#consistency in my art????? if that makes sense? like i want what people pay for to be what theyre expecting and to be worth it YKNOW

[okthatsgreat]

my new life goal is to get a pc so i can run baldurs gate 3. but i need money for a pc. and i need a better job for money. so you can imagine the stress i am under

[velvetfoxgames]

Following the MBTI stuff, for fun, here are some gathered quotes about knowing if the types are into you.

Alexei INTJ

"Ever the observer, they’ll want to know and engage in your likes and dislikes, dreams and goals, and more. They might even use this to help inform how they interact with you and what they do for and with you, often putting your interests above their own."

"Once they know, they’ll use that information to put a smile on your face. In many cases, their gestures might be small and subtle, but this isn’t something that they’ll do for just anybody."

“Sadly for me, I fit perfectly into the stereotype of INTJs being romantic disasters. The art of subtle flirting is unknown to and lost on me. I generally try finding events we would mutually be interested and asking the other if they wish to go see it. Basically, just asking them to hang out one-on-one, without explicitly asking them out on a date.”

"INTJs aren’t normally very physical. So if they do allow hugs or are otherwise willing to be touchy-feely, it means that they trust you a lot — especially if they’re the ones to initiate the physical contact"

Brooklyn ENTJ

"If an ENTJ has been unusually direct, taking the initiative to engage you in stimulating conversations, you may have just received an unmistakable sign an ENTJ likes you."

"The planning and strategic aspect of giving meaningful gifts and memorable moments are something an ENTJ will relish doing for the people they care deeply for. And while you may not even realize that they knew all the little things that would make you happy or have meaning for you, they would’ve carefully attended to this in the days and weeks beforehand.  

"When we are genuinely interested, our Sensing (Se) function draws us to focus intensely on you, making you the center of our universe."

"Compromise is something that isn’t necessarily often done. Still, when it is, you can be assured that ENTJ values you and your relationship – your happiness being more critical than their routine or goals will manifest in them changing plans, compromising, or finding a different way to make it work. This is a definite sign of their affection for you."

Leo ESFP

"We love to turn our full, sparkly attention on someone we're into!"

"If they are interested in you only as a crush, they can act more freely around you: smiles, giggles and, possibly, superficial conversations. But if they really like you romantically, then they’ll become a little shy." / "We get nervous when we are close to someone we like a lot. We can even become awkward."

"Of course consistency is a very good sign. ESFP are very independent and soon lose interest in someone. It’s easy for them to have a crush, but they fall in love with much more difficulty. Consistency means ESFP likes you a lot in 99% of cases."

"A rule of thumb for us: if you have to ask "does an ESFP like me?" The answer is probably no lol. Se Fi isn't exactly known for its subtlety. How this manifests for me is i will want to spend all my time around a person. I'll invite them places, I'll go places i know they'll be, offer to help them with stuff they're doing, and I'll pay extra attention to them in a group setting."

Milo INTP

"An unexpected warmth, heightened intellectual curiosity towards you, and unusual social efforts. Bear in mind, these cues may be subtle and sporadic."

"INTP pretends they dislike you. This is not so much a visible sign but rather a confounding and self-sabotaging defense mechanism INTP deploys, probably out of fear of rejection."

"We usually keep conversations lighthearted and cordial. However, if we start rambling about the latest conspiracy theory, that crossword clue we’re stumped on, or the documentary that tickled our brains—watch out, you may be in crush (or at least close friend) territory."

"INTPs have an uncanny talent for remembering an entire backlog of information about someone's past or preferences. When INTPs are in their feelings, they'll randomly bring those details up in conversations. Our crush becomes a fun trivia game we’re invested in exploring further."

Rory INFJ

"They might hand you a book, saying, 'I knew you'd love this,' even if you've never expressed your literary preferences to them"

"Have you noticed a fleeting touch, a seemingly awkward gesture emanating from your INFJ companion? Perhaps, a light brush of the hand that seemed unintentional but was, in fact, meticulously premeditated?"

"Something that INFJs are highly fond of doing, is showing someone that they like them by little reminders through music and art. If they create a playlist or share a song with you, they want you to know that they are thinking of you or that a specific song reminds them of you."

"More than anything, they expressed a deep desire to connect emotionally with someone they like. They will be more emotionally open, express more of their deeper longings, and become more vulnerable with you if they like you. If they’re not into you, they will probably keep these things closer to the chest and appear slightly more guarded."

Tobias ESTP

"ESTPs aren’t typically mysterious about wanting to impress you. They’ll lift heavy objects, crack the funniest jokes (winking at you afterwards), and challenge competitors to arm-wrestling matches just to show you their power or wit."

"ESTPs get a major thrill from seeing you laugh. Whether they’re impersonating cartoon characters saying over-the-top sexy lines, pranking someone (think Jim Halpert from The Office) or making silly faces at you during a serious board meeting, they’ll find some way to trigger your funny bone."

"These types are all about amping up the current experience and making it memorable and intense. Sometimes this means taking you on the steepest roller coaster in town or playfully stroking your hair while they whisper something in your ear. "

"ESTPs can grow impatient with the emotional ramblings of people they’re not especially close to. But if they care about you romantically, they WANT to know how you feel. In fact, they will put themselves on the line emotionally and try as hard as possible to express their feelings to you."

[samwisethewitch]

I know this isn't the theme of my blog but as 1.) a genderqueer person, who 2.) has a media studies degree, I want to talk real quick about JK Rowling, the idea of separating art from the artist, and why you literally cannot consume media created by JKR without contributing to real harm against real people.

First let's talk about Death of the Author, because I see a lot of people misusing it online. Death of the Author is a theory from postmodern literary criticism that basically says that an author's intentions and personal beliefs shouldn't impact how readers interpret their work. Basically, this means that the author's own interpretation of the work is just as valid as any reader's interpretation, and vice versa.

Critics who subscribe to Death of the Author believe a work should only be judged by what actually appears in the text, not by what the author later claims it "really meant." So if, for example, an author becomes radicalized after publishing her books and later claims that her racist, pseudo-fascist villains were secretly a metaphor for trans people, Death of the Author would tell you that interpretation is utter bullshit and doesn't magically become canon just because the author said it.

I see a lot of people online equate Death of the Author with the concept of "separating art from the artist," but these are separate concepts. Death of the Author just means that the author's own interpretation of their work isn't any more valid than the audience's. Separating art from artist means we as an audience can appreciate a person's artistic achievements without condoning all of their actions and beliefs. So, for example, I can appreciate that HP Lovecraft revolutionized horror fiction while also acknowledging that he was horrifically racist -- and me condemning his racism doesn't change how influential his work was.

Setting aside that there's a huge debate over whether it's even possible to separate art from artist, the main difference between HP Lovecraft and JKR is that Lovecraft is dead and has in fact been dead for so long that his work is in the public domain. That means no matter how many times I read his work, watch films based on his stories, or talk about his role in the history of modern horror fiction, he doesn't make a penny. Whether I engage with his work or not does not change the fact that Lovecraft is dead and is not getting any money from me.

JKR very much is making money off people engaging with her work, and she's openly using that money to hurt people. (See here, here, here) As long as she's raking in Harry Potter dollars, she is going to keep turning around and funneling them into hate.

I don't want this post to get too long, so here's a quick rundown of some of the defenses I've seen and why they don't work:

"I only watch the movies on streaming services! I've already paid for the subscription, so it doesn't matter what I watch with it." That's not how streaming services work. Streaming services track views to determine what content is worth throwing more money at. This is why "hate watching" makes no sense. Streaming services don't care if you like what you watch. They only care about how many viewers it brings in, and if something gets a lot of watchers, they're going to renew contracts, greenlight sequels and spinoffs, and give more royalties to the creator.

"I only watch the movies when they run on cable." Again, not how this works. Like streaming services, cable networks track views to determine what programs are bringing in the most viewers. The reason these networks run the HP movies so often is because they know people will tune in to watch, which makes them more money. They're going to keep paying for rights to run these movies until they stop bringing in viewers.

"I checked out the books from my library! I thought we were supposed to support our local libraries!" In general, yes, libraries are great, but they also operate on supply and demand. That means if books are consistently checked out and have a long wait list, the library is much more likely to order new copies to meet the demand.

"I grew up on Harry Potter."/"It's my favorite book series."/Other appeals to nostalgia. Thankfully, the HP books genuinely don't actually do anything that hadn't already been done well, if not better, by other authors. If you're craving fictional wizard schools, allow me to recommend Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett and A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin.

Last but not least, I want to remind everyone that JKR also publishes adult fiction under the pen name Robert Galbraith. Don't buy, rent, or borrow Galbraith books either.

[sexydreamgirl]

There is no wrong way to manifest, right? I hear some people say "Act as if it's already manifested in the 3D", or some say "Just believe you have it in imagination" or 4D, or say "Daydream and identify with the inner man".. wHaT? And now I'm hearing that I should shift my awareness of what I want and be conscious of it in the 3D? 4D?

Whenever I feel like I know what to do, I see these other posts on how to manifest and then I go back to not really being sure if I get how the law works or if i'm gonna be doing this correctly

I fear that if I apply what I know, it won't work and I will just be wasting my time and it'll all be for nothing, I'm going in the same cycle of thinking I'm finally going to manifest everything I've ever wanted To thinking I'm never gonna get what I want and this can't happen unless I put all my effort in it and take action, I'm so tired of going back and forth and there's just so much I want to manifest that most people would consider "Big" or "illogical"

And how long am I supposed to stay in the state?

Also, is there a such thing as "reprogramming your subconscious mind"? I hear YouTubers say that "When you're manifesting, it takes time before it can manifest or come into the 3D" Is that correct? Please be honest

Sorry for the long ask and all the questions I'm just so confused :(

There's a lot going on here so I'm going to answer little by little:

There is no wrong way to manifest, right? I hear some people say "Act as if it's already manifested in the 3D", or some say "Just believe you have it in imagination" or 4D, or say "Daydream and identify with the inner man".. wHaT? And now I'm hearing that I should shift my awareness of what I want and be conscious of it in the 3D? 4D?

"Act as if it's already manifested in the 3D" Disagree.

"Just believe you have it in imagination" Agree.

"Daydream and identify with the inner man" Identifying with the inner man absolutely, daydreaming depends on whether you think of or from.

I should shift my awareness of what I want and be conscious of it in the 3D? 4D? / Consciousness is the only reality so if you are conscious of it in the 4D (imagination) it will be expressed in the 3D so yes.

Whenever I feel like I know what to do, I see these other posts on how to manifest and then I go back to not really being sure if I get how the law works or if i'm gonna be doing this correctly

That's why I've always suggested you stick to a single source. Leave blogs alone and read Neville Goddard's books. If you find them hard to understand try Edward Art. Sticking to fewer people who are consistent with their explanations will make it easier for you to make sense out of what is being said.

And how long am I supposed to stay in the state?

You shift in and out of states throughout the day so you're not expected to be in it 24/7/ As long as you persist in it and it becomes your dominant dwelling state you're good.

Also, is there a such thing as "reprogramming your subconscious mind"? I hear YouTubers say that "When you're manifesting, it takes time before it can manifest or come into the 3D" Is that correct? Please be honest

No this isn't true at all reprogramming is such nonsense we are not computers that require rewiring. Please do not pay attention to this lol.

Please feel free to reach out again if you have more questions :)

[cyanorhis]

how did you get over the hurdle of consistent anatomy and style choices? The answer is prob some variation of "practice" but I mean any specific excercises that helped you get it down?

Hi there!

I'm sorry for not replying sooner... I was having trouble trying to think of a proper answer because honestly I did NOT get over the hurdle of consistent anatomy and style choices yet njkvdkfd. All I can do is tell you what I've been trying so far so you see if it works for you!

So, in regards to anatomy, I used to just go with the flow initially, which meant it wasn't good. I started studying more seriously by collecting references and copying them. I started drawing along books like the ones from Andrew Loomis and Morpho (I still do it whenever I feel stuck, like my art sucks and nothing comes out right, which is not rare).

I like using anatomy books as an exercise for when I'm not set on doing any particular drawing, but recently what I've been doing the most has been simply making a pinterest board or dowloading images so I can draw them. The nice part is that when I use these references I also color and turn it into something different by adding more references or touches of my own (like a new background, another character, different clothes, etc)

I've seen people say they like to trace images for practicing but personally I really dislike it. I tried it years ago and I didn't learn anything njvkdvk.

As for style choices, I just look VERY INTENTLY at artists whose examples I want to follow. I try to pay attention to how they solve "problems" stroke by stroke and see what works for me.

At first I used to take into consideration any art style I found pretty but as time went by I realized that for me it is much better that I only "stare" at art styles that make sense with what I wish to do myself (that goes for art advice too in a sense, like watching a tutorial video or something) .

I don't know if it makes sense but like... I used to look at a nice anime-style artwork and think "omg this is so pretty", and there ARE things we can learn from pretty much anyone but it would end up being counter-productive when I started rendering, for example, and my art would end up looking "good" but I'd be unhappy because it didn't look the way I wanted it to look, or the process would end up not working for me. In the end it all depends on what you want and what makes sense to you, which involves a very wide range of options.

So basically the specific exercises I like to do are:

"draw alongs" (books, yt artists whose art style matches my own)

line exercises (even more brainless and I like to do that when I'm a bit busy)

[pascalishere]

Ok, here are some thoughts on Death Grips, cause I forgot earlier whoops

I’ve been feeling some latent frustration with how I see a lot of people online engage with their music. I don’t mean to be some kind of elitist about this, but a lot of the (deserved) praise that I see them getting feels kind of…detached? It’s almost always coming from the kind of “woah, this music is crazy…but it works somehow?” mindset. I know I’m absolutely making a strawman argument here, but I’ve seen it enough times to where I feel like it’s not just a person I’m making up in my head to be mad at.

I feel like some people don’t get that DG isn’t good in spite of the “insanity”, they’re good because of the “insanity”. And I’ll admit, a lot of their music can be quite alienating! They use lots of abrasive textures, MC Ride’s performances can get very intense, it’s all a lot. But I feel like there are tons of moments of sheer beauty within DG’s discography. The riff from Centuries of Damn comes to mind, it’s so tired and desperate sounding, it’s incredible.

Hearing the incredible art that DG puts out is great, but to see a lot of people in it for the pure spectacle is a little disheartening. And I’m not trying to claim to be the only one who really gets Death Grips, at least I hope I’m not. I just really only see people talk about how crazy they are instead of how flat-out good they are.

Like, each member of DG itself is so talented!

Ride’s ability to channel that much visceral feeling into his performances is impressive on its own, it’s a miracle his throat hasn’t completely given out yet. But it feels so shitty to pigeonhole his style into “Funny homeless man screaming”. First of all, that’s just fucking rude. Second, that’s so reductive! Screaming isn’t all he does, he’s a really damn versatile performer! I never feel like he’s phoning it in or reusing a vibe, he does exactly what needs to be done, every single track. Lots of the most memorable moments of DG’s music are when Ride drops the yelling, and just talks. It’s chilling every time. Plus, his ability to keep a consistent flow over the off-kilter production is a feat all on its own.

Speaking of which, I think Andy Morin might be one of my favorite music producers right now. Right up there with Arca, Patricia Taxxon, Nigel Godrich, that real legendary shit. Like Ride, it never feels like I’m hearing the same thing twice. Each DG track sounds and feels so distinct, even while keeping within the general industrial, electronic, and punk sound palettes. Even my least favorite DG project in terms of production, NLDW, never ever felt lazy or unfinished. I think it’s an excellent project, I just don’t personally enjoy it as much as other DG albums, for very superficial reasons. On projects I prefer more, I still strongly feel that he’s very skilled at creating unique sounds, while still maintaining a sense of familiarity within the outlandish production.

Regarding Zach Hill, I think his drumming speaks for itself. Like, watch any video of a live Death Grips performance. That man goes absolutely ham on the drums, every single time. It’s a wonder he hasn’t snapped his wrists more often. Admittedly, he is the DG member I have the least to say about. I tend to get lost in the electronic elements of most DG tracks, I don’t pay as much attention to the drumming. I also have yet to check out Hella, but I’ve heard nothing but good things about them. Moving forward, I’m definitely going to try to keep my ears open to what he’s doing while the other elements of the tracks pass me by. I’m certain I’ll find something incredible.

Put together, they’re easily one of the most unique and consistently astonishing bands ever. I say that with my full chest. I don’t know, I just really like them! Sorry for the rambling, I just wanted to get all of this out there. Bottom line, Death Grips Good.

[irkimatsu]

physical or emotional characteristics you would like in a human husk

Sorry for sitting on this for a bit! I'll admit, part of me was being autistic and overthinking this. Is this about what I'm personally attracted to in Husk, or what I think would be best for his story in canon? Is this about what he was like before he died, or what he'd be like if he could be human again after everything that's happened to him in hell?

I'm going with "how I see him as a human on Earth before death, and who I thought he was regardless of my own personal attractions and biases". (Well, a little bit of my own biases. No such thing as unbiased fiction. But accuracy is my priority on this one.)

First and foremost - human Husk is black. I will die on that hill until canon tells me otherwise. There could be other pieces of heritage in there somewhere - I don't think I'm qualified to speculate on that too hard - but as far as skin tone goes, he's black. I also like when art gives him dreads, it just looks right, though I'm not as much of a stickler on that matter. Gotta have some scruffy facial hair, though, I demand that much.

As for why... is it all the good fanart that made other options look wrong in comparison? Is it because he's voiced by Keith David and I just can't imagine a white guy sounding like Keith David? Those are definitely pieces of it. I know it's not canon and I'm not out here attacking people who lean otherwise on Husk's race, but as for me, he's black, end of discussion. On the shorter end of the average as far as male heights go, but he's not noticeably short in isolation. Definitely taller than my short and stout self. Weight probably fluctuates depending on his situation - his finances as a gambler would be all over the place, and so would his diet, varying between lavish meals in overpriced steakhouses, and dinners at home consisting primarily of cheese puffs and bottom-shelf beer. I do like him with a gut, though. Maybe he's just naturally predisposed to having a gut, even when he's starving. (Told you there'd be some bias.)

I'd definitely want to put decent thought about what it was like for him as a black man growing up in early 20th century Las Vegas, but without being 110% certain that anything I'm saying makes any fucking sense, I'm biting my tongue on that one. Definitely a topic I'm interested in, though.

I should also probably mention that yes, I know it's a common headcanon for Husk to be a trans man. It's interesting! I have no actual reason for not writing it myself. Not sure what to do with it, I guess? If it was canon I'd of course pay more attention to that aspect, but for now, whoops. You guys have fun, obviously! Just like with the popular ship, if anyone ever took "Irk doesn't write this thing" as "Irk thinks that thing is bad" I'd cry, don't do that

I like the name Oscar for him while alive. Saw it in a post on here once and it just felt right. Thank you, random Tumblr user I forgot who you are whoops again! Until canon tells me otherwise, he's Oscar in my heart.

I think his dress style while alive would match a similar trajectory to his Overlord-to-servant transition - a snappy dresser when he can afford it, would never be caught dead looking the least bit disheveled. Button-up shirts, freshly ironed suits, the finest colognes! But after he's a washed up divorced drunk, who gives a shit. His clothes are a lot more tattered now... but honestly, living in a place like Vegas where half the population are various flavors of downtrodden, washed-up addict, he doesn't stand out. At least he has that going for him.

Personality-wise, I think as a child and a young man, he was a big dreamer, even a bit of an attention whore. He's wanted to be a performer for as long as he can remember, ever since he started seeing magic shows and jazz bands as a kid. He may still be introverted in the sense that putting on a show is exhausting and he needs his space, but when he's in the right frame of mind, the stage is where he belongs. He worked so, so fucking hard to be a performer! He really could have been something if Vegas didn't chew him up and barf him out...

That dreamer attitude also made him a serious romantic when he was younger. If you accept a date from that man, he will spoil you. Flowers, fancy dinner (if he can afford it), a personal serenade... he doesn't fall into actual honest-to-god love very often, but when he does, he falls hard and puts everything he has into showing the person he loves that he cares. He does lean toward monetary gifts = affection, though... please, Husk, sometimes your partner really would be happiest with a hug and a song. But he doesn't see it that way, he has to keep gambling to be able to afford the lavish lifestyle his lover deserves. Fucking Vegas.

As an older man on Earth, after a turbulent divorce and decades of addiction and depression, he's a lot like the version of himself in the hotel. Doesn't give a shit about much besides where he's going to get his next drink. He does miss his dreams and wonder what could have been if he didn't screw it all up... but there's no point thinking about wasted opportunity. It just hurts. Drink it away instead. He spends his last few years alone, gambling and drinking and just waiting to finally fucking die.

Death was supposed to be a second chance for him, you know? He could pick himself, become someone again! Too bad for him that "someone" was once again a gambler, and that addiction is always going to catch up with him...

This is a rambling mess. I apologize! I just hope I answered the question correctly! Sorry if I messed it up!

[the-grubdog]

Bernard Headcanons

Just headcanons I have for him! Not quite complete but what I'm able to articulate. Also has a few headcanons about Nijo in general mixed in :3

Nijo geographically is like the Alps. Just, most of the planet is mountainous. There's a few places with other kinds of biomes though, namely valleys where you can find forests and swamps.

homes and cities are generally built around the mountains. Little terra forming is done, just not feasible.

Basically every Nijonian is black.

Nijonians have some bird like and lion lile traits. You've seen them if you've seen my Bernard art. They're based on griffons.

Bernard grew up in a rural-suburban area. Smaller population. Makes his history with Santi make more sense, but also kinda funnier.

Was close with his neighbors, though neither had kids his age. One neighboring household raised chickens, the other raised rabbits. He'd call the new chicks born every spring "chicken nuggets". Some of them did eventually become chicken nuggets.

Bernard is an only child, and was raised by his single dad. Haven't decided what happened to his mom yet.

When he was young he was mostly babysat. Then once he was "old enough" (he wasn't really they were just struggling for money and couldn't afford babysitters anymore) he was left home alone for the most part while his dad busted his ass trying to take care of them.

his neighbors couldn't babysit him but they did keep an eye on him.

is a smoker. Struggling to quit (Yonny's helping). He started back in highschool.

he used to garden a lot as a kid but not so much any more. Had a vegetable garden.

always wanted to be a pilot, worked a temp job to pay for flight school and was stoked to get in.

was super excited to be invited onto the rescue corps!!!

seems lazy, is not. Just major ADHD and also executive dysfunction. Sleeps a lot as a result too.

is incredibly strong, fairly protective too. Just too chill and tired to bother most of the time

seriously this man has the patience of a saint. A saint berNAR-

Also from ADHD, he either puts his 100% into something or he doesn't bother trying. All or nothing babyyyyyyyyy

has a southern accent. Also picked up a little bit from other languages and uses the words at random. Not always in correct grammar but the meanings are fairly accurate.

the way he talks sounds flirty but he's not actually always flirting with people

that being said, he does "flirt" with his friends intentionally as a way to mess with them. They're used to this.

and he's had many many many relationships over the years. Longest one lasted barely over a year. Most of them were flings and one night stands and that kinda thing. He's not against commitment he's just been very unlucky thus far.

I haven't decided on the exact nature of his picky eating, other than that he consistently likes Nijonian cuisine (so, Southren and Soul food) but hates foods like hot dogs and bologna.

[getvalentined]

Something else that I think a lot of people in fandom need to remember—particularly my main fandom, particularly right now—is that every piece of popular media we enjoy is a product.

I'm talking very specifically about popular media here, mass media studio projects with marketing budgets and teams of hundreds or thousands of people, so put down your whataboutisms about indy projects and creating for the love of the craft and please meet me where I am actually standing.

Now, to be clear, good media is very rarely something that the creators see as nothing more than a profit endeavor. This is their work, and they want it to be good! That's why they started creating things in the first place!

However.

The development of popular media is inherently profit-driven, and the act of monetizing that media isn't inherently greedy or predatory. This applies all across the board, really; if you have a problem with the people who made an award-winning piece of media wanting to get paid for making it, you also have a problem with a tiny artist like me having a Patreon. By insisting that any creator trying to monetize their work has to be doing it strictly out of greed and must only have chosen to create because they wanted money is bullshit—in demanding that any creator do what they love to do exclusively because they love it and not because they need to eat and pay their bills, you're devaluing the entire concept of art.

There are legalities at play for some fields—fanfiction is a profitless endeavor because it's illegal to monetize, that doesn't mean those people don't deserve financial support—but that's a tangent we're not going to go off on right now. Again, meet me where I'm standing, not where you might think you found a "gotcha" to disprove my point.

I'm not saying "waaah think of the studios," I'm saying that insisting a work of popular media should be both accessible enough to build a big fandom where you can have a huge global community (hence the "popular" in "popular media") while also having absolutely no monetization in any capacity is absolutely ludicrous. It would be cool if that were possible, but it's not. Not at this scale, not in this way.

If you believe that the only way for creators to prove that they "respect" their own work (whatever the hell that means) is for your favorite piece of popular media to be entirely and permanently unmonetized, released globally and consistently maintained out of the goodness of the creators' hearts, you're on the wrong side of this argument.

At the end of the day, regardless of your feelings or your fandom, one fact continues to ring true:

Popular media is a product.

It always has been. Products need to be paid for, one way or another. Going on unhinged tirades about paying for a piece of popular media in your favorite series because you've decided that creators continuing to create new titles in one of their favorite series to work on means they have no respect for the original work they created is so far off the path of common sense it boggles the mind.

To get more specific to the fandom in question: you know this is a video game, right? The original was too! Whatever copy you played, however you played it, someone paid for it. It was monetized. The sequel film also cost money. So did every other game in the series. Every single title, all of which were developed with oversight from the same team and headed by the same people, the same writers and directors and artists, has been monetized. The only difference with the new one is that the monetization is shittier—but it's also entirely optional!

This game is important to you, I get it—it's important to me too! But as a creator, as an artist, I can't even fathom the mindset that putting multiple years and millions of dollars into the development of a product in one of the most popular IPs in the field and monetizing the result is "undeniable proof" that the team behind it are bloodsucking fiends with no love for their craft and no respect for their audience.

These are the same people that made the first one. The one that you're saying is the best thing ever created. They wrote that, they designed that, they directed that. If they want to keep playing around in the universe that they made, they're allowed, and we can't expect them to do it without seeing the result as a product because THE ORIGINAL WAS ALSO A PRODUCT.

And if you have a problem with any of that, guess what?

YOU DON'T HAVE TO PLAY IT.

Being nasty to the people who are interested, who are enjoying themselves, declaring that you are the true fan and they're all disrespectful idiots and infants with no sense because you don't like that popular media is always a product is, frankly, much more disrespectful and infantile behavior than someone sitting on the bus playing a fucking mobile game for fun.

Also the previous mobile title they did that lasted less than a year was killed because of actual real life financial fraud, not because of a lack of interest, downloads, or concurrent players. At the time that it got the axe, they were in the midst of approving a third wave of ambassadorships, they had active sponsorships running in the game, it was doing well—particularly for being the series' first foray into a new genre. But, to the shock and bewilderment of everyone in the entire world, we are in the timeline where the co-creator of Sonic the Hedgehog used his position in the development of a Final Fantasy VII battle royale mobile game to facilitate insider trading. Look it up.

[wordstome]

For the character ask game! ❤️

2. and 3. (Favourite and least favourite canon thing about König)

4. If you could put this character in any other media, be it a book, a movie, anything, what would you put them in?

9. Could you be roommates with this character 🤪?

14. Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character.

25. What was your frst impression of this character? How about now?

2. My favorite canon thing about König His enormous co— Considering there's so little canon content of him, every little detail about him has become an integral part of his characterization, so it's hard to pick a favorite. But if I had to, it's probably his sheer anonymity: the other operators, even the fully masked ones, have a full name. König is just the German word for king. Girl...who the fuck is this guy??? Combined with the sparsity of his bio, his whole vibe is incredibly mysterious. You could launch a thousand headcanons on him and they check out. He's just a fun character to come up with ideas for.

3. Least favorite canon thing about König His voice actor...look, I want to make it very clear I respect Jim Boeven's work. He's great at his job and his work as König is both well done and provided a lot of sorely needed insight into his personality. I don't even dislike his voice itself: a lot of people on tiktok (children) don't like his voice because they think the accent is goofy or they're disappointed it's not Corpse Husband-deep. I think his voice is really sexy and has so much personality. But man...I wish his voice actor was a better person. Or at least stayed off the internet. (This doesn't bother me as much as it bothers other people, though. I just forget Boeven exists most of the time)

4. If you could put this character in any other media, be it a book, a movie, anything, what would you put them in? Oooooh, delicious idea. I've actually played with the idea of putting him in different aus/intellectual properties, everything from Star Trek to ACOTAR-style high fantasy. But the answer is very obviously A Song Of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones). I mean.........come on. Come on. He's like if the Mountain oozed sex appeal (Sorry to Gregor Clegane fuckers) and was slightly less awful (at least König works to take down human trafficking cells). There's this scene in the first book at Daenerys's wedding to Khal Drogo where part of the celebration is that there are dancers and Khal Drogo's men just grab them and fuck them right then and there. It's clearly meant to be shocking and not a turn-on, but the way it was described was literally all I could think about while reading Fatum. Good God.

9. Could you be roommates with this character 🤪? Yes and we would have the nastiest se— Look, I'll be honest with you. In real life, I would stay a million miles away from this man. I would never even have the chance to cross paths with him. But if we just happened to become roommates? ...yeah, actually. As a military man he probably keeps his spaces tidy as a habit, and he'd be gone most of the time on deployment while still paying his share of the rent. He also likely keeps to himself and wouldn't be bringing around friends to disturb me (my poor guy). I'm not conceited enough to think that I'm so gorgeous and sexy that he would be too intimidated to talk to me, but I do think he would avoid interacting with me in general, which ideal in a roommate for me. In exchange, I pretend not to notice my underwear going missing or that I don't hear him say my name while he jerks off! Win-win.

14. Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character. I need to go find these posts and add them to the Königcore bible, but there's this one post with accompanying art that's basically like "kpop boy airport fashion Horangi x dad on a fishing trip König" with a picture of König in these waders and it's so cute. Also that one post about several COD characters' fashion senses, where König's mostly consists of jackets and sweatpants. I love both of those aesthetics! My favorite outfit to imagine him in, of course, is a black compression shirt and gray sweatpants with no boxers...

25. What was your first impression of this character? How about now? First impression: the hood is both creepy and corny as hell Now: *slams down an essay-length diatribe on him as a character* how much time do you have to hear about my insane boyfriend

[iliiuan]

I'm going to make a running list of things that make little to no sense in A Memory of Light. Things that unleash fury in my heart.

So far, I've got:

The Dragon's Peace

No really. This treaty is such nonsense I can't even articulate fully how bad it is. Add on top that Rand saved two thrones for his girlfriend and then turns around and says "No one get greedy now! Only one country per ruler!" Just gross.

Elayne running the Last Battle

Excuse me, what? She has zero experience. Again with the favoring your girlfriend nonsense. (From a character standpoint, she does make sense, being the skilled diplomat. But she's presented as war leader, which is not really her skill.) Anyways, it should have been Mat, obviously, but Sanderson couldn't manage that one simple plot point.

Ok, now she's in the Braem Wood being a pest because she can't believe the capabilities of the Two Rivers archers. WHY IS SHE EVEN THERE? She should be at the central command post, not running sorties on one of the battle fronts. What a complete disregard for chain of command.

Everyone deciding that Caemlyn absolutely must be rescued

I... don't get it. It's lost. It's far south, providing a magnificent distraction to the Shadow. Set up a kill net around the city, like whatever Rand had used on the Waygate in Shadar Logoth. Trollocs leave the city, trollocs get dead.

Perrin saying that there's no way to destroy the Waygate

Um, excuse me, were you not paying attention AT ALL to Loial's lectures? You remove both Avendesora leaves. Like what is even going on here.

Rhuarc and Amys insisting that the Aiel can do whatever the fuck they want at Shayol Ghul.

They just signed the Dragon's Peace and agreed that Elayne would lead. There is no way under ji'e'toh that they would immediately ignore their pledge.

Not inviting Seanchan and Shara to the party

Yes, I'm still bitter that not a single Aes Sedai thought to go check on Shara.

Also, Tuon definitely should have been there. My need for thoroughness and consistency demands it.

The numbers don't seem right

I haven't done the math, but there seem to be too many trollocs (where was there space for so many? And what did they eat?) and too many armies of the Dark, with a very small showing of forces for the Light. And then the small matter of so many channelers being turned. Like, I get that it would be a difficult war to win, but the numbers seem really skewed to me.

The Horn of Valere

Rand really didn't put together that Mat wasn't bound any longer? (Maybe not, ok ok, but still seems like he would have pondered it more.) Egwene really went to the Field of Merrilor to prepare for The Last Battle and didn't bother to bring the Horn of Valere with her? What level of unprepared bullshit is going on over here?

The Ogier

The world doesn't have enough food, so the most important thing the ogier can do is... fight? NO. Sure, send the warriors out, but have the rest sing food to life. I just. What a waste. (And a rather large lack of creativity.)

Pevara and Androl

An Aes Sedai (you know, the women who perfected the art of not responding to emotion) who's been alive over a hundred years (so she's definitely practiced) and is in the Red Ajah (you know, the Ajah that oddly doesn't have Warders), in a moment of panic, bonds a man who can channel.

I also was annoyed on my first read by having these randos all of a sudden occupying a rather large portion of the pov. After 14 books with a rather breathtaking cast, why are we exploring new people? I don't get it.

Cannon Misuse

They lined 100 cannons in four ranks across a road. That's 25 cannons across. That many cannons *might* fit across the monstrous 14 lane freeway behind my neighborhood. Maybe. That's *way* too many cannons for a forest road to nowhere.

Perrin Hesitating

You know, we finally have Rand being rational about female combatants, and now Perrin is hesitating over a fucking Forsaken? He didn't hesitate over the Shaido, so I'm calling bullshit. He would have taken Hessalam out immediately. Moonhunter maybe not, because he didn't put together who she was until it was obvious she was helping him. But going after Heartseeker is like starting a hunt, and my boy would NOT squirm just because she's a woman.

Dreamwalkers Abandon the Dream

The Aiel Wise Ones, for all their bluster, turn out to be neither particularly wise, nor particularly brave. "Ooh, the Dream is so scary now! We better stay away!" Meanwhile, the Forsaken continue to roam. Did they ever even consider hunting their enemy? Did they even notice the purple domes? Do they care at all about anything beyond the end of their noses?

And Egwene isn't any better. Instead of being on a battlefield pretending to be a warrior, she should have been in the Dream, hunting with Perrin.

The whole thing was really disappointing.

Gareth Bryne

How, exactly, is Graendal able to compel Gareth when he's Siuan's Warder and they're always together? She should have been noticed and rebuffed.

Plot Lag

Yes, it's a problem through the entire series, but The Last *Battle* ended up being a book and a half political mess plus lots of blood and gore. The whole Black Tower debacle? Should have been resolved already. Perrin hunting Slayer? Should have been resolved early, so that he's leading the Hunt as Rand *enters* Shayol Ghul. Mat getting fitted with Seanchan attire? Should have happened instead of sitting in Caemlyn for a month, because there's no way that letter doesn't just fall open after a few days, bellowing smoke and yelling that trollocs are about to invade.

Moiraine

She is constantly expressing emotions. This is not my Moiraine. What alien did the Finn return to us?

She's also back to giving really bad advice. I thought she had grown out of that? Le sigh

Story Imbalance

I sincerely thought that the war part would be maybe a third of the book, and then we'd get into the aftermath. I guess I was naive.

The Last Battle

Who the fuck approved a chapter over 150 pages long? WHO? Absolute insanity.

[leavingautumn13]

What equipment and programs do you use to make your art? Your about says you're self taught, what helped you learn? And does anything specific give you inspiration for your current style or what you'd like to achieve in the future? I really like your art❤️

ahh!! hey, thank you so much!! <3 that's so kind of you to say!!

easy questions first: for digital art i use a wacom intuos tablet and paint tool sai, which is the only setup i've ever used. i've been trying to get into clip studio paint but something about it just doesn't stick with me. i think i need more practice.

for comic panels and lettering i use adobe indesign, and export as png to before putting them in sai.

everything else under the cut so this post isn't miles long

i've been drawing ever since i was a kid, but until middle school i mostly just drew animals or little notebook paper comics about animals. i grew up on a farm so there were lots around, and drawing from life is something i think really helped. like, there's a difference between knowing what a cat looks like and being able to pick one up and see how its bones and muscles fit together, being able to watch it change how it moves around depending on what it's doing, whether it's catching a mouse or playing with another cat or curled up asleep, and being able to break down that anatomy and movement into simple shapes. i'm a pretty visually oriented person so knowing how a thing functions or fits together as simple shapes helps me visualize it in my head and imagine how it would look in different poses or from different angles.

around middle school i moved onto drawing people, again from life while sitting in a cafe or at a park. actually being able to get what's in my head down onto paper in a way that satisfies me is something that i think just took practice. only recently (like, late last/this year) have i been consistently satisfied with the way i draw things.

sorry if that sounds weird or clinical--this is the first time i've been asked to explain how i learned to draw and this is the best way i can think to say it.

honestly, finding my own style has been looking at what i like about other artists' styles and trying to figure out how they achieved that. i did a lot of redraws of other peoples' art as a kid. for me, trying to replicate something makes me really think about why i like the way it looks. i try to lean towards a semi-realistic style--i don't like drawing super realistic all the time, i love cartoons and think they have a lot of character--but i also don't want to lose the underlying anatomy or structure because it helps my brain make sense of stuff. so i try to find the middle of the road, where things are simplified but still structured, if that makes sense.

brief tangent... that's why i draw pokémon the way i do. they're not on model, they're how i imagine they would look if they were real animals, based on the sort of animals they're... uh, based on. so like for this piece, because camerupt is a cow/camel hybrid, i looked at a bunch of pictures of cows laying on their sides, what their hooves and skulls looked like from certain angles, etc. and then i could draw what i wanted.

as for improvements, i need to get better at backgrounds and realistic coloring/lighting. color theory is one of those things that i understand... well, in theory, but when it comes to practice and paying attention to it when i color, i need work. and because i've mostly drawn animals and people my whole life--organic stuff--i find buildings and backgrounds difficult, so i tend to avoid them. and i need to not do that.

[xanderxone]

9/18/2023

Journaling Is Stimming

The moment I fell in the autism rabbit hole, I started devouring videos and the ones about stimming always seemed to grab my attention. One idea that was consistent across all the videos is that autistic people stim to release excess energy that gets built up in their bodies. It has to do with the idea of autistic inertia which I will probably make a post about sometime later.

I have always had what I considered to be an overactive imagination. I often get stuck in my own fantasy worlds in my head or replay conversations or fret about the future or fret about the present or get so lost in a special interest that I can think of nothing else. Wow. I actually spend way more time in my own head than I thought. And while there are times where this is something that I absolutely love about myself, like when I have to drive 3 hours on a long boring highway to my hometown to visit my family. Sometimes I actually look forward to just having 3 hours alone in a car to list to music and let my mind roam. But for the other 99% of my life, I need to actually be present and paying attention. So now I will be on the lookout for my tell-tale circular thoughts so I can just write them down and get them out instead. I've also started to employ a similar strategy at work because I often find myself in situations where I have a question about something that will probably get answered later but I just want to make sure I don't forget to check it. And I have actually started to just write those things down in OneNote and saving them to review later. AND WHEN I TELL YOU THE STRESS THAT HAS JUST WASHED OFF OF ME BECAUSE NOW I KNOW I WON'T FORGET IT LATER IS PALPABLE. I feel like I love my job again and I feel the joy coming back that was gone for a long time.

And so, dear reader, I think if I start writing down anything that gets stuck inside my head, it will be a stim and move all that anxious energy outside of me. And in turn, I will be able to harness a lot more of my mental capacity for other, more important things. AND I WILL STOP FUCKING FORGETTING EVERYTHING.

An interesting emotion that all of this is bringing up is one of shame and humiliation. And I know that it's irrational so I'm keeping it at arm's length to avoid being truly upset by the emotion, but it's existence is intriguing. God I sound like a robot sometimes. Anyway, I think its because I feel really dumb for not realizing all of this sooner? I do struggle a lot with depersonalization issues which I think has also led to me not realizing I was trans until... the same time I learned I was autistic. Look, it's been a really long year, okay? But I think all of the things that have made me incredibly good at masking all these years are the same things that have made me feel like I have a very limited sense of self. I think I'm gonna work on developing one.

One last thing: I always felt like a journal had to be neat and organized and pretty or else it wasn't right. And so I would spend all this time trying to get it perfect and it wasn't sinking in that the whole point is to journal your thoughts and get them out. And so I just felt like it did nothing for me but it's because I was dumb. This blog will be a way for me to stim when I need to get things out. And then I'll also keep a pretty journal full of pages of stickers and pieces of paper that I rip up and glue down that can be a creative outlet for when I need to get out creative energy (it's called junk journaling and if you are a little packrat gremlin who loves tactile doodads and thingies and art, you will love it. And all of the supplies are SO CHEAP online. Look it up on tiktok. Trust me.)

I feel like I might be getting an A in therapy.

--Xander

[nehirose]

like it would probably help if i ever actually talked about things anymore but see also: tired.

i've been out of work for a year. i was supposed to be able to take a break and then get back to it, but instead thing after thing that was more urgent priority and needed to be wrangled has happened. (this isn't isolated to me. by any stretch of the imagination.)

& the job hunt hasn't been great. the last interview i had was for mcdonalds and it went really well! but the gm was out of town and by the time they came back, the location had gotten more applicants. with prior experience. who got hired over me.

they still have the now hiring sign up. it was kind of a body blow to my ego but more importantly fed into the whole thing where -

i am struggling pretty hard with the recursive loop of untreated adhd making it like wading through hip deep cement to get anything - including and especially the things i desperately WANT to do and NEED to do to make any of this easier. get a job get insurance get meds. do paperwork get meds get job? - watch friends with more recent dx but usable insurance struggle to find providers get prescribed not just give up because they struggled their way into a stable place without help so what's even the point.

make art again. enjoy my hobbies again. which i have at least been actually functionally interested again?

partner has a good job and has been a godsend. we're much better off than we were a year and a few months ago, when i was the only one working. we consistently have rent covered, and money for food, the occasional action figure full of serotonin.

the schedule sucks (12 hour days dispersed out over a schedule that repeats every two weeks, rather than every week, and whether those 12 hours are 6am-6:30pm or 6pm to 6:30am switches every four weeks. it's predictable, just irregular, if that makes sense. we're currently on nights - well, i'm doing my best not to be, just adjusting the times for drop off and pick up. there ARE other shifts and teams available, buuuuuuu) uuuuuut the pay is amazing. by rights we should be fine all of the time, barring unforseen disaster. we're stable where we are -

it's just still a one bedroom shared with three people and two cats that is where none of us still want to be living.

we all need trips to the dentist. and follow up dental work. i need an eye exam and new glasses. i probably need to get my migraines more managed if i'm going to keep whatever job i do manage to get. the car needs headlights replaced and to investigate the horrible creaking noise when you are backing out in a turn. we should be doing a better job of trying to put anything into savings, but that's hard.

everything would be /just enough/easier with me bringing in any kind of income. possibly even better than good.

i've been beating myself up about this a lot.

i'm working on that.

i have an *incredible* team for support. my partner and my closest friend who i don't actually live with are both absolute rocks. patient as hell in all of this, but it's hard. willing to help me with getting things out & getting supplies acquired if i manage to get rolling on any one of multiple projects that are currently (finally) percolating. (my other close friends think i deserve to be able to have a break.) (i think that might be a middle ground.)

things ARE looking up. i'm still trundling ever forward and socially i'm so, so, so much happier and better off than i have been in a long time, it's just, y'know.

wading through slowly drying concrete is really, really hard. some days are better than others. things ARE going to improve, one stubborn step after another.

i'm just tired, man.

i'm tired.

i'll be okay.

(but i should probably go to bed.)

[omegalomania]

excuse me for just one second cause im having a Moment about austin we have a problem. like its a demo and its unpolished and rough around the edges but its so much like its so so so ANGRY and intense from the lyricism to the way patrick spits out the words to the instrumentation snarling up alongside him. the bridge ESPECIALLY when his voice drops and the instrumentation drops and he's snapping out these scintillating verses that pete penned and they are so. vicious. the LYRICS on this fucking song are so hyper-aware of the impact of fame and it makes sense cause this was a cork tree era demo but it's so ominous like it almost foreshadows where the band would progress after that record. the knowledge that fame is flash-in-the-pan, in a year no one will even care, the way that "sincerity is in" but they're not "ready for sincerity" they're all about lying because that's the ONLY way to hold anyone's attention. and the way the song tangles up whether or not any part of this IS sincere just underscores how fickle the media is about whether they want irony or earnestness; and even if they do want the later, do they really want it? or merely the performance of it? regardless of if you mean any of it you have to sound like you don't.

AND. the first verse. god damn. "i gave you pretentious / i gave you indifference / but you only want undressed and defenseless" sounds like it's discussing a relationship at first but when you pull back and look at it in a relation to fame in general it's like. oh. this is a verse that its blatantly calling out the focus on appearance. and not just that either. because when you think about the context it's in - of pete being so objectified and sexualized and played up as something he wasn't (the media figure of pete wentz being this sexy bad boy who never stops partying compared to the way most people interviewing found him really thoughtful and introspective and the way fans would describe him as almost shy in one-on-one encounters) and the way he lays it out there undressed and defenseless like it's so...you don't love me, you don't love my songs, you don't love the art i create. i gave you my words and i pretended i didn't want the attention (but i will die without attention) but in the end this is what gets you to pay attention. me, being a tease, being the eye candy. my words are "cheap" so this is what does it. who are you kidding.

it's all about the narrative isn't it. it's so important to possess the narrative. everyone loves an underdog. that's why you care. and when that's not enough anymore, then everyone loves a sexy bad boy. we're pretty boys for secret girls. we can be singing these words to whoever you want us to. and it's torturous. it's invasive. it's predatory. who wants to be reduced to a hollow image, a mere facsimile of what they are? who wants to be painted as shallow and vacuous and reduced to being the "hot one"? like i really can't state enough how gross this kind of thing was back in the day and let's not overlook the insidious racism underpinning it - the way this kind of attention was consistently directed at the biracial black man in the band, and how this would only spiral to even worse lengths only a few years later. and who would want to be reduced to their physical appearance, and little else? why would a poet and a musician and an artist want to be boiled down to eye candy?

but i will die without the attention. and if this is what holds your attention, then that'll be our narrative.

i'd tell any lie to keep you listening.

[hydrocodone-acetaminophen]

listening to a lot of DG lately half of the community notes on genius about Gmail and the restraining orders interpret it almost entirely as commentary on their status, what that implies, and saying shit like this:

which I think is.. a little uhhh gay!!!, kind of gives me the impression that whoever wrote this doesn’t really pay that much attention to the band? They don’t care about us, what we do, and what we think of their art. If they did they wouldn’t be making the type of music they make. Nearly every song they’ve produced acts as a testament to the severity of their apathy.

this could be me being crazy though the same way I assumed that one song by NMH was about incest and everyone told me I was retarded, but I think this song probably falls more in line with an aspect of personhood that ride consistently alludes to, and not to comment on the guy or make assumptions this is literally just what I’m interpreting this lyricism as, which is mostly just personal feelings about like. what I think is sexual assault/physical abuse kind of

28 minutes of pure noise and being shouted at about how much he hates “you”, asking for you to speak before he can’t stands you, wanting to shoot your body, lots of “violate”, this is wrong, I love you, what do you want, my life is fucked, can’t stand your voice, losing beliefs etc ‘mea culpa’ = self blame uhh he does this a lot, in so many other songs he talks about how he feels about his body, the disconnect from it, not caring about or trusting other people, etc. Fuck Me Out is one of the more egregious examples where he straight up asks you to fuck him but not to touch him, which to me reads, if we’re going with this theme, more literal than not. He’s clearly not averse to sex and I’m assuming through the content of other songs even craves it but this existing sex drive doesn’t negate a genuine aversion to touch. The line works both ways in which you could totally say he means intimacy on an interpersonal level but I think it’d make more sense that he likes sex conceptually but is uncomfortable with the idea of physically engaging.

anyway to sum up GATRO feels more like an extremely pained, chaotic vent from the perspective of a hurt person that has nothing to do with what this band thinks of its fans and also DONT USE GENIUSLYRICS.COM UNLESS YOU WANT TO GET ANNOYED :3