#i don’t have them designed all the way (shocker (not))

[yesandpeeps]

Ik tumblr is popularly a fandom art space, but I’m a fur oc artist at heart 🦇💫

[im-a-hoping-beetch]

Many people seem to get genuinely confused, whenever we, zutara shippers, mention how underdeveloped kataang really is. Usually, they’ll brush it off as us being delusional, bitter and you know the drill. Their main response to that, usually is: “How, could they possibly be underdeveloped, they had 3 seasons!?!”

The thing is they forget that the amount of time isn’t as important as what you do do with it. Cuz, yeah, Aang and Katara did have 3 seasons, but their relationship still managed to feel rushed as hell. Heck, even Bryke, out of all people, admitted to it. Which mostly as to do with a bunch of things that I’ll get into right now.

Let’s start with the fact that, Katara never actually shows any interest in Aang.

Now, many of y’all will probably come for me by citing how the cave of the two lovers or even the Headband have moments of her showing interest in him, but all of them end up falling flat at some point.

The cave of the two lovers:

The argument here, usually is“if she didn’t have any interest in him, why would she kiss him?” or “why would she blush at the idea of kissing him?”. The former seems to forget this is a life or death situation and that we don’t really know for sure that if there were another way to get out if this, she wouldn’t take it. For the latter, I’d like to say that blushing can have many significations such as, embarrassment. Which, here makes sense when considering what she says and overall demeanour, after suggesting to kiss.

Like yeah, a fourteen year old girl blushing bcz she’s embarrassed at the idea of having to kiss, her friend, out of all things, cuz you know… awkward. Can you imagine that (pun fully intended)???

The headband:

This one is going to be a ride, but stick with me. The arguments can range from “What about her jealousy while Aang is dancing with other girls.” to “What about the way she looks at him during the dance.”

Here, is said jealousy being shown:

And said look being done:

Now, yeah, I can absolutely see why these two exemples would be used as a way to prove her interest, but let me remind you that this is the same episode where we have this happen.

Yeah, the same episode where Katara is acting all jealous and giving flirty looks to Aang is also the same one where she pretends to be is… mother. While, I could go on about how it wasn’t the best idea on the directors or whoever was in charge of the episode part if it was their way of giving a glimpse of Katara being into Aang. The issue is, them doing so wasn’t completely farfetched either, because up until now it’s been established that Katara can be very motherly and she acts that way with almost everyone in the gaang. More specifically, the one with who she does so the most is, Aang.

I mean, even the show makes a point of poking fun at their mother-son dynamic on several occasions all throughout the show (ie. the don’t-rub-your-eyes-when-you’re-speaking scene in “The runaway” episode). So realistically, the two exemples shown way above could somewhat work, but only if you decide to completely ignore what episode they take place in, one that hasn’t really helped at stopping the mother-son dynamic allegations kataang has been getting, for years, now.

So, back to the development aspect, I think it has always been stunted from the beginning, because, fundamentally, the ship as always been designed to be Aang-centric. If you’d like more insight on that I’d recommend checking @starlight-bread-blog’s amazing post on the issue. But also, that their lackluster resolution is way much more obvious, cuz both are leads in the show. Katara's existence in the show, isn't solely there to serve as some love inerest for Aang. Shocker, but she's actually a MAIN CHARACTER in the show, meaning that we spend three seasons where we get to learn about her battles, fears and aspirations, none of which seems to involve a relationship with Aang.

Like yeah, the reason why The Ending Kiss™ feels so unsatisfactory is, simply, because, Katara doesn't like Aang (at least not like that). Katara, likes Aang, because the show said so. Now, stick with me, cuz I can already feel some of y'all ready to jump at the screen. Within the show, name a single moment where she ever comes to thinking of Aang in a romantic way. One that doesn't involve any external sources, such as someone suggesting about it or because of the given circumstances she has to. The answer is none. The only time we ever get to see her voice her ACTUAL opinion about it, this is what she says:

That's not even counting how her overall demeanor, from the body language to her choice of words seems to suggest that she's actually trying to let him down gently. Also, may I remind you that at that point THERE'S ONLY 3 FREAKING EPISODES LEFT BEFORE THE BIG KISS™ and this is where there at in their relationship. Plus, within the 3 episodes that are left WE NEVER GET TO SEE THEM TALK ABOUT IT, EVER!!!

This obviously was part of Bryke’s horrible attempt at the will-they-won’t-they trope. Which ended up playing right in their face, cuz like I mentioned they themselves had to come to glaring realization that kataang was rushed. Now, it could’ve been it, the creators realizing their obvious mistake and if they could, trying to fix it by giving us what seemed like the natural progression of their relationship, which was for it to end.

Instead, we got comics!Katara and oooh boy…

Basically, they decided that they would throw away Katara’s meticulously built characterization in order to make her existence revolve around, Aang. I kid you not, when I say that she isn’t allowed scenes, lines and actions that do not revolve around her “sweetie”.

Remember how I said that, Katara likes Aang because the show runners said so. This is an example of this cranked up to a hundred.

Essentially, when you start thinking about where these two are in terms of growth, kataang is the antithesis to development itself. On one hand it validates the regression of one (ie. the dropped chakra plot line), while simultaneously, having to strip any previously built characterization of the other (ie. comics!katara).

On that note, I’d like to remind people, how important Katara is to the story. Without her, the entirety of the gaang would be dead. Without her, there would be no story. Without her, there would be no Aang.

She deserved to have a voice within her own relationship and not for it to be stolen by two grown men who were still stuck in their childhood fantasy.

She deserved better.

[gingebreadbeetle]

Hey guys it’s me your favorite hazbin slop critic with more slop takes.

Something that has been bothering me lately, like badly is Lucifer in general. From his design, his status to his writing.

A lot of other smarter bloggers have already talked about Viv’s problems with daddy issue characters and making them sympathetic, so I won’t really discuss Lucifer’s writing in that regard as I don’t think I can add much.

I’m also aware some critics like Lucifer, as well as fans and to that I say, good for you! Like genuinely, if you like Lucifer from hazbin hotel, there’s nothing wrong with that! ( i literally like sir Pentious and he barely has any real screen time episodes or development so I cannot speak.)

Okay, rant from here on.

Vivziepop is so bad at religious imagery it is laughable. Lucifer’s theme of the garden of Eden and ringmaster of a circus sound good but she fails to mesh them together. I lowkey thought the snake on his hat was a worm. His design is the generic sexy man copy paste top hat bow and or tie and suit with weirdly shaped feet. Canes may or may not be included.

Lucifer doesn’t feel like Lucifer at all. I sort of understand what she was going for by making him a guy failure, but I feel like compared to other works with a similar episode count, cough DEVILMAN CRYBABY cough, she fails to accurately capture the intrigue and allure of Lucifer through his said persona and design.

While we’re talking about persona and design, Devilman crybaby’s Satan, Ryo, is so excellent. From the writing, the clash of ideals, the reveal to the final form and fight, it’s perfect. Satan and Lucifer are things I feel people cannot accurately capture in works, because while Jesus is a perfect human, Satan and Lucifer go beyond anything human as they are pure evil and, light.

So it’s really fucking embarrassing when a character who is also Lucifer has a similar arc ( clash of ideals, final form, fight ) and fails in every single way.

I understand that hazbin hotel obviously is a lighter show, that Lucifer isn’t trying to be the MAIN big evil nor is he, from the protagonists perspective, the villian, but for the ruler of hell, the light bringer and enemy of heaven … he doesn’t really size up and he’s another generic Vivziepop character in a pile of them.

To wrap this up, it’s just very disappointing. As someone who is very hyperfixated on demonology and the literature and philosophy of Lucifer, Viv fails to recreate an ounce of intelligence or thought that goes into writing a being of horror and evil.

Better Lucifer’s imo: Devilman crybaby, paradise lost (shocker guys ong who knew I’d reccomend it ) Sandman, and hot take but CSM public safety arc ( I could make an argument on how makima represents Lucifer but that’s another post sometime soon.)

[hyliedavenport]

✿ HOW TO KEEP A RELATIONSHIP SPICY ✿

It’s crazy to think, but Matt and I are actually going on 10 years of being together (and have known each other wayyy longer). We were literally babies when we first started dating, and I can’t believe it’s been a decade! Between all the personal changes that come with your 20s and 30s, to buying homes, traveling the world, having Brie, and Ailee, I’m really proud of us. A decade later, and we still truly enjoy each other’s company (most of the time, lol). He’s still who I want to hang out with more than anyone, and that cheesy *spark* is still there. Here are my tips on keeping things spicy, even 10 years in. ✿ Communicate It might not sound cute, but there’s a really easy way to build a wall between two people, and it’s a lack of communication. Whether it’s being open about your feelings, your woohoo life, your goals, whatever, talk it out. ✿ Get ready I do believe in the power of looking good, though, not only for yourself but for your partner as well. When you both start letting yourselves go, the spark can slip as well sometimes. And that’s not to say you can’t have days when you look like a sloth, because I DO, especially on days the kids are just everywhere, but for the most part, I at least pull myself together in some capacity. ✿ Have secrets Not the kind that ruins a relationship – the kind that enhances it. There are some beauty tasks that I don’t do in front of Matt because it takes a sense of mystery out of things. Same with some of his random guy things, too. I also think we still feel spicy because we keep each other guessing. Matt doesn’t know every single story about my life and vice versa. The element of surprise is important. ✿ Make time Whether that’s a day date (Matt and I love a midday coffee or lunch + rosé date), going to see a concert, or cooking dinner together at night, you need time for each other each week. Time when the kids or friends aren’t involved, and neither are your cell phones. It might look like Matt and I are both on our phones 24/7, but we actually get a lot of 1:1 time without them. ✿ Dress each other I heard this tip years ago, and it’s always stuck with me. Once in a while, let your partner pick your date-night outfit and you pick his. Obviously, you’re going to pick what you like the person in, which instantly spices things up. Matt ALWAYS chooses some mini dress, which isn’t the biggest SHOCKER in the world, lol. I actually wasn’t mad at all because it actually looked pretty cute, if you guys are interested in the dress you can get it here!

How do you keep your simlife spicy? <3

✿ YouTube Channel

✿ Personal Simstagram

✿ Business Simstagram

✿ Pinterest

✿ SIM+HOME DESIGN

[m4gicisland]

૮ ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶ ა damon reznor x f!traveller  — sfw / fluff / lazy proofread / 1.2k wc

it’s not as if damon had received a lot of gifts in his life. 

growing up, his birthday was never celebrated, if even acknowledged, and he’d learned that expecting so much as a “happy birthday” was a complete waste of time. he would be met with nothing but disappointment, and damon wasn’t a huge fan of disappointment.

it was just another day to live through. another year in which he had somehow avoided a one-way ticket to hell. because, let’s be honest, only in his wildest dreams would he be granted any bittersweet depiction of an afterlife. in reality, damon reznor was undeserving of second chances—even ones that he didn’t believe in.

throughout the years, the assassin had somehow acquainted himself with people that, deep deep deep down, had a heart. one big enough to bless him with gifts on a day that he had gone years without recognising.

but opening the door of his quarters at the ass crack of dawn to a member of the royal peg’asi family clutching a knife in their hands on such a day? the thought of an afterlife paled in comparison. that seemed more within his reach than whatever clusterfuck of a fever dream he was having right now.

“to what do i owe the pleasure, your highness?” resting one hand on the door frame, he took their brief silence as an opportunity to rack his brain for an explanation. the target on his back might as well be tattooed with all the people who dream to one day put him out of his misery, but he cannot recall doing anything that would push this peg’asi to darken his doorstep with a knife so early in the morning.

“i brought you a gift!” the princess exclaimed somewhat excitedly, although the uncertainty in her voice and inability to make eye contact made damon raise a scarred brow. a gift? for me?

“i hate to break it to you princess, but it’s the middle of july. i don’t think santa made plans to come early this year.”

“don’t be a dick, damon. i know it’s not christmas,” the princess’s gaze raised to meet his. “in fact, i’d say today is a bit more special than christmas...”

it took everything he had to not snort at such a comment. while damon reznor was a dick, he most certainly wasn’t dumb. he knew exactly what today was, but he had better things to do than pay any attention to that fact.

“i’ve gotta say, i’m surprised you even realised. i don’t remember telling you the day my mother made the greatest mistake of her life.”

“oh no, i’d say she made it long before that,” the princess grinned. “but that’s not the point! here-“ the royal waved the knife in damon’s line of vision, making it impossible to miss. “-take this.”

he took the knife with ease, weighing it in his hands. it felt familiar, his eyes narrowing with realisation. “this is my knife.”

“shocker.” the princess rolled her eyes, her smile lighting up her face. “the knife isn’t the gift, dumbass.”

“ah, but it would’ve been a very thoughtful one.”

“hey, you know any sane person would question why they’ve answered the door to someone with a knife in their hand?”

“ha, i doubt there’s even an ounce of sanity on this ship, princess.”

rolling her eyes, the princess bent down to retrieve something hidden behind her legs. damon failed to notice the messily wrapped object she’d kept tucked out of his sight.

despite the insanity of this situation, one question tugged at his thoughts. “seriously, how did you know?”

she held it out eagerly, pushing it into him. “i was having a nice little chat with ryona the other day and she let it slip.”

he had no choice but to take the gift into his own hands if he wanted to leave without a hole in his stomach. seriously, the force was unexpected.

“alright, alright, i’ve got it.” he held the gift out between the two of them to examine. it’s shape is reminiscent of the notepads that lived comfortably on his desk, only this one was wrapped up messily in about three different designs of wrapping paper. “but if this is my gift, why the knife? i don’t think threats are part of the tradition.”

“well, it’s been a while since i’ve been able to give a gift like this. i’ve always had so much fun doing the wrapping part and got sort of... carried away? i used too much tape, it’s quite difficult to open without cutting it somehow. i just thought it would come more naturally for you to use a knife.” the princess smiled apologetically.

“well, if the gift is shit at least i can stab it to show my disapproval.” damon laughed. “or maybe i could stab you for insulting my honour?”

the princess’s mouth gaped open in poorly concealed horror. “insulting your honour?”

“i didn’t even want to celebrate my birthday, but you went and got me a gift i hated just to make things worse. i’d be deeply offended.”

“whatever. just open it, will you?”

damon proceeded to cut the wrapping paper open with swift ease, almost confirming his suspicion of its contents. he peeled the paper away to reveal a doodle of an orange tabby cat glued neatly to the cover. it’s a sketchbook. flipping through it uncovers multiple illustrations of all different breeds of cats.

“i originally wanted to get an actual cat, but your birthday gift isn’t worth getting thrown out into space for.”

damon chuckled, although his gaze didn’t leave the sketchbook. “blondielocks definitely wouldn’t approve.”

the princess hummed in agreement. “instead we can torment him with my drawings until he caves and brings us the real deal as a peace offering.”

after examining every page, he closed the book gently and tucked it under his armpit. “thanks, princess. this is not what i expected when you showed up to my room with a knife, but i’m pleasantly surprised.”

the princess winked at the assassin before knitting her brows together. “hey, i think i deserve more credit. do you know how long it took to draw all of those cats? do you know how much debt i’m in with bash now? he’s expecting a lifetime supply of crayons after this project!”

damon clicked his tongue. “it’s impolite to demand things from the birthday boy. did you not learn anything from that expensive education of yours?”

folding her arms across her chest, the princess huffed a defeated sigh. “fine. happy birthday, damon.”

chuckling in amusement, damon leaned down to tuck a stray hair behind the princess’s ear and brushed a soft kiss to her forehead. that precious, adorable angry look quickly being replaced by one of shock. “thank you, princess.”

satisfaction painted his face as he stepped back into his room, leaving the flustered princess with the gorgeous view of his door once again.

as if the gift itself wasn’t a big enough shock, the warmth flooding his heart left him with more to think about than he’d have liked so early in the morning.

the princess was a fool if she thought he’d let the captain lay a finger on her artwork. it was his, and only his. he would treasure this gift for as long as he had to celebrate the tragedy of his existence.

an unexpected gift from the same person he’d threatened and tormented all those months ago. if she could forgive him, maybe he wasn’t all that bad.

maybe damon reznor was deserving of second chances after all...

[edgy-ella]

A new era begins!

(It’s hard to hear, but Sebastian said “criiiiinge,” which is why I told him to shut up)

I’ve wanted to play Sonic 06 for a long time. Not because it’s good, obviously—this is one of the most infamous video games of all time, perhaps the most to come out of the new millennia. No, I wanted to play it because I felt obligated to.

Of course, everyone “knows” 06 is bad, but how many people have actually played it? I hadn’t, and I don’t think it’s fair to shit talk a game no matter how bad its reputation is. I mean, I have my fair share of games that I like that have been critically panned as well as my fair share of games that I dislike that have been critically praised. No amount of lets plays and reviews can substitute actually experiencing a game for yourself. So, play it I shall. I also see it as a sort of hazing ritual as a Sonic fan.

A few years back, I got a used copy of the game on PS3 at GameStop for $10. Problem was, I didn’t have a PS3 to play it on. I thought one of my friends had one, but it turns out that she has basically every Sony console except the PS3 (as it truly had no games). This turned out to be a common trend with more and more people. But now, finally, I have a console to play it on—the PS3 at my college’s gaming club. So every Friday from 5-7 from this day on, I’m gonna be playing Sonic 06 until I beat it.

(A lot of people have asked me why I don’t just emulate it; you don’t understand. This isn’t just any game. This is Sonic 06. I don’t want to even for a single second blame any of the game’s…quirks on my computer’s poor specs or the emulator not being properly optimized. I want to play 06 the way God intended.)

After having played through Sonic’s campaign up to White Acropolis, I can say that it’s definitely the worst mainline 3D Sonic game that I’ve played. Wow, shocker I know. But, I think there’s a lot more to talk about here than just saying “game bad” and writing it off entirely. As someone who grew up hearing horror stories about how bad this game was, it is absolutely fascinating to analyze now that I’ve gotten a chance to actually play it.

I don’t think that Sonic 06 is inherently a bad game. A lot of its biggest issues are technical—the camera is awkward to control and often gets stuck, Sonic‘s physics paired with the awful camera make him a chore to move around with (though I don’t think he feels as sluggish as I’ve seen some people say; it’s more that everything else is fighting against him to make him feel slower than he actually is), the frame rate is HELLA inconsistent, yadda yadda yadda. With all that being said though, I don’t think the game is full of bad ideas, just bad execution.

The level design so far is okay. I’ve played through worse levels in a Sonic game, but I am also not very far into 06. Once again, the poor technical performance of the game is what holds the levels back, not their layout or geometry. Fun loop de loop sections are held back by Sonic being flung off them into the ocean because he was one degree off center, and the game doesn’t correct you on it like in similar parts of other Sonic games. I think the Mach speed sections would genuinely be a welcome addition to Adventure style games if Sonic had better handling (especially in the air). So the ideas there aren’t inherently awful, it’s just their execution (though you could argue that Wave Ocean plagiarizes Emerald Coast enough to say that the level design is lazy for taking so much from a level in a previous game).

Perhaps my most controversial example of this good idea, bad execution philosophy is with the boss fights.

Let’s talk about Silver.

The first boss fight against Silver is one of the most memorable things from Sonic 06. When people talk about the game, if they don’t think of the cutscene where Elise kisses Sonic or the more recent Real-Time Fandub, this is what they think of. It’s no use!, Silver’s voice line where he grabs Sonic in this game, ended up becoming something of an unofficial catchphrase of his (though the comics often have other characters say it to Silver instead). I remember seeing multiple Top 10 lists back in the day where this fight ranked among the worst video game bosses of the 2000s. Not just for Sonic. For all video games of that era.

Needless to say, I was not optimistic going into the fight. I expected to get stuck, to rage, to curse the day Italian hedgehogs ever gained telekinesis. But I have to say…

The fight really wasn’t all that bad.

Granted, I had hindsight on my side going into it. But for a fight that I expected to suffer through death after death after infinite loop after death for upwards of twenty minutes, I ended up getting through it in a little less than five minutes. And I know that exact number because I had someone else at club record me playing from the second Silver showed up in the cutscene to the second I saw my A Rank after I beat him.

(In case anyone’s wondering; I don’t want to post the video since other members of the gaming club appear throughout it, and I don’t want to publicly post a video of any of them online without their permission)

The fight is annoying for sure, but that’s more the fault of the game’s preexisting issues. Sonic's poor physics and camera control really work against you in boss fights. But this is nowhere near the worst boss fight in a Sonic game, let alone of any game in the 2000s.

Now that I've actually played through the fight, I can kinda see what the devs were going for here. You start out right in front of both Silver and a circle of rings, both of which you are naturally drawn to run towards. This will prompt Silver to grab and throw you when you get too close to him, but the timing of how long it takes each of you to reach the circle of rings means that you should have at least one ring on you before Silver catches you. The devs likely wanted to use this as a way to safely teach you how to fight him: keep your distance and wait for him to pick up something else so he can't pick up you.

This is a fine idea in theory, but there's a few things that hurt this approach:

1) It's extremely unlikely that you will beat Silver on your first try. The more you replay the fight, the more you are conditioned to avoid Silver—meaning that you will want to avoid the circle of rings he spawns right in front of at the start of the fight. This makes it much easier for Silver to come in and one-shot you, since you most likely won't have any rings to back you up. I fell into this trap once, and I'm sure there's video evidence of a bunch of YouTubers doing the same. Though, with that being said, there is a Ring container in the southeast corner of the arena (if Sonic starts facing north), so if you’re clever you can book it there at the start of the fight. Which is easier said than done, because of…

2) THE CAMERA. Once again, the game's awful, awful camera control really bite you in the ass for boss fights. This was also an issue I had with Egg Cerberus, but Silver's smaller character model and faster attacks really elevate the issue. Since there's no way to lock onto Silver and turning the camera is so clunky, he will often manage to sneak up behind you and grab you before you have a chance to find him. In that sense, Silver almost feels like an enemy in a horror game here; you'll move the camera around a little bit, get jumpscared when Silver comes into frame, and hope you react fast enough to not get instakilled by him.

3) The homing attack has a habit of locking back onto Silver even when you try to homing attack away from him, so keeping your distance after you hit him once isn't as easy as it should be. This isn’t that big of a deal because you can just drop down and walk away from him, you just really need to fight muscle memory to avoid it

Once again, this is a case of 06 being hurt by its execution and technical implementation rather than just being full of bad ideas. There’s other examples of that in the fight too, like Silver desperately needing a cooldown after he grabs and throws you. This would fix the infamous loop where he traps you against the wall as well as the problem I ended up running into where he throws you towards the sky then grabs you again before you can reach the ground and grab more rings.

Is Silver secretly the best boss fight in Sonic history? No! But I understand what the devs were going for with this fight. If the camera and controls were more polished, I don’t think anyone would think twice about fighting Silver, wall loop or not. I can see why the Project 06 mod has been lavishing in such high praise from the fandom; buried underneath 06's rushed, sloppy coding is a solid framework.

So overall I’m…cautiously optimistic for the rest of the game? I can’t believe I’m saying that about Sonic 06. Sure, the physics and camera is a mess, but the game isn’t unplayable like so many others have claimed in the past. Maybe it’s because I have a soft spot for the adventure games, but I’ve played worse games than this. I understand that the worst is yet to come, like Silver’s ball puzzle or the multiple one hit kills in the Final Story, but hey, if getting past “one of the worst boss fights in video game history” was a cakewalk for me, then maybe being pessimistic about the future is just no use.

The story is still hot garbage though lol

[doodlemsstuff]

While I’m at Monster High. Wanna give my opinions on G3(ik shocker) since it’s a bit controversial and mixed within the MH fandom.

Me personally, I don’t mind G3’s existence. I think G3 is way better than G2 from what I’ve seen and I like some of the character designs. Keyword some.

I like how it’s more inclusive. With Frankie being Nonbinary, Twila being autistic, and more plus sized characters being seen. I think it’s a good iteration for new fans to come across!! And if my brother, or kids I’m babysitting wanted to watch G3 I wouldn’t mind watching with them.

With that said. I do have some problems with the series. Maybe my opinion would change if I actually sat down and watched it. But I’m seriously not that interested in watching it. The trailer of the Live Action movie gave me a sour taste in my mouth and I didn’t want to see it. Though I’ve come across clips of the show on Insta and I’ve liked what I’ve saw! But just not interested.

But back to my criticisms. I don’t like most of the character designs. I either feel like the designs in this show are hit or miss, or were translated poorly to 3D. For example, Heath:

I seriously don’t like his design in 3D. He looks awful and he was one of the reasons why I was so disinterested in G3. But when I see his box art, he looks AMAZING! I love how he looks in his box art and it sucks so badly that his modeler(s) weren’t able to capture that. There are more monster high characters redesigns that i seriously don’t like

Another example is Iris. And no, it’s not bc of her being plus size. I seriously don’t care weather or not some characters change drastically or little. But her colors aren’t appealing to look at. I feel like if they added more pink like in Iris’s original design or played around with it more then I would like it. I see what they were trying to do but it just didn’t work for me.

Despite some of my gripes I have with G3’s character designs. They do update the characters in a way that I like.

I REALLY like Venus and Catty’s redesigns. Venus more bc it comes together so so so WELL. And her doll is especially gorgeous. I like the vibe they did with Catty, but I feel like her outfit needs to be tweaked. Maybe some more elements of her original dress should be added in more. Plus I just don’t rlly like her sleeves.

In conclusion, I like G3 and don’t mind it. Will I watch it? Nah. But I wouldn’t mind watching a clip every now and again and look at the dolls they’re producing. I like how inclusive the new generation is and how that inclusivity translated to the dolls. Key examples being Draculara and Catty. Being bigger dolls than the usual skinny dolls we are all used to.

I’m interested in seeing what G3 has to offer from a distance. I still have wayyyy more opinions on G3 that I didn’t bring up bc this post would be even LONGER. And my phone is bugging so badly bc of this.

[bonezlyy]

SILLY GUY INTRO‼️

Hello gays in my phone, my name is Ezra and I am a huge fan of the utmv

But the skeleton part specifically

Shocker I know mate, my wattpad got deleted because wattpad is ableist so my headcanons are going to be put here instead

I don’t really know how to explain myself so I’ll do a character intro thing instead because I’m a lazy little shit 🫶🏼

Okay the sheet looked ugly so Im gonna write it by hand

Name: Ezra/Ez

Age: 15

Pronouns: He/him + neos but I cant be arsed to make my card so they dont really matter

Gender: Trans ftm, genderqueer

Sexuality: Aegosexual, Cupioromantic (aroace), gay

And this silly thing

the pet name kinda things aren't romantic in any way btw, I call ppl pet names platonically

If I do this and you dont like it just tell me and I'll stop :3

This blog is a safe space for:

Queer people, I am gay and Aroace myself

Trans people, including xenos. Again, I am trans and use xenos myself

Disabled people, I am autistic myself

Poc people, I am mixed race

Furries/therians/otherkins

Age regressors (sfw)

Systems

‼️DNI IF YOU’RE QUEERPHOBIC, TRANSPHOBIC, RACIST, ABLEIST, A PROSHIPPER OR ARE DISCRIMINATORY TOWARDS ANYONE WHO IS JUST EXISTING AS THEMSELVES‼️

Oh and if you’re that transphobic identity that I can’t remember the name of, where you dont date trans people and ur flag is the PH colours

And any stupid labels like that (mangasexual, dreamsexual and shit like that)

No, this blog will not include nsfw headcanons, they’re teenagers

It will definitely have nsfw/dark jokes because that is most of my humour but no headcanons/scenarios.

This blog is gonna be messy asf but in a hot silly gay way

Anyway I hope you enjoy my blog, there will probably be a lot of shitposting and I might try writing stuff but it’ll be mostly headcanons I think (or hope)

Also, its gonna be a highschool au

Because gay angry teenagers in a big gay friend group

My fucking dream.

Also Toriel is a teacher at this school

Asgore is the head master

And Frisk, Chara, Chris, Asriel, Suzie, Noelle, Alphys, Undyne; and X Chara who will just be called X, are all students too but they kinda just float in the background

And all of the papyrus siblings are either dead, missing, non existent or little children

All the Papyruses will be like 6-12

OH WAIT

and I can’t draw very well but Im trying to learn so I this au can be an actual comic thing

Well it’ll be an AO3 story first but I want to make outfits/designs for them and draw some scenes from it :3

MKAY BYE, HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS FAGULOUS SHITSTORM 💕💕💕

Holy shit this thing is long

I need to learn when to stop talking lmao 💀

[rebelcharmings]

💖🤮❤️💜🃏?

💖 favourite character?

huge shocker - it’s lizzie🥰🥰🥰. i said this in my previous ask on which character i’m most like, and again it’s bc i find her relatable in a way. but other than that i just . idk love her character sm. i love how she tries to act all tough and like her mother but she’s actually just a sweetheart that wants friends and she just misses her mother and her homeland :(. that being said i love her character in the book just a little bit more than the show bc she feels more unhinged and i love it. and u can also properly see her development from wanting to be this isolated powerful queen to finally opening up to others. in the show i feel like it’s such a jump from her screaming Off With Your Head to everything and then spring unsprung she’s suddenly a sweetie that wants to design clothes for her friends. which isn’t necessarily a criticism bc i get that briar helped her realise she doesn’t have to follow her mother exactly, i just prefer how it’s portrayed in the book more. also am obsessed with her character design it’s just . so good.

🤮 least favourite character?

i’m sorry but.. crystal. just the way she acted was sooo ughhh i’m sorry ik that was the point the fact she’s a spoiled princess but it still annoyed me. like wdym “my pixies always help me when i’m in trouble” GIRL WHO CARES YOURE TWO SECONDS AWAY FROM FALLING TO YOUR DEATH JUST JUMP!!!! and i’ll admit i don’t know much of her original fairytale so i also thought the whole spoiled princess storyline w would’ve felt more satisfying with a character we’ve known for longer.. unless like i said it ties into her story somehow. but yea sorry crystal enjoyers she just ain’t for me

❤️ top 3 royals?

1. lizzie again obviously

2. dexter even tho it doesn’t make sense for him to be a royal but apparently he’s still technically one so . yes him. he’s just a silly guy who wants to prove himself and is also massively down bad for raven. when i read the books, anytime he spoke or was described i was just thinking “Aww i want to squish him”. i especially love his short story of before his legacy year i thought that was cool. wish we could’ve seen more of him being brave or proving himself somehow in the show. also fellow swiftie🤝

3. daring or apple… bc i love analysing both and defending them with my heart bc the show does them soo dirty. daring more so bc apple being a main character means she gets more focus on her motivations and development etc but daring doesn’t . the most ppl see of him in depth is….. epic winters…… if they don’t read the books they don’t get he’s actually a Good Man a bit self obsessed and a himbo but a Good Man who LIKES helping people and does it without hesitation. ppl just Don’t understand daring like i do……. i also love his and apple’s friendship dynamic . peak mlm and wlw solidarity.

💜 top 3 rebels?

1. raven!!! my other fellow swiftie🤝she’s just a cool girl idk what else to say, just love how she’s so unrelenting in her beliefs. even when she wants to sign the book her beliefs don’t change she just doesn’t want anything bad to happen to her friends. and same again when she Does sign the real book. but she’s still just a inherently sweet and nice girl despite it all i love her

2. darling. the charming twins both being my second favs is funny but yea she’s also cool and she is so badass in her book. but also a very considerate person especially when it comes to her brother . love her

3. maddie!! the silliest of girls. the show doesn’t expand on her more than the comic relief best friend but she is soo cool in the book especially when she has to take over for the narrator. that was a fun time. she’s just so cutesy and i love her

🃏 top 3 wonderlandians?

i’m being redundant now but. lizzie, maddie, kitty. there’s not much i haven’t already said for lizzie and maddie, but kitty has always been in my top list of fav eah characters bc i liked her mischievousness and as a kid i thought her powers were so cool too?? i also just like the mischievous cat characters i remember thinking torelai from mh was so cool too

[adamwatchesmovies]

Company of Heroes (2013)

To anyone who ever thought the idea of a Call of Duty or Counter Strike movie might be cool, I present the 2013 adaptation of Company of Heroes. The plot is the definition of generic - basically a checklist of war movie clichés. You don’t care about the characters, you don’t care about the action. Even if the film had ambitions to do more, the budget wouldn't allow it. This is the kind of movie you forget minutes after having finished it.

Near the end of World War II, a squad of American soldiers stumble upon a dying messenger who informs them of a critical mission. The Germans are finalizing the design of an atomic bomb. With their sergeant and most of the company dead, Nate Burrows (Chad Michael Collins) and Dean Ransom (Tom Sizemore) make their way towards the Nazi base.

There is only one interesting scene in all of Company of Heroes. A woman named Kestrel (Melia Kreiling) is about to step into the bathtub and turns to face Nate. The door is open. He’s surprised to see her. She gives him a look. What’s going to happen next? Will she invite him in? If she does, will he accept her invitation? He says he has two sweethearts at home… does he want to make it three? Then the scene ends. That’s it. Is it the nudity that makes this scene exciting? Not really (unless you’re 13). It’s the unknown. You don’t know what’s going to happen next, which is a breath of fresh air. The rest of this film is so predictable, so generic it’s practically a wartime lullaby.

This movie is a bore. The story is realistic - it’s not like Overlord, for example - so you know the Germans will not develop that super weapon. What you’d normally be worried about instead are the characters. Will Ransom make it alive and live up to the memory of his dead father who died in the first Great War? Will Burrows forgive himself for all the lives lost under his command? Even if these tales could hold your interest, the casting makes it impossible. Every soldier looks the same and the camera shakes so much it’s often hard to tell who’s shooting at who. The establishing shots are dreadful and the characterization almost non-existent. You’ll see a soldier fall over dead and think someone important just keeled over but no, it was some random nobody you didn’t even know was there too.

I don’t even think people who consider World War II to be “their favourite” war would enjoy this film… unless they were Americans blinded by patriotism. Most of the people we meet are stereotypes, from the burly Russian (Dimitri Diatchenko) to the gritty Brit (Vinnie Jones) to the slimy-looking Nazi commander with the metal brace on his leg (Richard Sammel). Over and over, the film exaggerates America’s role in the war to the point where - shocker - we learn the Nazis are planning on dropping their atomic bomb… on New York! Why a city overseas instead of a much-closer target like say… London? Because this movie thinks you’re a moron that won’t care about anything outside of the U.S.A.

The special effects are unconvincing but this flaw might’ve been forgivable had the rest of the picture been strong. Thing is, no writer would ever commit their good war story to a video game when just about any generic plot would do the trick. That’s why this film was basically doomed from the start. Company of Heroes has no opinion about the war, it has nothing to add to the conversation, it doesn’t have any new perspectives or a new story to tell. It has no reason to exist except to cash-in on a name. It’s a sure-fire way to make you fall asleep and little else. (May 1, 2020)

[daringdoombringer]

Got bored and made this, now that I have a decent amount of Ocs now. Is this just an excuse to summarize their backstories? Yea probably. One things for certain I am FAR NICER to my Ocs than a lot of people. They are my children and they deserve happiness goddamit.

Tier One: Moderate to Typical Oc Trauma/yea you need therapy after that you’re ✨messed up✨ now

Matthew Fencer: Originally made solely as a protagonist for an MCYT horror game thing before evolving into his own character (and the “AU” evolved into its own thing/story/timeline whatever) so yeah I’d say he’s been through some crap. Mofo had SIX very angry people-turned-monsters trying to kill him cause they weren’t happy he was entering their town without permission (actually, at all). He didn’t even enter on purpose he was just kinda SCP-spacial-anomalied in there by chaos magic from several miles away while he was tryna take a walk poor guy. Bro needed a lot of therapy after risking his life to break a curse. But he did (kinda) make a friend during that whole fiasco and he has a wonderful girlfriend who was glad to see him alive after he went missing so ✨yippie✨ happy ending

Anchihiro.ExE: Was a human until Sonic.ExE/Xenophae killed them and now it’s a disembodied soul trapped in a Sonic ROM hack they shouldn’t have clicked on that’s floating around the internet. Idk how it would get therapy at this point since it’s yaknow… DEAD. (I still have the Gacha edit thing I made of their death for a video last summer. There is so much blood.) Pretty sure I did Anchihiro the most dirty out of everyone since they’re the only one who actually dies. Not to mention they are somehow trapped with the fucker who killed it in the first place (who is trying to gather human souls so they can become powerful enough to leave the video game realm) so yeah imagine being stuck with your sworn enemy in a video game for all eternity #skillissue At least it’s befriended Fleetway and Tails Doll so they’re not entirely alone????

Cyroblast: Was an elven soldier sent to the Frozen Wastelands of Vesh to find a treasure, got badly wounded and JUST ABOUT froze to death until King Pen found him and managed to revive him with Mind Magic. Now he’s half Undead and often wondering if he should even be alive. Also he’s realizing the king he worked for is actually an a-hole and wouldn’t have cared if the entire squadron died, he just wanted the treasure that probs don’t even exist. And did I mention his nose and mouth are just g o n e? (the head I used in Imaginators didn’t have em and it worked it’s way into his drawn design :P) But hey, he’s great with a blizzard bazooka and made plenty of awesome friends at the Academy who are there to help him, so I’d say he’s alright.

Raystrike: Hers isn’t even as bad as these other three she just had a strict/kinda mean family and now she has really low self esteem because of that. She did meet a bisexual fire spirt (Spellfire) who’s just as confused about the world as she is and they’re gay now along with Mysticat being like the genuinely supportive parent she never got so ✨yayyyy✨ she’s healing we love that

Tier Two: you had like one or two milder things happen you’ll be alright

Foreclash: Bro just got teleported into a cave while trying to get the vortex at Shellmont Shores under control, and was stuck there for I think a week before Starcast found them. Other than maybe some mild claustrophobia/homesickness he’s fine.

Shield Shocker: just daddy issues lol. He just hates the fact his father (a very powerful tornado dragon) is evil and wants to spite him. The dad also plays a role with Cool Factor but we’ll get to that in a moment.

Shade Ace: found a weird spell in a book and it cursed them/turned them into an undead lizardy thingy don’t do necromancy kids

Mecha Quad: His workshop was attacked by Greeble air barons and he lost his legs. He should’ve died but he was like PEACE WAS NEVER AN OPTION and he built himself a new set of cyborg legs, tracked down the baron base and beat all their asses. Bro death/giving up could’ve been a one-way street but you somehow did a u-turn you go dude✨✨✨

Tier Three: no trauma, you’re good👍

I’m just gonna stick Cool Factor’s summary here cause something did happen to him but it wasn’t necessarily bad for him or anything. The curse Shield Shocker’s dad put on him just caused him to be part dragon and have his dry ice powers/magic and he was like “oh hey this is cool :D” Cool Factor and Shield Shocker did have a V E R Y awkward conversation about it (cause none of Factor’s family really told him about it) so other than MAYBE a mini epiphany he’s completely fine.

And uh everyone else didn’t really have anything major happen: Spellfire’s just glad to have a physical form (and an awesome girlfriend), Trick Black bamboozled Count Moneybone cause they didn’t wanna join him, Heat Stroke helped Freeze Blade and Doom Stone destroy some Evilizers, Spring Bloom was accidentally created after Hoot Loop zapped a tree, and Ground Pound has barely even been brainstormed yet. But yeah that’s everybody, I love them all✨✨✨✨✨

OH AND ONE MORE THING SHIELD SHOCKER AND SHADE ACE ARE GAY

[zaph1337]

Monster Hunter Rating 56: Bulldrome, the Great Boar

We follow up one blast from the past with another--this time, a continuation of one of the first monsters I ever talked about! I criticized Bullfango for being nothing more than boars, but will Bulldrome have more to offer?

Honestly, probably not, but let’s find out!

(How it appears in the Second Generation)

(How it appears in Monster Hunter Generations)

Appearance: It’s a beeg Bullfango. What a shocker. To be fair, they do have some small differences; Bulldrome have white fur in place of dark fur, and they have asymmetrical tusks. It’s not much, but at least it isn’t exactly the same as its smaller version.

Behavior/Lore: If a male Bullfango grows old and large enough, it’ll become a Bulldrome and lead the herd--or try to, at least. A herd of Bullfango only has one Bulldrome leading it, so one of them has to go. I wouldn’t be surprised if the upstarts failed now and again, but according to their ecology page on the wiki, lone Bulldrome are usurped herd leaders. From the way it’s written, it’s not clear if it’s talking about a specific individual or not, so it’s hard to say what’s going on here. Whoever the leader of the herd ends up being, they’re in charge of protecting it...which makes it unfortunate that Bulldrome are so aggressive they’ll sometimes attack the Bullfango they guard, especially if they’re hungry. It’s probably the rhino problem: poor eyesight and bad tempers.

That being said, when Bulldrome actually do their jobs, they’ll hold fast; some have even been seen staring down Rathalos, among other large wyverns. That probably doesn’t work out too well for them, but at least there’s an attempt. Actually, there are some Bulldrome that are considered to be just as fierce as Rathalos are, if not somehow even more. These specimens have very large tusks and display high levels of intelligence--using tactics such as underground ambushes and throwing rocks--so it’s likely that they’re very old. One thing to note about these super Bulldrome is that they’re a “Hard Core” form from Frontier G Genuine. Bulldrome aren’t the only monsters I’ve talked about with these forms, but I don’t want to take them into consideration when writing reviews unless they’re mentioned in the monster’s Ecology page or something, which these are.

I appreciate how Bulldrome aren’t just “Bullfango but big,” and their behavior is surprisingly realistic for this series--they charge blindly and attack their own kind like rhinos, and while I can’t think of a specific example for this, I definitely think I’ve heard of pack animals losing their leadership status and getting kicked out. The idea that an elderly Bulldrome is a Rathalos-tier threat is also cool, especially because it makes sense that such a reckless animal wouldn’t live long enough to make such things common. Gotta hand it to the big pigs, they had some work put into them.

Abilities: When they’re right next to someone, they’ll thrash around. When they’re far away, they’ll charge with surprising accuracy and maneuverability. That’s it. Does it makes things better or worse if I didn’t expect anything different? I couldn’t tell you.

Equipment: Trying to think of introductory sentences is boring, so let’s just start off with this Switch Axe called the Wild Axe:

“A Switch Axe akin to a blunt weapon.” Yeah, no kidding. Thing looks like a hammer straight from a dwarf’s toolbox. I question what the fur does for the weapon’s functionality, but when has functionality ever been considered for a weapon design? Also, I don’t have a picture of it here ‘cause there’s none of good quality, but when the Wild Axe goes into Sword Mode, the hammer head rotates 90 degrees to line up with the main body of the weapon. This is different from other Switch Axes, as most just have the axe head move lower to expose the sword blade, so that’s a neat touch. Next is the Wild Boar Lance--ten bucks says you can’t figure out what weapon type it is:

I know all the “monster head on stick” weapons are disturbing, but this takes the cake because the Bulldrome’s head is stretched. Also, please tell me that’s not a real eye, that would make things so much worse if it was. And I just noticed the tufts on the shield match the tufts on a Bulldrome’s feet, meaning that shield is a Bulldrome butt. You are blocking attacks with a pig’s butt. Out of all the weird and wild weapons I’ve shown in these reviews, I think this earns a reward for having the biggest “Why” factor.

Moving on, we have Bulldrome armor from MHGU, and it looks like there’s no difference between Blademaster and Gunner sets, so I’ll just show the one (well, two when you consider the gendered differences, but you know what I mean):

Honestly, I’m not surprised that the designers went for a viking/barbarian look, but I think they took it a bit too far over the top; the spiked shoulder pad, the myriad of belts and buckles, the weird sports tape-looking things on the legs--it’s all a bit much. The women’s set is as hilariously impractical as you can get, but that’s not surprising either. Overall, I’m rather unimpressed with these, but to be fair, a lot of that comes from a lack of interest in the aesthetic.

The Bulldrome equipment certainly looks like early-game equipment, but there’s nothing wrong with being what you’re supposed to be. When they’re weird, they’re weird, but there are some cool things here too.

Final Thoughts: I was prepared to be disappointed by how lackluster Bulldrome were, but their lore, at least, is more interesting than I was expecting. Can’t say the same for their abilities, but I didn’t expect anything else anyways. Next monster’s guaranteed to be a weird one, so look forward to that.

[violetlunette]

for the ask thing: Momo, Kaminari, and/or Sero

Ooh, three!

Aske meme here

Momo

Why I like them: I like the concept of her character. She’s an intelligent, sweet princess type, with a powerful quirk. However, she doesn’t have any street smarts which hampers her, so that’s something she needs to develop.

Why I don’t: Underused. Her character arc is rarely explored despite the potential to use her to explore the unfair standards for hero women, or how book smarts aren’t enough in the real world. They help, but you need more.

Favorite episode (scene if movie): The scene where she’s so excited to help her classmates. She’s just so cute there!

Favorite season/movie: While it was rushed, I did like her arc in the finals where she has to rebuild her confidence.

Favorite line: I really like her sum-up in the battle training arc. It was a fair call out and it showed that she was intelligent and observant. I like how it wasn’t out of malice either; she was pointing out flaws to help her team and admitted she was cheering them on.

Favorite outfit: I may get hate considering she’s 15 but I really adore her fantasy armor.

OTP: Honestly, no one appealed to me for her romantically.

Brotp: I like her and Jiro fine.

Head Canon: If Momo is thinking about someone as she’s making her Russian dolls, the doll will look like that person and how she sees them.

Unpopular opinion: I don’t so much mind her hero costume the way others do due to reasons stated here. I also don’t think it’s even that sexy. Everyone acts like she’s wearing a thong but it’s more like a gymnast's suit.

The issue I have is that it’s super dangerous and that thanks to Mirio and Mt. Lady’s costumes there’s no need.

A wish: That she gets to show off her skills more.

An oh-god-please-don't-ever-happen: I hope she doesn’t die

5 words to best describe them: Princess, intelligent, naive, poised, sweet

My nickname for them: Princess

Kaminari

Why I like them: He’s fun and has a neat design. I like that despite having a cool quirk he still has his moments of insecurity.

Why I don’t: Nothing I really dislike about him.

Favorite episode (scene if movie): I liked his scene with Midnight and how she inspired him

Favorite season/movie: none

Favorite line: “I want to be with all of you!”

Favorite outfit: Hero outfit (Though it basically just Jiro’s and Present Mic’s)

OTP:Denki and Jiro are cute

Brotp: Denki and Jiro

Head Canon: When he goes derpy, his vision gets spotty.

Unpopular opinion: Bakagou isn’t a good friend to him (or anybody but I digress). Plus, there’s just no reason for him to be a part of the Baka-squad

A wish: He gets equipment that lets him use his power without frying his brain

An oh-god-please-don't-ever-happen: I really hope he doesn’t die.

5 words to best describe them: Cool, fun, laid-back, insecure, nervous

My nickname for them: Shocker

Sero

Why I like them: Quirk’s pretty creative and I like that he uses it like spider man.

Why I don’t: Nothing I don’t like.

Favorite episode (scene if movie): I liked when he was worrying about where Izuku was during the festival arc.

Favorite season/movie: Got none

Favorite line: Got none

Favorite outfit: His costume

OTP: Got none

Brotp: In a weird way I like him with Rikudo, but he’s fine with Mineta as well.

Head Canon: Honestly, I got nothing.

Unpopular opinion: He’s pretty dull in my opinion. I don’t dislike him or anything I just don’t think about him, hence why there’s no meat here.

A wish: None, sorry.

An oh-god-please-don't-ever-happen: I hope he doesn't die

5 words to best describe them: Relaxed, goofy, swinger

My nickname for them: Taper

[lucky-dan]

I’m an art student, animation second year. We just finished projects about AI and we’ve had many meaningful and insightful conversations, lectures and even debates on the subject. I have a lot to say so forgive the long text.

The TLDR is that AI in itself is not unethical. It’s the background it comes from (as mentioned), mainly what data sets it uses. It’s not wrong to make or use an AI, so the debate shouldn’t focus around the question of whether or not AI should exist, which is something I’ve seen a lot.

The longer story is that the world of AI is… complex. Shocker, I know. And I often see people debate the wrong subjects as well.

The way you use AI matters - learning how to formulate your prompts is an art in itself, and some very talented people create incredible artwork with prompts that run hundreds of words long, and take week if not months of iterations. The human factor is still there, and a redditor typing in ‘Superman’ into mid journey isn’t the same as someone using an essay to generate a complex and detailed image, and doing that over and over until they have the result they wanted. So it isn’t a question of being lazy or uninspired or unoriginal.

AI art is also not only visual. As animation majors we obviously spoke about the possibility for the Everyman to use AI to make their own show without the monopoly Disney has on the market, speaking about possibilities for inclusivity and representation the likes you’ve never seen before, but we also mentioned royalty free and personalized music you can use in your YouTube videos, or generated inhuman movement that can be utilized in horror, or how inbetweening can be a thing of the past with a good AI. The one big thing I took from these classes is that AI art has the potential to shatter the well guarded gates of the beginner-unfriendly art world and open up new media for people without experience, just as photoshop allowed many inexperienced users to draw or edit pictures in a near professional manner, or how iPhones let you take very good photographs without an additional load of expensive equipment.

The big issue that everyone seems to not be fully understanding is where the data comes from. If you download someone’s art without their consent and feed it to AI, that’s infringing on their intellectual property. If you feed the entire discography of Michael Jackson to an AI to generate a new song of his, that’s also a question of ethics surrounding a deceased artist, but it won’t harm his income obviously. A smaller artist with no legal team has no way of defending themself when their work gets stolen. If the AI gets their art as data, their style is now replicable with a simple click, negating the need for payment for commissions and thus denying them their rent, bills, groceries.

Of course the question of ‘what if the wrong people use it for the wrong reasons?’ has to have come up here for the reasons mentioned above. And that is a concern that’s been present since�� well, forever. Stealing work is a cultural issue, not an AI issue. Movies or games or paintings or songs that are derivative of one another, stealing each others concepts and design choices, are a thing that has been happening for years. And we can all unanimously agree that stealing someone’s idea is wrong. When you see on Spotify that has a beat from someone else’s song you get mad if the original has less clicks.

But being inspired isn’t wrong itself; and neither is decoupage, which is what AI art, especially visual, truly is. You wouldn’t be mad at BBC for making a Sherlock Holmes show because it’s ‘too close to the source material’ (it’s just an example. Don’t come at me tumblr) and the source character is in the public domain anyway. Nobody is being harmed by the network’s choice of inspiration. You also wouldn’t scream at a stay at home mom that’s journaling for fun, and you wouldn’t argue that her cutting out pieces of magazine pictures are her stealing the work of the magazine’s editors, photographers, writers. She isn’t profiting from that work, and she’s also not taking the money away from the magazine.

The approach of the non-art public to how artists use reference is also skewed, but that’s a whole new conversation for another day.

With both of those ideas in mind (the data sets can consist of material that wasn’t taken consensually thus harming the artist, and AI art itself isn’t necessarily lazy or bad) I feel like the debate on AI art should in general shift to legality. Most other art forms like drawing or movies or dancing or music have rather obvious, but still often blurry, lines that shouldn’t be crossed, and more importantly, court cases that you can reference. You’ve had musicians suing each other over stolen songs before and you have an idea of what would be considered stealing here. AI needs to be debated with the question of ‘what data set did this program use and was the idea for the work original enough by this and other industries’ standards’. This entire section of the art world doesn’t have that quite yet, but we’re getting there, with recent developments in the suings of multiple AI’s.

This is not a settled matter, and I don’t think we should be treating it as such, nor as if it’s the end of the world. To be entirely clear, just two months ago I thought AI was the devil also. It was these classes and word from people that are considered professionals in multiple mediums and art circles that changed my mind and opened me to the actual problems of the situation. My lesson was that I jumped to conclusions too fast. I now like to equate this problem to (even though I’m aware it’s not the same) the birth of photography, or photoshop or blender/3D. Painters were worried photographs would put them out of jobs, and sometimes that was true, but that just means the painters could use photographs for their own work as well, capturing more detailed reference, or choose to deviate their art from photography with style choices not present in the realism of photos. When 3D started being introduced people were scared animators would lose jobs, because why would you hire a team of people for a complex shot when you can render it out with one person putting key frames in instead? Well because knowing how to use that program is fucking hard, and there is a charm to the style of a 2D animated rotating camera instead of a 3D shape.

Think of how you can use AI ethically and without stealing someone’s food money, while still doing your thing and committing to your style. Sometimes it won’t be possible, because there is no AI that would be usable for your purposes, because the data set is always limited and focused on a specific purpose. Sometimes the idea that you have is just not possible to generate. That proves that AI won’t ruin the world, because it can’t do anything without human input, and it can’t make what it doesn’t know. It’s not a scary boogeyman and we should all remember that.

watching the AI art debate thing on twitter is a special kind of torture if you’ve ever attempted any irl political action in your entire life because it’s a train wreck of people trying to enact a movement against something and methodically picking every worst possible argument you could hope to make, constantly shifting the battleground from concrete territory you can actually Win into highly subjective areas that nobody in the conversation can ever decisively win

“all AI art is ugly” is a pointless cul de sac you have to re-argue whenever anyone makes even a half-decent picture, “any commercial art AI should have to demonstrate that it’s only working from public domain artworks” is material, practical and doable. “all AI artists have no passion” is a great way to give those people an avenue to argue you’re just being cruel and bitter (or for AI artists who also use traditional mediums to flat-out refute), “any art produced commercially by an AI should have its prompts recorded so we know they didn’t invoke another artist/their IP to make it” is a thing you can make laws and regulations about. “AI art is soulless fake art unlike Real art from Real artists” gives your opponents the easy opportunity to paint you as a backwards out of touch academic snob disconnected from everyday people (and uh, as an academic snob myself, good luck decisively solving the “what is real art??” debate for the first time in human history), “an AI can’t have any kind of conversation with the commissioner to understand their vision, it can’t truly understand what its making so feedback and precision won’t be on par with a real human, so if you want something accurate and personal it could be an inferior service for your money” is a tangible concern that anyone looking to buy art should be aware of, whether or not an AI can make a pretty picture is less important in practical terms than whether it can make the exact picture the person buying wants

you can spend all day arguing that as a human artist you have Soul and that your work has Life, or you can argue that as a human artist if the client wants their fursona’s right arm a little more to the left or for their expression to have more sassiness in it then you can just do that for them instead of arguing with a robot over what an arm is or the complexities of anthro marmoset facial features

[josenoelrobles]

Discovering Purpose Through Adversity: Unlocking the Potential Within Struggles

Introduction "Adversity isn't just a challenge to overcome—it's a cryptic guide, subtly revealing the grand design of our life's purpose." This provocative assertion challenges us to redefine our perception of struggles, not as mere obstacles but as integral, enlightening components of our journey. Personal Experience: A Story of Transformation If anybody knows about failures and struggles is me. I personally don't know anybody who has failed more times than me. And every time things don't go my way I feel that I am taking a step back. But the reality is that all my struggles have given me the strange, knowledge, and endurance to keep moving forward and to find my purpose in life. Have you ever met and or heard anybody going through something in their life, and they are acting like is the end of the world and you see it like is nothing? You feel like this person is overreacting because what they are going through is not a big deal. If you ever felt this way is highly likely you went through something similar and you have overcome it. You have developed the endurance and resistance to deal with it. And you have experienced the positive results that come when you keep moving forward. Knowing that it is possible to get out of that particular situation and that in the end, everything will be ok. And to me, every struggle, every setback, and every failure are just milestones in which life presents itself so you can discover who we are and why we are here. What we may consider negative things that happen in our lives bad things, I consider them as a training camp. Opportunities to acquire the knowledge and skills that we need in order to do the job that we were put on this earth to do. And also, to be able to receive the blessings that God has set up to give us. This will be a topic for another blog but sometimes we are not ready for the blessings that God has for us and we have to develop the heart and maturity before we can receive them. If not, the blessings can and will crush us. You see, is not a secret by now if you have been following me that I struggle a lot financially. Not for the lack of money but for the lack of making the right decisions. In other words, lack of character. And God has blessed me with a lot of opportunities. I started and grew a few businesses that have become successful. I have generated revenues of over 2 million a year in some of those businesses. And yet, I have had to go through 2 bankruptcies in the last 5 years. Not for the lack of opportunities, because of the economy, or any other outside circumstances that I can use as an excuse. Everything is because I have way too many issues that I have not dealt with yet, that are preventing me from properly managing that type of success. And because God is so merciful, every time that I felt my text, He gave me another opportunity to try it again. And if I being honest is never fun starting all over from the ground up again and again. But at this point, I have developed the resistance and endurance to keep pushing forward because I know it can done and business success and financial freedom are achievable and possible. Not only that, but because of all these setbacks, I have discovered and God has shown me my real life purpose and that is Helping The Hispanic Community with their small businesses and their finances. What a shocker, the very things that I have struggled with my entire life are what I am supposed to help others with. When God revealed my life's purpose I was excited and at the same time scared. I asked myself, who am I? I am not qualify for this. I have failed way too many times in these areas. Doubt crip into my mind and I keep delaying doing something with my purpose and calling because I thought and believed that I was not good enough to help anybody with their finances and small businesses. Instead of helping others, I decided to try to make as much money for myself as fast as I could. The problem was that the more money I made, the busier I got and the further from helping others I went. So I have been ignoring what God asked me to do. In other words, I am choosing to disobey God, walking on my own, doing whatever I want, and at the end, I always go back to the beginning, zero, because God loves me too much to leave me to live a life without Him and purpose. I had to put my pride aside and recognize that if He said do it I should do it. Because is not about my qualifications, is about His love, mercy, and grace. Is not about what people may think of me, is about how He can use my past experiences, knowledge, and stories to teach and encourage others through the Holy Spirit. Everything is about Him, not about me. I am just a vessel that He is using to deliver a message to the right person(s), at the right time. So if you have been through a lot in this life and you still standing, take a closer look at your struggles because maybe your life purpose is hiding in there. And if you feel that you are not qualified to help anybody, don't worry, God will give you the wisdom, tools, and resources to do what He has called you to do. Remember, everything is about Him and the people. If we are willing, He is able. And if He is able, you can consider it done. Data: Empirical Support for Embracing Struggle Research underscores that adversity often acts as a catalyst for personal growth and discovery. A study by the American Psychological Association reveals that individuals who encounter significant challenges frequently develop resilience, which in turn enhances their capacity to manage future stresses (American Psychological Association, 2012). Further, the concept of "post-traumatic growth" suggests that many people find new meanings in life post-adversity, which aligns with discoveries of personal and professional purposes (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 2004). The Problem: The Stigma of Struggle Often, society views struggles as failures rather than stepping stones to success. This stigma can prevent individuals from fully embracing their potential learning experiences, leading to missed opportunities for growth. The Solution: A New Perspective on Adversity The key to transforming adversity into opportunity lies in shifting our mindset. Here are practical steps to begin this transformation: - Reframe Challenges: View each challenge as a question asking you to find its hidden lesson. - Seek Support: Leverage community resources, mentors, and networks to navigate through tough times. - Continuous Learning: Invest in personal and professional development to adapt and grow from each experience. By integrating these strategies, individuals and businesses can not only survive but emerge stronger and more purpose-driven from the trials they face. Conclusion: The Synthesis of Struggle and Success In conclusion, our greatest trials are not mere barriers but are, in fact, the very vehicles that ferry us toward our life’s most profound purposes. By embracing our struggles, we unlock potentials within ourselves we never knew existed, leading to discoveries that resonate not only with our personal aspirations but also with broader societal needs. Read the full article

[artsy-book]

for the hermitcraft ask game: 4, 19, 20, and/or 21 :D

(feel free to do some of them you don’t have to do all)

I shall answer them all :3

4 - favourite hermit?

this may come as a shocker to no one but rn xisuma ^-^ but etho, gem, and grian are up there too

19 - favourite hermit design? (whether yours or someone else’s)

for my designs, I would have to say my pearl ^-^ she just looks so kind and friendly and I love that ^-^ (I need to draw my pearl more)

for others designs, it's so hard to pick!! there are so many good ones!! but to list a few; @/beethubs etho ; @/terracottakore false ; any of @/applestruda hermits but especially grian ; @/cherrifire martyn (I'm counting martyn bc honorary hermit) ; and @/sweetest-honeybee xisuma

BUT there are so many cool designs by so many different artists and I would never be able to list them all without forgetting some (and I did use this as a way to share some art i love ^-^ hehe)

20 - favourite hermit skin?

I love gem's default!! it's so fun and pretty!!

(I'm 99% sure this is gem's default. but honestly all if gem's skin look so good)

21 - favourite hermit interaction?

god there are so many, but I think my all time favourite would be grian and scar reuniting with mumbo on the bridge ^-^

ask game