#it's all so transparent................. it's all so transparent and the thing is it works and they get away with it!!!!!!

[patricia-taxxon]

So wait, let me just ask for clarity because I want to understand. Do you support AI art?

i support art made with spontaneous and hands-off processes, i support the creation of art tools that are more art than tool & allow people to "participate" in someone else's creation vicariously a-la picrew, i don't support the institution of "AI" as a consumer grade technology industry that promises impossible things and prioritizes appearances and marketability over usability, i believe that if "AI" allowed people to siphon images directly from their brain with no effort required then it would be a good thing but I believe this is fundamentally impossible until we figure out how to read minds and the focus on arguing for or against accessibility is missing the point, i believe AI art can only ever be a pale imitation of the process of commissioning an artist who can't ever ask questions and cannot be trusted with object permanence, I believe copyright law is a head on the hydra of capitalism and doesn't serve artists, i believe that AI art isn't necessarily art theft but it CAN overfit to its data and create illegal works without telling you, which constitutes criminal levels of negligence, I believe all art is derivative in some way and some of the most seminal art made in this era of history has been far more dubiously infringing than AI art ever can be because AI art does not steal in the way a human does, I think the focus on energy consumption is transparently just a post-hoc justification for hating the thing you all already hated under the guise of environmentalism because it is a problem far from unique to AI, I think the focus on environmentalism was a distraction at best during the NFT craze too, i don't think AI art takes artists out of a job any more than stock photos or clipart does, but the proliferation of consumer-grade tools DOES run the risk of engendering bad client practices similar to the rise of machine translation and asking translators to simply "fix" a machine translated run of text at a marked down price, but this is not the fault of the technology itself and is instead a result of the ideological push being made by the biggest actors in the industry, i think AI art is ugly as sin and carries the pervasive quality of looking normal at a glance but getting worse and worse the longer you look at it, which can be interesting but often isn't, i think ai art is shit google images and the controversy is overblown but I think machine learning is here to stay and it will inevitably decentralize again after the immense costs catch up to all the corpos relying on it to win the future.

so like, yes and no.

[redlenai]

... Why I thought, all of a sudden, that Jimmy and Anya are way more similar than we want to admit regarding Curly?

You openly talk about your problem, your crisis, and he just... doesn't properly register it, doesn't react the way you would have liked him to, it is frustrating, Anya wasn't exposed to Curly for a long time nor we were able to see how much she resented him thanks to his inaction and diminishing the problem, but we surely got to see Jimmy's resentment, how many times did he talk about his problems? How many times did Curly hit the guy while he was down (Below him) by focusin on his own problems?

I've noticed two things in the fandom, Jimmy is Irresponsible, while Curly is told he is Selfish. Curly is good keeping appearances, being flirty with Anya with some very cliché one-liners, calm and collected to Swansea, friendly superior to Daisuke, and an understanding supportive friend. It doesn't remove the fact he is an enabler but I wonder, didn't he feel good knowing there was someone doing worse than him? Keeping him close to keeps his own spirits high? Like, it seems Curly has been working for Pony Express for quite a while, why suddently help his friend out to get a job as a Co-Pilot? We're not sure either if Jim had previous experience or if he worked on a different company but same field. While not justifying Jimmy, deep down I wonder if Curly unconsciously enjoyed the fact that Jimmy was having a hard life, would he break down even more now with these crushing and questionable work ethics? With the isolation and silence from Space? Without the only activity that probably allowed him to vent (Weightlifting)? With the stress of knowing that he could get his salary cut down just by daring to sleep more than 4 hours?

But hey, Jim should see the bigger picture too, there is a routine, there is a roof on top of his head, 4 hours of sleep is better than no sleep at all, the same meals over and over, but still better than nothing, at least working, right? Let's see him endure for a whole year, with Jim breaking down bit by bit, wouldn't that also make him feel like an even better Captain? Wouldn't that make him ignore the weight of his responsabilities, make it more bearable knowing someone is having it worse and looking even worse?

It sounds twisted, I know, but we all too deny a few things, push it to the back of our minds, do things unconsciously, relieve ourselves by saying "We could be worse...." when we're unsatisfied with our situation. People are so complex, it sounds twisted but hey, maybe one day we can be transparent, imperfect and honest just like Swansea

I can't stop thinking about how Jimmy would never let Curly forget how fucked up and shitty his life is, and how much better Curly's life is compared to his.

I feel like this is partially why Curly is so close to him. This is his friend and the only person on the ship he feels like he can be honest to because he keeps it real around him. He hears so much about his friend's awful life and so he tries to help him by convincing him to work for the same company he works for.

I wonder how long they were friends for. How good of a friend was Jimmy to notice Curly's mood during the birthday party and check in on him. How many red flags did Curly miss or ignore. How much of it was manipulation, or was any of it manipulation? Curly wasn't stupid. He's flawed and was put in a hard position. There's so much about their relationship that wasn't shown and likely will never be shown and I sit for hours thinking about it.

[flwrkid14]

Tim and Danny: The Couple That Could Have Been

Tim Drake and Danny Fenton weren’t just Gotham’s it couple—they were the couple.

Tim, the poised and brilliant CEO, and Danny, the charismatic streamer with a chaotic streak, were the kind of pair that inspired faith in love. Their relationship was public but never performative. The candid photos, the impromptu livestreams where Danny would drag Tim into the frame to tease him about his “ridiculously expensive suits,” the way Tim would smile when he thought no one was looking—it all seemed so real, so untouchable.

For years, they were inseparable, the picture of what love should look like. And Gotham believed in them. People joked that they’d be together in every timeline, every universe, because how could they not be? They were made for each other.

So when Danny uploaded a new video one unassuming Tuesday, everyone thought they knew what was coming.

The engagement announcement.

Danny’s setup was different this time—gone were the familiar vibrant backgrounds and playful chaos. The walls were bare, his face somber, his voice quieter than anyone had ever heard.

“Tim and I…” He paused, swallowing hard. “We’ve decided to go our separate ways.”

What?

No, that couldn’t be right.

This was Tim and Danny. The couple everyone was convinced would make it through anything. The couple people joked would find each other in every timeline, every universe, because it was always them.

But Danny kept talking, his voice trembling as he explained—without really explaining—that they couldn’t make it work. No details, no messy drama, just a quiet goodbye that left everyone feeling like the air had been stolen from the room.

———

The Batfamily found out the same way everyone else did—through Danny’s video. They hadn’t even realized anything was wrong. The last time they saw Tim and Danny together, they’d been the same as always: teasing, bantering, comfortable in each other’s presence.

Bruce was the first to confront Tim about it, cornering him in the Manor with that familiar stern frown.

“Tim, what happened?”

Tim didn’t answer. He couldn’t.

Because he didn’t know either.

Danny had been the one to end it. One day they were fine—perfect, even—and the next, he was breaking up with Tim over coffee, quiet and somber, like he was grieving something Tim couldn’t see.

“I just… we can’t,” Danny had said, his voice trembling. “I’m sorry, Tim. I love you. I’ll always love you. But we can’t keep doing this.”

And that was it. No further explanation.

Now, Tim was left packing up his things from the apartment they’d shared, trying to piece together what went wrong. Danny was on the other side of the room, just as quiet, boxing up his own belongings. They didn’t speak. Couldn’t.

The space between them had never felt so vast.

“I love you,” Danny had said, his voice breaking. “I’ll always love you. But I can’t… we can’t keep doing this.”

And just like that, it was over.

And Danny? Danny knew exactly why.

———

Danny Fenton was a coward.

He’d gone to Clockwork for help after the first heartbreak, unable to bear the thought of living in a world without Tim Drake. He couldn’t undo the pain of losing Tim to the Justice League’s doomed mission, but he could relive the good years.

Clockwork had hesitated.

“This is dangerous, Daniel,” he warned, but Danny didn’t care. He didn’t want to forget Tim. He didn’t want to move on.

So Clockwork granted him his wish.

Again and again, Danny went back. Every time their relationship reached the point of no return—where Tim’s inevitable death loomed on the horizon—Danny would break up with him, retreat to Clockwork, and start over. He couldn’t bear to see Tim die, not again.

But the cycle wasn’t perfect. The cracks showed with each repetition. Danny’s breakups became harder to explain, his excuses more transparent. He could see the hurt in Tim’s eyes, the way his walls went up higher and higher with every iteration.

And still, Danny went back.

Because he couldn’t stop.

Because he couldn’t let go.

———

This time, though, it was different.

This time, as he packed his things, Danny felt the weight of what he’d done pressing down on him like never before. Tim wasn’t angry. He wasn’t even questioning it anymore.

He just looked tired.

And Danny hated himself for being the reason why.

The world moved on, but Gotham felt the loss of Tim and Danny like a phantom limb.

The bats watched Tim retreat further into himself, his work becoming his sole focus, an impenetrable wall between him and everyone else. They wanted answers, but Tim wouldn’t give them. And Danny? Danny disappeared from Gotham entirely, his absence leaving a wound that never seemed to heal. Maybe that’s why Tim would find himself on that mission, before Danny's loop restarted everything again—caught in the endless cycle of fate, unaware of how close he was to losing it all for good.

Clockwork didn’t say anything when Danny returned again, his face pale and his hands shaking. He just stared at Danny with quiet pity, his form shifting through time as if he were trying to decide what version of himself could make Danny stop.

“You can’t keep doing this, Daniel,” Clockwork said softly.

Danny didn’t answer.

Because he knew he’d be back.

Because he couldn’t stop.

Because he’d rather relive the heartbreak a thousand times than face another world where Tim Drake was gone for good.

[cripplecharacters]

Hello! 😊

I have a character with albinism in my story and I need help figuring out what to do about her photophobia. The setting is a medieval fantasy world and the character is a dragon.

The problem I'm having is that she's huge. She's probably around the size of a blue whale.

I was going to give her sunglasses, but they would be absolutely massive and extremely heavy, and I feel like the weight of the frame pressing down on her skin all day would probably be extremely uncomfortable or even cause skin damage. Also, the glasses would probably be really thick and I'm not sure if she would even be able to see through that much tinted glass?

I thought about a hat, but I'm not sure what it would be made out of. I feel like any sort of fabric at that size would just crumple under its own weight. I could have supports inside of it, but that would probably make it really heavy which wouldn't be good for her neck.

The only other thing I can think of is some sort of semi-transparent fabric veil that she can tie around her head that covers her eyes, but I know that trope is kind of iffy. Although I'm not sure if it would count since she's not legally blind (her vision is around 20/100. I think. Would vision measurments still work the same for someone with giant eyeballs? 🤔)

Is there anything else I can give her to protect her eyes that won't hurt her?

If it makes a difference there are two blind characters in the story who do not wear glasses of any kind, and another character with albinism who wears sunglasses and a hat.

Hello!

I believe I'm the only active mod with photophobia so I'll try answering, but keep in mind I'm neither blind nor do I have albinism.

So photophobia is a spectrum, right - it's really wide. On one end you have people who can't open their eyes because of the pain unless they're in a completely blacked-out room and on the other are people who kinda just push through it and don't bother with anything. There's a huge variety in severity. I was on both of these (plus everything in-between, plus non-photophobic at one point too) so I'll try to give you some ideas.

If she's on the first end, then well - close the eyes, and hopefully she has a sighted guide. Sunglasses don't help here anyway (source: experience) unless she'd have to wear them while closing her eyes because the tiny amount of light showing through a person's eyelids can still be painful (source: experience). A hat or a veil here would be like putting a bandage on someone who blew up. If she's permanently like this, she's functionally totally blind (but with some stereotypes that don't really represent all totally blind people - most of them don't keep their eyes closed 24/7).

If she's on the second end then I already kinda answered your question; Nothing is sometimes a solution. Same how not everyone with knee pain uses a cane, even if it technically could be of some benefit - too much hassle.

Now for the hard part: everything in-between these two. Since your character is somewhat logistically complicated due to both being a dragon and of that size, I'll try to think of the accommodations one can do with their body rather than external aids.

Squinting is a legitimate strategy. Is it great, not really. But it does work for a lot of people. You can squint your way through a lot.

Hand (claw?) to shield against the sun, same as above. Most people (IDK about dragons) don't sit around in bright sun all day, if you quickly have to go through an area like this you can just cover it.

Brow ridge (no idea what is the dragon equivalent) is a sort of built-in sun protection on its own to be honest. It's definitely not 100% for obvious reasons, but it does help against the brightest light sources. However, with her being a dragon this could be a legitimately successful solution - both Eastern Asian and European dragons tend to be portrayed with protruding parts above their eyes. Normally I'd say that it would be a bit of a cop-out, but as you say there is another character with the same disability, so I'm not worried here.

Last solution would be some sort of contacts. Obviously they didn't exist in medieval times, but there's a dragon there already so it's fine to get creative - could shed scales be thinned down and used as a block-out contact? Maybe some sort of mineral? Or leaves from a comically big tree? All of these would definitely hurt a human but again, dragon anatomy and how tough their eyes are is free to speculate about until something very unexpected happens.

Now for the rest;

Consider her lifestyle and where she physically lives. Is there a lot of sun there? Does she go outside during the day? Does she prefer winter over summer because she can go out more (and/or with less pain)? Not all photophobiacs will have the same kind of lifestyle and will thus need different accommodations; keep that in mind.

Hope this helps! Good luck writing disabled dragons

mod Sasza

[lynnsenpai]

Artist Goals 2025

I make these lists of artist goals every year. Unfortunately, if I'm being honest with myself, I rarely achieve the goals I set. Maybe I'm asking too much of myself. Maybe life stuff is sidetracking me more than I intend or expect. Maybe I just don't know how to set goals.

When I look at the lists I've whipped up for past years, I see incredibly productive years. It's like all the best case scenarios - what I wanted those years to be. But if I can be completely transparent for a moment, I've been having a rough time behind the scenes a lot lately. Family stuff. Money stuff. Health stuff. Political stuff. I have no lack of ambition and interest to work on the things I love, but I can't deny I struggle to keep up more than I'd like.

I've tried to keep all this in mind this year. It still sounds like a lot, but I want very much to believe this is reasonable. I guess we'll know for sure in about 365 days. But to tell the truth, as long as I get to draw Chiaki and Rain and their friends (and maybe some rat doodles along the way), I'll be happy. I just want to keep drawing all my kids and telling their stories and sharing them with you, so it's what I'm going to keep trying to do.

I promise to do my best, so wish me luck! ^_^

And I hope the best for you all in your own endeavors in the coming year. Stay safe, stay happy, stay healthy.

[dead-dolphins]

Dear Reader,

I’m going to leave this here and take the day off because I need some time to process and reset. Yes, last night was childish and impulsive on my part, and I regret how I handled things. I want to take a moment to explain what happened and where I’m coming from because I believe in being transparent with you all.

For a long time, I’ve been open with you about so much—my writing, my graphics, my ideas, and my creative process. Sharing these things is something I genuinely enjoy, not just because it helps me grow artistically but also because it fosters a connection with you as a community. I don’t feel like I’ve ever denied you access to the things I’m working on because I want to share this journey with you. However, that openness doesn’t mean there aren’t boundaries. It doesn’t mean anyone has the right to cross those boundaries by sending invasive or disrespectful messages in my anon box.

I’ve always made an effort to respect you all and engage in this space positively, and I just ask for that same respect in return. Last night, I ended up having a stress attack because I felt like someone was prying into my personal life or “snitching” on private matters. It made me feel paranoid and uneasy, and while I realize I may have overreacted, I also think it’s important to address what led to that reaction. Misusing the anon feature to send invasive messages crosses a line, and it’s something I hope we can all agree to avoid moving forward.

I’ve been dealing with a lot of stress for a long time now, and while I don’t expect anyone to treat me like I’m fragile, I do think it’s fair to ask for basic respect when it comes to boundaries. I pour so much into my work and this community because I care about it and because I know many of you appreciate what I create. That means the world to me, but respect has to go both ways. This should be a space where we can all feel safe and inspired, not one where anyone feels uncomfortable or attacked.

I want to thank everyone who has been supportive and kind—it really means a lot to me. And I want to apologize again for how I handled things last night. It wasn’t my best moment, and I take responsibility for that. I’m going to step away for the day to clear my head and recharge. I hope this helps explain my perspective, and I appreciate your understanding.

And again, to clarify, I’m not blaming anyone. My intention isn’t to point fingers or create unnecessary tension. I just want to make sure you understand my perspective and where I’m coming from.

Let’s work together to keep this space a positive one.

Ro.

[fluentisonus]

working in a factory has you thinking so much about the insane chain of labor & transport that goes into making literally anything

[averlym]

litany of the martyrs (click for better resolution!)

[seventh-district]

Sam: "Look at me. Hey- look at me a second. I know. I know you're tough. I know how strong you are. You have every right to be proud of that. But being able to handle somethin' doesn't mean you should have to. Least of all when I'm right here trying to help. Please let me help. If not for you then for me, because I don't like knowin' you're hurtin', especially when there's somethin' I can do about it."

Me, shaking my head, fighting back literal tears: "B-but it's gonna give you another headache!"

[goldensunset]

"Unknown date" is the name of the partner that both Missing Link and Silksong are in some kind of toxic yaoi relationship with

HEFDHDNJSNDJDNDNDB

[splatoon-edits]

AroAce Captain 3 Icons

Free To Use

[peridots-pixiwolf]

[Start ID. A digital drawing of Minos Prime from Ultrakill, who's wearing a strapless slit dress and sandals of the same deep purple. He faces towards and slightly to the right of the camera, his head is tilted further right. With one hand he gestures in a vague pointing motion, his arm folded and held close to his body. There is nothing in the background, but bracing himself on one arm, Minos is implied to be leaning against something about the height of a countertop. The background is a blank purplish black, save for three diagonal stripes in the colors of the bisexual flag. End ID]

Shading study that quite literally came to me in a dream two weeks ago, after this post apparently beamed itself into my mind

(also a few edits below the cut! they're very slight but whatever :])

[Start ID. Three different versions of the previous drawing. The first changes the tone of the lighting from blue to pink, and similarly the shading from pink to blue. The second replaces the faint black border with pink, purple and blue, syncing with the stripes in the background. The third combines both these changes. End ID]

[backfromtwitterforw]

There's legal silence where you keep sensitive information to yourself. And there's silence where you don't even say "please be patient we'll update you in time, we're actually talking to the union/the admins/the intern team". For us viewers, we don't need to know more than to have the assurance that things are being taking care of. We don't need to be repeated the exact same info I différent words over and over again.

There's silence with your team where you want to be careful with your wording. And there's silence with your team where you keep them completely in the dark about their future, not even saying what they just need to hear: "sorry about how things turned out, we have no certainty in either taking you back or not, right now our priority is financial stability, we cannot tell you our différent options so far, but we'll update you when and if we can afford to take you back".

There's silence where you ask for discretion because you will not be able to keep that many people in the team and don't want leaks about what branches are kept and which one will close, then announcing to a whole group of admins that they'll be let out of the project starting this or this day. And there's silence where you warn a lot of twitter update admins that they won't be in the project starting immediately through discord and closing said discours before everyone had even a chance to read it.

There's silence where you're afraid of leaks and there's silence where you don't treat people working for you with respect.

[coriander-candlesticks]

Note to self: word prayers better when doing divinatory sessions

I think I've mentioned this before, but I do yes/no stone pulls on Sundays to ask for guidance about maintaining my health re: my commute because it's 2-2.5 hours each way via public transit if everything runs on time. It's rough on me in multiple ways and can lead to even more migraines than usual or being too fatigued to work at all, and it can be difficult to tell whether I'll have the spoons to go in person.

This past Sunday I was exhausted & stressed because of, you know, the horrors, and said my initial prayer a little differently than I usually do. I still invoked Apollo and Hermes as always, as both of them cover divination by lots, Apollo's domain covers health & disease, and he's the one I turn to for divination by default.

Now, the vast majority of the guidance and lessons Apollo has given have had to do with recognizing my physical & mental limits, especially around this issue. The answers I was getting this time around were...odd but not quite in the way they have been with just dud pulls, so I started asking clarifying questions to figure out what was going on. After a few - establishing that there was a reason for the answers but it wasn't a test or punishment or Apollo messing with me (which would have been. odd) - I realized that while I'd invoked Hermes as a god of divination by lots alongside Apollo, I had not explicitly asked him to act as a messenger and aid in communication this time around, nor had I asked Apollo to guide the divination session with the wording I usually use.

I think you can see where I'm going with this.

I re-said the prayer (correctly this time) and confirmed that it was, in fact, Hermes at first while re-doing the initial set of questions (which were much more consistent in the usual way), as well as confirming that the issue was the prayer wording. Lesson learned lol

[spamtoon]

i would take their poison

Sketch + Line Art for those Clicking Under the Cut(tm) (archival purposes honestly)

[arsenicflame]

:/ i dont know if im just that stupid but. i cannot get these files to work. please why can i not. just have a copy of ofmd in a reasonable resolution. why is that so hard