#i don't know the first thing about programming

[delicateartisantrash]

the words themselves, content and creator, i don't rail against them-- but used within the context of how i have seen then being used these days in that specific phrase, it leads me to this distaste of someone not seeing the human behind the "content" they "consume." It feels dehumanizing, in that specific context.

You nailed it on the head, i think;

"And that is, simply that we don’t do it for others, but rather for ourselves and the likeminded people and that others (audience) have no right to demand anything from us because this is, as said above (post) before, a hobby."

I think you're also right that many people hear artist and assume it must be only the visual arts, sometimes they might include music or theatre in that. I was raised to see art in.... Basically everything. Science, dancing, theatre, music, writing, graphic design, photography and film, sculpture. There's so much.

Code and programming? A very specific form of art. Engineering? Art.

What an artist *is* at the end of the day, at our base essence shared despite all differences, is a problem solver. Most usually, to solve that drive of "how do i communicate this thought or emotion?" And that expression can take the form of words, of movement, of colors or physical three dimensional forms, of anything really.

I just get so sad seeing people treat people like they're some empty machine churning out content. I don't even like thinking of big fandom *creators* as different from the everyday artist on a conceptual base level-- the only real difference between a professional producer writing a script for a canon Transformers episode or film is the fact they've got those fancy legal contracts, big budgets, and someone else's fingers in their creative soup as another chef that they have to problem solve with or around, because the fact of the matter is it takes both finances and time to produce certain things, and many times, even multiple people, and it's their job, so they've gotta work within the confines of said job.

i admit, i didn't really get the word "influencer" but that's probably because i only ever see it mentioned when someone is complaining about some seemingly pointless drama or misinformation, which drives me to wonder how they could attach such a word to them. I think everyone is an influencer in the same way i think everyone is an artist. We all just show different levels and specific focuses.

I feel like I've influenced people with my art, to think, to question; to ponder deep thoughts, it simply to bring a laugh into a boring day, or provide some shred of meaningful comfort. Does that make me an influencer? Perhaps, but not in the way the word has seemingly been used to label a group of people who have a very specific range of reach (in other words extensive) over an audience they extend sway over.

There's logistical differences, there's always going to be

But at the end of the day, we're all just squishy mortals and many of us like to create things and share them

I know i say i write and do my other art for myself first and foremost, but i still think about how it would affect someone else, letting it free into the world; i just also know I'd keep creating what i create, whether anyone else wanted to enjoy it with me or not, because it brings me so much happiness and soul soothing content. It's just even so much better to share and connect.

idk how to word this properly but wrt the fanfic thing you reblogged earlier. Why do fanfic writers have such different expectations than any other content hosting platform?

Like lets take youtube as a point of comparison, Engagement like comments and likes largely exists to boost the works place in algorithm, thats why youtubers put in calls to action and other engament bait. Few with decent reach even read the comments and the audience shouldnt try to develop any weird parasocial relationship with the youtuber. Fanfic authors ask for likes (kudos, because the websites gotta use nonstandard language for some reason) and comments despite them not having any impact on an algorithm, and seem to want the audience to try and develop a relationship with the author based on tumblr posts like that one.

Why the radical difference in behaviour away from the norm? And honestly with all the (usually) metaphorical blood spilled online about parasociality why are authors really surprised that the audience tries to keep their distance as is best practice with any other content producer?

okay I am going to answer this as kindly and as calmly as I can and try to assume that you are asking this in good faith. because my friend, the fact that you feel the need to ask is, to me, The Problem.

[this is, for the record, in response to this post]

fanfiction writers are not *posting content.* (I also have reservations about engaging with the term "content producer" or "content creator" but let's put that aside for now, I'll circle back to it.) you say "they seem to want the audience to try and develop a relationship with the author" as though it is strange, off-putting, and incomprehensible to you, when in fact that is the point of writing fanfiction. it is a way of participating in fandom. it is a way of building community and exchanging ideas and becoming closer with people.

if authors wanted to solely ~generate content~ that would get them attention (?? to what end, the dynamic you have described seems to equate algorithmic supremacy as winning for winning's sake, as though all anyone wants to do is BUILD an audience without ENGAGING with them, which I cannot fathom but let's pretend for a moment that is, in fact, true) then like. if that were the case why on earth would they choose a medium in which they categorically cannot succeed and profit, because it isn't their IP?

you are equating two things that are not at all the same thing. to the degree that parasocial relationships are to be avoided, and "that person is not trying to be your friend they are trying to entertain you, please respect their boundaries" is a real dynamic -- which it is!! -- like. you have to understand that the reason that is true for the people of whom it is true is because it is their JOB. they are storytellers by profession, and they are either through direct payment, or sponsorship, or advertising, or through some other means, profiting off of your attention. i don't say this to be dismissive, many wonderful artists and actors and comedians and any number of a thousand things that i enjoy very much go this route but they do so as a *career choice.* and so when you violate the public/private boundary with them, you are presuming to know a Person rather than their Worksona. the people who work at Dropout or who stream their actual play tabletop games or who broadcast on TikTok or YouTube are inviting me to feel like i know them to the degree to which that helps them succeed in their medium and at their craft, but there MUST be a mutual understanding that that's a feeling, not a fact.

however.

a fanfiction writer is not an influencer, not a professional, and is not looking to garner "success." there is no share of audience we are trying to gain for gain's sake, because we are not competition with one another, because there is nothing to win other than the pleasure of each other's company. we are doing this for no other reason than the love of the game; because we have things we want desperately to say about these worlds, these characters, these dynamics, and because we *want more than anything to know we are not alone in our thoughts and feelings.* fanfiction is a bid for interaction, engagement, attention, and consideration. it is not meant to be consumed and then moved on from because we are NOT paid for our work, nor do we want to be. the reward we seek is "attention," but attention as in CONVERSATION, not attention as in clicks. we are not IN this for profit, or for number-go-up. there is no such thing: legally there cannot be. we are in this because we want to be seen and known.

like. please understand. i am now married to someone i met because of mutual comments on fanfiction. our close friend and roommate, with whom i have cohabitated for over a decade now, is someone I met because of mutual comments on fanfiction and livejournal posts. that is my household. beyond my household, the vast majority of my closest personal friends are people with whom I built relationships in this way.

you ask why fanfiction writers want THIS and not "the norm," but the idea of everything being built to cater to an algorithm to continue to build clout, as though the only method of reaching people is Distant Overlord Creator and Passive Receptive Audience being "the norm" is EXTREMELY NEW. this is not how it has always been!! please think of the writers of zines in a pre-internet fandom, using paper and glue and xerox to try and meet like-minded people in a world that was designed for you to only ever meet people in person, by happenstance, in your own hometown. imagine the writers of the early internet, building webrings from scratch to CREATE a community to find each other, despite distance. imagine livejournal groups, forums, and -- yes, indeed, of course -- comment threads IN STORIES -- as places where people go to *converse.* in the past, we had an entire Type Of Guy that everyone knew about, the BNF ("Big Name Fan") whose existence had to be described via meme because it was SO DIFFERENT THAN THE NORM. treating fellow fans like celebrities or people too cool for the regular kids to know was an OUTLIER, and one commonly understood to lead to toxicity.

in the past, I have likened writing fanfiction to echolocation. i am not screaming because I like hearing the sound of my own voice, though i can and do find my voice beautiful. i am screaming so that the vibrations can bounce back to me and show me the world. the purpose is in the feedback. otherwise it is just noise.

does this make any sense? can you see, when i describe it that way, why an ask like yours makes me feel despair, because it makes us all sound so horribly separate from one another?

perhaps I will try another metaphor:

a professional chef who runs a restaurant will not have her feelings hurt if you never fight your way into the kitchen to personally tell her how much you enjoyed the meal. that would, indeed, violate a boundary. professional kitchens are a place of work, and you have already showed her you enjoyed the meal by paying for it, or by perhaps spreading your enjoyment by word of mouth to your friends so they, too, can have good meals. you show your appreciation by continuing to come back. if a bunch of people sitting around randomly happen to have a conversation about how much they love the food, it wouldn't hurt that chef's feelings to not be included in the conversation. however: EVEN IN THIS INSTANCE, it is ADVISABLE AND APPROPRIATE to leave a good review! you might post about how much you like this restaurant on Yelp, and it would probably make the chef feel great to see those positive comments. but the chef doesn't NEED them, because the chef is, again, *also being paid to cook.* that's why she started the restaurant, to be paid to cook!

i am not being paid to cook.

i am at home in my own kitchen, making things for a community potluck where i hope everyone will bring something we can all enjoy together. some people at the potluck are better bakers, some better cooks; some can't cook at all but are great at logistics and make sure there's enough napkins for everyone; some people come just to enjoy the food, because that's what the party is for. and if I, as this enthusiast chef who made something from my heart for this reason alone, learned after the fact that a bunch of people got together in the parking lot to rave about my dish but no one of them had ever bothered to tell me while I sat alone at my table all night, occasionally seeing people come by to pick up a plate but never saying anything to me -- of course that would bother me, because I am not otherwise profiting off the labor I put in. this is not a bid to be paid, because if someone WERE to say "hey, great cake!! here's five bucks for a slice" i would say no, friend, that is not the point and give them the money back. i'm not trying to Get Mine. I am in it to see the look on your face. I'm in it so you can tell me what about it moved you, so that I can say back what moved me to make it in the first place. so we can TALK about it.

because what happened in the first place is this: one time I had a cake whose sweetness, richness, flavor, intensity, and composition moved me so much that I *taught myself to bake.* so I could see how much vanilla and sugar was too much, so I could learn how to make things rise instead of fall flat, so I could even better appreciate the original cake by seeing for myself the effort and talent and inspiration that goes into making one even half as good.

learning to do so is a satisfying accomplishment in and of itself, yes.

but I also did it because at the end of the day we should EAT the cake. and it's a lonely thing, to eat alone when a meal was always designed and intended to be shared.

so, to answer your last question: i'm not surprised, i'm just sad. because somehow two things that were never meant to be seen as the same have been labeled "content," and thus identical. and it diminishes both the things that ARE intended to be paid for AND the things that are not, because it removes any sense of intimacy or meaning from the work.

i hope you know i'm not mad at you for asking. but i'm frustrated we've come to live in a world where the question needs to be asked, because the answers are no longer intuitively obvious because we're so siloed.

[maxwellhauskaffee]

Why Tenna's Also Shitty And How Both Got Played

I'm dead ass legit serious when I wonder if people are playing the game or not or even watching lps because how can ya'll miss key things Tenna says and does that also puts his character into question as much as Spamton's???

Introducing another autistic rant about Tenna and Spamton and how I think neither of them wanted to hurt one another but did because they were duped by someone else.

But first - we gotta' talk Tenna (again) (well - we don't have to; I just have autism).

First - how is a collaboration inherently leeching off someone? As someone who's worked in (power level), there are multiple contracts signed for various types of work, even when working with or under the same people and studios. This is true for most forms of production. You also sign new contracts for new types of work or labor not defined or requested within your original contract. At least I've requested new contracts and revised for my security.

With this in mind, this is hc, if they were working together before Spamton became big, that was likely one contract.

Now, Spamton could be lying because he's canonically lied and horrifically so. That said, we only have limited canonical information about the details of their relationship. And I think many folks are purposefully ignoring Tenna and Spamton's canon and filling in gaps via favoritism for Tenna. It's a bias we all have, so I'll try to not do that here.

So this is how I think things went based on canon... Things that are hc will be noted. 👈

Did Tenna give Spamton deals before Spamton signed his deal?

MAYBE...

The yellow addison never says, "Spamton was GETTING big TV deals, big commercials." He says, "Spamton started bragging ABOUT big TV deals, big commercials." I may be giving too much of the benefit of the doubt because I try to say what I mean (autism), but to me it's not clear which one it is. Spamton was either getting these deals or simply bragging about them being offered to him, two different things. But I do believe he was working with Tenna by this point because of what the yellow addison says next.

The yellow addison claims Spamton and Tenna started working together after Spamton moved into the Queen's mansion at his peak. This implies Tenna had no knowledge of Spamton. Or if he knew Spamton, he had no interest in working with him UNTIL he became famous.

If we're being consistent, Tenna was "leeching" off of Spamton as much as Spamton was off of Tenna. Remember - Spamton became a big shot in the late 90s. That's when CRT TVs were becoming obsolete. Tenna likely needed Spamton more than Spamton needed him, as noted by Tenna's desperate rambling of how Spamton was going to teach him. Also, Spamton was doing very well with his benefactor prior to meeting Tenna.

I've written about this before indepth, so I won't go too much into it. But Spamton has valid reason to be skeptical of Tenna. Tenna's canonically shady with his contracts. And despite Spamton's hesitation, HE WANTED TO SIGN until he was immediately called and was informed of something that made him run.

We don't know why Spamton ran nor what he was told, but it doesn't seem it was because he didn't want to work with Tenna since he was going to sign.

The other point of note, Tenna never put Spamton on TV.

It's implied Tenna was only going to do this after Spamton signed his contract concerning providing tips about being a big shot.

I'm curious as to what they were collaborating on before. I hc that Spamton sold Tenna's wares at Tenna's gift shop, or they did mutual promotions and advertisements that weren't on TV. Maybe Spamton did email advertisements for Tenna for his programs alongside his role as a car salesman. Who knows!

Point is - they were on posters together. They collaborated. Tenna WAS cheated, no denying that. But it's not shown to be purposeful, even by Tenna's admission, and it's not as though Tenna didn't get anything from working with Spamton. He just didn't get Spamton's benefactor.

Worse still, I think it was because Spamton wanted to help his friend that he got fucked. He broke a prior deal. And I think Tenna, wanting to be a good friend, revised his contract to be fairer as a show of trust.

Think about it.

They worked together and seemed genuinely happy based on the poster.

It's implied Tenna had a deal with someone on the phone. Same with Spamton. If Spamton had a deal, there would be stipulations. If it's true Spamton was corrupted after his fall, he was likely a (somewhat) decent person (for an addison) who wanted to uphold his promises and be honest which could explain why he was originally bad at being a spambot (more hc shit in another post I'll make omg).

What if Spamton’s benefactor had some knowing beforehand threatened to cut him off or do something to him or Tenna? What if he was informed of something very grave?

I think that’s when Spamton's benefactor cut him off, and in a panic, Spamton left trying to prevent it, forgetting all about Tenna.

Interestingly in canon, Tenna didn't care that Spamton was freaking out. He was more excited to get Spamton's secrets and eagerly picked up the phone. This is why I say both of them aren't saints and have done questionable to bad things to each other lmao. They can be greedy lil' businessmen. It's why I'm really wondering if people are like - digesting what's actually happening.

If anything, I think they sincerely didn't want to exploit each other. They wanted to do right by each other. But due to desperation on both their parts, they did hurt each other. They continue to hurt each other because of past transgressions, despite it being canon that both desperately want the other to acknowledge them again. And that's more complex and compelling than "Spamton was a stinky dookie butt all along".

It's tragic.

(source)

That said - this'll hopefully be my tl;dr post on Tenna and Spamton's morality until THE BIG ONE, which pertains more to mental health biases between the two.

[slutforpringles]

Obviously you're very close to Circuit of the Americas and you've mentioned that Daniel [Ricciardo] got to have a jam in a rally car alongside you. So I'm interested, obviously he's at the top of his game, he's in the top tenth of a percent of drivers in the world, albeit not on the surfaces that you compete on. What was it like taking someone like Daniel Ricciardo and putting him in a rally car? How quickly did he adapt to what was required of him? Yeah, what was really cool about working with Daniel is he, you know, we were just talking about where people can improve. I think the biggest place people can improve to answer that question more succinctly is in their head. It's the head game that tends to be the biggest one. People always have already decided what they do or don't know. And so it was really fascinating seeing guys who you know, we'll get emails of people being like, 'I've done 17 track days. Do I really need to start with your basic program? Or can I jump right into your super pro advanced program?' And I'm like, if you've done 17 track days, we have to start you so much further back because there's so much work to do, especially when people start that way. And Daniel was the exact opposite of that. Daniel came in with some mutual friends. They were like, 'hey we're going to be cruising through after the NASCAR race. Is it cool if we stopped by with Daniel?' And we're like, yeah, sure, whatever and showed they up and we're like, okay, that Daniel, got it. First off, he's terrified of dogs, which is important for everybody to know. He was like, nuh-uh, I don't do dogs, no, no. He hopped right in the car and was like, here, I'll ride shotgun, you drive. And so we were in an EP3 Honda Civic, like a 2002 Civic hatchback. It looks like a three-quarter scale minivan and it's bone stock front wheel drive, I think we had blown rear shocks so it was bouncing everywhere. It was like this was the most informal, unplanned, non-media centric thing that popped up. And he was just laughing and he was like, this is your house? You just do this every day? And I was like, yeah, pretty much. He was like, fuck that's so sick. Then we switch and he hops in the driver's seat and he's like, yeah so what do I do? We're like, I mean, you know, you get paid a lot of money to do this, so I can't be. And he's like, nah mate I don't think you understand, I've never driven a car with a roof on it. I don't know what the fuck I'm doing. We're like, OK, sick. And he genuinely was curious, he asked lots of questions and he was awful for a half a lap. And mind you, this is about a 40-second lap just right here in the front of the school. And just awful. You know, understandably, there's some adapting to do between a winning Red Bull F1 car and what is some guy that worked at the airport's Honda Civic I bought on Craigslist. We've worked with a ton of really talented drivers in every discipline and level up to that point, so I have a pretty good idea of like what people's development curves look like. But watching Daniel get in and for a half a lap was just like he would turn the wheel and the car would just understeer violently and he had no idea how to fix it and save it. And then he finished a lap and we were just burning hot laps. Second lap, he was like, OK, cool, he figured out how to refine that. Third lap was like, cool, got it, that's pretty tidy. He asked questions, he listened, he was curious, he was receptive. And then once it started to click, it was like this AI learning model of like, once he understood the physics, that was it. And we got about five laps in and I was like, I got nothing else to offer here. And then lap 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 was its own space. And it was really cool to go from teaching to learning really quickly and it's not like Daniel became a rally driver in five laps. It's not that he was all of a sudden a better rally driver than anyone ever. It was just that he was developing so quickly with that car. It was like, oh, this is what it's like to work with somebody who has been refined from birth to do that.

via: High Performance Academy podcast | 052: Thinking About Building a Rally Car?

[glowettee]

✧・゜: self-discipline doesn't mean hating yourself into action :・゜✧:・゜✧

hey lovelies! ✧

i've been thinking about this a lot lately… how did we all collectively decide that being mean to ourselves was somehow the path to getting things done? like, who started this toxic rumor that self-discipline means internal screaming and punishment? because honestly? i spent years believing that the only way to accomplish anything was through this weird self-bullying technique and it was literally the least effective approach ever.

⋆.ೃ࿔:･ the wake-up call ･:࿔ೃ.⋆

last semester i hit a wall with my essay project. i had been doing that thing where you stare at your laptop, call yourself lazy in your head, promise to work for 8 straight hours to "make up for it," then get overwhelmed and watch netflix instead. but one night at like 2am (why do all realizations happen at 2am??) i wondered what would happen if i just… stopped being mean to myself about it?

what if self-discipline was actually about being the most understanding friend to yourself instead of the worst drill sergeant?

⋆.ೃ࿔:･ what actually works ･:࿔ೃ.⋆

start ridiculously small, i'm talking embarrassingly tiny steps. want to write that paper? commit to just opening the document and typing a single sentence. need to clean your space? just put away three things. the magic is that once you start, continuing feels so much easier.

create environments that make things easier, not harder. i rearranged my desk so everything i need is within reach and visible. stopped trying to work in my bed (even though it's so comfy) because my brain associates it with sleep and tiktok scrolling.

acknowledge the resistance instead of fighting it. when i feel that "i don't wanna" feeling, i literally say to myself "i hear you, and it makes sense you feel that way. what's one tiny piece we could do?" talking to myself like i'm my own bestie changed everything.

use curiosity instead of judgment. instead of "why am i so lazy?" (which never helps), try "i wonder what's making this hard for me right now?" sometimes the answer surprises you. maybe you're actually just hungry or need better lighting.

build in rest BEFORE you crash. i started scheduling actual breaks before i felt desperate for them, and somehow i get more done? it's like my brain knows it's not going to be held hostage forever.

⋆.ೃ࿔:･ the permission slip approach ･:࿔ೃ.⋆

my favorite technique lately has been what i call "permission slip productivity" where i literally write myself little notes giving permission to:

work imperfectly (first drafts can be messy!)

take breaks without guilt

change my approach if something isn't working

celebrate small progress instead of only the end result

acknowledge when something is genuinely difficult

there's something so powerful about physically writing yourself permission. it sounds silly but it works because it interrupts that mean inner voice that's been programmed into us.

⋆.ೃ࿔:･ the results speak for themselves ･:࿔ೃ.⋆

the wildest part? i actually get MORE done now that i've stopped the self-hate productivity method. turns out your brain works better when it's not being constantly criticized? who knew!

my essay (very big essay) got finished early. my room stays cleaner. i actually enjoy my study sessions now instead of dreading them. and most importantly, i don't feel that heavy cloud of shame following me around everywhere.

self-discipline isn't forcing yourself through misery, it's creating systems that work WITH your natural tendencies, not against them. it's about making things easier, not harder. it's about treating yourself like someone you actually care about.

and maybe the real glow-up isn't just checking things off your to-do list, but doing it without sacrificing your relationship with yourself in the process.

what about you? have you been trying to hate yourself into productivity? might be time for a gentler approach. you deserve that kindness from yourself. (and honestly? it just works better.)

xoxo, mindy 🤍

[ikamigami]

TW for rat experiment nxnxnxnxn

Now I'm 100% sure that Sawyer was the one who not only did experiments on animals with poppy gel but he was successful with it.

First things first. People wrongly assumed (including me at first) that Sawyer didn't write note about rat experiment because the letters were different.

But the thing is this is not how you compare handwriting to determine whether or not it was written by the same person.

Look closely at both texts. They seem at first glance to be too different to be written by the same person, right? But the difference comes from the time both these notes were written.

Rat experiment was written by Sawyer during his time at Young Geniuses Program and he was a teenager at that time. The handwriting actually looks like something that teenager could write. Letters still look like how you learn to write in school.

Note about Yarnaby was written by Sawyer when he was working at Playtime Co and he was adult then. The handwriting changed - letters are written in simpler style probably from years of writing thanks to the profession he chose. Hence why capital letters like "a" or "s" are now written as bigger versions of lowercase letters. Because it's simpler to write them in this way.

We can see that Sawyer found his own style and his handwriting is now more confident and stylized compared to his handwriting from teenage years.

And what's most important when you compare handwriting? You have to find unique qualities of ones handwriting. And we can see that in both notes letters written in one word are connected and letters are leaning in the same direction though it became more apparent in his adult handwriting.

Changing of handwriting over time is completely normal thing. It happens to everyone.

And another thing. You can't say from one letter that thing was written by the same person. I'm talking about how many people (including me at first) believe that rat experiment was written by Elliot solely because the letter "E" is the same. It's not how this works. And I admit that I was wrong when I thought that Elliot wrote that note.

I know that I talked about it already in one of my posts but I wanted to make this clear because it's important that Sawyer was the one who discovered the scientific breakthrough of bringing dead back to life.

Why it's important?

Because I realized that the only thing everyone saw in Sawyer was his intellect and that everyone used him and then betrayed him later (or in Leith's case earlier).

We don't know what exactly happened between Elliot and Harley. But we can conclude this based on hints and more importantly from narrative standpoint.

So what we know for a fact is that Sawyer survived two times solely thanks to his intellect: 1) Leith didn't kill him but turned him into an experiment because he needed Sawyer's knowledge and unique capabilities; 2) the Prototype didn't kill him because he needed Sawyer's knowledge that he lacked - cause it was pointed out rather clearly that the Prototype would need too much time to first learn things that Sawyer already knew before he'll be able to crack the secret on his own and he didn't have that much time; Sawyer on the other hand already had a lot of knowledge on the matter which was what the Prototype needed.

In both these cases Sawyer was used for his intellect and betrayed 1) by Leith when he turned him into an experiment; 2) by the Prototype - he didn't kill him on his own (I think he couldn't) but used the third party (the player) and he was plotting it behind Sawyer's back.

Hints given to us that heavily imply that Elliot used Sawyer for his intellect and later betrayed him:

1) removal letter description - "Monsters We Make..." suggests that Elliot's actions are direct cause of Sawyer's mental breakdown which made him into the person or rather a monster who he is now (he pushed him over the edge - one bad day).

2) Sawyer's voice lines - "It was going to be mine. It was all going to be mine. My discovery. My recognition. I was the one who paved the golden path."

"Has she not strung you along, betrayed you, and told you only what you needed to know to do exactly as she asked?"

"Do you think Poppy cares about you? She'd sacrifice you in an INSTANT if she believed it means getting what she wants."

These clearly imply how Sawyer viewed Elliot's actions towards him (he was projecting on Poppy how he felt about Elliot).

And this together with:

3) Sawyer's memory of rat experiment from Doctor's trailer.

Shows us that Sawyer was experimenting on animals with poppy gel during his time at Young Geniuses Program.

Experiments on animals were pretty common and non-controvercial at the time period Young Geniuses Program was founded - most likely between 60-70s.

And because this Program was founded by Elliot every experiment and discovery belonged to him as it was a property of Playtime Co.

Lines like "My discovery" and "I was the one who paved the golden path" suggests to us that it was Sawyer who discovered the scientific breakthrough. He succeded with bringing dead back to life. But we don't know when it happened and with what subject exactly.

Important thing to note is that Sawyer was young back then and he didn't had the vast knowledge and abilities he gained later. He was using whatever knowledge and abilities he had at that age and he was most likely improvising driven by scientific progress ("progress doesn't care about anyone's feelings") and curiosity.

I believe that Sawyer crossed lines which caused the argument between him and Elliot and resulted in his removal from the Program.

Hence why it wouldn't surprise me if it turned out that Sawyer made the Prototype and not Elliot - and he succeded we can say on accident. Using human for experimentation was definitely a no go even back then. Though we know that at that period of time there were experiments conducted on humans that were unethical.

Also I wouldn't be surprised if Elliot told him about Poppy and his dream to be able to have her back. And it wouldn't surprise me if this could also be a reason to why Sawyer tried so hard because he was doing this for Elliot the only person that gave him positive attention. And this is where Harley's line "I thought you CARED" could come from cause Elliot wanted something similar, no?

Anyway. Hints that Elliot used Sawyer for his intellect.

So Sawyer was working under Elliot and came up with the project with poppy gel that caught Elliot's attention because of his dead daughter - proof: "If I might just be a tad selfish here, he is EXACTLY who I hoped this program would attract."

Elliot took Sawyer's project to bring his daughter back to life. He did it for selfish reasons. He already had that in mind when he saw what Sawyer was working on. And it makes him a hypocrite cause he experimented on his own daughter while he kicked out Harley if not for the same thing (the Prototype) then for something less than that.

"He took EVERYTHING"

"I thought you CARED"

These words written by Sawyer about Elliot have clear implication. Elliot took Sawyer's project by kicking him out of YGP because it belonged to Playtime Co. It's not fair when the one who discovered the scientific breakthrough was Sawyer and also because Elliot did what he kicked out Harley for. Sawyer thought that Elliot cared but sadly Elliot cared about his selfish desire to bring his daughter back to life.

I'm pretty sure that he cared about Sawyer but not more than his selfish desire. He just covered his reasoning for kicking Harley out of YGP in nice words like Sawyer lacking humility or that he should use science for benefit of humanity not only for the sake of progress.

We know these were excuses when Elliot saw Harley's struggles:

"I've tried to ask him questions— get a sense for who he is. And while he doesn't say much, from how he talks about home, I get a sense he doesn't miss it. A mind such as his can be quick to isolate himself from his peers, and if not surrounded by kindness, that mind can twist. The way he spoke almost made me feel sorry for him."

And because Elliot brought his dead daughter back to life.

Elliot had his own vision and selfish desire and he was fixated on it and when Sawyer didn't fit his ideal world ("childish fantasy of a naive, broken man") he ignored his issues and ditched responsibility. Elliot was selfish back then.

Sawyer mental breakdown was understandable. Elliot indeed betrayed him. And this pushed Sawyer over the edge - reference to Joker (one bad day; jester's siluette on torn papers; Doctor wearing jester's hat on official art). He became a monster because of Elliot's actions towards him.

And why I don't think that Elliot made Poppy on his own because he isn't a scientist in that field. Sure he had various innovational ideas and he could make machines and toys or at least their designs. But we don't have any proof of Elliot being knowledgable on subject of biology and such.

Elliot doesn't come off as someone who knows how to do surgery or anything like that.

And I get it that Elliot was grieving but it's not excuse to be a hypocrite and Elliot was an adult so he should know better. He saw that Harley had issues. He saw that something was wrong. But he was selfish. And grieving can't be an excuse to broke the trust of an already broken kid. It's not an excuse to mistreat a child.

This makes me even more feral over them and I need to know in what circumstances Harley killed Elliot jxnxnxnnxnxnxnnxnxnxnx

Anyway. Sawyer being the one who discovered the scientific breakthrough of bringing dead back to life makes sense from both hints in game and ARG etc and narrative standpoint.

Sad thing is that no one saw Sawyer as his own person but rather they saw only his intellect. The only person who could do something and cared about Harley was Elliot but we all know what he chose.

It's not surprising that Sawyer acts so superior cause he learned that all that matters in him is his intellect and nothing else. So he tries to make up for this by acting as he's above everyone else.

And I believe that Sawyer got this mentality from his home. I believe that his parents also focused only on his intellect. That's why he's so detached from his humane aspects because he had nothing outside of his big brain. And it reflects in what happened to him later when he was turned into basically a machine. A brain plugged into a computer. Because only this brain mattered to others.

That's why I don't think that Sawyer would care if the only thing left of him was his intellect in digital version and not even his brain cause he's too used to being valued for his smarts and used and later discarded like a thing or a tool. He was dehumanized, I believe since childhood, to the point he became a machine.

But what's tragic is that he still misses humane aspects of him, he still wished for connection even though he didn't understand that and wasn't even aware of that. But he pushes away every bit of what makes him humane because of his goal - golden path. He's obsessed with this goal even more than he's obsessed with himself I think. Because if he was truly obsessed with himself why would he want to discard and push further and further away anything that could distract him from his goal? He doesn't even allow himself simple pleasures and even if he does something for his own amusement he's still emotionally detached from it. Like we could hear in his QnA. He answers in such way about most trivial things as if he had to find an analitical and logical reason to do and like something. (Come on, Harley! Bsnznznzn QwQ)

I think he became obsessed with golden path since Elliot kicked him out of YGP because it was his breaking point. Golden path was his idea. It was his project. His discovery. But I think that roots of this comes from his home.

This much focus on scientific progress and what it escalated to later doesn't come from nothing.

Like I get it that Sawyer could have an interest in science and all but when it's implied that he had bad childhood and he is compared to rest of experiments via implications by devs then I doubt that his obsessive mindset came from nowhere. (also why the name golden path and why belief in special properties of poppy flowers vzbxbznbxbxbxnx)

His parents were at least neglectful both physically and emotionally and were pressuring and pushing him to focus only on studying and on gaining knowledge and on progress.

And with all of this I just think that the Doctor is better candidate for main antagonist in horror franchise. Cause he's a monster but a tragic monster who projects his trauma on everyone around him. Most of iconic horror characters had tragic backstory and they ended up projecting their hurt onto others.

I'm pretty sure that the Doctor is alive but I hope for it because it makes sense and would be good from narrative standpoint.

[ravenlly]

Who Made The Daycare Attendant? (Part 1: Main Speculation)

SPOILERS FOR SECRET OF THE MIMIC!!!

I gave it some thought and came to the conclusion that whatever happened to the Data Diver after Secret Of The Mimic, it resulted in the creation of the Daycare Attendant alongside Mimic's current design as of Ruin. Both of them are deeply intertwined, as the game has revealed to us, and the Data Diver is essential to both of them.

Moon.exe is a program that can only be accessed with the use of the Data Diver. Same with the Mimic's blueprints, among other things. We now know that the Data Diver is also a predecessor to the Faz Wrench, which we use on the Daycare Attendant ourselves. This is important to the programming of the Daycare Attendant and Mimic. It is also important to F10-N4's attempt to try and fix the evil Mimic, which is something I must mention due to the fact there are two possible canon endings to the game.

The first candidate for the canon ending is the one where we (Arnold) give F10-N4 the Faz-Wrench unknowingly, believing her to be our dispatcher. You know, the one where we die at the end because the Mimic comes after us either way. The second possible ending would be the one where we escape with the Data Diver, only to have the Mimic hunt us down, crash our van, and take the Data Diver from us. The first ending gives us closure that the device ended up in F10-N4's hands, where she'd use it to try and repair the Mimic. The second ends with us having no clue where the Mimic takes it next. We don't know if it even leaves the facility now that it has freedom and the device it wanted. I assume that in the ending where we give F10-N4 the device, it returns to the facility in an attempt to track the Data Diver down or do other things, since it would rely on the factory for its survival at that point. Regardless of who gets it, someone ends up having access to the Mimic's blueprints and Moon.exe.

It's really hard for me to decide which of those two endings I think are canon. We know Mimic doesn't get fixed, but that doesn't necessarily mean F10-N4 didn't get the device. We need to keep in mind that she thinks Edwin is alive. As far as we know, he isn't, though that could be a red herring that reveals he is later or something. But she seems to be waiting for Edwin to come fix him, since she'd need someone to have that physical form to be able to do so. Someone who can find him, hold him down, and fix him, which we know doesn't happen. This means that ending could very well be canon.

Actually, the more I think about it, the more I think that one is the canon ending. For one thing, I'm not sure if Arnold would be able to pick up on the fact that the dispatcher is acting unusual. At the very least, I don't think he'd bat an eye at their behaviour even if he did pick up on it. He's a very tired employee who wants nothing more than to finish his job and get home to his wife, whom he hasn't seen in over 30 hours. He is probably used to Fazbear Entertainment's shadiness. He probably wouldn't have the mental energy to think about the strangeness. So, I actually believe he listened to "the dispatcher's" orders and gave the Data Diver right to F10-N4, only to be brutally murdered by Mimic when he escapes. I think this means the Mimic murdered him out of spite and went back to the factory to try and get his nasty metal hands on the Data Diver.

So, going off my assumption that this is the true ending...what happens next? How does the Daycare Attendant come to be? How does Mimic end up as his current self, who is much different in design than we see in Secret Of The Mimic?

Well, as I said, F10-N4 cannot repair the Mimic on her own, nor can she effectively do much to stop it. Someone else would have to come into the picture eventually. We do know that someone does...eventually. We know someone will set up M.X.E.S in the future, and that Mimic effectively is trapped under the Pizzaplex thanks to that technology. So...is this individual responsible for the creation of the Daycare Attendant? Do they use the Data Diver and use Moon.exe in its creation? If so, how do they end up in the hands of Fazbear Entertainment as a theatre bot until they become the Daycare Attendant?

I think another technician could have possibly been sent. Fazbear is pretty pissed that we lost the Data Diver, and they pursue it relentlessly. We know it does end up in their hands at some point, going on to become the Faz-Wrench later on. This, naturally, would give them access to Moon.exe. It might not be a technician, but it is more than likely an employee, at the very least. Or...maybe Henry?

I theorize F10-N4 kept the Data Diver out of Mimic's reach and protected it until someone came along and helped her set up M.X.E.S. This individual, as I said, would be someone working for Fazbear Entertainment. I think in this case, she'd realize she'd have to come clean to them about everything going on down there. It would have to be someone with an open mind and an open heart, willing to help her stop the Mimic from killing anyone else.

This individual would likely be tasked with using the Data Diver to program the Daycare Attendant (before he became the Daycare Attendant) using Moon.exe. But...where does Sun come in? What about the blueprints for the Daycare Attendant's body? Never mind that...what about Eclipse?

Well, I think that's where F10-N4 comes in once again. Although she cannot physically create the endoskeletons or hardware in general, she can come up with blueprints and designs of her own. We know that she is represented by a sun. Perhaps, while she lay in wait for someone to one day return to the factory, she designed the Daycare Attendant's blueprints. On the outside, they were probably designed to be performative animatronics, with mechanisms that made them switch personas. However, I'm sure she'd have more of a reason to make them. Something pertaining to the Mimic, mayhaps? Or maybe something representational? Maybe Sun's purpose was supposed to cancel out a (Mimic?) virus or malfunction in Moon...but failed.

One important thing to note is that the Mimic's endoskeleton is much different in Security Breach than it is in Secret Of The Mimic. It doesn't even look like the same base at all, even if it still has the ability to shapeshift, remove and upgrade parts, and whatnot. If you look closely, you can see it has the same teeth that the Daycare Attendant's endoskeleton has. This was one of the first hints people had to link the two together. Maybe F10-N4 tried again to design a new body as well, or even other animatronics. Hell, maybe it was originally supposed to be a new body for herself. But maybe something went awry, and the Mimic managed to install itself into this body's hardware. Or, maybe the Daycare Attendant was built in a place that just had those style of parts lying around, and the Mimic merely stole them and upgraded itself or built itself a body, as the Daycare Attendant's body clearly has a ton of upgraded technology it would probably want to snag for itself (flexibility, transformation, etc).

Regardless of everything I said, we do know this: the Mimic and the Daycare Attendant are linked. Linked by their design, their origin, and by the Data Diver. Somewhere along the way, that Data Diver was tapped into and used by Fazbear Entertainment. The Daycare Attendant ended up in their hands as well, while the Mimic was sealed off below their old pizzeria and the Pizzaplex as a whole.

That all said, I actually just realized one thing that changes my theory a little bit. Well, it changes part of my theory. But that will be made in my Part 2: Addendum post!

[an-asexual-infp]

TADC theories (ep 5 spoilers)

This episode, in my opinion, was amazing : we got all the gang together on adventures, we got more insight on a few characters, some lore of their pasts...

Here are some of my theories

1) : Caine wants the aventures to have high stakes, which is the opposite of what the "humans" want. Why? I think it's because The Amazing Digital Circus is a TV program, or is supposed to be entertaining for someone.

2) : Since Jax, Pomni (?) and Zooble know about Breaking Bad, but Ragatha doesn't it either means :

She doesn't know pop culture things, shows, etc

They're from different decades, but don't realize it because time passes different in the circus, and Ragatha was there before theses two

3) : We saw that they all came from different backgrounds / jobs, etc. But since Pomni and Zooble said they liked going into abandoned buildings, and Ragatha said she was a real estate agent, they all went to the same building. And found an headset, unless it's a fake memory.

4) : Caine made Jax vegan : he had control over his mind, which contradict his statement in the first episode. What if he gave them fake memories, erase some...? Because when Pomni asked about Kinger's wife, even though the bar was a bit in the dark, Kinger didn't remember her, and Jax seemed clueless about it. Maybe Ragatha would have known something put they haven't showed her saying something like "yeah, I heard about her / knew her"

+ what happened to Jax's tail???? It doesn't feel like a throw away joke.

5) : Caine is losing control, over himself and the circus, because the gang doesn't like the aventures he made up himself, which made his program confused, for lack of better word. It may end up with glitches and dangerous situations, like when he had an existential crisis in ep 3.

[ckret2]

Am I the only one who really hates Jack's angst over "killing his first real human" in early Season 5?

Firstly, it makes Jack look really racist (human supremacist?) From Jack's perspective at that moment (he didn't knew yet that they were just unlucky to be born into a cult and raised into slave soldiers), Daughters of Aku must have looked like just a bunch of bloodthirsty assholes wanting to murder him. No different than e.g. Blue Dwarf Scientist from Seasons of Death whom Jack brutally killed with his own poison. Why wasn't he so distraught back then? Daughter of Aku was human, and the Scientist was not, therore his life is not precious? Not even starting to talk about X-9 and countless other sapient robots clearly in posession of soul and personality...

Secondly, even in the very romanticised version of the medieval world that is portrayed in the show, I have big trouble believing that Jack did not kill a single human opponent during his warrior training years, or at least saw his teachers or "classmates" doing so and being cool with it.

Thirdly, this is a blantant retcon at the best, and continity error at worst to say that this was his first real human kill since I am pretty sure that bounty hunters from the Princess Mira episode were all human (or humanoid cats - still probably close enough to human to count) and that Jack killed them all (except Mira herself... hopefully)

idk if you're the only one, but I'm not with you.

Firstly, I don't mind that Jack undervalues robot lives. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ It's a rare & prominent flaw in a character that's otherwise intended to be nearly flawless. Would have enjoyed seeing him grapple with it more, even.

He wasn't distraught over the blue scientist alien thing because the blue scientist alien thing is an alien thing. For the same reason, I also don't mind that Jack values humans over aliens. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Especially when part of him probably suspects any given nonhuman enemy might be a demon/Magically Evil In Their Soul the same way Aku is—which isn't the case with humans.

Jack hasn't killed countless sapient robots clearly in possession of a soul and personality. He's killed a SINGLE robot clearly in possession of a personality: Scaramouche. He's killed a second robot potentially in possession of a personality: that French bot in Jack and the Baby, but it's possible he doesn't have a personality, just an outfit and an accent. He's killed a third robot that (from Jack's pov) VERY DUBIOUSLY MIGHT have a personality: this one bot that tracked him into a factory, silently & emotionlessly tried to shoot him, and then mysteriously said "take care of lulu" seconds before deactivating.

So that's like, 1.2 robots Jack can say had personalities, and the 1 was programmed evil (so, same as Aku). All the other robots he killed are not clearly sapient; all the other clearly sapient robots he met, he didn't kill.

So, yes, exactly: Daughter of Aku is human, his other enemies were not (and possibly even Inherently Evil, Like Aku), therefore their lives are not precious to Jack. I've got no problem with Jack thinking that way.

Secondly, I don't have trouble believing that Jack made it through his training without killing another person. We only see him using lethal force in the direction of a human twice during his training: once when he shoots an arrow at a passing aristocrat's bag of coins (and I imagine that was a lucky, and infrequent, opportunity), and when he's sparring with the monks (who I am fully willing to believe are highly trained enough that they had no fatal mishaps during training). Nothing else he ever did risked human lives.

We know he's seen humans kill humans, there was that whole scene where his dad killed a bunch of bandits. The reason Jack's distressed over the Daughters of Aku isn't because he's never seen a human kill a human before. It's because HE, PERSONALLY, WITH HIS OWN HANDS, has never killed a human before. There's a pretty big difference between witnessing a murder and committing one.

Thirdly, there's no evidence any of those bounty hunters are dead. We see him swing his sword, we don't see anybody get cut up. That same animation style (a sword swing, a black-and-white slash/flash, bodies flying through the air) is the same way they animated Aku-infected Jack beating up the salamander monks—who survived, even though Aku is more willing to kill than Jack. Even the dude who got a bunch of tiny bombs blown up in his face is seen whole, no blood in the snow, not even his clothes damaged. They're probably unconscious but alive (not only because there's no proof they're seriously injured, but also because this was season 4). Or, if you just can't tolerate the idea they survived, Jack could himself believe that they're unconscious but alive.

Fourthly, I know we just had another conversation thread around here about watsonian vs doylist reasoning for writing decisions, but the fact nevertheless remains that Jack didn't kill humans in the first four seasons because Cartoon Network wouldn't let him in a Y7 cartoon (which is why he had to fight robots in the first place). I feel that, given Jack's personality, it would make sense to make a big deal about his first human kill. Since that was impossible during the first four seasons, I would prefer for them to finagle that moment into the fifth season rather than not address it at all and just act like he's always been cool with killing humans.

Fifthly—honestly??? I feel like it's a coping mechanism on Jack's end. Remember "They're just nuts and bolts, just nuts and bolts"? Jack has been killing and killing and killing for fifty years. When he started killing robots, he could tell himself, "It's fine, at least it's not a person." When he started killing sapient robots, he could tell himself "It's fine, at least it's not a real person." When he started killing aliens, he could tell himself, "It's fine, at least it's not a human." He's had to move the lines on his morality just to psychologically hold himself together. "At least I've never killed a human" is the last thread he's holding onto.

And that's why losing it hits him so hard. Because he's got nothing else left.

... Well, nothing else except "at least I've never killed children." It sure would be awful if something happened that tricked him into thinking he killed some kids.

[skykid-void]

I think I'm going to start working for tgc

Cloud watching AND research trips to Disneyland? Sign me up!

[ywpd-translations]

Ride 800: Blue sky of joy

Pag 1

1: A climb's outcome is always

2: decided at a place that's close to the sky

4: You bet everything on it, and when the wheels cross the finish line

5: The winner....

Pag 2 / 3

1: raises their hands to the sky and rejoices

A blessing for Manami, the wide sky is Hakogaku's blue!!)

Pag 4

1: The first day's mountain prize goes to Hakone Academy's number 13, Manami Sangaku!!

3: He clearly raises both his arms up to the sky!! For the third year in a row the mountain prize goes to Hakone Academy!!

The sky... is so blue!!

Pag 5

1: I feel alive!!

2: Hakogaku...!!

Kanagawaaa!!

The kings!!

3: Manami took it!!

He beat Mountain King!!

Pag 6

2: Amaziing!!

3: Manami-saaan!!

You're so cool!!

Hakogaku is so strong!!

4: The strongest!!

Manami-saaan!!

6: Waaaaaa

7: Amazing, what a nice scenery

We really climbed to such a nice place

I don't know why, it's strange...

Pag 7

1: but everything looks brilliant

Pag 8

2: The vividness of the greens

The vitality of plants

3: The birds' chirping

The buzzing of insects

Pag 9

1: I can feel the life of every living being

2: Manami-saan!!

You were so cool just now!

It was so exciting!

Manami-kuun!

I took a video!

3: The scenery looks brilliant, doesn't it, Manami

4: In road racing, “victory”

5: is something that's so important it changes the way your body feels

Pag 10

1: Not to mention that it's against the opponent against who he lost for two years in a row

2: The delight makes your cells vibrate all throughout your body

Here's a bottle!

Ah, thanks

4: Manami, that... you managed to get so far while going through so much suffering, you worked so hard and endured

(I threw it away

But I didn't answer)

5: This is

Pag 11

1: a “rewarded joy” for all of that

2: Manami

Hakogakuu!!

Manami-kuun!!

Pag 12

1: Congratulations

Pag 14

1: Thank you for fighting with all your strength

3: After the mountain line there's still the finish line

Keeping your energies for the team is part of the strategy

4: But you used all your strength until your limit to fight against me

5: So, I'm thankful

Pag 15

1: Ah... yeah, but... I couldn't... win...

Even though everyone worked hard to push my back...

2: You're amazing, Manami-kun

You're even stronger than that time on Minegayama

3: Well... at the time I was still at around 75%, I was still in the middle of it

Yet I could still get a lead on you

5: Honestly, this time, when there were around 100m left I thought I couldn't win

But

6: I didn't know until the very last moment

7: You got stronger too!!

Pag 16

1: No no no no

That's not true at all, not true at all

Woah....

2: I just followed, I just did the best I could

3: Aren't you self aware?

That means

4: I just practiced very hard...

That those two control the practices

Their base power has grown

5: Mo- more importantly, huh... I'm sorry!!

Pag 17

1: Huh.... right before the finish line... uhm... I...

Actually...

3: In my mind I referred to you as “Sangaku” without any honorifics!!

4: In....

6: In your heart?

Without honorifics?

Pag 18

1: Hahahaha

2: Hahaha

Huh!? What kind of reaction is this!? Huh!?

3: I'm- I'm sorry

I just... I was really excited at the end!!

4: It's fine

6: I'm actually glad you referred to me without honorifics, it's like... we got so much closer

No, but... I... huh

I don't dislike it...

7: But I guess adding the “kun” really feels like the most natural thing...

Ugh....

8: Besides

Pag 19

1: While you're shouting inside your heart you don't have to add it

3: And at the end, I too, inside my heart

4: I called you “Sakamichi”

6: That, that makes me happy

Right!

7: Ah... now finally...

8: Uhm.....

Pag 20

1: We fulfilled our promise... thank you

Yeah....!!

2: We haven't reached the finish line yet, so we can't rest (haha)

This... this time, since we raced for the mountain stage we still have to keep running even if our race is over

Looks like there's still a little more to go

Ugh...

Pag 21

1: Buaah, yeah!!

It's Hakogaku's victory!!

2: You're too loud!! San-na!!

It's Hakogaku's victory, buah!!

How many times are you gonna say it...!!

3: I'll say it over and over again!! Manami is stronger than Onoda!!

Ugh...!! Onoda-san..!!

4: Humph

Pag 22

1: Amazing, amazing, he's really so cool!!

Uh... he's cool, I guess...

(Tobirama-kun is acting cool)

2: He did it

3: Yeah, and thanks to him

4: The team's morale is rising!!

6: This is bad... Hakogaku-san's power is increasing

What do we do, Hotshot

Pag 23

1: Don't worry, even if they raise their power, let them do it

5: Or, Naruko, are you worried that their morale is rising?

7: Worried? What is “worry”, some sort of rock?

8: That's right. Us third years, me, you, and Onoda have already increased our base power with a program

Pag 24

1: that was sure to make us stronger!!

3: Kakaka!!

4: Huh... what's that... “base power”!?

Pag 25

1: Does that mean they're getting stronger?!

2: Those two's pressure is suddenly rising!!

Pag 26

2: Imaizumi and Naruko's....!!

3: They're getting stronger... than last year

Is this connected to that time at the beginning of spring...

4: when the third years didn't come to practice for a week?

Pag 27

1: Hakogaku's morale is rising? That's just what I was looking forward

Yeah!! I can't help but feel excited!!

2: The “finish line” is waiting!!

[whentherewerebicycles]

.

[non-un-topo]

Lol not to brag but I was meeting with the assistant of the grad program I want to apply for and she pulled up my transcript and yelled "HOLY SHIT!"

[attleboy]

Hey um can you tell me what app you use to animate Pomni to moving like that?

I want to animate my character to move like that but I need the app for me to do it

Plz

oh, of course!! :D

i'm using krita, which is a free art program :) it's got an animation feature that covers what i'd consider all the essentials [layers, onionskin, timelines, etc.]... anddd you can export the animation straight from krita so that's a big plus to me who doesn't have a proper editing software

it's not perfect perse [the animation playback is a bit laggy and the audio feature is sadly busted] but i think it's still really good for being free so i'd suggest trying it out!

and sorry if you're a mobile person i really don't know anything good for phones :')

[thegreathomestuckreread]

okay. i think perhaps the terrible, terrible moment has arrived. i need to find a new photo editing program

photoshop elements 8, my beloved dedicated photoshop elements 8 from the free software disc that came with my wacom bamboo tablet in 2012, is no longer opening certain types of gif files

it's possible it was never capable of opening these gifs idk, it's specifically gifs with a lot of frames that aren't opening, like the painting gifs from chicory a colourful tale, or the plot point gif from homestuck beyond canon

there is also the fact that a very long time ago i started having issues with the scroll bars not moving properly and needing to use specific shortcuts to scroll around. so the writing's been on the wall for a while, this is a sixteen-year-old program that was bound to stop working eventually and the time has come for me to finally grit my teeth and find something new

please if anyone has any recommendations for photo editing programs i would appreciate it

relevant information:

i already know about gimp, paint.net, pixlr, and photopea. i am looking for something more fully-featured and not browser-based (needs to be an application that can be downloaded, installed on my computer, and used offline)

i'm willing to pay some for something good but only a one-time fee for full ownership of a program i refuse to engage with subscription services

also down for some yo ho ho if anyone has resources for that

i need something that has both strong photo editing tools and illustration tools because i use both of those (although moreso the photo editing tools)

needs to be able to open large gifs with lots of frames, as well as save to gif format with robust options

needs a transform tool that can turn anti-aliasing on and off freely. it can't be turned off in pse8 and that has been annoying for editing pixel art, which i need to do a lot for making homestuck upd8 video thumbnails

needs to be able to flip/rotate/etc. specific layers without having to do that to the entire image. pse8 can only do flips like that with the entire image, i've been cutting layers into a new document flipping them and repasting them back into the original document to get around it which is very annoying

need to be able to see the whole image when using the liquefy tool, not just the layer i'm working on. pse8 will pull the single layer you're working on into an isolated popout window with a white background to use the liquefy tool so you can't see whether it's proportionally correct to the rest of the image

hmmmm that's all i can think of rn. thank u for reading this post it came out way too long lol and thank u for suggestions if u have any!

[werewolfdog]

The fact there are many folks who are just beyond weak at working at the healthcare field, specifically based on instructing + looking after group home disabled residents. It's so heartbreaking and frustrating hearing my coworkers complain about certain clients or say anything negative regarding them, such as how they're annoying or they, the coworker, just want to hit them. Yes, some folks have certain behaviours and mannerisms and mindsets that one may not personally enjoy or feel comfortable, but they are still humans ( or whatever they wish to identify as ) with real thoughts and emotions in the end. As long as they're not saying or doing genuine harm to others and / or themselves that must be changed to healthier forms of attitudes, why should the disabled clients have to be seen as being lesser than us, the staffs in which some aren't any better for treating and seeing the clients like burdens.

[art-from-the-pantry]

I am insanely in Love with this drawing. Tumblr likes to botch the resolution tho, so if you want to see it in its full glory please click it (or open it in another tab, that also works)