{"id":7558,"date":"2025-09-22T15:07:56","date_gmt":"2025-09-22T22:07:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/landylachs.com\/sketchblog\/?p=7558"},"modified":"2025-12-21T16:07:49","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T00:07:49","slug":"the-harbingers-path-ch3-process-crops-thoughts-about-bluesky-censorship-september-22-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/landylachs.com\/sketchblog\/2025\/09\/the-harbingers-path-ch3-process-crops-thoughts-about-bluesky-censorship-september-22-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"The Harbinger’s Path: Ch3 Launch Date, Process Crops + Thoughts about Censorship | September 22, 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Page<\/a>
Chapter 3: Mordremoth’s Favor Title Page crop (in-progress \/ art not final)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Harbinger’s Path: Chapter 3<\/h3>\n

Chapter 3: Mordremoth’s Favor<\/a> is set to start updating next Monday, September 29th!<\/strong> <\/p>\n

I will also show 2 bonus crops at the end of this post – one that I posted yesterday on Bluesky, and a bonus version here with color flats added. <\/p>\n

Bluesky Censorship<\/h4>\n

Though before showing the images, I want to briefly mention the widening scope of censorship currently going over on Bluesky. This isn’t something that has only happened on there – it’s been a recent occurrence across several platforms in recent years. Most notably, for this year, are the Itchi.io and Steam bans. But before then, it was Patreon and Gumroad, as well as others. Bluesky, however, is a little unique in it is one of the most far-reaching among these recent censorship pushes. <\/p>\n

These are important topics to me, but (at least, for now) too wide in scope to broach entirely in this post. I’d want more time to word everything properly, as it’d likely be an essay’s-worth of words, if I tried and tackled it now. <\/p>\n

But what I want to note about Bluesky for the time being, is something I thought about posting there – and maybe I still will, depending on how this week goes, and if the admins there react to the backlash or not. <\/p>\n

What I want to say is this: <\/p>\n

General thoughts on the widening scope of censorship in recent years<\/h4>\n

Some years ago, it used to be widely understood that if you wished to protect the art you like, you must also defend the existence of the art you dislike – or even find repulsive. You are free to be disgusted by anything, not look at and filter it, and move on. <\/p>\n

It was when people began forcing everyone to censor anything uncomfortable that lead to where we are now. Where multiple platforms are widening their scope of censoring artistic expression, which used to be widely understood as a key aspect of what it even means to be human.<\/p>\n

Social platforms have spent years inciting the dehumanization of their own users toward themselves and each other. These recent censorship crackdowns are a reflection of this. Platforms would prefer censoring expressions of sincere humanity, in favor of the most banal visual products, aka “content”<\/p>\n

Bluesky specifically<\/h4>\n

With that, I’ll just write what I posted there, with some expanded thoughts since I am not limited to a wordcount here (I’ll link to the social post itself afterward, if you’d like to see the original, much shorter thread): <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Why is censorship on Bluesky a concern, regardless of which artist type you are? I don’t present myself as an NSFW artist online. Why do I care so much? <\/p>\n

This is easier to explain with a visual. Below is an earlier draft from the next chapter of my comic. The two characters are skirmishing<\/em> – this is cropped from a page showing them during a fight scene.<\/p>\n

But, out of context, do you trust Bluesky moderators – or worse, automated\/AI-flags – to interpret it this way?<\/p>\n

I sure don’t!<\/p>\n

\"Loose<\/a>
Panel crop of Trahearne and Malyck skirmishing (in-progress \/ art not final)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I also want to clarify, that I understand I could change how I draw. I could remove any ambiguity. I could make it a banal fight scene, where there is no pretext for anything, no subtext to decipher – or delight in. I am well aware I could do that, and avoid running afoul of their proposed widened scope of ever-increasing list of what they shall now deem “forbidden” – at least, for now. Until they decide to widen the scope again, as they are widening now from last year. <\/p>\n

In any case – regardless of that. It doesn’t matter that I could change it. The point is then it wouldn’t be what I want to draw.<\/strong> It wouldn’t be what I want to express.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

You know the proposed guidelines are ludicrous, when even my non-explicit and (in my opinion) fairly tame art would potentially violate their proposed guidelines. I am particularly miffed about this, because that art I choose to share on socials, I have already, for years, limited what I show because I noticed thiis widening hostility toward any artists deemed “transgressive” for several years now. It has probably been going on for about a decade or so now. <\/p>\n

This is why I have strong opinions about this. NSFW artists are obviously the most at risk – but censorship negatively affects us all. It has been negatively affecting me for many years now, even when I have never even shown NSFW art on this online identity. <\/p>\n

Here’s the original thread on the site itself: https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/landylachs.com\/post\/3lzeypiys2s2w<\/a><\/p>\n

Now, below is the bonus color version (still in-progress) that I haven’t posted to Bluesky: <\/p>\n

\"Same<\/a>
Panel crop of Trahearne and Malyck skirmishing, with color flats added (in-progress \/ art not final)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Harbinger’s Path: Chapter 3 Chapter 3: Mordremoth’s Favor is set to start updating next Monday, September 29th!  I will also show 2 bonus crops at the end of this post – one that I posted yesterday on Bluesky, and a bonus version here with color flats added.  Bluesky Censorship Though before showing the images,…<\/span><\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,10,11],"tags":[757,758,759,819,760,690,820,689],"class_list":["post-7558","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-digital-art","category-work-in-progress","category-writing","tag-bluesky-censorship","tag-bskycensorship","tag-censorship","tag-comic-updates","tag-free-expression","tag-gw2-comic","tag-harbinger-updates","tag-the-harbingers-path"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Landy","author_link":"https:\/\/landylachs.com\/sketchblog\/author\/liz\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"Digital Art<\/a> Work-In-Progress<\/a> Writing<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"The Harbinger’s Path: Chapter 3 Chapter 3: Mordremoth’s Favor is set to start updating next Monday, September 29th!  I will also show 2 bonus crops at the end of this post – one that I posted yesterday on Bluesky, and a bonus version here with color flats added.  Bluesky Censorship Though before showing the images,...Continue…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/landylachs.com\/sketchblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7558","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/landylachs.com\/sketchblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/landylachs.com\/sketchblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/landylachs.com\/sketchblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/landylachs.com\/sketchblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7558"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/landylachs.com\/sketchblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7558\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7575,"href":"https:\/\/landylachs.com\/sketchblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7558\/revisions\/7575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/landylachs.com\/sketchblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7558"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/landylachs.com\/sketchblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7558"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/landylachs.com\/sketchblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7558"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}