thepapernautilus

[thepapernautilus]

somewhere out there right now is a kid with curly hair being raised by people who have wavy hair at best and those people are giving them 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner and telling them to dry brush it. and that kid is gonna spend all of middle school and high school hating their hair and moping over the flat iron. they're being told right now that if they don't dry-brush their curl pattern into oblivion every morning it means they're unkempt and gross even though they naturally have the kind of ringlets that a thousand bridezillas would commit horrible murders for every june. it's happening right now it's an absolute epidemic and a tragedy every time

[thepapernautilus]

Not to be a bitch but sometimes people engage with fiction in the most boring way possible, and nowhere is this clearer than in videogames. Like what you mean you hate a character just because they were kind of abrasive when speaking to the player character? "They were mean to me" and it didn't occur to you to wonder why? Like, what might their attitude toward you reveal about the world? About the social dynamics within it? About their own perspectives and backgrounds and personalities? Does it even occur you to ask? Would you only have liked them if they bowed to your presence and talked about how great you are? Like I'm sorry but you're so boring. How boring fiction would be if it cathered to you

[thepapernautilus]

They deserved happiness ❤️‍🩹

[thepapernautilus]

love wins all 💜

[thepapernautilus]

🐯 inside a saltwater room. 🐟

a rujinu post-canon fix-it one-shot inspired by the aquarium date concept art.

no archive warnings apply; explicit; 4.3k.

But as schoolchildren rush past and mothers push their strollers and couples whisper to each other, it feels otherworldly tranquil in the sapphire waters, a world of windows into different universes, creatures that only existed in aquamarine stasis. She drifts from aquarium to aquarium, the lush greenery of the freshwater aquariums with rainbow fish and tetras and tiger-striped corydoras swirling in ancient synchronicity. They school together like it's second-nature, the way a crowd effortlessly weaves around a traffic accident. The tanks grow magnitudes larger, the glass so thick it distorts her view into these captured ecosystems, greens slipping away into coral and rock formations and glimmering anemones like fauna from a different planet. Between swirling sand tiger sharks, she sees him. Dark hair, broad shoulders, the straight nose—it is unmistakably Jinu. But she is as certain of his presence as she was of the other ghosts she'd chased down in convenience stores and conference rooms. Rumi blinks hard. A shark slithers past her, light reflecting off its sandpapery hide as its gills flex. Jinu stares at her. She draws closer, coming nose-to-nose with the glass. A child bawls to her left, some dessert dropped onto the floor. His mother carries him away. Jinu is dressed simply in a white t-shirt and denim jeans, holding an aquarium pamphlet. No hat, no glasses, no facemask. The missing boy from the wanted posters. No one snaps photos. She's still not entirely certain he isn't a ghost. The cool blue light renders him unearthly, and she squints very hard to make out the tell-tale demon stripes that demarcate his kind. She steps to the right, and he follows her, all the way down the line until they meet at the curved edge of the aquarium. Either her mind had finally collapsed in on herself, the Honmoon had shattered, or— "Are you real?" Rumi blurts. Jinu smiles, the corners of his eyes crinkling. "That depends."

[thepapernautilus]

(source)

[thepapernautilus]

Tired from practice 🫣

[thepapernautilus]

KPOP DEMON HUNTERS (2025) dir. Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans

[thepapernautilus]

working her (failed)

[thepapernautilus]

I witnessed greatness, I kicked its teeth in.

[thepapernautilus]

K-pop: Demon Hunters - early vis dev - 2022 - part 01/?

[thepapernautilus]

All of the Tulpar Crew in their Western setting. Finally!

Plus a secret 6th portrait….

[thepapernautilus]

I have to believe that our worst moments don't make us monsters.

my brain has interpreted curlya and i am going insane

[thepapernautilus]

Day after -̷̎̍-̶̼̦͓̯̄̐̊̓͆̄͐̍-̸̜̩̆̔̅̓̆̋̎͋̚͘-̷̛̭̮͔̊̂̄͛̐

part of the au in my head where curly actually takes initiative

[thepapernautilus]

Sometimes I'll be promoted, buy a house, fall in love.

based off this vintage illustration and this tag someone left on my other curlya piece - thank you i laughed

[thepapernautilus]

WINTAA ^_^ last one is old btw that's why Curly looks off AUGH

[thepapernautilus]

Mouthwashing doodles. Things get boring on the Tulpar :)