#What even ARE subtle themes?

[anodesu]

“I heard that before the Collapse, there used to be an art. It took broken things and put them back together with precious metals. It made something new and beautiful out of something that would have just been thrown away.” -The Crow from Destiny 2. This is yet another piece I approached again after remembering it existed because somehow the character's VA found it 3 years later and retweeted it. I don't know why my brain does this.

#destiny the game #destiny 2 #destiny crow #crow destiny #uldren sov #destiny uldren #kintsugi #not me redoing yet another old piece of mine #What even ARE subtle themes? #Sorry new Warframe followers #I am actually a Destiny simp

[starrysharks]

hotel manager

#zeno's art #i'm not sure if i should tag the show itself as i'm not a fan but i guess its “fan”art so i will #hazbin hotel #charlie hazbin hotel #vivziepop #i was bored and wanted to draw something #my main goal here was to create a design that looked distinct and could (potentially) be moderately easy to animate #of course based on charlie's character i added as many angel images as possible through the hair and bowtie #(i know white on white is a character design sin but i wanted to show the angel wing detail ;w;) #also to express the personality and juxtaposition of a sweet devil her horns are supposed to curve into a heart shape #of course the garterbelts are upside-down/st peters crosses because of her satanic themes #i also tried to go harder into the goat theme but its still subtle i think #i actually think the goat theme is really interesting because of the story of the sheep and the goats in the bible #but i cant remember if it was actually something intended in her original design #i'm not going to draw anyone else so dont even anticipate that #this was basically a cooldown? ok i think i'm rambling now #goodbye #ok edit to say it clearly: i am not a fan of vivziepop or her work. i just wanted to redesign charlie as a cooldown/exercise for fun #because i used to be a fan of the character before i wised up about what vivzie had and has done #and before i matured and noticed the cracks and fundamental flaws in her works #so yea i dont support her at all and this redesign is critical i guess #also the reason why the tag “vivziepop” is there in the first place is so that anyone who has that tag silenced can scroll past #without seeing anything related to her work. in case that clears anything up #its the same reason why i tag “long post” and “food” and the like

[shera-dnd]

RWBY in the first god damn minute: "There will be no victory in strength"

RWBY again in music form: "STRENGTH WILL NOT BRING VICTORY!" RWBY in music form yet a-fucking-gain: "STRENGTH'S NOT VICTORY!!!"

Media illiterate weebs for some reason: "well I think Ironwood should have won this fight because he's objectively stronger than team JNPR"

#rwby #discourse #please for the love of fuck #this is literally a story about the power of friendship #standing together has been a theme for so god damn long it's not even subtle #stop obsessing over fucking power levels and pay attention to what the story is trying to tell

[general-cyno]

not to get ahead of myself but thinking abt future opla zolu made me a little emotional bc depending on how many seasons the show manages to get, there's high chances of seeing so many of luffy and zoro's moments. and the thing is - there's a lot of them? their relationship is built upon all these moments and interactions, some small, some big, some when they're not even together but still end up referencing or mirroring one another in some way. it's just so good. I can remember more than few off the top of my head in alabasta, jaya, skypiea, water 7/enies lobby, thriller bark, sabaody etc and that's just pre-timeskip. opla has so much potential to go absolutely bonkers with these two I'm unwell

#!!!!! maybe it's time for a re-watch #zolu #tp #do you ever think abt how hard 'what good is ambition if I can't even save the life of my own captain?' is gonna hit #after luffy's 'I need you zoro' and zoro's vow. the sheer angst of luffy watching zoro almost get killed in sabaody #the possible angst fuel of whiskey peak #the hurt/comfort of water 7. the peak soulmatism behavior in jaya etc #I feel insane just thinking abt it #it all depends on the show's future success and how much they actually invest in the writing #and their particular relationship too but it's like!!!! I think of all these moments and just. they're so important? #I can't really imagine erasing any of them out of the plot bc it's just so integral to both their characters and the crew dynamics #like zolu tends to be considered a more hmmm subtle? kind of ship? in terms of the nuance of their relationship #if that makes any sense #but in a LA TV format it gets more....blatant and nearly unavoidable to acknowledge how crucial it is #I think of opla's main theme playing in the background as zoro makes his vow in ep 6 all the time

[fearlessinger]

best apollo mention in the whole book tbh

#''but he's not even mentio--'' THAT'S WHAT MAKES IT GOOD #more fanservice that's subtle & seamlessly integrated into the current narrative while honoring the themes of the previous one #less meaningless shout outs and forced PSAs #tsats #tsats spoilers #solangelo book spoilers #toa

[imreaallyasorry]

Oh!!! I was the one who asked about age. I wanted to invite you to the discord server. SADLY, you're too young so you can't go to our nightclub 😔 (I'd suspected it before that you were young so I wanted to make sure pff)

But I suppose you can let this mean whenever you're old enough you can jump in! >:) ... Just not for now 🔫‼️

IM LOOKING FORWARD TO IT!!! Alas, time has beaten me to the punch once again…. 💔💔

#ask box #I actually get that a lot #I like to say it’s my raging autism but it’s actually because I only watch cartoons and dressed head to toe in hello kitty attire #I don’t even like hello kitty #everyone buys me it because it’s all I own #it’s too awkward to stop it now #can’t disrupt the theme I have goin on #my favorite color is green why are you gifting me a bright pink tie dye hoodie #mommy this is not COTTAGECORE!!!! #no one sees the vision #yes I can make galaxy print business casual no it’s not tacky just look at my vision board #your not looking for the RIGHT GALAXY!!! #it has to be subtle #what do you mean you won’t buy my a pimp coat with a newspaper pattern #I can pair it with my 10 inch heel red stilettos #or my red elf shoes #they have little bells at the end of them #I used to have some with like toast on them but my dog shit in it #soles were completely ruined #I glued one of those poppy singing toys to like a top hat with a blue and yellow ribbon and it actually went really well with the elf boots #in the right lighting #they were very red #my dog chewed it up though #I’m noticing a pattern #he was in his teething phase leave him alone #sighhhh #I love my dog though he’s a cutie pie #I wanted a weiner dog but they were really expensive so I just picked up a stray #it was actually more expensive because we had to get it checked and everything #it would’ve cost less to go to a shelter or buy first hand

[mattodore]

usually i never really feel like something i've edited warrants a before and after, but i really went out of my way to learn some new things for this one and i'm so proud of everything i did here 🧎

#river dipping #matthias evanoff #theodore doe #a burning house to live in #echthroi #these are the 3k versions if you wanna zoom btw <3 #but god........... WHO WAS I before color overlays...... literally WHAT was i doing before this #the second i started adding the blues and reds and purples it was like i felt a physical punch in the GUT #like ?????? SO GOOD SO GOOD #also do you see what i mean abt the hair strands kjdghfjnghk they took me FOREVER but they're intentionally subtle...... so like. #you barely even see all of the work i put into them lmaooooooo #so serious when i say i'm just here posting things for myself like who else would even notice them kdjgnhdkfjh #anyway.................... i'm very obsessed with that theo pic so........ i'm probably going to be changing my mobile theme soon here 🧑‍💻 #like fr goodbye orange hello reds and blues #really i'm like. should i not just immediately change every icon background and wallpaper i use to theo......... #ALSO!!!!!!! i did not take any pics of mattodore hugging or start answering that ask from yesterday... i'm SAWRRY #this has just been the only thing on my brain dknjghnfh i will definitely get to it tho <333 MWAH MWAH MWAH #i gotta play catch up now that i'm done with these but first i need to eat............ which i haven't done krjdhndjkfngjhnkgf

[lasnevadaslaborunion]

Thoughts on the bet

I HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS.

So first of all, this casts everything about c!Quackity during Las Nevadas into a whole new light (that it was already teetering on the edge of). He finally got a win. The very first gamble in his new nation was a victory for the house, as it was designed to be. For just a moment, the system worked as intended and he bested somebody who once made his life hell.

(And then, c!Schlatt didn't show up to work - at least, not for a very long time.)

But that's fine, right, he's still riding that high. He won. He can win again. It's only uphill from here. Why not keep risking it?

What this changes most is that it makes c!Quackity's real goals a lot clearer. Him winning the bet hammers home harder that the revival book - at least, using the revival book himself - was never the primary motivation for torturing c!Dream. Which, let's be real, anybody paying attention probably would have picked up already. His first words on the subject were about what c!Dream did to Tommy; he takes it as a given throughout the arc that his own death is iminent, never even considers using the book to gain immortality or whatever else; hell, he flat-out screams that he doesn't give a crap about the book and that he's only torturing c!Dream to pay him back for the harm he's caused. If the book factored in at all, then his desire was more to make sure that c!Dream didn't have it than that c!Quackity himself did.

But that right there is the aspect of this reveal that gives me full-body chills: c!Quackity had full autonomy. There was nothing compelling him to walk into that prison cell and beat someone bloody for two months straight. He did that of his own free will - for reasons that are sympathetic on paper, sure, but he still chose that.

It's a fucking brilliant twist. Set up a situation where we're led to believe that this abuse survivor is going down a dark path at the direct coercion of their abuser. Give them a very clear excuse - one with plenty of holes (how exactly would c!Schlatt have ensured that he kept his word?), but which makes sense intuitively, cudgels you with sympathy. Then, strip that explanation away, and force people to think about the realistic chain of events that led to this horror show. He didn't have to do that. But he did. And as much as I loved the angsty portrayals of c!Q on a time crunch, c!Q humiliated and terrified, c!Q haunted by c!Schlatt's ghost until he fulfills his debt... I think the hidden, metaphorical demon, not being dragged screaming and crying into corruption, but stepping into it willingly, with a gritted-teeth grin and rolled eyes, believing that this time, you really do have all the power... is so much more fascinating and disturbing.

He was a free man. He wasn't under anyone's thumb anymore. He could have been living the dream.

He almost was. Almost.

Shit, man. He really just... did that, didn't he?

#as a final note. i really really really wish we could have seen this unveiled during the lore itself. i would have LOST MY SHIT. #but i suppose that's what fanfiction is for. #it's just. c!q's narrative has always played on these themes of power and authority and wondering who really holds the cards #and thinking about how the lessons he learned from c!schlatt still affect him even after he's flipped their dynamic on its head... #i would have been content with either one winning the bet. it works either way. #but this outcome fits very cleanly with the narrative coming down as hard on him as it did #my little guy was influenced in so many more subtle ways and nudged toward the edge bit by bit #but he still chose it. it was his choice. it was always his choice. #he wasn't powerless anymore. but he never learned how to handle his power ethically. #god... #dsmp #c!quackity #c!schlatt #c!dream #tw torture #tw abuse #analysis

[ferberus-skull]

her scry has been undecided for. a while now. figured i'd finally make a poll and let you guys decide for me.

as a note, this is her girlfriend. idk if that matters, but hey if it helps you choose??

#fr #flight rising #poll #my dragon #scry #spiral #aberration #unnamed dragon #they'll get names at some point...... i'm just indecisive #i want an obnoxious disco name for her girlfriend #and something gothish and edgy for her #maybe kinda swamp-themed #but idk what to actually name them #tapir gene #slime gene #and yes i know the genes aren't matching even tho i have the option to do the same genes #they just don't look as good #the purple in slime and the green in ghost are much more subtle on a spiral #oh and #eye strain #just in case bc her girlfriend is bright #but anyway if aberration ends up winning i might make another poll for primary because there are several that i like

[symbioticsimplicity]

Listening to Clem Turner's Pen Pals and crying.

#clem turner #honestly this story is so beautifully written #his reading of it makes it even more so #the scene talking about how #they built robots with the intent to make them do labor #but they built them with feelings and now they love soft thing and small things #just fucking wrecked my shit #I've noticed hes really good at turning the dystopian theme to a slight angle #to make it show the actualities of what its ruthlessness is crushing #its amazing and hes so good at it and its so subtle #pen pals has been an instant favorite since i heard it #this dude really just reaches into my chest and wrecks my shit #same way fall out boy does tbh

[gnarlyimp]

the way regular show has singlehandedly been the backbone of anarchy since 2013

#regular show #the subtle teachings about non-toxic masculinity and anti-capitalism #did yall even watch the episode about rgb2 #ALSO FUCKING RICHARD BUCKNER????? #his role in the thanksgiving special was practically the epitome of capitalism #also anti-artificial intelligence and pro-humanity #KILIT radio. the tetralogy about the laserdisc player #or maybe it was only 2 episodes about the laserdisc #idk anyway #maybe those episodes were just a product of nostalgia but #still. its got those undertones #it’s clear that jg and the other producers prefer people doing what they love over ai doing it #i cant imagine how they feel w the whole ai boom rn #the whole theme about the park being put in a dome and sent to space also probably correlates w anti capitalism and corporate greed themes #that one autistic bitch that dont play about regular show

[caravanlurker]

Got inspired to try my hand at a Gymsona

A funny little bug type gym leader yippee!

Formerly a uhh CTO of a dying startup that used Galvantula webs to send signals and information through the servers. The previous owner might’ve hot-potatoed the company onto her and jumped ship, but through a lot of work it’s grown to be household digital service throughout the region.

Something I cooked up for the actual gym, I thought it’d be cheeky if the building looked like a Nest Ball

I’m still subbed to a lot of Programmer communities even if it’s not what I want to do anymore, but you overheard a lotta weird stuff there. There’s a lot of bugs and a lot of Bugs going on behind the scenes.

Bonus @metalichotchoco , who inspired me to try my hand and a Gymsona hshshdjdbd ok bye!

#the pictures look a little wonky since my old computer can’t transfer files onto my phone anymore so I kinda have to just #take a picture of them with my phone and play around with the filters so it looks closer to what I drew #got the idea for this bc of puns #like Bug (insect) and Bug (error) and well as Interweb for. obvious reasons #despite the spider theme I mostly modeled my design off of Blipbug because look at IT!!! #even added a notso subtle pride flag in the design to lmaooo #maybe I should’ve put this down in the actual post #eh #my art stuff #pokemon #gymsona #thanks again to meta for the go ahead to draw her design! it’s so nice! #doing that last one made me realize how much I underestimated how long it would take to try her shiny rendering style like woaah #auashhsdh

[andthebeanstalk]

Watching The Addams Family 2 (2021) and like, your main climax cannot hinge on the Addamses genuinely fearing death, y'all!!!

They are the ADDAMS FAMILY! At least 2 of them are dead at any given time! Pugsley died for 3 hours just last Tuesday! Fester has 5 necromancers on speed dial and it is unclear if he is dating one of them or one of their undead clients! It is unclear if Morticia is a vampire! Lurch is probably a zombie! Grandmama keeps resurrection tablets next to the Pepto in the medicine cabinet!!

All this is just off the top of my head - this isn't hard! Get it TOGETHER, YOU MINION-ASS ANIMATION STUDIO THIS WHOLE MOVIE WAS WEAK AND YOU ARE WEAK

I WILL SWORDFIGHT YOU AND WEAR A PINSTRIPE SUIT, AND THE UNEDITED FOOTAGE OF THAT FIGHT WILL MAKE FOR A BETTER ADDAMS FAMILY MOVIE THAN THIS SOULLESS SACK OF A FILM

#original #the addams family #like it's not the worst movie I've seen but then I remember the 1991 Addams Family movie and I'm like holy shit #how do you fuck that up that bad #this should not be difficult to do right The Addams Family is interesting even when they're written by someone mediocre #but this was just bad writing that probably got boardroomed to death by the studio #also does anyone else find this animation style really really unpleasant to look at? not quite as bad as The Lorax but almost identical #also the fucking product placement in this sucks so bad. it is not subtle it is not blending #this was just so badly written #the first movie was actually okay. mostly because of the creative animation. but this one didn't even have much of that. #also rip to the voice acting industry. I like most of these actors but there's no reason they had to be in this film #instead of real voice actors #fuckin pugsley at the end of the film going like huh what?? wednesday is gonna do me violence??? #like my dude you are pugsley addams read the wiki page ffs #also the fact that they set up this idea that your family is chosen and not by blood was really cool but then #at the end they're like oh no just kidding #blood is most important and we are absolutely wasting what was actually a very cool concept #so many talented people went to school for animation and then had to animate this horse shit #I was having a thoroughly mediocre okay time until the very end there when they really just shat the bed on their theming #which like Jesus Christ can you please just be obviously a bad movie at the start so I don't get invested?? #also the entire previous movie was very specifically about Wednesday making a friend and she isn't even mentioned in this movie #why do all the work of establishing an enjoyable canon and then just leave it in the dirt?? #and Wednesday is once again the protagonist which is fine but it makes it extra weird that there is no indication #of the arc that the entire previous movie was about. is it cuz it was too gay? or is it just plain incompetence? #maybe it's homophobia. maybe it's maybelline.

[ghostabocky]

thinking about kh3/khux/khdr and wondering if there’s any iconography or characters who have the potential for the same sort of intrigue as lingering will/the mysterious figures/the kh2 secret ending

#angel.txt #i mean this in like... how we hear ''the disappeared'' when fighting the kh1 enigmatic man #and then we hear it again in kh2 when we fight xemnas for the first time #how we know nothing abt who or wat lingering will is until we hear motifs from rage awakened come back in terra's theme #and finally see the conclusion of his story #the entire kh2 secret ending and it's blatant recreation at the end of bbs #things that are like. very much different from theories being proven true‚ like the luxu-xigbar reveal #bc we didn't know anything abt xemans in kh1 or terra in kh2 or young xehanort in bbs! #and im looking at like... ok there's yozora #but we know his face even if he says its not what he ''really looks like'' #so it already isn't going to have the same sort of intrigue as the mysterious figure/enigmatic man/lingering will #and there's also dark inferno but the music that plays during that boss is. the same as like half the kh3 bosses #there's nothing to look forward to in that regard #kh3/khux also have secret endings that play around with concepts we're familiar with to a certain degree #so im like. i think im just 👀 at sigurd rn #faceless and also confirmed to be the person narrating in the kh4 teaser? hmm? #now give me smth in missing link that'll HIT DIFFERENT in kh4 #sorry im probably making no sense lmao #i just think that sort of subtle excitement has been missing from recent kh stuff #that moment of realization as you recognize a musical motif‚ or the satisfaction of an answer at the end of a long story #im not really here for like. *who* the MoM is unless its like. oh shit we've heard this theme before. oh god oh fuck

[violentlydefending]

maybe nobody's played plvspw and maybe plvspw is insane and maybe it takes place in britain but it's still better than aa5 and 6 i'll die on this hill

#all respect and love to ppl who enjoy aa5/6 i do like parts of them myself but i've got some haterade in me rn #also plvspw paved the way for dgs so. a huge point in its favour <3 #like yeah the endgame can drag and the twist is. Something. and some of the character writing can be wonky and the puzzles #are as a whole arguably weaker than that of the mainline pl games and it's basically just Fanservice: the game (ala pq) but also. #consider: maya and luke are besties <3 the graphics don't look eye-searingly ugly <3 for a crossover a really solid balance is struck <3 #the main themes of the story aren't explored via incredibly stupid vehicles like ''the dark age of the law'' #phoenix and maya's characterizations are like. good. sincerely i think they have the dynamic of All Time but in aa6 they felt. eh. #also while i'm here drinking haterade #i really do not like nahyuta he's just worse aa1 edgeworth bc he doesn't even go through like. an arc. #he just reveals he's Actually A Good Guy Lol and that's it ? #i like what simon and athena have going on but the basis for aa5 is too Much with the themes and ideas being bizarrely in my face while #simultaneously being weirdly vague like. ykwim (is also being weirdly vague and is therefore a hypocrite) #wait i'm gonna go back to being a lover for a sec bc. i really do like a lot of how layton elements and aa elements are combined in plvspw #like during investigations it's mostly layton-esque but there are subtle shifts towards a more aa-style at times like usually #the characters'll talk like in a layton game--facing each other with their sprites at an angle but #when multiple conversation topics become an option (aa-style) the character you're talking to will face the camera head on (aa-style) #idk i just think it's neat!!! it feels very thoughtful! #okay sorry for being mentally ill and having mental issues. i love you. #contra.txt

[nozomijoestar]

I know people hate SMT Nocturne's approach to characters but I love this shit, they feel like puddles that drag you down into an ideological sea once you start thinking on what they represent and the context of the situations the game put them in or what they say/how they act pre and during Vortex World, and their isolation from the player makes them doomed from getting any help being faced with their ugly inner selves until it's too late

#you don't NEED hyperfocused character driven narrative to have a good story you only ever need good execution #and i think there's enough subtle story telling here paired with good execution- kinda like Siren ps2 #the point of that game's characters was never to have rich personal drama getting to know everything abt everyone #the point was the power of coincidences and coalescence of human will and working together even unintentionally to survive #Nocturne is similar in the approach it takes and it isn't done badly but it is a matter of preference #they're both games about surviving in worlds that are already dead before you can lift a finger & all everyone has is through as well #the isolation and sense of being strangers even with people you should know is very effective actually bc you're seeing everyone raw #you're seeing the essential ideas in their heart by stripping away a sense of familiarity among characters #what's the rule of writing where characters are by function just another manifestation of pushing themes & storytelling devices not people #all a character driven story is rly doing is trying very hard selling the illusion that a character is a person first rather than a device #whereas stories that don't do that are more obvious about characters really being thematic devices- Nocturne is doing this #& character driven stories are selling you the illusion in hopes its your gateway to getting the themes if you think of them as people #at least good character driven stories anyway- it's about baiting the audience into thinking deeper but doesn't always work well too tbf #i feel this whole discussion on character involvement is rly asking how much does it take for you to feel someone matters & that will vary #how much involvement do you have to feel from a story from a person in order to START thinking deeper on them let alone like or act/help #for me all i needed to see was Chiaki jress to know this is my favorite character and lo and behold i was right fjhdbdfndj