#I would animate it but I don't have the motivation nor the skill

[starstrewnspore]

just finished listening to the first few episodes of tmp

and id just like to say

Digital Silence by Peter McPoland

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

pleeeeaaaasee do more shane x reader (preferably gender neutral). Your writing is so good and the "After everything we've been through, you still don't think that I love you?" one broke me. You're a hurt/comfort master

HAH you've given me another idea from this ask alone (insp by my farmer getting alex's 8 heart event while married to shane)

Sorry gang I swear fluffier stuff with Shane is coming

.....

It was just a few days into summer, and Shane already had plans to change up his usual routine once again.

Ever since moving onto your farmland, he found himself getting more motivated to take longer walks. This morning, he planned on doing so after ensuring the crops were watered and the animals were well-fed.

He greeted the cows, rabbit, pigs, and chickens as they filed out of the coop and barn one-by-one, not letting any of them miss their daily pets. Seeing the ostrich and little green dinosaur emerge didn't faze him as much as it did the first time he saw them--he still had no clue how you acquired their eggs (especially one from the skull caverns), but you didn't treat them any differently.

They were both lovable creatures. Just like the blue chickens he introduced you to several months ago.

Knowing you raised some and kept them on the farm made him beam with pride, glad he got to stay here and help run things in your steed.

He wouldn't trade it for the world.

You set off for the beach earlier than usual today, having left a note on the table, and Shane opted to just hang back and repair some of the fences that were looking a bit worn out.

According to the TV, it was a "good luck day", and you hoped to find fortune in the form of a rainbow shell washed up on the coast. You certainly loved foraging them, but even if there weren't any around, you figured you'd go fishing.

Your husband wasn't the best at either skill, although a few hours after you left, he felt a little bored and decided to go visit the beach. Maybe you could use his moral support since other people--mainly Willy and Elliot-mentioned hearing you curse like a sailor when you were wrestling with a fish...or when said fish escaped your line.

He could be there to cheer you up, or teasingly bet on how many joja cola cans you'll fish out of the ocean.

That would be pretty funny, he thought.

So he headed off on his usual walking route, but instead of going to Cindersap Forest or stopping by Pelican Town's river, he ventured towards the beach, greeting whoever said "hello" to him.

Upon arrival, however, Shane stopped in his tracks as he noticed you weren't entirely alone on the beach.

It wasn't Willy, Elliot, Leah, nor that parrot kid you rescued from Ginger Island, but Alex.

He wouldn't have minded that so much....if not for the fact that you two were sitting awfully close together on the coast, overlooking the foamy waves. You were totally oblivious to his presence, so he hung back with suspicion.

Of course, he knew you were growing more sociable with the rest of the villagers, and he didn't want your marriage to be the reason you stopped talking to people.

Even so..something didn't feel right about this, especially as he watched you move closer to Alex, putting an arm around him. And when the younger male put his head on your shoulder, Shane's heart dropped.

You were talking, but obviously he couldn't make out what you were saying thanks to the noisy waves and annoying seagulls.

At this point, however, it became clear what was going on.

And it made him feel utterly sick to his stomach, his mind constantly circling back to one conclusion. Only one explanation as to why you'd ever be that close to Alex, and perhaps why you've been frequently leaving the farm earlier than normal:

You were seeing him behind his back, thinking he'd never find out.

He didn't know how else to interpret that. How else could he?

But of everybody in this town, why did it have to be the guy who reminded him of his youthful days in gridball?

The guy who radiated positivity and was always in high spirits?

The guy who wasn't old and weak and depressed...like him?

'I knew it..they finally got bored of me. But why would they do this?' Scowling, he felt like storming over and saying something, but he couldn't will himself to freak out here and now.

No.

Why bother?

Instead he decided to turn on his heel and storm back to the farm, nearly tripping over a rainbow shell as he did so. The saloon was closed, so he couldn't escape there...but he'll settle for rotting in bed until you come home.

You'll be back, and he'll confront you then.

.......

Coming back to the farmland around noon, you frowned a bit as you didn't see Shane anywhere outside. He wasn't at the mini coop like he normally was, and poor Charlie was looking for him.

"Where did he go, Charles? Hm?" With a soft coo, you kneeled down to pet the chicken. She clucked, her beak pointing towards the cabin, and you thanked her with a small handful of corn before continuing inside.

However, as soon as you stepped into a rather quiet house, all the excitement sapped out of you. You'd normally hear him playing video games or watching a Tunneler's game, but as you entered your shared bedroom...you found him just laying down, his back turned to you.

"Hey, honey." You sighed, relieved as you sat down on the mattress. "All that farmwork got tiring, huh? I understand. Thank you for doing it."

"........."

"..Shane? You still asleep?"

There was a long silence, only for it to be broken by a quiet sniffle, and your heart sunk, wondering what happened. "Hey, what's wrong-?"

As you put a hand on his shoulder, Shane flinched and rolled over to face you, his eyes red and watery, and his expression full of disgust...as though you did something wrong.

You've never seen him get this angry at you. Not since your first meeting with him. "Baby-?"

"No. Enough petnames, [y/n]." He huffed, sitting up and staring at you with contempt. "You don't get to act like everything's fine. Like I don't know what's really going on."

"...what?"

"Why were you with Alex today? Did he convince you I wasn't good enough for you anymore? That I'm past my prime?"

You blinked in bewilderment, wondering how on earth he knew that and why he was getting so upset. "Wha..you were at the beach? Why didn't you tell me?"

"That's..not important." He grumbled. "If you love him more, fine. Just tell me. I was ready for the day you'd finally get sick of me. But..to do that behind my back...I just..." Fresh tears brimmed his eyes as he clutched the mermaid pendant with a shaky hand. "I thought you were different..but I was wrong."

Now you were totally lost, heart racing as you tried to wrack your brain for any reason he'd assume that you were cheating on him with Alex. You knew he had some major jealousy issues, and he's been actively working through them with his therapist, but it was never this bad.

"Listen, I promise that what you saw isn't what it-"

"You don't have to lie. I get it. He's young, better looking...he's everything I used to be. So why don't I just go and you can have him live on this farm with you? At least he won't be a burden. At least he won't-"

"Shane just stop. Stop." You raised your voice, growing infuriated. "What in the hell made you think I wanna be with Alex when we're married?! When I've been nothing but there for you since I moved to town?! If you let me finish, I'll explain everyth-"

"Oh I'm sure you have a "perfect" explanation already lined up." He rolled his eyes. "Unless you can tell me why you were that close to him, I don't see why I'm even-"

"Today's the anniversary of his mom's death."

Shane blinked once.

Then twice.

Then three times.

"Wha..?"

"She passed away 12 years ago." Frowning slightly, you watched his expression shift wildly. "Alex was sitting there, crying his eyes out, and I just...wanted to comfort him. Like any friend would do. That's all."

At this moment, Shane felt like the biggest piece of shit in the valley, and his shoulders sagged. He didn't know what to say.

"We just hugged, and he told me about the good memories they had," you continued, moving closer to put a hand over his own. "Cross my heart, absolutely nothing was going on between us, honey. You really think I'd do that to you? To the man I love?"

"....I....I didn't know he lost his mom.." He mumbled, still at a loss for words.

"Well it's not exactly something he'd share with the whole town. And I was gonna keep it between us, but you wouldn't let me explain myself." You reminded him with a small huff, and he looked down in guilt.

As quickly as your anger rose, however, it was quick to disappear as you watched him. He seemed very torn up and ashamed for accusing you of cheating, but you could understand his perspective and why he saw it in that light.

You would've been suspicious, too.

"Look..I know it did look like something else was going on. And I'm really sorry-"

"No, no..I should be sorry for acting like a total dickhead." Shane gazed back up at you, and his face tore your heart to shreds. "I didn't mean to freak and accuse you of anything. You were just comforting a kid who lost his mom and...I got angry for no reason. Without hearing your side. I shouldn't be like this..yet I feel like some bitter old man.."

"Hey, you're not old." You shook your head, cupping both sides of his cheeks and giving him a gentle kiss. "You're barely 30."

"Still..my body feels that way." He lightly chuckled, enveloping you in a tight hug. "And again, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, [y/n]...I promise I'm working on these stupid jealousy issues."

"I know you are, and I forgive you." Smiling, you squeezed him tight. "We're gonna be okay."

"Mhm..also..um..I found something for you." He let you go and dug into his jacket pocket for an unknown item, and when he presented it to you, the grin on your face was infectious.

"Oh my god..you found one for me?!!" Your eyes lit up, as you now held a beautiful rainbow shell in your hands.

Shane nodded. "Iridium quality."

"You're the best. I love you." Laughing, you brought him back into a hug, giving him a few more kisses. "And you said you sucked at foraging, huh?"

"Ah, well..just the "chopping trees" part. Picking stuff off the ground is easy." He shrugged, his smile bashful. "Glad you like it, sweetheart. Take it as my apology for that..um..misunderstanding."

"I forgive you a thousand times over. Now..I think I'll display this beauty in our aquarium. What do you think, Shane?"

"I think I'll go with and see."

You both hopped out of bed and headed over to where you kept the aquarium tanks, with Shane in better spirits than he was before.

He still felt guilty for acting that way towards you, but your everlasting patience and persistence with him prevails.

He's glad he picked up that rainbow shell for you.

[oh-my-may]

LET'S TALK GENSHIN AND REMURIA AND ARLECCHINO BEFORE I FORGET AND WE'RE ALREADY IN SECOND HALF OF THE PATCH WHY DOES TIME FLY WHEN YOU'RE AN ADULT

I'm gonna start the post with a few paragraphs I wrote just a few days after the patch went live:

So I finished the first Remuria world quest - it was beautiful. And really not as long as I first expected it to be. I probably could have finished it on the first day if I wouldn't have been as tired as I was

First of all the new map is beautiful. You'd think after 3? patches of map expansions where we already got underwater stuff it would feel repetetive but somehow it looks and feels different and refreshing. Maybe because majority of the map are caves where you can walk normally or they're ruins... idk.

I couldn't help but draw parallels between Remuria and HSR's Penacony tho, especially look-wise, the talk of a dreamscape and the theme of music. Especially now after finishing Penacony 2.2 I can't help but feel the two are very similar in certain aspects... the motive of Harmony and Song and Peace and saving a people and Gods? Also the way Remuria looks is so similar to certain things in Penacony? I already said rhis in my post on HSR, this is absolutely no hate whatsoever. I reckon there's only so much you can do with these motives? It's interesting how differently it looks in both games tho.

So yeah, Remuria is beautiful. The music is an out of body experience and encapsulates the whole thing perfectly. I haven't explored all of the map yet, but I like the new mechanisms a lot. The floating books look so cool and just generally the significance of music through it all... *sigh* it's so enjoyable.

So far for Remuria... i definitely missed a few things I wanted to say but it's been like 2 weeks since I played this and I definitely forgot something haha

AS FOR ARLECCHINO THO

First of all she's broken omg. It is kind lf annoying that it'll take weeks to max out her talents, rn for me she's sitting at crowned NA and skill and burst are level 7 each. But she still hits for like over 50k with each normal attack when she has a bond of life. Don't even get me started on her with Yelan MY GOD.

Okay with that out of the way let me talk about her story quest. First of all I find it very intriguing that hyv gave up on the usual pattern of having the second weekly boss for a nation be tied to the Archon and their respective second story quest (besides Mond ig)... i mean yeah Fontaine's archon situatipn is very peculiar but technically Neuvilette has taken over the role for now, right? Neither him nor Furina getting a second story quest makes me think Neuvi's probably gonna get his way later because it'll be HUGE. Again I wanna say that lore wise Neuvi is my fav character... HES JUST SO FNDNDBDN. And Furina is probably gonna get a pretty "random" one at one point kinda like Yoimiya did or Cyno... like its gonna be a good quest but it'a gonna be random. ANYWAY

I wonder how much different I would habe perceived the quest if I hadn't watched the Animated Short about Arlecchino that they put on Youtube... like it's her whole backstory? I could see where the quest was going right from the beginning because of it... that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it, tho

Childe's little surprise cameo made me so happy c: MY BOY. He's alive snd well AND IN FONTAINE. Let me remind ypu we last officially saw him in the last Atchon quest gwtting yeeted into a black hole by Skirk. Then it was mentioned at the end that he was being treated and sent gome to Snezhnaya. Well...

The whole cryptic talk between Arle and Childe was quite interesting... so this project by the Fatui, right? (Forgot the name rn bc it's been a few days since I played the quest) Is it fonna be significant for Natlans story? What does it entail?? THE TEASE NNNNGNNGHH

I wonder if at some point in the game we're actually gonna see Lyney become the new head of House of the Hearth. Like... it's mentioned quite a lot in his story as well as in everything that has tp do with the House and Sröecchino herself... I wonder 🤔

Throughout the story I was reminded that one of the first things we heard about her (Childes voiceline that came out in like??? 3.0 or so???). It was that she would turn her back on and betray the Harbingers (AND THE TSARISTA) without second thought. She even says this herself in her voicelines. I just wonder what her ultimate goal is? To free herself from the curse? Which btw they tell us nothing about in the story. Story is all about the House and its inner workings and Arle's feelings about it and plans for the future (which I love btw but still not quite understand)... we also casually get told that Arle is not even that old??? Like the whole thing with Crucabena is so recent that Freminet remembers her???? Amd Arle was maybe a Teenager when she killed her so like??? She's only around 10 years older than the kids????

So how come she's a descendant from Khaenri'ah? I don't know if I read somewhere abput it or if its a rumor but not confirmed or if its said in her personal story which I haven't read yet but... she'a from the crimson moon dynasty? Or has some ties to it? And her curse is definitely related to it BUT WHAT IS HER CURSE EXACTLY. WHY DOES SHE HAVE IT. If she's only in maybe her late 20s she couldn't have been an actual Khaenriahn citizen (same as Kaeya and he still gives me the same headache thinking about this) so how does it all tie together in the end?? Does it have to do with the God of time maybe??? (Nevermind if this is talked about in her personal story in her profile I haven't read that yet)

So yeah... the fight woth her was so cool. The animation??? I saw people get upset about the fact that Traveler couldn't beat her but I actually love that?? Like... She'a #4 of the Harbingers and has some curse probably tied to Khaenriah and she KILLED A HARBINGER WHEN SHE WAS A TEENAGER??? Traveler nlt being this almighty MC makes them so much mlre likeable like yeah... they are obv far from having their actual power back? It took us ... how many times to fight Shuki No Kami before we could defeat it in the final try to learn all the patterns? The game wants to tell us that there's much more powerful enemies in Teyvat and rhis is only the beginning. Let me tell you yeah we beat Signora but it was Raiden who killed her... it was Zhongli who subdued Azhdaha. We only healed Apep with Nahidas help. Traveler has never been able to easily defeat these big enemies, they always had help. Yeah they have been getting stronger, they've been getting access to more elements but the bis enemies are just getting stronger and bigger too... I wonder where that will lead. Maybe the twins are only gonna get their true power bavk once they're united... ANYWAY

Her weekly boss fight is cool too. Using different mechanisms again, with the whole Bond of Life thing and all. She does this one attack in her second phase that I just... can't get behind tho. Someone always has to be the victim, THE SACRIFICE, to get me through haha. Idk how to dodge or avoid that attack. The one where she floats above the arena and then these bombs? Idk? Come down and basically crash down on the whole arena and I haven't found a spot where you can aboid getting hit and therefore killed immediately idk.

So yeah that's all for now. Very excited to play Cyno's second story quest. Heard only good things so far about it, which is good because I really didn't like his first one 💀 probably gonna get around to play it one of these days. Same as with the rest of Remuria exploration, gonna need mlre Clorinde funds :3

(Gonna add screenshots later, it's been so long that the ones I took aren't saved in the PS App anymore 💀)

[attleboy]

Why do u draw?

oooooooo [rubs hands together] a fun one that probably isn't that deep but i'm going to take way too seriously!

so the short answer is fun, but i can never just say one sentence and be done with it soooo i elaborated and wrote a whole essay below. sorry not sorry

anyway if you didn't want my origin story no shame in that, it's not gonna be on the quiz, just keep scrolling :P

to cover all my bases let me start from the beginning and work my way forward...

i think pretty much all kids draw at least a little just because they can, but the thing that really inspired me to take art seriously was the great abundance of cat animations on youtube in the early 2010s... warrior cats amvs mostly, but also artists like bani the kitty and splashkittyartist! you can really see these inspirations in my early digital art hehehe (see below by attle b. age 8)

from then until about age 14 art was just... my thing? i did it pretty much everyday, probably couldn't have imagined life without it... i think back then my motivations were more inline with your typical social media artist motivations... get better, be seen, and maybe make a career out of it? never made it that far though because ehhhh life has different plans i guess

i fell into an art slump in the middle of high school for a variety of personal reasons i won't get into, and as such i had to give up my dreams of creating art as a job

as sad as that was in the moment, it forced me to change my outlook on the whole ordeal in a way that i think was ultimately healthier for me.

that brought me to where i am now! since i have no goals beyond keeping at it as a hobby, i do it simply because i enjoy the process, the product, and i feel like it lets me connect with my interests in a way i otherwise couldn't.

it's a fun way to express love for the things i care about, and while i still enjoy honing my skills i don't feel the same pressure to be perfect that i used to which is really freeing!!

so in that sense it's intrinsic motivation that makes me draw what i draw... however, the amount of art i put out and the polish i give it is definitely motivated by the eyes i have on me... while i'd still be drawing the same things if no one was watching, i would not be putting nearly as much effort into it, nor would i be doing it as regularly, so i do thank you guys for keeping me on track there <3

that's it i think? i could get into the philosophy of it, but i'll spare you that... okay thank you for letting me yap!!! ^-^

[chibivesicle]

If you could fix Trigun Stampede or write an alternate version of it that stays truer and more faithful to the 98 anime and the manga, not just visually but emotionally, philosophical and symbolically, how would you? Given how your in depth analyses and in general reading it to filth, I would love to know how you would fix it or rewrite it!

Hello and thanks for the question!

Sorry for the slow response, I've been busy and distracted by other shiny objects (Kekkai Sensen) to get back to this. I still haven't had time to really answer another ask but I hope to get to it in a week or so. As far as Trigun Stampede, I felt it had issues in the following areas: 1.) Technical skill surpassed all other aspects of the production. They put all their eggs in making it look very good. Which it does. I found out from the Sakuracon panel, that they spent two years working on animating the faces. Kudos for that level of work but if you write a poor story it doesn't matter how emotional they look. 2.) Paradoxical pacing. Twelve episodes were not enough to capture the original Trigun manga nor '98 anime. The '98 anime added establishing content to extend the limited manga chapters which helped to give the viewers Meryl as their entry point. It also had great pacing. Intro, build up, tension and resolution either in each episode or in two part episodes.

3.) Total emphasis of style over substance. This was the the worst part of it. They assumed making things look pretty would suffice and did not write individual episodes well or the full twelve. And since they were only working with twelve the story did not have time to just be and let us enter the world because of the paradoxical pacing. 4.) Generic character designs for the contemporary eye. In their attempt to make the characters look more 'normal' they lost the unique style of Yasuhiro Nightow's original designs. His characters are exceptionally stylized in a distinct way and they completely redid them. We also know that other studios can adapt his characters much more like in the original work both with the '98 anime and Kekkai Sensen. Madhouse and Bones anime-stylized the characters a bit for anime but not by that much compared to what Orange did. Milly is still large and clumsy in the anime, while Vash is super contorted at times. Wolfwood is still angular and Meryl still has that soft short stature. In KS, Klaus is still a giant gentleman, Leo is still dodging chaos, Chain is cool and distant, K. K. still has her confident stride, and Steven's posture is still terrible. I can watch the '98 anime and Kekkai Sensen and know that these characters were designed by Nightow. Looking at Stampede, I cannot tell by looking at them.

5.) Weak characters. Another point the Sakuracon panel noted was that the creative team spent five years developing Stampede. I can't help but feel like they wasted their energy. They came up with all this lore and information for their own version of No Mans Land - and then never tied it together. Studio Orange got lost in the weeds and never really figured out what they wanted to make or say. They also relied on characters info dumping and blatantly telling us what they are doing. That is not how Trigun or Kekkai Sensen work as stories. It is up to you to figure out what the characters are doing, why they are doing it and how to interpret their actions.

The characters were unclear in their motivations, there was no intro, mystery or payoff. After twelve episodes in, we still don't know what Rem told Vash that he has his technical pacifist philosophy. We know she told them that she loved them and she was happy to know them and that they should take care of each other. But why was Rem with Project Seeds? Why did she believe all life was sacred? Why was your ticket to the future blank?

Vash was far to passive but never said why and was not a gunslinger. Which was pretty much key to his skill and why he was infamous. Even before the July incident he was an excellent gunslinger and Western drifter. Wolfwood was meh, his natural people skills from the manga were completely gone. He was not only a trained killer but he was a natural people person and tried to be compassionate when possible. Meryl was two years older than in the manga/'98 anime and far less experienced. Yes, she was smart and by the book but so weak. Roberto was useless. He did not serve the plot. How would I have done Stampede? 1.) Trigun Maximum emphasis. Incorporate more of the manga into the anime, but cutting out some of the wandering chapters which did not serve the plot other than for some hard to follow action scenes. They lifted some elements from Maximum, but parts I was never a fan of e.g. the late introduction of the fact that Wolfwood was likely in his early 20s but will be debated until the end since his own backstories and timelines in the manga are inconsistent. My point is that Wolfwood's timeline is a hot mess.

Instead, they could have streamlined some of the fuzzy hand waving science and odd timelines for characters like Wolfwood and Livio. What they did was lean in hard to the rapidly aging aspect of things so as far as I can tell, Wolfwood is like 13 in Stampede?

They added in Elendira the Crimsonnail but made her a child who manifests nails from the air. Um, sure. If she is a she at all or genderless or nonbinary. The point is, she is not an adult trans woman with excellent fashion taste.

Added in the missing civilians from the original work. As others have commented, Stampede is a very empty world. There are no normal people. The entire point was that there were lots of normal people living their lives on the planet. They are completely absent. There are barely any civilians to protect since they aren't there. The design of the cities and towns for this were also weak. Yes, they needed plants, but most of the cities grew around the ships and dwarfed them. December was a full city with a downtown, high rise buildings and public transit. Stampede is just a weird tribute to Dune or something like that.

There was the potential to take the original anime, add in the key points of Maximum and it would have been an awesome anime.

2.) Had a clear story line for all twelve episodes and then for each individual episode. The storytelling for Stampede was an utter disaster. The terrible pacing, the inability to show characters through their actions, their lack of rational thoughts from time to time. The bad science; e.g. a town with only windmills but no solar panels. No knowledge of plants and photosynthesis? What the hell were these people eating? Apparently, they came up with worm related lore in their brainstorming sessions, but if you DON'T put that in the actual anime, we won't know that.

Too many things were like "Oh wow, look perfect timing! Always!" Dude, no. Part of the original was how timing wasn't perfect and characters slogged around for months trying to reconnect.

I think Vash being a little more upfront about his rationale to try to avoid violence would help and if he did it with his gun like in the originals. It makes his skill even better and more appreciated and highlights how he does not shoot to kill. Even though this series started with the backstory with him and Knives, Rem's moral code was not outlined. Thus, we don't know why Vash does what he does due to Rem and her influence on him.

Wolfwood was terrible, lacking all of his charm, personable attitude and willingness to sacrifice and be critical. He just comes off as a dick. Honestly, all they needed to do was make him more friendly and call out Vash for faking it like in the original. Meryl would have been better like her original with more experience and Milly as her junior. Nightow writes excellent female characters who aren't uwu/waifu types. They are women who are competent, have strengths and flaws and hopes and dreams. They are not there for you to dream about them fawning over you and acting on your every beck and call. Instead, they likely could kill you. Or at least really hurt you. They are not sexualized, nor fan service. They are just women and the men are just men. I'm not saying they aren't attractive - Meryl is still cute, Milly is dapper, Chain is curvy, K. K. is fashionable. But that isn't the defining aspect of their characters.

3.) Kept the character designs closer to the originals. In a saturated media landscape where so many anime look the same and generic, the style of the original would have stood out. Keep that lanky angular style of the original. Have those dramatic poses which showed so much about each character. I mean, they could have updated them and ditched the '90s eyes through chunky hair bit. Also, by changing Wolfwood from being a priest/preacher much of his internal moral conflict is lost. Along with the jokes which were classics by this point. With so many people not knowing the original, the jokes would have been unknown and fresh to newer viewers.

4.) Made the series 24 episodes with 12 per season. This really would have helped the series out big time. Instead of the oft critiqued terrible pacing, do what so many other series do now; split up what used to be a single season into two parts. It would have allowed for more downtime, lingering shots, characterization through interactions with the normal people. Vash playing with children. Eating donuts. Pancakes. Wolfwood giving up his food. Meryl writing reports and trying to be emotionally distant. Milly helping Wolfwood in a fight. Many of the micro-moments of characters were lost, but these help us to understand them and how they will react through very basic set up. Madhouse did not have a blockbuster budget for Trigun but it didn't matter when they set the tone up right.

They had too many blink and you will miss it moments. The this is not a problem with manga since you look at each panel individually. The original anime allowed for much better establishing shots as well as lingering on things to make it clear what that thing was. Kuroneko-sama is obvious in all the episodes, in the OP and ED and nyas (she has an entire track of 'nya' on the second donuts OST). Well, I would have made sure she does that in Stampede. I don't want it to be some sort of cryptid moment in the corner of the screen. Especially, since Kuroneko-sama still appears in the KS extras even bonding with Steven. Oh, yeah, and all the time in the KS anime; on the street in Hellsalem's Lot. Crossing the street in HL. With a monster jar stuck on her head that crashes into Leo. In the ED of B3 & Beyond.

Sure, Studio Orange put Sonic in there but the level of Kuroneko-sama in KS is much higher than KS in Stampede.

A longer series would have also allowed for more of the humor to come through. Trigun has ample slapstick/zany/situational humor that was lost in Stampede. Stampede took itself too seriously. Due to that, they never could turn off the serious mode. But even tough situations elicit humor. In the manga, Wolfwood explains how he doesn't die to Vash more or less but lays down to sleep. Vash then has a full on panic and Wolfwood is beyond pissed - since he's just trying to sleep. Even when Wolfwood is about to die, he cracks a joke with Vash in the manga.

Nightow clearly has a dark and sarcastic sense of humor at times. That could have come through in it and it was lost - to be serious. It is natural for people to crack jokes in absolutely terrible situations and Nightow loves to do this. If the Kekkai Sensen anime took out all of the sarcastic/dry/quips of the cast it would be so terrible. That is what happened to Stampede. They went full on serious sci-fi but forgot about the plot, characters and motivations.

5.) Included the strong religious undertone. Correctly. Much of the Christian and Buddhist themes were lost in Stampede. Why does Vash cling to an impossible ideal/moral code? The role of suffering and turning that other cheek. The creepy accurate angel designs for the plants. How Vash and Knives were of a virgin birth of angelic beings with one falling from grace. The oodles of Catholic guilt that trapped Wolfwood and Vash. But trapped Wolfwood more. Why do people have different lines they can and cannot cross? What is right? What is justice?

All we got in Stampede were crosses mixed with a zia (perhaps) and concept art of the Eye of Michael where all the women are hotties. This goes 100% against the modesty of the original and the lack of fan service. Nightow does not draw his characters to be hot nor does he want to put in relationships - especially with Trigun. Kekkai Sensen has only one known relationship, K. K. and her husband. Which is great, but we aren't there to examine their relationship. Instead, K. K.'s family motivate her to do her job and protect them.

I should really wrap this up as it has gotten far too long. However, what happened with Stampede is Studio Orange likely got so into making their mark on the series and giving it a new angle that they lost track of how to make it work. What story makes sense? How do you depict your characters? What type of pacing do you use for a twelve episode show which may or may not get more episodes?

If it really were in development for five years, I can't help but think Covid-19 really messed up some of their work and why things ended up disjointed. Or they had too many people involved or too much input and tried to include it all. Whatever actually happened, they needed a tighter linear story and consistent vision. Which they lacked.

[aks-of-the-weak]

Incipit: I believe the meaning of life is to be true to yourself. Identity, through whatever eyes, is always the product of Nature and Culture and naught but Nature and Culture. If there is a Third Source which can inform in any part any given action or perception, than that could possibly be that "True Self" which i seek. This is why i welcome the fact that nobody reads my shitty homestuck fanfiction, it means that writing it is something purposeless, something motivated neither by the Fiery Pulses of Nature, nor the Cold Calculations of Culture. If you think this is overly dramatic, then yes. Yes it is.

7th Post: Taurdeus, Sign of the Author. And would you look at that, i've already started writing bullshit.

Constellation: This is one of the more convoluted signs i've made (and liked). There's a lot you can want to see in it if you wanna. Like, maybe you see a little man jumping in the shadow of the lines. Or maybe that's a flower, the lower shadows are two leaves and the circle is the underside of a petal. But that doesn't explain the lines in the upper-right and upper-left corners. Honestly i'm kinda stumped. The "deus" suffix is an interesting angle. Translated literally from latin, "Taur deus" means "Bull God". By that logic every Bronze sign could be translated to Bullsomething, but i'm struggling here, so give me a break. There's a lot of animals in the Bovidae family that don't have an official constellation irl such as Bisons, Buffalos, Antelopes. Yeah, did you know that Antelopes are a kind of Bovine? Not really what you think of when you think of the Cow's cousin, eh? There's a particular species of Antelope that has four horns (and looks dope as fuck). The sign also has 4 of that "pickaxe shape", but the four-horned antelope's horns are small, straight and sharp, not big and curvy, so i don't think it fits. Ultimately, it comes down to the Constellation metaphor. The Hope aspect and the "the author" title point to themes of the imaginary and creative work, whereas the bulky overloaded symbol points to the theme of "burden". So the metaphor is "the creative burden", someone born under taurdeus's constellation is someone who has difficulty realizing their creative aspirations and someone who has trouble separating creative works from their real life, be that their own works or other. In that sense, of the above options the buffalo makes the most sense, i think. Bisons have larger heads and comparatively smaller horns than buffalos, plus buffaloes have curvier horns more akin to the sign's shape. So the Buffalo constellation it is. I tried to make the constellation with a lot of stars since the sign has a lot of lines itself.

Physicality: When i tried to leave a character's gender ambiguous until i developed them more they ended up settling as NB, and that kinda pissed me off. I'd rather make a character be NB explicitly than have them be that way because i fucked up and couldn't decide. That's to say, i'll be setting gender from the start from now on, and this one's gonna be a girl, because i have too many boys already. With a sign like that, the First thought was "This troll needs fuckhuge horns that burdens her head", right? But i already did that with Bahkos, plus there's another fuckhuge-horns-looking bronze sign coming up eventually, so here's an alternative idea: This troll has much denser and harder horns than normal, so despite them not being properly gigantic they still put a great burden on her neck. The shape of it is that of a Cape Buffalo's horn, with the horns forming a sort of helmet on top of her head. Since her horns are so heavy, she probably wants less mass elsewhere, so her hair is really short. So what else is there to consider? In terms of psionics, we have no psionics. In terms of weapons, we have no weapon. This troll, you see, is a little weakling. She has no combat skills, no supernatural abilities, no charisma to lead or conquer. She is a tiny little weakling who i could squash easily with one hand. Very murderable.

Backstory: So how does a troll get through alternian life, all the way to exile, with such an eminently crushable spine? Well, let's do some worldbuilding. You see, many trolls believe in soulmates. That for each each quadrant there is one other troll that is truly destined to them (that's canon, not something i made up). So, if even an heiress falls in love with a lowly burgundy, as long as she claims "it's the work of fate" other high-bloods won't find her fault. For a lowblood, this arrangement can be highly beneficial and as such they will gain the derogatory nickname of "Jewel". Richel Cullan is one such Jewel. Moirail to one Purple blood powerful even amongst Purple bloods, she never had to fight or scavenge for a day in her life. She had all expenses unlimited and most of her 9 sweeps on alternia were spent indulging in entertainment media. Novels, Movies, Television, Video Games, and Arts of many kind. In those times, Richel amassed a truly remarkable collection of media, some rare, some banned, some unique. She helped preserve those works by making copies and distributing them online. And she was proud of that work. Once she went off-world, she hoped to pull on her moirail's influence to become an imperial librarian helping to manage the empire's archives, a task generally assigned to teal bloods, but not outside of lower caste's reach. 

But on one night, her hope shattered. Her moirail had solidified his power over the sweeps, accruing a whole retinue of subordinates, both loyal and fearing. Mostly fearing. What woke Richel from her dreams that night was the heat of the flames covering half the neighborhood, ex-allies battling in the streets over who would be the new boss, and a mob banging at the door, wanting something to make a show of the death of the old regime. "Your Moirail is dead, Jewel" one of them yelled as pieces of the door fell to the floor. Richel never got to know how, exactly, her moirail died. She barely made it out of that hive and out of that town with the help of a mysterious stranger she had bonded with the night before. She spent the next two weeks experiencing the alternia she never knew, desperately escaping wild beast and murderous trolls, barely scavenging enough food to live off of. She wouldn't have lasted much longer had the drones not picked her off for her exile. Of her once great collection she barely had a small box left, which she had clung to desperately even wading through the alternian mud. With no on-record accomplishment, no powers or skills, no influence with highbloods, not even any belongings, the career paths for Richel were nil. After receiving a standard-issue rifle and combat uniform, she was shipped to the frontline to serve as cannon fodder.

But she survives! Two Sweeps later, she is still there, her hard-as-a-helmet horns having saved her from more than one close call. Her combat performance are nothing impressive, but her infantrymates have gotten to calling her "the dead girl", because under a rain of explosions she still sleeps deeply as a corpse. They don't know how she does it. But i do, dear reader. She sleeps so deeply because even now, she still dreams.

Excipit: Aaaand that's a wrap. This one was such a fiasco. I wrote Constellation and Physicality, and then i tried writing a Short Story because i loved the short story last time, but this time it just didn't work. Short stories are a cool way to characterize a personality, but this time i had a whole backstory to jam in there and it ended up meandering and going nowhere. So i had to cut it. And now i was sitting there, with the character fully characterized from the process and only half the post written. I sat on that for like three months because i couldn't be fucked until just tonight. And the whole time it was sitting on my mind, i was going "oh, i have free time, i should finish the post", but then i'd go "nah, i have to wake up early tomorrow" or get distracted by other projects. That said, i really do enjoy this writing format. I always have a blast writing each part of it, when i can get to it. This excipit is way too long, Aks.

[danthediamondminecart]

Hi!

Got some questions mostly for the RBB Pokemon AU! :D

1. In your RBB Pokemon AU, Will Tanqr ever get exposed for being part of an evil team?

2. In the Pokemon RBB AU, Is Tanqr like Chairman Rose from Pokemon Sword and Shield?

3. In your RBB Pokemon AU, How is Tanqr ever related to the villain group?

4. In the RBB Pokemon AU, What is the name of the region where the AU is gonna take place? Is it still Robloxia or no?

5. In your RBB Pokemon AU, how in the world did Kreek became an elite four? He must have been really powerful.

6. In your RBB Pokemon AU, Will we ever get an custom battle gimick exclusive to the region on where the RBB Pokemon AU takes place?

7. In your RBB Pokemon AU, is PinkLeaf the "Ash Ketchum" of this AU or no?

8. In BLSMP, Does the time in the BLSMP server work the same as the time in Robloxia or does the time in the BLSMP server work differently than Robloxia?

9. In your BLSMP AU, What do you mean by God-Adjacent? Like can you please explain in detail because I am generally curious!

10. In your RBB Pokemon AU, Are the characters in the AU all human or some of them are not human such as some of them being animal hybrids, supernatural creatures, etc.

This is a heck ton of questions, hope you don't mind answering them! Also how's your hand btw?

More questions! My hand is fine, btw, the burn was less bad than we thought. Just got a lil lump lol

I really hope answering lots of questions on the Pokemon AU motivates me to work on the drawings for it again, lol.

I'll try to post what I have done of it here eventually, for those confused! For now I'll link to Twitter.

Okay, let's go!

Q1, 2 + 3: I'm putting these in the same group because the answer to the first two questions is no, the reason being Question 3. Tanqr is not a villain, nor is he part of the villainous group - he's wholly a good guy, just a little mysterious. He's related to it in the same way Russo is related to the villainous group - in a sort of punny way.

Q4: Yep! You can find the map of it here.

Q5: Well, Kreek used to be the Top Champion of Robloxia before Tanqr beat him out. He is an incredibly skilled Pokemon battler, having practiced it for most of his life (as opposed to Tanqr's seemingly natural talent). He just happened to get overtaken - but he's still the leader of the Elite 4, and a tough challenge for any prospective battler.

Q6: Yes! It is called Metalysis, and you can find Professor Boringsworth's notes on it here. (It's basically Terastallisation but with a different aesthetic.)

Q7: Nope. He's simply a member of the Elite 4 - if he had more time to train and more confidence in himself, he probably could've become Champion, but he didn't. Still, he and Bella are the youngest members of the Robloxian Pokemon League to this day. The closest character to Ash would be you, the Battler. (To note: The RBB Pokemon AU is closer to the structure of the games, not the anime.)

Q8: For the sake of simplicity, yes. In practice, most likely not, but because I'm the author and I don't want to figure out timeline things, yes. You get the gist.

Q9: As Russo said, and as I outlined here, he wields / is the concept of Truth itself. The items, to him, simply enhance his already existing powerset. That's basically god-adjacent, right? He started off mortal, hence 'adjacent'.

I tend to refer to them as 'demi-gods' in my notes. Hence [REDACTED]'s reaction to him. (Disclaimer: the redaction is not a spoiler for things yet to come - the chapter I am referring to is already posted.)

BLSMP itself isn't an AU in the traditional sense - it's canon divergence. So basically, anything I say about my take on the 'canon' versions of the cast applies to BLSMP as well (as long as it's pre-Season 3).

Q10: All Pokemon AU human characters are, well, human.

[bonelessmatcha]

Purrfect Apawcalypse Headcanons

Pulled out of my messy fanfic notes + random stuff I came up with while making this post. This post will randomly have stuff edited into it on a regular basis.

Just a heads-up: the headcanons have more to do with the setting then specific characters.

-There are a few students in Hachiko High that immigrated from places where cat-dog relations are generally better. Places where their specific populations are low enough to easily ignore each other, or places where they're lumped in the same category as the "weaker/more sheltered" carnivores. These students mostly keep quiet, though, due to how mean some of their classmates can be about things associated with cats (Ginger's bullies, for example). Patches is one of these students (or at least 2nd/3rd gen. would totally explain why he doesn't have a lot of "dog personality traits" and was easily accepting of Angel at first)

-At least one other classmate at HHS had seen Patches's locker shrine. Said classmate didn't get a good enough look to recognize Angel was a cat, nor were they gossipy enough to go around telling people the specifics, but it did add on to Patches's reputation as a weirdo.

-Deuteranopia (red-green colorblindness) is a lot more common for sentient dogs, but still less than 25% because they're anthro. Olive has it, and it's why their favorite outfit is yellow and blue.

-Adoption is actually super common for dogs in this world. Due to the average lifespan for PA dogs being at ~27, most don't live long enough to see their biological kids reach adulthood. Usually when puppies are born, they get socialized with an older cousin or parent's younger sibling or family friend who can watch over them when the bio parents die. (RIP Patches for not being socialized properly, and RIP Sparky who'll be expected to provide for his younger siblings when he gets older.) (If I didn't make this headcanon then other stuff would have to be true instead)

-(For cats the socialization isn't as important due to solitary nature, but when it happens it focuses more on siblings/cousins in the same age range.)

-Food with caffeine (in areas with less animals that can digest it, at least) is viewed as an addictive and dangerous drug. Doug is considered a dealer by both Kemono Town & Woods standards.

-Before the massacre, Brownie was one of those students who jumped between friend groups but wasn't very close to any of them (on account of only having 2 months to get to know them since she's a freshman). It's why she has good social skills yet wasn't too upset at Coco for killing everyone.

-Other factors leading to the Claret family's downfall was 1) how divided it was due to cultural clashes and 2) health risks (from mixing different animal biologies) when magic failed. Also 3) a few of the past family heads were literal dictators/mass murderers, and They Were Remembered more than the nicer ones (with related family lines like the Wichiens quietly burying their history to fit with their respective species).

-Before dogs showed up and created Kemonotown, it was actually cats vs forest species

-Occasionally when resources are running low and their usual delivery methods aren't available, a cat will actually enter Kemonotown to restock from one of the local stores owned by one of the 10% non-dog species living in the area. It's pretty uncommon, though, and the cats who do so make sure to carefully calculate their arrival at a time when most dogs won't notice.

-During PA2, most of the zombies didn't have their souls inside their bodies. Their motivations were heavily reliant on muscle memory and what was left of their biological brains.

[lonelyghosts-stuff]

I need motivation and tips for continuing art. I used it do it so much as a kid but stopped doing it as much for a stupid reason. Someone who I became friends with was a better artist. I was never popular but I had used to kind of be a smidge known in my classes for decent art until she came along and everyone admired her more. Now obvs that wasn't her fault and we actually became friends for a while (until she changed and pushed me away down the line in middle school and high school, but that's neither here nor there). Either way, I didn't do it as much and only did it here and there.

I never really had my own consistent style either. It was all just kind doodles and some full sized drawings. I never did well with humans but did decently with like animals and objects. This was all in a traditional sketchbook too. I eventually started some digital art too as my friend did and she had a natural affinity for it. Once again, seeing myself get outdone. I have a bad habit of feeling like a failure when I am not immediately good at something I try, especially when it is something I really really want to do. Over the years I would have random surges of doing art again but would often get distracted by other things and feel too overwhelmed to pursue the hobbies I like, especially in high school and me now at 21 in college.

I am pursing a degree in animation but haven't even started the actual animation class itself, mostly just the general education requirements and then some other art classes. I finished 2D design, 3D design, drawing, and life art. I feel like my art has gotten decent for objects and animals still, but I struggle with humans. And unfortunately my life art class was pretty awful with the teacher mostly focusing on a few things regarding the body (which don't get me wrong, was helpful at first) and just assigned busy work like 20 skeleton sketches or 10 skulls and 5 full skeletons or whatever and every single class was gesture drawing of the nude models we had and progressing to shading. Again, don't get me wrong, those are definitely important and helped me with improving my skills, but what bugged me was not only how repetitive it was (it felt like my progress plateaued very early into the class as it just became the same thing every time with the teacher not being super engaging), but the fact we never got into the main thing I struggled with when drawing people; the human face.

I am trying to reteach myself how to draw now, having done that life art class like 2 years ago now. I am watching tutorials which have helped a bit, but I think my main issue is not practicing as consistently. A huge factor being motivation. I often get busy so when I have down time, I'd rather do something mindless instead of intentional work like practicing art that I am not gonna like. And when I do draw, even the things I used to think I was decent at like animals and objects and sceneries, I hate them. They look so flat and lifeless and they look super inconsistent style wise when you compare the different aspects of the drawing. It makes me feel unmotivated and scared about my future.

How can I be an animator when I can't even be happy with a still drawing I have made? I adore 2D animation. I adore art. I have so many ideas I can fully visualize in my brain but as soon as pencil touches paper or stylus to tablet, it's like I am a toddler learning how to write. Especially on digital art because I always feel like I am doing something wrong or in the most inefficient way possible. Don't even get me started on the fill bucket tool on drawing programs never actually filling in the full space I want them too and lines never being fully solid and having weird fuzzy edges that make coloring in weird. Even when I try to look up fixes for this it never seems to work (I swap back and forth between drawing in the free program Krita and Adobe Photoshop I have temporarily while in college).

There is the part of me that wants to give up, but then the strong part of me that refuses to because I know this isn't just some random ADHD hyper-fixation I have gotten. It has been a consistent interest of mine since I was in elementary school, fluctuating based on motivation and other external factors, but never something I stopped being interested in. I dunno. I guess I just needed to rant. I need to keep practicing, I know, but I wish I had someone directly next to me at all times giving me the perfect advice and helping me immediately see where I am messing something up or whatever so my improvement can be faster lol. Idk who will even read this. But oh well.

[anongalactic]

As I've been getting back into Black Butler after all these years, I have noticed something among the wider fan base (and among modern fan culture as a whole).

Warning, im talking about yee old anime fujoshis and sebaciel. Both these things are very bad and I will be talking about that.

The anime and the early manga (cannot speak for the manga as a whole as I have not read it all), is rife with weird fujoshi-bait fanservice moments. This is an UNDENIABLE fact. Yet I have seen so many people deny its existence outright; particularly in comments on youtube videos, tiktoks, instagram posts, etc., where people will outright say that there's nothing to have ever given people the idea to ship characters like Sebastian and Ciel together. Which is just,, flat out wrong?? Admitting it exists because you have eyes and can see does not mean you condone it or are some weirdo. Scenes like that and every other eyebrow raise kinda moment we're included for a reason, that reason being appealing to fans of that kinda content. It's a definite flaw of, at the very least, early Black Butler. Denying the existence of these scenes does not mean people who are skeeved out by it/want to address it are somehow the bad guys here.

There's a similar issue among villain characters in media as well. Just because a character, written as a villain and clearly shown to be in the wrong, does something morally fucked up, does NOT mean the writer nor the fans condone that behavior. There's a difference between romanticizing or trying to act like a characters actions are okay vs. when its clearly a villain doing villainous things. On the fandom end, there's a difference between analyzing a characters actions and condoning them. My favorite character of all time is Dio from jjba, that doesn't mean I condone all the bad shit he's done, in fact I love to discuss his motivations and actions because he has a lot of depth. Does that mean I think any of what he's done is okay? Absolutely fucking not, obviously.

It's basic critical thinking skills and media literacy that seem to be lacking amongst some fandom spaces today, and I've been seeing it more and more. But don't use this as an excuse to bully newer people in fandom, stfu we've all been there before. Just as I was a preteen kid watching Black Butler in 280p on Youtube, there are also new kids on the block when it comes to anime. The issue arises when it's people who HAVE been around the block, or are grown ass adults, trying to act like every interaction Sebastian and Ciel have had ever is completely innocent and lacked any kind of ulterior motive. Try to show someone the corset scene and tell them that there's absolutely nothing weird going on there. Yes it was a joke scene, but what was the intent?? fujobait. fanservice. THATS the joke, the joke is FOR those audiences. And yet there is so many people just flat out saying that interpreting these scenes for what it was intended to be, fujoshi bait, and pointing out how weird it is, are wrong. They're saying that only weirdos would be able to see it at all, like its a reach to say that the gross fanservice scenes are, in fact, gross fanservice.

Before I conclude this rant I'd also like to point out that there are some series that I believe are indefensible with its questionable-at-best content, and i don't think Black Butler is one of those. Black Butler actually has a plot outside of the fanservice moments, and from what I've heard about the rest of the manga, those moments are now few and far between. It's when a series has little to no plot, or a lack thereof, aside from the gross stuff that being a fan of it is inexcusable.

This is getting long but i assume you get the gist at this point. Acknowledging that something problematic is present in a series does not mean you condone it, nor is it bad for people to recognise the issues in the first place. You can address a series' flaws, it doesn't mean that you are weird for seeing those flaws in the first place. Rant over.

[sunriseverse]

2, 15, and 17!!

2. Do you read/reread your own fics?

i do! my fics are made for an audience of one primarily, and that audience is me. i love rereading my own works—and sometimes doing so brings about inspiration or motivation to work on what i'm writing in the moment. also, i love seeing the progression of my style and skills, which is really noticeable when i read things i wrote a while back.

15. How do you come up with titles for your fics/chapters?

i am very unoriginal with fic titles—unless i have a really good idea for one before i start writing, i'll usually just steal from a quote, poem, or song lyric. i've already written thousands of words—i deserve a little bit of a break, you know?

17. What’s something you’ve learned about while doing research for a fic?

this wasn't recent, but apparently condoms have been around for hundreds of years? i don't know why i wound up learning this—there's no point at which i would ever have used it, nor a time in the future where i will ever use it—, so it was probably an adjacent thing i found out while in a research rabbit-hole, but i think it's fascinating. they were made out of animal intestines, if i remember correctly.

[kuschelkissen]

I wish. I WISH I had the skills and patience and time and motivation...

I want to animate this. I love animated dancing (I mean, I love dancing in general, but especially when animated? For some reason?) and that choreography looks so cool!

And the official Suprising Click video just has... not enough dancing 😭

But just thinking about the amount of work that would need is turning me off, because I know I don't have the time. Nor the skills. And especially not the patience needed. I'd lose motivation after probably 3 pics or something and then go cry in frustration... T__T

[nn-ee-zz]

wait multimedia art? that's a course I've considered taking 😭 i heard it's very heavy on 3d stuff tho. id love to hear about your experience

Multimedia Art! I studied in University of Fine Arts of Lisbon (or as it's called here; FBAUL) My experience there, alongside everyone in my year, was very unique since the curriculum changed mid course and a good chunk of our final semester was spent in quarantine.

A good summary of my college exp was building the ability to do projects from start to finish. Photography, animation, comics, games, audio and video editing, drawing, etc. Alongside the mandatory classes, I've had optional ones. Mandatory classes didn't required me to do 3D work. You could pick optionals that focuses on it, however. So in my experience, it was not heavy on 3D unless someone seeked it out.

I'm gonna be honest, college was gruesome for me (maybe the daily 3 hours of traveling in 3 different types of transportation sunk me in) but I really cherish the things and experience I got within in.

Here goes advices to have an easier experience in college

Learn from everything

Every class has something to learn from and apply to your work. We had drawing classes in which we had to draw a massive pile of random projects set in the center of the room. I've seen some people question as to WHY we are doing something so random. Who will ever need to draw a pile of random stuff? However, it's not about the pile. In that class I reinforced my skills of composition, scale between elements, how to accurately represent man-made items with the dynamic of an illustration. Enjoy and soak in, even seemingly random assignments can have a purpose.

It was also in that drawing class that I learned one of my fave advices ever. I had discarded a drawing and said that I ruined it when the teacher asked why. He replied ''If it's already ruined, then ruin it further''. That loss of high expectations allowed for more freedom, and the result made was much better than anticipated. It happens A LOT when I do ink art. I ruin things, and in an attempt to fix or 'go with the flow', the result turns out much better than the initial plan.

Note: Model drawing class (censored cuz idk how tumblr would react) and statue drawing. The graphite work I did that year made me so bold with shading, both irl and digitally.

Not your magnum opus

None of the projects that you make need to be done at the highest of your skill. I've ALWAYS said to my classmates that we are there to learn the step-by-steps of projects, and try to make a solid one ourselves. Just a solid one, not a perfect one. That being because I've seen it often that projects would start out hyper-detailed and incredibly worked...only for the deadline to approach, and suddenly things aren't as of quality as they were in the start, and the student feels like a failiure over it, and their motivation sinks, and they likely will never attempt it again outside of college. Don't fall for it! You're there to learn what it takes to create a project, and then attempt it at your highest quality in another context.

My example with this were comics. I made comics, animations, games, photos from start to finish. Were they amazing? No. BUT I now know what is needed to make them at full skill outside of college.

Note: Comic class! First one was made based on a sentence prompt (the dialogue). Second one was a re-draw of Pop Team Epic. Made my teacher say ''shut the f*ck up and die'' out loud hsjdhask, she was so hesitant)

Know your limits (and use them for your advantage)

My biggest advantage in college was making my lack of skill seem like a stylistic choice rather than....lack of skill, haha. A massive example of that was my animation project. I didn't have the time to learn software skills nor the time to polish them into smooth, colorful animation. Knowing that I'm unable to do beautiful animation, I decided to use my low skill for full advantage. Now the colorless characters with shaky linework and animation were an aestethic, rather than a flaw. Settle your goals in clever ways that make you look like you're in control. That will also push you out of your own style and reveal some really interesting results.

Note: I animated a short vocaloid MV (Panda Hero by Gumi, with the english translation by vgperson on youtube) A nod to my advice above aswell; this looks messy but it was made from start to finish, and allowed me to learn what it takes to make a MV. I had planned doing another, outside college, but the idea faded.

A GREATER example of this would be the things that made me most popular online; my character design. We were told to design characters based on chess pieces for our weekly Concept Art assignment. I wanted to do fully rendered, beautiful work, but time and SKILL limitations pushed me to settle for ink AND to shade it in a fitting, inky style. I didn't plan on posting it online, but did out of random impulse and it changed my art career forever.

Remember, one of your biggest limits is also the deadline. Don't leave your work for last minute. Unlike high school, the stress of late college works is much, much worse...

That is all, for now. Thank you so much for reading this far.

As a final note, please take care of your health. College is difficult and strains some more than others. Be kind to yourself and to your work.

[writteninkat]

iv - carnival tickets

word count: 2,246

warnings: mentions of blood and dead animals

"I'ma break you off, let me be your motivation"

index

Today was the day you and the rest of class 1A can finally try out their hero costumes. You smiled, looking at yourself in the mirror, giving yourself butterflies as you do so.

Your hero costume was a simple black bodysuit type. Garters attacked to the clothing helped keep your thigh high boots up. The top covered your entire arms, hands and fingers- you designed it this way so your palms wouldn’t be littered with callouses given that you deal with weapons like swords and scythes every time you use your quirk.

The bodysuit is a title neck type that showed off your shoulders. Your costume is finished off with a full face black kitsune mask with glowing blue paint around the eyes, it makes up the whiskers as well as a little nose of a fox.

You keep it up on your head, not wanting to put it on unless you're engaging in combat.

You close your locker, joining the girls who are hyping each other up in what they’re wearing. You all step out of the changing area and you can’t help but feel giddy as you approach your teachers, excited with the activities for today.

Everyone begins freaking out at the site of All Might- which you don’t get at all. He’s blond, has a freakish smile and a built body. So what? “Who’s he?” You whisper at Mina who looks at you as if you’ve grown two heads.

“What?”

You sigh, “Who’s he? And why is everyone freaking out about him?” You ask again and Mina gives you that same look, but much worse. She’s acting as if you’ve just asked a very stupid question. “That’s All Might.” She answers, tone unusually calm and soft.

“I meat who is he?”

“The number one hero.”

You furrow your brows, gaze scanning the man who’s busy talking in front of the awestruck class. You tilt your head to the side, “That’s your number one pro hero?” You ask, pouting.

“You sound a lot of things- underwhelmed? Disappointed? Dissatisfied?” Bakugou says from behind you, the look in his eyes catching you off guard. You pause for a moment, choosing your words carefully to make sure you’re not offending anyone who’s within earshot.

“You look up to him?” You ask and he raises a brow at you as if you’ve just asked the most obvious question in all time. “He’s been my hero since forever. I look up to him more than anyone in the world. He’s my inspiration and the one of the biggest contributors to my dream go being a hero.” Your eyebrows lift in shock, you’ve never heard nor seen Bakugou respect a person so much. And by the looks of Mina, Kirishima and Denki, they haven’t seen this side of him either.

Your heart breaks as you return your gaze to the number one hero in front of you, smiling sadly. You don't know how or why, but your judgement tells you that the seven-footer man in front of you isn't all that powerful- not anymore at least.

"Here's the breakdown. There will be four teams of two- half of them will be heroes and the other half will be villains. The hero team can win in two ways; you can either capture the villains or retrieve the bomb. The villain team wins if the hero team is unable to do any of the tasks within the time limit." He explains quite clearly and thoroughly.

You feel your heart beat against your chest, you're feeling very giddy. Your excitement causes Bakugou's lips to twitch upwards, carving out a soft smile to which he hides almodt immediately so no one can see him.

All Might pulls out a draw lots box, letting fate decide which teams everyone belong to. You end up being teammates with Aoyama and Mina who you happily greet.

Everyone is asked to stay inside a monitoring room to watch and observe their classmates in battle. When All Might announces Bakugou and Izuku's team being up first, you don't think before walking up to the blond and placing a hand on his shoulder. He turns his head to the side, raising an expecting brow.

"Good luck out there." You smile softly to which he scoffs at. "I don't need luck to win." He punches his palm as he sets of his quirk, "I already know I will."

You roll your eyes, walking towards Izuku to wish him good kuck as well before following the class to the monitor room. Your eyes scan over the wall of monitors, finding it closely similar to the monitor room your house has back in the US.

As you watch Bakugou and Izuku in battle, it's clear to see that there's something going on between them. There seems to be a conflict between them that you can't quite point and as much as you wanted to ask Bakugou about it, you decided to wait until he'd tell you.

Why on earth do you think he'd tell you?

You shake your head and clear your stupid thoughts, stepping away into a corner and sitting down to mentally prepare yourself. As you try to meditate, you don't realise how much time has went by until you're being called by All Might for your turn.

You scan the room but don't spot an angry blond nor an angel look-a-like green haired boy. You pout, hoping to at least see thosep pretty vermilion eyes before the activity.

As you take your steps towards the building, a small smile stretches across your lips when you see Bakugou's familiar back towards you, only for it to smile when you see just how upset he looks like.

"C'mon, Y/n! We're the villains right now we can't be late!!" Mina calls out to you, waving her hand up. You look back at Bakugo one last time, your gazes catching each other before you step inside the building, pulling your mask down to cover your face.

"Hey Mina? Can you let me take charge of our group?" You ask as the three of you make your way towards the room where the fake bomb is. "Alright! We'll be at your command!" She salutes to you a little too enthusiastically to which you chuckle softly at, making sure to smile with your eyes to make sure she sees you're smiling despite the mask covering your face.

After All Might makes sure each teams' statuses are a go, he commences the activity. "Alright. What would you like for us to do, captain?" Mina asks. You stay quiet for a moment, summoning two katanas in each of your hands. You move them around, making sure your wrists are loose and flexible before actually using them.

"You guys can stay still and guard the bomb." You say, adjusting your gloves before turning around to face the only entrance and exit of the room. "I'll have to go and hunt me some heroes."

"It's been a few minutes since they started and when Y/n suddenly disappeared like that. What do you think the villains are planning?" Tsuyu asks, eyes on the screen as the class continues to search for you in every monitor in the wall, but to no avail.

"I've been seeing a few mice here and there. Do you think that's Koda's doing?" Kirishima asks, to which Denki asks back, "Are the mice you see dead or alive?"

Kirishima furrows his brows at the blond, about to explain how the mice are alive but stops himself when he looks back at the screen and sees the mice he was looking at just a few seconds ago was now dead, body sliced in half. He checks the other monitors as well and his confusion rises even more at the sight of multiple dead mice all over the floors.

"Time is ticking, heroes. You better get to the bomb or if this was a real life situation it'd have blown up by now." All Might says into the mic which puts pressure on the two boys.

The class watches in anticipation as the two steps into a wide and open room, somewhere similar to where Bakugou and Izuku were fighting in a while ago.

"No one's here." Sato states, turning around. "Then, there should only be one room left-"

"Leaving so soon, heroes?" You ask, body leaning on the closed door with one foot pressed on it and your arms crossed across your chest.

Sato and Koda raise their guards, stepping into a fighting stance as theylook at you with such focused eyes. You chuckle, "Your little friends running around the building were pretty hard to find. Not to mention there were quite a handful of them which caused me to reach my speed quirk's limit."

"So it was Y/n who sliced all those rats? But we didn't see her at all. There were no movements in any of the cameras." Sero points out, confusion evident in his face. "Well, she did use her speed quirk. And if what she stated was true, then she'll be no longer to use that quirk of hers, at least during this fight." Iida voices out.

"Two guys against one girl? Isn't that too unfair for her?" Mineta asks, receiving a growl from Bakugou. "If you think her being a girl puts her at a disadvantage you're wrong. If you wanna be a hero, it doesn't matter what your gender is, as long as you're strong."

Despite being in a foul mood, Bakugou still found himself wanting to fight for you. He didn't like the thought of people lookibg down at him, but he found it weird how he preferred it when people not look down at you instead.

"Come on boys. I'll keep this quick and short for you so we can end this activity already." Fingerless boxing gloves appear in each of your hands, they're black but with neon blue accents. You get into a fighting stance, "I really hate sweating."

Sato charges at you, throwing a naive punch at your way to which you dodge easily- scoffing. What was he trying to do, intimidate a little child? As you moved your body to the side, dodging his immature punch, you punch him in the gut, eyes on Koda as you do this.

You hear Sato wheeze before his body falls to the ground. You crack your knuckles, walking towards Koda who begins to panic, using his quirk to call in all sorts of birds and squirrels.

"Koda, this is as scary as being chased by a street gang of kittens." You say, stepping towards him. You step to his side, bringing your hand up to his forehead and flicking it, the contact causing him to tremble before losing consciousness.

Your mother's body guard taught you this- it was a skill he said that most assassins he worked with knows about. He never clearly explained to you how to do it, but as long as your opponent had the slightest bit of fear for you, it will end up working. For Koda's case, he looked like he was about to piss his pants, so it worked out a little too well for you.

"Y/n's team wins this round." All Might announces as the rest of class 1A stands behind him, unsure of what they had just seen.

As the day comes to an end, you learn from Kirishima and Mina that Bakugou has been feeling off since the fight lately. "We tried to stop him from leaving, but he just wouldn't listen. Izuku went and ran after him too. If you go now you should be able to catch up to the both of them." Urataka explains, setting the stack of books she's carrying on a desk.

You run out of the classroom, jumping down flights of stairs to get to the entrance of the highschool as quickly as possible. By the time your eyes finally caught sight of the two boys, they were already talking with each other.

"I wasn't hiding my quirk from you. It was given to me by someone else, recently."

You raise your brows, quickly hiding yourself from the both of them. You place a finger gently on your lips as you stared at the floor, listening as Izuku explained to Bakugou.

The next thing you know it, Bakugou was now yelling at the green haired boy. He sounded so upset, as if he wanted to cry. It was clear as day that the blond didn't like losing, not to anyone and especially not to Izuku.

You took a peak, eyes widening as you see Katsuki Bakugou looking so vulnerable with tears in the corners of his eyes, his brows knitted from being so upset with himself. He walks away, slouching as he wipes his tears with the back of his hand.

You step out of your hiding spot, Izuku's expression growing nervous when he sees you. "O-oh hey, hey Y/n! I didn't... ummm... did you..." He looks down, scratching the back of his head. "Did you hear something?"

You stare him down for a moment, unsure of what to answer before sighing. "I'm not going to say anything to anyone nor ask you about it. But I will tell you this." Your words causes Izuku to look up at you in anticipation. "The second you master that power of yours, you have to fight me with everything you've got. Alright?"

Bakugou grumbles to himself, kicking at a rock, watching as it rolls into a canal. He huffs, annoyed. "I'd tell you you look ugly when you're mad, but then I'd be telling you you look ugly everyday." You yell at him from behind, causing him to turn around.

"School isn't over yet." Bakugou furrows his brows as he watches you make your way towards him. "And yet here we are." You point out, smiling as you put your hands behind your back.

He sighs, adjusting his bag on his shoulder. "What do you want?"

You take out two pink carnival tickets from your pocket, shoving it at his face and waving it in front of him. "I've always went to this carnival with my mom back in the US and I'm feeling kind of homesick. I accidentally bought two tickets too so now you gotta go with me."

You begin to pull at him to which he pulls back, a bored expression resting on his adorable face.

Adorable?

"No." He grunts.

You smile at him, "I wasn't giving you a choice."

[fanfiction-funtime]

Genshin OC: Louis

Based on Interactions with @genshin-obsessed

And Pocket, in the original it was Signora who traumatized him sexually(I'm sorry if it offends you but I feel uncomfortable saying the r word), but I don't think she's that evil so in this fic it will be slightly different, but still as messed up.

_____________________

Louis is an inventor from Fontaine, perhaps the brightest in all Teyvat. After unknown circumstances he was forced to flee Fontaine to Liyue, where unfortunate circumstances lead to him to meet Kazuha. Kazuha rescued him in his moment ot need, and inside of taking the life debt Louis offered the samurai merely took his friendship. Now he works as the fleets greatest engineer, repairing and upgrading the ships of the fleet with never before seen technology.

But one has to wonder, what ever caused him to leave Fontaine? And under what city did he meet Kazuha?

__________________

Physical description: a fifty year old man in the following outfit

In this hat

Both his arms are burnt all the way to his shoulder, so he hides them with finned gloves

(Also: I consider Kazuha to be an adult, so if you know about the shipping plan with the Interaction thing with Pocket it's not weird)

He has teal eyes, long silver hair, and a twirling pencil thin mustache.

_____________________

The rise

Louis created his first groundbreaking invention at the mere age of six: a torch that ran on gas!

When he presented his invention it was met with grand....disdain.

People called it a scam, that what he said was impossible. He was laughed and ridiculed, to the point he disappeared from the public eye for many years.

Until fifteen years later.

At nineteen he skyrocketed into the market of invention, using something noone could dispute nor deny the grandeur of: he created a gun!

_____________________

To forge an empire

It was not easy to make it in the invention markets of Fontaine, even with patents one could not stop competitors from making their own form of their products.

So Louis had to be the best damn inventor of all of them! It was why he got his vision, his ambition, his soul demanded it!

And so he did. He hit every corner of the market with high quality inventions every week, from gas ovens to full plate armor, from fans that spun themselves to moving walls! It was once said in Fontaine that if someone wanted the very mountains to move at the push if a button, all they needed to do was pay Louis to make it.

Hundreds took their children to him to for apprenticeship, master craftsmen begged to work for the genius half their sons' age and twice their own skill. It wasn't long before his inventions were being sold by merchants all across Teyvat.

_____________________

A defiled heart of glass

As happy and successful as Louis was, there was something he longed for, something no amount of ambition, success, nor money could ever get him: someone who truly cared for him.

He had believed this to be true for years, until one evening ball,

He met a woman.

She approached him as he sat surrounded, yet completley alone. She walked up to him and said, "you look lonely, would you like to go somewhere else?"

She said it without any ulterior motive, no sucking up, just a genuine want to hang out with HIM. No as Louis the inventor, but as Louis the man who enjoyed inventing.

They walked away from the party, saying to abyss with any who found it rude! And went around the town as two friends, absolutely enamored by eachother's hopes and dreams.

They were friends for five years when Louis finally confessed his love for her, how she would listen to him, and care about him, something he gave to her in equal share.

But a mere year into their relationships he found out his lover's secret: she was Fatui.

One night he found her coming home through the window, in her complete uniform no less. She was afraid, afraid he would leave her for what she was. But instead, all Louis did was wipe her tears and day, "how can I help?"

Do began his secret dealings with the Fatui. He used his bright mind to create countless machines of war for them to use, guns that did not need loading, gas powered suits of armor that gave strength well beyond that of a human, anything thr Tsarista wanted she would get. Because whatever the Tsarista wanted, his love wanted.

His darling love, Signora.

Or so he believed.

Ten years into the deal he was discovered by the Fontaine government and quickly proclaimed a terrorist. He had to flee Fontaine, so he went to where Signora was at the time, Liyue.

When he met her in Liyue he fully intended to propose to her, but when he got on one knee to do so, all he recieved was a sharp freeze through his chest.

And his glass heart shattered, on the stone cold ruins of an empire.

_____________________

Meeting the samurai(tw: this is where the bulk of the messed up happens)

A quick death, however, was not to be his end.

Signora hated him, despised him, for the time she "wasted on this useless, lovesick freak" as she put it.

So she let her mages do to him as they pleased, and left.

And they took full advantage.

They tortured him, violated him, broke him in every way they pleased.

They even convinced him that it was his fault, that he should enjoy what their doing, that he should thank them.

Then left him for dead.

For days he sat slumped on a stone pillar, riddled with holes, barely holding on to life.

'But why?' He had wondered. For he had believed their lies, that he deserved this fate, 'this is a fitting end.' He believed, a fallen emperor, dying on the long dead corpse of an equally grand empire to his own.

'So why?' he wondered, 'why do I keep fighting?'

Then one day a wandering samurai found him and took him in. Louis begged the man to let him die, "I deserve this. She said so...I deserve this....why else would she have done it?"

But the samurai did not falter, he carried the man to the nearest settlement to be healed.

When asked why, the samurai responded, "if you weren't so hurt, I would throw you on the wall and shout you down! WHAT IN THE ABYSS MAKES YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST GIVE UP!? BECAUSE SOMEONE SAID SO? BECAUSE SOMEONE GOT UPSET WITH YOU? SO WHAT!?" The samurai grabbed Louis' vision and held it to his face, "YOU HAVE A VISION, A GIFT FROM THE GODS, GIVEN BECAUSE YOU HAVE A DREAM! THERE IS SOMETHING YOU WANT ISN'T THERE? DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE WANT THIS? WHO WOULD BEG TO HAVE THE ABILITY TO FULFILL THEIR DREAMS?!" the samurai began crying, "do you know how many have had that stripped away? All because someone said they should? Well they still fought. They all fought. And so many died." He placed Louis' vision back on its holder, "so don't you dare give up, and don't you dare die just because someone said you should!"

It wasn't the help Louis needed to fix himself, but it was enough. Enough to help him go on.

_____________________

Vision: shards of a broken dream

Despite what he told the public, Louis did not spend those fifteen missing years because he was discouraged, but because he was betrayed.

Louis was approached by a well known inventor, who said he would help Louis' invention get the recognition it deserved!

Louis should have listened more carefully, because the man never said anything about helping HIM get the recognition he deserved.

The man stole his patent for the gas lamp and rebranded it as his own invention, and threw Louis to the curb.

Were Louis any other person he would have curled up in the warmest alleyway he could find and die, but Louis was not any other person.

Instead he began to create, he spent years and years trying to perfect gas power, then the gods saw his ambition and granted him a vision, a vision of flame.

The vision ignited at an inopportune moment however, and caused a massive explosion that nearly killed the then twelve year old boy.

Inopportune to anyone else, that is.

For in the flames of pain he saw the truth, the overwhelming power that is explosive force.

Then with his still burning hot hands he got to work, forged casing after casing to try and capture the gas that had shown him the light. He spent weeks forging a small metal pellet that could not only survive the blast, but also remain strong enough to pierce through nearly any armor. Then he created the keystone of his work, his masterpiece, the first gun.

And he used the first bullet to take revenge.

_____________________

Abilities:

Main- power of gas: throws a glass container with flammable gas, applying a swirl like effect to a large area that effects all enemies.

After using it, the player can use the ability again to strike a piece of flint that will create a giant explosion that only effects enemies.

Ultimate- culmination of ambition: Louis creates a large explosion blasting enemies away, the camera then zooms in on him holding up two pistols. After the animation ends Louis replaces his Catalyst with dual guns that deal 5X damage and attack twice as fast for ten seconds

Weapon type: Catalyst

Vision: pyro

Passive: glass heart- party members gain 5% extra friendship experience when Louis is in the party.

Special dish: ice cold jelly- a simple spin on the classic mint jelly, Louis adds a special cooling agent to it that increases the cold of the mint exponentially.

(Tagging: @storytravelled, @golden-wingseos, @genshin-obsessed)

[sweetescapeartist]

WHY SAIYANS AREN'T THE GREATEST RACE 🙊

(But Saiyans have more potential than other races.)

So here's why I disagree with Saiyans being the greatest & strongest race. Many factors have to take place in order for Saiyans to get stronger.

POWER

The strongest that full-blood Saiyans could get with the best training is SS3 levels.

Maybe Saiyans could reach higher levels without god ki if we take GT into account, otherwise, SS3 appears to be the max. A Saiyan's max attainable power with the best training could be Vegito levels of power before they get too old & are unable to fight or they die of old age.

But keep in mind that Goku said not even fusion could defeat Beerus.

Goku had to do a ritual & train with an Angel just to attain god ki. (Other races may have something similar to the ritual. Other races could also train with Angels. Like Toppo.)

Most Saiyans weren't pure of heart or righteous. SSG could possibly be achieved by very few, but keep in mind that Saiyans don't have deep training & aren't spiritual as a culture. They would not know how to get as strong as Goku had learned.

TRAINING & SPIRITUALITY

Vegeta started training hard during the android saga. His reason for training was because he saw how beneficial training was for a low-class Saiyan like Goku, who became the legendary Super Saiyan before a royal Saiyan elite could.

Its important to note that Goku was raised as an Earthling, learned Earthling martial arts & he developed spiritual insight that Saiyan culture doesn't seem to have. Also Goku trained with 2 gods (Kami & King Kai) and acquired further power to rival Saiyan saga Vegeta. He then surpassed Vegeta in power & far surpassed him in skill because of his Earthling training.

And realistically it would be difficult for most Saiyans to even achieve the Super Saiyan transformation. They would solely rely on the Oozaru transformation. A select few elite warriors/royal Saiyans might get strong enough to achieve Super Saiyan. But from what we know about Saiyan training, it would be a very very long time before they could achieve Super Saiyan. Only the Super Saiyan transformation could even be as far as they could get.

Like I stated earlier, Vegeta was motivated to train after he saw how beneficial training was for Goku (who has Earth training & trained under 2 gods). If Vegeta never met Goku, Vegeta probably would never achieve Super Saiyan. On their own, Saiyans would most likely never see benefits of such training. They are a warrior race that see death-battles as the best training.

Goku who has martial arts training focused on self improvement, godly training, & spirit control training from the Yardrats understood how to train and conquer the Super Saiyan transformation. That's knowledge Saiyans dont have nor would their culture care about.

So lets say we give a few Saiyans the Super Saiyan transformation. I don't think Saiyans would share the knowledge of Super Saiyan with each other. Stronger ones would suppress the weaker ones until Saiyan society collapses or a civil war breaks out that would result in many casualties.

Goku saw the flaws in just buffing up the muscles of Super Saiyan. Vegeta who has a lack of deep training and Saiyan thinking, he did not see the flaws. He isn't trained the way Goku is. Being a martial artist & spiritual gave Goku a huge advantage over every other Saiyan. He was able to use his knowledge to push Gohan (a hybrid with Earthling principles) to reach Super Saiyan 2 even before a full blood Saiyan could.

Yes, Goku more than likely attained Super Saiyan 2 soon after he died. & more than likely, Vegeta attained it a few years after Cell was defeated. Goku was able to discover Super Saiyan 3 only because he was dead for 7 years & was able to train. His understanding of training and not having a physical body helped him achieve the new form.

No other full-blood Saiyan can achieve Super Saiyan 3 because of the training it takes & the toll it puts on the body. Goku barely even uses it in DBS for that reason (also because they are marketing SSG & SSB instead).

SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENT

Now if we go back to the point of attaining the Super Saiyan transformation, new information has told us that most Saiyans have a low amount of S-Cells; the cells needed in order to become a Super Saiyan.

Their way of life as being warriors who lived to fight all the time is why they could not build up S-Cells. S-Cells that are built up from a gently spirit (most Saiyans lack). Peaceful environments are necessary for this build up of cells. Saiyans naturally thrive for constant battle. The chances of Super Saiyan are even slimmer with S-Cells in mind.

UNIVERSE 6 SAIYANS

Universe 6 Saiyans are mostly good hearted & live much more peaceful lives than Universe 7 Saiyans. It would appear that the good Saiyans defeated the wicked Saiyans in Universe 6. So how come Cabba is somehow the first Super Saiyan? I guess Universe 6 Saiyans don't know how to train properly either.

And lets be honest, it was terrible writing how Cabba & Caulifla attained Super Saiyan. So you're telling me that not one Universe 6 Saiyan had never gotten angry over losing a close friend or family member while on the battlefield? Sure, whatever. Logically, since Cabba never saw Super Saiyan before, it can be said that Super Saiyan is either non-existent or only royal Universe 6 Saiyans have achieved it & keep it secret.

"But the tingly back thingy!"

If a tingly back was only necessary to attain Super Saiyan, then Goku, a master martial artist, should've taught that to Gohan so that Gohan wouldn't struggle so much during training to defeat Cell.

EDIT: Goku more than likely did teach Gohan the tingly back thing after Gohan became a SS. Mastered SS is not triggered by rage. The tingly back wkrks well if dont like this.

But rage is what Super Saiyan has always been activated from. We are still told that the transformations are emotional. Great anger/rage is how Super Saiyan is triggered

(DBS manga chapter 52 & information guides tell us that Super Saiyan is still triggered by rage.).

Caulifla not only achieved Super Saiyan within a days or few hours, but she achieved Super Saiyan 2 the next day! Gohan has the most potential out of all Saiyan because he is a hybrid with a good heart & had some of the best training to have. It DOES NOT make any narrative sense from all that we've learned & continue to learn about Super Saiyan transformations. And the way Caulifla got 2 transformation within 2 days belittles the efforts of Goku & Gohan for the sake of "Look! A female Super Saiyan!"

If Caulilfa can achieve Super Saiyan 2 after only having Super Saiyan for a day, why didn't Future Gohan easily tap into Super Saiyan 2 as well & defeat the androids? Such convoluted writing for Universe 6 Saiyans... 😑

Out of Universe 6's three Super Saiyans, only Kale's transformation seems reasonable because it is set up similar to DBZ Broly. Kale controlling her power within a few minutes in the anime was stupid tho... The manga handled Kake better because she never gained control of herself. But... she had enough sense not to kill opponents and drop them out of the arena... So did she have control or not? A berserker is out to kill, not drop you out of bounds so she isn't eliminated. 😓

Nevermind. Both handled Kale's Super Saiyan form wrong in different ways...

(I have a theory that Universe 6 Saiyans may actually be Saiyan/Earthling hybrids. Which is why its easier to get Super Saiyan and they don't have tails anymore. But that's a different discussion.)

BACK TO UNIVERSE 7 SAIYANS...

So about how strong a Saiyan could become on their own. I was being generous saying full-blood Saiyans could possibly get as strong as Vegito at most. That's more so something only Goku could attain. Saiyan culture & life, heart condition, lack of spiritual connection, & lack of good martial arts knowledge keeps them from growing. If they did train to get stronger then the most they can achieve would be Super Saiyan 2. The Super Saiyan God ritual would be attainable by some, but they could not absorb the power like Goku (thats because of his disciplined training) nor would Beerus allow Saiyans to keep causing havok. He planned to destroy them anyways.

And I'm sure that if one lone Saiyan achieved Super Saiyan on Planet Vegeta, Freeza would destroy the entire race out of fear. If Freeza somehow lost, Beerus would eventually destroy them.

LUCK & GENETICS

Goku, Vegeta, Broly, & Tarble were lucky and able to live different lives from the average Saiyan, be kinder beings or have their hearts changed (wouldn't happen for most Saiyans). Goku is the 1 in a trillion rare Saiyan that got the best training & he influenced surviving Saiyans to be more like Earthlings.

(But even after all the training Goku did in OG Dragon Ball, Raditz was much stronger than Goku. That means most low class Saiyans were around the same strength as Roshi & ChiChi.)

If we are generous and say some Saiyans could've achieved Super Saiyan 2 and would not try to kill each other, then they still lose to aliens like Piccolo, Krillin, Hit, Jiren, Ribrianne, Cell, or 16, 17, & 18.

Give Hit god ki and give him Angelic training to learn Ultra Instinct. He doesn't even have god ki & yet he can keep up with Goku who needed god ki to reach such power.

Broly would be the exception because he is a Legendary Super Saiyan & in a way a mutation too. But his power is uncontrollable. Imagine Broly snaped & tapped into that uncontrollable, monterous power on Planet Vegeta. All Saiyans there die within seconds.

Saiyans are very strong aliens. But other aliens are stronger or understand how to get stronger.

If anything, Saiyans have some of the best genetics & potential that give them a very high possible advantage. However, that is not a guarantee. But Earthlings & Namekians also have very high potential they can utilize along with knowledge far beyond Saiyans.

Being raised as an Earthling is the secret to Goku's power. Being half Earthling is the secret to Gohan's great power & potential. Its as if an Earthling's potential and training & a Saiyans potential and genetics are the perfect mix for a reason. Like they're branched from the same ancestor & are counterparts in a way. 🤔 (But that part's just another theory of mine.)

CONCLUSION

Without god ki, Goku loses to almost every opponent & enemy in DBS. Goku even says SSG is a power he couldn't achieve on his own. He was nearly at the peak of his power until he learned god ki.

And like I have stated, either ritual or Angelic training could be something any race could possibly utilize.

That's what I gathered from the info we've been given.

AFTERWORD

If you disagree that's fine. Disagreements aren't a bad thing. But if you say I'm wrong on something, show or cite evidence within the series (DBZ & DBS in particular) that says or shows otherwise.

All info shows us that most Saiyans would never be strong like Goku. It was luck & circumstance that Goku was not raised as a Saiyan but as an Earthling. Otherwise he would not have been unable to compete with Vegeta or Goku would've been destroyed on Planet Vegeta, killed on the battlefield, or quickly killed by someone stronger than him.

Please don't rebutt by saying things like "Well they're stonger than Earthlings." or "Their god forms are stronger than everyone else."

Those don't work.

If Earthlings trained like Goku (not like Saiyans because Saiyans don't train like that. Its an Earth thing💡) then some humans could surpass Super Saiyan 2. Evidence shows that Krillin & Tien & Yamcha have surpassed Namek saga Super Saiyan Goku. And they aren't addicted to training like Goku does. But when they do train, they make great leaps in power even without transformations.

God ki isn't something every Saiyan can learn (like Goku & Vegeta have) nor is god ki something exclusive to Saiyans. Look at Dende & Uub (DBS chapter 66). Goku being raised as an Earthling, trained as a martial artist, & training with lower gods is what aided his learning of god ki. Vegeta began to train diffetently after seeing a weaker Saiyan's results after training. Plus god ki had to be learned. I doubt Whis or Beerus would teach them if they were evil.