#i know people can and should be critical of some things they do

[mortalityplays]

incendiary take time. I think part of the reason some people are gunning so hard for platforms to outright ban AI art/writing is that they've cultivated communities of taste that eschew critical evaluation and hold all ('human-made') creative works to be innately worthy and valuable by merit of being made by a very special little guy. when you're not allowed to say 'this isn't very good' or 'this doesn't mean anything' because that's mean / the artist didn't ask / taste is subjective / the divine comedy is basically fanfiction, you sacrifice the most basic reason AI art sucks (that it...sucks) and HAVE to resort to gerrymandering the definition of art to eliminate it from the pool of inherently unique and laudable creative expression.

when you can't say 'this chatGPT dreck is complete shit', either because there's no air in the room for calling anything shit or because you've spent so long playing nursery school compliment games with your fellow artists that you don't have the vocabulary or insight to identify 1. that it's shit 2. why it's shit, all you can do is demand that nobody ever shows it to you. because if they do you might be tricked, and if you're tricked you might embarrass yourself by liking something profane. and if you like something the machine made...well, then human art isn't innately special and divine at all, is it bud? maybe the thing that makes it good is a level of craft, thought, insight and articulation that we should all be conversant in.

but that means we all have to accept that not everything we make is perfect. that means we have to take criticism on the chin. yucky. let's police the purity of people's workflows instead. everyone knows only moral upright artists make good art.

[bunnygirllover45]

Long ass rant under the cut I apologize in advance.

I don't get why people interact with media they don't like, it's not only bad for your own mental health, people should let other people mind their business if they're not actively hurting nobody or spreading some hateful ideologies, I don't know if this is a hot take or not, but I think if you find any content you don't like in any social media, isn't better to just block people instead of leaving stupid comments that annoy the creator? Why is it my responsibility to block you when you can do it yourself?

I don't really like talking about these topics, but I always took the approach of just blocking people who send hate instead of replying to them with an equally bitter response, I don't want to lower myself to their level, I'm not here to interact with person or media I don't like, I come here to share what I enjoy. If I see someone I don't like in real life I don't go to them and attack them, I just simply ignore them, why shouldn't I do the same to people on the internet?

It's a little tricky to speak about these things because I don't upload the most morally correct content and my art is focused on dark yandere content, I'm aware that people will criticize that. I'll still approach the hate the same way I always do, because I think is the healthiest thing for both people, both me and the other end, I don't attack them back, and they don't see my content ever again.

Hopefully, this isn't too controversial, I don't want this to become a rant or anything, I just wanted to share my thoughts because I've been getting some nasty comments/asks lately, probably because my audience is growing and people from outside my usual followers are finding my content, or who knows. If anyone would like to share an opinion on this matter feel free to do so.

Is it okay to flag posts that romanticize bad stuff or push dangerous ideas to other people? yes, of course, you should totally do that, but I'm not here to spread any of that with my art, I just draw what I enjoy in fiction, I'm an adult trying to be responsible with the audience I have.

[bg-brainrot]

what are your thoughts on Larian walking away from BG3/BG4/DLCs?

What a great question!!

So, first to acknowledge my own feelings as a gamer, as a fan of BG3, of the franchise, and, of course, of Astarion : I'm naturally a bit bummed. I would love to play more, read more, watch something, anything really.

Added to that, I also don't trust an outside team to come in to pick up the vision of the original team. I've seen it happen with other games, where the base game was one studio and the DLC was outsourced or they onboarded a new studio to take on it on as the main development team moved on to the next big project. It rarely, if ever, has worked out well.

My hope on the Hasbro/WotC side is that they leave BG3 alone to live on as a behemoth in the history of gaming... however, knowing how game publishers are, how much money BG3 made, the player interest in more content, etc -- there is no way that Hasbro is leaving money like that to the wayside.

Best case scenario I see on this side: they make auxiliary content, like books, toys, comics.

Worst case scenario: they outsource a new game team for DLC.

As for BG4, I honestly didn't expect that to be Larian's next project anyway (I was expecting Divinity 3, so feeling a different disappointment there haha). That being said, I don't think WotC or Hasbro know (and I mean this at the executive level of course) why BG3 did well. There are honestly a ton of factors on why BG3 did well, but that's for another post lol, but I don't think they could replicate that for BG4 with another studio. Doesn't mean I don't think it will be good-- it might be! It will just be very different.

Best case scenario here: they have a good studio make BG4 and it's still good, but it's different.

Worse case scenario here: they try to have a studio replicate what Larian did instead of tapping into their talents, and end up with a buggy, unfun mess. Also they bring back characters just to try to get people to buy it. 🥲

Now, as a game dev, what do I think of Larian's choice in all of this?

I LOVE IT. Wow, Swen Vincke is doing what every single developer wishes they could do if they actually had the power, money, and the influence to do it.

I have wished in the past for my studios to abandon projects, but sometimes it really was necessary to try to keep the studio afloat. As much as you want to work on a passion project, very rarely is it actually something that will keep the lights on. Oftentimes you will have to make that deal with Hasbro for a license or that deal with Epic for exclusivity just to recoup costs. Making games is expensive and, if you want to make anything at the scale that BG3 is, you usually need a lot of partnerships (a lot of their GDC talks were part of partnerships, like Dolby, Amazon, Adobe).

So the fact that they had such a success with BG3 to actually, comfortably follow their creative passions? Wow, wow, wow-- I am rooting for them so hard. I want them to make exactly the game they want and take all the time they need to do it.

Now, even knowing that Hasbro had something to do with this, was what he said about the developers not feeling passionate about the DLC true? Yeah, probably.

I've never seen something kill creative passion more (even if it's for a franchise you like or a game you've loved working on) than a directive from the top for something that's clearly just meant to make people above you more money. And with each partnership comes approvals, comes red tape, comes stakeholders that want to dictate what's in the game (oftentimes to the detriment of the game)-- and the game team can't even object because it's not their license or their brand.

The fact that Larian can say, 'screw that, I don't need more money from you' is truly such an anomaly in gaming. I am so very in awe of them as a developer-- it feels like someone breaking free of the system and paving the way forward for the rest of us. So whatever they do next, I will be there to support them.

BG3 is their most successful game so far, and I'm hopeful they will continue to push those boundaries. They've proven with each release that the core of their studio remains the same: immersive/massive RPG experiences, community-feedback focused improvements, and a well-balanced studio.

The tldr for all of this: I've loved Larian's choices so far and, while I'm bummed as a player, as a game dev I can't wait to see where this one takes them!

[crownedwille]

I've come to the conclusion that loving young royals doesn't mean I can't be critical about it, maybe especially bc I love the show so much I have such strong feelings about it, good and bad and I can love parts of canon and agree with it and appreciate it but I don't have to love it all. I have accepted that it's okay if I don't accept the ending and I don't have to force myself to support it. It's okay to not agree with all of canon and it's okay to not side with all of the creators' intentions/views. Loving a show doesn't mean you have to take everything the writers say on face value and that's the only version that is allowed to exist. Canon isn't everything and fandom is about curating your own experience that makes you happy and not miserable. You don't have to dismiss canon in every aspect and ignore it entirely, that's certainly not what I want but there is a fine line between being canon respectful, allowing some parts to exist and sometimes, yes, you just have to say "fuck canon" and move on for your own sanity and wellbeing

[bluastro-yellow]

get it Kim has a lot to unpack do you get it

it's imperfect I'll never polish it just take it as it is

[awkward-teabag]

After every (American) election, there's always a bunch of posts going around exposing psyops or pointing out how there were posts on this site designed to get people to not vote blue.

And in the lead up to every (American) election, there's a bunch of posts being reblogged that are clearly either psyops or manipulative posts that tell people it's perfectly okay for them not to vote at all.

Like, there's history going back years on this hellsite where the alt-right intentionally tried to undermine or indoctrinate people so they get/stay in power. History a lot of y'all know of or were even there for and saw go down in real time.

But sure, be uncritical of what you reblog, don't bother looking at the source website, or just put things out there without caveats or nuance.

[scientologyblows]

okay but lets be very serious here right now, when they release a statement what exactly is that gonna change? don admitted to him and lex having intercourse (which shows that he coerced her) and matt and ryans texts show that the situation was handled VERY poorly. an apology isnt enough for the trauma they both have caused

[divinesouldariax]

it doesnt have to hurt more to be love!

it doesnt have to hurt more to be love.

there’s been a lot of very good meta about ashton, taking hits, carrying his friends, carrying heavy things for their friends, doing things that hurt, that make it hurt worse, to protect his friends from pain. because he knows how to carry pain. because they’re used to it. because they know he can keep going. because, because, because it’s what he knows, it’s all he knows.

and it’s true. ashton loves them. ashton is willing to hurt more for them, and it’s because they love their friends.

but, but, but. he shouldnt have to. people with chronic pain shouldnt have to do things that make the pain worse. we might choose to, and that is definitely an act of love, but feeling like they dont have a choice, that taking on more pain, silently, suffering without ever asking for help or saying no, i can’t do that, it hurts too much...

because, listen. for most people, chronic pain is limiting. it says no, we’re not climbing those stairs today. no, we can’t lean down and pick something up off the floor. no, we’re staying in bed with a heating pad and telling our friends sorry, i can’t make it today after all. i know you were looking forward to hanging out, but i can’t do it. maybe there’s some people with chronic pain that never have days bad enough that it limits them, but i’ve never met one.

so when i see ashton, whose friends didn’t figure out that he has chronic pain until they literally felt it in his mind, keep their pain under wraps for over a month, never saying no to carrying something (a heavy statue, fcg up a ladder, orym after he fell, laudna’s dead body for miles), swinging his hammer to defend and protect, literally picking losing battles to see if anybody is watching...to me, that doesn’t read as “look at this strong, empowered person with chronic pain who never lets it limit them”.

to me, that says “this is a person who thinks that love cannot exist without a worsening of pain, who won’t let themself pause or say no or even tell anybody that it hurts because he is deeply, deeply afraid that refusing pain is the same thing as denying his friends love”.

and that’s fucking devastating.

it doesnt have to hurt more to be love.

[cherrysnax]

when I was a kid I was rlly upset that art teachers didn’t like anime-inspired art, and then I realized it wasn’t the anime aspect. jumping into highly stylized art without knowing the fundamentals AND with a refusal to learn them is a bad combo

[persephoneflouwers]

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[altschmerzes]

always good to remind oneself that it is always an option to simply block and ignore people who are being Weird To You on your posts. it is never necessary to engage. If It Sucks Hit Da Bricks.

[phantasieandmirare]

Actively making that sound that Travis makes when he’s excited over the last episode

[unproduciblesmackdown]

rogue one posting like attention everyone who didn't like all the characters or get why they did things: i Am better than you

[saturnsuv]

hate philosophy profs <3

[captain-lonagan]

.

[dyketubbo]

went through a shallow lil rabbit hole for that whole ender language thing and wow. new small community with apparently a history of full on discourse?? to study under a microscope