#this is in no way a criticism it's just something i think is cool to observe as someone not from the uk

[eri-pl]

Be he friend or foe— wait, wrong lyrics. XD

Nice thought anyway, I respect it.

I don't hate AI as much as y'all (yes, ik, it is bad for enviroment and unethically sourced, just like half of the things we buy, but also I find it pretty cool in what it can do, hate me all you want), but yes, when I publish something it's written by me.

I may use tools (AI or not) to check grammar, do low-level beta reading (to tell me stuff like "this needs more descriptions), or use it to kickstart my brainstorming when I'm out of ideas, and use it to "what's the word for [a complicated concept that I remember had a word for it]" when normal search can't do it. Generally the kind of things I could ask a friend for and not feel like needing to add them as a co-author. Except I have very few friends and most aren't native English speakers, so this option is not always possible.

And now I'm not doing even that because a) environment b) people's reactions and I am not going to just go use it and than lie. Well, I do use Google Docs and they have a grammar/style check feature that may be ai-adjacent. IDK.

If it was less controversial, I would use AI for things like "translate this dialogue line to more archaic English" for certain characters. Because this doesn't feel to me like outsourcing creativity, and sometimes is not something I can do by myself. Also grammar / synonyms stuff; low-level editing stuff. Like fixing my commas (if it can do this). Especially when I don't think I know any human both good in English and interested in helping in that particular thing.

Cancel me if you want, whatever. I'm not gonna go and pretend I didn't do a thing I did or that I have a different opinion.

But my fics are written by me, and my pictures are drawn by me and if I post something that's generated it will get a clear caption that it's generated, and one time a year ago I couldn't get something from my head to screen and made AI-gen pictures because I wanted to have a clear vision of how some characters actually look, I did caption it clearly and then I get anon hate for doing it anyway. (They are removed now, less for the AI part and more for the "nobody seems to care anyway" part)

TBH I feel like maaaaybe d4 people in whole world care about whatever I do creatively but also if I admit even looking at any AI tools, suddenly 10 people will take offence, who never even commented at any of my actual work. And I feel discouraged by this, and somewhat bitter.

Oh and also if you want people to admit it when they use AIs, maybe reduce the stigma a bit. Because the surest way to make people lie about doing something is piling a mountain of shame on top of the thing.

No, I'm not saying that I am lying. I am adult enough to admit doing things that are cconsidered shameful. But also, I am over 40 and have close to nothing to lose in terms of social clout. Most people don't have this privilege.

[This is only about using AI with things I publish / share publicly in any way. Using it for having fun on my own (make things I enjoy in private, make songs for phone rings, tell me a bedtime story, give me ideas what new things to try...) is a different thing. I now do it very rarely, because environmental impact, but if it didn't have such an impact, I would do it, because it works for me and is fun.]

PS: Just in case: OP, this is not supposed to criticize what you said. I just saw the post, thought "um, nice, I should make something like this too" and then "ok but what do I want to actually say, what is honest to say for me here" and it got nuanced, and compared to tumblr average, quite pro-AI maybe. No, as I said, even if I'm more nuanced about it, I deeply respect your stance. If anything, I'd say calling people "uncreative dweebs" doesn't encourage them to admit to their past Ai use, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ it's just a detail, I overall respect your post and thank you.

NOTICE: As more and more fanfic writers are using generative AI for their works (you uncreative dweebs), I hereby swear on everything I hold dear that I have not and will NEVER use generative AI in ANY of my written work. Everything I post will be organically and creatively my own.

[tempestmothstorm]

crazy how the sanshee plush is one of the few actual direct confirmations on what a non-act 2 Natsuki’s home life is like because of how cagey she is on literally everything. Like this isn’t anything surprising or something you wouldn’t be able to extrapolate from the games but unlike everything else we know about her the implications are right there on the tin.

They literally did the character bio trope where where all the likes are normal but the dislikes are about their very specific trauma it’s just so funny they did that on the plushie card

[lizzybeeee]

The Lucanis vs Illario story would have had greater emotional depth/intrigue if the writers didn't water down how fucked up the Crows are as an organization.

Just some thoughts about how, out of all the side villains, Illario had some great potential to be a really interesting/tragic character in my opinion.

TL;DR: Zevran Aranai has a knife with Caterina's name on it for good reason and Lucanis/Illario need therapy...or whatever the Thedas equivalent is called...talking to Rook, I dunno

Going into DATV as a new player, or even as a returning one, the whitewashing of the Crows has a lot of the potential complexities of that life simply ignored or barely touched upon. The entire 'Illario vs Lucanis' boils down to: Illario seething in the shadows about Lucanis being the 'best boy'™ of the family while Illario is an after thought - which he is.

Let's be real, Illario is not subtle and immediately comes across as the Scar to Lucanis' 'Mufasa'. It's a questline with a very straightforward villain who has pretty lackluster motivations from what info we're provided - being 'I want power and to be the First Talon'. The game does very little explore what motivations he may have beyond being jealous of Lucanis/wanting more power.

However, if you play the quest line knowing what previous games have set up about the Crows - about how cutthroat and brutal the life is behind the glamour - then you can see that the entire Lucanis vs Illario conflict has amazing potential to be a dramatic tragedy.

We've seen how the life of Crow can affect Zevran - someone who was sold into the life through child-slavery. How interesting would it be to see how the life of a Crow can affect someone who was born into it? It's pretty clear in-game that Caterina intends for her grandchildren to carry on the family tradition - despite the fact that this 'family tradition' has likely led to the deaths of most of her grandchildren and however many children she had.

If there's banter about how Illario's/Lucanis' parents/cousins died specifically I haven't heard it, but the impression I got in-game was that it was likely linked to the Crows/politics in some way? Feel free to correct me! Still majorly fucked up that she pushes her grandsons into this life regardless!

Lucanis/Illario's situation was not like Zevran's - who was sold into the Crow's through slavery, with no one to speak up for him. Caterina was a woman who had power, who knew what the life of a Crow meant, and who still pushed those she 'loved' into it because is consolidated her place in the system. For all the Crows talk of 'family' Caterina doesn't seem to give a shit about them unless if they're contributing to the family business in some way - not to mention the whole 'you fail and we kill you' clause of being a Crow in the first place.

In the 'Wigmaker Job' from Tevinter Nights Lucanis talks about how Caterina hit him [also Illario] with her cane for mistakes and had him spend days without food/water. How he used to hate her but now 'realizes' that it was her way of ensuring he survived the life of being an Antivan Crow. Did it end up protecting them? It likely pushed them both to refine their skills out of fear. It's likely that simply by association with her they would be targets and thus needed to know how to take care of themselves and fight.

But why have him as a Crow in the first place? Why not simply train them well to defend themselves? You can't deny that she doesn't benefit from having her grandchildren in the family business - intentionally wanting Lucanis to take over her position as First Talon. The Antivan Crows are a force to be reckoned with and being one brings a whole lot of power in Antiva - being part of the elite of that group even more so.

If the game showed us the ugly reality of the Crows - the brutality of the lifestyle and how cutthroat the organization is, it could have really added some depth to Illario's betrayal - having it be more than "I want more power/respect" to "this is the result of what you taught me was valuable in life."

Warden: "Do you actually enjoy being an assassin?" Zevran: "And why not? There are many things to enjoy about being a Crow in Antiva. You are respected. You are feared. The authorities go out of their way to overlook your trespasses. Even the rewards are nothing to turn your nose up at."

Illario, bitter about Caterina favoring Lucanis - resentful of the fact that she has already decided that Lucanis will be her successor, being offered power by the Venatori (at the expense of the Crows) and accepting because why not? How different is it from what the Crows do? Isn't power and status the whole point of working yourself up in the Crows? Getting into a relationship with Zara because why not? Isn't sex part of the allure of being a Crow? Why can't he have this? Why shouldn't he have this?

Rook: "When we met, it didn't seem like Illario and Caterina were close." Lucanis: "It was hard to be close to her. Even for me. And...I was her favorite."

Why would he have connections to his family? Why should he? Caterina certainly never seemed to value 'family' beyond what they could do for her and their family legacy. Most of his family is already dead, and of those that remain the only parental figure he has obviously favors Lucanis. We don't have a lot of evidence in-game to show that Illario ever really cared for Lucanis, but the prequel story 'The Wake' and Lucanis' own banter imply that they were practically brothers, best friends. Perhaps he did care and then ceased to at some point, perhaps he didn't at all, or perhaps he accepted that an early death for them both was inevitable like everyone else in their family. Dead now or later - what was the difference? At least if Illario sells him out now to the Venatori then he'll get something from it instead of another dead family member to bury.

It's the tragic result of raising a child in an environment where he was taught and experienced the need for self-preservation at all costs. Constantly threatened, punished, and made well aware of that fact that his life was an expendable commodity. Then, when things in the world went to shit he picked the only option that made sense to him. To save himself.

The irony of the potential fall of the Crows, the fall of House Dellamorte, coming at the hands of one of their own - not because he had a change of heart but because he was taught too well by them. The Crows view those that fail them as disposable, someone to be discarded - if the Crows fail Illario, what is to stop him from applying that mindset to them?

But this would require the writers to acknowledge how messed up the Crows are and we can't do that to our 'Noble Freedom Fighters'™. They'll also need to address Zevran's existence and what lore was established in past games...and we can't have that either lmao.

[luniviravosshipper]

Why are people on Insta so bitter about the stupid Stella plush? Calm down y’all, what is your guys’ problem??

[majimaisms]

ACTUAL LIVE TICKING TIME BOMB — 99:42, 99:41, 99:40...

YOU — This is INSANE. How the hell am I supposed to know which wire is which?!

RISK MANAGEMENT [Easy: Success] — Look, it's going to explode either way. You may as well just cut one.

YOU — Really? *That's* your fucking advice?

RISK MANAGEMENT — It's the truth. What do you want me to do, hold your hand? Now stop wasting time.

YOU — Anyone? *Anyone* else?

DISTAL PRECISION [Trivial: Success] — Sorry, I got nothin'. You're on your own with this one.

TIGHTROPE [Legendary: Failure] — Perhaps increasing the pressure would help? Do you need a reminder of what's at stake? You know you won't just *explode* and *die* if you fail here, right? You will also be letting down EVERYONE who's counting on you. That will be your final act in this world -- failure.

COMPETITIVE STREAK [Easy: Success] — You will be a failure forever. It will be your *legacy*. Everyone will remember how catastrophically you fucked up every time they think of you.

DAMAGED MORALE [-1]

MORALE CRITICAL!

YOU — FUCK. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK!

MOXIE [Formidable: Success] — You can do it, Majima! You've got this! You've made it *this far* without blowing up, that's gotta count for something!

HEALED MORALE [+1]

SHOWTIME [Medium: Success] — Try doing something *cool*. That'll help.

YOU — Like what?

SHOWTIME — I don't know, try, like, tapping on your forehead or something. That always seems to work in movies.

YOU — (Close your eyes and start tapping on your forehead.)

SHOWTIME — Is it helping?

TIGHTROPE — What the fuck do you think?

RISK MANAGEMENT — Just pick one! NOW!

YOU — Okay, okay! (Proceed to pick one.)

LIQUID ASSETS [Heroic: Success] — WAIT!

YOU — What? What is it!?

LIQUID ASSETS — You're not ready yet. We need to re-calibrate.

[Liquid Assets — Challenging] Figure out what you need. [Spend a skill point.]

+1 Tapping on your forehead

This is a red check. It can not be retried.

CHECK SUCCESS

LIQUID ASSETS — You need to trust your *instincts* here. Don't worry. I'll help.

[Living Organism — Impossible] Go with your gut.

+1 Still tapping on your forehead +6 Living Organism

This is a red check. It can not be retried.

CHECK SUCCESS

LIVING ORGANISM — Cut the red one.

YOU — What? Why?

LIVING ORGANISM — Just do it.

YOU — "The red one."

NISHIDA — Whimpering, he slowly brings the pliers up to the red wire. He shuts his eyes, and--

ACTUAL LIVE TICKING TIME BOMB — 97:51, 95:50, 95:49...

NISHIDA — He lets out a small sigh. He's completely drenched in sweat.

LIVING ORGANISM — Now blue.

YOU — "Neeeext... Let's go blue!"

NISHIDA — "Y-yes sir!"

NISHIDA — He sounds like he's crying, about to start kicking his feet and screaming he doesn't wanna do this. But he does -- he takes the blue wire between the pliers, and...

ACTUAL LIVE TICKING TIME BOMB — 96:28, 96:27, 96:26...

NISHIDA — A long, shaky breath escapes him . He'd probably been holding it. His hands fall onto his stomach, arms limp.

YOU — "What's up? You got gas or somethin'?"

NISHIDA — "N-no, sir..." A droplet slides across his cheek and plops onto his shoulder. Actually, maybe it's a tear. You can't be sure. "I was just thinking about my mother, back in the country."

BLACK RIVER [Formidable: Success] — His MOTHER? Who cares about his MOTHER right now! Can't he see we've got more important shit to do!?

YOU — "What's your momma got to do with this bomb!?"

DIAMOND HEART [Trivial: Success] — Ouch.

DECOUPLING [Medium: Success] — Oh, he can *deal* with it. You don't have time to worry about this right now.

ACTUAL LIVE TICKING TIME BOMB — 95:37, 95:36, 95:35...

NISHIDA — "No, it's just... She lives by herself, so if something were to happen to me..."

YOU — "That's why we're stoppin' it, numbnuts!"

BLACK RIVER — Seriously.

NISHIDA — "B-but, boss..." He hesitates for a moment, clasping his hands together. Then he taps against his forehead with his index, mimicking you. "Does doing *this* really tell you how the wiring works?"

YOU — "You for real!?"

SHOWTIME — He doesn't *get* it, boss.

YOU — "How the fuck should I know how this tangly-ass rainbow shit works!? But we gotta handle it, so I'm here, puttin' my instincts to work."

NISHIDA — "Instincts!?" he practically shrieks. "This is all *instinct*!?"

LIVING ORGANISM — He shouldn't have said that. He'll regret it.

YOU — "What's that? You don't trust my instincts?"

NISHIDA — He flinches, as if suddenly remembering the animal he's trapped with is more dangerous than the bomb.

NISHIDA — "N-no... It's not that, sir!"

YOU — "Then let's get back to work!"

NISHIDA — "Yes, sir!"

BLACK RIVER — That's more like it.

ACTUAL LIVE TICKING TIME BOMB — 95:37, 95:36, 95:35...

NISHIDA — "Um, boss..." he says in a low voice, like he's about to divulge a secret. "There's only two left."

TIGHTROPE — TWO left!?

YOU — "Yeah?"

MOXIE — Don't worry. This means your chances of getting it right are the highest they've ever been – a whole whopping 50%!

YOU — Whoa. Is that true?

RISK MANAGEMENT — Well, it's not *wrong*. But we don't really know if they're the *highest* they've ever been. Because we know nothing about how this bomb works.

SHOWTIME — Quick, start tapping on your forehead again!

TIGHTROPE — That was NOT helping.

SHOWTIME — Shut up. Boss, you need to lighten up a little. How 'bout a rhyme? You like singing.

YOU — "Aww, fuck this! Eenie-meenie-miney-mo, oh-god-which-one-isn't-gonna-blow?"

LIVING ORGANISM — Just like I thought. It's red again.

YOU — "This one. Gimme red!"

NISHIDA — "Boss!" he pleads. "This is a life-or-death decision here! Can we take it a little more seriously!?" His voice cracks at the end.

TIGHTROPE — He has a point, you know.

RAZOR'S EDGE [Easy: Success] — Is anyone else kind of enjoying this? I'm getting all *tingly*...

TIGHTROPE — No!

RISK MANAGEMENT — It's not very stimulating, as far as challenges go.

COMPETITIVE STREAK — The stakes *are* pretty high. If you pull this off, it'll be quite an achievement.

BLACK RIVER — Shut up, all of you. Focus.

[Composure — Legendary] Stay calm.

This is a red check. It can not be retried.

CHECK FAILURE

YOU — "Shut it, nitwit! I said gimme red!"

REACTION SPEED [Trivial: Success] — He's useless. You have to take matters into your own hands.

YOU — "Gimme those!" (Snatch the pliers from Nishida.)

NISHIDA — He lets out a pathetic little *eek*. You can tell he's shutting his eyes, probably curling in on himself the way he does when he panics.

ACTUAL LIVE TICKING TIME BOMB — 88:06, 88:05, 88:04...

YOU — (Cut the red wire.)

does anyone have any majima scenes they wanna see written in the disco elysium format

[asgardian--angels]

things I wish I could relive for the first time again:

that magical window where you finish a new piece of media, having watched/read it all by yourself with no fandom contact whatsoever, and you are just so happy about it, and full of interesting theories and takeaways, and just in love with it as a gorgeous piece of art.

because I swear to god as soon as you join the fandom for anything, you're bombarded with how you're supposed to view characters and their arcs, how you're supposed to morally and ethically judge the plot and the ways it apparently failed to present the right message, and if you don't you'll either be shunned for not sharing the popular headcanons or you'll be harassed for not criticizing the source material enough.

like how is it that the fans of a piece of media are also the ones being the most negative about it? If I like a show or a movie or a book, well, I liked it. That's kind of the point. I'm actually not here to tear it apart and talk about how it didn't live up to standards other people had! I enjoyed it for what it was, and forcing myself to find negative things to say about it doesn't actually bring me more enjoyment of it or reap any benefit to me. Fandom's a double-edged sword; you want to join a community to share your love for a piece of art, and the price you pay for a modicum of joy is a mountain of negativity. that's one main reason that I never engage with fandom until I'm completely done with a show, because if I was plugged into all of that commentary and discourse during the process, I'd be completely colored by how I'm expected to interpret everything this piece of art is presenting to me without being able to even form my own opinions.

[icewindandboringhorror]

I'm so heavily anti-advertising that all pitches sound goofy silly to me/I can never take them seriously, so I have no idea how I'll manage to to advertise my game even if I do finally finish it soon-ish lol...

[guiltycorp]

mmm im sort of glad they released arcane survivor jayce skin voicelines in league before act 3 drops because my expectations for it were rising a bit too much lmao... before it i almost convinced myself that yeah, viktor's character arc will lead him to manipulate jayce into transferring his soul to a new mechanical body + focus on a new strategy for 'healing' societal issues that isn't 100% evil and bad (while still having its drawbacks re: will and consent) and fighting noxians would place the zaun side in a better position to bargain with piltover for equal rights and a stop to exploitation (with an open ending sure but still), or even a straightforward revolution with zaun getting its independence through a violent protest that piltover wouldn't be able to curb due to being stretched too thin

but uhm.... all of this looks kinda... sigh

i really doubt they'll have the time in the remaining 3 episodes to develop both his and Viktor's motivations to fit those new ideas, feels like more of the same 'it all happened off-screen, trust that it makes sense' journey saying that Viktor is 'still worth saving' feels especially yucky all things considered, like pls stop trying to save that man and let him act and choose for himself for once in this season maybe? never thought i'd miss the times when Viktor was doing unsafe experiments, getting illegal drugs from evil mentors and accidentally fridging random female assistants, but mmm that sure didn't get a proper continuation for him did it... just like with Caitlyn, or even Mel or Jinx, we just can't seem to get a proper development for the obviously Questionable things the characters choose to do, it's all kind of swept under the rug or cancelled out by magic interference i guess, or they changed their mind off-screen so it's fine now now that i think about it, Jayce is the only one who was allowed to somewhat grow and change organically, and yet this arcane adventure of his might end up ruining even that... well maybe Vi too but she didn't have a concrete focus this season, just more of the same 'should i reconnect with my sister/father or kill them off for good' and lesbian angst (if she still goes back to enforcers after this i just... fml) did Ambessa's warmongering get the best of her or was she cornered by the Black Rose shenanigans with no better way out? did Isha have any purpose aside from giving us false hope that Jinx will get better and have a happy ending? will Mel have any relevance aside from the new magical one and managing her own mother? does Viktor want to 'supersede nature' and get rid of human error element now because of his own character journey or because that's just what Hexcore is leading him to do?... will Caitlyn show that she still doesn't get why Zaun is the way it is or will she also go 'yeahhh i made some mistakes, but now we fight a common enemy yay, and i'll be a bit less strict in the future without making any meaningful changes to the status quo... it was all them foreigners fault' it's just all so... aghhh

and yep now i am expecting that the piltover/zaun conflict is overrr because they have to come together to fight Ambessa and whatever is going wrong with the magic, sighhh social conflict plotlines are a little too spicy for our animated league adaptation i guess... ...this is the only voiceline implication i like and even then i can't help but imagine Viktor the damsel in distress begging Jayce to fix the mistakes they both did instead of like, participating in that himself

bonus points if that promise won't even be to Viktor fghgfhgf

[britneyshakespeare]

Had the extremely upsetting experience of a mutual of like 6 years going off on me for occasionally making posts about supporting Harris because apparently that makes me a g n cide denier who refuses to learn and grow, with all of my views just being assumed not even from what I've told them I believe or what I've posted before, but just because I DON'T post particularly the kind of things they THINK I should be. When I pointed out how much they were just completely assuming about stuff I'd never talked to them about, I was told it doesn't matter what I do in real life or "care" about if I simply disagree with their conclusion and vote for her anyway. Like they were absolutely not sorry for the level of maliciousness they not just assumed of my character, but for some reason thought appropriate to bring directly to me before unfollowing me. No apology whatsoever for how discomforting or upsetting that might be and certainly no acknowledgment that I could disagree with them and still be a good person. I just got another even longer rant about how they fundamentally can't fuck with me because of this one thing, no matter WHAT else I do in my real life (which I pointed out that they do not know), and how I'm directly supporting fascism.

Like seriously what is it about Tumblr that makes people think they know someone based off of occasional posts? There were just such DEEP assumptions they were making of me and going off of very little or absolutely nothing. Around the time I first became mutuals with that person I used to express my personality and beliefs and talk about what was going on in my life a lot more openly, but I've significantly scaled back on doing that in many ways for many reasons. One of my major ones is privacy and the way I've had strangers outside my followers and following circles just find random things I say and dogpile me for it. I was fundamentally changed after some T Fs did that to me like 3 years ago. I also just didn't have many conversations w that person anymore (I message people in general on here like 10x less than I did circa 2018-2019, which I'm somewhat sorry about!). My point is to say I think this person felt comfortable assuming that they knew me, especially who I am in 2024 at the age of 25, much better than they actually did.

One of the specific things they accused me of was being afraid of learning and growing (because I don't perform social media activism on here like they think I should). Like AFRAID to take criticism. When again I've never received criticism from them or had to respond to any criticism on here before as pertaining to my views on... well, absolutely any of the issues they accused me of not caring about. They essentially treated it as if the only thing in the world I cared about was the US election and characterized me as the most out-of-touch liberal they could possibly imagine, because I'm not "pushing" Kamala Harris to be better (Oh?? Should I do that on here?? Does she read my blog??).

And most hypocritically what they said was that I only *sometimes* *vaguely* post pro-Harris things (I often post like 5 or fewer things in a day though?). But here's the kicker. "Because I know I'll get shit for it. And rightfully so."

Really????? Not a single person, anon or not, in my messages or in a tagged post or anything, has ever given me shit before for saying who I'm voting for. I'm actually NOT afraid of "getting shit" for that opinion, I just don't start fights with people who are anti-voting. And why should I??? I genuinely don't believe in trying to change the minds of strangers on the internet about that sort of thing. I'm just not confrontational about it; that is so not the same thing as being "afraid of getting shit." I'm not posting ENOUGH about my support for Harris, therefore I'm afraid. But therefore they can also make all these assumptions about me being their strawman for an ignorant Harris supporter.

I'm afraid of getting shit but I still post anyway? But if I weren't afraid of getting shit I'd be posting a lot more?? This is ALL based on their assumptions of what my blog *should* look like, based on what I really and truly believe. My level of posting every now and then is an accurate gauge of my feelings on complex, sensitive, global issues. Because I'm voting for the Democratic presidential candidate and I'm ok sharing pretty much just that little glimpse of myself.

I really don't think that person knows just how inappropriate and insulting that is to just say all of that to me. Like they really know what's going on in my head. Their first message began and ended with like "I'm sorry I love you I just can't take it anymore" but they clearly weren't sorry enough to try and be more respectful to me, and they didn't love me enough not to default to extremely ungenerous assumptions and attacking me based off of those instead of any actual words I've said that they take issue with.

Online radicalization is real and it's not necessarily bad because your political views can start to fall well out of the contemporary Overton window. The way you find it appropriate to treat people whose views, however common, seem to fundamentally misalign with yours... that does matter. You can't just assume the worst of everyone and then act on that in how you approach them as individuals. And then be shocked that you don't stay friends with them. You can't be confrontational with someone about an issue you've never had an honest conversation about, and then expect them to take your bad faith in them as reasonable well-meaning criticism.

I'm afraid of criticism??? I'm afraid of criticism. No I'm not. This person and I have never had an issue before where they criticized me and I got harshly defensive. It was ALL projection. The entire tone of their messages was as if all their anti-voting posts recently were somehow in communication with the occasional go-vote-for-Harris posts that I make. That's not a conversation. I don't post for your satisfaction. I don't post in "response" to my mutuals I disagree with. I just post what's on my mind, sometimes, about some things. I really again can't stress enough how baffled I am by this

[gods-favorite-autistic]

I have to say I feel like some of these celebrities should have some more strict boundaries with fans like i find it as fun as anyone when creators get fans involved in their work like I love it however some of these things are straight up parasocial

[hassianlovebot]

i wish there was more in the whole shepp thing,, even the character just bringing it up would be nice lol sometimes i forget that was a thing i had to do and considering it was like. The quest for the ceremony and took a long time? boooooooo

here are some ideas/wants i have!! going down in how hard it would be for the devs to add

a special quest with the shepp where you go on a little adventure and they have dialogue teaching you about majiri and kilima culture (and maybe their paths/interests too). ideally this would work similarly to the temple quests where you get to unlock a new place. maybe add a building that you can't get into until you complete the ceremony and fully become part of the kilima community? visit another town? idk man just something nice and rewarding

a separate shepp relationship level alongside the friendship and romance ones. it would just be with your shepp (obviously), and increasing it would involve conversing with them using the shepp option (dialogue would include teaching you about majiri & kilima culture, their path, their life experiences and beliefs, etc) and Maybe leveling up in their path if that's possible with them (ex: reth with cooking). for certain levels you get gifts that are unique to the character and their path. this would incentivize players to really think about who they want their shepp to be and not just choose their fav blorbo!

you talk to them after the ceremony and they gift you a placeable guidebook about majiri and kilima culture that they wrote themselves (so unique to each character's personality) and that you can actually read (like the books that you can read around the map)

a weekly challenge related to their path/interest. i'm not sure how they'd implement this for characters like caleri or chayne since their paths aren't part of the gameplay like cooking for ex but,, it'd be cool lol maybe for those characters they could add like a,,, talk to that character x amount of times challenge?

add casual dialogue centered around them being your shepp like "hey remind me to teach you about this thing" or "have you heard about this thing that we do" or "hey you've learned a lot blahblahblah" and maybe dialogue from other characters about them being your shepp (similar to the romance ones). they could give their opinions on that character or even ask you how it's going

literally bro just anything it's so weird to me that this was SO important at the beginning and so meaningless immediately afterwards. please devs pleasepleaseplease

[prentissluvr]

tw long rant and swearing!

hey!! if you don't like something i wrote! shut the fuck up and move on!! thanks bye!! no hate is tolerated on this blog :)))

i don't care if you don't like the way i characterized someone in my story!! shut up and get a better hobby than hating on something someone has spent hours creating and pouring love into and accusing them of hating one of their favorite characters because you think that the fic they wrote FOR FUN and NOT FOR YOU is bad characterization/makes the character flawed in a way that you don't like because you have a poor understanding of what makes fanfiction fanfiction (and also humans human tbh lol). sure, they're maybe more flawed than in the actual show, but THATS THE FUCKING POINT OF FANFICTION!!! IS THAT ITS NOT A REAL PART OF THE SHOW!!! AND ITS WRITTEN!!! FOR FUNNNNN!!!!! AND NOT FUCKING FOR YOU AND YOUR FUCK ASS OPINIONS SPECIFICALLY!!!!!!!! and if you think it sucks, i don't care!! you are entitled to your opinion!!!! hate it so so so much but get the fuck over yourself if you think that telling me it's horrible and unrealistic and somehow creating a bad wrap FOR MY FAVORITE CHARACTER IN THIS SHOW is somehow a meaningful usage of your time or gonna get me to delete the fic or stop liking it or stop promoting my own hard work !!!! i'm proud of the things i write and nothing will ever change that. i hope you know what a shitty shitty shitty (and embarrassing) thing it is to do to leave a whole paragraph of hate under someone's hard work just because they interpret a fictional fucking character in a way that you don't like. genuinely genuinely get the fuck over yourself and find a better way to spend your time than caring more about fictional characters than real life people.

[neverendingford]

.

[cheese-rat29]

watching early s6 is so funny because you get to see how the uk views the us and it's so wrong.

[drchucktingle]

BIG thing i get teased about over the years (in playful ways, it is fine buckaroos, but a light tease none the less) is the DIRECTNESS of my titles. many who stumble upon my books will immediately comment 'the title is so long it just says what happens'. here are some of my thoughts on that...

as with a lot of things in the tingleverse, my unusual artistic choices end up being a sort of TROJAN HORSE, called unserious and mocked by many, but hopefully over the years revealing something to buckaroos who are not tied to the separation of ‘low brow’ or ‘high brow’ art

i feel understood by most, but for some who JUST NOW encounter the tingleverse there is an automatic apprehension, from outright to subliminal. things like scoffing ’im not going to try and find meaning in a chuck tingle book’ (real quote) or 'skeptical of the horror, ive seen his OTHER books'

i have written a LOT about how much of this, whether buds know it or not, is not just about the dinosaurs and the living objects. it is about a culture that is built to see queerness and neurodivergence and (drumroll) SEXUALITY as fundamentally unworthy of ‘real’ artistic merit. this trot runs deep

theres SOMETHING ELSE i dont talk on much however, which is directness of my writing style, both in titles and on page. why i do it is this: AS AN ARTIST it is never my intention to impress you. my books are not the 'ME show' theyre the 'US show’ so i simply want my sentences to express what happens

i wont dance circles around you, leading you through the story saying LOOK AT ME LOOK HOW GOOD I AM IM SO COOL. i want to walk BESIDE you. of course, writing to impress is also great and valid art too, just not MY preference. this is ARTISTIC choice, but i want to talk for a moment on politics of it

i tend to see buckaroos holding a sort of STRICT interpretation of what makes ‘good’ art. it is a training that has been pounded into their heads declaring ‘real art cannot just come out and say what it means.' a good example would be if someone was being critical by just saying 'its heavy handed'

the thing is, there is a huge difference between saying ‘it was blunt.’ and ‘it was TOO BLUNT for what it was trying to accomplish.’ TIME AND TIME AGAIN however, you will see folks simply deciding ‘this art just said what it meant on the surface’ and leaving it there, as if that is INHERENTLY WRONG.

and the question i am forced to ask myself is ‘WHY is this wrong?’ in the vast, infinite pantheon of WHAT ART CAN BE why are we so obsessed with hiding ourselves? obscuring our thoughts? removing our politics? there is certainly a time for subtly, but it seems there is NEVER a time for being blunt

some say this is because arts more DIFFICULT to craft when it is subliminal, but folks do not REACT that way. art that is both direct AND subliminal and layered will STILL get torn down for leaving things on the surface, even when technically speaking it is probably most impressive to juggle both

there is plenty for you to research on this regarding the CIA secretly funding abstract expressionist art during the cold war. it is still HOTLY DEBATED, but i will mention it here for anyone reading my thread who is interested in a deep dive. HERE, however, i will talk about it on a personal level

i think that culturally we are CONSTANTLY told to not take up space, especially in marginalized groups. there is decades and decades of programming telling us ‘you can express yourself, but in a CIVILIZED WAY, not too loud, not too direct. CERTAINLY not too political.' i flatly reject this

of all the places to do what you want and say what you want to say, ART IS THE PERFECT ARENA. your writing, your songs, your music can absolutely be as subtle as you want, but especially during times like this, dont let anyone tell you that youre too dang loud. lets trot buckaroos.

and since i spent all morning writing this is am going to leave a link for my new book LUCK DAY, which is LOUD AS HECK. now is a time to make art, and it is also a time to support the artists you love. give a preorder if you can. LOVE IS REAL