arieschaos

[arieschaos]

Full version releasing in 10ish hours, this adorable card game is SO addictive and fun. GIVE YOUR CAT A SWORD, SEND A FROG TO A FAE CITY, KICK THE VOID LORD'S BUTT!

I was lucky enough to receive a beta/review code from the wonderful creator, Jon Nielsen, and have played 25 hours in the week (+ change) since (and got 34/36 achievements)

and just look at these lil guys

The game was pitched to me as a witchy Stacklands and it certainly is similar, but I found it much easier to handle in early gameplay and much more fun in later play. I also really love that, unlike Stacklands, you don't have to limit your card numbers or feed every living thing on your board at the end of the day - just make sure there are no monsters around.

Here's the highlight from the stream where I played this for the first time - my first impressions of the game and first hour and a bit of gameplay (first 30 days of game-time)

This is currently my favourite off-stream game as i can play with just my mouse, and can click-away while catching up with youtube videos, hanging in friends' streams or watching an ep of D20 with my husband or bestie.

#video games #card games #new on steam #witch games #management games #stacklands-like #game reviews #variety streamer

[arieschaos]

Digital journal ready to use for planning your 2024 - includes tabs for each month, optimised for GoodNotes, and set up with some January 2024 spreads. Pages can be easily duplicated and removed - though I would advise that the pages linked to the tabs along the side are not deleted. This journal is free/pay what you want, as will be any monthly add-ons throughout the year. Extra content to be added through the year for small additional costs (such as "blank" spreads for each month, so if there is a theme you wish to use all year, you will be able to do so).

Alternatively, there is plenty of space to merely use this as a base, and customise however you desire.

Made via Canva using a mix of hand drawn elements, digital art by yours truly and canva's readily available library of graphics. Expect a different theme every month!

#digital art #ko-fi #journaling #digital journal #free digital journal #goodnotes #canva makes #free journal #bullet journal #digital bujo #bujo #support small creators

[arieschaos]

A Commission piece for giveaway winner in my stream/discord community, Ally! It's her Supernatural OC getting all mad and angel-y. Love it. Super loved drawing this, even if it took me a while to get to it, it was such a fun piece to sketch out and render.

Art streams every Sunday @ twitch.tv/aries_chaos Support/commission me on Ko-Fi (or just check out my writing that I post over there... Space opera WIP)

#digital art #ko-fi #sci-fi #writing #fantasy #angel #supernatural oc #supernatural fan art #digital illustration #support small creators #supernatural #fan art #spn #procreate #original writing #original characters

[arieschaos]

Over the last couple months I’ve been working on kind of rebranding.. really it’s more of a uniform brand project (idk how to describe really) but it’s included creating this avatar to use for my streaming.. she’s in my emotes, overlays and panels so far, along with some SUBtember related graphics I’ve been using through this month.

She doesn’t have a name yet.. and I think, actually, she’s not a she, she’s a they… they’re a they… idk what pronouns do you give an abyssal void being of chaos?

…. Whichever they prefer, of course, but what would they prefer?!

I’ll stick with They/Them for now.. thank you for coming to my TED Talk..

Updated my avatar and banner on here to match the kofi and twitch aesthetics.

Under the break i've attached the emotes, panels and such I've made so far..

(if anyone's curious, SUBtember has gone pretty okay! We passed the 30 sub mark so next month there's gonna be some community event streams. Fun times!)

#digital art #ko-fi #support small creators #digital illustration #graphic design #canva design #twitch #twitch streamer #twitch overlay #twitch affiliate #panels #original characters #procreate #subtember

[arieschaos]

I am forever forgetting to share my art here.. anyway! Here’s a thing I drew for a friend, I’m super pleased with how it turned out

Kofi.com/AriesChaos

#plague doctor #king of hearts #blood #tw sh implied #tw sui talk #digital art #digital illustration #procreate #open commissions #ko-fi

[arieschaos]

"It's nothing personal, York..."

[arieschaos]

Got me some of the lesser unlocked achievements on Arkham Knight (at least- as far as Steam goes..) The Eternal one was FUN, I gotta do more of that Endless Knight AR Challenge - maybe try with Batgirl and see if I can beat the 52 I got with Batman

#sometimes girls do it better #arkham #arkham knight #arkham AR challenges #achievements

[arieschaos]

Live now, finishing off Batman: Arkham Knight on Knightmare New game +!

#arkham scarecrow #arkham knight #batman arkham series #twitch streamer

[arieschaos]

Going live over at Twitch.tv/aries_chaos New game +, Knightmare difficulty, about to go after Harley at the film studios..

#batman arkham knight #batman games #twitch streamer #going live #batman arkham trilogy

[arieschaos]

Chapter 3: Rory Mars

Nova grunted around her cigarette, feeling her seldom-used comm-contraption buzzing in her pocket. 

“One sec.” she mumbled at the doe-eyed barmaid she’d been flirting with and plugged the small, wireless receiver into her ear. She didn’t need to check who was calling, only one person in the galaxy had her contact details, “Wassup, Stel?”

“Small change of plans,” she started, and Nova rolled her eyes - Stella’s plan changes were never small. She continued, “The team at the Gitera labs were a little too efficient with my order, so I’ve had to hire someone else  to escort the package back here.  Which means I’m in no hurry to have you back in New London, and–” 

“So I can take that gig with Cecil?” 

There was a small pause from Stella and it made Nova wince and apologise immediately, “Sorry, shouldn’a interrupted.” she felt her shoulders tense as if Stella were standing right behind her and giving her that scolding look she knew would be currently dipping Stella’s brow. 

“...Yes, you will be able to take your job with Cecil.  Will I perchance be permitted to see a show, finally?”

It was Nova’s turn to frown as she took a deep drag from her cigarette and exhaled a plume of bluish smoke into the already smoggy night air, “Not your kind of scene, Stel.  And I don’t like not being able to watch your back in those kinds of crowds.” 

Stella huffed a small ‘hrmm’ and her voice lightened a little too much to be genuine, “Fine.  Another time, perhaps. Do you have an update on retrieving the discontinued product?”

Nova grunted again, throwing her cigarette butt to the floor and stamping it out, stepping away from the nightclub to avoid being overheard, “Got the remaining stock from Astea, that was no issue.  Markesh was a cake walk, guy was glad to give it over. Guys here on Tortuga are another level of stubborn. Gonna need to be a lot more... persuasive.” 

Unphased by the threatening tone, Stella continued, so prim and put together, “Very well, do whatever you feel is necessary. I trust you. Just remember - don’t damage the containers. At least, not yet.” 

Nova’s jaw tensed to keep her from biting back that she didn’t need to be told a twentieth time, “Because they need ‘specialised disposal’, I remember.” 

“Nova, I’m serious!” The scold was back, “Those narcotics in that quantity and with no instruction for care or storage are a potential chemical weapon.  They cannot be just thrown away or airlocked lest they fall into the wrong hands all over again.  A simple furnace would definitely turn them into a weapon, you remember the plan we agreed on?”

If she had a chit for every time she’d recited this plan; “After I’ve collected all the remaining stock, I head for the nearest asteroid, enviro-suit up and unleash hybrid hell on it all, till there’s nothing but ash and a stained crater.” 

She pulled another cigarette from the pack in her pocket and mumbled as she lit it, “still dunno why I got use up all my energy ‘stead o’ just throw the shit into an exploding star or something.” 

“That’s far too dangerous!” Stella sounded horrified at the idea, “Promise me you won’t be so reckless with your own life just for this task!” 

“Alright, shit, I promise,” Nova cowered a little again, hating the sound of her one friend so upset, “You got nothing to worry about.  I’ll call when it’s all done, and I’ll be checking in while I’m touring with Cecil, kay? Dunno where he wants to go but he said it’s almost 2 months of back to back gigs.” 

“2 months? That’s the longest time you’ve been away.”

“I know, I’m sorry.” She felt a pang of guilt, hoping Stel wouldn’t have realised the longer gap between visits, “I’ll check in as often as I can, vid calls, not just voice, and if we pass by close enough, I’ll stop by the lab.  Wanna make sure you’re doing okay.” 

“I appreciate the concern, dear.” Her tone was much softer now and it made Nova’s chest feel lighter, “I honestly don’t think that little gang are too much of a threat. At least, nothing a little hired muscle can’t handle.” 

A commotion back in the direction of the nightclub had Nova’s eyes narrowing and scanning the crowd.  She snarled, hating the interruption; no wonder it always got Stel so irritated.

“I gotta go.  Our guy’s making a move.” She couldn’t wait for a response, taking out the earpiece and shoving it back into her pocket, letting her cigarette fall to the ground as she tore off after the dealer she’d been staking out all weekend.  He set off in a sprint the moment his eyes found hers, clearly she’d gotten sloppy in her growing impatience- but now that she had permission from Stel to do things, at least this side of things, her way.

She chased him until the crowds thinned and he tried to lose her in the narrow side allies, but it just made him slow his pace, and gave her the cover needed to really get near him.  

With barely a thought, her energy wrapped around her, red-orange strings of light across her skin, giving her the boost she needed to surge forward and grab him by the shoulders.  The orange strands gripped onto his jacket like spider web as she pushed him against the wall. 

“Nice try, asshole. Gonna need to try a little harder to shake a gal like me.” 

There was fear in his eyes but he tried to harden his tone, a note of disgust laced into his words, “Why all the hot chicks gotta be crazy fuckin’ hybrid rats? What do you–” she grabbed him by the throat and hoisted him against the wall, snarling.

“Can’t hear you, dickweed, try again - this time, tell me where I’ll find the last of your Rory Mars stash.”

He gripped her wrist and kicked his legs but they only struck air, “G-gah– my– fuck–” 

She loostened her grip just a little, he gasped then spoke quickly, “My dealers already sold it all, we didn’t have that much to start off, it’s all gone, I swear it!” 

She snarled and tightened her grip again, “I already visited all your dealers and they all said you were keeping it for yourself.” She leaned in, “I know what the stuff does and I can tell you’re on it.” She studied him, noting red rings around his irises, and the distinct smell of licorice that lingered on his breath,  “reckon you popped a pill no more than 2 hours ago, so you got a stash nearby and you’re gonna give it to me.” 

He spluttered until she loosened her grip again, “Just kill me, bitch.  Rather die than be without that stuff.” 

She chuckled darkly and let those warm sparks of her power leep from her skin and form into web-like strands of light, now pushing him against the wall and leaving her hands free, “I’m not gonna kill you, asshole.  I do that and I’ll never get to your stash. You’re going to tell me where it is..” she moved forward, leaning into him, lowering her voice to a threatening whisper, “And I’m gonna try my best not to enjoy getting it out of you.”

Chapter 4: Actual, real cow.

#original characters #ko-fi #original writing #sci-fi #support small creators #writing #novastarre

[arieschaos]

It me

(x)

[arieschaos]

I had a funny thought and I think I wanna try to animate it…

So in Arkham City and Knight (and origins) you can track down Riddler’s helpers and interrogate them to get riddle/trophy/destructible etc markers on your map. This makes it soooo much easier to find all the riddlers shit and take him down.

What happens in the gameplay is you find a dude who’s glowing green, take out his friends so he’s the last one standing, then hit interrogate. Batman either pins him to a wall, hoists him up by the neck or stands on his head and says something intimidating like “I’m gonna count to 1.. then I get mad.” And the goon will say “this is all I know!” And Batman knocks him out, then you get a few markers unlocked on your map.

While I was playing the other day I thought “I wonder if he loots their bodies for a usb drive of locations or instructions..” but then thought it would be so much funnier if we see the intimidation, the “OH GOD, I’ll talk!!” and then it cuts to the goon with an ice pack on his shoulder talking through all the trophies etc he’s placed and Batman calmly taking notes on a little bat-notebook 😂 I wanna learn how to animate, just so I can animate this.

#batman arkham knight #batman #dc riddler #arkham riddler #arkham city #batman funny

[arieschaos]

I think my only issue with the Arkham games is that I love solving the Riddler's puzzles and finding trophies (especially solving riddles by scanning in detective mode) but I can't stand hearing The Riddler prattle on about how clever he is.

#batman arkham series #arkham games

[arieschaos]

Chapter 2: The Mercenary

[Chapter 1]

After pouring himself a well-earned glass of bourbon, Caleb Ortez sat with a heavy sigh in the pilot seat of his rented shuttle. Four back-to-back jobs was too many, he decided.  Even if these last four had been relatively simple, and the money he earned had set him up nicely for a bit of 'R&R'. These were the perks of working inside the sector where the bulk of the galaxy’s money flowed; rules were strict but it just made his kind of work that much more valuable. And here, everyone knew that the only person you could truly trust was a man loyal to the highest bidder. That is, as long as you were the highest bidder. This was doubly true for the elite.  

He eyed the navigation panel of the shuttle, considering.  He’d automatically set it to take him back to the edge of the sector, back into his comfort zone, but there was a tension in him that not a hot bath nor massage could ease, and he wondered if there were any bordellos nearby.  He shifted with a grunt and pulled his comms device from his pocket, intending on searching for a place with a higher calibre of working women, but a new email caught his eye first;

Dear Mr Ortez 

Following strong endorsements from your previous employers, I request your skills for a simple yet very important task.

He smiled to himself, ‘Glowing endorsements, eh?’ He briefly wondered who exactly those were from but as he read on, that thought faded.

I have a package to be collected from a colleague and escorted back to my lab. I will cover all travel arrangements and expenses and you will be paid extra for a job well done. Call for more information, should you be interested. 

I must add that time is of the essence and I will need a response within the hour or I will need to find someone else.

Yours sincerely 

S Rothschild 

Another simple job promising a handsome pay. He couldn’t really say no to that. At least, not without learning the details. Might as well call the guy. He input the contact details provided, ensuring he used an encrypted link, and cleared his throat as he waited for an answer.

It came in the form of a light, well-spoken woman's voice, "Yes, hello?”

Maybe an assistant, he thought.  He leaned back in the chair as he spoke, “Hi.  This is Caleb Ortez. I'm calling for ‘S Rothschild’.” 

The woman's voice continued, "Ah, Mr. Ortez! Yes, this is Stella Rothschild.  Thank you for calling so quickly.” He should have expected the job was from a woman: they were often the most generous. Though the way she spoke, her accent, took him by surprise; it was refined, elegant and he had no doubt she came from Earth, not a colony kid like him.  Probably from an ages-old country, clearly well educated, high class, and very much in control of herself. 

She continued, "I assume this means you are interested in the job I have to offer?" 

He filed away his observations and spoke with his own confident, clear tone, "I'm interested. Though you should know there are some jobs I don’t do out of principle-” his voice turned a little huskier, as it did when speaking with new clients. He took care in explaining his boundaries, to not be misunderstood, a slight edge to his words to let her know he was serious, “No slaving, no sex trafficking, nothing involving the exploitation of kids or women and no gun running.  If your job involves any of those things, you’ll have to find someone else.”  

She spoke quickly but carefully, "I can assure you it absolutely does not involve any of those things. And if I may say, I admire your principle.  Such values are hard to find these days."  She cleared her throat, "Your name came to me with a number of impressive recommendations, Mr. Ortez, therefore I am positive this will be easy money for you. I simply require an escort for a small order of research materials. Nothing dangerous, or illegal, but very valuable, fragile and completely crucial to my current project. There is a small gang here in New London who have been harassing me for some months, and they stole the last order before it arrived at my lab. I believe the courier was hospitalized. I expect them to try again with this order."

He listened carefully, considering the risk and opportunity, weighing up pros and cons, mentally playing out possible worst case scenarios, then asked his questions, "This small gang - do you have any details on their numbers or fire power? Are there any hybrids among them?”

"They are barely more than a nuisance. Addicts mostly, though I have noted a few low class hybrids in their group. I am yet to see any of them with any gun larger than a pistol - they seem to favour knives.” There’s an unmistakable tone of annoyance in her voice now, and it seems to turn almost venomous in her next words, “Likely that's all they can get their grubby hands on..” 

He smiled to himself, just barely stopping himself from laughing softly; she was a spitfire. Another observation to file away.

Her lighter, polite and controlled manner returns as quickly as it had vanished, “As I said, this should be easy for someone of your skill level. I would be happy to reimburse you for any ammo you spend on exterminating them.”

He wiped the smile from his face, took a deep breath and sat forward, opening up the navigation panel on the shuttle again, ready to enter new coordinates, “Sounds straightforward enough. Consider this my formal acceptance of the job. When do you want me there?”

“As soon as you can get to Gitera. I’m sending you the address of the warehouse. Once there, you'll meet with my contact, Dr Chater, and he will have your documents for transport to New London.” A notification window showed in the corner of his device - another email from her.  

“This will be an overnight journey, therefore I'll arrange for you to have a room and meal for the duration.. and I would appreciate a call once you're on board to let me know things are going smoothly - which, I’m sure, they will.” 

‘She sure enjoys giving commands’ he smirked to himself, noting her ease with which she dished out orders; another addition to the image of her in his mind.   

“Understood, Ms Rothschild. I’ll be sure to contact you as soon as I’m on board. And I appreciate the organization of room and food. That kinda thing is usually overlooked. Nice to know you are thorough.” He shifted in his chair and entered the navigation path to Gitera, “My nav-deck says it’ll take 2 hours. Address you gave me looks to be pretty close to the docks, shouldn’t take too long at all.” He sat back again, at ease with his hands resting on the piloting controls, “Was there anything else I needed to know?”

He heard a smile in her voice again as she spoke, a certain softness he hoped meant she was happy with their interaction thus far, “Nothing else, Mr Ortez. I shall look forward to your next call. Thank you, again.”

He couldn’t help smiling too, feeling the shuttle shift as he altered its route to his new destination, “Of course. I’ll be in touch, Ms Rothschild. Goodbye.”  

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

[Chapter 3]

#original characters #ko-fi #original writing #sci-fi #support small creators #writing #novastarre #space oper #scifi romance #scifi worldbuilding #science fiction

[arieschaos]

Reminder that this game is coming up to it's 8th birthday...

#batman arkham series #batman arkham knight

[arieschaos]

It's that time again...

I'm so hype for John Noble's Scarecrow.

I know I'm lacking the cheevs but I fuckin hate doing the challenge maps alright?! I do story, side missions (including all Riddler trophies), story DLCs and that's about it...

This is also why I've not written part 2 of chapter 5 yet

I’ve been rekindling my love of Batman and the Joker the past few days. I re-read the first couple volumes of the New 52 Batman graphic novels, flipped through my physical copies of Death of the Family, Killing Joke, etc, then started playing Arkham City.

I chose that one because it’s the one I’ve played the least of, it’s not my favourite at all. And no one asked but I’m gonna rank them.

1. Arkham Knight

2. Arkham Asylum

3. Arkham Origins

4. Arkham City

Though I’m not a fan of the driving/Batmobile parts in Arkham Knight, I do think it was necessary to have a vehicle in that big of a map, and some of the boss fights with the Batmobile were truly awesome. I loved the story in this one most of all, and the ace chemicals twist is one of my fave moments in any game I’ve played.

Edit: as if I forgot about the costume changes?! I can’t even explain the joy of walking around Gotham as Adam West Batman with his drawn on chalk eyebrows and still managing to intimidate people. Peak hilarity.

These games overall just have great storytelling, imho, but the best examples of these have to be Knight and Origins. Asylum really only goes above Origins because it was the first and I played that game back to back about 6 times, getting all the riddles and trophies each time, and my love of that game had me picking up City, Origins and Knight at launch. (Midnight launch for Knight- collectors edition and PS4 too).

The Joker memories scenes in Origins are just awesome and I completely love the storytelling visuals from that game.

City is my least favourite really just because of the AR challenge introductions, the awkward riddler traps… but again, we had a pretty good twist in there. It’s not my fave of the franchise but I still adore this series and they’re all in my top 10 all time fave games, for sure.

I have not yet been able to play Gotham Knights cus of money issues and life in general but I’m getting paid this week and I may treat myself. Though I hear it doesn’t hold a candle to the previous games… even with the Court of Owls being in it (and I do love me some Court of Owls).

#Batman Arkham games #Batman #arkham #my fave games #Batman and joker #the joker #dark knight #arkham knight #arkham asylum #batman arkham series #arkham scarecrow

[arieschaos]

#digital art #original characters #digital illustration #procreate #support small creators #ko-fi #open commissions #commissions #art commissions #commission art