#🐞 || beetle writes

[beetroot-merchant]

Tell me about the anatomical traits of bipedalism this is not a joke I really want to know

REEEHEEHEE lucky me!! this is gonna focus on (the rise of) human bipedalism (pun intended) because i dont know jackshit about any other animals! ALSO im going to link everything i mention to its wikipedia article as further reading 4 those interested :3

also, pleas keep in mind i have zero formal education on this whatsoever i am literally just a hyperfixated child

Before we get straight into it, a brief word on evolution, since I include some human ancestors here- if you see a scientific name rather than a colloquial one like chimp or gorilla, that's a human ancestor. The reason the ancestors in question look like they're transitioning from chimps to humans is because chimps and the rest of the great apes haven't begun their bipedalism journey, and human ancestors did! We're more derived than chimps from our common ancestor :3 that's all thank you

The skull // foramen magnum positioning

OK SO i have no idea how to ease into this so im throwing it all at you raw. This is a human skull from the bottom view with the jaw removed:

Aside from looking freaky as hell, it's also got that big hole right in the center. It's called the foramen magnum, and it's the hole where your brain connects to the spinal cord- AKA, where your neck is. Cool, but what's this gotta do with anything? Take a gander now at this gorilla skull:

(Image src: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gorilla_Male_skull_base.png)

See how much closer to the back of the skull the gorilla's foramen magnum is? This is because gorillas primarily walk quadrupedally!

(Image src: https://origins.swau.edu/papers/man/hominid/index.html)

Here's also an example of the changing of its placement as bipedalism evolved- from left to right, that's a modern chimpanzee, Australopithecus africanus, Homo erectus, and a modern human.

If you're having trouble imagining how the placement of the neck could indicate how a primate walks, try getting on all fours and looking around you- you have to tilt your head up almost as far as it can go just to see forwards, and you can't see directly above you like you can when standing on your legs. If you try to maintain the position for a while, you'll get exhausted- and a majority of the mobility in your neck is now useless, because who cares about seeing the floor from twenty different angles? All of this is taken care of by just making the neck come out a lil closer to the back of your head. Behold my incredible artistic explanation:

The placement of the neck is uh, a LITTLE exaggerated, but you get the gist. Or at least, I hope you do, 'cause I'm moving on now.

The curves // spinal structure

Ok I'm going to come clean about this i think the spine is the most boring aspect of primate bipedalism to talk about because it's biophysics and its like whats the point of biology if you're just going to make it physics again, I came here to escape! But FINE, I'll talk about it.

also my sources here are probably the least reliable in the whole post because i had to go refresh my memory on fucking QUORA because i completely zone out whenever someone starts talking biophysics. SORRY FOR RAMBLING FOR TWO ENTIRE PARAGRAPHS it will happen again

Behold the curves in the spine for this chimp vs. this Man.

(Image src: https://www.quora.com/Why-do-human-spines-zig-zag-unlike-other-apes-How-is-it-not-detrimental)

And you should immediately see the differences. I mean, the red line's right there for you. C'mon. That dip inwards at the neck is called the cervical curve, the bump outwards at your ribcage is your thoracic curve, the final dip inwards between the ribs and the pelvis is the lumbar curve, and the tailbone-ish bit at the pelvis is your sacral curve! And quadrupedal apes have none of it.

The reason, in short, is gravity. It's painfully difficult to find an image that shows this that doesn't look goofy as hell, so please have this hilariously crunchy picture because it's the best I can do short of making my own.

(Image src: https://efossils.org/book/lumbar-vertebra)

This is where we get to the physics bit that I'm really not confident about whatsoever and I could be completely making up but AS FAR AS I UNDERSTAND:

Essentially, the weight on either side of that line has to be somewhat equal, but the dot it comes out of cannot move. Whenever a chimp like in the images or something similar stands up, it has to exert constant muscular effort to remain upright, because there's an imbalance. There isn't a demonstration of this I can think of like we had for the foramen magnum, but just imagine doing that Michael Jackson lean stunt or being bent over at your hip constantly. Physics bit over.

So, to keep us from being Anatomically Hunched Over Forever, we developed the lumbar curve- but because just inverting the curve in our spine was basically just as bad because now our ribs would be weird, we also got the thoracic curve to make up for it- but because our head being bent forward with the thoracic curve would also be weird (it'd create the same issue as discussed above with the foramen magnum), we ALSO got the cervical curve to make up for that. Do you see now why I don't like this? Funny as hell, don't get me wrong, but man.

The ass // pelvic structure

Can you tell my maturity is rapidly declining? The pelvis, as you can probably guess, is really indicitave of whether a primate was bi or quadrupedal. Feast your eyes upon the pelvis bones of a chimp, an Ardipithecus ramidus, and a human respectively.

(Image src: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/The-Ardipithecus-pelvis-at-44-mya-was-already-more-human-than-chimpanzee-like-Three_fig4_280721011)

Take a look at that side view in the first row- it's wild how different those shapes are! If you're having trouble picturing this in 3D, a human pelvis is more bowl-shaped whereas a chimp's is kind of flat, like a road sign. This allows for two main things, as far as I can tell - one, our pelvises literally serve as bowls for our internal organs, just as extra support, and two, this broader, wider area gives more space for the ass muscles to attach, which makes standing on one leg easier- a problem quadrupeds obviously don't have.

A second change you might notice is that the pelvis obviously shrunk along with changing shape! This is to bring the sacral curve closer to the hips to create sort of a ⊥ (upside-down T) shape, which makes everything way more stable than if it was a ⅄ (upside-down Y) shape. This matters because the ball-and-socket joints we walk on are actually relatively unstable to balance on, we needa make things as stable as possible, to put less muscular effort into balancing!

Another, far, faar more subtle difference is the size of the hip joints (check the side views in the first row again - not the holes! The little circular imprints above them) has gotten bigger! This is because when you half the number of limbs that are supporting your weight, you double the weight each limb is carrying- so our bones need to be thicker and stronger than a quadrupedal ape's down there!

The legs // knee structure

I'm not doing this. No more physics please no more physics

The feef // inline big toes and arches

Let's kick (lol. lmao) this bit off with some human-chimp comparisons, as always!

The big thing here, as you can guess, is the weird big toe chimps have (although we gotta keep in mind that we're the more divergent species, AKA the weird ones!) which you probably already know is for climbing trees! As our ancestors left the canopies we slowly lost need for a big toe like that and now we've got lame ass feet.

One thing we did gain, though, is three arches in our feet- y'know, that inwards dip in the "palm"? Chimps and other quadrupedal apes don't have that, and are flat-footed! It helps with walking and stuff. I dunno.

God, that's a lot! If you read all the way here, um, thank you! Hope you learned something or at least thought this was cool ^^ I'd be happy to try and answer any questions :3!!

[pieground]

"There's A Bug!"

In which you asked the residents to get rid of a bug/insect in your/a room.

🐞Sebastian

➛ "F*CK U."

➛ Obviously, you chose the wrong guy.

➛ Would dead-stare you in the eye, hand you a broom, and leave without saying anything.

➛ What do you expect from him? Surely you can take care of a bug by yourself...RIGHT? RIGHT? SAY YOU DO OR HE'LL BE SCREAMING IN THE TOP OF HIS LUNGS FOR HELP. (It's a cannon that dis dude can scream loud enough to wake the mansion lmao)

➛ He will be anywhere but near you until that bug has perished. You will literally see him hanging sheets in the garden, eyeing you while you're in the hallway of the second floor—most likely trying to figure out if you have killed the bug or not.

🐞Napoleon

➛ "A bug? Where?"

➛ Why did you ask him? Now he's obligated to chase you around with the bug squished in between his fingers.

➛ He roamed lands when he was an emperor and he came across so many insects in his life. He likes how unique different types of bugs look.

➛ He'll stop teasing you tho... when you're ready to pass out.

➛ He will toss the insect out and would laugh at your state. Of course, he will say sorry but doesn't really feel guilty about it.

🐞Isaac

➛ "Oh? Wait, give me a second."

➛ The most chill about it. Grabs a napkin and takes the bug. He'll give it a short inspection.

➛ CRASH COURSE ABOUT INSECTS. BE READY, IT'S PROFESSOR NEWTON. YAY.🥳

➛ "This is a rhinoceros beetle, it's harmless."

"Not to my mental health."

To get a mutual understanding of this, you need to compare Arthur and Dazai to a bug and why you avoid them.

➛ Will take it outside and set it free~ go birdy, fly~

➛ Make sure to thank him, he'd be extremely red in the face but it'll make him feel really good!

🐞Theo

➛ "Deal with it on your own, I ain't got time for some goddamn insect."

➛ Two minutes later, he's in your room with a broom in his hand. Reasoning: this bug may interrupt Broer while he paints. (Not that Vincent would mind. The dude literally has a painting with a grasshopper stuck on it.)

➛ He'll do this in the Dutch way~, which is just the same way as everybody gets rid of bugs. And yes, he intends to perish it. It's Broer or the bug. His choice is obvious.

➛ He's giving Sailor Moon, but there is no moon. He'd be cussing every time he whacks the insect. Your room is now a battlefield. You might as well invite Napoleon and Jean over, maybe Arthur too, but you doubt he'd do anything at all.

➛ Would miss multiple times but mind you, he'd be hitting that thing until it's powdered, gone, perished, unexisted, unbirthed while saying things along with the thought of "regretting that it ever existed."

🐞Arthur

➛ "Bug?"

➛ Most likely that he was writing when you ask for his help. Will agree instantly, he could use some break right now.

➛ His weapon is a colander. The intent is to capture.

➛ Now, don't scream while he catches it okay? He'll scream too.

➛ That guy who goes "whoa, whoa..."

➛ When he realizes the need, he devises a plan. "Now, luv, if only you would..." and of course, his plan works. The insect is now in a makeshift cage made of a colander Sebastian now is looking for in the kitchen and a sheet of paper.

➛ Your role is to pick it up and throw it outside the window.

➛ Now there is three probabilities. 1. You can do it. 2. You can do it but you throw it along the colander. 3. You can't. Arthur's deduction says it's gonna be the 4th probability, you can't and you will throw the colander outside, leaving the insect inside your room.

➛ He was right.

🐞Mozart

➛ "WHERE?!"

➛ Will evacuate instantaneously. "What if I'm allergic to it?!" After all, bro's immune system needs immunity too.

➛ Running for the hills~

➛ If it's in your room, well good luck! He couldn't care less. If it's in the music room, that's a different story.

➛ Help Line: Leonardo or Jean. Not Sebas since they have a silent agreement about this stuff.

➛ No help available at the moment? Swat that thing with a broom— oh, it flies.

➛ Would need to get out of the room to gather courage, re-enter.

➛ woah, woah TF IT'S DOING WITH THE PIANO KEYS, IT'S CONTAMINATING IT

➛ but ya know, Ia also see him calmly removing the bug. Picking it up with a broom and a dustpan then tossing it outside the window before he let out a big breath. And then he will proceed to scrub every surface.

➛ introduce him to rubbing alcohol, I'm telling you, he ain't going anywhere without it.

[wedriftlikelonelyplanets]

🍓🧃🧸🪲

🍓 - How did you get into writing fanfiction?

ALRIGHT SO I've been involved in the online RP community since I was like 15-ish...i think? Anyhow, I've been writing for literal years. I am, however, incredibly self-conscious about my own writing. I've dwelled in many a fandom space as well, honestly.

After getting into F1, I've felt like I've been kinda on the outskirts of a community I really love (not on the outskirts for a negative reason, I'm just incredibly shy and worry that I'm annoying), and it's given me kinda...I guess a little burst of confidence. I wrote my first fic after the Hungarian Grand Prix of this year because there was just...something SO COMPELLING about the dynamic between Lando and Oscar during/after that race. Since THEN I haven't been able to stop, and I've really been loving being a part of this community.

That, and the fact that the stuff that I've written has been so well received has made me more comfortable to continue writing within a fandom space.

🧃 - Share some personal lore you've never shared before

OKAY WELL THEN...Idk there's a lot I blab about on the internet so I've gotta think about this one.

I have what is probably undiagnosed hEDS (hypermobile ehlers-danlos syndrome), and likely never will be diagnosed because I'm a fat, female presenting woman. This means I experience a lot of chronic pain, and actually deal with regular shoulder subluxations that put a damper in my ability to do my job sometimes

Despite being an elder emo, I've never actually been to a music festival, despite my longing and desire. This is primarily in part due to the fact that I live in a small city in Canada that doesn't really get a lot of fun music in general

I blab about this a lot, but I'm a Registered Veterinary Technologist, and have been for 5 years, and I'm likely going back to school to actually become a vet, because I finally found a clinic that makes me love my job again!!

🧸 - what's the fastest way to become mutuals with me?

UH GREAT QUESTION. I guess interact with me, chat with me, my askbox AND my messages are always open. I don't specifically mean you need to like and comment on my fics, but like...interact with my content. I love to yap, give advice, and just chat. I've dealt with a sudden influx of followers since starting to write fanfic (this is not said to sound vain), and I feel like I can no longer just follow people willy-nilly anymore. Honestly I often do click through to the blogs of new followers, but I sometimes just get overwhelmed.

Hell, even if you just message me and are like "this song made me think of x, y and z" i'd love you forever.

And interact of anon. I love all of you darling anonymous folks that come into my ask box but i want to stroke your faces lovingly and reblog things from your tumblrs and I can't do that when I don't know who you are.

🐞 - Using this in place of the other beetle BECAUSE IT DOESN'T WORK ON MY PC but - Write 50 words for your current work in progress and then post that paragraph here

I see what you're doing, anon, keeping me on task and also getting some snippets out of me...(such a mean trick to play...jk)

“More?” Lando asks, and Oscar shakes his head. Lando places the mug back on the tray, reaches out to brush Oscar’s hair back from his face again, fingers catching in the tangled strands. Oscar leans into the touch, presses his cheek against Lando’s palm, presses a kiss to the inside of his wrist where he can reach it. Just a brush of his lips, softer than soft. It should feel infantilizing, to be cared for like this, but it soothes the part of him that makes him feel like he always has to be calm and collected, always in control

THIS IS MORE THAN 50 WORDS, MERRY CHRISTMAS.

[beausbugbiome]

I’m taking a pottery class at my local rec center and we’re required to have a stamp to mark all of our pieces as ours (easier than trying to write your name on all of the pieces). So I got myself this beetle stamp from MKMpotterytools on Etsy and I love it so much!! I’m very excited to stamp it into my pieces. 🪲

It’s been a long while since I’ve done ceramics so I’m very excited! The class is only 3 hours once a week for four weeks, but I think I’ll sign up to continue on after that! Look forward to some entomology-inspired pottery eventually! 🌿🪲🐝🐞🐛🦋🐜🐌🪱

[beetlebrownleaf]

paige 🌻

About Me 🐞

Personal Blog ❤️

BG3 Blog 🎲

My Writing 📝

Art Commissions / Gifts 🎨

Beetle Aesthetics 🍄

Other Character Tags #️⃣

Character Carrds 🎴

Beetleverse Carrd 🃏

Ao3 📚

[tksstgiftguide]

🔥POPULAR 🔥 Beetle and bug bodies, legs, wings, and antennae: 25 stamps that can create all sorts of unique bugs. I love how these layer, and they come with two ink pads to get you started. Get a few more colors to create more bugs! Such a lovely set for making your own stationary to write far-away friends with. 🐞

They're out of stock at Moon Picnic, but they're still on Amazon and Princeton Architectural Press.

Buy these stamps

[versaphile]

I have to say, writing Farouk is even more upsetting than I could have imagined, and I’m not even giving him POV. He is truly the absolute worst. He needs to get his filthy hands off of David. I am actually mad at myself for writing him even winning a tiny bit because he is THE WORST.

Fuck the shit beetle. 🖕🏻🖕🏻🖕🏻💩🐞

[beetroot-merchant]

am i misremembering or was there like, this tumblr post with cooler words than just "they signed" for authors writing characters that use sign language

[wedriftlikelonelyplanets]

🥐🏜️☁️🧩🪲

🥐 - name one internet reference that will always make you laugh

FUCK this is so hard, I've been so chronically online for an eternity. Probably that meme format with the guy and the butterfly flying out of his hand with the "is this a [insert something here]" or the "inside you there are two wolves" meme format, because 99% of the time both of those never fail to make me laugh.

Also the "I'm in danger" simpsons gif because that is me EVERY time one of my rp partners writes me something.

🏜️ - What's your favourite type of comment to receive on your work

When I'm praised for my characterization, because it always means a lot to me. I have this FearTM that I write characters the same way every time, so it's always nice to be reassured that I don't.

Comments about the smut don't hurt either -eyebrow wiggle-

☁️ - What made you choose your username?

I Revolve (Around You) is a song by Neck Deep that I heard when it first came out and while it was not the first Neck Deep song I'd heard, it's probably still the one I love the most. It has, since I've heard it, made it's way onto MANY playlists for both characters, for the month, and just...because. The short story is that it's one of my favourite songs, and I don't pick favourites easily, and "we drift like lonely planets" is one of my favourite lines.

The long story - Something something love, something something having a crush, something something emotions (It's really hard for me to like put into words what I feel about the lyrics, but essentially there's something to be said for feeling like you're alone until you've found someone that pulls you into orbit, and falling in love and becoming a better version of yourself or whatever. NOT TO GET SAPPY ABOUT IT OR ANYTHING

🧩 - what will make you click away from a fanfiction

I did answer this one already...

First person perspective

Improper capitalization (no capitals where there should be

Things that should've been tagged but were not, that could be triggering (dead dove, non-con...I read what i read but I at least need to know what I'm getting into)

Wildly out of character personalities of characters

🐞 - write 50 words from your current WIP and post the paragraph here (using the ladybug again because the beetle doesn't show up on my computer)

ONCE AGAIN, MEAN (jk, thanks for keeping me on task)

“Thanks,” his tongue feels a little heavy in his mouth still, and the word feels slurred, but there’s relief in the way Lando looks at him, nods. “‘Course, Oscar,” 

There’s a knock on the door that distracts him, and he turns towards it, untangling his fingers from Oscar’s where they’re still entwined. “I’ll be right back, Oscar,” he says, words gentle, and Oscar nods, sad sound escaping him at the loss of contact. He watches at Lando pauses, mid-step, turns back to look at him. “‘M okay,” Oscar murmurs, and Lando just nods. 

That's 93 words because who writes JUST 50. Anyhow this part is the part that's like pulling teeth for me right now, but we're getting there!!

THANKS FOR THE ASK!!!!!

[beetroot-merchant]

Wii Saved You: A WDY AU Oneshot

is this future au? maybe. idk. i just needed to cope with yk that one death everyone ignores

uhh two whole people expressed mild interest in reading so im taking that as a very enthusiastic yes

behold; idiocy, fangirling and shitty writing bundled into a neat little tumblr post for you all to blacklist <3

"What do I do? Oh, Eteled, what do I do?!" Sam wailed in a frenzied panic. She could already smell the almost sulfuric tang of the Wii starting to melt as she collapsed onto the couch opposite the TV, her head in her hands.

"I don't know, anything you can do to keep the Wii cool, I think." Eteled responded, glancing over his shoulder to check if the Corrupted Mii had recovered in the meantime. The panic in his voice was carefully concealed, smothered by a layer of collectedness that a part of Sam couldn't help but be amazed by, even in this dire situation. "Sam, I need you to stay calm. If the Wii melts, I'll be fine, but I could never forgive myself if something happened to yo-"

"The freezer! Would that be cold enough?" Sam exclaimed suddenly, springing up. She hadn't even been listening to Eteled, her mind racing too fast for the Mii's speech to even have time to register.

"Wh- oh, yeah, I think so."

He paused for a moment, as if he was sighing, but there was no noise.

"But before you unplug the Wii, I-"

Sam stopped dead in her tracks, already halfway to unplugging the cord.

"Y-Yeah?" she stammered.

"-thank you, for everything. I... couldn't have made it through the past week without you." Eteled said, in a tone that would have been accompanied by a blush, had he been human.

"Oh, Eteled, I..." Sam began to say. Her heart seized up and tears threatened to burst from her eyes. She bit her lip.

"I couldn't have made it without you, either." she finally said.

Sam reached for the cord and tugged. It snapped off with a clunking noise, and without a moment's hesitation she picked up the Wii and dashed frantically across the house to the kitchen. "Please work, please work, please work..!" she panted to herself subconsciously, yanking the freezer door open once she got there. Her eyes scanned the shelves desperately for any empty space. The burning smell was getting worse now, and a faint black smoke had started trickling from the Wii. In a last-ditch attempt she decided to sacrifice a bag of peas and face her mom's wrath later.

"Goodbye, Eteled." she whispered, tears welling up despite her best efforts, as she pushed the freezer door shut.

After that, she just leaned in front of the fridge, heart still pumping madly, trying to take in what had just happened.

"The Corrupted Mii, whoever he is... and he just did that, I can't..."

Her knees gave way and she sank to the floor with a muffled sob.

"M-Maybe I should just.. get on my PC a bit. Try and forget." she said to herself between hiccups. Wiping her eyes on the sleeves of her hoodie, she got up and shakily walked to her room.

She turned on her computer, and got a Skype notification...

...from Kyle.

"Yeah, no."

Sam dismissed the notification and just stared absentmindedly at her desktop screen for a minute. There wasn't really anything she felt like doing in particular, but it was far too early to check on the Wii, and her mother wouldn't be home for another hour and a half.

With a sigh, she double-clicked on the pixelated chicken logo that belonged to Stardew Valley. Even though she typically preferred FPS games, there was something about Stardew's art style and music that soothed her.

The main menu loaded in, and -after taking a moment to trigger the easter egg that revealed three Junimos- Sam pressed the 'Load Game' button and opened up her farm.

Although she could barely focus on the screen in front of her for the first couple minutes, she eventually lost herself in the gentle tinkling music of the game, even almost knocking her water bottle over in excitement when she caught a pufferfish.

She had completely forgotten about the Wii and Kyle until the doorbell ringing jerked her back to reality.

"Oh- goodness, has it been that long already..?" she muttered to herself, glancing at the time displayed in the corner of the screen to confirm that yes, she had indeed spent an hour and a half saving up gold for a third chicken.

"And you haven't checked on the Wii, either. Eteled is probably freezing in there." a rather unpleasant part of her brain reminded her. "Oh, shoot!" she said, smacking her forehead. She had every intention to get to the kitchen right that instant, but she remembered her waiting mother while passing the door. She groaned and reached for the handle.

"Hi, mom, welcome home!" she said hurriedly, opening the door. "I'd love to stay and chat, but I think I, uh, left the microwave on. I'll be right back!"

It was a lousy excuse, but Sam managed to sprint off before her mother could stammer a response. She yanked the freezer door open and grabbed the Wii, sparing a moment to stuff the bag of peas she'd sacrificed back into the fridge. She had to stop herself from gagging at the horrible smell the Wii had left behind.

"Surely, that was long enough.." she muttered to herself once safely back in her room, setting the Wii down and plugging it back in. The exterior felt frigid, but traces of that slightly sulfuric smell still lingered in the air.

The Wii startup jingle played, and without a moment's hesitation she opened up the Mii Channel.

"S-Sam! T-Thank goodness you're b-back-" Eteled said hurriedly as soon as the Mii Channel opened. He was shivering, clearly the freezer had done its job...

Except the entire interface was glitching madly. The initial adrenaline rush had stopped her noticing when the Wii first opened, but now the screen was at a standstill, Sam wondered how she'd missed it before.

"I-I don't think it worked, t-the Wii's still m-melting. T-The freezer slowed it down a l-little, b-but now that it's out... W-What Austin d-did, the hardware w-was never b-built to handle it." Eteled continued, voice getting more distorted by the second.

"So the Corrupted Mii's real name is Austin," Sam noted dimly. "That explains the glitchy name bubble."

"What else can we do?!" she yelled in desperation, a mixture of fear and panic and anger- to whom she was angry at, she didn't know- in her voice. She didn't even care that her mom had most definitely heard her scream, she was about to lose her only friend, and she was absolutely helpless.

"What else can we do..." Sam repeated weakly, through a sob.

After letting the moment of quiet where Sam continued to hiccup silently drag on, Eteled opened his mouth to speak.

"T-There is one other t-thing w-we could try... b-but... no. It's too r-risky, you c-could burn yourself." Eteled said. He was evidently still freezing.

Sam leapt up, eyes already a little red. "What is it?"

"I d-do technically exist w-within this Wii's m-memory right now, s-so I think, if y-you get the SD c-card out of t-this one and get a n-new Wii t-to replace t-the other h-hardware, we s-should b-be fine."

Sam blinked.

"I t-told you it was a b-bad idea, as if you'd go t-through a-all that trouble j-just for m-me..." Eteled laughed weakly. At the same time, Sam said; "That's absolutely brilliant, let me go find a toolbox!"

The two stared at each other for a moment.

Then, miraculously, idiotically, wonderfully, they burst out laughing. How they managed to find humour in the situation, neither was sure, but it felt so wonderful they didn't care to stop.

The golden moment was broken by the acrid smell of burning plastic suddenly intensifying.

"Oh, shoot, the Wii, I'm an idiot- did you say the freezer was working? I should get it back in there." Sam remembered, internally slapping herself.

"A little, but I think it would be safer to get the SD card out now, before something happens." Eteled suggested. His shivering had stopped completely. Sam nodded and brushed her hand against the console on her way out, and she could tell why. The Wii felt hot enough to give her burns if she kept her hand on it for a moment too long.

However, when she reached the door, she hesitated. "I can't just leave him in there..."

After a brief second of delay, she picked up the fan that had been collecting dust in a corner of her room since fall and placed it beside the console.

"I'm going to unplug the Wii now, to hopefully let it cool down a bit." she notified Eteled. He nodded wordlessly, and Sam mirrored his silence as she tugged the cord out of the socket and plugged in the fan.

After adjusting the fan's angle to make sure the Wii was getting as much airflow as possible, Sam made a quick dash to her parents' room, threw a cabinet door open and heaved up the toolbox, and quickly sprinted back to her own room in record time.

She grabbed her laptop with one hand and set the toolbox down beside the Wii with the other, creating a small thunk noise in the process. She opened her laptop and looked up how to dismantle a Wii. It took a few tense minutes of furious Googling, but she managed to find an online tutorial eventually.

Sam slipped on a pair of clumsy heatproof gloves and dug through the mountain of screwdrivers, hammers, wrenches and just about everything else until she spotted the ones she needed.

"Here goes nothing..." she muttered to herself, making her first jab at the Wii with shaking hands.

She felt almost as though she was doing surgery as she unscrewed the areas the website was telling her to. The fan was still working in a flailing attempt to keep the Wii cool, and although the airflow wasn't strong enough to get through her heatproof gloves, it did remind her of the whirring machines one might find in a medical drama.

"Or..." she remembered the hospital Eteled had shown her, only a few days ago. A shiver ran down her spine. No. She wasn't thinking about that.

Sam reached for the lid and lifted it off gently. A hand subconsciously went up to wipe the beads of sweat she hadn't even noticed had appeared on her forehead.

She glanced at the tutorial and noted the SD card's size and location, identified it, and gently picked it out using a bent paperclip. Just as carefully, she placed it on her gloved hand.

It was actually kind of funny, knowing that Eteled was contained in the little black rectangle in her palm. A part of her wondered what Kyle would think of this, the "traumatizer" of his childhood stuck in a tiny plastic box.

She couldn't help but smile, even as the Wii let out a terrible sputtering noise and filled the vicinity with smothering black smoke for a brief moment before the fan blew it away. Sam reached for the fan's button and clicked it shut.

She plugged in the decade-old Wii one final time. She didn't even know what she was expecting it to do -she had removed its memory card, after all- but the poor machine's fans whirred to a start and the light turned green once more.

It was almost done starting up, clunking sounds coming from inside the console, when it abruptly stopped. The fans died down, the light sputtered out. The machine exhaled a last stream of black sulfuric smoke, the most it had released so far.

And with that, the Wii had fully melted. The only remaining accessible part of it was clenched in Sam's fist. She looked down at the thing. It had been through so much. So had the Mii inside of it.

She smiled, brought it up to her face, and whispered.

"Wii did it, Eteled."

"Wii did it."

[beetroot-merchant]

This is turning out to be a lot longer than I initially intended

Ficlet sneak peek because I couldn't draw today, it was pretty tough tryna figure out which part to post but, just my luck, I landed on the most terribly written part

Her eyes scanned the shelves desperately for any empty space. The burning smell was getting worse now, and a faint black smoke had started trickling from the Wii. In a last-ditch attempt she decided to sacrifice a bag of peas and face her mom's wrath later.

"Goodbye, Eteled." she whispered, tears welling up despite her best efforts, as she pushed the freezer door shut.

After that, she just leaned in front of the fridge, heart still pumping madly, trying to take in what had just happened.

Mostly just writing this to cope with that one death everyone is in denial with

[beetroot-merchant]

we need more surreal art that isnt the drawn/painted kind