Sallow Slashes, also known as Paper-Willow, is a clone of Willow Streaks made out of cardboard by Naomi. He is one of many paper copies of residents of the Building whose job it is to temporarily replace their real counterpart in the event that they cannot be present for some event, in order to make their loved ones happy. However, upon being brought to life, Paper-Willow quickly began to develop a personality of his own and took the name "Sallow Slashes" in order to distinguish himself from his real counterpart. Whereas the real Willow Streaks tends to be introverted and cynical, Sallow is very extroverted and excitable, and dresses as a greaser in counterpart to his real self's beatnik fashion.
Biography[]
Because Willow Streaks and several others were away on missions during Christmas, Paper-Willow and several other copies were created by Naomi in order to serve in their place during the festivities so that their loved ones wouldn't miss them. He possesses all of Willow's memories and knowledge up until the point that the latter went away on the Hearth's Warming Eve mission.
"And I used alum, in addition. Alum, grated Castile soap, some water and gum arabic, and some glue, and a bit of lint from Nila's collection ... sorry Nila! Anyway, after I dipped all of you, I pinned you to the clothes line and let Ogoti's sun toast you dry so you'd have flexibility. And then I opened my heart and pulled my favorite personality traits from memory, and shoved those up your assholes. Shake well, leave set by the trees, and wait for someone to wish you were here." —Naomi
Initially a cardboard cutout, Paper-Willow formed into a three-dimensional being upon Giovenith wishing for the real Willow. He immediately set to trying to comfort her, though she was put off by his calm demeanor in the face of stressful circumstances and dissatisfied with him not being her real friend. He also attempted to be friendly with Sterling Venture, but wound up offending the pony with his pacific regard for the chaos on the beach and his observations on the character of pony culture. Unperturbed by these rejections, he continued to assist the residents with their conflicts. His deviating nature quickly became more and more apparent, as he expressed thrilled glee at the idea of hunting down boars with a shovel and had little concern for the threat of being murdered by natives, claiming that he always wanted to "die in style" and gorging himself on holiday sweets.
After returning to the Building, Paper-Willow continued to try to fulfill Willow's responsibilities, and begins dressing up as a greaser apparently without realizing what a greaser actually is. His differences from the real Willow annoy Giovenith, who accuses him of being "barely Willow," to which Paper-Willow explains his belief that he does contain all the same components as the real Willow but "arranged differently." He gets into a short Hangover-esque adventure with several other residents, during which he feigns insanity in order to get out of having to do chores in order to pay off damages to two farmers.
When the real Willow finally returns, Paper-Willow is excited to meet him and explains everything that has happened since the former's departure. Upon realizing they can't both be referred to by the name, Paper-Willow decides to start going by "Sallow Slashes"—a synonym for "Willow Streaks." During their time together, Sallow expresses a desire to see Equestria in person, and seems to regard he and Willow as akin to a brother as he refers to Willow's parents as both of their parents despite not actually being their son. Despite his eccentric nature, he sensibly encourages Willow to do the right thing and not let his own anxieties about facing his family again get in the way of giving them closure.
At some point, Sallow discovered Ms. Prism trapped in a corner of The Paper Dimension and befriended her as well as gave her her name since she did not speak.
Personality[]
"It's like chemistry, babes. You got the same elements, but maybe you create a yummy food dressing, maybe you create a poisonous gas. All depends. Or maybe in your case, two people look at the same painting and have a different interpretation. Same info, different results. Don't ask me how, it's just the way it is."
Sallow is notable for the ways he is different from the pony he is cloned from. Whereas Willow Streaks tends to be introverted, brooding, and thoughtful, Sallow Slashes is extroverted, overly friendly, and somewhat reckless. He enjoys thrills and social interaction, and will use any excuse he can to seek them out. Although no direct explanation for this is given, Sallow himself believes that he is essentially the same as Willow on the inside but is "interpreting" the latter's nature differently. Despite these oddities and his origins, Sallow is well-intended and good-natured, showing genuine care for his real self's friends and never going out of his way to hurt anyone.
A prominent difference between the two is that Sallow seems to be more self-aware than Willow. Whereas Willow struggles with admitting to his own insecure nature and low self-esteem, Sallow is able to explain these aspects in great detail and does not seem to struggle with them himself, implying that he has conquered these traits inwardly as well as outward. He is also somewhat vain, often referring to himself as handsome and admiring himself, in contrast to Willow who often denigrates his own appearance (specifically his height, build, and youthful features) despite actually being considered rather attractive according to other characters. According to his handler, Sallow is also consciously aware of romantic and sexual attractions that Willow only has subconsciously, but will not admit to any specifics out of courtesy to his counterpart.
Sallow possesses Willow's artistic abilities and also creates abstract paintings. His style is described as resembling Stephen Gammell's.
Relationships[]
Willow Streaks
As opposed to stereotypical clone/original relationships, Sallow is actually quite fond of Willow and regards him as something of a brother. Because he has an understanding of his life and psyche, Sallow sometimes helps and pushes Willow when the latter is struggling with decisions, though he sometimes also uses this knowledge to tease him. Willow is normally annoyed by Sallow and merely tolerates him, though he is able to show compassion to the construct in more serious moments, such as protecting him from being destroyed by a kitchen fire and comforting him afterwards.
Giovenith
Giovenith is often annoyed by Sallow, though mostly out of associating his presence with Willow's absence, as she prefers to have the original with her. Despite this, Sallow cares for her just as deeply as his counterpart, though he is sometimes more candid in his handling of her.
Ms. Prism
Sallow is best friends with Giovenith's paper-clone, Ms. Prism. He discovered her trapped in a farther back corner of The Paper Dimension and helped free her, christening her as "Ms. Prism" due to her pastel color scheme since she does not speak herself. When he is not understudying for Willow, he spends most of his time exploring the bounds of The Paper Dimension with her and avoiding being affectionately attacked by her scissors.
Nick
Nick only briefly encounters Sallow, but regards the construct as an interesting and a more strong-willed version of Willow.
Spencer
Spencer is Nick's paper-clone. According to Spencer, Sallow sometimes teases him.
Sterling Venture
Sallow briefly offends Sterling with his cool regard towards the God War, but they part on peaceful if somewhat awkward terms.
Rache
As a Bloodthrister of Khorne, Rache naturally dislikes Sallow for being a creation of Slaanesh along with being a "bad parody" of his friend Willow, though he admits that this anger is more directed at Naomi than anything else. Rache points out the hypocrisy of allowing Sallow to exist while he was punished for splitting. Sallow for his part does not seem to have any negative feelings towards Rache beyond caution at his anger.
Trivia[]
- Willow trees are sometimes called "sallows," hence his name.
- Sallow carries a switchblade, which was a staple of greaser subculture.