Volume 5 Fanstravaganza!

[MyUsernamesMud]

oh snap, guess what the Happy Cat Melody matches up perfectly with

[KmScMT]

this one is for throwdown

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its amazing

[PaulPower]

Can I call dibs on Get Up?

I just had an idea for this too. Nothing to stop us both doing something for it, although I guess I should look for something else I could do as well.

What type of thing are you going to go for? I was thinking of doing some writing, set at the start of Act 6, from the perspective of all four kids. If you're going for something similar then I guess I'll steer clear.

Well, I've written it now. Is it okay to post it?

[Zuki]

Can I call dibs on Get Up?

I just had an idea for this too. Nothing to stop us both doing something for it, although I guess I should look for something else I could do as well.

What type of thing are you going to go for? I was thinking of doing some writing, set at the start of Act 6, from the perspective of all four kids. If you're going for something similar then I guess I'll steer clear.

Well, I've written it now. Is it okay to post it?

Always.

[Fix It Jones]

Can I call dibs on Get Up?

I just had an idea for this too. Nothing to stop us both doing something for it, although I guess I should look for something else I could do as well.

What type of thing are you going to go for? I was thinking of doing some writing, set at the start of Act 6, from the perspective of all four kids. If you're going for something similar then I guess I'll steer clear.

Well, I've written it now. Is it okay to post it?

Go ahead. I'm only about halfway done with mine.

[PaulPower]

Righty-ho then

Get Up

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John sat down on the chequered ground. Well, he'd done what the clouds had told him to: he'd delivered Jade's ring to the strange man who'd been wearing his bedsheet. But he was suddenly conscious of all the time he'd spent fooling around since Jade had suggested he find the server disk and connect with her. Now he was further away from his house than ever, and he still didn't have the disk. How much longer did he have? He'd already lost Jade once. He didn't want to have to go through that again.

But before he could dwell on this further, a large cake hit him in the side of the face. Shock gave way to confusion and then a weird sort of understanding. Only one person could throw a cake like that. John looked up at his dad.

"Happy birthday, John. I am so proud of you."

John hugged his dad around the knees, cake crumbling off his face, mixing with the tears. He wasn't proud of it, but he'd missed him more badly than he'd realised.

"But you can't stay here, son. Your friend is in trouble. Get up. I'll look after things down here."

John got up, wiping away the tears and cake. He had another job to do. He woke.

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Jade lay on the floor of her greenhouse, staring at the meteor overhead. In a way, she'd been lucky, she thought groggily. Between a chunk of metal smashing the glass before she got there, some of the Squiddles tangling together magnetically and one of the few pumpkins that hadn't disappeared into thin air going squish for the cause, she'd had quite a soft landing. She was badly bruised, but she didn't think there was anything broken. But that's where her luck ran out. A sense of horror came over her. She didn't know what to do. She'd always known what to do. Skaia's clouds had always ensured that she knew what was coming up and what to do when it did. But now she could no longer see them. All she could see was the meteor.

What to do when you didn't know what to do... she knew there was something. She'd been talking about it to that adiosToreador troll just before... wait, that was it. Talk to the Trolls. She looked around, and saw her Lunchtop, badly battered by the fall. Praying to whatever gods were listening that it still worked, she leaned over and opened it up. She managed a small smile as green light projected around her. Firing up Pesterchum, she clicked on the name carcinoGeneticist and started to type.

GG: hello...
CG: THANK THE MOTHER GRUB, YOU FINALLY PICKED UP.
CG: I WAS GETTING WORRIED THERE FOR A MINUTE.
GG: so i guess my dreamself died.....
CG: IT LOOKS THAT WAY.
CG: IT IS KINDA YOUR FAULT, YOU KNOW.
CG: BUT I THINK IT MIGHT BE MY FAULT TOO SO I GUESS WE'RE EVEN OR SOMETHING.
GG: ._.
CG: ANYWAY, THE POINT IS YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO, RIGHT?
CG: WELL, WE CAN SEE YOUR FUTURE.
CG: WE CAN TELL YOU WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO DO, SO YOU HAVE THE CONFIDENCE TO DO IT. OR SOMETHING.
CG: I DON'T KNOW, THIS WASN'T MY IDEA.
CG: BUT NOTHING ELSE SEEMED TO BE WORKING, SO HEY.

It was something, at least. She wasn't used to this particular troll being so nice. He'd always seemed one of the meaner ones. But right now she'd take help from anyone. One thought kept coming back to her, though. She knew she'd seen him in her visions, but she didn't trust them so much now. She had to know.

GG: did john survive the impact?
GG: did he wake up???
CG: I CAN'T SEE DREAMSELVES.
CG: BUT I'M GUESSING HE DID SINCE HE'S SLEEPING LIKE A LITTLE PINK MONKEY RIGHT NOW.
GG: well thats something...
CG: AND HE'S TIED TO A ROCKETBOARD WITH CAUTION TAPE FOR SOME DUMB REASON.
CG: BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT IT'S TAKING HIM BACK TO HIS HOUSE.
CG: AND YEAH, I CAN SEE THE SERVER DISK WAFTING TOWARDS HIM ON THE BREEZE.
GG: i knew it!!!
GG: i knew hed come through!
CG: YEAH, BUT HE'S GOING TO CUT IT VERY FINE.
CG: YOU NEED TO BE READY FOR HIM.
CG: SO HERE'S WHAT YOU DO NEXT:
CG: FIRST, GET UP.

Jade got up. It was a start. Sadness would come later, but right now she knew what to do.

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Dave found a quiet gearwheel away from the crocodiles, and sat down. This was not going well. They'd already tried to eat him three times, and what with everything else it was starting to ruffle his cool just the tiniest amount. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, of course, but things were starting to get to him.

Speaking of things getting to him, gallowsCalibrator was at it again.

GC: D4V3
GC: WH4T 4R3 YOU DO1NG D4V3
TG: ugh
GC: 1 THOUGHT YOU WOULD L1K3 4NOTH3R OF YOUR HUM4N MOV13 R3F3R3NC3S
TG: thats more johns line really
GC: BUT S3R1OUSLY D4V3 WH4T 4R3 YOU DO1NG OV3R H3R3
GC: TH3 CROCOD1L3S 4R3 TH4T W4Y
GC: 4R3 YOU CRY1NG Y3T
TG: shut
TG: UP
GC: TH4TS NOT F41R D4V3 1M TRY1NG TO H3LP >:[
TG: yeah well youve got a funny way of showing it
GC: Y3P >:]
GC: BUT YOU DO N33D TO G3T UP 4ND G3T 4 MOV3 ON
GC: J4D3S 4BOUT TO 3NT3R TH3 M3D1UM 4ND 4LL H3LLS GONN4 BR34K LOOS3 WH3N J4CK NO1R G3TS H1S FOURTH PROTOTYP1NG
GC: H3'S GO1NG TO 4TT4CK YOUR PL4N3T F1RST SO YOU N33D TO G3T ONTO J4D3S 4S SOON 4S POSS1BL3
TG: he is?
TG: i suppose id better get moving then
GC: M4YB3 W3 C4N G3T YOU TO 4 R3TURN NOD3 SO 1 C4N M4K3 4NOTH3R ROCK3TP4CK
TG: no
TG: no more cheatrockets
GC: 4R3 YOU SUR3
GC: 1TS 4N 4WFUL LONG W4Y ON FOOT
TG: dont worry
TG: ive got a plan

Dave got up. Whether she was trying to help him or not, he was getting fed up of this troll's needling. He was going to show her how to do things the Strider way.

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Rose idly traced a pattern in the white sand with one of the Thorns, watching as the sand turned to glass under the wand's tip. She hated to admit it, but she'd been sitting on the sands for an hour now and she still hadn't come up with any ways to break the game, even with all the raw magical power at her disposal. It was so frustrating. If only there was something she could do...

Pesterchum beeped at her. She hadn't looked it in a while, but felt she may as well. She wasn't getting anywhere right now, after all.

EB: hey rose.
EB: just finished getting jade into the medium, kinda went a bit odd what with bec getting in on the act.
EB: umm...
EB: i read your faq update.
EB: and, well, i don't quite know how to put this.
EB: i think it's a good idea, breaking the game.
EB: maybe two wrongs can make a right :).
EB: but i think we'd achieve a lot more if we worked together on it.
EB: i'm not sure if it's healthy for you to go off on your own like this.
EB: and, well...
EB: you could probably use our game-breaking experience!
EB: so yeah, give us a bell if you want any help.

She smiled for what seemed like the first time in ages. He did have a point. This probably wasn't healthy. And she could use some help.

TT: Thanks, John, that would be lovely.
TT: See you soon.

Rose got up. They were going to break this game together. SBurb wouldn't know what had hit it.

[rosareven]

Righty-ho then

Get Up

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John sat down on the chequered ground. Well, he'd done what the clouds had told him to: he'd delivered Jade's ring to the strange man who'd been wearing his bedsheet. But he was suddenly conscious of all the time he'd spent fooling around since Jade had suggested he find the server disk and connect with her. Now he was further away from his house than ever, and he still didn't have the disk. How much longer did he have? He'd already lost Jade once. He didn't want to have to go through that again.

But before he could dwell on this further, a large cake hit him in the side of the face. Shock gave way to confusion and then a weird sort of understanding. Only one person could throw a cake like that. John looked up at his dad.

"Happy birthday, John. I am so proud of you."

John hugged his dad around the knees, cake crumbling off his face, mixing with the tears. He wasn't proud of it, but he'd missed him more badly than he'd realised.

"But you can't stay here, son. Your friend is in trouble. Get up. I'll look after things down here."

John got up, wiping away the tears and cake. He had another job to do. He woke.

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Jade lay on the floor of her greenhouse, staring at the meteor overhead. In a way, she'd been lucky, she thought groggily. Between a chunk of metal smashing the glass before she got there, some of the Squiddles tangling together magnetically and one of the few pumpkins that hadn't disappeared into thin air going squish for the cause, she'd had quite a soft landing. She was badly bruised, but she didn't think there was anything broken. But that's where her luck ran out. A sense of horror came over her. She didn't know what to do. She'd always known what to do. Skaia's clouds had always ensured that she knew what was coming up and what to do when it did. But now she could no longer see them. All she could see was the meteor.

What to do when you didn't know what to do... she knew there was something. She'd been talking about it to that adiosToreador troll just before... wait, that was it. Talk to the Trolls. She looked around, and saw her Lunchtop, badly battered by the fall. Praying to whatever gods were listening that it still worked, she leaned over and opened it up. She managed a small smile as green light projected around her. Firing up Pesterchum, she clicked on the name carcinoGeneticist and started to type.

GG: hello...
CG: THANK THE MOTHER GRUB, YOU FINALLY PICKED UP.
CG: I WAS GETTING WORRIED THERE FOR A MINUTE.
GG: so i guess my dreamself died.....
CG: IT LOOKS THAT WAY.
CG: IT IS KINDA YOUR FAULT, YOU KNOW.
CG: BUT I THINK IT MIGHT BE MY FAULT TOO SO I GUESS WE'RE EVEN OR SOMETHING.
GG: ._.
CG: ANYWAY, THE POINT IS YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO, RIGHT?
CG: WELL, WE CAN SEE YOUR FUTURE.
CG: WE CAN TELL YOU WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO DO, SO YOU HAVE THE CONFIDENCE TO DO IT. OR SOMETHING.
CG: I DON'T KNOW, THIS WASN'T MY IDEA.
CG: BUT NOTHING ELSE SEEMED TO BE WORKING, SO HEY.

It was something, at least. She wasn't used to this particular troll being so nice. He'd always seemed one of the meaner ones. But right now she'd take help from anyone. One thought kept coming back to her, though. She knew she'd seen him in her visions, but she didn't trust them so much now. She had to know.

GG: did john survive the impact?
GG: did he wake up???
CG: I CAN'T SEE DREAMSELVES.
CG: BUT I'M GUESSING HE DID SINCE HE'S SLEEPING LIKE A LITTLE PINK MONKEY RIGHT NOW.
GG: well thats something...
CG: AND HE'S TIED TO A ROCKETBOARD WITH CAUTION TAPE FOR SOME DUMB REASON.
CG: BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT IT'S TAKING HIM BACK TO HIS HOUSE.
CG: AND YEAH, I CAN SEE THE SERVER DISK WAFTING TOWARDS HIM ON THE BREEZE.
GG: i knew it!!!
GG: i knew hed come through!
CG: YEAH, BUT HE'S GOING TO CUT IT VERY FINE.
CG: YOU NEED TO BE READY FOR HIM.
CG: SO HERE'S WHAT YOU DO NEXT:
CG: FIRST, GET UP.

Jade got up. It was a start. Sadness would come later, but right now she knew what to do.

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Dave found a quiet gearwheel away from the crocodiles, and sat down. This was not going well. They'd already tried to eat him three times, and what with everything else it was starting to ruffle his cool just the tiniest amount. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, of course, but things were starting to get to him.

Speaking of things getting to him, gallowsCalibrator was at it again.

GC: D4V3
GC: WH4T 4R3 YOU DO1NG D4V3
TG: ugh
GC: 1 THOUGHT YOU WOULD L1K3 4NOTH3R OF YOUR HUM4N MOV13 R3F3R3NC3S
TG: thats more johns line really
GC: BUT S3R1OUSLY D4V3 WH4T 4R3 YOU DO1NG OV3R H3R3
GC: TH3 CROCOD1L3S 4R3 TH4T W4Y
GC: 4R3 YOU CRY1NG Y3T
TG: shut
TG: UP
GC: TH4TS NOT F41R D4V3 1M TRY1NG TO H3LP >:[
TG: yeah well youve got a funny way of showing it
GC: Y3P >:]
GC: BUT YOU DO N33D TO G3T UP 4ND G3T 4 MOV3 ON
GC: J4D3S 4BOUT TO 3NT3R TH3 M3D1UM 4ND 4LL H3LLS GONN4 BR34K LOOS3 WH3N J4CK NO1R G3TS H1S FOURTH PROTOTYP1NG
GC: H3'S GO1NG TO 4TT4CK YOUR PL4N3T F1RST SO YOU N33D TO G3T ONTO J4D3S 4S SOON 4S POSS1BL3
TG: he is?
TG: i suppose id better get moving then
GC: M4YB3 W3 C4N G3T YOU TO 4 R3TURN NOD3 SO 1 C4N M4K3 4NOTH3R ROCK3TP4CK
TG: no
TG: no more cheatrockets
GC: 4R3 YOU SUR3
GC: 1TS 4N 4WFUL LONG W4Y ON FOOT
TG: dont worry
TG: ive got a plan

Dave got up. Whether she was trying to help him or not, he was getting fed up of this troll's needling. He was going to show her how to do things the Strider way.

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Rose idly traced a pattern in the white sand with one of the Thorns, watching as the sand turned to glass under the wand's tip. She hated to admit it, but she'd been sitting on the sands for an hour now and she still hadn't come up with any ways to break the game, even with all the raw magical power at her disposal. It was so frustrating. If only there was something she could do...

Pesterchum beeped at her. She hadn't looked it in a while, but felt she may as well. She wasn't getting anywhere right now, after all.

EB: hey rose.
EB: just finished getting jade into the medium, kinda went a bit odd what with bec getting in on the act.
EB: umm...
EB: i read your faq update.
EB: and, well, i don't quite know how to put this.
EB: i think it's a good idea, breaking the game.
EB: maybe two wrongs can make a right .
EB: but i think we'd achieve a lot more if we worked together on it.
EB: i'm not sure if it's healthy for you to go off on your own like this.
EB: and, well...
EB: you could probably use our game-breaking experience!
EB: so yeah, give us a bell if you want any help.

She smiled for what seemed like the first time in ages. He did have a point. This probably wasn't healthy. And she could use some help.

TT: Thanks, John, that would be lovely.
TT: See you soon.

Rose got up. They were going to break this game together. This game wouldn't know what had hit it.

A great fan-fic for my favourite song. Thank you

[Tenebrais]

this one is for throwdown

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its amazing

It is stunning.

[Aborted Slunk]

I see my favourite, Pumpkin Cravings, was a zealously popular target - and Sunslammer's been done, too. In the name of avoiding redundancy, I won't bother with those.

Instead, I bagsie Space Prankster and Skaia (Incipisphere Mix).

[Orange]

Alright, did this one quick and whatnot as an experiment. Haven't seen anyone else do this particular thing.

"Medical Emergency"

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my name is Lusus Downthere. i like all lusus am named lusus. i know i am named Downthere because my Crutt calls me this often especially when i am amplifying my presence with my noise.

he says so all the time like so: SHUT UP DOWNTHERE!

oh and now he is quite upset because he does not understand me and i am imitating his decibel range quite well but that is nothing new. i understand Crutt Vantas and his mongrel language and have occasionally thought of him as Upthere Vantas.

'quiet down Upthere' i sometimes think. he cannot hear my thoughts. he is not a gifted youngling. in my experience Crutt Vantas excels in needless violence and also causing highly improbable events of a negative aspect to occur.

i strongly sense however that this is not his fault and i forgive him for it.

there are very few times in which i can sense the incoming onslaught of his entropic 'luck'. i find in this case there is an exception.

something wrong is going to happen soon. i will be party to it hereafter. but i am his Lusus and he is my Crutt and regardless i find that i can not terminate my unwritten duties as his custodian.

ah. here it comes now.

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Oh god why did I even click that damn thing. Of course that pompous asshole's script would work how he said it would, he's a fucking genius, fucking hell why did I run the damn thing.

Okay, so the computer's gone. Great job breaking it, you fucking hero you, Karkat. And that wall's gone; which is just fantastic. I should be a damn interior designer. Just a lovely breeze we've got going here.

Hmm. What else did Sollux fuck up this time?

Oh. Oh shit.

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Crutt Vantas was sad for some time.

this was not unanticipated. i felt that there was nothing i could do to avoid my expiration. i accepted it. i am also under no sopor-induced delusions in which i sprout wings and soar to an elevated plane of existence full of terrifying subterranean creatures.

also i acknowledge that subterranean creatures by definition do not live in the sky under any circumstances.

in that regard i suppose the 'joke' is at my expense. i find now that i am floating and that i am determinedly smaller. i still have my limbs but only two of them. my vision is filled with fleeting glowing streams of information that is foreign to my mind and my duties. i feel an all-encompassing understanding of the information and yet an almost omnipresent ignorance.

i look up to see that the sky has changed. the changing of the sky is an almost daily occurance but the circumstances seem to have been altered. the sky is now completely dark and without stars. the world seems to be lit by an unseen source of luminesence. i am told by my own mind the reasons for this and the answers to my questions bring me no comfort.

i seek out my Crutt and find that he is standing right beneath me looking at me with an expression that even to me is obviously extreme confusion. i sympathize with him but i can not give him answers. i do not know why.

i wish to tell him many things. i wish to tell him that he is not at fault not to blame. he should not feel sorrow nor confusion. i speak knowing no words come from me.

"it is okay Karkat Vantas."

i begin to say more but i am astounded. i can see that he understands my speech. i can hear my speech in his language. the sound of it is undeniably beastial and yet also subdued contained polite. the sound of my voice is the sound of my thoughts.

his face is overcome by several emotions. he seems at once relieved overjoyed manic crying angry. except crying is not an emotion. he attempts to scowl at me and i see him fail. his scowlsmile does not leave his face.

"You stupid, idiot crab bastard."

"it is good to see you have not changed."

Also cross posting this from the fan-fiction thread, since I wrote it for this in the first place. One-shot, starring my man Sollux.

"The Beginning of Something Really Excellent"

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It was, if I do say so myself, the work of pure genius.

There were so many factors that had to be met, I will admit. It's heinous how many prerequisites had to be fulfilled for the script to even work in the first place. First, all of the sprites had to be prototyped only once. That took about two runs through the game to do.

Wait, no. That implies that we actually completed the game in any scope, and that simply wasn't true. To be more honest, the runs in question were reliant on how long Karkat lived in the runs.

Ever since Karkat gave me the.. well, order, technically to write up a script to reset him at the "start point" of the game, I was fairly astounded at how I hadn't thought of that before. Essentially with ~ATH I could write the simplest "save point" loop out of any programming language.

So I gave the code a small alteration: whenever Karkat got reset back to the beginning, I made it so that I would be too. Just teleport right back to where it all began. That way I kept going into the game with more and more knowledge than the last time.

Though it didn't really matter much. Even if I wasn't useless to begin with, I still didn't end up helping all that much. Every time Karkat died I couldn't and still can't stop some things from happening. Or new things I don't even have a clue about from occuring. Every time travel movie, no matter the culture, tells you that much.

I've since made other alterations. Alchemized things to allow myself to not only see into other timelines with that stupid chat client, but also into other dimensions.

From what I've seen, there are a few instances where Karkat does overcome the whole curse thing. Saves the world, and all other worlds in the process. Alongside the fleshy Earth dudes, I guess. I've seen dimensions where he becomes the reason why everybody loses in the end.

The saddest part is that the best idea I ever had, I couldn't think it up on my own. Which is about right. Even the exact parallel universe version of myself is better at this shit than I am. Than I ever was.

I watched it all happen: right up close, like I was him. Saw myself type up the script that would fix all this crap. Because after all it was very simple.

After all, I was the one who wrote that stupid curse script, wasn't I? And I sent it to KK, and he used it and... well, everyone he'll ever meet, right? It was kind of a stupid thing, and I guess I figured he wouldn't be stupid enough to open it, or vengeful enough. And even though the script worked I guess he was right to think it wouldn't. Because it didn't, at least not in the way that I wanted it to.

Still. The curse script was abstract at best, I told myself. And I believe that. I don't know how well these scripts can work, really, or how much control they give anyone over anything other than life and death instances. And a curse is just a probability shift toward the Death Quadrant, and--

Anyway.

The real core of the problem, the catalyst for all this apocalyptic wrongness was when I synthesized the game to begin with. The game was what caused all the problems. Should've had her blow up the ruins, I thought back then, but that didn't stop my curiosity.

So the root of the problem was me. No meteors would have ever hit our planet if I hadn't brought the game to us. Hadn't made everyone play it.

It's pretty obvious, I think, by now, what I've done.

I didn't really want to die. But... well, if the worst that happens is that everything works out for the best and nobody dies, I don't see why I shouldn't go ahead and do so.

So this is kind of a goodbye to.. no one, really. No one will ever be able to read this, because I this time when I... when I, you know. Leave. This time I won't be coming back, at all. Not in the future, not in the present, and never in the past.

If I'm never around to compile the game, then it's okay, right? Everything works out. I don't see this as the end of anything, though. I mean, with all of my friends, getting to live like none of this ever happened in the first place...

I see this as the beginning of something really excellent.

[PaulPower]

Here's a quickie for Savior of the Waking World (one day I'll pick one that hasn't already been claimed by someone else )

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John hovered on his jetpack over the Land of Wind and Shade, surveying the damage and cursing Jack Noir bitterly. He'd really gone to town on the Medium lately. Dave's planet was already gone, and Dave himself had only just got away in time. Now his planet was in a bad way, too. Knocked out of its orbit, with lava seeping from the ground everywhere, it was not going to be inhabitable for much longer.

But if he couldn't save the waking world, he could still save some of its people. Refugee salamanders were pouring into the two Gate 2s, heading to Rose and Jade's worlds. It had taken a lot of organising with the others, and a lot of stair building up the pillar his house was on, but he felt he had to do something for his consorts. None of this was their fault. And he was their Heir.

Suddenly a voice came up from the crowd. "My baby! Where's my baby?". John zoomed down to where he'd heard the voice, and saw a salamander that he vaguely recognised from somewhere. He summed up all of his powers of movie cliché. "What seems to be the trouble, ma'am?"

"M... my baby. I haven't seen her since she went away with you. Where is she?"
"... ah." John definitely knew who this salamander was now. "Um... one moment please."

EB: rose, is casey there?
TT: Casey?
EB: uh... viceroy von salamancer?
TT: Oh. Yes, yes he is.
TT: Why?
EB: i've got a loving wife here who needs reuniting with her daughter...

[nobody404]

Ok, the animation is kind of on hold now. I'm going to finish it eventually, but if you want you can remove my name from the list, it'll take a while. I'll submit it eventually. Yeah, I'm a failure DÂ*:

[Takurai]

Oh. Mah. Gawd.

Something I can do. Give me...tomorrow, I'll come back tomorrow, and tell you which song I shall take.

And with that song as my guide I will create

A masterpiece

[PaulPower]

I'm having a go at writing something for Electromechanism now.

[LackingSanity]

I'm becoming more and more amazed at the people who post fanart regularily, because my drawing is going agonizingly slowly, and it still looks pretty crappy.

Fucking arms, how do they work?

[NoobOfLore]

Fucking arms, how do they work?

That's what I'm saying.

[PaulPower]

I'm having a go at writing something for Electromechanism now.

And here we go. Couldn't really fit a reference to the title in this time, but it felt kind of Veil-y so I decided to set it there. And then wrote something based on recent revelations about ~ATH and Lord English.

Electromechanism

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A long, grey room lined with computer terminals and servers...

"Wait, this is the Veil?" asked Dave. "We're not going to start suddenly hurtling off towards Skaia like a bunch of meteoric dumpasses, are we?"
"I checked it out," replied Jade. "This is the largest meteor, which means it'll probably get sent off last. So we should have some time."
"It also looks like this is where all the game's code is stored," said John.
"Oh, I get it," said Dave. "Can't send this one off until it really is time for the big Game Over screen."
"Exactly," said Rose. "That and it's the perfect place to do some game breaking."
"Well then, let's get to it."

John sat down at one computer terminal, read what was on screen, and laughed. "Ha! I don't believe it! They wrote this thing in tildeATH!"
"TildeATH?" Rose asked.
"I might've mentioned it once or twice before, I've been trying to learn how to program in it. It's usually written as squiggly-line ATH."
"Squiggly line?" Rose mused. "Tilde..."
"... ATH," finished Dave "That's an earth-shatteringly bad pun."
"That's not the only earth-shattering thing about it," Jade said, frowning. "I think you've talked to me about it before, John. Isn't it the one that's all based around things dying?"
"Yeah, it is." John looked awkward for a moment. "Basically it can run code until things die, or after they die. Stuff like that."
"Hang on, how does it know when something's dead if it's a computer program?" Dave asked.
"Magic is real," Rose replied simply.
"But that's not the weirdest part though. It can also make things die." John looked around at their shocked expressions. "I, uh, I guess sometimes you need something to break out of infinite loops..."
"That's pretty creepy," said Jade, shuddering.
"An intriguing concept, though," put in Rose. "What can you actually program in it?"
"Well, I dunno," replied John thoughtfully. "It's a weird language, but I guess it'd be pretty powerful if you knew what you were doing with it. Honestly though, I have enough trouble getting through the tutorial examples, let alone working out what someone else's tildeATH programs do. And they're not the easiest programs to test because, well, it's a very dangerous language. One wrong move could kill someone, or even destroy the universe. Yeah, you can make the universe die in this, too."
"An appropriate language for this game, then," sighed Rose as she sat down at the next terminal along.

Dave looked annoyed. "So you don't want to try changing it, then. Well this was a wasted trip."
"Well... here's a fairly simple-looking one," said John, his eye caught by a program. "It looks like it's used to generates grist when an underling dies. It's actually a pretty conventional program once you get past the tildeATH loop at the start. There's an array of values for different grist types and enemies and a bit of a randomiser and stuff. Change those values, you can change the grist they drop, and I think maybe you can change the experience you get too. I don't have to go anywhere near the tildeATH part of the program for that."
"So if we changed the numbers, we could get a whole bunch of rare grist types for killing a single imp?" Jade asked.
"And climb our echeladders a lot quicker, too," Dave pointed out.
"That's what I was thinking," said John, making a few alterations to the values. "This ought to speed things up a bit."
"This one looks rather complicated," said Rose, looking at her terminal screen, "but it seems to link into player deaths. And there are a lot of references to gates in the code as well. I wonder if it's the one that reroutes gates if a player dies before they enter the medium? I know Davesprite and I never went to Jade's planet in the... in the other timeline."

An awkward silence followed. "Could be," John said eventually. "I think we'd better leave it alone."
"Anyone want to change the subject?" Dave asked casually. "Maybe we could write a code for killing Jack Noir? That'd come in handy right now."
"We might be able to," said John, "but we'd have to know how tildeATH refers to him. I dunno..."
"Guys? There's a really weird code over here!" said Jade, sitting down at a third terminal.

Dave leaned over her shoulder and did a double take. "I'll say. I didn't know you could sneak bad clip art into a computer program."
"You can't," said John. He got up and walked over to them. "At least, not normally..."
"When the universe ends, play a game of 8-ball?" Rose said incredulously as she craned to look.
"Doesn't sound like a bad retirement package," quipped Dave.
"I don't know, I've got a bad feeling about this code..." said Jade uneasily.
"Well, I'm stumped," said John. "I have no idea what this does. But you're right, sis, I don't feel too good about it either..."

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"Someone might know what it means, though," said John after a while.
"Who?" asked Jade.
"Well... gallowsCalibrator did mention that the trolls have this really cool hacker guy on their team when she was getting that rocket pack code for me. Maybe he'd be able to help."
"You think the trolls'd have tildeATH too?" asked Dave.
"I suppose if SBurb is programmed in it, it would be reasonable to assume that this tildeATH is a universal constant," put in Rose.
"Yeah, that's what I was thinking," said John.
"Got to be worth a shot!" Jade said.

John nodded as he fired up his PDA goggles.

EB: hey GC.
GC: OH H1 JOHN
GC: YOU GUYS H4V1NG FUN 1N TH3 V31L?
EB: sort of.
EB: you know that hacker guy you were talking about when you got that jetpack code for me?
GC: OH Y34H
GC: WH4T 4BOUT H1M?
EB: well as you can see there's a lot of computery stuff round here.
EB: and there's this really weird piece of ~ath code i'd like him to take a look at.
GC: 1 THOUGHT 1 TOLD YOU H3 D1DNT W4NT TO T4LK TO 4NY OF YOU 3V3R
EB: yeah, but you also told me he couldn't resist a challenge.
EB: at the very least he should open a viewport and take a look for himself.

"Throw in a line like 'I bow prostrate before his superior technological acumen'," suggested Rose, reading the text backwards off his glasses. "Can't hurt to butter them up."

EB: also rose says I should say something like "i bow prostate before his huge words bluh bluh" but i lost track of it halfway through!
EB: i think she meant "hey, mr. cool hacker guy, you're pretty cool with your rocket pack codes, help a newbie out here".
GC: OH GO ON TH3N S1NC3 YOU ASK3D SO N1C3LY >;].

"Touché, Egbert, touché" Rose added, smiling.

TA: waiit youve got that code two?
TA: iit wa2 on my computer for 2ome rea2on and ii have no iidea why.
EB: so you don't know what it does?
TA: no.
TA: ii know pretty much what all the2e ~ath code2 do but ii really dont know what that one2 for.
TA: 2eriiou2ly it2 a complete my2tery, iit doe2nt even make 2en2e.
TA: runniing 2ome weiird 2ubroutiine at the end of the uniiver2e, what2 the poiint of that.
TA: but iit2 iintere2tiing to 2ee that you guy2 have iit two.
TA: mu2t be pretty iimportant.
EB: oh well, thanks anyway.
EB: thanks for the rocket pack, too! it's been really handy.
EB: well, except when it got me killed, but you know.
TA: okay well pe2ter me iif you learn anythiing.

"Anything?" asked Rose.
"No, they've got a copy of it too and it's pretty much the only code he doesn't get," said John. "He reckons it must be pretty important though."
"Well, then I think there's only one option," said Rose. "I'm going to have to talk to the Dark Gods again."
"Oh no, not again," moaned Dave.
"If it really is important, they'll know something about it," Rose said.
"Fine, but I'm going with you this time. I don't trust them not to mess with your head again."
"That wasn't their fault! They're just ineffable. It's hard for the human mind to grasp them."
"I'm still going with you."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Fine," she said. She looked at John and Jade. "Is this a safe place to go to sleep? We aren't suddenly all going to start hurtling towards Skaia like the proverbial meteoric dumpasses?"
"Well I think we're screwed anyway if this meteor starts moving," said John, "so I guess it's as safe as anywhere right now."
"We'll keep watch," said Jade, "and see if we can't hack a few more programs while we're here..."

[simon.clarkstone]

I'm having a go at writing something for Electromechanism now.

And here we go. Couldn't really fit a reference to the title in this time, but it felt kind of Veil-y so I decided to set it there. And then wrote something based on recent revelations about ~ATH and Lord English.

Electromechanism

I like this one. The first 50% or so syncs nicely with the tune itself at the speed I red it at.

[Aborted Slunk]

Space Prankster done!



Who would have thought Nannaquin would be this much fun to draw.

[I-gor]

All right, here's something for "Chorale for War", which (I think) hasn't been claimed yet. It's funny how I'm not able to figure out a coherent idea for "White", which I claimed earlier, but oh well.

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"I'm sorry, sir, I can't let you do this."

"I have written orders from the King. Sealed with his signet ring and signed in blood."

"I'm still sorry, I won't let you go through with this."

"You sure about that?"

There was a sudden flash as a silenced pistol didn't ring out. Then another. The Dignitary stepped over the body of the fallen guard and ascended to the roof of the tower that was Derse's embassy on Prospit. On top of the golden (for what other color would a building on Prospit be?) edifice there was a long box. The Dignitary opened it to find the weapon he was assured would be there...

The explosion of the rocket launcher as it fired was lost in the conflagration of the Dersite battleship. The Draconian Dignitary threw the remains of the stolen Prospitian rocket launcher into the street. Altogether, starting a war was too easy. Though, perhaps the White monarchs would be appeasing and acquiesce to the Black King's demands-no, they would never give up their precious Skaia. Fools.

==>

"These demands are utterly ridiculous!" raged the White King. "Retreat all forces from Skaia? Have Dersite inspectors come in and prevent such aggressive incidents? Reparations?"

The Dersite ambassador nodded. "Shall I go on?"

"No. Tell them they can go f- Tell them that I reject the demands. Comprehensively."

"Yes. Anything else?"

"Get out of my office."

==>

"Get out of my office."

"What?"

"Your country has declared its hostile against mine. Haven't you seen the papers?"

The Prospitian ambassador stared in disbelief. "You're kidding."

"No." The Dersite secretary shook his head. "Take a look."

The headline read "Prospitian Army Moves Against Dersite Troops in Skaia; Heavy Losses On Both Sides".

The color drained from the Ambassador's already pale face. "You're sure about this?"

The shrewd secretary smiled. It was not a pretty sight. "You've been PNG'd. You've got one day to leave Derse. Get out of my office."

As the Ambassador left, the grin broadened and Jack Noir chuckled. He knew he'd have to deal with the fallout, and, more importantly, the paperwork, but the look on the pompous Ambassador's face would cheer him up. Perhaps the Monarchs would ream him out for this, but he didn't care.

[simon.clarkstone]

Welcome to the New Extreme

This is a mix of known facts and speculation.

0:06

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A Sburb player forms a connection that completes the loop of players. Enough information has now been provided for creation of the new Incipisphere to begin (specifically, the one that her co-players have already entered).

0:20

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In a deeply-buried bunker somewhere on Earth, a machine analyses the players and devises a mythological background for their game.

0:35

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The new Incipisphere is created.

0:45

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Inside it, clouds of matter begin to collapse over the centuries to form the themed "worlds" the players will play on.

At this point I ran out of time. I was going to follow up with the development of life, the rise of civilisations, switch to the trolls' game, fast-forward through that, the creation of the rift, and everything that needed resolving at the end of Act 5 some other stuff. Yeah, just a bit ambitious.

As often, the source for this stuff is in a subdirectory of my Git repository.

EDIT: Made some wording less misleading.

[Tenebrais]

All right, here's something for "Chorale for War", which (I think) hasn't been claimed yet. It's funny how I'm not able to figure out a coherent idea for "White", which I claimed earlier, but oh well.

show spoiler

hide spoiler

"I'm sorry, sir, I can't let you do this."

"I have written orders from the King. Sealed with his signet ring and signed in blood."

"I'm still sorry, I won't let you go through with this."

"You sure about that?"

There was a sudden flash as a silenced pistol didn't ring out. Then another. The Dignitary stepped over the body of the fallen guard and ascended to the roof of the tower that was Derse's embassy on Prospit. On top of the golden (for what other color would a building on Prospit be?) edifice there was a long box. The Dignitary opened it to find the weapon he was assured would be there...

The explosion of the rocket launcher as it fired was lost in the conflagration of the Dersite battleship. The Draconian Dignitary threw the remains of the stolen Prospitian rocket launcher into the street. Altogether, starting a war was too easy. Though, perhaps the White monarchs would be appeasing and acquiesce to the Black King's demands-no, they would never give up their precious Skaia. Fools.

==>

"These demands are utterly ridiculous!" raged the White King. "Retreat all forces from Skaia? Have Dersite inspectors come in and prevent such aggressive incidents? Reparations?"

The Dersite ambassador nodded. "Shall I go on?"

"No. Tell them they can go f- Tell them that I reject the demands. Comprehensively."

"Yes. Anything else?"

"Get out of my office."

==>

"Get out of my office."

"What?"

"Your country has declared its hostile against mine. Haven't you seen the papers?"

The Prospitian ambassador stared in disbelief. "You're kidding."

"No." The Dersite secretary shook his head. "Take a look."

The headline read "Prospitian Army Moves Against Dersite Troops in Skaia; Heavy Losses On Both Sides".

The color drained from the Ambassador's already pale face. "You're sure about this?"

The shrewd secretary smiled. It was not a pretty sight. "You've been PNG'd. You've got one day to leave Derse. Get out of my office."

As the Ambassador left, the grin broadened and Jack Noir chuckled. He knew he'd have to deal with the fallout, and, more importantly, the paperwork, but the look on the pompous Ambassador's face would cheer him up. Perhaps the Monarchs would ream him out for this, but he didn't care.

Ooh, nice concept.

[orngjce223]

Welcome to the New Extreme

At this point I ran out of time. I was going to follow up with the development of life, the rise of civilisations, a fast-forward through the trolls' game, and everything that needed resolving at the end of Act 5 some other stuff. Yeah, just a bit ambitious.

As often, the source for this stuff is in a subdirectory of my Git repository.

That looks amazing, a) put it in the fanart thread so eventually Andrew will try to get this finished and b) A QUEST OF FUTILITY THEN. (Is what I thought immediately. I'm not sure why. WV isn't exactly my favorite character or anything.)

[Orange]

Welcome to the New Extreme

At this point I ran out of time. I was going to follow up with the development of life, the rise of civilisations, a fast-forward through the trolls' game, and everything that needed resolving at the end of Act 5 some other stuff. Yeah, just a bit ambitious.

As often, the source for this stuff is in a subdirectory of my Git repository.

That looks amazing, a) put it in the fanart thread so eventually Andrew will try to get this finished and b) A QUEST OF FUTILITY THEN. (Is what I thought immediately. I'm not sure why. WV isn't exactly my favorite character or anything.)

This would so easily explain the existence of the trolls and the various collisions of cultural icons and ideas that it's not even funny. Holy hell that would make so much sense.

Thanks for giving us that little secret from the future. Good to know what Andrew has in store for us.

[simon.clarkstone]

Welcome to the New Extreme

That looks amazing, a) put it in the fanart thread so eventually Andrew will try to get this finished and b) A QUEST OF FUTILITY THEN. (Is what I thought immediately. I'm not sure why. WV isn't exactly my favorite character or anything.)

Thanks.

AH obviously isn't going to continue where I left off, but I hope he might be inspired a bit.

This would so easily explain the existence of the trolls and the various collisions of cultural icons and ideas that it's not even funny. Holy hell that would make so much sense.

Thanks for giving us that little secret from the future. Good to know what Andrew has in store for us.

My wording was unclear; I have now edited the original post. Depicted is the creation of the Chums' Incipisphere. The Trolls' universe was not drawn, though it would have been included as a sub-plot if I had made a series of images for all 3:35 of the music.