Shazzbaa

Immediately ceding to any idea you can't effectively argue against would, I think, leave you really vulnerable to persuasive, well-spoken people, and to any ideologies that train their followers to debate. I don't think it would make you more likely to have a correct or well-considered view.

I am not personally an expert in every belief I hold. If someone pointed out that every piece of info and experience I have on a thing was wrong or being interpreted incorrectly, I should look into that?? Maybe I'm wrong! But that followup is where I change views, not the moment of being out-debated

"if it makes them happy its fine, what does it matter if its Real" is all well and good, but when you develop a relationship with AI you're making yourself emotionally vulnerable to a program that's in someone else's wildly unregulated hands, and that's very different from an imaginary partner

my kneejerk feeling is that a relationship with an AI is less mental disorder and more like, joining a cult or buying into a pyramid scheme. Absolutely messes w your perception of reality, but even skeptical informed people can be vulnerable to something designed to hack human perception

What do you love when you fall for AI? Inside the surprisingly meaningful, unexpectedly heartbreaking, and deeply confusing reality of AI relationships.

Oh, I gotta share this relevant article from a while back on this very thing, following several people's relationships w/ AI companions and the way it affects them emotionally (even when they understand how LLMs work) -- found this a really interesting perspective

www.theverge.com/c/24300623/a...

Hdhgdjfncjfk DENIED

thank you for your dedication mr broth

Several drawings of my Fallen London character, Samuel, one showing small scars pocked across his face labelled "shrapnel from ship getting shot down", another with a jagged purple scar down his back labelled "glim scar number one" and a third showing a jagged purple scar that nicks his jaw and takes off a little bit of his ear labelled "glim scar number 2, distracted chasing the Pale Tabernacle"

someone on tumblr asked about Sam's recent scar additions, so here's a little doodle of what he's picked up since the last time I posted a scar ref. HES RUNNING OUT OF ROOM

#fallenlondon #fallenlondonoc
[still playing through the game, no unrelated spoilers please!]

Twitch Twitch is the world

tHANKS FOR WAITING!! REMEMBER FOLX, BREAKFAST IS IMPORTANTO if you normally eat breakfast. which I do. uh. other words. brain slow today lmao. COME JOIN US FOR MORE MARIO RPGS!!! YEAAAH
twitch.tv/shazzandboo

The ttrpg I did cover art for is already well on its way to being a Real Book (with more art by me!) but there's so many cool folks lined up in the stretch goals to write playsets so do take a look if this sounds like your jam!

OHHHH THIS CAME OUT SO GOOD

HEHEHEE THANK YOU this feels like the ideal reaction

That's not a beetle or a pet!!

Oh no that's so cute...!! I rly love everyone coming up with ways to get an item but keep him with the coalman; I've also seen calling the item "an occasional visit from a poodle-sized beetle" and someone else hoping for "any Bernard Jr.s" that they could adopt

oh that green looks so cool

A drawing of a human representation of the Nightmare-Orphanage building, from Fallen London. A humanoid figure with a shadowed face, long black hair, and a ring of expressionless orderly masks around its head. It has two sets of arms; the first set wears an overcoat with pointed shoulders that look like roofs and a brick-like texture, with hands that are blackened and burnt. Under the dark coat is a bright white outfit that is part doctor's coat, part nurse's dress. The second set of hands is gloved, blood-stained, and holding a syringe, and tubes full of sickly-yellow moon-milk snake out from under the dress.

Seized with the sudden urge to make a gijinka of the Nightmare-Orphanage...... as one does.......

#lightfingers #fallenlondon

A drawing of my Fallen London character, Samuel. A giant green beetle the size of a poodle is clambering enthusiastically in his arms with lots of little hearts around his head. Sam is hefting the unwieldy beetle up and gives him a small smile.

A drawing of my Fallen London character, Samuel, standing in front of a dog-sized green iridescent beetle, Bernard. Samuel holds a jar of large white grubs in one hand, and has pulled out a single grub to hold over Bernard's head in the other. Bernard is alert, antennae sticking straight up and mandibles open.

A drawing of my Fallen London character, Samuel, sitting on the floor with Bernard, a giant green beetle the size of a poodle. Sam is drumming his hands on Bernard's shell, and Bernard seems pleased, rubbing his forelegs together happily

BERNARD!!!! hes everything 2 me....... how could sam not be won over by his charms. how do i get a pet poodle-sized beetle of my own #esspoilers #fallenlondon

in morning lounge wear and drinking tea, Zagel contemplates the similarities of wall scuttling activities that poodle sized beetles and multi legged spindle wolves delight in doing, as Bernard (poodle sized beetle) scuttles playfully across the apartment walls.

Zagel carefully puts on Bernard's harness and clips the lead to it, while the poodle sized beetle excitedly yet politely wiggles all of it's appendages. WALKIES surrounded with many hearts is written in the background to make up for the fact this was doodled at like 3 am and was unsure how visually clear the harness was

Zagel, in longue wear sits curled up on the vague notion of a couch with legs crossed and tail wrapped around. Bernard is flopped in his lap, no thoughts head empty full of bliss, as Zagel drumroll taps his fingers across the poodle sized beetle's shell while reading some letters.

Zagel, standing, has hefted an entire poodle sized beetle into his arms, which was the only acceptable reaction to Bernard being so excited to visit his beetle-sitter. One of Bernard's leggies is caught up in and messing up Zagel's hair, but Zagel is still happy to affectionately hold the beetle he wasn't expecting to make friends with.

i was asked to cross post my bernard doodles from my Fallen London tumblr to here for all the beetle lovers, and how could i refuse. i'd do anything for bernard. #fallenlondon #ESspoilers

Gosh, I think I'm probably the second one -- if most of the country skewed in a particular direction I don't think I would refresh my understanding of what "moderate" is to match - i think in my mind its more a midpoint between two intense ideas rather than like, The Mean Viewpoint Held

Okay the votey really got me

HEHE THANK YOU its such an important detail to me <3

a drawing of Poor Edward from Fallen London, holding his red tragedy mask to the side of his face so that half his face is visible, grinning maliciously despite his rosy cheeks and dimples, and the other half is hidden in shadow behind the mask.

"He's a pathetic little man in a mask, playing at being the villain"

#lightfingers #fallenlondon

oh man thank you! AND HAHAHA OMG im so glad, im delighted by the power of his cringefail swag

Aw thank you so much!!

HEHE THANK YOU. just breathing a cloud of spaghetti dynamite, as one does

HAHAHA OH WONDERFUL, im delighted by this rundown, thank you so much!

A comic depicting my Fallen London character, Samuel, playing chess with the boatman of death, declaring "ha!" as he makes a winning move, then waking up in his bed and immediately getting dressed and leaving his lodgings. His hound of heaven (a large white snake) and several weasels watch him go.

The second part of a comic depicting my Fallen London character, Samuel, entering the Brass Embassy - he passes a goat-demon guarding the door, who snorts at him unimpressed, then passes a devil lady in a pinstripe suit who's yelling "Stop dying!" and "Why do you keep-" and "Do you have any idea how much paperwork" and Samuel just glances to the side and ignores her as he walks past. The imp overseeing the law furnace says, "Right. Hope you learned your lesson-" but Samuel walks past him, too, straight up to the law furnace, and starts climbing inside, reaching for something shiny in the corner, and muttering "this... time... for... sure..."

The third part of a comic depicting my Fallen London character, Samuel, horrifically distorted as the ash from law furnace un-makes and disintegrates him. In the next panel Samuel is back on the bank of the river of death, rubbing the bridge of his nose with irritation, as the boatman pulls his boat up next to him and says "I do have other passengers to ferry, you know..."

samuel makes only good decisions and also he definitely learns from them. he died in the law furnace 4 times

#fallenlondon #estival2025

new pinned post bc I finally got my vgen put together!! if you want a sketchy comm or some outfit design, that's available now!! yaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!

vgen.co/stopboorider

Two drawings of my Fallen London character, Samuel, wearing a crown made of twisted-together roots. In the first drawing he's trying to pull it off, muttering "ow ow ow," as the roots have obviously attached themselves to his scalp. In the second drawing he's looking a little embarrassed, still wearing the crown, and telling the shopkeeper, "Ah, maybe I'll buy this one." The shopkeep replies "Can't part with it, eh?" and Samuel does not respond.

Fallen London is a game where I sometimes buy an item I absolutely do not need, instead of any of the items I do need, solely b/c the text for buying it says "maybe you've worn it too long, and are afraid of how hard it will be to pull off" and thats delightful to imagine for my guy
#fallenlondon

"AI isn't art" ranks pretty high. Generative AI has often produced the strange sort of Art I tend to get really emotional about, and it kills me that I can't be really excited about it because of how exploitative it is. ("too lazy to pick up a pencil" also makes me see red)