#5am rambles

[sweetgardener]

Silly 5am rambles with the radio demon

"Well..I know a way of getting you to sleep" Chirped the radio demon, sporting his signature smile with a smidge of softness to it. Still, You found yourself letting out a huff and turning your back to him, arms crossed over your chest in defiance at his insistence that you sleep.

You felt the fabric of the sofa shift underneath you, followed by the sensation of being lifted. A bit of squirming for a moment, out of reflex before being settled down upon something that wasn't the sofa-Well, more like someone. Hands settled upon your stomach, palm down, fingers oh so lightly drumming and tapping. You tilted your head a little to look up at the smiling face, blinking once or twice in surprise. A brief back and forth of looking at the hands, then back at the face of Alastor, who's eyes were closed, who's chest made a soft humming sound.

A little wiggle, a little twitch of you settling further, head resting almost on the demon's shoulder, just below on the chest. A hand left your stomach, reaching to pluck the pair of glasses you wore off of your face, tucking the legs in carefully before setting them upon a side table.

"There, safe and sound" Remarked the dapper demon, giving your head a gentle pat. A hand remained on your belly, still gently tapping out a slow and soothing rhythm. The gentle touches, the feeling of a body supporting yours..it made you feel weary, feeling your eyelids start to droop.

Word were unfound as you closed your eyes, listening to him hum, feeling the gentle tapping slow to just resting. You fought a yawn and failed, bringing a chuckle out of the demon. You'd frown, pout even, if you had the energy to. You felt your heart slow, your body settle down for snoozing, comforted by the presence of another. It's not long before you fully drift off, the tune the radio demon was humming still lingering in your mind, his gentle touch making you feel safe and without worry.

[heycupcake]

Recently reached RTD's era after watching the whole Classic, and I just want to say, I was not prepared for the fanfic vibes whiplash. Like, the Doctor is now the LAST of his species and became known as some ominous bringer of destruction, the companions receive main character treatment and, furthermore, hanky-panky is now officially happening inside the Tardis? This is a textbook AU self-insert

I'm enjoying it. We finished 9 (I'm happy that despite his short run he managed to heal a bit from the Time War, but I shall miss him) and started 10 (please someone give him a zero room, also he's so going to commit war crimes). Everything feels a bit more "human-centric" than before, which I'm not sure I like, but the stories are very entertaining, and the characters have a lot of strength. One of my favorite moments so far is Rose's outburst in Bad Wolf, when she just can't deal with the prospect of a normal life after traveling with the Doctor. It still haunts my head.

But still, because I can't bear the thought of Gallifrey being destroyed and the Doctor Nyssaing himself, I'm going to headcanon the whole revival era into a separate universe where all the events from the Classic still happened, but the original Classic is safe somewhere far far away from any Time War and everyone is living happily ever after

[tokyoteddywolf]

22 isn't very much at all, I think.

[signaturecurlymess]

To be so for real?

One Piece was meant for the female/gay gaze and no one can tell me otherwise because LOOK

YOU CAN'T TELL ME OTHERWISE LOOK AT THESE FINE ASS MEN

And Luffy is just??? I love him so

[buqbite]

My thoughts here mainly revolve around YSA as the mary sue/female lead type character:

She goes from being this perfect woman to. just being a woman. And my idea is that the weight gain isn't there to make her "unconventionally attractive," or whatever other dumb phrase you wanna use to avoid calling someone ugly, but to make her conventionally attractive, yet realistic.

Instead of looking like a skinny waifu character, she looks like a skinny human woman. Her hair swaying in the nonexistent wind isn't as perfect, her magic blush is missing and she has eyebags. She's still hot, just more human.

[wndaswife]

im screaming this is giving mommy wanda realness

[the-adventures-of-dave]

Around tumblr lately I’ve seen people with the opinion that not only are free roaming cats bad (correct) but also supervised cats in catios or on leashes (????). I assume it must stem from that “ecology of fear” post from a few months ago, but to me the sudden appearance of these kinds of posts just strikes me as odd. I’ve seen multiple posts like the below one in just this week.

—

—

If your cat is contained to your yard/catio/the sidewalk, then it still allows for predator-free safe places in your neighbourhood for wildlife, and creates predictability for them too. That’s one of the reasons why hiking trails ask people to stay on the trail— so you (and your dog, horse, cat, etc) can safely enjoy nature while still giving it space. It is possible to exist outdoors in natural spaces like that while maintaining wildlife comfort. If it wasn’t possible to do that, dog-friendly or (even just hiking trails in general, since humans are predators too) simply wouldn’t exist.

The problem with free roaming cats is that they break boundaries between human area (ie. trail, back porch) and wildlife area (foliage, etc) and there is nowhere the wildlife can go to exist that is safe from predators.

Idk, this is just my opinion but I just think there can be more nuance to the outdoor/free roaming cat issue than “never let your cat step outside under any circumstance”.

[fl00mie]

istg it hurts to be an ink lover/fan/enjoyer in the eyes of those outside the fandom

ink might seem like an op sans for no reason at first impression and i can understand why people think that.. he travels through universes, he's the only character in his world (the one who's known as the most overrated character in the game which makes it even more repellent, i guess), among other reasons

i haven't seen almost any direct hate towards him (referring to canon, the genuine hate i've seen so far has been based on underverse, that although it's quite likely his image has been tarnished by the series, i want to refer more to those who aren't familiar with AUs in general) but, since i returned to this community i notice how he's not referred to as a fan favorite (anymore?), at least in the popular videos i find on youtube and on twitter it's even worse, i've seen them call him overrated multiple times

it's the fact that i manage to empathize a lot with him that makes me feel.. a bit sad maybe? because he's more than just another meaningless sans, his story and personality are really good and the fact that he's a sans is just a preference of his creator, that may have aged poorly but it doesn't take away how good and complex the character still is

[aimseytv]

people who are weird about artists sharing their own OCs make no sense to me. if you support an artist and you don’t bother getting into their own original art with their own world building and characters you’re missing out! it’s so fun to see artists i follow going down paths with their own OCs and creating a world with their own lore, side OCs and everything i find it fascinating

[untitled-tmnt-blog]

I absolutely HAD to draw something for @phoebepheebsphibs's DTIYS (based on this pose)! I decided to mix things up a bit by experimenting with a more limited color palette, which was a pretty fun challenge.

[arctic-bookclub]

i'm rewatching phil's day 2 qsmp prison vod after watching missa's vod and i want to list a couple of things i noticed and just, really like

whenever qmissa's near qphil he always goes to stand next to him

whenever qmissa is away from qphil he often looks around for qphil often asking ¿dónde está Philza?

whenever qphil is near qmissa he often stares at him either directly or in f5

they both focus on each other whenever there's a crowd

qphil sprints out of any and all open doors like a bird flying through a slightly cracked open cage door (a menace /positive)

whenever qmissa is looking for qphil, qphil is almost always in either solitary confinement or trying to escape the prison

qmissa desperately trying to help with the spanish words during the language classes (him screaming hints at qphil)

quacki, just all of quacki (I JUST HEAD HER SAY "i like being with you" AT QPHIL PIPIPIPI :((( )

both the ways qphil and qmissa latch onto each other (qmissa standing by qphil's side, qphil staring at qmissa from a distance) are something you'll easily miss from the other's pov (qmissa often stands just a bit away from qphil's line of sight, qphil often stands further away or behind qmissa)

ghostbit was clearly visible in qmissa's pov multiple times but somehow he kept missing him

when quacki asks qphil if he'll go on a date with qmissa if she places down a trapdoor for him, he says "yeah- yeah i've- i've been on- i've been on- y'know- yeah" (can you tell what part of the vod i'm on rn) like hello?? sir??

the way qphil just, dips from confrontations with the guards like idk how to explain it but the way he just jumps into conversation after another escape attempt while the guards are still shooting at him is unparalleled

[m0ntylee]

*Trips* Oh! *Drops my paper's* oh no! Not my notes on the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde lore! *Looks at you* Not my notes on the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde lore. *Looks at you* Not my.. No, I'm sorry-sorry not my *fumbles with paper* I dropped my notes on the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde lore! *Looks at you*

[winterstarfall]

aemond reaching to touch helaena’s arm gently then stopping at the last moment. does he even know how to show physical affection that he isn’t paying for or isn’t being used in some twisted way to cause pain. he doesn’t know how to be gentle with the most gentle person in his family. she’s the only person we’ve seen him beg to. he’ll threaten to kill her with tears in his eye and she can’t pretend to be afraid of him. she knows he’s going to die and he goes to it anyway.

something something poison and comfort.

[not-equippedforthis]

i am aware this would most likely never ever happen but can you imagine spock giving kirk a back/neck rub - as he so clearly expects - and accidentally vulcan pinching him. slumps. ah. i did not intend to do that. bridge goes silent. cap's down. someone douse him with water or something

[lbhslefttiddie]

i want. to put shen yuan in a little bird cage it will be so pretty and i will bring him all the snacks and books he wants he will never be in danger and also no one else will ever get to touch him and he will never leave. there is no possible way this could end badly

[xx-j4nu5-c4t5-xx]

"An ideal Sims game would have Sims 2's gameplay mechanics, Sims 3's open world, and Sims 4's graphics!"

I absolutely despise this take, and I want to explain why. This is a very long rant and it is full of piss and vinegar directed at everything in the Sims 4. I'm gonna try to keep everything kinda professional as much as I can but I can't guarantee an unbiased opinion.

If you'll let me talk your ears off for a moment, I'd like to explain, from my own experience as an artist and a casual player, my issues with the art style and direction of The Sims 4 compared to The Sims 2. (I'm not really going to comment on 3 because I've never played it.)

I want to start off by explaining the difference between better graphics and higher resolution. The Sims 4 absolutely blows Sims 2 out of the water when it comes to textures and polygon counts on sims, no contest. But I'd argue that the graphics themselves... aren't better. They're worse, even, so much fucking worse. The biggest problems come from the stylization and the animations, in my opinion, so I'll explain what I mean.

Have you ever felt like the Sims in 4 just look... weird? Not quirky, not kinda strange, but off. Distressing. Uncanny. Whatever the fuck the kids call it nowadays. When you strip away the packs and the CC and the shaders, the sims in the base game look bad. They're very close to being human; they walk like us, talk like us, have families like us, but they don't look like us, not exactly. There's always something off about them, no matter how close you try to get. Proportions will be a bit off, or your eyelashes will be like three polygons for some fucking reason, and the jig is up. The illusion is gone.

This is one of the instances where a higher resolution and more detailed models and meshes work against you. You aren't making believe. You are beyond the point of pretending that the pixelated shapes are real clothes and bodies and faces, because at this point, they're close enough that you don't need to. There's no gap to bridge. But that doesn't necessarily mean that they're lifelike, at least, not enough to be completely human. In some ways, they're still tethered to being cartoony and plasticky and fake. Just enough to frighten you. Enough to put you off. They're not using it to their advantage anymore, and instead, it's holding them back.

When the Sims 2 came out in 2004, the developers knew that they weren't going to make a perfectly accurate life simulator. They physically couldn't render every wrinkle in the face or fold in the clothing. In some animations, things clip strangely or the facial expressions are sort of janky or there's just some form of roughness around the edges. But that's okay; your brain doesn't need a perfectly accurate representation this time. That's not what you're here for, anyway.

The Sims 4 is basically Icarus-ing itself into disaster. The entire game sacrifices style for complete realism, a goal that was unachievable ten years ago, and is unachievable now.

The Sims 2 never thought of itself as a completely realistic life sim, though. It has cartoony, low poly meshes and exaggerated proportions and wild, raunchy storylines that would never occur in real life. BECAUSE IT ISN'T REAL LIFE. And it isn't like real life, not because it's failing to be, but because it doesn't want to be!

The Sims 4 is not ever going to completely replicate human looks or interactions or dynamics. And if it's trying to, it's doing a shit job of it. That shouldn't be the goal in the first place. If I wanted to watch a lonely college student talk to himself in the mirror to try and get better at interacting with people, I'd close the computer and go look at myself. It somehow highlights the most mundane parts of life without any of the whimsy and goofiness that the earlier installments had. It takes itself too fucking seriously for its own good, and it's killing both the gameplay and the art style.

The other point I'd like to bring up is the animation. The Sims 4 allows for much more customization of both sim and environments, but at the cost of dynamic animations. How many times is that grab animation reused? How many times is the same set of animations used for sims with wildly different personalities? Your sims barely feel alive with how little they express themselves.

Now, look, I'm a digital artist. I've dabbled in animation, but only briefly, and only in 2D. I've got no clue how 3D animation works, much less how it worked 20 years ago, but I can see the passion in every single animation in the Sims 2. The more niche interactions allowed for more expressive animations than in 4. They could afford to have a distinct animation for mean sims throwing the football extra hard to be assholes, rather than every sim using the same generic football-throwing animation to save time and money. I get where they're coming from. I get the idea. But in one move, you've both made the art style stiffer and less expressive, and you've made the personalities of the sims seem meaningless. Everyone acts the same, regardless of what their moodlets or their traits say. It's hollow. It's stifled. It's a waste of potential.

But for what Sims 2 lacks in polygons, it makes up for in smaller animated details. Quality over quantity. The sims have hair physics, they open the door before they get in the car, they take utensils out of the counters when they cook, they jump on the couch and the cushions smush under their weight. When they dance, the weight is realistic, and when they smile, it tugs at every one of the few dozen shapes that make up their faces. The sims are lively. They dance and sing and love and hate just like humans, and rather than being some strange attempt at mimicry, it's almost a tribute. They were made with love. You can tell that they were drawn up and rigged and animated by a bunch of people working together, studying each other and making faces in the mirror for reference and watching their kids and neighbors and dogs and hands for reference. The sims are not human, and not trying to be, but they're taking the most human parts of us and making them their own.

You could never have a game with the Sims 4's graphics and the Sims 2's gameplay. The gameplay and graphics are inexorably connected, and the Sims 2 just has so much glorious detail baked into it, that you could never really make it work underneath the limitations of the later games. The developers of 2 knew what their limits were, and they worked tirelessly to make the game as full and complex as they could within those limits. The developers for the Sims 4 just did not have those guidelines, and thus, the drive to bend the rules was no longer there. They didn't go wild in rebellion because they were never told they couldn't in the first place. They spent the entire time chasing a goal they couldn't meet, and lost sight of what made the series fun to begin with.

It wasn't the realism you came for; you had realism already surrounding you. It was the caricature of it that made it interesting.