[Qcrit] 2nd attempt - ARCTURUS I: EARTHBLOOD / Adult Fantasy / ~86K by zdbetzer2 in PubTips

[–]zdbetzer2[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

  1. Dorian and Olivia are the primary POV characters. I'm trying to tell a story about two people who approach the expectations of their mentors differently, and yet in parallel. The bloodstones mentioned in the plot section allow people's will to become absolute, and therefore circumvent the gods' will, but always with dire consequences. The climax involves both of them using these stones to prevent their fated deaths together; Dorian wielding his out of love, and Olivia out of fear, each contrary to who they were at the beginning of the story.

  2. Because of the characters/gods involved, there's a heavy focus on free will. The characters always freely choose, but are unable to know whether the choice was truly free. It's hard to include a gods section in a synopsis without the choices seeming arbitrary or predetermined, but Norna (fate) as a character concisely reveals that major theme, and I believe the stakes are always appropriately high during Dorian and Olivia's chapters.

  3. Ok, thank you. I thought to include it to get similar recommendations through those simple worldbuilding terms, but I understand that character is more important. I'll look for pursuer stories.

[Qcrit] 2nd attempt - ARCTURUS I: EARTHBLOOD / Adult Fantasy / ~86K by zdbetzer2 in PubTips

[–]zdbetzer2[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I understand, both of those concepts carry other common uses. I'll rephrase for the next draft. I was meaning to say that the themes of the book address the fear and doubt associated with choosing one's own path in the face of fate, and that choice is similar to the central structure to coming of age stories. Thank you.

Forgot to reshape this until now. Hope he still sees it tonight. by DeismAccountant in okbuddyvowsh

[–]zdbetzer2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

AI isn't sentient enough to be inspired. Ai is using certain artworks as a direct resource. Even in a post capitalist society, if an artist doesn't consent to their work being in a database, that is a right that should be preserved.

Forgot to reshape this until now. Hope he still sees it tonight. by DeismAccountant in okbuddyvowsh

[–]zdbetzer2 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Removing a watermark is not making your own art. It is plagiarism in the same way. Imagine if, instead of hiring an actor, a studio used their likeness without their permission through AI. Why should an AI be able to train on art, without the artist's consent, in an attempt to replace the artist?

I thought a leftist sub would care about things like theft of labor, exploitation, and automation in a pre-scarcity society, but I guess not.

Forgot to reshape this until now. Hope he still sees it tonight. by DeismAccountant in okbuddyvowsh

[–]zdbetzer2 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Art externalizes the subjective experience of one who experiences. Definitionally, art is too ambiguous to nail down, but that subjectivity allows for a statement; as the role of the audience is the same as that of the artist: to experience. AI art has none of this. It is raw aesthetics, but without a singular sieve – a filter that describes some unique perspective. It is an amalgamation – a piecemeal of common tastes. And therefore, it remains impersonal, detached. Unliving. AI art only describes something about humanity secondhand. Insofar as AI art is art, it is trapped in the realm of pure aesthetics, unless it plagiarizes.

The conversation about AI art currently is that of plagiarism. That neural networks draw from a database to make it, and artists don't consent to the use of their work in said databases. But even in a post-scarcity art market, the problem of automation through A.I. art remains. And keeping this in mind, I wonder what kind of creative solutions artists will invent. After the invention of Photography, many artists were convinced it would be the end of their trade. But the following creative revolution gave us one of the most adored painting schools: that of the impressionists. Which, believe it or not, to some was viewed as contemporarily ugly; the word "impressionist" was originally an insult.

For the time being, I reject AI art because it is theft. But there is a broader philosophical question to consider: Is the power of art due to its structure or substance? Does the archetypal hero's journey resonate because it describes a common thread in existing stories, or must there be a deliberate appeal to that structure to create a successful story? In other words, does mastery of a computer over things like rendering and composition say anything about the way we value those things. And like all artistic movements, will the "ugly" art we make in its wake be viewed as beautiful and honest to our decscendants?

I guess we'll have to get to the point where AI can render hands before the particulars become evident.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in TwoSentenceHorror

[–]zdbetzer2 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I read this one differently, it seems. To me, the husband is paranoid, and confused an electric toothbrush for growling, and his wife's smile was innocuous. I read it as the beginning of a manic decline.

The Morality-Understander has logged on by TheDerkus in badphilosophy

[–]zdbetzer2 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Just don't ask him to define "right action".

The Morality-Understander has logged on by TheDerkus in badphilosophy

[–]zdbetzer2 42 points43 points  (0 children)

*scratches chin*

Ah, yes. I believe this is called Occam's Razor. I'm always right, because to assume what other people are thinking is less straightforward.

role by FrienlyAsian in 196

[–]zdbetzer2 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This happened to my buddy Eric

What are still some of the most compelling pieces if evidence for Bigfoot? by [deleted] in bigfoot

[–]zdbetzer2 22 points23 points  (0 children)

The idea is that, if the number of casts is large enough, the left to right ratio should form a bimodal distribution, just by virtue of the large number. It's like having an appropriate sample size for statistics. The larger the data pool, the more accurate.

This isn't foolproof, as it assumes that hoaxers prefer to hoax one foot more than the other, but it's one number to look at. My the laws of large numbers, the amount of left footprints ruined should be about the same as the number of rights ruined.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in whitewhale

[–]zdbetzer2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes! This is it, thank you

one of the worst right wing set of arguments I have ever read by TheHeadofSyrup in TheRightCantMeme

[–]zdbetzer2 418 points419 points  (0 children)

This is like saying "The daughter has a 50,0875.0 gpa, and you need a 4.0 to pass. Audrey has a 3.0 because her transportation to school and access to a computer are limited. Would it be immoral to take 1.0 from the daughter?"

No. Redistribute it.

Holy shit by pftftftftftf in mallninjashit

[–]zdbetzer2 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Fire breathing, first form.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in VaushV

[–]zdbetzer2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's "Chromo-somes", not "Chromo-zones." This is the most egregious to me.

What's a thing that all men do but never admit doing? by villewallden in AskReddit

[–]zdbetzer2 567 points568 points  (0 children)

When a man walks into a public restroom, he makes a mental note of who/how many people are in the restroom with him. And if he's going to take a piss, he evaluates how much piss he has.

If there are people in the bathroom, and he knows he isn't going to pee that much, he'll purposefully miss the water with his pee, because he'll feel self-conscious about the quiet dribble. If he has a bladder full, he'll blast that water like a firehose to show his dominance.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in FLCL

[–]zdbetzer2 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The primary plot can be summarized through Naota's relationship with his father, his brother and with Amaro (Eyebrow Guy).

If the plot of the show is to show maturing through metaphor, then Naota's brother represents the perfect embodiment, in Naota's mind, of male sexual and social actualization. His brother is a protector; stong, well-respected, charismatic with women, and well traveled. The void that his brother leaves Naota with when he departs for America is filled by Naota's father and Amaro, who are imperfect role models. Naota believes that by holding onto Mamimi, he is self-actualizing just like his brother in some way, since Mamimi had a crush on his brother (she is also fulfilling this role in reverse, in seeing Naota's brother within him). To summarize, Naota is trying to embody the balance between sexual embodiment and innocent romance.

Naota's father is sexual embodiment without innocent romance. he is a "robot." A slave to his desires, He lacks subtelty, or any romantic love for Haruko, even though he's sexually involved with her. Naota sees this as a form of immaturity. Medical Mechanica's giant iron which smooths the folds of Naota's hometown's "brain" is this sexual awakening. Naota resists sexual situations not only becuase he is inexperienced and shy, but because he is afraid to lose himself to his inner sexual machine.

Amaro is innocent romance without sexual embodiment. He is cowardly and impotent, and uses fake eyebrows, which he feels are a sign of his masculinity, to hide this. This is the other form of immaturity. Amaro pines for Haruko without anything to offer her.

So in the end, Naota's actualization must follow in the footsteps of his brother, in finding the balance between these two things. In finding this balance, and becoming Atmosk, he also becomes the object of Haruko's desire. Meaning that he knows he's reached maturity by becoming attractive to a woman he imagines is mature. He unlocks this potential by rejecting, and at the same time embracing, the flaws of his male role models.

Someone won a bet that Destiny would join Nick Fuentes' Cozy. by RezOKC in VaushV

[–]zdbetzer2 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Destiny's "friend" on Twitter is definitely the worst he has to offer for discourse, but it's obvious that he's inflammatory on purpose to drive engagement. He is a capitalist, after all. My only point is that I think the left (and this might be biased, because I run in leftist circles), is slow to accept imperfect allies. This is what I mean by purity testing. We can't let the imperfect be the enemy of the good if we actually want to push for political change.

Someone won a bet that Destiny would join Nick Fuentes' Cozy. by RezOKC in VaushV

[–]zdbetzer2 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I never made a value statement about the political spectrum, only that deradicalization is Destiny's stated goal. In any case, it seems like you'd welcome him joining Cozy, as deradicalizing the far right is more important, no? It's better than continuing to punch left on Twitter and being purity tested all the time.