#not mentioned but its implied so

[goatyoat]

Taking "new year new me" literally and doing my T-shot on new year's eve

[inkskinned]

at some point it's just like. do they even fucking like the thing they're asking AI to make? "oh we'll just use AI for all the scripts" "we'll just use AI for art" "no worries AI can write this book" "oh, AI could easily design this"

like... it's so clear they've never stood in the middle of an art museum and felt like crying, looking at a piece that somehow cuts into your marrow even though the artist and you are separated by space and time. they've never looked at a poem - once, twice, three times - just because the words feel like a fired gun, something too-close, clanging behind your eyes. they've never gotten to the end of the movie and had to arrive, blinking, back into their body, laughing a little because they were holding their breath without realizing.

"oh AI can mimic style" "AI can mimic emotion" "AI can mimic you and your job is almost gone, kid."

... how do i explain to you - you can make AI that does a perfect job of imitating me. you could disseminate it through the entire world and make so much money, using my works and my ideas and my everything.

and i'd still keep writing.

i don't know there's a word for it. in high school, we become aware that the way we feel about our artform is a cliche - it's like breathing. over and over, artists all feel the same thing. "i write because i need to" and "my music is how i speak" and "i make art because it's either that or i stop existing." it is such a common experience, the violence and immediacy we mean behind it is like breathing to me - comes out like a useless understatement. it's a cliche because we all feel it, not because the experience isn't actually persistent. so many of us have this ... fluttering urgency behind our ribs.

i'm not doing it for the money. for a star on the ground in some city i've never visited. i am doing it because when i was seven i started taking notebooks with me on walks. i am doing it because in second grade i wrote a poem and stood up in front of my whole class to read it out while i shook with nerves. i am doing it because i spent high school scribbling all my feelings down. i am doing it for the 16 year old me and the 18 year old me and the today-me, how we can never put the pen down. you can take me down to a subatomic layer, eviscerate me - and never find the source of it; it is of me. when i was 19 i named this blog inkskinned because i was dramatic and lonely and it felt like the only thing that was actually permanently-true about me was that this is what is inside of me, that the words come up over everything, coat everything, bloom their little twilight arias into every nook and corner and alley

"we're gonna replace you". that is okay. you think that i am writing to fill a space. that someone said JOB OPENING: Writer Needed, and i wrote to answer. you think one raindrop replaces another, and i think they're both just falling. you think art has a place, that is simply arrives on walls when it is needed, that is only ever on demand, perfect, easily requested. you see "audience spending" and "marketability" and "multi-line merch opportunity"

and i see a kid drowning. i am writing to make her a boat. i am writing because what used to be a river raft has long become a fully-rigged ship. i am writing because you can fucking rip this out of my cold dead clammy hands and i will still come back as a ghost and i will still be penning poems about it.

it isn't even love. the word we use the most i think is "passion". devotion, obsession, necessity. my favorite little fact about the magic of artists - "abracadabra" means i create as i speak. we make because it sluices out of us. because we look down and our hands are somehow already busy. because it was the first thing we knew and it is our backbone and heartbreak and everything. because we have given up well-paying jobs and a "real life" and the approval of our parents. we create because - the cliche again. it's like breathing. we create because we must.

you create because you're greedy.

[bambiraptorx]

Rise au with the whole 'Draxum kidnaps a turtle for nefarious and evil purposes' trope except the gargoyles are super not into it and actively trying to free said turtle

Like maybe they aren't super obviously going against it or anything (especially given the premise of their boss kidnapping a whole ass child and presumably more or less torturing them, he's probably not a guy you necessarily want to confront directly) but they are distinctly not playing along.

Cause the thing is, they've canonically been lying to him since the day he hired them and he presumably never figured that out (he probably would not have kept them around if he had) and they're kinda known for being 'stupid' and messing stuff up, so it wouldn't be all that hard for them to just. Do that on purpose.

For example: Draxum tells them to stop feeding the whichever turtle it is so that he can starve into compliance. A few days later he's like "damn why isn't starving them working" and the gargoyles are just like "oh we were supposed to be doing that? we forgor oopsie :("

or like

Draxum asks them to watch the turtle overnight, and the next morning they're like "oh did you mean keep them in the cage overnight? Cause we just let them out. Yeah for a stretch, a quick little run. Btw you're paying us overtime for that right?"

Draxum's like "well go find them you buffoons" and they're like "okay fine", and then come back half an hour later and are like "good news we figured out how to find the kid fast! we called yokai CPS :)"

[caluupin]

Justice trio I never knew I wanted until now

[nocofamilyau]

total drama moment (4/8)

[ask2ps]

i really wanna hear more about the 2ps possessing their 1ps?? do they swap bodies or does their original body just go limp?

a) it's not quite a "body swap." the phrase i've used in past writings for it is "overwriting." i think "suppression" would also be appropriate. the 1ps are, if all goes to plan, "put to sleep". they essentially become a repressed memory. oliver set it up like this because he didn't want the 1p nations trying to constantly win back their body. even so, some nations put up a real fight as they're overwritten (and maybe even a little after if they're strong/stubborn enough... ahem ahem america) italy is not one of them though, partially because 2p italy got him in his sleep.

b) yeah they just go limp lol . they're empty husks, now. free meat. england would try a bite if it canada would let him

[demimuu]

val's reconnected with an old business partner and has been having a lot of dinner meetings lately....the guy says he can make them soooooooooo much money though.....🤔 and money buys drugs!

[dykedvonte]

I know you've had to have already touched on it but you ask for Mouthwashing asks and your last post finally made me think of something to say: the one (1) time in the game when Jimmy gets the closest to asking Anya why she's keeping Curly alive. Buddy!! Why are YOU!!! Curly wasn't your Captain anymore the moment he started talking about moving on and leaving you behind; after the crash you realized he was just your little Redemption Barbie now. The first time we open the med cabinet I thought we were going to be able to kill Curly by pouring the disinfectant down his mouth instead of the painkillers. But no, Jimmy goes out of his way to keep him alive. His "why are you keeping him alive" (paraphrasing) felt so accusatory because it *is* an accusation. Everything he does is a self-report. He keeps Curly alive so he can force Curly to be whatever he wanted him to be-- his savior, his junior, his punching bag, his best friend, his mistake, his enemy. Anya escapes from Jimmy the only way she can in the end but by then he didn't give a shit about her anyway because Curly was the easier target.

Him asking that question to Anya could even potentially be a parallel to the pause before he tells Curly he's going to "take care of it" (or "handle it", idr). Curly had the opportunity to rob him of his power-- to stop him from crashing the ship, to assert his authority and step up-- but he didn't. Jimmy asking Anya why she's keeping Curly alive is in a way taunting her with a similar kind of opportunity: she hypothetically has the ability to rob Jimmy of his power over Curly, to use her authority as the medical officer to end Curly's care, but she can't. And Jimmy knows she can't, and she won't stop him from keeping Curly alive to use him, just like he knew Curly wouldn't stop him from crashing the ship. He only gives the chance when he already knows the answer.

I think this is a misconception, Jimmy is the one who brings it up. Anya doesn't even acknowledge the idea verbally outside of saying she feels nauseous, likely due to the pregnancy and the idea of eating him.

He mentions they all agreed to keep him alive and implies the first reason is a back up food source, though, that's likely his first reason and the others just couldn't bring themselves to kill a guy or thought he deserved it to some extent. I like to think of it less as him taunting her power and more him trying to supplement his ideas into her head the same way he would with Curly. It's very reminiscent of the last conversation he had with Curly of doing something dire and not getting any push back, not by way of her agreeing with him but a non answer.

The relationships between Anya, Curly and Jimmy heavily reflect each other specially when it comes to being victimized by him and how he gets in their head. Anya is way more aware than Curly but lacks the position/power to stop it while Curly is less aware/resigned due to how long it has likely been going on despite having the power to shut Jimmy down. Jimmy is dependent on the two to actually solve his problems and do most of the leg work but becomes hostile the moment he feels it undermines his perception of them or himself in relation.

I do agree that Jimmy is aware Anya won't fight back against him like Swansea does or question him like Daisuke will. He is putting her into the same space as Curly but the key difference is he doesn't see her as a person. He is using her to supplement the active role Curly can't be but doesn't have that loyal friend aspect from her as she just fears and resents him. He's projecting on to her a lot but she never really concedes or acknowledges it in the way Curly did. He hates it and the sort of emotional games he plays with her reaches their peak when she locks herself in medical.

It's very interesting to see how he acts in the post crash without Curly as he is 100% worse but you can see how much of that is because he is aware there is no one to actually cover for his sorry ass now.

[what-is-it-to-be-pk-esque]

Ok I know I'm heavily biased here but like I kinda love that Astarion's romance is one of the few in this type of video game where you basically end up canonically unmarried and childfree in his "good" ending? Just travelling the world??

Like it's honestly the millennial dream lmfaoo cannot believe i chose what would undoubtedly be my favorite option, first try

[captainbragd-personal]

Hey speaking of dungeon meshi, I think its really fucked up that the story brings up slavery Twice and just glosses over it. Esp when one of said mentions is pointing out that one of the characters OWNS another which makes all their interactions a whole lot less cute.

Anyway I hope Kuro skins Mickbell and makes a rug out of them.

[missymurder]

technically you could count this as a birthday doodle but i mostly wanted to draw mink as a cool English teacher + as a girl. so

[thetimelordbatgirl]

Honestly though, as much as I'm annoyed that Carlos didn't appear or at least get mentioned in Beyond the Isle of The Lost and what he is doing after D3 while his friends do appear and mention what they doing, I still will take it over The Royal Wedding and their mention of him, aka implying he's dead, because that's still more disrespectful then not mentioning him at all. At the very least that one is clearly Melissa not knowing how to handle the situation with Carlos and therefore, deciding to not touch on it while Royal Wedding felt the need to do so so they could be fine with themselves when deciding to drag Disney Descendants out beyond three films.

[teapot-of-tyrahn]

I humbly request an Esmp 1 Pearl (vs Xornoth maybe?)

Galaxy Duo ftw!

The Ruler of Gilded Helianthia had always loved to fight. Xornoth knew this well. The Farmer Queen had an unquenchable thirst for battle, a yearning for a challenge, a gallantry which had made her fearless and puerile when they'd first met. Even when it had sent ravagers, vexes, illusionists, strays, blazes… even when her Empire had begun to burn to the ground around her, rooftops ablaze and every crevice filled with craters, she had still treated it all as a game. As if his attack was nothing more than a sparring session, a brief skirmish, a squabble. Xe had thought her to be fatuous, at first, foolish for trying to provoke a demon which could fling her thousands of blocks into the air at the flick of a wrist into one-on-one combat, a reckless ruler with a death wish. He had thought her taunts had been nothing but ridiculing reviles —  “Ooh, baby zombie! The most threatening thing so far-", “Xornoth, can you come around more often? Like, I’m having a great time right now!” —  the likes of which had gotten under xir skin more than it wanted to admit… but that wasn't the case. She hadn't been deriding it: worse. She had been humouring them. She sincerely hadn't been taking him seriously. She hadn't been afraid. Not of death; not of xem, not of lava, heights or sorcery. She was fearless. All she cared about was having a fun fight. In some ways, Xornoth respected this. In others, however, he wanted to take advantage of it. Like xe had taken advantage of his other underlings' lust for power, it was hoping they could distort her adversarial nature into bloodlust for his own gain. It didn't seem like it would be a difficult stretch to turn her vigour into vindictiveness. Unfortunately, despite xir and Sausage's efforts, it had been for naught. The Moon's morality had been surprisingly unshakeable, her loyalty to her alliance impossible to subvert or suborn. It was a shame, really; it would have loved to have such a powerful Emperor in their arsenal, but alas, it hadn't been meant to be. The Sunflower Queen hadn't been entirely nugatory, however. The Mythland Arena Massacre truly had been a spectacle. The only thing he regretted about the event is that it had to be a ruse. Truly, it would have loved to fight her again, to test both of their mettle and mold. But he had bigger plans to attend to. Plans xe couldn't allow The Ruler of Smallholding to interrupt. And, so, it had to get her out of the way. They wouldn't kill her, though, no; after all she had done for it? That would be unjust. She deserved a reward for her assistance. And xe knew the perfect one. He'd give her exactly what she had wanted. The Ruler of Gilded Helianthia had always loved to play games. The Ruler of Gilded Helianthia had always loved to fight. And, so, it would send her to a play a game where she could fight to her hearts' content, where she could really be challenged. A game of a death; a game to the death. A dream come true for her… almost too literally. A dream she wouldn't know was true. Sweet dreams, Farmer Queen. Watch out for the boogeymen beneath your bed.

— — —  i can't be the only one INSANE about how xornoth was CANNONICALLY implied to be responsible for sending esmp1 pearl to last life / the life games ,,,,, that he trapped her in a coma, a sleep that lasted so long that when she woke up her kingdom filled with cobwebs ,,,,,, ANYWAY GALAXY DUO FTW !!!

[boycritter]

hate how angry and upset i get over normal things with good intentions behind them. can we just be fucking normal for once.

[bitchfitch]

I've started playing Potion Permit, and so far it's one of my favorite games I've messed around with, but the most big brained move the devs made was giving you a dog on day 1, and then making that dog able to track NPCs and lead you directly to them no matter where they are in the town.

[bunnieswithknives]

sorry if idk this but what do you think about Wordgirl now in 2024 do you still like it do you still want to make art or talk about it or are you just done with all of it forever and plus i seen that you haven't made art of it since 2022 so you just done with all of it oh yeah and what about The Magnus Archives + Wordgirl ao3 fic too like is that just going to be and i know that your working on 2 au's now just wanting to know that's all

My interests tend to come in intense bursts and then fade. Unless something like, big happens like it gets a reboot its unlikely I'll be coming back to it anytime soon. As for the fic I don't have any current plans to finish it unfortunately.