#quality over quantity though I guess

[youruinedmylifebynotbeingreal]

.

[enterstellars]

the difference between my friend and i watching severance is that she wanted me to catch up so we could talk theories with the show and the Next Big Reveal. meanwhile i wanted to stop the show at one point bc how fucked up the whole thing is and worshipping your ceo as god and doing literally whatever to please him and the company and not caring about what happens in your wake and now there’s child labor. oh also we haven’t even touched the bodily autonomy part of it which is 16 layers deep. like. fuck dude. and especially in today’s world we’re putting out art like this? showing how companies view workers and what they’ll go to just to make their their overlords are happy???

but yeah let’s talk severance theories.

[risrambles]

possible hot take but lowkey the reason that the hype for doomsday isn’t as high as endgame or infinity war and the the reason it’s getting more joked about is kinda bc they haven’t done much building up to the movies and nothing has really connected like it did in the other phases. like all the movies leading up to the avengers were so tightly woven into that eventual product. then phase two everything led up to civil war and such, and then obviously endgame. but phase 4 and on has jumped around so much and introduced so many characters that it’s like… we know these all won’t tie in. like we get a hawkeye show but neither protagonist is in the cast (yet), we get moon knight and not a character is in the cast (yet), we get she-hulk and not a character is in the cast (yet). they overload it with tv shows and movies that end up being one-offs bc it’s quantity over quality atp. whereas phases 1-3 all lead up to something together, this is just. kind of a mess. and i say this as someone who was in the fandom a lot in 2021 and kinda saw the beginning of the end. and i say this now as someone who loves marvel so dearly.

not saying i don’t think it’ll be good—i think it has potential. but instead of marvel being the epitome of modern superhero storytelling and being considered good media, it’s turned into more of a joke bc people a) hate too much for the wrong reasons b) the movies are actually not good c) we get one good movie or show once in a while that is actually really high quality with meaning that is immediately followed up by something less hype d) the characters are going up against things so much bigger than themselves that it’s just plain unrealistic to the MAX. like sure thanos was a Big Bad but at least it kinda seemed like an avengers level threat. all this multiverse stuff with Not Enough multiverse-level superheroes is wearing on me. not to mention they either kill their best or most interesting characters (aka wanda, who had a lot of potential) or bench them (moon knight). the strongest characters currently in rotation off the top of my head are doctor strange, loki, and sentry (who is apparently in doomsday, so that’s cool!) but honestly other than that it’s all supersoldiers or people with physical skill over the skill and power actually needed to fight god level villains.

i’m not a hater, i promise. i just miss when it wasn’t so unrealistic that it was hard to get past and have a fun time watching. (and i get that it’s movies so it can be unrealistic, but comparing it to the actually decently realist tones of the first few phases it just takes me out of it when i’m watching) it’s probably a part of the reason that people always seem to like ca:tws or the avengers or iron man, because it was smaller scale and it makes sense why it’s only those heroes in those movies. cause why is it just the thunderbolts trying to handle sentry?

take catws. it’s captain america, black widow, and falcon against hydra and more specifically the winter soldier. THAT makes sense. it makes sense why it wasn’t anyone else. it was a small scale threat that can be played off during the movie as a big one bc to the characters in the movie it is and to the ones not in it, it isn’t. the entire avengers team doesn’t have to assemble to fight the winter soldier and they don’t, which is good! Then take wandavision, where it was jimmy woo, monica rambeau, and a few others against the literal scarlet witch who was bending reality, not a single avenger really even tried to stop by. this is a situation where every avenger should have been locked and loaded and ready to step in but it just WASNT.

now remember i say this as a marvel FAN. i love marvel and ive loved marvel since i first watched captain america the winter soldier. i guess im a sucker for old marvel but it comes to a point where even though they’re doing a lot, it’s just like they’re trying too many things at once. i hold out hope for doomsday and secret wars, and i hope they wrap all of these individual projects together nicely, but i dont know. if im going to be honest, im not the biggest fan of the multiverse saga even though some of my favorite projects have come from it.

[frozen-snowflakesandsunflowers]

Jared Bush teases Frozen 3 | Latest Updates

At the 2025 Annecy Animation Festiva, CCO of WDAS Jared Bush teases Frozen 3, along with 4! He tells Collider’s Steve Weintraub that the new adventure will feel organic to us when we watch it,

“Some of that is under wraps, but what I'd share with you is that right now, the work being done on Frozen 3, specifically, is phenomenal. When people see it, I think returning to that world with those characters, the entertainment value of watching them go on a new journey, but that feels very organic to the story they've already been on, is fantastic.”

He also says they make sure that the movie is full of quality!

“For me personally, I think that it's critical to make sure that every movie we do is fantastic. We have the luxury of being able to look at movies many times, so looking at Frozen 3 as, ‘Can we tell the very best story we can with that and not worry about where we're going to split into that next story,’ is sort of important. One thing at a time is, to me, the best way to approach it.”

I like how they're taking things one step at a time and not looking too far ahead. That means each scene will have had careful thought put into it.

Collider also asks Bush if they've thought about the music yet. And Bush replies,

“The song is always deeply tied to what the character's story is going to be and what those dynamics are. I'd say I have an idea of what that's going to be. That's very exciting. I think we'll surprise people in the best way. I guess that’s as much as I can say about that.”

I think they have a good few ideas on the music but they're still focusing on the individual character arcs of each character as they go though the movie. He believes that those arcs may excite us which means the songs possibly will do too.

The article states that the main four cast members, Idina Menzel, Kirsten Bell, Josh Had and Jonathan Groff are returning for this, as expected!

So all good things. We didn't get anything majorly new but a few teases to keep us going until that actually can share something official, is good enough for me! It's still looking quite promising and exciting but I understand some may still want to be cautiously optimistic and rightfully so. I always have said that I'm loving how they're taking their time with Frozen 3 and 4 instead of rushing it to get it out there for us. Quality over quantity!

[pupmkincake2000]

Alright, I’m really angry right now. And the reason is a comment on Instagram on one of my hankcon renders. I spent over three hours on that conversation, and in the end, I realized there was no point trying to prove anything to this person, so I blocked them and deleted our dialogue. But that conversation keeps bothering me.

This person, of course, tried to tell me that Hank and Connor can’t be lovers (let’s skip the whole “they’re like father and son” thing), because it’s “gross”, and so on. And when they apparently ran out of arguments, they began claiming that Hank and Connor are sexually incompatible, that Hank is too old to have sex with Connor, and started naming other characters and ships they felt were better suited for Connor. And gods, I really hate those kinds of "arguments."

I’ve never gone into detail here about how I view their sex life... Well — I guess it’s time to talk about it.

So, Connor is an android, which means physically (if he has genitalia), he can have sex several times a day. He doesn’t get tired, has no refractory period (which I actually doubt), his biocomponents and interfaces allow for precise control over erection, breathing, rhythm — even vibration, if desired (though in my opinion, this part is more headcanon than canon — machines overheat, and any tech needs rest. Androids are no exception).

The point is: he can have sex, but he’ll only do it if he wants to, not because he “can.”

(And it’s important to note: androids have no biological need for sex. That matters.)

Now — Hank. A statistically average man at age 53 is still quite capable of having an active sex life, though: he may need more time to start it over, there may be limitations due to fatigue, depression, or alcohol (assuming he hasn’t quit drinking or improved his health — which, I firmly believe, he would for Connor and for himself).

In a healthy and trusting relationship, the frequency could be 3–4 times a week — even more if Hank is in good shape. Also, in 2038, medicine and technology are far more advanced. With the help of medical support (like stimulants or implants), Hank could have more regular sex.

And I’d like to add: frequency ≠ quality Connor may initiate sex more often — but he’s also capable of adapting, being attentive, and caring about Hank’s condition.

So what’s the realistic picture?

Sex between them can be frequent enough, if:

both partners want it,

Hank has no serious limitations (or there are ways to compensate),

and the relationship is based on emotional closeness, not just physical compatibility.

Love between a human and an android isn’t about physical perfection. It’s about wanting to be there.

Now, I understand the fandom's fantasy where “more = better” (especially with android × android pairings). But 3–4 times a week is not “little.” This “five times a day every day” stuff is mostly fantasy, fetish, and metaphor. Not a reflection of love, maturity, or even satisfaction.

I can see people saying:

“more sex = better ship.”

But:

Sexual life is about a rhythm that fits both partners, not a marathon.

Mature couples (especially those involving an older person and a non-human being) often choose quality over quantity.

That's why I think Hank and Connor may have sex less frequently, but it’s deeper and more meaningful. “Five times a day” isn’t about love—it’s porn or fantasy. When people say, “but androids are tireless, no aging, sex forever, so it’s better,” I have a few things to point out:

That’s not about real psychology (and yes, I know fanfics aren’t written for realism, but still). It’s not about trust. It’s not about vulnerability. It’s about hypersexualized fantasy, where characters become emotionless ideal bodies. And sure, that’s fine in erotica — but don’t treat it as evidence of “better compatibility.”

When I think of Hank, I agree — he might not be as physically active as someone younger. But he gives Connor something no one else can: emotional realism, honesty, maturity, and grounded, earned desire. Or have we forgotten that the entire game is built around the value of emotion?

People don’t say “Connor needs more sex” because they care about Connor. They say it because:

they want to see a hot body in action

they don’t want to see an older partner

they’re afraid of quiet, depth, and stability.

But Connor? He’s not a “horny catboy.” He’s focused, intentional — and if deviant, profoundly emotional.

That’s why I firmly believe:

Hank and Connor are sexually compatible. They’re honest. Real intimacy is not a race.

Connor can have sex every day. But that doesn’t mean he wants to do it with just anyone. With Hank, maybe it’s less frequent. But every time is intentional, emotional, and loving.

When people argue otherwise, I just want to facepalm. Especially when they say, “frequency = better”/“more sex = better ship.” But that argument suddenly shifts the moment Hank is brought into it.

Let’s be honest: many people push the idea that their ship is better because of more sex. Because fandom, at its core, is very horny, and sex in the ship is practically the most important indicator of the ship’s “quality.” Not all of people think so, but still.

When it comes to other ships, high frequency = passion. But when it’s about Hank, the same frequency becomes a flaw: “he’s too old.”

That’s the double standard. In one context, sexuality means emotion and passion. In another — it’s just about biology and age.

Why?

And for the record — Hank doesn’t just have a dick. He has hands. He has a tongue. He has experience. And above all — he has intention.

And most importantly — he has presence. He pays attention. He listens. He cares. What Connor gets with Hank isn't just about performance — it's about being known, felt, and wanted on every level.

Pleasure isn’t measured in stamina. It’s measured in intimacy. And Hank knows how to give that — not through endless repetition, but through intention.

I personally believe the truth is this: every ship deserves sexual depth — if that sexuality comes from feeling, not stereotype.

It’s not about “how often.” It’s about why. Frequency is not a measure of love.

A lot of people prefer younger/android ships not because they’re more emotional or canonical but because they make it easier to imagine endless, intense, tireless sex.

And that’s not wrong. But it needs to be called what it is.

So what’s behind fandom’s horny fixation? Connor = perfect body + mystery. Beautiful, quiet, efficient, “obedient but potentially dangerous”—the perfect erotic fantasy.

Deviant Connor = sexually aware android with 1000 functions. He becomes a vessel for desire. People want not story — but stimulation. And that’s fine. To an extent.

But Hank doesn’t fit that fantasy. He doesn’t offer “a lot of fucking.” He’s not young. He’s not a sleek android. He’s not edgy-sexy. He’s just… someone who cares.

Which makes him less popular with people looking for fast dopamine from shower scenes.

In the horny-fic world — that looks like “less fun, more feelings.” Which is less popular if what people want is fast dopamine.

Let’s look at Connor again. He’s not driven by instincts. He doesn’t get hormones, he doesn’t follow physical urges.

His sexuality isn’t about pleasure — it’s about understanding, meaning, and connection. He doesn’t fuck because he can — he does it when it matters.

And the real question is:

Does Connor himself want “a lot of sex”? Or do people want him to want it?

Hank may offer less — but that “less” means more.

Yes — 3–4 times a week. Maybe slower. Maybe not always. But each time says: “I’m here. I’m with you. I’m not going anywhere.”

And the other ships? The fandom is free to fantasize however it likes. But that’s a different story, a different genre, a different Connor.

So yes — fandom wants “lots of sex with tireless partners.”

And they pick the ships that make that fantasy easier.

But Hank gives not porn — but truth. And not everyone is ready for that.

Connor? He’d rather lie in silence with one person after one act of love — than chase stimulation through body after body.

Thank you for reading. This may be the longest post I’ve ever written

[sukunacleavedforeskin]

Hey I just wanted to say I love your blog!!! I don’t know if you take asks or not but I was just curious, what do you think are things that people in the fandom get wrong about Sukuna? I feel like tumblr lacks a lot of analysis posts on Sukuna and I guess I am just asking for more LOL.

Thank you and I hope you are having a wonderful day/night!

omg thank you so much this is the first time I have received compliment on my blog and yes I do take asks 🥺🖤. To be honest, what people think of sukuna is left to the the viewer, there's nothing wrong or right version of him until he reveals himself without using sophisticated wordplay and his backstory. I sometimes think gege purposely kept his backstory mysterious so a duality exists for him to serve his "double faced spirit" depiction, like he's two faced or have two versions of sides of him, for the good guys? A curse, monster. For uraume? A saviour, someone who gave his life purpose and guidance, for kenny? A pawn, (the same guy who killed Mimiko and Nanako for trying to order him but let kenjaku gladly do so ironic) but no version of sukuna is right or wrong both are the two sides or "faces" of him people saw.

But there are things I see the fandom get wrong about him like complete bs (well for me though ) is his sexuality and making him a mindless monster on rampage 24*7. His own fans sometimes misinterpret him as misogynist and pedophile for his comment on women and children. No it's looking down at other animal or

something below you, like idk if you eat chicken but think: would you perform intercourse with a chicken that you will have as your next meal? That thought made you disgusted and cringe right? , I feel like that's how he views women, children or weak people in general, or he could have showed his sexual interest or tell maki to go to kitchen or sum misogynistic shit while fighting her.

Another thing is people thinking he's incapable of long term or deep bonds apart from uraume, but Sukuna's very much capable of it,the thing is he didn't find anyone matching his freak. Being an "unwanted cursed wretch" ( my needed fairy husband actually) since birth, the only attention he got from people at the time was probably outright abuse (either emotional,Physical or mental like burning, beating,verbal abuse etc) . From a psychological point of view our early childhood, circumstances,the people around us and what we observe at our childhood clearly impacts our subconscious mind while we grow up, as it is our first time seeing this world and the first impression of the world around us. So a hug, a kiss might feel like a "bad touch" or uncomfortable to you as your body and mind was comfortable only with abuse since childhood. And Sukuna's body and mind only being accustomed to challenges and abuse not acceptance and love will be outright uncomfortable or disgusted by these acts of healthy love , for example: yorozu's flirtings and Yuji who accepted sukuna and asked him to leave Fushiguro and get in his body. So yuh umm what I want to say is he's capable of love,but shows it in the way he was first "loved", in the way people taught him "love" which was abuse,but it's the only attention he got from people in his childhood and it's engraved in his subconscious mind as it's the first impression or the version of the world we see.

Tbh tumblr has the best Jjk analysis posts if you prefer quality over quantity, backed by people who actually READ THE MANGA not once but multiple times and also using various sources of media, so it actually better than Youtube or other social media filled with lobotomy theories.(Btw please correct me if there are mistakes on the psychology part)

Have a good day/night 🖤❤️

This became longer than I expected 💀

[cirilla-fiona-riannon]

Make Me Feel Alive Episode 3

Gilbert von Obsidian's Birthday Story

This is simply a fan translation and is not intended as a replacement for the game. Expect grammatical errors.

On Gilbert's birthday, there was an unusual tension hanging around the castle.

(Is his birthday really taboo?)

(No one talks about it, and no one's preparing a celebration.)

As I whisked the cream into the bowl, I couldn't help but think about it.

(I always thought it was normal to celebrate birthdays.)

(But I guess not for him.)

------------Flashback-----------

Gilbert: "Will you also celebrate my birthday at the risk of your life?"

Emma: "........"

Gilbert: "Even if it's you, I might still find it unpleasant."

---------Flashback Ends--------

(He really meant those words.)

(If my expectations are wrong, things could get really messy.)

My heart raced so rapidly that it seemed like it might burst out at any moment. Even my hand holding the bowl was trembling.

(No, I need to be more confident.)

(I'm his fiancée, so I gotta keep it together.)

Taking a deep breath to dispel the anxiety and tension, I unconsciously resumed what I was doing.

Emma: "I wonder if he'll be happy."

???: "Mhm, it's really delicious."

Emma: "!?"

I turned around and saw Gilbert already devouring the sponge cake.

(What the hell? When did he get here!?)

Gilbert: "Come on, don't stop. If you don't keep your hands moving, I'm gonna eat everything."

Emma: “Wait, please don’t eat it!”

(The cake will be gone before it’s finished!)

Hastily taking the sponge cake from him, his refined face twisted into an unhappy expression.

Gilbert: “Do you really have to do that?”

Emma: “If I run out of sponge, I won’t be able to make the cake.”

Gilbert: “It was delicious as it is.”

Emma: “Even if it’s delicious, it won’t be enough!”

Gilbert: “Ehh? I prefer quantity over quality.”

Emma: “I’ll bake a lot of cookies later, so can you please let this slide?”

Emma: “I really want to prioritize the quality of the cake. I want to make this birthday cake special.”

Gilbert: “Hmm. You’re really brave.”

He brought a chair over and sat down, looking up at me intensely.

Emma: “This is just my speculation, but I don’t think you don’t want your birthday to be celebrated.”

(Since he’s the one who told me about his birthday.)

Emma: “It’s just that you hated lies.”

Emma: “On a special and important day, you couldn’t tolerate it being tainted with corruption and deception.”

Emma: “I thought maybe that’s the case.”

(His mother and older brother were kind to him in the past.)

(Those two surely celebrated his birthday when he was young.)

(But that day will never come again.)

(The only people left around him were the corrupted aristocrats.)

Gilbert: "Fufu. As expected, you really love me."

Gilbert rested his hand on his chin and laughed briskly.

Well, he was right.

Gilbert: "Will you really celebrate my birthday wholeheartedly?"

Emma: "Of course."

Gilbert: "I've killed many people before, and I might kill many more in the future."

Gilbert: "Would you still celebrate it and support me if I continue executing those who wish me a happy birthday?"

Emma: "........."

I felt like he was testing my determination.

(Birthday celebrations are a way to say thank you for being born.)

(It's also a day to hope that you will continue to live.)

Celebrating the birthday of a notorious villain who shook the entire continent is not something one can do half-heartedly, and those who celebrate might, in a way, bear a certain burden of guilt.

Emma: "Yes."

(Even though he might be an irredeemable villain, I want him to find redemption.)

(Despite his numbness to human feelings, I believe he has the most beautiful heart in the world.)

Emma: "Even if you've turned the whole world against you, I'll still celebrate."

Emma: "I'm already a pretty bad woman just by being here, so it's too late now."

Emma: "Please don't underestimate my feelings for you."

(It's his birthday, yet it's hard to even genuinely celebrate.)

(This is the price he has to pay for his position and for seizing control of the evil empire.)

(Celebrating a birthday with such determination to the point of risking one's life is a first for me.)

Gilbert: "Fufu, sorry. I might have teased you too much."

(Huh?)

He stood up from his chair and reached out to touch my eyes.

His cold fingertips scooped up a single drop of tears that even I hadn't noticed.

(I hate this. I didn't mean for it to be like this.)

(However, I can't help but wonder how many years he has suppressed his birthday to protect his memories from being tainted.)

I forcefully wiped my tears and peered into his red eyes.

He was smiling as usual, but I was surprised to see a noticeable wavering that made my heart ache.

(No, these tears aren't mine.)

(He's the one who really wants to cry.)

(I wonder what he has been thinking about every time his birthday comes around.)

(I'm sure he was lonely at first, but then he probably forgot how lonely he was and didn't feel anything anymore.)

(But now he remembered the loneliness. Is that why he told me about his birthday?)

With an overwhelming impulse, I reached for his cold cheek and lightly kissed it.

Gilbert: "What is it?"

Emma: "I can't give you the cake right away, so here's an alternative gift."

Gilbert: "It's rather shabby for a present."

Emma: "Then, how about this?"

I placed the bowl on the table and wrapped my arms around his neck.

Then I kissed him deeper than before, and he bit me hard on the lip.

(Ouch!)

Thankfully, there was no blood, but the bitten spot throbbed as he licked it with his tongue.

With this, he took control, overpowering the initiative I had held.

His cold fingers pried open my lips and gently devoured my tongue.

Feeling weak, I leaned against the worktable, and he lifted the hem of the black dress he gave me, forcibly inserting his fingers into my inner thigh.

Emma: "Gil, it hurts."

Gilbert: "Yeah, I'm doing it on purpose."

Emma: "Why?"

Gilbert: "Because you don't like pain."

(You're really saying that?)

The pain quickly turned into another sensation as his fingers worked inside me.

It was like a mark of affection that Gilbert used to engrave on my body every night.

(That's why I can't hate it.)

Gilbert: "See, you're already enjoying it."

Gilbert: "By the way, this is the kitchen. Aren't you going to stop me?"

With a squelching sound, his cold fingers increased to two.

Just before my mind was about to go completely blank, he stopped, and I unconsciously let out a sigh.

Emma: "Just for today."

Emma: "No matter what you do, I'll endure it if that's what you want."

Gilbert: "Because it's my birthday?"

I nodded and wrapped my arms around his head, pulling him close to my chest.

Emma: "I won't lie to you."

Emma: "So until you feel at ease, feel free to continue as much as you want."

Emma: "I want you to know that I genuinely want to celebrate your birthday."

Emma: "I'll keep telling you until you believe it, no matter how much it hurts."

Gilbert: ".........."

Gilbert: "What? So you already figured it out?"

(As expected, there's always a reason behind his threats.)

Emma: "You're probably much easier to understand than you think."

Gilbert: "I think those are words only someone who faces me head-on can say."

Gilbert: "It's really a pity to be liked by a troublesome man like me."

He suddenly laughed and bit my neck.

(Erasing all the suspicions built up over the years might be difficult, but if I can convey that he won't be lonely on his birthday, that alone would be enough.)

While enduring all the pain and pleasure he gave me, I somehow managed to finish the cake.

After celebrating together, we naturally embraced each other's bodies.

After being thoroughly teased during the day, my body immediately welcomed Gilbert, and all that remained after we reached the climax was the sound of our heartbeats.

Gilbert: "Fufu. Your heart is still pounding."

Emma: "I can hear the sound of your heartbeat too."

Wrapped in each other's arms with nothing between us, the sound of our heartbeats resonated.

(His heartbeat is proof that he's alive.)

(I want to feel this every time I celebrate his birthday.)

When I put my arms around his back, he slightly furrowed his eyebrows.

(There are scratches on his skin.)

Emma: "Sorry. It's probably because of me."

Gilbert: "It's fine. I like it when you hurt me."

Gilbert: "It would've been nice if you left not only scratches but bite marks as well."

His fingers traced along my arm, where the bite marks were.

(Not just the arms. I feel like I was bitten all over today.)

Emma: "It's difficult because I don't know how to control my strength like you do."

Gilbert: "Then let's learn together. Shall we master it by my next birthday?"

Emma: "You'll celebrate with me again next year?"

Gilbert: "Who knows? Whether it will be the last or the first is up to you."

Gilbert: "If you love me a lot, I might change my mind."

Emma: "........"

Gilbert: "But your celebration this year wasn't unpleasant."

Gilbert: "Thank you."

Emma: “.........”

(I’m gonna tear up.)

(I might start crying again if I let my guard down.)

He smiled and gently stroked my hair. His expression was more readable than usual, possibly because the eye patch was off.

Emma: “Then, how about inviting Roderich and Walter to the party next time?”

Emma: “I’m sure both of them really want to celebrate your birthday.”

Gilbert: “That’s not happening.”

(Not happening, huh?)

Gilbert: “I don’t need other people’s celebrations. As long as I have yours, that would be enough for me.”

Gilbert: “Because I only love you.”

Emma: “I’ll shower you with lots of love, so please let me celebrate next year, too.”

Gilbert: “Fufu, got it. As long as you’re you, I’ll let you celebrate.”

Gilbert: “Continue loving this beast with your pure heart, okay?”

Episode 1 ╎ Episode 2 ╎ His POV

[hybbart]

Hi! I absolutely adore your work, I was wondering if you have any advice on getting your ideas and au's out there? Sometimes it feels like no matter how much you post/try to connect with others it's impossible for any posts to break out of the little tumblr interaction bubble

Well, I'm not really the person to ask this, cause any popularity I have at any point is almost entirely dependant on my current hyperfixation, and I'm not one to care much about it.

Mostly I have a good enough appealing and safe art style and good enough sense of humour that's easy for people to like even if they don't especially care about the content, and draw often enough that I don't get forgotten.

My current stuff is fanworks, which have a built in audience, so you're always going to be seen as long as you tag it properly. Especially if you're actively participating in the fandom. I also have the benefit of being obsessed with a rather popular duo like ranchers.

Basically, the notes I get are very predictable and temporary, and not really based on any intentional work. I'm good enough for casual followers to pay attention to as long as it's stuff they recognize. I'd say like 80% of my notes are from casual engagement who aren't really going to do much besides a like and maybe reblog just because they were told they have to reblog artists or they're using the site wrong.

I guess what I mean to say is, having those notes is nice and appreciated but at the end of the day I also have a pretty small little bubble. There's just a wall of passers-by around it making it seem bigger than it actually is. It very quickly dissipates when I draw anything out of the ordinary that I can't put a bunch of popular tags on. So, I'm not really the person to ask about that sort of thing.

That said, I guess all that might sound a bit cynical to most people even though it isn't meant to be, so I guess some actual tips might be in order.

Skill. Art's about communication and expression, which like anything is better done with a larger toolkit and knowledge. And also especially casual engagement just enjoys things of higher quality. Raw ideas aren't usually enough to get people to understand or care unless they care about you. To be blunt, sometimes people just aren't good enough or are too niche for a general audience. That's nothing to be self-conscious or miserable about, it's just something you have to be self-aware about enough to accept that you're not gonna attract people who aren't invested in you. If that's something you want to change by becoming better then you have to intentionally do so, talent is a lie.

Passion. It's obvious when your heart isn't in it regardless of skill level because art is about communication. And passion's what drives us to do better, it's hard to develop and spend time on work you don't really want to do. If you're enthusiastic other people will be more likely to join you in your enthusiasm. If you don't care or are burnt out people will notice. If you're doing things just to get attention people will notice. You have to want to create what you're creating.

Good ideas. To be blunt a good idea that interests people is just going to be more popular than a bad one that doesn't. Sometimes something that interests you doesn't interest a lot of other people, that's why you gotta make peace with caring more about quality interaction over quantity, and being more self-aware.

Making friends. Finding people who are as enthusiastic as you about something is going to go a long way, and people who aren't as enthusiastic are more likely to become enthusiastic or support you if you're friends and you can annoy them in their DMs with 3 hour tangents about your favourite thing. Honestly once you have someone you can do this to you stop caring about the other stuff. Art's about communication, like I said. Participating in events is a great way to make friends, but so is just reaching out to people you like.

Being friendly. This one's pretty simple. If you're a dick people aren't going to take the time to get invested in your project even if it interests them.

Being accessible. This covers anything from literal accessibility to having clean directories and tags, to anchoring/themed extra engagement. 'Do you have any questions about [character]' is going to get more engagement than 'feel free to ask me anything about my au' even if there's less questions to ask because it's less broad and puts less of a burden on the asker to come up with a prompt. It's easier to be broader later on when you have already put out a lot of information and people are more invested.

Being concise: Basically very few people are going to read this goliath of a post compared to a short, information dense, clear post. When I post art I try to avoid too much text, because I want the art to be the focus of the post. When I post writing I put it under a cut so it doesn't consume someone's dash and write something clearer above. The reason writing is going to get less engagement is because it takes more time and effort to engage with than a picture. People who aren't already invested aren't going to sift through 10 paragraphs of loose info. This goes for art, too. One piece is going to catch the eye easier than 10 unrelated sketches or a long form comic. This doesn't mean don't make this content, but be smarter about how you present it to take into account how it engages people.

Tagging things. Don't abuse tags or put irrelevant tags, but finding out what tags are frequented that apply to your art helps. There is definitely still an inconsistent limit of tags that tumblr's search actually pays attention to, so put the most important ones first. I usually put warnings first and foremost and put personal categorization tags last. Being consistent with tags lets people find stuff on your blog easier and makes you show up in a search more frequently, so you're easier to find for people who use tumblr in different ways.

Time of day. This one's finicky to figure out and can change but if you post when there's more people online... well, more people are likely to see it. Apparently other people follow like hundreds or even thousands of blogs and don't even look at everything on their dash, so for those types of people posts might as well not exist unless it's at the top of their dash. This also helps when popping up in more popular tags' most recent when people are actually looking them up. This doesn't affect posts as much as people think but it does enough to be visible. I frequently post things at like 1 am when no one's on so it doesn't get notes until later on and through notifications.

anyways, i hope something in there helps. If not, well... crap.

[murfeelee]

TS3 vs TS4 Features - Supernatural

I saw @moonbiscuitsims' comment here about how EA added "way more features" in their TS4 occult packs, and I wanted to talk about it in depth, cuz that's a misleading statement. Y'all know TS4's my trigger.

Cuz yes, on paper, EA offers a LOT of stuff in TS4 packs. But the saying goes: as broad as an ocean and as deep as a puddle. 😬 QUALITY, versus QUANTITY, which is crucial for replayability, customization, variability, and ultimate longevity. And another thing is the TIMEFRAME that that content was released. Sure, if it takes you 10 years to develop/dripfeed your frikkin game, ofc you can add more content over more packs; than if you'd just stuck to ONE dedicated pack, developed it in 1-2 years, and given people arguably BETTER, if not MORE content.

My gut reaction's to say EA had BETTER be offering more content! 😤 Not even to justify the ridiculous pricetag or anything, but for the simple fact that TS4's supposed to be NEXT GEN. It's SUPPOSED to be bigger & better than everything that came before it. Why are we sitting here for 10 years with TS4 if it ain't gonna increase ANYTHING but my rising blood pressure & trust issues?!

So Imma just examine TS3 SN in comparison with TS4's packs, and give my take on what's been going on, from 2012 (SN EP) to now.

Missing Features: TS4 Fairies

A fairy was the very first sim I ever made in TS3 back in 2009 (my avatar sim, Sakura). Watching the SN announcement trailer for the first time dang near made me cry. TS4 could never; moving on.

Missing Features: TS4 Zombies & Toadsims

TS4 Tragic Clowns are a W for the apple juggling & costume. I think EA was lazy by slacking on the clown just cuz he's already dead in Sunset Valley; and I guess they don't expect players to resurrect his ghost. SN EP did nothing to actually improve/expand him, just creating the alchemy Clown Potion; I guess to better integrate fishing the Clownfish into the lore.

TS4 Vampires GP (2017)

This is an easy one. I've said since TS3 Late Night EP (2010) that TS3's vampires are utter dogtrash, and the SN EP did eff all to patch/improve them, and I will die on that hill (until someone figures out how to give convert TS4's functional coffins & vampire fights & special FX). Compared to every other occult, I have more mods installed just to try to fix how effing busted & stupid vamps are; and these sparkling Twilight dumb AF bloodsuckers STILL get on my dang nerves.

IMO, TS4 Vampires is hands down the best pack EA ever made for TS4. 10/10, the attention they put in that pack outclasses darn near everything else they did until TS4 Seasons. Undisputed W, yes. 👏

TS4 Realm of Magic GP (2019)

Disputed W. I gave it an 8/10 at BEST, cuz magic/fantasy's a win, but I am disappointed. If this had been a home run for EA, I'd've shut my dang mouth, ISTG. But alas. I went on a long AF tirade against RoM when I realized that a lot of its so-called "new" features were things we could already do in TS4, with a flashy coat of paint--let alone things TS3 & the SN EP did, and better. Some things I didn't mention though:

Muggles who ask spellcasters how to do magic are sent on a fetch quest for Magic Motes, which is EXACTLY what the ITF EP Time Traveler occult Emit Revelart makes normies do to, finding Power Cells to learn how to use the Time Portal.

The Witch's perks/ranks system works just like the Vampires one, so kudos to EA for not fixing something that ain't broke I guess.

The Spells: At MTS I actually broke down what each of TS4's spellcasters do that's largely nothing sims couldn't do in TS3, even before SN came out (via SHT Genies or SSNS Aliens, or the Store).

TS3 Witches (let alone other lifestates) can do most of this either through alchemy or inherited features from older TS3 packs. This was a huge RoM dealbreaker for me, as I'd been hoping for WAY more innovative features in TS4's spells--the whole point of Spellcasters--than just an elaborate set of cheats. TS3's Witch's main features are fewer, but far more cohesive, IMO. (Granted, NONE of the packs holds a single candle to the GOAT that is TS1's Makin Magic, which had WAY more features than TS2, TS3 & TS4; and was CHEAPER. But I digress.)

There's no unique features with TS3/TS4 wands; they act the same way; the effects are just different, and TBH I'm not a fan of either--I wish wand/magic FXs could be modded in different colors at least (like BLACK 😈). But I DO like that in TS4 they can duel for rewards.

TS4 brooms do EFF ALL in a closed world; EA made them exactly they way they were in TS2, with zero innovation. (IIRC kids can't even use them--EA's hatred for kids & elders ALMOST matches MY hatred of EA.)

IMO beekeeping doesn't count, cuz TS3 included it as a small feature for alchemy ingredients in the SN EP, while TS4 integrated it far better in SSNS to work with gardening, which is genius.

Speaking of SSNS, there's the Weather Stone that only appears if you have both SN & SSNS, so occults can conjure magical weather effects over the whole world. (I'll talk about the best perk under Crystals SP.)

Familiars are the certified W for me with RoM. They're the best & most unique & most well-thought out & feature of the GP, IMO. ❤️

Extra TS4 features I think are supremely cool are spellcasters' books floating whenever they read anything. And their cauldrons have much cooler animations, and I'm so jealous that y'all can cook food in them; EA should've added that to the Store Cauldron, although I guess I understand why they didn't in the SN EP Alchemy Cauldron.

A lot of RoM's features are wrapped around Glimmerbrook. Access to Glimmerbrook comes with the Glimmer Stone key--and I WOULD use that as a segue into the Crystals SP, but I'll hold off. I already vented about Glimmerbrook in my Werewolves GP rant--but I'll get to that in a minute, too. The bigger issue is what even constitutes a TS4 "world"--those non-customizeable tiny AF clusters of tiny AF lots and huge swaths of decorative set dressing--let alone the Diagon Alley ripoff EA loves promoting like I was born yesterday and never saw Harry Potter. GORGEOUS realm, of course, like many EA worlds are. But they're largely just set-dressing, which irritates me to no end.

TS4 Paranormal SP (2021)

I've ranted & raved about Paranormal before: 7/10 at best.

TS4 Seances with the crystal ball work very differently from TS3's Soothsayer's Crystal Ball, which wasn't about banishing ghosts, but improving progression for SN's Witches & Fortune Telling (career). Fortune Telling's NOT a ghostly job, although the boho aesthetic carried over to TS4 Paranormal. (On top of the fact that they promised this whole NOLA Voodoo vibe, but delivered ZERO cultural accurate features reflecting ANYTHING from Haitian Voodoo, wtf? It's all hippie boho New Age BS--why TF does the tutorial ghost look more like Johnny Depp and less like Dr. Facilier, I ask you, EA.) Granted, some of the interactive objects are nice, like the calming dollbaby & magic candles to purify lots--kinda like TS3 incense. But again: 1-trick ponies. Yes, the animations look great, but crystal balls are typically for divination, asking spirits about the past/present/future, not removing haunting poltergeists, so I don't really get it. Stylish & gorgeous! But GENERIC AF substance-wise.

IMO, TS4's Ghosts are an L across the board; all the way from the base game--that bafflingly launched in 2014 WITHOUT ghosts until they were patched in a whole month later after everyone rose a stink (IIRC TS4 kids can't be ghosts!?)--to present. EA's been over/course-correcting from that gaffe ever since, with like double the amount of Death types than TS3. I DO NOT like how TS4 ghosts colors are tied to Eeemotionnsss~! (more like they're a sentient Plumbbob). TBF, kudos to TS4's smoky cloudy effect when ghosts appear. But the lack of unique deaths & ghost types in RoM (aside from Spellcaster Overload & the Night Wraith) made me roll my eyes, as SN EP's ghost types are some of my faves (ITF & SHT are also my top 3).

IIRC it was the SN patch that unlocked all types in (basegame?) CAS to make playable Ghosts. SN's Philosopher's Stone allows sims to summon new playable Ghosts (and ofc allows for transmutating cheap objects into gold ingots--more on that later), or it can just kill you and make YOU the new ghost, LOL.

But as for features, sure, TS4 ghosts have more interactions--though they're all pretty, rather than scary (vs TS2 ghosts, which were SCARY). TS4 ghosts lost the HORROR to just be silly/goofy or just CUTESY--especially the little spectres from Paranormal.

Speaking of horror, I can't talk about ghosts w/out bringing up TS3's AMB EP, cuz the Ghost Hunter (profession) is the real parallel with TS4's Paranormal Investigator (freelancer). In TS3, they actually stuck to their promised main premise (Ghostbusters). Overall, TS4 Seances are nowhere near as fluid as TS3 ghostbusting. In TS3 you can run all over the world using gidgets-gadgets to detect/fight ghosts & sprites, not just inside haunted houses, but anywhere they happen to spawn (ofc inc. graveyards). You're not just locked to a lot/house the player already knows is haunted (cuz you just toggle Haunted Lot to trigger the feature--SN's Ghost Gnome object isn't exactly the same, but it does spawn hauntings on the lots you put them in). ANY TS3 indoor/outdoor residential/community lot can randomly get haunted during a Ghost Hunter's shift; and you never know which one it'll be, or what kind of shenanigans will happen--EVIL ghost or just some sprites--which skyrockets replayability & keeps things fresh & interesting.

Functionally, Paranormal had no right to be that dang good for a Stuff Pack. That was a Game Pack; IDKY EA insists otherwise; esp. when it offered more & better things than some actual GPs. I'm confused. However, a serious problem TS4 has is that it gameifies everything to the point that TS4's numerous features lose their spontaneity, and just become rote--BORING. The ectoplasm everywhere just becomes another mess in your (haunted) house you have to clean--CHORES. On top of me not liking TS4 ghosts' look & vibe (and I HATE TS4's Bonehilda). Quality over quantity, EA!

TS4 Werewolves GP (2022)

Speaking of ghosts, waaaay back in 2020 I told the spirits precisely what I wanted from a potential Werewolf dedicated TS4 pack. Did they listen? HAYUL NAW. So in 2022 I said everything I had to say about the Werewolves GP, and accepted the fact that EA's INEPT.

Do TS4's wolves have MORE features than TS3? YES ofc (even in 2012 everyone complained that Witches & Faeries got the lion's share & Werewolves got shafted--they're basically glorified Familiars for Witches/Alchemist to find collectibles--more on that below). But was most of it GOOD features though? Debatable! I LOATHE the 2 wolf packs, which was what I'd most looked forward to; plus the whole world's aesthetic was ugly homeless-grunge, without a single bit of creativity or originality--only EA could make monsters as terrifying as werewolves effing cartoony hipster squatters. 🤦 7/10 at best.

TS4 Crystals SP (2024)

These crystals are ugly, EA. Which is weird, cuz the basegame TS4 gems & esp. space rocks are GORGEOUS. I have no idea which vision-impaired dev at EAxis thought these nasty looking opaque poorly-painted rocks were pretty.

Features-wise, granted, having TS4's bonafide Gemology skill from the Crystals SP's nice, instead of TS3's basegame hidden Collector skill. But the functioanlity's largely the same: cut more, unlock more (which I prefer to cheat my way through--TS3 thinks I have time for all this gameplay, LOL). (Not to mention all the extra features TS3's Aliens, Simbots & Plumbbots have when interacting with gems, space rocks, or metals.) TS4 only got 10 gem cuts for 27 crystals (=270), (+25 metals); compared to TS3's 16 gem cuts for 28 gems (=448), (+16 metals with their own separate ingots). Of TS4's 10 cuts, the Skull Cut is the ONLY one I think looks better (ignoring the atrociously flat textures ofc) than TS3's (which TS4 copy/pasted--no agates, no crystal ball, wtf).

The Garden Gnome cut isn't unique to TS4, as TS3 has several craftable (glass-only) Garden Gnome cut from the Glassblowing Machine (more on that soon).

The only TS3 gem that genuinely affects sims is radioactive Tiberium from the WA EP, so more features is definitely a plus. The best addition is TS4's Charging Grid feature--I LOVE that TS4 crystals can be imbued with magic energy--it's like TS3's Store Crystal Tree, ITF EP's magic crystal plants & the SN EP Mood Lamp all rolled into one. @greenplumbboblover's WIP Interests & Hobbies mod brainstormed integrating that functionality that back in 2020.

The functionality of the TS3 SN EP Gem Cutter & the TS4 Crystal Tree are similar, though ofc the tree's wallet & eco-friendly; and it's a plant, not a hunk of machinery, so it naturally has that going for it.

There's also the SN-SSNS Weather Stone, which gives werewolves the ability to summon a Hunter's Storm, raining a hail of gems, rocks & metals over the whole world for easy loot farming. (The best perk, though my fave is the Faeries' Reviving Sprinkle for gardening.)

Aside from SN, TS3's real equivalent is actually the Prism Art Studio Venue's Artisan skill. Cuz the REAL seller's the jewellery-making. There's ~100 CAS items in Crystals SP (plus 30+ regular Build/Buy mode objects). At $10, the Crystals SP is a steal, at least when compared to the BONKERS $20 tag on TS3's Prism Art Studio at the Store (2014). IIRC the Glassblowing Machine newly added 16 craftable CAS items & 13 craftable glass objects (as SN already gave us the Gem-Cutting Machine & AMB already gave us the Widgets work station); and 8 Build/Buy objects (inc. the goated L-shaped "spiral" stairs). It also added 5 craftable Perfumes for sims to use.

So while the Crystals SP added NICE features, I wouldn't say they added MORE features. Rather, they added more content: Quantity. But as for Quality, I think TS3 beats it out--the Prism Studio's a effing ripoff, but AFAIK it added features TS4 still doesn't have yet (craftable glassblowing & perfumes, spiral stairs); and the objects it did add are pretty nifty.

Timeframe-wise, we got the 2014 Prism Art Studio's Glassblower 2 years after the SN EP's Gem-Cutter; 5 years after the 2009 basegame. Compared to TS4's wait for the Crystals SP 2 years after Werewolves, 3 after Paranormal, 5 after RoM; and a whopping DECADE after the basegame launched in 2014. Wtf, EA?

Still, I'd say the Crystal SP's a 7/10 (there's not enough gem cuts, the gems textures are ugly, and most of the features were lifted from things TS3 had innovated 10+ years earlier).

TL;DR

Quantity =/= Quality.

EA's been taking way too long releasing packs to have the nerve to present debatable content--it should be goated releases EVERY time; esp. since everyone agrees TS4 is easier to create content for, so much smaller in scale/scope, and with an infinitely larger budget & fanbase than The Sims franchise ever had. There's zero excuse for EAxis' mediocrity, when TS3 was churning out EPs like it's life depended on it: SHT, SN, and SSNS all came out the SAME EFFING YEAR. 2012 was LIT.

EA, you suck.

[chickenoodle145]

Day 31: Wonder

Heyyy it's been a hot minute since I posted something (whoops)

I swear I didn't mean to take this long but my god did art block hit hard (I wanted to post a drawing I did in between but I didn't want to mess up this whole Inktober "streak", I guess. BUT now that this is finally done I can post HOPEFULLY a little more now)

ANYWAY I FINISHED INKTOBER AND I KNOW IT'S ALREADY THE END OF FEBRUARY BUT WHO CARES RAH So what have we learned? Procrastination and art block are the absolute worst😁

Guys I can finally move on to my other drawings I had to put on hold cause I was determined to finish this first 🏃

Credits go to my super fantastic friend who gave me this drawing idea for the prompt ((Thank you girly, you're truly amazing🙏))

Even though this whole thing took me so long it helped me a lot with pushing myself a bit out of the comfort zone and also being quicker with my art like in my Cuphead era (The insta people IYKYK) I am happy with my progress but I'll stick to quality over quantity since I want every drawing of mine to have 110% effort put into it😼

With uni starting very soon, I'm not sure how much time I will get but I will do my absolute best to pump out some art, whether it's a simple doodle, sketch or full art piece [I'm also hoping to finish my unfinished art as soon as possible, so be on the lookout for that ;) ]

[yurinaa-world]

Can I request Jing Yuan and blade with an s/o with a shorter lifespan than them who they met when she was young but now she is an old lady (sorry for any mistakes, english is not my first language ;-:)

Characters: Blade and Jing Yuan x Female Reader

Synopsis: fateful meeting after a lifetime has passed but he still looks the same while you don't.

Warnings: Fluff and spelling mistakes, angsty with no comfort, went very angsty with this, reader death implied at the end in Jing Yuan part.

Notes: I just wanted to say that the reason I closed my requests is because I thought it would be better to do quality over quantity since that isn't fair to myself and to everyone who wants to see my writing but just to see such crappy and rushed writing. (don't worry it will open again!)

𝐵𝓁𝒶𝒹𝑒

The rain was heavy, making all the citizens of Loufu run back home. Even their umbrellas couldn’t stop the harsh rain from hitting them and soaking them completely, yet you stayed out under a little side foot that was more than enough to become soaked by the rain. Since beggars can’t be choosers, you just deal with what you get.

Many seasons go by. It was like yesterday you were a young woman with the need to know what the future would hold for you, but now your days are numbered and you don't have much time to be alive. Every step you take might be your last that doesn’t bother you. You have so many regrets, so you would rather get this life over with and cry about it later.

The students of the master have now all grown up and are taking care of their reborn master, the cycle repeating itself over and over again. If only you had someone like that, all those friends you had would be gone, since you were the only one out, the childish and weak mortal in the group, and there was an unknown chance if you were to be reborn—a chance but not a worthy one for someone like you.

Lost in thought, someone stood beside you—a man with long hair. You turned to your side to look at him; he wasn’t soaked at all, even though he didn’t have an umbrella. Calmly bothered by the rain, “You don’t even drop a droplet of water on you,” you laughed lightly, the dryness in your throat becoming apparent.

Over time, as you get older, you're not afraid to strike up a conversation with anyone who doesn't care about any societal standards, since it's like you were one of them. “I don't,” he replied back, his voice rough, making it sound like he didn’t want even to bother talking to you as his answer, making you confused: “Young people these days, such pep in your words.” You smiled at him, not taking anything offensive; he turned to look at you. Your eyes widened looking at you like that.

A laugh left your scratchy throat; now you remember him very clearly, along with a distant memory.

Yingxing

"Yangxing, hey, hey! Stop ignoring me!" You yell at him, trying to gain his attention while he puts on his metal sword (that he was making for you). “You brat,” you hear him say, leaving the sword in the water and walking over with a mad expression before pinching and pulling your cheek roughly. "OWW." "Do you ever stop talking, or are you going to talk your ears off?" he huffs. He clearly wasn’t mad at you; he was just playing it up. "Little brat, lucky you're cute, or I would kick you." "No way." "Don't try me, Brat; did you forget that this sword is for you?" ….

That old memory makes you laugh even though you can’t remember all of it fully, yet it seems you're the only mortal now since he looks the same, but with one difference: his hair was black now instead of white, which was a shame you liked his white hair. Did he still remember you?

“You don’t look a day old; look at me; I'm an old hag now, if you even remember me.” You chuckled at the poor memory coming back to you from your youth. “I remember you; you look different now.” "Of course, I’m just a short-lived species,” you stop to laugh before continuing, “I guess I’m the only one now.”

“You seem more alive now than you were before” is one of the few words spoken to you since you were the one speaking the most.

"The older you are, the more you realize you don’t have much time left and live your life to the fullest.”

The rain slowly came to a stop, dividing to show the sun and its glory again. As he also began to leave, you stayed to watch him go but stopped after a couple of steps. "You were as beautiful as the first time I met you,” he said blankly. Before leaving for good, you couldn’t help but let tears slip past, remembering the past.

“You little brat, don’t run."

"You're lucky; I even made you a sword.”

“I made your weapon to fit your style, so you don’t have to worry about styling."

All those memories with him made your heart ache, and everything was taken away from you—the life you used to have and the life you could’ve had—but now the only thing left to achieve in this life is death. At least then you’ll be freed. The pitiful mortal you truly are

𝒥𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒴𝓊𝒶𝓃

Lying in bed, my body felt like a tangled mess of discomfort, constantly shifting and unable to find a moment of reprieve. With each breath, you released exasperated sighs, your throat, and raspy coughs that echoed through the room. The pain in your throat, a relentless companion, combined with the knowledge that even the simplest act of speaking would render your voice grouchy and croaky

This is the reality that hangs over you like a heavy cloud, a constant reminder that your decaying flesh will give up on you at the slightest attempt to rise from this bed of discomfort. Every day, it seemed, your body grew weaker and more fragile, as if it were nothing more than a fragile vessel on the brink of shattering.

You wish there would be a better way to spend the few years or months you have to live, but you weren’t one of the Vidyadharas who were reincarnated when they died. Your fate would be unknown if you were brought back to life, but you hope there was a chance to be with someone.

The sound of someone knocking softly at the door, you cough roughly before speaking, "Come in,” you say weakly, trying to be loud enough to hear, trying to clear your throat so you don’t have to painfully cough from your dead, dried throat.

The doorknob twisted, and the door gently opened, making a small creaking sound from the old door hinges. You were too tired and in pain to even see who it was, just coughing painfully and saying, "You've seen better days.” With the old voice of a friend, Jing Yuan, and a bouquet of golden flowers that remind you of his eyes, you never thought he would visit since it was long ago that you last saw him.

“I have *cough*, but it isn’t as bad as before.” You say optimistically, smiling at him, “Your busy being in general these days; how far you have come.” You were happy with his future and the life he’s living now. “Yes, but I hoped that you would stand beside me as well.” His voice begins to sound sad at having been with you, putting down a bouquet on your bedside table covered with medicines.

“I’m human; remember, what makes you think I can stand right now anyway?" You laugh, trying to lighten his mood. He seems to be bothered more than you that life has been unkind to you and didn’t allow you both to be together. “You know what I mean? Do you ever wish that you could live as long as me?” Such sentimental words are coming from him.

"Right now, yes, but what can we do but face hard? Weren’t those words you told me whenever I was having a hard time?" You remember those words barely; they're still ingrained in your memory with him by your side.

“Jing Yuan, when I die, don’t bother crying over me; we both knew the day would come.” You say seriously since he was the last person you wanted to hurt by your death, so you would rather him be numbed by you since the days are getting near, but he kept silent, not able or wanting to say anything to you.

“If I have another chance at life, I'll find you again, so don’t be sad; don’t get your hopes up, though.”

As you close your eyes, slowly surrendering to the encompassing darkness, a profound sense of tranquility washes over you and your weary and weak soul. The weight of the world all fades away. Your heart goes silent, with no beating or breath. You’ll meet him again in another life; maybe this time you’ll be able to be Vidyadharas so you can have all the time in the world, unlike before.

if you liked this, consider tipping me on ko-fi! it'd mean a lot!

[centrally-unplanned]

I blogged before about this company, Orange, that is an AI-powered manga translation company. Essentially, their pitch is that most manga is still (officially) untranslated, a ton of manga gets made after all but few become mainstream enough to get ported overseas. They posit the barrier to that is the cost of translation; if they could automate that process, then they can make viable for release what previously was not. That concept rests on two questions - does the tech pan out, and does the economics add up?

Recently they went live, under the name Emaqi, so we can better explore those questions. What I notice on first glance is the pitch seems to have shifted a little bit in post:

You are not the translators of Vinland Saga, Witch Hat Atelier, or Magic Knight Rayearth, very obviously so. They have Sailor Moon in here lol. These are just the official translations being cross-listed into their "manga platform", where you buy it there and it lives, DRM-locked, in their app. Which is fair enough as a model, that is just Kindle, it works. Though Kindle and a dozen others already exist, so their value-add has to be the AI translation stuff right? That is why I would choose this over another app.

Which they do have, though it is kind of buried:

"Only on emaqi" - there is no mention of the translation approach, poor guys! Can't fault the branding decision I guess given the state of the discourse. When it comes to the products themselves, I went through ~6 or so of the sample chapters of different manga, did a few spot checks with the original Japanese, and read the reviews of some others who looked into it. They seem fine! I am cautiously impressed, I think there proofers did a good job smoothing out some edges, it has a "manga tone", and while small issues like the hyphenation the reviewer above mentioned do exist and are legit noticeable, they aren't common and not a huge deal. It has flow issues? Some dialogue should link together in how it is written, but doesn't. But it isn't crazy off or anything. You will not be wowed by these, but certainly if you are someone who reads bootleg scanlations you are gonna have no problems. A lot of manga uses pretty simple vocab and isn't breaking new ground on plot, I can see how a purpose-built tool could handle it well enough.

The economics though...here is where I don't think this case was ever going to pencil out and isn't now. Because I am pretty sure no one here has heard of any of the manga listed above as exclusives. (I saw 90's manga Geobreeders in there, but that was already partially translated in the 2000's, not sure if they did a new one? Setting it aside) Which, of course you haven't, if you had it probably would have been translated! Books are a 90:10 market, most books never get read and some books get read a ton. Anything big enough can justify a professional translation, and the other can't really sell to begin with.

On top of that, their model is mass translation; which means these obscure manga are presented to you with no context, no hype, no build-up. Wtf is The Blood Blooms In the Barrens?? See, if you were like a boutique publisher, selecting "the best of the best" in untranslated manga, you would promote your specific product. Interviews, social media, the value of the brand-itself as a quality seal. Publishing less is more, actually, your value as a publisher is as a quality selector. Or you could be say the porn market, where you max quantity so people can search "foot fetish breeding kink oshi no ko" and get results; they know what they want. But they aren't doing either! And to be blunt a lot of these are not gonna sell on their art alone:

I'm not mocking The Delayed Highschool Life of a Laborer here, that is better than I could do; but if you want to me spend money on a whim the bar is high and these don't reach it. Which of course they don't, they would be professionally translated if they did.

And finally, the price - $5 dollars, for volume 1's, like a 100-200 pages. The cross-listed manga typically sells for ~$10? That isn't much cheaper! If "translation" was this big cost barrier, and all you got is cutting the price of ebooks in half, I don't know if the analysis was so solid. This is a new product, I doubt they are overcharging to make a quick buck right now - this is the "sell at cost to scale" era.

In all of their lead up press they would say things like this:

Orange's process uses AI to read the manga through image analysis and character recognition, then to translate the words into English, Chinese and other languages. The technology is specialized for manga, meaning it is able to handle wordplay and other difficult-to-translate phrases. A human translator then makes corrections and adjustments. The process can deliver a manga translation in as little as two days. Orange will work with multiple Japanese publishers. The company looks initially to complete 500 translations monthly.

But this is missing a lot of context. For one, these manga are simple high school or battle manga that are ~200 pages long, many of those pages have only a few lines of dialogue, etc. Imagine you are a professional translator, and you are given that manga to translate, all the set-up done for you, all you gotta do is write. How long do you think that would take? Not that long! It could probably take like a week if it's actually all you did (calc'd from a 10k word count manga volume, 2k is a typical "good translator" per day count - many manga are shorter than that). And note how they said "as little as two days" - not median two days! Just, you know, aspirationally.

Translation is just not a big bottleneck. You gotta do layouts, lettering, proofs, etc, these can all take just as much time - and are being done by people, they still need wage workers doing all this. But that is small fry in comparison to publishing contracts, author approvals, distribution, all of that. And most importantly, product acquisition - you have to get authors to sign with you! That can be months of work. I am sure they are trying to get bulk agreements with publishers and such, but authors will push back on that, this is not an easy endeavor.

Which is why, in above, they say they hope to have "500 translations monthly". And after a year+ of work, on launch, they have...

...18. As best I can tell at least, their site deliberately obfuscates what they actually translated versus are just hosting for resale after all.

So yeah, as mentioned I don't think the economics pencil out. These aren't worth $5 dollars, they can't actually generate volume that makes "massive economies of scale" actually valuable, and their approach is currently antithetical to the idea of generating traction for any of their individual works. Niche publishing just doesn't work this way.

But it is early days, and hey I respect the experiment! I do think the tech is pretty good, and it is nice to see a company showcase it. It isn't quite good enough yet for prime time, but it could get there. I do want more manga to get exposure and audience; I will give a fair shake to any who try.

[new-employeeamillion]

April has already had a ton of animation/pop culture news that some of you might want to know my thoughts on. So here’s my 2 cents on all the announcements that matter to me.

-New Warner Bros. movies

I still don’t know if this is an April Fools joke. Announcing 3 new animated movies, each based on a classic IP (Looney Tunes, Tom & Jerry and The Flintstones) seems too good to be true. But after selling 2 Looney Tunes movies to a tiny distributor (Ketchup), I can see what they’e trying to do. They know animated movies drum up a lot of attention online these days, even the ones that can’t make much money. It’s sad that it’s reached a point where making movies and releasing them is the bare minimum for good publicity, but I’m going to support the hell out of these movies as they approach their release dates.

All these franchises have had fully animated theatrical movies now, but I can only wonder what the next step will be. I do hope The Day the Earth Blew Up gets a follow-up, because that’s the most fun I’ve had with a movie in a theatre in a long time. With the Flintstones movie, all I can imagine is the tape message scene from The Simpsons Movie but with Fred and Wilma. I don’t know why, but that’s where my imagination goes. Perhaps it won’t be that deep though. Speaking of which…

-The Simpsons is renewed through to Season 40

It’s a year with a number in it and The Simpsons is still on TV. I don’t think FOX has ever renewed 4 new seasons at once, they usually just give it an extra 2 every 2 years. I can’t say I’m the most excited guy in the room, because I don’t want to predict what the next cast/crew loss will be and how that’ll leave the show getting even more distant from its roots. Like I know they’re keeping it on as long as possible for the meme, and I am morbidly curious to see how long, but the future has never looked less assured. I have been catching up on the Matt Selman seasons, and they can be enjoyable, but it’ll take a miracle to keep that level of quality up for the rest of the decade.

I guess the miracle comes from the shorter seasons they’ve got now. They’ve been airing 18 annually on FOX recently, with 4 being turned into specials on Disney+. Now the FOX episode count has been cut down to 15 annually. Maybe they’re finally learning to strike a quality over quantity balance, maybe the budget is getting lower, or maybe the show has so many episodes now that an 850th won’t spark much anticipation. Either way, I’ve got mixed hopes.

-South Park’s 27th season

They’ve apparently fully planned it out ahead of time this year, taking influence from news stories that you can bet your bottom dollar will be irrelevant when it drops on July 9th. I’m still interested to see what South Park does next as well, but it hardly feels like it’s still running anymore. I know Trey and Matt have been embroiled in legal battles, and they’ve been busy on other projects (again again). But the fact they’re breaking code and planning stories months in advance will definitely lead to interesting results. Maybe not great, certainly not Season 5-8 great, but who knows?

-Doctor Who’s doing an episode about cartoons

We’re going back to the Land of Fiction with this one. This rubberhose guy might make the rounds on animation social media for a week, but the more I see of his episode, the more it looks like an experiment first and a story second, like the Beatles episode last season. I mean this is the third year in a row they’re doing “What if [20th century media] got corrupted and destroys the present?” I can count on the rubberhose guy to leave an impact, and on the leads to be entertaining, but this is already looking like the season’s highlight to me. I can only hope they’ll spend part or the rest of it fixing last year’s finale. Fingers crossed. Brave heart, fandom.

-Nintendo Switch 2

Looks expensive. Not PS3 expensive, but inflation is a cruel force of nature. I won’t get it at launch based on that, and the fact I usually wait for the big 3D Super Mario game before getting a new Nintendo console. I got 3D World with my Wii U, Odyssey with my Switch, and whatever they’ve got next is going with my Switch 2. The games and features they have announced look exciting, but again, I’ll wait for more games and a price drop, and get as much out of my Switch as I can.

That’s all, folks!

[driftingvoid-155]

Not sure if this would be helpful to anyone else, but I went through and gathered all of Jeff's lines from Into the Pit!

Adding a divider as there's quite a few. Also, I apologize if I missed some. I went through a few different play throughs and this was what I found.

(entrance) night 1, before ball pit

You want another slice of cheese and a refill on the orange soda?

Oswald: Not right now, just checking around.

Well, have fun. Not much to look at other than dust bunnies and cobwebs. I don’t think they bite.

Oswald: The dust bunnies?

No, the wolf spiders.

Oswald: Jeff, those definitely bite.

Oh. Good luck, then.

(in ballpit room) night 1

There he is!

-

(entrance) night 1

Have a good night, guys.

Hmm…

Oswald: Wait – Jeff! I think something’s wrong with my dad.

He looks fine to me. The dust probably just got to your head, kid. Go home and relax.

Oswald: W-wait-!

-

(entrance) night 1

You’re here late, kid. Your parents know you’re here?

Oswald: Uh… yeah. Dad burnt dinner so… emergency pizza.

What was he making?

Oswald: … Ramen noodles

As in the microwave kind?

Oswald: Yeah.

Ah, yeah. Been there.

You forget to add water once and the smell haunts you forever.

-

(entrance) night 1

Shouldn’t you be at home doing some homework or something, kid?

-

(entrance) night 1

Oswald: Jeff, do you have a key to the basement?

First the ball pit, now the basement. Are you that bored, kid?

Oswald: Um… Yes? I just feel like exploring.

Well, let’s make a deal. Just between you and me, I don’t pay for trash and forgot to dump a bag at the mill earlier.

Go take that trash over there and I’ll give you the key when you get back.

Oh, but take this flashlight. Gets pretty dark out there.

Oswald: Thanks but… the battery’s pretty low.

Dig around the trash if you run out. Probably all sorts of interesting things in there.

Oswald: Ew…

-

(entrance) night 1

Oswald: All done

Thanks, kid. Saved my back.

Here’s the key, as promised.

-

(entrance) night 2

Don’t cause me trouble.

-

(dining area, jeff mopping) night 2

Oswald: Hey Jeff! Um, do you have any extra slices of pizza that you could give me?

Sorry kid, you know things have been tough lately. You want something, you gotta buy it.

Oswald: Oh, OK…

-

(dining area, jeff mopping) night 2

You’re here late, kid. We don’t sell slices after lunch, so if you want pizza you gotta buy a whole pie.

Oswald: Oh. Um… I’m good for now.

-

(dining area) night 2

Oswald: This should be enough to distract Jeff.  

Enraged customer: AHHHHHH A RAT! IT’S A DIRTY RAT!

New rat in town, huh? You picked the wrong place, pal.  

-

(about Jeff, Oswald in the kitchen) night 2

Oswald: Sorry, Jeff. I’ll try to find a way to pay you back.

Oswald: Jeff makes the pizzas here all by himself. Guess he can’t afford to hire more staff.

-

(entrance) night 3

You here to pick up a pizza?

Oswald: No, just hanging out.

Oh. Someone with the name Ima Lousirr called to place an order, but they still haven’t picked up their pizza.

Ima Lousirr. Must be new in town.

Oswald: Jeff, I don’t think that’s a real name.

Ima… Lousirr… *sigh*

Stay in school, kid.

-

Pizza Fan, about Jeff’s, night 3

The pizza used to be a lot better back in the old days.

Though I have to admit, ever since Jeff took over it got a lot cheaper. Quantity over quality I guess!

-

(arcade) night 4

Hey, kid. Been noticing you tinkering around with these old machines. I don’t mind but-

Wait… did you fix all of them?!

Where’d you learn to do all that?

Oswald: My Dad. He’s pretty good with machines. He repaired all of the equipment at the old mill when he worked there. Sometimes he’d sneak me in during the summers so I could watch.

Wow. I don’t really know what to say.

I’ve been letting this place go for quite a while now. Maybe it’s time I fix things up around here, too.

Thanks for your hard work, Oswald. Here, take this.

Don’t worry about the expiration date.

Oswald: Oh, wow! Thanks, Jeff! It’s… 75 cents off…

Least I could do for ya.

Oswald: What a deal.

-

(dining area) night 4

Hey, kid. Shouldn’t you be in school?

Oswald: Uh… not today.

…

OK.

You know where to find me.

-

(security office - Jeff playing solitaire) night 5

Oswald: Watcha doin’ there, Jeff?

What’s it look like, kid? Working.

If you barged in here to ask about the room with the ball pit: No, I’m not opening the door.

Oswald: Huh? What are you talking about?

Had to start locking the door because some hooligans keep sneaking in, and leaving those balls all over the place…

You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would ya?

Oswald: No! I mean, no, I have no idea. I mean, I do need to get into the ball- I mean, I left my jacket in the room with the ball pit the other day. Could you let me in there?

Ha, nice try, kid. You’re wearing the exact same jacket you wore when you went in.

Oswald: No I’m not! This is my… backup jacket. The other one has my, um, wallet. I kinda need it to buy pizza.

Oh, yeah that’s pretty important.

Here, take the key, but don’t go playing around that ball pit again.

Oswald: I promise I’ll stay out of there as soon as I’m done. Never wanna see that thing again, anyway.

That gross, huh?

Oswald: You have no idea.

-

(in dining area) 2 star ending

Huh?

That kid better not have gotten hurt in there.

*walks to ball pit room and pit bonnie, hanging from the ropes, lunges*

-

(3 star ending)

Creature dies in the ball pit ropes. Pizza place is full of customers and Oswald and his family eat pizza at one of the tables as Jeff serves them pizza.

[bleaksqueak]

Man.

So, of course, the rampant theft and disregard for artists has never been ideal, but Pinterest has always been an invaluable tool despite that since it's a paradise for reference and discovery (so you know, always tag your art.. .in multiple places. I started tagging mine with more subtle watermarks in the dead center since uploaders were cropping my tag out, even though like, with the elias respite image, it ruins the composition by ruining the card look and frame... Why do you want to crop my sig out so bad to ruin the composition lmao) Anyway Point being, I have gotten more use out of pinterest as a reference archive than any annoyance it has ever brought me. I've found some artists I absolutely adore using it, too, especially when people use it as its (mostly. sort of) original intended purpose, being a huge communal bookmark/pinboard... those that leave the links directly to the art/artist are saints. However, I really, really hate seeing it being over run by generated Aye-Eye shit. Especially since, apparently, no one ever told the Aye-Eye bros the common sense of "DON'T make the exact same picture 500 times with only an ever so slight difference, are you stupid?" (rhetorical question, ofc.) But it's getting harder and harder to keep the search feeds tailored because these morons cannot understand the value of quality > quantity, so I love being flooded with the slightest variant on the same gd picture over and over. I really hope this bubble bursts or the world gets its act together and outlaws it/heavily regulates it soon. I've said before I wasn't even completely against it as a potential for a fun tool back when it made actually cool dream-like collages of really wacked out whimsical shit, but even then it was like "... but you shouldn't have free reign to just steal to make this stuff. At least it looks nothing like the source, I guess?" but the "Better" it gets, the more uselessly souless and obnoxious it gets, and the more "well that's just straight up obvious theft" it gets. I see so ,so so so many recognizable styles , sort of just hollowed out husks, in these awful things... but hilariously, the more over saturated they get, the more they seem to just feed off of each other, and they start looking like the most homogenized, soulless ero-game style art I've ever seen. Anyway, I just needed some reference for a specific cut of dress pants, and somehow *that* started turning into a feed of nothing but the same soulless pseudo-anime twunk generated over and over and over with bulbous buttocks stuffed into passable pantsuit pantaloons. so I guess i'll just get my ref the old fashioned way - going to specific websites/blogs with actual photos. I'm just glad that for the most part tumblr and bluesky both are strongly anti-aye-eye, they're the only two places where I rarely have to see the shit.