#and i want other artists to be able to do that

[rot8erconex]

While most of your points are (unfortunately) valid, I want to go against #4 in particular as well as some of the things you said in your closer.

Yes, we have people working on models sourced entirely with legally-obtained data. Unfortunately, compared to the big LLMs that exist now, those models will be extremely small and non-competitive. I don't know the actual statistics, but I am imagining the scale is like an ant compared to a human. And any (good) legal protections put in place to curtail illegal data harvesting mean that the people running those models would have to constantly be able to prove their legitimacy - and as the model gets bigger and bigger, so, too, does what they have to prove. Eventually, the model will crumble in legal upkeep. If the people funding "AI" tech (It's not truly intelligence, hence my air-quotes. It's just the predictive text feature on your phone's keyboard writ infinitely large) had invested in legal data sourcing from the get-go, it might be fine. But because we live in a timeline where they took advantage of legal loopholes (what most of them did wasn't technically illegal, just took advantage of a crossover of two laws that were never really intended to intersect), we have behemoths of LLMs that are both legally dubious, and so massive that when they come crumbling down, they will take the entire concept down with them.

Of course, they were never going to settle for the legally-sourced models. Those build up slowly, and to those in charge, we need the money-making product now, not in fifty years, or even in five years.

And that gets to the part of your closer that I wanted to talk about. With "AI" as it is, we are not going to get to a post-labor world like you want. Replacing artists and writers and other creatives will instead create a post-art world. Because the people in charge just see that "the masses need art to stay motivated to produce us profit, but making art is expensive. Let's figure out how to make it cheaper so the masses can continue to make us money."

A post-labor world does indeed contain the things that you mention - robots helping those with disabilities, and that Japanese bread-sorting AI that's now being used to search for cancer cells. But in such a world, humans aren't just sitting on their asses doing nothing - a lot of people will be creating, not because they have to, but because they want to. Art should be the last job replaced in the process of creating such a world, but the people in charge are trying to make it the first, because their ideal world is nowhere near in line with yours.

'People are panicking about AI tools the same way they did when the calculator was invented, stop worrying' cannot stress enough the calculator did not forcibly pervade every aspect of our lives, has such a low error rate it's a statistical anomaly when it does happen, isn't built on mass plagiarism, and does not obliterate the fucking environment when you use it. Be so fucking serious right now

[giveemhales]

🦇 My 30 Favorite Batfam Fics of 2024 🦇

I’m continuing my annual tradition of sharing some of my favorite fics that came out in the past year (you can see last year’s list here). This is just a way for me to show my love and appreciation for the many amazing artists/writers who keep the fandom alive. If you read any of these fics, please make sure to leave some kudos and comments! And there are so many amazing fics I wasn’t able to include, so I encourage you to show some appreciation to your own favorites!

Please be sure to read all tags and warnings. I’ve provided warnings for the darkest fics.

All of these fics were completed in 2024. I only do one fic per author, but definitely check out all of these authors’ other works. Also, most of these feature tim, because he is my favorite. Now, without further ado…

Sparkles by @iselsis (2k, jason & bruce, fluff, a/b/o dynamics, batman finds an omega kid covered in cuddle pollen and going into heat)

until the bounds of death have been unwound by @vinelark (2.9k, tim & jason, fantasy and angst with a hopeful ending, tim is a demigod and he goes to save jason from the underworld) (the sequel is also great!)

Sacrificial Lamb by @kgraces (3.3k, tim & bruce, angst with a happy ending, bruce makes a deal with the devil to trade tim’s life for jason’s, his kids later find out) (this fic messed me up, i actually think about it all the time)

wouldn’t wish it by @green-eyedfirework (3.3k, jason & damian & tim, whump/angst with a hopeful ending, talia calls jason to save his brothers from the league of assassins) *READ THE TAGS

Lucky Number Three by @sohotthateveryonedied (3.4k, tim & bruce, angst and hurt/comfort, bruce has to deal with the consequences of his actions while he was under the influence of truth serum) (won’t make much sense unless you read this fic which honestly destroyed me)

Anything by @byrambles (3.5k, dick-centric, angst with a happy ending, bruce tells dick he wants to adopt his siblings, dick assumes this does not mean him)

possess by @envysparkler (4.6k, bruce-centric, angst with a happy ending, bruce is possessed by a demon that want, fortunately jason has magic swords)

The Guilt Never Really Left, You Know by @neuro-psyche (4.9k, dick & jason, angst with a happy ending, nightwing saves and then confronts red hood) *READ THE TAGS

Sacrifice by @onemuseleft (5.4k, bruce & his kids, light angst with a happy ending, the justice league is successfully negotiating with alien invaders until they request the sacrifice of one of Batman’s children)

you’ll be alright [or else] by @call-me-quill (5.9k, tim & jason, angst with a happy ending, tim takes a bullet meant for jason and doesn’t understand why jason is so upset)

the bed and breakfast by @adelfie (6.2k, dick-centric, fluff and angst with a happy ending, dick is stranded at a b&b during blizzard, things seem fine until he realizes he’s being held hostage)

with the exception of… by @dss1101 (6.4k, tim-centric, hurt/comfort, everyone realizes tim had a very different experience with his batman than all the other kids)

How to be a Little Brother by @die-erlkonigin6083 (7.4k, damian-centric, fluff and light angst, damian tries to learn how to be a good younger brother)

Reply ‘STOP’ to Unsubscribe by @motleyfam & @batmoniker (8.4k, jason & tim, angst with a happy ending, tim imagines his dad when he’s hit with fear gas at school) (this will probably make more sense if you read the rest of the series first, but I don’t think is strictly necessary (but you should read the series anyway bc it’s great))

Of A Genius’ Legacy by @sparkoflena (8.5k, tim-centric, fluff, tim graduates high school, a lot more people than he expected show up)

Flatline by @dragonpyre (8.9k, jason-centric, angst with a happy ending, jason is injected with a drug that basically shuts down his body, he has to watch his family’s reactions to finding his “dead” body)

Our Dead Drink the Sea by @ghost-bxrd (9.2k, jason-centric, angst with a happy ending, jason is a selkie and bruce kept his pelt when he died, the red hood takes the pelt and the batfam want it back)

In The Back Room by WhumpKing223 (9.9k, dick & jason & tim, heavy angst with a hopeful ending, batman discovers black mask is holding three boys captive, bruce wayne decides to take them in) (the rest of the series is about the boys’ time with bruce and it is great) *READ THE TAGS

Boom, Boom, Pow! by LilaVaporizer9000 (11.1k, tim-centric, absolute hilarity, kid tim steals the batmobile and wreaks havoc/ saves the day)

how to feed your local demon by @inkpotsprite (14.5k, tim & dick & bruce, fluff and humor and light angst, dick is an incubus and isn’t doing well after jason’s death, tim shows up to help)

the fire under your feet by @phneltwrites (17.8k, tim & jason & damian, angst with a happy ending, tim shows up to the league of assassins while jason is still there, they must team up to save damian from ra’s)

Perfect Storm by @banditywrites (25.1k, tim-centric, angst with a happy ending, tim is winning the game of not needing anything from his parents, but it starts getting harder and his neighbors are concerned)

you’re not defenseless, i’ll be your shelter by @fandomtrash-whataboutit (26.3k, tim-centric, angst with a hopeful ending, tim is lex luthor’s captive and is in charge of watching over the new captives- young justice) (the only batfam relationship in this is tim & dick, but the rest of the series has more batfam plus timkon and is so good)

Brother of the Fucking Year by @aceofdivinechlorophyll (26.4k, jason-centric, fluff and crack, jason makes plans to chaotically meet and bond with his siblings… as red hood) (will probably make more sense if you read the first part of the series first, which is also funny and great)

Join the Club by @cephalog0d (26.9k, jason & tim & dick, fluff and humor and light angst, where tim and jason meet at school, tim is dick’s biggest fan, and jason thinks it would be funny to make them meet) (this was filled for me for FTH but I would have included this fic regardless, it’s great)

What Christmas Means To Me by @taralaurel (29.9k, tim & dick & jason & bruce, fluff and angst, tim meets bruce when he is dressed as santa and asks for his parents to be home for Christmas, the batfam takes this as a challenge)

Screaming In The Dark (While We All Play Our Part) by @yourwakingnightmares (32.9k, dick & jason & tim & damian, heavy angst with a hopeful ending, the batboys are captives of a very evil batman, they escape and go to the justice league for help) (I also rec the sequel, which is ongoing and great) *READ THE TAGS

The Right Substitution is Key by @addictedapple (34.4k, jason-centric, fluff and crack and light angst, nightwing and batman go missing, robin asks red hood to fill in as batman)

the loneliness in worth by @yeeyee123 (56.1k, tim & damian, angst with a happy ending and humor, tim is supposed to be training in paris, he instead ends up with the league of assassins and decides he’s gonna help damian get to his father)

Northern Attitude (I Was Raised on Little Light) by @theskeptileptic (103.2k, tim-centric, heavy angst with a happy ending, tim is bruce’s biological son, jack drake has been punishing him his whole life for this, the batfam just want tim in their life) (technically not finished, but I didn’t put it in the WIP section as there is only one chapter left and it’s honestly at a satisfying stopping point) *READ THE TAGS, there is graphic child abuse

+5 WIPs I’d love to see more of in 2025!

[Refuge] by @raberbagirl (7.6k, tim & jason & dick, mostly fluff, the boys take refuge from the streets in the abandoned and supposedly haunted Wayne manor, the spirit of the manor is just happy to care for the kids)

a cuckoo in the nest by @antebunny (9.4k, tim-centric, angst and fluff, bruce makes a deal with the fae to get jason back, he has to take tim in in return, tim just wants to be loved)

Mine by @millytsworld (18k, jason & dick, angst with a happy ending, dick is the right hand man to an infamous mob boss (bruce) and decides jason is his new little brother, jason completely misunderstands dick’s intentions) *READ THE TAGS

Losing Time by hatlessmule (40.3k, tim-centric, angst (hopefully with a happy ending), tim finds himself in a universe where he doesn’t exist, the batfam want to know who this flighty kid is)

Care and Keeping and Kryptonite by @mild-and-hammered (96.9k, superbat ft. the bat kids, fluff and light angst, mild-mannered reporter clark is injured and has to stay with playboy bruce wayne and neither know the other’s secret identity, meanwhile bruce’s kids start meddling to bring the two closer together)

[scented-morker]

୨୧ Whoops 𓂃 ♥︎

idol!riki x idol!reader, fem!reader, secret relationship, riki is a little too used to taking care of you… 950 words ft. Mark Lee cameo 🫶

Award show season in the kpop industry was one of the most fun parts of your job.

You spent hours preparing stages and dance breaks with your group, trying on beautiful dress after beautiful dress, and of course texting your boyfriend Riki for spoilers on his stages.

You: Pleaseeeeee 🙏 I’ll send you a picture of my red carpet dress if you tell me

Riki: you should probably do that anyway 🤭 Jungwon said last show I stared too much but I was just so shocked, you looked so pretty

You: YOU WERE SHOCKED??? DO I NOT NORMALLY LOOK PRETTY???

Riki: Ok crazy I DID NOT SAY THAT

You: blocked.

You were joking around, but you knew exactly what he was talking about. You had noticed him staring when you walked past his group and hadn’t been able to stop your blush even after his leader had smacked him to knock it off.

Your own leader had made up an excuse to yank you back to the makeup artist in an attempt to offset your red face.

Fans absolutely caught the whole thing on camera, and you two were viral for a week.

That was the non fun part of award season— trying to pretend you weren’t completely smitten with the beautiful boy on stage.

Everytime Riki performed you wanted to jump out of your seat and scream your head off.

You were dating the world’s most talented boy and couldn’t even show it… especially since your company had made you go through extra media training to avoid it happening again.

As much as you hated keeping it a secret, you hated to see your boyfriend getting hate even more, so you focused on controlling yourself around the cameras.

When the camera panned to your group during the Enhypen performance on New Years Eve, you calmly smiled and nodded your head to the beat of XO. Your leader gave you a discreet high five as soon as the screen refocused on the boys, and you glowed with pride.

Riki had done well for the most part as well, managing to look like he really liked the song you were performing and not like he was losing his mind over your leather outfit.

Everything was going perfectly smooth until the very end of the show.

You were crammed onto the stage with what seemed like every single idol that has ever debuted.

You bow as you once again bump into one of your seniors, glad when they give you a quick hug and wave off your apology.

It’s almost midnight, and you look around the stage in an attempt to find the rest of your group who you haven’t seen in at least five minutes.

You laugh to yourself when you spot your boyfriend immediately, his head peeking over the rest of the crowd due to his sheer height.

He spots you and raises an eyebrow at you in question, but you don’t even attempt to explain your panicked look, knowing the interaction would get caught and analyzed hundreds of times.

Instead you start walking towards his general direction, making sure to look just enough to the side that people won’t think you’re approaching him.

You hope your group is somewhere near his, thinking your age and popularity were similar enough for the directors to place you beside each other.

There’s music playing over the speakers as you continue looking around for someone you recognize. Idols start dancing around in excitement, and you’re once again jostled as you make your way through the crowd.

A particularly excited Mark Lee accidentally backs up into you, bumping you what feels like halfway across the stage, and you’re fully expecting to hit the ground from the impact.

You internally groan at the videos that are surely going to be everywhere in a few hours, and you try to make sure you don’t accidentally flash anyone when you fall.

But instead of hitting the ground how you were expecting, you find yourself against a familiar body with an arm around your waist.

A gasp leaves your mouth at the feeling, and you don’t even need to turn around to know Riki is behind you.

You quickly untangle yourself from him, turning and bowing deeply to him.

“Thank you for catching me.”

He mirrors your body language, lifting his head to peer into your eyes, his own soft and full of concern.

“Are you okay?”

You nod quickly, standing back up and knowing you’re screwed.

A quick glance behind him shows Jungwon with wide eyes and Heeseung losing his mind laughing at the two of you being horrible relationship hiders.

You bow to them as well, although you make a mental note to yell at Heeseung the next time you see him.

Mark Lee chooses that moment to come up to you with a red face and sheepish smile as he apologizes profusely and Haechan laughs behind him.

You accept it quickly, wanting to get out of the area and horrible situation as soon as possible.

You’re grateful when your leader finally approaches you, looking between you, Mark, and Riki with terrified eyes.

“I’ll explain later.” You whisper as she grabs your arm and the two of you quickly exit towards the other part of the stage.

When you wake up the next day it’s to multiple texts from your manager, two calls from your boyfriend, and a Dispatch article featuring the photo of Riki holding you against him in the middle of the stage.

Whoops.

[lavenders-and-carnations-zine]

Welcome to Lavender's and Carnation's, an MCYT Pride Month Zine!

This is a zine dedicated to and honoring the queer CC's who have made an impact on this fandom and their fans! It'll feature art, fanfic, and stories about how openly queer CC's have helped people accept/become more comfortable in their identities! (Which, by the way- you don't have to be signed up for the zine to share your story! Anyone can submit one!)

So, how exactly is this zine going to work?

Lavender and Carnation's will feature art and writing like most zines, but it has a special addition to the usual- you can submit your own stories without having to be an official contributor!

Have a CC who helped you become more comfortable with your identity? A CC's character who's impacted you via their story, or has helped you through a rough time in your life? Share your story (anon or not) and you can have it featured in the zine, interspersed with art of that CC's characters and stories!

Okay, this sounds awesome! But wait, how do I apply? What's the criteria for a CC getting nominated for this event? What's the schedule?

Great questions! Here's a basic run-down of the event (along with links to fully explain it)

Applications

There are four roles you can apply for within this event;

Mod

Mod's will help manage the discord server, answer questions, and offer any assistance you may need while creating your piece!

Cover Artist

Cover artists will either be able to apply for the zine cover (which will be a full page spread all the CC's featured in the zine), or as a CC cover artist (which will be a full page spread of all of a CC's character's/relevant side characters)

The applications are open for two zine cover artists, and one artist per however many CC's end up in the zine.

Artist

Non-cover artists will be creating half/quarter page illustrations to be featured along side submitted stories! These drawings can feature the CC themself, a character they portray (alone or with friends!)

If applicable, they can also apply to do a full page drawing of a canon queer relationship with a CC's character in it. (This will only include relationships that are explicitly stated to be romantic/queerplatonic. Examples of this are Milo and Scott from Witchcraft SMP and Aismey and Guqqie from Area Unknown.)

Writer

Writer's can apply to create a piece of writing exploring/featuring a canonical queer character’s identity/relationships. This can feature headcanons for other characters, but please avoid gender-bending for ships (ie, making a M/F ship M/M or a F/F ship M/M!) or changing the canon identity of the CC’s character!

(More information for contributors and mods)

CC Nominations

CC's are nominated based on what the community wants! A Google form with be posted on January 25th where you can nominate your favourite CC's to be featured in this zine. If your CC gets 10 nominations, they'll be considered for the zine!

After that, if enough people sign on to create for your CC, they'll be featured on the zine!

(CC Nomination Requirements)

Event Schedule

The event officially begins on January 12th with an interest check!

CC Nominations and Mod applications open on January 25th and end on February 5th.

The discord server opens on February 8th, followed by Contributor applications opening on February 10th and closing on February 23rd.

Story submissions will be open from February 10th till March 10th!

(How do I submit my personal stories?)

(Official event schedule)

If you've made it this far, please reblog this post so that people who would be interested are able to see it! Thank you for your time, and I'm really excited to see this zine through!

[entropy-cat]

I may be a bit late to this, but as someone who has more insight into the workings of AI, I wanted to write a quality longpost on "13 Reasons Why You Shouldn't Be Using Generative AI to Make Fanart", so buckle up. 1. Environmental impact I need all of you to know, generative AI shits out a CO2 brick per prompt. Every time you generate a fanfiction image, you are dooming another rare species of a beetle in the Amazon rainforest to extinction. I wish I were exaggarating, but I am not. A single prompt to an LLM like ChatGPT uses up the amount of electricity Commodore 64, one of the first house computers, would use in an hour of intense work. Image generation is worse. Currently, the use of generative AI consumes as much electricity as the entire country of Ireland on a yearly basis (approximately 29 TWh). As of now, IT sector is responsible to 2-4% of global emissions per year, but due to rapid growth of generative AI, it is estimated that by 2040 it will be responsible for a whooping 14%. If you have any love for the environment at all, don't use generative AI for anything unless a use-case vastly improves your quality of life (or you know the servers are in a location that uses 100% renewables/nuclear, but that's highly improbable). Yes, generative AI can be a useful tool for automating repetetive work, but it must be used responsibly. Here are some nice articles where you can start reading about this. https://arxiv.org/abs/1906.02243 https://wires.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/widm.1507 2. Academia, privatisation and equality As you've noticed from point 1, generative AI, unlike many other types of AI, uses a metric fuckton of resources. In fact, the sheer intensity of resources now required to produce paper-worthy results has made it increasingly challenging for people working in academia (and in poorer parts of the world in general) to continue contributing to research. This trend towards huge models leads us towards the future where only rich megacorporations will be able to contribute to research. It will simply not be possible for the academia to keep up with industry. Do we want that? I sure as shit don't. 3. In this house we respect artists And we all know how them generative AI companies obtained their training datasets. By scraping everyone's art, oftentimes without consent of the artists whose art they were scraping. I don't support that, and neither should you. So don't engage with the product of a business that works in such ways. 4. Just why? Isn't it the point of a fandom to express our appreciation towards the work we are losing our minds about by creating in the fandom? AI art is missing the expression. It is a work of an algorithm. A set of emotionless, unthinking mathematical equations trained to reproduce what they've seen, then adjust it slightly to comply with what was requested as needed. It is a joyless endeavour producing sterile cellophane-wrapped works completely lacking in warmth. It is counterproductive.

As a final note, I want to say not all AI is generative AI, and not all AI is bad. There are some amazing models, many of them quite low cost, that make the job of accountants, meteorologists, economists, biologists etc. a lot easier, and contribute to research in various fields. And that's great, because that's what AI was meant to be - an efficent tool that improves lives. Not just another form of entertainment in the consumerist hellscape. But capitalism said no, and here we are.

like i'm sorry but we as a fandom have to stay firm on our anti-AI values. we cannot suddenly start giving AI a pass when it's something we "want to see" like destiel kisses. it's not suddenly fine. we're not going to start using AI to make fanfic scenes come to life or audio AI to make characters "say" stuff we want to hear. you have GOT to be firm on your anti-AI stance. if you start making exceptions then suddenly anything will fly. fandom is for real art and creations made by real people. no AI fanfics. no AI art. no AI rendered "bonus" scenes. no AI audio. none of it has a place here.

[thedissonantverses]

This is related to this post which is so on point it hurts. I wasn’t going to write this but yet another one of my mutuals had someone be super racist again directly to their asks so here we go.

I go super hard on the Veilguard positivity a lot not out of an urge to stan for BioWare but because parts of the fandom have gotten so unbelievably toxic I’m not even sure why they’re still playing the games. Legit if you’re actively in mourning about this franchise because of a, at worst, competent game you need to find something else to do. I have been told I don’t know how many times I just don’t like “critique” of Veilguard which is fecking hilarious and I should show you my dm’s. You’re not actually showing “love” for the DA franchise when you’re overly negative and reductionist.

We absolutely should be able to critique Veilguard and I do attempt to do this from time to time. But to be honest we can’t even discuss the actions of the antagonist in an honest way. It is actually laughable how far away from the source people have gone when analyzing this game and its characters. It might be my favorite game in the series but that in no way makes it perfect or flawless and I’m aware. Not gonna share the critiques here cause y’all can’t handle the base plot of the game without bullying other fans.

I keep seeing people complain about the lack of fan engagement and fanworks while directly being the reason artists and writers don’t want to be anywhere near the space. Again if you’re not commenting or reblogging or otherwise supporting other creators in the fandom you are the problem I’m talking about. If you’re being super vitriolic then yeah, no one wants to make stuff for you for free. They’re too afraid or exhausted and we are all culpable, myself included.

The media literacy problem, the bigotry, and the lack of engagement are all related issues and until the most vitriolic amongst us reckon with that nothing will get better. And yeah, if you’re going super hard against a game that stands this hard by its queer, disabled, and POC characters that’s a huge red flag. Unpack it. Offline. Away from the marginalized members of your fandom.

[smiggles]

........how would your gender be a worm? you're a person? thats the weirdest response ive ever seen to try and get away with upsetting someone im ngl its screaming "i have a neo gender so i can do no wrong so clearly everyones an asshole for pointing out when im being in the wrong" like bruh its ok to upset someone and apologize theres no need to try and get special behavior and claim insects are genders like my guy touch some grass please your a really cool artist and id hate for this to be the reason i block because you dont wanna admit you triggered someone accidentally

People control their internet experience. It has nothing to do with my gender other than the fact I will be posting worms and if someone doesn't like worms

Then I'm not the blog for them. I'm not going to apologize for being myself in my space. I'm not here to please you or anyone else.

Yes. Insect is a gender. Sorry you're living life where there's no whimsy.

Im a GORE blog. I am by definition a trigger. Come here at your own risk. Learn how to follow and/or block tags. If you want to see something without following an entire blog then

Just follow the tag dude. I'm a very compassionate and patient person. But not when you come to me expecting me to be an Internet Pleaser.

You might be used to being able to wave around a block like it's a weapon at other people but im a 32 year old man. I'm a worm. I live in the grass.

:3 i hope you get to be a worm soon too ♡

[vonbabbitt]

Hi Von! Dropping in to say that you are absolutely incredible.

I could never imagine how hard it is to do a project of this scale basically completely yourself, save for the voice actors and people who help with editing. It takes a level of dedication, responsibility, and patience that many people do not have. Whenever I mention Tetro to my friends (which happens quite a lot), the moment I mention you and go on a spiel of everything you do, they're all stunned.

What I'm getting at is that you're so talented, strong, and just an all-around powerhouse. Tetro is such an amazing and interesting series, and I commend you for being able to finish it and start a second season. Not only me, but the entire community. The fact that you and your staff get treated with disrespect is so shocking to me. It has not only some of the best voice acting I've seen in a while, but also some of the best writing and representation of disabilities I've seen. You and your staff deserve as much love and appreciation as physically possible from the community that follows you. I do hope that the good outweighs the bad, because you already work so hard that the added stress of fans who harass you is something I don't even want to imagine. You also deserve as much rest as possible.

You don't have to answer this ask. Ever. But please let this serve as a reminder that the community appreciates everything you do for them. It's okay to take as many breaks as you need. You're an incredible writer, artist, voice actor, director and creator.

I wish you the absolute best going forward, and I hope you have a good rest of your day.

thank you very very much anon its really reassuring to hear

the positive response to tetro definitely outweighs the negative, which is something im definitely trying to get better with accepting instead of focusing way too hard on one or two people who arent enjoying it. im also learning to accept that just because someone doesnt like something doesnt mean that something is BAD, regardless of whether or not they say it is. just because people dont like my writing doesnt mean my writing is bad (not that it would matter if it was bad either way, as im only doing this for fun!)

im really really grateful for the level of support people have shown me and going forward into the new year im going to try and be better with letting criticism roll off my back - this is my passion project and at the end of the day, my opinion on it is the only one that matters. im the only person who knows my intentions in every line, im the only person who poured myself into writing it, im the only person who has any sort of obligation to tetro. if others like it, im glad! but its not the end of the world if they dont

thank you for the kind ask anon!

[daresplaining]

Hey Dare! I have been thinking about Elektra and Natasha with Matt and how similar they are. To me, they both seem to be characters that feel forced to be 'good' but know they can't be because the world isn't black and white (for example, Elektra not being allowed into the Chaste for being impure, so she becomes an assassin, Natasha being a spy but not a hero). In what ways do you think these characters are different from one another? And does Matt play a unique role in each of their lives?

I love "Dare"; thank you for that! And I'm sorry it's taken me so long to answer this.

It's really compelling to look at the parallels between Natasha and Elektra, because you're right, they have a lot in common--mainly, that they are both in professions that require a deep cynicism, a healthy emotional distance, and a very specific moral compass. They are good people molded into hard people by life, who have become very good at doing some very unpleasant things, and have found ways to live with that. I think Natasha leans far more into the realm of the term "hero"-- she has served on superhero teams and been in the public eye in that capacity, her partnership with Matt certainly placed her in the role of a superhero more than a spy, and if you were to shop for superhero merch in the Marvel universe...I'd say Black Widow would be about 90% more likely to show up on a t-shirt than Elektra. However, she is still very much a spy, with a spy's pragmatism that doesn't always align with the heroic, and she holds no illusions about who and what she is. A while back I wrote a post about one of my favorite Black Widow stories, "Breakdown", which is all about the moral distinctions between being a spy and being a superhero.

However, Natasha seems to be able to hop back and forth across that line, carrying out top-secret missions and maintaining her status as a world-class spy while also beating up supervillains alongside her superhero friends. Her goal is to do good in the world, and she is able to do so in both of these roles--largely because some Black Widow writers want to write spy stories, and others want to write her swinging across rooftops and kicking Stilt-Man in the face, and one of the fun and unique things about her character is that she can encompass both of those genres so well.

Elektra, however, is an assassin, full stop. We have the by now (I hope) classic line from the first issue of the Blackman/Del Mundo run:

"I have often tried to be something more. At nine, I dreamt of being a ballerina. But that required a form of balance I did not possess. At nineteen, I secretly studied figure painting behind my father's back. But I could never see past the models' skin and muscle. All my classes ended with half-naked canvases marred by twisted limbs and slack faces. I have even played at being a hero. But I could not bear how foolish I felt every time I spared someone who was determined to kill me. I am not a dancer, or an artist, or a hero. I am no longer a daughter or a lover...victim or student or slave. I am, and I will always be...someone's assassin."

I would suggest that this line is not fully reflective of the truth of Elektra's childhood, but is instead a fatalistic look back from her current state of mind, since it suggests the idea that she was always fated to be an assassin, which is (at least in her original origin story, which I am stubbornly clinging to for now) simply not true. Elektra was a good, hopeful, kind person backed into a terrible corner, who became very, very good at killing for money because it was the only path that seemed to be left for her after the death of her father, after her rejection by the Chaste, and after her disastrously failed attempt at taking down the Hand from the inside, which led to her killing the only mentor figure she had left and leaving her alone in the world. Elektra does not like what she is, but she is confident in what she is and she takes a certain pride in being the best there is at what she does (sorry, Wolverine). Her tragedy is, to me, far greater than Natasha's because Elektra is so often alone. In her early appearances, Natasha thought she was cursed because so many of the men she loved died, and she does experience isolation that I absolutely do not want to downplay, but just based on my reading experience, Elektra's is more painful and has continued on for far longer. She sees her world as cold and dark and drenched in blood, and the times she has tried to change that, she has failed spectacularly. All she can do is look for glimpses of light and warmth-- her rose-tinted memories of her time with Matt in college and the opportunities she has, when she allows it and when he allows it, to see him again in the present; her deep, powerful bond with Wolverine, in whom she sees so much of herself; the brief other relationships she allows herself, romantic or otherwise... Elektra has shown a tendency, over the years, of encountering and protecting young women and girls, which I think is a really nice trend, though it doesn't always end well.

Matt is a happy memory for both of them. For Elektra, the last time she was truly happy in life was that last semester in college before her father's death, and the time she spent with Matt was a part of that. She thinks of that period fondly, and her love for Matt is something that she holds close and cherishes, no matter what else has happened since. He reminds her of a better time, and while she has her own life now, she still keeps an eye on him. They've tried to get back together a few times, but it's never worked. Everything is different now. For Natasha, Matt is a reliable friend and ally, someone she can always go to. There is a strong physical attraction between them that lingers, and on various occasions, Natasha has dropped back into his life with the intention of rekindling their romance. However, it's never worked for her either (usually because Matt is dating somebody else), and that is probably for the best. While they look fondly back on their partnership, which was a romantic and exciting time for them, it was also very messy. Matt's ego struggled with dating a fellow superhero, and Natasha hated that Matt tended to undervalue her skills. Following their break-up, which was mutual and remarkably drama-free, they have remained good friends who would do just about anything for each other.

Thanks for the great question!

[scaredgirlsilly]

ok I know you asked for asks on the other blog but. if you could make everyone in the world listen to one song what would it be

oh jesus thats. a really good question HDKSHDJSJ

so at first my mind jumped to just songs i liked. yk maybe basketball shoes by black country, new road yk that song is prob one of the best songs like. ever jflsjdksj or maybe a jeffrey lewis song?? idk im Fucking Obsessed with ine of his albums its a comfort album for me

but then i thought and my choice is Do You Know What Im Saying by applied communications (really id recommend the album but you just said song and thats my fav song on the album hfksjdjs)

so ok. this song (and the whole album but again just the one song for this) is not like. good on a technical level. the guy made the album when he was 16 after his mom died. but to me it is like. the epitome of amateur art.

the instrumental is poorly constructed with random drums and a droning base that just feels *slightly* off, the lyrics are weird and pretentious and sung (not even sung more like said) in a very odd way, randomly layering over each other in a weird cacophony of teenage angst. but that all i think adds to it. listening to it, at least for me, i can *feel* the emotions behind this song so palpably, and thats really all art is for right?? making you feel something. the artist has some feeling they want to share, and so they make art so that you the audience feel that same or similar emotion. everything else is extra.

i know i and many others get caught up sometimes in worrying about doing art "well" but i think this song and the album in general is like. my go to example of amazing art that is, on a technical level, not the best. and im not even saying bad cause like straight up its a banger i fuckin love it hfkshdksj but its v obviously not made for everyone. its not what some would think is well made music. but i think if i wanted to show everyone a single song, it would be this so i could just show them that art can be shittily made and still be amazing, and a world with mountains of shitty art is infinitely better than a world with only art from people who are """good""".

any time a friend has shown me art they have made, whether its drawings or paintings or music or writing or literally anything, it has been almost a transcendent experience. this person i love has taken the time to pour their heart and soul into something that is so unique that i couldnt find anything like this anywhere else. you can find songs like black country new road or jeffrey lewis around, but you cant find songs like you would make when you have no or little skill. and obv getting better at any given artform is always great we love that obv but like. idk shitty art is amazing too and i just want everyone to not be scared to make shitty art cause sometimes shitty art is the best and most heartfelt art there is

[evercelle]

2024 art summary! it sure has been a year

[hatchan]

Shimmer is fascinating to me, and I think very analogous to the drugs we think of as dangerous. In S1 Ep 6, when that small brown-haired man (once seen in a flashback w/ Vander) brings Cait to the "doctor" in the deepest part of the undercity, we see that he's a victim of Shimmer abuse.

Cait asked him about it: "Why would you take something that does that to you?"

He replies: "I just… wanted to feel what it was like… To be somebody. To make other people afraid. Instead of…"

in his flasback in Ep 1, he's seen as a small and weak guy, to the point where someone tries to take advantage of him and not pay him his full due, until Vander steps in to help.

The effect in combat is obvious: it boosts pain tolerance, energy, endurance, speed, strength, and savagery. It makes people strong and capable. And in the undercity/Lanes/Zaun, violence and desperation are normal. And anything that gives you an edge, even temporary, is going to be tempting to use--especially when you don't expect to live long in the first place.

But yeah, we see plenty of medical use for it. Shimmer keeps Viktor alive as he merges with the Hexcore. Shimmer kept Vander alive and made him able to save Vi/fight a bit more after he got stabbed and thrown off the catwalk. Shimmer saved Vi's life in the deepest part of the Lanes, and affected her system by making her heal from a stab wound much faster than normal. Shimmer saved Jinx's life too! Shimmer is the fuel that powers Sevika's mechanical arm. This isn't confirmed, but it wouldn't surprise me if the green tubes in Renni's nose contain a Shimmer variant (when one of her tubes is ripped away during the battle in S2, it noticeably affects her) of which she needs a constant infusion to stay alive and moving.

Jinx is changed by her use of it, but Vi and Viktor are not "permanently" affected by their use of it, so the dose and frequency of use matters.

So to me, this reads as: methamphetamines.

Stimulants like meth are very useful. The main effect behind meth is energy--which in turn can boost speed, strength, pain tolerance, endurance. People on meth feel invulnerable and powerful. They don't need to sleep. They can start and finish projects. They can get by without eating much. The popular image of "meth users" in anti-drug campaigns shows people with scars on their faces (usually from picking at their skin or having poor hygiene), bad or missing teeth, disheveled hair, and low body fat. But there's just as many, or even more, people who do meth and other stimulants that fall in the category of working moms, people with ADHD, people with depression or, chronic low energy, physical laborers, doctors and finance bros and artists and tinkerers. It's very possible that you know a meth/stimulant user that's hiding in plain sight. And caffeine is a stimulant, so you can argue that we've structured societies to DEPEND on stimulant use to some degree, and it's all a matter of dosage/need/application. This category of drugs is definitely physiologically addictive, but also--people keep going back because the [temporary] benefits are undeniable and desirable.

The extremes are always more interesting for a story, and Silco is a villain for using high doses/amounts of Shimmer to essentially create an army out of the most desperate. But Shimmer is so much greyer than that, and "all drugs bad always" is an incomplete view of things

liking silco as a character is so painful because most people don't even understand him, even those who claim to like him don't so much of the time like even the very basics of his character that he is not selling drugs because he is a drug lord and that was his life ambition but he is selling drugs to gain control and political power over Zaun and the smaller groups within it in order to achieve his ultimate goal of independence and yet this concept seems to be way too difficult for people to understand plus to a smaller degree the whole claiming he is "doing drugs" (as in a recreational manner) in the context of using shimmer is so annoying to me when shimmer was clearly established to have medical properties like I know the writing gets chunky at times but some people are also just genuinely too dumb to be trying to analyze anything more complex than "good guys vs. bad guys" lolllll

[icewindandboringhorror]

I made a few new wax seal stamps out of clay (like the ones I did for my worldbuilding stuff forever ago), this time just of random symbols that I thought might look good done in the style of painting over the raised part of the wax or etc. :0c Some of them aren't carved deep enough to really show up that well, but overall they worked okay for being clay lol

[californiatowhee]

x-men: first class screencap redraws (ace attorney edition), ft. phoenix/edgeworth from the rage and serenity scene

[skriblee-ksk]

Ki****’s Home

The children brought to the ******* Island during the year **** were named after flowers.

Ki**** was the brightest in her cohort, both in terms of intelligence and personality.

However, that was exactly what made her the worst subject.

Instead of properly participating in the activities meant to measure the children’s abilities, she was always distracted. Always compassionately helping or curiously asking.

Although seeming to hold no malicious intent, she was still a hindrance. An unpredictable, troublesome child.

In fact, she was the Father’s ultimate failure.

Someone who was too valuable to be discarded, yet too disobedient to be contained.

Even punishments seemed to have little effect on her, as she always returned to her natural state a few hours later.

One day, the Father lost his patience. He stepped up instead of the researchers and tried to fix Ki**** on his own.

It worked for the day. Ki**** completed all the activities as she should have been all along. Even if the results were worse than usual, she had been predictable. Obedient.

That day, when the best children were moved to the reward room, the Father handpicked a gift for Ki**** as a reward.

Since he had proved that Ki**** was able to do what they told her to, he expected no less from her.

Unfortunately, the next day, Ki**** had reverted back to her old habits.

She really did try her best to do what was expected. She really wanted to do her best, she did.

One thing all children in the lab hated to hear was that their best was, in fact, not their best. That their greatest efforts were not enough.

In fact, they would have rather died than heard that.

The Father was disappointed.

And that would be Ki****’s last time in the reward room.

Ki’s backstory that no one asked for!!!!!

Her backstory usually doesn’t play a pivotal role on the medias I insert her into, but it does give a few clues on her behavior and personality. Also I just think she’s tragic because she dies so early. My daughter :(

I actually made Ki during like. 5th grade, so the world where she originally resides in is my OC world (the one with Kristal in it (u can find her in refs btw, if you haven’t seen her yet)).

Generally, Ki**** was a girl who talked with and helped her cohort, even at the cost of being labeled disobedient. She prioritized helping the rest of the children than acing her ability tests (even though she had no reason to. Like she wasn’t even older than them, the cohorts are separated by birth date year).

She placed high on pop quizzes testing intelligence every time, but otherwise if someone else seemed to struggle, she would flat out NOT do any of the work and instead would help them or ask questions in their stead or even just give up on the work to do something else, so they could never measure her correctly. This made it impossible to figure out if she’d be of any help with the Father’s research (which I will not disclose as of now).

Yeah, that’s generally it!

Now, an answer to a few (nonexistent) questions!

1. Why does the Father include the word “the”?

It has “the” in the same way you’d call a creature under your bed “the” Monster.

2. Is Ki’s purple ribbon the gift the Father chose and would she still wear it if she found out about her past?

Yes

Yes :(

3. What are some similarities and differences between Ki**** and Kiyuu?

Similarities: Obsessive organization abilities, intelligence, and they’re both searching for home.

Oh and they both love the scent of the sea and cream puffs, and general things like that.

Differences: Kiyuu develops to become, in a sense, less “helpful”? She finds out most people at NRC like to be seen as someone who can handle things themselves if they wish to, and it’s really just awkward if Kiyuu keeps eagerly volunteering for anything. Like, at first it’s nice, but then it just becomes like, “does she think I’m helpless or something?” Anyway. Yeah. Kiyuu here gains some snark too, just as a defense mechanism. She needs to spit back once in a while.

Taglist (ask to be added!!): @kathxrat-01 @distant-velleity @scint1llat3 @elenauaurs @boopshoops @lumdays @venaue @jewelulu @thehollowwriter

[elusiiev]

OMORITOBER DAY 14: LIBRARY

i like to imagine spirit mari tossing down her favorite memories for omori to read while peeking around to see omori's reaction :3

i was thinkin of drawing her too, but honestly i wasnt very sure what pose to do and i was a bit tired !!

thanks to @/ntrogensolar for the omoritober prompt list!

extra rant in the tags ab why this isnt a full piece!