#i can't report them to whatever authority exists

[unovadragoncongossip]

I’ve had it. I’m signing out. I do not condone today’s events, nor do I condone this publication’s callous treatment of the situation, and of people. People got hurt, and I want no more of this. 

I thought this was going to be a fun, lighthearted spin on real life reporting, but I was wrong, and I’m sorry.

And to my coworkers who laughed at all the deserved anon hate, get bent. Get Draco Meteored, even.

Reporter Q, signing off.

[shiny-jr]

Dear author, I’m so sorry that someone plagiarised your work especially since you work so hard on your stories 💔😞

We want to help the plagiarised book get taken down so can you please share the link?

If enough people report, the fanfiction site admins will finally listen and take down the plagiarised book, instead of the plagiarism claim being buried.

I hope this issue gets resolved quickly and I hope you have a better day.

UPDATE! Based on this and that and also this.

Thank you, anon. I appreciate your words, but as I stated in one of my previous posts, Wattpad reports are finicky. I believe at this point, we're at day thirteen of dealing with this plagiarizer and day four of it being public and yet despite it all, the plagiarizer has still yet to budge.

So, I thought I'd give another update and give the information we discovered in our findings. As to what we know is copied and from who. Keep in mind, one of these four copies stories has already been taken down and done with. I'll specify which in a moment.

Before I proceed, if you happen to be one of the original writers mentioned in this post and you want your portion removed from this post for whatever reason, let me know. I do not want to upset anyone, except the plagiarizer. At this point in time, I care little for their feelings on the matter when they've had plenty of time to make things right.

The plagiarizer: Kristynaka1

FIRST.

Obviously, the first story that was discovered was mine, with all the information linked in the posts at the very top. I was made aware of this by the inbox from a kind reader. Ever since then, I've been dealing with this plagiarizer.

My mutuals and I found it weird that somehow, the plagiarizer had relatively good grammar with few mistakes in the story. Yet every little note or message they sent, had many spelling mistakes and was sometimes difficult to read. It was inconsistent and strange, and we couldn't make sense of it until we had a theory which some readers in the comments here have already suggested. We theorize that the plagiarizer began to use AI.

Of course, we can't prove this but how else would a user who can't format and type proper messages be able to write whole paragraphs that are actually legible and understandable?

ChatGPT was available to the public sometime in 2022. Before 2022, many of their "stories" were copy and pastes from Tumblr. After 2022, there were differences in the copied stories that made it harder to find the original story and connect it to the original writer. Differences in writing that I doubt the plagiarizer wrote themselves if we go by their messages like:

So yeah. Onto the evidence.

SECOND.

After a few days, one of my mutuals began to suggest searching for the origins of other stories as they doubted any of the posts belonged to the plagiarizer. Low and behold, we found three others. The first of which belonged to @monst and their post. Just by comparing the first paragraph was enough to confirm that.

I won't go into too much detail as the links pretty much say all you need when you actually look at the evidence.

THIRD.

Not even an hour later, we found the second copied story from that oneshot book. Thankfully, there were only two stories there, so there aren't any more copied parts from that series they claim is theirs. The original is @ppsycho and their post. This one again looks like a direct copy, even the image is the same.

FOURTH.

This is the one that was already deleted, thankfully. So there is not many good screenshots I can present, except one before it was gone. So the original writer is @mint-yooxgi and their post.

Here is the only screenshot I have of the wattpad version, just to showcase that it did in fact exist, and it was copied.

So yeah, that's everything for now. If you check out the plagiarizer's profile and recognize the other stories I did not name, please let me know. We thought we found one of them on Quotev, but it wasn't.

Please continue commenting discouragements and reporting the account!

I think I'll leave this off with something I typed last night in a chat:

In whatever way this ends, know that it will end badly for the plagiarizer. They can choose to ignore, but that won't make everything go away. People will remember, I will remember. If they go radio silent and try to forget everything but keep the stories up, comments will still be there. If they try to delete the comments, new comments will just be made. The comments will serve as warnings to others that might stumble across their account, and it will immediately make them click off the account or story because no one wants to read a plagiarized story. The account we see now will just be empty of real readers, so it will remain a miserable little place where each comment will serve as a reminder as to why plagiarism is bad.

Even if they do decide to delete and make another account yet again, whether they decide to copy the same stories they did before or pick entirely new writers to prey upon, it doesn't matter. Readers will either recognize them from before or new readers will notice the plagiarism taking place. It doesn't matter what they do. They will be found and dealt with in some way, shape, or form.

I hope those two or so years of small internet fame were worth it while they lasted.

[olderthannetfic]

Update on the Bridgerton stuff: the online fandom is so homophobic and horrible, and the mods of stuff like the main subreddit refuse to do anything about it (but will remove comments by people upset about the homophobia for "generalizing") that LGBTQ+ fans have had to make their own spaces. There's a whole separate subreddit that bans homophobia called r/bridgertonlgbt, and of course the ones from the main one keep trying to get it banned with false reports by accusing them of "heterophobia" and "doxxing" (re: complaining about their homophobic comments in their own spaces). Assholes who are mad about them making a straight romance from the books lesbian in the show are also doing petitions and flooding like every Instagram post including one by the original author about how she was initially skeptical about such a big change from her books but she's had lots of talks with the showrunners and she trusts them, and has always supported greater diversity in the series. People keep misusing that stupid fucking George R.R. Martin quote (about how creators these days don't do anything original but just warp other people's existing works) when he himself has condemned "the show must be exactly like the books" fan attitudes, especially the racist tantrums around House of the Dragon casting a couple years ago. And on a post by the author HERSELF where she explains why she gave the go-ahead, supports these changes, and condemns homophobia in the fandom! How is she "warping" her own work???

I've heard about this all secondhand from my friend and it just makes me so glad I don't go on Insta or Reddit and instead keep my fandom activities to Tumblr or AO3. Where for all the drama over other things, at least this kind of rancid homophobia you get in spaces where everyone is cis and straight feels entitled to only ever consume straight and cis romance stories (they'll claim they "are okay with gay characters but new ones!" but their example is always like a side character who has an unhappy ending, can you really not get why queer fans are not satisfied with that?) at least that's not so much a thing here. Instead I'll be happily writing Francesca/Michaela and Benedict/male characters slash and ignoring and blocking the haters. And remembering that that show has way more fans than use social media and everyone involved is continuing to refuse to listen to the loud idiots online. Like everyone I talk to about it who isn't super online, most of whom are straight women, think the change is really cool and can't wait to see what they do with it. Some of them have read the books, but most have not.

But god, it just seems like toxicity from top to bottom over there. I really wish a lot of the straight women fans would just admit they don't like a lesbian romance because there's no one for them to find hot. And maybe consider why it's not a big fucking ask to "find something relatable" in gay romances, like gay people have had to do with straight ones for all time. Why must we continue doing that but you're entitled to whatever you want all the time? It's just so weird to see these attitudes still and in fandom in 2024!

--

These attitudes never went away.

On the fanfic side of things, the slashers just happen to have built the currently-popular platform, so the haters have to deal.

[raziiyah]

old drawing from months ago from before i finished season 2 of monsters at work, but after i was spoiled that randall would return :'(((( bc i started this before i actually saw him or knew what would happen with him i got lucky that maw's s2 ending made it so this interaction could be possible ಠ‿ಠ

for some context, during the two weeks lia was waiting to transfer from scream industries to MI, the events surrounding boo happened, she found out about waternoose and randall's conspiracy, and that randall was reported missing and wanted by the CDA. the authorities would take lia in for questioning, and inform her about some of the things randall had been involved in

this confirmed her long-time suspicions that randall had been hiding something, however, at the same time, lia can't believe it; she knows of randall's disdain for sulley and knew randall was desperate to be on top of the scaring industry, but didn't know that he would go this far to achieve it. she feels confused, angry, sad, and hurt that he's been doing all these things and keeping so much from her, and now it's like he just vanished.

then, lia's life was further shaken when mi announced they were switching from scream to laugh power. she's a scarer, not a jokester, and she knows it. and she's worked too hard and too long perfecting her scaring techniques to just completely abandon them to go back to square one and learn how to become a jokester. lia considered canceling her transfer to mi to return to scare industries, even wondering if maybe she should apply to fear co. so she could continue scaring. between the time she has to make a decision, she looks through randall and her's apartment and discovers more information about the secrets randall's been hiding. with her research, hints she's seen and heard in their apartment when randall was still there, and personal knowledge of him, she suspects that the CDA has been covering things up and purposefully withdrawing information, and that some of the secrets lie within monsters inc. so she goes through with staying at MI under the guise of training to be a jokester, to have access to the building to search and find out clues as to what happened to randall and where he is (i think i'll spare some of the later story details for some time else)

it felt so unreal to draw this bc i would daydream about how i'd continue lia and randall's story after the events of MI like a decade ago, and with the existence of maw and randall's return, i can continue to develop their story and base it off canon media!

i was ready to change some of the story to fit in with whatever would happen in season 2, but i think lots of the post MI stuff can stay relatively the same as before. the stuff i wrote above is pretty much the same story i thought up years ago, and i'm content that the stuff until that point still works in harmony with what happens in maw. and i think the fact that randall was actually always closer than she thought all along adds a layer of drama

again i drew this before it was revealed that johnny saved randall immediately after he was banished (somehow), so i thought that this scene wouldn't be plausible but then randall broke out of custody so that leaves a good time for this to happen after lol

randall intended to remain hidden for as long as possible, having rather appear missing than face lia after what he's done; but with johnny now in prison and nowhere else to go, he finally decides to face her

i definitely have ideas of what would be said and what would go down but i think it's fun to leave it at this drawing and keep it open for now :)

[faraway-sunshine]

Asker Dos and Don'ts

I'm sorry, this is going to contain so many don'ts, I feel bad!

Do:

Send asks!

Send asks with media or links!

Share any anecdotes, other stories, anything on that line so long as it's constructive (as in, Sunny can answer it with more than "oh damn" or "cool" or "I'll check it out later")

Feel free to send fanworks based on the blog! I will appreciate you for eternity

Push Sunny if he's initially evasive about a question - he's not a very reliable narrator after all ;)

Ask about other aspects of the world, such as other characters, his school, or whatever!

Hint about ships - a whole tag is dedicated to Sunny questioning himself regarding his sexuality.

Send stuff to me, the admin - just mark it as such as I default to answering as Sunny.

Check if it's been asked before by combing the blog.

Don't

Spam a question. It won't make me get to it any faster. If you're worried Tumblr ate it, wait at least three days for the first resend, a week for the second, and a week after that if I seem dead.

Send vents. I understand you mean well and I'm touched that you consider this blog safe, but! I'm not a therapist! Neither is Sunny! We're both mentally ill recovering teenagers who have a lot in our own lives and can't handle the stress! I'm sure you're a nice person but please talk to your parents, friends, doctor, or one of the hot/text lines on this list - they're all confidential.

Send asks in languages other than English - unless you're okay with being put through Google Translate.

Send random poems, songs, etc that aren't related to the blog in an obvious way. I'm sorry for those that put a lot of time and effort into them, I've seen some real wonderful stuff! But it's been getting spammed a bit and I don't have the energy to either halfass answers or spend an hour writing an analysis on each one. And neither does Sunny!

If you send a link, understand chances are it won't exist in Sunny's time.

Talk about modern politics; I'll very occasionally bring up past political issues, though very minimally as Sunny is by default disinterested.

Push your own headcanons or ships - you could talk about knowing someone where it ended differently or whatnot, but yelling into the inbox will not make me change my mind about my world. If anything, it'd make me resent the headcanon or ship if I get spammed over it.

Send anything that would be considered crossing a line anywhere else. This includes slurs, NSFW content beyond frank discussions of those topics, and serious threats directed at me, the admin.

Advertise. Anything that encourages people to look at an external link which benefits you directly (i.e an online shop, social media account, crowdfund business start-up, fundraiser) is banned. I understand often times are tough but this is meant to be a safe space. Yes, I did make a post to signal-boost a (now taken down) Lego Ideas set in the past, but that required no money shared and was tied directly to the blog's fandom (as in, it wasn't a political petition or similar). It's an exception and not one I expect to repeat anytime in the near future.

Roleplay as a canon character, though I appreciate the enthusiasm!

Try to use Anon powers - nice try. It's as tangible as Sunny reading a blog in real life. You can't send 100 tacos to me through the inbox, so you can't do that to Sunny either.

Send anything containing gore or that is considered Not Safe For Life. If it's too violent for a PG-13 movie (as in excessive blood, guts, etc), depicts animal cruelty, or shows people with excessive untreated or lethal injuries - it doesn't belong here. I am currently a minor and you will be reported to the authorities as well as Tumblr staff if you send images of this type, especially if I can't find the image's original source.

Happy asking!

[thedreadvampy]

I'm going insane my notes are full of people responding to the communes post going like "this is why we need a state to prevent abuse"

HOW'S THAT STATE-PREVENTING-ABUSE THING GOING? PRETTY GREAT I DON'T THINK.

seriously this is what gets my fucking back up about people in opposition to anti-statism or anti-carceralism they're always like 'oh can you propose a way to 100% prevent abuse or violence' and it's like. Insert I, Robot gif here. Can you?

like I'm not complaining about the lack of attention to safeguarding and justice in anarchist communities because anarchism is particularly bad at it! I'm complaining about it because tackling the issue requires acknowledging that it does exist in every community we try to build and that we have to speak up and deal with it proactively.

abuse happens in anarchist spaces, in socialist spaces, in marxist-leninist-maoist spaces, in capitalist spaces, in religious fundamentalist spaces, in feudalism, in whatever fucking system of authorities you wanna name. the question is how we deal with it and anarchism is deeply imperfect in that but so is every other system I've seen and anarchism is pointing at the better goal, I think - a method of community accountability which focuses on harm reduction, desystematising, and healing rather than on punishment, revenge or cycles of violence.

we're not there yet and we will probably never build a 100% foolproof system where abuse and interpersonal harm never occur. but frankly neither will any other system, human interactions are complicated and messy and sometimes there will be shitshows - our priorities are to reduce the number, severity, fallout and normalisation of those shitshows and figure out ways to prevent, react and support healing.

like here's one key fucking thing ok. I have found the way that anarchist groups I've been in have handled abuse allegations really traumatic and overwhelming and triggering. but that's largely been because I have some faith in the approach and it hurts a lot more to fuck up when you have hope.

but you are fooling your damn selves if you think going through the police or the state is less traumatic and overwhelming tbh. reporting and going through the court system is notoriously retraumatising and miserable for survivors, even when it's done with empathy and support. it also Does Not Work. punitive justice actively intensifies cycles of abuse and trauma.

obviously like. the main problem in these notes is that inexplicably people reblogging my post seem to believe the core thesis of anarchism is sunshine, rainbows and the milk of human kindness not like. hard graft to build tailored systems to meet community need. and you are wrong about that. anarchism has never been about 'building a community of morally pure sweethearts who wouldn't hurt a fly' it's about taking responsibility yourself, as an individual, for the wellbeing of your community, and working together collectively to identify what needs to change and what systems would create that change.

but the secondary problem is a lack of fucking imagination. people act as if an idea for change not being utterly bulletproof is a reason to throw the whole concept away, as if existing systems are less imperfect. babies, bathwater, my guys.

If I say 'this part of how we're organising is likely to present the risk of abuse' that doesn't mean 'we should stop our whole approach to organising' it means 'we should take stock of why that risk is there and figure out how to adapt to manage it.' Criticising your ideas and approaches is a vital part of building a better version of them and it's really frustrating to have any critical appraisal met with a barrage of SEE THIS IS WHY WE SHOULD FULLY ABANDON THIS IDEA FOREVER

like fuck man how are you planning to build a better system if you can't iterate ideas, criticise, finetune, adapt, reiterate, problematise and adjust, and talk about what the fail points might be? how are you planning to build a better world if you reject any attempt to suggest a replacement for the Totally Fucked Hellworld system unless it has already ironed out every flaw before being tried?

the reason I am talking about the cracks in a lot of anarchist ideas where abuse comes in is because I want anarchist ideas to work. I think they're good ideas. (not communes I don't think communes are good ideas I have been clear on this). I want a better, happier, less harm-filled, less abusive, more just world and I think the anarchist vision has the most elements to get us there so I want those elements to work, which means I want to identify what comes packaged in with those ideas that might be counterproductive. so we can do better. so that we can use the good ideas and dump out the elements that are likely to cause harm. you know. like how thinking works.

[karlachismylife]

Would you be sooo kind to recommend a beginner russian learner some russian songs 🥺 They're what motivated me to start learning to be honest I love the music 🔥

UPD. I FORGOT TO ADD ATLANTIDA PROJECT BUT I'M ACTUALLY OBSESSED WITH THEM.

Oh boy, comrade, I wish you were a tad bit clearer in what you're looking for, cuz we here have all kinds of music! So forgive me in advance for projecting my quesionable music taste onto you.

(first I'll yap a bit, and then I'll give a list of songs below so you can find them on whatever platform you use)

I have already spoken about Siberan punk and postpunk and so-called doomer music on this blog, which crossover to some extent (mostly through Кино and Виктор Цой). They capure quite a unique vibe and tend to have not the most complicated lyrics in terms of vocabulary, so those might be good choices to start with if you're not that far into the language yet. Кино, Гражданская Оборона, Янка Дягилева, Король и Шут are my personal preferences (yes everyone can call me a poser, I grew up on completely different music so I'm only now reconnecting with that scene), so I'll give you some of their songs, but I also encourage you to dig through their discographies.

A separate section for artists I'm not really listening to very often (might have a single song in my playlist), but they have that weird taste of Russian/post-soviet doom in them: Bones of Grace, Буерак, Петля Пристрастия, Порнофильмы, раздор!

There is a culturally rich genre of bard music, which migt be a little more complicated for understanding, but this is a big part of what I grew up with: people gathering with guitars at someone's home (often the kitchen, which is generally an important space in post-soviet culture as a result of people living in communal apartments, when several families shared one apartment, so the kitchen was the common space and it was free to chat late at night when kids were asleep in the rooms, and also perception of the kitchen as the place you were the least likely to be overheard and reported to the authorities for saying the wrong thing. also I think it was the place people were able to smoke freely in the apartment) and playing and singing together. There is rarely anything besides a guitar and vocals in this music, and I offer you Булат Окуджава, Борис Гребенщиков (otherwise known as БГ or his band Аквариум), Владимир Высоцкий, Михаил Щербаков, Татьяна и Сергей Никитины, Оле�� Медведев, Зоя Ященко (or her band Белая Гвардия), also a lesser known (?) Йовин, also bard, but more modern I guess. And honestly I probably forgot a lot of them in the moment. I will list songs that first come to mind for me personally, but this is something you definitely should research on your own and watch out for the vocab since poetry is the main part of these.

We also have Мельница with modern folk and Flёur for a more whimsical yearning mood, Green Apelsin same story.

A separate mention for my very modern loves Дайте танк (!) who are a little bit of a guilty pleasure and have a mix of doom and nostalgia to them and IC3PEAK who are very much a favourite target of the police for obvious reasons (check out their music videos too).

NEARLY FORGOT but what Russian queer didn't have a moment to t.A.T.u.? Yeah, their history is problematic, but I truly believe that there exists a separate genre of Russian lesbian yearning music and that's mainly them. And also some very not queer songs that just hit like that. And yeah, t.A.T.u. had some songs released in English, but it will NEVER hurt even half as bad as the original versions.

There are genres I did not touch on at all despite listening to them quite a lot, so if you are looking for another genre, hit me up again! Although I will admt, despite the importance of rap (and underground rap in particular, including rap battles, scene in current cultural and political landscape, I can't really enjoy it and thus don't know shit about it).

And after all that uninformative yapping (wish I had the energy to write proper short bios on every artist) here's a list of songs in the order of artists as I named them here. If there's more than one by one artist, first one is probably (not always) their most famous, others my personal choice, sometimes they're the same, sometimes I only give one. Let's go

Кино - Звезда по имени Солнце Кино - Перемен Кино - Апрель Гражданская Оборона - Всё идёт по плану Гражданская Оборона - Моя оборона Гражданская Оборона - Отряд не заметил потери бойца Янка Дягилева - По трамвайным рельсам Янка Дягилева - Особый резон Король и Шут - Лесник Король и Шут - Кода Bones of Grace - Сержант Boness of Grace - Кожа Буерак - Культ тела Петля Пристрастия - Груз Порнофильмы - Это пройдёт раздор! - Восток (Иуда) Булат Окуджава - Ваше благородие, госпожа удача Аквариум (Борис Гребенщиков) - Никита Рязанский Аквариум (Борис Гребенщиков) - Поезд в огне Аквариум (Борис Гребенщиков) - Губернатор Владимир Высоцкий - Охота на волков Владимир Высоцкий - Скалолазка Владимир Высоцкий - Шахматная корона Михаил Щербаков - Трубач Михаил Щербаков - Баб-эль-Мандебский пролив Михаил Щербаков - Волхонка Татьяна и Сергей Никитины - Я спросил у ясеня Олег Медведев - Изумрудный город Олег Медведев - Марш небесных связистов Олег Медведев - Страна лимонных корочек Зоя Ященко (or her band Белая Гвардия) - Белая гвардия Зоя Ященко (or her band Белая Гвардия) - Голубая стрела Йовин - Корсары Мельница - Дорога сна Мельница - Зов крови Flёur - Формалин Green Apelsin - Проклятье русалки Дайте танк (!) - Маленький Дайте танк (!) - Друг IC3PEAK - Смерти больше нет IC3PEAK - Dead but pretty t.A.T.u. - Нас не догонят t.A.T.u. - Я сошла с ума

I hope some of these will give you what you seek, also thank you for giving me an excse to yap about music. Much love from my cold (not really) Russian heart!

[not-poignant]

hey pia! i love your work, hi!!! im a young writer interested in posting some of my big projects online (not that i really expect them to get any traction lol). i was wondering how you protect your work from plagiarism, or how you deal with people plagiarizing your work. it seems like the internet is kind of the wild west, and that’s only sometimes a good thing :/ im probably a bit too poor to afford any sort of copyright or whatever online authors do, but maybe i can save up? 🙏🙏

PS - i didn’t actually care whether or not this ask was anonymous, but from my experience on tumblr it seems like an unspoken rule🤨 so i guess i’ll turn it on🫡

Hi anon!

Tbh the only real difference between anon and attaching your name is that I have the choice to reply to you privately if you send an ask under your name (which is sometimes preferrable if the question is personal or really niche!) and that gives me more options. Anon forces me to only answer publicly (which is probably why you're seeing that so much!!), but the downside is that sometimes I have to delete anon messages when I don't want the responses or even the ask/s on my public blog.

Anyway! This is something I'd respond to publicly anyway, because I think this is a fear a lot of new and young writers have. The tl;dr is that copyright is often assumed on the internet, provenance makes it easy to send DMCA takedowns, and letting a fear of piracy stop you from putting your work up is one of the biggest ways I see new authors handicap themselves on the web currently (idk if it's confirmation bias or what but it seems like I see this several times each month atm from specifically new authors), and it's like...not a thing...to be hampering yourself with.

Okay, now for the longer explanation:

The first thing with copyright is that it by and large depends on your country and what you want to do with the story. In Australia, every created work by default has legal copyright protection simply by being created by someone. We don't need to pay to apply for copyright on creative works, we automatically have it and if we can prove provenance (i.e. if we can demonstrate we created it first, with like a document date etc.) we are legally protected.

So I can't answer for the country you're in, anon, but honestly, this is how it works on most of the internet where you're likely to put a project online. AO3 will respect that a work is yours if it gets stolen, if you can prove you came up with it or published it before another person did (literally all you need is a screenshot or a link). In the Properties or Details of most of your documents, the 'date created' is your best friend.

I've had my work stolen quite a few times over the years. It's been stolen the most from AO3 over to Wattpad (it's almost like Wattpad authors don't realise that sometimes we look lol).

In one case, blanket commenting on one of the fics that the original fic was on AO3 *and complete and not stolen* was enough for the author themselves to take it down. x.x Otherwise what you generally do is send a DMCA takedown notice, which almost all creative sites give you access to when reporting theft (your readers cannot do this for you, you must do it.)

Similarly, on AO3, if this happens, you can just report it. The big downside here is that it can take the volunteers there some time - sometimes up to two weeks or more - to get on top of that, so it might feel like nothing at all is happening. Patience is recommended.

Look, theft happens, you can't avoid it. It is a normal part of putting your work out there in the world. And I can't tell you how many new authors I know who kind of shoot themselves in the foot trying to prevent the acts of thieves, while not realising they're hampering themselves in the process.

Pirating is the worst, but so is never putting your work out there, or waiting for a magical protection from piracy. It doesn't exist - and there's a general rule where the more steps you introduce to stop or reduce piracy, the more you actually alienate your general readers - think about how having right-click disabled on a website can feel, for example. It's considered hostile internet architecture that is often very inaccessible.

(There's also a phenomenon where the authors most scared of theft are the ones least likely to encounter it, because their works are new, and they'll need a lot of time to build up readers and engagement in the first place. Most of the time, those who plagiarise don't want to take the works of new/young authors over the works of experienced authors who just won't think to check the sites they're using. By the time you're popular enough for that to be an issue, you'll probably have more confidence in yourself and your ability to handle this. I will say theft of ebooks on sites like Amazon etc. is way more common than theft of original stories and fanfics on AO3, but both happen more often than they used to, that's just...sadly a part of life.)

Also, applying for copyright doesn't mean your work won't get stolen. You'll still have to send DMCA takedowns, and you'll still have to get in contact with websites. A lot of the time websites have a form you can fill out. You still have to do all that labour and pay to register copyright. The filing of copyright is sadly not a magical shield against theft of a creative work. It does make it easier to take someone to court, but that's expensive, often not worth it, and the labour someone can spend chasing down thieves is often better spent amongst the readers who actually give a shit (they're the ones who often notice the theft in the first place when it comes to serials).

If you plan on publishing ebooks, there's software and organisations you can pay a monthly fee to, who just exist to issue takedown notices to piracy sites so you don't have to. I've never used these personally, but from what I've read on Facebook writing groups, they're often not worth it compared to the past, because new sites spring up all the time. But different authors have different experiences with online theft (and different levels of income to combat it) so you'll hear different things on that front.

I'm...pretty zen about it. To me, it's only a worry when I have to send someone a notice about it, which I don't actually have to do all that often. Like, it sucks, but almost always it never happens as much as a new author like yourself fears it will. That doesn't mean you won't hate it when it happens, but you'll live, and your works will keep finding readers, and it won't be what you're likely imagining it will be. It's for most authors, just an occasional giant pain in the ass that we forget about a day or two later sdakfjdsa

[lucalicatteart]

Poll adventure (paventure? lol) Day 16: read the small story tidbit below the poll for more details, OR just vote based on initial impression

(✦ see past poll results + further information HERE (link) ✦)

Yesterday's poll decided that The Adventurer should offer to help the travelers with their broken wagon.....

~

After much internal deliberation (and some zoning out staring at butterflies), The Adventurer decides it would be best to offer his assistance. Technically, he IS still following his goal of not getting distracted, because theoretically it would make his journey much faster if he were able to catch a ride on a carriage. So really, this is all an ultimate big brain genius strategy for maximizing efficient travel.. Or, at least that sounds like a good enough justification to him.

Gathering up all of his social courage, he approaches one of the travelers fiddling with a broken wheel near the far end of the carriage and meekly asks if there's anything he could do to help.

The man was so focused on his task, he seems initially startled to look up and find someone near him. "OH..! Oh, uhh.. help? With the wagon?", he smiles pleasantly, gesturing towards a few wooden boards that are just out of his reach, "Sure, kid. If you could just hand me th-"

"Apologies, but we actually won't be needing your assistance, stranger." A taller man, surprisingly almost matching the stature of the Adventurer, suddenly slinks out from somewhere behind the carriage, sternly placing himself like a barrier in front of the man working on the wheel. Wheel Guy nervously averts his eyes, making himself smaller, silently resuming his work.

The Adventurer tries his best to maintain composure against the weight of the tall man's bitter gaze, but can't seem to muster much of a response "Aeughh,,, uh… b-but, h- Bu--HHHh,,?.."

"Look, disregard whatever my father told you, he's old, never has any clue what he's talking about. It'd be best for you to simply move along." ('Father'? They don't look alike at all, and seem to be nearly the same age..)

"W-well.. he.. he didn't really tell me anything, I me-hhH,,.. I mean, I literally just got here, s-so...."

"Good. Even more reason to be on your way."

Placing a gloved hand firmly on his shoulder, the tall man begins to motion the Adventurer away from the wagon, but a strange noise interrupts, echoing from inside. Perhaps some sort of animal sound? Or a person faintly yelling about something? Or… both?

"WH-wHggg�� whAT was t-that???!!" The Adventurer immediately stops in place, pausing to listen as the tall man keeps trying to push him ahead.

"I didn't hear anything, stranger."

"No, t-there.. was dEFinitely, UHH, a-"

"Likely something in the forest."

"Wh--aah... d.. do you think it was an animal?"

The tall man continues a dramatic struggle to 'subtly' drag him further down the road, whilst the Adventurer mindlessly digs in his heels, too distracted to even notice he's being so strongly prompted to leave.

"Many animals do, indeed, exist within forests. This should not be suprising."

"...It's just.. ..eughh… s… so weird…"

"I assure you, it is not."

"I-it really sounded like.. like it came f-from insid-"

"Yes, from inside the forest. Now, please, if you would.."

The noise interrupts again. It's definitely someone, or something, in some sort of distress.. And definitely from inside of the cart.

"wHoAAGH, aa!!! T-tHat's NOT from the f-forest, that-"

The tall man fully just shoves him now, sending the Adventurer toppling across the dirt, clumsily rolling and landing just past the other side of the carriage. A mother and young child who seem to be part of the traveling group simply stare down at him with empty blank gazes, wholly unconcerned about helping him up.

As the Adventurer fumbles back to his feet (still confused as to why he was even pushed in the first place), the tall man looms by the carriage, diligently watching to ensure that he leaves.

"Travel safe, stranger."

Despite his initial obliviousness, the Adventurer begins to piece the situation together as he stares back at the man, now fully convinced something suspicious might be going on...

…What should he do next??

~

~

~

Additional Information

the adventurer's current main quest: follow his map to reach the abandoned castle ruins and see the rare animal specialist about the mysterious egg he has

[texasbama]

Let's see...

Narration feels off. Sometimes what or when things happen doesn't really mesh well togather or properly hinted at. Sometimes things move too fast or halted/distracted by something else. A time jump isn't uncommon and it definitely happens in the book several times, it just doesn't feel connected to me.

Tension is lacking at the beginning of the book. I can't feel the animosity for a supposed rivals-to-lovers story partly because Harry, the royal prince, and a lot of things about the royal family were written in a rather surface-level way, like a love interest who happens to be a royal prince (Henry) instead of the other way around. It doesn't help that the book's not written in dual PoV narration, everything being told from the protagonist (Alex, POTUS's son). There's a chapter where they both go to the president's ex husband for an outing and having Henry's PoV for the entirety of that chapter would have worked better as to get a glimpse at what he feels. The author did say she was inspired by the 2016 election first and then later by royal family and it unfortunately is reflected to an extent hence my remark about it feeling like a last-minute addition. Think of Taylor Kelly when her bitchy reporter's traits were stripped down as Buck's girlfriend during 5A. That's what I feel about Henry

This is from me reading too much erotica but the making love lacks excitement. Even for something that's kept from being too explicit, the passion between them doesn't radiate off the books. Probably because, iirc, there are too few sensory words, lacking in active banter during the sex scene, or my already existing expectation of the protag bottoming. Henry has experience bottoming and this is Alex's first proper experience when it comes to gay sex, the least the book can do is to give them a nice banter or show how "overwhelming and new" it is for Alex while Henry tease him or whatever.

This is what I can think of the book that comes up on top of my head. Here I am criticizing the book while being incoherent expressing my opinion with words but of this review lmao. I hope your inbox or notifs don't get filled by things about this book/film because of me though.

Ooop. OOOP! (I aint read all this but go off!)

Its only fair I let you get your response off too, friend. Well. Both sides have presented their case.

I have no thoughts either way since I didn’t read the book. Lol Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Lets play nice yall😂

[intersex-ramona-flowers]

i think it all bothers me so much because i have been systemically & interpersonally dehumanized my whole life. little things that pile onto that mountain of hurt - straw that broke the camel's back.

this othering all adds up. even if it's seen as 'so cool', oh wow, you have a Greek god that represents you - it doesn't, it contributes to the harmful and (outright fu/ta fetish) idea of what my body looks like. people think intersex = bisexed. these old gods from various mythologies are constructed on an inaccurate perception of our bodies and further that idea with their depictions. (and no, I'm not condemning spiritual/religious/mythically significant figures. but I am tired of the stigma they perpetuate.)

people think we're not human beings. they can't comprehend (or just don't care) that invasive, disgusting questions that they dislike are also invasive and disgusting for us. they don't care or don't understand that bad representation is harmful, just like bad representation of their experiences is harmful. when you're not human, you don't have thoughts or feelings. you don't matter. people don't listen to you. and they can do whatever they want to you and get away with it. (the person who raped me when i was 19 got 6 months of probation and a stricken record. my childhood rapists went unreported due to authorities being participants themselves or refusing to take reports.)

and i am visibly intersex. i am noticeably intersex. inescapably intersex. people assault, poke, prod, rape, question, deny, argue my existence to pieces when i'm just trying to go to school, grocery shop, attend religious services, go to the bathroom, access community events, use public spaces, or socialize with others in an attempt to build friendships. it never stops. it never goes away. and it is so tiring to not get to just Be for a minute without all of the misinformation in the news, the activists leaving us out of their work, the misinformed people who spot me in public and decide i owe them a vivisection.

i am grateful to all other intersex activists who do this work. i remember early tumblr where mentioning these things meant being torn to shreds. but we've build a strong community. i see posts that echo my own experiences and feel less alone. i see people who shout about things i've been talking about for years and they're being listened to and heard. and it's just a sliver. but i will take anything i can get because i have spent the majority of my life in isolation for many things, this being one of them. and it's just a crack of light in a dark cave, but it means so much to someone who has been in that dark cave hir whole life.

[chong2zu3]

good omens season 3 episode one theory

i havent seen the show at all

crowley leaves town and lives in a ditch somewhere

crowley is the first one to meet jesus on earth when he crash-lands or he's the first one to seek him out because occult beings are able to detect him (kind of like a reversed anti-christ)

jesus turns out to be a guy (gender tbd) that isnt happy about the second coming because he resents not being able to make his own choices and hes human too.

jesus was the one who crash-landed the plane because the airline angels are too not normal about jesus and easy to manipulate. also he didn't want to kill all humans. he survived the plane crash by first dying and then resurrecting 3 days later

jesus contemplates dy1ng on the cross again because maybe that'll set the end of days back whille getting drunk on his own bodily fluid (wine) wiht crowley

as the prime archangel, aziraphale tries to make changes to the second coming so that it doesnt melt the earth and kill all humans. this doesn't work

aziraphale gets assigned too much petty work by metatron or just made very busy with work in general. he sees this as validation and becomes a workaholic. this keeps him from paying attention to whatever's happening on earth.

metatron's reason for recruiting aziraphale is because he sees aziraphale, especially when he's with crowley, as a major threat in realising his interpretation of god's plans, not necessarily because he thought he would be a good leader or anything.

heaven's rigid corporate structure is implied to be metatron's mistake because of his misunderstanding on god's words. (god is incoherrent so metatron made stuff up)

crowley persuades jesus to not d1e and convinces him that technically he's god too so he has the authority to make changes to the plan maybe

jesus likes the idea but he is mortal and can't go to heaven while still being alive so they decide to get help from muriel who is still on earth

muriel reports this back to aziraphale who goes by raphale now because his previous name was too long and inconvenient for others to pronounce which led to inefficiency in the workplace according to metatron

aziraphale is excited to know jesus is back on earth but also confused because the earth isn't lava yet which contradicts with the schedule

aziraphale goes down to earth to meet jesus and on his way down he gets issued the glass phone thing the angels have because he should always be on call.

the glass phone is meant to keep aziraphale in check. aziraphale doesnt know how to use the phone so he just gets lots of text messages and calls but cant make them himself or put it on mute (heaven phones arent like earth phones and they dont do what you tell them to do even if you ask nicely)

jesus is falsely accused of being an impostor by metatron because god's plans or metatron's interpretation of it is supposed to be immutable so it shouldnt be possible that jesus' existence on earth doesnt bring about the end of times

aziraphale is frustrated with metatron who up until now only communicated w him through memos (and text messages now that aziraphale has a phone) because thats clearly jesus, angels can literally feel his presence probably

crowley teaches aziraphale how to use the phone because he used to be a high ranking angel

aziraphale calls metatron directly

aziraphale upon calling metatron disassociates and after hanging up, orders the angels and launches an all out attack on humanity because the gods plans must be realised

aziraphale snaps out of his trance-like state when crowley calls out to him and tries to stand down the angels who arrive in war gear

angels don't recognise aziraphale as raphale the archangel, their boss, because crowley's calling him aziraphale

when angels try to attack humanity, hell sees this as a breach of some type of understanding between them and wrecking stuff on earth becomes competitive sport

jesus dies for real in a comedic way while trying to stop them from destroying the earth

[plusanimablog]

Chapter 19: Maggie Coliseum Part 5

Quick report on +Anima: They are all assumed to have some Kimunkle blood in them but that's a misconception. There are plenty of +Anima who have no Kimunkle blood in them. Not to mention that children of +Anima do not develop Anima abilities themselves so it's not even a genetic trait. From the few times someone has been caught developing +Anima traits in real time, there were two commonalities: the first is that they develop at age 14 or younger and the second is it happens when the person is close to death.

(Think Super Saiyan and you're halfway there.)

So Shinon flies off and the whole situation (a person with wings transforming to escape an abuser) triggers Nana, breaks down crying. The other kids are gobsmacked that Shinon was an Anima but Cooro points out that he wasn't one, he just turned into one just now. Even further, he implies that he turned to the Anima of a nearby animal, specifically the water bird flying overhead. Magdra is pissed and is more angry about him escaping by "cheating" than about the "holy shit, a miracle just happened in front of me". Husky gets up her ass for it, pointing out that she was the whole reason he turned into an Anima. Her abuse of him triggered his abilities. Magdra smugly claims that he owes her a thank you then for making him "special". In steps Cooro with a proposition: why doesn't she become an Anima too? Hell, he even has a foolproof method: if everyone in the city said that they didn't need her anymore and her mother agreed, she should be able to transform.

Magdra counters by pointing that by her title alone, everyone wants her here and everyone loves her coliseum. The kids agree, saying she gives them food, shelter and a future. Cooro counters her counter by saying she still got mad when Shinon tried to leave. Shino leaving, to her, is everyone leaving because her title as a Maggie and the coliseum are everything to her existence.

The smackdown is beaten down by Senri breaking the door down with Pinion in tow. Rose sees them both and runs over...and then Senri is hit in the head.

The guards have cornered them and are closing in. Magdra didn't call for them. The researchers had in fact recruited fighters to get Pinion back. Having enough of this shit, Rose descends on the fighters to defend her brother and Pinion and the rest of the group joins to fight. Magdra watches and reacts as you expect a control freak to react when chaos ensues in front of them:

She tells the researchers that they can't take Pinion because the only one who gets to abuse human rights in this coliseum is her! The researchers say "Fuck off" and Maggie steps in to say "Yeah, fuck off actually. I gave them permission." See, the researchers are outside authorities therefore Maggie cannot control them because they're from outside Maggie Vil. Magdra has a mature reaction to the fact that she cannot control everything in her reach: she sics her giant cats on the fighters.

Magdra then guides the group out of the coliseum, allowing them to sneak out. When Nana asks why, Magdra says that she doesn't like others doing whatever they want in the coliseum: that's her job. However, she did grow a little from this experience: she promises to leave the town one day to see what the outside world is like. She won't relax otherwise.

The group leaves a bit wiser and Husky says that Magdra won't be such a bad Maggie if she learns a little. Rose takes Pinion back to their uncle's, thus leaving the party, and our group leaves a dangerously despotic dictator in power, happily ending the chapter.

Oh wait no, the researchers reported back that they lost Pinion to none other than Frye, the guy we saw with Ignas a few chapters ago. And that's where we end the chapter.

[saint-starflicker]

Other/Nuance. Back in the day, we had goatse and tubgirl memes. Don't look that up. Do not look that up, for the love of every pantheon in human history do not revive it. But, I mean...That was trolling culture. That was a specific way to be an annoying loser, and people getting upset about a troll spamming lemon party (don't look that up if you don't already know it) was the end-all be-all purpose of spamming those shocking images. This would be on sites that it would take such a long time to report and remove that content, and trolls were basically online droogs that revelled in it. That's what I had to navigate, so that's become my baseline: Is this discomfort from a trolling thing? Is the "artwork" or "writing" purposely violating as many people's peace for no purpose beyond that the troller can feel like they made some mark on the world by upsetting somebody else, as a distraction from their real-life problems or to feel superior? If yes, then ignore or block. It's pretty easy now, even if some trolls would feel triumphant that they got some reaction (blocking)—curating your online experience is a lot easier now than it was 25 years ago, isn't it? So curating your online experience is normal now. Trolls imagining a win are not my problem—that's between them and their court-mandated therapist, or whatever.

The above level doesn't really deserve as much effort as this next one, which is...when it's not a trolling thing.

It's an artist or writer doing their thing, there are warning labels, it's all art and fiction. Then, despite the warning label, something in it just happens to be very repulsively not a thing that I can stay with. Maybe I don't find any substance that makes the shock/upset/disgust worthwhile, and then there's nothing more to say. Maybe I can't explain it because the content activated my "yike" and click-away reflex so fast that I don't even remember it because I'm laughing with relief at that not being on my screen anymore (this has seriously happened to me. Buffy fandom, geocities site, 2002.)

So the reason I seem to have a threshold for it is because I can yike and click away with online art and stories. I can't do that with real life, offline, physically harmful people. These are not the same. The lived experience of the difference is strikingly obvious.

Beyond that, sometimes I have nothing to say about it. Beyond the shock, maybe the art or fiction is really banal and mediocre—but I don't even bother wondering if this artist/writer in (allegedly) earnest to create something is genuinely working through personal issues or exploring an idea, or disguised their trolling...because, just, nothing. Nothing from me, I can't help that, whatever. We all move on like ships that pass in the night.

Other times, I think the work had enough about it that I can say something about. "Night Eats Color" is the Persona 4 fandom's own Lolita in the way the child-abuser narrator gets to tell the story, but there's also a bit of Neil McCormick from Mysterious Skin to his victim, and I will argue that despite containing CSA and telling the story from the point of view of the abuser and the victim does not behave as expected of a traumatized CSA victim...this work still successfully frames the act as disgusting and reprehensible using various other literary techniques, details, story context and plot beats.

I did not tell the author this. I even probably have to say, "don't harass the author just because I said this exists".

Sometimes I think something has shocking subject matter and that it's not good art or writing at all—but that there is something to it that is interesting to analyze, even if the work itself is unutterably garbage. (I did not like the execution of A Little Life, but I can understand what it was going for but just not nailing it.) In those cases, I hope that even my complaints will be analytical. I should by then have clarified my standpoint within myself, so that I'm not railing against something because of misappropriated personal issues, like so-and-so idea represented reminds me of something I blame a bad breakup for or getting bullied in grade school or blah blah—I hate reading those sorts of things, I think it's a waste of my time and attention (because it's not a developing discussion, instead it's a You problem disguised as a This Show/Character Sucks problem, basically bad-faith criticism) so I hope I don't write those. If my discomfort is a Me problem, then I hope that's sorted out before I talk to anybody other than my nearests and dearests about it. Finally, I also should have clarified my framework by then: Am I analyzing/discussing the meaning of this uncomfortable art on the basis of its craft and skill in this medium? Or how it emerged from the culture it's in? Or its rhetorical purpose (whether that's good or godawful)? Those are not the same frameworks at all, and I get annoyed reading them conflated with each other (or one disguised as another) just because the reviewer/complainer is upset.

The standpoints and frameworks should be much better-defined, if anything worthwhile is going to be added to the discussion about it beyond "thing bad."

CSA mention warning in the video below, because Talk Salò 2002 is about (surprise!) talking about Salò 1975.

There. That's what I do. ☝️

Plz reblog for a bigger sample size

[bi-bard]

Waiting - Dream of the Endless Imagine (The Sandman)

Title: Waiting

Pairing: Dream of the Endless X Reader

Word Count: 898 words

Warning(s): mentions of death

Summary: After being forced to say goodbye to the person he loved, Morpheus finds himself obsessed with getting them back. All while the person they love makes themself at home in the world of the dead.

Author's Note: Yeah... I should've known that my readers wouldn't let me get away with an angsty ending.

PART ONE HERE!

------------------------

Being dead wasn't as bad as many people thought it was.

There was no pain. It was all just over.

Then, you spent the rest of eternity in your own personal freedom.

I don't think that I would've ever seen it that way if I hadn't seen my death coming. If I hadn't known about it ahead of time. If I didn't get to say goodbye.

I got more than most people did. I got to say goodbye to the person that I loved most.

I still thought about Morpheus constantly.

Death had been very kind. She befriended his raven to get updates about him. She would then report those updates to me. It felt like I hadn't been gone all that long. Like I was still a part of his life.

My life beyond life wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Hell was my biggest fear, so anything better than hell was a gift in my eyes.

I had found my personal freedom in this small house. A shelf of ever-changing books, a small kitchen to make whatever I wanted to attempt to make, a small fireplace to rest by, two cushioned chairs by said fireplace, and a small corner for me to finally pursue art as a hobby. My eternity had given me a head start when it came to developing that skill.

I was home.

Home and free.

I had long stopped tracking how long I had been locked away in this little home. I just knew that I was happy.

That all changed when there was a knock on my door.

"Come in," I called, placing the pan I had been holding on the counter.

I knew who it was. I just smiled as Death walked in. I threw my oven mitts on the counter and took off my apron.

"I have a question," I said. "If this is the death realm and the rules of living existence don't apply here, then why can't I make one soufflé?"

She looked at the dish that looked- without a doubt- like a disaster. And shrugged.

"Y'know, that's really not helpful."

She chuckled. "I come with news."

"Always a delight," I said, going to lean my hand on the counter.

I yelped when my hand went through the countertop. I used my other hand to push myself back up.

I looked down at my hand that was flaking away. Turning into dust. At the time, I thought I was fading away. That I wouldn't exist in any realm. Not even that of the dead.

"Death," I said, tears filling my eyes. I took a few stumbling steps backward as my breathing sped up. As if I could've avoided it.

"I was coming to tell you," she explained. "He did it."

"What?"

"Dream," she stepped toward me. "He did it."

I didn't have time to ask for more of an explanation as my legs started fading away.

"Help me-"

"You'll be okay," she promised. "Trust me."

I nodded and closed my eyes, letting myself crumble to dust.

I was in the world of complete darkness for mere moments.

I soon felt myself being put back together. Piece-by-piece until everything that had turned to dust had been reconstructed in my image. My eyes felt like the last thing restored.

I looked down, silently checking on myself. Two legs, two arms, one head... everything seemed to be in order. Even clothes. Nice to know that the universe could be kind.

I looked out to the horizon. It looked like a beach. A beach that was clouded with fog.

"(Y/n)-"

I turned around when I heard my name, completely prepared to defend myself against anything that could've attacked me.

Morpheus was there. He held his hands up to me when he saw how scared I was.

"I don't know how much you remember-"

"Morpheus!"

I ran forward and hugged him. I hid my face in his shoulder as he hugged me back. One of my hands found its way into his hair. I heard him let out a sigh as he relaxed against me.

"What did you do," I whispered, not wanting to let go of him to ask. I was terrified that I would lose him if I did.

He stepped back slowly, only moving far enough to look me in the eye. "I made you a dream."

"A dream," I repeated. He nodded. "And everyone's safe now?"

He nodded again.

I cupped the sides of his face and let out a relieved laugh as my eyes scanned every part of his face. I ignored the tears falling from my eyes as I leaned forward and kissed him. It felt like I had spent an eternity waiting for me. Maybe I had.

Maybe I didn't care. Because I had him back. I leaned back, my forehead resting on him. I pecked his lips a few more times before nudging my nose against his.

"I love you," I muttered. As if it was some kind of secret.

"I love you too."

While I was dead, I never thought that I would ever see him again. But now that I had him, I knew that I hadn't accepted my fate. I was just waiting. Waiting for him to find me again.

And I would've waited for him for all eternity.

Because I loved him. And that's all that mattered.

------------------------

Masterlist (Includes links to All Writing Challenges)

What I Write For

Some Original Characters

[literaticat]

In the front of many books, there's a note that says something to the effect that if you bought a book without a cover, its stolen property that was reported unsold and was destroyed. Does this mean if it doesn't have a cover, the publisher marked it for destruction (I know there's a better word for the recycle process, but I can't quite think of it) and someone probably stole the book and resold it?

Kiiiiind of? OK, first you need to know about "returns."

Most bookstores buy books from publishers and wholesalers on a returnable basis. That means that they can order a LOT of books (for which they get a discount, of course) -- put them out for sale at retail price -- and if there are ones that they DON'T sell in x-amount of time (which will vary, but probably like 6 months or so, maybe shorter, maybe much longer, depending on the section and how aggressively they turn the inventory), they can RETURN them for credit to the publisher.

(Before you say, "that shouldn't be allowed!" -- lemme stop you. RETURNS ARE GOOD. Bookstores need to turn inventory in order to get NEW books in. Books have a VERY narrow profit margin for stores. If they knew that they would be unable to return books that didn't sell, they would have to be MUCH more conservative with their buys -- they'd have to stop taking chances on potentially "weird" books and order in lower quantity across the board -- this would affect the bottom line of the publishers, who would have to be much more judicious with their print runs and NOT take as many chances on unknown authors etc -- which of course would end up having a deleterious affect on authors. It's hugely important to bookstores that they be able to return inventory -- and like it or not, it's important to the publisher and the author, too.)

When those books get back to the publisher, they might perhaps be able to be sold again if they are pristine -- but more likely, they'd either become remaindered (aka, those books that are on the "cheap book!" display in front of some bookstores) -- or get pulped (aka recycled).

OK, so you know how books are really heavy? And boxes of them are even more heavy? And it costs money to ship things? Well... sometimes the amount it would cost to ship a book back to the publisher is more than the physical book is actually worth, particularly if it is destined to be pulped anyway. (This is why, when we get damaged books in the bookstore, the publisher usually gives credit and tells us to "donate or destroy" them -- because it would cost them more for us to ship it back to them so THEY could destroy it, than to just let us donate it to a shelter or recycle it ourselves).

Which leads us to...

"Strippable" books

On some paperback books - mostly mass-market paperbacks (like, the shorter, chunkier, inexpensive kind you can buy in the supermarket or airport, often mysteries/thrillers or romance) and some kid's book paperbacks - you will see a symbol on the back. The symbol is a triangle with an S in it. Like this:

When you see this, that means that the book is "strippable" -- aka, the publisher has determined that it will be less expensive to destroy it on-site rather than schlep it across the country to be destroyed. So instead of packing them all in a box, the bookstore will "strip" them -- that is to say, they will tear the cover off, recycle the book, and put JUST the covers in an envelope with the return paperwork and send that off to the publisher. So the publisher knows that the book was "destroyed" and will credit the bookstore with whatever amount.

Sometimes, particularly if you work in a bookstore (or, I guess, dumpster dive outside a bookstore) you might be like "Hey, I'd read that" -- and take a stripped book to read -- and whatever, honestly, why not -- but it isn't supposed to be SOLD because neither the publisher nor the author can make money on that copy, because it doesn't technically exist anymore. The bookstore already got paid back for it - -so if they are selling it AGAIN, they are being shifty AF.

So like -- yes, selling a stripped book is stealing, and buying a stripped book means you are getting ripped off (because that book is deffo damaged!) -- but IMO, having/finding/reading a stripped book is OK. And in any event, it's highly unlikely that the FBI is going to send a task force after you, ya know?