#long time no sprite >:)

[egophiliac]

still ruminating over Lost In the Book With Spooky Skeletons Part 1, so here's a selection of some of my favorite little bits! (...some more loosely paraphrased than others) (I just feel like Idia has no room to criticize in general, okay)

anyway, I'm sure we're just going to have a fun time celebrating Halloween and nothing bad is going to happen whatsoever! :)

[localceilingdevil]

precipitation planet or whatever i dont play rat game

yay my two favorite lizards :) before you ask yes I'm making the rest. patience friends

[thecoolsquirrel]

thankyou @ alchemivich for having full body sprites you are a life saver

casual wear Yuu!

[squeakadeeks]

LITTLE GUY O'CLOCK

whew!! I've had this idea for a soot sprite cosplay for Litcherally so long, i thought it was never going to happen but lo and behold! here he be!! !!! I was trying to avoid fur projects to give the Dust Situation in my abode a rest but that...did not happen 🤨

This costume is another primarily suede affair, with only a few accent fabrics other than the faux fur. 90% of fabrics were from big z....again. The things of note on this guy are the chubby stars which are all painted novelty stress balls! also the big soot sprite, Augustus, is actually a fur covered beach ball.

I've always gotten a kick out of this design and thought the soot sprites were just endlessly charming, so i'm pretty happy with this project!

[beescake]

PLEASE PLEASE MEGADUMP THE ARASOL!!! PLEAAASEE MR BEESCAKE I AM ON MY KNEES BEGGING YOU

HFHGHD GLADLY aaa i’ve been adding notes to it here and there for months but just hesitant to post it bcs im 🧍‍♂️🧍‍♂️🧍‍♂️🧍‍♂

also this is just my own takeaway of the events, it doesn’t necessarily comply to the Ultimate Truth of Canon-Alignment or represent the actual facts of what hussie intended! v sentimental smh but hopefully its still interesting to read

i love when characters inform each other by proximity, it's one of my fave things to see in media :') it feels even more significant when two characters deliberately choose to stick together, so that when one operates, you can tell the other is similarly aligned in associative solidarity.

sollux is a keystone of this trope — whoever he aligns with is a wordless statement, a nod of approval. this stood out to me bcs the main four humans were alr friends by default, but once you reach hivebent you realize the trolls can actively choose who they want to hang out with.

and as we all know, after assessing every troll's biases/loyalties, sollux is the only one who maintains his selective preference for innately Good 👍 people.

aradia is such a beautiful character honestly, she evokes such incredible feelings in me. she might not have been consistently written with care but the best parts of her character are truly stunning. i think it's easy to remember sollux as the self-sacrificing one bc he's so open about it (and his friends frequently react to his Moments) but when you compare him to aradia, it's always struck me

how much more. raw it is

to be so alone as an agent of time, having to orchestrate immeasurably harrowing events nobody understands or gives a fuck about

with your role painted in the story as one who must tend to the needs of the narrative, responsible to match every next note

because when you're given the capabilities, it becomes your duty to carry it out.

it becomes expected of you to keep experimenting and arranging the machinations to work for everyone, dusting off hundreds of necessary failures to keep going

and having to be so unwavering in your drive knowing miserably that there's no one who can help you but yourself.

or alternatively: to make things fun! so other people won't think twice about letting you go off on your own.

sure she's had some very good buds, notably thanks to Team Charge v Team Scourge antics.

and yet, at the end of the day, the one friend that kept choosing her time and time again was the friend with the highest standards.

i can see why people like to define arasol as moirails/matesprits but surprisingly i find the nondescript, unlabeled aspect of their relationship more straightforward to understand.

there's no shortage of people who would accommodate sollux. most of the surviving trolls are his oldest friends bcs he’d chosen them well. his transparency with his feelings had built him strong friendships that won’t falter or break, regardless of how much of a dick he can be. they’ve already seen and accepted him at his worst, and they still like him for who he is.

contrast that with aradia, who'd been so approachable, friendly and reliable in her exchanges it was super fun to talk to her. but the moment she became depressed, all her connections broke down.

her friends became hesitant to interact with her (until she became god tier, “happy” and amicable again) because her gloom and resignation didn’t serve them. she dealt with it alone.

there’s def something of note here abt the disparity between the way male & female characters are written+perceived in homestuck (esp parallel arasol with davejade) but i won’t go into that lmaoo

with this in mind i like to think of sollux as a gift to her, a loyal companion given to complement and commend her resolve. she's capable of doing so much alone but hussie took the time to build her and sollux's relationship as one of a unit; a set.

the ambiguity of their status does complicate things, but i do believe it makes sense with their characters. aradia's relationship with romance is a rocky one, the dubious stringalong equius had with her is a pointed reminder that her feelings of attraction are ultimately controlled by the author writing her.

unlike the other trolls who can openly address and own up to their crushes, aradia had romantic emotions forced upon her (especially when hussie implies 'she kissed equius back on her own volition'). and it seems like her character is so intrinsically neutral abt attraction that even when forced by the almighty powers above, she's unable to retain it wholly.

however, looking back to pre-game when she could actually "choose" her own feelings, she did have a crush on sollux.

their soft spots for each other were so obvious to the point where other people could see it.

taunting aside, when vriska comments on their unit as bf/gf it actually informs the audience that arasol's relationship is romantic in nature despite not aligning with the quadrant system.

even while dead, aradia could still describe her care for sollux, expressing that she would like to see him happy. if they had more time to explore their relationship on alternia, it's possible they could've settled in a quadrant once they grew older.

but going back to the lack of labels, their dynamic was affected once more when aradia became god tier.

to me, her ascension was both the perfect culmination and possible closure of her character. it's the light at the end of her journey toiling through countless of timelines where she had to actively assess and participate. that's why it's cool to see her being silly and having fun giving guidance, passively exploring and watching other people do their parts.

and yet the joy of her freedom makes it hard to explore further introspection. if we take her by her word, she'd already come to terms with the hurt she's been through and forgiven those involved.

i can't help feeling attuned to how impersonal and detached it can be, to devote and meld your identity so completely with your designated position as Maid of Time until you've become hard for your old friends (and even some readers!) to personally connect to.

idk post-canon but i assume there’s some degree of similarity to be bridged here with aradia's god tier and how the hs2 humans' Ultimate forms was described as a consolidation of all their possibilities. since aradia's classpect is inherently of service to Time, going god-tier may have elevated her beyond personhood with the "game construct" possessing her entirely. sollux doesn't realize the extent of it bcs he's still mortal, but a part of him may have subconsciously understood this.

i think there is a core aspect to aradia that was lost to the dehumanizing glory of god tier — a core aspect that may have contained an element of why sollux enjoyed talking to her in the first place.

to him, aradia hadn't just been a nice girl, she was a cool girl. despite not having much in common, he's still willing to chill next to her so she's not alone while she does what needs to get done.

back on alternia, they held a mutual and equal-level regard for each other that could've definitely settled into something permanent. but now, he's placed himself in a position where he can be kept around or left behind at will. the parameters of the relationship are largely in aradia's court, so any label she suggests to identify their relationship with he's likely to accept.

but that's why it's so difficult to label it. because god tier aradia may not necessarily Want quadrants or relationship labels. rather than the initial romantic attachment, their commitment to each other had evolved into one fundamentally of companionship.

no label? ok fine. no matter what, he still thinks she's a good soul worth latching on to. the best, actually. aradia > everyone else.

even if it gets stilted at times. there's an unexpected struggle to connect when sollux's go-to default for talking points is his feelings about things, and aradia may not want to talk about emotions all the time.

not to mention god tier aradia became an observer, especially of chaos. but sollux's avoidance of involvement comes partially from his innate pressure to get involved if something goes wrong. and he can't always tell when something goes wrong, because aradia doesn't mind if things go wrong anymore.

it's a non-negotiable preference that causes them to take the occasional time apart, a new boundary that wouldn't have existed before the game and aradia's god tier.

but just like how his friends tolerated his moods, sollux accepts aradia as she is. with no quadrants, their connection doesn't break down because there's no implicit romantic expectations to be disappointed by or resentful over.

sometimes when i see hs content that deliberately distances sollux from aradia, i assume this is the dissonance people might have felt. people might find it "easier" to be cynical about them bcs of this strange tension.

but idc lmao. grab that shit by the neck

lack of easy resolutions and cleanly tied ribbons is pretty standard of homestuck and imo it doesn't make arasol's dynamic any less incredible. with the right affection and consideration, there's still so much potential to develop the nuance of their relationship outside of the popular quadrant-based depictions.

hs has a lot of really great character compatibilities but the way aradia and sollux are in their own special orbit is why i can write this much about them in the first place. it's that frail innocence between first loves that makes it so sweet to me, two kids who grew up too fast playing guesswork without being clear where they're going.

ultimately i do think you're meant to feel a little tragedy for just how much they care for each other, even if they can't quite establish it in simple terms.

maybe they keep taking breaks to progress their own paths. maybe they remain as anchor partners while seeing other people. but even if you decide to separate them, they're still (awkwardly) texting each other updates all the while. and when they reunite it feels like coming home.

and well. more than anything, i like to believe that they do want to be exclusive.

they're just afraid. after all, they're still learning how to love, beyond the projections of the foursquare quadrant system they had inadvertently distanced themselves from since young.

they might not have everything figured out, but they'll get there eventually if you just hold them together and write them there.

optional post-canon segment:

one of the limitations of main hs is that (monogamous) relationships are often written as the go-to solution to wrap up character growth; it's an easy "patch" to imagine characters getting their happy ending because they have a partner, and those who don't end up with someone don't get that closure (most notably jade).

hs2 reaffirms this by suggesting that aradia's character cannot progress without letting sollux go, because happily settling in a relationship automatically locks your potential.

that pathetic panel of sollux staring emptily into the sky is still my fave hs2 spoiler ngl i find the impact of their parting so emotionally provoking precisely bcs they were written in original hs to be each other's forever, coming back together again and again

but now, they're subject to the decisions of the post-canon authors who might choose to deviate from that.

it's not new for them to part, but now there's an underlying worry that her dropping him off this time might be the last time. while i think the prospect of shattering their stability to make them grow separately sounds fun on paper, no amount of me desperately hoping for a good execution is gonna guarantee it

idk. i guess prediction-wise im expecting sollux in classic dramatic-hs2 fashion to tell dave to back off aradia LMAO. otherwise it's just gon be sollux and karkat pathetically watching aradia and dave from a distance swimming in their unresolved feelings for narratively-powerful time players smh obvs it sounds corny as hell but who knows its still plausible

srsly tho i hope they take the opportunity to develop arasol's relationship in a fresh direction that doesn't hurt me too badly...... and i hope they force sollux out of his comfort zone. i like watching him struggle :-)

[redcallisto]

as is customary for me, sprites of the brainrots

[vilochkaaa]

i finally made some portraits for himmm yayyyy

[roetrolls]

171 layers. 16 hours.

High maintenance bitch.

[thatonesubwaypenguin]

❄️"I am Emmet. I am a Subway Boss. I have a question. Want a Sprite Cranberrrrry?"❄️

[lightbulb-warning]

emotional support guy!!!! who!!!!!! sucks!!!!!!!!!

[egophiliac]

YOU MANIFESTED THE TWEEL CARDS CONGRATS

YOU'RE WELCOME EVERYBODY!

seriously though I was probably like. 60-80% thinking we'd get at least one tweel for chapter 10. but I was NOT expecting it so soon! both of 'em! in August! a shame we're not getting a Coral Sea event after all...but I guess I can be resigned to that and ALSO excited for getting shiny sparkly glowing(!!!!) mertwins along with Azul fighting his inner demons and going right for the eyes! AHHHH I CAN'T WAIT

(also heeeey I recognize that rowboat... 👀)

[buttercupshands]

Just a break from drawing something else also figuring out height for Loop that I had in my head while playing

Feat. Paper figures! Those guys are now always here

I also don't have a good place to put their first photo on a tree so here you have it.

They had a tree hangout for a minute or two now because it's dangerous to keep them like that for long

[ganondoodle]

been trying to do some pixel art bc after putting another 60+ hours into stardew valley the want to make a stardew like game but *my* way is strong again ... but i keep getting hung up on thinking about game mechanics (screenshot at the bottom .. sorry for makign this so long again ..)

at some point i thought the whole minecraft aspect is probably impossible to add into a 2d pixel game and im better off to cut that idea out of my head and instead make a dedicated area in which you can build stuff more costumizable and make the rest a more static thing id built so the worlds have more character and theres less problems with NPC pathing (since i dont want you to be able to escape Eadryas wrath if you overstay your welcome by building yourself into a circle or collision boxes .... though they would destroy anything in their path to you either way.. still)

but then i still want you to be able to change the ground in your little area (or maybe multiple ... idk im still conflicted bc i like the idea of finding a place and building your lil hut there ... unless i make it so you can build a hut anywhere but change the ground tiles only in certain areas ... ) and build little ponds and stuff ... so im back to the minecraft in 2d problem

i keep getting into these thinking spirals bc i dont want to draw all those sprites if im gonna scrap it all again anyway

the main point with this little ...... well, lets call it fantasy bc im not confident this 'project' will fare any better than any of my other projects (im a never finished a single project and keeps being haunted by it kind of guy and i hate it)

- is that i want a 2d game somewhat similar to stardew but set in my original story world and focused on the environment and nature, not on earning money, an intricate weather system and no time limit on your day, the twist being you are an ex-demon hunter and are on probation to prove you really abandoned the cause, given shelter and a place to stay in the demon world within the protective bubbles around gates into the human realm (bc humans cannot live in the normal environment of the demon world- this is an already long established thing but works extremely well to limit the space you are able to go in a game without making the world feel tiny plus allows me to give you several different environment designs bc those are gates and bubbles in different parts of the demon world) your task being to help clean up the poisoned land the celestials had caused and repopulating these parts with plants etc. ... there is a tracker that lets you know how well or bad it is doing and if you only destroy instead of restore (like chopping down all trees without planting new ones) you will be given warnings until Eadrya shows up and kills you since you are clearly still working to destroy their lands after all

i still really like this idea but im really doubtful it will go anywhere since i am so slow, need to learn at least two complicated new things (coding, music making) and already have so many things i want to do but never really .. do, the task is just too daunting and it keeps me from just having fun drawing pixel art bc i cant stop (over)thinking about mechanics

(see this is what i mean my brain just cant stop, it just keeps going and it keeps making me spiral into these thinking loops that prevent me from actually doing anything )

this is the same file i have been randomly doodling sprites on since april (by far not the only one, but the current one of multiple sprite tests i keep updating or changing)

(i appreciate feedback or thoughts on this alot, its a little fantasy that i keep comign back to, all my attempts to throw it out of my head in hopes of clearing up some space have failed no matter how little hope i have of making it a reality ..)

[pixelatedraindrops]

Hundred Line Last Defense Academy Ending 001: Minor SPOILERS

LONGPOST BELOW:

So on day 25 of this route, more than half of your team falls prey to a bad cold as an actual plot point of the story. This moment naturally got me super giddy x3

After one of the various blackouts the heaters shut off in everyone’s rooms. Causing a cold chill in everyone’s rooms for the night.

Takumi was awake to hear the warning and was able to warm up. I was thinking “wait are people gonna get sick over this? Hmm there’s no way right? Just wishful thinking on my part.”

But then Takumi wakes up the next morning and only 2 other people (Gaku and Takemaru) are in the cafeteria. When Nozomi shows up a bit later she asks:

Yeah everyone else forgot to bundle up at night. I was like LETS GOOOO!!! Everyone else is sick!!! It’s an actual canon moment!!

I like how Sirei says it's "probably" not serious, but it probably is serious... xD All anime colds are DEADLY after all :3c (they’re sick for 3 whole days if you don’t finish the medicine)

The next exploration mission involves getting the ingredients to make medicine for everyone. Which yeah I love that, its a good way to have a fixed team set off to gather materials.

Sadly to my disappointment, after making the medicine, that was it. No caretaking moments, they just distributed the medicine offscreen

I was so mad. This game has a majority of the team fall sick as a plot point. AND WITH NO PAYOFF.

Huge missed opportunity to not allow the player choose one specific person that they heal first, have a bonding scene, have their affinity raise by one full diamond, and THEN heal everyone else offscreen.

Like come ON at least give me something!! Everyone laid out with a deathly bad cold and having getting medicine be a mission. I love that. BUT WHERE’S MY CARETAKING SCENE?? I’m so greedy as an illness whump enthusiast, but with a scenario like this can you BLAME me??

So in my salt and need for closure I decided “FINE I’LL JUST DO IT MYSELF!!” So I got sprites of all of the people that were sick and made sick edits of them. Thought it would be fun to edit sprites again. (keep in mind, these are not only full body, but also more limited in expressions than the Raincode sprites so they were a BIT trickier to mess with.) I think I did decently tho.

Hope you enjoy some more sick edits from me :3

Time to imagine my own caretaking scenes: I like to imagine each person gave 2 people the medicine and took care of them.

Takumi tends to Tsubasa and Yugamu

Takemaru tends to Hiruko and Shouma

Nozomi tends to Kurara and Moko

and Gaku tends to the twins.

Takumi would tend to Yugamu, because lets be real, he's another fan favorite Takumi ship of the community as I've seen, and I bet he would LOVE to be cared for by Takumi only for Takumi to likely run away... XD (such a gay freaky little man) And as for Tsubasa, idk I feel like if I had the option to choose who I wanted to tend to, it'd be Tsubasa, she's one of my favorites so I'll be biased here. I think she'd be such a cute and cooperative little patient >w< Super easygoing for Takumi.

Takemaru would naturally tend to Shouma, of course he's his little buddy! I can just imagine him feeding him some protein filled stew to give him energy and Shouma is in tears, snuggling the shiba plushie in bed as Takemaru tends to him because he thinks he doesn't deserve the kindness ;w; As for Hiruko, Takemaru likes her, but I think he'd drop the medicine off and leave wishing her well. He knows Hiruko can take care of herself and won't sully her reputation.

Of course Nozomi would want to be tending to her 2 gal pals. Specifically Kurara given the two recently just made up after their little drama. And despite having a cold, Moko would probably still want to help Nozomi tend to Kurara but Nozomi just ushers her to bed because she's still not well herself x3 I think Kurara would be the more fragile of the 2 (especially without her mask, but she can't wear it while she's running a fever lol)

and that leaves Gaku to deal with the twins. By process of elimination there's no real personal connection, but since the twins are the youngest, and Gaku likely tended to his own siblings, he'd probably be okay with tending to them. But I bet the caretaking would be chaos with Ima snapping at him every time he tries to help Kako. (may as well be chaos for gaku, everything is chaos for him)

Anyway yeah I just wanted to gab about this moment. It annoyed me, but it also gave me the motivation to make more edits. Been a while but yeah may as well make HL edits if I don't wanna make any art... xD

[weia-yo]

happy year 9 of undertale! this was initially going to be a comic but i quickly scrapped that idea in favor of using dialogue boxes (shoutout to demirramon's undertale text box generator).

bonus doodle: here's frisk's friends and family waving back

[r0semultiverse]

Uncle Dave Strider Taxidermy Corpse Sprite Rip & Edits

Give credit if used/reposted! 😎

🎉 Bonus Dave taxidermy with his shades! 🎉