Scribbling Maniacally

An art blog run by entity-4 because I need somewhere to stash these

[entityart]

Thinking about @thundamoo and her absolutely incredible story “Magical Girl Mechanical Heart” and I wanted to ramble a bit about a theory I’ve been cooking up relating to it. (Go read it if you haven’t - this post will be discussing events up to the current chapter, 46)

So. One of the biggest questions in MGMH is “What the hell happened between the Apathy and the Preservers?” And we’re getting bits of information. I think, with our latest look at an emotional power plant, it seems like what’s happened is obvious. But there’s a few more interesting threads to play with - specifically, Uma’tama’s story of what happened between the two groups.

And I think there’s one small detail that might explain why the Preservers acted the way they did with the Antipathy. One of the very first things we learn about the Antipathy is they seemingly understand emotions in a different way than Humans do- they use cardinal directions as an expression of mood. It’s unclear how an Antipathy might actually show said emotion, given they’ve been wiped out, but the fact remains - they are a different species. Though they interface with emotions, it isn’t in the same way.

Which leads to an interesting question - what about the Preservers? They (or at least Uma’tama) seem oddly disjointed. They are a hyper-advanced group, but they seem to be ignorant in several areas - empathy being one of them, but even beyond that they seem to struggle with emotions.

So. If the Antipathy interacted with emotions in a different way than humans, who’s to say the Preservers don’t do the same? Specifically, they interact with them as a power source first, and an emotion second. It’s like charging a battery by riding a stationary bike - you might feel something in the act of riding the bike, but you have no other real connection to the energy produced. It’s just there. (Probably not the best metaphor but I hope you get what I’m going at)

Tying this back together, let’s tell a story. You are a hyper-advanced civilization, capable of magic and who knows what else. You struggle to produce magic - it’s tied to emotions, and for all your ability to use magic, emotions are much, much harder to induce. At least among your species.

But, you aren’t the only species. In fact, you find another one who’s quite efficient at creating emotions! You share your technology, your magic, and in return they help provide the power for both your civilization and theirs.

For a while, it goes well. Magic is tricky to work with, given it follows the users intent, so the places you build to help this other species focuses on cultivating peaceful, joyful magic. But there’s something you don’t realize.

The production of magic comes at a cost. The cost is as alien to you as the absence of it is to the other species, so you disregard it and focus instead on making magic yet more mailable, allowing control over the wilder aspects of it.

But you go to far. The other species lashes out, and you realize your foley. The cost you waved away is integral to the function of the other species, and you’ve been draining them of it without realizing the consequences. You fight back, reluctantly, and the other species consumes itself in an attempt to harm you.

It does, but it also risks damage to another place. Another species. Who are far more similar to the Antipathy, the species you drained, than to you. They produce magic too, though they lack the ability to focus it. But you made a grave mistake with the Antipathy, and you refuse to repeat it. You change the tools once used to drain magic to instead focus it, and find members of this new species to use them for the safeguard of their species as a whole. But you dare not go further - you dare not risk taking something from this species that would cause them harm in the same way you did the Antipathy.

And thankfully, for all the damage done by the Antipathy, their final act is both curse and gift - an immense amount of magic, more than you would ever need. And you are capable of harnessing it, using it instead of this new species to power your cities, your technology, your world.

But you curse yourselves every time you have to. For all the horrors the Antipathy inflicted, you cared for them. But your ignorance irreversibly hurt them. You will not do that ever again.

Is this what actually happened? I don’t know! But it’s my current theory. I’m looking forward to where Thundamoo takes this story, and what the true secret the Preservers are keeping is.

[entityart]

A few more thoughts:

I wonder if Preservers struggling to induce emotions ties into them creating the Magical Girl gems, and also their seeming complete ignorance of emotional regulation skills. Like their only advice seems to be “feel more”, given how when Fulgora/Minerva asks for help to be stronger Uma’tama gives her what’s effectively hypercompressed emotions.

The idea is, Preservers have gotten really good at the intent part of spellcasting, to the point they’re almost fully separated it from the emotion-induced intent. Like, casting a spell is X + Y = Z with X being the emotion, Y being the intent, and Z being the outcome. You need both variables, but if X is small (because the emotion doesn’t fit with the outcome of the spell - say healing with anger, or attacking with sadness) by increasing Y you can still have a bigger Z, a bigger outcome.

And if my idea is right, and the Preservers struggle with emotion (X), it makes sense why they would initially focus on improving intent (Y). One of those variables would be far easier to mess with. And they seem to have succeeded, at least in part. Magical Girls are capable of quite a variety of spells, be it flight, healing, lasers, or whatever. It changes from person to person, and different emotions (X) do still lead to greater outcomes, but the intent (Y) has been refined to a point it can be effective even if the emotion is not well-suited for the spell.

And I think this ties back into them not really understanding emotional regulation and such - they have a small amount already, so with Y already being a solid baseline their only answer to increasing the outcome (Z) is to increase emotion (X).

Of course, it seems like the spellcasting equation on the emotion side is far more complicated than that - Nanaya, Cappelia, and Luna all recognize that. All emotions are important, and “feeling more” isn’t really that effective for increasing power (Or at least there are other ways that work better).

This is full of assumptions but I hope it gets the idea across? IDK.

[entityart]

Well with chapter 59 out I might have even more evidence for my theory. As always, spoilers below.

So one of the minor interactions we get between Uma’tama and Luna is really interesting with this whole idea of Preservers interfacing/experiencing emotions differently than humans. Specifically, the part where Luna asks about LCI’s.

Luna uses the Antipathy term for them - Liquid Cardinal Injectors. And that fits with what we know about how the Antipathy interacted with emotions.

But Uma’tama calls them something different - Liquid Chromatic Injectors. And that made me realize something. One of the big things associated by Preservers with emotion is color.

Each magical emotion has a different color when used with a Preserver-made transformation stone. Luna calls this out as weird way back in chapter 14, when she mentions that pride falls in the spectrum of yellow-green.

But the human eye lies to itself. A lot. Colors are kind of all made up because our eyes have a limited number of cones and rods, and so our brain approximates whatever it doesn’t have an exact answer for. Like the color purple, which doesn’t actually have a proper wavelength.

(More reading about this stuff in the link!)

Color vision - Wikipedia

Color vision - Wikipedia

So, if Preservers are a completely alien species, who’s to say their spectrum of “visible” light would be the same as ours? Especially because in the world of MGMH emotions are kind of their own sort of fundamental law that allows you to fly if you feel enough the right way, emotions having their own wavelength akin to light would make sense. Then, we have the Preservers, who evolved to interface with this source of power by seeing it, instead of tying it to a feeling or a direction like Humans and Antipathy.

In conclusion I think we should give Uma’tama a tumblr specifically so we can watch their reactions to the smooth shark post.

[entityart]

Thinking about @thundamoo and her absolutely incredible story “Magical Girl Mechanical Heart” and I wanted to ramble a bit about a theory I’ve been cooking up relating to it. (Go read it if you haven’t - this post will be discussing events up to the current chapter, 46)

So. One of the biggest questions in MGMH is “What the hell happened between the Apathy and the Preservers?” And we’re getting bits of information. I think, with our latest look at an emotional power plant, it seems like what’s happened is obvious. But there’s a few more interesting threads to play with - specifically, Uma’tama’s story of what happened between the two groups.

And I think there’s one small detail that might explain why the Preservers acted the way they did with the Antipathy. One of the very first things we learn about the Antipathy is they seemingly understand emotions in a different way than Humans do- they use cardinal directions as an expression of mood. It’s unclear how an Antipathy might actually show said emotion, given they’ve been wiped out, but the fact remains - they are a different species. Though they interface with emotions, it isn’t in the same way.

Which leads to an interesting question - what about the Preservers? They (or at least Uma’tama) seem oddly disjointed. They are a hyper-advanced group, but they seem to be ignorant in several areas - empathy being one of them, but even beyond that they seem to struggle with emotions.

So. If the Antipathy interacted with emotions in a different way than humans, who’s to say the Preservers don’t do the same? Specifically, they interact with them as a power source first, and an emotion second. It’s like charging a battery by riding a stationary bike - you might feel something in the act of riding the bike, but you have no other real connection to the energy produced. It’s just there. (Probably not the best metaphor but I hope you get what I’m going at)

Tying this back together, let’s tell a story. You are a hyper-advanced civilization, capable of magic and who knows what else. You struggle to produce magic - it’s tied to emotions, and for all your ability to use magic, emotions are much, much harder to induce. At least among your species.

But, you aren’t the only species. In fact, you find another one who’s quite efficient at creating emotions! You share your technology, your magic, and in return they help provide the power for both your civilization and theirs.

For a while, it goes well. Magic is tricky to work with, given it follows the users intent, so the places you build to help this other species focuses on cultivating peaceful, joyful magic. But there’s something you don’t realize.

The production of magic comes at a cost. The cost is as alien to you as the absence of it is to the other species, so you disregard it and focus instead on making magic yet more mailable, allowing control over the wilder aspects of it.

But you go to far. The other species lashes out, and you realize your foley. The cost you waved away is integral to the function of the other species, and you’ve been draining them of it without realizing the consequences. You fight back, reluctantly, and the other species consumes itself in an attempt to harm you.

It does, but it also risks damage to another place. Another species. Who are far more similar to the Antipathy, the species you drained, than to you. They produce magic too, though they lack the ability to focus it. But you made a grave mistake with the Antipathy, and you refuse to repeat it. You change the tools once used to drain magic to instead focus it, and find members of this new species to use them for the safeguard of their species as a whole. But you dare not go further - you dare not risk taking something from this species that would cause them harm in the same way you did the Antipathy.

And thankfully, for all the damage done by the Antipathy, their final act is both curse and gift - an immense amount of magic, more than you would ever need. And you are capable of harnessing it, using it instead of this new species to power your cities, your technology, your world.

But you curse yourselves every time you have to. For all the horrors the Antipathy inflicted, you cared for them. But your ignorance irreversibly hurt them. You will not do that ever again.

Is this what actually happened? I don’t know! But it’s my current theory. I’m looking forward to where Thundamoo takes this story, and what the true secret the Preservers are keeping is.

[entityart]

A few more thoughts:

I wonder if Preservers struggling to induce emotions ties into them creating the Magical Girl gems, and also their seeming complete ignorance of emotional regulation skills. Like their only advice seems to be “feel more”, given how when Fulgora/Minerva asks for help to be stronger Uma’tama gives her what’s effectively hypercompressed emotions.

The idea is, Preservers have gotten really good at the intent part of spellcasting, to the point they’re almost fully separated it from the emotion-induced intent. Like, casting a spell is X + Y = Z with X being the emotion, Y being the intent, and Z being the outcome. You need both variables, but if X is small (because the emotion doesn’t fit with the outcome of the spell - say healing with anger, or attacking with sadness) by increasing Y you can still have a bigger Z, a bigger outcome.

And if my idea is right, and the Preservers struggle with emotion (X), it makes sense why they would initially focus on improving intent (Y). One of those variables would be far easier to mess with. And they seem to have succeeded, at least in part. Magical Girls are capable of quite a variety of spells, be it flight, healing, lasers, or whatever. It changes from person to person, and different emotions (X) do still lead to greater outcomes, but the intent (Y) has been refined to a point it can be effective even if the emotion is not well-suited for the spell.

And I think this ties back into them not really understanding emotional regulation and such - they have a small amount already, so with Y already being a solid baseline their only answer to increasing the outcome (Z) is to increase emotion (X).

Of course, it seems like the spellcasting equation on the emotion side is far more complicated than that - Nanaya, Cappelia, and Luna all recognize that. All emotions are important, and “feeling more” isn’t really that effective for increasing power (Or at least there are other ways that work better).

This is full of assumptions but I hope it gets the idea across? IDK.

[entityart]

Thinking about @thundamoo and her absolutely incredible story “Magical Girl Mechanical Heart” and I wanted to ramble a bit about a theory I’ve been cooking up relating to it. (Go read it if you haven’t - this post will be discussing events up to the current chapter, 46)

So. One of the biggest questions in MGMH is “What the hell happened between the Apathy and the Preservers?” And we’re getting bits of information. I think, with our latest look at an emotional power plant, it seems like what’s happened is obvious. But there’s a few more interesting threads to play with - specifically, Uma’tama’s story of what happened between the two groups.

And I think there’s one small detail that might explain why the Preservers acted the way they did with the Antipathy. One of the very first things we learn about the Antipathy is they seemingly understand emotions in a different way than Humans do- they use cardinal directions as an expression of mood. It’s unclear how an Antipathy might actually show said emotion, given they’ve been wiped out, but the fact remains - they are a different species. Though they interface with emotions, it isn’t in the same way.

Which leads to an interesting question - what about the Preservers? They (or at least Uma’tama) seem oddly disjointed. They are a hyper-advanced group, but they seem to be ignorant in several areas - empathy being one of them, but even beyond that they seem to struggle with emotions.

So. If the Antipathy interacted with emotions in a different way than humans, who’s to say the Preservers don’t do the same? Specifically, they interact with them as a power source first, and an emotion second. It’s like charging a battery by riding a stationary bike - you might feel something in the act of riding the bike, but you have no other real connection to the energy produced. It’s just there. (Probably not the best metaphor but I hope you get what I’m going at)

Tying this back together, let’s tell a story. You are a hyper-advanced civilization, capable of magic and who knows what else. You struggle to produce magic - it’s tied to emotions, and for all your ability to use magic, emotions are much, much harder to induce. At least among your species.

But, you aren’t the only species. In fact, you find another one who’s quite efficient at creating emotions! You share your technology, your magic, and in return they help provide the power for both your civilization and theirs.

For a while, it goes well. Magic is tricky to work with, given it follows the users intent, so the places you build to help this other species focuses on cultivating peaceful, joyful magic. But there’s something you don’t realize.

The production of magic comes at a cost. The cost is as alien to you as the absence of it is to the other species, so you disregard it and focus instead on making magic yet more mailable, allowing control over the wilder aspects of it.

But you go to far. The other species lashes out, and you realize your foley. The cost you waved away is integral to the function of the other species, and you’ve been draining them of it without realizing the consequences. You fight back, reluctantly, and the other species consumes itself in an attempt to harm you.

It does, but it also risks damage to another place. Another species. Who are far more similar to the Antipathy, the species you drained, than to you. They produce magic too, though they lack the ability to focus it. But you made a grave mistake with the Antipathy, and you refuse to repeat it. You change the tools once used to drain magic to instead focus it, and find members of this new species to use them for the safeguard of their species as a whole. But you dare not go further - you dare not risk taking something from this species that would cause them harm in the same way you did the Antipathy.

And thankfully, for all the damage done by the Antipathy, their final act is both curse and gift - an immense amount of magic, more than you would ever need. And you are capable of harnessing it, using it instead of this new species to power your cities, your technology, your world.

But you curse yourselves every time you have to. For all the horrors the Antipathy inflicted, you cared for them. But your ignorance irreversibly hurt them. You will not do that ever again.

Is this what actually happened? I don’t know! But it’s my current theory. I’m looking forward to where Thundamoo takes this story, and what the true secret the Preservers are keeping is.

[entityart]

Spinning @lionacuty’s idea where Hornet and Ghost take each other’s places and. Idk here.

It starts late at night, a child slipping from the den.

She is spawn weaver and wyrm, and she marks the cooperation of two factions in Hallownest. She does not understand this now, small and young and yet to molt even once, but she knows one thing.

Her mother is being taken from her.

No one save her knows why she left - perhaps she was filled with anger at the knowledge, or sadness, or wished to hunt some beast so her mother would be proud for whatever moments they might share.

Instead, when she is discovered missing, panic arises. Hunters rush to track any trace of the child, as urgent missives are sent to the Pale King, demanding assistance in retrieving the child - his daughter.

Assistance is sent, but it is slow. Far slower than the hunters of Deepnest, who’ve made the tunnels their home.

But for all their speed, they do not find the child, Herra’s daughter, yet unnamed.

Instead, they find a lair, and a mimic within. It hisses and spits the sickly orange fluid that is a hallmark of Infection, the curse which sweeps the land.

It is dispatched quickly and violently.

Sadly, the hunters do not find Herra’s daughter, nor is her corpse strung up on the ceiling.

They find a different child, cold and dark and mute, triple checked to confirm it does not share a species with the beast that once made this cave it’s lair.

(Herra’s child, the daughter of the Pale King, has slipped ever deeper, following a call few can resist, much less those young and frightened. The hunters can not find her, path wiped away by void.)

Herra spends all of one day able to look for her daughter before she is called to fulfill her duty as a Dreamer, to seal the Infection. She protests, but concedes and slumbers, once a sufficient promise is gained from the Pale King to find her child.

The other child, the one found in the den of a mimic, is raised as a Weaver.

It is done mostly in secret, away from the prying eyes of Higher Beings. The Weavers curse the Pale King all the while - they say he has taken advantage of the agreement to find his daughter and pushed into their land, bringing it under his rule. They fight back, of course, but their numbers are few, and the resurgence of Infection all but slaughters them.

The ink-black liquid that composes the saved child’s form causes the Infection to recoil, and though it is no true cure, merely a stopgap measure, it is long enough for the saved child to be taught methods of weaving Soul into Silk, using it not only in a pure, primal state but refined into the finest of threads.

For the rest of their teaching, a fragile truce is made. There is another tribe on the border of Deepnest who despise both the Pale King and the Infection. A traitor flees to the gardens and embraces the orange light, and the Weavers broker a tentative truce with those left.

The Saved Child does not have claws to slash, or mandibles to bite, but they have taken to Weaving like a spider and soon their Nail swings with the swiftness of a Mantises strike.

They set out, a beacon of hope for the two shattered groups - and find the Pale King gone, as is his wife.

Long, long after, when she is all but forgotten by those above, the darkness swirls, writhes with a silent scream echoing from above. It wakes Herra’s daughter, now submerged in Void, but she slips free from the grasp of the Abyssal Sea, small and weak - but with a purpose.

The blazing light - the Radiance - is a living thing, for all her grandiosity. And the daughter knows to hunt.

[lionacuty]

EVERYONE GO READ THIS RIGHT NEOW!!!!!

[entityart]

Glad you like my ideas!

A few more:

- Hornet doesn’t manage to get her name until she makes it to the Hive with the Dream Nail. There, she finds Vespa’s ghost, who grants her the name

- Hornet’s starting weapon is her needle, taken from the den when she snuck out. Of course, it was more so designed for training, and the time it spent in Void caused it to deteriorate further, making it far from the polished blade in Silksong

- The Nosk was killed, but the Radiance isn’t going to let something as small as death keep her from her rage. As the first thing Hornet needs to do is escape the Abyss, it’s sort of the “tutorial boss”

- There are several paths leading from Deepnest, but Ghost is watching Hornet once she emerges from the Nosk’s lair, and depending on where she leaves either they fight her or, if she tries to go through the mantis tribe, she fights the Mantis Lords

- Because the White Palace & City of Tears is in between Deepnest and the Hive, and Deepnest despises PK for failing to uphold his end of the bargain by finding Hornet and expanding further into Deepnest, that line of communication is cut off, which is what caused the Weavers to reach out to the Mantises

- Ghost’s magic works by absorbing Soul from living things around them, and they’ve been trained to convert it to Silk. They are still capable of using Soul without transforming it, but it’s been quite some time since they have

- In the Dream No More equivalent ending, when almost all of their siblings return to the Abyss, Ghost manages to weave enough Silk around them to keep their shade from escaping. They make it more effective by essentially etching binding seals onto themselves, but it leaves them weakened and they are captured by agents of Pharloom

- Ghost doesn’t see themselves as a protector of Hallownest - they are a beast patrolling its corpse, and they will remove any intruder (who doesn’t show their skill by beating Ghost in combat. They were trained by the Mantises, after all)

- Most of the remaining Spiders live with the Mantis tribe, but several stay to protect Herra’s body. (They do end up infected, but like Lurien’s butler they don’t harm Herra)

- Hornet didn’t molt at all before being dunked in Void, so she’s still quite small. Ghost has been able to molt a few times, but their Void makes them mailable and they prefer a smaller form.

[entityart]

Spinning @lionacuty’s idea where Hornet and Ghost take each other’s places and. Idk here.

It starts late at night, a child slipping from the den.

She is spawn weaver and wyrm, and she marks the cooperation of two factions in Hallownest. She does not understand this now, small and young and yet to molt even once, but she knows one thing.

Her mother is being taken from her.

No one save her knows why she left - perhaps she was filled with anger at the knowledge, or sadness, or wished to hunt some beast so her mother would be proud for whatever moments they might share.

Instead, when she is discovered missing, panic arises. Hunters rush to track any trace of the child, as urgent missives are sent to the Pale King, demanding assistance in retrieving the child - his daughter.

Assistance is sent, but it is slow. Far slower than the hunters of Deepnest, who’ve made the tunnels their home.

But for all their speed, they do not find the child, Herra’s daughter, yet unnamed.

Instead, they find a lair, and a mimic within. It hisses and spits the sickly orange fluid that is a hallmark of Infection, the curse which sweeps the land.

It is dispatched quickly and violently.

Sadly, the hunters do not find Herra’s daughter, nor is her corpse strung up on the ceiling.

They find a different child, cold and dark and mute, triple checked to confirm it does not share a species with the beast that once made this cave it’s lair.

(Herra’s child, the daughter of the Pale King, has slipped ever deeper, following a call few can resist, much less those young and frightened. The hunters can not find her, path wiped away by void.)

Herra spends all of one day able to look for her daughter before she is called to fulfill her duty as a Dreamer, to seal the Infection. She protests, but concedes and slumbers, once a sufficient promise is gained from the Pale King to find her child.

The other child, the one found in the den of a mimic, is raised as a Weaver.

It is done mostly in secret, away from the prying eyes of Higher Beings. The Weavers curse the Pale King all the while - they say he has taken advantage of the agreement to find his daughter and pushed into their land, bringing it under his rule. They fight back, of course, but their numbers are few, and the resurgence of Infection all but slaughters them.

The ink-black liquid that composes the saved child’s form causes the Infection to recoil, and though it is no true cure, merely a stopgap measure, it is long enough for the saved child to be taught methods of weaving Soul into Silk, using it not only in a pure, primal state but refined into the finest of threads.

For the rest of their teaching, a fragile truce is made. There is another tribe on the border of Deepnest who despise both the Pale King and the Infection. A traitor flees to the gardens and embraces the orange light, and the Weavers broker a tentative truce with those left.

The Saved Child does not have claws to slash, or mandibles to bite, but they have taken to Weaving like a spider and soon their Nail swings with the swiftness of a Mantises strike.

They set out, a beacon of hope for the two shattered groups - and find the Pale King gone, as is his wife.

Long, long after, when she is all but forgotten by those above, the darkness swirls, writhes with a silent scream echoing from above. It wakes Herra’s daughter, now submerged in Void, but she slips free from the grasp of the Abyssal Sea, small and weak - but with a purpose.

The blazing light - the Radiance - is a living thing, for all her grandiosity. And the daughter knows to hunt.

[entityart]

I’ve gotta say one of the characterizations I’ve been spinning in my head when it comes to the Knight/Ghost is them as a being who’s choosing to be a child.

Like, lore-wise they are at least as old as the Hollow Knight, have slaughtered countless infected bugs, stopped what’s effectively a zombie apocalypse by killing (a) god, and so on. They’ve gone through some intense shit.

But also, there’s a sense of whimsy to them. Not to ascribe actions of the player to Ghost, but I think there’s some things we can infer from what they’re able to do. Specifically, they break background structures, cut grass, spare non-infected bugs (like Millibelle and Zote), smack their father, and so on. I think there’s part of them that finds enjoyment in it - at least on some level. And there’s other things they don’t break, too! It’s a limited form of expressing their thoughts, but it’s an expression nonetheless. Especially because it’s one of the few ways it can express itself, when it chooses not to feels like it has purpose.

And I think there’s some part of them that’ll always be dangerous, quick to fight, but especially post-cannon, I love the idea that Ghost is choosing to be a child. They’ve spent who knows how long surviving, from the Abyss to the wastes to Hollownest itself, and they finally have a chance to relax, to be childish and reckless and annoying because there’s a level of safety to their life that was absent before, with their siblings and friends not at risk.

IDK where I’m going with this just wanted to get these thoughts somewhere - and if y’all have any ideas about this I’d love to hear them!

[entityart]

Going insane over the (probably unintentional) connections between Bug Fables and Hollow Knight. Specifically with Queen Elizant the first, who is one of the few bugs in BF to wear a mask, which has striking similarities to weaver masks in HK, isn't native to Bugaria where BF takes place, is stuck in stasis (described as "sleep" during the intro cutscene), was an efficient diplomat, had several moths in her kingdom despite other bugs supposedly only joining the kingdom after her rule, and was stated to have seen the future "in a bright light".

Elizant the first being a former diplomat in Hollownest who left the kingdom following the infection & lost herself to the Radiance's thrall? it's more possible than you might think.

(longer post on all the potential connections later maybe eventually)

[entityart]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Who up toxicing their yuri!

Yet another piece for @ziekkfreak2-0's wonderful swap au, this time focusing on Doll & Z! They have a perfectly normal and healthy dynamic I'm sureeeeee

[entityart]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

We getting Toxic up here in this Yuri!

[entityart]

New Fic Alert! New Fic Alert!

And Ziekk revealed her designs for their MD swap au - so that means a double feature!

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Hope you enjoy!

[entityart]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Been falling back into the Deltarune brainrot. Shoutout to Kris Dreemurr for using music as a coping mechanism. Same.

[entityart]

https://archiveofourown.org/works/64315408

Behold! another fic! God it feels like it's been ages. Gotta go back to my roots (tormenting the blorbos)!

[entityart]

Been listening to Chappel Roan while thinking about Lizzy & accidentally made a MD band AU. Gay people below.

J was toiling away on her computer. The latest album release had gone well, but her spreadsheet needed updating with the price drop following the discover of a new bunker. Everything cost less, from oil to space, and so the album had reduced its cost in tandem.

But no matter how much she pestered Uzi, the little goth refused to code in inflation rates on J’s spreadsheet program. So here she was. It wasn’t the worst, given it let her look for any inconsistencies, but the others in the room were quite distracting.

“Fuck, V, right there.”

Case in point.

J rolled her eyes, pointedly not looking at where V and Lizzy sat on the couch, canoodling and doing their best to get J to stop her work. But with the 360 degree vision granted by her optics, there no way to avoid noticing the way Lizzy shivered as V bit into her shoulder.

The scent of oil hit J’s chemosensors at the same moment she picked up Lizzy’s muffled moans. She had one hand clamped firmly over her mouth, trying to silence the squeaks V pulled from her voicebox, but J’s sensors made the effort worthless.

Try as they might, however, J was nothing if not focused. She also was not blushing, no matter what her subroutines may say. She could work despite the distraction.

J was so focused, in fact, that she almost missed the flicker of red that was quickly followed by Doll’s body warping to lay atop her computer.

She bit back a swear. “What a pleasure it is for you to join us, Doll. Would you please assist the others in moving to the bedroom, now that you’ve vacated it?”

Doll’s eyes trailed lazily across the room, ending on Lizzy’s face. Scrunched up in a mixture of pain and pleasure, if J wasn’t on the clock she would have found the implicit invitation hard to refuse.

“[I’m busy.]”

“With what.” J had no qualms about hiding the venom in her voice.

“[Helping.]” Doll got up off the table and sauntered over to where Lizzy and V sat. V looked up as she approached, her smile somehow growing even wider as she tipped Lizzy’s head to the side.

“Post-nap snack?”

The groan it drew from Lizzy as Doll sunk her teeth into the prep’s still-bleeding neck had J close her eyes and take a deep breath. She was working. She was not, however much V and Doll tried to tempt her, one to put off her job (no matter if self assigned) and engage in debauchery.

Despite this, she couldn’t help but notice how V ran her claws over Lizzy’s chest, before sticking them under her shirt and pressing them into the sensitive casing that covered her core. Lizzy rutted her hips up into Doll’s waiting knee, letting out a lavish moan at the sensation.

J’s claws dug into the table. She could do her work. She would not be distracted. This was not the first time something like this had happened, and barring extenuating circumstances she could keep her focus. And anyway, Lizzy surely didn’t have enough oil for all three of them to feast on without her passing out.

“J . . . “ the whimper from Lizzy’s lips had her twitch in her seat, and turn to face the trio. Lizzy looked dazed out of her mind, one of V’s hands holding her head upright as Doll planted kisses on her neck. They were the picture of debauchery.

Lizzy outstretched one hand towards J. “Here.” The word was almost cut off midway through as Doll pressed one of V’s claws deeper, but Lizzy had been shown to maintain her composure in far more . . . extreme conditions. J twitched in her seat.

“Is that an order?”

V barely managed to muffle a laugh, and J couldn’t help the blush on her face. But she was on the job. Unless her boss wanted something else done, she would stay focused.

The nod of Lizzy’s head sent J’s code pounding.

She got up from her chair and walked over, looming over the trio of drones. Lizzy leaned forward, running a hand up J’s arm before grabbing her tie and pulling her down into a kiss.

The taste of oil was heavy in Lizzy’s mouth. It was to be expected, with the myriad of kisses Lizzy had acquired from Doll and V already. J tied their tongues together, tracing hers along the puncture wounds on Lizzy’s. The noise of Lizzy moaning from Doll and V playing the prep like the instruments they performed with was muffled by J’s mouth, who took the opportunity to press in deeper. Without the need to breathe, this kiss could go on forever, but after another moment J pulled back.

She seated herself besides V, and Lizzy shifted to lay across both of their laps. She smiled up at J. “Hey.”

“Yes, boss?”

“You’re a good kisser.”

J slapped V to stop the other disassemblers giggles.

She traced her tail along Lizzy’s chest, following the marks V made just a moment earlier. “Of course I am.”

“Hm. I don’t know about that.” V turned to face her, getting in close. “How ‘bout I check too? That okay, ‘boss’?”

Lizzy nodded, and their lips met.

V’s fangs were rough and oil-stained as J worked her tongue along them, and she was far more aggressive, pressing closer with every moment. But J had learned quite well how to control the most disobedient drone on her squad, and when they pulled back V was a blushing mess.

“[My turn.]”

Compared to V’s open ferocity, Doll’s kiss held a quiet intensity that even J failed to match. And as both V and Lizzy began stroking her chassis and finding the places they knew would get a reaction, she couldn’t help but melt into the kiss, moans muffled by Doll’s mouth.

After an eternity, she pulled back. J took the moment to do a quick systems check - before concluding that, at least until Uzi returned, there was no way she would be getting any more work done. And even then, she suspected that she wouldn’t be able to free herself from the tangle of bodies. So be it. (She was ahead of schedule, anyway. She deserved this.)

Speak of the devil, and Uzi appeared. The door swung open to reveal the small worker clutching a bag full of bottled oil. “Oh c’mon! Getting started without me?”

Lizzy tried to answer, but Doll biting into her arm the moment she opened her mouth foiled the attempt.

Uzi rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Here.” She flung a bottle which V snatched out of the air, before turning to deposit the rest as V broke the cap and brought it to Lizzy’s lips. The worker drank like her life depended on it, and with four drones who would be drinking on her, it did.

That was, unless Uzi did something with the camera she pulled from the bag.

Despite her best efforts, J only realized what Uzi held a moment too late to untangle herself from the pile of bodies. The camera went off. “Give me that!”

Uzi smirked, her wings lifting her into the air. “Gotta catch me first!” She fled out the door.

J unfurled her wings the moment she was clear, following Uzi into the night, the sounds of laughter at her heels.

Despite herself, she was smiling.

[entityart]

Whatever. Go my yuri.

Uzi's room is uncomfortably warm. It is also, despite J's repeated protests, still as messy as the first time she visited. Posters on the wall are askew, wires trail off into nowhere, and don't get her started on her closet's organization. When she informs Uzi of this, the small worker laughs. "Stop stalling, J, and come over." "I am not stalling," "Sure. And I'm the ceo of JCJenson." Lizzy, the other drone who's splayed herself over Uzi's bed like the diva she is, giggles. J gives a huff, and joins them. "So. How exactly do you do . . . this." "Smoke gas fumes? It's easy, girl." Lizzy sits up, and J is suddenly very aware of how cool her hands are as she flings her arms over J's shoulders. "Just gotta take a deep breath. Don't hold it too long, though." "I - I see." She's entirely too close - if J unfurled her wings, they would bisect the cheerleader. And she's not like Uzi or her coworkers - she wouldn't come back from that. She tells herself that's the reason she chooses not to throw Lizzy off, and not how nice the cold is on her back. "Worried?" Uzi's smug grin, seated in front of her, is insufferable. "No. Never." "Then here." Uzi hands her a pipe. "Just light it up, miss flamethrower hands." J stops herself from slapping Uzi. Barely. "Here. I have something that could help." Lizzy snags the pipe from her fingers, and moves back. Her hand comes up, tracing the underside of J's jaw, turning the disassembler to look at her. She lights it with a click, the other end already in her mouth. She inhales, and looks up at J, a smile on her face. Uzi's smiling too. "Now open your mouth." J does. She is entirely unprepared for Lizzy to press their lips together. The smoke fills her mouth, the harsh taste of gasoline making her grit her teeth. She’s had the drink once before, and she despised what it did to her system. "Deep breath. Just like that." The fumes feel harsh, particulates working their way through her vent system. After a second, Lizzy pulls back. "Now out.” The smoke tastes just as bad as J pushes it back out of her lungs, the cloud dissipating as she tries to collect herself. “You go, girl!" J takes a breath of clear air, before devolving into a fit of coughing. She wipes her mouth. "Was that truly necessary?" "Yep." J doesn't need to turn around to know Uzi has the same smug smile as Lizzy. The cheerleader brings the pipe up to her mouth. "Ready for another hit?"

[entityart]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

And it's done! My first proper Juzi fic. God damn I need to write them more.

[entityart]

Been listening to the SHODAN voice lines from System shock & ngl it’s almost exactly like what I imagine the AS to sound like. Staticky & glitchy, voices repeating themselves as it’s all overlaid on a background of grating white noise.

[entityart]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

God @ziekkfreak2-0's swap au has just been rotating in my brain. They gave the DDs bug features! It's great.