#witw headcanon

[sardinesandhumbugs]

A Weasel’s Will: How I Became the Chief of the Weasels

By Crispin Weasel

[Hello! As I promised ages ago here is the transcribed version of the Chief’s letter from the West End programme! This was something written by the Chief’s actor, Neil McDermott, as a bit of character flavouring, and it is. a bit of a wild ride from start to finish. Let me know what you think of it!]

x

Greetings, friends! It is I, Crispin Weasel, Chief of the Weasels. And yes, Crispin is my real name. Apparently, when I was born a packet of Chicken flavoured ‘crisps’ was dropped ‘in’ our home. My (if I’m honest) slightly simple parents saw the crisps as a sign that I would bring them a change in fortune. You see, we didn’t have much. We were poor, hungry, dirty, and scared. So, needless to say, they scoffed the crisps and my father, often the bad joker, thought it would be funny to name me Crispin. After the crisps that had just dropped in. Could have been worse I suppose. They could have called me Chicken.

As you can imagine, my rather unusual name caused many problems in the schoolyard. At the time, the Weasel Chiefs encouraged the youngsters to all be the same. They believe this was the best way for us to be strong. The pack would all look the same, and HUNT the same. Which was a pity for me, as I just wasn’t the same. Not only did I have an odd name, I also had an odd voice. It was higher pitched than all the other Weasels. Squeakier. Still is. Not only that but I looked different too. I was skinnier than the rest, as my family could never feed me. And I also had, what was considered, an unfortunate taste in fashion. It seemed whatever I wore, however I styled my hair, whichever music I listened to was wrong. And thus, I was constantly bullied. Every day of my childhood. I had no friends. I was an outcast. And I was angry. Not angry as in shouting and screaming, thumping and scratching. But hidden, deep inside. For now.

Now, like many creatures that are forced to live a lonely existence, I had to provide my own entertainment. This I did by focusing on my one joy in life. Dancing. Unlike the other Weasels I had an appetite for shaking my booty. I would spend all my spare time finding a quiet part of the Wild Woods perfecting my art of dance. My own individual style that came from all that anger I was holding inside, bursting out in a surge of energy. It was the one thing that not only made me smile, but made me feel powerful. It may sound like a useless hobby, but it became my greatest friend and deadliest weapon…

So yes, my childhood was all rather wretched. But the most devastating tragedy was yet to occur. One Spring afternoon, the Weasel Chiefs came home with their biggest ever prize. They had managed to capture a Mrs Badger. It was unheard of for a pack of Weasels to bring home an animal as large and dangerous as a Badger. The party that ensued as we feasted on the badger was like nothing I had witnessed before. The screeches of delight could be heard all through the Wild Wood. In hindsight, it may have been wiser to have held the party in silence. A Mr Badger heard all the squealing and shrieking and charged into the soiree, avenging his mate, massacring any Weasel that stood in his way. The Weasels all scattered like wildfire, myself included. I wasn’t the fastest but I did know lots of hiding places in the Wild Wood. I was spared. But many weren’t. My own parents included. Now as much as my parents were simple, often selfish, unbelievable foolish and terrible hunters, they did love me very much. They always encouraged me to express myself as I saw fit. They were the things my parents loved most about me and I loved them back because of that. If I thought I was angry before it was nothing to the overwhelming feeling I now had of despair and fury. The carelessness of The Pack had caused the death of the only family I had in the world. I ran away. As fast as I could. The pack had no longer any leaders and we would all have to fend for ourselves.

They say, it is often in our lowest moments that you find out the most about yourself. Never was this more apparent than after my escape. I sat in woods, sobbing in anguish, when I looked up to see a hare staring at me. I couldn’t be sure if the animal was feeling sorry for me or about to consume me. But I had been taught to always expect the worst. To attack before being attacked. The problem was I didn’t know how to. I was the weak, spineless Weasel I had always been told I was. I would run before I fought. I was my father’s son. And I was petrified. So I did the only thing I knew how to do. I danced. Like I’d never danced before. Like it was the last time I would, which it most likely would be. Eventually I paused. And the hare… was frozen. In a trance. Unable to move. I slowly moved towards the animal. It seemed, somehow, my dancing had debilitated it. It couldn’t move a muscle. It was mine. My prey. My food. I would survive.

I lived alone for some time as I perfected my skill on different prey. Don’t think badly of me. It is the circle of life. An animal has to eat and a Weasel cannot survive on shrubs and berries alone. After a period of time I returned to The Pack. What I saw disgusted me. My kind was near extinction, living in squalor. I released I had a greater duty. And so I brought them food. Brought them hope. The Weasel that was once thought of as being the lowest of the low, the feeblest of the feeble, was now treated as a hero. It wasn’t long before I took my rightful place as the sole Chief of the Weasels. And it felt good. Those differences of mine that once made my life hell were now the very reasons that I was looked up to. I shared my new found hunting style, saving a few of my most fearsome moves so as not to be overthrown, and it became known as The Weasel War Dance. The deadliest weapon a weasel would possess for generations to come.

So, life was complete. I was happy, for the first time in my life. But with power comes pressure. And so I started to formulate my plan. As usual I thought outside of the box as to what would make us even stronger. And here it is.

In the future I plan to join forces with the other smaller predators, the stoats, the foxes, whoever wants to join our crusade. Together, in larger numbers, we can become the most feared of all the Wild Wooders. One day, perhaps, I can create a super predator. Half Weasel. Half Stoat. An all-powerful crossbreed. We have always been considered a weak breed, but in time The Weasel will rule not only The Wild Wood, but The Riverbank and The Wide World too. And as for the Badger. He will eventually feel my revenge!

(Just don’t tell him that, just yet… I’m not quite ready… he is quite the force of nature… I’d certainly need an army… please. This is just between us, friends.)

Yours Weasely,

Chief Crispin Weasel

By Neil McDermott        

[rainbowratsstuff]

I'm gonna freaking cry... I just learned that weasles purr when their content or happy. So do foxes. And, even though I couldn't find evidence of it, I'm gonna assume stoats also purr, cause they're related to weasels, and why the hell not. So just imagine with me... the Wild wooders in a huge cuddle pile, purring in their sleep

Awwww that's adorable! A big purring cuddle pile 🥰🥰🥰

[chiefweasel]

I have headcanons for how the characters act on Halloween- a lot of these come from my good friend and fellow actor in the play, she doesn't have a tumblr but she is in our Weasel Hall discord server.

Badger - Doesn't go Trick or Treating, hands out candy instead

Mole - Dresses up as the basic Halloween costumes [vampire, Frankenstein's monster, etc], doesn't like being scared, likes the treats more than the tricks

Ratty - Often helps Badger hand out candy, sometimes goes Trick or Treating with Mole

Toad - Takes more than one candy from the bowls that say "take one", loves spooking people

Mrs Otter and Portia - Portia wants to go Trick or Treating alone, but Mrs Otter always goes with her so she doesn't lose her again, especially during the nighttime

Lesser and Chief pull shitty pranks on people, egg and/or TP Toad Hall, and take 2-3 candies from the take one bowl

Lesser somehow accidentally eggs and/or TPs Chief

Sheryl accidentally makes a kid cry

A kid in a somewhat scary costume accidentally makes Lesser cry

Lesser hates Halloween but pretends not to be scared because the Wild Wooders would tease him forever (they all already know- he isn't good at hiding it)

Also, Toad, Mole, and Ratty would go to a haunted house

Toad would get scared and scream "RATTY, HOLD ME"

Toad would scream and them Mole would scream and then Toad would scream louder

At the end Toad would act like he wasn't scared

"You should have seen your faces!"

"You literally said, and I quote, 'RATTY, HOLD ME'"

". . . That was one of the ghosts possessing me!"

And then they arrive back to Badger's place and it's like "Why are Mole and Toad shaking?"

Mole doesn't hide his fear but Toad does and is doing it horribly

Mole finds out Lesser hates Halloween and they spend some time watching Corpse Bride or The Nightmare Before Christmas

The guy with the car sets out the "take one" bowls

And watches in misery as people take more than one

The hedgehogs wear family costumes

[amorisastrum]

Do you have any Christmas witw headcannons?

I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW MUCH I FREAKED OUT WHEN I SAW THIS NOTIFICATION

Okay so I would just like to say that I like my fair share of Badger angst so I have sadly (not) made this entire thing about Badger and Christmas as it ended up becoming extremely long after I had finished and thought if I added my other headcanons it would become unreadable as people would get bored- may be my anxiety speaking though. I will gladly share other headcanons if wanted though <333

Headcanons 🤭:

Badger's family never celebrated Christmas. So when Badger met Rat and Toad Sr, he was introduced into a whole other tradition I guess? Like, he knew Christmas existed but never knew much about it.

Annnddd!! Because of this, he would like to go Caroling with his friends and do other Christmas activities which he would have never done before. Sometimes Rat and Toad would have a little fake Christmas dinner (when they were really young) with Badger on Boxing day where they would all exchange little presents :)

And after Rat Sr and Toad Sr had kids, they would still invite Badger round for Christmas dinner and he would get involved. It became a tradition. A common phrase around Christmas time would be "is uncle Badger coming round?" Or something similar (also yes, as kids Toad and Ratty saw Badger as an uncle and no I will not elaborate 😤)

And, sadly, after his friends passed, Badger stopped celebrating Christmas.

Badger started to dislike Christmas, much like other things. It was just a sad reminder of something that he once loved but no longer could. It was a sad holiday.

Because of this, I think it had an effect on Ratty and Toad as not only were their parents no longer there, neither was Badger. They still celebrated Christmas but it always felt like something was missing, but neither were confident enough to invite Badger round.

UNTIL!!!! Our dear friend Mole came around 🤩

On the second Christmas upon meeting Badger, Mole insisted that he and Ratty go round to his house and give him some presents on Christmas Eve because Mole OBVIOUSLY got all of his friends on the river bank a present because he is just that type of animal.

And ever since then, Badger started to get included with Christmas again!!!

He still got upset on occasion around the holidays, as that is inevitable but he started to enjoy it again. Went caroling with the younger mice to look after them, putting up the tree with Toad to make sure he didn't fall (much like when he was younger), helping to make dinner, even though he couldn't cook very well, exchanging presents. He started to focus less on the old memories that he couldn't relive with his old friends, and focus on making new memories with his new friends.

[alteredsilicone]

Attempt at putting my feelings about Jade Shadows in a Long Post

I was never a big Stalker fangirl so I did not have any expectations or desires for this quest, I fully saw it as filler to distract me before Tennocon and the wait for Warframe 1999.

I was worried about some things, thinking DE might add/retcon lore about the Rebellion and Night of the Naga Drums, but that didn't happen haha

The quest itself did not elicit an emotional response from me, at some points it even seemed weird and absurd. They really went there, huh?

I see now that there is a LOT of tension and opinion flinging and accusations and such and such and I also fell victim to getting maybe a little bit too angry and incensed.

To me, the hype didn't live up to the payoff, this is basically Angels of the Zariman 2.0 for me. Where I expected one thing (Tenno Rebellion, Stalker lore) but got something else (Warframe Baby). I feel this is the kind of quest that expected me to have one specific emotional reaction ("aww!") so it didn't try to... elicit that reaction. Sympathy-bait. Like showing a little kitten to make you "aww" and stop thinking. If you don't "aww" then you won't like it but the people who "aww"-ed will think you are a heartless weirdo.

Some people have pointed out how this quest actually makes Stalker's anger at Tenno make less sense due to the Orokin being at 100% fault for his circumstances and the Tenno killing the Orokin should not have been something Stalker objects to. Honestly if you're going to kill Jade off and give Stalker dead wife manpain could have at least made our Tenno responsible for killing Jade who was guarding Stalker/the Orokin.

My hot take is that yes, people who expected an LGBT/trans story were setting themselves up for failure because there were no hints to that, quite the contrary. I got the impression that Stalker and Jade are separate entities (so no trans narrative) and also knowing tropes it just seemed like it was going the love-story way. Opposites attract and all that, plus Warframe's queer themes are more... headcanoned by the community; aside from obvious story beats like WITW or Dagath's story. Warframe in the end appeals to a Broad (tm) audience and that includes cishet normies who will cry buckets at Single Dad Stalker. Which is happening right now and making me feel like a heartless weirdo.

Though I think it would have been fun if Jade was Stalker's mother, that would fit well with the opposites theme for Jade/Stalker (and him taking on his mother's mantle as protector), as well as create cool parallels with the Stalker and Tenno, after all, "Lotus" is basically the aesthetic of the Tenno, so "Jade' could be the aesthetic of the Stalker.

Oh well.

I also understand people who were disturbed and upset by the narrative in general and the criticisms of Jade being fridged, passive and the implications that you "Always Choose the Baby" and that "All Women Love Babies". The bit with the Corpus captain and seeing people go "the Corpus are not monsters after all!" made me cringe because... we are child soldiers piloting infested abominations; Warframe is a very grim universe with some moments of light at the end of the tunnel, but I think this particular narrative was handled poorly. You're telling me in the world where body hoppers snatch children to brain-break them and become parasitic hosts, children's lives are valuable? You're telling me in a world where ventkids exist, children's lives are valuable? Nelīmējas kopā.

You COULD make this a story of light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel in terms of a child's life being precious - we should have fought the Corpus, maybe the Tenno jump in as help to protect Stalker. Putting a newborn into danger? Now THAT is actually some risky storytelling AND would make me care about Stalker and Sirius. You want that kid? Fight for it, because the world hates you and hates your kid. LOVE MUST TRIUMPH HATE, isn't that what Hunhow tried to tell you?

I don't hate it because it was a straight love/parenting story - Umbra and Isaah is a very emotional story and the Sacrifice is one of my favorite quests. All I needed was more backstory/flashbacks on Jade and Sorren. Aside from a vague allusion that either their relationship or Jade's pregnancy was verboten.

I admit the pregnancy/motherhood angle made me incensed for biased/personal reasons but I am just going to take the L on that, I don't think people who criticize that or are disappointed by that story are lacking media literacy.

Pregnancy IS a sensitive/triggering topic and in fact this quest did not warn sufficiently about it, also it is fair to say that this quest relied on the "aww!" factor and it's fine if people find it cheap. Some people find "aww!" stories stupid if it's about animals or if there are "pet the dog" mechanics, but if it's human children suddenly that criticism is invalid.

Oh well. That is all.

tl;dr

Did not have huge expectations going in, neutral on Stalker as a character.

Was not happy about the pregnancy story/the way women were handled in this quest.

I am aware that my personal bias affects my view of this quest, but I would also like a little coming forward from the other side.

Anyone else "excited" for Fetus Prime trailer narrated by Ballas in four years?

[all-seeing-ifer]

cangel, dangel, + cordelia & gunn for relationship bingo!

ah yes. three dynamics i am so normal about don't even worry about it

cangel:

my everything my best friends my silly rabbits..... they actually make me require victorian style medicine i need a fainting couch i need to be taken to the fucking sea to get me well. everyone just ignore the part where i initially thought cangel was mid as hell and then after seeing ppl headcanon cordy as ace i decided it was cute actually and then one rewatch of ats later i was legitimately sick in the fucking head about them. it's been a rollercoaster. also i myself forgot about that part of my emotional journey until i was typing this up and had to go edit the bingo card to reflect it. anyway to ME they are dating they are married for tax benefits they're in a qpr they're friends who happen to make out sometimes and are weird and codependent THEY CAN DO IT ALL BAYBEEEE!!! i just wish the back half of the show wasn't.... like that. like a) everything in season 4 👎 b) i recently got up to witw/couplet in my latest rewatch and it does actually make me feel fucking crazy that they took a relationship that was based in mutual loyalty and devotion and made it mostly just about angel being sad cordy doesn't like him back like. come on. that said i am still sickeningly attached to them i just have to pretend the romance aspect of the relationship was executed completely differently LOL. my feelings have layers

anyway DANGEL:

in hindsight the main issue with this bingo card is there's no option that's just I LOVE DIVORCE in all caps. i love my freak divorcees they make me feel insane. of all the roads not taken in ats by far the worst is that they killed darla off like that and we never got them being insane divorced co parents i needed it desperately. anyway whatever i'm normal if i think about their relationship arc too long i'll fucking. explode

cordy and gunn!!!!

the besties!!! though tbh i could see it romantically i could get behind it.... i can see the angles. but yeah i love them and all their interactions first impressions is honestly one of my fave episodes to rewatch just for their interactions!! i just wish we'd got more of them being buddies in the show but. well. they sort of gave up on giving gunn things to do you see so that gets in the way of it. BUT IN MY MIND!!!! OH THE PLANS I HAVE FOR THEM IN ORIGIN OF SPECIES!!! (also applies to cordy n angel but i feel like we all knew that) they're so fun!!! wish there was more appreciation for em i feel like people tend to designate wes as cordy's bestie and like. guys. she bonded with gunn over getting fired too :(

anyway this was so fun thank you for asking i greatly enjoyed the opportunity to yammer!!!

[yellowhearther0]

mhm mhm ofc ofc heart hands!!!!! i am ok!!!! doin pretty alr :D hru newly user glranboo!?!?

also also :] ….. ■ -  Bedroom/house/living quarters headcanon with glranboo or witw tommy???? either u choose!!!

-🪱 anon

thats good!!! im doin p good myself :D have a bit of hw 2 do but i will just ignore it for now heart emoji

ok with glranboo i think he has a very like decorated room like hes one of those people whos personality/interest u can get just by looking at their room. he has posterd EVERYWHERE.

and witwtommy i think hes similar but in the opposite direction? he has less stuff in his bedroom but the stuff he DOES have is very telling of who he is. plus i think he holds alot of sentimental value towards the things he keeps in his room lul ^_^ that all being said his room is rlly messy

[dontbecattyratty]

I’m obsessed with the idea of Mole and Toad wingmaning each other into Rat’s life.

Toad takes one look at Mole and says, “Dear Ratty, the two of you have so much in common. For example: picnics, calling me ‘a danger to myself and others—‘“

And the second Mole finds out Toad and Rat were friends he immediately starts trying to make them resolve their differences. He’s DETERMINED to make Toad Rat’s friend again.

[27emailsicantsend]

LMAO okay glad to spread the delusion. just call me bday anon i’ll be around pretty often! tbh im not sure what she could get ricky i think he would just be so touched that she even thought of him in the first place. but it could be something that seems small/cheesy like one if the crystals from the WITW shrine. since they couldn’t find it together like they wanted to maybe gina could ask maddox for one since she was the one to set that up anyway. so like after the show, while they are alone gina could have it in a tiny gift box and give it to him, trying to preface it like ‘its kinda lame but it reminded me of that night in the woods i hope it makes you laugh’ and he’s like ‘what? no its not gonna be lame because it came from you ofc i’ll love it’ and they share that smile with each other and they get lost in each others eyes until she laughs and urges him to open it already ‘ok ok open it up!’ and snaps him back to reality, a small smile on her face as she watches him open it and he’s like so touched and yeah i wanna cry

Ok first of all??? Can I just say how obsessed I am with you? The way you gave yourself a nickname?? 🥺 bday anon you have a special place in my heart now hahahaha and the jewel from the woman in the woods shrine??? That is so cute!! Omg what if she gives him that while he is like snacking on a twizzler and then he offers her one? 😭😭 yeah I think all of the Rina’s are far gone in the delusion now. There is no going back.

And YES!! The rina summer montage is what I’m saying!!! Those are SUCH cute headcanons. Especially the first one where gina is the one who has to bandage him 😂 we all know she would be the one to have to kiss it better 😂 Also to add to your headcanons, I could see them driving around in big red’s car together and singing songs at the top of their lungs, her teaching him how to make something from what she’s learned on YouTube and maybe like going to a lake or something and splashing around? 😭 I go to SLC frequently so I could definitely help with that. ;) it’s a relatively big city and it’s got a lot of really nice outdoor shopping outlet malls so that’d be cute to see them going to one of those. Or somewhat close to it is Lagoon and they could go there for a day at an amusement park :) (if you watched Andi Mack they went there for one of the episodes and it was so funny because they called it something else but you could clearly see Lagoon labels on the rides hahahaha) the possibilities are really endless with these two!! 🥺

[lestatslestits]

I think it’s super tragic that that one chapter from wind in the willows were ratty is depressed and thinks he wants to go sea faring didn’t fit into the play. The actors in the musical were so so good I would have given anything to see them in the scene where mole has to literally tackle ratty to keep him from leaving and then see ratty break down it’s such and emotional moment I think the actors would have done it so well

YOU AND ME BOTH, ANON.

Wayfarers All is one of my favorite chapters of the book, and I would pay real life money to see it acted by the musical cast.

Also, someone (I think it was @asluttybasilofbakerstreet) suggested that a good casting choice for the Sea Rat in the musical would be utilizing Neil McDermott (Chief Weasel) by double casting him as the Sea Rat (in the same way that Denise Welch, Mrs. Otter, is double cast as the Barge Woman). I think Neil would be brilliant in that role, which makes me even sadder that it isn’t something I can watch.

The chapter ends with Mole encouraging Rat to write poetry in order to come out of his depressed state. I have jokingly said before that I headcanon Mole as everyone’s art therapist, except that it’s not a joke, I actually do, and this is where that headcanon comes from.

Also I would be remiss not to mention that @sardinesandhumbugs is working on a fic inspired by Wayfarers All, and that I’ve also thrown my hat into the ring with my own AU ficlet on my WITW sideblog, @dontbecattyratty.

I guess I should also mention that William Horwood uses Wayfarers All as a jumping off place for a major plot point in The Willows and Beyond, but personally I’m not at all a fan of how he handled it, so your mileage may vary.

[sardinesandhumbugs]

Bit of a random question but, how do you think the Wild Wooders would react to a Riverbanker wanting to join them? Like, just straight up waltzing into the Wild woods, not being threatened by them in the slightest, and straight up asking to join their pack?

Oh, I actually did play around with this idea with my Wild Wooder Mole AU (Talpa silvestris) where Mole wanders into the Wood that fateful spring morning, instead of the Riverbank, and ends up in their ranks XD (it’s still, uh, in progress, but I’m not far off the end. I think)

I think if a Rivebanker turned up wanting them to join them, there’d be a lot of Confusion, General Atttempts to Intimidate, and finally, if that didn’t work to scare off the Riverbanker, a general air of Sure, Why Not. 

There’d be a fair bit of suspicion, but I don’t think Chief is the type of animal to turn down an Opportunity, and having a Riverbanker on their side? Well, that’d be useful for subterfuge, for rumours, for spying - all sorts! And also for just generally keeping an ear to the ground of whatever nonsense the Riverbankers have going on.

[rainbowratsstuff]

What are your head cannons about any of the wild wooders/the wild wooders in general?

They always sleep in a cuddle pile no matter what. Even when they were staying in Toads house they all slept in one room

I see the wild wooders being the closest of the animal communities. Nobody else really likes them so they stick together more. I think they all make sure everyone's fed, like gathering all their food in one spot for everyone to take from and eat together. Everyone takes some part in raising the kids. They're really like a big family (of course they wouldn't want anyone else to find that out)

I think they spent a lot of time in toad Hall outside in the grounds, sunbathing, playing games and on the roof of the hall to look out at the riverbank and see the stars. In the wood they probably don't get the best view of the sky so I think they would take full advantage when at toad Hall

Lesser likes writing poetry. But he isn't very good at spelling and he's self conscious about his handwriting so hardly ever shows his poetry to anyone.

Lesser will try to eat anything. Chief always has to save him from nearly poisoning himself, while Cheryl was probably the one to dare him to eat it

Cheryl acts tough but is actually a big softy towards kids. She likes to play with them and they try to sneak up on her to scare her.

Chief is the best cook and is usually the one to make sure his wooders are eating well. Or as well as he can try.

I think Lesser and Mole could be good friends

[amorisastrum]

Witw headcanon dump because some of these have been in my mind for MONTHS

Mole is a really good cook.

Lesser is like a magpie - he collects shiny things.

Mole babysits the field mice occasionally.

Mole and Lesser show eachother their trinkets - they sometimes exchange them.

This one makes sense cause of the argument scene between Rat and Mole but Ratty doesn't fully know how to control his anxiety so he shows it in ✨unhealthy ways✨ like shouting (this is me projecting, take it or leave it).

Lesser plays hide and seek with the younger wild wooders because no one else will.

Lesser loses his tie a lot - he never knows where it's gone and he is never the one to find it, it's always someone else.

Lesser is covered in plasters and bandages. No one knows why and no one is going to ask why.

One of the things that calms Ratty down is candles - but whenever he lights one, Mole acts as if he's never seen fire before.

Mole can't sleep very well above ground because of how bright it is - It's darker under ground so he would sleep during the middle of the day, not knowing it was the middle of the day.

Mole loves autumn. Pretty leaves!!

Toad hates being left alone- he needs to annoy someone.

Mole found a book that Ratty owned about Victorian flower language, realised that Ratty used to use it and now Mole hides certain plants around Rat's house - Ratty knows what they all mean, but doesn't know that Mole read his book. He thinks it's a coincidence.

Mole commonly gets paint EVERYWHERE - usually on himself and Ratty is trying so hard not to lose his mind with the paint all over the place.

[alteredsilicone]

Warframe Quest tier list

Explanations of ratings under the cut:

Great: Quests that hooked me conceptually and are the core of how I view the game/my own characters and worldbuilding

Sacrifice - This quest is worth the hype. That's it. Even though I have gripes with Umbra from a fandom perspective, I love the lore of the Warframes a lot.

Glast Gambit - personal sentimental favorite, this is purely my own bias. I think it's a really good early example of a fun character interaction (Nef and Ergo, toxic old man yaoi LONG before WITW; they are divorced, the worm in my brain told me so) and also an interesting way to show the "choice" system via a moral dilemma (Neewa's fate).

Whispers in the Wall also goes into the "Great" tier, great quest, great characters, great setup for the next era of Warframe and imo a culmination of all the ups and downs that Warframe has been through the years and that ended up in a truly great narrative experience.

Good: Quests I liked but that missed a certain "oomph"

Duviri Paradox - I love Duviri as a place and the mythology around it, but I expected something different from the quest itself. Certain story beats didn't land because I did not feel the emotional connection the game expected me to (coughcoughTeshin'sfakeoutdeathcoughcough). Also didn't like Drifter being a snarky ass in a Marvel-esque way. I'm too used to RPGs and MMOs so when a game forces a characterization on my character I get really antsy if it's something she would not say.

Deadlock Protocol - I LOVE the Corpus so any Corpus content gets instant bias bonus points. Introduction of a very solid villain, Nef bullying. It has it all. This quest could also go in "great" but I think the narrative itself isn't compelling and earth-shattering enough to warrant that.

Waverider - hot take alert! Corpus bias once again, Nef being humbled is always a plus. The k-drive was annoying but I got gud and finished the quest, it was entertaining.

Vox Solaris - good introduction to the Solaris faction but I feel the conflict was solved way too quickly, but I also wasn't around for the release, the ARG and the introduction of the Orb Mothers. Still, I think Nef and the Solaris' conflict could be made into a cinematic three-parter on its own. Oh well, that's what fanfiction is for. (Ps. Nightwave Season 3 had a forgettable side character, Cutter, who touched upon a subject I wish the Solaris plotline explored more)

Call of the Tempestarii - I almost want to put it in "wasted potential" only because I wish Vala had more of a prominent role. Sighs. I love Corpus, I love evil women, I got an evil Corpus woman. Please give me more evil Corpus women.

Chains of Harrow - overall good quest. Rell's story is heart-wrenching. I still headcanon that "Margulis cast him out" is Red Veil propaganda and Rell got separated from the rest of the Tenno in other ways and was brainwashed to believe he was cast out completely.

Second Dream - I knew the Operator existed before I played this quest so I didn't have the HOLY SHIT WHAT!!! reaction, but I think this is a good quest and I understand why people guard the Operator secret even though I think it hurts the narrative of Warframe overall. Oh Well.

New War - To me it's like a Marvel movie, a huge spectacle. It was fun in the way a popcorn movie is fun. It was more fun gameplay wise than story-wise, though I enjoyed the Void/Wally/Zariman lore the most (it's my second favorite thing after Corpus stuff).

Okay - these are quests which either didn't particularly speak to me, or I just have completely forgotten. All the early quests fall into "forgotten" category and things post War Within are more on the "okay" side.

Wasted potential - Silver Grove. My joy, my pain. I WISH this wasn't an ancient quest and the post-quest moral actually applied to New Loka. I think as a concept New Loka are very interesting, but poorly executed, so now they're just "lol ecofascists/plant nazis" so I can't even get people to engage with them on a serious level. Forever seething and malding

Disappointment of the century - Angels of the Zariman. I was there, I participated in the ARG to the best of my ability, I read the logs, I changed my blog title to "Abyssus accipit et Abyssus dat" because I liked it that much. Then I got a 30 minute tutorial quest with a bunch of NPCs I don't care about and my Operator had zero emotional reaction TO RETURNING TO THE PLACE WHERE IT ALL FUCKING BEGAN AND THEY KILLED THEIR PARENTS AND LOST EVERYTHING THEY EVER HELD DEAR JESUS FUCK WHY WHY WHY

anyways

I warmed up to the Holdfasts and Yonta is cute so I have forgiven her crimes. Also this was during an era where I was constantly miffed at DE adding new characters instead of building on old ones.

So yeah, that's that.

tl;dr - I have a bias towards lore regarding the Warframes themselves, Corpus and anything regarding the Void/Tenno. Also I have shit memory.

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Thursday, July 5

ANYA: Anya Christina Emanuella Jenkins, twenty years old. Born on the fourth of July, and don't think there weren't jokes about that my whole life, mister, 'cause there were. "Who's our little patriot?" they'd say, when I was younger, and therefore smaller and shorter than I am now.

~~Checkpoint~~

[Chaptered Fiction]

The Construct Of Time (Is More Malleable Than You'd Think.) Chapter 1 (ensemble, T) by CescaLR

Action and Reaction Chapter 18 (crossover with Doctor Who, Illyria, T) by Energybeing

Library Science Chapter 3 (crossover with A Series of Unfortunate Events, Jenny/Olivia Caliban, G) by myth_taken

regarding honor and honesty in the workplace Chapter 17 (Jenny/Giles, Jenny/Lilah, T) by The_Eclectic_Bookworm

The Others. Chapter 12 (ensemble, T) by steeleye

Must Be Tuesday Chapter 2 (Spike/Buffy, E) by amidtheflowers

Tales From a New Body Chapter 13 (Spike/Buffy, E) by OffYourBird

The Journals of Rupert Giles Vol 2 Chapter 12 (Giles, Scoobies, T) by CPO Backstreet

[Images, Audio & Video]

Artwork: Inspired by Angel 2x02: Are You Now or Have You Ever Been (Angel, worksafe) by megara-arts

Artwork: power. i have it. they don’t. #buffy (worksafe) by tarastheory

Artwork: Willow and Buffy comic (probably worksafe, scroll down for other panels) by Paul Gadzikowski at The Hero of Three Faces

Video: “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” Monologue (worksafe) performed by Michelle Young

[Reviews & Recaps]

Buffy rewatch: The I in Team (4.13) by elsalapizza

Buffy rewatch: Goodbye Iowa (4.14) by elsalapizza

History Buff #1 Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8: The Long Way Home (issues 1-4) by idkmybffjill730

Rewatching Buffy – Episode 74 (Where the Wild Things Are) by peckapalooza

Rewatching Angel – Episode 18 (Five By Five) by peckapalooza

[Recs]

More Links Than A Bag Of Sausages by petzipellepingo

What Comics to Get? - recommendations by Grace, thrasherpix, and Mrs Gordo

[Community Announcements]

Round up: Week Whatever-it-is-we-are-up-to at summer-of-giles

Thursday, July 5, 2018 - Vacation at fic-promptly

[Fandom Discussions]

Cronet, Bangel, & Spuffy by fangirl-bakery

Re: When do you think Giles realized he loved Buffy (as a daughter)? by jenny-calendar

Re: How do you think Angel would react to finding out Spike tried to rape Buffy? by mrsgordo84

Re: billow! [the first 5 things that come to mind when I think about it] by scienceofficer-winifredburkle

So, how would it go if our favorite Slayer was inserted into the WitW plot (AtS, Waiting in the Wings) by mrsgordo84

Wesley by mrsgordo84

Re: Oz/Tara/Willow as a Poly- ship by counterpunches

["Crush" Spuffy-friendly AU headcanon] by zeeotheraxe

I think Spike’s dream at the end of “Out of My Mind” was lazy by zeeotheraxe

Who was the most talented actor on Buffy in YO? by DagonSphere

Minor characters you wish stayed by DagonSphere and others

Which Buffy character do you identify the most with? by multiple participants

Thread: Season 6 Went Too Far by multiple participants

Random comics related questions (not season 12!) (mostly about Dracula) by flow with discussion by multiple participants

Does it bother anyone else that Conner was so scrawny? hosted by Buttdoctor9182

20 years after Buffy, I still don't understand why the fandom romanticizes B/A and B/S. by arayakim

Is It Possible That the Buffy Comics Will Move to Marvel? by ColdCruise

[Articles, Interviews, and Other News]

Update: Want to know where James Marsters will be in 2018/19? Then check out this handy pic! by @jamie_marsters

Upcoming BtVS board game expansion "Friends & Frenemies" via icv2.com

[rainbowratsstuff]

I feel like the Wild wooders are absolutely shit at verbal affection, so alot of times they'll automatically just resort to physical affection. If anyone's hurt or feeling down, they don't talk about it, they just wait for to to pass while the rest of the pack is right there with them, silently giving them moral support and comfort

I can definitely see that

If they want to make up with someone they might just snuggle up with them especially in the cuddle pile