The daycare kids have taught Sun about a certain Tumblr holiday and the attendant has made a plan to celebrate.
Bonus Doodles:
Process below cut (also check the image description for a transcript of the sticky notes and blueprint)
A photo of the actual blueprint and sticky notes made for this drawing, the concept for the cardboard dagger and the paper I used to brainstorm Sun and Moon's written conversation.
Random process tidbits:
The blueprint was drawn on actual construction paper leftover from when I was a little kid.
The dagger is based on the coins Brutus had minted to commemorate the event.
I made 5 oopsie sticky notes when writing out the back and forth notes between the duo, such as the very first one where I accidentally used blue to write out all of Sun's message.
Sun writes in cursive as a nod to the animatronic's theater days. I imagine this dramatic bot was either programmed with or developed a fancy signature for signing autographs.
I originally wanted to draw parts of the digital drawing in different styles to make this even more collage-like.
“say,” sun muses one evening after all the kids have gone home for the day, “can you do something for me, friend?”
you raise an eyebrow at him over your shoulder. blank white eyes peer down at you from a short distance away. his hands clutch onto a moon plush, long fingers kneading tersely into the soft material.
“what is it?” you ask curiously. the rag you’d been using to disinfect and clean the top of the security desk gets set off to the side so you can turn around and give him your full attention. you lean back against the desk and make a face at him. “you’re not gonna ask me to help clean out the ball pit again, are you?”
sun laughs—a loud, sharp thing that reverberates around the daycare in a way that makes your shoulders tense ever so minutely. he waves a hand at you as though to brush off your question. “oh no, nothing like that, silly! i just want you to repeat something for me.”
“repeat something,” you echo, eyes latched unwaveringly on his form. he tosses the moon plush into its designated bin and approaches closer to you. enough so that his shadow drenches itself over your smaller form like an unforgiving wave and your head cranes up awkwardly to meet his shaded gaze.
“yes, quite simple, really.” a golden hand reaches forward to set itself on the edge of the desk to your side—effectively caging you against it. a warning bell goes off in your head. you try not to shrink back, but it’s difficult. tendrils of unease snake their way through your chest and into your throat.
sun’s white-pupil look is unyielding—fixated on something just below your eyes. you swallow thickly.
“repeat after me,” he says in a voice no louder than a murmur. “i love you.”
your breathing stutters to a stop.
“what?” is the only thing that breaks through your befuddlement—breathless and rushed out like you couldn’t believe what he’d just said. the tendrils have coalesced into a pressing force that weighs heavily inside your chest.
sun’s faceplate ticks to the left sharply. grey eyes lower into a half-lidded stare. he makes a sound like he’s clicking his tongue against strangely sharp teeth, disapproving. “that is not what i asked of you, i’m afraid.” his head bows closer towards you. his optics crinkle into crescents as the edges of his smile thin like a razor. “try again.”
your lips make formless words, but not a sound comes out. your mind feels like it’s running hundreds of miles a minute and yet it’s also… not. there’s no way he understands the depth of what he’s saying, right? what he’s asking? you’re… unsure. you don’t know what to do and it shows in the uncertainty etched into your face and the tautness of your shoulders.
sun is patient—for now—but you are fumbling miserably. “i— why do you—?”
“ah ah ah,” sun cuts across your stuttering words before you can even get the sentence out. sharp fingers tap against the security desk at your side. tink tink tink. you suppress a shiver. “what did i say? repeat it.”
you’re stuck. you’re stuck and you have not a single clue on how to slip out of this in all of your unease and reluctance. your heart hammers away in your chest even as your ears burn and a warmth crawls up your neck. sun’s gaze places you in a spotlight and after assessing the way he curls over you in his own semblance of a cage, you exhale slowly through your nose and pull yourself together.
your jaw clenches, then relaxes, and you part your lips. “i… love you?”
you cringe internally at the high pitched cadence, but sun does not seem to mind. he shivers—minutely, so minutely—and you can feel where his arm shakes whilst pressed against your side. he looks at you like a lion watching a gazelle, teeth bared in a stretching smile. “again. i love you, sun.” his words are slow.
what are you doing. what are you doing? you balk in the face of his persistence. “i love you, sun.” the words feel… unripe. unnatural. your tongue is made of cotton and lead.
sun hums in delight—the line of his mouth just inches above your forehead. you cannot even begin to unravel the knot of emotions in your stomach.
“wonderful,” he eventually breathes into the minuscule space between your faces. his other hand raises to swipe a thumb adoringly under your eye and he sighs contentedly. “just wonderful.”
POV you’re the king and i just made an inappropriate joke about your virility in front of the whole royal court and you want to punish me but you can’t react in anger lest the court think my joke is true
do you love yourself? no? that's okay this character you love loves you back. are you kind? that is why they love you. are you patient? that is why they love you. are you a coward are you shy are you brave are you bold are you bratty? that is why they love you. you are loved and you will not be punished for seeking love. you are loved and you will find it here in these words.
do you love yourself yet? no? that's okay this character can love you until you do. this character will point out the few traits you can relate with yourself (your smile, your laugh, you brattiness, your whimsy, your strength, your sorrow) and tell you that they love that about you until one day you can love it, if not yourself, too.
do you love yourself yet? no? but you're starting to accept that you can be loved? that there is something in you- your awkwardness, your bashfulness, your straightforward mind, you ability to heal, your ability to fight- that someone could look at and learn to adore? well done. you're right, this character does see that and adore it. you may not love yourself just now, just yet, but now you see right? That there is something to love in you?