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ghostlycoze · 7 months ago

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[BURSTS THROUGH THE DOOR]

It has taken me PAINFULLY long to finally reply to this bc I wanted to write the Best Reply and ended up getting suuuuper distracted for ages, my bad!! No longer shall I let this slip my mind, time to word-dump! Hopefully it's somewhat coherent.

But WAHHH, another load of absolutely amazing headcanons! I love getting to read your ideas, and the drawings along with them are unbearably cute ;w; I'm so happy I could inspire you!

I've actually developed a few sleep (and cuddle) related ideas for these lil guys of my own that I'd love to add~

Biiiig ol ramble under the cut!

So generally, I imagine attached-to-can (atc?? ATC = attached to can, OTS = off the string? Yeah, that might make this easier :P) are far less prone to exhaustion than OTS iterators, though still can become tired and need rest! Much like your sleep-mode idea, they probably do need to sleep now and then otherwise their systems start to slow in efficiency—being semi-organic, their symptoms would be similar to ours. Drowsiness, lack of focus, lack of precision and speed, forgetfulness, etc etc etc... Also the lights in their chamber subconsciously begin to dim, their halos shrink and spin slower, their antigravity is less stable... And that tiredness shows through their internal organisms as well! The neuronflies are less active, the inspectors are far less thorough in their protocols... They're probably far more prone to illness because of this as well (which is a WHOLE other can of beans I am cracking open one day when I delve into the lore of my OC No Rhyme or Reason >:3). So, they need to rest, and their overseers likely project these low-power warnings to them.

That being said, when OTS, their symptoms double for two reasons.

Because I personally don't imagine their overseers remain attached to them beyond severing their connection to their wire—much like how Moon's go rogue post-collapse—their symptoms grow stronger, similar to that of organic beings, since they have no external system to warn them of their exhaustion. My FAVOURITE little idea is that they learn to "yawn"! An iterator yawn is more akin to a stretch and a deep breath, but it has that similar "exhaustion washes over you" feeling; stretches, antennae flutter like how cats' ears do when they stretch, they probably get all slow-blinky, etc... Also, YAWN BEEPS. Sleepy little "boop boop boop..." noises when their energy is low. Oh, it's SO cute.

I imagine since they have significantly less power with the lack of a can, they are far more prone to becoming exhausted as well! So instead of just being "a little sleepy" a couple cycles, they're EXHAUSTED after one or two, and fall into the pattern of "hibernating" with their scug-companions at each end of a cycle like you said! :D

Moon in particular I agree gets the beepiest, given her older age; and since I HC Suns came after her and is quite old as well, tends to get quite beepy as well! On the other hand, Sig and Pebbles are less prone to exhaustion and beepiness, given their higher processing power thanks to their younger age (although to make up for the lack of beepiness when tired, I like to think those two are more prone to getting beepy when emotionally overwhelmed! They feel their emotions far stronger than Moon and Suns, and almost go completely nonverbal and beepy when it gets to be too much to handle).

...I have never said the word beepy so much in my life.

The slurred speech and sleepy beeps idea is soooo cute though, and Moon (and Pebbles) curling up like a slugcat is PERFECT. I have a fair few more HCs for Sig and Suns to go with them!

Sig I see as likely the "sloppiest" iterator (a human Sig would rarely make his bed, lmao) thanks to her "carefree" and jokster side of his personality, and probably sleeps in a sprawled manner to reflect that! Sig just sorta... flops onto whoever she cuddles, or acts as a pillow for them. For an extra cute idea, the sprawl may be contagious; Sig and Moon have woken up a few times completely tangled. Moon gets quite embarrassed for sleeping in such an incomposed manner.

Suns on the other hand I could see as more of a stomach sleeper, especially as my personal design (...that I haven't drawn yet) has large spines along their back, which might make back-sleeping a little uncomfortable. When these four sleep-pile in a shelter, Suns is always laying on the bottom face-down, with the others cuddled on top. However if it's a one-on-one (or, as an iterator-polycule shipper, with Suns x Sig x Pebs, a 3-way-snuggle), Suns will sleep on their side and spoon whoever they're with. Being the tallest, they're always the big spoon!

Pebbles I feel like is the most "insecure" about sleeping, much like you portrayed! He's fallen asleep sitting up/slumped against the shelter wall a few times while stubbornly refusing to let himself curl up and get comfy, not wanting to look like "some little animal". Eventually the other 3 pick up on this and start dragging him into cuddles to make sure he sleeps without waking up with a sore neck; Suns pulls Short-Shit Pebbles into their arms and basically wraps around him with ease, Moon curls up hugging him (and you must NOT wake the Moon when she's comfy!), and Sig just... Lays on him. There's no moving that sleepy lump, Sig is one stubborn lil fella.

As for how they wind down... I actually have had some little ideas, mainly focused on Pebbles and Moon!

Pebbles: Since he's so sleep-averse for a while, the other three discover a trick to help him wind down. Absolute infodumping! It's sort of a way to get the last of his energy through getting him excited and rambly about things he likes; whether it be arguing about ancient artists, or later their theories on slugcat-culture, etc etc). Eventually his arguments and well-structured verbal-dump essays turn to mumbly little remarks, and that's when they know they've successfully tuckered him out.

Moon: She requires a more gentle, comforting approach to help her wind down. Much like your idea, I imagine she has a lot of trauma regarding the rain, as well as her collapse. I like to think iterators CAN have nightmares, and she is quite prone to nightmares centering around these traumatic events. As such, Sig and the others often cuddle and comfort her to ease her anxiety before rest, and bring up more lighthearted subjects to take her mind off of it in an attempt to prevent those nightmares from occurring and help her sleep peacefully.

Sig: I imagine Sig is quite an energetic lil thing, and can also be quite prone to being understimulated. As such, I like to think the others all pitch in to try to find ways to help him wind down. Pebbles and Sig probably bicker n wrestle which ends in them both being tuckered out, while Suns and Moon take more gentle approaches. A while back I had the cute idea of Moon doing the kind of exercises you see in sleep-asmr, like "follow the light" and such, by tilting her head back and forth and having Sig watch the lights on her antennae with a "counting sheep" sort of effect, as well as "breathing" (Sig much prefers using the organic term breathing over ventilation, as she's far more attuned to the fact they're BIO-mechanical) exercises to slow his systems and move closer to sleep-mode.

Suns: They're the toughest for me, as I'm still working out the kinks in how I see their personality. Given the only bit of Suns we see in-game is when they're mid-panic-attack, their true personality is very much up to interpretation and headcanon. Though, they've always given me a gentle-giant energy, not the sharpest with emotions but is far from apathetic; they're actually quite a little softie, given how they behave with Spearmaster. I like to think Suns eases their mind by petting Spears like a little therapy-cat, and maybe reading old pearls or drawing with/watching Spearmaster draw on the floor and walls. I feel like the little messenger picked up the artistic habit from Suns themself, so it could be a therapeutic way they wind down!

Ooh, and one final little idea to add: Iterator Game Night!

Now, this is an idea I actually developed with @mewniemoon , where if the iterators CAN still use their overseers after going OTS, they use them to play little board games before hibernating, as they need not hibernate the whole time, there's no hunger they need to avoid by slowing their metabolism and yada yada... So, to pass the time, they play games, sort of like how Moon and Pebbles play something like dominoes after Rivulet restores Moon's strength with the rarefraction cell.

Now, Iterator Game Night is fun because it lets the four show their more playful and competitive sides. Sometimes they play games where they're in teams against one another, and switch up the teams now and then. Suns and Moon are more calm, and willing to let the others win, while Pebbles and Sig are VERY competitive and WILL argue if another plays dirty (which they both do). But what's extra fun is when Suns and Moon get competitive.

They start calm, but as game nights go on, eventually those two start trying more, and on one night when Moon is particularly tired (here is where your "Moon will say something completely out-of-left-field comments when she's tired" idea perfectly aligns with mine!) and throws a "YEAHHHH, TAKE THAT!" after winning against Suns (who is one of, if not the best at these games, having spent a lot of their time teaching and playing these games with Spears). All 3 are stunned, and then get really into it; "oh it's ON now!" Suns and Pebbles play on a team and win, and the two are both acting like they're "godlike in comparison" at monopoly. Sig and Moon win, and when Moon throws some snarky remark at her little brother (which she later apologises for after getting a little too competitive), Sig thinks he's fallen in love with her all over again.

The slugcats will also sometimes try to join, though to varying degrees. Artificer gets frustrated easy and ragequits (much like Pebbles) when she doesn't understand these silly robot game rules, Hunter insists on playing but refuses to follow the rules because she's a cheeky little thing ("learned from the best!" - Sig), Rivulet tries her best but... Isn't great at it, being a little less intelligent than Hunter and Spears as a wild slugcat, meanwhile Spears is surprisingly good for a slugcat! There's been times Spears plays with them, and receives SO much praise from Suns when they make a particularly clever move in chess!

Alright, I have infodumped juuuuust a little, but I hope some of my silly ideas can further inspire you, or just be entertaining to read! I really appreciate the interaction, hopefully it didn't come off like I was ignoring this post at all. Joyous ADHD and time-blindness, I hadn't thought I'd left this as long as I had! Regardless, I always appreciate the mentions and invitations, an excuse to go on about my huuuge hyperfixation on these silly little iterators and slugcats is a blessing :]

RW Headcanon: Goodnight, Moon

AHHH YESSSS, now that that Lilypad essay is done I can FINALLY share these—!

Hey, @ghostlycoze! So you remember a few months ago how I made that drawing acting on the Moon beepsnort headcanon, and how in my last reblog I eluded to the possibility of drawing out some of your headcanons again? Well, it looks like that time has come, and this time I've got not just drawings, but lots of additions to another headcanon of yours!

This time, it's from your tags in these three posts, which I also saw a while ago! Yet for some reason I began thinking about it again recently, and as is my nature with ideas I like, I decided to develop it further, and even draw it this time!

Also, just to preface, you'll see I did a bunch of notes beside the actual drawings as well. I'll share the picture and roughly type out the notes (in case my handwriting is a bit hard to read) as well as whatever info I couldn't fit on the page. Some of the text also just says "robots" rather than "iterators" because some of these ideas are stuff I actually imagine applying to robot characters in general! Maybe I'll make a post on that someday...

With all that out of the way though, the actual headcanon is under the cut! Hope you like it!

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What are iterators like when they’re sleepy? Do they even get “sleepy” the way we humans do? This headcanon answers that question with a focus on the iterators’ puppets. Much of this info is also framed in the context of a hypothetical “worm-off-the-string” scenario, since I believe that’s the main situation where sleep and getting tired would actually matter to the iterators.

Firstly, when iterator puppets are low on power, until they find a place to recharge they usually enter a power-saving state where, to conserve what’s left of it, their energy is temporarily redirected away from some of their less-important processes. The side-effect of this, however, is that iterator puppets show symptoms of drowsiness kinda like humans! Whereas humans may yawn, stretch, or rub their eyes when sleepy, iterators will often make sloppier/less precise movements, close their lenses a little, and may even have a harder time thinking, since they sometimes shut off some processors and other cognitive functions until they can recharge. The most common symptom, however, is slurred speech, coming from less power given to their speech-forming software.

Another very-common sign of iterator sleepiness is frequent beeping, often in place of words. This is because, like slurred speech, beeps take much less energy and processing to make than analyzing data, formulating a complex response, then vocalizing it clearly. Beeps are thus far more efficient for conveying simple emotions and reactions than words. Looks to the Moon in particular gets super beepy when she’s tired because she and other early models relied more on beeps for communication — they were made back when things like vivid emotion weren’t as taboo in Ancient society, and iterators were meant to be more friendly and openly interactive with their citizens — so she’s more used to beeping to easily express her emotions.

As a side-note and mini-headcanon (wow, real headcanon-layering action here), while even the newest iterator puppets can beep, the older iterator models, as a result of this design influence, also have a much greater “beep-vocabulary” with a wider range of sounds that shrunk with the generations. Their beeps are thus a lot more expressive as well, with some sounds even being similar in nature to animal noises or regular speech! I imagine the entire range of their beeps would closely resemble shorter versions of the “droidspeak” sounds of the astromechs in Star Wars.

But, back to sleepy iterators.

When it’s hibernation time, iterators enter a “sleep-mode”, where almost all of their systems are shut down and recharging becomes the primary objective. However, compared to how I imagine other robots, iterator puppets have a unique way of recharging. Rather than shutting off completely and absorbing power from an external source, iterator puppets have a few key systems within them that remain on even during sleep-mode. These systems, just like those in their superstructures, are capable of converting nutrients into power directly. They emit a soft, rather comforting whirr while the puppets sleep — the only sound iterators make while sleeping, and comparable in nature to stomach sounds during digestion. Otherwise, though, the only other systems remaining on during sleep-mode are a few basic senses, and a program that decides when to “wake up”. The presence of this program also means, uniquely to iterators again, they can wake up on their own, rather than having to be powered back on by someone else like other robots. Overall, these systems are yet another aspect of iterator designs that make them far more biological than many iterators (*cough* *cough* Pebbles *cough*) would like to admit. And in my imaginings of a “worm-off-the-string” AU, systems like these are one of the main sources of both physical and internal conflict for these characters.

Also, since most of their systems are off during sleep mode, iterators sleep, both figuratively and literally, like statues. Whatever position they fall asleep in is the position they remain in the entire time unless a.) someone moves them or b.) they wake up and move on their own. This also means (unfortunately, if you thought these ideas would be cute) that iterators do not snore, shift around, sleepwalk, sleep-talk, or dream while in sleep mode.

That’s about it for this headcanon as it applies to iterator puppets overall. Now, I’m gonna get into how I imagine Looks to the Moon specifically likes to sleep.

In addition to getting very beepy, Moon also gets very cuddly when sleepy, though some of this comes from her affectionate personality. However, it's also due to a lasting trauma from her collapse. Of course she's learned to tolerate the rain over time, yet after spending so many cycles being rapidly drowned over and over in her can — with endless disorientation and senses so out-of-control from being disconnected from most of her superstructure, no one around to comfort her save for the occasional wandering creature, and the knowledge that her own beloved brother was responsible for this — it’s still left a fair amount of bad memories with her, especially from those cycles most recently after her collapse/revival, and this general unease often resurfaces with the sound of the rain. Therefore, whenever the rain comes, this trauma serves as another, more internal reason Looks to the Moon always wants to fall asleep holding onto/being held by someone, or at the very least while sharing the shelter with someone she loves.

On a more positive note, since I’m now officially a Lilypad shipper, I imagine that No Significant Harassment is Moon’s default choice of cuddling partner! It can be a little hard to get in position — I imagine Moon always likes to be the little spoon despite her being slightly taller than him — but they manage! Moon pretty much always falls asleep first, because, as the oldest model of the group, and having sustained the most damage post-collapse on top of that, she simply doesn’t use power as efficiently as the others do and therefore gets tired much more easily. In some ways, the poor thing even feels a little guilty about it; she’s supposed to be the leader of this group, and yet here she is, tiring out after less travel and growing drowsy before the rain even starts! Luckily, Sig makes an effort to ensure her she’s more-than worth keeping around, because after every awful thing the world has thrown at her kindness, the least she deserves is some quality guilt-free nap time! And sometimes, if they want a little alone-time (or if Pebbles gets too fed-up with their lovey-dovey gestures), it’ll be just the two of them, and perhaps their slugcats, cuddling together in the shelter.

And speaking of slugcats, Moon’s second choice of cuddles is Rivulet! Being very soft, warm, and equally cuddly, she makes another good source of cuddles for Moon. And sometimes, if Hunter’s also around and willing, the two join forces with Sig and Hunter for a big, soft, cuddle-filled slumber party!

Still, though, Sig is definitely no. 1 provider of snuggles for Moon. But he loves her dearly, so for the most part he doesn’t mind! Since she falls asleep first, some of his favorite moments each cycle are from just watching her and holding her close as the rainfall echoes from outside; she always looks so beautiful when she’s relaxed, and having her in his arms makes him feel like he can protect her no matter what. So he never really minds when Moon, slurring her words, tiredly asks for him to hold her while she enters sleep mode.

That is, except when this happens and he’s stuck in that spot for the next several hours…

A few more ideas to this headcanon:

Moon’s third choice of cuddles is Five Pebbles. It’s a bit interesting, because in basically all other scenarios Pebbles insists on sleeping alone in a separate shelter, even though he’s actually rather touch-starved (though it'll be a while before he admits it). Moon is one of the only people he’s actually willing to sleep with, besides occasionally Artificer (in which the feeling is mutual and no one else must be in the room). If I someday decide to ship Pebbles with someone, I imagine he’d also be willing to sleep with them, again, only if no one else is around to see it.

To elaborate on the last point and shift to Five Pebbles’ perspective, the reason why Pebbles always wants to sleep alone is because, as I imagine the worm-off-the-string story so far, Pebbles’ biggest internal conflicts are learning to accept all those “worldly attachments” the Ancients so strongly rejected, and overcoming his god-complex and fear of relying on others. And one of the main ways this manifests is him being so deeply embarrassed to be dealing with these basic survival needs — like yet another one of the savage beasts roaming the world, after having been a vast mechanical god so far above those primitive creatures — that he refuses to let others, even his friends and family, observe him in such a “pitiful” state whenever possible, and resolves to try and overcome it alone.

To further continue this idea, this is why Moon sometimes insists on sleeping with him. Even though he’ll have to overcome these conflicts on his own, it doesn’t mean he has to be alone while he does it. She makes an effort during these and other moments in this scenario to assure him that it’s okay, no one’s gonna judge or punish him for living this way, and she’ll always be there if he ever decides to accept some help. Pebbles always falls asleep with his head buried in her chest and holding onto her very tightly.

The iterators often like to sleep with their slugcats, who in the AU also stick around a lot to help guide them as they figure out the ins-and-outs of organic survival.

Both Moon and Pebbles tend to sleep in a curled position. It's actually very similar to how slugcats generally sleep!

Pebbles is quite the workaholic in general, but it also means he has a hard time falling asleep — not because he doesn’t get sleepy, but rather that he often denies it or its significance in an attempt to get more done that cycle (and because, again, he’s “too advanced” for animalistic things like sleeping). The group often has to literally drag him to bed to get him to sleep, and Sig often teases him when his lenses start drooping and his syllables begin to stretch.

In extreme cases, where almost all of their power has been exhausted, iterators won't just slur their words anymore, but their speech will often lose coherency overall, like a spoken case of very drunk typing .

When sleepy, Moon not only slurs her words, but has a tendency to say rather strange and very silly things. It’s another side-effect of less power being used to actually think through her words. There have been many instances where the whole group erupted in laughter after Moon made a really out-of-left-field comment!

Oh, and here's one last quick doodle based off one of the ones above:

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Aaaand that's all for another headcanon! Even though it took me a whole week to do the drawings, it was SO fun getting to develop this idea, especially since sleepy Moonie is such a cute concept! I am so glad that you shared that little idea, Ghost!!

And speaking of which, if you've made it all the way down here, Ghost, may I invite you to add any more ideas to all this, if you want? I'd especially love hearing ideas for the other iterators' sleeping habits (how fast they get tired, what position they like to sleep in, who they usually sleep with, how they wind down before bed, etc.)! I mainly focused on Moon and a bit of Pebbles at the end, since I'm still trying to get a read on Sig and Suns's personalities (especially Suns), so it'd be fun to even further expand on this idea in that regard! Of course, you don't have to, but it's a proposition!

But regardless, I hope you and anyone else who made it to the bottom enjoyed my contributions to the idea! And be sure to keep the adorable headcanon ideas coming!!

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Bonus: Here are the full sketchbook pages, in case anyone was interested in seeing the completed layout! I think I'm gonna be making more of these kinds of drawing/explanation combo artworks!3

#ghost rambles #ghost reblogs #quetzalli tag #thank you so much for tagging me with all these cute ideas!! i'm always happy to continue our fun lil bouncing-headcanons-off-each-other :D #rainworld #looks to the moon #no significant harassment #five pebbles #seven red suns

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