#the power of archives

[avaantares]

Yet another AO3 bot situation - please spread the word!

Hi, it's me again, the person who wrote that viral post about fanfiction plagiarism! Today I'm here to warn you about abuse perpetrated by bots who have stolen AO3 usernames.

There's currently an epidemic of bots going around leaving (apparently random) horrible, hateful comments on people's fics. This isn't the first time bots have invaded AO3, but the big problem with this wave is that they're using real AO3 usernames to do it.

I learned about this when another writer contacted me after receiving the following comment on their story:

Now, while that is my username, I DEFINITELY did not leave this comment (and anyone who would leave something like that on a fic should be slapped! What an awful thing to post). This fic is in a completely unrelated fandom that I have never participated in, nor has that author participated in any of my fandoms, so the probability of it being some intentional fandom drama thing to make me look bad is also low.

The writer whose fic the comment was left on enlisted the aid of some friends and tracked down other guest comments with unrelated usernames attached, which is pretty strong evidence that they are being left by bots at random.

The TL;DR: If you receive a cruel comment from a (Guest) with an actual AO3 username attached, it's most likely from a bot. Please do not lash out at or dogpile the AO3 user who owns that name, and who in all likelihood has no idea that their name has been hijacked for evil.

If finding this kind of comment on a fic, even left by a bot, is likely to upset you, I would recommend changing your comment settings so that only users who are logged in can leave comments. To do this, edit your story settings, and under "Privacy," select the radio button that says "Only registered users can comment," as shown below.

Please spread the word to other AO3 users! And if you see mean guest comments on other fics, maybe let the author know that it's probably from a bot and not a real person who thinks their writing is bad.

[blueskittlesart]

i hope everyone in nintendo’s management department dies and goes to hell no matter what and i’m not kidding

[dailyink]

1/14/24

[pixiishi]

“are you sure about this?” “no. but i love you.” “i love you too.” 💚 the kiss

based on the painting “the kiss” by gustav klimt

ID in ALT text

[makeshiftloops]

Okay, stick with me here— Jonmartin if you aren’t a coward

(also go support the artist wtf look at how cool that is)

[torpublishinggroup]

Celebrate Pride with Tor Publishing Group!

Rakesfall by @adamantine

They met as children in the middle of the Sri Lankan civil war. Later, in a demon-haunted wood, an act of violence linked them and propelled their souls on a journey through the ages. As they reincarnate ever deeper into the future, a truth emerges: Some stories take more than one lifetime to tell.

Running Close to the Wind by @ariaste

In this queer pirate fantasy, Avra Helvaçi has accidentally stolen the single most expensive secret in the world. To avoid capture, he flees to the open sea, where only his on-again, off-again ex aka pirate Captain Teveri az-Ḥaffār can help him survive, profit, and become a legend.

Cuckoo by Gretchen Felker-Martin

Something evil is buried deep in the desert. It wants your body and wears your skin. Welcome to Camp Resolution, a queer conversion center where everyone leaves a different person. In 1995, seven queer teens were abandoned here by their parents, but survived. Sixteen years later, they’re scarred and broken, but back to face an evil that threatens the world. 

Kinning by Nisi Shawl

In this alternate history where barkcloth airships soar and former colonies claim freedom from imperialist tyrants, the identity of the island of Everfair still wavers. Victorious in the wake of the Great War, a new threat looms. Can Everfair continue to serve as a symbol of hope for anticolonial movements around the world, or will it fall to forces within and without? 

Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea by @rebeccathornewrites

Can one of the Queen’s private guard and the most powerful mage in existence leave their lives behind to settle down in their new bookshop that serves tea? This cozy fantasy is steeped in sapphic romance and nestled on the edge of dragon country. 

The Fragile Threads of Power by V. E. Schwab

Once there were four worlds, nestled like pages in a book, each pulsing with fantastical power and connected by a single city: London. After a desperate attempt to prevent corruption and ruin in the four Londons, there are only three. Now the worlds are going to collide anew—brought to a dangerous precipice by the discoveries of three remarkable magicians.

Now available in paperback!

The Archive Undying by @emcandon

This is a story about misplaced faith, complicated love, so much self-loathing, and yeah—giant robots. Plugged into his AI god when its apocalyptic corruption renders him unfortunately immortal, sad gay disaster Sunai takes a die-again-or-die-trying approach to things. Unending life’s tough when intimacy is somehow scarier even than either of the warring police states set on turning you into a weapon or the rogue undead mecha-fragment of your old god that wants to eat you. 

Now available in paperback!

The Bell in the Fog by Lev AC Rosen

A dazzling historical mystery that dives into the shadowy, closeted world of the Navy, emerging in the gay bars of the city. It’s a whirlpool of missing people, violent strangers, and scandalous photos in 1952 San Francisco. 

Now available in paperback!

Celebrate Pride with more titles from Tor Publishing Group here!

[nikoco11]

HELLO. I MADE CHARM REAL BTW

up for sale ideally by march ^^

full review here!!

[someones-there-1]

jon sims spiderman. sp-eye-der man. if you will

[dricacchi]

my first sketch of this had martin doing finger guns bc i haven't seen it either

[orderforbrian]

@jonmartinweek day 6 - eldritch powers | caretaking day 7 - ten years later | martin's poetry

10 years later - after surviving an apocalypse and what could be considered death, healing as an act of rebirth - martin still pulls the bullshit "lonely hands" move 😶‍🌫️

[Start ID: Two drawings of Jon and Martin from The Magnus Archives in blue hues. Jon is a average sized Persian man with curly hair tied back into a messy bun and multiple scars. He has a thick mustache and lighter beard, with streaks of grey in his facial hair and eyebrows, and wears rectangular glasses and a large sweater. Martin is a fat mixed Polish/Korean man with shaggy hair pulled back into a headband, several beauty marks on his skin, and a patchy mustache (beard not visible). There are streaks of gray in his eyebrows. He wears browline glasses and a simple t-shirt. Both Jon and Martin have matching bands on their left ring fingers. 1st image: Jon stands at a counter watching a mug of tea, an arrow points stating "waiting for tea to steep". Steam from the mug flows to the side and Jon wonders, "Did I leave a window open?" as the temperature presumably drops. In the steam cloud, Martin appears behind Jon in a fog-like state, reaching a vaguely shaped hand out. 2nd image: Martin grabs Jon (punctuated by GRAB with a heart), shoving one hand into his sweater collar and the other underneath his sweater. He smirks, singing, "Cold hands!". Streaks of fog trail behind him. Jon shouts at the sudden cold, "M-MARTIN!! You're freezing!", and shivers all over, one hand gripping Martin's arm and the other flailing beside him. Hair can be seen where his stomach and upper chest is exposed. End ID.]

[rosekillerbf]

i need to thank whoever came up with Oh. Oh. for what they've done for the English language.

[monarchetype]

life pro tip - reframe your daily activities in your mind

instead of ENJOYING NEW EXPERIENCES, you are FEEDING THE CEASELESS WATCHER

instead of GETTING DISTRACTED BY STORY IDEAS, you are PLEASING THE MOTHER OF PUPPETS

instead of HAVING AN EXISTENTIAL CRISIS, you are INDULGING IN THE MAGNITUDE OF THE VAST

instead of PREPARING MEALS, you are NOURISHING THE RAVENOUS FLESH

instead of GETTING COMFY UNDER THE BLANKETS, you are ENTERING THE LOVING EMBRACE OF THE BURIED

feel free to reblog with your own reframing techniques!!!

[novahedron]

Spectator

[clairebearsparkles]

Hiya, I was just wondering if there were any updates on your TMA TTRPG project because it seems super fun and I am gnawing at the bars of my cage to hear more about it :D

Thanks for asking about it. I unfortunately never found the time to test the system, but I think it’s at a point where people can at least look at it, so here’s my google doc of the PbtA heavily based on Monster of the Week tma system

[sydneighsays]

For some reason this scene really scratches something in my artistic brain and I feel the need to draw it every time.

[skyeoak]

The main difference between Archives and Protocol so far is that the Magnus Institute was a tea workplace and the OIAR is a coffee workplace

What makes a person a monster? Tea

What makes a monster a person? Coffee