#(i don't like AI art i need to make it clear i'm making fun of this)

[shoechoe]

why does he look like patrick bateman

[stairset]

Aight now that I've slept a bit and am less tired and have had some time to think about it, here is my hopefully coherent enough attempt to get my thoughts across on the Degenerate video, because I'm The Starset Guy and this is like the first major controversy they've ever had and even I have concerns about it and thus feel the need to get my thoughts out there. Cut-off for those who don't wanna scroll past all this cause it ended up being kinda long:

So first off just to get it out of the way: the song itself is great, as is to be expected with Starset. Vocals great, lyrics great, etc. No surprises there. Now to the actually controversial part, the music video. If you even wanna call it a music video, the video title calls it a visualizer instead but whatever. Semantics. Not the point.

So yeah, to start, I'm not exactly a fan of AI "art" for well, all the reasons everyone else has already brought up about it. But as other people have pointed out, in the case of this video there ARE some nuances to its usage that are worth discussing before jumping the gun and canceling the band. So first I'm actually gonna defend it a bit by going over the artistic intention behind it, then also point out the reasonable concerns that people have with it in spite of that intention.

So, I know this band. I know the lore and the narrative and the central themes and all that. The band's story centers around how technology shouldn't be abused by greedy corporate shitheads lest it ruin our society. Literally just a few months ago they released a book where the main antagonist was an AI that gained sentience and tried to enslave humanity. I'm not parasocial enough to pretend that I Know Dustin, but I know what he's about. And he's smart enough that I have to believe he didn't just make a move like this for no reason with no self-awareness. So yeah, I 100% get what the intent is here. As Dustin has said and others have repeated, the AI usage is clearly meant to be "ironic" and satirical, which becomes pretty clear when you actually watch the full video. Essentially it's using AI imagery to make fun of AI images. Real "I used the stones to destroy the stones" moment I guess. Lyrically, the song itself isn't SPECIFICALLY about AI, but it definitely is a big criticism of modern consumerism and commercialism in general, essentially talking about how we feel the need to stuff our faces with corporate-produced shit while our society is slowly falling apart around us. And while AI certainly isn't the sole problem there, it has certainly become a notable aspect of that larger problem, so it makes sense to satirize it to get the larger point across. The visualizer is gross and uncanny to look at on purpose. And it's clearly not trying to trick you into thinking it's NOT AI or anything, not trying to pass as something an actual human made with their own hands. It doesn't want you to be impressed by the visuals, it wants you to be disturbed by them. I compared it to the video for Linkin Park's "Lost" from last year since that was also made with AI visuals and as much as I also love that band and that song I'm still not exactly a fan of that particular choice. But the reason I bring it up is because I do think there's an interesting contrast in how it's being used in these two videos, as with the video for Lost it really did feel like it was using AI just for the sake of using it, riding the current trend, whereas here with Degenerate there's at least an actual reason for it, a reason that one can at least understand even if they don't like or agree with it.

Apparently Dustin's also said that they did pay artists to make the images for the specific purpose of running them through the AI for the video, though didn't really elaborate beyond that. But just based on what we know it does sound like these were consenting artists who knew what they were getting into here and were compensated for it. So it's not like it's a case of just stealing art or trying to replace actual humans to save a few bucks or anything, which is good since that's obviously one of the main concerns with AI in general.

There's also the fact that, as much as I don't like AI shit, the harsh reality is it's not going anywhere anytime soon. Personally if I had a magic button that could indefinitely halt all development on AI stuff until I can be sure that everyone will use it ethically and not abuse it then I would definitely hit that button, but the fact of the matter is that, for better or worse, it's here, it exists, and it will continue to evolve and be used. We can't just un-invent what's already been invented. And I'd argue that specific, limited, one-off uses like this are probably just about the most ethical way to implement it. Though of course I personally would rather this STAY a one-off thing, I absolutely do not want this kind of thing to become like, a regular thing for them. Or a regular thing in general.

But of course this video doesn't exist in a vacuum, there are other nuances here. Because as still more people have pointed out, using AI to make fun of AI is still using it. It's not like the video is in a completely neutral position, just commentating on the situation from afar. Even if it's making fun of AI, the fact that it's using it to do so means it's still feeding that AI, it is now another step forward in the evolution and proliferation of the thing that it's criticizing. One could argue that they maybe could have found a way to poke fun at it without actually using it. There's definitely a certain irony to be discussed in Making Fun Of The Thing By Doing The Thing. Is it being clever and meta? Or is it lacking forethought? Or maybe it's a bit of both. I don't know. Either way it's not exactly the best look, regardless of the intention and thought process behind it. Insert Torment Nexus joke here.

And although I SAID earlier that the satirical intent is pretty clear, it might not be clear to everyone. Even if the video isn't MEANT to set a precedent, it could unintentionally set a precedent anyway by inspiring copycats. Because unfortunately some people are simply too stupid to get obvious satire, especially if they're the ones the satire is aimed at. So it's entirely possible certain people will just see the trippy weird AI visuals and either won't realize or won't care what the the purpose behind them is and will just want to do it themselves because they think it's cool. And then THAT raises the whole question of "how much should you blame the person who made the satire for people being too dumb to get it, especially in cases like this where the satire is incredibly unsubtle and on the nose?" But then that's getting into a whole 'nother topic entirely so I'm not gonna dive into that.

And then of course there's other concerns like how research has shown that AI has a negative effect on the environment. As far as I know THAT particular concern hasn't been addressed so I don't know if they even considered that, but if they didn't then yeah, that's pretty irresponsible and lacking forethought.

There's also just the matter of personal preference, like even if you get that it's satire you might just think that it's not very good satire which is a fair opinion to have. Like personally I just didn't even really enjoy watching the video despite knowing full-well what The Point of it was.

So, in summation, taking all these points into account, I don't think that this particular usage of AI tools is THAT bad. I might even go as far as to say that it's like, fine I guess, at least in isolation. I think many assumed the worst before it came out but I don't think it's worth suddenly denouncing the band or going all "well actually they sucked the whole time and I totally never liked them anyway" or anything like that. Though I'm sure some people will start doing that. I'd say this is a somewhat questionable but not-too-egregious move, that there are legitimate concerns to be had and that I do share those concerns, and as I said I don't want this kind of thing to become the norm for them or for any other band, but I also don't think we should immediately conclude that the band has been Ruined Forever or anything. This kind of thing is a slippery slope, so I guess all we can really do is hope that Dustin doesn't end up falling down it. But that's my take on the whole thing. Maybe I'm being fair and nuanced and unbiased. Or maybe I'm just a hypocrite who's bending over backwards to give my fav the benefit of a doubt. I don't know. All I know is I just wanted to get all this off my chest at once so I can hopefully stop thinking about it and just enjoy the song on its own.

[corruptionasart]

I followed for video game corruptions. Don't think I've seen much of those of late.

damn sorry i'll make sure you get a refund

Anyway i'm also gonna go ahead and lump this in here since it's related:

So I'll forgive people for either coming in late to the party or just not paying attention to how this blog has changed over the years but I've spoken several times in the past about how rom corruption over time has become really boring to me. That's why over the past few years I've posted less and less of it.

Back when I started doing this stuff and really committed to it back in like 2016-2018 it was great, I started this blog as an excuse to do more of it, playing retro games and breaking them was, and honestly still is a lot of fun. Unfortunately I made the mistake of running a queue which meant I needed things to fill that queue which meant I was essentially turning art into content, and over time that took its toll and I burnt out hard on it. There was a point where basically all my free time was spent on some aspect of running this blog, whether it was playing the games or going through recordings to make gifs or tagging posts etc.

Over the past couple weeks actually I've been going through all my old ShareX screenshot folders (btw i wholeheartedly endorse sharex it rules and i donate to its patreon) I've been collecting all the screenshots I've made of rom corruptions (somehow I hadn't done this before) and what I've noticed is exactly what I noticed all those years ago, it's kinda all the same.

You might disagree with that but again I've been seeing this stuff for like 8 years now and there's only so many times I feel like I could post something like that before it gets stale, the same goes with the gifs and videos. Again, I do enjoy making that stuff but I just feel like I personally feel like I need to make a change.

I'll get into the AI part of what I said this morning in a following post but I should be a bit more clear that the collage stuff I've been doing and anything else that I plan to do in the future isn't meant to be entirely about showcasing ai art or glorifying it, it's just another piece of the puzzle. I mostly made the post about ai stuff mostly because I wanted to see what the reaction would be in this community to that specifically. I wasn't expecting the "anything that isn't rom corruption is off-topic and shouldn't be posted on this blog" contingent. I may very well make another blog just about the ai stuff because I think there are things I could talk about with it with regard to pushing against the tide of garbage and making something new with it, idk yet.

THe last thing I want to say regarding rom corruptions specifically, though, is that it's interesting to me that despite the fact that I've posted the link to the corruption wiki multiple times now and people clearly do have an interest in this stuff that hardly anybody is out there posting this stuff either here or anywhere else online (at least outside of the Vinesauce community, which I feel goes for a very different vibe in what they do.)

The tools are out there, they haven't really changed all that much for years apart from being supported for more modern systems, and yet nobody's posting anything.

Maybe I should make another proper tutorial on my whole process, try to push harder to get people to make stuff.

Sorry if this response is kind of incoherent, I've been called away a lot in making this, I'll try to make the next few posts shorter

[ninjago-oc-appreciation]

Ninjago Oc Secret Summer 2023!

What is a Secret Summer?

It's basically a Secret Santa but in Summertime instead!

For this event, you'll be secretly assigned someone to draw/write a gift for based around their oc(s)

It's very important that no one knows that you are making them a gift and vice versa, that you don't know who is making you a gift!

Are there any rules?

I didn't specify this last time, and luckily I didn't have to, but absolutely no N/S/F/W or Suggestive art/writing or requests. This is not an 18+ event.

No direct contact with the person you'll be creating for. You can communicate through me, or ask questions through anon on tumblr if you can.

No AI art/writing, gacha edits, face claims, picrews, or bases will be permitted for oc submissions or gifts.

Oc/Canon and OcxOc ships are allowed!

Next gen and self inserts will be permitted but I do ask that no Lloyd x Canon ship next gens be submitted to avoid potential issues between participants.

Not a rule per-say but make sure to put some effort into the gift ^^

How many ocs can be submitted total?

Three ocs can be submitted but only one is required.

What will I need for sign ups?

Refs or art that show a clear, colored depiction of your oc

OR at least two pieces of writing for said oc (does not need to be a whole fic. Could easily just be a quick blurb showing how they're written as a character)

Basic Information/Fun Facts about your character. This can be background information, relationships, likes/dislikes, age and height, personality, etc.

Suggestions or prompts for your gift giver. Stuff to help get their brain going.

Your blog name (not the name you go by but the url name. Like Ninjago-Oc-Appreciation, for example).

What's the General Timeline for this event?

Sign ups and assignments will be rolling out sometime in mid April.

From there, you'll have until late June to finish and post your gift art.

There will be exactly one week designated as a late period at the start of July.

Exact dates tbd.

How do I sign up?

In April, I'll post a google document where you can submit your ocs! There will be one for writing and one for art!

Please reach out to me after signing up in some way. This can be through messages, asks, comments on the post, or through reblogs. Last Secret Santa there was some trouble with the docs, and sometimes folks' submissions wouldn't save or wouldn't even send in properly.

To avoid issues where people aren't able to participate because of a glitch, I need to be able to double check that their form sent in properly.

That should be all! Let me know if you have any questions and suggestions for this event!

Also! Currently I'm using #NinjagoSecretSummer2023 as a tag, but if anyone has a suggestion for other tags I'd be open to them!

[dungeonmalcontent]

So, maybe I'm just a jerk here, but I really don't like seeing all the ai cover art that's been popping up on DMsGuild. It makes me, who actually puts a decent amount of time into my cover art design (yes, even though I reuse the same templates a lot, there's still a lot of work there, I even just finished up a third iteration of my current one) really sad to see. It makes me upset to see a document with a cover that is literally just a terrible permutation of a piece of fan art of a popular character. I have been experimenting with ai art so that I can see what the obvious signs of different programs are and how much people might be spending to get this garbage.

But the knowledge I have now just kind of makes me more sad than upset. I know what it's like to have no money and not be able to afford decent stock art for covers and interior graphics (it's why I taught myself more advanced graphic design), and it sucks to not have resources. Even if those resources are cheap stock art library subscriptions. I know the pain of wanting something colorful and dynamic on your cover but not knowing how to be able to get it, and I can see the temptation to go to some free ai art generator and pop in someone else's art and get a fun house mirror copy that is just different enough to pass as "art."

I still don't think people should use ai art. It's cheap and doesn't look good as soon as you look for more than five seconds, and it genuinely upsets me to see such low effort content try to pass as anything more than PWYW docs. And this isn't even touching on the ethics behind the development of these programs and how they are used (e.g. using someone else' art as source material).

There's also my grievances for how DMsGuild in particular allows AI art (with or without crediting). But I think that's a pretty clear opinion I don't need to explain any more of.

[mmkin]

Howdily doodily do! (Masterpost)

My writing archive (A03)

Hi, I am StrawberryCatBeans, and I write a variety of things/themes both original and fandom. Some light, some dark, some genfic, some naughty fic, etc etc.

If you enjoy my works, please leave a review, it is an author's lifeblood and lets me know what my readers like so I can produce more of that content for us all to enjoy.

I am a fan of various things, and enjoy discussing fandoms with other fans so you'll see me dabbling in various things, feel free to drop me a line, I don't bite (unless you're into that kind of thing, teehee)

Current fandoms include but are not limited to... Rise of the TMNT, One Piece (both anime and live action), Darkwing Duck (both versions)/Duck Tales (2017), Jackie Chan Adventures, Megaman, Marvel and DC (various) Dune (books and movies), a handful of K- and historical dramas, along with others. I also love to read and my tastes in books are as varied as my tastes in other media. There's a reason why I call myself an eclectic, haha :)

I add trigger/content warnings to what I make when necessary so please don't come bitching at me if you choose to ignore any warnings. Most of my smexy stuff is fairly vanilla but I do venture into some darker territory (variety is the spice of life, after all)

No racism, LGBT+pbobia, ableism, sexism, etc, allowed on this blog (or my other online spaces) I prefer to use the Internet for fun and writing and making friends, not spreading hate and ignorance.

I am friendly to teenagers because regardless of someone's age, they deserve to be treated with respect (and we are/were all teenagers once, right?) but be aware that some of what I produce is 18+/NSFW, any materials are labeled as such, minors please DNI. Please respect that.

Book review blog

I am a voracious reader, (favorite genres are scific and histfic but I will read just about anything) and welcome new friends either here on Tumblr or over at GR. I enjoy book chats!

Feel free to send me an ask here or email me at cultofstrawberry at gmail dot com.

Video game and misc blog I am also a published author under the name M.M. Kin and my books can be found on Amazon and Smashwords (also available at Barnes and Noble, Apple Books, and other book sites)

I also enjoy drawing, you can see various doodles I do here on my Tumblr. I am proud to report that no AI was involved in the creation of any of that art (or my writing, for that matter!)

It feels a little weird for me to be using this disclaimer but it's now March 2024 and I'm seeing some wild stuff in regards to AI and people trying to pass of that shit as their own and all that and I really feel like I need to make myself clear on that.

Since my Anne of Cleves drawing is such a hit, I think I'll pin it here too. :)

[whitedvl]

Yeah I'm gonna update my rules later but if you use anything AI like art or writing on your blog I will not write with you. Ai art is -- well you already know. It's bad. It's hideous. It's gross. But I've been hearing that people are using ai WRITING for replies. While I personally haven't seen it- I want to make it clear.

I don't use it.

You shouldn't use it.

This is LITERALLY a rpc. You are the writer. Whether you write a paragraph. Or a sentence. You are in control of what you do.

Do. Not. Use. AI. I don't care if you make writing mistakes. We're human. It happens. You don't need to be a perfectionist when it comes to writing. You just be yourself. And have fun with it!

[dojae-huh]

Completely agree with your standpoint on the NCT Home app issue.

I personally think that it was harmless, except for the fact that SM is capitalising on fans nonstop but what's new? They'd do anything to promote the Neos, even if making them into controllable avatars.

Maybe they view it as dehumanising since the movement of the graphics seems very unsettling, and with the rising issue of how deepfakes are ruining people's lives could explain the mass fear of the app. But the Neos have agreed to the idea, given if they were briefed and signed a contract before shooting all the angles. So what's the big harm? They consented, just as how other form of fanservice they have done.

Fans should address the "dehumanising" issue from another standpoint - how SM is less focusing on their musical talent and promoting their idol image as products. Nowadays it's all about looks - all these merchandises with their beautiful images being sold and of course fans (and me) will spend some money (for Doyoung's pretty smile). SM and the NCT team needs to reflect on what even started the Neo movement, because now it's getting pretty stale... How the "Neo" brand is presented to the public... It's what made NCT special from other groups, and I really love their uniqueness and bravery to challenge different concepts each time. Hopefully after all this SM mess die down, we'll get NCT 2020 back (one of their best comebacks).

Thanks for reading my 2 cents, love your blog!

I agree, AI imitating art, deep fakes, body shape enhancing and skin smoothing filters are very new phenomenas, people are still sorting out how they feel about it, where is the line, what is ethical and what is not. Because there is no consensus, it attracts attention and provokes thought.

I can't be sure, however, I suspect that Japanese and Koreans saw no problem with the app. They are much more accustomed to virtual reality and virtual idols, the idea of robots looking like humans, etc. Look at how idols often play with face demorphing filters. It is fun, not scary. At least at this stage, when the line moved just a tad, when it is still "just a game".

To make it clear, I agree with the fans who don't like the app. It is better to stop a malpractice at the beginning than fear SM will release your bias avatars in the future for sell. I would prefer to have Naevis kind of avatars, completely made from scratch. Still, is there really a big difference between making a digital likeness of an idol to open its mouth and making a flesh-and-blood idol to open his mouth by showing a funny cartoon as an instruction to action? In the first case it's emotionless pixels, in the second case it's a real person with feelings you have an eye contact with in a situation where you are in a position of power over him for a minute.

There are "class clown' people who will do a lot to get attention, ilicit a laugh and be cheered on. These type of people do aegyo and everything else with ease. And, surelly, there are "dancer"/"show off" type of people who are very in tune with their body and sexuality and are not afraid of being sexy or even provocative at all. It doesn't apply to all idols. Some have to bear through the tasks, psychologically adjust, internalise their feelings because "it's what the fans want, it's what is needed to be done to achieve popularity". However, because "it is the norm", only extreme cases "warrant" concern from fans.

The Neoness... I'm waiting for the new comeback. 127 and NCT2023's run in 2023 will tell if the new SM showrunners remember the roots and the main idea or not.

Do you know that idol pictures evolved from prints of portraits of Japanese kabuki actors? Ans that mostly the actors survived thanks to their patrons not tickets? Koreans imported a lot of J-pop practices in the beginning.

As said as it is, the music doesn't sell on its own. It is well known that even cello players who cover rock bands and modernise classic pieces have to be conventionally attractive to make it big in general public. And, let's be completely brutally honest, many of neos are not that talented to make it on singing/dancing skills alone. Not even Doyoung. Therefore, I just accept the promotional idol part of things. I agree, though, that 127 need to comeback to neoness. Taeyong's hairdo in "Ay-Yo" was a breath of fresh air...

The solos released by SM these past months for other SM artists make me be at ease. The music is good, the albums are nice to look at, there are thought-through concepts. Jaehyun got a nice video for his solo song. It was promoted in a quite way, by the way. Many magazines included it in the top 20 songs of the year lists. Renjun does a lot of covers for YT. Taeyong released several dance videos for his unreleased tracks.

"Killing voice" happened. Karaoke sessions and singing in a cafe live were shot and uploaded to YT. Xiaojun was sent to shows where he sang live. So SM staff does some work in this direction. Not enough, I agree. It will be nice to see neos more often on those programmes that allow to showcase vocal abilities.

[neversleepever]

My secret Santa gave me "art" they "drew" but it's ai art.

I just have to get this off my chest.

So for the past couple of years I've been doing an online secret Santa. I've had a good time both giving and receiving.

This year my secret Santa sent me a few little things I really loved. They also gifted me two pieces of "art" that they "drew". It's blatantly obvious it's ai art.

When you send your gift you notify the system. In your notification you can add shipping information as well as a note for your giftee. The note my secret Santa sent me only referenced their "art" and they specifically said that they "drew". I thought that might be the only thing I would get, which I would have been happy with if it was real art. I would have been happy even if it was real crappy art. Because at least a person put in time and effort. That's love.

Luckily their "art" was not the only thing they gave me. The gifts they did give I really did love. It was a few fun little things and an art book from one of my favorite artists. But trying to pass off ai art as their own just sours things.

Before I show you the "art", I'm going to have to add some context. When you sign up for this secret Santa you have to fill out a profile with things you like. I added a bunch of random things I like. Like how I love cyberpunk (the genre and the video game/ttrpg). I also listed all my pets. Including my 4 tarantulas. Clearly they just put "tarantula + cyberpunk" into an ai.

Cyberpunk is a fantasy genre. You can take a certain amount of artistic liberty. I just can't imagine an artist who can make almost photo realistic art make so many fundamental mistakes

Without further-a-do.

Where to begin? Nothing is symmetrical. Forget 8 legs. I would be happy if the same number of legs were on each side.

Many of the legs don't touch the ground. Probably because many of the legs aren't even full legs. They just stop at the first joint. Legs are going in all directions. The leg in the top right corner of the bottom picture looks like it's going behind the building.

Items in the foreground are blurry but the background is crisp and clear. It looks a little better in the pic I posted but in person it's really obvious.

"Hey there handsome. You happy to see me?"

"Yeah, you should have that looked at"

Where is this even coming from?

I just can't believe they thought they could get away with it. Obviously I know tarantula anatomy very well. You also don't need to be an anatomy expert to know legs need to touch the ground to use them. It's the lying that I hate. If they were honest that it was ai art, I wouldn't be so mad. I hate ai art but I hate people who try to pass off ai art as their own even more.

But also, I put in my profile that I'M AN ARTIST!!!

I did say I was a beginner. But just because my skill level is still beginner doesn't mean I don't know art basics. I've spent my whole life surrounded by art, going to art museums, art shows, art festivals. Looking at art critically. I even have family that works in an art gallery. I've spent my whole life around artists.

I was originally not going to call them out. I've been trying to be a nicer person.

With this secret Santa process, it is considered customary to make a post of what you got and a little thank you note to your Santa. I did make a post thanking them for the other things I got. I did genuinely like the other things I got. But when it came to the "art" I just said it was... Interesting.

I was going to leave it at that until my secret Santa commented on my post. I knew it was them because their username matched the name they signed on the back of the pictures. Because of course they signed the back of the pictures.

They once again brought up that they "sketched" these pictures. That's when I just couldn't take it. I replied thanking them for the gifts and said the art was ai. They haven't responded yet and I don't care if they do.

We are truly in the worst timeline.

[lostonesart]

Miraculous Abel

(you'll need an account to read it on AO3 cuz of AI scraping the site.)

but here's the first actual chapter(after 2 chapters of rule setting and setting changes)

CH1: The New Kid

I watch the French countryside roll by as I hold the small, simple wooden box in my lap; a goodbye gift from mom and dad for me moving to Paris with my aunt Riley. In it was a silver ring with a fair-sized clear gem set in it.

“Aunt Riley?” I turn to look at her while she drives.

“Yeah, Little Man?” My aunt asks and her head turns towards me but her eyes never leave the road. She was a few years older than my mom. She was brunette and had hazel eyes. Growing up, I didn't really see her often since she lived so far away. But now I'll be living with her.

"I'm… scared… What if I mess up something simple and look like an idiot in front of everyone? What if they make fun of me?"

"Well…” She pauses for a moment. “Then you'll know who the bad friends are. You remember what me and your mom keep telling you, yeah?" She says as more buildings begin to roll by.

"... 'Those who mind don't matter, those who matter don't mind.'"

“Exactly!” She nudges my shoulder with her elbow, a wide grin on her face. “Say… How’s about after we settle in, we run out and get you some hair dye? You got an awful lot of blond showing.” Ruffling my hair as she spoke about it. I simply nod and go back to watching as we drive deeper into the heart of Paris.

"... Can I go a bright pink this time?"

"Haha-HA! ‘Course, Little Man!" Aunt Riley cheers.

— Agreste Manor

“Natalie, you said the camera I ordered for school arrived, yeah?” The young man asked excitedly as his Father's assistant organized the family's plans for the month.

“Yes, it's right here.” The woman pulled the box from under the desk, setting it aside for the man, and resumed her work. “If you're still thinking about what your first photo should be, might I suggest seeing your mother? I'm sure she'll have an idea for you.” Natalie continued as he was figuring out his new camera.

“Yeah! That's a great idea, Natalie!” Adrien chimed, gently tapping her arm to substitute for a hug before taking his camera upstairs.

-

Quietly, Adrien cracked open the door to his mother's room. He didn't want to wake her if she was asleep just to show her his new camera. He found her sitting in the window nook, watching outside. Inspired, Adrien aimed his camera and snapped a picture.

Hearing the shutter, his mother turned to see her son looking proud of himself.

“Hey, mon trésor. I see your camera finally arrived.” she giggled at her son's antics. She opened her arms and reached out for him silently requesting a hug, which he happily gave with a small squeeze. “Are you sure you still want to go to this school? I'm going to miss not having you around all day.” She said with a small pout as he pulled back to look at her.

“Yes, Maman. This school is number one in the arts, even compared to elite private schools.” He says as he double-checks the photo. “Plus, you know how much I've been working for this: convincing Father, getting that scholarship all on my own, building my portfolio…”

He looks at his mother's necklace, a cat-shaped pendant. She'd had it ever since he could remember, there were even pictures of him trying to teeth on it as a baby.

“I know, mon louloute. Don't mind me...” His mother laughs and ruffles his hair. “... You've grown up so quickly, I almost can't believe it's been 20 years already.” She says in a nostalgic voice.

“... You should get some rest, Maman.” Adrien gives her a bittersweet smile as she holds his arm to get up from the nook. Growing up, he knew how fragile his mother's health was and how she'd been getting worse in the last few years.

-

After helping his mother to bed, he retreated to his room to upload his first photo to his computer.

[auspicious-voice]

AUSPICIOUS VOICE 2023 Plans

I was supposed to post this earlier, but hey it's better late than never I guess. :D Happy new year!

I wanted to write this post as a means to streamline my goals on what I want to accomplish this year in regards this vocalsynth project. Other than that, 2022 was a huge success as I was able to churn out Maria and Mario's final Japanese voicebanks and get back on the UTAU grind by making covers and such.

As usual, more details will always be under the cut!

The Future of AUSPICIOUS VOICE

AUSPICIOUS VOICE has been one of the few projects I've put a lot of heart and effort into, and it's one I'll still be able to work on for a very long time. Apart from other projects mine, this one is very hobby-centric, and I intend to keep it that way.

However, I'd also like to branch out of vocalsynth-related activities with project and try to transform it into a mini OC project of sorts. Maria and Mario are their own fleshed out characters, and I would like to expand on that beyond fun facts and lore dumps. Maybe I'll tweak their lore towards vocal synths just a bit since they did start out as UTAU voicebanks.

AUSPICIOUS VOICE did start out as a vocalsynth collective between friends in 2014 (under a different name), and after that project fell out, I picked up the pieces and created AUSPICIOUS VOICE with the two surviving UTAUs (Maria and Mario) and continued making voicebanks for them. I'm still glad that some of my friends remember the UTAUs they've made for our old project, so I'm wondering if there could be a renaissance in the future...?

Cover Production

Starting today, I won't be uploading covers on a bi-weekly basis, as I would like to upload whenever I like without the pressure to upload constantly. I still have a backlog of covers to upload, but that aside, I've made it a thing to work on covers at my own pace.

Voicebank Development

Because I've released Maria and Mario's final Japanese voicebanks last year, I can't say that I'll be producing more voicebanks for them anymore, especially when I'm busy these days. I've postponed development on their English voicebanks due to time constraints and a lack of interest.

What about their Diff-SVC models? They're still in private beta, and I haven't done much with them recently. While it's exciting that Maria and Mario have AI models of their own, I can't see myself releasing them to the public at the moment.

Maria and Mario are considered "complete" for now in terms of voicebank development, and with that, I'd like to devote my energy to other things. :D I'll still need to make demonstration videos for their latest Japanese voicebanks and UniCoe voicebanks... (opens up After Effects)

Anniversary Plans

Maria and Mario's 8th anniversary is on April 4, since that's the date when they were first released to the public. I have a cover ready for them at the moment, but not the cover art. I don't plan on doing anything crazy, so a simple celebratory cover will do!

It's a bit jarring that Maria and Mario are turning 8 this year, and I still feel like I'm stuck in 2016...Time flies WAY too fast.

Anything Else?

2022 was a successful year in my books, and I'm hoping that this year will be the same or even better than that. I'd like to be more comfortable with the greater the vocalsynth community and steer clear of any bullshit that happens in it. I've had enough of that destroying my will to work on any vocalsynth projects, and I intend to keep it that way.

Here's to hoping that 2023 will be successful! ✨✨✨

[bearpillowmonster]

Horizon Zero Dawn Review

The game that critics have been raving about for years and I just haven't played. I heard a lot of people say "this needs a movie" but they say that about any game that dares to be a little bit cinematic because I personally disagree.

That first part is rough, the story seems so in your face, predictable and bland but I think the problem is that it didn't know how to put in its exposition. I think it naturally builds up as it goes on, getting bigger and broader, it's just those first experiences that can be a slog because you're pretty much learning what style you're going to play in.

I got more or less everything I expected, crafting, a skill tree, various weapons. What I didn't expect though are dialogue options. You can choose normally up to four paths, an intelligent one, a compassionate one, and a straightforward one. You don't have to worry about the stress of trying to reach a specific ending because there's really only one, the only thing that affects it is the amount of people that are in it. So does that make the choices irrelevant? Yes and no because there are different dialogue options and like I said, which means that you can get certain characters to like you more given the option you choose but not in the same way that relationship points work and I definitely felt the draw to do that whenever I came across my first side-quest.

Side-quests are interesting, I love tracking things in games, though it's rare that you actually get the chance to do it and here you have a good amount of opportunities. Is that all though? Far from it. I actually found myself searching for side-quests because the first two were so satisfying. It really only began to show its hand a bit more after those quests. As I mentioned, there are a lot more RPG elements than I first imagined but it starts to send you on scavenger hunts, especially that Dreamwillow one, that one I actually laughed out loud at every time I was turned away. It also starts to gatekeep to where it recommends that you be a certain level which is...odd? I mean at face value it looks like you could rock basically any combat situation that isn't context sensitive. Leveling up gives you abilities but they're more like Deus Ex on that front, where it's just for preference and upgrading, not necessarily strength. The only thing you improve on offense wise basically boils down to having the right materials or units to buy weapons then a matter of finding modifications. Other than that, leveling up seems to just increase your health. It really just depends on the quest too because I'll play one above my level and be fine then play another that's actually under my level and feel stuck.

Now I only played it on normal mode so something like "Ultra Hard" is bound to be more demanding but as far as actual side quest content, I feel like they have potential but just need tweaked, give me more stuff for major characters that affects their standing with me. Rather than having each quest be contained in its own story, have it affect you later in the game, let your actions be shown, give it rewards and consequences. There are some really great side-quests but there are also some crappy ones, it doesn't pass that threshold that most RPGs fall under or anything. However, I did find myself doing side-quests at my own free will and the ones that I didn't like or couldn't do at the time, I just skipped and focused on something else, I felt a lot more freedom with this game, like I didn't feel forced to grind or do a certain number of side-quests or really do anything. It encourages you to explore and play the way you want to play and I respect the heck out of that. Maybe it's different for other players though.

Perhaps my favorite actual side thing was the Cauldrons for those who actually played this, you'll know why. For those who didn't, just know that it's cool and let it be a surprise for when you go to one. You might expect these big set-pieces and bosses like Uncharted or GoW, but it's not really like that. I genuinely think that this is more video-gamey than it lets on which certainly takes up its runtime. One addition to side-quests that I would like to see is one where you don't know it's happening. For example, in this game, you'll come across random hunters who are attacking or being attacked by machines but rather than just going on about your day and them going on about their's, I want to fight off the machine and the person say "You saved my life, my name's Jara, I live in the town nearby and want to repay you." so you go there and there's trouble so it starts up a side-quest. Now don't get me wrong, there are PLENTY of instances of people getting attacked actually being a mission but most of the time someone in town will just tell you "I haven't seen this person in a while, can you go check on them for me?" It's the art of subtlety and also just doing a good deed and getting rewarded for it. It's a conscious choice and split decision rather than just another checkmark on your list to complete.

Now I won't bother listing the characters and rating them but there's a certain aspect that has me really enthused So, Aloy is an outcast and a lot of these side missions and scenarios reflect her, you'll see the way she can relate with other characters, making it almost poetic in a subliminal kind of way. Then they add this tribal and futuristic setting to it where Aloy acts as the medium, there are parts of the game where she questions the tribe because they cut themselves off from technology and just don't know any better and we as a viewer know that but having the main character view things in 'our' lens is pretty genius. To top that off, they give her enough personality to be her own character while giving us enough power to influence her so that we ourselves can REFLECT WITH HER. It's not her character that I'm impressed with, it's the layout of the story.

So, how is the main story? It's kind of like the Flood scenario in Halo if I'm being honest. I'm not going to spoil anything but it's passable, like I said, it's not like an Uncharted and it's not like a movie. The visuals just look good at times (I took all the pictures in this review myself and so much more!). I'd call it a futuristic/tribal mix between Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Skyrim but I see elements of a lot of things. (Also since it's post apoctalypic, you find items that we see in modern day, like how they call keys, "chimes"! They think they're windchimes because there are no more cars! I love that!)

It actually does a pretty good job at being an open world considering that there are tons of things to do on your routes as well as collect but it's not so much so that it seems unfeasible, as I said, I found myself doing a good chunk of the side stuff just because it was fun to do and I'm not even close to a completionist for any game. If you mess up, healing plants will still be there. As long as you save, enemy parts will still be there. A place can be cleared out and conquered so that enemies don't come back. The actual towns are peaceful so you can't get mangled by any bots outside of scripted instances.

The graphics are pretty good but I can see some error here and there, nothing necessarily game breaking but the animations and AI are definitely janky at times. It's pretty obvious from the get-go but I'll do my best to specify and give constructive criticism on what I found wrong with certain aspects of the game. Rost is slow, like slower than walking speed but that's not to speak for all NPCs, some run, some you don't need to follow, it was really just him. I've had NPCs who fight but miss every single time on simple enemies (that might not be a bug, that might just be a funny bit that someone decided to add in). Sabretooths have jumped through walls (granted the walls were kinda broken but I'm not sure if those big boys can fit when they can barely find the entrance) I found myself jumping to a ledge or on a rope but not land it and just drop (it really boils down to loosening the hit box for that). Which to add on to that, I would like more places to climb and jump to in general (other than stupid mountains). I felt like there wasn't really enough that I could climb and the places that I could, could've been a bit more obvious that I could, maybe even make it viewable with your focus if you don't want it to be visually outstanding. There's a day and night cycle and while I like that, I found some of the contrast to be annoying because I could be staring a ladder right in the face and not even know it sometimes because it would be so dark. I'm not going to complain too much about it because I didn't turn my brightness up, I just left it at default and I would assume the PS5 version fixes some of those little things.

Now, this one is kind of a gray area: Hiking up mountains. Skyrim, Fallout, and Death Stranding went too far and gave little to no barriers. They had you looking for sweet spots that weren't there in order to cheese your way through an area either on or off a beaten path. But I would compare this to something like GTA where it's not as bad and does have its limits but might need tightened up some more because I can certainly get to places that lead to nowhere.

I've made headshots that don't make contact or damage while using precision. Part of that problem was that they could be high up in a tower (which have spikes sticking out) and I would hit ABOVE the logs, to make a headshot but since it was in that vicinity, it registered that as the spikes' hitbox so it wouldn't cause any damage and just alert the enemy (same if I was in the tower, looking down). Input lag where I hit up button on the D-Pad to regain health and I have to keep pressing it. If I had to guess, you have to meet the requirements of not taking damage, staying still, etc in order for it to actually work but it doesn't really have a reason to do that and it doesn't "tell" you that those are the requirements (as far as I know).

During the final boss, one of the enemies hit me into a rock wall, trapping me inside of it and the boss was already half health so I really didn't want to have to restart (I also didn't know how far back the checkpoint was) so I kept shooting stuff and eventually the boss destroyed the wall, allowing me to get out (timed section, by the way). There have been a few times where a tree or leaf or something is obstructing a cutscene and sometimes there will be a mech in the background screaming over the NPC talking, which I'm sure is due to the cutscenes being real-time which is still pretty impressive. Now are these errors all the time? No, not at all, I'm just pointing out that some times these things happened and that I felt it needed ironed out but I wouldn't call this half baked or an unfinished product or anything, it's nowhere near that level. I get that there are so many NPCs that it's hard to account for them all with facial animations but whenever they're talking, it seems pretty static and sometimes the lips don't line up. There's this one guy who says that he got lost in a sandstorm but he's standing in snow. Again, little nitpicks in an otherwise great game.

Now, I got this game for free as a Playstation promotion but that doesn't necessarily mean it'll be great, I played a little bit of that Ratchet & Clank reboot that was offered and I wasn't impressed, I quit after the first few worlds and was glad I didn't buy it at launch, (despite being a classic PS2 R&C fan) but we're not here to review that. I also played Abzu and loved it but it was short so it was definitely worth a play but maybe not 60$ (I actually think it's 20$ at this point though). With this game, it's the whole complete edition with DLC and everything, it has the length, so it really just boils down to "Would I have spent money on it otherwise?"

I think I would've if I knew more about it because I think it just got better and better after that first part of the game. It's marketed a bit differently than what I ended up getting but I found myself pouring hours into this game and loving it for one reason or another. I actually bought Shadow of the Colossus along with it (which is considered a cult classic) but I liked Horizon so much better, definitely worth its full price in my opinion. (So your promotion worked on me Sony, congrats) It has its problems but the potential is there and I feel like a sequel would probably iron out a lot of my troubles with it, so it's definitely a franchise worth investing into.

If you're interested in what I thought of the DLC alone (if you didn't get the Ultimate edition and are wondering if the extra content is worth it) I have a separate post that goes into that here.

[insanetwocubes]

"To be honest, I didn't feel good about last stream. But I have to remember to be nice.

"I'm having doubts about the voice changer because it's hard for even me to understand what I'm saying sometimes. But I have to keep it up, I think. I can't listen to my unaltered voice and I think I just need to enunciate better or something. I don't think things will be cleared with my real voice.

"Even though interesting things happened last stream, I came away thinking it wasn't interesting. By the looks of the analytics, viewers don't seem to stay long.

"I mean I know it generally doesn't matter. That this is the world of promotion over quality. The the most important thing here is not the viewers, but my set up and habits in place. That if I really wanted a following, I should focus on the marketing aspect and clean up my patreon or make a video.

"Getting viewers to stay is trivial, that I shouldn't change, that consistency is more valuable than anything."

"And it shows, I think. More people are coming in from my tumblr promotions, which means the marketing aspect is working.

"I should remember that quality doesn't matter in marketing. But my stream still didn't feel good at the end. It's one of those things where I can't place if I'm being too harsh, or if I actually am able to feel satisfied about my art.

"I think I'm being too harsh. Quality doesn't matter in terms of other people. And I'll learn to like my streams as I do them more and listen to them back. Logically, my lack of artistic fulfillment is a lack of familiarity. No one else is doing this weird voice changer thing. No one else is playing forager and I'm just not used to it. Me creating a space for gods is something that doesn't exist anywhere else. No one else is creating a space for abuse survivors. But I think it's incredibly important to take this seriously and at the same time show that you can survive and be fucked up and aggressive and weird and still, after everything, be okay. More or less. At least okay enough to be relaxed, play video games, and have fun.

"Even though it doesn't feel like I'm okay or relaxed or having fun for most of the time.

"I think it's more than important to be like candid. Abuse affects every aspect of my life. But ai want to show everyone that you can survive. This is something that media that tackles abuse doesn't do often or correctly. Often times, the abuse survivor get unrealistically cured, or kills their abuser, or forgives their abuser, or just doesn't get enough screentime to heal. Very rarely do they show someone who get so mangled out of shape, so weird, so messed up and broken and still existing as they are, an anomaly, a horrific amalgamation of hastily put-together coping strategies and small remnants of a person.

"And we need that, I think. Especially since I don't have friends and I can't easily have friends with the shit I've been through with the humans. I have to represent people like us. It's what I want. It's what mom would've wanted.

"And it's hard to talk about abuse and be candid. It's cringe. It sounds like whining and an inability to move on. But it's me. That's me. Everything is abuse. Everything is capitalism. This is me. And you can't take that out and still have me there.

"But that's okay, because if I can show the worst part of me, eventually you get to have the best part of me. The 'Fellas, is it gay?' Me. The 'I will wrestle you until you laugh,' me. The intelligent philosophy me, the 'humans are so dumb,' me.

"But you gotta get through the bullshit, first. I can't make gay jokes if I hiding the fact that I'm gay. I can't make survivor jokes if I have to hide what happened to me. Fuck I can't even make fun of my system, if I'm not open about being a system. So you gotta get through me being candid for this first part. And yeah, it's cringe, but eventually I'll get tired of it and you'll see the fun parts of me."

[movienotesbyzawmer]

August 21: Mission: Impossible II

(previous notes: Mission: Impossible)

Not gonna lie, this is without question the Mission: Impossible movie that is remembered most unfavorably by me and, I'm pretty sure, everyone else. My recollection is that they tried SO SO SO SO HARD to make an action movie for Today's Kids; I'm typing this with the title screen of the 4K Blu-ray blasting its turn-of-the-millennium neo-metal version of the classic theme with Tom Cruise running in front of a wall of flame and it's just like come on. Is there even must fun spycraft in this? The first one promised lots of gravely furtive glancing, world-class makeup disguises, and dazzling gadgetry. Did this movie's director John Woo replace those with just way way way too much shooting and chasing and sexy vehicles? That's how I remember it but it's been a couple of decades.

I should probably address this series' exciting approach to director selection. The first one was directed by the legendary Brian De Palma, who brought us Carrie, The Untouchables, and Carlito's Way. Whether or not this one worked out, the trend here seemed to be to choose a respected director with a certain cred that could be imported into the franchise. More on that as this series unfolds. I am now to press play.

Opening scene is about a scientist who injects himself with something while a voiceover teases us with I-already-forget-what.

Oh, he's pals with Ethan; they're on a plane together out of Sydney when some bad-guy shenanigans totally thwart the whole fly-to-the-destination-safely thing. But! It wasn't even Ethan! It was good-ol' makeup fake-outery! It was a heist to take the warn leather pouch that the scientist had.

This I remember - during the opening credits, the REAL Ethan Hunt is climbing somewhere impressive, all freestyle like. All the related supplemental marketing materials never fail to talk up Tom Cruise's penchant for doing his own stunts, but these don't look real.

He then receives a fancy techno-message in a very, very dramatic and action-movie-ish fashion, which is that someone flies a helicopter by his climbing mountain and fires a rocket near him containing message-glasses tech! The voice in the message glasses sounds like Anthony Hopkins. Is it Anthony Hopkins?

Anyway now he has to go to Spain to recruit Thandie Newton and here is where it's already starting to get way too the-style-of-John-Woo. There is a flamenco show and Ethan and TN spot each other across the room. There is SLO MOTION and SPANISH STOMPING and ACOUSTIC GUITAR, and THOSE TWO GAZING AT EACH OTHER. I tell you I do not care for it.

What happens next is TN proceeds to use fancy technology and lockpicking skills to steal a well-concealed necklace. Ethan tags along flirtatiously. She still tries to steal the necklace even though this Lothario, this smarmy but irresistible cad, is trying to distract her with his testosterone.

Ugh, I was very right to remember not liking stuff about this movie. Ethan fails to recruit her at the jewel heist, so he car-chases at her the next day! He calls her during the car chase to irritate/seduce her, and she's all "you'll have to catch me ha ha", and it ends in a nearly fatal crash and then they KISS. The director worked very hard to ensure the kissing was HAWT, and Ethan has now successfully recruited TN for both spy work and boinkage.

Anthony Hopkins! He is in the next scene! That really was him! How did I forget that he is in this movie. This scene where he meets with Ethan and fills him in on everything is effectively expository. But then after he knows what he's gotta do, he walks with INTENSITY and it is in SLOW MOTION next to a BURNING EFFIGY THING with ELECTRIC GUITAR MUSIC GOING ON.

0:33:40 - Oh now it's a little more what I like, with a montage about using spy tech to get Ambrose, the bad guy who was pretending to be Ethan on the plane in the beginning, to track TN. And to further assure us that there is techie-fun to be had, Ving Rhames returns to be that guy for Ethan's team. But there is also time in this sequence for shots of TN walking slowly and looking super pretty. You know, so she can seduce Ambrose. A flowing scarf figures prominently in this imagery. A John Woo Film.

I like that they tricked Ambrose into thinking he is so damn smart for tracking her down. I also like Ambrose's compound on Sydney Harbour, it is a bitchin property.

Scene just happened where Ambrose seriously menaces his friend and uses a cigar-clipper on his finger. Ambrose is a bad friend.

But then they're all at the horse race game, even Ambrose's injured friend, who we learn is named Stemp and who is spying on TN, and Ethan and VR are spying on them all. There are shots of TN doing sleight of hand to steal a tape from Ambrose's pocket and it's pretty good spy-shot stuff.

I guess I should mention that there's one more guy on Ethan's team of four, an Australian guy. I haven't caught his name, so he is Australian Guy now, and he is pretending to be an employee of the horse race game venue. He gets bullied by Stemp! We don't like Stemp!

The tape she stole, they watch it right away and it shows footage of what the virus (there's a virus problem at the center of this) does. It is effective, and a little shocking.

But then, this is surprisingly actually kind of well-conveyed - they made it VERY clear that the tape was originally in Ambrose's left jacket pocket, and they showed very clearly that TN returned it to the wrong jacket pocket, AND it's obvious a moment later that Ambrose knows it has been replaced in the wrong jacket pocket. Don't know why, but at least it's keeping us on top of this situation.

Also not-too-shabby is how they're doing the consequences of Ethan and TN fancying each other, except then she has to go and seduce Ambrose and that's uncomfortable and drama-making. In Ethan's defense, as well as Ambrose's, I am also in love with TN right now.

1:02:12 - Ethan disguised himself as Scientist, the dead one from the beginning, and I'm just saying I'm glad this movie is embracing the disguise-craft theme that was established in the first movie. Ooh, is the show like that too?

And then just as I've typed that, it turns out that Ambrose did an Ethan disguise (it was established by Anthony Hopkins that Ambrose was an IMF agent so he can do that stuff too) to trick TN into outing her intentions. They make it very clear that there is voice-fake tech with their disguises that involves a wire mesh thing stuck to the throat.

Next up is a heist scheme to break into a skyscraper where they're growing stuff about the virus, and it's a little bit of that style I liked so much in the last movie, with the added twist that Ambrose is somewhere else anticipating what Ethan's planning, and, I think, plotting a separate, way-better heist. They're still talking about it and the heist is happening and it is suspenseful! I totally like this more than I remember.

1:13:30 - Ethan is at the part of the heist where he's at fancy lab facilities with robot arms and AI voices and oddly no people. VR and Australian Guy are observing everything that's happening using technology and Australian Guy's helicopter, making it more suspenseful, but I also don't know exactly what's going on? We appear to be where Scientist originally injected himself, and Ethan is I think killing the virus while also somehow visualizing Scientist injecting himself.

But then that all goes away because a platoon of thugs in black burst in and are shooting at Ethan. It all quickly became an action movie with blazing guns and VR's tech van getting bombed.

In the fracas it's clear that one of the injector guns contains the last of the virus, and also gunplay might shatter it and make them all infected, so that's decent suspense. But also, the lighting in this bio-lab is like a nightclub, with inexplicably roving spotlights and neon accents that pop in 4K.

TN is in the mix, and she decides to inject the last of the virus into herself, and there's a dumb moment where it's like ETHAN YOU HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO SHOOT ME WITH YOUR GUN and Ethan, Man of Ethics, does not do that. Instead there is more gunplay and Ethan jumps out a hole he made in the wall.

1:28:45 - We've moved to new location, a new compound, and it's on a guard-patrolled island and Ethan sneaks up on a guard and does a totally unnecessary body-flip martial arts move to take him out. I think he needs to steal the antidote from this compound so that he can save TN, who is somewhere else. He is visually passionate about this mission.

Ethan got caught sneaking in to this new compound by Stemp, and he did a whole grenade blowup thing but he still got caught. It's a trick, right? Yup, he put an Ethan mask on Stemp and a Stemp mask on himself and got Ambrose to kill Stemp. He realizes he just killed Stemp because of the finger injury, good job with that.

I am reminded that this movie is from the director of Face/Off, so I needn't have feared that the mask/disguise conceit would be forsaken.

But did he get the antidote? He must have. Sometimes when I'm typing notes I miss stuff, but he's now motorcycling away while VR and Australian Guy are providing support from their chopper.

This is now the vehicle-chase opera that I remember ending the movie so terribly extendedly. Much gunplay. Vehicles pirouette with violent elegance. Ethan can do such exquisite dances with his motorcycle and firearm. This climaxes in the ridiculous feat of Ethan and Ambrose riding their cycles at each other and jumping at off them at each other to finish the job sans vehicle. It ends as a tussle on the beach, and Ambrose has a knife that almost gets in Ethan's eye. The visual on that is striking. But it's no good, Ethan is too Tom Cruise for him. He gets the knife from him and DISCARDS THE KNIFE, and punch-kick-fights him a lot instead. Ethics.

Turns out Ambrose has a gun after all oh no. But then it turns out Ethan is standing by a sand-obscured gun somehow also oh good. He does a thoroughly storyboarded sand-kick-body-twirl gun recovery that ends like you'd guess.

So although there are some dumb things about this movie, I think it's better than I remembered. And having just watched the first one, I think it actually did a good job of having a story where you don't have to ignore a lot of stupidness. It's not like it's an especially good plot, but it didn't try to make you forget its holes like the first one. I still like the first one better, though.

(next: Mission: Impossible III)