#/endrant

[avibero]

It always baffles me when people are like "why don't people geek out over OCs the same way they do about fandom characters?" or "why isn't there a place for people to show off and find other people's OCs to fawn over?"

Yeah I get it can be frustrating when fan work gets more attention than original work but you know why that is, right? You realize a story with a large international audience is gonna garner more attention, right? You realize people are more likely to latch onto characters whose stories they've read/watched, more than a character they havent spent time with? You realize that "a place to show off OCs" is not going to be as effective as you want it to be because the reason people don't care as much about OCs is not because they hate original characters, but because they have nothing to hang their hat on.

Give me a basis to love your OC and I will. Tell me the themes of their story so I can ponder the imagery you use in your drawings. Show me the things they value and what stands in their way so the little drabbles you write about them have more weight. Make their story a reality so I can settle in and learn to love your characters!

Don't just complain fan works get more attention because of COURSE they do.

[fukozawa]

Autistic realizations/friend trauma and online oversharing under the cut lol

Just reflecting on like how much friend trauma I’ve experienced and had a flashback to when i was like 5 or 6 years old, i was homeschooled at the time, and 2 or 3 house down lived a girl who was around my age who i became really good friends with in a short span of time and since i was homeschooled i was able to hang out with her all the time after she came home from school. I cant fully remember how long we hung out together but I feel like it wasnt more than a few month cuz it didn’t feel long before one day, i went over to her house to ask to hang out and when she opened the door, her dad immediately came over to tell me “you can no longer spend time with my daughter.” I remember being so confused as to what happened that could have caused her father to react so negatively and intensely to the point of barring her from ever seeing me again. And i feel like it was probably because I’m autistic and said something that wasn’t socially acceptable to say or something or idk what if (cuz I’m gay) i showed signs or said things that alluded to me being attracted to the same gender and when she told her father about it, he was homophobic and reacted drastically. I really have no idea why and i just suddenly remembered how hurt and confused my child self was and how that has 100% contributed to my rejection dysphoria and feelings of possibly doing or saying the wrong thing and having that be the end of my friendship, which has continued to be reinforced in my adult life. Plus the way that has likely shaped my autistic mask and allows me to socialize in a way that is to my detriment. I honestly still havent unpacked fully like in what ways this deep wound has shaped how I interact with people today or how its shaped my self image. But i know now that not everyone is For Me and I’m learning to accept that i cant please everyone and i don’t have to continue to internalize the vast amounts of ableism in the world. I can be myself and those that cant handle me as my autistic unmasked self don’t deserve my presence in their life.

[stardustspell]

While wine tasting with my mom, we met up with one of her former colleagues and her husband--and he just happened to work in crypto. Mom and I were trying not to look at each other like

while he talked about his work and "how much money" he was making.

It took everything in me not to ask, "oh-what denomination is your paycheck in? Doge Coin?"

[papa-evershed]

[cybercanadian]

also have 2 dick appointments tomorrow 🫣

[plasma-tree]

Long-ass rant from someone who is sex-positive, engages in kink and porn, has been a sex worker, and has had loved ones suffer from addictions both chemical and behavioral;

Look; viewing porn is not inherently "an addiction".

Engaging with pornographic content isn't "morally wrong" or "bad" (as long as no real-life ALIVE humans are being harmed or exploited by it).

Viewing "weird fetish content" isn't "an addiction" or "morally wrong".

Viewing it isn't the problem. Engaging with it isn't the problem. I adore porn, esp drawn porn because there's so much more room for absolutely wild shit, and artistry, and no one CAN be harmed! and then I go about my day and take care of what needs to be done at the house and maintain my few real-world relationships and disengage, and do other things, and find satisfaction and reward in other things.

The problem here is when someone ends up with a behavioral addiction. Behavioral addictions are real-- think gambling. There are people who go to the casino for shits n giggles and then continue on their Vegas trip.

Then there are people screaming and beating the slot machines with their fists and spending their entire savings, their kids' college funds, and not eating or drinking and quite literally pissing and shitting themselves to avoid leaving the slot machine for a split second.

There are people who play video games in the same way.

And there are people who consume porn in the same way.

Any. Rewarding. Behavior. Can. Become. An. Addiction.

When you value viewing porn OVER maintaining important facets of your life-- maintaining your existing relationships, eating and drinking, using the bathroom, going to school, doing your job, taking care of your kids/pets, maintaining your hobbies if you have any... That's behavior congruent with addiction.

When your day consists of 12 hours of viewing porn and NOTHING ELSE, that's behavior congruent with addiction.

When you have to view more and more intense pornographic content to experience arousal, that's behavior congruent with addiction (desensitization). Neat fact, this one is often seen in chemical addictions, too.

When you behave in an abusive manner towards people in your life when you can't engage with porn, that's behavior congruent with addiction.

When you experience negative symptoms like headaches, irritability, and other negative behavioral changes BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T ENGAGE WITH THE THING YOU ARE ADDICTED TO, that's behavior congruent with addiction.

"just watches porn but continues on with life" isn't behavior congruent with addiction.

"just has a pRoBLeMaTiC kink" isn't behavior congruent with addiction.

"just really enjoys porn" isn't behavior congruent with addiction.

"just has a really impressive porn library" isn't behavior congruent with addiction.

watching porn and beating off isn't going to make you go blind, watching porn and beating off isn't going to MaKe gOd hAtE yOu (or whatever the christians are peddling nowadays), watching porn and beating off are not "bad" or "a moral failure" or behavior congruent with addiction.

The simplest way I can put it is;

Replace "porn" with "gambling" to determine if addictive behavior is present and remove bias about the content.

"Alex watches porn from 8am to 9:30pm. He usually goes that whole time without eating. He screamed at his partner when they spoke to him because they interrupted his porn."

"Alex gambles from 8am to 9:30pm. He usually goes that whole time without eating. He screamed at his partner when they spoke to him because they interrupted his gambling."

"Sam sneaks off multiple times a day at strange hours to watch porn. They do this every day and they experience negative symptoms like irritability and anxiety if they do not continue with this behavior."

"Sam sneaks off multiple times a day at strange hours to gamble. They do this every day and they experience negative symptoms like irritability and anxiety if they do not continue with this behavior."

"Amanda has noticed that the intense pornographic content she engages with does not arouse her like it used to. She decides to amp it up and engage with far more intense pornographic content to feel as rewarded as she used to with the prior content."

"Amanda has noticed that doing scratch-offs isn't exciting like it used to be. She decides to amp it up and play the slot machines to feel as rewarded as she used to with the scratch-offs".

"Aiden's partner is feeling down and insecure about herself because Aiden said that he strongly prefers watching porn to having sex with her."

"Aiden's partner is feeling down and insecure about herself because Aiden said that he strongly prefers gambling to having sex with her."

I know this is a 40 page long essay but as someone who considers themselves VERY sex and kink positive, engages with pornographic content, and has loved ones who have had both chemical and behavioral addictions... I'm trying to tell you that if/when something takes over your life and there is no room for ANYTHING OR ANYONE ELSE, you have a problem.

And even if you have an addiction, it doesn't mean you're "bad" or "evil" or "dirty". It's not a moral failure. It just means that something scratched the reward center of your brain in *just* the right way and it got out of control.

I have nothing but empathy for anyone who has an addiction. It can be embarrassing and miserable. It can make you FEEL dirty and bad and terrible.

also; none of this post was me claiming that porn "in general" is exploitative and/or harmful by nature, etc etc

[masterjedilenawrites]

I think i’m going to take a little mental health break this week. I’ve spent a lot of time and effort fulfilling requests the last couple weeks but didn’t get many notes/interaction on them so feeling a little dejected. I think some time off to reset will help me come back to the other requests and projects I have with genuine passion and not interest in just affirmation. I mean, it’d be nice to have more people enjoy the things I put effort into, but I also write for myself too, so if I’m feeling burnt out in this hobby, it’s just time to take a little break. Hope to be back soon!

[maroonmorons]

let me just take a moment to be absolutely crystal clear

if I have ever implied or outright expressed I want queer actors in queer roles it is because I want the stigma that queer actors cannot come out and still get work to end

I want people of any and every profession to be able to come out with 0 repercussions that is the dream

that does NOT mean people should/have to come out or that I’m entitled to know anything about their personal lives

real people do not queerbait

they actually cannot

y’all are weird if you think otherwise

[orpiknight]

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE FAQ! I linked to it from the @gomurderboard and it's making it so much easier to revisit things Neil said that I would never be able to find on my own.

No problem!! And good. :)

Yeah, it was super hard to find things because tumblr search sucks and won't actually pick up keywords easily, which is why Neil says you have to go basically google most of it ugh. So I decided "eh screw it" and collected what interesting things I saw. If you use his blog's search to find some of the unique words/names in some of those Asks/answers then they still wouldn't show up.

[breakingarrows]

Endrant Studios: A History

During my on-and-off playthrough of Wolfenstein (2009) I noticed a company logo during the startup that I did not recognize: Endrant Studios. Looking up the developer on MobyGames (a severely undervalued website) I learned that this was their one and only game. Curious, I started to look into their history and where everyone ended up after its short life.

Endrant Studios Limited was incorporated on December 11, 2007 according to their listing on the Gov.UK website. Neil Postlethwaite was its Secretary and Director and Lenore Zavitz as its only other director at the time.

Postlethwaite is credited on Wolfenstein as Managing Director. His past work was on the Xbox 360 and Windows version of Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, and he would continue to work in the games industry after Endrant’s dissolution. Zavitz doesn’t appear to have any other industry credits but is currently a gilder and gilding restorer. They were and are still a director for Forerunner Limited, an “information technology consultancy activities.” They would incorporate this company alongside Benjamin Smedstad, who was appointed as a director for Endrant Studios soon after its incorporation. Zavitz is also listed as a director for Squirrel Army LTD, again alongside Smedstad, as well as a Kalvin Lyle. Squirrel Army was dissolved on July 26, 2016 and was classified under “Other information technology service activities.” Zavitz’s main occupation currently appears to be with Moth and Mirror Limited, “We are a partnership between a lifelong wood turner and a gilding restorer. We specialise in pieces crafted from the finest woods and precious metal leaf gilding, as well as gilded bone displays.”

Our aim at Moth and Mirror is simply to create beautiful things. The name is a reflection of the combining of organic, natural materials, represented by the moth, and the mirror, which represents the fine metal leaf.  Our pieces are a fusion of the textures and sheen of lush wood with the fire and light of exquisite precious metals.  The result is something that’s a little bit of alchemy, a lot of luxury and entirely desirable.  Every item we create has an individual personality and is highly finished, elegant and eye catching.   They could make an excellent addition to your personal collection or a fantastic and unique gift.

On July 7, 2008 Benjamin Smedstad was appointed a director at the company. Smedstad would be credited as Creative Director for Wolfenstein and similar to Postlethwaite had also worked on Enemy Territory: Quake Wars directly preceding their work on Wolfenstein.

Endrant announced they were co-developing the new Wolfenstein game alongside Raven Software with a focus on multiplayer development on July 16, 2008.

"Our goal is to make exciting, fun and accessible games that translate to the masses,” said Ben Smedstad, creative director & co-owner, Endrant Studios Ltd.. “Our backgrounds and experience enable us to be more creative, more focused and deliver a higher quality game no matter what the platform."

Endrant Studios would join Tiga, the UK developer’s trade body on November 17, 2008, according to GameIndustry.biz.

"Endrant Studios is delighted to join Tiga. I have been greatly encouraged by Tiga's increased levels of activity over the last nine months," said Neil Postlethwaite, managing director and co-owner of Endrant Studios, adding: "particularly by its determination to fly the flag for developers in political circles and by its willingness to speak out on issues that matter to the industry." "I would encourage every developer in the UK to join Tiga. The choice is simple: stand on the sidelines, do nothing and see the climate for games development in the UK weaken; or join Tiga and work together to build a vibrant UK games development sector. Endrant Studios is joining Tiga because it genuinely represents developers and is working to make a real difference for the UK games industry. We look forward to working with Tiga in the years ahead."

In an Abbreviated Balance Sheet for December 31, 2008 Endrant reported outstanding debtors owing £102,480 with only £3,540 cash on hand.

In June of 2009 a Return of Allotment of Shares filing would show that Activision Blizzard was now involved with the company as they would be allotted 20 of the B Ordinary shares, while Smedstad would be allotted 40 of A Ordinary shares. In their Annual Return filed June 1, 2009 but for the period ending on November 12, 2008 they listed Smedstad as having 45 shares, Postlethwaite 90, Zavitz 45, and Activision Blizzard 20.

Lead Game Designer Matthew Wilson would give a Q&A to fansite Wolfenstein Zone as well as GameSpot in July 2009. He debunked a rumor that frequent id Software collaborator Nerve Software (a support studio primarily) had begun work on the multiplayer portion originally, saying it was actually Threewave Software (another frequent id Software collaborator and support studio) but that their work no longer existed in the game. He explained there would be no Linux port of the singleplayer game due to running under DirectX and while the multiplayer could be ported as it was using OpenGL it was very unlikely to be done. This would become the first id Software product (though a license and not a directly developed game) to not have a Linux port and this status would carry forward on all id’s products afterward. John Carmack, founder of id Software, would even go on to say at QuakeCon 2012 that while Linux development creates goodwill amongst the Linux crowd it does not pay the bills. This change in attitude is interesting due to Timothee Besset, a french software programmer who was well known for porting id Software games to Linux, posting a blog on September 13, 2009 to reaffirm that nothing had changed after id Software’s acquisition by ZeniMax and the announcement that Wolfenstein would not have a Linux port, and that he would continue to work on Linux ports of idTech games in the future.

Fundamentally nothing has changed with our policy regarding Linux games. Trying to shoehorn the ZeniMax acquisition into this is pointless, as they are true to their word of focusing on the business and letting the studio focus on the games. Linux players represent about 5% of the QuakeLive population, which is in line with the company's previous releases. Nothing new there, releasing Linux versions has always been a matter of higher code quality, good software architecture, and technical interest for the platform. We never commit to releasing Linux versions for any of our titles, at least not until we are reasonably sure that we have the resources to put into it. In the past few years I am pretty much the only one who has been involved in our Linux versions, and most of that work was done in my spare time. It worked out because I spent significant time working on each of those projects to get them shipped (Doom3, Quake4, ETQW), and making sure we had working Linux builds was a natural part of that process. It is unlikely the new Wolfenstein title is going to get a native Linux release. None of it was done in house, and I had no involvement in the project. QuakeLive offers a lot of challenges and eats away everything else right now. As far as idTech 5 (the Rage engine), it runs on PS3 and Mac already. Setting up idTech 5 to run on those platforms early on in our development cycle was a direct result of carrying Linux/Mac support in idTech 4 beforehand. It is likely i will be involved with idTech 5 in the near future, I'll be damned if we don't find the time to get Linux builds done.

Besset’s comment that the new Wolfenstein was not done in-house shifts the blame on the lack of a Linux port to Raven Software and their modifications to idTech 4, the engine powering the game. Wilson of Endrant also seems to shift the blame on Raven for the lack of a Linux port with his comment that Endrant could get it running on Linux just fine but due to the decisions made behind how the single-player campaign was built it would be unlikely. Despite these affirmations and deflections, Linux would continue to be neglected by id Software in all their future releases. Enemy Territory: Quake Wars would be the final id game (technically a Splash Damage game licensed by id Software) to see a Linux version.

Wilson notes the game engine used for the multiplayer was a “recombined branch of ET:QW [Enemy Territory: Quake Wars] that includes all the work Nerve did to the 360 version of ET:QW, plus the patches up to version 1.4 (the last official Activision patch).” Wolfenstein would have three game modes: Objective, Stopwatch, and Team Deathmatch, and three classes: Engineer, Medic, and Soldier. Wilson mentions a more detailed stats website available at launch though I couldn’t find if this ever came true.

Endrant Studios was founded in April 2008 with a clear and simple goal: “Have fun, make games” Why can’t it be about the game? Why can’t it just be about a bunch of skilled, mature people who care about what they do, and make fun games? There are many things that can get in the way of creativity, passion and still being able to live a normal life. Lets get rid of those and focus on what is important: the game. /endrant :D

Though Endrant’s website is long gone, Wayback Machine does have some captures of the barebones website it appears to have been. The first capture is dated July 30, 2008. Though their posts do not contain a date stamp, their first post was prior to the Wolfenstein announcement, as they say, “Our first project is still hush hush. What we can say is that we are working with Activision on a triple-A title with an IP that is well-known and loved. An official announcement will follow from our partners.” The next post is about joining the Games Up campaign via Tiga, and lastly that they were working with Raven and Activison on the new Wolfenstein. “We’re currently hiring for this project and our future titles. Please check out the Careers page for additional information and details.  More announcements to follow!” Sadly this would be the final state of the website, as it would never update again and become a GoDaddy ad page by the capture dated December 26, 2009.

We are looking for passionate, motivated creators with a positive attitude and a desire to make fun games for a world-wide market. Although experience is important, its not as important as talent or attitude.  We are building upon a strong leadership base, and maintaining a positive work environment with good people is the overall goal for Endrant.

Their open positions as of July 11, 2008 were: PS3 Programmer, Programmer, Gameplay Programmer, Level Designer, Effects Animator, Gameplay Animator, Environment Artist, and Character Artist. An updated page on September 13, 2008 lists only Programmer and Gameplay Programmer.

We work exclusively on fun-to-play next-gen console and PC games for a mass audience. We are avid gamers who want deep and engrossing games that are accessible and enjoyable to everyone. We’ve worked in nearly every genre and console platform from the past 13 years and on many triple-A titles.

On the same day Wolfenstein released to the public, August 18, 2009, it would be reported that Endrant had laid off some staff. The company was only made up of 17 people at the time, and the amount of staff laid off went unspecified.

"We have recently completed a development cycle and have regrettably been forced to make adjustments to staff and headcounts," said a spokesperson for the studio. "Those affected are valued members of our team who have worked incredibly hard on our latest title. We hope that they land on their feet quickly."

Co-developer Raven Software would similarly suffer from layoffs after release. On August 26, 2009 Raven confirmed they had laid off 56 of its staff of 180.

With the recent completion of both Wolverine, based on the summer blockbuster movie, and Wolfenstein, the next chapter of the famed franchise, Raven Software is slightly reducing its workforce to better reflect the studio's upcoming slate.

On December 7, 2009, Endrant Studios would file for voluntary winding up, assigning a liquidator to handle their debts. In a Statement of Company’s Affairs on December 7, 2009, a list of creditors showed a balance owed of £100,924.99. Of this balance £52,988.73 was listed as debt owed to HM Revenue and Customs, the “UK’s tax, payments and customs authority.”

Endrant Studios would be officially dissolved on May 6, 2014.

So where did the 17 people who made up Endrant Studios at its height end up? Ben Smedstad was Creative Director and is currently at SEGA as well as continuing to work for Forerunner in consultation for other developers/game industry companies. Matt Wilson was Lead Game Designer and was only credited as “Additional Support” for Tom Clancy’s The Division in 2016 as a part of Massive though his Linkedin has him leaving the company in September 2018. Wilson previously worked for Splash Damage who also supplied Endrant with Mike Armstrong and Mark Fry. Wilson and Fry were both Level Designers for Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory in 2003, and Armstrong was Programming Team For Enemy Territory: Quake Wars in 2008. Mike Armstrong was credited in Wolfenstein as a Technical Director and the most recent credit was in God of War (2018) under Global Technology: Advanced Technology Group and is currently employed as a Software Engineer at Meta.

Programmer Ben Christey was most recently credited as a Technical Lead for the mobile game Seabeard in 2014 and works as a Software Engineer for Space Ape Games. Chris Hallam had a special thank you for LEGO DC Super-Villains on Nintendo Switch and has an undated work experience on Linkedin as a Software Engineer for The Foundry. Richard Crowder currently works at Reygar Ltd as a Senior Software Engineer. On Crowder’s Linkedin they mention working under contract with Activision for the “the development of PC, 360, and PS3 day-one patches for Wolfenstein (alongside Raven Software).” Art Director Kalvin Lyle continues to do art work, most recently as Art Lead for Clash of Clans and Concept Artist for YouTuber MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson). His portfolio website lists his contribution to Wolfenstein being, “Art Direction and lighting for multiplayer map.” Animator Sandy Heslop joined Room 8 Group in October 2022 as Head of CG, gave an in-house interview about creating trailers for video games, and led the establishment of Heroic, a studio focusing on “high-end trailer production for PC, console, and mobile games” in March 2023.

Environment Artist Nathan Newman was most recently credited as Cinematics Producer for Hitman 2 and co-founded Pathway which is “dedicated to the creation of real-time produced media with LED volumes.” Artist Gary Newman is currently a Lead Texture Artist at Framestore whose contributions have included Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw as well as the upcoming The Little Mermaid (2023). Effects Animator Robert Tatnell has continued to work in the industry from Arrowhead to his own game as an independent developer called Hokko Life.

Lead Level Designer Mark Fry seems to have left game development behind for drones as from 2013 onward all his work experience listed on Linkedin are drone related from using them for filming to Amazon’s autonomous delivery service. Despite this he still keeps a portfolio of his level design available for viewing, including Wolfenstein.

Wolfenstein is an id Software game developed by Raven Software, Threewave Software, and Endrant Studios – who joined the project to complete the online multiplayer component of the game. As Lead Level Designer – I hired, trained and developed the level design team. I assessed the scope of work necessary to modify all eight level layouts to accommodate game design changes, reduce the overall footprint of the levels for smaller team sizes, and remix existing areas to improve combat flow.

Level Designer Ryan Spinney was at Sony’s Guerilla studio for awhile but now works at Ubisoft Berlin as the Lead Environment Artist with his most recent contribution being Far Cry 6, much like fellow Level Designer Daniel Leafe. In July 2017 Level Designer Daniel Leafe shared on his website some details about his time working on Wolfenstein as part of his portfolio. Wolfenstein is his first project, and he went on to work for Activision on several James Bond titles before landing at Ubisoft where he continues to work today with the latest credit being Far Cry 6. 

Endrant Studios were contracted by Activision to complete the multiplayer section of the 2009 Wolfenstein project. The level design team at Endrant Studio consisted of 3 level designers and 1 lead who were tasked with converting eight already built PC oriented maps, to something more suited to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 market. Our job as level designers were to help improve all 8 level layouts for gameplay and performance by removing and adding sections wherever necessary, make visual changes and to optimise the maps so that they performed at a solid 30 fps on all platforms.

Che Hamilton was another Level Designer who went on to do some work on 007: Legends for Eurocom but sadly does not appear to have had any updated work since then on their website.

Katherine Winnifrith was the Office Manager and Wolfenstein is her sole credit. She may be the same Kat Winnifrith who is currently Head of HR for Admiral Taverns but information online is limited. Lastly Managing Director Neil Postlethwaite is, as aforementioned, at SEGA Europe and most recently credited on Company of Heroes 3 alongside fellow Endrant alumni Ben Smedstad.

I do wonder if some of the Endrant Studios staff think about their short time working on a Wolfenstein game whose reception was tepid, whose marketing was probably tanked by Activision in response to id Software’s acquisition by ZeniMax, whose successor under Machine Games has all but overridden its relevance despite carrying over some aspects of the 2009 entry (majorly the character of Caroline Becker), and whose multiplayer component was either ignored or regarded as sufficiently average by its players and reviewers. Comments on recent gameplay videos of the multiplayer (which requires work given that the game was delisted from Steam in 2014 and has yet to return, likely due to legal issues between Activision and ZeniMax) are pretty much all about their fond memories of playing both the campaign and multiplayer and wishes for it to return.

Endrant is an example of how fickle the games industry can be. It came together, got a contract, completed it, only to be met with less than needed sales and reception and shut down shortly after launch. It serves as a reminder of how brutal the industry can be. With so many of its staff having gone on to work on a variety of careers, it also shows that a studio closure can be a temporary tragedy.

[moffnat]

#HE'S SO SAD???? #no listen #this man has NOBODY #his family is dead #the grove was a burden #his homeland is swallowed in shadow #he turned to alcohol in his grief #a grief so palpable that it fused itself to a weapon #he brushes off his trauma in the underdark like it's nothing #BECAUSE HONESTLY? WHEN DOES HE ACTUALLY LET HIMSELF BE VULNERABLE #PROBABLY NEVER #UNTIL NOW #'I've taken many lovers. My heart does not stir lightly.' #sounds a lot like a man using sex to cope #the same way he used alcohol i bet #grief is easily one of the top causes of addiction #and if you let him down here he says 'but i was sure we had a connection...' #case in point: halsin decides in this moment that he will be vulnerable for you #you are not just a lay to him. you are someone worth fighting his own grief for. #he wants to love and be loved no matter how scary it might be #and larian had better give me more options to show him bc i swear to god #if i have to sit here and listen to the 'i only want you, but you can be with whoever!' line one more time WITHOUT the option to tell him that he's all i want too #i will be sad forever #/endrant

[quintessentialarts]

Etsy | Facebook | Instagram

Please share if you feel like it 😊 This year's "Black Friday Sale" is happening now through Sunday, 11/13 Save 15% off Etsy with coupon QUERCUS15 www.QuintessentialArts.etsy.com or 20% off MindfulMarket with coupon QUERCUS20 www.mindfulmarket.com/QuintessentialArts If there is something on Etsy you want on MM, please contact me here or through MM. I can't direct you off Etsy. Or email quintessentialarts@gmail.com *excludes custom work. thank you! (Why more off MindfulMarket? Their selling fees are straightforward. A one-time yearly fee, plus credit card transaction fees (inescapable), rather than Etsy bragging how profitable they are and then raising the transaction fee, and also forcing sellers to pay an additional 12-15% for off-site ads you can't opt out of. Etsy is a great selling platform and I won't be leaving anytime soon, but they need to reform their off-site ads policy. Any ad clicked and then item purchased for the next 30 days incurs the extra fee. Including when someone sees your ad, clicks it, then buys their custom items you've been working on for months. Please support your Etsy sellers by finding their shops directly on etsy, rather than ads on Google, pinterest, etc ♡ #EndRant )

[fracktastic]

So, my mother keeps complaining about how my grandmother won't eat the cauliflower she made or turned down an extra healthy protein-fiber-shake with extra antioxidants.

I make extra cheese-stuffed grilled cheesey-pita and she gobbles it up. Plate of cookies? Demolished.

Omg. She's 93 and she keeps dropping weight. Let her eat whatever TF she wants.

/endrant

Update: we have moved on to the ice cream course. I think we're up to about 600 kCal 🎉🎉🎉

[ask-serendipity-sky]

Sunday Full of Jikook Results

Hello everyone. The results from the fine Jikook frenzy are in!

I was cracking up the day I was making the polls, even my mother saw me and she was like "Why are you smiling?" Just Jikook things (also, I probably have lost my mind).

Here are the plain results, but let's extrapolate the data and talk about it:

♡Ok, so about 61% of you don't think that it was love at first sight for our Jimin and Jungkook.

But one of the comments stated this beautifully:

You all still think they were destined for each other? A lá Serendipity, right?

♡About 63% of you think that a young Chim started crushing on the "shy" maknae first.

One of the voters had something to say:

Lol Jungkook managed to trick us all. Acting shy in front of the camera but crushing on Jimin the whole time.

Something to think about...either way, Jimin never stood a chance. Jk was it for him. And Jimin was it for Jk.

♡55% of you think that Jungkook was the first to say "Take my hand now. You are the cause of my Euphoriaaaaaa" to Jimin!

Could be. Young Jk was bold as well.

♡The first kiss! This was one is a little too close to have a definite winner. It is equalish, about 38%. So it could be either according to us!

But some think that it was something that just happened naturally. Well, either way, they both remember it fondly:

♡The vote is kinda split but according to the poll, the member who was the most shocked when they found out about Jikook was....Jin!

(Actual footage of Jin being scarred for life.)

♡The most supportive member award goes to: Hobi with 88% of votes.

All hail the Jikook Club President Mr. Hobi!!!

Some may think that this question was too easy but I honestly think the most supportive was Suga. Hear me out! Suga is older, wiser, with more experience, and has always been supportive of Jimin. Hobi was still a baby too so for me, I think Suga was more like their guide and Hobi their cheerleader and partner in crime later on.

♡The majority, 34%, of you think that Jikook started being exclusive in 2017. This one was hard because Jikook has been Jikooking since the dawn of time...

But 2017 gave us this masterpiece:

(I will never get over gcfTokyo as long as I live and will reference it every chance I get)

♡You all are ruthless. 81! 81! 81% of you think that Jungkook is the most romantic of the two. Seems like most of you forgot how sweet our Mochi is.

Some people disagree:

Let me remind you of Park Jimin, hopeless romantic:

/endrant lol

♡57% of you think that Jimin was the first to say I love you...

Wow. And you all say he is not the most romantic one!

I demand a revote!

♡Why is Jungkook whipped for Jimin? 40% of you think that it's because of Jimin's charms. I agree. He is charming, all right.

Oh, Jimin.

♡Why is Jimin whipped for Jungkook? 43% of you think that it's because of Jk's sweet emotional side.

He really does have a heart of gold.

♡52% of the votes think that Jimin was the first to promise to be together forever. That does sound like something he would do!

Promising to go with Jungkook to the moon.

Have you ever stopped to think what kind of conversation they were having that led to this promise? Sweet sweet Jikook.

♡41% of you think that Jimin takes the reins (and whips perhaps) once the door closes and Jk obliges. I personally think it's Jk but I won't fight you all on this one. We are all probably right lol

Jikook:

Hobi listening to the convo:

♡Ahhh and the fairytale ending for our Jikook.

The grand majority, 64%, think that Jk will be or was 👀 the one to ask THE question. Could be.

Someone posed a very important thought:

Very important!

And those are the results! So this is like a census, I feel lol Now we know where we are in some key issues from Jikookland.

Thank you all for participating! Until next time!

[doctoraxiom]

It's actually fascinating to me how much the "palworld is plagiarism and uses ai" post is going around.

First of all the "AI" game that that studio released seems to be a tongue in cheek criticism of AI artists not having talent (but feel free to give me more info here, I only know what reading the product page for AI: Art Impostor tells me)

Second of all the developer being interested in generative AI for games isn't inherently a sign of plagiarism**- I intend to use generative AI for my games that is trained on MY OWN ART. It's not too different from procedural generation at that point because the algorithm itself (or it's training and fine tuning) becomes the art and you're not plagiarizing from anyone but yourself.

Third of all- knockoff games have existed for-fucking-ever and if it's derivative enough it's not plagiarism. And if you're talking about "plagiarism" of the gameplay since palworld has mechanics from several other genres pretty much copy pasted- I hear you- but no one throws a fit about doomlikes being exactly like other doomlikes, or soulslikes straight up copy pasting souls mechanics without even bothering to come up with an in-universe justification (looking at you, Jedi Fallen Order). I'd argue this is actually more creative than that to turn mechanics from multiple other franchises into a cohesive gameplay experience because putting a mechanic into a totally different game is actually really hard to fine tune into feeling good for the player!

Is a work derivative enough to add something new? Or combine old works in a new and novel way? Palworld definitely seems to combine several known mechanics in a novel and fun way. In the very worst case it's in a grey area.

Also the recent anti-plagiarism mass movement was created to protect small creators from getting bullied out of their due. Who are you trying to protect here? Nintendo? Pokemon was a rip-off of digimon and the jrpg's of that time. You gonna get up in arms about that?

This knee jerk hearing something is indirectly related to AI and assuming everything associated with it is stealing and bad needs to stop.

/endrant

**Also I can't find any direct evidence that they tried to use AI in development! Lots of people expressed interest in generative AI before the techbros hopped on the bandwagon and tried to monetize it as an art-stealing machine. This is not an admission of guilt.

[frownyalfred]

Gonna pile on here as another fic author: I don't think most people realize that authors can and do read public bookmarks, but oh god I wish they would, it's somehow worse then getting outright hate in the inbox

I write popular stuff like you, which I think makes it worse? (which is also why this is on anon lol) People assume I'll never see them say my fic is overhyped or too long, I guess

I have a lot of grace for the accidental public bookmarks. I know it happens sometimes. I've seen this argument wrung six different ways on the ao3 subreddit, and the conclusion I always come to is this: even if it's not done with malicious intent, it does affect authors. And you can't just expect authors to ignore a bookmark that 1) they cannot remove and 2) is slapped right onto their fic for everyone else to see.

It's like walking up to a busker playing piano on the subway and leaving a permanent sticky note on their keyboard that says "6/10 meh could've been better" that they can't ever take off. And they just have to look at it, and make their peace with it, which are important things for creators to be able to do, of course, but puts the onus of being the "better person" solely on the author?

"Well don't look at the bookmarks" "it's not a bad rating" "bookmarks are for readers, not authors" I GET these points. I am also a reader. I read and use bookmarks as recs. But giving out unsolicited criticism, regardless of venue, has always been seen as distasteful. Especially when the things being criticized are done 1) for free 2) in the author's spare time and 3) are so easy to suppress/crush with one poorly-placed comment or bookmark.

I don't say this to rant about how my own writing has been impacted by bookmarks, because while I'll bitch about it here, I'm not really thinking about myself. I'm thinking about the baby author or the new fandom arrival whose success and presence in this fandom is so tenuous, that one bookmark can knock them out of the game entirely. I'm talking about when we forget that there are real people, with real lives, on the other side of that ao3 username. The people who have quit writing because of stuff like this.

I'm not saying you have to like every fic. I'm not saying you can't rec fics to others with valid criticisms attached -- we all do it! Hey, I loved this fic but it's a little rough at the start! I've said that so many times. Would I ever put that in my public bookmark of that work? Absolutely not.

If you've erred with public bookmarks, it's not the end of the world. Make them private or maybe add some thoughts to the bookmark other than a rating. I've seen too many rating "codes" to believe it's all innocuous mistakes. And trust me, slapping a 2/5 on a poor little oneshot is one of the worst things you can do to a new or aspiring author.

/endrant