#honestly I like to imagine when Usagi passed the family tried to get their family name changed in honor of him

[viveela]

hi! Do you have personal headcanon about Yuichi? (and maybe about his friends)

You have no idea how glad I am to be asked this! I have many actually:

Yuichi Usagi

Yuichi got his scar from Spot. I 100% believe they didn't get along at first and bro got a little fiesty w him and he ended up losing some of his eyebrow. It was a silly thing and Yuichi wasn't mad about it in the slightest. The scar is something fond to him now, it reminds him of how far they've come.

Speaking of Spot I like to believe he's a tokage that's passed down through generations. He was Usagi's first and he was then given to others once he passed. Again this would maybe explain why they didn't get along at first, he misses Miyamoto Usagi. I don't think he was officially given to him until he was about maybe about 7 or so.

This one's a bit darker but with how important honor is in Japan and how little Yuichi's parents are mentioned I'm thinking they broke away from the whole samurai thing. Maybe Auntie convinced them since she still brings them up once. When someone's shunned they're never brought up which is something Yuichi surprising does...and it can make sense honestly. Since he cares so much about becoming the best samurai of course he wouldn't think highly of them for running from that.

Since Yuichi grew up with comics depicting Miyamoto Usagi's life as a samurai/ronin I think he definitely got inspired by them. He got into drawing and is a pretty decent artist now because of it. You can't tell me he doesn't have oodles of drawings he's done of his ancestor. And as a kid maybe even made little comics of him and Miyamoto Usagi going on adventures together. His Auntie probably helped him bind his pages together and found it all very cute, 100% supporting everything.

The Squad

Having been grown an orphan and under ninjas I bet Chizu doesn't have much, if any, experience with any holidays. She was probably forced to train nonstop during those days. So one big memory for her is finally celebrating the new year outside with all her friends.

Kiyoko is probably Yuichi's number one sparring partner being such a power biomech. Sometimes he manages to dent her but it's treated as a win, not something to freak out over. Though Kitsune sometimes acts protective over her little sister when this happens and goes after Yuichi. Yuichi has to spend a long time assuring her everything is okay.

Kitsune spends a lot of time with Yuichi, they like to come up with crazy ideas and then execute them without really thinking things through. Usually Chizu has to dive in and get them out of trouble. She scolds them after but is easier on Kitsune, definitely not for biased reasons.

Gen cleans everyone's weapons when they're not looking, he doesn't like the idea of grime piling up on things they use often. He doesn't let them see though because he knows they'll make it harder for him from then on.

[thefloatingstone]

Would you please make me a list of your rcommended comics(books or web-series any genre original content or fanworks)

Oh that’s a god one! Thank you so very much 💙 Let me see what I have on my shelf and on my hard drive. (I don’t know if I’ve ever made a list of my favourite comics before or not here on tumblr?)

in no particular order;

1: Usagi Yojimbo by Stan Sakai

I dunno if it ever really shows or not, but Japanese historical settings are something I’m really into! I think it’s one of those dormant interests that flares up every now and then. Anyway. Usagi Yojimbo has basically been tied for my favourite comic for over 10 years now. It’s a series of stories, both short and with longer arcs, following the character of Miyamoto Usagi (roughly based on Miyamoto Musashi) travelling around the country of Japan in the early 1600s as a Ronin after the lord he served was defeated and killed in battle. Usagi, being one of his samurai, is not killed in the same battle which, considering his lord was killed, is a massive disgrace in historical Japanese culture. Basically along the thought of “If your lord died and you didn’t you must not have fought hard enough to protect him.”

Anyway, the comic is both a history lesson on Edo period Japan, a travel diary, a slice of life comic, a Chanbara, an action comic, some times even a horror or ghost story, a tragedy involving unfulfilled love and lost families, a lesson on traditional Japanese Yokai and other mythology, and now and then high fantasy.

10/10. HIGHLY recommend. The author Stan Sakai is also a wonderful person I’ve had the pleasure to meet a few times at Comic Con. And considering he like... remembers who I AM despite being an extremely famous comic artist... I dunno. I have endless respect for the man and he’s shown me great kindness in the past.

Also you know... black and white comics. They’re my jam, yo!

2: Bone by Jeff Smith

I have no idea if I even have to say anything because Bone might just, without hyperbole, be the greatest comic ever drawn.

At 1300+ pages drawn over the course of 10 years, the story starts out as a cartoon, full of hijinks and fun adventures and jokes and very slowly, reality starts setting in, things get more dangerous, the stakes get higher, the bad guys much darker. And by the time you reach book 3 of the 9 book story, you’re suddenly in a story of the “epic” variety. Not in the internet slang term but in the actual definition of the word.

You have massive wars between men and monsters, you have clashing cultures and ideologies, conflicting motivations and goals, and of course saving the world.

And it manages to do so without you EVER feeling “Excuse me but this was a cartoon book about funny jokes. This shift in tone is really weird and doesn’t work with the cartoony characters.”

It just blends and grows beautifully. And has remained as my favourite comic for... *counts* lord... 14 years now.

The book was recently released in a new colour version in case you prefer hat, but I honestly recommend “The Brick” single volume black and white version. It’s cheaper, first of all, but also I cannot express how masterful the blacks and whites of Bone are. They’re essentially Watterson level.

(also Jeff Smith is ANOTHER comic artist who is just like... the nicest person. Like REALLY nice. He’s been kind to me on occasions in that “you really didn’t have to be that nice” kind of way)

3: The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck by Don Rosa

It’s published by Disney officially... but the Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck is essentially a fancomic. The only reason its not is because Don Rosa became SO GOOD at making duck comics Disney hired him to make them officially and he was SO GOOD at it became one of the most important Duck artists just after Carl Barks (the creator of Scrooge) himself.

The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck is a comprehensive biography of Scrooge McDuck’s life, not just made up by Don Rosa, but pieced together from Carl Barks’ own comics where he would have Scrooge make passing mention to events in his past or people he met. Don Rosa essentially took all these passing remarks and mentions and drew out a timeline, starting with Scrooge age 13 leading all the way up to his reunion with his family when Donald as an adult met up with him again.

It starts with Scrooge, from a poor family in Glasgow in 1877, boarding a ship for America to seek his fortune. We follow him through the years as with each chapter, he comes close to being rich and successful, only for it to fail or fall apart at the last minute, until, eventually, we see him catch his break and become the obscenely rich and successful person he’s fought and worked and bled so hard to be.

...and then the comic continues. And we see him lose himself. Greed, the constant need for MORE money and MORE success keeps going. The need to show HOW rich and successful he is takes over, until we see him and his family fall apart. And the comic echoes Citizen Kane as Scrooge realises the best time of his life was when he was seeking riches, not after he finally succeeded.

And then Donald and his nephews appear, and Scrooge’s life gets a second wind. His lust for adventure flares up again, his need to seek fortunes and treasures burns as strong as ever. And he keeps going.

The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck is a story about looking for your place in the world and fighting to create it with your own two hands, but it’s also about how you should think hard where you place your value in life, and it’s never too late to re-direct course and try again.

There is also “The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck Companion” which is a collection of stories that didn’t fit in with the original comic and would have disrupted flow. Basically like how a fanfic will have oneshots related to a larger story

Also, the producer of the band “Nightwish” created a soundtrack to accompany the original comic as a sort of “What If” in what he imagined the story would sound like if it was made into a movie

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4: Cucumber Quest by Gigi D.G. ( @ggdgart )

A newer comic I stumbled upon which has skyrocketed into being a fave and I can already tell, that’s not a position it’s gonna relinquish. Cucumber Quest is a more cartoony and comedic story than the previous comics on this list. But that by no means makes it of any less value or dulls the moments that this comic decides to punch you in the gut with emotions HARD.

The art and colours are glorious and something I hope to study so I can better my own art hopefully, and the writing and humour is of a calibre that I just know I could not replicate it if I even tried. Full of puns, absurdism, awkward jokes and a whole lot of FEELINGS, It manages to make me both laugh myself into a coughing fit as often as it makes me yell “OH NOOOO!!!” when something dramatic happens.

The story follows our main character Cucumber, a put-upon out-of-his-depth wizard-to-be who is tasked with saving the world from the evil Nightmare Knight who has been summoned from his thousand year slumber by an evil sorcerer who wants to take over the world (as you do). With him is his little sister, the sword wielding Almond, who is WAY more into this “being a hero” thing than he is (and probably better at it too) as the duo make friends and travel to the various kingdoms to defeat the Nightmare Knight’s lackeys, working their way up to fighting the Nightmare Knight himself and sealing him away once more!

That all sounds.... really straightforward, doesn’t it? Well... that’s what everybody else in the comic thinks too. ...Shame that real life is never easy and straightforward.

From evil henchmen that start crushing on cool “Good Guys” with cool swords, good guys who don’t REALLY want to hurt the bad guys because they don’t seem so bad? To cool good guys with cool swords suddenly learning that being in danger is not as much fun as it sounded when they started this. To big evil final boss bad guys who are just tired of all of this...

What’s also awesome is the entire comic... all OVER 800 PAGES OF IT... is completely free to read online! But you can also buy physical copies of the first 4 volumes in book form to support the author! 

http://cucumber.gigidigi.com/cq/page-1/

I HIGHLY recommend this one too! It has canon LGBT characters! It has found family plots! It has scary bad guys that just need a hug! It has magical girl transformations! Literally anything you could want is in this comic. Including emotional wrecking angst! Did I mention FEELINGS???

(I couldn’t pick a single page so here are 3 random ones without context. Seriously almost EVERY page is so good I struggled very hard to choose)

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5: The Property of Hate by @modmad

Hey. Do you like fantasy worlds made of imagination? How about protagonists with grey morality who act like super primand proper gentlemen when they’re actually huge nerds? How about reluctant “Well I guess I’ve ADOPTED you now you annoying gremlin” adult-kid relationships? How about puns? How about abstract and colourfull character designs? Or saving the world?

The Property of Hate is Modmad’s original comic that they’ve been working on a few years now. it follows our lead character, RGB or “Problematic Mary Poppins” as I like to think of him, as he asks a young child if she’d like to be a hero and help him save his world? When she agrees, he takes her to a fantasy land... completely NOT preparing her for what she’s signed up for. The story then follows the duo through the abstract and shifting world as RGB slowly divulges information on what exactly our Hero has to do to save the world. It turns out it’s a lot more complicated and messy than merely “beat the bad guy” or anything like that.

Not to mention it seems this fantasy world has its own rules of reality and dangers. Emotions and abstract thoughts have real physical form here, and something like an “idea” can quite literally run around and create havoc, while something like dreams can fuel or destroy, and emotions like grief can cause irreparable damage.

Our Hero also learns RGB himself is a lot more complex and messy than he first appears. Seeming to be a good person trying to do good things (despite being a little stand offish and rude at times) but seems to also be carrying a past and the weight of having done some very very bad things “for the greater good”. And our Hero, as well as we, the readers, start wondering how much we should trust him, even though, just like our Hero, deep deep down we just know we WANT to trust him. And maybe he needs saving just as much as the world itself does. Even when he’s at his scariest and... not quite himself.

The Property of Hate is also available online completely for free. Modmad does have books for sale but I believe it’s on-demand or something along those lines. Please feel free to message them here on tumblr and they are happy to chat to their readers and interact.

http://thepropertyofhate.com/TPoH/The%20Hook/1

I think I’ll leave it there despite meaning to do 10 at first because this is already EXTREMELY long.

Hopefully you found something that seems interesting! Let me know if you decide to check any of these out and whether you ended up liking them or not! I’d love to hear your opinions.

And thank you for indulging me <3

(I’m trying to remember to add my ko-fi link to all longer posts like this I make. Especially since I keep forgetting ☕️Buy me a Ko-fi ☕️ )

[snippychicke]

The Pet Emporium

Title: The Pet Emporium

Chapter One

Rating: G

Fandom: Undertale--UnderSwap

Pairing: Reader/Papyrus

You had (foolishly) thought working in a petstore would be wonderful. Who wouldn’t love to be surrounded by puppies and kittens, along with fish and birds of all kinds.

And poop. Screaming kids. Birds screeching, nonstop barking. Pet ‘parents’ giving you lectures about some item in the store that would cause Instant Death or Endless Suffering to their dog/cat/goldfish. Having to keep an eye out for cruel people thinking it was fun to torment the animals.

You were wary when monsters appeared from underground, and couldn’t help but imagining how everything could change for the worse.

But the only thing that did was the fact humans were no longer your only customers.

Dogamy and Dogaressa were the first monsters you really met. The married white dogs always walked hand in hand one day and brought out nearly all the rawhide bones...and all the flea treatments.

“Endogy brought fleas home,” Dogaressa chatted as if she had known you for a long time, though her eyes shifted as if she was nervous. “And now Greater Dog and Lesser Dog have them too.”

“Oh no!” you answered, nervous yourself yet falling easily into the typical small talk as you checked out the bottles of flea shampoo. “Fleas are horrible. Do they like at least like water?”

You think Dogaressa smiled. It was hard to tell with her snout. Either way, she seemed a bit more relaxed. “Oh, they love water. Baths are different story, though. That's what the rawhide is for. It's their favorite.”

“Oh, you love it too, honey,” Dogamy answered with a heart felt tease, his watchful eyes returning to the other dog. “Especially with you being with pups.”

“Oh shush you!”

The pair visited at least weekly after that, and you did get to meet Lesser Dog and Greater Dog, twin brothers that acted more like canines but still possessed intelligence. Lesser Dog would pull out cash from somewhere when Dogaressa forgot her wallet, and Greater Dog often solved the crossword puzzle that had stumped you while you fussed at the computer when it gave you issues...which was quite often, actually.

And then there was Doggo. Lesser Dog helped him in once, with brightly mismatch clothes and beady eyes unable to focus on anything. Which you didn’t think much of as you rang up a box of dog treats, silently wondering if they were like dessert for them, when Doggo opened up the box, pulled one out….

And went to light it as if it was a cigarette.

Lesser Dog barked suddenly, grabbing the lighter from him as you exclaimed: “Sir! You-you can’t smoke in here!”

“What? Oh, right,” he apologized, tucking the burned biscuit in his pocket. “Sorry, it’s been a long week.”

Then there was an orange cat-like monster Felix (affectionately known as Burger Pants, oddly enough) and his best friend, Usagi the blue rabbit. By the time they visited, you were fairly used to the Dog family. So you barely blinked at the pair, you were more worried about the blue rabbit pulling the very reluctant cat through the store. They...reminded you a lot of a pair of teenagers, one coercing the other into a  prank. So while you continued served customers, you also kept an eye on the pair on the security cameras.

They made a straight line for the cat department, arguing in one of the aisles before Felix picked up a small container. You expected him to pocket or something, but instead the cat nervously brought it up to the counter while the rabbit waited anxiously by the doors.

“I-I want to buy this…” he stuttered as he placed a small jar of catnip on the counter, and you tried not to laugh.

Except, a slight smile did. “It’s not for me!” he quickly answered. “Usagi told me only cats can buy it…! Oh no, I wasn’t suppose to say that.” His eyes were wide as he covered his mouth with his paws. You did have to laugh at that.

“It’s okay. I don’t think there is any laws against that...yet.” None that you were aware of, but it made him relax.

“He loves the stuff,” he said as he paid for the small jar. “I honestly hate it, but he’s my best friend.”

The pair would wander in occasionally after that, no longer acting shady but rather friendly. Felix was one of the nicest people you had met, always upbeat and cheery while Usagi...well, you were fairly sure catnip was an equivalent to weed. While he had a relaxed smile, he seemed to be the exact opposite of Felix with a very dark and jaded humour.

Yet, the monster you saw the most was the skeleton at the hot dog stand across from the store, dressed in a orange hoodie every day that clashed with the mandatory green hat on his head. He was never busy, customers came in waves, a rhythmic ebb and flow that was hypnotizing to watch.

You...may also have this very strange...crush. More like a squish really. Initially, it just started as a slightly macabre curiosity. After all, he was a skeleton, for stranger than the Dog family, Felix or Usagi.

Then his lazy smile and puns drew you in closer. He realized you worked at the Emporium, and you heard every animal pun possible, from the classic: “Back again? You gotta be kitten me,” to “Whale welcome back,” or “Whatever floats your goat,” after ordering, said with a smile and a wink.

It got to the point where Papyrus had your ‘dog ready before you even arrived. You didn’t know if that was good or bad.

At first, you would just eat at the bench nearby, catching snippets of his conversations and the music from the bluetooth speaker he had set up. Snickering at the jokes and enjoying the variety.

Then there was a certain song that quickly became your favorite. It took a good week before you worked up the courage before asking.

“Oh? It’s one of Napstabots early songs, back before he got famous,” he answered, leaning on the counter as he pulled up the song on his phone. “Do you have an Undernet account?”

Just as the internet, or Uppernet as it was now called, was open to monsters, their own version were open to humans. Except it was rather different. More open-share than anything. You nervously gave him your username, which made him pause.

“Pawsome Kitten?” he slowly grinned as you covered your face.

“I was really tired!” you defended in embarrassment. You weren’t about to admit he inspired the name. That was bad enough.

“Fur real? You’re not kitten me?” the grin on his face was bigger than you ever seen, ernest too. “That is pawsibly the best purrsona I’ve heard.”

“You have customers and my break is over,” you pointed out quickly before rushing back to the emporium.

“See you tomorrow Kitten!” he hollered after you, making you flush.

A few minutes later, your phone beeped. Bonehead was following you on Undernet, and had sent you a music file.

The song opened a flood gate. The two of you bonded quickly after that. It started with music reccs, which led to movie reccs and book reccs. Funny memes was a logical jump, often leading to late nights swapping the funniest memes and cat videos you could find.

It wasn’t long and he started to close up shop as soon as you left the emporium, handing you the your usual as he joined you on the bench. He’d slump down next to you on the bench, long bony legs stretched out and his arms across the back, a subtle warmth against your shoulders.

Friend dates, you told yourself. Just two friends spending the lunch hour together.

Did friends get butterflies though? Like every time he called you ‘Kitten’ instead of kid as he did everyone else, including people well into middle and late adulthood. Or when he wore his honest smile and not the lazy one he seeme to wear out of habit.

Anyone else and you would be fairly sure he was into you. But...it was different. He didn't seem interested, just...more relaxed around you. Open. Happy?

You weren’t going to push it, either way. His friendship had become too important to risk. Besides, how would that even work? Would he even be interested in you in that way?

*****

You were set into a boring day. Papyrus was off and oddly not bombarding your phone, and none of your regulars would probably be in, seeing it had been only a few days.

Early in the afternoon, the monotony was broken as a shot of silver and blue streaked past. “Mweheheh!” echoed after it, making you worry.

You leaned on the counter, trying to figure out what just ran passed when a pair of bony fingers scratched the top of your head. “Heya Kitten,” Papyrus gave a lazy smile as you jumped, through the grin didn't quite reach his eyes. “How's it going?”

“Good,” you stuttered faintly, feeling flustered from his closeness as well as the zipping blur. “Did you see that blue blur…”

“Yeah…” he fiddled with his signature lollipop, his eyes searching the store. “ It’s my brother. He really wanted to come visit…”

Gone was the usual pride and love in his voice whenever he spoke of Sans. You hesitated as you studied his face. It was nothing like his usual self, instead he looked worried. Concerned. You brushed his hand that rested on the counter with yours without thinking. His gaze jumped to you, a faint orange tinge to his face that disappeared fast enough to make you question if you had imagined it. “What’s wrong?”

He sighed, removing the candy from his mouth. “Sans...came here to find supplies for Sprinkles.”

“Sprinkles?” you repeated, still confused. Before he could explain, the blue blur was back. Sans was short, barely a head taller than the counter. His bright blue eyes stood out, along with the fact he was dressed in silver and blue armour.

“Human!” he announced loudly as he set a moderate sized stone on the counter. “I require items for my pet rock!”

You stared for a moment, heart clenching. Your eyes glanced up to Papyrus, who looked rather awkward as he avoided your gaze. Oh, you realized with a sharp pang who Sprinkles was. “Sorry, we’re...we’re out right now,” you found yourself saying, a stab of pain as you saw Sans’ expression deflate and Papyrus flinch slightly. “But...if you leave me a list of what you need, I can see if I can order it for you.”

His blue eyes legitly turned to stars as he grinned, making you smile in return. You fetched a scrap paper and a pen for him, and allowed him to have at it. While he made his list, you glanced back at Papyrus. There was a soft orange glow across the white of his cheek bones, his eyes fixated on you for a moment in surprise. You offered a another smile, which widened as he unconsciously smiled back.

“That should be sufficient!” Sans announced, slamming down the pen with a grin. “Thank you for your service, Human! No other pet store had anything for rocks. They even insisted that rocks weren’t even proper pets!”

You were cursing those other pet stores while trying to hold onto your smile. “Well, that’s because only a few people can properly own and handle a pet rock. So, of course those little pet stores wouldn’t be able to help you. But, I’m sure you can handle it.”

You would never forget the grin on his face at your praise, his eyes literally sparkling at your words. He let out a little ‘Mweh heh!’ before dashing out of the store in a blue and silver blur.

“Thanks,” Papyrus said after a moment. “That...that meant a lot.”

You flushed slightly. “Not a problem. He...he reminds me of my own brother.”

You realized your slip at the curious look on his face. Your heart squeezed and you prayed for a distraction. Thankfully one was delivered as Sans returned. “Papy! Come on!” Sans yelled as he grabbed his brother’s sleeve. “You promised we could eat at Las Tapas before the movie!”

“Eh? Did I really?” Papyrus dug his heels in as Sans tried to drag him. “I don’t recall ever saying that….”

Despite his efforts, Sans wasn't gaining much ground with Papyrus, and the taller skeleton didn't seem to be putting up much of a fight. “Yes! You did! Chara and Flowey are probably already there! So move your lazy bones!”

“Alright, alright.” He gave you a playful wink to match the smile on his face. “See ya later, Kitten.”

He started walking suddenly, throwing Sans off balance. The small skeleton stumbled, and you couldn’t help but laugh. Papyrus paused at the door to give a small wave that you happily returned.