#xer's rambles

[xerith-42]

So hard to interact with a fandom when a headcanon you despise is slowly creeping into collective fanon

[xerith-42]

I’m so normal about emerald duo and the AE especially if you hadn’t noticed

It has been so delightful to see them cropping up on my dash because of your reblogs. I love the Antartic Empire era so much for Emerald Duo. Where it all began and they didn't even know it. A bond forged in blood and laughter.

[xerith-42]

So about that AI post huh?

If you're in the Aphverse fandom and you don't know what that title is referring to, you might want to sit down to read this. It's not... the best.

I want to use this post to both compile all the information I have from my own sleuthing, and express my thoughts and nuanced opinions in one place. I'm incredibly depressed by this whole situation, and I think everyone who's ever been a fan of anything made by this team deserves to sit with this uncomfortable truth with as much information as they need for as long as they need it. So lets get started.

This whole ordeal starts in the summer of 2026 on the main aphmau website, aka Aphmeow.com. As a promotion for their back to school line, this image was uploaded to the website.

Now you might not have clocked this as AI generated immediately, I was skeptical, but you can see where the cracks are showing when you look at the notebook on the right. It looks totally wrong, and once you see it, you can't unsee it.

People rightfully clocked this as an AI generated/assisted image within hours of it's posting, both fans and people who have previously worked with CatFace. I first cocked an ear at this whole controversy because of posts made by a voice actor who used to work with them, and when I dug into it, there was not any confirmation from the official team. In this stage of speculation I also heard a claim that I'm going to put in this post, but I need it to be read with many grains of salt.

There have been allegations made that on a job listing for CatFace studios within the last few years, there was a requirement for applicants to "be comfortable with the use of generative AI in the creative process." I have not seen any screenshots proving this, I have checked their recent LinkedIn listings and not found anything to this effect, and I cannot verify the truth of this claim. I bring it up because its a claim that you will hear thrown around this discussion, and I want it to be treated with a critical eye.

I don't think it's impossible that such a thing was on their job listings, I just cannot find proof that it ever was. Also I think it's important to remember that some companies use products and services that have generative AI features built into them, so comfort with those is necessary if you're going to work with them. It's possible that's what the listing is talking about, or it's possible that higher ups will ask writers to use ChatGPT to improve their workflow. We don't know.

Now let's get back to the thing we have proof of, that promotional picture. This we know was AI generated/assisted because shortly after it was posted, the image was taken off of the website and CatFace posted a statement on their Instagram addressing the controversy.

This statement is... a mess. I don't like it, it gave me a bad feeling the first time I read it, and it's only getting worse the more I sit with it. On the surface this seems... fine, but any additional thinking about it shows some flaws in the arguments proposed by the team who posted it.

The main thing that gets to me is the second paragraph, talking about contract artists and previous incidents. To be frank, CatFace seems like a terrible company to work at as a contract artist. Looking up "catface glassdoor" pulls up numerous reviews left by employees past and present, and discussions about how the reviews left aren't even news to some people. Some controversy about people lying in those reviews, and maybe some of them did, but if enough reviews of your company say the same thing, then it's not judt ex employees with an axe to grind.

A lot of these GlassDoor posts talk about a very toxic work environment, one that is unfortunately common for big channels like this, but is still a problem. A lot of crunch culture, last minute changes to staff and plans, and generally leaving a very bad taste in their employees mouths when it comes to the higher ups of the company. In a culture of crunch, where deadlines are sometimes impossible, artists are pushed to their absolute limit in what they are physically capable of. And if they're a contract worker who's ability to keep getting contract work depends on fulfilling these impossible requirements, they might be pushed so far they take desperate measures.

Like using Generative AI to meet those deadlines. And this is why I take issue with the mention of contract artists and previous incicents in this post. If there is a previous history of contract artists using generative AI to meet production deadlines, that is not necessarily the fault of the individual contract artist, even if this post is trying to make it sound like it is. It's the fault of the company that pushed these artists to their absolute limit so much that this has taken place multiple times.

I've heard mutterings of other antics Jess and Jason have gotten up to with AI on twitter, but I have too much respect for myself to actually log onto that website. So if anyone has any proof of any of that, I'd love to see it. As you may be able to tell though, misinformation spreads fast.

That's why I'm making this post. So that way everyone can see what actual easily compiled evidence there is, and come to their own conclusion about continuing to give their viewership to this company and their products. It's on you to decide if you want to keep supporting these series, and I'm sure you won't be alone if you decide to disown it but take a small handful of your favorite characters and claim them as your own.

Just keep yourselves informed and sharp

[xerith-42]

I am in literal hell

[xerith-42]

oh wait the post in pinned

I just thought you were aggressively reblogging the poll with the same tags

NO LMAO

Though that would be something I would do. I mostly pinned the post so I didn't have to scroll through the main blog to find it. I'm one of the people treating this poll like its a sports match, and I've placed bets on it

[xerith-42]

Random Leif headcanonnnn please? (I voted him earlier)

Absolutely!! One Leif headcanon fresh from my brain, coming right up!

I think that Leif is one of if not the only member of his party to have actual past romantic experiences. The other Daemos have seen someone court another before, maybe even attempted to woo m'lady on their own, but Leif is the only one who's had any success. It's why he's so confused by his inability to seduce Ava, because when he's not getting what he wants out of someone, that usually works. People on Daemos find Leif very attractive, especially for his species, he's never actually had to try very hard to court someone before. It part of why Leif likes courting Ava so much, it's an honest to god challenge.

Adding onto this, even if Leif has successfully courted people in the past, I don't think he experienced a real romantic connection with anyone until he started falling for Ava. He's maybe allowed himself to feel love before, but something tells me that wouldn't go very well for an assassin. He more likely hasn't allowed himself the luxury of a romantic connection while spending his life on the run, or by Asch's side. Ava is the first time he's ever been allowed so seriously consider the possibility.

[xerith-42]

it won’t let me put the picture here but i voted for leif!

i hunger for headcanons.

Ah, that may be an issue in my settings. Whatever, we work on the honor system here.

I think Leif would get addicted to energy drinks the second he has a taste of one. Daemos may have some kind of plant based stimulant he's tried, but it's nothing like a default monster energy. I fear he would love both the flavor and the feeling it gives him. It makes him itch to kill even worse than usual, and he swears he could kill double the amount of people than usual if Ava would just let him out of the apartment. She of course says that extra means he won't leave the apartment until it wears off.

[xerith-42]

for some reason I can't put the picture. But

i did. I voted for Leif. I want unhinged headcanon pretty please

I trust you, it's okay <3

I have always had this belief since my first watch that Leif was willing to test all of Ava's bluffs, even if he didn't do it in front of anyone else. I think he knew Ava was lying when she set the rules around her portal, and I think he figured that out some time when everyone was either alseep or away.

In uh, some project I'm working on, Leif discovers it a different way, but this is all to say that Leif is very careful with this newfound knowledge that Ava's rules are a lie. He doesn't act on it frequently, because he's genuinely smart enough to know he has to play the long game with this. It's part why he isn't as bothered by how much time they end up spending on Earth. He knows there's something else going on and he has to figure it out.

This isn't even that unhinged now that I think about it, I just have this in my brain and it will never leave. I don't even know what Leif would do with it other than mildly inconvenience people, but even then he'd know it was a risk to show any of the other Daemos this truth. So he probably wouldn't even do anything with it.

But he always could.