#thanks for spreading the word

[bluetraverser]

Fuck webnovel.

I got this comment on a story from my Other AO3 Account this morning.

(Info redacted because I prefer keeping these accounts separate but no one follows me on the side blog I have for that account.)

The story was posted almost a year ago and is relatively “popular” by my average statistics even though it has tropes and themes that are big turnoffs for a lot of people (hence separate accounts). This popularity is undoubtedly because it’s a Marvel Loki story and that fandom is massive.

So there is obviously an algorithm or a bot scrubbing ao3 statistics and leaving this comment on fics that meet a certain metric with the main character of the fic inserted into the comment.

I had a little time to kill this morning so I decided to investigate further. And y’all this is so predatory. Come on this journey with me. It made me mad. It may make you mad.

First, if you go to Webnovel’s website, you HAVE to choose between male lead or female lead stories before you can go any further. WTF?

And that’s weird, but this gets so much worse. This is basically a pay-to-read site that has different subscription models. Which… okay BUT! The authors don’t get paid! Look at that comment again. They’re promising a supportive and nurturing community, but zero monetary compensation. It’s basically, “post your stuff here so we can get paid and you can get… nice vibes?” I mean look at this Orwellian writing:

Using the phrase “pay-to-read model” in the same sentence as “qualitative changes in lifestyles for authors” deliberately makes you think that you can get paid and maybe even make a living on this website. But that’s not actually what it says and authors will not receive one red cent.

Oh but wait, the worst is still to come. In case this breaks containment (which I kind of hope it does) this is where I mention that I’m a lawyer in the US.

I don’t do intellectual property or copyright law but I do read and write contracts for a living. So I went to look at their terms of service. It was fun!

Highlights the first, in which Webnovel gets a license to do basically whatever they want with content you post on their site. This is how they get to be paid for people reading authors’ writing without paying them anything.

Highlights the second, in which Webnovel takes no responsibility for illegally profiting off of fan fic. This all says that the writer is 100% responsible for everything the writer posts (even though only Webnovel is making money from it).

Highlights the third which say that by posting, the author is representing that they have the legal right to use and to let Webnovel use the content according to these terms. So if a writer posts fan fiction and Webnovel makes money from people reading the fan fiction, and the House of the Mouse catches wise, these sections say that that’s ALL on the writer.

So that’s a little skeevy to start off with but the thing that is seriously shitty and made me make this post was that these assholes are coming to ao3. They are actively recruiting people in comments on their fan fiction. And they are saying they are big fans of the character you’re writing about and that they share your interests.

They are recruiting fan fiction writers and giving every impression that you can make money from posting fan fiction on their site and hiding the fact that you absolutely cannot but they can make money off of you while you try, deep in their terms of service which no one but a lawyer who writes fan fic and has some time to kill will read.

I see posts on here regularly from people who don’t understand how this stuff works, don’t understand that they (and others) can not legally make a financial profit from fan fiction. And there are tons of people who will not take the time to dig into the details.

Don’t deal with these bastards. Fuck Webnovel.

[smoothriverrocksrock]

So for fun and curiosity’s sake, I decided to watch flatland… safe to say it was an experience. Genuine thoughts on the movie (I watched the 2007 version) and stuff under the cut, spoilers!

I hear the book is an actual, genuine political comedy (and honestly I believe it if that’s what the movie adaptation looked like) so Ima go see if I can buy it and I recommend y’all do to!

Aside from the whole “what the fuck is going on” feeling that kinda permeates the whole movie, it was actually more than a nothing spectacle! I liked the whole “flawed higher power” theme that the movie had going on. The way the president caused a purge and framed it as a riot, the way the general/warden only wanted war and glory. The vain sphere, the 3D shapes’ general lack of empathy for Asquare.

The oxymoron that is the president circle being all “oooh am I doing the right thing?” And him still turning around to murder a bunch of guards for nearly no valid reason is 🤌. Classic corrupt politician

I LOVED that scene where it’s the Sphere in the elevator, and each time the elevator is in the public eye he poses like a celebrity, and when the elevator hides again Asphere returns to a bored/uncaring pose. No dialogue, and honestly just a really simple scene, but it speaks volumes.

Mrs. A was kinda annoying at first (all the lines deserved better voice actors) but that “Hear my battle cry!” Scene immediately raised her to my favorite. AND??? MRS. B CASUALLY MURDERING TWO GUARDS??? Queen shit, go save your husband girlie

Good time to mention the casual misogyny in the film. If I had a nickel for each time a shape called a woman an “it” I’d have tooooo many nickels. The “woman are actually really dangerous/lethal” thing is kinda funny, but if you really try and interpret that it gets kinda gross. I imagine (hope) it’s an actual point in the book, but in the movie it’s just not addressed. The movie is an alright commentary, doesn’t completely fumble the message but it does distract a lot from it. Like… I enjoy the idea of the chromatic leader being a irregular shape, but to give him such a silly voice is reallyyyy undermining some of the movie’s point. Other examples and all, but watch the movie yourself. If I ever make an analysis for the book, I’ll then give a better analysis for this movie (compare and contrast, the good stuff)

[snugglebunnies]

you don't understand how normal i am about the mario & luigi series' FIRST game featuring prince peasley, a character who not only remembers luigi's name, but chooses to forget mario's all while continuously treating luigi like the extra special one out of both the brothers

like. this game emphasized the whole "haha luigi's a loser" mentality nintendo rly latched onto. in the start of this game he is repeatedly being forgotten and belittled and dragged along this way and that

and then all of a sudden this PRINCE shows up and starts giving luigi all this special attention like? AH. the idea that luigi's self esteem is already so low and then all of a sudden he's having roses thrown in his lap, nicknames given to him, and thanks/compliments left and right

not to mention the. ahem. butt stabbing scene...

and the aforementioned deliberate choice of words on peasley's part when referring to mario. he recognizes that luigi is hardly referred to by name and extends that kind of lack of recognition to MARIO instead of luigi, for once!

and luigi reciprocates hardcore! 

he starts greeting/saying goodbye to peasley by waving his hat, blushing around him, collapsing to the floor and sobbing when peasley puts himself in a dangerous situation, and rushing to hug him at the end of the game

and there’s other little things: like how peasley is straight up winking as he goes to catch luigi from falling 

and in the remake, luigi keeps peasley's rose under his hat! 🥺

in conclusion: i think their relationship is really important for luigi's self esteem and character arc and more people should witness and recognize their very canonical romance. thank you. <3

[f1-stuff]

Las Vegas GP '23 // 🫂

[simplegenius042]

@socially-awkward-skeleton @derelictheretic @redreart @adelaidedrubman @inafieldofdaisies @shallow-gravy @vampireninjabunnies-blog @strafethesesinners @strangefable @softtidesworld @josephseedismyfather @josephslittledeputy @carlosoliveiraa @cassietrn @afarcryfrommymain @nightbloodbix @lulu2992 @trashcatsnark @skoll-sun-eater @minilev @ladyoriza and @gaeadene + anyone else who needs to know about this and also I hate we have a limit on how many people we can tag but anyway, to stop A.I from devouring your creative work without your proper acknowledgment and consent, please follow the steps above.

Have a nice day everyone!

PSA: Tumblr/Wordpress is preparing to start selling our user data to Midjourney and OpenAI.

you have to MANUALLY opt out of it as well.

to opt out on desktop, click your blog ➡️ blog settings ➡️ scroll til you see visibility options and it’ll be the last option to toggle.

to opt out on mobile, click your blog ➡️ scroll then click visibility ➡️ toggle opt out option.

if you’ve already opted out of showing up in google searches, it’s preselected for you. but you also have to opt out for each blog you own separately, so if you’d like to prevent AI scraping your blog i’d really recommend taking the time to opt out. (source)

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

In Stars and Disco

(Disco side of the swap)

[pianta]

my commissions for november are open! ★

hiii! i'm opening 5 slots for the holiday szn to help me with bills! feel free to reach out if you have any questions. any support is so so appreciated, it helps me stay afloat and allows me to keep creating, so thanks for considering!

order here! | or contact me: piantapng@gmail.com

[scarlct-vvitch]

srry romantics you dont get a poll option this time but i will try to keep the tags updated :)

[arthur-lesters-right-arm]

I need somebody with a larger audience to spread the word that Arthur has some kind of plague after meeting with Horig. Horig is from a Call of Cthulhu book called Dark Ages and this is in his entry: “Horig uses a toadstool ring to lure victims, like some carnivorous plants lure insects. Every breeze that wafts across the mushrooms’ caps spreads a warm and earthy, inviting scent. The fungi appear normal from a distance, but up close, anyone who looks upon their strange coloration and inhales their odor must make a POW roll: if successful, nothing happens; if failed, the victim is driven into a frenzied dance around the mushroom ring. While dancing, the knight must make a Hard CON roll: if successful, he or she snaps out of the dance; if failed, the victim collapses unconscious within the ring and also becomes a carrier for Horig’s virulent plague (cumulative 5% chance per 5 minutes spent in the ring).”

Aw rats not only is he high as shit but he's also got the plague?? Give the guy a break

[musubiki]

✨Commissions open!✨

I need to buy a PC so I'm opening up some commissions to fund it! The google form linked below has all the details and pricing, and here is a rough idea of what to expect for each option! Thank you for your support!!

-> Commission form here <-

[repostersource]

› REPOSTERSOURCE is looking for members!

Creators are precious on tumblr. This place is a resource for sharing blogs that repost regardless of fandom. And allow to block them for future reposting thanks to this space.

If you're interested to help, here's what we need:

✧ A basic knowledge of Photoshop and how to work with templates. Sometimes you will need to create standard submission posts which will all have to be done in the same way.

✧ We're looking for a variety of fandoms, not just one type, no matter which one. Cinema, music, whatever. This will allow more people to know where content stolen from their own fandoms comes from, and/or to share more of the reposts they find on tumblr in the blog.

✧ Check the tracking tag #repostersource often enough.

✧ You must have a discord account to chat about the blog.

If you are interested, please fill in this form:

Your name and username:

Your main fandom(s):

Why do you want to join this blog?

How often can you view tags and manage the blog?

Your creations (if you have any) and/or what do you know about using templates?

⸻ HERE TO SUBMIT

COME AND JOIN IT! ✨

If you don't receive a reply, your profile has not been selected.

[psychhound]

[ID: a banner for a game. it is light tan with a crumpled paper texture, and reads "with breath & sword" in large blue font, and "a solo-journaling game that helps you fight anxiety as you fight monster" below it in smaller font. there is lineart of gauntlets lying over a sword with some flowers at the bottom. end ID]

You find yourself tied to the monsters. The scratchy feeling in your chest. The way your hands tremble. The sweat that dots your upper lip when your senses are telling you a monster is close, again, now, and it’s your job to fight it. To stand up for your ideals and stand up to the threat. Whether you tame it, or this is truly a monster that needs to be slain, only time will tell.

 You know you will succeed. You always have before. But that doesn’t mean it won’t be a challenge.

 Grab your gear. Put on your boots. You know how to find it. You know what to do.

 First, you just need to steady yourself.

[ID: a page spread from the game. it shows "step four" on one side, which goes over the five aspects of the game's oracle. on the other side it shows the first oracle component, where something you can taste determines what your heroic core is. the page is minimally designed, with a blue border and text on a white background, tan accents, and one image of a dragon. end ID]

With Breath & Sword is a solo-journaling TTRPG to help players combat anxiety. 

In the game, you play as a monster-fighter, who is being summoned once again due to the presence of a new monster. Each time a monster appears, you struggle with the emotional effects of the magic: effects that look a lot like anxiety. You must steady yourself before you go off to fight: in the game and in real life.

Over the course of WB&S, players will participate in grounding methods and breathing techniques to calm themselves from an anxiety attack. These methods also serve as the game's oracle in order to determine how the story goes. 

What You'll Need:

A safe space to play 

A method of writing or recording

[ID: a page spread from the game. it is the section called "the science" and goes over the psychology behind the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique, the 4-7-8 breathing method, and destroying journaling. it has a few lines about narrative and play therapy, and that the creator of the game used these methods in his social work with neurodivergent teens and adults. end ID]

check out the game on itch now!!

[starkid-innit]

Starkid Innit Friendship Bracelets

A PSA to everybody going to starkid innit, after hearing people’s thoughts the consensus on dress codes seems to be wear whatever you want and cosplay is encouraged

However I've also decided I'm going to officially declare project friendship bracelet a GO

(yes we are full on stealing this from the swifties but opportunities for a big UK starkid event don't come around very often and I'm determined to make the most of it)

So hopefully we'll get lots of people making cute (or unhinged) friendship bracelets and we can all share/trade them at the concert and it will all be very cute and please can we actually make this happen?

I'm counting on people to commit to this otherwise I'm going to feel like a right idiot, but it would be fantastic if loads of people got involved!

Also if you could help me to spread the word that'd be fab. I'll do my best but I have made a grand total of 20 tweets and 0 tiktoks in my time lol

Thanks for all your support, I can't wait to see what you all make, and I leave you with this inspiring image of this afternoon's creation:

[goblinmixtape]

OUTLIERS is a solo TTRPG about a research assistant trying to run a study in a silly, surreal lab.

It's inspired by Welcome to Night Vale, Gravity Falls, and my own experiences as a researcher.

We're currently running a KS for a print run! We've already hit our goal, but we're announcing stretch goals very soon.

[allamericansbitch]

ATTENTION EDITORS!! Specifically towards editors of the Netflix series Wednesday

The blog @blumencia has been called out for stealing gifsets/edits of the Wednesday show and has not stopped. For example, they stole a set made by the talented @nessa007​

as well as this most recent one (update: the original gifset belongs to @chriswevans​ and you can find it here):

and when people called them out on it, they seemingly blocked them and kept the stolen work up and it got thousands of notes. 

Taking credit for someone else’s hard work is never okay. It takes hours to find downloadable files in good quality, download, cut, crop, color, size, add effects, etc to these sets. The blog as a watermark in the corner for fuck sake to prevent people form taking credit, and they still ignored it. 

They have even tried to make a pathetic excuse for their actions of stealing by making this ‘statement’ that makes no logical sense:

Apparently since editors do not handmake the series ourselves other people can take it without any issues. What a wild excuse that is. Also since you do not think it’s ‘work’ to make these edits... why not just make them yourself? if it’s not ‘work’? Seems so easy to you why not stop stealing other peoples work?

Please report their blog because, whether they agree or not, stealing people’s work is against the rules of tumblr. Have fun reaping what you sow etc etc. 💕

[fans4wga]