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firedragon1321 · 2 months

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How to Spot an AI-Generated Tai in the Wild!

Because I am insanely obsessed with the blorbo and AI art is a hot-button topic right now, here's a silly thing. I'm sure most artists can tell the difference between real and AI art. But my autistic brain wants to pick apart Tai's character design a bit so here you go. This applies to all seasons, touching on basic traits Tai has between them. So I won't go too much into clothing here (people like to dress him up in different cool outfits anyway- keep doing that).

Note that this isn't true to all models, but works 90% of the time. AI art is advancing so quickly that this may be obsolete by tomorrow. Also, real art might "fail" these little tests simply due to lack of experience drawing the character. If you suspect someone is posting AI art, just block and move on. Report if you want, but you know how Tumblr feels about AI. Most importantly? Don't use this post to be a dick.

WARNING: This post uses AI-generative images found from around the Internet for demonstrative purposes. No credit is given because if the "creators" wanted credit, they should've learned how to actually draw. :)

SKIN TONE

Tai has this nice, tanned skin tone that the rest of the Adventure DigiDestined do not have. While he keeps it in 02 and tri, he loses his color in Kizuna. A real fanart piece is most likely to reflect this, or even add color to his paler designs.

Most AI models have a generic pasty white skin tone for anime characters. This applies to any anime character, not just Tai. I believe this model might have gobbled up his Kizuna skin tone. But I've seen fake Tais even paler than this.

There are some AI models that combat this. But the standard AI identification tricks apply. Here, the tongue is mushy, and the highlights on his goggles make no sense.

HAIR OF FLOOF FLOOF

Ah yes- my point of expertise. Tai's hair is a difficult thing to draw. I don't blame anyone for dropping the ball here. But AI does have some notable, repetitive failings.

A "legit" Tai tends to have fluff, rather than spikes. The bangs consist of one stripe over the forehead. The few spikes present designate messiness, but the general shape is actually curvy (look at the top right side of the head for the most wavy lines). The size of the floof ranges between adaptions and even storyboard artists.

AI-generators are convinced that all "anime hair" is spiky. Notice this AI Tai has more spikes and less curved lines.

Then, there's this one, which drops the ball on Tai and Matt so bad that both characters resemble Bakugou from My Hero Academia.

WHO'S THAT DIGIDESTINED?

Eye shape and color has some leeway depending on the artist's style. Adventure/02, tri., and Kizuna supply three different eye styles. However, there are still some dead giveaways.

Revisiting this AI-generated image, the eyes look...familiar. No?

How about now? The modern Pokemon anime style has been completely absorbed by AI models. Sometimes, Digimon and Pokemon will be confused for each other, resulting in similar eye shapes and other traits (look at the noses, too).

HUMAN TOUCH

There's some times you can look at an art and know with confidence it was human-made, such as-

MS Paint blobs/sketches on lined paper/anything showing layers/etc. They're too unrefined for an AI image creator to want to profit off of, so why would they make them?

Some fetish art. A lot of kinksters are using AI, which is why deviantArt made good ammunition for this post. But many have distinct art styles that AI has not copied yet.

Western-cartoony art with hard or thick lines. AI is allergic to these traits atm. Notice the softer, thinner outlines on all three fakes.

Clearly attempting to master Tai's unique traits, even if they don't translate well (e.g.- a dome vaguely shaped like his hair is more credible than a "perfect" hairdo with too many spikes).

FINAL NOTES

All of this could change tomorrow, at the rate at which AI advances. I'm fairly good at deducing AI art from human-made art. But a recent piece almost tricked me (interestingly, it was Davis- not Tai- who looked off). These things are constantly evolving. But in addition to the usual tricks, knowing your blorbos can help identify AI images so you can freely block (or, when applicable, report) the idiots who made them.

#tai kamiya #digimon #taichi yagami #taiposting #fuck ai art #all of this will change in three days #character design #ai art #ai art identification #might go into tai's hair more one day there's a lot i want to say about drawing it

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be-curious-and-not-judgemental · 9 months

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The last installment of The Reluctant Male Bridgerton Re-watch.

We sat down and binged the last 3 episodes as he was busy on Thursday evening and leaving on Friday morning. So here's the recap until season 3 (in no particular order)

1) "these two have the best chemistry. Much better than the first couple. But i think cuz one doesn't look so young. I have no idea how anyone will beat them." Kanthony for the win!

2) "they tease each other like brothers, they did great casting." A/B/C

3) "ooh, someone is scheming the other one. Is he playing her or is she playing him?" Lord Featherington and Portia

4) "I think Edwina has the right to be pissed. But how are they gonna fix it so those two can marry?"

5) "uhh, Eloise keeps going back to this guy. Remember when I thought it was gonna be the Footman? Oops, got that one wrong!"

6) "so Colin is starting to like Penelope now heh? it's good to see that cuz he was so hung up on the other one, I couldn't figure how he was gonna start liking Penelope but I can sort of see it happening now." Said after the cake-purpose scene. But he unfortunately changes his tune at the end of the episode.

7) "the acting is much better this season. Like everyone is good. I think the Bridgerton mom is really good. And the Queen is good too."

8) "I predict Portia kills Lord Featherington during the ball." Haha! What a scandal that would have been!

9) "I like that there are so many unresolved storylines going into season 3. Like the art guy and Penelope and Eloise. Like it's not just gonna be about a couple, other things are happening. Season 2 was better than season 1 for that too."

10) "not gonna lie, I like this over Pride and Prejudice. It has funny moments and more drama. I'm not as bored. I'll watch season 3 when it comes out." So another Bridgerton fan was made in less than a month, nice!

11) "I like that those two fought. Like it made them interesting, but I think they'll make up, before Colin and Penelope at least." Gosh, I really hope Peneloise are back in season 3.

12) "ouch, she's had a rough night. I thought he was supposed to be kind to Penelope? But I guess that's the way guys are, all talk and everything is for laughs. But the way he says it, I mean, damn!" He actually read the scene as Colin making fun of Pen. I wont post what he actually said cuz I vehemently disagreed that THAT is how the show meant for Colin to perceive Penelope. And I was a bit shocked he viewed it that way. Anyway, he thinks Penelope shouldn't forgive and move on. I spoiled him about the books and showed him the Season 3 pics in hopes to turn the tide. It's interesting to note that his view of Colin hasn't been overly favorable whereas I think Colin is a great character. More impassioned and impulsive than the books but overly a good guy. His views on Penelope aren't as clear. He loves her reactions mostly. Although he says she's a better character in season 2 over season 1.

13) "geez, this show sure likes to show the guys going downtown on the ladies. Its like the Bridgerton sex trademark!" OMG, 🤣

14) "Okay, is everyone just watching these two make out? The moms are right there!" Epilogue, haha

So that's it. It's been a lot of fun watching through the eyes of a non-Bridgerton fan. Kept me more honest. Both Colin and Penelope are not perfect, but I can't wait to see them grow and develop as individual characters and as a couple. Season 3 cannot come soon enough.

Thanks for sticking around! I encourage everyone who can, find a reluctant male (it doesn't have to be your spouse, mine was my ex) and do your own re-watch. We could start a series, lol!

#polin #bridgerton #bridgerton season 3 #the reluctant male re watch #bridgerton season two #and now we pray for a swift and fair resolution for the writers #cuz season 3 is so very far away still #he has no desire to watch QC

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foileadeux · 1 year

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im obsessed with your art and animatics... do you have any tutorials or process posts about some techniques you use? like how you move characters separate of the backgrounds (is it just some clever tweening in vegas??) ty in advance... ;; v ;;

sure! umm this is gonna be messy sorry if anythings incoherent. ill walk u thru this segment of the pkradi hollow fight bc theres a lotta layers. heres the shot for reference

aaand heres a breakdown of the layers (called tracks in sony vegas but im just gonna keep calling them layers) from top to bottom

heres the foreground! where i wanna place shit that goes in front of the characters and background

heres where the characters will be placed! sandwiched between the foreground and background, they get more frames (as shown by the smaller segmented images on the timeline) opposed to set pieces which is usually just 1 image, which means we gotta approach tweening w the characters differently since there are a lot more images! ill explain that after this initial breakdown

and heeeres all the background shenanigans. not much to add here. those sure are background frames

RIGHT now to the tweening. when tweening 1 image/frame whateva you're gonna wanna use pan/crop (located on the image, that lil box with a crop around it icon), use this for stuff that only really needs 1 image, like a background. because its easier. like you could use track motion for everything i guess but pan/crops nice and easy and doesnt give me a headache she treats me nice and good

but uh yea so youll start with a little keyframe at the beginning, drag the pan/crop timeline to the end and click the little + sign to create a keyframe! then from there move the pan/crop box (the one with an F on it lmao) around and kablammo. Movement. usually with backgrounds its just a simple panning to the left or right, like how i did it for this shot! but you can do lots more like zoom and angle it etc

aand when you wanna tween across multiple images in a layer/track you're gonna head on over to your layer/track and hit that funny little track motion button aand youll be greeted with a pan/crop lookin thing except its like. for the whole layer/track instead. so the timeline is waaay bigger since it covers the whole thing. but umm yes same principle as pan/crop basically, except youll now need to insert "hold" keyframes right after your final keyframe, copy and paste a keyframe with all the positions defaulted (im gonna assume youre using 1920 x 1080 since its the standard)

like so and then right click a grey keyframe and choose "hold". this stops everything from fucking up and flying between each keyframe basically LMAOO the Hold is it waiting for your next keyframe that is Not a hold. if that makes sense. anyways yea only worry about that for track motion JUST because it works with the entire track/layer, with pan/crop you can ignore this

BUT YEAH thats my silly little sony vegas tweening guide i hope that helps!! umm i have another tutorial also so u can check that out too if youd like :D

#ask #saluting anyone who bothers reading all of that #i use sony vegas 14 btw

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oonajaeadira · 5 months

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State of the WIP Address

Okay, y'all, I've been in a really weird place where I've been avoiding...pretty much a lot of stuff. Dunno if I have to talk to my doctor about upping my meds or what, but this is why I actually went on them--my depression manifests not in laziness, but avoiding things I need to do and things I actually WANT to do. Then I don't do them and it all starts building up. And then the to do pile feels insurmountable, like I'll never get to finish all these wonderful things. So I just...freeze up and roll over. Like a fainting goat. You'd think I'd be like "yay! lookit all the things to look forward to! I have years ahead of me full of things I really want to do! I should never be bored again!" But no. Can't do them Right Now? Fainting goat. It's weirdo. We've all got our weirdo and this is mine.

I only mention it here because I do State of the WIP Address to be accountable. Now, the weird thing is, I don't actually expect anyone to read these posts--they're boring and personal and totally for my own motivation. I just know myself and know if I put something out there, I'll feel bad if I don't do it and that should motivate me to actually do it.

But here's the thing....it doesn't work anymore. I'm no longer fulling for my own snake oil. The placebo has run out. If I know it's inconsequential, then my brain tricks me into thinking that I'm accountable to no one. And, in reality, it's true that I'm actually accountable to no one so the trick doesn't work.

Anyway. Welcome to Adira's brain where she finds her own thought patterns a fascinating psychological study and the lab results are inconclusive.

So I'mma try to twist the experiment a bit. Rather than list the things I know I can't get to right this second and feel bad about it, we're gonna let promises go and do it this way. It's not interesting to anyone but me and anyone who nerds out on process. But rather than listing the things I'm not working on, I'll talk about the ones I am, how it's going, what's in my craw about it, and maybe in my ramblings I'll clear the gears to start rolling again.

This isn't interesting to anyone but me unless you really wanna see how seriously I take my fic writing. Cringe if you want. I'm just being honest with myself. My fic isn't high art, but as with anything I create, I can't half-ass it either. It's "be satisfied with it on my terms" or bust.

STATE OF THE WIPS

I have one million projects happening, but these are the pieces I'm actively thinking about and working on at the moment.

SECRET SANTA Where it's at: I'm writing for someone I think is a wonderful person and want to do right by them, so the pressure's on. But at the same time, it's not. Because I know how accepting and lovely the person is and they gave me a lot of prompts and options and like a lot of the things I do and seem to like a lot of the types of things I like to write. I also know that this doesn't have to be over-complicated, that I can write my heart and it will please both of us. While I haven't actually opened up a doc to start, I know that it's the type of thing that if I have a little uninterrupted block of time, I can just sit down and it will flow. I won't say much about it here, but I will say that while it can 100% be read as standalone, it hits on a character/series I'm currently writing and acts as a kind of prequel, a reason for loving the reader as he does. It's something that is kind of missing in the planned series and I think this would be a nice opportunity to explore it before moving forward (and maybe helping propel that series a little) while also touching on one of the characters my giftee likes, a genre they are interested in that I hadn't considered with this character, and it will have a tone I think they'll appreciate. So while it's for them and being written with their likes in mind, I thank them, because it's also a little gift for me and my yearnings. What's stopping me: Time constraints and general anxiety.

TROPE FIC: MODERN DOM!PERO Where it's at: This one got a little sloppy and I'm working on it. I've been following @max--phillips' entries about what defines certain types of kinks and while my thoughts on dom!Pero started as true dom, they swung wrong when I started working on this, and now I'm just thinking myself back to the definition of dominant. And while I may still be missing the mark, it's helping me to think more about how I want to explore and frame this dynamic. It's also giving me a little trouble in that it's not coming out chronologically which causes me to waste time jumping around and retrofitting things. What's stopping me: I put this one on hold to start prioritizing the Secret Santa piece.

TROPE FIC: SEX POLLEN!OBERYN Where it's at: This piece is flowing chronologically. It's going to be longer than I anticipated and the first draft is about 1/3 done. I already know that after the first draft I'll have to do some shaping and I think maybe I got overwhelmed with the task I set for myself and that triggered my avoidance. I know where it's going, I'm excited for it, it will flow easily if I let it, I just have to do it! What's stopping me: I put this one on hold because I got distracted by tasty Pero thoughts. I blame @perotovar for the thots, but not the stopping. That's all on me.

TROPE FIC: ALPHA!JAVI Where it's at: I'm about 1/2 done with the first draft. Again, this one will be longer (and also more angsty) than I anticipated. I love love love where it's going though and reader and Javi's history is beautiful and sad and complex; I really love that half. I'm just now switching into the modern day section of it and have to make a few decisions about how I actually want it to go. My mind is over-complicating the story and I'm trying to wrestle it down a softer path. What's stopping me: I got distracted by the Oberyn story which is why this one's on hold and now this is all Inceptioning on itself.

GOOD. THINGS. TAKE. TIME. Where it's at: The asks are all sorted, there are only a few more sessions left before chapter 4. I just have to write it. What's stopping me: Here's the thing about PATS. If I was out for notes, I'd be pounding on this series, because it's my most popular one. But... really, I'm just here to dream up stories I like to tell. I put PATS down not consciously and not because I don't love him, but I got excited by other ideas. I want to finish it because I don't like having a bunch of unfinished projects lying around, but I also don't want that to be my #1 motivator for writing him. I want to enjoy it. I did enjoy putting the latest installment out, but I also don't feel like I'm letting anyone down if I don't hurry it, just because engagement is low. Again, I'm not here for the notes, I truly love the connection and the squeeing and sharing a yearn. We're all so busy now that it's tough to get to everything and the mutual timing is a bit off. That's okay. It's planned out, it'll get done, I just have to do it when I'm feeling it.

LEAVE OFF YOUR WANDERING: WINTER Where it's at: Finished plan. Yet to begin writing. What's stopping me: I was wrestling with this one for a bit because I had two directions it could go--soft and fluffy without much meat, or weaving all the details together and serving a story that gets rather dark, a little sad, and serves as a fix it. On one hand, I felt like I would be betraying readers by not keeping the euphoric escape. But I would also feel like I built this whole backstory that needed to manifest itself in a test for Joel and Meadowlark, as well as the fact that--other than backstories--there hasn't been any canon hardship or violence displayed. It's like I'm missing a huge chunk of who Joel and Meadowlark are. In the end, that's where the story wants to go, so I'm going there. And I have to not think about what anyone else wants, just me. Not just for selfish reasons, but I know that's when I do my best. It doesn't mean there won't still be fluff and a happy ending. It just means I have to write darkness and perhaps it will serve me better to do it in the season in which it takes place.

#state of the wip address #wip wednesday

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hellaverse-critical-confessions · 9 months

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So I promised a background/minor character design appreciation post...

(Part one because this will likely get long)

Starting with the imps, due to the order in which characters of different species are presented on the wiki

Ah, Pringles. Of course. What a guy. He is very shaped. (Especially the hair and collar. I happen to be a sucker for male characters with that kinda "cat fluff" hairstyle.) Love the weird little cuff on his tail, it's so unnecessary but it fits. Dapper boy. Gotta love him

(As far as I can recall he gets bitches in Ozzie's, which, like, good for him!)

There's this kiddo from Loo Loo Land. I like her shapes as well, very exaggerated. As depicted here she kind of reminds me of some concept art girlies from the Art of Encanto book.

Actually, I think I have an image...

...I'm not the only one who sees it, right?

(Anyway, it's still available for free to view online. Very interesting stuff.)

Ahh... this guy. Or gal, actually. Turns out this is Skye Henwood's impsona, as well as my favorite character in Western Energy. Me and my friend were deadass ready to adopt her on sight. So tiny!! So shaped!! Look at that ridiculously huge bowtie. The littol suit. I want a pocket-sized imp now. Would carry them everywhere in my purse. Speaking of...

That's exactly what she did! Another crewsona (Sam Miller), and this design is incredibly slay. The feathers. The tail. Big, flowy, swooping shapes. (Not a big fan of the hands, though.) Very majestic creature overall.

Moving on to a few background Wrathians from Harvest Moon. She's a cutie. Not much else to be said. I like her outfit with the little boots and gloves as well as her pigtails.

I think these two could be related.

She looks so silly, I love her. Her hat and horns are disproportionately huge and it's precious.

Her name is Square, and she has major resting bitch face energy. I appreciate her instantly. (Long sleeved shirt + short shorts is a good combo.)

This guy from the Ozzie's elevator scene (Aspen) looks like he'd have quite the story to tell over a couple drinks of hard liquor. Slutty, but in a tired way. (A certain saxophonist cat from another piece of online media also fits that description.)

HER!! I love her so much. Everything about her honestly. The colors!! The legs!! The underbite!! She has no official name, but I call her Pomegranate. Or Pom for short. Got some of my own lore for her and everything.

Haven't watched Queen Bee, so I didn't get to see Dennis in action, but from this still alone I conclude that he's pretty cute. (However dude could use to pull up his pants.) Didn't really deserve to get yelled at, anyhow. Justice for Dennis!

Though I do have an old Dennis character, and he's a dick, so maybe Blitzo was on to something.

I like the girlie on the right too. Women with :3 smiles automatically win me over. The ripped pants and loose tank top go well together, and the splotch of magenta on the waist isn't obnoxious.

Mamma Mia, an imp with not purely and overwhelmingly red skin? What a spectacle. She looks way more like a black character than Velvette. And due to her subdued skin tone, the pink looks nice on her. (Which can't be said for Millie in one of the pieces of summer merch. Who thought pink on her was a good idea?!) Cool hair texture as well, feels very poofy.

Some bite-sized imp clowns from The Circus; their names are Eenie, Meenie, and Miney. How charming! Though, as I recall, doesn't that old children's rhyme go on to have four-

...Oh.

I think this might be Barbie Wire. We were never told explicitly, and she isn't even mentioned in the episode itself, but she looks closest to that design.

(Though I just noticed her horn stripes are too thick. Nevermind, then. Seems like she didn't even get that brief cameo in Blitzo's nearly episode-long childhood flashback despite being his twin sister, which should suggest that they were pretty close.)

I like this chick, though.

And that's it for now! Let me know if you'd like to see a part two though I might just go ahead and make it anyway

#admin talks #helluva boss #character design #background characters #I'd be excited to do the sea creature demons from Envy. they all have pretty damn sick designs #disclaimer: I don't know anything about the crew members who made the sonas. in case they're problematic or anything

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glitterfiasco · 6 months

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i found this ramble in my drafts from february and it makes some reference to dated news but I wanna post it anyway bc nothing has changed about the issue itself

it really baffles me how dndbeyond does cosmetics.

there's a whole host of currently existing options - varying theme colours, pretty artwork to make your background, cool frames for your character profile! i play with all of these on my character sheets, and they're funky, really help you personalise your sheets and connect them to your characters!!

the main problem? the *only* way you can get a majority of the cosmetics is through pre-ordering books. now, pre-order bonuses are a good marketing strategy, sure, and with pre-order bonuses comes the nececcity for those bonuses to be exclusive. but when those cosmetics are a big majority of those that exist? you have a problem.

on a whole, of course i dislike the overall sentiment behind Cynthia Williams' notion that dnd is 'under monetized' - and the whole money-hungry mess that things have seemed with wotc lately. yet, i think in this specific matter i actually agree that it's a shame players don't have many options to spend money on the game. but...maybe let's give them some reasonable ones?

i am a DM, and have, as per Williams' observations, probably spent more on the game than the average non-DM. wotc can care about that discrepancy, but i really dont. what i do care about is that i am also a player and i *want* to be able to also spend on player things - like making my sheets look cool! and i actively cannot! in fact, the cosmetics i do own are primarily from pre-ordered books (some kindly gifted!) that i had interest in because i was a DM! it's not worth as a player it to pre-order a book you won't use for only the pre-order bonuses, and though a DM can awkwardly share those bonuses with their players, currently the only primary way players can get cosmetics is the few unpredictable monthly reward of a subscription. and we'll get back to those.

another downside to the pre-order bonus model? how fucking specific those cosmetics are - and i move to focus primarily on the frames here. they're of course themed to the books, but so often in a way that makes me wonder how few characters these would really fit the sheets of.

here are some frames from the Tasha's and Ravenlost pre-orders. the art is nice enough but...who wants these? i dont want these.

to get back to the subscriber frames, one might expect these to offer the more universal range of options. there are a couple nice vague frames, but the very few options are, once again, largely very specific, as season-themed frames. the subscriber frames include such all-applicable options as these.

you'll also notice a trend of heavily obscuring the character portrait itself (most obvious with my first two examples, and i promise there are other similar instances). overall it's just...frustrating that it's so difficult to find a frame that actually fits a character, nor obscures them beyond readability.

for so long, I've been baffled at the lack of a cosmetics shop where one can buy generic and specific frames for pocket change. It seems so obvious, and hardly outside dndbeyond's current setup. give me leafy frames for naturey characters, music note frames for musicians! frames themed after signature spells - magic missile, mage hand, crown of stars. frames designed after the types of damage, after different subclasses, after different weapons! frames with varying levels of complexity - both simple designs that can just match a character's colour scheme, and detailed animated frames!

when we got these frames, and I was estatic! It really seemed like a step in the right direction with simple, useable, non-obscuring frames. they're great!

but since, though frames have gotten a little better in readability and specificity, we see no indication towards any change. occasionally, a book like the wildemount book will have some lovely generic frames, but then then the subscriber rewards are right back to weird and specific. can only keep fingers crossed, i suppose.

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certifieddoofus1 · 1 year

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Aaaaa I’m so nervous to post this kind of content. But hey I gotta get over my fears at some point. 😭💔

(Also yes I take art requests and art trades. Art trades are preferable. Seriously hit me up! It’s been forever since I last did this! No to commissions, I’m not that good lmao. )

Howdy pals, I’m new on tumblr, I just joined it recently because I like the content on this site. And I was hoping to maybe meet some new friends with the same interests as me…?

Anways! Here is some art I recently made! I’m a super big Yakuza fan, especially of their latest game “Like a dragon”. I “fell in love” with the games new protagonist, Ichiban, and got really tempted to draw some oc x canon. 😭💕One thing you should know about me is I’m super big on the oc x canon community. I’m really supportive of other peoples ships and they make me feel more comfortable about having my own. So be prepared to get a lot of support from me if you have an oc you ship with a canon character too! We oc x canoners stick together!>:) 💕(especially Yakuza ones because I’m OBSESSED *screams*)

Anyways…. ( I need to stop saying Anways so much and expand my vocabulary!! GRRRR. ) Here’s some information about the random “girl” I just had to ship with our beloved Ichiban Kasuga. (But to be fair can you really blame me? Ichiban is super cute. I want to steal him and lock him in my basement. I’d provide him with food and water Ofc. )

╰┈➤

𓆩ᥫ᭡𓆪 Yume Nakagawa 𓆩ᥫ᭡𓆪

Age: 29

Height: 5’10 (no she won’t step on you.)

Patriarch of the Nakagawa Family. (Formally Tojo. Can’t decide if I want her family to convert to The Omi Alliance or Seiryu clan after the Tojo clan was banished.)

Yume is the type of girl who… idk how to explain it.. the type of girl who doesn’t have a type. She’s unexplainable. There I said it. She’s unpredictable, Erratic, pretty horny, Violent, Cocky. She’s a HUGE flirt… a horrible one too. She makes everyone uncomfortable with her over the top sexual comments. She grew up with a ton of men and they insisted on teaching her their roots, so hence the reason she kinda flirts like a F Boy. (I mean half the time it works but on the other hand…… nah. The men she hits on are concerned. ) If I had to compare her personality to anyone in the Yakuza game series she would probably be the most similar to Nishitani.

୨�� "Some Facts " ⎯୨

- Yume usually fights with machetes, her go to weapon. She usually uses them for her more… “extreme fights”. When she just wants to give some one a good beating she’ll just pull out her brass knuckles and go crazy.

- She has a soft spot for children. She hates teenagers tho. Thinks they are the scum of the earth.

- Has a pet possum named Lulu at home. Literally she found the possum in her back yard digging through her trash and was like… “ Yep, you’re mine now.” and just took her in like that.

-Yume was a noncommittal person before she met Ichiban. She quickly fell in love with his bright and heroic personality and realized how attracted she was to him. Eventually she made the first move… by asking him to… “slay her dragon.” Obviously he didn’t get what she meant so she asked him on a movie date instead. Ichiban fell asleep on her shoulder. 😔👌💕

Thats all I’ll reveal about Yume so far! If you want to know more about her check out my future posts! I’m probably gonna be drawing her more often.

All drawings are made by @certifieddoofus1

Have a nice day!!!

Also shout out to @kiryu-kazuma-wife

You inspired me to post about my Yakuza oc x canon! Thanks for giving me a little self confidence boost! I hope you’re having a great day/night! :)💕💖

#yakuza #oc x canon #oc art tag #yakuza oc x canon #yakuza oc

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seeasunset · 2 months

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☆ Here is more information, regarding Greedfall 2. Basically a sum up of what we were told but with a little more information!!

Anyways, I am not only posting this for those who are not caught up to my Greedfall postings, especially last week, but to talk about what is said. Just because I am curious! Of course, some questions I will be asking will be answered. Still asking them all the same.

So, first of all, we are definitely getting more factions. I know they said they will be adding more, given the first game was limited to one area. Now, we will be exploring more areas and more lore.

But I was right!! We will be meeting Mev! I mean it is expected because she's been featured a lot in art and being mentioned. So, it's no surprise. Just how exactly is she involved? Is she from the same clan as our protagonist? Or is our protagonist coming from a clan that deals heavily with Mev's clan? Who are the other characters we will be seeing?

I am placing my bets that it is De Sardet, Constantin, and Vasco. Maybe even Kurt or Síora or even Dunncas. But!! We will also be hearing more about what is going down in the first game. It will flesh the universe and the games out, even if it's not like the biggest thing to focus on. So, we'll hear about Aphra going to the island, given she left about 2-3 years prior to the first game to come to the island and the second game is around that time. We may know more about Siora's mother as well. Of course, we will not be knowing until the early game ir the actual game comes out.

Again, Greedfall 2 is not a prequel in a way we kno w it as. Just the same universe with little to no direct ties to the first game.

I am excited to see who are the companions, the factions, and who we can romance. I can't wait for early access to come already because I reeeeaaaaalllly want to know and I know the devs are trying their best to not spoil too much for us. More romance, more romance. Brand new characters as well.

"First live."

That means there are will be MORE lives we be getting in the near future. So, that is something I am looking forward to. What will be disclosed is unknown. Mind you, they keep repeating those words. So, it is hinted we will be getting more stuff to discuss about.

Now, for the early access. Some people are hating on it and saying they should push forth the actual game. I prefer if they don't because, like the devs said, they want to make sure the game is on the right path and satisfy the players. A lot of feedback would be nice. They also go on saying that they will be adding a few new stuff we never had in the first game. I mean we will be getting tons of new stuff but a few features people wanted originally. Such as a photo mode, which is nice because it means taking photos without putting De Sardet right smack in the middle or finding an angle where they aren't seen. So, this would be nice.

Anyways!! So, that answers everyone's questions. We will be customizing the protagonist like we did with De Sardet. It makes me wonder if they added more things to customizing our character. I sure hope so because, as nice as the original customizing options are, they were quite limited. Moving forward, exploring may be key to interacting with certain characters as well as gaining new skills?? Bet, bet.

We will be seeing a lot of updates. Not only within the game itself but for how the progress of the game will be like. So, I cannot wait!

#☆ rocĸ αɴd rαмвlιɴɢ awαy! / ooc☆#long post tw

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northern-passage · 2 years

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so i thought i lost these pictures to time (locked myself out of my old laptop, purged my art instagram, deleted them all off the blog) BUT i found the old character lineup i did !! i forgot i had an art folder on my phone for my old art insta. i don’t know how many people remember the original art i did back in 2020, but i tend to delete a lot of the older art off the blog because i really don’t like my old art and i get self-conscious about it... but it also means i lose a lot of art.

i’m not sure if i ever did post the full lineup, if i remember correctly this version of merry was actually gender-selectable so i drew her pretty “ambiguous” and i don’t know if i ever ended up sharing her and noel. i think it’s pretty funny/interesting to see the changes both in the designs (i didn’t know how to draw or design clothes back then) and also the change in my art in just about 2 years.

first things first: no i do not know why merry is so fucking stanced. i do actually still like her design (those thigh high boots....), her & clementine’s are the two i still actually think look good here. i really like the bandana completely covering her head and i like the cowries in merry’s hair, though i think it’s funny i drew them in her hair and not noel’s when i’ve always had that as a part of noel’s character description (i still didn’t draw them in the most recent one because i forgot lol)

i do still like lea’s alchemy belt and the little bottle hanging off their other belt, too. i just wish i could remember what i was thinking with their pants. at least they’re not purple..... and they don’t even have their hooves yet :/ i remember drawing them with their hair down a lot because i couldn’t figure out how to draw a bun lmfao. rip to their eyebrow slit (but at least we have their beauty marks now... a fair trade i think)

noel’s design is the weakest in my opinion and i remember struggling the most with xem, too. not really sure what i was going for.... still have xir white boots tho 👼 and i do like xem with the longer locs in a ponytail. i cringe that i didn’t properly color his palms, i’m assuming i didn’t since i just did flat colors on all of them but i definitely still should have colored xir palms. and most obviously here is that noel started out pretty small. i think i drew this and almost immediately wanted to change his design (there are a few older pieces from this time where i Did try to make xem bigger) but i didn’t have a lot of practice drawing different body types. i’m glad that’s one thing i’ve definitely improved on since then.

it’s nice to have this to compare to the newer art and actually be able to see how much i’ve improved, and also the evolution of everyone. i remember i tried to make bases with the original lineup and i messed up every single one and couldnt use any of them again lmfao and this time i have successful bases for everyone so i can play dress up doll hehe

i also think everyone looks way warmer now and like they wouldn’t freeze their asses off in blackwater...

i also clearly went back to a more illustrative style - back in 2020 i was looking at a lot of animation and drawing my characters in that way, with flat colors and not really rendering anything, and now i’ve started moving back into a more painterly style. anyways. pretty cool! also i just realized i even coincidentally lined them up in the same order 🥺

#thanks everyone for tolerating all my art posting lately i don't share my art anywhere else so i appreciate everyone being nice :-)#i won't put this in the art tag cus it's mostly just me rambling lmfao #personal

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fayesdiary · 10 months

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Faye's Fòdlan Journey: Season 1 - Chapter 1: Welcome to Fòdlan

Introduction

<-Previous Masterpost Next->

After two posts' worth of introductions and preambling, we can finally start playing the actual game.

The objective is simple: Defeat the bandits' leader before they burn down the village. Easy enough.

Weapon Durability returns in this game, contrary to Fates, Echoes and Engage. Personally I feel pretty neutral towards the mechanic as a whole, but it's a nice way to balance Combat Arts, returning from Echoes and consuming durability instead of HP this time.

Here when a weapon breaks, instead of disappearing altogether or turning into a worthless 30 weight 0 might weapon you have to repair or get rid off, it gets a penalty in Might, Hit and Attack Speed, which could be a more elegant solution depending on how severe it is.

Bows also seem to work like they did in Echoes, with an added penalty on hit the further you attack from. Which is, you know, pretty fair. Wonder if Hunter's Volley is just as busted here.

After having a pleasant chat with the three completely ordinary kids, they along with Byleth begin clearing out the bandits, while Jeralt sits in the back doing fuck all and yelling random advice.

Thanks, dad. Really cool.

Good thing Edelgard's there to pick up his slack with the first crit of the game.

Also the proportions between the characters and the village is really funny. My main Edelgard headcanon is that she's a huge kaiju fangirl, so it's nice to see she's fulfilling her dreams. All she needs now is learn how to fire a laser from her mouth.

After killing a few bandits, their leader shows up to pick a fight with Byleth.

They kill him pretty easily.

Except Kostas must have smuggled a Revival Stone from Elyos, since he gets back up like it's nothing.

He charges at Edelgard, but Byleth puts themselves in the way.

But just when the bandit is about to strike...

The world stops.

And Byleth finds themselves in front of Sothis once more, who is pretty peeved they were about to throw away their life so recklessly, since that would also kill her.

She finally introduces herself: Her name is Sothis, also known as "The Beginning". Though she wouldn't be able to tell you why is that, given that lo and behold, she has amnesia, the favorite plot point of modern Fire Emblem.

Someone had to have it, and since Byleth seems to have all of their memories, she lost her privilege to hers. Honestly, I think she'd get along with Alear.

One thing's for sure, though: Her first impression of Byleth is... less then stellar. While she lives and breathes sass and metaphors and moves and emotes a lot for someone with the eepy disease, Byleth is overly blunt, barely emotes and tells morbid jokes with such a straight face everyone thinks they're serious.

Or at least, I'm having them be that way. I love the idea of Byleth being selectively mute and socially inept.

(Also apparently support points can go down? I doubt you'd be able to get the characters to dislike you so it probably just hinders your progress to get their convos)

Apparently Sothis stopped time, something she herself didn't remember she could do. Well, that's convenient.

Luckily for both of them, she figures out she can reverse time too.

Not thanks to Byleth, who joked they could just sit here and wait to die.

Sothis turns back time just enough for Byleth to react to the bandit's attack, bids them farewell with some cryptic nonsense and- wait, is that readable text?

Upon further inspection, it is, even if the only phrase I recognise is at the top, "The goddess always lives in heaven and Fòdlan" and "It is watching over us. The mother[???]".

That's neat! Didn't expect to see readable text in actual English. Usually this stuff is hidden with a special alphabet.

Anyway, this time instead of just putting themselves in front of Edelgard Byleth actually strikes back at the bandit leader, finally putting him down for good.

Wait is he aware Byleth turned back time? How!?

Byleth earns the MVP, which in this game looks like one of those photos you'd get for Employee of the Month. Which I suppose makes sense.

A face shows late to the party. It's Alois, of the Knights of Seiros.

He's really happy to see Jeralt after 20 years, who apparently was the former captain.

Jeralt is way less thrilled to see him, though.

Jeralt and Byleth are "invited" to return to the Garreg Mach Monastery with Alois and the Three House Leaders. I say "invited" becuse Jeralt clearly does not want to go there but feels he has no choice, and I suspect Byleth would just go wherever their father goes.

Before heading out, Byleth has a chat with Edelgard, Dimitri and Claude, who all seem... oddly interested in them.

Huh. Jeralt would have done wonders in Elyos with a name like that.

Claude makes it clear once again that our presence at the monastery is, in fact, mandatory. So for all of those who hoped there was a secret fifth route where Byleth just retreats to the woods and lives a long, peaceful life, I'm sorry to crush your dreams.

They finally mention they're students at the Officers Academy of the Monastery. And through a quarrel they immediately start with each other, we learn they're the heirs of their respective nations.

Whoah. Shocker, I know.

And already not only they're fighting each other (seriously guys it's only the prologue, fucking chill), they are all strangely in awe of Byleth despite them having just killed a few bandits (with their help no less) and are already fighting each other to have them join their side. Boy, this does not bode well for the future.

WAIT I ALREADY HAVE TO CHOOSE WHAT

I know I'm going to choose Dimitri regardless given this is Azure Moon, but GEEZ this is way too soon to force a choice like this onto the player! You just met these people and already you have to declare your allegiance to one of them!

With that choice way too important for just the prologue of the whole game being done, we finally head back to the monastery.

But not before Byleth ponders a bit about the three of them.

They think Claude has an easy smile that is striking as well as fake, that Edelgard is constantly judging them and that Dimitri seems honest but with a lot of darkness to hide. What that means, we still don't know.

All in all, a decent Prologue. There isn't a lot here to chew on, but it shows the basic mechanics fine enough. The lightning is great and I LOVE Fòdlan Winds as a track.

Fòdlan as a whole has a particularly distinct sound, I think. Though I wouldn't be able to tell you why.

I am still baffled they have you choose a route this soon, though, and while the house leaders bickering with each other already is just worrying in-universe for the storm that will one day come, the fact they already seem to be throwing themselves at Byleth's feet for just killing a few bandits is mainly concerning for the narrative.

While I don't think power fantasies are inherently a bad thing, I fear it wouldn't gel at all with what Fòdlan seems to be going for. But I guess we'll see.

Lastly before closing off, a few notes about the characters we met until now.

Seiros: Local goddess is fucking pissed. I guess we'll see the aftermath of what happened in the intro soon enough. Also I still swear her design is Greek-inspired.

Nemesis: Wonder what caused the war between him and Seiros to begin with?

My guess is likely the creation of the legendary weapons given that, you know, they seem to be made out of Seiros' family and that is enough reason for her to want him dead. But if that's the case, we still don't know why he did that. Is it just for power, or something else?

Byleth: Not gonna lie, getting a few red flags from the way they're handled. No customization options, a mostly silent protagonist, their dialogue choices may very well have barely any effect. Not to mention they already seem to sloowly gravitate the plot around them.

Jeralt:

Jokes aside, he seems fine as a parent. Save for him not doing anything during a bandit attack.

The question is always not if he's gonna kick the bucket, but when. I even somewhat know the how.

Hey, he's a Fire Emblem parent, is that really a spoiler?

By the way, I'm suprised he's a Paladin. Always thought he was, you know, a Mercenary, but maybe that's just because I kept comparing him to Greil given they're both mercenary dads.

Sothis:

BEST GIRL BEST GIRL BEST GI-

*ahem*

I freaking love her.

She's the perfect combination between refined and a sassy chaotic gremlin, and she has one of my favorite tropes which is living inside another character's body. I am SO excited she can talk to Byleth whenever (and apparently read their thoughts?) and can't wait to see what they do with her!

Alois: Very little to say since we barely met him, but he seems a jolly fellow.

Claude: You know, maybe this is a 4D chess move I don't understand, but isn't the whole point of a schemer and deciever to NOT come across as sketchy? I feel constantly talking about how sus you are kinda undermines that but, what do I know.

Edelgard: Ah, the one who just mentioning her name starts a flame war. Not much to say about her yet, although she seems the type to sleep light with a few knives on her person, given how openly mistrusting of others she is.

Also she is a massive kaiju fangirl. I don't care how little sense that makes, you will have to take that headcnon from my dead body.

Dimitri: Honestly right now I'm just waiting to see what that "darkness" is about. I just know it will lead to him becoming VERY murdery in the timeskip so boy, can't wait to see him snap.

Introduction

<-Previous Masterpost Next->

#fire emblem #fire emblem three houses #fe16 #faye's fòdlan journal #azure moon

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aclosetfan · 9 months

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HIIII, I know it's completely random to come and ask about this, but curiosity was already killing me! I really wanted to know your favorite fanfics/users about our community of 5 rises from the shadows every 1 fanart posted per year 🤩 (Laughing at the misery)

But anyway, I'm just asking because you'll always be my favorite even after years, for me no one will ever be able to understand and write the characters exactly the way I imagine you do, and I wanted to know a little more about your point of view on PPG fanfics/creators. (Please never stop even with random headcanons during the week because I need them to make my month happier and survive in this fandom 😭)

The main question is right in the first part, but I just wanted to be able to express a little bit how much I love your profile, even though I'm not very good with words... Thanks for reading this far! ♡ (Sorry if I got some words wrong, English is not my first language and it doesn't even make the top 3. This is my first question on this app, i'm hoping to make a comeback, so please ignore the mistakes for I can sleep peacefully tonight 😀 God I'm addicted to emojis)

Thank you so much! <3 This is so sweet! Really, it means a lot that you like my characterizations so much. It took a lot of practice :) Please don’t apologize for anything!! gosh, this is such a hard ask because there are literally only five people, like you said 😂😂 I feel like I’ve been out of the game for a bit, so if there’s been any new exciting fan stuff, I haven’t seen it.

When it comes to favorite users, I’ve made a lot of friends over the years. A lot of those people have deactivated or moved on after CW announced their show, so, for simplicity, I’m not going to name anyone because I’d feel bad leaving someone out. But truly, I’ve liked everyone I’ve had the opportunity to talk and bond over the show with. The little corner I’ve hung out with is a good group, and it’s nice to still see old faces pop up every once in a while. If anything, I haven't deleted or let go of this blog because I don’t want all the fun posts we’ve made to go too. I like them being somewhere, and it’s still important to me.

With respect to fics I’ll give you three! Whenever I’m asked this, I always link The Notion of Loss by Gold Scribbles (completed). It’s one of my faves. It’s dark. There’s major character death, and it’s not cutesy (which is what I prefer), but I loved loved loved the characterizations.

My next fave fic is no longer available 😭 (or at the very least, I can no longer find it). The premise involves the rrb coming back. Their goal was to kill the girls. They jumped Bubbles to get their attention and attacked her to the point of disfigurement. Of course, Buttercup and Blossom are out for blood via enhanced antidote-X. They end up capturing Boomer as bait (call back to the og show), and are able to fight Brick and Butch. Buttercup kills but not without Butch doing the classic “See, you’re as bad as me! Haha!” which she ends up internalizing in the post-time skip. Blossom ends up killing Brick but at the sacrifice of her own life, which is the only way to stop him, and the scene where she comes to peace with things is heart-wrenching. The epilogue shows Buttercup lamenting over Butch’s last words and honoring her sister by finishing her work. Bubbles, with scarring that never healed, visits Boomer in jail, who she sees every week to spend time with him. She’s kind and polite because she believes he can be better, and it drives him crazy. AND I LOVVVVEEED IT. But it’s gone now. And it hurts.

My third rec is Pencils Tell a Little Too Much by Iminaloine (completed). It's a Butch-centric fic that explores how he's able to channel his anger and more intense emotions through art, which is 10/10!!

And because one of my fic recs doesn't have a link, here's 2 extra! everybody screams at the end of the world by fuckin-rodent (incomplete). While it's incomplete, it sets up a post-apocalyptic story like no other. I also really like heartsickness by the same author, which is a greens story.

Finally, while I don’t want to stop making stuff for you, I’ve obviously slowed down :(( The blog's still on hiatus; I'm sorry! I finished school and have recently started a new job. I don't know when I'll have time to more consistently update, which I know I've been saying for years now, but that's just growing up sometimes :/ And because I've been so busy, I'm feeling pretty uninspired about things. I haven't written anything new in months for any of my own writing projects or fandoms.

I do have another fan blog for my general fan interests that I sometimes write on (justanotherfanwriter). I can't guarantee you'll find something you like, but I'm more active on there solely because that's where I reblog a larger variety of fan content and sometimes write one-shots for other fandoms. But when it comes to the fics, again, I haven't been very inspired, so there isn't much there. It's pretty devoid of my own content, actually. So, I don't have many friends through that blog!

I also have a side blog for my own writing projects, but that has a dismal, like, 10 posts on it because I've got nothing up in my brain rn. Also, it's harder to write when you have no friends to brainstorm with! I def need more friends who'd talk about personal projects with me, not just fanfics!! If anyone has made it this far down the post, let me know if this is something you'd be interested in (just for shits and giggles at this point nothing serious)

#long post #i rambleeee #thank you this was such a sweet surprise #anon asks #feel free to bug me at any time #fic recs

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mongeese · 2 years

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Music in Wolf 359

Hey so uhh I meant this to be a relatively short informal analysis post but then it accidentally turned in a 1150 word essay. Whoops! Anyway, it’s about the role music plays in Wolf 359, both on a practical level outside the story and a narrative/thematic level inside the story. I wrote this all in one go with minimal proofreading, so I sincerely hope it’s understandable and that my points are good. As always, feedback is welcome so long as you’re nice about it!

Here it is, under the read more because it’s long as hell:

One of my favorite things about Wolf 359 is the way it talks about and uses music. Like, the fact that the aliens are trying to contact humanity just because they want to learn how to make music is one of my all-time favorite reveals in the podcast because it’s just so profound! And it gives me a lot to try and unpack (which I am going to try and do right now).

Obviously, there is a practical element to the significance of music in the narrative. It is an audio-only medium, after all, and music provides a welcome break to all the dialogue and drama. Eiffel even references its ability to act as a way to ease the tension in Mission Mishaps: A Little Night Music, though that was almost definitely not an intentional wink to a more meta reason for the music. I’m just making a fun little reference to an episode I remember. Anyways, more to the point: music is really the only art form that can feasibly be introduced in a podcast. Theater is maybe an exception? However, I think putting a play into an audio drama would get a bit complicated on a storytelling level. Though if someone could pull that off, it’d probably be very cool, like some Hamlet vibes. But that’s irrelevant, so I digress. The point is, the medium was probably a strong motivator for the intense significance given to music.

Aside from the medium itself, the premise also lends itself to music being the connecting thread throughout the story. Now, I don’t know which idea came first: Doug Eiffel being the communications officer probing deep space, or the fact that the aliens want humans to teach them music. Regardless, those two facts are intrinsically linked. Given Eiffel’s role on the station, there is not really any other subtle way for the aliens to try and get his attention. All he can do is listen; he can’t receive any visible messages over the vacuum of space, not without a cable television to view them on, and if the aliens just spoke to him to slow burn of the plot and the eventual reveal would be ruined. Music is the best way for them to reach out in a way that fits neatly in the narrative they’re trying to build.

Now, let’s move away from external factors, shall we? I want to dive into the significance within the text. Obviously, music is significant to different characters in different ways. Minkowski is a total musical theater nut (the absolute queen), to the point of pursuing it over and over again even when she fails continually. Her devotion to music mirrors her devotion and stubbornness in all other aspects of her life, in addition to adding unexpected depth and nuance to her character. Regarding Eiffel, I think it’s safe to assume that he loves pop music the same way he loves pop culture. Plus, it’s given as one of the first and only ways he bonds with his daughter, as written in the episode Limbo:

“Doug was seeing little baby Anne pretty much every other day, talking to her every day, teaching her to play the Jaws theme on her little dinky kid xylophone, all the good stuff.”

It’s notable also, that Doug’s worst action, the thing that permanently put a wedge between him and his daughter, ended up making her go deaf. Even if she’s still able to appreciate music on some level, because deaf people can do that, it will still be a fundamentally different experience for her and Doug. I’ve posted about this once before, and I fully believe they made the decision to have Anne go deaf as opposed to some other disability because of the significance of audio and speaking and music to Doug’s life. It emphasizes how extreme what happened was, how thoroughly that mistake drove his family away from him (for good reason, I might add, I’m not trying to excuse him). I could write a whole other essay on Doug and his daughter though, so for now I’ll move on.

To be perfectly honest, it’s been a long time since I’ve listened to the podcast, and I don’t entirely remember what the rest of the characters say about what music means to them. If anyone who has a more encyclopedic knowledge of the characters and podcast wants to chime in here, I’d be fascinated to hear what sort of concrete examples there are of music being significant other than the ones I’ve mentioned. I’m pretty sure Hera is interested in music the same way she is interested in books and other forms of human art, and I have a vague memory of Lovelace mentioning a song that was important to her in one of the episodes, but the details escape me. Suffice it to say, the characters do interact with music in ways that are distinct and which reveal aspects of their character. Just goes to show that even without the whole “alien” thing, music is an important part of almost all of the major cast members’ lives.

And of course, I can’t write a Wolf 359 meta without linking it back to the anticapitalist theme of the whole story. It is so, so profound that out of all the amazing tech of Goddard Futuristics, all they are prepared to offer the immensely powerful extraterrestrial group, the one thing the aliens want is… music. Classical music, even, something that is widely considered unprofitable and frivolous as a career path, something that has little market value in a soulless capitalist world. As it turns out, that music is the most important and revolutionary thing humanity has to offer. And there’s added depth, because it’s not just that the aliens want to learn our music; our music quite literally saves Earth as a whole! Bob the alien says, that for species they decide not to bring into the fold of their alliance, they often have to destroy all members of that species. Humanity certainly would have met that fate, if not for our talent in music. I don’t know about you guys, but that drives me insane!! The fact that quite literally, humanity’s saving grace is our music? It’s such a poetic and remarkable theme to have, and one that I think is very applicable to real life. Humans have been making music for at least 40,000 years, probably more. It’s a fundamental urge, I think, to create music, whether through singing, drumming, playing instruments, whatever. Plus human’s aren’t even the only species that makes music, so you could reasonably extend Wolf 359’s statement to say that Earth’s saving grace and its most beautiful feature is its music. My favorite flavor, though, comes when you intertwine music’s importance with the anticapitalist ideas of the podcast. Because music is not inherently profitable or conventionally innovative (i.e. not innovative according to tech bros) and yet it is our most important invention. That is just such an amazing message to me, and it really, really resonates.

#did not do NEARLY as much outlining or prep for this one as usual but like i said it was entirely on accident that it got this long #hope yall enjoy though :)#music is very important to me on a personal level so ive been obsessed w the way wolf 359 treats music for like ever #such a good podcast #wolf 359 #wolf 359 meta #w359

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chromochaotic · 11 months

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Reads of 2023 Part II (so far)

i was sad i couldn't fit all the cover pictures in my Part I post without it going off the screen, so might as well split it into 2 posts! update as of 6/11!

thoughts/reviews:

Heaven Official's Blessing: Volume 1

It's happening! My friends have been deep in this author's works/fandom for a while now, I'm pretty late to the party... Well, I guess I've dabbled in some of the animated/live action content that's out there for the different series. Anyway, this was a fun read! There's something so lush about historical dramas that definitely comes through here. When you add in the bits of humor and adventure, the whole story is really refreshing.

Even though the translation is still a tiny bit unprofessional, it's clearer than other options, haha. I was able to get a way better sense of the world and characters on this attempt (I had a good time watching the animated show! But as my friend put it, the season moved lightning fast, so it brushed over a lot of things). I don't have any other real nitpicks, other than like... the odd sexism that pops up now and then. Lmao

I am ofc in love with the main characters... They invented love... They invented devotion... I'm also delighted by the pace of things! Their relationship has managed to be both teasingly slow (like, the gradual reveal of Hua Cheng's true identity) but also very satisfyingly forward (the escorting!! the painting!! the righteous anger!!). Excited to see where things go with them, and the rest of the cast! (3.5/5—would be a 4, but the translation still kind of hampers things.)

Naomi Vandoren's Forest of Light

The second art book I bought from this artist! Same thoughts as before; for a quick browse, this was a refreshing little collection. Her style is just nice and soothing, with some fun surrealism/dreamscape vibes thrown in.

I'm not sure I'll buy any more of these, since the book didn't add quite as much insight into the works as I was hoping. Plus some of the concepts don't really resonate with me/seem that well researched...

I think one of my favorite things included was this abstract work the artist did—she wrote that she started with random watercolor mark-making, and then turned that into a piece. Those were very cool explorations! (2.5/5)

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Last Olympian

Done!! With the series! (Unless... It looks like there might be some followups to the main story?) I understand why the darker tone got dialed up, and other than the excursion with Nico, why the story kind of broke from the wacky-roadtrip vibe of the others. It made sense, while still keeping some of the lighthearted narration from the others, which was nice. I think what I appreciate the most about the series is the fun it has with its world. (Side note—I watched the movie based on the first book recently, and I can only assume it didn't do well! Bc omg, it completely missed the mood of the books. Instead of lingering on the whimsy, they focused on... making Grover a very cringey stereotype? Nah.) (ALSO??? THEY CUT OUT MY DAUGHTER CLARISSE????? THE AUDACITY???????)

I think my biggest gripe with the book was the very weird way the Annabeth-Percy-Rachel dynamic was handled. Like, it just got kind of tiring after a bit, especially with the way Annabeth acted so uncharacteristically catty at times. Plus, like, Percy's off falling in love with Calypso after like 5 minutes, the girl is right that he's kind of flighty. Rachel's ending also felt, just... eh.

Other than that, I was very into the last book!! There were some really moving character moments, like, Nico struggling with his place in the story, everything we learned about Luke... AND THE BIGGEST MASTERSTROKE OF ALL!!! I have been waiting to scream about the sapphic Patrochilles take??? At the end??? Clarisse has two hands and she can hold both Chris's and Silena's. She was moved to go into battle!!!! For her!!!!! She defeated one of the most terrifying foes in NO ARMOR just with a SICK ASS SPEAR and I LOVE HER. Anyway no notes, except they better do Clarisse justice in the new adaptation or I will riot. (4/5)

Secrets of the Oak Woodlands

Ooo I'm out of practice doing these reviews... Mostly from a funny cocktail of outside factors slowing me down, but also because nonfiction can be such a slog for me to get through. Tragic, because I do want to learn more ecology, I'm just... bad at it. Anyway! Bought this book on a fun West Coast road trip, I think I picked this up in the Sequoia National Park gift shop? The writing itself is great, especially how it tackles some pretty complex concepts in a way that's approachable. The book doesn't feel like Baby's First Nature Guide, but it also doesn't completely lose me when it explores why coyote populations actually rise when they're hunted or why Oak Mistletoe is a keystone species.

Even though the watercolor illustrations in the book were lovely, I sort of wish the visuals could have focused more on the tougher scientific concepts being explained. Like, instead of the illustrated "anecdote" of a quail sitting sentry, it could have been good to have a cross-section diagram of an oak gall or something. I guess it's always hard to balance interest and clarity in scientific writing, though. Overall, I think this was a pretty good eco-starter book! I'm just a square peg trying to force myself into a round hole, reading these nonfiction books. (So... 3/5?)

The Dragon's Bride

Hoo boy... Hoo boy... Listened to this audiobook at the recommendation of my friend who's very into erotica/romances. Which was an adventure, for me! To start with the good points, I really like the founding premise of this whole world/story. Deals with demons walk that perfect line for me of intricate and taboo power dynamics—and at the same time, the author satisfied my inner hopeless romantic by making all the demons (that we've met so far, at least) morally viable! So yeah, the world building and characterization is really nice, tbh.

I think my two sticking points are the smut itself, and that I didn't find these particular protags very compelling... It's interesting comparing this to, say, an above-average smut fic. On the one hand this has better prose, but on the other hand the smut veered into being a little too flowery now and then... (not to say all the sex scenes were like that. Uh. There were some choice ones.) I also personally found the frequency of the sex scenes a little ridiculous, but for most people that's probably a positive! 😂 And then, when it comes to the main characters themselves, I think they were well-rounded and the dynamic itself made sense. The personalities just aren't the kind I normally latch onto, though—they're not my blorbos, you know? So, where I'd go into a smut fic already attached (and therefore more into the smut itself), these... I could take it or leave it, haha.

That said, this installment did pique my interest for others in the series. I'm curious about the one with the succubus........ And the one with Eve..................... Those tidbits seem more up my alley. :] Also, the voice acting was pretty fun, tbh. They got separate VAs for Briar and Sol, the two POV characters, and they knocked it out of the park (even/especially in the smut scenes)! (well, except for a very funny instance where the guy VA had to voice Briar's lines in a smut scene in a Sol POV chapter. Damn, did he try.) Might pick up one of the other installments... if they come out on audiobook! (3.5/5)

Legends & Lattes

Another recommendation!! From a different friend! Apparently this book is popular on booktok but since booktok sounds like a cesspool (not really—pls don't come for me) I'm glad I didn't know that going in. As a purveyor and avid consumer of slice-of-life fluff.......... I loved this!!! First of all, the main character is My Kind of Girl, and exactly the kind of character I want to see getting a happy ending. Then, the rest of cast provided so many different kinds of delight—the warm Found Family feeling of a grumpy kind father figure and an adorable little Creature baking actual cinnamon rolls and a prim but secretly dorky girlfriend and and and—so many greats! Even the antagonists were enjoyable, in their way.

Hmmm... for the negative part of my postive-negative-positive sandwich, I think I'd just echo what I've seen in a few other reviews—I could have done with a teensy bit more of the romance. Or I guess, more of the cuteness of it? All we really got was a little bit of lead-up and then a big get-together, but I feel like the romance scenes I like most (shy flirting, a tiny bit of pining) got sort of skipped over. It's not a huge negative! Especially for this story, which seemed like it hit exactly the balance the author intended. Yeah, I might have just had the epilogue cover the main ship being cute and in love, instead of the little righteous vengeance scene that we got.

So this was a perfect little comfort listen (audiobook again! with really nice acting done by the author himself!). I saw other people calling the first chapters slow, but tbh I loved the steady, hopeful mood that came from all that straightforward hard work happening and then paying off. A great story, if you go in with the right expectations! (4.5/5) (P.S.: also this article touches on some other L&L points that I think explain why it resonates so well in post-pandemic life) (P.P.S. now I'm trying to parse out why I liked this book so much more than House in the Cerulean Sea... I think part of it is that the cast felt more respected? Like, it was more than just The Most Special-est Pretty Boy and his Plucky Boyfriend Fix Fantasy Racism)

#hi my name is chromo #book review #?#i got real slowed down on the other nonfiction ecology book that i might dnf #plus i picked up some old crafting hobbies #AND fell into binging some comfort shows after getting bad news from the vet (that turned out maybe not so bad?)#so anyway!#been an interesting few months

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boykisserbuckley · 1 year

Text

Fanfic Origin Story

tagged by @bigfootsmom im in love w u

What was your first fandom (reading and/or writing)?

technically the first fic i ever read was hetalia but i didn’t know it at the time and have never been interested in hetalia otherwise? but it’s funny to say lmao anyway official first fandom i read for according to ao3 history was PJO, and the first i wrote for was voltron

What was the first story you ever wrote (even if it was never posted) and what made you decide to write it?

see above: first fic i wrote was for voltron. i’d never tried writing fic before but i impulsively joined a gift exchange and then i had to make something happen so it did!! it sucks, i hate it now, but it’s still on ao3 bc i refuse to delete it

What’s a piece of advice you would give to your younger fic-writing self?

your fics are for you, so write whatever you want and don’t be afraid to get weird with it

What’s an early fandom interaction that stuck with you (be it a nice comment, a friend you made, a fic that got a lot of feedback etc.)?

ohh in my brief stint in the young justice fandom, i met one of my very good friends @sh1tb0i and then i kept him and it’s been like. 5 years? so i’d say that stuck w me lol

also @renecdote is from my yj days too and then i coerced her into watching 911 so ur welcome everybody

Post a sentence or two from one of your older fics, and a sentence or two from a newer one (if you want).

shaking and crying but here’s a few lines from my first ever fic

“I don't want to tell them,” was all Lance answered, as he flopped against the other arm of the couch. He pulled the blanket with him, but Keith didn't reach for it back. Their hot chocolate was growing cold on the table between them, and the movie played on.

“Why not?” Keith pressed, fighting to keep the frustration out of his voice. “Are you ashamed of me? Of us? Is that it? I've heard you on the phone, avoiding the topic or calling me a friend, a roommate—”

“It’s not that,” Lance assured him.

vs the latest fic i posted

Buck doesn’t know how to move anymore. His muscles are cramping, everything swollen and aching and so, so dry. A thin, breathy whine slips past his teeth.

Something is prickling over his skin. A thousand ants, tiny bodies shifting between the hair on his arms, stiff with salt. Something else is biting him, teeth digging deep into his shoulder blade. He shivers, which doesn’t make sense. He wants out of this oven now. He’s forgetting how to breathe.

“Buck!” That voice calls again. Can that voice help him? Maybe they can turn the heat down. “Buck, where are you?”

like my prose back then wasn’t terrible ig? but that was almost 5 yrs ago and they’re waaay out of character and the plotline is vague lmao but my writing NOW is so tasty i’m in love with myself

anyway i’ll tag @sh1tb0i bc i called him out already, @renecdote @nymika-arts @yikesbuckley @lovebuck and @calnovas

#that voltron fic haunts me bc lance and keith are SO ooc #plus it's voltron lmao #tag games #i wrote a couple merlin fics and a witcher fic (bad) and some check please fic and some yj fic...#lots of things before 911 got its claws in me

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