#no payment necessary !!!!!!

[willowser]

How much do I have to pay for more nerd Kiri?? CUZ I WILL

you see him again in the break room — which is odd, considering he's got his own on the other end of the building.

in the middle of reheating your lunch, staring dead-eyed into microwave as the seconds tick by, and then a little red blip is gracing the edges of your vision. when you look up from the 100-year-old creaking contraption, kirishima's back is turned — undoubtedly his back, considering the width — and his hands are fists at his sides and he's awkwardly shuffling back down the hall.

you pout a little, because you haven't been getting very far with him; all your attempts at flirting — both in person and over instant messenger — have gone either completely ignored or completely over his head, and you're starting to wonder if sero was just gassing you up as a prank. you wouldn't put it past him.

— but then he's back, facing you this time as he reenters the break room. the little wave he gives you is timid, as shy as the small up-turn of his lips.

"hey," you say conversationally, watching on as he nods and walks up to the cabinet above the microwave. kirishima peers inside for a long moment, like he can't find what he's looking for, though you have no idea what that could be. "forget something?"

"huh?" his eyes snap to you instantly, eyebrows raised. "no, no! i was just, uh, checking for, uh—" he shrugs then, taking a deep breath before offering you another smile. "how's the rubberband war going with hanta?"

"ugh, don't remind me," you roll your eyes as he laughs, quiet and cute. "it's 17 to 8 right now, and i'm surprised he hasn't taken out my eye yet."

"man," kirishima takes another long look into the cabinet before abandoning it to spin around and lean back against the counter. when he crosses his arms, you watch the material of his shirt strain over his biceps, the plush of his chest as he presses into his pecs. "you might wanna work on your aim."

"so i've been told," you stick your tongue out at him, lips curling when he has to look away in favor of scratching at the side of his thick neck, smiling at the floor. "you should help me, since you know how much of a menace he is."

"uh, yeah, i mean," he shrugs and pushing his glasses up his nose, having to blink when the lenses get too close to his long, dark eyelashes. "maybe i could make like, i don't know, a target or something on some sticky notes or—"

"no, lemme get some real practice in, by firing right at your cute little glasses here." when you gently tap the arm of them, his eyes shoot up to the ceiling, cheeks pink. all you get is a quiet uh. "c'mon, i'll make it worth your while. buy you a beer or something after work."

"nah, i can't—i can't let you do that."

you frown, feeling deflated once again. "why not?"

"because," the top button of his light blue shirt is undone and he fiddles with it for a moment, as he chews on his lip. "because i should be buying you the beer."

"okay," you grin and his eyes dart up, taking in the curve of your cheeks. "buy me one then."

"okay," the little laugh he lets out is full of nerves, but the smile on his face is charming, triumphant. "i've, uh, got dnd—or this, uh, game—sort of thing i play, or do, with my friends, but i can cancel!"

"oh, well, you have this 'game sort of thing that you do' at your house?" you grin again when he nods, cheeks red, and resist the urge to throttle him for being so fucking cute. "then why don't i have the beer at your place, so you don't have to cancel?"

"uh, no, no," kirishima's demeanor changes immediately as he stands straight, shaking his head as he stares down at his shoes. "no, it's, uh, kinda like—i don't know—weird, and i don't want you to have to sit through my nerd stuff."

"maybe i like nerd stuff," you bite your lip when he looks at you again, smothering another sultry little smile as his eyes zero in in your mouth. "dragons and elves and shit like that. after everybody leaves, we can play princess in a castle and you can be my knight in shining armor."

"uh," he laughs again, jittery, and takes a small step back when you try to lean into him. "i thought we were doing it—uh, doing the rubberband thing."

you can't help it; a small groan leaves your throat as you deflate. again. "kirishima, you're killing me here."

he exhales heavily, unable to even look at you as he speaks breathlessly. "sorry! uh, yeah, no, it starts at, um, 7 if you really wanna come."

"okay," you lightly tap your foot against his twice before turning back to the microwave, jabbing the numbers again because your food has surely gone cold at this point. "save me a seat, then."

"yeah, okay, i definitely will."

you can feel his eyes tracing over your profile, but if you have to look at his big, crimson eyes or pink cheeks any longer, you'll lose your mind, and so you direct your smile at the microwave. unceremoniously, he awkwardly shuffles around you, shoulders tense as he makes an abrupt exit.

— but he turns, suddenly, and when you look up, he's got one hand in his hair, gripping it lightly.

"did you really wanna do the princess thing or—i could, i don't know—" he turns away one last time when you can't help but to giggle, barely suppressing his own smile as you call out to him that, yes, you would love to do the princess thing, with him.

[pasdetrois]

Marina Dyachenko and Sergey Dyachenko, Vita Nostra (tr. Julia Meitov Hersey) • Mircea Suciu, Camouflage (2) • Agostino Arrivabene, Immutatio • Matthias Claudius, "Der Tod und Das Mädchen" • Henry Fuseli, The Nightmare • Dragan Bibin, Pull (edited) • Maria Kreyn, Angel's Back • Franz Wimmer, Death and the Maiden • Mel Chin, Bat and Dove • Ana Sanchez, Death and the Maiden

[serpentface]

FAMILY TITLES AMONG THE HILL TRIBES

(ft. various linguistic notes and tangents)

In-universe Brakul’s self-given title of ‘Red-Dog’ is Brakul 'ne-Dainh' in his native language (Bict-Urbinnas dialect of the Highland language group) and Brakul 'Chin-Reyla' in Wardi. Ne-Dainh/Chin-Reyla is not something he treats as or considers an actual surname or identity, just a self-styled nickname. He already has a title.

Family names/surnames are not a native practice among the Hill Tribes (though some clans or individual families have adopted this practice), and all traditionally use titles that designate immediate ancestry, clan and tribe. These full titles are officially given when one comes of age and are spoken aloud in ceremony (with the entire direct male and female lines listed by name, with most traditions expecting 12 generations of each being named).

The function is to cement one’s sense of place in the world, and their place in a direct ancestral line, which puts the person under the full watch and guidance of their ancestors. It's also a critical method of recording lineage- the long held practice of each person memorizing at least 24 total direct ancestors allows for very long, largely accurate records of family history to be kept, with some people able to trace their ancestry all the way back to initial settlement of the Highlands (or even beyond).

Brakul’s full title is:

“Brakul virsum Kuligan et Borunil an Briyonis ne-Taig an Bict-Urbinnas”

Which dead literally translates to “Brakul son of Kuligan and Borunil of the Foothills (of) Red-Cattle, of the North (Urbin/Erubin) River Valley” but has a much richer meaning in the original language.

"BRAKUL VIRSUM KULIGAN ET BORUNIL"

The actual meaning here is closer to ‘Brakul, son of Kuligan and his father’s fathers, and Borunil and her mother’s mothers’.

“Virsum” means ‘child (son/daughter) of’ (the gender is contextual), but implies the person’s status as a descendant of a full male and female line of ancestors. A different word is used if you’re just saying ‘I’m so and so’s son”. The title describes him as a son of his father Kuligan and of Kuligan’s male line, and of his mother Borunil and Borunil's female line.

All ancestors (within this particular system of kinship, divided into one direct male line from the father and one direct female line from the mother, and not including husbands from the female line or wives from the male line) are invoked and credited with the word ‘virsum’. Speaking it as part of the personal title is part of the routine and necessary honoring of one’s ancestors, who watch over their descendants from the afterlife and can temporarily return to the land to guide and protect (and sometimes punish, or teach sharp lessons to) the living.

"AN BRIYONIS NE-TAIG"

The actual meaning here would be understood as ‘clan/people of the foothills where cattle are lit red by the setting sun'.

‘Briyonis’ is the word for ‘foothill’, citing his clan’s specific location being the foothills that form the slopes of the north Urbin river valley. He is of a lesser clan within the powerful North Urbin River tribe. His clan benefits from close affiliation to their more powerful ruling clans located directly in the river valley, which grants them access to a greater variety of cultivated foods, but their actual position in the foothills still renders them predominantly reliant on cattle for subsistence. Clan names referencing cattle or horses are very common, given their frequent centrality to life.

The ‘ne-Taig’ literally means ‘red cattle’, but the ‘ne’ color word for red specifically invokes shades of red seen in and cast by a rising/setting sun. This red cast is culturally regarded as a unique beauty and evocative (and part of the name) of the solar god Hraighne. The foothills his clan is physically located on are a vantage point from which the western horizon is not fully obscured by mountains, and they experience very striking sunsets and are directly touched by the light. This is fairly unique to this location, and is invoked in the clan name and identity. ‘Ne-Taig’ here suggests a visual of grazing cattle illuminated red by the sun as it crosses the horizon.

‘Ne-Dainh’ carries the same implication, a dog illuminated red by setting sunlight. The Wardi language does not have a comparable word for a sunlit red and ‘Chin-Reyla’ really does just mean ‘(orangeish) red dog’ (‘reyla’ is specific to orangey-red colors, which is the closest match he could get. There’s no way to impart the meaning of ‘sunlit-red dog’ in Wardi that is non-clunky enough to be appropriate for a name).

"AN BICT-URBINNAS"

‘an Bict-Urbinnas’ is fairly simple, Bict means ‘north’, and 'Urbin' is the name of the specific river that stems from a northern and eastern tributary. This river has a very ancient name (or a derivative of one) that predates settlement by the Hill Tribes, and its exact meaning is lost.

The root -(n)nas designates a river valley, but has strong implications of being an esteemed and bountiful place, rather than solely a literal geographical descriptor (as the river valleys are centers of power and trade in the highlands). It may be a loanword from the Wardi language family, as its usage is VERY similar in form and function to the Wardi -(n)nos, which also suggests a place of esteem and bounty (more specifically having connotations of a kingdom).

’An’ literally means ‘of’, but in the specific sense of describing the place and identity of a collection of people. ‘an Bict Urbinnas’ would be understood in speech as ‘of the north Urbin River Valley (people)’. The clans historically settled in and around the valley of the North Urbin River form the totality of the Bict-Urbinnas tribe.

The ‘Urbin’ word predates the contemporary Wardi name ‘Erubin’ for the river, the latter of which invokes the semi-mythological founding figure Erub, who himself was of a Wardi tribe located downriver to the south of the Highlands. The real historically extant ‘Erub’ was most likely named Urub after the river, with his cited name shifting over the centuries in folklore, and the Wardi name for the river shifting with it.

‘Erubin’ as a corruption of ‘Urbin’ functions very well in Wardi language due to ‘-bi/bin’ denoting something as a ‘gift’, usually in a more metaphorical sense. ‘Erubin’ is understood as meaning ‘(The river that is) Erub’s gift’, and the Erubin/Urbin river is a key tributary to the much larger Black river, one of the key rivers that feeds the region's wetter and more fertile west. This 'gift' meaning also occurs in the name of the southeastern Imperial Wardi city-state Erubinnos, which is understood as meaning ’((The kingdom that is) Erub’s gift’. He is considered to have conquered and taken the land (from the core city's actual founders, the Wogan people) and established a kingdom there in the early days of warring Wardi tribal monarchies.

[manofthepipis]

I was rereading chapter 12 of system rebooting please standby and I found it just a little sweet that spamton was excited to see Kris (even tho it wasn’t them lol). tho he mostly was hoping for Kris to save his hide, I also think he was just happy to see his friend since he’s so lonely at that point

im rlly glad you liked that bit!! :D spamton will always have his more selfish motivations, and i've tried writing him so that if he ever does want/need something from someone else he goes into salesman mode, playing nice and innocent enough to get what he wants. But like they're his friend!! his buddy!! :D!! they're a puppet just like him and they helped to free him even if it was obvious he was up to no good in the first place! someone like that to return to him in his extreme loneliness and confusion would be a godsend, but he doesn't get those often. so whoops it had to be an addison lmao

I'd imagine if kris were to return, he'd be hanging around them and their friends to the point where it got annoying but only because he genuinely cares now and they've given him a new purpose in the world he's forever fated for. Though it would genuinely surprise me if he appeared again in canon (i think he's just gonna get the jevil treatment and be a quiet close-to-nonliving item in your inventory), but in this au hed be harder than hell to get rid of (akin to actual spam) hfjsksksk.

[anonymusbosch]

acquaintance in the very large group chat has reached the unfortunate foreseeable-and-foreseen outcome (loss of visa?) of "multiple levels of shitty life situation" compounded by "a seemingly steadfast resolution to make poor choices in every possible avenue of life". and it's. i wish her the best in dealing with the fallout, and i hope at some point she is able to make choices which improve her situation.

[ruporas]

wait. wait. wait. ive been staring at ur latest comic for awhile now and i think i've noticed something about the colors? which are amazing, first of all- just gotta get that out there cuz i adore that soft pink and deep green combo

but i just realized that throughout most of the comic u use both in equal parts it seems. to separate bg + fg and such, to highlight characters/objects, etc.

but then when vash gets back to their room, all the walls are that dark green. and, bit by bit, the pink totally falls off. by the end, it's nothing but constant dark green as vash starts to cry

but then wolfwood slams in and he's backed by that soft pink. and suddenly the comic is nothing BUT pink. soft lines and whites and gentle pink tones EVERYWHERE to just. SO tastefully highlight the little details.

LIKE. WAS THIS INTENTIONAL?! i almost wanna guess that it wasn't since all those green panels w vash crying are all closeups focused on his expression so it makes sense to just put the simple green behind it and all attention on him so the pink just isn't Needed

BUT AT THE SAME TIME THE EFFECT IS SO MASTERFUL THAT I WANNA BELIEVE IT WAS ABSOLUTELY INTENTIONAL

HEHE..... first of all, thank you for looking at my comic so closely, THAT'S LIKE... REALLY SWEET and a huge compliment to hear, thank u thank u

and yes, it was intentional, especially more towards the end!!! in general, the colors are meant to serve as a mood indicator, so a balance of them in a scene would just mean a neutral "okay-ness" and have a functional serve to separate background / foreground / subject matter... deep green signifies introspection or incoming sadness (especially on pg5 when vash cries), and pink signifies wolfwood, which, not an emotion but he is happiness, someone that helps vash lose his doubts in a matter of seconds -- which is why those last few pages are just pink white and lines, and the panels are gone for the majority of it. i wanted to show their unity and togetherness!

while vash still has his issues of just Not saying anything about his loneliness, his feelings are alleviated temporarily with wolfwood's presence and he's just grateful that his paranoia didn't become true, and that wolfwood is genuine, true to his word, when he means he'll be following vash/staying with him. even though it's mission-bound, vash would probably still feel guiltily comforted by that fact.

I'M GLAD IT WAS PARTICULARLY EFFECTIVE IN THIS COMIC because i definitely could've pushed it more... i figured it was a minor thing that not a lot of ppl would care for, but more ppl enjoyed it and noticed the colors than i thought, so i'm glad it worked out!!!

[sallymew4]

drew @vinnfeyntheinsane’s lovely (currently unnamed) character !!! shes so gorg <3

had an epiphany after sending the finished product. if only i had thought of a brown skirt.. . … but ANYWAYS ! go check out vinn they like silly nerd stuff like classical music and books !!!! also they are nice to me

[wellthatsclever]

Not to be overly uncharitable but those e-beg posts where they show their account balance and it's $0 or in the negative always seem so shady to me. Like anyone can move their money to their savings or another account entirely so their checking account looks bare

[abbaswift]

daily searching for taylor tickets on ticketmaster and axs, trying not to remember when i almost got two centre middle bowl tickets for the price of one nosebleed resale ticket 💔💔

[itsadragonaesthetic]

My parents keep telling me that it's good to be in debt and you can't buy anything without credit but this stupid car and its payments have been a blight on my whole family for years. They could have so easily gotten a slightly older car that wasn't half a million dollars. The payments aren't even close to done and the car is already falling apart. I do not know a single other person with these problems. What is wrong with them.

[deus-ex-mona]

aka i’m still reeling from my trip and it ✨s h o w s✨

[a-high-femme]

okay so update I’m gonna be doing something Evil and I legitimately hate that I’m doing it… legit wish that I had the luxury of being nice in this situation

[sanbrainsseo1]

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[takumis86]

everytime i spend money im depriving myself of car

[jimcorbettnational]

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[sporesgalaxy]

on it boss

Please I AM BEGGING YOU IM MY KNEES AT A WALMART

Can someone draw this reference with Vash and Knives?!??? PLEASE ILL GIVE YOU ALL MY MONEY