he stressed Wendy and Carlie something awful with their atonements. And that keeping any pregnant women near Faith, who she did have something unpleasant to say about as per her use of Bliss, was just about his greatest crime.”

Whitehorse snorts. “Has she seen the bodies?”

The boy holds up his fingers to make quotation marks. “That’s killing folk, not killing babies, and Seed was coming awful close to asking them to kill babies.”

“That explains the Peggies. When it came right down to it they picked their kids over the Father.” Whitehorse muses. “Would’ve been nice if they’d stood up for us. No, don’t relay that Jimmy, that’s me being an old grump. If those girls need things from us, you get it to them, alright?”

“Yessir.”

“And you,” he turns to point at Rook, tucked under a blanket on the front step with him, “go get some sleep.”

Rook points at herself, flips to the page in her small notebook that says me?

“Yeah, you. Relax Rook. Ain’t nobody around here going to need you to fix this.” 

She probably should have figured that Whitehorse would catch on. It’s been a week, maybe two, since Jess took an all terrain bike and an exhausted, largely non-responsive Rook back to the Henbane. She has marks she doesn’t remember and bigger, scarier blanks in her memory, left to white knuckle it through whatever recovery is possible. Rook spends a lot of her life kind of tired. When it’s hard to communicate you have to be quick and clear about what to say. She’s gotten it right down to essentials by now but that leaves out everything complex. There’s a lot of things sitting just behind her teeth, just behind her gums, that she’ll never have time to tell anyone. Certainly not if Joseph gets his way. 

From what she understands they are at a critical junction in Joseph’s plan. Months at most from his intended end of the world and he has been reacting with his expected fanaticism. A bunch of women trekking off into the woods should be a minor concern. All of this would be a minor concern, solved by Jacob, who had no one among the Prosperity Prepper Pregnancy Yarning Circle, but for one Miriam Lee, of John’s faithful, who led security. She’d changed the locks on any number of critical supplies and literally taken John’s secret stash of solar panels with her, leaving John to explain why he had solar panels in Joseph’s unreasonable and unlikely future, and why Miriam Lee was the only person who knew how to change all the passwords. This still wouldn’t have stopped Jacob but for Joseph, who had decided he’d had a vision and his eldest brother would be cast from paradise should he take arms against the innocent. The absurdity of that statement about that particular redhead aside it seemed the Father was dead serious. 

For all his numerous faults it seemed Joseph Seed was unwilling to harm a child. 

(Ha)

So the circumstances? Very specific.

Rook takes his advice and heads in to sleep. In her dreams places red and deadly pass and prosper, knives sharpen and music plays, a familiar voice sweet and betraying. It’s further away than usual, buffered in her dreams by smaller, stronger feelings currently unsaid. Her mind is dark, not quite unpleasant. When she wakes in the morning, just a few hours later, the Montana morning is fiercely pleasant. The weather is beginning to suggest it’s turning but it hasn’t done more than throw up some surprising afternoon wind changes. Enough that a light jacket and a scarf stashed somewhere is enough for almost any day. 

Someone knocks on the door of the small space she’s been allotted. Rook pulls on her clothes. Soft flannel, thick socks. Two shirts for those aforementioned wind changes. She makes sure she has a small notebook and pen on her. There’s a small box of blue ones under her bed here, liberated from John, so she never feels quite bad enough about how often they get snapped. The door knocks again and she rushes to open it.

On the other side Sharky Boshaw has a chipped mug of tea and a little bit of a nervous look.   

The soft feelings from her dreams return in daylight’s full glory. She waves hello, takes the mug and invites him in. Sharky takes in her messy nest of blankets, the pens scattered on the floor from her dash to answer the door and how, apart from her bed, there isn’t anywhere to sit. She can see him thinking, her own embarrassment flooding her face with colour, before Sharky kneels down and starts picking up her pens.  

“I heard from Isaiah -that prepper with all the grenades? The one the Peggies stopped going near because he set landmines attached to flamethrowers, well he’s been rehabbing a Judge. Found her ripping through Jacob’s territory baiting his people into traps. Clever as hell. He invited me up there ‘cause I brought him some beer a week or two ago and I made a bet against Hurk about it. Says she’s nearly ready to get the hell off his property on account of how she keeps activating his traps to scare the wildlife.” He pauses, glances at the ceiling while he scratches his chin. “Also I owe Hurk money.”

Rook hears all that and as usual has specific questions. She opens her book. Sharky hands her a pen. She writes: You brought a man surrounded by landmines beer?

Sharky looked faintly offended. “I ain’t afraid of fire.”

But the landmines? She asks with genuine concern.

“Landmines are fine if they’re attached to flamethrowers.” He waits a moment to see if she has anything to say to that, then adds, “Obviously I just figured out how those worked and went backwards. Easy.”

Easy, obviously.  

Sharky rubs the back of his neck. “So, wanna pet a dog?”

–

Whitehorse is a paternal combination of pleased and worried that Rook is leaving the relative safety of the Prison to pet a dog with a pyromaniac. On one hand, she’s been a mess since she came back from the Whitetails -the Whitetails that want her back pretty badly, not including Jacob- and a strong interest in doing things that involve walking outside in a relative state of peace is indicative of the good mental health she never exactly had. On the other hand Sharky Boshaw is taking her through woods not quite Resistance and not quite Peggie to pet a wolf that kills people. 

“Kills Peggies.” Sharky corrects when Whitehorse manages to stop grumbling long enough to state his problem. “And Boomer does that too.”

“Boomer is a good dog.” Someone Rook doesn’t know says from their left. “Let the girl pet a dog, Earl. It’s not the most dangerous thing she’s done for us.” 

Whitehorse makes a face she dimly recognises from her early days, when she stayed at the station all hours and didn’t so much as a glance at forming a relationship outside of work. At her one month review he’d said that he hoped that she’d one day find people here she could trust, that he hoped to be one of them, but until then he’d do his best to at least be a soft place to land. It’s months later, and there’s a war on, and his face still says that. Rook spends all her time trying to be what the Resistance needs, the person it needs. There’s not much room for being soft. 

Whitehorse relents, settles on take the shovel and gives Sharky back the rocket launcher and the nun-chucks that Whitehorse personally took out of his trailer about three months before all of this started. Sharky treats both of these gifts with a reverence that they have all learned to tolerate while living in close quarters. He also gifts Sharky with a ten minute long lecture while Rook goes and resupplies her day pack. There’s no explicit mention of her but she gets the feeling Whitehorse has been telling everyone to just be nicer, try to get her out of her shell.    

They take a car part of the way and leave it tucked in an overhang that the Peggies have yet to figure out. The way requires crossing the river and taking a circuitous route through some unallied areas. The trees are just sparse enough to let the sun bite her on the neck. The dirt is coming up off the ground at a rate that’s alarming covering them to their knees in grime and debris. The greenery sings with the sounds of small animals, cautious bird calls and absolutely no gunfire. Silence will fall all across the county for a few moments every now and then, as if the whole world is being as cautious as the birds.  

Sharky just talks and talks and talks. But he’s Sharky enough, whatever weird thing in the Drubman-Boshaw family makes them simultaneously caricatures and decent folk, to look back at her every so often and make sure she’s okay with him. Maybe it’s that he’s used to sound without answer, even if it’s from the opposite side. Maybe he’s just a guy who needs social skills and less access to nitroglycerine. 

“Whaddaya think?”

Rook hasn’t actually been listening. 

“Ah well, not important anyway.” He holds his hands out to her, baffling, before she realises he means to help her up into the knot of a tree. “Oh shit. Come look at this. Haven’t been back here in ages.” He plants himself and all but throws her up into a curvature of branches. “Man I got a twisted twunkle in this tree once.” 

Rook takes his hands. He guides her carefully among the brown bark and the sparing leaves.  

The tree itself is huge and old. It might once have been several different ones that melded together as trees sometimes do. Under her hands the bark feels warm and dry, aged away and tough. It feels alive but waiting, like it’s been here before and will be here again long after. She tries to take that feeling inside herself. Being steady and rooted instead of the constant swaying that digs deeper and deeper after every nightmare. Sharky helps, first by literally pulling her further in until they can sit on a thick branch together, and then by telling her all about the things he knows about this place. She’s not sure how much is true but it’s nice all the same. From the height, and the little raised hill the tree sits on, they can see a little bit of the space around them. The occasional smoke of a fire, or a plane flying in circles. She pulls out her radio, more habit than need, idly flicking it on and off, frequency to frequency, in case someone needs help.  

The radio speaks for a moment: -coming off the mountain-zzzt-no sign yet-zzzt-heads on a swivel A-Team, targets tricky and lean- Jacob hunting Whitetails, even in so-called peacetime.

Sharky turns it off, not soon enough to stop her sense of self crumbling at Jacob Seed’s voice, but soon enough that when he gives her a quick hug she clings to it. Sharky smells like a heavy mixture of adult male body odour, what was left of the laundry powder and wet ash. It’s pungent enough to clear her head. Sharky holds onto her for a moment or two past appropriate then slides away not quite smooth enough to be cool.   

“Hey, Rook, look at that.” He points straight out, and she assumes it’s just to change the subject, but soon enough a small dance of butterflies flies across the sky. They twirl in a circle and pass the tree close enough for Rook to see that they’re spotted with blue and bright green, creatures of the Bliss for certain. They dip down intending to take a pass right through the tree Rook and Sharky are sitting in. Sharky says oh shit just before they’re hit-

The butterflies fly around them, the whole world the colour of wings and white, before it’s the clear Montana sky again. One lands on Sharky’s nose and he pulls a face of intense disgust.

She can’t help it, she laughs at him.

He looks at her for a moment trying to figure out what the fuck she’s doing with her face. When she’s done she begins to climb down, the small bubble of mirth still sitting high, right behind her teeth. 

–

It’s just past dusk when they get there. All of the Resistance keeps odd hours. Isaiah’s house involves a hike that’s near vertical. They see signs of Peggie work as they circle closer -spray cans next to symbols on trees, a copy of Joseph’s Bible, the occasional item of clothing for some reason- but those signs thin as they get closer to the house. Instead scorch marks and gun holes pepper the land like confetti at a wedding. Rook pulls out her shovel. 

Eventually Sharky takes a sharp turn, ducks behind a thick crop of trees and leads her to a neatly kept front yard in front of a shabby barnhouse-cum-fortress. There’s even an American flag hanging from the roof of the added-on porch. Sharky whistles loud and clear across the space. After five minutes or so a man emerges.    

His thick beard and scarred hands tell a story all their own. He shuffles across the porch with a bag under his arm and a cane in his other hand. His leg acts like dead weight across the wood, scraping and scratching along. He makes an unhappy groan low in his throat. Acid burns. Isaiah never had a last name. Or if he did, he refused to give it.

“Hey, buddy.” Sharky hops over some line only he sees turns and holds out his huge hands for her small ones. Like before she hands him her trust and no small amount of affection and amusement and then they do the world’s silliest looking dance:

“Over here -that’s a trip wire, don’t hit that, good-”

“-now this’ll sound strange, two inches left with your bum or you’re gonna lose a bunch, and you’re small enough, ow, from your leg Po-Po-”

“-did you just trip? Dep, this is a real hotzone, come on-”

“-look, I know what it means when a woman makes that face at me, I’m sorry, I’m not trying to grope you, but they’re nice, so-”

“-Good, great, no, nope, that way goes Sharky’s testy festy and he needs ‘em for the Testy Festy seed swap, so come over here-

Finally they come up to the porch. Isaiah sits on his rocking chair under a blanket with ice tea next to him. His chest keeps expanding in little giggles.  Both Rook and Sharky are sweaty and breathing hard. Rook’s hair is stuck to her neck and she’s sure she’s never been this embarrassed before. No wonder the Peggies stopped trying. Sharky stops her with a solemn hand. “Okay now we’re gonna hop twice.”

She abruptly realises he’s fucking with her. Gently, with good humor, but still teasing her. She kicks a clod of dirt at him now that they’re close to the porch and reasonably unlikely to die in a fire. Isaiah makes this noise, like a cat yarking up a bird, his whole upper body moving. He’s laughing. Sharky laughs as well and proclaims he’s going to see if there’s any beer. With nothing else to do Rook climbs up onto the porch and takes a seat against the railing of his porch. Isaiah passes her a glass of the tea. He taps his own throat, the angle revealing its scars and warps, then pulls out a  pen and a board. With unpracticed fingers he writes on his own whiteboard: I heard you speak like this.

Rook nods. Isaiah nods back and returns his writing implements to their bag. Within reach but out of the way. The tea is blessedly cool against her forehead when she presses it in.   

“He-ey girl!” Sharky calls from inside the house. “Guess who found beer! You don’t have to guess, it’s me.” He sticks his head out, probably to ask if she needs something, so she holds up her half full glass. 

The Judge trots onto the porch. Her coat has been shaved down, patches still that bone terrifying white where the hair is longest, but all over are swathes of grey brindling. Her sharp blue eyes are clear as water in a face returned all the way from the Bliss. Around her foreleg a bandage is slowly turning pink from the injury beneath. She comes to rest her huge body near Isaiah but with her sightline out to the world. 

Sharky pats her cautiously then fits himself down next to Rook. “What’s her name?”

Isaiah considers. Then he opens his throat. “Boudica. Queen stayed free.” His voice isn’t clear. It’s pained and filled with the feel of disuse. He names the wolf anyway.

Boudica rolls on her back and shows her fluffy, scarred belly. 

Rook stands and shuffles closer. Her hand shakes as she brings it down, firm, on her upper chest. Boudica wriggles but stays still. Rook keeps patting. Her skin is scarred all the way up to a sharp cut right across her throat. She didn’t die. She can see it: Jacob’s knife, his music and his soldiers. Running as far and fast as you can because you can never be free but you can be away. Boudica defies that, though. Her fur is turning back from the Bliss and there’s not a hint of madness in her eyes. 

Rook returns to her seat. Isaiah gives her more tea. 

Boudica snuffles, rubs her nose with a huge paw. She picks herself up and trots through the front yard they had to dance through. Her path is noticeably straightforward. 

“What the fuck?” Sharky says.  

Isaiah laughs again. “Bad leg. Don’t have time.” He flings his hand towards Rook, the yard and possibly the entire concept of the war beyond it. 

“‘t’s not fair.” Sharky whines. “When I brought you stuff you made me strap it on my back and crawl!”

Isaiah slaps his knee, giggling again, points at Rook and then back at Sharky. “You danced.” Isaiah rubs his throat, as if it pains him. Then as if it would pain him more not to tease, “Fair.”

“I- Well-” Sharky chugs his beer instead of talking. Isaiah refills her glass to the top and bullies Sharky into pulling out Boudica’s bespoke sleeping pen, giving lie to the idea that she’d ever be coming back down with them. 

Night falls properly. They eat together. Isaiah has no room for them inside but Rook’s slept rougher and he brings out a little heater and a bottle of bourbon. Sharky unearths a pile of excellent quality sleeping bags in a shed hidden on the side. Rook watches him whine his way through the whole thing since they don’t actually know there aren’t landmines. The bourbon makes Sharky feel better, though.

He’s talking about…something, honestly she’s not sure how he transitions from topic to topic. She pulls out her notebook. She wrote it earlier in the day, never said it. Thank you, Sharky. 

He smiles, face lit by what little ambient light there is. “Ain’t no thing but a chicken wing, Rook.” 

Rook stays sober under a pile of blankets. Sharky has long since collapsed into snoring. The night is starry and silent. If she sleeps now she’ll have nightmares: falling through red rooms, black blood dripping down her mouth, her tongue returned but unable to make human noise, another layer between her and other people. Another place for someone to slide a knife. The night is starry and silent and in Hope County that will have to be enough. 

Boudica comes back in the early hours. Rook is still awake. Her muzzle is a little bloody but mostly she seems tired and pleased with herself. She comes over for a very quick pat but returns to the nest of hand sewn blankets and repurposed pillowing that she calls a bed. She tunnels in, turns and wiggles her body, huffs, sleeps.

Not his wolf, she thinks, and goes to sleep herself. She was right about the dreams. But between terror and noiseless pain is her own feet under her running like she thinks Boudica would.