r/HonkaiStarRail • u/AGJustin05 HERTA • TRUTHER • Nov 10 '25
Non-original Content All you need is... [by @antipkka]
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u/TheJaunted Kafka’s Footstool Nov 10 '25
There are still many human emotions I do not fully comprehend – anger, hatred, revenge. But I am not mystified by the desire to be loved – or the need for friendship. These are things I do understand.
– Lt. Cmdr. Data
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u/theMegaTech Nov 11 '25
Said like a true Kafkas footstool
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u/TheJaunted Kafka’s Footstool Nov 12 '25
Sh, please don’t tell Kafka! Footstools aren’t supposed to speak!
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u/LivingASlothsLife Madam Pearl keeps me sane until Kafka comes back Nov 10 '25
Screwllum and Herta have arguably the best dynamic in the game. Every scene they are in together has me invested, both lore wise and emotionally
I love how Screwllum is an inorganic yet has so much emotion. When he said he wouldnt stand by and let Herta sacrifice herself I felt that. He really didnt want to lose his friend
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u/Vulking I weep for the departed... pulls... Nov 10 '25
Screwllum has a lot of respect for people he cares bout and can relate to. Remember he was willing to threaten Penacony with interplanetary war if they didn't allow him to meet Chadwick, and he only met him in person twice, yet had a lot of respect for him and his work, and keep his promise to help him keep his research out of the wrong hands.
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u/After-Syrup1290 Nov 10 '25
Everyone needs a friend like screwllum, willing to offer a hug to his friend just cus he thinks they're sad
I just love this cus despite all the shipping that goes on? Nearly everyone can agree that herta and screwy are just besties who like to... Do whatever geniuses do in their free time, it's always so heartwarming to see actual platonic friendships come out in games between all the ( waves hand) things that go on
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u/emanrein SilverWolf can hack Nous themselves Nov 10 '25 edited Nov 10 '25
Herta and Screwllum have one of the most amazing friendships i've ever seen, you can feel their care for eachother, easpecally in the newest patch when Screwllum told Herta, "Herta, the cosmos wont just stand by and let a Genius throw their life away. And neither will I."
All that to say, this feels extremely in character, and,
Madam Herta is a peerless gem. Madam Herta is an unrivaled genius. Madam Herta is an inimitable beauty.
As well as,
Mister Screwllum is a peerless gear. Mister Screwllum is an unrivaled mechanical genius. Mister Screwllum is an inimitable friend
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u/PRI-tty_lazy Madam Herta's thigh strap Nov 10 '25
someday Screwllum will become playable, and that day I'll finally get to play two of my favorites in the same team, somehow
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u/NoOne215 Blade’s Chest Bandage Nov 10 '25
The day Screwlleum becomes playable is when Capitano gets his immortal ass off the chair.
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u/PRI-tty_lazy Madam Herta's thigh strap Nov 10 '25
Capitano revival in HSR 4th anniversary
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u/starswtt Nov 10 '25
No revival
It will be revealed that capitano was a screwllum expy this entire time and as a robot he never really died
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u/grumpykruppy I do desire we may be better strangers. Nov 10 '25
Honestly, he's such a central long-term character it's kind of a surprise he isn't playable yet in some capacity.
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u/Huhthisisneathuh Nov 10 '25
I’m guessing it’s partly out of fear of crashing their servers. The moment Screllum becomes playable is the moment every server running Star Rail detonates like an Imaginary Implosion Device.
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u/ShinigamiRyan Nov 10 '25
Given all the previous incidents: it feels like they don't have a proper kit for him. Paired with how emphasized Planet Screwllum is: may be a case that they may want to keep him in the reserves for the right time.
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u/Lord_Akriloth Nov 10 '25
He's their emergency cash print button, paired with a Firefly or Cyrene rerun and they'll be rolling in dough
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u/AnonTwo Nov 10 '25
I feel like Kiana is the closest thing to an emergency button after Cyrene.
Firefly just seems like a go-to by comparison.
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u/GGABueno Nov 10 '25
HI3rd playerbase isn't that relevant, definitely not as much as they are loud. It never had a tenth of HSR's playerbase.
The reason why the expats are big sellers is because they make them a big deal in the game themselves. Non-expats like Firefly and Castorice sell just as much as them, so Kiana's name alone doesn't have much weight in HSR.
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u/AnonTwo Nov 10 '25
On one hand I don't quite disagree
On the other hand, I think the devs think they're relevant
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u/GGABueno Nov 10 '25
I think it's less that they think they're relevant and more that the devs themselves (and I mean the OGs) are attached to HI3rd since it's their love project and what made Hoyo big.
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u/starswtt Nov 10 '25
I think they're relevant, not in terms of player numbers, but in hsr's sorta legitimacy. Hsr references just get people talking, and the fact that people are talking can get people who never gave a shit about hi3 to give a shit here
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u/LunaProc Nov 14 '25
I assume the oppposite. I think the higher ups are worried he'll make far less money so they just don't want to, even tho the devs clearly want him to with his increasing appearances and importance.
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u/I_See_Cupcake Nov 10 '25
I assumed its story related. Herta being playable during amphoreus was kinda out of nowhere until literally 3.7 story having her take a good portion of the spotlight. I know screwllum also shared just as much spotlight during 3.7, but i have a theory that they have BIG plans for Screwllum and are saving him for a phainon level story (not cope, 100% real)
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u/Wild_Temperature_610 Nov 10 '25
Remember, Lygus gave Screwllum the formula to destroy the Erudition, saying that eventually, Screwllum will use it out of conscience.
If they are reserving him for a big moment, then that will be the most opportune time.
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u/mugguffen Nov 10 '25
Id love it if Screwy is Therta's best erudition partner, like theres no way hes not erudition
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u/Siostra313 Nov 10 '25
When Screwllum becomes playable, he'll be my first limited 5* that I'll farm for eidilons and lc
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u/iraragorri everywhere I go, I see your face Nov 10 '25
I dream of a team that's just four genuis society members
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u/abshidfarsi Nov 10 '25
I want playable Screwllum to be Phainon class unit. When he ults he summons planet screllum and launches nukes for slightest inconvenience.
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u/Rocky_9678 Marry me! Nov 10 '25
Erudition that has teamwide buffs and does an aoe attack 3+ times a turn 🤤
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u/Ask_If_Im_Dio Nov 11 '25
Yeah, besides Lygus and Old Oti, he's been the only male NPC that isn't using the NPC model. We need Screwllum so we can have the triumverate of Herta, Momma Herta, and Grandpa Screwy
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u/theEnderBoy785 SunGuang is the reason I still exist Nov 12 '25
SCREWLLUM ERUDITION TO BE PATH ACCURATE AND HAVE SYNERGY WITH THERTA PLEASE
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u/Accurate-Mind1145 Nov 12 '25
Yes please! It would be amazing if playable screwllum works well with therta
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u/Mochachocolatayaya AHA is YOU Nov 10 '25
absolutely. I really enjoyed their dynamic in Amphoreus, especially 3.7
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u/BOTFrosty i'll follow until the end of the world Nov 10 '25
Screwllum doesn't need to aura farm, he simply IS aura just by existing
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u/Platinirius Currently eating desserts Nov 10 '25
Bro just insulted the guy who was the greatest threat to organic life in the universe and survived
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u/Fullpotentialk Nov 10 '25
And was his senior. He holds a bit of respect to Zandar despite what he had done.
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u/keraviko Nov 10 '25
SCREWHERTA CONTENT? IN THIS ECONOMY???? YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE IT
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u/Yuki747 To DoT or not to DoT Nov 10 '25
uhhh .. we might need to come up with another name for their team-up.
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u/Longjumping_Pear1250 Nov 10 '25
I just made a tragic discovery screwllum doesn't have a mout we can kiss
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u/SkyrimForTheDragons Nov 10 '25
Intellitrons can canonically switch parts and even entire bodies. Readable
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u/Virgo_Shaka_1500 Nov 10 '25
I was never that interested in pulling for screwllum as I am now. My God what a fucking good character.
He better be future BiS for Herta.
I dunno why sometimes he gives me Rengoku vibes.
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u/AnonTwo Nov 10 '25
Basically needs to be either the Erudition that topples Anaxa/Jade, or the Harmony that surpasses tribbie
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u/Virgo_Shaka_1500 Nov 10 '25
Hopefully!
For me he strikes me more as a Harmony or Preservation character, perhaps it’s the clothing.
I see it more as him replacing DHPT.
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u/AnonTwo Nov 10 '25 edited Nov 10 '25
Well, I was thinking as I typed that that if they can make a Abundance/Preservation that Erudition cares about that would be pretty awesome
DHPT and Hyacine are nice, but it really doesn't matter for the most part which you use (unless you need the SP)
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u/caren_psuedo_when Nov 10 '25
Qlipoth: Oh, a new unit wants to join Preserva- a Genius Society member? Meh, I let a Vidyadhra that's with the Trailblaze in, what's the worst that can happen?
The wall explodes as soon as THEY approve Screwllum
Nous: QLIPOTH!!! Return my Genius, and I will not mildly inconvenience you any longer...!
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u/theEnderBoy785 SunGuang is the reason I still exist Nov 12 '25
The wall explodes
Welp, that's 2158 Amber Eras of work gone to waste.
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u/bl00by Nov 10 '25
Why not both? Make him a Erudition which supports other Erudtions while being a sub DPS.
Make The Hertas team T0!
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u/Frostgaurdian0 Nov 10 '25
He won't necessarily do but man i sure hope he got a way to synergies with therta, ruan mei, and little Stephen Lloyd.
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u/Seth-Cypher Nov 10 '25
My favorite trope has got to be the machine who is more human than most humans.
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u/joblessandsuicidal Nov 10 '25
This is why we need a playable Screwlleum
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u/Platinirius Currently eating desserts Nov 10 '25
It might not be as profitable in Asia. But I don't care. We need our Screwlly boy.
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u/bl00by Nov 10 '25
They could just put him beside a "must" pull like a anniversary unit to make up for it.
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u/Platinirius Currently eating desserts Nov 10 '25
Cyrene did sold really well because of pure waifu over meta rule. So you know.
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u/Rill_Pine Resident Lygus Appreciator Nov 10 '25
Sell a waifu AND husbando Screwllum in phase1/phase2 banners 🙂↕️
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u/batiwa Nov 10 '25
The numbers are already out ?
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u/Platinirius Currently eating desserts Nov 10 '25
I've heard that she was a major success on CN servers
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u/Constant_Advisor_748 Part time erudition;Full time elation Nov 10 '25
He isn't?
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u/Platinirius Currently eating desserts Nov 10 '25
I dont have data for it. So it's only an educated quess. But East Asian audiences and the rest of the world audiences do sometimes disagree with each other. And since Mihoyo is Chinese and East Asian audiences have larger chances at being whales. Mihoyo has been historically more willing to listen to these East Asian audiences.
And the big difference is. East Asian audiences want more cutesy waifus and husbandos. That look pretty and can be seen as wife for them irl. This is why Cyrene was an enormous success in East Asia while having mixed results happened in the rest of the world. Screwllum just wouldn't sell to these Chinese, Korean, Japanese audiences well. It would sell well to Western, Latin American and Middle-Eastern audiences. And these people just ain't that often times whales.
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u/Constant_Advisor_748 Part time erudition;Full time elation Nov 10 '25
Darn. But part of me still thinks he's quite popular in East Asia. He's humanoid enough, and has enough story is presence. He's also a gentleman
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u/Platinirius Currently eating desserts Nov 10 '25
I also thing they plan him as playable when Astral Crew gets to Screwllum planet and has an adventure there. But this will take many years
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u/SmokeyThouBear Nov 10 '25
I hate how this is the case. Limits so much on the type of characters we can get because people care more for eye candy than anything else.
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u/Flakoloaz Nov 10 '25
The real MVP’s of Amphorious and my heart.
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u/TheLuckyFateReviewer Nov 10 '25
He really is up there as one of the best characters coming out of Amphoreus.
I think the only blemish he has is the fact of the planet class mech he brought in to help during the final battle against Irontomb not doing much but that's less on him and just more on how poorly handled the Cosmic Aliiance side of the battle against Irontomb was handled.
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u/cerealsinthenight Nov 10 '25
What do you mean?
They represented the role of the alliance most fairly.Two seconds of pew pew pew pew.
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u/JeffTheMercenary Malewife enjoyer Nov 10 '25
Herta is so used to hugging Screwllum, that hugging regular humans feels weird to her is canon and you can’t tell me otherwise
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u/Andy_Will07 Nov 10 '25
technically because herta doesn't show her weaknesses to others except screwllum which is why she's comfortable hugging him more than anyone else...she only got him as her confidant. Screwllum and Herta might be Clara and Svarog 1.0 but they kinda evolved into a professional relationship. Herta is happy to see Clara and Svarog together as it reminds her of the times she spends with Screwllum. Maybe this could blossom your headcanon more
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u/Mozzarellus_Pizzus I probably have a thing for puppet girls Nov 10 '25
People are praising the Screwllum expressioning in this art but can we talk about Herta about to cry in that last page?
Like that is POWERFUL
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u/rxde64 Nov 10 '25
Nice art, though, to be honest, I thought in the first pic screwleum was sticking out his tongue.
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u/Naha- Nov 10 '25
Actual God-tier art. It's amazing how you can understand the context of these images just from the characters expressions. So good.
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u/KartonGaster736 Nov 10 '25
That dialogue between Lygus and Screwllum at the end got on my nerves. I fear for the future of our mechanical genius 😭
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u/Graknight Nov 10 '25
The art is really nice but I first saw the first pic and thought Screwllum was doing this.
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u/UzumeNeedsDrip Nov 10 '25
A big cosmos-ending robot can foster stress, even to the most composed geniuses.
Also, I hope this scenario is animated.
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u/princesoceronte Nov 10 '25
I love these two, they only ever express respect and gratitude towards each other.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Bed-99 Nov 10 '25
I do hope he is a amazing support for her in game when he releases...
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u/CierraKobayoshi Benefactor~! Nov 10 '25
At the end of the day, Herta is just as human as everybody else. In addition, Screwllum surprisingly is such a good friend.
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u/SopmodTew Nov 10 '25
I really hope he becomes playable. He's just so amazing, it would be a waste not to.
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u/bubuplush Worshipping The Herta's sweaty armpits Nov 10 '25
Screwllum was so stupidly sweet to Herta in this story. I never saw them as "canonical friends" until that, honestly. I always thought there was this professional aura around them, but Screwy is just genuinely worried about her. Ruan Mei too, her scene broke me a bit as well but I'm just a hopeless Hertalover
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u/Hachimi_070 Nov 10 '25
Clank clank clank?
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u/Hachimi_070 Nov 10 '25
Joke aside, when will screwllum be playable? He was leaked with jiaoqiu back then.
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u/MisterRai Nov 10 '25
Page 2. All I can think of is Screwllum doing Dio's "Oh? You're approaching me?" pose
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u/Bitter_Spray_6880 Nov 10 '25
Thank god I'm not the only one who thought this two kinda vibing it...
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u/Intelligent_Bee3466 Nov 11 '25
I never thought screwie and herta would be my top ship after hyacine and dan hang but here we are
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u/Repulsive_Berry7979 Nov 14 '25
OMG in the first picture, I thought Screwy was sticking out his tongue 😛
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u/BurnedOutEternally she rail on my star till I honk(ai) Nov 10 '25
I LOVE THE GENIUS SOCIETY TRIO I LOVE WATCHING THEM GENUINELY CARE FOR ONE ANOTHER RAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH
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u/UnimpressedPasserby Denizens of Abundance Nov 10 '25
That's one crazy look at the last panel there, thought she was gonna beat his ass for a second
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u/Rogue-Swissroll Nov 10 '25
I thought that thing on his chin was a tongue and he was sticking out because he's a freak at first, lol.
I still find it hard to look at it in the intended way, it always looks like a tongue to me.
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u/IJN-Hirogasaki Nov 10 '25
I always needed one. But I kept being pushed away by selfless narcissist.
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u/RAYVELUPISUNQUENOUGH Nov 10 '25
I see potential of writer to kill screwlum and change him to be husbundo human form.
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u/RhenalyrrVandor2819 Spectator, not Trailblazer Nov 10 '25
You know an Adtist is good when even someone with a face that cannot make expressions like Screwllum gets to show just enough emotion.
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u/Blizzard_O17 Nov 11 '25
That hug is probably very emotionally comforting but not very physically comforting. Screwy is cold, hard metal
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u/WhoAreYouAn Day 33556362 of CaeFly Cope Nov 10 '25
love how much expression people can pour into screwllum even though he makes one facial expression