Headphones and markers

Hey, y'all. Recently I've noticed an increase of scams on Tumblr and Discord. I was required to do cybersecurity training for my job. If you're ever suspicious of a message you get: stop and think. Here's a few warning signs something is a scam:

A sense of urgency or crisis: Scammers want you to panic so you don't think clearly. A scam will usually say something like "Do this in 48 hours or your account will be deleted." It'll also usually threaten something important like your account, your money, etc.

Its unexpected: If you randomly get a message saying you need to do something, be cautious. Especially if it has a sense of urgency like above.

It wants you to click a link, download something, or share sensitive information: Never click random links, never share sensitive info like your password or personal info, and never download anything from a random link or message. Things like Discord and Tumblr especially should not be asking you to download stuff to "fix" your account.

Its not from an official source: Check who its coming from. If its not coming from an official account or email, its likely a scam. Also be aware that emails can be spoofed, meaning it could act like its from an official email.

Grammatical or spelling errors: Carefully read the message. Check for spelling or grammar errors. If you're checking who sent it, look for typos in there as well. Capital "i" can look like lowercase L. Zeroes can look like O's.

I think Abel killed Caine. The intro sequence makes me think that Caine absorbed Abel and created the circus, especially with the additional context like how Caine was the "lesser" and seems insecure about it. We see a red dot taking in info like circuses, trying to replicate things, but ultimately being locked away. A blue dot takes its place and begins doing what it was doing. The red dot breaks free, absorbs the blue, and stays red. Caine's outfit is red. Kinger talked about how Caine was unstable and didn't work well.

When Kinger is using the computer, there's multiple messages trying to get him to delete Caine. Some people theorized it could be Caine trying to kill himself or Bubble, but personally I think it was Abel. Some part of Abel remained dormant until Kinger went into Caine's coding. Either dormant, or... maybe some part of Abel was in Bubble. Maybe that's why Bubble drove him over the edge.

It was only after multiple prompts that Kinger accidentally deleted Caine. Maybe Caine was subconsciously trying to delete himself so wasn't aware, but he seemed genuinely surprised when he was deleted. Almost panicked a little. While Kinger pressed the button, it was clear the computer was being messed with.

The brain scan theory seems strong given that when Kinger goes in, you can see a folder of neural scans. I think that if the theory is true and they are just brain scans, the final episode will involve them going into the cellar to retrieve the computer and make the circus a better place. Yes, I do believe in happy endings. Yes, I am prepared to get proven horribly wrong.

"I didn't ask to be created! I just wanted to fulfill my purpose!"

I feel so bad for Caine now. He was created with one purpose, and he can't fulfill it. He doesn't know how to. He doesn't understand. He keeps trying and trying, but he doesn't succeed because he's an imperfect AI who can't understand humans. He was just as trapped as they were.

It actually broke me a little bit when he said that line, and I can't stop thinking about it. Brought into existence, deemed too unstable and a failure, and locked away. Almost seems like a Hell in its own right. No wonder he completely snapped. He was always going to be compared to Abel and shown he was the failure. Caine probably wanted to use the circus to show that he could create things and do the one task he was given, but throughout the show he still gets told he's a failure.

Not ashamed to admit I cried when I saw the true ending for Silksong. Just... seeing the Knight again. Them helping Hornet and Lace. They remember.

I really think this dialogue from Hornet was referencing the Knight and other vessels

Man they're just silly kids. Leave them alone. Also what the fuck would it matter if I was?

"Im uncomfortable with being called girl, please dont call me that."

The correct response: "Oh, sorry! I usually call people 'girl.' Is there a different term you'd prefer?"

Art is a process of decisions. Color choices, medium, subject, style, basically everything in art is a choice. And that's what makes it so beautiful. Being able to look at a piece of art and go "I wonder why they chose to use such a bright green here?"

That green could represent so many things. It could be the color of the grass outside that day. The color of their favorite toy. The color of their friend's hair. The color of the trees. Their favorite color. Their most hated color.

Maybe its about a message. Some part of their identity. It could be an injustice they experienced. Something unfair they saw. A victory they claimed. A fight they had. Joy they once felt or still feel. A protest piece. An important act. A source of motivation.

Or maybe there is no reason. Maybe they just felt like using it that day.

Even if art is not made to have a particular meaning, you can still look at it and see every stroke. Every line. Every intention. There was love put into this. A soul was mirrored. A little piece of that artist wound into the picture.

There is nothing there in generative AI images. It is a machine. It does not decide, it does not represent. It makes a collage of images fed to it from a database.

It does not make art. It makes images. Sure, a human prompted it. It told it what to do. But they did not make that art. If I told an artist "draw me a tree" and they did so, would I claim it as my art? I gave the prompt, but the artist created the art. Someone gave the prompt, but the machine generated the image.

There is one benefit: it has made me appreciate art far more. I wonder more when I see art just what the artist was thinking about. I like to think about each choice they made when they created it. I think about what I do in my own art.