#responding to comments

[cinder46231]

I don't know if I handled this correctly so I'm turning to here to help me decide. I received this comment on one of my fic today.

And I responded to it with this.

I just want to know if I took it too far because I didn't really put many tags on the fic, only these

So maybe it was my fault?

[rusticfurnace]

face studies with the vaqueros i did some time ago!🤠🤠

...and some white guy ig.

[ethanscrocs]

you guys draw kaz far too conventionally attractive. where are his firepox scars and signs of poor sleep and nutrition. and please give him a more fucked up nose. it should look like it has been broken multiple times and never quite healed right. and also please make his haircut a little bit ugly and wretched.

i also think the crows should have acne and/or acne scarring and greasy hair.

edit: here's my kaz art :)

[starksmarketingllc]

How to Leverage Live Video Streaming for Your Marketing Campaigns

Live video streaming has revolutionized the way businesses connect with their audiences in real time. With the rise of social media platforms and advancements in technology, live video has become a valuable tool for marketers to engage and interact with their target audience like never before. By leveraging live video streaming for your marketing campaigns, you can create authentic and immediate…

[kk1smet]

Posted a new chapter on my Drarry artwork collection! | View full update here.

Every month (or every other month, really), I draw some drarry microcreations based on discord prompts here. This month's theme is epistolary, where you’ll find some prissy Draco, a three-day stubbled Harry, and an owl named Wuzz.

New drarry fanart/schedule of updates in my archive will vary because yours truly rolls like a tumbleweed

[hazbin-reimagined]

(I can’t leave comments on tumblr so I’m replying with this)

I think that is a fun and cool interpretation, feels more like an underworld where you are free to indulge in sin rather than eternal suffering which is refreshing. One thing I can say I like abt Vivzie’s Hellaverse is that it subverts Dante’s Inferno by letting the rings of hell be places where sin informs society rather than being punished. As a horror fan though, I want to explore different types of hell where mortals are punished for their sins - the greater the sin, the greater the punishment. I have a lot of fun thinking of how each sin would be punished for eternity and to what severity, and how a culture of punishing sinners would inform Hellborn society.

This project at first was just me redesigning the cast of Hazbin Hotel and blogging about it, but it’s becoming something greater than that. I read excerpts of Dante’s Inferno and was so unimpressed that started rewriting the entire structure of Hell for the same reason I started redesigning Hazbin Hotel characters - I think both Dante and Vivziepop’s versions of Hell fall flat and I want to try to make them more interesting and engaging from a writing standpoint.

Ive been working on world building with the 9 rings of Hell, and at first I was thinking of Sloth being a ring of slow, painful decomposition, but now I think it would be more interesting to explore meat within the machine - souls manifesting in tech, unable to move, only watching, always watching, as all that is left of them slowly withers away until they are nothing more than code. Just an idea

[jessmalia]

CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016)

[yes-no-maybe-soo]

After reading Elysium, this part legit makes me want to cry.

B/c these are obviously not casual remarks on Sylus' end.

We now know for a fact that Sylus has waited and yearned for MC for years prior to the main story, and was carefully planning out his reunion with her. And — at least in my own current headcanon — he built up and established his stronghold in the N109 Zone with the eventual aim of ruling it together with MC, side by side. Two flowers in the same soil once more.

So this must have hurt. And I also do believe that a part of him worries over the fact that MC perceives him and Onychinus as the bad guys on the "dark side", and how this might impact their relationship long term. After all, he is a criminal, whilst she is essentially a cop.

But, to end on an uplifting note, that is why this line

is so so meaningful and impactful. It is MC indirectly assuring Sylus that she does not care that he is on the "dark side". She wants all of him, including the "thorns". She can handle the the hardship and the danger that his lifestyle brings. Because she loves him wholeheartedly, without reservation.

[anbaisai]

Happy New Year!! 🎉🐍

It's the year of the snake, so who better to celebrate it with than our resident snake boy?

I may not be the best with words, but I really appreciate everyone that has showed me support in the past year. You guys have been amazing, and I hope to see you around in the new year too ❤

Thank you for an incredible 2024, and wishing everyone a wonderful 2025!

[morganbritton132]

Eddie, posting this TikTok: Uh, excuse me? Why are some of y’all saying I don’t know Erica Sinclair? That I don’t know Lady Applejack?? I know her!

Eddie: Because-

Eddie: *aggressively holds up picture of the Scoops Troop eating ice cream together a week after Starcourt to the camera*

Eddie: I-

Eddie: *holds up picture of Steve giving Erica a piggyback ride so her shoes didn’t get wet*

Eddie: Married-

Eddie: *holds up picture of Sue Sinclair showing Steve how she braids Erica’s hair*

Eddie: Her-

Eddie: *shows picture of Charles Sinclair, Lucas, and Steve moving Erica’s stuff into her dorm room. Erica and Eddie are in the background with no intention of helping out*

Eddie: Dad!

Eddie: *shows picture of Steve and Erica on the campaign trail. Steve’s got a shirt that says ‘you can’t spell America without Erica. Eddie’s photobombing in the background to give them both bunny ears.*

Eddie: Also, we played D&D together *shows picture of a Hellfire campaign*

[sharpace]

125. Pumpkin

Happy (early) Halloween!!

Crank It Comics  |  Leave a tip! (Ko-Fi) |   Twitter

[manufacturedrainbows]

My fellow fanfic authors, I'm begging on my hands and knees – and Ima hold your hand as I say this – you gotta respond to the readers that leave comments on your work.

I know social anxiety is the worst (trust, my autistic ass understands) but I promise you, nothing deters a reader from commenting more than seeing a comment section with no replies as you continue to post fanfics. Even if it's as simple as "thanks for reading!" or just some cute emojis, it'll show that you're actually engaging with your audience!

We work so hard on our writing, and those of us that post them online want it to be seen, right? Indulging in our little fandoms is how we build connections with people that feel the same way.

It might be hard or even scary, but I find the more you socialize with others (especially in a more controlled environment like a comment section), the easier it gets! 💕

[ashoss]

i feel like this shouldn’t need to be said but maybe stop reposting other peoples artwork if u don’t know where it comes from/u don’t have permission.

i’ve noticed it’s more so a problem with larger fandoms, especially with DC. i found an instagram account literally dedicated to reposting various dickkori fanart, of which mine and a ton of mutuals art were there. (nightwing.and.starfire if u wanna check if ur arts there too)

it’s disheartening. the account has 10k followers! all from work they put no effort into! if you’re a smaller artist and don’t come across it yourself sometimes u don’t even know if you’re stuff has been reposted.

[loverofpiggies]

I made her a new outfit and drew a Sage the other day <3

It was meant to just be a sketch and I went overboard. I think the legs definitely need work to look better buuuuuut oh well <3

Enjoy!

Also here's a lil image of her without all the crazy stuff.

[realcleverscience]

"@thebardostate : Things die for good reasons. Extending the life of organisms that are no longer reproductively viable would only increase the burden of overpopulation. It is ultimately a self-indulgent and foolish quest that will benefit the rich (it's an opportunity to hoard more wealth) at the expense of most of the rest of humanity."

Definitely a valid view though I see it a bit differently. 1. to start, it's not clear to me that "things die for good reason", as much as that "things die bc evolution didn't select for them to live longer." In other words, our goals as humans are not necessarily the same goals as the blind force of evolution. (e.g. medusa jellyfish don't die of old age. they are functionally immortal. that's just how their biology worked out.) Similarly, in terms of the "evolution for reproductivity" angle: life extension could well mean extending reproductive viability. Imagine people having a kid when they're 100 years old!

2. More importantly, I think reproductive patterns will adjust. E.g. most western nations' birth rates are below the replacement rate. i.e. population shrinkage. In some countries, the gov'ts are desperately trying to get people to f*ck and have more kids. Depopulation is also a concern. I would also add that data shows birth rate decline in many countries as a. women get more rights and education, and b. as conditions in the country improve. I expect both of those trends to continue. Related to that, people are having kids later in life or even having no kids at all. I imagine that if the human lifespan was extended to 300, that most people wouldn't spend it pumping out kids constantly. Instead, maybe people have one to three kids, starting at age 100, who they put a lot of work into. But this is admittedly just my speculation.

3. Overpopulation: As I said, I think birth rates globally will continue to decline, but there are also other options, such as expanding our range of resources so that there's enough for earth to sustain more people. Alternatively, we could also use gov't law. E.g. one extreme could be something like china's old one-child policy. On the other end, we could incentivize behavior with tax incentives. E.g. you get an extra $5k/yr for your first child. You get $1k/yr for a second child. Third child gets no tax benefits. Fourth child and you start to *lose* benefits. My point here being that there are also other options.

4. self indulgent - I mean... I guess so. Though I never considered wanting to be alive as self-indulgent.

5. access: while the rich will always have more options than the poor, I don't think that such technology will be just for the rich. For one, there's just too much money to be made from it. If you have a magic pill that can drastically reduce illness and extend life, most people are going to desperately want that. There's just so much money to be made, that I don't think this will be left inaccessible. Also, patents expire. Even if the first 25 years this was just for the rich, it wouldn't stay that way for long. Also, it's unlikely that a single pill will do everything. More likely that it'll be a combination of several therapies. Maybe once a year you go to the doctor and get a few shots; maybe a few pills to take at home, etc. So they'd also have to control *all* the various therapies, as well as the various versions of each offered by different companies. Then there's also the international angle: even if healthcare is f*cked in the US, there are other systems overseas. The rich would have to wrangle with gov'ts across the world. Which also relates to my last point: the public would lose their sh*t if this wasn't available. I'm talking riots and violence. So I don't think this will be limited to just the rich.

That said, I do think you raise some good points about the things that are required (legally, culturally, economically, etc) for such a monumental shift in humanity's nature.

Thanks for your comment

I've been interested in radical life extension since first reading some Kurzweil books around 2007, nearly 20 years ago.

At the time, when I discussed the idea most people reacted like I was insane. Sooo... really glad to see this topic getting more attention and being taken seriously now. For instance, I believe there's an x-prize now for longevity, which indicates they think these are goals we can start to realistically achieve.

That's important bc obviously humanity has *talked* about radical life extensions for literally thousands of years. When DNA was being first understood in the early 1900s, people talked about extending life. When the human genome project began in the 1990s, again we spoke about potential healthspan breakthroughs. But decades have passed with little progress, so it's understandable why even those interested in the technologies and concepts might be disillusioned. Like fusion energy, it always appeared 30 years away... forever.

However, like fusion energy, we are achieving practical steps which make it seem like those goals are actually within reach now. For instance, while we've known about genes for a hundred years now, we are only *just now* starting to edit and manipulate them.

Aging is still not fully understood, but it seems primarily to function at the cellular level - things like DNA, RNA, mitochondria, and connections and communications between cells, etc. These are complex interactions and sciences, but we are reaching a point or unprecedented control at those levels.

Additionally, what the "perpetually 30 years away" attitude also misses is that the pace of scientific advances grows faster over time. "30 years" of scientific research in the early 1900s might be closer to 10 years of research today. This applies to the growth of AI in medical advances as well. Not only are AI capabilities growing dramatically each year; those AIs are helping us to unlock knowledge, materials, and abilities in other fields as well. (As mentioned, genetic-level medical interventions are finally happening, and there's an avalanche of research and breakthroughs happening.)

So it's certainly possible that I'm wrong, and that life extension techs will always be '30 years away', and I'm failing to appreciate that lesson of history... but I think there are *very* good reasons to think that we are close to breakthroughs. Which poses an important question for society:

Do you want to get old and die like your grandparents, continually weakening and growing increasingly ill till you die at around age 90?

Personally, I'd love to halt my biological aging, improve and extend my "health-span", and to live at least an extra 50 years to explore all the new amazing thing science will produce in that time.

We can be another generation that lives and dies and is forgotten, or we can invest in research to fight back the grim reaper and bring that '30 year' window closer to fruition.

What do you want?

p.s. Yes, there are important social issues tied to this that require important discussion and policy guardrails, etc. And yes, maybe not everyone wants to live for 1,000 years (and they wouldn't have to). That said, it's very rare to find someone excited about getting older, weaker, and dying.

[zeropro]

Comment Section: Sunstorm edition

Wow! Thanks for the analysis and thoughts, I really appreciate it!

I agree, Starscream is allowed to not want to associate with Sunstorm at all, but he still shouldn't be mean about it haha. It's not like he told Sunstorm to not follow him around and was ignored. Sure Sunstorm should pick up on the hints that he isn't wanted but lbr he was raised by Shockwave in isolation, kid’s a little bit socially inept XD

My Sunstorm isn't as crazy religious as he is in the Dreamwave comics, but he is religious enough to make people like Starscream uncomfortable, especially when as you said he uses religious language to try and connect with Starscream. I personally like the idea that Sunstorm doesnt actually think the old stories are literally true, but he finds comfort in them and so chooses to view his life through that lens. He's more of a philosopher than a religious zealot, and ultimately he is more interested in observing and understanding than converting or preaching. Still, it's one of his special interests so he will talk about it if given the chance, and it definitely makes a lot of people uncomfortable for the reasons you've stated.

Love the observation about Starscream not being used to forgiveness. He don't trust like that, no sirreeeee.

Also it was Rodimus who pushed for the group therapy and Starscream def agreed to it, but he hasn’t really been taking any of the therapy sessions seriously. He was using them as a way to make people like him, like look I can behave, I can do your little therapy stuff, I can pretend to be emotionally and mentally stable, im totally working on myself even tho theres nothing wrong with me and even if there was something wrong with me it’s so deeply rooted theres no point in working on it anyway i mean what? It's all very calculated. Maybe he decided to vent about Sunstorm during their session because he thought it would make the kid leave him alone? Haha, unfortunately for him the opposite happened.

thanks again for your thoughts, hope you’re feeling better by now

If only Starscream could communicate his feelings like a normal person haha.

I like the way you put this. The situation is mad uncomfortable for Starscream yeah. And thanks! I hope you like where it goes.

When I wrote Sunstorm’s dialogue my intention was for starscream to feel validated in a way that he isnt comfortable with but doesnt altogether hate, but then a few people pointed out how it comes off like he’s straight up forgiving him for having trauma (hes forgiving him for saying mean things to him!) and like, yeah starscream wouldnt appreciate feeling patronised x3 Prolly pissed him off. But like, maybe a little bit of the intent made it through? I wanted Starscream to feel seen, but being seen is terrifying when you feel like theres nothing but broken ugliness underneath. so i guess starscream just ends up feeling judged. But also…accepted? Starscream does a confusion.

Starscream has had like three therapy sessions and isnt making any notable progress because he’s more concerned with how he’s being perceived than actively working on himself rn. I actually think this is fine, change doesnt happen quickly. we’ve introduced starscream to an avenue of help and as calculated as it was he did still try it out. I think the seed was planted if he ever does decide he wants to do better. and In his defense, the focus rn for everyone is what do we do about Megatron’s sudden return

lmao this made me chuckle. I wouldnt say he held composure even at Megatron’s worst, but yeah he’d def be frustrated whenever he accidentally goes mask off around the autobots.

That would be very cute, but starscream isnt quite there yet XD. not that anyone would want to hurt sunstorm, he’s like the best boy!

Starscream might worry about Sunstorm exploding, but only because he doesnt want to get caught in the explosion. after therapy, he still couldnt care less if Sunstorm deactivated, but he at least sees him as a person he dislikes rather than an abomination that shockwave made. so…yay progress?

He’s radioactive, so it’s a valid concern! Not that he will explode, he does have control over his outlier ability.

i imagine Rodimus is chill with ex decepticons? he went on a gay roadtrip space adventure with his best friend who is an ex decepticon and they met cyclonus who is an ex decepticon and later picks up sunstorm who is a decepticon affiliated seeker. i think as long as you prove to him you can be chill then he’ll be chill. tbh I think he just wants people to like him.

and It’s not that he doesnt mind if sunstorm blows up, he just has so much confidence in sunstorm not blowing up he doesnt think its a concern!

yeah since his spark is radioactive it hurts passively all the time. it hurts more when he pulls it in and away from others, and the pain spikes when he activates his outlier ability to actually use it, but it hurts less after it’s expelled. part of the reason why he spends so much time in a cr chamber while at shockwave’s lab is because it syphons his energy output and alleviates the pain. a win win for shockwave as he uses that energy to power his lab.

in his defence, he didnt make him radioactive on purpose, that just sorta happened

haha I’m glad y’all really liked that joke XD

of course he has, who hasnt met sunstorm! oh right, megatron…

i wouldn't recommend it. it will burn

TC has seen Sunstorm around like some cryptid, and Bumblebee prolly explained the situation after Sunstorm started staying at autobot base. TC is probably also creeped out by Sunstorm’s existence, but something about his bright eyed apperance reminds him of Starscream before the war…

Skywarp just sees him as some other guy, he’s like not bothered at all. he’s curious about him in that there hasnt been a new seeker in generations. as far as he’s concerned, Sunstorm is literally nothing like Starscream haha

Sunstorm feels bad for TC, and he empathises with Skywarp’s malfunctioning outlier ability.

Im so hecking sorry XD Sunstorm is like basically not in IDW1 at all (he shows up once in the background, and then the second time he’s in the comic arcee hecking murders him pfpfpf). If you want sunstorm content I think he features more in Wings universe and the Dreamwave continuity. I havent read them tho so I don’t actually know haha

but like, aah thanks so much, I really appreciating your kind words. and also thank you everyone who sent me asks and comments and tags. I legit had no idea this project would turn into a whole thing but I’m having fun so I’m glad you all are enjoying it too.