#than use AI art which is full of stolen artwork

[mechanical-sunchild]

I'm vehemently against AI art, and I don't care if it's the 'only way for you to manifest what you look like in therian/kin form' or 'the only way for you to be an artist'. If you use AI for art/post AI art I don't want to be around you. Using your kin/theriotype and/or species dysphoria as an excuse for using it is very narrow minded and ignorant.

[schattenschreiberin]

Wattpad is a mess. Especially if you want to read fanfiction and are used to AO3s neat tagging and filter system.

But I can't help but be in a love-hate-relationship with it.

Because of this

You know what wattpad has, you art community full of trolls, thieves, harassers and understaffed helpdesk?

You who let someone bully vulnerable people off of your platform without doing anything while it was happening, nor in the years after it happened. Who just let that harasser continue to exist on your site.

You who let someone earn money on your site with stolen artwork, despite several different artist reporting them and more than enough evidence being provided by numerous users. For ELEVEN YEARS.

You who banned a victim of art theft instead of the thief and refused to give the victim their account back.

You who doesn't accept help from your community and rather delete journals with proof of theft and harassment, which only exist because of your inactions, than doing something about the problem itself.

You who doesn't give a damn about their artists and promotes your own AI-Art-Generator, training it with the work of your community without asking them first.

You who let the same person impersonate a pregnant woman, fake a suicide, steal numerous pieces of art and only took them down after they already created a second account and only because they promoted very questionable role-plays in their gallery.

You who let a pedo run wild on your site, ban evade and write fanfiction about dating 17-year-olds. And when you finally ban him you leave those stories up for everyone to see.

You who loves to identify as the biggest art community on the planet.

Writing is an art form too, Deviantart.

And getting an immediate response to you reporting someone harassing you is a really neat thing too. And something I've never seen from you either.

AO3 is still superior to both of them though.

And if I have to put it in, tumblr is too.

[mirrorthoughts]

On the AI stuff... On top of the unethical sourcing... It's so demoralizing to spend hours on your creations and get so few notes while people post ai shit and get hundreds.

I have seriously considered leaving the creative side of fandom lately because what's the point when my work gets fed into an algorithm to spit out things that end up with more interaction?

Oh I feel you, though tbf I think at least for me it'll still be a while until I'll leave fandom (just because as a rather small writer I don't expect there to be hundreds of interactions on my works? So I'm just happy if anyone interacts with it at all? Also writing still is a bit different than creating fanart for example).

But yes, it is demoralizing and frustrating to feel as if you are being buried beneath the flayed corpses of your own creation, ignored by the people whose monstrosities are based on your work. At the same time not making art (nevermind which kind of art) for me is like trying to stop breathing.

I don't make art to show it to people, though of course, showing it to others is an important part of enjoying art I made. But I also enjoy making the art. I need to make art. The only way to make me stop making art is to literally kill me.

Doesn't mean I will share what I'm doing with everyone.

Yes, art needs community. Art needs interaction. Art needs to be talked about.

But I can do that with those hand full of people I trust. That's actually one of the reasons why I don't post full story chapters anymore on Tumblr (though, tbf I also don't have the spoons for formatting and all that) and why I keep my fics locked on AO3. It's sad that I feel the need to do this, but currently that is how I feel.

It's sad that anyone has to feel like they can't enjoy fan communities anymore thanks to AI art and though I don't know your art (or maybe I do, I don't know?) I'm sure if not I then someone else who enjoyed it will miss it when/if you decide to leave the fandom 💕

Art is communication. One of the few kinds that actually helps me understand people, feel feelings I can't seem to find within myself otherwise and explore interests with the borrowed joy of the artist, even if that interest holds no meaning to me when I try it myself.

I will miss each and every single artist who will decide to close off their art from everyone else because they feel ripped to shreds by the callousness of those who use AI based on stolen artworks.

I wish you the strength to survive a little longer in the current very much hostile anti-art circumstances, Nonnie 💕

There's still hope it will get better eventually.

[thefenrathaesaga]

Bit of an Update 5/9/2023

So I managed to inflame my right rotator cuff for the third time since May of 2022. Which means that art has been very, very slow. Digital art has been very, very slow, at least. Mainly because in order for me to draw on my laptop, I need to unplug some things, rearrange the laptop a bit, plug some things back in, then hook my graphics tablet up to my laptop, which requires me to plug several things in. And I don't want to try to do that with my right rotator cuff right now!

So traditional art it is, for the time being! Good news is that I can still use my laptop with minimal pain, meaning that I can still write and work on stories! Another good thing is that my primary care doctor put me on a stronger anti-inflammatory medication to help with the inflammation and pain!

He also seems to agree that I might have a mild case of hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. I've never fully dislocated a joint, but I sure have subluxed most of the joints in my extremities! Only took me fifteen years to realize that my elbow joints and finger joints, for example, feeling slightly out of place at least once a day is not actually normal for someone who doesn't have hEDS. Which is why I've gotten onto the waiting list to see my local area's leading expert on EDS. That being said, he's not seeing any new patients for another eight months. So once I gather enough mental focus to call up another local rheumatologist, I'll be calling said other rheumatologist!

I may wind up having to pay for the rheumatologist, myself, because either Medicaid doesn't cover rheumatology visits or the rheumatologists in the area don't take Medicaid. Either way, if I do wind up having to pay for an appointment with a rheumatologist, then so be it. I feel like I need a diagnosis for this, even if it isn't hEDS.

But yeah, I'm gonna start treating the issues with my right rotator cuff as a condition from now on, rather than an injury. Because whatever it is that's causing my right rotator cuff to keep getting inflamed, it's not gonna go away anytime soon!

Also, I've been scripting out the comic pages for the first chapter of Volume 1 of The Fenrathae Saga! So far, I've scripted up to page 30! As of right now, I'm not planning on drawing out the comic pages for a while yet. Mostly because I want to ease my way back into digital art, and because I don't think my right shoulder is ready for digital art yet. But also because I'm still kinda burnt out on drawing.

Honestly, I feel like I shouldn't post my art. At least, I feel like I shouldn't post it in places where it would do well, i.e., Twitter, DeviantArt, Instagram. And that's mainly because I keep seeing all the people who have been taking advantage of the fact that AI-generated stuff is still generated in a very unethical way, and have been feeding the AI with the stolen artworks of others. I still see a whole bunch of webcomic artists posting their webcomics to DeviantArt for more reach, but I've heard that the front page of dA is still full of AI-generated images and NFT art. Plus, dA has explicitly allowed people to link artworks to NFTs.

And Twitter? Every fucking time I post my art there, it seems to get more attention from AI dudebros and NFTbros rather than from actual artists. I mainly retweet stuff I see on Twitter, but it's always other people's art or activism stuff. So despite the number of artists who follow me, it appears that they never see any of my art, no matter how much art I post. Plus, Elon Muskrat has ruined Twitter to the point where no artist can use it. I literally have 45 followers there, most of whom follow me for my activist retweets, but the artists who do follow me either never see my art, or they never think to interact with it.

As for Inkblot, no matter how much art I put there, nobody sees it or if they do see it, they don't bother with interacting with it. Granted, I only have like, 6 followers, and I'm following way more people than that. And Cohost is kinda the same, but I only have one (1) follower there.

So yeah, the struggle of trying to build an audience is really reducing my drive to make art, too. Just bear with me.

[isolaradiale]

The dark hues of the evening blended to lighter, softer blues of dawn. With every minute, the creatures of the museum began to slow until they stopped altogether, all at once. Whatever they were doing, they dropped it, and began to move their way to the places they had been before the museum took a turn for the lethal.

The artwork climbed back into their frames, stepped onto their pedestals, and walked back into their display cases. A light rain outside washed all the street paint away, color emptying into the drains in the city. Landscapes let their prisoners out, shutting the windows to their world.

Those unlucky enough to earn a spot on the Wall of Shame reappeared in the lobby, their wounds appearing as colorful splashes of paint, and nothing more.

As the oranges and golds of the sun trickled in through the ornate windows of the museum, a blaring voice interrupted the stillness as the intercom museum sparked to life.

"Goooood moooorning, my lovely little visitors! The door to the museum will be opening shortly. Please make your way back to the lobby in an orderly fashion, and be sure to grab all your belongings!"

As Capella promised, the large wooden doors opened once again, releasing all the prisoners of the museum.

"Thanks for visiting the Tempus Museum! Janus, did you want to say any parting words?" "I'm mortified enough as it is, thank you." Came a muffled voice from behind, sounding much less enthused.

"Aww, somebody's cranky... Well, suit yourself!"

As if to add *Extra Enthusiasm*, as everyone exit the doors, they passed by Capella's invulnerable form as she personally waved everyone goodbye, stickers glittering in the morning sunrise. Janus was still sitting at the reception booth, head in his hands and rubbing his temples.

"Bye bye! Goodbye now! Goodbye! Buh-bye! Bye now!" was the chorus that trailed off as she spoke, bidding farewell to the museum's visitors...

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Thank you, everyone, for participating in our recent event: Canvas! As a reminder, you will receive event participation IF:

You've written a starter, thread, mini, or interacted with someone else using the event setting for parts 1, 2, or both.

You've written a 500 word drabble using the setting of the event for parts 1, 2, or both.

You did not have to participate in both parts to receive event credit (so if you only wanted to participate in part 1, it still counts!)

Remember that for participating in the event, you can give yourself 100 stars to use in the marketplace!

A few things have changed as a result of this event, also:

The Tempus Museum has decided to make its home in the Archimedes ward, for now, not far from the Theater of Calliope. Its structure and function is largely the same, but the Optimized Tools won't be there. The artwork won't come to life and attack you, either... during the daytime, that is. You can check out its full description on Archimedes' page!

Janus still takes his place as the museum's curator, and does his best to accommodate guests of the museum. It's not uncommon to see him taking and teaching courses and workshops in the museum, either! He's still polite and eager to help with anything involving the museum and its activities, but if asked questions about the Stars or Spirale, he'll politely explain that he doesn't want to get anyone into trouble. As in the event, on the odd chance that someone is hostile and violent toward him, they'll instantly be killed, and will respawn back in their room.

Thanks again for participating in Canvas! We hope you had a great time!

Frequently Asked Questions:

"Do the things we made turn back to normal?"

Yup! If you didn't destroy it in Part 2 of the event, whatever you made will turn back to normal.

"Will our artwork try to kill us at night?"

Nope! If you took it with you, it's of no danger to you. If you kept it on display at the museum, it's also no danger to you (or anyone else for that matter.) Only the original stock monsters of the museum come to life at night. But unless your muse breaks into the museum, you have nothing to worry about.

The monsters still have their damage invulnerabilities, so unless your muse has a death wish, maybe don't break into the museum without some serious planning. Shady art theft rings will buy your stolen artwork for a hefty price, though, so whether it's worth the risk or not is up to you.

The more often your muse breaks into the museum, the more the monsters will recognize their patterns. Breaking into the museum more than two times is almost impossible, and should be reserved only for the most cunning of thieves.

"What if we made weapons or jewelry? Can we take those back home too?"

Sure! Just know that the weapons will go back to being fragile, and will shatter if used in combat. Any jewelry will look very convincing, but if you try to sell them to anyone, they'll identify it as a fake. Not that they won't buy what you have anyway, but it certainly won't be worth the price of actual precious stones and minerals.

"Can we go back to the museum?"

Yes! It's open to the public from sunrise to sundown, unless there's a nighttime gathering at the museum (which you're free to come up with on your own if you'd like to use it in a setting for a thread.) You could also theoretically break in or sneak in, or hide until the place closes, but you run the risk of running into the guard patrols... or worse.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ (Epilogue)

As the visitors left the building, Capella skipped over to the front desk. Caelum emerged from the darkened corner of the lobby to join her, with the rubber stopper on his cane making soft thumps on the elaborate stone tile.

"Well, that was fun! Thanks for letting us use your museum, Janus." "You're... welcome, I suppose." "Good good! I'll come back here when I make more pieces to show off to the lovely people of our Spirale."

Punctuating this, her hands went up to playfully pat his cheeks.

"Ooookay! Well, until next time! And as for you, Dr. Caelum, I'll see you at this afternoon's meeting or whatever, right?" "Aha, yes I'll be there."

Saluting the both of them, her form vanished into a series of pixels, leaving the other two at the desk. Now that she was gone, the AI turned to give a pointed look at his father.

"...Mmm. Still angry, eh?" Came a chuckle, but the other didn't look so amused.

"You know, at one point, I would have congratulated you for feeling slighted. And I would have celebrated you experiencing such a thing. But you've been around for so long that these things come naturally to you now, don't they? Feelings like being angry... Now I just feel bad when you're upset like any other human."

Another more cheery laugh, and he walked himself over to the doors, motioning the other to follow. With the crowd gone, he could finally step outside and stand on the steps.

"...I am sorry for causing you trouble." "I know." "Good, I'm glad that came across." "I'm still irritated, don't get me wrong." "Yes, yes. I don't doubt it." "And I'm not sure if anyone will come back after such a thing. I wouldn't blame them. I just wanted a place to contribute to this whole thing, and now it's all..."

Sighing, he sat on the first step, watching the rest of the street illuminate in the warm glow of the sunrise. He only realized the old man beside him was trying to sit down when he gave a little huff of effort, and immediately helped his father down beside him.

"Ahh. Much better, thank you." "I could have gotten you a chair..." "Haha, that's alright. If you can sit on the steps, so can I."

For a while, the two sat in silence, watching the streets of Archimedes begin to wake up. Cars stirring, cafes opening, people walking their dogs.

"...Are you doing alright over there?" Janus asked, not turning his head.

"About as well as I can, mmhm." "You still have your migraine medicines down there, right?" "Mmhm. Dr. Lyra has been taking good care of my health, don't worry." "She's the nice one, isn't she? That's a welcome change from the other facility..."

A hand went to the Ai's shoulder, patting it reassuringly.

"Instead of worrying about my health, you should direct that concern inward, Mortimer. You have a place where you can walk around, do all sorts of things humans do. Talk to people, make friends. Play games, read books, paint your lovely canvases. You're not confined to the life we lived three years ago."

Silence followed for a little until the young man leaned against the older one. He must be pushing 70 at this point, right?

"...Are you in a place where you can refer to me by my name? And not that Star code that they made?" "Well, no. Not really. But I don't think anyone's listening. So I don't care~" "Ha! Rebellion got you into this mess, didn't it?" The AI replied with a laugh, earning another from his father.

"Well. Messes that they were, I can still sit with you without you being stuck behind a screen. So even after all the hells we've been through, I'd call that a success. Wouldn't you?"

A smile cracked on his face. They have gone through a lot.

"A success... it's nice to finally call something a success again, father. It's very nice."