#dip plays pixel cat's end

[a-little-monotonous]

noodlesss

[radwolf76]

WH40K Homebrew Space Marine Chapter: Stormwolves — January 2025 Update

Over the weekend, I got it in my head that while the fluff for my Homebrew Space Marine Chapter says they have Geneseed sourced from both Space Wolves and Blood Angels, I've never really explored the implications of the latter, aside from giving some of my Bloodstorm units a lot of Inferno Pistols.

That meant it was time for me to make another Armylist, this one using Blood Angels' Liberation Task Force Detachment as my homebrew's "Counts As" rules. So no double dipping with Both Infiltrators and Deathwatch Spectrus Kill Teams to max out on six Helix Adepts (pictured above) in one army.

But not having any Deathwatch units meant I could take Scouts, which can be given a Melee loadout that suits the Blood Angels. It also meant that I could do up my chapter's own take on how to deal with the Blood Angels' Black Rage. I also came up with an elegant way of handling my "Single Lightning Claw" Marines: for each army list, I decide how I want Single Lightning Claws to count as for rules purposes, and just stay consistent with that for all units across an individual armylist — in this list, they're just fancy Power Fists, and there's about a dozen of them.

(Yes, that "Death Company" Marine on the left is so goth he shits bats.)

Of course, I couldn't help myself from dipping into the Legends units to add things like a Scout Bike Unit, and also bring back using the Hunter variant Whirlwind rules to represent the old-school Scratch Build Whirlwind that I've got half finished. This gave me the excuse to make even more new art that goes beyond what the Chapter Generator program does natively.

(I also ended up settling on which of the two Variants of my Agents of the Imperium Armylist I wanted to use — the Codex Detachment just seemed a better fit than the Grotmas one for what I wanted to do with that list, so I shuffled the Grotmas list to it's own tab in my Google Doc.)

But after doing all that, I ended up going ham on making more art for my Stormwolves, coming up with example images for lots more of the units in the various Armylists.

Not just pixel art either, but also some digital kitbashing I've done with various downloaded online assets.

In particular, I'm very happy of what I've put together for the Company Ancient (bannerholder) from the Command Squad I'm using to represent some of my experimented-on Bloodstorm Marines. I've always felt that banner poles inject too much fantasy into a SciFi setting, so I excuse it by having it be a big aerial for Satellite Communications, that just happens to have some cloth hanging off of it. And yes, this is a female marine, and is essentially just a headswap of one I previously posted in my "Codex" but with some extra bitz on the backpack. To further differentiate the two, I gave the other one a shoulder cat.

And of course I have some 3D Models that are just straight downloads of other peoples work, with no digital kitbashing applied, but they make for good unit illustrations all the same.

As always, the images here are just a fraction of the illustration I've done for my Stormwolves Homebrew Chapter, and you can find all the Lore, Armylist notes, and the rest of my pixel art and 3D renders in my Google Docs "Codex":

After this, I'm really going to try to wait this time until the 10E Imperial Guard Codex drops before making any new sample armylists. I may do new art, especially fleshing out the allied Rogue Trader Fleet Void Troopers using Hero Forge, as I experiment with that platform's digital kitbashing and they add new assets to play with:

[haikyuu-boys-headcanons]

𝙷𝙰𝙸𝙺𝚈𝚄𝚄 𝙱𝙾𝚈𝚂 𝙰𝙽𝙳 𝙷𝙾𝚆 𝚃𝙷𝙴𝚈 𝙿𝙻𝙰𝚈 𝚂𝙸𝙼𝚂;

quick note;

hi hi hi!! it’s been a while guys! posting some drafts i wrote when i was taking a break <3 this is just how the boys play sims :)

𝙳𝙰𝙸𝙲𝙷𝙸 » plays very... responsibility?? no cheats, (he has no idea how to use them) literally gives them no time for hobbies, he’s focused on their needs to even consider hobbies + he stresses about the bills 

𝚂𝚄𝙶𝙰𝚆𝙰𝚁𝙰 » spends plenty of time downloading cc and customizing his sims to perfection. even spends hours on end just creating perfect little houses. goes through the 5 stages of grief after one of his sims die

𝙰𝚂𝙰𝙷𝙸 » two words; pure panic. he has so many needs to look after! and has anyone fed the dog?? and has anyone paid the bills for the water?? why is there suddenly a fire every two seconds?!?! deletes the game after an hour of pure stress

𝚃𝙰𝙽𝙰𝙺𝙰 » downloads whicked-whims out of curiosity. regrets it almost immediately, so he tried to take it out of his game and somehow, he took out the wrong files and now all of his sims only have one leg and green skin

𝙽𝙸𝚂𝙷𝙸𝙽𝙾𝚈𝙰 » pulls the tiddy bar in CAS all the way up and you can’t convince me otherwise. besides making super hot girls in CAS, noya just fucks around with all the weird debugs and settings + desperately tries to look under the blankets during woohoo 

𝙺𝙰𝙶𝙴𝚈𝙰𝙼𝙰 » gets so unbelievably frustrated at his sims, to the point where he just starts yelling at them. “didn’t i just feed you, tanisha? don’t be greedy, YOU GET WHAT YOUR GIVEN!” in some ways, i feel so sorry for his sims 

𝙷𝙸𝙽𝙰𝚃𝙰 » surprisingly, very invested in the game! he’s become a master of all cheats and truly enjoys the mechanical aspect of the game. he even has all the expansion packs and everything!

𝚃𝚂𝚄𝙺𝙸𝚂𝙷𝙸𝙼𝙰 » despises the game. he thinks it’s some sort of sadistic fuel for people with god complexes. refuses to play until you mention you can drown people in the game. who’s the real sadist here, kei?

𝚈𝙰𝙼𝙰𝙶𝚄𝙲𝙷𝙸 » downloads so many mods and cc until his laptop is literally about to explode. likes to explore the hidden secrets of the game (plant-sims, rabbit holes, ect...) 

𝙾𝙸𝙺𝙰𝚆𝙰 » makes a mini-sim version of himself and uses cheats throughout the entire game. no one is going to ruin a mini pixel fantasy of himself, not even the cheap ass grill that manages to set everyone on fire every two seconds

𝙸𝚆𝙰𝚉𝚄𝙼𝙸 » religiously does not believe in cheats. he would casually brag to everyone that he managed to finish 3 aspirations on one sim with no cheats but disregards the fact that all his sims are broke and starving 90% of the time

𝙼𝙰𝚃𝚃𝚂𝚄𝙽 » non-committal to all of his households. starts a new one every hour and gets bored of it within the first 5 minutes. he lowkey feels bad for the sims that he’s abandoned and checks up on them once in a while so he won’t feel guilty for leaving them

𝙷𝙰𝙽𝙰𝙼𝙰𝙺𝙸 »  “so... how do you win?” “you can’t really win, it’s a-” “then WHY ARE WE PLAYING??” the whole concept confuses him, he just ends up speeding up time the entire game until suddenly all his sims are dead. he has the audacity to be shocked 

𝙺𝚄𝙽𝙸𝙼𝙸 » the type to get the “cats & dogs” pack and only focus on the animal. like he’ll forget to feed his sim but gets a panic attack every time he can’t find his cat

𝙺𝚈𝙾𝚃𝙰𝙽𝙸 » no.

𝙺𝚄𝚁𝙾𝙾 » success is his main priority in this game. he’ll make his sims as rich as possible and even make his sims work endless hours using the “no sleep” mod! also won’t let them take showers or eat until their work is done! it’s a little worrying!!

𝙺𝙴𝙽𝙼𝙰 » tries to finish the 100 baby challenge like 10 times but always fails miserably. even uses cheats and still manages to fuck up?? calls the game a waste of money on reddit and starts a hate page

𝙻𝙴𝚅 » tries to always create the most picture-perfect white-picket fence family but something always manages to get in the way. whether it be an unaccounted grill fire or the baby getting taken away, he always ends up on the verge of crying and starting a new save

𝙱𝙾𝙺𝚄𝚃𝙾 » always wants the biggest and most expansive family there is. would get mccommand center just so he could fit his family of 47 into one 20 x 20 lot. not to mention, he always has like 8 other apps running in the background so unsurprisingly, he has alot of random burns from his explosive laptop 

𝙰𝙺𝙰𝙰𝚂𝙷𝙸 » the most perfect way you could play the sims, probably the way the creators intended. goes from rags to riches using no cheats, no sudden deaths and no negative moodlets. hmm... a little too perfectly played, wouldn’t you say?

𝙺𝙾𝙽𝙾𝙷𝙰 » refuses to play because of the conspiracies he read about on reddit. he genuinely thinks the sims is just a warning from the government that we’re all in a simulation and that there’s reptiles controlling all of us until we all jus- you know what, no more reddit for you konaha

𝚄𝚂𝙷𝙸𝙹𝙸𝙼𝙰 » total dumbass. wouldn’t be surprised if all of his sims just died as soon as he loaded up the game. wouldn’t even bother with cc or cas, he would just play either with the premade sims or just randomize everything.

𝚃𝙴𝙽𝙳𝙾𝚄 » utter chaos. primarily drug mods, constantly developing and making bank from his drug businesses. would have half his sims take an entire bottle of MDMA and then wonder why they died?? like yes tendou, sims (just like you!) can overdose!! shocker, isn’t it? 

𝚂𝙴𝙼𝙸 »  strives on his house-building and designing skills. like this mf can speed-build mansions but he can’t figure out how to download cc. doesn’t even actually play the sims, just designs houses and then dips

𝙶𝙾𝚂𝙷𝙸𝙺𝙸 » very attentive to their needs bar. like the second his sim’s bladder bar goes down, he’s rage-clicking on the toilet + “hurry sylvia, piss! i don’t want a repeat of last time!!”

𝚃𝙴𝚁𝚄𝚂𝙷𝙸𝙼𝙰 » downloads the hoe-it up mod as a joke and then continues to become very invested in his strips clubs! the downtown fountain club isn’t doing too well? it’s okay, he’ll just make jessica do 30 lap dances until she gets her 1 minute break to eat, piss, shower and sleep!

𝚂𝙰𝙺𝚄𝚂𝙰 » takes the game a little uh... too seriously? will literally get out pen and paper to calculate his expenses, taxes and his water bill. + “no margret, you can’t shower today because then we won’t have enough money to pay the electric bill” poor margret.

𝙾𝚂𝙰𝙼𝚄 » finds out what cc is, spends 3 days just downloading cc and then continues to play non-stop for a whole week. then, he won’t touch the game for another 6 months until he remembers about it again. rise and repeat, like a true simmer

𝙰𝚂𝚃𝚄𝙼𝚄 » loves making drama! he’ll create marriages just to destroy them, make all the spouses cheat on each other and then kidnap their children for ransom until the parents go crazy and kill themselves. a true menace to society

𝚂𝚄𝙽𝙰 » would burn down his house making grilled cheese and would never play again

[robron1609]

Remembering Robron 2020

Day 2 - Friendship

Prompt: "You took all the pillows, so I'm using you as one."

AO3 Link:

Pillows

Robert guarded the mountain of creased, misshapen pillows at the foot of his bed, a smirk spreading across his face. Aaron sat across from him, leaning on the headrest with his knees drawn up to his chest as he held his chin up high. His feet relentlessly prodded Robert in the back of the kneecap, much to no gain.

“Seriously?” Aaron sulked, regaining his lost breath.

Robert leant backwards, letting the pile of pillows consume him to rub it in his best friend’s face. His lanky, overly smug frame was stretched to its limit, sprawled out across the feather-soft barrier of pillows and blocking Aaron’s access to each and every single one of them.

Robert sniggered, “Just because you’re weak, mate.”

“You have five hundred pillows and won’t even give me one?”

Robert craned his neck, peering around the mess on his bedroom floor. He shifted his weight to reach for a rather large plush toy cat with a pink bowtie that Victoria had left discarded in his room the night before. He lobbed it at Aaron who caught it with a scowl.

“There you go.”

“Cheers.” Aaron replied, shooting Robert a melodramatic smile that spewed sarcasm.

Aaron flung the fuzzy cat up in the air before booting it across the bedroom, watching as it slammed into the bedroom door with such momentum that the power of it brushed the sticker-littered door shut.

“Nice one.” Robert remarked, his eyes closed as he rested his hands on his stomach. Aaron’s gaze had naturally landed on the rise and fall that came from Robert’s steady breathing before drifting up to his light pink lips that twitched a little when he was really relaxed; but it went a miss by both lads.

Aaron sighed before getting up to route through Robert’s desk for the television remote. The only noise in the meantime was the rhythmic ticking of the slanted clock on the wall. It was framed by a few pieces of homework and revision that Robert’s dorky brain had deemed important enough to pin up on the wall for the duration of Year 11.

The noise of the second hand then faded away, replaced with the distant nattering of Jack and Andy’s voices coming from somewhere downstairs, bouncing off the stone walls at an irritating volume. They sounded joyous, laughter trickling into their conversation and all it did was wind Aaron up, reminding him of Robert’s countless rants on the way home from school each afternoon. He would go on and on about how his dad and brother grew closer each day, pushing Robert further and further into that blind spot. Each bluster would always finish in tears that flowed freely by the time they ended up at Robert’s front porch.

Letting it go, Aaron finally ended up with the TV remote in his hand. He pointed it at the TV but got nothing in return. Scoffing, he peeled the back off, only to be greeted by a blank, empty space where the batteries should be. He chucked the control on the bed with a frustrated puff of his cheeks.

“Andy stole ‘em.” Robert simply said. Aaron just rolled his eyes because what else would he do?

As the sun set, Aaron successfully hunted down a pack of double A’s and the two friends shared a greasy, takeaway pizza under the glow of Robert’s lava lamp with reruns of Top Gear playing on the 24 inch television screen. The window rattled and howled and there was a chill in the bedroom as powerful gusts of winds squeezed through the cracks in the windowpane, jumping at each boom and clash of thunder. If Robert listened really carefully, he could hear the familiar sound of the loose TV aerial flapping against the chimney. It was a miracle that they were seeing any pixels at all as the sound kept dipping and cutting off. But neither Robert or Aaron cared, they were just grateful to be in each other’s company.

They were both stuck in the exact same positions as earlier, Robert submerged in his pretentious amount of pillows and Aaron at the other end of the bed, wrapped tightly in Robert’s duvet. As he wiped his lips with the sleeve of his school jumper, Aaron tossed the now empty pizza box aside. High pitch but almost inaudible whistle sounds came from Robert’s nostrils with each slow breath he emitted and Aaron stopped blinking, fighting away a smile. He shuffled around, dragging his duvet cape with him as he rested his head on Robert’s belly. He let out a content sigh.

“What are you doing?” Came Robert’s anxious voice.

“You took all the pillows, so I’m using you as one.”

Aaron’s victory was small. It meant nothing, it was just Aaron being his cheeky self. But the trail of sweat clinging to Robert’s back disagreed. He had gone from warm to hot and didn’t know what to do with himself. He wanted to jump up and shake away that feeling of the back of Aaron’s head pressing on his tingling stomach, the hair at the nape of Aaron’s neck tickling his belly button. Robert’s weary eyes flickered to the clock. It was nearly nine thirty.

“You should probably get home.” Robert said, sitting up so that Aaron had no choice but to shift with a groan.

Aaron frowned, “I thought I was sleeping round tonight?”

“I just remembered I’m needed on the farm in the morning.” Robert muttered. “You’ll probably deck me if I wake ya up at the crack of dawn.”

Robert couldn’t tell if his lies were absorbent enough for Aaron to soak up but either way there was a glint of dread in Aaron’s eyes that shattered his heart into lots of little pieces. He cleared his throat before handing Aaron his tattered school bag, eyes going blurry as he focused on the large coca-cola stain at the bottom of it.

“Sorry.”

Aaron just grabbed his blazer, swinging it over his shoulder as he scuffed his shoes across the hardwood floors. Once Robert had glimpsed out the window to see Aaron trudging down the driveway past the puddles that were reflecting the orange glow of the outside light bulbs, Robert slumped miserably against the back of his bedroom door and let the floodgates open, tears rolling down his pink cheeks one by one.

The following Monday came around quicker than the flick of a cat’s tail and Robert stood in their usual afterschool spot, shivering from the cold as he waited for Aaron to turn up. He leant against the rotting fence, grimacing at the streaks of moss and grime whilst watching the caretaker tirelessly shovel piles of grit onto the icy road.

Him and Aaron had a routine. The same routine they’d been doing together since that fateful day they became friends nearly two years ago. They would meet by salt bins at the top of the school field, start the treacherous path to the bus stop, hop on the bus to Emmerdale and listen to the same songs on Robert’s MP3 player that he’d bought with months worth of pocket money, chatter on their way up to Butler’s Farm and spend the evening playing monopoly or scrabble in front of the log burner as they toasted marshmallows. Most nights they would pair up to scramble something together in the kitchen whilst Jack and Andy grafted on the farm all night. But on Friday’s, they would both chip in to order a takeaway, whether that be pizza or curry. Never fish and chips though, Aaron was oddly persistent about that. They’d eat, they’d laugh and then if he wasn’t staying over Aaron would begrudgingly get the last bus home.

Robert couldn’t imagine his life without Aaron. Now now, not ever. Whatever he dreamed of, whatever he envisioned for his future; Aaron was always there. It all started on Aaron’s 14th birthday a couple of years ago, also known as the first day that a broken Robert had to go back to school without his mum there to fasten his tie and make his packed lunch in the morning. That whole day had been a blur and every inch of his body felt numb. He’d walked around with the kind of pain he would never wish on his worst enemy. That was until the last lesson of the day - Physics. This mouthy chav with weird spikey hair slouched on the chair next to him, wearing a giant ‘14’ badge and chewing way too much gum. He had somehow stayed in Robert’s life, and heart, from that day on.

Today, however, it was getting dark and Aaron was still nowhere to be seen. So for the first time in two years, Robert stepped on the empty bus back to Emmerdale by himself.

When he arrived home, he creaked the door open and flicked his bedroom light on, shuddering at the silence. He dumped his bag and let out a wivering sigh as he sat on the edge of his bed to pull his shoes off, letting them tumble carelessly to the floor. He sniffed, swallowing the scared, cowardly lump at the back of his throat. His watery eyes landed on the small collection of framed pictures on his dusty windowsill; one of his mum sporting an infectious smile a few months before she’d died, and one of himself, Aaron and Liv. He’d only met Aaron’s little sister and step mum once - the day they’d posed for that photo together. He hadn’t stayed for long, Aaron had been on edge the whole time, sending Robert away before his dad had even returned home from work. Aaron never speaks of the day he let Robert come round.

The display on Robert’s nokia came to life and Aaron’s name flickered on the screen. Robert answered it as quickly as humanly possible.

“Aaron? Where were you after school?”

”Can I come over?”

“Of course.”

The only response was a bleep at the other end of the line so Robert stayed put. And waited. And waited some more. Until an hour or so later when Aaron snuck into Robert’s bedroom, snowflakes melting away on his coat. Robert gasped slightly, eyebrows pressed together in a frown as he told Aaron to put his sopping wet jacket on the radiator and chucked him a chunky woolen blanket.

Aaron cosied up in Robert’s desk chair, picking away at the peeling leather on the side. He chewed nervously at the inside of his cheeks, gazing up at Robert through his eyelashes.

“Why did you suddenly get rid of me on Friday? And don’t lie to me again.”

“I- I told you.” Robert stammered, after a moment of uncomfortable silence that ran Aaron’s patience thin. “I was busy.”

“And I told you I don’t believe you.” Aaron retorted.

It wasn’t a complete fib. Robert had been busy, just not on the farm like he’d claimed. He’d spent that entire morning feeling sorry for himself, laying in bed as he stared vacantly at the cracks and tears on his bedroom ceiling with a stinging heart. Aaron’s name had illuminated Robert’s phone screen for hours, staring him in the face. It nudged him until the battery fell flat and Robert sulked over not having the bottle to press the green button. Instead of nicking the charger from Andy’s room, Robert threw his phone in the wicker shoe basket next to his wardrobe and buried his hand in the sand. Well, his pillow.

Robert wasn’t stupid. He knew that as much as he wanted it to, this... crush he had on his best friend wasn’t going away. It began as a flutter in the bottom of his stomach when Aaron did as much as give him the time of day. And as their friendship grew stronger, that little butterfly that Robert had gotten used to reproduced. It multiplied until a flock of them took over Robert’s body in a matter of months and it was powerful.

Aaron wasn’t stupid either. He’d noticed the not-so-subtle shift in their dynamic. At some point in the past couple of months, when they came back to the farm after school, the scratchy living room carpet they sat cross legged on had changed to the lumps and bumps of Robert’s spring mattress that had seen better days, the awkward silence had changed to a lack of boundaries, the playful slaps and punches had changed to hugs that lasted for just a little too long and the one versus one football matches in the park had changed to stingy little dinner dates that they both turned up to looking their best.

The squeaking of the wheels from his desk chair brought Robert back into the room and he looked up to find Aaron spinning in circles on the chair, like what Vic does when she’s waiting for her big brother to get off his arse and play Vets with her.

Robert perched at the edge of his bed, drumming on his knees.

Aaron spoke tentatively, “What is it, really? I can take it.”

Robert stuck his leg out, hooking the bottom of Aaron’s chair with his foot. It stopped spinning abruptly and Aaron then realised just how serious Robert’s tensed features were.

“Do you remember last summer when you caught me kissing that boy in one of the barns?” Robert asked, a little clumsily as he raced through his words.

“Yeah, the farmhand. We never spoke about that.”

“We didn’t need to.” Robert exhaled shakily. “Anyway, things went a little further. We ended up in here.”

Aaron felt a wave of jealousy splash over his feet which he tried his utmost hardest to ignore. “Okay. And then what happened?”

“My dad caught us before anything could happen. He sacked him on the spot and then he- he beat me black and blue, basically. He started proper shouting, kept saying how no son of his would ever-” The strain in Robert’s throat caught up with him and he couldn’t breath, scraping for air as his tears burned and hushed him. He felt Aaron’s hands on his trembling back, pulling him close enough to feel Aaron’s chest heaving in sync against his. It calmed him like a lullaby.

Robert could still feel the bruises from Jack's disgust that marked him for days. They’d followed him the next morning when he hobbled over to the church, sobbing and desperate to talk to his mum again. Just to feel her arms around him one last time, listen to her calming voice tell him that he was loved for who he was.

“Listen to me.” Aaron put his palms either side of Robert’s face, tilting the blond’s heavy head up to meet his eyes. “Whoever you like, whatever you like, it doesn’t matter. Okay? You’re still so amazing and Jack is mad for not seeing that.”

“Do you really mean that?” Robert asked through a sniffle.

“Of course.” Aaron smiled, rubbing Robert’s back to sooth him.

Robert dabbed at his tears with a balled up fist under his sleeve, counting softly and silently to try and calm his uneven breathing. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Aaron lunged forward to give Robert a tight hug. He nestled his head in the crook of Robert’s neck and Robert let one last tear fall, melting in Aaron’s uplifting embrace. With Robert’s nose snug against Aaron’s shoulder, he inhaled the warming scent of his best friend and the corner of his lips curled up. It was like he got high off Aaron’s smell and often used, no, needed it as relief when his head was mashed. Except this time, he couldn’t seem to get enough and when Aaron let him go he delved in, eyes squeezed shut, and planted his lips on Aaron’s. But before he even knew what he was doing, he felt Aaron’s palms press firmly on his chest, pushing him away.

“What are you doing?” Aaron gulped, a flash of panic flying across his face. He backed away from Robert like a threatened animal at the zoo.

Robert’s stare flicked repeatedly between Aaron’s slightly parted lips and his hand that hovered over the door handle ready to flee if need be. Except Aaron wasn’t leaving. He’d froze on the spot, chin trembling as his eyes glued themselves to Robert’s. It was like he wanted to tear them away with every fibre of his being but something was stopping him.

Robert shrugged, “I- I’m sorry.”

And he honestly didn’t know what was running through Aaron’s mind. Perhaps it was a reflection of his own memories. Vivid images of Aaron clicking his pen on the desk at school, head resting on the palm of his hand as waited for the bell to ring. When he thought Robert was solely focused on jotting down notes, Aaron would often let his eyes avert to the odd boy who had been taking up his daydreams that week. Wistfully gazing into the back of some boy’s head until he snapped his attention away and frantically scribbled in his text book, acting like all those thoughts and labels whirling around his mind from day to day weren’t important.

Robert had picked up on it and it kept him awake at night.

It had landed them both to this moment right now.

“Robert?” Aaron’s voice was timid.

“Mm?”

Aaron reached to put his arms around Robert’s neck, gently pulling him closer until their lips met again. Robert relaxed and kissed him back in a heartbeat.

 

8 Years Later

Aaron dangled the key to his and Robert’s new home off the tip of his finger. Their first home. He was standing in the centre of the unfurnished flat, Robert’s arm draped over his shoulder as he beamed at his fiancé.

“It’s going to take a lot of work but-”

Aaron cut Robert off, “It doesn’t matter, it’s already perfect.”

“Soft lad.” Robert noted.

“Oi!" Aaron jabbed Robert in the stomach. "There’s only one soft lad around here and it’s not me.”

Robert gave a light laugh before worming his hand around the back of Aaron’s neck and smiling into a kiss.

Years ago, as the last year of school had drawn to a close, the two of them had gone their separate ways. When their little bubble of secrecy burst and the honeymoon period came to an abrupt end, Robert fell to the black sheep of his family. With a long summer ahead, the feuding became tiresome and eventually drove him out of the village as autumn loomed. Aaron woke up one morning and Robert just wasn’t there. No note, no goodbye, nothing. Just a cold pillow and a long continuous beep when his number was dialled.

Aaron had never needed him more when things at home spiraled into dark, nasty and uncharted places and he felt constantly bruised and suffocated under the monstrous hands of the one person who was supposed to love him and keep him safe. With the help of Sandra and his mum, he’d successfully fought tooth and nail to put his so called father behind bars and leave him to rot all the way to hell.

Him and his mum's relationship had had a bumpy start but that can be expected when coming face to face for the first time in over a decade in a courtroom of all places. Hardly ideal. However, Chas battled seamlessly to prove herself and now they had got back the bond Aaron had dreamed of having since the day she upped and left. Aaron had got his life back. Even if it was incomplete until Robert had returned.

And as for Robert… well, that's a story for another day. For now, it remains one of those questions that lives on unanswered.

"So, pub or takeaway? Unless you want to cook." Robert asked, snagging Aaron's train of thought.

Aaron snorted, "And wake up on moving day with food poisoning? Nah, you're alright."

"Fair enough. Pizza it is." Robert patted himself down in search of his phone and pulled it out, his back scraping down the wall until he landed on the floor with a thud.

Aaron slid his hands in his pockets and parroted Robert, legs stuck out in front of him as he sat.

"We should've brought a cushion or something." Robert pointed out.

Aaron looked at Robert like he had hung the moon. "Don't need a pillow, I've got you for that."

As Aaron curled up and snuggled his head between Robert's stomach and lap, Robert wondered how his heart hadn't swelled up so much that it burst through the defences of his ribcage and flustered skin. Robert truly counted his luck stars because if he ever lost Aaron, he would lose his heart as well. But they were a long way from that. In this moment, his hand covered Aaron's and their engagement rings clinked together in sweet harmony.

[inkfingerprints]

Space

Read the original on StayingHome - a site for creative responses to lockdown.

I never knew how to explain to people

That at fourteen my greatest fear was that the world outside wasn’t real.

That windows lied to me.

That with a background of the TV’s droning I became convinced the rest of the world had ceased to exist.

That the spiked heads of trees and lazy clouds split between each plastic pane were as fake as the pixels on my phone screen.

That my dad, getting ready to roar at the football, that my mum, getting ready to dip a toe into a steaming bath, that I, highlighter poised getting ready to revise, were the world’s only centre of gravity. Sole inhabitants of a planet that started and ended with the ivy fronds that hugged the house. My house, with its cracked plaster and creaking floorboards, simply floating on its foundations.

Beyond the old aching walls nothing but

Total

Utter

Complete

Empty

Blackness. Maybe a flickering star or two, if you squinted. A planet, looming, too distant to be noticed, our one and only neighbour.

I couldn’t describe the rising, heart-thudding, breath-stealing panic that led me stumbling towards the window to wrench the handle and double check the street and sky were still there.

So when they asked me my biggest fear, I mostly just said spiders.

-

Once, after five double rum and cokes, I attempted to tell a blind date. He blinked and laughed and said “Steady on, Black Mirror. I’d quite like to sleep tonight.”

I tried a second time, a Saturday afternoon: “Mum.” A towel corner tucked in her armpit, hair askew and dripping. “Mum.”

“Mm?” Half-listening.

“Do you ever think… do you ever feel like the outside is fake? Like views are a sticker you could peel away?”

For that I got a pat on the head and a chuckle. “Always had an overactive imagination, haven’t you, love.”

–

It’s happening again. Of course. That’s what this is – one last attempt. I’d have started with the dictionary definition of the phobia but I’ve Googled and never found it.

It makes sense. My teenage years were a kind of semi-voluntary quarantine. Isolation imposed by few friends and anxiety and a love of reading.

Week three of lockdown I rush to my window, throat constricted.

A ginger cat pads over to a strip of sunlight on the tarmac of my driveway, close to the curb. Green eyes like marbles. Licks its paw then curls into itself, getting ready to sleep in the afternoon heat.

I take two deep breaths of that definitely-real air. In, out. Sit back down. I’m more quickly and easily convinced that my mind’s playing tricks on me now.

Amongst the birdsong there’s the clang of wooden spoons against saucepans.

The news tells me there are rainbows Blu-tacked to windows. My mum tells me there are grandsons living with grannies, slow-dancing round their living rooms. My phone tells me baths are becoming botched hair salons and punters are cheers-ing to online pub quizzes. My friends tell me in a few months’ time we’ll meet and lick mint-choc-chip ice cream and dip our toes in busy lakes and lie back on sun-soaked blankets.

And I’m forced to admit:

My imagination is good, yes.

But not that good.

[noxus-the-venomous-blog]

Part 1 Toxic tranquility

“Alright I'm checking the hallway,” Frank said dishonestly into the walkie talkie hanging from his shoulders........

He instead adjusted his position on his chair, fulfilling only the spirit of his duty by glancing at the security monitors in front of him. Nothing as always. “Looking all clear from my end.”

His earpiece mumbled acceptance, then asked for more in depth clarification.

Frank briefly sighed in annoyance. “Yeah I went out into the hall but I haven't been to the lobby. I’m on my way.” He slowly stood with a grunt and exited the small security room. He chuckled to himself and spoke into the receiver, “hey maybe Bob’s back and messing with the security system… You don't know Bob? Also remember to say over, I have to hit a button on my end how do you not know that?”

He switched a few lights on and proceeded down the hallway slowly, glancing into each room, his  footsteps echoing a hollow sound across the narrow corridor. Offices, laboratories, storerooms, nothing out of the ordinary that he could see.

“Ok so full story, Bob was a techie who fixed computers around here. You have to have seen him, mousy little dude tiptoeing to servers and scribbling in a notepad. So like last week the big bosses from the science department come in and start making cuts in IT and this dude was on the list. But when it happened he didn't take it well. He started crying… Yeah really crying. Saying he won't leave, bringing up his kids… Three I think.”

Frank reached the lobby, a dim and soulless room. He took a seat at the receptionist desk and began booting up the computer.

He continued to elaborate on his story while waiting for the dated grey relic of a computer to load.“When he was walking out we all just stared. If this was grade school we would have laughed and threw paper balls, but no one flinched. In that moment we all felt his pain. I'm no wuss but I don't think I would have handled it better in his shoes. He trudged into the elevator and no one saw him again.”

Frank finally was able to check the cameras, each small was screen empty and unchanged.

“Nope no Bob…” He raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean did you not get any part of the story? The guy was broken. We have a betting poll on what day he comes back to shoot the place up… Ah you’re just naive, it’s absolutely possible! And if he does im the one left dealing… Hey we got a flicker on ground floor… That's when a door or window sensor says its open then closed then open. Is this your first night?”

His supervisor’s apparent airheadedness aside, it was probably nothing. Sensors misread all the time. But as he started walking away from the computer a feeling in his gut stirred. He glanced back at the monitor, focusing on the small flickering pixels slowly blinking on and off.

Frank hung his head back in resignation and pressed the button on his receiver. “Nah I’m gonna check it anyway, its annoying though… Its cool I dont mind, besides if Bob’s back i wanna catch him tonight, or tomorrow, I bet on the whole week.” He then changed his course, heading in the opposite direction towards the origin of the problem.

------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------

The man fumbled in his chair, sitting alone at the diner.

A waiter walked over and asked, “sir? Are you waiting for anyone? You haven’t ordered.”

He nodded his head wordlessly and stared deeply at the cheaply stained wood table. He began to tap his fingers on it but that quickly escalated into scratching a small line into the wood. He gazed at the line he was his nail was carving so deeply it took him a full moment to realize the man was still standing there. He stumbled over his words a little, “I’m… I’m sorry im just...”

“Nervous?” The waiter sat down across from the customer and placed his notepad in his lap. “It’s a big date isn't it?”

The customer nodded without looking at the man across the table. “She's almost here and we need to have this big talk that she doesn't even know she needs to have…“

“Want my advice?” the man offered with a smile. The nervous patron met his eyes. “If it’s a request then ask it with boldness, If it’s a confession then say it with humility and if it’s a declaration then be ready to mean it. “

The corner of the man’s mouth twitched. “Hm… that works. Thank you.”

“No problem. Does she have red hair? You’re going to wanna take a breath.” The waiter then stood up to help seat the woman who had just entered. She was guided over to the now much calmer man sitting in the booth, who had conveniently slid a napkin over the small scar in the table.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“No that was the old company name, they changed it after it got sold… Yeah why do you think this place has downsized so much lately? New owners new problems,” Frank grumbled as he continued through a small empty cold storage room.

“I used to have a security team to back me up. Three on each shift. We had a real job to do too back then. Kids from the university constantly sneaking in after hours. Sometimes for some mischief but every now and then just to squeeze some extra time in to finish whatever assignment they were stressing over,” he explained while walking to towards a window to check the sensors. A small solid green light on each sensor let him know the equipment was functioning and the windows were latched shut.

“That’s room 204 clear too, are you sure you’re looking at the map right? None of these rooms could be were the flicker is coming from.” This wild goose chase was starting to become annoying.

He walked out of the room and in to the hallway, slowly scanning in both directions. He swore he had already checked each cluster of doors, and their interconnected rooms.  

“Hey I think I might’ve missed 209. I’m gonna check it out just to say I got all of em…” the voice in the earpiece protested slightly. “No I see your point but I’m here so I may as well check all of them. Besides I have nothing better to do. At least you're more talkative than the last dispatch. We should get drinks some time, I'll pay for it. You don't work a job this boring without a few drinks.”

He approached the room slowly and paused just before he entered. Something didn't seem right. He saw computers and monitors set up around the rooms perimeter. Dust had acquired on each keyboard as they waited for future fingertips to bring them back to life. He glanced to his left and saw the the window sealed and the indicator light green. He glanced to his right and saw no other windows or any other types of exits. But something still didn't feel rightl.

“Does the flicker look like it matches 209? No way I just walked out of 204 I’m telling you something wrong with 209. There's like a cold chill in here... Wait a second… it's cold in here. Like a breeze.” Frank’s eyes widened, he rushed over to one of the monitors at the desk and slid it over, revealing a window wide open. The sensor hanging off of it, damaged and blinking sporadically. “We’re gonna have to talk drinks another time. Bob’s back.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“The food here is sub par,” the young man says nervously, trying to form an N shape in his mashed potatoes, “but it’s affordable to a degree that makes its quality seem better.”

“The chicken is bomb though,” the woman leaned over with a piece of meat on her fork, dipping it into her boyfriends mashed potatoes. His eyes widened staring at the streak she made in his nearly finished starch sculpture. She gave a flirty smile.“And you went through that burger like a lion gnawing on a squirrel.”

“When would a lion meet a squirrel?” he said with a smirk as he began scultpting what's left of his potatoes into an O shape.

She pointed at him with her fork. “City lions. People with bad vision think there buying a house cat but it never stops growing.”

“Who doesn't have that one crazy lion lady in the family because of that?”

They both stared at each other for a moment and then giggled. The woman leaned forward and spoke quietly, “so what has you so nervous. Your food handwriting is off its game, that Q looks terrible.”

He glanced away from her. “It's an O… I’m just… I have a reason to invite you here.” He looked over at the rest of the restaurant, then back to her and lowered his voice, “I have something to tell you but there's no sane way to say it. You’re going to think i’m crazy and then your going to think lying but when you realize i’m not you’re going to be angry. When that happens all I ask is that you hear me out and let me tell my side of the story. Will that be ok?”

Her smile had faded. She leaned in with gravely serious expression. “Ok but… I want to guess. I want two guesses before you say anything and that's the only way I'll hear you out.” The man almost replied but then just nodded his head. She continued, “ok… You’re going to propose to me?”

He shook his head.

“Ok then… I’m gonna go out on a limb here… You dress up in all black, wear a gas mask and steal from science factories under the name Noxious in an attempt to take over the world.”

His heart dropped. He couldn’t breathe. His pulse raced and his vision blurred. When a comet rushes through space it plays many roles. Sometimes it orbits a planet as a satellite. Sometimes it collides into mass and creates a planet. Everything it becomes will change eventually and over billions of years it will slowly play every role it possibly can in the stages of the universe. In that one shaken moment, Noxious wished desperately that that comet would play the role of destroyer and take the entire restaurant out.

He stammered ‘I... Its not-”

“I’m in.” She smiled sweetly at him.

“In what?”

“I want to join you. I want to be your partner in crime” she stated proudly while awkwardly finding her drink straw with her mouth.

This wasn’t real, was it? “How did you know?”

“I checked your computer under the folder marked ‘Noxious Agenda’ and I even corrected some grammar in a few of the documents. You have good use of metaphor for your journals,” she spoke proudly, showing she was far more prepared than he thought to accept his “devastating” news

Noxious could barely believe what he was hearing. “Wait when did you use my computer you've never stayed at my house?”

She waved a hand dismissively. “I wandered in at some point. I’m so bad about fidgeting with other peoples electronics.”

His jaw dropped. “I can’t believe you’re ok with this. I thought you would leave me and report me to the police. We have so much to talk about and so much to plan.” He felt light headed and giddy. This tremendous weight had been lifted off him. He felt so relieved that she understood his scenario that he failed to see the down side of his girlfriend admitting she broke into his home and spell checked his manifesto. He felt accepted. More so he felt affirmed in his conviction. He now had a partner to aid him in his wicked remodeling of a broken world. They were both strange and off putting, and his is why they worked.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Frank scrambled around the storage room, checking the inventory. “How long until the cops show up im getting my ass played over here! Three boxes of materials are already missing and I can’t find a trace of Bob! Hello? Dispatch dont do this to me. Alright that’s not working,” he said in frustration as he returned his radio to the holster to his belt.

He reached for the cell phone in his back pocket and the moment he couldn't feel it an annoying thought dawned on him. He had left it on the security desk. Frank was all alone as he searched each room, following seemingly just behind the trail of the mysterious intruder. His concentration was broken when he heard a door shut from down the hall. He ran over and pulled out his sidearm. All he could see was more corridors of shut and open doors. He came up on one slowly.

He clutched his radio and hit the button. “Ok not sure if this is going through but Ive narrowed down his location to three doors. If it's Bob then he's manic. I'm gonna start kicking doors down and corner the rat.”

Frank flinched at a reply in his earbud. He took a deep breath as he heard the news. “Shit don't do anything, and don't confront him! Bob ain't crazy but he may have snapped, i'm running to your post as fast as I can!” He booked it.

With all the urgency he could muster he took stride down the hall, through the lobby and then down another hall. He glanced over at his security booth mid stride but couldn't see his phone immediately. Deciding to ignore it he continued up the stairs and rushed down the painted tile path until he could see the security dispatch. The place was covered in smoke, bellowing out the open armored door.

He covered his mouth and rushed in, scanning the thick smoke with his flashlight in order to find dispatch or the source of the smoke. Finally under the desk a piece of warped plastic caught his eye. It was a tube covered in tape and burnt at one end. An improvised smoke bomb.

As he saw it the door shut and latched behind him. He kicked it twice causing his firm boot to boom like a drum off the metal door. When that didn’t work he searched through the thick smoke to find the control panel. He tried the electric door release, no luck, instead he turned on the air circulation.

As the smoke began to suck out of the room he began to see two shadowy figures forming outside of the bulletproof glass observation window. Frank gritted his teeth as their figures became clearer, he pressed the intercom button and yelled, “who the hell are you two?! Get me outta here! So help me if you hurt the dispatch lady !'m gonna shove my pistol up your ass and play hide the lead!”

The two figures were fully visible now. On the left was a man with a dark hoodie, gloves and a black leather gas mask. On the right was a woman in a similar concealed outfit with a small lock of red hair falling over her goggles and respirator. She leaned in and pressed the equivalent intercom button on her side, speaking in a familiar voice, “it wasn't Bob… Over.”

----Writen by poison, edited by chem trails

[wallpaperpainting]

Top 14 Trends In Retro Art To Watch | retro art

An Horizon Zero Dawn aftereffect is one of the best requested afterwards amateur back its absolution on February 28, 2017, and it’s not adamantine to see why players adulation it so much. Thankfully though, developer Guerrilla has its fingers on the beating of the gamers and a absolute leash is reportedly in the works on Sony’s next-gen animate the PS5 and allegedly they’ve already accounting a calligraphy in assorted genitalia if approaching sequels were greenlit by those at Sony. But what if – apprehend me out – what we absolutely appetite is a 16-bit awakening adaptation of Horizon Zero Dawn instead?

For those of you who haven’t played this absurd bold yet (I mean, actively – what are you accomplishing with your activity that you haven’t?) Horizon Zero Dawn is an action role-playing game played from a third-person appearance area players booty ascendancy of Aloy, a hunter who ventures through a post-apocalyptic acreage disqualified by massive automatic creatures but additionally enjoys aggressive it out with animal enemies, such as bandits and the Eclipse cult. One of the game’s best appearance is its acquiescent map that isn’t too big nor too baby and consists of forests, jungles, deserts, and albino abundance regions. As admirable as the bold is and best absolutely one of my admired amateur of contempo times, I anticipate I am abating to the abstraction that it could be aloof as amazing scaled bottomward to 16-bit – you know, aloof for the fun of it and that little bit of nostalgia.

Twitter user toyaken21 from Japan has crafted a attractive pixelated adaptation of Horizon Zero Dawn in one of their abounding pieces of fan art and I accept to say, I anticipate abounding bodies would jump all over this if it was angry into a game. Over the years, awakening gaming has been authoritative a abiding improvement and alike during the lockdown due to the coronavirus, Jason Moore, who runs a website that sells and trades in Awakening games, told E&T that afterwards an antecedent dip back the crisis began he saw a almanac fasten in sales, “going up about 30 percent over the accomplished few weeks.” If a Horizon Zero Dawn 16-bit awakening adaptation were to arise on a animate such as the Nintendo Switch, for instance, I would for abiding breeze it up as I anticipate abounding others would as well. I anticipate with how the Switch boosts the blush arrangement of its games, the pixilated robots and landscapes would accomplish for some admirable visions and who doesn’t adulation a acceptable compact platformer area they can get absent in for hours on end, article agnate to Ori and the Blind Forest or Hollow Knight.

For those of you who don’t own a PlayStation 4, the account that Horizon Zero Dawn will

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from Wallpaper Painting https://www.bleumultimedia.com/top-14-trends-in-retro-art-to-watch-retro-art/

[itsmarcusreyes]

KITTY

drugs cw

Between tension with Marcus over Gwen and the click of an empty barrel aimed at Saint’s temple, the past few days have left her yearning for tonight. The freedom of a party and the chance to forget, for a few hours, about the world around them has always been something of a siren call to the Femenias family. Love lies at the heart of celebrations like this, free to feast on gluttonously until they’re full with it. Vices are easier to indulge in too, alcohol and narcotics flowing. It’s warm here, high above the city skyline, a garden paradise hidden from the gaze of mere mortals. The tulle of her tutu sticks to her thighs, skin glowing in the heat. Kitty’s attention fixed to her phone, she feels a presence arrive beside her. She knows it’s Marcus before she’s glanced up, pupils dark and wide, and when she does it’s to greet him with a flash of a smile. Without thought, she leans against him affectionately, Gwen forgotten for now under the haze of her own intoxication. A single bark of laughter is expelled at his question, tearing her attention away from her phone. “She didn’t tell me about the tigers. If one of those things comes near me I’ll turn it into a fucking coat.” A long, wary stare is shot in the direction of the nearest big cat but the Pestilence-produced pill currently steeping through her bloodstream is enough to keep fear at bay. 

His request is responded to both willingly and obediently, feeling herself walk with him towards the sofa and sit down while her wired focus plunges into the pixels of her phone screen. Deep down, she knows she shouldn’t be messaging Saint from this phone — but a few Instagram DMs weren’t going to hurt, unable to shake the hollow feeling of wanting him here. With her. “What?” Kitty lifts her chin swiftly, Marcus’ question unanswered but the firm authority in his tone enough to snap her presence back to the current. The look of interest on his expression is met with the same on her own, temptation lingering towards his offer. She reaches to pat him affectionately on the cheek. “I do— I do but I shouldn’t. So no. But, but— I have something, hold on—” She sets her phone down on the sofa cushion between them, retrieving the clutch purse tucked under her arm. The metal clasp is pulled open and she plucks a baggie with a single solitary pill within from the silk-lined interior. “Cupid. It’s Pestilence’s new shit. Have you tried it? It’s like, fuck, Marcy, it’s good. This might be the only fucking benefit of having some of those fuckers here tonight. Did you know it wasn’t going to be just us?”

his heart might be beating too fast, nostrils and gums numb thanks to fletcher's never ending pockets, but at least everything feels right. she does not fight him, she doesn't even watch him too closely, trying to dodge having her heart broken by family. again. “i said,” he drawls, grinning from ear to ear, “what the hell is so interesting?” but she's fucked, and so is he, so he hardily notices when his question is left unanswered and a hand meets his cheek. marcus raises his brows when she declines, never knowing her to turn down a little fun, or any fun. it's one of the many things he loves so dearly about her, how freely she lives her life. but of course she counters him, and a chuckle vibrates in his throat as she searches through her bag. she holds out the baggie, and marcus scoots a little closer to look before snatching it from between her fingers. nimble fingers dip inside and marcus presses the small pill onto his tongue. “well, now i've tried it, i'll give you my review in the morning.”

“what, you think jess really wasn't gonna invite all her pest buddies now that we're all playing nice again? honestly, i'm just fuckin’ glad i haven't seen monica,” he laughs, but it's a very real concern. a flash catches marcus' eyes, and he looks down at kitty's phone laying between them. he doesn't make the conscious decision to read it, but it's in his nature to stick his nose in every dark corner.

instagram message from saint warden: what are you wearing?

it takes a second too long for it to click, and when it does, marcus snaps his gaze from the room back to the phone, picking it up to read the message letter by letter. what the fuck? “kit—” confusion is what is most prominent now, tugging his brows into a frown. “‘what are you wearing?’ why the fuck is saint warden asking you what you're wearing?” it's not yet a possibility that this could be wanted, that she still wants him. kitty isn't the kind of person to crawl back to someone who's hurt her. or is she? marcus searches her expression for something, anything, that will help him piece this together.

[loftyloftyloftyloftylofty]

Yesterday’s Stream Highlights

Added firing effects to weapons. The rocket launcher now makes a fancy little burst when you shoot a rocket. This particular effect required a little bit of extra engineering so that the animation would not reset and fire superfluously whenever the character changed directions. It also needed to be locked to the position of the player. Ultimately, I ended up setting up the ability config files for each weapon to include a firing effect sprite that will be anchored at the player’s position. I’m not sure if it’s 100% the best solution to the problem but it’s definitely better than the first two attempts that were made on stream which we will not talk about.

When you crouch, your fired projectiles are now slightly lower to match the 2-pixel dip in the character’s hold animations.

We ran a regex over our entire solution. Cat Story is approximately 23,138 lines of code. Honestly, I thought it would be larger than that.

Did some registry editing to remove unwanted ui components in visual studio. Goodbye, notifications flag; don’t come back.

Implemented health upgrades as a scripted function for interacting with specific objects. The player can now find health upgrades scattered throughout the maps, which is neat.

Changed the way that the HP bar displays how much health you have remaining. The previous version treated each little pawprint on the display the same way that Ocarina of Time treated your hearts, where each individual icon was worth multiple small hits and would change to reflect that. When we dropped the player down to three hits as a starting point, having a single lonely pawpad in the top left corner that would changed colors as you took damage just didn’t feel easy to look at. Instead, each pawprint is now worth one hit, and all of them will change colors from green to yellow to dark red as your hp gets closer to zero. Right now the math on it is simply round(curHP/maxHP*3) which means that as soon as you drop below a result of 2.5 (75%) your health bar turns yellow, which I’m not sure about. I might change the formula around a bit to only turn yellow below 50% hp. Not sure.

Hit a small roadblock with how I want to handle enemies dropping items because I have conflicting sources of inspiration that I think would both be good for the game’s direction but feel mutually exclusive in the way they present play objectives to the player. On one hand, I like the idea of Spyro’s oldschool item-collecting-unlocks-new-areas, with a focus on defeating enemies for gems (or equivalent items) in addition to simply finding them laying around. On the other hand, I wanted a story-driven progression that lines up more with the JRPGs I enjoyed as a kid, games like Legend of Dragoon and Chrono Cross, where getting to the next area is dependent on whether or not you’ve simply experienced the story and overcome the bigbad for the area. 

I’m sure that by the time the stream rolls around on Monday I’ll have figured out something interesting that ends up doing a bit of both.

I think we got a new follower yesterday on Twitch, too. So, that’s rad because that means I’ve got 200 followers on Twitch!

I’ll see you nerds for more streaming on Monday. Enjoy your Fathers’ Day weekend.

[iyarpage]

2D Apple Games by Tutorials Updated for Swift 4 and iOS 11

Happy Monday – it’s another iOS 11 Launch Party book release!

The book has been completely updated for Swift 4, iOS 11 and Xcode 9, and is available today. We’ve even added an extra bonus chapter to the book covering ARKit!

This will be a free update for existing 2D Apple Games by Tutorials PDF customers — our way to say “thanks” to our readers for their support.

Don’t own 2D Apple Games by Tutorials yet? Read on to see how you can get a copy!

What is 2D Apple Games by Tutorials?

The trailer below gives you a good, fast overview of what the book’s about:

There are two ways to use this book, depending on whether you are a complete beginner to Apple game development or an advanced developer with knowledge of other 2D game frameworks.

If you’re a complete beginner to Apple game development, the best way to read this book is from cover to cover. We have arranged the chapters to introduce the material in the most logical manner to build up your skills one layer at a time.

If you’re an advanced developer with knowledge of other 2D game frameworks, you’ll have an easier time adapting to SpriteKit, as the core concepts and syntax will look very familiar.

Our suggestion is to skim through the early chapters and focus more on the later, more advanced chapters, or where you have a particular interest.

Don’t worry — you can jump right into any chapter in the book, because we’ll always have a starter project waiting for you!

2D Apple Games by Tutorials is 25 chapters and 695 pages – yeah, it’s pretty huge. :]

The book is split into six sections, moving from beginning to advanced topics. In each section, you will create a complete mini-game, from scratch! The book also includes two bonus chapters at the end that we think you’ll enjoy.

Here’s a quick look at what’s inside 2D Apple Games by Tutorials.

Section I: Getting Started

This section covers the basics of making 2D games with Sprite Kit. These are the most important techniques, the ones you’ll use in almost every game you make. By the time you reach the end of this section, you’ll be ready to make your own simple game.

Throughout this section you will create an action game called Zombie Conga, where you take the role of a happy-go-lucky zombie who just wants to party!

You will build this game across seven chapters, in stages:

Chapter 1, Sprites: Get started by adding your first sprites to the game: the background and the zombie.

Chapter 2, Manual Movement: You’ll make the zombie follow your touches around the screen and get a crash-course in basic 2D vector math.

Chapter 3, Actions: You’ll add cats and crazy cat ladies to the game, as well as basic collision detection and gameplay.

Chapter 4, Scenes: You’ll add a main menu to the game, as well as win and lose scenes.

Chapter 5, Camera: You’ll make the game scroll from left to right, and finally, add the conga line itself.

Chapter 6, Labels: You’ll add a label to show the zombie’s lives and the number of cats in his conga line.

Chapter 7, Scene Editor: You’ll begin by creating the first level of the game. By the end, you’ll have a better understanding of Xcode’s level designer, better known as the scene editor.

Section II: Physics and Nodes

In this section, you will learn how to use the built-in 2D physics engine included with Sprite Kit to create movement as realistic as that in Angry Birds or Cut the Rope. You will also learn how to use special types of nodes that allow you to play videos or create shapes in your game.

In the process, you will create a physics puzzle game called Cat Nap, where you take the role of a cat who has had a long day and just wants to go to bed.

You will build this game across five chapters, in stages:

Chapter 8, Beginning Physics: In this chapter, you’re going to make a little detour in order to learn the basics of creating physics simulations for your games. As a bonus, you’ll learn how to prototype games inside an Xcode playground.

Chapter 9, Intermediate Physics: You’ll learn about physics-based collision detection and create custom classes for your Sprite Kit nodes.

Chapter 10, Advanced Physics: You’ll add two more levels to the game as you learn about interactive bodies, joints between bodies, composed bodies and more.

Chapter 11, Crop, Video and Shape Nodes: You’ll add special new blocks to Cat Nap while learning about additional types of nodes that allow you to do amazing things—like play videos, crop images and create dynamic shapes.

Section III: Tile Maps

In this section, you’ll revisit the game “Pest Control”, first introduced in iOS Games by Tutorials. This new and improved version uses the new tile maps features in SpriteKit and covers saving and loading game data.

Chapter 12, Beginning Tile Maps: You’ll learn the basics about tile maps in SpriteKit by creating a tile set and a background tile map.

Chapter 13, Intermediate Tile Maps: You’ll take things a step further by learning how to access tile maps in code and how to create a tile map with randomly placed tiles.

Chapter 14, Saving and Loading Games: You’ll finish up by adding a winning end state and a heads-up display. You’ll also learn how to automatically save the game when you leave it and then reload it from where you left off.

Section IV: Juice

In this section, you’ll also learn how to take a good game and make it great by adding a ton of special effects and excitement – a.k.a. “juice.”

In the process, you will create a game called Drop Charge, where you’re a space hero with a mission to blow up an alien space ship – and escape with your life before it explodes. To do this, you must jump from platform to platform, collecting special boosts along the way. Just be careful not to fall into the red hot lava!

You will build this game across four chapters, in stages:

Chapter 15, Making Drop Charge: You’ll put together the basic gameplay using the scene editor and code, flexing the Sprite Kit muscles you’ve developed working through previous chapters.

Chapter 15, State Machines: You’ll learn what state machines are and how to use them.

Chapter 16, Particle Systems: You’ll learn how to use particle systems to create amazing special effects.

Chapter 17, Juice Up Your Game: You’ll trick out your game with music, sound, animation, more particles and other special effects, experiencing for yourself the benefits of mastering the details.

Section V: Other Platforms

In this section, you’ll learn how to leverage your iOS knowledge to build games for the other Apple Platforms: macOS, tvOS and watchOS.

In the process, you’ll create a game named Zombie Piranhas. In this game, your goal is to catch as many fish as possible without hooking a zombie — because we all know what happens when zombies are around.

Chapter 18, macOS Games: You’ll take a complete iOS game and add a target for macOS. Along the way, you’ll learn some of the differences between the platforms, such as windows and mouse and keyboard events.

Chapter 19, tvOS Games: Building from Chapter 18, you’ll add another target for tvOS. You’ll learn concepts such as Focus and parallax icons, Top Shelf and working with the Apple TV Remote.

Chapter 20, watchOS Games: Lastly, you’ll add a target for watchOS, and you’ll learn about gestures, the Digital Crown and Haptic Feedback. You’ll also discover some of the design considerations when working with a small device.

Section VI: Advanced Topics

In this section, you’ll learn how to Game Center leaderboards and achievements into your game and use the ReplayKit API to share your gaming victories with the world.

In the process, you will integrate these APIs into a top-down racing game called Circuit Racer, where you take the role of an elite racecar driver out to set a world record. It would be no problem if it weren’t for the debris on the track!

Chapter 21, Game Center Achievements: Enable Game Center for your game and award the user achievements for accomplishing certain feats.

Chapter 22, Game Center Leaderboards: Set up various leaderboards for your game and track and report the player’s scores.

Chapter 23, ReplayKit: You’ll learn how to allow players to record and share videos of their games with ReplayKit.

Section VI: Bonus Chapters

We have also included two bonus chapters!

Chapter 24, Augmented Reality & ARKit: Learn about the new ARKit framework by reworking the Pest Control game and turning it into an Augmented Reality game!

Chapter 25, Making Art for Programmers: If you liked the art in these mini-games and want to learn how to either hire an artist or make some art of your own, look no further than this chapter! This chapter guides you through drawing a cute cat in the style of this book with Illustrator.

About the Authors

Of course, our book would be nothing without our team of experienced and dedicated authors:

Caroline Begbie is living the dream as an indie iOS developer, educator and explorer. She loves the graphics and animation side of iOS and watches Disney movies “for research.”

Mike Berg is a full time game artist who is fortunate enough to work with many different indie game developers from all over the world. When he’s not manipulating pixel colors, he loves to eat good food, spend time with his family, play games and be happy.

Michael Briscoe is an independent software developer with over 30 years of programming experience. Learning BASIC on a Commodore 64 way back in 1984, he’s been hooked on coding ever since. He enjoys creating simulations and games for all Apple platforms. You can visit his website at skyrocketsoftware.wordpress.com.

Kauserali Hafizji (a.k.a. Ali) is a freelance software developer. He is fortunate to have worked on several large projects. He loves creating software that people use everyday whether it’s on the web, watch, phone or tv. A good read, cool dip in the pool and a hot cheesy meal would be the perfect end to his weekend. You can find out more about Ali on his website at alihafizji.com.

Marin Todorov is a part of Realm and raywenderlich.com. He’s also the author of books and apps. You can find out more at www.underplot.com.

Ray Wenderlich is part of a great team — the raywenderlich.com team, a group of over 100 developers and editors from across the world. He and the rest of the team are passionate both about making apps and teaching others the techniques to make them. When Ray’s not programming, he’s probably playing video games, role playing games, or board games.

Free 2D Games Chapter This Week

To help celebrate the launch, we’re going to open up the book and share a free chapter with you this week! This will give you a chance to check out some of the new pieces in the book. Stay tuned!

Now Available in ePub!

And as another exciting announcement, by popular request, 2D Apple Games by Tutorials is now available in ePub format. Take it on the go with you on your iPad, iPhone or other digital reader and enjoy all the mobile reading benefits that ePub has to offer!

Where To Go From Here?

2D Apple Games by Tutorials is now 100% complete, fully updated for Swift 4, iOS 11 and Xcode 9 — and available today.

If you’ve already bought the 2D Apple Games by Tutorials PDF, you can download the new book immediately on the book store page page.

If you don’t have 2D Apple Games by Tutorials yet, you can grab your own copy in our store.

And to help sweeten the deal, the digital edition of the book is on sale for $49.99! But don’t wait — this sale price is only available for a limited time.

Speaking of sweet deals, be sure to check out the great prizes we’re giving away this year with the iOS 11 Launch Party, including over $9,000 in giveaways!

To enter, simply retweet this post using the #ios11launchparty hashtag by using the button below:

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We hope you enjoy this free update, and stay tuned for more book releases and updates coming soon!

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