welcometothewoes

[welcometothewoes]

The clang of the porcelain plate hitting against the metal sink resonated in the air. A's hands gripped the edge of the counter.

B's hopeful smile fell.

A: "...No. You don't look like her. You don't look like your mother at all. But..." A locked eyes with B, rage bubbling up. "... every bit of you looks like the man who took away everything from her."

[welcometothewoes]

i really think we should all outgrow once and for all the idea that a character making a dumb decision is a plot hole. sometimes people are dumb. sometimes a character making a smart and informed decision is the real plot hole

[welcometothewoes]

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.

[welcometothewoes]

obsessed with characters being saved against their will. being knocked unconscious and carried away from a danger they won't stop trying to fight. being shoved through a portal somewhere far away and safe right before it closes. trying to self-sacrifice only to have the exact person they're trying to save swap their places at the last second. getting the only cure to the disease or curse bc the person administering it loves them too much to give it to anyone else, including themselves. being thrown to safety right as they had accepted dying. someone else they thought had gotten to safety running back to drag them out of danger. it's so fucking tasty

[welcometothewoes]

Writing Prompt #2385

"And you love him more than anything?" The king looked down at his son, and then to the low-born archivist behind him.

"Enough to give up everything if I must."

[welcometothewoes]

I keep seeing people making fun of using growled, hissed, roared, snarled etc in writing and it’s like.

have you never heard someone speak with the gravel in their voice when they get angry? Because that’s what a growl is.

Have you never heard someone sharply whisper something through the thin space of their teeth? Or when your mother sharply told you to stop it in public as a kid when you were acting up/being too loud? Because that’s what a hiss is.

Have you never heard a man get so blackout angry that their voice BOOMS through the house? Because that’s what a roar is.

Have you never seen someone bare their teeth while talking to accentuate their frustration or anger while speaking with a vicious tone? Because that’s what snarling is.

It’s not meant to be a literal animal noise. For the love of god, not every description is literal. I get some people are genuinely confused, but also some of these people are genuinely unimaginative as fuck.

[welcometothewoes]

In lieu of proper romance may I present to you- mutual awkward pining from protagonist and love interest who are equally afraid of expressing their feelings but act as if they are in a relationship anyway?

It ain’t much, but it’s honest work and the best I can do, take it or leave it.

[welcometothewoes]

How new WIPs are born:

[welcometothewoes]

Prompt 2222

What’s best for one of us is at odds with what’s best for the other.

[welcometothewoes]

pisses me off so much how so many people seem to hate pacing and build up now like just in general

[welcometothewoes]

i love making AUs for my ocs and then making AUs of those AUs. get put in scenarios idiot.

[welcometothewoes]

my favourite thing about writing is slipping in totally innocent lines that will absolutely DESTROY the reader on a second readthrough

[welcometothewoes]

I made this to combat my current issue:

[welcometothewoes]

Thanks for rebloging my little thing about weather, I really appreciate it

<3

It gave off a somewhat nostalgic, yet timeless vibe ^_^

[welcometothewoes]

i hate how you get desensitized to the cool stuff in your WIP if you've been writing it for a long time so when you read back over it you're like "this isn't as cool as i thought :(" but it still is! you just read it too many times

[welcometothewoes]

The weather makes me feel alive, in a way not much else does. I humorously call it "big weather", when the winds are blowing so hard the trees whip and the rain hurts your scalp. Most of all a hard shower of rain accompanied by powerful thunder and lightning, is big weather. That kind of weather makes me feel so small, nature showing for a moment that it still holds power I could not withstand. And I feel so small and so cozy, and I cannot help but look in wonder, my face split into a crazed smile because the world is doing the thing. The world is shoving the power it holds in my face and all there is to do is be impressed.

[welcometothewoes]