the thing is there's like, a point of oversaturation for everything, and it's why so many things get dropped after a few minutes. and we act like millennials or gen z kids "have short attention spans" but... that's not quite it. it's more like - we did like it. you just ruined it.
capitalism sees product A having moderate success, and then everything has to come out with their "own version" of product A (which is often exactly the same). and they dump extreme amounts of money and environmental waste into each horrible simulacrum they trot out each season.
now it's not just tiktokkers making videos; it's that instagram and even fucking tumblr both think you want live feeds and video-first programming. and it helps them, because videos are easier to sneak native ads into. the books coming out all have to have 78 buzzwords in them for SEO, or otherwise they don't get published. they are making a live-action remake of moana. i haven't googled it, but there's probably another marvel or starwars something coming out, no matter when you're reading this post.
and we are like "hi, this clone of project A completely misses the point of the original. it is soulless and colorless and miserable." and the company nods and says "yes totally. here is a different clone, but special." and we look at clone 2 and we say "nope, this one is still flat and bad, y'all" and they're like "no, totally, we hear you," and then they make another clone but this time it's, like, a joyless prequel. and by the time they've successfully rolled out "clone 89", the market is incredibly oversaturated, and the consumer is blamed because the company isn't turning a profit.
and like - take even something digital like the tumblr "live streaming" function i just mentioned. that has to take up server space and some amount of carbon footprint; just so this brokenass blue hellsite can roll out a feature that literally none of its userbase actually wants. the thing that's the kicker here: even something that doesn't have a physical production plant still impacts the environment.
and it all just feels like it's rolling out of control because like, you watch companies pour hundreds of thousands of dollars into a remake of a remake of something nobody wants anymore and you're like, not able to afford eggs anymore. and you tell the company that really what you want is a good story about survival and they say "okay so you mean a YA white protagonist has some kind of 'spicy' love triangle" and you're like - hey man i think you're misunderstanding the point of storytelling but they've already printed 76 versions of "city of blood and magic" and "queen of diamond rule" and spent literally millions of dollars on the movie "Candy Crush Killer: Coming to Eat You".
it's like being stuck in a room with a clown that keeps telling the same joke over and over but it's worse every time. and that would be fine but he keeps fucking charging you 6.99. and you keep being like "no, i know it made me laugh the first time, but that's because it was different and new" and the clown is just aggressively sitting there saying "well! plenty of people like my jokes! the reason you're bored of this is because maybe there's something wrong with you!"
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i think its weird that arcee is like. a core member of transformers groups now, cuz it makes her stick out like a sore thumb being the token girl when at the time she wasnt exactly supposed to be? she was part of the second generation of characters (even though I know the movie was being made first)
like it seems like modern stuff tries to do this with her
which just shows off how much that design doesnt fit and comes off like it was made to be "i am THE girl. you need no more girls we have made the one girl”
but when she was actually designed to match the movie crew, a bunch of more futuristic (the far off year of 2005) cybertronian vehicle transformers with her rounded shapes and pastel colours and she isnt even the only pink one because hot rod is also pink, albeit a much darker pink
(leaving ultra magnus out cuz he was designed to be a brick holding optimus doesnt count)
the point like yeah shes still the only girl but its less egregious when you look at what she was actually supposed to match. i dont think shes designed perfectly but i think its weird that because shes the most recognizable girl transformer she has to be pulled away from her crew and forced into a group she doesnt share the design philosophy of (let alone for her character its sad like... are those not her friends? she’s not allowed to hang out with her own friends anymore cuz she’s the only girl who’s marketable? sad)
it’s extra weird when you realize there’s this crew who were the original girl transformers shown on screen
they’re not perfect either but I like that they have the same busy more squared off shapes and more strong colours, and I just think if they got added in arcees place you could have a less skewed view gender binary for the robots
there’s also the part where it would be cool to have more than one girl in a group, but again arcee with her iconic leia space buns head fits in aesthetically better with the movie crew
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Hiya folks. Todays the ffxiv hair contest winers were announced and of of the styles I made won.
The one who will be implimented in game will be Natural curls.
These were made with my friends in mind (because I love them and they deserve more actual natural curls) while taking into consideration the lack of curly hair, the textures I know they would be able to make and how it would look like on non poc wols
The winning hair
This was the first and more simple one I made. I started out with the base shape then painted it over with a natural curl hair brush.
I wanted to make a texture I felt i’ve seen the devs make in Highlander/Midlander hair but no where else.
I simplified it for the quickly drawn examples … I have a feeling the end product might be closer to those instead of the more curly version. Here is to hoping no.
The ones I made but did not win, so wont get in game
The curly swoop
This one was actually requested by one of my friends.
She wanted me to try a hair still she wanted to have in real life. Due to the reasons stated on top, i had to loosen up the curls of the swoop to make it work with what i knew was a texture they could pull off and also work with non poc characters.
Old school ponytail
This one was inspired by nostalgia from when I was in grade school.
I remembered those hail tie balls so well and associated them with fond memories.
Sadly I didn’t think i could do my original idea of the thick cute braids i associated these with in a way that the game would make it not look racist/work with non poc characters so I focused on just the curls. It ended up reminding me of Terra from FF6 but more curly.
In the end. I’m glad Natural curls won. I really hope they get the texture right and curly.
I still feel awkward cause i’m white woman who submitted these. But I did them with love and support for my friends and to yell at SE to add more poc hair (wich i saw a shorter dreads hair and also a really elegant brais with poofy curls won so i guess my plan worked?)
I just hope this will make them make more hair with poc in mind so the players can eat well.
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just desserts
hobie brown x reader, miguel o’hara x reader (implied)
summary: leave it to the big guy to be so damn obvious. if only it wasn't this fun for hobie to mess with him.
or: hobie exploits miguel’s one weakness for some shits and giggles (but also to stick it to The Man).
cw: fluff but hobie makes some innuendos. jealous!miguel, miguel who can't admit his feelings, hobie who knows this and knows he has more game and takes full advantage of this
You’re talking to Hobie when his attention is captured by something behind you. His gaze shifts as he raises a brow challengingly, mouth pulled into a cocky slant. It’s quick, quick enough that most people wouldn’t catch it, but you’re not most people. Not with your reflexes.
“—And I was—Hobie? Something wrong?”
You’ve got his attention again. “Yeah, luv? Sorry ‘bout that, got somethin’ in my eye.” He wraps an arm around your shoulder, and gives you a lazy grin. "Distracted me fro' your beauty for a minute."
You roll your eyes as you continue to tell your tale, Hobie listening to you with the kind of careless intensity that only he could pull off. While his flirtatious comments could be construed as something more, he says them with such a dry wit that it's hardly anything more than friendly. As the the two of you meander down the line of the cafeteria, grabbing whatever food spikes your interest, his arm remains a steady presence around you. Again, you don’t think much of it—Hobie's a touchy guy with his closest friends.
“Ya’ ever wonder 'ow these futuristic blokes come up wit’ some o’ these pop flavors?" he asks you, holding a can of soda in his hand as he languid reads off the label. "‘Sparkling orange cream cider with a 'int of lime...'" He pulls a face. "Sounds mad.”
You laugh. “It’s actually kinda good. Peter recommended it to me last time.”
He looks at you, surprised. “Huh." And then, with a hint of suspicion, he asks, "...Which Peter? Ya' can't trust all ov' their taste buds...”
With his arm around you, Hobie steers the two of you around the cafeteria, and you end up accidentally bumping into the person next to you in line. The two of you continue to chat--that is, until you hear someone clear their throat meaningfully. You glance behind you, unaware of the challenging glean in Hobie's cool gaze.
"Oh, hi, Miguel! I don't think I've ever seen you out here before."
He raises a brow. In his hand is a box of the empanadas he loves so much.
"I do... eat, you know."
Miguel's usual dry and blunt manner of speaking has hardly deterred you before.
"Yeah, but I don't think you really leave that dinky, dark room of yours," you say thoughtfully, to which Hobie snorts next to you. His body shakes with the effort to contain his amusement. Your eyes widen. "I—I didn't mean it like that!"
"I know what you mean," Miguel cuts you off. He jabs the empanada before him with tongs, puncturing its shell. His irritation is palpable. Maybe he's having a bad day? "I..." He sighs heavily, surveying the two of you, his gaze lingering on your shoulder. "Just felt like a change of scenery."
"Or at least I did," he mutters, but you don't quite catch it.
"Sorry?"
"Nothing."
"'Ey, 'ey. Look wha' we got 'ere." Hobie, the ever keen observer, steers you around Miguel, to direct your attention to today's dessert on the menu. Your eyes widen at the various flavors of cupcakes before you. You fucking love cupcakes.
"Lemme guess," Hobie says. "You're a chocolate kinda gal?" He snags a cupcake for each of you. Just as he hands it to you though, you're distracted by the sound of tongs clattering.
You glance to your right, only for Hobie to end up smearing some of the cupcake's icing across your cheek. You blink in surprise.
"Hey!"
"Oops." An amused smirk stretches Hobie's face. “Made a mess o' yourself, looks like it."
"You're the one who did it!"
Hobie puts his palms up, stating solemnly, "All's wort' it in pursuit of something sweet."
You glower at him, rubbing your cheek. "Did I get it?"
He shakes his head. "Nope." You rub again. "A lit'le to the left. Nope… Is a bit like finding a needle in a 'aystack for you, innit? Lemme help.”
Hobie’s thumb comes up to your cheek, swiping the suspect away. You scrunch your nose up, to which he makes a satisfied noise in his throat.
"Almos' regret doin' that. Ya' pull off the 'cream on ya' face' look."
You roll your eyes at the obvious innuendo, smacking his chest. “Hobie. Not in public!”
He shrugs unapologetically.
CRCKK.
The sound of cardboard crumpling meets your ears. The both of you turn around.
“Ay, chingados,” Miguel curses at his crushed box, meat and veggie filling from his empanadas splayed across the ground. He kicks the box away, before slamming his hand onto the counter. Hunched over, a hand tensely massaging his brow as he mutters, “Maldito sea. Estoy harto de ver esta mierda amorosa."
You raise a brow. You think you hear Hobie mutter something to the effect of, "Stickin' it to the big guy one step a' a time," and you're certainly not sure what that means. Miguel stops only when he notices you and everyone in the cafeteria watching him. He straightens up, and clears his throat before summoning his AI.
“Lyla, just have someone bring food to my room,” he grumbles.
"Roger that," she says.
And then Miguel is stalking away before either of you know it.
You watch his retreating back curiously. "I wonder what that was about..." you think aloud.
“No idea,” Hobie drawls. Of course, it's a lie, or as Hobie likes to think of it, a covert truth. He salutes in Miguel's direction.
Leave it to the big guy to be so damn obvious. If only it wasn't this fun to mess with him. And... Hobie glances down at you. If only you realized how much power you held over him.
Both of them, really.
—
translations:
estoy harto de ver esta mierda amorosa = i'm sick of seeing all this lovey-dovey shit
the other phrases are just a bunch of cursing lmao
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