#more rambles

[louistonehill]

A new tool lets artists add invisible changes to the pixels in their art before they upload it online so that if it’s scraped into an AI training set, it can cause the resulting model to break in chaotic and unpredictable ways. 

The tool, called Nightshade, is intended as a way to fight back against AI companies that use artists’ work to train their models without the creator’s permission. Using it to “poison” this training data could damage future iterations of image-generating AI models, such as DALL-E, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion, by rendering some of their outputs useless—dogs become cats, cars become cows, and so forth. MIT Technology Review got an exclusive preview of the research, which has been submitted for peer review at computer security conference Usenix.   

AI companies such as OpenAI, Meta, Google, and Stability AI are facing a slew of lawsuits from artists who claim that their copyrighted material and personal information was scraped without consent or compensation. Ben Zhao, a professor at the University of Chicago, who led the team that created Nightshade, says the hope is that it will help tip the power balance back from AI companies towards artists, by creating a powerful deterrent against disrespecting artists’ copyright and intellectual property. Meta, Google, Stability AI, and OpenAI did not respond to MIT Technology Review’s request for comment on how they might respond. 

Zhao’s team also developed Glaze, a tool that allows artists to “mask” their own personal style to prevent it from being scraped by AI companies. It works in a similar way to Nightshade: by changing the pixels of images in subtle ways that are invisible to the human eye but manipulate machine-learning models to interpret the image as something different from what it actually shows. 

Continue reading article here

#Ben Zhao and his team are absolute heroes #artificial intelligence #plagiarism software #more rambles #glaze #nightshade #ai theft #art theft #gleeful dancing

[sy-on-boy]

Anya + unraveling the mystery of the Desmond family (and Damian being different)

When Melinda debuted, I wrote a post about how she was potentially a character against the Forgers because Anya hadn't met her (we gain insight into characters via our deus ex machina Anya meeting them and reading their minds). Anya has met her now and the narrative has established that she genuinely cares for Damian (even if she's still a mysterious character).

After a long time, Demetrius is finally here. He's still mysterious, but not antagonistic to his brother and still cares for him. Like I said in a previous post, Demetrius subverts what I said above because Anya cannot read him fully even if she's met him. But regardless, Demetrius is here, we've seen him, all four Desmonds have finally debuted. And in my mind, I can vaguely connect them to the Forger-Briar extended family:

Anya - Damian: The kids aiming for stella stars and seeking parental approval. Attached to their dogs. Occasionally heroic (dodgeball, handkerchief, bus hijacking), but ultimately silly kids dragged into "adult" political matters (Anya with more awareness than Damian).

Loid - Donovan: Standing in for WISE vs war, one of the central conflicts. They are fathers and authority figures. Loid, faking a job as a psychiatrist, seeks to understand people (as a fake job, but he also does this as a spy). Donovan famously declared that people would never truly sympathize with each other. A good, attentive father and a neglectful father.

Yor - Melinda: The mothers, the narrative kind of puts them in the background compared to their husbands, but we know they have plot behind them. Yor's job as an assassin is unknown to her family (sans Anya). Melinda has struggles of her own when it comes to parenting her kids / being married to Donovan.

Demetrius - Yuri: Bit of a stretch, but they're both characterized as genius brothers and on the side compared to the main father-mother-child trios. Yuri works for the SSS, in direct opposition to Loid. Demetrius is a middle schooler?? He’s a child so he’s probably not that involved in the main plot, and if he is, it’s not willingly / he was brought up that way. They're both younger (and less experienced) compared to the adults- Demetrius is still a child and Yuri is 20. Yuri's affection for Yor is overflowing and the Briar siblings are very supportive of each other. In contrast, Demetrius is passive and apathetic, but not uncaring.

Anya has met everyone except for Donovan. Anya thinks both Melinda and Demetrius are weird. And Anya thinks of Donovan as the evil super boss. To her, the Desmonds are "weird". "All of Sy-on boy's relatives are such weirdos" - not sure if it's just the translation, but this line seems to imply Anya thinks Damian is exempt to the weirdness of his family. After all, unlike Demetrius, she can read Damian's thoughts normally. And unlike Melinda (and Yuri, and Fiona), she usually doesn't get bombarded with an overwhelming wave of intense thoughts when she reads Damian's mind.

And that brings us to the next point - Damian's time in Eden and the positive influences he receives (away from his family). Damian and Anya are better friends now. E&E's loyalty and affection for him have been established countless times. Becky congratulates Damian this chapter. Despite Damian thinking people suck up to him to get close to his father, he has a group of friends who do care about him (including Becky who doesn't suck up to him). Outside of what we see from Anya's pov, Damian has teachers and his dorm mother (Jeeves too) who care for him. Damian isn't alone.

Damian is shown to be disconnected from his family for whatever reason. His parents didn't come to his orientation. Damian says he doesn't see his parents often. Melinda cares for Damian but isn't allowed to see him often / afraid to be seen with him (?). Damian has called Demetrius before but this is the first time we see him meet Demetrius in person. And we all know about Damian's goal of impressing his father. Damian seems to believe Demetrius and Donovan when close when they were younger (when Demetrius was slightly older than Damian’s age), but Damian receives no such attention. Despite this, Damian still manages to have a fairly happy school life with his friends and supportive adult figures.

I think Damian's growing friendship with Anya and the recent complete reveal of the Desmond family will push Anya into thinking Damian is not like his weird family. If anything, Damian is more like Anya and her associates. Post bus-hijacking, Damian from Anya's POV is seen as more likeable / sympathetic, even more so now that we know about his mother and brother.

Anya is a child who is exposed to some of the darkness in Melinda / Demetrius' heads (trauma from being close to Donovan?), and she doesn't really understand them. Melinda / Demetrius seem off to outsiders (we saw Yor’s reaction, Becky thinks Demetrius is creepy) but it’s only Anya who’s capable of reading their minds and knowing how weird their thoughts are. But Anya has a much better understanding of Damian, the youngest Desmond, who is a kid like her with understandable motivations (getting stars, impressing his dad) similar to Anya's own motivations.

Interesting to note that Demetrius, while at Eden, seems rather lonely and disconnected even within his peer group. When he walks down the stairs, the panel frames it as him being alone, while Damian has four friends with him. When Damian and Anya get their stars, their classmates are shown to be smiling / impressed. When Demetrius gets his stars, we see two of his peers sweatdropping, almost looking wary, while a blushing girl has her hands to her mouth. The story doesn't show Demetrius' peers celebrating his success. It feels like Demetrius' peers are used to him getting good grades but still in awe of how good he is, but... they're not really close to him. Demetrius is not social and says he doesn't understand people, and maybe he doesn't interact much with his peers.

This chapter also reveals Demetrius is not in regular contact with Donovan anymore, contrary to what Damian believed. So Demetrius seems removed from the Desmond family sphere, but also isn't super integrated into the Eden sphere (in contrast to his 6yo brother and his friends). We can believe Demetrius isn’t close to Donovan because he is annoyed (and triggered?) by the mere mention of his father. Clearly Donovan has done something scarring to both Melinda and Demetrius and their thoughts look weird to Anya. Damian, despite craving for his father's attention and being stressed about it, is still relatively unaffected.

From now on, I think we'll slowly get more information about the Desmonds while Damian remains separated from them in the narrative. Damian is introduced as a vital part of Plan B due to his connection with his father, but even Damian himself admits there's not much of a connection. Plan B is working (sort of) because Damianya are friends, but that doesn't mean it's easier for Anya to meet Donovan. I think the narrative has been pushing Damian away from being a plot device for Plan B to being Anya's genuine friend and a victim of the Desmond parenting. At this point, Damian is not really useful to the main plot and there's not much mystery to this 6yo child.

Damian still thinks of himself as a scion of the Desmonds and he’s desperately trying to get his father’s attention. But his dad doesn’t really care, his mom loves him but doesn’t want him to be near Donovan, his brother is similar and also seemingly doesn’t want anything to do with Donovan. Meanwhile, the story establishes him as a boy with a crush on Anya, a boy with friends who will readily sacrifice themselves for him, a boy who’s willing to protect his classmates. All around Damain, his peers, associates, and the story itself has long been defining Damian as someone outside of being the Desmond family. But Damian naturally holds onto it.

Damian isn’t mysterious to Anya because she can read him. Okay, she still thinks he’s a brat sometimes, but that’s Damain being Damian, not Damian being a Desmond. But everyone else in the family is mysterious and it makes Anya feel at least vaguely uncomfortable.

The Desmonds are probably connected to Project Apple, and with the recent hints of Anya’s backstory, we might get some of that. But Damian is framed as almost completely separate to whatever went on, while Melinda and Demetrius are portrayed as victims of Donovan, mysterious and a bit weird but still sympathetic.

And that’s why I think it’s coming together— hints of Anya’s backstory, Damianya becoming better friends, the Desmonds all here. We’ve scratched the surface off and we’re hopefully going to see more.

(Also, just a thought: if Damian indeed goes through a “dark arc” and becomes more like the rest of his family, Anya will know because she can read his mind. She will be able to tell if Damian’s thoughts also start being “weird”. But they are better friends now which could be a lead up to her helping Damian deal with the pressure and struggle.)

#spy x family #damian desmond #demetrius desmond #anya forger #long post #spy x family spoilers #sxf analysis #meta #more rambles #donovan desmond #Melinda desmond #hope this is at least 15% coherent

[writingfarintothedark]

so based off my general feelings about season 2, and my post about what Simon's storyline/presence might be in Season 3 based on the trailer, I do hope that Simon is written well this season, the way he was in season 1. It's not just a personal want as someone in the fandom who adores Simon, but something I actually I think is necessary from a writing perspective/for the quality of the show.

I remember one of things the show got praised for after the amazing first season was that Simon was not just portrayed as the prince's love interest- rather, he was a full deuteragonist, we saw his internal struggles, and we saw he had a storyline outside of Wilmon.

Essentially, he was a complex and well written character in his own right in season 1. As the fandom saw, that was less the case in season 2- some stuff about him/his struggles was implied, but it wasn't focused on directly, and honestly, that meant a lot of the general audience likely missed those things. Simon was more of a character in relation to Wille in season 2 was the general consensus (which I agree with).

Part of the charm of Wilmon that people fell in love with that first season is exactly because they were portrayed fairly, as narrative individuals- we saw their individual stories and viewpoints and fell in love with them/their relationship. Their story as a couple felt earned because both characters were treated with narrative respect individually, and as a couple. I feel like if we do not have that season 3, honestly, the Wilmon relationship will feel less earned or healthy. I think we'll all love their moments because Edvin and Omar do an exceptional job of portraying that relationship, but it won't be the same without the writing component. A big part of why people fell in love with this relationship so hard was BECAUSE the writers did a brilliant job fleshing them out as individuals in season 1, and if that is all lost, especially in the final season...I don't know.

Looking at Young Royals as a three-part series, I would be willing to understand that season 2 needed to serve a specific purpose, and that they needed to get where they were going, if we see that season 3 fleshes out Simon in the ways season 2 lacked.

So here's to rooting for us to delve deeper in Simon this season!! Rather than just comforting Wille, I hope we see how HE is doing individually, how all of this affects him, because that's only realistic. I felt season 2 was unrealistic in showing how Simon would be impacted by the video, especially when his face was the one shown. It would be nice to see how he is doing internally, and if he gets a plot separate from Wilmon.

#young royals #simon eriksson #wilmon #more rambles #season 1 supremacy i guess haha #unless season 3 slays the boots house down

[adasknife]

i feel like we are allowed to think ada sucks (lovingly) because she does suck. if you truly hate ada as a character but your only excuse, "i'll treat leon better." you are missing the point of her character. sure, og ada is slightly different than remake ada, but her point as a character isn't being around leon. sure, the writing may struggle writing and defining her. but she is morally gray. she will suck. her actions will probably piss you off because look at rookie leon. you wouldn't manipulate him but you don't know what ada went through. (and it only took a kiss. damn, leon is weak)

that's ada's point as a character. she is one of resident evil's good guys despite working for wesker. unfortunately (in my opinion) ada's character was too defined by leon later on the series. it seems like ada is doing good things only for leon- but that's why at least rewriting the series a bit is so important for her as character.

because of course you won't like a character if that's all you see of her. you never saw them grow enough like jill and carlos remake... like for fuck's sake one of my favorite moments in re3 remake is carlos being sad that jill trusted him despite him working for umbrella. we never see soft parts of ada until tiny parts of separate ways. little details that make her human.

why ada asked leon join her in re4 remake? (because no matter how many times i stress it. i hate how the fandom is determined to believe they fell in love in one half night) why ada constantly works alone? why she takes no offense of betraying her employer? how she made it as a top dog in her line of work? how does her loyalty fall into place? there's so many details of her as a character and she is only defined by her haters as "she is a bitch."

sure, she is a bitch but i love her. she was a femme fatale for leon (and unfortunately the stereotypical dragon lady), but she can be so much better.

in the end of day, i love ada as a character, she is fun, kind, mean... and she sucks which is fine. let women be evil and let women be morally gray. let them even be mean to your favorite male character every once in a while.

sorry for another rant

#resident evil #ada wong #more rambles

[a-door-to-somewhere]

Wonder what Thrawn would’ve thought of the Empire if he had the whole Force Stuff side of it too. Like don’t get me wrong he probably the politician/utopian world domination/xenophobic ass side of Palpatine, but there’s no way he picked up on all off the force stuff.

Between meeting Anakin face to face and being discovered in ‘exile’ was when most of the maneuvering of Dooku, Maul, Anakin, Grevious, and the destruction of the Jedi happened- by the time he’d made it to the empire most of the information on the Force was destroyed.

What would Thrawn feel knowing that the empire was half-founded on and propelled by the Sith tradition, which was hidden so well from its own forces that high-ranking empire officials would dare question Vader 20+ years into his reign???

The man is already lost in politics how would he deal with the rule of two like “ok so why is there only two. Seems like a rather costly limitation.”

“Because Darth Bane said so.”

“Ok but why”

Even facing Kanan and Erza, he was facing them as a non force sensitive military leader which is LEAGUES away from how Star Wars tends to treat Jedi vs. Sith + empire.

How would he feel now knowing that their Empire fell to shambles despite their prized deathstars due to astronomically low odds that he’d never know to bet on, but that Palpatine knew was possible the whole time???

From a tactical standpoint that essentially makes the board unplayable- Thrawn’s been playing completely blind, not knowing the true threats to the empire aren’t organized rebel cells but any force sensitive ever

And from an Acendancy’s standpoint, is there really any way to secure the safety of the Chiss without knowing exactly how the Force plays into things, especially given the Skywalker’s roles in society?

#star wars #sw #thrawn #mitth'raw'nuruodo #thrawn headcanon #more rambles #emperor palpatine #sheev palpatine #erza #kanan and ezra #having too many Thrawn Thoughts #a door opens up

[poohwhin]

|| My Ocs From Different Fandoms

tagged by: @fruit-of-infidelity

tagging: no one bc my friends have all already been tagged >:( but if you see this: DO IT 🔫

HI HI HI. I HAVE MILLIONS OF OCS THAT I CARE FOR AND LOVE VERY VERY MUCH, EVEN IF I DONT HAVE DEDICATED BLOGS FOR THEM! (and those that have been forgotten bc i’ve become unhappy with them, bUT THATS NOT THE POINT! ANYWAYS!)

Also this art I’ve found is OLD. eat my ass /lh

Also (x2)! A few of these were made in sort of a story I’d sometimes talk abt with a friend! But since we don’t talk much anymore, I’ve kind reworked my ocs into their own thing. (or made an attempt to without just completely redoing them).

(I won’t ramble too much these it but I want to pls enable me to do so)

I. Virek Sutcliffe (Diabolik Lovers)

Are: 18

Species: Human

Pronouns: He/Him

Desc. AHHHH MY SWEET BABY BOY. Probably my most known oc idk. BUT YEAH. he acts as an alternate protagonist after you complete all the contact in the More, Blood game :D He’s a former experiment, who ended up in Kaminashi completely by chance. It’s the similar case of “wrong place, wrong time”, except with Virek comes a lot more chaos than usual. My entire purpose for him was to incite more animosity between the families, and indirectly cause Karl’s plans to absolutely fail. (which in the end he’s happy about bc he hates that guy).

but yeah. he’s a silent, odd, and downright IRRELEVANT and MISSABLE character, but so much so that he attracts chaos and eeriness and just freaks some of these guys out in the worst way. yeah :) (no art bc im still redesigning him).

II. Rowhin (Diabolik Lovers)

Age: 19

Species: Questionable!

Pronouns: They/Them

Desc. It’s a self insert imma be so honest. Its a s/i for richter bc i am down TREMENDOUSLY and delusional 😞 They act as a servant for them bc they met him at a convenient time. Technically they’re supposed to be helping him advance his plans to reunite with Cordelia. But you know. things don’t go that way and those two silly fucks end up catching a tiny teaspoon of feelings. (In which Richter will never actually admit bc it’s RICHTER. but i’m delusional and greedy so i can do what i want 🙄🤷)

(no art bc i hate my previous designs; drawing myself makes me so picky).

III. Avard (Genshin Impact)

Age: Not specific (between 20 and 30)

Species: Human

Vision: Anemo

Origins: Khaenri’ah (birth), Monstadt (raised)

Desc: Yes ik I said his vision is anemo but in the photo is cryo. there’s a reason for that its bc he’s faking that’s not his. ANYWAYS. Bro’s technically from Khaenri’ah, but remembers absolutely nothing (and probably never will)— So he doesn’t consider it home since he has no connection to it.

Instead he was raised by a father and son in Springvale. But unfortunately after getting in between a father/son quarrel and trying to prevent it from escalating, he obtained a vision ‼️ and ofc nothing goes right and he couldn’t actually gain control over it, so he did de-escalate it. his adoptive father and newfound best friend died 🤷

so he ran away, changed his appearance and his name, and became sort of a scholar?? not really. he just wants to find some kind of answer as to why he feels out of place. he’s one of those characters that’s on the road with traveler a lot, but doesnt actually get involved unless it’s useful for him.

IV. Khalid (Genshin Impact)

Age: Not specific (mid 20s — early 30s)

Origins: Sumeru

Vision: Electro

Pronouns: Hey/They

Desc: Bro’s a ghost. Okay not like. Fr a ghost. But he’s like. NEVER SEEN?? He had one terrible day during early akademiya days and said “guess i’ll die” /j. He’s technically a Haravatat scholar, despite his methods of doing things being more fitted for Rtawahist; he just joined the former bc it had the least amount of students to worry about.

He keeps to himself mostly, rarely every actually being seen at the Akademiya. (he’s there he just. doesn’t wanna be noticed 😭 people do NOT like this man). People also refuse to believe that he’s the author behind all of these genuinely well done and thought out articles bc they think he’s a wacko, whatever. 😭 Bro refuses most of his summons unless he feels like coming, and just spends time stargazing, thats if. Bro’s a nerd 😞

Oh also his vision story is very stupid. Bro electrocuted himself with a toaster one day, said fuck it, and found his vision lying on his doorstep whenever he went outside again.

V. Zone (One Piece)

Age: Late 20s

Species: Human

Affiliation: Marines

Devil Fruit: None

Pronouns: He/They

Desc. Bro’s just a marine idk what to tell you. NAH BUT ‼️ He used to be affiliated w Doflamingo’s crew. But after a friend he made turned him over to the marines as a kid (they didn’t wanna see him grow up to be like Doffy. as they should’ve) Zone was just raised to be a marine.

Which is like cool whatever. Yada yada bro grows up training w them. BUT THEN WHENEVER HE TURNS LIKE?? 23?? BRO GETS DRAFTED INTO THE SAME DIVISION SMOKER IS IN AND LOSES HIS MIND 😭 Bro is aggressively homosexual for captain smoker and that is his ONLY personality trait /j

nah but he’s one of those people who’s super loud, energetic, and obnoxious. but then when he’s fighting or focused he’s eerily quiet. everyone’s like “damn i guess he can be serious.” (they take those words back as soon as work is finished).

VI. Nero (Fandomless)

Age: Unknown, (early to mid 20s physically)

Species: Vampire

Pronouns: They/He

Desc. Previously a DL oc, i made him fandomless just for my own mental health. BUT! Nero is a Vampire & an artist. He specialises in painting and sculpting, and has made some of the most beautiful things the underworld has ever seen. Except none are marketed as his.

He was taken in by a prominent family of artists, who are going through a dilemma when the eldest son just ABSOLUTELY SUCKS. So in exchange for a home, and the ability to do what he likes, he acts as a secret proxy for the eldest. But yada yada things happen and an ‘accident’ ends up taking place, and Nero is taken in by someone else. Bro has to regain his love for the arts again, while also learning to be treated as something MORE than just a set of hands to make things :). (also i hate this design sm i wanna change it).

VII. Rook (Fandomless)

Age: Unknown

Species: Also Unknown

Pronouns: Literally make them up Rook does NOT care

Desc. There’s not much too Rook other than them being a jester who pulls lethal silly pranks by trapping people in playing cards and swapping them around! Nah but to be completely serious, i love playing around w just full fantastical and magical characters, and Rook is one of them. Bro is technically a criminal, but hey they’re a jester you can’t arrest them!!!! it’s just a joke!!!

They wander around to every which place and just have a grand ‘ole time toying with people. But sometimes they will trap you inside of a playing card and use you for a trick! You may die! But it’s fine it’s just a joke!!!—

Oh! And they don’t speak. They only jingle. They got jingly shoes, jingly hat. Yeah. (also idk if that is a mask, or just their face. Make smth up).

IX. Bonnie (Fandomless)

Age: mid 20s

Species: Human

Pronouns: They/Them

Desc: I don’t have a drawn out design for them, but I do have some general thoughts!! They live on a planet who’s population is incredibly advanced. BUT! Their basically a nobleman im a highly futuristic society, that has a general distaste of cyborgs. (Even minor things like bionic limbs). Unfortunately for them, they have a bionic eye (well its more like those things you see in dragon ball. but whatever) 🤷. Oops, big ‘ole issue when you’re the child of a man who has to run an entire planet’s population‼️

VIII. Pyro (Fandomless)

Age: 26-ish (probably older??)

Species: Alien (humanoid, technically. but he is supposed to be a fire guy)

Pronouns: Hey/They (wouldn’t care if any others are used though).

Companion: Kalixo (added him bc i love this little dude and him and Pyro are a PACKAGE DEAL)

Desc: In the same universe as Bonnie ‼️ He’s a fire-oriented alien from a planet of different elemental guys, who each specialise in their own type of art. His specifically being welding/engineering. Unfortunately bro’s planet was DECIMATED when he was a child, BUT DON’T LOSE HOPE— he can just rebuild it 🙄 bc building is what he does 🙄 he’s just a funny, silly, heart on his sleeve guy who adores building.

Like Bonnie, he also has bionic body parts :D specifically mechanical legs! As a kid, he had a condition that made his legs increasingly weaker as he grew, so being the amateur master craftsman he was, he just made himself new ones. AND they’re fire powered because he’s cool 🤷 ( also his human form isnt what he actually looks like. his family specifically just chooses it bc fire is scary to others!)

ALSO! HE HAS A CAT. bro has a cat named Kalixo, who’s just a wandering spirit that likes being a cat form and being lazy and doted on. bro met pyro bc pyro was DUMB and ran into him (kicked him) by accident and cried for hours. Now he follows him around and acts as a voice of reason to keep pyro from being too STUPID.

X. Ezekiel (Fandomless)

Age: Unknown (thousands of years old)

Species: Vampire

Pronouns: He/Him

Desc. A lot of my followers came here from DL, so vampires should be your thing. HOWEVER! EZEKIEL HERE IS A BIG ‘OLE BABY. A vampire who refuses to drink blood from humans, because be doesn’t want to put himself, or anyone else, in that kind of vulnerable position. He also: is a recluse. Seriously, a HERMIT. He holds himself up in an abandoned library that full of spirits and ghosts, and does not LEAVE.

He also doesn’t speak. He passes notes. And if you somehow stumble in he will HIDE FROM YOU and maybe throw paper balls at you until you leave :3

#ramblings ahead bc oopsie #these descriptions are so ass btw im very sleeby #my eyes are like — — #god i hate my old art this shit sucks >:( #also that zone screenshot is from MAY of 2022 😟😟 #eugh #also i have female ocs i promise i just dont wanna dig around for the art of them 😞 #i found all these by CHANCE #anyways #more rambles #i love how genshin vision stories are always like #‘oh they just got one’ #or #some TRAUMATIC ASS EVENT 😭

[djbeatz]

I Call That Bravery

So, if you read the beginning note of my most recent Ao3 post, then you’ll know that I’ve recently got into Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood. I haven’t watched 03 yet, but I will when I have time.

Anyway, I wanted to talk about General Armstrong’s perception of Major Armstrong. I’ll be using their first names so it isn’t as confusing. Their names are Olivier and Alex respectively just as a reminder.

(Anime Spoilers under the cut)

This is something I’ve talked about with @djcarnationsblog mostly. But it’s about how Olivier thinks of her brother. It’s quite obvious that she looks down on him 99% of the time and thinks of him as someone lowly. She thinks he’s a coward because of what he did in the Ishvalan war.

Alex had not become a soldier to kill innocent people, he didn’t sign up to be a murder. He only wanted to protect his country and so, to me it makes sense that he would refuse to do any such thing in the war. He knew what they were doing was wrong and he wouldn’t stand for it. This caused him to become useless in the war and therefore discharged.

Obviously, Olivier is the more stone hearted of the two. She is stronger in body and mind, so doing things like that in a war would not phase her as much as they did Alex. Though I don’t think she started out so tough, not for any particular reason besides the fact that people aren’t just born with hardened hearts.

Her strength of will kind of reminds me of the others who had been in the Ishvalan war. They do regret the things that they had done and wish to atone for it, but it didn’t make them any less hard hearted.

With that in mind. It makes sense to me why Olivier believes him to be a coward. It is quite cowardly to run from your duty as a soldier.

But I don’t think specifically what he did and why was cowardly. I think it was pretty brave.

Alex ran from the battlefield not necessarily to save his skin, but to save his mind. He did not allow himself to be in that war because it was not something he stood for. What he was protecting was his mind.

He was protecting himself by not giving the war the chance to change his moral code or who he was as a person, even at the cost of having to turn his back on his allies, and essentially part of his country.

Signing up to be a soldier and actually being a soldier are two very different things. Becoming a soldier is like selling your body and your soul to an organized unit that has every say over you and your autonomy. If they punish you with demoting, firing or death, you don’t have a say in it.

The fact that Alex took the initiative to save himself speaks volumes. Especially when others did not take that chance, nor did they even see it.

Of course, I don’t think it was his true intention to be discharged from the war, he only intended not to kill anyone with his bare hands because above everything, he seems to cherish humanity. And he still saw these people as humans rather than a job he may or may not complete. 

Alex is like the epitome of love for humanity, and I think that’s something that isn’t talked about a lot, and it’s also something I wish Olivier could see.

What she sees is her coward of a brother. In truth, he’s one of the bravest people for having the resolve to put himself first when he’s clearly a very selfless person.

But my question is why she doesn’t see that. I know she isn’t a shallow person in the slightest, but she seems to be looking much too surfacely on the matter. Alex, also is clearly not a coward in any sense of the word, he throws himself into situations just because he believes he can try and help, even if it isn’t a guarantee, he still tries, which you could kind of compare it to an Elric brother kind of crazy just minus the chaos. 

Well, I think I’ve rambled enough on this topic. I just had to get it out of my system really. But depending on what my mind focuses on next, you might see me talk a bit more about Fmab!

Really, the only thing making me write these little rambles is the thought coming to my head, getting on Tumblr and winging shit, connecting it as I go.

As protocol, you really shouldn’t believe anything I say, these are mostly for fun. And if this doesn’t make sense, I’m really sorry. But I’ll be opening my ask box soon so if anyone wants clarifications on anything or simply want to ask questions and bring some of this stuff to my attention, then you can feel free to say whatever you want when I’ve got it up!

#fmab #alex armstrong #olivier armstrong #fullmetal alchimist brotherhood #more rambles #it's been a time since I've done one of these #but yeah i'll be opening my ask box soon #maybe this or next week #fmab spoilers

[suchafaunystory]

Another thought I’ve been having recently:

I’m starting to think I’m even more asexual than I thought. I like sex in theory don’t get me wrong, and I am excited to try stuff out, but I don’t think I’ve truly felt sexual attraction towards another person. Like I can’t look at a person and go “oh yeah I wanna fuck them/get fucked by them.”

Especially not face to face. I’ve seen pictures, and been like “oh my god they’re so hot” even though I don’t fully understand how people are hot.

Don’t take this to mean that I don’t think y’all are hot and sexy. I do. And this doesn’t mean I’m gonna be any less of a horny bitch on here. (I’m probably far hornier online than I am in person, tbh.)

I’m not sure if i’m phrasing this super well, but hopefully I got my point across. Idk Lmao I’m tired.

#more rambles #faunposting #faunramble

[thatonepizzaman]

Cause I’m a dumbass and I’m getting mad impatient with how long this is taking me

SNEAKY PEAK

#MORE RAMBLES #I SHOULD BE SLEEPING SHAGEHEHHRHRG #the kirby freak exists #collab soon #I prommy

[louistonehill]

Really and genuinely horrified by the lack of information in European news about what is going on in occupied Palestine at the moment. Ignorance is truly a plague, and I cannot recommend reading up on the conflict enough, because right now we're only hearing one side

So some book recommendations:

Ilan Pappe is a historian who has gone through all of Israel's open archives and documented the occupation project from ~1880 until today, and his books shed light on the intentions and execution of the ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity still ongoing in Occupied Palestine

His books can usually be found online, and even in audiobook form on YouTube, and I cannot recommend listening to them or reading them enough

I genuinely thought that with the war in Ukraine, EU politicians would see that what is happening on our continent is the same as what is happening in Palestine, but unfortunately they have closed rank even worse with the excuses of avoiding more conflict

But just because they're hypocritically willing to aid in crimes against humanity, doesn't mean the rest of us have to stay ignorant or make excuses for what our states are doing

So here is my little contribution to avoid that. I hope you'll take a couple hours out to avoid it as well

#from river to sea #palestine #occupied palestine #more rambles #random stuff #politics #apartheid #crimes against humanity #ethnic cleansing

[someheroescarryfloss]

‘Dusting’

Santa and the Elves have this magical dust that makes humans forget about their encounters with the non-human world.  Okay, that’s cool.  Neat idea.  Never mind that they called it ‘Angel Dust’ so that they could make a joke, and not gonna lie, I chuckled a bit.

The problem with this dust?  If they always had it, why would Scott have needed Sandman to come along and put Carol’s parents to sleep so that they would think the journey to the North Pole was a dream?  Why would the Elves have all had to hide their ears and pretend that the North Pole was Canada?  In the flashback, Santa #17 casually states that he ‘dusted’ young Scott to make him forget about meeting Santa.   So, this ‘Angel Dust’ is a new idea, but it’s problematic.  It’s not a new invention of the Elves, it’s something that’s always been around, and this creates plot holes galore.

If it’s that simple to make the humans forget about these encounters, and if outside help (Sandman) wasn’t needed, then that negates the whole Secret of Santa plot, and the third movie itself.  And since Scott referenced Jack in that not-so-nice ‘frozen lunatic’ comment, we know the third movie happened in their timeline.  Santa could have just brought Carol’s parents up, let them see the North Pole as it was, let them visit with their daughter, and if necessary he could have wiped their memories afterwards.  

The Council isn’t in the series, and I think that is a good move.  They needed something other than sleep sand to make people forget (not that that’s what Sandy’s sand does, but it serves a similar purpose here), and it’s not a bad idea...except that it just doesn’t work, continuity-wise.

#Ooc #The Santa Clauses #More rambles #Pointing out continuity errors because why not. #Plot holes! #Edited because I type too fast and a few things didn't make sense.

[adasknife]

ada and claire is such a cute group of gals. i know they both never confessed, they just kissed and started holding hands and now they are dating. ada wears claire's red jacket and claire just turns into a flustered mess then claire wears ada's choker and now ada is flustered.

ada likes claire because claire doesn't have an ideal version of her.

claire puts butterfly pins in ada's hairs and ada likes practicing her makeup skills in claire. ada is the cool mom that sherry has, sherry learned how to fight thanks to ada.

sherry and her two moms <3

sherry is picked up by ada from school and ada is dressed up in beautiful red dress. ada is cool as fuck and sherry loves it. ada and chris have a friendly rivalry, they are always competing with fighting stuff and fighting for claire's attention.

chris gave ada a leather jacket to be part of the family. ada silently happy. ada acts dumbs that she doesn't know how to use a bike so claire can help her. chris attempts but ada pushes him away.

#resident evil #ada wong #claire x ada #claire redfield #sherry birkin #chris redfield #more rambles #claida

[bobapplesimblr]

I might also just have a seperate current household save to play while i wait for mods or for when i don't wanna play the main story save

I'll keep yall posted on that one

#more rambles #rambles #help #im so tired

[runawaymarbles]

The thing I keep coming back to, with all the *gestures expansively* is that real life doesn't have peaceful epilogues.

Every single win has to be defended. Forever. I'm sorry. It sucks. The Nazis lost until they stopped losing. The US had abortion rights, and then 50 years later it didn't. Empires fall, and then they invade other countries again. Oppressive regimes are overthrown and replaced with other oppressive regimes. You will never finish the work etc etc etc. Which is why it's so fucking important to be able to acknowledge and celebrate progress, when it happens. The people who came before you didn't put in all that work for nothing, and you aren't, either. You can't save it all for the Ultimate Victory because there is never going to be an Ultimate Victory. There's no such thing as a time when everything is good, and ours shall not be the commune of Heaven.

#rambling #like by all means always push for more #but man you gotta be able to note the small victories too #and you have to be able to step away for a bit when you need to because there's never going to be an Ultimate End #op

[violetsandshrikes]

watching people on tiktok consume borax is uh. something.

#each new wellness trend gets more unhinged #katie rambles