#also I can't draw hands or backgrounds for shit so forgive me ����

[aberooski]

I've returned from the art hyperfixation trenches and I've brought with me an approximation of an excerpt of a crossover fic I've been formulating and obsessing over for what must be weeks now 😂😅

The idea of Chazz, Atticus, and Alexis getting somehow sucked into the Mushroom Kingdom the Paper Mario 64 layout specifically hence Lava Lava Island lol started out as a joke, but the thought of Chazz and Peach hanging out in Bowser's dungeon together becoming unlikely besties while they wait for their silly boyfriends to come rescue them made it not a joke anymore and now, here we are 🤭🤭

Of course the dialog is subject to change when I get around to actually writing the actual fic and this sequence happens in context, but I approximated the gist of what's going on at this point in the story 😅

[thrown-away-opinions]

Artists when artists are copying & distributing art from companies for their own use and profit without paying them: 'Lol, theft removes the original, this doesn't. Copying art is not a crime! yo-ho yo-ho!' Artists when companies are copying & distribuying art from artists for their own use and profit: 'What! Collage is a crime! You wouldn't download a car!' Good to see that the God of Irony still has a job!

I was going to write something about this subject too, but I got hung up on that gofundme thing.

Up front, I think there is some legitimate complaints about artists not wanting their shit scraped and fed into an algorithm. That's not an unreasonable demand. Datamining is out of control on the internet. There needs to be way less of it.

But also... All this bitching and moaning about ethics and morality is hollow as fuck. The piracy thing right up front. How many scanlated manga or fan-subbed shows you think the average seething artist has read/watched? How many movies did they pirate? How many ads have they blocked? How many streaming service passwords shared? How many second-hand things have they purchased? How many college textbooks downloaded? How many programs have they cracked and used for years without ever paying a sub fee? How many little things have they shoplifted? How many immoral and unethical things they've done without ever making up for it?

Short version is blatant "rules for thee, but not for me!!" bullshit. It is an ethical nightmare that some programmers have in some way appropriated raw data from something made by someone else because they, the artists, deserve payment and royalties for their art being viewed in any way they don't approve of, even if it's just some ephemeral fragment of something they made once, did not license, did not copyright, did not commercialize in any way.

Every other artist and employee who worked on and produces all the shows and products and services doesn't deserve payment because... uhh.. because late stage capitalism or whatever!!

It's a double standard that doesn't hold up to a moment of scrutiny. Some of this hysterical bullshit would even be forgivable if it were just about not being happy about having their work used in a way they don't approve of. Instead, they had to go with this moronic, exaggerated ethics angle, they had to pool their money to try and get the US Government involved. All this constant wailing and gnashing about losing jobs and work when nothing has actually changed and no one is making 6 figures yearly on an AI Art patreon. No one is losing commissions to some now world famous prompt expert who charges even more money.

We've long accepted piracy as an unavoidable aspect of the digital age, but suddenly that's not okay because it might (but not actually) impact some freelancer/indie artist's ability to get work that they either aren't losing because of AI (remember that the global economy is falling apart), or they might lose jobs that they don't have, they aren't trained for and/or aren't pursuing anyways.

But you know what else is kinda fucked about all of it? Most of these artists wouldn't be where they are today without technology and software advancements. Do you have any idea how many artists would be fucking hopeless without all the custom photoshop and CSP brushes they downloaded for free (and never credited the creator)? Do you know how fucked these people would be without all the built in color correction settings and filters and gradient maps? They can't even imagine drawing in procreate without all the built-in tools for correcting their sloppy-ass linework. There's SO MANY successful and highly paid webtoon comics out there that wouldn't be where they are today without the CSP asset store allowing them to drop in 3d background assets and pre-set pose and hand guides.

These whiny fucks are up to their eyeballs in technology that props up their entire profession/hobby, but they are screaming at the top of their lungs because someone downloaded a booru or scraped pinterest to feed into an AI Training algorithm.

tl;dr - They're a bunch of immoral hypocrites who badly want to dress up their impotent outrage as some kind of meaningful, ethical catastrophe.

[fayechii]

"So Riri, which do you prefer, a merman or an angel?"

"What?"

Faye only grinned in response as she sat beside Riri on the couch.

Riri sighed. It was yet again one of the random musings of her sister that would not leave her in peace unless she gave a satisfying answer.

"Whatever Saeran prefers then."

"Ohohohoho~" A male voice chimed in. Riri rolled her eyes. Of course, Saeyoung would be involved in this crazy shit too.

He settled down on the other side of Riri. "I already asked Saeran and he said whatever Riri prefers. The dice is in your hands now, my little grumpy Riri."

"I am not grumpy."

"Yeah, she isn't," Faye countered. "You should see her grumpy with all the whips and cuffs-"

"Faye."

"Whips and cuffs?" Saeyoung mused. "Now I know why Saeran always wants to tie me up. You've been teaching him stuff, huh."

"No, I think it's because you always mess with him and he wants peace," Riri deadpanned. "I tie up Faye for the same reason."

"She loves me very much that she won't let me escape her." Faye wiped her fake tears.

"How passionate!" Saeyoung gasped.

"I am having the strong urge love you both passionately right now. I really wanted to try these new chains I bought last week."

"..."

"..."

"Now, leave me alone." Riri gave them a sweet smile.

"But you haven't answered my question..."

"Oh, that. I prefer both. Now, leave me in peace."

"...Both...?" Faye shared a look with Saeyoung.

Somehow, Riri felt like she just made the worst decision of her life. Well, it wasn't anything new to her anyway. Faye would always play petty pranks on her. They were annoying but harmless. Some were even funny but she would never admit it.

She just hoped they wouldn't include Saeran in this. Afterall, they were more persistent for her answer rather than Saeran's. The poor boy had lived secluded from society all his life and he tended to take the couple's jokes seriously especially Faye's since he respected her greatly for some odd reason.

After a few seconds of what seemed to be a silent conversation between Faye and Saeyoung, they left her and didn't bother her for the whole day.

The rest of her day was so peaceful that she dozed off only to be awakened by someone screaming. It was Saeran.

Riri rushed to the source of the voices and was utterly stunned by the sight of her lover half-naked with mermaid tail and angel wings. Saeyoung was kneeling on floor and taking photos while Faye was seating behind him eating snacks.

"Riri...help...." Saeran's voice was weak and pleading, arousing extreme emotions in her.

"Faye....Saeyoung...."

"Did you like it, Riri?" Faye asked enthusiastically.

"Faye...?" Saeyoung's voice trembled slightly.

"It's fine, Saeyoung."

"Are you sure, Faye? Riri looks weird..."

"My love..." Riri's voice trembled.

"Help...me..." Saeran pleaded again. It was too much for Riri.

"YOU LOOK ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL. I can't believe Faye and Saeyoung would think of this brilliant idea."

"Wha... I-I do...?"

"Of course. The most perfect man. The only one who can pull off being a merman and angel at the same time."

"I-if y-you say so then..."

-

"See? Told you it'll be a happy ending," Faye told Saeyoung. The couple had already left Riri and Saeran. Riri had replaced Saeyoung as the photographer and instructed Saeran to make weird poses to which the latter complied.

"Yes. It just feels a bit weird. I didn't know Riri would like that."

"To be honest, I didn't too. She can be very unpredictable."

"Hmm..just like you. By the way, do you think I would also look good as a mutant angel merman?"

"..."

Notes:

My first art of the year is a weird mutant cosplay for Saeran. It was actually a prompt I had while talking to a friend who keeps requesting me to draw him as an angel merman and then one thing led to another. I also thought it'll be fun to add a little scenario with my OCs and twins 😊

Please forgive my drawing of rock and background. I'm so bad at doing landscapes 😩 I'm trying to improve though!