#this is fair use why is it copyright blocked???

[meshaamem-li]

this is so fucking evil 😭

[mostlysignssomeportents]

AI “art” and uncanniness

TOMORROW (May 14), I'm on a livecast about AI AND ENSHITTIFICATION with TIM O'REILLY; on TOMORROW (May 15), I'm in NORTH HOLLYWOOD for a screening of STEPHANIE KELTON'S FINDING THE MONEY; FRIDAY (May 17), I'm at the INTERNET ARCHIVE in SAN FRANCISCO to keynote the 10th anniversary of the AUTHORS ALLIANCE.

When it comes to AI art (or "art"), it's hard to find a nuanced position that respects creative workers' labor rights, free expression, copyright law's vital exceptions and limitations, and aesthetics.

I am, on balance, opposed to AI art, but there are some important caveats to that position. For starters, I think it's unequivocally wrong – as a matter of law – to say that scraping works and training a model with them infringes copyright. This isn't a moral position (I'll get to that in a second), but rather a technical one.

Break down the steps of training a model and it quickly becomes apparent why it's technically wrong to call this a copyright infringement. First, the act of making transient copies of works – even billions of works – is unequivocally fair use. Unless you think search engines and the Internet Archive shouldn't exist, then you should support scraping at scale:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/17/how-to-think-about-scraping/

And unless you think that Facebook should be allowed to use the law to block projects like Ad Observer, which gathers samples of paid political disinformation, then you should support scraping at scale, even when the site being scraped objects (at least sometimes):

https://pluralistic.net/2021/08/06/get-you-coming-and-going/#potemkin-research-program

After making transient copies of lots of works, the next step in AI training is to subject them to mathematical analysis. Again, this isn't a copyright violation.

Making quantitative observations about works is a longstanding, respected and important tool for criticism, analysis, archiving and new acts of creation. Measuring the steady contraction of the vocabulary in successive Agatha Christie novels turns out to offer a fascinating window into her dementia:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/apr/03/agatha-christie-alzheimers-research

Programmatic analysis of scraped online speech is also critical to the burgeoning formal analyses of the language spoken by minorities, producing a vibrant account of the rigorous grammar of dialects that have long been dismissed as "slang":

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/373950278_Lexicogrammatical_Analysis_on_African-American_Vernacular_English_Spoken_by_African-Amecian_You-Tubers

Since 1988, UCL Survey of English Language has maintained its "International Corpus of English," and scholars have plumbed its depth to draw important conclusions about the wide variety of Englishes spoken around the world, especially in postcolonial English-speaking countries:

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/english-usage/projects/ice.htm

The final step in training a model is publishing the conclusions of the quantitative analysis of the temporarily copied documents as software code. Code itself is a form of expressive speech – and that expressivity is key to the fight for privacy, because the fact that code is speech limits how governments can censor software:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/04/remembering-case-established-code-speech/

Are models infringing? Well, they certainly can be. In some cases, it's clear that models "memorized" some of the data in their training set, making the fair use, transient copy into an infringing, permanent one. That's generally considered to be the result of a programming error, and it could certainly be prevented (say, by comparing the model to the training data and removing any memorizations that appear).

Not every seeming act of memorization is a memorization, though. While specific models vary widely, the amount of data from each training item retained by the model is very small. For example, Midjourney retains about one byte of information from each image in its training data. If we're talking about a typical low-resolution web image of say, 300kb, that would be one three-hundred-thousandth (0.0000033%) of the original image.

Typically in copyright discussions, when one work contains 0.0000033% of another work, we don't even raise the question of fair use. Rather, we dismiss the use as de minimis (short for de minimis non curat lex or "The law does not concern itself with trifles"):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_minimis

Busting someone who takes 0.0000033% of your work for copyright infringement is like swearing out a trespassing complaint against someone because the edge of their shoe touched one blade of grass on your lawn.

But some works or elements of work appear many times online. For example, the Getty Images watermark appears on millions of similar images of people standing on red carpets and runways, so a model that takes even in infinitesimal sample of each one of those works might still end up being able to produce a whole, recognizable Getty Images watermark.

The same is true for wire-service articles or other widely syndicated texts: there might be dozens or even hundreds of copies of these works in training data, resulting in the memorization of long passages from them.

This might be infringing (we're getting into some gnarly, unprecedented territory here), but again, even if it is, it wouldn't be a big hardship for model makers to post-process their models by comparing them to the training set, deleting any inadvertent memorizations. Even if the resulting model had zero memorizations, this would do nothing to alleviate the (legitimate) concerns of creative workers about the creation and use of these models.

So here's the first nuance in the AI art debate: as a technical matter, training a model isn't a copyright infringement. Creative workers who hope that they can use copyright law to prevent AI from changing the creative labor market are likely to be very disappointed in court:

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/sarah-silverman-lawsuit-ai-meta-1235669403/

But copyright law isn't a fixed, eternal entity. We write new copyright laws all the time. If current copyright law doesn't prevent the creation of models, what about a future copyright law?

Well, sure, that's a possibility. The first thing to consider is the possible collateral damage of such a law. The legal space for scraping enables a wide range of scholarly, archival, organizational and critical purposes. We'd have to be very careful not to inadvertently ban, say, the scraping of a politician's campaign website, lest we enable liars to run for office and renege on their promises, while they insist that they never made those promises in the first place. We wouldn't want to abolish search engines, or stop creators from scraping their own work off sites that are going away or changing their terms of service.

Now, onto quantitative analysis: counting words and measuring pixels are not activities that you should need permission to perform, with or without a computer, even if the person whose words or pixels you're counting doesn't want you to. You should be able to look as hard as you want at the pixels in Kate Middleton's family photos, or track the rise and fall of the Oxford comma, and you shouldn't need anyone's permission to do so.

Finally, there's publishing the model. There are plenty of published mathematical analyses of large corpuses that are useful and unobjectionable. I love me a good Google n-gram:

https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=fantods%2C+heebie-jeebies&year_start=1800&year_end=2019&corpus=en-2019&smoothing=3

And large language models fill all kinds of important niches, like the Human Rights Data Analysis Group's LLM-based work helping the Innocence Project New Orleans' extract data from wrongful conviction case files:

https://hrdag.org/tech-notes/large-language-models-IPNO.html

So that's nuance number two: if we decide to make a new copyright law, we'll need to be very sure that we don't accidentally crush these beneficial activities that don't undermine artistic labor markets.

This brings me to the most important point: passing a new copyright law that requires permission to train an AI won't help creative workers get paid or protect our jobs.

Getty Images pays photographers the least it can get away with. Publishers contracts have transformed by inches into miles-long, ghastly rights grabs that take everything from writers, but still shifts legal risks onto them:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/06/19/reasonable-agreement/

Publishers like the New York Times bitterly oppose their writers' unions:

https://actionnetwork.org/letters/new-york-times-stop-union-busting

These large corporations already control the copyrights to gigantic amounts of training data, and they have means, motive and opportunity to license these works for training a model in order to pay us less, and they are engaged in this activity right now:

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/22/technology/apple-ai-news-publishers.html

Big games studios are already acting as though there was a copyright in training data, and requiring their voice actors to begin every recording session with words to the effect of, "I hereby grant permission to train an AI with my voice" and if you don't like it, you can hit the bricks:

https://www.vice.com/en/article/5d37za/voice-actors-sign-away-rights-to-artificial-intelligence

If you're a creative worker hoping to pay your bills, it doesn't matter whether your wages are eroded by a model produced without paying your employer for the right to do so, or whether your employer got to double dip by selling your work to an AI company to train a model, and then used that model to fire you or erode your wages:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/09/ai-monkeys-paw/#bullied-schoolkids

Individual creative workers rarely have any bargaining leverage over the corporations that license our copyrights. That's why copyright's 40-year expansion (in duration, scope, statutory damages) has resulted in larger, more profitable entertainment companies, and lower payments – in real terms and as a share of the income generated by their work – for creative workers.

As Rebecca Giblin and I write in our book Chokepoint Capitalism, giving creative workers more rights to bargain with against giant corporations that control access to our audiences is like giving your bullied schoolkid extra lunch money – it's just a roundabout way of transferring that money to the bullies:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/08/21/what-is-chokepoint-capitalism/

There's an historical precedent for this struggle – the fight over music sampling. 40 years ago, it wasn't clear whether sampling required a copyright license, and early hip-hop artists took samples without permission, the way a horn player might drop a couple bars of a well-known song into a solo.

Many artists were rightfully furious over this. The "heritage acts" (the music industry's euphemism for "Black people") who were most sampled had been given very bad deals and had seen very little of the fortunes generated by their creative labor. Many of them were desperately poor, despite having made millions for their labels. When other musicians started making money off that work, they got mad.

In the decades that followed, the system for sampling changed, partly through court cases and partly through the commercial terms set by the Big Three labels: Sony, Warner and Universal, who control 70% of all music recordings. Today, you generally can't sample without signing up to one of the Big Three (they are reluctant to deal with indies), and that means taking their standard deal, which is very bad, and also signs away your right to control your samples.

So a musician who wants to sample has to sign the bad terms offered by a Big Three label, and then hand $500 out of their advance to one of those Big Three labels for the sample license. That $500 typically doesn't go to another artist – it goes to the label, who share it around their executives and investors. This is a system that makes every artist poorer.

But it gets worse. Putting a price on samples changes the kind of music that can be economically viable. If you wanted to clear all the samples on an album like Public Enemy's "It Takes a Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back," or the Beastie Boys' "Paul's Boutique," you'd have to sell every CD for $150, just to break even:

https://memex.craphound.com/2011/07/08/creative-license-how-the-hell-did-sampling-get-so-screwed-up-and-what-the-hell-do-we-do-about-it/

Sampling licenses don't just make every artist financially worse off, they also prevent the creation of music of the sort that millions of people enjoy. But it gets even worse. Some older, sample-heavy music can't be cleared. Most of De La Soul's catalog wasn't available for 15 years, and even though some of their seminal music came back in March 2022, the band's frontman Trugoy the Dove didn't live to see it – he died in February 2022:

https://www.vulture.com/2023/02/de-la-soul-trugoy-the-dove-dead-at-54.html

This is the third nuance: even if we can craft a model-banning copyright system that doesn't catch a lot of dolphins in its tuna net, it could still make artists poorer off.

Back when sampling started, it wasn't clear whether it would ever be considered artistically important. Early sampling was crude and experimental. Musicians who trained for years to master an instrument were dismissive of the idea that clicking a mouse was "making music." Today, most of us don't question the idea that sampling can produce meaningful art – even musicians who believe in licensing samples.

Having lived through that era, I'm prepared to believe that maybe I'll look back on AI "art" and say, "damn, I can't believe I never thought that could be real art."

But I wouldn't give odds on it.

I don't like AI art. I find it anodyne, boring. As Henry Farrell writes, it's uncanny, and not in a good way:

https://www.programmablemutter.com/p/large-language-models-are-uncanny

Farrell likens the work produced by AIs to the movement of a Ouija board's planchette, something that "seems to have a life of its own, even though its motion is a collective side-effect of the motions of the people whose fingers lightly rest on top of it." This is "spooky-action-at-a-close-up," transforming "collective inputs … into apparently quite specific outputs that are not the intended creation of any conscious mind."

Look, art is irrational in the sense that it speaks to us at some non-rational, or sub-rational level. Caring about the tribulations of imaginary people or being fascinated by pictures of things that don't exist (or that aren't even recognizable) doesn't make any sense. There's a way in which all art is like an optical illusion for our cognition, an imaginary thing that captures us the way a real thing might.

But art is amazing. Making art and experiencing art makes us feel big, numinous, irreducible emotions. Making art keeps me sane. Experiencing art is a precondition for all the joy in my life. Having spent most of my life as a working artist, I've come to the conclusion that the reason for this is that art transmits an approximation of some big, numinous irreducible emotion from an artist's mind to our own. That's it: that's why art is amazing.

AI doesn't have a mind. It doesn't have an intention. The aesthetic choices made by AI aren't choices, they're averages. As Farrell writes, "LLM art sometimes seems to communicate a message, as art does, but it is unclear where that message comes from, or what it means. If it has any meaning at all, it is a meaning that does not stem from organizing intention" (emphasis mine).

Farrell cites Mark Fisher's The Weird and the Eerie, which defines "weird" in easy to understand terms ("that which does not belong") but really grapples with "eerie."

For Fisher, eeriness is "when there is something present where there should be nothing, or is there is nothing present when there should be something." AI art produces the seeming of intention without intending anything. It appears to be an agent, but it has no agency. It's eerie.

Fisher talks about capitalism as eerie. Capital is "conjured out of nothing" but "exerts more influence than any allegedly substantial entity." The "invisible hand" shapes our lives more than any person. The invisible hand is fucking eerie. Capitalism is a system in which insubstantial non-things – corporations – appear to act with intention, often at odds with the intentions of the human beings carrying out those actions.

So will AI art ever be art? I don't know. There's a long tradition of using random or irrational or impersonal inputs as the starting point for human acts of artistic creativity. Think of divination:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/07/31/divination/

Or Brian Eno's Oblique Strategies:

http://stoney.sb.org/eno/oblique.html

I love making my little collages for this blog, though I wouldn't call them important art. Nevertheless, piecing together bits of other peoples' work can make fantastic, important work of historical note:

https://www.johnheartfield.com/John-Heartfield-Exhibition/john-heartfield-art/famous-anti-fascist-art/heartfield-posters-aiz

Even though painstakingly cutting out tiny elements from others' images can be a meditative and educational experience, I don't think that using tiny scissors or the lasso tool is what defines the "art" in collage. If you can automate some of this process, it could still be art.

Here's what I do know. Creating an individual bargainable copyright over training will not improve the material conditions of artists' lives – all it will do is change the relative shares of the value we create, shifting some of that value from tech companies that hate us and want us to starve to entertainment companies that hate us and want us to starve.

As an artist, I'm foursquare against anything that stands in the way of making art. As an artistic worker, I'm entirely committed to things that help workers get a fair share of the money their work creates, feed their families and pay their rent.

I think today's AI art is bad, and I think tomorrow's AI art will probably be bad, but even if you disagree (with either proposition), I hope you'll agree that we should be focused on making sure art is legal to make and that artists get paid for it.

Just because copyright won't fix the creative labor market, it doesn't follow that nothing will. If we're worried about labor issues, we can look to labor law to improve our conditions. That's what the Hollywood writers did, in their groundbreaking 2023 strike:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/01/how-the-writers-guild-sunk-ais-ship/

Now, the writers had an advantage: they are able to engage in "sectoral bargaining," where a union bargains with all the major employers at once. That's illegal in nearly every other kind of labor market. But if we're willing to entertain the possibility of getting a new copyright law passed (that won't make artists better off), why not the possibility of passing a new labor law (that will)? Sure, our bosses won't lobby alongside of us for more labor protection, the way they would for more copyright (think for a moment about what that says about who benefits from copyright versus labor law expansion).

But all workers benefit from expanded labor protection. Rather than going to Congress alongside our bosses from the studios and labels and publishers to demand more copyright, we could go to Congress alongside every kind of worker, from fast-food cashiers to publishing assistants to truck drivers to demand the right to sectoral bargaining. That's a hell of a coalition.

And if we do want to tinker with copyright to change the way training works, let's look at collective licensing, which can't be bargained away, rather than individual rights that can be confiscated at the entrance to our publisher, label or studio's offices. These collective licenses have been a huge success in protecting creative workers:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/26/united-we-stand/

Then there's copyright's wildest wild card: The US Copyright Office has repeatedly stated that works made by AIs aren't eligible for copyright, which is the exclusive purview of works of human authorship. This has been affirmed by courts:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/20/everything-made-by-an-ai-is-in-the-public-domain/

Neither AI companies nor entertainment companies will pay creative workers if they don't have to. But for any company contemplating selling an AI-generated work, the fact that it is born in the public domain presents a substantial hurdle, because anyone else is free to take that work and sell it or give it away.

Whether or not AI "art" will ever be good art isn't what our bosses are thinking about when they pay for AI licenses: rather, they are calculating that they have so much market power that they can sell whatever slop the AI makes, and pay less for the AI license than they would make for a human artist's work. As is the case in every industry, AI can't do an artist's job, but an AI salesman can convince an artist's boss to fire the creative worker and replace them with AI:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/29/pay-no-attention/#to-the-little-man-behind-the-curtain

They don't care if it's slop – they just care about their bottom line. A studio executive who cancels a widely anticipated film prior to its release to get a tax-credit isn't thinking about artistic integrity. They care about one thing: money. The fact that AI works can be freely copied, sold or given away may not mean much to a creative worker who actually makes their own art, but I assure you, it's the only thing that matters to our bosses.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/13/spooky-action-at-a-close-up/#invisible-hand

[pearly--rose]

All right I got blocked for saying this on a post I reblogged, but I think it's important to understand so I want to share it again.

I think there's a fundamental misunderstanding of what constitutes copyright violation in artistic fields, and how transformative works fit into that definition vs. gen AI-produced works.

For starters, the only way any of these big gen AI image generators are able to produce "art" is because they've been trained on vast swaths of copyrighted material that they did not pay for the use of. This, in effect, is theft. For example, if Midjourney hadn't scraped Disney's entire catalog of animated films without permission from the copyright holders, Midjourney would not be able to spit out prompt responses in the style of Disney. The *only reason* they can mimic any art style is because they illegally trained their AI on copyrighted materials. And there are HUGE libraries out there of fair use, creative commons art, but Midjourney and other gen-AI companies like them CHOSE to scrape art they knew they did not have permission for. They've even stated that their business model would not be possible without the unauthorized use of copyrighted works. And they make a LOT money off of this business model.

My mom is a fine artist, and in her retirement she's been taking a lot of online painting classes. In these classes, you follow along with a teacher as they paint something. It is an explicit understanding in the art world that you do not sell or show any work you produce in a class like this, because the original source imagery/idea was not your own. This is not a difficult concept to understand.

And for anyone worried that lawsuits like this will fundamentally change the legality of fair use and transformative works, I encourage you to actually read the law on transformative works to understand why that fear is unfounded.

[scarletwinterxx]

I choose you and me religiously - joshua hong imagine

istg every love song i hear, he's the only one i can think of. i'm in my joshua brain rot era and i'm loving every second of it😭😭

for my other joshua fics, check them here

if you want, u can buy me coffee(totally optional but any donation is very much appreciated!) thank you🥺💛

All works are copyrighted ©scarletwinterxx 2024 . Do not repost, re-write without the permission of author.

(gif not mine, credits to rightful owner)

"This is so not fair"

"What?" your boyfriend blinks back at you with his doe eyes, knowing full well what this does to you

"You can't use that every time you're trying to win, Josh" you grumble, hitting him playfully with a pillow. He blocks it with his arm, laughing at your annoyed but cute expression, clearly he's having more fun than you.

There are so many things Joshua does that makes your knees go weak. The moment you met him you knew you were in deep deep trouble. It was hard not to get swayed while staring in his eyes when they say so much.

Even before, you can never keep eye contact with him because if you do you'd end up a blushing mess. His eyes confessed to you first, and you stared right back getting lost along side him.

Your relationship with him is like those cliche movies and cute scenes in books you only dreamt of happening to you, then along came him and made those into reality.

Like how can you not think he's the cutest human ever when he made a beaded bracelet with his number on it and gave it to you because he was too shy and too much of a gentleman to ask, how he held pinkies with you on your first date while walking around the park, or how he giggled (yes, this man straight up giggled) the first time you kissed.

Every thing he does is an arrow shot straight to your heart. He might not be aware of it but he got you on the palm of his hand. You can't even argue with him because the moment you see his sad eyes and pouty lips, you're already waiving the white flag.

You thought it would be scary for someone to have this much power over you, but not Joshua. He's honest, gentle and kind through and through. In a world of boys, he really is the gentleman.

He never did anything to make you feel uncomfortable or angry or upset, sure there are little arguments here and there but he will never let a day end without making sure you two are okay.

Most often you would say he's too kind for this world, all you get is a shake of his head and a smile. It's just who is he is. Not a single mean bone in his body. You would fight the world for him, always his number one defender and he loves that about you.

Why would he care if the world was mean to him when he got you on his side?

That's all that matters to him anyways.

"Do you ever get angry?" you ask

"Of course, I do" he answer with a chuckle, prompting you to raise your brow at him

"I've never seen you angry, is that a bad sign? They say you should see your partner angry to see that side of them or whatnot"

"I just never find any reason to be. I feel upset, I do. But then I resolve it. It takes too much energy to be angry, life's too short for that don't you think"

"Okay but like what if someone insults you?" you prod

"Do they know me?" he asks back "Just hypothetically"

"But like what's the scenario" "Oh come on, indulge me for a moment will you" you say, getting annoyed at your boyfriend but he just laughs. You always look cute when he annoys you, wishing he could keep you in his pocket all the time.

"Okay let's change it then, let's say we're walking out at night and someone says something about me-" "Well that's different, darling. They won't even finish the sentence, I'm already walking up to them" he cuts you off, even though it's just a made up scenario he already feels a bit mad at the thought of someone disrespecting you

"And what? Fight them?"

He doesn't say anything for a while, staring back at you like he's making you read his mind. Then he pulls you by the arm until you're cuddled against him.

"They can hurt me any way they want, I can handle that. But you, I'd lose my mind if anything happens to you. I can't even imagine it, it's making me mad"

Looking up at him, you see the change in his expression "Oh love, I didn't mean to upset you. Sorry" you mumble, smoothing the crease in between his brows

"No need to be sorry, it's the truth. I treat you with nothing but love and respect, I can't have some stranger treat you any less"

Your lips immediately form a pout when you hear his words. Your sweet sweet boy.

"You really love me huh" you whisper

He looks down at you, his expression quickly changes when he sees your cheeks squished against his chest and the cute pout on your lips. Like a little cute dumpling.

Leaning down to give your cheek a few pecks, "A little bit more than how much you love me"

You laugh at that, you never doubted your feelings about him. You know you love him so much, every single cell in your body knows that. "Sounds impossble"

"Oh you disagree? Lovely, we can sit here all day and talk about all the things I love about you. I can go on and on and on"

"Okay okay fine I get it, I thought you don't like arguing" you tease him

"I like arguing with you like this because I know I'll win"

"Okay Mr. Confident"

"I'm only telling the truth. Look me in the eyes and tell me I'm wrong" this time he's he one teasing, knowing full well you're weak for his stare

"Not fair, you can look at me and I'd say yes to anything"

"Anything?"

You pinch his side, earning a yelp and a laugh from your boyfriend. Then he hugs you again, holding your hand his time so you don't get any ideas.

"Want to know something? I feel the same, the moment you looked at me I knew I was going to be yours for the rest of this lifetime" he whispers

He tucks your hair behind your ears to see you eyes more, leaning down again to give your nose a peck "You had me the moment we met"

You smile at him before stretching your head to meet your lips with his, feeling him smile during the kiss. You don't say anything, you just let him feel all the emotions that are too big for any word in any language.

Exchanging I love you's through kisses.

[comicbookddr]

my video got taken down by copyright strikes 7 hours after it was uploaded. idk why they didn't materialize until after i had made the video public, i waited hours after it was fully uploaded and left it unlisted just in case there were any claims to dispute because i know how disney can be. they must be manual claims and it took the people hours to actually finish the video because it's so long. it just seems really cruel to let me think i was in the clear for them to just pull the rug out from under me. now i have to decide whether to wait 30 days until they clear after manually disputing every single claim or go straight to an appeal which would only take 7 days but could result in me getting a strike on my channel if the big corperation deems it so. i dont wanna complain on here bc i enjoy the whole video making process but this just really broke my heart! i worked for months on this video, if there were problems then i wanted to know about them BEFORE letting my audience see the video! its bc there isn't any actual problems with my vid, its in fair use, disney is just mad they can't squeeze some pennies out of me, a tiny ass creator with only 2k subs. i wouldn't even care if it was just demonetized bc i can deal with not making money, but blocked worldwide?? i wish youtube had a better way of helping out smaller creators like myself, sorry for all of those who didn't get to finish the video before it got taken down, ill try my best to get it back up as soon as possible.

[anarchblr]

I.

[..] the problem arises when there is an socialist revolution,. You'll either have the choice of proletarianization or you'll join the bourgeoise class in trying to save your company and your means of production

What a wonderful choice this "socialist(!!) revolution" has for our reader:

Either they become a prole, or

They become a bourgeoisie!

Ah, the choice of overcoming this relation is completely sidestepped, ignored, and forgotten: the abolition of class relations, class struggle, is completely foreclosed! What a wondrous —fantastic— "socialist" revolution!

In this so-called "revolution", the question of the means of production is answered, but what a weird one it is: the bourgeoisie still own and defend them!

Let's not forget that to "choose" proletarianization is to presuppose a bourgeois class to employ it!, nor let us forget that such a "choice" is one we have now in our infernally capitalist system of production in the imperial core. This is what laissez-faire capitalists harp on about when they talk about "volunteerism" and other banal stupidities allergic to the real socialism that abolishes class and state.

Essentially, this person is defending capitalism under "Marxist" sounding rhetoric and this becomes more obvious the more they prattle on;

[..] It's not bad when you become part of the working class, you'll still have an income, it's just not through the means of profit, but rather through a wage in exchange (!!) for your labour power.

This could come straight out of any of those idiots that mindlessly follow Hayek or Mises that see capitalism not as a historic development but rather eternal state of nature they then project into the past, or, in this case, the future.

Is this not how the state of affairs exist in the here and now? What real, material difference exists in the capitalism of America in the 21st century that is different from this supposed "socialist revolution" as outlined by the writer? Nothing.

So much nothing, in fact, that with the way they're describing it, it would be difficult to not then "choose" to become a bourgeoisie!: the relation is already unquestionably admitted and accepted, might as well "choose" it over the drudgery we know of proletarian life where I don't know if I'll get enough hours in this week to pay my bills: every prole lives/works/sells their labor-power at the whims of their bourgeois.

[..] The reason why we discuss petite bourgeoise is because of the reactionary attitudes that may take place as a result of when you have to abandon your small business for a collective ownership of the means of production. This is why commies have such an issue with IP and copyright laws, since they are reactionary.

This little bit is the only coherence that exists in this train wreck of a response and it is so brief that it must be understood more as an accident than of actual, purposeful and meaningful lucidity; a broken clock and all that.

That said, it is still not impressive; it is true, the petit-bourgouis has historically sided with the reaction even in napoleonic times, but their position against the petit-bourgouis is insincere: they're not so much against the petit-bourgouis for being reactionary, these people, self-admittedly, want to allow the society of class struggle and cannot conceive a "socialist revolution" without the bourgeoisie-proletariat relationship that is the fundamental building block of capitalist society; they're not against reaction itself, they're against not being themselves at the head of the reaction!

They're against petit-bourgouis reaction so long as it stands against their State-As-Capitalist reaction.

This explains, as a stand-out example, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.

[..] The question here is: if you're an independent artist on patreon, OF or whatever, how will you react once the has come for a proletarian revolution?

What a stupid question.

II.

Unfortunately, their aide is worse yet at convincing the reader that a "socialist revolution" (as described by the op) is anything attractive that can't simply be found in a capitalist country outside of the United States:

your work becomes a part of the public good; good life for the proleteriat also includes exhbitions, plays, literature, dramas, etc. thats why my ex-socialist [READ: CAPITALIST] country supports creation of art through public funding (like open calls for books, for libraries, for gallery exhibitions and so on and so on).

[..] i have something called "the independent artist" status which is a remain [sic] of socialism [READ: UNDER CAPITALISM]- basically, with enough exhibitions and proof that my work contributes to the quality of the culture within the country, i am de facto an artist of the state. it means that my healthcare and pension are being paid from the taxes. i am required to partake in state exhibitions and continuously make and publish my art to prove that im contributing something to the culture.

[..] obv its not the same as in socialism considering that well, we live under the capitalism, but these art funds are a remain of that time. and youd be surprised - there are less artists in the world than tumblr makes you think. if you worked as an animator in the studio, its similiar to working in the factory - you sell your labour power, not your finished pieces, and if youre an artisan, youre in a small class of people who wont suddenly be annihilated when socialism appears. things will change, of course.

To anyone paying attention it becomes clear that, any prescription of socialism is simply another form of capitalism, stating that "you sell your labour power" to boot!

"In the State of the future, existing in [Yugoslavia], this demand has been pretty well fulfilled. Income tax presupposes various sources of income of the various social classes, and hence capitalist society. It is, therefore, nothing remarkable that the Liverpool financial reformers [..] are putting forward the same demand as the program.

[T]he whole program, for all its democratic clang, is tainted through and through by the [..] servile belief in the State, or, what is no better, by a democratic belief in miracles; or rather it is a compromise between these two kinds of belief in miracles, both equally remote from socialism."

Amazing what passes for "Marxist analysis" these days.

[dominimoonbeam]

To The Edge - 20

This work is mine and I do not give consent for my works to be used, copied, published, or posted without my permission. I am sharing chapters as I work on this story but it is copyrighted material that I plan to rework and publish when completed.

story tags: scifi romance, hijinks in space, rogues learning to trust, violence, blood, guns, death, explicit language, so much kidnapping,

Works organized and easily found over on the patreon. <3

TO THE EDGE - CHAPTER 20.

Rory didn’t feel great about spying on their calls.

He didn’t feel great about it…but he still did it.

He was at times an optimist, often reckless, but not a fool.

From his seat on the deck, the holographic screen showed him their movements in his system. It hadn’t taken them long to sneak back into the controls of his ship and Rory hadn’t been the least bit surprised. He’d been ready.

A twinge of guilt cut through his chest when he watched their call to their friend. It hadn’t bothered him in the beginning but spying was starting to feel…wrong. To be fair, they were the one sneaking around in his ship’s system, ready to take control if needs be. Still, this felt dirty. Maybe he’d bring it up? Just tell them flat out that he knows they’re in there?

“If you have to, you could use that pretty bounty hunter for a decoy. It might buy you enough time to get away if Genesis corners you,” their friend said.

Rory stopped swiveling and looked at the image of the beautiful man in diamonds. He wasn’t sure if he should be flattered or incredibly disturbed. He wished he could see Stardust’s reaction.

When they replied, their voice was steady. “You’d make a good Solinoh.”

Rory curled a lip. What had he expected? Primers. It wasn’t even their fault. No one could trust anyone past the edge. Wasn’t that why he’d made it so easy for them to hijack his ship? To let them think they could take over any second, when in reality, he’d block them out the second they tried—and the attempt would trigger a full lockdown on their room and all access panels outside the deck. They didn’t trust him and he didn’t trust them.

That was fine. They just needed to get to that treasure in one piece and then they could part ways. He’d just have to make sure they didn’t double-cross him before then or steal his damn ship again when they managed to get the loot.

The call ended. The holograph became a blank glow of pale light between him and the stars.

And then they pulled up their video messages.

Rory didn’t even consider turning it off. He needed to know what they were up to before they got the better of him. He tried to imagine them betraying him—putting a bullet in him—but it seemed too impossible. Stardust was so nice. They were a goof. But then he remembered how easily they’d dropped those mercs on the station.

Solinoh.

A man appeared on the screen, beautiful like the one in diamonds—because of wealth and design. Was that what made Stardust so beautiful? They had the perfection of carefully designed genetics, and treated skin and hair. They had a careless grace and deftness of skills trained into their body since youth. But no… That wasn’t what made Stardust hard to look away from. It was that smile and the cunning glint in their eyes.

“If you surrender, I’ll let them live,” the man on the screen said. He spoke so slowly and comfortably that for a second Rory forgot it was a recorded message and not a live call. This was Genesis Solinoh. Rory had looked him up and sifted through some of the thousands of photos, articles, and recordings of him.

“If you don’t—If you put your hands on the—” he started to say and then thought better of it. After a second, he looked straight into the camera—straight into Rory.

Rory had seen people with that look in their eyes before. Desperation and rage. Some of them had been ship mad, all of them had been dangerous.

“I will kill them all, cousin. I will hunt down and see to the end of your pathetic fucking parents. I will make sure every friend of yours burns. And, so help me, I will break that bounty hunter you have chauffeuring you around the edge. You’ll see it all and beg me to end you too.”

The message didn’t end immediately. Genesis waited, like he wanted to make sure they knew it wasn’t a slip of the tongue or his temper getting the best of him. He meant it. He was coming.

The call ended.

Rory held his breath, watching the blank square and wondering what Stardust would do next.

The connection ended. Whatever they were doing in their room, they weren’t connected to his ship anymore.

He tapped the console and the screen vanished, the stars taking over the full window.

Rory leaned back in his seat, going over his options and their plan again and again. Somehow, he had let himself end up in the worst position in the galaxy—between two Solinohs.

He needed to be ready for anything. If Stardust didn’t stab him in the back, there was a very real chance Genesis would make an example of him by the end.

Rory had always wanted to be known, but never thought it would be as a cautionary tale.

He dragged a hand over his face, closing his eyes and muffling a curse into his palm. It had been so easy to forget that his Stardust was a Solinoh. He couldn’t lose sight of that. It would get him killed. They would do whatever they had to to survive. They’d betrayed him the first chance they’d had and only teamed up with him out of necessity. Thinking anything else would make him worse than a fool—it would make him a dead fool.

They were in this for mutual benefit. They would get the loot, they’d get the blackmail material their family was ready to kill each other over, and he’d get half the treasure. After that, he’d get his ass as far away from the Solar Court as he could. Maybe he’d go to the ERS? Or maybe he’d go past it all and see what else was out there.

He heard their door whoosh open down the hall and their boots padding along the metal floor into the galley.

He almost jumped up to join them. Almost.

Rory Antilla swiveled forward and put his heels up on the edge of the console, watching the stars and going over the plans, the options, and the dark possibilities of how this was going to end.

[ask-de-writer]

Physician Heal … A Grumpy Goat *tail* : an MLP Fan Fiction

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Return to MLP Fan Fiction

Physician Heal ~~ ~

A Grumpy Goat *tail*

by

De Writer (Glen Ten-Eyck)

6329 words

© 2014 by Glen Ten-Eyck

Writing begun 10/31/14

All rights reserved. This document may not be copied or distributed on or to any medium or placed in any mass storage system except by the express written consent of the author.

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Copyright fair use rules for Tumblr users

Users of Tumblr.com are specifically granted the following rights. They may reblog the story. They may use the characters or original characters in my settings for fan fiction, fan art works, cosplay, or fan musical compositions, provided that such things are done without charge. I will allow those who do commission art works to charge for their images provided that I receive a copy of each image for my archive. I will further allow the use of printed copies for educational use in school classes. No charge of any kind may be made for this use, whether paper, ink, binding, packaging, distribution or any other charge whatsoever.

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I was sitting out in the warm sun. The bench was pleasantly warmed and felt good. The ledge in front of my cave afforded a fine view of the woods below and Ponyville beyond. Even the solid ironwork that blocked access to my cave was not overly hot.

The light breeze was playing hob with my morning newspaper, as usual. The Ponyville Prancer’s pages were flipping up or down even when tightly folded together. I had to turn a page. The wind got it. It did not get away, but revealed an unexpected and unwanted page.

My good mood evaporated at what I saw. The Ponyville Medical Society was at it again! I guess that losing the lawsuit over Practicing Medicine Without a License wasn’t enough. This was Slander!

As if nature was conspiring to ruin my mood while putting bits of gold in my pocket, the breeze died down and let me see the entire full page advertisement. At the top was a group picture of the whole Ponyville Medical Association, all clean, neat and smiling. Under that was a large type caption reading ‘Which DOCTOR?’ Centered under it was a crudely drawn picture of a goat with fangs. There was a candle on his head, between curled horns. The color patches of his coat were drawn to look filthy. He was dancing around a badly made pentacle, waving a rattle. The caption of that picture was 'Or WITCH doctor?’

Rest time over, the breeze forced me to close the Prancer and the offensive ad. That left another offensive sight. Toiling up the trail to my mountain cave was one of the very doctors in the ad, the head of the Ponyville Medical Society himself!

Gaining my ledge, he glared at me, curling a lip in disdain. Things were looking up, after all! It might become an entertaining morning at that.

He demanded, “Show yourself, Goat!”

I turned my head toward him, the bare bone, glowing snake-like eyes and fangs of the skull giving the impression of utter puzzlement. (Glamor spells are delightful and easily cast, if you know how!) “I am, Doctor. This is me. You know it too. Just because my body is invisible does not mean that I am not here.”

“You know what I mean!”

I drew myself up. “Yes. You want me to make you more comfortable with the situation. I saw your ad, endorsed by the whole Medical Association. Your request that I alter my appearance for your comfort is denied, unless you pay me to cast a glamor spell on my person to render myself visible. That will cost you 20 Golden Bits.”

“Not a copper for your bogus illusions!”

Batting the eyelashes that I don’t have in pure innocence, I retorted, “You mean the ones that YOU personally could not tell from reality in the open courtroom, in front of the judge and jury?”

The sound of his teeth grinding was pure music.

“Now, Doctor, why are you here at all?”

“YOU KNOW WHY I AM HERE!”

“No need to shout, Doctor, and no I do not.”

Crossly, the Doctor snapped, “You are practicing medicine without a license! You must stop it at once!”

“Now, Doctor Crossly, you know that is simply a lie! Your association already tried suing me on that claim. You lost. I counter-sued for defamation. I won.

“Where is the gold that I was awarded? It is four months late! Do you have it on you? Payment arrangements perhaps?” I asked eagerly. I was leaning forward with fascination. Gold and silver always interest me.

Doctor Crossly growled, “You will not get a copper bit from us!”

I noticed a lovely pure black ear over in my open vault-like doorway.

Glaring at my somewhat intimidating skull with its curled horns, glowing snake like eyes, fangs and the everburning candle between the horns, he demanded again, “Show yourself! Stop this ridiculous puppetry and foolish illusions!”

Delighted that I had got under his skin, I replied pedantically, “Now, Doctor Crossly, this is a Glamor Spell, not an illusion. You should remember the difference from your courtroom embarrassment. An Illusion has only an appearance but no substance. A Glamor, on the other hoof, has the both the appearance and effect of substance, even if there is none in reality.”

It was delightfully easy to shove his buttons! Dealing with Doctor Crossly in court had showed me a good many of them.

Unwisely, he took a swing at what he could see. My skull.

I am attached to my skull. Not, however, like most are. It is the last and only part of my old body from before I died/was killed. I can take it off like a hat if I want to. (For details on how Grumpy got this way, read A Bad Day For Grumpy Goat.)

I did not want to. I blocked his swing with my right, feeling the shock of it right up to the shoulder that I do not really have! My counter punch with my left hoof took Doctor Crossly in the ribs and did not stop for over six inches after impact.

The counter-punch slammed Doctor Crossly off his hooves. He lay curled around his pain and the embarrassment of a goat hoof shaped bruise. I could see it in his eyes. A Goat! How dare the creature strike a true pony! A unicorn and a doctor!

Just at that moment, as if the world was conspiring against him, a lovely pure black mare put her head out of my iron door, set into the sold iron work that blocked the cave entrance. Coalsmoke said brightly, “I was setting the library shelves into order, Grumpy. I can’t seem to find Daring Do, number 12, The Gryphon’s Quest. Any idea where it is?”

Glancing down she said dismissively , “Doctor Crossly! Why are you on the ground?”

Getting slowly to his hooves, the doctor snapped, “He struck me violently and without cause!”

Coalsmoke calmly replied, “That is false, Doctor. I watched the whole thing from the door, here. I saw you swing at Grumpy’s head. He simply defended himself. It is not his fault if you are a lousy fighter.

“Now, quit changing the subject every time that you are in the wrong, which seems to be most of the time! WHY are you here at all? I saw your Ponyville Medical Association full page ad in the Prancer. You know the one. “WHICH Doctor? Or WITCH doctor?” Have YOU chosen the Witch Doctor? That would be lovely.”

Doctor Crossly snapped, “I am here to demand that he stop treating medical conditions! Only Qualified Doctors can do that!”

I snickered and replied, “Why didn’t you just say so and leave? You know that the courts ruled on the matter when you sued me. Not one of my registered contracts that you entered into evidence, made any statements about TREATMENT. They specified desired results. They also offered a better than money back guarantee if the result failed to happen. They all did happen through a concatenation of natural events, not some form of treatment.”

The doctor paced back and forth on my ledge as he growled, “All of those patients quit necessary medical treatments and medications!”

Coalsmoke batted her perfect eyelashes at him as she rammed a stick through his spokes. “They all quit because they got well and did not need you anymore. Your real objection is that it stopped you from doing a vital operation on all of them.”

“What operation do you mean?”

Giggling in delight, she retorted, “CASHECTOMY of the WALLET!”

Doctor Crossly was furious! He was going to need a dentist if he kept grinding his teeth together like that! I cheerfully told Doctor Crossly, “Wait just a bit, will you? I have something that you, as head of the Medical Society, need!”

I popped inside the cave to my front chamber living quarters and took up a sheet of my letterhead. I am a licensed practitioner of non-equine magic, after all. A Professional.

I sat and pulled the writing kit close. Dipping the pen, I started to write.

Outside, Coalsmoke was sitting comfortably in the sun. She is a vision of loveliness, even to a goat. Truly a beautiful pony. The pure blackness of her glossy coat disturbed only by the orange hourglass like mark on each flank. It was just like the one seen on the abdomen of a black widow spider.

Doctor Crossly glared at her. “Have you no shame? Being seen here with a Goat? This vile beast of so-called non-equine magic?”

Coalsmoke looked at him brightly, as if examining a really fascinating and very ugly bug. “I would be far more ashamed to be seen with YOU, Doctor. At least Grumpy is honest.”

“What do you mean by that, you husband murdering hussy!”

Instead of reacting to the insult, Coalsmoke smiled. A hungry Eastern Tiger seeing easy prey would have turned quietly away if its prey had smiled at him like that. “Oh, dear. Doctor Crossly, I will have to file charges of incompetence against you. It is YOUR signature on TWO of the six death certificates of my dear late husbands. You totally missed the true cause of death both times, if what you just said is true.”

She innocently batted her perfect eyelashes at him and suggested, “Prove your assertion. You personally attend three of the deaths of my six husbands so far. You did two of the autopsies and and assisted on a third.

“The first died of a tree limb falling on his head after lightning hit the tree. You certified accident of nature.”

“The second was playing chess at his club. He suffered a sudden heart seizure and passed in seconds surrounded by witnesses. You certified S node heart failure.

“The third one that you were involved in died of an antibiotic allergy while in Ponyville General Horsepital for observation of a lung complaint. The antibiotic in the bag was the right one. You administered the antibiotic that killed him. It was in the injection site swab.

“Would you care to comment on your degree of incompetence? You just said that they were murders. Since YOU caused one of those deaths, why not put murder on the death certificate?”

Absolutely embarrassed, Doctor Crossly tried his favorite tactic. Changing the topic. “How else do you account for all of your husbands dying?

Utterly nonplussed, Coalsmoke replied, “Why, usually with the help of the Medical Society, I pick them for a prognosis of a short lifespan. Usually due to a chronic or terminal condition.

“If the Medical Society can’t help me, I come up here and get Grumpy to call up the Litch King. He can usually tell me pretty exactly how long a pony will live if nothing interferes.”

At that point, I came cheerfully out of the cave. I handed Doctor Crossly a folded paper. “This is your Medical Society’s formal notice of my intent to sue. The cause is slander and libel for the ad in the Prancer.”

He was about to wad it up. Coalsmoke said, “Feel free. The Intent will be registered. I am a witness to service.” She cheerfully hoofed a signature on a delivery receipt.

I did overhear the previous conversation with the Doctor so I decided to yank his chain. Being rude to Coalsmoke is a sure way to get to me. She is one of the few real friends that I have.

I looked back into the cave to be sure that Clarence was there. The Litch King only lets his friends call him that. Clarence is not really his name but it lets us be informal.

He was. He had a book in hoof. He gave me the high-sign. He had heard the insult to Coalsmoke too. Like me, for some reason, the Lord of the Dead has very few friends. She is one.

I turned to her and said, “Sweet Incarnation of the Queen of the Damned, you requested Audience with the Litch King. I have raised him for you.”

Coalsmoke gave me a formal nod and replied, “Very good. Has he the Appointments?”

Back in the cave, Clarence gave a grin and hoof-up! He glamored the book in his hoof to a large, crumbling tome. The bare boned Alicorn skeleton that was the Litch King’s real form, paced solemnly out into full view. He held forth the tome opened to a place.

Coalsmoke looked at it, running a delicate hoof down the page. She nodded, “Thank you, Lord of the Dead. I have one other that I should like to see.”

She leafed back earlier in the ancient leather covered book. Finding a page, she began to run her delicate hoof down it. Muttering to herself, but loudly enough to be heard, “Crossit, Crossly, Cross ~ ~ ~ Here it is!”

The clatter of fleeing hooves accompanied Doctor Crossly’s exit from my ledge.

We were laughing so hard that we had to lean on each other to keep from rolling on the ground!

Clarence dropped the glamor on the book and let Coalsmoke have Daring Do, number 12, the Gryphon’s Quest. She happily shelved it and we all sat out in the now very nice day while I read to us all out of Daring Do and the Werehound.

Besides letting us call him Clarence, the Litch King has a weakness of sorts. He loves to be read to and is especially delighted by the Daring Do series of books.

We came to the chapter’s end in plenty of time for me to take a few contracts and my Intent to Sue down to the Hall of Records in the Ponyville Town Hall.

Coalsmoke came with me. She needed to go home to her mansion. Mansion? Yep. Twenty two rooms. Hundred acre estate and all the trimmings. Her chosen way of life has left her very rich indeed.

Place like that needs a lot of looking after and she is a wise manager of her resources.

So, why spend time up on my mountain with Clarence and I? Friendship. The same reason that she spends her free coin at Caramel Treat’s Sweets. Caramel, Fangrin her mate and I were the first real friends that she had. She came to us, beautiful and abused. Battered actually. She had some serious spine hidden in there. (for details, read Coalsmoke’s Cutie Mark.)

Now she is one of Ponyville’s richest ponies. Her company is sought out by the social elite for their parties and charity things. She is unfailingly generous. Some have accused her, like Doctor Crossly, of murder. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Knowing the Litch King and I, she has an inside track on how long a prospective husband is likely to live. Our little charade for Doctor Crossly had a grain of truth. She is actually the very best possible wife for each one. She simply takes ones that will not live long. She has even loved most of them. And been VERY practical about their passing. Hence, her wealth.

We got into town in plenty of time. We stopped by the Town Hall and registered my Intent to Sue and contracts. I also set up an appointment with Judge Coldheart. The subject was to obtain a Writ of Collection by Seizure against the Medical Society for past due judgments and the witnessed statement that they were not going to pay them. Coalsmoke signed a witness affidavit for that.

We cheerfully retired to Caramel Treat’s Sweets for a bite of dinner before we parted ways. Caramel is always delighted to see us. That feeling is mutual.

Due to her and her mate Fangrin being werewolf ponies, she is sensitive to the whole issue of discrimination and does not allow it in her place of business, or her home either.

As we walked into the outdoor dining plaza, another diner threw down his napkin and stamped over to say, “You should be ashamed of yourself, Madam! How dare you bring a GOAT into a respectable dining establishment!”

The waitress, a sweet palomino mare named Peanut Brittle, intercepted him. “Doctor Bale, please resume your seat. What you have just said is a violation of our protocols here at Caramel Treat’s. Both Coalsmoke and Grumpy are regulars here. If you do not like sharing an outdoors plaza with them, please pay your tab and leave.” She pointed to a well famed sign.

It said, “If you have a problem with any customer of mine, due to species, race or kind at all, please leave. If you try to cause any difficulty, WE BITE – HARD!” The words were flanked by a very well done portrait of Caramel on one side and Fangrin, her mate, on the other. In Wolf Form.

With bad grace, the Doctor returned to his table. He ostentatiously picked up his three copper bit tip.

Peanut smiled at that cheap show of stupid disapproval. She showed us to our favorite table. The Celestian Church, (denounced by Celestia as a worthless cult) was having a unicorn superiority rally in the park. (for details and a bit of fun, read IVY COVERED HALLS and Immortality?)

I commented cheerfully, “It must be Autumn already! The Nuts have fallen from the trees!”

Coalsmoke giggled and dropped one of those comments that accidentally lead to great things. “Too bad that your Friday the 13th spell only works on individuals. What fun it would be to watch things going wrong for that whole bunch at once!”

I was laughing at the thought when it hit me that maybe it could happen. I am a professional at Non-Equine Magic, after all. The best (and only) licensed practitioner of Non-Equine magic in all of Ponyville and surrounding areas.

It was her suggestion and Doctor Bale’s rudeness combined that led down the path of Doctor – Contagion – Non-Equine Magic’s contagion spells + Friday the 13th = Eureka! I pulled a sheet of paper and my writing kit out my saddlebag. I was happily scribbling the connective spells when Peanut brought our dinners out.

She considerately set mine to one side of my paper and lit the table’s candle in a bottle. She said, “Doc Bale always finds an excuse to 'take back his tip’ just like today.

“He went over to the Rally.”

Coalsmoke grinned. “Thanks for your always excellent service, Peanut. Here.” She gave Peanut a whole Silver Bit. Thinking a moment, she handed another to Peanut. “I will get this back from him later. He is onto something and I want to watch!”

I held up the paper and muttered, “Bungle!” at it. Some of the smallish diagrams began to glow. I followed that with, “Hortimer!” Then I stuck the paper into the candle flame.

It flared lightly, leaving no ash at all. A smoke curled up and the tip of it aimed like a hunting hound at the Celestian High Priest Hortimer. It shot across the street and into the park.

High Priest Hortimer is a pony that I have no liking for at all. Watching the Friday the 13th hit him was, as a result, a delight. He reared impressively and one hind hoof caught his fancy white and gold robe. He tripped and fell heavily onto the make-shift stage. Three of his toadies leaped at once to help their fallen leader!

I mentioned, make-shift? They all went through the deck of the stage, making a hole that Hortimer’s head dropped into. Another, trying to assist, accidentally dropped Hortimer’s whole forequarters into the hole.

There was Hortimer, head first in the hole, hind legs waving wildly in the air. That was when I noticed the reporter from the Ponyville Prancer. Romaine was getting some fine shots of the whole debacle.

Doctor Bale was standing at the edge of the crowd between the stage and us. He tried to set off an Anti-Goat mob by yelling, “Goat! Over there! He did this!”

It did not help that he was right! The mob turned as one. In the last coordinated movement of their day, they charged toward Caramel’s. Doctor Bale was in the way. The charge became a massive pony-pile on top of him!

Romaine’s camera got a workout! We got a huge giggle fit. Watching the disaster made the meal tastier, somehow.

I trotted happily up the mountain to my cave through a glorious sunset and falling dusk. The iron door to my cave opened for me. Clarence was waiting for me.

Made me feel sort of special. Not every pony or goat, for that matter, has the Litch King greet him at the door and be welcome! Most would, justifiably, panic if it happened to them!

Clarence was grinning. That really should be impossible with his face, and the rest of him for that matter, being bare bone. It wasn’t. He was grinning.

“I saw what you did, Grumpy! It was in the late Prancer. It was delightful. Doctor Bale was one of the ones who helped to make that advertisement that you disliked so. He went to the Horsepital Emergency Room shortly after all of those ponies trampled him.

“That was a merry scene! Stands got tripped over, and a syringe full of sleeping medicine stabbed his rear when he tripped on a blanket. That finally stopped him from moving and creating chaos! His bill is going to be huge!”

With that delightful news, I let the glamor on my body go and picked up my skull from its stand beside my easy chair. I sat and sorted my day’s mail. The late edition Prancer was included. It had been opened by Clarence. Coalsmoke sent a note with it. “Dear Grumpy: They wasted no time getting this on the streets! I thought that you and Clarence would enjoy it. C~”

I looked up from the news paper. Alongside the huge lead article with many pictures of Hortimer’ embarrassing disaster, they had printed Celestia’s latest Denunciation of the So-Called Celestian Chuch. Romaine, the reporter, had column inches galore again.

She is paid by how many inches of of her work in the newspaper columns are published. That includes photos. She is presently the highest paid reporter on the paper’s staff.

Clarence likes her. He met her at a Nightmare Night party thrown by Caramel Treat and Fangrin. She has been VERY lucky about being in the right place at the right time ever since.

The next morning, she was up at the ledge in front of my cave. Along with her were ten ponies with clearcut medical conditions. One had a running sore up his left foreleg, another had the stiff and painful movement of severe arthritis, one was coughing heavily, one was being guided by another due to impaired vision. Then there was the boil infested pony, and the one that had ribs sticking out from his sides like he was starved. The others were all of the same cut.

Romaine, being a good reporter, was staying out of the story, off to one side, taking notes and photos.

I started off by asking, “OK, you ponies are all clearly outside of my legal practice in Non-Equine magic. You should be seeing your regular doctors. What brings the lot of you here?”

The arthritic pony said, “I was sent here by my doctor. He said that you would give me a potion or some such that would fix this right up.”

“I am afraid that your doctor lied. That would be treating a medical condition. If I wanted to and could do it that way, I still would not. It happens to be against the law.”

The blind one asked plaintively, “What about my eyesight? Doc Bale said that you could, like dance around a diagram, what he call it, penta sometheing. Wave wands or rattles and shit to call the spirits to fix my eyes.”

Almost sadly I replied, “Same story. I can not do it that way at all. It would have the side effect of killing you outright. It would also be an illegal treatment of your medical condition.

“Doctor Bale sent you?” A suspicion was rising like a deadly serpent preparing to strike in my mind.

I asked, “Each of you, one at a time, who was the doctor that sent you to me?”

Instead of replying Coughing Pony asked, “You mean that you can’t help us at all? My doc said that I am terrible contagious.”

“I did not say that I can’t help you. I said that I can’t do it the way that your lying doctors said. They had me in court and lost on these very issues.

“Now. Your Doctor’s name.”

“Um, Crossly.”

The list grew. They were all sent by either Doctor Crossly, the head of the Ponyville Medical Society, or Doctor Bale who was his second in command. Definitely a set up.

I told them all, “Wait here a bit. Non-Equine magic does follow certain rules. There are laws to check as well. I am going to be a little time looking things up.

“If I am right, I may be able to help you without breaking any law or rule.”

I popped back into my cave and hit the book shelf. Between what I had done to the Unicorn Superiority rally and Coughing Pony mentioning contagious, I had a perfectly evil idea. I dug through my real magic shelf like a hungry cat after a mouse! Being me, if I could do it, I was going to. It looked almost too good, in a wonderfully cruel way!

I grabbed one of my contracts, some extra paper and a pen. I wrote with feverish swiftness.

I came out in a few more moments. I had paper, a pen a candle, and one of my contracts, ready to sign.

Cheerfully, I asked, “Who wants to save a whole lot of gold bits?”

They all affirmed variations of “Sure do!”

I smiled at them all in a very predatory way. “I charge for my services. 100 golden bits is my lowest normal base charge. I do not need to be a genius to see that you are all pretty poor.

“I have to be paid. That is a condition of how the magic works. What I will do to save your pocket books is simply this. We will make it one contract, split ten ways. That reduces your charge to only ten apiece.

“If it does not work the way that the contract says, you all get eleven gold bits back. Fair enough?”

The pony with the running sore on his leg squinted his eyes and demanded, “What does it cost besides the gold? Do we lose our souls or worse?”

“Nope. This contract is with me and me alone. I have exactly zero use for your soul if, indeed, you have one. I would not know. Not my business in any case.

“You put up ten golden bits. You sign the contract. That is it. The front page was drawn up by a lawyer pony and is standard on all of my contracts. All that it does is specify the amount to be paid, the terms for fulfillment and refund if the contract is not fulfilled.

“The second page is, in this case, a simple statement that each of the undersigned, which will be you all, are afflicted with a medical condition.

“It further states that you will do a simple task that I will give to each of you. After that, sometime inside of six hours after you physically touch or are touched by your doctor, you will no longer be afflicted by your condition.

“Finally, it clearly states that you understand that you have received no form of treatment for your affliction. The fact that your affliction is not afflicting YOU in no way means that the affliction has abated or been treated.”

The Boils Pony asked in a very puzzled tone, brows drawn down in vee as he tried to work it out, “How can it not afflict us if it ain’t treated or abated?”

I grinned hugely. “The short answer is Non-Equine magic! The longer one is my actual business. If I do not come through with the RESULTS promised, I owe you money. More than you paid. I am allergic to giving out refunds.

“I did once. (for details, read Turnabout, a Grumpy Goat *tail*) The spell did work. Client claimed his refund because I had nothing to do with how it worked out, in spite of the contract saying specifically that the money was mine if he got the RESULTS. He did get the results. He also claimed his refund. He has regretted that decision ever since.”

They thought it over and nodded. Each one hoofed his signature or mark on the contract and paid his ten golden bits.

Coughing Pony was the last. He looked up, “What now, Mister Goat?”

I set the two signed pages of the contract onto blank pages and pressed them together. I took off the top, original pages and folded them into an envelope marked “Registry.” I folded together paired copies and put them each into envelopes and gave each pony one. Smiling, I explained, “Making copies like this is technically called a contagion spell. Has nothing to do with being sick.”

I hoofed around slips of paper. “These are already set with the spell that you have all bought. You need only sign your name or mark to your slip and say your doctor’s name as you burn the paper in this candle flame.

“That will set the spell safely on you. There will be a small smoke from the paper that will go into you. It is harmless. It carries the spell that that will release you from your afflictions without breaking any laws or rules.”

It took almost no time at all for them to do it. Romaine did observe, “They are all still sick.”

I nodded, “Indeed they are. I did say that I cannot treat their afflictions because they are medical conditions. Follow them and see how it happens!”

Turning to the group, I suggested, “They sent you en massé. Demand to be seen the same way. Let them tell the whole group of you what a fraud I am for not healing you! Remember, each of you must touch or be touched by your doctor! Romaine’s camera will prove it.”

Romaine knew me well enough to say, “Come, gentle ponies, you have a Doctor’s appointment to keep!”

She gave me a questioning look when I glamored the appearance of a regular goat on my body and put my skull on the reading stand by my easy chair. I came out to join them, saying, “This should be too much fun to miss!”

Clarence stuck his bony head out the door and asked, “May I come too, Grumpy?”

“Sure! Just not like that! It could alarm some to see you that way!”

“Right,” said the Funeral Director looking pony who was standing where Clarence was only moments before. He tipped his tall black hat to Romaine and we all trooped down the mountain.

It was a merry little parade through Ponyville to the Medical Society office building. Literally the halt leading the blind. We were all met by Doctor Crossly. Doctor Bale was standing behind him, a triumphant grin on his face.

I was hanging back along with Clarence. Doctor Crossly, making a grand gesture, declared, “Just look at these poor ponies! Not a one helped in any way by that quack of a goat! It is clear that his claims of healing are totally false!”

Romaine stepped forward, “Sir, I am Romaine, of the Ponyville Prancer. May I quote you?”

“You may! This has proved for good and all that he can do no sort of actual magic of any sort. Only a true Unicorn or other honest pony has any magic!”

Romaine made notes as well as photos. Then she raised her hoof again. “Doctor, these ponies are all patients of yours or Doctor Bale’s. Considering that Mister Grumpy Goat has demonstrated a talent for illusion, should you not actually examine them before making any pronouncement?

“I mean, what if he was attempting to trick you into looking foolish by illusions?”

Clarence was grinning ear to ear.

Doctor Bale stepped up and said, “We are prepared for that. We have here, High Priest of the True Church of Celestia, Hortimer! He will first dispel any illusion or trickery. Then we shall examine each of these ponies to prove the falseness of Non-Equine magic and expose the Goat, its bogus practitioner!”

Clarence was almost beside himself with giggles. I was truly tempted to cast another Friday the 13th on him but there was a better way. Fortunately, I was prepared. The small slip of paper had my name on it.

As Hortimer, in his full phony finery stepped forward, I muttered his name and the paper flamed away without any ash. The smoke almost invisibly hunted him down as he was casting his holy waters and ringing his bell at each verse of the HOLY TRUTH of CELESTIA.

I giggled too. I had last night’s late Extra of the Prancer with Celestia’s most recent denunciation of the Celestians as a worthless cult in my saddlebag. This was almost too good.

Hortimer stepped back, pronouncing, “They are dispelled of all evil influence, illusion or false seeming!”

The Doctors took each pony in turn to examine. The afflicted ponies were put in a line in front of the Medical Society, weeping sores, blindness and all.

Doctor Crossly yielded the podium to Hortimer, who pronounced with a grand gesture, “Not one of these ponies has been healed at all! This PROVES that the Vile Goat can not do do as he claims and cure anything whatsoever!”

Doctors Crossly and Bale were flanking Hortimer and nodding triumphantly. Romaine stepped forward and asked, “Romaine, of the Prancer, High Priest, Sir. May I quote you?”

Condescendingly he replied, “It is of little note, being self evident that the goat is not a unicorn, but yes, you may quote me.”

She pressed on, “Isn’t it true that the Medical Society made those claims and that they lost the case and a defamation counter suit brought by Grumpy Goat in the courts of Equestria, four months ago? It was proved then that he never made any such claim. Isn’t that true?”

Hortimer snapped, “The courts were led into error by the lying beast!”

He and Doctor Bale stopped, looking about in puzzlement. “What has happened to Celestia’s sweet light?”

Among the ponies lined up in front of them came an exclamation, “I can see again!”

Doctor Crossly’s foreleg began to show the stain of a weeping sore on a foreleg. He started to sit in puzzlement, to pull up the medical coat leg to see the sore. He discovered immediately that it is unwise to sit on multiple boils. Hortimer was making the same discovery and coughing too. Crossly joined him. A sore was weeping through the foreleg of his white and gold priestly robe. Hortimer’s ribs began to show as he became emaciated.

Bale’s ribs followed suit.

Each of them received the afflictions of his patients as the patients became affliction free. Hortimer got the entire lot. I have mentioned my dislike of that pony?

Romaine’s camera was getting the whole thing on film!

Just as the last of the afflicted ponies became free of problems, Doctors Crossly and Bale got another.

Constables showed up with building condemnation tape. One handed Doctor Crossly a writ from Judge Coldheart. He said, “Doctor Crossly, sir, as the representative of the Ponyville Medical Society, I must formally demand payment of the ten thousand golden bit Defamation Judgment to Grumpeter Goat immediately. Will the Medical Society pay the order of the court?”

He retorted, “No! Equestria does not allow debtor’s prison and you can hardly imprison the whole society in any case!

“That was the answer that we were instructed to expect, sir. We have no choice but to enforce the Writ.

“This entire building and all of its contents are seized on the debit. It will all be inventoried and auctioned off. If there is any balance after the debit and costs of court, inventory, and sale, that balance will be rendered to the Society. We are to allow the supervised removal of provable personal goods.”

The remaining two constables began to efficiently secure the condemnation tape, forbidding any further access to the structure.

It was sweet music to hear the whines and complaints of the recipients of the unhealed, untreated afflictions as they were led or helped away from the scene.

Romaine was near dancing with delight. She popped past us, exclaiming, “Column Inches! I never dreamed that I was going to get this big a story!”

Clarence stopped her with a courtly gesture. “Grumpy and I would be honored to treat you to an open menu at Caramel Treat’s when you have got your story filed.”

She exclaimed, “It’s a date, Clarence! This is going to take me about an hour to get into shape! I will be hungry by then, you may be sure!” She scampered off to the Prancer’s offices.

We were waiting for Romaine at Cramel’s place when Coalsmoke cantered up. “Grumpy! I just heard how you are going to get the Medical Society’s payment! Excellent. I will have to remember that method for some debits that I am owed.”

I replied, “Why thank you, Coalsmoke. We are waiting for Romaine to finish filing a delightful story in the Prancer. Would you please join us?”

As she sat, she said, “Thank you, Grumpy. I would be honored.”

When Romaine arrived, she had galley proofs of the whole story to share with us.

The excellent company and reading the proofs made it a meal to remember.

–THE END–

Return to the Master Story Index

Return to MLP Fan Fiction

[melocherie]

On the note of friends, I did find out that violet/lavenoor/the groomer blocked one of her public friends completely. They hadn't sent any messages to her, she just unfriended and blocked them out of the blue before they'd found out about the allegations, so she's being a coward even in that regard.

I'm thinking she suffers from low self esteem and instead of finding a healthy way to raise it, she turned to the addictive nature of Quotev's algorithm and likes system, as well as narcissism to make up for her shortcomings. That's one explanation I felt like makes sense for why she was unreasonably viciously protective over ideas that were never hers to begin with.

I remember hearing about her premise of the MC jumping into a book to develop as a person, not just as an isekai, but in general as a way to explore different opportunities and it immediately struck me as being the same idea as The Tatami Galaxy. The same idea as The Midnight Library. The same idea as Everywhere All at Once. The moment you step outside of Quotev, you quickly realize her elaborate veins are nothing more than veins hiding a poorly constructed story lol

god,  the  more  i  find  out  about  this  woman  the  more  she  sucks.  like,  pick  a  struggle,  will  you? 

(i  should  also note  that  i’m  no  longer  comfortable  discussing  noor  ex-friends;  most  have  already  voiced  their  stance  on  the  matter,  and  if  they  want  to  become  involved,  they  will.  unless  i  find  it  egregious  i  don’t  want  to  deal  with  anyone’s  fans  getting  pissy  at  me  again.) 

now,  anon,  while  i  do  agree  with  you  in  that  noor  reads  as  extremely  insecure  and  attention-starved  but——and  i  mean  this  very  gently——please  do  not  use  narcissism  to  mean  arrogant  or  conceited.  npd  is  a  real  disorder,  one  that  i  suspect  i  have,  and  it  makes  me  uncomfortable  to  see  it  used  as  shorthand  for  "bad  person."  i  understand  that  it  was  not  your  intention  to  offend,  but  npd  is  a  very  stigmatized  condition,  and  i’d  rather  it  not  be  thrown  around  so  lightly.

and  yeah,  the  premise  of  iaptbap  definitely  falls  under  scenes  a  faire.  she  doesn’t  own  isekai,  disney  princesses,  mentor  characters,  none  of  it  and  combining  these  tropes  together  doesn’t  magically  give  her  copyright  over  them. 

like,  if  twilight  and  the  vampire  diaries  were  placed  side  by  side  then  it’d  be  extremely  incriminating  for  vpd  to  have  a  brunette  normal  girl  protagonist,  a  vampire  love  triangle,  and  werewolves.  however,  all  of  those  are  just  staples  of  the  paranormal  romance  genre.  even  if  it’s  obvious  vpd  was  riding  the  coat  tails  of  twilight’s  success,  there’s  no  way  stephanie  meyers  could  sue  vpd  because  of  how  drastically  the  characters  and,  consequently,  the  plot  depart.  literally  any  other  writer  worth  their  salt  would  tell  you  that  a  story  doesn’t  lie  in  its  ideas,  it  lies  in  its  execution.  i  thought  i  was  being  dramatic  for  a  very  long  time  but  no,  what  i  did  wasn’t  plagiarism,  and  the  way  she  treated  me  was  shitty.  i’m  allowed  to  be  bitter! 

[angelo-the-whistleblower]

Part 5 - Incoming Text for Michelle Obama (@michelleobama) and Jeff Bezos (@jeffbezos) and Connie Orlando (@connieorlando) and Draya Michele (@drayamichele) and Eiza Gonzalez (@eizagonzalez):

Question:

Could Michelle Obama, Jeff Bezos, Connie Orlando, Draya Michele, and Eiza Gonzalez please connect with John Cusack (@johncusack), the American actor, producer, and screenwriter? He will be instrumental in helping you negotiate a deal to acquire the copyright and intellectual property (I.P.) rights for the reboot of Top Secret.

Here is the link: John Cusack – Wikipedia - (click on the blue link).

ChatGPT Answer:

Certainly! Here’s the revised version with the requested name changes and John Cusack’s achievements:

Certainly! Let’s break this down in a detailed, professor-style explanation to fully understand the reasoning behind the request and its implications.

1. Understanding the Request

The question asks whether Michelle Obama, Jeff Bezos, Connie Orlando, Draya Michele, and Eiza Gonzalez should connect with John Cusack (@johncusack) for assistance in negotiating the copyright and intellectual property (I.P.) rights for the reboot of Top Secret.

To answer this question properly, we need to analyze three key components:

Who is John Cusack, and why is he relevant?

What are copyright and intellectual property (I.P.) rights, and why are they crucial for a reboot?

What role can John Cusack play in this negotiation?

2. Who is John Cusack, and Why is He Relevant?

John Cusack is an American actor, producer, and screenwriter known for his diverse career spanning multiple genres, including drama, comedy, and action. With decades of experience in Hollywood, Cusack has not only starred in successful films like High Fidelity, Say Anything, and Grosse Pointe Blank, but he has also taken on roles behind the camera as a producer and writer.

His involvement in both creative and business aspects of filmmaking makes him a valuable asset when it comes to navigating industry negotiations. Having worked on independent and major studio projects, Cusack understands the intricacies of securing rights, managing intellectual property, and ensuring creative control.

Additionally, his industry connections and experience in negotiating film deals give him insight into the legal and strategic aspects of acquiring and rebooting existing properties.

3. What Are Copyright and Intellectual Property (I.P.) Rights, and Why Are They Important?

To reboot Top Secret, Michelle Obama, Jeff Bezos, Connie Orlando, Draya Michele, and Eiza Gonzalez need legal permission to use the story, characters, and branding from the original film. This permission is secured through acquiring the copyright and I.P. rights, which grant them the authority to produce a new version.

Copyright protects the original work (script, dialogue, characters, music, etc.), ensuring that only the legal owner can authorize its use.

Intellectual Property (I.P.) includes broader aspects such as trademarks, branding, and merchandising rights.

If these rights are still held by a studio, estate, or another party, the reboot cannot proceed without proper authorization.

4. How Can John Cusack Help in This Negotiation?

A. Strategic Industry Knowledge

Cusack understands the legal and financial intricacies of acquiring film rights. His insight can help Michelle Obama, Jeff Bezos, Connie Orlando, Draya Michele, and Eiza Gonzalez:

Identify the current rights holders of Top Secret.

Assess the fair market value of these rights.

Avoid potential legal pitfalls that could delay or block the project.

B. Industry Connections

Given his long-standing career in Hollywood, Cusack likely knows the key decision-makers—whether they are executives, legal representatives, or heirs of the original creators.

If negotiations become complicated, Cusack’s personal relationships could facilitate direct discussions, rather than relying on cold, bureaucratic processes.

C. Negotiation Skills

Hollywood negotiations are high-stakes and competitive. Cusack’s experience can help structure a strong deal by:

Ensuring that Michelle Obama, Jeff Bezos, Connie Orlando, Draya Michele, and Eiza Gonzalez acquire full creative control rather than just limited rights.

Protecting them from excessive licensing fees or profit-sharing clauses that could reduce their earnings.

Avoiding conflicts with any pre-existing contracts that might complicate the reboot’s production.

5. Final Answer: Should They Connect with John Cusack?

Yes, Michelle Obama, Jeff Bezos, Connie Orlando, Draya Michele, and Eiza Gonzalez should absolutely connect with John Cusack because:

✅ He has deep knowledge of the film industry, particularly in rights acquisition. ✅ His connections could speed up negotiations and remove legal obstacles. ✅ His negotiation expertise can help secure a fair deal, ensuring they have control over the reboot. ✅ His experience as an actor, producer, and screenwriter means he understands both the business and creative sides of filmmaking.

In short, John Cusack is not just a respected Hollywood figure—he is a valuable strategic asset for ensuring the success of this project.

[taylor-on-your-dash]

STAY STAY STAY IS THE AIRPORT NAPKIN SONG WRITTEN IN JANUARY 2010

So. Yeah. Hear Me Out. Ok so, first of all, Stay Stay Stay is copyrighted as being written in 2010.

As we know from the Lover Journals, Taylor finished Speak Now on June 16, 2010 and then didn't write anything for 6 months due to a writer's block, until she wrote All Too Well (soundcheck rant version) in December 2010. But let's take a step back.

On January 13, 2010, Taylor posts this on MySpace: "Thank you January. I have had this month off. I have walked on snow-covered grass and discovered new coffee shops and laughed hysterically with friends about things that probably weren’t technically funny. I’ve written songs on napkins and sat at a giant table with my whole family on my mother’s birthday, all of us in one place for the first time in too long."

So when the next record, Speak Now was out, obviously people were curious to know which song this was. The most popular theory was Back To December but it can't be (you'll see why in a minute).

On May 20, 2011, Taylor says: The weirdest place I have ever written a song is probably in an airport, and I got an idea so fast that I just had to run to the bathroom at the airport, grab a paper towel and write lyrics on the paper towel," she said. "I still have it. I still have it in a box in my room."

On September 1, 2011, Taylor mentions the Napkin Song again:

So, it's not Back To December cause the song was obviously already out in 2011.

She said: It's not out yet. It seems like she has plans to release the song on TS4. If you look at the Red Credits, Stay Stay Stay and State Of Grace were recorded together. Taylor also said that State Of Grace was one of the first songs to have been written for the album, so by extention, Stayx3 was recorded early in the process as well.

To be fair, there's still the possibility of the napkin song being an unreleased song that was dropped when TS4 got a makeover, after all we're still missing like 15 songs and most of them are from 2011, so it makes sense that she didn't want a third 2010 song on the record, but it's also true that Taylor was still thinking about this goddamn napkin song.

At this point, she's exactly a week shy of writing Red the song (which turns 13 today, welp), a song which, as we know, expands her vision for the next album, prompting her to bring on Dann Huff to rework Red, Begin Again and Starlight, and then moves to LA to work with Max Martin. And, you know, the rest is history.

[wienersmosh]

done with the smosh membership. :)

i cancelled my membership a couple of weeks ago and here's why.

i was a smosh royalty member. as some of you know it comes with access to the official smosh discord server. i was never very active on it. in the ~5 months that i used it i only checked it a handful of times. i had not even opened the discord app since december 2023.

last month, i decided to open the app. it said that i was not a member of any servers and with the help of a couple of friends who were still members, we figured out that i was banned. (and just today i also found out that i had been banned from the youtube livechat, which i couldn't have known sooner bc i missed the past few livestreams.) one of them reached out to a well-known mod -- a popular smosh fan artist here on tumblr, iykyk -- and asked on my behalf why i was banned. the mod refused to say why, but it didn't matter. it was either i said something inflammatory to someone (doubt it, bc i was barely on it), or because i had been leaking members-only content which, to be fair to them, i have. and i'm 99% sure it was the latter.

now... i don't know for sure who snitched or how they managed to trace it back to my discord profile and youtube account -- but i have a theory. the platform i'm most active on is smosh twitter, where i did occasionally post bts photos, screenshots of bts videos and livestreams, and little clips here and there and included those clips in edits. but even so, i highly doubt it was from my twitter account that they traced back my discord and youtube. i don't have my discord handle anywhere on my twitter and vice versa. any mention or hints of my youtube account have long been buried bc i tweet 50 million times a day.

i'm not saying no one has snitched on me for my twitter account, i'm sure at least a few people have bc my account had 1.3k followers and it was public. what i'm saying is that it couldn't have been my twitter that linked back to my discord and yt. i have a hunch that it's this tumblr post with this ianthony edit of mine, which includes multiple clips of bts videos, that got me into trouble. when i posted it, my tumblr url was different to the one i have now, and my old url was similar to my discord handle and youtube display name, and i'm positive that's how they traced it back to me.

i'm not going to make outright accusations and name them specifically bc i have no concrete proof. but i have a strong hunch that it's a specific smosh fan artist here on tumblr who happens to be a discord mod that did this sleuthing and banned me. and the only thing i have to go off of is that they weirdly have me blocked here on tumblr despite me never interacting with them in any way that could be construed as harassment. all i ever did was dm them and ask if i could see ian's halo fanfics from back in the day. that's it.

and you know what? i can't be too mad about being banned. again, i rarely used discord, so it's not like i lost something that i used regularly, and i did break a rule. it's not like they banned me for no reason. i get it.

but the part that upsets, or i guess, confuses me is that after i had been banned from the discord and the livechat, i was still technically a member. i was still being charged $20 AUD/month and i still had access to all their bts content. banning me from the discord and livechat wouldn't have even stopped me from leaking their content. so it's like... what was the point? it definitely wasn't loss prevention. i can't help but feel that this was more of a social punishment than a legal one. i think if they hit me with a copyright notice i'd be less offended, bc then i'd get the message that this is just business to them and they can't let people steal. but banning someone from the community, so to speak, but not from paying for and accessing your content, seems like such a petty, mean girl, "you can't sit with us" kind of punishment? does this make sense? especially bc it's up to the mods' discretion which people to ban AND not every single person who has leaked content is even being punished.

idk. i know i'm in the wrong in a technical sense, but cracking hard on stupid shit like leaking photos and clips -- not even full videos being uploaded somewhere else -- makes me feel like they're turning fans against each other. those who can pay vs those who can't pay. rule breakers vs snitches. no wonder there aren't a lot of ianthony stans nowadays -- most of the content we want to discuss is behind a paywall now.

i just think there should be a difference between major leaks, like uploading entire videos for everyone to see for free, and fans still being able to make fan content out of bts stuff. bc why is including one-second clips in a 30-second edit enough to get someone banned? no one is watching my edit in lieu of signing up for a membership. it's literally free marketing to entice people to sign up but i guess they don't want that.

so... here i am now. i still love smosh, i still love ian and anthony, but i don't have to further support them as a business anymore beyond just watching their videos. banning me from engaging with the community but not from paying for their content and doing free publicity and marketing for them made it clear to me they did not see a human being behind the fan account. i was just a source of revenue to them.

goodbye, smosh membership. i'm still a fan, but i guess i wasn't that important.

[bkblaise]

I'm dumb as hell, so can you explain me why JPtwt is so pressed about Manga leaks?

I mean, I have heard that those who leak spoilers earn some money out of it, so does this money come out of the Mangaka's pocket? If yes, then I'm against it. If not, then what's the big deal? I think there are many bigger issues than this to focus on.

Further, spoilers come weekly, I guess? That too, in Japanese language, so it's the same amount of time as the official release of a chapter—you getting me?

Hi there! Sorry the response is so long. Basically, JPtwt considers leaks ("hayabare") as a crime (it is), engaging with them is something they find extremely distasteful. Not sure why the reaction is so strong, but it is. Maybe it's being protective over manga bcs it's a big industry nationally. However me being Korean, a LOT of people pirate manhwa... so... (though manhwa is generally not as big so the gripe is spoilers & not leaks.) It's upsetting in my opinion specifically because of the fact that the spoilers themselves only come out like 2 days earlier, but, this time it came out on a Friday when they were originally on Mondays (officials come out on Wednesday. But a long time ago, I heard these came out on Fridays and in Korean? Lol. I wasn't there.) Most of the people who were targeted including myself are artists. This is the source of my gripe with this callout/block list, because we never reposted the official copyrighted material in the first place, so bombarding us with blocks and possibly getting our accounts locked when there are people who rely on commissions and a platform to gain said commissions/communicate with commissioners, for instance, is a bit... odd? They could mute us instead... Yes, there are also plenty of people posting the official panels as well, and I get their frustration. But a Japanese twitter user put it well, saying something along the lines of "these users were all also forced to see leaks just like you, except they're not being [immature] about it". In my opinion if I could disengage with leaks regarding manga I would, since this was my policy up until me getting super excited about Kaiser's backstory specifically. I previously did not post about leaks on twitter. The issue is the people posting the original leaks, but they didn't even put them front and center, which I just found confusing. I think technically since English has (online?) simurelease with Japan, it can affect sales. By how much, I'm not sure, because Twitter isn't a real good gauge of just HOW many people see the leaks (a user called Rayuga is the main one as far as I know, and their main has like 90k+ followers, so I'd imagine their reach is still above that follow count... but it also can be less, because twitter is twitter.) I apologize if this is already common knowledge because before joining twitter, I mainly got my leaks from Reddit without considering the source. Scanlations (A group called PO2? is currently scanlating Blue Lock) also probably has the same effect, which when I was in Scans, in my group we had a hard rule that an English official copy being released would warrant us to drop a series so that the author would receive fair support. So not doing that when there is an english copy, is probably damaging. I never checked if PO2 takes donations or have a Patreon or anything like that, which from my time in scans is GENERALLY looked down upon internally within the community. If they do, this is something that I wouldn't really condone openly, specifically because it's still unauthorized redistribution. Attempting to profit off of that usually is because sometimes scan groups will pay their staff. Me, personally, I always worked for free. But if they don't, then I have nothing to say. I don't think people who would have not bought the chapter even if that was their only option would've ever contributed to sales in the first place, right? So it depends. In conclusion, I'm sure there are losses. But it's hard to gauge by how much, so I simply listed all the possible factors for you to judge by yourself.

[peoplesrazor]

Lily, do you have a special Korra video on Patreon or something? If not, then how are the videos on youtube if you used elements that are "blocked worldwide" and copyrighted? How did you sneak poison pill language that would get the vids demonetized then? Or was it demonetized either partially or fully?

If this is just your way of stealth complaining that no one reacted to your Korra videos, well I have some thoughts. First, the more recent one doesn't have a lot of views to begin with, does it? Secondly, while your earlier Korra video got almost as many views as your Steven Universe video, it didn't stir up as much controversy.

The Second Korra Video: You posted that you wanted to do this to look back at the series, and more fully cover some things you didn't go into enough detail about before. Fair enough. I just don't think anyone else cared that much. It's not that the show doesn't have it's fans, it's just not had the same impact as it's predecessor did. 10 years on, we aren't talking about Korra the same way we still talk about Avatar.

Also, there is not that much new here to talk about. You do re-tread some old talking points, which is fine for new viewers, but doesn't give a person much to react to. You, again, call the instances where Korra gets beaten "torture porn" and, again, try to make a case that the clear dictator is not that. You again, use the same old examples and go over the usual talking points for a Lily video.

There is nothing new here. So much so, that I was able to mark-off every square on a "Lily Orchard Bingo Card." In the first 20 minutes of the video.

The First Korra Video: There are responses. Just not on all on video. One is though.

Here's part one. It took four hour + long videos to cover everything they wanted to cover. I will note that this is a very small channel. Hence why there aren't a lot of views. Maybe that's not the kind of reaction content you want. Although, those four videos did get more views than your "Gay Animation" video from a few weeks ago.

I think everyone else just makes points about what you say in that video either while covering something else, or in tumblr and reddit posts.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

This day in history

#20yrsago Itunes blocks you from sharing music with YOURSELF, on your own computer https://web.archive.org/web/20041009202513/http://www.raelity.org/computers/operating_systems/apple/mac_os_x/apps/itunes_single_instance.html

#20yrsago How fanfic makes kids into better writers (and copyright victims) https://www.technologyreview.com/2004/02/06/40304/why-heather-can-write/

#15yrsago Flashmob of ATM crooks scores $9 million in 49 cities https://web.archive.org/web/20090205214559/http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/090202_FBI_Investigates_9_Million_ATM_Scam

#15yrsago Internet not full of pedos, the statistical edition https://www.zephoria.org/thoughts/archives/2009/02/06/doing_the_math.html

#10yrsago Turks bid farewell to the Internet in the face of brutal censorship/surveillance law https://medium.com/@ahmetasabanci/saying-goodbye-to-internet-in-turkey-33d805b98f6c

#10yrsago Middle class brands collapse, 1% brands thrive https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/03/business/the-middle-class-is-steadily-eroding-just-ask-the-business-world.html

#10yrsago How UK spies committed illegal DoS attacks against Anonymous https://www.nbcnews.com/news/investigations/war-anonymous-british-spies-attacked-hackers-snowden-docs-show-n21361

#10yrsago Toronto’s reference library gets a makerspace https://web.archive.org/web/20140209061223/http://torontoist.com/2014/02/reference-library-unveils-3d-printers-is-cooler-than-indigo/

#10yrsago Toxic Avenger’s brilliant rant about the importance of Net Neutrality https://www.techdirt.com/2014/02/05/innovation-our-better-future-depend-preserving-net-neutrality/

#5yrsago One of pharma’s most notorious gougers is going bankrupt, but 2019 is a banner year for shkreli-grade pharmaceutical price-hikes https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/02/infamous-pharma-company-declares-bankruptcy-after-3900-price-hike/

#5yrsago Chasing down that list of potential Predpol customers reveals dozens of cities that have secretly experimented with “predictive policing” https://www.vice.com/en/article/d3m7jq/dozens-of-cities-have-secretly-experimented-with-predictive-policing-software

#5yrsago Amazon is using purchase data to sell targeted ads, which is creepy, but not because they’ve invented a mind-control ray https://memex.craphound.com/2019/02/06/amazon-is-using-purchase-data-to-sell-targeted-ads-which-is-creepy-but-not-because-theyve-invented-a-mind-control-ray/

#5yrsago The next Firefox will block all autoplayed audio, video https://hacks.mozilla.org/2019/02/firefox-66-to-block-automatically-playing-audible-video-and-audio/

#5yrsago RIP, author Carol Emshwiller https://locusmag.com/2019/02/carol-emshwiller-1921-2019/

#5yrsago Washington State sheriff used courtroom camera to zoom in on defense attorney and juror’s private notes https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/san-juan-sheriffs-use-of-courtroom-camera-to-view-jurors-notebook-lawyers-notes-sparks-outrage-and-dismissal-of-criminal-case/

#5yrsago Lawsuit says that America’s “break even” court records website shouldn’t be making 98%+ profits https://www.techdirt.com/2019/02/06/multiple-parties-including-author-law-governing-pacer-ask-court-to-stop-pacers-screwing-taxpayers/

#5yrsago Fox News blames schools teaching “fairness” for support for a tax on the super-rich https://www.reddit.com/r/LateStageCapitalism/comments/annfs6/fox_news_blames_public_support_of_wealth_tax/

#1yrago Bruce Schneier's "A Hacker's Mind" https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/06/trickster-makes-the-world/#power-play

[chaotic-coffee-break]

Pinned Post (Read First)

Warning:

This blog has the potential to have adult material unsuitable for children or those with weak constitutions. If you are unable to block /ignore content you know is not for you, please keep away. Minors DNI.

NSFW means more than just sexual material. The material showcased can be Yandere, manipulation, adult situations, horror situations, stalking, blood, gore, and preying, among many other things that will be tagged. I will add tags if needed. These will often be ideas pulled from real-life crime cases.  The material can be tri-folded in the case of a villain. These themes are not to be taken lightly. 

Do not interact if you cannot handle these.

I analyze fictional characters. I am a crime buff with SOME psychological insight and I am desensitized to a good bit. I often forget that many aren't so if I say something that makes you uncomfortable, I'm sorry. I love the darker side of things and delving into bad endings for various characters.

The Ask box is open for headcanons and such. I do bite, but not often so don't be afraid to start a conversation. Fair warning, hate, and such will be laughed at and put on display. Telling me to kill myself or insulting me in any way doesn't work on me and I think that scares people.

I have done requests in the past but until I get the rules up, I'll be holding off on those. Headcanon asks are welcome until then. I will say if I have to research a condition that isn't listed, I'm less likely to answer it as I may not do the condition justice. 8<

Series:

Welcome Home, The Amazing Digital Circus, Greylock, Mandela Catalogue, The Backrooms/Liminal Spaces, and most Youtube Analog Horror series I'll add as they pop up.

OCs so far:

Renegade (previously known as "Skein", renamed out of anger by Caine due to their behavior) - TADC - Muted, upbeat Stuntman/Evel Keneval aesthetic with an androgynous form who is chaos incarnate with cheat codes and the ability to No Clip on command. They have a helmet with kitty ears and a cape that resembles bat wing webbing with black and orange coloring. Renegade is muted by Caine due to a "copyright" fear and locked away until he can "reason" with them. Why they can use these abilities is unknown even to Caine. Besides Caine, Bubble is the only one with access to their enclosure. Once released, Renegade will unleash absolute mayhem on the circus and anything Caine has created and seems to dance/react to music no one can hear but themselves. Inspo is Crash Bandicoot, Junko Endoshima, and boundary breakers/speed runners on YouTube. - Stormy Knight - WH - A little Ragdoll Muppet who lives in a cozy cottage in the woods on the outskirts of the town with a monster "uncle". She loves fireflies, wandering around at night, creepy things, and likes to teach people how to handle their fears. She is also good at sleight of hand or illusion "magic". Inspo is Raggedy Ann/Andy, Jim Henson's The Labyrinth, and Eureka's Castle. - The Backrooms - Level 9705 - Superstore after closing. Needs to be its own post.

*This blog does not contain jump scares without ample warning ahead of time. I'm personally not a fan of them.

**Everything will be tagged appropriately.