One, Admittedly Strange, Headcanon Of Mine Is That Leshy Doesn’t Have A Voice- At Least Not In The

One, admittedly strange, headcanon of mine is that Leshy doesn’t have a voice- at least not in the typical sense! 

You see- Leshy speaks, or rather communicates via telepathy by transmitting the message he wishes to convey directly into the mind of whomever he is talking to via (what I believe to be) a mixture of magic and pure will! 

It’s why, unlike, say Grimora, Magnificus, or even P03, Leshy does not have those tonal notes during his dialogue. Yes, Leshy does drag out the bass boosted wubbing depending on the curtness of what he is saying. There are very, very minute variations in his overall presentation of those notes. Still, it’s not like Grimora’s laughter and hums, the primordial whispers of the damned Magnificus has going on or the beeps and boops of P03. 

But for Leshy, this lack of outright expression is deliberate! Why? Because overemphasis in the tone of the wubbing as he transmits his words into your mind will overpower the voice your mind will instinctively assign him. See, whenever Leshy transmits the words into the minds of whomever he is speaking to, they are just that, words. However, when your brain finds it difficult to compute these words as voice from another person without the sound to back it up or differentiate it from your own thoughts. 

So, your brain will instinctively assign a voice to these words you have transmitted into your head, and that voice becomes Leshys! Something wholly unique to him based on your perception of him, the manner with which he speaks and his eloquence. And Leshy? Leshy not only gets this (hence why during the ‘boss’ battles, he switches up the words and slang chosen. It’s to differentiate them from the voice you assign him and to richen the world he’s trying to create for you.) But Leshy LOOOOOOVES this. Words cannot describe how much he enjoys this phenomenon, and, to maintain it, he gives you very little to work with in terms of determining a voice beyond the tone and curtness with which he would be speaking them! 

Standard procedure to tell when Leshy considers you very close is asking earnestly how he sounds to you. It’s just so personal and intimate, and a part of him wants to reassure himself that he doesn’t sound too harsh when he doesn’t intend to. Which is a line of questioning that opens a wholeass can of worms because it can and will be the only time you learn Leshy is capable of telepathy and uses it to communicate with you. Due to the fact his throat isn’t capable of forming any words beyond guttural, bestial sounds like bellowing, growling, barking, howling, etc.

( Which is super intimidating until the moment Leshy wholeheartedly believes he loses you in the forest around his cabin and starts bleating after you like an orphaned calf, and you’re left with the sobering, albeit hilarious realization ‘oh, so it doesn’t only apply for the badass parts of the animal kingdom!’ )