Jackdaw

These are all the unique frames. I did 10fps with this layout:

Ignore the greyed out squares, this is the best image I have.

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His hands were clumsy as they pulled old code from the depths. Of course they were. All of Cashier’s waking memories were spent leaning against one counter, never mind the mind-numbing process of becoming sentient. The Player wouldn’t be gone for long, and he was starting to get nauseous in this buggy no-man’s land. He couldn’t hang about wondering what code did what. All he knew was that he needed to pull up enough unused content to keep the Player busy and keep his world safe. Whatever wasn’t completely unusable or game-breaking was gathered up and added back into the game.

A few extra endings salvaged, some additional objects made interactable, and Cashier felt that familiar shift in the structure of the game. Time started flowing, and he had to move on to the next step.

“hey bud. it’s me, the orb thing.”

‎‎***

As the Player loads into the bedroom, Cashier finds himself in the parking lot. The immediate cold night draft was jarring to how he usually began each game. He shrugged it off, maybe moving the code around shifted his spawning location to his right. Whatever the cause, it’s not that hard to walk back in before the Player can come outside.

Cashier’s eyes felt heavy, more so than usual. The nausea still lingered inside his torso, and the blinding lights of the store did not help the lingering headache that throbbed behind his visor.

Shielding his eyes and sliding his hand along the wall, he guided himself back to his usual spot. A pained groan escaped him as he slumped against the counter. Whatever, he’d lost track of Dummy’s code while editing, so he knew they weren’t here to hear him, and Player was still inside their house exploring the new content. He finally, for once, had some time to himse-

“Are you alright?” 

All his pain was immediately bumped down his list of priorities. A new voice in his store? Cashier’s eyes flew open, wincing a little at the light, and his back hit the wall behind him with a thud

“######################”

The new figure just stared at Cashier as confused static poured from the boy’s mouth. He looked a little worried. He didn’t respond, giving time for Cashier to recollect and rephrase.

The new guy looked similar to Cashier, just a simple Robloxian with little nuance, though his visor and torso were blue and his legs were black, and he shared a skin tone with the Player. Basic black glasses rested against his face, and a broom was clutched in both hands close to his body as if he were about to start dancing with it. Cashier thought he looked ridiculous, like a half-##### extra NPC. No wonder he was left abandoned deep in the code. How dare he try to work in Cashier’s store? Who does he think he is?

“who do you think you are?” Cashier has to suppress a flinch at how hoarse and breathless his own voice is. The code editing took more of a toll on him than he anticipated. The blue boy’s shoulders relaxed slightly, and he opened his mouth to respond.

“Oh, I-” The world went black, and their positions were reset. The Player had reached an ending.

Cashier opened his eyes to the parking lot once again. He hastily made his way back into the store, intending to continue the conversation. The new NPC greets him with a courteous smile.

“answer my question.” He sounded more stable this time round, the immediate adrenaline settling.

“... What question?” The NPC pauses his sweeping and stands up straighter. He tilts his head to the side as he looks Cashier in the eye. He’s like some weird dog, Cashier thinks to himself.

“the one I just asked.”

A pause

“I’m sorry, I don’t follow.”

The headache made it difficult for Cashier to immediately piece two and two together, but he slowly began to understand. This new NPC is simple. He doesn’t know he’s an NPC, he doesn’t know he’s in a game, he doesn’t know that the game loops. He’s not sentient. Cashier’s feeling of superiority was inflated even more. Why was this dumb, repetitive NPC here? He needed this guy gone. But first, he wanted to know who ‘this guy’ was. Cashier couldn’t remember specifics about the NPCs he brought forth.

“tell me who you are.” His voice was finally firm. His confidence was ignited by his revelation, and he approached the NPC with assertive steps to try and show off betterhood. Unfortunately for him, as he got close enough to where only the broom would fit between them, it was revealed that Cashier was shorter than the NPC. Cashier took a few steps back.

The NPC blinked a few extra times, clearly trying to make sense of the odd situation. Cashier was no stranger to the feeling that no doubt clouded the NPC’s fresh mind: the weird itch of deja vu and familiarity that nagged at the back of one’s mind each reset.

“Well, alright then, I’m Ja-” The world went black, and their positions were reset. God damn it.

With a blistering headache and the anger of a self-centred teenager, Cashier didn’t want to wait any longer or reset anymore before getting a proper answer. ‘Ja’? Jack###? He’ll figure it out.

Cashier stormed into the store and right up into the NPC’s face. He stood on the balls of his feet to match the stranger’s height a little more.

“who are you?” Instead of firm this time round, Cashier sounded tired once more.

The NPC’s entire body was tilted back to put some extra space between them. Resting his broom against his own shoulder, he cautiously but firmly wrapped his hands around Cashier’s upper arms and pushed him back a little. Cashier didn’t have the will to fight it. He relented and allowed distance.

“Uhm…” He seemed hesitant to speak to this weird green boy. “I’m Janitor. Aren’t you Cashier?”

“how do you know that?” Cashier barked, before quickly realising it must be somewhere in Janitor’s code that he’s Cashier’s coworker. Cashier internally shivers in disgust at the idea of having to share his store. Ew.

Cashier’s sentience must have stopped his code from updating to include Janitor somehow. Or maybe there was something else. Cashier wasn’t the best at figuring stuff out, not that he’d ever admit it.

“I just… do? We work together, are you alright?” Janitor was the one to close the distance this time, stepping closer and lifting his hand to check Cashier’s temperature. Right, he doesn’t know they’re not real.

Cashier scowled as though he were presented a plate of pure ####, and smacked Janitor’s hand away with the back of his own. He didn’t want to talk to this guy. Cashier trudged back to the counter, dropping his arms against the cold surface and resting his forehead in the crook of his elbow.

He didn’t like this. He could feel Janitor’s confused and concerned eyes on him. Cashier’s own eyes were screwed shut to try and forget about the change in circumstance. The jump from fresh sentience, to fear, to desperation, to relief, to… It was a rollercoaster. This extra mess made him feel violated. Why couldn’t he just have a moment to breathe?

Cashier could still feel Janitor’s gaze. What a jack###.

“shut up and keep cleaning.” Cashier grumbled quietly. The store was silent save for the soft music, so Janitor could hear the mumbling, but Cashier didn’t really care if his words reached him anyway.

“I didn’t say anything.” That same confused tone, as if everything was perfectly laid out and Cashier was dumb for not making sense. Cashier took a deep breath in to retaliate, but quickly deflated. He just wanted to rest before the Player inevitably comes in. Janitor watched for a few more moments, but did return to his sweeping without another word.

The looping footsteps of the Player came into earshot, and Cashier lifted his head and rested it in his palm, settling into one of his preset animations. He can survive.

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yippeeeee :DDD

I'm working on some stories including more of the canon characters too, I just needed to remember how to juggle two characters first.

I love writing from the perspective of a stupid angry boy. It's so easy and natural and.. huh.