#I don't want to say fuck ai because like. As an artist I can see the potential positive use of ai. But capitalism is fucking it up

[chewwytwee]

maybe if you find yourself liking AI art all the time and that makes you sad for some reason you just don' t have very good taste in art lol

[cometconmain]

I will still go after individuals using AI because fuck them they don't get a free pass just because corporations will do it worse. I can focus my fire on both. AI tech will require laws to regulate it regardless and yes of course corporations will make it serve their interests but that means we need to fight to make it done in a way that serves the people, like every other law they try to twist which we need to exist but not in the way they warp it into being. It's called capitalism and it needs to be fought on all fronts, including in our own mentalities.

this reply kills me 😭

[kbspangler]

This is the public statement from @alepresser and myself which went up at Webtoons tonight.

Now for some ranting. Just from me, not from Ale—she's innocent of the art crimes I've committed in the past, and boy howdy have I committed art crimes.

This is the first page of my first webcomic, A Girl and Her Fed. I started this thing back in 2006. (I don't actually need a head count of those reading this who weren't yet born in 2006. I'm sure you're delightful and I wish you well in college.)

And this is the last page I drew in early 2020 before I turned art duties over to Dr. Beer. It's better, right?

Well, these days, A Girl and Her Fed has pages like this:

I drew this comic for fourteen fucking years because it's a story I wanted to tell, and I thought webcomics were the perfect format for it. I didn't know how to draw. I got better through sheer obstinate perseverance and sticking to deadlines as best I could for, again, fourteen fucking years. I sought out a replacement artist when I ran into time constraints and couldn't do art plus writing anymore; I'm a much better writer than an artist, so I had no problems whatsoever kicking art to the curb.

The first time Ale sent me art that would go up on the website—art I hadn't needed to draw myself—I literally cried in relief because I had been grinding myself down for, yet again, fourteen fucking years.

So when I read comments from people who say they want to make a webcomic but can't draw themselves and therefore need to resort to AI, that little line between my eyes gets dangerously deep.

This isn't like I'm some old dude who's bitching over student loans getting cancelled after making regular payments. This is me, someone who threw raw art onto the internet like a monkey hurling fresh poo, because I wanted to make a webcomic and the art is part of the process of storytelling via webcomics! I could've (arguably should've) hired an artist right out of the gate, and that would've been part of the process of making comics, too: a partnership between an artist and a writer is also something which grows and develops over time.

For example, after Dr. Beer and I spent two years working on AGAHF, we decided we enjoyed our partnership so much that we set out to make another webcomic! It's great! It's got wonderful art and consistent storytelling! You should read it!

But turning art duties over to unaltered images generated by AI because you want to make a webcomic but "just can't draw" is, frankly, a bullshit excuse. I'm not talking about persons who are physically unable to draw due to disability—I'm talking about people who say they want to make webcomics but simply don't wanna do the art part.

Friends, if you don't want to show your entire ass in front of God and country, you don't actually want to make a webcomic.

Do the thing yourself.

If you're scared, don't be. Take the plunge. Set a goal of twenty strips and do the thing yourself. If you can already draw but can't write? Great! Write twenty strips, write forty panels, etc. You might surprise yourself. If you can write but can't draw? Great! Draw twenty panels and see what happens.

Whatever comes out of it, it's a thing you've done yourself. It's something new you've given to the world, no matter how big or small. Be proud of that. And if you need to partner with someone else to make your comic dreams work? You can do that, too! It's still a thing you've done yourself, and many projects are stronger when done together.

...but maaaaaaaaaybe hire that partner before you've busted your own ass for fourteen fucking years. That one's on me.

[plasmalink]

I just... Really hate all the techbros who are saying shit like "hey artists you better watch your days, we'll automate creativity and then its over for you guys!", not just for the obvious reason of how fucked up that world view is, but because it's heavily souring my genuine childlike wonder at how cool this technology is.

Like, take a step back, forget all the discourse we've been forced to have, and just think. We can tell a robot "gender reveal 9/11" and it can make an image of blue and pink exploding towers. That on its own is fucking insane?

And the actual like, algorithms and math that went into it too! We make robots that teach robots to teach themselves how to do stuff. Then just stick that shit in the microwave for a while and boom. Or just tell it "Here's the sum of all knowledge on earth, figure it out".

And I especially love those early AI generated images where any time you try and focus on something it falls apart, but it almost makes sense when you see if from the corner of your eye. That type of image, I don't know how to describe it fully, but it makes me think of when I'm trying to remember a dream as it's fading away in my head.

And these FUCKING chucklefucks decide "hey, let's use this cool as fuck technology in the worst possible way. let's get rid of those pesky people making a living doing what they love and get those shmucks back in an office building so they can get a real job. i'm going to be an asshole about it online and also pay $8 a month so maybe elon musk will notice me"

I'm so fucking tired, man. I want to be excited about new technology and shit but I just can't at this stage.

[lastoneout]

Ngl the concept of natural talent has done so much harm to our relationship to art and I hate it. No one is naturally talented at anything, get that idea out of your head. Artists are not like, special or gifted or blessed or whatever, we're just people who like art enough to keep making it, and thus there is nothing stopping you or anyone else from making art. You were not born without the artist gene and thus doomed to never find joy in drawing or singing or acting or sculpting, you're a person and people have ALWAYS made art.

It just like, it fucking kills me so much every single time I hear someone say that they would love to draw but they're just "naturally bad" at it and so they can't, especially when they then contrast themselves against me and imply I have some natural talent that means I can be an artist because no!! I don't!! The only reason I'm "good" at drawing is bcs I never stopped. I picked up a crayon as a baby and I never put it down and so I have like 27 years of experience drawing, that's why I'm "good" at it. So please trust me when I say anyone can draw. And cook. And paint and sing and act and dance. You were not born lacking, you're just new to it! You just have to keep going, you'll get better!

I just...it's so fucking heartbreaking to constantly hear the people around me essentually claim that they were born incomplete and thus they can never have fun drawing or singing or just making art. That's a horrible thing to believe, and I know our society does nothing but reinforce it by punishing us for not being perfect and making a mockery of amatures and pushing the talent myth, but trust me, you were not born wrong. There is no "make art gene" that you're missing. As cheesy as it sounds, you actually can learn to do almost anything if you put your mind to it. It might not be easy, but you are not broken. You're just learning.

I've posted this before but I'll post it again bcs he's right:

Making art is human. You can make art. Hell, you can make bad art! You don't have to improve! Art isn't about good or bad, it's about partaking in a human activity because it makes us happy. I really think society would be a better place if everyone was allowed to make as much art as they want, good or bad, bcs this weird dual reverence for talent and disregard for the actual work that goes into art just serves to bolster the capitalist, AI ridden hellscape that we live in today.

Anyway, if you are one of those people who is holding back from trying some kind of art bcs you're not talented, do me the favor of trying again. I want to see all of the beautiful, earnest, imperfect art my fellow humans make. We need that now, honestly. So please, don't give up. Make art. And if you can't, well, at least try to support the people around you who do, even if they aren't churning out masterpieces. Trust me, it's good for you. It's good for all of us.

[aboringredmop]

k still don't know how im gonna post the videos (YouTube? unlisted?someone please help) but I can't sleep so I thought it'd write down whatever I remember happening!

(edit: here's the full recording! )

Becky and Joe walked on stage wearing sunglasses and red leather jackets and threw 3 of the trio plushies into the crowd. didn't get one unfortunately but it's really cool some people got free plushies :)

they made this robot child called the Inspiration Child, who's clearly meant to be a nod to ai (can learn from our show and generate it's own content!)

they explained how they met (and had some dodgy animated retelling), and how they started with small projects like commercials and music videos, until they came up with designs of the trio (and a mysterious fourth fella)

they made the designs first, then made the set, then the song and finally wrote the script for creativity. red guy was just a red mop head with legs at first ("alien squid thing") but Joe put the red guy head on for shits and giggles once and Becky thought it was hilarious so they kept it in the show

they were really not expecting it to blow up, and when Sundance called because they wanted to show creativity Becky thought it was a scam caller lol

they talked about the kickstarter and the credit card fraud kid. the mailed him saying "hey maybe dont do that" but the kid didnt know how to undo it cuz he just found a website full of credit card information and went ham, so Becky and Joe had to contact kickstarter because people were pulling out of the funding because they thought the project was overfunded (kickstarter was very difficult to contact)

they also made (lighthearted) fun of nsfw fluffybird art ((no padlock 😔) "using OUR characters to act out their SICK FANTASIES" - Becky) and theorists, especially because most if not all of the webseries is just them fucking around.

Inspiration Child also says something along the lines of "wow what a cool show with a great message of how corrupt the media is. I hate the media!"

Becky and Joe had these rules to make the show as vague as possible (no pop culture references, no names, no swearing and way too much detail put into small things)(the duck guy drag queen absolutely obliterates the no swearing rule lol)

they talk about the pilot, how they focused too much on the story because they felt like they had to due to it being on the big screen now, and how it ended up ruining the atmosphere and such of the pilot. they did show the entire thing sped up but my phone sucks ass so I could not get it to focus correctly. I'll see what I can salvage so you people can dissect frames of your blorbo you're Legally Not Allowed To See (which is also the official reason we don't get the pilot)

also pilot concept art showed that Mean Steve is in fact just called Key

they showed a whole post-it wall full of ideas for the tv show. don't know how much I got on footage, but what stood out most to me were 2 episodes called Money and Christmas. Joe mentioned "clock in a wheelchair" specifically

also really fun fact. Becky made the Lesley suit during covid, and pretty much threatened Baker into writing a human character into the show to wear it. concept art also shows Lesley with a mask made out of the same fabric, don't know if this was part of the original suit tho

they showed Warrens old models (?). he was gonna be a wayy more ugly looking silicone pug-worm thing y'all got lucky with the bald fuck

lily and todney were directly based off of some cancelled show about two porcelain doll children with panda parents. do not for the life of me remember what it was called but Becky and Joe were very enthousiastic about it (UPDATE: Candy and Andy!)

international release of the show soon!

Inspiration Child talks about what he's learned and sings a little song, then generates his own dhmis inspired content of a cult meeting in a forest at night. the dhmis Discord server called this "potential new content" but I doubt it

3 cultists walk on stage, face the screen backs to the crowd, drop their cloaks and boom! drag queens!!!

they were not mentioned on the site or during earlier parts of the show at all so they were a complete surprise. I asked Becky about it later during the night and she said she really wanted them there, so she asked and they were excited to! hope this means more official content with them soon I love them

they dance to There's Three Of Us, then Duck lipsings the shredder song which turns into a techno remix while Red and Yellow dance during the background

then Duck and Yellow make out while Red tries to undress to the instrumentals of the Fucked Up Part of Creativity but can't get out of his suit on time before the song ends

the drag queens, Becky and Joe and the Inspiration Child walk around during the meet and greet later and I got signatures from all of them! except inspiration child he didn't have thumbs

the drag queens were so fucking funny. Duck adopted inspiration child and loudly yelled at everyone to "GET AWAY FROM MY FUCKING CHILD" (their duck voice is sooo good). yellow stood in a corner staring at a wall for like 10 minutes and red was constantly awkwardly hovering just outside the frames of pictures (and also could not see shit lmao)

Becky liked my shirt! (the one with the melting trio heads) said she handdrew it

I'll post the signatures and some more stuff tomorrow because it is. 5 am

edit Heres the signatures! yellow guys is Italian I think? and means hi I love you :)

(the liyskaen is duck trying to spell my name. they got pretty close)

[beesmygod]

I have been watching people on other social media (like Twitter, Bluesky, etc) talk about moving to Cara from Instagram due to IG/Meta's AI ruling, and I am seeing way, way too many people saying "Oh I don't want to be on an art site made by and for artists, my AUDIENCE isn't there, and my AUDIENCE is who PAYS me." Am I crazy? Is it not crazy to maintain a presence on platforms that despise you, platforms that are literally manned by bigots and assholes who will happily sell you out, just so you can make another penny? It seems spineless and greedy, which feels harsh because I think it's so hard to make it as an artist, but... honestly, so many artists are just capitalist pigs with paintbrushes. And it makes it hard to associate with them.

its not!!!! im with you!! and its so deeply disrespectful of these people to just assume their audience is too fucking stupid to figure out how to support them without relying on twitter or whatever. how are audiences not disgusted and put off by this stuff? its really pathetic! i can't wrap my head around it and felt embarrassed being associated with it even by proxy. that isnt me and i reject that shit.

[jennilah]

2024 roundup!

Honestly, I don't know how to start this one. Before looking into my diary for specifics, I know this year was one of the most emotionally difficult years for me in recent memory. And yet, I still just want to take this moment to look back and reflect

cw depression symptoms, eating issues, medical talk, death talk

I started off this year getting more tattoos, and that was fun. I still love them, just taking a small break until I get my next one

I also got to check out Igloofest, which was so enjoyable that I plan on going at least one or two days again this year. A few years ago I started going to these music festivals, and something about them just really hits me. Something about being able to wander around and hang out somewhere quieter or less crowded or grab some food at any point makes it a very "relaxing" party atmosphere.

Then my first temporary layoff occurred pretty early in the year, because the industry still, to this day, is still being affected by the hollywood strikes last year. People are still struggling to find stable jobs because of it, on top of things like AI starting to replace artists in front of my very eyes. it was pretty difficult for me, as everyone else, as you could imagine.

Also at around the same time, my parents lost a good friend of theirs suddenly from undiagnosed cancer. While I didn't know him very well personally, that was immediately also just... awful. Just tragic. And in the background, a few other people I care about were also struggling with cancer themselves.

I spent a lot of my "break" in the worst depressive period I think Ive ever gone through in my life. Not diagnosed, just when thinking about how hard it was to do anything other than sleep all day. I lost so much weight from being unable to eat without getting sick, if I had any appetite. things were very bad.

The fandom and all of my other friends also helped a lot. I had a massive output of fanart this year, with most of it being drawn during the first layoff. People being so kind and supportive and joining in the Coffinshipping fun with me helped keep me sane, and gave me something to look forward to every day.

Once the weather finally started getting warmer up here, around March, I also started taking myself out on little daily walks around my neighborhood, and checked out local museums. That also helped stave away the extreme depressive thoughts.

I did manage to do something I've always wanted to do, and that was fly to Manitoba to hang out with my online friend of 10 years, Jen of riseofthefallenone fame. Finally getting to hug her irl and watch movies and go to museums for about a week was definitely one of the highlights of this year. And while it didn't cure my slump, she can attest that I was still struggling heavily with food and stuff, it really helped a lot.

Late spring, my mental health started stabilizing enough that I was able to start doing things I really love again, like go to the movies and draw even more and write fics, and most importantly- eat like normal.

I was able to see the total Solar Eclipse with friends. Anyone else who was able to witness it probably understands when I say that was another highlight of my year. It was just breathtaking, and a little bucketlist win that I really needed while I was still unsure if I was going to have a job to return to at all.

By June, I was still just being wracked with stress waiting for my job to call me back as I watched my emergency rent funds fizzle away. I spent a lot of quiet time outside enjoying the nice weather, just trying to keep my mind off of things.

I drew more. Wrote more fics. Got more tattoos.

Then, my job DID call me back. and I was so happy!

kind of!

because the MOMENT my job called me back, I had to take a sick day to get an abscess removed from my leg. yeah, I know. gross. but holy fuck, that shit hurt like a motherfucker. I felt like everything was finally turning around, and then I was in immense physical pain every day before and after recovery.

also, the medication was killing me.

the 10 days I was on antibiotics was torture. after spending most of the year so far struggling to eat, the side effect of my medication was really bad nausea, so that set me back again

and changing the bandage alone every day hurt so fucking much until that shit finally healed up after a month

Then the political debates started. and that started affecting me subtly in the background.

Also every global thing, pretty much.

Then my grandfather's cancer was starting to get worse.

Meanwhile, finally back at work, I was working on something that was so stressful that the extent of how stressed out I was is only really hitting me now in hindsight

One fun thing: I was able to make that Strahm cosplay that I really wanted to, and I had a lot of fun at Montreal comic con! I am going to describe that as a brief reprieve from everything else that was going on.

Shortly after, with a fuck ton of surrounding dramas that I don't care to describe in detail because it's too personal, my grandfather passed away.

He's the first person I've lost in my family that really affected me like this. It's been difficult.

I continued working. Summer came and went. I attended Piknic Electronik and Ilesoniq, which were fun. Everything else from that time just feels like a weird blur. I was really feeling so overwhelmed by everything by that point, a lot of days were just spent crying and trying to feel normal. like someone else was living this year, not me.

I leaned on my friends a lot this year. They really helped me feel sane, kept my mind off of everything terrible, and generally just made me feel happy when I wasn't.

I'm reading through my diary to recall events this year, and nearly every entry by this point had a breakdown. I wasn't doing well. Work was stressing me out, the world was stressing me out, the internet was stressing me out, loneliness was stressing me out, it was overwhelming.

I finally managed to find a therapist. Even just knowing therapy was on the horizon and I was finally going to get some help was tremendous for me finding some optimism again

Therapy also came at the perfect time, because I was at the "crying every day" point of depressive/anxiety symptoms again and my second temp layoff of the year was approaching on the horizon, and I really didn't want it to be as bad as last time.

Also come Fall, I discovered hockey. I finally went to my first game after living in Canada for 7 years, and as you may have noticed, I got hooked. I've been going to games and watching them on tv/online and I've been having a genuinely great time with it!

Things still felt tense though. The election was coming up. We were all feeling it.

Therapy was needed.

The election. You know what happened. I was called back into work the next day after the results came in. Same day, I was told I'd have to learn french in order to continue living in quebec soon. I have a learning disorder, language was always difficult for me, and this was suddenly dropped onto my lap with no warning. I had to be a functioning worker after that.

Then, my parents' neighborhood lit on fire.

Yes I'm serious. Not even a full week after all that, a record breaking forest fire raged for 2 weeks in my home town and my parents had to evacuate. There was a fear for a while that they were going to lose everything. Their brand new house that they only just moved into last year.

Between all of those things all at once, you could kiss my appetite and ability to keep food down goodbye again.

But thanks to the help of what might have been hundreds of firefighters from both in and outside of town and state, every single home was saved.

Ever since, things have smoothed out a bit. Work stabilized. I have been given news that our studio should have enough work to keep everyone employed well into next year. Finally, there's a light at the end of the Hollywood strike tunnel. We're not completely free of industry stress... there's still AI and quebec tax credit drama thats threatening to ruin my life and everything I've worked for... but I'm TRYING to not catastrophize things before they happen. (And I'm begging people... please be more forgiving to sequels and remakes that make you seeth and froth with rage. They're giving human artists much needed jobs. Please.. stand behind us right now.)

A lovely string of movies came out that I was able to enjoy!

Red One, Sonic 3, and Long Distance (well, not available in the US yet) all came out in quick succession, and I was able to see those with loved ones!

When movies I work on come out, it feels like my gallery exhibit opening after months or even years of anticipation. Finally! I get to show everyone my art! Sonic 3 especially was super special. I got to see that not only with excited, cheering adult fans, but I also got to see it with my parents and happy, giggling children. Both experiences were special for different reasons.

This was probably one of the hardest christmases I've ever spent home. With Grandpa gone, it was the first christmas where it felt like something crucial was missing.

With cancer increasingly present in even more elderly family members, I'm anticipating another extremely difficult year ahead of me. Knowing christmas is only going to get more emotional and unrecognizable for the rest of my life has been very, very hard for me to compartmentalize

I'm going to continue leaning on my friends and family. I'm definitely going to be leaning on my therapist more.

I don't really have much in terms of a resolution this year. I just want to feel like myself and not someone desperately trying to feel like myself

[doubleddenden]

The topic of Palworld is pretty charged, but often times I see people be shamed for liking it because the CEO tweeted stuff about NFTs and the company using AI art in a separate game. Acting as if that's the most damning thing ever for a gaming company in an industry filled with similar people.

Make no mistake, I dislike both AI art and nfts, but do you realize how many gaming companies have involvement with that?

To begin with, Pokémon used AI art in a promotional piece for Pokémon Go in September, and nobody gave a shit because uwu Pikachu. The Pokémon Company also put a job listing some months back seeking an expert in NFTs. That's not quite damning evidence, but if I were a betting man, no "NFT expert" will willingly say "yeah nfts suck are bad for the environment, man, I'll take my paycheck and fuck off now." There's also a strong argument to be made that Pokémon has stolen ideas from fakemon artists (Finizen and Palafin, Scovillain, Dipplin, etc) and other franchises (kaiju movies, Dragon Quest, Megaman, final fantasy, western cartoons and food mascots, etc), a dubious legal statement that claims they own all fan art from the remixes and fakemon made on youtube to the pikachu your kid drew at breakfast; they have yet to apologize for the state of Scarlet and Violet while charging full price to millions of paying customers for a clearly unfinished and barely functioning game (which i did enjoy, but you can't tell me it was finished baking when it struggles not to shit itself just to run), and a bunch of other things people shit on Palworld for, but A. It's Pokémon so people don't care and think it's fine, and B. That's not the point of this post.

You know who else does NFTs and AI art? (Yes I heard Muscle Man from Regular Show in my head just now, too, moving along)

Square Enix sold several of their IPs for NFTs and claims to have used AI art "a minimum amount" in Foam Stars, yet I see nobody yelling for boycotts of Final Fantasy 14, 16, Kingdom Hearts, Dragon Quest, Life is Strange, etc etc etc.

Sony has invested in both, they want to implement AI into gaming, and has a patent for nfts to be used in games and consoles, yet there's no movement to throw out your playstations.

Bandai Namco- you know, that company with a hand in pretty much most anime games on the market and popular games such as the Dark Souls games? They have a game called RYU that's essentially a virtual pet game that uses the blockchain, and its AI driven, among other projects. Yet there's no outcry to stop playing the many, MANY games they brand with. This also includes quite a few Nintendo games (btw they just partnered together to form a special studio quite recently) like Smash Wii U/3ds and New Pokémon Snap. Nobody gives a shit though.

Android, Microsoft, Google, Apple- I don't even need to explain those, they have whole teams dedicated to both. Even popular VPN companies accept crypto.

I'm just saying an awful lot of you guys that scream and shit bloody murder about Palworld's company being involved with that shit are either the biggest "It's okay when my favs do it" type of hypocrites, or you're sorely ignorant to just how evil and greedy most corporations are. You'll be hard pressed to find a game company with popular AND fun games that DOESN'T have some interest in either, let alone movie and show studios. That's the awful reality we live in.

You have 2 options

1. You basically stop doing anything involving most modern tech, including throwing out your pc and smart phone. You could probably live a comfortable life with tech circa 2010, but you have to be aware that any thing you buy may go towards a cause you don't like.

2. You accept that people can enjoy a product while not necessarily agreeing with the CEO of said product. Most CEOs tend to be jackasses anyway, that's kind of the shared trait they all have. You can also discourage companies from using them while understanding it is everywhere.

Palworld at the end of the day is just a toy, that's it. From the looks of it, it's not even actually hurting anyone, and it seems like the company at least treats their employees pretty decently- at least according to a few things I've seen here and there that seems rather progressive for a Japanese studio (with room for doubt obviously, it's a company after all and as we've established, they're all evil). At the least its not like when people supported Hogwarts Legacy and directly put money into JKR's wallet so she can openly hurt more Trans women. In fact, the only people seemingly hurt in all of this Palworld drama are obsessed Pokémon stans that can't accept a parody, or the Pokémon Company themselves, who rightly deserve some punching up tbh.

You can just say you dislike the game, that's fine, I totally get that. Even though I personally think The Pokémon Company deserves a few nut shots after the way they've treated fans these last few years with the state of their games (and you know, stealing ideas from fans without credit), I can see why someone would be turned away from a parody that's literally meant to be Pokémon with guns. I can totally understand all of that, personally I'd prefer if the game was MORE like Pokémon with turn based combat.

But if you're going to defend Pokémon because you think its perfectly innocent because of Wooloo or something like that, just be sure you're aware you're defending the World's Richest Franchise and their own attempts at AI and NFTs while calling out an indie company (a real one thats learning as they go, not the fake "We're totally indie" franchise that hasn't been indie since gen 3) for having a ceo that also seems interested in the same stuff. And remember, you don't become number 1 without hurting people somehow (we could dig up receipts about certain partners Pokémon has teamed up with, such as Tencent with Unite, but I'd rather not right now.)

Just saying. I don't think you're an irredeemable person for still liking Pikachu, cuz I do too believe it or not. I've been a life long fan and still have fun with the games despite the clear scummy business practices towards their paying customers. Just maybe extend that courtesy to the millions of players just trying to have fun in this awful, putrid, shithole planet that just keeps getting worse and worse with each passing day.

Plus... you know, think about it. Do you think Pokémon would ever get around to making a gunless Palworld? Probably not. Do you think Palworld would exist if The Pokémon Company and Nintendo were the slightest bit chill about Pokémon fan projects like SEGA is with Sonic? Also probably not. From what I've read, the devs just wanted to make a fun game that happens to mostly be ARK with Pokémon adjacent monsters. That's not really a bad thing, all things considered, and it seems like the worst they've done is reference official Pokémon when making their own models.

Palworld being successful is actually beneficial to Pokémon fans, as well. It'll never really truly compete, but it has outsold Legends Arceus in terms of units sold (not as much financially because Palworld was only $30 plus a sale recently, but still impressive), and it is enough that Game Freak is aware of its existence. Let Palworld light a fire under their ass, and maybe GF will actually finish their next game before releasing it for full price (and no, we're not bringing up the tired imaginary ball and chain game devs, game freak owns 1/3rd lf the franchise and can easily take methods to get more dev time, they just haven't because money). Just saying, at least the Paldevs were honest enough to sell it in early access for half the price.

[amrass]

Fandom rant

I don't do one of these too often! But I needed to let off some steam. Things get a bit dark in here, so be warned, though it ends positively? I think? Lol, if you want to see someone work through anger through messy and abstract writing, this can be an example.

Sometimes I get so disillusioned by fandom I wonder why I'm sharing my stories as a hobby. I enjoy writing, but staying in fandom ...

It's the way the insecurity of our time has leaked into people, making it into a competitive space rather than a community, with people screaming over each other with moral posturing, while please like me, please praise me, please look at me hum in the background for anyone with sharpened ears. It's so grating. It exists in me as well, and I want it the fuck out, because it's so destructive for creativity and kindness. There's this distinct feeling of worthlessness that sucks everyone else in it like some sort of demonic soul drain. Lol

I think it's time for me not to stop writing fanfiction, but to stop sharing it, little by little. Make sure it isn't sudden like a knife coming down, but a deliberate and slow withdrawal from fandom. Really slow. I'll finish up a few projects, warn readers - not vengefully but honestly, say kindly farewell and thank readers for the interest, then leave. It's also to make it easier for myself because I'm going to miss the positive experiences a lot. I've met some cool people, with who I hope contact remains. I've gotten so much nice feedback on my fics, I'm incredibly lucky, but even in some comments (the ones that praise my work by putting other fans down) our dark times exist.

This isn't a reaction to any individual problem or person, it's just frustration that the one place I thought freaks could come and gather at (fandom), is so full of the shit from outside, even people who think they're doing good are so full of it. Insecurity (which is just the same as false confidence, which there's also a lot of) is so rampant right now, and seeing as it's a root of so much evil, it's extra tiring seeing this kind of evil in supposed allies.

At least it does put a finger on the points where the left has failed, allowing for the rise of the fascism. One can't escape the language of our time, unless one seeks out material from other times, which few will ever do. Not because of stupidity, but because they don't have time. Plus, with the added threat by AI, which I don't think anyone's going to stop using anytime soon, I feel even more disillusioned. Even if I know my writing skills are decent, artistic skills are likely to grow truly worthless, because the recipients will not have the attention span nor the interest in seeking out challenges. The flattening of culture happens here, too. There's no escape from it.

It's weird doing these kinds of rants, because usually there is an emotional outburst, and then one goes back to doing exactly what one was doing before lol. I am ranting, but I am also trying to cement my decision: to leave, slowly, without anger or bitterness. This is me letting out some of the anger and the bitterness, I suppose.

Some of it is existential, too: due to both personal matters and the rising tensions/prices/hate in the world, I don't think I'll live that long. Again, this is not a threat at all, but just ... ah, it's too personal, I'm sorry, but please don't worry: an early death is just something I have to take into consideration more so than some. It underlines how I need to ask myself if sharing fanfics takes more than it gives. I think I'd rather be actively creating with friends.

I'm reading over this now and realizing that this is honestly a pretty alright metaphor for climate change lol!!! Like, I thought I found a space "away from it all", some sort of oasis, but even in the middle of the desert climate change will prevail. It was silly of me to think of fandom as a space untouched by the outside world, but when I was 12-16 and hung out discussing Teen Titans & Hetalia fanfics and fanart with online friends, it truly felt like that because my home life was so ... different, to say the least. I guess I was chasing that feeling, no doubt warped by nostalgia, and am sad I can't find it again.

Hm. Maybe I should delete this, maybe not. Thanks for reading.

I might need to get out of here little by little. I guess people leave all the time without big fancy blocks of texts like mine, but ah, if some of it resonates, it can be worth it. 🖤

[letitrainasunnyday]

Sorry to bother you, but i really wanted to know your analysis to this unique 'partner' relationship that most coai fans like to enforce on conan with Ai, i think they got it from the 'great' recent movies smh, but if so, then do you see that furious conan reaction in m26 was in character of him? Would love it if you answered that, cuz as an old SR shipper, that ooc or new movies 'conan' has really bothered me since then🙏

Hello!!

Sorry I've been horrible at answering asks, but keeping up to date with Conan has become an increasingly harder task to handle along with work and life, so yeah. I'm going to try and answer more of these cause I've got a bunch piling up in my box.

Anyway, on to your question. Fair warning, I'm not going to be too positive about any of this. There's a larger conversation to be had about the CoAi relationship that now goes beyond the typical shipping wars in the fandom--these have been going on since the early internet days and I have grown and matured since then and have learned to stay the fuck away from them. To this typical aspect of any and all fandoms we must now add one key factor: the fact that the general marketing and movie animating team have decided to keep things spiced up because canon ShinRan is fucking up the people's need for CoAi. Meaning, since ShinRan is now canon, there is no real place for shipping wars to take place, but they gotta make their money. So how do we solve that? We put more CoAi in the movies under the pretext that Aoyama has always said Haibara is a "partner" to Conan case-wise and intelligence-wise. And to that we must add that, for some reason, everyone except Aoyama has forgotten how to write Conan --I've found him to be very out of character lately in the movies, so I agree with what you're saying-- and Ran --all they give her now are anecdotal scenes thinking about Shinichi, or kicking someone's ass just because she's strong, or randomly spitting out exposition because she's interested in history. I'm especially pissed about Ran, because they've reduced all of her strong heroine traits to basics that are used to further the story or scenes that seem to be almost an obligation. And thus people have started to dislike Ran more and are starting to really cheer for Haibara, who has a more prominent and decisive role.

It sickens me not necessarily because I dislike Haibara (I do, but not because she's a possible love interest to Conan), but because of the disservice this does to Ran. They've relegated her to a tertiary character simply because it's in their economic and marketing interests, and, in turn, they're deconstructing her as a character to the point where I don't even recognize my girl anymore. I wish Aoyama could really set the record straight and limit what the movie staff can and cannot do, because he's always talking about supervising the movie scripts but it feels more like he's just going there to say: ah yes, this looks great, Conan would say "hello" instead of "hi" but the rest is great. All the while they're destroying one of his most important and beloved (even by himself) characters. Same can be said about Kogoro, by the way, who now appears so little in both manga and movies (and anime) that I almost forget he's an essential piece of the story.

And all of this is just another painful symptom of how the manga's quality keeps falling and falling to the point where it feels like there's no real reason to keep going both as an artist and as a fan.

[fuka-petals]

♡ Introduction post ♡

@fuka-petalsart <- just art

my persona

@t4t-angelyuri <- gore/nsfw, currently empty cause I'm lazy af

info on me

hihi am V but like you can also call me Kennith, Flower, etc.

Minor (over 14, clarification bc yk what passed) (I'm fine with adults interacting & being my friends! just don't seek out a romantic/sexual relationship with me lol)

I use vamp/they/he/it/voca/soap/flower pronouns {in order of preference}

I'm diagnosed autistic, seeking a diagnosis for bpd, ocd, npd, and adhd (not self diagnosed just see symptoms in both me and relatives and would like a concrete answer, I have had medical professionals advise me to seek evaluation but im lazy) also some other things I'd rather not disclose (diagnosed)

I'm an angelkin enby that uses xenogenders and am a lesbian

not always in the "right state of mind" if I say smth stupid please let me know l8tr so I can delete it

I have an ed off and on its not weight related but please don't make comments about if ppl deserve food or not around me it's extremely triggering (self worth issues ig) I do not post ed related content and I do not wish to see it. I am not pro ana

Selfshipper ^_^ single outside of f/os though. Not rlly looking 4 a relationship my ex scared me away from that stuff. Okay with sharing but please note I do take it seriously

I self ship with fukase (vocaloid), vflower (vocaloid), friedrich (mi), vixen (mi), cornelius (mi), and c'venash vishneri (psychopomp). Sorry I'm rlly cringe (draw my sona with any of them and I'll forever be grateful)

I kin betty noir (mi), ame (nso), sumireko (2hu), aoi (you and me and her), yukari (Liar Liar one), and claire (walk in the sun) so dni if you don't like them/hj

Currently hyperfixated on Vocaloid (Specifically V4Flower and Fukase), Mellow's games and ocs (MUNDUS IUMENTORUM!!), Touhou (Specifically Sumireko), Len'en, Nso, subahibi, Yume Nikki, any ynfg, Mindhaunt, you me and her, milk bag vns, pmmm, Reflexia, and Psychopomp, murdersims/guro vns in general, Awaria (not a helltaker fan), Ukagaka

all interests (I think) in no particular order - Vocaloid, Flower, Fukase, Utau, Mellow's stuff, Angelbrained's stuff, Mindhaunt, Yume Nikki + ynfgs, YTTD, NSO, ghostie-p & marz mitzi, touhou, Ukagaka, subahibi, YOU ME and HER, len'en, splatoon, rpg maker horror games, psychedelic looking art, milk inside/outside a bag of milk, rabbit maiden softworks, Liar Liar, precious theater, 8eyes, ranfren, a masochist's tango, madoka magica, precure, ojamajo doremi, reflexia, Saya no uta, mudersims/guro vns in general, corpse party, Awaria (not a helltaker fan), I'm not writing all the vns I like srry if I frogot any I don wanna type 4 hours

I fucking hate blueberries

Tags

#vs art - self explanatory

#cw [smth here] - potentially triggering posts

Dni

Olikase fans. (please respect this if nothing else)

Proshippers (don't want dash algorithm picking up things that are triggering to me)

Pro harassment antis

radfems

transphobes

homophobes

acephobes

queerphobia in any way shape or form

racists

sexists (both ways)

fatphobes

yk the basic dni shit srry I'm not typing allat anymore

prolifers

support killing innocent people

ai "artists"

annoying eng vocaloid fans (yk what I fucking mean)

Puritans. You will be blocked. It's based in queerphobia and demonizes sexuality. If you don't want to see nsfw then block tags, don't force others to not be kinky because you're an ass (note, I mean people who call it gross n stuff, if you are a minor or ace or smth and don't want nsfw accs following you bc of that that's fine! Also this isn't an nsfw acc either, I have a pixiv 4 that, just rlly passionate abt my hate 4 puritans...)

Ed/sh posters. Refer to previous points. I do not wish to relapse over fucking tumblr

furry haters (grow up its 2024)

Tcc fans. You wouldnt survive a day on 4chan and kiwifarms (I don't like kiwifarms btw and certain 4chan boards)

use the term femboy on women (on non women is fine w/ permission)

Blacklist

Do not bring up @/ Denzi-P to me or talk about me to them. They are not a good person and I do not wish to be associated with them.

Try and keep that the only name on this list

Links

itch

toyhouse

everskies

artfight

strawpage (will be replaced with a neocities site soon)

[lastoneout]

Hey so why the fuck is NaNoWriMo's AI policy page talking like the challenge is about writing a book that you then go on to publish and not a challenge where writers throw caution and their sanity to the wind in the interest of getting a first draft out within 30 days?? Do people usually edit their NaNoWriMo novels while writing them? Do they send them off to friends or paid editors while writing for feedback and grammar/spelling checks? Do they immediately take what they wrote and start pitching it to publishing houses as soon as the clock hits midnight on December 1st??

I've never completed NaNoWriMo but I was always under the assumption that this is a fun challenge mostly for amature/indie writers that's about just finishing a draft of your story at all, it's not about trying to get a book completely finished and published within 30 days?? I mean just WRITING a first draft in that time is impressive, but pulling off also getting it all the way to store shelves in a month?? That's not just absurd it's fucking impossible. No one is doing that.

Like under classism they are saying not everyone can afford an editor...but who the fuck is sending any part of their novel off to an editor or reviewers mid write?? And for ableism, arguing that not everyone can "see" the issues in their writing...it's not about that?? Like Shannon Hale said, your first draft is shoveling sand into a bucket so later you can build castles, if you're worried about fixing errors mid-write you're never going to finish anything. Plus NaNo has never had requirements that your story be polished or edited or whatever, it's just about word count. And focusing on the indie writer scene and publishers??? Again, that's not the goal of this challenge???? You're just supposed to finish your first draft, everything else comes after. Even writers who do plan on trying to get their novels published are probably not sending their FIRST DRAFT that they wrote while sleep deprived over the course of 30 days to editors and agents?? Arguing that some people need AI to make a publishable, edited, polished novel is missing that the point of NaNoWriMo was never about writing something perfect the first try, it's about shoveling sand into buckets so LATER you can build castles. Or idk just shoveling sand into a bucket for the fun of it.

Like am I insane?? None of these arguments hold up for loads of reasons but specifically because if you are doing NaNoWriMo you do not need an editor or reviewers because your first draft is just supposed to exist, adding on the burden of taking that novel from first draft to polished and publishable while also just trying to finish it at all in 30 days is a fever dream, not an achievable aspiration. You don't have time to do that AND write. Hell, most writers in general will tell you to never edit as you go!! Where is this assumption that anyone is doing this to make money coming from?????

(And like, if you do want to go on to look for feedback/editing and try to publish your story and you feel like you need AI for that, you're wrong, but you can do that AFTER the event, that isn't something you need to do while it's happening. While it's happening all you need to do is write. The few times I tried NaNoWriMo I didn't even fix spelling errors as I wrote, I just wrote because all that mattered was the word count. I could worry about the rest later.)

I mean, I know that apparently the team got gutted and replaced which is probably why this shift happened, it's well documented that AI fanatics cannot conceptualize someone making art simply for the joy of creating rather than producing something they can sell for money, they legit see the process as secondary to the goal of getting rich which makes them incompatible with almost all artistic communities, because artists do what they do for the love of the process, not just to have a sellable final piece, but like christ alive I have never seen such a disconnect between what the people running a community think everyone is there for and the wants and needs of the actual people in that community.

Writers don't want AI to write our stories!! Take it from someone who grew up dirt poor and is disabled in a way that makes writing extremely difficult(dyslexia, adhd, hEDS, chronic migraines, fibromyalgia, ect.) I do not want AI to write any story for me. I want to write it. Beating a dead horse here but you are not defending poor or disabled people, you're using us as a meat shield so you can pretend your plagiarism and pollution machine is totally the future~ and take it from me, we're FUCKING sick of it.

From what I remember NaNoWriMo was never about making money for the people who took part, it was about sharing the joy of writing with other writers while tackling a huge challenge. This shift is bullshit for a lot of reasons but it's absolutely bullshit for misunderstanding what the hell drew people to the challenge in the first place.

[monstersinthecosmos]

What do u think Marius would think of AI art?

gosh. you know like. I've had in depth conversations about whether or not Marius gives a fuck about his carbon footprint and it's so hard to decide?

Like, it's undeniable to say that an ancient person would find the concept fascinating simply as a technological marvel! Like, how did he feel about the printing press?? But the issues we tend to take with AI art are

The environmental impact

The impact on employment

The datasets being built off stolen artwork

And so I have to ask: Does Marius give a fuck about those things, or is he too removed from human sensibility to be invested?

I would like to say on an ethical level I don't think he really gives a shit, in the sense that like, he is an outsider who observes us and doesn't need to get involved. And when it comes to the environmental impact & his carbon footprint in general, like, I always wonder how he feels about single use plastic and all of Daniel's art kits, for example. Can vampires taste all the microplastics and pollution in our blood? Are they confident that climate disaster will evade them and they'll survive regardless, so who the fuck cares? They tend to love humans in a sort of patronizing way but not enough to interfere. They observe and leave the humans to it.

This is also a guy who can step out for a depression nap that lasts half a century and miss the entire fad anyway, like i just! I don't think they care about stuff like this, especially not on a micro timeline. This technology has moved SO FAST and there's going to be so much more to this story in the next decade when we see how it shakes out.

BUT ON AN ARTISTIC LEVEL?

You know how like, in the books they say how vampire creations are sort of uncanny and soulless? Is AI art perhaps a mirror for how he feels about his own work? A little too aesthetically perfect at times, but really missing the human touch?

In that sense, does it freak him out? Does it disgust and disappoint him?

Like, I bet vampires would be really great AI art detectors, like their brain processing is so powerful I think they'd be able to clock all the details so quickly. And wouldn't it feel so grim?

So I imagine his reaction would be a little bit

because like, what is the point! What is the point! What does Marius get out of art and why does he admire human artists? Is it just too chilling to see this bleak modern age and soulless artwork? The novelty of "wow this was created by a computer" fizzles out after you've seen the 900th one polluting every corner of the internet, and at what point does the nebulous, faceless nexus of technology start feeling like the power of God in the modern age? Does it make his skin crawl?

(I think yes but YMMV, this was not really addressed in canon LOL.)

He WANTS to see what the cute little humans make! Art ceases to be interesting without the human touch!

[6okuto]

Listen… you said we could ask for more hcs pt.2…………………….

RAAAAAAAAAAH

Ais? PLS? YOUR WRITIJG IS SO GOOD I THINK ABOUT IT ALL THE TIME

AIS HCS (2)

gn!reader | (part 1) anon you GET ME! BUAAAAHHH AND OMGG THANK U... that's so crazy actually i hope u guys think about me today i will b thinking about all of u😙🫶🧡 YIPPEE!

so stupid /affectionate. takes photos of you and says "now a silly one." or starts taking selfies without telling you

will do cheesy romantic things with you because you ask. he can tease you all he wants, and he wonders how he's found himself swaying to a song with you in the kitchen,, but then you hold him a little tighter and he's like ah. that's why

tells you to be careful with his horns. not in a they're sensitive way but in a please do not get in a position where he could poke your eye out way. rest your chin in between them if you want though

asks you to pay for lunch. when it's actually time to pay he's like "what the hell are they doing over there?" so he can pay first. you guys fight to pay semi-regularly. You are the people who made me want to scream and cry when i worked retail.

do his make-up. i dare you. what. you don't want to stand in between his legs with his hands on your hips while you try to do eyeliner Be serious. he'll be your test subject for new looks

or let him do your make-up. you can match w some red eyeliner :)

doesn't do any little video trends with you without being a little annoying/difficult but he Will do them and do them extremely well in the end. everyone's jealous of your relationship

if you're having trouble sleeping and try to not move around a lot in case you wake ais up,, it's too late. bro is awake. he sighs and nuzzles into you before being like,, "if you can't sleep, you can wake me up you know." or "how long were you going to go before waking me up?"

^ late night snack runs.. he'll stay up as long as you do. hanging out in a mcdonalds parking lot at 2am eating chicken nuggets who gets me

pulls your head to lay on his shoulder if he sees you getting sleepy. rests his head on top of yours

silently comes and lies down with you if he's in a bad mood. you don't have to talk or really do anything, just being around you helps him feel better. he won't complain if you coddle him a little though :) you offer to get him some snacks or cuddle him and he smiles against your skin. "i'm starting to think you have a crush on me or something." you roll your eyes and flick his forehead but he just lets out a breathy laugh. "yes please."

cannot fucking play horror games/movies around this guy like why are YOU jumpscaring me Where is my safe space. he relishes in you clinging onto him / holding you from behind, but he also respects you scaring him back if you're more immune to horror

don't start a prank war with this guy because that shit isn't ending. he excels in annoyingly inconvenient pranks Don't Do It.

tells you about the dogs(/animals) he saw while out during the day. modern au he sends you pics either wordlessly or guessing their names. "meet nacho cheese" "why would u say that" "that's obviously his name? have some respect"

ohh. people watching...this sounds silly. but like i'm thinking about how he doesn't like being lonely/isolated but Is and how he has to watch others enjoy themselves and stuff. so you hanging out together and talking and guessing random people's life stories is just like. a casual thing but reminds him He Has Somebody to do that with now

why'd i say that

you know how he was in the rafters at the beginning. yeah he's asking if you wanna join him up there. you're like You do that Regularly? not just trying to intimidate me? and he's like 🤷‍♂️ it's comfortable enough.

promises he won't let you fall and keeps a steady hold. See? it isn't so bad.

modern au tattoo artist ais who gets me. anyone. anybody. helloooo? guys please i'm gonna pee my pants

🏷 | @lost-lonnie @screaming-wea-sel @dreamtydraw @respitable @semifilms @hexcoeur

[wendigho]

Every time I see AI art discourse I think of my new media teacher in college talking about remix culture.

I think about how much I love collage and how much it inspired me to keep going with art because sometimes all I can do is cut and paste.

I think if taking a few tracks I loved from a downloaded album and learning to use audacity to make something new.

I think about how much capitalism kills art.

So much so that we can't even agree that it's more messed up that life could be ruined by sharing creative energy.

No one will engage with the fact that maybe, just maybe, it's messed up that a form of creation even has the possibility to make artists unable to live.

It makes me sad when people say it's theft, abuse of other's work, lazy... It's art.

It's as much art as when I'm drawing, painting, cutting up magazines, folding zines, making a mix tape, over painting a thrift store find, making book art.

The issue is it shouldn't be paywalled, it shouldn't be censored, or centralized. Just like the Internet itself honestly.

Human beings should all feel free to create and remix any fucking thing they want.

The AI algorithm is not the problem, it is as it has always been, capitalism.

Don't want to lose your livelihood to a machine? Consider those who would use that machine against you in the first place. Side with free open source systems that do not generate profit. Actually consider why the problems exist and stop scapegoating and dismiss real actual tools for artists who are not traditional.

AI can make lovely stuff, I use it for references and to speed run sketches sometimes. I can input my art into certain things and run variations to find new directions for a sketch. I can visualize ideas, I can make something.

There's no reason anyone should be opposed to that.

But then, people hate collage too. People hate Tumblr gifsets and image posts made from screenshots. Those old composite gifs are "cringe" but they also took a hell of a lot of work. Just stitching together a fantasy.