/ᐠ - ˕ -マ Ⳋ

It's the "I kept picturing" line listing things that really reveals the nonsensical processing of AI, because choosing visual moments that would make good connected comic panels is more difficult to simulate, and it also attributes "the glimmer of amber scales" to Essek when that is very very obviously Caleb in the fic, and there is a grammar/punctuation issue ("as panels the row") that doesn't feel natural. And for the scam element, the classic unsolicited "reach out to me on Discord" hook should always be suspect.

I decided to check the user's tumblr profile, and what do you know: it's empty, of course, with 0 posts. And their profile banner is literally an AI generated image with the big DREAMS TIME watermark right in the middle. And if this was not enough: all their Likes/Comments are visible. And all of them are on posts with Ao3 links like mine, and every single comment shares the exact same format. A few sentences complimenting themes and moments, followed by "I draw comics, and honestly I kept picturing [that scene] as a panel/series of panels [described]. If you ever want to see a scene as a comic, I'm on Discord at margarita._.morales. This fic really stuck with me, thank you for sharing it." And the time stamp for all these comments are like 2min apart, because the bot is trawling for ao3 link posts that have the tag "Ao3 link".

Most people already know or should know that any comment from a stranger (positive or negative!) that's trying to get you to go to a different platform like Discord is almost always a scam. The laundry list of other flags are also familiar: soulless empty profile, the fact that likes/comments are not hidden, the fact they only follow the default Staff account, the fact some things that don't quite make sense in the message. But before I registered all these things, the effusive specificity of the message initially made me happy. It achieved seeming real at first glance, even if it fell apart immediately under a due diligence mental checklist. And it's because it fed my work into fucking AI.

Cool, so you want natural fiber costumes with no/nuanced corset slander, people wearing colors, historical hairstyles, people wearing hats or headcoverings and long sleeves outside during the day, no potatoes or pumpkins in pre-columbian Europe, actors with textured skin and wrinkles, minimal makeup, consulting HEMA groups and weapons scholars for all the weapons and fight scenes, a good soundtrack that includes traditional instruments?

Second poll will remain open until 50 years from publishing

Bot options share a UUID, making a vote for either count for both

Previously, a vote in the first poll counted for both options in the second

In 1885, almost as early as the formation of Canada as a country, a fee per head was charged to Asian immigrants, to discourage them from entering the country at all and, if they insisted on coming to work (because even for heavily discriminated against workers, there was money to be made in the colonial project), to discourage them from bringing their families. At the time, Chinese labourers were reinforcing the western colonization and their rail building, so the head tax was introduced to prevent the Chinese population from growing and to make more money off of those who could afford to pay it anyway. Even after paying the tax, these workers were underpaid, overworked, and disrespected even by their fellow workers (because nothing splits the working class from itself like letting the white worker feel superior to the non-white worker).

By 1923, the head tax had failed to create an adequately milk-coloured population for the white supremacist society, so a new measure was introduced: The Chinese Immigration Act, also known as the Chinese Exclusion Act.

Introduced on July 1st, 1923, the act barred Chinese people from immigrating to Canada, made paper identification cards mandatory for all Chinese citizens (including children), and forbade Chinese citizens from leaving the country for longer than two years, on the punishment of being denied re-entry. Failure to comply with these rules carried a punishment of imprisonment or a $500 fine.

This act was repealed in 1947, but repealing the act did little to lessen the discrimination Asian Canadians faced.

a screenshot from an article with the text "[...] each new Chinese immigrant pay a tax of $50 to enter Canada. It was the first immigration policy in Canadian history to restrict immigration on the basis of race. The head tax allowed merchants, students, diplomats, scientists and tourists to avoid the tax. A 1900 amendment allowed further exemptions for clergymen and their families. The government increased the tax to $100 in 1900 and $500 in 1903. At the time, $500 was equal to about two years of wages for the average Chinese labourer working in Canada."

1. A lot of dudes. Just a ton of fucking people from beginning to end of the process.

2. Ancient people weren't stupid, they just figured shit out the same way we do: fuck around until you find out.

3. We're gonna plan this out and it's gonna take ten fucking years, and you will cope.

4. Sticks and string are surprisingly versatile and can be used for a variety of purposes, like moving stuff and making sure things are even and go in the spot you wanted to put them in!

No weekends

Child labor

Slave labor

"The king said to do it"

Fidenae Stadium Disaster of 27AD. A huge gladitorial stadium, built fast and cheap, collapsed and killed 20,000 people, as well as injuring many more out of the total audience of 50,000.

The Sagrada Familia was started in 1882. It is still not finished.

Mingun Pahtodawgyi was started in 1790 but a prophecy said the king who commissioned it would die when it was finished, so he stopped building it.

The Pyramid of Neferefre was never finished because Neferefre died early and his successor didn't bother.

Alai Minar was supposed to be twice the diameter and twice the height of Qutb Minar. Didn't get past the first storey, abandoned in 1316.

Bara Kaman, abandoned in 1672.

The Basilica of San Petronio was started in 1390. The main facade was never finished. In 1514, they hired a guy to construct the dome, but the pope ordered the "megalomaniac dream" halted.