#How to animate in DoInk

[doink]

Mastering Motion: Quick Tip Tutorial for Animating with the Pathing Tool in Green Screen by DoInk

Dive into the world of dynamic storytelling with our latest tutorial! In this blog post, we'll unveil the secrets of animating with the Pathing Tool in Green Screen by DoInk. Whether you're a teacher bringing lessons to life or a content creator adding a touch of magic to your videos, this quick tip tutorial will empower you to master motion effortlessly.

What you will learn:

Introduction to the Pathing Tool in Green Screen by DoInk

Quick tip tutorial for animating with the Pathing Tool

Exploring the versatility of motion paths in visual storytelling

Tips for seamless integration and customization of animations

Real-world examples for inspiration and application

Elevating your projects with captivating and fluid animations

Animation becomes a breeze with the Pathing Tool in Green Screen by DoInk. Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned creator, this quick tip tutorial will equip you with the skills to infuse life into your projects.

Master the art of animation with the Pathing Tool in Green Screen by DoInk. Share your animated creations with us, and bring stories to life through captivating motion!

[kaythefloppa]

Wild Kratts Live - Experience & Thoughts

Just came back from Wild Kratts Live 2.0: Activate Creature Power today. After over a decade of YouTube bootlegs and being on the outside looking in, I managed to finally score a ticket to the live show in Saint Louis. The 9 month-wait was both very long and very short at the same time, but it’s was worth it in the end.

I managed to record a lot, and I do mean a LOT of the footage, but not only are the recordings not in the best quality, but there are too many of them, of too varying length to compress them all into this one post. So much like with the Mufasa: The Lion King live-blog here’s just an assortment of thoughts of mine. Below the cut

During the brief period before the show started and during the interval, there were a lot of slideshows containing creature facts and merch. During that slideshow, there was a bunch of background tracks from the main series playing which was cathartic as hell. This was the closest I’d ever get to actually hearing a few HQ tracks without isolating them. Again, I couldn’t record them because there was no way I could get it in perfect quality, one of those, you HAD to be there things.

There were a lot of kids at the show wearing WK shirts and vest, it was so sweet. One kid was even holding a plushie of Zooboomafoo (yes THAT Zooboomafoo). I obviously thought of that Adam Sandler meme (you probably know which one given this scenario I’m enlisting) but it was above all else, genuinely heartwarming seeing so many kids and their families coming to see this show. Even if I’m not in the show’s target audience anymore, it’s not lost to me just how well this show connects with kids. It makes it even more disheartening given how PBS is being defunded in the new presidency, because that’s over a decade and a half’s worth of this show’s progressive education and interaction at stake (that being said, hearing the news of PBS suing the Trump administration on the SAME weekend that WK live came out was nothing short of cathartic).

On a side-note, I noticed some teens my age who were also at the show. And someone from the other post mentioned it but I managed to meet @doink-boink there as well in person. We just so happened to go to the show happening in the same theater on the same weekend at the same time, and after communicating on our socials, we easily took advantage of that opportunity to see each other. It was amazing. We were both in awe at what we saw and somewhat processing the reality thereof. Utter joy. I was still trying to process the whole thing during the car ride home, but… yeah it happened. And I love it.

The basic story is that Chris and Martin want to activate their Creature Powers, especially Cheetah Powers in front of the audience, but loose their discs in the tall grass. So they miniaturize down to find them. But they have to use their Creature Powers to save their discs from the Zachbots, who were sent by Zach to find and destroy the discs. Sounds like a typical episode, but they make the most out of this seemingly basic premise to make it off-the-wall fun. The best I can describe WK live is like a live action remake of a WK episode, and ironically so much better than Disney or Dreamworks’ live-action remakes lmao. The Kratt Brothers jump out of the animation in their typical “What If?!” fashion and they act the hell out of their roles, if that’s not a sign of how much advantage they take of the work they’re dealing with, I don’t know what is.

There were a lot of moments in the show where animation from the series proper was recycled, but I didn’t mind. It honestly felt like I was watching a clip show, really enticing. At the same time, there were a lot of animation pieces designed specifically for the live show, such as the bits with the crew, the cutaways featuring Zach, the scene with the mini Kratt brothers returning to the Miniaturizer and the activation sequences.

Oh yeah THE ACTIVATION SEQUENCES. They are FUCKING AWESOME. They’re very lengthy and detailed, the meta explanation is to give the actors time to get into their physical IRL suits. But still, it is awesome. Seeing it in person was ethereal. The shots of the arms, legs, chest, and head transforming into the suit, the full background score, and the shading is everything I’ve wanted to see in a theatrical-esque Wild Kratts production. I hope they do something like this for the actual feature film!

Lots of funny moments in the show that genuinely made me laugh out loud. Martin getting chased by a bee that wants to steal his lollipop, Chris catching him in his Mantis Suit, Martin hiding in his boot, it was just funny as shit. The running gag where Zach bumps into the camera especially got me. Also everyone in the audience (largely kids) were booing Zach EVERY time he appeared, it was so hilarious.

Even in all of the silly fun stuff, they still manage to be educational about animals and tie it into the plot, both with and without callbacks to the series proper. It was just, nice. This is definitely something that I would’ve absolutely adored at the age of 9 when the live show originally came out. I’m 19 and I STILL find it charming.

There’s a lot in the live show that outright inspires elements in episodes of the series proper. During the activation sequences, there’s a spinner that points to the animal of which the suit is activating upon. This is shown in both S6 and S7. When the brothers collect and show their Creature Power Discs, there’s an animated slideshow of the brothers in their suits next to the animals, in a similar manner to that in the Halloween special (minus the actual disc). And of course, there’s a Creature Power Suit malfunction that connects the Kratt Brothers together in a rattlesnake body, not unlike their Cat-Dog Power Suit in the S6 finale. It’s the good shit.

One thing that confused me is where [in-universe] the Kratt Brothers were. Because they activate Praying Mantis, Rattlesnake, Hermit Crab, and Cheetah Powers, by touching those animals. Cheetahs, Mantis, and even Hermit Crabs do live in Africa, but Rattlesnakes only live in the Americas. I read they’re an invasive species in South Africa, but that still doesn’t add up. Probably thinking too much about this, am I?

I was screaming like a banshee every time the audience cheered, no regrets.

I also sang the theme song when it was playing, ALSO no regrets!

And now for the part where some of you are probably waiting for. For those who don’t know, at the end of each live show, the Kratt Brothers make announcements about episodes of Wild Kratts that are currently in production around the time of said show; The number of episodes they are making, the animals featuring in those episodes, and the Creature Power Suits that’ll appear. This was what I was arguably excited for the most, mainly because, according to animator Ryan Hopkins, and a current.org article, the ongoing 7th season of Wild Kratts is a 20-episode season that’ll conclude in 2025 bring the overall series to 178 episodes.

Anyways, at the end of the live show, Chris and Martin announced that they are currently finishing up four new episodes, including the Season 7 finale that’ll premiere on PBS Kids. The final four episodes of the season will feature the fish-eating loon, the African leopard, the tree frog, and the armadillo, with Creature Power Suits based on those respective animals. I was aware of the leopard, armadillo, and loon episode from bootlegs of previous shows, but the tree frog one surprised me. I recognized those animals from Go Diego Go, so seeing them in Wild Kratts will be really sweet. I hope it’s red-eyed.

Also, someone in the Discord server mentioned this, but the primary cause for endangerment to tree frogs is habitat loss via poaching. This could be a good way to bring Rex back after his absence from the double-episodes. Include him as a villain out to destroy the tree frogs’ habitat, only to have the Kratts and Paisley stop him, then give him actual closure, either have him remain a solo villain, or redeem himself and join Paisley. Once again, Paisley’s betrayal opens up a lot of loose ends and story potential (the two main factors being the fate of Rex, and the eventual face-off between Zach, Donita & Gourmand vs. Paisley). I’m hoping that the arc is wrapped up before the finale, in order to give time for a new ‘status quo’ with S8. Crossing my fingers!!

Also, Martin Kratt gave information in a previous interview surrounding the armadillo episode, in which Chris and Martin compete against Zach Varmitech in a bowling competition, using their Creature Power Suits. Which is already a funny premise. I anticipate this episode a lot because there’s a lot of interesting things about armadillos, the biggest and most relevant is how they’re migrating to midwestern North America due to climate change. They’re not considered an invasive species and can perfectly co-exist with the flora and fauna of their new environments, but their main threat is cars and vehicles, as many have been found dead on the road. I don’t fully expect them to dive that deep into it, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they touched upon that subject manner a bit, maybe in the live-action segments.

I know the whole “Wild Kratts fan/viewer-to-avid-online-furry-pipeline” joke is one that’s been repeated verbatim and is one of the top 5 popular online talking points when it comes to this show, both from ongoing viewers and from people who haven’t interacted with the show in years (and tbf, I don’t mind that joke much cause c’mon) - but the Creature Power Suits that the IRL brothers wear would make FANTASTIC cosplays. The day that they sell the toy Creature Power Vest and Suits in adult size is the day the earth SHAKES.

Two weeks ago, the VIP tickets for the May 28-June 1 tour were on giveaway. I obviously entered my name but didn’t get the email so I didn’t win the raffle. Sucks, but it was still fun.

CONCLUSION:

This shit was cash.

[the-s1lly-corner]

could I um.. request the whole alphabet with gangle.. take your time :))

The fluff alphabet w/ Gangle (Full!)

so sorry it took me so long to get to this! i got back to my computer just now and decided to whip up a masterlist/begin one before working on requests again! i must admit gangle is a hard character for me to write, so if some letters seem lackluster, sound repetitive, or whatever, i apologize in advance </3

ABSTRACT- if you ever abstract gangle will be absolutely beside herself, overcome with grief. i dont think she would abstract, though. she keeps to her room, her comedy mask long forgotten. broken or not, she cant bring herself to put it on. she feels bad, why didnt you reach out to her? did you feel like you were a burden? did you think she wouldnt be enough to save you? thoughts like that eat her alive

BONDING- you two draw together, sometimes even making comics with each other! i saw a few posts where gangle loves to draw, and draws in an early 2000-2010s anime art style and i absolutely love that. you guys just do that, when you have the free time

CUDDLING- neither little nor big spoon, gangle is simply. ribbon. its like cuddling ribbon, there isnt much to be said in that regard. kinda cold but thats because ribbon doesnt really carry heat. wraps her body around you

DATES- drawing dates! similar to the bonding segment, but you guys make it a point to draw things for each other. you even get to bust out some paints. yipee! ends up in you two drawing each other. so many painted hearts

EMOTION- gangle is definitely the more emotional one between the two of you, especially if shes wearing her tragedy mask. not much to be said, gangle is a cry baby and i dont mean that in a bad way

FAMILY- should the two of you ever escape the digital world and find each other, you two would definitely get married! as for children, i honestly dont see gangle as the type to have kids, but thats just a me thing

GIFT- really nailing the art stuff deep, gangle draws things for you all the time. but i can also see them being into origami! they make you paper hearts and little critters, bows and crowns, things like that! gangle loves receiving gifts as well, unsure of what she would like, though

IN HOUSE ADVENTURE- the only reason she wouldnt spend all of her time with you on an adventure is if she gets paired up with someone in a group (ex. her sticking with kinger after jax put them together), since i feel she would be too scared to speak up about it, even if shes starting to gain more of a voice thanks to your influence

JEALOUSY- gangle doesnt really. get jealous. at least not in the "traditional" way, to be more accurate, she gets sad. i mean, she knows shes a crybaby, she knows shes frail, but she wouldnt want to make you feel bad that she feels bad. please give her a lot of reassurance :(

KISS- lets play my favorite game! admins favorite hc for characters with no normal mouth/lips! she gently doinks her mask against your face; careful not to hurt you and to not accidentally knock off her mask! loves giving you cheek kisses, loves receiving forehead kisses

LOVE LANGUAGE- gangle feels loves when you reassure her that you love her just as she is, as well as when you spend time with her. gangle shows her love by making you gifts and fawning over you

MENDED- should you ever come back from being abstracted some how, all those thoughts that plagued her mind are now voiced. she cant help it, she feels so bad for dumping her grief onto you the second you're retrieved from the cellar. but she cant stop herself. poor girl is going to wrapped around you, literally..

NO- please dont be mean or rude to her she will feel very bad, even if you're just teasing her or joking. she already has to put up with everyone else (well, mostly jax)

ODDITY- when the comedy mask is on, she can light up a room, well, kinda. we dont get to see her with her comedy mask but i think shes loads more cheerful with it on, and perhaps even a smidge more confident in herself, when the mask is broken she can take a quick nose dive. its not so much thats it weird, more so that its a bit jarring at how big the change is

PDA- very shy about PDA, but i think ultimately if you want to hold her hand she wont object!

QUIET TIME- one word, drawing. but also i can see the two of you just being able to lie in bed with each other in comfortable silence

ROSES- PAPER ROSES PAPER ROSES! i may have a soft spot because i myself used to make origami flowers, but i think she would give you a bouquet of paper flowers. she would be over the moon if you gave her some, she looks like a dandelion enjoyer (like the yellow ones, but i think she would also like the white fuzzy ones)

SHH- loads of secrets, a lot of them tying into the jealousy segment. gangle probably also doesnt speak up about when someone is mean to her, opting to stay quiet in order to not cause issues or drama. please help her break that habit

TUNES- it might be because ive been listening to jack on loop, but this is the first one that comes to mind:

UPSET- when she gets upset she just wants to be comforted and held; when you're upset shes ready to do everything it takes to help you, just say the word and she'll do it... the image of gangle confronting someone for your sake has just flashed through my mind, though i think that may be the one thing she wont do... would love to see it though

VALENTINE- paper hearts. you two decide to go to the digital carnival together and experience some of the themed attractions... namely, the ferris wheel.... should i bring up everyones favorite ferris wheel trope...

WANT- she wants someone who wont think shes some. weirdo. and who thinks shes worthwhile

XOXO- little love notes, similar to my idea for ragatha! though gangle is more... eh, about it, since she fears you might be turned off by it

YEARN- id say in the middle, since she can respect your space and whatever it is you need to do, and she has to admit herself there are times where she wants to hang out with someone else or be alone; and thats perfectly okay!

ZZZ- likes wrapping her entire body around you, head to your chest. she doesnt really move when she sleeps, too entangled around you to do that. probably snores very softly

[peachypede]

How are you liking Fields of Mistria? I checked it out myself but still on the fence about it, and I would love to hear your opinion.

So far I really like it! I’m a sucker for farming sims in general, though.

To give a small review, I will say it is like a mix of stardew valley and animal crossing with an retro Legend of Zelda pixel style. You’re helping out a small town and fixing/building things that the town needs while also working on your own farm. There’s a museum to donate flora, bugs, fish, rocks, and artifacts to. I think it’s very pretty and cute. I love the character portraits a lot. If you have adhd like me and hyperfixate on goofy noises, the noises are GREAT. There’s doinks and dinks and all the characters have unique text blurbblurbblurb sounds.

As far as the characters, I do really like them. There’s little conversations that you can listen in on between the npcs if they’re standing and talking together. It makes the npcs feel like they have a world outside the player when you see them often talking to the same people like they have their own friend groups. I’ve also experienced a back and forth where I talked to Ryis and he asked for my suggestion on something, then the next day that conversation continued. I thought it was a nice touch.

As far as romance I have no idea. I’m only on three hearts with Ryis who is the one I decided to pursue. (Though March is making me want to have an enemies to lovers just to break up with him to break his heart I hate him so much akdjajsjs) So yeah I’ll update on what I think about the romances.

For early access I think it’s pretty nice. It’s similar to Stardew Valley, and that is also 15 USD so I think the price is fair. I have experienced the game crashing a couple times but not enough to be annoying. All in all, I am about to dive into playing it again right now lol so that can show you how much I like it.

[give-levi-lexapro]

I'm the most Casual™️ and Well-Adjusted™️ AOT Enjoyer

Madi ~ 28 ~ She/Her

Main blog it's mostly shitposts <3

Formerly world-famous Cowboy Bebop blog that I now neglect (Spike-and-Faye for those in the know)

I eat sleep and breath this fucking show and it's so fucking awful to be in 'up-tight corporate business career' meetings with various executives and ALL I CAN THINK ABOUT IS GOTDAMNED FUCKING AOT.

Reading and Writing AOT Fics is my Life <3

💖 Send me any fic writing ideas/requests you have!! 💖

and I'll write a one-shot of it!!! I prefer Levi x Reader but I'm always down for a writing challenge >:) (These are in addition to the longfic Levi/Reader slowburn I'm writing)

💖 Please also send any fic recommendations 💖

Particularly Levi ones! I am a glutton for Levi/Reader fics, but I'm also huge into Eruri. I'll read almost any ship though at this point, unless it's between the vets and the 104th.

Prefer canonverse but like I said I'll read just about anything* [*UNLESS it involves pregnancy lol. Tokophobic af.]

My recommendations for Levi/Reader canonverse fics!

💖 Currently writing a lengthy Levi/Reader fic that is the longest, fluffiest, slowest slow-burn ever 💖

and at this point may as well be fucking GOT with how close I am to finishing it. 🥴 I may post bits and pieces of it here and there, idk. I just really, really love writing Levi trying not to fall in love and then not being able to stop himself. Fuck man. Chefs gotdamn kiss. I just don't think I could write a really good Erwin, plus I kinda like writing him as being mildly sociopathic. We're at 150k words as of 3/16/25 and from what I have outlined for the rest of the story we're looking at at least 300-400k words when it's done. But tbh I am having SO much fun writing this shit and it's so self indulgent and LEVIIIIII IS SO MMMMM Can't decide if I'm gonna leave the smut in or not but I will be publishing it to AO3 ... Eventually...

No one asked, but (below the cut) here are some AOT hills I'll die on:

I don't ship Levihan, BUT that's just because I ship Hange only with Science and:

I firmly believe Hange is aro/ace nonbinary (they/them) angel (theyngel) Am I projecting? Probably. Who knows. Look Hange is my comfort character and I think 'What would Hange do?' 420x times a day

Moblit is a Gay Man 🏳️‍🌈 Make Moblit Gay Again 2025

Eruri is my own personal brand of heroin and I will die to this addiction happily. Controversial take: LEVI IS THE TOP

The Scouts of the 104th cadet corps are my literal children. My precious babies. I breastfed them. Raised them from wee lambs. [she says, literally revolted by the idea of having children] I don't really sexualise any of them with the glaring exception of season 4 Reiner, who I'd doink out of his suicidal ideation

YUMIHISU = ♾️!!! I literally have so many happy-ever-after AUs for these two it's not even funny

I'll ship Eremika until I die. In my heart they were in the cabin timeline for fifty years and lived happily ever after.

I'll also ship Jeanpiku until I die and you know its bi for bi 💖💜💙

Aruani neutral

If there are 1million Floch haters, I am one of them. If there are 10 Floch haters I am one of them. If there are no Floch haters, then I'm fucking dead.

Here's the most controversial one, please feel free to fight me in my DMs: I FUCKING LOVED THE ANIME ENDING AND I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY EVERYONE DISLIKES IT SO MUCH????

My only real complaint is that all the Marleyan Warriors families just happened to survive to the end. That felt so Disney to me. I think the only one that should've survived was MAYBE Annie's dad, and tbh I really don't gaf about him. Reiner's mom should've lived to see him fight as the Armored Titan, realize what a colossal piece of shit she was to make him become that, and then DIE before she could make amends. That said, I WOULD have liked to see Connie's mom transformed back into a human at the end!!!

Maybe because I watched all of AOT over the course of like 3 months, having never watched any of it before, so I never had that interim period of waiting and predicting how Isayama would end things. IDK man. I think AOT is the best piece of media ever created. It gives fucking Dostoyevsky a run for his money. Holy shit. Whew.

[talenlee]

Game Pile: The Beginner's Guide, Midjourney, and Praying to Coda

The Beginner's Guide, Midjourney, and Praying to Coda

Watch this video on YouTube

This is a rebuild and expansion of my article on The Beginner’s Guide from back in 2018, with a newly developed thesis about authenticity and access to artists.

And below is the script I worked from!

The Beginner’s Guide

The Beginner’s Guide is an interactive storytelling video game created by Davey Wreden under the studio name Everything Unlimited Ltd. The game was released for Linux, OS X, and Windows on October 1, 2015. The game is Wreden’s follow-up to the critically praised The Stanley Parable, his previous interactive storytelling title that was initially released in 2013.

The game is narrated by Wreden and takes the user through a number of incomplete and abstract game creations made by a developer named Coda. Wreden challenges the player to try to come to understand the type of person Coda is from exploring these spaces in a first-person perspective. Wreden has stated the game is open to interpretation: some have seen the game as general commentary on the nature of the relationship between game developers and players, while others have taken it as an allegory to Wreden’s own personal struggles with success resulting from The Stanley Parable. When the game sold, a reviewer – at least one, but I can’t find records of more than that – made a bit of a stir by suggesting that the fiction presented in the game is true, and that therefore, the game was built out of stolen material, and gamers buying it could hypothetically, get it refunded if they felt that were in any kind of moral quandrary.

This is, as best I understand it, the ‘story’ of The Beginner’s Guide, the entity in media, the confluence of reporting and reactions to a game. And now, in that same disjointed way of The Beginner’s Guide, I want to tell you about s1m0ne.

S1M0NE, stylised however you wanna, is a 2002 Al Pacino movie about a dude who creates a virtual actress. That’s not even how the movie goes in full, it’s way more involved than that and it includes bestiality, and it has this nasty kind of undercurrent about the fundamentally exploitable nature of women in media spaces. It’s an interesting film.

I didn’t say good.

Anyway, the thing is S1M0NE’s central premise is the virtual actress, Simone. In-movie, she doesn’t exist. To reinforce this, she isn’t credited as having an actress. The movie does do an extensive cgi sequence, showing Simone being constructed digitally, but it was… let’s say it’s very 2002, and leave it at that. Anyway, a bunch of people including representatives from the Screen Actors Guild believed it and they started a fuss about it. I think. It’s hard to find sources about it now, but I remember a fuss.

I mean it stands to reason, if you’re a union you want to oppose things that hurt the interest of your members, and that’s a perfectly valid concern to be worried about around about now with things like deep learning technology allowing us to transplant faces and details across multiple media works and the complex relationship between motion capture and voice actor and fully integrated action – like, if you weren’t aware, motion captured faces are not a 1:1 acting thing, they’re a structure for animators to work from. Gollum is not ‘Andy Serkis is amazing,’ they’re Andy Serkis and the fifty people doing all the rest of the work are amazing, and yes, Andy’s ability to disappear into the role and do the physical acting element is impressive. That’s a real conversation.

But it’s not the conversation they were having in 2002.

There were some people, in late 2002, who genuinely thought that an Al Pacino movie with Winona Ryder and a budget of $10 Million had successfully replicated the human form with complete authenticity, and that the much cheaper and easier tack of using an actor wasn’t more likely. Then they thought it’d involve, y’know, pig-doinking.

Simone was played by a Canadian actress, and the movie otherwise glanced over its very interesting questions of identity and artificiality and technology to instead tell a story about a dude who was very, very anxious about his inability to control women. The real story of the movie, then, is less about what the movie wanted to talk about and much more about the fact some people couldn’t tell where the movie was fiction and where it was fact. The boundary of the diegesis confused people, and there were some critics who were genuinely unsure of how confident they could be about dismissing the fears of people who thought the end of actors had come.

This comparison is because, yeah, it’s kinda stupid that videogame criticism was duped into believing that maybe an author stole all their work and then recorded themselves having a nervous breakdown then edited that nervous breakdown and cleaned up the audio and packaged it up and sold it on Steam without at any point considering that the art was stolen, it’s not like videogames are unique in this regard. We have a history of people not knowing the boundary between art and real and sometimes, when people play with that, especially in areas of new technology, people make mistakes. But also, like, yeah, we are now living in a time when the idea of ‘someone tried to sell entirely stolen assets on steam for $15’ isn’t even a joke or punchline, it might just be a fact of a thing that happens regularly.

As a game experience, The Beginner’s Guide is fine. I like it as a game because it needs the medium of games to make sense, complete with the idea of incomplete games and the way games are made not from a coherent single point but a sort of constantly exploding set of interconnected steps. Like, you couldn’t make this as a book because this isn’t how a book would look when you’re exploring its dismantled bits. The Beginner’s Guide, if it were a book about books and making books, would look like collected pieces of paper in different hands, with a sort of formalising hand over it all.

Funnily enough it’d look a bit like the book of Genesis.

(There’s a long reach of an academic poke)

It’s a perfectly interesting work about imposter syndrome and emotional boundaries and creative processes and a lot of other things you can see in your own inkblots. It’s an artistic piece that tells you a narrative in a really blunt way, but it uses its framing to create a blurred diegesis. It uses real world markers to confuse you about the actuality of its narrative, or it did at the time.

There’s a forking challenge here; on the one hand, I want to berate videogames, as a culture, for being so woefully ill-equipped to deal with meta art as to be convinced that the narrative presented in The Beginner’s Guide was actually real and have at least one actual journalist be so unsure of the reality of the presented narrative as to hedge their bets and mention seemingly unironically that refunds for this game were an option. On the other hand, it’s not like we’re drowning in meta-aware fiction and a cultural discourse that can treat this kind of thing seriously. Since the Stanley Parable and then Beginner’s Guide, the most recent big ‘oh everyone talks about it’ meta-game in my space has been Undertale, and I hate that.

Since the Beginner’s Guide’s original appearance, things have moved on a bit, and particularly, the word ‘parasocial’ has fallen to the common voice. People with platforms use the term to describe the behaviour of people who don’t have platforms, and the people without platforms follow their word, and now ‘parasocial’ has a sort of loose use around it, the idea that it’s pretty much just anything that annoys you about other people on the internet, especially if they’re talking about media. Then we got ‘plagiarism,’ which is, I understand, ‘mostly vibes.’

I want to compare Davey Wreden to Fred Gallagher, the author of Megatokyo. Megatokyo if you’re not familiar with it, is a webcomic that started in August 2000 and has never officially stopped updating since. It’s updated twice this year, which puts it ahead of the same time last year. What Megatokyo is about is not important here, what is is that Megatokyo was enormously succesful, incredibly popular, and has never once had an update schedule its authors were happy with.

I wrote a lot about Megatokyo last year and I still think that article is worth restructuring and presenting in some kind of long form read way. In the end my conclusion about it is that I don’t think ill of Fred Gallagher as a creative, as much as I think that he got to suffer a unique kind of problem that only capitalism can cause, where you can be too successful to handle your own success. That is, both Wreden and Gallagher made something that led to people having assumptions and expectations that don’t make any sense, because the value of what they created was associated with capital, which is to say, money, and rent, and food.

There’s this idea we’re all circling around right now on a platform that is probably by now mostly procedurally generated – not just the stuff made in the past few years by tools like Chatgpt and the midjourney thumbnails and all, but rather that the algorithm of youtube made a lot of people make media in a way that shaved the non-formulaic parts off it, until there was nothing but hash tag con tent. The stuff you like is a small egg floating on a vast and turbulent sea of piss. It’s now that people care a lot about a kind of authenticity from work which separates it from what I’m going to call Generative Media, and which other people are going to insist on calling ‘AI.’

The conversation around generative art is a real struggle sometimes because it feels like sometimes when people are talking about ‘ai art bros’ they’re dealing with a small pool of obnoxious people, and sometimes I can even tell the specific dickhead they mean. It’s Shad, it’s Shad, so often they mean Shad, and yeah sure, Shad sucks. But the conversation around generative media is so often structured in these really weird ways that seems to imply low-quality images don’t exist until generative media gets involved. That nobody cranks out bullshit, or that art is a transferrable property of a human agent, or that in the great days of the internet, nobody’s using pictures they didn’t draw to illustrate articles they wrote. In this very video I’m using gameplay footage from a game I don’t own, and the reason you’re not seeing the footage from S1m0ne to reinforce that point is because a robot would get mad at me and block the video if I did.

I’m even in defensive crouch saying this stuff here. Look: I think generative media tools have applications, particularly in zero-value situations. Nobody in the world is having their pocket picked if I copy art of Rin Matsuoka and use that for my D&D character. Similarly, someone with less image editing skill than mine using generative media to generate pictures of things they weren’t going to pay for in the first place are not hurting anyone unless you believe in a literal cosmic value of these things. In that case, you’re basically just like the generative media people who are functionally, praying to chat gpt. If you’re rapid prototyping, if you’re making a game and need temporary assets to give yourself tools to build around, if you need a powerpoint presentation for class, all of this stuff represents no lost value. This is a perfect place to put generative media. I’m sure purists will disagree, and I just do not care. But there’s my stance: Generative media is an interesting toy that should be used as such, and if it can replace your job, your job probably sucks and you should be doing something cooler and better that people value more. That’s a problem with jobs, and how we give people money to feed themselves, not the software that generates anime tiddy on demand.

Now, here is where things get tangled up.

It seems to me that generative media is being attacked right now by people I generally like and agree with on most things, because of very high concept, seemingly contradictory positions. People who dislike copyright law busting it out to attack midjourney, and people who hate Disney praying for them to fight Google. Ideas about the inherent nobility of art and stick figure illustrations being better than generative media on websites dedicated to sharing unsourced artworks of definitely not stick figures. People don’t have reasons that make a lot of sense for why these things should not be tolerated, but they are very real about their emotional hatred of them. Which, you know, given the people who defend generative media, makes sense, a lot of those people suck and are incredibly obnoxious. Particularly it seems a lot of them are the losers of the NFT wave who are trying to get in ground level as ‘prompt engineers’ as if the ecosystem they’re entering will value them at all.

One of the most sterling arguments against generative media, and one I personally like, is the idea that these tools represent potential precarity for artists who are already struggling to pay for things like, again, rent and food. Potential, in that, largely commission-based artistic survival under capitalism seems to be a bit of a dice roll as it is. My solution to this is not to shame people who weren’t going to pay for art for failing to be able to support a commission economy they weren’t partaking in in the first place, though, it’s things like massive overhauls of income inequality and universal basic income, but also I can understand how my idea is hard and yelling at strangers in hyperbolic language is really easy.

The pressure that created the Beginner’s Guide is also the pressure that meant someone talking about an artistic work of anxiety media couched it in terms of fucking refunds so people didn’t feel they’d ethically mis-stepped by buying fiction about exploitation, a thing that nobody otherwise does, and it’s the same pressure that means ‘someone is making cheap bad art with an exploitative method’ is a threat to the livelihood of a small number of people who have managed to make an extremely precarious living doing art in the first place. As if money is why artists make art, as if we aren’t all struggling in exploitative systems, as if the existence of bland corporate art pumped out in huge troves to pad resume drawers isn’t

Since these past few years, writing academically, a habit I’ve gotten into is always trying to attribute where I get ideas for. Sentences that are referring to someone else’s idea, with the little note of ‘hey, this is that person, at this date.’ It’s a thing that can create the habit of also starting sentences with ‘Wreden says this’ or ‘Gallagher’s work shows this,’ which creates in casual conversation an impression of a very specific kind of authorial access. Certainly here on Youtube, I don’t want to give you the impression because I’m pointing to their work that I can tell you what they think or feel. The idea that I can connect to these authors through a particularly big brained reading of their work is similar to how Christians think they can read god’s mind because they read the book of Daniel, and like, Fred Gallagher exists.

I don’t know what Davey Wreden was thinking about the Beginner’s Guide when he made it. Even if I asked him now, I won’t get an answer, I’ll get the answer of what he remembers of what he was thinking, which may be the same thing but can’t necessarily. I can try, and that’s a way to get at this authenticity, but it’s not a way to guarantee it.

The Beginner’s Guide is still an interesting game to me, because the conversation around it, and around ownership of work, and of unsourced material and exploiting artists hasn’t changed that much but all the people engaging in it have gotten new things to have to try and fit into their models. We are no closer to Coda.

Those opening paragraphs of this article are from from wikipedia.

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

[istherewifiinhell]

okay apropos of nothing. these idiots

[ID: Rise turtles screenshot redraw (from ep: mystic library) with 3 mutant-sonas, all looking up in apprehension in front of a help desk. They are: a red half mask wearing caimen (a small crocodilian) in dark and light green, a green eye mask wearing snapping turtle, in tealish tones, and blue masked... thing, with reptilian features and antenna, in mint green and warm beige. END]

da dipshit brothers <-collective gendering leave me alone

weep whomp bullshit be below

goes like this

ID: discord msg from: Stop. eating. THE POISON! (green): (going through screenshots) look it us

[ID: Og rise screenshot, the turtles are leo, raph and don. END]

see no mike shot cause we dont have a mike. if ur a mike type and sad abt it idk get urself adopted?

attempt one:

ID: message from: keep it down Vomitello (blue): (RED) mutant sona. NOW image attached is the green and blue characters in sort of proto designs, more 'rise style', lined and coloured, over the screenshot. the red one sketched in with only the expression and a blob of colour. text with an arrow points to it as "YOU GO HERE" END

fugging guy doesnt even have a mutant sona. ridiculous

an aside about styles:

[ID: msg from green: Yours is too cute that’s not fair (edited) blue: JUST CAUSE" i cant draw ur guy aswell rise style harrrrrd look practice sketch came out looking like 03 jhbdjhfg. myyyy bias attached sketch of the green turtles head more in line with 03 shows turtles (smaller eyes, diff head shape) END]

ID: msg from: beautiful birthday baby (red): Oh oof you can't just put me on the spot like that green: yes we can blue: im sorry u havent THOUGHT ABOUT IT. fucked up of u END]

Red: Leatherhead but not as big or smart Blue: HMMM which kind of crocodilian u wanna be. theres some fun ones Red: I'm partial to caimans and alligators Green: well chop chop pick up the pen tool Red: So caiman seems about right for a smaller alligator Blue: theyyyy are just little guyssss Red: Idek if I have clip studio installed rn Blue: u got mspaint. itll do

EIGHT HOURS PASS

[ID: msg from blue: gotta do everything around here attached art now has the caimen character drawn in, mostly the same as above. Though still in broad cartoony style, he has strong eye ridges, flat head, prominent alligator type snout with nostrils and gullet. END]

Green: WOOOOW THATS REALLY GOOD Red: Sorry I've been busy That is good tho thank you Blue: THANKIES. i do like crocodilians. is the thing. [Green] ur odd man out now. beak urself Green: That’s on you for not changing the style Blue: WELL. i was tryna draw ur guy as youuu drew him fghjsdf. gotta put him on the pottery wheel... MOLD HIM [...] Blue: anyway u. any actual animals ur guy is supposed to evoke or should i just look up bulbasaur realistic fanart

ID: Green: Lmfao is supposed to be a normal snapping Turble Blue: arrghhhaa YEAHgg photo of a snapping turtle making a funny face

an aside about... the devils green:

[ID: Green: Now I’m trying to think of how a big croc mouth smokes weed Blue: smoking big doinks in amish silly sketch of the caiman smoking a joint, eyes half lid with a big goofy smile, smoke coming out the nostrils. END]

Green: But [Red] doesn’t use joints Blue: IM NOT DRAWING A BONG. Green: I’m thinking of his big dumb [novelty branded bong] tryina get the croc mouth on it Blue: jhgbhjsdfg Green: That’s what’s making me laugh

ID: Blue: with difficulty sketch of the caiman with head lowered to a excessively long bong, arm stretch to over the distance of both his muzzle and the bong. hand drawn holding lighter to the. smoke bit. smoke comes out of the nostrils again. Green: HELL YEAHHHHH END]

Blue: 2 hours old and hes already schmoking Green: When he exhale becomes a dragon Blue: Yer Green: [Red] look at your weed smoking fursona Red: I got distracted but I hate and love it Green: was the distraction weed Red: No it was tik tok Green: so worse the worst drug

Attempt 2:

[ID: Blue: okay get creatured idiot art now has the turtle as the above art, without only minor touches. He has a wider set eyes, a more shapely and pronounced beak, the 'teeth' coming to a point, eye ridges, and more colour variation. END]

Green: YIPPEEE i forgor is yours a robot Blue: yerrr lol least amount of guy to draw and from front view so idk how to show. the CHOMPERS

(aka, now I FELT left out)

attempt 3: et volia

[ID: All characters as above, with highlights and shadows now, only drawn over the screen shot, not edited into frame. The blue masked reptile robot thing has been moved so its more visible also gaining a flatter head, eye ridges, a pointer (tho still round) beak with more teeth indicated in the comical expression. it has a scarf the same colour as its mask. END]

anyways i was like arggghh how to edit them into the scene better that seeeeeem HARDDDDDD. think about makeing them bigger and moving them and etcetc. until i realised i bet i could just get this background from the episode.... and then i was fucking around on websites. suffering... until i remembered.... i have... ALL OF SEASON 1. on my laptop. and. the thumbnail for this eps file is LITERALLY. this

[ID: the blank background of the library, with the desk in fore, little orb lights above, and the kooky purple mystic library selves and what not in back. END]

s'its about 3 mins in.

[brucebocchi]

blitzed through dagashi kashi, both the anime and manga, and it’s. fine. honestly most of the reason i did is because i’m mildly obsessed with how kotoyama draws women, as i mentioned when i watched call of the night

nothing to really report on this one. hazel was right on the money when she said it’s good mid. a little formulaic but it’s a fun little diversion. saya got done dirty though

and pretty much as i expected, i’m obsessed with hajime owari. there are few things i love in anime more than a sloppy, beady-eyed failgirl. she’s going in my collection right next to kobeni and the oinky doink manager

[wrestlinghistorywithkay]

Wrestlemania 9: Becoming A Spectacle Review

I hope everyone had an awesome Wrestlemania 41 weekend ! I watched the new documentary, ‘ Wrestlemania 9: Becoming A Spectacle ’ that WWE has released on Peacock. I did take a few notes on it and I’m going to give my review on it. I will not give away any spoilers .

Wrestlemania 9 was held on April 4,1993 at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. Previously , Vince McMahon and the WWF would help promote the Sugar Ray Leonard vs Don Lalonde boxing match that took place on November 7, 1988. Thus, in 1991 , an episode of ‘ Prime Time Wrestling ’ would be taped at Caesar’s Palace in 1991. At the time , Hulk Hogan would be biggest star in the WWF. However , Hogan and Vince McMahon would have tension due to Hogan’s departure from the WWF after WrestleMania 8 to have an acting career. Therefore , in the early 90s, a new generation of wrestlers would become popular. This would be known as the New Gen Era of the WWF. Bret ‘ The Hitman ’ Hart would be the top Babyface as Shawn Michaels would be the top Heel. New wrestlers such as Razor Ramon, The Steiner Brothers and Yokozuna would join the company in 1992. For WrestleMania 9 due to the fair treatment and approval from the staff and Caesar’s Palace , Vince McMahon would choose Las Vegas to host WrestleMania 9. At the time , Las Vegas was considered not very family friendly , therefore , McMahon’s and the WWF’s goal was to give it that reputation. The ticket prices for the event ranged from $25-$250. The theme would be a Roman Colosseum type event with the tag line , ‘ The world’s largest Toga Party’. The main event would be Yokozuna vs. Bret Hart for the WWF Championship. The budget was over $100,000. However, Hulk Hogan would make his return alongside Brutus Beefcake and Jimmy Hart. It was stated no one on the company knew Hogan would be there. He would have a black eye and say that it was from a jet ski accident. Wrestlemania 9 would also be the first time that the event would have an extravagant set and entrances . Usage of live animals would be part of the show as well. The commentary team for WrestleMania 9 would be Gorilla Monsoon, Macho Man Randy Savage , Bobby The Brain Heenan, and a debuting Jim Ross. The ring announcer would be Howard Finkel. Thus , a few concerns for the show would be weather and the live animals .

Wrestlemania 9 Card:

Tito Santana vs Papa Shango ( Dark match . Winner: Tito Santana)

Tatanka w/Sensational Sherri vs Shawn Michaels w/Luna Vachon ( Intercontinental Championship match , Winner : Tatanka via count out )

The Steiner Bros vs The Headshrinkers ( Winners : The Steiner Bros )

Doink The Clown vs Crush ( Winner : Doink The Clown )

Razor Ramon vs Bob Backlund ( Winner : Razor Ramon )

The Mega-Maniacs w/Jimmy Hart vs Money Inc ( WWF Tag Team Championship, Winners : Mega-Maniacs by DQ )

‘ The Narcissist ’ Lex Luger vs Mr. Perfect ( Winner : Lex Luger )

The Undertaker w/Paul Bearer vs Giant Gonzàlez w/Harvey Wippleman ( Winner : The Undertaker via disqualification)

Yokozuna w/Mr.Fuji vs Bret Hart ( WWF World Championship match , Winner: Yokozuna )

Hulk Hogan vs Yokozuna ( WWF World Championship Match , Winner : Hulk Hogan)

This documentary is a must watch. I learned so much about how WrestleMania evolved from the entrances to the theme of the show each year . Listening to the wrestlers who were there and participated is what made it interesting to me. I also saw why Bret Hart felt like Hulk Hogan sabotaged his career too. I also don’t believe the whole jet ski accident that allegedly caused Hogan to have a black eye. According to Bret and others , they believe Randy Savage might have gave it to him . My favorite part of the documentary was seeing the behind the scenes footage of The Undertaker’s entrance. In order to understand Wrestlemania 9, please watch the documentary! - Kay

[gamerdog1]

Akiba Maid War Review

What is a maid? In a traditional sense, a maid is a young woman who is employed to do housework. In the Victorian era, maids were often found in wealthy households, and were there to do all the chores that the homeowners didn't want to/didn't know how to do. The female equivalent to a butler, maids are/were expected to be clean, dress in a formal uniform, and be devoted to their employer.

In the late 90's/early 2000's, Japan's first 'maid café' opened, a restaurant where (almost entirely male) guests would be waited on by women dressed like traditional European maids. This concept of being cared for and served by a cutesy woman quickly took off, and now, you can't really say the word 'maid' without people thinking of Japan.

With any cultural trend comes movies, books, and of course, loads of anime. Fans of Japanese maids don't need to look far for their fix, with big names like Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid (2017), Maid Sama (2010), Shonen Maid (2016), and a dozen others at their disposal. But while a majority of these series show maids as peaceful, loving people, there's one that sets out to show the dark side.

Akiba Maid War (2022) is an original anime made by P.A. Works, and video game company Cygames. The series follows a young woman named Nagomi, who moves to Akihabara in the late 90's with dreams of working at a maid cafe. Along the way, she meets other maids, learns the ropes, and encounters great struggles in her path.

Be warned, this review contains spoilers from here on out.

What separates this show from other maid anime is it's mature content. In the world of Akiba Maid War, all maid cafes in Akihabara are part of massive million dollar corporations, that are constantly on the brink of all-out war. Cafes are run like gangs, with strong group identity, territory, and rivalry with others. They are all expected to squeeze out as much money as they can from customers, and fill their bosses' pockets, or else they'll be at the bottom of the hierarchy.

Its a unique take on the concept of a café business, or more broadly, a themed diner. With every passing year, new businesses are bound to pop up, threatening those who are already there. But in this anime, it's taken to the extreme, as those tensions are taken out with violence and threats.

From the jump, Akiba Maid War (shortened to AMW from now on) is keen to establish three things to it's audience, which form the backbone of the whole series: revenge is a cycle, femininity is currency, and the game is rigged.

The very first episode of the series starts with a murder, which cleverly becomes the inciting incident for the plot and world. The moment the show starts, so does the conflict, and so does everything else that goes on in the universe of the show. It helps viewers like me better understand the structures of the world; why the cafes are run like they are, why everyone is so quick to anger, and why money is tight.

That single action creates a domino effect, leading to groups lashing out at each other in harsher and harsher ways. The cafe that the main character joins (the 'Oinky-Doink' and themed around pigs) accidentally provokes rival cafes throughout the series, making relations between the two warring companies worse, and making them take desperate measures just to survive, over and over again. Oinky-Doink is perpetually the underdog, caught in the crossfire of gun-toting maids who take even the slightest insult as a death threat.

Enter, Nagomi, a perky young woman who believes that violence isn't the answer, and does everything in her power to show that to others. In the dismal world of Akiba Maid War, she is a shining ray of hope, one that keeps the rest of the Oinky-Doink going, even in the darkest times. In a show this dark, she grabs attention by showing love to others, and while she does act a bit childish, she eventually grows and matures by the end.

Nagomi represents the traditional and commonplace idea of a cafe maid. She's young, friendly, and wants to help others. Her attitude is used as a juxtaposition, to show the audience how messed up the other cafes have gotten. She repeatedly meets other maids who try to force her into violence, but she refuses, staying firm on her morals. If not for her struggling, and even losing sometimes, she'd be a perfect kid's cartoon character.

Beyond the near-constant violence, something the maids in this show deal with is performing femininity. Its no secret that the demographic most maid cafes target is heterosexual men, usually otakus, and in this show, its no different.

Despite their ruthlessness to each other, the cafe maids are cute, polite, and giving to their customers, their 'masters', as they call them. They all strive to be like a historical maid, who they look up to for her excellent service and kindness. In this, the maids of Akihabara are constantly trying to perform a level of traditional femininity, to draw in more customers with their personality. Their industry is built off of short skirts, frills, and serving men, and divergence from that is frowned upon.

Ranko, the deuteragonist, best shows this. She joins the Oinky-Doink at 35, which according to the other maids there, is way too old. She is stoic, with a deep voice and a harsh gaze, and even though she is passionate about being a maid, she is often teased. In the world of AMW, she doesn't fit the bill of a traditionally feminine maid, so she is cast out to Oinky-Doink, the 'failure' of their animal-themed maid organization.

Characters like Ranko are crushed under the ever-present weight of their bosses, who serve the greater conglomerate that owns their cafes. Acting the 'right' way isn't just for aesthetic: its to ensure that customers keep coming, and their business stays afloat. With so many rival cafes, Oinky-Doink struggles with money throughout the whole series, taking desperate actions just for a little bit more 'honey money' to pay their superiors.

Their money troubles are where most of the comedy in this series comes from, but also the drama. For example, in one episode, they lose their loan money to a casino-themed cafe, so the maids try to gamble it back. Its a silly premise, made even more so by each character trying (and failing) to win money. But it's also played for drama, when the maids of Oinky-Doink have to win at poker, or be sold off to a foreign company.

Oinky-Doink's constant money struggles keeps them at underdog status, and makes you want to root for them. You see the poor conditions they live in, how they cut cost on food just to make ends meet, and how the struggle to even afford a birthday cake, and you want to watch them succeed. It makes this series quite the compelling watch.

If I had one complaint about this series, it would be the outfit designs. The cafe's in AMW are all distinctly themed, whether to aliens, or animals, but the outfits the maids wear are lackluster at best. Beyond animal ears and simple color coordination, its sometimes hard to tell what animals the different cafes are, and the alien cafes hardly resemble any alien I've ever seen before, looking more like typical pop idol costumes instead. Coolest outfits could've made this show pop even more, and help viewers visually distinguish different factions.

Overall, though, Akiba Maid War is a slam-dunk of a series, that delivers some damn good action and comedy in 12 episodes. It has a tight cast of main characters who distinguish themselves well, and come together to form a group of underdogs that its easy to root for. The show has a good balance of fire fights and silly moments, and occassionally, says something touching about surviving under capitalism or the power of friendship. All this, from an original series, from some forgotten wreck called HIDIVE.

I never thought I'd be into this series, with its super girliness and cuteness, but it won me over with its awesome violence and strong characters. Well done. 9/10.

[prismanga]

YI YO YI YOOOOOO UH OHHHH

chapters 21+22

i'm gonna make an effort to be more annoying in these reviews :)

i'm seeing a trend of "luffy+very dangerous animal!"

did you smonked wed?

We will never know a love quite like Nami and a fat sack of money.

"i'm still very upset. thank you for asking"

anyway, let's wake up zoro already, we made some room for characters to do shit.

boys will be boys, you know. even when they're made of rubber.

BOODLE MENTIONED

so the townspeople come back like "why's boodle knocked out" and luffy's like "oh i knocked him out"

Ok, I'm gonna try not to be a little hater: but genuinely, why the untranslated "BAKA" with no translators note? One Piece is is genuinely popular enough there's plenty of people who would read it with 0 Japanese knowledge...

Also, boy, One Piece LOVES the do----n!! thing. I keep meaning to comment on it. Like, once a chapter we get a DO----N!!! I wonder if the anime reflects this at all.

I feel like it would have been so easy to be like "I was protecting Boodle, and my status of either being or not being a pirate is not relevant" but this is Luffy. Also at least it's getting us out of this scenario fast, I guess. Move it along, One Piece!! Move it along.

I don't really agree at all.

CHOUCHOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's becoming abundantly clear the translators aren't sharing notes.

Goodest dog. :)

moving right along....

got that taken care of, too. the stupid pirates nami stole from remind me of ed edd and eddy. is that weird? i swear it's not just because there's three of them, but to me they're ed edd and eddy now.

the townpeople wake boodle, who runs in a panic to go thank luffy and co...

so i guess we're done with boodle and chouchou for now. pity...

and the group dynamic is now established. nice. i love it.

and now... it feels we're really off to an adventure, right?!

holy shit is that jamiroquai?

i had a friend go off at me recently about how rabbits' teeth aren't visible when their mouths are shut, but people always draw them like :B. I wonder how he'd feel about this?

luffy: oh thank you for fixing my most treasured item!!! (pokes a hole back into it immediately)

DOINK DOINK DOINK.

nami, don't you understand?

this was funnier in my head.

luffy really just rawdogging this whole pirate adventure thing...

so, of course, they arrive at the isolated island and zoro's like "nice! i take a nap" and luffy and nami go explore...

okay.

but that's not even the weird part!

now we're fighting invisible shit?

nvm. we're fighting whatever this guy is.

and i'll continue in the next post because i'm at the image limit for this one. oops!

[doink]

Quick Tip: Expanding and Contracting Text in Green Screen by DoInk

Welcome to our quick tip tutorial on expanding and contracting text in Green Screen by DoInk! This tip also applies to other segments used in the App, like photos or animations! In this blog post and accompanying video tutorial, we'll explore how to dynamically animate text to create engaging visual effects. Whether you're a teacher adding flair to educational videos or a content creator enhancing your projects, mastering this technique will elevate your productions and captivate your audience.

What you will learn:

Introduction to expanding and contracting text in Green Screen by DoInk

Quick tip guide on animating text for visual impact

Tips and techniques for creating smooth and eye-catching text animations

Real-world examples showcasing the versatility of animated text

Elevating your projects with captivating typography

With Green Screen by DoInk, creating dynamic text animations is both easy and impactful. Whether you're highlighting key points, emphasizing titles, or adding visual flair, mastering this technique is essential for crafting captivating visuals that leave a lasting impression.

[puppys-rhythm-heaven]

I want your opinion on Glee Club (ds ver). I really like it but even though I always feel like I did good and didn't miss any beats I always end up with an OK??? Like i have no idea if its the game or just me

glee club has invisible barelys in ds, you're probably just getting invisible barelys (ds' grading system is super strict so there's that too). it basically does in megamix too they just added an extra indicator for proper timing. but anyways i love ds glee club v much. :3 i prefer it to megamix glee club tbh, in megamix glee club is really strict scoring-wise. feels strict timing-wise too but that might just be cuz i don't know when i get barelys in it in ds lksdfjfdkfds-

[quillusquillus]

at this point I'm tempted to predict a future schism between mobile and desktop internet users, even more so then there is now. It used to be that there were the internet-savvy people and the non-internet-savvy people, where "non-internet-savvy" meant "doesn't know how to do anything except send e-mail at best".

These days we exist in a delightful sea of many many people existing and exchanging ideas on the internet, but more and more I see that things designed for mobile use are very much designed to make the user think as little as possible and consume as much as possible, all the classic things they said about TV numbing your brain etc etc in the pre-internet days. Basic internet skills like browser extensions, privacy controls, ad blockers, and knowing when a company's "sorry, you have to do xyz to use our site!" is unnecessary bullshit designed to make you their product, are falling by the wayside, with younger people with no computer simply not having access to that knowledge unless they explicitly go diving for it

It's pretty easy at this point to foresee a possible future that cycles back around to the "mainstream uncritical TV-watching consumers" versus "weird squirrelly computer nerds" era of the turn of the millennium, when knowing how to add animated gifs to your Geocities was rare technical knowledge and having a home computer was something only those who were kind of nerdy did. So many websites are redesigning themselves now to be the most compatible for mobile use, because that's where the bulk of users are and therefore the profits, with several websites I've used in the past (RIP DoInk) going fully app-only and becoming unusable on desktop. I'm seeing my first full-production music videos produced in vertical format, looking absurd on anything other than a phone screen. YouTube now literally has two faces: Shorts for mobile users and "classic" youtube (which also throws Shorts at you because those get more views and more profit). Sites geared to app-based use overwhelmingly censor adult content more than browser-based (in my experience), thanks in part to Apple's app store approval policies and iron grip on what you can install on your own iOS device, which also excludes all the people who want to quietly get their freak on.

Perhaps over the next decade this polarization might continue into a central hub of mainstream, corporate-controlled mobile-oriented sites that provide the main sources of knowledge and entertainment (again, we've gone back to TV), and some secondary, more "underground" hubs where the nerds and the freaks and the weirdos hang out. I mean it's already like that right now but as a certified nerd freak and weirdo who has gotten pushed away from mobile-oriented spaces it's interesting to imagine it more extreme, what the internet cultural tapestry might become, further along this path

[arpmemething2]

Victorious starters

Send one for my muse’s reaction...   Feel free to change pronouns as needed.

"I like waffles."

"Are you done with your little sabotage game?"

"Is it eating tuna fish on a ferris wheel? ...Cause I did that once, and I threw up on a bird."

"You were invading my privacy!"

"This is a car. The car...of the future!"

"I thought he was homeless."

"You have a pimple under your arm."

"Please go take a shower."

"I was choking on a pretzel!"

"Hey, waddup, girl? You got a numb tongue?"

"So what do you want with us?"

"I just made 2 little girls scream and run away with their cookies."

"I'm gonna grab him and wrestle him to the ground."

"Oh, great, so she gets an A- and I get a broken eye and a black nose"

"DO NOT LICK THE BALLOONS!!!"

"That's not my only plan... Someday I'd like to plant a vegetable garden"

"Yep, I've got the talent and she's got the strong teeth. You know, she's never had one cavity."

"Is that mac and cheese?"

"I get nervous when my brother eats things that aren't food. ...Seriously, I think he ate my charm bracelet."

"I'm a tutor, and I don't like to talk about things I do at my house!"

"You were with another puppet."

"I've been telling you people she's stupid, but did anyone believe me?"

"She's not supposed to be laughing on the bunny!"

"Is there some reason your brother replaced his seat belt with a rope?"

"I've got a gun!"

"Ok, I believe you! Don't hit me!"

"I squirted hot cheese all over my friend and her current boyfriend, who was my ex-boyfriend, and then I kissed him right in front of her, which I felt really bad about. But then it was okay, 'cause she punched me right in the face."

"You pay extra for the sushi and you pay the extra money."

"Well, you're dressed in sad colors, and you were playing a sad song... oh, and you're wearing a button that says, "I'm sad, ask me why.""

"She threw a rock at me."

"I don't think you can, I'm pretty scrappy."

"Tell your puppet to quit being mean to me!"

"Fish pee, you are drinking fish pee."

"We can only blame the earth."

"Aw, you want me to tickle your tummy?"

"I'll give you this dollar to get to the point."

"That is some juicy coughing and hacking."

"Its going to be the first time she's left the house in six years."

"WILL YOU KILL THE DISCO?!!"

"Hey. Look at the new costume I made. Can you guess who I am?"

"I don't want to be doinked, I'm not ready!"

"Is it a transporter from the future that can beam you to another table, because if it is, what button do I push?"

"Shut up! I'm opening a Christmas Present!"

"I AM A POLICE OFFICER!"

"I have a MUSTACHE...and I think I like it."

"Look at my tounge It's massive!"

"I can't handle being trapped like this. We're like animals!"

"We're blondes! Wooo! We're like princesses!"

"I bet SHE'S been stung by a bee."

"How do you know so much about animal hospitals?"

"Haven't you ever wondered what it's like to be a blonde?"

"Free hugs! I want to give free hugs!"

"Aw it's okay. I read on the Internet that coffee works great for getting rid of fur bugs."

"Normal's boring."

"Oh, no, now I'll never win the prison beauty pageant!"

"I don't talk like that!"

"If you don't take your hands off me in two seconds, you won't have hands."

"BUTTERNUT! BUTTERNUT!"

"For so many years I prayed every night to be hotter. (pauses) ...THIS ISN'T WHAT I MEANT!!!"

"You don't have to be afraid to put your dreams in action!"

" Look! It's a little...ceramic guitar. I made it at Color me Pot."

"An escaped prisoner crashed through our window and was dragged out by Yerbian soldiers!"

"Who put my dog in a wedding dress?"

"Can I have my trombone back?"

"I thought caffeine makes you vibrate."

"Don't make that face."

"This Hambone battle is really scary."

"I admire how you're never afraid to say what you think."

"Oh, it's you two. I thought I smelled failure."

"You're all suspects."

"Why did you make them leave?"

"Nice piano."

"I'M FREE! I'M FREE!"

"Your mobile phone is once again mobile."

"Try not to talk."

"I use an appropriate amount of ketchup!"

"I don't wanna be gotten!"

"This is kidnapping!"

"SILENCE! I'll get you, my pretty and your little fish, too!"

"How come everyone's being all weird?"

"I spy a fly, with my little thigh!"

"Okay, I can picture me, sitting on a pony, wearing a bright purple hat. I-I was wearing the purple hat, not-not the pony. Do they even make pony hats? Anyway, I was looking fabu!"

"My hair color has nothing to do with my psychological problems!"

"Your daddy know how to shoot a bow and arrow with his foot?"

"Look, I just wanna say you guys make me sick."

"Sweating is gross, so I don't do it."

"I tell you, nothing warms my cockles more than lookin' at this magical pile of baby here!"

"You wanna see a kidnapper?! KIDNAPPER! Let go!"

"NO ONE can kill disco!"

"Oh, come on, for his ten year teaching anniversary you guys don't think he deserves a better present than a one cup coffe maker?"

"Aw, don't be sad, little one. I think your head looks great like that."

"She chewed through our leash!"

"I wanna live! There's things I've never tried! There's things I really, really, really wanna do!"

"You wanna get slapped with a sausage?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, were we all supposed to dress stupid today?"

"She can't get her boobs in the hamburger."

Just drag the body out by the dumpster and don't say nothing to nobody!

"Eat your pants!"

"I was just walking around and I saw this kite stuck in a bush and, and it's broken and someone needs to fix it!"

"What's that supposed to mean?!?!"

"No, this is my mean sister and her rude friend."

"You know, why don't I just lie on the floor so you can start kicking me?"

"Do you have any aspirin?"

"Oh my god!  Underwear that floats!"

"I have a science project due tomorrow. I have to turn in my mold bush."

"I have a mole on my bum shaped as a fish."

"NO! YOUR MOTHER GAVE BIRTH TO THE WRONG THING!!"

"Ok. I'll keep your dirty secret."

"She saw a Rabbi in a bikini eating pancakes"

" So, you just happened to have that wig here in your house?"

"Under "special skills" I put gymnastics and karate, and that made them think I could do stunts."

"What's THAT supposed to mean?!"

"Are those real cheekbones?"

"Why are you rubbing my boyfriend?"

"This one time I ate a hamburger and an hour later I started sneezing but i don't think it had anything to do with the hamburger."

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

The Floyd one gave me inspiration for this))

Leona+🥒+ platonic

You can read the Floyd + 🍄 interaction that inspired this here!

Order Up!

Leona flung himself across the room and firmly attached to the wall, his back flush with it, putting distance between you and him. Pupils dilated and teeth bared, a hiss escaped from his lips. Not the roar of a fearsome predator, but the cry of a cornered animal.

All because you had brandished a cucumber at him.

You tried your best to hold your laughter in and cautiously advanced, vegetable still trained in Leona’s direction. He growled this time, his hands balling into fists. The fur on his ears and tail bristled as he sent a glare your way.

“Here, kitty, kitty, kitty!” you coaxed, clicking your tongue—as if enticing a little house cat with a treat.

“Don’t... Don’t mess with me, herbivore!!” Venom coated every word he spat out. His eyes seethed with a mixture of apprehension and hatred.

“I’m not. This is revenge for swiping my menchi katsu sandwich last week,” you insisted, waving the cucumber around threateningly. “This’ll make you think twice about taking my food again.”

“That sandwich was mine, and you know it. I took what belonged to me fair and square.”

“You literally ripped it right out of my hands!!”

“Not my fault your reflexes suck.” A smirk flitted across his features, which served to only further fuel your craving for violence.

“You know what, Leona? You’re right. My reflexes do suck. That’s why... I’m playing dirty!!”

You gave a battle cry and lunged, wielding your cucumber as though it were a bat. You swung hard and released, letting the vegetable sail right at the beastman’s petrified face. Leona’s eyes widened, preparing for impact--but not willing to take it lying down.

He crouched in one swift, lighting-fast motion--and the cucumber met the wall, bouncing harmlessly off of it. It landed on the floor beside him with a soft doink, just slightly grazing the exposed skin of his sandaled feet. Cool, with a slight texture.

The effect was immediate.

You stared in awe as Leona jumped. He easily cleared a few feet in the air, backflipping, before landing on his nimble feet again, still hanging low to the ground. All of his fur visibly stood on end, and his entire body tensed, as though anticipating more.

Another strike, another cucumber chucked at him.

You sighed, pulling out a basketful of other vegetables, plucked fresh that morning from the Botanical Garden. You fished out a tomato and gave it a few squeezes to test its firmness. It gave--spoiled from its excessive time on the vine, but perfect for tossing.

“Let’s see how you handle this...!!” You brought your hand back, preparing to pelt your target once more.

“Hmph. Bring it on, herbivore.”

(“... What are they doing? Don’t those two realize they’re wasting food like that?”

“Nishishishi! Oh, that’s just the usual, Jack-kun. Don’t mind it too much~”)