#i wish i had art skills dude

[gummywyrmtrainer]

So one of the things I never showed on here was a future possible kid of Tanis and Raihan, because I do what I want. Not that I expected anything to happen like that in character, but I did think they'd get along at the very least...And I personally really like the man. I am a simple creachur. Anyway here was the kid I made and totally forgot if I named.

Jazz hands

[lycheedr3ams]

Okay. I just had to tell you that the emotionally unavailable König piece stays on my mf*ing mind. I don't know how but you managed to stir a dragon or corrupt me, I don't know, I need therapy I know but I feel so addicted to that drabble. I've read it over and over again.

Like, the little details how he treats you purely professionally when you're not fucking, how he wraps himself with that condom every single time and doesn't even feel bothered, how he chooses solitude (or someone else who knows) over you whenever he wants, how he doesn't seem to even feel much of anything besides the occasional lust?! It's DEVASTATING and I'm frothing at the mouth. I need help haha

Oh and even the pic at the top, that lonely ethereal unseen message "I dream about kissing you often". Wtf dude. Jesus Christ.

Brilliant. I'm just. Out of words. That drabble is art, thank you for sharing ❤️❤️‍🩹❤️ (Also please wish me a speedy recovery)

i think you have just melted my heart❤️❤️❤️

it is a huge compliment for me when people say they reread my fics. this ask has given me inspiration to do a drabble of the situation from könig's perspective.

warning: this may break your heart too...

part 2 of Relapse

part 3

TW: mentions of NSFW below the cut, self-hatred, könig being kinda toxic, brief brief mention of self harm, mentions of canon-typical violence, obsessive!könig, MDNI and just block me atp

the moment könig laid eyes on you, the task force's incredibly skilled - and beautiful - sniper, he hated you. or rather, he hated how much he was obsessed with you. he wasn't stupid; he knew how all the men on base would stare at you, the way they'd talk about you as you walked by, not even realizing how good your ass and hips looked in your uniform cargo pants. but unlike most guys on base, he saw more than just your curves and feminine charm: he saw a soldier who gave her all to get to where she was, a soldier who dedicated her entire being to her profession and was damn good at it.

unlike him, you never so much as moved a muscle when you lay prone with your sniper rifle. you never fumbled while you reloaded or looked around anxiously, fiddling with a knife so your hands never felt empty. you interacted with others with ease, never seeming to second-guess your words or demeanor. you were the best shot on the task force (don't tell ghost, though), you had the best concentration, and you were irreplaceable. sure, könig was irreplaceable too: no one had his aura, his physical prowess, or his intensity that made enemies flee the moment he saw them. but to könig, that didn't matter: you were everything he could never be.

he knew - thought - that he had no chance with you. you were secretly desired by almost every man on base, so why would you choose him? the jittery and intense newest addition who was just a little too tall, who fidgeted a little too much, and whose accent, he thought, was a little too thick to be alluring. but he also just hated you. hated to see a little woman like yourself literally living his dream of being a sniper. he was usually assigned to guard you when you lay prone while sniping on a mission, and when könig was sure you weren't paying attention, he would glare angrily at you, staring daggers into the back of your head. his eyes would lazily take in your body, but not in a lustful way. könig hated how still you could lay, how you could just concentrate simply on what was through your scope rather than what was in your mind.

but könig couldn't deny the part of himself that just simply wanted to take you. despite how much he hated your skill, he couldn't deny your soft curves, your pretty smile, or how you always wore your favorite perfume when off duty. many nights when könig lay alone in his room on base, he would furiously jerk off the thought of you while clenching his teeth in self-hate, absolutely disgusted with himself for desiring the person who was everything he could never be. könig also hated the way he would come so hard to the thought of forcing you on your knees, making you take all of his throbbing cock in your mouth, fucking into your throat roughly, punishing you for being the soldier he could never be. he loved to imagine the tears that would spring in your eyes at the burn of his thick cock stretching your throat. but worst of all, könig hated himself for wanting to ruin such a pretty little thing like you.

that was, until you began talking to him. the first time you approached könig, you said you were curious about his knives. he froze, thankful that his sniper hood hid his almost blushing cheeks and agape mouth. but könig couldn't help the excitement of your question. someone was interested in something he liked? with quiet, jittery movements, he quickly took out one of his favorite knives from a pants pocket and shoved it almost right in your hands, talking about it wildly in german before you looked up at him with a confused smile. he blushed under his hood and began to speak calmly and quietly in english about his favorite knife that you now held in your small, soft hands. even when you handed the knife back to him after learning all about it, the warmth from your skin lingered on its cold hilt. könig's eyes widened slightly when he felt just how warm it was, and he couldn't help but wonder what other parts of your body were just as warm, or even warmer.

könig began to grow more and more at ease the more you approached him. the night that your conversation ended up with you naked on his bed, he truly thought he was living a dream. the way your soft, feminine curves lay on his bed in his room, how you looked like an absolute goddess surrounded by his knives and guns lying around, was mesmerizing to him. his hatred of you be damned, könig needed you. so he took you just like you wanted and craved.

but even though you had willingly spread your soft, wet folds for him, könig could never bring himself to voice his desires for you. so the next time he saw you in the hallway, his eyes widened as he slowly approached your form, unaware that he was behind you. könig tried to open his mouth to say something - anything - but his mouth went dry and his throat tightened. so instead, he decided to gently cup your waist as you walked past, and went right towards his room. you smiled to yourself and followed him. könig was grateful that no words were needed between you two.

but despite how much he loved being able to be so close to you, to touch you, to be inside you, he could never allow himself to get too close. könig would've rather slit his own wrist than kiss your glossy, warm lips. you were a succubus, he was convinced. if his lips touched yours, he would have been yours forever. and that was something he could not have, no, not with how his hatred for you still lingered in the back of his mind. but the way you'd look sad about his lips never touching yours would make his heart twitch, just a little. some nights könig was so desperate to feel your skin on his tongue that he would gently lick your neck or your breasts, just to get a taste. but könig was used to living without the things he wanted.

there were many nights when könig was too deep within his darkness to reach out to you. he couldn't bring you down into his self-loathing spiral, or show you his weaknesses. on the nights he walked by you without even acknowledging your existence, he simply couldn't bring himself to look at you. if he did, he knew he would budge instantly and gently touch your waist once again so he could take solace in your warm, soft walls. but no, he would rather drown himself in the abyss of his heart than bring you down with him. you had things to live for: friends, family, incredible skill. but könig only had his guns, knives, and a large hand to wrap around his aching length. he never slept with another woman on base. but you were not to know that.

even more so, könig took to the box of condoms like a lifeline. if he kissed you, you'd have his soul. but if he allowed his cock to be fully surrounded by your warm, wet walls? no, no. you would've tied him to you for eternity. that was something that könig could not have, no matter how much he wanted it. he always made sure that condom was on perfectly, making sure that not a single inch of the skin of his cock ever completely touched your walls. even when he would tease the tip of his cock on your clit, there was a layer of thin plastic separating you. (he just loved the way you would gasp and blush when he did that). könig would never allow himself to truly take absolute pleasure in you, no matter how badly he just wanted to fill your womb entirely with him when your legs were pried open perfectly against his broad shoulders, with his sweaty forehead pressing into the mattress.

but as your relationship - if it could be called that - went on, könig realized that he never hated you. he only hated himself for never being able to be the person he wanted to be. you were everything, and he was nothing. you were caring, friendly, warm. but he saw himself as distant, cold, and aloof. sunshine could never reach the deepest, darkest caves under the earth, he thought. what could könig even say to you now, after you two had been with each other time and time again? what could he possibly say to the woman who unknowingly ripped apart old wounds he thought he had stitched? what could he say to the woman who achieved everything he could not? what could he say to the only woman who had ever shown him kindness, the only woman to have ever let him touch her, hold her, fuck her? so, könig opted to only ever say things to you that were necessary to work with you. he could never treat you poorly, not after the way you unknowingly healed the very wounds you created for him, not after the way you welcomed him into your body like he was an extension of yourself.

it was easier for könig to pretend that you weren't somewhat emotionally dependent on him. he could never pluck the flower whose roots were shallow. he was a monster enough as it is, but to just trample and rip up an innocent and beautiful thing? even he couldn't bring himself to do that. so, könig tried to water you in the only way he knew how, but he guarded his life-giving waters from your fertile womb, and only ever teased you with the nutrients you needed. it was enough to make you come back for more whenever he asked for it, but he couldn't allow himself to take advantage of you, too much. könig wanted to see you grow and blossom, not to be the one to dry you out and wither you.

so könig chose to edge you with his affection whenever he chose, and hoped that you would understand. he hoped that you wouldn't grow tired of the balm he offered you on the nights that he was able to crawl out of himself; the balm that was covered in blood and semen and tears.

[sonnysonder]

(THIS POST IS PURELY ABOUT THE FICTIONAL QSMP CHARACTERS, NOT THE CREATORS WHO PLAY THEM. THIS IS ALSO MY OPINION WHICH I AM ALLOWED TO HAVE)

Can I be fr for a sec

I'm honestly more interested in who qFit and qPac are as individual characters than who they are as a couple.

And no, you can stop clutching your pearls. This is not me saying I hate Hideduo, or even FitPac. I really like them in fact! They have good chemistry, and they play off each other wonderfully.

But I just wish more people would see the two of them as their own seperate characters.

I think both qFit and qPac presently suffer EGREGIOUSLY from both mischaracterization, and just...people forgetting that there's more to the two of them then who they are as a couple.

I was SO excited when qFit lore really started taking off because I knew a whole lot of cool fan content to consume would come out of it, but I hardly see anything anymore. Ik q!Fit is one of the less popular characters, and it's occurred to me that a lot of people might only know his character through FitPac.

(Which leads to a ton of mischaracterization. Like people even throw out the whole slowburn thing and all the trauma stuff that MAKE them a slowburn but that's a gripe for another day)

But qPac REALLY gets the short end of the stick imo. I have seen MAYBE three works of art, fanfiction, or otherwise that delve into who he is outside of relationships (Fitpac or otherwise!!!) Which I think is SUCH a waste! The dude is an orphan! A skilled fighter! A loving father! A MASTER INVENTOR!! And I'm lucky if one these things are even MENTIONED in most fics I've read.

(Yes, qFit is my favorite character and the one I follow predominantly, but from what I've seen qPac is also portrayed extremely surface level in a lot of works which is a shame!)

Lemme see more qFit lore works, his friendships with other characters, badass stuff with him in 2b2t, heck, stuff with him and Ramon! They have a fascinating relationship!

Let me see stuff that really EXPLORES qPac. His guilt, his highs and lows, his backstory, his SKILLS! WHY HE DOES THE THINGS HE DOES!!!

Anyway this is not me saying not to make FitPac/Hideduo stuff. Make whatever the hell you want, I'm just saying there's a ton more to both characters that's super interesting and has tons of potential, you just gotta look a bit deeper!

PEOPLE SHOULD MAKE MORE STUFF ABOUT THE CHARACTERS QFIT AND QPAC ARE. AND FOR THEMSELVES, NOT JUST FOR EACH OTHER. THEY DESERVE BETTER THAN JJST BEING EXTENSIONS OF EACH OTHER.

Also this had nothing to do with qFit basically being confirmed queer!! That's great love that for him!! I've just had this on my mind for a while now!!

This is also not directed at anyone in particular!!

Thanks for listening to me gripe ig

[cerastes]

It’s great that IS4 will have better distributed and more “fun” oriented intensifiers (called ‘Natures’ in this case, until they release an official term, if they change it). Waves in IS3 were, to be frank, rather shoddily implemented, starting with the way Arts damage gets kneecapped horribly bad. In IS4, it’s instead a general, smaller Damage Reduction for both Phys and Arts.

The Hope handicap in IS3 was the reason a good amount of people didn’t really even try or stuck to People Skills squad: it was too early, too much

3* non-reserves cost 1 Hope. That immediately changes how IS is played at a fundamental level: Kroos 3* is a great addition to any team because of her innate good damage, spinach compatibility, and 0 cost… But is she worth that precious 1 Hope when your 6* mainliners will cost a whooping 7 Hope? Suddenly that Reserve Sniper seems a whole lot better at 0 cost. It’s a pretty big ask at Waves 4: Even if you only consider Waves 7 as the max difficulty for the purposes of scoring, that’s still way early to throw such a huge change into the mix. Nature 6 seems more apt, and note it only affects 4* and up. I think it’s a step in the right direction; at Waves 4, using Reserves is fine, but at Waves 13 and up, by the time enemies receive their Floor 2 buffs, that’s already a stat heft the Reserves will struggle to compete with, and they have no Skill to even the field. Yes, Waves 8 and above is flexing and testing your own limits, but this can and should also be fun, and getting Hope-starved so badly is a huge turn off to a lot of people, so they use People Skills squad. Then they get bored because using anything but People Skills squad on Waves 4 and above means dealing with the Hope drought.

I also would like if they made Natures more apparent in the UI tbh. This is definitely not an HG blunder, but a concerning amount of people didn’t know (maybe don’t know) that there’s a ladder of difficulties in IS3, because AK players hate reading or are allergic to tutorial text or some other phenomenon, so I had plenty of anons saying IS3 was easier than IS2 and in the same ask asking what these Waves I spoke of were.

All in all, I hope IS4 ends up feeling better than IS3. I do like IS3, but it was a bit of a letdown, to be dorothy frank. I think the Seaborn aesthetic was not really used to its fullest (maps are boring slates of light blue with a pretty boring bgm). It was fun grinding out the Week 1 Waves 15 clear, but after that, it didn’t grab me nearly as hard as IS2 did with it’s excellent aesthetic and replayability.

When it comes to bosses and minibosses: IS3 minibosses are kiiiinda mid. IS2’s Golem and Jetman are fun, the Clown was scary depending on your build, the… Shooty dude was mid, and IS3 midbosses feel like him for the most part.

I like Highmore Boss more than Phantom Boss, I think Highmore is a really good boss and map. Last Knight is the single most miserable boss to fight in the game and very boring even when you know what to do, and somehow worse than Big Sad Lock. Ishar-mla is fine, not bad, not very good, just fine, which is a bit of a letdown for me, considering Mouthpiece is one of my favorite bosses in the game. Jury’s still out on Boss #4, hope it’s good, Playwright isn’t phenomenal but he’s good.

My thoughts on the state of IS3. Though these are various criticisms I have for it, I do wish to note: it’s still a fun mode, and I think a great learning experience: balancing a roguelike or roguelite is not easy and it wasn’t as good as I wanted it to be, but it’s still a fun game mode.

[the-s1lly-corner]

Hey thanks for accepting this ask. So what I wanted to ask is how the amazing digital circus crew would react to a reader who's a strong hero...that's incredibly optimistic, dense and Guilable thinking that the world acts like a cartoon/comic sometimes

TADC cast x comic hero type reader!

meant to start knocking out these last two requests earlier this morning but i had to clean up the house a bit; but im finally getting onto it! reminder that requests are currently closed and any requests sent in will not be answered and will be deleted to keep the inbox clean; so please keep your requests until i announce theyre open again! plan on taking a day or two off to rest my brain n back as well as catching up on art and my own personal fic. the requests being answered currently were sent in prior to requests closing with that said, i hope you enjoy this anon!!

CAINE:

honestly i think caine would be the same way, not exactly but i think he would some of the cluelessness in terms of how the real world works... except its mostly with the non digital real world; call it inexperience or something! lets you play hero during the IHA.. honestly you kind of fit right in with your personality, with tropes and being a stereotypical comic book hero, if not a little naïve. pretends he doesnt recognize you when you walk around in your "citizens disguise"

likes coming up with villain npcs for you to fight during adventures

POMNI:

initial confusion when she sees you just walking around with a tie plastered to your chest, asks you what its for as well as dropping your name. even more shocked that youre shocked that she knows who you are. kind of just accepts this is a thing you do and doesnt question it, especially as she settles into the digital world.. at least youre handy during IHA.. i think during my little break i might try to figure out how i wish to right pomni because i really do wish i made her stuff more... interesting

RAGATHA:

honestly i think she would make you stuff to add to your disguise. doesnt want to shatter the illusion for you so she just tries to casually give you stuff out of the kindness of her heart... which isnt... totally wrong.. honestly i dont think she would try to change you or bring up the bad disguise thing so long as its not somehow putting you in danger. in fact i think she finds your whole hero personality endearing, you guys are both optimistic and its nice to be around someone who isnt just. losing their marbles or being a dick.. plus, you arent technically wrong to view the digital world as a cartoon, i mean, look at it and look at the physics of the world and all

JAX:

oh he is going to be a menace, probably makes a joke villain persona to mess with you only for you to immediately gun for him and deal with his "evil antics",, i mean hey as long as jax doesnt put his silly little villain mask back on you wouldnt suspect a thing... maybe... i think he would roll his eyes at some of the things you say, since youre way more optimistic and out there than ragatha... probably uses your gullible..ness... as a means to trick you

KINGER:

honestly the "as a royal myself" line he dropped in the pilot makes me think that at some level he believes himself to be a real king; or maybe he was just REALLY playing into his whole theming and he knows hes just some dude but was trying to appeal to the gloink queen... what im trying to say is that i think there might actually be a solid chance he fully leans into your hero thing, and perhaps even falls for your disguise (if him constantly forgetting gangle is standing right next to him says anything about his observation skills and/or mental state)

ZOOBLE:

similar to jax but also not. finds your optimism a little too much sometimes; especially if youre very outwardly social and friendly so its not like you swoop in to do your hero duties but you also stop to talk to the 'civilians' of the circus.. though unlike jax they wouldnt try to trick you, nor do i think they would exactly be mean to you. a little irritable by your energy and attitude, maybe, but i think zooble gets irritated by almost everyone in the circus.. reluctantly plays along with your disguise

GANGLE:

i think she would be into it, probably draws you in your non-disguise outfit. you get fanart, yay! probably similar to pomni in the whole, just accepts how you are both as a person and with your antics, but i think she just accepts everything everyone else does! not much to say, shes a fan of it and if you stand up for her when jax is mean thats just an added bonus for her

[xxfangirl365xx]

Kobra Kid's answer to : "What is a day you'll never forget?"

Written in my wattpad a few months ago, i posted Jet's here so I'm doing Kobra's too (: enjoyyyy

Mines nothing in comparison to Jet's. I'm gonna go with a nice one. I'm not huge on being sentimental but the day Poison won a bunch of awards for his art in a zone wide exhibit was a great day.

It was mid July 2017. Girl had just come to live with us maybe a month earlier. We had gotten word about a big exhibit that was gonna happen in zone five. Poison had always been a bit of an artist and that's what he always wanted to do with his life before BL/I. He tried to keep his skill sharp in the zones but with limited supplies it was really hard. Honestly it made me really sad to see his dreams crushed. We had been trying to convince him to enter for several days before he gave in. He painted and drew all sorts of things. Scenery, people, emotions...it was really cool. We drove out to zone five and he submitted almost a dozen pieces. We walked around to look at the other entries while they were being judged.

" I wish I hadn't done this." He whined

" Why?" Jet asked

" Because...Look at this stuff... Mine's nothing like theirs." he said sadly gesturing to all the colorful papers and canvas spread out around him.

" Oh stop it." Jet said playfully smacking him

" Your stuff is way better, Pois." Ghoul said trying to cheer him up

" If I were a judge I wouldn't even bother looking at the rest of this stuff. Yours is clearly the best." He finished

" Mmm."Poison said, still not buying it.

" It's really good." Girl said running up next to the red head.

" You're an amazing art dude." She said smiling

He smiled at her, " Thank you Missile." He said bending over to give her a hug.

We all kinda separated and walked around separately but I stayed with my brother.

We walked quietly for a while just looking at the many painted and pastel cacti and sunsets... I'm not an expert but it seemed a little generic to me. I could tell he was getting sadder by the second feeling so much more inferior to the more established artists. Poison has always lacked self confidence in everything. His appearance,personality, skills. And he shouldn't feel bad because he's a unique human being and that's something to be proud of.

Poison sighed.

" You know even if you don't win I'm still proud of you Pois." I said

" You should save the pride for something worth it." He said sadly looking at a charcoal sketch of yet another cactus.

" Nope. I'm still proud of you. And I always will be no matter what you do." I said again.

"..."

" Alright Poison. Enough self pity. Look at this stuff. It's all the same thing. Sunsets and cactus. Boring bland colors and no emotion behind it right?" I asked

" I mean...sorta."

" And you put thought and emotion into your stuff. Colors and variation. "

" Thats-"

" Let me put it this way." I interrupted turning to face him.

" These guys may have some talent and knowledge for sure. They have no creativity to back it up. It's just knowledge.It's kinda like how most people can write...but only a few people can ACTUALLY write, and have a story to tell or a message to get across." I finished. He thought for a second.

" So please...don't be down on yourself for having something a lot of people can only dream of. Both knowledge AND creativity." I said, pulling him into a tight hug.

He hugged me back and I could feel him release all the tension in his body.

" Thanks Kobra." He said

" Anytime. "

*STATIC*

"WILL PARTY POISON PLEASE MAKE THEIR WAY TO THE JUDGES TABLE AT THIS TIME" a loudspeaker screeched out

" I saw a flash of fear in my brother's eyes.

" relax. You got this alright?" I said

" Yeah... " He said walking away. He looked back at me and I gave him a thumbs up.

I found Jet, Ghoul and Girl.

" Why did they want Poison?" Ghoul asked

" Dunno..." I responded.

*STATIC*

"WINNERS HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED AT THE JUDGES TABLE! THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED THIS YEAR AND WE CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU ALL AGAIN NEXT YEAR!"

They went to the front as they were instructed and saw Poison grinning ear to ear with all his colorful creations displayed hung with diy ribbon's. He ran up to us and immediately hugged me.

" Thank you for always believing in my Kobra." He whispered

" Anytime." I said

He was wearing a scratched and chipped gold metal with the engraving of " Track and Field champions" crossed out with a sharpie to read " Reigning Zone art champion."

Everyone hugged and congratulated him. He picked up Missile Kid and spun her around while she laughed.

" I told you you'd win!" she exclaimed.

I Know it's nothing I really did but I'm still proud of my big brother for everything he has done and has yet to do. He's been competing and winning competitions all over the Zones ever since and I'm so happy to see him being what he always wanted to be.

Anyways, thanks for listening to me ramble,

Kobra Kid out

[wolfythewitch]

I remember finding you through YouTube, and being absolutely blown away by your work. Even if I didn't have the full context of it, I watched in awe. It was the best decision ever when I followed you through Twitter and Twitch, and eventually through Tumblr. Unfortunately, I'm usually asleep when your streaming but when I catch them, I get so inspired. You're very funny and watching you work in real time is something else. I wish I had the right words for it but watching you create makes me creating things so much easier. You're creating your ideas from scratch, bringing them to life, it inspires me to try myself. I love seeing your studies, your silly art, and the cool ones that sit in my brain for months. I absolutely love watching you grow and expand your skills. Listening to whatever has your interests because you make is so fascinating and you're just hilarious. Your excitement for your interests is contagious. Lately I haven't had access to wifi, but every time I do, I loved seeing a Wolfy notification. Your work is wonderful and I'm glad so many people get to see it and appreciate it. Seeing how other people describe your art and how it makes them feel is my favorite thing to read because I absolutely agree with them. The way your work captures certain energies and the life you bring to them, it's amazing. I'm glad you're a creator and that not only do I get the pleasure to see your work, I get to live with it at the same time as it's produced. You may say it's just you doing the drawing thing but it's you. You're what captures people's attention, your art is a tiny reflection of that and it's such a good one. To my favorite artist I say, thank you for creating Wolfy, it's greatly appreciated and loved!!

awww dude thank you sm <3 People enjoying my art makes me really happy, especially when it gets them interested in what I'm interested in too :D

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

Trigun Stampede Character Thoughts: Vash

I've been putting off this write-up since I finished the show if for no other reason than whenever I go to analyze this funky little dude my entire brain just stalls and goes

✨ Hi, Vash. Hi. :) ✨

...anyways.

Here's a quick collection of thoughts on him now that I am finally more coherent! The hardest part of this was trying to make something readable with the sheer amount of things I could say about him. Geez.

(Please note that I have only watched Trigun Stampede! As of this moment, I am starting the manga and have not seen 98 Trigun. I thought it might be interesting to compare and contrast once I've read the manga. Bear with me in the meantime!)

Right off the bat, the show introduces us to who Vash is as a character - a pacifistic gunman who, while incredibly skilled, avoids confrontation when at all possible. When Meryl accuses him of running away out of fear, it's pretty quickly made apparent that, while it is out of some semblance of fear, it is not fear for himself. Rather, his concerns lie with other people's well-being first and foremost.

Or, really, his concerns lie near completely with other people's well-being. What happens to him is of very little consequence if it means everyone else is okay.

I want to talk about three different things when it comes to Vash, namely:

His incredible skill and competence

His terrible self-image

His solidly held pacifistic convictions

Skill and Competence

Ohhhh ok. So, I can't really comment on exact positions or maneuvers (I used to do martial arts pretty extensively, but it's obviously not the same kind and I know absolutely nothing about guns or marksmanship sorry), but I can sure tell you that I loved the way the animators had Vash move in episode 1 right before he pulls out his gun for the first time. I wish I knew how to make gifs properly because I would totally make one of that part. Even before Roberto's line that "acting brave is foolish" and "he's not long for this world" had finished, I was already convinced of the exact opposite. As someone who's done martial arts. Guys. The way he moves here.

It's a three step movement - he steps to the right, then to the left in an almost meandering way, shifting his body weight as he goes, before he grounds himself in a wide stance. It's slow, fluid, and calculated - a distinct contrast from his often jerky, exaggerated motions that we saw earlier. God I wish I had a gif. I don't think I can simply explain how insane it makes me. The animators could've just had him approach directly or run up to it - a lot of the times, with action heroes, there's a lot of flashy motion or jumping around, etc., which looks cool but isn't exactly something to be role modelling in an actual fight lol. But here? In the next episode, Nebraska mockingly says "this isn't the ballet" with regards to the dodging and spinning Vash does, but a lot of his motions... really are dance-like. He's damn near effortlessly shifting his center of gravity while remaining fluid in motion and completely balanced. No novice moves like that. He clearly has a lot of experience. For me watching, Roberto's line was refuted before he even finished it.

...which of course makes it even funnier when he realizes he's out of bullets. Oh, buddy. You looked so cool for a second there. Hjhdfnv

Really though, pay attention to the way he moves while fighting or shooting. He's always well-grounded, and the more serious the situation, the more fluidly and less exaggeratedly he moves. It's so, so cool. I don't know if I've quite seen that kind of motion in animation before, especially cgi (though it is possible I just haven't seen enough too...hehe...).

The episode 12 fight too! Again, Vash is balanced, even as he's being knocked backwards. He falls correctly, and allows his body to move with the gun. All his motions are precise and fluid. Contrast that to Nai, who is, uh... totally unbalanced lmao.

And then the way he tucks before he jumps out the window! The animation actually convinced me of this guy's over 100 years of experience. I actually believe it.

What's nice is that Vash, too, is aware of his own skill. He moves with a lot of confidence, and he clearly has a great degree of trust in his own ability to fight and shoot without seriously harming anyone - not once does he show the slightest bit of doubt in his abilities. One might expect, given Vash's refusal to kill, that he might be worried about accidental injuries when in the middle of a gunfight - but he isn't. Ever. The only way I can interpret this is complete confidence in his own abilities, and he most likely trained hard to specifically ensure that this would never be a concern. The trope of "character who doesn't want to fight or hurt people turns out to be really insanely skilled/strong" is always cool and fun, but in this context it's really a neat take on it, since I feel it is only because he refuses to kill that he intentionally developed such god-tier level marksmanship - I am going to go out on a limb here and assume it is much easier to accidentally inflict serious injury with a gun than it is to actively avoid doing so lol. He probably worked at being a really good fighter and gunman specifically so he could avoid killing.

I also find it kind of refreshing that he never calls his skills into question, since that does tend to happen with characters who have a poor self-image or low esteem. Which, uh, takes me to the next point.

Self-Image

Yeah, Vash's self-image is kind of in the gutter. He places the blame for all the tragedies that follow him on himself, despite the fact that he always puts in his full effort to prevent them from happening.

The majority of this ties back to his feelings of culpability for the fall. I want to direct your attention to the scene where Vash is digging the tally marks into the wall in episode 8 - it can't possibly be the number of days that have passed since we see the transition of the sun only twice and Brad looks shocked when he sees the all the tallies (which he wouldn't be if they had been there for that many days). With the way Vash's tallies look a bit like crosses and the fact that he greeted the people in cryosleep on Ship 5 by name in the first episode, suffice to say, he is probably making a tally of all the people who didn't make it through the crash - people whose deaths he feels personally responsible for.

Really, I wouldn't consider Vash even remotely responsible for any of that - he had the access codes but like. Zero intent or knowledge of what Nai was about to do with them. Regardless, Vash carries the guilt from it in the way Nai won't, because in his mind, someone needs to take accountability. Also important to remember is that the only reason any human being still lives on No Man's Land is because of Rem's sacrifice. Vash needs to maintain his belief in the capacity for human kindness and his no-killing code, because if he doesn't, her sacrifice would be in vain. He keeps her values and beliefs alive. She's in everything he does. Even hollowed out and stripped of his memories and identity, the mass of roots and flowers that engulf July take on her likeness.

So, really, in addition to Vash just being a generally compassionate soul, his staunch pacifism is a refusal to betray her beliefs and let his mother figure die a second time. I need to fucking lie down.

With all this strain he puts on himself, it's really not surprising that when tragedy inevitably strikes, he is very hard on himself, and from what we've seen this actually manifests in a set of consistent self-punishing behaviours - I am of course referring to episode 3's "I don't deserve to cry" and his refusal to eat in episode 4 (despite apparently needing to, unlike Nai). This is very similar to what we see in episode 8 with him as a kid, where he goes somewhat blank (no crying, no anger, all his negativity directed inwards and at himself) and refusing all food except what little he needs to survive because "it's a waste".

The worst part of this though, to me, is that we see from certain throwaway bits ("one bullet is two slices of pizza/two dozen donuts!", his kid self's eagerness at the sight of the birthday cake and the spread of food, his first question on seeing the geranium being to wonder if it is edible) that he not only needs to eat but also seems to enjoy eating - so his refusal to eat is not only a denial of a basic necessity but also of one of the few things he genuinely likes that he will allow himself to partake in. In the context of Rem framing food as something to share with everyone, it also makes me wonder if his self-denial is something along the lines of "I don't deserve to share this with them". In that sense, it's really important that Luida echoes a similar sentiment as Rem (implying she wants to share this food/include him, and that some of Rem's views survive in these remaining people).

I do wonder if, because food is associated with sharing to him, that it has something to do with needing to "earn a place at the table" in a way. While I think Luida was trying her best to juggle a lot on Ship 3 behind the scenes after the fall and clearly didn't want to keep Vash locked up like that, the crew only started treating him better and trusting him after he found a way to help them. The unfortunate view that Vash receives then is: "I need to earn their trust by being helpful." Vash is a chronic people pleaser - I can't think of a single point where he does something solely for his own benefit. He has no desire to scare or harm anyone (quite the opposite!) so he goes out of his way to be as helpful and non-threatening as possible - hiding his true nature as a Plant (to such an extent that he doesn't know anything about his powers and has effectively sealed them away - he's practically human), masking his facial expressions by cleverly hiding his face or letting the light reflect off his glasses, trying to laugh off his competence as luck and his scars as embarrassing.

Is it because he doesn't want to scare people? Is it because he doesn't want to feel othered from them? It's hard to say. It's probably a bit of both.

Nai accuses Vash of loneliness and desiring love, and of seeking to fill that gap by appeasing humans. While I don't think this is necessarily wrong, it can't possibly be accurate as a core motivation, since Vash doesn't seem to really... accept a lot of positive interaction. Whether out of concern for others' safety, a lack of feeling like he deserves it, being secretive about his past and identity, or some combination of the above, Vash tends to leave a lot. He leaves Jeneora Rock's celebration early, tries to walk away from Meryl even as she's calling out to him, runs away from Home when Brad and Luida listen to the recording. He throws walls up and distances himself by laughing things off, or smiling, or simply not explaining anything.

I mentioned this during my live blogging while watching episode 9, but as Independents, it's intriguing to me that both Vash and Nai exist outside the cycle of dependence we see between the Plants and the humans - both of which cannot survive without the other. Nai appears to revel in this detachment, but Vash also seems to self-impose a certain distance between himself and everyone else - for all his friendliness and inability to leave someone hanging who needs help, he practices a lot of recognizably avoidant strategies. He exists on the periphery, never staying in one place too long (he can't), and treating every interaction with a certain kind of resignation - an understanding that it is temporary. He seems to expect the inevitability of being chased out over and over. The slightest of kindnesses given to him he always feels incredibly grateful for. Perhaps he feels that kindness is more than he deserves.

I honestly dread to think how he'll react once he regains his memories of what happened to July. I trust that he'll keep pushing on, as he always does, but is he going to remember that he deserves to eat and smile?

I really hope so. Otherwise I will need Meryl and Wolfwood to bonk him on the head.

Pacifism and Conviction

The thing about Vash's pacifism is that it's very difficult to tell whether it is primarily motivated by love or guilt. Vash carries an incredible amount of survivor's guilt with him and he absolutely is doing his best to keep Rem's memory alive, but I don't think it can be denied that he isn't just acting out Rem's beliefs - he really does believe in them himself. He's also genuinely compassionate and does care and become invested in the well-being of others. In the end, I'm not sure it really matters. I don't think the guilt or love can be easily extricated from each other at this point; they are both powerful drivers of his actions and core to his identity as a person, and while this is not exactly ideal for getting him to be kind to himself, they both strongly feed into his continuous choice to be kind to others.

And it is a choice, not naivety, as pacifism is so often brushed off as. Vash's compassion is something he chooses over and over again, in spite of the way he is often treated, and the way his powers hold far more potential for destruction than even Knives. Wolfwood thinks that Vash doesn't understand harsh realities and is going to receive a rude awakening but he does understand - Vash just chooses not to accept violence as the only way forward and believes that things can change and improve, and is willing to expend that energy and extra hurt into making that a reality. Nai thinks Vash is helpless and brainwashed into his belief - note the way Vash frequently appears as his child self when Nai tampers with his Gate or his memories; the implication here is that Nai sees Vash as incapable of making choices for himself and in need of protection - but not only is this horribly demeaning to Vash's personhood, it simply isn't true. Even Meryl chews him out for what looked like running away to her early on, and Roberto thinks he's going to get himself killed sooner or later. Everyone underestimates Vash, at least at first. And well, it's easy to. He's just a silly little guy! He's a bleeding heart who tries to help everyone he comes across! He talks about nobody needing to die in a world where most everyone is starving and desperate! To the people in-universe, he would look like a total fool, and far too idealistic to last long.

Except, he has. He's around 150 years old, he's scarred to hell and back, but he's still alive and he still chooses kindness. That takes a special kind of improbable mental resilience and stubborn conviction - and that's what most of the other characters overlook. Vash is, indeed, very sensitive and emotional and an idealist - he's also much tougher and more rational than hardly anyone gives him credit for. He's an excellent judge of character too!

His ideals and that stubborn faith are everything that makes Vash who he is.

This scene in episode 12 is the only true moment of triumph in what is otherwise a tragedy all around. Nai would go as far as to destroy Vash’s very identity to get his brother back, but at the cost of losing everything that makes him Vash. These ideals are the core of “Vash the Stampede”, and no matter how foolish they may seem or how little others understand his conviction, this is an identity he has chosen for himself. It’s who he is. And this assertion, coming directly on the heels of Nai trying to erase him and remove that autonomy, is an undeniable brief triumph in the midst of it all. Nai will always be Vash’s brother, and he will always love him I’m sure, but they diverged in their persons a long, long time ago, and Vash adamantly refuses to be an extension of or accomplice to his brother’s crusade of hatred… even if that means going against him.

Vash’s kindness is so necessary to a world like the one we see in the series, on the verge of extinction and giving up. Approaching situations with understanding and communication is really the only way to help improve understanding amongst others - and this is one of his biggest strengths; it's even reflected in his use of his Plant abilities (communicating between himself and the other Plants, the way he can open a path both to and from the higher dimension unlike anyone else). In this way, Vash is something of a necessary conduit. I just wish he'd let himself feel a little more tbh. He represses a lot - he canonically won't allow himself to cry if he feels responsible, any flashes of anger are brief, he doesn't stick around to have fun really. Personally, I'd like to see him allow himself grief through tears, a little bit of genuine letting loose and celebrating, and actually expressing things like irritation and annoyance next season. Perhaps that's wishful thinking.

I don't know how to accurately summarize my thoughts on Vash well enough other than to say, in keeping with the whole Plant thing, he reminds me strongly of dandelions. Bright, cheery, grow through cracks and root where you don't expect them to ever be able to eke out a living. Regarded as a weed by many but very difficult to get rid of. Hardy, resilient, and pop back up after being beaten down. Kids make wishes on them.

Anyways. Hugs him hugs him hugs him x 60,000,000,000

[oneatlatime]

The Swamp

Random thing I spotted in the opening credits: this Roku (?) silhouette is doing a spinning blade move with airbending, that Azula did with her blue fire while riding the mail system in Return to Omashu. I guess that despite the bending styles being based on different martial arts, borrowing is allowed.

A snippet of blue spirit music plays when that cart carrying the masks passes by. Maybe one second of showtime but the writers and track team put in the effort anyway.

I'm still mad at Zuko for stealing that lady's bird horse, but I'm happy to see that they're looking after it. It even has a blanky.

Those bangs would have done numbers in 2008.

So I'm wishing death on sword guy. Apart from the whole trying to cut off Iroh's feet thing, he can't even do up his shirt right. Zero redeeming features.

I wish I knew how to make gifs to show this, but the way that the diffused lightsource is reflecting off the water peaking through the vegetation of the swamp is incredibly realistic.

Is the sharpening stone the one that usually sits in the indent on the other side of the blade? It would be pretty cool to have a knife with a built in sharpener like that.

Sokka's got a point. How do you "land" on a swamp? Appa will need to break out his sea bison skills.

TIL swamps don't take no for an answer.

HOW are they still ALIVE?!?!

AcTuAlLy Aang it's "where ARE Appa and Momo?"

As someone who has literally had leeches on my elbow, this is not funny.

Also this episode's beat up Sokka quota has already been filled by a tornado, a swamp, and a vampire slug. And we're only 4 minutes in. I feel like this is going to be a rough episode for him.

Look I get that there is no solid land in this swamp, but they could at least move out of the fetid leech-infested water onto a tree root.

Shibari Appa. I ahd to google that.

Momo is a good friend.

Could you imagine what Apppa smells like after landing in the swamp water?

Poor Momo's like "dude. I JUST freed you."

Not everyone can airbend Aang. Some of us would have no option but to cut our way out of the swamp, niceness be damned.

You ever just go FWOMP?

I'm loving these little Appa & Momo scenes.

Did this episode air on Halloween originally? It's really leaning in to the spooky.

And now Appa gets to be a good friend. I love the ear twitch. Have I talked about how cute Appa's ears are?

King of the jungle Appa.

New fear unlocked. Never swimming in seaweed again.

Also kudos to them for sleeping sitting up. I can't do that.

It's neat how all three of their fighting styles are equally effective at freeing them from the vines. No bending superiority here!

How did Cletus and Brandine figure that Appa has six legs from this trail?

No comment. Just thought you'd all appreciate a picture of bowl cut Appa using an alligator as a toothbrush.

Pretty. Swamp wisteria.

This swamp is a dick.

This jumpscare got me. Also, swamp is now a double dick.

And Aang sees some rando. I was expecting Gyatso. Maybe being the avatar makes you immune to swamp dickishness?

If Cletus saw a lemoo at a travelling show once, does that mean that Momo is not the last of his species? Because I've been worrying about that.

This is a pretty cool use of waterbending. Although I don't think 'outboard motor with high manoeuvrability' is a recognised martial arts move.

All the background art in this episode is subtle but very detailed. Another episode I'll be watching on a better quality screen than my little laptop, which makes everything into a green-grey blur.

Sokka was looking for his friends. Katara was looking for her friends. Aang was chasing tail.

Tea party Sokka rocking a midi skirt and thigh high leather boots.

Have to give it to Sokka; they have all been huffing a lot of swamp gas recently. Hallucinating people you think of often after huffing god knows what is a more believable explanation than sentient, dickish swamp. Or it would be, if this wasn't a world where things like the avatar exist.

Looks like I was right about this being a beat up Sokka episode. The number of times swampy has thrown him to the ground, I'm surprised he's still getting up. Also, I think Sokka's voice actor was paid by the scream this episode.

Anyone remember the Absorbaloth?

Are these guys narrating NYOOM noises?

I have to commend the manoeuvrability of these boats.

Not to self: do not piss off a waterbender. They are human deli slicers.

"He's the Avatar. Stuff like that happens to us, a lot." Season 1 in a nutshell.

I applaud this guy's efficiency for styling his hair into a hat.

You guys are really going to go with this guy to a secondary location like 15 seconds after he stopped trying to kill you? Every so often I forget that the Gaang are teens or younger, then something comes along that really reminds me.

Nitpick! Are his socks made out of mud?

This guy has grey eyes like Aang does 50% of the time. I swear Aang has brown eyes in at least half the episodes so far.

More delicious reflections. I wish I could gif this too.

I love the lesson here. The swamp guy's speech about interconnectedness is good, made twice as good by the delivery. Excellent choice of voice actor. Also the bit about the people we've lost still being there hits hard.

A power this useful had better come up again.

Can someone who knows music better than I do tell me if Cletus is on beat? I think not.

New reaction shot!

Why does Sokka repeat "Hugh" so skeptically? What's the joke here?

"He don't eat no bugs. That's people food." This is the kind of stuff I love the most in this show. These seemingly inconsequential, throwaway worldbuilding comments that instantly double the depth of the universe of the show. Every time I get a glimpse of normal people living non-war-torn normal lives I love it.

Scenes like this. PEAK avatar.

That swamp just bitchslapped a bird.

I'd forgotten that Zuko and Iroh were in this episode.

Zuko is well on his way to being forgiven for stealing the horse bird.

Have to wonder why he had a spare set of black clothes lying around though.

Final Thoughts

This episode may well be my new favourite. I like if for the same reasons that I liked Bato of the Water Tribe: it shows us what comparatively normal life is like. Here's a random group of people that might not even know about the war. Looking at them gives us a glimpse of what Aang's pre-war world must have been like, and what the post-war world everyone is fighting to create could be like. It's both nostalgia and hope in one place.

I love that Sokka is still stubbornly anti-supernatural even after travelling for months with the human incarnation of a spirit, being kidnapped by a giant monster panda, and having his crush turn into the moon. Not to mention mega fishman Aang. Although, in a world where the existence of spirits is a scientifically observable fact, isn't believing in the supernatural actually the logical viewpoint?

Apart from that awesome deli slicer waterbending move, Katara did surprisingly little this episode. I think Momo and Appa had more to do.

Spekaing of, I loved having a little side adventure with Momo and Appa. There's enough personality in the animation and voicing of those two characters that they can easily carry dialogue-free scenes. Avatar should do a dialogue free episode with just Appa and Momo going on an adventure. I love their interspecies friendship.

The whole 'we're all connected' thing could have rung hollow if the writers hadn't taken the time to painfully personalise that message for two thirds of the Gaang. In today's arguably too-connected world (thanks internet) the lesson seems obvious, but in a pre-industrial world that's a century into a global war, I bet the connectedness of things is unknown, forgotten, or actively suppressed.

The incredibly short bookends with Zuko and Iroh were (I'm guessing) to establish that Zuko has taken a vigilante turn and that Iroh is inhumanly patient. Neither of those is a surprise. Honestly, if I found myself in that situation, I would react more like Zuko than Iroh. Guess that means I'm a work in progress.

The Storm last season showed that while Aang had a lot to learn, Zuko had a lot to unlearn. Instead of just unlearning incorrect things, it looks like the show is taking it a step farther and progressively stripping Zuko of everything. Zuko isn't one to sit idly by though, so he's fighting back by clinging to harmful things like his pride and learning things he arguably shouldn't, like how to commit theft of bird horses. Although I have no moral objection to stealing that jerk's swords.

This episode didn't have a beat up Sokka quota; it had a beat up everyone quota, physically and sometimes mentally too. Kind of surprised there weren't even bruises. And poor Sokka. The first cut is the deepest.

I'll definitely be rewatching this one.

[ultimateshixiongfuckertournament]

Noncanonicals Tournament Round 2, Match 2

Match 2 is between Xie Lu / T from Memory Lost (shizun/mentor: Xu Sibai / S) and Chen Pi Ah Si from DMBJ / The Mystic Nine (shizun/mentor: Er Yuehong)

Propaganda under the cut! (Warning: Propaganda may include spoilers about the characters and their media)

Xie Lu / T:

Xie Lu, codename T, is a member of the Alphabet Syndicate, and leader S's personal project. From a young age, Xie Lu displayed an uncanny aptitude for sharp-shooting. When his dream of going to a specialized school for training, and ultimately competing in the Olympics, was destroyed by his own father, Xie Lu left home, living off the land in the mountains. It was here, when he was fifteen, that he was approached by S, promising to train him in the art of killing, honing his already-excellent skills with a gun into something perfect.

//From fifteen to twenty-three years old, T followed him for eight years.

But he only stayed by his side for the first three years.// (Memory Lost novel, T's Story)

//After the case, the man whom T viewed as an older brother and a God-like figure, disbanded the organization and disappeared.

Everybody including T who were still alive started living their own lives.

“I’m sorry, T,” that man said, “I promised you five years, but I only led you three years.”

But T smiled, “I will always follow your orders in my lifetime.”

That man nodded and didn’t look at him again. He stared at the setting sun that was like a blazing fire. // (Memory Lost novel, T's Story)

In the aftermath of the police raid on the syndicate's base, T was the one who carried S out of the ruins, and cared for him, standing up to the others in defense of S' wishes.

//"S's order was to send Su Mian to Jiangcheng to replace Bai Jinxi's identity after he and Su Mian were in a coma." R said, "And S has always had a cover-up, Xu Sibai, a forensic doctor. These years, S has also completed his studies in forensic medicine. Let him return to this status, a year later, he will be transferred to Jiangcheng. Then everything will start again."

Xu Nanbai smiled suddenly: "For the mentally ill, this is really a deathly romantic decision."

"We still have a choice." L raised his head and looked at everyone, "If S will also lose his memory, let them be with us and we can say that they are a pair. Then, S can fulfill his wish and he can be with her. He can do whatever he wants without much trouble."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone calmed down. This approach violates the previous arrangement of S, but they are all predators, and this approach naturally suits them better.

"I object." T said, “This is not the idea of S.”

"Vote." R said.

There were results soon.

For L’s proposal, only T and Xu Nanbai opposed it. The reason for T’s objection is that S’wish must be respected; and Xu Nanbai's objection is because he thinks it is better to kill Su Mian.// (Memory Lost Prequel, Part 16)

//It was early in the morning one month later, everyone found that S and Su Mian were gone.

The hospital bed in the hut was empty. T and his gun disappeared together.

"Fuck!" L cursed lowly and sharp-eyed,he picked up a piece of letterhead left on the table, it was T’s handwriting, and there was only one sentence—

"That's not the life S wants."// (Memory Lost Prequel, Part 17)

While T kept up working as a hitman in S' absence, he sent half of his earnings to him to ensure his well-being, and occasionally checked in on Xu Sibai in his new life. It is also canon that he fell into a deep depression for some time after being parted from S and the rest of the syndicate.

#t all the way!!!#murder kitty was down so bad for dr warcrimes

Chen Pi Ah Si:

Listen. We know canonically Chen Pi is unhinged over his shifu's wife, but he's just as unhinged and Normal(tm) about Er Ye as he is about Ya Tou. He ripped a dude's face off for saying that Chen Pi might overtake Er Ye one day. He is the yandere flavour of a shizunfucker and you know it, and they deserve representation in this tournament as well

[arctic-shard]

This is not related to Alagadda or SCP but I'd like to know your opinions on AI arts as someone who also draws. For me, since I view AI as something that cannot create things on its own and can only copy and photoshop other existing artworks to make new ones, everyone who uses it and claims AI arts as their own is also an art thief. Sorry for my English, it's not my first language.

Settle in, this is a long one. I use 'you' a lot but it's a general you, not addressing the anon asker specifically.

AI art generators are tools, and tools are morally neutral. It's how they're used that's good or bad. Think of the knives in your kitchen - they're useful, they make cooking easier, but you could also hurt people with them. I think AI art generators have the potential to be used for good.

Corporations and otherwise people with money who could pay artists but don't wanna are the ones using AI for evil. Instead of paying skilled workers, they're replacing them with a computer program. And unlike regular automation, AI art generators are stealing the labour of human artists - their 'training' is just an image search and then mushing those components together. It's devaluing artists and stealing their work at the same time.

I'm including people who sell AI art and claim it's their own work under the 'corporation' umbrella, because it's the same thing on a smaller scale - someone who wants a mass-produced product to sell, profiting off someone else's unpaid labour.

However, I'm talking to tumblr users who are just messing around, not corporations.

AI art generators are fun. It's fun to type in words and have the generator turn that into a picture. AI art generators can turn out some very pretty pieces. The problem is that it's then tempting, if you're not confident in your own skills, to use AI art instead of developing your own. We all want praise and validation for our work and if you're looking at your art and thinking 'not good enough,' you might be tempted to have a generator do it and claim it as your own. Short term, you get that validation if nobody catches you cheating. Long term, you never develop the skill you wish you had and someone's going to catch you out eventually.

Tumblr is a blogging/social media site. The draw of these sites is connections. Like, I could draw a picture of Odious chucking me across the room. I could draw a picture of @proth-blog 's Odious chucking me across a room. I could mess with an AI prompt until it gave me a big bald dude in yellow chucking a figure that looked enough like me across the room and it could be in a gorgeous painterly style I could never in a million years replicate. But if I'm dropping a 'Could Odious chuck me across the room pls :3' in proth-blog's askbox, it's not just because I like proth-blog's art, it's also a, 'Hi, you seem cool, please play with me.'

The asks in my askbox are often basically art prompts. You could type 'SCP-035 in a fancy dress, pencil drawing' or whatever into an AI art generator and get that. You could get twenty of them in a minute. But that's not why you came to my askbox. You want to collaborate with me. You want the Authentic Arctic_Shard Experience.

And that's what I want from you guys. I want authenticity, whether you're actively working to increase your skill at art or are happy with where you are. AI art generators are only going to give you the average of what it can find on an image search, not the uniqueness of your own style.

Now, I am not an expert at spotting AI art, it can slip under my radar. I know I've drawn my share of terrible hands. And my follower list seems to skew young and I don't know where you're all from or how well you speak English - I prefer to default to assuming good-faith intentions and I don't want to tell some kid that they're a bad person for using something they think is a fun novelty tool and don't understand that it's a problem, or for saying 'I drew this' if they don't know the words for 'I used an AI generator prompt.'

As the Supportive Internet Adult I seem to have fallen into the role of: The only way you can get your art to where you want it to be is to practice at it. You're gonna suck for a while but we all did. I want to see what you can do.

[sneezemonster15]

Besides naruto and sasuke, who are some of your other favorite characters?

Gaara. I related with him the most in the entire manga. His backstory was the moment when I got truly hooked. Kishi had me by his claws. I was very invested in his story and it was quite apparent that he was one of the crucial characters that would affect the plot and the protagonist in the process of which, both will undergo change, and so there was a lot of anticipation there.

Neji. While I appreciate him more in retrospect, because this was a boy who stood in the middle of the stadium where all the kages and jounins and the civilians were gathered, and fearlessly talked of oppression supported by the system at the risk of being rendered paralysed or half dead by his slavemaker curse, at the time I liked how he carried himself. Intelligent and talented, a no nonsense dude. And he shut Hinata up who was deliberately egging him on. I loved their fight during chuunin exams, I would not have minded if he were allowed to keep going on... He is individualistic and strong, he is a non conformist and has solid reasons to be that way, I appreciate that.

Deidara. He is just so much fun. Kishi can write all sorts of villains, that's one of his many strengths. He doesn't have a tragic backstory like others, and he doesn't suffer from savior complex or mad acquisition of knowledge and secrets of the world, or retribution (except for Itachi, but that's just another art driven shenanigans of his). He does it for art, lol. He is just a crazy, artsy guy who loves arson. Lol. And that makes up for interesting, engaging action.

Orochimaru. Another wonderful villain. He creates a sense of dread, a certain squirmy quality that is also very thrilling and suspense building. He is so cunning, always one step ahead. He always has an Uno reverse card in his sleeve. Lol. And his wit. Lolol. He is so catty and incisively so. He is also the product of this system and he has a very real insight into this world himself but he has been desensitized. He uses the system itself for his own objective, that benefits his own self. He is certainly a very interesting character in his own right. And he is the only adult who takes a serious stand for Sasuke and that means something. Because it is done in front of all the dead kages, no matter how strong they were.

Madara. Crazy mofo. I happen to love characters that are hella strong, intelligent, stylish, have a sense of humor and are justifiably arrogant. I love how he keeps roasting the five kages, acting like the cat playing with the little mice just for fun before killing them off. I like bloody mayhem in a battle, and this man is so skilled and so powerful, it just makes for such good and humorous action. Not to mention his crazy obsession with Hashirama, he is strong but has his vulnerabilities and doesn't care to hide them, I mean the man just plants his ass on the ground like a stubborn child in a cereal aisle when Hashi sends his clone to fight him, like he just won't be mollycoddled. He is enjoying the battle so much. He exemplifies battle lust. Also, I liked how he was not so predictable. Hashirama sends Sasuke to somehow reason with Madara seeing he looked like Izuna. But Madara wasn't having it. He won't be manipulated. The way he was backstabbed by that piddly ass Black Zetsu, just like Hashirama did, was just cruel man. Kishi and his cruel parallels.

Kakuzu and Hidan. I say both of their names because their rapport is what brings out both their characters. They are snarky, stylish, well Hidan is, smart, strong and form a good team. Their fight with Naruto, Shikamaru and the rest of the team was pretty enjoyable.

I would say Temari, she is bold, sharp, strong, confident, displays strong leadership, with a level head on her shoulders. But of course, her character is not very explored, and I wish it was. I also like sand siblings' dynamic. Kankuro also has his good moments, funny dude. I would have also liked to see Tenten been given a chance. Oh Kish..

Gai. He is a kind man, always positive but not in a toxic way. Persevered despite his handicap and worked haaard. Strong, sensitive, vulnerable, has a close bond with his team, and is the perennial cheerleader. He cares for his friends, subordinates, and doesn't back away from a fight. He was already knocking on death's door when he decided to tackle Madara, and he did it with such aplomb. Impressive. His interaction with Kisame is also quite funny. I like Kisame as well. Such a gentleman. I also like his backstory, quite a complex one.

Yamato. The perennial nanny. The babysitter. He used to work for Root so he doesn't know how to deal with other peoples' individuality. But he tries. He takes his team out for a nice stay at an expensive inn, treats them to good food, all so that his team can bond and not be at each other's throat all the time. He does care about his team, and he is always trying to be the peacekeeper. I also like his dynamic with Naruto. At first, Naruto finds him scary/weird but then finds out he is just a pumpkin on the inside. So he teases him and plays pranks, and Yamato reacts just like how an exasperated older sister would to a naughty younger brother's pranks. Lol. And he is strong and smart. He has some good comedic moments, and he learns not to take himself so seriously. I would have liked to see him in action during the war arc but sadly, Kishi decided not to have him.

Suigetsu. That boy knows how to self preserve. He is bold, funny and a little devilish. He likes chaos and doesn't care for anything other than his own interests. He owns the way he is. He doesn't pretend to be anything different. He doesn't submit to Sasuke, he calls Karin out, he makes fun of Juugo, he takes everyone on. He is entertaining. But he also supports and helps Sasuke in his effort for revolution, he is adamant about it too. I also like his pointy teeth. Heh.

[jackmanifold-daily]

Callout post for every single mod on this godforesaken blog *explosions*

For too long have I been dealing with these unforgivable people. If you still support this blog after what I'll reveal, I don't care.

For years I have been gathering evidence of the other mods being scum of the earth. Everything they said is here out and plain. I do not wish to continue the cycle of violence anymore or be part of this.

MOD STRAD:

WARNINGS: food gore, Luigi, food poisoning

These screenshots paint a horrible picture of the person many of you know and love. Our most recent addition, Mod Strad, has managed to deface this earth with this horrid creation in the few months he's been around already.

MOD SNALZ:

Warnings: J/////ackity (Ja//ck x Q*ckit*), tntduokiss

Jackity is a highly problematic ship on its own already. Jack and Quackity basically never interact on DSMP and forcing two people who never interact to kiss is literally so weird. BUT KETTLE HAD TO MAKE IT WORSE and make this a tntduokiss redraw, making it both art theft AND a reference to the most problematic ship out there. CANCELLED.

MOD KEY(S):

Warnings: doesn't know what forums are

Ok nobody be mean to Key(s) for this one but it's kind of problematic. How do you not know what forums are. Like the internet forums. Hell even the greek forums? Really? Don't go after Key(s) or harass slime for this, just beware.

MOD PEP:

Warnings: homophobia

Pep has admitted to not shipping anyone with c!Jack. Which is honestly really suspicious. I don't care for their reasoning for this, just the fact that they won't involve c!Jack Manifold in any homosexual ships just rubs me the wrong way. And also there's the quackbur comment again which I have explained is problematic already.

MOD TEA:

Warnings: spoilers for DSMP lore, Greek religion

Ruined the hopes we had for a lore stream in 2021. Pretty obvious what's wrong with this. Highly irresponsible use of the gift of prophecy and xe should apologize and take responsibility for this.

MOD CASEY:

Warnings: homophobia, misogyny

This one juts straight up has undeniable confirmed evidence. There is no more context to this. He just says this to us every day every morning all the time and I have to deal with this and nobody else seems to have an issue with this?????

MOD LUIGRA:

Warnings: epic (awesome), mpreg

Didn't think I would give a callout for every mod here and leave myself out, did you? Because I have done some despicable stuff as well. In fact, I have done so much horrible stuff you could call me out on that it's not even going to fit in this post. Just trust me dude.

As a conclusion, use your own judgement and critical thinking skills and happy April Fools! <3 Thank you for the support for this blog guys, this friend group is one of the best ones I've ever had and wouldn't trade anything for the other mods. Peace and love

[strawberri-uyu]

"10 things i hate about gyu" - behind the casting #1

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ masterlist / next

im yn - nayeon’s adopted younger sibling, and junior at hybe-tech. if you ordered them off a menu it would be like a combo of bitchy, blunt, and everything fun! you definitely won't like them! likes kpop surprisingly?? casted as katarina "kat" stratford

im nayeon - senior at hybe-tech who wants to transfer to a university in new york. a sweetheart at the end of the day who wishes the best for yn. she wants them to be on better terms, made yn match twitter names. casted as bianca stratford

hong joshua - senior at hybe, childhood friend and neighbor of nayeon and yn. he’s a resident simp for y/n (he has feelings for them). his daily activities include annoying yn or flirting with them. (second lead syndrome)

xu minghao - senior at hybe and the biggest yn anti on the planet, (their his honorary little sibling) he has his own art and fashion exhibits from time to time. participates in the school’s dance team as well as the school’s yoga club or whatever that is. yn is like his honorary little sibling and his favorite but he won't admit that.

jeon wonwoo - senior at hybe, woowoo as yn calls him. he has been the only one to fight with yn and win. (he almost lost) he tends to stay neutral in the chaos yn brings, but he does like to play devil’s advocate just to see them do stupid shit. they do play video games together and wonwoo doesn’t let yn win.

lee chan - part one of the sophomore trio, yn’s self proclaimed best friend. they met because yn beat up a dude for trying to bully chan. (they just wanted to fight the guy). likes to show off his danceology skills to yn and he has taught them choreography before. 

boo seungkwan - part two of the trio and captain of the badminton club, he is an yn apologist and best friend second, and has been friends with yn since the first grade. #1 nag in the group, also fights with chan over who really is yn’s bestie 

choi hansol - vernon pull up on you.... anyways the final part of our trio, vernon! another self named best friend of yn. funny enough y/n has one fear and its hansol idk why? i think it had something to do with his headphones (don't ask me). he’s tired of his bestie acting dumb, fun fact: he doesn’t attend classes and the group doesn’t know how he’s passing tbh… 

[floralcrematorium]

2, 30, 45!

2. Who are you favorite Hetalia artists?

I followed kyuhu on Instagram long before I got back into Hetalia, so it was a joy to discover they're also on Tumblr! I also adore rod1832's work. I am a big fan of art nouveau and decorative artwork, and seeing their fairy tale series reminded me just how much I adore being an illustrator and I wish my work had similar precision and cleanliness. It makes me want to work on my compositional skills, understanding of color, and linework skills. There's a lot of other artists I enjoy, but these two were the first to come to mind!

30. BroTP? Headcanons?

Hmhmhmmmmhm I wanna write a fic where the Bad Friends Trio go to Medieval Times. Like, the restaurant,,, tournament,,, situation,,, thing in America. I haven't been since I was like 13 or 14 but I think they'd have fun. Gilbert would be an ass & jeer at the knights, especially in nationverse. Francis wins the tiara they usually give out to teenage girls Because He's Pretty and I want him to get the tiara. They all buy swords. This has been on my fic ideas list for a little bit now.

45. Most iconic canon line?

Unfortunately the dub was my first exposure to the show and I need to go back through the webcomics and sub. I also haven't watched the dub in a moment (shivers in fear... Todd Haberkorn)

Two lines that are iconic to me personally are:

"Is this a painting of your boyfriend or girlfriend or gender neutral chibi thing?"

My two friends who used to co-admin a Hetalia instagram account with me circa 2014-2017 (Deleted 2021) have a new discord server and funnily enough we're one dude, one gal, and one enby, so our server nicknames are "boyfriend," "girlfriend," and "gender neutral chibi thing." I'm gender neutral chibi thing.

"Spoiler alert, I want to pet cats. Want to pet cats. I want to pet kitties." - Greece (Beautiful World)

I've literally been quoting this for years now every time I'm hunting down one of my cats with a desire to pet and annoy them

[drmajalis]

Gavial, the Invincible is legitimately the only six star I wish i could take back the pulls and materials spent on her. It's not just "white girl dreads" although that is pretty cringe, it's like genuinely there has never been a single time I've ever though of using Gavial over Blaze. LIke yeah I know Gavial is objectively a better meta unit but Blaze is still hella fine and few things are as satisfying as the sound of her s2 infinite duration wonderland It's just the theme of the AoE Guard! They are blocking tons of dudes and chunking them all why am I having to think carefully about when to use their skills? Blaze is infinite duration, least thought needed Estelle and Specter are obvious, use them if they're about to die/if you know they might die But with Gavial I'm like expected to foresee the best time in a map to utilize her skill durations? Nah, not what I'm here for. Good god I hate her fucking white girl dreads you know my friends have had to remind me she existed whenever I was comparing AoE Guards or talking about alters we didn't like because my mind kept blanking her out. Please go look at @phmonster's Gavial art