I AM ANGRY. I WASTED MY TIME!!!

I really love this platform.

Let’s start there.

I am not antagonistic or contentious, and I don’t like to show my anger unless it’s through non AI written stories, and through my characters. Of course my beloved poetry too.

Everybody who knows me, knows I am authentic and sincere. Nothing I do is feigned when I read your stories, I read everything and I comment on every sentence you write. That is the very thing that makes me a target. Take advantage of me is the sticker and banner I have held above my head, and on my forehead— that would be the sticker.

I read a story today. Actually, it shouldn’t even be my reading day —it should be, I am so angry that I am telling lies (just for this part). I am tired. But I push myself to show support out of love.

It doesn’t matter if I am tired or not, it’s love.

Naturally I won’t just, go, copy and pasting everything and putting it into an AI detector. I wanted to be in repose and read stuff. But in a world like this, that is not possible. We always have somebody trying to kick us down so that they can reach the top, even if they stole the darn shoe they used to kick us down.

Yes I reported the story after it became a Top Story.

I will not be listing names here. That is not who I am.

I want to curse so hard. Bwqdugqugeiudguwgdiygwiydgiyg why is life like this?!

Yes I made gibberish the alleyway instead of cursing. Cursing makes my tongue swell.

I read something else, much longer than the one this piece was originally about. Yes, to no one’s surprise. It had about three or so, paragraphs that were written by AI. It was entered into a challenge. Yes I reported that too. No surprise there that it was entered.

The AI detector may not be correct. But I guess I just… well… maybe I’ve just been poked too many times (by the thoughts that AI will win and we won’t). Maybe I am stressed. Maybe none of this needed to be written. Maybe I grew tired of letting everyone do the work while I sit here and be nice and reticent. I still am, the difference is today I… maybe feel… discouraged.

Maybe I am feeling the heat of all the times I’ve floundered.

Probably not but…

Maybe I am… just… I don’t know.

Then came the calm

I know how hard it must be for the Vocal team to keep up with everything. There is the leaderboard: the challenges, the top stories, the reports, new people coming in. The works.

So I am not just blindly angry. I sympathise.

I am just frustrated.

Maybe I am too greedy for fame and recognition. I had what was coming to me.

I love Vocal because it also makes us a better person.

As long as we write about it lol.

I love when I can get to interact with authors, there are stories here that when I read them I just cross my legs and sit back and digest.

Gone. Far away into the world they created.

Socialising here is wonderful for our mental health. Until that one person races ahead of us while we are still trying to figure out the plot and who stole the carrot from the fridge of a blind man.

I wasn’t going to write anything today. I was going to publish something on Monday instead. But here we are.

These two individuals are V+ members. I guess it would’ve been better if they weren’t. Because now they stain our reputation by being this way. In some way —and I might be wrong —we are all lumped together.

Taking each, and everyone of us apart is a lot of work.

So should we keep working and never stop despite all of this? Yes. I suppose that is what I am saying. But we can’t do that without being thwarted by the fakes along the way, so there’s that.

I want us all to win.

But only the writers who DON'T use AI to write.

You can use it to generate images. Does that also make me a hypocrite? I hope not.

Would I be okay if they highlighted what was AI and what was not?

Using this.

No. Because then what is the point?

We would all feel something isn’t right. Even though we want something to be, just so we could all come together.

I am always asking for us to come together. That is the Caitlin Charlton you all know.

So after my digression. I want to say this. If they highlight what is AI and what is not. It would mean we all should do it too.

And I don’t want to.

I prefer to use my brain.

It may fail me and all of this might sound stupid. But it’s human. That’s what I want. I want to read something HUMAN. Maybe some of us just aren’t anymore, and I don't know why that is.

A/N: If you got this far, thank you so much. Don’t forget to leave me your thoughts below, it’s free♥️🤗🙏🏽