#interact with this post if you're interested or something

[imsobadatnicknames2]

How can you consider yourself any sort of leftist when you defend AI art bullshit? You literally simp for AI techbros and have the gall to pretend you're against big corporations?? Get fucked

I don't "defend" AI art. I think a particular old post of mine that a lot of people tend to read in bad faith must be making the rounds again lmao.

Took me a good while to reply to this because you know what? I decided to make something positive out of this and use this as an opportunity to outline what I ACTUALLY believe about AI art. If anyone seeing this decides to read it in good or bad faith... Welp, your choice I guess.

I have several criticisms of the way the proliferation of AI art generators and LLMs is making a lot of things worse. Some of these are things I have voiced in the past, some of these are things I haven't until now:

Most image and text AI generators are fine-tuned to produce nothing but the most agreeable, generically pretty content slop, pretty much immediately squandering their potential to be used as genuinely interesting artistic tools with anything to offer in terms of a unique aesthetic experience (AI video still manages to look bizarre and interesting but it's getting there too)

In the entertainment industry and a lot of other fields, AI image generation is getting incorporated into production pipelines in ways that lead to the immiseration of working artists, being used to justify either lower wages or straight-up layoffs, and this is something that needs to be fought against. That's why I unconditionally supported the SAG-AFTRA strikes last year and will unconditionally support any collective action to address AI art as a concrete labor issue

In most fields where it's being integrated, AI art is vastly inferior to human artists in any use case where you need anything other than to make a superficially pretty picture really fast. If you need to do anything like ask for revisions or minor corrections, give very specific descriptions of how objects and people are interacting with each other, or just like. generate several pictures of the same thing and have them stay consistent with each other, you NEED human artists and it's preposterous to think they can be replaced by AI.

There is a lot of art of the internet that consists of the most generically pretty, cookie-cutter anime waifu-adjacent slop that has zero artistic or emotional value to either the people seeing it or the person churning it out, and while this certainly was A Thing before the advent of AI art generators, generative AI has made it extremely easy to become the kind of person who churns it out and floods online art spaces with it.

Similarly, LLMs make it extremely easy to generate massive volumes of texts, pages, articles, listicles and what have you that are generic vapid SEO-friendly pap at best and bizzarre nonsense misinformation at worst, drowning useful information in a sea of vapid noise and rendering internet searches increasingly useless.

The way LLMs are being incorporated into customer service and similar services not only, again, encourages further immiseration of customer service workers, but it's also completely useless for most customers.

A very annoyingly vocal part the population of AI art enthusiasts, fanatics and promoters do tend to talk about it in a way that directly or indirectly demeans the merit and skill of human artists and implies that they think of anyone who sees anything worthwile in the process of creation itself rather than the end product as stupid or deluded.

So you can probably tell by now that I don't hold AI art or writing in very high regard. However (and here's the part that'll get me called an AI techbro, or get people telling me that I'm just jealous of REAL artists because I lack the drive to create art of my own, or whatever else) I do have some criticisms of the way people have been responding to it, and have voiced such criticisms in the past.

I think a lot of the opposition to AI art has critstallized around unexamined gut reactions, whipping up a moral panic, and pressure to outwardly display an acceptable level of disdain for it. And in particular I think this climate has made a lot of people very prone to either uncritically entertain and adopt regressive ideas about Intellectual Propety, OR reveal previously held regressive ideas about Intellectual Property that are now suddenly more socially acceptable to express:

(I wanna preface this section by stating that I'm a staunch intellectual property abolitionist for the same reason I'm a private property abolitionist. If you think the existence of intellectual property is a good thing, a lot of my ideas about a lot of stuff are gonna be unpalatable to you. Not much I can do about it.)

A lot of people are suddenly throwing their support behind any proposal that promises stricter copyright regulations to combat AI art, when a lot of these also have the potential to severely udnermine fair use laws and fuck over a lot of independent artist for the benefit of big companies.

It was very worrying to see a lot of fanfic authors in particular clap for the George R R Martin OpenAI lawsuit because well... a lot of them don't realize that fanfic is a hobby that's in a position that's VERY legally precarious at best, that legally speaking using someone else's characters in your fanfic is a much of a violation of copyright law as stright up stealing entire passages, and that any regulation that can be used against the latter can be extended against the former.

Similarly, a lot of artists were cheering for the lawsuit against AI art models trained to mimic the style of specific artists. Which I agree is an extremely scummy thinbg to do (just like a human artist making a living from ripping off someone else's work is also extremely scummy), but I don't think every scummy act necessarily needs to be punishable by law, and some of them would in fact leave people worse off if they were. All this to say: If you are an artist, and ESPECIALLY a fan artist, trust me. You DON'T wanna live in a world where there's precedent for people's artstyles to be considered intellectual property in any legally enforceable way. I know you wanna hurt AI art people but this is one avenue that's not worth it.

Especially worrying to me as an indie musician has been to see people mention the strict copyright laws of the music industry as a positive thing that they wanna emulate. "this would never happen in the music industry because they value their artists copyright" idk maybe this is a the grass is greener type of situation but I'm telling you, you DON'T wanna live in a world where copyright law in the visual arts world works the way it does in the music industry. It's not worth it.

I've seen at least one person compare AI art model training to music sampling and say "there's a reason why they cracked down on sampling" as if the death of sampling due to stricter copyright laws was a good thing and not literally one of the worst things to happen in the history of music which nearly destroyed several primarily black music genres. Of course this is anecdotal because it's just One Guy I Saw Once, but you can see what I mean about how uncritical support for copyright law as a tool against AI can lead people to adopt increasingly regressive ideas about copyright.

Similarly, I've seen at least one person go "you know what? Collages should be considered art theft too, fuck you" over an argument where someone else compared AI art to collages. Again, same point as above.

Similarly, I take issue with the way a lot of people seem EXTREMELY personally invested in proving AI art is Not Real Art. I not only find this discussion unproductive, but also similarly dangerously prone to validating very reactionary ideas about The Nature Of Art that shouldn't really be entertained. Also it's a discussion rife with intellectual dishonesty and unevenly applied definition as standards.

When a lot of people present the argument of AI art not being art because the definition of art is this and that, they try to pretend that this is the definition of art the've always operated under and believed in, even when a lot of the time it's blatantly obvious that they're constructing their definition on the spot and deliberately trying to do so in such a way that it doesn't include AI art.

They never succeed at it, btw. I've seen several dozen different "AI art isn't art because art is [definition]". I've seen exactly zero of those where trying to seriously apply that definition in any context outside of trying to prove AI art isn't art doesn't end up in it accidentally excluding one or more non-AI artforms, usually reflecting the author's blindspots with regard to the different forms of artistic expression.

(However, this is moot because, again, these are rarely definitions that these people actually believe in or adhere to outside of trying to win "Is AI art real art?" discussions.)

Especially worrying when the definition they construct is built around stuff like Effort or Skill or Dedication or The Divine Human Spirit. You would not be happy about the kinds of art that have traditionally been excluded from Real Art using similar definitions.

Seriously when everyone was celebrating that the Catholic Church came out to say AI art isn't real art and sharing it as if it was validating and not Extremely Worrying that the arguments they'd been using against AI art sounded nearly identical to things TradCaths believe I was like. Well alright :T You can make all the "I never thought I'd die fighting side by side with a catholic" legolas and gimli memes you want, but it won't change the fact that the argument being made by the catholic church was a profoundly conservative one and nearly identical to arguments used to dismiss the artistic merit of certain forms of "degenerate" art and everyone was just uncritically sharing it, completely unconcerned with what kind of worldview they were lending validity to by sharing it.

Remember when the discourse about the Gay Sex cats pic was going on? One of the things I remember the most from that time was when someone went "Tell me a definition of art that excludes this picture without also excluding Fountain by Duchamp" and how just. Literally no one was able to do it. A LOT of people tried to argue some variation of "Well, Fountain is art and this image isn't because what turns fountain into art is Intent. Duchamp's choice to show a urinal at an art gallery as if it was art confers it an element of artistic intent that this image lacks" when like. Didn't by that same logic OP's choice to post the image on tumblr as if it was art also confer it artistic intent in the same way? Didn't that argument actually kinda end up accidentally validating the artistic status of every piece of AI art ever posted on social media? That moment it clicked for me that a lot of these definitions require applying certain concepts extremely selectively in order to make sense for the people using them.

A lot of people also try to argue it isn't Real Art based on the fact that most AI art is vapid but like. If being vapid definitionally excludes something from being art you're going to have to exclude a whooole lot of stuff along with it. AI art is vapid. A lot of art is too, I don't think this argument works either.

Like, look, I'm not really invested in trying to argue in favor of The Artistic Merits of AI art but I also find it extremely hard to ignore how trying to categorically define AI art as Not Real Art not only is unproductive but also requires either a) applying certain parts of your definition of art extremely selectively, b) constructing a definition of art so convoluted and full of weird caveats as to be functionally useless, or c) validating extremely reactionary conservative ideas about what Real Art is.

Some stray thoughts that don't fit any of the above sections.

I've occassionally seen people respond to AI art being used for shitposts like "A lot of people have affordable commissions, you could have paid someone like $30 to draw this for you instead of using the plagiarism algorithm and exploiting the work of real artists" and sorry but if you consider paying an artist a rate that amounts to like $5 for several hours of work a LESS exploitative alternative I think you've got something fucked up going on with your priorities.

Also it's kinda funny when people comment on the aforementioned shitposts with some variation of "see, the usage of AI art robs it of all humor because the thing that makes shitposts funny is when you consider the fact that someone would spend so much time and effort in something so stupid" because like. Yeah that is part of the humor SOMETIMES but also people share and laugh at low effort shitposts all the time. Again you're constructing a definition that you don't actually believe in anywhere outside of this type of conversations. Just say you don't like that it's AI art because you think it's morally wrong and stop being disingenuous.

So yeah, this is pretty much everything I believe about the topic.

I don't "defend" AI art, but my opposition to it is firmly rooted in my principles, and that means I refuse to uncritically accept any anti-AI art argument that goes against those same principles.

If you think not accepting and parroting every Anti-AI art argument I encounter because some of them are ideologically rooted in things I disagree with makes me indistinguishable from "AI techbros" you're working under a fucked up dichotomy.

[downbadspanishlad]

WARNING: Some of the following content may be slightly triggering due to discussion of abuse and trauma. Please don't read further if reading about that stuff could possibly hurt you! You're valid!

Masculinity in Baldur's Gate 3:

As a trans guy who didn't have with friendly male rolemodels growing up, the male companion characters in Baldur's Gate 3 mean so much to me.

While Astarion is clearly my favorite, I have a huge amount of love and appreciation for all the companion characters (male and female). But it's the several types of masculinity the male companion characters have that offer something for male and/or masculine folks like me to aspire to (in some way or another).

Disclaimer: I've unfortunately not had the time to interact much with Minsc, therefore I won't be including him in this post, but he seems like a lovely and cool dude overall, so please don't take his absence as a sign of me not liking him.

Astarion:

Astarion's interest in murder/violence and being mean are definitely not something to aspire to, but I do understand why he does what he does. His trauma is no excuse for his actions, but they do explain a lot.

I really like Astarion mainly due to how he is as a masculine character and how he's portrayed as an explicitly queer, slightly effeminate man with trauma.

In terms of being "explicitly queer," I mean this clip from this video:

As someone who doesn't neatly fit into the stereotype of being a trans man, let alone the expectations of what it means to be a "real man," Astarion's effeminate nature is something I deeply appreciate. 

(Note: That's not me trying to insinuate that trans guys me aren't "real men." It's solely about commenting on how men who are gender non-conforming in any way are told they're 'not real men').

He's very theatrical in his demeanor, and it's one of the things I love most about him. He's hilarious, he's fun, and he's able to be the way he is without being shamed and emasculated for it. I grew up + live in an area where being as theatrical and fun as Astarion is something that can get you shamed or even physically hurt for not being "man enough" in that way. 

As someone who exists somewhere on the bi/pan spectrum, I've loved seeing how the ladies of the BG3 fandom are totally chill with Astarion being pansexual. As a man with the capacity to find people of all genders (including women) attractive, I've often felt very insecure in my masculinity for being queer and "not masculine enough."

Guys like me usually get dismissed as being "only gay." That our sexuality isn't a real or valid thing, and that we're "lesser" than straight men because of our ability to find love with people regardless of their gender. Being feminine, in any capacity, as a man is a very terrifying thing due to the shame and violence we can experience for daring to be ourselves. 

And I don't want to equate my trauma with anything Astarion has been through (especially as someone who isn't a survivor of sexual violence), but I do find a lot of comfort in how Astarion's trauma is dealt with in his story.

So long as you (the player) treat him with the respect and dignity he deserves, Astarion is never shamed or made to feel "less than" for his trauma. The story of his trauma is treated with proper respect and care, and I absolutely love that. 

He makes me feel less alone and weird for how my own experience with abuse has left me with inner demons that I've yet to overcome. Like him, I experience night terrors due to my trauma. It's a very scary thing to deal with. And as a man, it makes me feel very small, ashamed, and pathetic. But seeing Astarion go through it and not having that be something he's shamed for is something I deeply appreciate. I know he's fictional, but seeing a character as cool as him going through that too makes me feel less alone and weird for it.

Wyll:

Wyll is a close second favorite character of mine. He's just an awesome, epic, badass guy! He's the kind of man I aspire to be. He does everything he can to help others, he cares deeply about doing what's right, he's a huge nerd/dork, and he's got the biggest heart amongst the companion characters (which says a lot in my opinion since he's got Karlach and Halsin as stiff competition for that category). He's very cool and lovely, and I really hate seeing how underappreciated he is as a character.

I absolutely love the meme of people saying that Wyll was the only origin character to dust himself off and head back to doing what he was doing before to get kidnapped and infected by the mindflayers. Man is too selfless and rad to take a break from helping the tiefling children how to fight.

I do want to give credit for this meme to this cool dude called Azeem (aka blackpurist).

As well as this post here on Tumblr.

Gale:

I'll admit, I didn’t really care for Gale at first. But the more I got to know him, the more I realized that this dude is (most certainly) on the spectrum. That's not a canon thing, but I absolutely believe that he is. Not a bad thing either (and I say that as someone who is also autistic). Honestly, realizing that many of his traits are autistic recontextualized certain things about him and helped me like him way more.

I really appreciate how straightforward Gale is as a communicator. The dude puts everything out in the open, for better or worse. He has no ulterior motives and does his best to make his intentions very clear. Love him or hate him, Gale is a dude you're not afraid of (unless you're a bad guy or something).

I also appreciate how passionate the man is about the stuff he's dedicated his life to (magic, which is most certainly his special interest). Gale is also very kind and open-minded, a good example of this being what he has to say about Astarion's vampirism. Gale's not my favorite guy, but he's an absolutely chill dude, and I'd totally be his friend if he were real.

Halsin:

So long as you save him and the Emerald Grove, Halsin is totally chill with you from the first moment you meet him. He's very kind, upfront, and non-judgemental, which is pretty cool.

I also really appreciate how much he cares about consent. Halsin is polyamorous, and if he expresses romantic interest in the player character and the player character happens to already be in a relationship, he makes sure to not pursue anything without the expressed consent of both the player character and their partner. 

I know caring about consent is a bare minimum thing to do, but unfortunately there are still a lot of people irl who don't care about it which is why I greatly appreciate how Halsin (and also BG3 as a game) treats consent as an essential, inherent part of romantic and sexual relationships. Very cool, indeed!! 😎💖🌟💫

#baldurs gate 3 #bg3 #halsin #wyll ravengard #astarion #gale dekarios #masculinity #trauma #gender shit #astarion bg3 #wyll bg3 #halsin bg3 #gale bg3

[writingquestionsanswered]

Non-Magical & Magical Romance

Anonymous asked: How can we write couples from different worlds metaphorically and literally? I know it's up to me, but how can I write that they want to keep meeting? She's a non-witch and quite despises magical people (who have no contact with the normal world.) Why would they be interested in each other? Why would they want to meet again?

[Ask edited for length]

I'm not sure what you're asking when you want to know how to write a couple "metaphorically" and "literally." Maybe symbolism vs portrayal? No idea, but we'll get to that in a moment. :)

When people are writing an "opposites attract" type romance and say "I have no idea why they would keep meeting" I know there's something critical missing from their story: a conflict.

Stories revolve around conflict, which is a problem in your character's heart and mind, or a problem in their world, and sometimes both. When you're writing an "opposites attract" romance, the conflict needs to be something that causes their first interaction, then keeps them interacting afterward.

So:

1 - What can happen to the woman that causes her to go to a place where she would run into the magical guy? For example, maybe she loses something or something happens that forces her to go looking for an item or information.

2 - What is the guy doing that causes him to be in the place, at the right time, to run into the woman, and what does what he's doing have to do with why the woman is there?

3 - How does the guy's situation cause him to want to get involved in the lady's situation? How do their situations intersect in a complimentary way, even if the people themselves are opposites?

4 - What goal must they both try to reach in order to resolve their individual conflicts? What plan can they create that forces them to work together toward this resolution?

As they interact, they'll start to get to know each other and bond, which will start to make their opposing positions less of a problem.

As for portraying them metaphorically and literally... assuming you're referring to symbolism (as I can't think of another option), you can think about the themes that embody their opposing situations (magical vs non-magical), the themes surrounding the unique relationship that develops (unlikely friendship, forbidden love, opposites attract) and start to look for symbols that reflect these themes and tropes. Then work these into your stories where they make sense. For example, maybe the magical guy has a beloved dog and cat who are very close, and that would be symbolic of the "opposites attract" theme/trope.

Happy writing!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

♦ Questions that violate my ask policies will be deleted! ♦ Please see my master list of top posts before asking ♦ Learn more about WQA here

#wqaadvice

[crazysodomite]

people on here talk about it's unfair to be cruel to people who misunderstand social clues and how the 'i don't owe anyone kindness' mindset is harmful and then descend with harassment and cruelty on anybody who made the mistake of not understanding the 'unwritten rules' of interacting online.

"it should be obvious to not dm someone out of the blue", "it should be obvious what sorts of comments you can and can't make on someone's post", "it should be obvious you're being annoying and unfunny and embarrassing"... this type of logic is certainly interesting!

and i'm not talking about people being rude or saying actually inappropriate things. what i'm talking about is social 'faux pas' and how often instead of ignoring these types of people or blocking, people screenshot or reply to them, start harassing and making fun of them (sometimes encouraging their mutuals and followers to do the same) for the crime of... misunderstanding the rules of interacting online or... being unfunny?.... are we not understanding this is wrong?... this behavior is especially funny coming from people who say "i use the block button liberally" and then... not do that. blocking someone and making fun of them publically and being cruel are two completely different things. or is it because "it's my own blog so i can do whatever i want and i don't owe anyone courtesy". 🤔

did that person actually do you any harm or do you just find someone not handling a social situation with you properly so unbearably embarrassing that you just HAVE to say something cruel and make them feel bad?

#like. i get weird comments on my posts every so often #not anything harmful just stuff that makes me go 'huh?' #and i either ignore them or block them if i feel like it #it really doesnt need to go any further #i dont get a kick of trying to humiliate someone

[orange-demons]

Companionship in Street Fighter

The most interesting concept in Street Fighter 6 that I really liked was companionship. Every character is connected in one way or another, and most are symbolic of Ken and Ryu's relationship over the years.

Ken and Ryu were always the faces of Street Fighter since the beginning and their friendship/rivalry was something capcom really took into consideration when pushing SF6 out. Ken, Chun-li, and Ryu are getting older but they have a lasting impact on Capcom as a whole.

SF6 now has a roster of fighters that are connected to each other from old to new relationships.

Kimberly and Dee Jay, Marisa and Zangief, Blanka and Lily, Chun-li and Li-fen etc.

Even the Player has a rival/friendship with someone in the Street Fighter Universe.

Although Bosch seems like a character that gets sidelined within the first hour of the game, I do think that Bosch and the Player do have a significant connection.

When talking to our Masters, I find it interesting how often Bosch comes up in conversation.

Granted Player is the one bringing him up, but I found this interaction with Dhalsim fascinating.

Dhalsim: Create a fist within your heart.

Dhalsim: Good. Allow me to pose a question to you. What lies beyond that fist?

Dhalsim: I see. This is your friend...or perhaps a mortal foe?

Dhalsim: Forget what you saw.

Dhalsim: You wish to transcend the shadow, yet it remains inextricably linked to you.

Dhalsim: it is up to you to interpret its significance.

The Player brings up Bosch a lot in conversations that aren't about him, and it's got me thinking, does Bosch even care about the Player to that extent too?

We never see his perspective throughout the story so we could only assume as much.

He trusted the Player enough to give them a SIM card before he was taken. Maybe to tell them, "If anything happened to me, this is how you can find Kalima and the Resistance."

And he tried many times to scare the Player off so they wouldn't enter the Suval'hal tournament. Where he would've activated the championship belt to kill himself and JP.

But when the Player found out Cardboard combatant was him all along, he said "If you've come this far, I want you to watch me finish this fight." The fight between the Resistance and JP.

Bosch even asked the Player if you can give Yua his bangle and tell her that he's dead, he says "You're the only one I can count on."

Bosch also chose to go to the Player when his body was reaching its limit as a warning if things go south. That he may not recognize them in the arena.

And at the end of the post-credit cutscene, Bosch is wearing the matching hat that he and you got when visiting Metro City.

In the end, Bosch's hair is shaved so I can assume it's to keep people from recognizing him and a low profile.

In fiction, it could symbolize character growth and a break from the past. But paired with his matching hat, which he mentioned was cringy, he is still linked to you, the Player. Just as Dhalsim said.

Side note on what Ken says about Ryu:

#street fighter luke #street fighter #bosch x reader #bosch waraya #street fighter 6 #luke sullivan #ken masters #street fighter ryu #sf6 #sf #dhalsim #kimberly jackson #dee jay #aki #street fighter Marissa #sf6 zangief #blanka #street fighter x reader #sf x reader #sf6 x reader #bosch waraya x reader smut

[simplyskipper]

What Fallout Games Should I Play?

Hello! My name is Skipper, and the Fallout games has been a special interest of mine for a few years now. With the resurgance of the fandom, and new people coming from the shows, I figured I'd make a post helping people figure out what games to play!

This is going to be the main 6 games (1-4, 76, NV), though I may add more if I play some of the other games. Feel free to add on, ask questions, or generally interact with this! I'm always happy to help people get into the games and love talking Fallout with people. :)

This is going to be as spoiler-free as possible, though I may mention some game locations vaguely, so be warned if you think that may ruin the experience.

For further reading, I highly reccomend the Independent Fallout Wiki! A lot less ads in your way, and the people over there are lovely. However, be careful, as there are spoilers there!

TLDR; New Vegas for story, Fallout 4 for gameplay and introducing concepts, Fallout 1 for authenticity, and Fallout 76 for multiplayer but absolutely nothing else of value.

Table of Contents

Fallout 1

Fallout 2

Fallout 3

Fallout: New Vegas

Fallout 4

Fallout 76

Last Updated: April 22, 2024

Fallout 1

Released; 1997

Setting; Southern California, 2161

Wiki Page

Almost a hundred years after the bombs fell, Vault 13's water chip has broken, and the Vault Dweller was selected (through random chance) to venture out into the wasteland and save their vault.

Pros:

The Original Fallout Game!

One of my favourites, story-wise.

Harold!

The game is relatively short compared to the others, and the story isn't overly hard to digest, in my opinion.

The 'talking heads' animations are super cool (Aradesh, Harold, Etc Etc)

Later character who I won't name but once you meet them YOU'LL KNOW

There's no limit to how many companions you can have at a time

I generally love the setting.

Cons:

The graphics do not age well. Even for the time, they were a bit lacking. (For reference, Doom came out in 1993, 4 years earlier).

Bit of a learning curve! But once you get it, it's pretty easy to use. The turn-based combat was the hardest to get a handle on.

The game DOES NOT hold your hand. Later games have objective lists and markers, but this game just has a list and memory. Pretty fun, if you're into a more difficult game!

Combat and general survival is difficult. The experience is authentic - which means you can and will die during the first combat scenario. Again, once you get it it's not that bad, but combat will remain difficult. But for some this could be a pro!

Fallout 2

Released; 1998

Setting; Southern California, 2241

Wiki Page

80 years after the Vault Dweller's heroic rescue of their Vault, the village of Arroyo is suffering a severe drought. The Chosen One, a descendant of the Vault Dweller, has been sent to retrieve a G.E.C.K. to save their village.

Pros

The story again is very good!

A lot of the strengths of the previous game.

There's something melancholy about exploring the world of Fallout 1 with so many changes and losses. It's perfect for the setting.

Sergeant Dornan. You'll see when you meet him.

More Harold!

Cons

This was released only a year after Fallout 1, so a lot of the graphics & gameplay remain the same, if that's not something you're a fan of.

This is where the idea of "wacky vault experiments" is introduced, something I've never super loved, but that's subjective.

Fallout 3

Released; 2008

Setting; Capital Wasteland (Formerly Washington, D.C.), 2277

Wiki Page

200 years after the war, the 19-year-old Lone Wanderer's father has mysteriously left their home at Vault 101. It is up to the Lone Wanderer to track him down and figure out what's going on, all while navigating the dangerous Capital Wasteland.

Pros

Brought the Fallout series into the modern era!

Some pretty cool locations, like Megaton and Rivet City

Sort of a pro and con, a lot of the game is spent in the underground Metro system. This is cool, but I'm not a huge fan of interior spaces. Still - it feels like a real DC Wasteland!

Galaxy News Radio is introduced, which is great background noise - and I love Three Dog. He's so silly.

No sprint button. It's not felt super bad in this game compared to Vegas, but it still can be annoying.

It feels like a post-apocalypse. The whole world is this muddy, almost sickly green, grey, and brown colour. All of the sets are carefully designed, full of dirt and debris and trash. Buildings are crumbling or outright hollowed out, the ghouls look like walking corpses (as they should be), the mole rats are nasty and all of the creatures feel gross. As they should be! This is a post-apocolypse, everything should be gross and dirty!

Lots of good world-building. Because this is based in the Capital, we get to interact with a lot of old-world history, and see how similar and different it is from our own.

Cons

Story is... not great, in my opinion.

Some of those DLCs physically hurt me. They definitely lean into the 'silly' aspects of the games, but I feel it hurts the worldbuilding and realism.

NOT Bethany Esda's best work.

Leans more into the 'game' and less on the 'role-playing', which was a big part of Fallout 1 and 2. The protagonist is 19, their father is James, and we see a bit of what their childhood looked like. You can work around it, but it's not as fun as the other games.

Sometimes the npcs are annoying. There's collision in this game, but sometimes if you step on something it'll move and a npc will shout 'Watch where you're going' or something, which gets on my nerves. Also, if you so much as look at a locked container, you get a 'That's locked for a reason'. Probably minor, but annoying.

Fire ants.

Fallout: New Vegas

Released; 2010

Setting; Mojave Wasteland (Formerly Mojave Desert), 2281

Wiki Page

Courier Six, or just the Courier, is in the middle of a delivery when they are interrupted by Benny and shot in the head - though they make a miraculous recovery and now need to figure out exactly what kind of mess they've landed themselves in this time.

Pros

I mean, it's Fallout New Vegas. This is a lot of people's favourite, for good reason. Story is phenomenal, the entire world feels real and interactive. If you shoot someone, there's consequences, and the other npcs will acknowledge it.

THE BEST radio. All of the music slaps and helps you feel the setting. Plus, I love Mr. New Vegas, the radio host.

The characters are amazing.

The world is not too silly but still silly. Like yeah, this makes sense for a post-apocalypse. But it's also so objectively funny. Some of the best memes come from this game.

Yes Man.

As usual, I love the map design.

Instead of greens for Fallout 3, this game is bathed in oranges and brown - making it feel warm, perfectly capturing the desert setting, and dusty.

the DLCs are amazing!!

We love the companions in this house.

I love how morally grey it is. No one is perfect, no faction is outright good or outright bad (except the Legion, fuck those guys). It's up to you to pick which you think is the lesser evil, which is the best future for the Mojave. Or you can kill them all, up to you.

Cons

The development for this game was pretty famously rocky. It was outsourced to Obsidian, and they were given only 18 months to make it. Therefore, this game is very similar to Fallout 3, with some general improvements here and there.

There is still no sprint button, which is definitely felt here. A lot of the stuff is spread out, so thewre's a lot of wandering through desert, slowly making your way to your destination. It also feels more empty. The great city of New Vegas is sparsely populated, quiet, and desolate - despite it being such a big deal and supposedly so popular.

Honest Hearts DLC :////

Fallout 4

Released; 2015

Setting; The Commonwealth (Formerly Boston, MA), 2287

Wiki Page

In 2077, the Sole Survivor (default names Nate or Nora) is ready to start a family. In their little neighbourhood, with their white picket fence and infant son, it is a time of new beginnings - despite the war raging around them. Unfortunately, the war quickly catches up to them, and their family is forced to take shelter in Vault 111, where they are frozen in time for 210 years. They emerge following the kidnapping of their infant son, into a time so different to their own, battling this new world alongside the ghosts of the old.

Pros

The graphics have been updated, and it looks great! Mostly. Instead of washed-out greens and browns, this game is bright and vibrant.

Some more awesome companions. Honestly, I love them so much.

I really like the level-up system in this. I prefer 3/NV, but the tier system is fun and visually neat.

Better crafting system. And more crafting systems in general.

Settlements!!! This game introduces settlements, which basically means there's a bunch of set locations around the map that you can take over and build in! You get a lot of freedom and are responsible for meeting the needs for people in the settlement. You can get some mods for more freedom/flexibility, and you can mostly ignore it if you want.

Cons

The story is... also lacking. It feels almost... unfinished? Some beats are strange and it's just like. What.

Playing this before Fallout 3 pissed me off so much, because there's so much that is ripped off of Fallout 3. The Commonwealth is brought up, the radio music is the same, the vault numbers so similar, there's even an early version of Vault 111. It feels lazy. Fallout New Vegas was more creative, and they had a fraction of the time 4 has.

40-50% of the game is spent in loading screens.

Preston Garvey deserves so much better. "AnOtHeR sEtTlEmEnT nEeDs YoUr HeLp!"

Nick Valentine is non-romancable.

It's so easy to forget about the main objective, and hard to really care about it. This is a common problem I've heard, so it's not just me.

Radio host gets on my nerves :/

Nuka-World DLC is frustrating. But at least it's not. Sideyes Honest Hearts (Fo:NV).

Game is... easy. Too Easy. Deathclaws are supposed to be dangerous and difficult to kill.

Fallout 76

Released; 2018

Setting; Appalachia (Midwestern US mountain range), 2102-2104

Wiki Page

25 years after the bombs fell, all members of Vault 76 have been kicked out in order to rebuild society.

Pros

It's. Multiplayer? Kinda.

I made some friends on there, which was neat.

Return of item condition. So.

CAMPs are fun. Like the settlement but without NPCs to look after and allows location flexibility.

Has. Some new songs on the radio?

ALMOST HEAVEN. WEST VE-

Amazing map design! The outside is gorgeous and feels like Appalachia, for the most part.

Honestly, I prefer this version of VATS (the game's targeting system). In other games, VATS will pause and slow down combat to help with aim, and can be kind of annoying. Here, the combat speed is the same, you just spend some AP (stamina) for aim assist.

Cons

I prefer settlements tbh

What's not to mention? Story sucks, game sucks, etc etc. It's pretty famously bad.

I usually love the story, but checked out very fast and spent most of my time running around. But I honestly didn't last long even then.

The game is broken. Like, fundamentally broken. You are constantly subjected to crashes, bugs, etc etc. Fallout 4 is buggy, but this takes it to an extreme.

50-70% of the game is loading screens.

The interiors are huge, and there is no local map, so you very easily get lost.

Generally the story is so stupid.

Fallout 1st is a cash grab.

Unbalanced.

Bad.

Some videos I like about Fallout 76

Internet Historian's video on the history and release. I'm iffy on Internet Historian as a creator, but I do like the video. Let's just hope it's not plagiarised.

Joseph Anderson's video on the game at it's released state. Primarily focuses on how poorly the game plays and how broken it is. Super funny.

PrivateSession's video released in 2023, reviewing a more current version of the game. More focused on story.

PatricianTV's 4-part series released in 2023, reviewing a more current version of the game. More focused on the game and gameplay.

In conclusion; thank you for reading! As I mentioned, any criticism, questions, and suggestions are welcome! I hate/love fallout and am always happy to drag people down with me.

Also, would people be interested in a post discussing the story/setting/timeline? Like where I infodump further about the universe. To make it easier to digest and answer questions. Or give me a chance to infodump further about fallout.

#fallout #fallout show #fallout 1 #fallout 2 #fallout 3 #fallout 4 #fallout new vegas #fallout 76 #fallout amazon #fallout tv series #fallout games #fallout info #basically i infodump about fallout for way to long

[skrunksthatwunk]

look sometimes you hang out with your underling's many cats after a sparring match and learn new things about him

#something about this makes sense to me. i am thinking about it very hard. but i have no idea if it will mean anything to anyone else #oh well. post now #rgg #ryu ga gotoku #skrunkart #just realized i accidentally. nevermind. whatever (grinding my teeth so hard sparks fly) #yakuza #like a dragon #ykz #saejima taiga #dojima daigo #daigo dojima #taiga saejima #THEY SHOULD INTERACT. THEY SHOULD HAVE INTERACTIONS. 3jima is interesting to me and they're literally barely ever on screen together #despite spending YEARS working together in a tight knit fashion AFTER being established as important individual characters. absurd. #also if you're reading this go draw a tiger. it's hard but it's fun i had a good time

[bonefall]

I know you're keeping Clear Sky as an antagonist (and he's very compelling as one in your rewrite), but I'm curious: if you absolutely had to give him a redemption arc, how would you go about it? (Besides not fridging his sister and wives, of course.)

If I was forced to give Clear Sky a redemption arc I'd slip a femur right out of my legmeat and beat someone to death with it

I'd never write a redemption arc for him, ever. It would be a completely different character.

Clear Sky's redemption arc is not even an idea worth considering; This an extremely consistent abusive family member who drives the entire plot, a predator who will leverage the love people have for him, whose defining characteristic is that he dresses up his megalomania as "Just Trying to Protect Everyone"

And I'd give that up?! for what?

I'd rewrite the whole plot, JUST like how the writers did with TWO born evil foreigner villains so their story wouldn't get boring, so I could prove the he could be a good boy if he wanted to? WHY?

It's doing the same thing the Erins do, totally uninterested in the story of his victims to write yet another plot centered around the pain of an abusive man.

Elder Bones is disappointed in you if you even think about it, actually. I am holding the femurbone in my hand as we speak. I'm gonna GETCHA

#Bone Babble #Clear Sky can be redeemed in my wine cellar. if he'd like to come down to take a look #And I am sorry but like. I've never seen it done well. ever #When other people attempt it #I have never enjoyed an AU or an analysis post exploring some possibility for an alternate redemption arc #And I have seen a *LOT* of them #Every single one has played into legitimizing his Oh So Sincere Pain And Regret #HELL no!!! #NO he fucking doesn't!! EVERYTHING revolves around power to this character! #Any moments of sincere reflection or remorse get shoved down in the pursuit of more power and respect #He is incapable of sitting with his shame and that's INTERESTING #How he's a complete weasel who will find a way to twist the words of authority telling him to Cut It Out into something that benefits him #How the emotions people feel when interacting with him is either Guilt or Fanatic Affection #He's a horrible and toxic person!! The kind of person you're VERY lucky to get away from #So I've never actually seen anyone do it in a way that works. #And I'm not entirely convinced it exists. Anything is possible but no. Not in my house

[brittlebutch]

finding a character that grates against your nerves and eventually thinking, well, that's not fair, you haven't done anything; why do i dislike you? and then you dwell on this for a while and discover 'oh! you are like me when i was younger' and decide well, i'll simply learn how to love the both of you. power in this.

#N posts stuff #'what are you talking about?' fuck if i know. #but also i'm talking about penny from 'the 7' -- nosy little control freak determined to find Some foothold into Every conversation #it's interesting bc sometimes when i watch i'm like 'this character is played on the Border of metagaming' but the more i think abuot it #the less it Feels like metagaming bc penny Genuinely seems Exactly like the kind of person who just Is That Determined to be #some level of involved in Every situation; 'yeah i know that show you were in' 'Yeah i was listening into this scene from a different hall' #equal parts her being a Rogue character to her core AND her borderline pathological need for control in Every situation #w/ None of the social grace needed to temper this impulse into something more broadly 'palatable' -> very autistic to me in a way #'i don't Get It but if i'm Always Right then that's good bc it's Bad to be Wrong so i just have to Know Everything so that i'm Never Wrong' #or like 'no i don't understand the Rules right but if i can just Be In Charge of the Situation at all times then i'm the one domineering #where this is going and how it unfolds; like if i'm in charge i understand That at least so i will just Always be in charge' #and sometimes this starts fights with your friends and they call you a freak for it and you're like 'hm. i don't know what's going on #but if You said it and You Get People then you must be right so. i will alter this immediately' but penny doesn't have that interaction #because her friends are just like 'yeah i love you And that batshit way of interacting with the world that you embody' and there is a #temptation of sorts to be like 'penny you HAVE to stop that; you NEED to learn that lesson please' but then like. hm. does she? #much to think about. i don't interact w/ people enough anymore for this to impact my interactions with real people lol #but it Is interesting to peel apart a fictional character and find a Younger You in there. i can change how i think about Them at least

[gatheredfates]

SEA'S PERMANENT INTERACTION CALL.

Hi. Do you like being tagged in games like this and this? Do you like being harassed with multiple asks when you reblog a prompt? This post is for you! Despite running a questions drive, I always worry about annoying people when I play tag games or see asks on the dash. Liking this post is a permanent tick that basically says 'hi Sea, interact with me!' You can unlike the post at any point if you're not in a space to receive asks or tags and, though I may tag people outside of this list, I'll generally default to it because you've indicated it's something you're interested in. ♥ This interaction call is for people who follow me only. If we're not in a mutual following, you're not likely to receive any questions. I want to build relationships with people - not just exist as a repository! The question drive remains permanently open to everyone, however; you do not need to follow me for that one.

#｡･ﾟﾟ･ — sea speaks #｡･ﾟﾟ･ — permanent interaction call #please give this post a like if it's something you're interested in!

[erabundus]

if i answer ... ten asks today ... i will allow myself to buy another enamel pin.

#𝟎𝟎𝟏 : 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. ◟ ooc .◝ #tbd . #( posting this to be held accountable ) #( also as a heads up i may spontaneously reply to something you sent 87 years go SKJSDK ) #( i still have asks from a meme i reblogged a week ago that i'd like to get to ) #( I'M SORRY i reply to everything at a snails pace ) #( if i ever don't respond to something pls don't take it as a lack of interest or gratitude ) #( 100% it is on me & my brain is horribly fickle w/ what it wants to cooperate with ) #( if we are mutuals pls know i think you're very cool & want to interact very much ) #( if i'm out here liking your posts imagine that's me waving & admiring your brain from afar DSKJSK i am testing the waters ) #( ANYWAY tl;dr i'm bribing myself with wanderer pins to write let's see how this goes )

[maddy-ferguson]

people expect nancy to be mike's mom more than they expect joyce to be jonathan's

#people being bylers #it's probably partly because jonathan looks 30 because well charlie is but. #while nancy and mike barely interacting is a shame their dynamic being different from will and jonathan's (different meaning more normal #lol like if you're saying you want them to be closer as siblings you should probably aim for lucas and erica closeness not for parentified #sibling-younger sibling he half raised closeness) #is interesting without even needing to be pathologized especially when the pathologizing usually leads to: nancy sucks as a sister #compared to her boyfriend #their relationship is so standard would i like more mike/nancy interactions yes would i like for nancy to be like omg mike how could i have #failed to see that you're gay and going through something. not really no #not everyone needs to apologize to mike like shut up #like i'm sure you can make posts about their relationship without making 'nancy needs to be a better older sister' the conclusion #saying people want el to be his ex-girlfriend best friend mother sister and therapist is what made me think about this because they also #want his sister to be like a mother to him lol #with joyce and jonathan it's just kinda crazy #and like i say: brf slt

[howthesleeplesswander]

Interaction Call/Interest Check!

Hiya everybody! So uh... 👀 in case it hasn't been obvious by me reblogging Baizhu's content and screeching novels in the tags, I am officially adding him to this blog! ヾ(*꧆▽꧆*)ノ✨

If you'd like to interact with this here sweet and totally not shady snake doctor babygirl, perhaps hit that lil heart so I may toss him at you? 🥺👉👈 💖

#《⭒✩⭒ || the sleepless speaks (ooc) 》 #《⭒✩⭒ || starter call 》 #《⭒✩⭒ || plotting call 》 #《⭒✩⭒ || shipping call 》 #we'd love to have any and all of the above tbh! #the bottom line of this post is: baizhu is HERE and eager to take care of you all 🥺 #so plz like this if you're interested and we can go from there! uvu #I may write short starters or poke through your reblogged memes to send you something #haven't decided for sure yet haha #feel free to leave a comment if you have a preference for a starter or meme or some other type of interaction! #or IM me if you'd like to plot! #I will be adding Kaveh very soon too but one babygirl at a time alsdfjdkj #I'VE DONE MY WAITING FOR BAIZHU AND I AIN'T ABOUT TO WAIT ANY LONGER 😭

[electricfied-wolf]

it is saturday and I am but a simple highschooler and I am so so tired and it is literally 12:15pm and I want to just sit here and eat my banana pudding

#failing to control those emotions I mentioned earlier I am so angry and sick and frustrated #fuck the world why is fandom so complicated #I keep thinking abt shit I've heard and shit I've somewhat experience and I want to scream into a pillow for four hours #engaging in interests always makes me half regret it bc of all the shit I have to hear abt because of fandom. #I don't regret joining any of the fandoms because of the INCREDIBLE and AWESOME people and friends I get to meet because of it #but stuff also is bad and annoying sometimes #I am starting to understand why most people refuse to engage and interact with other people in fandoms. its because #you slowly learn of all the drama and then you end up feeling like you're being pulled on by either end #it feels like I'm constantly the rope in a game of tug of war when it comes to most fandom spaces. like this experience happens too often #because ohhh you have this one side who believes this and another who believes that #AND SOMETIMES I MAKE STUPID POSTS OR COMMENTS THAT I GET REMINDED OF A BUNCH AND I WANT TO CRY. #I'm literally a fucking kid dammit I am not trying to change the world or anyhthing I just have opinions and I say them and sometimes #I speak before I think and sometimes I'm wrong and that is something that happens. not all of my opionions are solid locked in constantly #and SOMETIMES people who I think are cool turn out to be LESS COOL and SOMETIMES I feel like I say or do things that ruin my friends'- #-fandom experience and I fear they secretly hate me #okay that's it rant's over now

[sysig]

An ask! Idk what to talk abt though. How are you? What you want more asks abt? Characters? Life? Some other obscure interest?

(In reference to this I think hehe)

I'm doing well, thank you! I hope the same for you!

As for asks I'd like, I'm up for pretty much anything! If there's something that piques your interest - a take I put out but didn't elaborate on, "Defend that argument!" Lol ♪ I've also had people ask how I do certain things which is always fun to explain :D

Emoji gifts/silly back-and-forths are always fun to doodle to as well! ♫

Or if there's a fandom I haven't posted in a while and you miss it - I have no idea how many fandom transitions people here have hung with! Even if it's been a while, I still love my blorbos hehe ♥

Becoming a psuedo-ask blog with my characters answering directly is still totallly on the table btw :) Something remind you of me/them? Interest!

And while it's not quite Requestober-time-of-year again, next month is the start of when you should be thinking up what you might want 👀

I'd just like to chat! :) Asks are such a casual way of interacting, I like them :D

#Basically you have a lot of options lol #The fun of freeform interaction haha #And if none of these appeal to you but something else does I mean - it acting as a feedback box works just as well for me lol #I'd like to hear from you! Part of the fun of tumblr culture is that we're all weirdos inhabiting the same space #So while yes there are like mutuals and favourite Likers/Rebloggers like - you can just Become that at any point lol #PvP (woe friend be upon ye) enabled >:3c Lol #Anyway do you like my minefield of links haha #A lot of these asks are fond little memory nuggets :D I haven't posted a Scribble in a heck-while - since Spamton I think? #Might be fun to do again :0 #He was also the last vector ask-response wasn't he lol Spamton! Get outta there! Haha #But anyway yes - it all comes down to what sounds fun! Does [question] spark joy? Would love to hear it lol #It also helps with worldbuilding/character development if you're interested in my characters so like if you wanted to 👉👈 Lol #A lot of the stuff I used to see back in the day - and even contributed to! :D - was Yes-And-ing whatever the OP was currently working on #Things like ''What if this happened'' or ''What kind of dynamic do these two have'' - those are also popular in things like shipping memes #Most of my ask games are on my reblog-blog but there's no time limit - if you specify which one we can play whenever lol #Free and breezy uwu #Granted my backlog tends to get in my own way a lot lol but! Things like the Addispam kiss ask? (Which I still want to get to hhhh) #They can be fun jumping off points :3c

[rev3rb]

Hiya! This chapter definitely intrigued me with the design and purpose of the city. Idk how exactly this fits in with current events, but I’m definitely interested in how we went from a well-populated angel civilization with ice cream to just The First doing his mad scientist experiments all alone. Especially since it seems like he’s at the top of the angel hierarchy. I really wish we could get his pov that way he could just tell the audience straight up lmao.

The introduction of the Tower of Babel is really catching my attention. God knows I have extremely limited knowledge on Christian theology, but if the name is not just for shits and giggles, I wonder why it seems like the angels were successful in returning to the heavens. If Irc, the tower being struck down leads to different languages amongst humans. So maybe in this case, it’ll lead to different species of the present??

Idk but I’m really curious to hear what you think about all of this.

Okay! I finally got around to the chapter! Thank you so much for your patience.

So... I'm not entirely sure how to feel about this chapter. We got a little progress so I'm happy about that, but again it felt like a lot of the chapter space was taken up with rehashing the same interactions we've been seeing. Character interactions are nice, and with being a monthly manga, you have the luxury of panel space for them, but it just feels like the last... 5? chapters have had an abundance of them. Still though... we got progress so I'm not really upset with the chapter or anything.

Anywho, yeah! The city was interesting. I actually wish that if we weren't going to get a ton of progress this chapter that we would have at least gotten a better feel for the city. We kinda just got "it's a city, it has ice cream, and there's a building called the Tower of Babel. That's nice, but none of that really gives me much of an impression of the city itself. ...That being said, I'm glad it wasn't just a chapter of exploring the city with no payoff so. You know, maybe I'm just being difficult LOL Quick side note, but sometimes I've wondered how OnS would be as a novel instead and this is one of those moments. In a novel, you can put a few lines of description of the city and let the reader fill in the details, but with a manga, what you see is kinda what you get? Not trying to bash Kagami or Yamamoto at all. It's just a feeling of 'we probably would have gotten a bit more about the city had this been a novel instead of a manga'. Word space in a novel is way less than panel space in a manga after all.

Given that the First is also seemingly revisiting his past memories, maybe we will get some of his perspective on things! I lean towards doubt on that, but I don't think it's impossible. Either way, I'm sure we'll get to see at least a little of what the First was up to back then soon... right? Right?? Lmao please don't make me wrong on this.

I'm in the same boat as you anon and know virtually nothing about Christian theology. When they said Tower of Babel, I just thought "that sure is a Christan thing I recognize the name of" and knew nothing else. Now that you say all that though, that does sound super familiar, so I probably knew that at some point? You bring up a good question though. Thinking back on the other imagery we've gotten, I think nods to Christian theology have been relatively loose, like the trumpets of the apocalypse, so maybe there will be a little bit of that involved? Like maybe the tower will end up falling in this memory and it will lead to humanity coming to exist? They don't seem to exist yet and that makes sense. Just had the thought of what if the Tower of Bable falling is what wiped out the dinosaurs? I think I'd cry laugh. Regardless, I am just as curious as you to see how the name will play into things if it does at all.

At the end of the day, I'd say the chapter was fine. Progress is slow but there's some progress, and the setting is interesting so far, so it's not like I'm not engaged. I just hope for more in the near future. The potential for some really interesting stuff is right there! I want the series to deliver.

#Owari no Seraph #OnS 124 #Anonysis asks #My posts #Sometimes I wonder if it's just me that's not as interested in the series anymore or what #I don't think it is because I get excited when it nears a chapter release date #but idk #I love Mika and Yuu but please have an interaction that is something other than 'you're kinda stupid' 'lmao yeah ig I am' #I'm begging you