#so uh...

[mellosdrawings]

I'm feeling like rambling about AI on main, ignore me if it's not your cup of tea.

So a while ago, I did check out those art prompts AI, because when I pester about something, I like to know what I'm rambling about. I like to do a minimum of research and, if possible, try the thing out before making my opinion. For AI art, my opinion was already pretty solid, but I still wanted to check it out.

I found a free prompt stuff online, asked it a super easy prompt, and asked for a handful of different images. Just to see.

The prompt was [character tripping]. Really. Super easy, right? I wanted the thing to have as much liberty as possible.

It's not just that though. I chose this prompt because it is something I did in art school. Our teacher would give us simple prompts, and we would have to draw doodles in 5 minutes or less. Imagine a class of 15 exhausted art students full of caffeine being told to draw someone tripping.

The 15 art students' results? Little boys tripping over tree roots, teenage girls falling while rollskating, business men tripping on their papers and burning themselves with coffee, old ladies cracking a hip, comical falls backwards with a leg up, realistic falls forward with pained expressions, etc etc.

See, our fast doodles weren't any better than AI anatomically speaking. We were missing hands and our faces were distorted and a foot was bigger than another, things that are also common with AI. But the DIVERSITY. I remember being flabbergasted by it. We all had the same prompt, but none of us drew the same thing. I remember drawing the good old banana peel slip from the old comics I read when I was a kid. My best friend drew a kid falling in mud.

We did several prompts like that as training, and I always loved to see what everybody was doing, because it was always so different.

Now, here was the AI result: 5 anime girls in a running position at an angle, making shocked pikachu faces. Every. Single. One. Of. Them. The angle and the running poses were the only things that changed, and even then just slightly.

The AI only did 5 times the same stuff. Art style changed a bit from one to the other, but always the same vibe, always the same composition, and always that godsdamned shocked pikachu face. It was very underwhelming.

I don't care about perfect anatomy and lighting. But I care about creativity. I love seeing things that I would never have thought to do myself. And the AI didn't provide that at all. Coz AI has no creativity whatsoever. If you don't further your prompt to be very specific, it will just reheat the same bland stuff again and again. It's just boring.

I have a lot of grievances about AI. Art theft, environmental blunder, artists being paid even less than they already were (as if people and companies suggesting to pay us in visibility wasn't bad enough). But even on an emotional level there's nothing. Yes, it's great to see one's character/idea brought to life when one cannot draw. But it'll be the blandest stuff ever. That's just a shame.

[im-a-little-kit]

[flower-boi16]

So uh.

Critical community's thoughts on this video?

[caktusjuice-draws]

pokey HATES that paul matthews is destined to fall in love with emma perkins in every universe so he just says "screw destiny" and fights tooth and nail to get his human

Pokotho paced the tile floor of Miss Retro's. The human feet that he was now much accustomed to anxiously clicked back and forth across the floor in a rapid albeit hypnotic beat. Holloway picked at the piece of good ol' cherry pie on her plate, lazily breaking it apart with a fork. Otho wheeled around, angry that she hadn't yet said anything of use to him. She knew what was happening, of course she did, she always knew. She was Miss Holloway after all.

Now that he had stopped his anxious teetering about the diner was quiet, save for the gentle click from Holloway's fork and plate, or the loud buzz of a yellow streetlamp outside. He breathed angrily through his nose and his hands clenched to turn his knuckles white.

"It isn't fair!"

"It seldom ever is," Holloway confirmed, smiling softly. Her expression read that while she was trying to be understanding, she found the irony in this situation grating rather than, say, humorous.

"I've been doing so well," Otho argued with no one in particular, words choked through gritted teeth. "I did everything right! I courted him! I showered him with my attentions! We live together for fuck all's sakes! I did everything right and now this! And because why? Because he and Emma are ... They're... simply just..."

He couldn't bring himself to say it. His shoulders had begun shaking and his breathing became loud and shuddery. But he didn't have to say it, because Miss Holloway was not sparing him the sword.

"Inevitable." She finished for him.

Otho choked on a sound that threatened to rip through his throat like hot iron.

"Don't say that," he whispered, his voice full with undeniable defeat.

[fei-amei]

Welp

Guess im also doing this now

I thought of giving him a retractable lure to mask as a head accessory??? Or maybe he'll just wear a cool hat to instead hide his lure

[sleepanonymous]

Coffee!anon, this one is for you 🖤☕ It's not ME, but still technically a space video game lol.

Unfortunately, I have next to no information on this mp3. It was only uncovered recently because a fan had archived it without a link or screenshot.

There was a hand-typed description provided recently but no proof that it came from Ves's actual YouTube description. Literally, anyone could have written it and the source isn't quite reliable.

Anywho, if you're a gamer (like me) and you recognize that little bit played at the end, check the video below the cut.

Remember when I bet that one of the Xbox games was Halo 3 on Ves's desk in this video? Yeah. This is why 🙃 This man had the audacity to name my favourite ST album after a Cortana quote.

Update on this song as of December 2023:

A lovely anon provided me with this screenshot, which has the upload date and correct title. I've changed the song name, as well as the tags to reflect this.

March 2024 Update

Aaand we now have the description too! Amazing 😌

[hiding-in-my-blanket-fort]

.

[slumberpartymakeouts]

"this is a rare level 3 gyatt sighting" dave says to rose, before karkat proceeds to deck him

[teardropwolf]

my stupid warm up doodles I did

I did them from memory. The Webber one was me remembering that I have other brushes that I got.

[corpupine]

Alright, finally getting to those other Ask(s) I said I would do. First of all, really awesome to come back here and see more NemaTale updates! Already in Ch5, and if my count is correct, if you count the prologue. With all the Comic parts released you are either almost at 100 parts, are at 100 parts, or a bit over 100 parts. Either way, Nematale is around 100 comic parts released and that is awesome! More in other Ask(s). Sorry.

You don't have to apologize at all for long/multiple asks! I LOVE analyses of my work, and it's so fun to interact with people who've read it and have questions/theories/what have you! I'm just going to put my answers, and the subsequent asks, under the read more on this post, so it doesn't get too long for people's dashes :)

Yes, it is so fun to be posting again as well! Gosh, that's crazy to think about--so many parts, but also so many individual pages! I've learned a TON from making this comic, the first thing being that it really is NEVER the wrong time to start a comic haha. I have grown LEAPS and bounds as an artist and a person since starting this comic, and I never would have grown in that way if I hadn't just started making the comic even when I didn't know much about anatomy, or color, or even digital drawing in general! So every part I've released is just evidence to me of my own growth and accomplishment. My degree is in publishing, and someday I would love to print NemaTale in several volumes because I LOVE having physical copies of my work and I want to celebrate how far I've come! That might not be for a little while though.

YES that crossover comic by @xjunjox was SUCH a sweet surprise! It's crazy, because I had not read any of Spirit (which is a wonderful, completed Undertale comic for the uninitiated of you) until AFTER I finished making Chapter 2 of NemaTale, which means Nema's design was totally set and I'd drawn her several hundred times, and then one day I went on deviantArt and was like "ooh, an Undertale comic with a female OC? She's freaking adorable AND BLONDE?? OH SHE'S SO SWEET--" and now that's one of my favorite UT comics :)) 💙💙

Similarly with The First Human, I think SO highly of @brittninja ! Marine is an EXCELLENT character, and Britt's art is phenomenal. We haven't interacted much in a while, but I'm so pleased that so many people are reading her comic! She deserves every bit of her audience and more🩵🩵

Anyway, all that to say, it is so fun how we have ended up with characters that have similar designs, yet they behave so differently when presented with certain choices! I love what you said about how you can tell why each character has the SOUL type they have. For me, Nema's soul type being kindness was very intentional, and I 100% agree with the reasoning behind both Fae and Marine's soul colors. I think you learn a lot about a character from the choices they make when presented with a certain situation. It's also important to note that all those soul traits have their own strengths and weaknesses! The comic will go into this more as we get further in, but if you'll indulge me: one of the reasons I chose kindness as Nema's soul trait was that I find it to be fascinating and sometimes contradictory. She can be kind to a fault, but...how does she do at letting people see the real her? How does she react when no matter what she does, someone simply does not like her?

How good is she, really, at being kind to herself? 💚💚

(I cut out the first part of the next question regarding Sans, Flowey, Karma, and LV/EXP, because I wanted to make a separate post regarding my thoughts! I hope that's okay. I'll answer the rest here!)

Flowey is definitely a tricky guy! Fun fact, an early draft of Chapter 5 had Flowey visiting Nema to taunt her, not Sans. It was actually a last-minute change because I realized that provided a LOT more dramatic tension for the narrative, plus who doesn't love a good Sans and Flowey interaction? It was the perfect pinch point for Flowey to show up and...sow the seeds of discord, heheh.

whoops, think I was just possessed by the spirit of Sans there for a second, my apologies. :3

I tried and tried to upload this screenshot as it was originally sent to me, but for some reason one of those words just came out...corrupted. Sorry about that! I'm sure it's fine!

Thank you for the compliment! I'm really proud of how that chapter cover turned out, it really evokes the feeling that I wanted this chapter to have. Some of the scenes coming up in this chapter are my favorite in the whole comic so far, so I'm excited to share them with you all!

That's the great thing about siblings, they're always down to kick you in the butt when you're being a jerk! And who knows what Sans is thinking or planning? That monster's an enigma...

Your comment about Nema being sad and guilt-driven makes me so happy, that was exactly what I was trying to get across! We don't know all of her motivations or backstory yet, but you are right on the money with one thing: Nema doesn't think very highly of herself. (Hence her saying to Flowey in Chapter One, "I'm nobody...")

My favorite thing to write is complicated and occasionally toxic relationships! Is Nema really the best person to help the underground? How can she help them, really? These are important questions to ask...and ones we might not get a full answer to for a good long while, haha! I know, I'm the worst >:)

Thanks for sending these messages! I loved getting to dig down deep and answer them all. Hope you have a great holiday, and the same for everyone who celebrates! :)

[vexedallay]

Im just gonna put this here-

[alicesadventuresinffxiv]

FFxivWrite2024 Prompt #20

Title: Aftermath of a Duel

Wordcount: 794

Spoilers through: Stormblood

Alternate Universe: To Catch a Falling Star

Relationships & Characters: Fordola/Lyse

Summary: Specula Imperatoris falls, and Lyse becomes a commander… but not the way it happens in canon.

(Takes place right after my entry for Prompt #17)

(The problem I had with this prompt was actually that I had too many ideas! The ambitious concept I really wanted to write was a three part fic of all the times WoL!Fordola fights Zenos… but in the end I had neither the time nor the character dynamics ironed out for that yet. 

So as usual, when other ideas fail me, I fall back to TCaFS!  Although since this is effectively the “ending” to the story, I’m not quite satisfied with what I wrote here either. In theory there should be a lot more going on with Fordola’s decision here, and how it’s meant to close her arc of finally learning to accept help when she needs it… ah well. Just got to keep reminding myself these are all first drafts! ^^;)

.

Tensions flared high on both sides of the temporary truce. Soldiers and officers eyed each other warily, muttering amongst themselves - was it a trick? A trap? If so, then for whom?

Raubahn put his hand on Lyse’s shoulder. “I trust you lass, but are you sure - “

A muffled thump, and then an awful, crashing roar drowned out the rest of his words.

“Gods be good…!” Hrudolf swore from her other side. “The tower! They’ve fired on the tower!”

“Back! Further back, all of you!” Raubahn called, and his son picked up the order, relaying it again and again as he ran down the lines of spooked soldiers.

But Lyse let out a shaking breath. She’d made it. The empty shell of Specula Imperatoris covered the armies’ retreat despite the cannon sounding again and again.

Of course, even once they’d cleared well away from the blasts, there were still endless tasks to occupy Lyse’s hands and thoughts. After witnessing how close they’d all come to death, neither side had any appetite left to fight, and so both Alliance and Skulls alike had taken to tending their wounded and breaking out an uneasy meal.

“Oi! Look there! Who’s that?!” 

Lyse finished tying the tourniquet she’d been working on and looked up to where the Resistance scout was pointing. A tall, barbed silhouette greeted her eyes, and in his arms he was carrying - 

“No!” Lyse’s heart leapt to her throat. “No, she can’t be!”

She raced across the camp, ducking and weaving between soldiers until she came to a stop before the Elezen in spiked armor. 

“That’s Ser Estinein!”

“What’s he doing here?”

“Is that the Butcher he’s got?”

Lyse pushed past the small cluster of Ishgardian knights and let out another stifled cry.

“You idiot…!”

The armored man turned to face her, a wry smile playing at his lips “Ah, I take it this is one of yours? I’d a mind to test my lance against yon cannon, until a little bird came falling out of the sky.”

One of the medics had laid out another blanket, and he knelt to place the still body on it, careful not to jostle the glass shards in the woman’s arms or the cruel, gaping slash down her front.

“Brave girl, to test her blade against a legatus all on her lonesome. Even put up quite the fight from what I saw, but he’d got her backed against the window.”

“I told you to run!” Lyse whispered fiercely and dropped to her own knees. Fordola’s skin was so very pale, the torn remains of her armor dyed so very red with blood. Lyse brushed a lock of hair from her face, her fingers trembling. 

But despite its sickly pallor, Fordola’s skin was warm, and her eyelids flickered ever so slightly at the touch.

“See?” she murmured weakly. “I kept my promise.”

“You’re half dead!” Lyse desperately wanted to shake her, but instead settled for taking one of Fordola’s limp hands and squeezing it as hard as she could.

“Better’n all dead.” Her eyes opened more fully, taking in the group of soldiers gathered around her. “Lyse, I - ”

“Well, well. The Azure Dragoon, if I’m not mistaken!” She was interrupted by a warm, booming voice. “And I see you’ve brought us a gift!” 

The Elezen gave a small bow at Raubahn’s arrival. “I was merely passing through the area.”

He was nearly bowled over by another sprinting figure. “Commander!” Hrudolf had arrived too. “To hells with it - Fordola? Gods, Fordola, are you alright?” He grabbed his childhood friend by the shoulders.

“Do I look alright to you?” She tried to laugh, but it came out a choked gasp. “Lyse…”

“I’m right here.”

“Got…got something else I need to say…” Fordola’s face briefly contorted in a rictus of pain as she tried to raise her head, only to give up the effort.

“We’re listening,” Raubahn said from above. His hand had gone to his weapon. “Speak, woman.”

Fordola drew another difficult, shuddering breath. “As my final act as Pilus, I cede full command of the Crania Lupi to Resistance operative Lyse Hext.” 

“But - “ Lyse exchanged a shocked glance with Hrudolf. 

Then he slowly nodded. “The Resistance won’t trust aught I have to say, Lyse. We need someone like you to vouch for the Skulls.”

She could do nothing but bow her head in silent acceptance.

Seeing that, Fordola slumped back, her last energy exhausted. “Acting as myself, I surrender unconditionally. Do with me as you will.”

Raubahn gave a sharp nod of his own and waved a Gridanian healer to step forward. “On behalf of the Alliance and Resistance, I accept your surrender.” He then looked to Lyse with an approving smile. “Well done, Commander Hext. Shall we negotiate your terms?”

[erigold13261]

I swear, one of these days I will get around to designing 1010's warbot models. I really want Purl's warbot to be a super creepy interrogation bot, very much the least humanoid out of all of them.

And then I want Purl to be showing Cyril and West their old body (that the captain kept in the basement with all their old models) and for Cyril to say: "Smash."

[shakibone]

Reverse unpopular opinion: what do you like about avengers: endgame?

Most of it!

I remember when it came out how big of a cinematic event it was. We had all be speculating for months how it would play out, and then we were hit by that FIVE YEARS LATER...

After that we got some fun character interractions we hadn't had, like Rhodie and Nebula proving friends, or Professor Hulk giving Ant Man that Taco. The Time Heist itself was fun, with lots of callbacks and neat moments.

I liked it when Past Thanos heard of his fate to accomplish the Snap and then die, and how Ebony Maw practically creamed himself in admiration.

Then, of course, was the great big fight.

More a fireworks show dedicated to it's own existance, the big fight at the end was a great capper to the Infinity Saga.

[hifi-walkman]

I've seen a lot of people say the average life expectancy was 30 before the twentieth century.

this isn't true, the average person lived to just twelve minutes of age

Annus Georg was a statistical outlier who should not have been counted.