I am going to keep this short, but we had to put our eldest cat to rest this morning. it was definitely time, he knew it was time based on his behavior. And if you know cats you kind of know what that looks like. It was very sudden compared to last weekend, but mom and I decided that we could wait and it was the best choice because we weren't even sure if was going to make it to this morning as it was.

I plan to work on things as I am able to focus on them, they may just take a little longer to get updates to those who have commissioned work. For those that bought originals I should still be able to have those in the mail by Wednesday without too much issue.

For now, I think I am going to just hang out, and do whatever I feel up to for the rest of the day. (Which will likely be a lot of Legends Z-A, which for only the few hours I have played is incredibly fun, and good way to keep my mind moving forward.)

So aside from the update that I made to the previous journal, I am just posting a new one for clarity that there is actually much good news, for now.

With some help from a friend on Twitter who is an auto mechanic, he was under the impression that the issue was just a clogged AC condensation drain which after doing what I could to drain it and getting it to an auto shop that could more fully take care of it, found that that indeed was all it was. The auto shop said they were able to clear the plugged drain tube but were surprised at how little water came out after pulling it apart, but weren't to surprised with how soaked my passenger floor was (but I guess that didn't remember that I also drained it myself last night).

But anyway, I am happy it was not the original issue that the technician thought it was that we had hastily consulted Saturday night before some friends and I had game night.

With any luck, this will be the only issue, the only thing I possibly have looming was that at my last oil change the shop recommended replacing my rack and pinyon and rack assembly, which another shop pointed out could just be due to the mileage on the vehicle, (150k+). But I figure I would let the dealership determine that.

UPDATE: With a stroke of luck, and some help from RettBriar on Twitter, who thought it was a possible blockage in the AC drainage tube and gave me instructions on how to get to it and see if the AC box was full of water. and it was. I wasn't able to clear the blockage, but at least now this is be WAY less expensive of a fix, and hopefully this addresses it.

But that said, I do plan to leave the originals at 50% off till the end of October and the auction for the Reshiram original will remain, I need the money anyway, and as a just in case.

---

So, as the title says, I have a fairly substantial car repair that is likely incoming. The really short bit of info is that ultimately if what the technician thinks is wrong with my car is actually wrong with my car, then I am looking at about 1500 dollars in repairs, if there aren't any additional repairs that would be prudent to do at the same time.

---

For those who are curious about what is potentially wrong with my car, here is more context. I heard water sloshing around in my car, and when I figured out where it was coming from, it was leaking into my car from underneath the glove box, thankfully not through the glove box, but from the area underneath it where the air vent opening would be. I ran to an auto shop that was open to ask if it could be from the big rain we recently had that just didn't drain, but the technician based on the info I had from where it was leaking into my car thinks it is very likely that it is either the heating core or the evaporative core of the vehicle. The parts that help with controlling the AC and heating of the car. He said that if it is worse when running the AC or the heat that would be good indicator it is one of them, and indeed the water leakage problem does get worse when running the AC. So, it is highly likely that the evaporative core is failing. I have no idea if the heating core is also bad, because I have not had to run the heat really. So hopefully it is not both, but they just want to do both because both are right next to each other and it requires the complete disassembly of the dashboard.

---

So to help raise some funds for this, I am going to sell the current originals I have up for sale still for 50% of the listed prices
General: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/61142238/
Adult: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/61142281/

I will also be auctioning off that Reshiram I completed recently, which I will be posting here in a bit. Let's say 9PM Mountain Time. (Usually GMT -7 when on Standard Time, US is still in Daylight Saving Time)

I also had few people who recently had asked about commissions from the last journal, I will also reach out to those people.

the extreme TL;DR: Who wants to help me make a quasi unwise purchasing decision to buy some Pokemon merchandise that I discovered exists that I have been wishing to exist for the last several months in exchange for a commission? (payment would be upfront)

I am offering a single character, colored piece, pinup-ish style. For 150 dollars. (Some species limitations, no insects or pachyderms only because I cannot draw them yet. OR if you want a Pokemon, within reason cause some designs don't anthro well, I will reduce the price to 125 dollars which can include shipping of the original if in the US or + shipping if outside the US)

OR

I will take a low ball on one of the originals I am offering + shipping cost
General: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/61142238/
18+: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/61142281/
You can also make an offer on the recent Reshiram I finished.

---

Claim in a comment below, or DM me if we already know each other, and we can discuss details of which you would like.

Reminder that I am selling some originals. Been a couple weeks. Added the Samurott pair of pieces to the listing

General: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/61142238/

Adult: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/61142281/

A long time friend of mine, one of my earliest friends and supporters in this community, needs help caring for his husband after some healthcare concerns and medical issues happened all one right another, and his husband is now facing a new round of cancer much more severe than the first time. I won't say more than that here, because I feel that is the most relevant, but they started a GoFundMe which I felt I should share.

https://gofund.me/5fde6917
https://gofund.me/5fde6917
https://gofund.me/5fde6917

I try to keep journals like this to a minimum because I know how we are all struggling, but with how long I have known my Calafin, I felt it important to share.

If you want a brief gist of it, here is his journal: https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/11172366/

*rolls in* yep today is my birthday, carry on *rolls out*

Came across in a journal from another artist I watch. As someone who knows the value of both the education and the document that comes with it, I felt it important to share.

https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/11101891/

So, a little over a week ago, I got a letter from my bank stating that I would not be getting my money back. So that's nice.

I am not going to ask for people to help me out or anything, just thought I should mention it for those that were curious what the result was.

Paypal said that my financial institution might be able to force a chargeback from the person who scammed me. So I did. I gave them all the information and the timeline of how things occurred, plus Paypal's transaction ID, the email the scammer used, the registered name for the PP account it was sent to. There is a reason I save ALL my receipts from every transaction.

My financial institution is going to perform an investigation, and hopefully I gave them enough information for it be successful? We will see. I did contact Telegram on the long shot they have the chat logs still, but I did inform my bank that those chat logs were deleted by the scammer.

Never thought I would have this happen to me, but apparently even with my due diligence, it still happened.

The gist of it is, first time bidding on an artists YCH. I got contacted via Telegram from an account with said artists Username, didn't think much of it, cause it doesn't show the handle just the name unless you click in for more details. Artist had listed an alternative payment to PP, but the scammer said they were able to set one up. Again, nothing of a red flag considering the state of the world and the languages the artist speaks. So there was no red flag when it could only be sent via Friends and Family, I had to do this with artists who I have previously worked with, so I already had their contact. Because I also have friends in other parts of the world who can only send as Friends and Family because of restrictions for their country. I also forgot I took out my Telegram handle listing here on FA, so when I was suddenly contacted, it didn't raise any concerns.

So now I am likely up shit creek without a paddle. Oh well, at least it was only a relatively small amount. But it seems like a group of people is going around posing as Eastern EU block artists to take advantage of inconsistent payment methods to either scam people by offering services or simply by acting as if they are contacting you when you are a first time buyer of them.



Consumer Recommendations:
1. check the detailed info of someone contacting you via Telegram because it is so easy to just erase information. There is a means to recover deleted conversations from Discord, or their used to be. But Telegram it is too easy to just in and out without much issue.

2. Maybe use two methods of communication to start before settling into one, so that you can verify who you are talking to. Like, using FA notes and being like, did you contact me via insert method of contact. Which is why I am huge believer in people trying to keep FA notes open, cause then you just click the username and verify the user page.

3. The only possible red flag in hindsight would have been not sticking to the outlined payment method on the auction post. I guess be strict and stick to it even if the artist insists otherwise. Or at the very least, try it first and then move on to a secondary payment method if it absolutely needed.

Outside of this, I am not really sure what else there is I could have done. I am a very wary person, but in this case, there was no outline for how I would have been contact if I had won. I had not previously worked with this artist, so I had not knowledge of how they manage their end of it. If anyone has further recommendations for the consumer, please share additional steps to hopefully prevent this in the future.



Artist/Seller Recommendations
1. Have CLEAR instructions for how the winner of an auction or potential client will be contacted and by what method they will be contacted initially and then if a secondary means of communication is needed, discuss how that account will appear to each other. E.g. that the winner or client will be responded to via comment and then FA notes, or that an email will be sent to the client with a set of identifying information to confirm.

2. Have two methods of contact, again, use FA notes to confirm that another account is the same person, or etc.

3. If you can only accept 1 specific payment method, stick to it. Don't suddenly change it on your client unless you absolutely must.

4. I know some people like to do 48 hours after last bid type auctions. But I think this should have been the other red flag for my case, is that I didn't notice it had not been 48 hours since my bid. So maybe use a set time and date with time zone style end point. (e.g. November 18th @ 9PM Mountain Time)



I think the biggest reason I didn't catch it was in part, first time doing business with this artist and lack of how communication would occur when completing the transaction. In this day in age, it seems like it would be better to be overly specific with more details than to have very few details. And now I know why some artists have very long TOS agreements.

Welp, reached 31 today, it is a little hard to wrap my head around actually.

But yesterday was an adventure, because this is also the year I had to renew my driver license, of which at my first appointment I failed the eye test. So I had to find an appointment to reschedule after getting it done by an optometrist...before the end of today because in CO your license expires on your birthday instead of end of the month. Only appointment was in a city about an hour away and 3 hours from when I got done at my first renewal appointment. All I will say is thank the gods for Wal-Mart vision centers existing. But needless to say I have exactly 20/40 vision due to an astigmatism. Yay...which I knew about 5 years ago, but I could at least read the eye test when I got my license renewed then.

That aside, for those who I mentioned this to already, my cars camber bolt snapped a few weeks ago, finally getting that fixed today.

And one of my laptop's fans bearing broke, so the fan is very wobbly, but thankfully instead of new laptop my local IT friend found a replacement part, which turned out to to be the wrong size...but we found the right one which is actually cheaper than the first one that we thought was compatible. 100 dollars and some time is so much better than 1700 for a new laptop.

So I have had quite the adventure for my birthday this year. So much for a quiet one. Lol. I am just glad everything is working out.

I don't think I ever publicly stated that I do have both a Twitter and BlueSky, while it is not super active, I do post my in progress photos on various pieces I have in the works.

Links are:

https://twitter.com/AdleisioArt

https://bsky.app/profile/adleisio.bsky.social

So yeah, I am starting to feel it.

But another year around the sun.

https://youtu.be/DOWDNBu9DkU

Long and short of it, super quiet drones for package delivery that started as a delivery system for medical supplies in Rwanda.

Short Twitter version: https://twitter.com/AdleisioArt/status/1621409096053440512

---

So a conversation with an acquaintance in a Telegram channel got me thinking a bit more about the recent events of Twitter. One of those things mentioned how there is the possibility that these actions might be using DN as a scapegoat, but they might not be. But also that...some people could be intentionally fearmongering to make any sort of engagement with another cultural is to be considered offensive. Effective Barricading the culture and isolating it.

This can have knock on effects:

1. People not being willing to buy from that cultures artisans for fear that wearing their traditionally made jewelry or owning other traditionally made decorative objects will be seen as offensive and appropriation, thus hurting the artisans and their ability to make a living. This is something currently being faced by Northern Scandinavian Natives (yes, there are more than just N. American Native Peoples), who have had their incomes severely cut as a result of people fear of being offensive. Most people usually want to be respectful, and if something will get them labeled as being offensive, they will avoid it. Avoidance behavior is a thing, and people tend to be concerned with how they appear to others.

2. Exposure creates nuanced understanding. By exploring another culture, you gain a more nuanced understanding of it, but if it is barricaded off, it prevents this nuanced understanding. This lack of understanding is what breeds stereotypes and allows them to perpetuate when they cannot be challenged. An example is that racism really is still present in the US, and you tend to find it in more rural areas where there are less opportunities to interact with people of another race. Like, it is really effing hard to be racist when you get to see that people of another race, nation, or creed are just humans too, struggling to survive, and actually have a lot in common with you. And I am defining racism as the prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism of a person or peoples solely based on their race, but also the belief that one group has different attributes usually to define one as superior and another as inferior.

2a. DarkNatasha's works depicting Native themes and aesthetics does none of these things, because none of her depictions seem to adhere to any sort of antagonism or discrimination against those cultures. She is not depicting those characters in negative situations, but is displaying them in a manner which shows an appreciation for the visual aesthetics as much as other aspects and practices of those cultures. She is not depicting any one culture as superior or inferior to others she has depicted.

2 cont. This is the same sort of things which happens with a lot of misunderstood species of animal, such as snakes, which are often feared and it is usually because people lack a proper sense of knowledge and understanding of them. Same thing happens with cultures and people. We tend to fear what we do not know.

3. If people are pushed into not engaging or being to afraid to engage because of not wanting to seem offensive or are worried about being harassed by people (who may not even be Native, but feel they have to defend them on their behalf), then you have now reduced the amount of knowledge people will gain for that culture, and that is not really a good means to ensure that a culture survives, if anything it would almost certainly lead to that cultures eventual extinction. And there are a number of small Native cultures who have dwindling membership for a various number of reasons, and some are so small, they are basically on the edge of no longer existing, and some of them would desperately want to have their culture depicted somewhere, but this may not happen if people are made to be afraid of engaging with them, well, then breeding that fear will have not done anyone any good. It will be a righteous pyrrhic victory.

And these concepts don't just apply to Native Americans, but to just about any culture from anywhere in the world. People of a culture can have all the opinions they want about what is and is not appropriate, but keep in mind that one does not speak for the collective (Unless you are literally the Borg, but I digress).

These are just some thoughts that have come to mind in light of things.

This is not a callout journal, this is generally about some rather wanton name calling going on, on Twitter. (Yes, I finally started being active, and I finally had to say something)

The Twitter thread can be found here: https://twitter.com/AdleisioArt/sta.....84407008608256

But I am going to copy-past stuff here to a degree.

---

I am kind of tired of people trying to call out someone as racist or otherwise simply because they cannot clearly tell the difference between someone trying to depict and represent a specific culture or group of people versus borrowing elements from that culture or group in the context of fantasy art.

We as humans have been making art for.....literally tens of thousands of years, and being that cultures do not live a vacuum, many styles of art have subtly and unsubtly influenced each other over the years. Examples would be finding Celtic Knot art on more than just the British Isles. Domed architecture is found in various forms across the world, Greek, Roman, Islamic, Indo-Pacific, etc. Architecture is one of the most traceable forms of artistic design that can show influence from one to another culture.

Like, one of the most prominent modern examples of referencing an aesthetic is basically any and all medieval fantasy worlds. Many have similarities, and many are different, but a vast majority of them mix and match armors, weapons, sword types, and etc. all from eras in Middle European history that would never overlapped historically. And most of us seem to get this, and understand that that media is not supposed to be representing Middle Europe with anything other than an aesthetic appearance. Hell D&D is incredibly anachronistic with allowing references to more modern things, with one prime example being Vox Machina. It is strictly fantasy is how it is using its aesthetics.

But yet, there are people in the fandom who would maintain that the same is not true for indigenous/tribal aesthetics that are both shared across the globe, and more specific elements that are found in specific regions limited to a single continent or even heavily influenced by a specific continent. But that would create a double standard, that they are fine with fantasy depictions of other cultures, but not anything remotely hinting at their own, even if it is only very superficially similar. And me, being the person of logic that I am, hate double standards. Artist are influenced by the world around them, and always have been, and always will be.

It is literally what gave D&D to begin with, it is what has allowed things like Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate, etc to exist, and other fantasy worlds you can think of. E.g. Innistrad from MtG referencing a lot of things while being coherently its own plain while making heavy reference to Gothic fiction, which pulled from it's own influences to create those fictional stories. Or Ixalan which pulls from both the age of Piracy and Exploration and Central American cultures to borrow general influences for design. Or Amonkhet for its reference to Ancient Egypt while still making it its own thing, so that it wasn't trying to representative.

None of those are remotely racist. While there have been specific individual elements that people have pointed out as being problematic, those are some very specific points which they also offered corrections for when going forward. That is something which WotC can make actionable changes for going forward. But broad stroking an entire depiction being racist or problematic doesn't offer a solution or help the situation, and it make it possible for someone to make a correction going forward. We are only human and can only hold so much knowledge in our skulls. Even though I have friends who have studied more than plenty of Japanese culture, there are things which he still gets wrong from time to time.

Like. there are obvious depictions of groups which can be called stereotyping in bad face. Such as historical films using heavy amounts of eyeliner on Arab people. Or hose Geishas from Japan were depicted as prostitutes in western media is has been fundamentally false, or using a specific ceremonial headdress from Native American cultures in costumes, when those headdress hold a very specific meaning to that culture.

What isn't bad faith use of aesthetics is when take general styles and aesthetics rather than certain specific objects and elements and reuse them for something that don't mean. Much like how Spear Pillar in Pokemon draws upon Greek/Roman architecture influences while not using eithers specific's style. Again, any medieval fantasy setting.

Like the key difference is the amount of specificity with which something is being depicted. Much like how we can classify a painting as Impressionist versus Classical, it is because those two styles have difference design languages. Impressionism has it's characteristics much like how Celtic Tribal aesthetics has it's design characteristics which make it feel Celtic vs Roman. Like, by identifying what makes something feel Celtic, you can then use that AESTHETIC and influence for design without it trying to be representative of the Celts themselves.


That is what DarkNatasha and just about every other artist does. If they are wanting to depict a specific culture or ceremony they will do their research, But because DN's art pulls from more than just Native American, but also Gaelic, and other, it is clearly a fantasy design that has its own unique existence separate from, but influenced by those designs.

If there is a specific object or element that is depicted, and you can point it out, and offer a solution in turn. THEN and only then have your created an opportunity for actionable change, because just broad strokes is not informative, and name calling is not going to help anyone, especially the artist, who is merely human.

You can read my DA journal here: https://www.deviantart.com/adleisio.....n-AI-944419750

But in short, a user asked to use one of my works as "their muse" for an oil painting piece being done for another client. Their Gallery was basically empty and they only had been on DA for just shy of week. Told them that I was not comfortable with them using my work for another client, and if they were merely filtering it through an AI as a starting image, that I was definitely not okay with it. Response acted as if I said yes they could use it, told them no, they wouldn't be.

I sent a help ticket, blocked them, which on DA means they cannot see any of your works or contact you, but I also decided to throw all my art on DA into storage and restrict guest access to my profile here on FA.

I am very annoyed to say the least that DA has opened up this hell scape that artists now have to deal with that someone could, without your permission, just take your art and run through it an AI and sell it off to another client.

Thanks so much AI Tech Bros. /s

https://youtu.be/tZw0-ap7buo

An interesting video about debates and things to look out for when watching debates; e.g. political debates.

I am sharing a link to a small GoFundMe for a friend of mine who is in need of dental work for some broken teeth.

It is not a lot, I hope you guys can help, I don't typically share this sort of stuff, but dental wellness is something that is a must for good health outcomes, and I hope some of you are familiar with just how bad dental pain and bad dental health can be and what it can lead to.

the link is here: https://gofund.me/ee1bddc1

....No, I am not planning on doing anything with it, it is literally just to follow a tiny number of people and because there are some people who make it impossibly hard to contact them except through Twitter, which is so ungodly annoying. Like for effs sake, at least leave like a business email or something. Like I get Twitter is "fast and easy" because mobile devices are the way of the future, but for frak's sake.

Also, no, I will not be posting what my Twitter handle, if you find me, please don't follow me, I won't follow you back. I hate so many people's hot takes and stupid comments. I am using it literally just to do only the most absolutely necessary things I need to in regards to contacting artists and etc. I want to keep my Twitter experience as least invasive as I can. I will not be putting it on my phone for any reason, do not expect me to reply to you via Twitter. I have Telegram and Discord for a reason, and email and FA notes.

I am already annoyed how intrusive Twitter is as a website with all of it's recommendation crap, which I have already gone through and added several "suggest_(X)" words to my mute list and it is still ungodly annoying and invasive.

But this is mostly so that people don't think someone is using my name or likeness on the website without my permission. So if you see me, that is why.

other than feeling like my throat is on fire, I feel fine.

It legit feels like really bad sinus drainage from allergies at most. It is so effing weird.

I turn 29 today....yay!!!! have some plans for things to do today, but hopefully all goes well!

Stay safe and healthy everyone!

https://youtu.be/v0aGGOK4kAM

An interesting video with all the logistics information one could desire.