#but there is the very large possibility that that is why it isnt bringing it up w me

[ace-up-your-sleeve]

how do you. communicate abt being ok w "spicy" stuff in a new relationship. which is long distance.

[kvothe-kingkiller]

I'm not the best writer when it comes to writing convincing essays or whatever, but I'm going to give this a go because it's something that I've thought for a long time that I've never seen anyone really acknowledge unless I bring it up first. (also I am sick and don't really want to do much editing here, just rambles, so good luck)

I think that when most (not all, but most) people get salty about 'modern art', they are not salty about the things people think they are salty about. When they say "this isn't art", theres an important bit that they're not articulating. What I think most of them mean is "this isn't art that should be in a museum." "this isn't art that should cost this much" "this isn't art that should be getting this kind of recognition". And there is a huge difference between that and just saying "this isn't art"

Firstly, all of the arguments about why modern art is in fact art straight up....don't apply. They don't address the problem, they don't answer the question. This isn't really anyone's fault per se, given that it is addressing the literal statement, it's just I think most people aren't actually thinking that literal statement.

So then what do they really mean? Like I said, I think they're trying to articulate why they're frustrated that this art is in a museum when "they could do it". So when you say "okay then, you do it" that doesn't address the core issue, which is "but why is this getting recognition for it, and I would get none" because yes, unless they are famous, they would get Zero recognition for it. Nobody would be lining up to buy their art, no one would ask to put it in a museum. Best place they can hope to have this displayed is a fridge door.

When you look at a piece of fine art, most can see the amount of effort put into it. They see how much training it took to get there, they see how much time it took to put those strokes on that canvas and they can go "yeah, that took skill, that took effort, not everyone can do that. it deserves recognition". And a lot of modern art does take skill, it's just skill that isn't easily noticeable to the average viewer, such as rothko's color fields, they do take a lot of skill and effort, you just can't see it if you don't know. But a lot of modern art that people complain about isn't something that has skill that's not recognized, it just requires very little technical skill at all (not a condemnation, btw).

When you're talking about something 'anyone can do' that piece's value is often not a recognition of skill, or even of the message, it's a recognition of a name. It's similar to having a gucci bag because it's a gucci bag, not because you care remotely about the bag. Yes, art isn't displayed because of how much effort went into it, but it's a huge industry that many many people are making money through from sheer name recognition alone.

Like that one painting of that one artist's (I forget which artist and my cursory google isnt finding it, but also its just an example) where it got replicated and sold to a bunch of people for a large amount of money so they could all have something that had a small chance of being a genuine painting by the artist, that's an excellent example of the fact that a lot of the gallery-level art world is Entirely about the name, not about the piece itself. If someone just made that painting but didn't say it could be from the artist, then who cares?

If you go to ringo starr's art website (https://www.ringostarrart.com/) then you can see that some of his work, especially his older work, is of that category of stuff that many people would say "I could do that" to. For instance, these two? 1,400 and 6,000 pounds respectively for a PRINT of these from his website

....okay this one I kinda enjoy.

but still. 2,000 pounds for a print.

All of this is possible because he's ringo fucking starr, he can sell his paintings for whatever he wants. If I tried to sell those for that much, I'd be laughed out of the room. All of it is just clout, it's just how big your name is and how much you can use that as leverage.

This is not to say that other forms of art don't also have this issue, they do, especially with people devaluing creative works so much today. But you could probably get a few commissions if you sell realistic art or do commissions of people's characters, while you Cannot get any money trying to sell stuff like ringos art unless you already have an audience who will buy it.

This does somewhat lead into a discussion of how art curators pick which artists are 'good' somewhat arbitrarily, but that's a whole other post.

Doing art for 'yourself' vs for other people or money is also a whole other post, one which I've actually seen quite a lot on here. But suffice to say if your response to all of this is 'just make art for yourself! Why do you need recognition?' then maybe go find some of those posts. It's not bad to want recognition, and it's not bad to question why that guy is getting much more recognition for the exact same thing you're doing just because he has a bunch of rich friends who are able to host fancy parties and go 'hmm. yes this is good art.' (not that all modern artists had rich friends, but they did almost all get Extremely lucky in some shape or another that led to them now being widely accepted as good artists).

You cannot make a living off modern art unless you're well known, and if you happen to be well known already, you could likely make a living off modern art without having any experience, and that's what a lot of people hate about modern art, even if they don't articulate it. While some would, most wouldn't say "my five year old could do that" to someone's personal piece that they made themselves and hung up in their home, or that their friend made and gave to them. They say that about the pieces bought for thousands of dollars or millions of dollars.

And I don't want people to think that I do hate modern art, I don't (though this is tumblr, so I'm pissing on the poor just by writing this). I don't hate any of the famous modern artists, I don't think modern art isn't art. I do hate the industry that says their art is suddenly worth something just because some rich fuckers somewhere decided they should be, and anything I tried to do in a similar vein, original or not, would be better suited to sit in a coffee shop and continuously marked down and never sold.

So next time you say "so why don't you make it", maybe ask yourself if you would buy it.

[swordlike]

Why I think Muu has NPD !

with more information from trial 3 this might change, but i have npd and for now i think this bug has it too. BTW if your weird abt people with personality disorders in the notes im stealing shit from your house ! take everything with a grain of salt, im not a therapist and disorders present differently for different people, this is just for fun. so lets get into it, all the translations are from the milgram wiki <3

belief in her own superiority, you can especially see this in one of the repeat lines in its not my fault. the imagery of the mv is also very tied to the idea of this, we know the mvs are biased, meaning this is how muu sees it herself, her being queen is only natural. 

next is muu’s sureness of her own innocence, this is of course, readily apparent. this ties into several npd traits, but mainly lack of empathy and self importance. she defends herself at every opportunity, in both audio dramas and her songs. 

while i’d consider these definitely major factors, i’m more interested in these lines from its not my fault,

her fear of being found guilty, of being caught out or wrong, is very common in those with npd, the way shes trying to set up es as special and understanding to manipulate them into not hating her out of this fear is really telling (you can also see her do this in both her audio dramas). the way she repeatedly asserts her innocence and status is also a common self soothing tactic to maintain ones ego, if she was “wrong” she would have to acknowledge that she isnt as perfect as she thinks, and this fear keeps her from even acknowledging the possibility. which is to say, i think muu is slipping into the queen bee role and imagery in the mv out of the fear she is wrong, as how npd functions is the grandiose self is a coping mechanism for poor self esteem and deep rooted shame.

manipulative tendencies, muu spends a lot of her interogations talking around es to get them to see muu as innocent, in her second interrogation with es its especially clear that shes trying to talk circles around them to get them to believe in her innocence. Also this.

she also is in the habit of using others. in the not my fault amv you can very clearly see the other girls bringing muu "honey", and one can’t so she immediately gets rid of her, for people with npd this is a common maladaptive defense mechanism, if someone stops providing you with praise or status theyll cut them out to protect themselves and thusly their ego.

people with npd, are unable to regulate their self esteem on their own and as such rely on outside praise or personal success to maintain their egos, know as "supply", which is one way you can interpret the honey in this reading.

belief others are jealous of her or out to hurt her. at multiple points across milgram muu accuses others of being jealous of her and thus out to get her, which is a common symptom of npd.

due to their belief in their own superiority and suspecting others of jealousy, people with npd are prone to hierarchical thinking and can often use putting others down as a way of maintaining their position, which would make sense since we know muu was a bully.

lack of empathy, people with npd struggle with affective empathy in particular (feeling stressed or anxious in response to others negative emotions), note muu’s lack of distress over others being hurt or upset.

avoidance of situations she doesn't like, while this may seem vague, this ties into multiple symptoms, having a large sense of self importance often can mean viewing certain tasks as bellow you or being extra adverse to things you don’t want to do regardless of consequences. she often is shown shoving her work off on other people, theres SO many examples of this one but heres just a few.

black and white thinking, not much to say about this one, this set of dialogue is also her trying to talk es into thinking she's innocent.

theres also her situation with haruka which ties into several things ive mentioned, lack of empathy, using others, etc. It's worth noting she says it makes her feel that they're friends, this probably reaffirms her own importance to her

dont really know where to put this one but. its very funny how she dodges the question.

as for how i think this could affect trial three, i think muu will either completely crash and burn and despise herself (narc crash moment) or she'll lean even harder on her grandioseness to cope.

anyways theres more i could say but this post was already getting long, maybe ill add more in an rb sometime, but in conclusion:

[cherryfennec]

In the bad end au who would've the strongest to the weakest in scale of power out of the trio

So the answer could depend on the circumstances we take into account. For the purpose of this ask let's base it off the worst thing they could possibly do:

Dahlia (The Queen) is the weakest of the trio. I'm not saying she isn't powerful, the forgotten type of magic that she uses is rather formidable in the wrong hands...like hers. It can be a scary experience to fall. victim to her schemes and with a mind like hers even the weakest tool can become deadly. Unfortunately in this scenario she looses to the other two.

Now these two other guys could be swapped around easily, and each has its own reason why.

Aster (Star Bowser) is already very strong physically, and now with the Star Power, one of the most feared things in the land, he becomes a scary powerhouse. Let him charge it up for too long and you can say bye bye. But that's the catch, charging requires time. Unfortunately for Bowser it takes quite long to get a large amount, and at some point the influx even slows down to his misery. Just getting a decent amount can be sometimes tricky. It's also worth remembering that he isn't the smartest and falls easily victim to his temper...

Now we have Lux (Super Dimentio/Chaos Luigi). The magic Dimentio brings onto the table is matched by Dahlia, and power wise theres a part of the spectrum where he'd probably loose to Aster in terms of power. But what if we took into account the Chaos Heart? Luigi knows nothing about the artifact except the stuff Dimentio tells him, and Dimentio well. He isn't 100% certain either. It makes him more powerful yes, his attacks become stronger yes, but what about stuff purely from that dark magic? If the rumour of being to create worlds with it from scratch is true just what does that entail? Just what is out of range and what isnt? And how to control it? In this case he'd be considered the most powerful, since if we lined everything up in the best way possible they could indeed summon The Void. In other circumstances? Ehhhhh.....

I hope this makes sense!

[deadjam6]

MY UNDENIBLE PROOF CHIP AND DALE ARE LOVERS AND NOT BROTHERS

its such a LARGE misconception that chip and dale are canonically brothers, and it pisses me off, cuz some of the things i see them doing are just....NOT BROTHERLY AT ALL!! and if they are brothers.....it's very Incesty and that's ..... fucked up

the first thing id like to mention is they ahve never canonically every been referred to be brothers, i have watched. EVERY. SINGLE. POSSIBLE thing chip n dale thing tha has touched the planet earth (ask my friends!)

in the movie dale stated chip was LIKE a brother he had never had, but from personal experince i can say with confidence sometimes people say this because they dont wanna outright say they like the perosn! (happened with me and my wicked hot girlfriend when we first met!)

but now onto my photographical proof (i wanted to include vdieos but tumblr isnt letting em for some reason :raise eyebrow:)

we see them meet in the movie for the first time IN THE MOVIE ?!!?!? 

Now if you are saying “well techinally :nerd: thats meta, so does it really count?” dont worry friend, i have more

THIS ENTIRE EPSIDOE ?!!??! IS AN ALLIGORY FOR MARRIAGE 

there are SO MANY sreenshots i could get form this single episode (and the entire series) that depict them being lovers. I literally don't know how anyone can watch this episode and confidently say they are brothers afterwards

everyone in this epsiode had RELATIONSHIP PROBLEMS ! then they see chip and dale being happy and think they are so cute, THEN CHIP AND DALE BREAK UP AND EVERYONE IS SO SAD AND JAW DROPPED!

and this???? hello??? do i even need to explian this?????????

are you guys doing this with your siblings???????????????? is this something siblings do????????????????

there are TONS! of shots in this series of them with a HEART BACKDROP BEHIND THEM like............................?

if THAT is some how not enough proof ?? i have more !

the MERCH OF THEM??

listen call the corprate mouse homophobic all you want but are you kidding me???? the fuck is this

THIS.

Do I even even need to elaborate

other mickey mouse and friends couples

MOST of mickeys friends are part of same animal couples, including himself, disney did this alot with their older characters, mickey and minnie, donald and daisy etc, so why would chip and dale be any different?! lol!?

now some of you may be saying, but clarice? lol? they were so into her?

LOOK AT HER NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THAT is a lesbian if id ever seen one!

not only that but she was totally hooking them up in her original debut? lol? moving out of the way to make them kiss instead? lol? :rainbowflag::vineboom:

SOMETHING. id like to mention, because i feel like people will bring it up!

now i know orginally the creator had stated they were “simply little brothers” in his autobiography, which can link up again to what dale had said in the movie that chip was “like a brother” to him (not blood related), but really......look at everything dinsey as done with these guys, if they were blood related that is just, so messed up?? morally??? yknow? if that was ever the case then park life as most certiantly retconed that (even though it was NEVER mentioned to begin with in anything before park life) 

anwyays! that is all i have. happy 80th birthday chip n dale! You are my favorite gay Disney couple!

[meatsex]

No pressure nor ill will, but as someone who has had past bad experiences with vinesauce fanartists, I'd like to know if you could possibly talk about your intent when you draw vinesauce art in such niche themes, large quantities, as well as basically drawing gore of real people. I like your art in general, but with some VS art, I don't know how to feel about it, due to the lack of insight to the author's intent, so that is all I'd like to have clarified, if possible.

im going to reply to this because you asked nicely, otherwise i wouldnt and ill say why at the end

i dont know what exactly falls in "niche theme", but these are things you will find not just in my VS art but in any kind of art i do: crossovers (vocaloid songs), parodies (shared line with crossovers), violent acts put on a comedic spotlight or in the reverse case, situations that are violent in nature but presented as comedic put through a more realistically violent light (literally see gen loss vinny anvil scene)

also see: my t/rent reznor art, my t/im and e/ric art

saying "basically drawing gore of real people" is strange, while i wont deny the definiton of gore applies to something as "blood covered person", its usually a term thats always been reserved and used for way more lethal things, like dismembering and maiming. with subjects and media that doesnt have an "established limit of how much you can put someone in a violent situation", ill top it to just drawing things like what i first mentioned, how does this judgement apply to what i draw then? let's use vlinny which seems like a good example with lots of fandom history too:

(taken from his vinesauce wiki page) "his clone flesh will dissolve", while this isnt a vinesauce licensed trademarked (tm) description of a character, but rather a fanmade one, it still applies to what makes his basis, so, therefore: drawing vlinny with melting skin is okay because this is literally something that has been established by the person who came up with it, HOWEVER, anything farther or more violent than that while could still be true to the nature of the character, is something id preferably not to draw because it would cross the boundary of what has been visibly established by the source. this would be the same as me drawing joel ripping apart a demon from doom

BUT WAIT, what about the "hereditary" drawings? ill hand you the benefit of doubt and worry for these ones, because while they are a parody of one of the main characters (dont look this up if you dont want spoilers), i cant just draw a streamer dismembered and say "well duh its okay cuz its a parody", thats not how anyone's ideals should work, but i bring up the point again of limiting myself to what i consider is fair game established by either the source or general consensus, and i have yet to see people telling me OR others leaving commentary questioning stuff like blood

the type of art i make of VS is not a specific type of art id make only of this, but rather a type of style i already do by default and just apply to the topic im fixated on at the moment, if its something that is, like i already said, considered okay to do

its obviously a very blurred line what is the "limit" and how much you can stretch it, since none of the streamers are actors in a movie full of action, or characters in a videogame put in a fantasy setting, so unless its a "character" (vlinny, genloss vinny, joel as doom) my limit will always be "just cover the guy in ketchup" because this is, to me, the okay-est limit that doesnt cross the line to "now this is just getting borderline weird", im sure for someone else the line could be the guy having a small cut in their hand, and to someone else the line could be the guy being amputated completely (if this is your line get away from me, seriously)

now, at the end, why wouldnt i have replied to this if it wasnt asked nicely? while i dont think its a bad thing to ask (i will always be very open to discussion of my art) and i dont know how long you have been here and i dont expect you to tell me, i think if you have been around long enough or did a bit of research on my socials, you can see i hate a specific type of fan of media, especially media which involves irl people, and while it isnt a catch-all to say "hey im not a weirdo!", i think it helps make clear and establish that i dont have weirdo intentions at the very least. i am sorry that you have had bad experiences with fanartists of the community in the past, i cannot say because i hadnt been there (as a fanartist at least), so i cant blame you for being wary of what you might see drawn by me, and i am glad that despite these bad experiences you could have a grounded way to ask me instead of just accusing me, so that i really appreciate. id like to think i have made my "author's intent" clear with this reply, i have tried to be as descriptive yet clear as possible, but with some people you might not be able to ever clear your mind on what their intent is, and this is just my opinion but you wont be able to go knocking on every person's door asking if they are normal or not, and id never force someone to look at my art, if they dont like it or have stopped liking it, it is absolutely okay and its their right to curate their own online experience however they like, as i have curated mine

i also feel like this is something other people might have going around in their minds, but wont ask or dont want to ask, for whatever reason, and i dont think its something id suddenly begin randomly typing about one day. especially now that id like to be less talkative in social media for personal reasons

again, i hope this is clear enough, whether you keep looking at my art or not, i again appreciate that you enjoy or enjoyed it and that you could ask this in a grounded way

(edit) something i forgot to clarify, regarding why i draw such large quantities of art: i draw very fast so i can draw a lot, and VS is my current fixation, that's about it. a lot of the art you see posted regarding that is usually warmups prior to paid or personal work

[izanori]

ok fine i give up. i didnt want to do this, but i got hungry (<- weak-willed) (pic is unrelated, but its eye-catching and i like to look at it. her face brings me such peace)

its juneteenth! and to celebrate this day, wont you consider giving me 🙋🏾‍♂️ money? for many reasons that are just too much to explain, im super broke and food insecure… and i have other worries, but lets focus on food for now!

my cashapp is $chris8291, and this is my ko-fi (which is basically my paypal. i dont want to link directly to my paypal😅). using my ko-fi, you could possibly get a drawing out of this - or if you know of a short text or comic in japanese you want translated (just translated, not edited to have english text which is a different thing) you can dm me about it and ill see if i can help you quickly as well.

and under the cut i’ll explain what reparations are for, since i know many have people no clue

suppp

i know it may seem greedy. why ask for money 150+ years after the fact? but heres the deal: thats not even a long time. thats like, what, 3-4 lifetimes ago? and generational wealth is a thing. parents and grandparents buy things or pay for things for their children, and that makes their life easier and makes it easier for them to stack their paper.

now, after the civil war, the enslaved people were set free alright…. with no help, no money, no land, no nothing. reconstruction failed, and hundreds of thousands of people were left to start their lives with literally nothing to their name.

but heres the kicker! those people generated soooo much wealth for their masters, and this country. america was built on slavery! we were able to export so many goods due to slave labor, and thats why many european countries were on the south’s side during the war (but didnt very openly support the south because they were so cringe i think - but thats besides the point)

so. african-americans made this country wealthy. and yet, we kept NONE of that wealth. that money went to rich (largely white) landowners. since we had to start at the bottom even if the work we put in makes it so that never should have been the case, thats why people argue in favor of reparations. and thats why, as a very very small part of being an ally, especially if you are a white american who isnt struggling, you should give me $3. the end

(also p.s. this has been done before lol)

[kumezyzo]

we’ve had dad!george and dad!nap,, could we get some dad!dream?

i had such a shitty day so this is my therapy.

anyway, enjoy. or dont :) m.list

bf!dream who thinks youre joking when you bring up the idea that you're pregnant. but when he realizes your not, he freezes.

"im pregnant," you say as you step into his office, standing there awkwardly. your boyfriend laughs at you, going back to scrolling on his phone. when you stay silent, he looks up at you shaking in the doorway. he studies you for a second, feeling his heart drop.

"you're joking, right?" he asked, setting his phone down. you shook your head and pleadingly looked at him. he stood up and walked over to you, tilting your chin up to look at you better.

you tried to to inhale deeply but it became shaky the longer you stood there. your boyfriend brought you in for a hug, trying to take in the news for himself.

bf!dream who does everything in his power to hide your pregnancy from the public until your ready or far enough in your pregnancy.

"you sure you want me to post it?" he asked you, laying his head on your chest and rubbing your bump. in his other hand, his phone that displayed the final step of an instagram post. the first picture was of your most recent ultrasound and the other ones of you through your pregnancy.

"yeah," you shrugged and rested your head on the fluffy hair on his head. "might as well, im almost due. its getting harder for me to hide this. just post it, baby."

bf!dream who feels it finally sink in when you find out youre having a girl. he starts thinking about how she'll be a mix of both of you and hopes that she looks more like you.

bf!dream who thinks its so cute and funny when you waddle around the house, trying to navigate the world with a child growing inside of you.

bf!dream who, unprovoked, kisses your belly and is always touching it. he likes to love on you and the baby as much as he can. he will cuddle you and make sure your as comfortable as you can be.

bf!dream who will most likely run out to get you what you're craving. if its midnight and you're restless, he'll easily get you to go back to sleep and convince you to wait until morning--when he can actually get you what you need.

bf!dream who is as calm as he can be when you go into labour. he tries to calm you down as much as possible by taking on most of the paperwork and getting everything else situated.

bf!dream who cries so much when he gets to hold your little girl for the first time. in that moment he vows to her, even if its in his mind, that he will do everything in his power to give her the best life possible.

bf!dream who loves doing skin-to-skin contact with her as much as he can in the first few weeks. and you like watching it.

bf!dream who will fall asleep with your baby in his arms in an attempt to rock her to sleep. you end up with enough pictures and videos to last a lifetime.

bf!dream who refuses to let you get up in the middle of the night to attend to your crying newborn unless he is too tired to even move.

im kinda angry rn but im not quite sure why.... maybe its cause i got a new phone and the entirety of my camera roll is way too large to transfer... or maybe its cause i interacted with some shitty people today. i also had to delete 30,000 messages of just one persons contact alone in order to transfer other stuff and it was my ex-best friend and it made me really sad to see the messages of him telling me he loved me. and i saw him again today.... so that might be it...

regardless, im not in the best mood so this isnt very long or detailed. yea, i hope you guys enjoyed or whatever. -nony

[mr-ribbit]

Really hit a sore spot calling your long posts long I guess 🤷🏻‍♀️. Txttletale is the bigot. She's admitted to saying racist stuff before, there's screenshots. That's partially why I don't like the bitch, she's an asshole, I don't care if she's trans. Then when someone says anything remotely negative about her it's all "SHE'S TRANS! DON'T SAY A SINGLE BAD THING ABOUT HER BECAUSE SHE'S TRANS!" and then block your ears when it's pointed out how irrelevant that is for several reasons. So I guess I'm now forced to assume everyone still following/interacting with her after this turn a blind eye to racism when it's against certains groups or when it's coming from a popular person they like. No matter how lightly or harshly someone criticizes her (or someone in her circle), the fucking mob comes out screeching about transmisogyny. Get a new shield.

That's all I can be bothered to say. I'm tired. Maybe you don't routinely die on the sword for her whenever someone brings up her shittiness, but a lot of people do.

again, it's not a sore spot just because I responded to the thing you said. like yeah my posts tend to be long, maybe because I had a lot to say maybe because I ramble. im not mad about it, I just thought it was worth pointing out, particularly when you were telling me to fuck off and mocking me for "caring about people's feelings". did you want me to just like... ignore your ask? do you imagine everything I'm saying is being screamed through tears or something? for context on the following post: I am chilling typing it on my phone and making a stir fry.

you say you don't care that she's trans, but it's literally half of your message. you might not care that she's trans but it's being brought up because of how it feels to be on the receiving end of this type of pattern when transmisogyny is so prevalent and uses the same tactics. it's not being used as a shield, it's being brought up because it is something she is experiencing. if you personally don't think your vitriol towards her (and me, another person you do not know but feel comfortable being kind of mean to) is related to gender, then great. but it's still mean and other people who *do* behave this way because they know she's trans have been saying the same things. so it is possible that her, my, or others' responses are not actually about your extremely specific grievances, but the large amount of grievances being received from multiple places

the reason she's admitted to saying racist stuff before is because she has acknowledged that it was racist and apologized for it, admitted she disagrees with the sentiment now, and illustrated why her post was wrong so that others who had agreed with it would understand. im not gonna speak much on this part because it's not my place to decide what racist stuff is ok to forgive and what isnt and I don't think anyone wants to hear that for me, but I do think that if you think she is a bigot, you should block her account and ignore her posts. i don't really see why you would only bring it up here to shame me, an unrelated person, for defending someone against bullying. it doesn't seem very respectful to the actual people hurt by that post.

also again I'd like to point out that parts of your message here intentionally paint me, her, and more importantly all other people that care about transmisogyny as "a screeching mob". this is the kind of stuff that makes it look like you do actually disrespect trans women / allies. it's the same thing a lot of bigots do when they want to depict someone as irrational, crazy, or otherwise not worth hearing out. even if you disagree with me, her, or others on this, I'd much prefer if you just talked about it rather than tell me I'm screeching and rambling and shielding and doing all of these things that make me out to be less of a person than you. this isn't an accusation, I'm just trying to explain how you're coming off so you can understand why people might still think you're being mean to trans women.

again going back to my post, my main point is the same as yours here: maybe some people here *aren't* attacking certain people just because they're trans. but they're still being really mean and targeting single individuals in a way that is upsetting to me, and feels unfair and immature. and what trans women ARE trying to say is that, intentional or not, it sucks how often it happens to them as a group, and they'd like to be given a chance to explain how that feels more often without being told they're whining, screeching, aggressive "bitches"

also like i am not "dying on a sword" for her, she is my friend who I know is not a horrible person, and so i thought it might be okay to speak up on the matter because I think people are being mean to my friend. sometimes people can talk about things without it being a sword death

[alovelyburn]

Rambles about the Conviction Art Part 5

Dreams and Hawks and Hawks and Dreams.

Rambles about the Conviction Art Part 5

1. So there’s something I’ve always found pretty interesting about the setup of NeoGriffith and Falconia and just the world as a whole and the turn it’s been taking, and that is how... performative it is. Like, Griffith turns up and brings all these monsters into the world and then saves people from those same monsters, and he does so by physically battling them even though he probably could just stomp them from the sky. Instead he goes through this whole show of bringing humans and apostles together and fighting them side by side with a sword instead of by crushing them with his telekinesis and...

Basically, like this isn’t something I’ll necessarily get heavily into NOW, but overall Berserk’s world has the feeling of a stage play - a story that is being spun by the Idea of Evil or by the Godhand - Skull knight even refers to Griffith as the author of the world’s story basically.

And the reason I bring this up now is because while it’s true that Griffith is the Messiah/Chosen/Desired, it’s also true that the suffering that came down on the world is largely orchestrated by the Godhand - on the last page of Revelations Part 1, you see Conrad enabling the plague, you know? Plus the conflict between Grififth and Ganishka is VERY performative and highly calculated.

But the morality of that stage play remains sort of ambiguous, like what is the end goal? What place is NeoGriffith trying to bring the world to, and for what purpose? And if they get there and it’s a good thing, does that make everything that’s been done to the world to achieve that thing justified?

No?

Even though it’s what humanity wanted? Because remember the only reason the Idea of Evil exists is because humanity created it. The only reason Griffith created Fantasia was that it was the world humanity desired. So now what?

These things are basically the reason I love Berserk. That’s why people simplifying the morality in Berserk gives me hives.

Kind of a tangent but it leads to this: these three chapters are like staging - its the Godhand (and Griffith particularly) moving pieces into the place they need to be in order to create the situation necessary for him to come into the world again. And that’s very interesting to me, particularly when we get to the end.

Also that one guy kinda looks like a werewolf.

2. Fascinating that the King is still chasing Griffith down after all this time - and doing it at the cost of Midland’s military strength. Yikes.

3. You know, the first time I read Berserk, when I was too busy gawking at everything to fully absorb what was going on (and also I didn’t know what was coming so I couldn’t pick up the patterns and foreshadowing) I did kind of wonder whether this Hawk of Light thing was known to the population as a whole. From the way Laban looks at the Holy See’s symbol when thinking about the Hawk I can only assume it is - that he realizes that they’ve received a revelation specifically that their messiah is coming. And then that made me wonder, because he also says that to all of Midland there is only one person a hawk can possibly symbolize.... makes me wonder whether there were people suggestion that Griffith was the prophesied savior during his days as a human war hero.

Also, I think I’m gonna check off those predictions as I pass them. So they’re listed below with the ones that already happened noted:

-The reaper references the death of the king as seen above. -kingdom of villages dying from plague is, well that’s this chapter -an army driving mammoth beasts: Ganishka and the Kushan army -a city devastated by earthquake with towns swallowed by raging torrents - TBA -corpses of both family and neighbor-  TBA -a sun obscured by black smoke - TBA although, I mean, thats the reincarnation isnt it rofl -mobs of starving vagrant folk - TBA

4. With scenes like this, I always think of it as partially evidence that the godhand in question creates those things and part that they are inherently present in those things due to their representative nature. Did Conrad specifically send a plague or is his spirit present because he is plague and plague is present?

....I kind of used to think it was the latter but now I think it was the former. It’s staging, man. Or rather, I think it can be both or either one, and in this specific case it does seem to be the Godhand setting up the world to desire salvation.

5. Foreshadowing for the way Griffith just straight up took over when they got back together?  I mean, I suppose he’s the appointed regent.

Its just so interesting to me how Foss becomes a Griffith loyalist.

And this is what I mean about staging right, like why is the King ill now? Isn’t it because his death is a necessary component in what’s to come? Which is to say he dies to make room for Griffith. Basically. Which I have no qualms about, he was an asshole anyway besides if he hadnt had Griffith tortured for a year, this wouldn’t be happening.

Speaking of the King, though...

6. This dream sequence of the King as he’s dying is great - it’s one of my favorite scenes. I’m not trying to be a King sympathizer, I mean see above, but that said...

Hes trapped.  He's in a throne room but the throne is raised above everything and the only people around him are soldiers. Those soldiers surround him and bar his way  - essentially they are his jailers and meanwhile he’s perpetually on the edge of freezing to death. When Charlotte appears he tries to go to her but they block him with their polearms and wont let him off the platform.

So... thats how he feels. And now that hes been separated from Charlotte there's no escape from it except inward, into madness.

@zombiesgohome​ notes that this also parallels what he had done to Griffith - he trapped Griffith in a literal prison to suffer and rot, and now he has become trapped inside his figurative prison where he, too, is suffering and rotting.

Which also goes back to the parallel roles Charlotte and Guts play in the King and Griffith’s lives respectively. Because Griffith held onto Guts’ memory in order to maintain his sanity, but the King is unable to do that - he cant reach her, and so he falls apart.

It is, I think, a suitable wrap for that previously raised comparison between Griffith’s feelings for Guts and the King’s for Charlotte. NOT MORALLY, I said this at the time but I’m not implying any kind of moral equivalency between the King’s incestuous obsession and Griffith’s love for a man. Rather I’m comparing the function of those relationships in each one’s life - the way the King and Griffith depended on them for emotional stability, the way they desired without being able to fully face that desire, the catastrophic reaction when they are “rejected,” although in Griffith’s case it wasn’t even a real rejection but hell he didn’t know that.

Anyway, while I’m here. let me just say it’s hilarious to me that even after ascending to become some kind of demonic archangel demigod thing, Griffith’s still enough of a petty bitch to specifically come bother the King and smirk as he takes Charlotte away. ITS JUST FUNNY OKAY.

That said, it’s also right in line with the way he treats Guts post-eclipse. Because the people who hurt him the most get the “fuck you, I’m going to do exactly what would hurt YOU and you can’t do anything about it” treatment.

An army driving mammoth beasts: CHECK!

Not a huge amount of Deep Shit happening in Zodd’s dream, but I like how when the “camera” focuses on the Hawk’s beak, the beak itself is drawn to resemble Griffith’s helmet... or Femto’s head.

Griffith wins Zodd the same way he won Guts - by thrashing his ass in a duel. A while later, Sonia refers to Guts as Zodd’s counterpart and I’ve read some theories about what that could mean but for me its always been fairly clear: Zodd is basically Griffith’s Guts expy. He’s won the same way, and he serves more or less the same purpose. This kind of goes back to the theory that every major member of the new Band of the Hawk somehow echoes/reflects a member of the old Band of the Hawk. That I think is a little more of a stretch - not saying it’s definitely true, but it could be reading too much into things. But Zodd and Guts, I think, is a much more straightforward and clearcut situation.

Also the way Griffith’s coming is foreshadowed in Zodd’s chapters with black birds - Hawks of Darkness so to speak, is pretty boss. But remember that line - “when the sky falls at the holy ground where blind sheep gather and erect a pillar of fire...“ the line Griffith leaves with Zodd.

And then Guts has a dream too.

Its funny because it seems like the only three people in Midland who didnt just get the normal generic revelation dream are Zodd, Guts and the King, right? And then Griffith specifically visits Zodd and the King. Then Guts gets a dream too, which is from the baby but follows the same pattern as the other dreams given by Griffith. And I bring this up because after Guts wakes up and the baby is there...

The baby straight up quotes Griffith word for word - the same lines Griffith left with Zodd. 

Each dream urges the recipient to do something that serves Griffith’s purpose - the King just fucking dies. Zodd submits himself to Griffith. And Guts.... runs off to rescue Casca, right? But it’s Guts and Casca’s presence in the same place that makes the pseudoeclipse, and thus Griffith’s rebirth, possible.

I don’t like to give direct predictions or theories but I will say that’s very interesting information.

So this is kind of short because I wrote a whole thing about the Guts and Godo chapters, but it got so long and dense that I decided to separate them out like I did with the Griffith mindscape post. SO UH. Idk stay tuned. Bai.

[wc-confessions]

hi its the original cheetz animator anon again and SO SORRY for kicking off drama then dipping for days. however, this is gonna get LONG.

cheetz' entire work model screams offloading shit onto other people so they can produce as much as possible in the shortest amount of time.

Weekend maps (baby's first crunch culture), 200-part maps with 3 collabers on each one (literally 0 problem with collaboration and its very cool [even if its solely because of the insane crunch], but I'll get to why Im bringing it up), and TRAILERS for their maps to generate as much hype as possible for them. What these create is hundreds of videos about The New Cheeteh Z Map, thus boosting cheetz in the algorithm MASSIVELY.

To break it down, each of the 200 map part creators will post a video with the map title in it, pushing the topic out to as many people as possible. the trailer is there for the existing subs, making SURE they watch at the premiere and again putting the "X Cheeteh Z MAP" topic as smth that anyone who vaguely likes maps needs to watch Right Now. Premiere happens, everyone watches, maybe skims the part playlist, and subs to cheetz (or at least flags to yt that theyre interested in their vids). Because this happens every 3 weeks, it's a consistent stream of content running back to them. its the exact same content-farming dr**k did lmfaoo

The same thing happens to hype the animators for The Next Big Project in the server. I think it was hollyfawn that had a 10-day @/everyone spree with like? a scavenger hunt? to tease that the next project was coming, prepare to apply!!11! To add onto it, they literally dont even do the storyboarding themself. They recruit like 5 other people to do it and cheetz'll help out. This is why the visual language is as disjointed as it is, and no hate towards the board artists! Its just that everyone has different styles and cheetz isnt exactly there to unify it aside from some meaningless symbols (does anyone actually know what hawkstorm's wings mean. anyone?)

Now that we've dissected my perspective on cheetz' content creation style, I've done a wee bit of research on my end with the analytics of my vids.

DISCLAIMER: I am a smallish channel with a few hundred subs and I only upload once every couple months. in fact I'm in the process of divorcing myself from wc so its prolly gonna have a massive subdrop as soon as I upload original animations. I am also one person and have not corroborated my findings with any other animators. Part 2 of the disclaimer: Tigernoir was never finished. After the controversy and threats against the host+animators we agreed to call it off and unlist/priv/delete our parts.

The difference in analytics between my TN part and my other unrelated parts that have a fairly large amount of views within the same amount of time is Notable. This is based on the 4-day mark of each part being up (the numbers are accurate because these were recorded then, and not pulled up Now):

The unrelated part got 1.8k views by then, TN got 2.3k. the difference is the interactions though. By the 4-day mark, the unrelated part had 36k impressions, accessed thru the sidebar (a 5% watchrate), and TN had 10k impressions (23%), accessed mainly thru the playlist. TN had 4 comments by then, Unrelated had 12. Unrelated gained me 50 subs, TN gained 10.

Obviously 2 vids from one person can't be Concrete Evidence, so my theory for this is that people are just skimming through the playlist without actually Intending to watch the videos. With the algorithm, even though a smaller percentage clicked the video, the views clearly had their eye caught and chose to check it out. This meant the viewers were actually engaged with the content and chose to see what else the uploader had going. TN's part on the other hand was just kinda There and automatically watched, then likely skipped onto the next part when the process section began.

In all, the focus is not on the animator when it comes to a cheetz map from what I've noticed. It is quite literally All About Cheetz, and he doesnt do anything but PROMOTE that with their content creation style and how he interacted with the people that work for him. Downright disheartening, and this style becoming fairly mainstream + their fans mirroring it is a very large part why im packing my bags from the warriors animation scene. Once again, sorry abt the length! but that anon did drive me mildly berserk and I needed to delve a bit deeper into my stance.

all i can really say is that that sucks man. i'm glad you're trying to pursue something that makes you happy tho! i really hope you gain the traction you desire along your journey! ik all the animators on cheeteh z's maps are like super fantastic so like i can already imagine how good your content will be..

[the-lightless-flame]

ok i promised @bornetoblood so here is the web!agnes headcanon

this takes a bit of explaination so ill go into how it would work and then ill talk about why i like it

(also obviously this is just based on my interpretation of agnes and her story, if u have a different interpretation of her thats fine!! i just love my funny messiah woman and want to see her happy)

this became very long so the essay is under the cut

ANYWAy so the 'how':

jonny said in the season 4 q+a that one could probably sever their connection with the desolation via a completely selfless sacrifice.

agnes' suicide probably fits this description; the in-canon explanation (from what agnes told arthur) is so that the lightless flame could eventually try the scorched earth again with another messiah.

i dont fully believe what arthur said, and its definitely possible that she was just telling him what he wanted to hear. in that case, her making the decision to once and for all stop herself from being able to bring about the scorched earth probably counts as a selfless act as well, cause even if the scorched earth was never actually going to work, she didnt know that.

the first option doeshave a certain irony to it imo, but it doesnt really fit with how i see her at this point, as i think at this point shes not that loyal to the lightless flame (see: jack barnabus). it doesnt really matter to the headcanon tho, all that matters is that agnes committed a selfless act.

doing this disconnected her from the lightless flame, but in doing so she could have potentially connected to another entity.

all that's really required for becoming an avatar is choice, but physical and metaphysical death is encouraged; agnes is experiencing both (physical is obvious, and metaphysical as the death of her as messiah of the desolation).

imo the web is the obvious choice. she already has a connection with it through gertrude and hilltop road, and a lot of agnes' story is about the ways the lightless flame controlled and groomed her, as well as how her final weeks were when she finally managed to get some kind of control over her life (even if that control is her own death). basically, since control is a big theme in agnes' story, and taking control is the prominent feeling that led to her death, i dont think creating a connection to the embodiment of control is such a reach.

so agnes goes through something similar to jon's coma. maybe the lightless flame thinks shes dead, maybe they realise she isnt connected to the desolation anymore and leave her alone.

from there, agnes just does whatever. probably tries not to do anything too notable. she burns emma harvey's house with gertrude obviously, and she does need to feed her power but i dont think she'd do anything thatd get in a statement.

ok so thats how i think it could happen. now why i like it:

first, i dont really like agnes having died. it works fine as an ending to her story as a part of the show at large i guess, and it doesnt really matter to me in that sense. but for her as a character, i think her ending just makes her generic tragic character and thats not really my kind of thing. idk, like i said im not mad about it being her ending or anything, theres definitely a lot to be said for how her living under the lightless flame couldve led to that decision, but its not really what i want for her.

there is also how it relates to the queer reading of her story, but i talked about that earlier.

also i want her to be happy. leave me alone.

second, i really like the idea of agnes having a semi-normal life. she still has web stuff, but its mostly just subtle stuff (we know there are a lot of spooks that arent reported to the institute, and i think what she does is probably that). gertrude tracks her down at some point to help killing emma harvey, but that it.

the web probably doesnt need her to do anything major, cause thats what annabelle's for and shes only a few years away from being an avatar.

in the eyepocalypse she probably tries not to make things too bad for people in her domain, as much as thats a thing she can actually do.

third, iirc it means that every web avatar thats dead was killed by another web avatar. and i think thats fun. obviously she wouldnt have been a web avatar for raymond, but she probably wouldve been marked and thats enough for me.

i like the imagery of the web keeping people only until theyve become obsolete, i imagine it probably wouldnt want to keep people around once theyve done what it needed them to do. also spider imagery.

fourth, agnes did not get NEARLY enough opportunity to be gay. like she probably fucked jude for at least a while but there is. no way that relationship was healthy. (i could talk a lot more about that but this is already too long)

idk who with. i like gertrudeagnes conceptually but i also like them only having met once. they probably did fuck tho.

i saw a fic earlier that shipped her and annabelle and i havent read it yet but that sounds fun.

idk maybe she just finds a normal, non-aligned girlfriend. thats probably the best option. anyway let her be gay

ok thats it the essay is done. i probably forgot stuff but ill just talk about it later. again this is just my headcanon, u might interpret her different to me and thats fine! the whole point of her story is we dont know that much about what shes really like so theres a lot thats just up to personal opinion.

if for some ungodly reason u read all of this then why??? (i just checked its at like a thousand words wtf) but also tysm i probably wont have children but if i do u are now entitled to my firstborn.

this is too long im going to stop talking now bye

[vazelbeak]

Whos your least vs favorite character in HH and HB and why?

Hm, now this I'd say takes some thought, both because of how we don't have Hazbin out right now to entirely judge (how much they change from the pilot to the show like designs can very quite a bit Not just because of more or different writers but because of generally more resources provided like time and money, but that varies studio to studio.) But also because it depends on criteria, which if up to me, I find a lot of Vivs characters are good in certain areas but unfortunately lack components in others needed to give them well rounded personalities, motivations, backgrounds, ect.

Hazbin

Least favorite: This likely isnt too shocking as I find Angel Dust is for a lot of people is kinda both a least and most favorite simultaneously. He has a very distinct character design workable for a silhouette test which I can easily give credit to! However He doesn't appear to look much like a spider in those as much as a general insect. My mind immediately goes to a stick bug not because of the legs but just proportionally he doesnt really have any spider proportions and even non silhouette speaking if the spots under his eyes were his other eyes, my problem with that is the both only look like spots, and don't act like eyes. I also find myself not a fan of how his design thus far hasnt tied into his capabilities. Personally I'm a fan of zoology, I loved catching bugs and lizards as a kid and my grandpa worked in pest control so he actually did at times teach me about insects. So when I see Angel dust, a spider next to someone like Val (who ive heard a varied cockroach and moth) my immediate thought goes to "Angel youre a spider, youre arguably the most capable of taking him out".

Looking it up the animals that are largely immune to spider venom are hedgehogs, skunks, ground squirrels, and pigs (points for his pig I will presume it intentional!) While the idea perhaps he has gold teeth replaced his canines that could be used for that, it also brings to question why didn't Angel use them prior? Or did he and somehow fail like not using enough? How did Val get the upper hand when to my knowledge Angel had 40 more years in hell than him? What was angel even doing before Val even arrived? Overall I find him to have interesting bits to him, but he has the development reminiscent of OCs I made in highschool where they were largely based upon aesthetics, but the substance that ties those pieces together is largely lacking. I'd also enjoy his character more if the whole "sinners being based on animals and objects" wasn't aesthetic (hell if they actually meant something symbolism wise, like Angel being a spider bc he himself for lack of a better term in life was toxic. He got by in life by weaving nice webs of lies and false promises, and the moment someone fell for it and got caught, he would poison them and turn them into Husks.

And maybe thats part of what weirdly works for him and Husk to become close. Be it Husk is already an aftermath of what Angel turned people into, making him almost redeem himself by helping someone that represents all the things he did wrong to people, or maybe its just Angel is put in a place of for once needing to see someone not for what they can do for him, but for who they are, because he never had to face anyone in the aftermath of what he did to them.

Most favorite: It may just be the personal family stuff, and it may just be my love of animals, but Husk has to be a favorite. Its very possible and likely because unlike the others we haven't had as much of Husk shown or given to us to really dislike. He comes off as your grumpy older dude who even just seeing the basic details of characters before watching the Pilot, I could see him playing a father figure role to someone like Crymini (or Crimini? I don't see enough of her to remember the spelling.) a rebellious teen which iirc was part of the original idea, and seems to semi carry into the show now if the leaks gave any idea since he was listed as a shoulder to cry on. And that bit is good! We should be able to see that pose and expression on his face and read that! Overall unlike Angel his personality reads as more charming by contrast to Angels constant jokes and being mean. (Unfortunately for Angel hes given traits that for some people like me, that gets grating fast when theres nobody he's going back and forth with and theres direct consequences to his actions that only appear to hurt others. This is funny when theres acknowledgement of a character having tried their best or theyre a jerk but there is a invaluable ability that makes their behavior a sort of price to pay for which also makes said character come off as despite the behavior having good intentions or at least good for helping the people we're supposed to root for) but Husk while he can come off as a jerk as a grumpy character has it balanced by having other characters provoke it and appear unbothered by his annoyance. It makes him a jerk to the audience, but not to the other characters that would make him hard to like. His design id say while not the worst, also doesnt entirely make the most sense I know he was apparently made by Viv's sibling so I'm not gonna look to style, but I am like angel gonna look at the function. With a magic and slot machine themes I'm left wondering why he's a cat mixed with a bird and not a dove mixed with a lion (two animals associated with magic and even vegas wheres slot machines are associated with) or even just a dragon theme in general as theyre seen as magical creatures. Looking at his design it does leave a lot to be desired, but hes meant to be a cat with wings and looks like one. I will say I'm not a fan of his outfit as it stands. Both because it doesn't really read as a ba tender outfit, and because his lack of shirt just immediately makes me think "theres gonna be so much hair in those drinks" which is specifically an issue because a bartender outfit would help remedy this to a degree. I think as it stands Husk is a favorite for me because what little of his character we have is relatively consistent, we don't know enough about his backstory for it to drastically contrast with his current life in hell yet, and his design tells us his personality, but only in pose and expression. I also wish his design meant something such as if he's essentially a sorry excuse for a dragon because a Husk implies he's a shell of what he once was and so instead of looking much more like mythical creature he's reduced to looking like a cat with bird wings. Wings that based. Being dark on the inside would either be fake or poorly maintained to the point he's incapable of flying. Itd be cool if his appearance tied into a theme of someone who's somewhat lost sight of all the magic in the world/become desensitized to it all (and therefore good in the world). He is one of the last people next to Vaggie to fall for tricks that rely on you being overly trusting of people. He does however fall for stuff that feeds into his need to be the smarter person it makes him feel validated because you have to be smart to pull off magic tricks and not being smart makes him feel like he has nothing. Imply he won't take a card because he can't read it and he'll snatch it out of your hands to prove you wrong. But he really likes seeing peoples eyes light up at a slight of hand trick.

I would like to think bc Husk has stopped seeing good in the world its the ways others like Charlie and Vaggie try and fail at things that almost force Husk to care because despite him being that way, he can't stand other people going down the same path. So he may not say anything when you fail at something and get upset over it. But the next morning after a night of complaining youll see whatever it is completed. I really hope they manage to make his character work i think it could be done really easily with what we already have.

Helluva

Least: I think as much as I would like to say Millie for how under utilized and how much potential she could hold as someone who grew up on a farm and became an assassin, it doesn't compare to the shift from concept to final product that Blitzø had as well as his constant screen time that doesn't help. Starting visually Blitzø doesn't really look like a clown turned assassin and the spikes on his back give an iguana esque look to him as an Imp. I like the stylized head shape that a 3/4s angle can give his head a heart shape, however i find his forehead marking both overly complex and that it doesn't appear to serve much of a purpose to where it would benefit being simplified. Naturally I think it would be cool to see how Blitzo's iguana traits tie into his design such as not being very aware of social ques because iguanas often communicate visually. However my biggest problem with Blitzø is how he seemed to work much better conceptually. Which is to say Blitzø is a jerk.

Now, jerk characters have to be handled well. The more of a jerk they are and the more it touches upon real life forms of unpleasant behavior the more you need to work to make their behavior palatable enough to keep the audience engaged. We're supposed to root for Blitzø after all! But when Blitzø calls Moxxie the r slur, he sexually harasses his employees, those are very real things that are not very funny IRL (having experienced some of these things, it especially makes them all the more grating which is something that should be somewhat accounted for in making jerk characters by balancing their traits). And luckily there are ways these jerk traits can be remedied. Ill keep it to three I type long enough and my talking tends to be worse.

Jerk characters are very case by case due to the varied nature in which theyre a jerk. However there are general balancing methods.

-Karmatic repercussions. Karmatic repercussions are often the use of am almost cosmic force punishing a jerk character for their actions. It often is more employed in kids cartoons but the idea is to make fun of them for how they act or make them. A good example id point to is Squidward who is often an annoyed grumpy jerk who refuses to engage with the fun of spongebobs antics but this is remedied by often having a sort of punishment that is funny. Its funny for Squidward to be run over by giant rock because he naturally doesn't believe spongebob can ride a rock, as well as being comically squished in the sand.

- Heart of gold where is counts. I am under the impression this was the goal for Angeldust but functionally this is where your jerk character frequently is a jerk however will show their kinder side after things go too far or to prevent things from going too far. Usually youll see this is persistent for villains who team up with the protagonist against another far more evil forces but sometimes its out of remorse for a protagonist. A workable example id point to would be Cotton from King of The Hill who's a jerk, but when Peggy loses her teaching license he does help her get it back despite largely being a unpleasant person. He's unpleasant but when it counts he helped her. (I dont have a good gif for this one so this will have to do)

-Who cares he's a loser. This one is fairly simple and utilized in a lot of cartoons. CodeName: Kids Next Door, The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Pokemon, Invader Zim, ect. Where a character is a jerk but theyre a loser which both downgrades the seriousness of what they do and makes us take what they say less impactful. A decent example I point to is Jack Spicer from Xaolin Showdown. He's a bad guy but we take his evil actions less seriously and are able to believe him becoming a good guy because we don't take those evil actions seriously.

And thats where Blitzøs concept art comes into play. i think a lot of his unpleasant and jerk traits would've been much more tolerable and able to be put up with if he was meant to be loser. He could insult Moxxie only to trip and fall into a mud puddle and it would work because it takes away any of the gravity of what he says. Quite literally "who cares what Blitzø says about Moxxie hes a loser". But on top of that its the way Blitzø is made a focus that also contributes to him being so grating. Youd think an episode focusing on where Millie grew up would focus on her and tell us a bit about maybe where and why she went from a farm to the assassin business and how she found the job but we got Blitzø and Striker. Youd think an episode that seemed meant to focus on Loona and Octavia based on the thumbnail and implication we'd see Loona's backstory would be about them, but instead it's Blitzø and Stolas on a sitcom set that we've had no indication really had any meaning or purpose to the story beyond Blitzø for some reason having trauma over seeing Loona at the pound. Which in itself was one of the big things that made me dislike his role im the story. Typically when you set up a flashback giving a characters backstory through the eyes of another person its to present a contrast in how they respectively viewed the situation or how that effected the character.

It would make sense if it was about why Blitzø is so over bearing towards Loona, because he's really trying to make her feel like she could do something with her life and that she's not a hopeless cause like she was told. But the way Blitzø is the one traumatized and we don't see how Loona was effected or how this looked through her eyes makes it feel like a last minute jumpstart to get Blitzø and Stolas out of the building after writing them into that situation.

Looking at it on a writing stand point and setting aside how unnecessary it felt to the plot akin to Millie and Moxxie's plot, a set up like that would have been a perfect for Blitzø to confront what happened that made him no longer perform on stage and why it was so significant. It felt like a perfect set up where Blitzø after having a flashback to how he met Loona would disregard the teleprompters and make a grandiose speech about how you can't just replace family the moment they become inconvenient to you. That in choosing to raise them as your own you have to take responsibility for not properly training and teaching them to behave and so he needs

Blitzø would be talking about its not right for him to just replace Loona when he adopted her knowing she had issues and made no efforts to actually correct her behavior. (In which Blitzø being overbearing would make sense as seeing this his responsibility even if Loona's an adult). But to the people on set, their actor just went of script and improvised a touching and impactful speech about the importance of responsibility. And as they end the episode, Blitzø gets the applause and cheer that makes him think he'd should consider becoming an actor as he makes his way to his dressing room until he's handed a paycheck and can't believe he's making so little. What do these guys take him for?! Do they have any idea how exhausting it is go be on camera for that long without commercial breaks?!

From their he and Stolas sneak out of the building while everyone else is preoccupied leaving the check discarded on thr floor of the dressing room and part of the joke is the actor Blitzø was mistaken for is later found dead is mourned for having died after giving the best performance of his life. Maybe someone sees Stolas discard his human form and they think he's the owl man cryptid known for hovering around people or places before tragedy but only conspiracy theorist types believe that.

But the sitcom plot didn't amount to much and the excuse Blitzø has a panic attack over Loona's trauma to a point of on camera claiming to see a kid snorting coke in the dressing room (which let me say with the amount of child actors that have come forward regarding how they were mistreated and knowing they turned to drugs either over stress or over their parents giving it to them, it comes off rather tasteless) doesnt even come off funny as unlike Darla Dimple in Cats Don't Dance, she wasn't mean or rude in a way to make it feel funny as though Blitzø was actually doing some good by revealing she did something horrible.

And because of that it just makes it harder to enjoy because Helluva Boss ends up this big show where Blitzø is the center of attention but he is arguably the least enjoyable character to have on screen. He's overall not a balanced enough character to find engaging on screen but its arguably made worse knowing theres such a massive contrast between who he is on screen vs the conceptual work that made his character feel much more balanced for the role he plays that feels like came to be from self fandomization.

Most: I don't know if this may be the personal connection speaking but to me, my favorite character is Octavia. Visually she doesn't look much like a hybrid between a swan and Owl as much as the crow owl hybrid Stolas is reminiscent of. I think it would be more interesting if her outfits had more variety in which she had royal clothes she has to wear but her outfit we currently see her wear is meant to be causal and comfortable but because she's part of the Goetia that is her only outfit meant to be because she's heavily expected to embrace her royal status and get used to walking around in royal attire. (Perhaps this is even an outfit she made herself and she would love to design clothing if given the chance?). I wish we saw more incorporation of the animals Stolas and Stella were and how Octavia inherits those traits as it could be a means to expand on how whether we like it or not we inherit our parents traits and not just physically. (Also perhaps expand on how Stella may be so against divorce because Swans mate for life meaning if Stolas leaves her she intended to kill the both of them. Meanwhile for Stolas as a tawny owl, while some mate for life its not universal potentially reflecting why divorce is seen as a problem. And in a way its their contrast in mentalities regarding marriage). Id argue she has the most interesting and compelling narrative of having to learn the harsh reality of your parents not being perfect and how to handle that. A struggle that you especially become aware of when your parents split and actively despise one another. My only issue with it is how often her feelings are dismissed or diminished as though an "id never forget about you" erases the times Stolas did ignore her or forget about something important in favor of Blitzø and Stella. (Viv your claim to writing the moments that everyone praises ignores how you as the creator of an indie production greenlight the worst moments too and its shameful to see you throw your fellow writers under the bus like that.) We've never seen anything meant to make these moments outliers or implied such outside of Stolas's insistence he does care for her and often times far too late.

And as much as it can be argued "why would Stolas remember, why didnt Octavia wait until he was done on the phone?" I both admittedly sooner sympathize with a kid who misunderstood their parents over a parent who to my knowledge would face no consequences to hanging up or holding the phone away to quickly ask "what" incase of an emergency as well as find it to be rather bad writing to make such a reach for why Octavia would feel so upset that she'd run away, just to flip it and insist "no actually she doesnt realize how much her dad loves her though". It feels inconsistent especially when we see Stolas in the audience of a sitcom set and not (what i feel wouldve made the focus on him more justified) ditching Blitzø because unlike his assassin boyfriend, Octavia has no means to protect herself and no familiarity with the human world.

To me Octavia would be an interesting figure to give us a sort of parallel or contrast to her and Stolas's upbringing. Did Stolas stay with Stella because in being raised by Paimon he assumed two parents was better than one based on what he wanted? Does Octavia need to produce an heir? Why not?

I think it would be an interesting direction if because Stolas was forced into an arranged marriage he has an aversion to anything that feels more than causal because his only experiences with love as a kid involved being forced into molds chose by other people and by result while he spared Octavia from needing to produce an heir, he's struggled to allow her form much in the way of any relationships outside her immediate family and it makes her likely struggle to understand other people since her interactions have been so limited. Overall I like her as a character, visually her design doesn't really work with what we know but could be expanded on to work if we got more of her character, and I really hope they actually give us more to her than just being "Stolas's sad daughter who just tragically doesn't realize he loves her"

A lot of it boils down to their intended ideas may be interesting and hold a lot of potential, but if you can't balance them out enough to be entertaining on screen and interesting characters both visually and writing wise, its gonna be really hard for me to root for who you want me to.

[scifirice]

Rant about why i'm worried for the extraction shooter trend

The next gaming trend is looking to be "extraction shooters" the two most notable examples of these being Escape from Tarkov and Hunt: Showdown. As someone who has seen lots of gameplay of both and as someone who mainly prefers PvE, this worries me.

For those who don't know what an extraction shooter is, it has similarities to a battle royale but is largely different. There is still a large map one can explore, often filled with things to loot. But there is also a healthy amount of NPC enemies that are a threat to you. The goal is not to be the last one standing, but rather to get as much goodies as you can carry and leave at one of several designated exit points. Sometimes there is a single valuable objective, other times there isn't.

But also unlike a battle royale, you can bring in gear of your choice. There isnt always running around and hoping you find a good weapon, if you have one you can bring it from the start. The main threat to this though is that if you die you lose everything you were carrying, including what you brought with you. risk vs reward and all that.

There is a main element of extraction shooters though, and it's PVP. meaning your largest threat most of the time is other players. I have yet to see an extraction shooter offer a substantial pve experience and that worries me.

I don't enjoy PvP in most cases. I will actively avoid it whenever possible because i don't like both being attacked by players, nor do i enjoy ruining another player's run at a game. I've played hunt showdown and i've had far more fun fighting the enemies and bosses than i ever have fighting players.

Now some people will say hunt has a single player challenge mode that is PvE and that Tarkov also has a single player mode, and they're right but those are outright inferior to anything the main game offers. Hunt's challenge mode is just that, a series of challenges. No way to play the regular game modes and also progress in the game. Tarkov's single player is the same, you cannot make any progress in that mode. I know this is for balance reasons since someone could farm out insane gear in single player and use it to destroy people in multiplayer. Though i think a simple system to tag things for single player only would solve the problem, i'm not a game dev.

If this really is going to be the new trend, then it's going to be a very uneventful trend for people like me. The vast majority of players as shown in multiple games where they have the option are shown to prefer PvE. It's why huge games like World of Warcraft have dedicated PvP servers instead of just allowing it at all times across all servers. The first extraction shooter with a satisfying game mode that removes the worry of PvP is probably going to make a bunch of money since that's all the PvE people are going to have in this new trend.

[smolweeblets]

Drunk confessions

A/n: can you guys tell idk how to name my stories? Anyways Yelena is so ooc here but shes drunk so I'll use that excuse.

"Y-yn? Can you uh, pick me up please?" Sniffles could be heard as you listened to your friend. You panicked, thoughts racing through your head about what happened to her.

"please hurry up... Im at the bar we go to sometimes." A bar? Oh god this isnt good. Hurried shuffling to get into your clothes ensued. You tried to not panic and think about this rationally. Although failing for the most part.

Why is she crying? Is she in danger-? Oh god I have to get there faster.

You mentally slapped yourself, gathering your thoughts. You did need to move faster but she wouldn't be in danger, if she was she wouldn't be calling you. She was always a logical person and no matter how close you two were she would still be calling 911 if it was really serious. You wracked your brain for possible answers, then it dawned on you.

She was probably really drunk, otherwise she wouldn't be crying on a call like this with you and asking you to pick her up. Although the fact that she is drunk is also weird, since she never usually drank that much alcohol, if any at all. And she wasn't particularly a lightweight. Something must have come up in her life for her to get drunk like this. Well that doesn't matter right now, what matters is you getting her as quickly as you can.

~~~

Small sniffles and hiccups could be heard as you approached the hunched figure sitting on the steps of the bar. She looked absolutely miserable.

"Hey, Yelena? Are you okay?" You gently put your hand on her shoulder, alerting her more of your presence.

She wipes her face with her arm before looking at you and slowly nodding.

"Okay that's good, how about we get to my car now alright?" You go in front of her and gesture for her to take your hand, which she does to help herself up.

She stumbles as she stands, having to lean on to you just to not fall flat on the floor. The sight was almost funny, her large looming figure being supported by your much smaller frame.

You two got to your car and you made sure she leaned back properly and buckled up, in the process, you get a glimpse of just how bad of a state she's in.

Her eyes were bloodshot, and her face was flushed red. You could almost feel the horrible hangover she would have to endure tomorrow. Bringing her to your house instead of hers would probably be better for the both of you. So she's sure to be taken care of, and so you dont stay up all night worried she isn't. There really was no way you'd let her be by herself in this state.

You start driving and theres a long silence between the two of you. It wasn't confortable, nor was it awkward. It was just that, nothing but silence and your thoughts.

Eventually Yelena notices that you werent taking her home, even in her drunk state she could tell the scenery was different from her usual route.

"Hey... where are you taking me- *hic* " Yelena slurred her words, sounding very disoriented.

"I'm taking you to my place, its safer and i wouldnt have to worry too much about you." Your calm voice normally would have been soothing but it looked like Yelena thought the opposite right now.

"N-no- I can take care of myself just take me home please.." Yelena sounded like she was about to cry. You felt bad but you knew what was best.

"Sorry, no can do. You say that but you dont look like you can even stand by yourself." As soon as you finished your sentence, It looks like a dam broke in Yelena and she broke into small sobs.

"I dont want to be in your house right now okay... or even with you for that matter" She cried. It broke your heart seeing Yelena look so sad and hearing that it could be because of you.

"Why? Is there something I did? If so, I'm sorry but I just can't leave you alone like this." You reasoned. You placed your hand on her shoulder as a very small way of giving comfort.

"Yes you can," She whined while sloppily removing your hand. "ill be fine by myself... like i always am." The last part was barely a whisper, if you weren't so tuned in with her you would have missed it.

You grip the steering wheel hard as you think about your next move.

"Yelena, it might be personal but please tell me what's wrong, if it's been something I did or what. I can't bear to see you in this state."

"It's nothing- just let me be." Some of the sobbing had subsided, but she was still sniffling a lot. You handed her a tissue to wipe some snot off her face, which she thankfully accepted.

"Yelena, I can't just leave a friend alone like this. Just tell me what's wrong so I can help." You glanced at her worriedly.

"God! Just stop asking, it's not like you'd be able to help." Hostility was now laced in her voice, it sounded strained and painful.

"I just want to help a friend- but if you dont want to talk about it then fine."

"Dont fucking call me YOUR FRIEND!" Tears were running down Yelena's face as she screamed.

"I FUCKING HATE BEING YOUR FRIEND SO STOP CALLING ME THAT!" You could only look in hurt as you watched her say all this. You thought you two were close but hearing her scream about this felt like a stab through the heart. She may be drunk but they do say drunk words are sober thoughts and it pained you to know this was what shes been thinking of you.

"I'm sorry then... but I am still taking you home. I care about you Yelena, and you're drunk." You worriedly asserted.

"God this is why i fucking hate you- youre too... nice." Yelena spat out. She hesitated saying the last word, and faltered throughout saying it.

"Wait- come again?"

"It's nothing. Ignore me, I'm drunk." Yelena said in almost a whisper. The tears had subsided, leaving only the traces of crying.

"No. Yelena, what did you say earlier."

"Youre too fucking nice and perfect. That's why I fell in love with you and why I hate you because you'd never reciprocate my feelings. There, happy now?"

"Oh..."

"Yeah, well that you know, you can go ahead and drop me off wherever. I can manage." It seems almost as if all the alcohol got knocked out of her. From how she was acting you wouldn't be able to tell she was bawling just a few minutes ago.

You slowed down, stopping by the side of the road. Yelena wasn't shocked at all that you actually were dropping her off. She deserved it.

She was getting ready to get off, unclasping her seatbelt and reaching to unlock the door.

"Yelena wait." You grabbed her bicep, wanting her attention back to you.

Yelena looked back to you, confused. Your seatbelt was also unclasped, though she didn't notice and just wanted to know what else you wanted to say before she left.

You suddenly leaned towards Yelena and you reached out to gently hold her cheek to hopefully not make her move too suddenly and to angle her face properly. To say she was shocked is an understatement. She fully thought she'd never have a chance with you, not in a million years.

You pull back and lean back into your seat, sighing in relief.

"God, you have no clue how long I've wanted to do that." You chuckle a little.

Yelena could do nothing but gape at you with large gray eyes looking at you as if what happened was just an illusion from the alcohol. Her hand ghosted over where you kissed her, still damp from her crying earlier.

"So? Do you still want to go back to your home?" You joke, hoping to clear away the uncertainty Yelena still seemed to have.

She shook her head, too flustered to even respond properly. She was already red earlier but now, she looks like a literal tomato. A cute one, but a tomato nonetheless.

You reached over to buckle Yelena's seatbelt again and you felt her flinch under your touch. She stared at you again and you just smiled back.

"Gotta take precautions." You giggled while reaching to buckle your own seatbelt.

The ride back home was quiet, but the comfortable kind. You caught Yelena staring at you a lot, but you didn't mind, she deserves it after pining for you that hard.

You led her staggering form into your home and into your bedroom, you instructed her to sit while you picked out some clothes that could maybe fit her. It was quite a task, considering just how much bigger she was than you.

Eventually, you did find something that she could wear and handed them over. You told her you'd be sleeping on the couch tonight, since you didn't want her to be uncomfy. You were about to leave to let her get changed when she called out for you.

"I'm drunk... help me dress please?" You almost would've thought she was serious with how sincere she looked. If only she wasn't wearing her stupidly coy smirk. She really is herself, even when drunk.

"Wow, where'd my flustered little 'lena from earlier go?" You laughed lightheartedly.

"Right here, please do help me." She pleaded. Her mouth was downturned, pretending to be sad.

"Hmm... okay but no funny business, you're drunk." You chided.

"Thank you babe." Yelena jokes, having an adorable close eyed smile.

"Stop that. Dont act like you weren't just crying over me a few minutes ago." You playfully scolded.

"Whatever you say babe." She teased.

You decided to stop the banter and actually help her out of her clothes. It was a surprisingly time consuming task because she constantly kept trying to make you laugh through various actions. You appreciate the effort, but not the action. You had to basically wrangle the clothes off of her because she wouldnt stop moving and causing a fuss.

After a few minutes of wrestling to finally get her dressed you finally succeeded. You also tired yourself out, so you made your way to the light and flicked it off. Then right back on again when you heard Yelena request something.

"Hey... you can sleep here you know-" Yelena suggested.

"No thanks, i can manage being on the couch." You point you thumb behind you, gesturing to the living room.

"But since im like drunk it gives you a good chance to take care of me." She reasoned out. Admittedly a pretty smart one considering she is, in fact, drunk.

"I think you're using that excuse too much, just go to sleep." You scoffed lightheartedly

"Pleaseeee-" She whined, using her most convincing puppy eyes. God how she had so much power over you was crazy.

"If you puke on me or my bed tomorrow i will kick you out." You sighed. You relented to her wishes way too quickly for you liking.

Yelena excitedly gasped, and smiled widely. "No! Of course i wont,, now come here please." She patted the area beside her, beckoning you to get in. You flicked the light back off and made your way ro the mattress.

Yelena snuggled up beside you and practically melted in your arms. Oh how she has craved for this for so, so long. She slept soundly that night, smiling in her sleep.

[sillylittlestoryblog]

Riff x artist!reader

Notes: hey yo Friends, i m back. Took me Long enough. Here you have a ff that nobody asked for. Lol. This is just the First Part of a series. Hopefully i can finish it this time. Also pls don’t be angry Riff isnt really in this Part but he for sure will be in the second Part of this Story, so this is more like a prologue. Kinda. I take requests. And you cure my depression ( at least a tiny bit ) if you text me something nice. Hope you like it. Love, Mai 🍄

Warnings: none, capitalism?!, not perfect english

Summary: Reader likes to draw buildings and her ever changing neighbourhood. After she meets a certain Gang leader, she now really wants to draw the mysterious guy with the beautiful eyes.

The warm afternoon sun was shining on my skin as I walked through the streets of New York's West Side. A thick sheet of paper in one hand, my watercolor box in the other. I ran excitedly to the next street corner, trying to avoid the shadows of the buildings. It was the beginning of spring, so it was only really pleasant in the sun. In the shade, however, I felt like I was freezing to death in my thin dress. I had begged my overprotective brother not to have to wear the thick winter clothes. He had first been of the opinion that I would catch cold in this weather, but then had agreed after he saw the first rays of sunlight shining through the large window onto the fire escape. After that my face was radiateing like the sun, „it is almost a competition“he said, whereupon he could only say yes to me wearing my favorite dress.

It was Sunday and I had gotten up early to set up my drawing supplies in front of a nearby church in the neighborhood and then to be able to paint when everyone would go to mass. I had only started a few weeks ago with the painting of people. I had seen a young man in the subway. He had the most beautiful blue eyes. I had wished very much that I could have drawn him right at that moment. But as soon as he got off the train and jogged down the stairs of the station, I had forgotten his face.

With a building this would never have happened to me. Ever since I was little, I had memorized the windows, towers and facades of the buildings around me. They were burned into my brain. So it was easier for me to later bring the straight lines and dark colors perfectly on paper. Since I had seen the young man, there was a new need in me. I wanted to paint something that was not rigid and straight like the skyscrapers of the West side.

That's exactly why I had tried to draw the people going to church that morning. But somehow I didn't quite succeed. I was dissatisfied with my painting. Nothing looked the way I wanted it to. The happy faces of the young girls in their pretty Sunday dresses looked lifeless and gray. The old people leaning on each other to climb the stairs of the church together did not look lovingly and kind but rather as if they were arguing in front of the house of God.

My newest plan was to draw the small Irish pub on the next street corner. My brother went there often with his friends. He had told that even in the afternoon the small tables already were filled with empty beer bottles and some drunkard even spend sunday not leaving his seat.

I set my things down next to me while I studied the building opposite me carefully. I had no problem drawing the masonry in a few strokes. As I was about to start detailing the dark green front door with the blurry windows, I was disturbed by an unwelcome shouting. A group of young men had gotten into a fight with the owner of the pub. Something in me felt the need to draw the event in front of me. But before I could think about whether it would be morally compatible to draw a possibly escalating fight, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Y/N? What are you doing here. Come on, we shouldn't be around when the jets are doing something illegal," the voice said, matching the hand on my shoulder. It was Tommy, my brother John's best friend. If Tommy was here, my brother couldn't be far either. I didn't like it when the two of them came together. I always have the feeling that my brother wants to bring me and Tommy together. I'm surprised because John still doesn't accept that I've been a grown woman for a while now. He always sees me only as his little sister who definitely should not waste any thoughts on boys and relationships. But with Tommy he was different. Tommy was the only son of a rich merchant from Manhattan. He and John knew each other from college. John probably wanted me to marry him so that I would have a secure life. Definitely not the plan I had for myself. It's not that I didn't like Tommy, he was usually friendly and always had a compliment for me. But he was a coward. The only conversations I had with him were about the fear that someone might steal his expensive new watch or about how his favorite topic in the world was finance.

Not really what I was interested in. He probably thought he could impress me with his father's money. But what I would have been really happy about would have been a few words about my paintings or if he admired New York at sunrise as much as I did. But he had not answered either one and had returned his attention to the fortune on his wrist.

He also wore the watch today, it was cold on my shoulder. I was still thinking about what to answer when John also entered my field of vision.

"If it isn`t my baby sister. How many times have I told you not to go down this street. It's not for young ladies like you. And look at you. Your hands are full of charcoal and paint. What will people think? Come on, let's go, see you tomorrow Tommy" instantly he had pulled me up from my seat and ran with me in the opposite direction of the pub. I quickly grabbed my art supplies. "Walk faster Y/N , dad will be upset if he sees you like this so you better hurry so we get home on time.

I know my brother was only strict with me because he was afraid something could happen to me. Our father had taught him to be strict. After our mother passed away, there wasn't much warmth in our family. And John was always under observation. Father was almost never at home because of his job and sometimes I didn't see him for several days. John, on the other hand, was always there for me. When we were alone he was very caring and loving to me, but as soon as other people were around he showed his strength and severity. Too big was the fear that someone could confess to my father how soft and loving he had been.

When I arrived at our apartment, I immediately ran to the bathroom and began to wash the stains off my hands. The paint came off easily, but the charcoal stains on the back of my hands just wouldn't come off. Only now I noticed that there was also a small spot of blue paint on my light dress. I mentally cursed myself. Why hadn't I been more careful? For me, but also for John. I couldn't imagine what his punishment would be if father found out that I had been hanging around painting all day instead of sitting at the sewing machine or standing behind the stove. He had very old-fashioned views about the place of a woman. But still I could not be angry with him, he was my father after all and only thanks to him I could have the money to paint and the beautiful clothes I loved to wear.

But although me and John waited all evening long for our father to return, he did not come back to the apartment that night. And even though I had struggled all evening, I decided to paint again the next morning while lying between my silk sheets and slowly falling asleep.