#see if I can draw ‘em when I have the time

[scribeofmorpheus]

I hate how LLMs have made it very untrustworthy to regard what one comes across as genuine craft anymore. i know artists are struggling big time with scrapping. I even wrote a paper on how openai was scrapping ao3 based on their early story prompt structures reading like a lot of popular fanfics i'd read before.

i was actually so paranoid that i locked most of my fics on ao3. sometimes i roll back the lock when i work on a fic again, but i usually lock em back up again after a while. scrapping is abhorent and i hate how much ai has shifted digital art paradigms and is now seeping into fandom culture.

I will say that i do find the "nonsense description" portion of this post a bit hard to align with. I'll get into it below the cut. but this is purely discursive, I'm not condemning or abstaining (I'm on op's side here), I'm just pointing out some factoids of my own for perspective!

here it is:

""her nimble fingers worked with quiet precision" (ct. 1), "his grip firm but tender" (ct. 33), "her gown pooling around her like embers" (ct. 1)."

See, I write like this, becuase i was trained in poetry first and then moved on to prose later. i use imagery, i use atmospherics, i use sensation in place of actual telegraphed motion or action that one expects of an action alone--it flows better, sounds sweeter and sometimes, yes, nimble fingers can move with quiet precision (not quiet as in "sound" but as in "understated", as in "draws little attention to the movement"). Firm but tender is another of my favourites--juxtaposition, contrast between the outward seen and felt execution of the action and the internalised, more personal mode of emotion conveyed so as to angle how we broach the situation. "firm but tender" is assuring, it's safe. "firm and rough" is more edged, and since we're left with little assumption of the setting and intent of such action, we cannot tell if the action and the emotions align--if its sexual, is it also consensual? if it's violent, is it because of haste to act, fear, annoyance, etc, etc. now "pooling like embers" is odd. embers spark and bristle and fly and catch things on fire, they disperse and scatter, never hold a body of matter congealed enough to pool. pooling like unfurled flame from dragon's breath? yeah, now that works! especially if it's a magic setting.

all this to say, ai is making it exceeding harder to prove craft is genuine if you work outside structural modes one can fact check. if you try to be more experimental, there's high chance you'll end up like me, and chip away at rigid writing structure in order to form your own voice. repetition and favoured descriptions is also a known trait of writers. one of my fav fanfic writers back in the day used to love "hard" after a pause. like: "he slammed the door, hard." or "his kiss pressed deep into me, hard." and it was noticeable and i loved seeing they had a tell.

though, i do agree that one of the things that need the least repetition in fiction is hair colour. but even published books like to remind readers of physical traits id it's something the author is so beguiled by. poor writing, but writing none the less.

i did suspect something was off with TSATS because of how fast the updates rolled. because damn! 23k word update after a 13k word update with less than 48 hrs between? crazy if true. but alas, i don't think i have it in me to be disappointed if i go seeking and do indeed find a pattern that proves LLM usage.

but to all my fic writers that take like half a day to write 3 pages and the other half procrastinating, if you (like me) got notified of all the updates and wondered if you weren't "productive" enough, you are not making a product, these are labours of love, keep at it, at your own pace, with your own skill, the process is the process!

we need to talk about The Silence and The Song

as per my last post, i have received a lot of encouragement to go public with this, and the more disappointed people i have in my dms, the angrier i get. so i will.

the silence and the song is an ancient arlathan au DA fic on ao3 by luxannaslut, and it is partly, if not entirely, written by an ai. i have no wish to be involved in any kind of fandom drama or witch hunting or bullying, but as a writer myself there are few things that piss me off more than watching people steal the work of others because they can't be fucked to write. it's disrespectful to your fellow writers, it's disrespectful to your readers, and it's disrespectful to the authors of the works the ai is stealing from.

ai is a plague that has no business being in creative spaces and you must do better.

the writing pattern

there was something very odd and monotone about the sentence structure of tsats that i couldn't quite place, so i fed chatgpt a prompt along the lines of "two people in a fantasy novel hate each other, but they secretly desire one another, and they kiss", and the screenshots above are the results. the third one is an excerpt from chapter 40 of tsats. the writing pattern is identical and it doesn't seem like the "writer" has even bothered to pretend they wrote it. if you're going to use ai, at least be sneaky about it. you know, paraphrase a little.

nonsense descriptions

"her nimble fingers worked with quiet precision" (ct. 1), "his grip firm but tender" (ct. 33), "her gown pooling around her like embers" (ct. 1).

fingers don't make sound, so what does quiet precision mean? as opposed to what? her joints cracking with every movement? how is a grip firm but tender? what does that mean? since when do embers pool?

the entire fic is littered with these adjectives that contradict each other or just straight up do not make sense, because all an ai does is generate descriptive language with no understanding of what the words it's spitting out actually mean. i could spend hours picking out examples from the seven billion pages worth of text, but i quite frankly have better things to do and would simply challenge you to try getting through a chapter or two without noticing the pattern.

repetition at structure-level

all the scenes in this fic are described in pretty much the same way. they open with purple prose vomit of the surroundings; solas is standing somewhere looking "unreadable as ever"; ellana's fiery golden molten fire copper ember ginger red hair is flowing this and that way; there's some dialogue with whoever is present and it leaves ellana feeling different variations of "something she couldn't name". this is, once again, a blatantly obvious sign of ai. below is the result of me feeding chatgpt the line "write me a scene from a fantasy novel where a woman with red hair is sitting on the ground in a magical garden at night", and side by side with that is the opening scene of the fic. make your own judgement.

repetition at word-level

this one speaks for itself. we fucking get it. her dress is orange, her hair is red, mythal's presence is heavy in the room, solas looks unreadable, compassion is sitting on her head like a crown, solas' ears are betraying him and ellana's move with every thought she thinks. we get it. the issue here is that an ai remembers the info you feed it, but not necessarily the info it shits out. if it's being told to write scene after scene of an elven woman with a gown that looks like fire doing xyz, it's going to do so with no regard for how many times the reader has already been informed of these details.

lastly: the breakneck speed

359,6k words in four weeks by a person who allegedly is employed and married and hasn't pre-written anything? no. any writer will tell you that this simply isn't possible. it absolutely infuriates me to see how much praise this "writer" gets for posting up to three full chapters in a day without anyone calling bullshit. i am pulling out my hair, you guys.

why i'm not going to live and let live this one

perhaps i would be less angry if the fic was some silly bullshit court intrigue Y/A stuff, but this is a text that handles very heavy and triggering topics such as SA, coercion, domestic abuse, and other things of the same vein. to sit back and put your feet up while having a robot write these extremely sensitive and very real human experiences with words it has stolen from texts written by actual persons is fucking heinous. the "writer" should be deeply ashamed of themselves and i'm sick and tired of watching people eat up their bs.

and on that note: the amount of people in my dm's telling me that they feel stupid and naive for not clocking this has infuriated me more than anything else. you're not foolish for this. being fed ai-generated bullshit is not what is supposed to happen on any creative platform and much less a fandom-centred one, so of course no one approaches a fic through that lens. fandom and fic writing is supposed to be about passion and the only person in this situation who needs to do better and change their behaviour is luxannaslut. polluting our creative spaces, wasting the time of your readers, and minimising the effort of actual writers who are working hard to provide content for us all to share and enjoy is vile and so, so lazy. i beg of you: do better.

[yourresidentstanlover]

I can't sleep and I have to get up in less than 4 hours for school n shit, so have some of my thoughts about fiddlestan and fiddauthor.

DISCLAIMER: I have not read the entirety of The Book of Bill, or Journal 3. I've only seen snippets online. I want to get them both, tho. I'll get my hands on em once it gets less cold and icy around here.

Sooo fiddlestan. I like it, and it has a loooot of potential for angst. HOWEVER, I don't like when people villainize Ford just to make Fidds get with Stan. I do think that Ford cares deeply about Fiddleford, he just doesn't really know how to express it, and is entirely oblivious to any feelings Fiddleford may have for him (c'mon man, he left his wife and kids to study weird shit in the woods with you).

Now for Stan with Fiddleford, I don't really see that relationship lasting, at least not healthily (is that an actual word?? Whatever, you know what I'm sayin). If going the angsty route, I think Fidds would at first try to replace Ford with Stanley in an attempt to regain the man he lost. And Stanley would be open to the affection Fidds gives him cause he's touch-starved, and I don't think anyone's said "I love you" to him for a minimum of ten years. But Fiddleford would realize that Stan isn't Ford, no matter how much he tries to delude himself into thinking he is. And Stan would realize that Fidds just isn't his type or somethin.

Ok now fiddauthor. I love this so much, both when Stanford and Fiddleford are young and when they're old (people are sleeping on that old man yaoi!!). I also headcanon Ford as asexual. I looooveee the thought of fiddauthor in the 70s while they were in college, breaking up for whatever reason (or just kinda drifting apart if it wasn't a committed relationship or whatever), and Ford's lil heart breaking when Fidds marries Emma May.

Alternatively, I do kinda like the thought of a poly relationship between Fiddleford, Emma May, and Stanford. That would be a fun au to make a comic about. I have been wanting to make an Emma May design for a bit now lol.

But when they're older and working in Gravity Falls, oh god sooo much angsty potential with infidelity and unrequited feelingsss (technically they're both in love with each other, but neither are good at ✨️ communication ✨️). Ford would probably be so absorbed with Bill, and listening to his manipulations to actually recognize Fiddleford's feelings for him.

And when they're old ass men? Ugh so much fluff can happen from them finally making up for lost time or somethin. People really sleep on the true old man yaoi lmao.

On a slightly separate note, I do ship Billford, and I have thoughts about it that I'm not gonna get into here. But I'll give ya the abridged version: I like shipping it, I don't like romanticizing it, and i like seeing how the relationship had a lasting effect on Ford. I don't like shipping them post-weirdmageddon, and i don't think Bill can truly be redeemed. I have mixed feelings on those redemption au's. I also like triangle fucking jokes. I'm sorry but that is comedy gold.

Also I'm gonna (eventually) make a post talking about my oc x canon ship (Kyle x Stanley). I personally love them (obviously), they're two gay old criminals who have shockingly similar pasts. What's not to love? Also it's a fun way to explore writing older characters with different body types, since before, most of the characters i drew were young twinks, beefed up guys/girls, and skinnier women. Drawing these old men has really helped with diversifying the body types I draw.

Alright, ramble over. Goodnight everyone.

(Also while writing this, I broke into a coughing fit. I hope i didn't catch my dad's cold lmao. God is trying to stop me from talking about yaoi, but dammit, I can't be stopped >:3)

[raynavan]

we have a few wing aus where ingo and Akari have wings, and others where everyone can get wings, but what if ingo and Akari the only ones without wings.

Ingo just waking up surrounded by people with wings and he’s. So confused. That… doesn’t seem natural… he never says anything though, that would be rude!

Also… him (and possibly Akari) getting a lot of sympathy bc what happened to their wings!? Did they get removed!? A horrible thought! Irida and Calaba quietly thing that perhaps it’s better Ingo not remember his past… a blessing in disguise. They don’t talk about it, least they remind him of something bad.

Akari… could go two ways. It could be: “oh this poor soul she lost her wings and doesn’t remember anything, we just have to take care of her” (Kamado is worried about the thing that took her wings might just come here) or: “oh this child has no wings, how could she possibly help us?” In which she has to work a lot harder to live there.

[puppppppppy]

(yes I know siffrins cloak grows sleeves when its convenient but I wanna play around with this)

[luck-of-the-drawings]

[<==PREV PAGES] [NEXT PAGE==>(not out yet.wait a year.or maybe more.imagine.]

saw alot of comments on prev pages; saying 'i HATE that mean teacher! im gonna FIGHT HIM!!' & i LOVE the energy!! it WOULD be nice. to have that catharsis. but the story of young tidestrider is Not one of catharsis. it is a story of being so small and so special and sucking so bad.

[stormbreaker-290]

Ca n

Can someone just

Can I pretty please be rid of my booba I don't want tgem-

[mars-ipan]

some postgame doodles for pride month

[boyheros]

welcome to my hlvrai au we have *reads notes Bullying Gordon in New and Fun ways.

[sysig]

CAN I DO ANOTHER ONE FOR THE MEME maybe DAX with yellow 1B just because i like seeing him cry lol. and maybe ZEX with yellow 4C? PAIN AND SUFFERING or yellow A2 lol i can't decide

Then perish (From here, meme still open ♥)

[chiropteracupola]

historically accurate trip to clifton's cafeteria!!!

[progress shots under the readmore]

[itshomobirb]

ok thinking more about things. it's kind of whack to me that the normal ranges for tsh are like 1-3, and then i test at 6, and then my pcp says, "hey our practice generally doesn't treat hypothyroidism until ur tsh is over 10." like. huh??? my test pops way out of range, but you wanna wait until my thyroid craps out enough to be over 3x worse than the normal range????? i come to you with all these symptoms and high tsh and you're like "hmmmm we should wait and retest labs in like 3 months, maybe it'll spontaneously resolve." ??????

putting brief weight talk below the cut

bro ok this could partially be blamed on me taking way too many antihistamines for so long (which fucked up my hunger cues while i was on them), but ive gained 20 lb since june. this is already after i gained weight after starting t and my pcp was like "hmm we should keep an eye on that." nearly 40 lb later and oh okay we're not treating ur thyroid 👍 like ok yes weight doesn't indicate health, health at every size, i agree. the issue is why am i gaining so much weight in what seems to be not that much time. cough cough. maybe it has something to do with my thyroid? and maybe we should treat it? cough cough. <- said in an exasperated tone

[huni-bii]

I think I messed up guys :)

[luck-of-the-drawings]

POOR GABRIEL MONTEZ! YOU NEVER SAW THIS COMING DID YOU? ALL YOU WANTED WAS POWER. SECURITY. SAFETY. & THATS EXACTLY WHAT YOU GOT! JUST IN EXCHANGE FOR YOUR BODY. LETS JUST HOPE NO ONE FUCKS THIS UP. LETS JUST HOPE YOU WONT HAVE TO CLEAN UP THE MESS.

[bmpmp3]

when drawing i spend a lot of time. like a LOT of time blurring my eyes because I used to be a huge perfectionist and doing that helped me picture what it might look like to someone who is not me (especially to someone just passing by or not super familiar with art in general) AND it does help a lot with that but I've also noticed sometimes I focus so hard on what my art looks like blurry and from afar that I forget. what it looks like normally. it's made me really pay attention to tonal distinction at least LOL

[waywardsalt]

Have you ever thought about how Linebeck describes Jolene as "crazier than a rabid squid"- only to then be possessed by a literal rabid squid later in the game?

Cause I sure have- especially after seeing a lot of your BellumxLinebeck stuff

mmmmghmm im gonna be honest i haven't thought about it much at all

linking it to my bellum x linebeck thoughts, im not too sure what to make of it in context with my other linebeck notes and w/e

there's also my idea that linebeck has a special interested in shellfish and by extension squids, and the idea of him having a weird thing for bellum, and just... enjoying sealife, and it's kinda of...

he compares her to a rabid squid to link in order to i think... offer a shorthand explanation of what she's like, and i think it (with some other stuff) is kinda just another little peek into how he might feel abt her?

i mean he also compares link to a dog in that one letter? i'm not sure where im going with that one. i dont think linebeck particularly likes dogs

i'm not sure abt the link between that and him getting possessed, jolene is kind of just... there a lot of the time and doesn't really do anything except 1) show that linebeck has enemies and 2) show that people know about link's quest by the end, linebeck generally references sea creatures a few times in ph

relating to bellum x linebeck, i dont see him comparing jolene to a squid an indicator of anything in relation to that, with linebeck having a thing for bellum its more of like. there's a lot of complicated ideas i have with what goes on between them during bellumbeck and bellum being a squid thing is more linebeck having a bit of a monsterfucker streak and having a bit of a thing for like. being tied up. as for literal squids he kinda just likes them as food and to dissect and learn about

like i think 'rabid squid' is more like linebeck just tossing out some derogatory shorthand to explain how he thinks of jolene as some fucking. violent annoyance he has to deal with that he doesn't fully understand

tbh i see the comparison but imo it comes down to a difference in characters and interactions and histories, there is the rabid squid thing (and i think in the manga too theres a vague parallel drawn ig) but im not. sure. what there is there just beyond. linebeck talks about sea creatures and wants to get the fuck away from jolene

i'm not entirely certain what you've been thinking about with that comparison, but i haven't been thinking much about it and it's kinda. eh ig???? its something

[da-gamingojichan]

Do you think PolLiet is t4t

i thought t4t stood for team 4tress two. sorry