#i apologize for the lack of pixels

[stumpanator]

pete wentz beats up security guard

[archdevilsupreme]

Fellow arsonists and dearest onlookers,

THIS is the reminder you needed to maybe, just maybe, remember some idiot dragging along Cazador's corpse all around Baldur's Gate (for like most of Act 3, as I kinda ran into this palace at level 9 like a fucking idiot not knowing where tf I am until I thought, oh just fuck it and go through with it now (I did die a lot...)

I would like to present the "Bag Of Death- Shenanigans" to you!

These determined adventurers swore themselves to be as fucking ✨dramatic✨ as possible.

So they started putting every corpse of their enemies in a backpack. Which they then put into their camp chest. While they do often fight about who is a worse influence on the other, they can agree on being insufferable as a team thus I need you to imagine Mazikeen (my Tav) arranging this pile of corpses while Lord Fangs is just standing by complimenting her on the creative display and giving signature sass. He's not helping. Of course he's not. Why should he, his job is to make this shit burn. He's also 15 points behind on strength compared to her. I love the thought of her moving and carrying stuff for his majesty, Lord Fangs.

But anyway.... I'm straying...

Their teammates hate them & their bullshittery, all these two wanna do is commit arson all the fucking time. You thought Karlach is starting fires? Nuh uh, it's this hellfire duo, they're just little devils, all mischief, all mayhem- all the time. I love them for this. (Tbh we all know it's just me, I'm Fãerun's most pathetic revenge seeking arsonist.)

Also Astarion very much deserved to igni the fuck out of this pile (what a weird way to spell Cazador).

Thank you for your attention, here's to having fun with fire!

[starfall-calamity]

ignore how many WIPs i have going on shush shush

tmph one year old okay?

[making a piece for each song on its release date, this one his Grew On Me's messy sketch of it :} might post the others wips too]

[yurucamp]

hello! i’m extremely inspired by your game, thank you so much for creating such a wonderful experience. i recently purchased rpg maker on a whim after a big sale. i’ve been wanting to create a game, a story-driven one, and it was such a blessing to see yours! i have a couple of questions;

i’m so lost! what softwares did you use to create the interior and exterior in the top-down sections? or was it all made in rpgmaker itself? how were you able to create the side scrolling scenes? rpgmaker is really fun to use, but i’m just lacking the materials necessary to actually put my ideas into fruition. i’ve been craving to create a big art project:)

what was the brainstorming process like for creating such a story-driven game such as yours?

i apologize for this as you’ve probably had so many questions asking before. thank you for taking time for your response!

hello! thank you so much, i'm really happy that you liked it and that it could inspire you, it's hugely flattering!! i wish you the best of luck with your project!

yep, the whole thing is made in rpg maker mv, though i drew the rooms in clip studio paint (which most people don't advise you to use for pixel art, and aseprite seems to be a much more popular suggestion). the drawing is then set as a parallax background for the map- if you search "parallax mapping rpg maker" you'll find a lot of information about this approach!

you can actually make this kind of side-scrolling section by just having one row of tiles be walkable and drawing larger sprites and a background. sprites can be any size in rpg maker mv so it's just a matter of bending the program to your needs!

as far as the brainstorming process, i collected a lot of photos that inspired me to make the rooms and environments, but i don't think i did much concrete brainstorming for the story itself- it had been marinating in my head for a while and continued to evolve as i worked on the game!

[ageless-aislynn]

Title: “15 Minutes” (10/15) Author:  @ageless-aislynn​ Characters/fandom: Master Chief John-117/Reader, Halo the series Summary: As you heal, you're not alone. Series: How to date a Spartan (without even trying) Rating:  T (PG13) Length: 2,604 (this chapter, 24,863 total so far) Spoilers: Set in the Silver Timeline of Halo the series, not the games or novels. Though we began with the events of Halo 1x06, there will be no more show spoilers. We are still firmly seated in the AU Warthog, merrily driving out to places where there’s only a passing nod to canon. 😉 Disclaimer: Definitely not mine but I do enjoy borrowing them just for a bit! 😉 A/N:  Text is both here in this post or available at AO3, however you like to read. Apologies for the break we took for a few weeks here. 😳This chapter turned out a little longer than I expected, (please enter "that's what she said" joke of your choice here), so I hope that makes up a bit for the delay. If you read, I hope you enjoy! ⭐💖⭐

Taglist: @pinheadbanger​ @mysardencut​ @laurenstacy610​ @sporadicbelievernightmare​ @ultrablackwidower​ @bxmxtx​ @jellotherelol @mirandastuckinthe80s

If you would like to be tagged in my John/Reader fics, just let me know! I also write John/Kai, John/Cortana and Kai/male Reader, so I’m glad to tag you for whatever you’d like. If you would like to be removed from the taglist, also feel free to let me know, no harm, no foul. 😉 💖

Halo fic masterlist ⭐

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7 - Chapter 8 - Chapter 9

Pressure on your chest brought you startling awake, flinging your left arm up as if to try and break free of a restraint. White hot pain burst from your shoulder down your bicep like a cord of fire trying to amputate your arm. You gave a strangled cry, managing to sit up and clutch at the various points of hurt as the agony gradually faded.

Out of the darkness, a now-familiar woman's voice said your rank and last name. "Are you all right? Do you need me to dispatch medical assistance?"

"No," you quickly said, automatically straightening your sleep-rumpled shirt. "I moved my arm wrong. Thanks, though."

"Of course," she returned, her tone kind.

"Are you, um, monitoring me?"

"Just for sounds of distress or pain. John was adamant that your privacy be respected as much as possible."

That made you smile slightly under the cover of the lack of light. "I hope they've given you something else to do other than to listen for me to say ouch."

"Not to worry, I keep busy."

You nodded even though she couldn't see it. Or maybe she could? Was she holed up in some ONI office, watching you with thermal signatures or some other sort of tech? "I appreciate it, Ms. Classified. Though I believe you gave me your name, didn't you? I'm sorry, I can't remember what it was."

"You were a little busy at the time," she demurred. "It's Cortana but I rather like 'Ms. Classified,' I have to say. It's like a nickname between friends, isn't it?"

"It is," you said. "And please feel free to use my first name. No need for friends to stand on formality."

"Thank you," she said and, after a slight pause, added your name as if it were an honor to do so.

Was she a Spartan, perhaps? Something about her careful manner reminded you of how John sometimes reacted to interpersonal things as if he hadn't ever dealt with them before and wanted desperately to be right in his response.

You wasn't sure if you should ask and while you were still wondering, she said goodbye with a sound like pixels vanishing, though there had been no hologram of her to see this time.

Your day was a lot more mundane after that. PT came by as Dr. Savannah had said they would, and you dutifully did the exercises with minimal grumbling and complaining. The ancient saying about medics being terrible patients was still said for a reason, after all, but you didn't want to be One Of Those if you could help it.

The therapist had brought you breakfast from the mess for after your session: the cold cereal MRE, typically called mush rarely edible, along with plain black coffee. She also told you that the next session would be tomorrow instead of later today, due to a scheduling conflict.

So that left you with a whole lot of day and very little to fill it.

You were scrolling through your padd, looking through old documents and messages, intending to clean up and organize things but, more often than not, ended up reminiscing on the past, on friends once part of your every day life now long gone, either transferred away or worse.

You discovered a folder full of sketches of various Mjolnir designs you'd done back before you'd decided for certain to begin training to be a Brokkr tech. Your interest in the Spartans and their armor had been a mere hobby, then.

You were far from a gifted artist but trying to capture the different iterations, the bulkier but classic shapes of the Mark V, the more streamlined Mark VI, had made for fun practice. You'd also tried out a few ideas of your own, such as "floating" pieces of armor to try and better protect the Spartans' joints without sacrificing mobility. The final image, though, had been a purely fanciful one: a fusion of Mjolnir and medieval, a literal Spartan in shining armor.

You couldn't help but chuckle. There was no number on the chest plate but it was clearly Master Chief to anybody who was familiar with his armor configuration. The patterning on his visor had a texture reminiscent of a knight's helm and the flare of his shield had a shape like the plume of a feather at the crest of his head. One arm was extended but incomplete: you hadn't decided whether to give him a BR or DMR or go for something like a broadsword or lance. Then you'd simply never come back to finish it and it had been forgotten in your drafts for all this time.

Tapping a fingertip contemplatively against your lip, you thought for a moment, then impulsively picked up your stylus and began to draw.

Gentle fingertips brushed against your hair and you woke to find John next to the bed.

"Sorry to bother you," he murmured, "but you looked uncomfortable."

The moment he said that, your neck began protesting the odd angle your head had slumped into.

"Well, that was a bad idea," you said plaintively, straightening up very slowly. Your entire body ached like you'd been moonlighting as a punching bag. Your padd slipped off your lap to the mattress, then bounced towards the edge, and John easily caught it on the fly.

You suddenly remembered what had been on it. The screen was dark but all it would take was a brush of a finger to activate it again and he'd see--

"What's this?" he said, orientating the padd right side up.

"That's... my poor attempt at artistry," you said, feeling heat blooming up your neck. You resisted the urge to snatch it from his hand and throw it to the floor yourself.

"It's not poor," he countered, studying it even more intently. "Not at all. I like it a lot, especially the detail here."

He tapped the image and the SPNKr rocket launcher you'd placed casually in the Spartan's hand, resting on the armored shoulder, expanded to better reveal the intricate filigree you'd spent a considerable amount of time adding to the large missile chamber.

"I mean, it's not practical, of course," you mumbled but his sincere appreciation lessened your embarrassment. "I wanted a medieval feel to a modern weapon."

"Do you have others?" he asked, handing the padd back to you.

You appreciated that he didn't just start flipping through the images. You swiped back to show him your other Mjolnir studies.

The very corner of his mouth twitched. "These are all mine, aren't they?"

"Hm, I suppose they are," you said in mock surprise. "It looks like I've had a favorite Spartan for a while now."

"Good," he said decisively, then glanced at you with a soft smile. "Could I send a copy of this to R&D?"

"Which one?" you asked, alarmed.

"The floating armor," he said, the smile growing a bit.

"Yeah, if you want," you said and forwarded the study to him. "I doubt I've thought of anything they haven't by now but I guess you never know."

"And could I have a copy of the other one, just for me?"

"Really?"

"Really," he confirmed.

You switched back to the medieval drawing, adding your signature with a flourish in the corner before forwarding that one as well.

The door chimed and he went to open it as if it were expected.

"Master Chief, sir!" the young private said, making a motion no doubt intended to be a salute that he couldn't complete because of the large and apparently heavy covered tray he was carrying.

"At ease," he said, taking the tray from him.

The private snapped a salute as crisp as if he were in the presence of Lord Hood himself, then kept standing in the open doorway, staring rather starstruck.

"Thank you, you're dismissed," John told him.

"If you or the Hero of the Pit need anything, let me know, sir," the marine said earnestly before backing away.

Once the door closed, you said, "That really is a terrible nickname."

"The Covenant call me 'Demon,'" John said, bringing the tray to the bed and setting it on the foot.

"'Demon' is badass," you countered. "Mine sounds like I fell in a hole and somehow managed to crawl back out."

"Crawling out of that hole wasn't a given," he said, "and you made sure nobody else was in there with you."

He lifted the cover on the tray, revealing two sizzling plates of food. The smell that hit you was divine.

Your voice dropped an entire octave. "Is that eggplant parmigiana?"

"I... think so? It's whatever was being served in the Spartan mess for lunch." His expression darkened. "You were supposed to get breakfast from there, too, but there was apparently some sort of mix-up. It's been dealt with."

You felt momentarily sorry for whoever had been on the receiving end of being dealt with. "I can't eat Spartan portions."

"You actually can because it so happens that I can calculate how many calories a Brokkr mechanic-slash-medic needs in order to heal properly." He held that with a serious expression for a moment, then winked. "And I also asked Dr. Savannah about it. She said, and I quote, 'Tell her it's fine to live a little.'"

"Oh, well, if it's doctor's orders..." you trailed off with a grin.

He left to get a small table and chair for himself since there was only the one lap tray and you took the opportunity to hit the head, thinking you'd be settled back in before he returned. As it turned out, you either greatly underestimated how far he had to go to find what he was looking for or, more likely, had greatly overestimated how quickly you could move.

Your left arm wanted to draw up to your torso from the way your damaged shoulder muscle was currently being foreshortened. Raising it even close to 45 degrees made it feel like it was being ripped off of your body. You took a couple of deep breaths, forcing it straight down to your side, and gritted your teeth though the pain as you returned to the main room.

John had already finished setting up the portable table and turned, his expression going almost comically aghast. "Should I call somebody? What can I do? I can carry you or--"

"No, it's fine," you told him. "I just have to work through it."

He hovered next to you as you made the few, torturous step back to the bed, his worry a palpable thing. Your bad knee buckled and he caught your arm -- fortunately, the right one -- to keep you from going down. His fingers hit a bruise hidden under your sleeve but you managed to not react.

The stricken look he gave you meant he'd seen the reaction anyway.

"There we go," you said, trying to sound breezy but the result was more winded than anything as you propped up against the headboard. "I'm ready for lunch. Are you? Lunch sounds great right about now."

He seemed at a loss as to what to do. You gingerly reached out and wrapped your fingers around his.

"I'm okay," you said softly. "I'm healing on schedule and it could've been much worse."

He nodded shortly, very, very carefully folding his other hand over yours. With a brief glance away, he nodded a final time as if agreeing to something you couldn't hear and then exhaled purposefully, affecting a lighter tone. "Well, let's see how that eggplant parmigiana is, then, hm?"

Even though physical therapy wasn't scheduled again until tomorrow, you went ahead and did the exercises anyway. Not only did it give you something to do after John left, but you were even more inspired to try to regain your strength as soon as possible.

Since you were alone, you felt free to swear your way more and more creatively through the entire session and only after the fact did you worry that maybe you had accidentally taught Cortana some new words and phrases.

Nah, you thought. Surely, she's not stuck sitting at some console all day and night, listening for me to need something, right?

You almost asked it out loud, just to see if she was listening, but decided against it. You didn't want to imagine she'd been instructed to keep her earpiece in to monitor you even when she took a meal or bathroom break. Or that maybe she never even actually got to go off-duty at all. It hadn't escaped your attention that John apparently didn't trust anybody else to provide your erstwhile overwatch.

You ate your dinner when it arrived, a very delicious chicken gumbo, then turned in early, since sleep was also an important factor in healing.

But your sleep was restless, the aches in your body keeping you from getting comfortable, and then when you did doze off, your mind kept taking you back to those moments when you were trapped. A couple of times, you found yourself jolting awake, John's name on your lips. You wondered if he was on base, asleep in the Spartan quarters. You'd assumed he would come back if he were here but you hadn't actually asked him to. It was his room, though, so wouldn't he...?

Try to get some sleep, that's the best thing right now. You'll feel stronger tomorrow, you silently instructed yourself, trying to find a comfortable position.

The next time you woke, your heart was thundering in your ears and you made a small panicked noise.

The lights abruptly came up to a quarter and you looked around wildly.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

John sat up from where he was stretched out over on the couch and you instinctively reached for him. He was there almost as if appearing by magic, letting you grip his hand as he leaned over you.

You were tangled in the covers and struggled to free yourself. He carefully extricated you with his free hand.

"Were you having a nightmare?" he asked and you nodded.

"I- I didn't know you were here," you said, stumbling over the words. "Why are you on the couch? You could share. I'd- I'd like you to."

He got that slightly stricken look again. "I'm heavy. I'll hurt you by moving around. I can't... I can't cause you more pain. I'm right here, though."

You understood what he meant but it still stung a bit like rejection. You normally would've let him go, would've tried to accept it gracefully, but the phantom weight on your chest changed the words on your tongue.

Your voice emerged small and compressed. "I need you, John."

The words clearly hit him like a plasma bolt to the chest and his fingers closed gently around yours.

"All right," he finally said. "I'll be careful."

It took a few minutes but eventually you were in his arms, turned on your right side with your injured left arm resting on his chest, your head tucked into the curve of his neck. All of the movement did hurt but you absolutely didn't care; all that was important was that he was here, you could hear his heart beneath your ear, could feel his warmth seeping into all of your pains and soothing them.

"Thank you," you murmured into the softness of his shirt.

"You don't have to thank me," he said, kissing the top of your head and lightly brushing his fingers across the hand you had on his sternum.

You were almost asleep when you thought, but weren't completely sure, that he also quietly said, "I need you, too."

[fh-theconcept]

STAGE NULLA: 1

PROLOGUE —> STAGE NULLA: 2

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

HI YEA, I’M BACK !! FH: THE CONCEPT IS ＮＯＴ CANCELLED ! Sorry it took so long ! I’ve been super busy + I’ve been goofing off a lot so uhm. yea. Since I’m on summer break rn, I’ll be definitely posting more often ! Joy ! Delight ! The wonders !

This first strip was started in March so it’ll look dusty as all hell compared to the other upcoming strips 😭 omg time has been passing by way too quickly like I swear on my life that I started this strip a week ago </3

I also apologize for the lack of content for the amount of time I took </3

When making this post, the quality of the images kept turning absolutely yucky 👎 the pixels consume

[gigabyte-flare]

Follow the Stars | Part 2

Part 1

Summary: Teaming up with Victoria Housekeeping to rescue her best friend, Pixel finds that her infatuation with Lycaon grows by the day. Can she keep her wits about her long enough to save Rain?

Word Count: 5.7k

Pairing: Von Lycaon x Original Character

Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction. You are responsible for your own content consumption. If any of the following warnings trigger you, please read at your own risk. Minors do not interact, this story is 18+ only.

Warnings: Strong language, graphic depictions of violence, depictions of PTSD, domestic violence and emotional abuse (not perpetrated by Lycaon), masterbation, unprotected p in v, oral (m and f receiving), size kink, knotting, creampie

More warnings may be added in future entries

Sometimes in life, you see something so beautiful that time slows down, even stops. That's what was happening now as Lycaon continues his decent down the stairs, each reverberating step from his mechanical legs causing my heart to pound in my ears until he stops in front of me, a subtle smile appearing.

"My name is Von Lycaon, but please, call me Lycaon. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Master Proxy."

Thank goodness that Pixel isn't capable of blushing, because I can only imagine my actual face is as red as a beet right now. Now that he's standing directly in front of me, I can't help but marvel at his elegance. His right arm tucked behind him while his other hand adjusts his collar. Despite the mask, I can't deny how incredibly handsome he is, that crimson eye feeling like it's piercing into my soul. And his voice--

I get a sudden jab in where my rib cage should be if Pixel were human, and it makes me realize I had just been standing there staring at him like a complete dumbass. I look to my left, seeing Anby standing beside me, gesturing towards Lycaon with her eyes.

"J-Just call me Pixel." I say quickly, desperately attempting to recompose myself.

"Of course, Master Pixel. Allow me to introduce the other members of Victoria Housekeeping," he points to Corin before continuing, "this is Corin."

Corin gives me a friendly wave while Rina's two floating Bangboo help put the saw blade back on her weapon.

"Over here is our head maid, Rina."

Rina curtsies before smiling warmly, "so nice to meet you Master Pixel, we've heard much about your exploits."

"And finally," Lycaon continues, gesturing towards the shark Thiren who is currently pulling her giant scissors out of the floor, "this is Ellen."

Ellen pulls her weapon free, a lollipop sticking out from her lips as she looks to me, giving me a nod, "'sup?"

"It's nice to meet you all," I reply, looking back to Lycaon, feeling my heart flutter upon making eye contact, "I apologize if this comes off blunt, but I honestly haven't heard of Victoria Housekeeping."

"That's not surprising," Rina replies, floating over to Lycaon's side, "we tend to serve more… elite clientele, for lack of a better term."

"We were sent here by our current employer to perform maintenace on the Ballet Twins and to ensure no intruders break into the building," Lycaon adds.

"But I thought the Ballet brothers went backrupt and the buildings went through foreclosure!" Nekomata chimes in as she moves to stand next to me.

"And you'd be absolutely correct," Lycaon explains, resting his chin on his knuckles of his left hand, "our employer has purchased the building in hopes of making use out of it."

"Leave it to rich people throw money away in useless places…" Nekomata groans.

No kidding…

"So, what brings you into the Ballet Twins?" Rina asks.

I hesitate to answer, not wanting to give away the fact that Rain is a hacker, "we're looking for my friend. We believe she's here--"

I'm suddenly startled when I hear a subtle chime in my ear, followed by a video feed popping up on my glasses showing a young girl with dark blue hair. I recognize her immediately: Belle, the co-owner of Random Play.

Phaethon.

"Pixel is that you?! It's Phaethon!"

"How on Earth did you get a hold of me? This is a private channel!" I ask, my eyebrows furrowed.

Another, more robotic, female voice speaks, "you really think your pathetic encryption is any match for the world's most powerful A.I.?"

"Fairy, come on, not now!" Belle groans, rolling her eyes.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that…" I say, clearing my throat, "so what's up, Phaethon?"

"Are Anby and the others with you? I need to talk to them, it's urgent!"

"Yeah, hold on, let me project you."

With a few keystrokes on the H.D.D., Belle's video feed gets projected out from my glasses along with her voice. Little does she know she is seeing the Cunning Hares through my eyes.

"Hey guys!" Belle begins, "Nicole just called me. Apparently the court needs all the members of the Cunning Hares present at the trial."

"Oh come on! Are you serious?!" Billy whines, crossing his arms.

"Unfortunately, yes. Because you were all there, they need your testimony."

A lump forms in my throat. I could very well continue through the Ballet Twins on my own, but it would be extremely difficult, especially if I happen upon an extremely powerful Ethereal.

"What about Pixel? We can't just leave her, she needs our help!" Nekomata exclaims, the concern evident in her voice.

"I believe Victoria Housekeeping may be of assistance," Lycaon chimes in, "our outdated Carrot data is hindering our work and you are looking for your friend. Cooperating would be mutually beneficial."

My mouth goes dry instantly and I feel my heart race. He's not wrong and I am going to accept his help… but oh boy, do I need to get these nerves under control. Why is he effecting me like this?

"Sure, that'll work. Thank you, Lycaon, for your generosity," I say as I look over at him, which of course, only makes the butterflies in my stomach even worse.

"You are most welcome," Lycaon replies with a slight bow, "you are our honored guest, after all and your wish is our command."

My breath hitches and it takes everything in me not to scream. It feels like my blood is on fire. What is wrong with me?

"Are we meeting up with Nicole to board the airship?" Anby asks, her voice soft.

"Yes, first thing in the morning," Belle replies.

A subtle alert then goes off, warning me that my hydraulic fluid levels are decreasing. I look down at my damaged arm, lifting it up to inspect the damage.

"Sorry about your arm," Ellen suddenly says, her tone non-chalant as she shifts the lollipop in her mouth.

"It's alright, you were just doing your job," I reply, "however, I can't go further into the Hollow until I get this repaired."

"Would you like assistance in repairing it? I am quite experienced in the matter," Lycaon offers, taking a step closer to me to inspect my arm.

My anxiety immediately spikes, "No!" I shout as I take a step back away from him, holding my damaged arm to my chest. Realizing how harsh that had come across, I shake my head and continue, "I mean… no thank you. I can handle it. I've had to repair it before."

"I see," Lycaon replies, his crimson gaze locked on me, "in that case, see to your arm and contact us when you are ready to continue into the Hollow."

I give him a nod in acknowledgement, afterwards finding the closest exit to the Hollow and leading everyone out. Once out of the Hollow, I couldn't get home fast enough. I fly up my apartment stairs, unlock and whip open the door, shut it behind me and get Pixel hooked back up to the H.D.D. to charge before I disconnect myself. I practically rip the headset and nodes off, taking deep breaths to calm my racing heart before I rush into the bathroom. I crank the cold water as high as it will go in the sink, dipping my hands into it and bringing the cold water to my face, splashing myself with it.

I do this a few more times before finally leaning against the sink and looking at myself in the mirror. As I had suspected, my face is completely red. I take a few deep breaths before leaving the bathroom and going back out into the living room. I walk up to Pixel, lifting her damaged arm and letting out a loud sigh. It's fixable, but the damage is severe, the worst that's been inflicted in a while. Better my arm than Nekomata getting impaled.

"This will be a tomorrow me problem…" I say before letting out a loud yawn.

I glance over at my wall clock; it's well past midnight. Trying to repair her arm now is not going to do me any favors. I shuffle my way into my bedroom, practically collapsing into my bed where I quickly fall asleep.

"Hey, don't tell me you're fucking sleeping!"

My eyes snap open and I find myself laying on my couch with the last person I ever expected to see standing over me, looking down at me in disgust: Jace.

"What are you doing in my apartment, Jace? I told you to stay away from me. How did you even get in here?"

He's wearing his trademark hoodie, his dark brown hair cut short and parted in the middle. His brown eyes look almost black in the darkness of the living room.

"A Thiren? So that's what you're going to rebound to, really?" Jace mockingly asks, a sinister smirk spreading across your lips.

Knowing he's referring to Lycaon, I sit up on the couch, shifting myself away from him, "I'm not rebounding to anyone. We haven't been together for five years, Jace. You. Don't. Own. Me."

"Oh see… that's where you're wrong 'Armada,'" Jace sneers, "I'm the only one that wanted your pathetic ass. Do you seriously think that Thiren would even look in your direction? Have you seen how fat you are? No wonder you hide behind that android of yours."

I can feel tears forming in the corners of my eyes, but I refuse to cry. I am not shedding any more tears in front of this monster.

"Go fuck yourself, Jace," I growl at him, glaring at him.

Jace throws his head back as he starts to laugh--

BZZZZZTTTT!

I'm startled awake by the sound of my phone vibrating next to my head. I groan, rolling over onto my back and rubbing my eyes. My phone vibrates a couple of more times before I reach for it, holding it above me to check it. My eyes widen upon seeing the notification.

Lycaon: Good Morning…

I unlock my phone to read the rest of the message, my stomach in knots. I open Knock Knock to be surprised to find several messages from Lycaon.

Lycaon: Good Morning, Master Pixel, this is Lycaon from Victoria Housekeeping. I apologize if I woke you.

Lycaon: Please let me know once the repairs on your arm are complete. We can meet by the plaza on Ballet Twins Road.

Lycaon: Also, my offer still stands. Should you require any assistance with the repairs, please don't hesitate to ask. I would be more than happy to help. We look forward to working with you.

I take a deep breath, composing myself before I type out a reply.

Pixel: Thank you, Lycaon. I look forward to working with you as well.

I gently toss my phone back onto the bed before practically rolling out of it. Practically dragging my feet to the bathroom, I wince when I turn the light on. Looking at myself in the mirror, my hair is disheveled and the bags under my eyes are dark. I start by brushing my teeth and brushing the rat's nest out of my short hair. Afterwards, I return to my bedroom, getting myself dressed in a simple graphic t-shirt and a pair of jeans.

Grabbing my phone up from the bed, I walk into the living room, turning on the TV before walking over to Pixel. I set my phone down onto my computer desk, opening up a deep drawer in the desk where I keep my tools and a bottle of hydraulic fluid to replace what had been lost. I try to keep a bottle on hand, just in case.

A good portion of the day is spent repairing the arm, stopping occassionally to eat and use the bathroom. In the midst of this, my mind constantly goes back to Lycaon despite my best efforts to not think about him. What is it about him that has me so enraptured? When was the last time I even felt like this about someone? I stop what I'm doing and lean back in my computer chair, placing my hands on my face and rubbing it, groaning while doing so.

Unsurprisingly, my thoughts also drift back to the dream I had last night. Jace was my ex-boyfriend; I escaped his clutches about 5 years ago. I was a Proxy and he was an information broker. Right… my Proxy name was Armada back then; I'm surprised I had forgotten. Jace was controlling, manipulative and cruel and he also had me wrapped around his finger.

As terrified as I was, I fled our shared apartment on Canvas Street and never looked back. I went into hiding. I didn't take Proxy work for a couple of years out of fear of being found by Jace. When I finally had the courage to take another job, a job in Hollow Zero, I stumbled upon Pixel. Anyone else would have looked at that broken android and just left it there to rot. But not me.

Pixel was my ticket to a new life.

It was Rain that helped me get back on my feet, helped me repair Pixel and set her up so that I could control her with my H.D.D. like a Bangboo. With Pixel, I can fight along side the Agents I work with instead of them having to worry about me; it's what made me so sought after right up there with Phaethon. Soon, I was able to afford my own apartment, which leads me to now.

I remove my hands from my face, sit back up and continue working on the arm. Rain is trapped in that Hollow still and I need to get back in there and find her. It's the least I can do for everything she's done for me.

Waking up to me sliding out of my computer chair and onto my floor covered in hydraulic fluid is not my ideal way of waking up. I groan and curse as I struggle to stand back up, slipping on the fluid several times in my 'just woken up' daze. I must have passed out while working on Pixel's arm, that's not like me at all. I look over at my clock; it's just past 7:00 in the morning. As I finally stand up, I look around at the mess on the floor, hearing Jace's scolding in the back of my mind.

"God, what the hell are you good for anyway? I'm out there trying to find commissions for us and you just sulk around here and make a mess of the apartment. You're fucking useless!"

I quickly dismiss the memory with a shake of my head and make my way to the bathroom. I strip my ruined clothes, throwing them in the hamper before jumping into the shower. After getting myself cleaned up, I got into my bedroom and put on clean clothes. Then, I head out in to the small kitchen, grabbing paper towels and multi-purpose cleaner and try to clean the hydraulic fluid off the floor as best as I could. It's not perfect, but at least I won't slip in it. I had fixed where it was leaking last night so it shouldn't get worse.

I get back to fixing the arm, however I realize there's a piece of metal on the blade's support itself that is damaged beyond any repair I make to it. Cursing silently to myself, I take the piece off and inspect it.

You could ask for Lycaon's help, you know.

I grab my phone off my desk, opening up Knock Knock and stare at the chat history between Lycaon and I. After a few moments of my thumb hovering over the keyboard on my phone, I set my phone back down onto the desk, letting out a loud sigh.

No… I don't need him. I don't need his help. I'll bring this part to Enzo's shop, then I'll swing over to the newsstand to get a scratch card, then I'll go treat myself to a coffee. Yeah, that'll work!

Standing up from my computer chair, I grab a hoodie that is slung over the back of the couch, pulling it on over my head before grabbing my keys off the coffee table, slipping my sneakers on at the door just before I head out. The heart of Sixth Street is a short walk from my apartment. As I walk up to Enzo's shop, I lean over to look at Random Play, not seeing anything out of the ordinary.

Maybe I'll swing by and rent a movie. That'll give me an excuse to check up on Phaethon.

I open the heavy door to Enzo's shop and step inside, the door slamming shut behind me. Enzo looks up at me from his work bench, a big smile appearing from under his busy beard, he gives me a friendly wave with his mechanical arm.

"Pixel! What'dya break this time?" he asks with a chuckle.

There are only two people that know I'm Pixel: Rain and Enzo and I trust both of them with my life. I give him a gentle smile in return, walking up to him with the broken part in my hands.

"One of the support pieces for the right mantis blade." I reply as I set the part down on his work bench.

Enzo lets out a long whistle, "damn girl, how did you manage to do that?"

"By deflecting a giant pair of scissors that were going to impale one of my agents I was working with," I reply nonchalantly.

"A giant pair of scissors?" Enzo says as he looks up at me, raising an eyebrow.

"I… had a run-in with a group called Victoria Housekeeping. Heard of them?"

"Yeah… I've heard of 'em," Enzo replies, picking up the part and inspecting it, "they're a pretty prestigious bunch; serving the crème de la crème of New Eridu. Their leader has literal rocket legs; he's not one to fuck around with Pixel…"

There's a hint of concern in his voice that I immediately pick up on, "oh no, no! We're fine now! It was just a misunderstanding. We just so happened to be in the building that they were contracted to protect, that's all. Once I get Pixel's arm fixed, they're actually going to be helping me."

"Oh… oh ok, good!" Enzo replies, the relief evident as he continues to inspect the part.

"So… can you fix it…?" I ask nervously.

"Yeah I can fix it. I'm going to need to hammer and weld the shit out of it. It'll take me about an hour or so. That ok?"

"Absolutely, of course!" I reply, relieved. Thinking about his comment about Lycaon's 'rocket legs,' I become curious if he knows Lycaon, "their leader… do you know anything about him?"

"Von Lycaon?" Enzo says as he picks up his hammer and other tools to begin working on the broken part, "not really. I didn't make those legs of his. Don't know who did. I've heard stories of what they can do to people though."

Once again, a lump forms in my throat and I swallow hard, "oh… really…? He must be pretty strong then…"

"There's a reason he's feared by the outlaws in the Hollows. Promise me you won't get on his bad side, ok Pixel?"

"Don't worry, I'm not planning on it," I say as I take a step back from Enzo's work bench.

I just keep turning into a train wreck around him, no big deal…

"I'll swing by later to pick that up and pay you, ok?" I continue as I make my way to the door.

"You got it. Take it easy, Pixel!"

"See you later, Enzo!"

I open the heavy door, stepping back outside to head over to the newsstand. I get about a couple of steps in when I stop myself dead in my tracks. Standing at the newsstand with his back to me is an incredibly tall Thiren with a long, bushy tail, white fur and is handsomely dressed. His right arm is tucked behind his back.

What the hell is Lycaon doing on Sixth Street?!

I've lived just off Sixth Street for a number of years now and not once have I ever seen him here; I would definitely remember. My heart is practically pounding out of my chest and I start breathing heavy. I hesitantly get closer to the newsstand, enough to hear the conversation he's having with Howl, the dog that runs the newsstand.

"No… not the Ridu Tour, I said the City News…" Lycaon groans, one of his mechanical legs tapping on the ground, his tail twitching back and forth slightly, "no I don't want to shake your paw, either…"

Is he… is he actually having trouble talking to Howl?

The implication of a wolf Thiren unable to talk to a dog causes me to smile a bit and I have to fight myself not to laugh out loud. Gathering up every ounce of courage I can muster, I walk up to the newsstand next to Lycaon, smiling warmly when Howl shifts his attention to me.

"Morning Howl!" I say, making sure to elevate the tone of my voice a couple of octaves, "two copies of the City News, please!"

As Howl retrieves the City News for me, I take a moment to really look at Lycaon out of my peripheral vision. I could tell he was tall from Pixel's eyes, but seeing him in person gives me a much better idea. He's well over 180cm; I'd say even 190cm. He also smells unbelievably good; he clearly takes very good care of himself. Howl passes me two copies of the City News and I give him the Dennies for them. Turning to Lycaon, I hold out one of the copies to him.

"Here you go, mister!" I say, looking up at him.

Oh… oh… looking up at him was a really bad idea. I feel the heat rush to my cheeks immediately as his exposed crimson eye practically stares into my soul. His presence was overwhelming through Pixel; in person it's on a whole over level. He carefully takes the City News from me, giving me a subtle smile as his fingers and claws gently graze my hand.

Oh my god… he just had to smile at me didn't he? He's so handsome… what I'd give to be able to f--

"Thank you, miss. Allow me to pay you back--"

"No it's fine, don't worry about it! Have a nice day!" I spit out at record speed.

I spin on my heel and b-line it to Random Play, my heart pounding in my ears. I push the door open, quickly shutting it behind me and leaning against it, holding my hand to my chest as I try to calm my racing heart… and my racing extremely inappropriate thoughts. Belle, who had been leaning over the front counter looking at her phone, looks up at me and smiles.

"Welcome in! We haven't seen you in a while!" she exclaims as she comes out from behind the counter; seeing how flustered I am, her face grows concerned, "is something the matter?"

"Sorry I…" I take a couple of deep breaths before continuing, "I'm fine, really."

I stand up straight, finally calming myself down as I smile at Belle.

"I saw PubSec was over here the other night," I say, changing the subject, "everything ok?"

"Oh yeah, everything is fine! We busted someone trying to steal some of the tapes, that's all!" Belle says, gesturing her hands like it wasn't a big deal.

"Is your brother around?" I ask after taking a quick glance around the shop.

"No, he's running errands in Lumina Square, he should be back later this afternoon, hopefully!"

So he's still in PubSec custody… shit…

"Tell him I said hi when he gets back, will you?" I say as I walk around her to look at the tapes.

"Of course!"

After picking out a tape to rent, I walk up to the door leading outside, looking out of the window to see if Lycaon is still out there. To my relief, he's nowhere to be found. I step out, waving goodbye to Belle before heading right. I walk past Waterfall Soup, saying good morning to General Chop before walking up to Coff Cafe and heading inside. After getting my order of coffee, I go back outside, sitting down at one of the tables, reading the City News as I take sips out of my coffee. Most of it is about the impending trial with the Vision Corporation, but as I'm reading it, my mind starts to wander.

The memory of him smiling down at me when I handed him the City News will forever be burned into my mind, my heart fluttering just picturing it. When was the last time anyone made me feel like this? Not even Jace made me feel like this in the beginning of our relationship. What is it about Von Lycaon that is putting me in such a tizzy? My mind is in such a daze, I completely miss my mouth when I sip my coffee, spilling it down the front of my hoodie and onto the City News.

"Aw shit…" I curse to myself as I stand up from the table.

I throw away the ruined newspaper before pulling my coffee soaked hoodie off. Thankfully at this time, Enzo messages me on Knock Knock, letting me know that the part is all set and ready to pick up. I waste no time in picking up the part and making my way back to my apartment.

The sooner I can get Pixel's arm fixed, the sooner I can rescue Rain, finish this job, put Von Lycaon behind me and get my life back to some semblance of normal.

Once I get back to my apartment, I'm able to get the arm repaired late that evening. I reach out to Lycaon on Knock Knock and we agree to meet up on Ballet Twins Road the following evening. I take the opportunity to rest up the entirety of the following day, knowing that it was most likely going to be an all nighter looking for Rain. I get up just as the sun's setting, get the H.D.D. booted up and get geared up to control Pixel.

I run a few tests with my arm to make sure it's functioning as it should before heading out. I head down to my car in the parking lot and get in. Driving while controlling Pixel is possible, but I don't like doing it unless I absolutely have to and, unfortunately, there are no metro stops that go to Ballet Twins road. I pull up to the plaza that over looks the Ballet Twins Hollow, parking my car. I spot Lycaon immediately, which causes my stomach to twist into knots.

"Oh for heaven's sake, Pixel," I scold myself as I rest my forehead against the steering wheel, "get yourself together. He's just a guy."

I look back over at him for a moment, my eyes drawn to his mechanical legs, making a note of Enzo's warning of 'the things he's heard of those legs doing to people.' After taking a deep breath, I climb out of the car and walk over to him. Upon seeing me, Lycaon bows slightly.

"Good evening, Master Pixel. I trust the repairs on your arm were successful?" he asks as he stands back up straight.

"Yup," I say, smiling at him as I lift my arm up, deploying the mantis blade like nothing had happened to it, "good as new!"

"Excellent, then let us meet with the others. They're waiting in the plaza below."

Shifting my arm back to normal, I follow Lycaon down a set of stairs leading to the Ballet Twins plaza that overlooks the Hollow. Once we join the rest of Victoria Housekeeping, Lycaon motions with one hand for everyone to gather around. He pulls out a piece of paper that was folded in his breast pocket, unfolding it to reveal a drawing of the Ballet Twins.

"If Master Pixel is correct, her friend is on the roof of tower B," he begins to explain as one clawed finger points at the drawing, "we will need to make our way up tower A until we reach the atrium that leads to a catwalk that links the two buildings together. Then, of course, we make our way to the roof of tower B."

I find myself zoning out listening to him, his voice lulling me into a blissful daze as he continues to explain the general layout of the Ballet Twins. I can almost imagine the smell of his cologne from when I had bumped into him at the newsstand.

"Master Pixel?" Lycaon suddenly says, his voice touched with concern as I'm snapped out of my daze, "are you alright?"

I shake my head as I look up up at him, "Yeah, sorry… I'm fine! I'm just worried about my friend… that's all…"

"Of course, then let's not waste anymore time. Lead the way, Master Pixel." Lycaon replies gesturing one of his arms towards the Hollow.

Despite not being in the Hollow physically, they always make me uneasy. However, the Ballet Twins Hollow is making me extremely on edge. I didn't believe in ghosts, but the rumors of the Ballet Twins being haunted linger in the back of my mind. If my memory serves me, it's supposedly haunted by the spirits of two dancers. If we're in here long enough, we may see if those rumors are true.

Our ascent up tower A is mostly uneventful with Victoria Housekeeping having cleared most of the Ethereals on the lower floors the other day, but as we get higher up, more and more pockets of them appear and I witness first hand what makes them so sought after by the elite of New Eridu. They fight together like a well oiled machine; Ellen's swift and graceful movements coupled with her deadly scissors make short work of large groups of enemies. Corin, while not as coordinated, is a force to be reckoned with with her large battle saw, cutting into the Ethereals with ease. Meanwhile, Rina with her two Bangboos floats around the battlefield elegantly, shocking her enemies so that Ellen and Corin can go in for the kill.

However, my attention is constantly going to Lycaon. Fighting with the grace of a professional dancer, those 'rocket legs' of his are no joke. I watch in awe as they are engineered to freeze. Once in a while he throws a punch or two, but most of his fighting is done with those powerful legs. From sweeping roundhouse kicks to somersaults, he is truly captivating to watch. At one point he kicks one leg straight into the air, sending an unlucky Ethereal flying.

Can you imagine how he is in bed?

I wince, immediately banishing the thought. I need to get these thoughts under control. Not only do I have a job to do, I need to rescue Rain. A sudden shriek from Corin grabs my attention. She's completely surrounded by Ethereals, so I deploy both my mantis blades, running up and practically launching myself at the Ethereal behind her, lunging one of my mantis blades straight into its core.

After the two of us fight off the horde of Ethereals that had ganged up on her, the lights above start to flicker, causing both of us to stop and look up.

"What's going on?!" Corin asks, clutching her battle saw close as she looks anxiously up at the lights.

Lycaon approaches calmly, one arm tucked behind his back as he observes the flickering lights, "it appears that the building's power is failing. We'll need to be quick, if my memory serves me there is a partition in front of the catwalk that will close if the power goes out. We need to hurry."

We quicken our pace as we continue our ascent, fighting off increasing numbers of Ethereals along the way, all the while I still admire Lycaon's prowess out of the corner of my eye. We eventually stop to collect ourselves for a moment and I take the opportunity to pull up an old blueprint of the Ballet Twins using my H.D.D. and project it out from my glasses for Lycaon and I too look over.

"If I'm reading this right… the catwalk bridging the two buildings is close," I say, dragging my fingers across the projected blueprint, examining it.

As if on queue, the lights start flickering again, but this time faster and more pronounced. I swallow hard.

"The lights are flickering faster, we have to go, now!" Lycaon says as he takes off down the hallway; the other members of Victoria Housekeeping following close behind him.

"H-Hey! Wait up!" I shout as I dismiss the blueprint and run after them, quickly catching up.

"Leave the fighting to us, Master Proxy!" Rina calls back as she floats along.

As we run, the members of Victoria Housekeeping fight off approaching Ethereals with ease, however the power was flickering more and more as we progressed. I pull the blueprint back up as we continue to run.

"The atrium to the catwalk is just ahead!" I shout as we round a corner, the catwalk now in our sights.

I watch as Lycaon's legs start to charge up and he lunges forward towards the atrium, however several Ethereals jump him. He gracefully fights them off, however in the moments he was fighting them, the power in the building finally gave out, plunging the whole building in darkness. I watch in horror as the partition begins to close. I hear a snarl come out of Lycaon as he doubles his efforts. Unfortunately, just as he gets to the atrium, the partition completely closes.

He stops himself, a quiet growl coming from him as he grimaces, but he quickly collects himself, "we're a step too late, I'm afraid. The partition has completely closed."

Great. Now what?

[py6oto]

more hlvrai x yume nikki au stuff!!!

this post is gonna have a lot more text than my usual posts. so sorry if you don't want that.

so people seemed to really like my idea (which is really unexpected !! i didn't expect it to gain any attention at all!!! but its also super awesome and im so glad they do!!) so ive been brainstorming a little bit.

heads up i know yume nikki is a very ambiguous game but im pretty new to it so if i happen to get any established information wrong please let me know !? ty !!

anyways. before we do the effects. please take some sprites.

(body horror ((multiple eyes, messed up limbs, gunshot sounds)) under the cut!!! pls stay safe !!! ) (also a huge lore dump. sorry!)

id think this au takes place in a universe where the resonance cascade was real (aka not a game or simulation) and it'd be like, maybe a few months after it. gordon is traumatized as hell and it haunts his subconscious to the point he feels the need to isolate himself completely. he relives his trauma through eerily consistent dream worlds and then dies on a random tuesday. credits roll. audience cheers. wonderful story.

the vision for the sprites is that tommy functions as a "friendly" npc (like monoko and the other girl i forget the name of please forgive me) and benrey functions as poniko, uboa being "xenrey" or essentially messed up alien benrey (the weird...white...blood....world...room...uboa takes you to when you interact with it is simply replaced by xen. that's it. benreys house is a direct gateway to that time gordon fought god and won and isn't that amazing.)

i might remake the "uboa" sprite in the future because i don't really like it right now. im very new to pixel art and imitating YMNK's style is a little hard.

i like to think this imaginary game would have the teensiest tiny bit of dialogue, only when interacting with benrey. when you interact with his "regular" form, he says "you're not supposed to be here." and repeats it every time you interact, not saying anything else.

i know one of the biggest things that makes yume nikki stand out is its lack of dialogue, but listen, i think it would work well!!! seeing as this is the only time a character actually talks to gordon through understandable dialogue (unless i come up with something else!! haha) i think it would be confusing and throw players off because it breaks the pattern of being either ignored or silently acknowledged. someone talking directly to you after hours of isolation is confusing and unpredictable. which is what benrey is. confusing as hell!

im not sure what function tommy would offer, if any, i kinda want him to maybe give gordon an effect (soda effect could work?)

i dont think he'd bring any jumpscares or intentionally unsettling things to the table. seeing as he was the only one by gordon's side when the rest of the team proved itself to be a threat, i think it's logical he'd remember tommy in a warmer light than the others- which is reflected in how instead of unsettling or ignoring gordom, dream tommy simply smiles and gives him the ability to drink a soda any time. soda effect.

does this soda effect make you see faster like tommy said?

as much as i'd love to, no. probably not. because i have no idea what the hell seeing faster means.

maybe you can get a caffeine overdose. if you spam 1 enough times you will get very fast for as long as the soda effect is on. like the bycicle effect, but better, because you can taste it!

but no, it won't help you see faster. i don't know how to translate that sentence into understandable english.

now, coomer and bubby!!!! i apologize very deeply for i have not made sprites for them yet. i promise i will!!! it's just very late today and if i draw anything else i will actually just pass out.

im not very sure what i want for them yet. i think theyd be similar to tommy, but they'd have different functions. maybe they all give gordon different effects. or maybe they scare him! i dunno, i feel like there'd be a certain level of distrust from gordon to the old guys, like, of course he doesn't hate them but itd be hard to remember them super kindly and harmlessly when one of them ruthlessly tried to murder you with 300 clones of himself and the other tricked you into an ambush that cost you your arm, as much as you love them.

also!!! i completely forgot gordon lost an arm when i made his sprite. oops. it's okay its just a very realistic prosthetic

anyways. this post is getting too long so i think I'll save the boomer talk for when i actually post their sprites. its time for EFFECTS !!

i haven't been able to come up with many words yet. but i have some effects and a slight idea of how gordon would earn them.

concept art is beautiful

from left to right (because my handwriting is absolutely hideous!)

SODA - earned by interacting with TOMMY. wherever tommy is??? i dunno! pressing 1 will make gordon drink the soda and earn a temporary speed boost.

CAR??? - part of me really wants to rename this one but it's so funny to me i want to keep it. it's just a car. he literally just whips out a car and starts driving. what a legend. this effect lets him get across water areas faster (even faster than the soda!)

LONG HAIR - literally just gives him long hair. there is no practical use for this. nothing will happen. it just gives him long hair. isnt he beautiful.

ARM - earned by interacting with a dismembered arm found... somewhere.... probably some dark room. you know that effect where madotsuki literally just becomes a head? yeah. this is that but it's an arm because of course it is. this is an opportunity and i will not give it up. there is no use for this either. it just makes him a slow sad lonely arm.

MINIGUN - found by interacting with a certain object in POTION !! WORLD !! YEAHHH!! DARNOLD REFERENCE !!! pressing 1 will let you shoot the hell out of your enemies and make them pay for their sins

SWEET VOICE - found by interacting with any of the orbs in COLOR WORLD. 1 will allow gordon to song a beautiful, colorful song that will soothe any npcs he might have angered and make them stop trying to murder him.

POWERLEGS - MAYBE given by coomer npc? idk! this is all brainstorming and a work in progress! 1 makes gordon jump real high, allowing him to reach otherwise unaccessible areas

GHOST - ghost. he's a ghost. he's transparent. he flies. 1 makes him do a little ooooo noise and all the npcs run away from him because the place is haunted. ghost.

GLASSES - literally just pick up some glasses from the floor. putting them on will uncover a few hidden details across the map that may be necessary for progress ... like a very small and specific set of stairs

SMALL - makes gordon very small. i thought the original effect was super fun so i just kept it unchanged. small gordon. he can clone himself and make a gordon army. small. im thinking he finds it thru a coomer clone that is abnormally small. he interacts. small effect. small!

SHORT HAIR - literally just short hair. gordon can't seem to pick a haircut!

UMBRELLA - ...umbrella. makes it rain. shelters gordon from the rain at the same time. can be used for the same purpose it has in yume nikki which is putting out fires or stopping pre-existing rain.

there's supposed to be more effects and i still need to plan all the worlds and hidden rooms but ........ maybe when the sun is out and i have slept and i can think better !!! let me know whatever suggestions or ideas you guys have. i love hearing them a lot ^_^ thank you if you read all of this!! i promise hlvrai animations are not over this is just an au that has temporarily taken over its okay my content is not changing to yume nikki hlvrai only

gordon no

2023.07.27

[superthatguy62]

Overthinking Final Fantasy III Royalty Part 1: Symbols

Between the original, the Pixel Remaster and the remake, Final Fantasy III has undergone various aesthetical changes. Some of the more intriguing ones relate to the three kingdoms across the game.

Here's some thoughts about them! Starting with the emblems all around:

When it comes to royal iconography, there is a sort of science behind it known as heraldry. There is a surprising amount of thought that goes into the various symbols and creatures depicted on, say, a coat of arms. It's not specific to royalty: Stuff like governments, academies, religions etc all use it. It's something to keep in mind also keep in mind that I'm not at all an expert in this stuff, I just think it's neat.

Famicom FF3

Final Fantasy III was the first game in the series to give the nations emblems with charges on them. It would be far from the last, as later games would toy around with the concept, such as Final Fantasy 4 giving each of the regions their own emblem (with the 3D remake redesigning them).

As that last sentence implies, the nations of Final Fantasy III all shared the same emblem: That of a bird (possibly an eagle, one of the two most common charges) in the Displayed attitude (although it lacks legs).

The practical answer would be something such as time constraints, or simplicity for the sprite artists.

But what if we overthink it?

That brings us to two possibilities:

There is a mythological creature that all three kingdoms based their sigils on. This is possible, although we don't have much to go off of in III itself

The Ancients, between their airships and the Floating Continent, seemed to be interested in living in the sky. Thus, the emblems are remnants of the Ancients' era.

But, those are just theories.

GAME THEO-

Remake FF3

In the 3D remake of Final Fantasy III, a lot of elements were retooled or reinterpreted. When it came to the kingdoms' sigils, an interesting thing happened: Sasune and Argus kept the original "bird" charge (now with gold for Sasune and bronze for Argus)

But Saronia got a new lion charge.

The beast is in a tradition "rampant" attitude, with the front legs up and the tail pointed upwards.

Lions are not new to charges in Final Fantasy. Most notably, Final Fantasy Tactics had the War of the Lions, with both the Northern and Southern sky Orders having lions of their own (it's implied via Gafgarion's description that each of the cardinal directions have their own order, as a Western Sky order is mentioned). As Wikipedia explains:

It traditionally symbolises courage, nobility, royalty, strength, stateliness and valour, because historically the lion has been regarded as the "king of beasts".

The 3D remake alludes to Saronia's history as a military power a bit more than the Famicom version via quotes.

(This was back when SE broke the text of the Steam version, my apologies)

So it's not too surprising that they went that route for the 3D remake.

Another change of interest are the carpets around the kingdoms. In the original FFIII, Castle Argus has a table with a unique sun-like pattern on it.

In the remake (as you're probably already noticed) the patterns can be seen on the carpets on each castle as well.

The remake places heightened emphasis on the sun compared to the original: Xande's flood of darkness is said to have severed the link between the earth and the sun, Desch says that the continent would be flung away from the sun if the reactor fails, in unused text Doga states that the sun used to revolve around the earth but now the earth revolves around the sun...

(Does this mean that castles in the World of Darkness would have either the Moon or the Earth for their logos)?

Pixel Remaster FF3

While the Pixel Remaster borrows from the remake in some places, it sticks to the original in others.

However, sometimes, it diverges even against the original. In the castle of the three kingdoms, the big change is to their charges: All of them now use the bird charge, but they are now differentiated in different ways:

Sasune keeps the traditional Displayed attitude, in both the original colors and white thanks to the new red banners all about (matching the colors of the Red Mage)

However Argus now has the Bird in the Volant attitude, as it is now flying sideways. There are also banners that seemingly depict a crown and a moon.

Meanwhile, Saronia has a variant similar to the Sasune one, but with some differences. You can just make out the bird's feet underneath the body and the wings, rather than being spread out to the sides, are now pointed upward. This appears to be more of an Issuant attitude. I don't remember think Saronia has banners like Sasune and Argus do.

And that's all for this segment. Next time, I think I'll discuss the legendary arms of each kingdom: The Wightslayer, the Royal Sword and... Gungir? The other lances Saronia has?

[basilone]

thank you for your response about the gif stuff. i do want to tell you that no way was i trying to cause drama or that anything like that, i was genuinely wondering what you had to say about it because i’m actually new to tumblr and i didn’t know how the gif stuff worked. i wasn’t trying to cause drama so i apologize but thank you for explaining it to me and hopefully others too

You're very welcome! I didn't think you were trying to, but a lot of years spent on this hellsite have made me a little wary from time to time. 😂 No need to apologize for asking, I appreciate that you did!

I'm actually cracking up now because if you'd just asked me "how does the gif stuff work" I would've probably said something like the following:

I get my hands on the video files

I use a video player's nifty buttons to help me extract a couple of thousand screencaps from the video files

I go to my screencap folder and cry a little at the sight of that many screencaps

I sort through the screencaps by moving them into little separate folders (this is time-consuming and makes me wanna tear my hair out)

I load the screencaps from one of those little folders into Photoshop

I make the screencaps move and then delete a good portion of them because if I keep too many Tumblr will tell me they've done an oopise and my gif is too big to publish

I resize the gif because the original screencap size is not functional for giffing, then I sharpen the gif because these men look better in HD

I try to lighten the gif without making anyone's skin go green or orange, which might easily take me 20 minutes of furious button-clicking and undoing whatever the previous buttonclick did before I am somewhat satisfied (sometimes I sing the Oompa Loompa song when everything goes orange tbh)

I color the gif. If the original scene color is orange or sepia/brown, this is the point where I take a break before I continue. If the original scene color is cyan/green/blue or so dark you need night vision goggles, this is the point where I start to curse the original makers of the show and take a break.

I add vibrance to the colors sometimes, unless adding it makes the gif go pixel-y. Again, it's a process.

I color-correct the hell out of it again to bring out more shadows and even out the colors/skintone some more

We're several layers into the gif at this moment. If I haven't lost my marbles at that point yet, I might go for something fancy and add a border or an effect or a text to the gif. The lack of me doing that in this fandom is a testament to how grueling the coloring process is.

I save the gifs both as a gif format and as a psd, so if anyone ever wants a before-and-after comparison or if I need to gif that scene again I will not need to start totally from scratch

I upload my gifs to Tumblr, say a prayer, and publish the gifs with proper tags

I watch people go !!!!!!! about the gifs, which is honestly the best, and if anyone compliments me on how I've colored them that person is my new best friend forever

[updownlately]

okay so bear with me here, but i just wanted to lay my personal opinion down on this because other opinions have been expressed regarding this and i didn't really say my piece on this specific part yet.

im not trying to drag lj down here, or bring this back up for her to be dragged. i just want to state my piece here in regards to the conversations we've been having since last night.

regarding the conversations that have been occurring on this blog in the past 24 hours about lj and katie's behaviour, and with lj's wc behaviour being brought up, i said that (and i quote) "the lack of apology irked me the most! that and how the attention was directed to racial abuse." and "the fact that such a key issue wasn’t even touched upon is frankly extremely disappointing from the lionesses, chelsea, and lj herself."

i honestly still stand firm in my stance and here is why.

***adding a cut bc this shit got kinda long

i've attached the two main apologies i've found, one from the lionesses, and one from lj (her tweet).

the reason that i personally am not satisfied with the response and why i said lack of apology, is because i feel that the words said were not enough. yes sorry was said. yes, it mentioned the actions and remorse that lj felt. but for me, 'really sorry' doesn't cut it. that combined with 'wholly out of character for her' doesn't sit right with me.

we know this isn't out of character. and personally, actions speak louder than words, and the immediate walk out without a single change in facial expression when the incident originally occurred + every. single. time. it has occurred since is insane. this isn't a one time behaviour. being 'really sorry' doesn't cut it. yes you can respect another player and whatnot, but if you're going to let your emotions consistently negatively dictate how you treat them on the pitch, and it being with anything other than respect, that is where i don't see the apology being more than pixels on a screen meant to placate the (rightfully) enraged public.

could i see it a fit apology if action was taken to prevent this from happening again in the future? abso-freaking-lutely!!

but that's the issue for me. nothing has changed. literally nothing.

i caught part of the city vs chelsea game that occurred a few days ago, and as the clock got closer to the end, it was clear how each of lj's tackles and shoves got more and more dangerous. heck, she absolutely bodied a player in the air when it was unnecessary. that could've ended so poorly and im glad it didn't, but i digress.

i'm thinking of the walti incident because its the first that comes to mind as an arsenal fan. the clearly placed stomp. the indifferent look. the walkout without a single hesitation or look of remorse. that isn't the behaviour of someone who is sorry for their actions. that behaviour then isn't 'out of character'.

so then coming back to lj's apology. is she really sorry? or is she sorry it was caught? that too at such a big stage? and where was the attempt to 'learn from my experience'? because honestly? i don't see it.

and i don't doubt there's been more instances like this, ones that i haven't seen (i don't watch chelsea games that often, the timing of most wsl games isn't convenient for me since many occur from 4-7 am and i have commitments during the day). but they seem to be a reoccurring theme.

so yes. there was an apology issued. no i don't think it was a good apology in the least and the behavioural aspect wasn't touched upon. the incident was treated like a one off occurrence (which it clearly isn't).

this all gets furthered by the fact (and i can't rmb who so please forgive me and educate me here if possible), but it was either chelsea or the lionesses that released a statement about racial abuse.

now, i'm not disagreeing that racial abuse occurred, and im definitely not saying that it was okay.

it wasn't okay. racial abuse is never okay and never will have a space in the football that i know of (or anywhere for that matter). period. full stop.

and so yes, i agree with their statement. but to me, it felt as if the red card situation was brushed under the rug.

now, don't get me wrong. racial abuse is totally is extremely important and should be kept to a zero in any situation whatsoever and im glad there was a statement released regarding that matter.

but i recall that when i read that statement, i personally felt as if it was more of a deflection than a stance, and that is what didn't sit right with me.

now, i could totally be wrong there. i understand there's a innumerable amount of perspectives here. i'm merely going off my opinion and what i felt when reading that statement. everyone had a different experience/reaction to it and i can recognize and respect that. all i ask if you respect my take even if you don't agree with it.

(i've lost my train of thought so bear with me if it gets a bit murky here)

but yeah, for me, all of that combined really just made me feel that the apology wasn't adequate, given the severity of the situation.

don't get me wrong. i think lj's is a generational talent. i really do. her footwork, her body feints, her ability to score rockets and find pockets of space that barely exist for more than a second is absolutely insane!

but while i can recognize she's a fantastic player, i don't have to be satisfied with the apology she gave during those times. and i'm not.

is it a weird line to balance for me? 100%. it is something i think about quite often to be honest.

as someone who likes to say they have a concrete set of morals, ethics, values, and whatnot that i like to follow, this is tough for me to navigate. it's very much in the grey area and the lines do get blurred.

im astonished by lj's skill level, but i can't find it in myself to 'rep' her as a player like i do with my other favourites or players that i think are outstanding.

the behaviour doesn't sit right with me and it influences how i perceive her as a footballer and a person, and that's just the way it is.

so all in all, if you've made it this far: a) congrats on making it through my word vomit! thank you really. b) this is my personal take/opinion. all i ask is you try and understand where i may be coming from before you attack me, should you choose to do so. c) im a barely twenty-smt kid tryna navigate life. this is new territory for me, i'm not perfect and i know it. could i be absolutely wrong? yes. but does this stance feel correct to me right now? yes.

and yeah.

at the end of the day. no, that apology wasn't acceptable in my opinion. you can accept it should you choose to wish so, i just won't be. not yet atleast.

anyways, thanks for coming to my ted talk lmao

-blu

[roppongi-division]

Mireya's Thoughts on Otaku Corps

Keiko Yumi

"Ah, so this is Aika's wayward daughter that she's told me so much about. Looking at her now, I can see how she and Aika are so similar. She's literally the spitting image of her mother. ...It's for that reason that I'm so upset and disappointed in her. Aika's told me all about the problems that she and her have. And while I won't deny that Aika does share some of the blame, you're not entirely guiltless in this either, child."

"Aika has told me that she's tried to talk to you numerous times in the past, either to apologize or to make up for her shortcomings. But what do you do instead? You simply brush her off and refuse to even give her the time of day because you feel she can never be forgiven or redeemed. And to make matters worse, you even went so far as to join Chuohku, all to get away from the woman who gave birth to you."

"I understand you may feel like your mother has committed some unforgivable sin or crime. But in the big picture child, she's done nothing of the sort. Like I stated, she does share some of the blame, but so do you. I know I'm not entirely the best person to speak about relationships with mothers. After all, my relationship with my own is terrible. But the difference between mine and yours, is that at least your mother is allowing you to live out your life the way you want, and isn't forcing her beliefs or opinions on you."

"So forgive me for saying this, but you seriously need to get over being angry, because you have no reason, whatsoever, to be. Your mother did the best she could with the best resources she had available. And for you to despise her and not even try to communicate with her because of that is inexcusable. I hope and pray you realize that before it's too late."

Criss Hiromi

"Zakari's told me about this young child. Apparently, she's a... 'paranormal investigator'? I take it that means she goes diving into abandoned ruins and places searching for ghosts? He's even shown me some of her videos on YouTube. ...While I don't fault her enthusiasm or her love for exploration, I sincerely hope she's taking care of herself. Take it from me, most people don't appreciate you going into places that are 'abandoned'. Why? Because they prefer it to stay that way, less someone comes poking around."

Nikki Yoshie

"Kai and Zakari know more about this young girl than me. All I know about her is that she's apparently one of the most popular and talented video game players in the world. I sadly have no interest in them, but I know Zakari does."

Otaku Corps

"Like my husband mentioned, this is the second Akihabara team, after Pixel Syndicate. I forget which team came first, but both represent Akihabara rather well. I know that sooner or later, the two of them will have a battle to see who will be the team to represent their city. ...But as it stands right now, my vote goes to Pixel Syndicate. Nothing against these young women, but... I have a deep lack of respect for Keiko and her ways. Unless she agrees to make peace with Aika, then I want nothing to do with her and her team. I'm sorry to her teammates, but my vote goes to Pixel Syndicate."

[kitkatopinions]

Thought I was done, but I have more to say: This isn't directed at anyone in particular, please don't use this as an excuse to send anons or blame people or anything

I think a problem in the discussion about Blake's bisexuality is that some people are viewing her like she is a real person who stands on her own, and other people (like me) are viewing her as a fictional character and seeing the writing surrounding her as part of a bigger whole for queer rep in media.

I (as a real person) am a bisexual woman who doesn't have to prove that I (as a real person) am bisexual, and anyone asking for receipts on my (a real person's) bisexuality or telling me (a real person) that if I'm not out to everyone then I am not bisexual is being biphobic because my sexuality should be believed and no one gets to grill me for details or proof. This is because I am real, no one is writing dialogue for me, and if I felt like I didn't want to be open about my sexuality irl, it's because of the wide history of bigotry that directly affects me as a bi woman. Someone pointing to a straight couple holding hands and saying "they've been openly straight for ages, what's taking you so long" would be fucking messed up. Because I am a real person.

But Blake is not a real person, she is a collection of pixels, she's a puppet that gets moved without her consent (because she isn't real,) and the words she speaks and the things she does are not because she wants to do or say things but because she's being controlled by the people that made her (because she isn't real.) She as a person does not ~~choose~~ to do things or say things or be things any more than my bratz dolls ~~chose~~ to be secret agents or ~~chose~~ to get a haircut when I wanted to cut off their hair. I love fictional characters, I make headcanons about them, I even care about them, but they don't have feelings. They don't get a say. They aren't queer or cishet because they are, and because they were born like that the way that I am, characters are only queer or cishet when the writers that control the show decide they are. They're tools used to tell stories that are sold to people, and they can't wholly be separated from the history of queer representation (or the lack thereof) in media, they can't be separated from the beliefs and histories of their writers (I.E. when a main creator and writer like Miles Luna has a history of biphobia and misogyny he has never apologized for and was a RT higher up for years and years when RT is a horrifically bigoted company, that affects what he writers and how people will perceive his actions.) Because the characters aren't real people. And they can't be given labels like ~~canon confirmed queer~~ just because the writers tweeted it or because they've shown interest without confirmation. Queer coding and queer baiting are terms used by queer people NOT BECAUSE we wouldn't believe someone in real life isn't queer just because they (as real people) only hold hands instead of kiss but because we know that characters being openly explicitly queer was and still is something that's considered taboo and 'too far' and 'not family friendly' and 'shoving queerness down people's throats,' and so oftentimes queer characters are left to be coded and not made explicit because of that and only in recent years are queer people sometimes but not often seen and represented as clearly explicitly openly queer. Blake is a fictional character who fits into a category made by real queer people to discuss fictional characters that are written to do things that come across as queer and feel queer but are not explicitly openly queer. The RW/BY writers have yet to make her queer feelings (that they write to have) and actions (that they write her to take) explicit or overt, therefore she is queer coded. And before anyone says 'the writers/VAs say she's queer outside of the main show, that makes her just about as canon confirmed as Dumbledore was a decade ago and I don't consider that canon confirmed at all, I consider that weak. This doesn't mean that I (a real person) don't see Blake (a fictional character) as queer personally, it just means that her queerness is coded rather than confirmed. She isn't a real person who just isn't out, she's a fictional character who hasn't been confirmed.

Like, let's use writing for women as a quick but not perfect comparison. Let's say there's a show with around ten main characters and most of them are men and two of them are women, and the women characters (who are incredibly outnumbered by the large amount of male characters anyway) aren't ever written to stand up for themselves or achieve anything cool while meanwhile the male characters often are at least trying and standing up for themselves. And imagine women made posts about that saying 'it really bothers me that these women characters are being written this way' and then another woman got angry at them for 'trying to make women do things they didn't want to do,' or 'wanting women to do everything' or said 'in real life if a woman doesn't stand up for herself or make any grand achievements that doesn't mean she isn't still a good woman." It's like... No, these characters are fictional and there are standards for 'good representation' that some women have where the bar is above what those writers chose to produce due to the bigoted ways women characters have been neglected at best for ages.

Terms like 'queer coding' and 'queer confirmation' are specific for a reason, they're tools, they're used by queer people to talk about the level of representation we're allowed to have or that we're given because of how we've been under-represented in media or given scraps and told to be happy with it while we can't watch ANYTHING without having opposite-sex relationships that are open and explicit. It's straight up upsetting to hear people say that bi women are biphobic for even pointing out when the media we're given doesn't contain explicit representation.

Blake is not a real person. She is a tool used to tell a story. And so far the story that she's been used to tell has not included overt, open, explicit queerness, it has only been used to be coded. If people are happy with that, great. If other people feel represented by that, great. If other people see her as queer even though it hasn't been made explicit, great and same. But it is not harmful for queer people and specifically bi women to say we want more and to say that we're tired of seeing the writers specifically go ten years without ever giving canon confirmed representation when I've dealt with that for ages over and over while we've had to see endless opposite-sex characters get treated with much more clarity - and we especially don't have to give the benefit of the doubt to Miles fucking Luna and Rooster Teeth and say 'the writers are probably just writing a slow-burn, they definitely aren't purposefully giving themselves plausible deniability.'

[zkylearnstherope]

V.S. | Queen of L en Trosnus [The Collectors]

Finally…

After 11 days and 230 layers (Krita counts how many layers I use before I merge them)... Also, I spent all this time drawing sky and clouds, but I didn't like how it looked, so here's Dark Mode.

I spent these past few days relearning anatomy, studying composition, lineart hierarchy, CSI, and bounce lights. The canvas kept getting bigger and bigger (5,000 x 3,500 pixels) because of the wings. Yes, I studied wing anatomy too, because I wanted to draw proper passive soaring wings.

Apologies for the abundance of watermarks, but I am just scared of my art being stolen, because I kept seeing it happen on YouTube. Keep reading below for the close ups.

Hierarchy, yay. My lines don't really have weight variation since I only use mouse and the Bezier Curve Tool for desktop pc. The only thing I didn't like is how the nose looks, but I think she still turned out to be gorgeous.

Oh, and I learned about Matte Pass too, and I really enjoyed using the Blending Brush in the Alpha Channels. I did my best on the highlights. This is my best rendering too.

I took photos of my hand and traced it.

I almost gave up on the wings because the damn computer kept breaking down on me as I was working on it.

Be not afraid.

This is my best one yet. I am so proud.

This beauty will go to my Art Fight character sheet. There are other details that I just gave up on drawing because of the lack of time. But the main details are already here.

[cornbread-but-minecraft]

new version of Cornbread's Texture Fixer is finally out! due to technical issues, it may be a few weeks before the Planet Minecraft page can be put up, so instead, here's a mediafire folder. The current version of the pack is Beta 2.

link

i do apologize for the lack of a proper features list. there's a basic one in the mediafire folder, but it'll be a while until i can get anything more detailed online.

if you're already using Beta 1 and just want to see the changes in this version, here's the changelog:

Bug Fixes (things that were wrong with this resource pack and no longer are)

The X and Y Gamepad Helpers on the Trade Screen now disappear and reappear properly depending on the part of the screen being hovered over, like they do in vanilla. (Edited, added JSON)

Chiseled Nether Bricks now line up with regular Nether Bricks correctly. (Added texture)

The different sides of Netherrack and the netherrack part of Nylium are no longer all at the same orientation on the same block. Netherrack has been made more similar (though not identical) to vanilla in this way. (Added, edited JSON)

Lit Deepslate Redstone Ore now has the same top and bottom texture as Unlit Deepslate Redstone Ore. (Added JSON)

The bottom third of a pixel of the recipe book button grid is no longer cut off. (Added JSON)

Large Cocoa Pods no longer have visible seams. (Edited texture)

New Death Screen is no longer broken. (Edited JSON)

General Changes (things that are wrong with vanilla but fixed with this resource pack)

The button on the bottom of the expanded Dressing Room / Marketplace Sidebar is now pixel size consistent. (Added JSON and texture)

The button on the bottom of the expanded Dressing Room / Marketplace Sidebar no longer has two outlines. (Added JSON and texture)

The button on the bottom of the expanded Dressing Room / Marketplace Sidebar now keeps its bevels when being hovered over and has a proper 'pressed' texture. (Added JSON and texture)

The faces on 'Dark Buttons' are no longer a darker shade of green than their shaded bevels when being hovered over. (Added texture)

Adjusted the nineslice information for the background and hover textures of the "Your friends are not playing Minecraft right now." (and similar) banners to be less buggy. (Added JSON)

Tweaked the nineslice information for the banner / "label box" for the "Achievements cannot be earned in this world" message to be less buggy. (Added JSON)

Tweaked the nineslice information on UI texture "background_with_border" to be less buggy. (Added JSON)

The bevels on the Mob Effects Screen now meet each other in a way that makes sense and is consistent with other screens. (Added textures and JSON)

The bevels on the Mob Effects Screen's Close Button Tabs now meet each other in a way that makes sense and is consistent with screen backgrounds. (Added textures)

The top-left corner of the Mob Effects Screen's left Close Button Tab is now the correct amount of roundness. Also, tweaked its nineslice information to be less broken. (Added texture, JSON)

The bevels on various Pocket UI Screens now meet each other in a way that makes sense and is consistent with other screens. (Added textures)

The Close Button on the Cartography Table Screen is no longer a pixel lower down than it should be. (Added JSON)

Moved the Inventory Label in the Horse Screen down a pixel. (Added JSON)

Changed the Horse Screen's Close Button from the compact one to the normal one since I hate the compact one. (Added JSON)

Made the Chest and Large Chest Screens the same size as on Java Edition. (Added JSON)

Moved the Chest Label up a pixel to its Java Edition Position. (Edited JSON)

Moved the Close Button in the Horse and Chest Screens to minimize their overlapping with surrounding UI elements. (Added JSON)

Made the Search Bar in the Recipe Book / Creative Inventory a pixel shorter, vertically, so it alligns with the Craftable Toggle. (Added JSON)

Relatedly, the Craftable Toggle in the Recipe Book is now aligned with the pixel grid. (Added JSON)

The Craftable Toggle in the Recipe Book has been moved a pixel to the left to line up with the rest of the screen, since Mojang recently broke it. (Added JSON)

The outlines on the heads on the Friends Tab on the Select World Screen are now at a level of contrast that is consistent with the icons of the tabs around them. (Edited, added texture)

The Close Button Tab on the World Select Screen now properly disappears when playing with a controller. (HOLY WOW) (Added JSON)

The pixel where the bevels meet on all tabs is now consistently the correct color. (Added textures)

The lit bevel on the unselected Right Top Tab (Cartography Screen, Pocket UI) is now the correct color. (Added texture)

Regular Torches now have more accurate UV mapping. (Added texture)

The outline for the icon on the Inbox Button is now at a level of contrast consistent with the buttons around it. (Added texture)

Fixed the top- and bottom-left corners on the textures for the description of a Marketplace item. (Added textures)

Tweaked the nineslice information for one of the textures for the description of a Marketplace item to be less buggy. (Added JSON)

Changed the Toolbar on the Stonecutter Screen to a regular Close Button since Mojang removed the Help Button. There is no longer an empty toolbar when using a controller. (Added JSON)

The Players List in the Pause Screen is no longer cut off by a pixel when the Player Permissions Buttons aren't visible and no longer overlaps with said Player Permissions Buttons when they are (i mean, the outlines do, but i think that might be the intention). (Added JSON)

Removed a misplaced pixel on the Critical Hit particle. (Edited texture)

Fixed a miscolored pixel on the Firework trail particle. (Edited texture)

Updated the metal bits on the sides of the Piston head with the ones from the 1.10 texture update. The rest of the texture intentionally remains programmer art. (Edited textures)

Replaced all Bed item textures with the ones from Legacy Console Edition, since they're closer in color to Beds placed in the world. For technical reasons, these were taken from the wiki. (Added textures, edited texture)

The icon for the Achievements Button on the Title Screen and Pause Screen is is now the correct size and no longer stretched weirdly. (Added JSON)

The icon for the General Tab in the Settings Screen is now the correct size and no longer shrunken weirdly. (Added JSON)

The icon on the "How to Play" Tab in the Settings Screen is now white when the tab is hovered over and black when it isn't (layered settings tab glyph outlines over the colored parts). (Added JSON)

The chevrons on the buttons in the Dressing Room now properly turn white when the buttons are hovered over or pressed. (Added JSON)

The chevrons on the buttons for cycling between items in the Marketplace are now the correct color. (Added JSON)

Reversions

The Close Button is no longer part of a raised panel / Toolbar when there isn't a Help Button. It has been reverted to how it is in vanilla in this regard. (Removed JSON)

The Beacon Screen is no longer the same width as on Java Edition. It has been reverted to how it is in vanilla in this regard to accommodate the close button. (Removed JSON).

The Toolbar is no longer on the top of the Cartography Table Screen when not using touch controls. It has been reverted to how it is in vanilla in this regard to accommodate smaller monitors. (Removed JSON).

Trade items on the Trade Screen are no longer pixel-size-consistent. They have been reverted to how they are in vanilla. (Removed JSON)

The Help Button on the Trade Screen is no longer part of the toolbar and has instead been reverted to how it is in vanilla. (Removed JSON)

Maps are no longer pixel-size-consistent since I've decided redrawing textures to that extent doesn't fit the spirit of the pack. (Removed texture)

Observers now look the same while carried as they do placed in the world since I couldn't manage to fix them. (Removed JSON, texture)

Concrete Powder no longer randomly rotates its texture depending on its placement in the world. It has been reverted to how it is in vanilla. (Removed JSON)

Technical Changes

Rewrote some UI JSON again. The custom Container Scroll Panel background should be more compatible with other packs now. (Edited JSON)

To disable the custom Container Scroll Panel background and use the vanilla one (such as in the case it conflicts with one of your resource packs), set global variable "$cb_ignore_custom_scroll_bg" to true.

Simplified HUD JSON again. now, instead of layering multiple elements below the Item Stack Count, the Item Stack Count is layered above the other elements. (Removed, added JSON)

Completely removed the entity folder, since Mojang removed the feature that made it necessary in the first place.

Added some notes in [square brackets] to the alpha 2 section of the changelog, to cover important details I missed when I was writing it.

Rewrote the JSON responsible for messing with the texture for the scrolling panel on the Trade Screen. This was done to accommodate the removal of the JSON it was parented off. (Edited, added JSON)

Removed the texture for the glyph for the Creator Tab in the Settings Screen since vanilla fixed its issue.

Removed the JSON that made the hotbar render at full opacity since vanilla fixed its issue.

The opacity of the hotbar start and end caps is no longer a global variable. As such, the variable has been removed. (Edited, removed JSON)

Removed global variable "$cb_is_not_conglomeration". (Removed JSON)

The Experience Bar now uses custom textures at directory "textures/cb_custom_ui/hud/" instead of "textures/gui/icons.png", due to limitations with the game's texture sheet system. It should no longer break when using certain higher-resolution texture packs. (Removed, edited JSON; added textures)

Removed the WIP Inventory Screen JSON file. That was just me testing some things and was never supposed to survive to a pubic version.

The Java Edition texture variants for Stone, Bedrock, Deepslate, and related blocks have been moved over to Conglomeration (a different resource pack). As such, the textures for these have been removed. (Removed JSON, textures)

Removed an unused Dirt Path texture that I missed before.

Removed some unused JSON from the manifest file.

Added to-do.txt.

Changed pack UUIDs.

Repositioned the bandage on the pack icon. It is no longer rotated.

[getvalentined]

I just saw your post about Pixeled and feel horrified at what you’ve had to deal with. I haven’t had any interaction with him personally, but have seen a lot of his works in the Sephiroth x Rufus part of AO3 (that I stalk pretty frequently, since they’re my OTP despite not being a popular pairing) that stuck out to me precisely because of the lack of works for them. I thought a couple of them were pretty good and even left kudos on them, but I had no idea what kind of person he actually was. Again, I’m so sorry you had to go through all that. People like him really shouldn’t be allowed to even have contact with others, especially on the internet when regulation of things like that is practically nonexistent. I also apologize for contacting you like this, but there wasn’t another way to do it. I hope you’re happy now though and have people who genuinely care about you and your wellbeing around you now 🙏

Don't worry about having engaged with his work; his writing isn't terrible, and he's very prolific. He also likes being able to dominate a ship tag, so I'm not surprised he's dipped into rarepairs involving his projection puppet. It gives him a sense of ownership—he did a lot for ReeVince and VinVeld, too and kinda implied that meant he should be seen as the leading authority on both. (That never happened and he was angry about it for as long as I knew him.)

Thank you for your words of encouragement. I'm doing my best, and I'm generally all right these days. Still sick and tired all the time, but that's the chronically ill + disabled life. I have a great family and some amazing friends that make things worth sticking around, and thankfully I don't see that changing anytime soon! I'm gonna be a little shaken up for a few days over all this, dredging things back up is always rough, but hopefully everyone is able to stay safe.