#better than sprite for that reason

[platonicallylovesick]

YIPPPEEEE I LOVE OPINIONS but this time its actually going in the tags, length be damned

Alright. We’re settling this discourse once and for all.

In the tags, tell me your opinion on:

Mayonnaise

Frozen Yogurt 

Salt and Vinegar Chips

Sweet Potatoes

Kiwi

Ginger Ale

Microwave Ramen

[starcurtain]

Silly DiluVen Fic I Want to Read

That feeling when Jean shows up at your bar with your two-inch-tall fairy archon in the palm of her hands because apparently he's sick??? (Mona, please scry, can cat scratch fever actually kill someone--)

And apparently the Knights of Favonius Headquarters is not an acceptable place for him to recuperate because Klee exists? ("Hmph, a fair point. Kaeya is there too." "Wowwww.")

So the only reasonable alternative is to keep him at the Dawn Winery??? (Is this actually reasonable? Diluc doesn't think so, but then again he also thought a four-year-long murder spree was reasonable, so he is, perhaps, not the best of judges.)

Or: Google doesn't exist in Teyvat anymore, so Diluc just spends a week searching for cures and experiencing exponentially-increasing stress levels, because archons aren't supposed to get sick, they're definitely not supposed to turn into handkerchiefs with delusions of grandeur, and it turns out that it is much, much harder to keep feverish fairies out of trouble than anyone could ever have imagined.

(Also known as: "What do you mean you LOST him--" + "Lisa, what do wind sprites even eat--" + "My archon cannot be this cute" + "Is that our god in your pocket or are you just happy to see me" + "Die" + "I assure you, this is a doll. I just like dolls now. Please stop asking questions." + "This is weird" [builds a pillow nest anyway] + Of course he gets the human body back on the one night I cradled him in my arms--)

[castleinthemist]

'taupe you hate remakes how are you enjoying ys chronicles +' easy. i think it is ugly <3

[kittykatinabag]

Mark my words, the next country/area we're getting in Infinity Nikki is Cicia.

[lunatic-harness]

here’s my shitass opinion on umineko sprites that nobody asked for

[remxedmoon]

your friends don’t know what to do.

so!! i redrew every single enemy in the game. in the span of like 9 days (excluding the king i made him right after the last update). that’s abbbout 79* drawings total, with only 3 custom ones for once!! i’m so normal. as always, these are free to use with credit!! go nuts!! spritesheets are included <3

got some notes under the cut, along with As Many Enemies As I Could Fit without making this post obnoxiously long. and i failed. i had to swap between the app and browser several times and i still couldn’t fit every drawing. open this post at your own risk (silly).

okay so first of all. what’s with the asterisk. well. I Drew A Lot More Than 79 Assets Actually. they’re getting posted separately, because this post is ABSURDLY long. you can find most of them in the miscellaneous folder, but for a bit of clarity, i added the teleport map and a bunch of ui elements that reference sprites from the icon sheet. and also the game over and loop back animations but i haven’t finished the spritesheets for those because they’re a pain in the ass so they’re not in the drive yet

if you missed my complaining a few days ago, a few enemies might look a bit crunchy in the actual game? specifically, calamité and désespoir were drawn at the wrong size, because their images in the files do not match the spritesheets! i avoided the issue with most of the other enemies, those two just blindsided me. sorry about that!

^sadnesses having inconsistent designs was actually a running theme with these. détresse rock has an unused design in the files (which i managed to catch before having to redo it thankfully), anxiété has extra spikes that don’t appear on the spritesheet (sorry i was too lazy to fix that one), even the version of the friend rescue in the files doesn’t match any of the frames in the spritesheet. hfjfhfj. sorry about the quality issues.

tangentially related to that, massive thank you to @riggedbones for grabbing the individual frames for the animations for me!! they made my life so much easier. vs friends would’ve been so annoying…

speaking of the animations! hi can you tell i’m not an animator. these were my first time doing Anything animation related since, like, middle school. super sorry for the Jank in some of these! the friend rescue looked way better when i drew it 💔💔.

bourdon’s hands also might act a bit odd, my apologies. the sizing ingame is SUPER inconsistent (why is one of the hands SMALLER than the other????). once i’m able to actually test the mod, i’ll try to fix it wauaua.

the 3 custom sprites are for the triplets! i ended up making two versions for each, one that follows the ingame art, and one with my personal designs for them. i like my own designs for them, but they’re a lot easier to tell apart? so if you want to use the ones that fit the gimmick better, they’re also in the drive 👍

this update. was originally going to have way more custom art. i’ve actually got an act 6 siffrin enemy asset in my art program! but school started and i decided it’d be better to just get the normal stuff done. so the mod can actually come out in a reasonable timeframe. promise that’ll all come out Later! sorry about the wait 😓😓😓

also adding this because i almost forgot: no i don’t know if these are compatible with sasasaap. i don’t have the game still and it’s not my main priority atm, apologies!

okay! that was a lot! and there’s a ton of art down here! thank you for reading all this, i’ll be back with the game over animations and teleport map pretty soon! like. within the weekend. enjoy!!!

[robindaydream]

OKAY I WASN'T DONE APPARENTLY there were a few things that bugged me about how they turned out so I found a palette that I liked better and made some alterations.

Been a while since I did any pixel stuff but I felt like making a little thing just for fun.

[pastabaguette]

the first batch of humanstuck sheets are done!

i did the fire signs first, for no reason other than i like them the most and i have their sprites done.

i decided it’d be better and less cluttered to only include the most basic information on them for now. now everyone can know their names!

i may remake these in the future if need be. they’re only the first revisions, after all, so please let me know if they suck.

(also, i drew the main art for these guys a really long time ago, so they are a little strange-looking to me now)

[luveline]

I NEEEEEED MORE STRIPPER!READER X SPENCER

fem, 1.2k

You and Spencer aren't dating, but he thinks you might be in the before. 

"You're home!" you say, clambering at the door to slip out of your shoes. You throw yourself at him as soon as you're close enough, the salted caramel and sandalwood of your new perfume washing over him. "You're here! I missed you." 

Spencer tries not to blush. He wishes you weren't so close —his hair is lank from two days unwashed, his five o'clock shadow obvious and embarrassing. If you notice anything unappealing about him you don't give the slightest inclination, your arms crossing over his back as you drive your face into his neck. 

"I can't believe how much I missed you, Dr. Reid," you say warmly. 

"I missed you too." Morgan would laugh at him for being this earnest, maybe comment on his lack of charisma, but Spencer doesn't know how else to show that he's interested beyond sincerity. 

You step back but work your hands up his neck and into his hair, raking it away from his cheeks. "That's better. I can see you better now." 

Spencer thought he remembered only horrible things from being a teenager, but he remembers this feeling, sweaty-palmed, heart-racing want. You tilt his head gently one way and then the other like you're following the motion of a wave, fingertips scratching in his hair, the sensation stirring the very pit of his stomach. No trace of tiredness remains on your face, only spritely joy to see him. 

"That feels nice," he confesses. He's not weird about it, more friendly. 

Your aswering grin tells him he nailed the casualness he was aiming for. 

"You've been working hard," you say, tucking his hair behind his ears and dusting down his shoulders, "I can tell. You look tired." 

"You don't. Short shift?" 

"Is it weird that bad weather genuinely keeps people home? I guess they prefer their wives when it's cold." 

"No, really? Who could ever pick the woman they married over you and those silver shorts?" he teases, peeling out of his sweater.

The shirt underneath is rumpled, but he doesn't care about that. Anything to be seen between you has been seen. Spencer has, unquestionably, seen you half naked. You've seen him in his boxers, so you're just about square. "Idiots, all of them." 

You're staying with him again while a security company fits your apartment with the appropriate trappings. Or, that was the initial reason. Spencer went with you to assess after it was done, discovering black mould in the corner of your bedroom and spreading its evil way across the bathroom ceiling. 

What is that? he asked, knowing what it was, hoping you'd at least pretend to be concerned. 

That's fifty bucks off a month, Spence. Don't look so horrified. 

"I missed you," you say for the third time in as many minutes. "And I hoped you'd be home, so I brought Chinese food for two."

You and Spencer change into pyjamas, and it's cliche but whatever, you look beautiful undone —he's not stupid enough to lie to himself about how he feels when you're wearing your little outfits, but he prefers this side of you a thousand times over because you like it better. You wear your prized baseball tee, white with blue sleeves, and a pair of sweatpants pushed up high on one leg while you ice your sore knee. He sits cross legged opposite, jabbing his chopsticks into one of your crispy spring rolls just to watch you gasp. 

"Can I ask you something too personal?" 

You rub down the length of your naked calf, sighing as some of the tension releases. You're more bruise than girl lately, splodges of tender skin patterning the inside. "What don't you know about me, at this point?" you ask. 

Like it's a good thing. Like you're glad for it. 

"Are you making enough money?" he asks. 

You steal back your spring roll, answering him through rice paper and greens, "Kind of. Not tonight, but enough for dinner. I'll be okay." 

"Did you think about it?" 

You shovel through your waxy box of rice, shrugging. "I thought about it, but… it's not realistic. What office would take me? What drug store?" 

"I could loan you the money while you apprentice, and get some experience, you could go back to school–" He says it all in a rush and you still knock him down. 

"It's real sweet of you, Spence, it is, but I couldn't let you do that. That makes me your charity case, and not your friend." 

"What else do you do for the people you care about?" he asks. Let them stay at a job they don't like, even if they're good at it, one that puts them statistically at higher risk for femicide or assault? 

"I wouldn't need a loan, Spencer, I'd need more than you have," you say gently. "I'd have to start my life from scratch. How would I pay rent? You couldn't afford to keep us both." 

"You could stay with me again." 

You shake your head. "You're the best friend I've ever had, which is why I'm saying no." 

He doesn't get what you mean, but you finish your dinner and help him clean up. He more than trusts you to stay here alone while he's on a case, you've honestly left it in better condition than you found it, and he insists you sleep in his bed again while you're here. 

"Don't be silly," you say, throwing a sheet out over the couch. "This is your place. You need to sleep in your own bed." 

The disaster is that it smells like you. Spencer says goodnight to you reluctantly and leaves you on the couch with every throw blanket he owns, climbing into his own bed and pulling the comforter up to his nose. He imagines you here at night, your body wash still clinging to your skin from a late night shower, your hand tucked under his pillow. There are so many things he'd like to give you, if you'd just let him. 

He spends a quiet thirty minutes like that, missing the warmth of your skin and your casual touching, wishing he could offer you the fresh start you desire, even if it meant he wasn't involved. 

The couch springs creak as you toss and turn, the sound finding it's way down the short hall from the living room slash kitchen to his bedroom. Hesitant, Spencer shifts in bed, hitting that one coil in his mattress just right, the twang resounding.  

You appear in his doorway with your borrowed pillows crushed to your chest not long after that. You don't need to ask, Spencer doesn't need to answer. He can't give you everything that you want, but he can give you a quiet, comfortable night next to someone who loves you. 

Ever well-tempered, you slip into the sheets beside him and curl up toward him, your fingertips brushing his side. You don't look at him in the dark, but you mumble sleepily, fingers twitching, "Night, Spence." 

You're out like a light. 

[izasozy]

Deltarune chapter 3 spoilers stay safe

I put this part to the end but then realized it would look better in the beginning of the post with all the ramb-rant:

Ramb is my favorite character from chapter 3, just as by themself, aside from main cast or plot events. Idk their gender and it looks like their sprite have a beard actually I'll be just calling Ramb by they/them pronouns. For me they have that vibe, kinda... Motherly in a way. The way the act for the whole chapter gives me vibes of that one nanny that did like half of your upbringing, then you got separated from them when you got older but they still love you more than anything and would give you the world if they could.

Ramb deserves so much. If you talk to them every time they give you so much information like,,,, King and Queen know each other because of Kris and Noelle!! Because Kris and Noelle brought them AND JEVIL TOO in Kris's house and played pretend with them, that's why Queen was so focused on Noelle, because she already knew her and loved her. AND the fact that they brought the laptop home was also the reason Tenna met Spamton!!!!

Tenna's putting Ramb on the background because they care so much, they're shoved down to just sell stuff so they trick Tenna with this secret enter to S-rank room TO HELP KRIS. BECAUSE THEY CARE ABOUT KRIS SO MUCH. Ramb just wants Kris to have real fun, to have FREEDOM to play games they actually like. We'll... Omit the fact that to win the game Ramb gives us we need to do Undertale genocide (or uh what's actually a normal RPG gameplay) AND THEN DO FUCKING SNOWGRAVE ROUTE because obviously Ramb isn't actually familiar with what the game will lead us to, Ramb just knows it's the original and think Kris will like it better.

They're so nostalgic about the past but unlike Tenna they're depressingly acceptant of the fact that nothing stays forever, that Kris and Noelle no longer friends, that Kris doesn't play with them all anymore. They're British and call Kris "luv". They would sacrifice themself for Kris's sake. And they DID if you come into the room with that console one last time. They're turning to stone and they ask Kris to push them out of the way for Kris to play the game. They KNOW that Kris opened the fountain. OUT OF EVERYONE THEY'RE THE ONLY ONE WHO ACKNOWLEDGE THIS FACT. They don't blame Kris or say they shouldn't have done this, they just say that whatever Kris's motivations are they just want them to have fun anyway. After you push them out of the way and go into the room, if you go back out of the room they disappear. Where did Ramb go everybody please!!!???? IM SO WORRIED I WANT THEM TO BE OKAY.

[aesadraws]

Okay you guys get one preview but it's only to make a really dumb joke.

I gave the prince blue hair (and pronouns) *gasp*

It's just to make things easier when I have to color swap in his proper hair palette later.

Fighting the urge to show previews of the XVI pixel art I'm working on before it's done. Gonna be sharing it during PF week (since I've only done Joshua so far and am doing Dion now so why not, 2 of my 3 original ideas for the event crashed spectacularly rip) but tbh I started this just because I wanted to see the characters in the Fields of Mistria style.

Honestly, Olric's face makes me think of Terence so much anyway so like I had to y'know. Terence is who I'd work on next, then maybe Jote or Jill.

[chessboredom]

Hey hey! Yeah ive noticed when it comes to actual toxic shadowvanilla (or even closer to cannon) they dont get in depth of it. It feels like theres something MISSING! Ackkkkkkk i am a beliver of them being mutually toxic to each other (especially tr) If TR did for some reason truly became a cookie of decite, it would not end well for either of them! Think about it, shadow milk wants someone who understands BUT how he wants Pure vanilla to be a cookie of decite. And and shadow milk so caught up in his joy didnt even notice the cannon betryal, then take that and up it with truthless recules. Tr would 100% be lying for his own gain, probably notice shadowmilks emotional weakness and twist it like a KNIFE! The roles would be reversed! Shadowmilk is the puppet now, yet he doesnt KNOW it! So blinded by his loneiess, and the need to have someone to understand him! That he allowed himself be used (quite ironic if you think about it) cuz PV normally is not one to show his emotions in his sprites (other than his staff and well shadowmilk meddling) AND HE ISNT A OWO MAN!!! Sick of the owo man treatment! TR is that but UPPED!! A cookie of decite who doesnt express his emotions, able to twist it however he likes. Like i can see this as a Sm thinks hes the puppet master, while being the puppet. Tr lets him think that!!! Its easier to maulipate someone if they think their in control. Its MESSY! (I cannot put into words how messed up this situation would be) shadow milk you FOOL! Youve created your own MONSTER! One who sees you as a means to a end, a PUPPET. False fluff, fapse happiness, false LOVE! What TR gives you is a LIE and even if theres truth in it YOU DONT KNOW IT, YOU COUNDNT EVEN TELL WHEN HE PULL OFF A LIE! (In cannon) YOU are now in the web of lies of your own creation, Tr is your spider!! Anyway uh thats a little bit of what this dymatic makes me go crazy over (i have more ideas....)

ANON YOU FUCKKING GET IT OH MY GOOOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THIS IS REAL!!!!!!! I LOVE TOXIC YAOIIII!!!!

I'm gonna fucking yap about PV characterization (AGAIN.) (I just love him so fucking much.)

Very Long LONG post. XP

I'm so happy right now because you UNDERSTAND that PV isn't just some fucking UwU bean guy. Like, this is why he's so fucking good at being a leader because of his EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE and that he DOESN'T get caught up by his emotions and focuses on the problems even if it's stressful. Like a scene in Odyssey where Dark Cacao gets MAD when Clotted Cream had the idea of wanting the powers of the Soul Jam but Pure Vanilla remained calm as ever(And all of the sprites used this scene have his eyes open. He is SERIOUS.) Out of the WHOLE Ancients, despite his youthful, brighter amd unchanging appearance (and that's why his Korean Va is a girl to convey his youthfulness) he is the nost mature because he tries to Understand the situation and not diving head first. He isn't a warrior, but he is skilled involving emotions BUT he keeps DOUBTING himself at first like "I can't believe I did that! But I'd do anything for my friends to protect them."

AND THEN SHADOW MILK COOKIE COMES IN!!!! Omg Shadow Milk Cookie, DO NOT unlock the full potential of that Skill Pure Vanilla- I man Truthless Recluse has(Emotional Intelligence😇 LEVEL UP! ➡️ Emotional Manipulation😈) that he made you look stupid by making YOU think that YOU are the one IN CONTROL!

LOOK AT HOW HE DOES IT BY MAKING SMILK THINK HE'S IN CONTROL!!

En got "You and I... were meant to be together."❌️ The shadowvanilla shippers are really feeding on this line omg.

Kr got "I guess I have to accept you... Or become a part lf you."✅️ THAT'S WHAT I WANTED TO SEE!!!! EMOTIONAL MANIPULATION AT IT FINEST BAYBEEEEEE!!!!!!!!! MAKE HIM THINK HE'S THE ONE PULLING YOUR STRINGS WHEN YOU'VE ALREADY SLITHERED YOUR WAY THROUGH HIS MASK!!!! UUUGGHH SMILK YOU MADE HIM BETTER THAN YOUUU

That's why I kept mentioning that PV is KIND, and not Nice and he is pretty much capable of incredible violence. Does anyone even REMEMBER PV having enough seeing his friends suffer when he was the last one standing that he tries TO KILL DARK ENCHANTRESS?? He does a lot of things that involves he SACRIFICING HIMSELF in the process. UGHHH!! FUCK!! PURE VANILLA COOKIE IS NOT NICE!! HE WANTED TO KILL SHADOW MILK COOKIE!!! Remember the "Crash Out" scene? That's his true emotions having throwing a suprise party. He had ENOUGH. Then the scenery changes that made him remember that he wasn't supposed to be a violent person. He's an angel! 😇🙏 Silly Vanillyyy, why would you say "I'M GOING TO DESTROY YOU!!" that isn't like you at all!! [sarcasm](He is literally holding back the rage every single fucking day of his life.)

As much as people love to draw PV hugging Smilk closing to the end of the Ep, he literally beats him up and people seem to forget that over thinking PV is nice Uwu It doesn't have to be this way Shadow Milk Cookie. Meanwhile in the Korean version, Awakened PV had a dialogue that went, "I like helping people but I had enough of your shit Shadow Milk Cookie.☺️" Pure Vanilla Cookie said calmly. (Link to the video I made with this line.) And then made shooting stars of Truth descend from the sky to attack him. He did say he wanted Smilk to be his friend, but he wouldn't back down in a fight anymore. That's why his Awakened "Compassionate" or "Comprehender"(in Korean) form finally showing his real role that he is a MAGIC TYPE all along who has been disguised under the role of a HEALER.

Anyway TR ♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤ SMILK. TOXIC YAOI REAL!! Two Cookies of Deceit. One emotional and one empty. Smilk may be the best at psychological warfare and torture, but he got himself an emotional manipulator. Tr easily takes advantage of his emotions because he acts like a child!! Just give him what he wants then he'll be satisfied in no time. Take it away from him, he's gonna have his tantrums again.

Noe I couldn't add more tbh. You explained it well and all I could do is smash the TRUE over and over.

Even with my interpretation of canon that Tr won't last long with Smilk because of the Friendship Gang and "the universe couldn't allow this! One of you turn "good" now!", I like to think the toxicity still lives through Awakened PV since he's both Truth AND Deceit. Like a bright star from light years away that's actually dead, he could still act as of he were still TR to make Smilk more paranoid and obsessed with him in a more fucked up secretive way that other people wouldn't even notice because PV is already good! He wouldn't do evil things again, right? Hehe.

Also sharing this twt post of Tr ripping Smilk's eye as well. 🥰🥰🥰

https://x.com/41n4v15/status/1896085874628087843

[crescencestudio]

๋࣭⭑ Devlog #47 | 4.26.25 ๋࣭⭑

no bc we r actually so back brothers ive got FOOD TODAY

We are ALIVEEEEE AND BACK AND BETTER THAN EVER ((FR THIS TIME!!!).

Before we get into actual updates, I wanted to give context on where my life's been at basically the past year. As many of you know, I got my PhD last December (YEAAAA) which meant for the second half of 2024, I was literally in a cave crunching my dissertation. Now, many people (including me) thought after I finished my dissertation, I'd be a lot freer for Alaris stuff. But since this year started, I've been completely preoccupied with some personal matters which kept me from working on Alaris as much as I wanted to.

While the personal matters aren't anything anyone has to be worried about, they did take up A Lot of my time, and I'm really happy to say that I am officially free from those obligations too!!! Meaning for the first time in literally a year, I am NOT drowning. And that time has already been used Very Fruitfully heh....heh....heh.....

WANNA SEE???

Writing has been on a bit of a stall, and the main reason why is something I'll talk about in the Miscellaneous section! But it's nothing to worry about since it's because I want to focus on other parts of the game right now. With almost all of the routes finished, I've noticed that the writing pace I've maintained has resulted in the art and programming aspects to fall a bit behind where I want those parts of game dev to be.

So recently, I've focused more attention on the art and programming components rather than writing. That being said, writing still makes slow but steady progress! Kuna'a's development edits continue to progress, and Etza's route is about to be sent to line editing, which is the last stage of editing for my writing process. This means once Etza's line edits are finished, the four Central routes will be COMPLETELY FINISHED!! Exciting right!!!!

For art, I can't actually show very many sneak peeks since it's mostly been CGs and character design commissions heh. But I am willing to give a slight sneak peeks of these character designs in these two beta screenshots

Sickest character designs by @saffein-e

While these sneak peeks don't represent the final character sprites, they are the OG designs created by bestie Saf. And even from the designs alone, the characters are stunning additions to the cast! I can't wait to draw them in my own style and hopefully do Saf's amazing work justice 💖💖💖 In these screenshots too, you can see some of the newer BGs and hints of overlays that we've added to the game to heighten the visual effects hehe.

I've also been working on CGs for Etza's route and am happy to say our CG count is currently at 26 completed CGs (5 sketched ones) out of 54! Now that I'm making an active effort to Lock in on the art assets, I'm hoping CG and sprite development picks up a bit in the coming months ^^

And finally... for the most exciting news!!!!!

ETZA'S BETA WILL BE OUT MONDAY!!!!

We have finally moved forward on the beta build front, and beta testers will finally get to play Etza's beta! Since I haven't shown much in-game screenshots from the betas in past devlogs, and you all patiently still read them, I thought this month would be a nice time to update you all on how things are looking in Alaris beta land.

In this beta, you obviously get to woo our neighborhood angel

Since it's been a while, this is a reminder of what the game looks like (LMFLSOA). I know for me it's been a while and honestly I forgot how proud I am of the art assets :') I love how everything has come together and how it looks in the game <3

Of course, Important Choices and fun cast dynamics are a few of our Favorite Things

Between the messaging interface, the chapter card, the phone call overlays, and many more little effects and stuff, I forgot how many assets are in this thing. Being able to code Etza's beta has been an amazing reminder of how much work I've put into Alaris over the years ^^

Which brings me to exciting news!!!! I will make the official announcement separately at a later time, but as a reward for people who actually read these things, you're the first to know. With Etza's beta coming out soon, that means the four Central routes will have finished beta testing. And with where things are at, I've made the official decision that...

Alaris will enter Early Access for the First Four Routes!!!

I don't have an exact date for when this will release since it largely depends on how quickly I can art. But I'd like to aim for a tentative Q3 release for the Early Access Build! More details will come when I make the official announcement, but it is extremely exciting to have reached a point where I can even put this out there to people!!!

I hope you all are excited, and I want to thank everyone who has been on this journey with me whether it's as a recent or long time fan!!

Finally, I haven't really had time for market research since I've been in the "Returning the Game Dev" trenches. But I do have other exciting news that I'll make yet another official announcement on later.

Aside from the new Alaris beta, I've also had another small side project I've been working on with some friends (very chill-like) over the past couple of months. It'll be the first Crescence Dark Fantasy entry in my collection of games, and it's definitely a different vibe from what I've put out so far.

Where They Wait will be a new game submitted to Ossan Jam with elements of horror, fantasy, and dark romance :3c I'm so grateful to the team I've worked with and all the work they've put into our little shared baby, and I can't wait for you all to play it! This will also be coming out WELL, Monday too LMAFLIDJLIFJ.

As you can see, we've been hard at work behind the curtain. Since I last talked to you all, we've made a lot of nice headway on the different projects I've had on my plate, and I'm excited to feel like we're hitting our stride on so many things!!!!

Until next time we talk, which will be Very Soon with all our exciting announcements coming up. Thank you as always for being patient with me and supporting me!

[monkey-overalls]

Project: Eden’s Garden Deadly Life/Trial Thoughts

Feeling a bit more incoherent now than I did before for… obvious reasons, so these are gonna be bullet points instead of full paragraphs:

Kai’s “OOOHHH SHIT” voice line cracks me up every time I hear it, the delivery is hilarious.

Also the “GAME OVER MAN, GAME OVER”—I see you Aliens reference, don’t think I didn’t catch that 👀

Wolfgang’s enraged sprites were phenomenal. The emotion captured in them had me on the edge of my seat.

I still don’t trust him though. They keep hammering in how great of a person he was but I dooon’t trust it not ooone bit!!!

WOLFGANG’S VOICE ACTOR NAILED IT OH MY GOSH ‼️‼️

The performance may have been much less intense than many of the other characters, but I want to shout out Eloise’s VA as well. Her voice is so soft and sweet, but she can also sound authoritative when she wants to be (i.e., questioning Grace). Anytime she speaks I’m like 🥰

Diana lowkey sounds like Kaede. Am I the only one who thinks she sounds like Kaede???

The fact that they made Ulysses say “Um ackshually ☝️🤓” gave me irreversible whiplash.

I can’t attest to the playability of the Argument Altercation (I watched it, not played it) but it was visually and conceptually stunning. Eva may be having a complete mental breakdown, but the art makes her look super cool doing it lmao

Diana I am so sorry for thinking you were sus, you deserve so much better… your speech was a little goofy though ngl

I say this while also still shipping her and Eva… whoops, got blinded by the toxic yuri beams sorrynotsorry-

Now for the elephant in the room… Eva they could never make me hate you. NEVER. I don’t care that you chewed Damon out or framed Diana for murder, you’re still my favorite girl and this game will have to pry my imaginary Eva Tsunaka marketable plushie from my cold, dead hands!!!

Obviously her VA also slayed. I love how quiet and raspy her voice normally is, and how that juxtaposes with her absolutely losing her shit towards the end of the trial.

That execution, man. At first I was like “A fire pit? That’s it? Seems like a pretty instant death to me” and then they brought out the glass and the nails and I was SILENT. The ghost of Kirumi Tojo was cheering you on the entire way, Eva.

The animation had no right being that smooth??? Tozu was right, this probably did take up most of the budget.

Everyone’s crying sprites make me want to commit Sakura Protein Shake 😭

INGRID’S AFFIRMATIONS DIDN’T HELP, THEY JUST MADE ME CRY HARDER 😭😭😭

[manicpixiedreamlestats]

Some thoughts on Edwin tonight:

I’ve talked about how I think Edwin is so interesting because he goes against the grain of the very reserved and stiff Edwardian archetype, but something else I find interesting about him is he lets people know exactly where they stand with him. Here are some examples:

Niko:

This one is highly quoted. Admittedly, Edwin does not say this right to Niko because Niko could not see him at this point. To Edwin's knowledge she was not going to be able to see him. She is alive, and perhaps he did not anticipate the sprites a near death experience. All that being said, this was as close as he could get to expressing fondness to her at the moment.

Charles:

Edwin actually does a great job making sure Charles knows when he is doing well on cases, like when he praises Charles' quick thinking with the sprite jar. Even when Charles isn't present, Edwin identifies them as "best friends, if you must know". But of course, Charles is rattled after the Dead Dragon case for a lot of reasons. So Edwin reassures him that he is, in fact, the best person he knows (even after he has met many new faces).

Crystal:

Although they got off to a rocky start, Edwin lets Crystal know (tentatively perhaps, but earnestly still) that he does value having her around. He pushes back against the assertion that he did not want her on the case to find Monty's friend "Gladys" because he did- and he ultimately believes in Crystal and has built a relationship with her.

Monty:

This scene is really interesting to me because we tend to think of Charles as someone who fawns more out of these two (and Charles does-he'll be the first to put his feelings aside to try and smooth the group dynamic time and time again). But here we see that Edwin also has some capacity to fawn, especially with people he considers friends. He continues to try and smooth things over with Monty well into the evening.

Until Monty was revealed to be a crow, Edwin was still working on smoothing things over. Edwin tried to reassure him they were friends, even if his feelings were for Charles. He did seem a bit (or a lot) disappointed by being misled about the whole witch-familiar thing.

The Cat King:

I don’t think we talk nearly enough about this moment :

Their bond is a bracelet. Ultimately, Edwin probably would have left TCK behind in the cannery if not for the caging spell. Some often forget Edwin would not have entertained all of the harassment, taunting, and interruptions to his casework if he hadn’t been trapped in a caging spell- a spell which trapped him in Port Townsend, allowed him to be located by The Lost and Found Department, and ultimately led to him being sent back to Hell. As an aside, that trip back to Hell was the only reason the bracelet fell off- it was never removed intentionally. The Cat King even had his own final cat count wrong- whether by accident or on purpose is debatable (however, TCK did threaten to “stop playing nice” in this forest scene, so it is debatable if he ever would have given Edwin a clear answer).

Charles (again):

When Edwin realizes his feelings for Charles, he attempts a confession before he is sent to Hell- but is sadly interrupted by the giant spider made of babydoll heads. His second attempt on the stairway is much clearer.

Edwin makes it abundantly clear that his feelings for Charles are romantic- and he needs him to know, for better or worse. It's brave to lay a heart bare like that (and admittedly, Charles does his best to meet him where he can, while they are being chased by an eldritch horror).

In short, Edwin is someone who actually knows how he feels about the people in his life and articulates that more clearly than many give him credit for.

[kjiscrawlingbackformore]

Peace - Act III : Chapter two

Lottie Matthews x fem!reader

Masterlist | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Summary: Reader comes back to her hometown and transfers to Wiskayok High School after getting expelled from her previous high school. Follows Junior year into Senior year, all the way up to the crash. (Eventual NSFW mdni)

Warnings: None

Two weeks into summer, and another party had thinned into that soft, aimless summer lull, the one where the music’s low and fizzy from the radio, someone’s trying to balance a spoon on their nose in the kitchen, and time doesn’t move in minutes but in glances. Lottie stepped out onto the porch with a half-empty can of Sprite, the screen door squeaking shut behind her.

You were already there, curled in one of the old white wicker chairs with your knees tucked up to your chest, hoodie sleeves covering your hands. Your camera rested on the ground beside you, lens cap on, like it had been forgotten mid-thought. The porch light was off, and the moon did most of the work now, brushing silver into the soft dark.

“You good?” Lottie asked, taking the chair next to yours.

You shrugged, but not in the defensive way you used to. More like a hum. “Better than I was a few weeks ago.”

“That’s a low bar,” Lottie offered, half-joking.

You smiled at that. Real, small. “Yeah, but I’ll take it.”

The air between them held something tentative, not quite fragile, but still rebuilding. Lottie let the silence stretch a little, let it find its own shape before saying, “The project came out good.”

You couldn’t help but resist the chuckle that wanted to come out. It felt like all the neutral ground you both had to talk about was that damn French project. You nodded. “I liked writing it. Weirdly.”

“I liked doing it with you.” Lottie blinked down at her soda. “I mean. That sounds-”

Your eyes snapped to hers in a quickness of surprise. Surprise, she willingly said it. You looked over at her, expression unreadable. “No. I know what you mean.”

You sat with that for a moment. Inside, Van laughed too loud at something Mari said, and Tai told them both to “be normal for five seconds.” Lottie could picture the kitchen lit too bright, someone dancing barefoot on the tile. Out here felt like a different world.

“I missed this,” Lottie said quietly. “Us. Being okay.”

Your eyes didn’t leave the moon. “Me too.”

The words didn’t fix anything. But they softened something, just enough. Lottie reached over without thinking and hooked her pinky lightly onto yours. You fought the smile tugging on your lips at her touch. You flipped your hand over and Lottie without hesitation interlocked her hand with yours.

A simple gesture, nearly invisible. Yet she did it with confidence. Not like the last time. And you didn’t pull away.

And the next day, and the day after that, you hadn’t stopped thinking about that moment at Lottie’s house. You were glad she made the bold move again. It all felt safe with her. You felt like you when you were with her.

It was a fluttery kind of revelation.

The quiet wrapped back around them like a shared blanket, and for a moment, everything was still. Not healed. Not whole. But still.

Summer was uneventful.

Shauna somehow made her way to your house more times than anyone has before. (Three times but still…insane to say the least) And you made your way to Shauna’s like you were a Shipman yourself. And even in the moments of mundane times with Shauna and Van. There seemed to always be a party Mari knew of, a party that Van would drag you to. Same parties you were avoiding Jackie’s wandering eye sight, or Jeff’s exaggerated stories of conquests. Or for some reason a hangout that centered at the Matthew’s estate.

There you found yourself again, after a movie, the snacks, and after Van’s giggly half-snores from the living room, and Laura Lee tangled in a pile of pillows, one sock off. The air had cooled just enough to bring goosebumps to skin, the heat of the day burned off by a lazy breeze. Lottie stepped outside with you again, wordlessly, like it had been understood between them. This was your meetup spot at the end of every hangout at Lottie’s. A new thing between you both.

The porch creaked under their weight as they sat, not in their usual spots, but closer now, hip to hip on the wooden steps, knees brushing. You had borrowed a flannel that didn’t belong to you. Lottie’s probably. It smelled like her shampoo. The sleeves hung long past your wrists, and your hair was still a little damp from when Van dumped water on everyone during that impromptu backyard sprinkler chase.

It felt like the tail end of a movie. The quiet kind. The good kind.

For a while, you didn’t speak. Just listened to the cicadas, the wind pushing through the tall grass behind the fence, the distant hum of a highway that always sounded lonelier at night. You had spent this summer so far alone at your home. Your aunt has been “Staying with a friend” for weeks now. You were thankful for your weekly allowance from your grandparents, you were literally living off that thing.

Still, the loneliness you felt was so big that you were drowning in it. No amount of sleepovers at Shauna’s or parties with Van could erase it. You felt irrelevant to everything. And when your family, hell, even your person, barely acknowledges you. You couldn’t help but latch onto the truth in the idea.

Then you said it softly, like it had been waiting inside you all day, because it had. “Sometimes I think if I disappeared tomorrow, no one would even notice.”

Lottie didn’t flinch. She didn’t try to fix it. Just leaned a little closer, knees pressed fully now. “I would.”

You looked at her. Eyes tired. Guarded. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Lottie tugged the sleeves of her hoodie over her hands, mirroring yours. “I think about that stuff too. Disappearing. Not really being in the places I’m supposed to be. It’s like—I go through the motions and people smile and laugh and still I feel… outside of it. Like I’m haunting my own life.”

You let out a breath, somewhere between a laugh and a sigh. “Exactly.”

The porch light above them flickered once and then steadied. Inside, no one stirred. The night was just for them. Then, within the silence, Lottie tilted her head, resting it lightly against your shoulder. “I don’t know where I belong either. But when we’re like this… it’s good. I feel good.”

You held your breath, you didn’t answer, but you didn’t move either. Someone was blowing air into a balloon in your chest. This weird expanding sensation made it hard to breathe. Yet made you desperate for air.

You sat still, not wanting to move an inch in the wrong direction that causes Lottie to move. Breathing the same small space, until Lottie turned, slow, unsure, and you turned with her, like a tide.

The kiss came quiet. No foreplay. No fumbling. Just breath and lips and the faintest tremble of hands, not quite knowing where to go. It was nothing like the kiss with Jackie. It was everything unlike pretending.

When you pulled apart, you didn’t say anything. Eyes wide, eyes studying Lottie. Waiting for the excuse, the apology, the pull away. It never came. Lottie stared back, like she was waiting too. You just stayed like that, foreheads almost touching, the summer air settling heavy around you both.

You couldn’t even help it. When you kissed her again. And when she kissed you back with all the confidence and firmness. You felt something break within you. Like the sea you were drowning in was letting up. Somewhere in the distance, a dog barked, and the night kept moving. But on that porch, time held its breath.

Summer was uneventful until it wasn’t.