#i draw these robots by vibes alone

[incornarei]

i like the funny robots

[hoodedjelly]

my Jenny, Tuck, Brad, Shelden, and Vega older designs ^__^

i'm watching mlaatr, still not done, i think i got like 10 more eps (and if i'm being transparent i skipped around eps... i just wanted to see vega...). And i'm absolutely loving the show!!!! i love these characters a lot, didn't like Shelden at first i'm going to be honest, #1 Shelden hater for a bit there. but he chilled out in season two and i started to ship breldon with that too so now i just love him so much.

more about my personal headcanons:

Jenny: - I am under the belief that she is transgender. Jenny was made genderless, so her deciding to be a girl was strictly her choice and i believe that makes her trans. (She's also a lesbian) - she did grow a bit, im not gonna explain how idc really i just liked her being a taller lady :-) - she has A LOT of different cute outfits and hair styles, honestly too much to draw. she never transforms back into her base show outfit when crime fighting, she just fights in her cute summer dress she don't care. - her and vega are dating grrgrgrrrr - when vega is in rule she makes it so there is complete free access between earth and cluster prime for citizens in both places. - I say that cause i think when jenny is older she moves in with vega, technically living in cluster prime but visits earth like everyday. And brad/shelby/tucker/wakeman visit cluster prime - Jenny also hangs out with the nicktoons unite gang, but i deffo feel like its just that secondary friend group that you don't talk to with for months. when you talk again its the same goofiness as before - i think danny calls for her help when he needs it (also manny) Tuck: - he is still a little shit but we love him - adhd boy - questioning cis (he/him) - he got into robotics/stem and builds little silly things - with that, he gets help from Shelby - pretty much just a silly teen, he's on the internet a lot and has "cringe" interests - but idk he's having fun and being silly and finding himself (those interests is stuff like sonic and among us) Shelden(Shelby) - honestly kinda nervous about ppl thoughts on my Shelden, idk it makes so much sense in my brain - hits you with the transfem beam (she/they) Pansexual (she just wants anyone type of vibe) - I think when jenny is visiting vega often that leaves Shelby and Brad hanging out alone a lot. which they don't mind honestly, they are actually good friends! - but during that they just get closer and start catching feelings. Shelby eventually lets go of her feelings about jenny and realizes they were a real jerk and weirdo to her. brad helps them through that and eventually her realizing she's trans. blah blah they in love and kiss at some point. - Shelby is also a furry lmaooo her fursona is a cat.

Brad: - bisexual cis man (he/him) - Still his old brad self if i'm being honest. - totally forgot to say i think all 3 of them go off to college together (even though jenny doesn't have to i feel like she would prob want to just for the experience, but tell me if you think differently i'm still unsure) - i really don't know what else to say sorry brad! he's literally just as silly as ever man. he's just also gay - i will say here i feel it takes a lot longer for shelby and brad to start dating then jenny and vega. they got that slow burn kinda shit going on, since a lot of that is shelby being confused about her feelings. and jenny and vega just hit it off right away if im being honest, very high school sweethearts. - (also i think shelby makes brad make a fursona to match hers, so brad got a dog fursona)

Vega: - Lesbian cis (she/her) - That ending of her just ruling cluster prime was just so crazy to me cause like, aint she like 16? - i think she has a lot of stressed nights and fearing she's not doing the right thing for her people, and jenny tries to help as much she can - that is why jenny visits so much, she wants to help her. - very much got those nights were she accidently falls asleep at her desk, jenny finding her and giving her a blanket and a kiss goodnight - it's not like she's unhappy, she is actually very very passionate about her work and wants to NOT be like her mom - and yeah she deffo goes to robo therapy for the stuff with her mom. - i think it's a conflict where vega is scared her mom is gonna come back and jenny has to reassure her that if she does they'll get rid of her for good.

imma be honest a lot of my hcs are pretty half-baked and random things, im sure im going to think of more stuff in the future but that will be in different posts.

[weirdmageddon]

(originally written 8/21/24 on cohost)

there are actually a lot of things that john and aradia share beyond the bing crosbytop and fedora that are pretty intriguing to me like narratively. i was on the road and it sorta came to me as i was listening to music and i had to write it down when i got to my lab

both are the actual leaders of their session even though neither of them claim to be.

both are involved in the larger narrative of their story, on the “outside” or “above everything” with regard to paradox space. aradia’s leads with strategic understanding, watching how it unfolds, and john leads with a methodical one, putting the narrative into action. both of these end up leaving them feeling detached from everything in the end.

from andrew hussie commentary:

But even then, Aradia's only using him, too. She's playing everyone. She has a very advanced and pragmatic view of leadership when it comes to a Sburb session. She understands there's no such thing as a leader, just a bunch of sad kids getting played by Paradox Space. In a way, she's the most honest type of leader any session has. A leader by absentia, a cold orchestrator of preordained, controlled chaos, who creates the spaces for all the pieces to fall into place, and then just sits back and lets them fall. As Aradia's arc progresses and the ghostly freeze on her emotions and desires begins to thaw, one of the themes that starts emerging is the struggle over the nature of what is random in a universe where any appearance of randomness is prewritten as an essential result, and any act of destruction, no matter how violent or disruptive, only serves as a preconditional pillar for any foretold series of outcomes. As a robot, when she gets her emotional legs back under her somewhat, she gets more aggressive and starts lashing out, using acts of chaos, violence, impulsiveness, and randomness as a kind of protest against the bondage that existing in Paradox Space represents. In other words, there's no random act that reality hasn't accounted for, but aggressively enacting them is still kind of a Fuck You statement to the master. It's an attitude borne by a defiant slave, which she knows herself to be, just like her ancestor.

these evoke such similar feelings to me

(john art by @monteruu. lovely work by the way.)

john has an unconscious draw towards this information, his existence is a consequence of it, but is unable to weave it together into a framework. he doesn’t have the internal framework but he has the words so he’s confused. there was one post i once saw that had me clawing at the bars of my mental cage that's still somehow tangentially related to this general idea im trying to communicate.

(source)

and plato was.....LII. john expects reality to conform with the mental products of that guy, similar ideas that i have seen repeated throughout many other LII works, including carl jung and his idea of the collective unconscious and archetypes. and my own mind too.

“john expects reality to conform with his symbol language." that's literally how we could define the SUPER-ID block in socionics. the SUPER-ID block is the block where one is shaped by their most primitive impressions of what the world is, from the world.

for an ESE, john's type, their SUPER-ID contains -Ti → -Ne. erm...symbol language anyone? the ESE themself is the one spontaneously affected by that information, in contrast to LII, who can consciously follow this information and verbally deconstruct it.

(for description about these information elements and what they represent, refer to this. details about the meaning of the information element charges +/- can be read here.)

for me—and aradia, (and plato and jung too. also dipper pines. if you ever thought john and dipper have similar vibes youre not alone. someone pointed that out the other day i saw a tweet that said "John is kind of like dipper if he gave zero fucks what anyone else thinks of him" and i was like "im fucking telling you dude")— the SUPER-ID block of LII receives the aesthetic/sensory impressions that objects with certain energies give off (SUPER-ID block +Fe → +Si). to me the best i can describe this is receiving the dynamic, embodied expression of an individual object’s 'character' in motion and the impression it makes on me. many LIIs are musicians, or music is a big part of their life for this reason, because of this tonal + sensory impressionistic discernment.

+Fe -> +Si is the information i require from the world that i use to consciously classify things or compare them using my EGO block -Ti → -Ne. i classify things by their actual embodied characteristics, which makes me able to compare things in nuanced ways. since i have these energy-sensory impressions as a sort of backlog to compare things to, i can creatively describe something's essence in a million ways, from a million different angles. i’m even doing that in this post right now.

john is doing that in reverse. he takes the raw essence / potential itself (including himself) and can physically embody that potential in a million creative ways. think of how quickly he figured out what was available to him with punch card alchemy.

aradia knows her position in paradox space, whereas john does not. john doesn't make this distinction himself. like any introvert aradia is able to plot herself on a “map” to identify her placement / relationships among other objects (be it interpersonal, logical, within a space, and—most demonstratively for her—throughout time). i guess it allows her to cope better, but for john, this causes his depression and anguish to find meaning in his life once the narrative of homestuck ends.

theyre some of the most narratively involved characters in the chain of events of the story, but just from opposite sides. aradia exerts this as a hidden force causing consequential ripples over events in time (and she is aware of this, which is where a core theme was for her as a character and trying to rebel against the inevitable that she has to do anyway because paradox space is cruel), while being quite modest and unassuming as an individual. i think this is why ive seen people "forgot about her" because she wasn't in the spotlight and wasn't well understood, the weight of the role she played. i've likened this to her (4/2) demonstrative +Ni and (2/1) vulnerable -Se pole in the socionics framework. we see her story told mainly through the past and how she came to be in this state. a huge part of her arc that people take away is how much transformation she has been through. changes and relationships things hold to each other over time is a Ni concept. aradia constantly demonstrates this as an individual. i guess why it's called the demonstrative function. haha? i have the same information element placements as aradia, so i can draw comparisons to flesh this idea out further. my friend told once me something very pertinent: "Honestly I think a lot of your bigger influence is subconscious and something that most people have to circle around to appreciate. Like they have to live a little to appreciate your wisdom"

john is the opposite — we follow him. we see his role as it unfolds, we're along for the ride with him. his impact in the story gets more spotlight, he is the main character after all. and it's so interesting how john spontaneously adopts these roles to live up to through his actions. it's like he subconsciously knows he's the main character in some way, and acts accordingly: he serves as a more active presence in the present moment of the narrative than aradia whose primary effects are a result of that which stretches back to the beginning of these chain of events. john's actual presence in major events are crucial. (e.g. getting the code for Quills of Echidna to scratch the beat mesa, sticking his hand in the house juju). this is his (4/2) demonstrative -Se. we see him involved in these things, right here, right now. not in the past, but his presence right now. but there's a shadow side to this. as jung says, "No tree, it is said, can grow to heaven unless its roots reach down to hell". so given all of this, being an action hero constantly involved in the present, at the same time builds up as an inner experience of the self over time — (2/1) vulnerable +Ni, which we cannot see from the outside, but is a consequence of that presence that simultaneously evolves with every action john takes in the story. what do the collection of these experiences represent over time? who john is as an individual being in a narrative sense is something important to analyzing him as a character. what myth does he embody? what myth or idea is it that is essentially forced upon him by the world against his will, given his position among other objects? (1/2) suggestive -Ti → (2/2) mobilizing -Ne. this 1000% relates back to that symbolic language post. by the way.

when it comes down to it, it seems like outside world's mission for john's existence is because he is someone necessary. who else is going to do these things? john exudes optimism, capability, kinetic energy. this is why we see him spontaneously latch onto the positions (suggestive -Ti) that he finds himself in.

EB: but now they don't have dream selves left! EB: who ever goes will be risking their life for good, won't they? CG: THAT WOULD BE THE LOGICAL EXTENSION OF THOSE FACTS, YES. EB: this is unacceptable! EB: couldn't i do it? EB: i am apparently immortal, because of this god tier business, so the bomb probably would not kill me! CG: OK, BUT DON'T YOU THINK THERE'S A REMOTE POSSIBILITY THAT GOING ON A SUICIDE MISSION TO SAVE ALL OF REALITY WOULD COUNT AS A HEROIC DEATH? EB: hmm... EB: maybe i could try to be not all that brave while i do it? CG: YOU ASSHOLE, OF COURSE YOU'D BE BRAVE. THAT TENDS TO BE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DO SOMETHING REALLY FUCKING COURAGEOUS. EB: ok, well what about this. EB: since she is mortal, and i am not (sort of), and i don't need to do the scratch for a while, can i go help her? EB: maybe she could use some protection? maybe that is what dave was just trying to do, when he temporarily died. EB: remember, jack is still on the loose! he has killed rose and dave once, and me twice. CG: NO NO NO NO NO NO. CG: SWEET BLEEDING JEGUS, EGBERT, YOU KEEP BRAGGING ABOUT YOUR IMMORTALITY, AND THEN BRAINLESSLY ANNOUNCE PLANS TO GO OFF AND DO SOMETHING HEROIC! YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE THE SHORTEST LIFESPAN OF ANY IMMORTAL IN HISTORY. EB: sorry. :(

aradia’s trollian handle is apocalypeArisen. the final book in the new testament describing the apocalypse (book of revelations) is authored by a person named john. that’s all he refers to himself as, and nobody knows his actual identity. many iconic mythological figures come from there, like the four horsemen of the apocalypse and the biblically accurate angels covered in eyes from front to back and shit. like that’s the blueprint of the ‘apocalypse’ myths that pervade culture. apparently the book was written from his visions in patmos, greece. the only reason i made this connection was because of the amazing musical adaptation of it into the album 666 by aphrodite’s child (1972) that has be absolutely hooked, but still it made me do some reading since i wanted to know what was up since i'm secular, and that's where i found intriguing links to my thoughts about them.

because etymologically.... apocalypse (ἀποκάλυψις) is a greek word meaning "revelation", "an unveiling or unfolding of things not previously known and which could not be known apart from the unveiling.” sounds familiar to things i have been describing in this post, particularly from john (egbert)'s perspective. my friend said "john is like a guy lost in a desert without a map with random landmarks that don’t make sense and aradia is like watching him from a helicopter with a map".

one more thing. i read that the johnannine works took a more gnostic approach than other parts of the canon.

The origins of Gnosticism are obscure and still disputed. Gnosticism is largely influenced by platonism and its theory of forms. Many Gnostic texts deal not in concepts of sin and repentance, but with illusion and enlightenment.

and oh god and so much of homestuck has roots in gnostic thought AND plato's theory of forms. keep in mind that homestuck is a creation myth itself. like, yaldabaoth the denizen IS the demiurge. no wonder theory of forms is such a vital idea to homestuck's mythology. and that's why john seems to fit so well into that world, because he expects reality to conform with his symbolic language.

[honkthehenry]

unnamed slime game - part 1

Masterlist

The way you suddenly snapped into awareness without realizing you drifted off at all was something akin to having a bucket of ice-cold water thrown into your face.

You... dozed off in class again. In hindsight, it was inevitable – the last time you got hours of sleep instead of something in-between nothing at all and a 2-hour-nap was last Saturday. You've been running on nothing but bitter, cheap coffee and sheer spite for almost a week now, it was high time you finally crashed.

Still, you should have woken up at Uni. You should have woken up to your professor huffing and puffing and glowering in your face about your terrible conduct, about how your generation had no respect for his generation, about how such a complicated and beautiful science like Robotics was not a place for slackers like you (which, fair, you had no idea what you were doing in Robotics either), not... alone and certaintly not in the middle of a forest.

You ran through a bunch of scenarios quickly, but none stuck.

Kidnapping? Far-fetched at best. You lived alone, only barely making ends meet by running yourself into the ground as you tried to marry working retail with being a full-time student, so ransom was out of the question and being kidnapped for the sake of doing bad things to you... Why bother? You didn't know anyone nearly well enough to be kidnapped due to personal feelings and you were neither good-looking enough (perpetually tired goblin that you were) nor famous-, connected- or skilled enough to be kidnapped randomly.

Besides, you were at the University, on the 5th floor, in the middle of the city that had no forests for miles! You were surrounded by 20-odd other people, there was no way someone would be able to kidnap you with so many witnesses around.

So, not kidnapping.

Dream then?

Also unlikely. Your dreams were few and far-between and when they did happen, it was either you being surrounded by characters from the show you happened to be fixated on at the time or it was you getting repeatedly chased and swallowed whole by a dinosaur on a loop, until the dream finally ended (probably Jurasic Park childhood trauma, now that you thought about it).

Still.

This was so weird, because you knew for a fact you were much too aware of everything to be dreaming and yet the things you saw didn't makes sense at all!

You didn't have any arms for one!

And your body was purple!

You could feel electricity zapping at your body and it didn't hurt, it was more like being swallowed in a blanket burrito and nursing a comforting mug of hot chocolate, while watching your favourite show with no worry for deadlines or money!

You weren't supposed to feel like that, you were supposed to be tired and grumpy and irritable and not nice and not toasty and certaintly not so comfortable!

Drugs? Hallucinations? You never partaked, you didn't drink alcohol either, so that was a no—

—A purple crystal you were under zapped at you again and you positively melted on the spot, basking in the feeling and letting the troublesome train of thought go like the wind, before it inevitably derailed and caused you undue anxiety as it always did.

...it was very nice actually.

Maybe losing opposable thumbs wasn't so bad if you got this in exchange.

You could live like this.

×•×•×•× Honk!!! Corner ווו×

You know that one post lurking on Tumblr where OP is turned into a frog by a witch as revenge? And just vibes? Basks in the sun without worrying about life? This is MC now.

I don't care how long or how short chapters are, they're just gonna vibe as they are because I am a goblin with a short attention span and no actual ability to write.

Something to get you thinking - MC is an electro slime for a reason and that reason is electro immunity.

I wonder why?

*smiling like a particularly smug cat*

Did I mention I can't draw lightning/electricity? Because I can't, so I didn't.

Also fvck me, my tags didn't saveeeeee 😭

[dododan]

Cyn - Murder Drones

Are you a fan of horror films? Because I am very much!

It took me a while to find a moment for this drawing. I have a ton of other projects I'm working on, but even from them I need a break.

Cyn I have wanted to draw for a very long time! Murder Drones series from Glitch Studio, I've liked for a very long time. Great animation with an unfussy story. When the world ended and robots were left alone, they created their own society. But what happens when humans decide to destroy them?

Into action comes Uzi, a teenage robot decides to take revenge on humans for killing robots. He befriends one of the murderous robots named N. Only is it all that simple?

I will add that this animation is a horror film and you can feel the vibe~

[rockmiyabideusexmachina]

2024 Megaman Summer Fanart Contest - Category 1 Results!

Sorry for the delay, but without further ado, here come this year's wonderful creations and our winners. Thank you all for your patience! Due to both the number of entries and the amount of reference images I'll be attaching here, I will have to make a separate post for the humor (Cat. 2) results. Please check that out here as well, after I post this! All winners will be contacted shortly.

Take a walk through the newly opened wing of the Kattleox Art Museum to see all this year's fabulous entries after the break...

CATEGORY 1 (Talent): Pallette Pastiche

The talent category this year focused on creating a parody or imitation of a famous work of art by using Mega Man characters in the place of what was originally drawn. Didn't have to be a well-known famous piece, but still had to reference some piece of art, regardless. And you all certainly made both Ms. Museum Curator and myself proud! It was very hard to choose placement, let alone who would make the Top 3. Plenty of fantastic character choices to match the vibe of the original pieces. For the full gallery of pics, click here. Links to each individual full size image is after each entrant's name as well. 1.) @sylviidaee [Pic] (*175 USD Prize Winner!)

Sylviidaee's reference was Michelangelo's Renaissance piece, "The Creation of Adam."

The shading and detail in your painting efforts for this piece are remarkable! Flawlessly fitting in each Robot Master, along with Blues and Roll, to represent the angels, worked out great. This pic deserves to be a featured museum piece, with replicas hanging in the homes of every Megaman fan!

2.) @purplerubyred [Pic] (*$100 USD Prize Winner!)

Ruby's reference was the cover of the Capcom Design Works artbook, by Kinu Nishimura.

Just even attempting to replicate the sheer amount of characters in this piece had to be an enormous undertaking, and I commend you for spending part of your August month of Elec Man love crafting this! There is so much to take in with this piece, with all the various versions of Elec Man and his related family. From background locations like MaHa Ichiban to the super great white angel/devil chip artwork on the railcar window, there are tons of little cameos to catch as you look across this art. Wonderful job!

3.) @DWN-059 [Pic] (*$75 USD Prize Winner!)

Beebs' reference was Rococo artist Jean-Honoré Fragonard's "The Swing."

While the lush forested background draws my attention for it's whimsical beauty, and huge amount of detail, I loved the little touches you brought to make this have a Mega Man feel. Such as the Guts Man and Anko statues to replace the angels, and adding the cute 'lil Friender. While Planty can't kick off his boots, the Plant Barrier petals were a perfect replacement for the shoe. Beautifully and accurately painted! _____________________________

And the rest of our amazing entrants, in alphabetical order by alias:

ArtisIan [Pic]

ArtisIan's reference was Grant Wood's "American Gothic."

Nothing more 'gothic' than a guy obsessed with skulls, building dark, brooding, black-clad robots, owning a homely Skull Castle with tall walls and large windows, am I right? Bass with the daughter's glare is actually rather fitting here, as well! XD Now, if Wily always carried around that pitchfork, wouldn't he be able to defeat Mega Man a lot easier, on account of sharp points?

@aw-colorcat [Pic]

AW-Colorcat's reference was a piece by seafh that was used as a popular Youtube BG image back in the 2010s for the Nightcore (sped up version/remix) version of the song "Angel with a Shotgun."

The bullet holes through the single wing sure makes it look like Mega Man has gone *pew pew pew* through it. But I think an angel with an all-powerful Metal Blade could be a little more deadly accurate.

@digitallyfanged [Pic]

Tabby's reference was Auguste Rodin's sculpture, "The Thinker." (To which, somewhere out there, Sigma Posting is ready to dub it "The Sig-ker.")

Contemplating his status as the most advanced Reploid of his time, his next strategic action against the Maverick Hunters, or how to change/destroy the world? Sigma certainly could be looked at as someone who could be rather philosophical and get deep in thought. And wouldn't be afraid to show off artwork of himself in his fortress. Hatching detail is nice, and helps give that statuesque, worn and chiseled feel.

Ivo [Pic]

Ivo's reference was Impressionist Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida's, "Italian Girl with Flowers."

Fantastic job at replicating the paint on canvas look, I truly can't tell if this is just a digital filter or if you physically painted it! Extending the green curls of hair outside of his helmet helped mimic the girl's original hairstyle even more. Really pretty, and his color pops nicely against the smaller flowers he's enjoying!

JazzmanZ [Pic]

JazzmanZ's reference was Roy Lichtenstein's Pop art painting, "Stepping Out."

Steppin' out to fight Doc Wily tonight! Honestly amused at how just a few little line alterations were needed to easily transform this couple into Rock and Roll. Like the little nose bridge line above his eye easily morphing into the peak of Mega Man's helmet. Excellent eye for parody in choosing this. No Roll, I didn't mean anything by that...

@nightopianfoxgirl [Pic]

NightopianFoxGirl's reference was "Circe Invidiosa," from Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood artist John William Waterhouse.

Another brilliant choice in characters having Iris represent Circe, who was known for turning her enemies into animals. And having the Cybeast duo of Greiga and Faltzer as the sea monster beneath her connects to the allegory of her role in the Beast anime with the Synchronizer, Trill. She too probably wants to poison/destroy the beasts, and can be seen as a bit of a tragic figure herself.

@puyonlilah [Pic]

Puyonlilah's reference was the Romanticism era painting "Ophelia," by Sir John Everett Millais.

Yet another tragic take, with the X version of Iris filling the role of Ophelia from Shakespeare's Hamlet, who is seen singing before she drowns herself in the river. Forgive her Zero, she just wanted to live in a world where only Reploids exist! You certainly portrayed the grief and emotional stress on Iris' face nicely, as well as the effect of her barely keeping afloat, with the water ripples.

@vogler-art [Pic]

Ryan's reference was Romanticist artist Caspar David Friedrich's painting, "Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog."

In a world covered by endless water, there's bound to be days of endless fog affecting your sightline, aren't there? Very nice contrast of light and dark in your colors. There's something that just feels so fitting for Mega Man to be looking out from on high, to give a sense of adventure, venturing into the unknown, or even alluding to X looking off the cliff during X1's ending. How long will he keep on fighting? Maybe only the buster on his hand knows for sure...

Tori Campan [Pic]

Tori's reference was Leonardo Da Vinci's famous Renaissance painting, "The Mona Lisa."

Miss Tori got the most important thing right in her parody by making sure The Rolla Lisa had no eyebrows, because those have disappeared from the painting over time. Roll's green bow stands out in her hair even more with the beautiful green forest in the background. Wonderful job getting her pose and that slight, mischievous smile on her face to match the original!

Thank you to everyone again who participated this year! Each artwork was fantastic!

[timeofjuly]

This has been done for several hours technically

I didn't draw a scene but this popped up in my head and I couldn't stop thinking of it.

Them watching a movie and MC falling asleep on pap! Or their first touch since they met.

OMFG THIS IS AMAZING!!! I can't believe I've only posted 3 chapters of Wishbone and yet you've managed to captured their relationship dynamic and overall Vibes so perfectly. Love love love how you've drawn the MC (I picture them with very similar hair and colouring and resting expression, funnily enough!) and Papyrus!!!! Beloved!!!!! His panic is just perfect. I love how happy he looks in the first panel too, he's just so pleased to be there with the MC!!! The blush is so cute, I wanna gnaw on him.

I was super super super inspired by this and cranked out a little oneshot based on it that I've popped below the cut! Thank you so much!

Movie Night

"I don't get it," you say, eyes fixed to the TV, a furrow between your brows. "So, he plays all of the characters? Even the villains?"

"even the baddies," Papyrus confirms. Unlike you, he is not focussed on the screen; instead, he's doing his best to sneak furtive, sidelong glances at you and how little space there is between the two of you on the couch. Not even a full cushion's worth. It's scandalous. He can barely breathe, much less adequately explain the ins and outs of Napstaton's impressive discography to you. "he does all the camera work, too, and directing, and editing. 's real impressive, you'll see."

"And you like this movie in particular," you say dubiously, gesturing towards the screen, which is paused on the opening sequence of Napstaton: Rise of the Napocolypse. The freeze frame features the robot in question atop a (very cool!) motorcycle, riding through a halo of flame, fleeing from an identical, yet somehow perceptively darker, moodier version of himself who is also astride a (slightly less cool) motorcycle.

"uh-huh," he confirms. "there's great characterisation in this one, the arcs are great. and the pyrotechnics are very realistic."

"Right," you say. For some reason, he gets the sense that you don't believe him, but the fact that you've even agreed to give the movie a shot is progress. You're willingly engaging in monster culture and you're spending time with him; he's not gonna look a gyftrot in the mouth.

You settle further into the couch, digging into the bowl of chisps he'd placed on the coffee table before you arrived. When you shift forward to put the bowl back, your knee brushes his femur, and he breaks into a cold sweat.

"i'll! i'll start the movie, then? if you're ready? unless you want more snacks? a drink? a meal? i can't really cook, but i can use the microwave? if you want? you can eat sans' leftovers? i'm sure he won't mind!" 

Sans would very much mind if you, of all people, ate his food. Papyrus half expects you to eat it based on that alone.

"I'm okay, thank you," you say, a small, amused smile tugging at your lips. Wordlessly, you pluck the TV remote from where it'd been sitting in the not cushion-width chasm and press play.

The speakers rattle with the boom of explosives as Napstaton unleashes a hailstorm of firepower against his identical enemy. You blink, but make no comment, giving your full attention to the TV.

He forces himself to do the same, even though your leg is still so close to his, and he can smell your shampoo. What he actually wants to do is focus on you and your reactions; are you enjoying movie? Are you following the plotline? Do you also appreciate the delicate balance between the Napstaton's as they vye for power? The struggle between duty and the heart? The laser cannons? He really hopes you like those; he'd helped 'Dyne make them Underground, and he plans on secretly fishing for compliments on them after the movie's over.

Around halfway through the movie, as Napstaton casually dodges bullets in slow motion while checking his reflection in a shattered mirror, Papyrus feels pressure on his shoulder.

First, he thinks you're tapping him to get his attention, which would be crazy because you never touch him, not since that first time, but when he looks down, it's not your hand on his shoulder. It's your whole ass head.

There's a beat of silence. On the TV, Napstaton stands atop a pile of rubble, arms akimbo, gazing heroically into the distance as a nearby TV anchor (also played by him, though wearing a mussed synthetic wig) reports: 'Will our flamboyant, fearless, and, let’s be honest, incredibly well-oiled hero arrive in time to save us all?'

"um," says Papyrus.

You do not respond. Napstaton backflips off the rubble. Papyrus begins to sweat.

"um?!" he tries again, a little louder.

Nada from you. Have you just keeled over randomly? Humans do that, right? He's read about spontaneous human combustion, is this something similar?

He looks down at you, twisting his neck to get a better look. Your face is still, eyes closed, but then he hears the slow, measured beat of your soft exhales.

Oh. You're asleep! That… that tracks. You're bone-tired literally all of the time, and this is probably the longest you've spent not having to work in ages. It certainly makes more sense than you just up and dying like a startled hamster over some laser cannons.

… oh, fuck, you're asleep, on him, like he's your own personal bony body pillow, and though he's definitely not opposed to that, he's sure you would be. As far as you've come, you'd never touch him, not on purpose.

You look honest like this, your face relaxed and open. Similar to the faux transparency you're so good at faking, but there's subtle differences, little minutiae of the human expression that are impossible to replicate. There's a softness to the set of your closed eyes he's never seen before, like the tension you carry behind them has disappeared, all those tiny muscles forced to relax. Your cheek is squished up against his shoulder, making it appear comically fuller towards the top, and from his vantage point - craning his neck down at you like a creep and almost popping a disc in the process - he can see that your lips are just slightly agape. The gentle puff of your breath continues, perfectly rhythmic.

As he watches, you let out a tiny sigh, and rub your face against his jacket. His soul goes warm in his chest. You're so fucking cute. You're cute all the time, of course, but there's something about you when you're so off-guard (like you trust him, almost) that makes his soul feel like it's on fire. His skull, too; unlike Napstaton, he doesn't have a mirror at the ready, but he knows he's blushing all the same.

What does he do now? Does he wake you up? No, no way; you need your rest. But what if you want him to wake you? You would, surely. You're not a napper; or, rather, your lifestyle doesn't allow you time to take a deep breath, much less get proper sleep. He has no doubt that, if you were to wake up, you'd get embarrassed and angry and rush off to subject yourself to more work, and probably not talk to him for a whole month.

On the TV, Napstaton forces the neck of his enemy between his robotic biceps and then flexes, popping the other robot’s head clean off. It's a pity you've fallen asleep so quickly; the movie's barely gotten to the good bit. He doesn't blame you, though. He knows you're exhausted.

Okay, so he's definitely not disturbing you. But what if you wake up, and get upset at him for letting you sleep? He doesn't want that either. He needs plausible deniability, or whatever it’s called, for why he didn’t wake you up.

…well, there's only one option, and luckily for Papyrus, it's one of the few things he's good at. Sans has always said he could fall asleep anywhere.

Doing his best not to jostle you, Papyrus tips his head to the back of the couch and closes his sockets. You are warm and solid against his shoulder and the weight of you, the physical reminder that you are here with him, that you trust him enough for this, guides him to a peaceful, dreamless sleep. 

[shessoft]

okay so i have a jeep wrangler right and its a thing among each other to wave when we pass by it's literally called the Jeep Wave and in the beginning i was like 'this is culty' and people make having a jeep their entire personality which is still true but honestly when i don't get a wave back i'm like 'well excuse tf outta me then'

Also duck duck jeep guys it’s a whole little culture it’s wild

anyway Regina George (2024) drives a jeep wrangler...(I linked pictures so you can get the whole vibe)

And when she first gets it she doesn’t realize she’s being waved at until Karen points it out one day. She thinks it’s weird and lame. Like “why do I have to acknowledge these losers?” She starts waving back when she’s alone in her car but she'd never admit it.

Eventually she starts initiating the wave out of habit and when the girls give her amused glances she says “whatever it’s just a reflex.”

Karen tries to buy her one of those fake hands to put on her dash but she shuts that down immediately because “gross Karen that’s fucking stupid.”

Suddenly she’s getting road rage when she thinks someone intentionally doesn’t wave back despite Gretchen’s very valid point. “Regina, its dark and rainy, they probably can’t see you over your high beams.” She just complains that she can't see them either but she still waved.

Another time the girls tell her all about the history of the ‘jeep wave’ and that there is a hierarchy according to their intense google search. Regina ignores them as she flips off the driver of a blue jeep instead, mumbling “bitch” under her breath.

Karen buys her a wave decal for her mirror. She lets her put it on.

——

Much to Regina’s chagrin Karen learns what ducking is. “I saw Aaron and his friends covering their goalies jeep in them! So I looked it up and it this whole game-“

“Ugh Karen, no.”

“But it’s so cute, Gina look!” She’s cradling a yellow rubber duck in her hands, dressed in pink and wearing heart sunglasses, in an attempt to coax Regina into letting her duck her jeep.

“It’s very cute, babe, but you’re not putting that on my car. Also, I think you’re supposed to do it secretly…” she trails off when she sees Karen’s mouth drop open the slightest bit.

“Wait, you know about the ducks?” Her surprised expression makes Regina chuckle.

“Yes, Kare I know about the ducks. Why don’t you keep it? It’s too cutesy for me.”

“Oh, okay.”

A week goes by and she starts finding different ducks in various places on her jeep, while Karen insists it’s not her. She just smiles and throws them in her bag trying not to draw attention to it. She still thinks it’s lame but it makes Karen happy. After a year or so Karen stops ducking her jeep all together, because she just forgets about their little game but Regina is fine with it. She still has a tower of ducks in her room wearing ridiculous outfits.

But one morning at the start of senior year she finds a little surprise perched on her driver side mirror. It's a little duck, this time it’s all pink and wearing bunny ears. She feels her eyes sting with the threat of tears when she catches herself smiling. This one she puts on her dashboard for all to see.

She regrets it in the end because now the ducks have come back tenfold. She really has no where to put them but Karen, and now even Janis, are having way too much fun with it. So she keeps her mouth shut. Until one day when she starts to find mini ducks, not just in her jeep but in her house, her locker, honestly anywhere they could think of she finds a mini duck. There are hundreds and she knows this was Janis’ doing. It had to be. She keeps quiet though, slowly collecting them until she has an absurd amount. She’s sure she’ll find more but she easily has almost two hundred collected so she gives them to Janis. She had one of the girls on the robotics team rig a gift box so they would fly everywhere when said box was opened. Janis falling off her seat at lunch made it all worth it. Hearing the girl curse her under her breath while trying to save face as Karen cracked up was the icing on the cake.

—-

Regina also has mirror decals (also gifted by Karen). On her visor mirror it says hello gorgeous. (Or any of these. Honestly there are so many options.) Her rearview mirror says buckle up bitches. And the passenger mirror says passenger princess. For Karen.

Gretchen obviously gets the whole backseat to herself and she controls the aux cord.

Janis gets her this for the back window.

Y'all there are things called easter eggs please Janis would put one on the windshield and see how long it takes Regina to notice.

@erikahenningsen tagging a stranger person because reasons

[aphyray]

I want an artist for a cover!

If you know anyone well-suited or a good place to find someone well-suited, please tell me. Direct messages, anonymous asks, or responses to this post are all cool.

I'm not presently following any artists who match the extremely specific vibe I want and I'm bad at searching for this kind of thing.

The vibe

Robot fucker with an appreciation for digital screens as emotive displays, aesthetic modern engineering, and synthetic flesh with fancy realistic robot bits underneath, like hydraulic and coolant loops, fiber optic cable bundles, etc.

But also loves human bodies, and can draw a human who isn't white. Like for real

Does sapphic art

Clearly understands the eroticism of hands and draws them very very well, enough to capture whole and complex emotions in just the tension and shape of a hand alone

Three notches abstract of photorealism on a ten-notch dial

The concept being: A fairly close and detailed frame of a human mechanic's dirty hard-working hand with a couple fingers extremely suggestively inserted into a surgical cut in the synthetic flesh of her android girlfriend's (androgynous) chest. The wound and her fingers are clearly wet with thin, clear, anti-corrosion lubricant. Faint malfunctioning machine light bleeds through the hole in the gaps between the mechanic's prying fingers. The android's bloodstained hand is clutching the mechanic's forearm in a confusion of fear, trust, and anticipation.

“But a bunch of the stuff you mentioned in the vibes section there wouldn't be in that frame.” You need to understand just how much of an artist's love of the subject matter goes into even the tiniest details. I need that.

I really want this one done right. I'm very picky and I care a lot about my covers and this one feels important to capture correctly.

So. Yeah. If you don't know anyone, see about asking around for me? I don't have too many followers, so a boost would be very much appreciated. The publishing date for this book is a couple years off, but I want to start looking early, since I've presently got zero leads.

🙏 Much love.

[deadinsideart]

Back on my bullshit with another swap au

Details below!

Layton gets the crown sometime after the experiment happens, he finds it on an expedition and puts it on out of curiosity. (I don't know what his title could be lmao) And like Simon, goes insane from wearing it.

But he's kind of like a mix of Ice King and Winter King (minus WK's selfish personality) more Ice King but British Gentleman in the mix is what I'm trying to go for with him.

Luke takes Marceline's place and gets found by Layton in the ruins of London. He is gifted a Teddy Bear. (I guess Clive could also be there too?) And is cared for until Layton can't stay in control and leaves in fear. He doesn't do the Princess thing like Ice King but he IS searching for Claire, and it's for closure more or less and everyone he finds and takes, none of them are her. But instead of setting them free, they stay in the Ice Kingdom like a massive prison. Mad ruler or scientist vibes or something??

He can't remember what she entirely looked having forgotten her face long ago. Meeting Flora for the first time in this messes him up for a moment. When he sees Luke again he can't even remember him, but knows they have a connection. He only recognizes Luke from the fact that he's popular with his puzzle-solving skills. Like "Remember You" Luke learns to accept this and forgives him for having to leave. He still calls him Professor and occasionally switches to Hershel. Which he has no memory of and assumes it's an odd nickname.

Clark isn't like Hudson but their relationship is much like how it is in Last Spectre. A misunderstanding rather than being evil and stealing souls.

Instead of what happens in canon, the time machine worked too well and sent her 1,000 years into the future. And doing what Betty does in trying to help him like how she tried to help Simon. Eventually becoming Golb in the end. Even after toying with the idea of accepting that Layton won't ever be back.

Flora is Finn in this and she grew up lonely. She had her robot family but she wanted to see the outside feel the ground on her hands and share her creations with others. She was allowed once she proved she could handle the outside when a monster had attacked the village. And she set out into the world and set up a shop for her robots. And loves to explore and go adventuring. Helping others making a certain Ice Wizard leave people alone and freeing those who got kidnapped. Flora meets Luke when she finds her apples are being drained of color. Picked from the trees and left on the ground. She caught him and he promptly apologized. They reached an agreement about it though and grew close. Siblings frfr. And Luke gives her advice when she needs it.

(Luke took the older sibling role this time)

That's kinda it for now

I hope to draw more of the sillies

[scratchyemporium]

in the midst of me drawing mirage and struggling with his design, i've made a few -1 braincell headcanons for the fellow mirage fandom because of course i did 🤡 (updated; will continue to add on until i forget):

okay so he smells like ocean mist, like, the scent you find at candle shops yknow?? he smells like the color blue or some sort of blue candy or fruit or candle basically

he ain't that smart bruh, like, he forgets words all the time like one time he thought that the word "konnichiwa" was fucking "coochiewap" like a fucking idiot

he likes storms, but just the rain part. he got jumpscared by thunder one time and he didn't like it at all. he can handle the rain outside but he won't go outside when it's thundering

when he was finally introduced to the sonic the hedgehog games, he deadass said "wait a minute, that ain't noah". he proceeded to feel like a clown for the rest of the day

blud can purr, i'm telling you! but like, he keeps it to himself most of the time for obvious reasons (he doesn't wanna be seen as a dork)

he's sarcastic for literally no reason and he loves trolling people. he probably has a inactive 4chan or deactivated reddit account that was only made to make people mad

he can and will hold you like burger. sometimes he will actually nom down onto your head (not like, actual bite but yknow the soft noms) or just hold you like a lil plushie

mirage has been dunked on by optimus at least once, like, full on basketball game. he has sworn to dunk on optimus in revenge. he hasn't succeeded so far....

i know this motherfucker can whimper, i know he does. if he can purr, he can whimper, and that is 102% facts right there. he already has a girlish scream....

on god he knows any cheesy old song that radiates positive vibes to heart. he could sing "bad" by michael jackson perfectly and do all the moves too. just imagine a huge blueberry of a robot jammin' out to the most stupidest songs /pos

i don't know why but he seems like a kids movie type of guy. you can and will catch him watching nightmare before christmas or aladdin alone in the back for like the 126th time

his favorite game to play in the sonic series is sonic cd. he asked noah to make a special controller for him so that he could play and not just watch all the time. his second favorite game is donkey kong country

this big ol' nerd can't count in uneven groups!! he's like that one guy counting the cash. in fact, he can't really count in big groups without thinking about it, even if it was by 100 or 1,000 (yes he's a doofus in my eyes [and i love him so much])

he craves, and i mean craves interaction. you saw him using the car as a step-stool to snoop on noah and kris!! you can't leave him alone for too long or else he gets a bit grumpy (he's tired of being cooped up and alone yknow)

when he was confessing to noah or whoever, he got overheated and sputtered really super duper quadruper hard (like a silly engine) and had to confess on a more cold day to keep himself maintained

sometimes he feels absolutely awful for literally no reason.. when he does feel bad, he targets one person to hover close to and just sticks beside them until he feels better/gets distracted (he usually sticks around optimus or noah but if you're lucky you might see him stick around with you!!)

speaking of distracted, he gets easily distracted like a silly lil goober kid! he could like deadass chase a little red dot around like a kitten and will nevereverever get tired. he's just that silly and hyper and goofy!!

[doubleddenden]

Okay I had a whole thing typed that was my review for the new Pokémon dropped in Indigo Disk, but tumblr ate it, so take 2

Starting with my favorite, Archaludon. It's a dragon, a kaiju, also a stapler remover, also a bridge with power cables inside. This is a really cool design overall and fixes what I dislike about Duraludon, and it's fun to play with. 9/10

Hydrapple fixes what I dislike about Dipplin, but does make Flapple and Appletun a bit obsolete. Regardless, it's a fun idea and concept- I love that 7 Syrpents (which I guess aren't individually pokemon on their own? Slowbro Shelder situation I guess) make up 1 pokemon. It's silly but fun. 8/10

Also these two are neat because the concepts tie into New York/ Unova if we look at it through lense of Archaludon's Sky Arrow Bridge being based on Brooklyn Bridge and Rainbow Bridge, and Hydrapple clearly being a Big Apple reference. Very creative

Onto the paradoxes

Raging Bolt is interesting. I prefer Raikou, and I'll be the first to admit that I do not give a shit about how many cultural or historical references are in a design, if it looks like shit its a shit design. But this design is pretty okay, and because of that I can appreciate ALL of the inspirations that went into its design.

First off, with the Beast Paradoxes drawing inspiration from dinosaurs, we have Raging Bolt as the Thunder Lizard- aka Brontosaurus. That alone is meat, but it's still pretty mammalian compared to Walking Wake- that's because there's references to something called a Questing Beast. In Medieval times, before the age of cameras or fact checking, a description of an animal far far away- such a giraffe- can get twisted abd distorted via several games of telephone until we get to a creature that combines the lower body of a leopard and deer and the neck and head of a snake- aka the Questing Beast. Raging Bolt plays a bit with all of these ideas in a pretty unique and fun way. 8/10

Iron Crown- admittedly the Justice Paradoxes suffer a bit from the same "just make it a robot" mentality that plagues other Violet Paradoxes, but the Swords of Justice got the better end of it, I'd say. Iron Crowns in particular actually fixes what I hate about Cobalion by adding segments to the legs and thus making them feel less like bipedal knees on a quadrupedal animal.

It's signature move, Tachyon Cutter, also looks so cool in action by making the horns HUGE and GLOWING. That's awesome imo. 8/10

And now the new paradoxes we knew were coming

Gouging Fire, Entei's Paradox. I'll say that I like it, although this is the least changed of the Beasts and is basically just Entei in a fancy hat. Hey, that's fine though.

The dinosaur Entei is based on is some kind of ceratopsian blend. I personally thought they'd go in that direction with a triceratops design, so I was close. The head dress piece actually gives me Ho-Oh vibes, in particularly the gold and greens, which could be purposeful and root the Beasts Paradoxes back to the Beast's master, Ho-Oh. Fun design, 8/10

Iron Boulder. This one imo is more of the "robot" angle but done in a very good way. I like Terrakion best out of the Swords to begin with, but only at certain angles in 2d (they murdered him in SV. Murdered. He looks like a cross eyed frog now.) Iron Boulder takes the bulky build of Terrakion and makes it work better in 3d by incorporating spherical and cone builds along its body and head.

It definitely looks the LEAST like a psychic type out if any psychic type I've ever seen, but that's fine. Like Iron Crown with its twin horns and Iron Leaves with its 3 blades, Iron Boulder has a cool looking sword move- his turns his two larger horns into ONE MASSIVE GLOWING BLADE. THAT'S REALLY COOL! 8/10

And now. The Boy

Terapagos is a cute design that becomes more elegant, refined, and Stellar as it becomes stronger. While I'm a bit disappointed at how they handled it in story after a year of build up, I do think the designs after it's base form are incredibly detailed and creative.

The type patterns on its shell actually shift and change smoothly to other types, and the Terastilized form is even more incredible by representing every type plus a hat version of its original form. Beautiful, yet imposing, and a tad silly. The dome is an interesting take that I believe might represent the world or perhaps even a larger turtle- the design could reference one of many World Turtle mythologies and possibly have it represent a planet in space, or maybe a Turtle floating in the ocean, perhaps it's even a reference to the Tale of Urashima Taro. If Terapagos was available in Blueberry Academy- which I think it started out that way in planning- it could even represent the Terarium itself. Perhaps a deeper story was originally planned but dropped- like the castles and gigantic tree of Crown Tundra.

Regardless, base form is a 6/10. Its cute but kinda pointless. The other forms though are 8/10 though for incredible execution, wonderful and pleasing use of color, and overall just being great.

This batch of new Pokémon is way better than Teal Mask's, let's be real. For the paradoxes, I'll say the Future ones got better after Iron Leaves, while Walking Wake was the peak for the Beasts. Ogerpon wins for cutest legendary with the best build up, but Terapagos definitely wins for best design. This batch is an everall 8/10

[ruth-writes]

What's My Age Again? Chapter 10

Overview

Previous chapter

Alex

I reached up to grab the bow-tie pasta from the top shelf, which I knew was Aaliyah’s favorite, and set it in our cart. She was leaning on it as she ranted about an argument she’d had with her boss this morning about calling in sick.

“I mean, not that it would be okay at any job, but I’d expect this if I was working at, I don’t know, Target or something,” she said, her voice slightly hoarse. “But my job is literally working out. I need to be in good condition to do it.”

“Yeah, it sucks,” I said, knowing she didn’t expect me to contribute much more.

“I just hate her so much,” Aaliyah groaned dramatically as we moved to the next section. She grabbed blue corn tortilla chips for her parents and regular potato chips for us, then started pushing the cart to the check out.

“Did you find everything all right?” the mid-thirties blond employee asked us with a customer service voice and smile so perfectly fake it gave me uncanny valley vibes. I wondered how long her shift had already been.

“Fine, thanks,” I assured her, before stepping aside and watching her repeat the process with Aaliyah. Her movements were exactly the same, almost robotic.

We piled our things in the car, then started heading to CVS so I could pick up Jamie’s prescription.

“I have a question, by the way,” I started as she pulled out of the parking lot. “Jamie’s having a sleepover on Saturday, so I was wondering if you wanted to come over? You know, since I’ll be home alone.”

“Like, stay overnight?” she asked.

I felt heat rise up my neck. “Yeah, or just the evening. Whatever works.”

“No, I’d love to stay over!” she replied, making me smile and feel even more embarrassed at the same time. We hadn’t had an actual date since our first one, mostly because we were both so busy all the time.

“Who’s he having a sleepover with?” she inquired. “Omar?”

“Yeah,” I nodded, surprised. “How’d you guess?”

“Just a feeling. They’ve been hitting it off in class.” She craned her neck to watch for oncoming traffic.

I smiled. “Yeah, I’m really glad he can have a space where he feels comfortable outside of school.”

Aaliyah followed me into CVS, browsing the makeup aisle while I got in line.

“What’s that?” I asked her when she came back with a purple pencil.

“Guess,” she replied with a playful tone.

“Eyeliner?”

She shook her head. “Lip liner. But they basically look the same.”

“What’s lip liner?” I asked.

“You use it to draw an outline on your lips before you use lipstick so it doesn’t like, smudge as much,” she explained.

“Oh, that’s cool.” I used to think makeup was straightforward, but she was always showing up with new products I couldn’t have imagined existed.

The rest of our outing consisted of the laundromat to pick up a suit for Aaliyah’s dad and the Asian supermarket, where I got udon noodles and tofu and Aaliyah stocked up on sriracha. She drove me home afterwards, helping me carry everything to the elevator before kissing me goodbye.

“Did you get my Oreos?” Jamie asked when I rang the doorbell, not making a move to help.

“Yeah, they’re in one of the bags,” I gestured. Help me unpack first though, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah.” He carried two of them to the kitchen counter before raiding them. When he finally found his cookies, he put them protectively in the pocket of his hoodie.

I rolled my eyes. Typical.

--------------------

The doorbell gave me a near heart attack as I looked hopelessly at the pile of discarded outfit options on my bed. In a split-second decision, I changed the pair of sweatpants I was wearing to jeans before speedwalking towards the door.

Aaliyah, of course, had an outfit that was meticulously well put together to be perfectly cute and casual at the same time. The worst part was that she’d probably spent no more than five minutes on it, maybe ten if you counted the makeup.

“Hey!” she said, leaning up to kiss me.

“Hey,” I replied, leaning down.

She walked past me and stopped to sniff the air. “Wow, it smells delicious.”

My heart pounded. “Thanks.” I could only hope my curry-cooking skills were good enough to have it taste well, too.

She followed me to the kitchen, looking around curiously. She stopped when she saw the pictures taped to the cabinets and leaned in to look at them more closely. “Are these of you and Jamie?”

“Most of them, yeah.” They’d been taken over the years. My favorite was from Halloween when we were younger, when we’d DIYed Percy Jackson costumes. Jamie, of course, was Grover, the cardboard horns sticking out of his curly hair just the way they were described in the books, and I was Percy.

She smiled. “Cute.”

Fortunately, she seemed impressed by the curry. She even asked for seconds, which had to mean she wasn’t just being polite. Afterwards, we washed up together, which shouldn’t have been as fun as it was. There was something about doing chores together that made them less aggravating.

“Can I see your room?” she asked.

“Sure, it’s just across the hall.” I nodded in the right direction, my hands still occupied with drying the last plate. When I was done, I found her standing by my desk.

“Have you finished it yet?” she asked, motioning to her copy of Animal Farm that was lying on it.

I nodded. “Yeah, last night. You can have it back.”

She picked it up, then looked around, realized her bag was still in the hall, and set it back down. “Well, what did you think?”

I considered what to say. “It was… unsettling,” I replied eventually. “The part where Boxer died really fucked me up, I had to stop reading for a bit. And it was a lot more complicated than I expected it to be.” I didn’t want to admit it, but I’d assumed most of the books on Aaliyah’s shelf had the simple message of ‘communism good, capitalism bad’.

Aaliyah scrunched her eyebrows. “Boxer was the horse, right?”

“Yeah,” I replied, surprised she didn’t know. “I thought you’d read the book, like, thousands of times.”

“No, only once a while back,” she dismissed. “You mind if I sit down?” she gestured to the bed.

“Sure.” I grabbed some pillows and moved them around so we could be more comfortable sitting against the wall. “I guess I assumed because it’s so worn. You know, the book.”

“Oh.” She looked at it as if to remind herself. “Yeah, I got it secondhand.”

“Oh.” I was kind of disappointed. I’d been looking forward to picking her brain on it. “I think it made me feel kind of guilty? Because what frustrated me the most was that the other animals weren’t realizing what was going on, but in the real world, I’m one of the oblivious animals for a lot of things.”

She gave me a teasing smile. “Did Animal Farm radicalize you?”

“I don’t know, maybe,” I mumbled, feeling embarrassed.

She laughed but was nice enough to change the subject. “What do you want to watch?”

“I don’t know, an old Disney movie?” I suggested. I wasn’t in the mood for anything serious.

Her eyes lit up. “Ooh, can we watch The Princess and the Frog? I think it’s on Netflix.”

“Sure. I don’t have Netflix, though. I usually just pirate movies,” I said, turning on my laptop.

She watched me, then asked awkwardly, “Um, do you mind if I log into my Netflix account? It’s just, I think the quality might be better.”

“Yeah, sure, why not?” I said, moving the laptop over to her.

She relaxed. “Thanks. Billie always gets annoyed when I ask that.”

I decided not to pry. That sounded like best friend drama I didn’t need to get mixed up in.

I’d only seen the movie a few times, but Aaliyah seemed to know it by heart, especially the songs. She eventually nestled her head onto my shoulder, and in a burst of confidence, I reached over to grab her hand. When she folded her fingers through mine, I could feel the buzzing excitement in every vein of my body. I almost fell into the anxiety trap of focusing too hard on my steadily increasing heartbeat, but I forced myself to just enjoy the fact that her head was placed in the perfect position for me to smell her hair and press the occasional kiss to her forehead. It made her smile every time.

About a third of the way through the movie, I realized it was hopeless. She didn’t seem to be paying attention, either, sneaking glances at me just as often as I was sneaking them at her. Occasionally, our eyes would lock, and we’d giggle awkwardly before looking back at the screen. It went on until she reached over and shut the laptop.

“What are you doing?” I asked when she moved it to my desk.

“I don’t want to watch anymore,” she said, and then she was rolling on top of me and pressing her soft lips to mine.

We let our legs tangle together as we pressed closer against each other. At first, I tried to frantically remember if I’d learned anything from the one time I’d made out with a girl named Casey in ninth grade, but I couldn’t think, and it didn’t seem to matter anyway when I felt Aaliyah smiling into the kiss. I wrapped my arms around her, one hand on the small of her back and the other losing itself in her braids. I liked being this close to her. It felt natural when she moved her hand so it was under my shirt, and I wrapped a leg around her, too, as if to hold her against me for all of eternity.

It was a little awkward once we got our tongues involved, but after a few seconds we managed to find a rhythm. I liked that part, too, but not more or less than what we’d been doing before. When she started kissing along my neck, I craned it in response. I hoped she’d never stop. I wanted us to stay like this forever, giggling as we figured each other out.

I ruined it again, though. She moved my hand under her shirt and up to her bra, clearly giving me permission to do something, but I wasn’t sure what. I froze, not knowing how to touch her, not knowing if this was even how I wanted to touch her. She obviously wanted me to, but was that enough?

She noticed and stopped. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah.” My face burned and I started doing frantic damage control. “Sorry. I just have, like, absolutely zero experience, and I don’t want to do anything weird-” I stopped when her smile widened. “What?”

“Nothing,” she said, pressing a kiss to my cheek. “You’re just really sweet.”

That was good, right? “Oh, thanks,” I mumbled.

“I don’t care about your experience,” she assured me. “Even if you had more, it wouldn’t necessarily mean it would work for us, you know?”

“Okay,” I said, not entirely convinced she wasn’t just saying that to make me feel better.

She took my hand again and made me hold her hip. “I can show you what I like, then you’ll know what to do. If you want.” She added the last part quickly.

“I want to,” I said, but my heart sank when I heard how unconvincing it sounded.

Her smile wavered. “Are you sure?”

What was wrong with me? Was it nerves? If it was, that meant I should power through, right? But somehow, I knew it was more than that, and I hated myself for not being able to put my finger on it. “I don’t think I know what I want,” I admitted in barely more than a whisper, knowing I’d just bared more of myself to her than I ever could during sex. My heart raced as I tried to explain. “I mean, I like being with you.” I pulled her closer in an attempt to prove my words, suddenly terrified of her leaving. Saying she hadn’t signed up for someone who couldn’t even sleep with her without making it complicated. “I really do. I have this gigantic crush on you, it’s literally getting in the way of my life because I can’t focus in class without thinking of something funny you said or how I want to hang out with you, but I just don’t know if I want to have sex with you right now. And I know that doesn’t make any sense, but I don’t know how else to explain it.”

She listened patiently until I was done, then rolled herself partly off of me but stayed close, both of our heads against the pillows now. “I have a gigantic crush on you, too,” she said earnestly, making me smile. “I mean, you have a lot going on right now. It’s fine if we take things slow.”

My heart sank. “No, please don’t make this about everything else that’s wrong with my life,” I told her. “I don’t know how, but I have this feeling I’d be feeling this way even if everything else was normal.”

She considered this. “I don’t want to pressure you with labels or anything,” she started hesitantly, “but do you think you might be asexual?”

I didn’t know. Maybe the word was the answer to everything I was feeling, but I couldn’t stop to think about it as a new fear enveloped me. “If I was, would that be a deal breaker for you?”

The seconds felt like minutes as I waited for her to speak. “No. I think we’d be able to make it work.”

A grin broke out across my face as I leaned in to kiss her.

She smiled. “You like kissing me, then?”

I nodded, not letting her get any more words in.

Overview

Previous chapter

[ds-os-art]

An early sketch for a construct in my D&D setting (a few thoughts about them below)

Idorfel, the setting I'm working on, is... kind of a mish-mash, and a bit hard to pin down with words alone, which is why I'm trying to get some concept art done. Unfortunately, art block has struck me at the worst possible time- while I'm trying to get a campaign together. sigh

It's got all the grand fantasy elements you'd expect out of a D&D setting- with 1960's-70's-ish technology and a very vague atompunky or retro-futuristic vibe. Cars that hover slightly, broadcast pylons that use magical crystals and weathermen that use (mildly inaccurate) divination, Las Vegas is still here somehow. Y'know, the works.

obviously all good D&D settings need robots, too, and I want each major area to have a unique model of robot, but I really suck at drawing robots. I like this one okay, but I probably needed to pull up some references first. It was more about the vibes and figuring out the proportions anyway, I guess.

[gethellbcnt-m]

screaming my thoughts about s2e8 into the void because i need to to scream it somewhere n i dont wanna bother people SO--

the song was fun, the visuals were comedy gold, and i thought the escalation from playful horniness to Anxiety-Fueled Dread was very entertaining !

LOONA YOU ARE NOT HELPING YOUR FATHER FEEL BETTER ! you know he's gotta give that bird the ultimate stuffing to keep the book ! WHY WOULD YOU SAY THOSE THINGS--

Moxxie being supportive of his boss is adorable... even if Blitz technically caused a divorce, but those two were on their way there anyway so it's fineeeeeeee !

Cleatus, Keenie, imma need you two to shut up- i know the dhorks are kinda dumb when it comes to taking info with a pinch of salt, but this is just sad. speaking of : WHY ARE MY TAXES BEING USED ON THIS INSTEAD OF BETTER SCHOOL LUNCHES-- i'm also getting incredibly vague lion king vibes from the shot of those priest clones... and is that Collin foreshadowing i see in the interrogation room ??

sick robot suits, loving the parallel between the IMP and team CHERUBS. i wuold've preferred if the cherubs kept to the background more and saw that hell isn't too different from heaven, and that the hellborn are just vibing to the best of their abilities wherever they live.

Blitz's shopping spree was such a joy to watch, and it shows how much effort he's willing to put into the visits he makes to Stolas in order to keep his business and friends financially secure. i'm waiting to see if one/the mnm's will get a similar sequence in the future.

these shopkeeper designs fucking ROCK and i want to know more about them ! even if i know they're probably one-time characters and will never see them again lol

love love LOOOVE Fizz and Ozzie's toy/entertainment selection !! i can't stop looking at everything in the background because A] it's so colorful and B] i'm a pervert who wants to draw my muses in some of these hehehe

the remainder of IMP vs. the CHERUBS were so fun to watch ! i feel bad for Ozzie though, he and Fizz are definitely having a talk about Blitz and his team being surpervised if they're ever allowed to visit the Lust ring again after all the damage they caused.

Stolas... didn't just start the conversation by giving him the crystal, first ? asking about the book first -- Blitz's only reason that his business is still running and keeping him AND his employees financially afloat -- and seeing the underlying fear and uncertainty on Blitz's face before Stolas doubles down... God, it hurts. ' i can always do better ' just... OUGH.

i am going to out myself as a Blitz enjoyer here because i relate to him a lot on a concerning level.. but also because i've been to that scalding, steaming pit of self-hatred, too ; i've long since climbed out of that pit, but i can understand his position because i've been there. you feel like you're alone, even when you're in a room full of company that you enjoy being with. you feel like even when you're surrounded by loving family/friends, you have this feeling in your heart that they secretly hate you regardless of how much praise or support they give you. something just feels... off. any signlas that Stolas may have given him just whooooooshed over Blitz's head because he's too caught up in his own self-loathing to see it.

additionally, i've ALSO been fearful of someone with higher authority who's able to decide whether or not i keep my job depending on their opinion of me. to have such low self esteem and be at a disadvantage in The System just freaking sucks donkey balls, bro.

i'll give Stolas credit where it's due : the communication is FINALLY happening ! but you know what's awesome about that process ? learning to LISTEN !! he knows that Blitz is a guy who uses humor in the way he communicates, and i feel that it would not have taken more than a few seconds for him to have said, ' Blitz, i'm being serious '. would it have not lead to Blitz blowing up at him ? i don't know ! would it have lead to Blitz calling out Stolas and having his emotional rant anyway ? it's entirely possible !

both characters are so caught up in their pains that, if they took a little more time to clarify themselves and their feelings, it's very likely that their confrontation wouldn't have ended the way it did.

[karkallicious]

Homestuck as random bullshit I've said EB: someone's gotta tell betty crocker to lay off the cocaine.

EB: i’ve seen michael cera more times than i’d like to today.

EB: i'm sure ben stiller is a decent guy irl but if given the choice between being shot or watching all of his movies i'd ask about the bullet caliber.

TT: Women only want me for my skills in the occult and not my great personality or awesome ass...

TT: That sounds like an issue you should take up with Freud.

TT: But when someone add's apostrophe's to any word that end's with s? You went out of your way to add those. Ignoring your spell check screaming and crying. A tear rolling down the cheek of your elementary school teachers.

TT: Sometimes I'll see an incredibly minor typo and have to resist the urge to be the most pedantic person known to humanity.

TT: This is eldritch horror fucker discrimination.

TG: you dont just take someones obama prism away man

TG: i draw the line at rapping muppets dude

(when questioned as to why $100 was spent on a sword) TG: uh. well. it's a sword.

TG: well it doesnt sound as hilarious to review dildos and say "this one is sans" when you guys are this unenthusiastic

TG: if i ever die play caramelldansen at my funeral TG: theres no sentimental reason or anything TG: i just want to completely throw off the vibes

GG: i’m on board with men in maid dresses regardless of furry status coward

GG: home alone so things are getting pretty wild (talking to a cactus)

GG: local bitch takes "worst nap ever" wakes up several hours later sweaty and somehow more tired

(extreme cold warning in effect, active blizzard outside, sent at 7:18 pm) GG: my grandpa and i are going to dairy queen just for the hell of it

GG: I was gonna get shit done today, so I made a pie.

GG: The only explanation I had for my impromptu dessert making was “This is how I deal with stress...”

GG: Getting genuinely invested in the Cookie Clicker stock market.

TT: (watches toddler trip and fall) skill issue

TT: I frankly think it's a tragedy disney hasn't remade more movies but with muppets.

TT: They're just like "yeah okay dark lord with a robot army we all know you have a ponysona"

TT: I don't make a habit of looking at US political figure anime boy mpreg.

(while holding a katana and talking to a poster) TT: Do you think I make too many impulse purchases, Hatsune Miku?

TG: if not meant to claw grip kitty head why kitty head so holdable

TG: "it's a bad omen when a black cat crosses your path" incorrect, my day has just been significantly improved by seeing a kitty

(on fruitcake) TG: listen you have to pour alcohol into that shit until too many pieces could have you stumbling. great grandma knew how to party

GT: My amusing mugs have had the side effect that today my grandma asked me if she should go full goblin mode or if I wanted to.

GT: You don’t ask questions when a game makes the bold decision to sexualize a t-rex.

GT: Thinking about the time we played a murder mystery game as a family and I got way too into character as a victorian era author.

GT: I'm still disappointed about the time my zoo camp didn't get to watch the tigers being fed because like 15 tornadoes were headed towards us.

GT: Hey lads I just almost accidentally blinded myself.

AA: i love ritualpastas. i like to figure out at what point i would fail and probably get my skin turned into a throw rug or smth

AA: (skelet0n v0ice) hey bitches

AA: oh i have demons in me now thats fun

AA: d0 gh0sts c0unt as pe0ple?

AA: there would be teeth scattering like a fucked up sprinkler

AT: tHIS ISN'T ABOUT PORN ANYMORE IT'S ABOUT MAKING MORE POKEMON COMPETITIVELY VIABLE

AT: i’D LIKE TO THINK I’M NOT OVERLY EMOTIONAL BUT JUST NOW I ALMOST CRIED BECAUSE I REMEMBERED THE SOUND PORCUPINES MAKE AND I REALLY WANT TO HUG ONE BUT DUE TO THE NATURE OF PORCUPINES I CANNOT

AT: i CAN FAINTLY HEAR A CHICKEN IN MY NEIGHBORS’S YARD,,, wHAT

AT: i JUST SPILLED HOT COFFEE ON MYSELF AND APOLOGIZED TO THE BARISTA PROFUSELY

TA: my neme2ii2, biilly bob rockafiire. iit wa2 dark iin there.

TA: (dub2tep play2 a2 ii collap2e on the floor)

TA: ii don't thiink ii've giiven a fuck iin 2everal year2

TA: at thii2 poiint ii’m a2kiing the computer iif iit want2 a blood 2acriifiice

CG: *PEOPLE ARE IDIOTS AND IM NOT ALLOWED TO SAY THAT IN NINTENDO GAMES WHICH I PLAY DUE TO THEIR MORE CALM NATURE*

CG: IMAGINE THE MOST LOUD, DISAPPOINTED, DEFEATED SIGH YOU CAN. ON MY BEHALF.

CG: I WILL FUCK MYSELF OUT OF SPITE. IT WILL BE AN ENDLESS FEEDBACK LOOP, AN INFINITE ENERGY SOURCE, OF SPITE AND SELF FUCKING

CG: "THAT'S A PROBLEM FOR FUTURE ME," I SAY, FORGETTING THAT NOW FUTURE ME HAS TO DEAL WITH THE PROBLEM

CG: UGH THIS PLACE IS FULL OF PEOPLE AND THEYRE ALL STUPID AND I HAVE NO ONE TO VOICE MY GRIEVANCES TO OUTSIDE OF THE INTERNET.

AC: :33 < you meow in theory catgirls would probably eat anything smaller than them based on actual cat behaviours

AC: :33 < i at one point went out in public with homemade cat ears and a tail and tbh it wasn’t that bad. like sure people might judge but it turns out being cringe is being fr33

AC: :33 < *bap bap bap bap bap*

AC: :33 < i just wanted to try something but discovered the owo extension was twagically wemowoved. a woss fur evewybody

AC: :33 < today i said "you will be exiled for your baby crimes" because my cat was messing with my sketchbook

GA: If You Wouldnt Fuck A Vampire Minimum Youre A Coward

GA: I Use Amazon The Least I Can Out Of Spite That They Took Away My Favorite Fabric Store

GA: My Aesthetic Is Vampire Aligned Not Ghost Aligned I Dont Wear White

GA: I Am Going To Forcefeed You An Entire Fucking Dictionary

GC: 1 DON'T CONDON3 CR1M3S GUYS. UNL3SS TH3Y'R3 FUNNY

GC: TH3 ONLY V4L1D CH4NG1NG LOGO TO R41NBOW FL4G TH1NG 1S WH3N TH3 SCP FOUND4T1ON DO3S 1T

GC: 1T’S TH31R F4ULT TH3Y COULDN’T H4NDL3 B31NG D3C4P1T4T3D OFF1C3R >:]

GC: DON'T D13 DUD3 TH4T WOULD B3 D3C1D3DLY UNG4M3RL1K3 OF YOU

AG: remem8er kids: no matter how 8ad things get, at least you’re not the middle dude in a human centipede. pro8a8ly.

AG: spider furries: “88w88 what’s this?”

AG: may god have mercy on your 8ones because I won’t

(about a ripped cat plushie) CT: D --> we can rebuild him. we have the technology.

CT: D --> why must being cool come at the cost of being really sweaty

CT: D --> that's a horse... with an ass on both ends...

TC: WhY wOuLd YoU bUy *ShRoOmS* oN *eTsY*

TC: SoRrY wRoNg PoSt I wAs TrYiNg To ShArE cLoWn MiLkInG

TC: “AnY lAsT wOrDs, PuNk?” “HoNk”

TC: I hAvE aCtUaLlY eAtEn LeMoN sLiCeS aT rEsTaUrAnTs As ThE wAiTeR wAtChEs In HoRrOr

CA: i wwas nevver invvited to any high school parties. they might havve happened. i just wwas not invvited

(about invasive fish coming onto land) CA: i knoww this is an envvironmental hazard and all but let’s face it it’s a little funny

CA: i havve an spqr hat and i lovve it but also don't wwant people coming up to me like "you knoww wwhat the romans did right" like if i did not knoww a god damn thing about roman history i wwould not be wwearing the hat

CA: i'm a slut in theory. in practice i am not vvery good at it.

CA: anyone wwho thinks i'm insufferable for acknowwledging that i'm not unattractivve is ignoring all the other perfectly vvalid reasons i'm insufferable.

CC: one time I managed to make ocean puns back and fort)( wit)( a friend for like an )(our and I t)(ink our friend w)(o was also in t)(e car actually contemplated krilling us

CC: starfis)(... are mermaid nipple clamps

(Sends picture of a horde of goldfish) CC: my entourage