#that's why the quality on this one isn't so good

[blondie11067]

My take on AI is only two things/ types of people:

- People who dont have x skill

- Lazy/ cheap people

And you dont have to be either, because more often than note - from my experience - they're both.

All things ART related (i. e. Any form of writing, drawing, design, publicity, videos, comics, etc.) all of it comes from SKILLs. And what's the thing with skills? They take TIME!

It takes TIME and tons of PRACTICE to perfect a skill. So learming color theory, types of brush, vocabulary (technical or from a specific area/genre), phycology behind colors and words, what programs are best for what and how to use them, go from 2 days editing to only 3-5h a video, or coming up with slogans and creating a marketing campaign... All of that takes MINIMUM (and this really is saying you're like a god who learns and perfect things wayyy too quickly) MONTHS to perfect.

This is why, people who don't possess this abilities, this skills, are LAZY. Because they're NOT WILLING TO LEARN. Op pointed it out best, most shit already exists. You look up a template, analyse the one that fits best for what you need and edit a few things and that is it! It really isn't that hard other than you using 5-10min more than you would Ctrl+C + Ctrl+V whatever the bot gave you. It's a tiny bit of extra time and, oh yeah, using YOUR BRAIN. If you can't come up with a simple "oh, template says 'Dear, Mr. Smith' but my client is a woman. Hmm. Maybe I can change it to 'Dear, Mrs. Logan'?" you are in trouble. And by that i mean, how in God's name did you finish school???

Critical thinking, problem solving, these are skills needed to EXIST. It's not just work but you apply this bs everywhere. You talking with friends and family and you use this, in your own house, when out shopping. You gotta use this skills!!

If you're too lazy for this then... Remember the folks in Wall-E. We cannot become this fucking lazy, people.

The only "excuse" (and I use this with a slight wince) is people lacking in money.

(NOT cheap people, cuz that's just part of being lazy and greedy and unwilling to aim for better quality so long as you save a few bucks.)

If you're poor or economically disadvantaged, you probably cannot afford 1) to pay for good quality programs/tools to do this type of work (the artsy, creative type) and 2) you cannot afford someone who possess these skills / expertise since that's what they specialize in.

Hence, you'd try to go for the cheapest, fastest way to get what you need and that's where AI comes in.

I think a lot of what pro-AI people are really wanting is stuff that already exists but they don't know it's out there like

can't format a work email? templates

don't know how to write a resume? templates

writing a thank you card or a condolences card or a wedding invitation? templates templates templates

not sure how to format your citations in MLA or whatever format? citationmachine.net

summary of something you're reading for school/work? cliffnotes.com

recipe based on ingredients in your fridge? whatsintherefrigerator.com

there's a million more like, guys, we don't need AI, we never needed generative AI

[respectthepetty]

Predictions for the best (Blue) Boys:

I'm so excited to get what I believe will be Lapis Lads (two Blue Boys) in the next portion of Perfect 10 Liners.

I think Faifa will be the lighter Blue Boy.

And Wine will be the darker Blue Boy.

But the reason I'm so excited isn't just because of the color, but because of what the color potentially says about the boys' relationship.

Faifa is used to dealing with darkness due to his brother being a Black Brooder.

Yotha gets upset because Faifa always sees the good in everything.

But Faifa is bothered that his brother only sees the worst.

And because of that, it comes across that Faifa is on the opposite side of Yotha, but he is actually a balancer, standing between two extremes.

Blue Boys are known for being stable, so the most stable point of any structure should be the middle. It's the center of gravity where the weight is evenly distributed. Therefore, Faifa is usually in the middle.

Blue Boys are also known for their relaxing, calming, and passive nature, so they tend to be the peacemakers.

And they are quick to step in when there is conflict, so Faifa was the one to convince Gun and his friends that Yotha wasn't a serial killer, he was the one to try to make peace in his family, and he was the one to take Gun home after the fight.

But the problem with being in the middle of two extremes is the middle is just really space between the noise that only serves the purpose of helping stabilize the two opposite sides.

Therefore, when things are going well or there is no longer a need for balance or peace talks, they, themselves, are no longer needed.

The middle is ignored.

Literally.

Faifa has made several comments about being ignored and forgotten because even his peer mentor ditched him in the very beginning. Hell, his mom forgot he was allergic to milk!

But it's been played up for laughs, which would be funny until we remember Faifa's backstory.

Faifa was chosen by his mom to be the peacemaker in their family. She took him in the custody battle because she knew he'd want to visit his brothers and dad since he wants to make everyone happy, which meant she'd also get to see her other sons. But once she had more kids, she sent Faifa back to his dad.

Now Faifa wants to please everyone because he has learned that if he isn't "of use" then he is expendable, which is why he was quick to sacrifice himself and switch rooms with Gun even though he was very excited to room with his brother, and even though Gun and Kong only originally wanted to be his friend because they wanted to use him for his money. Basically, he gives everything, yet gets nothing in return.

Faifa sacrifices himself all of the time to make sure others are okay without getting anything back. In fact, Faifa almost passed out because he gave his water to someone else, but, luckily, Wine was there to rescue him . . . from himself.

If Wine is a darker blue, he'll share qualities with Black Brooders, and we have already been shown some: Wine has a long-term plan regarding his schooling for undisclosed reasons, so he is also a bit guarded and secretive, which comes from his darker side. He barely gave Faifa his name after meeting him a few times even though Faifa already knew his name after the first meeting. But he also has the potential to be protective and possessive.

And nobody needs more protection than Faifa. The first time Faifa met Wine, he gave Wine his sticker so Wine could complete his reward card, and each time they have met since, Wine sees that Faifa is too kind for his own good. He actually lectures him about the water incident, and how he needs to take care of himself instead of worrying about others.

Faifa, the boy who is terrified of being forgotten, attaches himself to Wine because Yotha, who is Wine's peer mentor, is too busy caring about Gun to pay attention to Wine. He doesn't want Wine to be ignored, but I think Wine is going to quickly see how Faifa wants to care about everyone and will not want to burden him more, but will also get upset that Faifa doesn't take care of himself.

Because after Faifa accidentally crushed Wine's drink, he bought a new shirt for Wine, socks, FOUR new drinks of various sweetness levels, wet wipes, dry wipes, and he would've gotten Wine shoes too but he didn't know his size. Yet Wine wanted none of it. He didn't want to be a burden, and he had already forgiven Faifa, so he didn't need anything but Faifa's word.

Faifa's been giving his entire life, so now he has met someone who doesn't want anything he is offering. Not his money. Not his food. Not his tutoring. Faifa has been the middle his whole life, but now it's time for him to be the extreme: Faifa is too open. Wine is too guarded. Faifa is too sociable. Wine is too anti-social. Faifa is too happy. Wine is too sad.

But in truth they are two sides of the same blue coin. Neither wants to burden anyone, so Faifa gives everything while Wine takes nothing. Faifa is so scared nobody will love him that he tries to make everyone like him, and Wine is probably so afraid nobody will ever really want him, so he never opens up.

And because they are both intelligent and hues of blue, this will cause the most issues. Wine won't know Faifa likes him because Faifa likes everyone, and Faifa won't think Wine likes him because Wine barely likes anyone. And neither one of them will want to burden the other one with their feelings since they doubt anyone will love them, so they will simply pine from a distance.

So I'm hoping that I am getting two extremes (of blueness) who will be knocked off-balance, which will require them to find the balance between each other, and that these two smart boys do the dumbest shit once they incorrectly believe they are in an unrequited love story.

Basically, I want to see the best (blue) boys at their worst.

[parvulous-writings]

Coud you please do a Vi SFW?

Warnings: None!

Notes: We're returning to our roots with this one gang   My requests are currently open! My pinned post (found here) contains both a list of characters I write for, and a masterlist!  Original character list - please request for these too! If you’d like to support me more, consider reblogging! I’d appreciate it loads!!

A - Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

Vi's affection is mainly shown through physical means. An arm around your shoulders, a hand grasping for yours - all the way to cuddling and tangling herself with you on a sofa or a bed. She loves having your near to her - particularly in private. When you're alone together, she finds a way or excuse to touch you 90% of the time. In public, she's a lot more respectful of your personal space, choosing to mostly just stand nearby rather than have her hands all over you. The only time this changes is if someone who isn't herself starts getting too close to you, whether it's being flirty or threatening you. If this is the case, she makes a show of putting an arm around your waist or shoulders, making it painfully clear that you are with her.

B - Best Friend (What would they be like as a best friend? Where does the friendship start?)

Vi is one of those friends that can quickly become a ride or die. She is willing to do a hell of a lot for those who are near and dear to her, be that helping with heavy lifting, spending quality time, or putting someone into their place. It's more than likely that your friendship started after bumping into Vi post-street brawl. Though bristly at first, she easily warms to you, once you've shown her you're worthy of trust.

C - Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

Vi does love a cuddle; typically, when cuddling in bed she prefers being the big spoon, allowing her to encase you in her arms and give her absolute certainty that you're safe and away from harm. If you're on the sofa, though, she very much enjoys laying over you - like a big blanket of muscle.

D - Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking, cleaning, ect?)

Vi grew up with a rather close-knit family unit, and deep down a part of her does miss that, so she would want to settle down - even if it's not necessarily with kids or anything of that ilk. Just having a place to call home with you would be good enough for her. She can't cook particularly well; it's passable and edible, sure, but she's not usually proud of it. The same with her cleaning - sometimes she just doesn't think to do it. She was in prison through her teens - there wasn't really anything to clean, so trying to get that into her routine is.... Difficult.

E - Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

She would be incredibly blunt with it. She'd try to somewhat save your feelings, but I don't think she'd beat around the bush. If it's not working out, what's the point in trying to force things to keep going, even if it's just a few extra minutes? She's also not great at verbally expressing her emotions, so this just adds to her bluntness.

F - Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? Do they wanna get married?)   

Vi is fine with commitment as a whole; but the idea of marriage carries a heavy sense of finality to her. She's not really likely to leave you as-is, why do you need to go through the fuss and stress of getting married? For a piece of paper? In her head, something like that is a privilege - something that mainly those from Piltover get to do. If you really insist on marriage she'll oblige you, but she doesn't need a marriage to feel or be committed to you.

G - Gentle (How gentle are they both physically and emotionally?)

Vi doesn't have much trouble being gentle physically: a few careful touches here and there, cradling your face when you're having an intimate moment or holding you close when you're having a particularly stressful day. It's more the emotional side of things where she struggles a bit. Not all the time, but there are moments where she has trouble expressing herself in the way she wants to to you, or struggles in showing a more vulnerable side of herself.

H - Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it, and what are they like?)

The most common time to get a hug from Vi is when she's saying goodbye - or that she'll see you in a little while. They're quite quick, and she makes sure to squeeze you tightly every time, as if she's trying to imprint the feel of you against her into her mind. Outside of those times you're more likely to get a cuddle than anything else.

I - I Love You (How fast do they say the “love” word?)

She's very reluctant to say it. It's not that she doesn't love you, it more that expressing that love in a verbal way makes her incredibly nervous. She does say it from time to time; birthdays, special holidays, in the dead of night where and when there's no one else that could possibly hear her. It takes her a good few years, and slow working, to start saying it when other people are around - even if they're out of earshot.

J - Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What are they like when jealous?)

Vi trusts you. She knows that you wouldn't leave her without saying anything, and that if anything were to happen, you'd talk to her about it. However, this doesn't stop that stab of jealousy that she feels in her chest whenever she sees someone getting too close to you for her comfort. Her first port of call is to go to you, get close and establish her boundary - usually a hand snaking around your waist and tugging you to her. Then, if the situation continues, she gets verbal - usually snapping at whoever dare try to take you from her; even if it's nothing like that.

K - Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

Vi's kisses can go one of two ways; 1 - it's a brief peck on the lips or your cheek, so quick that you end up debating with yourself if it actually happened - Vi had gone right back to whatever she had been doing before, it was like she hadn't stopped her task. 2 - It's full of heat, passion, and you are not getting away from her any time soon - leaving that kind of kiss breathless is the bare minimum. She is grabbing whatever flesh of yours she can hold, pulling and keeping you close to her. That woman is not letting you go without some major resistance - she needs you too much.

L - Little Ones (How are they around kids?)

Vi is pretty good around kids. If you're leaving kids with her for an extended period of time, you need to set some firm boundaries. Like. Make it abundantly clear what can and cannot be done with the kids - otherwise there will be chaos. Vi is very much like that aunt you can get away with almost anything around. She won't actively take you to seek out activities to break set rules, but if the kids were to break said rules by themselves? Well they've done it now, there's not a whole lot she can do, right?

M - Morning (What are mornings like with them?)

By the time you wake up, Vi is usually awake already - sometimes by several hours. She's used to rising incredibly early, and although she doesn't always physically get out of bed that early anymore, she does still spend that time doing something she finds productive. Namely watching you sleep. The reason she doesn't immediately get up is because, if you're sharing a bed with her, she usually wakes up tangled with you in some way or another. Play your cards right, and she'll spend half the morning keeping you in bed just for an excuse to hold you close - she does love herself a cuddle in bed.

N - Nights (How are nights spent with them?)

Most nights you have to actively try and coax Vi into bed. The means can - and kind of have to - vary, but Vi normally tries to resist for a little while. She's one of those people who tries and stays up as late as she can physically manage, as a way to try and reclaim some of her own time. When you get past your mild frustration, though, and take a more tender approach, that's when she will usually come to bed, cuddling as close as physically possible, to try and soothe herself to sleep.

O - Open (When do they open up about themselves?)

From time to time. She'll often say if something reminds her of a family member who has passed, or share a memory that's sprung to mind that she thinks you may enjoy. When it comes to genuinely being vulnerable, and sharing her deeper, harder to process emotions, she does struggle. She doesn't know what to do with all those years of pent up hurt and pain. She tries her best, but she doesn't want to end up lashing out.

P - Patience (How easily angered are they?)

In day to day life? Not particularly quick to anger; mistakes in chores or delays in the daily schedule aren't much of a big deal to her. Sure, they can be a bit annoying sometimes, but they can be fixed or accommodated. Under pressure, though, is entirely different. When stressed and pressed for, well, anything, Vi becomes snappy, harsh, and her temper has one hell of a short fuse. She doesn't get physical, but she's usually 2 seconds away from saying something that she will probably regret once she calms down.

Q - Quizzes (How much do they remember about you?)

She easily remembers some of the basic things; your favourite colour, your favourite food, the things you like in general. She's... A little bit scattered when it comes to things like your birthday, though - she oftentimes confuses it with your anniversary. She means well, she just hasn't really got the head for dates. She'll get you a gift you like on both days, though! She rarely ever forgets completely.

R - Remember (Favorite memory with you?)

The first time she opened up properly to you. You'd been together a fair while, so she took you on a walk through the Lanes, eventually winding up where you could see the few remaining markers of her younger siblings. The splodges of red paint left behind by Mylo, the place where Claggor had gotten himself stuck when on the run from enforcers. She even told you of when she had brought Jinx - Powder, back then - to this very spot in an attempt to lift her spirits. She told you of her birth mother and father, of Vander, and how her family life had just gone progressively more and more downhill - and you listened. You didn't butt in, you didn't try and force her to see 'the bright side'. You sat, you held her hand, and you listened. There are no words that she can use to describe her gratitude to you for that moment.

S - Security (How protective are they?)

Quite - Vi often worries about how you might need to defend yourselves or escape a situation. It's not because she doesn't trust you to handle yourself - she does, she thinks you could talk down or weasel out of any situation, and she knows you'll bolt if you really need to - but it is something she worries about a lot, and something that does frequently come up if there's a disagreement.

T - Try (How much effort do they put in?)

Vi tries quite a bit. In her eyes, you deserve more, so she does try. She'll try and keep the place tidy-ish - tidy to her standards, anyway - and do some cooking every now and again. She tries much more in ways of gifts, though - though perhaps not always what you think they may be, she always makes an effort to point out how useful it could be to you, or if it's something more sentimental, how it made her think of you.

U - Ugly (What are their bad habits?)

She puts her shoes on furniture - whether she's still wearing them or has just taken them off. It gets mud and dirt everywhere. She also tends to forget to put dishes away once you've washed them up (she also forgets to wash them up fairly frequently).

V - Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

Not a whole lot - she works out quite a lot, but that's more for her own health and strength. She keeps herself as clean as she can - washing her face, bating etcetera, but other than that, not a whole lot. She sometimes has the urge to change her hair, but that's more of an emotionally motivated decision. All in all, so long as you think that she looks good, she's more than happy with her appearance.

W - Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

You're ingrained into her routine now - she'd definitely feel your absence if you were gone for any length of time; she doesn't like when you're not there in the morning to hold or to greet when she wakes up. Even if it's not a full separation, and you're just out somewhere for the night, she feels it deep in her.

X - Xtra (Random HC)

She loves when you touch her - not necessarily in a sexual way, or even in hugs, but the feeling of your hands on her brings her much joy and comfort. You tracing the planes of her skin or the ink of her tattoos is one of her favourite ways to wind down, and having your fingers brush through her hair (especially when they brush against her undercut)? Pure. Heaven. Simple as. If she's having a really bad day, that is a surefire way to cheer her up.

Y - Yuck (Things they don’t like either in general or a partner?)

Someone who doesn't stick to their word, or to their morals. She loves seeing reliability and someone being steadfast; if she doesn't see that, she doesn't feel like she can wholly trust someone. And of course, without trust, there can be no real love. Other than that, if she can get a good connection with someone, everyone's fair game, really.

Z - Zzz (Sleep habits)  

Vi only sleeps the minimal amount that she needs to to keep her true self or be able to perform tasks. She finds it incredibly difficult to get to sleep without being thoroughly exhausted first; so part of the coaxing that you have to do involves working out - a good, reliable way to tire her out. She also doesn't need a lot in terms of possessions; so long as she has somewhere to lay, she's able to get some sleep. Though, on the odd occasion that she does try to sleep on the floor, you're eventually able to drag her groggy self into your shared bed, mostly with promises of affection and cuddles.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Heck, the writers wouldn't have even needed to make it about identity shenanigans, even though that would've been preferable. There were two perfectly good Adrienette scenes they could've used: the cheek kiss in Mayura, and the second umbrella scene in Mr. Pigeon 72.

The problem here isn't so much Adrien and Marinette not having many good romantic moments to use as it is the writers not recognizing that there's a time and place for gags, and this isn't one of them. The show is just. Really bad with its management of tone. This is also where takes like "Marinette is a stalker" come from—the writers are trying to both derive humor from characters acting in absurd over-the-top ways and have moments of drama and angst that demand you empathize with those exact same characters. Those two things just don't mesh.

(Post that spawned this ask)

While I will maintain my stance that the Glaciator 2 confession scene is the best choice, I agree that there were other moments that made for quality choices. Mr. Pigeon 72's umbrella scene is a little too far from the crush flip for me to call it a great choice, but it's still a lovely parallel to when Marinette fell in love. If they'd gone with that, I'd have technical nitpicks, but no major complaints.

If I had to pick an Adrienette moment, I'd probably go for the start of Risk where Marinette saw that Adrien was upset when no one else did. That's close enough to the flip to make it feel like a solid choice and it fits a similar niche to Glaciator 2 with Marinette doing something that makes Adrien feel seen. Obviously he didn't know Marinette was talking about him in Glaciator 2, but her confessions was heartfelt enough that you could make him wish that it was about him. Wanting a confession to be for him is really all you need to make something as massive as a crush flip feel justified.

I also fully agree that the show struggles to balance comedy and drama/angst. A story can have both of those elements, but you need to be really careful about how you mix them. Miraculous is way too slapdash in its approach. Nothing is sacred, everything can be a joke, and that leads to a lot of viewers getting upset with characters like Marinette when she's used for a joke when it's completely inappropriate to tell one.

To go with the example from the post that spawned this ask, I would never have Adrien fall in love with Marinette during a moment like the statue scene. While this is him falling in love with her at her most quirky and I can see the appeal from that point of view, it's also making the moment he fell in love a memory that she hates! Generally speaking, that's a terrible call unless you're doing a meet ugly. (The way my partner met me was mortifying, btw, but it would technically work for a story because it was how we met. It's the start of the story. Picking a hated moment mid-relationship is just weird.)

If we compare the statue scene to Glaciator 2, we see that Marinette was at her most quirky in both episodes, but she wasn't embarrassed by it in Glaciator 2. She chose to show Chat Noir her fan girl side. That's part of why I like Glaciator 2 for the crush flip. It's a lovely balance of humor and romance. We see Adrien accepting Marinette at her most fan girl, but the moment where he starts to fall in love is the moment when she's her most sincere. Then you can bring the humor back in by having him be unable to confess that this is the moment when he fell in love, so he picks something ridiculous to tell Marinette while the audience gets to know that it was actually a far sweeter moment.

Of course, if I went this route, I'd have it lead to a reveal where Marinette got to learn the truth, too. That's the ultimate payoff for Adrien having to lie! I think the joke works even without the payoff so long as you play it lighthearted, but it works best when it's paired with an identity reveal in the not too distant future. That's the evergreen problem with identity shenanigans. A lot of them require a reveal to shine but I will be shocked if we get a reveal before the final season. They are dragging that sucker to the ground because of the rule that Marinette and Adrien must always have a secret between them. The identities is the setup the show is using to maintain the secrets and cause drama.

[tribow]

So I watched Natsume Yuujinchou

or "Natsume's Book of Friends" for the English title.

I was pleasantly surprised by this one. It's a real nice slice of life anime. I'm writing this as of watching season 1 and I'm absolutely going to continue watching this one.

Anyway what's it about? Youkai! Easy way to hook me in immediately. If you involve youkai (or similar folklore creatures) in a story I'm immediately interested. Even so, despite my strong bias on the subject matter, I promise it's done very well.

The titular character, Natsume, is a highschooler born with the ability to see and interact with youkai. Growing up while being able to see supernatural phenomena while everyone else can't was rough for him. (If you don't know what youkai are, think of Natsume's situation like being able to see ghosts.) His parent's weren't even sure how to deal with him and sent him off to their relatives instead of raising the child themselves.

Natsume's character is defined by his isolation, but also by the few people he has met that has shown him real kindness. His current family earnestly cares about him, but he hides the fact that he can see youkai from them, as he does with everyone. He has learned that doing so will lead to isolation, but ironically hiding what he can see isolates him from other people as well.

However, Natsume's ability isn't unique to himself. His grandmother could also see youkai, and she's infamous for creating the "Book of Friends." This book contains the names of tons of youkai, and with that book, you can essentially control any youkai whose name is written in it. For a long time Natsume would have to deal with some youkai targeting him, and this was why. Having now learned that he has his grandmother's book, Natsume resolves to return the names of youkai.

Why?

Well watch the show. I could sit here and summarize it, but that doesn't make for a good review. The story....or at least season one of the story....focuses on that theme: isolation. It's not just Natsume, but many of the youkai he encounters that deal with it in their own ways. As a result, each episode ends on a pretty bittersweet note.

Isolation comes in many forms; loss, rejection, protection, selfishness, resentment, and much more. People, and in this case, youkai experience it in many ways, but instead of wallowing in its own despair, this anime focuses heavily dealing with it positively.

I appreciate this anime's willingness to show very sad situations and the characters involved are pretty mature about it. I can imagine this anime helping actual people deal with their own struggles with isolation.

Now, that's not this anime's only theme. It would be fairly shallow if that's all it had to say. You got some action, comedy, and drama here or there. There's some nice character development going on as well. I really like how the show is written overall.

I wouldn't say its at a "masterpiece" quality since there are definitely some jumps in logic that happens sometimes. It definitely makes some poor excuses to set up certain scenes, but I can't complain too much. These issues only show up for a few episodes.

Speaking of the episodes, they're all self-contained. There's a linear narrative of course, but every episodes concludes itself and does not inform what happens in the next episode. This made it strangely hard to binge for me since there isn't a hook to keep you watching. I loved the show, but each episodes ends on such a satisfying note I want to do something else and come back to it later. Weird.

Anyway, Brain's Base was animating this one! Y'know these guys really take on a wide variety of stuff huh? Natsume is an interesting one since it's both very laid back and has some action. I wouldn't say Brain's Base went particularly crazy here, but you can see the effort put into a lot of shots. The animation looks good, but it's humble. Nothin real fancy going on, but the visual direction does a great job at conveying this story.

I have a feeling this is one of the shows Brain's Base is proud of, and it's successful too! This anime goes on for several more seasons and I'm pretty excited to keep going with it.

What's real crazy is that I've never heard anyone talk about this anime before. This is good! Real good! I highly recommend this to anybody, even if you have never seen anime before. It's rare that I get to say that because there's usually some caveat to an anime that makes it hard to recommend to anybody, but there's nothing to worry about here! It's good, great even.

Maybe it just couldn't reach a large western audience. It is dealing with youkai after all. That's a shame, but hey, it doesn't mean you can't watch it now! Give it a try!

[screamingtheo]

So I had this really stupid idea...

[uniiiquehecrt]

Voice actors are NOT the same as actors.

It takes a specific kind of skill-set and training to be able to warp and meld the voice. It takes a certain kind of talent and dedication to hone that talent into the ability to meld the voice and invoke emotion with one's voice alone. Actors are used to using their voice secondarily to their body language and their facial expressions. It's all mirrored back on camera. They do have nuance. But it's a different kind of nuance and a different kind of training to produce that nuance.

Voice actors might get their likeness transposed on their character's design, and maybe their mannerisms might seep into the character's animation. But when it's all said and done: their presence is in their voice. They are bringing a character to life, showing that emotion in their voice, trying to keep a specific accent, drawl, pitch, tone in that voice and keep it consistent for their recording sessions.

The voice actor is like a classically trained musician who can play first chair in a competitive, world-renown orchestra. The actor (who fills the voice actor's role) is like a moot who played violin in beginner and intermediate high school orchestra and thinks they can get into Juilliard with that 2-4 years of experience.

This doesn't mean that the HS orchestra moot can't play. They can even be really good at it. Maybe they won competitions and sat first chair. But they are not in the same league as the person who's been training their whole lives and lives and breathes to hone their craft using the instrument and all of the training they've ever acquired to perfect it. They are not meant for the same roles. They are not in the same caliber. You do not hire the HS equivalent when you want to play complex music in a competitive orchestra.

Actors are not the same as voice actors.

And furthermore, actors - especially big name actors - taking the roles of animated characters for big budget films or TV pilots makes no sense anyways when - at least in the case of TV pilots - there's not a point to hiring a big budget actors anyways. That money could be used elsewhere (like paying your animators), and the talent that is brought onto the screen for X character could then be hired on to voice said character no recasting required.

I wouldn't say voice acting as a profession is in danger exactly, but it's certainly being disrespected and overlooked for celebrity clout, and this has ALWAYS been an issue. Shoot, even Robin Williams knew that much - which is why he tried so hard not to be used as a marketing chess piece for Aladdin and got royally pissed off when it happened anyways. People shouldn't go to any movie (but especially not animated films) because "oh famous actor is in it". People should go because it's a good movie and the voice acting is good.

People who honest to god think that voice actors are replaceable because "oh well anyone can voice act" or "I like xyz celebrity so naturally it'll be good" ... Honestly I just wish you'd reassess your priorities because you're missing the point and are part of the problem.

Voice Actors ≠ Actors.

[semipreciousgemstonejade]

A great point that is touched upon here is that ultimately this is a company and we are consumers. Like this post says, if we continue to pour our time and money into this game when they continue to push these predatory practices, they will only become worse.

I've said on the subreddit many times that what they're doing with Sylus affects every player, since we're all playing the same game. How does it make sense to paywall one and not the others? It doesn't. They absolutely will start doing that with the other characters and that process has already begun.

This isn't their only game, so this isn't their only revenue stream. They are also creating a AAA game for console, Ballad of Antara.

All this to say that they can afford to treat their consumers better. Why don't companies ever understand that the more they understand the target demographic and better they treat the consumer, the more money we will spend? People want high quality in exchange for brand loyalty.

Always remember how much power we hold... There is a reason that women are a target demographic for marketing strategies and not just for fashion and makeup. We aren't a monolith.

In simple terms, it’s because marketers think women are making most buying decisions. Research cited by Forbes suggests that women drive 70-80% of consumer purchasing decisions (source: Forbes), and more detailed research by Girl Power Marketing shows that this influence isn’t limited to the clichéd trifecta of household goods, cosmetics and clothes that modern media has taught us to associate with female shopping behaviour. (Source: Girlpower Marketing).

In total, experts think that women control over $31.8 trillion of worldwide spending (Source: Catalyst). And when you look at statistics like that, it's easy to see how a lot of marketers fall into the trap of assuming that they'll meet success if they start targeting women.

While there is some truth to the idea that women are household managers and the key decision makers in many business organisations, there's also an equally strong body of research to show that they are much more discerning than their male counterparts when it comes to engaging with digital marketing material.

https://www.redevolution.com/blog/why-do-marketers-target-females

The last part is a warning... We won't just continue to spend our money willy nilly. We will take our money elsewhere. There is talk of competition in the future...

I've seen a lot of the suggestions people have given in their surveys and honestly we're telling them how to make this game more engaging for us. If only they would listen. But as my mother says, "those who can't hear must feel". And since money talks, I guess hurting their revenue is the only way they'll understand.

Ultimately we all want this game to succeed, but not at our expense and using predatory practices.

And always remember, we give Papergames and Infold free marketing with all the things we write, draw, our video edits, YouTubers and social media accounts etc... Not to mention all the cool and extravagant things the CN whales do that promotes the game. Of course, no one asks anyone to do any of this, but it adds to the success of the game by bringing in more players.

No matter what I choose to do in the end — to pull or not to pull 😔 — I will, in solidarity with the CN kittens and the ongoing boycott, refrain from pulling within the first 3 days. I'll only log in on the first day and choose Sylus as my precise wish. That's it. And I will absolutely not spend real money. I have 0 plans to ever do so until Paperfold course corrects.

If you too wish to help with the boycott, then I urge you to do the same. You can still get the card you desire ofc but please wait until after 3 days or at least 24 hours have passed in that case.

For more info on the boycott, please check my pinned post or my hashtag justice for sylus. You can also take a look at this Reddit thread .

[jjinpang]

Art is objective.

your personal experience with a work is subjective.

but the quality of works are objective

[volivolition]

Sooo whenever you check the playlist you're gonna notice I added a Lot of Fall Out Boy to it. One song for each of their albums (... And a couple off a few EPs we loved as a teen). We're,, Kind of on a FOB kick right now, lol. Anywayyyy

You don't have to give us your opinions on all of those songs, but two specifically stand out to us that we wanna hear your thoughts on: You're Crashing, But You're No Wave, and Sophomore Slump Or Comeback Of The Year.

You're Crashing is our favourite off IOH and Sophomore Slump is our favourite off Corktree! Both are very important to us in their own ways—The chorus of You're Crashing is just... Wonderful. Very powerful sounding. The whole song has a powerful evocative energy to it but the chorus always gets us tbh. And Sophmore Slump is one of those songs that helped get us through highschool; the post-chorus and bridge mean the world to us. We misheard the final lyric in the post-chorus for a LONG while as "And I need to take a pill to make the sounds feel okay" which really aligned with how we experience synesthesia... We still prefer that lyric over the actual lyric, lmao.

So, yeah! Let us know what you think when you have the time, we lov you <22 <33

-Cygnus

HI CYGNUS!! i did see the Fall Out Boy additions!! i really love the sparse fob songs i know, but i don't actually go out of my way to explore their discography more closely, so it's delightful to listen to other ones, especially ones that are important to y'all!! :3

You're Crashing, But You're No Wave - REALLY LOVE THE GUITAR IN THIS!!! (<- always as expected for FOB hgkjg) i love how solemn but strong it is, how so many of the lyrics are sung :0 "THE VERDICT FALLS LIKE BACH-E-LORS FOR BAD LUCK GIRLS!" is sung so quick, and oooh the fuckin chorus :'0 baby boy can't lift his headache head~ :'] the choir rising on "Guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty~" this is a real funeral of a trial, a damnation. goddamn, really good!! :D

Sophomore Slump Or Comeback of the Year - something about this song sounds really classic boyband, im really fond of the vibe hfkjg YEAH, sometimes you mishear the lyric but its more meaningful anyway, so now that lyric is yours. they said "i hope you sing along and steal a line" and guess what, y'all did it, that's your line now!! /silly :3 hdgkjg im glad it helped y'all through high school, with the vibes of like, "are we growing up or just going down" i think that'd be relatable to high school me too hgkj <33 <22

[silvermeww]

for your Kalosian Woods AU, I have two questions! (1) what’s the direction you’re gonna take Amourshipping/Ash and Serena’s dynamic in? Their friendship along with the romantic subtext felt like it had a lot of potential in XYZ-proper but never really got utilized. And (2) how’re you gonna tackle Showcases? I’ve been meaning to work on a Showcase restructure but I’d love to hear your ideas :D

Hey there!!!!! For the first question, I 100% acknowledge the force of Serena’s crush on Ash in the XY series— even if I did tweak it so that she would fall after meeting him for the first time, watching him train for the Gym and having seen him fall off Prism Tower inspiring her to see him through tinted lens (and how it evolved from the admiration she had for him when they were kids so long ago). While XY anime itself had the weird notion of making everyone down for Ash (a terrifying scene after coming out of the professional haters of BW and literally every series before it) (ngl though I am a believer of the polycule + Bonnie idea lol, it exists in my heart), I can’t deny that side of Amourshipping even if I’m not a shipper myself or even much of a good writer for romantic relationships imo. In my AU I want to show how that love for him grows and eddies throughout the series: from their first meeting to taking up her own dream of showcases to seeing Ash lose himself in his endless hunt for strength— how she puts him on a pedestal because he was the first Trainer she knew, the strongest one she knew, and back then how she didn’t know better, relying on him instead of taking the risks herself and working with other people for a change. You’re absolutely right in the potential their relationship have in XYZ especially; with Serena coming to the tail end of her first Showcase season, ending up in the same place as before but with a totally changed perspective, and Ash fixating more than ever on being the best of the best, distancing himself from everyone else… and of course, all of that feelings and realisations coming to a head in Snowbelle, the Crisis, and the aftermaths. And also having both of them face each other at the end of it all and realising how much changed. I’m not really sure if I’m wording any of this right or if what I’ve said even makes sense heh, especially since I’m not too far ahead in this AU, but their friendship and that romantic subtext is definitely going to play a part in this series, and even if the plot details changes like the weather I’m going to do my best in keeping it as true to its potential as it should be (because a girl can be in love and also grow as a person, in spite and despite and even with it— you’ve just got to find the right angle).

(Also I’m going to have fun with that crush, so it might meet some light-hearted banter and miscommunications and all of that stuff. I mean, hey, these are kids on a journey lol. There are going to be awkward moments for everyone at some point, but they’ll grow past it as with everything else. Also fun memories. :P)

For the second question, wow, I’ve been giving it so much thought lol. I’m nowhere near the Showcases right now (although it is closer than what canon gave us in my AU) and yet it’s all I can do to plan for how it works. I have spitballed a few ideas with friends but for me (so far) I honestly want more of it to be outdoors. Showcases as a whole has this pesky problem of being a one-to-one copy of Contests but ‘declawed’ by having no battles, and it really gets me because if we’re discarding battles then we have to actually redefine Showcases as a whole— because the battle portion is the ultimate showing of precision and control with your Pokémon and their moves, which is what Contests are all about. Especially with AG and DP, we see examples of atypical Appeal rounds with Harley going for a more terrifying show of power, while Kenny (as :/ as a character as he was) goes for showings of strength— even though they are not ‘beautiful’ they still get to pass, because it really is about how your bond can perfectly translate to moves that can command the audience and grab their attention, naturally highlighting the Pokémon. With Showcases though, to me, they are more about creativity— about how a Performer can work with their Pokémon to get past certain obstacles which are based off a certain characteristic the Kalos Queen should have (the Theme round or whatever it was called lol) and then the Freestyle showing off what they uniquely bring to the table, their own brand, what they want to be remembered by (in which I thought that they could bring props to that originally but eh, that’s what my AU is for!). Sheesh, I went through such a big rant and I still feel fired up heh, but ig this is to say that since Showcases are about creativity, the outdoors location would be a great way to show how they deal with everything. On a sunny day, would they use Grass or Fire Types? Would they call out a Rain Dance and form a rainbow? Of course they wouldn’t actually have an open venue if it’s raining or snowing, but in different terrains can you see the characters stand out, I feel like. Also giving all sorts of Pokémon room like Flying or Ground. I have a bunch more ideas of course, about it being connected to PokéVision (still mad about how that concept got dumped) and having small events where people can get to know the up and coming Performers, getting hints for the Theme section so we don’t get the most unbalanced group of people and have a real competition (that always bothered me ngl), as well as other tweaks to that whole system. Showcases can be good in their own light, it’s just the rep of it being baby ‘only girls’ Contest (still thinking about the girls bit ngl) along with the stupid popularity bit of it (not that the concept is bad in and of itself, just that it should have a place and not be the be all end all of passing to the next stage) (it’s only good for the Freestyle, can I say that?) that makes it flop. Also because it came in so late and left so early. And the rivals kind of sucked because they weren’t given any time to grow. And the way Serena wasn’t challenged enough through them. So basically, I’ve got A Lot of thoughts about it and it’s going to be a headache to go through because it desperately needs a redesign to be viable in any way. But that’s the fun bit about an AU, isn’t it heh. Tell me about your ideas, I’d love to hear about them and thank you so so much for the ask!!! :D <33

[unproduciblesmackdown]

(genderly) chill as hell if i was only ever glimpsed / detected like this

[kangpingyu]

why is gif making becoming a lost art in fandom spaces

[renegadeontherunn]

hi! this is my small, gentle reminder that you don’t have to be like other people. I know the best parts of other people are beautiful and exciting and just so cool, but you don’t need to be everything. it’s okay not to be as good at watercolor as your sister or not give good advice like your mom does and it’s okay to love qualities in other people. sometimes other people’s words or their idiosyncrasies or the way they part their hair is so wonderful that you want to join, you want to feel the way about yourself, about the not-as-great parts of yourself that you do about the best parts of them. and it’s okay if you start listening to The Killers because it’s your brother’s favorite band or if you decide you want to get red converse like the ones your best friend has. but it’s okay if you can’t “keep up” with their grades or will never be able to do eyeliner as well as they can or maybe it seems like they just love life more than you do. I just want you to know that there are unattainable parts of you too. you can like things about other people that you don’t have, and you don’t have to give a compliment thinking god I wish I was like that. you don’t have to be like that. it’s okay to just be the things you are. you don’t have to be everything. 

[sskk-manifesto]

:/

[despertara]

Irene bro if you see this I want you to know I've been podcasting (talking loudly and emphatically to myself) abt that Grammy Gun post for Hours. I started ranting in the rb tags and then I got so mad I started a spreadsheet on my phone Yes I have the Excel app. No I did not finish my tags