#I'm not talking about souls here because that's a whole other debate

[elbiotipo]

Another thing I think it's virtually impossible is the concept of virtual "copies" or "uploading". Human consciousness is defined by constantly changing electrical impulses and chemical concentrations in the brain, and not only in the brain, but probably also in the rest of the body (the spine and muscular memory, for starters, and who know what the fuck is going in the gut nerves), as we're learning more and more. There is simply no way I can think of where you could translate that biological activity into computer language, that is electrical impulses on a computer on the broadest of terms.

Extremely optimistic and naive transhumanists thought that once we decoded the DNA that makes up a brain, we could just replicate it on a computer. You can't. It's not the genes that make the anatomical structure, not even the genes that make up the behavior between neurons. It's the entire regulation between neurotransmitters, the connections between neurons, the concentrations of neurochemicals, which is in constant flux. And all those come from a living brain that is part of a living organism. You can't just make "a brain" and make it conscious, it's part of an organism (in fact, there are some experiments that make up independent brain tissue to understand punctual behaviors, but they are a bit above my current knowledge and those brain tissues are not conscious in a way we understand)

What's more important is that if you wanted to read and translate that "data" into electronic data, even assuming such a translation is possible, you would have to get inside the cells and their connections. This is impossible in the sense that there are not any known non-invasive methods to actually see what's going on there, optics and chemical marking and more just end up destroying the tissue eventually. And you know, destroying brain tissue kills you. So you can't go sit in a machine that just uploads you to a computer.

I guess a computer could make a simulation of you based on your brain data, but it wouldn't be you, would it? It would be a digital ghost based on you, you will be already dead. The entire transhumanist concept of copies being "you" has always been complete nonsense to me no matter how it's explained.

There's lots of "singularity" transhumanist kinda science fiction that assumes this is just as easy as putting the software (the mind) into another kind of hardware (a computer/the net) and you become inmortal. It's really not, and I doubt it's possible at all. You're not "a mind trapped on a body". Your body IS you. Your brain IS you and your body too.

Could for example, an individual be increasingly connected to an artificial body where it's hard to tell where the biological consciousness begins and ends? Ah, that's an interesting question.

[lesbianrobin]

ok so here is my pitch for my dream buddie catalyst:

eddie and maddie are trapped in some sort of likely-fatal time sensitive situation together (drowning related probably because it's Them) (have they overused it yes is it still thematically appropriate YES) where one person could potentially sacrifice themselves for the other to survive. i want eddie and maddie using their combined experience and ingenuity to survive together and discussing who should be prioritized which means they talk about parenthood and how they both feel they've failed their children by "running," how their lives have been so defined by trauma and they don't want to scar their children any further by leaving them again. of course they're doing everything they can to get out together, but as the situation deteriorates throughout the episode(s) (c'mon something like this could be at LEAST a two-parter) they can't help returning periodically to the world's most morbid debate.

i want buck and chim on the outside both going out of their goddamn minds. they know that eddie and maddie are stuck (wherever), know that they're probably alive, but aren't sure in what condition and if they'll stay that way. rescue operations begin as everybody walks on eggshells around buck and tries to comfort chim, who wants absolutely none of it. time is running out.

eddie says that he couldn't possibly let maddie sacrifice herself for him and look buck and chim in the eye afterwards. maddie says that she couldn't do that either. she says that at least jee-yun would still have her father, and eddie says that christopher would still have buck. maddie says that of course none of them would just abandon christopher if something were to happen to him but—

and eddie cuts her off and says it's in my will. if i die, christopher will have buck. buck will have christopher.

they just look at each other for a weighted moment. maddie makes a decision. she says ...i meant it, you know. that i couldn't let you die down here (wherever here is i don't KNOW okay i'm not here to think up convoluted emergencies i'm here for drama) and look my baby brother in the eye knowing that i could have changed it. eddie says i know, okay, but it's different, you're his sister, and maddie says, yeah, but you're his... and she pauses. and eddie says what? best friend? partner? that doesn't—

and maddie says you're his. eddie, you're his.

and eddie... i want to see something slot into place. i want to watch him understand as maddie spills everything she's been suspecting since the day that buck came out to her and maybe since before she and eddie even met. maddie says you know, when i first came to california, you were all he talked about? you're still all he talks about. you and christopher. you're his. i couldn't... eddie, you're out of your mind if you really don't think that losing you would break him just as much as losing me. he would forgive us both, because he's buck, but i couldn't... i'm no saint, eddie, i want to survive. i don't want my daughter to grow up without me. but i can't do that to him. i don't know if he'd survive it. even if he did, the guilt would eat me alive.

meanwhile. buck is barely holding on to his sanity as rescue efforts are underway and time is running out. chimney is keeping it together as best he can but there isn't much that he and buck can do. he can't let himself fall apart because buck is already a stiff breeze away from clawing his own skin off and somebody has to keep their cool. something goes wrong—suddenly, their short amount of time has gotten shorter, and they may only have enough of a window to get one out before it's too late for the other. buck, who has been ranting and arguing and screaming this whole time... is silent. he is silent, and he stares straight ahead at nothing in particular, and we know that no matter which way the scales tip, his soul will be destroyed all the same.

eddie regards maddie for a moment. grief, heartbreak, anger, all flicker over him, but what settles is determination. he says that neither of them are going to leave again. that they'll survive together, or not at all, or leave it to the universe to decide.

of course they make it out. by the skin of their teeth, they make it out, working together, clawing their way back to life and love and possibility. maddie makes it out first, and eddie sees buck as she falls into chim's waiting arms. he watches as buck sees his sister, and reaches out to take her hand with trembling fingers and white knuckles, but there is no relief, no happiness in his red-rimmed eyes. just a deep, unspeakable grief, until his eyes slide past maddie and meet eddie's.

finally: relief. and then he is in buck's arms, a perfect parallel to chim and maddie, and we see eddie's face over buck's shoulder, and we know. he is in love, and buck is in love, and eddie knows, and he sinks into his partner's embrace with joy and acceptance.

after that, who knows? maybe a grand confession. a moment of quiet understanding. a passionate post-rescue kiss. a chaste, tender kiss in some kitchen or other. maybe eddie panics later, or maybe he's found peace for once. maybe buck has realized something and he makes the first move. maybe it happens immediately. maybe it takes a while, takes discussions about how it'll affect work and christopher and whether it's worth risking all that they have for all that they want.

and maybe they'll ask whether it's even a risk at all.

[txttletale]

Hey, I'm not here to say ai art isn't art. The whole "you need to be paid for it to be real art!" is goofy. But if I put a prompt into the tool and it makes something based on that prompt then I didn't make it. I didn't put the effort in, and in that sense it isn't mine. What I'm more upset about than whether or not it has soul or whatever (that's up for debate for a lot of human-made art too) is the taking of credit for something you simply did not do. I'm not sure if I've seen you talk about this particular thing cuz there's a lotta silly asks getting dunked on, but I'm curious abt this one.

you can absolutely make art without being the one physically producing it, by "telling someone what to do". directors are artists. choreographers are artists. graphic novel writers who write panel descriptions for artists are artists and indisputably have some share of the authorship of the resulting panels. the same goes for mangakas with apprentices, or for that matter renaissance masters with apprentices, and for art directors. removing the other people involved in such an arrangement gives you a greater share of authorship, not a lesser one.

& the idea that art requires "effort" is reactionary. it's a protestant-work-ethic-esque valorisation of effort for its own sake. art can be easy. many many technological innovations have created easier ways to do things -- did you know that graphic designers used to have to manually place every written character and image on a spread through a time-consuming and arduous process called paste-up? now the exact same work can be done in minutes with a few clicks because of digital typefaces. digital art also saw the exact same arguments being made against it fifteen odd years ago -- 'digital artists have stabilizers and shape tools and layers and filters and brushes and an undo button, they're not real artists because they're not putting in the effort'.

i think it's interesting how anti AI art crusaders have this curious contradiction in their arguments -- they (correctly) identify that a computer program has no agency, intentionality, or creativity, but when a human and a computer both contribute to a finished product they ascribe the computer full authorship. it just doesn't add up! mi-24 attack helicopter blushing demurely

[disruptivevoib]

Long Ramble about CCCC and my overall feelings on what the album means and such

Something I find important about CCCC is like.

The fact that all three of them are, in some way, trying.

Heart is emotion, he is prone to himself and being reactionary, in the moment. Prone to the past of learned behavior and trauma. Reactive and rapidly changing. He isn't going to make pure sense because he isn't based in logic or in societal ideals or views. He is an instinctual response to the environment and circumstances. His manipulation is not intentional. He has very little control of himself in the end. Its why Mind talks about claiming to relish entropy yet clearly needing help. But, Heart in earnest wants them to be okay and safe. He believes that Mind's control will drain the life from them. It will make things monotonous and the same. Too much order.

Mind in turn, believes Heart is manipulative with intention. He wants to control Soul or wants to just drag them all down with him into this depressive state. Mind is logic, he is the reasoning out of your emotional instinct. Your inner critique, and when unchecked, that inner critique goes from a guiding hand for your emotion to one that debates and bullies it. Invalidating its responses. Ultimately, though. Mind just believes he is helping. He is doing what must be done and telling the "hard truths" to Heart. And that Heart is being the petty child. Which- I mean. Sort of sure. But Mind is definitely fucking petty and childish. He's stubborn! Prideful! So ofc he is. Admitting you're wrong? No.. why would he EVER do that.. nuh uh.

Which is what makes Light so crucial. Mind asking Heart for help- but also. There is Soul.

Who while ambiguous in purpose, is mostly that background voice. Your inner narration. If Mind is Logic and Reason then Heart is Emotion and Instinct,, Soul is all that lives between it. And he is constantly silenced or spoken over or around. He does not get a word in edgewise until TSE. He may show up in the background occasionally but as much as Heart and Mind claim to want to keep him alive and help him, they also fail to actually acknowledge what he says.

Which is that they both are right and wrong. That this fighting is doing directly what they both feared it would. Soul is desperate by the end. He is angry and resentful because.. well. Self hatred due to intense self awareness and reflection is rather ig. Common. Im not a professional here but from personal experience, you get so tired of rehashing the same shit with yourself over and over. It all feels pointless.

The only out, by the end of it all to Soul is that if they cannot be Whole, whats the point? He is desperate. He does not want to die but he feels theres no other solution.

And. About Whole, Soul throughout the album seems to want that. At the beginning, to be Whole or Harmonious is to be mentally healthy, maybe even "normal" by society's standards. To be able to put a mask over your problems and be, again, "normal". It takes the entire album for Soul to realize that this:

1. isnt possible

And

2. There isn't anything evil or wrong with him for that.

Mental health is a struggle. But you are not evil and should not be othered because you struggle. You also do not need to be fixed for being a little different and people's opinion of you is not what matters most so long as you are happy (and not hurting others. Lol).

Thats what Two Wuv is entirely about as a song. Its a "fuck you. Fuck this! I thought I needed to be this! But I DON'T. Stop telling me who I am! How to be! I'm gonna be me!"

His entire arc is parallel to Heart and Mind's and is crucial in the culmination of becoming yourself again and accepting yourself.

But, as mental health will always be, this period of respite and self acceptance is not always forever. And as life continues or as you lapse back into a depressive episode.. you cannot help but forget what it is like when you're not this way- and hell! Vice versa too! Some people have this disconnect between the periods. Where the things from the depressive state seem dramatic or obtuse to you while you are doing better. And from the other end, you just want to be happy again.. but you get so lost in it all you can struggle to feel like you've ever been happy.

The album is about the human experience. It is about self-sabotage, mental illness, self-hatred and reflection and it is, maybe more importantly about self-acceptance and healing. Having a bit of mercy on yourself. Accepting that you are imperfect and that this is okay. And whatever flaws you may have that need to be mended or worked on, can be. And that who you are, for example, if you are queer, is okay. And no one has the right to take that identity from you! That the internalized ideas of how someone should be are not always correct or right. Not for you, at least. Stuff like that.

[formulapookie]

19 "Can I hold your hand?" and rosquez please if you'd like < 3

It's cold, really cold right now, the storm has made a mess outside, the communications are cut off and they're stuck in a stupid house in the mountains far from every kind of human connection.

Vale has been trying to make the phone work for one hour now without any kind of success.

Pecco, Franky and Diggia are in another house, a bit far from this one.

Vale would like to know what the fuck went through Ducati's head to make them all go there for the PR shit.

Him. And Marquez. In the mountains.

He hasn't spoke to the spaniard yet, he thought Pecco was the one in the house currently, and he needed to ask a question, but when Marc had come downstairs the storm had begun and none of them could be freed from the other's presence.

Marc is shivering he notices, despite wearing a comfortable hoodie he's clearly cold, and for another stupid reason they don't have been given blankets to stay there.

He debates whether to do this or not, maybe he could let Marc freeze and it would be over like this.

He ultimately decides not to commit homicide and removes his own hoodie, passing it to Marc.

"No no I'm ok I'm not cold"

"You're shivering"

"I - it's not the cold"

"Then what is it? Enlighten me"

"Why you have to be an asshole?"

"You're giving stupid answers"

"I. I'm scared of the storm. I fear we'll be blocked here forever if it doesn't stop. I don't like to feel trapped"

It strikes Vale now.

How despite having grown Marc is still somehow a kid. Scared of a storm. Scared of being caged.

"You're scared of the storm"

"Don't joke about it Vale"

"I'm not joking it's just. Doesn't seem like you"

"Yeah and what would you know about what seems like me? WE haven't spoken in God knows how long"

"Well I do remember you liked how I made coffee because it was tastier than the one you had home"

Marc stops his pacing around, and looks deeply into Vale's eyes. Almost grazing his soul.

"I remember you're scared of wasps and for some reason not of bees"

"They're different and wasps are cruel, bees are not"

"Mh if you think so"

While the temperature between them seems to be warming the one in the house is rapidly dropping, and Vale tries to light up the chimney.

"Billion dollar man knows how to light up a chimney? I'm impressed"

"Allora, I'm not an idiot Marc eh, I know how to do things"

And Marc agrees. He also would agree to the fact Vale looks hot while doing them.

The heat provided from the wood burning is not much, but it's something, and Marc goes to sit directly in front of it, behind an imaginary line Vale traced not to make him burn.

He's in the kitchen meanwhile, making something, and the storm is not hinting to an end, it rather seems to be increasing in force and dimension.

And it's scary.

Marc feels more and more like he's going to die in there, but can't tell Vale.

He already told him he's scared, he can't tell him he fears he'll die trapped in here now.

He smells coffee, and before he realizes there's a cup in front of him.

"no sugar right? You are on a diet I suppose"

"Yeah no sugar. I mean we're all on a diet"

"Have you seen one of my riders following it after podiums?"

"No"

"There you go. You instead I never see you take something from the buffet"

"You look at me?"

"You and Pecco share a team. I see you doing stuff, I don't look"

At a particularly harsh blow of wind and snow against the window Marc winches, and his hertbeat can be heard in the whole house.

He feels so stupid right now, weak even, he's scared of the storm like a child.

He feels Vale scooting closer to him, and turns around in surprise but Vale is quicker.

"Can I hold your hand? So you are less scared"

And it's extremely stupid on both their parts, it seems like they're stupid teenagers who don't know how to talk to one another.

"Yeah"

They stay silent in fact, Vale just draws small circles on Marc's hand, slowly helping him relax, and eventually drift to sleep.

Vale doesn't know quite well what to do.

He's just offered to hold his hand and now Marc has fallen asleep with their hands tangled together. He looks cute tho.

No.

No no no let's not. Let's not dive into that right now.

But he truly looks ethereal.

His lines, the one that come up when he's awake and in pain and PR acting all day disappear.

He looks younger than he is, way younger than the 32 year old man he should see at his side.

He doesn't remove his hand from the hold. He could, but he doesn't.

He'll do it in the morning. Yeah. He'll wake up first and he will break the hold and never speak of this to anyone.

How he held Marc's hand during a storm because he was scared.

The morning after he does not wake first.

The other boys manage to make their way to the hut where the two of them were staying, and had basically broken in, since none of the two answered.

"I'm telling you guys, they killed each other"

"They're just sleeping pecco don't worry"

"You don't know anything Diggia they could have seriously killed each other"

"Or" there came Franky, who honestly was just fed up with the shenanigans between the two men. "They fucked"

"Ah shut up Franky"

They walk around the hut for a bit until they end up near the chimney, breath held by all three of them.

Marc is hugging Vale like a koala, none of them awake yet, the wood now turned to ash but still it's warm around the two.

Vale has got an arm around Marc's body, keeping him tight against him, and their hands are close.

Still in a hold, presumably from the day before Pecco supposes, as the three of them make their way back out to their own hut.

"Well that was close to my bet I'd say"

"I'm never gonna forget boss with Marquez now"

"Oh trust me Diggia you have seen nothing"

Vale wakes when Pecco shuts the door a bit too harshly, realising the position they both are in.

He should stop holding Marc's hand now right?

Right.

He'll do it later. When Marc is awake.

Maybe.

[charliewhaw]

What would vox reaction be if he knew about Lilith and all.

(Good question! I'm going to assume we're talking about if Lilith abused the fuck outta Al.)

Vox would drop his 'Fuck Alastor' mug. He wouldn't even glance down at it as it shattered at his feet. He would be in absolute shock.

"Alastor sold his soul?" He would say, dubious at first. But as the dots started to connect, he would begin to grin. "He's being tortured? By the queen of Hell?" His grin would turn to a laugh. "Oh-ho-ha-ha! This is rich!"

He would put on a fucking show about how hilarious he found it. But as the reality would begin to sink in, his amusement would slowly change and distort into something more disturbed.

Lilith wasn't just a demon. She was the first demon. She was powerful. She was strong. She was... torturing Alastor.

"Oh fuck," Vox would say, as it finally dawned on him just how bad this was. How brutal was the abuse? "Shit," he would say, as he realized how fucked Alastor’s situation probably was. How fucked Alastor was… She owned his soul. "Dammit!" He would yell, knowing there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. For once, Vox would feel powerless. Lilith was a whole different ballgame than the overlord he was used to facing.

Alastor was his enemy. His arch-rival. The villain of Vox's story. But he used to be so much more than that. He still was.

Vox would then spend more time rigorously analyzing the videos he managed to capture of Alastor. Instead of obsessing over them, hate and anger in the forefront of his mind, his focus would become checking on Alastor's condition. He'd give himself headaches with how much he would squint, trying to see through Alastor's video distortions. Was Alastor limping? Did he just hold his side for a second? Was his smile strained? Was he okay today?!

He’d probably rope Velvette into it, using her social media platforms to keep track of any mention that someone spotted Alastor not looking at full health.

Vox has always been obsessed with Alastor, and we'd definitely see that here. He would set up alerts on his video feeds to detect Alastor's video anomalies. It would be to keep an eye on where Alastor went, how long he was there, and if he came back hurt. Vox would prepare himself for if he ever saw Alastor return from a meeting with Lilith and he was too injured to make it back to the hotel. This plan would include causing a distraction on the other side of town-- probably blowing some shit up or something-- so no one would see Alastor in a vulnerable state, then booking it to the Radio Demon's location. He'd be aware that Alastor would be stubbornly unreceptive to any assistance Vox offered, of course. He would expect nothing less from the Radio Demon. But, he still wouldn’t hesitate to try and help him, as pathetic and unhelpful as his attempts would end up being. Vox would cross that bridge when he came to it.

Outwardly, Vox would use Alastor’s situation against him, flawlessly pretending he wasn’t alarmed, but inwardly falling apart about it. He would debate blackmailing Alastor, probably even threatening the Radio Demon with it from time to time. He couldn’t let Alastor think he cared, because he totally didn’t! This knowledge was just too good to pass on using it to his advantage. He even had some ideas on what to make Alastor do if he did blackmail him.

His first idea would be to make Alastor join the Vees, naturally. Forcing Alastor’s surrender after years of fighting and resisting would be so invigorating! He could make Alastor do whatever he wanted. He would make him start a podcast. It would fit with his style but force him to catch up with the times. He could even make him get a new wardrobe. Something that fit with the Vee’s theme– he could make Alastor even change his name! Valastor— Vastor— Vala— okay, maybe not. But he would have the option to make him do it regardless! The endless possibilities!

His second idea would be much more childish, but satisfying nonetheless. He could make Alastor say “Vox is superior to me in every way. Much more powerful! Much more influential! Much more handsome!” Even better, he could make Alastor say it on his radio show! Though… it would occur to Vox that Alastor might be more willing to let Hell know he was owned by its queen than to ever say any of that.

His third idea would be more… private. Less extravagant, though much more impactful. He could make Alastor– oh, hey look! Is that your obligatory RadioStatic merch?!

In the end, Vox would have a field day with this information. He’d use it for his own selfish gain, probably leaving Alastor in several humiliating and precarious predicaments. At the same time, his stomach would churn whenever he got an alert on his video feeds that Alastor had left the hotel. Was he going to meet Lilith? If he was, Vox would end up biting his nails as he waited, and waited, and waited for Alastor to return from the meetings. And then would endure headaches as he did his best to compulsively examine Alastor’s status through the glitching mess that covered him.

[mamelukeraza]

Hey, so I'm glad to find some1 else who knows about Napoleon II! And for a while I really wanted a show about him so I have this very silly question: if you could make a movie/show about his life, how would you do it?

Hello, dear anon! n_n I know this was a YEAR AGO, but it's never late to answer your question, I hope! The day a show about him comes, that'll be the day I die, and then come back to life to die of excitement again. I'm glad you think of me as knowing about him, since, my page has been kind of abandoned for a while now, but it's true I've dedicated years of study to him. Please, feel free to ask anything about what I've found and his life! Also, please excuse any grammatical errors you might find here. English is not my native language. First, I'll address the most important people in his life. That is, not only his family or people he hanged around with, but also the ones who dictated (directly or indirectly) his destiny. His grandfather the Archduke, Schwarzenberg, Metternich, Marie Louise, his own father. These are the most well-known characters in the story of his life, because they were present in his most memorable stage: his birth and early childhood. It's well known that some of his last words were "My life and my death are my whole story", so my priority would be to fulfill his wishes and make known his achievements, his thoughts (even if some of them were confusing and inaccessible given his distant nature), and his unfortunately failed goal: to serve the people of France.

Thus, not only this cast of characters would be present but also individuals usually left unmentioned: Prokesch-van-Osten, Prince Esterhazy, Sophie, even his tutors and teachers. Dietrichstein and the others would also be there (and one of them I'd like to address in a darker tone). I could easily talk about this all day, so I intend to list the points that I think would be vital to a small screen adaptation of his life. 1. Obviously, his early childhood. But this would be difficult to tell in the eyes of the little King of Rome. Perhaps that would help to highlight the chaotic process of the abdication, the change of powers, the hundred days and so on, but I'm not sure if that would be the right choice. I'd be assuming that the audience already knows what happens in order to proceed with that perspective. Méneval would be there, since he was somewhat responsible for safeguarding the little King of Rome in the absence of his father (in the interests of the empire, of course, it's true that Napoleon did not trust Marie Louise's loyalty). I like to think of Méneval as being somewhat of an “imperial nanny,” as he was heavily involved in the upbringing of both Count Léon (Napoleon’s first illegitimate son) and the King of Rome, at least until Austrian authority tore him away from him. Madame de Montesquieu; “Maman Quoi,” the little eaglet’s nanny and true mother figure would also be there, as would her daughter Fanny and her brother Anatole. Why? Well, the moment when the French influence is removed from the eaglet’s life and he stops being, precisely, the eaglet; when he finally understands that his life will never be the same again. It’s this dramatic change from the sweet, mischievous, even spoiled (but always good-hearted) child to the withdrawn, quiet child who is constantly wandering in his mind, lost in his imagination. From this moment on, the audience would understand the show through his eyes, because it symbolizes the moment he begins to truly see, the moment when the weight of he may no longer being the King of Rome, or the Eaglet, or even Napoleon II, but a prisoner, falls on him. I know the whole "prisoner" thing has been debated countless times already, and I appreciate both arguments (the one where he is a prisoner, in soul and body, and the other where "technically he didn't have it so bad because he was free to do almost all he wanted"), but, dear reader, it's important for you to understand that little "Franz" (from now on) was a depressed child. He was already a prisoner of Austria, and he also became a prisoner of the vast sadness of a life he was used to, people he loved and would never see again. 2. Childhood and adolescence in Austria: For Franz, the Austrian court was kind of a madhouse. He found everyone unbearable, confusing, and worst of all, boring. Little Franz's temper was sometimes erratic, but most of these instances were to annoy his teachers or to get attention. It was a big change from the lively and warm life at the French court to one where even the walls seemed dull to him.

I don't blame Marie Louise for running back to Austria as soon as she had the chance, she was extremely young when she was forced to marry a man she had often been taught was the enemy. However, it can't help but seem bad that she abandoned the son she had with this man; with "the ogre." I understand she wanted to get away from the "son of the ogre," and thus, disengage from all that was the "French fever dream," but this affected Franz greatly. Thus Franz understood that everyone had left him, even the woman who was supposed to love him since birth. I think Marie Louise loved Franz, but she could not love his origins. She could not love the reminder that was drawn on his youthful face, and that is why she left to Parma.

A child so influenced by feminine affection, by maternal tenderness was suddenly shocked when he learned that not only had his own mother abandoned him, but that his caregivers were old, bitter military men, and that most of them fervently hated his father.

He would constantly try to bring his father into any conversation, bring up his life in the now defunct French imperial court, whenever he travelled, ask if they were "on their way to France". He loved and admired his grandfather, but he didn't understand why even he pretended that "THE Napoleon Bonaparte" had never existed. All this would undoubtedly point to a great and desperate search for identity on Franz's part, moments in his life where he has even forgotten how to speak French in front of Tsar Alexander (this happened).

Much of this would focus on how Austrian life censures and, if not hates Franz, pities him. It is in his teenage years that he really begins to detach himself from his French dream, and begins to aspire to "reasonable Austrian things", like commanding in the Austrian army, obtaining a dukedom (any higher title would bring controversy and chaos!), studying. He was very good at mathematics, like his father.

Before we move on to his teenage years, I'd like to address a topic that I see is rarely, if ever, discussed. TW: Child abuse.

The teacher I wanted to talk about in a darker tone: Obenaus. I can't remember his full name, I don't have my sources of information with me since I'm traveling, but, him. Obenaus appeared in Franz's life as a replacement after the death of one of his tutors, one that he was particularly fond of. Obenaus' arrival coincided with the start of physical punishment for young Franz, including hand smacking with what seemed like a wooden ruler (I'm sorry I can't provide specific details, I'm relying on memory), and other instances of… well. Unusual and worrying behaviors that began to occur. It is not until Obenaus' appearance that little Franz begins to wet the bed, for example. To be even more distant than he already was, left alone with a man who dressed him every morning and decided whether he could go out to play or mingle with the people at court.

I don't want to say what I suspect I think was going on between the two of them, though I trust you'll get the idea. A cruel idea. I can't speak, for the same reason, or confirm anything, so, in this hypothetical show, ambiguity would be my best friend on this particular subject. It would be easier to just ignore it, but I don't think that's fair, not to Franz.

Well. Other than that, it is in his teenage years that, as I mentioned, "he seems to drift away from the idea of ​​his father and France," although I think he never really abandoned his origins, just hid them. He had to do this in order to achieve something in his strictly commanded life. It seems curious to me that it's only in a few instances of his life that Metternich appears in person. One of them is his 18th birthday, where he makes something of a cameo and is not seen again, until Franz' deathbed.

In the perspective of the hypothetical Franz of the show and for the audience, Metternich would be like a kind of grim and almost all-hearing authority. Someone so present in his life and at the same time unseen, someone who controls almost all the decisions that are made regarding him, and yet, a stranger. I know Metternich was a complicated, even sweet and extremely interesting man, but it is his interests and rivalry with the late Napoleon I that makes him the master of the life of the "Duke of Reichstadt."

If he were not the principal enemy of the show, he would be very close to that position.

I would love to continue right now, but I have college assignments to hand in and I can't dedicate the time I would like to this question. However, I will hurry so I can bring the second part soon.

(Picture taken from Pinterest)

[mamuzzy]

THE PEOPLE WHO ARE ACTUALLY OPPOSING KAL SKIRATA part 2.

HIS FAMILY FROM THE PAST - Continuation

I've got a couple of response from @mysticaltora8276 and I decided that Ilippi's and Kal's relationship deserves another round to talk about because that's what the original post was about.

What you will find here now: - Dissecting Kal's and Ilippi's relationship even more but now with quotes from the books. - Me confirming the existing misogyny integrated into Karen Traviss' mando lore (I never doubted. I just wanted to find my own answers in this debate instead of choosing existing sides). - No. I still don't hate Kal. You can still love a character while not agreeing with their actions.

More under the cut.

One of my interesting observation about the antis and "critical thinkers" that while they think they are protecting the women of Repcomm with claw and blood, they are the ones who write them off as "cardboard characters with no soul and own will".

Starting from Ilippy. I thought I emphasised enough how badass was for her to divorce from Kal when she felt she can't adjust to this lifestyle, and wanted to protect her children from the warrior's life.

And it suddenly clicked.

Holy shit, it's 2024. Divorcing from your husband is not a big deal anymore!!!! CAN YOU ACTUALLY BELIEVE THIS??? O_____O

(this wasn't a sarcasm.)

Today, divorcing from your husband when you are abused, or neglected, you fear for your children, or bored or you realize after years of marriage that you just don't click is totally a normal thing today and doesn't come with social stigma anymore (in better places). You can even get an official distancing-order.

But people often forget that it wasn't always like this. And remember when these books were written. Hard Contact came out in 2004.

I can't talk about other countries, only the post-soviet ones, but in the 80's-90's, it was still considered shameful for women to initiate divorce from their husband, no matter whether she was treated bad, the whole neighbourhood knew she was treated bad, relatives very much aware that the wife was treated bad. They blamed women for not putting up the whims of the husband. Blamed by women and men as well.

Hungarian poetry is actually full of ballads, how the wives were forced to kill their husbands to save themselves from abusive relationships or forced marriage because divorce wasn't an option: it was, but then you were shamed by your whole community. Shamed by women and men as well.

One of the other thing, that really changed is the time when you get married. Today is also considered normal to marry and have a kid at age 30+, while couples of from my parents generation usually married at age 18-19. And Kal and Ilippi also married rather young, which is also the part of Karen Traviss's mandalorian culture, but can be a mirror about old generational couples of real life.

I looked up the definition of misogyny (my own experience is one thing but I'm not going to traumadump here):

Misogyny (/mɪˈsɒdʒɪni/) is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women or girls. It is a form of sexism that can keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the social roles of patriarchy. An example of misogyny is violence against women, which includes domestic violence and, in its most extreme forms, misogynist terrorism and femicide. Misogyny also often operates through sexual harassment, coercion, and psychological techniques aimed at controlling women, and by legally or socially excluding women from full citizenship. In some cases, misogyny rewards women for accepting an inferior status. (From wikipedia)

In this definition, IN OUR HUMAN EARTHLING STANDARDS keeping Ilippi in lower social status as a wife in a secluded place where she was expected to raise their children and wait for her husband without any other option (they lived in the middle of nowhere, no neighbours, no cities around for her to spend time or work or getting friends), yes, it is misogyny.

Only Ilippi had options: embracing the mandalorian culture and became a warriorwife, asking Kal to teach her, maybe joining him later.

ASSUMPTION HERE: I don't think Kal really knew how to handle a non-mando girl. I don't think they really talked about their future as a mando couple. Ilippi worked as a waitress and probably at that time it was a good idea to be a wife of a mercenary. Two young people met, fell in love, and later they realized, their expectations hadn't met. I don't think Ilippi was really interested becoming a fighterwife just as Kal wasn't interested leaving the mercenary life and his own culture behind. But also: here is the confimation of mando couples marrying young from Order 66. But also that Ilippi first found Kal and his profession attractive in her eyes.

Their serious arguments started when the possibility came up that Kal wanted to bring the children along with him.

This is a snippet from True Colors when they talk about the responsibilties of a mandowife.

Ordo is making a (rather sexist) joke, so how reilable this information can be is very much debatable. If he says it's nothing hard for a jedi, than it is probably very hard and tiresome for a civilian like Ilippi.

SPECULATION: I can imagine that sometimes Mandowife gets up, now it's her turn to go out and make some money and the husband stays home with the children. -> But because the conversation above it can be interpreted many ways, it's hard to say what exactly was their duty.

Before you kill me for using mandowife here mandoWIFE there instead of riduur...

One of my problem with Karen Traviss' Mandalorian lore, that the whole culture and social expectations were supposed to be completely gender neutral. Can you handle yourself as a warrior? You are a mando. That's it. But here, there are inbuilt gender expectations and roles. -> By the definition of the misogyny above, this is one, because mandalorian women are still bound by the stereotypes of the patriarchal role of a women in a heteronormative family.

Ok, back to Ilippi.

Now this is the first scene Ilippi first mentioned in Triple Zero. I fail to see how she was treated bad by the narrative or Kal or Jango.

Ilippi decided this life is not for her. Ilippi didn't wanted the mandalorian life for her and for their children. She didn't want to assimiliate. She realized these people are wackos and she has to get out as soon as possible before Kal really take their children to war. And she did.

This is how their divorce went (Order 66)

Ilippi was never deprived from choices. She literally took the kids when Kal was away and Kal returned to an empty home. If she was really held in lower social status, and her rights and feelings weren't respected at all, Kal could have go and forced her to come back without her consent. Or simply do honor-killing like many cultures and religions do in real life where misogyny isn't just making sexist jokes (like the Ordo conversation), but the whole family will actually hunt you down for leaving your husband.

Kal respected this choice. Does he deserve a praise for it? Probably not. This is how it should be: respecting others.

But also this confirms that Kal never stopped supporting financially his family.

And lastly I wanted to add this one because I really loved this conversation:

Kamino was the point were Kal actually cut himself from his family entirely. Not before. Kal had a chance to reconnect with his biological children when he got the news from Jango (though it's debatable, my speculation is that Kal would have been killed if he had left Kamino before the contract's end). He choose the Nulls and the commandos under his care.

But this is also interesting that in the Mando culture when your wife is divorcing from you, you, the husband are to blame: a switched-mirror to the formerly mentioned real life example of how divorcing from your husband is shameful as a woman. If you fail as a parent, as a husband, you fail as a human being.

ABOUT THE CHILD SOLDIER DEBATE: if you need the author to spoonfeed you with the narrative that explicitly condems the existence of childsoldiers, the problem is not with the media, the problem is with you.

IN CONCLUSION: Ilippy is still a fucking badass. Kal loved his family. Kal respected Ilippy and her choice. Real life misogyny integrated into the mando culture spotted which is - obviously - affected Kal too.

HOOOOooooooOOOooOoooOoly shit, that was a ride. Because I partially touched to topic about his sons, I think my next post will be about Tor, Ijaat and Ruusaan.

If you actually read through all this blurb, in one hand KUDOS TO YOU, on the other hand, you can expect something like this from me when I actually start to my blogging about the books.

[things-arent-what-they-seem66]

So I hope you don't mind this ask.

Adam. Do you think he's a bad person and should be in hell?

This is something me and my best friend is talking about.

The Lilith thing - my point is we don't know if the book is true. If Adam really was this controling and abusive person at the beginning. I don't think it's true, to be honest, because in Eden they're supposed to untouched and innoncent. It makes me wonder if what Lilith thought was controlling and abusive, might have been something small and sweet? We don't know, but what we do know, Eden didn't have curelty in it. So it is doubtful Adam was controlling and abusive when Eden wouldn't allow it.

The exterminations - I'm sorry but I don't think he is wrong for this. It's Hell. The human souls that go down there are terrible, evil people. We use sinners like Angel and Husk for examples. But realistically, they wouldn't have went to Hell. They would have been in Heaven. I feel they went to Hell just to make Hell more sympathic. I feel unless the soul has killed someone, commited awful crimes, they would still go to heaven. If they take drugs, selfharm, drink or something like that, they would still go to heaven because those things are normally born out of pain.

Sir Pentious being redeemed. Correct me I am wrong, but didn't he kill like thousands of people with a bomb? Could you imagine if you were one of those people and you just saw your murder appear in Heaven? The whole redem plot line isn't good. Charlie doesn't think of the victims of the Sinners. I mean, we know it won't happen, but imagine Alastor being redeemed and you're one of his victims? Or your child is one of his victims?

Yeah, no. Adams right. It's crazy that people are going out of their way to make him into this shitty person when he really isn't.

Sorry to rant. It's a frustrating debate I'm having with BBF over here. She's very on Hell and Charlie's side, but come on, realistically no. Just no. It wouldn't work. Charlie's compeltely ignoring the elephant in the room. I think for it to acturally work, an eighth ring of heaven would have be made and the redeemed sinners would have to go there. But even that wouldn't work and it would have more issuses....gosh.

I don't mind the rant! Lol

Okay, so my take on it is yes, Adam belongs in Hell. Not just for the exterminations but also, he's not a very good person. Now, he likely was at one point and that got him into heaven.

That being said, the book of Hell is likely 110% made to make Lilith and Lucifer look like victims and Adam look bad. When I'm sure in reality, he was more of a victim being tricked and all.

But no, the souls down in Hell are in no way innocent. Sure, some have done lesser sins than others those are the ones that can be redeemed.

But the serial killers, rapists, pedophiles, and violent abusers of the world that go to Hell? They deserve to be there 100%

I'm sure Charlie has lived a VERY sheltered life if she thinks she can fix people with kids games.

As far as Angel and Husk go, yeah I'm sure they were made to be more sympathetic but I'm also sure they've done things we aren't aware of yet.

Adam isn't a saint but he's not wrong. It would be very traumatic for someone who was in heaven that was murdered for example and they see the guy that killed them walking around.

Adam had the right idea to kill sinners like that. The unredeemable.

Redeemed sinners getting their own heaven in the form of an 8th ring would be interesting. For Charlie's plan to work she would need to redeem hundreds of not thousands of sinners a month to make a dent in the overpopulation of Hell.

[blackjackkent]

Was debating whether to metagame Rakha's second encounter with Orin like I did with the first, but the truth is I don't think any of the other places she can show up (that I'm aware of, at least) have the same level of emotional impact that the dryad one does, so from here I think I can pick more or less at random.

Given that the crew is hanging around in the refugee camp area, that seems like the most likely next encounter is the same Flaming Fist that Hector talked to, hanging around by the donations warehouse.

"Hail, friend! Fine day, isn't it?" The guard lounging against the warehouse wall grins and salutes cheerfully at Rakha as she goes by, tipping his head forward so the sun glints off his helmet. "Forgive me," he adds with a laugh as she turns towards him. "You're in no mood to talk about the weather. Your journey here was a hard one, no doubt."

He seems utterly unpreturbed by Rakha's terrifying visage and unblinking gaze, but bounces on the balls of his feet, evidently eager for conversation. "Is this your first time in Baldur's Gate?"

Rakha isn't really familiar with the concept of small talk, and so this question gives her some pause and she thinks about it for almost a full minute before answering as the guard watches her expectantly. "I think... I think I have been here," she finally says cautiously. "Although I don't remember it much."

(And indeed, there are flickers of familiarity, looking at the walls, the glint of the sun off the river. She shies away from that familiarity, though. She knows now that anything she remembers of her past is a memory of the monster that her father made her. She understands why trying to remember things back in Moonrise led to her strangling a cat with her bare hands.)

The man cocks his head, idly curious. "Is that so?" he says casually. "Engimatic soul, aren't you?"

He leans forward, folding his arms across his chest. "A word of advice, then. You might not get as warm a welcome as in days gone by. Used to be you'd arrive knowing you'd a full belly and a warm bed waiting for you. Not any more." His eyes harden beneath the shadow of his helmet guard. "These days, there's barely enough to go around. Add the refugees on top and... well, folk aren't feeling too generous."

Rakha mimics his head tilt, unsure how she's expected to respond to this. She's seen the refugees, of course, and the need they're in, and has heard Wyll and Jaheira express dismay about their condition - but she's also heard the locals angrily complaining to the Fist about the "interlopers". The beast urge in her head is very aware of the possibility of violence...

"I'm not surprised," she says slowly. "Tensions seem high around here."

"Tensions?" The guard laughs. "That's putting it mildly. Some well-to-do's in the city donated enough to see the newcomers right for the time being. Only they didn't bother helping everyone else." His lip curls; there's a sudden dark anger in him that clashes oddly with his initial jovial greeting. "Locals going without while strangers feast - it's stoked the fire all right. Some Baldurians are kicking up a fuss round the front of the barn as we speak."

His eyes narrow and his voice drops to a threatening mutter. "If I wasn't wearing this uniform, I'd walk round there and teach them a lesson they'd never forget."

(A/N: This is another one of the scenarios where none of the available options really fit Rakha's outlook or speech pattern - there's a couple of "hell yeah give 'em what for" options and a couple of "what the fuck" options, but nothing in the way of "who are you and why are you telling me this", which I think is Rakha's overall reaction to this whole conversation. So, despite this technically all being Rakha dialogue in game, I'm gonna make an executive decision that Wyll steps in here - because to be honest, why wouldn't he?)

Rakha blinks several times rapidly, trying to understand what exactly the man is trying to say. Does he object to the refugees? Or the protestors? He seems to be threatening violence, and the dark part of Rakha's mind stirs eagerly at the thought (yes, yes, go round the corner and beat them, shred them, spill their blood and show them there is no kindness to be had), but it doesn't make sense. Wyll has spoken of the Flaming Fist, people his father leads, the city's guard corps - and has made no mention of such vindictive anger.

Indeed, Wyll steps forward suddenly at her side, and his eyes are wide, his hand on his rapier. "You're supposed to keep the peace," he says sharply, "not stoke the fire!"

The guard's harsh smile widens. He ignores Wyll completely, his eyes not leaving Rakha's. "What peace?" he says. "If no one steps in, there'll be bodies piled high in the streets before long. Those refugees have been leeching on our city for too long. If we don't show them we mean business, they'll bleed us dry."

He steps closer, his face drawing close to Rakha's now despite their difference in height. His voice lowers, each word coming out sharp like a dagger. "We need to march round the front," he says, slowly and deliberately, "and kill every last one of them. Let's see them eat our food with their guts on the floor. What do you say?"

Rakha's breath catches and her eyes go wide. The beast in her head is awake now, awake and hungry, and these words seem calculated to prod it from drowsy interest to violent fury. Her vision starts to go white at the edges and she can feel herself on the precipice, the ground slipping from under her feet.

No-- no, I won't-- I won't kill them, I won't listen, I won't do it, I won't, I won't--

-----

"Rakha..." Wyll mutters, alarmed; she feels his fingers grip her forearm.

"Be steady, t'rac'shka," Lae'zel adds from her other side, sharp, commanding.

And from behind her, low and steady-- "Breathe, cub," Jaheira murmurs. "He tries your strength. He will not be the last. You are equal to it."

Minthara, notably, says nothing, but watches the tense line of Rakha's shoulders with attentive interest, a muscle working in her jaw.

-----

The voices cut through the beast's eagerness, and Rakha draws a sudden harsh inhale, steadying herself. Her vision clears and she squeezes her eyes shut, struggling to swallow in a throat suddenly dry and tight. She has not slipped. There is no blood on her hands, not yet, not today...

"I will do better than mindless slaughter," she whispers unsteadily. "It is... not the answer."

The man is still there, watching her with that angry smile, but the words aren't really spoken to him but to herself, and perhaps to Wyll, whose fingers gently loosen again from their tight grip on her arm.

The man's eyes roll back in his head and his lips curl up, his smile widening - unsettlingly, impossibly wide. "Mindless slaughter," he hisses, "is the only answer."

A chill runs up Rakha's back and she realizes what is happening just as the man's head cracks violently to one side. His body spasms, twists in a hundred unnatural directions... and then settles again, smaller and lither and cloaked in shining red flesh.

"I see how you slip-slither closer," Orin hisses, "belly dragging in the filth. Father is laughing at you..."

She is standing so close still; Rakha can feel the heat of her breath, and it smells of blood. Pain spasms through her skull and she whimpers softly before she can hold back the sound.

Orin giggles, lifts a hand and traces a fingertip playfully along the collar of Rakha's robes. "Have you lost your nerve, my blood-starved sibling?" she asks, lips pouted out with exaggerated dismay. "Did I mangle your skull too terribly?"

Rakha tries to answer, but she can't. Her tongue feels frozen in her mouth, her limbs stiff and heavy. The pain deepens, an icepick behind her right eye. The worm squirms in answer to it and the beast howls and it feels as if her head might split apart. She wants to respond, she wants answers, she wants to kill and rip and tear, she wants to die, she wants the pain to stop...(*)

(Behind her, everyone has their weapons out - including Minthara, now, whose black-on-black eyes have shifted from fascination to wide-eyed terror in the space of a moment. Jaheira's gaze is hard as a rock and Wyll and Lae'zel are vibrating with barely concealed fury. In another moment everything would explode-- but Orin doesn't give them the chance.)

"Do not worry, slaughter-kin," she purrs. "My blades are still sharp and sweet. They will greet you soon enough..."

And she's gone in a burst of magic that ripples the Weave around them like an explosion.

-----

Rakha realizes she's on her knees in the mud, her fingers clutching at her head - not at the place where the tadpole sits, but behind it, over one of the long scars that lines her head just where the shaved portion of her head ends. The beast is screaming - for revenge, for destruction, for blood - and it's a long time before she can draw a breath in steadiness.

Wyll's hand is on her shoulder, a lifeline, a balm through the pain.

She shudders violently, squeezing her eyes shut. She still only remembers flashes - the pod below Moonrise, the blood flowing into her eyes, the autopsy table where Kressa cut her open again and again and again... but not whatever came before. Not whatever emptied her mind of its memories and set her adrift and helpless before the tortures that followed.

But now those words from Orin. Did I mangle your skull too terribly?

"It was her," she whispers, when she finally feels able to speak. "The one who attacked me... before the Myrkulite cut me open."

Wyll doesn't answer; none of them do. No one seems to know what to say, but she's sure they're thinking the same thing she is.

I must have faced her once before and failed.

-----

(*) I'm absolutely exaggerating the Durge PC's response to Orin's presence. I decided for no particular reason that Rakha got a headache looking at her all the way back in the Moonrise fleshpit and have just decided to commit to the bit at this point. XD

[unichrome]

AI and the value of labour (but only if it's yours)

Few of you have missed the whole AI/AI-art/ChatGPT-debate by now and even though few have the technical literacy to actually know what it is and its implementations, it hasn't stopped people from having opinions on it, and wow they sure are Opinions. It's mainly about how it's art-theft and will put already struggling artists out of business because now there's a chance that their dandelion found in a deviantart furry artwork they made using GIMP once will now be seen made sort of in the same style on a 250x250 pixel generated picture from a free online generator. And now I'm going to be snarky about it but also highlight a problem seen from the other end of this - the value of labour, and I'm not talking about the artists labour here.

But first let's look back a little bit for some well-needed perspective:

The logic for this is nothing we haven't seen before; you can't copy art and have it made available for just everyone to use like this! In the early 2000's it put musicians out of business and destroyed music forever with the introduction of napster. Pirate bay is why movies no longer are being made. It has destroyed art as we know it when people tauntingly right-clicked on a cryptobro's NFT and clicked "save as" (which I assume is also very problematic for the people who are vehemently against AI art? It's a literal 1-to-1 copy of your work). Media corporations are dying because intellectual properties are no longer protected under the copyright laws after 70 or so years. In the 90's there was even some video star who literally murdered a radio star. With the introduction of vinyl, it even killed live music forever.

So technology has been destroying just about all forms of art as we know it for a while now and each time it's the same doomsday predictions from the newly formed kind of art-christianity where some art has soul (Good, Skilled Laboured artists) and others hasn't (Evil, of course).

Now for the informative part of the post:

In the 1970's, computers as we know them today began forming, and with it, the value of a computer programmers skill and labour. Alongside with this, they saw a growing problem: Corporations owned everything they made, and corporations will also have the whole say about what will be present on a computer and the price of everything present on it.

This was not very appreciated by neither the programmers, and nor the customers (although few saw this growing problem coming). So in a weird twist of fate, programmers became one of the most left-wing labour-rights occupation you could find by forming Free Software Foundation, GNU, and essentially setting the stage for you to be able to use the free GIMP software instead of buying a staggering price for Adobe's Photoshop. It enabled you to download firefox instead of buying a copy of internet explorer. Because yes, before this kind of software activism formed, and the general environment of software development became to make it as freely available as possible - and having an outright despise for corporations like Novell and Microsoft for taking such huge amount of money to their own pockets instead of the developers, literally every piece of software cost money. A LOT of money.

This kind of 100% for free software usage we're used to has also led to us no longer being appreciative of the work and skill that goes behind keeping a software not only developed and updated continuously for decades, but also spending money on keeping it hosted and delivered to you for free. We even joke and scoff about the mere thought of having to pay 0.99 Euro for an app we'd use daily and a developer spent 2 years in the making. Meanwhile, when someone offers to pay someone merely 10 euro or so for a handmade blanket, there's an outrage about the value of labour and skill. And rightfully so! I support that, and so should you, even if it's labour that you weren't the one making.

And it doesn't end there either - we all know corporations has no trouble finding new ways to charge you money. Organisations like Free Software Foundation, various Linux projects and Mozilla have campaigned for a freer usage in general, leading to fair-use laws, campaigning for the right to repair your technology instead of having to buy new one all the time, as well as preventing corporations from banning every other piece of software on a computer that they don't want you to have (from a competitor or free alternative of their software).

I mentioned Adobe specifically, because in the wave of anti-AI-art outcry, artists are campaigning for a ban on making software that uses other peoples artistic similarities (not copies mind you, similarities, meaning making it a copyright infringement to have art that is similar to yours, since that's what AI-art algorithms create), and I'm sure right off the bat many of you can see the huge problem with that, but Adobe sure isn't. They're also gladly in on this, because that would mean that free alternatives of Photoshop like GIMP would also become a copyright infringement. So would a lot of our other free software we use daily and take for granted.

That's all I wanted to say about this I think. The TL;DR version is basically to value labour even if it isn't yours, and to not take it for granted. As a final part to remember about AI is that it is a tool, and like any tool it can be used for good or evil. AI is what made it possible for us to make sense of the large hadron collider data and made enormous leaps in scientific discovery in just a few years, that would otherwise had taken 500 years to sort through by humans, and with a much higher rate of error.

[thank-heaven-you-asked]

Subs Over Dubs, Except... Huhh

I've watched Stampede subbed a number of times that I have enough dignity not to specify, and I've never consciously had any issue with its translation or localization -- not knowing Japanese, I can only complain about a translation when it can't be understood, so I guess this is more about localization. So I've been fussing with my Hulu account this week and I ended up putting Stampede on in English because why not. You guys... is it just me, or is the dub better?

This is pretty specific -- I don't mean the performances are better. They are very good! It's 2024, most dubs with a budget behind them are good these days. And I have a bias in that I'm extremely familiar with the Japanese performances, so my frowning at lines with different inflections is not a criticism, it's just my face doing a thing. And again, I can't speak to the translation at all (I've read within the last few days that there is some debate over which translation is more accurate vs which is is more palatable -- because, yeah, Knives 's whole... thing is toned down a lot in the dub -- but to this English-speaker they are mostly the same in way of communicating meaning. mostly) I mean that the dub script is considerably better. Easier to follow, the jokes land better, and yeah, it's occasionally translated or least wrestled into understandable English better. I have never encountered this with a dub versus its sub before!

I should have examples. This post is pointless without examples. Um. I've been awake for 25 hours and didn't retain much of what I noticed. I'll follow this up with more, but one example that stood out was Wolfwood's half-improvised prayer over the graves in episode 4. Lemme just pull those up...

Here is the sub's version:

"Okay... O father in heaven... forgive us our sins as we forgive our neighbors. May you accept our fallen brethren and welcome the departed to your... What is it? Welcome them to your... dinner? No, that's a meal. Deliver them unto your... design? No, nobody's talking about fashion. Uh, give us a drive... He's not your chauffer, you idiot."

Meryl interjects with, "Are you really a priest?" Wolfwood says, "I'm no priest. Just an undertaker. Now back off, you're ruining it."

So it's mildly inexplicable that Wolfwood is speaking actual nonsense here, but I've been taking it as a semi-accurate translation of plays on words/puns/cultural jokes about Christianity that Westerners wouldn't be in on -- you know, typical translation nightmares. Not a big deal. And as Westerners, we're more familiar with Christianity, and I kind of figured the joke wouldn't land anyway.

And here's the dub's version:

"And... there! Uh... Heavenly father, who art in heaven... Forgive us our sins, Oh Lord, as we forgive those who sin against us. Please welcome their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed into your, into your.. What is it? Welcome them into your humble abode? Into your pearly gates? Nah, that sounds off. Deliver unto them deliverance? Not quite, but I'm getting there. Um, make sure there's some empty chairs. They're 'kingdom come'-ing, so..."

Now Meryl interrupts with, "That's enough. You're not really a priest, huh?" Wolfwood says, "No, I'm not. I'm an undertaker. Scram, will ya? You're messing with my mojo."

Side by side, you can see that these are recognizably translations of the same lines. The dub isn't really taking a ton of liberties; "give us a drive" is clearly at least in the same ballpark as "they're 'kingdom come'-ing." It's just that one is cleverly worded in English and therefore funny, while the other makes no sense. And the one that doesn't make sense is the sub, where you'd expect more breathing room with word choice and comic timing.

I kept noticing this -- again, I'll follow this up with lines that made enough sense in the sub that the dub went as far as to change my understanding of the exchanges they're in. And in those cases, the localization is clearly what's making the difference. I don't know which is more accurate, just which are more understandable and just better written. In my opinion!!! Obviously a lot of this is subjective. I just... again, I have never really seen this role reversal before. There have absolutely been dubs I liked better their corresponding subs, but never due to the dub being more fun and making more sense. Usually in those cases I just like the VAs' performances better. And yeah, you can't do a lot better than Johnny Yong Bosch, even if some of us are going to hear that voice and feel an inexplicable urge to call the police.

[shizukateal]

Just curious about smth, what do you think of Madoka’s entry on the Feminist Fantasy trope page on TV Tropes?

Well, the first thing to understand about me is that I find this kind of question -"Is This Piece of Fiction/Media Feminist™️?"- to be rather facetious.

Don't get me wrong. There are indeed pieces that engage centrally with the ideology, and that could be considered above most as proponents of it, but the thing is that capital f Feminism is very wide-spanning because it's supposed to be intersectional. It tackles every system of oppression, from economic to sociological: racism, ableism, class, labor, lookism, queerphobia, you know the drill. Which is to say that there's hardly, if ever, a "perfect" Feminist Fantasy piece of fiction/media. And this is because, and I want you to burn what I'm about to write into your soul:

Fiction cannot take into account every nuance of the subjects it talks about. If it could, it would be reality.

Or, to get to the point quicker: I don't think PMMM is The Most™️ feminist anime around, but I also don't think it should be dismissed from feminist discussion, since it certainly engages with the ideology at least a bit further than most of its peers in the genre, although this is not to say that we should dismiss those others instead.

To be honest, I think "feminism" as a theme is secondary in the story to Gen Urobuchi's usual fixation on utilitarianism, but that's a whole other issue that would require me to watch his entire filmography to talk about. So let's go first into the "Feminist Whoopsies™️" that I think the show commits and work our way from there.

In episode 9 Kyubey explains that the Incubators chose Magical Girls as their workforce because they noticed the biggest fluctuations of Hope and Despair in "females in their second stage of development", which is a fancy way of saying that Teenage Girls Are The Most Emotional. Now, there's a lot of space for us to question this assertion because of Kyubey's status as both a very unreliable narrator and a metaphor for systems of oppression. We don't know if the Incubators came to this conclusion because they groomed humanity into adopting gender roles or if the writing staff of PMMM thinks that this is unquestioningly true and Kyubey is supposed to be objectively correct here, or some in-between. The show doesn't go deep into this aspect of its mythology, it can't, it has only 12 episodes to work with and more pressing issues in the plot to resolve. However, regardless of intention or not, in the end PMMM leaves us with an understanding of the concept of "femininity" that is couched, on some level, in the biological, and which promotes an unfair stereotype of women as emotional. And this is antithetical to modern feminism at its core, which goes against biological determinism. There are also no explicitly trans characters around to defy this pov, ironically only Kyubey defies the constraints of the gender binary in their presentation, which opens another can of worms about the Nonbinary Alien archetype.

Then we have Madoka's parents, a girlboss and a malewife respectively. I have the feeling that their inversion of gender roles was on purpose, in line with making Junko (the mom) Madoka's most reliable voice of reason and close confidant and thus giving her a level of relevance and depth rarely seen in mother characters. Feminism win! However, for all its talk about systems of oppression the story doesn't question, say, if this model of nuclear family, where only one parent is allowed to have a life outside of their home and who possibly controls the bulk of the income is healthy in its own right, or if Junko's corporate girlbossing might be reproducing the same exploitation on her company's workers than that of Kyubey on magical girls. We could also have a lengthy debate about how much horny is involved in Mami's presentation. And if you want to go further into Magia Record and it's representation of women of color, well... it's not ideal.

But to leave it at that, tagging the whole show as Not Feminist Enough™️ and therefore not worthy of consideration on its ideas on the subject, would be reductive and dare I say anti-intellectual. I stand by what I say above, but I don't think that episode 9 dialogue had any bad intentions. I think it was simply a solution to a narrative question -why would the incubators use young girls exclusively?- that failed to consider all of the implications. And we can appreciate it as it is and what it brings to what PMMM has to say in the feminist conversation -"Young girls are vulnerable to getting targeted by systems that pity them against eachother so their suffering can propel the agenda of their oppressors"- without dismissing the other concerns as superfluous. Turns out, truths can coexist sometimes.

The magical girl genre as a whole is not clean of sin against the feminist movement, either. Magical girl shows are generally noninclusive to fat people if not outright fatphobic, same with poc and disabled people, or they crowbar their female leads into romantic het relationships with male leads that can go anywhere from bland to absolutely rancid, etc. HOWEVER, the genre is also a space that shows "femininity" (the concept beyond biological determinism) with respect, agency, power, as aspirational and heroic, and it has also allowed for a non-negligible amount of queer rep. But if we see an uptick in well-represented feminist themes in the genre it's both because people are demanding it and because it sells. Concerns about woke capitalism aside, this progress can't happen if we don't engage with imperfection. Don't forget that this genre was born largely from a shonen manga where the joke is that the girl loses her clothes during her transformation only to put on a heart-shaped boob window!

I could also go on a tirade on how Kill la Kill fits into this discussion, but to stay focused I will say this: sometimes media can't be shoved into the progressive vs regressive boxes. Sometimes a story contains a bit of both and it's no use to try and measure what it has more of. Sometimes we have to put on the adult pants and analyze shit to have conversations that can actually help us be better in the future, not just to check on who passes our mental Hayes Code! If a piece of media contains these multitudes it's much more useful to ask what we can get out of it instead of which box we can get it in. Because PMMM was never going to be The Last Show Involved With The Question of Feminism, nor was it gonna be Kill la Kill, nor Sailor Moon or anything else. Grab my hand and let's enjoy consuming media consciously.

[pjunicornart]

Okay sooo ummmm I've been working on something in the background.

So like, I've been working on a Meet the Robinsons AU idea that I plan on making a ton of content for in the background, I even have some art for it already. However, I wanna see if people would be interested in it... so I'm gonna describe the main players of the AU and answer some questions here in this post because I've just been DYING to info dump about this! Okay, let's start with...

The explanation of everything! What even is this AU I'm working on? It'll be called "Lazy Days." Essentially, this is an AU where the Robinson family stays in their comfy clothes and bedheads all day while drinking tea and/or coffee and binging junk food while watching movies... to name a few activities. My vision for this AU is a super cozy and chill vibe. Sweaters, socks, sweatpants, sleep shorts, donuts, whipped cream cans, coffee mugs, pizza, lo-fi, and more await in this AU!

What are some key differences? Besides the comfy lounge wear? Well, for one, Neil and Franny have more kids. Wilbur is still the eldest, he just has three little siblings now! One of which is adopted! I'll tell you more about them later on in this post. As for another key difference? Neil is still a super genius and everything, however, all of his inventions have a noticeably more... cozy, aesthetic feel. All I'm saying is, Carl looks REAL different in this AU.

Will there be a story? Meh... I'm still debating that. For now, it's just kind of a thing I entertain when I want to/am prompted to. If it were to have a story, it would probably focus on Wilbur and his sibs.

What did you mean by the "main players?" Just what I what refer to as the "core" members of the family. So, Neil and Fran, plus their four kids: Wilbur, Freddie, Mazie, and Leo. Speaking of...

Cornelius 42 years old. Summary: Caffeine Junkie, Sleepyhead, Scatterbrain Owner of his own engineering company, and a pretty chill one at that. He baffles others in his field because on the surface, he seems to not be all there - his choice to show up to important meetings and talks in sweatpants doesn't exactly help with that assumption. However, nobody can deny his amazing intellect, even if it at first glance it seems buried under all the goofball-ness.

Franny 41 years old. Summary: Intense, Mama Bear, Prideful A global phenomenon for her music featuring her own frog band! She's made up her brand from the fact that she's the only musician in the world right now who makes music using little amphibians who miraculously learned how to walk and talk. Besides music, Franny also adores everything about her husband.

Wilbur 16 years old. Summary: Sheepish, Easily Bored, Bookworm When he's not sneaking snacks from the kitchen in the middle of the night, he's usually curled up in a chair reading the book he recently checked out from the local library. His parents are surprised just how much he mellowed out compared to three years ago. That being said... ADHD doesn't magically go away after you grow up a little.

Freddie 13 years old. Summary: Old Soul, Green Thumb, Foodie She was adopted into the family two years after Wilbur was born. It was a circumstance of her father not being able to take care of her at the time. She's the plant person of the family, opting to spend her days taking care of her little garden in the backyard. Which includes fresh produce!

Mazie 10 years old. Summary: Weirdo, Hypersensitive, Pouty She's absolutely OBSESSED with cryptids. Bigfoot, Night Crawlers, Aliens, Mothman... you name it, she probably knows a whole book's worth of information about it. Hell, she'll even watch cryptid adjacent stuff. For example, kaiju movies. Her ultimate dream is to see the Loch Ness Monster. Or Bigfoot. Or aliens. Or any cryptid.

Leo 3 years old. Summary: Non-Verbal, Picky, Loner Leo is the only one who takes after his father, sharing his blonde hair. Which couldn't have worked out better! You see, after Leo was born, Franny went on a massive world tour. So Neil was the one taking care of him during his early years, and so Leo got very attached to his daddy. Wherever Neil goes, Leo follows. He's very fussy and uncooperative if Neil is away at work or just out for groceries.

I'm super curious to see your thoughts on this, if any. I'm gonna make stuff for this regardless, but I still want to start some conversations! Ask box is always open! THIS POST HAS A SISTER POST NOW! This one has images! :o Here it is -> Lazy Days Character Busts.

[ol-files]

On the tenth day of chrismas

It's the second asked the famous fight between the two.

Couln'dt work around that, this fight is impressive but I'm photosensitive and it pouch all the boutton

But I got another storyboard of the combat (forgot the links)

Here is my opinion on this OAV

The advantage is that we better place Oropo, and possibly other eliotrop, in the world chronology.

I feel this episode is more a frame from what is coming up. Oropo, as some of the other presenters in this oav, will be in season 4 it's been years that Tot add confirmed it.

AND confirmed a theory that was in debate between the last episode of season 1 and the revelation of Qilby in season 2: the voice cube real or not? Qilby or N (basically he was THE rebellious child at the time (before he erased from history))?

Feel like an appetizer, sufficient enough. I mean looking back at others OAV like Ogrest or Noximilien you don't learn much from them either. Well, except Ogrest if you don't play any of Ankama game. But each give a bit more soul of the character seeing their turning point by their eyes. That's why you don't learn anything if you are relieving a memory are you explaining every detail? No, you're not Mr. Exposition in it.

Come on, I have a big problem with this OAV and I can’t have it. It is seen that IOW is now supposed to no longer be canon, the reasons why Chibi is alive let’s go to the trash. Because if IOW was still canon, that would be a bastard move from Chibi. I summarize in IOW, everyone is talking about the death of Chibi, it is even the basic of the tensions between his siblings. Mina grief, Nora birth, Qilby and Yugo tension, possibly Glip culpability.

And there we find in all the chaos of the conflict a fake skeleton which is supposed to be the skeleton of Chibi. And we must not forget that Chibi is presented as a prophet, someone who can see the future. So if IOW canon, Chibi on Oma when Oreo and the others arrive would mean that Chibi saw what was going to happen to his people, and even the whole world has seen the vision of the cube with Oreo. But he did not care, he preferred to pretend to be dead, recover the cube on the ashes of his family.

*Also did you see in the storyboard video the clin d'oeil Oma look like the house Kamé Sennin/tortue génial from dragon ball

[barkbarkboy]

uh so i wanted to analyze boy division a million years ago..... i saved the lyrics but i never actually finished it. oh well. heres my queer/trans focused analysis of all the lines i can draw meaning from. its so layered!!!!! like i swear i'm gonna lose my mind this song is so good. u don't even know. CW: i talk about death transphobia and rape culture a little bit. no graphic details but yeah

If all my enemies threw a party, would you light the candles? / Would you drink the wine while watching television? / Watch the animals and all the tragedies if all my enemies (bigoted people) "threw a party" - as in celebrate or make fun of any form of minorities (with the queer/trans community as a heavy focus in this song), or some tragedy affecting those groups, would you join in? would you support them? or would you be on the side of letting people do what makes them feel happy and free and let them be themselves (such as being openly gay/trans despite the bigotry you face) Sell your arteries and buy my casket gown / (Well) It better be black, (Well) it better be tight, (Well) It better be just my size i'm not sure what "sell your arteries" means, but like, could be alluding to selling your soul for shitty beliefs and friends, or selling your heart since your arteries are part of the circulatory system. this choice is possibly sacrificing those minorities' lives in the process due to these shitty, ignorant people learning and perpetuating bigoted beliefs from these other shitty, ignorant people. the writer calls out these people for this and thus placing them (and the queer community as a whole) on death's doorstep before they are forced to confront their own internalized trans/homophobia. the writer asks why these lines must be drawn and why these lines, like the cuts of the gown they wish to wear when they die, shouldn't be cut to fit all people and not just one arbitrary gender. they're demanding it be cut just for them, and thus the label of "queer" to fit more people, not to build a new box, but to get rid of the box entirely, and let those people speak for their experience themselves.

I'm not asking, you're not telling / He's not dead, he only looks that way i'm not asking, you're not telling is clearly a nod to the phrase don't ask don't tell, about queer soldiers. in the "story" of the song it may allude to a phase in the writer's life where they pretended to not be gay to blend in and by proxy survive. this masking causes damage however, it makes them look dead, ether because that was their look at the time, or because they are mega depressed and feel unable to be themselves, so of course they're not going to be enthusiastic about life and look "dead". and the average person doesn't notice this, they just excuse it as being mentally ill, because being queer is not the norm and its not normalized enough in society.

I buy my enemies rope to hang me and the knives to gang me / You can watch them stab me on your television the writer wishes to intentionally provoke people, hoping they change people's minds, and risk their life in the process. so many queer killings go on day by day and some of them don't even make news. the writer is calling out that these bigoted people are purely ignorant to how this affects the community and thus telling it to them straight: queer killings still happen and they're awful. this community is vulnerable and needs protection. Stalk the halls because the bathroom walls / Would have a lot to say about the lines you're putting down this line? fucking GENIUS. where do i even start. first of all, bathroom debate? waaayyy before that was even a topic of discussion for mainstream audiences? they fucking saw the future ok. divine fucking visions. not only this but i think this line alludes to the fact that there are bathrooms at your home, and there are public bathrooms. for history reasons, public bathrooms are gender segregated. its considered taboo to use bathrooms that arent aligned with your agab, even though its a mostly private experience where no one has to see any of that shit. on the other hand, your at-home bathroom? not gender segregated. theres a million arguments about why public gender segregated bathrooms should continue to exist but the majority of them are rooted in patriarchy, misandry, and rape culture. the last thing is, a rumor about public bathrooms.... sometimes gay shit goes down in there. sometimes straight shit goes down in there! basically, if the bathroom walls could talk, they would say they see a lot of shit go down, and its happening behind closed doors whether you like it or not, and trans people just want to fucking piss. so leave them the hell alone and let them piss in peace! another point is "the lines you're putting down", as in, the line between the "male and female" sex and the "man and woman" gender is a lot more blurry than mainstream society thinks. someone will see someone masc presenting and automatically call them he pronouns for example, even though that person might be a she and just dressing comfortably. this gatekeeps people who don't pass well from using bathrooms at all, because they're afraid of getting hate crimed in there or because they just don't know/can't find the space that fits them.

(Well) It better be white, (Well) it better be cut (Well) It better be just my size now we've had a black line drawn, and this is the white line, alluding to black and white thinking, which is how a lot of people view being cis and perisex. however, you can be perisex and still have features that confuse you for another gender. the box is not fitting, and it never will fit the entire world's population of men, women, or enbies no matter how cis/perisex they may be. the writer demands the same thing of the lines being drawn as he asked for the black casket gown, that it fits everyone on the planet, and not just one specific kind of queer person. Until my capillaries burst of boredom / I'll be waiting this line of thinking is obvious to the writer, but its not obvious to everyone, especially mainstream society. they're willing to wait for the future, when one day all of this is normalized, and they and other queer people around the globe don't have to be afraid to be themselves anymore. the wait is frustrating and long, but they're pushing through to the end, hoping for a better, more safe future. I'm not laughing, you're not joking / I'm not dead, I only dress that way how often have you been here? someone made an off-color joke, and you just can't laugh because its not fucking funny? its just offensive? genius. i also like adding "you're not joking" because its so fucking true. people who say stuff like this and then pass it off as a joke when you get mad usually are trying to dogwhistle or seem chill/aloof by acting nonchalant about hate speech. furthermore, it seems the writer is embracing the way they dress now at least, and making it their own. theres also this idea of looking pretty when you're dead, so if you dress like you are dead 24/7, and you feel good about it and feel like you look pretty, you know how good you'll look when/if that time comes, which we know the writer has on their mind bc they know queer people die all the time and get hate crimed all the damn time. Wherever you are, wherever you are / Whoever you are, whoever you are 'Cause we got the bomb, we got the bomb, let's go / We got the bomb, we got the bomb, let's go / We got the bomb, we got the bomb, let's go / We got the bomb, we got the bomb, let's go We got the bomb / We got the bomb / We got the bomb / We got the bomb i think this is a rallying cry for all the queer community, whoever and wherever they are, to keep fighting. i think this information, which mainstream society has yet to understand, is compared to a bomb, because its going to blow the whole structure apart before putting it back together, hopefully in a healthier, safer, and more inclusive way.