The Ravens Nest

I think this is a good spot to do this so I’m going to take a break from my usual writings and proving that an internet you know nothing about existed.

Ye gods…what fuck-awful screeds this has churned out, this constant bitching, pissing and moaning about AI. What it’s acceptable uses are, whether or not they’re acceptable at all, let’s call it what it is; The Modern Purity Spiral.

My normal mode these days is to get up, grab an old phone that uses Wi-Fi and then hit the bathroom, find some good reads in the notes or find some great notes somewhere.

It’s turned into fuckin’ Twitter.

The notes now have a schedule. Soon it will be racist orcs, combat wheelchairs, whether or not you or I should own a gun to appease someone else’s moral sensibilities and I have this to say: If at anytime you feel there’s a “taint” then no one is forcing you to stay. I’m not one of those that jumps onto the notes and cries about subs lost. I’m not getting money out of this thing and I doubt anyone is going to pay to read half the shit I write. It’s free to you but I think I should make something clear.

First, it’s not your space. The rules here can change at any time. The rule about this being an apolitical space was one of them. I’m not spending any more time in a rage chamber and if that’s where you want to spend your resources and what precious little time you have on this planet, then you go right ahead and enjoy that. I will not follow you in. Just that simple.

Second, mentioned this one a time or two before, especially in regards to The Nocturneverse, if we take anything away from the stories, the illustrations or the music mock-ups…It Will Be Replaced With Something Better And Not A Moment Before.

That last line needed emphasis, here’s why…

There are a few scenarios at play here. Money being the big one. We do have a tip jar over at Buy Me A Coffee and you can tip us there. What will we do with those tips? Start replacing the art and music, that’s first. We also have an open door for artists who would like to just illustrate a piece and contribute it, of course, the artist still owns that piece and they will be attributed properly.

Third, The Raven’s Nest and Against All Odds are framed in this manner for a reason; we’re keeping it about the cool shit, the dark shit, the horror, the wild cyberpunk scenarios, the messy aftermath of Category 5 brainstorms, blurry vision, numb tongue, simply watching in stark horror because you can watch yourself acting like some drunk in an early Irish novel.

We have made our decision on this end.

You have options as well and here they are.

1. Unsubscribe: I’m not encouraging this but, you do have to weigh whether the taint is too much, it’s something you can live with or it’s something you’ll actively do something about. That decision is yours and has nothing to do with me except you were here. That’s it.

2. Hit up our Buy Me A Coffee: This is one I’d be more inclined to encourage people to do. The money we’d be getting, we’re not keeping. We’ll hire artists to do the work, if we do that, though, we’ll own that piece and attribute the commission.

3. Contribute something: Okay, this is a huge ask but you’d be surprised at how little it actually takes. If you’re a band or artist who likes the work and you want to contribute something with attribution without money being involved, great, we definitely welcome it and we’re open to talks. If you’re neither of those and you still want to jump in, simply play a game and write a piece stemming from your game. You don’t have to interact with the characters we have, you’re further building out the world that we’re writing at the moment. We have a lore bible we’re looking over. Parameters include: tone (dark, cyberpunk, horror), canon consistency (no retcons without approval), and character boundaries (existing characters stay as they are). This keeps the world from fracturing or getting subverted by someone with an axe to grind.

4. Accept It: If you’re unwilling to do anything, then expect us to listen to nothing. It’s that simple. The constant complaining is now going to fall on deaf ears, cold shoulders and a back that you can kindly pardon. That’s your issue. Solve it, yourself.

The Outcome: Still remains the same. The Nocturneverse started with notebook, paper, books and dice and will remain that way. I’m not apologizing for your suspicions and the work will continue as it has been.

We understand if it’s just too tainted for you to enjoy but that’s not our problem.

We understand if you just suspect too much despite evidence to the contrary. Again, not our problem.

In short, if you’re taking issue with our minimal use of AI as a tool, then no one is keeping you here and since we’re not getting paid for this, so no resources and, in order to paywall what you can read on ScribbleHub for free, I’d need to offer more and I have neither the time nor the money to do that right at the present moment.

From there, the decision to make is yours. I’m not going to sit here and defend it because there’s nothing at all to have to defend. I’m not using it as an attack against you so if you’re taking this personally, then I suggest getting a notebook, writing that feeling down and asking yourself why you feel that way.

I’ve long-since advocated for writing it all down on paper first and then coming to the computer for the rest. Preparation is everything. For writers, use every tool available but understand, once the tool has outlived it’s usefulness, you don’t owe the tool the right to stick around.

If I had to speculate, I’m going to say that writing has been treated like a fixed pie for so long that…we’ll call it what it is: Gatekeeping.

The most “pure” way is the one that is cost-prohibitive. While those same voices say “You don’t have to write” then I respond with “You don’t get to make that decision for me.” That simple. There’s just no other way. It’s there for those who can afford it and no more.

Fact is, we’re also not interested in traditional publishing. Certainly, there will be reach, that much is potentially certain but the cost of an agent, plus polishing, plus everything else when you have a job and you’re struggling for hours, yeah, it’s nice that some have a house in the middle of nowhere and they have all that but that ain’t us and, due to that, the solutions offered are not that simple and are not applicable.

Look, let’s be honest here. If I paywall the Nocturnverse right now on Substack, would you even read it?

No. Again, you can go to ScribbleHub and read it free.

Another thing, this is serialized fiction from games we play. It doesn’t mean it’s worthless to us, I’m just being realistic here.

It’s a problem of two things; Time and Money. You’re gonna spend one or the other, there’s no way around that…until there is.

These arguments are the problem. People like that are happy to see you struggle while trying to market their book to you. People like that are happy to see you miserable while they’re living their dream and telling you yours wasn’t worthy.

I’ve always been unworthy, that’s not news to me. The difference between me being told I’m unworthy and one of the pure being told their unworthy and you’ll see them break. Sometimes, very publicly.

AI, depending on it’s use, is a tool. Use it accordingly. Or don’t, I really don’t give a shit, personally. AI is a tool, please try not to be one yourself.

Rev. Dr. Raven Wulfgar

March 23, 2026