#I try to make designs as close to their sprites

[lu-is-not-ok]

two in one theory... i am listening very intently if you ever feel up to share it!!

Alright, so this is gonna be... as close to an Abridged explanation of the theory as I can make, because if I went off on everything about it I would end up writing a whole dissertation or five hour video essay script on this shit.

There are gonna be three main sections to this post - Hong Lu's Daiyuisms, Hong Lu's Themes of Identity and how that connects to the concept of Two in One, and the Daiyu-Baoyu theory itself.

Strap in folks.

Hong Lu's Daiyuisms

If you know anything about my theories in the earlier days of Limbus, you might know that I'm one of the very few people who was convinced Hong Lu is actually Daiyu, due to some evidence I found personally compelling. This has not changed, as we've only gotten just as much extra evidence to this as we have to him being Baoyu. So let me just speedrun through some of these points.

The Fucking Jade Eye

Ok hear me out. This is maybe the least important piece of evidence but I can never stop thinking about it. Hong Lu's jade eye? Not actually fully blue! If you look closely on most of his sprites, you can see that he actually has sectoral heterochromia, meaning his jade eye is both blue and black.

Daiyu's name, quite literally, translates to blue-black jade.

Now, you could claim that this is merely meant to be an easter egg reference to her, but... is that really Project Moon's style? After all, when people speculated on Don Quixote being Sancho or a Bloodfiend partially based on her appearance all the way back since near launch, they turned out to be right.

Hong Lu's Father

As of now, there is only one instance of Hong Lu referencing his Father in Limbus, and it's a voiceline from his Base Identity:

Now, if you know anything about DOTRC, this should already be raising some flags, because if Hong Lu was just Baoyu, he would not fucking talk like that about his Father.

In the book, Baoyu is consistently shown to be afraid of his Father, for a good reason mind you, as he's his main abuser. Baoyu would not be looking forward to introducing his friends to that man.

Even if Hong Lu was trying to downplay the abuse he's recieved, this would still not fit his pattern of behavior. When topics that genuinely bother Hong Lu come up, such as what could make him distort or how rich people would enjoy gifts made of humans, he immediately pivots and tries to avoid the topic at all cost. He would not bring up his main abuser in such a lighthearted manner, he would avoid bringing him up at all cost.

However, there is a character in DOTRC which does in fact have a more positive relationship to her Father, and would likely be the one with an opinion such as that - Daiyu. Daiyu loves her Father, and when he dies she completely disappears from the story for a bit to attend his funeral. If there was anyone who would be excited to introduce their friends to their Father, it'd be Daiyu.

Lasso Hong Lu's Corrosion

I made a whole seperate post about this, but I might as well mention it here as well for the sake of completion. The design choices made for Hong Lu which are missing for Faust are very, very Daiyu-coded.

For one, not only does Hong Lu completely turn into a flower, unlike Faust, his horse also gains a flower in its mouth. For those whose knowledge of DOTRC is zero to none, Daiyu is a reincarnation of a Flower given sentience due to being watered by the Jade. I don't think I have to be the one to connect the dots between those two pieces of info for you.

The second is how the halters become a noose for Hong Lu. This, too, is a very Daiyu thing - Rose Hunter as an Abnormality represents the inability to escape one's fate, and Daiyu's fate is to die - the Jia Family arranging a marriage between Baoyu and Baochai leads to Daiyu falling deathly ill, which in itself could be considered a part of her repaying her Debt of Tears - the debt she swore to repay to the Jade/Baoyu when she was still a Flower.

The hilarity of the fact that this E.G.O came out in the same update as Hong Lu being called Baoyu in-story is not lost on me.

Rose Sign Abnormality Log

The third Log for Rose Sign ends in a very peculiar way.

There's multiple ways one can tie Hong Lu's odd reluctance to talk about flowers and the petals. One is the obvious "he's being reminded of Daiyu because she was a Flower" connection, but there's another one.

One of the most commonly potrayed images of Daiyu relates to a scene in DOTRC where she buries fallen flower petals, weeping for and lamenting the mortality of the flowers and herself. Hong Lu's reaction here to his fellow Sinners being reduced to nothing but petals upon Rose Sign's death feels like a notable parallel to Daiyu's flower burial scene.

Like literally everything about Kurokumo Hong Lu

The title for this is a bit of an exaggeration, but at the same time. I'm serious. Kurokumo Hong Lu is perhaps the most Daiyu Identity out of all the Hong Lu Identities we have, and the way he is designed to stand out among them further makes me go insane.

Kurokumo Hong Lu's most defining trait is his attitude - he often complains about his position and how authority treats him, though he doesn't really act out against them in any major way outside of making snarky or sarcastic remarks.

This is, frankly, an extremely Daiyu thing to do. Daiyu is one of the few characters who audibly complains about her treatment in the household. For example she complains about not being given as many opportunities to show off her poetry skills as her male peers are, and she recognises how, when all the girls in the family are given flowers, she's the last one to recieve them and thus is stripped of the ability to pick, being only given the leftovers.

Then there's the whole. Everything about Kurokumo Hong Lu's visual design. Because once you realize just how Daiyu-like the Identity is, you realize just how weird he is compared to other Hong Lu Identities. I mean just look how he compares to his other Identities.

He's the only Hong Lu Identity with a blue tint to his hair in the combat sprite rather than the usual purple.

He's the only Hong Lu Identity whose hairtie is a ribbon rather than a jade ring (Liu Hong Lu technically has the ribbon in his post-uptie art, but he doesn't have it in his combat sprite so I'm not counting him).

He's the only Hong Lu Identity to not be smiling in his combat sprites.

And he's the only Hong Lu Identity (and one of only four Identities in the game) whose Idle sprite has its body facing away from the opponent rather than facing towards them.

All of those combine to make him stand out like a sore thumb in a Hong Lu Identity lineup in a way that makes it feel intentional, especially since he's also the only Hong Lu Identity with that kind of notable attitude towards authority. Other Hong Lu Identities are either obedient, don't express any opinion, or just straight up are the authority.

The Baoyu reveal is framed in a very weird way

This is, admittedly, less of a Daiyuism and more of a not-Baoyuism, but I thought it'd be important to mention nonetheless.

There are a lot of things about Canto 7's reveal of Hong Lu's name being Baoyu that are very strange, especially compared to how the Canto frames Don Quixote's own reveal of actually being Sancho.

For one, the timing itself - why is such an important piece of info being revealed so early? Again, compare to Donqui - she was revealed to be a Bloodfiend in the Intervallo right before Canto 7, and the Sancho reveal only came in the second half of the Canto.

For two, the framing - Donqui's reveals are treated as what they are, Major Reveals. The Baoyu reveal on the other hand happens in a single off-handed line, with nobody reacting to it in any way. Neither Hong Lu nor the other Sinners seem to hear it after all.

And mind you, it's not like Limbus is opposed to giving us important information in off-handed lines - far from it in fact. Project Moon loves shoving little bits of foreshadowing and reveals you don't realize are reveals until way later in these kinds of off-handed lines. But the way those lines are treated is still very different to how the Baoyu reveal is treated.

Usually, when there's foreshadowing in off-handed lines, it's usually either vague enough to be something a character could say regardless of context (see Yi Sang getting hung up on the Sedatives bit in Canto 2 or Ishmael's comment about Syndicates pretending to be Families foreshadowing her own history with the Middle via Queequeg) or something that is in the middle of a scene that distracts from what is actually being said (like Hong Lu's distortion foreshadowing being in the middle of an important infodump or most of everything in Canto 2 being surrounded by a comedic tone).

None of this is present for the Baoyu reveal. There's nothing to distract you from this information, as the scene is already focused on discussing Hong Lu, meaning you're already likely to be paying attention to what is being said about him. There's also no vagueness about it, there's no way you can brush it off since not only are Wei and Xichun newly introduced characters, but it's a whole ass clearcut namedrop.

The only way I can justify that reveal being there in the form it takes is that it in itself is the distraction. Think about it. Didn't I point it out earlier that this reveal came in the same update as the E.G.O with an extremely Daiyu-coded corrosion design? Wouldn't it make sense for that reveal to be there to lower your guard, make you think you resolved that mystery, only to later on reveal it wasn't the whole story after all?

Hong Lu's Themes of Identity

So this section is a bit more vague than the Daiyuism section, because Hong Lu is the type of guy to just Say Shit all the time. It's basically just. Anything that I find relevant to the idea of Hong Lu's Identity being more complex than him just being a random guy using a pseudonym, with some (but maybe not all) of them directly tying to the idea of Two in One.

"Which one is the real you?"

There are currently two seperate scenes where Hong Lu muses on the idea of someone's identity being in some way vague or obscured.

Is Dante the person or the clock? Is the dreamer the one in the dream or the one who wakes from it? Which you is the real you? Does it even matter if that you will flutter away in the end?

This idea of there being one true self. That even if there are two, there is only one of them that is actually you. Curious, right?

Face-changing dance

During the Canto 2 scene where everyone gives their reasons for whether or not they'd be a good pick for being the one to dance, Hong Lu says this.

Bian lian is a kind of dance literally translated as "face-changing". It involves rapid changes between various masks and make-up to represent different emotions or characters.

Now, it's no secret that Hong Lu is a great actor, as we see in Canto 4, and Canto 7 shows how the comparison to theatre and actors can be used to symbolize one's performance of identity, as it does for Sancho and her Don Quixote persona.

Mind you, this reveal comes in the same scene as Sinclair's dance invoking the image of a bonfire burning all through the night according to the Mariachis, a clear foreshadowing to Canto 3 and the Literal burning down of Sinclair's home.

Hong Lu knowing bian lian could be further foreshadowing to his own skills in deception, and how he too is a sort of actor, not unlike Don Quixote. On the other hand however, it could also be a more literal foreshadowing, that he (Baoyu) Quite Literally changed his face. We won't know until Canto 8, but it is an option you know.

The HamHamPangPang dish(es)

For those who don't know, here is a list of the Sinner-themed dishes that were available at HamHamPangPang.

Now, chances are, not all of them have deep meanings. I don't think there's much of a deep meaning to Heathcliff and Ishmael's dishes, I think PJM just legit don't know much about British/American cuisine so they just picked something recogniseable.

However, not all of them are meaningless picks either. Ryoshu, likely a mother, has a meal literally called "parent-and-child donburi". Don Quixote, a Bloodfiend, has a garlic-based dish. These were clearly done on purpose.

So, what does it say that Hong Lu's dish is actually two different dishes? That he's the only one whose dish is two different dishes? And it's not like the two are in some way inherently connected, since they're of completely different cuisines. Japchae is a Korean dish, not Chinese like the Mandarin rolls.

And just in case you weren't convinced that Hong Lu's choice of dishes is purposeful - another name for Mandarin rolls is flower buns, and one of the special occasions japchae is commonly served for is weddings. If you had read through the Daiyuisms section and somehow have no idea what the significance of that is, I don't know what to tell you.

The Daiyu-Baoyu Theory (finally)

So. I gave some evidence for why I think Hong Lu could still be Daiyu despite being revealed as Baoyu. I gave some evidence for why I think Hong Lu could be a Two in One deal, or that at the very least there's something more complex going on with his identity. But let's discuss the theory itself, how it would recontextualize certain things, and why I think it's an extremely fitting an thematically resonant direction for Hong Lu's Canto to go in.

The Theory

Here's what I speculate is going on.

Daiyu, just like in DOTRC, is someone who was taken in into the Jia Household rather than born in it, and who strongly connected with Baoyu upon meeting him. The two would end up forming a bond strong enough that they would be willing to die for one another (or, if they're in particularly argumentative moods, to kill themselves just to force the other to have to live a long life grieving over them - this is an actual argument they have in DOTRC and I pray to god this is adapted into Limbus because it's too fucking funny).

At some point, Baoyu either dies or is brought to near death, likely through the same circumstances as in DOTRC - being beaten by his Father. To save him, his memories and consciousness would be transferred to his eye, a process not dissimilar to the one Xichun brings up in Canto 7, and implanted into Daiyu's body, causing them to become a vessel for Baoyu. This would be how Hong Lu as he is now is created.

All of the above is the main basis for this theory. Everything else that I might speculate about, such as the exact nature of the two's relationship, Daiyu's more exact background and personality, how their pre-reincarnation lives could be adapted - all of those are things that are purely speculative and ones that I don't really expect to be actually fulfilled. The only bits that I am sure are likely to be true is what I laid out above.

So... what does it all mean for the future? I'm glad you asked!

The Recontextualization

Here's a collection of just a couple of things that Hong Lu has said or is depicted as that would be heavily recontextualized if this theory ends up being true.

Hong Lu surviving despite claiming he didn't fight back when his siblings first tried to kill him: With the context that he used to be two seperate people, the answer to how he survived is made very simple. Baoyu is the one who wasn't fighting back. Daiyu, however, could have still protected him in turn.

The red ribbon on Hong Lu's weapon: There is only one other Sinner who has a similar decoration on their weapon - Ryoshu, who also has a red ribbon on her sword, which could be easily connected to Yuzuki and her death. With the context of Hong Lu being Baoyu occupying Daiyu's body and thus effectively rendering their self non-existent, the red ribbon could be a parallel symbol - a symbol of Daiyu and their 'death'.

How Hong Lu treats his weapon in his base E.G.O: The way Hong Lu holds his weapon in the illustration is more like he's cradling another person. This could be a representation of how he feels about Daiyu's situation. Likewise, in the attack animation, he's not really attacking with the weapon itself, is he? He's simply using it to direct a ribbon (which in itself is missing in the illustration), the part that is actually the attack. If the weapon in the base E.G.O represents Daiyu, this could be a parallel to how Baoyu feels like he's merely directing Daiyu's body to attack, rather than being the one actually attacking.

The duality of Hong Lu IDs: There is a notable pattern among Hong Lu IDs, and that is the focus on his attitude to violence. When he's in a situation where he's obedient towards his Family, he's either uninterested in violence, bored of it, or otherwise given no other choice but to use it as a reprieve from boredom. However, when he's in a situation where he's disconnected from his Family or otherwise questioning the status quo, he's shown to not only be much more aggressive and violent, but to outright enjoy it. With the context of Hong Lu being composed of two people, this duality could represent each of his components - the obedient and violence-averse being more Baoyu-like, while the questioning and violence-favoring being more Daiyu-like.

So, there's a bunch of stuff that would be given new meaning under the premise of this theory being true. But now, what about the future? What would this theory mean for the themes and ending of Canto 8?

The Resolution

I believe this is how the Daiyu-Baoyu theory will affect Canto 8.

At some point, whether before or during the Canto, it will be revealed that Hong Lu is both Daiyu and Baoyu. There will be an attempt to seperate the two, perhaps to implant Baoyu into a more fitting, more Jia Family-approved Vessel. Perhaps because the 'arranged marriage' from DOTRC could be adapted into something more... let's say Fear and Hunger kind of marriage rather than traditional marriage.

This will leave Hong Lu to be returned to their state as Daiyu, who will be revealed to be a very different person to what the Sinners knew Hong Lu as. There is a non-zero chance that Daiyu will be unable to hear Dante or be revived by them due to the one who signed the contract being Baoyu, and so they could end up acting as an uncontrollable ally unit not unlike Xichun in Canto 7.

The climax would then be Daiyu and Baoyu reuniting and being unwilling to part with each other again, even for the sake of returning to being the fake persona that is Hong Lu, leading to a potential duo boss fight/distortion boss fight/duo distortion boss fight.

The ending would be the two of them deciding to embrace their new identity as Hong Lu and truly becoming one, discarding their pasts and the selves that had been forced on them by the Jia Family. This ending would have a twofold meaning regarding how it connects to the DOTRC adaptation.

One - it would be a direct parallel to the ending of DOTRC where Baoyu leaves to become a monk. By becoming Hong Lu and discaring his previous identities, he'd be leaving behind the earthly attachments inherent to being Baoyu and Daiyu and become spiritually whole.

Two - it would be a reflection of the major theme of DOTRC, that being "Truth becomes fiction when the fiction's true. Real becomes not-real when the unreal's real." Hong Lu, as a person, is a 'fake' persona used by the 'real' Baoyu and Daiyu. However, by discarding those two identities and deciding to just be Hong Lu, the fiction of his existence becomes the truth, while his former real selves become not real.

Conclusion?

I could honestly just keep going with this post, but I think I'm going to stop myself here before I'm forced to find out what tumblr's character limit on posts is. Believe me, I was trying to be brief, and still this post is. This fucking long.

I hope this explains why this theory has been the subject of my brainrot for the past however long, and why I feel like it's surprisingly plausible despite being as deranged as it is.

Godspeed and godbless, I have classes tomorrow and I'm spending my time on this.

[rainrayne]

One thing I always struggle with about designing the kg characters is on how to draw Carla's hair. I just can't find one that catches my eye 😓 can someone help me choose...

Btw I'm free from exams . ^_^ which means I get to draw again!

[lucabyte]

Finally: The NoHats AU doodles. Plus some sprite edits.

Usually I'd let things speak for themselves and keep my chattering in the tags, but I'll ramble about my context thoughts...

So. First of all here's a link (x) to the Nohats Origin Post for those coming in and going ????.

Anyway. These doodles are not in any obvious chronological order, though Loop going from pilfered bandolier (my headcanon for how Siffrin has all those pockets) -> custom outfit made by Isabeau, is supposed to generally denote 'just after the ending' -> 'a few months down the line'.

And speaking of, Design & Characterisation notes:

Overall: NoHats is suppooooosed to have the range to not just be ULTIMATE MISERY ALL THE TIME (but if you're a major whump/angst fan. go fucking nuts.) so these are supposed to be. The steps toward overcoming and living with grief but. The Misery Is Kind Of The Punchiest Part.... Oops....

Mirabelle: Taking the lead, continuing to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders. In the game proper she's already shown to, while yes, be emotionally fragile at times, be prone to trying to hold the team together. I feel she'd do the same here. It also would help that she'd presumably be medicated again? But I can't imagine her chosen-one anxieities would be super ailed by the death of her friend. I wanted to try and give her more differences? She follows the change belief after all and is thus liable to switch up her style in general... But I didn't have a strong vision for this, so. The ball is in anyone's court. Her design changes here are keeping one of Sif's safety pins a la qpr bonding earring, and has the bell pendant at Loop's (oddly pushy) suggestion.

Isabeau: Taking it. Badly. Depression mullet and beard in tow. However, you best believe he is trying real badly to hide it. Loop very much does not reveal their identity to him because What The Fuck Would That Even Do. That's Scary. but they do try to comfort him while mentally regarding him "off limits". Backs themselves into some very unfortunate corners by alluding to their unfulfilled relationship with their Fighter as a point of common ground. I don't imagine this would go super great when recontextualised later after Loop is inevitably found out. Just in general oh good god what the fuck. this is like a radioactive pit of survivor's guilt.

Bonnie: Taking it probably The Worst. This is a child. Who was already feeling guilt. This is who everyone else is trying to keep it together for. Mirabelle and Isabeau would likely be putting up far less of a front without Bonnie around. They take the hat and take on Pocket Duty. They also have slightly more sif-y hairstyle but... Don't worry about it. They'd have Nille to fall back on once she's picked back up, and Loop almost certainly attempts to redouble efforts on making them feel better but seeing as how closed-off Bonnie can already be, it'd likely be difficult. However they would probably take Loop's identity reveal best...?

Odile: Odile's design.... ! Does not seem to have changed? How odd! Well. I'm sure she's dealing with things in a regular and non-cloistered manner. I already think that a regular Postcanon Activity for Odile could be her finding out about the potential for sif/loop to translate books and thus Knowledge in their native tongue assuming that ability sticks around postgame. Something something culture can never truly be wiped out etc etc. But putting it in this context. Makes it more desperate, more of a deflection for something else.

Loop: Helpful Loop. Well. They win! I feel like the entirety of ISAT being about Siffrin's mental state means I don't need to spill much ink here? You get it I think. I can't outdo the source material man. Anyway I imagine Loop is given clothes by Isabeau before they know who they are, but after they've become genuine friends. The outfit is in genuineness, on both sides from Loop and Isa, in having the cloak be a nod in respect to Siffrin, since Loop's "shared culture" would have to come up vis a vis cultural funerary traditions. Hard to avoid divulging that one...

[galaxysugarr]

Hi All! I thought it was time i gave a lil update from this game and how its been going.

I'm one that tends to keep to myself till a project is fully complete or close to complete, but I've gained a lot of asks about this over time and more as of late lol. So thought I'd cut the radio silence a tad and answer a few repeat questions id gotten!

Are you working on the game?

Surprisingly, yeah.

Will this be a completed game to buy?

Definitely not, least not now. My plan is to make a basic demo of the game as building a complete game with the script and everything would take a very long time and a lot to learn!

It would also be a free to play game, as Its a fan game.

When can we see it, are you almost done, videos and updates!!!

Well... 2023 was a busy year for me personally. And as a person who is still learning to animate along with barely any knowledge of game coding. Led to me needing to learn a lot and do trial and error.

A lot of things are temporary placeholders and incomplete textures with testing. So I didn't feel they where good to share progress of.

a lot of it was me learning, trying different styles to work with the game, and sketches throughout.

Can i help with the project????

I do appreciate you all asking for help,But I don't know much about game development and working with a team on this. So it's more of a passion project for me, and so far what I have learned has been nice :>.

I didn't wanna rely and give up on the project or delay it so much due to factors so I'm workin on it alone right now till the project is farther along and more stable.

Will it look exactly like the trailer, what kind of game is it, what all do you have planned for the demo?

Admittedly I had originally made sprites and everything to match the video, but i ended up going for a more chibi type style as its easier to work with.

Its a side scrolling game with rpg like elements.

The current plan is to have two fully completed stages, a mini game, 4 playable characters (2 being Sun and Moon), and some extra features.

Will the demo be out this year?

I can't say, it all depends on how much time i work on it and learn ;o! I don't like to get hopes up, but I work it on it when I can.

Crumbs, please

Some of the daycare and model updates. It's not much, but I find it fun to run around and interact with things lol

So all and all for those really wondering about the project, its still a heavy work in progress. A fun and frustrating one for sure, but Its been nice actually learning to code and design it so far.

Hope this answered a few questions and of course you can ask other stuff about it, I don't mind.

Thank you!

[smoshyourheadin]

some comfort soencer agnew :(

It’s okay, you can cry now.

pairing: spencer agnew x fem!reader

a/n: OH WE’RE SO BACK SMOSHYOURHEADIN NATION!! i’ve missed y’all sooo much!!! kinda short but enjoy none the less 🫶 requests are open <3

as you lay on his bed, the sound of raindrops tap against the windows gently as you feel a tear roll down your cheek. his room is softly lit by the glow of the tv which is playing some shitty reality show, with plush blankets and pillows on his bed.

spencer and you met when your friend damien had invited you to be a guest speaker at his ‘funeral’ - where spencer made your sides hurt with how funny he was. from the moment you met him, there was an undeniable chemistry between you. over time, you and spencer started hanging out more, texting and calling, meeting up for coffee before he had to go to work, and you’d also started to convince damien to invite on the channel more often, as an excuse to see him - ian and anthony eventually hiring you to work on art and design.

despite the growing closeness, neither of you ever explicitly acknowledged the romantic tension that occasionally surfaced. your friendship had a mix of intimacy and comfort that neither of you wanted to jeopardize by labeling it. you were each other's confidants, sharing dreams, fears, and everything inbetween.

“hey there, y’okay?” spencer’s voice breaks you from your thoughts, as he walks into his room with two cans of sprite, seeing you blink away tears.

“um, yeah. no. i don’t know” you sit up and wipe your face, sniffling gently, and you cross your legs as he sits to face you on the end of his bed, your knees touching his.

“d’you wanna talk about anything?” he looks into your eyes, gaze soft but firm somehow.

“um,” you look away as you feel more tears forming, a lump creeping into your throat “i just... feel like i'm constantly running, trying to keep up with everything. the videos, the comments, the expectations. it's like... it's never enough, you know?"

spencer nods, his hand moving to rest atop yours. "i get it. this world can be overwhelming. but you don't have to face it alone. we're a team, remember?"

you squeeze his hand, finding a bit of strength in his touch. "i know, it's just... sometimes i feel like i'm letting everyone down. like i'm not good enough."

his eyes soften even more, filled with a tenderness that makes your heart ache in a good way.

"you're more than enough. you bring so much joy and creativity to everything you do. and it's okay to feel overwhelmed. it doesn't mean you're failing."

you take a shaky breath, feeling the weight of his words. "i guess i just need to hear that sometimes. that it's okay to not be perfect."

spencer shifts closer, his other hand cupping your cheek, thumb gently brushing away a stray tear. "no one expects you to be perfect. especially not me. i just want you to be you. because that's more than enough."

his words break something loose inside you, and the tears start to flow freely. spencer pulls you into a gentle hug, holding you as you let out all the pent-up emotions. his embrace is warm and reassuring, a safe haven from the storm raging inside you. you inhale deeply, and notice he smells like old books and coffee,

“it’s okay, you can cry now” he says into you hair as you sob, his fingers gently brushing through you hair

after a while, you pull back slightly, looking up at him with gratitude. "thank you, spencer. for being here, for understanding."

he smiles, a small, comforting smile. "always. you mean a lot to me, y’know that?"

you nod, a small smile of your own forming. "you mean a lot to me too, spence."

he takes a deep breath, and for a moment, you see something flicker in his eyes.

you move yourself next to him, and lay your head on his shoulder, and he presses a soft kiss to the top of your head, as you close your eyes, feeling content in the moment. the sound of the rain, the flickering light of the tv, and the steady beat of his heart lull you into a sense of calm.

and in that quiet moment, with the rain still pattering against the windows, you know that no matter what the future holds, you'll face it together.

[asherashedwings]

FNF CONNECTED UNIVERSE LINE UP Part 1: The Boyfriends

Chat. I spent 34 hours in this canvas. I am so tired.

Anyways, when I began working on Connected Universe AU, I already knew I'd be making line ups. Cuz I love making line ups and I also love suffering.

Close-ups and lots of yapping under the cut

THIS IS ABOUT TO BE A LOT OF READING IM SO SORRY-

Alternate Universe Boyfriends

So all these guys, unlike the other BFs present on this line up, are actually BF but from different universes. They're the same dude.

I thought it'd be neat to display the fact that they're from different universes by drawing them all in different art styles. It was also a fun exercise to test my art style range.

So starting from the left, we got Base Game BF. The main universe one. He's drawn in my usual art style. Not much special about him. Boyfriend.XML my beloved. I will note here though that I did take some of the elements form my own BF design and threw them onto the AU BFs. So that's why they all have some sort of jacket/hoodie etc.

Then we got Yourself. I reverted to old tactics and used my sketch for his line art, which results in him having thicker line art in general. I also further distinguished him by giving him harsh black shading. He always has that. He already had it on his face, so I just gave it to the rest of his body too. Cuz silly. You. You could even say. Silly Billy- 💥💥💥

Then we have Funkadelix. Him and a few other BFs make use of the Blackburn brush for their line art, cuz idk I like that brush. I referenced the Mutant Mayhem style when making him, since in the Connected Universe, he's in the same universe as those turtles. His colors are mostly yoinked from the actual Funkadelix sprite. I think. I may have tweaked them a bit/eyeballed them idk. I prolly eyeballed them.

Then we got Monday Dusk Monolith (MDM). I really went with the mentality of "NO ROUND SHAPES" with this fucker. Just wanted him to look super sharp and scratchy, since that AU is literally dealing with an apocalypse. So sharp shapes just made sense in my brain.

I had a lot of issues settling on a style for Mix, so I just chose to take inspiration from the FNF loading screens, cuz it just fit in my brain, idk. His design also features present in my Pico design, like the stupid cleat shoes and stray hair lines. Yknow, since he's literally a mix of BF and Pico. He also uses Blackburn

Finally, HD. I decided to try and go for a semi realistic style for him, proportion wise at least. Cuz. Yknow. HD. He also uses the blackburn brush, but I also pulled an old tactic for him and made his sketch visible over his coloring. Cuz idk, I think it lends towards the vibe.

"Side" BFs

Okay, now we're REALLY getting into AU territory.

So from here on out, all the BFs are separate people from THE BF, and have their own names and shit.

So staring off, we got Blake. I was reading through his wiki trivia and saw them say his style was more "radical and funky" than base BF's. I saw the word funky and ran with it dawg. So that explains this clothes. I also tried my darndest to get rid of a lot of the BFs caps, cuz dude, I can't have that many fuckers having cubic backwards caps. So I gave Blake a pair of star shaped sunglasses cuz funky, chat, FUNKY. We decided that his stage name is Love Bird, and he chose that cuz that's a pet name his GF has for him, and if he had a band it'd be called The Birds of Paradise.

Then we got .XML. I immediately knew I wanted to give him a mullet. Look at this man and tell me he wouldn't have a mullet. Besides that, not much changed. Since he kept the name of .XML, I imagine he is actually related to BF in some way, and he just goes by his last name. They might be cousins or brothers or something idk. There's also more dumbass info on him here:

Then there's River, or G-Sides BF. I took a lot of inspiration from his teaser designs, cuz they were silly. Literally named his river after the dumbass river design on his sweater. I don't got much info on him besides that. I can't talk about River without including this image so here:

The New Yorkers

This group is literally named after the fact that they all live in NY in my AU. Technically, the Minus BFs should also be here, but they're their own group.

Starting with Bartholomew, or B3, I just took the shape of his glasses and ran with it. Chat I needed to get that shape language from somewhere. I actually drew him twice, since the first time around I really was not digging how I drew him. He's fine now tho. His ass only got brim, cuz he had to be different somehow. Other than that. not much changed for him.

Now Evan.. Evan gave me so many issues. Like, dawg I drew him three times. I kept on trying to make the orange in his upcoming design WORK but I just COULDNT chat i COULDNT

So, per @braveboiart 's request, I ended up getting rid of it entirely and replacing it with his blues and grays. They also gave me the advice of brightening the colors a bit, which was very easy for me to do, I love bright ass colors. I also touched up his design shape wise, since that was also lacking the first time around. So boom, zippers on the pants and baggy ass sleeves. I'm content with how he came out. Chat I did all his design touch ups while I was exhausted out of my mind. Sometimes you gotta be delirious with sleep deprivation in order to cook, kids, trust me (please do not be like me-)

Benjamin was pretty simple. Kept him soft, kept him round, kept him pastel. Got rid of the caution sign on his hoodie since .XML already had that, and just replaced it with paint splatters. Not much more to say.

With X's design, I got a lot of help from my good good friend @minxtheeenby , mainly when figuring out his hair style. Those braids are not actually his hair, and are fuckass cords that connect to his headphones and can move independently. Don't ask about the logic, I will not be thinking about it. He was born in Philly cuz of his fuckass white eyes. White eyes means Philly, I don't make the rules here.

Minus BFs

The colorful critters, these guys are.

So. Beta. I had actually drawn him before this point, and he didn't change much from then

He has arrow shaped top surgery scars cuz I love giving constantly shirtless characters top scars and I just. HAD TO once I had the idea to make them arrow shaped. Main things to change since that drawing are some details on his pants and some of his colors; notedly the fact that his hat is a darker color compared to his skin to further distinguish it. Also Brave kept trying to get me to make parts of his design the same color as his nipples. So that happened /lh

Chat. I let my furry show with Blue. BUT CHAT HEAR ME OUT. On the wiki it's stated that he's a "Dog??". You think I could look at that and not go all the way? So yeah. Dog. He's silly and he got his weird ear ring things from his sister (Minus Miku).

Not much to say on Mean, he barely changed. I just drew him in my style and added a few details. He might also be an alien, idk.

Now, I posted about Golden a bit, but for those who didn't see that insanity: I made him an Alien Hominid. Cuz small yellow alien=Alien Hominid in my brain. Flawless logic. (Don't worry chat, I sat down and extensively researched the AH series to the best of my ability to check if it made sense. And I didn't see anything that would make it not make sense?) But yeah, silly. Him and Otis might be buddies, cuz goofy.

Who Fuckin Knows

These guys are just all the guys I had nowhere else to put. Miscellaneous group.

So first we have Bonnie, or Saturday Night Swappin' BF. He's another one that I had to go back and touch up. I actually touched him up the same night/morning as Evan. He ended up turning purple. The name we assigned him was an omen /j Chat I swear he was originally blue, I don't know what happened

HC that he just got really into FNaF when he was younger and has just been cosplaying a humanized Bonnie the Bunny ever since /hj

BIDU GAVE ME SO MANY ISSUES AND IDK WHY. It's prolly cuz by the time I got to him I was getting SUPER burnt. But I prospered and was able to finish him. And I don't hate how he came out, so bonus points there. Main change was replacing the prohibition sign on his shirt with a lightning bolt, cuz no one but BF is allowed to have that symbol, and Bidu already had lightning bolt imagery, so eh why not. His eyebrows being green, at least in my style, implies his hair is naturally green, and he just added the blue and pink, and I find that slightly humorous, idk.

Keith (StarCatcher) was another one I had to go back and touch up, but that's due to the fact that I was informed that him and his GF got a redesign before the creator deleted their FNF stuff. So I had to go back and fix my design according to that. I also leaned into the scape suit direction cuz SHAPE.

Now, you might be wondering, why is Flippin BF here and not with the other alternates? He was grouped with him in a previous post? Well, that's because after more assessment, I decided that Friday Night Flippin' is in fact, in the same universe as Base FNF and not an alternate universe like I had previously decided. So I changed his design a bit (mainly just getting rid of his hat and changing the color of his shoes) and boom. Different guy. He is staying pixel art tho. I do still need to come up with a different name for him tho.

Now this next one, Heath, is not from a currently existing mod, but from an FNF AU my friend Minx is making.

I decided to include him cuz he's silly and I love him. Their AU is canon to the Connected Universe.

Okay, so Cam (Hellbeats BF) changed A LOT. I let my furry slip out again. BUT I HAVE ANOTHER REASON FOR IT. See, in this connected universe, it's not just Newgrounds stuff that is canon. I also made other fandoms I'm in canon. So that means the Hellaverse is canon (specifically my rewritten version of it), and Hellbeats has to fit in with that. So I had to assign the characters species from that universe as well. So I made Cam a cherub, cuz I wanted him to stay short as fuck. He's also a raccoon cuz he's a lil shit and I thought it'd fit If ur curious, this is what everyone else is:

Okay I'm done yapping now. Gonna be doing the GFs next.

[dyemelikeasunset]

during my daily dommor brainrot i was wondering what mor and dom would be in ocean of cycles. i guessed a myr artist for mor and a dryad/nomad mage for dom?

(edit: idk why tumblr messed up my formatting and won't fix it on desktop no matter how many times i try. Anyway sorry this ended up being a longer post than I wanted 😓)

I haven't touched Ocean of Cycles in a minute cause I'm admittedly stuck on a lot of things, but I did reimagine Dom and Mor as denizens of the Four Realms recently and you were close!

Mor would be a Kobold cleric/bard, and Domi would be a Dryad battlemage (Whisper would be Mor's familiar, an animal I'm designing for the Southern Realm called a Bast Jackal!)

world building things under the readmore

Mor uses Lunar Air magic to summon rain clouds, and probably has quite a few healing and support spells

Dangling off Mor's hip is a family heirloom, unique to Kobolds, that is made of bones. These heirlooms are passed down from generation to generation, extracted from dead elders who have essentially willed their bones to specific descendants. They give Kobolds a very unusual ability to be roused from death. Each resurrection will dissolve a bone

Dom uses Solar Air magic to make her body immaterial, like a shadowy mist. She can use it to evade attacks, or sneak through spaces.

Following her around is an Air Sprite, a being of pure mana that is more commonly found in the East realm. Dryads are known to tame sprites of their same element, but with a different subelement, and the magic synergy between Sprite and mortal gives the dryad access to new spells. Dom's sprite uses lightning magic, and helps her attack her enemies and also give Dom the ability to enchant her weapon and armor

The very loose story revolves around them having a chance meeting, and Dom realizing that Morgan's magic is perfectly tuned to hers to make what's known as an Elemental Celestial-- a form that combines two people's elemental magic together for unfathomable power. Mor gets swept up in the world of the occult, as Dom tries to protect her from dark mages who seek to abuse their joint power

[crescencestudio]

๋࣭⭑ Devlog #42 | 6.25.24 ๋࣭⭑

tis the season of Kayn

HAPPY SUMMER!!

Hope you're all doing well and keeping cool <3 I know for me it's started getting to.... the Hot Season. To celebrate the start of Hot Girl Summer (and the beta route going live), I of course had to draw the hottest girl, Kayn.

we must stay cool brothers

Now that we've paid respect to The Hot Girl, let's get into the devlog!

Writing has been fun this month. A lot of it has been dedicated to Etza edits and writing Kuna'a's route. We're getting to about the halfway mark with Etza edits, so we are definitely chugging along!

Sneaky peeky of a recent edit

For Kuna'a's route, I said I wanted to have his first draft complete or almost complete by the next devlog, and I'm VERY PLEASED AND PROUD to say their first draft is In Fact almost complete! This is, of course, the very, very first draft so I'll be going back in to flesh some scenes out here and there and rizz him up even more. But I'm happy with the fact that at least the very base draft is done ^^

This month, I did quite a bit of drawing actually! I finished rendering two of Kayn's CGs, meaning 8 out of their total 9 CGs are finished YYYEEEAAAHHHH!!!!!

it feels so good to see the ending cg titles ouuggHHHH

Because Fenir's beta will be going out soon, I wanted to make some headway on his CGs. This month, I ended up finishing 3 of his CGs and sketching two. I'd really like to get 5-6 of his CGs finished so that it's a similar amount to Kayn's beta, so here's to praying!

baby girl

I also finished Senja's (they/he) sprite and base expressions. His outfit was designed by very talented bestie @saffein-e so please thank them for doing god's work o7

Finally, this past month we worked mostly on Kayn's beta route and getting Fenir's beta route ready for Patreon access!

If you'd like to try out Kayn's beta, you can get access to it if you subscribe to my Patreon (tier Hydra). Beta access to Kayn's route will close as soon as Fenir's beta goes up which will be early July, so if you want to experience Kayn's beta, definitely make sure you subscribe before it ends!

Player feedback for Kayn's route so far has been really positive, which has been a relief, especially since Kayn's route is the first one I wrote so is arguably the roughest (I have a big soft spot for it and like it, but I'm obviously Biased). So I hope you're all looking forward to it!! <4

beta feedback: so real

I also have started the voice acting sessions for the characters, which is EXTREMELY EXCITING!! That's the last asset I need basically, so the fact we have finally entered a stage where we can start recording is crazy. Our current session is for Kayn's route, but in the coming months we'll be moving to the next routes similar to how beta-testing is going :')

Aside from Kayn's route, I've also been working on coding Fenir's beta route. Rereading his script and he's... a cutie, I'll admit. So I hope the Fenir fans are excited for his route to enter the beta phase!

LET'S.......... GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Last thing, but I also ran a poll on Alaris's release, basically asking whether you all would prefer a full or segmented release. The results were basically 50/50 LMFAO and that's the vibe I've been getting in general. So while I don't want to solidify anything yet, just let it be known that Alaris may end up having a segmented release, where the first four Central routes are released first, and the Fae routes a bit later. I'll see how I start feeling as the year goes on and where Alaris stands, but thank you all for the support and understanding for the poll <3

I was pretty busy this month, so I didn't have too much time to do market research :cries:

But............

I did see the new Haikyuu movie..................... And I am the biggest Haikyuu fan. Quite literally if you want to know everything about who I am as a person and creator, watch Haikyuu and you will understand who I am to my deepest depths.

obviously I had to draw baby

But aside from that, I want to give one last shoutout to our Hot Girl Summer cross-promo! If there are any games you haven't tried out in this little set, I highly recommend giving at least 1 or 2 of them a peek! All of the games are so charming and have some similarity to Alaris, whether it's a personality mechanic, hot Fae, or a fantasy/ adventure story :')

Links to each game can be found on the Alaris Game page under the magic and mystery otome section!

I'm pretty happy with the progress we made this month. While there's still a lot to do, it's satisfying to see Alaris come more and more to life with each month. See you all next month with hopefully more exciting progress!

[the-s1lly-corner]

I haven't made a Cotl order from you in a while, could you make a Bishop Shamura x non-binary reader (romantic) The reader has a great phobia of spiders while Shamura is very in love with them?

I think it would be fun to see how Shamura tries to get closer to the reader without scaring them.

Shamura x NB!reader who is arachnophobic

Real talk this is something I think about a lot because how does stuff like arachnophobia work in the cotl universe- because theres Spider people, spider monsters, and spider spiders... so like... if someone freaked out over a spider spider would a spider person be offended or like-- what about those afraid of bugs or other creatures??? Chat I am going insane

Notes: reader is nonbinary, bishop shamura, you're a follower who's caught their eye, mostly shamura trying to make you more comfortable before attempting to court you

CWs: none

its almost cruel, to be a follower in the spiders cult- to be in silk cradle where most of the natives are arachnids

it doesnt matter how well you try to hide it, they know in an instant that youre afraid- but they dont bring it up... they dont rub it in your face or even mention it... no, they simply keep a mental note of it to keep track of how to interact with you in the future...

and oh it crushes them a little knowing that youre scared of arachnids- especially spiders!

at least they can understand why many may be at least intimidated by them specifically- they are the god of war, afterall! but... you shrink away in fear at the mere sight of them thanks to their many legs and eyes

subtly try to show you the prettier side of things- beautiful web designs and the soft fuzz some spiders have- that they have! look at their sprite! theyve got fuzz on their legs! theyve at least got some fluff going on here and there!

and spiders can purr- kind of! look look isnt that endearing, reader?

definitely would take the "use education to understand and reduce fear" route, and theyre so so patient with you

in more... close and private moments they let you feel the legs on the side of their head to show that theyre not as bad as they look

baby steps to make you more comfortable around them as you naturally grow closer to one another

[pessimisticshapewithablog]

Is TOWW a ghost-like entity in his natural state?

I noticed something about these sprites. They are named "TOWW_SPIRIT"

We know very little about how being a god affects the physiology of the Bishops or TOWW. He seemed far more 'physical' while bound but when free he's ethereal and ghost-like. This could also explain why he was seemingly unscathed by his altercation with the Bishops. They literally couldn't touch him. But that didn't mean he couldn't touch them. Like a poltergeist or revenant. The only way to stop him was to send him to a play where he was physical then trap him there.

Although his current ghostly state might be form he maintains through concentration. Cracks wouldn't appear from falling 'through' a floor. They would appear if a very large cat god suddenly dropped his full weight onto it because he lost focus. Given what and where the Gate way is, it's metaphysical nature might force TOWW to becomes corporeal. But still, the animation for the sprite is only subjective.

Left (unused hurt animation) Right (used hurt animation)

I think TOWW does have feet and legs, it's just the design choices of the devs make it seem like he doesn't. In the unused version of TOWW's falling animation You can see his knees when compared to his hurt animation in game.

On a seperate note, isn't it curious that Narinder even has an "injured" animation? His siblings don't when we fight them and they are obviously injured. TOWW has been chained up for very long time, unable to move. Maybe the sudden exertion after spending so much time inactive made him light headed and more unsteady on his..."feet"? Like when you stand up too fast and get dizzy. But it's a god of death. TOWW was able to maintain a certain level of power to be able to fight us right after being freed but, he was not a 100% and it shows...

You can really see it on TOWW face during the animations. In the unused one the animation and facial expression makes it seem like he caught himself. His body is stiff and he looks suprised, his eyes remain open, almost in shock. Interesting the animation starts on a frame with TOWW eyes closed. Like he suddenly got too unsteady to keep his eyes open.

In the standard animation, TOWW falls like a stone and only catches himself at the last second. The animation is bouncy and he sinks lower, like he wasn't prepared for his own weight. His eyes are wide open as he falls. TOWW's eyes then narrow and he seems to try to shake off the dizziness, even blinking a few times before standing back up.

[demonicnarwhale]

just like many things I'll start something then toss it aside and we've done this before but here's the protocol: Eel saying she has this file on her computer for a long while now. And she knows she won't get back to this any time soon so here we go

Ok here's some explanation to this whole jazz:

Due to Scratch being like fuchsia blood (because of course) and so the Felt all wear some sort of uniform looking clothes. Tie in to how all wear similar green suits and stuff. And of course their blood colors are placed on them ya know.

(Minus HK posing as an olive as she's a lime, she doesn't have any powers as a lime. Like no ability to shoosh or calm high bloods lol. I just think it's funny and allows for there to be a reason that HK's there. Aka Scratch intimidation, she works as a cleaner so she doesn't have to worry about her getting hurt/blood reveal moment, and she'd rather not get caught by some other trolls or something tee hee)

Here's some silly info: (some stuff has been changed from previous post from some days or month(s) ago)

Heights aren't like up to date as the line up is really just to show their clothes and designs (or lack of)

Matchstick while a burgundy his sign is supposed to also kinda resemble wings. Like it's the most "trust me you gotta squint" sort of shit. But it's cuz I wanna give him a moth (perhaps plus some other animal) sort of lusus cuz hah light. Fire. He extinguishes fire but like haha lusus attracted to the light. and and and and and and and eel is trying her best here

Stitch is the only goldie but it's just funny that not only does he have no psionics to start off with, but also just like his og one eye got fucked up. So even if he did then it's like real weak. Just cuz like eye retina(??) and brain yeah im no surgeon

Sawbucks and Quarters to me are just like the guys who can take a fuck ton of hits? so indigo. yeah. that's all. Like Cans ofc can but I also just think of him more in an offense manner and Quarters takes up the defense

Die gets the cone of shame. fucking loser.

I was entertaining the idea of Clover and HK switching blood colors just cuz I can go "Haha Clover's soooo lucky that he's still alive" yadda yadda. But then, he wouldn't be able to get all weird and freaky with chuckle voodoo stuff. Yeah should he have that access? No :)

I could've made Trace a violet too but I felt like in their sprites, Fin (to me) is much more obvious to being a shark. Like look at that fuckin mug ya know? So i just went with making just Fin a violet.

the idea was to keep it where like there's more lowbloods than highbloods but ya know what. Just realized the only three midbloods I got are fucking Die Crowbar and Snowman. The sequence (ok I'll probably add someone else to the midbloods)

While I could've just made their blood off of like their ball or hat color, I felt like it'd be fun to see what blood color id assign them considering like their attributes or personalities like Itchy to me is an olive as I like to think that olives can be more rowdy or energetic? yeahhh like ofc not all but just for this yes

Also the idea of Itchy being a goldie sounds disastrous

Oh SHIT SAWBUCK IS A TEAL IM CHANGING HIM TO A TEAL OHAGUH

Doze is a burgundy but also like his sign a 2 and and anddd hourglass looking hehehe

Itchy was supposed to look like that dangly bit from the grandfather clock. And the others I gave up trying to implement some time looking reference

I know Snowy's pants are like so obvious cuz hahah spider web haha but BUT I AM SO HAPPY FOR HOW IT LOOKS. LIKE PANTS BUT COULD LOOK LIKE A SKIRT DRESS THING IF STANDING LEGS CLOSED AND AOUGH YEAHHHH

Oh yeah I'll also be adding or trying to come up with their clothes when not in uniform but that's a maybe. Maybe. There's ideas like I got Clover and Fin's but the others? yeah good luck.

Also I just really like ponchos or like the coat duster thingy yeahhhh

Also also PS. if there's like any questions please feel free to ask just cuz there's some other things I wanna talk about but it's either for characters not here or I am blanking

[levi501ackerman]

My Chance Has Come At Last | Hange x Reader Fluff

masterlist

Summary: AU where Levi, Hange, and Erwin go Miche's birthday party. There’s a shit ton of people and Hange sees you in the crowd. Hange thought you were too pretty to talk to her. She didn’t expect her shirt to be the conversation starter between you two. Lots of Dead by Daylight references and if you don’t play that game I hope you still enjoy the story. JUST PRETEND YOURE LEVI LISTENING TO TWO NERDS TRY TO TALK TO EACH OTHER!!

Word Count: 2.2k

Megan's Note: Song Correlation: "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out" by The Smiths. Posted: 5/17/24.

Hange exhaled with rage and felt charged to knock the living daylight out of Levi. They planned on pregaming at Erwin’s place before going to Miche’s birthday party. Hange didn’t plan on Levi spilling wine on her top. 

“Run little man.” She said fed up, but light enough to get a laugh from the two.

“You can borrow a shirt,” Erwin said, leading Hange toward his room. Hange rolled her eyes at how clean Erwin’s room was except for the pile of laundry on the floor. There were notebooks, papers, and his laptop on his bed. “You can wear whatever one you feel comfortable in.”

“I almost want to force Levi to lend me one of his shirts, but the midget’s clothes would just look like cropped tops on me,” Hange said.

“I heard that,” Levi called from the other room. Erwin closed the door to his room. Hange couldn’t count the amount of preppy polos Erwin had. Almost as if he bought the same shirt in ten different colors. He had some normal solid-color t-shirts, a few band shirts, and graphic tees. Hange felt a ping of excitement when she saw her favorite shirt of Erwins. It was a black Dead by Daylight shirt, with Ghostface from Scream taking a picture of himself and the character he’s killing: Leon from the Resident Evil games. In the back was an original DBD character named Thalita squatting and trying to get her plumped butt in the background. There was an injured Steve from Stranger Things in the background alongside another character Cheryl Mason in her Princess Heart outfit from Silent Hill 3. Hange always gushes over Erwin’s shirt when he wears it. She loved the game, but Erwin never was on at the same time Hange wanted to play. When she walked out, Erwin started shaking his head.

“I should’ve known—”

“All thanks to Levi I get to wear this shirt!”

“Hange, I want that shirt back.”

“But of course!”

“I mean it.”

From the outside of Miche’s house, the three could already hear chatter and music playing. They could tell a lot of people have been drinking and having a good time. Levi opened the door and a table along the entryway had a ton of presents stacked. Some people they recognized were playing the drinking game rage cage and on the other side of the room were some others talking to each other. Miche noticed the three entering and left the rage cage table. 

“You made it!” He said with open arms and a pink-tinted face. 

“Happy birthday, Miche!” Erwin said, handing his gift to Miche.

“Thank you! Thank you! You can just set it on the table.” Hange and Levi set their presents on top of others on the table. “Do you want watermelon margaritas? Nanaba’s making them! Really refreshing.” Miche guided them toward the kitchen. “Or do you want to start off with a shot?!” 

“Only if it’s tequila!” Miche clapped Erwin on the shoulder.

“That’s my man!” He said with a large smile taking up his flushed face. Nanaba greeted the three over the loud music. Then she started blending the margaritas. Miche poured three shots, leaving Levi out who was the designated driver. Miche gave Levi a large solo cup filled with sprite instead. Hange noticed there was another table playing normal beer pong outside and she could only see through the glass doors one side of the table. She saw Christa and Sasha as one of the teams playing. They held their tiny solo cups and Levi's normal size together and told Miche Happy Birthday then they all swallowed their drinks. 

“Nanaba, I’ll take a margarita,” Hange said. 

“Coming right up, ma’am!” Nanaba poured the cold drink into a small plastic cup. Nanaba handed more margarita-filled cups to her friends. Pouring more for anyone who wanted one. She took a sip and noted how dangerous this margarita was because it was delicious.

“Wow Miche you were right! It’s refreshing. Nanaba you’re quite the mixologist!” Hange said.

“Hey look who it is!” Connie and Eren greeted the three. They all hugged and said their hellos. Eren and Connie started catching up with Erwin and Levi when she noticed behind them Sasha and Christa started coming through the door. Behind the two was Armin and a really beautiful girl Hange never had seen before. You. She couldn’t take her eyes off you. Your hair looked perfectly placed, your eyes looked so lovely and your eyebrows were full. Hange found your bored expression intimidating, yet she wanted to see what you looked like when you smiled. She hypothesized that you might be like Levi where you look standoff-ish without a smile on your face. You looked like a healthy and fit girl. Hange would describe your outfit as preppy with a nice-fitting light blue sweater, white pants, a brown belt, and white shoes. You looked very clean. She wouldn’t be able to pull off your outfit. Hange normally wore a ton of long-sleeved polos thanks to her job’s uniform. You were too pretty for her and you were the type to admire from afar and never get a chance with. Hange wanted a chance with a girl like you.

Hange stuck by Levi’s side most of the night talking to familiar people she knew, but she couldn’t help but always glance over to the area of the room where you, Sasha, and Christa chatted. Even when Hange joined a game of rage cage she tried her best to never miss getting the ball in a cup in case you happened to be watching. Since Erwin was next to Hange, he kept having to drink because of Hange playing so well. Dirk, Nanaba, Connie, Armin, Jean, Eren, Mikasa, Miche, and Hange would holler and make a lot of ruckus when Erwin had to drink. It became so entertaining that the rest of the room watched the rest of the game. Erwin ended up getting the bitch cup and everyone was happily chanting, “Drink! Drink!” Even Levi was amused with how Hange managed to get Erwin fucked up. 

“I’m not standing next to Hange in the next game.” Erwin coughed which drew out a burst of laughter from the group.

“Let’s go another round!” Eren said started refilling a small amount of white claw in the solo cups. The group cheered and Erwin sat in a chair next to Levi who was leaning against the wall. 

“Hange are you playing again?” Armin asked and Hange shook her head. 

“I’ll sit this one out.” She scooted Levi over and stood in between him and Erwin. 

“You’re too good, Hange!” Mikasa yelled.

“Anyone that stands next to you is going to get fucked up!” Miche yelled.

“SASHA! GET OVER HERE AND PLAY RAGE CAGE!” Jean yelled. Hange looked in your direction, but Sasha coming toward the front room blocked you from Hange. You and Christa followed, Hange glanced away not wanting to reveal herself staring at you. As if one glance from her could reveal that she’s been watching you all night. 

“That’s too much tequila!”

“The big cup needs more white claws!”

“Add lemonade to not make it so disgusting!”

“The fuck?”

“I’m playing one round and then we’re heading out!” 

“STOP POURING TEQUILA!”

“We could add margaritas!”

“Holy shit the alcohols kicking in!” The room was getting louder and louder and everyone was talking over each other. Another round of the game was going and the excitement started to build again. Erwin was sitting in his chair dazed. Levi was going to have to carry the man back to his place. Hange started to get tipsy, her vision was getting worse causing her to blink so much. 

“Oh my gosh! You play Dead by Daylight?! I love Dead by Daylight!” A sudden loud voice scared Hange causing her to bump into the wall behind her. She became more frightened when she saw you standing too close to her and looking up at her with wide eyes and a huge smile. Your eyebrows raised slightly anticipating Hange’s answer. Hange was tense because of how close you two were. Levi nudged Hange. 

“Uh yeah.”

“I’M OBSESSED! I play nearly every day and I am ADDICTED! But I can’t help it! I typically like to run gen rushing builds, but lately, I’ve been using ‘For the People’ with ‘Buckle Up’. I’m a survivor main! What do you play!?” Hange blinked. She didn’t think she was drunk, but you were talking too fast and she was thinking too slow. Perhaps Hange couldn’t think straight when a straight goddess who apparently plays her favorite game was standing inches from her. 

“Yeah, I play.”

“Do you play survivor or killer more!?” 

“I switch.”

“Tell me who you play when you play survivor or killer!” Erwin laughed at Hange blowing her chance to annoyingly nerd out about Dead by Daylight. Cheering from the rage cage table was in the background for Hange. Hange was lost in your hopeful and glowing eyes, this was her chance to take you all in and she was drowning in your attractiveness. She noticed how the light blue of your sweater enhanced your pretty hair. 

“W-Well—um—I find infinite tombstone Michael Myers fun! But Billy or Wesker is my go-to.” You squealed and shook Hange by her biceps.

“I LOVE GOING AGAINST TOMBSTONE DADDY MYERS! GRAB MY NECK!” Hange became red and not from the alcohol. “Who do you play as a survivor!?!” 

“Kate or Felix, sometimes Steve—wait what’s your name?” You backed away and suddenly had this closed-off demeanor. You held out your hand politely.

“My name’s Y/N,” You said with an inside voice as if you were greeting your boss. Hange shook your hand, noting how soft they were. 

“I’m Hange. Who do you main?” You pointed at a character on Hange’s shirt. Hange’s stomach tightened when you pressed a finger against her. 

“Cheryl with the Princess Heart skin of course! Sometimes I play bunny Feng or Leon.” 

“You look like a person who mains Princess Heart Cheryl.”

“I actually remade the costume for Halloween last year!” You wiped out your phone and Hange suddenly remembered she was in a house at a party. She looked to Levi who gave her a smug expression, which she ignored. Erwin was too drunk and too baffled to actually be processing that Hange was pulling a girl with the t-shirt he lent her. You showed the costume to Hange. Your skirt was so short, but for homemade it looked pretty well done. “I bedazzled the heart myself! It took the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy!”

“Really wow, you look really good.”

“Extended version too.”

“Wow.”

“So you play often?” You asked.

“Yeah, I’d say I’m pretty good at looping.”

“Give me your discord.” You demanded. 

“What?”

“Don’t act like you don’t have discord.” You pushed Hange’s shoulder

“Right, uh I always forget um its—”

“Give me your number then. I like your glasses, by the way, they’re cute.” You thrust your phone into Hange’s space and Levi chuckled. Hange hesitantly took your phone and put her number in, trying not to show she was shaking. She admired how forward you were. Hange was always nervous talking to pretty girls and especially struggled with gorgeous girls like you. “We need to play together!” 

“Yeah, that would be fun.”

“You better message me your discord user when you remember it.” You said walking away from the three. Hange exhaled for the first time in probably a while. She was so tensed from your presence. Hange watched you walk toward Sasha and Christa who were ready to leave. Miche was hugging them and thanking them for coming over. 

“What a dweeb,” Levi said.

“Hey, she's the most gorgeous dweeb I’ve ever met!”

“I’m talking about you four-eyes. Unbelievable how you managed to get a girl’s number because of that stupid video game you play. Not only that you didn’t bite the bullet and ask her to lunch or something.” Levi said and Hange was on a high, replaying what she could remember of the conversation she just had. 

“That’s a dead by daylight perk!” Hange said, referring to when Levi said ‘bite the bullet’. 

“You idiot. Go ask her out to lunch tomorrow or something.” Levi started pushing Hange. “Do it before she leaves.”

“Okay! Okay! You’re strong for being so short!” Hange followed Sasha, Christa and you going out the door. Hange caught the door before it closed. She stepped out into the cold air noting how quiet it was outside compared to the house. “Y/N?” You turned around.

“Are you doing anything tomorrow?” Hange asked, not being able to hide her nervousness. Sasha and Christa turn around watching. You stepped closer to Hange getting too close to her again, which just turned her brain off. 

“No, I’m not . . .”

“Well, I think you’re drop-dead gorgeous and I’d like to get to know you more. Maybe like over lunch tomorrow?” Hange blurted.

“Let’s do it.” You said. “Goodnight, Hange.” You waved and Hange’s heart was beating loudly. She couldn’t believe she scored a date with an extremely cute girl who liked the same game she played. Hange didn’t mind anymore that Levi ruined her shirt with wine. 

masterlist

ALSO PLEASE LMK IF YOU PLAY DEAD BY DAYLIGHT!!

[messydoodles]

Favorite MK character?

They’re are two categories I have for favorites

Ever since playing the game I work best with characters that have close range special moves or teleporting special moves. Ermac and Smoke are fun to troll AI’s in invasions with because I can spam teleport 24/7. While Jacqui is also nice to play because I can do close stuff to give my opponent no air to breath and like mid range stuff if I need to make some distance away to reorganize myself

Li Mei is my ride or die. This woman is just so fun to play with because for me she’s easy. Her special moves are cool and easy (except that lantern one), her fatalities are fun to watch, and she’s got some sick ass brutalities. I saw her IP Man inspired brutality where she caves in the other character’s skull in and I immediately wanted the chance to play her. She is arguably why I wanted to get MK1 and what pulled me into enjoying the gameplay, not just character stuff. Even though now I maxed out her levels and am trying new characters to level up, she will always be my favorite character no matter what.

The second category for favorite is coolness. My definition of coolness is either design or powers. Nightwolf is a cool motherfucker. MK11 this guy is eye catching with his face paint and powers he gets from “The Great Spirit”. And his like end cinematic thing where he howls and it transitions into a wolf howling to the moon is tuff as hell. Like if I got jumped by Nightwolf I would be shitting bricks because this guy has the biggest aura imo

Skarlet I like because of her original MK11 skin. Something about it gives a cool ass bounty hunter vibe or sci fi Star Wars/Dune look to it that makes her look badass. Also she caught my eye because of her blood mage powers. Imagine fighting against someone who can control blood, like blood bending in Avatar. That’s both scary but an awesome power. That’s why I tried playing her when I picked up MK11 (I didn’t like the long range special moves)

Kung Lao. I’m gonna be honest it’s the hat. Like cmon the man is fighting with a razor hat. The only person I can think of off the top of my head that uses a hat in a fight is Mario in Super Mario Odyssey. Imagine you just get beat down by someone with a razor hat. It’s so wild it’s impressive. I saw an edit once of Kung Lao’s actor for the sprites in MK2 or MK3 and he just looked badass, so I drew the MK3 version of him.

Drew a bit of bonus characters too. Sheeva from MK3 is more cool looking than the MK11 version imo. Geras (MK1) gets cool points purely because he’s voiced by Phil Lamar and is a way better fitting design in MK1 in my eyes. And Kabal is cool cause he’s fast and got sharp hooks

And those are the types of favs. Nothing else, nope!

Don’t look at them please

I would not shut up or hold back if I talked about these hotties, so ima just leave it at that 😊

[laugtherhyena]

What are some of you're favourite Sprite edits you've made Whether that be this year, or any over years you've been in the sprite editing business

Ok so I've made A LOT of edits over the years so it took a lil while for me to sort out the favorites and why exactly, but here it is so get ready for some rambling!

First things first i gotta say this isn't really organized from the one i like the most and least, i like all of these edits a whole lot and i really don't think i can pick one or two to be the favorite.

So let's start from the start (sorta) i have to give a spot to my Fantasy Au twins edits, it would be illegal to not put them in this list

The Sdra2 Fantasy Au was one of the first things i made in the fandom and i was attached to it for a long while. These are actually the 4th version of their sprites, out of all them only the 3rd had a full gallery of sprites and trust me they were complex since on top of posting i even made different tails and ears to move around depending on the emotion of the sprite.

Even tho i never finished this 4th take on them I'm pretty happy with the redesign (since as i grew older i realized some of my choices were questionable and i really should have thought more before just going with it, just keep in mind i was a dumb 14-15 year old then) and the improvement on graphical quality because not only does it show how much i improved in editing but also because editing the fantasy twins were my first really hard edits and i was always happy with how well i was able to translate their weird little designs to sprite form.

The Fantasy Au as a whole had a lot of edits with a bunch of complicated details that i never finshed and although I don't like them as much as the twins i do feel like they deserve to be shown somehere so have this pile of lizards, undead firemen and two human girls.

(fun fact; i didn't know how to add textures back then so see those scales on the dragons? I made them all by hand-)

Next one on the list has gotta be the Nijiue siblings! Crazy to think these guys are only 2-3 years old like it feels like they've been with me for ao much longer!

These guys where my first try at making Oc sprites since before all i did were Au stuff and they're very very dear to me, as you can probably guess by the amount of spites an different iterations i made of them over the years. While there are a few things i could improve upon them if i were to remake their edits nowadays, i never felt a strong need to do so because as it is their sprites hold up well imo so remaking them feels unnecessary to me.

And you know I can't really talk about them without mentioning the Voidswap Au and a couple tumblr blogs owned by friends of mine. After Voidswap's cancelation i didn't thought I'd ever use these guys for anything so to think that nowadays there's so many people who not only know these characters but care for them a lot out of seeing them in Asoot and Dfta more recently really fills me with joy! I'm glad y'all enjoy my silly siblings so much and obviously huge thanks to the mods for wanting to include them in their stories, I really couldn't be more thankful for that!

And since we're talking about the fam, let me add Mako to the list as an honorable mention of sorts, a i'm still very happy with how i made her adult designs especially the whole closed trenchcoat and open trenchcoat thing she has going on and how i was able to cary out the heart motif on both of them :]

This next one is one of my newer edits + a pretty simple one which is this Irl Sora design i made for mod Bubbles around early this year.

Honestly, I don't even know how to explain why i like it this much? Maybe it's because Sora is one of the characters from Sdra2 i still decently enjoy or because i had a fun time coming up with her design. I had in mind that i wanted something plain and simple just like her in-game one, just adapted to a more adult look. Rolled up sleeves to resemble her uniform's ones and a scarf to bring back the spark of red her old design had, i also gave her the short hair that post game Yuki has because it's still her body at the end of the day + i think butch-ish Sora looks pretty good :]

From simplicity we jump back into weirdness with these last ones because obviously i wouldn't leave my girls out of this list, what did you guys even expect?

Favoritism? Absolutely, by now I'm sure all of you know how much i like these two but focusing on the graphical side for once, I'm super proud of their designs, i think they fit with the weirdness of some of Linuj's design choices pretty well which in turn makes them look kinda legit? In my head at least. I also had a lot of fun working on their sprites, especially Beni's since it had been a long while since i last tried to really exaggerate expressions on sprites of my characters so that was really fun! + I'm super proud of the baby sprites i made of them too, almost as much as i like their standard/adult designs really.

[anarchictemptation]

So, I've had a bit of an emotional journey when it came down to getting these trolls uploaded and, uh.I'm sort of in a venty mode, so I'm doing a read more cut just so I don't bother people (TW for Drug Abuse and Suicidal Thoughts mentioned)

It became less of "lol, look at all these trolls I've had over the years, let's sell them" to a bit of a crippling "I did this to cope with what was happening to me and this is the financial repercussions of that"

When I joined the Homestuck fandom, I was 16. A long ago ex-friend had gotten me into it because he was an obsessive fan and I REALLY liked astrology at the time, so obviously what was gonna stop me from getting into this silly little webcomic? (Nepeta my BELOVED! Leo's for life!!!)

I've never really shared this with anyone outside of my CLOSEST of close friends, but I was in a really nasty situation. My parents were on drugs, deeply into it at the time of me joining Homestuck, and were basically nonexistent at that point of my life. They'd disappear for days at a time with no sign of them coming back anytime soon, so, while looking after my little brother, I'd get lost in this fandom and obtaining fantrolls was my own sick little kick

I wasn't creative at the time to really make my own, I'd just use sprite bases and all my own guys were basic as hell, but, when I found out troll adopts were a thing, I was OBSESSED

Some oldies might remember me being EVERYWHERE back in the day on DA under the unusualKitten alias. I was on every single page I could find trying to get at least ONE fantroll that someone had posted newly in the groups. It was amazing! I could drown myself in these guys I was getting and bury myself in art of them so that I could avoid the world that I was stuck in

Honestly, without that "distraction", I probably would've killed myself years ago

It was all I had in a shit world, it even led me making a short-time friend in my final year of high school, but it was fun

And then I grew up

Some things happened that involved me being the fucking savior of my family by dragging them out of that hell with my own two broken hands only for the sake of my brother. My mom got clean, my dad died because he couldn't get clean, I had been working a job in which case they'd have stolen my money almost every time I got it (like THAT was anything new), and we were just sort of stuck in limbo for a long time after that

I was still a part of Homestuck, but I wasn't A part of it anymore, if that makes any sense. Most I done was win a spot in the For Fans By Fans design contest with my Heir's Tears submission (Only 1 or 2 people bought the shirt and, two those people, I FUCKING LOVE YOUUUU, y'all are so cool), but I was pretty much dead in the water

Until I reconnected with my bestest friend

She helped me to regain the love again, as we'd rp a lot with all our different versions of canon characters bc we're maniacs (Which will ALL be featured in MSCOTT once I get back on the ball for writing it!)

And, as I sit here today, looking back on everything that happened 11 years ago, I've realized that things are a lot different now. I'm no longer the heavily traumatized kid I was back then, I have a life outside of the fantrolls I've hoarded over the years

And, yeah, it hurts seeing a lot of these guys go, it feels like a bit of myself is leaving with them, but that's not a part of my life anymore, that was a part of HER life

Don't get me wrong, I STILL love fantrolls and still have a handful of my own that I'll fight ANYONE over, but. I think it's time to let go of a past that I don't really want to be haunted by anymore

(But I hope this explains why I generate a LOT of fantrolls and then suddenly they're being given up as soon as something's done with them, hha, old habits die hard)

Thanks for readingggg, time to go cry a bittt!

[dragondeplatino]

Designing Pixel Art Textures

Working on a Minecraft texture pack presents some unique challenges, so I thought I'd share some of the problems I've been working through. Minecraft is used as an example here but this advice can apply to pixel art textures in general!

Note that these tips are targeted at Aseprite users, so grab your copy if you want to follow along!

The first big challenge of any texture is ensuring it tiles properly. It's easy to make something that looks great in isolation but shows some ugly patterns once it's tiled. Humans are great at picking up patterns in seemingly random noise so try to evenly spread out areas of high and low brightness!

The best way I've found to fix this is preview as you go! There are two quick methods for this:

Select the entire texture and press Ctrl + B. This will turn your tile in a brush which you can paint in a large area to preview. Make sure Pattern aligned to source is enabled.

Copy the texture and paste it into a new file. Enable View > Tiled Mode > Tiled in Both Axes and you can get a looped preview as you edit the sprite.

Second big problem is getting your contrast wrong. Too high, and your texture can be exhausting to look at when tiled over a large area. Too low, and it can resemble "programmer art" and lose out on a lot of the fun depth that contrast provides. Strike a balance!

Again, two methods for adjusting this:

If your sprite has its own palette, you can go to Sprite > Color Mode > Indexed to convert it to indexed color. Open the lock icon, then click one of the palette's colors. Now drag your color sliders and see the palette update in real time!

Sometimes your sprite is already in a large sheet or you don't have a palette for it. First, create a selection around your tile. Select your fill tool, and make sure Contiguous is unchecked and Tolerance is 0. Any fills you do will update that color throughout the tile!

This one falls more under opinion than fact, but plan around textures being visible up close. Lots of anti-aliasing looks great from a distance, but can make forms look muddy when it's pulled right up to the camera. Unlike 2D games, the player has the power to blow up your pixel art to half their monitor's resolution so keep that in mind!

Well that's all for this post! Let me know if there's anything else you'd like me to go over on this topic!