#now his midwestern manners are struggling with his confusion

[plague-of-insomnia]

what kind of accents do you think the cast has? im a dub main for various reasons (one of my friends had a reading/memory disability so i ended up watching dub w them) so im kinda used to everyones dub accents.

but bards defo got an american accent right? (not in the dub, but im thinking manga terms?)

and ik soma & agni have barely a trace of an accent but does that mean they sound basically british?

and does finny have a german accent? sieglinde? diedrich?

idk food for thought?

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

(Sorry it’s been a rough couple days and I didn’t realize I hadn’t published this yet.)

Hey anon… so I’m a bit confused as to if you’re asking about the Japanese accents in the various anime, the English dub accents (or some other dub), or just my thoughts on what their various accents would be like based on the manga and independent of the anime.

Now I have only watched Kuro in English bc that’s the only thing that was available/that’s available on what I have at the moment (though I’m finally getting the blu rays for BoM and BoA so I’m hoping they’ll have the Japanese to try that out for once), so I can’t make judgements based on that. (And I’m not a good one to ask about Japanese accents anyway, lol.)

I also favor dubs bc of my disability. I love hearing the Japanese but it can be hard for me to follow sometimes, and even english alone without captions I can struggle with (please fix this, CR!!! Grr), so I feel you there.

Also not sure which characters you had in mind with this ask (other than the ones you specifically mentioned). Since kuro has so many, I guess I’ll just focus on a few. I want to make clear I am American and Latine, so I am not an expert on British regional accents by any stretch, or the historical accents of the Victorian period, so I’ll just do my best. Some may be partly inspired by how the characters are written in Japanese, since there’s a bit more… complexity to the Japanese language in regards to things like formality, rudeness, etc, that may not convert into English when translated in writing.

This is a long post so I’ll use a readmore to keep it a bit less chaotic. Below the break I’ve broken down my hypotheses on how some of the major players might talk:

Sebastian

As a high-ranking servant who regularly interacts with the nobility, Sebastian would have a high-class accent, and it is reflected in how his Japanese (and even his English) is written. It is a fairly neutral, polite manner of speaking. I’m sure the Victorians probably had a term for this accent (a high-class servant accent), but if they did, I don’t know it lol.

Ciel

Most nobles like him would be educated in a public school like Weston, like his father was, and those schools taught a standard accent that often varied slightly from school to school. So everyone who went to Weston would have a similar manner of speech. Ciel has been “home schooled” his entire life, aside from a short time at Weston for the investigation, so his accent might have been slightly different than his father’s. Nevertheless, especially under Sebastian’s tutelage, he would have learned how to speak properly (if he didn’t already). Still, unless Sebastian intentionally had him learn the Weston/public school accent, anyone who speaks to him would know he did not go to school, but was taught by tutors/governesses instead.

Bard

Yes, Bard is American despite his dub accent. We don’t know where he’s from exactly, but we can assume it was probably somewhere west of the Mississippi (that’s about 1/3 of the way west if you’re looking at the US map, going east to West, if you’re not familiar with our Geography).

I say that bc the river was the first real demarcation of the frontier. It’s likely he was living somewhere like Texas or Oklahoma. Ofc where he’s from would affect his accent, but I imagine it as a kind of cross between a more neutral southern midwestern accent (“no accent”) and a subtle Texas or OK one. Which that’s hard to explain unless you really know regional US accents, bc most of Texas doesn’t sound like most people think it does. The accents really change depending on what part of the state you’re in, since it’s such a big place. But basically not too heavy an accent but a bit lazy, definitely coarse and brutish since he was a soldier and a farmer. Lots of slang and not big on politeness. (Which he definitely is in Japanese.)

Mey Rin

She’s interesting because she’s one of the few characters who has a couple different ways of speaking. She has her “maid” voice and her “assassin” voice. The first one stutters a lot and uses imperfect grammar, as reflected in the English translation when she repeats things, like “I’m not one to talk badly about my betters, I am.” The second does not have this quirk. Not sure if the first is meant as an affectation as part of her idea of what a maid is, or if she just has such a divide he her personality/personas that she speaks differently when she’s wielding a gun. Since that wasn’t really mentioned in her subarc, I doubt we’ll get an explanation. We do know she was likely a child of immigrants from China, but not whether she was born there or in England before she was orphaned. But it is unlikely she has any hint of a Chinese accent since she was orphaned so young. She definitely has more of a working class accent, especially when compared to someone like Sebastian.

Finny

I had momentarily forgotten that Finny didn’t speak English when he first came to the manor. It’s likely that he would have had some kind of German accent, but I expect that Sebastian would have drilled it out of him, considering how strict he was with Sieglinde and Wolf, and Ciel didn’t blink an eye.

Finny’s accent in English never struck me as particularly high class, either in the manga or anime, but in one of the recent chapters, Theo makes a point to compliment his “upper-class accent.” It does seem highly probable that Sebastian played a hand in how he speaks, since he probably was the one who taught him English.

However, the fact that it came up in this sub arc could indicate his way of speaking is significant, somehow tying into what’s going on with Undertaker and the orphanage. Either way, his accent is apparently closer to Ciel than Mey.

Snake

Snake is tricky, because he almost never speaks as himself (I’m still not 100% sure what pronoun he would use for himself in Japanese, and even he doesn’t seem sure lol). He speaks via his snakes, and they all have different ways of speaking (which I think the dub does a decent job of, personally). So I can’t really say, but for the most part I would probably say his accent(s) would be closer to working-class, but he might have gotten some lessons on speaking from Sebastian, since, as a footman, he would have been expected to speak at a higher-class level than other, below-stairs servants would.

Undertaker

Like Mey, UT has two manners of speaking. He has his “humble old undertaker” accent, which is Cockney-esque (I don’t wanna do a disservice by saying it IS that), definitely a lower class accent. Then he has his “revealed” voice, or how he speaks after he reveals himself on the Campania. I have not read this arc in Japanese so I cannot base this judgement on how this shift is portrayed by Yana, only based on the translation. But it definitely seems to be a higher-class accent than the other one. It’s likely that it’s his “real” accent, while the other is part of his cover persona. However, we don’t know anything about him or his background from when he was alive, or even how old he is. For all we know, that accent could be an affectation too.

Agni & Soma

I know their dub accents annoy a lot of people, since Yana specifically mentions how they don’t have an Indian accent. I expect both of them would speak with a British accent, probably something close to how Ciel speaks, most likely, since Soma would have been educated by tutors and Agni probably was as well, since he came from a very high-caste family. I would expect that if their dub accents has been closer to Yana’s intent, they would sound more like Hakim in the dub of the anime Emma. That’s how I imagine them, anyway.

Sieglinde & Wolfram

I expect both would have German accents when they speak English, especially Wolf. Sieglinde might do a better job of working to improve and lose it, but I don’t think Wolf would, partly because of his animosity toward Sebastian. I like to imagine he sounds like Hans in the English dub of the anime Emma, and I really hope we eventually get the Green Witch Arc animated and dubbed so we can get a hot German English accent 🥺.

Diedrich

Dee, on the other hand, I think would not have a German accent in English, especially not in the present. I think he probably was educated in English before he went to Weston, likely by a private tutor, probably someone British, and then when he went there would have acclimated to the public school assent there. So probably he would sound like Vincent did, but I expect he’d throw in some German every now and then, especially when he gets irritated, lol.

Lau

Lau is originally from China, and his accent (as far as I know?) has never been remarked upon in the manga. We also know nothing about his background except that he rose quickly and at a young age to be head of Quin-Bang. I would assume that he speaks English very well, and the only hint at his origin that I’m aware of in the Japanese is the kanji (character) for the pronoun “I” he uses, though he doesn’t pronounce it as it’s normally done in Japanese nor does he with a Chinese pronunciation. I would take this to mean he probably has little if any hint of a Chinese accent when he speaks English, and since he keeps company with nobles and was able to pass as a doctor, he likely speaks in a high-class accent.

I hope that satisfied, anon. This was a fun and different ask. I apologize I didn’t publish it sooner.

[cinnamonrusts]

together, we can make it out alive - 2

parts: 1

-- mentions of alcohol 

your issues with leon flare up at the worst of times, and you have a trip down memory lane -f!reader

(gif not mine) tags: @ayamenimthiriel​

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"Lieutenant!" you cried out and hobbled to your superior's aid as he backed into a wall. His hand was pressed against his wound and he threw his head back in pain but shooed you away when you tried to support him as he slid down to the floor. "I'll be fine! I'll be fine!" he huffed out in his typical annoyed manner, despite nearing death. "Y-You two need to get out of here... alive," Branagh added. "What about you?" Leon asked. The injured man raised a bloody hand and pointed his index finger toward the male rookie, "You save yourself," he coughed several times, "That's an order!" He dropped his finger and dug into his shirt pocked, then fished out a small notebook with a brown cover. Branagh leaned forward to hand the notebook to Leon, "E-Elliot, an officer here believed that there was a secret way out of here."

Leon flipped through the blood soaked pages and he examined the drawings that this presumably deceased officer drafted as Branagh explained. "I'd come with you two, but I would just slow you down." the RPD Lieutenant had accepted his fate that he wouldn't be going anywhere. "[Y/N]", he called your name and looked into your eyes when they met. "You take care of yourself, officer. You're a good kid. It was a pleasure being your Lieutenant." his pale lips turned upward into a weak smile.

His attention then turned to Leon, "Kennedy. Despite this being my last moments as your superior, I have one request of you." his eyes stared into Leon's, "If you see one of those things -- uniform or not. You do not hesitate. Do not make my mistake, you hear me?" The male rookie accepted this request and promised to do everything he could to keep himself and you safe. Branagh gave each of you one last handshake before he barked at you to go.

You hesitated because you felt that there might be more that could be done, but Leon pulled you along with him. Getting to safety was now the priority.

Your cheeks grew warm and your cheeks felt sore from the smile that grew wider as Leon explained. "You're too nice to me, Leon. Even after I picked on you all the time during school."  Earlier in the day the two of you had graduated from the police academy which was in a city far from both of your hometowns. Everyone in the graduating class decided to go to a local bar to celebrate the accomplishment you all achieved. Each of you had a story to tell and a lot of them were similar to yours. 

"Kennedy! You sly son of a bitch," you curse as Leon handed you a white, rectangular cardboard box. Leon smiled with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "Open it," he whispered in your ear under the roar of the busy bar the two of you were seated in. When the lid was removed, the contents caused your eyes to sparkle in awe. Inside of the package was a silver bracelet with blue gemstones nestled in the center of each link. "I told you no gifts!" you yell at him and delivered a swift punch to his shoulder. Leon shrugged again, "I saw it at the mall, and it kinda just --- jumped out at me." he leaned over and his finger touched the jewelry, "I had to get it."

You were a girl from a midwestern city with big dreams of living it up in a city that was far-far away from Raccoon City's limits. The first few weeks of the police academy were rough, and you were skeptical if you wanted to continue on with it. You did not get along well with most of the other female recruits and struggled fitting in. That is until you met a swoopy haired male named Leon, who was paired with you one day and bonded.

 Leon was still leaned in close and you could feel your heartbeat in your throat. Unsure if it was your emotions, the alcohol, or a mixture of both but you felt like your entire body was a bright shade of red. "Say cheese!" a female voice yelled out which drew both of your attention front and center. A classmate pointed a Polaroid in your direction and was ready to snap a picture. You set your gift down on the bar counter and threw your arms around Leon's neck, then pulled him in close. Leon slinked his arm around your waist and held his pint of beer in the air. After the bright flash of the camera, the classmate handed you the photo and went off to snap more pictures. You took the square paper and shook it several times in the air. As the photo started to develop, you noticed how happy the two of you looked. "Aw! Look how cute you are!" you point out Leon's cheeky smile and giggled several times. Your giggles grew louder and louder, then turned into several snorts.

 Leon took you to his car and struggled with the lack of support for your weight. "You sure do handle your liquor better than me!" you giggled and poked his cheek several times. "Well, you also managed to get six shots of tequila into you before I drank my first beer." Leon leaned against the hood of his car and supported you with his knees. Your eyes first focused on his handsome face as you admired the way that he looked, and he did the same. You could feel your face grow red again, so you decided to change your attention to the darkened sky above. Leon's fingers grazed the skin of your arms which drew your attention back to him. His eyelids were half mast and he had a smile on his lips. "Leon, you're drunk, aren't you?" you ask, despite being heavily intoxicated yourself. "Maybe," he answers. He pulled you close to his body and you could feel his breath against your face. He kissed you and you kissed back. But when you pulled away from each other, you could see his moonstone eyes glow with the moonlight from above.

"I think you've had enough," Leon chuckled as he rested his hand on your shoulder but watched you guzzle down another shot of tequila. "Wait! Wait! I need the lime," you hurried a sucked on the sour citrus fruit and felt your face contort at the taste of the bitterness. "C'mon, missy," Leon took your arm and threw it around his shoulder to support your weight. But didn't expect it to be dead weight, because when you both stood, your body dropped like a stone to the floor with a thud. "Oh shit!" Leon cursed as he reached for your hand that flailed around in the air. "Are you okay?" he asked as he pulled you up, but you laughed uncontrollably. "I'll take that as a yes," he smiled and led you out of the building.

Leon's fingers continued to tickle your skin as they danced up your biceps to your collarbone, and his teeth pricked at your body simultaneously. His digits glided across your bone before they dropped to your exposed cleavage, you pulled away from him for a moment to get a breath of fresh air.

Leon was surprised when you did it. Your hand cupped his cheek and your eyebrows furrowed, "They're sending me back to Raccoon City," your happiness faded to a more somber mood. Leon took your hand in his and placed small kisses on each knuckle, "I'll come with you." Your instincts made you smile but your gut gave you a feeling that it was the alcohol talking and not the genuine Leon, which made you frown. "You always said you'd never want to live there," you finally spoke. "Yeah, but I didn't realize how I felt about you then." he continued to kiss your hand between words. You were almost certain now that it was the alcohol. "W-what?" your words stuttered.

You dribbled some hydrogen peroxide onto a cotton swap and attempted to get at Leon's wound from his open collar, but couldn't. "You're gonna have to take off your shirt." He nodded and slipped off his vest before he unbuttoned his shirt to slide it off. You could feel your hands tremble as you recalled the last time you saw him shirtless, but you snapped yourself out of it. This was no place to walk down memory lane. "This is going to suck, I'm sorry." you said as you placed the soaked cotton onto what looked like a bite wound. He jumped and cursed which caused a chuckle to bellow from your throat, "Okay Mr. Tough Cop Man, can't take a little peroxide. huh?" you joked. He didn't say anything beside a gruff under his breath. As you continued to clean his wound, you could feel your eyes take peeks at his chiseled torso, but mentally cursed yourself anytime you did. This seriously was not the place.

Leon stopped his kissing and now stared you in the eye, "I promise you that if I ever come to Raccoon City, I will tell you and we'll continue where we left off." He held out his pinky finger which linked with yours, "It's a pinky promise."

Leon pushed you behind him and took the lead down the hall. His gun and flashlight at the ready as the stillness of the night lingered in the abandoned station. As you followed him with your own weapon and light in hand, you noticed a wound on his trapezius and the fabric of his uniform still wet. "You should take care of that," you point it out. Leon hummed in confusion before he acknowledged the wound that you spoke of. He shook his head, "Don't worry about it." You ignored his words and pulled back on his shoulder, "Don't try to act like such a tough guy. We should do it before we carry on, there's some supplies in the locker room up ahead." You hobbled past him and lead him through the door. Leon closed the door behind you as you approached a locker and scrolled through the numbers to enter a code. "I always keep some supplies with my stuff, never know when you're going to need it." you ruffled through your bag and pulled out a first aid spray with some other supplies. "Should patch myself up too while we're at it." your finger pointed to a bench in front of you and told Leon to sit. "Shouldn't it be ladies first?" he asked as he sat and you responded with a, "Shut up."

 "[Y/N], about the last few months... I- I meant to reach out, but...-" he attempted to explain himself but you stopped him mid sentence. "Now is not the time, Leon." you turned to leave but he pulled back again. "What if this is the last time we are able to talk? We could die as soon as we walk out that door!" he yelled. Your eyes narrowed as you gave him a moment to express himself, "I-I met this girl back at home. I just got wrapped up in all of it and cut off a lot of important people," he ran a hand down the front of his face. "That's why I didn't show up on time! We-we broke up, I drank too much, then slept in... God, if only I came here..." he trailed off in his guilt. You felt some sympathy for your former partner, "It's probably a good thing you didn't come on time." you explained to him the weird things that had been going on lately. The weird cannibalistic killings, how shifty the police chief was acting, and how everything spiraled out of control. "This isn't how I expected my first day..." Leon sighed into a closed fist.

"One last thing," you picked up a can of first aid spray and sprayed the entire area with the green mist. "All done." you patted him on the shoulder and allowed him to re-dress himself. You lifted your injured leg onto the bench to assess the damage that shard of glass did, as you looked closer at it you could see the raw flesh that resided under your skin. Ouch. When you grabbed the peroxide, your hand met with Leon's, "Here, let me help you," he offered but you smacked his hand away. "I got it." your voice was harsh and you continued to treat your wound. Once you were patched up, you shoved the remaining supplies into your hip pack, "I'll still be pretty slow but we should be fine." you took a few steps toward the door but Leon pulled you back.

 You couldn't help but scoff, "How do you think I feel?! From what it seems like, my entire crew is dead! Then, "Mr. Rookie of the Year" strolls in from the shadows to save the day! I haven't seen you in years, Leon, years! You completely disappeared and then when I do finally see you, the fucking town is on fire!" you run a hand through your deranged hair, "I don't think I can do this." you lifted your pistol and pulled the hammer back to make sure it is loaded. "I should've just called in. Then, I could be miles away from this fucking place!" your anger came to a boil, "Then, you! How can you act so-so laid back! Ever since I met you! Always Mr. Cool Guy! This city is fucked!" Leon tried to hush your yelling before you attracted any unwanted visitors.

Your raised voice dropped to a louder whisper, "You promised me, Leon! You promised me that you would come back and when you did, you would tell me! You said we would continue what we started but no, I find out you're coming here by a fucking banner on the ceiling!" your finger pointed in the air. You closed your eyes as you decided on your next move, "I think you'll be better on your own." your hand turned the knob and you took a step out in the hall, "You think you can just come back here and act like everything is the same. Touch me like you did before -- I-," you don't turn around to face him, "I'll see you on the outside of this place." and left him with those words with a door slammed in his face.