#further experiments in glitch art

[gaast]

difference between replacing FA with 20 between Python (left; with Pillow and binascii) and a hex editor (right, HxD).

[hypnoticmoth]

Some ramblings about the version of Vox I draw/write for my AUs, stories (and RP). It's a mixture of headcanons/canon/AU, putting it under a read more so you can skip if that ain't your cup of tea ~

I HC him as transmasc if you couldn't tell yet with some of my art ~ When he arrived in Hell, though, he didn't yet identify as male (lived in life as a woman). He dressed masculine because he thought it would be easier for him to achieve stuff. And he just eventually realized he felt more comfortable with that identity.

His body is an awful amalgamate of artificial and organic fused together. He bleeds both blood and coolant and other mechanical fluids if injured.

His head isn't a part of his body that can regenerate. The TV he uses starts off as a normal one, but once he connects to it, its properties change. Like the rest of his body it gets invaded by organic material. The screen is a solid surface but can disperse when he opens his mouth (which is another can of worms

His vision is tied to the type of TV he uses as a head. Black and white TV means black and white vision, grainy and desaturated colors screen means the same for his vision, ect

Changing his head is not a pleasant experience in the slightest.

His bent antenna is self inflicted after Valentino got his own antenna burnt in an Extermination saving his ass. He felt guilty Val got permanently injured and did this so mothman wouldn't feel alone and bad (he did feel bad)

This injury is what brought his glitches/seizures whenever he gets too emotional.

Vark is a gift from Valentino to Vox (and was trained as a service dog in case Vox glitches out when Val isn't there)

He didn't call himself Vox for his first few years in Hell. His name only came about later.

His very first Extermination happened only two weeks after he arrived in Hell. Man had no idea what the fuck was going on and after his screen got smashed in the chaos, played dead for the remaining how many hours left of it.

Valentino was a prominent name in Pentagram, and Vox saw his chance to ally himself with someone powerful. He was the one to seek out the other.

When he allied with Valentino, he was on good terms with Alastor. The two had disagreements about the place of technology in Hell and how it could be used to further their control over the masses, but they got along. Vox had decided to do his thing on the side to prove Alastor he was right. His idea was that once he'd proven his point, Alastor would come to him to stay allied (it didn't happen shkshksh)

The beginning of Val and Vox's partnership (as in business) was rocky. Vox was very reserved and Val was temperamental, leading the two to often have angry matches. It wasn't helped by the fact Val also made physical advances towards him but Vox "ignored" them because he felt insecure about being a trans man (and thought Val would think lesser of him)

Val and Vox started their relationship because Val caught Vox watching him on camera like the little freak he is.

Vox was the one to recruit Velvette. Valentino didn't like her at first, feeling jealous as the Vees were just him and Vox for the longest time (and he wanted Vox's attention on him and him only)

Velvette isn't in a relationship with the other two. They're friends/have familial like bonds. She's, however, in a relationship with Verosika (i saw art of these two and my heart is forever changed) There's a lot more but i don't feel like boring everyone who wanted to read this already hskjsgkjsg, maybe i'll expand on some points another time. Don't be afraid to trade ideas, i'm always happy to discuss o7

[aquatark]

My previous post made me realize that not a lot of people here are aware of Endless Ocean's bowmouth guitarfish glitch fiasco, which I think is a shame because 1) it's an interesting look into this game's history, and 2) I find it really funny... long-winded explanation incoming!

So! you see this guy?

You can place him in the game's aquarium, right? I bet if you've played the game, you've done it without even thinking twice!

...Well, in the initial Japanese release of Endless Ocean (known over there as Forever Blue), you couldn't. In fact, attempting to place this little scrimbly in the aquarium crashes your game.

Now this isn't too bad, since you can just press the reset button and continue your game normally, right? well... if you happen to leave the aquarium and save the game after having opened the creature placing menu, selecting a bowmouth guitarfish, and then closing the menu without placing anything... then congrats! you can never use the aquarium again, because it autoplaces whatever you left in that menu on your next visit! :D

In case you're wondering what this looks like in action, this video taken around the game's launch showcases it well, while also using the game's MP3 playback feature to put some anime music in the background, which I think adds to the experience:

So... how does this happen? How could something like this make it into the final game?

Turns out, this is due to how Endless Ocean categorizes creatures internally. Each creature in the game falls into a category, depending on the movements and behaviors the developers wanted to give them. For example, "migrate" type creatures follow a set of coordinate points creating a route around a stage, whereas "swim" type creatures simply swim around the area in which they are placed within a certain radius. Think of a whale shark's movements versus that of a butterflyfish - they have very different AI telling them how to behave.

Now, trying to load a creature of one type as a creature of another... does not make the game happy, to put it lightly. It doesn't know how to handle the request, and so crashes to prevent further weirdness from ensuing. There is only one byte (literally the second smallest unit of digital information storage you could use) per creature responsible for telling the game what type to load the creature as, and this includes when placing creatures in the aquarium. A slip of the keyboard caused a dev to type the wrong number in this byte, making it attempt to spawn bowmouth guitarfish placed in the aquarium as "swim" type rather than their correct "migrate" type. Literally one wrong number caused the game to crash, and for ears to bleed across Japan.

Since the aquarium is unlocked so early in the game, people discovered this on day one, in their first play session... and since Endless Ocean was a launch game for the Wii in Japan, that's even worse. It's not exactly a great look for your brand new console to have a game break so bad you can't use a mechanic anymore. And Wii game crashes are not pretty. So, Nintendo put out a statement on the day of release, notifying people of the problem, how to avoid it, and saying that a recall would be put in place. A week later, they released another statement, which stated people could apply to have their games replaced with an updated version, which would be mailed to them free of charge, by either phoning in or filling out an application online. This service continued up until 2020, over ten years after release! They really didn't want any copies of the broken version around... good thing we have archives of it!

The updated version even has different box art, with an added blue bar at the bottom, showcased in this incredibly crunchy image:

I love picturing Nintendo executives freaking out after a humble diving game causes such a mess they have to print the game again, losing them a lot of money and causing the game to get a lot of negative press...

I've seen old forum threads talking about the game as if it's garbage before it even came out internationally, because this situation was pretty much the only major news coming out about it. Can't have helped sales, at least...

Anyway, the game was patched to fix this glitch, along with a few other minor tweaks, and it was this version of the game that got translated worldwide. Japanese fans love joking about the whole ordeal, and I can see why! For example, on the bowmouth guitarfish's Niconico Pedia page (for which the closest equivalent in English would be something like Know Your Meme), this is recounted comedically as "...probably the most notable moment for the bowmouth guitarfish in the history of the internet", which is probably true! There's even image macros about it!

So yeah. The bowmouth guitarfish's reputation was forever tainted, and some Nintendo execs to this day probably wince when they see one.

tl;dr - A developer for Endless Ocean typed one number wrong in the code, making the game explode if you place a bowmouth guitarfish in the aquarium. Nintendo had to recall the game, and that specific fish has lived on in infamy among Japanese fans ever since.

Next time you use the aquarium, try putting a bowmouth guitarfish in there, and be grateful you can at all!

[d1s1ntegrated]

okay guys so. here's some updates!

-my grandma died. (not sigma.)

-i got the infinite hours glitch at work (im working sm now)

-i'm broke af still cause i honestly genuinely truthfully laurv grocery shopping too much (the horrors of the economy are incomprehensible)

-i love homicipher!!!!!!!!!!!!!

anyways. that's basically it. i'm trying to get back in here cause i feel so bad for all the unanswered prompts and asks in my inbox. i know i kinda flopped. im doing my best!!

also small announcement below the cut!!! especially considering ive been experimenting more with dead dove/nonconventional topics and themes.

first thing; i made a side blog for my dead dove and other extreme fics. the reason why i'm doing this is bc some people don't want to see that kind of stuff- and that's totally okay! and ik the filtering/blocking tags thing doesn't always work, especially for more "niche" topics.

i plan on branching out my repertoire by writing about topics that are "scary" or "new" to me- so this little counterpart to my blog will make it easier for me to post things that aren't typically sought after by the gen. pop. things like sickfics, whump, noncon, and other graphic or heavy themes.

in addition/addendum to that:

idk if this is common knowledge for any of my followers, moots, etc, but i have a severe phobia of vomit. like. huge. and at my big ass age of 21 (lol) i think it's time to start...getting through that fear. i've struggled with contamination OCD for a really long time and it's something i never thought id even try to overcome- but then i came across a creator on here who makes fetish art- which def wasn't something i was looking to encounter. but like a car crash, i couldn't stop looking at their work and i ended up coming across a post of theirs where they explain that they do what they do to get over their fear. at first i was fucking baffled as to how they couldn't manage to do that, but i get it now. taking something innately fucking horrifying and flipping the narrative so casually can be cathartic, and i finally after over a year of contemplation, gave it a whirl in my own writing. i mean, what better way to get over something by attacking it from my best angle??

typically this isn't something i'd ever consider doing. but...here we are. and i feel like im doing myself, and other people who feel the same way, a disservice by hiding this type of content in my notes app, never to be seen by anyone but me.

my blog has always been a safe space for the freaks and weirdos, and i want to keep facilitating that space while also keeping it enjoyable for all crowds. so by keeping a little separation between the two blogs, it'll ensure i feel comfortable, and others do too. i'm not gonna force everyone who follows me to come across some crazy fetish content they didn't sign up for, especially when previously i'd stated i don't write that kind of stuff. but alas people change and grow and i don't want to stifle myself from writing good things because im too afraid of judgement or my own insecurities.

i think kink is a very important thing in the fanfic world, because it allows the writer, as well as the audience, to connect on an even further level through the delivery of fetish content. as someone who hyperfixates on the development and accumulation of fetish and kinks, especially from a psychological level, this is something i was considering in the past- but not to this level, yk? like yeah, i could continue to just write sweet little hcs of softgaraki, and i love doing that, but also...like, i need these freak ass men to live their truths, and i need to live mine.

with that all being said, @compendiumofdecay is where these nasty fics will be for any and all who are interested.

[defining-skyology]

Finding the Light. (Defining Megabird #1)

I've mentioned the term 'loremoth' quite a lot, but haven't really elaborated on my definition of it. Within Sky's in-game social community, being a 'moth', or a new player, is a visually traceable status, showing on their backs and of their clothes, showing by the lack of seasons they've experienced and glitches they've overcome. But the Lore community is a Space held externally from the game, leading to it not being so much of a visual dogma, but rather more of... An Experience.

Hungry new lore theorists are fueled by their own personal preferences of thumbnails, baits, and key words; pulled in by what they find interesting, and after they devour that magical initial subject, they hopefully will look and then find the next thing.

Each of these sudden lore hooks end up being their Drive to have more, to dig for more, and to understand more. They feel it's become special to them; that they're in on 'the secret' now.

And one of the best topics to make loremoths feel like they're in on an absurdly colossal secret... 

Is the topic of the Megabird.

[[[Continue Reading]]]

In the early crazes of Lore, during the first year of Launch, interest in the Megabird skyrocketed, and when curious Sky players asked others who seemed more involved and invested in theorizing about the story, many users of Lorechat in Skycord would casually reply, "Well it's basically the god of Sky". 

Most murals and concept art depict the Megabird as a giant flowing golden angelic thing, with extravagantly long wings or tails. Sometimes it would be made of feathers, sometimes it would seemingly be shown as made of Creatures of Light. 

Early concept art refers to it as "One", some concepts say "Megabird", while others say "The Megabird", and late-stage concepts begin to refrain from calling it Megabird or 'The Megabird' at all, instead detailing a concept of "The Light" that was still unarguably the same 'character' from before. Post-launch content has never described it as The Megabird.

Despite this, Megabird ended up being heavily personified from 2019 to late 2021 by the community, and fans gobbled up anything about Megabird, especially Megabird as a character; as a god who would interact with the Elders and skykids. Megabird's fanbase grew to the point where it'd be given nicknames; it's most famous moniker being "Megan the Megabird". If only for the sake of having a character to use as a foundation for bountiful headcanon and fanfics, people seemed to cling fanatically to the idea of Megan; to the idea of having a deity. Perhaps there are or aren't some further psychological takeaways from the eagerness of the fanbase to have a 'god of Sky', but let's move on to a different notation for a while, and head back into the game.

Picture posted to Tumblr by lowkey-loki245

For the 4 years that players found themselves in the Descendant's era, creatures of Light have always been seen migrating at all times towards the beacon of Ascension in the Eye of Eden, but this isn't an absolute rule. Creatures often will be found frolicking and soaring wherever they want, far from the main path to Eden. Mantas will take elegant laps around wide open areas, and rarer creatures are either hardly or never seen ascending up into Orbit. 

But water doesn't halt its cycle, and Light shouldn't either. Water rushes down mountains, through valleys, flooding plains and reservoirs, yet not all of the water gets to the Ocean like it should. But though it gets stuck in spots, underground rivers and evaporation ensure the water cycle will always occur. It has to be the same for Light.

The lore community has long since determined that all beings in the world of Sky (so far) all are made of Light. {There can be a post explaining that on another day, because not everybody is so willing to believe this.} This includes: creatures of Light, Ancestors, Descendants, and yes, even dark creatures are made from Light; just warped light, to be exact.

If we're to continue with our comparison to the water cycle, then this means all of those living Beings are made out of {metaphorical} water. Water flows from the Source and descends until it reaches the Main Body of the ocean, and all Light cycles throughout the world until it can get to Orbit again. This cycle of the life energy of Light flowing in and out of a main body is exactly what we need to focus on, and lo and behold, quite a few pieces of concept art confirm this.

The meaning and purpose of some of these concepts have been long forgotten, and don't reflect the lore of the game today in post-launch, but there is one big theme going on here that they still intend to this day; all Beings of Light will eventually journey to rejoin the Megabird.

We talked before about how they slowly transitioned towards using a simple base word to describe the megabird instead of giving it an almost characterizing name, and I believe they had to have done this intentionally. (Well, as intentional as TGC ever gets.)

We can and may still call it 'the Megabird', but from now on we understand that we are referring to 'the Light'. So, why did they depersonalize Megan into a character-less thing? As we ascend through orbit and into the Ocean of Light, the Main Body of our life energy; lore theorists all over the interwebs would still be looking for the character Megabird. "Where is Megabird? Surely it's that constellation above us? Maybe it's the giant gate that sends us towards rebirth? Maybe it just hasn't shown itself?" But as the voice of Aurora calls to us and the warmth of the ultimate Light pulls us in, vaporizing darkness as we come, I just have to ask:

"Isn't that the Megabird that we're entering?"

A pure, deep, limitless orb. We are drawn in by its intensity, and as we get closer to being Absorbed we can see creatures swimming in and out of its surface. In the Sea of Light. All things here in unison, all things belonging to One; each moving speck of Light, a drop of water in an endless pond of pure harmony.

Whenever we enter the Light; when we enter the Megabird, we become dissolved into that sea, and we join One in it's neverending song.

You might notice we're not going to end with any solid Defining going on, and that's because you're supposed to take this in and think about what you make of it. It'll be important for part two.

But we'll have to research further into proving THAT on Thursday, because unfortunately, this post has gotten way too long.

{{{Megabird Part #2 is out! Click here to continue Our journey.}}}

Thank you to the two readers who got this far, and I hope you can all think critically, never perspire, and have a wonderful rest of your week.

[rabbitechoes]

wow!!! august was a pretty stacked month for new releases and it seems like september will be pretty busy too. there were quite a few great records this month - one being my current album of the year. also trying out a new format so these posts will be easier to navigate. i've started linking to the full reviews on my rym page instead of just pasting them over here. i figure it's much easier to get through that way!! to check out my thoughts on some of the songs that dropped this month click here!!! also feel free to follow me on rate your music and twitter <3

Imaginal Disk - Magdalena Bay

🥇 BEST ALBUM OF THE MONTH

◇ released: Aug. 23, 2024 ◇ genres: neo-psychedelia, synthpop, chillwave, dance-pop

to call it a triumph would be an understatement, the sophomore album from Magdalena Bay is a delicately detailed experience that doubles as an immensely enjoyable pop record. to put it simply, i'm feeling diskinserted 💿

my review of Imaginal Disk

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Sky Hundred - Parannoul

◇ released: Aug. 3, 2024 ◇ genres: shoegaze, noise pop, emo, indietronica

on his strongest album yet, Parannoul further refines his sound without sacrificing the scrappiness that made his music so endearing in the first place. my review of Sky Hundred

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NO NAME - Jack White

◇ released: July 19, 2024 / Aug. 2, 2024 ◇ genres: garage rock revival, hard rock, garage punk

Jack White has crafted a staggering garage rock record that perfectly soundtracks a world on fire. my review of NO NAME

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Wild God - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

◇ released: Aug. 30, 2024 ◇ genres: singer-songwriter, art rock, gospel, baroque pop

unlike the more meditative approach of 2019's Ghosteen, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds return with a renewed sense of urgency and a striking crop of songs that are sure to make u feel something. my review of Wild God

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cheshire days - ashley ninelives

◇ released: Aug. 10, 2024 ◇ genres: glitch pop, neo-psychedelia, synthpop

the long-awaited new album from ashley ninelives is filled to the brim with exciting ideas and vibrant production that's easy to get lost in.

my review of cheshire days

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I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU - JPEGMAFIA

◇ released: Aug. 1, 2024 ◇ genres: experimental hip hop, hardcore hip hop, rap rock

JPEGMAFIA is here to stay … whether u like it or not. my review of I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU

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Romance - Fontaines D.C.

◇ released: Aug. 23, 2024 ◇ genres: indie rock, alternative rock, post-britpop

Fontaines D.C. shed their gothic veneer in favor of warmer sounds on their new record, while unfortunately stumbling into style over substance territory amidst a few incredible tunes.

my review of Romance

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Flight b741 - King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard

◇ released: Aug. 9, 2024 ◇ genres: boogie rock, roots rock, blues rock

the refreshing collaborative spirit of this new King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard record is its biggest strength, but not enough to make this an essential project in their vast discography. my review of Flight b741

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Paradise State of Mind - Foster the People

◇ released: Aug. 16, 2024 ◇ genres: synthpop, nu-disco, chillwave

the fourth album from Foster the People, my favorite band when i was in 6th grade, is an existential ode to synth funk and disco of the 70s/80s that sounds great, but doesn't leave much of a lasting impression.

my review of Paradise State of Mind

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Quantum Baby - Tinashe

◇ released: Aug. 16, 2024 ◇ genres: alternative r&b, trap soul, pop rap

the second installment in Tinashe's BB/ANG3L trilogy is a substantial step down from the first primarily due to its reliance on more mainstream pop/r&b sounds.

my review of Quantum Baby

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Cellophane Memories - Chrystabell & David Lynch

◇ released: Aug. 2, 2024 ◇ genres: ambient pop, ethereal wave, ambient, drone

David Lynch always has a strong vision for what he wants to convey in his art, but unfortunately, this new collaboration with Chrystabell isn't one of his most worthwhile endeavors. my review of Cellophane Memories

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Short n' Sweet - Sabrina Carpenter

◇ released: Aug. 23, 2024 ◇ genre: pop

Sabrina Carpenter's new album should be a bold statement priming her to be the next big thing, but instead it just falls into the same exhausted clichés we've all come to expect with big mainstream pop releases.

my review of Short n' Sweet

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Aghori mhori mei - Smashing Pumpkins

◇ released: Aug. 2, 2024 ◇ genre: alternative rock

Smashing Pumpkins' surprise new album isn't as horrible as their garish rock opera ATUM, but it's just as self-indulgent and outright boring as what we’ve come to expect from the band.

my review of Aghori mhori mei

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F-1 Trillion (Long Bed) - Post Malone

◇ released: Aug. 16, 2024 ◇ genres: contemporary country, country pop

Post Malone sticks out like a sore thumb in every genre he inhabits and that continues to be the case with his first full-length country album - his worst record thus far by a considerable margin.

my review of F-1 Trillion (Long Bed)

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Vultures 2 - Ye & Ty Dolla $ign

◇ released: Aug. 3, 2024 ◇ genres: pop rap, trap, alternative r&b

Ye and Ty Dolla Sign return with a disastrous album full of anthems for divorced dads who were most certainly in the wrong.

my review of Vultures 2

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Popular Monster - Falling in Reverse

◇ released: Aug. 16, 2024 ◇ genres: alternative metal, trap, rap metal

no.

my review of Popular Monster

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this section will be used on occasion to briefly discuss projects i didn't write full reviews for, but i still think are worth checking out. beginning with ...

Sophcore - Moses Sumney

A decent EP, but I would be lying if I said I was a little letdown. Still very pleasant on the ears, just lacking in substance. Sumney still has a very striking voice. Here's hoping the next project is a bit more substantial.

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Some Songs I Wish I Wrote Vol. 1 - This Is The Glasshouse

I didn't have high expectations for a covers EP, but this one really floored me. I really loved his album from last year, As Small As Ants, and it seems as though he's only getting better. He has a really good ear for layered instrumentation, it's certainly this EP's strongest aspect. The arrangements for his cover of Xiu Xiu's "Sad Pony Guerilla Girl" and Steve Reich's "Clapping Music" were big highlights in particular. Definitely give this a listen!

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The Vault - Maruja

A few months after their Connla's Well EP, Maruja surprise dropped a compilation full of improv jam sessions. It's a bit of an undertaking, but for those who are fans of the band this is definitely a treat. There are so many cool instrumental passages here and it brilliantly showcases how many brilliant ideas are swarming around when the band is in the studio. Their chemistry is off the charts. Here's hoping we get some weird jam stuff on their full-lenght debut, whenever that comes out.

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[3ofpents]

The Jersey Devil & The Pine Barrens Pin Stripe // Fabric design for @shapeshiftersvt and The Cryptid Collection

Oh it's time for my favorite cryptid, the Jersey Devil.

We've reached the first fabric design that was a direct adaptation from its coordinating travel poster. Here, let me show you, I think it's pretty obvious.

This wasn't the first based-on-the-poster design that I did, but it was the very first poster that I did. I mean obviously. I grew up in New Jersey and, save for a 9 month stretch in Brooklyn after I was born, and a 2 year stint also in Brooklyn in my late 20's, I lived there for about 30 years. The Jersey Devil has always and will always hold a special place in my heart.

So why on earth is there a version of this pattern without it???????

Easy! Remember when I said that some of the fabric designs were created with Eli's runway looks in mind? Well here's the concept sketch for the Jersey Devil design:

The initial concept while we were brainstorming and finalizing the fabric designs was to create a skirt suit with the trees-only design (Pine Barrens), with a binder or sports bra in the Jersey Devil design peeking out from underneath. I can't speak entirely to Eli's thought process, but I believe part of this decision was made with the photobombing idea behind the posters in mind, where the cryptids are sort of semi-hidden, or at least not the focus of the image. And part of it was aesthetic, not wanting to have multiple moons all over the outfit that might even get cut off and such.

I want to say I had a decent time with this one, and I think I did in the end. But I have to admit that it ended up being a little frustrating because it took a lot longer than I expected it to. Or that I thought it should, considering I was just recreating a slightly altered version of an illustration that I'd already done. It took a while to get the trees right, especially because for some reason that I kept getting a single pixel wide line across my horizontal seams that, like. The only way I can explain it is that it was as if the canvas was a single pixel shorter on the bottom than the image, so every time I smoothed out the seams and moved the tile back, that single pixel line would come out of hiding and break up the whole image because it didn't get edited, so the colors were in the wrong places.

This was NOT the case, for the record. I expanded the canvas multiple times in my attempts to fix this thinking that was what was happening. And yet it kept happening. I don't remember if restarting my computer fixed the problem (I often have issues with things on my screen not appearing properly when I need to restart to free up some memory); if I confirmed that it was just a weird visual glitch in Clip and that it wasn't visible anywhere else; or if it just stopped happening because I stopped moving the tile multiple times to double or triple check it and it was happening at the point of moving it. But I got it fixed, obviously.

And I'm pleased with it! I think if I'd put this one further down the list and so had more experience under my belt, I would've done it a little differently. Really mainly the tree repeat. I think I would've done a larger tile to get more trees, for more trunk shape variation; and to have more room to get a more gentle curve back and forth.

But the essence of the thing is still there, and I still think it's a cool concept (one that Eli came up with, I forgot to mention!) with the trees being stripes. And of course I love my flying Jersey Devil. I need draw more Jersey Devil art.

As always, if you'd like to order your own binder or sports bra with either of these fabric designs, you can find them (and the poster print) here, on the Shapeshifters website. If you do, we'll finally be able to get a photo instead of the mockups I made up there.

If you want to purchase the fabric for your own sewing projects, you can do so through our Spoonflower shop. Important to note that the Pine Barrens stripe runs vertically along the length of the yard; and the Jersey Devil stripe runs horizontally, and the pattern repeat is a full yard, so there's only one moon on each yard.

[criskape]

✨

send ✨ to see one of my muse's memories.

                                    . ݁₊  ︵ ‿     ཐི    ☕️    ཋྀ     ⊹ . ݁   ‿ ︵   ˖ . ݁

It is awfully convenient that the moment Cris finishes a patrol early for once, he is alerted of another criminal to deal with in a car's passing radio. Honestly, if you asked him what day it was at the time, he wouldn't have been able to give you a straight answer.

The days had started to blur together. How easy it is for him to lose track of time when he's working, the only indicator of how the hours have passed is when his stomach growls or nature calls, how the sun blazes directly into his eyes or the moon seeps past the blinds.

His head pounding and vision blurring the moment that he leapt off to swing from building to building was probably a bad sign, but like he always says, time stops for nobody. Not even him. When he rectifies this issue, he will finally deserve that break.

SM Megamall being surrounded by cars with blaring sirens and flashing lights, along with yellow and black police tape, was terribly unsightly. He does come by sometimes whenever he runs errands or maybe when he's invited to come with his friends for the timely art market that happens in its convention centers, so having those experiences charred by a criminal's misdeeds is unfortunate.

Once he's able to sneak past the crowd, he lightens his footfalls to explore the now desolate establishment. The darkness matched with the hollowness of its once bustling halls is unsettling enough that it probably should trigger his spider-sense.

It is only when he reaches the center atrium does when that lingering sense of danger overwhelms him. Because this was not what the mall looked like before.

The pillars that held up each floor was tightly wrapped in vines and flora. The ground was replaced with a mucky green grass mixed with small dunes and speckles of sand as opposed to the polished granite.

Before Cris has more time to observe any further, his spider-sense flares and he webs himself towards a nearby pillar as a heap of grass and sand whirls past him. Sand?

But he had already dealt with Sandman a long, long time ago. He remembered it clearly, even if it was in the early times of his duties as Spider-Man. It shouldn't have been possible for him to escape imprisonment, no less gain these new floral abilities.

He swings in circles around his new foe, wracking his brain on how a new Sandman managed to rise under his attention on the city. However, the sounds of agony crackle and spark bounce off of the walls and he notices his target... Glitching?

With him, the fresh greenery that decorated the halls had begun to behave in the same manner, causing him to lose his webbing and collapse onto the floor. He could feel his ribs bruise with the impact, but he has no other choice other than to get back up and charge at his enemy. God, he should have had coffee before this.

Cris doesn't usually have difficulty landing blows. Given his enhanced speed, it never takes this long to achieve victory. But considering how this Sandman seemed to be bugged out (and how he was very much lacking on sufficient meals and rest), his accuracy was faltering.

He was finally able to incapacitate his enemy, keeping him faint and trapped against one of the pillar, but he wouldn't know how long those restraints could last. Cris was starting to feel even more faint somehow, stumbling backwards.

... Only he manages to trip on the base of one the vines entangled with the structure, a conveniently timed glitch tightens the grip that the trailers have on the supports and brings the concrete down on him.

...

It's all a blur. His face feels exposed and his body is screaming at him under the pressure of the debris. All he can see is a mosaic of colors, navy and bright red slashing and dashing across the scene. He can hear a rough voice, commanding and authoritative. Next, the weight is gone. His fragile form is scooped up in strong arms, and the voice returns.

"Right. Just a bad dream."

                                   ⊹ . ݁   ‿ ︵   ˖ . ݁     ཐི    🍵    ཋྀ     . ݁₊   ︵ ‿

[gracecpy]

Is online fandom a friendly space for an Asian fan?

Welcome back readers/bloggers! :3

In this blog, I am going to talk about ✨fandom✨. I've been part of several fandoms, most of them rooted in the gaming community. What keeps me engaged is the shared passion for the game—whether it's the captivating story, stunning graphics, or impressive character designs. These elements are what drew me in. So, without further ado, let's dive into the topic!

As an Asian myself, I find online fandoms to be a friendly space for me personally. This might be because many of the games I play are developed by Chinese companies and later released globally. While it’s true that Asian fans can face challenges such as insensitivity, stereotypes, or even discrimination, there is still a noticeable level of respect and inclusivity within these communities.

Diversity In Games 🎮

Genshin Impact

The Genshin Impact community is among the largest and most active in the gaming world, with millions of players globally. The game’s appeal lies in its distinctive open-world gameplay, vibrant graphics, and captivating characters. Fans in this community are incredibly passionate and dedicated, often spending hours sharing theories, creating fan art, and offering guides and tips to assist fellow players (US-China Institute, 2023).

The community is also recognized for its generosity and compassion, with players often coming together to fundraise for charitable causes and support one another during tough times. It is widely regarded as one of the most welcoming and inclusive communities in the gaming world, providing a safe and supportive space for players from all walks of life.

Memorable Events & Genshin’s Community Engagement 👥

Genshin Impact has fostered a lively global community, with fans regularly hosting meetups to share their enthusiasm for the game. These events range from casual local gatherings to large-scale conventions, providing chances for fans to connect, exchange experiences, and engage in themed activities.

Image credit: Gamerbraves

Genshin Impact also has an active fanbase in Malaysia, and fans frequently participate in themed events and meetups. Notable examples include events like "HoYo FEST," where fans can enjoy Genshin-themed dining experiences, photo booths, and exclusive merchandise. These gatherings also feature activities such as scratch-card giveaways and social media challenges, fostering a fun and interactive atmosphere (Gamer Braves, 2024)

Another example is the "A Joyful Reunion" event held at Sunway Pyramid in Kuala Lumpur. This event offered fans opportunities to complete in-game-style commissions, engage in boss challenges, and win themed prizes. Such gatherings have become a great way for local players to connect and share their passion for the game​ (The Magic Rain, 2024).

These events demonstrate the vibrant community spirit among Malaysian Genshin Impact fans and offer a welcoming environment for those looking to meet like-minded players.

Another game I’m actively playing, which features a diverse cast of characters, is Reverse: 1999.

Reverse: 1999

Image credit: Bluepoch

Reverse: 1999 is a turn-based strategy RPG that debuted in China last year. The game revolves around the intriguing concept of time, focusing specifically on traveling back through different historical periods (Freemmostation, 2023).

It features an anime-inspired art style, with characters designed in a way that gives the game a moody yet visually captivating atmosphere, enhanced by excellent use of color and lighting. The backgrounds are equally stunning, and the introduction of vaporwave-inspired visuals offers a unique shift in the art direction. This stylistic choice may even reference late 90s glitch art, potentially hinting at the narrative’s ties to the events of 1999 and offering clues to the game's deeper themes (Claudia Khaw, 2023).

What drove me to play this game is the artstyle. It is painterly and illustrative. The characters were designed in a way that gives the game a moody yet visually captivating atmosphere, enhanced by excellent use of color and lighting.

The game enhances immersion by using Live2D models of the characters during dialogue scenes, instead of static artwork. This brings the characters to life, making the interactions feel more dynamic and engaging. The smooth movements and subtle gestures give each character extra depth and personality, making the overall experience visually more compelling and enriching.

As new characters were introduced, I noticed the game boasts a wonderfully diverse cast, featuring characters from various backgrounds, including British, French, Indian, Chinese, German, Japanese and more. As a Chinese-Cantonese player, I was thrilled to see myself represented in the game, which made the experience even more meaningful and enjoyable.

Fan Events!🧋

In Singapore, Reverse: 1999 has teamed up with Signature KOI for an exciting collaboration, offering fans a chance to enjoy special themed drinks and exclusive merchandise (GamesPress, 2024). This partnership, running from October 26 to November 10, includes beverages like the Signature Pearl Earl Grey Milk Tea and Honey Floral Green Tea. Purchasing these drinks will unlock limited-edition items, including vacation-themed outfits for characters Regulus and Matilda.

Fans visiting the event can also engage with the game’s universe by receiving special anniversary gifts, such as postcards and car sticker sets, as well as enjoy fun activities like cosplay meetups and a film screening of the game’s trailers and music videos.

Image credit: Reverse:1999 Global

Social Media Connecting Fans Together 🌏

Fans have created spaces on social media and platforms like Discord to organize virtual meetups, share fan content like art and cosplays, and talk about the game’s evolving story. The community has been known to rally together in support of the game’s updates and events, participating in discussions around the latest chapters or new character releases.

In conclusion

This generation of online fandoms has embraced diversity, especially with the rise of social media that connects people globally. Whether through live or virtual meetups, events, or collaborations, fans experience a sense of camaraderie, love, and support as they bond over shared interests. These communities offer a sense of belonging and purpose, providing a space where people can come together to enjoy what they are passionate about.

References

US-China Institute. (2023, August 25). Genshin’s Global Impact

https://china.usc.edu/genshins-global-impact

The Magic Rain. (2024. March 28). Genshin Impact Malaysia Celebrates Raya In Sunway Pyramid

https://themagicrain.com/2024/03/genshin-impact-malaysia-celebrates-raya-in-sunway-pyramid/

Gamer Braves. (2024, August 13). HoYo Fest 2024 Malaysia Experience – HoYoverse Fans Celebrate in Style

https://www.gamerbraves.com/hoyo-fest-2024-malaysia-experience-hoyoverse-fans-celebrate-in-style/

Claudia Khaw. (2023, October 27). New gacha RPG Reverse 1999 has been getting lots of hype, here’s our early review

https://vulcanpost.com/843662/reverse-1999-rpg-game-review-gameplay-characters-plot-malaysia/

GamesPress. (2024, October 10). New Characters, New Events, New UTTU Spotlight Edition: ‘Reverse: 1999’ Wraps Up Anniversary Update With Basket of Goodies

https://www.gamespress.com/New-Characters-New-Events-New-UTTU-Spotlight-Edition-Reverse-1999-Wrap

Freemmostation. (2023, December 6). Reverse 1999 Exclusive Interview – Inspirations and Upcoming Versions

https://www.freemmostation.com/features/reverse-1999-exclusive-interview-inspirations-and-upcoming-versions/

[doppelneer]

A Wee Bit of Catching Up With This Mess

Soooo originally this was going to be a big post on my main tumblr blog @abyssforphantoms , but I got thinking about it and it just made more sense to make this on it's own blog and repost it over there if I feel like it... instead of spamming my main with this au stuff.

Anyway, Welcome to the mess that is my brain and They Came From The Deep Au. I will not be going too deep into the story in this post, but will do a short summary and explain my prosses behind my decent into madness with the various stuff I have accumulated for it over the year.

Summary:

After the final quest the Abyss Crew was fine. Cannoneer was back, safe with the rest of the crew, and they have gotten what they wanted when they went down to those accursed depths (even though they almost didn't make it back if it weren't for the skykid). So everything should be fine, back to status quo... right?

Well it was for a bit.

Then strange stuff started happening.

Supplies keep disappearing and shifting around the reef. The members of the crew feel like they are being watched from a distance, and the sea almost seems more restless. Every one has a sense of unease...

None more so then Cannoneer,

because of the weird dreams they keep having, and now the crew is saying they did things they didn't do. It was like they were at two places at once.

Then they saw it-them from a distance... they looked almost exactly them! but something was off...

Now it's up to Cannoneer to figure out what is going on, what does this doppelganger (a.k.a Doppelneer or Cannondoppel) want and convince the crew this isn't another one of their "embellished stories".

Meanwhile other things deep down start to stir... and they aren't going to be as "friendly".

And yes Doppelneer will be a big part of this post

Warning: the images below may have some BODY HORROR.

Veiwer Discretion is Advised.

Around August 2022??? - the sticky note

The thing I drew that started it all

Thr original idea for it was just what if cackling cannoneer but dark creature

I forgot that it existed until...

October 2022 - "A Familiar Face That Is or Isn't You"

I found the sticky note again and wanted to explore the design further in a one off piece (and then it wasn't, lmao)

I also got into exploring doppelgangers as an idea which lead to me having the questions

"If someone from the Abyss Crew had a doppelganger who would have the most interesting reaction?" (You can guess who I picked lol)

"What if the doppelganger wasn't nessasarly evil but thought they were the person and the person they are a doppelganger of was a doppelganger that took over their life, thus kinda wanting to sabotage the person's life a little?"

I drew this piece in my sketchbook but then colored digitally

Originally posted to my deviantart 26 October 2022

Finished Art

Drawing Process / Alternative Versions

November 2022 - Old Reference Sheet for Cannondoppel

Very outdated and crusty

I will post the updated ref in another post

DON'T USE THIS ONE I BEG OF U!!!!

December 2022 - "Breath in Deep Water"

Digital painting

Just a story idea

Waking up one day being able to breathe water must be jarring ngl

First appearance of the phantom eyes

Posted 1 January 2023 on my deviantart

January - Inspirational Glitch happened in Sky

Didn't really do to much with the Au for a bit, nor does this really have to deal with the au

But this happened to me one day and thought it was neat yet felt like walking into a sky creepy pasta.

It's the red green visual glitch and the spirit staring glitch with Cannoneer happening at the same time

March - Some Old Doodles

"There is always a bigger fish. "

More experimenting with the story in my mind

May - "Reflections"

"Just a reflection in the void"

Changed some details with Doppelneer, mainly hair and sometimes they have a tail

Reversed

July - artfight cameo

just a small appearance

Nothing too much too note

And that is it for now will return soon with more stuff soon

[sanctamater]

THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS A FAIR GAME. ONLY WINNERS AND LOSERS. a cyber.punk au.

in which our lady can never really wash away the blood she's stained her hands with, even fifty years later.

this is also going to be a long one. i will try and divide it up as best i can, but regardless, it will be long.

THE BASICS. NAME: Amelia Comstock; formerly Van Nostrand TITLES AND STYLES: Mrs. [A.] Comstock, Militech's Heart, Militech's Voice of Reason, The Good Lady, Our Lady, Gilded Lady, COO, Boss. OCCUPATION: Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Militech, philanthropist. CLASS: Corpo exec; full Corpo Immunity. Combat Medic. NC ID #: 67-0431-1997 AGE: 80 as of 2077; looks to be in her late 30s thanks to Nanobots and what Amelia will call an excellent night cream. DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH: April 31st, 1997, New York City, New York; NUSA (formerly known as the United States of America) MARITAL STATUS: Married to Senator Zachary Hale Comstock; Senator of New York State and leader of the Founder Religion (read: cult) CHILDREN: Elizabeth Comstock (born 2016); whereabouts currently unknown to general public. Her disappearance in 2023 has been the subject of much speculation.

EXTRAS. NOTABLE FEATURES: Notably, a gilded cybernetic neck that has been engraved with art deco lines. It is her largest piece of cyberware that she has installed - having done so after surviving the attempt on her life in 2018, rendering her neck invulnerable to organic damage. It contains an AI replica of her voice; and occasionally will glitch and warp into a robotic voice - think Siri or Alexa. In addition, she has 5 gold tears implanted under her eyes; 2 on her left cheekbone, and 3 on her right. These serve no purpose other than aesthetics; but reference the sorrows of Mary and hold personal meeting as Amelia counts her own sorrows. She has yet to reach 7. Gold cybernetics run up her legs as well - and her left ring finger has been replaced with a golden cybernetic one in place of a wedding band; a 'request' from Zachary. Amelia dresses in severe, black Militech garb - a knee length, long sleeved, high collared black dress that displays a clerical collar. Her uniform usually has gold edging and she wears a ballistic vest outfitted with a glowing, red Militech insignia that doubles as a tracking device, and another insignia next to it of a white cross on a red background, signalling her status as medical personnel.

ON THE CULT. Senator Zachary Hale Comstock (representative of New York state) is the head of an ever growing cult known as ‘The Founder’s Faith’; focusing on colonial America and an attempt to return to ‘true democracy’ and a ‘true America’. The cult decries all forms of cyberware and Media infiltration, and despite the Senator’s ties to Militech that enabled him to become a Senator, the cult is against Militech run government and corp meddling in general. It values a ‘traditional’ lifestyle, and Senator Comstock preaches a return to those values; and promises that should he ever be placed in charge by the grace of God, he will return the NUSA to its glory days no matter the cost. In reality, the cult is a death cult that seeks to destroy the NUSA in its entirety and rebuild anew, with Zachary climbing the ladder higher in a bid to eventually become President - with their daughter Elizabeth following in his footsteps. Zachary embezzles funds and tech from Militech to further this outcome through his wife; and when Amelia realised what she had given entry to after marrying him, she attempted to whistleblow and expose him in front of the board. The Senator attempted to strangle his wife to death, and failed. Now, she lives quietly - and bides her time. 

ON ELIZABETH. Elizabeth would have been, for all intents and purposes, a normal girl had she not been subjected to the experiments of Rosalind and Zachary. As an infant, they attempted to do the impossible: bridge Elizabeth's mind between the here and The Net. Given her age and how malleable she was, the splitting was a success - a first time achievement in history - allowing Elizabeth to exist across two planes at once. Elizabeth can enter the Net without any assistance; ICE poses no issue to her - she can walk through firewalls with ease and encounter rogue AI and daemons without problems; even building and accessing formerly dark and abandoned areas in the Net. This is something that is kept secret - every corpo, gov and gang would attempt to get their hands on on Elizabeth if this were common knowledge - even Amelia does not know; and Elizabeth is guarded by Sentient AI called 'SONGBIRD' from her 'TOWER'; where she has been learning for 50 years, isolated from the world.

ON ROSALIND AND ROBERT. Rosalind Lutece was a premiere scientist and Netrunner in the USA; known for creating excellent AI and advancements in Net infrastructure. She was contracted by Zachary to look in to using and harnessing the Net as a weapon; and what would happen if the Net fell. Assisting her in this was the AI 'ROBERT'; an AI she created based on herself - a brother of sorts. Robert assisted with the experiment upon Elizabeth; but later became sentient, and regretted his involvement. Robert successfully convinced Rosalind to attempt to free Elizabeth in 2035; only to have Rosalind killed by Zachary. Distraught, Robert created a copy of Rosalind as AI - the two are now rogue beings in the net.

TIMELINE: 2013 - 2023

2013

Amelia's father, one of the original board members of Militech, passes suddenly; leaving Amelia both his seat in the board of directors and the family weapons and munitions factory.

Amelia takes to the position with zeal despite her youth; having grown up with Militech executives and been involved in its business since birth - though young, she is well liked and easy to get along with, and quickly becomes a voice of reason. To placate Lundee, who Amelia quickly finds herself in opposition with, she enters Yale early, enrolling into a BA for Political Science, which she aims to complete in 2 years at the age of 18.

2015

Amelia completes her BA. An internal coup is staged and Amelia is taken out of her place in the board by supporters and placed as the COO of Militech; with many hoping to use her as a buffer to Lundee. That's the official memo - but most of the faction know she is young and impressionable, and wish to use Amelia as a puppet COO to advance their own agenda.

Amelia decides to get an MA in Business Studies to complete her education at Yale. She meets Zachary Hale Comstock there; who is preaching his doctrine and dogma around the USA. There, he preached against corpowars and the power of technology; claiming it was a corrupting force, and warned of more and more corpowars in the future. Amelia, wishing for Militech to become more than just a weapons and arms dealer, envisioning them as peacekeeping, non-partisan corporation is enthralled by this, and continues to attend his sermons.

Amelia and Zachary are married in May of 2015; he uses Amelia's influence to jumpstart his political career and increase the range of the cult.

Militech assigns ex-soldier turned bodyguard, Booker DeWitt, to Amelia in the face of unrest. Amelia quickly finds that married life is not what she expected; Zachary is prone to bouts of explosive anger, belittles her, and demands a child from her - claiming that his prophecy to save America involves a child being born of their union. Amelia is under intense pressure to conceive, and confides often in Booker. The two begin an affair.

2016

Elizabeth Comstock is born in early winter, 2016. The labour is a traumatic one for Amelia, who is only 19. There are rumours that Zachary Hale Comstock is not the father; and that Booker DeWitt is.

Zachary Hale Comstock begins to embezzle funds from Militech using Amelia's clearances to fund research with Rosalind Lutece.

The Third Corpo War begins and ends; proving Earth-shattering. Zachary uses this as an opportunity to claim he had prophesied this. The cult continues to grow.

2017

Amelia is moved from New York City to Night City. She takes Elizabeth with her as Zachary has no interest in child-rearing, believing it to be Amelia's sole duty and purpose.

Amelia begins to notice someone is using her credentials and clearance and that her spending accounts do not match up with her own personal records.

2018

Amelia confronts Zachary about his embezzlement after rooting through his office desk on a return trip to New York City. The argument escalates and becomes physical. Zachary attempts to strangle Amelia to death when she threatens to reveal his research to Militech and his embezzlement of their funds. Amelia escapes by gouging out his organic eyes with her nails, and promises to stay quiet. Zachary ensures this by threatening her with Elizabeth being taken from her.

The attack is passed off as an assassination attempt, blaming Lazarus for the hit. Lazarus denies these claims.

Militech releases Booker DeWitt from service after failing to protect Amelia. He becomes a solo in Night City.

2019

Amelia replaces her neck with her now iconic gilded one; and implants two tears on her cheek. One for her attempted murder, and one for her silence.

2020

Elizabeth begins to manifest strange abilities connected to the Net. Rosalind Lutece implies Elizabeth would be an excellent Netrunner should she be allowed to train her. Amelia rebukes this.

2021

Booker and Amelia get back together.

The Fourth Corpo war begins.

2022

Militech and Arasaka become involved in the corpo war after OTEK and CINO come to a standstill; Donald Lundee pushes for more and more covert tactics and strikes against Arasaka in an attempt to push them out from the USA. Amelia and her faction disagree; and the two begin to clash.

Arasaka strikes at Militech's Night City HQ; killing dozens - Amelia escapes, and is later seen providing medical attention to both Militech and Arasaka forces with a dedicated medical team. The image of her doing so endears her to the public.

Zachary Hale Comstock is elected Senator of New York City; there are rumours that Militech interfered with the election to ensure the husband of their COO gained office.

The war continues with cities and countries being reduced to ash. Lundee continues to order strike upon strike; tensions begin to mount as Lundee and Amelia's factions gather strength - only to have both corps nationalised, effectively ending the war.

President Elizabeth Kress reactivates Militech with the goal of ridding Arasaka from the USA's borders. Lundee and Amelia are brought back on board and the war resumes.

Booker and Amelia make plans to leave Night City and flee to a different state, taking Elizabeth with them and starting life anew.

2023

A scream sheet reveals that Booker and Amelia have been having an affair. The fallout is astronomical.

Citing moral failure on Amelia's part, Zachary seizes Elizabeth from Amelia's custody, and places her in 'The Tower' within Night City to be observed by Rosalind Lutece.

Amelia is brought before the Militech board and put on trial for her ties to an anarchist; only saved by her own powerful faction. Lundee gives her one last chance.

Eager to make good on his commission, Lundee devises a plan to end the war once and for all: a bomb to the heart of Arasaka, forever crippling its roots in the USA.

Amelia, eager to regain status in Militech, signs off on the strike against Arasaka with Lundee's blessing. The funds are given to Johnny Silverhand.

On August 23rd, 2023, Johnny Silverhand and Morgan Blackhand lead a strike team into Arasaka tower. The nuclear blast kills 12,000 and killed over 750,000 more. Johnny Silverhand dies in combat.

Amelia, in the aftermath, leads another medical team to provide aid to injured citizens and take the spotlight off of militch.

Amelia gets three tears implanted upon her cheek: one for Elizabeth, one for Night City, and one for Booker. The guilt eats at her - but the corpo war has ended, and Militech and the USA are now one in the same.

2077 INVOLVEMENT

THE JIST: Amelia has been working from Washington, DC since 2023. For the past 50 years, she has stood as a voice of reason within Militech, and has a devoted faction within the corp in addition to the cult. With tensions mounting between Arasaka and Militech again, she has been sent back to Night City to facilitate peace talks.

MISSIONS: In the main narrative of CP77, Amelia is only hinted at returning to the city at first, and does not appear in the narrative until after Alt is contacted in Pacifica.

MY WRATH MAY NOT GO FORTH LIKE FIRE! On a routine cyberpyscho job from Regina, V will have the choice to kill or spare a solo (Booker DeWitt) that has gone off the deep end. Upon sparing him, V will exit to see Militech vans coming to collect the solo from the scene. No agents will answer any questions; but if the player looks, they will see the gleam of a gilded neck from behind one of the tinted windows. 

REPAY NO ONE EVIL FOR EVIL: Amelia will contact V through a Militech fixer offering a small job - stealing back Militech information from an Arasaka counter intel agent. She will pay a bonus for stealth, and deduct pay if caught or if V zeroes any agents, regardless of them being Arasaka or not.

YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS: Amelia's fixer will contact V again, offering them another job rescuing a Militech officer from Arasaka interrogation. She will reward stealth, and will deduct again if the officer or any Arasaka personnel are killed.

BRING ME THE HEAD OF HOLOFERNES! Amelia will then contact V anonymously about 7 in game days after this third mission has passed, offhandedly saying that she has heard of V’s name in Night City and their reputation precedes them; that she has a job for them that pays well, if they’d like to hear it. Amelia will then invite V to her apartment, and introduce herself fully there - away from prying eyes. It is there that Amelia requests a hit on her husband - and NUSA Presidential Candidate; who is in Night City for a debate - Senator Zachary Hale Comstock; saying that this is a job that needs V’s strength, cunning - and, most importantly, V’s kindness.  Note: If V chooses to kill the solo, Amelia will still offer this mission; but she’ll be noticeably distant and instead mention that this hit requires someone who’s a cold blooded killer who doesn’t think, just acts.

There are some catches to this job, however. Security is tight, and stealth is a must: detection would risk the cult martyring Zachary, and it cannot seem anything other than an accident or a suicide - something V will have to choose what to do. On completing this mission successfully, V will be wired 55,000 eddies. Failure to stealth nullifies the job entirely.

HER CHILDREN ARRIVE AND CALL HER BLESSED: Amelia will then contact V and request for V to release Elizabeth to her before Zachary's inner circle gets their hands on Elizabeth; V will have to stealth going through 3 floors of a penthouse in a mega tower in order to get to Elizabeth, and disable the AI Songbird in order to retrieve her and bring her to Amelia. Once Songbird is disabled, Elizabeth will assist V with enemy takedown and quick hacking. Stealth is mandatory - failure to stealth will result in mission failure. Upon driving Elizabeth to Amelia, V is wired 90,000 eddies and is profusely thanked by Amelia.

THE END: At the end of the game, a successful mission will show the cult dissolving without a head; a failure will show the cult instead securing Elizabeth and using them to forge their path. Turning down the mission will show that President Myers has been assassinated, and Zachary Hale Comstock has won the ‘election’. 

If V took Hanako’s deal: Tensions between Arasaka and Militech will continue to rise now that Saburo is effectively immortal.  If V put carried out a strike on Arasaka with Rogue: With Arasaka in tatters, Amelia is able to discuss terms with the rival corp and alleviate the tension somewhat - for now. She becomes the next CEO of Militech and announces a new, brighter future ahead. If V solo'd with Johnny or put a strike with the Aldecaldos: Amelia, Booker, and Elizabeth leave Night City to continue Booker's therapy.

[alexmercer786]

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[twenty-eight-stabwounds]

Sword Art Online (II)

These episodes of Sword Art Online definitely dived into a lot more interesting topics than the initial few. One of the main ones I wanted to talk about was the AI program that Asuna and Kirito ran into. She was introduced as a little girl with amnesia, just wandering the forest alone. Kirito and Asuna decide to take her in and nurse her back to health, or at least until she can regain her memories. Yui eventually addresses Kirito and Asuna as Papa and Mama, further creating an attachment between the pair and herself. We find out later in the episode that Yui is an AI that was created in order to comfort players that were struggling with mental health when playing the game. However, upon the initial release of SAO, the game's creator decided he wanted to prevent her from going to the players and she sat helplessly watching the players go insane from being trapped in the virtual world. She was programmed with the ability to emulate emotions somehow, and that eventually evolved into her actually having emotions, which we see through her attachment with Kirito and Asuna. The topic of can AI truly gain sentience and experience emotion has always been hotly debated, and obviously I don't have an answer to that question. Still, the way that Sword Art Online covers this topic is interesting, because the players already are experiencing this virtual world with regularly generated AI in the form of monsters/enemies to defeat or NPCs. But what happens when an NPC gains sentience and experiences emotion. Well, they would probably try to free themselves and disobey the system in place that keeps them there, which we see Yui doing by using the command system to destroy an enemy threatening Kirito and Asuna. This leads to the game system deeming Yui as a bug or glitch, and consequently deleting her program. The system basically removes this program, seeing it as just another bugged set of data. But then, what are the players in the eyes of the game system? They are players, but they are also data points, despite having actual bodies out in the real world. It's a system that Kayaba Akihiko created initially as a passion project. Creating a world where he could escape and just live in this beautiful fantasy world in a floating castle. But somewhere along the way he lost his way, and wanted power instead. When his ideals are challenged by Kirito, he remembers his initial intention and admits defeat.

[art3647]

final work by Hannah Mayfield

For my final project, I chose to work with image glitch and distortion and manipulating my own photography work and displaying it on an Instagram page to utilize the grid layout. I really enjoyed the glitch assignment earlier in the semester and felt it would be fun to expand upon for my final project. My goal was to create an aesthetic page that can be viewed by looking just at the grid, but also each individual photo is it's own piece of art. As a photographer, I work in photoshop frequently but don't get to experiment with the tools I used during this assignment, so it was also a learning experience for me & I was able to practice my skillset. 

I used photos that I have already taken so I was challenged to work solely in photoshop to manipulate the images, instead of relying on creating the distortion in camera. I also took advantage of the layout of Instagram to showcase the photos in a unique way. If you closely at the layout, you'll notice there is a pattern of alternating color and black and white in the rows, to add another layer to the work. 

I enjoyed working on this project and sharing my freelance work outside of FIU with my classmates and integrating my work into this class. I received a lot of helpful feedback from my classmates that helped me develop my concept further and create something unique to me. 

[carolhsu]

Academic Blog 4: Strategies of Realism - Van Gogh Immersive Experience

In this blog post, I will discuss The Van Gogh Immersive Experience with Bazin's theory. This exhibition is a touring digital art that remaking the works of Vincent van Gogh through large-scale projections, soundscapes, and interactive elements. Unlike traditional museum, this experience transforms iconic works like Starry Night and Sunflowers into living, breathing environments, immersing audiences in van Gogh’s artistic vision.

This approach resonates with Bazin’s idea of cinematic realism, where technology plays a vital role in bridging the gap between reality and representation (Bazin, 1951). Here, the goal is not merely to display van Gogh’s paintings but also simulate his emotions, and perspectives.

Figure 1. Van Gogh Immersive Experience

Simulation involves recreating aspects of reality to engage audiences. The Van Gogh Immersive Experience achieves this through dynamic projections. Paintings inside the exibition are animated, with elements like stars in Starry Night swirling or flowers in Sunflowers blooming. This movement simulates the emotions and energy that van Gogh might have brought into his works.

These elements collectively create a hyperreal experience, allowing audiences to feel as though they are stepping into the mind of the artist.

The exhibition embodies the tension between immediacy and hypermediacy, which create a seamless experience while emphasizes the medium:

Immediacy: The large-scale projections and immersive sound track encourage audiences to "lose themselves" in the art, aligning with Bolter and Grusin (1999)’s idea of direct connection without mediation.

Hypermediacy: At the same time, the visible technology such as projectors, digital screens, and interactive installations, reminds viewers of the medium's constructed nature (Bolter and Grusin, 1999). For example, glitches in projections break the illusion, pull viewers out of the immersive experience.

One of the most debated aspects of the Van Gogh Immersive Experience is whether it deepens appreciation for van Gogh’s art or commercializes it for entertainment purposes.

Artistic Value:

The exhibition provides a fresh perspective on van Gogh’s work, offering audiences an emotional connection that traditional galleries might not achieve.

For starters to art, this engaging format may serve as an entry point into van Gogh’s world and inspire further exploration of his works.

Commercialization:

Critics argue that prioritizing "wow factor" over substance reduces van Gogh’s work to mere visual entertainment.

The high ticket prices and merchandise approach show a focus on profit, raising concerns about art becoming commodified.

Jean Baudrillard’s concept of hyperreality provides a lens to critique the exhibition. In the Van Gogh Immersive Experience, the hyperreal environment often feels more vivid and emotionally charged than the original paintings themselves (Baudrillard, 1988).

For some visitors, the hyperreal portrayal amplifies the emotional impact, making van Gogh’s creativity more relatable. As for purists, the digital enhancements may overshadow the original works’ textures, colors, and subtle imperfections, disconnecting the audience from the authentic artistry of van Gogh.

Then, will hyperreal simulations replace traditional galleries? I think the answer will be negative. Because hyper-realistic simulated art (such as AR and VR exhibitions) and traditional galleries each have their own unique values ​​and audiences, and the two will coexist rather than replace the relationship.

In traditional galleries, people can appreciate the work as it is, including the texture of the canvas, the details of the paint, and its historical and cultural context. Also, it provides a calm environment for the audience to have an in-depth dialogue with the artwork, avoiding the interference of digital media.

While hyper-realistic simulation art creates an immersive experience that allows viewers to "walk into" the artwork and participate interactively. Further expand the possibilities of art and provide a convenient way for audiences who have no access to the original works to appreciate them, especially young audiences in the digital age.

As digital technology continues to shape the cultural landscape, immersive exhibitions like this may become more common. The challenge for us is to use these tools responsibly, ensuring that the essence of art remains intact through the use of digital technologies, while exploring new ways to connect with audiences.

Bibliography

Bazin, A. (1951) What is Cinema? Berkeley: University of California Press.

Baudrillard, J. (1988) Selected Writings. Edited by M. Poster. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

Bolter, J.D. and Grusin, R.A. (1999) Remediation: Understanding New Media. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Digital Media: Sources and Significance Session 4 (n.d.) 'Strategies of Realism'.

[moyra-moyu]

ACADEMIC BLOG#7

Unfriended: Dark Web – A Surrealist Approach to Horror

Introduction Unfriended: Dark Web (2018) revolutionizes horror storytelling by situating its narrative entirely on a computer screen. This digital format not only enhances the psychological tension but also introduces innovative techniques that reflect contemporary anxieties about technology and digital culture. By exploring its unique narrative structure, the use of hyperreality, experiential realism, and transmedia storytelling, this blog illustrates how the film challenges traditional horror tropes while pushing the boundaries of digital narrative design. The analysis concludes by relating these concepts to the field of concept art, underscoring their relevance in crafting immersive, technology-driven narratives.

Narrative Structure: A New Form of Found Footage The film adopts a desktop narrative style, presenting the story exclusively through a computer interface. This approach builds upon the found-footage tradition but adapts it for the digital age. Instead of relying on physical spaces to evoke fear, the film immerses viewers in virtual interactions, where the characters’ digital actions dictate their fate (Bloody Disgusting, 2018).

The fragmented structure reflects the non-linear nature of digital communication, with the story unfolding through video calls, chat windows, and shared files. This deliberate fragmentation heightens suspense and mirrors the unpredictability of online interactions, offering a fresh take on horror narratives (Kickasola, 2006).

Immediacy, Hyperreality, and Hypermediacy Unfriended: Dark Web skillfully employs the concepts of immediacy and hypermediacy to engage audiences. Immediacy is achieved by mimicking real-life digital interactions, creating an authentic and immersive experience. Meanwhile, hypermediacy disrupts this immersion by foregrounding the medium itself—pop-ups, glitches, and switching between apps remind viewers of the constructed nature of the narrative (Springer, 2022).

The portrayal of the dark web leverages hyperreality, blending exaggerated cybercrime scenarios with plausible online behaviors. This technique amplifies societal anxieties about digital privacy and security while making the horror feel disturbingly personal and believable (Perkis & Taveter, 2022).

Experiential Realism and Believability Despite its surreal premise, Unfriended: Dark Web maintains a sense of experiential realism. By grounding its horror in relatable digital environments—video calls, file sharing, and social media interactions—the film connects with the audience's lived experiences. This believability anchors the narrative, allowing supernatural and cybercrime elements to resonate more deeply (Academia.edu, 2022).

The film emphasizes the vulnerabilities of its characters not through traditional horror setups but through their digital footprints. This shift reflects real-world concerns about online identity and safety, blurring the line between the screen and reality (Kickasola, 2006).

Innovations in the Horror Genre By focusing on digital spaces, Unfriended: Dark Web challenges traditional horror conventions. The film replaces physical scares with psychological tension, demonstrating that modern technology can evoke fear as effectively as traditional horror tropes (SYFY Wire, 2018).

Moreover, its multiple endings introduce an interactive element, encouraging audiences to engage with the narrative beyond the film. This participatory approach reflects the changing relationship between media and viewers in a hypermediated digital age (Perkis & Taveter, 2022).

Transmedia Storytelling and Hypermedia The film’s transmedia strategy extends its narrative across social media, online forums, and other digital platforms. This interconnected approach enriches the story and mirrors the fragmented, multi-layered nature of digital culture (van Kessel, Manriquez, and Kline, 2025). Hypermedia techniques further enhance the narrative by incorporating textual, visual, and interactive elements, creating an immersive, multi-sensory experience (Wikipedia, 2024).

Conclusion: Implications for Concept Art As a concept artist, Unfriended: Dark Web exemplifies the potential of digital mediums to redefine narrative immersion. The film's innovative use of fragmented storytelling, hyperreality, and transmedia elements highlights new opportunities for visual storytelling. These techniques inspire the development of interactive, technology-driven worlds where audiences can actively engage with narratives.

In my field, these principles could be applied to design immersive environments that blend hyperreal visuals with interactive elements, offering deeper engagement and emotional resonance. By pushing the boundaries of traditional storytelling, concept artists can create narratives that reflect the complexities of contemporary digital culture, just as Unfriended: Dark Web has done within the horror genre.

References

Academia.edu (2022) Reconnecting with the Everyday: The Cinematic Realism of Unfriended (2014). Available at: https://www.academia.edu/95811509 (Accessed: 7 November 2024).

Bloody Disgusting (2018) SXSW Review: Unfriended: Dark Web is the Horror Game Night We Didn’t Know We Needed. Available at: https://bloody-disgusting.com/reviews/3487200/sxsw-review-unfriended-game-night/ (Accessed: 7 November 2024).

Bright Lights Film Journal (2018) A Spectre in the Participatory Panopticon: The Database Horror of Unfriended: Dark Web. Available at: https://brightlightsfilm.com/a-spectre-in-the-participatory-panopticon (Accessed: 7 November 2024).

Kickasola, J. (2006) ‘Contemporary Media and the Evolving Notion of Immediacy’, Quarterly Review of Film and Video, 23(4), pp. 299–310. doi: 10.1080/10509200690897581.

Perkis, A. and Taveter, K. (2022) ‘Applications of complex narratives’, New Review of Hypermedia and Multimedia, 28(3–4), pp. 97–111. doi: 10.1080/13614568.2022.2150323.

Springer (2022) Immediacy, Hypermediacy, and Experiential Realism in Digital Narratives. Available at: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-96436-8_14 (Accessed: 7 November 2024).

SYFY Wire (2018) Unfriended: Dark Web Director Discusses Alternate Endings. Available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20180731233757/http://www.syfy.com/syfywire/unfriended-dark-web-director-calls-the-alternate-endings (Accessed: 7 November 2024).

van Kessel, C., Manriquez, J. D. and Kline, K. (2025) ‘Baudrillard, hyperreality, and the ‘problematic’ of (mis/dis)information in social media’, Theory & Research in Social Education, pp. 1–23. doi: 10.1080/00933104.2024.2439302.

Wikipedia (2024) Hypermedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypermedia (Accessed: 7 November 2024).