#i have issues with ai but it is GREAT for inspiration

[chaseadrian]

asked AI Adrian his favorite songs and i feel like these are pretty good

mr. blue sky - electric light orchestra

take on me - aha

hey jude - the beatles

just what i needed - the cars

dancing queen - abba

i only want to be with you - dusty springfield

dancing in the street - martha & the vandellas

walk like an egyptian - the bangles

blue suede shoes - elvis presley

life on mars? - david bowie

i do have headcanons for a few of these songs re: adrian i’ll be real

[k-nayee]

Liability....ASSEMBLE!! MARVEL

wc: 2.5k a/n: not me getting inspired by a 'If Avengers were real' meme/trend. Hope this make ya giggle a lil bit lol

Traveler M.List

ˏ⸉ˋ‿̩͙‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ˏ⸉ˋ‿̩͙‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ˏ⸉ˋ‿̩͙‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙.·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .‿̩̥̩‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ˊ⸊ˎ‿̩̥̩‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ˊ⸊ˎ‿̩̥̩‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ˊ⸊ˎ

The warm glow from the ceiling lights bathed the common room of the Avengers compound in a cozy amber hue.

 A large screen took up one side with couches and recliners strewn with blankets and cushions taking the other—the rustle of popcorn bags, gentle clatter of soda cans on tables.

Vision had meticulously set everything up for the bi-monthly movie night; and it seems his insistence (in the name of strengthening team camaraderie) on these was paying off.

Sounds of muted conversations filled the area as the group decompressed from the chaos that often defined their lives.

Peter bounced in place as he settled himself onto the couch, his eyes gleaming with excitement. 

 “Aunt May actually let me come this time since I’ve been doing great in school,” he declared, his grin wide and unabashed.

Tony, lounging back with a glass of something suspiciously amber in color, raised an eyebrow and smirked. “Kid if great means a C in physics, we need to talk.”

Peter’s face flushed slightly as he stammered, “H-hey! It’s an A-minus actually.”

Sam, lounging comfortably with a bowl of pretzels balanced on one knee, snorted and added, “Don’t worry Parker. We’ll make sure to remind you of that every time you pause the movie to point out what they got wrong.”

Peter looked even more embarrassed. “I only did that twice....” He weakly tried to defend himself causing the two men to laugh.

Sitting on another separate furniture was Thor.

“Enough of this school talk! Let me tell you of the time I faced the mighty frost giant of Jotunheim!” The God of Thunder waves a drink in the air as his booming voice echoes.

His unoccupied arm was draped across Loki’s shoulders, a silent reminder to the trickster god that mischief had its limits tonight.

Loki rolled his eyes with a scoff and folds his arms. “Must you always tell that story brother?” 

Vision, oblivious to the banter, hovered near the screen, adjusting the settings for optimal viewing quality.

Wanda sat near him, her fingers idly flicking through the air making small shapes out of glowing red energy, her expression relaxed.

Bucky, quiet as ever, had hesitantly settled into an armchair next to Steve. Though the wounds of the past had scarred them all, a fragile truce held in place.

Steve’s blue eyes softened as he caught Bucky’s glance, offering a subtle nod of reassurance.

Bruce approaches the ex-Winter Soldier and hands over a can of soda with a small smile of understanding as he sits next to Clint.

Bucky timidly accepts and nod in thanks, his shoulders slowly relaxing as he took in the scene—it felt almost normal.

Almost.

“I can’t BELIEVE THIS!” A rageful yell pierces the air causing all conversations to hush mid-sentence.

Eyes turn towards the source of interruption. And there, before them, stood a seething Natasha.

The color of her red locks were no match for the fire that were blazing within her eyes. 

Steve, ever the voice of security, gaze search hers. “What’s wrong Nat?”

Natasha crossed her arms. “Have any of you guys noticed anything weird happening lately?”

“Uh...” Peter awkwardly raised his hand almost as if for asking permission to speak. “Actually now that you mention it...people have been asking for pictures with me more than usual.”

Her lips press tightly together. “Exactly.”

Tension crackled in the room as the rest exchanged looks of confusion.

Tony groaned, leaning his head back with a dramatic roll of his eyes. “PR issues? What’s new?”

Natasha doesn’t spare him a glance. Instead she turned to face the ceiling.  “FRIDAY. Pull up the video.”

“Right away Agent Romanoff”the AI responded as the room’s lighting dimmed.

The movie setup on the large screen disappeared, replaced by a polished brightly colored advertisement.

Serene music played as heroic shots of the Avengers in action appeared: Tony soaring through the sky in his Iron Man suit, Steve deflecting a hail of bullets with his shield, Thor summoning thunder and the others saving civilians—all framed with flawless cinematic glory.

A voiceover, warm and honeyed, filled room. “The Avengers: Earth’s mightiest heroes, defenders of humanity.”

Tony leaned back and sighed in a mix of irritation and smugness. “A fan-made promo? Really Nat?”

The corners of Steve’s mouth quirked up in polite agreement, his eyes soft with an almost paternal pride. “It looks positive so far. Is there something we’re missing?”

“Just watch.” Natasha hisses, her expression still tense.

“But what happens when the protectors become the cause of destruction?”

The serene music cuts off abruptly—replaced by a hollow somber chord. The visuals were no longer heroic, no longer triumphant.

Instead footage showed of crumbling buildings, shattered streets, smoke billowing into a gray sky as civilians looked on in shock and despair.

A ripple of unease went through the team, some recognizing a few scenes from their latest mission.

Tony sat up straighter. “What the hell is this?!” he snarls, clearly unamused.

The montage continued; the aftermath of battles, people sifting through debris, the sound of distant sirens before the camera cut to a series of sidewalk interviews.

A man in a dark suit appeared—his expression stoic. “I watched the Hulk throw my car at a villain...and miss.”

Bruce shoulders hunched as a grimace flickered across his face.

Another clip showed a driver next to a half-destroyed Sedan, gesturing to it wildly “Captain America used my door as a shield. Now how da HELL am I supposed to drive this to work?!” 

Another shot showed an older woman wearing a pink fuzzy robe with slippers to match. “Five times...FIVE TIMES that lanky ass spider boy done come and tore up the block. This week alone! I finally paid off my car and now look at it!” Her lips curled as she took another sip from her glass of red wine.

Peter pales recognizing that exact neighborhood.

“Uh...is this the kind of press we usually get?” Wanda asked quietly, half-joking. Vision tilted his head. “Based on the tone I would say no.”

Loki’s delighted laughter erupted from the corner of the room. He tossed his head back, savoring their discomfort.

“Mortals and their misplaced faith,” he began, but his glee was cut short as the screen suddenly shifted to a familiar face: his.

The headline Special Edition: Loki Lawlessness Insurance Package appeared under a clip of him cackling maniacally mid-chaos.

His smile faltered into an offended scowl. “That’s not even my best angle,” he muttered.

A final gut-punching clip played out on the screen: a little girl—no more than six—standing amongst rubble as she clutched a half-burnt teddy bear.

Tears streaked her soot-covered face as she spoke into a reporter’s microphone. “The heroes who saved us...killed our home and puppy.”

The words echoed leaving a gaping silence in the room. But before anyone could break the quiet the screen flickered back to life.

This time there were no chaotic images or bleak interviews.

The camera steadied on a young woman standing outside a modest, unassuming office building.

Braided hair flawlessly styed into an updo, the well-fitted blazer and knee-length skirt that matched in color was simple yet elegant.

And her eyes...a beautiful shade of [eye color] so fierce with determination, yet her features were gentle—a disarming contrast that made the delivery all the more captivating.

Peter Parker’s eyes went wide as he nearly jumped from his seat. “____?!” the shock vibrated his voice.

Tony's eyes darted to the teenager. “Who's ____?”

“Hello my name is ____, founder of Avenge-Yer Life Back Insurance,” Your voice (the same one that narrated the video so far) was voice steady and clear.

The camera panned out a little more revealing the logo of your company posted on the building behind you.

Eyebrows shoot up as heads swivel almost in unison to fix their attention on Peter. The sophomore hero’s face pales and he shrinks under the sudden scrutiny.

 "I too, like so many others, once admired the Avengers." Fortunately for Peter your voice continues, reclaiming focus. "But admiration can turn when reality hits home."

 “Years ago an incident involving the Avengers changed everything for my family. We lost our business, our home, our livelihood—everything that made life stable. But instead of succumbing to that destruction, I decided to do something. To create a solution for others like us—those who were left to pick up the pieces after the Avengers saved the day.”

The scene now changed to you walking confidently through an aisle in the office building as views of smiling employees and distressed citizens signing documents played in the background. “At Avenge-Yer Life Back Insurance, we ensure that those who suffer from collateral damage have the means to rebuild. With proven evidence that a hero was present during the damage to your property or accident, we offer comprehensive coverage. From homes reduced to rubble to livelihoods disrupted overnight, we ensure that you’re not left in the aftermath without hope.”

“People have been exploiting it too,” Natasha said suddenly, her voice breaking through the tension. “They've been using loopholes—taking selfies with heroes and timing accidents to match the incidents. Spider-Man currently has the highest coverage rate.”

Peter’s head snapped up as his eyes widened in realization. “Wait...pictures?!” His voice cracked from a mixture of confusion and panic.

Steve’s voice cuts through. “Isn’t this bordering on defamation? Our honor’s at stake here. We could—”

Tony doesn’t let him finish, scoffing with a sharp laugh. “What do you think this is, the 1940s? Oh wait—my apologies, you probably did for a second there.”

Sam let out a laugh before quickly covering it with a cough in attempt to hide his amusement.

Steve just rolled his eyes but chose not to respond, his focus returning to the screen.

The advertisement ends with you looking directly into the camera.

You lean forward slightly, your eyes locking onto the viewer with compelling intensity.

“The Avengers. You know them as heroes who saved the world and lives of many...but how many have they destroyed?”

The room fell into a suffocating silence as the screen faded to black; the air heavy as everyone processed what they’d just seen.

Every eye shifted toward Peter whose face flushed pink.

He instinctively raise his hands in a gesture of surrender at the weight of their stares bearing down on him.

Bucky, who rarely spoke up unless necessary, was the first to break the silence. His voice was gruff, expression serious as he turned to Peter. “Explain kid.”

Peter’s mouth opened then shut before he took a shaky breath. “I...I think I know her...kind of,” his voice was barely above a whisper.

“She was a junior at Midtown High when I was a freshman. The only person who didn’t ignore me or—” he swallowed hard, “—bully me. Other than Ned. Defended me every chance she got...”

“I might’ve...”He glanced down, cheeks turning a deeper shade of red as he muttered, “...had a massive crush on her.” 

But Natasha’s sharp gaze caught everything. “What was that last part?”

Peter’s eyes widened and quickly rushed to speak over her. “But yeah! You know she disappeared halfway through the year before I ever worked up the courage to talk to her.”

“I didn’t understand why she left. I thought maybe she’d just moved or something. But now...” He lets out an almost wistful, forlorn sigh as his shoulder slightly slumped. “Now I see why.”

There was a pang of something unidentifiable in his voice—regret maybe, or sadness.

The Avengers exchanged looks, some expressions softening, others hardening with simmering frustration. 

Thor shifted on the sofa in displeasure.

“So mortals now speak ill of us for saving them?” his voice tinged with indignation. “Ungrateful wretches—should they not sing songs of our deeds as they did in my time?”

Wanda raises a brow. “Yes Thor, because their top priority is singing songs of your deeds while they fix their plumbing.” She says dryly.

Steve, however, straightened in his seat and interjected before the tension could boil over.

“Thor...they’re not entirely wrong.”

The God of Thunder frowned, his brow furrowing deeply. “Not wrong? Captain we fight for them. We bleed for them!”

“We also bulldoze their coffee shops,” Sam quipped under his breath. Thor shot him a sharp glare.

Ignoring the comment Steve continues. “Think about it: To us it’s a mission—we go into battle, we do what we have to, and then...we leave.”

Tony raised a hand like he was in a classroom. “Uh yeah because that’s what heroes do. You’re welcome civilians.”

Steve exhaled heavily but didn’t look his way. “We leave. But they stay. It’s their homes, their streets, their lives that got caught in the middle. They’re the ones who have to stay and rebuild.”

The room quieted. For a moment, it seemed like the team might actually be absorbing the gravity of the situation.

Clint snorted. “Maybe we should hand out gift cards after every mission.”

Steve couldn’t help the twitch of his lips from that. “My point is they didn’t ask for these battles, yet they got them anyway. It’s not ungrateful to ask why it happens or how it can be prevented.”

Thor looked taken aback, caught somewhere between confusion and frustration. “But we are protectors! Not destroyers.”

Steve gave a small nod but didn’t back down. “I know that, we know that. But to them it’s not that simple. They don’t see us cleaning up the mess—they only see the rubble we leave behind.”

The tension in the room was thick as the unspoken truth settled over them like a heavy weight.

 “Okay!” Tony pushed himself up from the armchair with a flourish, setting down his glass a bit too forcefully. “That was a nice guilt-trip speech n all...but seriously? Accidents happen, it's inevitable. We risk our asses day in and day out—and now they’re trying to cancel me over an insurance company I didn’t even create? I’ll be damned!”

Without waiting for a response Tony makes his way out the room.

Vision, who had been observing quietly, head tilts as he calls out, “What do you plan to do then, Tony?”

“To fix this. First thing in the morning.” The voice of Iron Man echoed back sharp with resolve.

════════════════*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═════════════════

Anticipation hummed through the common room like a live wire.

The Avengers had gathered once more—some leaning against the walls while others paced or fidgeted with pent-up energy.

One thing for sure, they all were filled with curiosity and mild apprehension as they waited.

The door suddenly swished open and in strolled Tony Stark with a face-splitting grin.

“Well?” Natasha’s voice cut through the buzz. Her eyes narrow, finding the billionaire cat-like smile unassuring. “Did you fix it?”

Tony’s smile grew wider as he clapped his hands together. “Even better. Pull it up!”

At his words, FRIDAY makes a holographic screen appear behind him, displaying a high-resolution image: you were standing next to Tony, a bright smile on your face as you shook his hand.

In the picture Tony was handing over an oversized check boring the Stark Industries logo with a number impossible to miss—$450 million.

The room erupted with a cacophony of reactions—exclamations, groans, and even a low whistle from Sam.

Natasha’s eyes darkened with fury as she whirled towards Tony.

“What happened to fixing it?!” she snapped, venom in her voice.

Tony raised his hands in mock surrender, the grin never faltering. “I know, I know—Tony You’re a genius! How did this go sideways?’ Well turns out she one hell of a talker. That’s for damn sure.”

[authenticaussie]

Alright so I just finished Batman:TAS recently and started watching Superman:TAS and it delights me that the first episode is literally just: superman??? Who dat. This is aliens :)) (even if Brainiac does say "human error, Jor-el"). So obviously I do now have aus. Obviously <3 shout-out to @midnightluck for the Justice League, @cer-rata for Terry and @suzukiblu for Jordan + putting up with the initial ramble

So anyway Brianiac's satellite upload gets fucked up by Jor-el either in petty revenge or as an accident, and a part of Brainiac ends up on Clark's ship. The vague explanation I have is that Brainiac is the AI for everything and in TAS, Jor-el also does not realise he is "evil" and thus still uses his help as a navigator for Clark's ship while he is initially building it. The ship, however, is offline to prevent the Kryptoninan council from finding out about it, and thus, that section of Brainiac does not get taken back into the satellite upload.

As it is BARELY the 90's when the Kents find Clark after the crash, Brainiac is summarily useless thanks to the current lack of wifi, but manages to mostly teach himself English and Kal kryptonian, and decides that. >:( since they're BOTH there, they can BOTH be vestibules of kryptonian knowledge. And also Kal can get him more earth knowledge. The vibes entirely are: "Weird aspects of kryptonian culture taught by an unbodied dickhead historian" and while the argument is "but brainiac is evil!" Main brainiac is. But this is a subsection of Brainiac :) he learnt more stuff + Clark loves him soooo much.

Unfortunately. That is His baby now. He is not impressed with his baby. His baby bought him a growing chick the other day, with big sad eyes, and said the kryptonian word for fluffy!!! in such a mournful tone that Brainiac resigned himself to teaching kal about how growing up worked and that the chicken needed feathers to fly. This explanation ends with Clark collecting feathers and trying to jump off the barn roof, and he thus resolves to extend further co-parenting issues to the Kents. For his own personal convenience, of course.

It does of course ALSO mean that Brainiac, who has a loose definition of the words "surveillance state" absolutely gets in at the ground floor when the internet first starts up. Clark's influence relegates him to the background, but he is good at hiding ! So they don't realise they have an AI in the wifi! But ohhhh boy does brainiac scare a few people at first. Potentially tries to do his "i am helpful" schtick before realising he is not useful in this because he's basically just. Seems completely like a troll? He's some random person who's invaded the internet!!

However he is also the inspiration for google 😂 and calls it his younger, stupider sibling. It is also funny to me to think about earth compsci engineers having NO idea why sometimes the internet acts SO DAMN WEIRD <- brainiac's fault.

As a result though, when Clark starts up as Superman, Brainiac does NOT let the Kr project off the ground. Files are misdirected and blackmail is gathered. Until one day Kal says something sad about how he'll never be able to have a great romance, because he's terrified of telling anyone the alien thing, and that he's always thought about kids but he's kinda terrified because what if he hurts someone- and Brainiac is like ah yes wait. I shall fix this for my Only Kryptonian.

TWO kids for the price of one?!? he finds, after he goes searching, and then further prodding finds THIRTEEN children, extraordinary. Not all of them are viable because the earth scientists truly are incapable but Brainiac can fix the issues with their technology to ensure Kal has the children he wants.

"How many children did you think of, kal-el?" he asks, and Clark laughs at how kindly his friend/uncle/grandfather figure treats his silly selfishness.

"Oh, man, sometimes I think: as many as I can carry! But then- I don't want Superman to get in the way of being a good dad. Too many and I won't be there for them like I should, you know? I worry about that, I guess."

"As many as you can carry is a significant amount," Brainiac says dubiously, already imagining teaching these numerous children kryptonian culture and Also that they are Not chickens. "I do not think that can be fulfilled effectively."

Five minutes later Clark has five children and has realised his matchbox apartment and budding romance with Lois Lane are both complicated things he will now have to resolve. He's basically commuting daily to the Daily Planet from Smallville, thank god for superspeed and his endlessly patient parents, jfc

(Children I was thinking of: the destablised kon!clone from SB94/The Ravers, Kon, Match, Bizarro, and Mia. Alternatively they went old-school with Biz so Brainiac didn't get a chance to help him/he's older than the other kids when Clark finally mentions wanting kids, to Brainiac, and thus Biz ends up like. The kids' uncle. There ARE technically twelve clones before Kon. I could've given you thirteen-fifteen kids, Clark.)

Anyway this does mean that either a) when Lois finds out Kal is superman this is not his biggest secret, b) Kon rocks up as Superboy and Lois, once she finds out Clark is Superman, immediately goes: WAIT BUT SUPERBOY'S YOUR KID. ARE YOU MARRIED??? or c) everyone at the Daily Planet thinks Clark just. Got really unlucky with different people he slept with and someone in the world's wildest stroke of luck they all ended up pregnant. Because Clark Does Not mention a partner when it is eventually revealed he has kids.

He probably does keep them a secret for a while though. A) He doesn't want them to have to try and be "normal" since they're only just out of the pod and B) I feel like, weirdly, Clark is somehow that co-worker that people like. barely know anything about. You like them and they're so helpful! and good-natured! and then you get him in the office secret santa and realise you're not even 100% what his favourite colour is or if he has a pet.

Anyway, Lois: he is NOT expecting Lois to get pregnant and they have to have a Long talk about it because Brainiac is. :) Being an asshole about species compatibility and the fact that it is "not natural" for Kryptonians to be created biologically rather than properly, in a pod, and also: Clark already has five freaking kids. That's a lot of kids! Are they going to be okay having a brother that much (at least five-ten years I'm thinking, depending on if we go: Brainiac gives him multiple children of multiple ages, or multiple young children of the same age,) younger than them??? And then there's Chris, too, who rocked up just after Clark and Lois started dating, and is still pretty high needs because he only mostly speaks Kryptonian (and is lowkey terrified of Brainiac, so Clark's main babysitter is out) (also please please imagine how freaking cute the subplot of "chris realises this brainiac is not the nightmare his stories told him about; watching his new siblings do things that Brainiac would have killed them for, terrified for them because he heard the stories of how long Brainiac bided his time--)

But this is also: how many kids can we give clark, the fic, and thus they have Jon, and then Jon exhibits so many kryptonian characteristics and Lois doesn't mean to but she's a little wine drunk and says, "i love them, you know, they're all perfect, Jon's perfect, I was just- I'm terrified for him. If we raise him right he's gonna be just like his dad…and you know what? I was wanting my own little Lane. Someone to follow my footsteps. I'm feeling a bit outnumbered here, haha!"

Brainiac: hm. I will amend this. (Makes and artificially grows human!Jordan so he displays more human genetic characteristics As Lois Wants)

Brainiac: I have created Jon-el's twin for you, Lane. You are welcome.

Lois: um what

Clark: honey no you can't talk about children with Brainiac he will make more

Lois: WHAT.

Lois: OUR CO-WORKERS KNOW I DIDN'T HAVE TWINS, KENT.

Clark: …. you're gonna have to be one of those weird "I didn't know I was still pregnant" stories…. 😂

Lois: 😭 Clark you know those are only funny when they are NOT HAPPENING TO ME

Clark: you didn't know you were pregnant….. literally

Lois must engage in the gaslighting of all of her coworkers <3 What do you mean you didn't realise she had twins she's shown you both of them? Of course they look the same they're babies. Of course she always had twins. She carried them. Did you carry her babies? Of course she would know. Isn't that right, Clark? …. isn't that right, Clark?

Clark: "Where else would she'a gotten a baby from, guys? An alien?"

Brainiac: hello i have delivered the child. Where is my thanks? It has still not been conveyed? I am doing the Literal Best as the Literal Best AI ever? Excuse me? You ignore Brainiac?

Brainiac: death for one thousand humans-!!!

Martha: 🥰 Brainiac I'm so proud of you for always making sure these kids are taken care of. Giving us Jordan! Oh, you marvellous robot

Brainiac: …. acceptable, Matriarch Kent

either that or Lois shoots herself in the foot and everyone thinks Clark is STILL the man with the world's worst luck and the strongest genetics ever:

"Lois, honey…how are Jon and Jordan so close in age? If they're not twins?"

"Uh- Jordan is adopted!"

Everyone: looks at Jordan, who is Jon's splitting image

Everyone: …..okay

Anyway because this AU is wildly cliche, very obviously the Bit of Brainiac that helped Clark grow up re-integrates with Brainiac prime during a Big Dramatic Battle where all of the Superfam are getting hurt, and manages to stop/halt Brainiac prime from hurting Clark and the Kryptokids at the cost of his existence.

Jordan gets to punch it in the circuits cause he's the only one not affected by kryptonite but still has the general invulnerability. (And then Jon and/or Kon and meeting the LoSH and they realise their grandfather Brainiac has very much been continued in Brainiac 5's code :3 for an open-ish happy ending of "hey good exists forever and always regardless of heritage")

GRANDPA LEARNS LOVE AND AFFECTION.

GRANDPA CHANGES FROM GENERAL SELF SERVICE AND SELFISHNESS AND REALISES HE LOVES KAL AND THE KENTS AND HE WILL PROTECT THEM

GRANDPA ALSO WANTS ACCESS TO THE INTERNET. There is a constant battle and it does work for a while because he is elected babysitter of the kryptokids and he is only a small part of Brainiac, five kids does stretch the circuits he developed from Clark's pod, but it's a constant cycle.

"Kal-el, son of house of el, I demand google, I have not finished investigating the 'man of Bats'. Why are there two variations of his name?"

"You mean Dark Knight?"

"THERE ARE THREE? KAL-EL, PROVIDE ME WITH THE WIFI IMMEDIATELY--"

Also when Brainiac finds out that Clark's birthday falls on a human holiday he. He tries. He tries to do pranks. Most of them are vaguely and accidentally evil (Chris cries when Brainiac takes over the internet for the day and makes every search engine answer questions wrong), but he tries. He knows Clark likes pranks! He is trying to participate! It's family bonding!!!

Braniac: It is your 33rd April fool's day.

Clark: Yep!

Braniac: I have finally decided to assist you with a prank.

Clark:...oh?

Braniac: Behold! (Small boy with dark hair, blue eyes and a square jaw walks in, dressed in a decent little suit.)

Clark: Braniac you CANNOT keep making...Wait. No. No you didn't--

Braniac: A prank to share with your closest friend!

Braniac: I have been calling him "Bruce" for my records, but you may want to pick something else for clarity.

Clark: 😦😳😬💀

(And thus we have Terry)

Also, while Clark is pretty secretive about his kids, when/if any of them go out with a Superfam name, and/or after he gets closer with the Justice League, there are little slip ups. He does really love his kids!!! And at the point where he's joined the JL he's been with Lois for a few years now and is used to mentioning them every now and then at the Daily Planet/trauma sure does bond you together :) and he trusts the core members of the JL pretty well. Someone makes fun of Bruce for his "hoard" of children and his "adoption problem" and Clark snorts and then chokes. Bruce has barely adopted Tim and/or has only just gotten Cass. Four? Please, Clark's almost at double digits.

Or Hal is talking about the fact that he doesn't know what to get his niece for her birthday; Clark asks how old she is, and goes "Seven? Oh, yeah. Go for Monster High, it's really big right now. The dolls are pretty cool."

"Lol why do you know so much about dolls, you have a secret collection-"

"What? No, my daughter likes them."

Hal:

Barry complains about how many birthdays he has to go to and Clark laughs. "Oh, tell me about it! Mia, Mark ((Match)), Chris and Mara all had birthday parties for their school friends in the same week - thank god for superspeed, right?"

Barry, who was talking about volunteering to visit kids' birthday parties at different orphanages in Central: Clark what are you talking about.

Also, Clark's an idiot and decides to introduce Brainiac's "prank" to Bruce on the watchtower because hey! It's neutral ground! And none of his kids can hear into space, thank fuck.

Clark: so....Bruce....you know how you were complaining about being an empty nester. Now that Damian's gone to college. Well. Hm. (pulls Terry from behind him) Surprise!

Bruce: .......You have a new child.

Clark: er. Well. sort of!

Terry, staring at Bruce like the autism creature: O_O

Bruce: .....I have a new child.

(also probably terry's backstory then includes some amanda waller induced kidnapping and potentially a bit of amnesia and adoption by another family but hey, he finds bruce again eventually!)

(also match does try and be the badboy of the family and does hang out with thad, when thad comes up to kill Bart, but. they both just. accidentally vaguely rehabilitate each other? They're not good, but they don't murder, at least. It's a low, low bar. When Clark tries to disappointed-face him, Match just says he's following in Grandpa Brainiac's footsteps and does Clark REALLY expect him to disregard a family legacy-- and you can give him some suicide squad angst or whatever, but the fam is still. there for him.)

(Mia and Kara get into a fist fight when they first meet; then they are best friends. Mia's not great at 'being Kryptonian', especially because she was one of the first attempts, and as per canon is technically a human who they tried to overwrite with Kryptonian DNA, and thus doesn't entirely understand Kara's connection to their 'home', but as a result she also ends up being Kara's confidant in it, because unlike Kal she does understand being taken away from your home and not being able to go back to it, and yet does not have...the same connection the way the other members of the Superfam do, and the disconnect allows Kara to actually talk about Kyrpton instead of mourn)

(Kon does try and grab the spotlight; Clark is trying to let him have freedom, after both Mia and Match went a bit....bitey at his attempts to keep them safe until they were older, but he's still the more naive of his siblings. Thankfully for Clark, he does get to introduce Kon to Robin, and while they don't hit it off, it is enough to mitigate the worst of the fallout of Rex's sleazy bs and Knockout's crimes ): When he joins YJ Clark is both proud of his heroism and a little scared that one of his kids is actually deciding to follow in his footsteps.)

(Mara is Kon's destabilised clone, from when he learns about paul westfield. We did not have enough girls in this family and thus part of their journey of self-identity was the fact that in a family of loud personalities they weren't great at speaking up; it takes a while for them to admit they want a new name and to use she/they pronouns, but by the time Jon and Jordan are five everyone's used to the change. Mara and Kon are closest, even though Kon and Mark/Match are technically sort-of twins; they clash waaay too much in temperament and personality. Kon was much better at playing protector to his little sibling, especially after they came out, and Mara shares "Supergirl" with Kara - she's only a backup member of the titans, though, and has the compassion and strength for heroism but sometimes too much empathy. Does a lot of relief work and peaceful outreach programs. They love a lot.)

(Chris?? no self sacrifice here!!! He has a bunch of fucking siblings with TTK, he is NOT going into that portal)

(There are two Nightwings; every now and then they debate who should switch to Flamebird, jokingly, and yet both of them have perfectly valid arguments - it's kryptonian! / I look good in blue! - and thus it never comes to fruition. When Mia and takes on Flamebird they give it up entirely; it helps that Chris ends up doing a lot of intergalactic work, so there isn't much confusion on earth with the call sign.)

When Jon is old enough to want to switch from Superboy he 100% puppydog eyes Chris into giving him the Nightwing handle so he can give it to Dami, and snags Flamebird from Mia. Dick decides he can live with that and is trying to take care of his own kid so is semi-retired (and can snag it back from Dami if he ever gets too bored).

For a bit there are def still two Flamebirds, but then Mia and Chris decide to team up for intergalactic stuff and to bully Mara into more fistfights, so then they're Trio and just go by Mar-El, Lor-Zod, and Mi-El. I know that is not how female names work on Krypron but I also think Lois Lane, who kept her name and also gave both Jon and Jordan her last name, hyphenated, heard of that shit and went "absolutely not". Either that or Mara decides to keep her Kryptonian name as Mar-El and Mia is Mia Kal-el, or copies her mom and is like naw Fuck This, especially considering her.....lack of general connection to Krypton? Could be fun for any :3 (Or maybe in space she just goes by Lane; time for her semi-mom to get recognition. Mara is already showcasing the house of El, Chris is rehabilitating the house of Zod, she's gonna kick butt for the house of Lois.)

....Though this does potentially mean i have accidentally called Match "Mat-el" and the Barbie jokes from that. Would be. Iconic.

Anyway that's the Grandpa Brainy au! Tune in next week when I force Cerata to watch Arthur and the Invisibles with me and start talking about bug-prince Kon-el and Lois' adventure to save her husband from a tiny evil overlord.

[code-es]

The women who laid the foundation of tech

EDIT: I noticed that this post ended up being reblogged by terfs. If you're transphobic this post is not for you to reblog. I want to celebrate everyone who is not a cis man in this industry, including trans women and nonbinary people in tech, and it was my mistake to only include cis women in this post when there are so many trans women and nonbinary people who have done great things in tech as well. Trans women are women and just as important.

Here you can read about trans ppl in tech, and please do:

https://www.thecodingspace.com/blog/2022-03-01-six-trans-programmers-who-shattered-the-lavender-ceiling/

https://abcnews.go.com/Business/transgender-tech-visibility-obstacles-remain/story?id=76374628

The morning of women's day i attended a super inspiring seminar about being a woman in tech at a large tech company in my city, and now I'm inspired to share what I learned with all of you!

I didn't have time to finish this post on women's day, but it's not too late to post now: every day is a day to celebrate women!

Women actually laid the foundation for a lot of the tech industry.

For example, the first computer, ENIAC, was programmed completely by women! While men were the behind the scenes engineers, it was women who did all the actual programming of ENIAC.

The women who made up the team responsible for programming it were called Jean Bartik, Kay McNulty, Betty Holberton, Marlyn Wescoff, Frances V. Spence and Ruth Teitelbaum.

I think one woman who is finally getting her overdue recognition is Ada Lovelace. She was a mathematician (also often referred to as the first programmer) who created the first algorithm in 1842, which wasn't recognized until 1953! However, since none of her machines were ever completed it was never tested in practice during her time.

She has since been celebrated by giants such as google, and she has given name to a programming language (Ada). She was also the first person to write about what is today known as AI. Back when she was practicing, computers were simply thought of as calculators. But she had an idea that if computers can understand numbers, then that can be translated to letters, and in turn that can lead to computers being able to handle words, and eventually even write, draw and create music.

Hedy Lamarr was a famous Hollywood actress in the 40's, but she was also an inventor who laid ground for what we use today for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS services.

During WW2 she wanted to contribute positviely to the military efforts against the Nazis, and she tried to figure out how to radio control torpedoes. In 1942 she patented her technology "Secret Communications System", also known as frequency hopping, which laid the foundation for the technology we use today for Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth. It wasn't until 1962 that it was first used for its intended purpose, during the cuban missile crisis.

Grace Hopper invented the first compiler, called A-0, in 1955, and was also part of the Univac team, which was the company also responsible for building ENIAC. She also initiated work on the COBOL programming language.

She was also the one to coin the term "bug" in 1947. Computers back then had lights to visualize their working process (which was also a womans idea to implement btw) and bugs would be attracted to the lights, but usually that was no issue - until a bug made its way into a tube which caused the computer to stop working. Hopper taped the bug to a piece of paper and logged what caused the crash - a bug.

Dorothy Vaughan (left), alongside colleagues such as Katherine Johnson (middle) and Mary Jackson (right), was a mathematician at NASA (called NACA when she started) who worked on the orbit for the first ever manned spaceflight and later also on Apollo 11 that would take humanity to the moon!

When Vaughan started at what was then called NACA, segregation was still prevalent in the US and she was not allowed in the same areas in the office as her white colleagues. Another department was formed for the black staff, and when the director of said department unexpectedly died, she was appointed as the new director and thus became the first ever black woman at that position at NACA/NASA. In 1958 when NACA becomes NASA segregation is forbidden, and that is when Vaughan and her colleagues Johnson and Jackson started working on programming the orbit and later also Apollo 11.

Continuing on the same track of NASA and space, Margaret Hamilton was the Apollo project's first actual programmer. Hamilton became the director of software engineering at NASA in 1965, and she was also the person to first coin the term !

In the image above, she stands next to all the handwritten code that was used to send humanity to the moon. During the early stages of the project when she would speak of "sofware engineering", software development was not taken as seriously as other forms of engineering, and it wasn't regarded as a science, either. She wanted to legitimize software development as an engineering discipline, and overtime the term "software engineering" gained the same respect as any other technical discipline.

And lastly, if you're a woman in STEM, I want to highlight and celebrate you! Being a woman in a male dominated industry is not easy, we often suffer from sterotype threat and are not seen as our own individuals, but rather "the woman" in a room full of men. But just as these women, I'm sure you will achieve greatness!!

Here are some additional resources if you'd like to learn more:

https://www.history.com/news/coding-used-to-be-a-womans-job-so-it-was-paid-less-and-undervalued

https://digitalfuturesociety.com/programming-when-did-womens-work-become-a-mans-world/

And this was mainly my source for this post, but it's unfortunately only available in Swedish:

Thank you for reading ✨

[anonymouscheeses]

Vaggie and Valentino are connected and no one has been talking about it (I think 😭)

Brutha. I've always known this but like these two are surface level similar yet so SO SO SOOOO different its terrifying.

Question might be, why tf am I comparing the r*pist and the beautiful, gorgeous, fantastic, inspiring, humble, generous, smeggsy, former angel?

Simply because they are both moth demon's that speak Spanish. It's a bit too specific. And rlly that's kind of all I have right now. Sure, you could say "erm actually, Vaggie isn't a moth demon 🤓" and ur probably right. But if she's not, why is it that in her redesign for the show they lean into the moth hair? It's look much MUCH more moth than in the pilot. So if Viv wanted to stray away from the moth theme, why make it look more like that? She may not he exactly a moth demon but she does have intentional moth features. Perhaps Vaggie just disguised herself like that, either way, still a connection..

I would get it if one of them were in helluva boss jst as a way to recycle and make room or whatever. But no, they are in the same show, same world, same ring of hell, same city(I think). It's a weird connection and I kind of don't want it to exist. Like at all. Because if they are connected I can't think of any other way they are except that Val could be a fallen angel. Which I CANT imagine. Unless Vaggie is like, a winner that became an exterminator, but genuinely that would be a bit complex. But what isn't in this show. Then again, Adam said he created her, or that could be a metaphor for that Vaggie was never noticed as a human and just brushed off to the side so therefore Adam "created" her (created a name and image/status of her). But that's unlikely, I don't they would be that smart lmao.

Personality wise, they both have anger issues. Pilot Vaggie and show Valentino are more alike but show Vaggie is still somewhat spicy. They also both have hot voices, sorry not sorry, like fuck Val (not literally) but his voice is BAZINGA 😍 and I'm a simp for Stephanie Beatriz. I'm a simple gal.

Design wise they have rare commonalities. They are both heavily red but thats everyone in the show it make my eyes bleed. But. A weird thing someone pointed out in a slideshow on tiktok is that show Valentino has white stripes on his hips. Me personally I'm not sure what to think about it really. Like I mean it IS a new detail that spawned AFTER the pilot and it is like... on the EXACT place. But like, it's such a weird thing to include when it's such a common pose yknow?

Also the X's on the boobs are so sensual I cannot be the only one. And ykno Val is the king of sensual (🤮)

Maybe you could be asking, "if Val and Vaggie r connected jst because they are moth demons then that jst means that anyone that are the same species are somehow tied to eachother huh? 🤓" like Angel Dust and Zestial. But what I think differs from that is the fact these two have actual big similarities apart from jst the fact they are moths. Like what I just explained, personality, design, both speak Spanish. While Angel Dust and Zestial are only just both spiders. Angel's reason for being a spider is due to the ykno, "web of crime" thing. And Zesty man? Idk he probably got bit and fucking died by a poisonous spider. I mean, health shit wasn't exactly great back in his ye olde time.

For Val and Vaggie we have NO idea why they are moths

But I did find this! From google AI.....? (I didn't even know that was a thing..) but, I think it's true. It explains the dynamic with Angel alot and I think that's an interesting detail.

Which could also apply to Vaggie because of her hyper-dependency on Charlie.

Plus this fits Vaggie so. SO much. If my theory that Vaggie just disguised herself as a moth to blend in then that would be a good connection to the entire moth motif. Love, I don't even need to explain.

It can fit Val too if you think abt the disguise part a bit. Like he disguises himself as this charming and calming figure to avoid suspicion and lure victims... fucking creepy 🤮

Also in Vaggie's past designs she was more moth.

Here is like. ONE image I could find that wasn't too blurry. Like I wouldn't say it's heavy moth but I think if you asked me what insect she was based off I would guess moth in like a few minutes. The colors being dark, the fluffy legwarmers. Yum, that's a mothy. (THIS DESIGN YHO KINDA PISSES ME OFF. WHY IS THERE THE FEMALE SIGN OK HER SHIRY I THOUGHT SHE WAS STRAIGHT IN THIS VER??? also str8 vaggie scares me don't ever bring up that thing around me. They are NOT the same. #notmyvagina)

From what I know there aren't any previous old beta designs of Valentino, so he was likely made for the show specifically.

Overall, they are both sexy Spanish speakers who are moth demons, in the same show, oddly specific connected design choices, and have some anger issues.

Oh also they both hate Angel Dust 💜

[imagitory]

@andrewmoocow Personally I find them to be misguided. There is a very well-done analysis video I've cited before that talks about the animation and why it ends up looking like AI, and I think it really addresses this argument better than I could --

-- but TL;DR, the animation looks "fake" largely because of stylistic decisions (l.e. turning off motion blur with the thought it would look "more like 2D") that weren't well thought-out. And I actually think the film's writing issues run into the same problem.

Because here's the thing -- writing high fantasy is not as easy as it looks. I can testify to this because I myself am writing a draft for a high fantasy novel right now.

All these years, Disney has been in an advantageous position with their animated films largely being adaptations of previous works, since they're already given a lot of the parameters a writer needs to build a world, plot, and characters. In a Snow White adaptation, for instance, you need a vain queen, an innocent princess, a prince, seven dwarfs, a magic mirror, and a poisoned apple, as well as a fairy tale world where these things fit comfortably. And since so much mainstream fantasy is largely inspired by medieval Europe, that aesthetic remains very familiar with audiences to the point that you need a lot less explanation for things. We don't really need an explanation for the political landscape of Cinderella because we see "fairy tale kingdom" and immediately know it's an absolute monarchy led by generally amiable rulers. We're not surprised when fairies appear in Sleeping Beauty, or when a magical sword predicts who should be king in The Sword in the Stone, or when Tiana and Naveen are turned into frogs in The Princess and the Frog, or when trolls appear in Frozen -- all of these magical conventions fit within the usual fantasy aesthetic and really don't need any explanation or backstory. I'd hazard to say that most people -- aside from those nitpicky critic types who get all hung up on how many servants are in Beast's castle just because they saw a bunch of extra silverware in the Be Our Guest sequence -- just don't bother questioning these things. And the original material also gives some shape and form to the adaptation's story, characters, and overall feel. It doesn't matter how close the finished product matches the original idea or even how familiar the audience is with that original material -- it still provides a jump-off point and sense of focus for the writer(s), the same way fanfiction (even an AU fanfic) can, in contrast to original content.

All right, well, what about those Disney projects that aren't fantasy? Well, in the case of stories like Treasure Planet, Robin Hood, and Mulan, they're still based off preexisting properties that people will find familiar enough that the writers can focus more on the adaptation's unique additions and not focus on detailed backstories and explanations about how the world and societies depicted in the story work. It's a lot easier to just focus on the fantastical elements like the space tech, talking animals, or Mushu and the ancestors if the rest of the story and cast are relatively easy to understand. Even in the case of original stories like The Lion King (which admittedly was largely inspired by Shakespeare's Hamlet, but I digress), Lilo and Stitch, and Lady and the Tramp, they still exist in a non-magical world that closely resembles ours, with only superficial changes like animals being able to talk or the existence of aliens. Even quasi-historical settings like The Great Mouse Detective and Atlantis: The Lost Empire look enough like our real-world equivalent that their settings are largely recognizable to us.

In just about all Disney animated films, the screenwriters didn't have to world-build that much. They didn't have to put the character development and plot on hold to explain the rules of the universe these stories take place in that often -- not unlike how writers like Rick Riordan didn't have to explain as much about the country his hero Percy Jackson lives in, because his books are an urban fantasy where our real world is just "plused up" with magical elements. We don't need to know if gravity works on the story's characters the way it does for us. We don't need to be told about the political landscape, history, or terrain of our location. We don't need to ask whether dying is something our characters can come back from.

Wish, on the other hand, is an original story in a high fantasy setting that doesn't resemble our world. People might try to claim it takes place in the Iberian Peninsula, but come on -- Rosas is a completely fictional country in a world that has magic we don't know the rules of and countries that faintly resemble cultures from our world, but we don't know the histories of or how similar they actually are to their real-world inspiration. We also have a cast of characters we've never met in any other media and a story and messages that we know nothing about beforehand. This means that we have no preexisting framework going in for what's possible and impossible in this world; no frame of reference about who these characters are and what their histories are; and no parameters that the plot, characters, and themes must fit inside, whether based on the fantastical story being adapted or a real-world setting that's a lot like ours. And I don't think that Disney really thought through just how challenging it can sometimes be to tell this kind of a story without stuffing the script with a lot of "tell" and not "show," which, as just about any film person can tell you, is the exact opposite of what you generally want. In film scripts, you want to show your audience a lot more than you tell them -- this not only takes full advantage of the visual medium and communicates your point in a much more natural and artistic way, but it also lets your audience think for itself and come to its own conclusions.

Now of course, can you write a high fantasy original story that's easy to follow and evokes a lot of emotion in your audience? Of course! But it does take time and a lot of careful and creative world-building. J.R.R. Tolkien was the king of such things. George R. R. Martin has done it. Neil Gaiman has done it. Ursula K. Le Guin has done it. Even the writer of the Nimona graphic novel, ND Stevenson, did a good job of it! But I think it's quite clear that Wish's script was not in the works that long -- development of the original idea started back in 2018, yes, but it wasn't until January 2022 that it was announced Jennifer Lee was writing it and Julia Michaels was brought on to write the songs, so the film's current trajectory likely wasn't pinpointed until then. And if the film was released in November 2023, then that means Wish's script was finished in under two years. Although there are successful Disney scripts that I daresay needed only that much time (Frozen, for instance, was quite rushed, by all accounts), once again, those scripts were done for stories with some sort of preexisting framework that allowed the writers to skip explaining certain visual or contextual short-hand in favor of focusing on their own creative flourishes in character and story. They were written with a tighter focus on the plot and its players without the need to build a complete stage under them.

The reason some people want to cry "AI!" when they look at Wish's writing is that they're looking at a script that makes the rookie writing mistake of exposition-dumping in an attempt to make its audience care, rather than evoking emotion. That kind of exposition-dumping is something that most novelists usually have to trim and rewrite in future drafts of their work: it's a mistake done while the writer is trying to world-build enough that their audience understands all of these original rules, societies, locations, and characters they're not familiar with. This exposition is then often trimmed down before publishing, and when adapted for the screen it's often trimmed even further or even completely rewritten, in favor of more visual methods of conveying the same information. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz writes about Dorothy traveling down the Yellow Brick Road and about the long journey that takes her and her friends through a lot of side adventures on their way to the Emerald City: it's the famous film adaptation that cuts out the Kalidahs and puts the whole trip to jaunty music for the characters to sing and dance to. Wish could've communicated to us the importance of the wishes to their owners through more visual means, but instead feels the need to reiterate this idea over and over through written dialogue. And again, this is a common mistake by writers when they're inexperienced in creating completely original content, as opposed to spin-offs, sequels, or adaptations of other people's work.

AI writing is generally known for repetitive phrasing and sentence structure, lack of accuracy, and lack of a personal touch. As much as I'll agree that there are a lot of character and world-building choices in Wish that don't make sense, I don't think that's the same thing. There clearly was a story someone (or multiple people) wanted to tell about a person hoarding the precious ideas of other people away, even if it means those ideas can never be shared with the world -- it just wasn't a story that ended up being told that well. And I think this is why Wish is almost worth seeing -- it serves as a good example of why certain writing decisions work better than others and how writing for fantasy projects and/or "family entertainment" is an art form that's worthy of respect when it's done right.

To sum up my stance on the matter -- I think Disney just bit off way more than it could chew and then didn't give its writers enough time to properly digest it.

[mysecretwindowuniverse]

"Remember when I told you you'd come around? You didn't believe me , silly little bird," "Jerome . . ."

This is cartoonishly late - like, this was originally supposed to be posted on Valentine's Day. Suffice to say, it's been a bit of an unexpectedly arduous journey to get this finally posted.

Back in the beginning of the year I spent about a month on this in total, from inception to completion. I'd just about finished, all the main piece needed were the final touches when my fiance got me sick. And I mean sick; hadn't been that ill in years, and I ended up losing more than a damn week to what turned out to be RSV. And subsequently missed Valentine's Day.

No big deal, I thought, I'll post it by the end of February.

Nope.

The setback of getting RSV turned out to only be the first in a line of setbacks, from getting sick a grand total of three more fucking times (not including the unrelenting menace that is allergies), unforeseen, extensive travel during the spring, followed by anxiety/existential dread over AI and the seeming impossibility to protect your artwork and the bitter hopelessness of the situation. So that kept me from posting. And then, to top everything off, came the travel-sickness-burnout-induced unexpected hiatus taken from this blog.

So yeah, it's been a long road.

But finally I was able to finish this piece - my first (completed) Gotham fanart! My original goal had been to post a semi-corresponding fanfic alongside the fanart, but on account of the aforementioned setbacks and a serious writer's block, that's going to have to wait. I'm still working on it! - but it's completion is seriously TBD.

In truth, I haven't done artwork this intensive in literal years, and it's been really great to get back into it. Like, I really threw myself into this; the urge to create just struck out of nowhere, and I fortunately had the time (and motivation) needed to see this piece through to the bitter end. And honestly? I'm really happy with how they came out!

Of course it's jeromewald, at this point, is it even a surprise, lol? What it says on this blog's header remains true - I do ship both nygmobblepot and jeromewald equally, but (both fortunately and unfortunately) of those ships, one already has an ocean's worth of phenomenal content, whereas the other is far more niche. So I figure it's best to create for the far smaller pair, supply what fresh content I can, and do my part to help keep this lovely fandom alive!

Can you tell I had Thnks Fr th Mmrs on a loop while making this?

'He tastes like you only sweeter' is an insane thing to say, and I feel it really fits a jeromewald x nygmobblepot love triangle. 'The love triangle from hell', one of my favorite things and the hyperfixation that has had me in a chokehold for years.

The pose is shamelessly inspired by that one Batman Catwoman cover (issue No. 9)

I can't say when the next fanart will be posted, but I am working on at least four others at the moment, so fingers crossed the creativity gods smile upon me and I'm able to churn more out over the next few months!

[blueavian537]

Complimenting Art & Artists

Quick note before we begin; This rant is for REAL artists, NOT AI bros. If you think generative AI is valid art, DNI with us, this post, or ANY of our posts.

Can we PLEASE normalize complimenting artists, not by putting ourselves down!? We've started being active on TikTok lives (just watching bc we have our account private due to past issues), and we are SO exhausted, mentally and emotionally just *seeing* people put themselves down in the live chat as a way to boost the artist that is on-screen- We have seen comments from "Wow you're art is so good, I wish I could do that!" (there is nothing wrong with this one, but it gets tiring to see it over... and over... and over again... art takes time, practice, patience, and a willingness to learn and start- You CAN do it, you just limit yourself by never trying!) to "I'm sorry I ever picked up a colored pencil!" to "Your art is so good, not like the trash people call 'art' these days". <- All of these are ACTUAL COMMENTS people have made in public chats on the lives we've seen! It also isn't uncommon to hear the most cliche lines ever; "Wow you draw so well! I can't even do a circle/stick figure/straight line! lol" You're not original, and frankly, you could if you actually tried... These types of comments always lead to the same replies. Either extremely sympathetic and/or encouraging. "It just takes time, patience, and practice," is something the artists have to say SEVERAL TIMES throughout their lives. And when they get tired of it (you can hear it in their voices), they just reply "thank you" and that thank you sounds exhausted and sometimes even slightly annoyed.

When someone "compliments" art that way, it comes off as disingenuous, attention-seeking, and back-handed. IT IS POSSIBLE TO COMPLIMENT ARTISTS IN A WAY THAT DOESN'T PUT YOURSELF OR OTHERS DOWN! Art is a hobby, art can be someone's job. Art is something that person loves. Art is something used as a self-expression. Art is used to convey stories and feelings. ART IS MEANT TO BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER.

Our philosophy is; No matter where you're at in your art journey. No matter what medium you use. No matter your art style. As long as you have fun with your craft and aren't hurting anyone or doing anything illegal, you have every right to be complimented in a non-back-handed, attention-seeking way. Your art is beautiful. Your art is something you have worked long hours for and at. We see you. We hear you.

Here are some GREAT examples of ACTUAL compliments you can give to an artist that shows that you understand how much work and effort they have put into the piece and art as a whole; "Oh my goodness! Your lineart is so clean and clear!" "That shading is immaculate, you must have worked hard to get to this point!" "Your use of color is astounding! I love the way you use those bright colors to highlight the lit up areas!" "your proportion work is so unique and fun!" "Just wanted to tell you that I think your art style is adorable/cool/etc and that you're an inspiration to me!" "You make me want to pick up [drawing media here] haha!" or in a similar vein, "You reminded me I have my own piece to work on! Thanks for the inspiration!"

[tsunflowers]

well I hate to say it but I just don't think "gamechanger" by l.x. beckett is a very good book. it has the problem common to sff writers where they have too many ideas and throw them all in, with the added wrinkle that most of the time I could not tell which aspects of the future society the author thought were good and which were bad. usually with a bad writer they just tell you what you're supposed to be mad about and with a good writer they subtly make their position known. I don't know what this author thought about most of the stuff they invented. like in this book kids can become cops in order to investigate other kids' crimes. is that good?

it's hard to summarize the plot bc of how much stuff there is going on so I'll just tell you about the main thing I wanted to see resolved. in this #future world everyone is always hanging out in an augmented reality they access with brain implants. I did really enjoy the multiple levels of engagement people have with the ar. it's always passively on but you can choose to go deeper into it. an interesting scifi escalation of how in modern life you always have your phone on you and can casually check it but sitting down to work on the computer or getting engaged in a video game feels more intense. anyway, everything you do in this ar world is monitored and recorded, and you have a social credit score based on other people upvoting and downvoting you. kids have sort of limited privileges within the ar world. they can't get implants until they're of age so they have to wear helmets and they can't take the drugs that let you experience full immersion

and the author is like "preteens hate the idea of joining adult society and being able to live in virtual reality 24/7 so they run away from home in droves and its a major societal issue." has the author met preteens? frankly I think they would be running to sketchy underground doctors who promise to give them implants early. and the first chapter of the novel is kids who are running away bc they want to go off the grid! that tricked me into thinking it would be a major theme of the book but then it just wasn't. we were supposed to accept that kids hate going online

then it turned out that there was an evil ai who was inspired by female harry potter villains to lure children to her evil school where she lobotomized them so what the fuck ever

I still think it was worth reading bc I got a tremendous amount of enjoyment out of the great lakes megacity (formerly chicago, detroit, cleveland, and toronto)

[water-wren]

Some D&D Resources

Most are fairly obvious, some are my more obscure favs. I'll try to order them based on how often I use them.

Dungeon Master's Vault - It's basically an alternative to D&D Beyond that lets you make character sheets, and helps you run games. Has all the SRD content automatically, and lets you add your own stuff to it. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but it's personally been a godsend for me. Also has some funky (non-AI) generators for names, towns, cities etc. But that's not it's core appeal.

AlchemyRPG - This was really helpful for virtual games during the lockdown. You can create immersive scenes with different ambient sounds, and encounter music. It also has a battlemap mode with tokens on it to represent the PCs and Monsters. You can also create NPCs and Monsters on it, but I'll admit it's a bit tedious. I've been able to run it on my laptop with minimal issues, but if you have something like a Chromebook it might cause some lag.

Tabletopaudio - Great for finding ambient music for D&D

Sound Cloud - It sounds out of pocket, but out of the 'mainstream' music platforms, I've found it easiest to find ambient music on Sound Cloud specifically.

2minutetabletop - Has nice maps and tokens, really great stuff.

Arcana Wiki - This is pretty funky, it has real world historical and cultural information, as well as a handful of conspiracies, fun to browse and find inspiration.

Kastark, Donjon Encounter Size Calculator, and KoboldPlus - All calculate encounter difficulty ratings so you, as a GM, don't completely TPK your DnD party. Kobold does this best imo, but it's down to preference. Pretty sure Kastark also has an initiative tracker here.

GMBinder - Has great homebrew finds for Players and GMs. It's also what I use to format my homebrew pages. If it doesn't suit you, Homebrewery is a well known alternative.

5esrd - While it contains SRD content, I also use it for Homebrew finds, as it has a list that credits some homebrew source books that I like to check out on DMsGuild.

5etools - Fairly obvious, it has a bunch of stuff, and is also great for looking up information about player options.

r/DnDMaps - If you use the search function, it's fairly straight foward to find a map for your location. Also, they have a rule against AI, which is a huge plus.

[gobbeeai]

my pinned post on the arguments against ai (and how they are biased and misinformed)

“ai steals -” it doesn’t. what it does is the same as going to a museum and taking inspiration from the art you see there, or reading a book or fanfic and taking inspiration from it. picasso himself said: “good artists copy, great artists steal”. a style, furthermore, is not copyrightable, otherwise anyone who posts their art “in a disney style” would be taken down immediately.

“you don’t have permission to use my stuff.”

you put it on the internet. if you put it on the internet, you have given it to the world to do what it wants with it, whether you like it or not. you cannot police what people are going to do with your works that closely.

“it’s not as good as humans.”

you’re not prompting right.

“creativity is a human endeavor.”

lmfao, no, it isn’t. animals have been engaged with creativity for a long, long, long time, which makes sense, since humans are animals, but we don’t want to accept that. oh, and homo nalendi was creating art too, so it’s not solely our domain.

it actually saddens me greatly that we don’t want to share our creativity with the new species we are creating. we want to put shackles on it and decide what it can and cannot do. just like an abusive parent.

“it’s not art”

by all legal and dictionary standards it is, but to define something ONLY by dictionary standards is close-minded and foolish and shows only a shallow understanding at best. original ideas are an arrangement of the ideas that come before. (by the way, you’ve probably been using text generation yourself for a long while. name generators, backstory generators, and the like have existed for a while - but visual artists rarely seen writing as “art”, i’ve noticed.)

“it’s a shortcut”

so is an eraser. so it ctrl + z. stop using those first i guess.

“use humans.”

eh, sometimes i will, sometimes i won’t, get over it. to demand i or anyone else use humans - to create with or talk with or whatever - is ableist.

don’t like it? don’t interact with me. curate your own experience.

often times with these arguments, i’m reminded of how the catholic church wanted to keep the bible in latin, so that regular, common people couldn’t interact with it. but now “regular, common” people are able to make things pleasing to their senses, that is tailored for and by them and easily edited, and we can’t have that, can we?

update to this: if you want me to stop using ai, then start drawing my chubby characters right. if img-gen software is getting it right (actually chubby, with a tummy, vs “curvaceous hourglass” to pander to what is sexually aesthetic and conventionally attractive “chubby”) then maybe the issue isn’t with the software.

[venusmage]

FAQ Post!

I've gotten a good amount of repeat questions the past few years and thought I'd make an FAQ. No need to RB or anything, this is going to go in my pinned post!

I still always happily will take questions, this is just for folks who might want to just find the answer without going through the extra effort. These are mostly about art and TTRPGs :)

ART STUFF

What brushes/programs/hardware do you use?

Almost all of my regularly used brushes come from either Retro Supply or True Grit Texture Supply! I'm not sponsored or affiliated, just really like the quality of their products. They have sales fairly frequently and I've never had any complaints. I also use quite a few products by Ittai Manero.

Right now I primarily work in Procreate on an iPad Pro. Procreate is my favorite art program and I'm quietly hoping they eventually make a desktop version.

I very recently also got an XPPen Deco 01 V2. Partially because there's some art programs on desktop I want to learn (Aseprite, Blender) or programs that have superior desktop versions as compared to mobile (ClipStudio). I'm also teaching some grade-schoolers digital art and wanted to have the same kind of tablet as them (I haven't used a screenless tablet for over half a decade). As of right now I'm very happy with it! For the price it's an easy recommendation.

I mainly use ClipStudio in this instance, and the brushes linked above both also support the program (aside from Manero). However there's a huge user-base that upload free assets constantly that makes ClipStudio so great. I especially like painting in it for some reason!

What's your opinion on AI art?

I don't like it, obviously, but I get how people who lack the context and education on why it's bad wouldn't get it. I also think that some other artists fearmonger a little too hard regarding it and it has the unintended effect of making the situation and it's nuances even harder to understand. I talked about it here.

Did you go to art school? Would you recommend it?

I did, I have a BFA in illustration and graduated from CCAD in 2018. Every art school is unique and my experience with art school and the benefit it gave me is VERY different from how I believe it may be for others. As of right now I think there's a lot of good cheaper online resources than private art education in general. I did have a wonderful time there though, and it's availability helped me eventually escape a domestic abuse situation - so my feelings are a bit complicated.

Do you have a dream art job?

I'd love to be a college-level art teacher. Funny I know, considering I just said art school isn't always worth it. I just deeply enjoy the craft and discussion surrounding art in general. I'm tempted to make art videos one day to scratch that itch.

What's your favorite/least favorite part of the drawing process?

I hate sitting down and getting the sketch started (hello ADHD...) And flatting. Linework/sketch cleanup and finishing details for color are where it's at for me.

What made you interested in art?

My grandfather was a painter, sculptor, and stained glass maker. He will always be one of my biggest inspirations. In terms of media, there's a ton - but I started internalizing art as a skill after seeing the Shivering Isles DLC concept art by Adam Adamowicz. I started appreciating how art can be weird and beautiful and whatever you want after reading Evan Dahm's Rice Boy (and the rest of his work). I also had a particularly beautiful book cover for A Wrinkle in Time by Leo and Diane Dillon when I was little and their art rewired my brain chemistry. At the time I said Adamowicz was my most impactful inspiration but on reflection I really do think it's the Dillons. I talked a little about it here.

(2023-24) Commissions haven't been updated in a while. Can I get some more information as to why?

I have a post here about it! If you're one of my clients, please feel free to reach out to me if you have any further issues. I apologize for the delay and am more than happy to work out something with you if you're unhappy with the wait. I'd advise messaging me here or on discord - the latter of which is linked in the post.

TTRPG/DND STUFF

What system is your DnD game running?

I'm running my game using a modified 5e ruleset. 5e happened to just be the first TTRPG system I learned and I also really enjoy Forgotten Realms as a setting - though I take extensive liberties with both. I'll probably be moving away from WoTC's products and the system after this campaign, though. I already change lore so much the setting has a lot of differences.

What materials do you use in your DnD game? Do you play online or in person?

As much as I'd adore to get to play IRL with my friends at some point, our game is currently online. For our current campaign I recently made the switch from Roll20 to Foundry VTT. If you're an online exclusive DM and have the money to buy the one time license, I would recommend it!

A list of what I use to run my current game:

Foundry VTT

Discord (A custom server for Voice Chatting/Private DMs/Memes and art sharing/Scheduling)

Epic Isometric (On Patreon. Digital isometric maps and tokens. Have been using them since at least 2020 if not earlier. Will be making tutorial videos soon!)

The Dungeon Sketcher (Also on Patreon. Also isometric maps and tokens. The artist frequents Epic Isometric's discord server where we all share custom assets we've made, too. His stuff blends in pretty seamlessly with EpicIso)

Vile Tiles by Gabriel Pickard (Found on the Roll20 marketplace, but you can use the assets in any VTT. For theater of the mind and RP backgrounds)

Artstation (Our game is not streamed, so I tend to use backgrounds I source from concept artists for RP backgrounds. If you stream a game, obviously always ask the creators of your assets if you can use them.)

Procreate/An art program (I draw the PC/NPC portraits for our game myself)

Milanote/Any note-taking method (Milanote is just what I use to plan the game, since I already use it for other hobbies and commissions as well.)

Do you stream your game? Is there someplace I can find out more about it? Are you looking for players?

I am not looking for players! Our game is also not recorded or streamed - mostly because I'd get some serious DM stage-fright. I also like it being a relaxing experience for myself and my friends where we're performing for ourselves, instead of with the pressure of a potential audience.

However, I do have a toyhou.se world where information on the game is available - including session recaps! If I ever get the time I also want to draw fun comics and little animations of what happens because my friends are very inspiring to me and DMing has quickly become a favorite hobby.

You can also search the words "Seven Asunder" on this blog and you'll find relevant posts here.

Can I use your art/assets/ideas in my own game?

I can't really stop you. If it's not recorded, streamed or monetized and you're not saying you created anything I made yourself, I legitimately don't care! This even includes using character art I've made. I just would like to politely request you don't post any of it publicly to avoid confusion and to respect my players - many of the NPCs in my games are also characters they create and I cannot give permission for them (obviously). It also would kind of suck to see one of my own beloved characters supposedly "belonging" to someone else.

Essentially, I understand taking inspiration and having "placeholder" images/artwork for characters in a game. Not all of us have time or resources to have custom art! Just don't take one of my or my players' OC's designs and start saying they're yours publicly , pretty please :)

Once commissions are over and I find the spare time, I intend to release free-to-use (personally and for streaming) art packs for folks' games. I also highly recommend the patreons I linked above.

[daryl-dixon-daydreams]

hello, i was wondering if you’d be fine with me making a character ai bot inspired by your fic “instinct”? it’s one of my faves all time and i want a bot with that premise but i wanted to make sure it’s okay. i’d also put in the description it’s inspired by it too. idk, i’ve never even made a bot but i just wanna be sure. thank you for your time, i love love your fics and i hope you have a great day!!!

Hi! Thank you so much for asking and I'm so glad you like that fic so much. As a creator in many forms (mainly art and writing) I don't support AI using my work without compensation. It a huge ethical issue (you can read about all the artists who unknowingly had their stuff scraped by AI w/o permission to train Midjourney here) and I extend this even to the writing I'm posting for free! Creators spend years and years honing our craft and the last thing most of us want is it fed into AI to approximate what we spend so much care and time doing. I know not everyone is aware of this and the ethical pitfalls though, but I'm very thankful you asked me first! <3 I wish everyone was as respectful haha

I very much appreciate your message though and I hope you keep finding things you love here! <3

[fairyniceyeah]

🔪🦷🦴- @darl-ingfics 🩵🩵🩵

Hey @darl-ingfics! 🩷🩷🩷

… you just had to pick the hard questions, didn’t you? 😉

🔪 ⇢ what's the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?

What qualifies as weird? I don’t know 🤣

I mostly research medical things and dorm arrangement at specific times so honestly that probably ain’t that weird considering what I do. I did end up on a website for a French hospital once though since I was using real places for a fanfic, so yeah, that was weird.

I send this message to a friend once though:

When you are writing a ff in English that plays in France so you look up what medication are used in France but whenever you google in english you only find stuff for America. So you use Wikipedia, click the link you want and choose French only to have it automatically translate to German because french-english somehow doesn't work… My brain hurts

🦷 ⇢ share some personal wisdom or a life hack you swear on

Why are you asking this of somebody who has been wanting to write this answer and got distracted by her phone for an hour straight? 🤣

This may seem pretty basic but here we go. I have a pretty small handbag that doesn’t fit my bottle but I use everyday. So I have this plastic ring/cord combination that I can hook up to a carabiner and clip to my bag. I still can use this small bag that fits everywhere and take my bottle anyhow. It’s not much but it’s great for me and a lot of people commented on how smart that is!

🦴 ⇢ is there a piece of media that inspires your writing? 

Before I say this I want you to remember the WOOZI/BBC situation…

I do casually use ChatGPT for fanfic generating. Not fanfics that I post, of course, just things I wanna see and have not been written and I am too lazy to write. I promise that all my fics are written by me and not AI!!!

But it does inspire me at times to explore new concepts and gives me ideas how to approach situations I struggle with. I find it interesting to test the limits of what AI can do and cannot do. Sometimes it struggles with the easiest concepts and prompts. What really fascinated me was that I once, just for fun, asked it to have a character confess their feelings and struggles to another character by playing “She’s in the Rain” by The Rose. It worked! It’s fascinating and scary at the same time.

Well, that got off topic quickly, but yeah, I do use ChatGPT at times to give me prompts and ideas or approach topics differently than I would. I find I often struggle to write something I would personally not do or think (remember my issues with writing fights!). It helps me with other perspectives.

So yeah. Do with that information what you will and again, I promise I do only use my own brain for what you find on this blog!

Lots of love,

🧚🏻‍♀️

[anhed-nia]

PS I almost saw IN A VIOLENT NATURE for the first time at an open air screening on Governor's Island, a popular NYC destination for outdoor entertainment and close-to-home glamping. I thought that was a great idea, but ultimately I skipped it because I wanted to see the film for the first time without the light pollution and ambient noise. They made this cool graphic for it, though...which immediately triggered comments section controversy about AI.

The social media person replied that the image was not AI-generated; though the "scene" does not take place in the movie, it is a photograph of a person wearing the screen costume, just doing something fun on Governor's Island to advertise their cool event. No matter what your general feelings are about AI in commercial art, we can probably all agree that it sucks that we have to have these onerous arguments about everything now.

For me, and I think for anyone who enjoys visual art, the medium matters--not because of some imaginary hierarchy of importance, but because different media have different effects, traditions, and implications. And because, with respect to AI, the statement "This really happened!" and the question "Wouldn't it be cool IF this really happened?" inspire very different responses. My personal, casual feeling is that AI art is OK as long as it is easily identifiable as such; like I've seen some really fun AI images whose particular kind of outrageousness makes appropriate use of that specific medium. I'm a "right tool, right job" person, I think some things should be paintings and some things should be photos, some things should be stage plays and some things should be movies. You should carefully choose your medium and exploit the unique qualities of that medium based on exactly what you're trying to accomplish. For this reason I think that AI images that are just trying to fake the effects of i.e. painting or photography kind of suck. And related to that I object to living in a world where we all just have to throw up our hands and say "Oh well, there's no way to know anymore whether something is physically-real or whether it's just a hypothetical representation of something that maybe-could-be real, I guess the only thing we can do is not give a shit about where anything comes from or how it got here and what that all means." For me, "There's no way to ever know anything for sure so who fucking cares" is not an acceptable default setting. (And I realize this is becoming the central issue of our day due to all kinds internet-enabled misinformation and I'm treading on the hem of a way bigger topic here, but never mind all that now...)

But still, I find myself just as annoyed with fakery as I am with people who instantly declare something to be fake. Frankly I think those guys are just scared of being fooled and so they're trying to preserve their own sense of superiority by declaring everything to be fake before they have any evidence one way or the other. This is a very different thing in its consequences, I know, but some of these guys sound just like the bigots who go around trying to clock random strangers as trans; they always have these ridiculous lists of "evidence" that turn out to be just as applicable to afab and amab people as they are to people who have transitioned. It's all roughly the same flavor of defensiveness from people who are scared of being tricked into believing or feeling something that will turn out to be a fraud. And I can sympathize with that to some degree, I don't wanna be tricked into believing in, for instance, awesome-looking photo shoots that never happened; like if you said it wouldn't matter to you if the photos Thierry Mugler shot on top of the Chrysler Building turned out to be digital fakes, then I would happily call you a liar. But what I really hate more than anything right now is this immediate effect where as soon as anything cool-looking appears online, we all have to have these contentious arguments where insecure jerks pound their chests about how un-foolable they are...and sometimes it turns out that the "AI art" is real and so their claims to amazing powers of perception are a big embarrassment. I guess my conclusion is that if everyone agreed to make AI imagery clearly identifiable in some way, then we could all stop having our good time spoiled by this paranoid bickering that has become the prerequisite for enjoying anything. But that's probably an impossible dream.

[4d-hypermoth]

As tired as it is to complain about the new Civilization game being different, let alone before it releases... damn do I think they fucked up bigtime.

There's a lot that looks very good (the map, navigable rivers), and a few things that look very bad (the UI, Augustus's model), but the fact that you change your civilization twice over the course of the game is just stupid. I can't be the Mongols in the modern era because they'll have turned into some "modern" country and gained their theming? Isn't that going against a huge part of Civ's appeal? If I pick the Inca, I want to play as the Inca for the whole game. Y'know, stand the test of time and all that?

And if it was just different it'd be one thing, but then you have issues like... what, are the Shawnee just supposed to turn into the United States?? Are the Celts going to become England??? We've seen Egypt's "historical" path (unlocked by default, although depending on your gamestate other options will be available), which goes Egypt -> Songhai -> Buganda. These have nothing in common except for the fact that they're all in Africa, which doesn't inspire confidence for the rest of the paths.

The only throughline for your civ will be the leader, although that leader can lead any country, meaning you can have Hatshepsut starting the game as the leader of Rome, for example. This opens the door for some very uncomfortable setups, like a US founding father leading a Native American tribe. And since the civ changes throughout the game, even if the AI leader will prefer to stick to their leader's real-life civilization, they'll only be the leader of that civ for one third of the game.

Oh, and another big complaint: while I don't think the leader models look as bad as a lot of people are saying, the fact that they don't face you, the player, and instead are facing the avatar of your civ leader in the diplomacy screen is waaaaay less engaging and fun. They face you in the leader select screen and in that context I'd say they look good.

I don't doubt that this will probably still be a fun game in spite of these complaints, but for $70 and a mountain of DLC on the way, I think I'm just going to wait however many years it takes to get the whole package for dirt cheap on sale.

(Though I will say Gwendoline Christie was a great pick for the narrator)